. >> possums?t takes all kind in this the world, folks. she's doing a good thing. guess we can't talk too much trash. that's ugly. we'll be back with more after this, stay with us. this, stay with us. [ female announcer ] eyes feeling overworked? discover visine® tired eye relief with hydroblend™, only from visine®. just one drop nstantly soothes and revives tired, overworked eyes. and comforts them for p to ten hours. visine® tired eye relief. try now an save $3. here would you go next if you had a hoveround power chair? the statue of liberty? the grand canyon? it's all possible ith a hoveround., tom: hi i'm tom kruse, inventor rand founder of hoveround., when we say you're free to see the world, we mean it. call today and get a free overound information kit, that includes a video and full color brochure. dennis celorie: "it's by far the best chair i ie ever owned." terri: "last year, 9 out of 10 people got their hoveround for "little or no money." jim plunkitt: "no cost. absolutely no cost to me.

saying a possum you came to the commander rollins when he was seventeen years old. since then he's worked as a sailor a fisherman and a hunter. he singlehandedly crossed the pacific and not before reaching seattle. he is now a permanent resident nicole's going where he's preparing illustrations for his book about the commander island's. that will get to their ngs crew as lucky to be stranded at this place there must have been a guardian angel watching from above because the ship was thrown over a reef into this cozy bay. most of the varying crew managed to survive precisely because they had landed the shore of the commander died unable to withstand the harsh winter for a long time nobody knew where he had been buried his grave was found only in nine hundred ninety one during an archeological expedition organized for the purpose local residents. was almost expedition. scientists tested the soil in several places to see how much phosphorus it contained they found the greatest amount of phosphorus around barings grave. burying was not put in a coffin he was buried on a

cnn's jim spellman live in possum kingdom lake, it texas. good morning. are they closer to getting this thing under control? >> yeah, they are, christine. the first thing we noticed this morning, we're no longer smelling smoke and seeing ash come down. that's definitely a good sign. yesterday all day they hit this fire with helicopter drops and plane drops of retardant, be helicopter drops of water, and plane drops of retardant to get any hot spots out and keep it from spreading and as contained as possible. little help from the winds, the fire blew back on to it itself earlier in the day and they were able to make a lot of progress. still 50% contained. we expect that to go up today. some residents are allowed to go back home, putting together plans to get the rest of the people to come back to the heavily damaged areas and this is a big tourist area, and the economy here relies on that to try to get tourists back for this weekend for the last labor day weekend here of the summer and try to get some help there. one thing people have been asking us all we

possum kingdom, lake texas, second round of wildfires destroying upscale homes this year.hreatens a lot of people's labor day plans. similar story in oklahoma city, their second round of grass fire this is year, currently two big fires burning, got authorities closing roads, evacuating neighborhoods as buildings burn, a good note, there have been no fatalities to report in these fires. hello again to jim spellman in texas. same old stories, same old song in texas. we were reporting this not too long ago. >> reporter: yes, you know, you touched on it, they could use water here. that's really what they need. this drought is so intense and going on for so long the conditions are ripe for the slightest spark to start a fire. this fire is not a huge fire but it happened in the middle of a populated area, the popular resort area, possum kingdom and the house this is fire hit about 39 now that we know are destroyed it just leveled them. these were big substantial brick houses and they were destroyed, flattened. it's that perfect combination of the high temperatures, drought condi

they say that he was playing possum. he woke up, got out of bed, went to the bathroom where he had lorazepam, took eight pills, and then had a walking i.v. on and through that iv injected more propofol into his body. the doctor came back into the room and found michael jackson at that point already deceased. this is a strategy and the arguments that you're going to hear from the defense team. you've already heard some of this being laid out. i just got off the phone with the sources and they say this is where they are headed. >> we know that they are just now taking their lunch recess. moments ago, of course, we have a team of people watching this as well. and we know that this personal assistant had just testified that dr. murray, that day, called him, left a message for murray to quote, call me right away. and so the message was left several minutes with this personal assistant before anyone actually called an glanambulanc. also, the lawyer for the show promoter testified today that whenever she asked about michael jac

so far the fire in possum kingdom lake has destroyed 39 homes and over 6,000 acres fueled by dry brush and windy conditions. the wildfire has spread quickly, forcing firefighters to attack the blaze from both the ground and the air. >>> now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. wildfires are also eating away at oklahoma's landscape. a combination of drought conditions and high winds have caused fires in several areas of the state forcing residents to flee their homes. approximately 250 firefighters along with national guard air support are engaging in an intense battle with the fires that already destroyed 22 homes and one church. >>> thanks to storms in new zealand, hawaii beaches became a surfer's paradise. the announcement of a high surf warning was music to the ears of surfers who braved the big waves. officials estimate the size of the waves measured 10 to 15 feet high. >>> and the outcome of the great pumpkin weigh-off at the alaska state fair ended on a shocking technicality, at least for one pumpkin farmer. the largest pumpkin tipping the scale

so far, the fire in possum kingdom lake has destroyed 39 homes and over 6,000 acres, fueled by dry brush and windy conditions, the wildfire has spread quickly, forcing firefighters to attack the blaze from the ground and the air. here's your "first look" at some of the other stories going on around america today. >>> weill fires are eating away at oklahoma's landscape, a combination of drought conditions and high winds have caused fires in several areas around the state, forcing residents to flee their homes. approximately 250 firefighters along with national guard air support are engaging in intense battle with the fires that have already destroyed 22 homes and 1 church. >>> thanks to storms in new zealand, hawaii beaches became a surfer's paradise. at announcement of a high surf warning was music to the ears of surfers who braved the big waves. officials estimate the size of the waves to measure 10 to 15 feet high. and the outcome of the great pumpkin weighoff at the alaska state fair ended in a shocking technicality. at least for one pumpkin farmer. the largest pumpkin, tipping the sc

up to one hundred thousand pounds of tufton possums gather in an area of some five hundred square meters they are called northern pirates because of the bright plumage. here we catch and tag about a hundred birds it won't let me go now i'll have to open and speak it's ok it happens. i'm going to try and target now it's best to let them get back to their holes or else be taken far beyond the places where the other tufted puffins nest if one of these birds gets into a puffins nest the own vital guest might well be killed by another puff and keep the room we usually let them go by tossing them into the air. in the courts though it seems he doesn't want to fly today. these birds cannot takeoff from the ground which is why they look clumsy instead they use a steep slope as a launch pad tufted pathans feet in the open sea dive to depths of up to a hundred meters in the hunt for small fry. quite often siegel snatch fish from tuft of puffins that can't fly fast enough they swoop dawn on puffins to make them drop the fish and then they snatch it up in mid-air. sure and foreigner from both you las

squirrel, possum and coon and seasons greens with smoked ox tails. can't raise white folks for slaughter. [applause] >> for those of you who have not heard this in person a big beautiful surprises, she speaks at tremendous authority of feeling. and very uniquely agile intelligence. >> we are the memory of that place without measure. that filled all space that never was and ever will be. that place existing as the perfect note yet making no sound. holding all colors inside a light that was nothing but darkness. we are the memory of a breath that could not be but was. a breath that's well to bubble which bursts and collapsed. me are the memory gestated in day that lasted eons as the universe birthed heat, light, rock, ice, mineral, song, us. we are the impossible made flesh creating infinnate possibilities of hope or endless kazisms of despair inside the prayers which we have become. [applause]. this is called the fifth dying i deal with the wars away but the wars here. >> anny was one of many girls my son mentioned in passing and grew up when she beca

possum told me he says the debris field was very large and one of the other planes was hit. the debris spread out over a large area. over the years there's been many crashes at this air rices including in 2007 where there were three failed crashes in just four days. i worked in reno and covered the races and this is the first instance where i can remember that the plane crashed into the crowd. we will bring you more information as we get it tonight at 10:00 also. live in the newsroom, i'm john sasaki, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> we are also continuing to follow developing news from berkeley that is having a major impact on the friday evening commute. it was a fatal accident on eastbound i80 between a motorcycle and a big rig. happened very close to the gillman avenue exit. as you can see here, it is still backing up traffic two hours after the crash. crews still in the middle of interstate working on this situation there. and traffic just barely getting by on one right lane and two left lanes. i want to show you another picture here to kind of give you another example of what i

the possum kingdom fires burned thousands of acres and destroyed 25 homes. one official says half the county has been burned and dozens of people had to leave as the fire comes threateningly close to their homes. >> you can't see through the stuff and it's very scary and i am following my husband in one car and me in the other and it's like we are live leaving our lives behind. -- leaving our lives behind. >> i didn't get the pictures of our folks and things like that. and just things like that you know we didn't have time to get. >> it happened so quickly, and i was thinking not again. >> fueled by strong wind and triple digit temperatures the fire is is 3500 acres. the fire earlier this year -- temperatures, the fire is 3500 acres. >>> the start zones or origins of tropical systems and where they go during the month we peak out with the top of activity and these orange shadeings are basically where we expect. we have a system out in the open waters of the atlantic and typically this will take a track north of the windward and leeward island and work into t

we are back to the possum. what might be a dead possum society because it is the problem and the answer. this was one of the pictures that came through there 311 apps. boston married it with maps and the opportunity to tweak and the social dimension of it. one night the problem was reported. there's a possum in my trash can. i don't know whether it is dead. in the normal course of things it would be a city employee responding the next morning. instead woman named susan looking at the apps a couple blocks away and got bundled up and salt the problem. was the possum living or dead? alive. the person who owned the trash can wanted it out. she took the trash can over and left with the benediction good night, sweet spouse. i wanted to talk to a woman who would write that poetically. we spoke last week and she got it exactly right. when people solve problems themselves and for each other it makes this city a less faceless town by encouraging people to think this city doesn't have to solve every problem. that is the w

we are now back at the possum.ion of what might be a dead possum society because it is the problem and the answer. this was one of the pictures that came men through -- came in through their 3-1-1 app. it is a little bit gruesome, but he is alive. boston mary did with the opportunity to -- married to the opportunity to tweet. one night, the problem was reported. instead, there was a woman named susan. she was looking at the app, saw it, realized it was a couple of blocks away. and she solve the problem. was the possum living or dead? alive. she tipped the trash can over and left it with this benediction. i wanted to talk to women who would write that poetically about a possum. we spoke last week. she got it exactly right. when people solve problems themselves and for each other, it makes the city a less faceless town. the city does not have to solve every problem. that is the wisdom of what thomas jefferson called the highest office holder. that is a citizen. thank you for your time. [applause] >> thank you to mark

one of the most intensifiers is burning in the town of possum kingdom lake.m dallas. that's where cnn's jim spelman is. have the winds died down, jim? >> reporter: right now the winds are pretty calm and much cooler than it was yesterday. the mornings are the time when they hope to make ground against this fire. yesterday they did. they thought they had it fairly well under control. about midday the winds pick up. they got through about 105 degrees. and it is such perfect conditions for the fire to spread that it got away from fire crews yesterday. here at 39 homes destroyed in this sort of resort community here. lot of second homes. this drought here is just so epic. 90% of texas under serious drought conditions here. and we are seeing fires break out in other areas of the state. expanding now to oklahoma city area, threatening populated suburb of edmond. when these fires meet up with perfect conditions, hot, dry winds, drought conditions, populated areas, it takes just a spark for a fire to get going. that's what they are dealing with now in oklahoma city t

crews are making progress against a fire that burned 40 homes and several rvs in the community of possum king lake that is west of dallas. cnn's jim fellman is there. how much progress are we talking about. >> reporter: they made a lot of progress. take a look, randi. this is the hill that we watched burn yesterday as the wind picked up in the afternoon. there's a little active fire and smoke coming off of it. they are hitting this fire on all fronts with helicopters dropping water out of the reservoir here. yesterday afternoon the wind picked up and the fire took off and destroyed more homes. today, 50% contained now, and they are even allowing some residents back in. and what is startling about this fire and a continued hazard, when we get this under control, all the same conditions still remain. we have extreme drought and no sign of rain anytime in the near future, so all it takes is a spark, and one more ember flying to have another active fire begin. yesterday we saw embers come from that side of the reservoir back over to this side of the reservoir, and start a few spot fires on t

also the traffic signal at 6 the/possum is still out. earlier, this is video 6/fall some.a 4:02 p.m.. 6/4 somesixth/ folsom. carbon dioxide was pumped inside the man will. power was restored to nearly everybody with the exception of 280. for the remaining, generators will be brought in. >> it is designed to take the bulk of the load. we want to get back down here to get the lights back on for the folks. >> reporter: pg&e does not know why or how it started the manhole was intact when it they are right. that is the latest, charles clifford, kron 4 news. >>pam: off outrag >>pam: outrage with customers of bank of america. >> some people could be paying $60 more per year just to swipe third debit card. sterling early next year bank of america is going to charge a $5 monthly fee. it is not a transaction fee. it will not be charged if they use do not use that--. however, some account holders that have a $1500 minimum balance will not have met $5 fee. still, free access to atm of bank of america. suntrust started a $5 monthly fee. regions = $4. chase and wells fargo are testing $

take a look at some video from possum kingdom lake. the fire has already destroyed more than three dozen homes here. today firefighters are hoping a path of dry vegetation will slow down the fire and hopefully make it easier to contain. >>> in oklahoma city, hundreds of people have been evacuated from a wildfire there. the firefighters are worried the dry weather may reignite some hot spots, but they say pretty much that fire is mostly under control. >>> oakland police are investigating another fatal shooting in a troubled neighborhood. it happened last night near the corner of 77th and bancroft. investigators say a gunman opened fire on a man sitting inside his car. there have been two other homicides in this same area during the past few months. one victim was a castlemont high school senior who was shot to death while riding his bike. >>> oakland police also need your help to find a missing woman who they describe as at risk. 41-year-old sabrina phillips has not been seen since july 24th in oakland. police say she may be suicidal. s

after conrad murray left the room, that michael jackson had in fact been feigning sleep or playing possumout of bed and took more tablets. this lorazepam, took eight of those 2 milligram tablets of that and injected more propofol into his system. and then went back to bed. so they say michael jackson actually self administered both this anti-anxiety medication and propofol after feigning sleep in front of dr. conrad murray. sources close to the defense saying this. >> there was something else they wanted to clarify with you. was that the means by which jackson administered the lethal dose of propofol? >> right, yeah. this has gone back and forth. there was some talk yesterday that he ingested, which typically means someone who takes this in orally, but now sources are saying that it was actually -- he had what's called a port in his leg, sort of in indwelling iv. that was hooked up to an iv bag with tubing and they say jackson himself injected the medication into the tubing and the iv fluid pushed it into his body. >> so the defense also talked to you about another drug that jackson was b

and the other fact is they had used guns in a way rather than just hunting possum. >> before, when world war i had started, the idea of recruiting black soldiers was disputed by a white congressman from the south had said, wait a minute, whoa, you're going to train black people to to shoot guns. >> general per,king didn't want -- >> right. i have a letter in the book from a black soldier who comes back to arkansas, and he writes that he comes home, and he's sneered at by white businessmen who didn't go fight, by the way, and he's so disgusted that he moves to st. louis, and he said i felt safer in the trenches than i did in arkansas. and that was a common -- >> let's do about two more questions. >> okay, sorry. yep. >> i appreciate what you said about something different happening in 1919 that, um, seemed to indicate that there was an awakening and, you know, things started generating, but i'm wondering how you came to the conclusion that it was black america waking up and finally realizing that they'd been oppressed and they should be fighting back instead of white america realizing, an

something with his new craftsman tools, or maybe the local exterminator was trying to root out a possum that had gotten under the crawlspace. but, no, it was none of that. it was black people's music, specifically, the supremes, a group none of us had heard of. the song was "where did our love go," and where it went was across the three backyards of the street and in through our living room window and straight into my tapping toe. sammy good had been given a record player for christmas, yes, the goods celebrated christmas as we all did on that street. he was given a bunch of records that had the name motown on them. they were small records, one song on the front, one song on the back with groups called the miracles, the marvelettes, and somebody called little stevie wonder. they all lived near us in detroit, a place we knew from driving to tiger ball games. we would look across the yards and see sammy on the back porch every today after school playing his motown records and dancing. we'd seen this kind of dancing before on tv on "american bandstand" and on "shin dig" but we'd never seen

possum was both the problem and open up a truly engaged solution from the community.when all of this began dated from the arrival of the commodity internet in the 90s there was a lot of excitement about thedemocracy and most people in this room fit in that category. within government where i was serving at the time there was excitement about egovernment which is the touch point between citizens and the government. there were not many rules if there were any at all and there was an opportunity to change the way government works. turn government to face the citizen. it was a great promise. for the last 15 years there have been many in public service trying to live up to the promise of that. just a word about governing where it fits. it grew up under the umbrella of cq and it is part of e.republic on the west coast. it has sister publications interested in this issue of innovation. government technology is applied innovation or solutions for state and local government. public cio celebrates chief technologist as they make their move into more policy planning and advisory

in some aircraft last night that carry 1400 gallons of water, and they're dipping directly out of possum kingdom lake to drop on that fire today. >> you mentioned the lake, and we've actually seen pictures where some of the lakes there have actually dried, and the creek beds are dried because of the drought conditions there. and we know that things are so dry there. what are you telling people to do in order to avoid any continued fires or spreading these fires? >> we're really just telling folks to be careful outside doing anything that can cause a spark. we've got labor day weekend coming up, and dove hunting season has just begun, and we're sitting here hoping for the best, but when people are grilling outdoors or dragging chains behind their cars, parking in this dry grass, you know, things that normally would be harmless are now starting fires, and they're spreading really rapidly. this one we've got in fort worth is about 6600 acres. it jumped a highway yesterday, so they're pretty dangerous. >> wow. you know, april, a lot of us take these things for granted. we don't expect these

cnn's jim spellman is live from possum kingdom lake, he and his crew had to pull back in a hurry from the front lines after the fire started spreading east. now they're back at the fire lines. what does that mean the fact you've been back and forth. is that good news? >> reporter: it is good news, they're telling us here is that this fire is now 50% contained largely because it burned out a lot of the areas all the way up to the lake. this is where we were yesterday, watching the fire burn, active fire, walls of flame on this crest of woods over here, and as it moved its way down it was thick, billowing smoke and embers coming across the lake to our spot and starting spot fires and they had to abandon the command center and pull us back and overnight the winds died down, they were able to get a handle on it. still a little bit of smoking area and the devastation of the fire coming through and wiping out what was a dense forest of trees here. now that's good news that this is coming, they have this portion of the fire together but the sheriff here told us a short time ago that all the

your defense sources and they said i think the phrase yol gi was that michael jackson was playings possum, that that they believe he injected himself with that fatal dose of propofol. if that was the case, would he be able to physically do that if he was wearing this catheter? >> well, as i've been saying to a lot of the questions, brooke, possible but not likely. you know, a lot of these things are so strange that you really have to sit down and think i never heard of this before, so the question is it possible, perhaps. but it's very unusual, very unlikely. i'll say one thing about that when someone high school a catheter like this, part of the reason they have that is because of the anticipation that the person is not going to get up and they can't walk to the bathroom, which is why they get the catheter. so you see the reason why. but it is possible someone could in fact carry the bag as well as the tubing and walk somewhere. patients do that sometimes in the hospitals. but again, it's an unusual situation. >> ted, i'm assuming that they're on lunch break. what is coming up the rest o

playing possum was their exact language they used with me, then after the dock r tor left the room, michaeljackson was awake, he got up, actually took lora p lorazepam, took eight of these tablets, and took more propofol, which was sitting in the room. it's obviously very difficult to prove, nobody else was in the room, but i think that's what you're going to hear about from the defense as to how they reconcile the events. >> are they saying he drank the propofol or injected himself with the propofol? >> it's interesting because some of the opening statements i was listening closely for that and they did talk about this idea of ingesting the propofol, but this has gone back and forth a lot. one of the things brought up was some propofol can back lead into the stomach. the question was was that accuseded for propofol being in the stomach or was it someone ingesting it? my sources again, they're talking about the fact they think he actually injected it into what's called a port. like an indwelling iv. at least that's what they're going the say. >> they also suggesting when it comes to demerol

just experienced a 100,000-plus acre fire in the same area of possible sum lake. 40 -- the area of possume. megyn: president obama has sent a new email message to supporters telling them he has a plan to create jobs and congress should pass its or be held accountable. he says i'm asking you to stand with me in calling on congress to step up and create jobs. this will be an important challenge for our organization. it's been a long time continues congress has been focused on what we need congress to be focused on. i know you are frustrated by that, i am, too. mike, are you one of the frustrated? >> we are all frustrated. remember the image of richard nixon talking to the paintings? i have this image of president obama furiously typing at his laptop saying what am i going say now? it's one gaffe after another. from the fiasco on what night his speech should occur and backing down to john boehner to his pitiful email, i'm frustrated and i feel your pain. megyn: i feel your pain which is clintonesque. and also setting it up for -- they are telling me -- let's dip into the white house press br

after conrad murray left the room, that michael jackson had in fact been feigning sleep or plays possum. he got out of bed and went and took more tablets. took eight of these 2 milligram tablets of that and injected more propofol into his system. and then went back to bed. they say that michael jackson actually self-administered the anti-anxiety medication and propofol after feigning sleep in front of dr. conrad murray. >> along with paramedics, jackson's chef and security chief are expected to testify today. we'll have portions of that live on cnn. >>> in italy lawyers for american amanda knox are giving final arguments at her appeals trial. she's expected to address the jury on saturday. a verdict could come as soon as monday. knox and her boyfriend were convicted of slitting her roommate's throat in what prosecutors describe as part ritual. no evidence convicts them to the crime their lawyers say. >>> legal experts say it could take months to extradite george wright to the united states. he escaped prison in 1970. two years later wright allegedly hijacked a delta flight, flew to alge

what they are saying is that michael jackson was, again, they think was playing possum with him.leep, murray leaves the room, and then jackson gives himself more medication. as ellyn is intimating, how do you prove that? that seems to be where they are going with their arguments. >> ellyn, what do you think the greatest challenge is for conrad murray's defense attorney? ed chernoff? >> it's getting around this idea, that this drug, this particular drug used only in highly controlled hospital and similar settings is being used in a private home without the equipment necessary should there be an emergency, just like the one that unfortunately happened. i think that's a hard fact to get around as long as the prosecution stays focused and keeps hammering on that fact. >> so doctor -- let's talk about dr. conrad murray. what could he really do, sanjay, if a patient is deceptive? what is a doctor to do? >> well, this type of situation where you cannot control the potential outcomes because you don't have all of the monitoring equipment and resuscitation equipment, he should not have ha

jim spellman with us from possum kingdom lake, texas.esterday the smoke was incredible behind you. tell me first about the conditions of the fir and then tell me what happened to you guys. >> reporter: sure, yeah. right now, as you said, about 50% contained. they have been at it all day today using helicopter drops to get the few remaining hot spots that were left in this fire to real get it under control before the winds might pick up again. brooke, yesterday had we spoke, we were standing right here, and behind us you can see flames, really all the trees just exploding it was moving so fast, and embers came across the reservoir to our side shortly after we spoke and were igniting spot fires on this side. had to evacuate the command center and had to immediately expand evacuation orders. you can see the devastation that the fire brought over here. it just leveled a part of this forest, and there are still hot spots in here for sure. they are trying to deal with it, but they have gotten it enough under control that they are able to lift

japan possum debt is 200% of gdp, has been for a couple of decades. they are in a unique situation because most of the savings of that debt comes domestically. as the cdo points out in their long-range predictions, in the future, if we keep this up, we will be producing gdp, but a bigger and bigger chunk of that will not be going to americans but to foreign creditors. that is why our standard of living will be suppressed by this buildup of debt. i must say, hitting the tipping point -- that is not the end of the story. ireland hit the tipping point but recent news reports are indicating that they have taken very good policy actions cutting spending and on the brink of recovery. they are in a much different situation than greece even though both countries have these massive spikes in debt. ireland has taken the right policy courses and they are headed in the right direction. again, i do not think the biggest issue facing you is where the tipping point is. it is stopping the bleeding as soon as we can. >> dr. meltzer, quickly. i am almost out of time. >

. >> eugene robinson on black america, and isabel wilkerson on african-american possum migration north and west. douglas wallace on spymasters. woodrow wilson's first lady and david mccullough on the greater journey. " our and our national foot -- our entire schedule -- look for our entire schedule at our website. u.s. military has officially repealed this policy which had an openly gay americans from serving in the armed forces. don't ask don't tell instituted during the clinton administration cost 14,000 men and women to be discharged in the last 18 years. we will hear from defense secretary leon panetta and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen for they also talk about the pentagon's budget at this 40- minute briefing. abnormal and will retire from his post at the end of the month. -- admiral mullen will retire from his post at the end of the month. >> let me acknowledge this is a historic day for the pentagon and for the nation. as of talk 0 1:00 a.m. this morning, we had to repeal of don't ask don't tell, pursuant to lot that was passed by the congress last dec