many camped out on the sand overnight to avoid sweltering heat inside their homes. gotham is staring down a baked like a pie 63 years ago today. now we watch in anticipation as fox reports on this friday 26th, 2011. i'm harris faulkner in for shepard smith. continuing coverage of hurricane irene in special format beginning tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. eastern. >> juan: o'reilly factor is on, tonight. >> i believe we have to evacuate this weekend. ♪ rock you like a hurricane. >> juan: hurricane irene has her vicious eye on the entire atlantic seaboard and you don't want to be in its way as the storm begins its assault the factor will give you the most comprehensive coverage anywhere. >> i cannot stress this highly enough. if you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now.

>> juan: president obama cutting his vacation in martha's vineyard short heading back to d.c. and warning the folks about imminent danger. we'll have a list of dos and don'ts as tens of millions of americans prepare for the worst. i balance the budget every year. had you your turn. had you your turn, madam. let me have mine. i'm sorry, it's my turn. >> things are getting a little tense on the campaign trail for governor mitt romney. is he still leading the g.o.p. pac or has it become governor rick perry's to lose. >> the man is finally recognizes the massachusetts health care plan is a huge problem. >> juan: caution, you are about to enter the no spin zone. the factor begins right now. captions by closed captioning services >> juan: hi, i'm juan williams in for bill o'reilly. thanks for watching us.

we have got some hot political stories for you tonight. romney vs. perry. president obama's poll numbers tanking. plus, why are the religious -- why are they banning religious speakers from the 9/11 memorial event next month? first, our top story. comprehensive coverage of hurricane irene, where it's been, where it's headed and everything you need to do to keep you and your family safe. new jersey governor chris christie has h. a stern warning today for some of his residents. >> i saw some of these news feeds that i have been watching upstairs of people sitting on the beach in as bury park. get the hell off the beach in as bury park and get out. you are done. it's 4:30. you have maximized your tan. get off the beach. >> so. what meteorologist bernie rain know who has his eye on the storm in state college, pennsylvania. and fox news senior national correspondent john roberts.

john joins us from the outer banks of north carolina of north carolina. let me begin with you, bernie. and simply say how serious is this because we know fear mongering. bernie, how serious is this? >> it's a category 2 hurricane. going to cause damage and cause damage from the outer banks eastern carolina all the way up toward maine. taking a one in 50 year track that is not moving north and northeast south coming right up the coast. it's impacting a huge area. landfall tomorrow morning. category 2 hurricane maximum sustained winds around 100 miles per hour right near morehead city, then the damage starts to spread northward with the hurricane. >> the damage that you are talking about is it damage from the wind from the water? what is the damage likely to come from? >> >> all three. first of all a tremendous storm surge in the outer banks of north carolina. anywhere from 6 to 11 feet.

that's going to cause major damage off to the east of the eye wall. then the storm as it moves north, northeast ward will be eastern north carolina. norfolk, virginia where they are going to get a storm surge, virginia beach probably around 4 to 8 feet which is going to cause damage. within the eye wall, wind gusts between somewhere 90 to 110 miles per hour. eastern north carolina. that will start to diminish northward. there is going to be lots of trees down. lots of power lines down and then the rain from the eye on to the northwest. that travels right up the i-95 corridor and from eastern north carolina right toward new york city we're looking at 8 to 12 inches that could cause flooding even without the wind. >> this all happens then in the big cities and you get up to boston by the end of the weekend, so this is going to, we say, go right through a population center with tremendous damage, let's go down to john roberts who is on the outer banks. you are standing there right now on the edge of the ocean.

are you seeing people who are refusing to leave? what's the situation? what's the move? >> well, the situation is they probably tens upon tens of thousands of people, juan have heeded their warnings. gotten in the car. vacationers residents headed inland to higher ground. many of the vacationers just went home unless there were two week rentals unless they got a motel inland and they will come back after the storm passes. at the moment where we're in kill devil hills it's not too bad they play the british open in worse weather than this. this is going to get much worse over the coming hours. turn you into the wind here you can see how the ocean is beginning to become angry. talking about that storm surge just a minute ago here on the factor. where i'm standing when the storm surge comes in most likely will be under water. so it would not be a good idea for me to be here. we will head to higher ground. here on the outer banks the geography is interesting. you have ocean exposure on the east side. kill devil hills. kitty hawk. nags head, duck, corolla open

sound where there is an awful lot of water on the back side of the outer banks. this hurricane is going to come up on a south, southeasterly. some of the communities on the back side of these islands. as the storm wraps around we will get it from the front as well. really kind of a pencer effect. category hurricane 2 can do, juan. back in 2003 isabel came through here and cut one of these islands in half. >> juan: it's unbelievable. john, when you hear bernie talking about the power of the winds. i have got to think to myself why is john roberts standing on the beach? >> got to say to yourself buddy, you why are you out here. have you got to put yourself out here so people can understand what's happening and why it's so important to get off the beach as we will when this storm surge comes in. but, you know, juan, as damaging as these winds can be, really with a category 2 storm it's the

water that will be more damaging. they don't expect a local lot of wind damage but particularly when this storm moves past the outer banks and gets on up into the new york, new england area it is so big. pushing so much water as it the heads toward long island. becomes very shallow. it's going to push a lot of water up on the land. so this is potentially going to cause a lot of damage when it makes its second landfall. >> juan: bernie, let me come back to you to conclude this. i'm trying to get a good sense about the wind and the water because we just heard from john roberts about that being the key. you mentioned earlier power disruptions. you anticipate a lot of power lines being down. what should people know about that issue? >> well, with the culmination with the fact that we have the rain -- rain is important because it's saturated ground so it's easier for trees to come down on power lines. up and down carolinas toward new england be prepared for power

outages. transportation is going to be compromised already seeing that in philadelphia, new york city. with a lot of the transportation being shut down. >> juan: they closed the subways. unbelievable, bernie. >> that's right. then, the other thing is is that cell phone coverage, you may not be able to get communication in there. storm surge, two big areas. outer banks of north carolina. eastern long island. >> juan: gentlemen, thank you so much. good luck with this. directly ahead, what are you and your family need to do to make sure you are ready to deal with whatever comes from the massive storm? the director of fema will be right here on the factor. to keep in balance after 50, i switched to a complete multivitamin with more.

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>> juan: continuing now with lead story hurricane irene. as many as 65 million americans will be affected by the storm. and president obama addressed the situation today from his vacation up in martha's vineyard. >> if you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. don't wait, don't delay. we all hope for the best. but we have to be prepared for the worst. all of us have to take the storm seriously. all indications point to this being a historic hurricane. fema and craig fewgate the director of fema will be keeping people closely posted in the next 24, 48 hours. >> juan: he joins us now from

fema headquarters. craig fugate what do we do to get ready? if you are home right now and watching you saying this looks bad. should ing looking at flashlights going to the grocery store. should i get water? batteries? what about my cell phone? can you tell me? what should i be doing? >> start with the basics. first question, do you live in evacuation zone. if you are not sure, find out now. and if you are in that evacuation zone, you need to move you and your family and your pets to a safe location. that's the first step. >> juan: hang on mr. fugate, evacuation zone basically that means you are on the coast, right? >> yeah. if you are on the coast in some of the low lying areas, find out from your local officials if you are in that evacuation zone and if the evacuation order is given, you need evacuate, move to higher ground. that's step one. >> juan: okay. all right. >> step two, there is a lot of things you need to do. we made it simple for you. go to ready.gov. there is a checklist of

supplies. things you mentioned are exactly what you want to do. but you also want to make sure of things like your important papers, medication, things like that. so there is a little checklist. you don't have to buy everything. we talk about water. you don't have to go out and buy water. you can actually storm water. put in ziploc bags. freezer. fill up empty soda bottles. bathtub, fill it up with water in case you lose water pressure. use that water for sanitation. go to ready.gov, take those steps. look for things you already have. some of the simple things make sure you have a manual can opener. the power goes out without electricity you still want to get the canned goods. one other important step good for people to have family communication plan. preferably somebody who doesn't live in the hurricane area where people are going to hit surprisingly offensive times easier to make that one long distance phone call to somebody and let them tell the rest of the friends and family that you are okay. but these are steps you can take now before the storm gets there. but, again, we know we are going

to have damages. we know power is going to go out in areas. we just don't know how bad or we can't say precisely where. but with the warnings from the hurricane center and direction of local officials, it's really time to be getting ready for this storm. >> juan: let me go back to number three point hiewngses, mr. fugate. ways in washington this week when the earthquake hit. everybody ran into the streets. they immediately all got on their cell phones and the cell phone networks couldn't handle it. you may not be able to make that one call. what if you can't do that? what should we do about these cell phones? >> again, i don't think we are going to see the same type of demand where everybody along the east coast was getting on the phone at the same time. that earthquake was felt all the way here in washington up to new york south and west. but you are going to see probably some congestion also outages due to power and storm damage. what we do know is that if you can't get through with dial tone, a lot of times texts or social media can. and that's why it's important that if you have a plan now you have some backup so if you can't

get dial tone or make that call, a lot of times that text message will keep sending and it's a lot easier to get it through in congestion. get that to somebody who can then let other folks know you are okay. you only have to make one contact to let friends and family know you are okay. >> juan: one of the interesting items here is unlike katrina, which was in the gulf coast. this is coming up the east coast and what you are getting is kind of the megapolis. this is a huge population centered. lots of big buildings, washington, d.c., baltimore, philadelphia, new jersey, all the way up into new york, boston, what does this mean for big buildings to have this kind of wind power coming through? is it a danger to be on upper floors? is it better to be on lower floors? >> well, generally what you want to be and this will depend really how strong the winds are. you don't want to be near exterior windows and that kind of exposure. move to the core of the building. again, we usually tell people to get out of the flood zone but in the top part of the building if

you can go down there are areas more centrally located. the big thing is whether i'm in a single family home, apartment building or high rise is know the safe locations to get if it gets windy. move away from the exterior. get to interior places that are hard like stairwells or other areas you can stay. you know, again during the height of the storm you want to stay in those safe locations until after the storm. >> juan: one last quick question, we just saw images of people in alexandria, virginia getting sandbags. in washington, d.c. he they are handing out sandbags. is it really going to help anybody? >> well, it can, particularly folks that have been through this and know where they do have flooding. oftentimes a few layers of sandbags may keep water from getting in your home. but in those evacuation zones you need to evacuate. we may have damages but you don't want to put yourself and your family at risk. for other folks may make sense but evacuate if you are in that evacuation zone. >> juan: thanks very much for coming on the factor. directly ahead, geraldo rivera

has covered dozens of hurricanes throughout his legendary career. we will show you some of the most dramatic moments. later, mitt romney is feeling the texas heat from rick perry. according to the latest polls, could romney's campaign already be on the ropes? we will debate it upcoming.

jasonon in the personal story segment tonight, geraldo rivera has covered dozens of hurricanes during his career. here are some of the most memorable moments. >> stand up here if you can. i got you. here it is. you are looking at the west side, the west bank of the industrial canal. you can see what gustav is

doing. >> we're keeping her about 120 here wind wise. we have come off the sea wall. that's too crazy. come up a little toward the vehicle. 135. we got a pretty good gust there. >> look at this. i want to show you something, martha. [lost audio] >> whoa! >> are you okay? he take as licking but keeps on ticking. >> here now the aforementioned, the wet one, geraldo rivera. >> where is the towel. [ laughter ] >> juan: geraldo, you spent the whole day preparing your house for a storm. >> today. you know, the interesting thing about -- hurricanes are kind of exciting. all the middle age and old timers love to go out there

because it's like war with all the high drama, the peril, the adventure no one is shooting at you. it's predictable you know where the storm is going to hit and can you get over there it's very different when your family is the target of the storm. when we lie in the path as we do here in new york right now. you are torn. i'm torn now. should i go to atlantic city where i can be in place saturday night for the storm hitting or should i be here? you know, i have got four of my five children are here. i worry about, you know, my dock. i have moved the old sailboat up 7 a miles up the hudson river. i'm worried about the storm surge. i'm worried about a catastrophe here. lower manhattan being flooded. subways being flooded. they have already closed. announced they are closing the subways and bus system here. it's a big deal to a reporter and dad. >> juan: hold on to dad for a second. from what you told me you are worried about the surge. the surge coming over and the house hitting your office,

right? you told me that some of your valuables, you are removing the valuables from the house. >> the wind is one issue. but by far the most damage in these storms and i have gotten wet long enough to know isn't the rain, it isn't the wind. it's the ocean. it's the, you know, for instance, just picture, here is the ocean, the ocean is 10 miles wide then it goes to the bridge, the head of new york harbor and suddenly it's squeezed to one mile wide. that squeezes, in fills up the lower -- the upper harbor and then it washes over manhattan. that water, the high tide, which it now appears likely, that will wash right over my dock. that will wash through my office at river level. i have things like a big glass desk. in the desk i have all the medals that you get, the commemorative coins you get from the various military units that i have been with all over in iraq, afghanistan, every other hell hole on earth.

if i ever lost those, it would be like my history. it would be something that would be so soulfully painful. >> juan: you have been through fire and storm but you fear this one. >> you know it is that dichotomy. if i had to worry about my family in libya or somalia or any of these places, i could not be a good reporter. now i'm really torn. i'm going to bring them to a hotel here here near fox because i want to put them on low floor. we have apartment and it's 36 stories up. cat one on the ground level it will be cat 2 or 3 by the time you get up to 36 stories. i'm worried about that aspect of it. i want to make sure that i'm hustling, you know, you are a dad. it's like hustling cats. where is this one? where is that one? this one is going to nyu dorm tonight. >> juan: let me ask you something. we see these pictures on you on the ground. the wind is whipping. you have to do a job for fox: you have to he will tus what's going on. that's why you are out there.

in the storm is it wise to go outside or should you stay inside? >> if your job -- i have always thought of myself particularly because i have been on the air so long as kind of a surrogate for the audience at home. they know me well enough to know when i'm happy, sad, when i feel that i'm in danger or, you know, when things are cool. and that's why you go into the storm. number one, you are a reflection of the audience that's been with you for so long and they are seeing how you're reacting. they are seeing how the conditions are affecting you. and if you stay indoors to do that report, hurricane katrina, the classic example. if i wasn't there to see the suffering of those people with my own eyes, i wouldn't be able to communicate that, the depth of that disaster to the audience at home. i really feel that that's my job to go beyond the wall so to speak. to go outside of the safe zone, to go into the eye of the storm. >> juan: how do you know if you are sitting at home when it's

time to get out, when it's time to flee as opposed to when it's time to simply, you know, put your head under the bed? >> my role is, you are the last man out. that's always the way. you want -- in combat you want to try to be the first one at the point. and in a disaster you want to be the last one out. that's just the way we operate. and how do you stay safe? well, a lot of it is luck, but a lot of it is also experience. some things just can't be taught in a journalism school. some things you just have to experience. and, by now, i have been through so many of these, up to the, you know, cat 4 or even cat 5, that you get a sense. it's almost like when i'm at sea. you get a sense of how to comport yourself. what you can do, what is safe. what is beyond the pale. >> you moved your boats up river? >> i had to. because if that surge comes, it doesn't matter -- say, i have got my boat on the lift. the surge comes so the boat is that high. it will take that boat right off

the lift and crash it, it's happened before. i have had boats that have been taken up and then impaled on the piling. >> juan: geraldo. >> dad has got -- >> juan: here is geraldo. is he talking to you. is he warning you. no hype. just the straight facts here on the factor plenty more ahead as the factor moves along this evening. some religious leaders upset with new york city mayor michael bloomberg who will not let people of faith speak at the 9/11 memorial event next month. and is governor mitt romney still the man to beat in the g.o.p. primary or is texas governor rick perry the new sheriff in town? please stay tuned for those reports. ♪ our fireworks. ♪ and our slip and slide. you have your idea of summer fun,

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or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. >> juan: in the factor follow up segment tonight, according to a gallup poll earlier this week. texas governor rick perry is now up 11 points. let me repeat that, 11 points over mitt romney. and things are getting a little heated on the campaign trail for

mr. romney. >> how do you think the government cannot provide funds for the people, its citizens? >> okay. let me answer the question. of course government provides funds for its people, the citizens. of course we take care of america when there are national disasters. of course we honor our promises to seniors. of course it costs money. but not more than you take in. 50 states in america, 50 states in america balance their budget every year. [ applause ] >> 50 states in america balance their budget every year. i balanced a budget every year. had you your turn. you had your turn, madam. let me have mine. let me have mine. listen, i will give you the microphone in a moment but let me complete. i'm sorry. it's my turn. had you yours now it's my turn. would you please hold on a moment and let me finish? >> juan: joining us now from charlie'sville, virginia. dr. sabato the director for senator of politics at the university of virginia. with us here in new york, democratic pollster and fox news analyst doug schoen.

gentlemen, let me just begin with a simple question. is mitt romney on the ropes, dr. sabato? >> juan, he is on the ropes. in fact, is he no longer the frontrunner. he has always been a weak frontrunner. i have never seen him over 30. doug keeps up with the polls than i do. i have never seen him over 30% in a national poll. he has generally been in the upper teens or low 20's. i think perry, at least for the time being, is now the new frontrunner. >> juan: doug? >> i think larry is right. i looked at a bunch of state polls today south carolina, iowa, florida. perry is surging. romney is sinking. and bottom line, when a frontrunner is as weak as larry says that romney was and is, then is he no longer the frontrunner. >> juan: well, this is intriguing moment. one, do you think it's going to last for perry because i think the american people in general don't know rick perry at this point. they are coming to know him. is it a temporary femoral moment in the polls or do you think

it's really the case that rick perry now is the frontrunner in the republican race for the nomination? doug? >> well, here's the thing. i think that rick perry fills a void but hasn't answered the question. the void is there are a lot of republicans who are unhappy with the seven or so candidates who are running before he got in the race. he doesn't answer the question whether he is a credible challenger to president obama. time will tell. but, bottom line for the time being he provides alternative for the republicans who are dissatisfied. >> larry, you know, this is interesting. because i saw a poll today for the first time indicated that most republicans are suddenly satisfied with the field. and i got to believe that's because rick perry has gotten into the field. otherwise, previously they were awful saying they will wanted someone else to jump in. and if they are satisfied with the field, what does that mean for sarah palin? >> well, first of all, we will see whether that lasts. i think doug is right. people don't know who perry is.

they are looking at an image and they are saying oh, thank goodness, somebody else is in there because i looked at the other candidates and it seemed like we were fielding the jv team instead of the varsity team. but, look, rick perry has to reestablish the connection between the brain and the tongue. if you make enough gaffes, it's going to catch up with you. as far as palin is concerned. she can jump in. i think that segment of the electorate that might be oriented toward her is pretty divided up at this point. >> juan: larry, what does romney have to do to get off the ropes? can he start throwing punches at perry? what should he do? if you are advising him, tell me right now. >> well, i'm not much of an advisor, but you know, i'm a great believer in luck. you either have good luck or bad luck in politics. and the truth is, i don't think there is a lot romney can do. i think he has to hope that perry continues to make mistakes, that gaffes and

sandals overwhelm perry at some point and that he is the remainder candidate because that's the only way mitt romney is going to get that nomination as the remainder candidate. >> juan: let me ask you something, juan. if rick perry is the republican nominee. can i imagine the obama people painting him as extreme. is it good news for president obama that all of a sudden rick perry is the leading candidate for the republican nomination? >> i think this is playing out about as well as the white house could want. because, you still have a divided field. rick perry's frontrunner but he is by no means lokdz the race up. he will be attacked by the republicans. the white house through independent groups indirectly will attack him. if it's a bloodied up rick perry who is extreme and gaffe prone against a president who is really got serious problems, on the economy and on leadership, then the white house has a fighting chance to win this election. >> juan: wow. you know, president obama has come back a day early from his

vacation, gentlemen. his numbers are not looking good. his numbers are now pretty low. he is now at about 40% approval rating. lower than clinton. lower than george w. bush, george h.w. bush. i'm wondering at this point if you think that his numbers, you know, is there anything he can do? libya hasn't helped him. bin laden hasn't helped him. sabato, what's going to help the president? >> there is only one thing that could possibly help and that is against all expectations the economy gets a lot better a lot faster than the experts in that field think it can. that's the best thing that could happen to him along with the republicans dividing and nominating a weak candidate. again, oddly enough, president obama could end up being the remainder candidate. but, look, with his numbers, he ought to be grateful for just one thing. that the election is in november 2012 and not november 2011. >> doug, you hear larry say you know what? jobs, the economy gets better.

he has a big speech scheduled right after labor day. that speech has everything riding on it. back from the hurricane. not going to be katrina, i don't think, from a government point of view. >> juan, here is what is going to happen. you will get a speech where he recycles some of the proposals he has already made about payroll taxes and extending unemployment benefits. a few new ideas that will be centrist. he will say the republicans are opposing me because of politics. i think you are going to get bernanke probably doing qe 3 and then a ferocious attack on the republicans that will be on relenting. >> juan: we have as bill o'reilly likes to say the most negative campaign you have ever seen both sides throwing dirt on the other guy. >> i think you can get on it. >> juan: thank you, gentlemen. please check out bill's latest column about president obama on bill o'reilly.com. you're going to like that one. don't forget to sign up for a premium membership where you get

exclusive content only to bill o'reilly.com premium members. when we come right back, this illegal immigrant had a criminal record. last weekend he allegedly killed a 23-year-old college graduate in massachusetts. but democratic governor deval refuses to get rid of these kind of criminals. we'll tell you why upcoming. host: do people use smartphones to do dumb things? man 1: send, that is the weekend. app grapgic: yeah dawg! man 2: allow me to crack...the bubbly! man 1: don't mind if i doozy. man 3: is a gentleman with a brostache invited over to this party? man 1: only if he's ready to rock! ♪ sfx: guitar and trumpet jam vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

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it's sadness now and the anger of, you know, how this -- how many different ways this could have evolved and been prevented. >> matthew was the light of my life. he brought so much happiness to all his friends. >> juan: the democratic governor of that state devol patrick is sympathetic to the plight of illegal immigrants. he refuses to communicate with the federal program which would make it easier to get rid of illegal criminals. sheriff, what's your problem with the governor? the governor hasn't been willing to join the secure communities act. i'm ready to do it and go. >> juan: he has the ability to do it and so does worcester county. >> that's what we announced today hands of a tragedy hands of criminal alien. i'm taking it upon myself with

people from immigration and ice that we can move forward with secure communities in worcester county. and that's precisely what did i today. >> juan: what i'm saying is why didn't do you it before? have you been critical of the governor for not having the entire state sign up but why didn't worcester county set the example for the state? >> you know, juan, we're in the process of doing that what happened when we had this terrible tragedy in will ford over the weekend. that defendant killed this gentleman and moved from massachusetts, came moo my possession at the jail in worcester county. at that point i decided i had enough. i was going to do everything in my power to join secure communities. so a tragedy like this would never happen again. sheriff, this is an interesting story. the reason bill o'reilly has been dead set on this story is that this man could have been off the street ideally. of course, the program wasn't in place when the first crime that he committed happened way back in the fall of the crime i guess in the spring february of '08 or

so. the secure communities program wasn't in place until the fall of '08. the governor nonetheless says it's bad policy. now, here is his argument, sir. his argument is that people with similar names can get caught up in this system. that suddenly you have a dragnet and just dragging a bunch of people. in it's going to preoccupy law enforcement. do you agree? do you buy these arguments? >> not at all, juan. as a matter of fact, i just think that's just more double speak from a governor who doesn't want to protect the people of massachusetts as i do and many people in law enforcement do. so i don't buy that for a minute. i think this is a great program. this program will allow us to communicate directly with homeland security and immigration to find out the immigration status of any individual that comes into the criminal justice system. and i can't imagine a reason that we would not want that information immediately. >> juan: now, is it the case again, these arguments coming from the governor devol patrick, is it the case that you feel that immigrants in your

community might then turn against you and say you know what? we don't want to participate. we don't want to cooperate with you, sheriff, because we feel like you are just going after us. and, therefore, it would actually hurt, hurt law enforcement in worcester county? >> no. juan. i have heard these arguments before. but i don't believe them. i believe first of all there is a loft people in the immigrant community. we're not going to be bringing them into the secure community program. they want to cooperate with law enforcement officials. they have every right to do it. it's not going to set a chilling effect. as a matter of fact, it will make all the law-abiding citizen safer. they will want to cooperate with us as well. >> juan: tell me a little bit about the family and this whole situation. now, you heard the mother saying, you know, that young man was a light of her life. do you, when you are speaking to her, do you say i'm going to do this for matthew dennis? i'm going to go out there and i'm going to put this program in place and it won't happen again? you can promise her that? >> no, of course not, juan. but what i can do is promise the people of worcester county that

i represent in central massachusetts. you know, i took an oath, juan. that was to protect the people and make sure public safety was number one. and i fell under -- felt under the circumstances i have to talk to the family of this terrible tragedy to the victim's family and tell them i'm going to do everything in my power so this won't happen again. we can assure people it will never happen again. we want to make sure in law enforcement we're using every tool available to us and that's what i started today. i'm going to utilize every tool available. one of the best tools available is secure communities. >> appreciate your comment that you are standing tall. >> new york city mayor michael bloomberg refusing to allow people of faith to speak at the upcoming 10 year anniversary of 9/11. what is going on? we will talk with two religious experts about that and also, hurricane irene, are you ready? because she is coming with a vengeance. the latest coming right up.

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>> in the impact segment tonight, on september 11th, americans will memorialize the radical terrorist attacks 10 years ago. here in new york city religious speakers are not welcome. according to mayor michael bloomberg who supported the building of the ground zero mosque, there just isn't room. >> everybody would like to participate. >> everybody can't participate. there isn't room. there isn't time. and in some cases it's just not appropriate. >> juan: joining us now to react from philadelphia dr. butler a religious studies professor at the university of pennsylvania and here in new york, father edward beck, host of the sunday mass on the abc family channel. now, this is the no spin zone so let me just say i don't believe a word that mayor bloomberg just said we don't have space for people to show up. come on, be for real.

all right. so, dr. butler, why do you think that this mayor is saying no to religious leaders ceremony why not have people there who express god's presence in a moment of grief, a memorial why. >> in juan, i think is he doing it because he thinks he doesn't want to set a precedent that is they have never had someone do that before. now, something said that, i think a tenth anniversary is the absolute appropriate time to have people of different faiths, traditions there to help memorialize those who have gone on. it just seems to me a little callus to say that there can't be any clergy because there isn't any time. there is time for something else. something inner faith. comfort people who had loved ones that they lost in the towers on 9/11. >> juan: i agree. father beck, what's your take on this? what's the real reason behind the mayor's action.

>> there was certainly room and time in the months following 9/11 for clergy persons to be at triage centers, relief centers helping and ministering to those that were lost and family members looking for them. that's the first thing. the first recorded victim of this tragedy was a catholic priest father michael -- let's not forget that too. a mayor who champions the mosque being built next to ground zero saying it's all about religious expression. people should be able to express themselves religiously and freely. yet, is he not permitting it here. it seems to me a contradiction. how can you say yes to one and not to the other other. >> juan: sounds like the two of you are on the same wavelength. maybe the mayor is saying you religious leaders whenever you get involved you have a divisive influence on the whole process rather than allowing people to focus on what happened, religion comes in and everybody says you, you know what? why should the muslim community be here? they were involved. radical muslims were involved in

this attack. maybe he doesn't want people who were involved in building the mosque be invited or been told no, we would rather have different representatives from your religious faith at this ceremony. >> you cannot deny that religion is an undertone and overtone of 9/11. this is religious fanatics who perpetrated this heinous act. and they wanted to silence all other religious and cultural voices. that was their intent. aren't they, in fact, winning if you are now silencing religious and cultural voices at a commemoration? >> juan: what about being divisive? that's the mayor's point. >> why can't it be unionive? >> juan: saying keep religion out of it. >> do you remember yankee stadium two weeks later? prayer for america? all those religious people gathered. >> juan: including muslims. >> of course including muslims. >> juan: dr. butler, what do you say. >> i agree with father here. i have to say that he is making more out of this than it should be. i mean, you know, for shame,

mayor bloomberg, really. it's the one moment where you could show that religion can do something positive and in the weeks after 9/11 when you had the thing at yankee stadium. had you all these memorials set up to people missing in the towers. i just don't understand why he wants to make this more political than it has to be. it has now become a political thing that he has not invited any clergy members. >> wait a second. dr. butler. it's become popular because of the arguments not only ground zero but people say i don't want a mosque built out in tennessee. you know, people are worried. that's what i'm saying. maybe he is saying there is too much religion. >> yeah. absolutely are worried. but this is a moment where he could change that tune. he could change the tenor of of that conversation. and he is not taking the opportunity to do so. >> juan: dr. butler, father beck, thank you both for coming. in ahead, hurricane irene is about to start to slam the east coast. details on her path of fury next.

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>> juan: let's go right to chief meteorologist rick reichmuth for an update on the storm. >> such a concerning storm affecting so many across the eastern seaboard. typically these storms may affect a couple states. this one tracking along at

least from the carolinas through new england and hitting everybody along the way this is a satellite image. through the radar on top of that we are getting heavy bands moving across parts of north carolina. totals are going to be extreme, 6 to 8 inches going to cause a lot of flooding. one of the models that we use, very reliable that we used to forecast this. it has been consistent the last couple of days. you like to see models consistent gives you a higher confidence in the for cast. that's what we feel with this. by tomorrow morning, landfall around morehead city, north carolina. you never like to be on the eastern side of a hurricane all outer banks will be on the eastern side causing a lot of damage. heavy wave , a lot of beach erosion overtopping of some. dunes and a lot of structural damage. it hugs the coast of new jersey. a second landfall sometime sunday morning around the new york city area, western

long island. could be seeing landfall in brooklyn, maybe the rock aways. anywhere to the east of that, heavy storm surge will cause a lot of damage and water in narragansett bay and buzzard's bay. midnight sunday into monday we are done with this. so much rainfall, so many people getting 4 to 8 inches. a lot of areas maybe 10 to 12 inches. >> juan: rick, how long will the ran last? it looks from the map as if there is a wide ban of rain. i don't know how many miles wide and how us is stanned the rainfall will be. you said from north carolina up to new jersey. if i'm in between, in norfolk, washington, d.c., philadelphia what is the impact. >> and d.c. getting rain. the rain will last for any one spot probably 10 hours. it is a big storm. we are talking a storm that is around 6, 700 miles wide. it is going to take a long