front-runner the republican feed up 13 points over mitt romney. the former massachusetts governor is giving a speech down in perry's home state of texas in the next hour where he is expected to give in this prepared remarks, it looks like this, a pretty serious dig at perry, according to some of the remarks that were e-mailed by the romney campaign. the former massachusetts governor is expected to say that the country is in a big mess right now, and i'm paraphrasing, and career politicians to use romney's words can't get us out of this, and so a swipe toward rick perry and it is heating up between the two, and so it will heat up. >> yes, it is. thank you, jim acosta. we will see you back here bright and early tomorrow morning. over to suzanne malveaux. >> yes, thank you, kyra. we are going to look at the severe flooding there in new jersey, and we will speak to a couple of officials there on the

ground and folks who are still trying to get out of the mess. thank you, kyra. live from studio 7, i'm suzanne malveaux and up to speed for august 30th, tuesday. here we go, again, the rivers in new jersey are bursting the banks overwhelmed by all of the rain that hurricane irene dumped on the state. the passaic river has been overrunning parts of paterson, new jersey, all morning long. emergency workers pulled some 1,500 people to safety after the passaic flooded homes. governor chris christie says that nine new jersey rivers have surged to record flood levels, but thankfully, they are receding now. he says only one, the passaic has not crested. the number of people killed now by irene and the aftermath rose to 38 today across 11 states. i want to get the latest on the emergency rescues in paterson, new jersey, where we are taking a look, a dramatic look of pictures throughout the morning and on the phone is sergeant

alex popoff of the paterson police department, and we understand that somebody was just rescued off of a top of a ridge, and what can you tell us about the rescue mission, and how many phone calls you are getting? >> we are still receiving phone calls and the person on the top of the bridge actually fell into the river, and the fire department picked them up by boat, and sfashs i nas far as iy are okay. >> what are you facing today? are there a lot of people in danger essentially who have had to be plucked out of the water or trapped in their homes or various places? >> most of the rescue calls we are getting are people actually in their homes. some have minimal power, and we are getting to them as fast as we can. we are rescuing the elderly people, children, and families and even pets to get them to safety and transporting them to a shelter. >> and how big has the job been now? >> well, it is rapidly expanding now, because of the rising tide

and our manpower is being stretched back, because the roadways had to be moved closed further back from the river now. >> so it is expected to get worse before it gets better? >> we are expecting the river to crest within a few hours, and hopefully then the waters will recede and, like i said, we are trying to get to as many people as we can in the amount of time we have. >> and sergeant, what should people do if they are trapped in their homes and they still have not seen this river crest, what should they do to protect themselves? >> basically, if they cannot survive call 973-321-1442 and we are in contact with the office of emergency management in the paterson fire department, and we will get a boat out to your house and get them to safety.

>> if folks, if they don't have working phones, if they don't have power, should they actually try to make it out on their own, or should they stay where they are, stay put at all costs? >> we are asking them to stay put if they can somehow get word to a neighbor who has a phone that is working or a cell phone, we will come get them. >> all right. sergeant, thank you so much. we will put that number up as soon as we get that number again, because we will put it back up on the screen, and you can take a look if you know neighbors or people who are maybe trapped or in trouble, give that number a call and make sure they are taken well care of. so, pratsville, new york, and surrounding communities in the catskills have been practically washed off of the map. take look at this. dozenbes of people had to be rescued after irene's rains poured from the mountains and wiped out roads. even reporters who rushed to prattsville to cover the flood

ended up stuck. >> imagine where i am standing that creek flooded to this point and even a mile out of town. so this is flooding that no one has ever seen before, and yes, all of the other smaller roads around this area have been flooded, so we are told that there is no way for us to get out. >> the energy department told us a short time ago that more than 3 million customers on the east earn shore still don't have electricity. president obama's top disaster officials are fanning out today to see irene's mess. fema director craig fugate is headed to vermont. floods washed away 200 roads in the state as well as a number of vermont's storied covered bridges. homeland security secretary janet napolitano is going to be in north carolina where irene made landfall. and agricultural secretary tom vilsack will come along to see the agricultural damage.

and katia blew to life today with top winds of 40 miles an hour, and forecasters say that the conditions are so favorable that katia is likely to explode into a major hurricane by the weekend. mew mar gadhafi's wife, two of his sons and daughter have turned up in algeria. they say that the gadhafis were taken in as a humanitarian gesture. libya's new political leaders say they want algeria to send them back to face charges. the ntc is saying they should be forced to come back here and they should be extradited to face trial here and if algeria does not do that it is considered an act of aggression against the will of the libyan people. >> moammar gadhafi reportedly became a grandfather again today. the wire service afp says that is shshgs a gadhafi gave birth

to a baby girl in algeria. se syrians jamming the streets today, and once again syrian soldiers opened fire on protesters in several cities. worshippers had just emerged from mosque where they mark the end of the holy month ramadan. opposition sources tell cnn that at least seven people have been killed today. the latest casualties in the revolt against the syrian regime. polygamist leader warren jeffs is in critical condition in a texas hospital today. a source tells cnn he is now in a coma. jeffs told prison workers that he was fasting. earlier this month, he was convicted of sexually assaulting two girls he claimed were his wives. >> former nba player javaris crittenton is jailed in southern california today. he is going to be brought back to atlanta to face a murder charge. the dead woman had four children. now, the nba suspended the

player back in 2010 after he and a teammate brought guns into the washington wizards' locker room. here is a chance to talkback on one of the big store is are of the day. today's question -- will the talk about governor rick perry's intelligence help or hurt him in the run for the white house? carol costello, wow, that is a provocative question, carol. joining us from new york. hey. >> well, i'm excited to read the responses to this question, suzanne. so let's get back to the "talkback" shall we? rick perry is on top of the gop field according to the latest n cnn/orc poll so why are people asking if he is smart enough to be president? politico.com even asked this question in a headline, is rick perry dumb? and they talked about his lack of intellectual credentials which has aggravated some conservatives who are debating whether or not president obama is dumb. >> liberals like yourself refer

to reagan as an amiable dunce. and you attack sarah palin's intelligence and michele bachmann's intelligence and george bush's intelligence and now all of the sudden, every liberal is a genius who drives the economy into a ditch and you say this guy is brilliant. >> i'm just saying that -- >> that is hard to argue with that. >> and the sad part is that it plays to the same old stereotypes that cnn contributor john avalon says that they are cruel or nixon, and you know, cheney and nixon cruel or clinton naive and immoral and it is okay to question his thoughts on morals, but when you use the dumb, it questions whether a candidate is prepared to be president. and you know the "d" word may fire up conservatives and win perry more supporters.

so the question today, will the talk of perry's intelligence help or hurt him? go to facebook.com/carolcnn and i will be eager to read your responses later in the hour. >> thank you, carol. here is the "rundown" and you heard carol ask on "talkback" about rick perry, but something he said could come back to haunt him. and a drone reportedly takes out al qaeda's number two, and we will analyze how much of a threat that terror network is today. and we will hear from a woman stranded in prattsville, a new york town hit by irene where people are running dangerously low on food and some hope. then this -- >> in this case, it is one where it went downhill. and charlie a few years ago, that is one that went uphill and neither case did we see it coming, and this is my measure of the fact that we have a long way to go. and a blow to the defense team in the manslaughter trial of michael jackson's doctor.

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put it all together at the end of the song it gives you freecreditscore-dot-com, and i'm gone... offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com this month has been the deadliest ever for u.s. forces in afghanistan. 66 american troops have died. that is the most since the conflict began almost ten years ago. 30 u.s. service members died in just one day when insurgents shot down their helicopter. the death of al qaeda's second in command is raising questions about the future of this terrorist organization.

atiyah abd raman was killed in afghanistan. officials say his death was a major blow to al qaeda. official reports say that osama bin laden had sent plans to him with the idea of attacking the u.s. on the anniversary of september 11th which is less than two weeks from today. so now that rahman is gone, is the terrorist group al qaeda the demise in reach? we don't know. we want to talk to cnn national security contributor fran townsend, and she is a current member of the cia external committee, and what do you make of this, fran? al qaeda's number two is now gone, and how significant for this organization? are we even safer? >> well, absolutely. this is abdel rahman is an individual with historical ties and connections to many of those in the al qaeda organization. he was a key link in the war in

iraq to zarquawi who is now dead, and he had a personal relationship with those in the al qaeda core leadership and to reach out to the affiliates, and we have seen the affiliates gain strength in the peninsula where we saw the attempted bombing on christmas day, and the underwear bomber, and just this week, a responsible attack in algeria. so the affiliates are gaining strength, and rahman is one of the key people to keep the connection between the al qaeda core which is severely degraded especially with the killing of bin laden and the increasingly strong affiliates around the world. >> so, fran, we heard from the secretary leon panetta saying within the month of so that strategic defeat of al qaeda is within reach. do we think that the organization, if you cut off the head that essentially those

affiliates are so weakened that it is not a threat to the united states going forward? >> no, i don't. look, i do think that we have severely degraded the al qaeda core, but i don't think that is going to suggest the defeat of al qaeda overall. in fact, some of the affiliates have gained strength by virtue of the autonomy and not centering the leadership in the tribal areas where the u.s. and the allies have been very, very active, so i think that it is going to take a real sustained effort now against the affiliates just as we have gone against the core, and that is going to take time. >> are we headed in the right direction, fran, now that we are pulling u.s. troops out of afghanistan, and 10,000 by the end of of the year? is that going to cripple and weaken our position in going after al qaeda? >> well, look, the real, what you worry about and what has kept the core in the tribal areas is that was the new safe haven and once we denied them

the safe haven in afghanistan. the taliban is strong in afghanistan and a weak central government in the karzai government, and the fear, of course, and i think rightly, is that as you remove the u.s. troops, you worry that as there is pressure in the tribal areas, they will push themselves back over into afghanistan. what we are seeing around the world whether it is yemen or somal somalia, where there is a weak central government or ungoverned space is always to the benefit of al qaeda and the enemies so if we leave afghanistan as a weak link or ungoverned state, you run the risk they will find a safe haven again back in afghanistan as they did before 9/11. >> fran, final question here. how concerned are you about the tenth anniversary of the september 11th attacks in two weeks? >> well, look, any large public gathering is always an attractive target, and we know that bin laden was at least thinking and it. al qaeda is severely weakened and they tend to historically

not target on particular date, and i will tell you, suzanne, the country and the defensive capability are far greater than ten years ago and we are in a better position to tell people to go to the memorial events and the u.s. government can keep them safe, but it requires the active involvement. if we see janet napolitano saying if you see it, say it. and also coming up at noon, the president will be speaking to the veterans and families at the american legions convention in minneapolis, and expected to talk about how veterans are deeply impacted by unemployment. we will take his speech live, again, fairly soon and talking about 11:55 eastern. and republican presidential candidate mitt romney. he is also speaking this hour at the national convention of v veterans of foreign wars. that is in san antonio, texas.

about 8,000 veterans were expected at the event, and you are taking a look at the live pictures from the venue. romney is following rick perry who spoke at the convention on monday. and whoever is scheduled the convention speakers seem to have a special political insight, because romney is also following perry in the latest cnn/orc poll for republican candidates for president. perry had one-third of the support and romney second with 18%, and perry just formally entered the race this month. cnn's ed lavandara has more on the texas governor's appeal as well as some of the not so shining moments. >> reporter: rick perry is described as a brash, calculating politician, but not above ending a satellite interview with a houston tv station a few years ago with this bomb. >> adios, mofo. >> reporter: audio, mofo became instant snapshot and inspired

coffee mugs and t-shirts. and one of the people who has worked years with perry says she a smalltown guy and what you see is what you get. >> people don't want robots or sound bites, but folks who speak from the heart, and that is what rick perry has always done. >> reporter: but critics say behind closed doors the governor can be vindictive and decisive. >> he is smart and aggressive and focused on winning elections. >> reporter: and mike villarreal is a state representative at the same time that perry was elected governor. he says that perry rarely gets involved in the nitty-gritty details of government. >> he delegates out the responsibility of governing, and governing decisions are largely drifen by political polls, and he keeps his sights set on winning the next election. so i wouldn't consider him dumb on governance, but i just think it is not the priority. >> perry is a guy who sets a

clear agenda and rolls up the sleeves and goes to work taking the message to the people. >> reporter: during his tenure as ogovernor, there are a long trails of stories saying that the campaign donors have received preferential treatment and awarded lucrative contracts or appointed to government positions, and they say he has created a pay-to-play culture in texas. is the governor guilty of that? >> he is probably the most scrutinized and probed elected official in texas. he is aware of that. >> reporter: and his opponents called him part time perry, because the attacks came after he went several days without state working business and a average working week of seven hours in the first months of 2010. perry says he works around the clock. >> i've been the governor for ten year, and if they have made anybody who can outwork me yet, please introduce me to him or

her. >> reporter: even his staunchest political adversaries offer this warning, rick perry doesn't lose elections and should never be underestimated. ed lavandara, cnn, dallas. members of moammar gadhafi's family now escaped to algeria, but libyan rebels say, hold on a minute. the latest on their efforts to get the family back. that in a live report. efine. to those always searching for what's pure and what's real from we who believe we know just how you feel. haagen-dazs. yeah. 24 bucks later. that hurts. it's not like i really had a choice. snack on this. progressive's "name your price" tool

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>> rebel fighters in libya are pushing toward moammar gadhafi's hometown of sirte, but the rebels now say it could take up to ten days to seize control of the town. earlier today, they gave gadhafi's forces until saturday

to surrender or face a rebel attack. while the rebels were stepping up the hunt for moammar gadhafi, several of his family members are now in algeria. gadhafi's wife, two of his sons and his daughter were allowed into algeria on humanitarian grounds, but the head of the libyan transitional government said hey, wait, not so fast. our cnn international correspondent dan rivers is joining us live from tripoli. it is confusing for people to realize how they managed to get out of libya, and whether or not they are actually going to return. what do we know? >> yeah, well, exactly. we know very little about this crossing other than it happened at 8:45 local time. as you say the algerian government saying they were allowed over on humanitarian grounds, but there is going to be real anger here that they were allowed to leave, and demands already that they be extradited back to face jail.

the national transitional council of the new sort of rebel government here saying that if they are not brought back, they will consider it an act of aggression against the will of the libyan people. several of gadhafi's children, including the ones who have crossed over are the subject to u.n. security council travel ban, so that is going to be an issue for algeria if the they are allowed the stay, and the algerian government has not recognized the new government here, and so this is putting relations between the new government and the existing algerian government in the deep freeze to say the least. >> and dan, help us to understand here, because algeria took in the gadhafi relatives on humanitarian grounds, and at least the son, hannibal and others have been accused of horrible things, crimes and abusing folk, and can they explain how they can be there on humanitarian grounds? >> no. and frankly, i mean, that seems laughable when looked at in relation to hannibal gadhafi, because he has a terrible

reputation and he has been arrested numerous times for violent brawls and arguments with other people, with his wife in switzerland and in london and so on. we had the story of the nanny who worked for hannibal gadhafi who alleged that hannibal's wife poured boiling water over her, and that is the kind of people that you are dealing with when you talk about hannibal gadhafi anyway. the daughter of colonel gadhafi aisha has given birth today. and that is an indication of the humanitarian grounds and perhaps they felt that they had to let the heavily pregnant woman across to give birth, but they have not explained why the others were allowed over, and haven't explained anything really other than they have crossed over and they don't know where the crossing point was. >> dan, a lot of questions surrounding that and of course, the hunt for moammar gadhafi also continues. thank you, dan. well, she watched irene's floodwaters wash away her home. we are going to talk to her about the devastation in the town of prattsville, new york,

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here is a rundown of the stories coming up next. a woman stranded by devastating flooding in prattsville, and she tel tells us about the situation unfolding there. and the serious setback of the manslaughter case against michael jackson's doctor. and later the baby bump that went crazy on twitter. how news of beyonce's baby bump became a social media record. i want to take you to live pictures of middletown, connecticut. we are looking at pictures from our affiliate wfsb, and there you actually see that what appears to be a rather large restaurant that has been flooded. that is the connecticut river that is overswellen the banks. and a lot of people are trying to pick up the pieces of hurricane irene, and this is just one of many areas where there has been severe flooding

and live pictures, as you can see, it is very likely that the restaurant is closed for business as many of the businesses in the area are, because of the water, this presence of wae, tter and the s time it will take for the water to go down and for people to reclaim their property and to get back to life as normal, but again, just another picture of the scene that irene left in its wake. well, there are roads that are flooded. there are towns that are cut off. there are still people who are stranded, and this is all about the northeast staggering from the blow it took from hurricane irene. the town of prattsville, new york, was hit hard by the flooding. state police rescued 21 people who were stranded in a home, and dozens more have taken refuge at the huntersfield christian training center where diana salter is. she joins us by phone. diana, we have been talking to you the last couple of days

really trying to get a sense of how you are doing. what happened to your home? are you able to get any information about your house? >> it's -- well, it is gone. i literally saw my home float by me. >> were you -- >> we got out with about ten minutes to spare. >> that must have been an unbelievable to watch and see that happen. how did you manage to get out so quickly? >> we live right across the street from the scohohari creek which is never been this powerful, and i said to my husband, get the collars on the dogs. i grabbed medicine, and we got them in the vehicles, and literally within 10 to 15 minutes the water was up to my thighs. we got up to a little bit of a crest of a hill where we lived

and we saw one home go. and another home and trucks and cars floating by. and then there was a big huge model home double-wide that had crashed into our house, and it is gone. it is devastating. >> i am so -- >> it is frightening. >> i am so sorry, and i know it is difficult. i understand that there weren neighbors close by, elderly that you were able to get to as you were fleeing your home, is that right? >> we got our neighbor out. his house went, and he is 92 years old, and he is here with us. and we were bringing him into our home, and we were going to stay, and we would have never made it if we stayed, but when i saw the water in the field behind us, just swirling like a raging river, i said, we have to go. our other neighbor, their house exploded. it is horrible. >> diana, we are so glad that you didn't stay, that you were

able to escape. where are you now? can you describe or explain the conditions of this shelter where you are now? >> okay. we are at the huntersfield christian training center, and it is amazing. if anybody can help, we need batteries and flashlights. that is all they are asking for. we are up in the cat skill mosk mountains, very high, and many of the roads are washed out, so it is difficult to get around. you know, you can't go anywhere. the town of prattsville, itself, there is nothing left. there is fire down there and firemen and i believe that national guard is down there as well. >> diana, has anybody told you whether or not there's going to be a rescue party on the way or are you guys basically stuck there for a while? >> we are safe. we will be able to get out. it may take a long time. because the roads need to be repaired. but we are okay up here.

>> all right. diana -- >> we -- >> we know it is difficult conditions that you and your family are enduring and we wish the very best for you, and we know it is a matter of days before people can communicate with each other. i want to go to a live event that we are being told that this is mitt romney. he is speaking before the veterans of foreign wars in san antonio, texas. let's listen in. >> called upon to defend liberty. we rightly call our fathers and mothers the greatest generation, but every woman, and every man who has or now defends american liberty from the beaches of normandy to the valleys of the hindu kush to the macon delta share in the heritage of greatness. every veteran is the greatest of his generation. [ applause ]

the quiet heroes who fought for our country come from the most diverse backgrounds, from farmers to subway riders, phds to high school graduates and from every ethnic background of the american melting pot, but they are united by far more than what divides them. they believe in america. i believe in america. we believe in freedom and opportunity. we believe in the inherent dignity of every human being, and we have deep and abiding faith in the goodness and the greatness of america, but today we are united not only by our faith in america, but also our concern for america. 25 million americans are out of work or stopped looking for work or have part-time jobs and need full-time employ. home values have dropped more

now than they did in the great depression. and the debt we owe is a huge chunk of the economy and we owe most of it to china. this is not the legacy to give to the next generation, and the peril of the mismanagement may be more imminent. we stand near the threshold of profound economic misery. four more years on the same political path could prove disaster trous. -- disastrous. i'm a conservative businessman and i spent most of my life outside of politics dealing with real problems in the real economy. career politicians got us into this mess, and they simply don't know how to get us out. [ applause ] to win this fight for america's future, we're going to have to rise above american politics. when members of s.e.a.l. team

six boarded the helicopters they did so not as democrats and republicans and the final image that osama bin laden took with him straight to hell was not aer p party symbol, an elephant or donkey, but the look of a soldier of one u.s. navy zea s.e.a.l. that is the way it ought to be. i start with the fundamental conviction that america is the greatest nation in the history of the world and a force for good. while we are not perfect, i will not apologize for america. [ applause ] our president has taken a different approach. have we ever had a president who was so eager to address the world with an apology on his lip and doubt on his heart? he seems truly confused not only

about america's past, but also about the future. so critical was president obama of america before the united nations that fidel castro complimented him for his courage and brave gesture. and venezuelan dictator and thug hugo chavez joined in on the praise. we can't lead the world by hoping that the enemies will hate us ling us less. ronald reagan rallied america with peace through strength. american strength is the only hope for liberty. and american strength turned the cuban missile around. american strength caused the collapse of the soviet union. and american strength yanked saddam hussein out of the spider hole. with freedom as the cause, strength is the only sure defense. today, president obama is on a different course. first the white house has proposed cutting military spending by $400 billion over

the years. and then he agreed to a budget process to cut defense spending by $850 billion. the incoming chairman of the joint chiefs of staff called cuts of that magnitude very high risk. defense secretary panetta has warned that it could have devastating effects on the national defense. that is coming from someone who works for the president. this is the first time in my memory that massive defense cuts were proposed without any reference to the missions that would be foreclosed and to the risks of the men and women in uniform. cuts of this magnitude can only be the product of one or two different beliefs. on the one hand is the wishful thinking that the world is becoming a safer place. the opposite is true. consider simply the jihadists, a turbulent middle east,

illusionist pakistan and emerging global power called china. no, the world is not becoming safer. you have been listening to presidential candidate mitt romney. we expect the president to be addressing veterans as well at 11:55 where he will speak to veterans and their families at the american legions conference in minneapolis. he is to talk about how americans are deeply impacted by the economy and unemployment. we will take that speech live at 11:55 eastern. a jury convicted warren jeffs of sexually assaulting young girls, that this month. and now the polygamist cult lead ser in t leader is in the hospital in critical condition. [ male announcer ] to the seekers of things which are one of a kind.

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well, mention michael jackson's trial for molestation cannot happen at the upcoming

manslaughter trial of his doctor, but i first want to take a look at the talk on law and order. we want to talk about the polygamist cult leader who was just sentenced to life for sexual assault. he is now in critical condition in a texas hospital. that is warren jeffs who had not been eating or drinking enough and suffered from other health problems according to a prison spokesman. jeffs was sentenced to life plus 20 years for violating his, what he called his spiritual wives, girls ages 12 and 15. joining me now is jean casarez, correspondent for "in session" on our sister network trutv, and let's talk about this case with jeffs. has he done something like this before, this fasting? >> well, susan, he has, because he has been behind bars since 2006 when he was arrested and charged in utah for accomplice to rape. when he was awaiting that trial, he exhibited behavior of not

eating. one could say fasting. had to be hospitalized. also, after he was taken to arizona in 2008 to face charges, there were similar medical issue, but once he was extradited to texas, there really has not been a lot of health issues of him refusing to eat until now at this point. and of course, he was convicted several weeks ago of sexually assaulting, aggravated sexual assault to one minor facing as you said life term plus 20 years. >> so jeanne, what is the medical state now? do we know? >> well, we are learning right now from the texas department of criminal justice. they are saying that he is not in a medically-induced coma as was reported that. he is responsive, and he is in critical, but stable condition, and it was not that he was fasting. he was eating some foods and was eating some liquids, but it was sustain the health, so a determination was made to take him to the hospital. apparently, suzanne, some

additional ailments that are not to be released at this point, but they believe a full recovery. >> and now, jeanne, over to the conrad murray trial in the manslaughter of michael jackson. who does this help or hurt of the jackson's mow legstation trial can't be mentioned. >> you see they want to put the focus off of conrad murray, and the days and hours before the death of michael jacksoning showing that he exhibited criminal behavior, but the defense wants a larger picture to show that michael jackson was responsible for his own death, because he was a drug addict, they say, and two, because he could not face a 50-day tour of his music about to begin in the months to come, so they want to

show he is responsible for his own death, and they have been hurt on the judge's ruling. >> thank you, jeanne. people in hard hit areas of hurricane irene are not complaining of the forecast now, but the storm was not as powerful as predicted. john zarrella will explain why. [ automated voice speaks foreign language ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪ in here, forklifts drive themselves. no, he doesn't have it. yeah, we'll look on that. [ male announcer ] in here, friends leave you messages written in the air. that's it right there. [ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say.

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people with certain heart conditions may experience slow heart rate. [ woman ] whenever i needed her, she was there for me. now i'm here for her. [ female announcer ] ask the doctor about your loved one trying the exelon patch. visit exelonpatch.com to learn more. you have been sounding off on our talk-back question. carol costello is in new york with some of your responses. hey, carol. >> people are riled up. i like that. today's question is is rick perry's intelligence, they're questioning his intelligence, going to help him or hurt him. this from forrest. once the debates start with him in them, his level of intelligence will come out for all to see. from amy, politics have become so intensity polarized each side

looks for ways to goad the other. looking dummies a fast way to do that. and this, you could give him the benefit of the doubt and say shesh he's playing to the worst anti-intellectualism of his base. will he govern based on his opinions or based on facts on the ground. rick perry's record includes growing the government work force despite fierce anti-government rhetoric, importing low-paying jobs that offer no benefits, calling federal officials traitors for political gain and threatening secession. his natural intelligence is the least of my concerns. please keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be back in 15 minutes. we know that those who are weighing in, they are the smart folks out there. we'll see what they have to say. thanks, carol. we are watching as well an event coming up. president obama is going to be speaking to veterans and their families. that is happening at the american legions convention in minneapolis. as soon as he begins, we will

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president obama just started speaking to veterans and their families at the american legions convention in minneapolis. let's take a listen in. >> congressman keith ellison, this is his district. [ applause ] >> minneapolis mayor, great friend. to all the other members of congress and minnesota elected officials who are here, welcome. it is wonderful to be back with the american legion. back in illinois, my home

state -- hey! [ cheers and applause ] >> illinois' in the house. we worked together to make sure veterans across the state were getting the benefits they had earned. when i was in the u.s. senate, we worked together to spotlight the tragedy of homelessness among veterans and the need to end it. as president, i have welcomed jimmy and your leadership to the oval office to hear directly from you, and i have been honored to have you by my side when i signed advanced appropriations to protect veterans health care from the budget battles in washington. when i signed legislation to give new support to veterans and their caregivers and most recently, when i proposed new

initiatives to make sure the private sector is hiring our talented veterans. so american legion, i thank you for your partnership. i appreciate the opportunity to talk with you today about what we need to do to make sure america is taking care of our veterans as well as you have taken care of us. i'm grateful to be with you for another reason. a lot of our fellow citizens are still reeling from hurricane irene and its aftermath. folks are surveying the damage, some are dealing with tremendous flooding. as a government, we are going to make sure that states and communities have the support they need so their folks can recover. and across the nation, we're still digging out from the worst economic crisis since the great

depression. it's taken longer and been more ki than any of us had imagined. even though we have taken some steps in the right direction, we've got a lot more to do. our economy has to grow faster. we have to create more jobs and we have to do it faster. most of all, we've got to break the gridlock in washington that's been preventing us from taking the action we need to get this country moving. [ applause ] >> that's why next week i'll be speaking to the nation about a plan to create jobs and reduce our deficit, a plan that i want to see passed by congress. we've got to get this done. here's what else i know. we americans have been through tough times before. much tougher than these. and we didn't just get through them. we emerged stronger than before.

not by luck, not by chance, but because in hard times, americans don't quit. we don't give up. we summon that spirit that says when we come together, when we choose to move forward together as one people, there's nothing we can't achieve. legionaires, you know this story because it's the story of your lives. at a time like this, all americans can draw strength from your example. when hitler controlled and fascism appeared unstoppable, when our harbor was bombed and our pacific fleet crippled, there were those that declared that the united states had been reduced to a third class power but you, our veterans of world

war ii, crossed the oceans and stormed the beaches and freed the millions, liberated the camps and showed the united states of america is the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known. when north korea invaded the south, pushing the allied forces into a tiny sliver of territory, it seemed like the war could be lost but you, our korean veterans, pushed back, fought on, year after bloody year. this past veterans day, i went to seoul and joined our korean war veterans for the 60th anniversary of that war, and we marked that milestone in a free and prosperous republic of korea, one of our greatest allies.

when communist forces in vietnam unleashed the tet offensive, it fueled the debate here at home that raged over that war. you, our vietnam veterans, did not always receive the respect that you deserved which was a national shame, but let it be remembered that you won every major battle of that war, every single one. [ applause ] as president, i have been honored to welcome our vietnam veterans to the white house and finally present them with the medals and recognition that they had earned. it's been a chance to convey on behalf of the american people those simple words with which our vietnam veterans greet each other. welcome home.

legionaires, in the decades that followed the spirit of your service was carried forth by our troops in the sands of desert storm, in the rugged hills of the balkans, and now it's carried on by a new generation. next weekend will mark the 10th anniversary of those awful attacks on our nation. in the days ahead, we will honor the lives we lost and the families that loved them. the first responders who rushed to save others. and we will honor all those who have served to keep us safe these ten difficult years, especially the men and women of our armed forces. today as we near this solemn anniversary, it's fitting that we salute the extraordinary decade of service rendered by the 9/11 generation, the more

than five million americans who have worn the uniform over the past ten years. they were there on duty that september morning, having enlisted in a time of peace, but they instantly transitioned to a war footing. they're the millions of recruits who have stepped forward since seeing their nation at war, and saying send me. they are every single soldier, sailor, airman, marine and coast guardsman serving today who has volunteered to serve in a time of war, knowing that they could be sent into harm's way. they come from every corner of our country. big cities, small towns, they come from every background and every creed. they're sons and daughters who carry on the family's tradition of service, and they're new

immigrants who have become our newest citizens. they're our national guardsmen and reservireservists who have in unprecedented deployments. there are a record number of women in our military, proving themselves in combat like never before. and every day, for the past ten years, these men and women have succeeded together as one american team. a generation -- [ applause ] they're a generation of innovators and they have changed the way america fights and wins its wars. raised in the age of the internet, they have harnessed new technologies on the battlefield. they have learned the cultures and traditions and languages of the places where they served. trained to fight, they have also taken on the role of diplomats

and mayors and development experts, negotiating with tribal sheikhs, working with villages, partnering with communities. young captains, sergeants, lieutenants, they have assumed responsibilities once reserved for more senior commanders, and remind us that in an era when so many other institutions have shirked their obligations, the men and women of the united states military welcome responsibility. in a decade of war, they have borne an extraordinary burden. with more than two million of our service members deploying to the war zones. hundreds of thousands have deployed again and again, year after year.

never before has our nation asked so much of our all volunteer force, that 1% of americans who wear the uniform. we see the scope of their sacrifice in the tens of thousands who now carry the scars of war, both seen and unseen. our remarkable wounded warriors. we see it in our extraordinary military families who serve here at home, the military spouses who hold their families together, the millions of military children, many of whom have lived most of their young lives with our nation at war and mom or dad deployed. most profoundly, we see the wages of war in those patriots who never came home. they gave their all. their last full measure of devotion.

in kandahar, in helmand, in battles in fallujah and baghdad, now they lay at rest in quiet corners of america. but they live on in the families who loved them and in a nation that is safer because of their service. today we pay humble tribute to the more than 6,200 americans in uniform who have given their lives in this hard decade of war. we honor them all. we are grateful for them. through their service, through their sacrifice, through their astonishing record of achievement, our forces have earned their place among the greatest of generations. toppling the taliban in just weeks, driving al qaeda from the training camps where they plotted 9/11, giving the afghan people the opportunity to live

free from terror. when the decision was made to go into iraq, our troops raced across deserts and removed a dictator in less than a month. when insurgents, militias and dictators plunged a country into chaos, they reduced the violence and gave iraqis a chance to forge their own future. when a resergeant taliban threatened to give al qaeda more space to plot against us, the additional forces i ordered to afghanistan went on the offensive, taking the fight to the taliban and pushing them out of their safe havens, allowing afghans to reclaim their communities and training afghan forces. a few months ago our troops achieved their greatest victory yet in the fight against those who attacked us on 9/11, delivering justice to osama bin laden in one of the greatest intelligence and military operations in american history. [ cheers and applause ]

credit for these successes, credit for this progress, belongs to all who have worn the uniform in these wars. today we're honored to be joined by some of them. i would ask all those who served this past decade, the members of the 9/11 generation, to stand and accept the thanks of a grateful nation. [ applause ] thanks to these americans, we are moving forward from a

position of strength, having ended our combat mission in iraq and removed more than 100,000 troops so far, we'll remove the rest of our troops by the end of this year and we will end that war. having put al qaeda on the path to defeat, we won't relent until the job is done. having started to draw down our forces in afghanistan, we'll bring home 33,000 troops by next summer and bring home more troops in the coming years. as our mission transitions from combat to support, afghans will take responsibility for their own security in the longest war in american history. it will come to a responsible end. for our troops and military families who sacrificed so much,

this means relief from an unrelenting decade of operations. today, fewer of our sons and daughters are serving in harm's way. for so many troops who have already done their duty, we put an end to the stop loss, our soldiers can now look forward to shorter deployments. that means more time at home between deployments and more time training for the full range of missions that they will face. indeed, despite ten years of continuous war, it must be said america's military is the best that it's ever been. we saw that most recently in the skill and precision of our brave forces who helped the libyan people finally break free from the grip of moammar gadhafi and

as we meet the test that the future will surely bring, including hard fiscal choices here at home, there should be no doubt, the united states of america will keep our military the best trained, the best led, the best equipped fighting force in history. it will continue to be the best. now, as today's wars end, as our troops come home, we're reminded once more of our responsibilities to all who have served. the bond between our forces and our citizens must be a sacred trust and for me and my administration, upholding that trust is not just a matter of policy. it is not about politics. it is a moral obligation. that's why my very first budget

included the largest percentage increase to the v.a. budget in the past 30 years. so far, we're on track to have increased funding for veterans affairs by 30%. and because we passed advanced appropriations when washington politics threatens to shut down the government, as it did last spring, the veterans medical care that you count on was safe. let me say something else about v.a. funding that you depend on. as a nation, we're facing some tough choices as we put our fiscal house in order. but i want to be absolutely clear. we cannot, we must not, we will not balance the budget on the backs of our veterans. as commander in chief, i won't allow it.

with these historic investments, we're making dramatic improvements to veterans health care. we're improving v.a. facilities to better serve our women veterans. we're expanding outreach and care for our rural veterans, like those that i met during my recent visit to cannon falls, including tom newman of legion post 620 and hugo and joseph kidd, post 164 in stewartville. are they here right now? they're out there somewhere. that was a good lunch, by the way. for our vietnam veterans, because we declared that three diseases are presumed to be

related to your exposure to agent orange, we have begun paying the disability benefits that you need. for our veterans of the gulf war, we're moving forward to address the nine infectious diseases that we declared are now presumed to be related to your service in desert storm. at the same time, our outstanding v.a. secretary shinseki is working every day to build a 21st century v.a. many of our vietnam vets are already submitting their agent orange claims electronically. hundreds of you from all wars are requesting your benefits online. thanks to the new blue button on the v.a. website, you can now share your personal health information with your doctors outside of the v.a. and we're making progress in sharing medical records between

d.o.d. and v.a. we're not there yet. i have been pounding on this thing since i came into office. we are going to stay on it, we are going to keep at it until our troops and our veterans have a lifetime electronic medical record that you can keep for your life. of course, we've still got some work to do. we've got to break the backlog of disability claims. i know that over the past year, the backlog has actually grown due to the new claims from agent orange but let me say this. i know secretary shinseki agrees, when our veterans who fought for our country have to fight to get the benefits that you have already earned, that's unacceptable. so this is going to remain a key priority for us. we are going to keep hiring new claims processors and we are going to keep investing in new paperless systems and keep moving ahead with our innovation

competition in which our dedicated v.a. employees are developing new ways to process your claims faster. we want your claims to be processed not in months, but in days. so the bottom line is this. your claims need to be processed quickly and accurately the first time. we're not going to rest until we get that done. we will not rest. the same is true for our mission to end homelessness among our veterans. already, we've helped to bring tens of thousands of veterans off the streets. for the first time ever, we have made veterans and military families a priority, not just of the v.a., not just of d.o.d., but across the federal government. that includes making sure that federal agencies are working together so that every veteran who fought for america has a home in america.

we're working to fulfill our obligations to our 9/11 generation veterans, especially our wounded warriors. the constant threat of ieds has meant a new generation of service members with multiple traumatic injuries, including traumatic brain injury. thanks to advanced armor and medical technologies, our troops are surviving injuries that would have been fatal in previous wars. so we're saving more lives but more american veterans live with severe wounds for a lifetime. that's why we need to be for them for a lifetime. we are giving unprecedented support to our wounded warriors, especially those with traumatic brain injury. thanks to the veterans and caregivers legislation i signed into law, we have started

training caregivers so they can receive the skills and stipends they need to care for their loved ones. we are working aggressively to address another signature wound of this war, which has led to too many fine troops and veterans to take their own lives. that's post-traumatic stress disorder. we are continuing to make major investments improving outreach and suicide prevention, hiring and training more mental health counselors and treating more veterans than ever before. the days when depression and ptsd were stigmatized, those days must end. that's why i made the decision to start sending condolence letters to the families of service members who take their lives while deployed in a combat zone. these americans did not die because they were weak. they were warriors. they deserve our respect. every man and woman in uniform,

every veteran needs to know that your nation will be there to help you stay strong. it's the right thing to do. in recent months we've heard new reports of some of our veterans not getting the prompt mental health care that they desperately need and that, too, is unacceptable. if a veteran has the courage to seek help, then we need to be doing everything in our power to deliver the life-saving mental care that they need. so secretary shinseki and the v.a. are going to stay on this and we will continue to make it easier for veterans with post-traumatic stress to qualify for v.a. benefits regardless of the war that you served in. if you served in a combat theater, and a v.a. doctor confirms a diagnosis of ptsd, that's enough. which brings me to the final area where america must meet its obligations to our veterans.

this is a place where we need each other. that's the task of renewing our nation's economic strength. after a decade of war, it's time to focus on nation building here at home. our veterans, especially our 9/11 veterans, have the skills and the dedication to help lead the way. that's why we're funding the post-9/11 g.i. bill which is now helping more than 500,000 veterans and family members go to college, get their degrees and play their part in moving america forward. it's why this fall we'll start including vocational training and apprenticeships as well so veterans can develop the skills to succeed in today's economy. that's why i have directed the federal government to hire more veterans, including more than 100,000 veterans in the past year and a half alone.

in this tough economy, far too many of our veterans are still unemployed. that's why i have proposed a comprehensive initiative to make sure we're tapping the incredible talents of our veterans. it's got two main parts. first, we're going to do more to help our newest veterans find and get that private sector job. we're going to offer -- we're going to offer more help with career development and job searches. i have directed d.o.d. and the v.a. to create what we're calling a reverse boot camp to help our newest veterans prepare for civilian jobs and translate their exceptional military skills into industry. into industry accepted licenses and credentials. today i'm calling on every state to pass legislation that makes it easier for veterans to get the credentials and the jobs for which they are so clearly

qualified. this needs to happen. it needs to happen now. second, we're encouraging the private sector to do its part. i have challenged companies across america to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans or their spouses. this builds on the commitments that many companies have already made as part of the joining forces campaign championed by the first lady and vice president's spouse, dr. jill biden. 100,000 jobs for veterans and spouses. and to get this done, i have proposed a returning heroes' tax credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans and a wounded warrior tax credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans with a disability.

when congress returns from recess, this needs to be at the top of their agenda. for the sake of our veterans, for the sake of our economy, we need these veterans working and contributing and creating the new jobs and industries that will keep america competitive in the 21st century. these are the obligations we have to each other. our forces, our veterans, our citizens. these are the responsibilities we must fulfill. not just when it's easy. not just when we're flush with cash. not just when it's convenient, but always. that's a lesson we learned again this year in the life and in the passing of frank buckles, our last veteran from the first world war, passed away at the age of 110.

think about it. frank lived the american century. an ambulance driver on the western front, he bore witness to the carnage of the trenches in europe. then during the second world war, he survived more than three years in japanese prisoner of war camps. then like so many veterans, he came home, went to school, pursued a career, started a family, lived a good life on his farm in west virginia. even in his later years, after turning 100, frank buckles still gave back to his country. he would go speak to school children about his extraordinary life. he would meet and inspire other veterans. and for 80 years, he served as a

proud member of the american legion. [ applause ] the day he was laid to rest, i ordered the flags be flown at half staff at the white house, at the government buildings across the nation, at our embassies around the world. as frank buckles lay in honor at arlington's memorial chapel, hundreds passed by his flag-draped casket in quiet procession. most were strangers who never knew him, but they knew the story of his service and they felt compelled to offer their thanks to this american soldier. that afternoon, i had the privilege of going over to arlington and spending a few moments with frank's daughter,

suzanna, who cared for her father until the very end. it was a chance for me to convey the gratitude of the entire nation and to pay my respects to an american who reflected the best of who we are as a people. and legionaires, it was a reminder not just to the family and friends of corporal frank buckles but to the family and friends of every generation. no matter when you serve, no matter how many years ago that you took off your uniform, no matter how long you live as a proud veteran of this country we love, america will never leave your side. america will never forget. we will always be grateful to you. god bless you. god bless all our veterans, and god bless the united states of america. >> president obama before the country's largest veterans

organization and their families, speaking in minneapolis here. we just got some information while the president was talking about his schedule, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. the president will be going to all three sites, memorial sites in new york, pennsylvania as well as the pentagon. he will end his day commemorating the attacks and resilience of the american people at the national cathedral. it is going to be part of a concert of hope. that is where he will be giving a major address. we are also following another story, the aftermath of hurricane irene. we have seen massive flooding in several states and some amazing rescue attempts that have been taking place, particularly in new jersey this morning. we will have a live report after the break. my mother made the best toffee in the world.

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aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. all that water left behind by hurricane irene has got to go somewhere. the passaic river poured into homes in northern new jersey today. this is a look at little falls, new jersey, about 15 miles outside new york city. the passaic crested there today seven feet above flood stage. emergency workers say they have rescued some 1700 people now. officials say scenes like this prove that irene, a storm felt by 65 million on the east coast, was not hyped. >> there's a tremendous amount of economic and physical damage that we're still frankly assessing and we won't know those final numbers for some weeks. so i don't think it was hyped. >> in upstate new york,

communities in the catskills took a hard hit from irene. flood waters rolled down the mountains, practically washing away several towns. just last hour, i spoke with a woman who lost her home. >> it's gone. i literally saw my home float by me. we got out with about ten minutes to spare. >> the number of deaths linked to hurricane irene rose today to 38. the department -- the energy department says now that 3.3 million customers, they still are without power. we want to get the latest on the flooding and the rescues in new jersey. that's where mary snowe is, live in patterson, new jersey. have things gotten any better this afternoon? >> reporter: they haven't, suzanne, and it's going to get worse because the passaic river hasn't yet crested here. it's about three blocks behind from where i'm standing. we are here with the new jersey

urban search and rescue command post and teams have been going out in boats. they just came in bringing people in. joining us now is a patterson fire chief, michael pastorino. chief, how many evacuations have you been doing so far? >> at this point we have over 600 boat evacuations of residents within the city. >> reporter: over 600? >> yes. >> reporter: you are expecting many more? >> we are. we haven't gotten any letup and the numbers just get more and more requests for people needing to be evacuated. >> reporter: to your understanding, the passaic river is cresting here this afternoon? >> at some point today, it is expected to crest. >> reporter: at this point, how deep is that water? >> it's hard to say. they are projecting the river is going to crest somewhere at 14 feet which is obviously seven feet above flood level, and -- but it's really hard to say. >> reporter: there were mandatory evacuations in place, correct? >> there were mandatory evacuations of sections of the city, yes, but we are now being overcome by areas that are not

normally affected by flooding. >> reporter: this is an area that's affected by flooding quite often, right? >> yes. quite often. >> reporter: worse you have ever seen? >> the worst i have ever seen. >> reporter: chief, i don't want to keep you too long. thank you so much for your time. good luck. suzanne, we are also talking to the mayor of patterson, new jersey, who is telling us that the city is looking to open four or five schools so when people are coming out of their homes, they have a place to go. we just saw a boat with children in it. i was talking to the chief before, he said to his knowledge, no serious injuries, but children yesterday, we were told, two 11-year-olds had to be rescued. people thinking the water may be a few inches when it's a few feet deep, and the pace of the water, too, the speed of the river is also adding to the danger here. suzanne? >> mary, do we know how people are communicating with each other, if folks are actually stuck at their homes or on bridges or things like that, are the emergency workers able to

pinpoint where these folks are, identify where those who are in greatest need? >> reporter: yeah, in some cases, you know, they know pockets where people need to be evacuated but we have talked to one gentleman who said that he had decided to stay in his home and that he was on the second floor, the water had reached the first floor level and he decided last night that he needed to get out. he did not have a cell phone so he said he was keeping an eye on the window and when he saw boats passing, people just in his case, he was looking for boats. when he saw a boat this morning, called over and that's how he was able to be rescued. you see behind me, this is -- we have been seeing this throughout the day. these crews started going out a couple hours ago and we continually see people coming in. here is a man with a small child and these crews are expecting to do this. we are told there are about 16 boats out there right now and they are expecting this is only going to continue for several more hours, and you heard the

chief say that the river hasn't crested here yet. >> all right. mary snow, thank you very much. we really appreciate it. tropical storm katia now is on deck today, far out in the eastern atlantic. right now, top winds are at 45 miles an hour. forecasters say that warm ocean waters will quickly fuel katia into a major hurricane. that could happen this weekend. watch out for that. former nba player javaris crittenton is jailed in southern california today. he is going to be brought back to atlanta to face a murder charge. the dead woman had four children. the nba suspended the player in 2010 after he and a teammate brought guns into the washington wizards locker room. hln legal talker nancy grace is taking her eye off of the lineups for awhile, joining the celebrity lineup on "dancing with the stars." that's right. nancy grace, you may know -- she

may know her way around the courtroom but admits she's guilty of botching things up on the dance floor. >> i feel i can try. i know i'm not the youngest, the thinnest, the prettiest or the best dancer, but i got a lot of heart. that's got to count for something, right? >> we wish her the very best. that's right. lot of heart. "dancing with the stars" returns on september 19th. polygamist leader warren jeffs is in critical condition at a texas hospital today. a source told cnn that he's in a coma. a short time ago, texas prison officials said that's not true, that jeffs is sedated but responsive. jeffs had told prison workers that he was fasting. early this month, he was convicted of sexually assaulting two girls he claimed were his wives. syrians jammed the streets

today once again, syrian soldiers opened fire on protesters in several cities. worshippers had just left mosques where they were marking the end of the muslim holy month of ramadan and opposition sources tell cnn at least seven people were killed. the latest casualties in the revolt against the syrian regime. well, libya's new political leaders are calling on algeria to send moammar gadhafi's relatives home to face charges. gadhafi's wife, two of his sons and his daughter have surfaced in algeria. algeria says it took them in as a humanitarian gesture. gadhafi's daughter reportedly gave birth to a baby girl just hours after reaching algeria. atf director ken melson has lost his job over a botched gun tracking program known as fast and furious. he is being reassigned to the justice department. his agents were supposed to follow guns sold illegally in

the united states to be taken to mexico, but the atf didn't have the resources to keep up with all those weapons. investigators found the agency let more than 2,000 weapons end up in the hands of criminals in mexico. here's your chance to talk back. one of the big stories of the day, today's question, will the talk about governor rick intelligence help or huim in his run for the white house. carol costello is joining us from new york. hey, carol. >> hi, suzanne. rick perry is on top of the gop field according to the latest cnn/orc poll. why are people asking if he's smart enough to be president? politico.com even asked is rick perry dumb and talked about his lack of intellectual credentials. it has aggravated some conservatives who are debating whether president obama is dumb. >> liberals like yourself refer to reagan as an amiable dunce. you attack michele bachmann's intelligence, sarah palin's

intelligence, george bush's intelligence, then all of a sudden every liberal is a genius that drives the economy into a ditch, then you say this guy is brilliant. >> sad part in all of this, it plays to the same old stereotypes. as john avlon says, americans are either cruel or stupid, cheney or nixon, cruel, or democrats are naive or amoral. it is fair to wonder about rick perry's doubts about evolution and global warming but when critics use the word dumb, it eliminates any real debate about whether a candidate is prepared to be president. of course, it may all backfire on perry's critics. the "d" word may actually fire up conservatives and win perry even more supporters. so the talk-back question today, will talk about perry's intelligence help or hurt him? facebook.com/carolcnn. i will read your answers

shortly. suzanne? we've got a great story, i guess it's lunchtime so might as well give it to you. almost as american as apple pie but these days it's hard to find a place that sells a simple casual grilled cheese sandwich. until a silicon valley inventor put his mind to it. we will take you to a joint called the melt. not yet, thanks for reminding me. wait, what? i have the hotels.com app so we can get a great deal even at the last minute. ah, well played get the app. tels.com. [ doorbell rings ] hello there. i'm here to pick up helen. ah. mom? he's here. nice wheels. oh, thanks. keeps me young. hello there, handsome. your dinner's in the microwave, dear. ♪ where do you want to go? just drive. [ engine revs, tires screech ] mom? ♪

didn't take long for tablets to gain universal acceptance. they have become the rage with women and seniors. according to gadget.com, sales to people 55 and over spiked significantly last fall, between last fall and now, so why embrace the new technology? well, they're pretty easy to

use, you can increase the text size, that's pretty cool, a feature that's very popular with the older set, including myself, from inventing the flip cam to making gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, it's a career change that has people shaking their heads. until you see the number of silicon valley venture capitalists who are throwing their money into what is called the melt. silicon valley correspondent dan simon is joining us live from san francisco at the grand opening. so it's kind of a drastic career change, don't you think? >> reporter: certainly a crazy change going from the flip cam to the grilled cheese sandwich. they may have more in common than you think. we are actually going to talk to the ceo of this restaurant called the melt. as you said, today is their grand opening. we are in downtown san francisco. we will go ahead and walk inside. over here is jonathan caplan, the inventor of the flip. johnen that, thanks for joining us. >> absolutely. good morning. >> reporter: i think the most obvious question here, what is a

technology guy doing opening up a grilled cheese sandwich restaurant? >> i think we're just trying to make people happy. the idea here is make a product that people love, market it well, wrap a little technology around it and i think you are on the road to success. >> reporter: so why the grilled cheese sandwich in particular? >> i think it's because it's nostalgic, memorable. it's the kind of thing when you bite into it, it's just delicious and makes you happy. that's what we wanted to try to do. >> reporter: you put a lot of technology into this restaurant. can you tell us about some things you have going on back here to make these sandwiches? >> one of the reasons why the melt is so special is we have invented some technology with electrolux that allows us to create a sandwich in just about one minute, actually 60 seconds. the idea here is you can order your sandwich at any time, anywhere, either on the website or using your mobile phone, then when you come into the restaurant, you scan a bar code. that bar code allows our restaurant to know that you're ready to eat your meal hot and fresh and we can use the equipment, we can immediately

cook your meal and have it ready for you in an instant. >> reporter: this has never been done before in a restaurant. you have a bar code here on your iphone, you prepaid for your meal, you come up and what do you do? >> go through here, basically, you get this qr code. the code looks like that. you come over here and scan it. once your order has been scanned, you notice coming out of the printer is my order. my receipt is there and i'm up on the order board. >> reporter: we're not talking about just one restaurant or two restaurants. you want to open up a bunch of these all over the country. >> the idea is to start out the restaurant chain. our hope is to open 50 restaurants between now and the end of next year, then 500 over the next five years. >> reporter: 500 restaurants throughout the united states. serving on your board of directors is ron johnson, who -- >> right, formerly of apple and now ceo of j.c. penny. we have a number of others. we put together what i consider to be the team of people necessary to build the next generation fast casual restaurant chain.

>> reporter: good luck. thanks very much for joining us. suzanne, as they say, only in america can you see a guy going from inventing a camcorder to re-inventing the grilled cheese sandwich. looks pretty good. we look forward to trying it and that's the melt. back to you. >> dan, i got two questions for you. first, have you tried the melt, is it a good sandwich, and second, how soon will we see this in atlanta? >> reporter: well, i have tried one. it is a very good sandwich. what he was talking about is they have created this technology that allows you to do this quickly and they are using natural ingredients, eco-friendly, wholesome, as they say, and suzanne malveaux is asking when will we see this in atlanta? >> atlanta is probably about two and a half years away. we will do the west coast first, then move east and probably you will see atlanta in about maybe two years. >> reporter: okay. you heard that. >> i got to wait two years for a grilled cheese sandwich? >> come to san francisco and visit us.

we open starting at 11:00. >> i got to go to the west coast to get a grilled cheese sandwich. all right. two years. guess i'll just wait. great. nice to see you, dan. talk-back question of the day, will the talk about governor rick perry's intelligence hurt him, help him in the run for the white house? going to read through some of your responses after the break. first, here's some free money advice from the cnn help desk. >> time now for the help desk, where we get answers to your financial questions. joining me this hour, lynnette cox, founder of the financial advice blog, ask the money coach.com and stacy francis, certified financial planner and president of francis financial. ladies, thank you for being here. first question to you, stacy. it comes from a 66-year-old named michael, got about $100,000 that he is thinking about putting into annuity. his question, is it better to start social security next year or wait until he is 70? >> well, if you take a look at annuity, make sure you look at vanguard, lower fees, and whether or not he takes social security depends on life

expectancy. if you expect to live a long life, wait until 70. if you're sick or have health issues, take it now. >> to you, lin etynnette, this a college student who has student loan debt, as a lot of college students do. her debt is multiple loans with different businesses in varying amounts. is it better to keep the loans separate or consolidate them? >> it actually can be a good idea to consolidate the student loans, mainly because it's more manageable to keep track of just one repayment to one potential loan source. that's one reason why some students do it. you do have to be aware, of course, if you consolidate student loans, not all of them can be consolidated, then the loan term might get extended which means you are going to pay more in interest charges over the life of the loan. >> you got to think it through. thank you, ladies, so much. if you have a question that you want answered, send us an e-mail any time to cnn help desk at cnn.com. hey can i play with the toys ?

sure, but let me get a little information first. for broccoli, say one. for toys, say two. toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. what ? please call back between 8 and 5 central standard time. he's in control. goodbye. even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. at ally bank you never have to deal with an endless automated system. you can talk to a real person 24/7. it's just the right thing to do.

getting new information now, the death toll from hurricane irene has just been raised from 38 now to 40 people who lost their lives from this hurricane. this is across 11 states. flood waters are on the rise now and there are search and rescue efforts that are under way in new jersey, passaic river is reaching dangerously high levels now.

about 1700 people have been rescued so far. just last hour, we talked with sergeant alex popp of patterson, new jersey police department. >> most of the rescue calls we're getting are people that are actually in their homes, some have minimal power and we are getting to them as fast as we can. we are rescuing elderly people, children, families, even pets, we are getting them to safety and transporting them to a shelter. >> the sergeant says people who need help can call these two numbers. 973-321-1142 or 973-321-1195. this month has been the deadliest ever for u.s. forces in afghanistan. 66 american troops have died. that is the most since the conflict began almost ten years ago. 30 u.s. service members died in just one day when insurgents shot down their helicopter. the tenth anniversary of the september 11th attacks is just

two weeks away, and tens of thousands of u.s. troops are still in the region. 47,000 service members in iraq and 99,000 in afghanistan. so what is the state of u.s. troops who have returned from those wars? some heavy figures here. 212,000 have suffered traumatic brain injuries. that is everything from penetrating injuries to concussions. almost 67,000 suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. 232,000 u.s. troops who serve in iraq and afghanistan now don't have jobs. that is a rate of 12.4%. that is much higher than the nationwide unemployment rate. just a few minutes ago, president obama spoke to veterans and their families at the american legions convention in minneapolis. >> already, we've helped to bring tens of thousands of veterans off the streets. for the first time ever, we've made veterans and military

families a priority not just of the v.a., not just of d.o.d., but across the federal government, and that includes making sure that federal agencies are working together so that every veteran who fought for america has a home in america. >> now ten years after september 11th, almost ten years since the war in afghanistan began, what is going on there? i'm going to be heading to afghanistan next week to find out. i'll be investigating the training of afghan troops. are they prepared to take over once u.s. troops have all gone home? i'm also going to be talking with american men and women who were just children on the days of those attacks. we will be reporting live from afghanistan starting on friday, september 9th through the weekend of september 11th. you have been sounding off on our talk-back question. carol costello is in new york with some of your responses. provocative question. >> it is indeed. today's question, will the talk about rick perry's intelligence

help or hurt his run for the white house. this from michael. he says i think the question of intelligence is not just something perry has to deal with but bachmann as well. obama may not be doing everything right but he's a smart guy in the end which is sometimes comforting to a lot of people. dottie says leadership comes from knowing how to use what a person has learned, relying on computers in schools has taught us how to access information instead of actually learning. obama has all the paperwork but cannot apply them to real life. this from charles. i don't think perry's dumb. he has to be a smart guy to be elected governor of texas. i don't think he has the dree s credentials of a presidential candidate. why not ron paul? answer me that. please continue the conversation. facebook.com/carolcnn. thanks as always for your comments. be careful in afghanistan, suzanne. >> thank you, carol. we're watching a hard landing for a plane in illinois. we've got that video, next. and the old man stopped and thought and said:

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stories across the country. polygamist leader warren jeffs is in critical condition in a hospital. texas prison officials tell cnn that jeffs fell ill while fasting in his prison cell. jeffs is serving a life sentence on child sex charges. the fbi has arrested former nba player javaris crittenton on murder charges. he was taken into custody last night in l.a. while trying to board a plane to atlanta. crittenton is wanted in connection with the drive-by shooting death of a woman in atlanta on august 19th. hard landing for united express flight in illinois. the plane veered off the runway while landing yesterday, coming a