it's monday, august 31st. this morning, breaking news. a monster wildfire on the outskirts of los angeles is now a deadly fire. with hot, high winds in the forecast all day. on the attack. the former vice president accusing the new administration of playing politics with national security. and amazing rescue. eight days at sea, 180 miles from land, and one good eight days at sea, 180 miles from land, and one good samaritan. captions paid for by abc, inc.

good morning. thanks for joining us on this monday. the nation's secon largest city of a place of fire, smoke and ash. >> a massive wildfire is burning out of control to the north of los angeles. it's called the station fire and overnight we learned that two firefighters were killed when their truck rolled down a hill. >> 71 square miles of land has been burned so far and mandatory evacuations are under way as 12,000 homes are now threatened. abc's john hendren has more. >> reporter: the skies darkened over los angeles as rural wildfires turned deadly raining ash down on the city. >> near mt. gleason in the angeles national forest two of our firefighters were in a vehicle and went over the side. both of them suffer ed fatality life-ending injuries. >> reporter: the fire consumed more than 71 square miles destroyed at least 18 structures and is threatening some 12,000

homes. fire officials say it is now endangering emergency communications facilities on nearby mt. wilson. the air quality around pasadena was so quick it grounded tankers that were assaulting the fire with flame restart dances. >> the fires are still totally out of control. i will -- you know, the emergency declaration, of course, will help to cut through the red tape and free up additional resources. >> reporter: homeowners worked to protect their property. >> i'm trying my best to see what i can do to save my home. i have three kids and, you know, i got to bring them back. >> this they said will burn right to the wall of our house and they'll hit it right at the last minute. >> reporter: this family moved here just a week ago. >> a lot of mixed emotions trying to remain optimistic but just glad that we're all out. things can be replaced. >> reporter: some of the flames have been 200 feet high. the fire is headed to the desert but it's burning up a national forest and firefighters say it's sending flames in all directions. john hendren, abc news.

now, we wanted to give you some perspective about where it is burning. it is a huge area in the rugged mountains north of los angeles. downtown l.a. is right here, burbank is over here. strong winds are expected all day blowing the station fire in three directions, towards cities to the north where those firefighters were killed and to the west, but crews are also focused on the eastern flank burning toward that collection of tv, radio and police antennas on mt. wilson. the other big concern, air quality. at certain times of the day and night winds blow out of the desert areas pushing that smoke into populated areas where it can settle and can make people sick. a bad situation there. we will get a complete update from sam champion live from the front lines later on "good morning america" or you can get the latest any time at abcnews.com. former vice esident dick cheney is once again on the attack over the justice department's investigation of bush era detainee interrogations. attorney general eric holder named a special prosecutor last week after a newly released

report said the cia not only used waterboarding but also a gun and an electric drill to threaten terror suspects. cheney says the probe is all about politics. >> i think it's an outrageous political act that will do great damage long term to our capacity to be able to have people take on difficult jobs, make difficult decisions without having to worry about what the next administration is going to say. >> cheney also accused president obama of caving to the left wing of the democratic party for allowing the investigation to get under way. mr. obama has implied he'd prefer not to prosecute cia agents for their interrogation activities and he says he is leaving the investigation up to the attorney general. and now that the president is back in washington after his vacation he'll be jumping back into health care reform. congress continues work on several proposals when it returns next week. in a "washington post" editorial bob dole says mr. obama should

make his own reform proposal instead of being the cheerleader in chief for various house bills. in japan a power shift is taking place. voters have backed candidates from the opposition democratic party in parliamentary elections. the party's leader yukio hatoyama is almost certain to be their prime minister and faces series problems including their stalled economy and record high unemployment. here at home georgia investigators say they need help in their investigation of a mass murder. seven people were found dead in a mobile home saturday morninmoing d ighthied fromm wouounds athehe sne. $2$25,5,000 r reweward is being offered. one e man is u under arrest t f allegedldly tampmpereringith ev consereded a suspecect. >> inin norther californinia vevestigators an to enend anothehey tryingng t to diup idce in n the casasee againstst phillip garrid he is s the man acaccused of dudugard for 1 18 years.ngng ja popolice s say g may be linkeked to t the u uolve mururdeders o prosostituteback in ththe '90s.

hehere's mikike vovofrecechld. >> r rorter: fbi a and p polare evevidencece.oforce, l looking they are d digging up phphillili garrido's backyayardrd and now alsoso combibing through his s neigighbhborroper, once v vacacant, and garrido us shed there. >> some dogs were brought in, and they'll be used to search and check that property. >> reporter: they are not just looking for more evidence of what happened during the 18 years jaycee dugard was held captive. they are also looking for evidence that may connect garrido to as many as nine women murdered in the 1990s. this is the tent and boxes in garrido's secret backyard where police say jaycee was constantly held captive. >> she was in good health, but living in the backyard for the past 18 years does take its toll. >> reporter: but customers who had direct contact with garrido's printing business say jaycee did not appear to be a captive. >> i would say if she came out to my truck to bring business cards without anybody else that,

you know, she wasn't locked in a box. >> reporter: in fact, garrido might never have been noticed if not for a suspicious visit to a nearby university and this four-page manifesto which he gave to the fbi two days before his arrest. it is a rambling document that talks about cures for sexual predators and ways of controlling human impulses to drive humans to commit dysfunctional acts. all crimes he is now accused of committing. mike von fremd, abc news, antioch, california. and jaycee dugard's stepfather as well as the two women who helped crack the case will be our guests on "good morning america." a small town in western new york is still picking up the pieces of aafter getting slammed by a tornado over the weekend. the twister touched down at a yacht club with 90-mile-an-hour winds damaging a number of boats. one resident said the boats were tossed around like toys in the bathtub. the tornado also toppled trees and caused damage to several

homes. hurricane jimenez is bearing down on the california peninsula. it is spinning in the pacific with sustained winds around 145 miles an hour. it's expected to strike baja sometime tomorrow. hurricane watches are already posted for some areas there. jimenez is not, however, considered a threat to the u.s. and now for this morning's weather from around the nation, stormy in the southeast with heavy rain, flooding and gusty winds from florida to virginia. showers and thunderstorms across much of the rocky mountains. slightly cooler but still hot and dry around that big wildfire in l.a. and near freezing early morning temperatures from minnesota to michigan highs only in the 70s across the midwest. n the ooler than normal i northeast. you're 74 in new york and 75 in boston. phoenix heats up to 108. it's nearly 90 in albuquerque, sacramento and salt lake city. >> coming up, turning a profit. taxpayers already making money off the bailout banks. plus, lost off the texas coast for more than a week.

three fishermen are back on dry land with an amazing story to share. we will update our breaking story. a massive wildfire threatens homes in southern california. nn.

stocks are stumbling overseas to start the week. tokyo's nikkei average fell 0.4% today. hong kong's hang seng is sharply lower. the market is closed in london for a holiday. wall street starts the day at

9,544 after gaining 38 points last week. the nasdaq inched up nearly 8 points to close at 2028. the $700 billion bank bailout is beginning to pay dividends for taxpayers. a survey by "the new york times" finds the government has earned about $4 billion in profit from eight big banks that have fully repaid their bailouts. that's the equivalent of about a 15% annual return on the investment but there are still billions at risk in other banks. insurance companies and, of course, the automakers. a new survey find economists are happy with the federal reserve but wondering what comes next. almost 70% of economists surveyed say the fed's interest rate policy is just right. that's up from 56% a year ago. 49% of them say the central bank should leave rate rates alone for six months while 45% say it is time to start raising rates. general motors is launching a joint venture in china expanding in the fast growing market. gm is teaming up with a state ended automaker.

china has been one of the few bright spots for gm recently. the sales there jumped nearly 40% in the first half of this year. well, jetblue could soon have a getaway to europe. they are reportedly working on a transatlantic alliance with lufthansa. "the financial times" report they could announce plans today. it would make transfers to overseas flights easier for jetblue passengers while gifts lufthansa greater access to new york. horror ruled over the weekend. "the final destination" debuted in the top spot. fourth movie in the franchise took in more than $28 million. "inglourious basterds" slipped to number two and another horror movie "halloween ii" opened in third. >> i will not be seeing any of them. latest business news any time at our websit abcnews.com. coming up next, lost at sea. they lived on one cracker a day for eight days until being rescued over the weekend. the big winners of last night's daytime emmy awards.

welcome back. tease are the latest headlines from abc news. crews battling the massive blaze north of los angeles are mourning two of their own this morning. the firefighters died when their truck rolled off a mountain. high winds are expected across the region again today. hurricane jimenez packing 145-mile-an-hour winds is spinning towards mexico's baja, california, peninsula. it is expected to make landfall there tomorrow. and georgia authorities are offering $25,000 for information about the weekend deaths of eight people in a mobile home park. they say they have few details. >>and now to an amazing survival story. three texas boaters are back on dry land after spending more than a week adrift in the gulf of mexico. somehow they managed to hang on to their capsized boat until a lone fisherman spotted them. here's stephanie sy. >> reporter: they were rescued after more than eight days

adrift at sea, subsisting on crackers and chewing gum. james phillips, curt hall and tressell hawkins owe their lives to a local car dealer who was fishing on his yacht. he spotted the stranded men atop their capsized catamaran. >> they got the binoculars out and said "well, somebody's up in flagging a white flag." it turned out it was a t-shirt. >> reporter: just two days before, the coast guard had given up their search when yaklin found them, they were more than 180 miles from shore. >> i was trying to help them into the boat. hell, they jumped in the boat. >> reporter: he captured their return journey on his camcorder. their first phone calls home -- >> i'll be home sometime late, late tonight. >> reporter: their first real meal, steak. >> they were hungry. they hasn't eaten in eight days. they hadn't drank water. they had been rationing the water. crackers -- one guy on the boat said, i'm taking all the crackers. he said, i'm dealing them out. he gave them one cracker a day.

and that's all they had to eat. >> reporter: they drank from a water ta used for cleaning the boat. it was during an overnight fishing trip that they were awakened by the sound of water coming in. within moments, the 23-foot vessel rolled over. >> when we picked them up off the yacht, everybody seemed okay, and they were just really happy and excited knowing they were coming back to a safe place. >> reporter: the men say they survived blistering sunburns, warded off sharks and experienced hallucinations. survival stories they're lucky to tell. stephanie sy, abc news. and we will find out what kept those lucky guys going tomorrow on "good morning america." hundreds of people lined up to pay respects to ted kennedy's grave site in arlington national cemetery. a simple cross and memorial tablet mark the site near the graves of john and robert kennedy. sunday was the first day the public could enter the area after a private family service saturday. michael jackson's father is calling for a full congressional investigation into his son's death.

joe jackson told sky news that more than just doctors were involved. a day earlier the los angeles coroner announced jackson's death was a homicide caused mainly by propofol and another sedative. he is scheduled to be buried this thursday. chance to toot our own horns at abc. the network was the top winner of last night's emmy awards. lifetime achievement award went to "sesame street" for 40 years of educating children. "the bold and the beautiful" took top honors and abc's "the view" won for best talk show hosts and "good morning america" was honored as the best morning program. >> congrats to them. >> "america this morning" not on the list. maybe next year. >> or the year after that. those american hikers being held in iran. our snapshot of the morning. gcaoousus aord e.e.us my name is herb. i live in northport, alabama. i'm semi retired and i'm here to tell a story.

my parents all smoked. my grandparents smoked. i've been a long-time smoker. you know, discouragement is a big thing in quitting smoking. i'm a guy who had given up quitting. what caused me to be interested was, chantix is not a nicotine product and that intrigued me. the doctor said while you're taking it you can continue to smoke during the first week. (announcer) chantix is proven to reduce the urge to smoke. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. today i see myself as a jolly old man, (laughing) who doesn't have to smoke. ...who doesn't have to sneak out to take a couple puffs of a cigarette anymore.

(announcer) herb quit smoking with chantix and support. talk to your doctor about chantix and a support plan that's right for you. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice ata tion, h, ti,eslityondeprsi or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal s, stop taking chantix and cayoc durtoawrit .gh day talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. tell your doctor which medicines you are taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you,

use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit moking products. the urges weren't like they used to be, and that help me quit. ut (announcer) talk to your doctor to find welcome back to "america this morning." that is the space shuttle "discovery" doing its back flip ma however so nasa can check the underside for any damage. "discovery" has now docked with the international space station where there were hugs and handshakes all around. the shuttle is bringing thousands of pounds of gear and equipment including the now famous treadmill named after stephen colbert. we are getting a new look at american hikers under arrest in iran. these pictures of josh fattal, sarah shourd and shane bauer were taken the day before they went on the hike that resulted

in their detention. they've now been held by iran for a month. their supporters say they mistakenly entered it by crossing an unmarked border with iraqi kurdistan. the rebuilding continued in new orleans over the weekend as the city marked four years since it was devastated by katrina. as more homes go up, mayor ray nagin urged rest depths to refledge on thety's progress. it was one of the deadliest hurricanes ever. the fourth and final tennis tournament begins in new york. we have baseball this morning. highlights in jonathan coachman at espnews. good morning. a busy weekend in sports. we'll start on the dime. little league world series championship game. chula vista, california, taking on chinese taipei. vice president joe biden, chris drury inducted into the hall of excellence pregame. top ird, sung crushes it.

chinese taipei up 2-0. chin oh, back-to-back jacks. up 3-0. bottom two four, chula vista on the comeback. wild pitch. here comes nick con lynn. he scores and ties the game. all up at three. later in the inning, game still tied at 3. bulla graft, a single to right. andy ri ichlrios scores. bases load for chinese taipei. only one out. chin on h, you know he's got power. he's going to ground to short. oh, aware. the 6-3 double play. chula vista victorious and the united states has now won the last five little league world series titles. national league wild card, rockies up a game on the giants bottom seven, edgar renteria

with the bases loaded. they trailed by 3. now they're up one. and now the wild card is tied. giants win, 9-5 and sweep the series. that'll do it for now. jeremy and vinita, back to you in the studio. >> well, it was a collective splat over the weekend as an american city followed in the footsteps of spain's world famous tomato festival. >> thousands hurled 50,000 pounds of tomatoes at a copycat food fight in reno, nevada. does that look like fun or dangerous. paid $10 each to pelt one another and 50 bucks to take aim at two local politicians and all the money went to the benefit of the american cancer society. >> i say fun. >> looks like fun. you're right. ( music, toasters popping ) ♪ mmm... hot fudge sundae. ♪

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finally a rising star making a racket on the court and she's thought even old enough for kindergarten. >> that's right. a pint-sized project di in florida may already be well on her way in becoming a superstar in the tennis world because she is getting a big jump on the competition. here's abc's andrea canning. >> pop the popcorn. atta girl. >> reporter: nicknamed "kangaroo" for her quick footwork, mia lines has come from australia to this elite florida tennis academy with big dreams. >> i want to win all of them. >> reporter: all of them? so you want to win a grand slam? >> yep. >> reporter: mia trains for 3 hours a day in 95-degree heat with legendary coach rick macci, who's known for turning small players into big stars including jennifer capriati, the williams sisters and andy roddick. but mia is the youngest he's taken on. >> ready? >> yeah! >> i've never seen anybody that's bringing this genetically to the table. it's a journey, but i think there's definitely a place for her on the pro tour.

>> reporter: mia's father introduced her to the game the day she was born. >> what does that do? >> eye-ball coordination. >> reporter: and glen has invested everything in mia's future, even quitting his job. >> you're not on a holiday. >> reporter: we hear about so many parents pushing their children wanting them to be the best. >> i am just going to let mia decide how she goes. a lot say three hours is too long. a lot let their kids play on playstation, drinking cans of soda. >> reporter: glen says mia still gets to be a kid but she's a kid with an agent who is already a veteran of interviews. >> i start to like rick. >> reporter: she also wasn't shy about giving me tips on my game. my shots aren't going over the net, mia. >> hit it higher. >> reporter: andrea canning, abc