the atlantic hurricane season is now in full force. a new storm threaten toes florida panhandle and alabama's coast. and it's not alone. two more storms are getting stronger as they approach land. police search for a man who attacks milwaukee's mayor with a pipe. but this is no political grudge. how it started and ended in what police say about the attacker. the chicago police aren't the only ones asking people to turn in their guns. parents who have lost children to violence are begging folks to trade a firearm in for a gift card. in life, he was the king. and for elvis fans, nothing has

changes. they are remembering his death, 32 years ago today. but this year, they have something to celebrate as well. hi. you are watching hln. i'm virginia cha. here's our top story. we now have three tropical storms to keep our eyes on. parts of the florida and alabama coast are under storm warnings as a new weather system brews off the northern gulf coast. it sprang up early this morning. it's strengthened enough to become tropical storm claudette. it could bring 3 to 5 inches of rain to florida and southwest georgia. and some parts of the florida panhandle could get up to ten inches of rain. meantime, tropical storm bill is churning over the atlantic getting stronger and heading east. it could make it to hurricane strength today. also, tropical storm ana still causing worries for the caribbean as it moves westward. forecasters say it may hit haiti or the dominican republic but they can't say if it will reach the u.s. milwaukee mayor tom barrett is recovering after being beaten with a metal pipe.

at last word, he was in stable condition at a hospital. we don't know the extent or type of injuries he received in this attack. but police say he was alert and talking when he arrived last night. police are now searching for the man responsible who they believe is a known criminal. they say barrett was leaving the fair with his family when he saw a woman struggling with a man and heard her shouting for someone to call 911. the mayor began dialing 911, and that is when the suspect apparently stopped attacking the woman and began beating the mayor with a pipe. he then fled the scene before he could be stopped. the weekend is bringing no rest for democrats and administration officials pushing health care reform. they are hitting the talk shows. but they are also giving indications that's they may be flexible about one of the most controversial aspects of the reform's proposal. president obama told a town hall meeting yesterday about the dhaeflts grandmother to try to silence the criticism of his health care reform plan. other democrats and members of the administration are out in force today.

pennsylvania senator arlen specter has faced some tough crowds at health care reform town hall meetings. he told abc's "this week" he thinks the vocal critics are in the minority. >> i think we have to bear in mind that, although those people need to be heard and have a right to be heard, that they're not really representative of america, in my opinion. we have to be careful here not to let those town heatings dominate the scene and influence what we do on health policy. >> it looks like the obama administration may be ready to drop a key component of the proposal. that's a public insurance option. kathleen sebelius said the option is not essential to the proposed plan. >> the president continues to believe that it's good to have consumer choice. let people choose an option in the new marketplace. he continues to be very

supportive of some options for consumers. what we don't know is exactly what the senate finance committee is likely to come up with. they've been more focused on a co-op, not for profit co-op as a competitor, as opposed to a straight government-run program. and i think what's important is choice and competition. i'm convinced at the end of the day, the plan will have both of those. >> some republicans who have opposed the current proposal said they'd accept those co-ops secretary sebelius just mentions. meantime, president obama is taking a little time off today from stumping for his health care proposal. he's taking the first family on a tour of grand canyon national park. if you want to know more about the health care debate and how the reforms could affect your family, check out the special health care in america website on cnn.com. you can get the latest from town hall debates, fact checks, i-reports and other news as well. go to cnn.com/healthcare. nearly a dozen fires are burning in california right now.

thousands of firefighters are trying to get them under control. a fire in the santa cruz mountains has burned more than ten square miles. the remote rugged terrain makes the area so hard to reach they'll depend on aircraft. another blaze has tripled innize over night. it jumped the north yuba river. it's now burning in nevada county as well. a number of firefighters working that fire was doubled to help rein it in. as of last night it was only 15% contained. a drug operation is being blamed for another california fire that burned more than 84,000 acres. that fire is 35% contained, and some homes did have to be evacuated. authorities in the l.a. area say it started at a covert marijuana farm. they've been trying to get rid of marijuana operations tucked away in a local forest. businesses will be closed in miami. police and emergency response personnel will be on regular duty, but you won't be able to check out a library book or get

your garbage picked up. most city workers won't get paid either. like many municipalities across the country, chicago is facing a budget crisis. tomorrow is one of three reduced service days planned this year that is expected to save the city more than $8 million. tomorrow may not be a commuter's nightmare in san francisco, if talks to avoid a rail strike stay on track. unireps for b.a.r.t. workers say they've made progress in talks with management and they plan to keep negotiating. but they haven't officially called off the strike set for tomorrow which would leave thousands of commuters stranded. public transportation workers are facing a 7% pay cut and reduced holiday pay. two other unions have reached a deal with b.a.r.t., but members of this union say they're being asked to give up too much. our affiliate in atlanta, wsb is reporting that divers are now taking part in the search for a missing north georgia woman. authorities got a break friday when they found christy cornwell's cell phone.

she may have been abducted while talking on it. the georgia bureau of investigation says the phone was found by a man mowing his lawn about three miles from where the 39-year-old disappeared. cornwell was talking to her boyfriend on the cell phone when she was apparently abducted. >> she was abducted, placed in a vehicle and removed from the area. that speaks for itself. she is in danger. >> we keep hope -- keeping hope alive. and we'll continue to do so until we find her. >> police say cornwell was taking a walk down the street from her family's home at the time she disappeared. tonight on hln, news and views, nancy grace has been following the latest developments on this story as police, friends and family desperately search for kristi cornwell. catch "nancy grace" tonight at 8:00 and 10:00 right here on hln. one week ago, american john

yettaw was sitting in prison. they met with military government members in myanmar. >> it's fortunate the government honored my request to come back here to thailand with me. he was on the aircraft with me. he's not a well man. he had a medical incident this morning and they read him his records of deportation. he's now undergoing a thorough medical review here in the hospital and soon will be able to return to his family. >> senator webb also met with suu kyi during his visit. he's the first member of congress to visit myanmar in more than a decade. a powerful earthquake and several after shocks have hit indonesia. authorities there say at least

seven people were hurt by falling debris and one building did collapse. the u.s. geological survey says the initial quake had a magnitude of 6.7. it was centered about 70 miles off the sumatra island. it was about 200 miles away from the 2004 quake that generated a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people at that time. today's quake, though, did not touch off a tsunami warning. this weekend, community leaders in chicago are trying to make their neighborhood safer. and people who have suffered unimaginable losses because of gun violence are joining that effort.

three generations of women from one family have been rescued in california after being kidnapped. police a an estranged father kidnapped his two daurths, their mother and her granddaughter and planned to take them to mexico. he stopped at a motel in bakersfield, california. the two daughters, who are ages 15 and 20, convinced their dad to let them get some food.

they flagged down deputies who were patrolling the area. their dad is facing kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. police in olympia, washington, shot and killed a patient in a hospital emergency room. investigators now want to know how the man managed to conceal a handgun even after police searched him. officers found two other guns when they were called to the hospital about an unruly patient. >> at some point, he starts getting more unruly. and that was part of the original call as well, was his suspicion of firearms and unruly behavior. and the second time, he starts becoming unrule ejust with simple asking him to do simple things to prepare for being evaluated further. and as he becomes more unruly and gets loud, the officer steps into the room. as he's stepping in, at some point in there, this subject produces another handgun. >> police say that's when a struggle started and an officer shot the man. the hospital staff did try to save him.

tonight on hln news and views. nancy grace has been following the latest developments on this story as police, friends and family desperately search for kristi cornwell. catch "nancy grace" tonight at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. eastern here on hln. i'm jane velez mitchel. here's my issue. we have to feel for the husband who lost his wife, his young daughter and nieces in that horrific drunk driving accident in new york. his wife was bombed and high when she killed eight people, including herself. now her husband's job, his finances, all in jeopardy. his surviving son is injured and he's being investigated by child services. it makes you wonder why he ever called that news conference saying that coroner's toxicology report on his wife was just plain wrong, that she could not have been drunk. he made excuses for his wife's actions. all that did was draw attention to this case. denial is a very dangerous thing. but instead of having blinders on, this grieving husband should

be asking himself, why he didn't see this coming. i'm jane velez-mitchell and that's my issue. tonight on "issues," a family feud over the so-called wrong way crash mom. two members of diane schuler's family are severing ties over allegations of lying. plus new video of schuler just hours before the deadly crash. watch "issues with jane velez-mitchell" weeknights at 7:00. three, two, one -- >> this is how a bunch of competitive eaters spent their saturday, wolfing down as many funnel cakes as possible ad minnesota's valley fair amusement park. the sweet incentive at this year's funnel cake eating contest, 1,700 bucks. eater x captured the title. he managed to eat nearly six pounds of funnel cake in just ten minutes.

taiwan's president says he accepts responsibility for the government's slow response to typhoon morakot. the storm hit the island last weekend dumping more than 100 inches of rain causing widespread flooding and mudslides. aid from the u.s. military has begun arriving. a cargo plane carrying plastic tarps that can be used for shelter arrived today. u.s. defense officials are

calling the effort a modest humanitarian mission. the "uss denver" is on its way to taiwan with water purifcation capabilities. one week ago, american john yettaw was sitting in a prisnone myanmar. today he was on a plane with virginia senator jim webb, the man who got him out of jail. webb met with leaders of the myanmar government yesterday. he swam over to the home of opposition leader aung sun suu kyi. >> i feel fortunate that the government honored my request to allow him to come back here to thailand with me. he was on the aircraft with me. he is not a well man. he had a medical incident this morning when they read him his order of deportation. he is now undergoing a thorough medical review here in the

hospital and soon will be able to return to his family. >> senator webb also met with suu kyi during his visit. he's the first member of congress to visit myanmar in more than a decade. u.s. envoy richard holbrooke says pakistan has made enough headway against the taliban and that the u.s. can begin to shift focus to other parts of their relationship. cal perry is in islamabad with what holbrooke hopes to accomplish during his visit. >> reporter: barack obama's top man in pakistan and afghanistan arriving late last night in islamabad. now richard holbrooke is really here to discuss security issues with the pakistani government. he'll be meeting with the heads of state, the president and the prime minister as well as the chief of the army. now as i mentioned, topping the agend asecurity. we're talking about the northwest region of pakistan, specifically, in'd the swat valley. there was a very large offensive by the pakistani army in the swat valley some three months ago. and we hear that life is returning to normal there. it used to be really a cradle

for the taliban. but as well that northwest tribal region, it is key not only for pakistan but also for the u.s. effort inside afghanistan. the afghan elections just four days away, but a reminder of the security problems in afghanistan. that horrific bombing yesterday. the u.s. links the security in pakistan with the situation in afghanistan because, of course, there's a very long and porous open border. the u.s. concerned that taliban fighters can cross easily between the two. that will certainly top the agenda for richard holbrooke as he's here on his fifth visit since the start of the obama administration. cal perry, cnn, islamabad. parents of children who were victims of gun violence in chicago, pleaded with people to turn in their weapons. they teamed up with police and community leaders during a guns for gift cards event yesterday. donations to run that program are down because of the economy, but that didn't stop local leaders from encouraging people to give up their guns. >> all of us are, i think in the city, much too aware of the

shootings that have taken place this last year. and particularly our children. our children who not only suffer from these shootings. some of them who have ended up in cemeteries, some end up in prisons as a result of it. >> it's been three years, and they haven't caught the person that killed my son. i can tell you it's a stress. it's a stress out of this world. i'm looking at this one weapon and it's out on the street. it's unbelievable. >> chicago's gun buyback program has collected 5,200 weapons so far this year. the first family is touring national parks this weekend with stops at yellowstone and the grand canyon. but controversy over a gun law the president signed in may is following him. lets registered gun owners carry firearms into many national parks. it reverses a reagan era law. the president has taken several steps to support the national park system, but that the new

law is a hiccup that should be stopped. the law is being hailed by the nra. everybody wants to save more and spend less, right? we've got just the guy to help you. join hln money expert clark howard at 4:00 p.m. eastern. he'll show you ways to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. the "clark howard" show, 4:00 p.m. eastern here on hln. ♪ it was 32 years ago today that the king of rock 'n' roll, elvis pressly, was found dead at his graceland estate in memphis. elvis fans have been flocking to memphis to remember him and celebrate the 40th anniversary his final number one hit. they are also marking the anniversary with a elvis movie marathon. "blue hawaii," and "viva las vegas." big name git artists,

including eric clapton and u2's the edge have been lauding the late les paul. as our ireporters are showing you, you don't need to be famous to appreciate his contribution to rock.

the atlantic hurricane season is now in full force as a new storm threatens the florida panhandle and alabama's coast. and it's not alone. a second storm is getting stronger as it approaches land. police searching for a man who attacked milwaukee's mayor with a pipe. but this is no political grudge. how it started and ended and what police are saying about the attacker. and aliens versus time travellers? no contest. but even the loser did pretty well at the box office this weekend. hi. thanks for having us over. you're watching hln. i'm virginia cha. we now have two tropical storms to keep our eyes on. parts of the florida and alabama coast are under storm warnings as a new weather system brews

off the northeastern gulf coast. it sprang up early this morning. it's already strengthened enough to become tropical storm claudette. the center of the storm should make landfall in the panhandle later tonight. forecasters say it could bring 3 to 5 inches of rain to parts of florida, alabama and southwestern georgia. and some parts of the florida panhandle could get up to 10 inches of rain. meanwhile, tropical storm bill churning over the atlantic getting stronger, heading east. it could make it to hurricane strength later tonight or tomorrow. also anna has weakened to a tropical depression, but it's still causing worries for the caribbean as it moves westward. storm watches are posted through much of the islands there. the weekend is bringing no rest for democrats and administration officials pushing health care reform. they are hitting the talk shows. but they are also giving indications that they may be flexible about one of the most controversial aspects of the reform's proposal. president obama told a town hall meeting yesterday about the death of his grandmother to try

to silence some of the critics of his health care reform plan. meantime, other democrats and members of the administration are out in force today. pennsylvania senator arlen specter has faced some tough crowds at health care reform town halls. he told abc's "this week" he thinks the vocal critics are in the minority. >> i think we have to bear in mind that although those people need to be heard and have a right to be heard, that they're not really representative of america in my opinion. we have to be careful here not to let those town meetings dominate the scene and influence what we do want health policy. >> the obama administration may be ready to drop a key component of the health care proposal. a public insurance option. appearing on our sister network, they said the proposal is not essential to the proposed plan.

>> the president continues to believe it's good to have consumer choice. let people choose an option in the new marketplace. he continues to be very supportive of some options for consumers. what we don't know is exactly what the senate finance committee is likely to come up with. they've been more folkused on a co-op, not for profit co-op as a competitor, as opposed to a straight government-run program. i think what's important is choice and competition. and i'm convinced at the end of the day, the plan will have both of those. >> some republicans who have opposed the current democratic proposals have indicated they would accept those co-ops that secretary sebelius mentioned. on sister network gop, tom price, who is a medical doctor, said there are better ways to go about health care reform. >> this notion that there's just two options, the government option or a private option is just simply false. there's a third way, which is the right way, we believe, which is a patient way.

a patient-centered way. there's a way to get folks insured without the government option. if you have the government option, that crowds out all sorts of folks. there are all sorts of studies that demonstrate that. the congressional budget office demonstrates that. the heritage foundation. tens of millions of individuals would be moved from their personal, private insurance to the government-run program. we simply don't think that's acceptable. >> if you want to know more about the health care debate and how the reforms could affect your family, check out the special health care in america website on cnn.com. you can get the latest from town hall debates, fact checks, ireports and other health care news as well. go to cnn.com/healthcare. meanwhile, president obama is taking a little time off today from stumping for his health care proposal. he's taking the first family on a tour of grand canyon national park. milwaukee mayor tom barrett is recovering after being beaten with a metal pipe. at last word, he was in stable

condition at a hospital. we don't know the extent or type of injuries he received in this attack. but police say he was alert and talking when he arrived last night. police are now searching if are the man responsible who they believe is a known criminal. they say barrett was leaving the fair with his family when he saw a woman struggling with a man and heard her shouting for someone to call 911. the mayor began dialing 911, and that is when the suspect apparently stopped attacking the woman and began beating the mayor with a pipe. he then fled the scene before he could be stopped. police in olympia, washington, shot and killed a patient in a hospital emergency room. investigators now want to know how the man managed to conceal a handgun, even after police had searched him. officers found two other loaded guns when they were called to the hospital about an unruly patient. >> at some point, he starts getting more unruly. and that was part of the original call as well was this suspicion of firearms and unruly behavior. and the second time he starts

becoming unruly just with simple asking him to do simple things to prepare for being evaluated further. and as he becomes more unruly and gets loud, the officer steps into the room. as he's stepping in at some point in there, the subject produces another handgun. >> police say that's when a struggle started and an officer shot the man. the hospital staff did try to save him. our affiliate in atlanta, wsb is reporting that divers are now taking part in the search for a plising north georgia woman. authorities got a break friday when they found kristi cornwell's cell phone. she may have been abducted while talking on it. the georgia bureau of investigations was found by a man who was mowing his lawn about three miles from where the 39-year-old disappeared. police say she was talking to her boyfriend on the cell phone when she was apparently abducted. >> she was abducted, placed in a vehicle and removed from the area. that speaks for itself. she is in danger.

>> we keep hope. keeping hope alive. and we'll continue to do so until we find her. >> police say cornwell was taking a walk down the street from her family's home at the time she disappeared. tonight on hln news and views, nancy grace has been following the latest development on this story has police, friends and family desperately search for kristi cornwell. for more on this case, catch nancy grace tonight at 8:00 and 10:00 eastern on hln. more people have been forced to flee their homes in california. wildfires are burning out of control in several areas as firefighters try to gain the upper hand.

three generations of women from one family have been rescued in california after being kidnapped. police say an estranged father kidnapped his two daughters, their mother and her granddaughter and planned to take them to mexico. he stopped at a motel in bakersfield, california. the two daughters who are ages 15 and 20, convinced their dad to let them get some food. they flagged down deputies who were patrolling the area. their dad is facing kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. >> i'm jane velez mitchel. here's my issue. we have to feel for the husband who lost his wife, his young daughter and nieces in that horrific drunk driving accident in new york. his wife was bombed and high when she killed eight people, including herself. now her husband's job, his

finances, all in jeopardy. his surviving son is injured, and he's being investigated by child services. it makes you wonder why he ever called that news conference saying that the coroner's toxicology report on his wife was just plain wrong. that she could not have been drunk. he made excuses for his wife's actions. all that did was draw attention to this case. denial is a very dangerous thing. but instead of having blinders on, this grieving husband should be asking himself why he didn't see this coming. i'm jane velez-mitchell, and that's my issue. tonight on "issues," a family feud over the so-called wrongway crash mom. two members of diane schuler's family are severing ties over allegations of lying. plus, new video of schuler just hours before the deadly crash. watch "issues with jane velez-mitchell" every night here at 7:00 p.m. nearly a dozen fires are burning in california. thousands of firefighters are trying to get them under control.

a fire in the santa cruz money has burned more than ten square miles. the remote rugged terrain makes the area so hard to reach, fire crews will depend on aircraft. another plays in yuba county has tripled in size overnight. it jumped the north yuba river and is burning in nevada county as well. the number of firefighters working that fire was doubled to help rein it in. as of last night it was only 15% contained. a drug operation is being blamed for another california fire that's burned more than 84,000 acres. that fire is 35% contained, and some homes did have to be evacuated. authorities in the l.a. area say it started at a covert marijuana farm. in the past month, they've been trying to get rid of marijuana operations tucked away in a local forest. city offices all over chicago will be closed for business monday. it's all because the budget has gone bust. police, firefighters and other emergency response personnel will be on regular duty, but you won't be able to check out a library book or get your garbage

picked up. most city workers won't get paid either. like many municipalities across the country, chicago is facing a budget crisis. tomorrow is one of three reduced service days planned this year that is expected to save the city more than $8 million. tomorrow may not be a commuter's nightmare in san francisco, if talks to avoid a rail strike stay on track. union reps for b.a.r.t. workers say they've made progress in talks with management, and they plan to keep negotiating. but they haven't officially called off the strikes set for tomorrow which would leave thousands of commuters stranded. public transportation workers are facing a 7% pay cut and reduced holiday pay. now two other unions have reached a deal with part, but members of this union say they're being asked to give up too much. this is how a bunch of competitive eaters spend their saturday wolfing down as many funnel cakes as possible. the sweet incentive at this

year's funnel cake eating contest, $1700 and world championship bragging rights. eater x managed to eat nearly 6 pounds of funnel cake in just ten minutes. this weekend, community leaders in chicago are trying to make their neighborhood safer. and people who have suffered unimaginable losses because of gun violence are joining that effort.

taiwan's president says he accepts responsibility for the government's slow response to typhoon morakot. the storm hit the island last weekend dumping more than 100 inches of rain, causing widespread flooding and mudslides. meanwhile, aid from the u.s. military has begun arriving. a cargo plane carrying plastic tarps that can be used for shelter arrived today. u.s. dfls officials are calling the effort a modest humanitarian mission. the "uss denver" is en route to taiwan with additional humanitarian aid and water purifcation capabilities. one week ago, american john yettaw was in a prisnone myanmar. today he was in a plane with

virginia governor jim webb. he met with leaders of the military government yesterday. yettaw was convicted of violating immigration laws by swimming to the hoemp aung sun suu kyi. >> i feel fortunate the government honored my request to allow him to come back here to thailand with me. he was on the aircraft with me. he's not a well man. he had a medical incident this morning and they read him his orders of deportation. he is now undergoing a thorough medical review here in a hospital and soon he will be able to return to his family. >> senator webb also met with suu kyi during his visit to myanmar. he's the first member of congress to visit myanmar in more than a decade. parents of children who were victims of gun violence pleaded with people to turn in their

weapons. they pleaded during a guns for gift cards event yesterday. donations to run that program are down because of the economy, but that didn't stop local leaders from encouraging people to give up their guns. >> all of us are, i think in the city, much too aware of the shootings that have taken place this last year. in particular, our children. our children who are not only suffered from these shootings. some of them who have ended up in cemeteries. some have ended up in prisons as a result of it. >> it's been three years. and they haven't caught the person that killed my son. i can tell you it's a stress. it's a stress out of this world. i'm looking at this one weapon and it's out on the street. it's just unbelievable. >> chicago's gun buyback program has collected 5,200 weapons so far this year. the first family is touring national parks this weekend with stops at yellowstone and the grand canyon. but controversy over a gun law the president signed in may is following him. it lets registers gun owners

carry firearms into many national parks. it reverses a reagan-era measure that said guns had to be locked up in the parks. park advocates told "usa today" the president has taken several steps to support the national park system, but that the new law is a hiccup that should be stopped. the law is being hailed by the nra. a new study finds first-time moms are getting older. the national center for health statistics said the average age for first time mothers in the u.s. jumped from nearly 21 1/2 years old in 1970 to 25 in 2006. researchers say that's partly because there's a jump in the number of older women who are having kids. in 1971, 1 out of 100 children born to moms ages 35 and older. by 2006, 1 in 12 kids were born to women in that age group. there is a new way to purchase store items while you're still at home.

clark howard has found a new website where consumers can save time and money. >> do you know something? americans are johnny come latelies to the idea of buying store buying store brands from the supermarkets but a little bit of recession goes a long way. kroger, the nation's second largest supermarket chain, reported recently in their quarterly report that more than one in three items bought in the store were store brands. well, the brand name manufacturers are hurting. as the big retailers push their private labels, their store brands more and more. they are looking for a way to reach you, so now there's a new website that's a beta, a test, called alice.com. go check it out if you buy -- even just some brand names because you can buy those brand names at alice.com, especially right now, cheaper than i've been able to find them anywhere else. now you go there and you register and you get all kinds of instant online coupons,

instant savings, and you buy the same brand names you already bought. i'm clark howard for more ways to get big deals. go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> get even more great consumer advice from clark howard every saturday and sunday at noon and 4:00 p.m. eastern time right here on hln "news and views." clark will help you save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped o. ♪ >> it was 32 years ago today that the king of rock 'n' roll elvis presley was found dead at his graceland estate in memphis. elvis fans have been flocking to memphis all week to remember him and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his final number one hit "suspicious minds." turner classic movies is also marking the anniversary of the king's death with an elvis movie marathon. among the other flicks being showed "plus hawaii" and, of course," viva las vegas." big-name guitarists

including eric clapton, keith richards and u2 eats edge has will be lauding the late les paul but as our i-reporters are showing you don't need to be famous to appreciate his contribution to rock or his classic guitar. eeeeeeeee