bryan norcross is following it all from the weather channel's headquarters in atlanta, and we have gotten a update, what is the latest? >> well, it is pounding the bahamas right now, and unfo unfortunate unfortunately, there is no change in the track and it is headed for the east coast of the united states, and we don't see where we can avoid this one and you will turn out to see it is not in the cards. so we look at the satellite right now, and there is great abico right therek and going right over that now, and we are fearful for what is happening on that island at the current time. now, here is the track heading north. so it is going to head off of florida and head toward the carolinas, and saturday, we are talking about approaching eastern north carolina. now, will this be near a worst case for eastern north carolina? near cape hatteras or out to sea? hard to say, because even if it goes out to sea, it is a big

hurricane in size that it would still take a toll on the outer banks, but then we get here to where we don't see a scenario where from norfolk up to new england, a significant part of that incredible corridor of the biggest cities in the east coast of the united states that a significant part of that is not going to have a direct impact from this hurricane, including perhaps new york city which hasn't had this kind of a hurricane. this kind of a hurricane since 1821. now, 1821 was a long time ago, but there were people there then, and we know what happened and it has been modeled and we know what could happen in new york city and it is all bad. that is why when the mayor came out today to talk about the possibility of evacuating people around new york city, it is because they know what can happen and it just doesn't happen very often, but we can't concentrate on new york, because every city has a potential impact, and every shoreline, and jersey shore and long island and

cape cod, and delmarva, and down to the tide water, everybody has a potential serious impact, and perhaps the hurricane of their lifetimes from this one as it comes up the coast saturday and sunday. >> and bryan, give us an update on the sizef of the storm and how far inland are these places in the states concerned of the impact of the storm could have? >> well, here's the question, exactly where the center of it is has everything to do how far inland it goes. back to the graphic, as we can, if we can there, and let's say that the storm is well offshore, more offshore than really we are thinking, to tell you the truth, but we are still talking about eneffect as far west as philadelphia there. if it is closer to the coast, we are talking about closer into pennsylvania and talking about d.c. and baltimore and also that's in effect along the outlying cities which tend to be inland, but as we saw with hurricane isabel a few years ago tremendous water can be pushed

up the chesapeake and delaware bay and into new york harbor and into long island sound and not to mention new england, so there are multiple threats here, and really affecting tens and tens of millions of people and maybe over 50 million people, and just don't know what set of it, but we are confident unfortunately that this is going to be a just an event perhaps, an event of a lifetime. >> and bryan, we have talked throughout the day concerning the so-called clean side of the storm, and we are talking about the potential of flooding that we are seeing in the bahamas and the high winds because you will see the trees literally horizontal there, and what is your concern regarding that impact? >> well, here is the thing, in the bahamas the palm trees are made to bend, and no trees are made to bend in the wind once you get north of north carolina certainly. and so that the trees snap. so, one of the concerns among many, many is that people will

be coming incapacitated because the trees snap and close their ability to leave their homes or the car will be caught in some fashion by a downed tree. so we are advising people to have a week's worth of supplies to stay home in case you get trapped where you are, and either because of the roads down and the transportation systems are out or because your car has been damaged. one of the most difficult things to protect from a hurricane is a car. if you can't park it inside, it is, what do you do with it to keep it away are from the hurricane? it is really, really tough. lots more on this. >> we are bracing for everything, power outages and everything is sadly on the menu for what the hurricane could deliver to us on the east coast. thank you, bryan, and we will check back in with you in a short time. a short time ago, north carolina governor bev perdue declared a

state of emergency. we know kerry sanders who is there, we know it is picturesque, but bad weather could be there soon. >> that is why the governor bev perdue announced the state of emergency. that is why i am standing here, because this water is particularly warm, and around 80 degree degrees, and this is the fuel for the engine which is irene and the warm water when irene is over the open water is where it draws the power and so a lot of folks who have never been through a hurricane are hearing the reports like the governor here saying a state of emergency, but it may not make a whole lot of sense. they heard, you know, mayor bloomberg talking about this, but what do they do? here are a few things that the folks in north carolina and others have been through hurricanes know that is information those who have never been through this. first of all, talk about the wives tales. this is not going to work, okay. this is a wives tale, don't get

tape out and put it on the windows in your house. it will do absolutely nothing. it is not going to stop the glass when it is shattered from coming into your glass, so don't do that. another wives tale that you open up a window in your house when the hurricane is coming to let the pressure equalize. do not open a window in your house. another wives tale, and actually what that is, it becomes an entry point for the wind to come into your house, and it can tear the roof off. now, another thing, and this is really something that is a little unique, because even in the area not a whole lot of homes have basements, but up north as we go the philadelphia and further north folks do have basements. you are not going to ride this hurricane out in your basement, and the reason why is that the water is going to come especially in the philadelphia/new jersey area where the folks who live there recognize they have had, and it is like the wettest part of the nation right now which means that the ground isch is rated, so it is not the storm surge,

but the rain coming down and channeling and when the water rises quickly, you may think because you have seen movies you can do something and swim your way out. you cannot do that. the number one cause of death in hurricanes is not from the falling trees and it is not from the tornadoes that are spawned out of the eye, it is drowning. so you want to make sure that you recognize that what the people here have been through over decades and is new to you is information that you can take with you. and finally, we heard bryan talked about it, you should have gas filled up in the car, and you might the of moving, because tamron your question to bryan is, how far inland, and let me give you a couple of hurricane past experiences that sort of explain that. 2004, when hurricane charley came onshore as a category 4, it hit sanibel island and moved in 55 miles inland in arcadia, florida, flattened it. i want to take you further back to another category 4 which was

hurricane hugo that came in charleston and 173 miles inland at shor lacharlotte, north caro extensive damage. so just because you don't live on the safe, don't think you are safe. tamron? >> thank you, kerry sanders live. and now over to the bahamas where the conditions are improving after the strike. and lilia, this is the best shot of you all day, so things are looking better than a few hours ago. >> yes, tamron. i have had some concern throughout the day, and only everything is settling down. we are seeing right behind us how the wind has really come down. and just a few minutes ago, we had sort of the last bands of rain coming about here, and now, authorities are concerned about smaller islands where they fear locals are not taking necessary or proper precautions and

shelter in those regions. now, the lower islands were hit hard, tamron. the lower the southeastern islands of the bahamas received severe damages. we are hearing reports that in places such as crooked island, there were settlements there that lost 90% of their homes. also in akland, there is a place called lover's bay, and a lovely bay that lost 90% of the structures. so severe damages there, but fortunately, we are getting reports of no injuries, and nobody has been killed out of this hurricane. what we are continuing to follow the reports that now the hurricane is about 105 miles away from where we are in nassau, and still, you will get some wind gusts. we are going to try to evaluate the area as much as possible and walk around and see how people are reacting. unlike where kerry is standing right now, here people in the bahamas are absolutely used to getting the hurricanes, so their

reactions are completely different here. people who don't take the storm as ser sooo seriously, and that of the danger that people stay inside of their homes and don't venture outside when they o believe that the storm has passed. >> thank you, lilia lucciano, who is there in the bahamas with the latest. and details coming up about if you are in the storm's path. and also, breaks news where rebels are storming the compound of tripoli where moammar gadhafi is suspected to hide out. there is fighting as the fighters are trying to take full control from the gadhafi loyalists. stephanie gosk is live in tripoli with the latest. what is happening in the compound and i know the rebels

believe that gadhafi is in there, but what is latest, steph sn ny? >> well, it is a rumor, and we can expect more and more as they are continuing to look for gadhafi. but it is interesting a gun battle took place in the neighborhood alongside of the gadhafi compound, and the theory is that the officers and the fighters escaped from the compound through a network of tunnels into the neighborhood, and that is where they are hold up, and that is why they thought perhaps gadhafi and his sons might be there as well. there was a heavy gun battle this afternoon between the rebels and loyalists. the almost really the last bastion of real loyalist control is this one neighborhood. there were sporadic gun battles around central triple, and there had been 24 hours of relative peace here, but it flaired up again, and there was a hotel near here where there was a gun battle between both sides and the hotel caught in the middle

and a bunch of foreign journalists foundem kros haircr. the city is not stable, and even though the rebels control a majority of it, but it is still not stable until gadhafi is found. and steve jobs announcing that he is resigning as ceo of apple. we will look at the impact his resignation is having on the company. and rick perry with the candidate that the gop is waiting for? well, new numbers put him ahead of mitt romney. and the latest on hurricane irene and we will bring you the littest updates throughout the hour.

welcome back to "newsnation." this is the video that was shot by one of our colleagues who is on vacation in paradise island, bahamas, and very close obviously to nassau, bahamas, and you see the impact of the force of hurricane irene and what is supposed to be the family vacation for her has turn turned into watching this from the windows. fortunately the conditions are better in the bahamas, but this video taken a few hours ago. we continue to track hurricane irene, category 3, and bring you the latest information. and apple stock is down 3% following the sudden resignation of steve jobs. however it is in line with how the rest of the market is doing. jobs turned apple into one of the most profitable companies, and today, customers were

wondering how jobs' resignation might affect the apple products. >> i was very sad, because i know that his health has not been very bad and i feel bad for him. >> i imagine probably not as innovative as they were, and around and interested, but it is not the same. >> so will it be the same? joining me is joe brown editor and chief of gizmo.com, and so is apple bigger than one man? >> well, one man is bigger than the tenure at the job. i am sure at decades the mantra will be, what would steve do? he had a familiar way to do things. he was micromanager and aesthetically oriented and believed that the design came from inside out, and the circuit boards were perfect. he was ethos and talent scout. he had the best people working for him from the industrial designers to the managers of the the retail operations, and he has a great team in place. this isn't so unexpected. if the you think about it, he has been on medical leave since

january. >> that is what a lot of the experts are saying, look, this was already out there and coming. talk to me about tim cook though, if steve jobs makes sure that the best and the bright rest in place, it would seem that the transition would be seamless. >> well, it is going to be an easy transition, i would imagine, because it is not new for tim cook who managed the company in '09 when jobs took the medical leave and managed since january, and every ceo is differently, and while jobs was an idea guy, and he has 300 patents and cook is more streamlined to make the business profitable for the investors. >> and i said that the stock is down 3%, but it is in line of other companies, so this is not a reaction to the stock, but as you heard the guy say the innovations and the new products coming out year to year, and apple is the most successful company in america right now, and we used to say so goes the auto industry and gm and so goes

this company, and do we have to worry about the same thing with apple? >> well, the iphone that is coming out in october, well, it is built, and sitting in a box waiting to be mailed out and the ipad 3 is probably finished as well. so steve is not leaving completely, and he is chairman of the board of directors, and he's going to be involved in the product planning going for ward and he has a great team underneath him and it won't affect them too much in the future, but the real test is in a year and a half when the new products are coming out and the things are unexpected as the iphone and the ipad and when they launch something completely new, it is going to be interesting to see how the new team does. >> all right. joe, thank you for coming on and two days in a row we have seen you, thank you, good job. coming up -- >> there will be heads exploding all over washington. >> and former vice president

dick cheney sits down the talk about his new memoir, and the vice president reveals details of confidential conversations with the former secretary of state condoleezza rice, and also hurricane irene is expected to leave parts of the east coast without power for days and in some cases longer. and governors of north carolina and new jersey and new york have declared states of emergencies in anticipation of the storm. "newsnation" has it all for you and we are back in three. time for the "your business entrepreneur of the week." mike and brad wanted to personalize the surfing experience, so they started grain surfboards out a farm in maine. customers can buy a kit and design their own board, or they can take a course at the farm where mike and brad share their expertise and passion. for more, watch your business sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. hey can i play with the toys ?

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welcome back to "newsnation" as we track hurricane irene. you are looking at some of the models out right now indicating when and where the storm will strike. it is expected around saturday morning to hit north carolina as a category 2 storm. sunday, d.c., philly, new york area could see the impact of this storm, and as you see, we could be talking about hurricane irene well into monday as the storm roars up the east coast, and we continue to follow this.

now is the time for people all of the way up the east coast to get ready and make sure they are safe which means preparing for the possible flooding and phone and power outages and having trouble traveling. joining me is is the discovery channel aton, and we never get to talk to you under good circumstances, but it is these types of stories, but what are some of the basics that people take for granted? h. >> well, people underestimate the destructive power of hurricanes and think they can ride them out, but one of the things they don't realize is when they try to stay at home and ride it out, it creates more problems for the responders, because they have to be worked out to deal with the serious situations, and when people try to ride these things out and stay in their home, and oh, it is going to be okay, it creates more problems downline. they need to go into the prep rative phase and start to get the important documents and get

the bags stocked and the food and the important prescription medication if they need it, and they need to get it together and preparing, especially if they are in the direct line of the path of the hurricane, to evacuate whatever areas they are in. >> and we are talking about 55 million people who might be affected by this and kerry sanders was pointing out and the meteorologist that we had on earlier that people inland could be impacted by this, and not just the shoreline, and you can assume that, but it is a mistake. >> yes, you are talking about power outages of a massive scale if it hits full force. so not one thing, but many things. the roads are obstructed by debris and you might have power outages or water filtration or water purification systems disrupted because of no power to operate them or disruption of the delivery of critical items such as food and fuel, and we are talking about something that could be cataclysmic if it hits

full blast. people should prepare. and americans sit back and say, i can handle it, but no, we have to work together. by that i mean taking part to prepare for yourself, and then let the government do what they are supposed to do after. the less they have to do for you during the storm, the better off we will be in the recovery phase. >> and power outage, you say, how much of us have a generator around the house, and the day and age problem that people didn't face 20 years ago is cell phone and for some people that is the only line that a lot of the people have x'd out the traditional land line and just have a cell phone. >> and the people with the cell phone can get the hand crank units to charge the cell phone, because if there are power outages, where do you power them? home depot and big hardware stores and lowe's and other chains have them to hand crank to charge the cell phone and also, you have to go with the hand cranked radios and the

hand-cranked flashlights and the thing with batteries, you won't find them now unless you have sto stocked up on them earlier, so get the hand-cranked radios and flashlights that you will need them. >> and you will need them anywhere, because far beyond the impact of irene and this one storm, this is information that you can use here on out. >> yes, any time. >> and military ships are getting out of irene's path and heading to safer waters and details on how the pentagon is getting ready for the storm. and bizarre items found inside of moammar gadhafi's compound and what it has to do with the former secretary of state condoleezza rice. and this picture has gone viral and people are talking about it everywhere, the dog outside of the casket of his beloved owner.

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welcome back to "newsnation."

we are tracking the path of hurricane irene as it heads toward the united states. right now, the major category 3 storm is south of cape hatteras off of north carolina's coast and expected to make landfall saturday. governors in north carolina, virginia and now new jersey have all declared states of emergency in preparation for this storm. irene's effects are already being felt, and in fact, look at the video, because this is of waves kicking up along the coast of north carolina. the national hurricane center's bill re bill reid joins me live from miami. thank you for your time here. >> my pleasure. >> what is standing out the you as we get the late eest informan on the path of irene? >> well, the satellite here, it is centered over the northern bahamas moving north, northwest and tomorrow we should see northward motion and late in the day due east of due north, and making landfall in north carolina and somewhere in eastern north carolina, and then

the possibility spread a little bit as to where the storm might go eventually after that whether it will stay inland or parallel to the coast and maybe offshore and then into new england, and suffice it to say that any of the scenarios bring a variety of very, very bad weather and in some cases very dangerously bad weather to the northeast. >> and what makes for the real danger here? are we talking about the high winds? >> it is all three. i think that the high winds in the face of the storm are going to contribute to significant waves, beach erosion and storm surge all along the path as it goes up the coast. that is what your local officials will be getting people out of harm's way of, and again, the large windfield, and the heavy rain and the already saturated grounds are going to bring down a lot of trees, and you will have power outages and of course, trees hitting on the buildings and what not that contribute to the damage that you get up there, and then the

flood-producing rains w. the saturated growns you could see flash flooding worse than you are expecting from the already heavy rain event that a storm brings. >> going back to the time line here, because i can't tell you how many times people today said, okay, when is it possibly going to hit again? because we are looking at saturday morning, and we could be talking about this storm well through monday. so for north carolina, we lost our shot here. okay. we have lost the shot, and we apologize because of the technical problem there, but we will hopefully talk to bill read from the national hurricane center for you, but in the meantime, more than 550,000 people along the coast are feeling impact in their region of irene. weather channel mike seidel has more on those people being evacuated from nags head, north carolina. >> well, good afternoon, tamron. a quiet day here, and that is because visitors have left town and heeding the evacuation order

issued last night, and people were leaving before sunrise. there is plenty of gas and cars on the highway. when you think of 125,000-plus vacationers, tourists out here trying to get across two bridges and get back inland away from the path of irene. irene is due in here tomorrow night and saturday. the closest approach, and we mean maybe a direct hit saturday afternoon. we could have category 3 winds and if not strong category 2. they have not seen a hurricane this strong since isabel in '02, and that pier behind me was taken out bysbe isabel, and now nicely rebuilt and they have protected, and they believe it can withstand a category 3 hurricane, and let's hope we don't have to deal with it. the impact will determine how much flooding on the beach versus how much flooding across the pimlico and the sounds. and the buxton county is full of

tourists and visitors and also visitors and residents down in obercoch have to get out of harm's way. expect highway 20 to be cut off to the main route to hatteras island and down there people are used to hurricanes and a lot of people stayed for isabelle and they could not get out for two weeks, so the best bet is to stock up for the essentials and also the flashlights and batteries and once it hits here, it will go towards the jersey shore and new york and boston and the main concern in the northeast, the main inconvenience with this hurricane or the tropical storm or whatever it is as it gets up there is power outages. we will be on the beach here keeping you updated for the next couple of day, and if necessary, we will head inland by saturday morning. back to you. >> thank you, mike. with hurricane irene heading up the east coast the navy is moving all of the ships out of the world's largest navy base in

norfolk, virginia. our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski has the details. >> this is pretty much standard operating procedure for the navy. any time a hurricane hits the east coast, all of the ships are ordered out to sea, and that includes this time 64 ships from the second fleet and including the "u.s.s. enterprise" and the entire battle group. it may seem counterintuitive, but the ships are safer riding out the storm in open seas than tied up in port banging up against each other and the pier which could cause some serious damage, and that entire process should be completed by the end of today or at least by early tomorrow. also, the u.s. army is kicking into high gear in fort bragg, and they are stocking up on emergency relief supplies like blankets and food and the like to be able to distribute the goods if they are needed. there are 98,000 national

guardsmen up and down the east coast that the individual state governors could mobilize in case in fact they are needed in any rescue or cleanup effort downs the road. back to you. >> all right, mick. stay with msnbc for continuing coverage of hurricane irene and logon to msnbc for the latest on the track, and a hurricane tracker to find out if you are in the path of the storm, and new details on casey anthony's probation tops the look at stories around the nation. florida officials say they won't reveal anthony's location and giving her extra security because she is, quote, one of the most hated women in america. anthony reported for a year-long probation on check fraud conviction last night, and she has received several death threats since being acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter. and a flashlight helped to lead police to a man who firebombed a mosque in 2010. they arrested cody crawford

today, and investigators say he firebombed the mosque in retaliation for the bombing of a christmas tree lighting ceremony in portland. and friends until the end. this photograph shows the casket of a navy s.e.a.l. killed in afghanistan with his dog hawkeye lying beside the casket. amazing image. and 1,500 people were on hand to pay their respects for him. and the dog is being cared for by a friend. amazing picture. former vice president dick cheney is turning heads in washington, d.c. as his new book is coming out, and so he sat down for an exclusive interview with nbc's janie gengall. >> this book is going to bhak i lot of people in washington angry. >> heads will be exploding in washington. and he even admitted to

having a resignation letter locked in a safe since 2001. >> reporter: why did you do it? >> number one, my health situation and the possibility of having a heart attack or stroke that would be incapacitating, and there was no mechanism, and there is no mechanism for a vice president who cannot function. >> and in the same interview, he reinforces the belief that enhanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding should be used and he is critical of both bush secretaries of state colin powell and condoleezza rice. we will catch more of the former vice president's interview on dateline at 10:00 p.m. monday, and also tuesday, matt lauer will interview former vice president dick cheney live on "today." since getting into the race, governor rick perry has shot to the top of the polls.

perry now has a double-digit lead over former massachusetts governor mitt romney. mark murray is the msnbc deputy director, and so let's process the numbers, and we know the polls are early, and the caveats going into this, but nonetheless, it looks like rick perry is shaking the room a little bit? >> there is, and there is an argument to be made he is the new national front-runner, but it is important to note that it is a national poll, and a lot of the battle will be fought in iowa and new hampshire and south carolina for that nomination, and in august, sometimes being the front-runner does not work out well, ask hillary clinton, and romney, and giuliani and even joe lieberman. but the significant thing it does is to knock mitt romney's strategy of acting like he is the nominee in waiting and focusing all of the attention on the economy and president obama eventually, he has to duke it out with rick perry, and this is going to force a campaign

strategy change at least right now for mitt romney campaign. >> and it seems that mitt romney's campaign has been asked that question if they change their strategy, and he joked and said if i change my jacket, people say i'm changing my strategy. and we talked about that and the polls have shown that republicans were not quite satisfied with the people in front of them, and this left an opening for someone in this person who happens to be the governor of texas which is intriguing that he would shoot up so quickly, and the numbers are double-digits, and as you pointed out with the caveats of the poll, it is impressive that he has made this impact so soon. >> it is impressive, and we have seen other people shoot up temporarily, and remember donald trump in the spring. >> how could we forget. >> and the -- what rick perry does is to personify where the republican party is right now. they are stridently anti-obama, and incredibly conservative fiscally and social issues and perry what he was able to do in texas over the last several years personifies that, and when

you pair him up potentially with mitt romney who is a former moderate governor of massachusetts, therein lies the decision for the republican voters, and of course, romney does better in early polls of independent voters and other persuadable folks, but the rank and file of the tea party, rick perry is probably more their cup of tea. >> and interesting because the cup of tea had been congresswoman michele bachmann, and i'm losing my mind here, excuse me, and she is in new hampshire move on the south carolina and where are the other candidates? >> well, mitt romney in new hampshire where he has been, and also newt gingrich who has not been on the campaign trail that much is also in new hampshire with ron paul, and bachmann as you mentioned in south carolina along with rick santorum, and a little campaigning before that labor day, and of course, tamron, as you know, labor hits, we will see the sprint towards iowa and new hampshire. >> all right. mark murray, live for us today, and thank you, mark, for the round up. and next, a live report from

north carolina where hundreds of thousands of people are told to get out by tomorrow ahead of hurricane irene's strike. first, some things going on today that we taught you should know. the republican who shouted at the president live in the joint session of congress is in the hospital. joe wilson is suffering from extended fever after contracting limes disease, and a tick-borne illness, and the staff says she feeling better today. among the statues and paintings pulled from moammar gadhafi's compound, they found photo album with page after page after page of former secretary of state condoleezza rice. this is what they had to say. >> i hadn't heard that. but i think i don't need to see the photos, but bizarre and

creepy are good adjectives to describe much of gadhafi's behavior, so. >> it doesn't surprise you? >> it doesn't surprise me, but it is deeply bizarre and creepy if it is as you described. >> well, the former secretary of state was in tripoli in 2008 to meet with gadhafi in a 2007 interview with al jazeera, and gadhafi described rice as his darling black african woman, an apparently nicknaming her leezza, and those are the things that we thought you should know. or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last year. that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion.

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nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. over a million people have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. i'm martin bashir and coming up at the top of the hour, everything that you need to know to prepare for hurricane irene and we are joined by the head of fema and of course our meteorologists and correspondents tracking the latest, plus the rnc chair and the whistle-blower who brought bernie madoff to justice. now, back to tamron. >> thank you, martin. the track of hurricane irene has shifted further west which means

55 million people here in the u.s. could be affected be i this storm system. the storm could make landfall saturday on the outer banks of north carolina. you see the storm track at least as it stands right now, and moments ago, north carolina governor bev perdue urged president obama to declare a prelandfall emergency to provide federal assistance to her state ahead of irene, and more than 50,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the area, and kristen welker is in devil kill, and explain this preland-fall declaration that the governor is seeking? >> well, it allows the government to move resources into place, and already the national guard is in place, and fema has moved supplies this this area, and ready for whatever might be needed after the storm, and let's talk a little bit more about the evacuati evacuations, because so far we have seen them for tourists here along the outer banks, and

officials now say that they want residents to leave as well here in dare county, north carolina. residents being ordered to leave tomorrow, and then to the south in cardarette county, the tourists are ordered to leave and also the residents to evacuate as we go into friday. the officials are taking this storm very seriously and lifted the tolls on bridges going out of the area to make that evacuation as orderly as possible. the outer banks of course not easy places to get out of, and so they are worried about the traffic as people begin to leave, and we are also seeing people boarding up and stocking up as well, but what makes irene so interesting, and i have covered a lot of hurricanes is the huge stretch of coastline that could be affected by this, and that has people watching this very closely. we are not just talking about the carolinas, we are talking about the possibility of this storm tracking all of the way up the east coast, and hitting through the mid-atlantic, new jersey, new york, and then into

new england and possibly seeing hurricane conditions this weekend. here in north carolina, already, we have a hurricane watch that means that hurricane conditions are possible within the next 48 hours and the national hurricane center says it is likely to up that to a warning later today, and that means that the hurricane conditions are imminent, so that this is a serious and dangerous storm, and when you are looking at the track even though it is uncertain, keep it in mind that the hurricane-force winds extend 70 miles out of the center, and the tropical storm winds are out to the center, and tamron, this is a huge storm and could cause widespread damage. >> thank you, kristen dahlgren, and great details on the traffic there. we will keep an eye on that. and something that nobody wants to happen, you are on vacation and a hurricane heads directly to where you and your family are housed. we will have a live report from one of our colleagues who rode out the storm in the bahamas, and a live report coming up.

before we wrap up this hour, the latest on hurricane irene is now a category 3 storm packing 115-mile-an-hour winds and it is now pounding the bahamas. irene is expected to head straight up the east coast and almost parallel to the i-95 corridor. it is expected to lose some steam as it moves north in colder waters dropping to a cat 1. the colleagues at the weather channel predict that irene will hit north carolina's outer banks late friday night, and philadelphia late saturday evening and new york city sunday morning and boston sunday afternoon and portland, maine, sunday evening. we are going to join our colleague who is there at the bahamas at a shelter while she was there on vacation ride ought the storm, essa.

what can you tell us now? >> well, there with a little more than 1,000 of us put into the shelters. >> we got the video essa in earlier and incredible video at one point in time that you could see the trees, the palm trees swaying there. at the height of the storm, what was it like there for you guys? >> oh, you know, early this morning, it was really kind of scary, i mean, because it was pitch dark here, and the wind was howling. it was like a really, really bad storm. the surf was really, really high and rough. i just got briefed actually by the hotel spokesperson here, and i think that we are a few hours away from people getting out of the shelters and getting back to the respective hotels. >> how soon did they tell you and the families and the other guests to get to the shelter and this area where they designated? >> well, they were quite good

about that. they sent letters to each of the hotel rooms and hand delivered them and actually called the hotel rooms individually as well to check. so in that situation, they were really good. it was very orderly here. people were, you know, they were a little bit shocked having been, you know, displaced like this, but all of the families trying to stick together and everybody has been trying to ride the storm out, and you know, keep good spirits. >> all right. essa, we will keep those spirits high for you and the family and the kids are there, and it has to be frightening for anyone, but especially a kid. thank you, essa, and sending in the video. that is going to do it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports," i'm tamron hall and my colleague martin bashir is up next. uld. happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. uld. seven years ago i had an idea to plaque this baby food. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points

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good afternoon, it is thursday, august 25th, and here is what is happen iing. here comes irene, a dangerous hurricane churning through the