sideways. i could see people scrambling and it rolled on top and just flew. people were scattering. the race is part of a series it s about hundred miles from los angeles. most of the people who were killed are in their 20s. driver of the vehicle was not hurt. as it turns out, spectators were standing right alongside the course with no concrete walls or rails to protect them. julie: speck at a timers are estimated into tens of thousands they are very close to the vehicles on the racetrack. one witness says maybe too close. only way to prevent it on if people knew the risks better. people were too close. julie: so the question is why are these race fans allowed to close to these speeding off road vehicles. i ll be talking live to the california highway patrol later this hour. that is one of the questions i m going to ask him year. new reaction right now to ground zero mosque. president s words will escalate into a campaign issue leading up to the mid terms. president
but it s an interesting dilemma for people here along the gulf coast. here in panama city beach. they haven t gotten a drop of oil on the beaches here, but their businesses are down 40 to 60%. so, significant problems here and they re gradualad to have t president here and hopping maybe they ll dip his toes in the surf. mike emanuel. thank you so much. after weeks of silence, president obama weighing in on the mosque controversy, making it clear he supports the decision to build near the site of the 9/11 attacks, his comments not sitting well with his critics. malini wilkes joining us with details. tell us about this. how are the president s comments being received? hi, kelly, the president says our patch work heritage is a strength, not a weakness, he says both as a citizen and as a president he thinks that muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else and that includes the right to build a place of
after the worst terror attack on the u.s. homeland. president obama revealing his support lies over the building of a mosque where the twin towers once stood. if any doubts still linger this controversy is not part of the national debate, they just vanished with the president s comments. malini wilkes has more from washington. president obama has jumped in the debate over building a mosque near ground zero but already trying to clarify his position. until now the white house had called the debate a local matter, but speaking at a white house dinner last night in observance of ramadan, he says he supports the right of muslims to build the mosque. he says it s hallow ground and america s commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. as a citizen and president, i believe muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. [ applause ] that includes the right to
latest leak. plus, president obama on the gulf coast. job is not finished and we aren t going anywhere until it is. julie: reaffirming the commitment to clean up the gulf four months after the explosion that triggered the disaster. president also weighing in on controversy over plans to build a mock near ground zero. a live report coming up. also tonight, a daring rescue caught on tape as raging floodwaters nearly wash two women away. a bear guess for a snack and 65 years after america s victory hundreds gather could re-create the kiss that made history. a one man army staring down on the powerful military. julian assange says he is will not be threatened by the pentagon. threatening to release those of more documents about the afghan war. pentagon warning the worldwide display of such sensitive information puts lives at risk. those concerns goes beyond the top u.s. brass. some human rights groups operating in afghanistan that the move may come at a deadly price. as
forward with plans to put 15,000 secret documents dealing with the war on afghanistan despite a request from the pentagon to not release them. he says he will not be threatened by the u.s. or be deterred by warnings that the documents could undermine efforts in the region and risk lives. mike has been following the story from the beginning. he is traveling with the president and joins us from panama city. is it safe to say that the wikileaks founder is a hypocrite? absolutely. they say, for example, julian asan says he is concerned about the afghan people but when he leaks 76,000 pages of secret information that was precious to the united states government, in there were many afghan names, people who had helped the war effort. people who had come forward to say there is taliban and al-qaeda over there operating and u.s. intelligence reveals that they have found that the taliban and al-qaeda is combing through that information looking for names. we all know what could happen