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Southern Cal Fires; Iraq-Turkey Tensions; Gerri's Top Tips

Aired October 22, 2007 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today. Stay informed all day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.
Hurricane-force winds driving southern California wildfires and driving thousands of people from their homes. Coming up, we'll get live updates from the front lines and hear from fire officials on the scene.

Also, cross border tensions. Will Turkish troops move into Iraq to go after Kurdish repels? This hour, a live report coming from Turkey.

And one for the history books. Louisiana elects the nation's first Indian-American governor.

It's Monday, October 22nd. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A sleepless night and no rest for the weary in southern California. About a dozen wildfires are raging from Santa Barbara to San Diego. Thousands of acres have burned. Thousands of homes evacuated.

The largest evacuation so far in San Diego County. Residents packing up and heading out of some 10,000 homes around Ramona. The danger brutally clear. At least one person has been killed, 17 others injured. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for seven southern California counties.

Major fires are bearing down now on the posh beach side community of Malibu. Live pictures for you this morning. Two thousand acres have burned. More than two dozen buildings destroyed.

Of course, this story is changing by the minute and CNN crews are in place to bring you the very latest information. CNN's Kara Finnstrom is in San Diego County, reporter Vince Gonzales is in Malibu, and meteorologist Rob Marciano is watching the many weather factors at play here.

We want to begin with Kara though.

Kara, bring us up to date from where you are.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was a press conference held a short while ago and city officials say they are used to, in San Diego, having fires when they go to sleep at night. When they wake up in the morning, the fire has calmed down, things are better. That is not what happened last night. They call this the worst case scenario.

This fire, the Witch Creek Fire, which you see burning right behind me, is one of dozens burning across the state. But earlier this morning, fire officials told us, it is high priority for the state because this fire has moved very aggressively. These winds have continued to whipped it up and to spread it much quicker than they thought it would.

Early this morning this fire crossed over the San Diego city line, and so there are concerns because it has become a lot closer to homes. We are told that as the crow flies, it is about 12 miles from downtown San Diego. So there are a lot of concerns about that.

Right now San Diegoans (ph) are being urged not to use their cell phones because emergency workers here are having so much difficulty communicating, and not to call 911 unless it is a true emergency. Here is some more of what city officials had to say just a while ago to San Diegoans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON ROBERTS, SAN DIEGO CO. SUPERVISOR: People need to stay tuned to their television sets and their radios for information, anybody that's in any of the affected areas. And the affected areas have grown significantly since yesterday. We are extremely concerned with people who are not listening and who are waiting to be asked more than once to leave their homes. They're creating a dangerous situation for themselves and for others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: And as you can see, the winds are really picking up here. Now part of the reason for so much concern here is that this fire is mirroring the progress of the 2003 Cedar Fire. That was the deadliest fire in the state's history. And fire officials tell us that these wildfires often move in the same direction because they're largely directed by the topography of the land. So they're very concerned that this fire may progress into the same neighborhoods that were hit so hard back in 2003. And also, Heidi, they're concerned because we've got these red flag warnings now forecast for at least a couple more days and they're just worried about these winds continuing to whip this fire up.

COLLINS: Yes, and with temperatures in the 90s, too, boy, the concern just couldn't be any higher.

Kara Finnstrom coming to us from San Diego County this morning and the Witch Creek Fire.

Thanks so much, Kara.

Want to head up the California coast now to Malibu. It's the home of the rich and famous, as I'm sure you know. Reporter Vince Gonzales is there.

Vince, update us on what you're seeing around you. VINCE GONZALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, when we were driving in this morning, I can tell you that we could see the orange glow of the fire in the canyons. And now that dawn has come, firefighters really have a battle on their hand. I think we have some live pictures where you can see that it is moving rapidly through the canyons.

The wind gusts have really picked up here. We're definitely feeling some of those fierce winds (ph), like we felt yesterday at this (ph) time, and that's really bad news for firefighters. That means this fire is going to get a head on it and start moving out of those canyons, towards Malibu proper.

That means it's going to begin throwing embers out ahead of it and that's what caused a lot of problems yesterday. There were homes down near the beach that burned, cars down near the beach that burned because the fire was picked up, carried by the wind a mile or so from the main body of the blaze and started other spot fires that crews had to deal with all day long.

And now where I'm standing, this was the result of one of the fire. This is the Presbyterian church in Malibu. Malibu Presbyterian Church. It was not in the fire zone. It was on the other side of the hill from the main body of the fire. Embers came through and crews tell us, with the winds as fierce as they were, all it took was one ember landing on something flammable. They couldn't do anything to save this building.

This is just rubble here. In here was a meeting room. There's still a table and chairs set up. There was a lectern in there. But it's still hot. We approached this doorway earlier and you could feel the heat coming off it. There's still parts of the church that are smoldering.

And the other problem for firefighters is, as these (AUDIO GAP), all those spots they dealt with yesterday. If there's one hot coal still hidden in there, the winds are going to fan it. We've already seen some trees and brush burning down the ravine from us here as a result of these high winds.

Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Reporter Vince Gonzales for us this morning in the Malibu area.

Vince, thank you.

And, obviously, still having lots and lots of wind this morning. We are noticing that some of our signals are having a hard time staying up. Those live pictures now coming in quite well from Malibu from our affiliate there KABC. By the way, that smoke is blowing, you can really see the effect of the wind.

In fact, a state of emergency and a state of disbelief. Flames are racing across much of southern California. We're going to get the latest from the fire lines from an official overseeing the battles. That is still ahead in the NEWSROOM. But first we want to get over to Rob Marciano, CNN's meteorologist, who has been watching all of this this morning for us.

The wind, the heat, boy, we heard from some of the fire officials already saying there's just no way to get in front of this kind of a fire.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And those pictures we just looked at, Heidi, we mentioned the smoke and how it's moving. It is so close to the ground and that pretty much tells you how fast that wind is moving because it's not being allowed to rise vertically like it normally would. You know, the only other exception is if there was some sort of inversion keeping that smoke down.

But it's humming. And this is the time of day when this thing is going to blow. You can see those flames clearly aggravated by the winds. Not a better name than Santa Ana when you look at those. Signs of almost hell, the devil there.

All right. Here we go. Winds off the mountain as opposed to the water, so this is a dry wind to begin with. Goes down that mountain, compresses. You know the deal. So we've got high wind warnings posted through today, through tomorrow as well. L.A. has been fairly quiet, at least L.A.X. the past couple of hours, but anywhere from 10 to 20 to 30-mile-an-hour winds sustained in these spots.

Rainfall, or lack thereof, the other big issue. This is an ongoing drought. Since January 1st, just under three inches of rain in L.A. Just over an inch of rain in Riverside since January 1st. So ridiculous amounts of drought. Ninety-one degrees expected today in Los Angeles. So the heat, obviously, lowering that humidity and making it that much harder for firefighters today and tomorrow.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Oh, boy, yes, a very good point and certainly not what they want to be hearing, I'm certain of that.

Rob Marciano following the fires for us this morning.

Rob, thank you so much.

In fact, let's go ahead and get the latest now from Malibu. Joining us by phone is Ron Haralson. He is with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Ron, if you can hear me OK, we have been talking a lot about -- and, boy, still getting those live pictures in from your area, Malibu here. Everything is -- the flames are still burning. The wind is still blowing. It's still just plain hot there and very, very dangerous. Tell us what you're seeing around you.

RON HARALSON, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR: Absolutely. We're still seeing a lot of fire activity through the night. This brush fire burning in Malibu is 2,200 acres right now. We've got over 1,400 firefighters at scene and working on this right now. Still very dry. A lot of erratic winds. We're still seeing a lot of fire activity, once again. So we've got our helicopters up in the air right now. We'll get some assistance from them and also fixed wing. So we'll see a lot of water drops throughout the morning.

COLLINS: Wow, that's pretty surprising, that they're able to go up and fight this from the air with the winds like this.

HARALSON: Yes. Well, similar conditions as we saw yesterday. A lot of winds in and around those canyons out there. So those pilots are very skilled, very good at what they do, but a very dangerous kind of a touch-and-go situation for them most of the day.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. As we continue to watch this new video coming into us once again from our affiliate KABC. The Malibu, California, area with incredible smoke and flames. Still burning. And as Rob was just mentioning, that smoke just sticks to the ground. Doesn't have anywhere else to go when the wind is blowing so hard like that.

You know, Ron, just a few moments ago we were able to speak with the associate pastor of that church, the presbyterian church there in Malibu that was gone.

HARALSON: Yes.

COLLINS: And our reporter on the scene there was also telling us it was just basically one ember that fell on that church and the whole thing is just destroyed.

HARALSON: Absolutely. And that's the dangers with a wind-driven fire like that. We were seeing different structures take off in different areas. Sometimes it didn't have any rhyme or reason. People were wondering, why is this structure burning and not this one? But those embers blow like that and they land on the eaves and land on the rooftop or get into a tree near your home right there. Sometimes that's all it takes.

COLLINS: And usually in situations like this, God forbid that we have to see very many of them, but hot shot crews are called in. I know that pretty much everybody in the area is already working this fire. Are there going to be more people coming in?

HARALSON: Absolutely. We definitely try to utilize all the resources we can get from region one here, area one, all of southern California resources are here and assisting and they'll still continue to come throughout the day.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we will, of course, stay on top of this one for everybody as we continue to get just these incredible live pictures coming in this morning. This one, again, from KTLA, Malibu, California.

Ron Haralson, we appreciate your time this morning. He's the L.A. County Fire Department Inspector. Thanks so much. You can watch continuing coverage, in fact, of the wildfires ravaging California all day on CNN. And when you're not in front of the television, you can also check out our online network, cnn.com live. Just log on to cnn.com/video for live feeds from the fire scene.

Well, it seems like every day it just gets a little bit worse. The Atlanta area could be running out of water. Now the White House may, in fact, get involved in Georgia's drought crisis. It is considering a request to declare parts of northern Georgia federal disaster areas. The governor submitted the request. Officials warn a major reservoir supplying water to the Atlanta area has less than a 90-day supply remaining. Governor Sonny Perdue says part of the problem is the Corps of Engineers is required to release some of Georgia's water downstream to keep endangers fish alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SONNY PERDUE, (R) GEORGIA: We're willing to conserve, but it doesn't do any good to conserve if the Corp and the Fish and Wildlife still send more than twice of the water need down the stream and beyond that dam. We can't conserve our way out of this if they don't cooperate, and that's what I'm asking the president to intervene so that we can get some common sense decisions out of Fish and Wildlife and the Corps of Engineers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Governor Purdue has declared a water supply emergency in the northern part of the state. Stay on top of that story as well.

Police called it controlled chaos. Witnesses had other words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom went up there and took a blanket and it's like something she never wants to see again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Children among the dead and injured in a highway crash.

Also, temperatures rise on the Turkish/Iraqi border. New attacks by Kurdish rebels raises concerns of an all-out war. We're live from Turkey ahead in the NEWSROOM.

Also, a course in concealed weapons on a college campus?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see carrying a concealed firearm as a kind of life insurance policy. And 99.99 times you'll never need it. But if you ever do need it, then you'll probably really need it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Finding out about firearms in the halls of academia. We'll tell you all about it coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.

And gas prices are up. So where's the best deal? We'll tell you. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Honoring a fallen warrior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was in a horrible position. He left himself open so he could move back and forth to each individual guy. We were hurting bad. We were out of ammo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A Navy SEAL. He laid his life on the line for his men and his country. And today the president honors Lieutenant Michael Murphy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Border tensions running high. An attack on Turkish troops by Kurdish fighters increases concerns of a new war in Iraq. Here now CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The PKK apparently targeting Turkish civilians just hours before an explosion ripped through a civilian bus, part of a wedding convoy injuring 12 people. Turkish troops were the target. So serious, the attacked, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called crisis meetings. Across the border in Iraq, Kurdish leaders call for restraint but vow to respond if attacked.

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKEY PRIME MINISTER, (through translator): We will not be a part of any such conflict. But if we are targeted directly, we will defend ourselves.

ROBERTSON: Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, who is also a Kurd, urged dialogue, but had a warning for the PKK.

JALAL TALABANI, IRAQ PRESIDENT, (through translator): We called on the PKK to lay down arms and to resort to political, popular, parliamentary and PR efforts. Therefore, we're opposed to military action and we will not take their side.

ROBERTSON: A message echoed by Barzani (ph), who threatened to up the ante further and condemn the PKK as terrorists, as the U.S. and the European Union have already done, if they don't disarm following peaceful efforts by Turkey. In the past few days, Kurdish officials have mobilized mass demonstrations to protest Turkey's decision to authorizing its army to cross the border and hunt down the PKK. And although the mood has been for dialogue with Turkey, not fighting, there is a very real undercurrent of concern that their safe and relatively stable lives in the north are under threat.

The latest PKK attacks will only fuel those fears that Turkey could send troops across the border. A huge worry for the United States as any escalation in tensions could throw the only peaceful part of Iraq into turmoil.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Turkey holding off for now, staying on their side of the Turkey/Iraq border. CNN's Paula Hancocks is joining us now live from Ankara, Turkey.

Paula, tell us, are there any plans for face-to-face talks between Turkey's government and the Iraqi government?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears it would be at this point, Heidi, yes. We understand from Iraqi officials that the Turkish foreign minister, Ali Babacan, is going to be going over to Baghdad on Tuesday, and he'll be talking with the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki.

Now, certainly we've seen over the past couple weeks there have been -- there's been much talk between the two sides. The fact is, Iraq and Turkey are friends and they do have diplomatic relations. President Talabani calling on the PKK to lay down their arms or get out of Iraq. He's (ph) taking the diplomatic point of view. Iraq is trying to do all it can. Baghdad is trying to do all it can to try and help Turkey.

But certainly we've seen on the streets of Turkey this Monday there's been thousands of people all across the country in about 10 different provinces taking to the streets asking for more to be done. They're asking for their government to actually go into northern Iraq and try and eliminate this threat because, of course, they have heard in the past that the U.S. and Iraq wants to help them and that they do want to try to eliminate the PKK. But they haven't actually seen that. And certainly after Sunday's attack, which killed 12 soldiers and eight more are still missing at this point, they are really fed up and they do not think that diplomacy is necessarily going to work.

COLLINS: Well, you mention the United States, Paula. I wonder certainly there's a lot at stake for the United States if Turkey does move into northern Iraq.

HANCOCKS: Indeed, yes. I mean, the U.S. has more than 160,000 troops in Iraq at this point. And certainly northern Iraq, the Kurdish area, is really one of the very few areas, if the only relatively stable area, in Iraq that the U.S. troops can at this point point to and say this is one success story. And this is not an area where they want more turmoil and more violence. So this is why Washington has been so adamant that they do not want the Turkish military to go in. Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, talking to the Prime Minister Erdogan here on Sunday night while he was talking to other ministers saying, give us a few more days. But we know that the Turkish government has also asked of Condoleezza Rice, please step up the process. Please help us.

Now what exactly they can do to help is up for question, whether it is military help, whether it is putting on more pressure on those Kurdish leaders to expel the PKK, or whether it is, quite frankly, to allow the Turkish military to go into northern Iraq and try and do the job themselves.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Paula Hancocks for us this morning live from Ankara, Turkey, via broadband.

Paula, thank you.

Want to get back to this story quickly now. A raging wild fire in Malibu. A hilltop refuge in flames. The destruction of a real life castle and all of its treasures.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Gerri Willis.

Keep your 401(k) safe when the markets are uncertain. We'll show you how. That's next on "Top Tips" in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to go ahead and take a moment to get back to this story that we have been following, boy, over the weekend and now today, Monday morning, and it is a nightmare in California for the folks, San Diego County, Malibu. One person has been killed, at least 17 others injured right now in a fire. Wildfire, as you can tell obviously from these pictures, that is currently zero percent contained. That's right, zero percent contained.

High, high Santa Ana winds are really fueling these flames and temperatures, too, we've been hearing from Rob Marciano, 90, 91 degrees today and for the next couple days as well. Not really going to get a break. We've heard some of the fire officials telling us it's just -- it was a really long and dangerous night. Every fire resource in San Diego County is being employed, on this one. And, unfortunately, just not able to get ahead of the fire like they usually can do to slow things down because of those winds.

So a dangerous situation there. Thousands of people evacuated from their homes and certainly thousands of acres destroyed. We will stay on top of that and let you know what's happening throughout the day.

Also, staying on top of this story. Friday really ugly picture for the Dow Jones Industrial averages. Down about 366 points at the close. Right now, on Monday morning, looks like the Dow is down about 48. But the Nasdaq, kind of weird here, is up 15. So we will continue to follow all of the business stories throughout the morning. In fact, we are watching those markets pretty closely today. The Dow Jones had its third worst day of the year on Friday. Add to that worries about Social Security and your 401(k) plan may be more vital than ever. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis shows us how to manage your retirement savings.

Good morning to you, Gerri.

Boy, I thought it was the worst day of the year, the worst close on Friday, but I guess it's only the third worst.

WILLIS: You know, you have to stand in line to make the worst performance. You know, look, at the end of the day, what individual investors need to know is that they need to maintain a long term view of their retirement accounts. You can't time these markets. Figure out what your asset allocation should be. Hey, if you're young, you'll have many years to weather the ups and downs in the stock market. And you may want to hold more stocks in your portfolio. But as you get older, that asset allocation, well, it's got to become more conservative. Go online to get a good sense of what your asset allocation should be at cnnmoney.com.

Heidi.

COLLINS: And you can probably never say it enough, savings, savings, savings.

WILLIS: Yes, right, it's all about that. Look, if you think you're getting a holiday bonus this year, one of the best thing you can do is increase how much you're contributing to your plan. As a rule of thumb, a young person should ideally be contributing 10 percent of his or her salary to a 401(k), especially if there's a employer match. That's the free money we always talk about. To find out if you're saving enough, go to choosetosave.org. Look, the worse thing you could do to your 401(k) is to tap it too early. Not only will you be losing the value of compound interest, but you'll have to pay taxes and, hello, a 10 percent penalty.

COLLINS: Hello. Yuck. You know, you've got to remember, don't they always say, pay yourself first, right?

WILLIS: That's right.

COLLINS: What about a stock rollover though? People should really be looking at that if they're going to, I guess, be changing jobs, right?

WILLIS: And people change jobs all the time. So you have a few options there. If you have more than $5,000 invested in your 401(k), you can keep your 401(k) where it is. You'll want to do this if that company has a good selection of low cost funds.

Now you can also roll over your old 401(k) into your new employer's plan, but make sure you do what they call a direct rollover so you can avoid paying taxes. You'll also have to have the option of transferring your 401(k) money into an IRA. Before you invest in one of those, though, find out what fees and commissions you'll be responsible for.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, good point.

But, you know what, sometimes you just can't plan enough. You're doing all this savings, you're 401(k) is looking good, and then, surprise, something happens.

WILLIS: Well, look, if you find yourself falling on hard times, there are instances where you can take a loan or a hardship withdrawal from your 401(k). If you take out a loan, you have to pay yourself back in five years with interest. But if you want to qualify for a hardship withdrawal, and you don't want to pay the money back, there are some reasons you can do this. For example, if you're facing foreclosure you can qualify. Or if you have an unreimbursed medical expense, you can qualify. But this should really be your last option. This is not money you want to tap now.

If you have any questions, send them to us at toptips@cnn.com. We love to hear from you and we answer those questions every Friday.

COLLINS: Excellent. We'll do that right here too.

All right. CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis. Always great information.

Thank you, Gerri.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM on this Monday morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Want to get directly to this story in California. Boy, winds gusting to the strength of a hurricane. Flames racing to the doorstep and beyond. More than two dozen buildings are reduced to ash in southern California. In all, more than a dozen fires are burning and thousands of people are under orders to evacuate. So far at least one person has been killed, 17 others injured. The most harrowing scene now in San Diego County. Authorities there have ordered the evacuations in Ramona. That's a community of about 36,000 people. And a home of the stars is also in the path of danger. Major fires are bearing down on the beachside community of Malibu. Live pictures for you now. Two-thousand acres have burned, more than two dozen buildings destroyed.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: A real life castle in California now in ruins, destroyed by raging wildfire.

Our Tony Harris takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A landmark castle, a monumental fire. Tonight, what was once regal is now in ruins. On an ordinary day Castle Kashan was picture perfect. But the past 24 hours have been anything but ordinary for residents along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

DANIEL COLLINS, CASTLE QUEST: When I woke up this morning, you couldn't even see outside the window there was so much smoke. Quite a way to wake up.

HARRIS: Daniel Collins' day did not improve. Collins was staying at Castle Kashan as a house guest of philanthropist and socialite Lily Lawrence, the daughter of a former Iranian oil minister. The two escaped as bricks were raining down.

COLLINS: Right before we left the property, they told us that the castle couldn't be saved.

HARRIS: Parched conditions, one of the driest years on record, erratic, powerful Santa Ana Winds, all three combined igniting a threat into a reality.

COLLINS: We only had a couple moments to gather some things. We never got back into the castle.

HARRIS: The castle wasn't in the fire's direct path, but whipping, unpredictable winds fanned the embers, and firefighters were soon battling an unstoppable wall of flames. Lawrence says the loss is in the double-digit millions. Family heirlooms burned, paintings, and Elvis Presley memorabilia bought from his Graceland estate were all destroyed.

The castle itself was only about 30 years old. Built in the late 1970s by Dr. Thomas Hodges, it was used as a setting for shows like "The Rockford Files."

COLLINS: Incredible beautiful. Filled with priceless antiques and a view of the mountains in the back and a view of the ocean in the front, and it's just a wonderful place to be.

HARRIS: Tony Harris, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: So sad.

Well, if you are in Southern California, share your pictures of what's happening, if you can. Send in a CNN i-Report. You can show us the flames or how you're protecting your home. Maybe what you and your family are doing to escape the danger. And, look, I mean, it is serious danger. There are ways to send an i-Report. On your computer, go to CNN.com and click on i-Report, or type ireport@CNN.com into your cell phone and share your photos or video that way.

Of course we probably don't have to mention, please be careful. Don't put yourself in harm's way as we look at those live pictures coming in from our affiliate KTLA, Malibu, California.

COLLINS: Two Amish families, one tragedy -- an interstate highway becomes a triage center.

And guns on campus -- a college teaching students to shoot.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. One more time, more money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'll have that next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

COLLINS: And as we just mentioned, President Bush is getting ready now to ask Congress for billions more dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We've been hearing about this. Knew it was going to happen, but now it looks like it will be today.

Want to go straight to CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for more on this.

Hi there, Barbara.

STARR: Hey to you, Heidi. Hello.

there has been a lot of talk about this for several weeks now, but it's going to be official in a couple of hours. President Bush will ask for an additional $42 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This will be part of the supplemental funding to the Defense Department funding legislation for fiscal year '08, an additional $42 billion. That will bring '08 funding for the war up to $189 billion. That doesn't even begin to touch all the additional funding in the U.S. military.

How much is the war now costing, Heidi? well, we checked with the Pentagon. It's about $11 billion a month for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have already spent $470 billion on it since September 11th. Now another $42 billion.

Heidi?

COLLINS: How is this going to be received, Barbara, when he makes his plea?

STARR: Well, I think that there will be certainly some expression of concern about the basic financial cost of the war. There's been a lot of talk on Capitol Hill about all of that, because, of course, there's some economic issues about how all of this is being paid for. But this actual $42 billion today is going to go for advanced armored vehicles, additional protection for the troops, and refurbishing and repairing some of the billions of dollars in equipment that has been damaged in the war. So members of the Congress certainly are not likely to vote against that kind of spending because it all very directly goes towards helping the troops on the front line -- Heidi. COLLINS: Good points. CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. Barbara, thanks for that.

And a reminder now: President Bush will comment on this latest war-spending request this afternoon, coming your way, 1:55 Eastern. He will make that statement from the Roosevelt Room at the White House, and of course CNN will carry it for you live.

(NEWSBREAK)

COLLINS: The Amish community in Indiana today is mourning the deaths of some of their own. Three children and two adults were killed while 11 other people were injured in a one-vehicle accident.

Phil Scott of affiliate WTHR has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL SCOTT, WTHR REPORTER (voice-over): When the van came to a stop, it was on the opposite side of I-69, laying on its side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just saw the van rolling and people were running toward the van to help people out.

SCOTT: Four people thrown out were beyond help, including an adult and three children, aged infant through 12 years old. Another adult in the van was killed, possibly a woman who was driving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom went up there and took a blanket, and it's something she never wants to see again.

SCOTT: Eleven injured people were still trapped in the van, members of two Amish families, one from Fort Wayne, the other from Park County.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could see many children in the back. I think there were six or seven children, and we were able to pull them out, and then give them blankets.

SCOTT: Emergency crews blocked both sides of the interstate between Muncie and Gas City. Five of the survivors left by ambulance, six by air to Ft. Wayne and Indianapolis hospitals.

SGT. ROD RUSSELL, INDIANA STATE POLICE: At one time we had seven helicopters lined up in the northbound lane of I-69 to transport those injured.

SCOTT: Investigators are focused on a tire failure as the possible preliminary cause of this catastrophic wreck. It stopped traffic for hours and changed two Indiana families forever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: You may recall in April four Amish were among eight people killed in a crash on the Indiana toll road.

Young, vulnerable and tough.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am grateful. I am very, very, very grateful. I don't want to let him go. I don't want to let either one of them go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A Michigan baby tossed by a tornado and found in a field of debris.

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COLLINS: Want to go ahead and take a moment now to show you some more of these incredible pictures that we are getting in from our affiliate KTLA. Malibu, California, incredible because -- take a look at that smoke. You really get an idea of how fierce those winds are right now, even though you're seeing some of the firefighters up in the helicopters and, I believe, that's helicopter firefighter. Also they flying some fixed-wing aircraft as well, which is sometimes surprising in a case like this; too windy you cannot fight it from above.

so that is some good news today. Although we are learning from CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano that, boy, it is going to be hot today, tomorrow, and for the next couple days, and certainly those winds are not expected to die down. So we will stay on top of that story, of course, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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COLLINS: Sometimes you just scratch your head and wonder, how? CNN's T.J. Holmes has the amazing story of an infant in Michigan who survived being picked up by a tornado and tossed 40 feet from his home.

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T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's no rational way to explain why this 14-month-old is alive. When you see what's left of his family's house and his bedroom after a tornado ripped it to shreds.

JOE SOYRING JR., FATHER: Somehow the crib and him got sucked out of the house.

HOLMES: Out of the house, as in one second he was asleep in his crib. The next second this baby is outside literally in the middle of a roaring twister.

NICOLE OPPERMAN, MOTHER: I just started screaming, and Makayla (ph) actually came out and I couldn't find Blake.

HOLMES: Couldn't find him because he'd been tossed like a rag doll, or tossed like a tiny one-year-old. When the storm passed, where is little Blake?

SOYRING: It was very scary. I mean, you know, to not know where he's at. I didn't know. Trying not to think the worst, but I didn't know if the tornado had taken him, where he could have possibly ended up because, you know, it tore my heart out.

HOLMES: Back to the scene of the disaster, Blake's frantic family, his neighbors in a panic combing the wreckage for any sound, any movement, any sign, and then they heard it. From beneath a tornado-tossed mattress.

SOYRING: It was just kind of a whipper because he actually had a cord wrapped around his neck probably about four times, and it was kind of -- where he couldn't really cry or scream as loud as he probably wanted to. Once we got the mattress off and seen that, then we hurried up and unwound the cord from around his neck, and pulled him out of there and then ran him into our neighbor's house.

HOLMES: Little Blake Opperman, a little grumpy, a little bumpy, but alive. And more than that, he's pretty much unhurt. Can't say the same for the family's house, it's gone, all their possessions gone, but those are replaceable things. Young Blake, tough as nails Blake, irreplaceable. T.J. Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.

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COLLINS: Terrific story. Unbelievable. Well, listen to this now. Smile, you're on candid car cam. A crook learns about one police department's latest anti-theft weapon. The bait car.

A startling contrast. Now look at this. A key reservoir in Georgia before and after the drought. Northern Georgia, running out of water. A call for White House intervention.

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COLLINS: It's one of the latest efforts at stopping car thefts. Police bait cars. Offer up a car and see who bites. Dennis Bounds, our affiliate KING has the story.

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DENNIS BOUNDS: This was the scene back in March after a thief stole a car from Bellevue Community College. Police chased the man down as he made his getaway in a police bait car. A camera hidden in the bait car's ashtray captures video of a thief at work. He finds the keys of the unlocked car on the seat, and takes off thinking he's made a clean getaway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bait car starts talking to us as soon as somebody opens the door.

BOUNDS: His every move, even a celebratory fist pump in the mirror is being tracked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he doesn't know is that they're already vectoring in the officers to come get him.

BOUNDS: GPS technology tracks the suspects every move, including his bad decision to drive down a dead-end road and is forced to turn around. Police open fire when the man drives the car right at them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right there, you can actually see the bullet bounce off the windshield. He's been grazed. Obviously aware now that things have gone horribly wrong.

BOUNDS: And about to get worse. Realizing he's not seriously hurt the suspect is back on the run, but his getaway car is designed to be remotely shut down and the doors sealed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He goes for the car door which is, of course, locked. Right about now he sees the officers coming up with weapons drawn.

BOUNDS: Dennis Bounds, KING 5 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: I think I saw him start to cry there, too.

Fame and massive wildfires, unlikely neighbors in this exclusive Hollywood enclave. Live pictures, Malibu's Mayor Pro Tem joins us with the very latest on a city under siege.

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