abdelbaset ali mohmed alma gr gras -- al megrahi be released. and also, a baby bump announced at the mtv music awards and now the mom- to-be is giving up a huge role for mommihood. and the number of irene hfis from irene have been increasing. the number of reports are that the number could climb to 32 people. right now, flooding is the

biggest concern, and vermont is seeing the worst of it. their governor calls it the worst flooding in a century in that state. further south in new hope, pennsylvania, the delaware river is surrounding homes and many people at this hour are still without power and many more without power for a few days. the damage from the storm is estimated in the billions of dollars. president obama said it will take time certainly to recover from irene. >> the effects are still being felt across much of the country including in new england and states like vermont where there's been an enormous amount of flooding. so, our response continues, but i'm going to make sure that fema and the other agencies are doing everything in their power to help peel on the ground. >> and we have live pictures from the white house briefing room where any minute pres secretary jay carney is expected to be joined by craig fugate, and fema's relief as well as the

cost that a lot of people are talking about the staggering amount of money to help those in need. and ron bloom is in brattleboro, vermont to, follow the flooding there. >> tamron, we are here where the water is spilling out of dams and reservoirs into trib towers -- tributaries. if you look at the fast-water rising you are seeing the mississippi last spring and seeing tires and pieces of refrigerators and propane tanks and enormous trees and tree trunks pushed down this river. now the governor of vermont was just in brattleboro a short time ago and he did confirm that there are multiple communities still isolated and still trying to get n because of the height of the flash flood yesterday afternoon, every road and highway in vermont was affected or closed.

those barriers coming down today in most areas in those communities where they were trying to get in because of the rising water. still one fatality confirmed, but the governor was not willing to speculate on whether they were missing people out there. today is the day for assessment and adding up the damages, but there were some spectacular images captured by people on video and spread throughout the social network today. and the a governor said, we are vermonters and we will do everything to rebuild, and we are resilient. but right now people who have been affected by the flood have not heard the news, because they are busy with the mops and the shovels to dig out from this storm. that is the latest from brattleboro, vermont. and the monday travel nightmare continues. amtrak service is suspended between philadelphia and boston and while the airports in the northeast are open, there are backlogged passengers still trying to get out.

in all irene cancelled 13,000 flights since saturday and including nearly 1,500 today. hundreds of passengers spent the weekend in newark liberty airport on cots, and many of them are still stranded. >> cold. i felt like a homeless person and i want to get back to my home in alabamament. >> i'm so tired and i'm english and this is frightening because i'm a lone traveling female and it is a frightening experience. >> and while newark's airport opened for the inbound flights at 6:00 a.m., the flights just started leaving in the last few hours. and now for the cost, could irene by the $45 billion storm? one expert says it is possible when you combine the loss of life and business. bertha coombs is joining us now and we heard the governor from new jersey say that number as well, but this $45 billion dollar is incredible when you hear about the storm over the weekend? >> well, when you talk about the

wide range of arena it impacted and virtually the entire northeastern seaboard from north carolina up, and the economist pete morici is talking about all of the impact and the airlines rerouting and rescheduling things is part of what he is talking about, but in terms of the actual damage, it is early. obviously, we saw the video in vermont where we are not sure how much that will total at this point, but some analysts are putting the estimates at $7 billion, because the storm at this point at least yesterday fortunately lost quite a bit of punch. the biggest amount of losses in terms of the actual damage coming where it first hit ground in north carolina, about $1.5 billion there in the carolinas and of course up in new york and new jersey where it hit ground again about $4 billion combined and that is the early estimate that we can talk about.

but, tamron, this has been an epic year when it comes to the extreme weather events. we have already had including this one, ten extreme weather events that have caused more than $2 billion worth of losses and when you combined all of those deadly tornadoes this spring in the midwest, combined, they have all cost about more than $20 billion according to the noaa estimates and not the mention the extreme loss of life we saw from those. and people are still dealing with those. >> yeah, and there was a worry at one point in time, bertha, that wall street would not be up and running for regular business today and fear of power outages in lower manhattan and that is not the case, but what are we seeing if any impact on the stock market? >> nonet at all. the stock market with a relief rally and good news with regard

to a bank merger in greece, and greece is not a huge economy but, we have been worried about the debt situation there, and helped the folks feel better about the economy and other fact data and looks like the storm is not as big an economic impact as we had feared last thursday going into the weekend. so, you can see there that the dow is back above 11,500 and up around 200 points or so, but boy, it has been a big year for weather. >> it has certainly been a very expensive year for it, too. thank you, bertha, for the report and back to live pictures from the white house briefing room where we are expecting new information from white house press secretary jay carney and also the head of fema craig fugate talking about the federal response to irene. we will get to that when it starts. also new at the hour al jee

algerian news saying that gadhafi's wife and son are said to be there. and also, megrahi in a coma as you see here, and he was released on compassionate grounds from a prison in scotland where he was in poor health then. stephanie gosk live at the libyan capital and first with the news that some of gadhafi's family members are no longer in libya. >> well, the rebel forces have been looking for the entire family and this is a good chunk of them crossing over the border, but they are not the number one or two. moammar gadhafi and his son saif wanted by the hague. they are pursued vigorously by the rebel forces. they don't believe they are in the capital any longer and the capital has been quiet and very little fighting, and talk that he may have gone south to the town of bin waled, and there

could be fighting there in the coming days, but this is his wife and daughter and two of ohis sons. >> which is obviously big news there that you point out, because these are not the two individuals that the rebels are focused on. they want colonel gadhafi and his son, saif, but let me ask you about the development with the lockerbie bomber. he was supposed to be, if you will, on death's door two years ago and many people have been outraged that he has been living in a gated community in libya, and now with the regime on the ropes some are wondering if he can be extradited and what is the latest enwhat the family is saying and the condition? >> well, there are a number of people calling on his extradition and people who believe that there are questions that have not been answered about what happened with pan am 103 and he is believed to be the orchestrator of that attack. and you have u.s. lawmakers talking directly to the transitional council asking for the extradition, but the leaders

of the ntc say they will not extradite him even though the gadhafi regime has been fallen apart and they see it as a betrayal of one of the country's citizens, but if family, if they are to be believed is that he is at death's door, but that is what the doctors said two years ago that he would be dead within three months, but he is alive. he is living in a luxurious home, and in a gated community, and we were there earlier this morning, and his son told nbc that looters went into the house and stole his medicine. we were outside of the front door and we didn't see any signs of looting. there was no graffiti on the walls or garbage on the street, and the things that you see all over this city, so clearly a protected place. >> thank you, stephanie gosk, in libya. up next on "newsnation" -- >> it is not necessary to take these kinds of barbs, and then try to pump a book up by saying,

heads will be exploding. >> colin powell compares former vice president dick cheney to a gossip columnist, and the war of words and how far will it go? beyonce steals the show at the mtv video music awards and now a report that she may be giving up a big movie role because of her pregnancy. its triple-action formula penetrates biofilm, kills germs and protects your mouth for hours. fight biofilm with listerine®. kills gso i takeprotects one a day men's 50+ advantage. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus vitamin d to help maintain healthy blood pressure. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's. it's more gradual, subtly self-confident. shouldn't anti-aging be just as subtle? sculptra aesthetic. the injectable that replaces lost collagen gradually, for a naturally subtle look.

and it can last up to two years. you didn't age overnight. why anti-age overnight? injection site discomfort, redness, bruising, bleeding, swelling, bumps and delayed lumps, some with inflammation may occur that typically resolve. it's anti-age for the modern age. visit sculptraaesthetic.com. but afraid you can't afford it? well, look how much insurance many people can get through selectquote for less than a dollar a day. selectquote found, rich, 37, a $500,000 policy for under $18 a month. even though dave, 43, takes meds to control his blood pressure, selectquote got him a $500,000 policy for under $28 a month. ellen, 47, got a $250,000 policy for under $20 a month. all it takes is a phone call. your personal selectquote agent will answer all your questions ... and impartially shop the highly rated term life companies selectquote

represents for your best rates. give your family the security it needs at a price you can afford. call this number or go to selectquote dot com. selectquote. we shop. you save.

welcome back to "newsnation," former vice president dick cheney's memoir hits the store shelves tomorrow. take a listen to what former secretary of state colin powell had to say. >> he is -- well, in some ways indicated that he did not approve of what president bush was deciding and there is nothing wrong with saying that you disagree, but it is not necessary to take these kinds of

b barbs and then try to pump up a book by saying that "heads will be exploding." it is a bit too far and dick overshot the runway with that kind of comment. >> politico's josh buck joins us from virginia. overshot the runway and interesting choice of words from the former secretary of state. what do we make of the war of words between these two powerful men? >> well, you are seeing that sometimes the leaders in washington also have never kind of graduated high school. you are seeing the back and forth and the kind of sniping that clearly existed in the administration coming out in public years after the fact now that cheney's book is out. >> well, this is far beyond mean girls and mean boys on the playground, and this is our nation's security, and a critical time in our nation's history where we have questions about a war that so many believed was still unjust, lives and men and women still in that country, and so here you have the two critical components of the decisions being made at that time going at it, and what do we

make of dick cheney revealing secret thoughts of not only general powell, but condoleezza rice and the former president? >> well, you know, the former vice president is getting his perspective in his message out there. if we step back for a second and look at the big picture, we tend to examine the decisions made by washington through an ideological lens, when in fact, personalities and emotions also often come into play and not just political beliefs. >> that is certainly the case. let me play a clip from jamie gangel's interview with the vice president talking about condoleezza rice. >> she came into my office and sat down in the chair next to my desk and tearfully admitted i had been raped. was she crying? >> she was tearful. that is what i wrote. if i wanted to say she was crying, i would have said crying. >> you know that tearfully is a

loaded description for powerfulf women in high office, and it is going to be seen by a lot of people as provocative. could you have left that word out? >> it is an accurate description of what happened and what i saw. >> josh, what about those who see this as the former vice president for whatever reason settling scores? >> well, i mean, it is certainly a lot easier to settle scores, if you l when you are not worried about having to run for office again, and so the vice president, you know, he is trying to get his take which, you know, he feels his perspective has been maligned and this is his attempt at it, and as we have seen from general powell, this is also in a chance to sell books. the question is, are there any wmds within this narrative, anything that we didn't know about the bush administration, and so far, nothing seems that radically surprising other than the kind of very personal dramatic moments such as the one with former secretary rice. >> all right.

josh, thank you very much, and we will see more of what the former vice president has to say. nbc's jamie gangel's exclusive interview airs tonight on in a special "dateline" tonight at 10:00, and tomorrow morning matt lauer will interview the vice president live on "today." coming up on "newsnation" -- >> it is probably an oxymoron to say the house of representatives and intelligence are in the same sentence. >> more and more candidates are trying to appear to be the ultimate outsider, and we have the details of the latest round of tough talk. and the mystery of a disappearance of a 23-year-old woman, and her family says they cannot understand what happened here, because she has never gone a day without contacting them. what has gone wrong here? we have the details coming up. an accident doesn't have to slow you down.

with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? i'm a dad, coach, and i was a longtime smoker. in my heart i knew for the longest time that did not want to be a smoker. and the fact that i failed before. i think i was discouraged for a very long time. ♪

knowing that i could smoke during the first week was really important to me. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. [ jeff ] chantix reduced my urge to smoke, and personally that's what i knew i needed. [ male announcer ] 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. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪

these are the reasons i quit smoking. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about chantix. over 7 million people have gotten a prescription. learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions at chantix.com. learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions kiss those lines goodbye! bye bye! discover juvéderm® xc, the smooth gel filler your doctor uses to instantly smooth out those parentheses lines around your nose and mouth for up to a year! temporary side effects include redness, pain, firmness, swelling, bumps or risk of infection. lose those lines! the way you look with juvéderm® xc... might just change the way you look at everything. ask your doctor and visit juvederm.com. welcome back. we are following developing news

at the white house with spokesman jay carney and fema director craig fugate. >> as you know, he was the director of the federal department of emergency management appointed by florida's then governor jeb bush and then reappointed by governor bush's successor when he was asked to lead fema. he is here to take your questions and give you an update on hurricane irene and the consequences. he can make a few points and then take questions on irene, and i will take your questions on other issues. thank you very much. >> well, good afternoon. i think that first our condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. unfortunately hurricane irene was a deadly storm. the media is reporting 21, and we e knno know there are still e

missing, and we know that in the storms that death toll may come up with the recovery phase, and this is my experience from florida where we urge people to use common sense and not drive through flooded areas, but as the power lines are down and crews are energizing again, be careful. but for the families who have lost loved ones, our condolences and the prayers are with them. tropical storm irene has dissipated and moving into canada. it started out in the virgin island and puerto rico where most of the damage in puerto rico has been declared a federal disaster area, and then our attention was turned toward the carolinas as it approached the coast. prior to the arrival of hurricane irene we had an instant management team which are federal employees of fema who are trained to go in, link up with the state prior to the storm getting there so that we are prepared to support them

both in the preparation phase and the response phase. 18 teams deployed across the east coast as far south as florida all of the way up to maine, and again as we saw the track of the storm adjust, we repositioned teams and became increasingly concerned about the possible impacts of the new england states, and we put more teams there as the storm reformed. we put tarps and generators in staging places along the path of the storm. we were sitting ready to activate the urban search and rescue teams. we put the teams on alert and three of the teams are activated and on standby in new york and vermont based upon the flooding there, but again a lot of the rescue operations are conducted by state and local people, and coast guard and other officials in those areas and the national guard. as it is, we are receiving

requests from the north carolina as they begin the assessment phase. and roads that were heavily damaged by the storm surge in the outer banks and the debris in the eastern part of the state. as you move up the coastline, you are all aware of the large numbers of power outages and the numbers have come down since yesterd yesterday, and the department of energy is working with the private sector as they track the numbers bub we went from over 6 million the down the 5 million and again the numbers are looking to continue to come down, but some areas have some time to get all of the power back up. but probably the real story is that as irene was exiting and many people were focusedel le many people were focusedel alon the coast, we did get storm surge, but heavy rain did occur upon the interior parts of the path. that is a big concern we had as the storm moved north and we have seen record flooding in vermont and record flooding in new york, and we have rivers yet to crest. the river forecast center for the northeast was reporting that

some of the rivers may not crest for two the three days, so that the extent of the impacts we still won't know, but again, many of the areas have been dealing with very dangerous flooding and some of it has resulted in loss of life. to give you some idea of how fast this occurred, the rivers and the flooding were so intense that the vermont emergency operation center, the state emergency operation center had to evacuate last night and relocate. we had been working disasters in vermont so we had a joint field office they could relocate to, and they were able to continue to operations after moving, but they did experience the damages, and they are working to get the center back up, but again from the storm that i think that from a lot of folks on the coastal area also showed that inland heavy rains produced quite a bit of damages and are continuing to produce damages. so we are working with the governors now as they begin the assessment. the question i have been getting a lot is how much? how much damage? we don't know. we are still assessing and a lot of the states are finishing the

response operations and particularly the further south you are as you move north. but in vermont and new york, they are actively engaged in response operations and including massachusetts and new hampshire and maine who are experiencing flooding, and with that, i'm open for questions. >> do you have any figures to attach to the damage? any idea how much the storm will cost? >> i don't like to give estimates, because one of the things that you are looking at is a lot of power outages, and you will see damages that are not covered by the federal dollars. we don't cover insurance losses, so a lot of the numbers of the federal numbers will not translate to insurance numbers. we go in and assess with the states the things that are the responsibility of the state and the local government and look at those damages and primarily at the uninsured losses. so until we do the damage assessments we don't have

numbers, but understand that is not the total figure and you will have loss of impact and significant agricultural impacts in north carolina and other states so that the usda will work with the commissioners of the states as they compile those costs. so the figure is from different sources, what we would report is what would be eligible for a presidential declaration of major reimbursement assistance. >> what is the total number without power? >> this number is fluctuating and coming down but the department of energy at the 12:30 conference call was reporting a little over 5 million and that number was down from a number of 6 million, but it is being tracked with the state you tile ti syst-- utilit the day progresses. >> and what about in vermont? >> well, they were in the area of heavy rainfall and that is

what bill reid was trying to get people not to focus on the center of the coast, but the rainfall because this particular system had a lot of rain with it moving onshore and the concern was where to go to it. if you go back to the hydrometric forecast center, they were putting out these measures that we can see as far as rainfall, so it was something that we were expecting but the reality with flash flooding, much of it occurred quickly and many of the rivers in vermont they have already gone back and it was a quick response rate from the rain and the flooding and now we are looking at the damages. >> what about in new york? >> just, i don't have any specific right now. >> given that this is the anniversary of hurricane katrina and you have talked about some of the lessons of hurricane katrina, can you speak specifically about what was learned then that helped you in the federal government to be better prepared? >> well, you have to give credit to congress who one, passed the

post hurricane katrina legislation to give clarity to the fema mission, but also cleared up issues that are considered issues if we should wait for the governor to deplete all of the resources before federal assistance and then at this point respond or get it going earlier and not wait for the declaration without waiting for the state to be overwhelmed to be ready. this is one of the keys that we have learned is that when we know there is a disaster that could occur, and again, we are working off of the forecast, is not to wait until the state says that we are going to need help. part of it but i getting the team into the state was the counter parts of the governors' teams getting ready and getting there earlier we have a better time to know what to anticipate and get the team in place if we have impact to go right to work. that is as well as repositioning resources to mo them in to areas before the states make for mall

-- formal requests. this is what we learned from the mechanics of katrina, but in the legislation, we have to look beyond the role of fema, and we are not the team, but part of a team and look as to how to belter integrate the volunteers and the ngos and the private sector. i was in florida dealing with at love of hurricanes and quite honestly when you find yourself in setting up distribution points in the parking lot of an open grocery store because they brought in a generator and emergency crews and got the store open, but you were caught talking, i could have gone to where there was a better need. so we brought the private sector in, and we have a erepresentatie on a rotating basis and worked with the team. so we are working on getting the stores open in puerto rico when the initial storm hit and looking at the big stores to get open and a better sense of the things that we were concerned about that the private sector could get up and running so we could focus on the areas flooded and smaller towns and

communities and the more mountainous area of puerto rico. >> it was six years ago today when hurricane katrina came ashore and fema was not enhanced with the operation, but if there is one single lesson from katrina that has kind of reshaped fema and your response to this? >> we can't wait to know how bad it is before we get ready. we have to go fast. we have to base it upon the potential impacts, and that is why we look at the forecasts that we get from the hurricane center, and we make decisions based upon what the potential impacts could be. if you wait until you know how bad it is, it becomes harder to change the outcome. >> and how good was the forecast? did you expect hurricane irene to be what she turned out to the be? was the forecasting good enough? >> well, the track of the forecasting and the national hurricane center will give you the update on what they saw, but the track was only ten miles off of where they thought it would come ashore, but the intensity of the wind speed, but that is

something -- i will be honest with you, folks of all of the things that we know about hurricanes, the track forecast is the greatest and the technology has improved to the point in my career if it had been ten or 15 years ago florida would have evacuated based on the track. you remember the satellite and how close it was to the state of florida, we would not have been able to not evacuate, but the science is good on track, but where we know we need work on is intensity forecast. what goes up, comes down. remember hurricane charley cat 1 in cuba and crossing over to cat 4 inless than 24 hours, so the smaller storms we have seen rapidly increase, and also some storms weaken, and that is a skill we have to work on, but based on the forecast, that is what we prepare for. >> looking at the correct scenario, does vermont need more federal resources? >> again, the response phase, and we were talking about that

we have a conference call each day with all of the state directors impacted. the state director reported that they have what they need, and they are beginning to look at the damage assessments and likely damage assessments with them to determine if they need more assistance to recover, but in the response phase, they adviseded they have what they needed and appreciated the fact that we have resources standing by. >> and since you worked katrina six years ago and this hurricane, what did you personally see the differences? has the red tape been cut enough where you felt easier to be able to maneuver to get assistance to people in this hurricane versus katri katrina? >> well, you talk about the processes and a lot of of the mechanics behind it, and in the administration from my earliest events when i came on board, america sal m american samoa, and haiti, and other events, the one thing of the president is that we go as a federal team and bring all of

the resources together. there is a lot of things that when we do it as a team, and we understand that you cannot have separate, and you can't look at local government and state government and federal government and the volunteers and the private sector to be separate entities, but a team. one thing pressed upon me and the thing that we have learned and tried to practice here is that we are not the team, but part of the team. we have to bring all of the resources together. we have to work as a team. we have to be focussed on the survivors and the emphasis on speed to get there and stabilize and figure out the next steps are without waiting to ask all of the questions, how bad is it? what do you need? we know generally in these types of events what most likely is going to be required so get moving f. we don moving. if you don't need it, turn it off. you don't get time back. look at a katrina in the first 72 hours that once you were past that point, there was not much more you could do to change the

outcome and then things cascaded on top of one another. >> in six years ago would you say that people were not working as a team? >> there were a lot of things at the federal level that congress addressed post that made my job easier to work in the team environment. >> cakara? >> do you know today about the -- >> well, not today. we had gone below $1 billion and 900, but i don't know what the figure is today, but that is why we have implemented the immediate need funding for ex t existing disasters. we went to immediate needs funding and a lot of people thought that they were impacted from the tornados and floods would take the money from them, but the survivors eligible for assistance are still going to to get funds. individual assistance funds were not affected by this or protective measures or debris clearance or any project approved. the only thing that we have postponed is new projects that are permanent work that had not

been started when we go into the immediate needs funding. and that is to ensure that we have funds to do this response and continue to meet the needs of the survivors of the previous disasters as well as supporting the initial response to hurricane irene. >> so the criticism from congresswoman blount out of missouri is inaccurate? >> well, for the individuals we are helping and for the cleanup and the emergency costs, we are continuing that, but for any projects that have not come in for approval, we will not be able to fund those at this point. we will postpone them. they are eligible, but we will not be starting new permanent work such as permanent construction repairing from those storms. >> and to follow up on the money question. we have had earthquake, the tornados and now this hurricane. is there any risk of a -- do you have a bottomless pool of money for state assistance or when do you run out? >> well, that is one of the thing we are working on, and

that is why we went to immediate needs funding, and we knew going into the end of the fiscal year, we would get close to the point where we would have to look at immediate needs funding at some point, and our goal was to be able to respond to the open disasters and maintain enough reserves for any new disasters until we get into the new fiscal year, but irene was obviously something that we felt it was prudent. we weren't out of money, but we wanted to make sure we had enough money to continue supporting the survivors from the past disasters as well as support irene. >> and $1.5 billion and you are done? >> no, we had more money earlier in the year, and the disaster relief fund is something that is an appropriation something that we get and something that because of older disasters we close out and put money back in, but it is -- we generally look at a down to $1 billion, we want to make sure we can continue supporting the survivors of the

oldie sas ters anddisasters ande peak hurricane season and with irene, we wanted to make sure we could support the previous impacted survivors and respond to the next disaster. >> okay. we are listening in to a live update from the fema chief craig fugate as well as jay carney on the response to hurricane irene over the weekend and even now as there is epic flooding in vermont. craig fugate saying that they are still assessing the damage, but we certainly know that it is going to reach into the bill enyobs of dollebillions of dollars and confirmed 25 people dead, and sadly 28 or maybe 30 individuals who haved but as craig fugate said, the lessons from katrina, you cannot

wait. you cannot wait for the damage, and he talked about the technology and how to have the meteorologists to track hurricanes, but the intensity is something that the science is not exact, so you must prepare and plan, and really answering the questions of overreaction which have been out there floating along the internet and other places. so we will keep you up to date on what is happening in washington. we wt a quick break with and we will be back with more news on "newsnation."

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. my subaru saved my life. i won't ever forget that. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

i'm martin bashir and coming up at the top of the hour floodwaters left in hurricane irene's wake continues to rage while millions are without power. and we talk to homeland security janet napolitano about the response to the storm. and governor rick perry calling social security a ponzi scheme. really? i wonder what the senior citizens will think of that. back to tamron. >> thank you, martin. we are keeping an eye on the daily briefing at the white house.

jay carney discussing the president's plan to get americans back to work. we know that the president will roll out a couple of initiatives this week, and we are keeping an eye on that, but in the meantime president obama announced his nomination for the top economic post today, and he tapped allan krueger as the top economic counselor. president obama also said he will announce a new jobs plan next week that he hopes will have a bipartisan feel. >> i will lay out a series of steps that congress can take immediately to put more money in the pockets of working families and make it easier for small businesses to hire people, and put construction crews to work to rebuild the nation's roads and railways and airports and all of the other measures to help grow this economy. >> the president has called to extend the payroll tax cut at the end of the year, and to continue unemployment benefits. and in just a few hours, searchers are heading out once again the try to find a missing

ohio woman as her father pleads for people to come forward with any information. 23-year-old caitlin markham vanished august 13th, weeks before her college graduation. investigators say they have no leads or suspects. this morning on the "today" show, her father said that caitlin would not have just up and left. >> to leave without a trace, without a sign, without her keys, her purse, her sketchbook, her laptop, anything that she was always carrying with her is very unusual. >> nbc's yojong yang has an upde on the search. >> well, tamron, invest gators they are no closer to finding her than they are on day one. they say they don't remember a case as mysterious as this one. >> reporter: ask loved ones about 23-year-old caitlin markham and the adjectives pour out. her fiance, john carter.

>> she is beautiful and creative and very outspoken and very outgoing, and very driven. >> reporter: her father, david markham. >> caitlin is a very remarkable, beautiful young woman, head strong, determined, focused. >> reporter: and now another adjective, missing. caitlin was last seen at home late saturday night august 13th when her fiance left after an evening of watching television, and then carter texted her as usual assuming she was at work, but then afternoon and evening, and still no response. >> it terrified me and i was absolutely scared. i called everyone where she could be. i called her mom. i called her dad. >> reporter: at her home, they found her car, and no signs of violence and her purse and keys in their proper places. >> that is when it truly, truly sunk in that something is not right. >> reporter: carter called police. >> my fiance is missing and i

can't find her anywhere. >> okay. where did you see her last? >> i saw her at 12:00 last night. >> reporter: police searched on foot and atv and from air and they searched security cameras and went through her cell phone and computer records, and so far, nothing. >> i have been doing this for 40-plus years, and i can't recall a case where simply there was no evidence whatsoever to give you a direction to go in. it is just a mystery. it's almost as if she vanished. >> reporter: caitlin and carter have been together for six years an plan to marry in two years. neither he nor caitlin's father believe she ran away a month before she is to get her bachelor's degree. >> for her to quit, give up, throw her hands up to say, i have had enough, absolutely not. >> reporter: the only thing missing is caitlin's cell phone. records show it has not been on since 12:45 a.m. the weekend she disappeared and carter says he

calls it everyday. >> i daul it and hope. that is all i do is hope. i just hope. >> thanks for the anonymous donor, the award for caitlin's whereabouts now stands at $5,000. tamron? >> all right. john, thank you. in the "newsnation" gut check is next. a grizzly bear goes into the backyard of a homeowner's home where his children are playing, and he shoots the bear, and now he is facing charges. it the "newsnation" gut check next. there's another way to help eliminate litter box dust: purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder on dust. and our improved formulas neutralize odors better than ever in multiple-cat homes. so it's easier to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home.

an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?

welcome back. beyonce's new role as expectant mom could have her giving up another role. the fans of "hunger games" are starving for more. and now we are joined by the senior editor of "in touch weekly" and we have the baby bump heard around the world and

absolutely the cutest moment of the vmas. >> always some controversy and big news, but this is great news last night. beyonce appeared on the car pet and showed off the baby bump and got on with the performance and she said, i want you to feel the love inside of me, and after the performance she threw away the mike, and tore open the sparkly tuxedo and there you see jay-z jumping for joy. >> and that is lady gaga that we saw there with some people call it a greaser outfit and who would think that you could upstage her, but the beyonce and jay-z baby did that. >> well, kayne west is cheering there, but good thing he did not run up on the stage to try to steal the moment. that is good. >> and another moment that she was going to star in "a star is born" and that may not happen

because of the pregnancy. >> there was a rumor that she was going to star in "a star is born" and the reshoot of the movie, but now because of the pregnancy, who knows, maybe she will be great of that role, and hopefully they will go through with it and delay the production, because that would be a perfect game for her. >> and the "hunger games" trailer aired in the vmas and people are buzzing about this. >> well, the "hunger games" is a wildly popular book, trilogy, and they appeared in the trailer and people are excited. you see jennifer lawrence running through the forest with a bow and arrow and dodging fire, and if you are familiar with the books you know what it is about, but if not, you are confused but the interest is piqued enough to go see it. >> we have a trailer. let's play it. >> oh, great. >> okay. follow me. you are stronger than they are. you are.

they just want a good show. that is all they want. you know how to hunt. show them how good you are. there you have it. pretty cool, and my nephew read the books and loves it and a lot of people are excited about this, and thank you for i filling in for courtney and we will see you soon, kim. for the latest in entertainment news logon to the scoop.com or be a fan of the scoop on facebook. an idaho man is facing prison time for shooting a grizzly bear in a case that is getting national attention and national headlines. jeremy hills said he shot the bear three times after it came into his yard and got close with his children. now he is being charged with killing an animal that is federally protected.

anthony gomes from our affiliate has the story. >> reporter: jeremy hill killed a grizzly bear three months ago, and nobody disputes that but what has happened next hassle galvanized a town 100 miles north of quarter lain. >> i don't understand this. >> reporter: mike hill says he was taking a shower when dogs were barking and kids were screaming. jeremy hill ran outside of the home and saw three bears in the yard where his kids were playing basketball, so he grabbed his rifle and killed one bear, scaring the others away. >> if your kids are threatened, you will do everything you can to try to protect them. >> reporter: the family called the state department of fish and game which recovered the bear, and the ill hs thought that the story were over, but federal authorities filed charges saying that the grizzly is a threatened species. they declined to comment, but they say that charges have been filed as recently as a year ago. >> the community is solid by

behind him. >> and this is d chairman of the county board of commissioners urning them to settle this case before it gets to trial. >> in our opinion, jeremy has the right, and the responsibility to protect his family. >> reporter: and he is not alone. nearly 100 people went to the courthouse today where he pleaded not guilty. if convicted he faces up to a year in jail and a $50,000 fine, because he believed he was protecting his family. >> so what does your gut tell you? should jeremy hill be charged with killing a animal that is federally protected? go to msnbc to cast your vote and i am curious what you will say. that is it for this edition of "newsnation." my colleague, martin bashir is up next.

good afternoon, it is monday august 29th, and here is what is happening. after the storm, more