from nato forces. hurricane irene battles puerto rico with 75-mile-an-hour winds on a path that could bring it to florida by midweek. we'll have the latest for you on this first hurricane of the year on this monday morning, august 22nd, 2011. captioning funded by cbs good monday morning. nice to have you with us. i'm erica hill. >> good morning to you. i'm chris wragge. watching the path of hurricane irene passing over puerto rico heading for the dominican republic. forecasters expect it to turn north toward florida, georgia and south carolina. we'll have the latest on irene coming up in a few moments. it's a big storm, making its way this way. first, to breaking news out of libya. rebel forces control now much of the capital of tripoli after a stunning advance over the weekend. whereabouts of long-time leader moammar gadhafi are unknown this morning. in libya with the latest is barry petersen. >> reporter: on the approach to tripoli, more signs of soldiers unwilling to die for a corrupt regime. rebels were seen in green square where gadd gadhafi would assemble those to hear his chants. there are reports that nato forces helped smuggle in weapons to rebel sympathizers in the city for just such a moment. a moment that seemed to pass gadhafi by. he issued yet another audio recording, urging his supporters to help him. >> i am with you in this battle. i am among you now, there with my weapon. we shall not give up. >> reporter: supporters were in ever shorter supply. after arrest of two sons an arab channel spoke to his son but the interview was interrupt bid gunfire >> translator: i am being attacked right now. >> reporter: another son known as a spokesperson for the family. his propaganda days are apparently over. rebels moved to gadhafi's compound, often a target of nato airstrikes. witnesses said several tanks emerged to protect gadhafi's stronghold. their effort sounded weak and, to some accounts disspirited. the biggest fear that gadhafi's forces will fight for tripoli the way they have other cities one street by bloody deadly street. >> and fear, of course, that it could be very violent. how united are are these rebels in terms of their goal? >> reporter: you know it's surprising how united they are, and how organized they are. you have a sense of maybe they got a little help from nato in how to organize this whole thing. i think what they really have is the country behind them fed up with 40 years of this guy, and glad that he's on the way out. >> barry petersen in libya this morning. thanks. >> erica, thanks. opposition forces hold 90% of the capital tripoli. gadhafi loyalists are still fighting back at this hour. >> reporter: an awful lot of fighting just very close to where we are. we're right around the corner from green square, really in relative terms, and not too far. a couple of kilometers away from gadhafi's compound. there has been constant mortar sheing and machine gunfire all morning, quite intensive in some -- at some stages. and clearly there's a lot of instability. i think apart from the fact that many of the rebels are extremely edgy this morning, there's obviously some elements of gadhafi regime or support is still out there. and they are causing some problems to the rebel soldiers who ultimately want to not only take over control of the television station but also control of colonel gadhafi's compound itself. right now, though we're in a real period of flux where things are very very unstable and there is still a lot of fighting going on in areas of the city. >> that's alex crawford of sky news reporting from tripoli for us this morning. growing stability in libya is being closely monitored here in the states especially at the white house. late last night, president obama put out a statement, saying it's time for gadhafi to give up. cbs news correspondent wyatt an andrews is traveling with the president during his vacation at martha's vineyard. wyatt, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, chris. the president released that statement to moammar gadhafi, telling him that the rebels and quest for freedom is stronger than he is and that essentially for gadhafi, it is over. in that statement, the president said, quote, gadhafi needs to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls libya, that he needs to relinkquish power and control once and for all. the president convened a conference call last night with his top national security advisers including chief leon panetta and admiral mike mullen. after that the president said there would be no further formal public comments from him until gadhafi's fate is actually confirmed. to the administration, it is not just the fall of gadhafi that's important. it is also the aftermath. can chaos be controlled on the streets of libya? also, who exactly jockeys for control? chris? >> what extent is the white house planning for an end game right now? what do they have in place as far as a plan? >> reporter: chris end game is the game right now for the white house they have been working this both with a diplomatic presence in benghazi and intelligence presence in benghazi from the very beginning. all of that was about tracking who these rebels are and what they might do at this very moment. secretary clinton, for example, yesterday released a statement urging rebels to plan right now for a post gadhafi libya and be all inclusive in the new government. joining us now is former undersecretary of state nicholas burns and professor of diplomatics at harvard. the presidentsecretary of state said rebels need to plan for a post gadhafi world. are they in fact prepared to take over if and when gadhafi leaves? >> they've been unified in confronting this tyrant and confronting him military. that's one thing. it will be much more difficult to now organize effective government operations throughout a very vast country. lots of infrastructure in the major cities has been destroyed. there's a great deal of poverty in the country. as you know, erica, one of gadhafi's hallmarks, he played one tribe and tribal city against another. they need to provide government services to a country that hasn't had it. that's a very tall order. we can expect this to be a fairly chaotic, very uneven and, unfortunately, perhaps even violent couple of weeks ahead as remaining outposts of gadhafi supporters struggle against this new rebel government. >> how much input do you think there will be and, in fact, should there be from other nations, including the u.s.? >> well i think that the international community, the european countries that are close estst to libya, the united states and other countries certainly can provide political support, short-term economic support. this is going to be a battle that has to be won. the battle to reconstitute a government by the libyans themselves. the libyan people. they have to want to unify around this rebel government. there is, you know a presumption that this government is more favorable to the eastern part of the country, to benghazi, where that movement has been centered the last six months. they'll have to work hard that new rebel leadership to convince people in the south, center, the west. and some of the gadhafi strongholds, including his hometown, that they meanwhile and there won't be reprisals against those civilians who supported gadhafi in the past. >> we've seen the circle around gadhafi crumbling for months now. this hour this morning, we're being told, not clear where he is. we're learning more about the folks in his inner circle who have been taken, who have left. how much of a threat does gadhafi actually pose at this point? >> it's very significant that three of his sons including saif alice llama gad islam gadhafi has been arrested. this could be a saddam hussein like situation where he hides for weeks and months and isn't found. he might try to lead a military insurgency against this new government. obviously, if all of us want to see an end to the bloodshed as quickly as possible resting gadhafi, deposing him as quickly as possible is going to be a very high priority the next couple of days for this rebel alliance. >> always great to have your insight. thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank you. jeff glor has a check of the day's other headlines this morning. >> as you menged off the top irene is officially the first hurricane of the atlantic season. it hit puerto rico with heavy winds and strong rains overnight. chief meteorologist at our miami station, wfor. david, good morning to you. let's start with exactly where irene is now and maybe more importantly, where you think it's heading. >> all right jeff. here is the situation. this is the latest information we just got from the national hurricane center. we're looking at a hurricane of 75-mile-per-hour winds. it's basically still over puerto rico. it's moving to the northwest at 14 miles per hour. now, the first question for tonight and tomorrow is how much of the dominican republic is affected by this storm and how much land moves over. once we're beyond tomorrow night a storm tracking through the bahamas and essentially close to portions of florida and maybe the southeast coast. the forecast cone there indicates we could have a category two storm somewhere along the southeast coast over the weekend and by the end of the week. it's not out of the question that it might be a little stronger than that. >> david why does it make a big difference how much it passes over the dominican republic? >> let's take a look at this map. what we're basically going to explain to you when we look at it is how strong the mountains are over the dominican republic. they're very tall mountains, some of the highest peaks in the caribbean. often times when these storms move over this island these 10,000-foot mountains can literally tear the circulation of the storm apart. we've seen many storms over the years that have passed over this region and weakned considerably. sometimes they've never even recovered. so, we're not sure how much of the island it's going to get hit by this storm. coming up next coming up next two american hikers get an eight-year prison sentence for crossing over the border into iran. we'll have reaction from their families. west memphis three free this morning after 17 years behind bars. how they celebrated that release. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans many in small towns and rural communities giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. hi, mom. how was school today? [ girls ] good. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ thank you! ♪ ♪ phew! [ ernie ] we make our cookies the way only keebler elves can: with a little something extra. so every bite can be uncommonly good. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] we've got all you need for back to school with low prices every day on everything. backed by our ad match guarantee. save money. live better. walmart. [ woman ] jogging stroller. you've been stuck in the garage while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. the bay area -- a place with natural beauty and a forward thinking spirit. at bank of america, we've been fueling economic growth here for over a century. today we're investing in innovations that will define our future. every day, we're working to help set opportunity in motion. from financing a solar project for the milpitas school district to funding the institute at golden gate. because when you're giving lending, and investing in more communities across the country more opportunities happen. now that two american hikers jailed in iran have finally been sentenced after two years in custody their future is more uncertain than ever but their families are keeping hope alive as whit johnson reports. >> reporter: for 752 days shane bauer and josh fattal have been held in iran. this week sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of illegal entry and espionage. the two 29-year-old men, along with their friend sarah shourd were hiking along the iran/iraq border in 2009 when they were arrested to are crossing into iran. shourd, who was suffering from a medical condition was released in september after posting half a million dollars' bail. >> the most difficult thing i've ever had to do was leave prison without shane and gosh. >> reporter: the hikers said what a difficult time it was though they were encouraged with earlier comments from iran's foreign minister hoping the trial would lead to their freedom. their iranian lawyer condemned the decision. >> translator: i've already said i believe they are innocent and i will use every legal means to anull the verdict. >> reporter: the sentence was also criticized by secretary of state hillary clinton who said we continue to call and work for their immediate release. it is time for them to return home and be reunited with their families. in an interview with cbs news in july, laura fattal was optimistic about her son's release. >> you don't try to anticipate too far out, but you do hold hope very tight to your chest. >> reporter: the men have 20 days to appeal the verdict. whit johnson, cbs news washington. >> joining us is ma rin is heramin setoodeh. they thought they were going to get out. >> they were very hopeful and they talked to sarah last night and they were devastated by the turn of events. >> there's a 20-day period to appeal. are they going to do that? is it worth it? what do they expect in. >> they're going to appeal, try to see if they can get the sentence lessoned. eight years is a severe sentence for the conditions they're in and the prison they're in. >> what kind of conditions are they in? >> sarah talked to me about, the two men in a cell 10 by 14 feet indoors for 23 hours a day. sarah said when she was first taken into prison they took away her glasses. it shows the level of personal violation, she quoowould get so frustrated she'd beat the walls so hard her hands would get bloody. >> did they actually believe they were spying? >> no, there's no sense of that. the president himself issued a statement saying they're not spies. >> this question goes back to the heart, you've spoken to sarah a number of times. what were they doing so close to the border in an area they knew they could get into trouble. >> the three of them are peace activists and humanitarians, they were there on vacation that area is a very beautiful, lush area there hiking and nobody told them they were so close to the border. they had no idea. >> back to the business at hand. what can the state department do? secretary of state clinton made overtures to the iranian government for something to happen. if nothing's been done at this point, what more can be done? >> the state department what's happening behind the scenes i don't know if we have a sense of everything that's happening, they are in touch with the families and trying to release them, trying to do what they can to get these men released and bring them home. >> ramin thank you so much. good to see you. >> thank you. still ahead, we'll have more on the release of the three convicted child killers who say they didn't do it. this is "the early show" here on cbs. this portion of "the early show" sponsored by hotels.com. be smart, book smart. rt? oh, just booked a summer vaycay. ooo. sounds pricey? nah, with the hotels.com summer sale, you can find awesome deals for places nearby. interesting... wow, i'm blown away. you look great. hotels.com summer sale save up to 30%. and get a free kindle. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. [ male announcer ] everywhere your pet goes the frontline plus killing force is there annihilating fleas and ticks. ♪ ♪ visit completekiller.com and get a coupon for frontline plus. you know what this is cartwright? yes. nicorette mini. you carry them around everywhere. yes i do, because cravings are everywhere. would you take a craving for me, cartwright? how would i -- exactly. [ male announcer ] nicorette mini goes wherever you go, to help make quitting suck less. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] we all want cleaner laundry. we all want a world with fewer chemicals. we all want the best of both worlds. introducing all free clear oxi-active. a powerful new detergent without dyes or perfumes that helps get out your toughest dirt and stains. its added natural cleaning boosters help get your whole family's wash incredibly clean. tough on stains. gentle on skin. new all free clear oxi-active. whoa! what is that? it burns! it's singeing me! woman: i can't see! it's the sun. get out of the office more often with chili's $6 lunch break combos, featuring texas toast half sandwiches. ♪ chili's lunch break combos ♪ [ male announcer ] every day, thousands of people are choosing advil. my name is lacey calvert and i'm a yoga instructor. if i have any soreness, i'm not going to be able to do my job. but once i take advil, i'm able to finish out strong. it really works! [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil. [ female announcer ] for frequent heartburn sufferers summertime is now a happy time. when we can eat what we want and sleep soundly through the night. prevacid®24hr prevents the acid that causes frequent heartburn, all day, all night. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] we've got all you need for back to school with low prices every day on everything. backed by our ad match guarantee. save money. live better. walmart. ok, kids, our cable will let us record one more show. who should get it? i really love jennifer. yeah, she's great. yeah. yeah. kyle's got that thick head of hair. and that should be rewarded. ok, moment of truth. on "three," say which kid you love the most. oh, fun, yeah. 1...2...3... jennifer. jennifer. whoa. wow. ha! she's so pretty. yeah. or, we give it to kyle. it's really all he's got. [ male announcer ] switch to at&t u-verse and record four shows all at the same time. just $29 a month for 6 months. at&t. still ahead this morning, forget those back to school bargains. >> what happened to the good deals? the prices on everything are on the rise paper, jeans, you name no word good morning everybody. it is 7:25. let's get you caught up on some of the headlines on this monday. no word what started a two alarm fire in redwood city this morning. it is out now, as you can see. but they are still taking care of some hot spots nobody was hurt. it happened on 18th street in redwood city. two men who were hurt at the 49ers/raiders game at candlestick park over the weekend are in serious condition in the hospital. san francisco police want help catching those who shot one of the victims and beat another in the restaurant. there were several fights in the stands and in the parking lots after that game on saturday. a warning from bart that might shut down some of the san francisco stations, once again that is if there are protests during this afternoon's commute. like the one they had last monday. so if you're commuting home, tonight, you might want to take note there. checking the market on this monday nothing but good news so far, up 150 so far we will continue to watch as the day progresses. weather and traffic after this. good morning, we will start off with a live look at thebridge toll plaza. busy morning. it is backed up to the macarthur maze. no incidents. just all of those folks trying to head into san francisco. the meters lights on since 6:30. and a slow