Kamara Pettiford served five tours of duty with the US Army in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. She’s bright, personable and attractive, served her country for seven years and has been out of work since May.

One issue is her lack of a college diploma. “It’s hard to get a degree with multiple deployments …” she told me. “Everytime you get started in class you get called up again.”

Kamara is working with the NY State Department of Labor to get tuition assistance and go back to school to pursue a career in criminal justice. She’s also working with a Veteran’s counselor to find work near her Brooklyn home in the interim.

Kamara is one of thousands of veterans showing up at the USS Intrepid Sea Air & Space Museum in New York City for the Operation HIRE Veterans Career Fair.

More than 75 employers have more then 2000 positions to fill. Many of the jobs are entry level. Some of the prospective employers include the NY State Police, FBI, Amtrak, Coca Cola, Pepsi and Fed-Ex. Wayne Packer from Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores is looking to fill dozens of positions.

Wayne and others say those who’ve served make excellent employees, but nearly 15% of the state’s Vets are out of work, a stat this job fair hopes to adjust downward.

Tamara says this is the first time she’s been unemployed since she was 15. “It’s frustrating at times” she told a group arriving for the event “but I’ve sacrificed too mich during my time in the military to give up hope.”

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When the military wants to get something done, it can do so with amazing speed and efficiency.  I’ve seen this firsthand in some pretty far-flung locations like Afghanistan and Iraq …  and was reminded of it by the building of the security wall at Fort Hood, Texas.

Using massive forklifts and Con-Ex shipping containers, the U.S. Army has built a protective barrier around a field in front of the III Corp Headquarters Building to keep families, dignitaries and the President safe and out of sight.

By my calculation, the main portion of the wall runs nearly 900 feet long and stands almost 30 feet tall.  A side wall runs more than 200 feet with containers stacked two and three high.  Several members of the White House Press Corp told me they’d never seen anything like it, although I’ve been told by others that both former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney got similar treatment at visits to other military posts.

Inside the wall the majority of press is assembling in a penned in area at the very rear in a corner (is there an underlying message here…?).  Some 2000 chairs have been set up much closer to the platform and podium built near the driveway in front of the HQ, where family members of the Fort Hood victims and some of those wounded who were treated and released will join politicians, officers, friends and members of the public wishing to pay tribute to the fallen.

The mood here has been somber, respectful and reflective.  There is little discussion between soldiers and the press about warning signs that may have been missed by investigators regarding suspect Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s reported contact with radical islamists overseas.  They’re not looking to place blame or point fingers, at least not to us.  What we’re hearing time and again is how proud they are of their fellow soldiers in the way they handled the incident, treating the wounded (including the alleged killer himself) and supporting each other in a time of crisis. The focus here is on healing and staying on course, allowing the investigation to move forward while learning lessons to try and prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

Rick Waits for the ceremony to begin.

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Thomas “Tommy” Vecera grew up in Flower Mound Texas, not far from Fort Hood.

He calls Everett Washington home now but is scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan soon.

That’s why he was back in central Texas, at the soldier processing center at Fort Hood last week, getting prepped for deployment when Major Nidal Malik Hasan began shooting fellow soldiers on Post.

I spoke to Tommy about what he saw and heard last Thursday afternoon.  His description of the events were as vivid and chilling as any I’ve heard so far.

Tommy witnessed the carnage, helped patch some of the first wounded, then watched the end of the killer’s rampage and saw with his own eyes the heroic actions civilian police Sergeant Kimberly Munley who along with Sgt. Mark Todd brought the spree to an end.

Vecera says he heard the initial shots and then people rushed wounded into the building he was in next door to the scene.  “We started assisting the soldiers, trying to figure out what was going on. Everyone was screaming, running around … our main concern was taking care of the soldiers that were down.”

“Did you ever see the shooter?” I asked.

“Later on …  I looked out the window and at that time, I saw the gunman come out of one of the buildings. ”

“What was he doing?”

“He was waving the gun around and firing at the crowd that was running from the building.”

“Shooting at people running away?”

“Yes sir”

“Did you see the other officers arrive on the scene and shoot him?”

“Yes sir I did see the initial one officer arrive at the scene. I could see it. I was looking out the window. I could see her approaching where he was at, and then she turned the corner and basically there was a face off.”

“You witnessed this?” I asked, surprised he was even being allowed to relay this first-hand account.

“Yes sir I did.”

“They were both probably about 20 feet away from each other, they were shooting, just both shooting each other. I didn’t know who was hit at the time. The officer retreated back behind the building and he followed her. I think she retreated to get a better shot at him. She retreated back, he followed her and at that point he shot her again.”

Vecera still seemed in a bit stunned and shocked as he recalled the events of the day. I asked what was going through his mind as the scene played out in front of him.

“It was hard to … it was just right in front of me and I couldn’t do anything. I could not do anything and uh … I was looking out the window and watched it all take place and I was helpless at that point.”

He told me he’s relived it many times and gotten support from counselors and fellow soldiers in his unit.

He hasn’t been in theatre before but says “it definitely felt like what I would imagine a combat zone to be. Bullets flying, people running, people screaming, people who had been hit asking for help.”

“I kept moving to help each of the fallen soldiers that I could, moving around the building to assist where I could.”

He and others used whatever they had available to treat victims. PFC Melinda Martinez told me she used feminine hygiene pads on bullet wounds, and strips of clothing for tourniquets.

Vecera says his resolve is not shaken.

“We need to press on” he told me. “We need to honor the fallen soldiers and press on with the mission.”

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Easton, Pennsylvania is a historic town nestled in the Lehigh Valley at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers. It was the site of one of the three public readings of the Declaration of Independence on July 8th, 1776 and is home to Lafayette College, Crayola Crayons and former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Larry Holmes, aka “The Easton Assassin”.

Easton is also roughly 72 miles from both New York City and Philadelphia, PA, which means there are Yankee fans and Phillies fans living and working side by side. Actually a lot of people here root for both teams since they rarely play each other (the only other time they met in the World Series was 1950 when the Bronx Bombers swept the Phillies in 4 games).

The Mayor is one of those people having a tough time choosing sides, especially since he grew up and went to school in the city.

“If the Yankees had made it and the Phillies hadn’t, you would have rooted for the Yankees?” I asked Mayor Salvatore Panto. “I definitely would have been a full Yankee fan.”

“And if the Phillies had made it and the Yankees didn’t…” I continued “you would have definitely rooted for the Phillies? Definitely …” he replied. “So now with both in there together…?” I asked. He laughed “It is a tough struggle!”

Larry Holmes grew up in Easton and never left, despite winning 69 prize fights (including his first 48) and millions of dollars in purses. He was Champ for 7 1/2 years, beating opponents including Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers, Gerry Cooney and James “Bonecrusher” Smith. He invested in real estate in town over the years, buying a hotel and office buildings and plots of land, some of which he recently sold off. He’s a great grandfather (twice) about to turn 60 and looking to simplify his life but still owns a bar/restaurant in town (on Larry Holmes Drive) and that’s where we met for our interview.

Me: “Is it hard to decide which team to root for?”
Champ: “No because I know who I like and I want to see win and I want to see the Phillies win.”
Me: “But you spent a lot of time in New York…?
Champ: “I started my boxing career there on 149th street in the Bronx. I got my butt kicked! That’s probably one of the reasons I don’t like New York!”
Me: “If someone starts rooting for the Yankees in your bar are you going to throw them out?”
Champ: “No because they have a right to root for whoever the want to.”
Me: “Are you going to beat them up?”
Champ: “(laughs) no but if you were rooting for the Yankees in my bar I would throw YOU out!”
Me: “Any message for Yankees fans?”
Champ: “Go cry, it’s going to be alright, you got next year!”

The Champ bought everyone pizza for lunch (delivered to the restaurant) since his kitchen was closed so we made a bet. If the Phillies win I’m buying the next pie. If the Yankees win he owes me a beer.

I think it’ll be worth the drive back to collect.

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They called him “Jazz”, short for Jasper.

He was known as an impact player on the University of Connecticut Huskies football team, a starting corner back since his freshman year who also returned punts, a former standout at Miami Edison High School in South Florida, a kid from the mean streets of the Liberty City neighborhood who made his mother proud, becoming the first from his family to attend college.

Late Saturday night, after celebrating his team’s homecoming victory, which he played a key role in with 11 tackles and a forced fumble at the goal line preventing the other team from potentially tying the game, he was found stabbed.  More than 300 people spilled out into the street in the chilly Storrs, Ct. air.  A fight broke out between a group of non-students and half-a-dozen football players, someone plunged a blade into Jazz’s abdomen.  A fellow player went to his aid, another came to try and stop the bleeding and the police were called.  Ambulances  brought Jazz went to one hospital, but unfortunately he could not be saved.

Police have made one arrest, 21-year-old Johnny Hood, who police say lied about his name when questioned at the scene.  Another wounded player identified Hood as being involved in the fight.  His lawyer says he’s only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Another lawyer says there are four more “main” suspects and he represents one of them, another young man who apparently admits to being involved in the fight but not with the stabbing.  Police have questioned him and searched his home and seem to be making progress in the investigation.  They’re asking anyone with pictures or home video of the scene outside the dance to forward the images since they could help solve this homicide.

Meanwhile Jazz’s uniform sits unused in his locker and will for the next two seasons, except when the Huskies are on the road.  They plan to bring #6 with them to honor his memory and his loss.

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One of the challenges in covering a fast-moving story like the murder of Yale grad student Annie Le is separating rumor from fact and getting confirmation of developments in time for our often hourly live on-the-air updates.

Many but not all of the rumors in this case have proven true, including the fact that a lab technician has emerged as the “person of interest”, which as far as I can tell is modern time’s politically correct terminology for “suspect”.

Rumors that proved untrue: Annie’s body was in the trash compactor, and the prime suspect was a student.

Things I’ve heard and have been reported but police won’t confirm: Raymond Clark had scratches on his chest and failed a lie detector test; the blood-stained clothes found in the lab are his; he was angry at Annie for her treatment of lab animals, specifically mice and exchanged emails with her about the issue.

We’ve worked more than 60 hours over the past four days and still have a few hours left on this shift. It seems every time we think we’re done for the night there’s a new development and we have to rush back on the job. We’re all pretty beat but committed to seeing this story through to it’s conclusion, hopefully the arrest of Annie’s killer.

At a news conference late this afternoon, New Haven Police Chief James Lewis sounded confident but careful. If there’s a DNA match to Clark, an arrest warrant will be issued within a couple hours and “we know where Clark is at all times.”

He also insisted there is no tunnel vision and they’re not ruling anyone else out yet.

A straight shooter, Lewis had a quick response to a question about a prominent lawyer suggesting the search and seizure warrant already served on Clark might be unconstitutional.

“You get three attorneys in a room,” the Chief said “you get five different opinions.”

Keep checking back to FOX News Channel for the latest on the case!

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It’s the one story that still gives me chills.

I can’t watch the video or even talk about my experiences that day without getting goosebumps and a wave of emotions.

I was there that crisp beautiful September morning, just four blocks from the scene, dealing with shock, uncertainty and anger like everyone else, trying to shelve the strongest emotions so I could clearly report on the awful and surreal events unfolding before my eyes.

I left my midtown office soon after the first reports filtered in of a small plane accidentally hitting one of the towers.  When I emerged at Canal Street I found hundreds of dazed New Yorkers standing like statues on every corner, staring wordlessly towards the smoke rising above lower Manhattan.

Just four months after surgery to repair a torn ACL in my right knee, I wasn’t able to run the mile or so to the scene (my train stopped short of ground zero because of the tragedy unfolding there) so I hopped and half-ran, flashing my press credentials to police as I got close, ending up just a block north of the North Tower where I first realized BOTH towers were on fire and our nation was under attack.

Our satellite truck was around the corner and engineer Pat Butler was already running cable and hooking up a camera and microphone when I found him.  Moments later we began broadcasting live from the scene and moments after that, the first tower came crashing down.

I visited the site just days before this 8th anniversary for an up-close look at the progress being made and an interview with developer Larry Silverstein who finalized a deal to lease the World Trade Center property just six weeks before the planes hit.  He’s been demonized by some who blame him for the slow pace of development but I don’t think that’s fair.  He actually built a new Tower 7 in four years, starting not long after the smoke cleared from the pit.  He’s started construction on Tower 4 and says he’s ready to begin buildings 2 and 3 but at Ground Zero, nothing is easy.

Silverstein, who’s 78, calls the past eight years the “most frustrating” of his life, dealing with a laundry list of hurdles, complications, lawsuits (some filed by him) and arbitration battles with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a government agency that owns the 16 acre property.  Both sides say they hope to resolve the latest battle soon.  In the meantime, the P.A. is hard at work on Tower One, formerly known as “Freedom Tower”, which is finally rising above ground next to a platform that will be home to a park, museum and twin waterfalls in the footprints of the Twins that fell.  Tower One is expected to be finished in 2013.  The Memorial should be open on the tenth anniversary in 2011, the Museum in 2012.  Completion dates for the rest of the project are murky and dependant on many things, including the economy.

9/11 affected me deeply and changed my life in many ways.  Reliving it is difficult but I agree with so many others who argue it’s imperative we never forget the events of that day, the sacrifices made and the remarkable contributions that followed.

Don’t miss the primetime special “FOX News Reporting: 9/11: Timeline of Terror” airing Friday, September 11 at 10p/ 1a et.

This will air commercial-free thanks to Rosland Capital.

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We were among just a handful of press outside the Underhill, Vermont home of Captain Richard Phillips at 6:30 this morning.  ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN weren’t here, just one other satellite truck and camera crew providing a pool (shared) feed to the 3 broadcast nets, plus a reporter and photographer from the NY Post .

The home sits on a rural two lane road surrounded by fields of grass, thick stands of trees and mountains in every direction,  including Vermont’s tallest peak, Mount Mansfield.  The town of Underhill has a population of just over 3000.

I spoke twice at length with Gina Coggio, a sister-in-law of the Captain, who told me the family was staying optimistic and positive and had reason to believe the situation would turn out well.

The family knew Richard had a dangerous job but he’s “amazing at it”, they weren’t surprised he’d offer himself as hostage because “he’s that kind of man” and it shouldn’t be necessary to arm ships, “especially when they’re carrying relief to people who desperately need it.”

“It’s a scary situation, a sad situation and a real situation” she said, and everyone is “doing the best they can to insure everyone’s safe and it ends peacefully.”

We thanked her for her time and promised not to bother her, instead waiting for the family to approach us when they had an update.

The media crowd grew slowly throughout the morning, then started to mushroom. Three large satellite trucks rolled in along with a total of nearly two dozen cars, lining the roads and field across the street.

A dozen cameras set up on tripods on the other side of the Phillips’ weathered white picket fence.

The family asked the press to respect their privacy and stay off the yard and across the street but many weren’t listening, running to the property whenever there was a sign of activity, like when friends used a yellow ribbon to tie flowers to a tree.

Finally, at 4 pm, family friend and neighbor Michael Willard approached a podium set up for Andrea Phillips and addressed the assembled mass of cameras, microphones and news people.

“I have a very brief statement from Mrs. Phillips. She has decided she does not want to make a statement now… until this is resolved, and would like you to respect her privacy. She has stated she would like you off of her premises and away from her house by tomorrow morning.”

Since the Phillips family owns the property across the street too, this meant we wouldn’t be able to speak to ANY family or friends coming or going to and from the house.

“Could you be more specific?” I asked. “You mean the entire area?  She doesn’t want any media anywhere near her house?”

“That’s correct” he said. “She’s… She’s done very well under the circumstances and, uh, I think this is getting a little bit out of hand for her so…”

“She understands the world is concerned?” I asked.

“She’s fully aware of that but you know, she’s under enormous strain and she’d just like her privacy respected… Right now she’s just overwhelmed and she just can’t deal with this right now. She’s upset enough about her husband and his situation and just needs her privacy.”

He thanked us and left and we will of course do exactly as the family has asked.

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One house appears dry behind sandbag dike, building to the right is lost in Oakport Township, MN

Oakport Township didn’t fare as well as Fargo when the Red River reached its record high.  120 people had to be rescued by boat when the river overwhelmed a connecting creek and poured into the streets.

There are dozens of homes compromised, with skating rinks in the front yards and water in the basements.

One house belonging to an elderly couple was protected by a sandbag wall but burned to the ground in a blaze apparently sparked by a propane leak. Firefighters could only get within 200 feet of the property because of the flood.

We met Fargo Police Officer Dale Stoll wading out of the water on his flooded street, in uniform headed to work another 12 hour shift. His son is fighting in Afghanistan and learned their house was in trouble via facebook.

“Water hit the electrical outlets so we gotta rewire” Dale told me. ” We have to replace the wood and the hot water heater and furnace…”.

He told me he bought flood insurance March 3rd but it takes 30 days to kick in.

He said it could’ve been worse and he’s trying to stay focused on serving the people of his community and he’s glad to have a job that can help take his mind off his own troubles, but at the same time it’s hard to concentrate knowing all the work that needs to be done at home.

Power crews work on lines as flood waters slowly recede in Oakport.

We watched a power crew in a bucket truck work on electric lines and some guys with a bulldozer and flatbed preparing to replace “road closed” signs with more permanent concrete barricades.

And we met Roger Fremo, who has a strange and eerie shelf of ice at bumper level across his garage marking the flood’s high water mark. He managed to keep most of the river out of his house with a couple pumps running around the clock.

“We had water coming in thru the windows. It was a real battle … but we won”.

He said he was scared when they issued the red alert but decided to stick it out. The neighbors who heeded the warnings and left, he said, were more likely to have suffered in the end.

Check out this pic!

Ice shelf: Original flood line still frozen inside garage

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A flooded home in Oakport Township, Minn

Flooded road in Oakport Township

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Road conditions are ridiculous. The snow has been coming down thick non-stop for hours. Winds are gusting up to 30 mph, creating drifts and buffeting the few vehicles out and about. There’s thick ice on the pavement and flood waters over some stretches of highway, forcing numerous closures and detours. Travel advisories are in effect and most seem to be heeding the warnings. There’s very little traffic, save for an occasional four-wheel-drive and the snowplows. Visibility is a quarter mile or less near Casselton, where they’ve set up a temporary National Guard and Red Cross staging area and shelter at the local school, which serves all grades. There are no classes all week so the building was available. 144 evacuees from Fargo were brought in Friday and Saturday, taking up residence on cots in the gym. 19 are still here. There’s a medical unit set up, the cafeteria is serving meals and movies are being shown on a TV. Board games are set up on tables in the dining area, and one man played solitaire this afternoon. More evacuees from a nursing home are staying temporarily at St. Leo’s Catholic Church just down the road. Snow has drifted up to the roof line outside the school’s front door, where the wind continues to howl. Otherwise Casselton is quiet, and the deputies we’ve spent the day with have had no emergencies to respond to.

I’ll keep you posted on the latest from Fargo! Keep checking back!

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We’re riding in the back of a Cass County Sheriff Deputy’s four door pickup truck. We figured it would be the best way to cover any breaking news in the Fargo area, since the region is suffering through a near blizzard.  8 inches have fallen since last night and the forecast is for up to 18″ total.

Deputy Steve Hahn is behind the wheel, and Deputy Matt Giddings, who normally works as a corrections officer at the county lockup, is riding shotgun.  Photographer Matt Yellin from our L.A. Bureau is next to me in the back.

We’re headed north towards Harwood, trailing behind a fleet of snowplows, taking the long way since the other routes are under water.

Earlier, at 7a local, we sat in on the morning roll-call at the West Fargo PD, held there because Fargo’s HQ is too close to the Red River.

Sheriff Paul Laney was 12 minutes late, forced to deal with the awful conditions just like everyone else.

“There’s nothing but glare ice out there” the officers were warned.  “Roads are absolutely horrible and your visibility is down to zero.  Get in there and hunker down in your area so you can respond to emergency calls.”

Overnight incidents were limited to a few traffic accidents (including one involving two national guard vehicles that wound up in a ditch) and a man who thought he was suffering appendicitis and needed a ride to the hospital.

The Sheriff praised his weary men and women for working around the clock since the flooding began, and urged caution.

“We’re eight, nine days into this. If there was ever a time for situational awareness it’s now.”

“You never made me so proud” he told the room.  “I haven’t heard one deputy whine once.  Have a good shift and be safe.”

He urged caution on the roads.

Keep checking back for more EXCLUSIVE “On the Scene” pics!

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Went on a ride-along with Deputy Joe Gress, a 3-year veteran of the Cass County Sheriff’s Department.

He took us towards the town of Harwood, normally a 12 minute drive from West Fargo but now more like half an hour because of road closures due to the flood.

We saw miles of fields and farmland underwater, and roadside ditches are full too. That could prove tragic if anyone loses control in the coming snowstorm and slides or flips off the highways.  Deputy Gress says traffic accidents are one of his biggest concerns.

He described some areas as war zones and spoke of how tough it was to see people he’d come to know during his patrols washed out of their homes.

Then we saw Merle Egeberg wading through her driveway carry supplies delivered by her daughter, including a couple of electric heaters.

Merle’s home is surrounded by water and it’s under her house but isn’t deep enough to front door.  She has no basement to worry about but her furnace ducts are blocked so her daughter brought a couple of electric heaters to keep Merle and her husband warm.

Why not leave?  “We’d just as soon stay here and watch and see things don’t freeze up and stuff” she told me.

Does this upset you, I asked?  “It’s kind of an inconvenience, getting tiresome going on several days, but …  I’m pretty easygoing.”

Lots of residents feel the same way. Thousands north and south of town have ignored the Sheriff’s strong warnings to get out.  150 were extracted by boat and air, but those operations have now been suspended because the snow is coming down hard.

Up to 14 inches could fall by nightfall Tuesday, which means the Red River could crest yet again, and the worst may not be over.

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I spoke to Paul Laney this morning, the Sheriff of Cass County, who’s been dealing with the worst flood to hit Fargo, North Dakota, in more than a century.

“We’re putting up a fight throughout the Red River Valley” he told me. “Mother Nature gave us a sucker punch but in the end we’re gonna hit her back.”

I asked him about the weather forecast, with a blizzard predicted later in the day.

“We’re a pretty hardy lot. We’re used to this. Yes we’re in a major flood fight and now a 2nd major snowstorm is going to hit during it, but we’ll suck it up. You can sit and whine about it or you can do something about it. We’ll get ‘er done.”

We talked about people living outside the city limits, now cut off from civilization by flood waters.

“We’ve made an extremely concerted effI spoke to Paul Laney this morning, the Sheriff of Cass County, who’s been dealing with the worst flood to hit Fargo, North Dakota, in more than a century. “We’re putting up a fight throughout the Red River Valley” he told me. “Mother Nature gave us a sucker punch but in the end we’re gonna hit her back.” I asked him about the weather forecast, with a blizzard predicted later in the day. “We’re a pretty hardy lot. We’re used to this. Yes we’re in a major flood fight and now a 2nd major snowstorm is going to hit during it, but we’ll suck it up. You can sit and whine about it or you can do something about it. We’ll get ‘er done.” We talked about people living outside the city limits, now cut off from civilization by flood waters. “We’ve made an extremely concerted effort (to reach them)” he told me, using boats, air boats and helicopters. “They’re resilient people. They live there because they like the solitude. They’re self-sufficient, with generators and (all-terrain) vehicles.”. Most of the stranded told the Sheriff they were fine but some were beginning to show the emotional wear and tear of trying to protect their homes day after day with sandbags and water pumps in bitter cold. Some could be cut off for a week or more and the situation could be complicated by snow drifts of 4 to 8 feet, especially since trucks normally used for snow removal have been redirected to dike construction and repairs. Air and boat operations will cease when the snow starts falling. We are hoping to document some of the boat trips to the remote flooded areas this morning and report live at 3 and 7pm est. ort (to reach them)” he told me, using boats, air boats and helicopters. “They’re resilient people. They live there because they like the solitude. They’re self-sufficient, with generators and (all-terrain) vehicles.”.

Most of the stranded told the Sheriff they were fine but some were beginning to show the emotional wear and tear of trying to protect their homes day after day with sandbags and water pumps in bitter cold. Some could be cut off for a week or more and the situation could be complicated by snow drifts of 4 to 8 feet, especially since trucks normally used for snow removal have been redirected to dike construction and repairs.

Air and boat operations will cease when the snow starts falling. We are hoping to document some of the boat trips to the remote flooded areas this morning and report live at 3 and 7pm est.

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Speaking to witnesses of the crash, including Jamie Lynn Trujillo who was at her home a block from the crash scene with her 12-year-old daughter when she heard the awful sputtering sound of the ailing turbo prop, then felt the ground shake with the massive impact and explosion.

She ran to the scene along with many other neighbors hoping to help, immediately realizing there was no hope for anyone on board.

Jamie Lynn’s voice broke as she recounted seeing the woman who lived in the demolished home stumble out and fall to the ground. “That’s my house!  That’s my house!” She cried. Her husband died in the crash.

Dave Hartzell also lives nearby.  He described the “ka-chunk” sound of the engines failing and the searing 50-foot flames that filled the sky.

He knows people who were on the plane, too, he told me.  It could be days or weeks before the full magnitude of their experiences sinks in.

Keep checking back for LIVE updates from the scene in Buffalo, NY.

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I was out last night at midnight. My bureau chief called, which she never does at that hour, so I knew it was big!

“Plane crash in Buffalo” she told me.  My mind started racing. There would be flights after 6a but would they be able to land?  How many miles?  How many hours to drive?

I Map Quested it. 380 crews were called. I got a ride home and packed. We left at 1:30a.

Photographer Mayer Dubinsky drove the entire way. I don’t know how he did it. He’d been in at 5a the day before for early live shots and hadn’t slept more than 30 minutes.

I did phoners from the car, monitoring radio news and updates on the web with my laptop and aircard. We tried to LIVE stream with a second laptop and then a third and then with a comvu phone so at one point I had three laptops and two hand held devices including my blackberry all in use, stacked on my lap, the dashboard and center console as we rocketed North at 75 miles per hour.

We hit snow about three hours out and the roads got worse.  I slept for maybe an hour.

We arrived at the library now serving as a press center just minutes before 9a. Our satellite truck was already in place.

I was on the air within minutes after getting out of the car and the presser started minutes after that.

The day is just beginning and the awful stories of horror and loss are now being told.

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You may have heard about Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street hedge fund honcho accused of pulling off the biggest swindle in the history of the world!?  He’s charged with security fraud for bilking investors (including charities) out of $50 BILLION and admitting “it was all just one big lie” when his sons told the feds their dad done bad.

Madoff supposedly admitted he was running a Ponzi scheme, using money from new investors to pay inflated dividends to old investors, living the high life while making everyone believe he was a financial wiz when in fact he was just (allegedly) building a house of cards that collapsed when one of the bigger players asked for their stake back and he couldn’t pay.

As it turns out, one of his apparent victims is one of the world’s savvier businessmen, Mort Zuckerman, a real estate developer who owns the New York Daily News, U.S. News, and World Report.  I know Mort (but not well) because we play on the same charity softball team for one game every summer.  He’s a decent pitcher and a very smart, hard-edged guy.  We’ve lost Artists and Writers games together but I’d never expect him to make a bad investment.

Zuckerman says he lost $30 million to Bernard Madoff, even though he had never heard of the guy.  Zuckerman runs a $300 million charity and divided it into ten funds of $30 million each and the guy running one of those funds invested the whole pile with Madoff, apparently without Mort’s knowledge.  As you might have guessed, that guy is now gone and Zuckerman says he’s taking a closer look at his other funds and who’s handling the cash and how.

I talked to some other big-shot Wall Street players today and I asked one how we can better protect our investments in these funds and he said “Safeguards?  There aren’t any!”  Hedge funds are far less regulated than other investments and guys like Madoff can operate with almost no oversight, which reinforces an old standard;  if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Another investment banker friend of mine told me the Madoff case can actually help restore confidence in some of the bigger banks and legit firms.  Banks are much more heavily regulated.  Client’s securities are segregated and cash deposits are insured by the FDIC. My buddy says the problems are more likely when fund managers are able to work outside the walls and wind up with a little too much freedom.

The fallout from Madoff’s alleged thievery is snowballing now, with charities closing, funds going dry and more investors learning the awful truth.  Meanwhile Madoff is out on bail, last spotted in the window of his upper east side penthouse smoking a cigar.  The neighbor who spied him said he looked “forlorn”.  I wonder who will shed a tear for him and if he’ll ever be fully punished for his alleged record breaking fleecing of investors large and small around the world.

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The solution to the problem of Somali “pirates” seems so simple I’m surprised I haven’t heard more people offering it up.

If a bank is moving millions (or even thousands) of dollars in funds, do they put it in the back of a flatbed and just hire a driver?  Of course not.  They put it in an armored vehicle with armed security guards following specific strategic protocol to insure its safe delivery.

So why would anyone moving valuable cargo through known dangerous areas not employ sufficient protection for the ship and its crew from attack? Is it kidnapping or is it worse?

Yes, even armored cars get robbed and sometimes the guards are shot or killed, but the presence of weapons certainly acts as a deterrent and so does the threat of arrest, prosecution and prison time.

Pirates are criminals and should be treated as such.  Instead of rewarding them with multi-million dollar ransoms, in my opinion, the best way to prevent further attacks, kidnappings and worse is to fight fire with fire!

Every cargo ship should be armed with big guns and professionally trained security guards who should employ the same “Escalation of Force” tactics used by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  If a suspicious boat filled with thugs approaches, a warning should be broadcast and/ or communicated with radio, horns, lights or flags.  If the vessel doesn’t stop or change course, a warning shot is fired.  If they return fire or continue to approach the ship, security should disable the suspect boat by any means possible and if pirates die in the process, so be it.

If pirates get wounded and captured or killed every time they try to seize a ship it’ll become a far less attractive line of work.  It shouldn’t be the U.S. Navy’s responsibility to protect all these private companies moving goods through international waters.  Sure we should offer help and assistance and do what we can, but if the shipping companies can afford to pay huge ransoms, they can certainly afford to install some 25 millimeter Bushmaster Chain Guns or other heavy automatic weapons and hire guys who know how to use them to protect their investment.

Paying the pirates allows them to buy more machine guns and RPG’s and encourages them to continue their criminal activities.  Scaring them off (or killing them if they engage in a shootout) would have the opposite effect.

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At University City near the campuses of U Penn and Drexel in Philadelphia.

A line of roughly 40-50 people outside a polling place in a library at the corner of 40th and Walnut Streets, some cheering and clapping when the doors open slightly late at 7:08 am.

Two Obama/Biden signs are planted in the flower boxes out front. There are no McCain/Palin signs.

The crowd is mostly young and white, college students who got up extra early to exercise their constitutional rights for the first or second time (or third…some voted in the primary in April, others also voting in 2006).

A young couple walks out smiling. Then another young lady. I ask how it went. “Great!” She says with a smile.

There are four voting machines inside, each shrouded with a blue curtain. Two lines form in front of poll workers who sit behind a desk loging people in. They show ID and are checked off a list, they sign a book and then wait for an open booth.

Things so far appear to be running smoothly and after the initial push inside there is no line.

UPDATE: 7:30a a McCain sign is planted outside.

8:19 AM: Drove by a polling place in a church in West Philadelphia just before 8a. No line outside.

Drove to another polling place at a housing project in West Philly. Walked in. About 30 people lined up in the lunch room, many older folks, mostly black or hispanic. No campaign signs outside either location…

9:22 AM: Long lines at a polling place in West Philadelphia.

9:25 AM: At an elementary school in West Philadelphia’s University City area.

Longest line we’ve seen so far. One man about to sign in and cast his ballot told me he’d been waiting 1 hour 40 minutes.

An Obama volunteer doing exit polling outside says she hasn’t seen anyone leave the line before voting.

The line is racially mixed with a wide age range but seems skewed younger.

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Friday I witnessed one of the most amazing and wonderful moments of my 21-year reporting career. It came after an early morning flight to Detroit where we rented a car, met up with a freelance crew and drove to a suburban mobile-home park.

I felt like Ed McMahon or the guy from Publishers Clearing House with cameras behind me as I approached the front steps of a double-wide trailer in a well-kept yard.

I knocked and saw a woman inside rush toward the door.

I confirmed her name and introduced myself and held up my Blackberry with Robin Hood 702 on the speakerphone.

“Can you hear me?” He asked. “Get your husband out there… I want to speak to him too!”

Her husband appeared with their young daughter in his arms and Robin Hood broke the news.

“You have been chosen by Robin Hood, myself. I’m flying you to Vegas…” As he spoke I watched the tears flow down her face. Her husband began to cry, my producer welled up and I’m not ashamed to admit I did too, as Robin Hood continued.

“The limo is picking you up at 4 o’clock. I’m gonna fly you first class and I’m gonna bring you out of debt.”

There was a stunned moment of silence but the mood was sheer joy and incredulous relief.

“Are you serious?” She asked, but of course she knew he was.

As we first reported in August, Robin Hood 702 is a high stakes blackjack player who decided to help a family buried in bills during these tough economic times by using his skills at the table to win the money they needed to get back to even. Find out more on his web site >>

He solicited submissions to his website and the entries poured in by the hundreds. The family he chose is buried in medical bills and struggling financially. Now their lives were about to change forever.

And there was another entry from a woman in Charleston, S.C. who Robin Hood says touched him so much he flew her to Vegas too.

* * *

A long black stretch limo pulled up to the family’s driveway ahead of schedule and the father carried out the stroller and car seat and the driver helped load bags in the trunk. “Have you ever ridden in a limo before?” I asked. “When we got married four years ago” he said with a smile, “but not since.”

They were about to have their horizons broadened beyond what they could even imagine.

We joined the family on the flight to Vegas and documented Robin Hood’s attempt to win their money back (he promised them half no matter what) and we’ll reveal their identities.

But here’s a sneak peek:

There was plenty of drama and eventually bags full of thousands of dollars worth of chips taken from the rich and given to the poor, who go home touched by the generosity and armed for a fresh start in life.

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I got maybe four hours of sleep.

I know I should be resting up, with a major hurricane on the way, but we worked till nearly 3a.m. and I can’t unwind that fast and woke up early with slight pains in my back and side.

Yes, I’m getting old, but it’s hard to get comfortable sleeping on the floor.

My crew and I have settled in a brand new home right on the water in Port Lavaca. It’s still not completely finished (no faucets in the shower, for example.) There’s no furniture in it, but the builder tells us it’s hurricane proof and able to withstand winds up to 200 mph — with the roof rated up to 150.

He offered the house to us to use as a live location and safe haven from the approaching storm. Our other option is 25 miles inland in Victoria, so we’re staying here, and I’ll be sleeping on the floor again tonight (if there’s any sleep to be had during the hurricane).

The nearby Wal-Mart was nice enough to let us in yesterday afternoon after they’d just closed so we could buy sleeping bags and a microwave and coffeemaker. We’ve got plenty of water and dry food.

Now all we need are the pictures.

At 8a.m. it’s eerily calm … not even a spit of rain or wind.

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Skies are often spectacularly colorful the night before a big storm

In Myrtle Beach, Hanna didn’t pack much of a punch. Some jabs, perhaps, easily deflected.

We got plenty of rain, coming down in sheets at times, or sideways with the gusts, but never really stinging my face like I’ve felt in more significant storms past.

The wind swirled and stopped and swirled some more. We might’ve had peak in the 50’s, but there was never a time where I had trouble standing.

The most impressive part of the Tropical Storm here on the Grand Strand was the angry surf, whitecaps curling and pounding the beach in rows, washing up and over my boots as I stood at the edge of the dunes for live shots.

Ike, on the other hand, looks like Hanna’s criminal cousin, ready to commit felonies across the Florida Keys and beyond. He could be very dangerous and folks would be smart to avoid crossing his path.

So of course we’re gonna head straight down there and stand in his way.

Photographer Tommy Chiu newsgathers on Myrtle Beach before Hanna

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There isn’t much difference between covering a tropical storm and covering a hurricane before it arrives…

We still have to pack all our bad weather gear, stock up on water, dry food and supplies and find a suitable place for the satellite truck to park so we can stay live thru the storm.

Wednesday morning we flew to Savannah Georgia from New York, then had to drive nearly four hours north to Myrtle Beach South Carolina because Hanna shifted her path. We scouted a couple possible locations along the way, including the Litchfield Inn on Pawleys Island (great spot but too far south)before settling at the newly built Sandy Beach Resort just south of the main drag in Myrtle.

When we found out the city wouldn’t let us park our sat truck on the sidewalk in front of the hotel (the only spot protected from the expected winds) we found another spot just up the road at the Windsurfer Motel.

Today we shot interviews and b-roll on the beach, on a pier and in town for a story we put together for our affiliates across the country. We’ll be live until 2 am ET and do it all again tomorrow.

So far the weather has been picture perfect, but forecasters say we’ll get at least tropical storm force winds tomorrow afternoon and evening and heavy rains thru the night.

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He calls himself “Robin Hood 702.”

He’s a high stakes blackjack player well known in certain Las Vegas casinos for wagering thousands of dollars a hand, sometimes winning (or losing) hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day.

Now he’s offering to use his gambling skills — and his own money — to help a family in financial need, like a modern-day Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. He wants to remain anonymous to keep the focus on the good deed he’s ready to do.

“I’m looking for a well deserving family up against hard times” he told me over a recent dinner on the West Coast. “People $25,000 to $50,000 in debt who did right by family or neighbors in the past. Now it’s their time to be helped and I want to be the one to help them.”

He’s created a website, Robinhood702.com, where he’ll collect submissions now through Sept. 15 before choosing a winner. He says anyone can nominate anyone in need, like a friend, relative, neighbor or themselves, by sending a 1- to 3-minute video explaining their hardships, contributions or other reasons they should be selected.

He’ll choose a winner after confirming the details of their story and financial crisis.

Robin Hood 702 promises the chosen family “an unforgettable experience” in Las Vegas or a similar gaming venue (he’s still looking for the right casino to host the event). He’ll fly them in, put them up in a high-roller suite and cover meals, spa treatments and show tickets. Then, at some point he’ll go into the casino’s VIP high-limit room and win the money necessary to pay off their debt.

“What if you lose?” I ask him. “I won’t” he insists.

Then, because he’s superstitious, he asks me not to use the “L” word again, guaranteeing he’ll set aside half the money the family needs to be debt-free and hand it over, no matter what happens at the blackjack table.

“But that won’t be necessary. I’m gonna win the money” he tells me, and after seeing him play, it’s easy to believe the boast.

He says he’s been gambling since he was 16, experiencing every emotion imaginable, “up, down, over and out”, but says he’s figured out after all these years how to win consistently, crediting much of his success to good karma and good luck.

He doesn’t recommend that others try this and says he knows some perceive gambling as “the dark side,” but he believes he can use it to do good and says he hopes to start a national movement, with people using their skills or expertise in other fields to help families in crisis.

For now, he’s focusing on finding the first family, he told me while sipping Evian with a slice of orange (he doesn’t drink alcohol).

“My goal,” he says, “is to save someone’s house, pay their debts and win back their American dream.”

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