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Destructive Fires: Homes Gutted Near Yosemite; Bloody Day in Iraq; New Alzheimer's Treatments

Aired July 28, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You're with CNN. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.
Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Monday morning, July 28th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Hatred and anger. Just last hour, police in Tennessee outlining what they believe is the motive behind a church shooting.

The number of people killed in Iraq today climbing. Four suicide attacks shake the country's recent calm.

And hurricane leftovers making a mess in New Mexico. We'll talk about the flooding with a CNN iReporter live this hour, in the NEWSROOM.

A deadly attack. The scene, a Unitarian church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Families were gathered around as children performed the play "Annie," and then what sounded like firecrackers. Churchgoers soon discovered to their horror it was gunshots. To people killed, seven others wounded.

As the gunman stopped to reload, church members grabbed him. Fifty-eight-year-old Jim Adkisson is in custody. He is charged with murder. At least one witness says the gunman was shouting hateful things as he opened fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF STERLING OWEN IV, KNOXVILLE POLICE: It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that, and his stated hatred for the liberal movement. We have recovered a four-page letter in which he describes his feelings and his -- the reason that he claims that he committed these offenses. He indicated also in that letter that he expected to be in there shooting people until the police arrived, and he fully expected to be killed by the responding police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: All of that information coming from a four-page letter the suspect left behind. The police chief also says officers recovered 76 shotgun shells. Only three had been fired.

Two extremes sent people fleeing their homes. Look at the screen now.

In California, we're watching a fast-moving wildfire at the west entrance to Yosemite National Park. That fire already destroyed 12 homes.

Then in New Mexico, we're seeing the damaging remnants of Hurricane Dolly today. About 300 people had to leave their homes and a campground because of the flooding.

More wildfire evacuations could be ordered in northern California this morning. About 2,000 homes are threatened by a fast-moving wildfire near that entrance that we talked about to Yosemite National Park.

More now from Rich Ibarra of affiliate KCRA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICH IBARRA, REPORTER, KCRA (voice over): The flames crossed roads, climbed hills, and sped down canyons. By mid-afternoon, more than 16,000 acres went up in smoke. In some areas, all firemen could do was watch.

DAVID PHILLIPS, ORANGE COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: Terrain here is so steep and so inaccessible that we can't safely put men and equipment in there. Right now, basically, we're watching this burn to make sure it doesn't jump the road in the Merced River.

IBARRA: The fire is an area that hasn't seen fire in 100 years. Dense brush covers the hills. And residents at more than 200 homes were advised to leave, vote (ph) on order to evacuate. But shifting winds do present a danger, coming within two miles of Mariposa.

BOB BUGLIZEVICH, MARIPOSA COUNTY RESIDENT: My mom and my sister up there. So we're getting home. So it's pretty scary.

IBARRA (on camera): One of the main jobs for firefighters is to protect houses, as well as other buildings, and there are so many scattered throughout the area.

(voice-over): Almost 900 firefighters are battling this blaze. Crews coming from southern California, northern California, and the bay area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right through here, as you can see, it's got a little wind behind it now, and it's really starting to take off. So, basically, we just have to let it go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Crews say the fire was started by sparks from a gun. They say someone was taking target practice.

Well, here's more now on the fires in California. The most destructive one right now is in northern California, near Yosemite. And as we told you, 12 homes have been destroyed. About 2,000 others are threatened. Power was cut off to much of the area because firefighters were afraid they could actually be injured by those downed power lines.

And then down in Los Angeles, a wildfire in Griffith Park forced the evacuation of about 4,000 people from the L.A. Zoo. Twenty-five acres were burned before firefighters were able to get that fire under control. No one was injured.

We'll be getting an update from the front lines. Daniel Berlant from the California Department of Forestry is coming up in just a few minutes to tell us the very latest.

(WEATHER REPORT)

New Mexico, we want actually want to take you back to that portion of the weather story today. We've been showing you some of that flooding there in southern New Mexico. We've also gotten good video from our iReporters. So joining us now on the phone is iReporter Phillip Genest. He is in Ruidoso, New Mexico.

So, Phillip, tell us sort of what you're seeing around you. We saw your video coming in. Thanks for that, by the way.

PHILLIP GENEST, RUIDOSO, NEW MEXICO: Sure. You know, some of the footage you showed earlier actually showed right in front of my house, is where that was peaking (ph).

COLLINS: Wow. Man, it is moving fast.

GENEST: Yes. That was that morning. It was way worse than that later on.

COLLINS: Really?

GENEST: Yes.

COLLINS: Well, you know, we've been talking to Rob a little bit about this and whether or not people were surprised. I guess, you know, when you live in a place like New Mexico, you have desert-like conditions, dry, dry land. You know, it doesn't seem to take much, and you guys have just gotten several inches of rain there.

GENEST: Oh, yes. And a lot of it was that it was just a slow constant. It's not like your typical flash flood.

It was just, you know, overcast forever, it seemed like, and it just -- it never ended. And then before you know it, you know, we woke up to the rushing water sounds, and that was really scary, because, you know, where we live, that's just not something that you think about, you know.

COLLINS: Yes. So what has happened to your home? Or what are your plans in the near future here?

GENEST: Well, you know, our yard, you know, everything was pretty much OK. But what you're seeing now, that's right across the street from us. They had to move their camper trailer, and, I mean, they got out as quick as they could. Then they couldn't get back because the bridge was completely blocked off.

COLLINS: OK. So there's a bridge that takes you where?

GENEST: Out of the area we are. What you're looking at right now, to the right of that, is the Ruidoso Racetrack...

COLLINS: Right.

GENEST: ... about a good -- maybe two blocks away. And again, like I say, that was earlier in the morning, that footage there.

But -- and then it got worse quick. And everybody -- a lot of people were trying to, you know, get out of there. And it wasn't right where I was at, but then our home even got it, right up almost to the door. So...

COLLINS: OK. So are you talking to me from your home now?

GENEST: Yes. Yes, I am.

COLLINS: So you're still there and you're doing OK?

GENEST: Oh, yes. Yes, there -- I did hear that two people are missing in separate incidences, but, I mean...

COLLINS: Right.

GENEST: ... you know -- and a lot of homes were damaged. It was pretty bad.

But like I say, our area right where I'm at is close to the river. Real close. The people across from us, their backyard is at the river.

COLLINS: OK.

GENEST: And their entire yards were the river.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, that's what it looks like.

Well, as you mentioned, there are two people missing that we are trying to learn more about in all of this, so that's obviously very upsetting. But we are happy for you, Phillip, that your home hasn't sustained too much damage.

I do want to ask you about Ruidoso Downs. I'm familiar with the area. I mean, people may not know, that's a very busy racetrack. What's the status there? Do you have any idea?

GENEST: Well, I hear that the racetrack isn't going to -- maybe not have, you know, races for a little while.

COLLINS: Yes. GENEST: There's some video I was watching that they had -- you know, there's areas of it that were torn up. You know, tack and saddle and things like that were damaged. And like I say, we are right next to the track. So that's why you see what you see.

COLLINS: Yes. No question.

Well, listen, we appreciate you shooting this great video for us so we have a better sense of exactly what is going on there in southern New Mexico.

Phillip Genest, we sure do appreciate it. Thanks so much, and we wish you the very best of luck through all of this.

And just as a reminder, when the weather does become the news, remember to send us your iReports. It really helps to give people an idea of what's going on. IReport.com, or iReport@CNN.com, into your cell phone always works.

Remember, please stay safe when you do so.

An unusually violent day in Iraq. At least 70 people are dead, hundreds are wounded. And it was female suicide bombers who carried out the attacks.

Our Morgan Neill has been following this story for us. He joins us now live from Baghdad.

Hi there, Morgan.

MORGAN NEILL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. That's right, it's been a devastating day here in Iraq.

First off, in Baghdad, in the Karada neighborhood, an official with the Interior Ministry says three female suicide bombers set off their explosives within 30 minutes of one another in what appears to have been a coordinated attack targeting Shiite pilgrims. Killed in that attack, at least 30 people, and another 83 wounded.

Now, these pilgrims were making their way to the Khadamiya Shrine. The attack happened in Karada, just to the south of there.

Iraqi officials have put in place extra security measures over the weekend, when pilgrims started making their way to Khadamiya. But those measures particularly were put in place in Khadamiya itself, not so much in Karada. Obviously, the women that carried out this attack were able to slip through that security net.

Now, also today, to the north, in Kirkuk, another female suicide bomber carried out an attack. Police say she set off an explosion that killed at least 38 people and wounded another 178.

How did it happen? Well, police say that she slipped inside a crowd of Kurds that was gathering to protest a proposed electoral law and then set off her explosives. Now at this point, we're hearing that there has been a curfew imposed in Kirkuk, but obviously too late to stop this attack -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, too late.

Morgan, we know -- we've seen female suicide attacks before, and we know that part of the reason why this is sometimes successful for them, unfortunately, is because at the checkpoints, females just aren't checked as closely, or at all, when they go through. Any chance now that that could really change things by way of security procedures?

NEILL: Well, the number of female suicide bombers has gone up this year. There have been more than 20 suicide female suicide bombing attacks this year, compared to just single digits last year. And this is something the Iraqi security forces have been focusing on.

They've been training more women to search females at these checkpoints, because, like you say, for cultural reasons, this is essentially prohibited for men to do this. But they're still in the process of getting enough women trained up to be able to do this. We heard that more than 200 were present in Khadamiya, making these kinds of searches, but obviously they weren't able to search enough women -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. All right.

CNN's Morgan Neill live from Baghdad.

Morgan, thank you.

This hour, the increasingly violent situation in Afghanistan front and center at the White House. President Bush meeting with Pakistan's prime minister. The U.S. growing more and more frustrated over Taliban militants using bases in Pakistan to launch attacks across the border into Afghanistan.

And Pakistan has its own beef. Its border region has been hit by a series of missile strikes apparently carried out by U.S. warplanes. The incidents have strained relations between the two countries.

Newspaper under fire. Barack Obama's note to God pulled from Jerusalem's Western Wall and pulled for the world to see.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: More wildfire evacuations could be ordered in northern California this morning. Twelve homes destroyed so far by a fast- growing wildfire near the western entrance to Yosemite National Park.

Joining us on the phone now from Sacramento, California, is Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant, with the very latest.

Boy, Daniel, when we see these pictures it's so upsetting when all of this goes up in flames. Tell us the very latest that you have.

DANIEL BERLANT, SPOKESMAN, CAL FIRE: Well, like you said, this fire has burned over 26,000 acre this morning. This fire is really a very erratic fire, moving in all different directions. Really, that's due to the extremely dry conditions that we have all across California.

COLLINS: Yes. And if I have the area correct, I read somewhere that apparently, there haven't been flames like this something in 100 years in this area?

BERLANT: Yes, the specific area the fire is burning has no fire history for the past century. So all of that vegetation is very overgrown, very thick. So there's a lot of fuel for this fire to burn.

COLLINS: Yes. And this is different, though, because usually when we hear that, it's a good thing to have some of that overgrown vegetation to burn. But boy, again, when we're seeing pictures like this, I'm not sure that you can see them right now, but clearly out of control.

BERLANT: No, definitely. Fire in natural is good for the environment. It cleans out the underbrush. But what happens is, when you don't have a fire for so long, like this case, it really becomes a very strong, erratic, aggressive fire, not the kind of fire that we like to see, because it's not very easily controlled. And that's why the fire destroyed a number of homes, because it was just flame length of 100 feet, very challenging to get our firefighters in front of that.

COLLINS: Yes, and do that safely. Obviously, that's always a concern.

We had a reporter earlier this morning, Daniel, who told us zero percent containment? Is that still the case?

BERLANT: Well, we do have the fire now 10 percent contained. You know, that's a very small amount, but progress is being made. We are expecting today and tomorrow somewhat of a cooling trend, a little bit cooler temperatures. But because the conditions are so dry and humidity is so low, it may not do that much for us.

COLLINS: Can you talk about evacuations and some of these homes that are threatened?

BERLANT: We do have an evacuation order in place for a number of communities, including Midpines and Briceburg, which are very small communities. About 2,000 other homes are threatened by the fire, and we've been working very closely with the sheriff's department to advice those residents of the possible need for them to evacuate at a moment's notice.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, that's an awful lot. Two thousand homes, we don't often hear that.

BERLANT: No, it's definitely a very large number of homes. And any time we have homes threatened, we take it very seriously. We have over 2,500 firefighters aggressively trying to make a stand and protect those homes. COLLINS: Yes. And I've got to have you talk about Yosemite National Park, too. We saw the fires not too long ago in Glacier National Park. It's always devastating to see that when you're talking about one of the nation's treasurers.

BERLANT: You know, definitely this time of year, it's a very high tourism area. The fire is still about 10 miles east of the park. The highway leading into the park remains open right now.

The biggest impact, though, is to the power. A distribution line that goes into Yosemite National Park...

COLLINS: Sure.

BERLANT: ... was burned, and so there are some power outages, but the road remains open to the park.

COLLINS: Yes. This is such a busy tourist time there as well.

All right. Well, Daniel Berlant, we certainly wish you and all of the crews our there the best of luck in trying to knock that thing down.

Thanks again.

Daniel Berlant with Cal Fire.

Meanwhile, blood pressure drugs, exercise and Alzheimer's. New hope for people with the debilitating disease. Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen takes a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Alzheimer's Disease, some five million Americans live with it. Now researchers are learning about new ways to treat it.

Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen checks in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not often we hear good news about drugs to treat Alzheimer's Disease. There's just not that much out there. But there's an international conference of Alzheimer's Disease experts going on right now in Chicago, and there does appear to be some good news for two different types of drugs.

Let's talk about the first. They're called angiotensin receptor blockers. They are used to treat high blood pressure, heart failure, and other problems.

And what doctors sound is that, sort of by coincidence, folks taking those drugs, they had a two-year delay of getting dementia. In other words, a much lower risk of getting dementia. And that once they got it, it seemed to slow the progression of dementia.

The other type of drug, believe it or not, is actually an antihistamine. And what researchers found is that they might be able to stop or delay the progression of Alzheimer's once they got it.

Now, that's a very small study, but doctors are saying that there is some promise.

Now, there's also some news not about not drugs, but about exercise. What researchers found is that when folks with Alzheimer's Disease get lots of good cardiovascular exercise, their progression of the disease slowed down.

So, yet another good reason to exercise.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. That address, CNN.com/health.

Did a bottle of oxygen cause an explosion on a Qantas jet? That's what investigators are trying to figure out this morning.

Officials say an emergency oxygen bottle is missing from its storage container. Possible fragments were found near that storage area.

The blast created a gaping hole about the size of a car in the fuselage. The airline is checking every oxygen bottle on its Boeing 747s to make sure the brackets that hold them are sturdy.

No one was hurt during Friday's explosion, but the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in the Philippines after it lost cabin pressure.

Rising death toll in Turkey from a couple of weekend bombings. This is video of the blast in Istanbul. This morning, another death brings the death toll to 17.

A Turkish news agency reporting more than 150 people injured. The two blasts, about 10 minutes apart in this same pedestrian square that lots of tourists and residents use. Istanbul's governor calls the explosions acts of terror. So far, no claims of responsibility.

Fire destroys a popular tourist attraction in England. Check out these pictures.

This is the Grand Pier in a coastal town just west of London. It has rides and go carts. Fire crews say the blaze broke out early this morning. No reports of injuries. The pier does date back to 1904, but it had to rebuilt in the '30s because of a fire then, too.

A reputed gun runner with ties to the Taliban, people say he was the inspiration for a Hollywood movie. Now the Justice Department is hoping to get a close-up

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: More wildfire evacuations could be ordered in northern California this morning. About 2,000 homes are being threatened now by a fast-moving wildfire to the west entrance to Yosemite National Park. Twelve homes have already been destroyed. An elderly care facility also gutted by the fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA GREEN, EVACUEE: We have some of the residents at our house right now because the families couldn't take care of them. And so, yes, she's (INAUDIBLE) house, and that's all she has left.

ALEX GLOVER, CAL FIRE: It's pretty difficult terrain. It's really steep, and there's a lot of homes. So we're trying to keep the fire from spotting across the road and getting down into these homes down here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: High temperatures and wind have been hampering firefighters' efforts. Fire officials say there haven't been major fires in this area in 100 years.

A deadly attack. The scene, a Unitarian church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Families were gathered around as children performed the play "Annie." And then what sounded like firecrackers. Churchgoers soon discovered to their horror it was gunshots. Two people killed, seven others wounded. As the gunman stopped to reload, church members grabbed him. 58 year-old Jim Adkisson is in custody now. He is charged with murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF STERLING OWEN IV, KNOXVILLE POLICE: It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job. His frustration over that and his stated hatred for the liberal movement. We have recovered a four-page letter in which he describes his feelings and his -- the reason that he claims that he committed these offenses. He indicated also in that letter that he expected to be in there shooting people until the police arrived and he fully expected to be killed by the responding police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The police chief say officers recovered 76 shotgun shells, only three had been fired.

Presidential politics now. Fewer than 100 days until the election. Home from his world tour, Barack Obama turning his attention to domestic issue number one, the economy. He is meeting with economic advisers today in Washington. And John McCain heads to California this morning, for fundraisers in Bakersfield and San Francisco. A new Gallup Poll of registered voters shows McCain trailing Obama by nine points.

The war in Iraq, heating up the campaign. John McCain taking aim at Barack Obama on CNN's "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer, Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I question his judgment because he lacks experience and knowledge and I question his judgment. I'm not prepared to see the sacrifice of so many brave, young Americans lost because Senator Obama just views this war as another political issue, which he can change positions. And everybody knows that he was able to obtain the nomination of his party by appealing to the far left and committing to a course of action that I believe was -- I know was wrong. Because he said the surge would not work. He said it wouldn't succeed. No rational observer in Iraq today believes that the surge did not succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

McCain will be Larry King's guest tonight, on "LARRY KING LIVE." That's at 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

Barack Obama defending his six-month plan for withdrawing troops from Iraq. He got a standing ovation at the Unity Conference of Minority Journalists on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's realistic. I think that obviously General Petraeus wants as much flexibility as possible. And as I said during my trip, if I were in his shoes, I'd want as much flexibility as well.

But when you've got the prime minister of Iraq, the people of Iraq saying they are ready to take more responsibility. When we're seeing more Iraqi forces take the lead in actions, we need to take advantage of that opportunity, particularly because we've got to do deal with Afghanistan and we can't keep spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, at a time when we've got enormous pressing needs here in the United States of America.

Including, by the way, taking care of veterans who are coming home with post-traumatic stress disorder, disabilities and they are still not getting a lot of the services that they need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The Unity Conference was Obama's first public appearance since returning from his overseas trip. John McCain was invited to speak at the conference but declined.

Barack Obama's note to God. Left in Jerusalem's Western Wall. Now a big slap over its publication in a newspaper there.

Here's CNN's Paula Hancocks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A predawn visit by Barack Obama to Jerusalem's Western Wall. Judaism (INAUDIBLE). A public event with media in tow. But the prayer he wrote and placed in the cracks of the wall was meant to be private. An Israeli newspaper has published what it claims, is Obama's prayer. Saying a Jewish seminary student took it from the wall after the U.S. presidential candidate left.

JONATHAN ROSENBLUM, ORTHODOX AM EHAD THINK TANK: Anybody that goes to the Western Wall and place as note there does so under the assumption that it's a private communication between him and God. And therefore, once he has the presumption of confidentiality, there are rabbinic decrees against reading anybody's private communications.

HANCOCKS: CNN is not reporting the contents of the private note. The Obama camp says, we haven't confirmed or denied that it's his. An aide adding that when Obama was told of it, he quote, "wasn't angry so much as bewildered." He kind of shrugged and shook his head.

But, the senior rabbi at the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitz, says the incident is sacrilegious. He says, notes which are placed in the Western Wall, are between the person and his maker. Heaven forbid that one should read them or use them in any way.

(on camera): Up to 7 million people visited the Western Wall last year. Both tourists and locals who pray here regularly. Now that translates into millions of prayers placed in between the stones of this wall. Tradition has it that any request placed in between these holy stones will be granted.

(voice-over): The late Pope John Paul II, placed a prayer at the Western Wall while visiting Jerusalem in 2000. But he requested that his words be made public.

The Western or Wailing Wall is a relic of the second temple destroyed by the Romans 2,000 years ago. Prayers left here are considered sacred and cleared away twice a year to be buried in a cemetery. None of them meant to be read or published.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The "New York Post" has chosen also to publish Barack Obama's note. CNN has decided not to air the contents.

Meanwhile, check out our political ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just log onto CNNpolitics.com, your source for all things political.

An usually violent day in Iraq. At least 70 people killed, hundreds wounded in a series of suicide bomb attacks. Officials say three female suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Shiad pilgrimage in Baghdad, today. At least 32 people killed. Blasts at three separate locations happened within 30 minutes. And Iraqi police say a female suicide bomber and a group of gunman killed at least 38 people at a Kurdish political rally in the northern city of Kirkuk. Insurgents have increasingly been using female suicide bombers because they often are not searched at checkpoints.

The so-called merchant of death gets to stay put. U.S. efforts to extradite the reputed arms dealer, hit a snag this morning.

CNN's Dan Rivers has the story from Bangkok, Thailand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS: Victor Bout has appeared in court again here in Bangkok, in Thailand. The case was adjourned until the 22nd of September, because of a mix up basically with the legal team. His lawyer wasn't available much to the irritation of the U.S. Department of Justice, which had officials here.

They are hoping to see Victor Bout stand trial in the United States, as basically as they say, being one of the biggest arm smugglers that the world has ever seen, really in the last 20 years. It's alleged he has weapons to conflicts in Angola, in Sierra Leone, in Liberia. Even its claimed he armed the Taliban at one point.

Now, though, he is behind bars in a Thai prison awaiting his extradition. The Thai authorities dropped the case against him here for lack of evidence. And now the United States must present its evidence at the next hearing. And that will include, we understand, four witnesses. Victor Bout was apprehended here on the 5th of March, after a sting operation by the Drug Enforcement Agency had two agents posing as Colombian rebels, FARC rebels, who were here to buy weapons from Victor Bout. And it was at that point that agents burst into the room and apprehended the man many say was the inspiration for the Nick Cage film, "The Lord of War."

Dan Rivers, CNN, Bangkok.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Stuck with a bad loan. Homeowners finding a way out with some help and a little pressure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: An update to a story we first told you about last week. This morning we've learned a Louisiana grand jury will hear the case against a police officer who tasered a handcuffed suspect nine times. That suspect, Barren Pikes, died. The coroner ruled it a homicide. Office Scott Nugent was fired and now the grand jury will decide whether he'll face criminal charges.

Good news as close as your corner gas station. Prices continuing their slide. The national average down more than a penny this morning. Just under $3.96 a gallon for regular. That is in fact, the lowest price since May. Over night, oil prices rebounded somewhat from their two week slide. On Friday, prices hit their lowest level in weeks. And of course, we are keeping an eye on Wall Street. Investors nervous about a big week of reports that will help assess the health of the economy. Right now, not looking too healthy. Dow Jones Industrial average is down about 129 points, resting at 11,240. Yes, not so great there. We'll continue to watch the numbers for you.

A new week, a new beginning for two failed banks. Today the First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank are reopening after being shut down Friday, by federal regulators. They're today, part of the Mutual of Omaha Bank. Account holders have been reassured that their money is safe and the change is in name only. In fact, there have been no lines of people trying to with draw their money as we saw last time around.

Homeowners facing foreclosure find relief for the head of the activist group helping them, it is personal.

CNN's Kate Bolduan reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Patricia Ephraim was desperate.

PATRICIA EPHRAIM, HOME OWNER: I had to start working two jobs to keep the place afloat.

BOLDUAN: She says she could only manage her mortgage payment while all the other bills piled up. So, she, like thousands of other struggling homeowners seeking rescue, says she found it with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, known as NACA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to answer all this people, now.

BOLDUAN: The group's leaders say 20,000 people showed up over five days at this event in D.C., many facing foreclosure. NACA negotiates for homeowners directly with their lenders. They say the key is keeping people in their homes, restructuring expensive adjustable loans into fixed rates and keeping the mortgage with the same bank.

BRUCE MARKS, NACA CEO: We determine a budget and we submit that solution to the servicer. They only have to do one thing -- approve it.

BOLDUAN: NACA's CEO Bruce Marks calls himself a bank terrorist and is known for his radical tactics like swamping financial firms with protesters and also personal attacks on big bank CEOs.

MARKS: We go to where they live and we always want to have in the back of their minds -- is a NACA homeowner? Is NACA going to be there disrupting my country club, my social event, going to my kid's school because it's personal?

BOLDUAN: It may be working. Following the D.C. event, Marks says they sent out 10,000 restructured loan requests out. 1,000 requests have already been approved. And experts say any help is good for the housing market. JOHN MCCLAIN, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: We're going to see this foreclosure problem continue. We're not at the -- we may be at the peak, but the peak's probably going to last through the end of 2008.

BOLDUAN: Patricia Ephraim was one of the lucky ones. She anticipates her monthly mortgage payment will drop by $600.

EPHRAIM: Just knowing that I have, you know, that kind of savings coming in, is just a stress relief.

BOLDUAN: NACA says, because of the success of the D.C. event and the fact that there are so many more homeowners in need, the non- profit's taking its program on the road with an eight city tour, this fall.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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COLLINS: The economy, as you know, "ISSUE #1," will bring you all the latest financial news. Weekdays at noon Eastern. It's info you need on the mortgage meltdown, the credit crunch and more. "ISSUE #1" coming your way, noon Eastern.

From fires to floods, our iReporters have been busy capturing pictures and video, today. Veronica de la Cruz shows us what they've got, coming up next.

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COLLINS: Quickly to the South Lawn, President Bush and the Pakistani prime minister talking about Afghan border security. Let's listen.

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... Please, yes, absolutely.

YOUSUF GILANI, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: First of all, I want to thank Mr. President Bush for inviting me to United States. And this is my second meeting with the president. Previously, I met Mr. President in Sharm Al Sheikh, and today again I'm meeting Mr. President. And I appreciate what he has said about supporting democracy, supporting sovereignty, looking after the interests and in a lot of areas where there is a cooperation between us. We are -- Pakistan, United States have a very cordial relations, and bilateral relations. And this is not just today. This is for over 60 years since the creation of Pakistan.

We were inspired with their slogan of liberty and self- determination, and now we want to further improve our relations. We are committed to fight against those extremists and terrorists who are destroying and making the world not safe, and that is -- this is our own war. This is a war which is against Pakistan, and we'll fight for our own cause. And that is because I have lost my own leader, Benazir Bhutto, because of the militants, and, therefore, I assure United States and the people of the United States that the majority of the people of Pakistan, and the people of those areas in NWFP (ph) and Fatah, they are the patriots, the loyalists, they want the peace in the world, and they want to cooperate. There are few militants that are hand picked people, militants who are disturbing this peace, and I assure Mr. President we'll work together for democracy and for the prosperity and peace of the world.

Thank you very much.

BUSH: Thank you, sir. Thanks.

Let's go right this way.

Thank you, all.

COLLINS: There you have it, President Bush and the Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani on the South Lawn talking about their relationship basically. This is coming after a meeting that the two of them had. They may have more meetings to come after that brief appearance there on Afghan border security. So we will continue to stay on top of that.

Also, want to get some new information out to you regarding Qantas. Obviously, that airline has been in the news because of what happened recently with an oxygen bottle, or at least that's what investigators are looking at, and that huge hole that ripped into the aircraft from the fuselage there. Now, we have some new information coming in about another Qantas jet that has been forced to apparently turn around mid-flight after a problem with the landing gear. And forgive me as I read this and learn this as you are learning it here.

This is apparently a 747 -- want to make sure that's right. Actually, not sure on that. That's some history on the other aircraft. Apparently though, here is what's being said about Qantas flight 692 from Adelaide to Melbourne. It performed a routine air turnback shortly after taking off because of the landing gear doors that failed to retract. So apparently the plane did land without incident. Passengers are OK, being put onto other flights. No safety risk at this time.

So there's the very latest for you about another Qantas jet. The airline obviously been in the news a couple times now over the past few days. We'll stay on top of that story for you as well.

Meanwhile, we are keeping an eye on Wall Street as well. Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 126 points. We continue to watch as we take a quick break here.

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COLLINS: From fires to floods, our i-Reporters have been hard- working this morning, that's for sure. Veronica De La Cruz has been looking through some of the pictures and the video and has some of the best that we have collected.

Hi there, Veronica.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Lots on the i-Report radar this morning like you were just saying.

Let's go ahead and start with wildfires in the West. Our first i-Reporter is Charles Phillips. He's in Mariposa, California. It's a town about four miles outside of Yosemite. He shot this photo of a fire that is burning there. He said the irony, Heidi, is that they just had a wildfire in the area. It forced them to cancel their Fourth of July fireworks display and then they rescheduled them, Heidi, for the 26th, which was this weekend. But because of this fire, they had to cancel them again.

So Charlie says it's a big mess there. They're very supportive of the firefighters' efforts. In the meantime, it's been really difficult to breathe, especially in the morning when all the smoke settles right into town there.

COLLINS: Yes, boy, I bet it has. Yuck.

I-Reporters have been sending in pictures from the remnants of Dolly, too. (INAUDIBLE) what we've been showing.

DE LA CRUZ: Yes, and I know you just spoke with Phillip Genest in Ruidoso earlier.

We want to take a look at his video again. He shot this right outside the front of his house. He said that it was really scary waking up to all of this rushing water. He said the water came all the way up to the door. And he said that he's basically lucky because his home is OK. Other homes in the area have suffered some major damage.

Also, want to show you the scene in Texas, Heidi. Wade Duncan (ph) sent us this photo of a boat knocked over by Hurricane Dolly. This is from South Padre Island. He says the cleanup has started. The island now getting back to normal.

In the meantime, Heidi, much of what you see is stuff like. Stuff like this -- this is what Dolly has left behind.

Also want to remind people, don't forget, if you have pictures and video, please do send them to us by logging on to ireport.com. We're going to share those throughout the day -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Veronica, thanks for that.

Meanwhile, CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

"ISSUE #1" with Gerri Willis and Rick Sanchez starts right now.