Clem’s Chronicles: Cali Fires/Hurricane Jimena/Obama Admin better at fighting terror

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES:  More than 2,500 firefighters continue to battle the Station Fire in northern Los Angeles.  The fire, which is only 5 percent contained, has more than doubled in size to 105,000 acres since Sunday and is burning through the Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains.  “The famous Mount Wilson observatory is threatened as well as the cluster of antennae that serve everything from local television to radio, law enforcement…even Los Angeles International Airport,” Brian Rooney reported on WORLD NEWS.  At least two dozen structures, such as cabins and homes, have been destroyed and at least three people have been seriously injured. Two firefighters died Sunday in a vehicle accident.  Five people who failed to follow evacuation orders are currently trapped in the Angeles National Forest.  Because of the dangerous conditions, fire rescue will not allow personnel to save them.
Further north in Auburn, California, residents are picking through the charred remains of their homes.  In just a few hours Sunday, a wildfire there devastated an entire neighborhood – with the exception of one single home, belonging to Bill and Tina Meyers. “On every side of their home – to the left, the right and across the street – the homes are gone,” Lisa Fletcher told us on WORLD NEWS.  Fletcher toured the surviving house with its owner Bill, and reports that “there is no reason their home survived.  But the Meyers say with so much loss around them…they can never go back.” (thanks to Marisa Bramwell for this entry) 

GARRIDO/POLICE- Police say they have found one small bone fragment on the property next door to the home of a Northern California man charged with kidnapping a little girl and hiding her in his backyard for 18 years. Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jimmy Lee said Monday they do not know if the bone is from a human or animal. Authorities have been searching Phillip Garrido's property and the one next door for any possible links to unsolved crimes in the area.

AFGHANISTAN/NEW ASSESSMENT BY TOP US GENERAL-General Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, has delivered an assessment of the situation there and what will be needed going forward. Nick Schifrin, reporting from Afghanistan for WORLD NEWS, expounds: “Gen. McChrystal’s strategy review would fundamentally change how the US fights, relying more on Afghan forces and doubling the number of Afghan soldiers and police….improving local governance by fighting corruption…and concentrating US troops in population centers, where they should spend less time fighting the Taliban and more time defending the population.” What is not specifically spelled out in this “initial assessment” is a request for more US troops-but it’s coming, likely well before the 8-year anniversary of the start of the war on October 7th. Martha Raddatz has some thoughts: “Since the assessment team gave its report to McChrystal,  US officials tell me that there has been tremendous ‘pushback’ from some on the White House national security team about adding more US troops. There is no pushback about the Afghan number..that is almost a given. But adding more US troops…or even officially asking for them has been highly controversial. What you will likely see in the coming weeks is a variety of ‘options’ that will be put forth to support McChrystal’s assessment sent around today. I think you will see an intense period of debate about this during the fall….” A debate sure to be fueled in part by US casualties-The deaths of two U.S. service members Monday in the south raised August’s death toll to 47, the deadliest month of the eight-year war, underscoring the escalating violence and increased risks facing US and NATO forces.

GEN. JONES ON OBAMA & FIGHT ON TERRORISM:  In an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Jake Tapper, National Security Advisor Gen. Jim Jones said President Obama is doing a much better job at fighting terrorism than his predecessor, President George Bush. Why? Tapper, filing for WORLD NEWS, noted succintly: "Better diplomacy with other nations, he said, has meant more terrorists put out of commission."  Here’s Jones himself: "we are seeing results that indicate more captures, more deaths of radical leaders and a kind of a global coming-together by the fact that this is a threat to not only the United States but to the world at-large and the world is moving toward doing something about it." The former Marine General didn't provide any specific numbers to back up his claim, but he said ‘there is an increasing trend and I think we seen that in different parts of the world over the last few months for sure.’ He added that he was not ‘making a tally sheet saying we are killing more people, capturing more people than they did — that is not the issue.’”  Jones’ assertion is a rebuttal to former Vice President Dick Cheney’s claim that the Obama Administration’s tactics for fighting terrorism were making the country more vulnerable to terrorism.  For more please see Tapper’s report on ABCNews.com. (thanks to Marisa Bramwell for this entry)

TREASURY GETTING A RETURN AFTER ALL-It’s early days in the recovery process but considering many folks thought the government was never going to recoup any of the $4 trillion plus it gave to struggling Wall Street and banking institutions, some good news should be noted. Bianna Golodryga, filing for WORLD NEWS, explains: “Out of $204 billion committed from the TARP program to rescue the nation’s banking system, 22 banks have fully paid back over $70 billion in loans. The taxpayer has made a profit of $4 billion thru interest and dividend payments. Add to that over $16 billion in profits the Federal Reserve raked in from loan programs to various financial institutions.” Now as I said at the top these are early days in the recovery and there’s a whole lot that hasn’t been recovered. Golodryga notes: “The weakest banks have yet to pay back the largest loans made. Citigroup and Bank of America each owe $45 billion. And then there’s AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…” How are things with those last three? Golodryga again: “The outcome for all 3 companies depends on what happens in the housing market. Experts do not expect a  peak in the rate of foreclosures until we reach a peak in unemployment. We’ll get a check on that this Friday when the government releases the August jobs report.”

WILL THE WOLF SURVIVE?-A controversial wolf hunt is scheduled to begin tomorrow in Idaho. The hunt will be the first since federal protections for the animal were lifted in May. Clayton Sandell with more info: “Idaho will allow hunters to kill 220 of the state's roughly 1,000 wolves. The required $11.50 permits to shoot a wolf have been selling like hotcakes– more than 4,000 on the first day they became available and the state says that could climb to 70,000.  (Montana's wolf hunt will start in two weeks and permits go on sale there today.)” There could still be one fly in the ointment-a federal judge has not issued a ruling one way or the other on a request from a gaggle of environmental groups to stop the hunts. The groups argue that the wolf population is still endangered and that the hunts would do irreparable damage to recovery efforts. 

GAS/OIL PRICES-From Dan Arnall: “The Energy Department reports that gasoline prices have fallen slightly for the third week in a row. The national average price for a gallon of gasoline now stands at $2.61, down two cents from the previous week. The price is now 29% lower than it was a year ago ($3.68).
Prices will likely continue to fall during the next few weeks, as oil prices seem to be on a downward spiral. The price of crude dropped by more than 4% in trading today as a big drop in the Chinese stock market and renewed doubts about the U.S. recovery put traders in a selling mood. The settle price was down $2.78 to $69.96 at the close.”

OTHER STUFF-
–MASSACHUSETTS SENATE ELECTION-Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick set January 19th as the date for the special election to fill Senator Ted Kennedy’s remaining three years in office. Massachusetts lawmakers said they would hold a public hearing on Sept. 9 to discuss changing state law so the Democratic governor could make a temporary appointment to the Senate.
–DISNEY BUYS MARVEL-Disney announced today that it is buying Marvel Entertainment in a cash and stock deal worth $4 billion. It could lead to new rides, movies, action figures and other outlets for Marvel's 5,000 characters. While some characters like the “X-Men”, “Spiderman” and “Iron Man” are already tied to other movie studios and theme parks, the deal is meant to improve Disney's following among men and boys. Disney acknowledges it lost some of its footing with guys as it poured resources into female favorites such as "Hannah Montana" and the Jonas Brothers.
–MADOFF RESIDENCES-Pool video shot inside and outside Bernard Madoff’s Montauk residence will be available to air at 5am ET Tuesday Sept. 1st. This residence is one of several Madoff properties to be sold or auctioned as part of the Dept. of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Program. Brian Ross will be live in TSS with a report for GOOD MORNING AMERICA.