good morning, everyone.

i'm randi kaye. it is 8:00 on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. out west. thanks for waking up with us. we start the hour with isaac, the storm that continues to drench the gulf coast. so far the storm is being blamed for four deaths in louisiana and mississippi. one couple was found in this house in their flooded kitchen. the heavy rains have also caused massive flooding and it is not done yet. more rain could push levees past their breaking point for keeping an eye on that. isaac has had a lot to do with rising gas prices. right now the national average is $3.83 for a gallon of regular unleaded. that's up $0.08 in the last week. some stations in the south have seen a 20% bump in the last week. a lot is because of closures of oil rigs and refineries in the path of isaac. to politics, the democratic convention in charlotte, north carolina. it starts tuesday with jimmy carter and michelle obama on the list of first day speakers.

we'll have more from charlotte coming up in just a couple of minutes. people are still talking about clint eastwood's speech at the republican convention. he was given topics by the romney campaign but the rest was up to him. that empty chair he was talking to, he added that on his own at the last minute. romney called the speech, quote, unique. to belle chasse where rescue crews are going door to door. the area was hit hard by flooding. this morning the water is receding giving a clearer look at the damage. george howell is in belle chasse this morning. george, good morning. what are we learning about the search and rescue efforts there? >> randi, good morning. we know search and rescue operations according to an official i just spoke with start from sun up to sundown today. they will continue that here in plaquemines parish. i want to make sure you understand we're talking about east bank and west bank.

the slivers of land that run parallel to the mississippi river out to the mouth of the mississippi, a lot of the focus, a lot of that flooding happened on the east bank. specifically in the braithwaite community across the river from where we are now we're talking about storm surge that came anywhere from 7 to 15 feet of water that went into this community, that overtopped one of these levees. right now we're on one of the levees, not high enough to deal with the storm surge from this particular situation. right now we know those floodwaters, randi, they are receding. there were several controlled breaches of the different levees, so we're starting to see the waters recede. i also note today this entire parish, we're talking about, again, the slivers of land that rundown the mouth of the mississippi, no one has power in the parish, randi. >> we know about the flooding, certainly. with katrina it was the wind. with this storm it was the flooding. what other kinds of problems are people facing there?

>> well, you know, these officials have talked to me about what they are dealing with sort of in the middle of this parish rounding up cattle. there are cows that are out. there are also dead kouchls the dead cows, randi, they are attracting alligators. they are problems out there as search and rescues continue. they are watching for alligators, coyotes and also out here snakes. >> that does not sound fun. george howell for us. thanks very much. to find out how to help people devastate bid isaac, visit impact your world page. you can find it at cnn.com/impact. let's get you back to politics now. mitt romney is on the road today looking to build on momentum from the republican convention. we'll bring you live coverage of his stop in ohio later this morning in our 10:00 hour. but romney is not the only one out there today.

cnn political editor paul steinhauser in charlotte, north carolina for us this morning, the site of next week's democratic national convention. paul, tell us where is everyone today? >> a busy weekend, randi, for politics. we just had the republican convention in tampa. we've got democratic convention coming up in a few days right here in charleston. all the candidates are out there early talking to voters in the key battleground states. start with mitt romney, he was in louisiana with bobby jindal, louisiana governor, touring damage from hurricane isaac from earlier in the week. he's going to start in ohio, a rally in cincinnati. later he'll team up with his wing man, paul ryan, his running mate. they are going to team up in florida. they were at a rally in lakeland, after the convention ended, they will be in jackson. their idea is to keep the momentum they thought theta from their convention going. as for the president, you'll see him quite a lot.

it starts in iowa. all these states are battle ground states. if you see a candidate there, you know it's a battleground state. he begins his couple days of campaigning in iowa later today. >> as we say, paul, democrats kicking off their turn on tuesday. what can we expect? >> let's talk about big names we see in charlotte. one of them is cory booker, the mayor of new jersey and up and comer in the party. he's going to present the democrats platform. another interesting speaker charlie crist, former governor of florida. he used to be republican governor. he ran for senate, lost out to marco rubio, changed to independent. now he's backing president obama. there's a thought that maybe he'll be running for a democrat maybe for next governor of florida. those are the big speakers, randi. tuesday night the first night of the convention, first lady

michelle ensemble be in prime time as will the mayor of san antonio. not so well-known to americans. you'll know him after tuesday night, he's giving the keynote. a lot of anticipation for the address by president bill clinton. thursday we move from here to the arena, football stadium a few blocks away. that's where vice president joe biden and the president will give their renomination addresses. some themes here, the middle class. they will be touting they are the party that represents the middle class, touting the accomplishments of his first term in office. that's what you do at a convention, get your message out. >> them certainly try hard to do so. paul sign houteinhauser, thank much. appreciate that. coverage starts tuesday 7:00 p.m. eastern. be sure to tune into cnn. here is what's coming up this hour. >> what's your message to isaac?

>> come take a visit. >> while isaac brought destruction here, farmers say it could bring salvation here. but is it too late to save our food? >> we are the party that says america can be america for everyone, and that is what this platform is about. >> all week the spotlight was on the republicans. now it's the democrats' turn. all morning we're putting the democratic platform in focus. in writing a book, he may have broken the law. why one navy s.e.a.l. who took down bin laden may face federal charges. ♪

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and let's get going. together. nine minutes past the hour. glad you're with us. get ready to be hearing a whole lot about northcarolina. not only is that state the place democrats plan to shine next week at their national convention, it is also the newest state to be considered either man's to lose. take a look at the current map. just this week north carolina flipped to a toss up. other states show the race is a nailbiter. the flip comes after this cnn rnc poll showed 40% supporting romney and 47% backing the president. in 2008 obama just barely got a

winter, carrying it by 0.4. can he do it this year? even top aides say it won't be easy. joining us to talk about the battle heaahead, walton robinso. good morning. some people twees three fold, got the african-american vote, youth vote, ran on the bad economy. how exactly is he going to win it this year. certainly a much tougher political landscape? >> i'll tell you after watching the republican convention this week, we're feeling a lot better about our chances. but the reality is president obama's campaign after 2008 didn't just pull up stakes and leave. they have been here. they have been building. they have been building infrastructure, signing up voters, knocking on doors, doing the infrastructure it takes to wind the ground game.

when we get to the point we're almost at where we're saturateed with ads, people tune them out, that investment early on is going to help at the margins turn out people in president obama's favor. we're feeling good and happy to have the convention in charlotte. that's going to be a great organizing tool for us as well. >> take a look at a couple of polls with me, if you will. the first one shows obama still winning big with the youth voters, the latest poll shows 58% prefer obama to romney there. look at this second poll of those young voters, just 58% are likely to vote this year as opposed to nearly 80% in 2008. does that concern you? what are democrats doing there in north carolina to energize the young voters this year? >> well, we're not seeing any of thatort of lack of enthusiasm here in north carolina. we have a delegation that has 10 times the number of young delegates we had in 2008. our young people are engaged

here. we had a tremendous amount of success training young people, getting them involved in the process, and the convention is one of the major things that has helped us do that here. i'm not concerned. we're confident in north carolina, we're seeing a lot of positive things out of the young people. they really have benefited from some of the things president obama has done since he's been president. for example, 95,000 north carolinians who are under the age of 26 now get to stay on their parents' health care plan. young people in north carolina are seeing the benefits and the results of having a president obama in the white house. so i think overall we are very confident that the young vote is going to turn out and turn out strong. >> let me show you another poll from cnn orc here. on the crucial issue of the economy. romney just edging out obama on who can better handle the economy. you see it there, 50 to 46%. how do the democrats convince voters next week that the president is better for the

economy and get those numbers up? >> well, i think after watching the republican convention, the choice is going to be clear after we hear president obama speak. what we're looking at here are two very, very different visions for the economy. one based on the top down trickle down approach from mitt romney. you know, the old stale bush era policies of the past are what the romney/ryan ticket are advocating for. on the other side we have president obama who believes in investing in the middle class, building a strong middle class, building an economy that lasts. i think after seeing the two conventions, voters will have a very clear choice between the economic visions for the future of the country. i think president obama is the one that will resonate with people come fall. >> for the very first time in history, the national democratic party platform this year will endorse same-sex marriage. now considering that north carolina voted overwhelmingly

this year to ban same-sex marriage in the state's constitution 61-39% via the so-called amendment one, will that platform plank, you think, hurt obama there? >> i don't think it will. the platform is a political document, not a policy document. in the democratic party it's not a cardinal sin to disagree. there's overarching things that the drive them to the polls in north carolina. they are not social. they are health care, education issues. i don't think amendment one nor the plank in the party platform will really have any kind of substantive effect on the turnout this fall. >> north carolina, home to eight military bases, fort bragg being the largest, given the strong military installation in the state. what impact on president obama's security and veterans issues play on voters there. should the diagrams be focusing on his foreign policy chops more, you think? >> i think so. there's over 770,000 veterans in

the state of north carolina. we are a state that has a lot of military voters. so the president's accomplishments and his focus on veterans and veterans issues, expanding preventive health care for them, expanding mental healthervices for our veterans, making sure we give them the opportunity they deserve to work once they come back home. i think the president has a strong, strong record on national security and that is a big asset in north carolina. >> you said you were excited to have the convention there. not everyone is pleased with the dnc's choice of charlotte this year from the convention. let me quote a reuters piece that got a whole lot of attention this week. quote, democratic iners see less enthusiasm on the part of the party faithful, fewer politicians making the trip to second tier host city with fewer attractions. i know you're excited. but what's your response to that? is charlotte a second tier host city? >> i think some of the folks who are saying that haven't come to sharyl and seen what we have to

offer. this is a great city for music, great restaurants, beautiful museums. this is a great sports town. we have football and basketball teams here. charlotte is a wonderful city. i think when all issaid and done, people get here, they come, experience what we have to offer, they are going to be pleased. this is going to be an historic convention everyone will remember fondly. >> robinson, you're a great ambassador for the president and for north carolina. appreciate your time this morning. >> appreciate you having me on. thank you. >> that is the carolina story. coming up we'll check out the story from another swing state, ohio. the current governor spoke for republicans while the former governor is in the obama camp. he'll join us in the 10:00 hour with more of the plan for the democrats next week and in november as well. it is a case that has inflamed religious tensions across pakistan. a young girl accused of burning a page containing koran versu of now the judge says she cannot

leave jail, at least not yet.

responsibility for deadly explosions at a joint afghan miller base in central afghanistan. officials say 12 people were killed when two suicide bombers blew up themselves and a truck. 57 people were hurt, most of the victims were civilians. no u.s. troops were killed. huge explosions rocking the syrian city of holmes.

the opposition stro -- city of homs. 37 people have died in clashes across syria today as the country's civil war shows no signs of easing. heavy gunfire reported in the kacht damascus. pakistan says a u.s. drone strike has killed four militants. they say the drone fired at a hideout in pakistan's tribal region of north waziristan, it's an al qaeda stronghold. a young pakistani christian girl accused of blasphemy must remain in an islamabad jail over the weekend. the judge adjourned after a shouting match demanding the girl being detained. she's accused of burning banlgs of the koran. she's feared to be in danger if released. she has down's syndrome. is it too little too little for farmers praying for rain?

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what's left of isaac is moving through the midwest today as a tropical depression. this take a look here is a live satellite image of isaac. you better bet farmers going through the worst drought in years are desperate to get some of of that rain. they are welcoming it. here is our national correspondent susan candiotti to look at the reality right now in the fields. >> reporter: with cornstalks crunching under his feet, richard goes to harvest. thanks to this summer's drought his field corn in farmington, missouri is fried to a crisp.

in blistering 90 degree heat, not much else to do but climb into his combine and mow down the stalks. >> you put a lot of money and time and effort into it, then you see no return. it's a hard thing to do. >> hard for every farmer in the midwest whose crops are virtually a total loss. >> this is so brittle. >> yes. >> what is left in here? what is left in here? >> there's simply nothing. this one has -- it just basically died right before reproduction. >> it's like dust practically. >> he'll salvage what it is he can, maybe five bushels of grain an anger compared to the usual 120. >> i'll turn the cows into this field the next few days and they can eat some leaves and stuff like that but they won't get much. it will keep them alive for a few more days. >> here in missouri, rain is 9

to 15 inches below normal. now, even if isaac delivers three to five inches of rain as predicted, it won't wipe out the drought but every little drop will help. but isaac's rain is coming too late to help some ranchers who already threw in the towel. >> it really hurts when you see a producer come into the counter who came in and said i just sold my cattle today. he'll be crying at the counter needing help. there's nothing we can do. >> no rain means cattle grazing on dry pastures, means the price of feed has skyrocketed. no rain means ranchers are giving their cattle hay now, way before they do in the fall. he won't let it get to him. he's fifth generation farming. >> this is farming. it's just the way it is. you take the good with the bad. >> what's your message to isaac? >> come take a visit.

i'll grill, have drinks in the cooler. come on. set up shop. >> you've been staring at that sun all summer long. the rains are coming. what do you think? >> i can't wait. just to walk in rain once. >> just to feel it. >> just to feel it come down. >> and start walking in greener pastures. >> and suggestsan is joining me now live from farmington, missouri. susan, good morning. i see you've got your raingear on there. any sign of the rain yet? >> well, not lately. but they did get some rain since yesterday. it's been off and on. this the official rain gauge on the farm. look at this. it's measured two inches since yesterday. again, intermittent. sometimes we get sheets. other times like now the sun is starting to come out. but they are predicting to get much more throughout the day and tonight. the question, of course, is how much? >> i love that that farmer was offering to mix drinks for isaac

if isaac could get there. while they need the rain, though, some are concerned the rain this late in the game could make the situation worse. are they concerned at all about crop disease? >> you know, to a degree they are but not so much at this time because they are not expecting that much rain. you can see off in the distance there are some green soybean fields out there. that's the green you see out in this direction also. those crops are expected to survive. but they have to get a lot of rain and have the rain sit there, the water sit there in order to create a fungus and cause a problem. that's really not a big worry right now, randi. >> how have the farmers been gettinghrough this, this drought? >> you know, as best they can. some of them are trying to help each other if they have extra hay to spare. but the cost of feed is up so much, usually $180 a ton now, up to $380.

sometimes people who are raising cattle, some of the farmers are having to sell them off and go under, like we mentioned in the story. they are just trying to get by as best they can. >> susan candiotti, really great reporting having you out there with those farmers where it's all happening. appreciate that. thank you. back now to the damage that isaac's rain has left in its wake. search and rescue crews are going door to door today checking on victims of what is now a tropical depression. we know at least four people have died in connection with the storm. what's left of isaac moves through the midwest today. it's expected to drop several inches of rain in illinois. two police officers in st. paul, minnesota, are now on leave after this disturbing video went public. take a look. it shows officers arresting a man for allegedly stalking a woman in the neighborhood then kicking him in the chest. you see it there, as he lay on the ground. he's heard on this tape actually shouting his innocence. the police department says it's doing an internal investigation. the local police union has

released a statement saying in part the video doesn't show everything that happened and the officer is a good cop that was in a dangerous situation. in chicago a third death has now been london, england, to an outbreak of legionaires disease of a hotel. all the victims were guests of a downtown jw marriott. the hotel has removed its lobby fountain and closed parts of its luxury spa, both suspected as sources of this outbreak. a former navy s.e.a.l. faces legal action over his new book that chronicles the osama bin laden raid. we examine the fallout from his book "no easy day" why the pentagon could go after him and his publishers and what laws they are accused of breaking. [ music playing, indistinct conversations ] the charcoal went out already?

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try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. welcome back. it is 33 minutes past the hour. i'm randi kaye. thanks for starting your day with us on "cnn saturday morning." the former navy s.e.a.l. giving the firsthand account of the osama bin laden raid in a new book may be in hot water. the pentagon is threatening legal action over his new book, "no easy day." he and his publisher may have to

forfeit royalties. our pentagon expert explains why the pentagon is upset. >> randi, it's rapidly become a high-stakes legal fight, the pentagon lawyer telling the navy s.e.a.l. and his lawyer they may face legal action. appearing on cbs "60 minutes" in disguise and under his fake name mark owen this is matt, the former navy s.e.a.l. who wrote "no easy day." his account of the raid that killed osama bin laden. >> my worry is it's plitical season. this book is not political whatsoever, doesn't bad mouth either party. >> he retained a washington, d.c. attorney who once represented bush white house adviser karl rove in the investigation into the outing of cia operative valerie plame. rove was not charged.

bissonnette's position remains in question. he wrote bissonnette he's in material breach and violation of agreements he signed to protect classified information and promising to submit his work to a security review. luskin wrote back saying the agreement only requires the government to review writings under certain circumstances. >> if you're in possession of classified documents, as a navy s.e.a.l. would be, you sign a nondisclosure agreement. that says if you write a book, any kind of book, fiction, nonfiction, and you use information that might be even derived from classified information you've got to get preclearance from the pentagon. >> mark has represented clients in similar cases. >> the s.e.a.l.'s attorney is going to be, one, the agreements he applied don't go for the bin

laden raid. >> the publisher might be at risk. >> rather than cooperating with the government, penguin has not only increased the run but expedited publication date, which is a brazen slap across the government's face. >> the s.e.a.l. could avoid charges because the government may not want to discuss the bin laden raid in open court, if it comes to that. but the defense department is already raising another option. seizing all the money from the book sales. randi. >> barbara starr, thank you very much. let's bring in cnn legal contributor paul callan you saw in barbara's story there. paul, good morning. >> good morning. >> you mentioned the navy s.e.a.l. had to get clearance from the pentagon before writing his book but his defense says that only applies to certain circumstances. what circumstances would that be exactly? >> well, this is going to depend on the precise wording of the agreement that he signed, because navy s.e.a.l.s are involved in high security secret

operations, there is a special agreement that they sign regarding what they can reveal and what they can't reveal. that may be slightly different from the agreement filed by or signed by a cia agent. the ones i've looked at that have been made public are quite broad and indicate if there's any disclosure of classified information, preclearance is required. this navy s.e.a.l.s lawyer is saying, basically, his agreement is different and he didn't require preclearance. we haven't seen the agreement. so i've got to see the exact wording. the lawyer is arguing about wording as lawyers often do. >> what's your take on this. do you think matt and his publisher were in breach of contract or do they have a pretty good defense? >> my bet is they had it carefully reviewed, not only by the navy s.e.a.l.s lawyer but their own in-house lawyers. it would be very surprising to me if a major publisher went forward knowing they were in breach of this security agreement. that said, from the standpoint

of whether the government will aggressive try to shut this book down and whether it's the right thing, we've got a really different question here. i think a lot of navy s.e.a.l. supporters might say even if he didn't breach the agreement he's endangered his comrades who are navy s.e.a.l.s. if you figure out who he is and who his friends are, you have a potential target. other navy s.e.a.l.s may have been involved in the operation. there may be other reasons it's not wise to reveal a secret operation like this that go beyond the legalities. >> a portion would go to military support groups. would the pentagon go after those funds as well as go after a guy that put a bullet in osama bin laden? >> well, essentially there are only two things the pentagon can do. if there's a breach of the agreement and this is classified information, they could file criminal charges against this navy s.e.a.l. now, i don't think they are going to do that. he's highly decorated.

he's a war hero, but it's a theoretical possibility. that leaves a second option, which is a lawsuit in which they seek to take control of the book. i found a case involving a cia agent and what essentially the government did was, all right, the book has been published. we can't bring it back. we're going to create a trust and the book is now owned by the u.s. government. we will get the proceeds. i would imagine in this case if they aggressively proceed, that's the route they will take. it will probably become a u.s. government book and the government will decide what to do with the proceeds not the navy s.e.a.l. who wrote the book. >> amazing how that works. paul, if you could, we want you to stick around. when you come back, i want to you weigh in on this big court decision by texas, why a federal court found the law is a burden on the poor and racially discriminates.

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the final say on texas voter id law. a federal appeals court this week struck down the controversial law that requires voters to show their id at the polls. the three-judge panel called it racially discriminatory and a burden on the poor. here is some background from mark wiggins from cnn affiliate. >> reporter: texas voters can put away their licenses for now following the same section of the voting rights act used to toss out voting maps a federal court in washington struck down the state's voter id law. the three-judge panel said even free ids would cost voters for the lack of paperwork. that in a third of texas

counties would burden poor voters, most of him are minorities. >> i categorically reject the notion it's discriminatory. >> reporter: they have pointed to similar laws upheld in georgia and indiana. the court ruled texas law is tougher. executive director of the conservative coalition and research institute. >> there's nothing materially different between the texas law and indiana law and expect the attorney general to repeal this ruling, take it to the u.s. supreme court. >> reporter: in tampa texas attorney general greg abbot said it's unlikely the challenge will be resolved before the presidential election. >> the timing of this is going to be tough. it's going to take a while to apply to the supreme court. it will take a while for them to take the case. having the law be effective for this election will ab challenge. >> that was mark wiggins of cnn affiliate kvue. let's bring in contributor paul californian to talk about this. paul, why did the court rule this is racially discriminatory and a burden on the poor. what's the thinking there?

>> under the civil rights act, voting act of 1965, basically states with a history of discrimination when they make any change in voting laws that will affect minority participation, that has to be reviewed and approved by the justice department. that's why a washington, d.c. federal court is looking at this texas law, because the justice department cain and said when you force people to get identification, specific kinds, photo ids and whatnot it places a burden on poor people and will reduce minority participation and they won't allow it. they are fighting about it. texas is saying that's ridiculous, we're just asking people to prove who they are. so far the justice department is winning and the federal court has said this you unconstitutionally restricts the right to vote. >> the attorney general announces the state will appeal the ruling. can this be overturned before the presidential election? >> in theory it could be but

highly unlikely. the u.s. supre court would have to pluck this case out of the docket and say it is so important we're going to advance the case and render a quick decision, much as they did during the bush presidential election, the bush gore election. i don't think they will do that. usually they let the case percolate in that they want to see decisions from a lot of lower courts before they jump in and decide. the other thing i wanted to mention, which i found to be really interesting about this texas case, this law, the voting rights act of 1965 was the product of lyndon johnson. and johnson, of course, was behind a lot of civil rights legislation. ironically historians now think johnson was elected as a result of voter fraud in texas. this is a law -- so his very law, the voting rights law, arises out of a situation that probably would be very different than today if he were running for office. in any event a little irony with respect to who was the author of

the law. >> why is this such a big deal for the state of technician and other states that are going through this? >> this is an enormous deal because statistically about 10% of the voting population will probably be affected by this law. that is they have the possibility of being stricken from voter roles. that 10% tends to be democratic voters. so this is really a battle between the republicans and the democrats about how to reduce 10% of the democratic vote. and of course republicans say, hey, you know, to get a driver's license or go to a bank or do anything else we have to show identification, why shouldn't you have to do it at the polls. democrats say this is clearly discrimination. we like to encourage people to vote. all you're trying to do is knock out 10% of our voters. that's the politics behind it. it's very, very important in a year like, this a presidential year, because 10%, that could be

the vote in the presidential election. >> so what is this federal ruling mean for the other states that are also pushing for similar voter id laws because texas certainly isn't the only one? >> i would say the tide seems to be in favor of courts saying these laws can be unconstitutional. now, some of them have been upheld. why they throw out the texas law. they throw out the texas law because if you don't have a photo id of a certain specified kind, you have to travel to a specific place and get one. and in texas, because texas is so large, for poor people you might be traveling hundreds of miles and you might have to incur enormous expense to vote. that's a big burden on a poor person. that argument might not apply in chicago or new york city where you just jump on the bus and go down to your local voter registration building and walk in with your id. so it's going to be different from state to state. but i would say the federal courts, they don't like these

laws. they seem to think if the purpose of the law is to knock peoplocity voting rolls, if that's the true purpose, it's not good. however, republicans and proponents say there's voter fraud that goes on. the real purpose is to make sure voters really are voters and they are not illegal voters. >> seems like there should be some yumplity across the board if they are even talking about voter fraud. i guess we'll follow this from state to state. paul callan, thank you very much. >> nice to be with you, randi. >> you as well. a jobless man hit the lottery. why he got a bigger surprise when he finally cashed in. it's what everyone was talking about, what was clint eastwood talking about at the rnc convention in whatever it was is fodder for the late night comics. that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved

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some history made under friday night lights in south florida. with two minutes left, aarerin entered the game. she's thought to be the first female ever to play quarterback. by the way they won 31-14. some naked truth in seattle. top of the sixth, nobody out, run iron first, angels 5-1. there he goes. the streaker. man dressed in nothing but a speedo dashed from first base to second. man, he's fast. then he rambled into the outfield before being taken down by security. anls beat the mariners 9-1. if you think you're a laid back person, take morita from california. after more than a month, they finally came forward friday to claim a lottery prize worth $52 million. they waited a month. the couple knew they won but

they had no idea how much they won and the money will come in very handy. vladimir has been laid off from his job for a year now. we've been asking all morning about a lawsuit against wet seal for racial discrimination. former managers say they were fired because they are black. she points to this e-mail saying african-americans dominate huge issue as proof. they are asking the federal court to turn their case into a class action lawsuit for 250 current and former black manager at wet seal. wet seal denies any racial bias. as i said i've been asking to you tweet me, let you know me what to think. tweeted, yes, wet seal should face class action. that e-mail makes it clear she was let go based on her race. dennis posted this. here is another problem in this case. there are many more than wet seal who are doing this. tiffany hunter tweeted me, racism and racial discrimination are so common in retail it has

its own sales rack, blond hair, blue eyes doesn't mean beauty. thanks for weighing in on that one. keep them koeg at randi kaye@cnn. from politics to showbiz. the tore everyone is talking about. what the kings of late night are saying about clint eastwood's memorable rnc speech. on every one of our cards there's a date. a reminder... that before this date, we have to exceed expectations. we have to find new ways to help make life easier, more convenient and more rewarding. it's the reason why we don't have costumers. we have members. american express. welcome in.

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it was supposed to be mitt romney's big night but a lot of people are talking about clint eastwood's scene stealing chair. everyone from jon stewart to

bill maher are all fired up. >> everyone talked about clint eastwood, came out and did 10 minutes of wing nut improv. it was kind of a metaphor for the entire republican party, a confused old person yelling at something that doesn't exist. >> what a month august has been. we've gone from prince harry in vegas to dirty harry in tampa. what was that? how about that for a big surprise? turns out the mystery guest was clint eastwood's imaginary friend. after the clint eastwood's d debacle, i bet the democratic party is glad they don't have celebrities for public relations. after last night, sarah palin isn't looking so glad. >> i'm not going to shut up, it's my turn.

>> i'm here to lend my support to mitt romney in his crucial hour. you will not silence me invisible barack obama. i want to tell you something, back where we are at the daly show on the west side of hell's kitchen in new york city, you don't have to go far to see an old man yelling at an inanimate object. but rarely is that object on stage at a national political convention. almost never is that old man oscar winner clint eastwood. this is the most joy i've gotten from an old man since dick cheney nonfatally shot one in the face. >> good morning, everyone. i'm randi kaye. 9:00 a.m. on the east coast,

6:00 a.m. out west. thanks for waking up with us. we start this hour with isaac, the storm that's now moving toward the ohio river valley after drenching the gulf coast. it is being blamed for four deaths in louisiana and mississippi. the heavy rains have also caused massive flooding and pushed levees to the limit. it is not done yet. we'll take you live to new orleans for the latest in just a few minutes. isaac has had a lot to do with rising gas prices. right now the national average is at $3.83 for a gallon of regular unleaded. that's up $0.08 over last week. some stations in the south have seen a $0.20 bump in the past week. a lot of it is because of closure of oil rigs and refineries that were in the path of isaac. controversial arizona sheriff joe arpaio is off the hook. the united states attorneys office said it will not file any charges against arpaio or his staff. they were accused of using county issued credit cards and

funds. arpaio said he's happy with the decision. a second police officer is put on leave after a disturbing incident in st. paul, minnesota, tachl a look. you see one of the officers kicking a suspect in the chest while he was on the ground. an investigation is under way. police are asking the public not to rush to judgment. the suspect was allegedly threatening a woman in the neighborhood. to politics now and the democrats are on deck. their national convention starts tuesday, just five days after the republicans wrapped up theirs. cnn political editor paul steinhauser is in charlotte, north carolina this morning, site of the democratic national convention. paul, good morning to you. so lay out some of the highlights for us, if you will. >> good morning, randi. democrats are going to say the theme of their convention is americans coming together. they are touting this convention will be a lot more inclusive and open to the public compared to what the republicans did in

tampa. we have pictures inside the time-warner arena. you can see the platform. they are getting everything ready inside the arena, i'm right outside the arena. one of the things you'll hear about is the middle class. you'll hear democrats speaking at the conventions talking about how the democratic party is a party fighting for the middle class. the republican ticket headed by mitt romney and paul ryan is more beholden to the wealthy, some themes you'll here in tampa. of course they are doing to be touting what they say are the accomplishments of president obama over the last three and a half years. randi. >> some pretty big names coming to speak, former presidents and michelle obama as well. right? >> michelle obama as well. here are some interesting names. cory booker will have a prominent role here. he'll have a prominent role of the platform, the mayor of new jersey, up and comer in the democratic party. another name. charlie crist, former governor of florida. why is that interesting? charlie crist used to be republican governor for florida, lost out when he ran for senate,

now an independent running for president, may run as a democrat for his old job in florida in two years. as you mentioned big speakers in prime time, michelle obama on tuesday night. will with her the keynote speaker, a man called julian castro, the mayor of san antonio. you'll get to know him more. he gives the keynote address wednesday. former president clinton a big anticipated speech. a few blocks away at the football stadium that's where joe biden and president obama will give their renomination addresses in prime time, randi. >> all right. a big week ahead for sure. paul steinhauser, nice to see you. remember our live coverage of the democratic national convention starts tuesday 7:00 p.m. eastern time. you'll want to tune in for that. you may not have heard of reggie love, but for two years he was about as close to the oval office as you can get serving as president obama's personal assistant. in an exclusive interview, he's telling cnn's jessica yellin about a side of the president that few get to see.

>> reggie love knows the president as a strong mid-range shooter. >> he'll take a mid-range, attack the basket, knock down shots when he's got them. >> the kind of guy you want on your side. love has been on the president's team since the campaign dates. >> what's he like when he's hanging out? >> he's like a guy. he likes the bulls, cards, sports, like most guys i know, which i think can sometimes be hard for some people because they are taken aback by it. they are like oh, wait, he's like me but he's the president. >> reporter: as his personal assistant and confidant, love has seen the president as few others have. >> he's very much a person who enjoys the simple things in life, you know, enjoys watching a good game. enjoys a good cocktail. he's competitive at everything he does. if it's bowling or pool or

shuffleboard. there isn't anything he'd be okay losing at. >> want to know more about what president obama is like, jessica yellin reveals the man who knew him best. watch the man revealed, the man, the president. monday night 8:00 eastern on cnn. after the break we'll take you live to new orleans, ground zero for hurricane isaac. in plaquemines parish, the very latest on the floodwaters there. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

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this morning search and rescue crews are going door for door to check on victims of hurricane isaac and make sure everyone is okay. water is receding at belle chasse, an area south of new orleans hit hard by flooding. now people are getting a clearer look at damage. george howell is in belle chasse and plaquemines parish. george, you just spoke to the local sheriff there. what's he telling you?

>> raendi, good morning. under the circumstances a sense of frustration here. number one, we're talking about hundreds of people in floodwaters, braithwaite areas across the mississippi from me. that's where people saw anywhere from 7 to 15 feet of storm surge that came over levees, 15 foot high levees. he's frustrated people are still in floodwaters. number two, most importantly he said it's a matter of getting power on. no one in this parish have power. first of all, people are running out of food, food is spoiling and he's concerned about looting attachment a listen. >> concern is this for public safety. with looters going on there, we have apprehended two, when people start going hungry, they can start looking for food. what i'm afraid and my biggest concern is somebody is going to go into a home and they are going to think they are a looter because they are going into survival mode to try to just eat

and somebody is going to get shot. that's a great concern to me. our citizens are holding up pretty good but you can see concerns and issues. why are we the last again? we were the first hit and we're always the last to be repaired. >> reporter: that really was the most powerful statement. the first hit but then the last to be repaired. he says it's a matter of public safety to get the electricity back on. later today we may even take a tour of the area to see these places where again you find people still in their homes, people who have been cut off and can't get into this mainland already. >> we know about the flooding, george the the folks are facing other kinds of problems as well, right? >> well, we just spoke with a few sheriffs officials. they showed me a picture of cattle that were all together in floodwaters. they were together on that high land. so they are rounding up cattle. there are dead cows out there.

those dead cows attracting alligators. there's concern about coyotes. as you can imagine out here, randi, snakes. >> that does sound like a lot to deal with for those folks in addition to that rising water. george howell, thank you very much for that reporting there. isaac's waters left over are drenching parts. bonnie, what are your maps showing you? >> right now it's showing a lot of rain going over the same area again and again. luckily the reason we're not getting tremendous flooding, we have this exceptional drought over a good portion of the country, kansas, missouri, oklahoma, arkansas. it's really this portion of the country getting soaked by isaac. we had a little bit of flooding yesterday. today the flood advisories were holding steady in louisiana where there's 20 inches of rain for isaac in new orleans. take a while for that to recede. here is where it's raining, kansas city all the way to peoria, just a band of rain from this tropical depression. it's kind of elongated and

widened out. when we look what's ahead, all this energy and moisture sliding to the east. even cities like chicago, cincinnati, louisville, you'll all be impacted by rain from isaac. we're also getting strong winds. some of the wind gusts at 25 miles per hour. unfortunately not the nicest day out there as we go through the day today. we're also tracking some other activity in the tropics i want you to know about. two other systems, kirk and leslie. kirk is going to become extratropical, may be a concern as we go into next week may impact bermuda or bring rip currents to the atlantic seaboard. we're seshl not out of the woods for th tropical season. before we get to the coming week, we want to get to labor day. the forecast calls for isaac to impact us, not just for today but sunday as well. you can see the moisture sliding across the heartland moving into areas of indiana and ohio. we will get some rain from it. otherwise mild conditions. by the time you get to sunday and monday, the holiday weekend is much improved. i think isaac will be less of an issue especially for travelers.

randi. >> until we have to worry about the next one. bonnie schneider, thank you very much. a disturbing incident of bullying in a classroom is caught on camera. it includes a teacher apparently joining in. you'll see it play out and we'll talk about solutions to the ongoing national problem. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing,

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his face, socks shoved in his mouth. all of this caught on tape at a middle school in washington state. get this, the teen's attorney says the teacher played a key part here. affiliate kiro shows us exactly what unfolded. >> reporter: this is cell phone video shot by students during the class at the middle school. we got a copy but agreed not to show faces. she's showing the 13-year-old boy covered up by chairs. >> it was a teacher led bullying incident of epic proportions. >> reporter: not revealing the boy's name or the name of his family but she says they are all traumatized by what happened under classroom supervision. >> the teacher poked him in the belly. the teacher turned around and put his bottom in his face and said he felt gassy. he had a pillow placed on his face where he couldn't breathe for several seconds. he had his own socks shoved into his mouth.

the school district said they got a look at those videos right after the incident. >> i was horrified by what i saw. >> acted quickly. >> we immediately placed the teacher on leave. >> after internal investigation he was suspended, reassigned as substitute teacher for the rest of the year, given new classroom management training and assigned to a different middle school this fall. >> we took what we think is pretty significant disciplinary action against the teacher. >> we were not able to contact the teacher but in a letter he apologized explaining he didn't view the incident as, quote, any more than harmless childhood horseplay. the boy's attorney says the teen hasn't been able to return to class after the incident, switched school and required psychiatric therapy. >> it wasn't horseplay. there was no play going on. >> nick valencia is here to give us perspective on this. that's such a disturbing story, especially if the teacher was involved. where are we in the

investigation? >> six months later it's still an open investigation. the county sheriff's department said they interviewed the victim. they are still waiting to get information from the school's investigation, randi. there's a lot of questions as to why this wasn't immediately reported to the sheriff's office by the school. the superintendent did say rosie was interviewed after the incident, disciplinary action taken, third party brought in to investigate, brought back in as a roving substitute teacher. >> still under investigation. >> continuing investigation. >> what about the bigger picture here. we've talked a lot about bullying on this program. this is not just a problem at that school with that child, this is everywhere. >> a subject very close to your heart, close to mine. you know how reluctant people are to get bullied, how reluctant they are to speak up about instances. it's tough to get stats but talked to a foundation that deal with this, track u.s. statistics. we hear 13 million students will be bullied across the united states. on a daily average, 160,000 on

daily average don't go to school for fear of being bullied. the numbers are as high as one in four according to the foundation that are bullied and up to seven minutes, every seven minutes a child bullied on the playground in the united states. >> a lot of people don't report them. they think it's their fault, they are the problem, they are afraid. this particular case is especially disturbing because it involves this teacher. so let's talk about solutions. you actually spoke with an elementary school counselor. >> i did. they are calling this the ultimate breach of trust. one thing the foundation is training teachers across the state of florida. they believe they are doing some revolutionary across the state. we spoke to a guidance counselor yesterday. this is what she said about how the program changed her philosophy to counseling. >> right after one of my lessons, some of the kids had to take a field trip. i had kids stopping in the hallway talking about how they were not being a bully bystander but what i call a bully buster.

they were actually reporting what happened with their particular friend on the bus or in line or what have you. it could have been more of a teasing thing. but teasing and taunts turn into bullying. it can happen quickly. >> not just bullying but bullying by this teacher. not only did he lead it but taught it and incited it. >> that is so sad if that's the case. students can use teachers help. thank you for that. for decades penn state was one of the most legendary football programs. now it's trying to pick up the pieces after the jerry sandusky child abuse scandal. we'll set you up for the nittany lions first game since the fallout. (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go,

the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. the wheels of progress. seems they haven't been moving much lately. but things are starting to turn around because of business people like you. and regions is here to help. with the experience and service to keep things rolling. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together.

glad you're with us on "cnn saturday morning." penn state begins a new chapter in it's stored history. it's gone from a legendary football program with iconic coach to this, now a program shattered by high-profile child abuse scandal, the coach has passed away, his legend badly tarnished. trophies wiped from the proud history. joe carter in the state college to cover the stored game in this scandal era. how is the community reacting to all these changes? >> reporter: good morning to you, randi. it's been obviously a difficult ten points for this campus and for this entire community but they are reacting to it all by saying we're going to support one another and we're going to move forward. we're seeing these signs all over town. saw it at the airport, the hotel, restaurants, seeing it in pretty much every storefront

window in town. together we support students. together we move forward. that's the message they are trying to convey here. last night was step one moving forward. they held a pep rally. 21,000 people people showed up to support the students. talked to a student who has been going four years and said he has never seen this crowd. really good support for a team that needs it more than ever before. last night after the pep rally you realized there was suffering still on campus. a candlelight vigil on campus to pay respect to the child sex abuse victims out there. it's a quick reminder there's still pain and suffering in this town, a quick reminder they are not going to forget what happened. they want a fresh start here, randi. they are embracing changes but they obviously are very sensitive to the situation about what happened. they are using it as a platform to raise awareness. >> what do you think, joe, is going to be different about today for the fans and players?

>> you know, the biggest change that people are going to see is for the first time in 46 years a new head football coach will leave the nittany lions out onto the football field for a new football season. his name is bill o'brien. he's had certainly a very difficult first eight months on the job. it seems this passionate, very passionate fan base is buying into bill o'brien's system. there's a lot of these t-shirts floating around town say bill ieve, o'brien's lions. another change, you'll see names on the back of the player's uniforms. during the paterno era, he believes an individual isn't bigger than the team. o'brien feels he wants to honor individuals that didn't jump ship and leave the university. >> i love that. joe carter, thank you very much. nice to see you. a shock for drivers this labor day weekend. have you seen how much gas is

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here is a look at some of the stories you're watching. despite a slow month stock market ended august with solid gains. a final boost came yesterday with hints from ben bernanke the federal reserve chair said additional measures to boost the u.s. economy could be on the way. and he defended the fed's previous stimulus measures saying they helped create 2 million jobs and supported stock prices. as you have probably noticed gas prices are going up. aaa says $3.83, that's what it is, $3.83, is the national average for a gallon of regular. that's up $0.30 from what you paid in july which will make it a little tougher than all of you planning to drive. much of the recent rise in prices can be blame on hurricane isaac. to politics and the