so nice to see you begin. lee is causing problems across the south today. this is what it looks like in parts of jackson, mississippi, where lee dumped more than a half a foot of rain. there are flash flood warnings in parts of mississippi and alabama. and flood watches stretching to the northeast. meanwhile strong storms from lee whipped up wildfires in texas. a fire near austin has burned around 300 homes and firefighters have not begun to contain it. mike seidel is covering the flooding in brandon, mississippi. nbc's jay gray is covering the wildfires in texas. mike, we'll start with you in mississippi. what is the the latest there? >> reporter: better news in this part of mississippi. in jackson the rain has basically ended. we were pelted overnight with six inches in six hours. eight inches since dinnertime and a storm total of 11 inches of rain. we have a lot of flash flooding around the area early this morning around sunrise and shortly thereafter that led to

numerous water rescues around metro jackson and one apartment complex was evacuated and water started to go into the first floor of that apartment complex. everybody's safe and sound and the waters are now backing off. what we've got now this northerly wind, it's a little nippy. temperatures are dropping in the 60s. a little bit of rain around. the fact that we have the northerly wind, the storm what's left of lee no longer a tropical depression has moved off to the east. let's show you the radar, a lot of rainfall. we have numerous flash flood warnings for counties east of here across northern alabama, counties there under flash flood warnings. and we have a tornado watch. you'll see that on the radar. that is until 4:00 p.m. for parts of mississippi. a lot of alabama down towards the florida panhandle. there's a moderate risk of severe weather in georgia and alabama. this is a very volatile situation we have all this spin

and wind energy for you and moisture out of the gulf ahead of what's left of lee. and we have heating, too, ahead of this cold front. we're going to be following the situation possibly very likely we'll see more tornados. these could be a little more ram bun chous than the ones we've seen with lee. the damage so far has been minor. widespread rain continues. veronica, it's all heading up this front into the appalachians in the mid-atlantic and eventually to the northeast. that's why we have flash flood watches extending up i-85 into d.c. and into many of the same areas that were hit hard by flooding rains from irene. but up there all we need is about an inch or two of rain to kick flash flooding back in. down here the ground is sandier and also flatter so the flash flood requirements are much higher. we're going to be watching that too for the mexx couple of days in. the short-term if you're watching us from georgia,

alabama, eastern mississippi and the florida panhandle be aware that there's a tornado threat this afternoon. we'll keep you updated. >> that goes until 4:00 p.m. we appreciate that report. there is plenty of rain in the south but not in the areas that need it most. texas remains under drought conditions adding fuel to the dozens of wildfires burning out of control. nbc's jay gray is in texas where thousands of acres have been scorched. jay? >> reporter: the situation in texas still dire right now. crews are working dozens of wildfires across the state. perhaps the worst in this area, the bastrop area where we're told more than 300 homes have been destroyed. more than 16,000 acres charred and the fire still raging out of control at this point. a big problem for firefighters as strong winds, the residual from tropical storm lee. we did not get the rain that so many others are experiencing from that storm. we are seeing strong winds gusts

up to 40 miles per hour fanning the flames and pushing them in all directions. we do know of at least two people who died many the eastern part of the state when they could not escape a wall of fire that engulfed their home a young mom and her 18 moel child who could not get out of their home. the texas forestry service says that all of the firefighters in the state have been pushed past their limits. they put out a public appeal for any and all firefighters who can help to report immediately to duty. this is a situation that's going to continue for several days here as the wind continues to be strong and no relief to the drought conditions expected until some time in november. that's the very latest from bastrop. i'm jay gray. back to you. >> jay, thank you. let's stick with weather. hurricane katia still a category two in the atlantic and heading northwest. the weather channel's carl parker has the latest on that storm. what can you tell snus. >> katia is a category two storm

on the cusp of becoming a category three. here's the latest from the hurricane center. it's moving northwest at 13 miles per hour. it went through an eye wall replacement cycle it's very well formed. you see the deep convection indicated by the dark coloring all around that eye. looks like it's going to maintain its status and strengthen over the next couple of days. generating a huge area of waves that is going to make it to the coast regardless of where the center of the storm goes. we're going to see high waves beginning tomorrow and continuing through the week through the east coast. along with a strong rip current threat as well. here's the latest guidance. back and forthright now trending a little farther offshore. this is a large storm. if it is offshore it's got tropical storm force winds which could easily graze the coast. we can't say with certainty it's going to be this far offshore. yesterday the models were

trending farther to the left. there's a lot to resolve in the coming days. we are going to see at least indirect impacts from the storm if not something more than that. >> as of right now it is not expected to make landfall many the u.s., right? >> right now we're thinking it's going to stayoff shore. the models have been going to the left and right. we still haven't figured that out completely. >> carl parker, we do appreciate you tracking that. thank you. it is a business yeah labor day for president obama ahead of what americans hope is a jobs plan to get the u.s. economy back in gear. the president will deliver a jobs speech in just over an hour to a community that is really feeling the sting from the economy's slow growth. the unemployment rate in michigan is over the national average and things look much worse in the detroit metro area. unemployment there is nearing 16%. kristen welker is live for us at the white house. kristen, the president right now on board air force one and is touching down soon. what can we expect to hear from

him? >> white house officials say the president will talk about the importance of creating a strong middle class to this economic recovery. he'll also likely challenge democrats and republicans to get behind that big jobs plan that you just mentioned that he's going to roll out on thursday. we don't know specifically what's going to be in the plan, i can tell you a couple of things that have been under consideration including extending payroll tax breaks as well as investing in infrastructure, green energy projects and also providing tax breaks for companies who hire new employees. now the community today that will be listening to the president speak thousands of union workers will of course be listening very closely to his words today and again on thursday. they have been critical of this president recently. they say he hasn't done enough to increase job growth. they also say that he gave up too much during that debt ceiling debate. he was too focused op compromising and not focused enough on creating stimulus. a lot of members of the union

have been urging this president to go a big in that jobs plan. you had richard trumka come out and say he wants the president to present a bold package. i've spoken with white house officials who tell me this president does want to be aggressive in his jobs plan on thursday. he also has to be realistic. hawaii has to try to present something that will pass through the republican led house. that will be a challenge. we all saw what happened during that debt limit debate this summer. as you say, some really tough economic news both in michigan and nationally just this friday we learned that the economy added no net jobs during the month of august. that ton employment rate remains at 9 .1%. so this jobs speech on thursday will certainly be pivotal for this president and a lot of people will be listening to this speech today, veronica, to see if there's any clues about what we might hear on thursday. >> in the meantime we were talking about the unemployment rate remaining around 16 .1%.

in the african-american community is the president expected to address what is happening in minority communities in terms of unemployment? >> well, white house officials would say that the president is focused on minority communities as well as the community as a whole. they have pushed back against criticism that he hasn't done enough to create jobs. as you know, members of the president's own party have been critical of him including maxine waters who has come out and says that she wants to president to do more to create jobs. white house officials make the point that look this president has created 2.4 million jobs. has gotten this economy moving in the right direction, but has also faced some head winds given how serious this recession has been. >> kristen welker at the white house. we always appreciate it. >> thanks, veronica. >> of course you can catch the president's speech that's going to happen live on msnbc in the next hour. the president there in detroit. president obama is pledging to help northern new jersey

residents whose homes have been ravaged by irene's floodwaters. the commander in chief visited the area sunday. but not every jersey community is in hurricane clean up mode. in fact, some shore towns are bouncing back fast. we have more from point pleasant. a lot of jersey packed up and left when governor christie ordered mandatory evacuations for irene. are you seeing a lot of people down there today? >> reporter: yeah, it's open for business. it's a beautiful day to be out here. point pleasant is living up to its name today. this time last year this entire boardwalk was evacuated and now you can see people are coming out. labor day is the slowest of the big three summer holidays. the traffic is a little light compared to your typical summer day. i'm told this is pretty typical for a labor day weekend. hurricane irene didn't do a lot of physical damage to the jersey shore. but boy, did it hurt their bottom line. it shut down businesses during a valuable summer weekend.

there's only so many weekends over the course of the summer. a lot of people count on them to float them throughout the entire year. losing those was a big hit for them. it's estimated a million people had to evacuate the town. atlantic city had to close down casinos. governor christie is estimating damages could exceed $1 billion. the businesses are open. there are still some restrictions on swimmers here. people are being advised to swim with caution because the seas are rough and high winds here. for the most part they're out and about. since we're talking about labor day tourism. nationwide it's estimated that 31 million people are going to travel more than 50 miles this labor day. that's down about 2.5% from last year according to aaa that's due to high gas prices and consumer confidence and the like. here at least people are coming out to enjoy this last beautiful long weekend of the summer. >> it looks like a nice day out

there. we see lots of people behind you. >> reporter: not a bad assignment. >> for sure. >> reporter: people are in the water. we spoke to some life guards they are telling people to swim with caution because the waves are quite rough. people are out here eating, playing games, laying in the sun doing everything people should be doing on labor day. >> have fun out there. >> reporter: thank you. sarah palin set to speak at a tea party rally in new hampshire today. is this a campaign spot or not? what are her plans for 2012. on this labor day it's all about jobs. we want to hear from you. what do you think needs to be done to get the economy back on track and put people back to work. you can send us your tweet. msnbctv is the place. they're all coming in. you can sent me a tweet. we're going to include some of your ideas in our discussion about the economy that's coming up in 15 minutes. up in 15 minutes. keep it right here. no, it's just for new people. hey !

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well, we still don't know if sarah palin will get into the race, but no shortage of campaign style stops for the former vp candidate. right now she is in man chester, new hampshire. we're waiting for her to speak to a tea party express rally. in the meantime msnbc alex mo join us by phone from manchester. alex, any clues on whether or not she's testing the batters for a real run? >> reporter: we're not sure what she's going to say. we are hearing it's going to be similar to her speech saturday in iowa but with a few more things added into it. she's about to take the stage as we see they're introducing her now. there's 1,000 people here. bigger than the other tea party express rallies recently with romney and michele bachmann. a lot of people are not sure what she's going to say.

it's probably not an announcement. >> we're looking at live pictures as she approaches the stage. before she speaks, i understand she's been communicating with people sending out tweetsing sharing pictures. you have a picture of her with a marine bride and groom. what's the story behind that? >> reporter: we do. we were told this morning, actually last night when governor palin and her husband arrive maryland manchester. they went out to eat. this bride and marine came out to greet her from their wedding reception. here's a picture from last night. >> i also mention that she's been tweeting a lot. she was in iowa where she ran a half marathon. i think she tweeted something to storm lake. >> reporter: she did. she ran a half marathon. she's a pretty big runner on some of these trips she goes out in the morning. pretty impressive. tight lipped. no one knew about it. i think they were able to find

her. she used her maiden name to register and finished second place in her age group. she is doing things out in the community in iowa in new hampshire. and we're just waiting to find out if she is in fact going to run for president. >> alex, we're going to keep a close eye on her speech there in new hampshire. just in case something comes out of that speech we'll stick with that. in the meantime with noncandidate sarah palin in new hampshire safely away from the rest of the group. most of the official 2012 republican contenders are hitting the same stage in south carolina finding that attacks against each other may be their new strategy. purina cat chow helps you well-being. we're all striving for it.

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the things that he's talking about are some things that have been supported in the past by republicans and democrats. infrastructure investment,

helpsing to provide assistance to dislocated workers. people who have been out of work for more than six months or longer. and also providing tax breaks for middle class people. payroll tax and for businesses. >> that was secretary of labor hill da solis this morning proving president obama's jobs speech. the president makes his address before a joint session of congress -- rick, so t los of eyes obviously on this speech come thursday. what do you think the president needs to say at this point? >> he needs to say something new. he's asked for a big platform. he wants to address a joint session of congress. i think he knows this if he gets up and lists all these small tactical ideas that we've heard about before, he's not going to impress everybody. what he needs to do is really inspire people. show some vision and show something different.

show that he really needs to come up with a different approach. something aggressive. he also knows that he needs to toss something in that republicans will want. give them an offer he can't refuse. put in some republican ideas. those might be some of the surprises on thursday. >> that is the conversation everybody's been saying does he go big or does he try to put something out there that he can get through the republican led snous. >> how can he not go big at this point? they've been previewing this speech every day. look at the expectation he's setting for himself. there are a lot of republican ideas that are not -- they're fairly centrist. for instance, we saw last week the president said i'm postponing a big new clean air regulation. this is not the right time to impose this on businesses. there are a lot of things like that he can do. hopefully it would be more than symbolic. he has to put in some real substance. >> unemployment is around 9.1%.

so many people are looking ahead to this speech. if there is a good solid plan out there, how long will it take to put this plan into action? >> he can't snap his fingers and create jobs tomorrow. most economists are now saying no matter what happens we are going to have unemployment around election day in 2012 about where it is now. however, i think there are some things the president definitely could do that would first of all make businesses more confident. give some confidence that washington's on the problem. if we can get through supercommittee, the president doesn't control this, if they get the job done and come up with more debt reduction, i think businesses will say we're not so worried anymore that washington's going to wreck the economy. i think that is one of the things that's on the minds of ceos. if the president can produce a road map and say here's how we get through this and people get confidence, that will be really big. that's something that will lead businesses to start hiring again. >> you're saying confidence is the name of the game. youal just wrote a really

interesting report for "usa news and world report" about how people can cope? the meantime? >> assess your vulnerability to government assistance of any kind. we keep hearing that republicans are saying taxes will never go up. taxes have to go up. this is simple math at this point. it may not be in the next year or so. >> regardless, herr going to go up. >> it's going to start with the deductions. those are going to get watered down, the morning interest deduction, health care deduction and things like that and other kinds of tax might go up a little bit. we're going to have so see some entitlement reform at some point. we can't keep putting this off forever. medicare recipients are going to have to start paying more. social security, retirement age may go up. if you're wealthier you may not get the same level of benefits this is going to start happening sooner or later. that's one of the things people need to start thinking about. >> you can read more in "usa

news and world report." thank you so much. nnchs the meantime we've been asking you what you think about jobs. what needs to happen in order to turn things around. we've been following this all morning on twitter. here's what some of you have been saying. we need a real infrastructure investment plan. this from kevin dixon who tweeted when the tax code is reformed and the only alternative to paying higher taxes is to reinvest, companies will hire and the economy will recover. you can keep on sending your tweets to msnbctv. keep them coming. all right. rick perry is taking a texas sized lead over the other republican presidential candidates. what does this mean for the one time front runner mitt romney? and amanda knox keep elements in the dna evidence against the american student were deemed not credible. is that enough to get the murder conviction overturned? we're going to go live to italy coming up. [ female announcer ] investing for yourself is a necessity.

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call it a dress rehearsal for his anticipated jobs address thursday in congress. president obama just landed in michigan. he's going to be heading out to this rally in detroit to stand in front of thousands of labor union workers previewing his ideas for jobs and economic growth. he's going to be speaking live at 1:15 eastern. we're going to bring that to you on msnbc. the president just touching down. he's onboard air force one going to be talking to labor union workers there in detroit. we're going to carry these remarks live for you at 1:15. rick perry pulling out in south carolina to head back to texas to deal with the wildfires. kelly? >> reporter: the unexpected is always part of politics and that's playing out in a big way here today. governor rick perry will not be participating in the candidate forum. we are told he's going back to texas because of the wildfire situation near austin.

that changes things. we had thought that rick perry and mitt romney would be on the stage for the first time later. we have to wait for that. presumably he will be at the gop debate hosted by msnbc and politico. today it's about questions from jim demint and a conservative panel. now senator demint is a big voice here in south carolina. and this will really influence this early part of the race because these candidates will be pinned down on some issues that may not be playing as big in other parts of the country. namely social issues. but the economy will also factor in in a big way with so much criticism toward how the president has handled the economy and jobs. this is a chance for christian conservatives to have a voice in this early debate and part of what's happening is south carolina is the first fry mare in the south. so even at this early stage it is an important chance for these candidates to be able to talk to voters and be on the record for some key issues. labor weekend in total is always

a big political time. so you also have sarah palin who still isn't in the race, but is certainly getting attention. she's speaking in new hampshire today. and she's always an influence in this race even though she's not in it. >> unofficially speaking to people. thank you, kelly. events in new hampshire and south carolina this morning. mitt romney and rick perry are drawing contrast through peerns. >> public service is an honorable thing. >> i know something about building and turning things around. i spent my life in the private sector solving real problems. david drugger is a staff writer for roll call and russell berman a congressional reporter. david, let's start with you. these guys couldn't be more different. perry a career politician. romney saying he couldn't be further from a career

politician. are their strengths the same as their weaknesses? >> i think both candidates have strengths and weaknesses. romney has private soaker experience. that can play well in an economy like this with republicans unhappy with the obama administration and the entire country unhappy with the economic situation. in a general election scenario that might give romney a leg up if you're look at it that way. on the other hand, you have rick perry who's an experienced governor, a chief executive of a very pretty much successful conservative state. job creation in texas compared to the rest of the nation has been pretty darn good. he can run on that and also run on the idea that we tried somebody with minimal executive experience with minimal government experience and maybe it didn't go so well. so i think it's going to be how these two position themselves in terms of being general election candidates and how much

electability weighs in as well as their personal appeal. >> we are looking at pictures of president obama stepping down from air force one. he is in michigan right now. he's going to be previewing his ideas for jobs and economic growth. he's going to be speaking to thousands of labor union workers there in michigan. again, as soon as the president starts speaking we're going to bring his remarks live to you. 1:15 is the time that's going to happen. let's get back to russell berman who is a congressional reporter for the hill. we're talking about the differences between romney and perry. the contrast just as much their personalities. perry, russell, the texas cowboy, romney more even keeled. does that separate them more in voters' minds? >> it does. it presents a stark contrast. the problem potentially for rick perry is he's going to remind voters och george w. bush with the cowboy boots, the texas

swagger. it remains to be seen if that's what they want. polls have shown that even as they're not supportive of president obama on the economy, they still blame the bush administration for a lot of the economic woes that the country is suffering through right now. mitt romney could provide more of a contrast at least in personality and tone from the bush era. and you know, maybe steadier hand at the head of the ship. >> in the meantime how do you think he's being received there in south carolina? mitt romney? >> it's going to be interesting to she how he performs in this forum. he was originally going to skip that event with jim demint and actually changed his mind after rick perry got into the race. now rick per vi not going to be there. it's going to give mitt romney an opportunity to really perform in front of south carolina

voters. he did not win there in 2008. he's going to look to improve this year. >> david, let's take to conversation back over to you. and what we can expect to see wednesday night. obviously the candidates they might be taking swings at the president criticizing his handling of the economy. also maybe taking swings at each other. how do you think this is going to play out on wednesday? >> it will be interesting. i think mitt romney and rick perry are going to steer clear of messing around with the candidates on the stage and focus their attention on barack obama. i think they're both well served to focus on the president and play the role in a sense of front runner headed towards the general election. i think you'll see the other candidates particularly michele bachmann try and catch some fire there. i think they're going to have to train their sights, if you will, at the two front runners. rick perry is now sort of number one front runner and mitt romney number two front runner. it could be a bit electric.

i think that you're not going to see rick perry and mitt romney mix it up together. i don't think that will be their plan. it could happen. i expect both of them to try and focus on the president. >> russell, your thoughts? what do you think? >> it's going to be a big test for rick perry. his first time on the stage with the other candidates this wednesday. i think david's right. you might see michele bachmann go after him. it will be very interesting to see if mitt romney does as well. >> we appreciate you breaking it down. a big thanks to you. as we mentioned rick perry makes his debut in the republican presidential debate at 8:00 wednesday. the debate will be moderated by brian williams and john harris. of course, you can watch it right here on msnbc, the place for politics. here are some other headlines topping the news right now. a new terror warning is out just days before the tenth anniversary of 9/11. the fbi and department of

homeland security have issued a bulletin on al qaeda threats to small airplanes. there is no specific terrorist threat. authorities say the terror group remains interested in using airplanes for attacks. libyan rebels are vowing to carry on the fight against muammar gadhafi's regime. rebels have been in negotiations in end the stand off against one of the final gadhafi strongholds. but those talks broke off sunday. in the meantime nato bombings continued overnight. milita military bay racks were targeted. the post office says it may be forced to shut down. the postmaster general says it may default on a $5.5 billion payment due at the end of the month if congress does not intervene. the agency could run out of money to pay employees and fuel delivery trucks. overseas shares fell sharmly amid fears over the euro zone debt crisis and friday's dismal job report. european stocks lost 3% of their

value on monday. the euro sank against the dollar. stock markets are closed in observance of the holiday. the amanda knox trial is underway. with knox and her family hoping an independent forensic study holds the key to her release. the report said key elements in the dna evidence was not credible. is that enough to get the murder conviction overturned. prosecutors are going to try their best to counter the claim made in that independent report. what is it going to take for them to successfully defend their investigation work? >> well, i think you know, we saw a glimpse in what tomorrow's going to bring that. is that the chief of the forensic police who's really in charge of this investigation is going to get the chance to dig her heels in and explain the

methodology that has worked. she started with slides and technical information. the jury seemed to be hanging on. they seemed to be interested in what she said. she underscores the fact that this works in lots of other cases. that the way they do things in italy is enough in other cases why isn't it enough in the case of amanda knox. it is the beginning of the end game for amanda knox. we've got less than ten court hearings until there's a verdict in this process. everyone's nervous on both sides of the line. there's a lot riding on these last few days of this appellate process. >> you know, in the court of public opinion there seems to have been a shift of support in her direction in amanda's direction during this appeals process especially there in italy. do you think this could affect her conviction in any way? >> well, i think what matters most we have to remember that it's up to the jury and the two judges who are leading this case. the court of public opinion, you

know, is great in the coffee bars in italy, but it really doesn't transend into the courtroom. 50% of cases in italy are overturned at the appellate level and she's got a 50/50 changes of going home. >> 50/50 chance. in the meantime, if it ends up not going amanda's way, barbie, is this it for her? are there any other chances to appeal? >> oh, no, there's one more chance in italy's high court. that would take a year, year and a half until that hearing would be set. that would be held in rome. cases get altered in italy all the time. lots of time convictions are changed. we saw in this particular case the man who was sentenced along with amanda knox his original 30-year sentence was cut to 16 years in about six years he'll be eligible for work release. it's not an anomaly to have a major change in something that looks very, very drastic at

first glance many the first court. >> like you said, this could all be wrapped up in just days. we appreciate it. thank you. just when you buy a new tv or a new smart phone or just about any electronic device, it seems like the companies behind them are right there offering a better model. so what is the right time to buy? maybe right now. 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

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product that was shiny and new be a relic. let's get advice from daniel. i think the biggest question is where are your glasses? >> what glasses? i couldn't find them without my glasses. >> we don't know you without the glasses? >> contact lenses are an amazing technology. sometimes i pull them out. >> you look great. so there's something it's called analysis paralysis. the process by which consumers are too overwhelmed with choices to move forward. it's a problem when we talk about some of these products. >> this is my analysis paralysis right here. this is all the research i've done for this particular segment because you can get sucked in trying to do your homework. i wrote a book called "the digital diary" about making the right choices with your technology. it behooves people to do that research it can save a lot of money. at some point in you want to buy this stuff you have to make a decision and live with that even though the next model's going to come out.

>> a lot of us are waiting for this new iphone to come out. if i turn around and buy one right now, what are the benefits? if you get in the game now instead of waiting for the next model to come out? >> it's possible when the iphone five comes out. we know it will come out at some point. later this month, could be early october. the previous versions to have iphone 4 will drop in price. yo furr okay not having the most cutting edge model, you can save some money. when the next version comes out they need to clear the inventory and you can save hundreds of dollars. we're seeing that today with labor day sales. televisions are a good deal. in addition with all my research here -- there are a lot of places discounting televisions right now. best buy, target, sears. you can find discounts of about somewhere in the hundreds of dollars and some cases $350 to

$100. they're tying into the beginning of the football season. they know people want the big screen. televisions aren't something that people buy all the time. that's a major purchase. there are smaller items to be had, too. look around and be confident with your decision and know you have to live with it for a little while. >> when it comes to electronics maybe go ahead and purchase that television but wait on smart phones and things that develop a little more quickly. >> it depends on how often you need it. not just the price and availability, but what do you need it for? what are you using it for? is your television that obsolete? do you need a 60 inch television? do you need a new printer? is the old one working okay? i love technology and i love the latest and greatest stuff, we don't always dare i say it need that stuff. >> i've got this and i'm tired of it. this is a blackberry. we're going to be a bit -- i

want to ask you about the new iphone. what can we expect? >> what we can expect it will probably be a little bit thinner, maybe a slighter wider screen. a lot of the specs. it's top secret. there is apparently this prototype that was left at a bar. >> so i've heard. >> left at a bar. word to apple engineers prototypes and alcohol do not mix well together. there will be some improvements. perhaps the camera will be better. perhaps a better version of the operating system. a lot of people are eager to get their hands on this. at the same time the iphone 4 performs fairly well for a lot of people so maybe you don't need to buy the iphone 5. for the apple fans they will not be listening to me. >> img a tech geek and i know you are, too. i'm waiting for the iphone 5. >> thanks. the muscular dystrophy

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just as the kids head back to school, it's a great time for adults to plan an affordable vacation. we're going to go through some of the great deals out there if you are planning a fall vacation. it's nice to see you. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> you say the caribbean islands. >> a good rule of thumb is to think about the destinations that either in the summer or

winter are full of travelerers. the caribbean islands is a great example of that. where i found great deals in the caribbean were in the bahamas and u.s. virgin islands in. the bahamas in september average hotel rates 12% less than in the summer which was already the off-season for the caribbean. average rates come in around $207 a night for the bahamas in september. in u.s. vir and islands your best bet is october where average rates are down 27% from summer rates. coming in around $137 a night. >> nice. you're saying september and october are the best months. what if the beach isn't your thing. what if you want to go skiing? >> the key to get the really great deals if you want to go for a fall trip is to hit these mountain destinations actually before the ski resorts open in late november, early december. going when the aspens are changing. you can still go hiking, mountain biking experiencing fall festivals in breckenridge

and vail. average rates in tum ser for breckenridge for $117 a night. in october they dip by 34% for an average rate of $77 a night. really great deals in breckenridge and then looking at vail they're down nearly 13% in october over summer rates at just $122 a night. the key for these destinations also not just looking at hotel rates but booking a package just to give you an idea of how much you can save by booking a package traveling from chicago to breckenridge airfare plus five nights plus car rentals coming in at $574 a night. >> great. you're saying that those package deals are a pretty good bet. what about package deals for hawaii not so much a mountain girl. would love to hit the beach. >> hawaii is a great destination for fall traveler as well. for west coast travelerers you can find package deals for just around $900 for your airfare

plus five nights. i looked from san francisco to hawaii $929 for your airfare plus five nights at the tour star turtle bay resort which is a gorgeous property. >> very nice. i know we've been having some difficulty with your audio. thank you so much for joining us today. we appreciate it. >> thank you. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you for joining us. craig melvin picks up our next hour of news. in the meantime president obama is celebrating the holiday in detroit with aretha franklin. she's warming up the crowd. we're looking at live pictures right now. the president is in the motor city to preview his ideas for job creation in front of support of labor union members. we're going to bring you this event live when it happens at event live when it happens at 1:15 eastern.etter and feel sof. how 'bout we start with the guaranteed low price on the carpet... the pad, and installation. let's get peace of mind for a lifetime. it all adds up to better carpet at a better price

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