are reported to have collapsed, including a university dormitory. rescue efforts must compete with frequently strong aftershocks. so far, at least 138 deaths have been confirmed, many more injured. this part of the world is prone to killer earthquakes. a 7.6 quake hit western turkey a dozen years ago. at that time, 17,000 people were killed. cnn crews are now at the site of today s devastating damage. nefsen joins us by phone. can you see anything, or get a s sense of what s going on there? reporter: the situation is not good, as you mentioned, and this is one of the biggest earthquakes in the last 100 years of the turkish history. so one of the eastern cities of turkey, van, was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake about 12 hours ago, and after that, there have been more than 20 aftershocks. each magnitude around 4. so people are really scared. and in central van, there are 10 buildings, maybe, 10 buildings, which are damaged or collapsed, and some of them are state hospitals
joins us live. how are families planning to celebrate these soldiers when they come home? reporter: well, you know, i ve been to a lot of mill bases and seen a lot of very tearful departures as the troops have gone off. perhaps the most joyful words you could ever hear on a military base is they re coming home. that s exactly what they ve heard here at ft. bliss. rumors have been circulating here for some time. not long after the troops here deployed which would have been back in july and august. all that was made official yesterday when w the announcement of president obama. that means the 3,500 or so troops that are in iraq for the first armor division will all be coming home as of december 31st. i was talking with denise young. she got the news with other spouses. and even though it s her husband s second deployment, she said that this goodbye was actually harder than the first. listen to what she had to say. it s always a worry. any time he s gone, whether it is at a
exchange because many palestinians were serving life sentences for deadly attacks against israel. we ll be heading to shalit s hometown where fred pleitgen is. this is a very heart-wrenching moment for many israelis who are concerned about potential retaliation given how many of these soldiers have been released and with actual euphoria from many palestinians. fred pleitgen is with us now in gilad shalit s hometown. good morning, fred. reporter: good morning, christine. certainly the people here in shalit s hometown of mitzpe hila. there was controversy where people were saying the political price is too high. one of the things they re concerned about is not only that some of the people they re releasing could become violent again, but also this could spawn other groups to kidnap other israeli soldiers. that is certainly not the feeling here in shalit s hometown. people are saying they re happy he was back, scenes of jubilation as these first television pictures came showin
wednesday october 12th. american officials are outraged and say iran will pay. this texas used car salesman is the unlikely suspect in an alleged assassination plot backed by iran. the u.s. claims that mons orr arbab arbabsiar was going to kill the ambassador of the united states. saying ar baubs yea wanted to blow up a restaurant killing the diplomat and potentially many americans right along with him. officials gathered in washington and gathered the diplomatic corps at the state department to ensure them they are safe. the obama administration is also deciding how to respond to iran. it s an outrage that violated one of the fundamental premises of which nations deal and that is the sanctity and safety of their diplomats. this is really over the top. they have to be held accountable. the u.s. linking the alleged plot to the elite quds force that is part of iran s revolutionary gad, but it is far from clear if quds was acting on its own or from top iranian leaders. iran
be taken out of a lab, put in an envelope, dropped in a mailbox, and people would die. robert stevens the first to die. natural cause or my husband s death certificate said homicide. originally from england, the 70s, stevens and his wife moved to florida. he worked for america media incorporated, a tabloid publisher. no one could say they didn t like him. it s full of life, he loved everybody. in early october, 2001, stevens has what seems like the flu. two days later, slurred speech and a trip to the hospital. it s anthrax. now i get shivers. and then she said, the cdc the fbi, and the president has been informed. i was in shock. robert stevens dies the next day. anthrax had shut down his vital organs. he was just the perfect person to me. and i miss him. my heart is still not in one piece yet. labwork reveals the anthrax that killed stevens called the a strain. it was a lab strain. it was not out there in the wild. david wilman, a pulgtser prize-winni