>> i'm leaving my house for probably the last time. oh, my god, there's smoke in the air so bad. let me see if i can pull up through here. the hill was on fire just a second ago. there's flames. [ bleep ]. >> my goodness. i can't even imagine that. the fire has destroyed 350 homes and killed two people. millions of people are suffering through record high temperatures with no electricity this evening. a line of powerful thunderstorms killed at least 11 people and knocked out power across nine states. president barack obama has called several governors. more on the heat and on the storm in just a minute here on cnn. >> who knew what and went whether? new questions this evening on the jerry sandusky rape case. cnn recovered an e-mail thread that seems to indicate officials knew they had a problem with sandusky dating back to 2001 but decided to handle the issues internally. see the complete report coming up in moments on cnn. ♪ >> an historic moment in cairo, egypt as they inaugurated its first new president, mohamed morsi, the first democratically elected president in egypt's history. one of his biggest challenges may be dealing with the military, which still hold as lot of power in egypt. >> avoiding the record heat that knocked out power to more than 3.5 million people. ohio, west virginia and virginia are under a heat emergency. at least 11 deaths are blamed on last night's thunderstorms packing 80 mile-an-hour winds from the midwest all the way to the capital. virginia's governor says restoring power in his state will be a multi-day challenge. the places hit hardest by last night's storms places that now have no power, are the same areas facing more triple digit record high temperatures. more on that heat wave in just a moment. first an update on the area around washington, d.c. now. we go to athena jones in rockville, maryland. we're hearing president obama getting updates on the storm damage. what else are you learning? >> reporter: that's right, don. the president has gotten an update from the fema director on the response activities by several of the states that suffered from the severe storms that rolled through. he's spoken with four governors in the area, ohio, maryland, virginia and west virginia. and in fact, it was caught on tape the moment that he called virginia governor bob mcdonnell. let's take a listen to what happened there. >> i'm going to -- i've got a call, the president is calling to see what he can do for us. the president was very kind as he did during several of the recent weather events. he's called me personally and asked if the federal officials were on the ground and doing the things that needed to be done and gave a direct offer of assistance, told me to call him personally if there's anything that we need. >> reporter: and, you know, of course president obama was also calling to offer his condolences to the governors of these states for the deaths in their area. 11 deaths nationwide. at least eight in this region alone. one man was killed in washington, d.c. after a tree and power wires fell on his house. he and his wife stepped out of his house last night around 11 p.m. both were electro kruted, and she's in critical condition and he was killed. a lot of signs of how dangerous this kind of storm can be. and also showing how it may take a while to get back to normal across this area. >> absolutely, athena. this is a terrible day to be without power. so what's the situation in the area now with that? >> reporter: well, exactly. i mean, 1 million customers were without power in virginia. that number is slowly coming down. as many as two-thirds of the residents in montgomery county, maryland, were without power. it was a block-by-block situation. many of the businesses saw the power come back. some. streets don't have it. i spoke with an older man earlier who was concerned, didn't have air conditioning and said i'm going to have to take my sister who had a serious operation somewhere where she can stay warm. they are working as quickly as they can to safe restore power but they say it could take about a week for full restoration. they asked for help from thousands crews around the region but other areas are going to need it as well. people will have to stay cool by going to cooling centers and shopping malls. >> one week with record high temperatures without power, not good. >> 12 states are now under excessive heat warnings today. we should go to our meteorologist now to get some information on this. bonnie, i asked you last hour, any relief? what's the relief for these people? coming soon? >> it's not coming soon, don. it's not your typical heat wave where we talk about records being broken. what's happening, especially today, are all-time records being broken, meaning for cities like chattanooga, atlanta, huntsville, it's never been this hot before. whooef never had chattanooga at 107 today or atlanta at 106. let's take a look at what's going on and when the weather pattern is going to change. as high pressure emerged from the rockies and dropped to the south, it just spread across the country. now this heat is so expansive, it extends all the way to the east coast where w heat indices all the way up to 115 degrees. it's a slow moving system so it's going to sit here through tomorrow. many of the heat advisories extend into sunday and some began on wednesday. looking ahead to the forecast, you're asking when relief is in sight. depends how you spell relief. we have temperatures dropping down from 100 to 96 monday into tuesday for memphis and louisville finally dropping to 92 on wednesday. so we are seeing a gradual cooldown but it's not going to be cool. if you have don't have power and you don't have air conditioning, 92 degrees on wednesday is still going to be oppressive and dangerous. >> yes, yes. you've shown us where the temperatures and chance of rain to help out in the situations, what's the weather forecast? >> right now we do have a chance for thunderstorms but it's not where we want it to be. the severe thunderstorm watch crosses overs to the dakotas. even as can you see in this watch back we have, we're not getting a lot of activity. we need the rain. unfortunately it's not in the immediate future. just more heat is for sunday. >> thank, bonnie. stand by. we'll need you throughout the evening. we want to go to colorado where the flames of an out of control wildfire keep growing. firefighters aided by helicopters, air tankers and military planes are dropping water and retardant in hopes of containing the flames but homes are still being threatened. i'm joined by part the firefighting crew assisting with the wildfires. major, thank you. you have been flying over these fires all week and just looking at some of the information here, i want you to tell me what they look like from the sky right now. >> we've had some varying conditions all week long. monday weep got out to colorado springs, got into the fight right away that afternoon. tuesday was a very, very challenging day. weather was extremely hot, the terrain is higher than some of any of the terrain we've dropped in before. we've had challenges with the terrain, smoke, altitude we're working at, the heat, the smoke was very, very, dense, made it difficult to acquire our targets. the fire made a run tuesday night. >> what's your plan of attack? is that the plan of attack to keep hitting it from all ends? >> the plan of attack is come up with by the forest service. we're ready at a moment's notice, we're at the aircraft ready to launch within minutes. s like a nascar pit stop. we get slurry loaded, we go to the lead formation, and heap takes us on the targets to drop our load. >> it's interesting, like a nascar pit stop, get them in, get loaded and get them out very quickly. as you look at this aerial, we're seeing a lot of smoke coming out of the area and from the sky in colorado. does that impact your of teffort all? >> in it impacts visibility, it makes our job very tough. sometimes we have to go into an area expecting to drop in one spot, smoke can drift on us. several times we came in on tuesday for a line they picked out they wanted to reinforce and the wind would shift and we'd have to go around and try it again. sometimes it would take three, four attempts before we could get the direction we wanted. other times they have alternate targets picked out where we can continue to attack. >> major, what about the terrain there, the rough terrain? do motst of the firefighting efforts come from above or does it play into it? >> oh, it plays into it. we're dropping in the 9,000 to 10,000 foot elevation range. extremely high temperatures. everything that's causing these fires to burn hot as they are creates great problems for us. the aircraft doesn't perform all that well. we're flying at the edge of the envelope the entire drop. you're constantly looking for terrain, there's other aircraft. >> all right. thank you very much. we appreciate it. major neil harlow from the national guard joining us. we're going to continue to talk about this. the waldo canyon fire destroyed about 350 homes. among those who lost just about everything is susan and her four grandsons. it is the latest in a series of heart breaks for the family. >> reporter: for fire victim susan solage and her grandsons, their pain and heart break began long before the flames hit their neighborhood. in the fall of 2010, susan's daughter, kim, died in her sleep. then just three months later, the boys' father, nolan, died of a heart attack. >> i spent a couple months packing them up, wrapping up their lives and moved them here. >> reporter: susan now had four grieving grandsons to take care of. >> it kind of feels like sadness in my heart. >> i just miss them so much. >> most of the time i think why me? but that's pretty much normal because, like, people that go through that think like why me? why does this happen to me? >> reporter: do you ever get an answer to that question? >> no, not really. >> reporter: they managed as best they could. >> it's been a struggle, been in some counseling. we've gone up and down. but everyone's doing much better. >> reporter: and then the fire came, forcing them to pack up what few things they could and head for safety. >> and as we drove, we could see in our rear view mirrors the side of the hill just exploded. there had to be 40 fire just bam. >> reporter: they would have to start over again. connor, tell me how this makes you feel. >> like a little kid. >> like a little kid he says. >> reporter: dozes it feel bettr when you're sitting with your grandma? they gained strength from each other. what was the most important this evening you got? >> probably my mom and dad's blanket. it makes me feel safer. >> reporter: what would you say to them if you could have them back for a day? >> i love them so much. >> reporter: susan says when she needs strength, she gets it from the boys. she's not sure if she'll rebuild in their new nabbed but no matter how uncertain their future, they'll take it on together. >> you can't just walk around feeling sorry for yourself. you have a lot of things to consider. if you fall apart, what's going to happen. we're all together, we're safe and it's just stuff. and, you know, we can replace it. we'll always have the memories. >> to find out how you can help this family and anyone else affected by the wildfires, go to cnn.com/impact. >> just when you thought you've heard enough details about the sandusky tried abuse scandal, new details of alleged e-mails from penn state officials suggest there may have been a cover up. a cnn exclusive report is next. it's very important to understand how math and science kind of makes the world work. in high school, i had a physics teacher by the name of mr. davies. he made physics more than theoretical, he made it real for me. we built a guitar, we did things with electronics and mother boards. that's where the interest in engineering came from. so now, as an engineer, i have a career that speaks to that passion. thank you, mr. davies. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, if your car is totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. liberty mutual auto insurance. see life in the best light. [music] transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. i tell mike what i can spend. i do my best to make that work. we're driving safely. and sue saved money on brakes. now that's personal pricing. the child sex abuse scandal involving former penn state coach jerry sandusky shocked the nation andnded the legendary career of joe paterno. >> reporter: cnn has been given details of four purported e-mail exchanges from sources with knowledge of the case. raising new questions about what penn state knew and when they knew it. the e-mails are between penn state president, the vice president and the earth lathlet director where grad assistant said he saw sandusky about the shower incident. paterno testified "it was a sexual nature." by now mccurrie testified he told athletic director curly and vp schultz about exactly what he saw, a boy with his hands up against a wall with sandusky behind him. the alleged e-mails don't mention sandusky by name, instead calling him the subject and person. in the first exchange, schultz messages curly about a three-part plan to, quote, talk with the subject, contact the charitable organization, second mile, and contacting the department of welfare. that's an agency required by law to investigate suspected abuse. yet the next night curly indicate a change of heart. he allegedly sends an e-mail to pen state's president and refers to a discussion they had two days earlier about sandusky. curly says he wants to talk things over with sandusky and work with him before deciding whether to contact child welfare. he also refers to coach paterno. did something he said change curly's mind? quote, after giving it more thought and talking it over with joe yesterday, i am uncomfortable with what we agreed with the next steps. i am having trouble with going to everyone but the person involved. i would be more comfortable meeting with the person and tell him about the information we received and tell him we are aware of the first situation. the first situation he's referring to is a separate shower incident sandusky had with a boy in 1998. sandusky was not charged at the time. he was convicted of both incidents at trial. curly plans to tend sandusky, quote, we feel there is a problem and offer professional help. and at some point soon inform his organization, sandusky's second mile, and, quote, maybe the other one. according to a source with knowledge of the e-mails, he's referring to child welfare. if sandusky is, quote, cooperative, curly writes, quote, we would work with him. if not, we do not have a choice and will inform the two groups. two hours later penn state's president purportedly responds and agrees with the approach, quote, i am supportive, he writes and adds this -- the only down side for us is if the message isn't heard and acted upon and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it. but that can be assessed down the road. he calls the plan humane and a reasonable way to proceed. the next day vp schultz ways in with an alleged e-mail to the president and athletic director curly. quote, this is a more humane and up front way to handle this, he writes. we will inform his organization with or without his cooperation. we can play by ear to decide about the other organization, another reference a source says to outside authorities. but that never happened. authorities say records show suspicions about sandusky in 2001 were never reported to any outside agency. victim five was molested by sandusky in a penn state showers about six months after the mcqueary incident and sandusky went on to sexually abuse at least three other boys. years later, all testified at trial. >> that was susan candiotti reporting. gary schultz and tim curly are charged with perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse. they've pleaded not guilty and former penn state president could also face charges. they say he never reported the incident and never found that boy in the shower and sandusky is expected to be sentenced in september. >> egypt's first democratically president is sworn in. meanwhile, violence continues in syria as leaders of the international community forge an agreement to try to bring peace to the nation. those reports are next. ou see ee way it's meant to be seen. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, if your car is totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. liberty mutual auto insurance. i tell mike what i can spend. i do my best to make that work. we're driving safely. and sue saved money on brakes. now that's personal pricing. world leaders are desperately seeking a solution to the fighting in syria but you can't put a crisis like that on pause. what you're looking at was an attack on a funeral in the suburb of the capital of damascus. activists say a car bomb caused this carnage. cnn can't confirm the authenticity of the video posted online. while that was unfolding in syria, diplomats huddled in geneva. >> no one has any illusions about the difficulties ahead. we are dealing with not only a murderous regime in a combustible region but the potential for that region to be gravely affected by the continuance of this violence. >> the plan for a peaceful transition in syria calls for both sides to recommit to the original six-point peace agreement. that called for a cease-fire and pretty much went nowhere. >> while envoys plan for a new searia egyptians are celebrating their own future. the president's enough president, mohamed morsi was inaugurated today. he was a candidate of the muslim brotherhood, a group that said it wasn't interested in political power. we have more on the dawn of egypt's democracy. >> reporter: it wasn't how he wanted to become president, a parliament that was dissolved by egypt's temporary military rulers but at the constitutional court. disagreement between leadership briefly forgotten as he took the oath as the first ever democratically elected president. right across the street is a hot. guess who is being kept under armed guard here, the another on that hosni mubarak, the new and old juxtaposed on the streets of cairo. suddenly all the trappings of power were his. the artillery salute, the secret service jogging by his car. but in a sign of northeastern university freedom this country is enjoying, also a small protest by students outside, unthinkable in mubarak's day. inside he made a speech about the role. army but also acknowledging that the armed forces must eventually reinstate parliament and hand back powerfully. >> translator: elected institutions will come back to take their role. >> reporter: in the cafes and restaurants of cairo, the people spoke. >> i spoke he was truly a president for egyptians. we've heard so many claps he lab president for the brotherhood. he came across as a president for all egyptians. >> his speech gives us hope. i feel we should give him a chance. otherwise the revolution will not succeed. >> reporter: there was also an overt pledge of support. >> translator: we pledge our support for the syrian people. the blood bath must stop. >> he's a member of the friends of syria group. so, again, he is building on something that has been already done but he is giving it, you know, his support. and he is gaining from it. >> reporter: egypt now has two powerful leaders, a president and a field marshall. it will take many months to establish who really runs this country. one of mohame