hundreds of homes are evacuated as a wild fire near yosemite national park surges. just one of dozens of wildfires burning out of control in the west. the crisis in syria gets deeper by the day. more than a million children are refugees of the 2 1/2 year civil war and now a leading political voice says the u.s. may not be able to trust the opposition to >> what would it look like if they prevailed and assad went? i don't know. and suspended baseball star ryan braun issues a wide ranging apology for using performance enhancing drugs but leaves several questions about his enhancing drugs but leaves several questions about his doping left unanswered. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, august 23rd, 2013.

good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. well, california governor jerry brown declared a state of emergency after a wild fire burning just outside yosemite national park nearly quadrupled in size. it is one of 55 major wildfires burning in ten western states. the fire near yosemite called the rim fire exploded yesterday. it's burned more than 99 square miles and is only 1% contained. the park remains open, but one access road has been cut off and residents of more than 1,000 homes have been advised to evacuate. theresa garcia reports from near the fire lines. >> reporter: stands of cedar and pine exploded as the flames jumped from tree top to tree top moving faster than the crew fighting them. u.s. forest service officer, lee bentley. >> we have a monster on our hands. this fire is making its own weather. it's going every which

direction. this is one of the worst i've ever been on. i've been doing it quite a few years. >> reporter: the fire threatens hotels, camp grounds and more than 2500 structures. steep hills and rugged terrain have been major obstacles for the more than 1300 firefighters on the line. >> get the top of the tree. >> ready. ready. drop. >> reporter: so this has become an air war. this video was taken by one of the many planes dropping flame retardant. the fire forced the closure of one of the main roads into yosemite national park during one of the busiest times for visitors. it has burned an area the size of connecticut. the u.s. forest service says its billion dollar firefighting budget is nearly tapped out and is diverting money from other areas to make up the difference. >> reporter: firefighters are doing all they can to keep up. more than 4,000 lightening strikes have sparked 45 new fires here in northern

california. theresa garcia, cbs news near yosemite national park. this morning flash flood warnings are posted for the colorado springs area. a slow moving storm dumped up to three inches of rain there creating a flood wave that rushed through the area yesterday. besides the heavy rain, there was coin sized hail. there have been several rescues and several roadways closed. this morning the united nations reports more than 1 million children have fled the violence in syria. that's nearly half the registered refugees. most of them are under the age of 11. some 7,000 children have been killed in the civil war. meanwhile, the syrian government blames the alleged use of chemical weapons on foreign fighters amid increasing calls for international inspections. jericka duncan reports. >> reporter: ban ki-moon is pushing the syrian government to

allow u.s. investigators to investigate. >> i have called on the syrian government to extend the full cooperation so that the mission can investigate this most recent incident. >> reporter: and he hinted that a military response may be necessary saying use of chemical weapons would result in serious consequences. >> any use of chemical weapons anywhere by anybody under any circumstances would violate international law. >> reporter: but the united states is moving with caution. the president is ordering the intelligence community to find the facts in the case before he decides a course of action. >> this would be an outrageous escalation of chemical weapons use if the facts are found to be true and the president has a range of options to consider, options that we've done or haven't done in the past. >> reporter: the last time the u.s. says syria used chemical weapons the president authorized

a shipment of weapons to rebel forces. two months later not a single bullet has been delivered. former secretary of state colin powell says that might not necessarily be a bad thing. this sunday he'll be on face the nation. >> i am less sure of the resistance, what do they represent, and is it becoming even more radicalized with more al qaeda coming in. >> reporter: president obama has reportedly ruled outputting american troops on the ground, but a no fly zone over syria could still be an option. jericka duncan, cbs news, new york. back in this country jury deliberations continue in the fort hood shooting trial of major nadal hasan. hasan is representing himself. he chose not to give a closing argument yesterday. hasan admitted he was the shooter admitting he was the soldier who switched sides. prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. closing arguments are scheduled for today in the

sentencing of the american soldier charged with killing 16 afghan citizens. sergeant robert bales apologized. bales attacked two villages killing men, women and children. he pleaded guilty in june. a military jury will decide whether a life sentence should include the chance of parole. today the san diego city council considers a deal to resolve the sexual harassment scandal involving mayor bob filner. it's reported filner could resign as early as today. as bigad shaban reports, one sticking point could be filner's legal fees. >> reporter: bob filner got into an suv loaded with what appeared to be boxes wednesday night shortly after reaching a tentative deal involving a sexual harassment lawsuit against him and the city. a source close to the negotiations tell cbs news it appears filner's resignation is part of the deal, but the city attorney says details won't be revealed until the city council considers the agreement at a closed door meeting friday

afternoon. >> any rumors you hear about the proposal you may deem to be untrue. >> reporter: the council would have to vote on any deal that involves taxpayer money, for example, a potential agreement could allow filner to step down without having to pay back legal fees the city would have to spend to defend itself. >> reporter: city council president todd gloria was involved in the negotiations. >> reporter: is there a resolution that you would be satisfied with that would allow mayor filner to stay. >> the mayor must resign, i stand by that. >> reporter: 18 women have come forward accusing filner of making sexual advances. even the mayor's former fiance wants him to step down. >> i'm hopeful the agreement will include resignation. >> reporter: filner has been out of the office the past few weeks after announcing he was undergoing what he described as intensive therapy for his inappropriate behavior but he has denied sexually had a

razzing his accusers. ahead on cbs this morning, we'll hear from braun win ingram, filner's former fiance. on the cbs "moneywatch" now, a call for new rules and mortgage rates jump. marlie hall is here in new york with that and more. good morning, marley. >> good morning, anne-marie. the computer glitch that shut down the nasdaq could trigger a new round of regulations. for three hours on thursday trading stopped on all 3200 stocks including apple, microsoft and facebook. the securities and exchange commission says they'll now push for tighter oversight on all automated trading. nasdaq reopened an hour before the closing bell. despite the three-hour shutdown nasdaq finished up 38 points and the dow ended a six-day losing streak climbing 66 points. asian markets were mostly higher on upbeat economic news from china and europe. tokyo's nikkei closed 2% and

hong kong's hang seng lost a fraction. according to freddie mac the average rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage is 4.58%. in may it was just 3.3% and the average 15 year rate climbed to 3.6%. both are the highest since july 2011. ups says it will drop health insurance benefits for about 15,000 spouses of nonunion workers. they're blaming it on the affordable care act. it will only affect spouses that can get health insurance from their own employer. it will take affect january 1st. yahoo! beat google for the first time in two years. com scores says more americans visited yahoo!'s websites last month than google. google made a lot more money. from april to june they raked in over $11 billion while yahoo! only pulled in about a billion.

anne-marie. >> clash of the titans. marlie hall here in new york. thank you, marlie. coming up on the morning news, president obama pushes a plan for colleges to keep costs down, and a twist in the bradley manning case. the convicted wikileaks source says he wants to live as a woman. this is the "cbs morning news." woman. this is the "cbs morning news." but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation -- an irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts jim at a greater risk of stroke. for years, jim's medicine tied him to a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but now, with once-a-day xarelto®, jim's on the move. jim's doctor recommended xarelto®. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. so jim's not tied to that monitoring routine. [ gps ] proceed to the designated route. not today.

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jim changed his routine. ask your doctor about xarelto®. once a day xarelto® means no regular blood monitoring -- no known dietary restrictions. for more information and savings options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. bradley manning is creating a whole new set of problems for the u.s. military. he's spending 35 years behind bars for leaking government secrets, but as adriana diaz tells us, he now wants to change his name and his sexual identit. >> reporter: one day after getting 35 years behind bars for leaking government secrets to wikileaks, army private bradley manning says he wants to spend the rest of his life as a woman. manning is wearing a blond wig and lipstick in this photo that was used in his defense. a witness said manning e-mailed him the picture with the letter titled, quote, my problem. thursday manning released a statement saying, as i

transition into this next phase of my life, i want everyone to know the real me. i am chelsea manning. i am a female. given the way that i feel and have felt since childhood, i want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. the statement is signed chelsea e. manning. but the army says it does not provide hormone treatment or sex reassignment surgery. a spokesperson at fort leavenworth military prison in kansas where manning will serve his sentence says manning would have to request a transfer to a civilian prison in order to become a woman. adriana diaz, cbs news. president obama continues his education focused bus trip today. he'll be in upstate new york and pennsylvania. on thursday he met with students in buffalo, new york, and he talked about the skyrocketing costs of tuition at a four-year college. it's more than tripled in the past 30 years. the president plans to roll out a new ratings system and wants to tie school performance to federal financial aid. colleges that keep their

tuition down and are providing high-quality education are the ones that are going to see their taxpayer funding go up. >> reporter: president obama also wants to cap student loan payments at 10% of a person's monthly salary. well, straight ahead, your friday morning weather. and in sports, ryan braun's public admission to doping leaves out details of his use of performance enhancing drugs. s starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family. that hasn't been cleared yet. ♪ uh! i just want to celebrate [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette you celebrate a little win. nicorette gum helps calm your cravings and makes you less irritable. double your chances of quitting.

here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. in new york, some sun and a high of 86. partly sunny in miami and mostly sunny in chicago. dallas a high of 98 and los angeles mostly sunny. time for a check of the national forecast, isolated showers and storms will move across parts of the south. temperatures could crack 100 degrees from western arkansas to texas. it'll be dry across much of the northeast and midwest. thunderstorms will hammer parts of the northwest and northern rockies. and expect high heat in the desert southwest. well, the case against aaron hernandez is one step closer to trial. the former new england patriot was indicted on first degree murder and weapons charges thursday. hernandez is accused of killing odin lloyd in june. prosecutors say hernandez orchestrated the murder because he was upset that lloyd was talking to people hernandez disliked at a nightclub. baseball star ryan braun be

is admitting he used performance enhancing drugs. he accepted a 65 game suspension a month ago. last night braun apologized to teammates fans and the commissioner. i have disappointed the people closest to me. braun failed a drug test in 2011 but maintained his innocence and avoided suspension by winning an appeal. the next day he said he was vind dated and publicly questioned the sample collector's methods. that sample collector was -- received an apology from braun. despite the admission braun did not say what banned substances he took or where he got them. the pittsburgh pirates are closing in on their first winning season since 1992. in the second inning against san francisco derek jones smashes a home run into the waters of mccovey cove to give the pirates a 2-0 lead. later jordy mercer goes deep.

the pirates beat the giants 10-5. it looks like the new england patriots need some fine tuning before the nfl regular season starts. against the lions last night, new england's offense sputtered. the patriots turned the ball over four times and managed only three points in the first half. detroit wins 40-9. when we return, holy super hero. find out which hollywood star will get behind the wheel of the bat mobile in the upcoming man of steel sequel. upcoming "man of steel" sequel jamie to checkout, please. there are lots of "jamies" out there,... huh? but that doesn't mean we're all the same. just like greek yogurts. that's why i prefer activia greek. you got that right jamie, there's nothing like it!

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look at the fire fight on t ground and from the air. plus - trash and paperwork d up high... where it all came from. and the private records we discovered that left lying around. join us for kpix 5 news this morning... beginning at 4:3 ,,,, here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country.

get your umbrella out if you live in washington, d.c. thunderstorms. atlanta, thunderstorms as well. st. louis thunderstorms. denver, a high of 88 with thunderstorms. seattle, partly sunny. police in spokane, washington, are searching for two suspects in the beating death of a world war ii veteran. 88-year-old dell bert shorty belton was found wednesday night outside the eagles lodge severely beaten. he was hospitalized but died the next morning. police say the attack appeared random. >> he was in the parking lot. it appears that he was assaulted in the parking lot. there was no indication of any sort of -- that he would have known these people prior to the assault. >> belton was a u.s. army combat veteran that was wounded in the battle for okinawa. the suspects are described as male teenagers and have been identified on surveillance video. authorities are asking the public for help in finding them.

the son of vice president joe biden is back home this morning. beau biden returned home on air force 2. the 44-year-old underwent a procedure at a houston cancer center this week. ben affleck will be donning batman's cape and tights. the 41-year-old signed on to star in the "man of steel" sequel that brings the dark knight and superman together. this isn't affleck's first time in playing a comic book character. in 2003 he starred as the blind super hero daredevil. this will be released in the summer of 2015. coming up after your local news on cbs this morning, the ceo of harley-davidson joins us in the studio. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." [ male announcer ] frequent heartburn? the choice is yours.

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on thursday president obama phoned the heroic woman who convinced a gunman to give it up. 20-year-old michael hill held antoinette tuff hostage. the school was evacuated and hill, who has a history of mental health illnesses, exchanged fire with officers. >> don't feel bad, baby. my husband left me after 33 years. i'm sitting here and talking to you about it. i've got a son that's multi-disabled. it's going to be all right. i just want you to know that i love you, okay? >> no one was injured during the ordeal. the banks of the potomac river yielded an amazing find

last month. it was a remnant from the past long extinct. chip reid reports on its big dig. >> i saw a portion of a bone sticking out of the cliff about three feet above where the cliff meets the beach. >> reporter: john bachman has been hunting for fossils along the potomac river for 25 years. >> i recognized it as a portion of the skull. >> reporter: what was your excitement level when you saw it? >> i'd say about a ten because i had never seen anything that big. >> reporter: it turns out to be the skull of a whale that lived here 14 million years ago when this area was under the atlantic ocean. scientists and volunteers have spent countless hours meticulously scraping away sediment hoping to uncover the entire whale estimated to be 25 feet long. high school junior paige fisher says it's addictive. she's been hooked on fossils since she was three years old. >> it's kind of like a treasure hunt in a way. you never know what you're going

to find. walk along the beach, maybe you'll find a whale skull, maybe shark's teeth. >> reporter: the whale is being removed piece by piece wrapped in a white plaster cast and sent to the museum in maryland where they use dental tools to slowly uncover the whale's story. paleontologist, steven godfrey. >> we've actually found a number of shark teeth associated with the skeleton. so there's sort of a halo, right, of shark teeth around the skull. >> the shark that these teeth belonged to were feeding on this whale? >> probably. it may have been the shark that killed the whale. >> reporter: it appears to be a relative of the pigmy white whale and it's also related to the much larger blue whale. back on the beach john bachman can hardly believe his luck in stumbling across the discovery of a lifetime. >> this is a piece of the earth's history that has come to

life. >> reporter: a piece of history full of secrets now being painstakingly revealed. chip reid, virginia. coming up after your local news on cbs this morning, an update on the flare-up of the wild fire near yosemite national park. a look at the bradley manning gender controversy. that's the "cbs morning news" for now. i'm anne-marie green. news" for now. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. is it friday? >> it is friday! >> ah! i think it is. hi, everyone. august 23rd. it is friday! i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. time now is 4:29. do you even have to ask? i mean, we have been looking

forward to this. >> i'm just reading the teleprompter. >> i'm feeling great. great weather around the bay area. probably the nicest day of the week. low clouds and fog, drizzle coastside. we'll have your weekend forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> and outside this morning here's a live look, this is oakland, 880 near hegenberger. we got roadwork at least in the northbound direction between 23rd and fifth avenue. we'll tell you more about that plus check the south bay coming up. more people are being told to get out of the way of this wildfire as it burns closer to yosemite. the rim fire is only 1% contained. people in 1300 more homes and campsites are now being evacuated. 63,000 acres have burned so far twice the size of san francisco. we have a special look at firefighting efforts. this is a shot from a blackhawk helicopter of an aviation battalion people fighting the fire from the ai