[♪] reporter: cleaning up in texas but residents are days away from cleaning up from harvey. the strongest hurricane to hit the united states in 16 years blew into texas last night. fox news' live team coverage of the storm, what happened and what is still to come. let's start with matt finnn live in houston. reporter: the storm continues. it may wind down as far as the wind power. but it's not over by any stretch of the imagination.

hurricane harvey came onshore as a category 4 storm. any rain that's falling is going to begin to pile up missing close to columbus around the victoria area where the eyewall is continuing to spin. everything off on the right side of this storm is under a tornado watch. the conditions are there. we have seen severe weather the last several hours. it's been along this line. it's training there, a lot of heavy rain. we have seen tornadoes spin up within this system. that's a spot if usual in this area you want to pay attention. i wouldn't be surprised if another tornado spined up in the next few hours. this is your tornado threat tonight. it's just going to be staying here on the east side of this storm. that's where the conditions are

rolling in off the gulf of mexico. there is a lot of stability and we are seeing heavy thunderstorms and a couple of tornadoes. there is where the spin currently is. we'll watch this fall back down to the coast. not really moving off into the distance. as this drops down closer to the shore we'll see the opportunity to pick up more moisture and the rain will continue to fall. we can start to see impressive numbers. here is the ice o -- the. >> isobars.it weakens as far as, but it will pick up moisture and dropping a ton after rain over a couple hundred-mile span here.

that's why we are year look at flash flood watches because we are look for heavy rain if that settles close to the coast. in corpus christi, 8-10 inches. but as you head north, maybe 35-40 inches won't be unheard of. that stretches up to the houston area. it's a city that traditionally does struggle with floating. so there will be folks in dire straight. it depends on where we see that activity. unfortunately not a lot of

movement. so we are watching closely the next couple days. his * we did have some technical difficulties. we were going to speak to matt finnn which i think we now have. now matt is here with us. let's check in with you about this. you are in sugarland, texas right now. what's going on? reporter: this is a slow-moving storm. for 24 hours we have seen consist spent walls of rain, steady, heavy, violent rain going on and off. we are in shugaredland. there is a fresh tornado warning and fresh flash flood warning that just came over our phones. 9 inches of rain already fell in this area. and the national weather services saying 15-25 inches of

vein could fall in this area. this forecast for this dangerous flooding. grocery stores are closed. gas stations are closing. services people need are slowly starting to dwindle. more and more hotels are closing early. there is not a lot of the food being served. services and supplies seem to be dwindling. the storm is being described as a marathon, not a sprint. we have been in and around the southeastern side of texas. everywhere we go people are trying to stay safe and get by in texas. >> we appreciate your reporting. joining me by the phone is the chief of the corpus christi fire department. thank you for being with us

tonight. we so appreciate your service and the dedicated men and women, first responders putting their lives at risk to keep people safe. could you tell us, what has the last 24 hours been like for you and your firefighters? >> the city was hit by a category 4 hurricane it went and little north of us, but we experienced heady rain, lots of rain and downed trees and power lines. lisa: regarding the buildings in corpus christi, how are they holding up with wind and flood damage. >> we didn't see that much flood damage. but we saw a lot of damage to our infrastructure. we lost power in a lot of areas of the city.

we weren't able to adequately process our water, so we are on a boil ordinarier in the city of corpus christi. lisa: how many emergency calls have you seen since last night? >> well, a ton of them. we had to make sure that the policy did go on we could get our people back safely. currently we currently are providing supplies to port aransas. his * were there any emergencies you weren't able to get to? too for the most of part all the calls we have been on we were able to get to. however, there were downed power lines, downed trees, but we were able to get to every call.

lisa: for those who left in advance of the storm. any idea when they can return? >> that's a good question. the city, a great part of the city does not have electrical power. the sold city is under a boil order. if somebody wants to decide to come back to the city there will be extreme circumstances in which they will have to survive. a boil order for water and a loss of electrical power. lisa: for those who decided to stay, any advice for them? >> we had a good outcome, not too many problems. what we are asking our citizenry to do is stay inside. be patient with us. we are working with the electrical companies to get the utilities turned on and the

water restored so we can pull the boil order. we are asking our citizenry to be patient with us. >> do you have an estimation how many houses are without power in corpus christi? >> i would say a third of corpus christi is without power. >> this has got to be tough for you guys and the firefighters. how are you guys holding up? >> it's unbelievable. the firefighters have been wonderful. they want to go on calls. they are helping people out. and this is the time in which they shine. firefighters are out there as well as firefighters throughout the united states doing a great job helping our citizenry. >> has there been any injuries to the firefighters you have seen so far? >> so far we have been injury-free.

so albeit the last 24 hours amid the most of hectic times, we have had few injuries and no fatalities. lisa: we are praying for you guys. we know you are doing your job and doing it well. and our thoughts and prayers are with you guys and the first responders in the affected areas. thank you, sir, we appreciate it. more coverage of the big storm and what happens next in texas. coming up on justice. next, paul ryan breaks with the president on his controversial pardon of arizona sheriff joe arpaio. you know what's awesome?

gig-speed internet.

you know what's not awesome? when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really? and these kids. and these guys. him. ah. oh hello- that lady. these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh. sure. still yes! you can get it too. welcome to the party. introducing gig-speed internet from xfinity. finally, gig for your neighborhood too. >> i love that president. he supports law enforcement. and i'm very humbled. if you recall, two years ago i supported him, and i said publicly recently pardon or no pardon i will be with him to the end. lisa: sheriff joe arpaio was the grateful recipient of a

presidential pardon last night. that's got some people upset including house speaker paul ryan saying quote law enforcement officials have a special responsibility to respect the laws of the united states. we should not allow anyone to believe that responsibility is diminished by this pardon. lisa: i want to get your response to this. you saw the statement from paul ryan. senator mccain has also been critical of the president's decision to pardon the sheriff. >> i sheriff joe should never have been prosecuted in the first place. there was an overwhelming bias in the obama justice department who was hell bent on convicting him no matter what they had to do. the judge they used was a

left-wing judge that ignored every witness in the trial who contradicted the conviction. there is a large portion,ly a, of th --lisa, of the radical let hold law enforcement and the military in contempt because they see them as defenders of an american constitutional philosophy and way of life that the left despises. the real injustice is that the sheriff was prosecuted at all. he's 85 years old. and his wife eva is desperately ill. if she would have had to watch them go to jail she probably would have seen him for the last time. it's outrageous when you think of the pardons and com commutats

of other presidents. lisa: regarding depastian gorka leaving the white house. it reads the individuals who most of embodied the politics who represent make america great again have been internally countered, or removed. steve bannon said what they worked for is over. is this a changing direction from the white house people should expect? >> i hope it isn't. sebastian gorka is a hero, and steve bannon is as well. they have been maligned by the

radical militant left in ways that are completely unjust. i don't know the specifics there. but it's incumbent upon the president to make sure his vision and the things he ran on continue to be at the center of political discourse. there are always people for good reasons and bad reasons think their own perspective is better than the president's. sometimes a president may not always say things the way people would like for him to do. but if you listen to what he's trying to relate and what he does, i think he has been very, very good for america, and i hope he's able to maintain his position effectively. certainly the fact that he even appointed a guy like sebastian gorka or steve bannon was to his credit.

lisa: one of the items you talked about was building the wall. you were at the rally tuesday night with the president in arizona. immigration is a huge issue for you in your state. i want to play some sound from the rally from president trump and i want your response. >> the obstructionist democrats would like us not to do it. but we have to close down our government, we are building that wall. lisa: some are saying president trump is going to hunker down on building the wall as part of the debt ceiling. what will it take for you or the freedom caucus to vote for an increase in the debt ceiling. >> the only reason there was ever any discussion about closing count government is the president knows the democrats will continue to do what they have done obstructing the process using the 60-vote rule

to even get a bill to the floor. when it comes to appropriations they say we are not going to vote on the bill. it make it almost impossible for to us get anything done. it's not a matter if they want to vote a certain way, great. but they keep us from voting or amending the bill that way. the president want to break that filibuster. he knows the democrats will change it as soon as they are in power. and he knows if this agenda is to receive any sort of vote. that rule has to change. so i think that's what he's talking about. on the wall, i stood behind george bush back in 2006 when he signed the first border wall bill. lisa: which a lot of democrats voted for. >> absolutely. it was a bipartisan bill. now somehow they make it sounds

like donald trump is someone who wants to wall up everyone. but this was almost a consensus in 2006 when 600 miles of the wall had been built already. we should have a rallying cry to finish the wall. i think it's again the left has this hell-spent convict they will do whatever is necessary to discredit or take out donald trump, even though he's a validly elected president of the united states. i hope that he keeps doing what he can. i hope he maintains his focus on does what's right. thus far i have been thankful for his appointments. i think mike pence is one of the finest men in american government. the appointment of neil gorsuch. some of the thing this president has done are foundation and basic to the future of this

country. and i like that he was strong when it came to north korea when few other presidents really were. lisa: thank you for being here tonight. we appreciate your time. next, another check on tropical storm harvey. adam klotz is next.

i'm marianne rafferty, now back to "justice with judge jeanine." lisa: we'll check are hurricane harvey in a bit. but president obama making a lot of news. here to talk about it. michael star hopkins as welling a charlie kirk. guys thanks for being here. i want to start with you, michael. president trump is getting a lot of criticism for the pardoning

of joe arpaio. but you can look at bill clinton pardoning marc rich. tax fraud, and president obama in the commuting of the sentence of the chelsea manning who was a traitor and put people's lives at risk. >> i criticized the commutation of chelsea manning. i think the president should use pardoning and commutation in rare instances. the fact that he pardoned joe arpaio and endorsed the racism joe arpaio has demonstrated. >> that's a ridiculous accusation. just throw out racist when you

disagree with someone. joe arpaio bravely served his country. he's a hero. he's a veteran. he served his country wonderfully. we did was enforced the immigration laws despite federal overreach. the 9th circuit court is wildly liberal and politically left. did sheriff joe arpaio do everything perfectly? no. he ran on immigration laws. are you going to subjugate an 85-year-old veteran who served his country. i'm not a huge fan of presidential pardons, but i don't see anything wrong with this. lisa: i want to play you sound from the rally tuesday night from president trump on the

wall. >> the obstructionist democrats would like us not to do it. but we have to close down our government we'll build that wall. his * what are your thoughts on how the wall stands in congress? >> the wall doesn't stand high enough. i'm so fed up with congress. why they took the move august off. they have the gal t -- they have gall to take off the entire month of august. if you remember in the 90s, bill clinton and newt gingrich, they shut down the government and they ended up getting a balanced budget as a result of it. the government still runs. it's just non-essential parts of government -- lisa: so let's talk about the democratic party and

immigration. you can go back to 2006. people like senator dianne feinstein. senator chuck schumer voted for the fence. dianne feinstein said the democratic party is firmly behind the secure fence act and border security. why the abarn donement? >> the recommend is of your question is off. his * answer my question. you said my question was wrong. so please tell me what have they put forth to secure the border? >> the democrats said we would support a virtual fence that's affordable. >> no, they haven't. >> you want to be selective about which laws you enforce?

lisa: let michael speak. >> you can afford for the government to shut down. millions of americans across this country can't. when the government gets shut down, those people will be hurt. it won't be you. we have to build a wall 2,000 miles long when we have people going hungry. and we are sitting here talking about whether joe arpaio -- lisa: about immigration. hillary clinton gave a platform to illegal immigrants which is the first time anything like that happened. and chris ma these of msnbc, a progressive, criticized hillary clinton. that was your candidate in 2016. chris matthews actually criticized her.

for not addressing the issue of illegal galt on the bored. even chris ma these said this was an issue she needed to address. why hasn't your party addressed this? >> last i checked the republicans have majority in the senate, the house and the white house. how about you pass legislation and not just talk about it. >> you had the ability to move on it and you failed to do it. >> wrather than having the conversation you want to talk about identity politics and mexicans are rapists. all these coded language. >> the house did pass kate's law and an appropriations bill to build the call. the democratic party used to

stand for bothe border security. but it's no longer advantageous. >> and the republicans don't believe in the constitution. his * let's check in on our top story. harvey may be a tropical storm, but the fury is not over. meteorologist adam clots is klos tracking harvey. >> we'll see severe weather overnight. winds at 60 miles an hour. it's a powerful storm moving very slowly. when you are talking about that slow movement. rain can train and it starts to pile up. the rainfall totals will be

climbing in the next several days into early next week. my concern in the overnight hours is everything we are seeing off to the east of the sigh wall, it's grabbing some heat and moisture. that's everything you are seeing in the red area. that's a tornado watch. the conditions are there. you can see tornado warnings. currently we have a tornado warning just on the western edge of houston as this is going to be continuing to lift this band right here that moved very slowly. if you are in that band you now it's been packing a punch. and it's been spawning tornadoes. typically we talk of a hurricane that spawned because of them. and you are right there it's a big system for you. it is just everything off to the east side of this hurricane or former hurricane now tropical storm. pulling up moisture giving us an

opportunity for severe weather. moving forward, this storm doesn't move a lot. drifting to the north, it will turn around into the overnight hours and sunday then head back south. move back to the coast, pick up more moisture and keep range up and down the coast as a result. here is a tropical model. all of these circles, that's where the hurricane is. in sunday into monday eventually into tuesday and wednesday, this is just trapped. nowhere to go. it will bounce around the coast. we are talking about a downpour, that's when the rainfall totals start to pile up. flood watches already in place as the rain goints get going. off into the portions of eastern

houston, we'll see more heavy rain. you see maybe corpus christi getting 5-10 inches. but you head north where the system is going to spin more. areas getting 35 to to 40 inches. maybe not the heaviest rain lifting all the way up there, but still impressive numbers. you do see you start to get to this white color. if this just travels a little farther that direction, we are talking about really impressive rainfall totals. this will be a very large storm. here it is one last time. tropical storm harvey 30 miles off victoria, texas. we'll be tracking it until the middle of next week. his * sebastian gorka resigned

from the white house. does the afghanistan

lisa: sebastian gorka is out as deputy assistant to president trump. i want to talk about afghanistan as well as sebastian gorka. he's critical of president trump. i want to read your quote and get your thoughts on that. he says the peach removed i mention of radical islam or radical islamic terrorism.

what were your thoughts on the president's speech and what were your thoughts on gorka's statements about it? >> i think the president has proven time and time again that he recognizes the role militant islamic terrorism plays. but there is as foundational ideology fueling that throughout the middle east and europe and pockets of the united states. so the president understands that. i thought not having that in the speech was more because he was focusing on the military strategy. i think it its concerning with someone like sebastian gorka who is clear eyed on that with steve bannon on the outside. what you don't want to see is the president surround only with people who are reflecting

beltway wisdom. within the beltway you use euphemisms like violent extremism. the president's instincts are correct. he understands the threat. but i think there is some cause for concern that he may be getting too much conventional analysis with the recent changes. lisa: what are your thoughts on that. gorka in that resignation letter said that basically the voices that were supporting make america great again are being pushed out. we also saw a similar statement from steve began noon when he exit the white house. is there too much of this going on, do you think? >> i think the president's speech was very good, i was concerned the next day when secretary tillerson said we may not win, but the taliban needs

to know they may not win either. the taliban, they are militant islamists. you are not going to negotiate with the taliban. the president's position is let's fight to win and unsleesh fury on these people. that's the way you can win by beating them into submission. they are not going to negotiate. when you see the statements that maybe we can make nice with the taliban is more an obama approach than trump approach. lisa: secretary mat is told the senate committee we are not winning the war in afghanistan. from your perspective will what president trump laid out monday, will that change the game? it will make it more difficult

for terrorists to operate. when obama was president we mad guys out there and they wouldn't even be able to shoot some of the terrorist terrorists -- depn the rules of engagement. so in that sense it's going to be much better than the obama policy. i think it problem with afghanistan is afghanistan is afghanistan. it's a pre-modern society. afghe swiegd the american forces.

i can't predict that because that's beyond what our capacity to do is. lisa: president trump is potentially heading to missouri next tweak talk about tax reform. republicans are very critical of leadership with healthcare and not being inclusive in the process. are we seeing the same thing play out with tax reform? >> i hope not. that's not the way you are going to succeed. i was one of the leading voices against the bored adjustment tax. that's a new tax, none of us campaigned on it. the leadership listened and they removed the border adjustment tax. i think the house will pass tax reform. after watching what happened in

july. lisa: we appreciate your service, thank you for being with us. president trump catching heat for big decisions during hurricane last night. but is the

lisa: they call it a friday night news dump. joe concha is a media reporter for "the hill." joe, what's going on? >> judge booth, good to see you. lisa: even before the storm hit we had salon criticizing trump's handling of the storm before it even hit. >> do you think so far -- do you think at least initially, do you think the trump administration, fema and u.s. government has hand this in a meticulous, proactive fashion? lisa: yes. >> do you think she is going to write maybe i got it wrong? maybe the president deserves credit here? lisa: i think she'll dig in

further. if i was a betting woman. >> i would bet mcgregor would knock out mayweather before that happens. >> the storm turned into a climate change. it has to do with stalling out over texas. the track of a storm has nothing to do with climate change. but i saw the pivot to a news dump. lisa: which every president does. we saw the transgender bathrooms, transgender military, the pardoning of joe arpaio. doesn't every president do it? >> every president does it, and the fbi does it.

the friday news dump has been happening for years and years. lisa: president obama is pretty good eight, too. >> january 17 president obama commute the sentences of 1,700 prisoners. one was oscar lopez. this is one politico calls a terrorist. this guy by all means should not have been let go. so if you are upset about joe arpaio getting pardoned during a heavy news cycle, then you better be upset about oscar lopez who was a terrorist. what was the quote politico used. the most of active deadly, well trained terror group in the united states. if you are mad about arpaio, show me the tweets from january 17 when president obama commute

the sense. that's why people don't trust the media. lisa: when you see stuff like this, it's playing right into president trump's hand when he says fake news, i'm look at you, cnn, whoever he decide to call out. they are playing right into this. >> i don't think the media is emotion alley capable or mature to handle president trump's insults. my wife is an e.r. doctor. when people come in she doesn't get emotional. she just does her job. e.r. doctors are like reporters. the line between straight news reporting and political have been obliterated. because a lot of reporters can't handle being attacked by trump so they try to punch back and that's not their job.

a mayor rift poll show -- a marist poll shows 97% of voters don't trust the media. lisa: that's it for us tonight. it's been a pleasure being with you. stay with us for continuing coverage of hurricane harvey. have a good night and please stay safe out there. i didn't know where i was from ethnically. so we sent that sample off to ancestry. 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.

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>> important information is about drop as we wait a full update for the national hurricane center. it's one that is often given in quite a while. i'm here is over with hurricane coverage tracking harvey. survivors of the harvey are dealing with a new problem just in the last little while. rain is now falling at a rate of two-4 inches in our and highly populated cities like houston. flash flooding emergency.