a week plus of torrential rain leaves a soggy mess in the southeast. advice coming your way on rebuilding your life after such a disaster from money expert, clark howard. some eye-opening ads about a serious disease, are they effective or offensive? we'll share your views. and president obama takes his place in the world stage. what he's telling our countries they can expect from the united states. hi, everybody on a wednesday, hln news and views, i'm chuck roberts, great to have you with us. clean-up is well under way in many parts of georgia. several major highways in atlanta have been reopened after being closed because of high waters. portions of interstate 20, the east-west highway through the

city were all closed to morning traffic. but flags have just reopened. that's six flags over i-20 which straddles georgia. several schools in several outlying koingts are also closed today. one cobb county woman said her family narrowly escaped the rising waters. >> i'm laughing and joking about it, but i'm really crying on the inside the because this is just -- unbelievable. i mean -- when we left here yesterday, we got stuck in the field with three kids and trying and we broke the fence down trying to get out. >> for the first time, we're hearing from the distraught father of a 2-year-old boy who drowned when they got trapped in floodwaters. take a listen. >> i just told slate it would be all right. and i loved him. and we would make it.

but we didn't make it. >> this happened monday in a creek that turned into a raging river. the father was hanging on to bushes, with one arm, and the boy with the other. but the water was so powerful, it eventually pulled the boy away. governor sonny purdue is asking president obama to declare a state of emergency for the entire area, at least 17 counties, the president has said the request for federal funds to deal with the flooding will receive prompt attention. the flood damage is estimated at $215 billion. hundreds of people flooded in the recent storms have no flood insurance because they don't live in a flood plain. so what's the definition of a flood plain? how do you get covered? hln money expert, clark howard, joins us to talk about what they can do to recover if their loss and how you can prevent something like this from happening to you. clark, welcome, it caught an awful lot of people offguard. >> it is absolutely devastating people's lives. you see the loss of life. but also, the loss of property

that's going to take people so long to rebuild from. and what's so awful on the financial side is most of the affected people had no flood coverage. they didn't live in a flood plain in most cases, their lender didn't require it. they didn't even think they should buy it. but here's the truth -- if you live in an area that is low-lying, but not in a flood plain, flood insurance is extra, extra, extra cheap to buy. and people should do it. it is a simple thing to buy. you see what happened here. you think -- wow, i'm glad that wasn't me. you prevent the financial harm from happening to you, if floodwaters ever come to visit your house. >> how about renters? >> renters can buy flood insurance so cheap -- listen to this, it starts at only $39 a year! $39 is nothing. >> yeah. if you weren't covered at all, is there any way to get any help? >> you know, that's why the

federal disaster assistance is goings to be so key. because that will make extremely low-interest loans available to people. who are affected, who did not have flood insurance. but the true fact of the matter is, a lot of these people are going to be wiped out. because they will have no protection that will allow them to rebuild if anywhere. and it's such an important lesson for all of us, everywhere. >> how about homeowners association, should they insist on every member buying flood insurance? because if one guy gets wiped out. there goes the value of every unit. >> generally, homeowners associations aren't in a position to do that. but condo associations in many cases do participate in the federal flood insurance program and that does rebuild. i own a condo, where my condo was not under water, but two of the buildings in our complex are. all of us essentially are sharing in the cost of rebuilding those. through our federal flood insurance premium that we pay as part of our condo fee. >> can i ask you real quick --

contractors are going to be rushing into atlanta for all this work. how do you avoid getting ripped off? real quickly. >> what you do, is you don't let anybody who comes by your house, smile and work for you. you want to ask your insurer for your referral to people. you want to ask your neighbors. you want to dig back for people you've used in the past. you don't just hire any old stranger who shows up on your street and says, i'll help you now. if you have to, be patient until you can find a contractor that you have reason to believe is reputable. >> clark, great to hear from you. thank you so much. right place, right time, right guy. clark, thank you. eel have more on how you can protect yourself from flooding this weekend. don't miss clark howard weekend, more great consumer advice, noon and four p.m. eastern here on hln. eel help you save more, spend less. hundreds of california firefighters are still, still battling a blaze in ventura county. the wildfires have already consumed 8500 acres and is now threatening 1,000 homes, it's

only 10% contained and the santa ana winds are fueling the flames. more than 850 firefighters are on scene, three have been hurt, but not severely. governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for ventura county. a former girlfriend, claims the man accused of killing a yale university grad student was extremely controlling and sometimes got physical with her. raymond clark iii is accused of killing annie le on the yale campus. his high school girlfriend jessica dell rocco tells abc's "good morning america," clark stoeld her what clothes she could wear and who she could have as friends. dell rocco said she sometimes got frightened. annie le's funeral was last week. the last person to see missing florida girl, haleigh cummings, has apparently skipped town. misty cummings apparently took off after police questioned her brother about the wers about

that night. he banged out the door in february, trying to find his sister. and on "nancy grace" last night, investigative reporter art harris talked about an argument that misty had with her husband, ron cummings, just before she took off. >> art, what was the bitter argument about? >> well i can tell you that sources tell me, that ronald actually threw her clothes out. threw her out. and she was going down the road when he runs after her. apologizing and brings her back. so, it's unclear withhat it was about, nancy. >> let's look at the timing, art harris, what was happening at the time they have the bitter feud? was that when the pond was being drained? what was happening? >> it was around that time, nancy. a lot of uncertainty, a lot of rumors about the pond. rumors that haley's body was found, none of it true. >> tommy cross lynn told the story after he was arrested. now investigators are using gps

devices do track misty's whereabouts that night through her cell phone. the babysitter/step-mom of missing haley cummings skips town just as the investigation of the disappearance is heating up. what's behind the latest development? nancy grace is all over it, she investigates at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. eastern. some new public service announcements are putting a light spin on a very serious announcement. the psa's refer to breasts as which chi-chis, ta-tas. and the organization is called save the books. the media behind it said it's trying to save young people. critics call the ads sexual and said such a serious subject should not be taken lightly. what do you think, offensive or effective? call us now and give us your views on it. toll free or email us. or if you pay the standard text

race, many police departments have adopted the motto, to protect and serve. some officers apparently decided that means to play video games during a drug bust. you'll see the shocking surveillance video, next. (announcer) everything you need to take a breather on long trips. residence inn.

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the restaurant favorites that let you.... stay in, and go all out. (announcer) everything you need to stay balanced on long trips. residence inn. president obama is using his first appearance at the u.n. general assembly to signal a new era at the u.s. national policy. there's the secretary of state watching among others. he assured the u.n. members that the u.s. is ready to act as equal partners in confronting global challenges. he decried an almost reflexive anti-americanism and called for collective action by the world countries to face issues. >> those who used to chastise america for acting alone can now

not wait for america to stand by and solve the world's problems alone. we have sought in word and deed, a new era of engagement with the world. and now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges. >> the president will continue his call for international cooperation at a meeting of the g-20 industrialized nations tomorrow in pittsburgh. another first today -- colonel muammar qaddafi addressed the u.n. in. he's been in power 40 years but has never spoken to the general assembly. he chastised the world body for not treating members equally. qaddafi's appearance triggered outside the u.n. some demonstrators denounced the libyan leader for giving a hero's welcome to one of the lockerbie bombers. the town of bedford is

ordering workers to stop pitching a large tent on property owned by developer, donald trump. the trump organization won't confirm muammar qaddafi planned to use the tent while he's in new york. town officials claim it violates zoning laws. we have video we would like you to see, and before that, we'll inform you that the little girl involved in this, is okay. here it is, convenience store, washington state, an out of control car hits the store and then the parking pole -- right there. lifting it over the 6-year-old girl. >> and when the mom saw the video, she, she had a moment there, she broke down for a bit. the dad just basically kind of covered his mouth and just couldn't believe what he saw in the video, how it went, it happened so quick. >> unbelievable, she's fine. police say the driver had a suspended license and is now charged with reckless driving. it looks like some central florida officers are in trouble,

video surveillance inside a convicted drug dealers' house, shows them playing the video game wii. a sheriffs detective is supposed to be cataloging the evidence, instead, is shown putting her work down and picking up the wii remote and playing the bowling game. they were in the home for nine hours. the sheriffs said the video is embarrassing but there's always downtime during any search. what are you doing next tuesday? we've got an exciting edition to our primetime lineup coming your way. the "joy behar show" kicks off tuesday september 29dth. en sure to tune in. in your hands... knees... and back. for little bodies with fevers.. and big bodies on high blood pressure medicine. tylenol works with your body... in a way other pain relievers don't... so you feel better...

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floodwaters are receding around the southeast but we're seeing an increasing number of reports from a lot of viewers in the middle of it or under it.

i reporter john caught some amazing pictures of the yellow river. john, i guess the river flowed around you at some point, huh? >> yes, the water definitely rose quite significantly. it's normally you know, quite low and nonoffensive. but it got right up to the bridge. >> did it breach the dam or just overflow the dam? >> overflowed the dam. >> what happened to properties around there? >> i haven't seen too many houses flooded out driving around. but certainly the conyers nature center, which has hiking trails and horse trails, was completely flooded out. you see the out building, the power building, the nature center, water up to the second level. so -- yeah, we, we had something that's been flooding. >> we're looking at a bridge. a bunch of officers on the bridge. is that the route 20 bridge? >> yes, that's the georgia 20

bridge. and the officers were inspecting and making sure that you know, the bridge was still safe to drive over. and later that day, they did close the bridge on 138. >> has the crest happened? is everything getting better? >> yes. things are starting to go down. and they reopened the bridge on 138, at least the westbound lane. and the eastbound lane is being redirected into the west lane. >> real quickly, all the water standing around, any health concerns, anybody tell you to watch out, don't walk through the water? >> they're saying it on the news. and certainly the sheriffs trying to tell people to stay out of the water. because you don't know what's in it. so -- >> john, these are great pictures. >> thanks. >> i really appreciate it. again, thank you so much. this is conyers, and the crest had to move downstream, so people in neighboring newton county and covington, have to

worry about it now and it's also the scene of the olympic site of the international horse park was right there in conyers. thanks again. if you have video or pictures, go to i report.com. the police search of kidnapping system, phillip garrido's property has ended in california investigators say so far, they've not found a connection to two other missing persons cases. still, investigators have not eliminated garrido as a suspect in the disappearances of two young girls. garrido and his wife, nancy, are charged with kidnapping jaycee dugard and holding her captive for 18 years. john travolta is in the bahamas to testify at the trial of two people accused of trying to blackmail him after his son's death. police say a paramedic and a former senator tried to extort $25 million from travolta, over a document he signed just before his 16-year-old son, jett, died. the document would have released nj responders from liability, if the family refused an ambulance.

the family said that never happened. one officer testified that travolta signed the release, because he initially wanted his son taken to the airport, instead of the hospital. howard stern has just been arraigned on 11 felony counts related to his former girlfriend's anna nicole smith's drug use. all three pleaded not guilty. new charges include accusations stern helped get prescriptions for opiates using a false name. search warrants say he put his name on prescriptions for drugs that were given to smith. 44 different medications that were prescribed for her under other names, including stern's. a 7-year-old girl in arizona said she was locked inside her school nurse's office, before the staff left for the weekend. her mom said the janitor found her. the girl's mom said her daughter was traumatized. >> she couldn't get anyone to come to her and she wet herself. all she could do was throw herself on the bed and cry and

pray for mommy to come and get her. >> a school official called the incident, unfortunate. police and the school district are investigating. the second grader is now at another school. a georgia man is indicted on charges after an attack on an african-american outside a restaurant, all while her little girl looked on. troy west faces several charges, including aggravated assault, false imprisonment and cruelty to children. west will stay in a jail outside of atlanta until he requests a bond hearing. his lawyer has declined comment. police say west assaulted the woman yelling racial slurs, just because she told him to be careful. he reportedly hit or almost hit her 7-year-old daughter with the restaurant door. federal authorities are investigating to see if west should be charged with a hate crime. a private swim club accused of turning away day care kids because of the color of their skin will have to pay up. a state panel ruled racism was likely part of the june decision by the philadelphia-area club. the panel ordered monetary damages of no more than $50,000.

the swim club denies the charges. its lawyers blame the media firestorm and say they'll appeal the ruling. a new ad aimed at preventing breast cancer is raising eyebrows, do these ads look offensive or effective? @@@@@

sky harbor airport in phoenix, and that's a somewhat disabled national guard jet with four people on board, trying to make landing after reporting landing gear problems. the best information we have, is that they have a blown front tire. apparently the pilot noticed that on takeoff and decided to make an emergency landing. they may be doing a pass over the airport. it's not entirely clear. it doesn't look like it's a deployment issue. it looks like the gears are fully extended and deployed. on this plane. which would appear to be a civilian or military version of a civilian 737. that looks like the configuration. it's coming in lower, it may be

making a landing. the last report from affiliate knxv, is it was about five minutes away. and that was about five minutes ago. you see the u.s. air force marker. this is national guard plane, making an emergency landing. and it looks like it's going to go ahead and make this landing. so we'll hold it right here. all of the landing gears are deployed. but the front gear may have a blown tire. and we'll watch this landing and let you judge for yourself. and he's down. the critical part is when he puts the nosegear down. and there it is. well-executed so far. we have a pilot, robert mark is an aviation expert. he's been on so many missions

and flights. robert, can you hear me? what do you think of this. it's a picture-perfect landing, right? >> it looks really good. i mean, even a blown tire on an airplane this large is a serious issue. so i'd say they did a heck of a decent job here. >> yeah. what would he have done as a pilot different? >> well, the main thing you would try to do, in fact you saw it when he was touching down, he was trying to hold the nose of the airplane off. so as to let the nose gear touch down as the slowest speed as possible. and that would keep the remaining tire from, from unwinding. i mean because it has two tires on the front, because it needs to, to support the airplane. if you put all that weight too quickly on the one, that's most likely going to blow, too. and that changes the whole situation. that could have certainly turned into a fire.

>> do you know when you take off, that you've blown a tire? >> caller: sometimes you can tell. i mean you'll hear it when, when you're rolling down the runway. you may hear some sound like a piece of the tire letting go and hitting the bottom of the airplane. but once you're flying, you don't really care about it, you know you're going to have to deal with it on the other end. but my guess is they must have obviously had that same kind of indication. >> would he have lost control if both of them are out? >> caller: on takeoff, if he had blown both nose gear tires on takeoff, that's the steering, that's directional control for the airplane down at you know, say under 100 knots, that would have been a real serious issue. >> good landing, good outcome. robert marks, thank you. clean-up under way across parts of georgia. north of georgia, several major highways around atlanta have been closed. portions of interstate 20, the

east-west artery through the city have been closed. they've just reopened, here's a shot overhead from six flags over georgia, which essentially a water park. the roller coaster is still under water. most metro students are back in class today. they got a couple of rain days, as schools had to clean up. but several schools in outlying counties remain closed. the heavy rain that devastated the southeast over the last week has claimed at least nine lives in georgia and one in alabama. and here is the mother of two who lost her life pleading for help during a 911 call just before daybreak on monday. here it is. oh, my god. please help me, quickly. >> ma'am, you've got to calm down. work with me. >> taking you down, stay on the phone with me, i'm right here, i'm going to stay with you. >> it's going -- >> you're not going to drown. we're going to be, we're going to be there for you. just stay with me, okay?

>> okay. okay. >> try to grab on to something up above. if you see a tree, if you see anything. >> nothing, nothing. >> someday on the phone with me, okay? >> it's moving, behind us. >> i understand, i hear you, okay. i'm going to be right here, i'm going to stay right here with you, okay? >> okay. sadie burciaga had just finished working an overnight shift, she was .3 of a mile from her home when her minivan was swept away by the floodwaters. rescuers were on the scene as she spoke, but they couldn't find her in the darkness. people who fled their homes as the waters rose are now getting a good look at how defer stating the floods were. rob marciano is joining us live just outside atlanta. very hard-hit by the disaster. rob? >> hi, chuck. just hearing the 911 call, that's the first i heard it. and that is, that is bone-chilling. and we often say, probably not enough, to remind people that out of everything that we, whether produces in the united

states, had youring hurricanes, snowstorms and tornadoes, flash flooding is the number one weather-related killer. and i think you just heard why. devastating stuff there. and at least the floodwaters now are going down. what they're revealing is certainly eye-catching to say the least. we've had a few problems here in cobb county, some aerial shots earlier. less than two hours ago there was a fire just to my north and east. there were choppers above it. and the fire department couldn't get to it. that's one of the issues, we're having a hard time with transportation here. not only have cars been washed into roadways, into rivers. and into now natural lakes. but the roads are torn up. look at this. this is a road that's been overwashed. concrete sidewalk and asphalt. cle completely torn up. it will have to be repaired. and the side wash from a bridge that has been washed over. many bridges here that may be

suspect now to not being safe. so engineers are going to have to go out and check these things before they request reopen them. so we've had huge travel issues with that. i-20 finally is open today. that was in a bad deal yesterday. here's a river now. it's come down quite a bit. sweetwater creek lot looking too sweet right now. typically just a plmeandering brook for the most part. it's come down probably ten feet since we were here last night. and this shot, is kind of surreal. 48 trailers floating down this would-be creek, at one point, a torrential river and slamming up against this bridge. this bridge has water main. it has a gas main. the gas company was out here checking to see if there was any leaks. they finally turned the gas onto the rest of the town that's just up if here. there's so many issues, chuck, that you don't really think about in every day life. including, a freight trailer actually floating down a river.

but gas, electricity and water, these are things that have had to be shut off because of these floods. and now that the river is receding, all the damage and especially the people that have seen their homes lost here in austelle, the mayor is estimating we might see as many as 500 homes damaged by floods in this town alone. >> rob, i got it leave it. thank you, appreciate it. >> all right. hundreds of california firefighters have their hands full with a wildfire, this is ventura county, west and north of l.a., it's consumed 8500 aggers and is now threatening 1,000 homes. right now it's only 10% contained and the santa ana winds, the hot winds that blow toward the ocean are fueling the flames. 850 firefighters are on site. three hurt, but none severely. governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for ventura county. a former girlfriend of the man accused of killing yale university grad student was very

controlling and sometimes got physical with her. raymond clark iii is accused of killing annie leed on the yale campus. his former girlfriend said that clark told her what clothes she could wear and who she could have as friends. del rocco said he sometimes got so angry, she was frightened. annie le will be buried saturday in callal and is being remembered in a ceremony at her fiancée's synagogue. former child star mckenzie phillips is going public with a stunning family secret. we'll tell you what it is.

an ohio man who forced his 18-month-old niece to smoke marijuana is going to prison for

ten years. 19-year-old melvin blevins is seen giving the kid a pot pipe. his 16-year-old girlfriend is serving time in a juvenile facility for her part in the plot. it came to light when the video showed up at a pawn shop in columbus. here's the story everybody is talking about. former child star, mckenzie phillips said she had an incest u everyone us relationship with her father. her stunning revelation is creating quite a stir.

cnn.com's melissa lie has more. >> one of the most popular. from the late 197 0s. her dad once suggested they leave the u.s. to quote, a wunt where no one would look down on us. the book is high on arrival, she claims her dad didn't want her to get married. he entered the room that night before she was to be married. with quote tons of drugs, and said she ended up passing out on the bed. her father passed away in 2001. phillips was arrested last year in fact pleading guilty to one count of possession of cocaine. you want to read more about the stunning story or find it on the showbiz pages of cnn.com or go to cnn.com/mostpopular. >> it must get easier to quit

smoking when it's court-ordered. this is from a judge in hawaii, a 19-year-old flicked a cigarette butt and it fell on to restaurant in maui, hawaii. well the restaurant caught fire. he pleaded guilty to third-degree property damage and as part of the sentence, ordered not to use tobacco products for a year. the judge said perhaps it will add years to his life if he stops. a local attorney said it's unusual. certainly relates to the crime. here's another example of an unconventional sentence. also from a judge in hawaii, if somebody ever swore, used profanity in his courtroom. he required them to write, 10,000 times, "i will never swear in court." melissa, thanks. we have live pictures, a story developing, college in st. paul,

minnesota in lockdown. an official at st. paul college, said officials are looking for a student who may have a firearm. they're inside the building and are going room by room looking for a person with a gun. this is obviously raw video from our affiliate in the twin cities. the students are all safe, but they're not allowed to move in or out until police have completed their sweep of the pre premises. and ohio couple that went to a fertility clinic for help with pregnancy is going to have a baby. the question is -- whose baby? find out about the shocking find out about the shocking mix-up on hln news and views. even tone, brighten, smooth, hydrate, and lock-in moisture, all in one clever little package of total effects.

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great. i didn't feel like going out anyway (announcer) wanchai ferry. restaurant quality chinese your ocer's eezer a georgia man has been indict on felony charges in the attack on an african-american woman outside a cracker barrel restaurant just south of atlanta. this happened as her little girl looked on. troy west of georgia faces several criminal charges, including aggravated assault, false imprisonment and cruelty to children. he'll stay in a jail outside atlanta. his lawyer has declined comment. police say west assaulted the

woman, yelling racial slurs just because she told him to be careful. he reportedly almost struck her 7-year-old daughter with the restaurant door. federal authorities are investigating to see if west should be charged with a hate crime. some new public service announcements are putting a light spin on a very serious subject. the psa's all aimed at preventing breast cancer, refer to breasts as hooters, tata's, chi chi's and the name of the campaign is save the boobs. critics call the ads sexual, overly so, and say that such a serious subject should not be taken so lightly. what are your thoughts on this? are they more offensive or effective? call us toll-free. or email us or text us. we'll hear your thoughts on this all day today.

a woman who spent years trying to have another baby was mistakenly implanted with another woman's embryos. carolyn savage and her husband turned to a fertility clinic after several difficult pregnancies in the past. they thought they were getting some of their leftover embryos from a previous invitro fertilization. instead the clinic called them to say thee had become an unw unwitnessing surg for another family. >> shawn called me right awaive. it was just a very shocking moment. i couldn't comprehend what he was saying. i know i was yelling at him, asking him if he was joking. clearly his physical demeanor indicated there was no joke about the news he was delivering to me. the couple would not reveal the name of the clinic they used. they did give cnn several medical documents to prove the kid isn't theirs. they'll hand over the baby to the biological parents when she

gives birth in a few weeks. if you're looking for a way out of debt, be careful who you pick to help you. hln money expert, clark clark howard warns of firms selling broken promises. >> are you overwhelmed by credit card debt? what if one call could do it all? that is the promise of tv and internet ads. if you put in anything in a search engine like debt trouble or credit card problems these ads pop up saying call us. we'll wipe out your credit card debt for pennies on the dollar. what do they want in return from you? some companies want you to pay thousands of dollars upfront for a promise you may not realize. the complaints coming in to me and to any consumer affairs organization have been skyrocketing about debt

settlement firms. you need to be very, very wary and aware that you may pay out thousands of dollars and get absolutely zip in return. where is that money better kept? in your wallet. i'm clark howard. for more ideas to protect yourself go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> he's got great ideas. don't miss his show saturdays and sundays noon and 4:00 eastern, he'll help you save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. police are looking for thieves. witnesses say the chopper landed on the roof and they the thieves hoisted money. the robbers hit on payday. >> laying on the board so i thought she was dead.

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>r i w i wap >>d be all rigp be all right bed we woulp we would make it make it. a devastating store as a georgia family is grieving the loss of their 2-year-old son. you will hear the father's recount of the last moments of the boy's life. a 7-year-old girl is locked in school after everyone left for the weekend alone. find out how she got out. some eye opening ads about a serious disease. are they effective or offensive

to you? we will share your views. wall street is holding its brathwaiting for the federal reserve to make a move on interest rates. we have some live pictures out of minnesota. we want to take you there right now. a college in st. paul is on lockdown. students are being escorted out. an official saying they are looking for a student that may have a firearm inside. police are inside the building going room to room looking for anyone with a gun. you see students gathering outside. the students are safe. they are not allowed to move in and out until the police are finished. they are allowed out of the building. they are still looking for the student who may have a gun. we will keep you posted. this happened moments ago.

a national guard mane had to make an emergency landing in sky harbor airport in phoenix. it touched down right there. it ended okay. no one was injured. the big cleanup is underway across many parts of northern georgia. it will take a while for things to get back to normal. this home in austell, georgia, was completely destroyed by a fire. firefighters were unable to reach the home because of flooded streets. they were forced to let that fire burn itself out. that home completely destroyed. several major highways are open after being closed. six flags over georgia is flooded. portions of i-20 were closed to morning traffic. all lanes are back ohme. six flags over georgia. the theme park is closed but

officials say it could reopen by this weekend if waters recede. most metro students are back in school. several schools in outlying counties remain closed. one cobb county family says they narrowly escaped. >> i'm laughing and joking but i'm crying on the inside. because this is just unbelievable. i mean, when we left here yesterday we got stuck in the field with three kids and we broke the fence down trying to get out of here. so many sad stories from so many families. this may be the worst. we are hearing from the distraught father of that 2-year-old boy who drowned when they got trapped in flood waters. >> i just told slade it would be all right and i loved him. and we would make it but we didn't make it.

>> it is devastating to listen to. that happened on monday in a creek that turned into a raging river. the father was hanging on to the boy with one arm, to bushes with the other. the water was so powerful it pulled the boy away. so many families are suffering. if you would like to help out, just two to our impact your world page. you will find links to several organizations new to the scene. cnn.com/impact if you would like to help. president barack obama used his first appearance at the united nations to signal a new era in u.s./international policy. the president assured members the u.s. is ready to act as an equal partner with other countries. he described an almost reflexive anti-americanism by the world community to face tough issues. >> those who used to chas tice

america for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for america to solve the world's problems alone. we have sought in word and deed a new era of engagement with the world. and now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges. >> the president will continue his call for international cooperation at a meeting of the g-20 industrialized nations in pittsburgh tomorrow. to california now where hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire in ventura county. it is threatening 1,000 homes. live pictures for you. you see the smoke smoldering. that is 20% contained. it looks better than earlier this morning. there are shots from earlier. santa ana winds are fueling the flames.

850 firefighters are on the scene. three have been hurt, not severely. governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for ventura county. a woman who spent years trying to have another baby was mistakingly implanted with another woman's embryos. they turned to a fertility clinic after several difficulty pregnancies. they thought they were getting leftover embryos from their brief yous invitro fertilization. >> shawn came home and told me right away. it was just a very shocking moment. we -- i couldn't even comprehend what he was saying, i know i was yelling at him, asking if he was joking. clearly his physical demeanor indicated there was no joke about the news he was delivering to me. >> the couple did not reveal the name of the clinic they used but

they did give cnn several medical documents that proved the child is not theirs she is carrying. they will hand the baby over to the biological parents when she gives birth in a few weeks. we want to share with you some new public service announcements putting a light spin on a very serious suggest. aimed at referring breast cancer refer to breasts as chi chi's hooters and tatas. it is referred to as save the boobs. critics call the ads sexual and say such a serious subject should not be taken so lightly. are you offended or do you think that is what needs to happen to be effective? give us a call, ep 1-877-tell-hln. e-mail cnn.com/hln or our yous to hlntv. standard text rates apply.

we have video you have to see. the little girl in the video is okay even though it doesn't look that way. it looks like a car plows right into her. she is standing in a convenience store and an out of control car did that. the car was lifted over the 6-year-old. >> when the mom saw the video she had a moment there. she broke down for a bit. the dad just basically kind of coved his mouth and couldn't believe what he saw in the video. it happened so quick. >> imagine being her parents and seeing that. there she is. she's okay. the driver had a suspended license and is charged with reckless driving. close call for her. when you drop your kids off at school in the morning you expect them to make it home safely in the afternoon. the parents of a 7-year-old arizona girl said she didn't

come home from school on friday. wait until you hear where she was. gecko vo: businessmen say "hard work equals success." well, you're looking at, arguably, the world's most successful businessgecko. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule: "don't steal a coworker's egg salad, 'specially if it's marked "the gecko."

welcome back to hln. well, it seems the dalai lama has a good sense of humor. check out what happened when he met the mayor of memphis. >> here we have a tradition. ball your fist. it is the bump. they say you have a sense of humor, i always wanted to say hello dalai. >> the spiritual leader is receiving the international freedom award from the national civil rights museum. moe nar qaddafi spoke at the u.n. he chastised the world body for not treating members equally. he made several scathing

references to the u.n. security council he called the terror council. he said the five permanent council members treat smaller countries as second-class nations. its ambassador is president of the general assembly. qaddafi's appearance triggered protest. they denounced him for giving a hero's welcome to the lockerbie bomber. a 7-year-old girl in arizona says she was left alone in her school nurse's office before the staff left for the entire weekend. she tried to get out but the door was locked. her mother says a school janitor found her an hour after school shut down. the girl's mother says her daughter was traumatized. >> when she couldn't get anyone to come to her, she wet herself, all she could do is throw herself on the bed and cry and pray for mommy to come get her. >> a school official is calls

the incident unfortunate. the second grader is now at another school. with health care sucking up all the oxygen in washington, it is unclear whether climate change bill will pass this year. the epa is moving full steam ahead. we check in with cnnmoney.com's poppy har lou. >> big news. sort of being overshadowed by everything going on at the u.n. for the first time the epa is going to require big polluting companies to publicly disclose their emissions every year. how do you define big? 25,000 metric tons of these greenhouse gases. how much is that equivalent to 4,600 cars on the road every year, the emissions from them or 2,200 american homes. it is a very, very big amount. it is also about equal to

burning 58,000 barrels of oil or 131 cars full of coal when you talk about rail cars full of coal. this would apply to major power plants, some animal farms, major industrial operations are going to have to publicly disclose that information. >> before did they not have to disclose that or they did? >> it is a good question. yes, it is required for the big polluters when you talk about the major, major energy companies, for example. some environmentalists say power plants contribute 1/3 of total u.s. greenhouse gas emissions. this new epa rule will apply to 10,000 facilities, 85% of the nation's carbon emissions. churches and schools are exempt from this. some businesses are worried. they think it is a first step towards expensive government

regulation. that is still to be seen. the epa says the reporting is important no matter what. >> over and over again when it comes to environmental improvements one of the first and best tools we have a transparency and information. for the first time we'll start to compile a database of emegss over time. businesses can use it, citizens and we as regulators as well. >> the epa estimates, the private sector, it should cost $115 million the first year to gather the information and report it publicly and $72 million after that. this kicks off in january. it will take effect with the first report due in 2011. >> poppy, thanks for that report. former child star mckenzie phillips drops a bombshell about her past. she says she had sex with her father john phillips.ng sick and disturbing details.as 28% of your daily fiber.

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john travolta testified today at the trial of two people accused of trying to blackmail him after his son's death. a paramedic and former senator there tried to extort $25 million from john travolta over a document he apparently signed just before his 16-year-old son, jett died. it would have released emergency responders from liability if the family refused an ambulance. police say that didn't happen. one officer said travolta signed the release because he initially wanted his son taking to the airport instead of the hospital. he said jett was autistic and suffered seizures every five to ten days. he spoke about performing cpr on him the moments before he died. both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. former "one day at a time" star mckenzie phillips is

sharing shocking details about her life. a.j. hammer is in new york. a.j., some of these claims are amazing, very hard to hear. >> they come in her new tell all book. she wrote "high on arrival." what she reveals astounding, nothing we haven't heard before much of it from celebrities in terms of drugs and sex and rehabs and arrests. the shocker of shockers is a long time incest yous relationship with her dad from the mama and the papas, john phillips. listen to what she writes on her book. on the eve of my wedding my father showed up and determined to stop it. i had tons of pills. dad had tons of things. eventually i passed out on dad's bed. my father was not a man with boundaries. i woke up that night finding myself having sex with my own

father. she says this went on con sen yully for ten years. she has been keeping this to herself for 30 years. we've got wonder why is she talking about it now? all the reasons she stated. maybe keep this with a therapist. other people said she needed to say something so shocking when celebrity tell alls are a dime a dozen. >> she talked a lot about drug use, but almost tying the abuse with the drug use in a way. >> she does that. and she talks about how bad her addiction got. she appears on "the oprah winfrey show" today. what she told oprah about her drug use. >> turn off all the lights and creep around the house and peek out the window. i borrowed the person who was living here, i borrowed his by

kno binoculars and i spent hours staring into those trees and bushes outside of my house and i could swear that there were people in there watching me. >> of course, she was fired from the show "one day at a time" that made her famous because of her drug use. she says she is clean. she is going to be doing celebrity rehab in a few months. we have a lot to dig into on "showbiz tonight." much more on mckenzie phillips' claims. see you at 11:00 eastern for tv's most provocative news show. >> we want to get viewers updated. the federal reserve announced it is not raising short-term interest rates. the u.s. central bank will maintain its lending rate at a record low at near 0%. they announced the decision after a two-day meeting in new york. ben bernanke said the recession is very likely over, but they

are not concerned that inflation poses a threat to recovery. the dow up about 64 points up on the use. the latest news, not raising the interest rate. more on this after the break. this is hln news and views.

the federal reserve has just announced it is not raising short-term interest rates. it is not. the u.s. central bank will maintain lending rate near 0%. it announced that decision at the end of a two-day meeting in new york a short time ago. the fed is not concerned inflags poses a threat to economic recovery, but will scale back efforts to pump up the mortgage market. wall street had been treading water. investors waiting for that announcement. the dow jones up 60 points. we'll see how it goes. a college in st. paul, minnesota, is in lockdown still. an official at st. paul college

says a student reported seeing a man with a gun. police are inside that building going room to room looking for that person. all of the students are out of the building. they are safe. police will do another sweep to make sure no one is hiding in that building. we will keep you posted. the school on lockdown. police in tyler, texas, are holding a juvenile in connection with a stabbing death of a high school teacher. the victim as a musical therapist, todd henry, was attacked at the school this morning. his brother tells the a.p. henry worked with special needs students at john tyler high school. police are offering little information about the attack. the school district has issnot issued a statement. a national guard plane made an emergency landing at sky harbor international airport in phoenix. it had a blown front tire. touch and go but it did land

safely after circling the airport to burn off fuel it ended okay, no one was injured. in georgia now, the big clean uch is underway across many parts of the northern part of the state. it is going to take quite a while for things to get back to normal. as you see there, this home was destroyed by a fire. firefighters were not able to reach the home because of flooded streets. they were forced to let the fire burn itself out. several major highways are open after being closed because of high waters. portions of i-20 were closed to morning traffic. all lanes back open. that is six flags over georgia just outside of atlanta. you see the roller coaster sticking out of the flooded, murky water. the theme park is closed but officials say it could reopen by this weekend. most metro students are back in class after getting a rain day as schools cleaned up. several schools in outlying counties remain closed as well.

starting over is going to be very painful especially for one georgia family. their 2-year-old son was swept away, taken right out of their arms by the raging waters. wsp speaks with the grieving parents. >> i just told slade it would be all right and i loved him. and we would make it but we didn't make it. >> craig and bridget crawford comfort one another after losing their 2-year-old son slade. bridget's motherly instinct kicked in when she saw snake creek turned into a raging river. >> it was a body suit to put on the 1-year-old. i was looking for slade's floaties. i couldn't find them. craig tried to hold on to slade. >> i feel like i could have done better but it was just so hard. >> somehow bridget said she managed to hold on to 1-year-old

cooper and a tree limb for six hours all the while her body getting bruised from the water and debris. >> i kept trying to sing to him and shush him and tell him everything was going to be okay. >> you can see right here where our trailer sat. >> i walked with craig as he pointed to the tree that saved his life. >> that was his first harley outfit we got him. >> you can see what happened to their suv. take a look at what is left of their home. the emptiness in their hearts they can't replace. >> knowing we were in the creek five or six hours and my son was dead was so bad. i always want him to know that i love him. i'll see him one day. >> that is really such a heartbreaking story. our thanks to lori geary for that report. so many families are suffering after the devastating flooding, if you would like to help out head to our impact your

world webpage. you will find links to several organizations helping out at cnn.com/impact. president obama used his first appearance at the united nations to signal a new era in u.s./international policy. the president assured u.n. members the u.s. is ready to act as an equal parenter in in confronting global challenges. he described what he calls a reflexive anti-americanism he blames to face tough issues. >> those who chastise america for acting alone cannot now stand by and wait for america to solve the world's problems alone. we have sought in word and deed a new era of engagement with the world. and now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.

>> the president will continue his call for international cooperation at a meeting of the g-20 industrialized nations in pittsburgh tomorrow. some new public service announcements are putting a light spin on a very serious subject. we have been telling you about this today. psas refer to breasts as chi chis, hooters and tatas. the name of the campaign is save the boobs. the organization is trying to reach young people because breast cancer is the leading cause of death in young women. critics say such a serious subject should not be taken so lightly. are you offended by the ads or maybe you think they are effe effective? give us a call, 1-877-tell-hln, e-mail us cnn.com/hln or text the word views to hlntv. standard text rates apply. former child star mckenzie phillips is going public with a.

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john travolta testified today at the trial of two people accused of trying to blackmail him after his son's death. a paramedic and former senator there tried to extort $25 million from john travolta over a document he apparently signed just before his 16-year-old son, jett died. it would have released emergency responders from liability if the family refused an ambulance. police say that didn't happen. one officer said travolta signed the release because he initially wanted his son taking to the airport instead of the hospital. in travolta's testimony today he said jett was autistic and

suffered seizures every five to ten days. there he is entering the courtroom. he spoke about performing cpr on him the moments before he died. both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. howard k. stern was arraigned on 11 counts related to anna nicole smith. two doctors were arraigned on six felonies. all three pleaded not guilty. accusations that stern helped get prescriptions for opiates using a false name. search warrants said he put his name on drugs given to anna nicole smith. 44 medications were prescribed for smith under other names including stern's. former child star mckenzie phillips says she had an incestous relationship with her father, john phillips of the mamas and papas.

reggie joins us with more on this story that is being read about all day. people are shocked. >> i was shocked. i talked to a.j. hammer about this. one of the most shocking celebrity revelations we have ever heard. you might remember mckenzie phillips from "one day at a time" in the '70s. she had a very severe drug problem. now she is saying she has a sexual relationship with her father for ten years. john phillips who died in, i think 2001, so obviously he can't defend himself at this point. she is coming clean with this story. it did end up becoming a consensual relationship including sleeping with her father the night before her wedding. she is a recovering addict. she said her dad would shoot her up with heroin. she was on "one day at a time"

in the late '70s. her drug habit is one of the reasons she ended up off the show. her dad once suggested they leave the country where no one would look down on us. fiji, in the book "high on arrival" she claims her dad didn't want theory get married and entered the room before she got married and they had sex. she had a blackout and woke up and found him on top of her. she described it as she was having sex with him. she is appearing on "the oprah winfrey show" today. >> disturbing on so many levels. >> no kidding. >> we are talking about cigarette smoking. it can be hard to quit smoking. it gets a lot easier when a judge is handing it down. >> this is a bizarre sentence. this goes to maui, hawaii.

a guy was walking by a restaurant. he flicked a cigarette. that ended up starting a fire at the restaurant. that cigarette flicker pled guilty to third-degree property damage. you see him there. the judge says he is not allowed to use any tobacco products for a year. handing down that order, judge joel august said "perhaps it will add ten or 15 years to his life if he stops smoking." the punishment is unusual but serves the community and relates to the crime. another hawaiian judge said if someone swore in his courtroom he made them write i will never swear in court 10,000 times. a couple of judgments in my former state of hawaii. >> maybe will work. it is bad enough a teenager made his niece smoke marijuana. it is worse it was videotaped. find out how long he is going to

be in prison.

hundreds of california firefighter are battling a

wildfire in ventura county. live aerial shots. you see the billowing smoke in the distance. consumed 9,700 acres, threatening 1,000 homes. the santa ana winds are fuelling the flames. 864 firefighters are on the scene. four have been hurt. not severely. that is the latest information. governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency nor ventura county. we told you about st. paul college in minnesota now in lockdown. we have an i reporter on the line. moby. a student in the clemg. in a classroom on campus. moby, thanks for calling in. tell us what you saw and tleard? >> okay. basically we were just in class and an announcement came in over the school intercom about miss

wobegon something. we did not know what that was meant. then basic security came over to tell our teacher to lock the classroom. after that we got curious and looked out the window. our teacher said let's look and see what is going on. we looked out the window and there were cop cars outside. >> are you still on campus? when were you evacuated? >> i got out of the building at 1:00. i'm at the school campus. >> when you were looking out the window and seeing cop cars, what was going through your mind thinking about what happened at other college campuses like virginia tech? were you fearful? >> that is what me and my classmates brought up in class. we were scared that happening here. our teacher said he has been here for 35 years and such a thing has never happened. it was scary and people were

freaking out in class. >> was the officials, were the officials in the s.w.a.t. team giving you guidance when they decided to evacuate? >> oh, yeah. they were orderly and professional about evacuating us, completely professional. you would not think that scary was happening. it was really calm. >> that is good to hear. did you see anything in terms of a gunman or did any of your friends see anything? >> caller: no. not at all. we were in class. nobody in my class saw the gun. >> we're happy to hear that no violence has been reported there and that authorities seem to be taking it in stride and doing what they can to get the students out in orderly fashion. a person saw someone with a gun on campus. i reporter moby was gracious enough to call us at this tense moment. moby, thank you. >> caller: thank you. we want to take you to ohio where a man forced his

18-month-old niece to smoke marijuana. he is now going to prison for ten years. 19-year-old is videotaped giving the child a pot pipe. his 16-year-old girlfriend is serving six months for her part in this incident. they videotaped it. the video that captured that incident turned up at a columbus pawnshop with tape inside. we have more video you have to see. we want to tell you the little girl is okay enthough it looks like a car plows right into her. here she is leaning up against the wall at a convenience store. this car slams into the store. it hit a parking pole luckily that got wedged under the car lifting it right over the 6-year-old. >> and when the mom saw the video she had a moment there. she broke down for a bit.

the dad just basically kind of covered his mouth and couldn't believe what he saw in the video, how it happened so quick. >> there she is. she's okay. police say the driver had is chd with reckless driving. we have an exciting edition to the prime time lineup coming your way next week. "the joy behar show" we're talking about. here's a quick taste of what you'll be getting. her moment of joy commentary. >> so, i hear the ukraine has turned down elton john's request to adopt a 14-month-old ukrainian boy named lev. okay, who is in charge there? who is in charge there? i think i dated him. are you saying elton john is too old or too gay? he may be gay, but he also happens to be a celebrated humanitarian who has been knighted by the queen of england. in fact, some people think he is

the queen of england. this poor baby is unwanted, hiv positive, and stuck in some depressing orphanage that makes others look like a presidential suite with no prospects to move up in the world. where is he going to go? estonia? here's the chance to be taken in by two lovely fabulously rich parent who is will give him the best health care in the universe and dress him in versac versace jammies. now sir elton john may move on. meanwhile little lev will grow up in foster homes, turn into a bitter vodka swirling drunk and one day return to the orphan age saying you [ bleep ], i'm living in a dumpster when i could have had front row seats at the garden for the rest of my life and hung out with sting and elizabeth hurley. that's a sad story. maybe that's just me. >> that's next tuesday at 9:00 p.m. eastern.

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>> welcome to comcast local edition. my guest this hour is dr. faye williams, national chair of the national congress of black women. thank you so much for joining me. >> it's always great to be here. >> now, for those that may not know, what's the mission of the national congress of black women? >> well, we are an organization that works with the community, mainly with young people. we have a program for 9-12 years old where we teach them about the wonderful vocations there are in life. we bring in ambassadors, athletes, and we want them to

know that they can be more than a singer, dancer, or football player. we have another program for which comcast is our media partner on young ambassadors. we try to teach young adults to navigate life. we teach conflict resolution, about vocations, and about going to school, the importance of time management, discipline, that kind of thing. >> thou, you have an anniversary awards luncheon coming up. you recognize numerous women for their wonderful accomplishments. when is the luncheon? >> sunday, september 27th. people remember it by the sunday morning following the congressional black caucus. it's at 11:00 this year, which is a change of time. >> where is it located? >> this year at the united states naval yard, sixth and m street southeast. we're looking forward to having a wonderful time.

there's a beautiful view of the water there. >> and in celebrating your 25th anniversary, congratulations, by the way. >> thank youia who are some of our honorees? there's an extensive list. >> we always honor first our founding chairs and fathers. we want to salute them first. janet lange heart corn, we have several other women, we always honor the newly elected blank congresswomen. that will be marsha fudge this year. we have a judge from michigan, judge denise langhart mars, and i'm sure we have a couple of

more, a general manager of a car dealer, ms. craft from the area, and of course, our wonderful chair, president of the northern verge urban league laverne chapman. regina kelly, the subject of the movie american violet. >> you have an extensive list of women that touch us in so many areas of our lives. >> we have a good mother award. this year it's being received by peter harvey. we are honoring him, because as an attorney general, he worked very hard on domestic violence. that's one of our projects. we honored him. last year we were honored that have kami brown. >> thank you for honoring him.

>> we are probably the only organization in town that has a $75 fundraising ticket. that's the general admission. there are corporate tickets, member tickets, and general membership tickets, general public tickets. they are selling pretty fast this year. when they hear about the honorees, people want to bring their young children, especially young women to meet these people. they can meet the young lady that flew across the country. >> thank you for joining me. >> we hope to see you there this year. >> my pleasure, definitely. my guest has been dr. faye williams national chair of the national congress of black women. if you're interested in what comcast is doing in your area, go to on demand and click local. for comcast local edition, i'm

donna richardson.

we have this story just in to hln. a florida man has now apparently confessed to killing his wife and five children. damas faces six counts of first-degree murders for the deaths of his family. that's after police found his wife and children dead in a townhouse in naples, florida, on saturday. damas is a u.s. citizen. he fled to haiti. he was arrested on monday. he's being extradited to the u.s. he's now in custody at the collier county jail. this is what he told a reporter as he left the lockup. >> mr. damas, anything you want to say? >> yes.

i want to be buried with all my family. >> did you kill them? >> yes, i did. >> why? >> only god knows. >> you don't know? what happened, mr. damas? mr. damas, do you want to be sentenced to death, or do you want life in prison? >> i want death right away. i think my family probably buried this saturday coming up. i want the jury to give me death so i can bury with them the same time. >> what possessed you to do it? >> my mom pretty much made me do it. >> why? in what way? >> my mom is the devil. >> why in such a brutal way? why your children? what did they do? >> they did nothing. >> then why? why would you kill them? they're innocent? you believe in jesus christ? you believe in jesus? >> do you believe in jesus christ?

do you believe in the devil? >> i believe in jesus christ. i did it. mi eyes was closed. right now my eyes are open. >> are you going to go to heaven when you die? >> right now, yeah. but i was going to kill myself. i didn't have the courage to do it. if you do yourself, you're not going to heaven. >> when were you going to kill yourself? >> the same time it happened. i didn't have the courage to do it myself. >> damas claims his wife and an even spirit were causing the slayings. he said he had found forgiveness in christ. the big cleanup under way across much of northern georgia. it will take a while a long while, for things to get back to normal. just today a home in georgia destroyed by fire. firefighters, as was often the case during this ordeal, couldn't get to the house because the streets were flooded. they were forced to let this fire burn itself out. several major highways around atlanta have reopened now after being closed because of high waters. here's what it looked like at six flags over georgia.

the popular amusement park west of the city. right along it straddles i-20, which was closed in both directions. right now the theme park is closed. they hope to reopen by the weekend, assuming the waters recede. most metro students are back in class today. several schools in outlying county remain closed. one woman says her family narrowly escaped the rising waters. >> i'm laughing and joking about it, but i'm really crying on the inside. this is just unbelievable. i mean, when we left here yesterday we got stuck in the field with three kids, and we broke the fence down trying to get out of here. >> for the first time we're hearg from the distraught father of a 2-year-old boy who drowned when they got trapped in flood waters. >> i just told him it would be all right. and i loved him.

we would make it. but we didn't make it. >> this happened monday in a creek that turned into a raging river. the father was hanging onto brushes or anything he could. one arm on the brush. one arm on the boy. the water was too powerful, and the boy was pulled away. >> georgia governor sonny perdue is asking president barack obama to declare a state of emergency for several counties. the president has said the request for federal funds will deal with -- will receive prompt attention. storm and flood damage is now put at at least $250 million. hundreds of people whose homes were flooded in the recent storms have no flood insurance. they don't live in a floodplain. what's the definition of a floodplain? how do you get covered? clark howard joins us to talk about what they can do to recover from the loss and how you can prevent something like this from happening to you. clark, welcome. we caught an awful lot of people off guard. >> well, it is absolutely

devastating in people's lives. you see the loss of life, but also the loss of property that's going to take people so long to rebuild from. what's so awful on the financial side is most of the affected people had no flood coverage. they didn't live in a floodplain. their lender didn't require it. they didn't think they should buy it. here's the truth, if you live in an area that is low lying but not in a floodplain, flood insurance is extra, extra extra cheap to buy. people should do it. it is a simple thing to buy. you see what happened here and think wow, i'm glad that wasn't me. you prevent the financial harm from happening to you if flood waters ever come to visit your house. >> how about renters? >> renters can buy flood insurance so cheap. it started at $39 a year. $39 is nothing. >> yeah. if you weren't covered at all,

is there any way to get help? >> you know, that's why the federal disaster assistance is going to be so key. that will make low interest loans available to people who were not affected who didn't have flood insurance. the true fact of the matter is at lof of these people are going to be wiped out. because they will have no protection that will allow them to rebuild from anywhere. it's such an important lesson for all of us everywhere. >> how about homeowners associations? should they insist on every member buying flood insurance? if one guy gets wiped out, there goes the value of the whole unit. >> generally homeowners associations aren't in a position to do that. con do associations in many cases do participate in the federal flood insurance program. and that does rebuild. i own a con do where my condo. all of us are essentially

sharing in rebuilding those through the federal flood insurance. how do you avoid getting ripped off, real quickly? >> don't let anybody who comes by your house smiling work for you? you want to ask your insurer for a referral to people, ask your neighbors, dig back to people in the past. don't just hire any old stranger who shows up on your street and says they'll help you now. be patient until you can find a contractor that you have reason to believe is reputable. >> it's great to hear from you. thank you so much. right place, right time, right guy. much more on how you can protect yourself from flooding this weekend. don't miss it this weekend for saturdays and sunday. he'll help you with getting ripped off. the federal reserve is not raising short-term interest rating chlg.

e just learned they will maintain the rate at a record low near 0%. it announced the decision at a two-day meeting in new york. it's not concerned inflation posed a threat to economic recovery. hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire in ventura county. it's already consumed 9,700 acres and is threatening 1,000 homes. right now it's 20% contained and those hot santa ana winds are fuelling the flames. 800 firefighters are on the scene. four have been hurt, though not seriously. governor schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for ventura county. now public service announcements are putting a light spin on the very serious subject. they are aimed at preventing breast cancer refer to breasts as hooters, cha-chas and the person behind it says her organization is trying to reach young people because breast cancer is the leading cancer cause of death in young women.

critics call the ads overly sexually and say such a serious subject shouldn't be taken so lightly. how about you? call us toll free and tell us what you think. you can e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. or text views plus your comment and name to hlntv. standard text rates apply. we'll hear from you all day. many police departments have adopted the motto to protect and serve. some cops apparently decided that that means to play video games. during a drug bust. you'll see surveillance video just ahead. we created our college of business and management... after collaborating with business leaders. we wanted our curriculum to match market needs, preparing you for today's most sought-after careers. in fact, we have not one but five specialized colleges, offering you bachelor's degree programs that... are both relevant and highly marketable. devry university. discover education working at devry.edu.

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president obama is signaling a new era in u.s. international policy. he assured members the u.s. is ready to act assen equal partner in confronting global challenges and described what he called a reflexive anti-americanism. he blames collective inaction by

the world community to face tough issues. the president will continue his call for international cooperation at the the meeting of the g-20 industrialized nations beginning tomorrow in pittsburgh. another first today at the world body as mohe chastised th world body for not treating members equally. he says that's a violation of the u.n. charter. his appearance triggered protests outside the u.n. some denounced him for giving a hero's welcome to the lockerbie bombers. right now a new york suburb is trying to evict the libyan leader, even though it's not clear he planned to go there. the town of bedford has ordered workers to stop pitching a large tent on property owned by developer donald trump. the trump organization won't

confi confirm. we have this video. first we want to tell you the little girl is okay. it looks like it's caused serious injury. this is a convenience store. police in washington state say an out of control car hit the store and then a parking pole, and you can see the little girl wedged under the car, lifting it over the 6-year-old ch watch it again. she had a moment there. she broke down for a bit. the bad just basically kind of covered his mouth and just couldn't believe what he saw in the video, how it happened so quick. >> again, she's okay. police say the driver had a suspended license and is charged with reckless driving. what are you doing next tuesday night? we have an exciting edition to the prime time lineup here. "the joy behar show" kicks off tuesday, september 29th. be sure to tune in. a long, tense standoff at a chicago veterans hospital.

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the standoff at the hospital is over. it ended peacefully after a man who barricaded himself inside an exam room surrendered. the e.r. had to be evacuated once the man went in. no one was hurt. one witness said he saw the armed suspect after he heard a shot. >> the doctor just got through telling me i was okay and able to give me medicine. they went tout the room. about 30 seconds after they went out the room then i heard like a pow. i knew it was a gunshot. i started unhooking the ekg off me. i headed to the door and seen the guy with a gun to his head. >> local media reported the man told the medical technician he just killed his parents. police are investigating a double homicide. so far they have not linked him to this the killings.

u.s. border agents open fire at three vans trying to storm pass inspectors to the u.s. from new mexico. this happened south of san diego yesterday. it shut down the biggest border crossing for four hours. agents fired shots across nine lanes of traffic to stop the vehicles. four people were hurt. twp -- i'm sorry, two drivers and 74 immigrants crammed into the van are in federal custody. a former girlfriend claims the man accused of killing a yale university graduate student was extremely controlling and sometimes got physical with her. raymond clark is accused of killing annie le on campus. she said clark told her what clothes she could wear and who she could have as friends. he sometimes got so angry she was frightened. the victim, annie le, will be buried saturday in california. today is being remembered during a service at her fiancee's new york synagogue. john travolta is in the

bahamas where he's testifying. he acknowledged his son jet was a autistic and had seizures. prosecutors accuse a paramedic and former senator of trying to extort $25 million from travolta over a document before he died. but police say it never happened. one officer testified travolta signed the release because he initially wanted his son taken to the air force instead of the hospital. a private swim club in pennsylvania accused of turning away daycare kids because of the color of their skin might have to pay up. the state panel has ruled racism was likely part of the june decision by the philadelphia area club. the panel ordered monetary damages of no more than $50,000. its lawyers blame the media fire

storm and say they'll appeal the ruling. love may not cost a thing, but a wedding sure does. the average wedding costs $25,000. that figure varies widely. many couples are looking for ways to cut expenses. smart money's stephanie joins us now with three tips that your guests will never know. what are the savings, stephanie? >> my first tip is to get married in the off season. out of all the weddings only 5% occur in the month of january. getting married in the off season, which in this most places means the winter, means much less competition for vendors. that means you can negotiate like crazy. you could, for example, save up to 50% on whatever location you choose for your reception. now, if you do want to get married during the wedding high season, you can save a bundle by getting married at any time other than a saturday night. you could consider a friday night or a sunday night wedding.

or you could do a day wedding, which can be quite lovely. >> now a lot of stores make a lot of money off of weddings. are there discount outlets you go to? >> the wedding industry seems to be a racket. you say the word wedding and it seems like prices automatically double. a great place to look for wedding items is the big warehouse clubs. get great deals on all sorts of wedding items like flowers invitations and wedding bands. you could go with a simple gold wedding band and save as much as 60% on what you would pay at a high end jewelry store. >> how about the wedding cake? any way to save money on that? >> here's a little bait and switch that could save you hundreds of dollars. go for the wedding cake of your dreams, but get a smaller version of it than what you would need to serve all your guests. then supplement that with cheap cake in the exact same flavor. most of the wedding cake is sliced and plated behind closed doors. your guests will never know the difference.

>> are congratulations in order for you? >> yes, yes. >> when is the big day? >> it's in january. >> it's in january. there's you go. >> yes, i'm following my advice. >> little different in san francisco. the weather is pretty nice in january. but congratulations. >> thank you. thank you so much. >> all right. general motors says it's recalling 2400 employees as it raises output at three factories. that's good news in a bad economy. gm needs to make up production lost from this year's factory consolidation. it's going to 24 hour operations at factories in michigan and indiana and a big one in kansas city. gm said the additional production will also mean 600 workers will be back on the job at stamping engine and casting facilities. a new effort aimed at preventing breast cancer is raising eyebrows. do these images look helpful or are they too offensive to be effective? we'll hear your views. (announcer) sleep can help lighten your mood...

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the big cleanup under way across much of northern georgia. it will take a long while for things the to get back to normal. today this home was destroyed by fire. they couldn't get to the house to put it out because of tloo d flooded streets. that's been the case for days. they were forced to let the fire burn itself out. several major arteries throughout atlanta have been reopened. another look at six flags over georgia along interstate 20 west of the city. that interstate closed in both directions during the last couple of days. those lanes have now reopened for the evening rush. these are pictures taken earlier at six flags, which is essentially a water park. the theme park has been closed

for days. they should be able to reopen this weekend. most students back in class after getting a rain day for a couple of days. several schools in outlying counties remain closed. the heavy rain that devastated the southeast the past week have claimed nine lives in georgia and one in alabama. here you can hear a mother of two who lost her life plead for help during a 911 call before daybreak monday. >> oh my god. please help me quickly. >> i'm right here, ma'am. calm down. >> it's making me down. >> stay on the phone with me. >> you're not going to drown. we're going to be there for you. just stay with me, okay? >> okay. >> stay with me. >> okay. >> try to grab onto something above. >> nothing. nothing. >> okay.

stay on the phone with me okay? [ inaudible ] >> i understand. i hear you. i'm going to be right here. i'm going to stay right here with you, okay? >> she had just finished her overnight shift. she was 3/10 of a mile from her home when the minivan was swept under the water. if you would like to help the families hit hard by flooding go to impact your world web page that's at cnn.com/impact. hope you can help. hundreds of california firefighters need some help. they're battling a wildfire in ventura county. it's consumed 9,700 acres. it's now threatening a thousand homes. right now the fire is 20% contained. the hot santa ana winds are fuelling the flames.

850 firefighters are on scene. four have been hurt. none seriously. governor schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for ventura county. a college in st. paul, minnesota, is in lockdown. an official said a student reported seeing a man with a gun. no shots have been fired. at least we've heard no reports of that. police with automatic weapons are inside the building going room by room looking for that person. the students have been evacuated and dismissed from school for the rest of the day. police are interviewing the woman who made the 911 call and checking surveillance video. they say they'll make another sweep to make sure no one is hiding in the building. we'll keep you posted as we get more info from the twin cities. just a few moments ago susan hendricks had a chance to speak to i-reporter. she goes by the name moby, easier to remember. a student at st. paul, college, in a classroom on campus when the lockdown began.

>> caller: we were just in class. the announcement came in over the radio, the school intercom, about we just kept ongoing. we did not know what that meant. a while later security came over. school security came over to tell our teachers to lock the classroom. we said let's see what's going on. we all looked out the window, and yeah, there were cop cars outside. >> are you still on campus there. when were you evacuated? >> i got out at exactly 1:00. i got out of the building exactly 1:00. i'm still on the school campus right now. >> so when you were looking out the window and seeing all the cop cars, what was going through your mind after thinking about what has happened at other college campuses like virginia tech. were your fearful? >> exactly. that's what me and my class mays brought up in class. we were, of course, scared that

goodness, that happened here. apparently our teacher said he's been here for 35 years and such a thing has never happened. it was really, really scary. people were freaking out in class. >> and was the officials -- were the officials on the scene there and the s.w.a.t. team giving you guidance when they decided to evacuate? >> caller: oh, yeah. oh, yeah. they were really, really orderly and professional about evacua evacuating us. completely professional. you would not think anything that scary was happening. it was calm. >> did you see anything in terms of a gunman? >> no, not at all. we were in class. nobody in my class, nobody that i know actually saw the gunman. >> well, again, the building is under lockdown. the evacuation has been completed. they're doing yet another sweep of the building. this occurred around 11:00 a.m.

the if you have pictures of video or breaking news or cool stories for where you are, head to ireport.com. in tyler, texas, police say they're holding a juvenile in connection with the stabbing death of a high school teacher. the victim identified by a relative as music therapist todd henry was attacked at the school this morning. his brothers tells the a.p. henry worked with special needs student at john tyler high school. police are offering little information about the attack and the school district has not issued a statement. the last person to see missing florida girl haleigh cummings has skipped town. misty cummings, who married haleigh's father after she is di appeared took off after police questioned her brother about her whereabouts. tommy croslin said he banged on the door trying to find his sister and she never answered.

and another talked about an argument misty had with her husband just before she took off. >> art, what was the bitter argument about? >> i can tell you that sources tell me that ronald threw her clothes out, threw her out, and she was going down the road when he runs after her, apologizes and brings her back. it's unclear what it was about, nancy. but it was not pretty. >> let's look at the timing. what was happening at the time they had the bitter feud? was that when the pond was being drained? what was happening? >> it was around that time. a lot of uncertainty. a lot of rumors about the pond. rumors haleigh's body was found. rumors they found a car in the pond. none of it true. >> misty's brother told the story after he was arrested on unrelated charges. now investigators are using gps to track misty through her cell phone. what's behind the latest twist

in the case? nancy grace investigates at 8:00 and 10:00 here on hln. former child star mackenzie phillips is going public with a stunning family secret.

john travolta is in the bahamas. in his testimony he acknowledged his son jett was autistic and had seizures every five to ten days. he said he performed cpr on the boy moments before he died. prosecutors accuse a paramedic and a former senator of trying to extort $25 million from travolta over a document he had signed just before jett died.

a document that would have released emergency responders from liability if the family refused an ambulance, but police say that didn't happen. one officer testified travolta signed the release because he initially wanted his son taken to the airport instead of the hospital. howard k. stern was arrai arraigned on 11 felon counts. two of her doctors were each arraigned on six felons as well. all three pleaded not guilty. new charges include accusations that he helped get prescriptions for opiates using a false name. he put his name on prescriptions for drugs given to smith. 44 different meds were prescribed for her under other names including stern's. former one day at a time star mackenzie phillips is sharing shocking details about her life. she reveals she had a long term incestuous relationship with her dad. john phillips was the pop star

in the 1960s. a member of the mamas and the papas. you remember "monday, monday" and "california dreaming." he died in 2001. she said the first time it happened was the night before her wedding. her dad showed up to stop the marriage and ended up taking tons of pills. she passed out and woke up to find herself having sex with her dad. after that phillips says it was consensual. phillips' confessions don't stop there. hear the shocking claims tonight on tv east most provocative entertainment news show. 11:00 eastern and pacific here on hln. a georgia man indicted on felon charges in the attack on an african-american woman outside a cracker barrel restaurant while her little girl looked on. troy west faced criminal charges including aggravated assault and cruelty to children. he'll stay in jail until they request a bond hearing.

police say west assaulted the woman, yelling racial slurs just because she told him to be careful. he reportedly hid the 7-year-old daughter with a restaurant door. they're investigating to see if he should be charged with a hate crime. an accident involving a school bus and car left one person dead and another seriously hurt. you can see the car. there it is on the right of the screen. crushed under the weight of the school bus. no kids were on board the bus at the time. the phoenix fire department said the bus ran over the car with two people inside. one passenger died at the scene. a second rushed to a hospital with critical injuries. an ohio couple that went to a fertility clinic for help with a pregnancy is going to have a baby. the question, whose baby? find out about a shocking mixup next.

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as these may worsen with spiriva. also discuss the medicines you take, even eye drops. side effects may include dry mouth, constipation and troublpassing urine. my doctor said i could be doing more to breathe better and now i am. announcer: ask your doctor about lifestyle changes and once-daily spiriva. a united nations senator from kentucky has been caught sleeping on the job during a rather important session. republican jim bunning took a cat nap during the finance committee meeting discussing health care reform. the one proposed by the chairman, senator max baucus.

before nodding off he complained the legislation takes more money from taxpayers and tramples on american freedom and liberties. the staffer finally nudged his shoulder when it was clear other member senators and members of the audience noticed him snoozing. 19-year-old melvin video tapes himself giving his niece a pot pipe. he pleaded guilty to pot charges. his 16-year-old girlfriend is serving six months in al juvenile facility for her part in the incident. it all came to life when a cam corder that captured the incident turned up at a pawnshop with the tape still inside. autopsies completed in the multiple murder case from a small farm town in illinois. a married couple of three and three of their children were found brutally murdered inside their home on monday. they weren't shot, but authorities aren't saying thousand they were killed. the initial 911 call suggest ad possible shooting at the home.

the only survivor, a 3-year-old girl, is in a hospital. police are looking for a gray ford pickup with unusual tail pipes that might be connected to the case. a woman who spent years trying to have another baby was mistakenly implanted with another woman's embryo. carolyn savage and her husband turned to a fertility clinic. they thought they were getting leftover embryos from her previous invitro fertilization. instead the facility called up and said she had become an unwilling surrogate for another family. >> sean told me right away. it was just a shocking moment. i couldn't comprehend what he was saying. i know i was kind of yelling at him, asking him if he was joking. clearly his physical demeanor indicated there was no joke about the news he was delivering to me. >> the couple wouldn't reveal the name of the clinic they

used. they did give cnn several medical documents to prove the kid isn't theirs. they'll hand over the baby to the biological parents when she delivers in a few weeks. with health care sucking up the oxygen, it's unclear if it will pass this year. the epa is moving full steam ahead. let's check in with cnnmoney.com's poppy harlow. >> big announcement overshadowed when you look at what's going on with the united nations, the g-20 kicking off. this is the first time the epa is going to require big polluters to publicly disclose their emissions. they're going to have to do it every year. this is about 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases emitted a year. how much is that? let's compare it to things we can understand. about 4,600 cars on the road every year. the emissions from those. about 2,200 homes or the equivalent of burning 58,000

barrels of oil. so we're talking a big number. this is generally going to apply to power plants, some animal companies across the country. major industrial operations are going to have to collect the data and report it every year now. >> powerplants now don't str to disclose their emissions or do they? >> they do. it's required under the clean air act. some of the other industries don't. now they'll have to. some environmentalists also say the power plants only contribute about 1/3 of total u.s. greenhouse gas emissions. the new rules will apply to about 10,000 facilities all across america covering about 85% of carbon emissions in the country. we should note at churches and schools are exempt from this. still some businesses are worried. they say this might be just another step towards expensive government regulations for us. but the reporting is important

no matter what, the epa says. >> over and over again when it comes to environmental improvements one of the first and best we have is transparency and information. for the first time we'll start to compile a data base of emissions over time. a database emissions over time. businesses can use it. citizens can use it. certainly, we as regulars, can use it as well. >> all right, and let's talk about cost here, chuck, as we wrap up, the epa says it will cost the private sector about $15 million a year to gather and report that data and about $72 million each year after that. kicking off in january that first report from companies will be due in 2011. chuck? >> all right, poppy, i appreciate it. thanks. you can get all of the business news of the day, up to the minute, at cnnmoney.com. check it out. speaking of up to the minute, the federal reserve, a few hours ago, declared it would not raise short-term interest rates. the central bank is going to maintain the lending rate at a record low of near 0%. it did announce a decisionalt the end of the two-day meeting in new york, it isn't concerned of inflation right now.

poses a threat to recovery. but tell start apparently to scale back its efforts to pump up the mortgage markets. well, wall street heard these wonders from the fed, and the dow has taken a turn toward the downside. it had been up most of the session. the central bank reported that economic activity's picked up but it didn't help the market mood. the dow is off, and in fact, it's off a little bit more than it was just a few moments ago, down about 67 points or so heading toward that closing bell in about nine minutes. many people would get an extra 13 weeks of unemployment benefits under a bill approved by the house yesterday. this extension will be aimed at those states where unemployment is more than 8.5%. right now, that's more than half of the country. 314,000 families would have run out of unemployment benefits this month without the extension. that number could top a million in the months ahead. benefits for unemployment range from $40 to $50 a week depending on the area. >> laying on the buoy, so i thought she was, you know, dead.

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a family brutally killed in florida, and now a strange public confession. hear what the man accused of killing his wife and five children has to say for himself. picking up the pieces after the disaster in the southeast, as people begin the process of recovery. a father relives the horror of losing his young son to those floodwaters. and some eye-opening ads about a pretty serious disease. are they effective? are they offensive? we will share your views. welcome to "hln news & views." hi, i'm richelle carey. thank you always for your time. this just into hln, a florida man apparently confesses to killing his wife and his five

children. mesac damas is facing six counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his family. that's after police found his wife and children dead in a town house in naples, florida, saturday night. damas is a u.s. citizen but had taken off to haiti where he was arrested monday. he was taken back to the u.s., and is now in custody at the collier county jail. this is what he told a reporter as he left jail in port-au-prince. >> mr. damas, anything you want to say? >> yes. -- >> did you kill them? >> yes, i did. >> why? >> only god knows. >> you don't know? what happened, mr. damas? mr. damas, do you want to be sentenced to death or do you want life in prison? >> i want death. i think my family probably

buried in saturday coming up. i want the jury to give me death with them at same sometime why, why did do you it? what possessed you do it. >> her mom made ne do it. her mom, her mom spit, whatever she is serving -- >> why in such a brutal way, why children, your children? what did they do? >> they do nothing. they innocent. >> then why, why would you kill them if they're innocent? >> if you believe in jesus christ? do you believe in jesus? >> do you believe in jesus christ. >> do you believe in jesus. >> do you believe in the devil. >> do you believe in jesus christ? i did it. with my eyes closed. now my eyes are opened. >> are you going to heaven when you die. >> right now, yeah. but i was going to kill myself. but i didn't have the courage to do it because if you kill yourself you are not going it heaven. >> when are going to kill yourself. >> the same time it happened. but i didn't have the time -- i

didn't have the courage myself. >> family members say the victim's throats were cut. damas says he's found forgiveness in christianity. local media are reporting police are conducting extensive security sweeps at a technical college in st. paul, minnesota. an official at st. paul college says a student reported saying a man with a gun. so police went inside the building going room to room. they haven't found anyone so far. the students are being systematically evacuated. getting them off that campus. police say they'll continue sweeps to make sure no one is hiding in that building. we'll keep you posted on the story as we get more information. police in tyler, texas, that's in east texas, say they're holding a juvenile in connection with the stabbing death of a high schoolteacher. this victim was killed at school on campus this morning. relatives identified him as music therapist todd henry. his brother is telling the

associated press that henry worked with special needs students at john tyler high school. the school district superintendent says the teacher was attacked in a classroom. classes were canceled at the school today. hundreds of california firefighters are battling a wildfire in ventura county. it has consumed 9,700 acres and it is threatening about a thousand homes as well. right now, this fire's only about 20% contained. and those santa ana winds are fueling those flames. 850 firefighters are on the scene. four have been hurt because of this. not seriously. governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for that county. while they try to get a handle on that. for the first time, we're hearing from the distraught father of that little 2-year-old boy right there. he drowned when they got trapped in the floodwaters. listen. >> i just told him it would be

all right and that i loved him and we would make it, but we didn't make it. >> no, that little boy did not make it. this happened monday. in a creek, it's just a small creek that turned into a raging river. the father was hanging onto the bushes with one arm and hanging onto his child with the other. but the water was so strong and eventually pulled his little boy away. and the cleanup is under way across many parts of georgia. several major highways around atlanta are open after being closed because of the high water. portions of interstate 20 west of the city were closed to morning traffic. all lanes are open. again, right now. and most metro students are back in class today after getting a rain day because the schools had to clean up the mess but several schools in the outlying counties, they are still closed. and if you would like to help some of the families hit really, really hard by all of this flooding go to impact your world. go to that web page.

you will find links to several organizations now on the scene trying to help these people. that's at cnn.com/impact. it's a mess, folks. it's a mess. a national guard plane had to make an emergency landing in the sky harbor airport in phoenix today. there were four people on board. what was the emergency? a blown front tire. it did end up landing safely, as you can see it circled the airport first to burn some extra fuel. everything turned out okay. and nobody was hurt. well, our news topic today focuses on some new public service announcement putting a light spin on a really serious subject. these psas are aimed at preventing breast cancer, and they refer to breasts as hooters tatas, chichis. the person behind it says her organization is trying to reach young people because breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in young women. critics say the ads are sexual

and that it's really too serious of a topic to be taken so lightly. so we're going to hear some of what you have to say about this in just a few minutes. lots of kmoents my facebook page. we have an exciting edition to our primetime lineup coming up your way next week. "the joy behar show" every night 9:00 p.m. eastern time right here on hln and a quick taste of what you will get. it's a "moment of joy" commentary. >> so, i hear that ukraine has turned down elton john's request to adopt a 14-month-old ukrainian boy named lev. okay, who's in charge there? who's in charge now? victor ushiancoe. i think i dated him. listen, victsor, are you saying that elton john is too old or too gay? uh-huh. he may be gay but he also happens to be a celebrated humanitarian and who's been knighted by the queen of

england. in fact some people think he is the queen of england. this baby, this poor baby is unwanted, hiv-positive, and stuck in some depressing orph orphanage that makes abu ghraib looks like the presidential suite at the waldorf with no prospects to move up in the world. where is he going to go? estonia? and here's the chance to be taken in by two loving, fabulously rich parents whole give him the best health care in the universe and dress him in versace jammies and cashmere huggies and now elton will move on and find some other more tolerant country willing to let him be a dad. meanwhile, little lev am likely grow up in foster homes, turn into a bitter drunk and one day he will return to that orphanage and say, you [ bleep ], i am living in a dump ter when i could have had front row seats in the garden for the rest of my life and hung outs with sting and elizabeth hurley and that's a sad, sad story but maybe that's just me. >> how in the world do i follow

that? "the joy behar show" premieres next tuesday 9:00 p.m. eastern time but you can check it out now at cnn.com/joy. john travolta testify in the tile of two people accused blackmailing him after his son's death. what the actor said in court today about his child's final moments. let's get chinese

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see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. i know symbicort won't replace a rescue inhaler. within 15 minutes symbicort starts to improve my lung function and begins to treat my symptoms. that makes symbicort a good choice for me. you have choices. ask your doctor if symbicort is right for you. (announcer) if you cannot afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. a georgia man has been indicted on felony charges in an attack on a black woman outside a cracker barrel restaurant. this happened while her little girl was watching. troy west faces several criminal charge, including aggravated assault, false imprisonment and cruelty to children. he's going to stay in jail just outside atlanta until a request, a bond hearing. his lawyer has declined comments so far. police say that west assaulted the woman, yelling racial slurs

because she told him to be careful. reportedly, nearly hit her 7-year-old daughter with the restaurant door. federal authorities are investigating to see if west should be charged with a hate crime. and you'll remember this story from the summer. a private swim club accused of turning away day care kids because of the color of their skin might have to pay up. a state panel where racism was likely part of this decision in june by this swim club in the philadelphia area. so the panel ordered monetary damages of no more than $50,000. the swim club is denying these allegations. and its lawyers blamed the media firestorm and they say they will appeal this ruling. john travolta's in the bahamas where high testified at the trial of two people accused of trying to blackmail him in his death. in his testimony he acknowledged his son jett was autistic and had seizures every five to ten

days. travolta said he performed cpr on his son in the moments before he died. he was just 16 years old. prosecutors accuse a paramedic and a former senator of trying to extort $25 million of travolta over a document he signed just before jett died. the document would have released emergency responders from liability if the family refused an ambulance, but police say that didn't happen. one officer testified, travolta signed the release because he initially wanted his son taken to the airport instead of the hospital. howard k. stern was formally charged today on 11 felony counts related to his former girlfriend, anna nicole smith drug abuse. all three pleaded not guilty. the new charges include accusations stern helped get prescriptions for opiates using a false name. search warrants say he put his name on the prescriptions for drugs that were actually given to smith.

44 different medications were allegedly prescribed for smith under other names including howard k. stern's. the last person to see missing florida girl, haleigh cummings has apparently skipped down. misty croslin cummings who married haleigh's father after she disappearedants. parentally took off arch police questioned her brother about her whereabouts that night.croslin, door and she didn't come, didn't answer the door. art harris talked about an argument that she had just before she took off. >> art, what was the bitter argument about? >> well, i can tell you that sources tell me that ronald actually threw her clothes out. threw her out. and she was going down the road when he runs after her apologizes and brings her back. so it's unclear what it was about, nancy. but it was not pretty.

>> let's look at the timing, art harris. what was happening at the time they have the bitter feud? was that when the pond was being drained? what was happening? >> it was around that time, nancy. a lot of uncertainty. a lot of rumors about the pond. rumors that haleigh's body was found. rumors that they found a car in the pond. none of it true. >> tom croslin told the story after he was arrested on unrelated charges. investigators are now using gps to track misty's whereabouts that night through her cell phones. an ohio couple that went to a fertility clinic for help with the pregnancy, we're going to have a baby. the question is, who's baby? find out about the shocking mix find out about the shocking mix up. resso. your chicken tuscany says it has fiber in it. yep. four tasty new soups with 28% of your daily fiber. but i like this chicken tuscany., i like it too. but it has fiber in it. that's right. fiber? yeah. but i like it. (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. gathering dust, as pollen floats through the air.

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iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad will speak to the u.n. general assembly tonight. it's not the first time the iranian leader has come to the u.n., but this year has visit

has triggered angry protest. their goal is to bring attention to the human rights abuses in iran after june's disputed presidential election. of course you remember that. we covered that for weeks. whim many chanted democracy in iran and our president is not ahmadinejad. in a recent interview the iranian leader said obama should see iran as a potential friend north a threat. but he says his country won't budge on its nuclear plans. also the families of three american hikers detained in iran, they are watching ahmadinejad closely. the three were hiking in iraq when they strayed across iranian territory. ahmadinejad said he'll ask the courts to treat their case with "maximum lenience." and that gave the hiker's families new hope. >> we still don't have word from them. we haven't gotten a phone call. we haven't been able to receive a letter to send a letter so we've had no contact and that's been extremely difficult. but again we're hoping that

we'll get to -- to give them a big hug at this point we're hopping for their quick release. >> the hikers have been held in iran for 53 days now. president obama used his first appearance at the united nations to signal a new era in u.s. international policy. the president assured u.n. members, the u.s. is ready to act as an equal partners with other countries confronting global challenges. he blames for collective inaction by the world community to face tough issues. a woman who spent years trying to have another baby was mistakenly implanted with another woman's embryos. yes, you heard me right. carolyn savage and her husband turned to a fertility clinic after several difficult pregnancies in the past. they thought they were getting some of their leftover embryos from previous in vitro.

well, instead the clinic called them to say she'd become a surrogate for another family. >> sean came home and told me right away. it was just a very shocking moment. we -- i couldn't even comprehend what he was saying. i know i was kind of yelling at him, asking him if he was joking. clearly his physical demeanor indicated that there was no joke about the news he was delivering to me. >> the couple would not reveal the name of the clinic they used, but they did give cnn several medical documents that prove this child is not theirs. they will hand over the baby to the biological parents when she gives birth. that's going to be in a few weeks. the federal reserve gave a boost to the stock market this afternoon. stephanie elam joins us from new york to tell us if there were any surprises coming out of the fed's two-day meeting, and i like stephanie, because she makes this english for us who

really don't understand it that well. >> reporter: well, thank you very much. that's a high compliment, richelle. yes, the fed kept short-term interest rates steady at a range near zero and did say that the fed -- or that the economy is improving. that's sparked a brief rally but here's the thing it didn't last. the dow slip at 81 points. nasdaq off 14 points to 2131. the s&p 500 losing oh a little over 1%. one stock on the move today was general mills, up more than 4.5%. the maker of cherios and hamburger helper say profits surged 50% last quarter and it raised its four year profit forecast. the central bank says economic activity's showing signs of life as financial markets and the housing sector continue to improve. but unemployment picture, well, it remains bleak, and tight credit, sluggish income growth, and poor home values are having a big impact on an already cash-strapped consumers. the fed expects tough economic conditions to persist for a while. that's the latest.

back to you. >> stephanie have, a good one. >> reporter: you too. a new effort aimed at preventing breast cancer. are they offensive?o what in the world? we'll hear your views next.no havin' a cuppa tea. gecko vo: takes lots of sweat to become that big. gecko vo: 'course, geckos don't literally sweat... it's just not our thing... gecko vo: ...but i do work hard, mind you. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule: "don't steal a coworker's egg salad, 'specially if it's marked "the gecko." come on people.

local media reporting police are conducting extensive security sweeps. this is happening at a technical college in st. paul, minnesota. an official at st. paul college says that a student reported seeing a man with a gun. so police went inside the building but going room to room. so far they haven't found anybody. and they're getting students off the campus very carefully. trying to evacuate this place. police say they'll continue these sweeps to make sure no one is hiding in the building. and will continue to keep you posted on this. you can see the video of them getting people out of the building there. a florida man has apparently

confessed to killing his wife and his five children. mesac damas is facing six counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his family. police found his wife and children dead in a townhouse in naples, florida, saturday night. damas is a u.s. citizen but he'd taken off to haiti and then he was arrested there monday. he was taken back to the u.s. he's now in custody at the collier county jail. this is what he told a reporter as he left jail in port-au-prince. listen to this. >> reporter: mr. damas, anything you want to say? >> yes. i want to be bur weed my family. that's what i want to do. >> reporter: did you kill them. >> yes, i did. >> reporter: why? >> only god knows. >> reporter: you don't know? >> no. >> reporter: what happened, mr. damas? mr. damas, do you want to be sentenced to death or do you want life in prison?

>> i want death right away because i think my family probably buried in saturday coming up. i want the jury to give me death right now so i can bury with them at same time. >> reporter: why? why did do you it? what possessed you to do it. >> her mom pretty much made me do it. >> why? >> her spirit, whatever she's serving -- >> reporter: why in such a brutal way? why children? your children? what did they do. >> they don't do nothing, they're innocent. everyone was innocent. >> reporter: then why would you kill them if they're innocent? >> do you believe in jesus christ? do you believe in jesus? >> reporter: do you believe in jesus christ? do you believe in jesus? >> reporter: do you believe in the devil? >> i believe in jesus christ. when i did it, my eye wases was closed and right now my eye's opened. >> reporter: are you going to go to heaven when you die? >> right now, yeah. right now. but if i kill -- i was going to kill myself but i didn't have

the courage to do it because if you kill yourself you're not going to heaven. >> reporter: when were you going to kill yourself. >> the same time that it happened. but i didn't have the time -- i didn't have the courage to do it myself. >> family members say the victim's throats were slashed. damas says he's found forgiveness in christianity. he's being held without bond. the cleanup is under way across many parts of georgia after this week's severe flooding. look at six flags there. several major highways around atlanta are open, but they were closed for quite a while because of the high waters. portions of interstate 20 west of the city were closed to traffic this morning. all lanes are back open now. most metro students are back in class today. they got a rain day because the schools had to cleanup. but several schools in the outlying counties, they are still closed. starting over, though, is going to be especially painful for one georgia family. their 2-year-old son was swept

away by the raging waters. lori geary of affiliate atlanta, affiliate wsb, speaks with the grieving parents. >> i was just told him it would be all right and that i loved him and we would make it, but we didn't make it. >> reporter: craig and bridget crawford comfort one another after losing their 2-year-old son slade. bridgette's motherly instinct kicked in when she looked out and saw snake creek had turned into a raging river. >> it was like a bodysuit, a little life jacket to put on the 1-year-old and i was look for slade's foot. couldn't find him. the water got too deep. >> reporter: craig tried to hold onto slade but water was too powerful and found him downstream where the rescuers found his body. >> i just feel like i could have done are better but it was just so hard. >> reporter: somehow bridgette says she managed to hold on to 1-year-old cooper in a tree limb for six hours. all the while, her body getting bruised from the water and the debris.

>> i kept trying to sing to him and shush him and tell him mommy was there and everything and everything was going to be okay. >> you can see right here where our trailer sat >> reporter: i walked with craig along the banks of snake creek today as he pointed to the tree that saved his life. >> that was his first harley outfit we got him. >> reporter: and found some precious keepsakes. you can see what happened to their suv. take a look at what's left of their home. but it's the emptiness in their hearts they can't replace. >> just knowing that we was in the creek for five or six hours, and my son was dead. it was just so bad. i always want him to know that i love him. i'll see him one day. >> thanks to lori geary of affiliate wsb for that report. if you like to help some of these families hit hard by the flooding go to our impact or world web page. there's lots of links there to these organizations who are helping, trying to do their part. they're right there on the scene. so again that is cnn.com/impact.

and it'll be tough for anybody to help that family. the federal reserve has announced it's not raising short-term interest rate banks. the central bank will maintain its rate of record low of near 0%. the fed announced its decision at the end of a two-day meeting in new york. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke recently said the recession is very likely over, but the fed is not concerned that inflation poses a threat to economic recovery. the markets reacted by closing down for the day. the dow fell 81 points to close at 9,748. so close to 10,000. when are we going to get back there? all right, president obama used his first appearance at the united nations to signal a new era in u.s. international policy. the president assured u.n. members the u.s. is ready to act as an equal partner with other countries in confronting global challenges. he decried when he called an

almost reflexive anti-americanism he blamed for a collective inaction by the world community to face some tough issues. >> those who are used to chastising america for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for america to solve the world's problems alone. we have sought in word and deed a new era of engagement with the world. and now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges. >> president will continue his call for international cooperation at a meeting of the g-20, industrialized nations. that's tomorrow in pittsburgh. so, did you see this today cause it lasted a long time. colonel moammar gadhafi also addressed the united nations. the first time he's done that today. it happened today, the libyan leader has been in power for 40

years but has never spoken to the general assembly. he offered a list of sometimes very bizarre observations. just being honest here. he said that u.n. headquarters should move from new york to india. maybe china. he called the swine flu virus a military tool. he demanded new investigations into the assassinations of president kennedy and the reverend martin luther king jr. gadhafi also argued the taliban have the right to establish an islamic afghanistan, saying it would be comparable to the vatican. gadhafi's appearance triggered protests outside the u.n. some demonstrators denounced the libyan leader for giving a hero's welcome to one of the lockerbie bombers. there were some pro-gadhafi demonstrators as well. it's bad enough a teenager made his little niece smoke pot, but it's even worse that he videotaped it while doing it. find out how long he's going to be in prison.

hundreds of california firefighters are battling this wildfire. this is happening in ventura county. so far about 9,700 acres destroyed. it's threatening about a thousand homes as well. right now this thing's only about 20% contained. this is all santa ana winds are fueling these flames. 864 firefighters are on the scene. four of them have been hurt but not severely though. governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for ventura county. it seems the dalai lama has a good sense of humor. check out what happened when he met the mayor of memphis. >> here we also have a tradition that we're using.

put out our fist. they say you got a sense of humor. i've always wanted to say, hello dalai. >> okay, that's pretty cute. a friend of the dalai lama's says he took the fist bump very, very easily. the spiritual leader's there to receive the international freedom award from the national civil rights museum. an ohio man who forced his 18-month-old niece to smoke marijuana's going to prison for ten years. you probably remember this story because it was so appalling. 19-year-old melvin videotaped himself giving this child a pot pipe. pleaded guilty in march to drug charges. his 16-year-old girlfriend is serving six months in a juvenile facility for her part in this incident. and it all came to light when the camcorder that captured the incident turned up at a pawn shop in columbus with the tape still inside.

. we all know how tough it can be to quit smoking, but it's probably a bit easier when it's court ordered. that's the sentence handed down to a 19-year-old man in hawaii. this one's getting a lot of clicks at cnn.com. last year the man flicked his lit cigarette bud onto a restaurant roof and it started a fire, well, he pleaded guilty to third-degree property damage and as part of his punishment he was ordered not to use any tobacco products for a year. so the judge who handed down this sentence, joel august said this -- perhaps it will add about 10 or 15 years to his life if he stops. wow. when you drop offrour kids at school in the morning you expect them to make it home safely in the afternoon, but the parents of a 7-year-old arizona girl said she didn't come home from school friday. worry. wait until you hear where she was.

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want to hug him. i'll do it later. i've been gone for a few days. good to see you though. so what's coming up at the top of the hour. >> good to see you as well. we're talking haleigh cummings. new information. >> i got caught up. >> misty cummings the first person to see haleigh. she skipped town. we'll get the latest on that. where is she going? are investigators keeping tabs on her? we want to know all these questions because we know, let's face, she the one who hold little the key. she's the last person to see little haleigh. again, haleigh's been missing since february. we're also finding out that ron cummings called the home 20 times, no answer. again, telling us misty may not had been at home. where were the kids through all of this? also coming up the latest on phillip garrido, the man accused of abducting jaycee dugard, keeping them captive for 18 years. the investigators have been searching his property thoroughly and we've been wondering is he responsible for other missing childrens cases? are bones are found?

we're now finding out early indications not case and we'll get you updated on that. take your calls. 1-877-tell-hln and more charges in the death of anna nicole smith. also her former boyfriend/doctor howard k. stern. he's facing new charges. what's at heart of that? stern's being being looked at at the enabler here. all you have do is taking that video that he's taking and anna nicole in clown make up. >> as always want to hear from you. call in 1-877-tell-hln. richelle, coming your way a little more than ten minutes from now. >> see you, mike. this story, man, john travolta's he's in the bahamas and this is why, he had to testify in the trial of two people accused of trying to blackmail him after his son's

death. in his testimony he acknowledged his son jett was autistic and had ceaseures every five to ten days. he said that he performed cpr on him in the days that his son died. he was 16 years old. prosecutors accuse a paramedic and a former senator of trying to extort $25 million from travolta over a document he signed just before jett died. the document would have released emergency responders from liability if the family refused an ambulance, but police say that did not happen. one officer testified travolta signed the release because he initially wanted his son taken to the airport instead of the airport. 7-year-old girl in arizona says she was left alone inside her school nurse's office because the staff, rather before the staff left for the weekend. she tried to get out but the door was plongd her mom says the school janitor found her about an hour after school had closed. the girl's mother says the daughter was clearly, obviously, traumatized.

>> when she couldn't get anyone to come to her and she wet herself, all she could do was throw herpz on the bed and cry and pray for mommy to come and get her. >> now it's perfectly understandable. the school official called the incident unfortunate. police in the school district, they're investigating how in the world this happened. the second grader's now at another school. are your views topic today focused on some new public service announcements putting a light spin on a really serious subject. the psas are aimed in preventing breast cancer and they refer to breasts as chichis, hooters, tatas. you've heard it before and you may have even said those wonders yourself. in the name of the campaign is, save the boobs. the person behind it says the organization is just trying to reach young people because breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer daepgts in women. but the critics, they're not having this. they say the ads were sexual. and that you really shouldn't treat such a serious subject so lightly. so we've been asking for your views on this. nate sent us a text and hes --

"i think that laughter and mem rear hardwired in the brain. you always remember a funny commercial and in this case, isn't that the point? "another viewer says this -- "why the need to make why the need to make the racy ad? this is just another way to excuse the lowered morality in this country. this is geared for men. my young boys don't need it. brittany says she actually likes the campaign, people, even the olders ones need to realize we are in the 21st century. people almost could care less about a pair of boobs covered up with a bathing suit. eventually this will be normal. this is a great way to get the attention of a younger crowd and she is kind of the target audience after all. betsy says this what a sad commentary any social health issue has to be either sugar-coated or satirized to make an impact for the majority to take notice. at what point do grown-ups starting acting like grown-ups? betsy wants us to grow up.

i kind of do, too, betsy. i have comments on my facebook page, too. let's share some of those. this is from jeff who says i think ads like this are effective at starting a conversation about a particular topic. through conversation, you can raise the awareness and hopefully people can catch breast cancer early, which is the point. katie says this, so degrading to women. all my man would see is the girl's boobs bouncing in her wet t-shirt and miss the whole message the commercial was trying to send out. they need to think of something better. she thinks they completely missed the mark. kristen says they are both offensive and effective, which speaks volumes about our society. the ads and society triflize women as nothing more than sex objects. the only way to get society to care to point out the only useful part of the female will disappear unless something is done. finally, cheryl says this is, it

made me check my breasts, which i never do. so people feel strongly about this both ways but it started a conversation which jeff thought was kind of the point so there you have it. former child star mckenzie phillips dropped a bombshell saying she had sex with her father john phillips. more on that. ♪fr credit report dot com, baby. ♪ ♪ saw their ads on my tv ♪ thought about going but was too lazy ♪ ♪ now instead of looking fly and rollin' phat ♪ ♪ my legs are sticking to the vinyl ♪ ♪ and my posse's getting laughed at. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free- credit report dot com, baby. ♪ new carefree ultra protection liners, with wings! absorb ten times more, like a pad but feel thin and comfy, like a liner. new carefree® ultra protection™