staying in. republican senate candidate todd akin says he won't quit the race, even though several members of his own party want him out over his controversial remarks about rape and abortion. seeking shelter. thousands in northern california evacuate as a massive wildfire closes in on their homes. >> it's been overwhelming, but we're strong, and i pray every night that it's not going to take my home. and changing course. for the first time in an 80-year history, augusta national, home of the masters, has admitted female members. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. senate candidate todd akin is

vowing to stay in the race, but the clock is ticking on his campaign this morning. the republican says he won't quit over comments he made about rape and abortion, though we'll likely know for sure at 6:00 p.m. eastern tonight, the deadline for him to get out of the race. support from his own party for his candidacy is fading fast and millions in funding are drying up. the race is key to the gop's efforts to regain control of the senate. susan mcginnis starts us off this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, terrell. the reaction has been strong since that comment. the national republican senatorial campaign has withdrawn $5 million. a super pac backed by karl rove is withdrawing ads. it looks like the gop wants akin out and doesn't want to see the senate seat go away. calls for missouri congressman todd akin to resign are mounting. akin says he's not going anywhere. >> i'm announcing today that we're going to stay in. >> reporter: the controversy started when akin, a republican, was asked by a local tv station

if he would support abortions for women who are raped. >> from what i understand from doctors, that's really rare. if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. >> reporter: the reaction was swift and overwhelming in condemning the comment from his senate opponent to the president. >> the views expressed were offensive. rape is rape. >> there is no such thing as an illegitimate rape. >> reporter: akin apologized for the comments monday and said he suffered from foot-in-mouth disease. >> let me be clear, rape is never legitimate. it's an evil act that's committed by violent predators, and i also know that people do become pregnant from rape, and i didn't mean to imply that that wasn't the case. >> reporter: republicans on capitol hill view the missouri senate seat as critical in their efforts to regain a majority in the senate. so, many in the gop are pressuring the congressman to pull out of the race. >> you're the boss. >> reporter: massachusetts senator scott brown was the first to publicly call for akin

to withaw. >> i find,000 comments unacceptable, really outrageous, and obviously, i've asked him to step down. >> reporter: he was quickly joined by others, including senator john cornyn, who is leading the republican effort to win back the senate. cornyn issued a statement, saying "congressman akin should carefully consider what is best for him, his family, the republican party." but his opponent said the gop should respect missouri's voters. >> i think it would be radical for a national party to come into a state and basically give the back of their hand to the voters of their party. >> reporter: mitt romney did not call on akin to withdraw from the race, but he did say the comments were indefensible. now, as for the claim that a woman's body can reject a pregnancy caused by rape, the notion is not a new one, but a lot of medical experts say it does contradict basic biological truths. terrell? >> susan mcginnis in washington this morning, thank you so much.

in the race for the white house, president obama held an unannounced news conference. the president defended the tone of his campaign against accusations that it's taken the low road. nancy cordes has that story. >> reporter: the president took only a few questions in his first news conference since governor romney accused him of waging a campaign filled with anger and hate. >> the campaign suggested repeatedly without proof that mr. romney may be hiding something in his tax returns. they have suggested that mr. romney might be a felon for the way he handed over power of bain capital. have you asked them to change their tone when it comes to defining mr. romney? >> if you look at the overall trajectory of our campaign and the ads that i have approved and are produce ad by my campaign, you'll see that we point out sharp differences between the candidates, but we don't go out of bounds. and when it comes to releasing taxes, that's a precedent that was set decades ago, including by governor romney's father.

>> reporter: for weeks, the romney campaign has been calling on the president to disavow this ad made by a democratic outside group. the ad suggests mr. romney contributed to a woman's death from cancer because her husband lost his insurance five years earlier, when romney's former firm closed his field plant. >> i do not think mitt romney realizes what he's done to anyone. >> why not send a message to this top super pac that's supporting you and say i think an ad like that is out of bounds? >> i don't think that governor romney is somehow responsible for the death of the woman that was portrayed in that ad. but keep in mind, this is an ad that i didn't approve, i did not produce, and as far as i can tell, has barely run. >> reporter: the president pointed out that the romney campaign itself and not some outside group is currently running ads against him that distort his position on welfare policy. nancy cordes, cbs news, the white house. the campaign finances. now mitt romney has a growing

cash advantage over the president's campaign. last month, campaign finance reports showed the obama campaign raised just over $49 million but spent about $59 million. by contrast, romney's campaign reported taking in just over $40 million last month and spending about $33 million. heading into next week's gop convention, the obama campaign has $124 million in cash reserves, romney has $186 million. that's a $62 million cash advantage. to foreign affairs now and the crisis in syria. during his news conference yesterday, president obama warned the assad regime that the use of chemical or biological weapons could trigger a military response from the u.s. >> that's a red line for us, and there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front or the use of chemical weapons. that would change my calculation significantly. >> syrian forces again used air strikes to hit rebel strongholds in the city of aleppo and

shelled neighborhoods in damascus. activists claim at least 100 people were killed by syrian troops monday. a japanese journalist has been killed covering the rebellion in syria. japan government says veteran correspondent mika yamamoto was killed by gunfire traveling with one of the main rebel groups at the time. a shift in the wind has helped crews in california trying to get a handle on a huge wildfire that threatens 3,500 homes. the ponderosa fire is burning 170 miles north of sacramento. seven homes have already been destroyed. and in the words of one evacuee, "all we can do now is pray." bigad shaban reports. >> reporter: firefighters in northern california are using every tool they have to try to stop a fast-moving blaze 170 miles north of sacramento. the ponderosa fire started over the weekend during a lightning storm. bone-dry conditions and temperatures near 100 degrees helped it spread quickly. it's an uphill battle for firefighters. >> the challenges are the heat,

the terrain, very dry field conditions. the fire is releasing a lot of energy. >> reporter: the ponderosa fire is just one of more than 40 large wildfires burning across the west in what's been a very active fire season, tough on firefighters as well as those forced to flee their homes. >> hi, sleepy! >> reporter: michelle patience and her family live in one of the 3,500 homes threatened by the ponderosa fire. they had just minutes to evacuate. >> you could see the glow from the fire. you could see the smoke. it looks kind of like a mushroom cloud, like when a bb goes off. >> reporter: patience still doesn't know whether she has a home to go back to. answers for her and thousands of others could still be days away. >> it's been overwhelming, but we're strong, and i pray every night that it's not going to take my home. >> reporter: lighter winds and temperatures in the 60s overnight should favor firefighters. the forecast for tuesday is sunny and 97. not everyone who's been ordered to evacuate has.

i spoke with one man who says he has 250 reasons to stay put. that's how many cows he has on his ranch. if he leaves, he says he's worried about their wellbeing as well as his livelihood, but he says he still understands the threat. ironically enough, he's a retired firefighter. bigad shaban, cbs news, shingletown, california. breaking news this morning about a missile attack against a u.s. military plane in afghanistan. it was scheduled to carry general martin dempsey, chairman staff, was hit before it took f off from an afghan air base, but dempsey was not yet on the aircraft. general dempsey is the nation's highest ranking military officer. he arrived in afghanistan on monday following a wave of attacks by afghan forces on nato service members. we'll continue to follow that story throughout the morning. coming up on the "morning news," a glimpse at the future in travel. no wheels necessary. a bike that floats above the

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all you jedi masters are going to love this! looks like the cedar bike from "star wars," right? actually, it's a hover craft made by a company called aeroflight and it's said to be the atv of the future. it's 30 feet high and can travel up to 30 miles an hour. they say they will make an unmanned version to be used by farmers and the military to deliver heavy supply. something else for us to break our necks it on out there. "cbs money watch." airline fares pick up. erica ferrari here in new york with that. good morning to you. >> good g, morninrrell. late-day losses for overseas markets. the nikkei shed a fraction. the hang seng was unchanged. it's official, apple is now the most valuable company of all time. yesterday the computer company's value surged to $624 billion. that's more than what microsoft was once worth in the 1990s and

it's 54% more than the next most valuable company, exxonmobil. apple's stock was up $17 to finish at an all-time high of $665 per share. but that didn't do much to excite wall street. trading was quiet on monday. the dow lost three points and the nasdaq gave less. and it's getting more expensive to fly. several large airlines are following the lead of southwest, which last week raised prices on some flights by $10. experts say you can expect airlines to keep trying to raise fares because jet fuel costs are going up again. and you can expect more americans on the road and in the airports during the labor day weekend. according to aaa, 33 million americans will be traveling over the holiday. that's up nearly 3% from a year ago, and that includes more than 28 million drivers traveling 50 miles or more. and terrell, they don't seem to

be worried about the price of gas, which yesterday hit an all-time high for the month of august. >> people just want a vaca. erica ferrari in new york. erica, thank you so much. when we come back, your weather forecast. and in sports, taking a bite out of michael vick. the eagles qb gets shaken up for a second straight game. >> announcer: "money watch" sponsored by just for men mustache and beard. keep living the dream. mornings aren't always perfect. that's why i give them carnation breakfast essentials. it's packed with 21 vitamins and minerals and protein so kids get the nutrition they need to start the day right. carnation breakfast essentials. good nutrition from the start.

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here's the weather in some cities around the country. clouds and sun in new york, 81. thunderstorms in miami, 91. partly sunny in chicago, 76. afternoon thunderstorms in dallas, 88. clouds and sun in los angeles, 84 degrees. let's check your national forecast. it will be dry across much of the country. scattered showers and thunderstorms could pop up from florida to north carolina in the central plains. some areas could see downpours of one inch or more and above-average temperatures return to the north-central states. in sports this morning, something you didn't think you'd see again, roger clemens back on the mound. right, exactly. the rocket is expected to announce today that he's going to play for an independent league team in sugarland, texas. in june, the 50-year-old clemens was acquitted of charges he lied to congress about using performance-enhancing drugs. in the big leagues, the yanks' max teixeira hits an rbi single. nick swisher beats the throw to home to tie against the white sox. next inning, alexei ramirez will

answer, launching a two-run jack to left. white sox beat the yanks 9-6 to end a three-game losing streak. the angels' angel pagan flies home just as catcher a.j. ellis gets the ball and manages to barely avoid the tag. san fran takes down the dodgers 3-1 to regain the league in the national league west by half a game. in preseason football, the eagles' michael vick took another hit. in the first quarter, he was leveled by the patriots' jermaine cunningham. vick left the game. x-rays turned up negative. it's the second straight game he was taken out. the vickless eagles, though, played well enough to win, beating new england 27-17. when we come back, a first for augusta national. the private golf club will add two women to its membership, including former secretary of state condoleezza rice.

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here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. in washington, thunderstorms,

84. partly cloudy in atlanta, 86. partly sunny skies in st. louis, 84 degrees. partly sunny in denver, 87. clouds to sun in seattle, 70 degrees. an historic moment for women. it took 80 years, but the augusta national golf club, home of the masters, is no longer an all-boys club. blacks were not able to enter until 1990, but condoleezza rice and financier darla moore will soon become members. >> and bubba watson is wearing a green jacket at augusta. >> in the world of private country club golf, there is augusta national, and then there's every other course. its breathtaking beauty, devilish design and iconic green jacket showcased every april as part of the masters, the most traditional and treasured tournament in golf. for 80 years, that tradition

included augusta national's all-male membership. earlier this year, protests over the policy were reignited before virginia rometti was appointed the new chief executive of ibm, one of the masters' corporate sponsors. the four previous male heads of ibm had all been members of augusta. the issue forced current augusta chairman billy payne to face some uncomfortable questions. >> what do you think about sending a wonderful message to the young girls around the world that if they knew one day they could join this very famous golf club? >> great question. >> once again, that deals with the membership issue and i'm not going to answer it. >> reporter: in announcing that historic news, payne said "it will be a proud moment when we present condoleezza and darla their green jackets when the club opens this fall." the newest members, rice and moore, are close friends who share southern roots. in a statement released by the club, the 57-year-old rice said "i have visited augusta national

on several occasions and look forward to playing golf, renewing friendships and forming new ones through this very special opportunity." as for the 58-year-old moore, in the 1980s, she became the highest paid woman in the banking industry and the first ever profiled on the cover of "fortune" magazine. women's rights advocate martha burke led the first major protest against the club and then chairman johnson ten years ago. >> i am delighted. we have prevailed, and i knew it was going to take a while, but we did it. i'm very happy. >> arma ketan, cbs news, new york. and "the princeton review" releases the latest edition of the top schools. top party schools, back at number one, west virginia university, second the university of iowa followed by ohio university. bowdoin college in maine has the best food. washington university in st. louis has the best dorms. and you can find the happiest students at rice university.

nvcu! just kidding, i added that part, my school. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." [ radio ] it's a scorcher out there...stay refreshed! [ female announcer ] new lipton tea & honey. sweetened with honey, made from real tea leaves and real fruit flavors. ♪ it's never felt so real ♪ no, it's never felt so right ♪ [ female announcer ] only 5 calories. new lipton tea & honey. [ female announcer ] only 5 calories. if you think occasional irregulathink twice.ig deal, it may be a sign that your digestive system could be working better. listen to this. with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system, causing discomfort. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when consumed 3 times per day. 7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia.

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. good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is tuesday, august 21. i'm andrea roane. it's so fortunate it says that name and the date. i'm mike hydeck. it's a little trick we have. monika samtani does traffic.

she's here. miss olga breese is in for howard once again. good morning. good morning. a decent weekend coming up. we had that rain yesterday. things are a little foggy, too. patches of fog as you step out this morning but they're few and far between. we are looking at a forecast that's kind of mixed. we'll start off with cloud cover this morning. our day planner, however, is going to feature a little bit of sunshine i think late morning, midday. we're looking good as temperatures push through the upper 70s near 80 degrees by your lunch break. by the early afternoon the cloud cover will begin to return. that means a late day shower or storm is possible. i think our high will make it right around 84 degrees between 3:00 and 4:00 this afternoon. then once the cloud cover starts to come in, temperatures will begin to drop back on down back to the 70s and 80s. it does look like we'll keep things fairly mild. overnight temperatures didn't dip too low. still sitting at 67 at reagan national. that's warm and muggy with high

humidity. all is code green for us for the next three days as we slip through the middle 80s and start to push the upper 80s by the end ever the week. good morning -- of the week. good morning, everybody. looking pretty good on the beltway. no issues to report all around town. i'm going to take i up north where there had been a train derailment overnight and in ellicott city you'll want to know that frederick road is blocked at ellicott mills drive. it's a cargo train derailment so you'll want to make old columbia pike instead. this is east of route 29 in ellicott city. keep that in mind for your travel plans if you're heading north. let's go further south on route 29 at briggss cheney road. no issues to report here. back over to our maps and this time to 270. if you're planning to come in from frederick on 270, all lanes are open. no issues to report into clarksburg where the lanes divide. southbound 270 at montrose road looking great through

rockville. we'll be back with more traffic at 4:39. we have some breaking news to report out of howard county, maryland. emergency crews are on the scene of a deadly train derailment in ellicott city. it happened right around midnight on the historic bridge in downtown. >> howard county executive ken ullman says the csx coal train was carrying 30 cars and 20 derailed. two people who were walking on the road were killed by these train cars. 50 officers from howard county and bat mord county -- baltimore county responded to the scene. the coal is all over the road and the bridge. follow-up to a sad story from yesterday. we know the name of the 23-year- old prince george's county whrifer who was killed in -- whrifer who was -- police officer who was killed in a crash. adrian morris died yesterday afternoon when he was flown from his patrol car. they were pursuing a suspect at

the time. the cruiser ran off the highway into a ditch. matt jablow has the story. >> reporter: one of their own was killed in the line of duty. >> it shows the courage and dedication of these officers. >> reporter: it happened around 1:00 this afternoon. that's when two prince george's county cops riding in the same cruiser spotted to men in a car, suspects from an attempted theft at a laurel gas station earlier in the day. >> they transmitted their location to the dispatcher. >> reporter: according to the chief police, the officers started pursuing the suspect's car southbound on 95 when for some reason right around powder mill road, the police car swerved off the road and slammed into a ditch. >> this is a very sad day. >> reporter: the officer who was driving who was identified late tonight as 23-year-old adrian morris, a two-year veteran of the prince george's county and a member of the department's explorer program as a teenager. he