5 Things To Know This Morning

Aug. 21, 2012— -- Your look at the five biggest and most buzz-worthy stories of the morning.

1. Afghan Militants Hit Gen. Dempsey's Plane
The plane of the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, was damaged after Taliban militants fired rockets at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Dempsey, who was in his room during the attack, was not hurt in the blast.

2. Gas Hits Record High
U.S. drivers paid an average of $3.72 per one gallon of gas on Monday, the highest price ever to this date according to the AAA. One year ago the average price of gas was $3.578 per gallon. According to a chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, the national average could rise to $3.75 per gallon by Labor Day.

3. Wildfire Burns to Edge of 3 Calif. Towns
A huge wildfire started by lightning in Northern California is threatening thousands of homes as it burned the edge of three small towns on Monday. The fire has destroyed seven homes by Monday night and was only five percent contained after it started on Saturday.

4. Nyad Pushes Toward Florida on Day 4
Extreme swimmer Diana Nyad is making her third attempt since last summer to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys, which would make her the first person to swim the course without a shark cage. She is expected to arrive somewhere in the Keys early Tuesday despite losing six hours of progress due to a storm.

5. Meditation Helps Boost Immune System, Says Study
A new study from the University of California Los Angeles has found that older people who participate in an eight-week meditation program were able to boost their immune system and reduce feelings of loneliness. Participants who mediated reported feeling less lonely and their blood tests indicated a drop of inflammation-related genes.