the road to charlotte. president obama stops in key battleground states before this week's democratic national convention while republicans continue to attack his first four years in office. >> the president needs to explain why he didn't do what he said he was going to do. after isaac, days after the storm passes over louisiana, hundreds of thousands are without power and neighborhoods remain underwater. and monster mishap, a 4 by 4 truck veers off track injuring spectators at a race. captioning funded by cbs this is the krshs cbs morning news for monday, september 3, 2012. good morning. i'm terrell brown. now it's the democrats' turn. the party is gathering in

charlotte, north carolina for hits national convention which opens tomorrow. president obama won't join until later in the week. on sunday, he held a campaign rally at the university of colorado in boulder. then he traveled to toledo, ohio. he'll hold a labor day meeting with union workers there. as the convention begins, the president's supporters are fending off attacks that the first four years were a failure. susan mcginnis in charlotte with more this morning. susan, good morning to you. hi, good morning terrell. the convention kicks off here in uptown charlotte with an event called carolina fest. but as the festivities get under way, the republicans are making their presence known. >> president obama continues his march to charlotte with a campaign stop in ohio today. but a member of the republican ticket will reach north carolina first. vice presidential candidate paul ryan campaigns in greenville today and will come armed with one question. are you better off today than

you were four years ago? >> the president needs to explain why he didn't do what he said he was going to do. >> democrats say let's not forget how bad things were four years ago. >> in the quarter before the president took office, we -- our lost 3 million jobs. our country was bleeding, our financial system was on the verge of collapse. we were passing bank bailouts to ensure our system could stay afloat. that's what was happening before the president took office. >> president obama's aides say republicans failed to offer solutions at their convention last week. it was a week of personal attacks, empty platitudes and where the one thing you were left with, they really think that lying is a virtue. >> here in charlotte, some of the biggest questions are about security. local and federal police say they're prepared to keep everyone safe. >> about 800 protesters marched through uptown charlotte sunday. police stood by as the protest moved along peacefully. the massive police presence has many here unconcerned about potential violence.

>> there seems to be police at every block and on every station. >> it isn't all protests and politics. >> lot of fun things happen. >> the convention kicks off today with a labor day celebration called carolina fest. with vendors, food and entertainment from monet, jeff bridges and james taylor. >> republicans are staging a first-ever counter convention here this week. there will be some of the high level speakers we saw in tampa. like you build it monopoly and you build it legos. terrell, plenty of kleenex where they'll be saying breaking up is hard to do. >> here we go. susan mcginnis in charlotte, north carolina. susan, good to see you. thank you so much. the democrats are holding their convention in charlotte because winning north carolina is key to capturing an election day victory. president obama won the state by a slim margin in 2008, white men gave mr. obama the edge he needed. this time, their vote isn't a sure thing. chip reid reports.

>> reporter: four years ago, computer system installer, larry phillips, bought into barack obama's message of hope and change four years ago. now phillips has buyer's remorse. >> what he promised, we never got those promises. >> phillips is frustrated by washington gridlock and the growing federal debt. >> a leader should come in, doesn't matter what party you're on, should compromise to get something accomplished. >> this year, phillips is switching his vote from mr. obama to mitt romney. >> we need somebody with a business background. somebody that knows that if you've got a million dollars to work with, you can't spend $2 million. >> in 2004, democratic presidential candidate john kerry won just one in four white male votes here in north carolina. four years later, barack obama won one in three white male votes. that improvement was key to his victory in this important battleground state. now, with the president struggling to hang on to those votes, he's counting on people like this publisher.

>> he saved the banking community from a collapse. that saved many small businesses from having their lines of credit eliminated. he kept it from becoming a depression. he's worked very hard to soften the impact of that economic downturn and i think he's actually turned the corner on it. >> bank analyst josh brown isn't so sure. as a first-time voter in 2008, he went with mr. obama. >> i believe that he had the better economic plan at the time in that government spending could help prop up the economy. and during the first two years of his presidency, it seemed that that was working. and now we've sort of stalled out and stagnated. >> what america needs is jobs, lots of jobs. >> but brown isn't yet persuaded by governor romney. he wants to hear more about his plan for the economy. >> when it comes down to the election, what are you going to decide? do you want a ceo or do you want

someone who inspires you and could inspire a nation to greatness. >> how north carolina's undecided white male voters decide that question could make the difference in this state. chip reid, cbs news. charlotte. president obama is expected to visit louisiana today. he'll assess the damage from hurricane isaac and recovery efforts as manuel bojorquez reports, five days later, floodwaters remain high, thousands of people in shelters and power out for almost a quarter million people. >> oh, man, we're getting ready to get washed away here. >> this video shows isaac's wrath as a category 1 hurricane. water drowning neighborhoods in plaquemine parish. >> people don't realize how fast water rises and how fast it can turn into rapids. i was terrified for the people in this area. i knew it would cause a lot of damage. >> he's a flood manager for plaquemine parish. he was behind the camera and spent the weekend assessing the damage.

>> a horrific sight. a lot of homes totally lost. a lot of people's lives totally lost over here. >> more than 6 feet of water remain in parts of plaquemine parish. new orleans new $14 billion levee system kept the city dry but 12 parishes experienced flooding, two of them severe. >> we faced hurricane katrina and even hurricane isaac, it was the lord who stood by our side. >> at greater liberty baptist church in new orleans ninth ward, this pastor led his congregation through a sunday service without electricity. >> how many people in your congregation are affected by isaac right now. >> well, all of them. all are affected one way or the other. >> none more than pastor woods. when hurricane katrina flooded his new orleans home, he left and started over 30 miles west in la place. >> sometimes my street would flood a little bit, but never like this. >> his new house took on 5 feet of water.

those floodwaters are receding, but he hasn't been back. he says he's needed here. >> the lord has taught me a long time ago, you can cry. after you cry, you still got to do what you got to do. >> have you had your cry? >> oh, yeah, i had my cry. i had my cry. i shook it off and we got to go forward. that's it. >> manuel bojorquez, cbs news, la place, louisiana. more oil and gas workers are returning to drilling rigs and platforms in the gulf of mexico. crews fled the safety ahead of hurricane isaac cutting oil and gas production by 50 to 75%. one quarter of the platforms and rigs remained unstaffed. full production is not expected for a few days. gasoline prices are up. the national average is $3.82 now. industry analysts expect prices to come down later this month as summer demand drops. and gulf of mexico resumes. thousands of visitors to the forests in california are

ordered to evacuate as a fast-moving wildfire continues to grow. the fire spread to at least 5.5 square miles. it apparently started near a campground sunday afternoon. hundreds of firefighters, four helicopters and four tanker planes are trying to stop it from spreading. wildfires in northwest nebraska and southwest south dakota tripled in size and fewer than 24 hours, they're burning more than 285 square miles. the fires damaged at least ten homes and 50 other buildings in the two states. coming up next on this labor day, caught on tape. trouble at a monster truck rally when a vehicle plows into the spectator stand in oregon. this is the morning news. morning news. [ rosa ] i'm rosa and i quit smoking with chantix. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions

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its creamy-thick texture helps satisfy you. and at 80 calories, it's the lightest greek yogurt with fruit. new light & fit greek. be light and fit and satisfied. a monster truck lost control and careened straight into a group of spectators during a race in oregon saturday. at least three people were hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries. the owner of the motor sports

complex says the truck's hydraulic system failed. investigators are trying to determine the cause a deadly jet crash at an air show in iowa. glenn smith of texas died when his plane went down on saturday. smith lost control of the jet while flying in formation in quad city airport. in davenport. the plane took a nosedive into a field and burst into flames. the show continued sunday and included a missing man formation tribute to smith. two people were killed when a car filled with explosives rammed a u.s. government suv in pakistan this morning. the suv was attacked after it left the consulate in peshawar. 19 people were injured, including two americans. the u.s. embassy says no americans were killed in the attack. august was the deadliest month in the syrian civil war. activists say about 5,000 people were killed last month. the highest number in the nearly year and a half long revolt. many of the deaths were attributed to increased strikes by government forces. the u.s. suspended the training of some afghan forces

after a sharp increase in so-called insider attacks. 34 such attacks this year left 45 international service members death, most americans. at least 12 of the attacks occurred in august killing 15 coalition members. the u.s. military plans to recheck the backgrounds of afghan police and soldiers. 13 days of mourning begin in south korea for the reverend sung myung moon. the founder of the unification church died after being hospitalized with pneumonia. moon built his church into a multibillion dollar business including newspapers, schools and a ski resort. he conducted mass weddings involving thousands of couples. his followers were called moonies. sun myung moon was 92. up next, your labor day weather forecast. in sports, if at first you don't succeed, try, try and then try some more again. this is the morning news.

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of the same. hot and dry for the southern plains and the southwest. cooler temperatures will arrive in the northern rockies and upper midwest. the west coast should remain dry. in sports this morning, first place in the american league central on the line last night in detroit. the tigers trying to claw their way into a tie with the white sox. game tied at 1 in the sixth. young hits one out in a hurry. a three-run homer to make it 4-1 tigers. ace, justin verlander strikes out 11. the tigers win this thing, 4-2. the braves trying to avoid a sweep. at the hands of the philly. atlanta trailing in the bottom of the ninth. 40-year-old chipper jones delivers a walk-off three-run shot to right that caps a five-run ninth inning rally. the braves win it. -8-7. a teenager goes deep deep for the rangers. he homers in this first major league at-bat. the hotshot prospect is just the third teenager to accomplish that feat in major league history. the rangers top the indians 8-3.

>> andy roddick's farewell tour at the u.s. open isn't over yet. roddick entered the stadium to huge applause. before his match. last week roddick said he would retire once he's eliminated from the tournament. third set here. hits a shot between his legs but roddick returns it for the winner. roddick wins the match in four sets. he will face 2009 champion juan martin del potro in the fourth round. it was a hole to forget. for 2011 masters champ, charles schwartzel. his put on 18 rims out. then he tries again. misses again. schwartzel tries left-handed trying to be fancy. misses again. just pick it up and put it in the hole. he finally sinks it on his fourth try. he finished the round eight over par and will probably put the clubs away for a little while now. when we come back, toddlers and tablets. plenty of kids love playing with ipads and other

high tech toys, but is it too much too soon in parent and experts weigh in. too much too soon in parent and experts weigh in. on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you. here's one story. i'm sean. i switched to advil® 10 months ago. biking can be really tough on the lower back and your upper thighs. you have some nasty aches and pains. i really like advil® because it takes care of it all. neck ache, shoulder pain and definitely lower back pain. i use advil® because my wife, she's a nurse, she recommended it. [ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil®.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in d.c., showers and thunderstorms, 84 degrees. same deal in atlanta, 87. sunny and humid in st. louis, 88 degrees. afternoon thunderstorms in denver, 88. mostly sunny skies in seattle, 73 degrees. you know what, these days there's no escaping high tech gadgets like smartphones and tablets. so it's no surprise that young children have become especially skilled at using them. we take a closer look. >> for 4-year-old michael garner, this isn't just play time. he's under surveillance. several cameras, a bank of monitors and a team of researchers plot his every move. jody sherman la vas manages the learning team at leapfrog, a

maker of high-tech educational toys. >> do you think kids are learning faster and better than we were 30 years ago because of this technology? >> i think kids learn best when they're engaged and having fun. >> it's not just that technology is getting more sophisticated. it's that kids, younger and younger, seem to be mastering it. >> it's amazing. i think we've all seen you-tube videos infants swiping on the iphone and knowing how to change pages. they adapt to the technology so quickly. >> too quickly says child psychologist dave swanson. >> more they play on the devices, the less time they're spending outside socializing with other kids, socializing with their parents. that's so crucial for a child to fully develop. >> technology is part of a balanced diet. so, you know, i still take the kids outside to the park every day, make sure they interact other kids in preschool, play dates. >> there's an age label on the ipad. three and up. ceo john barber cautions that parents shouldn't push. >> the last thing you want to do is disappoint your child or frustrate your child because

you're asking them to do something at that age they're not capable of doing properly. that's not winning. >> andrew garner, michael's dad works on computers all day long. he says it comes down to responsibility. >> technology is not going away. it's kind of like learn it, don't abuse it. but take advantage of it. because it's there. >> so as adults debate what kids should and shouldn't be doing, michael is just having fun. cbs news, emeryville, california. they should have put a revolving door at a jail for this new hampshire woman. 53-year-old joyce coffee was arrested four times in 26 hours last week. the first three arrests were for blasting music from her home, included ac/dc's highway to hell. she was later arrested for allegedly throwing a frying pan at her nephew. police say alcohol may have played a role in her series of arrests. you think? that woman really is crazy. i'm terrell brown, this is the

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more americans than ever are relying on food banks to put food on the table for their families. this year, charities having trouble keeping their shelves stocked. as lee cowan report, food banks are having to compete with the presidential election. >> this is what survival looks like for nicole johnny and her 8-year-old daughter cheyenne. this isn't a grocery store. it's a portland food bank. without it, her family wouldn't eat. >> do i get embarrassed to come? i do. but is it necessary? yeah. >> she, like all others at the snow cap community charities, have to line up and take a number. >> 87. >> they have to get here early. food these days runs out fast. >> i wish i could say that it tugs at my heart now. it makes me mad. >> judy alley is in charge here and she's seen it all before. every election cycle, she says,

donations drop and her shelves get emptier and emptier. >> i've been doing this 22 years. in presidential election years people donate to politics, to campaigns. that takes away what little money they'd be goifg charities. >> for the first time last year, the oregon food bank gave out more than a million emergency food boxes. a third who needed them the most were parents struggling with small kids. if donations don't pick up, next year will likely be even worse. >> they're going to open their cupboard and there's not going to be anything there. that mother and that father are going to say kids, you can't eat today. there's no food today. and that's unconscionable. >> the aging are at risk too. marcia stenberg wants to work, but -- at 65, people aren't beating down your door to give you a job. >> so the clock finally ran out on both her savings and her pride. today was her first trip to a food bank. >> i don't know what else to do.

just like the rest of them, i'm sure they don't know what else to do. getting a handout, i've never done that. i've never done that. >> there are countless worthy causes and most agree presidential campaigns are one of them. sometimes the most basic human need gets lost in the shuffle. >> the safety net is shredded. people shouldn't have to line up for food. we have enough in this country. we need to learn to share. >> thank you for your help. >> people like marcia are counting on it. lee cowan, cbs news, los angeles. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," a preview of this week's democratic national convention. we'll hear from los angeles mayor. plus, the latest shark sightings off of cape cod and a look at what's behind the trend. she made sports history friday. we'll meet the first girl to play quarterback at a florida high school football game. all that and more later on "cbs this morning." for now, that will do it for

the "cbs morning news." for this labor day monday. if you got the day off, i'm so jealous. appreciate you watching. i'm terrell brown. take care. i'm terrell brown. take care. have a great day everybody. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com www.vitac.com

another week of big-time politics begins today as in that demo