i will talk to one woman who spent 50 years in a polygamist family and is now speaking out against it. good morning, everyone, i'm randi kay. it is 5:00 on the west coast and 8:00 a.m. on the east coast. my car said it was 112 in atlanta and it is going to be hotter, and the same today with excessive heat warnings issued for 19 states which is complicating the efforts to get the power back on for millions who lost electricity in storms over the past two days. many cities have cooling centers open to help people get a break from the heat. as for the strong storms are being blamed for 12 deaths now, and have left a path of downed trees and damaged homes and millions are waiting for the power to come back on, by it could be days before that happens. cnn's athena jones is live in springfield, virginia, for us, and athena, welcome, and how is the cleanup going? >> good morning, randi. well sh well, the cleanup is going in spits and starts. you can see the debris out here in the medium that is left to be picked up. you can see behind me where a giant tree fell on the power lines here. this tree killed a 27-year-old man on friday night who was driving home from work. it is an example of the kind of thing that the cleanup crews are facing. we were in rockville, maryland, on the other side of washington, d.c. yesterday and there were people out clearing debris, and clearing these giant trees from the road and cutting them down for mulch, but it is a lot they have to do it and they have to do it in the heat today, randi. >> what are the odds that people will get the power back on today? any word on that? >> well, i don't think that you have heard anyone promise that it will be happen today. you can see that this is an extreme situation that we are dealing with something that would take several days to get back on here and having to restring the wires, and you will see the utility pole here that snap into three pieces leaving a transformer on the ground, and that is a several day affair and in fact, virginia governor bob mcdonald said it is not a one-day challenge, but multi-day challenge. pepco that serves part of washington, d.c. and maryland said it could take up to a week for full restoration given all of the damage. i have recent numbers and updated numbers as of a few minutes ago in virginia 467,000 people still without power, and a big improvement over the 1 million that were without power immediately after the storm. and in the maryland and washington, d.c. area 344,000 people without powerment crews are working, and we have seen them out this morning and they are going to keep working to restore power to everyone who needs it. of course, as you mentioned people who are facing another day of 100 degree temperatures are going to have to seek other places to stay cool. randi? >> as you know, it is tough to get around even the downed power lines so it does take time. athena jones, thank you for the update. to syria now, and a deadly bomb blast. anti-government activists say that a car bomb kill 85 people and injured 300. the blast came in the middle of a funeral proegs. meanwhile, leaders met in geneva, switzerland, for a peaceful meeting. here is secretary of state hillary clinton. >> 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. >> clinton made it clear that there is no place for syrian president assad in the new government, though the russian foreign minister says that decision should be up to the syrian people. florida governor rick scott says he was disappointed on the supreme court ruling on the health care and he is not going to implement that in his state specifically health care exchanges and the medicaid expansion. earlier i asked him about the decision. >> it does not work. i'm not going to put our citizens atprogram that does not work. we are not going to implement the medicaid expansion and the exchanges don't work, and if it did, the private sector would do it. >> both of those would be partially paid for by the federal government, but scott says that his emphasis is getting people back to work so they can afford their own health insurance without the help from the state. now to new jersey where republican governor chris christie really lost his cool on a reporter. watch this. >> on monday, are you going to be addressing the legislature? >> am i staying on topic? are you stupid? on topic. next question. good. thank you. thank you all very much h, and sorry for the idiot over there. take care. >> he does like to speak his mind. he was holding a news conference about a water emergency affecting 22 counties in new jersey, but the reporter was asking about a special session for the state legislature that is happening tomorrow. in hours just after penny palfrey failed to attempt to reach florida. she swam about 86 miles and just another 20 miles or so to land. the team says she had to be pulled out of water because a strong current made it impossible for her to continue. forced from the homes by fire, but some residents in colorado are not giving up, but instead, giving back to help the neighbors. we will take you live to colorado springs. why not make lunch more than just lunch? with two times the points on dining in restaurants, you may find yourself asking why not, a lot. chase sapphire preferred. ♪ i hear you... ♪ rocky mountain high ♪ rocky, rocky mountain high ♪ ♪ all my exes live in texas ♪ ♪ born on the bayou [ female announcer ] the perfect song for everywhere can be downloaded almost anywhere. ♪ i'm back, back in the new york groove ♪ [ male announcer ] the nation's largest 4g network. covering 2,000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. rethink possible. 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[ all chuckling ] all right, look busy, the manager is coming. these are some of the amazing pictures that we are getting in from colorado because of the wildfires there that folks are dealing with. now to the wildfires there, and thousands of people have been forced from their homes in colorado springs and now some of them can go back by bus to the burned out neighborhoods to see what is left. rob marciano is there in colorado springs. tell us what these evacuated families are going through and dealing with right now? >> well, as you can imagine, some of them are going to be able to get on buses and at least see their homes and neighborhoods and not be able to get out because it is still an active fire zone. it is an emotional day and it has been emotional in the last week from shock and sadness and frustration not to go back. some folks have been allowed to go back, but still 10,000 people who are evacuated. we are outside of a massive church giving out tons of supplies and hundreds of thousands of supplies for people who need it. we have ran into a family that are still evacuating in a community they are still evacuating until further notice and here handing out supplies. there is a time lapse of remarkable stuff floating around. they got to see in the mother of the family got the talk about how that video impacted her and also being a victim of the fires. >> i saw the time lapse video last night of what's been going on since saturday, and i have just been like a mess. because, you know, those are people's lives, and we are watching it. so, yeah, my heart goes out to them. and then that night as from our friend's house in monument, we could see the flames on the mountain. and we really didn't know if we would have a house the next morning or not. really, whether we had a house or not, we were going to be okay. because we are together, and we are safe, and there's more important things than your stuff. >> a tremendous amount of concern about the well-being of those who had their homes destroyed. they are from the neighborhood right behind me where the fire came very, very close. a lot of the folks who can go back to their homes who are okay, and there are things that you don't think about, randi, utilities that are damaged and need to be put back online. the homes may be okay, but water and gas not happening and maybe gas leaks and power as well. so that is one of the reasons that the evacuation process has been held for so long, but today, as you mentioned, some of the people will at least get to see itch. >> it is not just the damage, right, that the folks are worried aboutings because there are burglars taking advantage of the evacuated homes. >> yeah, you hate to see that or hear it, because it happens in every disaster, and 22 reports of burglaries and they have arrested a couple of people. police are at every intersection trying to block and i assume a lot of the burglaries happened early on, but the national guard have come in to backup the police and help that situation. and another interesting thing aside from the burglary, there is an invasion in some neighborhoods of black bears who have obviously been driven from their habitat because of the fires and the food sources as well, and they are trying to the figure out what to do with the blaek bears who have no home, and trying to get them out of harm's way before the people can go back to their home. and one more thing they have to deal with here in colorado springs. >> certainly a lot to worry about. rob marciano on the ground there. thank you so much, rob. there are so many amazing pictures of the fire of colorado and a lot of them are coming right from you, our ireporters. thank you for those. we have them up at [email protected], and incredible pictures and along with personal pictures of what these people are going through inside of the fire zone. go to cnn.com and check it out. starting to i toing today, illegal to buy foie gras in some california restaurants, and so what is going to happen? well, some restaurants are going to give it away free. york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. but they can be really well thexpensive.ted a puppy, so to save money i just found them a possum. dad, i think he's dead. probably just playin' possum. sfx: possum hisses there he is. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ♪ oh oh oh oh you see it in the brush. ♪ oh oh oh oh ooh oh and then there's the pillow. ♪ i dare you to dare me so they dared me to try this pantene. 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[ female announcer ] anti-breakage from pantene. hair so healthy it shines. ♪ if you are lost you can look and you will find me ♪ ♪ time after time ♪ if you fall ♪ i will catch you ♪ i will be waiting ♪ time after time good morning, los angeles, and listening to cyndi lauper the there, and we had a chance to speak to her yesterday on cnn saturday morning about her new cause helping the homeless lgbt youth, and welcome to the program and glad you are waking up with us this sunday morning. hard to believe that july is here, and in fact, july 1st is not just the start of dog days of summer, but it is halfway through the year and why is that important? well, it is when new laws go into effect. in illinois taxi drivers are can charge passengers a $50 driveup fee for losing their cookies in cabs shall we say. virginia law says that all electronic messages on outdoor messages must stay in place for eight seconds so that drivers are not distracted and also in massachusetts, there is a ban of disposing of needles and syringes. and in idaho, arrest warrants can be issued via fax. and also kentucky, releasing federal hogs into the wild is banned. who knew? and force feeding birds to make foie gras and that is illegal in california. it is a fatty duck or goose liver, and it is pricey, because it costs $30 or more at a fancy restaurant. it is not easy to find naturally, so to use it, farms use the controversial method of force feeding ducks like in this photo, and farmers say it is harmless, but critics say it is animal torture and so california passed a law in to end the practice. but now that it is going into effect, some restaurants are finding loopholes around this. and so we have the eatocracy page, and sarah, you were invited to visit a foie gras farm and you got the stee how the animals were being fed and how did it look to you? >> it was very eye-opening, and they were transparent about the process and wanted you to see frit are the beginning to the end from hatchling to the slaughter of the ducks. and the anti and the pro foie gras movement says that at the end, it is humane and the anti-foie gras movement says it is inhumane. when i went i got to see everything, including the force feeding and the ducklings or the ducks did run away from the feeder when the feeder approached with the tube. however, afterwards they waddled away very unfazed. another thing while they were in the cages, they were panting. which the farms said that could be because they were overheated and others said it could be a sign of a diseased or sick duck. >> so we mention ed the law goig into effect, and what are some of the loopholes that restaurants are using to get around it. some chefs are offering free foie gras, and what else are they doing? >> well, as you said, they are offering it for free and instating a byof, and a bring your own foie gras policy, and so in california, you can go to nevada or another state and bring it in, the chefs will prepare the delicacy for you for a small fee, and in terms of the free foie gras, the way they go around it is that they are not sellings it, but sell the accouterments or what you would spread it on for a pricier price tag, but other than that, they are going to say, you know what, you are going to order it, and foie gras may show up on it, but we are not charging you for it. >> and why so important to the chefs and risk getting a fine? >> it is ultimate ly about the control. the chefs have often said it, it is a slippery slope, if they can mandate foie gras, what else are they going to do and the chefs use the phrase low hanging fruit, because very few people eat it, because it is an expensive dish so for them to go after it, the chefs say, why are you focusing on the factory farming and foie gras, and so it comes down to power of control basically. >> there seems to be trouble in for enforcing the law, and does this law have teeth and can they enforce it? >> it is going to be tough. i placed calls to the sfpd and lapd and both of them pointed to different places for jurisdiction. one pointed to the health department and the other pointed to animal health and control, and they said the law is written so loose that they get tons of calls a day, and they said that foie gras is not really the top priority. >> so california gave these foie gras producers eight years to figure out a more humane way to make it, and why could they not find another alternative? is there no other option? >> that is the $1 million question that everybody is asking. there is a interesting chef in spain who is dan barber who gave a talk on it recently and the chef's name is eduardo souza, and he has figured out how to produce it humanely. humans we store fat throughout our body, but geese store nit i the liver, so when theare about to migrate and prepare for a period of starvation, they fatten themselves up, and the chef figured out how to keep the geese on his farm while they were living wildly and then slaughter them right before migration, and dan barber tried to do the same thing in his migration center in new york, but it has not been successful and people are trying, but not replicated stateside yet. >> very controversial. and sarah, thank you very much, and you should check out cnn's eatocracy blog. abortions are legal in mississippi, but soon may not get one because of a new state law hitting the books today. we will talk to a abortion doctor who has done battle with the supreme court. this video proves it. watch as a 15-year-old girl smacks and kicks a 13-year-old girl who has autism. at a bus stop. this happened in belgium this past week, and the girl's mom post posted the video online with her daughter's permission. look at what is going on in this video. she hopes that the exposure will help stop the attacks. that is a mother's cry for help. a new state law takes effect in my mississippi today that requires abortion clinic providers not only to be certified ogbyns, but also privileges at a local hospital. and the doctors in the state say they are certified obgyn and not all of them have hospital privileges and to get them is a lengthy process. fines can amount to $2,000 a day, and the employees can be arrested and that will effectively close the clinic and that makes mississippi virtually the first abortion-free state. it is not just mississippi watching this play out. coming uply speak to a doctor who performs abortions, and doctor, are you with us now? he is going to join us next, but we are having a few technical difficu difficulties and we will get back to him next, because it is an important story. we will continue to monitor what is happening in mississippi, because state author i tis will go in there to see if it is in compliance with the new mandates. we will take a break and be right back. [ female announcer ] letting her home be turned into a training facility? ♪ this olympian's mom has been doing it for years. she's got bounty. in this lab demo, one sheet of new bounty leaves this surface cleaner than two sheets of the leading ordinary brand. bounty has trap and lock technology to soak up big spills and lock them in. let the spills begin. p&g. proud sponsor of the olympic games. that could adapt to changing road conditions. one that continually monitors and corrects for wheel slip. we imagined a vehicle that can increase emergency braking power when you need it most. and we imagined it looking like nothing else on the road today. then...we built it. the 2012 glk. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. 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. welcome back to "cnn sunday morning." i'm randi kay and bottom of the hour now. we are watching another round of storms today. in areas hard hit by storms over the weekend, millions still without power. record heat is complicating the situation for cleanup and recovery crews. a comfortable sunday is predicted but some areas will hit triple digits. firefighters are battling the monstrous colorado wildfire. bus