I have the privilege of spending Veterans Day in a place where it carries special meaning this year. Last week, a gunman stationed at Ft. Hood in central Texas, started shooting and killed 13 people. Twelve of the victims were members of the military. At a time when soldiers risk their lives every day in Afghanistan and Iraq, they certainly don’t expect to risk their lives once they make it safely home. As the investigation continues, and the wounds of the injured begin to heal, the family of those killed will begin to bury their dead. Their sacrifice is a world apart. Even though they were not killed on the battlefield, in the end they were killed because they had a commitment to serving their country. No one but soldiers and those serving soldiers were killed or wounded that day.

Today at a press conference, three soldiers wounded during the attack were in front of the cameras. They are part of a unit who lost three people in the shooting. I can only begin to imagine the pain they and their families are experiencing. They will deploy to Afghanistan before the year is out.

Kris interviews Capt. Reis Ritz ER Physician

We’re live at Ft. Hood, just a day after a gunman killed now 13 people and hurting another 28 other people. Investigators are still trying to piece together what happened yesterday. At this point, they’re saying the suspect, a solider, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, acted on his own when he came into the Solider Readiness Center and started shooting. Investigators would not comment on a potential motive – they say, it’s just too early to tell. They interviewed witnesses through the night in the search for answers.

Ft. Hood is in a day of mourning today. Of the thirteen people killed, twelve were soliders and the other was a civilian. Of those hurt, all are in stable condition. The suspect is also in stable condition.

In an age where we’re all looking for good news about the economy, here’s some: Gas prices seem to be stable, even going down, at least for now. In fact the national average for a gallon of gas is down more than a nickel from a month ago. It’s good news for consumers—bad news for gas station owners.

We’ve been doing lives all day outside of Fuel City, a gas station/ranch just on the outskirts of downtown Dallas. Owner John Benda says business is down from last year. He says, in some ways, it’s to be expected. Once the summer travel season is over and kids are back to school, gas usage is always down. But Benda says, this year is worse than most. Still, Fuel City hasn’t had to lay anybody off. In fact, Benda is diversifying his business by building a car wash. He’ll hire 20 people to work it. There’s been one big change in applicants. Whereas previous job seekers would be in their teens or twenties, Benda says applicants for the car wash are trending older, in their thirties, forties or more, proof that even though gas prices are better, lots of folks are still out of work.

Water is one of those things you take for granted, right up until you don’t have any it anymore. Anyone who’s been stuck in a shower that’s gone cold knows the feeling. But for many residents in rural Texas, it’s not about having hot water– it’s about not having any water at all. Much of Texas is under a severe drought. That drought has already hit farmers and ranchers hard. Now rural wells are running dry, forcing homeowners to haul in their own water or hire someone to do it for them. We stopped at a water supply company in Dripping Springs, Texas. Trucks were waiting three deep to get a shot at the spigot. We met Darryll Coe who lives in Dripping Springs and has four acres. He has to come to the water supply twice a week so his family and horses have enough water. Coe, like all the customers here, pays $8 for a thousand gallons. The price is right but it’s clearly a big hassle.

Although Mother Nature is causing the drought, some say people living in the area aren’t helping. Doug Cones with the Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation says there have been worse droughts here before, but now many more people are relying on the area’s water. More and more people have moved in and drilled rural wells in the Hill Country near Austin. Cones also says most people don’t do much to conserve water either– that is, until they have a problem getting it.

From Dripping Springs, we went to Lake Travis, which is also outside of Austin. What an incredible sight that is. It looks like a big bathtub that’s draining. And it is, to the tune of about a foot each week. Lake Travis is at 40% of its capacity now, which is dangerously low. The city of Austin depends on the lake for its water.

We came down to the Briarcliff Marina. It looks like it’s sitting at the bottom of a canyon, not a secluded cove on Lake Travis. Expensive homes line the top of the shores of the cove. They have staircases that lead down to dry land and marooned boats. And this is just one cove. There are dozens and dozens just like it all along Lake Travis. All of the lake’s 12 public boat ramps are closed. Here at Briarcliff, the boat ramp drops off into nothingness, just a sheer deep dusty drop into a ditch below.

The last time the lake actually increased its water level substantially was in 2007. That’s when there was big flooding in the region. Unfortunately, experts say that’s what it will take to change the tide this time too.

Kris Gutierrez and I came to University of Texas in Austin because it’s hands down one of the largest campuses in the country. With about 50,000 students, it’s largest than many small cities. While the majority of students are worried about buying books and figuring out where their classes are, school administrators have their mind on something more ominous, the H1N1 influenza. The Centers for Disease Control says H1N1 will be back this Fall and with a vengeance. Since the virus seems to attack the young, college campuses are particularly at risk. When you add cramped dorms and confined classrooms, you have a recipe for potential disaster. So schools like UT are breaking out the hand sanitizer and putting up posters in bathrooms with do’s and don’ts (do wash your hands, don’t share food or drinks with other people). They’re also encouraging students to get flu vaccines. There will be one for the seasonal flu and one for H1N1. Both will be out this Fall. If kids do get sick, they should stay home. The CDC told universities to revamp their absence policies to accommodate sick students. Campuses are also being encouraged to stay open, even if there’s an outbreak. So far, U.T. in Austin has 24 confirmed H1N1 cases. None of them was serious enough to require the victims to be hospitalized. Campus administrators here hoped they’ve seen the worst of it, but know that is probably unlikely.