for quite some time. >> will rippley on his 19th visit to north korea, try to top that one. we appreciate that reporting, thank you very much. thanks very much for watching. to all those celebrating, happy new year. erin better nut out front starts right now. hurricane florence on track to be a catastrophic storm. headed toward millions along the east coast. we'll talk to a hurricane hunter who's flying over the hurricane 4 right now. trump on the attack, calling bob woodward a liar and demanding the justice department go after the op ed author. is his shoot the messenger strategy work something. could ted cruz really lose? let's go out front. a life threatening strike.

as hurricane florence grows into a massive dangerous category 4 storm. tonight it is on a collision course with the east coast. this is hurricane florence right now from space it is a monster, already 600 miles wild and growing. winds right now up to 140 miles per hour. that kind of power can rip roofs off buildings, snap trees and power lines, cause billions of dollars potentially in damage. right now, tens of millions of people are bracing for devastating hits, store shelves already bare. mandatory evacuations planned. tom seder is outside live. is this headed straight for the east coast? it looks big and powerful. >> it is. in fact you have to go back to september 22nd, jim. 1989 when hugo made landfall just north of charleston at a category 4 status. this could be a little stronger.

today is the peak for the hurricane season, can you tell? florence, isaac, it's in very warm waters. go back to the history to the beginning of the satellite era. where this is currently positioned, not one in history has made landfall in the u.s. the models are in pretty good agreement taking this close to wilmington or northward, some deviation is possible in the next couple days. this would be late thursday. high tide is around 11:00 thursday night. could it head to the outer banks? still possible. we have to watch this each and every hour when the advisories come out. the waters go from the mid-80s to the low 80s. it's possible in the next couple days we'll see some fluctuations in the strength, maybe dropping back to a category three. firing back up to category four. could it make it to 5? it could. the problem is two concerns here, notice the bubble of the

zone. it may stall out. last year when harvey made landfall in rockport it will slowed to such a pace you could out walk it. the models took a couple days to catch up to figure out, this is going to drop 30, 40, 50 inches of rain. the terrain is a big concern here. when it comes to the winds, hugo made landfall with winds of 140. this could be the strongest in this area ever if we finally get a little stronger than 140. by the way, hugo killed 27 people and left 100,000 homeless. this means business. the rainfall is the second part of the deadly equation. the first is storm surge, which we could. with the angle of the coastline put up a wave of over 20 fight. that is possible. the rain is the second element. water kills more with tropical storms than anything else. surge and rain. the high terrain, when you get up toward raliegh, into the shenandoah, all of the community that is live in that topography, from the blue ridge down to the

northern part of the smokies. really a big concern, dropping 10, 15, 20 inches of rain. it's a multifaceted problem, it's quite a distance away, still looks to be late thursday. it could fluctuate north or south, i want everyone to know what evacuation zone you are in so you can heed the warnings. >> heed those warnings. i know you're going to be watching it. >> there's another developing story tonight. shooting the messenger. president trump and the white house lashing out tonight against two individuals, two people who have come out with scathing critiques of this president. ledgen daretry journalist bob woodward and the senior administration official behind the anonymous new york times op ed. the president focused not on their message, but the messengers. trump tweeting five times today about woodward and the claims inside the explosive tell all, which hits book stores tomorrow. the president calling woodward a liar.

a democratic operative, calling his book a joke, a scam. that on top of what he said about woodward over the past few days. >> then this idiot woodward who wrote this book, which is all fiction. this woodward book is a total fraud 37. >> back at the white house, aides literally dusted off the podium for the first white house briefing in 19 days. they did not verify some of the most damning statements and stories that have been so far released. >> a number of people have come out and said that woodward never even reached out to corroborate statements that were attributed to them, which seems incredibly reckless for a book to make such outrageous claims to not even take the time to get a $10 fact checker to call around and verify that some of these quotes happened. when no effort was made, it seems like a careless and

reckless way to write a book. >> a $10 fact checker. when it comes to woodward history, he's shown he's cover ed reliability. this is into the trump's only target, now. the president and liz administration slamming the author of that op ed. >> the white house and the staff here are focused on doing our jobs. and trying to show up here every day and help do what we can to help the american people not deal with cowards that refuse to put their names in an anonymous letter. a gutless anonymous source. >> is the real problem the messengers or the messages. the claims of distrust, dysfunction, and top aides going around the president to protect the country.

the mood inside the white house tonight regarding this criticism. >> it was someone in the president's inner circle who wrote this op ed, they're trying to convince president trump to drop the matter in is that auth this op ed. that's not likely to have much success, we know president trump spent the weekend fuming about this op ed, despite sarah sanders saying today that no lie detector test is on the table for these staffers. president trump didn't rule it out when he was asked about it in an interview, and he spent the weekend talking with allies and con dulting with them about the idea of doing such. certainly we've got that. the white house is continuing to make clear. it's not the only problem.

who it is in the white house who crop rated. >> privately, behind closed doors, he's complaining to aids and naming out people he names in helping woodward write the book. the two people who have criticized the administration, the other bob woodward in his book detailing all of these things current staffers have said. the other sarah sanders not ruling out today the suing bob woodward over this book. what is clear tonight, the president wants to punish the people who are criticizing him. >> the president's threatened to sue a lot of newspapers, those

never happened. thanks very much for taking the time tonight. >> when you look at both the woodward book and you look at the new york times op ed there is one consistent message here a dysfunction in the white house, let me ask you straight up, you worked in the white house for months. did you witness any of this dysfunction when you were there. >> there's no doubt this white house operates different fan any in the past. if you look at what the record of achievements are, not just on the economy, also with the president's promises that have been delivered from moving the embassy to jerusalem, to making assurances on iran, as well as the regulatory front. this administration has enormous achievements, and at some point i think that many people cover the white house, need to recognize what's been

accomplished. many people elected president trump because he operates in a different style. >> we're not talking about meaningless drama here, if you read the woodward book or even just experts from it, and this currently serving official in the administration, they talk about a lack of interest in the issues. particularly on national security there's a story in there about a tweet the president wanted to put out. his own advisers said that could start a war that's not just meaningless drama. that is dysfunction with consequence. >> i think you look at the national security team that surrounds the president with ambassador bolton. it's one of the strongest national security teams our country has had. you look at the record of achievement there, and the fact that we've reclaimed 99% of the territory that isis had, you look at the progress we're

making in north korea, there's a lot that american people can be excited about, and pleased with. again, i think we need to look at what the record is and what's happening. >> concrete progress, let's look at the numbers. there is a new problem. in how the american people perceive this. the president's approval rating 36%. the unfavorable rating the highest in cnn's polling. look at these other numbers, only 32% of the country rate him as honest and trustworthy. 36% believe he cares about people more than himself. 37% believe he respects the rule of law. why if these are unsubstantiated claims as you're saying, and if you're saying this is the kind of president americans elected. why do those numbers show a lack of confidence in this president? >> there's no doubt that the

country is divided on many fronts right now, i think the president faces an unparalleled amount of negative coverage from the mainstream media, that's what that polling shows. again, i think the president and republicans in congress have a tremendous record to run on, and i do think that -- i understand the frustration that many in the white house feel with the book and the op ed. the best they can do to focus on their achievements, for the last year, when people talk about the record unemployment, democrats have said, but there's no wage increase. now you say the wage increase on friday is the most in 10 years since the recession started. there's so much positive news they can be talking about. also, two supreme court justices in two years is a real mark the president is leaving on the supreme court. that's why i think we should be focused. >> i know you're not the only one to use this talking point that if only the president got better coverage, everyone would

see his great successes here. the president creates his own coverage, does he not? he's often speaking directly to the american people via his twitter feed. look at that number there 37% believe he respects the rule of law. perhaps they're reading his tweets attacking the department of justice, making comments about trials that are underway as he did with man in a for the. as he has with two republican congressmen now accused of financial crimes. is that the mainstream media coverage responsible for the american people reacting to those public comments by this president? >> there's no doubt the president's found a way to bypass the main street media with his social media accounts. i think that he probably would be one to acknowledge sometimes that he gets it wrong there. but at the same time, in many cases, the genesis of using that vehicle, he feels he's not going to get a fair shake in the mainstream media. >> listen, on this issue, because it's been interesting to

watch the number of administration officials issue public denials that they were behind this op ed, including the vice president who was willing -- he said he'd be willing to take a lie detector to do this, why do you think the vice president believes he has to say that in public. that he'd be willing, is he perhaps indicating the president suspects he may be the person behind this? >> no, i don't think the president suspects that at all. the vice president has been incredibly trust worth think and loyal to the president. at the end of the day, i do think the white house should pivot and stop and just move on. and recognize that whoever wrote this op ed wants to be outed. they wouldn't go to the new york times unless they did. if their purpose was to try to go against the president's will, the best thing they can do is be quiet. they came public and they want

to be outed at some point. they should continue talking about their successes at this point. >> has the president asked the justice department to investigate the person who wrote the op ed. in light of the first amendment committed a crime. >> it's incredibly arrogant to believe that they have more willingness to go against the will of the american people. i find that incredibly offensive. the administration should focus less on this. i don't there there should be an effort to ask the justice department to research it. >> thanks for having me. out front next, the white house investing the justice department find out who wrote that scathing new york times op ed as we've been saying. did the author commit a crime?

>> somebody actively trying to undermine the duly elected president and the entire executive branch of government, that seems quite problematic to me. >> trump tweets some of the best economic numbers in a century. that's not true. plus, more on hurricane florence, it's already as big as the state of north carolina. a state that happens to be in its direct path. my guess, a hurricane hunter will tell us what he sees live from his plane. alright, i brought in new max protein

...to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. i'll take that. [cheers] 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. new ensure max protein. in two great flavors. discover.o.sure max protein. i like your card, but i'm absolutely not paying an annual fee. discover has no annual fees. really? yeah. we just don't believe in them. oh nice. you would not believe how long i've been rehearsing that. no annual fee on any card. only from discover.

rewards me basically aeverywhere.om so why am i sliding into this ski lodge with my mini horse? because hotels.com lets me do me. sorry, the cold makes him a little horse. hotels.com. you do you and get rewarded. touch shows how we really feel. but does psoriasis ever get in the way? embrace the chance of 100% clear skin with taltz. up to 90% of those with moderate to severe psoriasis had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. most people were still clearer after one year. with taltz, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. don't use if you're allergic to taltz. before starting, you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection, symptoms,

or received a vaccine or plan to. inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz, including worsening of symptoms. serious allergic reactions can occur. ready for a chance at 100% clear skin? ask your doctor about taltz. i'm hoping these nature sounds will help me relax a bit.. at least we don't have to worry about homeowners insurance. just call geico. geico helps with homeowners insurance? good to know. feeling better? i love you, pookie bear. [parrot 1] i love you, pookie bear. [parrot 2] i love you, pookie bear! [parrots] i love you, pookie bear!!! get to know geico and see how easy homeowners and renters insurance can be. agent beekman was one step ahead of them.dits stole the lockbox from the wells fargo stagecoach, because he hid his customers' gold in a different box. and the bandits, well, they got rocks. we protected your money then and we're dedicated to helping protect it today. like alerting you to certain card activity

we find suspicious. if it's not your purchase, we'll help you resolve it. it's a new day at wells fargo. but it's a lot like our first day. the white house is insisting it is the job of the justice department to look into who wrote the anonymous new york times op ed. >> there's no violation of the criminal code that goes along with this op ed. i'm curious to what it is the president believes may have been violated in the law, in connection with in op ed. >> we would consider someone who is actively trying to undermine the executive branch of our government inappropriate and something to cause concern. and they should take a look at it. >> out front now, john dean, a former nixon white house

council. april ryan and patrick healy. politics editor for the new york times. john, if i could begin with you as the lawyer in the room. any laws broken here? >> we don't have a law in this country where you get punished for speaking ill of the king. we don't have a law against anonymous speech. i can't imagine what they think this is a violation of. also, the department of justice has regulations that prohibit this kind of inquiry. is it a serious push from the white house to the justice department to consider charges against this person. or is the white house just trying to change the subject and create a sort of punching bag here? >> well, i think it's all of the above, but most importantly, it's about the optics.

this president understands that public perception of him is his brand. he's keenly aware of that trump brand. for the op ed, for the books to include mine under fire. even omarosa's, it shows a president who's dysfunctional people around him who are dysfunctional. and it's showing that there are some people who could be viewed as a whistle-blower or who are in their eyes harming the executive branch of government. at issue once again is the fact that this president does not like anyone to be unloyal. this story talks about people that are playing into the eroding of his approval ratings. >> i'm one of the except ticks that wonders if there is an internal hunt for this person.

or if that's a bit of window dressing. is there really a search now for dissent within? >> i think that there are a number of people around president trump who know that the best way to keep him focused is by saying we're trying to get to the bottom of this, leaks are a priority for you loyalty is a priority for someone who has a long history of getting nondisclosure agreements from people. peoplerably asking james comey from the fbi and others, are you my guy? and i think they understand that for the president to be able to calm down and focus. for this president to not just be able to obsess about something, they at least have to be telling them they're looking, whether they're actually looking, whether that leads

anywhere is unclear. >> one of the many unclear things. >> john, one issue, the op ed writer stated, there were whispers among members of the cabinet about invoking the 25th amendment. here's what sarah sanders had to say about that today. >> i think we would say that it's about as ridiculous as most of bob woodward's book, the fact that that's actually being honestly being discussed is ridiculous. >> of course you remember the nixon administration, and we know that there were discussions particularly in the final days about limiting his ability to launch a nuclear strike, based on your reading of the book and a relationship through the years, do you consider that ridiculous? >> i've known bob for a lot of years, he's a reliable reporter, well sourced. and if he says there was discussion, you better believe

he's got it on some form of hard copy of digital recording or something that he has it nailed. opmarosa said they had code language, tfa represented the 25th amendment. and she had e-mails in which that was discussed. >> cnn had a poll out today including a drop on the president's approval rating. a majority of americans, 58% say the op ed writer should identify him or herself, only 30% say no, and it -- 36% say it was appropriate. 55 inappropriate for an administration official to work against trump's agenda. on this issue, at least.

is the president more intune with americans? >> i think what you're seeing is how extraordinary that op ed was. this doesn't happen a lot about so i think it did surprise a lot of people, we for years at the times and elsewhere, there's been discomfort among readers with anonymous sources. this is something that our editors have certainly looked at, in this case, we felt like it was a significant contribution. or i should say the op ed page, felt like it was a significant contribution to the reporting around the trump administration, i think the president has a point and he sort of understands his base certainly is that there's a lot of confusion around what's going on inside the administration. the messaging is very unclear

that comes out of it, some days they want to talk about the tax cut, they want to talk about the economy, and then the president himself steps on his own message with some of his angry tweets or the way that he gets himself trying to find the identity of the op ed writer. he has a point about want iing clarity around something, and he's the one often stirring up the drama. >> the thing about the op ed did it strike you as consistent with what you've been hearing in the white house. >> it's very consistent.

it paints a broad picture, this is stuff that we've known, it gives you more of the setting, how it was said and what have you. for the president to try to discredit bob woodward of all people. it's kind of cyclical. think about this, during the watergate years, nixon was trying to discredit reporters then, and it's happening again, some would say there's similarities here, what bob woodward did is paint a picture of what was happening, there's a credibility issue here, who do you believe, bob woodward or the president. when i say a credibility issue, it leans toward the president than bob woodward. >> you see that credibility in numbers in cnn's polling today. thanks very much. out front next, president trump boosts economic numbers unseen in 100 years. they're good but not that good. >> what is true is that it's the highest in 10 years. >> that's a big difference.

>> and why are top republicans suddenly worried about ted cruz keeping his senate seat. with expedia's add-on advantage, booking a flight unlocks discounts on select hotels until the day you leave for your trip. add-on advantage. only when you book with expedia.

tonight trump's fuzzy map. the president tweeting, the gdp rate is higher than the unemployment rate for the first time in over 100 years. it's happened before, in fact. 62 times in the last 70 years and as recently as 2006. kevin hassett was forced to correct his boss. >> the president said the gdb

rate is higher than the unemployment rate for the first time in over 100 years, that's just not true, is it? >> yeah, so i can tell you what is true, it's the highest in 10 years. and at some point somebody probably conveyed it to him, adding a zero to it and they shouldn't have done that. >> why does the president feel the need to fudge the numbers when the economy is indeed so strong? joining me, former undersecretary under president clinton robert reich. if i could come to you for a second. this is a consistent thing. the president will often fudge or even make things up here why do that, why distract from what should be a positive message? >> i don't know the inside details for why the president got it wrong. there's no denying that this economy is on fire, whether it

be the 3 1/2 million new jobs or the best wage growth in 9 years or 49 year low when it comes to new unemployment claims, this economy is on fire, there are millions of americans doing better off than going back to last january when the president was sworn in. can he be more precise on a few of the tweets? absolutely. they can get him all the precise numbers to make sure that's tight enough for going-forward. the biggest news of the day, i'm glad this white house is hammering on the economy, i want to see them do it every day. let's have kevin hassett out there monday, tuesday and wednesday. great message, stick with it, guys. >> let's respond to jason's assessment of the economy. >> i think the economy is very good in many respects.

3.9% unemployment is extraordinarily good. but it's not nearly as good as even the data shows. let's put aside the pt barnum aspects of what donald trump has been saying. for the last 19 months of the obama administration, you have average job growth that's higher per month than the trump administration, even to a bigger point and i think jason was trying to make this. i'm not sure it's wise for donald trump to taught the economy when so many are concerned about health care and health insurance, about their pensions which are evaporating, about their wages, wages today, the average monthly wage is actually adjusted for inflation below what it was in 1973.

most americans and most workers have been shafted they are still in very bad shape and for donald trump to tell them it's wonderful you've never had it so good is not very convincing. i hope democrats not on tell them the truth, but come up with the kinds of policies that are going to address these underlying problems. >> what's your response to that. the benefits of this growth have been concentrated at the top and leave many folks behind. >> well, with all due respect to the secretary many and i think he's leaving out some of the details we're seeing some of the fastest job growth is with african-americans, with latinos. people have been left behind previously. these folks are starting to see job opportunities that are there. during president trump's time in office so far, we have seen record low unemployment rates

for african-americans, latinos. part of this is due to the deregulation coming out of 2017. we're starting to see some of the growth from the tax cuts. i think we're going to see a lot more of that there's a critical point the secretary mentioned. that's when you talk about policies of the democratic opponents. as we see democrats going into iowa and new hampshire. to go out there and promote tax hikes. these are terrible policies that in no way will help move the economy forward. so democrats have to be careful when they talk about -- when they start talking about policiesp. that's where trump gets into his best place, it's this matchup choice between him and choices. a devastating poll on every front.

the one positive number for trump. his highest marks are on the economy you see there foreign affairs, foreign trade. not looking good for him. is jason right that that is territory that is perilous ground for democrats in 2018 and 2020? >> not at all. the 49% approval on the economy, that's good more than half of americans do not think he's doing a very good job on the economy. even though that's his best card. i think when democrats are realistic with the public about who benefited from the tax cuts. overwhelmingly almost all the benefits of the tax cuts went to corporations and executives and big shareholders, jason knows that, the republicans aren't even campaigning on the tax cut. that's the one legislative achievement they got through

congress. they are not campaigning on it, because they know most americans didn't get anything out of that. look at health care, look at what president trump has done to unravel the affordable care act? i can't believe that any republican with a straight face would say people are better off with regard to health care right now. they aren't. 3 million people are worse off. >> we're going to have to leave it there. thank you for walking us through it. republican leaders panicking that ted cruise could lose his senate seat in texas. could texas really turn blue? florence on track to be one of the biggest hurricanes ever to hit the east coast. my guest, hurricane hunter just flew over the storm i'm going to speak to him live from inside his plane. (vo) this is not a video game.

this is not a screensaver. this is the destruction of a cancer cell by the body's own immune system, thanks to medicine that didn't exist until now. and today can save your life. ♪ ♪ it'll be a hell of a ride. moon. it's a job so difficult, we're gonna have to start from scratch. we need to fail down here so we don't fail up there. this isn't just another trip, neil.

we have serious problems. do you think you're coming back? five... four... three... two... first man. rated pg-13. than rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests, and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr,

and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. don't let another morning go by without talking to your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr.

warning flags are going up in texas where senator ted cruz is fighting to hold on to his seat. o'rourke has tightened the race so much, cruz could lose. john cornyn telling politico

we're not bluffing this is real and it is a serious threat. ed lavandera is out front. >> it's hard to believe a democratic senate candidate in texas can turn out more than 1,000 people to a rockin' lunchtime rally. but o'rourke had the sweaty voters energized. >> we're going to do this. >> he is within striking distance of ted cruz. he has reached peak status. >> people are yearning for something like this. >> it's ultimate, extreme. >> i'm the wonder woman for o'rourke. >> even the faithful is still the longest of longshots, but they hear the distant echos of obama's 2008 hope and change

campaign. just before he went on stage, o'rourke doesn't feel the pressure to save democrats. >> everything's on the line, stakes could not be any higher. and we're meeting the moment. >> o'rourke doesn't show away from pushing the progressive agenda in this red state, he talks of improving education, universal health care, and a recent speech supporting nfl players who neil for the national anthem went viral. catching the attention of celebrities and athletes around the country. >> i can think of nothing more american than to peacefully stand up or take a knee. >> i can think of some things more american. how about -- >> anthem kneeling debate is just what the cruz campaign was looking for. game plan for cruz is simple. o'rourke has an extreme and

reckless socialist liberalism. >> if you want a big government gun grabbing liberal, the democrats have given you one. >> god bless texas. >> there are signs that texas republican party feels the race may be too close for comfort. the o'rourke campaign is embracing the battle the state party has thrown in some social media posts of o'rourke's mugshots from skirmishes from the '90s and light hearted mochrie of o'rourke as a dazed and confused punk rocker. >> we sat down with the senator at a bbq joint in austin. >> he's going hard hard left, higher taxes, higher regulations, aggressive gun control. impeaching the president those are great issues to raise money in hollywood, but that doesn't

reflect what texans are. >> conservative political passion in this state runs deep and it's well organized. if he focuses on turning out the vote, he wins. >> if freedom loving texans, if common sense texans show up at the polls and vote, we'll have a good election and win in november. >> something is happening on this campaign trail. but then again, texas democrats have been here before. that i have seen a few democratic stars burn brightly in the past then election days turn those stars into dust. will the same story repeat itself this year? >> jim, we have more evidence that republicans not only here in texas, but across the country are growing increasingly concerned. recently, donald trump announced he will be coming to texas in october to hold a rally for ted

cruz. no one expected they would need presidential help in this particular texas senate race, jim? thanks very much. hurricane florence an enormous category four storm, heading straight for the east coast as we speak. a hurricane hunter who flew over the storm is going to join us live from inside his plane. and jeanne moos on all this talk about lie detectors. >> i'm going to hook myself up to this lie detector for the rest of the campaign. it's wonderful to be here. well, it's great to be here. hais not always easy. severe plaque psoriasis it's a long-distance run and you have the determination to keep going. humira has a proven track record of being prescribed for over ten years.

it's the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists. more than 250,000 patients have chosen humira to fight their psoriasis. and they're not backing down. for most patients clearer skin is the proof. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems. serious allergic reactions and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. join over 250,000 people who have chosen humira. ask your dermatologist about humira & go. the difference you feel is a night... and day. feel the difference at our labor day sales event, purchase a tempur-pedic luxe, elite, or breeze mattress and enjoy up to $550 off. or get a free adjustable base upgrade.

find your exclusive retailer at tempurpedic.com. ♪ one look at you and i can't disguise ♪ ♪ i've got hungry eyes applebee's new 3-course meal starting at $11.99. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. money managers are pretty much the same. all but while some push high commission investment products, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers.

fisher investments. clearly better money management. a massive category 4 hurricane is heading straight for the east coast. and if hurricane florence stays that strong, it will be the most powerful hurricane to hit the east coast in nearly 30 years. joining me now on the phone from a plane that just flew over the hurricane is paul flatteiflairi.

thal, thanks very much for coming on now. tell us what you saw when you flew over this storm. >> well, this is the third day i've been flying the storm on this aircraft, with this crew, and it has greatly increased in its strength over these last three days. we did expect to find a much stronger storm today, which we did. it was a little bit eroded on the south side, which we didn't expect to see. and we're hoping that maybe it will cause it to weaken a little. it's certainly allowed it to stop rapidly intensifying to 900 to 940 millibars. but people have to know that this thing coming into the u.s. is a major category 4, possibly category 5 storm. this is extremely important and they need to be paying attention. >> we're looking at some video now, our viewers, from a flight yesterday. in that time frame, how much stronger has the storm been

getting each time you take a look at it? >> yeah, we were watching it as the eye wall was forming yesterday. we had an interesting view yesterday along the g-4. and of course, with our p-3 inside the eye of the storm. yeah, we were watching it develop. and you know, you have kind of have that sick feeling in your gut. we went through this with irma in florida last year and of course the last couple of years, everyone up the east coast has been concerned about one storm or another. so it doesn't change, whether it's headed for our house, or in this case, somewhere around north carolina to virginia, south carolina. we all know people up there. and it just kind of hits you in the gut when you see this thing strengthening and knowing that the forecast is calling for it to come in as such a strong storm. so we don't like what we're seeing and i don't think you like much of what you're seeing on the ground, either. >> well, listen, we're showing you a picture from space, snapped by an astronaut from the international space station. you really get a sense of the scale there, the size of the

state of north carolina, which, as it happens, is right in the crosshairs of this storm. we've made comparisons to harvey, but as far as the east coast is concerned, the biggest since 1989. in your view, how dangerous is this storm? >> well, it is very, very dangerous. it is life threatening. one of the things as we come out here, we do everything we can. we want to make sure that we get the best data going to the national hurricane center, the noaa national hurricane center in the models and to the emergency managers and to the media so we can get people out of the way. because it is a life-threatening situation. and every time, there's going to be those people who decide to stay. and we read about their names and their stories, and we want to try to know why they didn't go. i just want to make sure none of your viewers, i'll be reading about them here later in the week. >> that's good advice. heed those warnings. heed those orders. paul flaherty, stay safe up in the here, i know we'll keep talking to you. >> okay. thank you very much. up next, jeanne moos on the

vice president so loyal that he can't wait to take a lie detector test. >> i would agree to take it in a heartbeat. (music throughout) ♪ it is such a good time to dance ♪ ♪ it is such a good time to [ laughing ] ♪ scoobidoo doobidoo ♪ scoobidoo doobidoo [ goose honking ] ♪ [ laughing ] a bad day on the road still beats a good one off it.

♪ progressive helps keep you out there. ♪ it's good to... see you again, baron. a toast, to your demise. wanna get away? now you can with southwest fares

as low as 69 dollars one-way. that's transfarency. (clap, clap, ding)

i'm ready to crush ap english. i'm ready to do what no one on my block has done before. forget that. what no one in the world has done before. all i need access, tools, connections. high-speed connections. is the world ready for me? through internet essentials, comcast has connected more than six-million low-income people to low-cost, high-speed internet at home. i'm trying to do some homework here. so they're ready for anything.

sarah sanders says the white house is not considering using a lie detector test. did anyone tell that to vice president pence? here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: folks in the white house must be quaking at the specter of lie detectors. >> i'm gonna hook myself up to this lie detector. >> reporter: no, not him! the senior staff, as the president tries to find out who wrote that op-ed, even if sarah sanders said -- >> no, uh, lie detectors are being used or talked about. >> reporter: they were talked about to vice president pence when he was asked if he would take one. >> i would agree to take it in a heartbeat. >> reporter: seems like there's a lot of lying to detect. the president tweets, bob woodward is a liar. bob woodward says of the president -- >> because he can't tell the truth. >> reporter: president trump is depicted pressing "start" with his pinocchio nose as he makes staffers take the test.

former u.s. attorney preet bharara tweeted, if anyone in the administration has to take a lie detector test, it should be trump! back during the campaign, an impersonator on cbc played the candidate testing himself. >> i am gonna build a wall at the border. there is going to be a -- [ buzzer ] oh, yes, i am, buzzer, yes i am. you know who is going to pay for it? mexico [ buzzer ] >> reporter: although the lie detector got one big thing wrong. >> we are going to win this thing. [ buzzer ] >> reporter: comedian ricky engineer vgervais did an unscie survey, what would be the funniest test for trump to take. iq beat out lie detector. >> i'll ask you a few questions and you just answer truthfully. do you understand? >> yes. >> reporter: and while the president is looking for rats in the white house, nbc washington unearthed surveillance video they described as showing an actual rat pulling a fire alarm, forcing the evacuation of a d.c.

condo. that rat's smart enough to operate a white house polygraf, takes one to know one to ferret one out. jeanne moos, cnn -- >> you're a loser. >> reporter: -- new york. >> thank you for joining us. i'm jim sciutto. "a.c. 360" with anderson cooper starts right now. good evening. thanks for joining us. we begin tonight with a warning from the governor of south carolina. this is a real hurricane we have coming. hurricane florence is getting stronger, bigger, and closer to the east coast. satellite imagery gives an amazing look at the eye of the storm right there. that was earlier today. a mandatory evacuation order goes into effect at noon tomorrow in eight counties along the south carolina coastline. there's also mandatory evacuation orders in virginia and north carolina. hundreds of thousands of people affected. i want to get the latest from tom sater in the cnn weather center in atlanta. so talk to me, how much stronge