cnn's stephanie elam is live in camarillo, california, right now. s it look like where you are right now? >> john, we've been standing out here for a few hours and we've been watching as this area behind me was burning down into the ocean. it's a very beautiful area. it's jumped over, out of land space now at the water but we're watching plumes of orange over us. it's burning inside a ravine that's forced some neighborhoods to evacuate. we're still getting embers coming towards us here, but one thing that's really interesting is that the last few minutes it has gotten very calm. that's something to keep in mind, that this is the calmest time of day for firefighting. the issues usually spring up later in the afternoon when the winds start changing direction and throwing the flames around. that's what firefighters are going to be looking out for as they're battling these fires. also knowing this helps them battle where the fires are going as they venture into ire yeahs that may be closer to residential homes. all of this is something that we're keeping

stephanie elam live in ventura county. good morning, stephanie. >> reporter: good morning, john.e last hour or so winds have started to kick up again. just above us, the fill above us, the fire has crested over the mountain and we're keeping our eyes on it obviously all sorts of embers flying around. the problem, this is not the only fire burning in california and that is taxing all kinds of people who are trying to make sure these fires get out. high winds, soaring temperatures and dry brush are giving california fire season an early start. wildfires across the state are turning toward home, keeping hundreds of firefighters busy and residents on edge. >> stay until i know that my house is still here. >> our dogs are save and get through this. >> reporter: fires started in four southern california counties. two fires contained quickly. >> when we stepped up several weeks ago, got air tankers in, hired firefighters, will this be what the arrest of the year will be like, will we wear people out? that's the big question. >> reporter: the summit fire, burning 25 miles west of palm sp

stephanie elam spoke with her. >> "i just think that it's more confirmation and more proof that happy do exist." elizabeth smart, who says she's thrilled for the three women freed in ohio, knows first hand about happy endings. in june of 2002 -- when she was just 14 years old -- smart was kidnapped from her bedroom by brian david mitchell. he held her hostage until she was discovered walking down the street with mitchell five miles from her home some nine months later. >> "how do you even digest that kind of time?" >> "i don't even think you can. i was only gone for 9 months and i felt like that imagine 9, 10, 12 years. it's unbelievable but i think it just says a world about the courage and the strength of each of these women." women who despite their strength may be overwhelmed by all of the attention, says smart, while at the same time trying to process >> "it's a different route for everybody. for me, my family, my religion, the support of my community have all been a huge factor in my recovery. and it can be a very dark, hard journey but time passes and just take it day by day."

stephanie elam with more on the alleged murder for hire case. >> reporter: more than five years afterodel juliana redding was found strangled and beaten to death in her santa monica apartment, her accused killer will finally stand before a jury. >> this is the first case i've ever heard of where a woman is accused of essentially being a hired goon to go beat someone up. >> reporter: redding was just 21 years old when she left tucson, arizona, to pursue dreams of stardom. she had some success, appearing in an independent film, a music video, and a photo spread in maxim magazine. her dreams were cut short by this woman, 47-year-old kelly sue park. they say park was hired by this man after her father pulled out a deal five days before redding was killed. the doctor made payments to park totaling more than $250,000 just weeks before redding was killed. however, the doctor, who left the country shortly after park's arrest, has never been charged in this case. park remains free on a $3.5 million bond. her lawyers say she's innocent and that the prosecution should be looking at john gilmore,

thanks so much, stephanie elam. >>> five u.s.roops are dead after a roadside bomb exploded in southern afghanistan today. the blast happened in kandahar province. the taliban claimed responsibility for that attack. and now to syria where cnn was the first to report that israeli aircraft bombed a shipment of missiles in syria. pentagon correspondent barbara starr has details now. >> reporter: two u.s. officials tell me that u.s. and western intelligence agencies are reviewing classified data showing that israel conducted an air strike into syria. they don't believe that israeli warplanes entered syrian air space but perhaps conducted the strike from across the border in the air space of lebanon. they don't believe israel struck at a syrian chemical weapons site. much more likely israel con ducked a strike against what they have promised to do, strike at any transfer of weapons from the syrian regime to res blhezb sa cross the border. sara sidner obtained a statement saying, quote, we will do whatever is necessary to stop the trans

stephanie elam in a hard hit area. what are you seeing, stephanie? >> john, that is so true. in fact, i talked to one resident. out there with me, we were walking around, we see these homes and they just look like they were ripped apart literally. this one man did say this is one good thing to come out of this, the city is going to have to rebuild. people who could not find jobs will now find jobs. and that's the one good thing that came out of the devastating tornado. he said people in moore, oklahoma, this is what we do, we rebuild. if you look out there, there is a crane. they've moved since i turned around, but that is where we did know the location of the park plaza tower elementary school is. a lot of the efforts today moving towards recovery, and that's what a lot of people are doing now, trying to figure out, making sure that they can get their lives back together. get their kids back together. in talking to them. and there's counseling available throughout the counties here to let people talk to people if they need it, if they're trying to rebuild. and one other thin

here's cnn's stephanie elam. >> it is just more confirmation and more proof to me that happy endings. >> reporter: elizabeth smart, who says she's thrilled for the three women freed in ohio, knows firsthand about happy endings. in june of 2002, when she was just 14 years old, smart was kidnapped from her bedroom by brian david mitchell. he held her hostage until she was discovered walking down the street with mitchell five miles from her home some nine months later. >> how do you even digest that kind of time? >> i don't think you even can. i was only gone for nine months and i felt that was an eternity. i can't imagine nine, ten, 12 years. it's unbelievable, but i think it says just a world about the courage and the strength of each of these women. >> reporter: women who despite their strength, may be overwhelmed by all of the attention, says smart, while at the same time trying to process their emotions. >> it's a different route for everybody. for me, my family, my religion, the support of my community, have all been a huge factor in my recovery. it can be very -- it can be a very

stephanie elam, cnn, los angeles. >> thanks to stephanie there. >>> we're following new developmentsnhunt for a killer of an 8-year-old california girl. leila fowler was killed in her home last week. the search has moved from ground to water with dive teams searching two reservoirs in calaveras county. >> it's blackwater diving and they're searching the bottom of the ponds with their hands. because obviously, in murky water conditions, they cannot see where they're going, so the tinders on the shore holding the rope will guide them through the water. >> investigators are also canvassing neighborhood residences for any possible lead in leila fowler's death. if you have any information, you are urged to call police. >>> new developments in the story of that pennsylvania mom who was declared dead after disappearing 11 years ago. brenda heist is very much alive and now investigators are starting to piece together how she ended up in the gainesville, florida, area. they say it appears she hitch-hiked with strangers to the florida keys in 2002. beyond that, it gets murky. >> she hasn't giv

john king is in a neighborhood and stephanie elam is in another one.our... blood type? a or b positive?? have you eaten today? i had some lebanese food for lunch. i love the lebanese. i... i'm not sure. enough of the formalities... lets get started shall we? jimmy how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? happier than dracula volunteering at a blood drive. we have cookies... get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. ó? ...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. >>> welcome back to moore, oklahoma. the cleanup is going to be long and hard here in moore. there is going to be a lot of hard days ahead, a lot of hard weeks. piles of debris, homes scattered for miles really. you can see the destruction in all directions. our stephanie elam is in one of the neighborhoods that took a direct hit. some of the things you have been seeing throughout the day, people, i always wonder what is the first ste

stephanie elam is live from newbury park, california. where do things stand right now there?d, is that overnight, firefighters were able to contain the fire now at 30%. that's a little bit of growth there. they say the acreage of land that was born is 28,000. that's the same as the day before. that's good news, that they're getting a hand on the fire here. there's a change in energy as well. a lot of neighbors coming out to see where fire stands but it doesn't have that nervous energy we were seeing over the last couple of days. behind me, the smoke that you're seeing here, these are from controlled burns. firefighters are burning this on purpose because there's a lot of dry brush. we haven't had a lot of rain here. they're doing that to make sure this area is burned out. there's no more fuel and it will protect the homes on just the side of the street where i am and this is where a lot of the evacuations have been. fred? >> and what about people who have evacuated and, perhaps, in other regions where the fire is threatening folks have not left their homes yet. what's the sta

stephanie elam joins me live from omaha, nebraska. , what was it like at that graduation and tell us more about the direction this investigation is going. >> all right. fred, it was definitely bittersweet moment for a lot of these students. we saw the end of the proceedings for the medical school as these people were coming out with their degrees. obviously it is really exciting. the families are there and there is lots of excitement and joy. for the people associated with the pathology department, there is a sense of loss and so they were still dealing with all of that at the same time. obviously it is weighing over them and we did speak to two med school students fresh with new degrees and this is what they told us. >> you could tell he just loved to teach students, booming voice, just really taught us a lot and a few classes we had with them and you can tell he really loved his profession and giving back to the community. >> it has been pretty somber and cast a pal over graduation almost. it is a great event and we're happy and our

. >>> cnn's stephanie elam is live in newberry park, california for us this morning.test on the situation with the fire? how much of it is contained at this point? >> reporter: well randi that's one thing everyone's looking for information on. the last update from officials came last night, 28,000 acres were burned and that it was 20% contained. we should be getting an update now that day has finally made its way to the west coast. if you look behind me, there are some fires that are burning. those are controlled fires, burning them to make sure they don't come close to the residential areas like the fire has done in the last couple of days. they want to make sure this area burns out, a trail behind me and they want to make sure it doesn't threaten the homes here, randi. >> the fire erupted on thursday, it certainly has made up a lot of ground pretty faths, hasn't it? >> reporter: it raced out of the gates on thursday. it burned up 6,500 acres in just five hours on thursday and it ran over to the hills and to the pacific ocean. we saw embers jumping across the pacific

cnn's stephanie elam is in omaha. stephanie, what do we know about the latest crime?march of 2008 another faculty member dr. william hunter his 11-year-old son and family housekeeper were found murdered in their house, a case that's never been involved and because it involves the pathology department from the one university police are looking into it but staying very closed lipped about what the circumstances of the brumback murders have been so far simply because they're trying to make progress in this investigation. >> they're saying because of the location and the pairs of these double cold case murders. >> reporter: keep in mind the pathology department is said to be just 12 people and so to have this many murders connected to this one department is why they're looking for any connection but they do not at least they have not told us any suspects that they may have in this case at this time, and when you look at it, today should be a very happy day for the creighton university community because today is graduation day, people are flooding in for these happy moment

our stephanie elam is along the front lines. stephanie, what's happening right now where you are? >> jake, we've been out here all night, all morning to watch what's going on. i can tell you that the fire here called the springs fire, we've been watching it burn coming down the side of the mountain here. it's getting closer here. further side we saw it burn all the way down to the pacific coast highway, jump over the highway and realize there's the pacific ocean and nowhere for it to go. but firefighters are letting this burn because it's not threatening any property. in other parts they are looking to make sure no homes are in danger. one other interesting thing that we've seen happen here is that there are fire trucks coming in here on this part of the pch which is closed to traffic right now because of these fires. and they are coming from all over california. we just saw trucks coming in from san bernardino. we saw one from big bear. they're coming in to help assist with the fires here because it is so big. and california has a unique system where as fires burn, fire trucks wi

stephanie elam joins us, good morning, stephanie. >> reporter: good morning, carol. i can give you an update. this fire here in ventura county known as the spring fire, has ballooned up to 10,000 acres that officials estimate were burned. throughout the night, we watched the entire hillside burn, jump over the pacific coast highway and right toward the pacific ocean where it was out of land. the issue isn't, this isn't the only fire burning and that is taxing resources throughout the state. >> just came in like that. >> reporter: high winds, soaring temperatures and dry brush are giving california's fire season an early start. wildfires across the state are turning toward homes, keeping hundreds of firefighters busy and residents on edge. >> stay until i know my house is still here. >> as long as our family and dogs are safe, we can get through this. >> fire sprouted up in four southern california counties over the past couple of days. two of the fires contained quickly. >> we stepped up several weeks ago, brought in air tankers, hired seasonal firefighters. what bod

stephanie elam reporting live for us. , stephanie. >>> a man has been arrested at the cannes film festival in france after firing a gun. pictures of the arrest show police wrestling the man to the ground. you see it right there. people ran for cover including actor christopher waltz after the gunman fired off two shots from a starter pistol. his name has not been released. but investigators say apparently he also had a fake grenade and that the bullets he fired were blanks. luckily no one was injured. >>> angelina jolie's op-ed earlier this week about her double mastectomy made headlines around the world. many other women go even further than that to prevent cancer, risking family, risking their lifestyle, risking so much. i'll talk to one amazing woman who made that choice next. [ indistinct conversations ] [ male announcer ] when you wear dentures you may not know it, but your mouth is under attack. food particles infiltrate and bacteria proliferate. ♪ protect your mouth, with fixodent. the adhesive helps create a food s

stephanie elam, los angeles. >> the oldest of his three daughters joins us.. i want to give you an opportunity to talk about how he lived. so can you tell us a little bit about your dad? >> yeah. my dad was a really happy person. anybody that knew him can tell you that he loves to make laugh. he always had something good to say to everybody. we could be like in a serious conversation and i don't know where he will like pop out and say something funny. just to make you laugh. and that's what i'm going to miss about him. >> now, he came here from mexico 16 years ago. and i was reading that there are also grandchildren. is this a very large family? >> he left his three daughters behind, three grandchildren and a whole family and a lot of friends. >> i was also reading that this is not the first time your father has been attacked. and this really surprised me that at the end of the day, this has happened to him completedly. were you guys worried about hip and could you tell me about some of those other attacks that occurred? >> the first time he got attacked was

here's cnn's stephanie elam. >> she was kind.urple. >> reporter: in an array of pinks and purples, hundreds turned out for a candle light vigil to remember leila fowler. the 8-year-old girl stabbed to death in her northern california home on saturday. the motive for her killing is still a mystery. >> it does not happen to a person you know, much less a child you know. and this cannot happen to a child in your very own class. she will be carried in our hearts forever. >> reporter: leila's family stood front and center, arm in arm as the vigil began. before moving to the stage so they could see all the people present to remember their little girl. the family also spoke for the first time. >> i just want to thank the entire community and all of our family and friends for the overwhelming amount of support that you've given my family. it will never be forgotten. >> i'm not saying good-bye to leila. i'm going to say, i'll see you later. there's no good-byes. -- take care of my sister. >> madison was friends with leila for three years.

we have stephanie elam joining us now who is with somebody, with a family, monitoring people's efforts, to try to figure out what is left of the lives as they knew them. stephanie, are you with us? >> yes, chris. you know, one of the things that is so hard, you look at the devastation of someone's home and you think about the loss of lives of loved ones. but another part of that is a loss of life of a dog or a cat or a pet. we all know that they're like family. and these people just showed up here and they've been yelling for the name of their dog, trying to find their dog, sifting to see if they can find any sign of their pup and also looking for whatless they can find in there. it's just very hard for people, as they're going through the rubble. it's difficult terrain. look down here, just to give you an idea why officials really don't want people walking through. there's nail sticking out, live wire. if you want to look for your pet, fine but don't go digging through yet because they're afraid of the conditions. we did speak to another neighbor and asked him how difficult this situa

. >> stephanie elam, thank you very much. stay safe. new this morning, five u.s. soldiers have been killed by a bomb in southern afghanistan. there's no word on precisely where they were stationed. the taliban launched its annual spring offensive with attacks aimed at foreign military bases and diplomatic areas. earlier this week a roadside bomb killed three british troops. >>> also new this morning, israel now confirming that it conducted an air strike friday in syria. israeli official tells reuters that the strike targeted a shipment of missiles bound for hezbollah and lebanon. israeli officials have long vowed to strike targets they think are being used to transfer weapons to hezbollah or other terrorist groups. israeli defense official tells cnn, "we'll do whatever is necessary to stop the transfer of weapons from syria top terrorist organizations." >>> now the latest developments in the boston bombings. a death certificate confirms the violent final moments of tamerlan tsarnaev's life. the owner of the funeral home handling the suspected bomber's burial read

i'm joined here in this neighborhood where i'm standing by stephanie elam who has been here all morning walking through the debris here of these homes that have been flattened. >> it's unimaginable. even as you hear it and you see images, it's nothing like seeing it with your own eyes. it's unbelievable what these people have lost. if you take a look, i have to watch where i step because nails everywhere grabbing me on my pants. if you look here, you can see a personal artifact. things that have been tossed around like rag dolls along with wood just stuck out here. a blanket and stroller and bag stuck in that tree. one of the neighbors telling me that was a massive willow tree right there that got damaged. one other thing to point out over here is this right here massive piece of guard rail here. this guard rail, i asked one of the neighbors where this could have came from and he said that it probably came from the interstate which is not from anywhere around here. it got tossed around like it was just a little splinter and landed on these people's lawns. it shows you how dangerous it w

. >> cnn's stephanie elam is long the front lines in ventura county. and chad myers is keeping track of the fires in cnn weather center in atlanta. stephanie, i'm going to start with you. what's happening right now where you are? >> well, jake, right now we can tell you that it's starting to warm up. we're starting to feel the heat coming that is expected all the way up to the coastline here. as you can see we are right on the pacific ocean which makes this fire interesting. visually overnight it was stunning while we were here because as you look right here there's the pacific coast highway that runs along the ocean. you've got some fire trucks coming out right now. and then right off the edge of the hillside over here we watched it burn down and actually jump over the fire -- jump over the pch and towards the ocean. we also were able to see today some firefighters out there fighting the brush. just around the corner actually we were looking at them making sure that they're putting out fires, and also ensuring that power lines also stay safe. so that w

stephanie elam is near the site of the plaza towers elementary school. i know they're still holding media and residents away from that area as much as we can. what are we learning first of all about the victims? what can you share with us? >> well, we are starting to learn, wolf, the names of these children. i know we've been talking about the seven young children that died at the plaza tower school, but we're now learning their names. which the more you know about them, the harder it is to hear this sort of information. in the distance behind me, that's where they're working ongoing through the rubble on what's left of the plaza tower elementary school at this point. but what we do know is that we have three names now of the kids pulled out of there. i want to show you their pictures now starting off with kyle davis. he was 8 years old. we're being told he loved monster trucks. he's one of the children that was there. also, an totonia, and janae hornsby, we've been hearing her father and aunt talk about what a ball of energy she was when they were talki

stephanie elam, cnn, los angeles. >>> and still ahead in the newsroom, remember those reports of the syrian government used sarin gas on its own people? according to one united nations official, it wasn't the syrian government, but rebel forces who might have been behind those deadly poisoned gas attacks. we make meeting times, lunch times and conference times. but what we'd rather be making are tee times. tee times are the official start of what we love to do. the time for shots we'd rather forget, and the ones we'll talk about forever. in michigan long days, relaxing weather and more than 800 pristine courses make for the perfect tee time. because being able to play all day is pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. i'm also a survivor of ovarian a writand uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. symptoms are not the same for everyone. i

just near us right now is stephanie elam in a community to tell us what's going on there. hat are you seeing? >> reporter: i have to tell you, we drove in overnight from houston and there's nothing to prepare for you what you see when you get out here. we are not far from you. just a short drive from where you are right now, chris. we came up here and we actually did find the owners of this house. i came to see what they could find. they are going through and finding random things that have been there like the owner's great grandfather pick ax. and kids' toys blown out to the front of the house. these kind of things that are just scattered throughout picking them up and bringing them to the front. one of the owners telling me a box of tax returns from a few years ago survived. it was just in a paper box. that survived while so many other things have just been destroyed and so we asked them because they have their ties to missouri, i asked the owner of the house just how bad this was compared to other tornadoes and here's what he had to say. >> they just said one of our litt

. >>> coming up, we'll check in with my colleague stephanie elam, not too far away from me here in mooreories of survival. also, though, as they're digging for -- through some of the rubble, some surprising discoveries. she's live next. i don't make any decisions about who to hire without going to angie's list first. you'll find reviews on home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. with angie's list, i know who to call, and i know the results will be fantastic. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. and do you know your... blooa or b positive?? have you eaten today? i had some lebanese food for lunch. i love the lebanese. i... i'm not sure. enough of the formalities... lets get started shall we? jimmy how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? happier than dracula volunteering at a blood drive. we have cookies... get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. >>> i'm ashleigh banfield reporting live in phoenix, arizona, at the maricopa county courthouse where it is a bit of a bombshell, and really not something that

we want to go to stephanie elam.er dog. >> reporter: it is the roughest thing to hear about, people being separated from their loved ones, john and chris. we hear so much about this. pets are like family. how awesome you found that kitty cat there. this one family came back to their home and lots of things were gone. they just got married in august. her wedding dress was long gone, but her clothes were there. they were looking for their dog, sugar. take a listen. >> heart breaking. just want to find her. she's our little baby. everything was gone. she was in a crate. we searched at home depot, we went to the warning and shelters. no one had seen her. we have posted him on different facebook sites trying to just get it out there that, you know, she's missing. >> reporter: so hard to see the pain in her face as she was talking about her dog sugar. here is a picture i had her text to me. if you see the dog, help her get back to her family. they have been looking all over the place to find her. they want the same kind of

stephanie elam, cnn, los angeles. >>> ahead on "starting point," day break in texas.ed down. live with the latest developments. >>> a down right frightening moment as a baby in a stoler rolls onto a philadelphia subway track. the incredible video, and the incredible rescue that followed. >>> the backlash of abercrombie and fitch takes a twist as one tries to rebrand the company. the man behind this will join us. new car! hey! [squeals] ♪ [ewh!] [baby crying] the great thing about a subaru is you don't have to put up with that new car smell for long. introducing the versatile, all-new subaru forester. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. there was this and this. she got a parking ticket... ♪ and she forgot to pay her credit card bill on time. good thing she's got the citi simplicity card. it doesn't charge late fees or a penalty rate. ever. as in never ever. now about that parking ticket. [ grunting ] [ male announcer ] the citi simplicity card is the only card that never has late fees, a penalty rate, or an annual fee, ever. go to citi.com/simplicity to apply. be

cnn stephanie elam is joining us from goodyear, arizona. how is it going over there, stephanie?point, wolf, we know she made it back across the border, somewhere late in the night, early morning. and then they had a three-hour drive to get back here to g goodyear where their family is. they'll el us more about that. but overall you're talking about a woman who spent nine days in jail because they believed she had taken over 12 pounds of marijuana and put it under her seat on the bus as she was coming back across the border with her husband. because of video that came out, the surveillance video shows she had a purse, a couple of blankets and some water. now she is coming home. despite all that's gone on, you would think she might have a grudge against the country of her birth. she is a sufficieu.s. naturaliz person. but not so. >> i love mexico. my family's still there. so mexico, it's not mexico's fault. so it's a few people who, you know, did this to me, and probably to other people. who knows. you know? so i probably will go back. mexico is a beautiful country. >> so now that