rise. and writing's on wall. >> the school leader called before the school board after eliminating something taught for decades. will your grandchildren be able to read a simple john hancock? good evening, and we begin this saturday with breaking news here. the scandal involving congressman anthony weiner has reached a tipping point tonight. three top democratic officials including house democratic leader nancy pelosi are now calling that weiner resign. one calling it a, quote, sordid affair that's becoming an unaccept only distraction. it follows new revelations that he'd been sending messages to a 17-year-old girl on twitter. but will he quit. tonight, congress simply says he wants a short leave from congress as he seeks treatment. we're with david kerley. >> reporter: he was adamant. he's determined to keep his job. >> i've made some serious mistakes. i have to redeem myself. and i'm going to try to get back to work. but these were personal failings, so i'm trying not to let them get in my way with my work. >> reporter: in a clear bid to hold on to congress, a spokesperson is saying weiner is taking a leave of absence so he can get treatment to become a healthier person. the gloves came off, cascading calls for his resignation. nancy pelosi who has never called for a democrat to resign saying if weiner needs help he should get it. quote, without the pressures of being a member of congress. the head of the democratic national committee, i call on representative weiner to resign because of indefensible behavior. the chair of the democratic congressional committee, calling weiner's behavior an insurmountable distraction to the house. it was here where we learned among those who weiner sent messages, a high school student, a 17-year-old. police visited her home to look at her messages to determine that there were no criminal or quote, inappropriate contact by the congressman. >> nothing explicit, nothing indecent, absolutely nothing appropriate. >> reporter: but news that he was chatting with a 17-year-old, after finally admitting he was has sent lewd photos to other women is too much. >> when the top party leaders tell you it's time to go, it's time to go. he just hasn't accepted it yet, but he will. >> thank you. nice for you to say. >> reporter: but he is get some support in new york. democratic leaders wanted to make this call for resignation, before the sunday talk shows, before congress comes back to washington on monday. it's now clear that weiner won't return immediately, if he returns at all, david. >> david kerley on the hill tonight. jon karl, our senior political correspondent was in washington. jon, we were all reading the statement from nancy pelosi today. but you're learning about the actual phone call between pelosi and weiner. >> yeah, this was a couple hours earlier that the speaker, former speaker, said he had a choice, he has to resign on his own or she would go out and make it public to call for his resignation. he talked about this leave of absence, less than two hours later, david, you saw that statement from nancy pelosi saying resign. >> we know she still carries a lot of power as well as democratic leaders as far as peer pressure. what's the bottom line, can they really make him go? >> bottom line is, no, congressman weiner does not work for nancy pelosi. they could go to an ethics process. they could make his life hell on capitol hill. take away commit assignments. but the bottom line is, if congressman weiner wants to stay, but it won't be a nice life on capitol hill. >> jon karl, david kerley, thanks. another key al qaeda operative is dead. harun fazul was among. the 1998 embassy bombings in kenya and tanzania. pakistani officials say in a drone strike and now fazul in somalia. tonight here, we're getting a clearer picture of how this latest terror suspect was caught. knack by mistake. authority has buried him without knowing who they'd nabbed. >> reporter: he was a key al qaeda operative behind the deadly attacks on u.s. embassies in africa. tonight, authorities say they have killed fazul. he was on the fbi's most wanted terrorist list, a $5 million bouncety on his head. after the blasts killed 224 people in kenya and tanzania. the deadliest of those in east africa was not the result of intelligence. somali authorities now acknowledge it was luck. he was killed during a routine checkpoint gone wrong. on him, he was carrying fake i.d.s and the soldiers who buried had no idea who he was. as dana hugues reported to us today. >> david, after commanders started checking documents and matches the photos of the man that was killed with older photographs of fazul, they decide to exhume his body and notify officials. >> reporter: after notifying the u.s., dna tests came next. clinton issuing a statement, fazul's death say significant blow to al qaeda. who brought so much death and pain to so many. >> let's turn to christiane amanpour, she joins us in washington preparing for tomorrow morning's program. christiane, this latest case, more luck than intelligence. there's no question, when you put it all together, this has been a good month on the war on terror? >> well, absolutely. a good month for international justice, precisely as you say. they can run, but eventually, they can't hide, no matter how they're taken out. the president of counterterrorism has called this a big victory against al qaeda and its extremist allies. and important to know, within somalia which is not known for success in tracking down the militants which does house the african version of al qaeda, this al shabaab group is host to many foreign militants. so it's a big victory for the somalis as well and the fight against al qaeda. >> christiane, thanks to you. christiane will have much more including the latest on the anthony weiner scandal during the debate tomorrow morning on "this week." we turn next to the gigantic wildfire in arizona. 640 square miles and growing. flames now spreading in neighboring new mexico. and the smoke and haze now a serious public health threat. firefighters are trying to battle back fighting fire with fire. how is that done? clayton sandell is in arizona again tonight. >> reporter: two weeks into fighting this monster fire, crews are starting to make good progress. but strong, dry winds are back today, testing the defenses of more than 4,000 firefighters. they're using every tool in their arsenal, including fire. this area near the town of greer looks like a burned-out moonscape. but this part of the fire was actually set snengsally. it's called a backfire. the point is to use up the main fuel where the main fire can use it and spread potentially farther. where there's fire, there's smoke in toxic levels. it's considered unhealthy to breathe smoky air at anything over 30 parts per mill. today that reading spiked to 500. >> for those who have been inhaling it for quite some time, there tending to be respiratory problems that are created by this. problems in the lungs. you can't expel it because it's embedded in your system. >> reporter: lisa muth was so worried about daughters emily and allison breathing unhealthy air, that the family evacuated even before they had to. >> i'm glad to be out of the smoke. this is for the girls. >> reporter: the blaze has now consumed more than 30 homes, most in the town of greer. that's where we met ann and harvey cook, earlier this week, desperately scrambling to evacuate. >> all of my kids, it was a place to come. >> reporter: the cooks had no idea that the log cabin they built 20 years ago had survived. it was too dangerous for us to see it. but we talked to firefighters who confirmed it's still there. >> that area hasn't been affecting. >> that area? >> reporter: we gave the cooks the good news. >> reporter: at this point, your place is safe. >> oh, wonderful. i'm so sad for those who lost their homes. >> crews are starting to advance into new mexico setting the backfires to do it. they're confident they can do it. but with winds like this today and even more tomorrow, they said there are no guarantees, david. >> at least we're happy for the cook family. great you made that phone call. tonight, a second danger is now developing in joplin, missouri, more than three weeks now after that devastating tornado. more than 150 died in the twister and tonight the death toll is climbing. because of something else there. authorities now believe people were infected with a fungus, clinging to all of that debris, whipping through the air, and then infecting the people when the debris hit them. >> reporter: more than nine people are now believed to have mucomycosis a rae fungal disorder. >> it can invade not only the skin and soft tissues but also the blood vessels, that's where you can get into big trouble very fast. it can be fatal. >> reporter: the fungus was attached to the wood that held up all of those homes and the soil, too. it's been flying through the air from the twister. it's believed people injured with that debris with skin wounds may have been infected. skin samples have been sent to the cdc. the symptoms, pain, swelling and skin discoloration didn't show up until a week or more after the twister. it's now feared right after the tornado, doctors who tended to victims unknowingly stitched up wounds only to find mold growing in their skin days later. while we do await the results from the cdc, we know this was a type of aggressive fungal infection has been an issue after national disasters before, particularly after the tsunami in 2004 in thailand. we move on to a tragic milestone in afghanistan to report. the u.n. says 368 afghan civilians were killed in may. most as a result of insurgent attacks. that makes it the deadliest attacks since the u.n. began keeping record. and then learned today that 21 more people were killed in new attacks, one by a suicide bomber pushing an ice cream cart. and on the syrian border along turkey, thousands now fleeing syria, where the syrian president is trying to quash a mutiny breaking away from the regime. alex marquardt reports. alex? >> reporter: good evening, david. around 4,000 syrians are now in turkey having fled the violence, and officials say more are on their way as the crackdown continues. exhausted syrian families running for their lives to turkish refugee camps, escaping sources of al assad, after 120 government groups were killed there last week. the security forces raided our houses, killed and looted. the brutality of the government's month-long contractdown is evident in this video. which we can't independently verify. syrian soldiers repeatedly kicking an old man. this, a professor mutilated and killed. and this, too graphic to show. for increasing numbers in security forces, it's too much. this soldier took his defection to the internet. "our mission, he says, is to protect the civilians, not kill them." it's clear for all the months of protests and all the regime's talk about reform, this arab spring story is still more about crackdowns than change. david? >> alex marquardt in turkey. a massive celebration of a royal milestone marking the queen's birthday. but it was the future queen many were out to see. and jeffrey kofman is in london tonight. >> reporter: buckingham palace rolled out the pomp and pageantry again. this time for the queen. she call this the colors. this isn't actually the queen's birthday. she turned 85 in april. but this is when they celebrate. the eyes of this crowd, though, are not just on queen elizabeth. they're on a future queen. and there she is, the woman formerly known as kate mill mild middleton, now the duchess of cambridge. it's clear he has given the royals a big boost in popularity. as the queen passed, a light applause. as kate passed, cheers. who's the bigger deal here, the queen or kate? >> definitely kate, yeah. >> she wants to see kate. >> and me, too. >> reporter: it was harder to spot kate's husband. but under that bear skin hat, that really is prince william. for royal watchers, pure delight. for a future queen, a taste of the role she is destined to play. jeffrey kofman, abc news, london. >> they do love kate. still ahead, sarah palin. she's been taking on the first lady, that national campaign against childhood obesity. but hear what palin's own e-mails reveal. also, a spectacular crash. how could a car disintegrate against the wall and how that driver is doing. incredible story. and the school board leader is called before the school board for something she doesn't think that children need. >> the change from manuscript to cursive writing requires much skill and practice. yep. the longer you stay with us, the more you save. and when you switch from another company to us, we even reward you for the time you spent there. genius. yeah, genius. you guys must have your own loyalty program, right? well, we have something. show her, tom. huh? you should see november! oh, yeah? giving you more. now that's progressive. call or click today. no, no, no... i do not have a thing about bugs. i have a thing about bugs in our house. we used to call an exterminator. ugh... now i go ortho. home defense max. i use it once inside to kill the bugs. stops them dead. guaranteed. and outside to keep new ones from moving in. that's up to 12 months protection against bugs. and 12 months of keeping our house to ourselves. until your mother comes. right. ortho home defense max. defend what's yours. i'm friend, secret-keeper and playmate. do you think i'd let osteoporosis slow me down? so i asked my doctor about reclast because i heard it's the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment. he told me all about it and i said that's the one for nana. he said reclast can help restrengthen my bones to help make them resistant to fracture for twelve months. and reclast is approved to help protect from fracture in many places: hip, spine, even other bones. [ male announcer ] you should not take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium, or kidney problems. or if you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant or are nursing. take calcium and vitamin d daily. tell your doctor if you develop severe muscle, bone or joint pain, if you have dental problems, or if you develop new or unusual pain in your hip, groin, or thigh. the most common side effects include flu like symptoms, fever, muscle or joint pain headache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. share the world with the ones you love! and ask your doctor about reclast. once-a-year reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women. tonight, we learn more about sarah palin through the e-mails during her time as governor and when she was named john mccain's running mate. in recent months, we've heard palin critical of the push to make children healthier. she brought cookies to class at one point. but her own e-mails showed her own concern about her children and too much sugar and carbs. here's john berman. >> reporter: just weeks before she electrified the crowd at the republican national convention, as the vice presidential nominee, the e-mails revealed she barely wanted to attend. the gop for the most part has not had any support or assistance provided our station. though our time and efforts will continue to be spent on serving alask alaskans, not party politics. they also show a governor nearly obsessed with what people said about her. she instructed aides, i need folks to really help ramp up accurate counter comments being spread out there. later she wrote, "sheeesh, i can't trust people as far as i can throw them." isn't 20 08, after the birth of her son trigg, she battled false rumors it was bristol's son. even at trigg's doctor apartment this morning, his doc said that's out there. they're filled with homespun words. and several variations of flippin', unbelievable, unflippin' believable. and can you flippin' believe it. even though they're criticizing parts of michelle obama's fight against obesity, bringing cookies to a high school -- >> i had to shake it up a little bit. >> she once e-mailed an aide asking for low-carb foods. just don't want the kids to have too much sugar. >> reporters are thrilled with the e-mails. >> white house aides said everyone should read them and that sarah palin looks like a ceo here. critics point to the fact that thousands of pages were withheld and thousands redacted. for all the hype on the release, it doesn't seem like these e-mails will change any minds pro or con. >> nobody's really flipping out? >> no. >> john berman, thanks. when we come back on the broadcast, the unbelievable crash we saw today. the driver's team. they couldn't believe their eyes in the stands. when we come back, we'll tell you how the driver's doing. more passion for the one ya love. more fun with your family and riends. it could be ! a treatable condition called low testosterone or lw t. come on, stop living in the shadows. you've got a life to live. 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