a u.s. senator overcomes tense relations with a southeast asian government and wins freedom for an imprisoned american, but didn't stop there. there's still a long way to go in california before the firefighters can declare victory. and critics are saying "district nine" is the best film of the year. so why is half of the potential audience flocking to to a different movie? thanks for having us over. an american sentenced to hard labor in myanmar is going

home seven years early. he was arrested after swimming across the lake to visit a noble prize winning activist who is under house arrest. but virginia senator jim webb flew to myanmar to help with the release. >> clearly getting the release of john yettaw was important. he's an ill man. he had been taken to a hospital before the verdict was delivered with seizures. we understand he's a vietnam veteran and has a troubled mind i think is the best way of putting it. and obviously, one doesn't know why he swam this lake. there were reports at the time that he had a vision she was going to be assassinated. >> earlier today, webb became the first american to meet with myanm

myanmar's top leader, but perhaps the biggest achievement came when he was allowed to meet with the opposition leader today. he conveyed his deep respects. the taliban are claiming responsibility for today's suicide attack in kabul, afghanistan. at least seven died in that attack and 91 were wounded. the bomb site is next to the u.n. embassy. the attack comes five days before afghanistan's presidential election. u.s. troops will help with security for the election. president obama is calling that election the most important event in afghanistan all year. the fight against multiple wildfires in california is heating up. the lockheed fire did not spreed over night, but is just 15% contained. it has destroyed some eight square miles since wednesday.

2400 people are under mandatory evacuations. meantime, two fires friday sparked another growing fire. massive smoke bluplumes can be n over 100 miles away. president obama is keeping up his fight to extend health insurance to millions of americans. he's holding another town meeting today. this one in colorado. he's facing tough criticism of the plans to overhaul the health care system. in his weekly radio and internet address, hes it's time to lower the volume. >> for all the chatter and noise, what every american needs to know is this. if you don't have health insurance, you will finally have quality options. if you have health insurance, we will make sure no insurance companies or government bureaucrat gets between you or the care you need and we will deliver this in a fiscally

responsible way. i know there's concern out there and in a time of economic uphooefl, the idea of change can be unsettling and there are some believe government should have no role at all in solving our problems. one where we lower our voices, listen to one another and talk about differences that really exist. >> a gop leader says there should be a bipartson solution and orrin hatch agreed that every citizen should have affordable and quality health care. >> nearly 85% of americans have coverage and they are really worried about what reform means for them. especially our seniors. these conversations are moving from the kitchen table to the town hall discussions. i am disappointed about the attempts to characterize the

behavior of americans as quote un-american, unquote. we should no not be stifling the discussions. our great nation was founded on speaking our minds. families are voicing their concerns because they feel like they are not being heard in washington. i'm here to tell you that your voices are coming through and it is essential for you to be involved in this issue. >> if you want to know more about the health care debate and how reforms could affect you, check out the special health care in america website on cnn.com. you can get the very latest by going to cnn.com/health care. the first steps in drew peterson's murder trial are getting underway. the judge said he's presuming the trial won't be moved, so he had hundreds of potential jurors

fill out questionnaires. peterson says he'll do whatever it takes. >> if we can't pick a fair jury, then the government's job is to find a place where we can find an impartial jury. >> so far, no trial date has been set yet. peterson, you may recall, is the former police officer who was charged with murder in the death of his third and i wife and is a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife. search crews will try again today to find a missing georgia woman. the woman vanished tuesday night while taking a walk along a north georgia road. searchers found her cell phone last night about three miles away. her boyfriend said he was on the phone with her and she mentioned a car pull up and then he heard

screams. there are indications of a struggle. tonight on hln news and views, nancy grace has been following the latest developments from the story as police, friends and family fan out in a desperate search. catch nancy grace tonight right here on hln. we are tracking three storms on both sides of the country. hurricane gill mo is still churning. and in the atlantic, a new tropical depression. stunned families are holding memorial services for victims of taiwan's worst typhoon in 50 years. more than 120 people were killed in the typhoon last weekend, but the death toll is expected to climb even higher. hundreds more still trapped in

remote villages. rescue crews are having a tough time reaching them because so many roads and bridges are washed out. in one village, authorities say up to 200 people could be trapped under five stories of mud. florida moms coming together to support one of their own. when one breast-feeding mom is told to cover up her child, dozens of her friends stage a nurse-in at the local restaurant. the manager is on their side.

the son of a civil rights pioneer says he's going to ask the state of alabama to pardon his late father. reverend abernathy was arrested numerous times and now, his son says he will apply for pardons on his father's behalf. in 2006, alabama passed a law to

allow pardons to be accepted during civil rights protests. today marks the 40th anniversary of woodstock. i probably don't have to tell you too much about it, but i will. in 1969 on a farm in new york, half a million people gathered to listen to music. it became known as the peace and love festival. we've collected some amazing pictures not seen before. 32 of the world's best known acts showed up. from jimi hendrix to janice joplin. the i-reporter talked about moments still fresh for him. >> janice joplin did the most amazing performance of anyone at woodstock.

she was all over the stage. she was moving constantly and looked like she was going to explode from the inside out, but for one quick second, she stopped and looked directly down into my camera. the only person i ended up talking to, this older woman by herself on a folding chair, i said, by the way, what is your name. she said, my name is joan baez. i said like the singer. she said, well, that's my daughter. her name is joan baez, too. and she's pregnant and i thought i should be watching her. when you're backstage at a rock concert, it's difficult to tell the performers from the roadies.

>> now if you have images of breaking news or cool stories, gro to ireport.com and click the upload now link. this man has sold his rare copy of archie comiccomics. next week, ar chi is on bended knew, proposing to veronica. that angered dave so much, he sold his rare copy. he said he didn't sell it for the money, but in anger over the unexpected shift in the story line. he says he should be proposed to betty instead. there is a new twist in a high seas drama. a frighter goes missing, all contact is lost, and now, there's a mysterious ransom demand.

boaters are checking into a ransom demand involving a freighter that vanished last month. it was sent to a company that owns the ship. contact was lost with the frighter. it's cargo of timber and crew vanished on july 28th in the atlantic. they say it's likely near cape verde. four days before that ship disappeared, the crew said it had been attacked by hijackers in swedish waters.

now they say that if the demand is legitimate, it may be from a second group of hijackers. a moderate earthquake rattled parts of mexico this morning. it was felt as far away as the mexican capital, 105 miles away. so far, there are no reports of damage or injuries. one army specialist took part in a homecoming ceremony in ft. carson, colorado yesterday and did something doctors said he probably would never do again. he was ininjured last month while hit by a rocket, but he was helped back on his feet. although he lives with never pain every day, shook says it's a small price to pay for walking. police in wisconsin are

looking for a teenager who had a close call on a drawbridge. the bridge was raised prematurely thursday night. other drivers say the young woman was trapped at a 45-degree angle for about two minutes. she drove off after the incident. about 40 mothers showed up at a restaurant in florida to breast-feed their babies. it was an informal protest at a chick-fil-a. last week, a nursing mom was asked to cover up. the mom said she was embarrassed by what happened. >> i was just overcome with like, oh, my gosh. i didn't know what to do. i was so shocked that i was, are you kidding me, you want me to cover up my child with a towel? nobody else eats dinner with a towel on their head. >> well, the nursing moms say they just wanted to make people aware of a state law that allows

mothers to breast-feed in public. the manager has apologized to the woman. the president's pick to be the next surgeon general is getting money from burger king because she serves on one of its advicery boards. is that a conflict of interest? >> reporter: her passion for better health traces back to her family. her impressive resume includes starting up a clinic for low income people in rural alabama. she's president obama's nominee for surgeon general. >> i can be a voice in the movement to improve our nation's health care and the nation's health for the future. >> reporter: but questions are now being raised about that because she has also worked as an adviser to burger king. that's right. the home of the whopper.

dr. benjamin is part of the panel for the chain and used that to advocate for more calorie and fat information on packaging. but one nutritionist isn't convinced that benjamin's influence would change the culture there. >> the bottom line, the amount of food that gets sold is what counts and public health doesn't matter. it's secondary if not lower on the agenda of food corporations. >> reporter: burger king says it's introduced several items since that board was formed last year, but what about conflict of interest? benjamin's gotten $20,000 to serve for con agri. sales this year, $10 billion. in addition to the money on the board last year. one medical professional uses

hyp hyper hyperbole. >> if she was being paid a penny for every whopper sold and then sent out on a lecture tour where she would encourage nurses and school kids to eat as many whoppers as possible, if that was the arrangement, she's have a heck of a conflict of interest. >> and health and human sfrss officials tell us she will resign from the boards of burger king and con agra as soon as she's confirmed. brian todd, cnn, washington. an alligator that got into it with some kids in florida has been caught. a mail carrier saw the kids

trying to pull it out of the water. a cop cut the rope and it got away until yesterday. >> probably 275, maybe 300 pounds. you have a kid that's 100 pounds. you get in a tug of war, the alligator's not going to lose. there's a lot of potential there. >> apparently, the agent was able to spot the gator because it still had the kids rope in its mouth. amputee elephants walking again and teaching lessons about land mine dangers in asia. she was just 7 years old when her front, right leg was destroyed by a land mine. she's been in an elephant hospital ever since learning how to walk. a 48-year-old elephant also lost her leg hauling wood near the thai border.

she has been hobbling on three legs for ten years and has been fitting for her own prosthetic. two opposite sides of the spectrum at the movies. it's hard, alien fare versus soft time travel. >> hello?

a u.s. senator overcomes tense relations with a southeast asian government and wins freedom for an imprisoned american, but jim webb didn't stop there. firefighters make some progress against a wildfire in california, but there's a long way to go. and movie critics are saying "district nine" is one of the best films of the year, so why is half the potential audience flocking to a different movie with less than glowing reviews? hey, there, you're watching "hln news and views." an american sentenced to hard labor in myanmar is going home

seven years early. john yettaw was arrested after swimming across a lake to visit a noble prize winner, but jim webb flew to myanmar to aid in the release. >> he's an ill man, he's got diabetes, epilepsy. he's been taken to a hospital before the verdict was delivered, with seizures. we understand he's a vietnam veteran and has a troubled mine, i think is the best way of putting it, and obviously, one doesn't quite know why he swam this lake. there were reports at the time that he had had some sort of vision that she was going to be assassinated and wanted to warn her. >> earlier today, webb became the first american ever to meet with myanmar's top leader, but perhaps the biggest success came when he was allowed to meet with

the opposition leader for nearly an hour today. he said he quote, conveyed his deep respect for the sacrifices she's made on behalf of democracy around the world. the taliban are claiming responsibility for today's bombing outside the main gate of nato's headquarters in kabul, afghanistan. at least seven died in the attack. it is on the same street as the presidential palace. the attack comes five days before afghanistan's presidential election. u.s. troops will help with security for the election. president obama is calling it the most important event in afghanistan all year. the fight against multiple wildfires in california is heating up. the lockheed fire did not spread overnight, but is still just 15% contained. it's in a remote area and has destroyed some eight square miles since wednesday.

2400 people are under mandatory evacuations and the blaze is getting closer to more populated areas. two fires friday sparked another fire. smoke plumes can be seen over 100 miles away. firefighters in california are working at least two other active wildfires. president obama is keeping up his fight to extend health insurance. he's holding another town meeting in colorado today. he's facing tough criticism of the plans to overhaul the system. in his weekly internet address, he said it's time to lower the volume. >> for all the chatter and noise out there, what every american needs to know is this. if you don't have health insurance, you will have quality choices. if you have insurance, we'll make sure no insurance company gets between you and the care you need and we will deliver this in a physically responsible

way. i know there's plenty of concern out there. the idea of change can be unsettling and there are folks who believe that government should have no role at all in solving our problems. these are legitimate differences worthy of the real discussion america deserves. >> a gop leader says there should be a bipartisan solution to health care reform and the republican radio address, senator hatch agreed that every citizen should have affordable and quality health care and americans should disagree respectfully. >> nearly 85% of americans have coverage and they are really worried about what reform means for them. especially our seniors. and these concerns are move iin from kitchen table conerer sagss to town hall discussions. i am disappointed about the attempts to characterize the behavior of americans expressing

their concerns as quote, un-american, unquote. i strongly encourage respectful debate. we should not be stifling the discussions. our great nation was founded on speaking our minds. families are voicing their concerns because they feel they are not being heard in washington and i am here to tell you that your voices are coming through and it is essential for all of you to be involved in this issue. >> if you want to know more about the debate, check out the special health care in america website on cnn.com. you can get the very latest from town hall debates, fact checks and other news by going to cnn.com/health care. the first steps in drew peterson's murder trial are getting underway. the judge said he's presuming the trial won't be moved, so he

had hundreds of potential jurors fill out questionnaires. peterson's attorney said he's going to do whatever he can to make sure an unbiased jury hears the case. >> if we can pick a fair jury, then we can -- they'll have to go out and do whatever work needs to be done in order to do that. >> so far, no trial date has been set. peterson is the former police officer who was charged with murder and is a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife. search crews will try again today to find a missing georgia woman. christie cornwell vanished tuesday night while walking along the road. searchers found her cell phone last night. her boyfriend said he was on the phone with her and she mentioned a car pulling up, then he heard screams. there are indications of a

struggle. tonight, nancy grace has been following the latest developments on the story as police, friends and family fan out in a desperate search for christie cornwell. catch nancy grace tonight at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. eastern. we are tracking three storms today. one is still churning in the pacific, but forecasters say it will get weaker this evening. meanwhile, a new tropical depression is following in the path of hurricane ana. stunned families are holding memorial services today for the victims of taiwan's woors typhoon in 50 years. the death toll is expected to climb even higher. hundreds more still trapped in

remote villages. rescue crews are having a tough time reaching them because so many roads and bridges are washed out. in one village, authorities say up to 200 people could be trapped under five stories of mud. florida moms coming together to help a nursing mom at a local restaurant. the manager is on their side.

the son of a civil rights pioneer says he's going to ask the state of alabama to pardon his late father. reverend abernathy was arrested

numerous times and now, his son says he will apply for pardons on his father's behalf. in 2006, alabama passed a law that allows granting pardons to people arrested during civil rights protests. today marks the 40th anniversary of woodstock. in 1969, on a farm in upstate new york, half a million people gathered to listen to music. it became known as the peace and love festival. we've been collecting i-reports. 32 of the world's best known acts showed up from jimi hendrix to janice joplin. our i-reporter was there. he was just 22 years old.

he talked about moments there that are still fresh for him. >> janice joplin i thought did the most amazing performance. no one had ever seen a female performer who put that kind of energy and drive into her performance. she was all over the stage. she was moving constantly and she just looked like she was going to explode from the inside out. but for one quick second in about as long as as it took to snap that picture, she stopped and looked directly down into my camera. the only person i talked to, this old woman by herself on a folding chair. i said, what is your name. she said, my name is joan baez and i said yeah, right. then i said, like the singer. she said, well, that's my daughter. her name is joan baez, too. i came to watch her and she's

pregnant and i thought i should keep an eye on her. when you're backstage at a rock concert, it's difficult to tell the performers from the roadies. >> if you have images of breaking news or cool stories, go to i-report.com. this fan has sold his rare copy of archie comics number one in protest. on next week's cover, archie is on bended knee proposing to veronica. that angered one collector so much, he sold his rare, first copy of the comic. although he got more than $38,000 for it, he says he didn't sell it for the money, but in anger over the unexpected shift in the story line. he says he should be proposing to betty instead. there is a new twist in a

high seas drama that sounds like a movie. the frighter goes missing, all contact with the crew is lost. and now, there is a mysterious ransom demand.

boaters are checking into a ransom demand involving a freighter that vanished last month. it was sent to the finland-based company that owns the ship. contact was lost with the freighter. it's cargo and crew vanished on the atlantic on july 28th. marines say it is likely off the cape near west africa. investigators say they're not sure if the demand is legitimate. now authorities say if the demand is legitimate, it may be from a second group of hijackers. a moderate earthquake rattles parts of southern mexico this morning. it was centered between mexico city and pacific ocean. it was felt as far away as the mexican capital 105 miles away.

no reports of damage or injuries. one army specialist took part in a homecoming ceremony in colorado yesterday and did something doctors said he'd probably never do again. shook was severely injured in iraq last year when hit by a rocket. he says several weeks of rehab and a stubborn will helped him back on his feet. although he lives with nerve pain, shook says it's a small price to pay for walking. police in wisconsin are looking for a teenager who had a close call on a drawbridge. the bridge was raise ed prematurely and the woman was trapped behind the wheel for about 45 minutes. police say she drove off after the incident. about 40 mothers showed up at a restaurant in florida to breast-feed their babies.

it was an informal protest at a chick-fil-a. last week, a manager there asked a nursing mom to cover up. the woman said she was embarrassed by what happened. >> i was just overcome with like, oh, my gosh. you know, i didn't know what to do. so shocked. are you kidding me? you want me to cover up my child with a towel? nobody else eats dinner with a towel on their head. >> the nursiing moms say they just wanted to make people aware of a state law that allows nursing mothers to nurse in public. the president's pick to be the next surgeon general is getting money from burger king because she serves on its adv e advisory board. is that a conflict of interest? brian todd reports. >> reporter: her passion for better health traces back to a mother who died of lung cancer, a brother who died of

aids-related illness, a father who had diabetes. her resume includes starting up a clinic for low-income people in alabama. regina benjamin is president obama's nominee for surgeon general. >> i can be a voice to improve the nation's health care. >> reporter: but questions are now being raised about that because she has also worked as an adviser to burger king. she's part of a nutritional advisory panel for the chain. officials at the department of health and human sfrss say she used that position to advocate for lower sodium items on the menu, but one nutritionist isn't convinced that benjamin's influence would change the culture. >> the bottom line, the amount of food that gets sold, is what counts. public health really doesn't

matter. it's secondary, if not lower, on the agenda of food corporations. >> reporter: burger king says it's introduced benjamin gotten more than $20,000 to serve on a scientific advisory board for the giant food packaging company, conagra. sales this year, $12.5 billion. in addition to the $10,000 she's gotten for serving on that burger king board since last year. one medical ethicist doesn't believe she has any conflicts here and uses hyperbole just to illustrate how far she'd have to go to have a conflict. >> if she was being paid a penny for every whopper burger king sold, and if she was then sent out on a lecture tour of the united states where she would encourage physicians and nurses and nutritionists and educators to try to get their patients and school kids to eat as many whoppers as possible, if that was the a arrangement i would say she'd have a heck of a

conflict of interest. i personally don't think she's going to have a problem at all. >> reporter: and health and human services officials tell us she'll resign from the boards as soon as she confirmed by the senate and they say she'll recuse herself from any matters dealing with those two companies for two years as part of her ethics agreement with the obama administration. brian todd, cnn, washington. amputee elephants walking again and teaching lessons about land mine dangers in asia. mosha was 7 months old when her front right leg was destroyed by a land mine. she's been in a thy el frant hospital ever since and learning to walk. she got a fancy new leg that will adjust as she grows. a 48-year-old elephant also lost her leg hauling wood as a logging camp near the mine-littered thy border with myanmar. she's been hobbling on three legs for ten years. she's now benefitted for her own prosthetic. sci-fi themes are hot at the

box office right now, but with two very different audiences and two opposite sides of the spectrum. it's hard and gritty alien fare versus soft and romantic time travel. >> nobody knew what this place was. >>