e phone company. say hello to faster downloads with internet speeds up to 250 megabits per second. get fast internet and add phone and tv now for only $34.90 more per month. call today. comcast business. built for business. . 2:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast, welcome to viewers here in the united states and around the world. we're following several breaking news stories this hour here on cnn. i'm george howell at cnn headquarters in atlanta. millions of people are in the mass of a category three hurricane. it's been downgraded. a political storm to tell you about but first the latest on hurricane harvey.

officials warn this could be the worst storm to hit the country since hurricane cat that back in 2005. the u.s. already claimed it a major disaster. the other big story to tell you about, a major move by president trump pardonening a converse sall former sheriff else who was accused of racial profiling. joe arpaio was convicted of criminal court about a month cold for stop -- also in washington, another trump official is out of a job. the president's counter terrorism adviser, sebastian gorka has left his position at the white house. a great deal to cover this day. let's start with this monster storm that's hitting the state of texas this hour. our correspondents on the ground in the mold of it all, martin savage, following the situation

in corpus christi and jarred live in san antonio. marion, to you on the coastlines. what's the situation like right now? >> situation's improving at least when we talk about the winds and corpus christi here. hurricane harvey came ashore. it was a category four storm so it was a massive and major hurricane and it's quite clear that there has been damage done. corpus christi was not ground zero, it was actually about 30 miles north of here, roughly 60 kilometers you can say in rockport. there the city manager is saying in that community they have suffered damage in the downtown area. they were only able to do a very quick assessment. the eye of the storm one over them so it created a temporary calm. the emergency crews went out and that's when they began to gauge

they do have serious problem but had to scamper back under cover once more as the backside of the hurricane comes in. the problems here do not seem as severe, however in the darkness there are no emergency crews that have been really going out doing assessments. there was power out to a thousand of people. but the other dangers that lurk out in the wind, here's an for example, this is what fell a short distance away from our live location. that's why you don't go out in hurricane forced winds because that will kill you if it falls on top of you. we enter now in the second faisz of this potential disaster, that is as the winds subside here it's going to continue with the rain. the rain is expected to go on for days and that could end up with a monostrus proportion of water all over the south texas.

even if the storm lessens here it means it's going somewhere else. >> a few moments ago we were watching you in that storm can don lemon, the hurricane was much stronger but has downgraded here. as do you point out the danger still exist. we had images from rockport and as you indicate that's where a lot of damage has been seen. martin savage stand by with us. let's bring in deck rin van dam in san antonio. what is the sense there, that is the city where many people from the coast evacuated to get to safer ground. >> yeah, you're right george. in fact, san antonio is the closest largest city to the numerous counties that were evacuated over the past 48 hours. the thing about major hurricane harvey is that it just intensifies so quickly, so

rapidly it caught a lot of people off guard and didn't give them the opportunity to evacuate, board up their homes first and then take the opportunity to evacuate. that's the real concern here, we're going to figure out how many people stayed behind once we get that first glimmer of light to see the damage that has been left behind of this landfalling, what was a category four hurricane. i am right now at the river walk in san antonio, downtown san antonio. this is the back drop to this large metro popolitan city. anthony is recognized as a federal and state city of refuge. in a disaster like this, this is where people come to, to seek refuge. fema has set up staging areas here, they're saying shelters can handle up to 20,000 people. they had over 96,000 leaders of water shipped in. several tense tarps as well and

plenty of meals to help feed people as they come to these shellers. they well-equipped for an influx of people who arrived on scene. george you're a texas native so you probably know this, san antonio is well prepared for flooding as well. as we get the upwards of 12 inches of rain fall here, a foot of rain, there is actually tunnels, damns and levies that help alleviate the water in these city confines in san antonio. what i'm concerned with however is the suburbs where low levels are and where flooding can take place. it only take 6 inches of rain of rushing water to knock an adult off their feet. it only takes 12 inches of rushing water to float a small vehicle and wash t down stream. so the point here is turn around, don't drown if you see flooded road ways. just because you're 100 miles

inland from san antonio, it doesn't mean you're spared from the greatest threats of this storm. there's still plenty to come, heavy rain, flooding and more wind. >> i am a texas boy but didn't know that fact. that is good news to share with our viewers. derrick van dan thank you for being with us. martin savage live for us as well in corpus christi. thank you gentlemen. our meteorologist karen mcbegin necessary tracking harvey. what's the latest on the storm. >> we just got an update from the national hurricane center, it has been downgraded but i hesitate to use that word because it sounds like, maybe the coast is clear pretty soon, it is not. i'll give you a break down of what's going to happen for the next several days, if in fact not months. here's the latest information, 125 miles per hour that makes it a category three.

when it made landfall into the vicinity of rockport it was a category four, we haven't seen anything like that since 1961, and that was carlie. still very impressive, lots of deep tropical moisture. it has a clearly defined eye. as we go through the over night hours into the early morning hours we're looking at this going down maybe to category two, category one as we head in late in the day on saturday going into sunday. these winds are expected to drop off. but in rockport, the city manager says, during the calm of being with the eye of the storm over them, they were sending crews out to access the damage. i will tell you, there is a lot of information that you'll see over on the internet that gives lots of descriptions of damage, but they are saying, may not want to say some of those things because we need to access that. so they were sending folks out,

they do have lots of wind damage, a lot of reports and they're going to tell us specifically what has happened. you take a look at this, i showed you this last night. there are no clear steering currents in the atmosphere for this to move out, to sweep it to the north to sweep it towards the northeast. there's not a cronsensus for ou data model, they plug data in and spit out what they anticipate the hurricane will do. so chad meyers, my esteemed colleague was doing some of the math and they were saying that the state of -- the size of the state of south carolina, if you covered the entire state with 20 inches of rain, that's about east central coastal texas is looking at, george. it's going to be catastrophic for months. this is not an exaggeration.

back to you. >> very important words there. i'm hoping people take heed here. this is a storm that will linger, stick around. i was looking at that spaghetti model a moment ago karen. thank you so much for this reporting there. let's go to a storm chaser that we're keeping in touch with. ben mcmil land. he's in corpus christy texas. we're looking at the front dash there, his car to get a example of what's happening there. ben, what are you seeing in this hour? >> reporter: good morning george it's just after 1:00 a.m. it's water coming out on corpus christi bay, highway 181 is separating the highway between city of portland and corpus christi. it's going to be a rage for us to deal with of water over the weekend. some models getting over

30 inches a rain, a immense amount of water coming in. we'll be here monitoring it. >> driving around, talk to us just about what you have seen as far as, i guess what would be the standard fare when a storm like this comes in? down power lines, any infrastructure that has been damaged, what is the sense of the situation right now as far as damage? >> reporter: the biggest inconvenience is the lack of normal necessities people are used to, all that infrastructure, power, running water and things people take for granted these days. when the significant storms come in that shuts a lot of the infrastructures down, that makes it difficult no to go about the daily routine. >> ben, do you have a sense a lot of people stayed there in corpus christi? and just by the way, we're looking at another image coming

to us from rockport, texas, you can see the storm is still in effect there as it is throughout that part of texas. do you get a sense many people decided to stick around with this storm or did people heed warnings and get out of the way? >> in the area where mandatory evacuations were issued many people heeded those and left, however some stayed. you mentioned rockport, that was the city that got the most structural damage. the eye of hurricane harvey came to that area. it was 130 we understand, you had roofs peeling off of buildings, walls crashing down, a dangerous situation a many people hoping people here in texas would avoid. >> we hope for the best for anyone watching this broadcast or be in their home sitting through this storm, we hope for the very best and of course keep everyone informed as we continue to monitor it. ben, thank you for being with us

as well. so as this storm bears down on the u.s.a. of texas the president has a busy night. we'll have that story ahead. also we'll speak to a resident in texas who is riding the storm out from home. live around the world, this is "newsroom." 'saved money on motorcycle insurance with geico.

goin' up the country. later, gary' i have a motorcycle! wonderful. ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. it's the blowout event!ual save 10 to 70% off on all clothing and shoes. and up to 70% off on outdoor life for him and simply styled for her! plus hot deals on jeans for kids, starting at 8.99. hurry - sale ends september 4th. it's our back to school beeone cent evente. at office depot office max. 10 pack pens, one cent. composition notebooks,scissors, and plastic folders all one cent each! hurry to office depot office max. ♪taking care of business. the whole country booking on choice hotels.com. four words, badda book. badda boom...

let it sink in. shouldn't we say we have the lowest price? nope, badda book. badda boom. have you ever stayed with choice hotels? like at a comfort inn? yep. free waffles, can't go wrong. i like it. promote that guy. get the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed. when you book direct at choicehotels.com. book now. p3 planters nuts, jerky and whaseeds.at? i like a variety in my protein. totally, that's why i have this uh trail mix. wow minty. p3 snacks. the more interesting way to get your protein. you're searching for something. whoooo. like the perfect deal... ...on the perfect hotel. so wouldn't it be perfect if... ....there was a single site... ...where you could find the... ...right hotel for you at the best price? there is. because tripadvisor now compares... ...prices from over 200 booking... ...sites ...to save you up to 30%...

...on the hotel you want. trust this bird's words. tripadvisor. the latest reviews. the lowest prices. no splashing! wait so you got rid of verizon, just like that? uh-huh. i switched to t-mobile, kept my phone-everything on it- -oh, they even paid it off! wow! yeah. it's nice that every bad decision doesn't have to be permenant! ditch verizon. keep your phone. we'll even pay it off when you switch to america's best unlimited network.

live images this hour of the category three storm, it's been downgraded recently but the storm certainly in effect over the u.s. state of texas. made landfall as category four. hurricane harvey hitting the gulf coast and it won't be clear of the damage until the storm's passing. that'll take several days because the storm is lingering in the area. it's unclear which path it will take. the city manager in rockport area says there is intensive damage in that area already. the u.s. president, donald trump has already approved a disaster decoration. speaking of the u.s. president, donald trump, a political hurricane also hit the warehouse today. the u.s. president has pardonened the former arizona sheriff, joe arpaio.

arpaio was recently convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to obey a court order to stop racial profiling. he was awaiting his sentence also. controversiall adviser gorka left the credentials to be a counter terrorism expert. we get the latest for alexander mccart. >> it's no incident that donald trump decided to drop three major stories as texas prepare for a massive hurricane to follow. the trump administration has become notorious for this in the past few weeks. first, a presidential pardoned for the highly sheriff joe arpaio, for refusing to stop racially profiling latinos. the president had hinted

strongly he would do it, you the justice department having no role, a source telling cnn this is the president's pardon. a life's work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration. then another bombshell, sebastian gorka, out. he was a vocal spokesman for the president. part of the house claiming that chief of staff john kelly has undertaken since he took the job. with no fanfare, a third piece of news, a signed memorandum by president trump blocking trad fr transgender from joining the military. trump ordered a six months study of transgender in the military

to be carried out by secretary defense james mattis. it is unclear for the transgender troop currently serving. while many questions still loom it is little mystery why these three stories broke tonight. alex, cnn, washington. >> thank you alex. as we continue to monitor the hurricane that's bearing down on the u.s. stoate of texa. joe arpaio more about him. sarah with more on his relationship and legacy with president trump. >> reporter: the case against arpaio and his behavior began in 2007. a class action lawsuit accused him of implementing racial profiling and organizing unwarranted stops of latinos.

known for his tough speak, his departments workplace raids the ten city where inmates were house requested the pink jurn wear, arpaio argued his department was simply enforcing the law. >> i'm the elected sheriff, i report directly to the people and i'm not going to be subserve yant to the federal government when they come up with no proof. >> reporter: arpaio lost his argument in a lawsuit. in 2013, a federal judge put an injunction in the place ordering the department to halt unpolicing practices. arpaio and his deputies defied the order. arpaio claim the order wasn't clear and didn't mean to violate. a federal judge found arpaio showed a disregard for the court's order. his critics cheered the decision. >> racism in any form is wrong and joe arpaio again, has been the center of racist policies

and attitudes and had been criminally convicted. >> reporter: from the start in 1999 when sheriff joe arpaio was elected to office he began an illegal crew said against illegal immigrants. >> donald trump will build a wall. >> reporter: arpaio fiery speech gave him a status in circles and a kinship with the man who will become the 45th president. >> and more background, important to note that arpaio is also noted for the support of the bertha movement during the former president's barack obama administration. that movement sought the first doubt on the first african-american's u.s. president legitimacy alleging that he was not born in the united states. he is an american. it was an allegation that was repeatedly proven false. president trump also found a kindred spirit in arpaio's hard

line against undocumented immigrants. >> i'm going to have a news conference early next week and get to the bottom of this, show the abuse of the judicial system and politics. i'm not going down without trying to defend myself to all those people that don't like what i talk. i'm going to discuss all that with my lawyer, i think people will be shocked and probably won't believe certain news media and trying to destroy me all these years. we'll try to get the message out monday or tuesday. >> that was sheriff arpaio on one side, the great journalist fox news on the other covering the hurricane. let's break this down with michael genevieve, live with us in los angeles. it's good to have you with us, sir. let's talk more about this, we're keeping an eye on what's happening in the u.s. state of texas.

you've got to question the timing here of what's happening this day, the president choosing to pardoned arpaio just as the storm is bearing down on the gulf coast. what do you make of the times? >> well, this is not new to the administration this has been done for many years. this story can't be buried, sheriff joe is the poster boy for bad behavior. he's the exception, the exception to the rule, which is most members of law enforcement are really wonderful people, they obey the law. and sheriff joe's just not that guy. he's a man who has a history of racial incensetivity, of profiling and he's defied a court order. this is a huge story and can't be buried. >> also to pound out the president went without this pardon without deferring to the

justice department, this was donald trump's decision and his alone. he's faced some criticism from his administration -- and then this was from jeff flaik who said on twitter he would have quote, preferred that the president honor the judicial process and let it take its course. given the criticism we're seeing for president trump what are the implications of that, just given this decision? >> this normal process is a lengthy one. this was simply done by the warehouse. i think what you're seeing is that the difference between president obama who had a double blind search and president trump is that trump permissions politics. but one of the things we have to remember about this pardoned is it's not just about sheriff joe, this is sending a very loud message to others. for example, those who are now

in the special prosecutor mueller whose investigating fli flynn and others. the strike that and i that's used is close, you go for the outside people and bring it closer and closer and you try to get the outside people to give up people closer to the top and you offer them a good deal. with this pardon i think we're seeing messages to those folks like manafort, flynn and others, don't make a deal or give up any information, you'll get a pardon. >> that's a pretty important point that you're making there. let's talk about the macro here, the big picture that many people take from this pardon, this is coming off the heels of charlottesville, the racial rally, the president's response of many sides, good people, fine

people he pointed out. fine people i guess, amongst the white supremacist. how is this response affecting the fabric, the feeling of more than? >> well, this is a bad deal for america. the person who is supposed to be the lawmaker and enforcer is the lawbreaker. but on the heel of charlottesville, the very very disturbs thing that trump said, it fits the narrative that trump's critics are supplying. it makes him look very very bad, like he's on the side of white supremacists or at least white americans against hispanic. this is pouring fuel on to the hispanic community and lighting a match. this is going to insight a lot of opposition and maybe it's designed to. >> michael, we appreciate your insight this hour. live from los angeles. thank you. >> thank you. still ahead on the program, much more ahead on hurricane

harvey, this major storm making landfall and hitting the texas gulf coast. also, later this hour we speak to the former director fema about how it's gone what kind of response this storm could warrant. stay with us. ting and i just got an unlimited plan. right plan, wrong network. you see verizon has america's largest most reliable 4g lte network and now unlimited plans start at $40 per line, you know what i am saying? (laughs.) oh this is your seat. definitely. yep. just tucking it in. nah, i wasn't going to pull it out. when it really, really matters you need the best network and the best unlimited. now plans start at $40 per line for four lines. it's the blowout event!ual save 10 to 70% off on all clothing and shoes. and up to 70% off on outdoor life for him and simply styled for her! plus hot deals on jeans for kids, starting at 8.99. hurry - sale ends september 4th.

when i feel controlled by frequent, unpredictable abdominal pain or discomfort and diarrhea. i tried lifestyle changes and over-the-counter treatments, but my symptoms keep coming back. it turns out i have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or ibs-d. a condition that's really frustrating. that's why i talked to my doctor about viberzi... ...a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both abdominal pain and diarrhea at the same time. so i can stay ahead of my symptoms. viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. do not take viberzi if you have no gallbladder, have pancreas or severe liver problems, problems with alcohol abuse, long-lasting or severe constipation, or a bowel or gallbladder blockage. pancreatitis may occur and can lead to hospitalization and death. if you are taking viberzi, you should not take medicines that cause constipation. the most common side effects of viberzi include constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain. stay ahead of ibs-d with viberzi.

it's our back to school beeone cent evente. at office depot office max. 10 pack pens, one cent. composition notebooks,scissors, and plastic folders all one cent each! hurry to office depot office max. ♪taking care of business.

for years, at&t has been promising fast internet to small businesses. but for many businesses, it's out of reach. why promise something you can't deliver? comcast business is different. ♪ ♪ we deliver super-fast internet with speeds of 150 megabits per second across our entire network, to more companies, in more locations, than at&t. we do business where you do business. ♪ ♪ welcoming back viewers in

the u.s. j arnold tand around t. we are monitoring hurricane harvey, which has made land first of all as category four, now a category three storm. up to winds 125 miles per hour and right now the storm is hitting with hurricane forced winds. harvey mark the first category to make the u.s. since carlie. the storm we're seeing right now, a category three storm, but the storm will linger around and the question now, what will be the extend of the damage. we understand from the city manager of rockport, texas there is extensive damage already. let's bring in the fire chief of rockport, texas. steve symptom symptoms on the phone with us live. steve, we're looking at the city

what it's like on the screen. talk about what you've seen, the extend of damage. >> being a firefighter of course we're still bunkered down in our station, we have hurricane forced winds outside but we do know we have significant damage throughout the area. we are inundated with calls with people needing help but we're waiting on the weather to allow us to do it. >> looking here at the image of the storm and it seems you're just to the south of the eye of this storm, but you're certainly within these bands, those strong bands of rain. you mentioned there were people who decided to stay, to stick around in the storm. do you have any indication of how people are managing the situation at hand right now, those who decided to stay? >> well, that i really don't

know, because like i say we've not been able to get out and start doing any kind of search and rescue, or seeing what we got and how many homes we got that need our help. it's -- the eye ball actually came right over rockport. >> okay. and we had some severe winds on that, you know the on coming out of the eye wall. >> steve, obviously i have to wait just a moment, you know, you have to wait some time when it's safe. >> yeah. >> we're look at this image of the vehicle that's driving the street right now. in corpus christi, texas and again that's only in the south of you. your emergency crews when they go through, how long do you think it will take for them to safely go through and get a

sense of what happened there? >> right now we're -- we're anticipating, we're hoping within the next six to eight hours we can get out and start our search and rescue. we do have multiple calls that, you know, people requesting help. but right now we're just in no -- you know we can't get out and do it. >> steve, of course we wish the very best for you, for the emergency officials there on the ground, for the people who decided to wait this storm out, and we'll stay in touch with you as you and your crews learn more about what this storm has done there in the city. let's switch over to our national correspondent, martin savage worst in corpus christi, texas. i'm looking at the radar, seems the bulk of the storm a little

bit to the north of you now, but you have experienced a great deal with this storm passing through. >> reporter: we have, we still are. item on the side of this building, it's a very large hotel, it is still resting in this area. i wouldn't be able to stand up on the other side of this building, so that's the impression you get. we wen down side of the building here and you literally get knocked off your feet, that's how intensive the hurricne forced winds are. we say this storm has been downgraded to a category three, remember trina was a category three and that killed over 1,000 people. this storm by no way has become less dangerous or in any way has slacked off as far as the potential to kill and cause harm. it is still very much a huge and

dangerous storm. don't let this kind of image here, because i'm in the lee of the building, the shadow of the wind fool you. on the other side it is madness, mayhem and it is still potentially deadly even inside of this city. now, when you start talking about rockport, what they face, the fire chief is hundred kerred down with all of their emergency responders. now they're on the backside of the storm with just as fierce if not, worse, but magnify all the debris that's been caused. you can see why -- and it would be almost suicidal to try and go out there. take also, their position, they're in the emergency center. they're hearing these frantic calls coming in from their community and they know there's nothing they can do at the moment. they have to wait for daylight and wait for thing to subside. the only problem is we may still

be in hurricane forced winds maybe 24 hours from now, and we haven't started to talk about the rain. feet of rain that should follow after the devastating winds, but frankly it's a one, two punch of a storm we have not seen for a long long time, george. again, i don't want to give anybody the false impression just because it's gone from a four to a three things are -- it's extremely dangerous in texas. george. >> martin, it's so important to point that out. we see your image and i understand what you're talking about, you're on one side of the building. the storm certainly raging on. you're within the southern bands of that storm. we're getting an image, as you were explaining the situation there martin, we're looking at the situation from a dash camera from affiliate in corpus christi, texas. you're seeing things blowing over and knocked over on the

road. this storm certainly still bearing down in that part of the state. let's bring in nick, he decided to remain in corpus christi to ride the storm out, he's live with us on the phone. nick, i want to ask you what this experience is like. we're thankful to be chatting with you here to get your assessment of what happened. how intense was the storm when it came through? >> hi there, i'm glood to be talking with you too. i have to agree with the gentleman who was just speaking a few seconds ago, it's interesting that this thing is turning into quite the marathon. you expect these things to be a quicker flash than they are. to be honest, the intensity still haven't let up. as the storm came in earlier this evening, things were a little lighter than they are now, and you'd expect it to get

intense and then let up, but things have not let up at all. it's lasting for hours and it's quite interesting. >> nick, talk about the decision that you and your family made to stay there. how did you reach that conclusion? you know that city, you know this area, and i'm sure you've seen your share of storms come through. how did you reach that decision? >> well, yeah it was a tough decision. a number, actually probably majority of my friends and family has left town, left town as early as thursday. my children actually were able to leave town with their mother. how far i happen to have a mother who have surgery on her neck scheduled for a number of months, on thursday. so, she was in the hospital on thursday interestingly enough the hospital evacuated friday morning, she was due to

discharge but she was not in shape to leave the city. so, me and a few other of my family members were kind of obliged to stay here and make sure she was taken care of. and again, we have been through a number of storms here, we knew this was going to be a big one and it was going to be longer than before, but we had -- we were privileged enough to be in a home close to the water that had survived a number of these storms. we had the correct amount of protection on our windows and things like that and we kinds of prayed for the best. although there's damage around us. >> nick, the word from the officials are to get out of the area, to evacuate but as you point out to our viewers, these are personal decisions. and you have -- you know, you had a lot on the line there. we're thankful that you and your family are okay. thank you for being with us this day and we'll stay in touch with

you as we to keep up with what this storm is doing. thank you nick. >> thang for having me. >> you're watching cnn news continuing coverage of the storm that's hitting south texas. stay with us. you said 30 dollar. yeah, well it was $30 before my fees, like the dog-sitting fee... and the rummage through your closet fee. who is she, verizon? are those my heels? yeah! yeah, we're the same size...in shoes. with t-mobile taxes and fees are already included, so you get four lines of unlimited for just $40 bucks each. and now get zero down on the hottest smart phone brands like samsung galaxy. more reasons why t-mobile is america's best unlimited network. you don't let anything lkeep you sidelined. come on! that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein, and 26 vitamins and minerals... for the strength and energy, to get back to doing what you love. ensure, always be you. it's the blowout event!ual save 10 to 70% off on all

clothing and shoes. and up to 70% off on outdoor life for him and simply styled for her! plus hot deals on jeans for kids, starting at 8.99. hurry - sale ends september 4th. and a makeup remover at night? this does it all! micellar cleansing water, from garnier skinactive. the garnier micelles act like a magnet, to cleanse, remove makeup and refresh. all-in-one. now in a silky soft wipe, from garnier skinactive you're searching for something. whoooo. like the perfect deal... ...on the perfect hotel. so wouldn't it be perfect if... ....there was a single site... ...where you could find the... ...right hotel for you at the best price? there is. because tripadvisor now compares... ...prices from over 200 booking... ...sites ...to save you up to 30%... ...on the hotel you want. trust this bird's words. tripadvisor. the latest reviews. the lowest prices.

. welcome back to cnn newsroom i'm george howell.

we continue following this breaking new story on the coast of texas. t category three storm who is hitting the area. there are people who evacuated and some who decided to ride this storm out. we'll have continuing couldn't here on cnn. looking at early damage from the storm, this was the scene from corpus christi, texas. right now harvey is hitting the coast. the national weather service warns parts of south texas could be uninhabitable for weeks or months once the storm passes. we'll continue to cover these events in texas. some other major stories we're following around the world. north korea launched three

missile drills. u.s. reports two of the missiles traveled 250 kilometers, that's more than 150 miles before one exploded right after launch. we'll have more on hurricane harvey after the break, including my talk with a former fema director on the damage the storm is capable of doing. stay with us. we, the people, are tired of being surprised with extra monthly fees. we want hd. and every box and dvr. all included. because we don't like surprises.

yeah. like changing up the celebrity at the end to someone more handsome. and talented. really. and british. switch from cable to directv. get 4 rooms with hd, dvr, and every box included for $25 a month. call 1-800-directv. it's the blowout event!ual save 10 to 70% off on all clothing and shoes. and up to 70% off on outdoor life for him and simply styled for her! plus hot deals on jeans for kids, starting at 8.99. hurry - sale ends september 4th. p3 it's meat, cheese and nuts. i keep my protein interesting. oh yea, me too. i have cheese and uh these herbs. p3 snacks. the more interesting way to get your protein. the whole country booking on choice hotels.com. four words, badda book. badda boom... let it sink in.

shouldn't we say we have the lowest price? nope, badda book. badda boom. have you ever stayed with choice hotels? like at a comfort inn? yep. free waffles, can't go wrong. i like it. promote that guy. get the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed. when you book direct at choicehotels.com. book now.

megan's smile is getting a lot because she uses act® mouthwash. act® strengthens enamel,

protects teeth from harmful acids, and helps prevent cavities. go beyond brushing with act®. hurricane harvey hitting south texas this hour. it represents the first big test for the trump administration dealing with a major disaster and a world from the federal emergency management agency, fema says it's ready to go. they have food, water and tarps staged at three support bases in both texas and louisiana. and the american red cross is mobilizing shelter supplies. fema is judged by its performance in cases like this and in some cases an entire administration may carry that weight. let's bring in james lee whit.

it's good to have you with us this hour to talk about this storm. the first test of the new fema director. you've led that agency as well. talk to us about where your mind would be, what fema might need to prepare for given this storm we're looking at right now? >> well, you know, this is a category 4 hurricane, the first hurricane in 12 years. and i know as administrator brock long -- i know they've been working with the state of louisiana and texas together in identifying what resources they need to put in place to support the state of texas and louisiana. and i know that they've established all the search and rescue teams already in san antonio out of the way of the hurricane and a lot of the other resources. you know, from generators to

putting people in shelters and taking care of them and supporting those resources. so they have a good system in place. i know when i was at fema, you know, we had rapid response teams that responded with prepositioned supplies and resources and supported the states. and i know that brock has done that as well. he's very smart. he's very capable, and he's one of the best appointments president trump has given. >> i wanted to point out they have actually put that on their twitter account. you see they have prepositioned a lot of the supplies that could come into place a little later as this storm passes on. but here's the question frch for those people who have not evacuated and decided to stay in their homes to weather the storm there, what should those people do now on the coastline? >> i hope and pray they have

protected themselves and they're in at least places that can absorb a 12 foot storm surge and up to 30 to 40 inches of rain. this is a major hurricane. and those that have decided to stay, i hope they have enough supplies for at least 72 hours because this storm, the effects of it could last for four or five days, which is very unusual. and i just hope and pray they prepared for that. and anybody that has said we have a mandatory evacuation, they should evacuate. so they put themselves and their families in harm way. because this is going to be a major event for texas. >> let's talk more about that and pot that into perspective am the last five hurricanes caused on average $5.6 billion in damage.

there is obviously great concern about the loss of human life. the end of the day there will be a dollar amount assessed to the storm as well. given what we're looking at here, how bad do you think the strengthen of this storm is what do you expect after the storm passes? >> i expect you're going to have some major damage on infrastructure. you're going to have major damage on thousands of thousands of homes and small businesses. and it's going to be a major event. and it's not going to be -- they're not going to recover from this in weeks. this is going to take months. and in the long-term recovery efforts could take a few years because look at hurricane katrina. they're still working through projects in hurricane katrina today. and so, you know, getting back to normal is going to take time. and the most important thing that fema and the state and

local governments can do is provide the information to those small businesses, those local governments and those people about the process and how they're going to work with them in helping them to recover. >> james lee whit, the former fema director under former president bill clinton. thank you for the insight. and we'll of course keep in touch with you as we continue to monitor this storm. >> thank you very much. let's press on now to the next hour. want to show you these live images of what's happening right now in corpus crista, texas. lot of rain on the streets. it's not going anywhere anytime soon. our breaking news coverage continues right after this break. hmm? is that the rest of our food? what? no. how come you have cheese in your beard? because switching to geico could save you 15% or more on car insurance. oh!

ok. geico. because saving 15% or more on car insurance is always a great answer. whoa! gross! no splashing! wait so you got rid of verizon, just like that? uh-huh. i switched to t-mobile, kept my phone-everything on it- -oh, they even paid it off! wow! yeah. it's nice that every bad decision doesn't have to be permenant! ditch verizon. keep your phone. we'll even pay it off when you switch to america's best unlimited network. fitting into my skinny jeans ♪again? that's cool. feeling good in slim fit? that's cool. looking fabulous in my little black dress? that's cool. getting the body you want without surgery, needles, or downtime? that's coolsculpting. coolsculpting is the only fda-cleared non-invasive

treatment that targets and freezes away stubborn fat cells. visit coolsculpting.com today and register for a chance to win a free treatment. you're searching for something. whoooo. like the perfect deal... ...on the perfect hotel. so wouldn't it be perfect if... ....there was a single site... ...where you could find the... ...right hotel for you at the best price? there is. because tripadvisor now compares... ...prices from over 200 booking... ...sites ...to save you up to 30%... ...on the hotel you want. trust this bird's words. tripadvisor. the latest reviews. the lowest prices.

this is cnn breaking news. 3:00 on the u.s. east coast. welcome back to our viewers here in the u.s. and around the world. i'm george howell at cnn headquarters in atlanta as we continue following several breaking news stories this hour on cnn. first, a major category 3 hurricane bearing down right now on the u.s. state of texas. it's been downgraded from a category 4 storm, but don't let that fool you. this is still a quite intense storm. officials warn that harvey could be the worst storm to hit the country since hurricane katrina back in 2005. the