pence reward no longer exists. bummer. >> interesting. if you were to put a message in a bottle, what would it be? >> get me out. we'll get out now. "happening now" begins right now. have a great day. >> have a great day. bye. jon: we'll leave a bottle in their studio. right now brand new stories and breaking news for you. jenna: governor mitt romney now officially the republican nominee for president giving the most crucial speech for his campaign yet. how did he do? we'll would like to hear from you as well as some of our guests. isaac downgraded and leaving a lot of damage in its path, unexpected damage in some parts of country. >> testimony wrapping up in the trial of a former police officer accused of killing his third wife. you know this guy. what is next for drew peterson? it is all "happening now." jenna: governor mitt romney is now officially the

republican nominee for president. one of the big headlines today. we're glad you're with us everybody, on this friday before the labor day holiday. i'm jenna lee. jon: having a great week ahead. i'm jon scott. governor romney giving the most important speech his campaign for the white house. speaking to americans on the final night of the convention and taking aim at president obama's failed policies as he put it and vowing to restore the country. >> today, four years from the excitement of that last election, for the first time the majority of americans now doubt that our children will have a better future. it is not what we were promised. jon: governor romney also getting a lot of support last night including former house speaker and former competitor newt gingrich and florida senator marco rubio. here is a quick recap. >> tonight we've heard for a long time now about mitt romney's success in business. it's well-known. but we've also learned that he is so much more than that. mitt romney is a devoted

husband, a father, a grandfather, a generous member of his community and church, a role model for younger americans like myself, everywhere he's been he volunteered his time and talent to make things better for those around him and we are blessed that a man like this will soon be the president of these united states. [cheers and applause] >> now each of us must commit ourselves in the tradition of ronald reagan to come together. president reagan said there is no substitute for victory and this november we can not settle for anything less. this is the most critical election of our lifetime. each of us must do our part now to insure that america remains in the tradition of president reagan, a land of freedom, hope, and opportunity. jon: so let's talk about it with bill kristol.

he is the editor of "the weekly standard." and, bill, i read remarks from you which you indicate you were not all of that fond of this speech. you didn't think it was the barn-burner maybe it could have been? >> look, it's hard to judge. i long ago stopped trying to predict how the american people will react to speeches. they react in unpredictable ways or ways that are unpredictable to me. i would say this. this presidential race was a tie basically. think of it as a baseball game. i'm look forward to getting back to the d.c. and seeing nationals again. 2-2 at top of the sixth inning. the republican had a chance to take a serious lead with a big inning. i think they have a lead of 4-2. but democrats come up. my conservative republican friends, this isn't a case where you make your case and this isn't a situation where you make your case and other time is quite. they come to the plate. they have bill clinton and they have barack obama. they will make arguments and

see how many runners they can score. jon: you said there was something that was left out prominently of his speech last night and you think that that may be an opening for the president? >> yeah. i mean there were big picture debates about the speech. there a little less biographical, a little more of policy agenda. reasonable people can deliver on this. the follow was oversight and error by the romney campaign and frankly governor romney. not a word about afghanistan. we're fighting a war. 6 to 8,000 troops there. 240 casualties this year in 2012. and a word isn't mentioned, afghanistan? the word war isn't mentioned? no tribute beauty to the troops and young men and women fighting there? maybe they got lost in the shuffle. maybe they were trying to cram so much in into the speech. the republicans traditionally party of national security and appreciates the country safe and appreciating the

sacrifices of our military, where was that in governor romney's speech? jon: republicans gently said don't support broad based support from hispanics. the governor made a broad appeal. i will get your reaction. >> i believe in the promise of america, with hard work anything is possible regardless where we come from. >> that inspiring story has repeated itself time and time again in the lives of millions of hispani hispanic-americans -- >> who have enhanced and strengthened the promise of america. >> our convention is taking place in a city that exemplifies how hispanics have contributed to the building of our richly diverse national fabric. jon: that was part of the video presentation. the governor addressed it and talked about the freedom to succeed in this country. here is that. >> we're a nation of immigrants, we're the children and grand children and great grandchildren of ones who wanted a better

life. the driven ones. the ones who woke up that night and hearing that voice that told them a life in the place called america could be better. they came just not in pursuit of riches of this world but for the richness of this life. freedom, freedom of religion. freedom to speak their mind. [applause] freedom to build a life. and yes, freedom to build a business with their own hands. [cheers and applause] jon: seems like one of those lines makes us all happy to be proud to be americans. >> i thought that was well-said. i thought marco rubio and susana martinez were excellent spokesmen and spokes women and they happen to be hispanic and happen to be elected officials from important states. that is the impressive -- you're republican looking at the convention you have to be cheerful about the future of the party. a impressive young men and women from diverse backgrounds who are governors, congressman, senators who spoke about a

reform conservative agenda. mitt romney talked about turn around guy and grown-up shepherd these forces ahead hopefully. i think that is a reasonable way to present the party. i'll put it this way, as a supporting cast at this convention was excellent. ryan, christie, martinez, condi rice, marco rubio. i personally thought, i could be wrong, lead actor mitt romney did adequately, but not great. you know what? a lot of great movies have pretty good leading men and excellent supporting cast. maybe that is the republican state this year. jon: looking to the democratic convention what do you expect they will counterpunch with? what will their line of attack be? to use that analogy i think their supporting cast is incredibly much weaker. who are the impressive young democratic, governors, congressman, senators? who will they trot out? harry reid and nancy pelosi. they have two big weapons. bill clinton who is a figure from the past but nonetheless a formidable figure. i think republicans are

chortling, the fact they have to trot out clinton is weakness. not kid yourselves. he will give a good speech. he will try to make obama seem less radical. try to associate obama's policies with his own. republicans need to be ready to discredit bill clinton ton's effort to mainstream barack obama, to make him seem more moderate at the convention. there is president obama who is capable of giving a good speech. i think clinton moment will be important on wednesday night actually though. jon: bill kristol, the publisher of "the weekly standard." bill, thank you. >> thank you. jenna: it has been all about tampa. tampa, tampa, tampa all this week. but next week weigh shift to charlotte where democrats gear up for their national convention. the president will be nominated for second term and offer rebuttal for the rnc wrapping up. they hope the president will get a boost from the key battleground states which has 15 electoral votes. we have wendell goler live in charlotte with the latest. hi, wendell. >> reporter: hi, jenna.

president obama was the first democrat to carry north carolina since jimmy carter. repeating will be tough. president's re-election hopes don't count on it. to get voters to vote for the president they will have to convince them to go, to bring a man back to office in the face of an economic recovery, that wasn't nearly as strong as the president wanted. not nearly as strong as his aides promised. they have to convince them there so no substance to back up mitt romney's promise to create 12 million jobs over the next four years. they have already started on the latter, saying that romney gave a speech devoid of specifics, that capped the fact-free convention. here is a bit of an obama for america ad released earlier this morning. >> not a word about his plan to give trillions in new tax cuts to big corporations and the wealthy. a plan that could cost a typical middle class family $2,000 a year. romney didn't mention his plan to end medicare as we know it, replacing

guaranteed benefits with a voucher system. >> reporter: according to democrats romney leaves the convention no stronger than when he came though that may be wishful thinking that led to democrats to schedule their convention here in north carolina. the 6,000 convention delegates are headed to a state with a 9.6% jobless rate and a city where the unemployment rate is even higher. hardly the picture of a recovery that democrats wanted to show. and the president's endorsement of same sex marriage is not going over well n a state where voters easily passed the constitutional amendment banning it the earlier this year. the president himself headed to fort bliss, texas, today for an appearance with servicemen and women that have political overtones itself. it will mark the second anniversary of the end of combat operations in iraq with a call for the country to make good on its commitment for servicemen and women and their families. jenna. jenna: interesting note by bill kristol that mitt romney did not mention the troops in his speech. we'll take note where the

president is today. wendell thank you. jon: new information on the damage from what is now tropical depression isaac. life started to return to normal in too new orleans which avoided a direct hit from the storm. areas near the big easy across the mississippi border are battling major flooding and widespread power outages still. steve harrigan is live on the ground in mccomb, mississippi, for us. steve. >> reporter: frantic efforts underway in this state park where emergency management workers and as well as army corps of engineers they're trying to stop this levee from bursting. it is holding back a 700 acre lake. you have three large tractors pumping out water as fast as possible. if chris can pan over here to the other side. you see opposite work in action. those are backhoes digging slits in the top much this levee. they're trying to reduce pressure on the levee from the water built you will with hurricane isaac the past several days. if this dam were to collapse

it could release a flood of water, as much as 17 feet of water down the river in louisiana. as a precautionary measure governor jindal ordered evacuation for all residents in louisiana for one mile around the river. 60 thousand people on the move to try to get out of the way if this levee does burst. right now army corps of engineers and emergency workers will be here round-the-clock for the next several days to try to prevent that from happening, jon. jon: why do think it was going to burst, steve? were there some cracks some indications do you know? >> reporter: after officials investigated the dam after heavy rains and rising water they noticed two bulges in the dam. one official going so far it is a 50% chance it could rupture. that set off alarm bells nor in louisiana than mississippi. concerns here and frenetic effort to make sure it doesn't happen. jon: let's hope it doesn't. steve harrigan in mccomb,

mississippi. jenna: that would be one of our first live shots of steve where he wasn't into the water. jon: up to his neck. jenna: great work by steve and his crew to show us what is going on in mississippi. something else happening in illinois. it is series of bizarre twists and turns but now drew peterson's murder trial is come tock a close. what is coming up next for the man on the middle of your screen there? we'll tell you. also violence intensifying in northern syria where rebels reportedly launched another major attack. a live report after the break. [ music playing, indistinct conversations ] the charcoal went out already? [ sighs ] forget it. [ male announcer ] there's more barbeque time in every bag of kingsford charcoal. kingsford. slow down and grill.

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jon: right now new developments in some other stories we're keeping an eye on. a florida teenager has been found guilty of posing as a physician's assistant and treating e.r. patients more than a week. 18-year-old matthew scheidt face as prison term after his conviction or possibility thereof. a former university of virginia lacrosse player was sentenced to 23 years for killing his ex-girlfriend. final testimony wrapping up in the drew peterson murder trial. the judge sending jurors home for the labor day weekend with closing arguments set to begin next week. the former suburban chicago cop is accused of killing his third wife in 2004 and is a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife. jenna: new information just

in from syria. activists say rebels launched a major operation in the northern city of aleppo. that is the biggest city in the country. aiming to strike at security compound and bases in that region. this as fighting continues to rage across that country. we are now 17, 18 months into the civil war that some are describing as a civil war that shows no signs of letting up. leland vittert is in jerusalem with more. leland? >> reporter: it has been a long time, jenna. this latest offensive by the rebels shows the government has been unable to crush them especially in the town of aleppo where they said they were beginning a final battle in the city to retake it from the rebels. that simply has not happened. on the other hand the rebels have been saying for a long time they would control the city. they haven't been able to do so either. new video coming out shot by amateur photographers inside aleppo shows rebels wit very light weapons, machine guns,

rpg's. president assad has his air force and heavy artillery. we've been learning last few days he has been using heavy art timberry targeting civilians showing up in bread lines in the fighting street-to-street. civilians are very unusually in the line of fire. activists are reporting a weekly death toll this week of some 1600 people and tins of thousands of civilians are now fleeing into neighboring turkey and jordan. turkey has asked the u.n. to set up safe zones for civilians can be safe from this kind of fighting but that seems highly unlikely because for the u.n. to do that would require both russia and china to switch their votes. they had been backing assad at the u.n., jenna. that would mean all of a sudden russia switches to the side of the u.s. which has been against president assad. russia and china says they will not do that no matter how many of his own civilians president assad kills. jenna, back to you. jenna: the pass is

precedent. russia and china really haven't fallen in step with some things we requested when it comes to syria and other countries, that is for sure. leland, thank you very much, a story we'll continue to follow here on "happening now". jon: isaac may be moving on but the problems are far from over in louisiana and mississippi. hundreds of thousands still have no power and crews are racing to try to ease deadly flooding. we have a live report ahead. plus in an arena full of romney supporters these two speakers stand out. more on this family's very personal story getting to know mitt romney more than three decades ago during one of the hardest times in their lives. >> the true measure of a man is revealed in his actions during times of trouble. want to try to crack it? yeah, that's the way to do it! now we need a little bit more... a little bit more vanilla? this is great! [ male announcer ] at humana, we believe there's never been a better time to share your passions

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jenna: the conventions each evening are several hours long and easy to miss certain parts of it. and some of the people who knew governor mitt romney best got a chance to talk a little bit at the convention last night about his life outside of politics. that includes ted and pat oparowsky, who got to know romney during a difficult time in their lives three decades ago. doctors diagnosed their son david with cancer.

they talked about the friendship he developed with mitt romney while in the hospital and the future presidential nominee brighten the boy's final days. here is a piece of this. >> back in the 1970s mitt visited our home numerous times with his oldest sontag, tagging along. he was in the vanguard of our support system when we received the news that no parent is prepared to confront. you can not measure a man's character based on the words he utters before adoring crowds, during times that are happy. the true measure of a man is revealed in his actions during times of trouble. the quiet hospital room of a

dying boy with no cameras and no reporters. this is the time to make that assessment. in 1979 tragedy struck our family when our youngest son david was diagnosed with honl kins disease. it was a cancer. >> over a period of seven months he was in and out of children's hospital in boston for treatment. throughout that agonizing period mitt took time from his busy schedule to visit david. they developed a loving friendship. on one of his visits mitt discovered that david was very fond of fireworks. he went out and bought a box full of big-time fireworks.

that had to sit on the closet self because they couldn't be set off in the city. on another visit, david, knowing mitt had gone to law school at harvard, asked mitt if he would help him write a will? he had some prized possessions he wanted to make sure were given to his closest friends and family. the next time mitt went to the hospital, he was equipped with his yellow legal pad and pen. together they made david's will. that is a task that no child should ever have to do. but it gave david peace of mind. so after david's death we were able to give his skateboard, his model rockets and his fishing gear to his best friends. he also made it clear that his brother peter should get his ruger .22 rifle. how many men do you know would take the time out of their busy lives to visit a

terminally ill 14-year-old, and help him settle his affairs? jenna: well the two grew so close governor romney delivered the eulogy at david's funeral. one of the reasons why we're showing this, jon, so much happens at the convention before 10:00, before all the networks tune in, right? if you're watching cable news you can often see some of these speeches. they're all streaming live on foxnews.com, so you can see the whole program next week as well, if you would like to. but people have criticized governor romney for not knowing enough about his personal life. what is the nature of his relationships with other people. in the twitters verse out there and viewers reacting online chat, most of you said this was one of the most incredible speeches you saw of the entire convention. that's why we wanted to show you a snippet of it today. jon: that was a remarkable story. crews in the gulf are racing to control massive flooding left by hurricane

isaac. engineers are hoping to prevent the collapse of a dam weakened during the storm. steve harrigan told us about it earlier. they're releasing water, possibly flooding homes downstream hoping to prevent a much larger catastrophe if the dam were to break. crews are intentionally easing a levee to ease 12 feet of flooding in louisiana's plaquemines parish. rescuers say two people died in their home failing to escape rising floodwater. jonathan serrie live for us from new orleans. jonathan. >> reporter: jon, authorities report at least five storm-related deaths both here in louisiana and neighboring mississippi. i want to show you some video from plaquemines parish where rescuers recently discovered the bodies after man and woman searching flooded homes in the braithwaite community in plaquemines parish. some residents rejected a evacuation order and became

stranded when floodwaters went on top of a left v. in the community. in the a city just across the mississippi river from new orleans a man decide in a restaurant fire that could not be controlled because of isaac's strong winds. the other fatalities involve a tree falling on a tow truck driver and a man who fell out of a tree while helping friend prepare for the storm. meanwhile authorities in florida are trying to identify the body of a man that washed ashore at the pensacola naval air station. they're trying to determine whether the body is that of a 47-year-old jet-skier who went missing earlier in the week. if indeed they get a positive i.d. on that, that would raise the death toll even higher. jon, back to you. jon: so sad. jonathan serrie in new orleans. thank you. jenna: next out to colorado. new developments in the case against the movie theater shooting suspect, james

homes. we'll tell you what his defense team is now saying about a phone call, a mysterious phone call that may have been placed just minutes before the massacre. also mitt romney taking the stage for the biggest moment of his political career, formally accepting the republican party's nomination for the presidency. we'll recap last night's speech and the convention. >> the president hasn't disappointed you because he wanted to. the president has disappointed america because he hasn't led america in the right direction. music: "make someone happy" music: "make someone happy" ♪it's so important to make someone happy.♪ ♪'s so important to make meone happy.♪ ♪make just one someone happy ♪and you will be happy too.

and every day since, two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely. i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country. we hired three thousand people just last year. bp invests more in america than in any other country. in fact, over the last five years, no other energy company has invested more in the us than bp. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. today, our commitment to the gulf, and to america,

has never been stronger. 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! jenna: governor mitt romney now in the final stretch of his campaign for the white house. final stretch for all of us. we have what, about 10 weeks left until election day? mr. romney accepting the republican party's nomination for president speaking to millions of americans on the final night of the convention. his most important moment in

the spotlight yet. the governor saying it is time to turn the page elect a new leader. his speech capping off what became a shortened three-day convention. steve brown was there. in the course of your reporting what mitt romney said last night what did folks talk to you about when it came to the tone he tried to set? >> reporter: it seemed like a soft sell and that may match up with his campaign research with other research we are learning about. frank luntz, a fox news contributor, karl rove and research done reportedly on behalf of the super pac he works with, crossroads all seemed to come up with the same calculation. there are persuadable obama voters from '08, persuadable they may be convinced to come over if you soft sell them. if you're respectful and give them, quote, unquote permission to change their minds who to vote for this time around. you could hear elements of that inside romney's speech last night. have a listen. >> four years from the

excitement of that last he can election, for the first time the majority of americans now doubt that our children will have a better future. it is not what we were promised. >> reporter: and barack obama himself in 2008 was talking about that you might recall there were persuadable previous bush voters that might be convinced to vote for him. same sort of soft sell on the other side of the street so to speak, jenna. jenna: we'll see what happens whether the democrats responds and whether or not the tone shifts a bit. steve, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> i wish president obama had succeeded because i want america to succeed. [cheers and applause] but his promises gave way to disappointment and division.

this isn't something we have to accept. now is the moment when we can do something, and with your help, we will do something. [cheers and applause] now is the moment when we can stand up and say, i'm an american, i make my desany -- destiny. we deserve better. my children deserve better. my family deserve better. my country deserves better!. jon: mitt romney accepting the republican nomination for president giving the most important speech yet in his campaign for the white house so did he seal the deal? let's get a fair and balanced debate underway. monica crowley, radio talk show host. julie roginsky, former advisor to senator frank lautenberg of new jersey. both are fox news contributors. monica, you first. did he do the job? >> i think he started to

seal the deal. i thought the speech was a homerun. first of all he laid out the very clear choice americans will face between wealth redistribution, class warfare and statism of president obama versus freedom in all of its forms, in particular economic freedom that governor romney espouses and is talking about. second thing he really reinforced the idea of american expect alism which a lot of americans now feel is slipping away. the third thing he did really well i thought personalize his message. look i'm not going to promise you wispy ideas of hope and change. i will implement policies that will help you and your family. >> was that effective tiff, julie, when he talked about how president obama promised to stop the rising of ocean levels and some other things? he says i'm just going to promise you a job? >> you know what is effect i have, what romney did was very effective. >> thank you. >> legitimately monica laid out a much stronger and better case in a very short period of time what mitt romney should have said than what mitt rom think did himself. i think that was the problem

for mitt romney. for romney himself it was a very good speech. as a speech in general i didn't think it accomplished what monica accomplished lay out the fundamental choices in this election. the problem for romney is he didn't do an effective job of doing that you saw somebody do an effective job. he did not. jon: steve brown had the report before all of this when he was talking to jenna which he said, look, there are people who like president obama, they just don't necessarily like the job he's done. so you have to sort of, i don't know, attack him softly. take a listen to this from the speech. it seems to be an example of that to me. we'll talk about it after. >> tonight i would ask a simple question. if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's president obama? you know there is something wrong with the kind of job he has done as president, when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. the president hasn't disappointed you because he wanted to, the president has disappointed america because he hasn't led america in the right direction.

he took office without the basic qualifications that most americans have. and one that was essential to the task at hand. he had almost no experience working in a business. jobs to him are about government. jon: monica, it is kind of interesting because when you look at the polls, people's approval rating of the president, i mean they like him personally. >> likeability. jon: likeability, is above 50%. job approval rating generally below 50%. >> that's why what governor romney did last night, how he said it was how he said it was as important what he was saying about president obama and his record and the fact that so many americans are suffering in the obama econom last night from governor romney was presidential temperment. one of the other things so effective a lot of people are dumping on clint eastwood last night. what i thought was so ingenius about it, he represented independent voters who may have voted for obama or even if they didn't become disillusioned with him and they fallen out

of love with him. so clint eastwood i think did it in a very interesting way but governor romney did it in more -- >> clint eastwood represented people who take rufis and speak to people in chairs in bar. that may be ingenius if you're smoking something. the problem he said obama doesn't have qualifications hasn't been in government. what comes to mind, paul ryan worked in government all his life. left private sector experience. is one hatter beat away from the presidency. you can't be hypocritical. what he says about policy, temperment and selection of vice president is so hypocritical. >> you're talking about when joe biden doesn't know what century he is in, julie? is not a serious policy man. >> wait a second. paul ryan is not a serious policy man. he speaks serious policy die in tries. he talked about a balanced budge yes he never presented. >> paul ryan two years in a

row budget republicans approved and house voted on. >> that does not balance the budget for another 25 years and does it basically screwing seniors and poor women. >> obama loaded up budget. obama had a record $1.3 trillion deficit. >> paul ryan voted for every budget busting thing george bush ever presented. medicare prescription part-d. jon: we'll have to turn you two loose in the greenroom to let you continue the arcment because i'm out of time. thank you both. julie roginsky from the democratic side. monica crowley from the republican side. thank you. jenna. jenna: new information in the colorado movie massacre. the defense team for shooting suspect james holmes is now suggesting that he tried to call his psychiatrist at the university of colorado just minutes before the attack. apparently the call, well, did anyone answer? did it even go through? what do we know about this call? alicia acuna is live from denver with more. >> reporter: hi, jenna.

what we do know according to what happened in court yesterday it happened nine minutes before the shooting began inside that theater in aurora on july 20th. it came out while defense attorneys for james holmes were questioning dr. lynn sent. remember she is the psychiatrist from the university of colorado medical center who said she treated holmes at least once a little over a month before the shooting. a member the defense team asked dr. fenton if she knew holz made a call to the hospital switchboard minutes prior? dr. fenton said she did not know this. she did confirm after meeting wit holmes that one time she can'ted campus police about him. attorneys are arguing whether prosecutors should have access to a notebook holmes mailed to dr. fenton on jewel 19th the day before 12 people were killed and 58 injured during a midnight screening of the new "batman" movie. holz's defense team wants the notebook to be protected under doctor/patient confidentialitity. however the prosecution is arguing that privilege ended

after that meeting happened. and that meeting with dr. fenton and holmes in june. now right now, jenna, where things stand is the judge has not made a decision with regard to this notebook because attorneys are not done arguing this part of the hearing and that has, so things are now in recess and they will take things up again on september 20th. jenna? jenna: wow, alicia, thank you. jon: he was fired amid a corruption scandal that sparked protests in one u.s. city and now a former employee there is suing for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unused vacation and sick time. is that fair? we'll talk about it next.

jon: fox news alert. we just got information from the president's schedule from jay carney his spokesman. he says on monday president will head to ohio for a

campaign event and then he will take air force one down to louisiana, presumably, new orleans, to check out the federal response to hurricane and tropical storm isaac. he says he wants to make sure that the federal government is doing its job there, to on, you know, shake the hands of some workers who have been taking care of folks who got hit by the tropical storm and check on the federal response. of course mitt romney is going there today. the newly nominated republican candidate is heading there today. president obama will be there on monday. jenna: now moving on to california, former employee of bell, california, remember that city, is suing the city for more than $800,000 in unused vacation and sick days. now this despite the fact that eric ageno was fired at the peek of a corruption scandal that had eight former officials. he wasn't charged but that is key here. he was the head of the

department general services that isn't without controversy. he reportedly earned more than 400,000 a year after starting at just 90,000 back in 2002. joey jackson is criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. fred teece, a former federal prosecutor the welcome to you both, guys. happy friday. >> happy friday. jenna: we're happy we made it to the end of this week with all the political talk. one of the reasons why this story caught our attention because there is theme here about entitlement in the public sector that really came to the surface with bell, california. that's why we thought this story was important. fred, he wants 329, 329 unused sick and vacation days. does he have a case? >> no. look like brad pitt and fly around in the country with my own g-5. that will not happen either. he can ask for whatever he wants. look they told us first year of law school, contracts are contracts you have to live up to it. but in this case this

contract may have been part of corruption. started at $90,000 which is 50% more than i when what i made. went to 428 in eight years. double sick time. double vacation time. paid his medicare and social security and allegations about the way people threw around money. when a contract could be part of a corruption scandal, we don't pay on it. jenna: joey? >> that might be true. if what fred races is in fact reality --. jenna: part about him being brad pitt. >> that will never happen. >> i could see that. the problem here, jenna, we are a society based on freedom of contract. the issue any municipality can develop its own rules. that is what it is all about. if this municipality developed rules which gave this type of salary and severances and other bonuses it is completely legitimate, completely proper. here p inn lies the issue, jenna. if we're a society voids contracts simply because we don't like them, we turn commerce on its head and turn this into very chaotic

and distressed society. we have to honor the contract. jenna: a slippery slope you say, joe. what about this head of this department according to reports was creating official looking documents and telling people in the city they violated certain codes and they had to pay the city but it was all fake that is a report. there were supposed to be charges related to that, brought into the court system but they haven't been brought yet. so how does that affect, joey, this entire case being he was head of that department? >> i would suggest in the civil case, civil realm, jenna, it won't affect it. here's why. his house was of course searched completely. they had an opportunity to bring forth charges based upon that search. they did not. everything he did in this particular case was analyzed with regard to corruption. they had a chance to bring charges. they did not. if his hands were dirty certainly he would have been among the eight persons, people here who were clarked. he wasn't charged. he wants the contract to be

honned in order. it should be. jenna: fred, it says in the report that him wanting to collect on sick time he opens himself to lawsuits from other people. so where does it go now? >> correct. i mean, i got to tell you something, the guy gets out without being criminally charged yet although if other people get criminally charged and they point a finger at him, that may change. he is dumb enough, the constitution doesn't protect people from being stupid, to file a lawsuit to get money, quite frankly he was lucky to get out by the skin of his teeth. bottom line this guy got thrown out amid of a corruption scandal caught with his hand in the cookie jar and he is suing to get the cookies. talk about turning lady justice on its head. >> he is owed 137 sick days and. give him his money. jenna: joey, just a final thought to bring us back to reality. do you think a judge will look, oh, 329 vacation and sick days, that makes a lot of sense. you should definitely get that. >> are you asking lawyer in

me or person in me, jenna? >> we're asking the lawyer in you because you're a good lawyer. what is the answer? >> presents a bit of a problem, no question about it. however if the contract provided for that, whether we like it or not it needs to be honored. jenna: all right. we'll see what happens, 300 -- we all wish we had that. >> great work if you can get it. jenna: fred and joey, thank you very much. >> thank you, jenna. >> thanks for having me. jenna: bell, california, continues. jon: what does the taxpayer in joey say? jenna: there is lot of different dimensions. we could ask joey a whole host of different questions but he says a contract is a contract. jon: okay. new york cardinal timothy dolan getting ready for a trip to charlotte. why he plans to attend the democratic national convention just days after closing out of the republican version.

jenna: throughout the republican national convention there was this theme that kept coming up that brought us back to religion at different points and the choice of new york's archbishop, timothy cardinal dolan to deliver the benediction is getting a lot of attention. that job traditionally goes to a local bishop. religion correspondent lauren green is live in our new york city newsroom with a closer look at this. hi, lauren. >> reporter: true to his promise, cardinal dolan

steered clear of politics last night while delivering the closing prayer at the republican national convention. he mentioned to hit the high notes of the catholic church's main issues, mainly religious liberty. >> renew in all of our people a respect for religious freedom in full, that first, most cherished freedom. make us truly free by tethering freedom to truth, and honoring freedom to goodness. >> reporter: dolan and the catholic church have been battling white house over a federal mandate that requires all employers including churches to provide access to birth control. critic it is of dolan, the head of conference of catholic bishops. accused him of being a shill for the republican party. >> while i don't doubt his sincerity he wants to be a good priest to cover prayers it made sense to offer a someone ennot engaged in being so vocal against the

white house. >> reporter: catholic league's bill donahue sate essentially the catholic's democrats were against the wall. >> did they think the head of rcc so stupid to get catch-22, advertise see you are a shill for the republican party? they misread him. dolan is above the politics at the moment. >> reporter: people close to the ardnal expect his eminence to sidestep the healthcare issue next week at the dnc it is hard to avoid the fact that the catholic church social agenda stands in stark contrast to the democrat platform particularly concerning abortion and same-sex marriage. jenna: we'll pay attention to see what he has to say and maybe he changes his message last week. lauren, thank you. jon: mitt romney taking the stage on the final night of the republican national convention making his case as the man to lead this country to prosperity. so how did he do? we'll take a look next. and motorists you might be in for a shock as you

prepare to head out of town for the labor day weekend. a look at the factors behind today's sky-high gas prices coming up. >> when somebody does not do the job we have to let him go. >> this is the most critical election of our lifetime. >> this is the right man at the right time. just like the olympics needed mitt's leadership 10 years ago. america desperately needs mitt romney's leadership today. >> we're blessed that a man like this will be soon to be the president of the united states. >> i wish president obama had succeeded because i wanted america to succeed. i will work with all my energy and soul to lift our eyes to a better future. i accept your nomination for president of the united states. let's begin that future for america tonight! thank you so very much. >> this is by far and away the biggest audience. >> the biggest speech of his

life. >> this is why they came to tampa. >> americans like us are getting it know mitt romney a lot better. [ male announcer ] whether it's kevin's smartphone...

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miracle whip is tangy and sweet, not odd. [ villager 1 ] it's evil! if you'd try it, you'd know. she speaketh the truth! [ villagers gping ] reverend? ♪ can i have some? ♪ >> when my mom ran for the senate my dad was there for her every step of the way. i could still see her saying in her beautiful voice, why should women have any less say than men about the great decisions facing our nation? don't you wish she could have been here at this convention? and heard leaders look governor marry fallon, governor nikki haley, governor susans martinez,

and former secretary of state condoleezzaa rice. >> our problem with barack obama isn't that he's a bad person, okay. by all accounts he too is a good husband and a good father, and thanks to lots of practice a good golfer. [laughter] >> our problem is not that he's a bad person. our problem is that he's a bad president. >> it's important that you realize that you're the best in the world. whether you're a democrat, or whether you're a republican, or a libertarian or whatever, you're the best, and we should not ever forget that, and when somebody does not do the job, we've got to let them go. >> if i'm elected president of these united states i will work with all my energy and soul to restore that america, to lift our eyes to a better future. that future is our destiny, that future is out there, it is

waiting for us. our children deserve it. our nation depends on it. the peace and freedom of the world require it, and with your help we will deliver it. let us begin that future for america tonight. thank you so very much. may god bless you. may god bless the american people -rblgs an, and may god bless the united states of america. jon: some of the highlights from last night's republican convention, really and electric night. presidential candidate mitt romney, senator marco rubio and clint eastwood revving up the crowd. i'm jon scott. jenna: i'm jenna lee. governor mitt romney officially accepting his nomination for president. it is a don deal right now, making the case that he has a better plan for leading america back to prosperity, contrast his vision of the future with the last four years with president

obama. peggy nonnan, republicans join the battle, after a shaky start the republicans hit thraeu republicans hit their stride. let's ask a former speech writer for george w. bush what he thought. >> if you're a speech writer you're very aware of the grim business that the day after your product goes on the air you have all these people from the outside criticizing it and so forth and finding little parts they didn't like. i thought this was remarkably effective. i tend to be a person that thinks that speeches are overrated. i mean it's not just the speech, it's the whole package of what the convention message was, the youth and vigor, in some ways it's very different from the last campaign in that the roles are reversed. you have paul ryan very young and youthful, you have all those governors, young, a new generation, and the last time we had john mccain, just looked a little kind of old and cranky

against this very attractive candidate on the other side. jenna: this is one speech and we expect several other speeches maybe not on as big of a platform, but important over the next several weeks. as a professional speech writer, what do you tell mitt romney after this speech and what do you tell him to try to accomplish over the next few weeks. >> i think he has to be himself and explain his message. i thought he did a very good job of not personalizing the issue with obama, not attacking his character or something but attacking his policies. i thought he did an excellent job on that. he stayed on message. look, in general i think governor romney gives some very good speeches, he's never going to be ronald tkpwaeu ronald reagan but he sounded a lot of those themes in his own way. i think for almost all speeches i would just cut them by 10 to 20%. i think there is a lot of good stuff in there, and sometimes it gets stuffed on by the length. jenna: that is like telling a news anchor to cut a segment

short. we just don't like hearing that, right? >> it's part of the beast. when i worked in speech writing and the speeches went out for comments everybody added, no one subtracted and less is more. jenna: less is more. i'm going to get to a few of the other appearances in just a second. one of the criticisms of mitt romney's speech was written by john a than that martin in politico. he said what was noticeably lacking was much of an explanation of his policies and how they would help improve the lives of americans. that's been a general consensus if you look at some criticism today, bill, what do you think about that? should he have dug deeper on a couple of areas? >> no, it's not a place for detailed policy. what we are in is a clash of vision. i think president obama would agree on that. and the broad vision that mitt romney is bringing to the american people is that we can be better than we are now, we need not accept the status quo, and we just need to free people in the classic american way and let them use their talents and

abilities to improve their own lives and lift their families. i think actually more policy would have been a problem. you explain that during the campaign, there is going to be a lot of ads. if people don't know the difference between these two candidates now, i don't know where they've been. the very different philosophies they have. one of the philosophies of julian assange yan government and the other is the philosophy of liberation, letting people's' talents lift themselves. jenna: let's talk a little bit about the elephant in the room, or perhaps the empty chair if you will. bill, clint eastwood? >> i was watching with my kids and my parents, and so forth. i didn't see the chair right away. i knew he was doing this ask it, so i couldn't tell whether he was responding to someone shouting at him from the front row -- look it didn't work. i think even clint eastwood has to rehears, even dirty harry

needs some practice sometimes. i don't think it was a big harm. he had some good lines about, you know, when you're not doing the job you've got to go. i think he went on a little too long and the ask it didn't work, but in the scheme of things it's not very big. jenna: it was interesting i was watching the speech along with our viewers on our.com coverage we had a live chat going. i have all of our viewers weighing in and you could have a conversation with them and i was watching twitters and all the profession alopinions if you will. the viewers who were watching last night really enjoyed it. the professional opinions writing all the editorials not so much. >> i think that's true in a lot of conventions. a lot of the things the people there seemed to enjoy it. there is a disconnect between what people are looking for as a pundit. that's what i mean people -- when i was in the white house you work on a speech and you have a thousand people competing to get their thoughts in, and then you deliver it and someone says, well what is missing from this. or what is missing from that, that is not how the average

person receives it. they are kind of judging the whole thing, in their reaction. and i think mitt romney achieved his purposes last night. jenna: all right, bill. my producer is saying last answer. i'm going to follow that advice when he says cut things short. bill, some interesting observations, we look forward to having you back on next week as well when we get a lot of speeches from the democrats, see what you have to say about that. when you're campaigning or president and vice president of the united states you need a lot of things, right? you need clothes, our ipod, lots of coffee at least for mr. ryan, apparently he drinks a lot of coffee, and your own airplane how about that. check that out. governor romney's new campaign phra*eurp plane standing by to bring the candidate from florida to new orleans. it has believe in america on the side. you can see the website for anybody who is flying by, mitt romney.com. the tail of the plane has a romney logo. there are actually two planes, one for governor romney and a slightly smaller one for his

running mate congressman ryan. jon: think how much it cost to paint your car and now phult employ that by a factor of ten. jenna: at least they don't have to go through security all the time. jon: that's right. taking you now to lords town, ohio. vice president joe biden is there talking to autoworkers in ohio. obviously ohio is such a critical state in this election and both campaigns are trying to put ohio in their column. that's part of the reason that joe biden is there. if you'd like to watch the vice president's remarks we've got them screaming for you live on foxnews.com. now the spotlight turns to the democratic national convention, it kicks off tuesday in charlotte, north carolina. actor clint eastwood's speech at the republican national convention last night, jenna was just mentioning it prompting a jab from the you white house. eastwood delivering his remarks to an empty chair as if president obama were sitting in it. so the white house posted this photo on twitter, it shows the

back of the president's chair with the caption, this seat is taken. that little gold plaque if you can't read it says, the president. president obama is on ac his way to texas. let's go to molly henneberg live at the white house. >> that is a key point that the white house and president obama are trying to make that candidate ow obama in 2008 promised to combat troops from iraq an did. he talked about the significance of going back to fort bliss today and he said he will focus his efforts on the service members and their families as we have ended the war in iraq and have winded down the war in afghanistan. the white house says he'll meet with servicemen and women today as he did two years ago. here you see video of that trip. i'll talk about the problems of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

the president criticized governor romney this week for not talking more about afghanistan. governor romney did not mention afghanistan last night although he has chided the president previously for announcing a timeframe for u.s. troop withdrawals. as for foreign policy last night in his speech governor romney hit back at the president on iran. he says the president has not stopped iran from developing its nuclear capabilities. >> every american is less secure today because he has failed to slow iran's nuclear threat. in his first tv interview as president he said we should talk to iran. we are still talking, and iran's centrifuges are still spinning. >> romney will get an update on the damage from tropical storm and hurricane isaac today in louisiana. and the white house just announced, jon, that the president will go there on money to assess the storm damage and get an update on the federal response and the state and local response. he was asked -- jay carney the spokesman was asked why the president is not going sooner than monday.

carney says there are logistical challenges whenever you take the president everywhere and the president's team and officialses on the ground in louisiana indicate they'd monday would be a, quote, good day for the president to visit. jon: molly, thank you. jenna: we move to another one of our top stories, what is now tropical depression isaac leaving behind a soggy mess and plenty of misery along the gulf coast. take a look at the devastation here in slidell, louisiana, entire neighborhoods underwater, homes some with only the roofs exposed. thousands evacuated to higher ground. at least three people have died in louisiana alone, at least according to reports and i'm sure there are more to come. further north in mississippi state officials ordering and emergency-controlled release of a dam that could possibly collapse. homes nearby there have also been evacuated. isaac also spawned several tornadoes, a twister i in in a

small town in mississippi you're seeing on your screen. thankfully no one was killed there. moss point, mississippi, fast running water trapped people in their homes. crews spent hours getting scared and thankful residents out safely. >> i'm very scared. >> this morning it was high, high. it had never been that high. >> we thought the worst of the storm was over, but at some point last night, as you're aware the storm turned and we started getting a lot of rains, and the floodwaters started coming back on us. >> well, it was coming up, and i said i've got about another two feet before i start coming in and i think it's about time for us to go. yes with, i should hav haveee evacuated. jenna: phil keatings live with more. >> reporter: all of the river systems in mississippi right now are expected to crest at levels higher than they have seen in several years, simply put hurricane and tropical storm and now tropical depression isaac

dumping 48 hours of relentless rain. it's got to go somewhere, this right here, all of this water, this is the chudakabuff river. swollen like awful the rivers in the south coast and all of the states right now. for people inside there are about 30 river-front homes inside this neighborhood, and for all of the residents who say a thousand days it's great living, every now and then very have to paddle their way in and out on kayaks. so it makes for a rough and rugged commute. >> it is odd. every once in a while we have to do it. >> how bad is the winter? >> we are used to it. we live on the river, and sometimes you've got to paddle out. but it's worth it. >> reporter: and your heart goes out for jason park, a car dealer, and he just bought his house inside this neighborhood one month ago. so this is his welcome to the

neighborhood. >> it's been interesting. the river is completely flowing through underneath my house, and it's like whitewater rafting in colorado somewhere at my place. >> reporter: here is a look at the three major rivers along the coast of mississippi, the pw biloxi is above by 6 feet. and the wolf. and the chudakabuff. there is an additional concern by emergency officers that additional rain up north could lead to these rivers cresting again over the next several days. back to you, jenna lee. jenna: a rough couple of days there in mississippi. phil, thank you. jon: well governor mitt romney you may have heard it there at the convention presenting a plan that he says will create a better future where everyone who wants a job can find a job. also offering up five steps to make that happen.

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>> many americans have given up on this president, but they haven't ever thought about giving up, not on themselves, not on each other, and not on america. what is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound, it doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what america needs. what america needs is jobs, lots of jobs. [cheers and applause] jon: well, the show is over in tampa, and the general election starts in earnest. 67 days to go until americans head to the polls. governor mitt romney touching mostly on big themes last night, especially jobs and the economy. but now in the home stretch, with unemployment stuck at 8.3%

and the economy really sputtering mr. romney's strategy will be to focus on jobs, jobs, and jobs. ed spare recall listen is a fox news contributor. he's been a part of nine republican conventions dating back to 1972 much when the party nominated richard nixon for the second time. he's with us now. we should point out, you were part of the michelle bachmann campaign for a time. you were not necessarily a mitt romney supporter in the beginning. >> i ran huckabee's campaign four years ago. jon: give us your assessment, how did he do? >> i thought he did extremely well. he's a very competent man and caring man and anybody who watched that speech, it was a good solid speech basically would come away with the impression that this is a guy who could basically get the job done, and that's what you want. jon: he attacked the president on policy but not personally. >> i think that was important. i think this is a president that people still like, and i think to a certain extent most people

and those that don't obviously will by the end of this campaign know the things about the president's policy they don't like. the nice thing about this convention was there was no hate. a lot of time these conventions you come out and haters move to the forefront. at the end ever the day we are all americans and have to pworbg together and i think the contrast with the president who hasn't worked particularly well with republicans and this convention particularly highlighting the future stars of this party is if i get elected, if i'm mitt romney i get elected we will work together and get this country running again. jon: do you think the country is ready for that? there's been so much said about the devisive tone of this campaign to this point. do you think that the country is ready for just stopping the name calling. >> whether it's ready or not, it's not going to stop. you'll have commercials and everything else basically wall from wall from now onto november 6th that will be very, very negative. the impression of romney is so different of the commercials and

what have you. this is not a ruthless man and a man out firing people, not a rich man out of touch with ordinary people and i think that's the impression they wanted to give and they did that very, very well. jon: he talked about demonizing success, and how the president demonized success in this country. we all want to be successful. what do you think about that. >> i think that's a great theme. highlighting the marco rubios, the governor martinez, the people who have come up from nowhere and have very prominent positions in our party and country today is a great story. mitt romney's whole life as a businessman, as an olympic organizer, as a governor is about success. more important to him are the values of being a good father. now he's going to be hopefully a good president. jon: let's talk about marco rubio, he came out of nowhere to win that florida senate seat and i think last night you got some indication as to why. i put together what i thought was a very good introduction. >> he's superb. not only did he do a great job,

i've been a great fan of his for a long type. he's a young dynamic person a great story to tell himself, he has a fabulous family. he'll be a real leader in the party in the future. even if the interviews he did all week long he drives the message very effectively, it's a message of hope, prosperity, and it's not a message with any hard edges to it. jon: what about clint eastwood? >> you know unfortunately clint eastwood is an american icon and obviously he's not going to lose any of that. it may not have come off the way we wanted. but a man who has been a great actor but more more a great director in later in life he needed a director last night and someone needed to script it a little better. jon: thank you. jenna: several key battleground states could make-or-break the presidential election. a closer look at the role iowa will win. which candidate is eyeing a big within there. we'll tell you ahead. a supermarket worker goes on a shooting spree in new jersey. three people are dead.

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jenna: welcome back, everyone to "happening now." we are your election headquarters. this very tight election could come down to a few, or maybe one key battleground state. today we are going to take a lock at iowa. we mapped out 12 swing states but today it's iowa. we want to tell you a little bit about why this state is important. starting off with the electorial votes, you have there six, it's highly competitive. those six really matter out of the 270. when you look at the economy this is interesting when we hear so much about the economy and jobs being such a factor in this election, if you take a look at the unemployment rate 5.3%, that is almost -- well it is 3 percentage points lower than the national average. so that is interesting to note in iowa.

also if you take a look at the polls there, i just want to show you this as well, 45% for the president when you look at the "real clear politics" polls, and you have 44%, just under 45% for mitt romney. so it's so close, it is so close. the president is going to iowa tomorrow, that's going to be his fifth visit. for governor romney he's been there four times. but some suggest he's actually been campaigning in iowa since 2006. we will talk a little bit about that with jason noble, a political reporter with the des moines reporter joining us now on skype. what do you think about that, does mitt romney really have a presence in iowa despite the fact he hasn't visited quite as much as the president has? >> absolutely. he's got a campaign apparatus here just like the president does. you watch tv in iowa, you drive down the street, the campaign is inescapable here for both candidates. jenna: is it annoying, jason?

do they tell you on the streets of iowa, we really like this engagement, this is playing on what we need to know and how we will make our decisions or has it reached the point where it's a little bit aggravating? >> everyone complains about tv ads from the campaigns, but iowa is a very politically engaged state. we have the caucuses here, everyone really takes pride in the caucuses, and i think a lot of citizens are maybe enjoying the pot light, being on a little bit longer here before the general election. jenna: one of the things we showed on our screen is that the unemployment rate is so low compared to the national average. you've got manufacturing in the state, agriculture as well, some of your major industries. how do you think that plays with the campaign that so far mitt romney is focusing on jobs and the economy and we are still waiting to hear the president's platform next week? what is the top priority or iowa citizens. >> i think the jobs and the economy still resonates with

iowans. they see the whole country struggling with the economy. those arguments are resonating with them as well. i think iowans are also very receptive to the arguments from the republican side about debt and deficits. you hear that from romney when he's here as well. jenna: that is interesting, because we just found out as well when we looked through our research department, the brain room here, they pull up a great fact for us that says iowans have the lowest credit card debt per capita in the country. it's interesting that iowa may not be a big fan of debt as most of us probably are not at this point. let me ask you about voter registration. i read in 2008 when the president won iowa democrats had this huge edge when it came to voter registration over the republicans, and the republicans have closed that great plain a little bit. how big of a factor is that? >> i don't know. i think that is hard to gauge. the surge in republican voter registration probably has a lot to do with again the caucus

season which was competitive on the republican side but not on the democratic side. in the state no matter what is happening with republican and democratic voter registration, no party numbers still out number both of them and that's really where you're trying to make your inch roads and convince voters with the no party independent voters. jenna: it's really about independents in iowa. thank you so much for your expertise and perspective today. we look forward to having you back. >> thank you so much. jon: the storm that was hurricane isaac just days ago may be winding down, but the dangers from flooding are just getting started in some areas. we'll get an update from the fox extreme weather center for you. gas prices hitting new highs this holiday weekend. how long will they keep climbing? we'll take a look. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

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jenna: well, just after 12:30 eastern time, the remnants of hurricane isaac, now a tropical depression, slowly making its way into the middle part of the country. this is a part of the country that really needs some drought relief, but it could also be a case of too much rain too fast, and that brings problems as well. chief meteorologist rick reichmuth is tracking the storm from the fox extreme weather center. >> hey, jenna, yeah. for the most part, the rain has stopped down around parts of the south, still some moisture across areas of new orleans, over towards gulfport and biloxi and place like that, but for the

most part it's just going to be some quick thunderstorms that move through. all of the heaviest precipitation has moved into parts of arkansas and missouri. we've got significant flash flood anything pine bluff, arkansas, from that band of showers. this will continue to be heavy at times. take a look at the future radar for the next 24 hours, rain across parts of arkansas, western parts of tennessee and eventually heavy rain in across parts of iowa and illinois. take a look at the next five days. we might see a bull's eye of 2-3 inches of rain across areas of the south, not good for the flooding we've seen, but it won't be as heavy as it has been. as you said, we need the relief from the drought, but it's going to come too quickly, and especially in the hilly areas, i think we're going to see significant flash flooding, and unfortunately, this rain won't help this summer's crops at all. that is gone. another storm is brewing out there, we have hurricane kirk way up there, not going to

impact anybody. this one here is leslie, officially the track keeps this out over water maybe impacting bermuda five or six days from now, but we can't rule out a westerly track headed toward the u.s. we'll keep everybody abreast of it. nothing to worry about right now, but we can't count it out unfortunately just yet either. jenna: just for context, when's the end of hurricane season? >> the end of november. just so you know, september 10th is the peak. we're still in that very active period right now. jenna: as long as that's on the horizon, that's good to know. no pun intended, of course. all right, rick, thank you. [laughter] >> sure. jon: well, hurricane isaac disrupting oil production and distribution along the gulf coast adding to already-rising gas prices. drivers, hold on to your hats. aaa is now reporting gas prices this labor day weekend the highest ever heading into the holiday. the national average for a gallon of regular is $3.82,

that's up nearly ten cents in just one week. for more let's go to adam shapiro from the fox business network. any relief in sight here, adam? >> reporter: not in the near term, jon. we interviewed t. boone pickens, the oil tie -- tycoon, and he expects gas prices to fall back next week, but gasbuddy was saying two weeks if not longer. it's not just isaac, we have about a billion barrels of oil that were pulled out of refinery production, and they still haven't gotten those going, but there are problems with some refineries in the midwest, and that's one of the reasons prices have gone up and are going to stay up. jon: we've also heard, i guess, in recent days the white house has been talking about possibly tapping the u.s. strategic oil reserve, what's happening there? >> reporter: well, the white house says that still remains a possibility, but they haven't commented on whether they're actually going to do it. right now the oil production in the gulf is ramping back up. in fact, as you were coming to me, bp announced that they are

going to start restaffing their platforms. but those platforms still are offline over the next 2-3 days. they'll be coming on line, and that's really the key period in which to determine whether or not there would actually be a need for more oil on the market. jon: aaa says gas prices nationally increased almost 31 cents a gallon in august. pretty incredible numbers. adam shapiro, thank you. >> reporter: yep. jenna: this fox news alert, in new jersey at least three people are dead after a supermarket employee apparently opened fire on some of his fellow workers. now, the question investigators are trying to answer is why? laura ingle is life in our new york city newsroom with more. >> reporter: hey, jenna. bullets went flying inside the new jersey grocery store as overnight workers were stocking shelves ahead of the 6 a.m. open. it happened in old bridge, new jersey, that's about 40 miles south of new york city. investigators saying the shooter, a 23-year-old male employee, used an ak-47 and an automatic handgun during his

attack. >> the shooter left the store somewhere around 3:30 in the morning and came back shortly thereafter. he entered the store firing his weapon. two of the employees were shot and killed, um, the others were able to hide and escape. >> now, the parent company, the great flick and pacific tea company, issuing a statement on its web site that reads in part, quote: >> reporter: now, authorities are saying at least 16 shots were fired and extra ammunition was found at the scene. the gunman shooting and killing an 18-year-old woman and 24-year-old man before turning the gun on himself. surviving employees were evacuated to a nearby tgi friday's where they received

medical care. there are reports there was a confrontation between the gunman and employees before the shooting, also local reports that the 23-year-old may have been an ex-marine. the middlesex county prosecutor telling reporters at the scene he's aware there's information out there that the shooter may have had a military background, but they can't confirm that at this time. jenna in. jenna: wow, all so young, all those involved. laura, thanks. jon: well, we heard from a lot of folks talking about governor romney during the republican convention last night. we finally got to hear directly from the republican nominee. that was followed by all kinds of discussion in the media. our news watch panel takes a look at what the chattering class has to say this morning. e. but because of business people like you, things are beginning to get rolling. and regions is here to help. making it easier with the expertise and service to keep those wheels turning.

from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together. music: "make someone happy" music: "make someone happy" ♪it's so important to make meone happy.♪.♪it's so e ♪make just one heart to heart you - you sing to♪ ♪one smile that cheers you ♪one face that lights when it nears you.♪ ♪and you will be happy too.

jon: if you watched any of the media coverage of the republican convention, you heard a lot of folks saying mr. romney has to connect with regular americans and show he's in touch with them. last night he told us americans

deserve the hope and change that president obama promised four years ago. >> deserved it because during these years you worked harder than ever before. you deserved it because when it cost more to fill up your car, you cut out movie nights and put in longer hours, or when you lost that job that paid $22.50 an hour with benefits, you took two jobs at $9 an hour. you deserve it because your family depended on you, and you did it because you're an american, and you don't quit. you did it because it was what you had to do. jon: so what's been the reaction? are the media fair and balanced in their coverage of this convention and his big speech? let's talk about it with judith miller, a pulitzer prize-winning report and author, also cal thomas, a syndicated columnist. both are fox news contributors. you were actually at the convention, cal -- >> i was there all week. jon: all right. so give us your take on the coverage you read versus the convention you attended.

>> the media, i think, actually did mitt romney a favor. they set the bar very low, and whether it's in sports or in politics, if you set the bar low and have low expectations, if the guy exceeds them, then the story becomes, wow, he was really great, and that's what a lot of the story was today. jon: you're suggesting that they didn't want him to succeed or they didn't think he could? >> well, no. look, my favorite scene, i walked into "the new york times" tent just so i could see what the other side was doing, and there was a big side taken from the media research center, don't believe the liberal media. now, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then mockery tells the truth about "the new york times." all the conversations we saw with the yahoo guy that they really hate republicans, they don't want them elected, and the coverage at least from the mainstream media mostly reflected that, i think. jon: yeah. the political director for yahoo! news, they were in

collaboration with abc, was overheard on a live mic saying republicans are happy to the party while black people are drowning, referring to the hurricane hitting new orleans -- >> right. jon: that area. and he got fired for it, by the way. >> you did have the hurricane kind of vying with the republican national convention for the lead story here, and you had split-screen coverage almost all over. but, look, most people think, as cal says, given how low the bar was that governor romney did pretty well. i mean, you know, the problem was there's no there there. it was uplifting, it was the republican version of the hope and change speech. it was, you know, all kind of mood and no details. and i, that can only be absolutely deliberate. jon: neither side is really giving a lot of, you know, you haven't heard much from president obama about what he plans to do if he wins a second term. >> right. well, not so far. they haven't had their moment

yet, and let's see if a hurricane interrupts their party. but, you know, what really struck me about watching romney was that, you know, when michael goodwin of "the new york post" said he did it, he really did it, he became human -- [laughter] and even presidential. it tells you about how what a really uphill battle governor romney has to ingratiate himself with the american people. i mean, his resumé, the "wall street journal" keeps talking about the resumé. but it's the man that the people are being asked to vote for. jon: right. because president obama is absolutely a master at speaking and getting up in front of a camera and just making you go gaga. >> right. i was trying to explain this to the bbc. i did an interview right after the tampa convention, and the guy said why are you americans so fixated on family and god bless america and children up on the stage? because we live in the reality kardashian age where everything is superficial.

that's how barack obama really won the election, not on substance, but on form. but i've got to tell you, though, jon, my favorite moment of the convention was last night when clint eastwood gets up there in his dirty harry voice says some of these things, this is the most powerful gun in the history -- i mean, that was unscripted. no teleprompter. that's what made it so attractive. >> that's it. i mean, this is a show, and one can ask whether or not we really have to spend all of this money and send 15,000 reporters down there to cover a show. but if you're going to put on a show and a play, then send in clint eastwood because one man's kind of squint is another's cringe. but it really worked because it was unscripted, and it was one of the few moments that was. jon: you had some thoughts about the way nbc covered this in particular. >> well, you know, it's just so obvious, the bias is now so obvious when you have one commentator after another from tom brokaw to chris matthews

talking about very dark, and, you know, how -- i think chris matthews actually said a jingoistic speech. it's not leaning forward, it's leaning leftward. if that's what people want, they'll change the dial. >> and the big media set a standard for republicans that they abandon when they come to democrats. so you've got the line including a headline on the los angeles times and a cartoon to go along with it about how this is mostly a white republican party. but then when they have hispanics, hispanic women, african-americans featured, then the media say, oh, well they're just tokens, and they're pandering to this ethnic group. well, which way is it? ruth mar cuts had a piece saying this in "the washington post." so if you're republican, you can't win. if you feature women or hispanics -- >> you can feature them, but when the camera pans to that audience and it's all rather

older than the country and whiter than the country, you have to wonder what people who are not old and whiter are asking themselves? >> but nobody's keeping them from running. they could run to be a delegate. jack kemp used to talk about this. he had more african-americans at his pre-convention party than they had on the entire floor, you're right. jon: that's a taste of what we cover on news watch. we'll have a sample for it tomorrow afternoon, our panelists covering the coverage of the week's big stories. catch it at 2:30 eastern time. jenna? jenna: jon, we have some new postconvention poll numbers showing whether or not governor mitt romney is gaining with certain voters. we're going to show them to you just ahead. and honoring a legend who inspired a nation. a final good-bye to neil armstrong. >> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. ♪

jenna: right now former nasa astronaut neil armstrong being laid to rest at a service in ohio. the american hero passed away last saturday at the age of 83. he captured the world's collective imagination and inspired a generation with these famous first steps on the moon's surface just a few decades ago. mike tobin is live in indian hill, ohio, with more. mike? >> reporter: and, you know, jenna, we just heard from an apollo 8 astronaut, bill anders, who said america will never have another hero like neil armstrong. we also heard from administrator charlie bolden who said that neil armstrong would not be comfortable with all of the people here and all of this attention. what he would have liked out of today is something we just saw a few minutes ago, a flyover from

u.s. navy f-18s. joining all of the people here at this memorial today are john glenn, jim love el, commander of apollo 13, buzz aldrin and gene cernan, the last man to walk on the the moon. all of them remembering someone who made such a contribution to history, he is remembered in political circles as recently as last night. >> the souls of neil armstrong's boots -- the soles of neil armstrong's boots on the moon made permanent impressions on our souls. ann and i watched those steps on her parents' sofa. we went to bed that night knowing we live inside the greatest country in the history of the world. >> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> reporter: you know, there is some dispute over that historic line. neil armstrong always insisted he meant to say and thought he said "one small step for a man,"

and that a was either lost in the radio static or the excitement of the moment, and he says the whole line would have made more sense, or he always said that. anyway, this memorial takes place under the blue moon which is very appropriate. blue moon means you get two full moons in the same month, and what the armstrong family is asking everyone to do is look up at the moon, remember neil armstrong and give it a little wink. jenna? jenna: sounds like something we can do. life's little ironies, that it's that type of moon tonight. mike, thank you. jon: new fallout from last night's gop convention. we'll tell you which speech is sparking some pretty harsh criticism and what it could mean for governor romney's campaign. plus, these patriotic little piggies are running for a very important reason. details next. >> with you know, a little swoop there. but how am i going to fund it? and i have to find a way to manage my cash flow better.

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jenna: we had a couple ideas, including a paul ryan mask, a hot item at the republican convention, but the top of the ticket is not to be denied. check out the governor romney mask -- that's still paul ryan, we're going to bring up the governor romney mask. two michigan delegates are wearing those, so they already have their costume for hall -- halloween. i guess you just wear a suit with it, pretty easy, right? jon: and more comfortable than the rubber masks. those are way too hot. [laughter] and the republican mascot, as you know, is an elephant, the democratic mascot is a donkey, but who better to pick the winner than the piggies? these little piggies went to market. they're representing the presidential candidates facing off at the fest in the west rib cookoff in nevada. in the end, the pig with the shirt supporting president obama won by a snout, but so much -- [laughter] they're cute, aren't they?