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Southern California Wildfire Rages On; Nuclear Stalemate, Iran to Offer New Proposals in Frankfurt; Investigation Into Phillip Garrido's Possible Connection to Unsolved Abduction Cases

Aired September 01, 2009 - 11:58   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK, let's get started this hour.

Trying to beat back the flames from a raging wildfire. The station fire north of Los Angeles has now consumed almost 122,000 acres. That's more than 190 square miles.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger gets an update on the fire situation this hour, and we expect to hear from him.

Right now, let's bring in our Reynolds Wolf live from Tujunga, California, with the very latest. And Reynolds, are you hearing what we're hearing, that it could be weeks before this fire is brought under control?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I mean, it's just -- it is amazing to comprehend just the enormity, the size of this fire, Tony. I mean, just to give you sheer numbers, at least in comparison's sake, the size of what has been burned about the three times the size of Boston or maybe the size of Albuquerque, New Mexico. So, I mean, just incredible.

Now, we're situated in this canyon. I mean, as far as you can see, there's evidence of the fire coming through here with those temperatures around 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. I mean, we've got basically a lunar landscape here. You look at this stuff. If I were to bend down here and pick up some of this dirt, it's like -- looks like volcanic ash, kind of. Boulders everywhere.

What vegetation we did have is, in many spots, is scorched all the way into stumps. Hate to say this, but there is a lot of death here. A lot of dead animals that we found in this area. I mean, certainly no surprise when you have the extreme heat. I'm sure many of them from smoke inhalation. Others just by the flames themselves.

Now, in terms of buildings, had about 58 homes destroyed. We've already seen a couple down here, about a few miles up the road, deep into a ravine. But what's really bizarre, Tony, is you'll find a home that's been completely leveled by the flames, then you'll move up another mile or so, and you're going to see other homes that are picture perfect.

Now, in terms of the terrain, that's one of the big things these firefighters are having a tough time. When we talk about fires, prairie fires that happen to be in relative flat areas, firefighters certainly have a tough time, but when you're certainly climbing up hillsides, trying to get up high ravines, it makes things awfully difficult, to say the least.

They are getting help though. Maybe not from Mother Nature, but certainly they've got some help from skies above. I mean, the planes have been coming in. Yesterday we had not only some rotary aircraft, some helicopters, but also some fixed-wings. A DC-10 was employed, also a 747, specially configured. Came through these mountain passes and dropped some fire retardant. Too late for some homes, obviously, but hopefully the work that was done here will hopefully keep the scene playing out again and again of other people returning to homes that are really just nothing, up in smoke.

Now, in this direction, you're looking over to a dry creek bed. We've actually seen or found some carcasses of animals down there, I guess trying to escape the intense heat. Just a very gruesome sight, to say the very least.

You look back over here, further down this road -- John, I'm going to step down here on the pavement for a little bit -- this road goes down to more communities. Homes right here, a couple miles around this bend that are just fine. Everything is picture perfect there. They were able to stop the fire.

We're pretty much at the top perimeter of the fire, the border of the fire. The rest of farther to the south and, of course, points west. Still a huge issue. Tremendous problems there.

Chad -- we're going to toss it over to my friend, Chad Myers, meteorologist.

Chad, does it look like we have any kind of a help from Mother Nature? I mean, winds obviously not an issue, but what about those temperatures?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It seems like they're not going to be as high today, Reynolds. Maybe in the 92, 93 range, where, yesterday, Acton got all the way to 100 for a while.

I want to ask you a question though, because you know what? California just burns all the time. It just burns every year. There is a fire season for a reason. With this size fire and only -- and I say this not with loss of heart for the people that lost 56 homes, but with the size of a fire this big, and we've only lost 56 homes, the firefighters must be just going from place to place, hot spot to hot spot, saving these houses.

WOLF: Oh, absolutely. We're talking 25,000 people, men and women, that are working around the clock to do just that very thing.

You know, they're supposed to work 12-hour shifts. That's the game plan. The thing is, when they head out to a given area, and they're working on a fire, and it happens to be there -- let's say it happens to be hour number 11 or hour 12 -- the guys don't go anywhere. The ladies either.

They stay put. They stay on the fire lines. And they work like crazy to battle this enormous fire, a fire that's still growing. We've seen a few cars that have actually been moving around. We actually have a fire truck here at the bottom of the hill that's about to come up, we think possibly make a left turn, and then move on the way. A couple of these firefighters have been working, as I mentioned, around the clock.

And something else, Chad. If you'll notice, this particular engine, number 343, is from Ventura County. That's right up the road.

MYERS: Oh, yes.

WOLF: But we've seen people as far north as, say, Ukiah, some people in the Sacramento area have been coming down here. It really is a community effort.

You see people from all over. All over, from different states, too. From Washington State, back over to Nevada, some people in Colorado that have actually made their way to help this tremendous fight, a fight that may last for possibly weeks, as Tony mentioned.

MYERS: Well, I know it's a hard fight, but I tell you what -- with 200 square miles burned and only 50 buildings lost, I'm amazed.

Reynolds, thanks. Stay safe out there. I know it's not always easy to do that when these things kick up.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Another big story we're following for you. A striking gesture from Iran today directed at the West.

Iran says it will offer new proposals tomorrow about its nuclear activities. What is this all about?

Chief International Correspondent Christine Amanpour is watching this developing story. She is in New York and she joins us live now.

Christine, look, a rather dramatic announcement on the eve of talks with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany. Share the news in this announcement, and then your thoughts, some analysis.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, this is the first time Iran has reached out in this regard since the controversial election of June 12th, which has been really putting Iran's relations with the rest of the world in a completely different light. And now it's saying -- this is just to ahead two weeks before the U.N. General Assembly. Now it's saying that it has an updated, new package of proposals to present to the world powers, and it's ready to hold talks.

The question is, what's in that package, and is there anything really new? Iran's chief nuclear negotiator insists that, as is Iran's right, it will continue to enrich uranium, but it says that it wants to reach out and hold constructive talks with the world powers. It comes a day ahead of when the representatives of the five permanent members of the Security Council are meeting in Germany to discuss the Iran issue, and it comes just as President Obama, a few months ago, gave Iran a September deadline to come forward and start negotiating on its nuclear program.

Again, we do not know what's in it. We do know that through public statements, the Iranians say they have no intention of suspending uranium enrichment. But perhaps it's something to do with the letter that Iran sent to the international community last year, where it said it wanted to hold talks on all sorts of issues -- nuclear issues, international terrorism issues, drug issues, all of that -- with the rest of the world.

HARRIS: OK. Christiane Amanpour for us.

Christiane, thank you.

I'm going to take a moment to tease your upcoming show, premiering September 27th and every Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, a weekly series with our Christiane Amanpour that will absolutely get people talking. "AMANPOUR," provocative analysis of global stories that matter to you, right here on CNN.

Is there a link between the case of that California girl who was missing for 18 years and other missing children in the area? We are following the investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Live pictures now of Moammar Gadhafi -- oh, we had him just a second ago -- the featured guest of a lavish party to celebrate 40 years in power.

We will show you the scene live from Tripoli on the anniversary of the 1969 coup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, the case against sex offender Phillip Garrido may be growing. Authorities are trying to find out if the man suspected of kidnapping and raping Jaycee Dugard is linked to the disappearance of two other girls. They're also examining a bone fragment found near his home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY LEE, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: One bone fragment was found. It was found on the neighbor's property at 1540, and it was a small bone fragment. And as you know, Phillip Garrido had access to that property, and we know that he used that property. And it looks like he lived on a shed there.

So, we're taking that bone back for further examination. We don't know if it's human or animal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Live now to CNN's Kara Finnstrom in front of Garrido's home in Antioch, California.

And Kara, talk to us, if you would, about the investigation into Garrido's possible connection into other unsolved abduction cases.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that investigation under way.

Just behind me here, Tony, is the house where Jaycee was held, we're told by police, for 18 years, where she was repeatedly raped, we're told, where she gave birth to two children fathered by Garrido and then raised them. So, the question that has been really first and foremost on a lot of people's minds has been, how is she doing now?

Now, understandably, the family has wanted to kind of protect her privacy as she begins this healing process, but we do know that she has been reunited with her mother. And the FBI has now posted a recording on their Web site of what one of the agents says occurred when he watched these two be reunited.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CAMPION, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: When I called her, she was beside herself with joy. And I was present when she was reunited with Jaycee yesterday morning. It was a very emotional scene. Both of them were just overjoyed to be with each other again.

And there's going to be a period of adjustment, no doubt. But they are doing very well at this point, and the two daughters are probably as happy as Jaycee is to be part of this family as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: Nice to hear that in the midst of everything we have had to report here, Tony.

But the investigation also continues, as you mentioned, and is expanding. Police looking at whether Garrido might possibly be linked to other unsolved crimes, including two girls who were kidnapped, both about 20 miles away from here during the 1980s. They're looking for similarities. And they're just -- they want to make sure that they don't fail to follow up on any leads at this point...

HARRIS: Sure.

FINNSTROM: ... now that they know that they've got him linked to this one.

HARRIS: CNN's Kara Finnstrom for us in Antioch, California.

Kara, thank you.

Bizarre details emerging about Jaycee Dugard's life in captivity. Her alleged kidnapper was apparently hiding Dugard in plain sight. She ran his home printing business.

Our Anderson Cooper spoke to one of their clients. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": You had interaction also with Jaycee, who you knew as "Alissa."

What was she like?

CHEYVONNE MOLINO, PRINTING CLIENT OF PHILLIP GARRIDO: She was just your normal teenager. She was aspiring to do modeling. Her picture was all over his business cards for the last 10 years.

COOPER: Her picture on his business cards.

MOLINO: Yes. About 10 years ago, when he started printing our cards, and he was looking for business, he'd leave your cards with his cards, and her picture, blonde hair, blue eyes, beautiful young lady. She was on everyone's card.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Look, this story has captured the country. And coming up, Kyra Phillips is pushing forward in a different way.

Joining her in the 2:00 Eastern hour -- that's 2:00 p.m. Eastern -- a self-proclaimed reformed sex offender, and he is taking your questions. Tweet Kyra at twitter.com@kyracnn.

If you are a homeowner, you know the housing market has been grim lately. Are there finally some signs of a turnaround?

Gerri Willis is checking the latest numbers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, let's get to our top stories now.

Firefighters hope slightly cooler weather will help in the battle against a raging wildfire in southern California. The Station Fire has now burned almost 122,000 acres north of Los Angeles. Officials say it could take weeks to contain it. Ten thousand homes are under evacuation orders.

A powerful Category 4 hurricane is barreling toward Mexico's Baja peninsula, and emergency workers are struggling to evacuate thousands of people living in flimsy homes. Many fear looting if they leave.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator says his country is ready to hold talks on its nuclear program. The country's state-run TV says Iran has prepared an updated nuclear package and will meet with five members of the U.N. Security Council in Germany tomorrow.

Another check of the top stories in about 20 minutes.

News about the economy now.

The government says construction spending was down slightly in July despite an increase in homebuilding. The Commerce Department says construction spending dipped by .2 of a percent. The decline was due to weaknesses in non-residential building and government projects. Construction of homes and apartments actually rose in July.

Yet another positive sign on the housing front, more Americans signed sales contracts to buy homes in July than the previous month.

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here to break it all down for us.

Gerri, what do these latest numbers indicate?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, hi there, Tony.

You know, we've had a lot of good news surrounding the housing market lately, and as you're mentioning here, pending home sales up in July 3.2 percent. The real news here, this is the only crystal ball number out of the National Association of Realtors. This really looks into the future.

These are contracts that will actually be completed a month from now, two months from now. It's really looking down the pike, and it's the sixth straight increase and the highest level we've seen in two years.

Of course, we've had other good news, too.

New home sales in July up 9.6 percent. That came as a big surprise to the market. Existing home sales have been higher for four consecutive months. And the big headline for so many homeowners out there, quarterly home prices on the rise in the most recent quarter, up 2.9 percent.

So, we're starting to get a lot of little data points indicating that there's some real improvement going on in the housing market.

HARRIS: Yes. So, when can we say the housing market is definitely in recovery, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, you know, OK, the momentum is better; right? And, you know, the National Association of Realtors very excited about today's numbers. But really, to gauge any kind of recovery, you're going to have to see foreclosure activity peak.

It's still rising now. Delinquencies still rising now. And the number you're really going to have to look at in coming months, foreclosure sales as a percent of total home sales. That number has to get smaller.

The most recent numbers we have, 31 percent, a third, of home sales are foreclosed homes. Homes that are in, you know, some kind of trouble. Delinquent -- you know, the owners have not paid. So, that is going to be a very big number we're going to watch.

Experts are expecting the housing market to bottom in the spring of 2010, that selling season. And a recovery will depend on a steadily improving job market, which is critical, those continued low fixed rates that are at 5.5 percent right now. And we've got to see the president's home modification program...

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: ... that really has to pick up.

HARRIS: Has to kick in.

WILLIS: That's really going to solve problems for people out there.

So, once you see those kind of things happen, foreclosures peak and go down, then I think you can say, hey, we're really in recovery now.

HARRIS: You'll let us know, I'm sure of that.

WILLIS: I sure will.

HARRIS: Gerri, appreciate it. Thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: I want to show you these pictures here. This is Oak Glen, California. This is the command center that has been set up to handle the information flow on the massive Station Fire.

It is intense, massive. It is absolutely getting bigger.

We believe this is the location where Governor Schwarzenegger will make his remarks. Our understanding is that he's being briefed now, and then he will brief us on what he's learning about the fire, the updated information.

Here's what we know.

The wildfire near Los Angeles has now consumed 122,000 acres. Think about that for a second -- 122,000 acres, the equivalent of 190 square miles. The fire has destroyed 53 homes. Another 10,000 homes are under evacuation orders.

Firefighters hope slightly cooler temperatures today will slow down the fast-moving fire. It is at this point only five percent contained, and officials say it could take weeks to get it under control.

We are getting a lot of iReports from the front lines of the fire. Josh Levs is following those for us.

And what are you seeing, Josh? JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Tony, the first thing I'm going to tell you is that, before we show them on the air, we make sure no one went to any danger to take these.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Good.

LEVS: They didn't. But there are some stunning images. Let's just zoom right in.

You can see some of the kinds of things. This has been a busy day at iReport. Actually, it's been a busy several days.

And this one, look at that title, "Did a volcano just erupt in L.A.?" This is from Tommy Yoon (ph), who's talking about the smoke that fills the sky and, in some cases, the sounds that you're able to hear there. And you can almost feel the crackling when you're looking at these pictures.

Let's go to some graphics I have for you here. We made this out of some iReport photos that were sent to us from Mike Guardalabene. And these are pretty stunning.

I spoke with him this morning. He drove up to an area which -- again, he was safe. He had a pretty long lens on his camera. But you can see the scorching and how red it is.

Let's scroll through some of these. We put together some of these just because it's so powerful and is a reminder of the destruction that is coming from so many of these.

Now, as we look at the pictures of the fire, a lot of what we're also getting, Tony, are some stunning images of smoke, including this video we can go to now, which is a time-lapse video that one of our iReporters put together. And what you'll see there, I mean, it is massive. It's beyond anything you usually see in smokestacks or in most cities. And over time, it fills the sky more and more and more and more.

You know, big picture here, we're going to keep in mind, fortunately we're not talking about, you know, a lot of people right now being in the path. But we certainly can see, Tony, the destruction there and how . . .

HARRIS: Wait a minute. Let's be clear here. This is video sped up. Is that what this is?

LEVS: It's -- what I said is that it's a time-lapse video. It's not the same thing as speeding up. We're skipping time.

HARRIS: Oh, is that what we're doing?

LEVS: So we're looking at little bits of this and then we're skipping time and skipping little bits again. So, over time -- there you go, over time it's becoming more and more. But, yes, this is (INAUDIBLE). Look at that. HARRIS: That -- yes, it is. Have we mapped this fire? Because, first of all, it's not just the station fire that's burning now in California. There are, what, six other fires as well?

LEVS: Yes. In fact, let's take a look at this. Cnn.com is doing a great job on this. Let's zoom in over here. I want everyone to see. One of our main stories, obviously, throughout the day is about the fire. And, you know, Tony, here's a map here of the area. You can actually click on several of these in order to see some pictures from various areas that are being affected throughout all this.

Also, we have a whole section here that will show you some photos. The latest photos from the scene, including some of the really difficult conditions that some of these people are dealing with. Check that out. Look at that.

HARRIS: Yes, that's (INAUDIBLE).

LEVS: You can see what's been scorched in this area and how big the task is that these firefighters are facing. And you can even learn what it takes in this explainer sections to fight these fires. So really interesting stuff there, right, Tony, cnn.com.

HARRIS: Good. Good deal.

All right. So -- and, once again, we are monitoring the situation in California, the command center there, in, what is it, Oak Glen, California. We are waiting to hear some remarks from Governor Schwarzenegger, where he will update us on the firefighting effort there. Not just on the station fire, but the other six fires burning in California.

Let's get you to cnnmoney.com at this time. We always like to remind you that if you want the latest financial news and analysis, to get to cnnmoney.com. Our Money team doing a fantastic job.

Want to swing you over to the New York Stock Exchange for a look at the big board. Now the first day of September. Everyone talks about this being the swoon, September stock swoon. And it looks that way today. How much of this is based on real data? How much of this is based on psychology? The Dow down 169 points. Three hours into the trading day. And, Joe, I missed that. Where is the Nasdaq? The Nasdaq down 32 as well. We're following these numbers with Stephanie Elam throughout the day for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Manufacturing increased in August for the first time in 19 months. That's according to new numbers out today. Ali Velshi and the CNN Express are on the road talking with you about jobs and the economy. He stopped in Evansville, Indiana, where Whirlpool is closing its plants and cutting jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is there anybody here who has learned that they're going to lose their job?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just all called us in the middle of the plant at once and it wasn't good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just so uncertain. We have to wait and see what our severance packages are going to be. What options are available to us. Hopefully they will offer some sort of retraining, re-education so we can get out and try again. But until then, we can just go to work every day and do what we do and hope for the best.

VELSHI: So many of you have signs. Can I just see you holding up those signs? They are various things about NAFTA, stop NAFTA, you're next. Can somebody who's got one of these signs tell me what that's about.

Sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of our jobs are going overseas and we're all going to become a service economy. And what does that say for America? How was America built? It was an industrial nation.

VELSHI: Why does your sign say "you're next"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The jobs we're losing, you're going to be next to lose your job.

VELSHI: So, you meant that as a warning?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.

VELSHI: Did you know that this was going to happen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had no idea.

VELSHI: You are a Whirlpool employee?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, 31 years. And I'm just interested in how much do the Mexicans make doing the same job that we do? Give us a choice.

VELSHI: Meaning -- a choice meaning, could you have taken a pay cut? Could you have worked for less or given up some benefits?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which we have before. Which we have before. Yes. Just tell us -- tell us what we have to work with. Exactly.

VELSHI: What do you think about that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's already a done deal. I wouldn't matter what we'd work for. It's that movement (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They weren't -- give us a chance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And after they go to -- and after they go to Mexico, if they can make it cheaper in China, they'll go to China.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give us a chance. How could you not even give us a chance? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have given and given and given with tax abatements to this company. We struck agreements to them they have not kept. They promised the jobs when we gave the abatement and then they took the jobs away. When I was a county councilmen, we gave a tax abatement for one of their suppliers. It didn't matter. They're going to move out of town. And if you want to connect this with the health care, it's very easy to do. There are going to be at least 1,100 families that are going to be looking for health care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK. You've heard from people in an area where jobs are being lost, but what about sectors of the economy that are actually hiring right now? Education has added jobs. The health services sector has added jobs. Another area of growth, the government sector.

A lot of work is going into preparations to fight the spread of swine flu. Universities are an area of particular concern. We will show you what one hard-hit school is doing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's get to our top stories now. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger getting briefed on the firefighting effort in California. Of great concern, obviously, right now, the spread of the station fire. Here's what we can tell you. Firefighters hope some slightly cooler weather today will help in the battle against that wildfire in southern California. The station fire has now burned almost 122,000 acres north of Los Angeles. Officials say it could take weeks to contain it.

Let's go to Governor Schwarzenegger.

GOV ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, (R) CALIFORNIA: Good morning, everybody.

First of all I want to say thank you for the briefing that I just got from various different people. And I want to thank Chief Dale Walters for the briefing and also Deputy Chief Tim McClelland (ph) of Cal Fire. I want to thank him again for his extensive briefing and for the great work.

Thank you very much.

And also Secretary Matt Bettenhousen (ph), who is here with us, and Sheriff Hoops (ph). I want to thank him for being here and for his great work, and Chief Dennen (ph). And then we have also here with us Lou Paulson (ph), from the California Professional Firefighters Association.

Thank you very much for being here and also being right there on the front line and helping us -- helping the state put out all those fires. Thank you very much.

And, then Mayor Riddle (ph) is also with us here. So we want to thank you also. So, thank you very much.

You know, we have a lot of fires all over the state of California. We have fires from the northern border all the way south and from the Pacific to the Sierra Nevada. Fires, fires, fires. But we are very fortunate that we have the best and the most aggressive, best-trained, the most courageous firefighters in the world. And that's why we are able to push back very heavily.

But while all those fires are burning, we are already thinking about working to help victims rebuild their lives. And so yesterday I signed an executive order to boost the recovery efforts, which means that we will waive the replacement fees for birth certificates, driver's license and all kinds of other important documents.

I also ask the franchise tax board and the board of equalization to assist victims with their tax extensions and relief for late fees. We have also declared a state of emergency in various different counties, in Placer County, Monterey, Los Angeles, Mariposa Counties and also this morning I signed an emergency declaration for San Bernardino County. Now that is very important because it gives us extra resources in order to fight those fires. This will cut through the red tape and free up additional resources to assist in response and recovery efforts also.

I want the people to know that we are doing everything that we can in order to help and to save lives, to save properties, and to save your memories. Our most valuable resources, of course, is, as I said, the firefighters and we, again, so happy. And I want everyone to give a big hand to the firefighters for their great, great effort in being so terrific.

One of the things that I've heard over and over today was that the reason why things are running so well with this local fire and fires all over the state of California is the coordination. The coordination always between the local firefighters the state firefighters and then there's also some areas where the federal firefighters come in. So all of them working together really makes this work so well.

I also want to say a big, big thank you to law enforcement. Without the law enforcement, none of this would be possible, because they're the ones that are in charge of evacuation and for protecting the homes and then getting the people back to their homes again and so on. So we want to thank also law enforcement. Let's give them also a big hand for their great efforts.

There's a lot of times I get questions about, do we have enough money for fighting these fires? Well, let me tell you something, we will be standing here today and not having any money if I would have accepted the legislature's budget the way they sent it to me. It was $156 million in the hole. And then I made additional cuts so that we have $500 million in reserves. And now this is why this . . .

HARRIS: All right, Governor Schwarzenegger saying we've got a number of fires burning in California. He said fires, fires, fires. He went on to say that he has declared states of emergency in several California counties and to give high praise, well deserved, it should be added, to the firefighters who are working so hard, 12-hour shifts in many cases, to combat all of the fires. Seven in all burning in California right now. Most notably the station fire, which has burned 122,000 acres north of Los Angeles.

Boy, we will keep following developments and the effort to tame that fire. It could take weeks.

Preparing to fight swine flu. President Obama, next hour, gets a briefing on government efforts to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus. College campuses are particularly vulnerable. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, takes us to one hard-hit campus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Swine flu seems to like college campuses. And especially the University of Kansas, where there are nearly 350 suspected cases. Freshman Arielle Spiridigliozzi is one of them. When she first got swine flu . . .

ARIELLE SPIRIDIGLIOZZI, FRESHMAN, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS: Probably. Well, am I going to die?

COHEN: Ariel, of course, didn't die, but she was pretty sick. Her temperature climbed to 101 degrees.

SPIRIDIGLIOZZI: Everything hurt. You're just laying in bed and your body's just like aching and like you're coughing and your like chest is like burning.

COHEN: Cold comfort, but Arielle wasn't alone. Her roommate, Caitlin Perry, contracted the virus too. So they were ordered in isolation together in their dorm room.

COHEN (on camera): We decided to go in and talk to them to see how they're feeling. But before we go into their room, we decided we'd better make a call to the CDC.

Hi, Dr. Jurnigan (ph), how are you?

DR. JURNIGAN: I'm doing fine.

COHEN (voice-over): The doctor at the CDC tells me two things. One, I don't have to wear a mask, but the sick students do. Two, I should stay at least six feet away from them at all times. I joined the dorm staff, who were delivering food to the sick young ladies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

COHEN (on camera): What's it like being cooped up in here?

SPIRIDIGLIOZZI: So boring. We've watched like so many movies.

CAITLIN PERRY, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS: We've watched like seven movies.

COHEN: Is it scary for the first time in your life on your own and you get sick?

SPIRIDIGLIOZZI: Yes, because you're like -- what about like mom and dad aren't going to come in and like wake you up every three hours to take your medicine or make like sure you're taking that Advil so your fever doesn't raise. Like it's on your own. And like what happens if you don't wake up really quick? What happens if you like sleep through your alarm clock? But, I mean, I know I've been checking on Caitlin and like she's been checking on me. So . . .

PERRY: I think we do -- we're doing pretty all right.

SPIRIDIGLIOZZI: We've been OK.

COHEN (voice-over): College campuses, students living with each other 24/7, often in close quarters, are breeding grounds for swine flu. So far, 19 campuses across the country have reported cases. The university is following the CDC's guidelines that say if infected students are without a fever for 24 hours, they can leave isolation. So, with fingers crossed, Caitlin and Arielle take their temperatures.

PERRY: 98.7. I don't have a fever.

SPIRIDIGLIOZZI: 98.2! Yeah! No fever!

COHEN: Hours later, Caitlin and Arielle are free from their confinement, able to leave their dorm room and finally begin life at college.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Whoo hoo! All right, CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining me live from New York.

So, Elizabeth, these girls were put in isolation, but did they ever go see a campus doctor?

COHEN: No, they didn't, Tony. And I think a lot of people will find this surprising. The student health services said, stay away! We don't want to see you. We know you have swine flu. But unless your temperature gets really high or you have trouble breathing, we don't want to hear from you.

HARRIS: OK. Now we're also anticipating a presser (ph).

COHEN: Well, actually, Tony, let me amend that.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, go on.

COHEN: They said, we don't want to see you. We don't want you to come into us. We'll talk to you on the phone. That's what they told them. And that's not an uncommon thing. Doctors are telling people with swine flu, stay home, we'll talk to you on the phone.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, I mean they weren't trying to -- yes, got you.

COHEN: No.

HARRIS: You know, we're also anticipating a presser from Mayor Bloomberg there in New York. Now we recall schools there were hit pretty hard last year. What do we expect to hear?

COHEN: Right. They were hit pretty hard. And so they're preparing for what to do when school opens up here shortly. And we're expected to hear the mayor tell us that they're going to be offering free swine flu vaccines to elementary school students and free regular flu vaccines and Flumist, which is a nasal vaccine. That's pretty good. Those shots can set you back $25 or more.

HARRIS: Elizabeth, appreciate it. Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

HARRIS: The recent release of the Lockerbie bombing suspect brought Libya's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, into the news again. He is celebrating an almost unprecedented 40 years of power today. We are going to take you to Libya to check in on his ongoing influence. That's next.

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HARRIS: The British government says it has proof it didn't make a deal with Libya to obtain the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Today it is making public through online documents its correspondence with the Scottish government. The move comes after claims the British government obtained al-Magrahi's release during a time when a major oil deals was being negotiated. Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the decision rested solely with the Scottish government, which released him because he has terminal prostate cancer.

Meanwhile, big celebrations in Libya today to mark the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to power. Gaddafi has been ostracized for decades over accusations he supports terrorism and Libya's warm welcome of the Lockerbie bomber has sidelined the country and its leader once again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty years after he came to power, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has rarely looked so secure. Surrounded by leaders and officials from the African union's 53 members, gathering in Tripoli for a special summit. And buoyed by the return to Libya of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi. A far (ph) removed from the fallout reigning down on British politicians. No one is publicly asking what it cost Libya to get Megrahi home.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Colonel Gaddafi has been in power longer than any other world leader. He's made plenty of enemies in that time. But after 40 years, appears to be giving the impression he's putting his past behind him. ROBERTSON (voice-over): Libya compensated the families of the Lockerbie victims with a $1.5 billion fund. And in the last decade, Gaddafi has given up his nuclear ambitions, dismantled his chemical weapons program and rebuilt his relationship with the U.S. and Europe, raising the question, is the Libyan leader long the bogeyman of the west, a reformed character. One man who feels a judge of that is Shakr Mohamed Dakhil. His family fled Gaddafi's coup for the U.S., leaving behind $900 million worth of business and property. Thirty- five years later, he came back.

SHAKR MOHAMED DAKHIL: The best decision I made in my life.

ROBERTSON: He married and set up an English school and is sure Libya is changing, despite many outstanding problems, for the better.

DAKHIL: The country, first of all, is opening to the west. And it has no choice. If they want to isolate theirself (ph), it's a dead end. You have to open.

ROBERTSON: He sees the outrage over Magrahi's release as a passing problem. The cost for Libya is Colonel Gaddafi is finding out, a few empty seats at his parade. Western leaders who've decided not to show up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us live now from Tripoli.

And you mentioned the western leaders who haven't shown for the anniversary celebration. But there is still quite a list of world leaders on hand. Who is there, Nic?

ROBERTSON: Hugo Chavez from Venezuela. We've seen him arrive. Raul Castro got out of his car here about an hour and half ago. Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe. President Bashir of Sudan. They've all been here in the past couple of days. And we're seeing plenty, plenty of others. It's taken about two hours to get them all seated on the stage behind me. Gaddafi himself only arrived about an hour ago and there was still other leaders arriving then, Tony.

HARRIS: And, Nic, we should mention that this anniversary is happening on a day when Britain plans to release documents refuting claims that the Lockerbie bomber was released in exchange for a deal on Libyan oil. That's correct?

ROBERTSON: That is correct. And the documents that they've released so far today do seem to indicate that, both the British government and the Scottish assembly, documents that they've released do show that there was concern expressed by Scotland that if Britain made some kind of a deal with Libya, then they would be under pressure to release Megrahi. What the documents is showing is that there wasn't a specific deal linking that over $500 million gas exploration deal between BP and the Libyan government for the release of Mr. Megrahi. It's upholding what we've heard from the Scottish justice minister, Kenny McCaskill, and from British politicians, that Mr. Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds. That still doesn't stop them from being disturbed by the big celebrations here right now. And the possibility, we are told, that Mr. Megrahi might appear on a videotape tonight for the crowds gathered here. That bit of videotape they're talking about is when he gets off the plane and he arrives back in Libya, waves his hands over his head. If that does happen, we're going to hear another round of outrage from the prime minister of Britain, quite possibly, and Scottish media as well.

Tony.

HARRIS: That would be problematic. All right, our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson for us in Tripoli, Libya.

Nic, good to see you.

We are back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a minute.

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