arwa damon following the story for us. we'll talk to her in a few minutes. >>> five more banks shut down this year. the biggest failure was mutual baivg of illinois. officials estimate the lastest batch of closures will cost the fdic $900 million. a lot of smaller and regional banks have been shut down because of the downturn in economy, a lot of families can't make the payments. so that's why some of these banks get into trouble. so far 69 banks have been taken over by the government this year. >>> the murders of a florida couple last month may have been contract killings. that's what we're hearing a source familiar with the investigation is telling some reporters the state attorney's office thinks most of the suspects were only there to rob byrd and melanie billings but the alleged organizer of this whole thing, winter gonzalez jr. and other suspects may have been planning this hit all along. the state attorney's office says he cannot comment on that. >> my belief that the primary motive for this murder was robbery. howe

arwa damon, cnn, baghdad. >>> also in iran today, more than 100 people who took part in june election protests are on trial accused of trying to overthrow iran's government. the defendants include a former vice president and other pro-reform political leaders. some of the defendants were brought into court handcuffed to each other in pairs. a prosecutor accused of defendants of being tools of foreign power, reformists are blasting the trials saying the defendants had been denied access to lawyers. >>> make sure you join us right here at 7:00 p.m. evening, i'll discuss the group trials in iran with ka rim sadjadpour. >>> it's been a deadly day in afghanistan. three american service members died when two road side bombs struck a patrol in southern kandahar province. meanti meantime, the french government says one french troop died an two wound in that attack. >>> did al qaeda infiltrate the british secret service? one says it spotlight and is demanding an investigation. the elite mi-5 intelligence agency recruited two men who attended al qaeda training camps in pakistan. the men receive

cnn's arwa damon joins us from baghdad. what's the latest on what you're hearing from there, and help us understand how it is that these hikers, these tourists just happened to end up in the wrong country? >> reporter: hi, fredricka. well, iran press tv is now reporting that three americans are in their custody, in the custody of the military, saying that they were detained for illegally crossing the border between northern iraq and iran, also because they failed to heed warnings by iranian border guards. this is what we know about their journey over the last few days. four americans started out in syria. two of them are students there, headed off to turkey and entered northern iraq on the 28th of july. they made their way from the city from ramill on thursday, and then friday morning, three of them, because -- they went to this place one day behind because he wasn't feeling well. ahmed awa is a popular tourist destination, mountains, hiking routes, water falls. it's absolutely stunning. but it is also right up against the

cnn's arwa damon is following the story from baghdad. >> reporter: this is the time line as we know it. four american tourists departed from syria. two were students there. heading for turkey. on the 28th of july they crossed from turkey into northern iraq to the city of irbil. 30th of july they went from irbil to another city. early morning, 31 us of july. three of them got into a taxi and went to an area, one stayed behind because he was set to be sick. the three stayed in regular contact with their friend who stayed behind. until 1:30 p.m. local time on the 31st. where they called and said "we are surrounded by iranian soldiers." the area, very appealing for tourists because of the natural terrain, the beauty that exists there, also right up against the iranian border. local tourist police in the region are said to have run into the three americans and told them to be careful because of the proximity to the iranian border. the police said to them "you are americans not iraqis." these are very tense times, beware. the americans who stayed behind, then departed his hotel at around 4:3

live to the middle east and arwa damon with the details. >> reporter: hello, don. we have also confirmed that shawn mcfessle, according to his grand mother, he is a fourth american traveling with the other three, is in the embassy in baghdad. this is what happened, the time line as we do know it. the four americans, four of them started out in the beginning left from syria and then traveled to turkey, crossing into northern iraq on july 28th. and then on july 31st, they ended up in suey ma knee, where three of them, including josh went to an area near where the iranian border. shawn mcfessle stayed behind because he wasn't feeling well. this is a beautiful tourist destination but it's right up against the border with iran. so tourist police who ran into the three had actually warned them about the proximity that they were into iran, told them to be careful saying, look, you're american. you're not iraqi. and these are very tense times. the last that shawn mcfessle, who stayed behind heard from his three friends came in the form of a phone call at 1:30 on friday, wh

for more, we turn to cnn's arwa damon who is monitoring all the developments for us from baghdad. >> reporter: the u.s. department of state has asked swiss diplomats to look into reports on iranian tv that they have, in fact, arrested three americans, and if this is true, to see if they could gain counselor access. iranian tv is reporting that the three were detained by the iranian military, along the border with northern iraq for illegal crossing into iran and failing to heed the border guard's warnings. the three's journey started in syria with a fourth companion. from syria they went to turkey and then crossed into northern iraq. and arrived in sulaimaniya on thursday. on friday morning, three of them, one stayed behind because he was sick, traveled to an area right up against the iranian border. this is a beautiful tourist destination. very popular for hikers and people who admire nature, alike. the three were in regular contact with their friends until 1:30 p.m. on friday. that is when the last phone call was made saying we are surrounded by the iranian military. local police in

arwa damon joins us live from baghdad with the latest on the developments. >> reporter: good morning, don. it has been a really devastating day here in baghdad with that death toll that everyone fears is going to continue to rise. the deadliest bombings, as you were saying, are targeting iraqi's government institutions. two rock bombs, one exploding in front of iraq's ministry of finance, the other in front of iraq's ministry of foreign affairs. that one, by far, the most devastating, literally blowing through the facade of the ten-story building. we did manage to get down to the scene of that explosion. iraqi security forces there standing with expressions of sheer shock on their faces. ambulances screaming by. walking wounded and then those trying to save individuals whom they believed may have been trapped underneath the rubble. this is the deadliest day in iraq since the u.s. military completed the withdrawal of its combat forces from iraqi cities and towns on june 30th. since then the iraqi government has been very much trying to tout itself as being under control, convince the i

cnn's arwa damon joins us now live from baghdad. arwa i know these three americans are on mountain hike. they, of course, strayed across the border. do we have any idea, where exactly are they now? >> reporter: well, what we are hearing from kurdish officials that have been following this very closely, because the area where this happened is in iraq's kurdish north. they're saying that they believe that these three are still being held at that border post where they are said to have been detained by the iranian military. this is what we know about think movements prior to the initial reports that they went missing. four americans actually started out their journey, two are students, traveled from turkey on to northern iraq. they eventually ended up in the city where one fell ill and the other three very early friday morning headed out 0 to this area right up against the iranian border, and very much a destiny because ever the natural rugged beaut they exists there. were in regular contact with the friend left behind but then made a d

cnn's arwa damon has been at the scene with some of these attacks. she joins us now live. arwa, you watch that clip of when the explosion took place and it's so typical to see an iraqi barely react and keep on going with the news conference. how many times have we witnessed that? >> reporter: kyra, we've unfortunately witnessed it countless times. this is a country that is very used to violence, but today's attacks and the fact it is the deadliest day since the iraqis took over, really resonates with the people. because even though many of them would say that they hope that the worst was over, they all knew and had this fear in the back of their heads that it wasn't. and we saw that today, where in the span of just an hour, six bombings, two of them truck bombings, one, as wru saying earlier, targeting the ministry of finance, and the other in front of the ministry of foreign affairs which is just outside the heavily fortified green zone which is meant to be one of the safer areas in the capital. the blast there, to give you an idea, was so powerful that it not just blew th

our arwa damon has more. >> reporter: hi, betty, t.j. ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar calendar and a time when muslims fast. sunrise to sunset about ab staining from food, drink and other physical needs. it is meant to be a time of purification of the soul, a time for muslims to feel closer to god. a time of sacrifice. it is also meant to be a time of giving. for example, if a person is ill or traveling, or unable to fast, they are encouraged to give money and food to the poor. now, during this time period, there are also a number of very special traditions, meals that are prepared, to make bun's fast. we'll also see families getting together before sunrise to

arwa damon. thank you, hoping the best for the hikers. appreciate that. >>> the trials for some 100 iranian protestors are reportedly taking place today in tehran. these are the men and women arested in the streets. you saw earlier following disputed re-election of the iranian president, mahmoud ahmadinejad. among charges, rioting and conspireing against the ruling system. key members of the government complained today's hearings began without their knowledge. iranian officials say nearly half the detainees arrested during the june street protests were already free this week. >>> cash for clunkers. more on that. seems to be a pretty popular program. dealers seem happy. people are buying cars. what's not to like? we talk to an auto analyst who said there are lots of problems. also big problems at la guardia airport earlier today. we'll explain why one terminal was evacuated and how traveling is going now. limb: dude that was sick! i've been hangin' up there for, what, like, forty years? and then - wham - here i am smacking the pretty off t

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and arwa damon, rick, if you haven't seen it, has a terrific report on these suggestions that gay meniraq are being tortured right now. what's going on? there's a lot of disturbing information just coming in to "the situation room." we'll have that for our viewers. >> best political show on television. "the situation room" with wolf blitzer. thanks, wolf. we'll look forward to it. >> thank you. >>> in india, this guy's a big bollywood star. in new jersey, just a guy who apparently looks to somebody else like a terrorist. is this a tsa profiling case or somebody trying to get publicity for themselves? i was in the grocery store when i had a heart attack. my daughter was with me. i took a bayer aspirin out of my purse and chewed it. my doctor said the bayer aspirin saved my life. please talk to your doctor about aspirin and your heart. i'm going to be grandma for a long time. it doesn't cover everything. and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money. that's why you should consider... an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by united healthcare insurance company. it can

>> arwa damon, thank you.nt story. >>> veterans who have served in iraq and elsewhere won't see any changes in benefits under health care reforms being considered in washington. that word today from veterans affairs secretary eric shinseki, who spoke at a philadelphia town hall meeting hosted by senator arlen specter. he says the department is getting a 15% increase in its 2010 budget and he promised to modernize the va for the 21st century. cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr has a look now at a program for troubled vets trying to find their way back after coming home. >> reporter: wolf, we're here at a homeless camp that has sprung up under one of l.a.'s busy freeways. this city has the largest population of homeless veterans in the country, about 15,000, many from the vietnam war but now the first young troubled vets from iraq and afghanistan are beginning to appear. you know, it kind of helps me forget about anything, helps me stay calm. >> reporter: a calm far from sergio's combat duty in iraq. he se

we get details from cnn's arwa damon. >> reporter: when this video sprung up on youtube back in januarythe human rights watch warns of spreading torture and murder against the gay iraq community. they always used to hupt us but after the video posted it became much worse, this gay man tells us. he and his three friends brave enough to speak out but too frightened to have their identities revealed. >> what are some of the atrocities being committed against the gay community that you know of? >> translator: many of my friends were killed and many others wound order harmed the eldest said. many were tortured. they shot glue up our anus. they start add war against us. i was with my boyfriend driving around. i had my head on his shoulder, there man remembers. security forces stopped us, ordered us out of the car. they beat my boyfriend severely and put him in jail. he's been there for four months. part of it warnses if you do not end this shameful behavior, your fate will be death. some gay iraqis have even been killed by their own families, ashamed of the stigma surrounding homosexual. he w

arwa damon has more on that. >> reporter: hi, betty, t.j. ramadan is the ninth month of the islamic lunar calendar, a time where muslims throughout the entire world fast from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from food, drink, smoking and other physical needs. it is meant to be a time of purification of the soul, a time for muslims to feel closer to god, a time of sacrifice. it is also meant to be a time of giving. for example, if a person is ill or traveling or unable to fast, they're encouraged to give money and food to the poor. now, during this time period, there are also a number of very special traditions, meals that are prepared to break one's fast. you will also see families getting together before sunrise to have a final meal before they have to fast for the rest of the day. it is also very much one of the five pillars of islam. and while this is very much intended to be a time of peace where one not only abstains from food and drink but also from all sorts of negative emotions, muslims are meant to try to control things like anger, env

>> arwa damon joining us live. we want to talk more about this. this week's attacks are not only calling into force, but whether they pulled out of the cities too soon. barbara starr joins us live from the pentagon. barba barbara, is this violence changing the strategy at all? >> even if the u.s. wanted to change its military strategy in iraq now, it has to get the agreement of the iraqi government of maliki. under that bilateral agreement signed between the two governments for any u.s. troops to be put back into a combat role on iraq's city streets, the iraqis would have to make the request. and it seems very problematic that maliki would do that because he would be confessing at this point to his own people that his security forces have failed. but top u.s. commanders say that wednesday's attacks that arwa just outlined that have had such a brutal impact on the civilian population that these attacks were a security lapse by the iraqis. that they need more training, they're very fragile, and they do need help. so it's a bit of a problem right now

cnn's arwa damon is working the story for us from baghdad. ar arwa?> reporter: wolf, security forces said two individuals confessed to wanting to attack the u.s. military bait in kuwait using a truck packed with explosives sometime during ramadan, which begins next week. the other four individuals who they detained part of this terror cell will be interrogated wednesday. the camp is a spraming $200 million complex that literally springs out of the kuwaiti desert, and home to thousands of u.s. troops. it is also the army's forward headquarters for operations in the region, especially logistics operations to iraq. now, white kuwait is not known as being a home or headquarters for al qaeda, it is home to a small element of sunni extremism and a number of al qaeda cells. we are hearing that those leading the cells came from afghanistan, where they fought against the soviets and set up operations there, which increased after the u.s.-led invasion. wolf? >> arwa, thank you. i've been to that base in kuwait. it is huge, huge. we're on top of this story. >>>

. >> cnn's arwa damon goes inside a former al qaeda hideout in the iraqi desert and what she found was shocking. >>> also, growing concern over the next step in dna science. could it lead to innocent people being convicted of crimes they did not commit? >>> and the death of our long-time cnn friend and colleague, robert novak. donna brazile and mary matlin, both standing by to share their memories. with all the pet hair in the air, i'd spend class preoccupied, bothered by itchy eyes. but now i have new zyrtec® itchy eye drops. it works fast, with just one drop, to relieve my itchy eyes from allergies for up to 12 hours. no other allergy itchy eye drop works faster or longer. which is good, 'cause there's a lotta paws to shake. with new zyrtec® itchy eye drops i can love the air™. (announcer) find it in the allergy aisle next to other zyrtec® products. >>> al qaeda in iraq, perpetrators of unspeakable crimes, including beheading, ar rah damon travels to a former hideout in the iraqi desert, a horrifying place where insurgents routinely tortured and killed their victims. >> reporter: fro

we begin with cnn's arwa damon in the iraqi capital. >> reporter: suzanne, it was the type of violenceays when the insurgency was at its peak, the type of violence that so many iraqis had hoped was a thing of the past. in the span of less than an hour, six attacks, the deadliest day in iraq since the country took responsibility for its own security on june 30th. this is the aftermath of just one of many bombings to strike the capital, baghdad. we're here just few moments after the explosion itself took place, a scene of toe al and utter devastation, and tensions here are running very high. this would end up being the deadliest attack, a truck packed with explosives setting off a blast so powerful it blew through the front of the foreign ministry, sent some vehicles flying, and reduced others to twisted hulks of metal. and demolished homes in the surrounding area. >> translator: i was sleeping here, and the explosion happened. the fans fell from the ceiling," he says, pointing to the damage. the areas just outside of the heavily fortified green zone, teeming with iraqi security forces.

we'll get the very latest from cnn's arwa damon in baghdad. >> reporter: suzanne, state department officialstain any information after meeting with iranian officials about the status and whereabouts of three americans who have gone missing. they strayed into iran, according to kurdish officials, from iraq's kurdish north and are believed to be held by iranian security guards. the three americans were tourist backpackers, the type of people that like to wander off of the beaten path. and they were visiting northern iraq with a fourth friend of theirs, who stayed behind in sulaimaniya. the last the fourth friend heard from them came in the form of a phone call at 1:30 on friday where they said they were surrounded by iranian security guards. the information coming out of tehran or lack thereof it is rather disconcerting given that it is iranian television that was also reporting that these three had been detained by iranian security guards. everybody's scrambling at this point to figure out exactly what happened to these americans and how to make sure they get back home safely before this beco

this is from cnn's arwa damon and a government spokesman now says there's a push to really try to educate the police force about human rights and that they are trying to emphasize that any attacks against civilians, including gays, are not allowed. but it is definitely generating a lot of conversation right now online. it is one of the most clicked on stories right now. >> i know a lot of people, too, though as we switch gears here, another real popular story is all the activity in the tropics at the moment. >> we just saw bonnie schneider giving you guys an update. it's fascinating a lot of folks in the hardest hit areas do not do anything until they see bonnie on the tube. there's a new poll that's face nating. a mason dixon poll that found 30% of people are not prepared. they do not want to be prepared. they do not actually think it's going to hit them. we're coming on almost four years since katrina, christi. can you believe it? looking back to 2005 in the katrina, wilma, and rita era, 50% of people say they have no disaster plan, christi, and no survival kit. can you believe that? >>