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It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.
LYNN NEARY, host:
And I'm Lynn Neary.
On a tour of Southern California, President Bush met with residents who lost their homes and firefighters who tried to save them.
President GEORGE W. BUSH: These fires are tough, but you know better than anybody how hard it is. And so we're here to compliment you on your courage and your compassion.
NEARY: The president has declared a major disaster in a seven-county region. Losses from the fires total upwards of a billion dollars in San Diego County alone. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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