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Clinton Meets with Obama; Honoring First Female 4-Star General; Dangerous Gas Explosion in Oklahoma; Prince Charles Turns 60; Chicagoans Cash in on Obama Win

Aired November 14, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Upscale homes and a dormitory destroyed. Wind driven wildfire cuts through the California hills. We have a live report just ahead.
And big name for a Cabinet post, Hillary Clinton under consideration.

It is Friday, November 14th. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Heidi Collins, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

First up, a devastating wildfire has residents on the run in Southern California. It's already destroyed more than 100 homes in Montecito north of Los Angeles. Thousands have evacuated. Daybreak will give firefighters an opportunity to attack from the air.

But in the meantime, let's get you an update. CNN's Chris Lawrence joins us now from Santa Barbara, California.

Chris, you've there through the wee hours. What kind of damage have you been able to see so far?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With my own eyes, I literally saw dozens of homes just engulfed in flames, completely burned down to the ground. That flicker you see, the flames up on top of the hill, that's one of them right there.

That was a home on the top of the hill and we watched it when we got here, just roaring flames everywhere. And it's just completely burned down to the foundation at this point. And we saw that over and over again.

This fire broke out just after sundown and literally within a few hours dozens of homes have been completely engulfed. It was moving fast, it was moving strong. There weren't a lot of places where firefighters to create breaklines and stop this fire, and because it hasn't had a major fire here in about 30 years, there was so much fuel there.

And when the wind started gusting at about 70 miles an hour throughout the night we can just hear explosions as that intense heat was just destroying parts of homes, the vehicles. And one of the firefighters that we spoke to in the middle of the night talked about the frustration of trying to stop this fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BILL OAKLEY, SANTA BARBARA RESIDENT: We always knew this area was very flammable with big trees, so when the winds come up like this, it gets everybody scared and on edge and there's not a lot of people around here that stood around when it was coming up the canyon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: This was a very rushed evacuation, people didn't have a whole lot of time to react, it came so quickly, and again, this is an area where you've got a lot of very big homes, but these -- with a lot of space in between them.

But that wind was so powerful, that fire was so strong, it was pushing these embers great distances and just setting off one house after another -- Betty?

NGUYEN: Yes, this thing is fast moving. Like you said, a lot of people didn't have a lot of time. And I know the information is still coming in.

Any word as to what may have sparked this?

LAWRENCE: No word on that yet. What we're hearing from firefighters right now is just some updated information that's kind of putting the fire in perspective. As horrible as those pictures look, only two people have been burned, one firefighter has been burned.

But again, when you -- bottom line when you look at this, you know, 100 families had a home when the sun set last night and when it rises here in 30, 40 minutes, they are not going to have a home.

NGUYEN: That's just devastating. Chris Lawrence joining us live this morning. Thank you, Chris, for that.

All right. So what's the weather going to do? Is it going to provide any kind of relief? Let's turn now to CNN's Reynolds Wolf in the CNN weather center.

Reynolds, please tell us you've got some good news on this front?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not so much, Betty. Things are not looking too good in part of Southern California. You have to remember first and foremost that in places like, say, Santa Barbara County, Montecito, where you're having these issues for the time being, the red flag warnings are in effect.

Already you have a Mediterranean style climate where you don't have a great deal of precipitation. This is a very dry area and today with that low humidity, it's going to coupled with very strong winds. We've got high pressure building over the great basin.

That's going to force some winds out of the north and out of the northeast. And when it passes through these mountain passes of St. Gabriel and these mountains, of course, in part of Santa Barbara County, that air compresses and as it compresses, it tends to warm up, further drying a lot of that foliage that you have on those hillsides. Betty, think of this. Low humidity, winds anywhere from, say, 50 to 60, some gusts approaching 70, that's tropical storm force winds in Southern California. That's going to be felt throughout the rest of the day today, tonight and into Saturday. So they're going to have some serious issues.

Another big problem, you think about these homes, when you build a house along the coast in California, where do you want it to be? You want it to be high up on those hills so you get plenty of beautiful view. Well, in a fire situation, it's almost like heat going up a chimney.

So as the fires, the flames go right up the hillsides, the things that are most vulnerable are those very houses, those structures that you have, nestled in those hills. We're talking about temperatures that are -- again, some locations over 1,000 degrees as everything roars up.

NGUYEN: Goodness.

WOLF: This is called the T-fire. CalFire, the organization that follows these fires gives each of them a different name, kind of a -- you know during the peak of the season, you can have many fires in the states. This one is designated at the T Fire.

NGUYEN: T Fire.

WOLF: And certainly one they're going to be struggling with through a good part of the weekend.

Let's send it back to you.

NGUYEN: All right. Reynolds, we do appreciate. We'll keep our eye on that. Thank you.

WOLF: You bet.

A one-on-one meeting with the president-elect and he is the one who set it up. Barack Obama and New York senator Hillary Clinton talking about whether she'd like to be secretary of state in his new administration.

Let's get the latest. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has more from Chicago.

So, Suzanne, what are you hearing about this meeting?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, two Clinton sources who I spoke with this morning essentially confirming they know about these talks, familiar with the talks between Senator Clinton and Barack Obama that took place here yesterday in Chicago, late afternoon, at the invitation of Barack Obama.

I'm told by one of these sources that Hillary Clinton knew that Obama wanted to discuss if there was -- what role if any role or if any interest in his administration. These two sources, however, not confirming that they talked specifically about the secretary of state job.

This is something that has been all abuzz, Hillary Clinton has been hearing these rumors and according to one source very close to Hillary Clinton, that she felt it was silly because of what had happened the last go-around. There was a lot of talk about possibly being the vice presidential or the running mate to Barack Obama.

That never happened and the Obama team never even approached her about it. So what this was is essentially these two people sitting side by side, across from each other, talking about what role, if any role or if any interest, that she would have in an Obama administration.

NGUYEN: All right, so it sounds like we're going to have to wait on that one for just a little bit. What about any other announcements regarding his Cabinet? Anything on that front?

MALVEAUX: Well, very likely we could get announcements today regarding the press secretary, Robert Gibbs. He's on the communications director of the campaign, has been on the top of that list. That's a very good possibility.

Another one, David Axelrod, who's the chief strategist of the campaign, very much an insider as well as a confidant, a personal, loyal friend to Barack Obama, very likely to go to Washington as -- and serving as some sort of national advisory capacity.

So that is possibly some announcements that are going to come out later today. But as you know, a lot of buzz around what is Hillary Clinton going to do, what is Barack Obama going to do regarding Hillary Clinton, and whether or not there'll be a significant role for her in this next administration.

NGUYEN: Definitely the buzz and what we're looking to hear. So Suzanne, let us know as soon as you hear a word on that front. Thank you so much.

Well, the New York senator is speaking in Albany at 11:00 a.m. Eastern and we will be following those developments and bring you news as it happened.

In the meantime, though, down one day, up the next. Still a roller coaster ride for investors. Now overnight, bargain hunters sent most Asian and Pacific markets just soaring. European stocks also trading higher.

So will the Dow follow that lead? Well, new retail sales figures just came out and CNN's Christine Romans joins us now with the numbers.

How are they looking, Christine?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They don't look good, and in fact a record drop for retail sales in October down 2.8 percent, Betty. We've never seen a month on record since they've been tracking this since 1982 where you've see a 2.8 percent drop. And this follows three consecutive months before that have dropped. It's very rare to see consumers in this country actually spend less one month after another. I mean this is the -- the power of the American economic machine, is the consumer is two-thirds of economic growth.

So it's troubling. We know what the consumer is facing here. They're facing falling home prices, they're facing falling stock prices, and they're facing job cuts and concern about that is keeping them away from the mall.

We learned this morning that Sun Microsystems is go to cut up to another 6,000 jobs. That's about 18 percent of its workforce. "Wall Street Journal" is reporting that Citigroup is going to cut another 10,000 jobs. You know that company has been in the midst of reductions for some time. The company says it has about 9,000 more job cuts to go than it's already announced.

So we know that there are more job cuts to come and that people have been really pinched by the credit crisis. It might be -- in some cases -- that people can't borrow any more money to spend at the mall and so that's what we're seeing there, Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. We'll see if it picks up at all as we are into November and holiday season is upon us. But at this point I don't know if anyone's crossing their fingers.

Thank you, Christine, do appreciate it.

All right. So money problems around the world, that's the focus today as the leaders of 20 most powerful countries get ready to meet in Washington. They're going to be talking about how to fix the world's economies.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is at the White House. She joins us now.

What do you expect to hear today, Kathleen?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well., Betty, certainly in this weekend's summit we're not going to be seeing any permanent solutions agreed upon and that's primarily because President George Bush, lame duck president, has one foot out the door and his administration is really loathe to agree to really -- they don't want to tie the hands of the incoming Obama administration, agreed to any reforms that they may not support.

So this is not going to sit well with European leaders who are coming here and looking for sweeping changes. What the Bush administration really wants to see out of this weekend's summit is principles for reform, a way to go forward, and also a look at how the measures that they've taken, the steps they've taken so far are working.

President Bush, for his part, is calling for patience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This crisis did not develop overnight and it's not going to be solved overnight. But our actions are having an impact.

Credit markets are beginning to thaw. Businesses are gaining access to essential short-term financing. A measure of stability is returning. The financial systems here at home and around the world.

It's going to require more time for these improvements to fully take hold and there's going to be difficult days ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: And certainly the next two days could be difficult because many countries, privately, or in the case of Russia, publicly, are blaming the United States for the global financial crisis.

So as the White House, the president goes into these meetings both this evening and tomorrow talking about a way forward, President Bush is certainly going to be facing some credibility issues.

Again, also, what -- the way people -- U.S. sees the meetings this weekend are really -- they're laying that groundwork as a starting point for future summits, Betty, but, again, no major changes, no major proposals coming out of...

NGUYEN: Just beginning. OK.

KOCH: ... this weekend's meetings. Yes.

NGUYEN: Kathleen Koch, joining us live from the White House.

Thanks, Kathleen.

KOCH: You bet.

NGUYEN: A desperate rescue attempt under way. You have to see this, divers joining the search and they're looking for three people missing near Chicago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Breaking news, revealing developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Well, this just in to CNN. We have confirmed that President-elect Barack Obama will meet with his Republican rival John McCain next week.

Let me read a statement from the Obama transition team, quoting here, "On Monday, President-elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will meet in Chicago at transition headquarters. It's well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality.

They will be joined in the meeting by Senator Lindsay Graham and Congressman Rahm Emanuel."

So that is the latest. Again, President-elect Barack Obama meeting with John McCain on Monday in Chicago. We'll continue to follow that for you.

In the meantime, though, a desperate search under way this morning near Chicago, divers and rescue crews are looking for three people lost overnight in the FOX River, just west of the city. Now one witness says a person in a paddle boat, that is, overturned. Two others jumped in to help but never surfaced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. JULIE DIDIER, ALGONQUIN LAKE IN THE HILLS FIRE DEPT.: At this time we have what we believe is three people in the water, teenagers. There are six paddle boats on site. We believe that they were out playing with them.

The boats were winterized and they -- which means that the plugs inside the boats were removed. At this time...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lt. Julie Didier...

DIDIER: At this time we've got five boats accounted for. We believe we've got three people confirmed in the water. We have not found them yet, we do not have positive identification at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And this is important information in that search. Temperatures dipped into the low 40s overnight in the Chicago area.

Well, it is being described as an initiation gone wrong. Authorities say the leader of a Ku Klux Klan group shot and killed an Oklahoma woman at the group's Louisiana camp site.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): All around this town, the alleged Klan members called home shocked and alarmed. The sudden violence, the arrests, the rogues, reminders of a past many blacks and whites hoped was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a tragedy. Terrible. There shouldn't be the Ku Klux around anyway, nobody should be prejudiced.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, yes, that does surprise the hell out of me.

FOREMAN: Authorities say from Ray Foster's home, his group reached out through the Internet to find like-minded recruits. They found one, Cynthia Lynch, in Oklahoma and they invited her to come here and be initiated into the klan.

But at a remote camping spot, the ceremony went awry and authorities say Foster gunned her down.

Sheriff Jack Strain.

SHERIFF JACK STRAIN, ST. TAMMANY PARISH: Foster, we believe, immediately removed a knife from his pocket and rolled over the victim and began a process of trying to remove the bullet from her body.

FOREMAN (on camera): Because he didn't want to be connected to this?

STRAIN: That's exactly it because he was trying to destroy evidence where law enforcement would not be able to piece these things together.

FOREMAN (voice over): However when two bloody group members responded in town the hunt was on. After all eight suspects were rounded up, and the body discovered, detectives searched Foster's home where they say they found extensive records of Klan rules, application forms, loyalty oaths sealed in blood and evidence of ongoing recruitment.

(On camera): So these weren't just a disorganized bunch of guys.

SGT. GEORGE COX, ST. TAMMANY PARISH: Oh no. Not whatsoever. Not whatsoever.

FOREMAN (voice over): The Southern Poverty Law Center, famous for tracking hate groups, says it's been watching Foster for three years, that he was previously the national grand wizard of four chapters of the Klan in four states. Foster is now charged with second degree murder, the others with obstruction of justice.

(On camera): Authorities are clearly pleased they broke up this group before it had a chance to spread much beyond this house possibly becoming much bigger and maybe more dangerous, too.

STRAIN: So I'm confident that not only did we cut the snake's head off, but we destroyed his body at the same time.

FOREMAN (voice over): But for many, it is disturbing to know the specter of the Klan still haunts rural America.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Bogalusa, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Foster and the other seven suspects will appear before a judge today. None of them has responded to the charges yet. The proceeding will be held in the county jail rather than a courtroom.

Well, Joe Biden called Dick Cheney the most dangerous vice president. Pretty much ever. But the two were all smiles as Cheney invited him into his home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Breaking news, revealing developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: In today's political ticker, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill getting an up close look at their new Washington, D.C. digs.

Yesterday the couple visited Dick Cheney and his wife Lynn at the vice president's official residence, the Naval Observatory. Biden had harsh words for Cheney during the presidential campaign. But yesterday it was all smiles all around as the Cheneys gave the Bidens a tour of the house.

The vice president-elect says he plans on splitting his time between the official residence and his home in Delaware.

Mitt Romney, noticeably absent from the Republican Governors meeting in Miami this week. The former Massachusetts governor and one-time GOP presidential candidate chose instead to take a cruise with a group of influential party insiders.

Hundreds of leading conservatives are attending the "National Review's" annual cruise.

So is Romney strategizing for another presidential run in 2012? He says no, but several former aides say they believe he will, especially if the economy continues to be a dominant issue.

Well, Senator-elect Kay Hagan will not be suing incumbent senator Elizabeth Dole after all. The North Carolina Democrat is dropping a defamation and libel lawsuit against Dole for airing an ad that suggested Hagan was godless.

Hagan's spokeswoman says the incoming senator wants to spend her time helping struggling Americans rather than pursuing a lawsuit that focuses on such a negative attack ad.

Hagan won Dole's seat with 53 percent of the vote.

And a taste of Chicago coming to the nation's capital. The owner of Barack Obama's favorite pizza place in Chicago is heading to Washington to make some pies for a presidential inauguration expo next week.

Boy, those do look good.

The Ritz Hotel, which is hosting the event, invited the pizza owner to come after he heard about how much Obama loves those pies. Well, the expo is a preview of food that will be served during inauguration time.

The transition to power. What you need to know as President- elect Obama picks his team and makes his plans for the White House. It's all on our political ticker, so just log on to CNN.com/politics. It is your source for everything political.

So Secretary of State Clinton? What we know about a possible pick for the Obama Cabinet. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Breaking the brass ceiling? She is the first woman promoted to four-star general.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Betty Nguyen.

NGUYEN: We have a lot on the plate today. First up, though, let's talk a little bit about those fires. You're looking at some live video. You see it on the right-hand side of your screen, but the smoke on the left.

Let me tell you what's going on. A brush fire that has just roared through the canyon there in Santa Barbara County. Late last night, thousands -- actually I should not say thousands, but residents have had to evacuate in Montecito and as these fires have engulfed multimillion-dollar mansions.

All right. Let me change that number as I mentioned a thousand. No. It's down to 100 hundred at this point, 100 homes have been destroyed. Let's hope it doesn't reach to the 1,000 point.

But as you see, it is still on fire. There -- this fire is continuing to burn and the winds are not helping the situation. We will follow this story for you and bring you the latest developments as we get them in to CNN.

Also want to tell you about this. A suspected U.S. missile strike in Pakistan this morning. Pakistani intelligence officials say 12 people are dead. At least two missiles hit a home in North Waziristan province, which is near the border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan's government has called for an end to cross-border attacks by U.S. forces. This is the second suspected missile strike in Pakistan this month.

Well, the Dow soared more than 500 points yesterday. The third biggest gain in history. Overnight Asian and European markets followed suit. But was it a one-day wonder?

Let's hope not.

Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange with a look at what to expect today.

It's a Friday, Stephanie, so you never know.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You never know, Betty.

I think yesterday the markets may have just wanted us to remember what the color green looks like, because we are set for more doom and gloom today. The 15 nations that share the euro currency, they have slumped into recession -- it's official -- for the first time in its 10-year history.

And here in the U.S., we have dismal retail sales figures and thousands of new job cuts. Retail sales fell 2.8 percent last month. That's the biggest drop on record. Meanwhile retailers JCPenny, Kohl's, Nordstrom, and Abercrombie & Fitch, all across the retail lines there, all reported quarterly earnings and all of them posted double-digit percentage drop. A weak outlook for the holiday season.

As we take a look at the mortgage sector, Freddie Mac says it lost $25 billion over the past three months. That's staggering figure. It forces the company to start tapping into its government bailout for the first time. Freddie has requested $13 billion in taxpayer money.

And more job cuts to tell you about today, as well. "The Wall Street Journal" says banking giant Citigroup is slashing at least 10,000 positions. Citigroup has lost $20 billion over the past year.

And Sun Microsystems. They're also cutting jobs, up to 6,000 of them. The company has fallen into a deep slump at sales of its high- end servers have collapsed.

So checking the damage right out the gates here, Betty. The Dow up 110 points, 8730 there. Nasdaq off 36 at 1560. So, as we said, more pain may be on the way today, Betty.

NGUYEN: Oh, goodness. All right. So, buckle in your seat belts because it could be a rough day.

ELAM: True.

NGUYEN: Thank you, Stephanie. We do appreciate it.

ELAM: Sure.

NGUYEN: Although, we're kind of used to it these days, unfortunately. So, is Senator Hillary Clinton getting a new job? Well, sources tell CNN President-elect Barack Obama could name her secretary of state. And sources say the two met face-to-face in Chicago yesterday to talk about a possible future role for her in his new administration.

CNN's State Department correspondent Zain Verjee joins us now live from Washington.

OK, Zain, what's the world impression of Hillary Clinton? Should she get this position?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, Hillary Clinton is a huge celebrity worldwide. She's got that international stature. The Clintons are extremely popular worldwide. And the whole globe has this perception of just a happier, safer time under President Clinton.

There's also a huge amount of goodwill around the world because of the Clinton Foundation and all the project President Clinton initiated. And were she could be secretary of state, Hillary could bask a little bit in that. She also does bring strong foreign policy knowledge to the table.

The other key thing, Betty, is that, internally, in the U.S., she'd be a force to be reckoned with in the U.S. government bureaucracy. She's not going to take any nonsense from anyone or let anyone walk all over her. And that really does matter, because it puts the State Department in a much stronger position internally with the bureaucracy, domestically.

NGUYEN: All right. Let's talk about the difficulties that she could face in this position.

VERJEE: Well, one of the issues is, you know, would she be seen by the rest of the world as a trusted spokesman, spokesperson for the president? Kind of like Secretary Rice, as everybody knows how close she is to President Bush, that she has his ear.

So the question is could Hillary fall victim to what Powell did. He was kind of marginalized, whether White House may always look at her with a little bit of uncertainty. She has her own political base. But you know what, she has a strong personality. A smart woman. She can drill down on all the issues and many are saying that she would likely carry out exactly what the president wishes it would be. She would be loyal and would probably be tough with President Obama in the right way.

NGUYEN: You know, we talked to Suzanne Malveaux a little bit earlier, Zain. And, really, there's no confirmation to any of this at this point. So, is it all just still a guessing game?

VERJEE: Yes, it is. It's lots of fun. But, yes. I mean, one source close to the transition told me that President-elect Obama isn't just looking at the individuals. You know, Hillary Clinton at the State Departments and the others. But really kind of trying to look at everyone in teams.

You know, how is State, Defense, Treasury, the U.N. and everyone else -- how they all going to work together. Will they be effective together? So, we really need to think of this like a huge jigsaw puzzle, kind of like three dimensional chess, because you can't have it all skewed. You can't have too many senators. He's got to put women in there. He needs a little bit of diversity. And if someone doesn't get what they want, they may be picked somewhere else.

So, just think of it as this big puzzle that they're just trying to figure out and that's why it's taking time.

NGUYEN: Yes. Trying to method all out.

VERJEE: Yes.

NGUYEN: Zain Verjee, thank you, today. We do appreciate it.

VERJEE: Yes, thanks. NGUYEN: Well, the New York senator is speaking in Albany at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, and we will be following developments with Hillary Clinton there and bring you news as it happens.

In the meantime, appeal denied. A Scottish court is refusing a medical release for a man convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. 270 people died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Well, this man, Abdel Basset Megrahi, is serving a life sentence for his role in the terrorist attacks. He filed appeal for release to seek medical treatment for advanced prostate cancer.

A history making moment at the Pentagon today. For the first time ever, a woman will become a four-star general. Ann Dunwoody will officially shatter the military's glass ceiling during a ceremony this morning. And CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon.

What a day.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very interesting, Betty. Indeed, Lieutenant General Ann Dunwoody now becoming Four-Star General Ann Dunwoody, the first woman to become a four-star general in the history of the United States military. The ceremony will unfold here in about 40 minutes. It will be something to behold.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates will even be there, a big hoo-ha being made about this. By all accounts, General Dunwoody, a very fine officer is a very modest woman and is somewhat uncomfortable about the attention being paid to her. All of this raising one more time, of course, that very tough question for the U.S. Military, women in combat.

General Dunwoody, a four-star, under the law, she cannot serve like other women cannot serve in an armor, artillery, those kinds of frontline combat units. She will now head a combat support organization providing equipment and supplies to the U.S. military. Women cannot be in these frontline combat positions. But I think General Dunwoody would tell you the same thing that all women in the U.S. military will tell you, women do serve in combat today, in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, whether the law wants to acknowledge it or not.

Of course, more than 100 young, military women having lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, a glass ceiling certainly that people wish no male or females service member every had to shatter.

Betty?

NGUYEN: Absolutely, true. But this also notes the fact that arm making great strides and the Army -- are there some 21 female general officers in the Army?

STARR: Well, there are a number of general officers throughout the military as you say. The so-called one stars, two stars, three stars. They are -- they have made great strides and women in the military look to this with great pride and great recognition that something that they're very pleased about. Women can advance now to some of the highest ranks in the U.S. military. But the law has not changed.

And in Iraq and Afghanistan, it really has become a bit of an issue over the last several years. Because U.S. military is now involved in combat where there are no frontlines. So, a lot of women will tell you, it's a law without much of distinction to those women who do serve.

Betty?

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Barbara Starr. Thank you so much, Barbara.

Well, Dunwoody's four-star ceremony is scheduled to start in just about 20 minutes. We're going to be monitoring this history-making event and we'll update you as it happens.

Six days left to vote for your favorite CNN Hero. Go to CNN.com/heroes to see their stories and select your hero. Then, join Anderson Cooper, Thanksgiving night, to find out who will be CNN's hero of the year. Vote now at CNN.com/heroes. Again, only six days left.

A dangerous gas explosion in Oklahoma this morning. Take a look at that. Several people injured. We got the latest on this developing story from Doug Warner from affiliate KWTV in Alex, Oklahoma.

Good morning.

DOUG WARNER, KWTV CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Betty. We are just about two miles south of Alex, on State Highway 19. It's about an hour south of Oklahoma City.

This house you see behind me here was a rock house. One of three homes leveled by the, not only the shockwave, but the fire that resulted a massive explosion around 3:15 Central Time here, just south of Oklahoma City.

Again, this is just a free running natural gas line. About a 20 inch line. They're not sure what happened. Why it exploded. There was this home -- there was actually a mobile home that was 50 feet from that line, believe it or not. Two people inside that mobile home. They made it. One was mediflighted in critical condition to Oklahoma City and the other one received minor burns.

And then there was a third home, another -- say, 150 yards down the highway here on the other side of the road, which eventually caught fire just from the intense heat. Two people inside that house also made it out unscathed. Firefighters tell me when they pulled up the heat from that -- fed by that natural gas, so intense, all they could do is fight the perimeter, the grassfires, couldn't even make it up to the house. Fortunately, the people that we're inside those two homes got out of their homes and got out here to the roadway where assistance was available to them again.

Again, folks calling us some 15, 20 miles away from this explosion site. They could see the flames. That far away, the entire sky lit up around 3:15 Central Time on this natural gas explosion.

Betty?

NGUYEN: All right. That were cleared. Doug, was this a work site?

WARNER: Actually, this isn't a work site. This is just a -- we have throughout the country just a line of -- a feeder line of raw and natural gas that these folks probably didn't even know was under the ground, right on their property.

NGUYEN: Really?

WARNER: And that's what exploded. So, still, a lot of question as to why this section of line exploded. They said they had it checked out in '07. So it just went through a safety check a year ago and they have OG&E crews -- Oklahoma Gas & Electric here on scene now, trying to determine what caused this rupture and explosion right after that.

NGUYEN: All right. Doug Warner with our affiliate KWTV in Alex, Oklahoma. Thank you, Doug.

Triple crown riding the waves. Not the horses. The surf's up and store owners hope sales will be, too.

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NGUYEN: Well, just see for yourself. Look at this fire raging in California, in the Santa Barbara area. Some 2,500 acres have burned so far. 1,000 homes have been threatened. But at this hour, 100 homes have been destroyed.

We understand as well that one firefighter had suffered burns, two civilians have sustained burns and some 500 firefighters are still fighting this blaze as we speak. We're going to get a live report at the top of the hour on the fires burning out in California.

Economic nightmares, even in a place of paradise. Many businesses in Hawaii are struggling. But the local economy is getting a big boost from some ocean dare devils, surfers in the Triple Crown competition. Here's Lisa Kubota from our affiliate KGNB.

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LISA KUBOTA, KGNB CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This pro-surfing series is a treasure for retailers. Thousands of people from around the world head to the north shore to watch all the Triple Crown action. And they're pumping millions of dollar into the local economy.

JODI WILMOTT, VANS TRIPLE CROWN OF SURFING: We know through some of the economic surveys that we have done in recent years that we bring in excess of 9 million direct spending in just a six-week period.

KUBOTA: It couldn't come at a better time. At Surf N' Sea in Haleiwa, the owner says sales dropped about 20 percent in October. This month hasn't been much better.

JOE GREEN, OWNER, SURF N' SEA: Everyone's having a rough time. I would be surprised if there won't be some shops closing in this town within the next few months.

KUBOTA: But strong sales could help turn things around. Over the next six weeks, the Triple Crown will bring in about 1,000 event staff and surfers and even more visitors.

GREEN: The Triple Crown is like bringing the surfers to town and everyone comes out to see it.

WILMOTT: It's just a sport that is synonymous with Hawaii that I think sells the Hawaii message around the world.

KUBOTA: Now businesses hope to ride this wave all the way to the bank.

GREEN: I know we'll make it. You know, we have been here long enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what we dream of all year long, because it's a year-long process planning these events and you hope that the swell arrives on time and it really has this year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Looks like a lot of fun. Reynolds, I know you're a big- time surfer, at least surfer wannabe.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: So, you're willing to trade, say, a lakefront home for an in town abode. Interested? Well, if so, Chris Recktenwald wants to talk to you. He's been trying to sell his two-story house on Lake Lansing for months now. He's even dropped the price tens of thousands of dollars. But no takers, so he's gone on to Craigslist. Where else? He says he is willing to swap for a home in the metro Detroit area. Good luck.

Well, another unusual marketing approach from a man in Florida. Check out the sign. Chris Whiltey (ph) appears headed for a lifestyle change. So, he is selling his price in College Park. Look at that. Asking price, $599,000 but a sign, as you saw there, reads helping me get divorced, that is priceless. Some of his neighbors, though, they are not so happy. They say he is airing his dirty laundry for the world to see, especially now that it's been on CNN.

All right. This is a really remarkable story. A dying boy's last wish to feed the hungry, inspiring many around the country. Early in the week, we told you about 11-year-old Brendan Foster suffering with leukemia. One of Brendan's final wishes to donate food to the homeless. He was too weak to do it himself, so a group of people donated sandwiches in his name. Well, now, people around the country are doing the same, including a California boy who also has battled leukemia. Daniel Chairez who is in remission is collecting food donations and recently contacted Brendan to tell him he is a hero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL CHAIREZ, LEUKEMIA PATIENT: I feel because he really, really like inspired me because he's not afraid, and he wants to help people and he's not -- he's not selfish.

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NGUYEN: Brendan says he thinks that great people, that they are picking up the torch and donating food to the homeless.

Royal celebration. Prince Charles marks a milestone and we take you live to London.

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NGUYEN: It is a birthday celebration fit for a man who would be king. Britain's Prince Charles turns 60 today. And the royal party is on. CNN's Atika Shubert is live outside Buckingham Palace.

All right, party goers, what can they expect?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Here at Buckingham Palace is exactly where Prince Charles was born 60 years ago. And at 60 years old, that makes him now Britain's longest serving king in waiting. But there's plenty to celebrate in that time. The queen actually gave him a birthday present today of a 41- gun salute. That happened at noon today.

He's also having a formal birthday party, hosted by his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles, complete with a concert by Rod Stewart and 60 birthday gifts. One for every year of his life.

And if that wasn't enough, today was also the unveiling of his official portrait -- another birthday present. And in that, he's dressed in full military uniform. But he still looks very confident and decidedly casual. And that's exactly the image that Prince Charles is trying to project on his 60th birthday.

Because even though he's been waiting 60 years to become king, he's gone through, as you know, a very public and bitter divorce, the tragic death of Diana. But on his 60th birthday, he is now happily remarried. He has two grown sons he's visibly proud of. And he's managed to carve a name for himself as one of the largest patrons of charity here in Britain. So that may be the happiest birthday present he has today on his 60th birthday.

Betty? NGUYEN: Yes. Getting older definitely does have its perks. I don't want to see him complain because that is quite a celebration there. Thank you, Atika.

All right. Popular tour in Chicago. See the President-elect's favorite places. We'll get on the bus.

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NGUYEN: Six days left to vote for your favorite CNN hero. Go to CNN.com/heroes to see their stories and select your hero. Then, join Anderson Cooper at "THANKSGIVING NIGHT" to find out who will be CNN's hero of the year. Vote now at CNN.com/heroes. Again, only six days left.

Tourists coming to Chicago now have another attraction to check out, the Barack Obama Tour. Of course, CNN's Susan Roesgen took it.

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FRED BASSETT, BUS DRIVER: Now, this is as close as we're going to get to his home. They don't allow us to get any closer than this now. Two weeks ago, we could go by the home, but now we are not allowed.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. So you can't peak into the president-elect's windows. But you can get the flavor of his life.

What would Obama have?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The garbage pizza.

ROESGEN: What's in the garbage pizza?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, green pepper, Canadian bacon, a mixture of things.

ROESGEN: Cashing in on the Obama name actually started before the primaries. And now, there's no stopping it.

CATHY DOMANICO, CHICAGO TOURISM DIRECTOR: Everybody is walking a little taller. And people are just so excited to have Barack Obama from Chicago.

ROESGEN: The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau is already promoting Obama's neighborhood as part of a presidential tour. Want to get your haircut by Obama's barber? This is the place. And this is Obama's favorite little book shop.

TOM FLYNN, 57TH STREET BOOKSTORE: We think this is a great bookstore. And I mean, I think he thinks it's a great bookstore. That's why he's been coming here for so long. And if this gives it more exposure, that's fantastic.

ROESGEN: One thing you won't find on the official Obama tour, not yet anyway, is the empty store that used to be a Baskin Robbins. Why would you want to come here? Well, this is the spot where the first couple first kissed.

(on camera): Now, that's all I'm going to tell you on this tour. If you want to know more, you have to get on the bus. Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.

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