President Bush has declared a state of emergency due to raging wildfires that have forced more than 300,000 from their homes in southern California. Droughts, high temperatures and heavy winds have created conditions that have tested firefighters ability to contain the fires. Rhys Morgan, a student at California State University, San Marcos, provided American Observer reporter Katherine Jarmul with an eyewitness account of the situation on the ground.

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Recent analysis of government data has found that more than 60 percent of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer injuries from improvised explosive devices and often develop symptoms of traumatic brain injury.

The new data was compiled by certified rehabilitation counselor Jessica Harbaugh, who works with veterans in New York City. Her findings have yet to be released, but

Harbaugh said that it shows how important it is to provide long-term committed care to veterans suffering from brain injuries.

“It’s a lifelong disability and there are personality changes, cognitive changes and vocational changes,” Harbaugh said.

A presidential commission investigating the Walter Reed Medical center last month urged Congress to update benefits and rehabilitation care to disabled veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Observer reporter Katharine Jarmul examines what's next after the Walter Reed scandal.

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The Observer also visits with Team River Runner, which provides kayaks for amputees at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Every week, about six veterans learn basic kayak skills in specially-modified kayaks. Observer reporter Liz Anderson visits the medical center and talks with veterans and kayaking volunteers.

   » Listen to her audio report here