there are, in fact, hundreds of troops trying to establish a foothold near kandahar city, which is, of course, where the taliban movement was born. now, elements of the 101st airborne are involved in this operation, which is designed to prevent insurgents from moving fighters, explosives and drugs into those taliban strongholds. nbc tom as peljoins us live from kabul and tell us a little bit about this struggle and how it's likely to shape up there, tom. >> hi, chris. well, as you mentioned, it's the 101st airborne with hundreds of afghan troops and they're moving west of kandahar city. now, the objective is to deny the taliban safe havens in those areas. it's part of an ongoing operation, really, that has been happening for the last couple months trying to sweep the taliban not only out of kandahar, but helman province and southern afghanistan in general. most of the attention in afghanistan today is focused on elections scheduled for this saturday morning. and we have seen the last minute campaigning, if you can call it that because it's very low key. most of the country has more tha

it is the gate way to kandahar city. it's on a river that goes from north and west of kandahar city, second largest city in this country and it's a green zone all the way to helman province and basically the taliban use it as a super highway to move everything from drugs, to guns and basically taliban hotels and bed down positions along the way. the taliban has owned it before they were taliban, it's a place they want to hold on to. it's a place that the american military wants to take back. >>> topping bay area news, a story you'll only see here. two alameda court employees are under arrest, accused of fixing tickets in exchange for cash. vic lee reports. >> juan hernandez was arrested in lays a august after deputies say he got caught in a sting set up by the sheriff's office. a woman, though not identifying, came up to the traffic window to pay a ticket. twa as large fine. deputies say hernandez offered to fix the ticket in return for cash. instead she reported the bribe offer. >> according to sources, the deputies gav

>> reporter: it's the gateway to kandahar city. it's on the river. it's the river that goes north and west from kandahar city. that's the second-largest city. and it's a green zone. all the way through helmand province. basically, the taliban uses it as a superhighway, to move everything from drugs to guns to fighters. there's also, basically, a taliban hotel or beddown positions along the way. it's a place the taliban has owned before they were the taliban. the jihad fighting the soviets. it's a place they wanted to hold on to. and it's a place that the u.s. military and the afghan military are taking back. >> our miguel marquez on the front lines. thank you. ashleigh, back to you. >>> in the midwest, major flooding is expected to continue into next week, with seven states now under flood warnings. so far, minnesota, south dakota, wisconsin, have been the hardest hit. and linsey davis is in the town of arcadia, wisconsin. good morning, linsey. >> reporter: good morning, ashleigh. it may be difficult to tell looking at the intersection of main street

to defend this strategic building on the main road to kandahar city, they turned it into a combat outpost. for the michigan native with a degree in journalism it's personal, denying them the school could secure a chide's chance at an education. >> it's about being a human being, and that's what we're trying to do out here. >> reporter: now the school's windows are lined with sandbags and exhausted troopers have replaced students and the black boards keep track of the ammunition. the foundation stone was laid almost eight years ago with u.s. cash and lots of hope for the future. three years later canadian forces opened the school and two years later the taliban shut it down. today this school is a front line, and snier snipers are posd behind the trees less than 100 yards beyond the wall ready to pounce when they venture beyond the school. stout is optimistic, a veteran of the surge in baghdad, he's seen war zones become school zones before. he's determined to hold the school so kids can be back in class this fall. >> this is why we fought through the times we did to make this success. the

well, that operation is taking place just a little west of the city of kandahar on the south side of a highway where a couple of american bases have been taking incoming fire for a month or so and it seems now that the american forces decided to do something about it. you know there haven't been any details released in kabul about the operation. no reports of casualties or any contact with the taliban but we know that that area is particularly heavy with taliban arms traffickers and drug traffickers this move through that area and the military hoping part of the wider search to deny the strongholds in and around the city of kandahar a birthplace of the taliban that's why they're moving troops around there at the moment. contessa? >> tom, thanks. >>> right now the u.s. embassy in jordan warning americans not to go to the port city of akaba. the embassy says a threat the imminent and received threat information and telling americans to stay away from the port city, avoid the downtown and port areas for at least the next 48 hours. last month attackers launched rockets from egypt and hit

the aim of the moment is to stop taliban supply lines from reaching into kandahar city itself. they've been using it for some time to move ammunition and the proceeds of drug trafficking into the the city of kandahar. the military says they've encountered some resistance. they've been in the area for about four months, but this is the first time they've gone near some of the smaller villages that until now have been controlled by taliban fighters. many afghan farmers and the civilian farm population have moved out of the area. it's the haven for the taliban and it's where the movement started years ago. and it's known to be the homeland of the taliban. american forces and afghan forces taking along with them afghan police and newly appointed government officials in an effort to resemble the area as they go through it and put that government administration in place so that that taliban can't return. the military has made no mention of any casualties so far. they're call it a significant movement rather than an operation and they're pointing out that it's part of a wider strategy

where they're going to in kandahar city and i think by next door in the hellman province and doing damage to the counterterrorism streaks by using the drones so you know, i remember in june of 2007 with the general under general petraeus the surge of forces is completed and the surge of operations is now completed. ang the surge of forces has been completed and 100,000 troops in afghanistan and i think the surge of operations in the next few months. >> bret: the new york times attempted bomber was tied back to the pakistani taliban and publicly when that was happening in the early stages the administration talked was a clumsy attempt and the pakistani taliban perhaps wouldn't be able to launch something across the sea and yet now there's a lot of talk of possible attacks and possible imminent plans to launch something in europe. >> al-qaeda is degraded. it's on the run. it's in hiding, but it's not destroyed. and they haven't had a major attack in years, they've had these, the one-offs here and there, which is not impressive if you're looking for something that will catch the attention of

and coalition forces push out from kandahar city as the anti- taliban operation enters a new phase. nato is stepping up the combat part of the operation dragon strike. >>> the atlanta pastor accused of abuse spoke out about the scandal during sunday's services yesterday but as fox's elizabeth pram discovered, it is what bishop eddie long is not saying. >> i have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man. but i am not the man that is being portrayed on the television. that is not me. that is not me. >> reporter: long went on so vow he would fight to the very end and let justice prevail in the court system. he continued to ask for support why he and his family go through what he say is a very maybeful and difficult times. when members left church, there were mixed emotions. >> we wanted him maybe to say he did not do the things that has been leveled against him and that was not said. >> the bishop has proven himself over the years to be a man of integrity and character so i have to stand behind the character that i know. >> reporter: the lawsuits allege that long showered the

from kandahar city all the way to helmand province. once the taliban is out, the hope then is that the young afghan government will grow. dan? >> huge challenges there, miguel marquez on the front lines once again this morning. thank you, ashleigh, to you. the pastor of a prominent black megachurch in georgia is going to return to the pulpit for the first time since he was accused of using church funds to seduce young men. will he address the crisis that is threatening his religious empire? steve osunsami is covering the story in atlanta. steve? >> reporter: good morning, ashleigh. we expect the pews at the church to be quite full this morning. all week long there have been rumors that bishop eddie long might step down today, but his people are telling us that's just not the case and that he plans to stay. >> thank god for them. >> reporter: he's the leader of one of the largest african-american churches in the world with some 25,000 members and 250 acres, and this morning's sermon is his first public response to the four young men who

the focus of this push is to clear out insurgents from the outskirts of kandahar city. kandahar is the birthplace of the taliban and coalition forces say they expected a hard battle. the goal of the new offensive is to destroy taliban fighting positions so they'll have nowhere left to hide. >> it's very important to get rid of the taliban, which, you know, regards kandahar as their heartland. >> reporter: it operation is now a top priority for coalition forces but the taliban aren't leaving without a fight. when troops go on patrol, they often face small arms fire, roadside bombs or well-placed boobytraps. at least 16 americans have already died in this new offensive. erica? >> thanks. >>> israeli settlors resume building on the west bank. israel refused to the extend building moratorium that expired yesterday. the palestinians had threatened to walk out of the peace talks if building resumes. you are looking at a live picture this morning. arab leaders are expected to meet within days. >>> bishop eddie long, the pastor of a nationally known megachurch in suburban atlan

it is more intense in kandahar city and other places. this is most dangerous and deadly for u.s. forces as there is anywhere across the country. the current rules of engage -plts for u.s. forces here in afghanistan place an emphasis on protecting afghan civilians. they have to carefully go into these cities and towns and engage not only the taliban but also protect afghan civilians. it is a difficult, difficult task megyn. megyn: sure is. connor powell, thank you so much. folks just when you thought the headlines were as bad as they could get for the administration, new poll numbers spelling out serious new headaches for the president today. and one california congresswoman finding herself in the fight of her political life after making some racially-charged a comments about her opponents. her comments and the fallout just ahead. plus, get down. brace for impact. definitely words you do not want to hear on a plane. the terrifying moments on the delta flight all captured on cellphone video, and a live witness to it all who was on board, coming up. >> heads down, stay down. heads d

of last february here with some injuries including afghan officials we've established city of kandahar has also made it and while kabul so far has been reasonably safe it was one of succession more in the early hours of this morning before the polls opened the other concern is that of increasing marriage chance now we are hearing that in some of the stations to include is also poor country so much so that instead of exhausting all the people saying there are still some ninety six i was after they voted and that is the ink that shows that people in texas have rotated in some cases people are reported being able to wash that inconsistency in minutes which means that they have a possibility to come back and vote again we're also hearing from the independent electoral commission that they have uncovered thousands if not tens of thousands of fake ballot boxes these concerns are significant particularly in light of last year's presidential elections which were marred by reports of widespread corruption and that will be the other main concern on his mind as they come and cast their ballot tod

of kandahar and there has also been a direct hit on a polling station in the east in jalalabad we are now hearing and in the reports of a rocket attack in the north we're hearing that one person there has been killed but as of yet we've been unable to confirm this so certainly a grim picture in several provinces around the country and this is just a few hours after the potence station is opened tens of thousands of afghan police and security forces are in the streets manning those polling stations they are back to what i said the foreign forces drove several polling stations here in kabul you can osha's this heavy security presence there are certainly a lot more roadblocks than they were for example yesterday but this is here in the city when you move further into the rule areas and we're talking here of some four thousand rural villages where polling stations are trying to run smoothly today city there the threats by the taliban and insurgency groups will play a bigger role among the first people to cast his ballot today was president karzai he afghans to come out and have they say w

officials we've established city of kandahar has mostly and while kabul so far has been the reasonably safe it was with us explosion or in the early hours of this morning and for the polls open the other concern is that of a breaking narratives now we are hearing that in some of the stationery into his office who are causing so much so that instead of exhausting all the people saying there's still some ninety six i was after they voted and that is the ink that shows if you could in fact average it in some cases people are reported being able to watch that in cost of three minutes which means that they have a possibility to come back and vote again who are also hearing from the independent electoral commission that they have uncovered thousands if not tens of thousands of that fake ballot boxes these concerns are significant particularly in light of last year's presidential elections which were marred by reports of widespread corruption and i could be the other main concern on people's minds as they come and costly ballot today whether or not with a ballot on it will make a difference o

kandahar. >> go go, go go! >> american commanders believe this operation is key to turning around the nine-year war and preventing the taliban from undermining afghanistan's government. one afghanistan chief points out the idea is pressure the taliban in certain areas so they don't escape and turn up someplace else. the militants have fought back with rockets and gunfire. >> they crossed the border into neighboring iraq and killed 30 firefighters involved in last week's bombing of a military parade. 12 women and children died. a member of the guard told iranian state tv that the terrorists were killed in a clash beyond the border. iran had said it would target armed groups on iraqi soil but this is a rare case admitting to such an attack. a delegation will visit iran to try to secure the release of two americans held there for more than a year. this comes one week after iranians released u.c. berkeley graduate sarah shourd. iranian authorities captured sarah shane bauer and their friend josh fattal 14 months ag

zarhi is on the main highway to kandahar. from here insurgents can control a major supply route into the city. something u.s. troops want to stop. >> okay you guys ready. >> reporter: it's the first major offensive where afghan troops, as many as 10,000, outnumber the americans. it's also the first large-scale combat operation since marines went into marjah last february. since then they've struggled to clear the town of insurgents and win over the civilian population. u.s. commanders warn of more tough fighting ahead. the kandahar offensive is crucial to president obama's afghanistan strategy. clearing the city of insurgents, breaking the taliban grip in the south, and then convincing civilians that coalition troops are in control. mandy clark, cbs news, kabul. >>> a bullfight in colombia took a deadly turn. people spilled into the rink sunday during a traditional party and bulls started chasing the crowd. some people were flipped into the air. three men were killed. and at least 37 were injured. the mayor blames alcohol for

zahri is on the main highway to kandahar. from here, insurgent cans control a major supply route into the city, something u.s. troops want to stop. >> you got friendlies, i don't want them to shoot. >> reporter: it's the first major offensive where afghan troops-- as many as 10,000-- outnumber the americans. >> taliban dead! >> reporter: it's also the first large scale combat operations since marines went into marjah last february. since then, they've struggled to clear the town of insurgents and win over the civilian population. u.s. commanders warn of more tough fighting ahead. the kandahar offensive crucial to president obama's afghanistan strategy. clearing the city of insurgents, breaking the taliban grip in the south, and then convincing civilians that coalition troops are in control. mandy clark, cbs news, kabul. >> couric: here at home, people across the upper midwest are keeping an eye on the surging floodwaters. warnings are up from south dakota to central wisconsin, including the town of portage. more than 200 resi

operation dragon strike is targeting the heart of taliban territory in the southern city of kandahar. u.s. commanders say there's a lot of tough fighting ahead, and with the force of close to 10,000 troops, this is the first time the afghan forces have have outnumbered their american counterparts. the verdict is guilty for a drunk driver who killed three people, including maryland native nick adenhart. he was a rookie pitcher for the los angeles angels. a california jury convicted him of second-degree murder. prosecutors say he had a blood alcohol level of almost three times the legal limit. gallo ran a red light causing the crash and then drove away. gallo was also driving without a license because he was on probation for a previous dui. >>> the trial for the man accused of killing sandra levy is being pushed back. he trial was scheduled to start next week but now a judge has delayed it two weeks to october 18th to try to resolve outstanding issue on witness testimony. he has pleaded not guilty in the 2001 murder of the captiol hill intern. >>> it is five after the hour. time for ano

the governor of kandahar survived a bomb attack and an eastern city of coast a bomb planted beneath a pile of wood injured two observers and nato forces say an air strike killed an insurgent leader. this election is more thain test of courage but a major test of the afghan government's ability to conduct a fair and open election. >> all right. take a look at this video we're going to show from you a camera in turkey. the camera focused on a 1-year-old toddler crawling on to a highway startling drivers. they waved to other motorists to get out of the way. the infant got away from his mother who had fallen asleep while begging on the sidewalk. drivers called the police, who returned the baby to his mother but only after she was held for questioning. >> that baby is thankfully okay. we're going to take a look at weather because there is a little change. >> we do. we're moist and damp this morning, tons of clouds going to turn out to be a drier day this afternoon. right now, poor visibility along the coast. mild temperatures. when is the rain headed our way? i'll let you know, next. >> al

of kandahar today. (gunfire) >>go,go, go! >> they believe the operation is key to turning around the nine-year war and preventing the taliban from undermining the afghanistan government. the chief points out the idea is pressure the taliban in certain areas so they don't escape and turn up somewhere else. they fought back with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire. >> an iranian newspaper reports two americans held more than a year, one week after iran released u.s. berkeley graduate sarah shourd. iran captured her and her fiancee and friend josh 14 months ahumada they crossed into iran on a hiking trip in northern iraq. amman also played a role in sarah being set free on half a million dollars bail. >> investigating an accident involving a west seattle water taxi that slammed into a historic landing. some 78 passengers and crew were on board yesterday when the vessel ran into the washington street public boat landing facility. it injured seven passengers and one person fell into elliot bay and was imme

of kandahar. the combat phase of operation dragon strike began several days ago. at the same time, "nato" helicopters based in afghanistan, carried out weekend raids into pakistan that killed at least 50 militants. pakistani officials protested the raids as violations of their sovereignty. afghan authorities worked today to win the release of a missing british aid worker. she and three afghan colleagues were kidnapped sunday in an ambush. all are employed by a consulting company that works on projects for the u.s. agency for international development. the local afghan governor tried to reassure the british government today about the woman's fate. >> i'm hopeful that we will succeed. we have weigh asked religious leaders and local elders to help us and i'm sure that as afghans traditionally respect women, she will be released soon. we have sent a group of elders to talk with these kidnappers and our struggle will continue until we ensure the safe and quick release of this woman. >> sreenivasan: als

tell me about what is happening in the city of kandahar. i was like getting many answers. we were especially bad here in the united states. we think of the conflict in afghanistan like baseball season. it starts in april and then somewhere in october or november. but that is not the case. first off, the war is never known conn -- never -- kinetic -- never nonkinetic. they are doing intimidation to the local population. insurgencies are like staircases. at the top, you have your hard- core insurgents. below them, you have your enablers, your bond makers and what not. then you have your second tier enablers. then you have the neutral population. below that, you have the military population. good counterinsurgency tactics combined with the fact local governments and really good intelligence work can isolate those top tier insurgents at the top of the staircase and everybody moves down. the problem is that we had no idea what was really going on in canada are -- in kandahar. that was a big alarm. there was a very vigorous and critique of our intelligence work in afghanistan la

of marjah near the stronghold of kandahar, where the coalition today launched a major offensive. the new military push is hardly a secret. american leaders have been building up troops and talking about this for many months now. a key part of the pentagon strategy for the war, and now it's begun. conor powell streaming live from kabul. what do we know? >> reporter: when president obama sent additional 30,000 american troops to afghanistan in december, the bulk of them went straight to kandahar, so you're right, this was no secret. the operation has long been in the works. kandahar is the taliban spiritual home and it's also a base of operations where they launch attacks in places like marjah and around the country. it is a major, major place for the taliban. and the u.s. has long focussed on trying to root out taliban in that area. doing so simply won't be easy. the taliban has a lot of support in that area and the afghan government is not popular in kandahar. military planners have said there will simply be no success in afghanistan if there is not success first in kandahar. acr

an afghan officials is troops are moving into areas around the city to block routes. >>> the midterm elections loom on the horizon and democrats are trying to keep control of congress. big names are hitting the campaign trail. demolition it joins us with details. good morning. >> good morning. senators are going to try to wrap up their work this week so they can get out of washington to focus on campaigning for the midterm elections. now just about five weeks away. tactics range from personal to presidential. former president clinton stumped in two states for two candidates on the weekend, including for congressman barney frank. frank has won elections every time around for the past 30 years. this year democrats are not taking anything for granted. abc news political director walters says there's no sign of state for democrats. president obama will be in four states that anyone in 2008. if those states are considered much more of a tossup this year. when he campaigned in wisconsin, wisconsin senator russ feingold, running for reelection, will not be there. the senator has opted to ap

the governor of kandahar province survived an attempted car bombing as rockets struck major cities throughout the country. >>> one of three american hikers held by iran on espionage charges is due back in the u.s. today. shourd has been in the persian gulf sultan of oman since freed tuesday. her fiance and a friend remain in iranian prison all three hiking in a mountainous area of northern iraq last year when they wandered into iranian territory and were arrested. >>> the trapped mineres in chile could be rescued sooner than expected. workers drilled into a passage where the 33 men have taken refuge completing a 12-inch-wide borehole ahead of schedule of the next step is to start a hole 28 inches across wide enough for the miners to escape. the 33 men have been trapped underground for the last six weeks. >>> a milestone in the gulf oil disaster. bp's blown-out oil well is expected to be permanently sealed today. five months after an explosion killed 11 workers and led to the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. history. crews friday started pumping cement into the well which couldn't be done unti

from here insurgents can control a major supply route into the city, something u.s. troops want to stop. >> okay. you got friendly. >> reporter: it's the first major offensive where afghan troops, as many as 10,000 outnumber the americans. >> taliban. >> reporter: it's also the first large-scale combat operation since marines went into last february. they have struggled to clear the town and win over the civilian population. few commanders warn of more tough fighting. the offensive is crucial to president obama's afghanistan strategy. clearing the city of insurgents, breaking the grip from the south and then convincing civilians that coalition troops are in control. reporting for cbs news, kabul. >>> general david petraeus said taliban leaders have begun reaching out to the government. >>> a house fire in minnesota became too much for firefighters. close to 45 firefighters fought the large blai.z neighbors said no one lived in the hoax. no injuries were reported. >>> a seattle's children's hospital reveals anen tensive care nurse gave an infant 10 times the medicatio