arwa damon live in lebanon. thank you very much, arwa. >>> you may know the dugger family from "19 kids and counting." they took ak shuck after the deadly tornado in joplin packing up supplies and driving through the night to get there to help in the rescue effort. josh and jill dugger talk about their experience in this "impact your world." >> i'm jill dugger. >> and i'm josh dugger. >> we can make a difference with search and rescue. >> and tornado relief in joplin, missouri. we were here in arkansas where we live. >> thoughts started coming. what can we do to help? >> basically we packed everything up and got water bottles, gatorade -- i've been around emergency situations in working as a volunteer firefighter. given that jill, jana are active duty firefighters, they were able to plug right in. join the movement. >> impact your world. >> go to cnn.com/impact. >> there are many ways to impact your world. if you want to help people in the recent tornado outbreaks, and it seems everybody does, go to cnn.com/impa

our arwa damon is there.here now. we've been telling you that we are standing by to hear from congresswoman michele bachmann, who has now thrown her hat into the ring for the republican nomination. she is going to be speaking at the republican leadership conference in new orleans that's going on right now. we can show you that picture there. we're waiting on her to step to the podium. while we're waiting on her and once she comes up, we'll have -- actually, it looks like she's coming up now. i'm pretty sure that person is not michele bachmann. but we're standing by. paul, let me bring you in, you're there at the conference as well -- okay, there she is. we're laying eyes on her now as she steps out. paul, she's going to say some thank yous here and i promise our viewers we'll get to her as she starts to speak, but what's the importance now of every public statement she makes, after she's picked up some momentum, and a lot of people gave her a lot of credit at that cnn debate for doing better than maybe a lot

wondering when they'll be able to go home and of course no one has that answer at this stage. >> cnn's arwa damonrting, arwa. thank you. >>> this is "world one," live from london. a quick reminder of our top stories. seven weeks after the killing the osama bin laden, al qaeda announced a new leader, the egyptian-born ayman al zawahiri served as bin laden's deputy for more than a decade. the statement posted on a number of jihadi websites says al zawahiri would honor his predecessor's legacy. the fbi is offering a $25 million reward for any information leading to his capture. >>> indonesian courts sentenced abu bakar ba'asyir to 15 years in jail. he was convicted of planning, funding and inciting terrorism. in a statement, his organization, said it rejected the verdict because it was based on laws formulated by infidels. >>> and the prime minister of greece is planning to form a new government today. george papandreou says he'll be asking for a vote of confidence in parliament, that's after a day of violent protests in athens, just look at these pictures. demonstrators were so angry over the gover

arwa damon is live near the border.lled out an application hoping to get near syria this week. find out whether it was accepted and who the actress wants to speak with. stay right there. [ waves crashing ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] and just like that, it's here. a new chance for all of us: people, companies, communities to face the challenges yesterday left behind and the ones tomorrow will bring. prudential. bring your challenges. and the ones tomorrow will bring. right now, go to priceline for a sneak peek at recent winning and better than ever! hotel bids to find where you n save up to 60% on hotels. * we'll even email you other people's winning bids, so you'll know what price to name. *á with new hotel bid alerts, from priceline. >>> in syria, the deadly crackdown by the government has driven thousands of refugees to the turkish border trying to stem the growing tie. turkish officials have also confirmed that they will allow actress angelina jolie to visit those refugee camps this coming friday. jolie will be heading t

arwa damon has the report. >> reporter: five bodies lie in pools of blood.ge is so graphic that we had to blur them. most appear to have been shot in the head. standing over them, syrian soldiers, talking to the camera. [ speaking foreign language ] one of the many jokes about eyeliner on the face of one of the dead. cnn cannot verify the authenticity of the video, but a syrian human rights group says the killings took place at the end of april. at one point, a voice says, "show me those weapons. put them there," and what looks like a gun is placed on one of the bodies. "leave them there, they are the weapons the committee will come film," the man says. we reached an activist by phone. the committee is from syrian tv. they come film and say these people were armed and they had to be killed. he says planting weapons on victims is part of the regime's strategy, to paint protesters as terrorists. syrian state television claimed security forces were targeting unarmed group and aired this strangely emotionless statement by a man, two of the dead men were his sons

arwa damon, appreciate it. stay safe >>> two days after bashar assad spoke at damascus university and promised national dialogue, thugs raided the dormitories and dragged hundreds of people away. one student is telling the story tonight. we spoke earlier. >> what can you tell us about what happened at damascus university? >> what's happened was in the morning the security people came and they broke into girl's buildings and took some girls. the girls were -- they just gathered themself and went to the management building in front of it and they shout ed [ inaudible ] . then the whole militia. we call them the death squads. so these guys came. they were around 60 or 70 people. and they shut down the power and the electricity. and they broke into the building. and just went on, destroying everything that's in their way. doors, laptops, windows. and they were holding sticks. and these electric sticks. they were hitting students as hard as they can. and then they are dragged away and taken to custody, taken to pris

cnn's arwa damon joins us live by phone from neighboring lebanon. arwa, get us up to speed on what's happening. >> reporter: richelle, hundreds of thousands turned out, according to one of the human rights organizations. funerals of dozens of people who were killed on friday. on friday we saw the determination to continue to fire lethal rounds directly into crowds of demonstrators. i witnessed an accident telling us that tens of thousands had gathered in various neighborhoods. they were trying to converge on the square, calling for the downfall of the regime. then security forces opened fire on them. the death toll standing right now at 60, according to one human rights organization. however, they do believe that it is going to be much higher. they're still trying to get information from the hospital communications inside syria. incredibly difficult. and on friday, according to activists, the regime went so far as to shut down the internet in some parts of the country. they say that's to attempt to keep the news from getting out. >> arwa damon, thank

arwa damon has made her way back into syria. she joins me live from the capital of damascus. e got to say, impressive stuff that you're in there, number one. number two, you're tweeting about it. it feels as if syria is two countries with people living in two different realities. what do you mean by that? >> reporter: the refugees say they were driving out of their villages and town because they were so terrified of the military, firmly believes if they had stayed at home, they either would have been detained or killed. at least are people who say there were no armed gangs, people who have fled by and large with the clothes on their back. that's one syria we have been seeing. the only is the one we say in one part of the capital earlier today. this was in the heart of today man cuss, near the old city. there it seemed as if life was normal. there was a loudspeaker blaring music. this is the first time over seen this. people were selling government paraphernalia. they had party hats with the president's names on it. people there very angry, coming up to us, saying this negative

arwa damon, cnn beirut. >>> quickly updating you on the story out of libya.last half hour a series of air strikes have been reported in the center of tripoli. at least ten loud explosions were heard in the libyan capital. large plumes of smoke are billowing over the city. jets can also be heard overhead. we'll bring you more on this developing story as we get it. we're taking a short break here on "world one." we'll be right back with more. somewhere in america, a city comes to life. it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80%

arwa damon caught up with a man who told her that he had video evidence of what life is now like inside syria. >> reporter: a ride on his bike turned out to be this man's final journey. he was shot in the stomach in the coastal city on his way to buy groceries for family. the circumstances of his death unknown. and cnn cannot verify the awe tinnitusity of the video. but it is one of several clips that we were shown by a man who gave us only his first name, mohammed. i witnessed this, he recalls. it was after the president's first speech to parliament about two and a half months ago. a month later, muhammad took his family and fled from his hometown, starting a long and risky journey that ended here at the refugee camp just over the border in turkey. now he sneaks between turkey and syria. i wanted to help the families crossing, he says, and the wounded, and just to help the people that are on the border to make a small difference. at the syrian side of the border is a small makeshift camp close to an unofficial crossing. mohammed films people as they take their final steps to safety. ca

cnn's arwa damon has put together this report.me viewers may be upset by very graphic images of injuries sustained by children. >> reporter: on april 29th, anti-government protesters tried to break the syrian army siege on the city of daraa. eyewitnesses at the time described is how security forces indiscriminately opened fire on them. dozens were killed and wounded. countless others detained. among them says his family was 13-year-old hamza, separated from his father in the chaos. a month later, the family received their son's body. hamza's face bloated, purple. this video posted to youtube catalogs each of his wounds. much of it too graphic to broadcast. the narrator points out multiple gunshots before moving to his head. and even more shocking, his genitals were mutilated. cnn cannot independently verify what happened to hamza or the authenticity of this video. after it was initially broadcast, hamza's family was threatened. now they are too petrified to talk, even to close friends. a prominent syrian activist reached via skype

most of the families fled, some have been crossing -- >> looks like we did, we did lose our arwa damonhese protesters have been at it three months on the streets, peaceful protests met by gunfire. u.n. reporting maybe 1,000 people have been killed in the past three months while much of this has been going on and as our arwa damon was reporting, many people are running for their lives now, leaving, fleeing, getting out of syria, going across the border in turkey. as arwa was saying, many are starting to show up in large numbers there. but a continuing situation there in syria. we continue to follow lo it. we'll try to get our arwa damon up later. >>> i want to turn to pakistan where the cia director has shown up. we're talking about leon panetta. he says the u.s. commitment to pakistan is strong. he is there this morning. he is as you know as well, said to become the secretary of defense next month. on this trip he's hoping to mend political forces strained by the u.s. raid that killed osama bin laden and continuing air strikes targeting militants along the border between afghanistan an

cnn's arwa damon joins us now from bear out, lebanon. the country will not allow reporters to enter the country. arwa, what's the latest? >> reporter: well,el yort, as you mentioned there most certainly appears to be the deadliest day to date since the uprising began. the bulk of the casualties concentrated in the city of hamma and eyewitnesses and activists tens of thousands of people gathered in different neighborhoods in the city trying to converge on a central square, when they say syrian security forces as we have seen in the past as activists have claimed in the past indiscriminately opened fire. they have been touch by a number of medics in that city and they were simply in tears because of the sheer volume of dead and the sheer volume of casualties that they were having to deal with and we also, according to activists, demonstrations in other parts of the country as well. in some cases they were also met with lethal force and in other case wes tear gas, but eliot, unlike in the past where it has continued to be incredibly difficul

cnn's arwa damon is tracking the protests in turkey. >> reporter: according to what we heard from activists and what we saw on videos, it most certainly would seem as if the demonstrations once again taking place throughout the country. and these demonstrations apparently are even taking place in areas that are under the control of the military. people literally going out and risking their lives. we have, however, heard that on a number of occasions, the syrian security forces, according to activists, used lethal force and that people were killed, mainly in the central city and in the eastern part of the country. alongside all of this, that intense military crackdown taking place in the northwest is still ongoing, with an activist who is based right along the syrian-turkish border saying he heard gunfire overnight and their spotters have been reporting back that the syrian military appears to be inching closer to the turkish border. >> and you describe there the situation near the turkish border. explain why the lebanese government decided to activate some troops today. >> the flashpoint th

we'll have to wait to see if the government approves that. >> arwa damon in damascus, thanks so much. we'll be following you closely. here in the united states tonight, there are morale ledged instances of what authorities call home grown terrorism. two men have been picked up in seattle after buying machine guns they intended to use in an attack on a military processing center. cnn's homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve is here with the latest. >> this is one of a series of stories we've heard on attacks at military centers. one man from seattle, a former prison inmate and another man of los angeles. apparently when they tried to recruit a third individual to this alleged plot, he went to the authorities. and at that point law enforcement was able to monitor the plot as it developed. here is a bit of sound from a press conference with authorities a short time ago. >> the men were captured on audio and videotape discussing the attack. law enforcement monitored the suspect's actions, including a weapons transaction where they acquired automatic weapons. unknown to the suspect

despite that arwa damon saw the conditions inside a refugee camp. see what she saw, you may understand just how desperate these people are to escape. >> reporter: hunched over, this man tries to stay dry. all he has for shelter, a piece of tarp and branches. he is one of hundreds of syrians living in squallor and fear. just a stone's throw from the turkish border. so we're just right now on the very edge of this makeshift camp and you can see these crude tents people have strung up for shelter. it's just started to rain now. it's just a plastic tarp. cramped together six families. their feet caked in mud. mothers trying to provide their children what comfort they can. it was also raining last night quite heavily and they were saying that they had to spend the entire night on their feet because the entire floor was just turned into mud. the women who don't want to be filmed simply asked is there anything left that we haven't been through? the families here bathe in a muddy stream where they also wash the few clothes they brought with them. illnesses

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our arwa damon who is keeping an eye on things has been reporting for us from syria. llo to you and tell us about the escalating situation there now. >> well, t.j., more than 100,000 people turned out today for the funerals and dozens of protesters by security forces, that's according to activists and iwitnesseyewitnesses. most deaths happened during demonstrations on friday. friday traditionally a day of demonstrations and yesterday we saw widespread demonstrations. some forces it appears used the heaviest strength in terms of weaponry. at least six people have been killed. that's according to the observatory for human rights. we spoke with the director who also said the number is probably much higher. he believes it may exceed 80. again, what we could see today is the pattern where syrian security forces continue according to activists, eyewitnesses, videos emerging on youtube to fire directly into the crowd of unarmed demonstrato demonstrators. chanting they want the regime to leave, t.j. >> the only response. the only response we're seeing is a violent one on the s

arwa damon, cnn, beirut. >> a fresh wave of protests and new military offensive. the crackdown in syria. hala gorani is joining us and has reported extensively from the middle east. what do we know about this incident? >> well, what we know about the city is it's a city in the '80s had its own sort of insurgency and revolt against the government that was crushed. in the very early '80s. so this is a city that has a long memory. there's several theories as to what happened. 120 security personnel killed, this suggests a level of organization. is it possible, for instance, that some of the dem mon straighters and the protesters have armed themselveses? that's what some are saying. is it possible that there was a split within security forces and that one side of the security forces decided they would not shoot on protesters, the other side fought against them and there was some sort of violence that led to 100, 120 possibly security forces killed. >> if there's a crack in bashar al assad's security forces whether the police or military, that would be huge. >> it woul

arwa damon, appreciate it. stay safe. >>> coming up, tears flowed today in the casey anthony trial. and lee anthony both breaking down on the stand. what made them cry and what they said under oath today. that's next we could've gone a more traditional route... ... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪ and my dog bailey and i love to hang out in the kitchen. you love the aroma of beef tenderloin, don't you? you inspired a very special dog food. [ female announcer ] chef michael's canine creations. chef inspired. dog desired. 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in

arwa damon from beirut. over the past several weeks, there's been a lot of international condemnation of syria. now the united nations security council saying free political prisoners, stop the restrictions on the media and the internet. is there any reason to believe the syrian regime will listen to the united nations security council? >> reporter: no, john, there isn't, especially not if the regime's past behavior has been anything to go by. already, they have come under new renewed sanctions by the u.s., by the european union. the only response we've seen when we look at what's happening on the ground is the regime appears to have intensified its military onslaught. the issue also with this resolution is even though it does call for these actions by the syrian regime, it is not necessarily threatening any sort of severe action if the regime does not comply. it is not threatening additional sanctions. it is not going as far as the resolution on libya went, to threaten any sort of military sper vention. oth

remarkably arwa damon our reporter was able to get inside syria today despite the country's efforts tors out. at great personal risk to herself i should point out she was able to reach a refugee camp inside syria where she heard first hand what the refugees are fleeing. she joins us now in turkey. you spoke to one refugee who fled on friday reportedly the site of at least six deaths in just that day alone. i just want to play that for our viewers what she said. >> every day when we have the protesters in the street, military and the army come for them and kill them in front of our eyes up. >> did you see this? >> yes. our house, we have the window. and the window shooting in the window was fire. if i were sleeping under the window i would lose myself and i would die. we all go down to the kitchen and we sneak through the kitchen on our stomach. >> you had to sneak into the kitchen on your stomach. >> yes. yes. i come here -- the circumstance is so difficult. i am pregnant. i an not be here with such things, i have a nervous breakdown. why our president? why our president killing us? ki

arwa damon joins us now live from a damascus.me in damascus since the uprising began. what's it like? >> reporter: well, anderson, it was quite surreal to be coming here, especially because we spent so much time covering the story of the refugees along the syria-turkey border just hearing about how they had to flee with the clothes on their back out of fear of the military, believing they would have been killed or detained had they stayed behind. all of a sudden we're in da mass cass, in the capital. we went to the center of the city, next to the old city. this i not an area that has been the scene of any significant demonstrations in the past. and while we were there, we were hearing music blaring from this giant microphone that had been set up. i had never seen this in this part of the city before. we were told that it was just put up, pro-government lyrics, chant songs about how the president was the protecter and savior of the nation. people peddling pro governmentwares, anything from party hats to key chains to t-shirts with

cnn's arwa damon joins us now from bear out, lebanon. ll not allow reporters to enter the country. arwa, what's the latest? >> reporter: well,el yort, as you mentioned there most certainly appears to be the deadliest day to date since the uprising began. the bulk of the casualties concentrated in the city of hamma and eyewitnesses and activists tens of thousands of people gathered in different neighborhoods in the city trying to converge on a central square, when they say syrian security forces as we have seen in the past as activists have claimed in the past indiscriminately opened fire. they have been touch by a number of medics in that city and they were simply in tears because of the sheer volume of dead and the sheer volume of casualties that they were having to deal with and we also, according to activists, demonstrations in other parts of the country as well. in some cases they were also met with lethal force and in other case wes tear gas, but eliot, unlike in the past where it has continued to be incredibly difficult to get infor

>> arwa damon from beirut. joining us now, fran townsend who is a top white house adviser to president george w. bush, now member of the external advisory boards for the cia and department of homeland security. also one of our correspondents, ha haala gorani. number one, the regime trying to minimize it as the state tv anchors were saying, just small groups of rogue people, or you could read it as the regime realizing it can no longer simply ignore these and have credibility with people who see these demonstrations all over its country. >> it seems it's an attempt to discredit the protesters, calling them small groups of people, and it fits into the narrative of the regime from the beginning, these are, quote, terrorist-armed gangs, intent on creating chaos and that the military is going into these towns and cities at the request of residents. but what's interesting is what might just be happening in that northwestern town, and that is potentially, according to some, and again we're not allowed to report from i

hala gorani and arwa damon, thank you. >> and isha is back with us with a news bulletin. >> hi there, afghan government says a militant group based in pakistan is to blame for yesterday's deadly attack on a kabul hotel. the siege was left 12 victims including all nine attackers dead was believed to be carried out by the hakani network thought to be linked to al qaeda >>> officials say the attack will not stop the planned withdrawal of u.s. troops from afghanistan starting in july and scheduled to end in 2014. >>> it could be a crucial legal victory for amanda knox in her bid to overturn her conviction for the murder of her british roommate in italy. court-appointed experts told an italian court that dna evidence used to convict the american college student and her co-defendant was contaminated. >>> bank of america is paying $8.5 billion to settle claims from angry investors over mortgage securities gone sour. those investors include big financial firms like black rock, pimco and met life. bank of america also says it will post a second quarter net loss of up to $9.1 billion. >>> and a

arwa damon, cnn, beirut. >> on syrian state tv a person identified as the medical examiner in the casey died from three gunshot wounds. he said the condition of the body was the result of deterioration after death and there was no evidence that the boy had been subjected to torture. syria's interior minister has promised an investigation. there is also trouble at the tip of the arabian peninsula in yemen. violence today forced a halt to all flights in and out of the airport in the country's capital city. here is cnn's mohammed jamjoon. >> reporter: on thursday even more clashes erupted in yemen's capital as fighting between armed tribesmen and government forces intensified. one extremely worrying development for the residents, reports from eyewitnesses that a group of about a thousand armed tribesmen entered the capital of yemen during the early morning hours saying they're supporting a leader of a tribe that has been involved in street battles with government forces for more than a week. as fierce fighting continued, it has spread to even more neighborhoods and there is a palatable se

arwa damon, cnn, beirut. >> absolutely heartbreaking video, those stories just break one's heart. arwa has done amazing reporting on the tragedies inside syria. >>> meanwhile the brutal crackdown is causing many residents to fully for their lives. crowds are amassing in northern syria along the border with turkey to escape the regime. ivan watson joined us from there a short time ago. so tell us what is going on on the border there between turkey and syria? apparently refugees are streaming across by the thousands. what has triggered this and what is the turkish response? >> reporter: these are desperate people, eliot. they are for the most part women and children. so far according to turkish official figures, a bit more than 2,400. most of those have come in the last 36 hours streaming across the border. they have abandoned their homes. some of them have been living for days and nights out in the countryside along the turkish border and the ones that we've been able to talk to all tell similar stories. they are frightened that the syrian government will target them. many of them

collapse of any effort by the syrian government to work with and listen to their own people. >> arwa damonfrom us beirut, lebanon. arwa, we noticed a man who was on syrian tv and said that he was the boy's father. he came out and he actually praised the president. i want our viewers to take a listen real quick to what he said. >> translator: what can i say, best president ever. thank god he gave us everything that we've ever asked for. >> arwa, that seems kind of strange coming from the father of that tortured child. do we have any information whether or not this actually is the father and why he would say something like this? >> reporter: well, suzanne, we've been trying to independently ascertain that. as aim you're everyone can appreciate, it's incredibly difficult given that we have not been granted access to syria. we did, however, manage to speak to a number of activists who did say they do in fact believe that is 13-year-old's hamza's father. they believe this statement came about as a result of coercion, as a result of a threat. we've been trying to reach the family for days now an

cnn's arwa damon is on syria's border and rev gees are telling her what happened to them. arwa. >> reporter: hi, monita. what we are able to gather is that syrian military is, in fact, in full control of citizens of jisr al shugur. they're trying to get a view of what's happening inside the town, they say to try to get the truth out, because they believe that the syrian state television is simply inundateding its viewers with government propaganda. they tell us sis last night there have been no sounds of explosions but they will say in a nearby village military were combing through homes, searching house to house. we do not have any reports of new casualties that have taken attention today, but those we haven't been able to get access to have been telling hair eeing authorities. one woman was talking about how she was in a funeral when security forces indiscriminately opened fire on them. others say once they heard sounds when the military first began its main offensive, they came fleeing to turkey, fearing for their lives, taking only the clothes on their back. we're in fr

cnn's arwa damon, she managed to reach some of those refugees. >> reporter: this man is one of hundreds of syrians living in squaller and fear, just a stone's throw from the turkish border. >> we're right now on the very edge of this makeshift camp. you can see the crude tents people have strung up for shelter, just starting to rain now. just a plastic tarp. cramped together, six family, their feet caked in mud. mothers trying to provide their children what comfort they can. >> it was raining last night quite heavily, and they're spending the entire night on their feet. the entire floor was turned into mud. >> the women who don't want to be filmed simply ask, is there anything left that we haven't been through? the families here bathe in a muddy stream. where they also wash the few clothes they brought with them. illnesses are already spreading. my biggest problem are the children, a pharmacist said and people with party disease. i don't have the medicine for that. he emptied his shelveses as he fled, setting up something of a field hospital. a child he was trying to treat returns. but

cnn's arwa damon joins us now from beirut. ing 120 security forces killed by what they call an ambush by armed gangs. obviously, we're not there independently. can we verify this or do we believe it's propaganda from the regime? >> reporter: well, it's difficult to tell at this stage, john. according to what state tv is saying, the bulk of those casualties happened today in the combination of an ambush and a firefight that took place with a number of other clashes with individuals they're calling armed gangs. they're saying they entered this area in northwestern syria at the request of residents, claiming that the residents said that these armed individuals were holding them hostage in their homes. what we had been hearing from eyewitnesss and activists over the weekend is that the military laid siege to this part of northwestern syria, entering it using tanks, armored personnel carriers, even according to activists, using attack helicopters to indiscriminately strike at residents. and today we have this news coming out on syri

but our arwa damon found a way inside and uncovered a camp of people who fled the advancing military.ke there and what were the refugees telling you about the situation for them at this time? >> well, the conditions inside this camp were utterly miserable. if it can, in fact, be called a camp. these refugees are living under nothing more than a tarp or piece of cloth that is strung between two trees. they have a filthy river in which they are bathing and washing their clothes. water is being accessed from a a well but we are told it is not clean. we are concerned disease and illnesses are spreading. for food they are relying on the turkish villagerses on the other side of the border who are sneaking bread and basic across. they speak of how the syrian military advanced on their villages and towns, killing their live stocks, driving tank rounds into their buildings. many of them prior to having fled their respective hometowns were saying how during the demonstrations, they were witnessing security forces indiscriminately firing on people, simply calling for basic freedoms and democracy

arwa damon reports from inside syria. >> reporter: it's unsettling arriving in this town.es of brutal attacks by syrian security forces, of thousands fleeing of mass graves. now the government is bringing journalists to this dusty and very empty town. we're escorted, not only by officials, but two truckloads of military. that's for our own protection, we're told. armed gangs that once controlled this town are still a threat. military officials told us the crackdown here was unavoidable. to stop terrorist elements whose aim is to bring down the regime and establish an al qaeda style islamic state. most of the shops are closed. a handful of people wander the streets. this is what is left of the post office. where we're told security personnel are trying to surrender were gunned down. >> arwa damon joins us live from damascus. first extraordinary that you now have access along with other journalists. explain to us what you are seeing on the ground. we've reported so many signs of violence that have taken place. have you seen this where you are? >> suzanne, if we just take the

arwa damon. i spoke with her yesterday.y to find the refugees driven by the syrian army from the rebellious border town. here is arwa damon inside syria. >> this is the camp site located just across the syrian turkish border. the conditions are so dire as you've been walking through here individuals keep coming up to us, wanting to show us how much the families are struggling to survive. >> the women here are visibly upset. they arrived a few days ago from one of the small villages outside. they don't have much of a shelter either. these children with them that don't even have, you know, proper shoes. they're not able stay clean. they're filthy. it's just an incredibly desperate situation. this is also being used by adults to bathe themselves, bathe the children and do their washing. and this water is not clean by any stretch of the imagination. it's so murky it looks more like a stream of mud. this is something of a makeshift pharmacy that's been set up inside the camp f it can even be called that. muhammad, who brought mo

arwa damon is in damascus for us. nic robertson is in sana, yemen. let's go to arwa first.a, this has been another tough time, another tough few weeks. what's going on in syria right now? tell our viewers what you're seeing firsthand. >> reporter: well, wolf, we got an opportunity to go up to the highly controversial town that is at the center of the military crackdown that sent all of those refugees streaming across the border to turkey. and we hoped that following our trip, we would have a better idea of exactly what it was that transpired there. take a look at what we saw. it is unsettling arriving in the town. for weeks we heard stories of brutal attacks by syrian security forces, of thousands fleeing, of mass graves. now the government is bringing journalists to this dusty and very empty town. we're escorted, not only by officials, but two truck loads of military. that's for our own protection, we're told. armed gangs that once controlled all of this town are still a threat. military officials tell us the crackdown here was unavoidable. to stop terrorist elements whose

arwa damon joins us on the phone from damascus. >> reporter: what we have been haefrg is activists andvance that many of them had been dreading, given that they had already -- their respective villages and towns good, in fact, take place this morning. the syrian military, they are saying that the military entered the small village around 6:30 in the morning saying that no shots, however, were fired because most of the residents had, in fact, fled, saying only the helderly were left behind. we are hearing that that refugee community is either trying to hide themselves amongst the or, in fact, crossed into turkey. but many of them had been bracing themselves for this kind of a military offensive. now, the syrian government, we believe -- quite a bit since we arrived here is maintaining that it is simply tarlthing armed groups. it's saying that it had to go into this part of the country around two weeks ago to try to cleanse it of armed groups that it says were targeting the security forces and terrifying residents themselves. >> arwa damon, there, live from where she just drossed over th

arwa damon is from one of the refugee camps. angelina jolie traveling as u.n. ambassador, correct?know about the visit? >> reporter: well, kyra, she is expected to arrive here at this refugee camp about any moment now. and she is going to be speaking with the refugees inside and this is a fairly unique opportunity for her. up until now, the turkish authorities have barred the media from entering the camp and even barring organizations like amnesty international to be able to get a firsthand look at the conditions the refugees are having to live in. this particular camp used to be a tobacco factory and on two levels. thousands of refugees inside. there was, earlier, a small demonstration. people chanting for the downfall of the regime. people imploring the united nations to help them. one person was holding up a sign saying, our own military is killing us. please make it stop. and also earlier, children had crawled underneath a tarp that's been placed around the camp and they were holding up signs saying, please stop killing the children. syrians have been imploring the internationa

our arwa damon is hoping to get a chance to talk to angelina jolie and we'll have video of her visit morning. >>> you're caught up on the day's headlines. "american morning" will be back after a quick break. >>> democrats are upset over mitt romney's joke that he's also unemployed. he made this joke while speaking to a group of unemployed floridians yesterday. >> he said i'm unemployed. >> there were giggles. >> they laughed hard. >> somebody joked are you on linkedin. >> he said i'm networking. >> some democrats say when you have the net worth, personal wealth he does, should you be joking about that. our question of the day, mitt romney's joke, connecting with voters or out of touch. nate wrote from facebook. i love mitt romney and i believe he has what it takes to fix the economy in our country. we have to loosen up and take a joke and take it for what it is a joke. >> sarah on facebook says out of touch and extremely poor taste. people don't want to hear jokes. they want to hear how he plans to fix the economy and bring jobs to those of us who are unemployedp. >> send us an e-mai

cnn's arwa damon joins us live now by phone from neighboring lebanon. please update us, arwa, on what we have been seeing over the past 24 hours. >> well, t.j., there were demonstrations, according to activists and eyewitnesses across syria. it certainly would appear as if the most violent of them took place in humma where tens of thousands of people were demonstrating and they were peaceful and unarmed and chanting for the downfall of their regime. according to eyewitnesses as we have been hearing since this began indiscriminately opened fire on them and the death toll has been rising. we now know according to one syrian human rights organization that at least 60 people have been killed. they believe that the number could be as high as 80, if not more. the bulk of those casualties, again, concentrated in hama where we saw tens of thousands of people turning out for the funeral of those people who had been killed. the funeral as of this point in time appeared to have been taking place peacefully in huama, however, people are concerned because the trend w

arwa damon, cnn, damascus. >> arwa getting a firsthand look at the syrian capital damascus. ef every time she and the crew were shooting everything, there was always a government minder present. >>> more than a million indonesians work in saudi arabia. now jakarta says it won't give anymore visas to go there until saudis agree to changes. it's over a huge you of the treatment given out to an indonesian maid. we'll tell you that brutal story in a minute. that can go the distance. that's why we gave the chevy equinox an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon highway. but do passengers appreciate all of the comfort features we put in the equinox? hey. want me to drive? we'll take that as a yes. the count on chevy event is going on strong with a full selection of chevys to choose from. come claim yours today. visit your local chevy dealer. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. so delicious. i think you'

finally, arwa damon is in damascus and not allowed to really report what is happening.otional day in the casey anthony trial. cindy anthony breaking down about the pool in the backyard. casey's brother lee asked about his reaction to his sister's pregnancy. we'll tell you why that is important and what the defense may be trying to get with those stories. all of that at the top of the hour. >>> people can see what happens during the break, it's even more compelling. it's a fascinating discussion that we've been having. do you still go to the movies? do you like movies? >> he will with, you know, i don't go very often. i know everything that is out there, yeah. >> would you like to make another great film? >> sure. i have one in. does anyone want to use me? i don't know. i don't think so. >> why not? >> i don't know. maybe because there's better actors out there now. i was only so-so. i just had wonderful vehicles. >> do you feel like you wasted an opportunity or did you enjoy it brilliantly but in the wrong way after "love story" became this huge hit? >> i did barry lynd

arwa damon is watching events in syria from lebanon. >> reporter: what we saw on friday was tens of thousands of people, according to activists and eyewitnesss, gathering in various neighborhoods, trying to converge on the main square in hama when eyewitnesss tell us syrian security forces as they have repeatedly in the past according to eyewitnesss, indiscriminately opened fire on people peacefully demonstrating, people who were unarmed. >> a human rights group estimates 80 people were killed in that crowd yesterday. arwa was reporting from lebanon because the syrian government does not allow cnn to report from there. >>> turning to u.s. news, jurors in the casey anthony murder trial are getting an education in forensic science. anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter in 2008. today's evidence is focusing on microscopic evidence, namely hair found in the trunk of casey's car. >> the hair swab was dissimilar to the head hair samuel identified adds coming from casey anthony. the head hairs in q-12 exhibited similarities to hair in a hair brush belonging to caylee anthony. >> the

we want to go to arwa damon. we understand there's a ratcheting up of military action. >> reporter: that military action concentrated in the northwestern part of the country in the town you mentioned there, jisr al shugur. what we're hearing is there is a state of cautious calm, he was describing it. people very tense, shops remaining closed. people fully expecting a military crackdown at any point in time. we have over the last 36 to 48 hours been hearing from residents and activists that columns of military tanks have been trying to approach the area. some of them saying they blocked off the entrance to this town from the south and east, leaving the north clear so that residents could possibly flee should they choose to do so. we've been hearing down the road, people from other areas have been trying to stop them from approaching, trying to block them by burning tires in the roads and creating various other barricades. but activists have been sounding an alarm bell, imploring the military not to fire on the peo

television showed images what have it claims are mass graves, syrian refugees are telling cnn's arwa damonifferent story. >> reporter: wolf, syrian state tv's again blaming armed gangs for the bodies that were found inside that mass grave say tag they were part of the 120 who it claimed had been killed when they were ambushed in jisr al shugur. but people we've been talking to say they were no weapons within their rang, no armed gangs and are saying that the casualties, the bodies in those graves, were in fact killed when syrian security forces turned on one another. those who were refusing to fight on demonstrators clashed with individuals who continued to be loyal it the regime. all of this sun folding as an even greater number of refugees continue to stream into turkey. we've been speaking to them, asking them about their experience, and the first thing they say that it was simply too horrific to put into word. we've now heard numerous accounts from residents saying syrian security forces torched their land and livestock, destroyed their homes, literally driving them out of their villag

cnn's arwa damon has more on military action and civilians fleeing the area. >> reporter: video postedutube was youauthenticity cnn cannot independently verify. this news has sent even more people fleeing for refuge in neighboring turkey and also causing them to set up small makeshift camps alongside the syrian-turkish border but still inside syria. >>> sonic the hedgehog has reason to be angry. say ega is the latest victim of personal hackers. they stole data from more than 1 million users friday. it includes names, e-mails birthdays and credit card passwords. sega says it is investigating the crime. piers morgan tonight continues right now. acd? when you're falling asleep at the wheel? do you know how you'll react? lexus can now precisely test the most unpredictable variable in a car -- the driver. when you pursue perfection, you don't just engineer the world's most advanced driving simulator. you engineer amazing. ♪ you engineer amazing. membership rewards points from american express. they're a social currency. with endless possibilities. now,listen to a magazine,aper, curl up with