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Terror Plot Thickens; Chicago's Deadly Streets; Iran Nuke Inspections; Filipinos Reel from Dual Typhoons; Fleeing California's Wildfire; Latino Firsts; No Games for Chicago

Aired October 04, 2009 - 19:02   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we have some breaking news in to CNN. Take a look at this coming out of San Bernardino County, California. That is our affiliate KABC there -- live pictures -- we don't have control of them -- and there those pictures are. There's a state of emergency declared in that county because firefighters are battling growing wildfire, a growing wildfire that has forced thousands from their home, it's called the sheet fire (ph).

Take a look at these aerials right now of the fire just in, you can see the air tankers are dumping tons of water in hopes of extinguishing the blaze. The U.S. Forest Service officials say three homes and 35 acres have been burned here. This is what the fast- moving flames looked like last night and then we'll get back to the live pictures.

The blaze started yesterday afternoon in San Bernardino, the national forest and it's only about 10 percent contained now. But again -- live pictures now -- and the concern here is that they're going to spread. They have going door to door here asking people to leave their homes, because as we said, 10 percent contained.

We're going to have a reporter join us live from the area in just a bit and our Jacqui Jeras is standing by. There she is. Jacqui...

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

LEMON: The wind really causing a problem here and it is really dry in that area so they have a battle on their hands.

JERAS: Yes, they certainly do. Those winds have been strong for about a good 24 hours now. And that's why this fire has been spreading so quickly. We've had what we call spotting. So the strong winds will blow the embers further down the line and create new fire that it makes its very, very difficult.

The good news is that they have been able to get the choppers and the DC-10 up in the air today to help make some progress and those winds being fueled here of a very strong low pressure system not just at the surface but also in the upper levels of the atmosphere. So we've been seeing those gusts around 40 miles an hour through the passes and the canyons and it accelerates as it gets, you know, forced and channeled down through some of those small areas.

Temperature wise we're doing pretty good, only like 65 degrees so that's a little bit of good news. It's really been a wind issue. Now, as this front continues to pull away, we'll watch those winds begin to slacken a little bit. And in fact, a little bit of good news here, is that some of these advisories and high wind warnings have been canceled a little bit early so that means that the wind is no longer meeting (ph) in that real critical criteria.

But here you can see all the yellow still in place; we expect the wind advisories to stay in effect until about 8:00 local time tonight. The winds much calmer Don -- only about five miles an hour.

LEMON: Unbelievable Jacqui, and as we look at these pictures together. it's unbelievable what they're dealing with there.

JERAS: Yes.

LEMON: And as you said, a 45 mile-an-hour winds, boy, oh, boy, it's going to be some trouble there. And you can better believe that we're keeping a close eye on this. Because we know how these fires can escalate out west, they start small and then all of a sudden they overtake an area.

CNN keeping an eye on this and again, a reporter is going to join us live from the scene to tell us exactly what the efforts there and what's firefighters are doing. What the people there are doing and how they're coping with this; another fire in southern California is the last thing they needed.

On to one of our other big stories here this hour on CNN; CNN has learned there might be more charges in the New York terror plot to detonate bombs in the U.S. Several people who allegedly traveled to Pakistan last year with terror suspect Najibullah Zazi, well, they have returned to the U.S.

Our Susan Candiotti will connect the dots for us. She joins us now live from New York. Ok Susan, what's going on?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Don, this investigation clearly has not slowed down one bit. Prosecutors have said Najibullah Zazi and others went to Peshawar, Pakistan in August, 2008. They say Zazi admitted he got explosives training at an al Qaeda training camp.

Now, according to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation, we know some of the people Zazi traveled with are back in the U.S. and under surveillance. The identities of those people and locations are being kept under wraps.

LEMON: Do we know the names of anyone who's being watched?

CANDIOTTI: We do, but it's not entirely clear why some of these people are under 24-hour surveillance. One man is Naiz Kahn in New York. He says he also flew from Pakistan to New York on the same day that Zazi did last January, but Kahn insists its pure coincidence.

Kahn also says he did not fly to Pakistan with Zazi last August, and showed us his passport to prove it. He's a childhood friend of Zazi and let him stay in his New York apartment just before Zazi was arrested. Kahn says he is not a terrorist and has not been charged in the case.

Now, agents searched this man's apartment and they say, they seized a scale with Zazi's fingerprints on it, they also found several backpacks. And in the past, as you know backpacks were used in subway and train bombings overseas.

Now, Kahn says though those backpacks were children's gifts that really belonged to an uncle -- Don.

LEMON: All right, anyone else being questioned by agents? I would imagine that they're looking at other people -- Susan.

CANDIOTTI: They are of course, and we do know this, among those appearing before a grand jury is Najibullah Zazi's uncle. He tells CNN he was flown from Denver to New York last week to testify.

Now Zazi lived with his uncle for a time just this past year, and Don, this case may be going at full throttle, but as one source is telling us, no one is ready to say that the FBI has its arms completely around it.

LEMON: National correspondent Susan Candiotti. Thank you, Susan.

CANDIOTTI: You're welcome.

LEMON: In Afghanistan the deadliest attack on American troops in over a year. Hundreds of rebel troops stormed a pair of U.S. base camps in the Nuristan province -- it happened yesterday -- killing eight U.S. soldiers and two Afghan security officers.

The U.S. military says the siege lasted over 12 hours and there are still reports of violent flare-ups there.

So could this affect President Obama's strategy decision on Afghanistan? As Elaine Quijano reports two of his top military advisers disagree -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Don the president's national security adviser today offered his condolences to the families of the American troops killed this weekend in Afghanistan, but he insisted the president should take his time in grappling with the tough decisions ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO (voice-over): More U.S. troop deaths this weekend underscored the high stakes as President Obama gets ready to meet with his national security team to figure out how to move forward in Afghanistan.

But on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with John King, National Security Adviser Jim Jones said, the president does have some time to weigh his options. GEN. JIM JONES (RET.), NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I don't foresee the return of the Taliban and I want to -- I want to be very clear that the Afghanistan is not in danger -- imminent danger of falling.

QUIJANO: Republican Senator Jon Kyl disagrees, arguing time is running out.

SEN. JON KYL, (R) MINORITY WHIP: Time is of the essence and I don't think we have a great deal of time to sit around and have a debate about this.

QUIJANO: He sides with the top commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal who reportedly wants thousands of additional U.S. troops.

JONES: Troops are a portion of the answer but not the total answer.

QUIJANO: Jim Jones says the picture is more complex. He questions whether al Qaeda could once again find safe haven in Afghanistan. And he takes issue with General McChrystal's public push for more troops.

JONES: Ideally it's better for military advice to come up through the chain of command. And I think that General McChrystal and the others in the chain of command will present the president with not just one option.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: President Obama meets with his national security team Wednesday and Friday. Senior aides say the president will consult with that same group at least once more after that before a strategy is drafted -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Elaine, thank you very much.

We turn our attention now to domestic issues.

Chicago police are looking for more possible suspects in the fatal beating of an honor student. Four teens have already been charged with murder in the death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert. He was killed September 24th walking home from school on Chicago's south side.

But he was suddenly caught in the middle of a violent street fight involving dozens of teenagers. Derrion's funeral was yesterday. Among those attending were the Reverend Jessie Jackson and Minister Louis Farrakhan for the nation of Islam.

Earlier Derrion's mother invited me into her home to talk about her son's tragic death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You can't look at the videotape, but the world can see that video tape.

AN-JANETTE ALBERT, MOTHER OF FATALLY BEATEN TEEN: Right.

LEMON: And the people here especially in Chicago the youth can see the video tape. Should that be -- I hate to say this a wake-up call to them?

ALBERT: Yes, I want them to see it. I can't watch it but I want them to see it. I want them to know what they're doing. I want them to see what they did to my son because they need to pay for this.

You know, it's unfortunate that these are kids doing this, but something's got to be done. Somebody's got to step in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley also had some things to say about Derrion's death. He spoke upon returning from Copenhagen and the city's failed bid to win the 2016 Olympic Games.

In addition to the disappointment of losing the games Mayor Daley says -- was clearly frustrated, I should say -- that police apparently are not getting much cooperation from the community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RICHARD DALEY, CHICAGO: And I'll be meeting with representatives of the community, high schools and as well as the police department and the family and others to really get down to the bottom of the code of silence. The code of silence is unacceptable, in this day and age where we have young children being killed.

It is something that every family, every community should stand up, shoulder to shoulder and not allow teenagers to run their family, run their block or their community. This is truly unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And coming up later in this newscast a live interview with an entertainer who is trying to reach out to the youth in Chicago. Grammy nominated rapper Nas wrote what he called an open letter to Young Warriors.

We'll have some of it and Nas will join us live at the bottom of the hour.

Also next week Attorney General Eric Holder and the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan head to Chicago. We'll cover that for you.

Another move today, in the international game of chess involving Iran, the United Nations and the U.S., a date for inspection of a controversial plant has been set.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rio de Janeiro. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Plus what went wrong with Chicago's bid to get the 2016 Olympic Games?

And talk to me. I want to hear from you: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com, interested in your comments, reading all of them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Three weeks from today, that's when U.N. inspectors will begin inspection of Iran's recently revealed nuclear facility near Qom. That's according to the head of the IAEA, who met with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today.

The announcement comes after Thursday's nuclear huddle involving the U.S., Iran and permanent members of the U.N. Security council. Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. had this to say on Iran's nuclear aspirations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: The onus is now squarely on Iran to adhere to the commitments it has made. If it doesn't, time is short. We're not interested in talking for talking's sake; we're not interested in interminable negotiations. They have to demonstrate conclusively that their program is for peaceful purposes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Let's get more now on today's announcement from CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It's the latest step by Iran to ease international concern over its nuclear program. In Tehran, the U.N.'s top nuclear official has now been given a firm date for inspectors to visit a controversial nuclear site, Iran meeting a key demand for unfettered access made by the major powers.

MOHAMED ELBARADEI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: I am pleased to say that in consultation with Dr. Salahi (ph), we agreed that our inspectors will come here on the 25th of October, to do an inspection and to go to Qom. And I hope, and I trust that Iran will be as transparent with our inspectors team as possible.

CHANCE: these are the only images of the site that's caused so many diplomatic shock waves. It's a second uranium enrichment facility located near the Shia holy city of Qom and was top secret before its sudden disclosure last month.

The revelation put Tehran, which insists its nuclear program is peaceful, under intense diplomatic pressure. At talks in Geneva last week Iran's top nuclear negotiator was forced to explain.

SAEED JALILI, IRAN'S CHIEF NUCLEAR NEGOTIATOR (through translator): As a member state of the NPT and the agency which we have the most cooperation with the organization, we fulfill all of our regulations. We are still insisting on our rights and we are defending those rights.

CHANCE: Iran also agreed in principle to what would be a landmark deal to convert most of its enriched uranium stockpiles into harmless nuclear fuel by a third country. The U.N. has confirmed there will be more technical talks about this issue in Vienna later in the month. It's being seen by diplomats as a key test of Iran's sincerity.

(on camera): The U.N.'s nuclear chief has described this as a critical moment, and says that he sees a shift from confrontation to cooperation over Iran's nuclear program.

But there are still many skeptics and Washington has made clear that the onus is now firmly on Iran to prove its nuclear intentions are peaceful, or face tough sanctions in the months ahead.

Matthew chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Matthew.

It's something we've heard too many times during natural disasters; hope is fading for survivors of flooding in the Philippines. Plus more bad weather is on the way there.

And then we're going to take you back live to southern California where a wildfire is raging out of control, the latest from there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Assessing the damages and counting the casualties in the Philippines following a pair of typhoons in the span of eight days. There are 261 confirmed dead from both storms, and at least 38 people still missing.

The damage to homes, roads and infrastructure is considerable but it could have been much worse as a second typhoon missed the Filipino capital of Manila.

But not all Filipinos were so fortunate there. Eunice Yoon takes us to one hard-hit village trying to recover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Eunice Yoon in Cagayan Province in the northern Philippines. This province bore the brunt of Typhoon Parma.

The damage has been less than originally feared but this village has seen some of the worst flooding in years.

This is a typhoon-prone area; it floods here every single year. This man though says that this is the first time that the waters have actually gotten into his house.

Thank you. The waters have gotten high. It's OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, you open that.

YOON: Yes. It's OK.

The family said they heard the typhoon was coming so in order to prepare they elevated the rice that they have. This rice comes from a tract of land which they own.

The water, though, as you can see is really, really high. They have a couple of areas, some rooms where the floor is slightly elevated. They said that the strong winds were shaking the rooftop and there are certain areas where there are water marks. They said there is water that was dripping in from the ceiling yesterday because of Typhoon Parma.

Again, they said that they're very, very afraid. Another bedroom here, they have all their belongings elevated.

So we're now in the kitchen and if you look over there, there's a staircase to a second floor. I asked the family, during the storm, why they didn't decide to go upstairs and sleep up there, but they said that the winds were so strong and the rains were just pelting down, that they thought they would be a lot safer to be on the first floor the entire time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was Eunice Yoon reporting.

And meantime, at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI offered prayers, hope and sympathy for Filipinos suffering from the back-to-back typhoons. He also asked the international community not to forget the earthquake victims of Indonesia, and the tsunami victims of American Samoa and Tonga.

Jacqui Jeras joins us now live to update us on all of this and to tell us what's going on. Wow, just unbelievable. Are we talking about Parma?

JERAS: Well, yes, Parma, plus a different storm, so we'll start out with Parma because we saw the pictures of all the flooding there and how bad that was.

Unfortunately, this is still a tropical storm. It's offshore, it's been weakening so some that's good news, but it's still bringing some rain across the northern Philippines. We've seen as much as 10 to 20 inches of rainfall so far. And we could see an additional 10 to 20 more because the system is just going to kind of stall out and linger in this area over the next couple of days. Now the next system, you can kind of see where it is in relation to Parma, here's Parma way over here, this is a typhoon. And not just a typhoon, this is a super typhoon. So it's the equivalent of what we would call a major hurricane. Its name was Melor and it's gusting winds 160 sustained, gusting to almost 200 miles per hour. So this is an extremely powerful storm right now.

We don't believe that it's going to be heading towards the Philippines. We think it's going to be taking a north to northeasterly turn and head towards Japan. Right now it looks like it's going to stay offshore, but we still have a bit of uncertainty this far out especially when it's making a turn. So we'll be watching this storm for the middle of the week for a potential landfall as a hurricane.

Now back here at home we want to tell you one of our big stories tonight, we've been talking about the fire but we've also had had floods going on.

Take a look at some of these pictures that we have coming out of San Antonio; there you can see heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours has exceeded six inches and even as much as a foot in some areas. The record rain certainly brought up the high waters and this is an area that has just been parched certainly with drought conditions so the rain is needed, unfortunately, a little too much at one period of time.

We have a very active jet stream and that's bringing in storm after storm across this area. The heavy rain is now starting to shift out of Texas, and move across much of the Deep South here. We do have flood watches, which remain in effect across the area, for an additional two to four inches of rain on top of what you already have.

And as you know, Mississippi -- the lower Mississippi River Valley -- has already been hit hard in the last two weeks with flooding as well as the Atlanta metro area; that heavy rain is moving in here for tonight. Another wave of wet weather moves into Texas, we think for the middle of the week.

And you know Don, we talked about so much devastation, if you want to help, go to cnn.com/impact. And this is our Impact Your World, so you can help people from the typhoons, from the tsunami, from the earthquake, or the flooding here at home.

LEMON: Impact your world. Jacqui, thank you so much

JERAS: Yes.

LEMON: This weekend music is helping to keep American farmers firmly planted on their land. Farm Aid is rocking St. Louis tonight. Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and the Dave Matthews -- or is it Dave Matthews Band or is it just Dave Matthews? It's Dave Matthews Band.

They're all taking the stage for the 24th anniversary concert which collects money to keep family farmers on their land. Farm Aid has raised nearly $35 million so far. Good for them.

Got a question for you. When it comes to health care, what do senior citizens want? The answer just might surprise you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We have a little programming note for you. We told you earlier that rapper Nas is going to join us live to talk to us live about his open letter to Young Warriors, a letter he wrote in response to the teen violence in Chicago. He's going to join us live in this hour.

Now his plane is running late. He will join us live but just do it tonight at 10:00. So you have to stay tuned. Make sure you tune in then.

LEMON: Let's talk now about health care and health care reform. There are plenty of skeptics out there when it comes to President Obama's proposed health care reform.

Many of those skeptics are senior citizens and CNN's Kate Bolduan finds out what's gotten so many of them so concerned. Here are the answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 63, Phil Marks is healthy but he's had his share of health problems with quadruple bypass surgery in 2000. Marks, like most senior citizens, has Medicare insurance.

(on camera): In general, are you happy with your care?

PHIL MARKS, SENIOR CITIZEN: I think we're satisfied.

Satisfied. I don't know that I would use the word happy.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Living at Maryland's Leisure World, a community for seniors, these seniors say they're watching the health care debate very closely.

MARKS: In terms of the debate, everybody has an oar in the water on this.

BOLDUAN: The 65 and over population is a strong and active voting block, one that overall remains skeptical of President Obama's health care proposals, concerns include fear of an increase in the cost of care, decrease in quality and possibly a cut in Medicare benefits.

MARKS: And I'm concerned about my kids and my grandchildren, and their ability to get good health care at a reasonable price.

PHYLLIS SHEERIN ROSS, SENIOR CITIZEN: I think my greatest concern at the present moment is that the insurance companies are driving your medical care. BOLDUAN: Seventy-year-old Phyllis Ross supports the administration's reform plans and wants health insurance for every American. She was among the crowd when Vice President Biden visited Leisure World last month, as part of a White House effort to push back against what Democrats call scare tactics from the right.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nobody is going to mess with your benefits. No one. All we do is make it better for people on Medicare.

BOLDUAN: While this group agrees, some reform is needed, speeches may not be enough to win them over.

(on camera): What do you need to hear from the administration to make you comfortable with the health care reform?

BOB STROMBERG, SENIOR CITIZEN: Specifics. They really are pretty vague about what's going to happen.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): At 84 years old, Bob Stromberg says at least he and his wife, Joy, would consider higher payments to help foot the bill.

STROMBERG: We're willing to give up something and I think many seniors are, but not too much. Not too much.

BOLDUAN (on camera): Evidence the administration has more hard work ahead, according to a recent CNN opinion research corporation poll, a majority, 54 percent of Americans over the age of 65 oppose President Obama's reform plan.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Kate.

We're following developing news here on CNN, a fire in southern California, raging out of control. People have been asked to leave their homes, so far about three homes have been destroyed. They are fearing that this fire is creeping closer to other homes, people being asked to leave their homes. They're finding it, we're getting a live reporter for you right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Back now to our developing story, and boy, oh, boy, are these flames raging. A wind-whipped wildfire, snaking through Southern California. Live pictures there from our affiliate KABC. Thousands of people are being told to get out. Parts of San Bernardino County under a mandatory evacuation and at least three homes have already been destroyed. We get the very latest now from KTLA reporter Dave Medham.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We evacuated 40 heads from my ranch last night, down on highway 138.

DAVE MEDHAM, KTLA-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well into day two and another moment captured, the entire mountain resort town of Wrightwood is where everybody is getting out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know the horse isn't going to like it,

MEDHAM: Up the road it's all about holding the line where the San Bernardino mountains meet the Angeles National Forest, a threat to the 1930s era cabins you'll find around here and there is the mix of powerful wind that's pushed this one through at least two major canyons destroying homes in its path.

JOHN MILLER, U.S. FOREST SERVICES: Unfortunately one of them belonged to one of our employees and he lost a number of his pets with that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got several million gallons in each tank and these guys have a three-minute turnaround.

MEDHAM: Back in town looking for any glimmer it will improve and there on the main word is acting as a bit of a one-way road at least this weekend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About everything we can think of, clothes, computers, pictures, family albums.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Its mostly just clothes and valuables. This is stuffed from my wife's family.

MEDHAM: As old as the trunk itself, he say, Tom Newsom is nervous, he knows this is canyon living after all and those here are very mindful of just how dangerous that canyon wildfire combo can be and then this, some 40 scrapbooks or so, a neighbor helping a neighbor who is out of town.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I had to break their back window, got their scrapbooks and then I'm going.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was David Medham from our affiliate there, KTLA, who joins us now. Dave, I understand that you are joining us live from Wrightwood, where a blaze is approaching and we see the pictures from KTLA that you're near. Tell us what's going on.

MEDHAM (via telephone): We're about a mile and a half or so from those flames to the edge of town is what we're talking right now. This is a town of about 5,000 people. The area for those who know, about 75 miles from downtown Los Angeles, where there are tall trees, pine trees that don't look like anywhere else in Southern California and then another 35 miles in the other direction, Palm Springs.

So this area is really unique in and of itself. The fire right now is about six square miles, where it's burning towards that is the concern, certain is the resort town as you saw, a lot of love in this place and it's a special kind of town where certainly people here are real passionate about the place and nervous about what is going on.

LEMON: Hey, Dave, as we look at some of the pictures if we can go back to some of those pictures that came overnight as we understand I'm being told that the fire crews spent the day cutting fire lines, battling these erratic winds but overnight, these fires doubled to 3,500 acres and growing now?

MEDHAM: And a real challenge this morning certainly was that the winds were such they couldn't fly, called an 18 aircraft from around the west to come in and battle this one and well, a lot of hours this morning because the winds were the way they were, certainly a real challenge. They are flying right now and now we have another fire breaking out in Southern California, up toward Thousand Oaks. So that's been a challenge, the challenge of diverting some of that aircraft.

LEMON: OK. Four thousand to 6,000 people ordered to get out?

MEDHAM: That's right. We got 4,000, 6,000 and as you see, a lot of these fires, folks don't get out, they don't heed the call and this one, they definitely are. This is Canyon living. People are aware of that, and that is a concern, will they simply, you know, be victims of it all? So they say hey, the best is to get out. Most people are heeding the call. I'm sure there are some that are hiding as we've seen in the past.

LEMON: Yes and you have been in the story real quickly here. The winds, have you felt the winds shift and do you feel them gusting even higher as this goes on?

MEDHAM: Absolutely. In fact at this point we don't even have our photographer shoot up at one of the pine trees to give you a sense of the wind and how it is right now, that's the best judge of it. They're gusty and it's dry and cool as it goes in the 50s here, unusual for this time of year in Southern California.

LEMON: Dave Medham, KTLA. Great job. Thank you, sir. Stand by. We may need you in just a little bit.

I want to bring in now our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras. Jacqui, look at these live pictures that are coming in from KABC now. When we first started our newscast, it looked bad, but obviously it is growing here.

JERAS: Yes, and it will continue to grow as long as those winds stay strong and you know, it makes it very hard. The train is really steep, too. So that's another issue that we're dealing with. This is very rugged terrain, very mountainous. You know, we heard the story about the Ponderosa pines in this area. And there's been a lot of what we call a spotty going on. And so the winds will blow the embers farther out from the main line, and you can get new fires started.

So when you're only talking 10 percent contained, certainly not great news. Now, the winds have been strong. I've been looking at observations across the area, and on average we've been seeing winds today between 30 and 40 miles per hour, gusting. Now, we were expecting initially that we could have seen gusts maybe pushing 50 to 60 along the ridge tops and through the canyons. So that's some good news is that maybe the winds didn't turn out to be quite as strong as we were expecting today and as you heard that we were able to get the choppers up and some of the planes as well to help fight this.

LEMON: Jacqui, look at those firefighters there at the bottom of the screen, you can see them pulling hoses and trying to get in as close as they can to these fires. And as I was talking to Dave, I said overnight, you know, they were - what they do is they go in and they sort of cut around these fire lines right to try to get the fires off.

JERAS: Yes.

LEMON: To shut the fires off before they can jump over to another spot but when it's this dry, Jacqui, right, and then winds are so high.

JERAS: Yes.

LEMON: Any just little ember can carry the fire, move it really down the road a long ways.

JERAS: You and me, they're a pretty big buffer, because when you're talking winds, you know, of this strength, it can travel like literally it could go well beyond that fire line as well. One of the other things I know they've been doing with the fire retardants from the air is they've been putting that down near some of the homes and I guess it's within about a quarter of a mile now some homes along highway 2 and so that's going to be a big focus in the upcoming hours.

LEMON: All right. They're setting up evacuation centers there. Some 4,000 to 6,000 people being told to get out. CNN is on top of it. Our meteorologists following it as well and we're checking in with our affiliates there in Southern California. So stay tuned. You're not going to miss any of it.

In the meantime, we have some other news to tell you about. I've got an interesting story about the first Hispanic to hold a cabinet level position. It's really an interesting story. You'll want to see this. It has nothing to do with politics. He told me about the day he proposed to his girlfriend. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURO CAVAZOS, FIRST HISPANIC TO SERVE IN A U.S. CABINET: She accepted, but she said, I want 10 children. And she said, if you want to take back your proposal you can do it now. Well, when you're young and in love, of course I went along with it. Best deal I ever cut.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We'll tell you about that. Guess what? Ten kids in 10 years. Some of you may remember him, if you're old enough, right, his name is Lauro Cavazos. He is the subject of tonight it's "Pioneros: Latino Firsts." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Right here on this program we are profiling Latinos who overcame obstacles and shattered stereo types to make history. It's part of our series called "Pioneros: Latino Firsts." Tonight the first Hispanic to hold a cabinet-level position in the U.S. government, Lauro Cavazos, secretary of education under President Ronald Reagan and now professor at Tufts University. I visited him at his home in Massachusetts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): Lauro Cavazos knows just about every inch of these woods in Concord, Massachusetts.

CAVAZOS: It's just a wonderful way to spend life.

LEMON: On this land, he and his wife, college sweetheart Peggy Ann, built a home, raised a family and cultivated an extraordinary career in education.

(on camera): Education is the number one priority, it's your passion?

CAVAZOS: Well my passion is my family. It's the children. Peggy, and all of my family and people around me.

LEMON: The 10 kids, five boys, five girls.

CAVAZOS: I tell you, the - beg your pardon. The night before I got my doctorate and my Ph.D. from Iowa State, I proposed to her after many years, and she accepted, but, she said, I want 10 children, and she said if you want to take back your proposal, you can do it now. Well, when you're young and in love of course. I went along with it. Best deal I ever cut.

LEMON (voice-over): Cavazos more than kept his promise, fathering 10 children with Peggy in 10 years, all while teaching and eventually becoming the dean of Boston's prestigious Tufts University Medical School in 1975. Five years later, he returned to his alma mater, Texas Tech, as university president.

(on camera): Do you make any sacrifices?

CAVAZOS: Yes. We spent as much time as we could, and we did, both of us, sacrificed a lot. But for example when you're a medical school dean, it really, really chews up your time. It's one of the most demanding jobs in the country, I think, but we tried to eat together. We always, we didn't have but one car. Nothing fancy, but we made do. Everything was really focused on the children.

LEMON (voice-over): Cavazos is a sixth-generation Texan with deep connections to his Mexican roots. For him, it's family first, and education a close second. He learned that from his parents. To the young Cavazos, dad was larger than life, a World War I veteran who ruled the roost as foreman of the 850,000-acre King Ranch near Kingsville, south Texas.

Way back in the 1930s, the elder Cavazos insisted his children attend an integrated school and not the ramshackle one his town reserve for Hispanics.

(on camera): How much of that did you carry into your grown-up life, into your profession, that fighting spirit?

CAVAZOS: I tell you what I did, you do, and dad used to say this to me, you do what is right. You stand for what is right and don't let anyone run over you.

LEMON (voice-over): Those words fixed Cavazos's compass on educating minorities and disenfranchised students, a commitment that was rewarded in 1988 when President Ronald Reagan named Cavazos education secretary, the first Hispanic ever appointed to the coveted position.

President George H.W. Bush kept Cavazos on, but his tenure lasted only two years. He resigned in 1990 amid a Justice Department investigation alleging misuse of government frequent-flyer miles. The case was dropped, and Cavazos denies he did anything wrong, saying he simply didn't play the political game well.

(on camera): Towards the end, you know, it's politics. They talk about flying and frequent flyer miles and all of those things. Is there anything that you want to clear the air about that?

CAVAZOS: Nothing came of it. That's the other thing, constantly sniping, sniping, sniping. So you just had to let it roll off your back and keep going.

LEMON: So, that didn't mean anything to you?

CAVAZOS: No, didn't mean anything. Nothing came. Nothing came of it.

LEMON: Not a regret of yours?

CAVAZOS: No.

LEMON (voice-over): And no question about the lessons learned from his father. His hero, his rock, a man who once unexpectedly at an airport some 30 years ago remind him of the importance of family.

CAVAZOS: We got there and dad kissed the children on the forehead, hugged Peggy, and then he turned to me, and he said, "Son, you have a wonderful family." Being the way we are, my father and I only expression of affection for each other was a handshake. This time, he gave me a handshake, then he reached over and hugged me. And he said, "Take care of your family." Last time I saw him.

And every time I go to Logan Airport, I mean down to National Airport, every time I go to National Airport, I still -- the old terminal is still there, and I can still see him walking out there, tall and straight, his boots, his beautiful white Stetson hat, tall and straight. Every time I go there.

LEMON: There is nothing like a father's love, and Lauro Cavazos, a pioneer, a Latino first, knows this 10 times over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Thank you, Dr. Cavazos. Appreciate that. And also his wife Peggy as well. Next week as we continue our series here. We'll focus on the first Hispanic to win the Heisman trophy and quarterback a team to the Super Bowl championship. Jim Plunkett. The son of blind Mexican-American parents, overcame the odds to achieve that Latino first. It's going to be an interesting story.

And remember this. Throughout the month here on CNN, we look for our series here it's called "Latino in America." Stories you will only see on CNN. Our Soledad O'Brien will be covering that for you.

And for the city of Chicago, it was a stunning announcement to say the least.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rio de Janeiro.

LEMON: Congratulations to Rio. But what happened to Chicago? The question for sports business analyst, Mr. Rick Horrow. Not yet, Rick. Not yet.

RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: We know.

LEMON: All right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Chicago didn't get the gold and Tiger Woods is worth a whole lot of it. A whole lot of cash. Right, Rick Horrow?

HORROW: Absolutely.

LEMON: Our sports business analyst. He joins us from West Palm. OK. You know, we're going to talk about Tiger Woods in just a little bit. Were you surprised that Chicago got the least number of votes among the four finalists?

HORROW: Yes, it was politics by a lot of people to maneuver what was the closest competition Rio had out early. That's just international politics. That's not the issue.

LEMON: But Rick, when I talk to people though, they say, you know, Chicago is a great city. When you go Chicago, Rio. I mean, a lot of people say I would rather to go Rio. They throw the biggest party. Carnival. It's great.

HORROW: Yes, but let's look at the economics. You and I both understand that business dictates this. Rio's growth rate over the next couple of years is projected to be 3.5 percent. They are selling 10 times more cars and light trucks than the United States is. What does that mean? Auto advertising.

And also, there are 160 million people in that prized demographic of 18 and below. And so when you look at the economics, then it looks like an easier decision than anybody down here or in the United States thought, coupled with the fact that they've had experience and will have experience of putting on the 2014 World Cup two years before the Olympics.

So Chicago might have done a few things better and everybody is second-guessing the trip and the bid and all that. But the bottom line is that Rio did a great job.

LEMON: Yes and you know what, I want to say, I want to get the voice of the naysayers in there. Because and I cut you off when it comes to politics, explain more, what were the politics behind this?

HORROW: Don't ever cut me off when it comes to politics. That's always what it is. You know, politics, it is an ultimate decision. A point - the other thing was that the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. OC had a very contentious revenue sharing discussion a couple of months ago. And it relates to Olympic TV that the U.S. is trying to put together also. So some people said the $50 million bid Chicago put together might have had some problems from the start.

Here's the bottom line. Over 140 cities are looking at getting in the Olympic derby. They're paying consultants to look at stuff so it's a highly competitive thing, finishing fourth, according to some of the Republicans strategies that we're number four. I understand we didn't win but it was a marvelous effort that's going to generate some excitement and some infrastructure.

LEMON: All right. Let's move on real quick. Politics with the s on the end should be a dollar sign. Because that has a lot to do with it as well. Monday night, Brett Favre, Green Bay. Why is that game so special?

HORROW: So special because Brett Favre, the dollar sign, Brett Favre had retired, come back, marvelous miracle last week. He is now the leader in Jersey sales around the NFL. Get this, Don, for the third team in a row. OK? So it is the Vikings, it's the Jets, it's the Packers. He is one of those transcendent personalities. Can't wait for the homecoming. Can't wait for the battle tomorrow night.

LEMON: All right. Let's talk about the newest billionaire. Really was it the only sports figure ever to get in this billion- dollar territory?

HORROW: Well, yes. Michael Jordan, Michael Schumaker may be there with the investments. But when you add up the prize money and the endorsements, Forbes.com says that's the standard and he's there. He tells us how important golf is and how important Tiger is. He is way beyond just an athlete. As we know, he is making your kind of money, my friend.

LEMON: Don't insult Tiger Woods like that, please. I do OK but not in that league. Rick, thank you, sir. Always a pleasure to see you. Maybe Chicago, 2020. Who knows?

HORROW: Hey, I'll think about it. I'll talk to you next week.

LEMON: Thank you. We're back in a moment here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I have a programming note for you. We told you earlier that rapper Nas was going to join us live to talk about his open letter to young warriors. A letter he wrote in response to the teen violence in Chicago. Nas's plane is running late, and he's going to join us tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, live here on CNN.

In the meantime, I want to tell that you we're keeping a close eye on the situation that's happening out in southern California. Under a state of emergency right now. Wildfires are spreading across that state. San Bernardino County, I should say, under a state of emergency. People have been ordered to leave their homes, up to 6,000 people. Three homes have burned so far and they're getting closer to other homes. There are the pictures coming from California. We're on it.

I'm Don Lemon at CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Meantime, "STATE OF THE UNION" with John King begins right now.