stand tall, my son and be steadfast. you are the defender of freedom". we owe it to the service men and women that have fought in afghanistan for 17 years and the families that have watched them go, to security and honorable and lasting outcome to this conflict. as the president said monday, the men and women that serve our nation in combat deserve a plan for victory. once that victory has been achieved, they also deserve to return home to a country that honors their sacrifices and provides our nation's heros with the support they earned by risking their lives to ensure the freedoms of all americans. that's why the president was also honored to sign yet another historic piece of legislation to support our veterans earlier this week. the va choice act streamlines the process of getting benefits for the more than 70,000 veterans waiting for division.

the v.a. is steadily delivering on the president's promise to fix the broken v.a. system. finally, before i open it up to take questions, as you're all very well aware, i love birthdays around here and oddly we have quite a few of them going on. major garrett, happy birthday. even more importantly, it's -- i'm pretty lucky. i have two of the best parents in the world so happy birthday, dad and my niece's birthday. i get to knock out a ton of stuff tough today. with that, i'll take your questions. steve? >> sarah, there seems to be acrimony between the president and the congressional leadership. how do repair this relationship going into the fall? >> the relationships are fine. there's policy differences. there's a lot of shared goals and that's what we're focused on. we're disappointed that obama,

they failed to repeal and replace. at the same time, president trump has worked with leader mcconnell to reach out to other members and work on the shared goals. we'll do that when the senate comes be a from recess. >> will the president sign any budget bill that does not include funding for the wall? >> the president has talked pretty extensively about this. he campaigned on the wall. he won on talking about building the wall. he's going to make sure that that gets done and he will fight for that funding and ensure that it takes place. let's not forget there were a lot of democrat senators that also voted for border security and a border fence. hopefully some of those same individuals will talk to members and their current party and maybe we can get a bipartisan group to support that and make sure that it happens. this president will see it through. john? >> it's my older daughter's birthday. >> good. we'll cover that one, too. >> my understanding that when

the president meets with senator mcconnell beginning in september when congress is back that he will ask him to take another swing at repealing obamacare. at the same time, a judge in new jersey, judge walls, has said that senator robert menendez cannot come back to the senate to cast votes. how does that in combination with what the president might want the senate majority leaders to do on obamacare to back to rid the balance of power and the vote couldn't you need? >> i'm not sure about that case. it's another ongoing judicial process taking place. i won't get into that. i can tell you the president continues to be committed to repealing and replacing obamacare and making sure americans have healthcare they deserve. >> it happened just before the august recess. does he have a chance of getting it through? >> we're committed to continuing to make sure that we have the

best healthcare we can. if we can do that in that direction, i think that is great. if we can't, we need to look for other ways to make solutions. john decker? >> thanks, sarah. hurricane harvey is fiercely bearing down on the southern part of the u.s. texas seems to be in the cross hairs. there is no replacement yet for general kelly at the department of homeland security. first question, does the president plan to name a replacement any time soon, and second of all, is this problematic in terms of dealing with hurricane harvey in the fact that there's nobody at the helm of dhs? >> no. we have acting secretary elaine duke who is watching this closely, very involved in the process along with the acting director of fema. we're in great shape having general kelly sitting next to the president throughout this process. probably no better chief of

staff for the president during the hurricane season. the president has been briefed and will continue to be updated as the storm progresses and certainly something that he's aware of and will keep a watchful eye on. stands ready to provide resources if needed. >> sarah, the president promised overand over again during the campaign that mexico would pay for the wall. why is he threatening a government shutdown if congress won't pay for it? >> the president is committed to getting this done. we know other security measures at the wall work. we've seen it take place and we're committed to make sure the american people are protected. we're going to continue to push forward and make sure the wall gets built. >> why does threatening a shut down over paying for it? he talked about it over and over again, mexico will pay for the wall. he asked people, crowds chanted back, mexico will pay for it. now he's pushing -- threaten ago

shot down of the government? >> the president is committed to making sure this happens and we're going to push forward. matthew? >> about a week ago on august 17, the president again referenced the fictitious story about general pershing committing a mass execution in the philippines. a couple questions. does the president know that the story is false and if so, why does he keep repeating it? why does the white house think it's appropriate for the president to perpetuate this false story if he hasn't been informed -- >> i haven't had a chance to ask him about that. i can't speak to it. >> the broader point, the president spreading false information via twitter seemed to encourage more atrocities. nobody has -- >> i didn't say no one had. i haven't had that conversation. i'm not going to speak to something i'm not aware of. >> thank you. the u.s. has withheld funding to egypt over its human rights

record. president trump praised president sisi in april while he was here. why the change in tone now? >> look, the united states has always been committed on human rights issues. we'll continue to do that. if i have further updates, i'll let you know. i encourage you to reach out to the state department. april? >> two questions. on the economics on a government shut down if the wall is not paid for, the president likes to talk about how the economy is doing well under his watch. if there is a government shut down, people could be laid off or -- for a moment or some people could lose their jobs. talk to us about economics. what dough he view the economics of this wall for the average american that he's fighting for? >> i'm not going to get into the weeds on that. i know the president is probably one of the strongest presidents we've had on economic issues. there's a reason over a million jobs have been created since he took office. there's a reason that the unemployment is at a 16-year

low. there's a reason the stock market is at an all-time high. he's very committed to job creation, economic growth and he will continue to do that. >> there is a big back and forth about this hbc. three of the organizations that are overtop of the hbcus that represent them are saying this is not the time to have the summit because of charlottesville and some of them feel they didn't get what was promised from this administration and there could be an at mitt summit by a congresswoman. what is going on here? >> the hbcu summit has been going on for over 30 years. we have no intention of cancelling it. right now it's at complete capacity with a waiting list. with that type of engagement, it's best that we move forward. >> can i see the list of schools and the names? we're hearing from schools that are saying that they're not coming. a lot of leaders -- >> i can only tell you who is

registered and certainly that we're at capacity for the convention center with a pretty lengthy waiting list. in terms of whether or nots we release that, i'll have to get back to you. >> what the are the president's thoughts in cuba? we understand 19 americans have been injured. >> i know that they have been going through the process of bringing the majority of those people back to have thorough testing and see what actions need to be taken and how best to move forward. at this point, i refer you to the state department. >> does the president believe cuba is involved? >> i can't comment. we're under a thorough review. when we know, i'll let you know. >> the president said the debt ceiling approval process is a mess. is that accurate? >> it's our job to inform congress of the debt ceiling and it's their job to raise it. congress and the previous administration have obligated trillions in spending. we have to make sure we pay our

debts. we're making sure it gets raised. >> can i ask a follow up question about that? the secretary of state has deemed health attacks in cuba. has the president been informed? briefed? >> he has. there's a thorough review taking place right now. i have to refer you to the state department for follow up. >> thank you, sarah. i'm going to try a business question for you. >> uh-oh. >> does the white house have any reaction to the ftc approving the acquisition of whole foods by amazon? >> i'm not aware of that. i'd have to check and see if there's an official administration response. >> second question. i want to read the comments from senator bob corker. i'm sure you've seen them over a week ago about the president saying that the president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be

successful. he said that he's not sure that the president understands the character of this nation. do you have any response to that from a republican senator? >> that's ridiculous and outrageous claim and doesn't dignify a response in this podium. >> just to follow up on that question. since the president is going full court press, threatening a shut down over the funding of the wall, does that mean he's abandoning any efforts to negotiate with mexico for payments of construction? >> i don't think any efforts have been abandoned. an official happy birthday. >> hold on a second. you mentioned in the opening remarks, honorable and victory as the president did in afghanistan. can you describe for the american people what those words mean to the president? honor able dignity. what does it look like? what does that mean? >> i think when he spoke on monday, he laid out what the top priority was in this process. that's making americans safe and

protecting the american people. moving forward with this strategy and making sure that afghanistan is never able to be used as a haven a tack the united states. i think those are certainly clear goals and part of that process. >> does that mean that u.s. military personnel will be there as long as there is any type of terrorist activity or cell in afghanistan or pakistan? >> look, i think when it comes to the strategy in afghanistan, they will be focused on the conditions on the ground, which will be determined by the generals and the military on the ground and certainly through the department of defense and general mattis and his team and not arbitrary timetables. he will be the one that can lay out those specifics for you and what that looks like. >> you mentioned terrorists and threats. there's several networks there. taliban, isis, al-quaida. is it the strategy of this

administration to eliminate all of those cells and can only then can victory be achieved? >> i'm not going to get down into that. that is a question that is again best answered by general mattis and the department of defense. what i can tell you is the ultimate goal is a peaceful settlement between the government of afghanistan and to protect american lives. that's the focus. i'll let secretary mattis lay that out for you. >> i have to follow up on afghanistan. what we've been doing in afghanistan has been working, why are we still still there? if it hasn't been working, what are we going to do to move forward? >> one is based on the conditions on the ground. not time tables. to make sure that we have an integrated strategy that puts all of our american power,

diplomatic, economic and military in a way that is sustainable and cost-effective and making sure we have this integrative process is a big key to the strategy. >> having troops there, is that what that is? >> again, we're not doing this based on a tile table but conditions on the ground and making sure we're protecting american lives and defeating terrorists. i think that it's very clear when the president laid that out monday. >> hold on. i have a second question on that whatever the final operative is, is it worth the reported trillion dollars that it will work? isn't there anything better that we can spend that on? >> i don't think you can put a price tag on american lives. >> one more question in afghanistan. the president talked about putting more pressure on pakistan to play a constructive role. he also talked about having a new closer strategic partnership with india, which is pakistan's prime antagonist. why does the president think drawing closer to india will prompt the pakistanis to play a

more constructive role rather than getting more defensive? >> there's a regional approach. part of that is developing and strengthening that relationship and partnership with india. they have been making important contributions for afghanistan's democracy and their stability. we think it's important to continue that effort. >> on this threat of the government shut down, if congress doesn't secure funding for the wall, how is that not a concession from the white house that mexico isn't going to pay for the wall and american taxpayers will? >> again, this is something the president is committed to. he's committed to protecting american lives. doing that through the border wall is something that is important. it's a priority. we're moving forward with it. noah? >> he's not saying that mexico is going to pay for it. >> he hasn't said they're not either. no noah? >> they have. >> we've had enough outbursts on that subject. >> the president's ban on

trans-gender service in the military, how close is the white house to sending guidance to the pentagon on that and the policy itse itself, how much will be given to the pentagon on implementing that? >> when we have an announcement, we'll answer the questions at that time. john? >> thank you, sarah. two questions, please. first, the beginning of may, with great fanfare, the president signed a religious orders. and the head of the beckett font, the group that fights for religious equity in court complained about the tax exempt status for churches whether they deal in politics and the affordable care acts contraception clause were still being enforced in spite of the

president's orders that they not be. what is the president doing about this and is he aware of these complaints? >> i'm not sure if he's aware of the complaints or any specific places that is being ignored. i'd have to look into that. probably talk to our friends at hhs and get back to you. >> and my second question is, in russia the major story there is that the theater director, a well known figure in the russian entertainment industry and important part of the putin regime has been arrested and tried on what he said are trumped up charges regarding his finances. there's massive demonstrations beginning. does the administration have a comment on what has happened to him? >> i certainly can't make an official statement at this time but i'll circle back with you. fred?

>> two questions. one, given the -- for congress is there an elevated role for president pence having been in congress and speaking both languages and working with congress? >> the vice president plays a key and pivotal role in the administration and the white house. he's certainly always going to be an important part of the process of moving legislation forward on whatever that circumstance is or whatever the matter is. he is probably one of the best advocates here at the white house and certainly somebody that the president has a great deal of trust in and happy to have him on his team. >> is the role elevated though considering that there seems to be a rift between -- >> i think that the vice president is the second in

command, so it's a pretty high role where he is. certainly again, a key member of this administration and somebody that play as pivotal role every day in the white house no matter what the circumstances are. >> since -- there's been some increased criticism from conservatives about the commissioner at the irs after an i.g. report that came out that highlighted that 213 employees were rehired after committing some crimes. and i was wondering if you can re-visit why the commissioner is still part of the administration and if the president has any plans of putting in a replacement in november? >> when we have an announcement, i'll let you know. >> two questions on pardons. one on sheriff arpaio. is the president seeking more

from the attorney general or asking for an fbi background check in his consideration of that pardon? >> i would imagine they go through the thorough and standard process and when we have an announcement on what that decision is after that is completed, we'll let you know. >> more broadly, beyond arpaio, there are 2,200 other pardon applications pending. does the president have any pardon policy, pardon philosophy, any particular way that he would like to use his pardon power? >> i haven't had a specific conversation with him about that. i know that the white house counsel play as big role in that and would certainly be involved in that process and any deliberations on that. >> the president has been clear that in the past, he wanted to get started on tax reform. we never hear that much about it. politco responded that the president has more about tax reform.

can you see how he wants to kickoff the fall campaign and will we hear from him this week, next week? >> tax relief and the focus on tax relief for middle class americans is a huge priority for this administration. certainly going to be a big focus in the fall. we're going to look at a lot of different ways in which to talk about that and present that to the american people working with congress to make sure that that happens. we'll keep you guys posted when there's specific announcements. i think you can expect that to take place in the very short order of probably next week and following through to the fall. >> is it customary for the president to get annual physicals, physical exams at walter reed. the president last released information about his medical condition last fall during the campaign. can you tell us whether the president intends to utilize the federal facilities at walter reed to get a physical and release that information to the public? >> i'll let you know if that

happens. trey? >> president trump said if we to close down the government, we're going to build that wall. does he stand by that statement? >> the president has said this is a priority. protecting american citizens is a priority, something he's committed to. as i've said today, he is wanting to get that through. >> is he -- >> i've answered this several times. zeke. >> the president mentioned at the rally that he was inclined to pulling the u.s. out of nafta. were those comments informed by the status of those negotiations last week here in washington when he said he had a prediction that he would pull the u.s. out? >> the president has been kept up to date on the negotiations. he's certainly been clear about how he feels about nafta and making sure that we get the best deal for the american people.

he's committed to that. we'll see how the negotiations go and go from there. thanks so much, guys. good afternoon. >> shepard: sarah sanders wrapping up the daily white house press pressing. i say "daily". the first on camera since the beginning of this month. i'm shepard smith and we're happy to have in. there's fall out over the president's response to the deadly charlottesville violence, the president threatening north korea with fire and fury, rising tensions with the president and members of his party and we heard the president take completely different tones in speeches this week. this morning the president took to twitter and was quiet a thing. he blasted his critics and members of his own party. the president tweeted "the only problem i have with mitch mcconnell is that after hearing repeal and replace for seven years, he failed.

that shouldn't have happened. the president has been going back and forth with senator mcconnell. and the president tweeted to paul ryan, i requested that mitch m. and paul r. tie the debt ceiling legislation into a popular v.a. bill, which is passed for easy approval. they didn't do it. we have a big deal with dems holding them up on debt ceiling approval. could have been so easy. now a mess. don't know if this could have been so easy. there is nothing so easy in washington today. chad pergram points out, it's a lack of republican votes that is holding up the debt ceilings. the democrats are not here. it's the republicans. the country's borrowing limit has to go up. the president needs help from democrats. before today's tweets, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says he and the president are committed to working together. of course, we had already been told they haven't spoken in two weeks.

nevertheless, here's what the white house said moments ago. >> i think the relationships are fine. certainly there's policy differences. there are also a lot of shared goals. that's what we're focused on. we're disappointed that obamacare, they failed to get it repealed and replaced. at the same time, president trump has worked with leader mcconnell to reach out to other members and to work on the shared goals and water going to continue to do that when the senate comes back from recess. >> shepard: the president defended his recent speeches and change in tone after announcing a strategy in afghanistan, no details really but a new strategy, and the president trump gave a wild campaign-style speech thursday in phoenix, tore into the media as usual and members of his own party, which is more frequent. the next day the president stuck to the teleprompter while speaking to veterans and he called for national unity and love. today the president tweeted the fake news is now complaining

about my different types of back-to-back speeches. well, there was afghanistan, somber. the big rally, dynamic and fun and the "american legion," the v.a., respectful and strong. too bad the dems have no one that can change tones. chief white house correspondent, john roberts is live at the white house. hi, john. >> shep, good afternoon. all i can tell you it will be very interesting when congress comes back to capitol hill. the president laying down markers on what he expects. sarah huckabee sanders says that tack reform will be a big priority for the president. paul ryan earlier today said he's on board with passing tax reform before the end of the year. but mitch mcconnell at the annual country ham breakfast said it would get done before the end of the congressional session, which means it might not happen until january of 2019. the president might have more talking to do to senator mcconnell in addition to the

talking that he's been doing. we're told by white house officials at fox news that when the president gets together with the senate majority leader at the beginning of the week when congress comes back, he will push him for another attempt at passing obamacare. i asked sarah huckabee sanders about that a short time ago. listen here. >> how does that in combination with what the president might want the senate majority leader to do on obamacare factor into the balance of power in the vote couldn't you need to get a repeal bill through? >> i'm not sure about the specifics of that case. >> will it happen before the august recess? does it have a chance to get it through? >> we're committed to continuing to make sure that we have the best healthcare we can. if we can do that, that's great. if we can't, we need to look for other ways to make solutions. >> just to add context to the beginning of that. i asked sarah huckabee sanders if it would make a difference that a judge in new jersey has said that new jersey democratic senator robert menendez cannot

return to capitol hill to cast votes in the senate, which would change the balance of power. some people at the white house are looking at that saying that might count as a no vote by john mccain and be might get this passed. >> the president said he wants the border wall. what is the word on funding that? >> he said repeatedly, that mexico will pay for the wall. the other night, the president said they were going to shut down government if it takes it to get some funding for the wall. there's no question he will go to congress for this, which brought some questions today about, well, didn't the president say mexico was going to pay for the wall? why does he need to threaten to shut down the government in order to pay for the wall? sarah huckabee sanders didn't speak directly to that. only saying the president's is committed to building the wall and that's what he intends to do. shep? >> shepard: john one day after president trump talked to veterans about unity and love, we're getting a new look at white house guidelines for his proposed ban on trans-gender troops. this comes a month after the

president called for a ban in a series of tweets. fox news has confirmed a white house memo would tell the pentagon to stop admitting trans-gender people into the military and paying for medical treatments for those already serving. this was first reported by the "wall street journal." this would be up to the defense secretary jim mattis whether those troops could stay in the military based on what the memo calls other deployability or their deployability, the ability to serve in a war zone. secretary mattis would have six months to implement the ban. back to john roberts at the white house. the white house hasn't sent this to the pentagon yet? what is the story? >> we understand the white house will send that memo to the pentagon probably the week that congress gets back that would be the day or days following labor day weekend. it's clearly going to be controversial. trans-gender officials, advocacy groups are saying the president

should continue on with the policy that was established during the obama administration. in particular, this idea of deployability is very controversial among trans-gender individuals and the groups that are supporting them saying trans-gender individuals are just as capable as deploying as any other person in the military. we should remind you the president said in tweets and statements about the trans-gender issue, "our military must be devoted to decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the medical costs and disruption that trans-gender would entail" which is one of the reasons why this new policy going to the pentagon from the white house will dry up funding for healthcare and for surgery costs for trans-gender individuals currently in the military. there's a lot of people, shep that believe that this new policy is just a way to not only exclude trans-gender individuals from joining the military after a six-month period but also to

take trans-gender individuals, most of them in the military now and discharge them from the military. shep? >> shepard: john, thank you. coming up next, i'll speak with a reporter about the president's fights with leaders in his own party and what he needs to do to make his agenda a reality. s that coming up on the fund. a couple hours ago we got word that harvey is a hurricane and would you look at these predictions? it's now expected to be the first major hurricane, category three or more, to hit the united states in 12 years. the prediction for rain of 20 plus inches. and winds more than 110 miles an hour. this thing isn't days away. we're talking tomorrow night and into saturday morning. the fox extreme weather center is all over it. predictions, warnings, evacuations all ahead. (hard exhalation) honey? can we do this tomorrow? (grunts of effort)

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>> shepard: a massive mudslide

caught on camera. police report eight people missing in the swiss alps. drone video shows the town buried in muck after the slide. rescuers using helicopters and search dogs. investigators in colorado say they pulled over a 13-year-old driving a car with meth. it happened on the interstate not far from the utah boarder. sheriff deputies say they found 25 pounds of meth stashed inside. the 13-year-old boy faces charges for the drugs and driving without a license. in florida, a joint funeral for two police officers. thousands of people packed a church outside orlando. investigators say a suspect opened fire on officer max you baxter and sam howard during a routine stop last week. coming up, the latest on hurricane harvey barrelling for texas. our meteorological team is on it next. what did you think when i asked you these questions?

i had never met anybody from the navy that's why i was, like, asking you all kinds of questions. yeah. i honestly didn't know what the marines did. everybody's experience is unique. you got musicians, you have cooks, you have admin people. ♪ i just think people should be more open minded. just get to know the person. ♪

so we sent that sample i doff to ancestry. i was from ethnically. my ancestry dna results are that i am 26% nigerian. i am just trying to learn as much as i can about my culture. i put the gele on my head and i looked into the mirror and i was trying not to cry. because it's a hat, but it's like the most important hat i've ever owned. discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com. >> shepard: just heard from the white house press secretary

sarah huckabee sanders in her first on-camera briefing of the month. it comes after different speeches in president trump and a series of tweets taking to republicans. let's go to josh gershstein from politco. sarah says the relations are fine between the president and mitch mcconnell. is that true? >> that's not true. the last conversation they had was a shouting match and disagreement from the president over the senate's failure to pass the obamacare legislation and even the fact there's investigations underway in congress and the president and his campaign's alleged connections to russia. so there's a lot of anger. it seemed like the white house's strategy was to paper it over. saying we're going to work together, cumbaya and bang, this

morning another flurry of three tweets attacking mitch mcconnell and dragging into it paul ryan. >> shepard: it seems the president believes that republicans on the hill are to protect him from the investigation regarding russia. where did he get this idea and what kind of protection does he want? >> we reported here that senator tom tillis had received such a conversation with the president in which the president criticized the senate's consideration of legislation to prevent the firing of robert mueller, the special counsel. so the president does seem really focused on this. it seems to me from the tweets and the public statements that he's already running sort of a run against washington, knock the bums out of office kind of campaign. the problem here is that we're in august of 2017. the president is not up for re-election for another three years and three months or so and congress isn't even up for 1 1/2

years. it's not clear what the strategy is to get his legislative agenda done and if he has any realistic understanding of the mechanics on capitol hill. >> shepard: what about the threat of a government shut down? how real is that? do we know? >> it's fairly real. if the president will be insistent that there has to be funding for the border while despite the fact that he said the mexicans were going to pay for it, it's possible that there will be a shut down. the democrats won't go along with than some republicans may not. is the president serious about this? is he saying that if a bill is delivered to his desk he will allow the government to go in shut down or will he blink wh when -- he did blink when there was a temporary spending bill that came up. >> shepard: thanks, josh. we're getting a lot from people saying they haven't spoken because they're in recess.

that is not the reason. according to our reporting and josh's and others, there was a bit of a shouting match on the phone. there's an impasse there. believe it or not. the reports say it is the case. whether they patch things up remains to be seen. in charleston, south carolina, we've been reporting at a hostage situation with an active shooter situation. took hostages. it's come to an end. the city's mayor says moments ago the gunman was a disgruntled worker who had taken hostages in this restaurant after firing a shot and hitting one person. now we know police have taken down the gunman. it's our understanding that they shot him. he's injury. off to the hospital. the one person whom the gunman shot has since died. a patron inside the restaurant. so one dead and the gunman critical, this all happened in the past couple hours.

witnesses told the post and courier newspaper that it started when the man came from the front door with a small revolver wearing an apron and dressed like the kitchen staff at the restaurant on king street, which is probably the biggest tourist street there in charleston. he said he locked the door and said i'm the new king of charleston. the hostage situation is over. the victim is dead. the suspect shot and critical. updates as they come in. a major hurricane is expected to hit in the state of texas. the first major hurricane, category three or larger to hit the united states in 12 years. forecasters at the national hurricane center center and national weather service warning of life threatening conditions. dozens and dozens of inches of rain and a storm expected to slam ashore as a category three or higher and then sit and rain for days. the extreme weather center is on deck right after this from fox news.

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. >> shepard: hurricane harvey is taking aim at texas as emergency officials order mandatory evacuations. the predictions are serious. meteorologists at the national hurricane center say they expect harvey to be a major storm, a cats 3 with winds topping 110 miles an hour by the time it makes lands fall friday night into saturday morning. the target area, never want to be too specific by anyone from the central part of the texas gulf coast to houston and galveston area. if predictions hold, harvey could be the first major hurricane to hit the u.s. in 12 years. the hurricane center says it expects it to stall and dump heavy rain for days. people are getting ready for the storm. they don't have a lot of time left. filling sand bags and stocking up on water and gas and covering windows and doors with plywood. rick reichmuth is here. yesterday this was a little

thing. >> yeah, a tropical storm. we've gotten good at forecasting the direction, where storms are going to go. we're not that good at forecasting intensity of storms. so we have known that this is the target area for three or four days. we didn't it would be this strong. but environmental conditions are such that the water is warm and there's nothing in the upper atmosphere to disturb it. we think it will strengthen to a category one storm, could be up to a four. we thought we were talking about a big rain event, which we are and maybe not as much as a windstorm surge but now we're talking both. the high pressure will move into the top of it. so you see the models. they all come up here to the coast and do that. they get stuck there. so it's going to meander around for probably five days. we're talking about rain from friday until wednesday. >> shepard: 39 inches of rain. >> yes. this is a really reliable model. when you see these numbers being

spit out, that's a euro. the american version of the forecasting. kind of the same thing. you get the idea. the same area. this one goes a little bit farther back in. so towards austin and san antonio. hill country. all that way inland getting the rain. if you need to evacuate the coast, which you need to, you you think where do i go? you can't move 50 miles inland. you might be in a situation where there's inland flooding that is catastrophic. go 300 or 400 miles inland. the economics of that is difficult. where do you go, where do you stay. all the people on the roads at this time. we're talking about a landfall tomorrow night. get out of the way right now. >> shepard: very fast. 12 years since a major storm hit the u.s. i didn't realize that. >> it's rare to go that long. we've hat category twos making landfall, matthew last year but no major hurricane hitting anywhere in the u.s. this part of texas hasn't had a major hurricane in 47 years.

it's people that have not seen anything like this in a long time that storm caused catastrophic damage. this as strong of a storm but the inland flooding situation, if you have ten inches, it can cause flash flooding. but it will run off to 5, 10 miles away. if you have this big of an area getting that kind of rain, that water can't get out of there quickly at all, especially with this being low-lying area. we're talking about a wide swath of texas here with flooding. one last things, go back towards louisiana. don't forget that. parts of louisiana may be over a foot of rain and getting very dangerously close to new orleans, which a few weeks ago had the catastrophic fleeting in the french quarter. >> shepard: our local stares in houston, corpus christi and new orleans are doing extensive we've coverage. if you need direction, i suggest you go to the locals there. >> to be safe. we'll give you the broad story.

if you're someplace that knows about your street, your neighborhood will be dealing with, you have to be safe like that. >> shepard: don't be messed with. trust that guy. the u.s. is sending more troop to afghanistan. we don't know how many. we're not getting details. we'll talk to a journalist that spend time with afghan forces. that's next.

>> shepard: the ultimate goal they tell suspeace between afghanistan and the taliban. that is from the white house minutes as. press secretary sarah sanders wouldn't discuss details about the strategy to make that happen. the top u.s. commandner afghanistan said a troop increase is underway already. he wouldn't say how many, but said they would be used to train the afghan military.

inside word to us, something around 4,000. we're not sure. fox news has confirmed they said sending about 4,000 to afghanistan now. let's turn to robert pelton. he's been to afghanistan many times and met with the top u.s. commander of american and nato troops and tagged along with an afghan counter terrorism unit. good to see you, robert. >> hey, shep. how are you doing? >> shepard: they don't talk about a military victory. what is this about? >> well, i think it's better to look at afghanistan like firefighting. we're trying to put out these small uprisings or gatherings of terrorist groups that rise up and spread. we have had a lot of fort operating bases and people on the ground, so now we have more incursions and violent attacks. this is changing the metrics to

have more afghan commandos and more trainers. >> shepard: and to what end? >> a very good question. for president trump, this is more of a legacy issue. nobody wants to be known as the person that lost the car in afghanistan. each president has kicked it forward and let the next. deal with it. >> shepard: there has to be more to it than that. we can't just be fighting with no end game. just a world without end. >> well, we went there because al-quaida had a safe haven and the taliban gave them safe haven. right now we have 20 terrorist groups that claim afghanistan as a safe haven. so our goal was to rid the white spaces. along the way, we wanted to do state building. essentially, we're fighting three wars in afghanistan. we're fighting a counter

terrorism war, a stabilization war and also fighting a political war, which is maintaining the centralized government run by the afghanistan president. the bottom line, when you support afghan commandos and go into a village and take out the taliban, you can't walk away. the afghan government is bankrupt. they rely on foreign donors for its existence. there will be some diplomatic or political activities going on. we've always had a disdense between the state department activities and military activities. if you remember, general mcchrystal was fired for that disidence. we have to synchronize them. >> shepard: what is the situation with the afghan army. what is the situation with it now? >> it's doing well.

i've done missions with afghan commandos and u.s. special forces. you'd be very impressed. they're good, solid troops. they need airlift, support, medevac, all those basic things. afghanistan has an urban counter terrorism group that i read about in "recoil" magazine. they're extremely efficient. so i give full marks for the troops we have trained. they want to double the number of commandos a rapid reaction force, this is a very good way to prosecute this war. sort of a rapid reaction for it. >> thanks, robert. good to talk to you. thanks. should news break out, we'll break in. braining news changes everything on fox news channel. final bell will ring in a few minutes. it's a down day. but the situation with the oil rigs or i should say the oil platforms in the gulf of mexico, a couple of them have been shut down. we're expecting oil prices to

rise. if nothing else between now and the storm, which is scheduled to hit friday night into saturday. the first major hurricane to hit the united states in 12 years. sandy was a super storm, not a hurricane. "your world" with neil cavuto after this. boost. it's about moving forward, not back.

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so he got home safe. yeah, my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. what?! you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. >> neil: fox on top of two big storms barrelling down. harvey and a category one storm charging towards texas. could be a category three when it hits land. the other storm more the political variety. the battle brewing between the president of the united states and the senate boss, mitch mcconnell. the president not backing off despite my advice -- i don't know how that goes, but it's going. john roberts from the white house on how we got here. john? >> the president told me specifically this afternoon, neil, that had you not weighed in, he probably would have made a different decision. no, it's what we've gotten used to from this president that as people around him say oh, there's no problem here, everything is