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California Wildfires Blazing; Kidnapped for 18 years; South Georgia Killings

Aired August 30, 2009 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Southern Californians are being urged to stay inside because smoke from the wildfires is making the air very unhealthy. Bordering on hazardous. The biggest fire, the station fire in Los Angeles County, has burned about 35,000 acres so far and forced the evacuations of 6,600 homes. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held a news conference a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: There's no wind. It's very challenging for aerial firefighting because the smoke clouds stay above the wind, above the fire and then the helicopters don't see where to drop the fire retardant. What makes this fire also very challenging is that there's a very thick brush. This brush has not experienced any fire for 60 years. So there's a lot of brush that burns and therefore it burns very, very quickly.

The other thing that makes it very challenging is the terrain. The firefighters cannot get to these places as quickly. That's why helicopters are being used and aircraft are being used to dump fire retardant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Kara Finnstrom is in La Canada Flintridge, California, where many homes have been threatened. Kara, does it look like those homes can be saved at all?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, this is certainly one of the neighborhoods that has been certainly on edge. If you take a look at the hillside just behind me here, you can see some of the smoke rising from an active fire fight. During the last 24 hours, this fire more than quadrupled in size consuming some 35,000 acres with 1,000 homes - 10,000 homes rather threatened. So a lot of neighbors very nervous particularly in this neighborhood because along that ridge what the fire did last night is it came down all the way up to homes, but it didn't burn any.

So also some feelings of relief here. But these neighbors continuing to watch. If we pan around here, this is an area that's not under a mandatory evacuation, the top of the hill is, and a lot of these folks that you're looking at, they have been evacuated from their homes, but they're down here watching as this fire fight goes on. Mary Kohn is one of them. You were up you said all last night. Tell me what this has been like for you since this fire broke out on Wednesday.

MARY KOHN, RESIDENT: It's up and down. You think that, oh, I'm looking at the hill that's right across the street from my house and you think oh, it's calm. There's just smoke. It's no big deal and then you see a big flare and it's scary. I'm calm and now I've got like shakes. I mean, it's unnerving, scary.

FINNSTROM: Fredricka, it has been a very slow-moving fire and that in part because there haven't been winds. So this community has continued to watch, and I'm going to move around here so you can see some of the fire that's actively burning behind me here and you can hear the air drops, but firefighters saying that they have been very fortunate that they haven't had to deal with winds here that could have picked up these embers, spread them, and made this fire erratic and had to spread more rapidly into neighborhoods.

So they will be continuing to fight it today. While they have the good news as far as the wind goes, Fredricka, they still got very hot conditions out here, very dry embers and trees, eucalyptus trees and oak trees up in the hillsides. And this fire is continuing to burn in all directions although mainly to the north and they're hoping to keep it that way.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kara Finnstrom, thanks so much.

Momentarily we're going to check in with Jacqui Jeras on the weather conditions and how that's making for very difficult conditions for the firefighting teams there.

All right. So that mandatory evacuations are in effect in many parts of Southern California including neighborhoods in Pasadena. You can see the flames in the mountains above the Rose Bowl in this photo snapped by i-reporter Tammy Alstorlind. She says she was just amazed by the orange glow in the sky.

And take a look at this. These photos from another i-reporter Trisha Mass showing why officials are so concerned about the air quality. They also show planes and helicopters dropping chemicals, flame retardants on the flames. Trisha says sometimes the planes flew so low that they appeared to be under the tree lines.

All right. So let's check in with Jacqui Jeras in the severe weather center. It's very hot, low humidity, and what about those winds?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, the winds overall haven't been terrible, at least not the sustained winds. You know, it's like the three minute average of what the wind blows. It's been light. It's been, you know, less than 10 miles per hour, but today is a little bit different from yesterday in that we're getting these offshore winds and they're starting to gust a little bit.

So the relative humidity, five percent to 10 percent. And just to put it in perspective for you, less than 30 percent is what we would consider critical. So this is beyond that. This is way, way low. Temperatures into the upper 90s to lower triple digits. Winds about 10 miles per hour, but we're getting gusts around 35 or so, and what can those winds do?

We've got a fire animation to give you an idea as to how some of these fires can behave, especially when you have the winds blowing these things upslope. And that's what's been going on today. When the fire line gets pushed upslope, it kind of gets choked a little bit - it chokes off the oxygen, so it can burn a little bit faster and accelerate and look at those flame heights.

We've been getting reports of flame lengths up to 80 feet. Now, in addition to that, you can also get some spot fires as the winds blow embers as much as a quarter of a mile up ahead of the main fire line. So then you have all these new fires that you're having to try to deal with and put out. This is a live picture right now, a tower cam. This refreshes about every two minutes. This is from the Mt. Wilson Observatory at UCLA there, and this is being threatened by the fire at this time.

You can see how smoky and how hazy it is, and that smoke also kind of hoovers in the valley areas. And that's why they're advising people not to go outside today. Because the air quality is so poor. There's also been a lot of reports of ash fall. A little bit of cooling in the forecast, Fredricka but not a whole heck of a lot. Maybe about five to 10 degrees by the end of the week.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it's going to be slow going for the firefighting teams out there. Thanks so much, Jacqui. Appreciate that.

And this new information coming in this hour in the case of a couple charged with kidnapping a little girl and holding her in a compound for 18 years.

Dan Simon is in Antioch, California, where the girl, who is now 29 years old, was discovered last week. Dan, what's happening right now?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Fred. I just got off the phone a few minutes ago with Carl Probyn. He's the stepfather of the victim in this case. One of the things he told me and this is one of the more disturbing details of this case, it's become increasingly clear that over time Jaycee Dugard developed some sort of bond with the suspect, Phillip Garrido. And that can explain at least in part why Jaycee at least in recent years never attempted to escape this property.

We told you a short time ago that Jaycee was heavily involved in the printing business that was operated out of this home. She regularly communicated with customers. She was the graphic designer. She had access to a phone and a computer. I spoke to one of the customers of that printing business, Ben Daughdrill. Here is what he had to say. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON (on camera): In your dealings with her through e-mail and talking to her on the phone, what was she like?

BEN DAUGHDRILL, MET DUGARD DURING HER CAPTIVITY: Very professional, very nice. You know, she spoke well, didn't seem to be - pretty good at art work because obviously we used the business for six years. I get the impression that it was always her just because she was the one that knew how to do the artwork, how to do the proofs, how to give us what we wanted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: So while authorities are still trying to sort out the living conditions here at this house, it is clear that given the fact that she worked for this business and was heavily involved with it, that Jaycee at least in recent years did have an opportunity to escape.

Psychological experts no doubt will be discussing this in great detail but it's just one more fascinating component to this case. Fred, behind me you can see that somebody jus approached the microphone here. There's going to be a press conference in just a little bit.

As we've been telling you, this home has been searched heavily over the last couple of days. One of the things authorities are doing now is trying to see if Phillip Garrido may have links to some other crimes in this area, including some murders that took place in the '90s and we are hoping to glean some more details when the speaker takes the mike in just a few minutes, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Dan Simon, thanks so much in Antioch, California.

And these new developments in a mass killing in South Georgia. Police were alerted to a mobile home near Brunswick, Georgia, by a 911 call yesterday. Inside were seven dead people, another two critically wounded. Police aren't saying how the victims died. Autopsies are being conducted. And here is the latest from a news conference just this past hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF MATT DOERING, GLYNN COUNTY POLICE: I am absolutely certain, 100 percent, what happened. I'm absolutely certain how it happened. Now the question is who is responsible, and, of course, part of that is the motive. And of course, part of that is the motive. And a motive, you know, what would motivate someone to do this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Glenn County authorities have released this picture of 22- year-old Guy Heinze, Jr.. Police aren't saying whether Heinze is a suspect but say he is the one who called 911 to report the killings. Police say he's being charged with illegal drug possession, tampering with evidence, and making false statements to police.

All right. Kennedy and Hyannis Port is hard to separate one from the other. The compound on Cape Cod is about as famous as the family. Lots of history there. Well, now there are questions about the future of this very place. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Remembering Senator Ted Kennedy. Today officials at Arlington National Cemetery say that Senator Ted Kennedy's widow, Vicki, is expected to visit the grave site today. An oak cross painted white marks the head of the senator's grave. A marble foot stone bears the simple inscription Edward Moore Kennedy, 1932 to 2009. The area around the grave open to the public early this morning. Visitors have left cards there and flowers. There are also plans to build a walk way for visitors.

Saturday's funeral was a time for emotional and very personal tributes. Teddy Kennedy, Jr. recalled how his father encouraged him to go sledding after the younger Kennedy had lost part of his leg to cancer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDDY KENNEDY, JR., SON OF SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY: I know you can do it. There is nothing that you can't do. We're going to climb that hill together even if it takes us all day. Sure enough, he held me around my waist and we slowly made it to the top.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The funeral mass in Boston was followed by a private burial service at Arlington National Cemetery. Much of it was held in darkness. Kennedy's grandchildren spoke and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick read a letter the ailing senator wrote to Pope Benedict asking for his prayers. Senator Kennedy died where he grew up, in Hyannisport, Massachusetts. The compound is where generations of Kennedys have come to play, to strategize and to mourn.

Their family history and American history are intertwined. Brian Todd looks at what may happen to the property now that Senator Kennedy is gone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Kennedy family's grief, so often shared with the public, so often at this place. With Ted Kennedy's death, what does the future hold for the cherished Hyannisport compound? A close Kennedy family associate tells CNN the property could be given to a nonprofit organization, possibly to be made into a museum or another type of educational center.

The associate says plans are not yet final, but that the senator for some time had talked to family members and close friends about how to preserve the compound and its history. Author and historian Robert Dallek says it reflects -

ROBERT DALLEK, HISTORIAN: The extent to which the Kennedys are so mindful of the country's history and how many their family's history is bound up with the public life of the nation. They're intertwined.

TODD: It was Hyannisport where the family gathered in November 1960 to hear the final results of John Kennedy's election victory over Richard Nixon, where they came to absorb the heart wrenching aftershocks of John's and later Bobby's assassinations. Where Ted Kennedy himself retreated in 1969 to reassess his life and career following Chappaquiddick. But it was also a place of genuine contentment.

University of Virginia professor James Young spent nearly 100 hours interviewing Ted Kennedy for an oral history project. Much of it was done at Hyannisport where the senator shared simpler, happier moments.

JAMES YOUNG, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: He would mention, you know, this is where I tried to jump from the roof of the garage being a parachutist with an umbrella. This is where my brother Jack did such and such, fell on his bicycle. This is where we used to play games.

TODD: The house is also a symbol of the family's wealth. Senate disclosure records indicate Kennedy family trusts are worth at least $14 million and its power, something Dallek says could still be worth holding onto for some members of the family.

DALLEK: And it could be very useful to any younger Kennedy who aspires to public office to maintain that kind of image.

TODD: But Dallek says he's not sure if the younger Kennedys have quite the same connection to the place, the sense of growing up there, of being part of that landscape as Ted's generation did. So the idea of a museum there could be very appealing to the younger Kennedys as well.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we have received so many comments on our Facebook page about the passing of Senator Kennedy from you. Corey Sue writes Senator and Mr. Ted Kennedy, bringing all political parties together in death, even more than he did in life.

And Cheryl Griffin says he had a great impact on Obama being elected for president of the United States of America. I'm going to remember him for the good things that he accomplished. And Carol tells us Ted Kennedy in keeping with the Kennedy family ethos was a true patriot and public servant in the very best sense. An inspiration and role model for all who aspire to contribute to a better society.

And Phyl Shemaka (ph) writes Ted Kennedy, a man of courage, a man of dignity, a man who though wealthy fought for the rights of the poor and the disadvantaged. And Raymond C. Davis says this, Ted Kennedy is without a doubt the greatest legislator of our generation. He has done more for civil rights and the common man than any politician.

Thanks so much for all of your comments and your memories of Senator Ted Kennedy. Remember, you can reach me on Facebook. Fredricka Whitfield on CNN. You can also send an email to weekends@CNN.com or go to my blog, CNN.com/fredricka and let us know what you're thinking about these matters and others. Stay with CNN this evening for a special edition of "Larry King Live," the best of Larry's interviews with Senator Ted Kennedy. 20 years of candid conversations. "Larry King Live" tonight at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

All right. Massive wildfires in California, 6,600 homes threatened in Los Angeles County. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called for a state of emergency and issued strong advice to residents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Time now for a look at our top stories. It's a worsening situation in the hills above Los Angeles. A surging wildfire threatens more homes and is prompting more evacuations. Roughly 35,000 acres have burned since the inferno ignited Wednesday. Flames are now threatening about 10,000 homes and three people have been burned. Firefighters are hoping cooler temperatures (INAUDIBLE) manpower and lighter winds might help them.

Three fishermen who were lost at sea for eight days are now back on dry land and they're safe today. The missing men were spotted last night in the Gulf of Mexico clinging to their capsized boat. They were picked up by the crew of another ship. Their rescue comes a day after the Coast Guard had actually called off the search.

And authorities in Georgia have arrested a man who called 911 about the shooting deaths of seven people in a mobile home. Police say the man is being held on drug charges. He is believed to be related to one of the people found killed in this trailer park in South Georgia yesterday. Two others were found alive but remain in critical condition. Autopsies are under way. Police say they're looking for a person of interest in this case.

All right. Let's talk about the situation out west and how the weather just might be impacting the fight for wildfires as well as stirring hurricanes out in the Pacific. We'll be checking in with our Jacqui Jeras momentarily.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Our Jacqui Jeras very busy in the weather center. We're talking about the weather as it pertains to the West Coast and the firefighting efforts but now let's talk about some hurricane activity. We're talking about Jimena. Get used to the name.

JERAS: That's Jimena. It's a hard one. I can't say it right.

WHITFIELD: Jimena.

JERAS: Yes. Jimena. Yes. I remember to say Jimena.

WHITFIELD: Tell me about here.

JERAS: He may and if it is. It's not a he or she.

WHITFIELD: I think Jimena is a she. JERAS: There you go. Perhaps.

WHITFIELD: All right.

JERAS: You know what? Let's start real quick with the latest on the fires and some of these pictures, too, that have been coming in, by the way. Just some incredible I-reports. A huge thank you to all of you who have been helping us tell this story through your pictures. Tanner Goldbeck sent these through. And what I love about this picture is you can really love the vertical extent of this fire and how those smoke plumes just go straight up as opposed to spreading out. That's real indicative that there's been a lack of winds driving this fire. There's another beautiful picture from Tanner.

We also have one we want to show you. This one is from Jeremy Graham, and look at that glow in the background. One nice thing, if you can find anything nice about fires, is that they tend to create some very, very beautiful sunsets, but this also kind of shows you the air quality issues and how bad that has been. You can see the red flag warnings continue to fly here. Relative humidity critically low. The winds are a little bit gusty today and that's adding a little bit to some of these problems.

Critical fire conditions across much of the Great Basin too. So this is not just Southern California dealing with this threat for today. Now, the temperatures have been very extreme in the southwest and while the heat has been building here, we've had very cool temperatures across the upper midwest. In fact, frost advisories across northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and into Michigan tonight. Temperatures only in the 60s for you in Chicago. And that's going to last through a good part of the week.

Now what we really need out west is certainly some rainfall, and we would love to get some of that. Unfortunately, that's all being confined to parts of the southeast. There you can see the heavy showers and the thundershowers that have been developing, and we've been getting a good inch plus of rainfall. There's another round moving across the Atlanta metro area.

And if you're trying to travel this weekend either getting back home from the last weekend of summer. This is the last weekend in August, guys, you've got lots of delays here in Atlanta. Over two hours. We also have delays in Newark and also into the Las Vegas area.

Let's talk tropics. Jimena, it's Jimena. Here is the hurricane. Nothing to laugh at actually. This is a very powerful storm. Category 4 system. Winds 135 miles per hour. Here you can see this is an eastern Pacific system. Now, the track of this thing is bringing it up potentially into Baja, California. We could even see Cabo San Lucas into the cone here. There's been some speculation as to whether or not this whole thing could get caught up and bring some much-needed rain in California. Right now it does not look like that's going to happen, unfortunately. So no rain in California it looks like for a good seven days.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. JERAS: Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: That's going to be a long haul this week. All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui. Appreciate that.

So when Scottish officials let the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber leave prison, it generated plenty of controversy. Well, now reports on a possible motive for the release, and that alleged motive has nothing to do with compassion. It could stoke even more outrage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. There is new outrage surrounding the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber. A British newspaper suggests that Abdel al-Megrahi's freedom was tied to a secret oil deal between the UK and Libyan governments.

CNN's Phil Black has the latest from London's 10 Downing Street.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This latest development is sure to further fuel already existing suspicion that relates to the Lockerbie bomber Abdel al-Megrahi was in some way linked to trade or commercial benefit with Britain. The justice secretary Jack Straw admits that while negotiating a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, he had initially sought to ensure al-Megrahi would be excluded from any such agreement, that he would not be eligible.

But now the "Sunday Times" newspaper says it has obtained letters from Mr. Straw which say he dropped attempts to seek that exclusion because it was in the overwhelming interest of the United Kingdom to do so. In the end however Al Megrahi was not released as part of that transfer agreement. His application under that agreement was rejected by the Scottish government as it is allowed to do. Instead, later the Scottish government decided to release him on compassionate grounds because he is suffering terminal cancer. The Scottish government insists the trade or any other factors played no part in its decision.

ALEX SALMOND, SCOTTISH FIRST MINISTER: If you have to make a difficult controversial decision, a challenging decision, for goodness sake let's do it for the right reason. And the right reasons to release a dying man with compassionate factor and not to allow any other factor affect it.

BLACK: It is the timing of Jack Straw's decision to drop attempts to seek exclusion of Al Megrahi that will promote suspicion here. It was four days after he told the Scottish government of his intention to no longer seek that exclusion that Libyan government ratified an oil expiration deal with British oil giant BP. Political parties say all the suspicion that surrounds Britain's relations with Libya and the negotiations of trade and other factors can only be cleared up by an open inquiry.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: After a long investigation, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been indicted on corruption charges. Those charges include double billing government agencies for travel expenses and taking bribes from an American businessman. The investigation forced Olmert to step down as prime minister earlier this year, but the allegations date back to earlier years when he was mayor of Jerusalem and a cabinet minister. Olmert says he's confident his name will be cleared.

A suicide bomber has killed at least 18 police officers in Pakistan's Swat Valley. At least a dozen other police were wounded. The attacker jumped over a wall at a compound where new recruits were training. Pakistan's army said last month that it had taken back control of the valley from the Taliban.

And allegations of fraud in Afghanistan's election have doubled in the last two days. Officials say there are now nearly 2,500 complaints, about a quarter of them serious enough to alter the results. The reports include allegations of voter intimidation and ballot stuffing. The latest tallies indicate incumbent President Hamid Karzai now has a sizable lead over his main rival.

They were lost at sea for eight days. The U.S. Coast Guard even gave up the search. Chances of survival were slim. But despite the odds, we're telling you about an incredible rescue 180 miles off the Texas Gulf Coast. It happened last night. Three fishermen, you can see them in the white t-shirts there, they were plucked from their capsized fishing boat by the crew of another ship who just happened upon them. Earlier I spoke with Tressel Hawkins one of the rescued fishermen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRESSEL HAWKINS, RESCUED FISHERMAN: He was bringing his boat back to the house, and we were actually on the last oil rig that was there. I believe he told me it was 220 miles south. So we were an extra 120 miles south of where we should have been, and we kind of flagged him down, it took us a while for us to catch his attention.

WHITFIELD (voice over): I'm sure you couldn't believe your eyes.

HAWKINS: We were all crying, celebrating, and I mean if the TV was right there when he pulled up in front of us, it was just amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Nice happy ending there. Hawkins and his two rescued ship mates are recovering from their ordeal and enjoying the company of family today.

The battle over health care reform returns to Washington this week when Congress returns to work. CNN's Kate Bolduan reports they are already calling for civility in the upcoming discussions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Obama is returning from a week's vacation and Congress will soon follow suit. All heading back to Washington having made limited progress this summer in the debate over health care reform. Already one key Democrat is calling for a change of mood.

SEN. CHRIS DODD, (D) CONNECTICUT: Put behind us the blistering days of August and to enter the cool days of September and start acting like senators again where you respect each other.

BOLDUAN: Sunday following the burial of Senator Edward Kennedy, a champion of health care reform, Democratic lawmakers hoped Kennedy's memory will inspire passage of the sweeping health care overhaul.

SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: I hope it means that people are going to sort of step back, take a deep breath, and try to figure out how we can have a good, open discussion and get away from the politics.

BOLDUAN: But what of the government-run public option, the centerpiece of the house Democratic proposal and an issue that has left negotiations in the Senate stalled? The now senior senator from Massachusetts suggests Democrats may need to follow Senator Kennedy's legacy of compromise.

KERRY: He would fight for it, but if he didn't see the ability to be able to get it done, he would not throw the baby out with the bath water.

BOLDUAN: Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, a close friend of Kennedy's, says his absence will be felt as major issues like cost continue to divide both parties and chambers of Congress.

SEN. ORRIN HATCH, (R) UTAH: In the long run it's better to have a bipartisan compromise situation than it is to have one side just ram their own ideas through without any consideration of the other side. And, you know, we're talking about one-sixth of the American economy. That's pretty doggone important and you just can't do it in a partisan way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Kate joins us now from Washington. So what's ahead for the president on health care when he does get back to work?

BOLDUAN: Hey there, Fredricka. Well we know that the president will continue working, you can be sure, behind the scenes with this health care debate and the negotiations as he has been. President Obama will be in Washington Monday and Tuesday with events yet to be announced. He then leaves for the presidential retreat at Camp David for the rest of the week, and as for Congress, well, Congress returns to once again take up this health care debate, get back in the saddle after Labor Day.

WHITFIELD: And Senator Kennedy almost spoke from the grave, didn't he? Through the voice of the Cardinal Macaric (ph) through a letter. Can you tell us a little more about his thoughts on health care reform? BOLDUAN: It's just really interesting to talk about this. In terms of the health care debate as it continues, no one knew about this letter. The fact that in his final days ailing Senator Kennedy wrote a letter to the Pope. It was delivered by President Obama, and in part in this letter he writes, I am committed to do everything I can to achieve access to health care for everyone in my country. This has been the political cause of my life. So interesting in this letter almost as if it's a final concession, bringing up health care reform. Clearly a passion of his.

He's always called it the cause of his life. I find it really interesting because when you talk to the key negotiators like Senator Max Baucus, when he was leaving in that co-delegation yesterday morning to go to his funeral, he spoke to CNN. He talked to our congressional producer Ted Barrett, and he said in part that he hopes Senators remember this passion, one, this passion that Senator Kennedy had for health care but also, two, his bipartisan spirit, that he wanted to get things done and he wanted to get legislation passed and we can be sure to hear more about that in the coming weeks ahead.

WHITFIELD: We'll see what happens when the session reconvenes. Thanks so much. Kate Bolduan in Washington.

All right. The h1n1 flu virus shows up on campus. We will show you one school that has stopped testing and started treating.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. California's wildfires gain more ground. Officials have issued a smoke advisory warning for southern California. The air near La Canada Funtridge is described as unhealthy or hazardous. Up to 10,000 homes are at risk from the flames. Governor Schwarzenegger says three people were hurt because they didn't listen to orders to get out.

The space shuttle "Discovery" is preparing to dock at the International Space Station. "Discovery" lifted off Friday night from Kennedy Space Center on a 13-day mission. The shuttle is hauling about 17,000 pounds of equipment and science experiments. It is also carrying six mice. Astronauts will use them for a bone loss study.

And Xavier University in Cincinnati is bracing to contain an outbreak of the h1n1 virus. At least 70 students have reported flu-like symptoms after confirming seven cases of swine flu; the university said it has stopped testing and started treating. The basement of the Alumni Center has been turned into an isolation and treatment center for sick students.

If you have questions about the h1n1 virus, send them to me. We're going to be answering some of your questions next Saturday at 4:00 Eastern time. You can send us your questions at face book at Fredricka Whitfield CNN. You can also send me an email at weekends@CNN.com or send an ireport we want to hear from you. You can also phone in some of your questions. Here is the number 877-742-5760 answering your questions as we head into what is expected to be a pretty severe season of flu's and maybe even h1n1 as well. Four years after Katrina, we take you back to the lower Ninth Ward to see what has changed and what hasn't.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This weekend marks four years since hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf coast. Some homes in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans were not just flooded; they were simply destroyed by the force of the water. CNN's Sean Callebs went back to the lower ninth to see what has changed for the people trying to live there.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's been four years since Robert Green and his mother were stranded on their roof here in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. This is the lower Ninth in the aftermath. Green's mother was swept off the roof by the floodwaters. He managed to survive and return. I first spoke with Green a few months after the storm. After he found his mother's body after he came to grips with the fact that Katrina took his granddaughter as well.

ROBERT GREEN: I don't see my baby no more; I don't see my mother no more. All I can do is just be happy that she's going to be buried.

CALLEBS: Green spent most of the last four years living in this small FEMA trailer sharing his story with anyone who came through the lower Ninth. His story has finally taken a positive turn. Green recently abandoned the trailer for a new home built by Brad Pitt's Charitable Organization "Make it right."

GREEN: We have 14 families and we felt crowded but we have 3,000 houses that were gone and we would love to see them come back.

CALLEBS: Pitt's group has built 15 homes so far and sells them for $75,000 to residents in the lower Ninth. Volunteer work makes that possible. They're very green, energy efficient, recycled materials, but above all --

TOM DARDEN, EXEC. DORECTOR, MAKE IT RIGHT: The safety is a primary concern for us. So we want to make sure if there is another flood the houses that we're building are going to be safe from that flood so they're all elevated at least above Katrina level flooding.

CALLEBS: Volunteers here are leading the way. Like Matt Peterson's group Global Green.

MATT PETERSEN, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL GREEN: There's still so much work to be done. We can't wait and we can't rely on the federal government. This is I think an era where we realize that we as citizens of this great country need to take responsibility for our nation and starting right here.

CALLEBS: HUD secretary Shaun Donovan knows mistakes were made in the efforts to get people back into their homes.

SHAUN DONOVAN, HUD SECRETARY: We have to be more flexible. We have to be more responsive and make sure the programs don't just work in theory, but they work in reality for families. CALLEBS: Making it easier for those who lost so much to start over.

Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

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WHITFIELD: Four years later there are many organizations continuing to help the victims of Katrina rebuild and recover. Find out how you can make a difference, visit our "Impact Your World" page at CNN.com/impact. CNN.com has a special section called Katrina after the storm, and it looks back at when the hurricane hit and at the current recovery efforts with special interactive features on everything Katrina. You can find it at CNN.com/katrina.

And on the west coast of this U.S., all eyes are on southern California particularly because the wildfires there are still burning out of control. Last check we heard from officials, they were about 5 percent contained, at least those in the Los Angeles County area. You can see these live pictures right now and the billowing smoke there. So many homes have been threatened. Evacuation orders are under way but the destruction of some properties has taken place and there have been some reported injuries. Much more on this straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: Senator Ted Kennedy now lies at rest at Arlington National Cemetery. He was buried in a private ceremony there after a funeral mass at a Boston church. President Obama delivered the eulogy in Boston. He called Senator Kennedy a champion for those who had none. Senator Kennedy's grave lies just 100 feet from his assassinated brothers, John and Robert, there at Arlington National Cemetery.

So many things have been said about Ted Kennedy since his death last week. While covering the funeral in Washington, I talked with civil rights leader, author, and journalist Roger Wilkins for his thoughts on Senator Kennedy, a man he knew well.

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ROGER WILKINS, AUTHOR/JOURNALIST: He didn't talk like some of these people, blacks, Hispanics, poor people. It was always for him we.

WHITFIELD (voice over): Where do you suppose that came from? How could he be so connected? How was he so in touch and particularly at a time when there were major divisions across the country and unless you were living and experiencing something you really didn't know what it was like to be in someone else's shoes, but he legislated as if he knew?

WILKINS: There are people who can see things that aren't in their own personal experience but they can see it in their ability to empathize. I hate to offend all these people who hated Sotomayor, but empathize and understand in a deep human way. There's somebody on television today who said he came to see Kennedy, his kid had been killed in Iraq. There was not enough body armor and the trucks were not armored, and Kennedy took it up. He understood he heard it; he didn't have to have a committee meeting about it. He felt it in his gut and then he acted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That was Roger Wilkins. I also spoke with a man who spent many years as Senator Ted Kennedy's press secretary. Bob Mann remembers Kennedy's empathy and humor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice over): I love the way you have described that working for him really meant it was a contact sport.

BOB MANN, TED KENNEDY'S FORMER PRESS SECRETARY: It was a contact --

WHITFIELD: That he put 150 percent into it and the expectation was everyone who worked with him and alongside him would have to do the same thing.

MANN: He would make great demands. He would shout and scream during the day. He would praise you, but he would also very candidly let you know what he wanted. He was accustomed to the best work, but six or seven or eight he'd buzz me or other staff members and say come in, let's have a drink. Let's talk about the day. What are we going to do tomorrow and he'd be chewing on potato chips or something else.

WHITFIELD: His humor was very disarming.

MANN: Very disarming.

WHITFIELD: Senator Orrin Hatch talked about that last night. How he went into it thinking you know what I'm going to go after that guy Senator Ted Kennedy but in the end it turns out they were best of friends.

MANN: When I left him and went to work for a large business association, they said how can you work for that damn liberal Ted Kennedy, and then I brought him to a fund-raiser that they put on and before it was over they said how can I write a check to Senator Kennedy. He worked them over one at a time, made them laugh. He was marvelous in that respect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The conversation with the former press secretary of Senator Ted Kennedy yesterday with Bob Mann there in the nation's capital. So you can see both of those interviews in full on my blog at CNN.com/fredricka.

And to watch these interviews in their entirety go to CNN.com/newsroom. And stay with CNN this evening for a special edition of "Larry King Live" tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

And there in California right now you're looking at live pictures of southern California, at least two major fires that are burning out of control in that general vicinity. This one you have seen a number of images of aerial drops that have been taking place there. Firefighters on the ground as well trying to contain it as best they can.

Thus far we understand according to officials, this is just about 5 percent contained and they're dealing with low humidity. It's very hot making it very difficult for firefighting efforts. Much more on that story and others straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Take a look at live pictures right now in southern California area where some pretty nasty fires are under way threatening many homes. Jacqui Jeras with me now as well because the firefighting efforts are hampered in part because of the weather conditions. It's not the issue of winds, which often gets in the way, but instead low humidity, very hot making it tough for southern California there and trying to stamp this out. It's only 5 percent contained, right?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know. I just looked at the latest update and what they're expecting for containment, a week from Tuesday. We'll be dealing with this one for a very long time. Winds haven't been that strong, but they're playing a little bit of a role today because we have some wind gusts on occasion. What those wind gusts can do is they can change the direction of the fire. They can accelerate the fire, and they can also create new fires by taking embers and blowing them around --

WHITFIELD: We see that happen all the time.

JERAS: And then you have ten little fires that you're trying to put out in addition to the main line.

WHITFIELD: It's made for a very difficult breathing situation there in southern California. There have been complaints all week long. These fires getting started really on Wednesday, but today we're talking about the evacuation -- mandatory evacuations of many homes. There's been three reported injuries, burn injuries, as a result, and many other people who have gone outside even though they have not -- even though the warnings have gone out from the governor's office --

JERAS: Smoke inhalation. People with asthma issues. They're telling people to stay inside today because of those risks, and there's a lot of ash fall being reported. It can get really thick. At nighttime we get an inversion in the atmosphere so there's warmer air aloft so it kind of traps everything into those valley areas, and it is so thick. It's very difficult to see.

WHITFIELD: And even if you don't have pre-existing problems. My sister was in southern California this week and she told me she was having a difficult time breathing and wondering why. This is it. This fire beginning on Wednesday and now it's going to be a wild. That's it for us. Much more straight ahead here on CNN throughout the evening. Thanks so much for being with us.