First Up: Fighting Fire
LLOYD: First up, President Bush tours some of the areas in California damaged by this week's wildfires. He arrived there yesterday and promised to provide federal help for the victims of the fires. At least 10 deaths have been linked to the blazes, but there are some signs of progress in the fight. Changes in the weather have given firefighters some help in battling the flames, and evacuation orders have been lifted in at least a dozen communities.

The area that's been affected by these fires is enormous. Nearly 740 square miles have been burned! So, how do firefighters try to stop something that large? Well, one way is with the help of commercial airplanes. Chris Lawrence has the details.

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CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN REPORTER: There it goes: 12,000 gallons of fire retardant dropped from a DC-10, blanketing part of the Harris fire.
PERSON ON THE STREET: Yeah, nice in. That looked really good. Right where we needed it.
LAWRENCE: The plane was sent to this part of San Diego County after shifting winds moved the fire north and east, prompting new evacuation warnings. An average air tanker can cover a few hundred yards of this fire, but the DC-10 can lay down a fire line three quarters-of-a-mile long. It's 7:30 in the morning when the pilots get their first briefing. The fire retardant is loaded at 8 a.m., and 15 minutes later the flight crew is suiting up inside the DC-10. At 8:45, we board what's called the lead plane. It flies the actual route ahead of the DC-10 and tells that pilot where to make his drop.
CREW MEMBER: Ok, let me make a run through there. Just watch me.
LAWRENCE: It's 9:45 in the morning when we come in for our first drop, flying right into the heart of the Harris fire at the same altitude as the DC-10. It would take a typical tanker all day to do what the DC-10 does in minutes. When we fly into the fire, the turbulence is a little jarring, at least to me; the pilots don't seem phased by it at all. They hit their target this time, but sometimes they miss. It could be a miscommunication between the two planes on where to start the drop.
LYNN FLOCK, LEAD PLANE PILOT: And sometimes you just misjudge the winds and it goes where you didn't expect it to go.
LAWRENCE: These pilots don't depend on computers to guide their drops. This is seat of the pants visual flying. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Ramona, California.
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Shoutout
AZUZ: Today's Shoutout goes out to Ms. Porcelli's Geography students at Coleman Middle School in Tampa, Florida! What U.S. corporation is buying a stake in the Facebook social network? You know what to do! Is it: A) Google, B) Intel, C) Microsoft or D) Apple? You've got three seconds -- GO! Software giant Microsoft is buying part of Facebook. And now you know one of the answers to our free weekly Newsquiz at ! That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Stake in Facebook
LLOYD: Judging by the numbers of Facebook users, a lot of you probably already know about the social networking site. But what you might not know is that it hasn't been around very long. So, why does a huge company like Microsoft want in on something so new? And just how much do they think the site's worth? Linzie Janis looks at the answers.

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LINZIE JANIS, CNN REPORTER: It's a deal based on promise. That's the only explanation for the $240 million paid by Microsoft for a less than 2% stake in Facebook. It values the social networking site at a staggering $15 billion. Not bad for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who set up the business in his Harvard dorm room less than four years ago.
BRYAN GLICK, EDITOR, COMPUTING: I don't think there is a lot of math that goes behind figures like that. This is all about paying for potential. This is all about Microsoft and Facebook trying to put a value on what they think access to the 50 million people who are using Facebook on a regular basis is worth in financial terms.
JANIS: Microsoft is effectively buying access to an advertising audience, one that's growing by hundreds of thousands of people every day. But Facebook has only just begun to exploit its users. It's reportedly expecting to break even for the first time this year, possibly even posting a small profit. With Microsoft's sales force on board, the ad dollars could start flooding in.
BOB IVINS, COMSCORE: I think it is a good bet. Again, right now it's a big scramble for eyeballs, a big scramble for audience. And they've just got a relationship with a very large audience, 75 million people around the globe. It's growing 400 percent year on year.
JANIS: Facebook is just the latest Internet darling, an online hangout where people go to chat and share photos and videos with friends; so popular, there's even a song about it. But, what happens if Internet users decide to hang out somewhere else next year? Facebook will also have to be careful not to annoy its users by bombarding them with too many ads. Some critics say this deal smacks of the very exuberance that led the dot com bubble to burst in 2000. Others say Microsoft simply couldn't afford to lose another piece of the online community to Google. Linzie Janis, CNN, London.
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ID Me
AZUZ: See if you can I.D. Me! I'm an Asian country that got its independence from Japan in 1945. I'm only a little bigger than the state of Indiana, but I'm home to about 49 million people! My capital, Seoul, hosted the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. I'm South Korea, part of the Korean peninsula between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan.

Cyber Celebrity
LLOYD: All right,Our next story is about a Korean celebrity with a huge fan following. What makes this man so famous? Well, he's an athlete, sort of. He competes in stadiums, puts in a lot of practice time and certainly has great hand-eye coordination. But his game doesn't involve a net, a ball or even a field. Confused? Eunice Yoon clears it all up.

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EUNICE YOON, CNN REPORTER: If your parents ever told you computer games would rot your brains, introduce them to South Korea's Lim Yo Hwan. Lim has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars playing this online video game. He's a professional gamer, a celebrity gaming geek who has helped turn what many would consider a distraction into a spectator sport.
LIM YO HWAN, PRO GAMER: I never thought this would be my full-time job.
YOON: Lim competes in a country crazy about computer games. With the explosion of the Internet here, potential pros test their talent in PC cafes like this one. The best compete in professional leagues, sometimes in Olympic-sized stadiums, playing in weekly tournaments broadcast on TV channels dedicated to this "sport."
SONG JAE WOONG, PRODUCER, MBC GAME: About a thousand kids come out to watch these competitions every day, and millions more watch on TV.
YOON: At the heart of the new sport? U.S.-made StarCraft, a futuristic battle game that takes a little getting used to, as I found out from this fan, Ryan.
YOON: I just keep clicking onto this?
RYAN: Uh huh... uh.
YOON: Ooooh... did I kill him?
YOON: Gamers choose one of three tribes in an intergalactic fight to control the universe's natural resources. So, it's the far distant future. I represent the Terrans, the last remnants of the human race. I'm engaged right now in a life-or-death struggle with the alien Protoss civilization -- Ryan -- and we're both fighting the evil Zergs.
But few can fight alien races like Lim. Nicknamed "Slayers-Boxer" and the "Emperor," Lim protects future humans as he moves his fingers 500 times a minute.
LIM: When I play, I don't feel nervous. I only feel bad if I lose.
YOON: So Lim practices for hours, exercises and keeps his hands warm, a regimen that helps him stay sharp as a recruit to South Korea's new Air Force team, the first pro-gaming military team in the world.
LIEUTENANT KIM PYUNG-KANG, COACH, AIR FORCE PRO-GAMING TEAM: This is a good way to promote our nation's Air Force!
YOON: Especially when Lim already comes with a fan club of over 600,000 who bring offerings to their god.
LIM FAN: He reminds me of the movie star Matt Damon.
LIM FAN: He's as big as Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan!
LIM FAN: He's like a god.
YOON: So what's next for this gaming idol?
LIM: After I finish serving in the army, I want to continue playing video games.
YOON: A career goal that might make parents around the world cringe, but one that ironically makes his fellow Koreans very proud. Eunice Yoon, CNN, Seoul.
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Before We Go
LLOYD:OK, Think about how many times you've had your hair cut. Ever wonder where it all goes? Well, some fallen follicles find their way here: to the world's biggest hairball! No, that's not something the cat coughed up, cause that would have to be one king-size kitty. It's the work of a Missouri barber. He's been cutting hair for more than 50 years, but started collecting it in the last few. The result: A 160-pound hairball!

Goodbye
LLOYD: Some people just can't leave their jobs at the office. That is where we leave though, but just until Monday. Have a great weekend,everybody, I'm Monica Lloyd

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