world reaction to standar& poor's' lowering of the u.s. credit rating from aaa to aa-plus. and the obama administration is reaching out. timothy geithner, the treasury secretary, is taking part in a conference call with representatives from other g-7 nations to discuss the downgrade. the call is expected to take place this evening, before asian markets open for monday trading. we'll update you on that. and if you live anywhere across the southeast, don't be surprised to see these faces on digital billboards. the fbi is going all-out in a manhint for this brother, sister, and half-brother, ryan edward doherty, dillon doherty, stanley and lee grace daugherty are wanted for the armed robbery of a south georgia bank and the attempted murder of a florida police officer. the next hour of the cnn newsroom starts right now. we begin with our top story.

new information to tell you tonight about the worst loss of life for u.s. military since the afghan war began. nato troops are still assessing the crash site where a u.s. army helicopter apparently was shot down. 30 u.s. troops died in the crash, including 25 special forces. and we're now learning the ch-47 chinook helicopter was on a mission in the wardak province to reinforce army rangers pinned down in a fierce battle with the taliban. it bears repeating that military officials say their target was a taliban commander directly responsible for attacks on u.s. forces. here's what we're learning more about, as well. the man who died in that incident. one of them was navy s.e.a.l. aaron carson vaughn. he was 30 years old and the father of two small children. i spoke with his grandmother about the last time she saw him. >> it was aaron's birthday in june, he turned 30. i told him to be careful. and he said granny, don't worry

about me. he said, i'm not afraid because i know where i'm going, if something happens to me. aaron was a christian. and he stood firm in his faith. >> aaron vaughn was stationed in virginia beach, virginia. and our brian todd is there. hello to you. you have been talking to people in this tight-knit military town. how are they doing? how are they taking this? >> it's been very tough to take, don. a very difficult day for them here. and reminders everywhere here of the sacrifices the naval personnel and others make in this war. you've got a tribute here to the fallen naval personnel who've given their lives. and over here a tribute to the concept of the homecoming. a wonderful statue here, and a mural here that kind of reminds you of just what people are going through. and of course it's even more sobering and heartbreaking when you realize that so many of the naval personnel, the navy s.e.a.l.s involved in this incident are not going to be going through this reunion. we spoke to a navy s.e.a.l.'s wife a short time ago today and got another stark reminder of some of the sacrifices being made.

kimberly vaughn describes that horrible moment when uniformed officers came to her door and told her about her husband. >> and i just fell to my knees. >> reporter: arson carson vaughn was one of 22 navy s.e.a.l.s killed in the helicopter crash in afghanistan. kimberly is now left to care for 2-month-old daughter chamberlin and son reagan who turns two next month. >> i want to the tell the world that he was an amazing man, that he was a wonderful husband and a fabulous father to two wonderful children. and he was a warrior for our country. and he wouldn't want to leave this earth any other way than how he did. >> reporter: on the boardwalk, in the diners of the vaughn's newly adopted hometown of virginia beach, a community grieves for nearly two dozen young men who were in their midst, but who they never really got to know. mary's restaurant is a hangout for some of the s.e.a.l.s based near virginia beach. >> you feel like you're at rock bottom again. you just feel like you're not succeeding at what needs to be done. and you have to ask is it worth

it. is another life worth it? >> it's a grave loss, and we're very sad. very sad day. >> reporter: these were secretive, elite commandos who could never reveal what they did to these neighbors. still, people here feel a close bond with the s.e.a.l.s. and in only about 13 weeks, this community has gone from the triumph of the killing of osama bin laden to what now appears to be the biggest single loss of life in s.e.a.l. history. the virginia beach mayor wanted to throw a parade for the s.e.a.l.s after the bin laden raid, but knew he couldn't. now he has to help an entire city grieve for a group of young men whose names they may be hearing for the first time. >> it hurts. but it's a shared pain, which means that everyone thinks so highly of them. >> reporter: john mcguire knows all about that shared pain. he was a s.e.a.l. for ten years, stationed near virginia beach. is there any survivor's guilt among current or former s.e.a.l.s when something like this happens? >> i think former s.e.a.l.s like myself and all s.e.a.l.s go

through all the emotions. but we are at war and freedom isn't free. these guys, i guarantee every one of them, if they had a chance, they'd do it all again. >> reporter: now the focus turns toward helping the families. current and former navy s.e.a.l.s and their commanders are going to be trying to raise money for the navy s.e.a.l. foundation. that's a group dedicated to giving financial support to those left behind. and right now, don, they're starting to get busy in ways that they never, ever hoped they would have to. >> brian todd, thank you very much for that. not all of the troops on the downed helicopter were special forces. sergeant patrick hamburger was with the nebraska national guard, and a flight engineer on the chopper. his job was to carry these elite troops on their secret mission. sergeant hamburger leaves behind a 2-year-old daughter, a 13-year-old daughter, and a fiancee. i spoke with his fiancee, candy reagan, a short time ago. everyone wants to know, how you doing? >> i'm -- i'm doing the best that i can do.

it's really hard. >> it's hard. >> it's very hard. and something that i never thought would ever happen to us. >> how are the girls? what have you told them? >> my 2-year-old, she's 2, she just knows that everybody's unhappy, and my 13-year-old is absolutely devastated. she can't stop crying, it's just -- it hurts all of us. this entire family, every single one of us. all of his close friends. >> you had -- this was his first tour. he had only been there a week. >> yes. >> when was the last time you saw him? >> i seen him in july for four

days. and i -- before this happened. >> you said for four days in july, and then before that, when? >> on skype for two days -- or two days before this happened. >> he had told you that he would be out of touch. he told the family, because he was -- because of a mission, something that he was working on, right? >> yes. he sent me an e-mail the day before, and he told me, he said please don't worry about me, he said that's the last thing that he wants me to do. he said, just to know that he's doing everything in his power to be safe, and to make it home in one piece, and that he loves me, and he loves his girls. and he knows that i need him back home. he said that you and the girls are always in my heart.

don't worry, this place isn't going to change me, i'm going to change this place. that's just how i am. he said, i love you all, just take care of my girls. and know that i am here thinking about you all the time, i'll be home before you know it. love you, ma. >> are you just reading from the e-mail that he wrote to you? >> yes. >> tell us what kind of a guy he was, candy. >> what? >> tell us what kind of a guy he was. >> he was everybody's hero. he was an amazing guy. always was smiling. and he had the biggest, brightest smile on earth. he's always telling jokes to everybody. making people laugh is what he liked to do.

he loved his daughters. his daughters were his world. and he lived each and every day for his kids, and for his family. >> there are 29 other families that are dealing with the same sort of grief that you're dealing with. does the world even -- can we even imagine what you're going through? >> no. unless you've gone through this, you have no idea. and it's just hard. i don't know how to explain how it feels. i'm still going through it. and it's going to be a long time before i can make it through all of this. >> sergeant patrick hamburger with the nebraska national guard. one of 30 u.s. service members killed in a helicopter crash in afghanistan. he was 30 years old.

before now, the worst loss of life among the navy s.e.a.l.s was in 2005, when 17 died in a single incident, and one of them was 29-year-old lieutenant michael murphy. he was awarded a medal of honor posthumously in 2007 and had a dedication just this may. his mother joins me now by phone. maureen, this terrible event, it has to bring back the painful memories and when you listen to the fiancee of that young man, it just has to break your heart. >> oh, my heart goes out to all 30 of the families of all the men that were involved in it. and it just takes me back to that tragic day for our family, in june 2005. and it's -- it just opens up all the wounds all over again. because, i -- you know, some people say i can't imagine, but

i can imagine what these 30 families are going through. and it's -- they're in shock. they're in disbelief. they're hurt. and it's going to take a long time for them to even get their heads on straight, because it's something that, as time goes on, it lessens a little bit, but there are always be something that will bring it back, and it's like the day it happened all over again. it's like a knife in your heart. and i found out about it yesterday, when i was at my son michael's friend got married yesterday. and i found out what happened just before his wedding. and, you know, i didn't want to spoil the day for them, but i was sick to my stomach. i just could not believe that this is happening all over again. and i mean the stories are so close. all the brave men in the

helicopters, the s.e.a.l.s, and the night stalkers. everybody that's involved. it's just like oh, my god, i cannot believe that this has happened again. >> maureen, i've got to ask you this, what do you say, finally, here to the country, to people who are watching this? because many of the people we have reached out to, the service members' families, they want to talk about this. they want to come on television. they want people to know what they're loved wins went through, and that they meant something to this country. what can you say to the people who are watching? is there anything that we can do to help? or anything that we should know from someone who's gone through it? >> actually, i have to say, most of the people -- the military's been wonderful to me, and i mean my family, and everybody, and i have to say there's a lot of american citizens that were so positive, and to this day, they always write little cards and send little notes and everything, and they remember mike and all the men that were lost on that day. and that people that haven't

gone through it, they really need to understand that these men and women, they put on their uniform, and they're like a small percentage. i think less than 1% of our population keeps us safe. >> yeah. >> and, and that we need to show a lot more support for them, and respect what they're doing. because we can do -- i told someone a little while ago, even just going to get a cup of coffee or some little minor thing that we don't even think about, but we can do it in the comfort of this land, because of these men and women. >> because of these men and women. >> yeah. >> maureen murphy, thank you so much. we really appreciate it. and stay strong, okay? a tense moment, as we wait and watch how the world is going to react. just about an hour from now, investors in key asian markets will weigh in for the first time on the u.s. debt downgrade. the new generation entering the workforce. are there enough jobs to go around? and what does it take to land

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all right, some breaking news in to cnn. it's already monday morning in asia. i want to give you a map of where and when the markets will open up there. we're less than an hour away from the start of tokyo trading. and for the first time since standard & poor's downgraded the u.s. credit rating we're watching the reaction in asia very closely right now. because it can foretell so much about what we can expect when the u.s. markets open in the morning. you've already seen some of the response. the u.s. market and the downgrade. the middle eastern markets, financial markets, were open today. they closed sharply. and i want to bring in richard

quest, because here's something i think is very troubling here. the dow futures down almost 300 points. has that ever happened before? has it been down this much before? >> oh, yes. i mean, this is -- this is a futures market, which tell us where the s&p would be in a month's time. and what it basically means to you and me and everybody else watching is that if nothing -- if the u.s. market was to open now, right at this minute, the dow would be off several hundred points. that's what this means. but the u.s. market isn't going to open now. and in fact, the first market really to trade, the first significant market, in about 45 minutes is sydney in australia. and that's where we're starting the s&p number, this futures number from, from the asia pacific markets. the south asia pacific markets. new zealand, australia. long and short of it, we knew,

and we've known for hours that the u.s. markets would be volatile and probably down. now we're starting to get a number on that but please, let's have a bit of calm on this. we are, at least, 13, 14 hours from the u.s. markets. >> richard, this is a good point for me to jump in. maybe my question, what i wanted to ask, at this point, we're about 14 hours away from the open of the markets, has dow futures been down 300 points before? or is it usually down somewhere maybe 50, maybe 100, but 300, is that a troubling point sign at this point? >> i -- not really, that's a when did you stop beating your wife question. because, you know, yes. we have been -- normally the dow futures will be down five minutes, ten points, 20 points, 50 points. to see it down 300 points tells me that when the morning market opens, if it was to happen now, they would be clobbered out of bed and hit over the head with a

big, heavy stick. that's what that's telling you. it's not surprising. look at what's happened today. we've had the g-20 speaking, we've got a g-7 conference call. we've got tim geithner saying seize going to stay on the job and the president saying thank you very much, i'd like you to. we've got geithner saying that s&p has made a error of judgment. we've got greenspan saying that the market's going to be down but he doesn't see signs of double dips. you've got larry summers saying, calling that the s&p decision outrageous. there is so much noise of which i'm contributing, as well, there's so much noise out there at the moment that it's not surprising tonight, the u.s. futures are down sharply. >> okay. you answered it anyway. so, and you did a great job. it wasn't a when do you stop beating your wife question, but i knew you were going to hem and haw about that. richard we're going to see you

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8:19. that's when i'm going to start to swim. >> all right. that's diane nyand practicing last month. the 65-year-old athlete has waited a long time to go a long way. tonight it may be the night the baby boomer does something no swimmer has ever done before, swim from cuba to florida, in open water, with no cage to protect her from the sharks. it's 103 miles. that is supposed to start at any moment now, and cnn is exclusively following alongside nyad and her historic attempt. shasta darlington joins us by phone to give us the play by play. i understand she's just about to get started swimming. >> that's right, don. we're waiting right here in the marina, hemingway right on the west side of havana. she's about to jump in the water. we're just waiting for her to

turn up. she's been waiting all day for the winds to die down. the idea is even though it's night it's going to be the time when the winds are the quietest, when the current is the quietest and she really has a very small window when it comes to weather. so she's about to jump in. you know, this is a very important personal challenge for diana nyad. she tried to do the same swim in the 1970s and she failed. it's something she put behind her, and she said when she turned 60, when she turned 60 she decided she wanted to try it again, to show everyone that you can still be young when you're 60. don? >> so, listen, i understand her team is taking extraordinary lengths to protect her from sharks. and man of war jelly fish. >> that's right, don. i couldn't hear the question very well, but she went into detail about how she's going to protect herself from the sharks. as you mentioned there will not be a shark cage. but what she's got is she's got some six kayakers who are going to be kayaking alongside her.

they've got these electronic mechanisms to put in the water to fend off the sharks. they send out electricity that keeps the sharks away, at least three feet. there's one species the white tip that they don't work against so they're going to have to have some shark divers alongside, as well, who will jump in the water if any of these white tip sharks do get near her. the idea is they can do something to sort of fend of those sharks. i've actually got one of the kayakers right in front of me right now showing off this shark shield. it's pretty interesting technology, don. >> all right. well, let's wish her luck. they're going to have to do more than bang on some tanks. let's hope they have some sort of something to shoot them. all right, shasta darlington. good luck, diane nyad. millions of americans want to know when will the job market bounce back and how long will it take? we'll get answers next. can i have some ice cream, please ?

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announcer: when life's this hard, it's no wonder 7,000 students drop out every school day. visit boostup.org and help kids in your community stay in school. the job market hasn't shown many signs of improvement. a close-up look shows how bleak it is, has become i should say. here you can see a breakdown of the available jobs by region. together the number add up to more than 3 million open jobs. sounds like a lot. but the number of unemployed americans looking for jobs is nearly 14 million. and the economy isn't making anywhere near enough for all of them. now, finding and keeping a job is a lot harder in this brave new world. some critics say the newest generation to enter the market, the millennials, aren't up to the task. they claim these workers, aged 18 to 30 years old, were raised

to believe they were special, and that's left them ill-equipped to deal with life in the workplace. did you listen to that, millennial? you're listening. i have a millennial in the studio. reuben is a columnist and cnn contributor and he joins me now from san diego. so all of the youngsters in the studio listen. your column on cnn.com provoked hundreds of comments. you seemed to touch a nerve, didn't you? >> right. yeah, don, this has really been a powerful column. i think that the response has really ranged across the board. people saying hey, this isn't about me. i'm motivated, i've got a job, an internship. i know what i want to do. but they always point to their other people and cohorts that sort of fit the bill. the one group i always hear from when i write about this generation are employers. employers know better than anybody. there are employers out there who manage and hire these young people and they're scratching their heads. they've never seen anything like this bunch. this is a bunch of folks who are really entitled, who think they're special, who want the

corner office, a path to the vice presidency, they don't believe, brother, in working weekends. you and i can relate to that, right? they don't believe in paying your dues. and they are just an interesting bunch to manage. it's a real challenge, though. guaranteed, whenever i read about this, i always hear from employers who say, hey, you're absolutely right. >> why are you so critical of the millennials? any anecdotes you'd like to share with us? >> right. you know, i guess it's kind of a turnabout is fair play. i'm a member of generation "x" and i seem to recall the baby boomers were none too tender in relating to us. they were critical of us throughout the '80s and '90s. i think the reason i'm frustrated with this group is that the longer you live, you realize that the world is not a very forgiving place. it's not going to bend to you. you're going to have to bend to it. and that's really true in the best of economies. but when you have a 9% national unemployment rate and a 14% unemployment rate for people in this age group, say 18 to 30, you really want to sit these folks down and say listen your expectations are unrealistic. most employers are not going to cater to you, accommodate you. you're going to have to bend to the world, not the other way

around. and for their own good they really need to snap out of it. >> yeah, it's funny that you say that, because i see a lot of that. and what i -- i always tell them what my mentors told me, cool your jets. it will happen. you're way too young. get some time under your belt. surely, though, you found some admirable traits in millennials, too. >> oh, absolutely. they have very high standards. and they have high ideals. they understand that a lot of us, you know, might find ourselves in dead-end jobs we don't really like. they saw their parents grow up in jobs they didn't really like to do and they're holding out for the dream jobs. they have a great sense of idealism and volunteerism. these are the same kids we know who are in the armed services in many cases, have gone off to fight our wars. there's lots of positive things going on with this generation. but they also, i think, need to learn from resilience. they have sort of a glass jaw. whenever they take the first hit, they don't always bounce back. they're not used to that. they're used to being told their special, they're going to do very well. when they were kids they outlawed the red pen in some public schools because it was

thought to be too harsh. these are kids who grew up with little stickers, careful, baby on board. from the moment they were born they were thought to be special and this treasure. they wait for the world to coddle them the way mommy and daddy did. >> you're going in on these kids. man! i mean, you sound like my -- like the crotchety uncle going, hey, you have a baby on board, my mom used to smoke in the car and my seat belt was when she put her arm over me at the stop sign. >> right. i know. i used to walk to school five miles in the snow. it doesn't snow offen in san diego. it's crazy. i think, again, for their own good, they've got to roll with the punches and don't we know, this economy, listen to your show all day today, this economy keeps throwing punches and punches and punches, and unless they become resilient. unless they understand that they're going to have to pay their dues, not every job is the perfect job. you can't fall back on mom and dad. you've got to pay your dues, get in, maybe take a job you don't like for awhile. but you use it as a way to get in to something else. that's, i think, the secret to success. >> i'm going to start calling you danny downer.

even though your name is ruben. >> call me grandpa grumpy. >> grrr. >> thanks, uncle grumps. appreciate it. music isn't only john legend's -- it isn't his only passion. the grammy award winning artist brings a unique voice to the debate over education reform. he was home schooled and attended private and public schools. cnn's education contributor steve perry sat down with the singer in tonight's "perry's principles." >> everyone believes that a kid should get a good education. but you have to put your money and your policy where your mouth is. but here's what that means. quality principals, quality teachers, quality superintendents that are accountable for actually delivering on their promises. and when you talk about accountability, then that means everybody's not going to be protected. in that situation. >> that's some loaded speech right there, man. >> the priority is to make sure that the kids have the opportunity to get a great education. >> now, you've gotten some flak from that. >> of course i've gotten flak

from that. >> people are not really interested in hearing this singer out there telling them how to educate people. >> i get flak for that. and i'm not an educator, and i know that. ♪ i say this every time i talk about teachers, i truly respect what they do. and i don't envy the task that they have. and like i said, we need to hold this job in high esteem. but when you hold it in high esteem that means you just don't put anybody in front of 25 kids. you make sure they're doing what they're supposed to be doing. and if they're not doing it well, then they shouldn't be there. you know the idea that rich kids get to go to good schools and poor kids don't it's so entrenched in our national psyche that we haven't challenged that notion. >> steve perry, new york. >> all right, well last week they took credit for keeping tax hikes out of the u.s. debt ceiling deal. but now, some are blaming tea party republicans for the u.s. credit downgrade. we'll talk with the tea party express chairwoman, next. [ carrie ] i remember my very first year as a teacher,

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i think we've absolutely, we've put our mark on this debate. we're not going to back down. we want to rein in the spending. and look, at the end of the day, americans want a solution. they don't want a deal. we're tired of the deals. the deals are what has gotten us into this problem. >> all right. that is tea party express chairwoman amy kramer on this very program just one week ago, at a time when the plan to raise the debt ceiling was falling

into place. now, that plan, of course, didn't stop standard & poor's from downgrading u.s. credit. the tea party was very proud of its prominent role in the debt ceiling negotiations, and democrats were eager to remind the country of that on the sunday talkers. take a listen. >> this is essentially a tea party downgrade. the tea party brought us to the brink of a default. >> i believe this is, without question, the tea party downgrade. >> the tea party obstructionism here in washington is keeping us from restoring that balanced approach that america's always used. >> all right. the tea party downgrade. when you hear a lot of people saying the same thing over and over on different talk shows, that is a talking point. all right. so i want to bring -- welcome back tea party express chairwoman amy kramer to respond to all of this. amy, thank you. every time we talk you leave the talking points at home and i appreciate that. you have said to yourself that the tea party was the reason the debt ceiling debate took on the dimensions that it did.

are you still proud of that, now that the u.s. credit rating has been downgraded? >> don, we're not backing away from the fact that we stopped the administration and harry reid from pushing through any tax increases. what has happened is s&p has downgraded our credit rating for the first time in american history. we have to remember that the democrats from 2006 have been in control of both the senate and the house. barack obama and his administration have been in control for almost three years now. you can't blame this on the tea party movement. this is not our fault. this is washington's fault. and no one else's fault. >> and, amy, you know the democrats are going to say, well the president inherited an unprecedented recession, and unemployment when he took office. because of president bush in the previous administration. you know that. that would be the response to that. so i'm going to play devil es advocate. >> and, don, i have something to say to that. yes, he did inherit these things from bush. he also inherited a aaa credit

rating from president bush, and in three year's time, it's gone. so, history is going to remember this as the obama downgrade. >> okay. amy, i want to read this, i want to move on now and read part of the report from the s&p. it points fingers at both sides. so here's the quote. it says the downgrade reflects our opinions that the fiscal consolidation plan that congress and the administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics. but there is a section where s&p calls out one of the parties directly, amy, here it is. it says compared with previous projections, our revised base scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, meaning the bush tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. we have changed our assumption on this because the majority of republicans in congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe congress reinforced by passing the act.

meaning the debt ceiling deal. so, amy, the tea party will not budge on tax cuts. and right here, s&p is saying that kind of rigid position was a major reason for the downgrade. how do you respond to that? >> look, the size of our debt is because we're spending too much. not because we don't have enough revenue. we cannot increase taxes enough to spend the way that we do and cover it. that's the bottom line. i've said it over and over again. we have a spending problem. that is what got us into this situation. they did not downgrade our debt because we don't have enough revenue. >> amy, do you believe that s&p would still have downgraded the u.s., if republicans had accepted president obama's $4 trillion grand bargain? they're saying no. >> look, i think the only thing that could have stopped this from happening is the cut, cap and balance. our -- this is not about the debt ceiling. that's the whole thing. everybody wants to make it about the debt ceiling.

the debt ceiling is only a symptom of the bigger problem. and the bigger problem is the enormous size of our debt. and cut, cap and balance was a plan that had passed the house, and harry reid wouldn't even bring it to the senate floor. in your own cnn poll 67% of americans said they supported that legislation. that's the only legislation that could have been passed that could have possibly prevented this. >> amy kremer that's going to have to be the last word. we appreciate you coming on cnn. >> thank you for having me. >> i'll see you soon. scenes of desperation and tragedy in somalia. famine has left thousands dead, and the survivors doing anything they can just to live another day. but it's not just hunger killing the smallest victims. our report from the horn of africa is next.

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the u.n.'s refugee agency is ready to deliver emergency supplies to the somali capital of mogadishu for the first time in five years. a plane loaded with 2500 emergency kits will land in the city tomorrow. the u.n. delivery follows the abrupt decision by the militant group al shabaab to abandon the city. thousands of desperate somalis have fled to the capital in search of food as famine grips

the region. other somalis have fled to eastern kenya. as david mckenzie shows us, the humanitarian crisis is growing at a camp on the border. >> reporter: this is the camp in northern kenya. every day, somalis are streaming across the border from the famine zones to get help in this refugee camp. out here, just over two weeks ago, and rarely more people have come into this area. at first it may seem that nothing changed. but people are getting some level of help. but now the big worry is disease. this is a testament to that. this is a cemetery on the outskirts, that's become almost packed, this section, and it's mostly children. they try and protect the graves with whatever they can. a bit of a thorn tree there, to help them from the wild animals that could come in here and get into those graves. more than 2 million kids are in desperate need of help in this crisis. and when children come into this area, they are tired, they are hungry, and need food and water. but then most of them are not

vaccinated and many of the people here are saying they're not getting vaccinations for things like measles. this crisis is far from over. and it's places like this, grave sites like this, that are a testament to the crisis in the horn of africa. david mckenzie, cnn, kenya. >> all right, david. what exactly is fueling the famine in africa and how are weather patterns playing a role? cnn's jacqui jeras joins me with some intriguing details. that's right after the break. nationwide insurance. talk to me.

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the desperation from the drought in somalia is heart breaking as families struggle to find food. what is causing the harsh climate? why is there no water? how dry is it in somalia? what kind of conditions are these people facing? >> it is extreme. the hompb africa is no stranger to drought but this is exceptional. it is the worst they've seen in decades. we're starting with a very dry semi arid area. we'll zoom in and show this to you in terms of somalia. it is near the equator so it is hot year round. you have very high, high

temperatures. your low temperatures are warm as well. a little cooler in the northern part because of the mountains but for the most part, it is a very flat plain. they don't get a lot of moisture in here. only two main rivers and they do use a little bit of this for irrigation for the crops. for the most part, they really rely on getting in some of that rainfall. this is the drought monitor and it will show you just how bad it is. this is what we call an exceptional drought. really the worst category. and it is in that southern region where the vast majority of agriculture takes place. now there is really two opportunities here to get any type of rainfall. two times of year, rainy season, if you will. the first is what we call the gu. from april to june. then there is a secondary short rainy season which takes place from october into december. the problem is the last two rainy seasons have basically been a total bust. they've had almost no rain. that's like a year that we're

talking about without getting the needed rainfall. if we even just take a look back to february, they're down two to eight inches. while that might not sound like much to us in places like atlanta or miami, that's like half their annual radar. >> is there some reason they didn't get any and do they have a chance to get more soon? >> that dreaded la nina that we talk about. the same thing that is responsible for the flooding that we've had in the upper midwest as well as the drought in texas. it changes weather patterns across the globe. normally we would get this jet stream, this easterly wind that would come in here twice a year and that would bring moisture in off the indian ocean. the good news is that la nina ended in myself we're in what we call a neutral phase basically. we have equal chances of getting average rainfall of coming. however, there are a couple of climate models now that are leading that la nina could redevelop again this fall. >> you are showing the areas where the crops are and you said it was extreme or serious.

have they been able to grow anything in those areas? >> not much. i've seen a variety of reports. anywhere between 2 and 20 -- or 20 and 50% of the crops have been coming in. the problem is they rely on the rain to make the crops grow. you get no rain. what does that mean? no crops are growing. none of the reservoirs are filling up. they can't keep the cattle. the cattle are dying off about 60% have been reportedly deceased in the last couple months and that's their main income source. they use the cal for milk to feed the families. they sell it for the income. they can't buy any food which is very expensive as well. so people leave or unfortunately they die off. and it is a long trek to get to the refugee camps. i was reading about a mother who walked with her five children and walked more than 100 miles and lost two of her children along that way. >> cnn.com is doing some fantastic reporting. this is a crisis now and we'll follow that explanation.

it is a kris. as soon as dr. sanjay gupta and. >> reporter: as soon as they're in there. people are did he prattly fighting to stay alive. they'll show us how aid organizations are working the save as many lives as possible. it is being called the single deadliest incident since the war in afghanistan. the latest on the investigation into the helicopter crash that killed 30 american troops, next. to your heart. g i think what people like most about the grilled food is the taste. the flavor comes from that oak wood. the shrimp, the fresh fish, the steaks. it locks in the flavor, it seals in the juices so that when you put the fork in it, it just goes through it like butter. it's beautiful. [ laughs ] i'm proud to be a grill master. i love food. my name is charles himple. i'm a red lobster grill master, and i sea food differently. in one place. ♪ the race of your life you never ran.

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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. nato troops are still assessing the crash site where a u.s. army helicopter was shot down, resulting in the deadliest single incident since the afghan war began. 30 u.s. troop died in the crash including 25 special forces. we're now learning that the ch-47 chinook helicopter was on a mission in the wardak province to reinforce army rangers pinned down in a fierce battle with the taliban. if you live anywhere across the southeast, well, don't be spiesed if you see these faces on digital billboards. the fbi is going all out in a manhunt for these brother-sister and half brother.

for these three. ryan edward, dylan, and lee grace are wanted for the armed robbery of a south georgia bank in the attempted murder of a florida police officer. we're monitoring world reaction to standard & poor's lowering of our credit rating. timothy geithner is taking part in a conference call with representatives from other g-7 nations to discuss the downgrade. the call is expected to take place sometime this evening before some asian markets open in just a few minutes for monday trading. so just how will the credit downgrade affect the markets? what does it mean for interest race on your mortgage or your car? well, cnn will break it down for you. it is called the debt mess and it is hosted by, there she is.

she is the person who should host this. what do you have coming up for us? >> we'll be watching all the world markets as they open. you'll have some of those markets opening in about a minute and 15 seconds. we have american futures trading for stocks has already opened and it is showing about 2% losses for the dow, nasdaq and s&p. this is i guess you could call it a gauge of where we what investors are thinking first in the markets, after that downgrade on friday. so stock futures selling off pretty vigorously here in electronic trading overnight. but they've been pretty choppy. i'll tell you. at one point you had dow futures down more than 100 points. now down about 206, popping around a little bit. that's to be expected. when we start getting headlines out of of that g-7 call, anything leaked from that, that could move sentiment. you a hear more investor, warren buffett, for example, he said if he could, he would rate the u.s. quadruple a. if