a monster wind blown wildfire in yosemite national park threatens a national treasure. >> it's unthinkable to lose them. they survived fire for 2 or 3,000 years. syria agrees to allow un inspectors to investigate an alleged chemical weapon's attack as calls for military action grow. and justin timberlake wins top honors at the mtv video music awards. this is the cbs morning news for monday august 26th, 2013. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne marie green. well, the massive wildfire near yosemite national park in california is getting bigger. the fire fuelled by dry

conditions now burned as much as 225 square miles of forest, about the size of chicago. about two dozen structures were destroyed. the fire is only 7% contained. several camps were evacuated but the park remains open and there's no reported injuries. a picture taken from the international space station shows how dense the smoke from the fire is. ash threatens the reservoir that supplies most of the water to san francisco, 150 miles away. san francisco's power system is also threatened. teresa garcia is near yosemite national park. teresa, good morning. >> good morning, you know, there are hundreds of fire engines and other riggs stationed right here because of the threat to thousands of homes which is under an evacuation advisory. and this is just one area that this ferocious out of control fire is threatening to destroy.

>> reporter: the rim fire near the yosemite national park has been designated the number one priority for the forest service. >> you have a lot of firefighters here trying to get ahead of it. >> more than 3400 firefighters are battling the blaze which consumed more than 20 structures and scorched nearly 1 4,000 acres. >> look at how deep that is. >> reporter: pine needles and dead leaves created a bed of kindling on the forest floor. >> we are inside the fire lines. this is what is being caused a first priority zone. it's an area where the most resources are being dedicated and this is because the blaze has been spreading most intensely along the eastern side of the fire. >> reporter: to the east of the fire line, two groves of are in danger. >> they survived fire for 2 or 3,000 years. >> reporter: park officials hope this thermal shield will help protect the trees. >> this will help repel it or move around it. our idea is that the fire will

go around it and the heat will preclude it from getting exposed to fire. >> reporter: they're also clearing out brush and watering them down with sprinklers. >> now, fire crews tell me they have also wrapped a 100-year-old historical cabin next to the grove with that fire shelter material really hoping to save some national history and the cost of the fire fight already surpassed $20 million. the fight is far from over. fire officials are telling us that this fire may not be out, 100% out for months. anne marie. teresa near yosemite. thank you. flash flood watches and warnings are posted for the southwest. reminisce of a tropical storm in the pacific brought heavy rains to california and other states. fast moving high waters carried a pick up truck in san diego. in the mid-section, the problem is heat and much of it.

david is following the extreme weather. two big weather stories today. we have a lot of heat in the midwest and of course the fires and the flooding that are taking place out west. let's start with a look at our forecast today for the midwest. chicago 94. it will be near 100 in minneapolis this afternoon. near 100 in omaha and well into the 90s in kansas city and st. louis. there we can see the stream of moisture across the southwest. look at las vegas. but the part where the at a fires around yosemite are occurring it will be dry with no relief there. one phenomenon we could be talking about are fire whirls. we have two elements that come together. intense heat and turbulent winds in the atmosphere. those come together to form whirling eddies of air and sometimes they tighten like a tornado-like structure. they're only a few feet across but with that intense heat swirling they can cause

extensive damage, even on a localized level. we can see the moisture from tropical storm eva. it's spreading across the desert southwest. our rain potential through tonight is indicating widespread one to two inches of rain. that's a lot but where we see this yellow we'll be talking two inches and in some cases as much as five inches of rain. cbs news, miami. strong winds and heavy rains from tropical storm fernand are on the caribbean sea. it's packing winds of 50 miles per hour and has begun to move ashore. the national hurricane center says fernand is 35 miles north, northwest of vera cruz. it would bring 12 inches of rain to some areas. syria will allow the un to inspect the site of an alleged chemical weapon attack. they are headed to the site of

the alleged attack outside the capitol. the u.s. dismisses the investigation as, quote, too late to be credible. holly williams reports. >> reporter: the break through came 24 hours after the un high representatives for disarmorment affairs arrived in damascus. syrian state tv announced that government will allow un weapon's inspectors to start their investigation as there is mounting evidence that there was a chemical strike against civilians. scores of internet videos show people convulsing and foaming at the nose and mouth. the syrian opposition claims hundreds of people were killed. but in the videos, none of the dead have any obvious injuries. that's all consistent with the use of a nerve agent. now the inspectors will try to determine for sure whether chemical weapons were used.

the un investigation can only answer some of the questions around this deadly attack. the weapons inspectors want to find out conclusively whether it was a chemical strike. but it's not their job to say who was responsible. holly williams, cbs news, london. the u.s. is considering what to do about syria. u.s. warships are deployed off syria's coast and some allies are pushing for swift military action. jeff has that part of the story. >> reporter: a senior administration official now acknowledges that there is very little doubt that a chemical weapon was used by the syrian regime against civilians. signaling that bashar alaba asss government played a part.

they are using cruise missiles in place and potential command bunkers in place. president obama told cnn that the u.s. has to be mindful of the action. >> getting in stuff that doesn't turn out well can get us mired in difficult situation. can result in us being drawn into very expensive, difficult, costly, and breeds more resentment in the region. >> reporter: no one knows that better than colin powell. he believes the u.s. should not get involved in a civil war. >> have no affection for mr. asaad. i know him. he is a pathological liar with respect to my interaction with him but i'm less sure of the resistance. >> reporter: but doing nothing

has it's own consequences. the problem is, at this point, if the red line is not held we're going to have more refugees flowing out into syria's neighbors. so the president now has to make a decision. the conflict in syria is spilling out over it's boarders and no longer containable and threatening u.s. core interests. >> they warn the u.s. not to jump to conclusions before the un completed it's investigation. cbs news washington. iraq remains tense this morning after a wave of deadly bombings and shootings on sunday. in baghdad a car bombing left three people dead. about four dozen people died in bombings and shootings across iraq. months of violence threatened to shake iraq's fragile coalition. two major trials over the killing of antigovernment protestors in egypt were

postponed. the former president was transported from a court on sunday. he is being retried in the killing of protestors two years ago. his trial resumes next month. the case against six muslim brotherhood leaders was postponed until october. coming up on the morning news, emergency landing. a delta flight makes an unplanned landing after possible smoke in the cockpit area. this is the cbs morning news. the cbs morning news. with new smucker's natural fruit spreads,nou] every day can be truly extraordinary. ♪ spread a little sunshine with naturally delicious smucker's natural. in this corner, the big cheese. and in this corner, dawn platinum. [ female announcer ] get the power of an overnight soak in 3 minutes, and 3 times more everyday grease cleaning ingredients. dawn platinum power clean. grease cleaning ingredients.

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♪ i got it made ♪ i got it made fresh at subway ♪ ♪ breakfast made the way i say [ male announcer ] nothing better than a subway bacon, egg & cheese with avocado made before your eyes. subway. eat fresh. a delta flight made an emergency landing in montgomery, alabama sunday. the boeing 757 was headed from cancun mexico to atlanta when the crew said it smelt smoke in the cockpit area. a delta smokes man said a fluorescent bulb burned out and caused the smell. no one was injured. >> a fright train known as the beast derailed in southern mexico on sunday. at least five people were killed and 18 injuries.

officials say at least 250 migrants were on the train. many of them riding on the roof of the cars trying to cross into the u.s. on the cbs money watch now, remembering a trailblazer on the new york stock exchange and donl trump accused in a student scam. wendy gillette is here with that and more. good morning. >> good morning. gold hit a three week high. hong kong gained a half percent. consumer confidence and personal income are some of the key economic reports due this week. the dow finished town 70 points last week while the nasdaq added 55 points. the first woman to become a member of the new york stock exchange has died. muriel seebert bought a seat on the male dominated exchange in december of 1967. she founded her own brokerage firm and was the first woman superintendent of banking for

new york. she died saturday from cancer at 80 years old. >> gas prices are down. the average cost nationwide is now $3.56 a gallon. that's a drop of 4 cents over the past two weeks and 20 cents lower than this time last year. donald trump is being sued for $40 million. new york's attorney general said trump university was a scam that defrauded thousands of people nationwide. it offered to make students rich, but instead, steered them to expensive seminars. trump's lawyer says the lawsuit is false and politically motivated. >> for the second week in a row, lee daniels "the butler" was top at the box office. it took in $17 million this weekend. jennifer anniston's comedy "we're the millers" was second and the teen fantasy mortal instruments city of bones came in third.

>> did you go to the movies this weekend? >> i did not. but "the butler" is on my list. >> on mine too. >> thank you wendy. straight ahead your monday morning weather and in sports, the red sox flash leather against the dodgers. [ male announcer ] this is claira. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for her, she's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with her all day to see how it goes. [ claira ] after the deliveries, i was okay. now the ciabatta is done and the pain is starting again. more pills? seriously? seriously. [ groans ] all these stops to take more pills can be a pain. can i get my aleve back? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. for my pain, i want my aleve.

how'd you d9 out of 10.iz today? 9 out of ten? that's great. ♪ nothing says, "i'm happy to see you too," like a milk-bone biscuit. ♪ say it with milk-bone. (pop) (balloons popping) i can see the edge of my couch! (balloons popping) here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. new york thunderstorms 83 the

high. chicago partly sunny, miami thunderstorms as well. dallas partly sunny. time for a check of the national forecast. showers and thunderstorms will drench part of the west. some areas could get up to three inches of rain. a dome of high pressure will keep the midwest hot. the mercury could hit 105 degrees from iowa to north missouri. scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible in the northeast and it will be dry and warm in the south. in sports, the boston red sox are back by themselves atop the al east. in the los angeles, boston's second baseman justin pedroia made a great play on this nick punto bunt. the second, the sox hit three home runs including this shot by mike napoli. boston pounded the dodgers 8-1. in the national league, the pirates loss to the giants in san francisco, ryan vogelsong

allowed two hits over 8 innings. they won 4-0 leaving the pirates in a tie with st. louis atop the nl central. japan beat california to win the 9th little league world series title. the game ended on a double play. it was japan's fourth straight appearance in the championship game. the team from tokyo beat the team 6-4. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and former secretary of state colin powell on race relations as we mark the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. mark the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. for the perfect wave? i mean surf's up. stop with the sacrificing, start here. light & fit greek nonfat yogurt. thick, creamy, and dude twice the protein and 80 calories. tastes satisfying right? it's awesome. hey, you wanna go surfing? light & fit greek! ♪ dannon!

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,,,,,, here's a look at today's forecast in cities around the country. washington d.c. partly cloudy with a high of 87. atlanta sun with clouds. st. louis mostly sunny and partly sunny in denver. showers in seattle. here's another look at our top stories, that huge wildfire

in and around yosemite national park burned 225 square miles. it's only about 7% contained. the fire threatens san francisco's water and power supply. un inspectors are in syria this morning. they will investigate claims that the syrian government used chemical weapons to kill hundreds of civilians last week. well, this week the nation remembers martin luther king, jr. and the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. on wednesday president obama will talk about the reason for that march, jobs and justice. on saturday, thousands gathered at the national mall where king gave his "i have a dream" speech in 1963. many say his dream of racial equality is still unfinished. colin powell talked about his experiences with racism. >> in my lifetime, over a long

career in public life, i have been refused access to restaurants where i couldn't eat even though i just came back from vietnam. we can't give you a hamburger. come back some other time. >> despite many accomplishes racial bias still exists in part of the country. at the mtv video music awards justin timberlake stole the show. [ music playing ] >> timberlake took home the night's biggest prize, video of the year for his song mirrors and received the michael jackson video van guard award. the other winners were macklemore and ryan lewis. they won best hip hop video and video with a social message. >> the panda cub born on friday is in excellent health. he was given a physical on sunday. vets say it weighs 4.8 ounces.

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more life happens here.

this month, soccer star clint dempsey decided to return home to the u.s. after years of playing in the english premiere league. last night in front of a sold out crowd he made his debut for the seattle sounders. his team beat the portland timbers 1-0. here's jeff glor. >> reporter: the announcement stunned the world of soccer. >> i was starting to get the itch to be honest with you. i wanted to come back to the states. >> reporter: with a four year deal worth more than $30 million, clint dempsey, the most successful american in european club history suddenly became major league soccer's biggest acquisition since david beckham went to los angeles in 2007. >> i thought i would be there two more years but the seattle sounders moved mountains to get me back to the states. >> clint dempsey makes his

entrance. >> reporter: already captain of the u.s. national soccer team told us he wanted his three kids to grow upstate side where he believes the game has taken a huge leap forward. especially in the pacific northwest where seattle sounders soccer is arguably as big as the other kind of football. >> were you aware of how big the game has become in seattle? >> i wasn't. you hear about it but you don't know until actually you go there. we had a world cup qualifying game there and it was crazy. that's great for us. finally you're playing at home with a home field advantage where as before you never had home field advantage. you were just always playing against another team. it's almost as if you were in a different country at times. >> nobody played soccer where you grew up? >> i would say people would look at you funny when you told them what you did. >> reporter: with no local soccer role models in texas, as a kid dempsey watched the greats from south america. a free wheeling style he believes he is now return to.

>> i felt when i was in europe i was a little bit limited in that regard. so looking forward to getting back to doing a little bit more of the reason why i fell in love with the game. >> reporter: the move, though, hasn't come without questions. some wonder why a player at the pinnacle of his profession would reenter a league with significantly less talent. >> i saw a radio piece that was headlined is clint dempsey too good for the mls. when you see that, what is your reaction? >> it's a compliment that people think i'm a good player. i remember when people didn't think i was good. i remember being the rookie coming into the league with a big chip on my shoulder trying to prove myself and seems like you have to prove yourself every year. >> reporter: tonight in seattle, dempsey will try to prove himself once again. a man nicknamed captain america is about to be seen a lot more here. jeff glor, cbs news, new york. >> coming up after your local news on cbs this morning, an update on the wildfire at

yosemite national park. we'll be live from the scene. plus today's inspection in syria of last week's alleged chemical attack. we'll speak with bob corker. and the ceo of popeye's louisiana kitchen joins us in the studio. >> that's the news this morning. thanks for watching. i'm anne marie green. have a great day. his morning. i'm anne marie green. have a good day.

>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald she's like houdini. >> good morning, i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. what do you mean? >> you just amaze me. you always do. [ laughter ] >> thanks.

>> she's always ready to go, huh? once the bell hits. >> always prepared. >> ready to go. hey, folks, we are going again on this monday morning. low clouds and fog have surged onshore very wet out toward the coastline a lot of drizzle there. when will we clear things out? we'll talk about that coming up. >> those far right toll lanes are closed until about 5:00 this morning. caused big backups over at the bay bridge all weekend long. they have been shut down since friday evening. slight delays there. we'll talk about your monday morning drive coming up. >> three more commutes on the bridge and that's it. thank you. developing overnight, more communities are being threatened as the "rim" fire grows into one of the largest in california history. new mandatory evacuations as well as evacuation warnings and advisories were ordered yesterday. nearly 225 square miles have burned. the fire is 7% contained. the fire burned the tuolumne family camp owned by thty