henry ferris was the editor. i was struck by how talented the writer was. now historian david marion pain stakenly traced the life of the first black president. barack obama, the story presents by some counts more than three dozen material discrepancies in the president s rendering of his own life. case and point. dreams relate how the president s paternal grandfather was deteened and tortured by british colonialists in a prison outside nairobi. after interviews and research he deems the tale unlikely. some of what he did was result of mythology from the family and some was for the purpose of advancing themes in this book, which had to do with finding racial identity. a composite character helps the young man embrace his heritage, is believed to be based on michelle obama.
independence avenue or to some of the smithsonian museums where it s air conditioned and covered out of sight. they took what little shade there was, well positioned near the washington monument for the big show later on. all of them trying to stay cool. mostly succeeding. no shade. a lot of water. things are going good. fabulous, i love it. still a possibility of thunderstorms down here on the mall. but the likelihood has dropped to 10%. so it looks like that big show at the other end of the mall on the capitol steps, capitol fourth can go on uninterrupted at 8:00 p.m. followed be by the spectacular fireworks show around 9:10 tonight. john: good news, steve. we ll be watching. thank you so much. steve centanni on the national mall. firefighters battling blazes across the west are keeping an eye out for fireworks tonight. they re also hoping that calmer winds and higher humidity will help them get upper hands in the fires. correspondent alicia acuna is in denver wit
unlike years past few people chose to make a long day of it out here at the mall. apparently choosing instead to stay away until later when it might cool off a little bit. earlier today, in spite of the heat, it did look like the typical independence day. reporter: festivities began with old fashioned fourth of july parade. plenty of color and excitement for everyone. plenty of heat, too. nearby, a cooling center, one of several located around the site. staffed with doctors and boy scout volunteers and stocked with plenty of water, big fans and even an outdoor sprinkler to cool people off. the high temperatures mean a higher risk of medical problems. the biggest problem we have are heat injuries. they come seek. we try to sort out out and help them one way or another. reporter: as always, tight security on the mall. filing through security check points. police were issuing this all too familiar advice. if you see something, please say something. approach one of th