good morning welcome to this special edition of "early today. i'm phillip mena >> i'm frances rivera. >> hurricane laura is battering louisiana. the category 4 storm making landfall just a short while ago. it's packing a powerful punch with an unsurvivable storm surge as it's called and also dangerous winds. people rush to sandbag a bayou as flood waters rush in. what are you seeing so far, priscilla? >> reporter: well, phillip,

frances, the rain has picked up in the last 20 minutes or so we're beginning to see that downpour begin and one os going to be the red river that you see behind me. in the past in 2015 this river actually flooded causing an interstate highway to shut down and also some flood damage to a number of homes and so as we wait for this storm to come in and this continued rain we're going to be looking to see if that flooding becomes an issue and the other thing here is obviously the wind right now the wind is fairly calm even as the rain begins to come down. the fact it could pick up throughout the day in the next few hours. forecasters are projecting up to 60 miles per hour winds and that would be a major problem for power lines and the potential for downed power lines and for people to lose power, something that we're already seeing in the southern part of the state as the hurricane moves through there. i will say that folks for the most part are taking those

precautions. the casinos here along the river are shut down. you've got the cities and the businesses and a number of these surrounding cities are already shut down as folks are bracing to wait out this storm as it prepares to move through and they begin to get the bulk of it here in the shreveport area. >> crucial hours to come and in texas before those rescues can happen thank you for the update >> a little further south things are much worse as we speak but let's bring in janessa webb. she has been tracking hurricane laura for us good morning so where is hurricane laura as we speak >> it's just making its way outside of lake charles. the eye of the storm system is sitting in lake charles right now t. we'll continue to watch the backside of this system make its way up into this area, but this is a destructive storm system this is the strongest storm on record to ever hit southwest

louisiana. i do want to do some live tracking right now morgan city, there is that potential of tornados that are going to be sparking up throughout your afternoon. this is far from over. this storm system has still maintained its integrity from landfall what that means is it went in as a cat 4 and it is still a cat 4 hurricane. it will continue its way to the north and we're currently have 200,000 people without power so the winds are going to be an issue throughout the afternoon but i think the next big threat that we are seeing for louisiana to lake charles is the storm surge. this is the deadliest part and that right front quadrant went into this area river levels sparked up to 9 feet in some areas and the storm surge forecast is going to be up to 20 to 30 feet so even if you're on top of your

first story home there is going to be devastation across this area now, this is not just going to be flooding areas. the foundation is going to be coming up in these areas so watching cameron to jennings, all the coastal areas of louisiana. i still think the national hurricane center maintains this as a cat 4 hurricane going into the 5:00 a.m. hour it starts to lose its force as it makes its way inland later in the afternoon. so we're going to continue to watch the tropical force winds what you are going to be hearing throughout the day is that this is far from over because it's still continues into arkansas, the mississippi valley, then we have portions of the mid-atlantic going into the weekend. even areas of the northeast are going to be seeing parts of this tropical system. it even has potential to go back into the atlantic and then recharge that's far out but we're going to be watching that. so again, the storm surge, the

flooding threat is going to be the issue. now, on top of the storm surge is the rain we're talking about. some areas locally could get up to 15 inches that's on top of the surge so for all of these areas from lake arthur to lafayette, this is just a copious amount of moisture that is going to be impacting this area. the storm surge will stretch up 30 to 40 miles across this area and i also think we're going to start to see flooding this afternoon into this evening for little rock. you know, you guys, what's really devastating about this storm system, even though it is the strongest we've ever seen, i mean, we are continuing to see the backside of the storm impacting cameron, louisiana so first you had the center, the first eye wall, then it got a little bit of a break.

now the backside is impacting that area and then the second wave is going to be impacting lake charles so it's just a double dose of horrific conditions that we're seeing in that area. >> we can focus on the storm surge you were talking about you threw those numbers out with 15, 20 the storm surge numbers i know katrina which we all know the devastating impact that katrina had. that was 28, like, rita, those were in the 20s so we're talking about a storm of similar size and possibly similar impact and we all know those names for a reason >> exactly and the intensity of katrina and ike were for less, but this is unsurvivable those are the words it is national weather service put out yesterday. now, the surge up to 20 feet for lake charles and right now already up to 9 feet, that's just beginning you know, the system continues to make its way through and so

the bulk of that moisture is going to be coming on the backside of that so we're just on the beginning phase and you know, we talk about storm surge, it's the deadliest part of a hurricane because you're just not going to escape water it's going to come in and it's going to come in quickly >> it's so alarming on so many fronts when you think about the winds that we're talking about, storm surge and then the rain on top of that. really alarming when you hear those words unsurvivable we'll check back in with you in a little bit this is a catastrophic storm. it made landfall in the dead of night. officials in texas and louisiana are warning the damage from this storm could be some of the worst to hit the gulf region in decades. joining us is the director of the red cross. thank you so much for joining us what is the red cross doing to

help those residents from the affected area. are you seeing residents from the lake charles area in the houston area >> the american red cross has been planning for this for some time and we have deployed over 600 volunteers up and down the gulf coast primarily until texas and louisiana. and we are working with local authorities and helping them with shelters. we have more volunteers on stand by with supplies to help people out to make them comfortable during this challenging time >> all right talk about that a little bit more, if you can, mary you talk about shelter and other resources. if you need to go grab a glass of water, please do so >> excuse me i'm okay >> thank you what other forms are being provided there if you can specify? >> well, we're working with local authorities and those

shelters we are providing cots and blankets and helping with ppe and just doing what we can includinh services you know, we've been hearing about the concerns around covid and you know, the american red cross is being creative about what we can do to support including providing some of these services virtually instead of on the ground, but yet those services are still there and still vital. we're very, very concerned about evacuation and it's really want to be able to communicate to everybody if they haven't evacuated and if if it's still safe to do so, please do it and if not, get to a higher part of your home if it's a little too late if you see a tornado or if there's a tornado coming, go further into your home so that's what we're doing, getting information out, working with local officials and supporting the shelters that are open >> we wish you all the best. thank you for everything you do.

thank you so much for your time this morning moving on to other headlines, the justice department has opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting of jacob blake. wisconsin's attorney genre leased new details about the incident he found a knife was found on the scene but would not say whether or not he was carrying it all of the officers involved are an add min stray tiministrative investigation continues. gabe gutierrez has this report >> reporter: an arrest and the deadly violence that broke out last night in wisconsin over the shooting of jacob blake. this video captured part of it shots ringing out. a man on the ground firing a long gun it's unclear what happened before or after this video

right before dawn authorities are still on the scene police say two people are dead, at least one person injured. >> authorities arrested 17-year-old kyle ridden house in illinois he faces a first degree homicide charge >> it seems to be a member of a militia group who decided to be a individuvigilante. video posted men with guns outside a boarded up building. >> do you feel that the presence of militias last night contributed to the increased tension there? >> so you want my personal opinion. i don't -- to some people it may have been calming. to me it's not >> reporter: since sunday when an officer shot blake multiple times in the back the police

department has stayed mostly silent the chief would not answer questions about the blake shooting or the video saying it was under investigation by state authorities. >> i'm not going to address that because it is one snip et of a very large situation >> eyewitnesses said that your officers asked mr. blake to drop a knife. was any weapon recovered at the scene? >> i can't answer questions. >> for blake's uncle, answers can't come soon enough >> we don't want violence, we want justice >> reporter: the extradition for the accused gunman is set for friday wisconsin's governor has authorized another 500 members of the state's national guard. >> thank you janessa webb is back with us once again tracking the path of hurricane laura. janessa. >> reporter: yeah, this is going to be a long day if you are in north louisiana. we are not in the clear just

yet. and i am looking right now, 12 states are going to see some kind of form of this tropical system that's a look at the big weather story of the day here's a closer look at your day ahead. our temperatures across new orleans this afternoon, 89, a lot of rainmaking its way into little rock, arkansas and then we need to focus on the severe weather across new york city more impacts coming up and we will of course continue to follow the path of hurricane laura. thank you. the vice president taking the podium dinurg night three of the republican national convention those highlights next. ped in y's fabrics and resurface over time. febreze fabric refresher eliminates odors. its water-based formula safely penetrates fabrics where odors hide. spray it on your rugs, your curtains, your furniture, all over your home to make it part of your tidying up routine.

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the police shooting of jacob blake has led to protests in the sports world teams from the nba, wnba, mlb and the nfl cut off games. it's unclear when or if those games will be played that move garnered praise from former president barack obama who on twitter says he commends the players for standing up on what they believe in >> still ahead more on hurricane laura. >> and how southeast texas is weathering this dangerous storm. , inflammation in your eye might be to blame.

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my hygienist uses just the right pressure, and so does my oral-b. oral-b combines a dentist-inspired brush head with the gentle energy of micro-vibrations for the wow of a professional clean feel every day. my mouth says wow and so does my oral-b. we continue to follow hurricane laura, the category 4 storm packing some of the strongest winds that gulf region has ever seen. joining us from beaumont, texas, is sam clearly those winds are picking up >> reporter: good morning. we are seeing somewhere in the range of 60, 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts it seems to be coming in with waves. you'll see some of these trees swaying in the wind. they're not to the point of

breaking yet, but the wind is strong enough that we just lost power actually about two or three minutes before we came on air to talk with you we almost didn't have a live shot you can see the darkness over my shoulder right now in this area there's been somewhere in the range of 60 to 70,000 power outages thankfully for beaumont right now, we are roughly 60 miles or so from lake charles and we are about 70 mile from where this hurricane made landfall to the west of the eye wall so they are not seeing the level of wind speeds and certainly not the storm surge that's going on in southeast louisiana. our gain in that sense has been their loss but still some trying conditions right now back to you guys >> thank you for the update. coming up, we're going to check back in with janessa webb with the very latest on hurricane laura's past and the latest from lake

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breaking news, hurricane laura is battering the gulf coast this morning the tex treemextremely dangerou made landfall to the louisiana border we're in lake charles right in this thick of it all jay, good morning. describe the conditions there if you can. >> reporter: phillip, through the eye and now we're getting the backside of this system. it is pounding this area as it has been for several hours here.

laura, crashing into the gulf coast early thursday morning, the most powerful hurricane to ever cross the shoreline near the texas/louisiana border >> we are anticipating catastrophic damages. >> reporter: from a major category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, gusts even stronger. more than a foot of rain in some areas and what the national hurricane center calls an unsurvivable and potentially historic storm surge at just three feet the surge can be life threatening. at six feet the waves can smash through windows and doors. at nine feet entire neighborhoods can be swallowed laura's storm surge could crest at 20 feet >> to think there would be a wall of water over two stories high coming on shore is very difficult for most to conceive, but that is what i happen >> reporter: then laura will

continue to wreak havoc as it pushes inland. >> 90-mile-per-hour wind gusts up to southern arkansas so we expect millions of people to be without power thursday evening and then the possibility of rainfall and flooding in tennessee and kentucky >> this massive storm just beginning its assault. >> but before it follows that path eventually to the east coast, laura has got to finish here and we've still got hours of this to go. back to you, phillip, frances. >> all right jay, we appreciate you giving us the update under the dire conditions there >> we've got to check in with janessa webb for the latest track of this storm. janessa, hi again. >> hi, where jay is in lakt inse this is the backside of the system and it is going to cause another round of that flooding rain also you saw from his live shot, the winds are picking up in lake charles we saw wind

gusts over about 100 miles an hour for over 30 minutes it will be continuous. our next spot will be shreveport >> the rain to follow. thank you, ♪ book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. the open road is open again. and wherever you're headed, choice hotels is there. book direct at choicehotels.com.

right now at 4:30, outrage in oakland. protests over the wisconsin police shooting turned violent in oakland overnight. the damage we're now seeing for you coming up in a live report. plus -- >> it feels great to be back and into your own place. in santa cruz county, some evacuees get to return home, but thousands still waiting. we're live with the very latest on all the bay area wildfires. and one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the gulf coast, hurricane laura makes landfall overnight. we're just now getting our first daylight images of that destru