down and stop producing electricity meanwhile wildfires are to blame for a shutdown at the los alamos facility in new mexico all the fire there is currently a mile away fish was there say the plant has been closed to the public and all radioactive material is accounted for on the labs website says l a n l's emergency operations center remains operational observation aircraft are currently conducting aerial surveys to gauge the fires growth and current size overnight as a precaution the lab natural gas and technical areas in l.a. and remote southwest area all hazardous and radioactive materials remain accounted for enter appropriately protected as our key lab facilities such as protonix celebrator and supercomputing centers although both of these facilities facilities emphasize safety under the threat of natural disasters memories of the fukushima plant japan are still pretty fresh in people's minds when the earthquake in japan's nuclear facility the government failed to tell the public about the real health threats now causing a lot of people to question that although america hasn't yet faced

make or break, firefighters struggle against a massive wildfire threatening to overrun the los alamos nuclear facility. >>> and still considering. sarah palin meets hundreds of fans in iowa, but says she's undecided about 2012. captioning funded by cbs >> good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. >>> we begin with the deadly taliban attack on a hotel in kabul, afghanistan. as many as eight taliban fighters penetrated the hotel's tight security. this morning officials say at least ten people were killed, along with the eight attackers. joel brown joins us from washington. joel, what is the latest? >> betty, good morning. hours before a conference was slated to get under way, when handing over security to the afghans, the taliban made its move on the conference hotel. the message? it's still a force to be reckoned with. flames poured out of the intercontinental hotel in kabul overnight following the taliban's brazen attack. late tuesday a team of suicide bombers and gunmen stormed the heavily guarded building, firing at civilians and setting off a tense four-hour standoff with se

ro >>> los alamos facility ismic b. right of barrels of nuclear about the potential threat this wildfire d is a of toxic micio, let's start with the fire i'm correct here. i k los alamos hydrogen bombs, butp to 30,000d plutonium there.indeed, it gets? >> well, this is whammy. three of threatened by national next two days could future of the cr fire from -- 55 canisters containingthe sites a be lofted plutonium dioxide. chemicals known to o breathe in that putsay, lung that you can't even see. w. >> a million gram launched cancer. it ir reps program and rs, we h secured sites are safen six ton of los alamosm a a listen to what he was asked id>> those are can take some heat. they jus h not high levele can them and can f fire. they have vents inmhepa filter d materials. >> that's a pretty strong release of any toxic >> no. department of enerss scathing criticism of saying that the fi depant because of the because the workers arezing the emergency preparedness of to handle dam set up around it. land there than ft. two st fuk

that's not all wildfires in new mexico are threatening to take out another nuclear facility the los alamos facility last night winds kept a sixty eight square mile wildfire at bay about one mile away from the nuclear facility and those winds could change direction at any moment and put that facility back on the path of the fire as we all know nuclear material and fires just don't seem to mix too well so just how dangerous are these extreme weather threats against our nation's nuclear power plants here to offer some insight as kevin cams radioactive waste watchdog and beyond nuclear kevin welcome welcome back thanks for having me if you have is what's the latest on what's going on in the press well as you said that they lost their flood berm which was an eight foot tall rubber wall that was inflated with water actually and if i mean a rope there's actually two nuclear plants on this river they're both floating when you're talking about is the four kill whom four calhoun about one thousand miles north of omaha and they had this eight foot tall rubber wall that was inflated with water and they were mo

thousands of residents are told to flee as a wildfire nears the los alamos nuclear facility. >>> a juryinds former illinois governor rod blagojevich guilty of corruption. >>> and dubious distinction. which u.s. city has been named >>> and dubious distinction. which u.s. city has been named the nation's most sedentary? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a recipe for disaster. as if crews in the southwest don't have enough of a challenge battling fierce wildfires burning across the region, now they're in a race to keep those flames from approaching a nuclear weapons facility in new mexico. nbc's curt gregory has more. >> reporter: a fast-moving fire continues to burn less than a mile from the los alamos national laboratory. a mandatory evacuation was ordered for the city of 44,000. >> kind of makes you nervous with all this nuclear stuff around. >> reporter: the secretive nuclear lab has been shut down. for now all hazardous and radioactive mat

. >>> when we come back, a warning for the los alamos facility. see" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. ♪ ♪ [ 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. >>> more nuclear sites threatened tonight by raging fires and flooding. this time not in japan, but right here in the united states. in nebraska, floodwaters from the platte river have surrounded the ft. calhoun power plant. the plant does contain radioactive material. in new mexico, a ferocious wildfire, one that's consumed 44,000 acres is lapping dangerously close to the loose alamos nuclear laboratory, a scary situation. joiningny again is a professor at city university and author of physics of the future. i want to talk about physics

facility. sandra hughes reports. >> reporter: an ominous sight, smoke creeping closer and closer to homes in los alamos. firefighters are cutting back trees and brush, they're trying to create a buffer zone of open space to protect residential areas and the los alamos national laboratory. >> as far as our houses, our residents, our county, the lab, we're in the best shape we've been since this thing started. >> reporter: the government ordered air quality inspection. in conjunction with the eps. the los alamos lab already analyzed a sample and found nothing dangerous. officials say the air and the complex are safe. >> i do not believe there is any specific danger to the public from our activities at los alamos. the dangers from that, the danger is from that fire on the mountain. >> reporter: some long time residents are reassured. >> those people who work there, they live next door to me. they're my neighbors, they're my friends. i know who they are. >> reporter: late in the day a dangerous situation was discovered, an open natural gas line very near the ridge where the fire could crest. emergency crews

thousands forced to flee as a fast-growing blaze reaches the los alamos nuclear facility. >>> guilty in chicagoland. a stunned former illinois governor rod blagojevich is found guilty of trying to sell president obama's former senate seat. >>> and debt showdown. president obama steps in, but the tax issue continues to block president obama steps in, but the tax issue continues to block a deal. captioning funded by cbs >>> good morning, everybody, and thanks for joining us, i'm betty nguyen. hot, dry weather is fueling an already huge and extremely fast-moving wildfire in new mexico. the fire has reached the los alamos nuclear laboratory, forcing thousands to evacuate. the fire in los alamos, 80 miles north of albuquerque, has burned thousands of acres, and could grow even bigger. kendis gibson reports. >> reporter: the wildfires which started sunday have reached the los alamos national laboratory. crews were able to contain a spot fire on lab property, and no contamination was released. officials close to the lab earlier monday and ordered a mandatory evacuation for the surrounding c

los alamos national laboratory. no other fires are currently burning on lab property. no facilities face immediate threat. all nuclear and hazardous materials are accounted for and protected. be that as it may, just hearing the words los alamos and wildfire in the same sentence, those two terms don't play well together. >> a lot of people kind of worried about that. i'm glad it's not as bad as we think. >> not at this point. >> thanks. >>> checking our stories from around the country. raleigh, north carolina, a bus wreck killed lorenzo charles, a former basketball star who led nc state to a national championship in the '80s. charles was 47 years old. he was a bus driver and was driving this charter bus when it careened off the interstate. there were no passengers on board at the time. >>> this is the wreckage left behind by the powerful tornado that devastated western alabama two months ago. a local reporter toured some of the hardest hit areas in tuscaloosa and found little progress since the storms that killed 43 people in that town alone. >>> an update on the story of this 95-year-old caught up in an ai

flames are two miles from the los alamos national laboratory and nuclear weapons facility.e is visible from space. and what's in that smoke has prompted an all-out investigation. the environmental protection agency is using air monitors and special aircraft to test for radiation. so far, they've detected nothing out of the ordinary. >> our facilities, our nuclear materials, are all safe. they're accounted for. and they're protected. >> reporter: this is the area that's of most concern. it's called storage area "g." where as many as 30,000 drums containing plutonium-contaminated waste are stored above-ground. and right now the fire is s out three miles away. >> the bulk of the drums here truly are things like notes that are contaminated, gloves, materials that you don't necessarily think of as being -- there are no ingots of plutonium there. >> reporter: the drums are kept there until they're shipped to a secure facility. los alamos officials are downplaying any fire threat to this material. >> the worst scenario we have now is property damage that comes from the fire. i do

wildfires come within meters of the nuclear facility at los alamos. >> we meet one of the 1 million in the nation to remain employed as domestic workers in saudi arabia. parts of africa are suffering the worst drought in 60 years and the un says the crisis has affected more than 10 million people. in somalia, the double hardship has resulted in an unprecedented number of refugees fleeing to kenya to stay in the world's largest refugee camp. >> they are arriving here exhausted, hungry, and often in need of medical help. save the children says 1300 people are turning up every day from somalia. more than half of them children. some are walking for up to one month to reach the camp with almost no positions. for years, people have been coming here to escape the war in somalia. right now, a severe drought is also hitting hard. wells have dried up in somalia, forcing people to flee. >> we're seeing children as young as three or four tracking through deserts' under the searing sun to arrive here just to escape the drought and the soaring food prices that have put millions at risk throughout ea

tonight in this country, three separate nuclear facilities are in danger, two of them because of floodwaters, one of them because of fire. at the los alamos national lab in new mexico, there's now a mandatory evacuation of the city in effect. 12,000 people are on the move because of the fire burning less than a mile away from the facility, which as you may know has always been shrouded in secrecy. and the flooding in the upper plains which has shattered records dating back to the 1800 has surroundsed now a nuclear power plant in nebraska and threatens another, all this while the suffering and the high water remain in minot, north dakota. >>> we have all the fronts covered tonight, we want to begin with this situation in los alamos. janet shanlian is there to start us off tonight. janet, good evening. >> reporter: this situation has become much more serious just within the last few hours, within striking distance of this town and the wind has picked up considerably. earlier cars were bumper to bumper trying to get out of here and the evacuations have now become mandatory for everyone. the fast moving fire swelled overnight into 63 square m

it's getting very, very close, dangerously close to the nuclear research facility at los alamos. senators from new mexico are being briefed by authorities on the ground there. i'm going to speak with one of them in just a little while. >>> also in washington, president obama is meeting with senate leaders to try to resolve the nation's debt dilemma. but the white house says any significant deal would require both sides to abandon the "my way or the highway" approach. >>> but now to the big story, we are going to continue to watch for you, the verdict is in. we know that. we are awaiting word here of the jury's decision on former illinois governor rod blagojevich. after ten days of deliberating, the jury has reached an agreement. but the thing is, they've reached an agreement on 18 of the 20 different criminal counts. but they are deadlocked apparently on the other twochlt two. this is mr. blagojevich's car as he was en route to the courthouse a little while ago. the charges stem from accusations blagojevich basically tried to sell barack obama's old senate seat when he was then v

threatening america's most important nuclear facility and forcing thousands of people out of their homes. david romero of our albuquerque affiliate krqe in los alamos, new mexico, with the latest on the situation there for us. >> reporter: this morning the flames remain dangerously close to this nation's premier nuclear research facility. the flames reached the los alamos laboratory yesterday. a small fire on the lab property was extinguished and radioactive material at the lab is safe. mandatory evacuation was ordered for the town of los alamos. roadways jammed as thousands of residents grabbed what they could. >> we went through, took pictures of everything and took as much as we could and getting out of town. so you take all of the important things. >> reporter: this fire brought back dark memories of new mexico's worst wildfire in 2000. that blaze destroyed hundreds of homes near the lab. >> you go through the same anxiety as you did 11 years ago. >> yeah. >> we don't know when we leave, if we will have a home to come home to. >> reporter: the fire began on sunday. at least 44,000 acres have been burned and 30 buildings destroyed. firefighters

it is getting closer to the los alamos nuclear facility.ctive waste stands. the fire is less than four miles away from the dump site. 8,000 weary firefighters are working to contain that. >> we're trying to rotate them so they can sleep, but when you have something like this in your backyard and you're protecting your neighbor's house, it's hard to relax. >> the wildfire has already burned more than 51,000 acres and turned los alamos into a ghost town forcing all residents to evacuate. >>> president obama's job approval rating is down slight sli. a new cbs news/"new york times" poll out this morning shows the rating is now at 47%. that's down one point from earlier this month. an increase of 2% since our june 8th poll. when asked if the country is going in the right direction, 63% said, no, we're on the wrong track. the president holds a news conference later this morning. he meets with senate democratic leaders on breaking the impasse and talks to raise the debt ceiling. republicans are rejecting higher taxes as part of that deal. >> and t

ryan owens, abc news, los alamos, new mexico. >>> 900 miles away, nuclear facilities in eastern nebraska are also under scrutiny. as rising floodwaters have surrounded the ft. calhoun plant. the nation's top nuclear safety regulator was among those getting a firsthand look at the situation. gregory jaczko said there was no threat to the people living nearby. >>> the high-stakes jockeying as we head toward the 2012 presidential race. michele bachmann is definitely in. >> meanwhile, sarah palin is still a wild card, while e she has a stop in the state of iowa. and president obama is in the hawk eye state, as well. john hendren is in washington with the latest handicapping. >> reporter: good morning. sarah palin isn't in the presidential race. but she keeps showing up where the action is. a day after michele bachmann went to iowa to announce her campaign, sarah palin is there. for michele bachmann, the path to the white house cuts throroh iowa. >> i stand here amidst many friends and many family members to announce formally my candidacy for president of the united states. >> reporter: but b

we're following the overnight developments around the los alamos nuclear facility.ou see the fire around the hills all around the city and that nuclear lab. right now, that fire is zero percent contained. the entire city has been abandoned. it is a ghost town right now. >> we'll go there in a moment. >>> also overnight, an emotional appearance by representative gabby giffords, at an event honoring her husband, astronaut mark kelly. she got a standing ovation. abc news was there. we'll hear more about that this morning. >> it's so great to see her getting out. >>> you have one week to hit it big. which young singer will be the next pop star? you'll meet the lucky teen behind this door. and, as we said, she's got one week to hit it big. >> that's a bit later. >>> but we begin with the wildfires out west, putting one of the nation's premiere nuclear labs at risk. in a moment, we'll get more on the dangers from the wildfires, with dr. michio kaku. >> but let's begin with ryan owens. >> reporter: this was a pretty good night for the firefighters. the winds have died down

los alamos very close to the national laboratory. firefighters are working day and night to clear brush and extinguish spot fires near the sprawling nuclear research facility>> we have not lost any structures at the laboratory or in the town site, and we don't plan on losing any structures. >> reporter: the secretive los alamos laboratory is made up of 2,000 buildingsed a nearly four dozen sites. it's home to the nation's largest supply of nuclear weapons. >> our facilities and nuclear materials are protected and safe. >> reporter: another concern. the possible release of radioactive and harmful materials. thousands of 55-gallon drums containing plutonium-contaminated waste are stored above ground at los alamos. >> release of radioactive and hazardous materials, there hasn't been any. let me say that again. there hasn't been any. >> reporter: and there's no rest in sight for weary fire crews. the wildfire has already scorched more than 93 square miles in less than two days. curt gregory, nbc news. >>> while budget talks have become stagnant on capitol hill, two senators have unveiled a proposal sure to raise the blood pressure of many. raising the age of m

. >>> a wildfire out of control in new mexico at the edge of the los alamos nuclear laboratory which is a nuclear science facility. officials are stepping up security measures. strong winds fam fanning the flames within miles of the lab's 30,000 barrels of nuclear waste containing plutonium. reynolds wolf joins us live from los alamos, new mexico. >> on the surface it would seem very serious. lab director charles mcmillan says the materials you're referring to are at this time secure. it's also considered very low radioactive material so that is certainly some good news. the fires came very close. in fact within several miles. but lab officials insist that it's in a very safe location, very little in terms of foliage so the fire has little opportunity to get close to it. we're talking about a facility that is about 40 square miles. the southern end of the facility they're referring to has been, of course, touched by the fire. the western fringes of the laboratory facility have been threatened by the fire and as weather conditions really look kind of host still over the next several days, we can see the flames con

los alamos national laboratory. it is known for developing the atomic bomb. the facilityc tons of radioactive material but there is no risk of a radioactive leak because the materials are secured deep in vaults. los alamos is about 80 miles north of albuquerque near santa fe. >>> meteorologist rosemary orozco is here with a change. here i thought we were into summer finally. >> there is some wet weather on the way. chargeback and piling up across the coastline. that is a very cool shots. right now those clouds are not catching any rain. let's take a look. winds westerly-southwesterly. 57 reported in oakland could 66 in redwood city. san dot santa rosa, 71 degrees at this time -- santa rosa 71 degrees at this time. by tomorrow morning some of us could be waking up to rain. the satellite and radar is giving you a good idea of what is happening here. this is going to move over the area. we will have it in time for tuesday and this could bring us a few isolated showers. the north bay will see enforced and that would be the case again tomorrow morning. it looks like the front

los alamos. the blaze has spread across 93 square miles in the mountains above the town, and more than 12,000 people have been evacuated. but the director of the los alamos nuclear weapons laboratory said the facility remained secure. >> we have analyzed all of our nuclear facilities. we've analyzed them for fire. we've analyzed them for wild land fire. we've mitigated those risks. all of them have mitigation. and i'm confident, given the team that we have, that we can protect those facilities. >> sreenivasan: the wildfire spawned a spot fire on the los alamos lab property yesterday, but it was quickly contained. some 34,000 japanese children will be given radiation meters in order to monitor the impacts of long-term exposure. the announcement today affects children between the ages of four and 15 in fukushima. the city is 45 miles from a nuclear plant that was badly damaged in the march earthquake and tsunami. but there have been rising concerns about radiation levels. the monitoring program is scheduled to last for three months. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to judy. >> woodruff: now, the i.m.f. gets a new leader at a pivotal moment, for both that organization and the globa

facility. officials from the los alamos national laboratory are watching for radiation leaked from thousands of drums near nuclear waste. the fire which started on sunday is still several miles from any structures, but it's charred an area that's about twice the size of san francisco and is burning on two sides of that facility. scientists there say they're sar iea was isstames won't reach ored in barre bo avebo the ground. nasa did capture what the fire looks like prosecufrom space. it's spanning 60,000 acres. you see another fire burning to the east of santa fe. >>> there is growing concern over the long-term risk of radiation near the damaged fukushima nuclear plant in japan. about 34,000 children living nearby are set to receive radiation meters to measure levels of exposure. schools have already limited the amount of time children are allowed to play outside. the city of fukushima has recorded some high radiation levels since that devastating earthquake and tsunami in march. >>> there's a little known island off highway 37 between sears point and virginia villejo -- villejo that will have

has erupted in new mexico forcing residents in the area to evacuate and shutting down the los alamos nuclear facilitythe approaching flames. >>> two other nuclear reactors are being threatened by water, the swollen missouri river broke through an inflatable barrier near omaha, nebraska inundating parts of the reactor and containment areas. regulators say the situation is not significantly dangerous. 80 miles down river, waters also rising around the cooper station plant and as three nuclear facilities are threatened today by fire and water, a new investigation from the associated press, the report finds while the u.s. population is booming in areas surrounding nuclear power plants there, is no standard for evacuations in case of an accident. >>> now to florida, where the casey anthony trial took another unexpected turn this weekend. kerry sanders joins us from orlando, florida. good morning. >> reporter: natalie, on saturday testimony was surprisingly called off and now we know why. there's a question of casey anthony's competency. the george ordered three independent psychological evaluations, all c

troubling situations at three nuclear facilities in the u.s. los alamos, new mexico evacuated, as a wildfire rages near that city's secretive nuclear lab. in nebraska, floodwaters threaten two more facilities near there. we're live in both states. >>> iowa tea party, sarah palin heads to the hawkeye state the day after michele bachmann kicked off her presidential campaign there. this as the tea party leaders worry bachmann will be quote, palinized. >>> and grand slam, princess catherine dazzles the crowd in wimbleton and 30 minutes after she shows up, her dress sells out online as the couple prepares to head to north america today, tuesday, june 28th, 2011. >>> from nbc news, this is "today." with matt lauer, and ann curry. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >>> welcome, i'm ann curry. >> i'm matt lauer. this morning, firefighters are struggling, trying to hold back the flames near the los alamos national laboratory. officials, though, are insisting the hazardous materials inside that facility are safe. >> that's right. authorities ordered a mandat

los alamos national lab shut down today. the plant is less than a mile from the facility.say all hazardous material is accounted for and protected. >>> officials at the ft. calhoun, run aggie backup generator. the plant has been shut down since april for refueling. >>> high water and heartbreak in minot, north dakota. the souris river is finally starting to recede. the damage is done. >> everywhere you look, you see homes and streets completely submerged. jim spellman is seeing it firsthand, live for us in minot. when we look at those pictures, jim, of the street sign, you can't even read the street sign because the water is so high. it's so compelling, the video coming out of there. >> reporter: i know. this is what these people are waking up to. they come back to the river's edge -- to the river, the edge of the floodwater and take a look. it's horrible to imagine that your house is there, underneath that much water. and as fast as this water came up, it's going to take a long time for it to go back down. they'll be fighting this flood for a long time to come. >> the riv

the men and women fighting the fire that's been approach los alamos say this is the make-or-break day in fighting to protect this nuclear facility. up to 93 square miles of fire. 12,000 people on the run because of it. it's now surrounding the nuclear lab. it's about four miles away from the place where the first atom bomb was born and where 10,000 people work every day. it's one big fire that, along with floodwaters elsewhere in the country, is focusing new attention on the u.s. nuclear program. it's where we begin tonight, once again, with janet shamlian. good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. this fire is spreading and it's now all around the los alamos national lab despite assurance that radioactive materials are protected. there's growing concern about what's happening behind all the smoke and flame. on fire, the darkness of early morning revealing the flames of depth of the overnight move. four miles from the center of the city and dangerously close to the los alamos national lab where radioactive material is stockpiled and where officials insist those materials are guarded and secure. >> our facilities and nuclea

los alamos national laboratory in new mexico is closed due to a giant wildfire threatening the facility. residents have been evacuated. the los alamos plant there. we'll continue to track this important story. dramatic wildfires. >>> moving on, the former illinois governor rob blagojevich was convicted of 17 charges related to public corruption. prosecutors accused him of attempting to sell president obama's former senate seat. let's check in with jeffrey tubin. this is going to be a healthy time in prison, no doubt. >> a really long time. first of all, he is eligible for hundreds of years given the number of charges. especially bad, he testified and the jury thought he lied. judges punish defendants who lie on the witness stand. i think he could easily be looking at eight to ten years in jail. >> he said he was stunned by the verdict. are you surprised in this was a retrial. a hung jury first time out. >> i was surprised he got a hung jury the first time. the u.s. attorney's office in illinois has a very good record on corruption cases. this guy was doomed. mostly because he was guilty

facilities. officials at the los alamos laboratory say it will remain closed at least through tomorrow sandra hughes is on the scene. sandra? >> reporter: scott, from where i'm standing about a quarter mile away from the los alamos national lab you can see it's a little bit clouded in smoke but where the real problem is over the ridge where the fire is burning fairly close to the property. winds are picking up right now, in fact, officials say they're swirling. that really has them concerned. what also has them concerned, of course, is the town here of los alamos. most people have vacated, it's like a ghost town, but i did catch up with one man, jim durkee, who is living today. >> the fire went from nothing to 40,000 acres overnight. it's now over 60,000 acres. it's extremely dry. >> reporter: with the wind picking up and the weather remaining hot and dry, all 12,000 residents of the town of los alamos were told to leave. it's not known what started the fire sunday and it's growing quickly. >> i seriously believe it could easily go to 100,000 acres. i hope not. god i hope not. but there is unburned

los alamos, new mexico. a few miles away, fires continue to burn near the los alamos national lab. the research facility brisk winds and warm temperatures. all hazardous materials at the lab are protected and the lab faces no immediate threat. >>> right now in minot, north dakota residents are under orders to conserve water. utility crews are working to repair the broken water main. already 36,000 residents have been evacuated and homes and businesses still remain under water due to record flooding. a city spokesman says it will be a week or two before many residents can return to their homes to take a look at the damage. >>> meanwhile in nebraska, nebraska's ft. calhoun nuclear plant is surrounded by floodwaters. the manager insists there is no likelihood of the situation like at the fukushima plant in japan. the necessary actions have been taken to ensure the safety of the material inside. >>> sarah palin is in iowa today for a big movie premiere. we'll tell you all about it right after this. >>> let's check the headlines and some other news you may have missed. president obama is in iowa today, where

. >> the national lab at los alamos is not the only nuclear facility being watched this morning. calhoun nuclear plant in nebraska is now surrounded by floodwaters from the missouri river. >> and the nation's top nuclear safety regulator was among those getting a firsthand look at the plant. nrc chair gregory jazco said there was no immediate safety threat. >>> the video game industry and proponents of free speech are celebrating the supreme court ruling on video games today. >> the justices shot down california's law that banned the sale or rental of violent video games to anyone under 18. the ruling basically says a parent should police what their kids do and what they're watching or what they're reading, not the government. of course a lot of these games are super violent. >> they are super violent. all of them come with ratings. make sure you look at the box. not a perfect system but better than not knowing what your kids are doing. >> parents have to pay attention to what you're buying. >> it's not easy these days but you've got to be involved. >>> to presidential politics n

los alamos national lab in new mexico. more than 10,000 people in los alamos have been forced to flee their homes. the facilities shut down for a second straight day. and right now officials say that hazardous material is protected, but of course they're keeping a close eye on the situation. >>> reminder that so much of what we're facing right now in terms of disaster relief is all because of mother nature. fire, flood, nuclear power plants, nuclear lab in los alamos, very important. >> let's see what mother nature has in store for us this morning. rob marciano in the extreme weather center in atlanta. good morning. >> good morning. still hot and dry here across the desert southwest. we're not getting much of the monsoon that would typically start to crank up this time of year. we're not even getting higher levels of humidity. that's not helping the fire situation out here. the one that's approaching los alamos, that still zero percent containment and well over 40,000 acres burned with that. here's where the fire threat is today. it's actually not in new mexico right now. it's back toward the west where the wind

facility. officials at the los alamos national laboratory in new mexico say radioactive materials at the lab aree and no contamination has been released. the fire has now spread over 93 square miles and is burning near the edge of the lab. authorities warn that the fire could triple in size in the next few days. >>> the subject of wildfires brings us to tonight's "good question." danny richards wants to know, are inmates still used to fight fires in california? here's ken bastida. >> reporter: it is some of the toughest most dangerous work around. >> fires can be gone up to 21 days or more in some cases. they are living out in the outdoors. they are exposed to all kinds of environmental hazards such as heat and bees and falling trees. it is very dangerous work out there. and these guys go where most people won't go. >> hot tool, hot tool! >> reporter: for that they earn a dollar an hour. the chief works with about 100 of the more than 4,000 california prison inmates who fight fires each summer. >> we put a lot of emphasis on the physical fitness. we run or camps pretty disciplined -- our camps p

facility. flames crept to within 50 feet of the los alamos lab where the atomic bomb was developed. 30,000 drums of plutonium lie there. it forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. a fire chief is warning that if the 60,000-acre fire is not contained by the end of the day or early tomorrow, it could nearly double in size. >>> to afghanistan where a nato gunship had a brazen attack by six taliban guerrillas on a luxury hotel in kabul. the civilian death toll jumped to at least 10. the choppers killed the last three taliban fighters while they tried to hold out on the roof of the inter continental hotel. survivors were shocked and dazed. >> i don't think we really know quite what happened. >> do you know what happened to you? >> it was huge glass, some five, six blasts. >> many of the hotel's guests were provincial members. there were responsibilities from the u.s.-lead collation and afghan forces. >> red light cameras could become a thing of the past in los angeles. they voted to end the program. they say there are no witnesses to testify. critics claim they lead to an increase in rear en

from around the facilities, but these drums are stored in flammable structures, tent-like structures and we had a department of energy report just a couple of years ago that said los alamos fire department, the people fighting the fire, are not adequately prepared to deal with the kind of radioactive hazards a wildfire might produce. you are concerned about the facilities, capability of the firefighters, there is risk. >> in the wake of that japanese nuclear reactor meltdown, have officials reviewed the safety of nuclear facilities here? >> no, but they intend to. one of the good pieces of news, the flooding in nebraska that has surrounded a nebraska nuclear reactor is not as bad because two years ago, officials warned the operators of that plant that they were not prepared for this kind of flood. they took some preventative action and they have been in a good position to prevent a slow motion japanese plant of unraveling in nebraska. there is a risk. the floodwaters are quite high and if they rise 10 feet, it could knock out the electricity and back-up generators. >> if you compare the cultures in japan and u.s. when it comes to nuclear safety, which do you think is bet

los alamos nuclear plant in new mexico. firefighters are on high alert watching for spot fires near the facility. eople not far from the lab have expressed concern about the potential risk of radio active smoke. firefighters say there is no threat of radiation so far. most of los alamos' 12,000 residents have left but about 150 people stayed behind. >>> our time is now 6:47. the 4th of july almost here less than a week away. tonight though the san jose police and fire departments are cracking down on fireworks safety. now as of right now fireworks can be purchased and used only in eleven cities in the bay area in santa cruz county. tonight at 6:00 at city hall san jose police and fire officials will talk about the proper use of legal fireworks. they'll also be patrolling between 3:00 p.m. july 4th and 1:00 a.m. the following day. they'll be passing out citations to people who have illegal fireworks. now here's a list of where you can buy legal fireworks now. san bruno, pacifica, union city and newark, dublin, wattsonville and sebastopol. on friday sales will begin in gill roy, clover dale, rohnert

facility? >> i don't know if you can say there is no risk. there is always a risk here. these drums are stored in structures. the los alamosfire department is not adequately prepared -- they're concerned about the capability of the firefighters and there is risk. >> how do u.s. officials reveal the safety? >> one of the good pieces of news is that nebraska, it is not as bad as it could have been. the operators of that plant, there is preventative action. again, there is risk. the floodwaters are quite high. they knocked out the back of generators and you have a real crisis. japan is one of the leading countries in the world for technology and nuclear safety. it is not a backwater country. i would say that they are often comparable and to have the same set of problems. they have regulatory agencies, they are cutting corners, they are preparing for the most likely cases. they are the same set of risks we face in the united states. >> thank you for joining us. >> among the athletes already trading hard, the last olympics, he became the first athlete from afghanistan to bring home a medal and he hopes to turn that into gold. p

. >>> as a fast-moving wildfire continues to threaten the nuclear facility at los alamos, new mexico,zardous smoke plume. should flames reach the radioactive material stored above ground. lab officials say they don't believe the 95-square-mile blaze will reach the thousands of barrels of waste. >>> independent forensic experts are disputing much of the evidence collected against amanda knox. according to a report obtained by the associated press in italy, the report says that the dna evidence used on the convict the american student in the murder of meredith kirchner may have been contaminated and is, quote, unreliable. >>> a dramatic standoff at an international hotel in kabul has killed at least 11 civilians. a team of heavily armed taliban fighters stormed the intercontinental hotel tuesday night and battled with security forces for several hours. nato helicopters took down three gunmen on the roof, and afghan security forces ended the standoff on the ground. >>> highly confrontational moments at the casey anthony murder trial in florida. nbc's kerry sanders is at the courthouse in

los alamos is one of the pop national security research facilities.ny hazardous materials are safe and secure. it was closed for a second day today as a precaution. meanwhile in nebraska, authors are keeping a close watch on a nuclear power plant. it'sed by two feet of water and no chance of a disaster like the we have in japan, but people are deeply concerned. live from the nuclear reactor facility with the latest. what's going on as of today, brian? >> reporter: >> wolf, officials say no radio activity has been release and they're confident there won't be any. the flooding from the river behind me brought an unprecedented threat. >> you are looking at the plant manager in crisis mode. tim is scouring every inch of this place, looking for where the next breech might occur. >> we're monitor on an hourly base to ensure the conditions don't get worse. >> at the flooded plant, that's a big job. for weeks, the floodwaters engulfed this facility. when we get in, we see where they had a recent emergency. this is what got punctured leading to more of the pro

air quality tests over the sprawling facility show no trace of radiation but critics say no one really knows what would happen if area-g caught fire. los alamos operations director refuses to acknowledge a worst- case scenario. >> i do not believe there is a specific danger to the public from los alamos. the danger is from the fire in the mountain. >> reporter: and people who live in the nearby town of los alamos like denise lane, stand by the lab. >> those people who work there, they live next door to me. they're my neighbors. they're my friends. i know who they are. >> reporter: firefighters appear to be catching a break. the winds died down yesterday, and they are blowing hard again, today, scott but they're actually take the fire away from los alamos. >> pelley: thank you, cynthia. we have an update now on avastin, the expensive cancer drug we told you about last night. in a unanimous vote today an f.d.a. committee recommended revoking approval of avastin for breast cancer patients. studies showed it didn't work well and has dangerous side effects. some patients pleaded with the committee to keep the approval insisting avastin had saved t

los alamos national lab in new mexico. radioactive materials are safe and there is no released contamination. the fire is burning near the edge of the lab facility. it will be close the until tomorrow. >> we are still at the structure and we don't plan on losing any structures. >> thousands of peoplehave left the area. authorities warn that the fire could actually triple in size in the next few days. >>> new mexico sure could use some of the rain we are getting. this is video we shot in green bay this morning. as you can see, our summer storm didn't spare the north bay. the rain has been coming down consistently throughout the day, soaking the entire bay area. roberta is here with the latest on the stormed we are following. roberta. >> let's get right to it, it's our live hi-def doppler radar. we haven't used it since june 5, the last time we have had measurable precipitation and now we continue to see the pockets of heavy rain in the east bay. the evening commute is a mess because of the wet conditions. here you have your 580/680 corridor a pocket of heavy rain in fremont. heavy precipitation continues to fall in and around the san jose area wh

. >> our facilities and nuclear mamarials are protected and safe. >> reporter: los alamos, birthplace of the atomic bomb, was shrouded in secrecy long before it was surrounded in smoke. with the fire now just two miles from those barrels that contain radioactive waste, like old chemical suits, gloves and tools, lab officials aren't the only ones trying to reassure the public. based on what you've seen, do you feel comfortable saying to the public, we are safe right now? >> yes. i am confident in saying that they are committed to making it safe. >> reporter: los alamos, the city, remains a ghost town. most of its 12,000 residents evacuated monday. some leaving sprinklers on to protect their homes. a few dozen die-hards have stayed, unfazed by their nuclear neighbor. >> i lived here all my life. and i know they're equipped. and i know that they're ready for these kind of extreme emergencies. >> reporter: firefighters have made progress over the last few days and say the risk of these flames reaching radioactive material is slim. but this morning, they caution winds could change and so c