treatments. a doctor got to choose the winner. good medicine or playing god? "newsroom" starts right now. good morning to you. happy friday. i'm carol costello. we begin this hour with two stories sharing a common theme. the inescapable and unrelenting force of nature. well the left, the wildfire gnawing at the edges of colorado springs. today, growing deadlier and bigger. on the right, a record-setting heat wave that will have millions of americans sweltering today. intense heat will blanket most of the country. look at all those 90s and 100s. that's drawing dire health warnings especially for the very young and the very old. our affiliates in kansas city, missouri, say the intense heat wave may be to blame for two deaths there. so be very careful today. nowhere is the heat more a factor, though, than in colorado. the heat coupled with raging wildfires have made it an inferno. this morning, the state is awakening to a bittersweet designation of federal disaster area. today, fire crews will canvass the charred ruins of subdivisions and neighborhoods to search for bodies. one victim was found last night near. . nearly 350 homes confirmed lost. 20,000 more in danger. among the tales of heartbreak, tales of kindness. >> we were welcomed into the home of perfect strangers who acted like we were family. they gave us their beds, their food. they cooked for us. >> when i ran across them and heard their story, there wasn't any, you know, thinking about it. it was you're absolutely staying at our house. we're taking care of you guys. >> that warms your heart. joining us now is the mayor of colorado springs. welcome. >> good morning. >> president obama plans to tour the scene of the fires today. will you meet with him at all? >> yes, i'll be meeting the president when he arrives here, and then we will give him a tour of the damaged area. >> will you be asking him for any federal help? >> yes, i will be, to whatever it's possible. we have a real disaster here and really appreciate the president coming to see us. >> what do you need? >> well, we're going to need, if he can, some financial resources to rebuild. we've lost a lot of infrastructure here. and of course a lot of homes. >> one firefighter said it might be mid july before they put these fires out. have you heard that? >> yes. and that would be typical for colorado wildfires. it's just very hard to get these out in very rugged terrain. our city is right up against the mountains here. and so there's still a lot of who, to do. >> we see fires out west often. tell us why this fire is different. >> this fire started in a national forest. and we've had very high winds, high heat, and very low humidity. and that's just a perfect storm of conditions to create wildfire. and the wind keeps shifting. it will go one direction and then 20 minutes later it's going a different direction. so it's very difficult for firefighters to get a handle on it. >> what is your biggest fear? >> well, certainly a fear of a loss of life. we know we have one fatality. we have a number of other people missing. we have 32,000 people who have been evacuated, and, you know, that's difficult for him. so our important task today is to try to keep our community focused on getting this fire out and helping those that need help. and we will move forward. we're a close-knit community here, and we will get through this. >> we'll pray. mayor bach, thank you so much for joining us this morning. let's go now to one of the hubs of the firefighting effort. cnn meteorologist rob marciano is live in colorado springs. tell us about the efforts and the victims in this thing. >> reporter: well, there's a lot as the mayor pointed to. this is the most destructive wildfire in colorado history because of the number of homes destroyed and the number of people affected. 346 homes. possibly more destroyed by this fire. one fatality. and they still have to do a second round of searches through those damaged and destroyed homes to confirm that the folks that are unaccounted for will be found somewhere else. so devastating blow to the colorado area, and specifically colorado springs. the victims themselves that have been evacuated now for days are spread out through a few shelters, yes, but mostly friends and family have taken these people in. hotels in the area are booked. there's victims in our hotel. as a matter of fact, the chef who runs the kitchen in our hotel had to evacuate. and has been living in the hotel and working at the same time along with his wife, living and working in the hotel. and he described for us what it was like to have to evacuate and the frustrations of having to wait. >> the not knowing is probably the biggest frustration right now because it could all be there, or it could all be in ashes. just don't know. the whole mountainside looking up from my house was on fire. and a lot of homes, families that are in my neighborhood and people that, you know, are my neighbors, their houses were engulfed in flames. >> reporter: last night for the first time, residents who had to evacuate were allowed some access at least to information. and many were informed whether or not their homes survived. i'm happy to tell you that peter and his wife, their home miraculously survived. their street was virtually untouched. meanwhile, the street next to them in their subdivision is completely gone. so that's the kind of story that we're looking at here. some of the victims will be allowed back into the areas to assess the damage. but a lot of the areas that have been damaged are still very, very close to the fire line, carol. so that's the -- they're going to have to wait even longer. we are at -- on the air force academy airfield right now. and behind me are air assets that be taken up later to fight the fire. 15% containment. they have made some strides in that part of the story and hopefully will continue to do that today. it's a little cooler today, and hopefully there won't be erratic winds from thunderstorms. >> i hope not. thank you, rob. army investigators say this morning they are trying to find out why a soldier started shooting people during a safety briefing during fort bragg. he killed battalion leader, according to nbc news, and then he wounded one other person before shooting himself. he is alive and in custody, but people are having a hard time making sense of it all. >> it's really a sad situation because the soldiers are really here to help us. why would someone do something like that? so maybe they need evaluations or something is going on. but it's really sad. >> investigators at ft. bragg in north carolina don't have a motive yet. that safety briefing was about how to stay safe during the fourth of july weekend. just minutes from now, george zimmerman gets another chance at month. earlier this month he was ordered back to jai after he hid $150,000 in donations in his first hearing. cnn's john zo rella is outside of the courthouse there in florida. >> reporter: they are going to go into court today and argue that zimmerman is apologetic, that he accepts responsibility for misleading the court back before his -- during his original bond hearing. what happened was that on june 1, when his bond was revoked, prosecutors produced jailhouse recordings where zimmerman and his wife were talking in code about money that was in a defense fund, moving that money to a personal account. based on that and based on the fact that he had two passports and didn't acknowledge that he had a second passport, the judge went ahead and revoked his bond. so zimmerman is in court again today. and his attorney is going too'm accepts responsibility for what happened and that he has done everything that the court has asked him to do, and that he should be allowed out on a reasonable bond. carol? >> ok. so the hearing is set to start in about an hour. we'll get back to you. thank you, john. on this morning after the supreme court upheld president obama's health care law, politicians are still battling over its future. well, we want to sidestep the politics for now and take a deep breath. and break down what you need to know about the changes in your health care right now. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here with a checklist, three things that people need to know. >> the first biggie is that you have to have insurance. now, for some of us who already have insurance, this doesn't make a difference. but if you don't, you've got to get some. and secondly, you may qualify for subsidies if you're buying insurance on your own, not from your employer. you can qualify for subsidies. a family of four can make as much as $90,000 and still get subsidies. >> going back to you have to get insurance, and if you don't you'll pay a penalty. what is the penalty? >> well, the penalty which we are now calling a taxes are because that's what the supreme court is calling it, it's based on a percentage of your income. the first year, 2014, if you don't get insurance, that tax will be quite small. maybe just a couple of hundred dollars. by 2016, the size of that tax is going to be about as much as insurance would cost you. so then of course you think, well, why would i want to pay this tax and get nothing? i might as well actually get insurance. >> on to the subsidies. >> the third one, free preventive care. it allows people to get free preventive care. a long list of what that involves. go to cnn.com to find out. >> you can get cancer screenings and things like that. >> right. for example, all screenings. you mentioned cancer. co col colonoscopies presented for free. autism screening for children. that would be free. contraception. vaccines. if you go to cnn.com/empoweredpatient, we have the list of all the free stuff. >> and i also understand some people will get rebate checks. what is that about? >> this hasn't gotten a lot of attention. this is mostly people who buy insurance on their own. not people who get it from their employers. so we are talking about 12.8 million people will be getting these checks. it will be about $150 per household. and this will be happening no later than august 1. so soon, like within the next, you know, month or so, people will be seeing these checks. >> thanks so much. coaches are supposed to be role models for kids, but watch this hockey coach as he trips players on the opposing team. it's not fun and games. one kid was seriously hurt. er it but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company by continuing to help you do more and focus on the things that matter to you. syou know, i've helped a lot off people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. 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[ male announcer ] the exceptional certified pre-owned program with the highest quality cars. good news for the second owner. take care of my car. ♪ 14 minutes past the hour. we want to take you live to cape canaverel, florida, at the kennedy space center. you're looking at a delta four rocket. it is about to -- actually, was supposed to launch at 6:13 eastern time but they had a little technical glitch. but it should take off at any time. if you're wondering what's onboard -- i'm going to tell you -- let's listen for a second before i tell you what's onboard. >> eight, seven, six, five, four, three. and the rs 68 a engines roar to life. and liftoff! of the united launch alliance delta iv carrying the nrol-15 mission for the national reconnaissance office. and the systems continue to ensure vigilance from above. >> the chamber pressure and holding. 20 seconds in. >> so you heard that. national reconnaissance. you heard that term there. because onboard this rocket is a classified spy satellite for the national reconnaissance office. this is the second to launch into space in as many weeks. and pretty cool. so there will be eyes up there keeping track of stuff probably we'll never know about. cool pictures, though. on to other news now. attorney general eric holder is facing a potential criminal case where he will be the defendant. yesterday, the house of representatives voted to hold him in contempt of congress for refusing to hand over more documents related to the botched fast and furious gun sting. that sting resulted in the death of a border patrol agent. more than 100 democrats boycotted the vote. they walked out of the house chamber in protest. joe johns is in washington, and you witnessed this walkout. but let's talk about what happens to eric holder next, because probably not much. >> that's exactly right. there's a criminal referral that's supposed to go to the united states attorney's office for the district of columbia. he is the top prosecutor in the federal system here in town. and he is also an employee of the justice department, and eric holder. so he has discretion on whether to seek indictments and whether to bring up those charges. and, you know, in all likelihood, it's just not going to happen. it hasn't happened before in similar situations. so that's probably an avenue that's cut off in all likelihood. the other way they could go is a civil contempt. and there was authorization voted last night on the floor of the house for the house oversight committee to go into court and sue essentially to get the information they say they need from the justice department. that of course is something that could take months, if not years. so the guess is, if the congress is ever going to get this information, they are going to have to negotiate with the department of justice to try to figure it out, carol. >> so likely house republicans don't want what they say they really want, these documents, because doesn't this make the whole thing come to a screeching halt? >> yeah. it makes it come to a screeching halt. but this is sort of a kabuki dance that goes on in washington over stuff like this. and they use going to court as leverage. and they don't really know which way a judge is going to go, but they know one side doesn't want to lose because it could affect the rights and privileges in the courts going forward. so it's always better to try to negotiate some type of a solution. and it's been done before so it's not outside the realm of possibility. >> ok. i know you'll keep an eye on. joe johns reporting live from washington. they tried everything they can think of to have a baby, and now this couple is praying for a miracle. but first they have got to get past one more obstacle. a competition on facebook. why not try coffee-mate?ce] with over 25 delicious flavors for a fraction of the cost of the coffee house. add your flavor with coffee-mate, from nestle. add your flavor last season was the gulf's best tourism season in years. in florida we had more suntans... in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spot on the gulf... and come on down. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, obama care. should we move on or fight anew? it's all over. fat chance. the supreme court upheld the constitutionality of the health care law, and instantly the opponents of obama care went off. >> i'm angry, mad at chief justice john roberts. >> this is clearly unconstitutional. this is a turning point in american history. we will never be the same again with this denial of liberty interest. >> politico reports that republican congressman mike pence compared the supreme court's decision to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. he later apologized. house republicans have already scheduled a vote to repeal the law. mitt romney, who's also vowed to repeal, says the court should have overturned the entire law. oh, really, said democrat nancy pelosi, who could not resist this zinger. >> i don't know. maybe he's going to pay for it out of his own pocket, the pre-existing conditions costs of people who have children with pre-existing conditions. you cannot have it both ways. >> seriously. we fought about health care bitterly for months and months. it widened the partisan divide that was already there. do we really want to go there again? secretly, don't you wish mitt romney would help us understand his signature accomplishment as massachusetts governor, health care complete with a mandate and everything? and don't you wish president obama would really explain the plan's impact on our economy? he seemed to start doing that yesterday. but if we're going to go back to those angry town halls and talk of death panels iss, it's going be a long hot summer. the question of the day, obama care. should we fight back or begin anew? i'll read your responses later on this hour. a couple in las vegas tried everything to have a baby but nothing has worked. they have even entereda a contet for free fertility treatments in a competition on facebook. >> reporter: emily and jim heaton have tried for years to have kids. >> you think of it, you know, as when you're a child, you know, you play house, you play, you know, mommy. and so it's something that i want a lot. >> reporter: emily has suffered seven miscarriages since their marriage five years ago. they have even picked out names. if it's a girl, grace or elizabeth. if it's a boy, james. for emil's grandfather who died in 2008. >> my grandfather was a very big part of my life. >> jim, a marine, has been deployed four times in six years. news of one miscarriage came to him when he was in iraq. >> i was on the phone when i got the news. i think the hardest part about it is not being able to be there to comfort her. >> reporter: they have tried everything from wholistic medicine to fertility treatments. >> i have already scar tissue built up on one side of my butt because of all the injections we have to do. >> reporter: in may, they had a chance the something they could never afford, advanced ivf treatment costing up to $20,000 at the sure institute in las vegas. they gambled, joining a contest, making a 4 1/2 minute video describing why they should win. deeply personal stuff posted online for the world to see. >> there's no one in our nursery yet. we are very hopeful still. >> reporter: 44 other couples also made videos. their stories equally heartbreaking. >> we just want to be a happy family. >> reporter: an independent pan panel narrowed them down to six. >> we started off offering it to one couple. it was because of me that we went to three, because i said give them all. give those three. these are the top three. give it to them. i wish i could give it to everybody. but if we did, we wouldn't be here talking to you. >> he admits the contest ises much a publicity ploy as it is designed to help the needy. he also says if anyone can help emily heaton, he can. >> you have to use certain gymnastics in the laboratory, fancy foot work to fertilize the egg. you have to have a good seed, embryo, which is not always available, and you have to have a receptive soil to allow that seed to grow. >> reporter: emily was diagnosed unexplained infertility. s