better or worse? democrats open their convention trying to stay on message as republicans say americans are worse off under president obama. >> simply put, the jimmy carter years looked like the good old days compared to where we are right now. >> america is better off today. closing in. a wildfire threatens a southern california community as hundreds of firefighters try to extinguish the flames. >> i don't want this place to burn up. this is my home. and rampage in russia. a man takes a destructive spin through a parking lot in a construction vehicle, and after it's over, he has to deal with some angry eyewitnesses. captioning funded by cbs

good morning, everybody. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. tonight, the democratic national convention kicks off in charlotte, north carolina, a state president obama barely carried in 2008. and according to a new poll of north carolina voters, mitt romney now leads the president by four points. during the convention, democrats hope to draw a sharp contrast with republicans. but tonight, first lady michelle obama will try to get her party back on message after they bungled a very simple question. susan mcginnis is at the convention center this morning. susan, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, good morning, terrell. yeah, michelle obama was here yesterday doing an informal rehearsal, a warm-up for tonight, when she will address millions of americans, and democrats hope, help convince them that they are better off than four years ago. the stage has been built, the party platform released, and democrats are ready to kick off their 2012 convention. >> this has been such a historic time, i couldn't imagine not coming. >> reporter: but as the festivities begin, republicans

won't let go of the question, are americans better off than they were four years ago? >> the president can say a lot of things, and he will, but he can't tell you that you're better off. >> reporter: the obama team opened the door to the attacks when some, including maryland governor martin o'malley, had trouble answering the question. >> can you honestly say that people are better off today than they were four years ago? >> no, but that's not the question of this election. >> reporter: republicans pounced, saying that's proof president obama's policies aren't working. since then, the democrats regrouped and came out swinging. >> america is better off today than they left us when they left. you want to know whether we're better off? i've got a little bumper sticker for you -- osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive! >> reporter: but the gop jumped on that, too, saying the obama administration is out of touch with the struggles people are facing. democrats hope to get back on message when san antonio mayor

julian castro and first lady michelle obama address delegates here tonight. the first lady got an up-close look at the podium during her walk-through monday. and while her husband's favorability ratings have fallen during his first term, mrs. obama remains very popular. >> i think she has been an ambassador for her husband, and you know, i see them as a team. >> reporter: mayor castro kicks off the prime time coverage of the convention with his keynote address. president obama used the 2004 keynote to launch himself into the national spotlight. and republicans have no intention of leaving that are you better off question alone. we're told that paul ryan's going to continue the attack, campaigning today in ohio and iowa. terrell? >> susan mcginnis in charlotte starting us off this morning. susan, thank you so much. and we will carry live coverage tonight of the democratic national convention, including first lady michelle obama's speech, beginning at 10:00 p.m. eastern right here on cbs.

the democrats unveiled their party platform, and it's the polar opposite of the republicans. the document backed same-sex marriage and abortion rights. it also calls for higher taxes on wealthier americans. delegates will officially adopt that platform today. the chairman of the california democratic party is backing off statements he made monday. in an interview with san francisco's kcbs, john burton didn't hold back. he said republicans lie and don't care whether people know it, and then compared their tactics to those used by the nazis. >> they lie and they don't care if people think they lie, as long as you lie. joseph goebbels, the big lie you keep repeating it. >> burton later said he humbly apologized to anyone offended by his comparison. hundreds of firefighters in southern california are battling a huge wildfire. it broke out sunday near a campground in the angeles national forest. that's northeast of los angeles. officials say it's burned more than 4,000 acres. it's only 5% contained. about 12,000 visitors who flocked to the park for the labor day weekend had to be

evacuated. suraya fadel from kcbs in los angeles has more. >> this is my little bit of heaven and i want it to stay just the way it is. >> reporter: a sense of worry and fear among the group of mountain residents who refuse to leave their homes. >> some people have absolutely no other place to go that are here. they're making it just barely. >> reporter: flames continue to race sporadically through graveyard canyon in the san gabriel canyon mountains of the angeles national forest. >> i'm going to stick it out until the boss says it's time. and then when it's time, it's time, we're going. >> reporter: what's your biggest concern? >> i don't want this place to burn up. this is my home. >> oh, i couldn't even sleep last night. i was up until 4:00 in the morning checking the fire, see how it was going. everything was aglow. >> reporter: lou stevens is 1 of the 25 residents at camp williams mobile home park who ignored mandatory evacuations. >> i love my house and i have to take care of it. i own it. i don't own the land, but i do own my house.

>> reporter: the 65-year-old grandmother and great grandmother is constantly monitoring the fire with the others who stayed behind. >> and it's coming down a little faster now. >> so, at any time, conditions can change, it can switch, and then it can become life-threatening. >> reporter: 3,600 uninhabitable acres scorched, more than 700 firefighters scaling the deep, rugged terrain. fierce flames burn heavy, thick brush that's about 26 years old, fueled at times by wind, heat and low humidity. >> we can't control mother nature. i'm worried about our firemen up there. >> reporter: fire officials tell us with very little rain this past year, it's making for an even more challenging firefight. we've learned it could take weeks before this forest fire is fully contained. in the meantime arson investigators still don't know what sparked this blaze. for now, the popular campgrounds out here are off limits indefinitely. suraya fadel for cbs news. nearly a week after isaac blew through the gulf coast, more than 100,000 people are

still without power in louisiana and mississippi, and some low-lying areas are still under water. president obama visited a parish hit hard by hurricane isaac on monday. he promised federal help with the recovery. on friday during his tour of the area, mitt romney spoke of the need for charitable donations. manuel bojorquez has more. >> reporter: six days after making landfall, isaac is the uninvited guest who just won't leave. in plaquemines parish, the flood devastated lives and livestock. 62-year-old carolyn sylve and her daughter have to take a canoe to see what they could salvage. >> this is our land, you know. you want to be home, but you can't. >> reporter: while the reinforced, $14 billion levee system kept new orleans dry, the coplaint here is it pushed more water into the smaller, poorer towns. >> we're getting ready to get washed away here. >> reporter: isaac walloped

plaquemines parish. this video captured the torrent unleashed by the storm. ten feet of water submerged entire neighborhoods. in st. johns parish, 30 miles west of new orleans, calvin and constance woods saw their home had taken in five feet of water. >> this total ironing board is wet. >> reporter: it might not look like much damage, but the floors are soaked. even the doors are swollen shut. the woods lost their previous home to katrina. there is a reason they waited until today to see the damage. the woods say, this time, they will rebuild. >> as long as we have our lives, that's what it's all about. we can try, we can rebuild again, we can redo it and make a difference. >> reporter: the army corps of engineers says it will look into whether the levee system which protected new orleans pushed the water into outlying communities. manuel bojorquez, cbs news, west

pointe a la hache, louisiana. overseas, the obama administration is close to signing a $1 billion debt relief package with egypt's new government. since the uprising a year and a half ago, egypt has been suffering crippling poverty and rising inflation. "washington post" reports much of that money would come from funds that had already been allocated for aid to egypt and afghanistan but were not spent. syria's government says it will not negotiate with rebels until they are crushed. in the northern city of aleppo, a child was carried from the rubble after an attack. this video was uploaded to the internet monday. activists say august was the bloodiest month since the uprising began in march of 2011. coming up on a tuesday, a look at today's business headlines. but first, demolition derby! a bulldozer driver goes on a destructive rampage in a parking lot, and wait until you see what happens when this thing is all over. this is the "morning news." over. this is the "morning news." try our new lunch-size grilled chicken fajitas, with sauteed onions and peppers, served with soup or salad.

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payloader and rammed it into several parked cars and a truck as it weaved through a parking lot. the spree ended when the vehicle got a flat tire. angry onlookers took matters into their own hands, beating the man before pulling him from the cab. the man looked dazed. i guess so. and one angry onlooker managed to get in one last shot, hit him with the door. police eventually showed up, not that they needed to, but did not immediately take him into custody. that poor man got the beatdown! chicago is bracing for a possible strike next week by its more than 26,000 public school teachers and their support staff. thousands of teachers put on a show of strength monday, labor day, at a rally in the city's downtown area. they're at odds with mayor rahm emanuel over merit pay in a previously negotiated contract. "cbs moneywatch" time on a tuesday. an investigation targeting the private equity industry, including bain capital, and the tooth fairy gets hit with inflation. ashley morrison knows all about that. she's back. ashley, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell.

weakening economic activity in asia and worldwide sent stocks lower. tokyo's nikkei shed a fraction, hitting a four-week closing low for a third straight session while hong kong's hang seng dropped .5%. after the labor day holiday, automakers are expected to announce strong new car sales for the month of august. for the week, the dow jones industrial average was down 61 points, while the nasdaq lost almost 3. the new york state attorney general is investigating at least a dozen major private equity firms into whether they abused a strategy to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes. bain capital, the company once headed by mitt romney, is among the firms under investigation. the practice involves converting the so-called management fee waiver into fund investments, resulting in a lower tax rate. well, toys "r" us is trying to get an edge over the tough competition from online retailers. starting today and lasting until the end of october, the chain will waive its up-front service

fee for layaway orders placed in the store. a $5 service fee will apply after that. toys "r" us says there will be no minimum purchase price. and it's good to be a kid with a loose tooth these days. a new survey from visa says the tooth fairy left, on average, $3 per tooth under a child's pillow this year. that's up 3% from last year. the survey says some children received as much as $20 per tooth. and jack morrison just lost his tooth. $5! >> i was just going to say, so, miss tooth fairy, what'd he get, $5? >> i got 50 cents. >> dang! i was about to say the same thing. $5! have to hit up jack for a tooth. >> yeah. >> ashley morrison in new york, good to see you. thank you so much. coming up, your tuesday morning weather. and in sports, why a third-place finish has landed tiger woods in the history books. this is the "morning news." [ male announcer ] one try can change everything. one try can relieve your nightly congestion without the blowing the stacking

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can rely on dulcolax pelaxative tablets overnight.ing they give you predictable overnight relief to help get you feeling like yourself again in the morning. dulcolax laxative tablets. keep you moving. ♪ feeling free. ♪ here's a look at the weather in some cities across the country. heavy thunderstorms in new york, 78 degrees. afternoon thunderstorms in miami, 89. same deal in chicago, 86 degrees. mostly sunny skies in dallas, 100. partly sunny in los angeles, 85 degrees. let's check your national forecast. showers and thunderstorms will soak the northeast. showers and thunderstorms, some severe, will extend from the upper midwest to kansas and missouri. rain is likely from the midsouth to the northern gulf coast. the northwest will be dry. the desert southwest will see scattered showers. in sports this morning, the

yankees looking over their shoulder at not one but two a.l. east phones. in the eighth inning, the rays christian singles home the go-ahead run against new york. tampa bay wins 4-3 and are now 2 1/2 games behind the yankees. baltimore orioles are even closer. the o's coast to a 4-0 win over the blue jays thanks to two rbis from j.j. harding. they're now one game out of first in the east. to college football now, an a krnk kr acc duel, georgia tech hosting the yellow jackets of virginia tech. georgia tech trailing and tevin washington hits deon hill. ten-yard touchdown there makes it 17-14 yellow jackets. virginia tech responded with 6 seconds left. cody nails a 41-yard field goal to send this one to overtime. in the extra period, he does it again! this time an 18-yarder for the win. virginia tech takes it 20-17. tiger woods finished third at the deutsche bank championship on monday, but that was enough to put him in the record books.

the finish earned woods $544,000, putting him over $100 million in winnings for his career. he's the first golfer to ever achieve that mark. he's averaged more than $362,000 per tournament over his career. and some eagle-eye football fans are throwing the challenge flag on old navy. the clothing store was selling this t-shirt that incorrectly identifies the houston texans as the 1961 afc champs. problem is, the houston texans didn't exist until 2002. in 1961, the houston oilers won the afl crown, and in 1962, the dallas texans won that league's championship. big, bold and wrong. either way, old navy apologizes and stopped selling the shirt. not a bad looking shirt, though. up next, you've probably heard of the quarter-pounder. well, check this out, a one-ton burger! that's not even the biggest feast. we'll show you when we come back. biggest feast. we'll show you when we come back.

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here's a look at weather in some cities across the country. heavy storms in washington, 81, thunderstorms in atlanta, 86. partly sunny skies in st. louis, 90 degrees. same deal in denver with 89 and mostly sunny skies in seattle, 78. actor michael clarke duncan is being remembered as a prolific character actor in dozens of movies. duncan was nominated for an oscar for his performance with tom hanks as a death row inmate in "the green mile." michael clarke duncan died monday, less than two months after suffering a heart attack. he was 54 years old. a new survey suggests social networking sites have only a modest role on influencing the political views of users. the poll by the pew research center says 36% of social network users think it's important or somewhat important to keep up with political news. 84% say they posted little or nothing related to politics.

a minnesota casino served up a texas-sized bacon cheeseburger, and it made it to the record books. the burger weighed ten feet in diameter, weighed more than a ton and took four hours to cook. the guinness records representatives said it's not only the world's biggest bacon cheeseburger, it also tastes good. doesn't look all that good, though. seafood stew was on the menu monday at the university of massachusetts in amherst. nearly 6,000 pounds of it. now, that looks good. it was also enough to make it into the guinness book of records as the largest seafood stew ever made. it was made in a 14-foot frying pan. of course, those are lying around the house all the time. they needed a crane to put that pan into place. and come on down! "the price is right" celebrates a birthday today. it was 40 years ago the show debuted, making it the longest running game show in tv history. today's "price is right" is a special episode featuring past contestants and fan favorites. it's a show that never gets old, especially the "showcase showdown."

coming up on "cbs this morning," charlie rose live from the democratic national convention. i'm terrell brown. this is the "morning news." democratic national convention. i'm terrell brown. this is the "morning news." a le can be such a big thing in an old friend's life. we discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. it's just one way purina one is making the world a better place... one pet at a time. discover vibrant maturity and more at purinaone.com. chips, chips,...! silence those tempting thoughts with new light & fit greek. its creamy-thick texture helps satisfy you. and at 80 calories, it's the lightest greek yogurt with fruit.

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the democratic national convention is being held this week in the battleground state of north carolina, which could decide the election. both campaigns have volunteers on the ground working hard to get out the vote. byron pitts met some of them. >> all right, ready? >> reporter: 39-year-old mary perry is a stay-at-home mom in chapel hill with a husband, three kids and a growing passion for politics. >> this is mary perry with the obama campaign. >> reporter: she volunteers 30 hours a week. her goal, re-elect president obama. you have a full life outside of volunteering for president obama. >> yes. >> reporter: so, why do it? >> i feel like we've come a long way from 2008, when president obama took office, and it's just too important for my future, for my kids' future, for me to say, well, i'm too busy. >> reporter: in 2008, obama's slim victory in north carolina was built on an army of volunteers. >> thank you guys for coming out.

>> reporter: perry was 1 of 17,000 volunteers and paid staff across the state who knocked on doors and made phone calls. compare 2008 to 2012. is it easier or harder to sell president obama? >> i would say asking for volunteers is even easier. >> reporter: easier? >> i would say, my experience has been. >> reporter: because? >> i think we had a lot of new people in 2008, like myself, who had never been involved with a campaign before. >> reporter: this time you have infrastructure. >> now we know what we're doing. >> reporter: the obama campaign strategy in north carolina will rely on turning out the youth vote, registering more african-american voters and energizing women. >> i'm a volunteer for the mitt romney campaign. >> reporter: 46-year-old chuck painter is a registered independent serving as a romney volunteer in cornelius, north carolina. in 2009, painter lost his job as a salesman for a plastics company, a job he had for 20 years. >> i had my home repossessed through foreclosure. i couldn't afford to make the payments. and i was homeless, actually,

during my birthday in may because i was in between, did not have a place to stay, couldn't afford anything. >> reporter: four years ago, candidate obama won 54% of north carolina voters, who said they were concerned about the economy. on election day, unemployment was inching towards 8%. now in the state of north carolina, it's 9.6%. a key part of the romney campaign strategy in north carolina, tapping into voter dissatisfaction with the economic recovery, re-energizing the conservative base and winning a majority of independents, like chuck. so, you hold president obama responsible for that? >> yes, i do hold him responsible. i don't feel like i would have lost my career and so many others would be struggling if they would have made different decisions and if our country was in a better state. >> reporter: president clinton will speak directly to independent voters like chuck when he addresses the convention here on wednesday. byron pitts, cbs news, charlotte. and coming up after your

local news on "cbs this morning," a preview of the democratic convention. we'll hear from one of the speakers, massachusetts senate candidate elizabeth warren. we'll also get reaction from vice presidential candidate paul ryan. plus, is organic food really better for you? we'll talk about it later on "cbs this morning." for now, that's the "cbs morning news" for this tuesday. as always, we appreciate you watching. i'm terrell brown. take care, everybody. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

some good news for drivers and use the dumbarton bridge this morning.