we are standing by waiting for the president to speak. princeton professor, alan krueger will be succeeding aus stan goolsbee as chairman of the council of economic advisories. bringing the president's comments to you as soon as they happen. waiting for an update on irene asell as the announcement. here is what you need to know about the aftermath, 23 dead from the storm, the ripple effects are being felt. the major concern is flooding, some of the most devastating comes from vermont where the governor says they are seeing the worst flooding in a century, rivers and creaks toppling bridges and threatening at one point the state capital. in new jersey, a house exploded along a river in pompton lake flooded by irene. hundreds of thousands are without power and trains and buses are sitting idle. the damage estimates are already in the billions of dollars. states along the atlantic coast have started the cleanup.

president obama reminding the nation that while the storm is over, there is still more work that needs to be done. we have updates. we are still seeing up north to the damage in north carolina. let's go ahead and start in brattleboro, vermont. irene was a tropical storm when it hit vermont but the damage there is still incredible? >> reporter: yes. i think it is pretty incredible that a tropical storm hit vermont, a land-locked state. >> we are going to get back to you. i want to take you live to the white house. president obama speaking about irene. this morning, we are continuing to deal with the impact and aftermath of hurricane irene. as i said yesterday, we are going to make sure folks have all the support they need as they begin to access and repair the damage left by the storm. that's going to continue in the days ahead. it is going to take time to recover from a storm of this magnitude. the effects are still being felt across much of the country,

including in new england and states like vermont where there has been an enormous amount of flooding. so our response continues but i'm going to make sure that fema and other agencies are doing everything in their power to help people on the ground. now, even as we deal with this crisis of the moment, our great, ongoing challenge of the nation remains how to get this economy growing faster. our challenges to create a climate where more businesses can post job listings, where folks can find good work that relieves the financial burden they are feeling and where families can regain a sense of economic security in their lives. that's our your junt mission. that's what i am fighting for every single day. that's why today, i am very pleased to nominate alan krueger to chair the council of economic advisers. come on down here, al. alan brings a wealth of experience to the job. he is one of the nation's

leading economist. for more than two decades he has studied and developed economic policy inside and outside of government. in the first two years of this administration, as we were dealing with the effects of a complex and fast-moving financial crisis, a crisis that threatened a second grade depression, alan's council as chief economist at the treasury department proved invaluable. so i am very pleased to appoint alan and i look forward to working with him. as i told him, it is going to be tough to fill the shoes of aus st austan goolsbee, who has been a great friend and ad viewer that i have relied on for years. i rely on the council of economic advisors to provide unvarnished recommendations not based on politics or narrow interests but based on the best evidence, on what's going to do the most good for the most people in this country.

that's more important than ever right now. we need folks in washington to make decisions based on what's best for the country. not what's best for any political party or special interest. that's how we will get through this period of economic uncertainly. that's the only way we will be able to do what's necessary to grow the economy. so it's that spirit that i'm going to be calling upon in the coming days. next week, i will be laying out a series of steps that congress can take immediately to put more money in the pockets of working families and middle class families to make it easier for small businesses to hire people, to put construction crews to work rebuilding our nation's roads and railways and airports and all the other measures that can help to grow this economy. these are bipartisan ideas that ought to be the kind of proposals that everybody can get behind no matter what your political affiliation might be. my hope and expectation is that

we can put country before party and get something done for the american people. that's what i will be fighting for and we have got to have a good team to do it. so alan, i appreciate your willingness to take on this assignment. i am looking forward to working with you once again. >> thank you very much. >> thank you so much. >> thank you, everybody. president obama there at the white house unveiling his pick for top economist, alan krueger. also, saying that heel be unveiling his economic plan next week. all right. the president interrupting our reporter, ron allen standing by in vermont. i am so sorry to have cut you off. please give us an update on what's happening there. >> reporter: where was i before the president interrupted me? that's fine. it is a beautiful place to be. this is vermont over there. that's new hampshire over there. this is the connecticut river. as you can see, it has become something of a place to be for

the people who live here who are watching this incredible scene of this river. it is moving very fast, about 7 or 8 feet above where it should be. it is one of the problems here that's causing massive flooding, epic flooding according to state officials. they have never seen anything like this here in 75 years, perhaps even longer. it happened very quickly. a lot of people are just amazed that a landlocked state so far north is actually feeling such powerful effects of a tropical storm. the remnants of a hurricane. you don't expect that to happen in a place like this. it certainly is. at one point yesterday, just about every road in this state was closed for some period of time because of flooding. there are now about 250 detours, 250 roads in the state of vermont that are blocked or washed away completely by flooding. also, sadly, there has been a fatality here. there was a young, 20-year-old woman, swept away, who was standing on a river bank and swept away by the floodwaters while she was standing there

watching things with her boyfriend. that's the only tragedy we have heard about. there are still many people who are in shelters, out of their homes. everybody is watching the river to determine what it is going to do next and to determine what happens here. some rivers are rising. some are receding into their banks. it is morning here. everybody is trying to get a good luck at things to determine just where they go next. again, just a stunning development that vermont, of all states, would be hit by the remnants of a hurricane. veronica? >> that's right, right. the governor there calling this a full-blown catastrophe. ron allen in vermont, we appreciate it. thank you. right now, at least six people dead in north carolina. the massive cleanup is well under way as coastal residents return hoping to find their homes the way they left them. mark potter is live in duck, north carolina and joins us now. mark? >> reporter: well, hi, veronica. we are at a roadblock just south of the town of duck. if we turn the camera here, we can see these officers are checking the i.d.s of people

coming in to make sure that only residents and business owners come in right now. the reason for the concern is that down this road here, there are problems still, part of the road was washed away by the back of the hurricane pushing water on to the road. there are some work crews down there. they expect to get the visitors in here tomorrow. right now, they are just making sure that only the residents an the business people and workers go in right now. the big push here is to get the outer banks ready for labor day. they lost this weekend. this is the end of their summer season when they make all their money. they want to get everything ready by next weekend. many of the businesses, most the businesses, probably will be able to do that. relatively speaking, the damage here has been minimal. one of the biggest problems is on the south side of the island, part of the main highway there connecting most of the island to the hatteras island area, cape hatteras. there was a cut in the highway. you cannot pass. that happened in 2003. it happened again. now, you can only go by ferry

boat. the biggest problem in terms of the weather on the day of the storm was the storm surge that came on the back end of the hurricane pushing water under the western side of the island. that got into some homes, into some businesses. we just talked to a business owner down here whose deck at his restaurant was torn away. there are other businesses. mate yor of du mayor of duck said he is convinced most of the businesses will be up and running by labor day. it looks like with the relatively little minimal damage, they will be able to do that. >> mark, thank you. hundreds of thousands of storm-grounded flyers will soon you airborne. departures resume less than an hour from now. still, after days of delays, many say that they are fed up. >> i'm on a stand by at 1:00 and a confirmed flight at 7:30 tonight. so i don't know when i'm getting

home. i'm tired. >> cnbc's brian shactman is live at newark liberty airport. give us a sense of how many flyers are on deck to take off? >> reporter: there are hundreds inside the terminal. maybe 100 or so had to sleep here over the weekend. people are slowly streaming in. outbound flights don't start until noon. they have already canceled 380 flights today about that. jfk is the same number. overall, according to flight aware.com, there have been 1500 flights today canceled. it is gorgeous outside here. it is still an issue. planes aren't here. personnel is still trickling in. overall, 12,000 flights canceled between friday through sunday night. another 1500 today. that's a record now beating some snowstorms over this past winter. if you talk about a situation like jetblue, which has a hub at jfk in new york, they have canceled 336 flights today. the key is, the planes aren't

even here. they flew 50 of them out for safety before the storm. they have to get the planes back in to get capacity up to speed. i felt terrible for that woman, one woman we talked to who was on holiday from the uk. she has been stuck here for a couple of days. she was by herself. she was a little fearful for her safety. it is interesting to watch on tv when you see it. but to actually experience it, it is a terrible one. the airlines tell us, we probably won't be under normalized conditions for at least a day. if you have a flight today, don't just get on the phone. you might be on hold for an hour or get locked off. you check online and don't just show up here, because your flight might already be canceled. >> got to pack your patience. heading out overcease where convicted terrorist, abdelbaset ali mohmed al megrahi is reportedly in a coma this morning. his son tells nbc news his father's home has been looted.

stephanie gosk is live in libya's capital and joins us now. >> reporter: veronica, we went to megrahi's house today. anywhere you go in this city, it looks battle torn. there is stuff in the streets, check points, graffiti on the wal walls, in that neighborhood, we didn't see any graffiti or anything littering the streets. it looked like it was pretty well-protected. it makes the claim that the house was looted and the medicine stolen, slightly suspicious. that's what the family is saying. there has been a lot of criticism about the release of megrahi. he was released two years ago by the scottish government on humanitarian grounds. they said he was dying of cancer imminently. he didn't die a month later, no the a year later. it is now two years later and he is still alive living in basically a luxury home here in tripoli. there have been reports that he is in a coma. that's what his son says. that's what his brother also said when he came out of the house and spoke to reporters

today. he is not taking any visitors. veronica? >> stephanie, i would like to switch gears and ask you what is the latest on the search for gadhafi? >> reporter: well, there were some rumors over the weekend that gadhafi was actually still here in tripoli. if he was, it seems he has moved out. there is no longer any fighting here within the city center or any part have o tof the city fo matter. there are two possibilities that rebel forces are focusing on. to the south, one city called ben walid. he could potentially be there and his other big spot is his hometown of sirte. that is a strong hold where his tribe is from. there could be two big battles looming in both places. >> veronica? >> stephanie gosk, live in tripoli. thank you for that. we want to get you to

millville, new jersey, where we have new video coming in. it looks like a dam has breached. big problem with hurricane irene is all of the water that has flooded the region. we are going to be talking to folks from psg&e there in new jersey coming up sometime this hour. again, live pictures out of millville, new jersey, the water that has coming in from hurricane irene. keep it right here on msnbc. we will be right back. that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief

from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. i go to e-trade and tap into the power of revolutionary mobile apps to trade wherever. whenever. life isn't fully experienced sitting idly by. neither is investing. [ birds chirping ] diabetes testing? what else is new? you get the blood, hope it's enough, it's-- what's this? freestyle lite® blood glucose test strip.

sure, i'll try it, but-- [beep] wow. yep, that's the patented freestyle zipwik™ design. it's like it-- [both] targets the blood. yeah, draws it right in. the test starts fast. you need just a third the blood of one touch.® okay. freestyle test strips. i'll take 'em. sure. call or click-- we'll send you strips and a meter, free. can't i just have these? freestyle lite test strips. call or click today.

new pictures from new hope, pennsylvania, showing how much irene is being felt today nearly a day after a storm blew over the area. at least four deaths in pennsylvania from irene. incredible pictures from vermont show it is far from done there. the state's worst flooding in a

century. at least one of the state's historic-covered bridges was washed away as rivers spimed over their banks. the flood threat in new jersey is going from bad to worse. today, rising waters have hurt firefighters efforts to battle a blaze at this home in pomptonlakpompton lakes because they couldn't drive their trucks to the scene. hundreds of thousands remain without power across the garden state. joining my by phone is ps&g spokesperson, karen johnson. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> the latest figures say you have at least 205,000 people in new jersey without power. i know you guys have been work around the clock since this storm hit. what are the biggest problem areas for you right now? >> well, eve thoen we have 205,000 customers out of power right now, we have restored power to about 462,000. so this was a tremendous storm,

lots of damage. most problems are due to flooding. we do have a number of substations that have a lot of water and it is just a painstaking process to dry those out so that we can get those customers back in service. >> karen, how many crews have you deployed to deal with this effort? i think i had heard that you were bringing in workers from out of state. >> yes. we have our own full compliment of linemen available. it is nearly 600 people. we have another 200, 300 or so of people from out of state, tennessee, indiana, florida, pennsylvania. we have every resource available to restore power. >> can you give us an estimate about how long it is going to take to get the power on? that's the big question that everyone is asking right now. >> we want to set realistic expectations with our customers. right now, we are telling them,

it could be between four and seven days, clearly, we are bringing people online all the time. those areas that are hardest hit by the flooding will most likely be the last one toss get power restored. >> people just need to be patient with your efforts. karen johnson is a spokeswoman for ps&g. thanks for your time. >> thank you. with power lines down and cell networks clogged, there is no surprise that twitter exploded with people trying to communicate during the hurricane. msnbc's tweet deck, no exception there. check out the responses flooding into our handle at msnbc tv with the hash tag irene. we wanted to share some of our favorites right now.

>> some people, enjoying the weather. you can send us a tweet or tweet me at veronica de la cruz and make sure to share the hag tag @irene. we'll be right back. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to delivering the most advanced mobile broadband experience to help move business... forward. ♪ whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪

way to go, coach. finally, there's a choice for my patients with an irregular heartbeat

called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem. today we have pradaxa to reduce the risk of a stroke caused by a clot. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products, nsaids, or blood thinners. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning.

if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke. connecticut cleaning up this morning. half a million people are still without power. it could be weeks before service is restored. the governor will be speaking at noon and we goal live to our reporter there in just a few minutes with an update. >> former vice president, dick cheney's memoir, hit shelf tomorrow. it is already angering many of washington's elite. one of the most kron tro version elements is that the bush administration deserves much of the credit for the capture of

osama b osama bin laden. >> i thought it was a culmination of ten years of effort by a lot of very talented, capable, dedicated people and i gave president obama credit for having sent the s.e.a.l. team six in to capture and kill bin laden. >> was it bittersweet or were you disappointed it hadn't happened on your watch? >> well, we would have liked to have succeeded but i think we laid the ground work for what ultimately happened. >> the white house correspondent for "newsweek" magazine joins us live. dan, thanks for joining us. >> reporter: sure. >> so they have been hyping this impact that the memoirs are going to have. he has been saying that heads are going to explode. do you think that this book will have that type of impact? >> reporter: we have seen a lot of hurricane damage around washington but certainly no heads exploding around town. that claim, that specific one you played of the bush administration and specifically

him deserving some credit for the capture and killing of osama bin laden is what has gotten most of the attention. this is something you tried for many years and couldn't seal the deal. now, they see it as a vindication effort to save face and rationize a lot of the efforts that the bush administration took much of the term. >> former secretary of state, colin powell, one of the voices criticizing him. he aus couped cheney of taking cheap shots and thought the tone overall was misguided. take a listen to this. >> in fact, the kind of headline i would expect to come out of a gossip columnist or the kind of headline you might see one of the supermarket tabloids roit. it is not the kind of headline i would expect to come from a former vice president of the united states of america. >> what do you think of that? >> reporter: he was right.

that very much was a tabloid thing to say. it has many members of his own party not very impressed like we saw with general powell. he showed with this book and this media tour a portrait of the bush white house that not many of us got to see of a lot of con knifing. we see between general powell and vice president cheney and secretary of state, condoleezza rice and donald rumsfeld that don't have positive feelings even years after leaving office. >> let's talk about the impact this book is going to have, about the timing of its release. it does come at a moment where the president is seeing his lowest approval rating. >> reporter: absolutely. that's a concern for the wlit house. they are very focused on the economy at the moment. this book is very focused on relashing. it is ve

rehashing. it is very focused on the past. the white house is trying to gain the upper ground over the sniping and con knifing. saying this is a new day. we ran on change and hope. our officials are not behaving like this. >> dan stone is the white house correspondent for "newsweek" magazine and a contributor for "daily beast." >> thank you. be sure to catch the entire interview with dick cheney happening on dateline tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern on nbc. the mysterious disappearance of a young college student last the scene by her fiancee has left authorities baffled wondering if this is a case of foul play or another run away bride. beyonce stunned the kraud for her baby bump. n. then i tried this. it's salonpas. this is the relief i've been looking for.

salonpas has 2 powerful pain fighting ingredients that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told me it's the only otc pain patch approved for sale using the same rigorous clinical testing that's required for prescription pain medications. proven. powerful. safe. salonpas.

we are looking at pictures

now coming out of vermont. residents there battling epic flooding. waters from irene have been threatening three different towns there. the governor is saying it is one of the worst episodes of flooding seen in about a century. 50,000 customers there without power. hundreds of roads closed. the state losing three historic covered bridges. again, pictures there out of vermont. we are keeping a close eye on the latest development for crews across the northeast. flooding and power outages are big problems for hundreds of thousands in the region. so are falling trees. this one in braintree, massachusetts, directly back on to the home of this property. some of the worst damage is in connecticut where families have been rescued from drenched neighborhoods and kept clear of downed power lines. ann thompson joins us live from east haven, connecticut. anne?

>> reporter: all around me is damage from irene. a strip of beach where the local officials say some 40 houses were damaged. 25 of those homes have now been declared a complete loss. as you can see behind me, family members have now been allowed back into this area to salvage what they can and assess the damage for themselves. it is heart-breaking. this house over here has been declared a total loss. the front part, lower front part of the house was completely taken off by this storm. we have seen homes on this road that were taken off this foundation. it is an amazing amount of destruction for something that was less than a hurricane when it actually came ashore. veronica, as you were mentioning, in connecticut, statewide, the biggest problem is power outages. there are more than half million people in this state that are still without power. we are hearing from some residents that they have been told it could be two weeks,

that's right, two weeks, before their power is turned back on. veronica? >> we know they are having quite an issue trying to get the power back on with all the fallen trees and down power lines. nbc state and local officials are being critiqued along with president obama. he discussed the latest earlier in the hour. it is going to take time to recover from a storm of this magnitude. the effects are still being felt across much of the country. our response continues. i am going to make sure fema and other agencies are doing everything in their power to help people on the ground. >> joining me now, crystal ball, democratic strategist and joe watkins, republican strategist and msnbc political analyst. >> crystal, let's talk about the president. he received constant updates on the storm from martha's

vineyards. he has been reminding americans that after all of this, the federal priority here is to get all the cleanup going. was this a strong moment for him coming off of vacation at martha's vineyard that was kind of receiving some negative press. >> yes, i think this was a strong moment for him. this isn't going to be because it was handled effectively, it is not going to end up being the make or break moment for him in 2012. what i will say is this. republicans have been trying to develop this narrative that the president wasn't an effective leader. when you see things like an effective hurricane disaster response, effective results in libya and the killing of osama bin laden, it completely undercuts that narrative so they really don't have a leg to stand on there. >> joe, let's turn it over to you and bring it down to the state and local level with mayor michael bloomberg. he received some heavy criticism over his handling of the blizzards. i want to get your take on how he did with irene and also talk about new jersey governor, chris

christie, because he he made headlines with what he had to say during a press conference. take a listen. >> i saw some of these news feeds i have been watching upstairs of people sitting on the beach in asbury park. get the hell off the beach in asbury park and get out. you are done. it is 4:30. you have maximized your tan. get off the beach. >> it is 4:30. you have maximized your tan. what do you have to make of that? how did each handle the situation? >> i think what people appreciate about governor christie is his forth rightness. he stepped right up and said, you have to leave. you have to evacuate for your only safety. president obama did a good job also by leaving vacation early. i don't think republicans will criticize him for lack of leadership in these kind of situations, certainly not with this storm, certainly not with the killing of osama bin laden. republicans will criticize the

handling of the economy. i think all the polls data shows that as well. but in terms of the storm, i think the president did a good be jo. most of our local and state officials have done an excellent job. michael bloomberg, excellent job, chris christie, excellent job, tom corbett, excellent job. >> do you want to weigh in. >> there was this talking point saying this this president doesn't know how to lead. what you have when you see these series of successes and series of examples of effective leadership is, you really start to see the portrait of an effective, strong president and someone we want to see back in office in 2012. >> let's talk about those gop candidates. irene made it into that discussion, the 2012 discussion. let's take a listen to what michele bachmann had to say. >> i don't know how much god has to do to get the attention of the politicians. we have had an earthquake.

we have had a hurricane. they need to start listening to me here. listen to the american people. >> krystal, does it seem like she was giving her message of limited government or is she going to have to answer for this comment to the media? >> she is going to have to answer for this. i think michele bachmann is badly struggling in the polls. she has a history of making some very extreme, out of the mainstream statements. this is just another examment. >> joe, do you have anything to add? >> i always do. michele bachmann has done extraordinary well so far in this campaign. she continues to do well, because she continues to speak her mind. rick perry leads the field, of course, and followed by mitt romney. they are the two one toss watch right now. >> we are going to be talking to maggie haferman coming up. joe, i know you always have

something to say. i shouldn't even have asked. >> he is not the reserved type. >> krystal ball, joe watkins always good to see you. other stories we are following. violence is ratcheting up in iraq when nearly 30 people were killed sunday night when baghdad's largest city mosque was bombed and dozens of others were injured. an army officer was found dead after killing four people. leonard john eggland led them on a manhunt. after a standoff, they found eggland dead about what they suspect was a self--inflicted gun wound. a 22-year-old ohio woman remains missing in a case local authorities say is the most baffling that they have ever seen. this week end, nearly 100 volunteers search for a sixth time for caitlin martin last seen by her fiancee two weeksing a. with her wedding two weeks away,

she vanished without a trace a month before she was about to get her bachelor's degree. police say they have no evidence of foul play. she left her purse, her car, only her cell phone is missing. >> amazing pictures coming into the "newsroom" of mount etna erupting. it is on the east coast of sicily, the callest volcano in europe. the mt vidv video awards we last night. what's got everybody talking is b beyonce's growing baby. the baby bump. telling the audience, i want you to feel the love that is growing inside me. it will be the first child for beyonce who turns 30 and for her husband, proud father to be, jay-z. >>. >> lady gaga dressing a bit more reserved, dressed as her male alter ego. a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking,

whiskey drinking joe calderon. when it comes to the gop primary, there is no love loss between mitt romney and rick perry. with rick perry taking the top spot, romney is being forced to shift his strategy to hang on to his increasingly less front-runner status. joining us is maggie haferman. >> thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> we are looking at the top two contenders. is this going to be a close one? >> i think this will be very interesting for the next couple of months. rick perry has a month he has to clear in september. we are hosting one on politico on missnbc. he needs to stay in the top tier, make no gafs. if he does that, i think you will see a lot come off the sidelines and move toward him.

i would not estimate mitt romney. he is a tough competitor and can write himself a check. he could end up staying in this for a while. >> does he need the focus from new hampshire to iowa? >> the big debate where he should be spending so much energy. one school of thought where he should focus on new hampshire. >> it could end up hurting him worse if he doesn't play in iowa. he is unlikely to do well in south carolina. he has been minimizing it but he is making an upcoming visit to the state. you are going to see him start to put more of a toe in iowa. i think you will see him showing more of his hand there. rick perry is the front-runner there. he will be hard to dismantle from that title. >> what about the use of attack ads? >> on both sides, it is less likely to come from the campaigns and more likely to come from the super packs we are all talking about.

these campaign that is can support a candidate but don't have any restrictions on the amount of donations they can take. rick perry needs to be defined by his opponents. i think you will start seeing strategically placed ads to shape him. maggie haberman with politico. . be sure to catch the debate co-hosted by brian williams. that airs right here on msnbc. breaking news from miami, nbc news confirming that the hotel near miami airport is being evacuated because of a bomb threat. miami-dade police at the hotel with bomb-sniffing dogs. we are going to continue to monitor this developing story and bring you more information as soon as we get it right here on msnbc. and packages a year. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day.

ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal workers union. ♪ oh, we call it the bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. great! did i mention no hands in the bundler? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

living with the pain of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... could mean living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you with humira. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira's proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live or have been to a region

where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist how you can defend against and help stop further joint damage with humira.

it was a storm that obviously could have turned out for our worse. the storm isn't behind us yet. there still are thousands of americans still without power. if you see a downed power line, please, don't go near it. we just don't need a tragedy. new york city mayor, michael bloomberg, moments ago, making sure manhattan residents stay safe. more good news for residents here. the subway system has finally been fully restored. many new yorkers waiting for that. fema announcing that some federal money pledged to tornado ravaged joplin, missouri and disaster sites being diverted to help victims of hurricane irene. we are staying on top of all of the latest developments and will continue to update you. hundreds of thousands of other residents along the eastern seaboard dealt an incredible blow. many trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces. what do you do after you have been hit? how do you protect yourself.

"discovery" networks host here. we spent lots of time together over the weekend. lots of people returning to their homes after being evacuated. we saw a home that exploded into flames in pompton lakes. fire crews couldn't even get to it. >> right. >> how do you know that your home is safe to return to? >> generally speaking, what you are going to have to do is do a walk around and a walk through. if you see that there are large cracks or something that looks unusual, that you didn't notice before, then you might have a problem, there might be some foundational problems. if you go inside and you can't open doors and the floors don't seem level, there is not very much that you can do unless you have experience, unless you are a contractor to repair it. eventually, you would have to seek out professional help to come in and do the job. it is very important for people to recognize. for instance, downed power lines, that happens a lot. if you see a downed power line, it is really, really important that you stay away from it and

that you seek out the professionals to come and deal with it. we just lost someone apparently, someone who tried to rescue someone in new jersey. he wound up getting exposed to a live wire in some water. it is very dangerous. you have to have professional people to come in and do that. people have to make assessments of their home. you know your own home, generally speaking. you walk around your apartment or your home and see something unusual. the doors aren't flush. you might have a problem that needs professional repairs and stuff. >> so many people were evacuated because of the storms here in new york alone. 370,000 people. you were telling me over the weekend, there are things that you can do before even evacuating to make sure that there is a plan in place. >> you have to have a plan. generally, when these storms happen, you have to have a plan to hunker down in one place and survive it. you also have to have an evacuation plan. you have to know where you are going and know how to get to it. you have to have alternate roots to get to it.

one route may be cut off. i use the rule of three. if you have three different locations, three different routes, if the first two fail, the third will be able to go through. you need to have a reunification plan for your family so that in the event that during the storm or during the disaster that you all get separated that you have a definitive plan that you have already worked out with your different family members or friends or whomever that you know where you are going to be, exactly who to contact, all the telephone numbers and addresses, all written suggest using what all weather note pads. those are note pads that you can write in the rain and fall many the water and the ink won't blur. all these plans need to be made before the disaster, not after the disaster. if you wait after the disaster, you're probably not going to be able to do something to work for you. >> i understand you have some online resources as well. >> yes. if you want to get information about you know what to do in your home, go to ready.gov.

basically the government has put up a related website where you can get the tips that you need to do for preparing your home. >> you go to noaa.gov. >> that's a good site. >> thank you so much for all that great advice. priest people want to forget irene, it's likely the name will never be used for a hurricane. what's in a name? irene would be the seventh name to be retired in 11 years. a look at what makes hurricane names on the flied side when msnbc returns. >> confirming that the sofittel hotel being evacuated buzz after a bomb threat. the hotel is three miles from the airport where several large companies have offices including the burger king corporation. miami-dade police officers have been on the seen.

we're going to try to get down to the bottom of this. get you more information soongs we return right here on msnbc. no, it was good because you told us so. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. just announced -- celebrate labor day with an additional $500 bonus cash. with all other offers, including the all-star edition discount, that's a total value of $6,500. ♪ our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. [ grandpa ] relationships are the basis of everything. [ grandma ] relationships are life... if you don't have that thing that fills your heart and your soul, you're missing that part of your life that just fulfills you. ♪ [ male announcer ] for us at humana, relationships matter too. the better we know you,

the better we can help you choose the right medicare plan. that's why humana agents sit down with you to figure out your medicare options. and we have nurses you can call anytime, even at 3 a.m. because when you're on the right humana medicare plan and taking good care of yourself, then you can be there for the people who matter most. [ grandma ] my family is my joy, my hope... they are my heart. it's the reason we get out of bed in the morning... [ grandpa ] the reason we fall into bed at night sometimes. [ grandma ] yes. that's right. [ male announcer ] humana.

want to get you to some pictures out of lumberton, new jersey, irene has passed through the eastern u.s. leaving at least 21 people dead causing rim effects that are still being felt along the eastern seaboard. here is what is leftover. complete areas are flooded. there are cars submerged in that field. again, looking at pictures out of lumberton, new jersey, flooding a big problem all up and down the eastern seaboard. want to get you to our flip side. our look behind the headlines. hurricane irene fell short of forecaster's worst fierce, the storm may have been memorable to put its name into retirement. that's what happens to the big ones. the same names get recycled every six years. could you ever imagine another hurricane named hurricane

katrina. they run a through z with alternating male and female names. before irene battered the east coast a little known hurricane harvey dumped heavy rain on mexico and guatemala. speaking of katrina which landed on the gulf coast on this day six years ago this year's names list was used last in that brutal 2005 season when a record five storms earned retirement. hurricanes didn't even get names until 1950678 they were just known by the year-round the place they made landfall. that got pretty confusing. so meteorologists and the u.s. military started naming the storms after their wives or their girlfriends or maybe even hated ex. the current system has been in place since 1979 as the weather channel's jim cantore points out, irene would be the seventh i name to be retired. thanks going to do it for me today. thomas roberts will be back tomorrow. in the meantime craig melvin is

here. i believe there was a hurricane melvin at some point in 2009. >> no. i'm sure comparatively it was weak. $7 billion and counting for the damage by hurricane irene. live reports from north carolina and vermont where towns are still underwater and the flood threat continues. also, colin powell firing back at former vice president dick cheney, what powell is saying about cheney's new book. oh, nice hands! chest bump. ugh! good job, man. nice! okay, halftime. now, this is my favorite play. oh! i'm wide open. oh, fumble. fumble. don't want to fumble any of these. [ male announcer ] share what you love, with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. it's up... and it's good! good?! they're grrreat!

a mouthwatering combination of ingredients...e for you! i know you're gonna love. [ barks ] yes, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! [ barking ] gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful. and i was a pack-a-day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys,

and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill 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 while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some of these can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery.