the lower the southeastern islands of the bahamas received severe damages. we are hearing reports that in places such as crooked island, there were settlements there that lost 90% of their homes. also in akland, there is a place called lover's bay, and a lovely bay that lost 90% of the structures. so severe damages there, but fortunately, we are getting reports of no injuries, and nobody has been killed out of this hurricane. what we are continuing to follow the reports that now the hurricane is about 105 miles away from where we are in nassau, and still, you will get some wind gusts. we are going to try to evaluate the area as much as possible and walk around and see how people are reacting. unlike where kerry is standing right now, here people in the bahamas are absolutely used to getting the hurricanes, so their reactions are completely different here. people who don't take the storm as ser sooo seriously, and that of the danger that people stay inside of their homes and don't venture outside when they o believe that the storm has passed. >> thank you, li

already wreaking havoc in the bahamas.rolina, tourists will be asked to leave very soon. >> all preparations in place. boston, they're considering doing a doubleheader on saturday, to avoid playing on sunday. >> all eyes on that. >>> coming up, our special abc coverage on hunger in america. >> the stats on this are downright staggering. we'll show you how some people are finding help and some hope. you're watching "world news now." s now."c >>> this week on abc, we're looking at widespread hunger here in our backyard. >> one in four kids in america went to bed hungry last night. abc's dr. richard besser looks at the struggle to put food on the table in one new york city neighborhood. >> reporter: at city harvest mobile market in the south bronx, it's free vegetables that draws a crowd. onions, carrots, corn. this mother has three children that can look forward to dinner. why do you come to the food pantry? >> to feed my kids. >> normally, what kind of food are you able to afford? >> rice. >> repororr: in 2009, one in five

como se estÁ preparando bahamas?a cercanÍa del huracÁn, serÍa una noche tropical y cÁlida en el caribe. pero todas las cosas son diferentes. estamos en la calle arteria principal donde a esta hora siempre hay turismo. el mercado de los productos de paja. estÁ lleno de compradores, esta noche estÁ llena de vendedores desmantelandolo. porque es una estructura endeble hacia los vientos. irene puede arrastrar sobre esta parte del archipiÉlago de las bahamas. todos estÁn desmontando sus puestos. incluso el museo de la esclavitud se encuentra debidamente protegido. por otro lado, es una noche de preparativos. aquÍ se toman en serio l cercanÍa de irene. >> esta noche, contra reloj van los preparativos para protege vientos de 80 a 100 mph. cubren las entradas del aeropuerto con bolsas de arena para contrarrestar inundaciones por las rÁfagas acompaÑadas de agua. los bancos ya han tomado sus precauciones, otros mÁs no esperaron la luz del dÍa para sacar dinero. lo primera que escasea cuando un huracÁn se acerca. >> por momento

as i said right now it's in the southern and central part of the bahamas.y tomorrow it's going to be in the northern region. and the wind are going to be going up to 213 kilometers. so if we're getting reports now of damage and regions down towards the south, of course we're going to hear that tomorrow as well as those winds come up to major category strength. you can see 213. and then it moves into the open water. and then as we go into saturday, weather conditions are really going to deteriorate for parts of the carolinas. it looks like it's going to be brushing or getting very close to the outer banks as we go through saturday evening. but also want to point out to you now it looks like the winds are going to be roughly 167 kilometers. that would be a category 2. earlier they were saying it was a major category 3 that could be passing close to that region. and then as we go through saturday, into sunday, we're talking parts of the northeast as well as new england being affected by hurricane irene. and again, this is a monster storm and everybody needs to

right now as you mentioned it is moving across the central bahamas. we did have reports of some devastation around the turks and caicos. this system is a very big one. i mean i don't to understate it. it's a category three hurricane that has the potential to become a category four with winds up to 130 miles per hour as it moves across the northern bahamas. again, this is the very latest. winds of 115 miles per hour which does make it a major hurricane. it is moving to the northwest at 12 miles per hour. now this is the projected path. as you notice as it moves into the northern bahamas near free port and nassau it could have 135 miles per hour winds making it a category four. once it moves north of the bahamas it will move back into open waters, we think it will stay east of florida. that is the good news. the bad news as it moves northward toward the outer banks of north carolina that's why we're evacuating already in the north carolina outer banks area here. but eventually now going through the weekend saturday morning into sunday morning we will al

the bahamas are made up of about 700 islands currently, the far eastern, southeastern edge of the bahama island chain is now getting those tropical storm rains. overnight, turs and cacos suffered flooding, a whole lot of rain a. few people did die over there but right now the hurricane warning is off of turks and cacos, it's a tropical storm warning and it's moving towards the central bahamas, around 8:00, it should be the eye or the center of the storm, smacking here. one thing i can tell you with certainty, the worst is absolutely yet to come, and it's probably about # to 11 hours away. gregg: phil, look, a lot of beautiful beach property down there, lots of hotels. are those structures pretty sound in terms of their structural integrity, are they prepared for this kind of thing? >> reporter: i believe they are. the hotel we're staying at, you can tell it's been here for a number of decades, it's still standing, there's a number of very large resort properties, hotels with about 600, 700 rooms, and so you know, this is the slow tourism season in the bahamas and the carribean because th

it is closing in through the bahamas.intense category 3 storm. we call that a major hurricane with maximum winds around 115 miles per hour. it's going to be moving through the northwestern bahamas today, going about 200 miles east of the florida coast throughout the day today and tomorrow and then head towards the carolinas into saturday with a possible landfall late in the day on saturday. and then ripping on up towards that east coast. we heard john zarrella talking a little bit about the long island express. this is potentially taking a very similar track. he had some great information about that inland flooding because you know while not everybody will get the eye of this storm, everybody in this area will get all that rainfall. and this is a forecast for five days showing you how much rain. everybody in this whole area, the carolinas, new york city, atlantic city, washington, d.c., we're talking 6 to 12 inches of rainfall and it's already saturated. so huge flood concern. big concern for power outages too, guys. have

you can see through the bahamas.s i said, as we go through the day, the weather conditions are going to deteriorate for the northern parts of the bahamas. but also for the southern part of florida because you've about got to keep in mind, tropical storm force winds are at 110 kilometers. roughly 255. so some of that outer band action working into the southern apartment of florida. so we're talking rough waves as well as strong winds and of course some heavy rainfall. to give you an idea after that, as i said, going very close to the outer banks on saturday, notice, it's going to be going very close to the eastern seaboard and potentially in toward new england. this storm system still has a way to go. back over to you too. >> okay, jennifer delgado. many thanks. >> you're watching "world business today." when we come back, we'll take a look at the career and impact of apple computer founder steve jobs. ever, i'd like to let macintosh speak for itself. >> hello. i'm macintosh. >> useful geoff jobs adding a touch of the

it is east of nassau bahamas right now. it will slam at the outer banks said saturday or sunday there are only two bridges to get off these outer banks islands it may hit long island and new york city on sunday and monday. extensive damage is expected here. heavy bands of rain and wind most of the vacation departed on a cruise ship or caught flights out of those remaining will have to hunker down in the hotel's everything is packed up on the islands >> the u.s. navy has ordered the second fleet to a evacuate to port this morning order applies to 64 ships hovered 27 ships are moving out at to see and another 28 will go to other areas for for repairs the remaining are already out at sea it looks like the sun is trying to come up and the look of our forecast and still little drizzly out there >> fairly decent fog out there low cloud cover visibility pretty and >> this is a satellite view of the fog that cloud cover issue irving as a blanket once the fog burns off things will start to heat up this is a look of current temperatu

we've got jim spellman riding out the storm in the bahamas.john zarrella is in wrightsville beach, north carolina, and jacqui jeras here in the hurricane headquarters. jim, let's start with you. what's the situation there? >> reporter: good morning. the winds have been blowing like this for hours now. about an hour and a half ago they really picked up a lot. you can see the sea is being blown over the sea walls here, a lot of the low-lying roads along the coastal areas already have water on them. fortunately so far we have yet to see any major damage to structures. reports coming in just within the last hour of widespread power outages across the island, as you may expect, as lines get blown down. so far they have avoided that main blast. just about all of the tourists in the area that could get out have gotten out. for those who aren't in the resort hotels, the much more modest homes, it's going to be a lot tougher for them. everybody hoping they can get through the next two or three hours when the winds are expected to die down some. >> all

tearing up crooked isle in the bahamas heading to long island in the bahamas.le looks like a backwards seven. the irony of this story is that in four days this same storm may make a run at long island, new york. in the 2:00 advisory, it's now up to 120 miles per hour. it was 115. they brought it up. in fact, it may even go up more than that today. it is forecast to be a category 4. we're at 120 to get to a category 4 you need to get to 131. 11 more miles per hour. there it is. it's a category 3 doing a lot of damage here to the bahamas. these islands are not very tall. you get a storm surge of 10 to 15 feet on an eight-foot tall island. you have to realize how the water is going to overwash the islands. there it is, 135 miles per hour. by 8:00 tomorrow morning, it may get there before that. this is right in the warmest water of the atlantic. it has no shear whatsoever. it has a perfect situation for it to get stronger. now, let's talk about u.s. landfall. if there will be one. it's not a certain thing that the u.s. landfall just yet. the center of the line. i h

irene smashes through the bahamas and bears down on the mainland. we're out in the storm. >>> and hunger at home. a year ago, he would not have believed he would be feeding his family on handouts. >> i wasn't living above my means. had a job, put food on the table. >> we go inside the quiet american crisis. >>> good evening. i'm terry moran. steve jobs once said that people n't know what they want till yoyoshow it to them. with incredible, almost spooky, consistency, jobs has produced new products that consumers discovered they really, really wanted. well, now just hours ago, steve jobs has resigned as chief executive of apple, the company he built. just a month after apple announced astronomical third quarter profits of more than $7 billion. here's abc's neal karlinsky. >> reporter: it was the resignation heard around the world. that's because steve jobs isn't just a ceo. he's been called one of the great visionaries of our time. a man on par with thomas edison for a new generation. >> the news is pretty shocking. i didn't expect this was going to

from nassau, bahamas, about 40 mi. away from the eye of the storm, you can see the damage that has already occurred. 150 mi. per hour winds. it is expected to strengthen of the next 24 to 48 hours. if we are following what is happening head of the storm. it gave the order the entire second fleet in virginia to leave the north will enable station to keep the ships safe. the order applies to 64 ships in the area. 27 ships are moving out to sea. another 28 are being moved to other pieces, repair yards that are safer than the peers. there are nine ships already at sea. we will be right back as the kron 4 morning news continues. >> three days of consecutive gains on wall street. the dow jones is down 1/2 to 27 but still above the 11,000 mark. >> we are updating a hot spot for you. take a look at the bay bridge. it is a big one. the back of is reaching into the macarthur maze. the 880 approach is one of the slowest we have seen. it is the east shore freeway that is not as bad as the other approach. the drive times are over h

as you mentioned, it is moving across the central bahamas right now. we have the newest 2:00 advisory. the winds have been upped from 115 to 120 miles an hour now. it is still a category 3, and a very, very strong hurricane. we're anticipating very extensive damage across the central bahamas with these 120-mile-an-hour winds. in fact, as it moves closer to nassau, the winds could increase even more so making it a category 4 with expected 135-mile-an-hour winds. a very, very dangerous storm as it moves across the central into the northern bahamas. again, extensive and devastating wind damage expected here. destructive storm surge could be a problem as well as flooding over the area. now once it moves north of the bahamas on friday, we're expecting it to possibly weaken a little bit, but it will still be a category 3 hurricane, making it a major hurricane, as it approaches here the outer banks of north carolina. the coastal areas of virginia. look at the time frame. we're talking from saturday into sunday morning as it comes a little farther north up the

the bahamas, considering you're talking about a system that has increased to 110 miles an hour, just one shy of being a category 3, but you can see the eye is likely to spend 9 nethe next co of days there. doesn't exit until late friday. so again a long time for the bahamas to be under the gun of a potentially major hurricane especially if it manages to hit category 3. as far as the track of the system go, we'll continue to watch this as it moves off to the west/northwest. going to make that turn off towards the north and east very slowly and we'll make sure we get the computer back up to that coming up. but saturday, talking about the area south of the outer banks of north carolina. and by saturday morning could potentially have a landfall there that is one of the area that's in the cone. so the northeastern coastline, prep time is now. we could see a strike up the mid-atlantic coastline upwards of ten inches in 24 hours. so some areas that have already seen a lot of rain this month, get ready for potentially more that includes areas like new york city, southeast new england. that s

its heading towards the bahamas and then later this week targeting the united states. late this afternoon, the international space station took some photos of irene as it moved off puerto rico. weather channel meteorologist brian norcross is with us tonight, and, brian, all those eyes are on the blue lines, the projection maps doesn't make the folks in the carolinas very happy. >> not the carolinas and not points north, brian. it's an 80-mile-per-hour category 1 hurricane now but it's forecast to get much stronger and head toward the eastern u.s. takes a look at the track map, we'll show you where it is right now. that's just north of the dominican republic here, it's forecast by tomorrow to move by and intensify into a category 2 hurricane and then as you said, head into the bahamas. then as you say, headed into the bahamas this could be a very significant hurricane event, a catastrophic event, potentially in the bahamas with a major hurricane through there, not ruling out the effects in florida, but it looks like a side effect not a direct hit in florida. the carolin

the bahamas completely in the clear yet.'s a bit of a lull right now, but it's still being pummeled in a big way, right? >> jim is right there under that letter s in nassau. the eye has gone by him a little bit to the northeast of him right there. there's the eye. we're beginning to see anz eye again for most of the overnight hours. that means the storm wasn't as strong down here over long island down here in the bahamas. it's getting into warm water through here and is going to regenerate and going to get to that category 4 hurricane strength today. you have to get to above 131 to get there? that means we have all the technicals. florida will get huge waves. there's going to be erosion and coastal flooding and there will be problems in florida a long the coasts even without a direct hit. so it's already seeing a little bit of rain coming here. florida is seeing a couple of the outer bands into south dade and miami and even one big cell coming there to about fort lauderdale. that's the kurncurrent situatio. the whole thing i

. ♪ >>> con vientos de más de 90 millas por hora y fuertes lluvias, el huracán amenaza las bahamas >>ez federal tiene en sus manos el futuro de una de las más peligrosas leyes en contra de todos los inmigrantes incumentados de estados unidos >>> siguen a la caza de muamar gadafi mientras luchan consolidar tripoli >>> el cambio de reglas de deportación causan temor de que algunas víctimas sean estafadas. [♪] . >>> muy buenas noches, anoche iniciamos el noticiero con n terremoto y hoy de un huracán irene es muy fuerte, es un huracán categoría 3, que dejó enormes daños, es muy seria la amenaza para las bahamas, y la costa este de los estados unidos se prepara para un golpe muy duro, pasamos primero con maría antonieta, quien está en la zona, adelante >>> gracias, jorge, en las últimas horas aquí el clima se ha ido deteriorando dramáticamente a pasos agigantados, y es que irene ha hecho sentir 2 cosas, un que es un poderoso huracán camino a estados unidos, y 2, que ha comenzado a atacar la parte sureste de las islas de las bahamas donde estamos [♪] . >>> mientras las horas pasan el sonido

you can see that open area and that the eye of irene as it is pounding the bahamas. here is different perspective. we'll put the conditions in category 3, 150 miles an hour. that is major hurricane that could cause major damage with flooding, rain, fresh water rain and storm and winds on top of that. it's going to head towards cape hatteras sometime saturday afternoon. then it will keep chugging up and the peninsula sometime sunday morning as it hold together right through the heart of new york, right through the city itself as a minor hurricane maybe a strong tropical storm. winds around 70-80 miles an hour that could cause a lot of damage. back home, you see around santa cruz, cloudy. expecting sunshine to break out around the bay around 2:00. you can see how the clouds are erasing from the inland neighborhoods and patch or two around the coast. temperatures running in the 60s and coast in the 50s. on monterey bay, upper 50s to mid-60s even a 76 with sunshine in gilroy. three things i want you to take away. cooling continues today, cloudy and patchy drizzle for tom

it devastated puerto rico and the bahamas. hurricane irene is heading for north carolina expected to hit in the next 29 hours or so. you can see the devastation there in puerto rico and the bahamas. the national weather service has downgraded it to category two. now since it has slowed down, it's about a day away from hitting north carolina. it's said to be the size of texas. they are preparing by boarding up buildings and evacuating. >> our principal goal is not to lose a life. there is no reason anyone should lose their life as a result of this. we know it's coming. we are implementing safety measures. but it creates a sense of anxiety because it's getting ready to change your whole life upside down. >> airlines are warning passengers to brace for flight cancellations. american airlines has canceled 150 flights out of north carolina and bahamas. >> reporter: things will looking good right now. certainly we expect things to change this afternoon into tomorrow and through the weekend. and the people we have been talking to out

thrashing the bahamas overnight. latest track, straight for new york city and boston. >>> the whole east coast on high alert. thousands of people prepare to evacuate as the storm bears down. the navy gets ready to move ships and aircraft away from the hurricane's path. sam has the very latest on where and when it will hit. we're live from the eye of the storm. >>> steve jobs resigning as head of one of america's biggest companies. why the visionary who brought us the love of electronics from the mac to the ipad says he has to step down. >>> the suspect, 20 months after hihiwife susan powell disappears josh powell sits down for his first interview. >> did you kill your wife? >> get ready for an extraordinary and exploding confrontation. susan powell's father is with us to respond. >>> and good morning, everyone. as i was telling george before we went on the air this reminds me of living on the mississippi gulf coast. you don't know where it's going. there's been a big shift overnight in how this massive hurricane is t

you can see that open area and that the eye of irene as it is pounding the bahamas. here is different perspective. we'll put the conditions in category 3, 150 miles an hour. that is major hurricane that could cause major damage with flooding, rain, fresh water rain and storm and winds on top of that. it's going to head towards cape hatteras sometime saturday afternoon. then it will keep chugging up and the peninsula sometime sunday morning as it hold together right through the heart of new york, right through the city itself as a minor hurricane maybe a strong tropical storm. winds around 70-80 miles an hour that could cause a lot of damage. back home, you see around santa cruz, cloudy. expecting sunshine to break out around the bay around 2:00. you can see how the clouds are erasing from the inland neighborhoods and patch or two around the coast. temperatures running in the 60s and coast in the 50s. on monterey bay, upper 50s to mid-60s even a 76 with sunshine in gilroy. three things i want you to take away. cooling continues today, cloudy and patchy drizzle for tom

particularly in the bahamas. it looks as if irene will track very closely to the bahamas.e recommend that they take precautions as soon as possible. >> from the national hurricane center in miami, florida, to a sum much. charges of sexual assault leveled at the former head of the imf, dominique strauss-kahn, are to be dropped. prosecutors in new york held talks this evening. the case is expected to be formally dismissed on tuesday. >> she accused one of the world's most powerful men of sexual assault. today, the hotel maid was told by prosecutors that the case would be dropped. her lawyer blasted the district attorney. >> he has turned his back on the forensic, medical, and other physical evidence in this case. >> a short walk away, dominique strauss-kahn remained out of sight at his manhattan town house where he has been living on bail. with no other witnesses to the alleged assault, this case has turned on the credibility. she gave up her right to anonymity. >> he grabbed my breast. i said, the stock. >> at first, prosecutors called a major account compelling. they said

some of the southern islands in the bahamas didn't make it well. we have reports of serious did he have tags in some of the settlements down there and even some of the biggest islands, cat island that are both popular tourist islands had just gotten hit there. still trying to get communications back up to get word and a look at damages on those islands as irene moves through. right here tentatively in nassau people are pleased that the worst didn't happen here and they made out relatively okay. randi. >> jim, we got reports of one community that was the 90% destroyed. are you hearing anything about injuries or even deaths? >> reporter: we haven't heard anything about injuries or deaths, but those communities in the settlements in the southern part of the bahamas, there's a place called lovely bay they're really worried about and having trouble getting communications set up. one of the first things that goes down in high winds are cell phone towers. these places are pretty remote. usually only gotten to by boat. we have in lovely bay there's about 8

and that's what most of the tourists here in the bahamas have done. the cruise ships pulled out overnight, the airport closed a few hours ago, tourists got out of here. that's the best thing you can do now. now, here in the bahamas, this island, the new providence, is only about 20 miles long. there's nowhere to go to outrun the storm. so the people here are battening down the hatches, they get plywood and food and water in and ride it out. but i would highly recommend anyone to listen to what the authorities say, don't try to ride it out if you have any kind of option. >> well, thanks, jim, obviously, the bahamas is a beautiful place. lovely people. our thoughts are with the people there, and hope it goes okay for them. thanks to you and chad. >>> when we come back, right to libya and the latest from dan rivers in tripoli. met an old man at the top asked him if he had a secret and the old man stopped and thought and said: free 'cause that's how it ought to be my brother credit 'cause you'll need a loan for one thing or another score 'cause they break

the problem is for areas including the bahamas as well as turks and caicos islands, it's very flat. so we'll be dealing with the heavy rainfall. on top of that storm surge, roughly two to five meters. flooding is going to be a really big problem there. let me show you some of the history of irene as it moved through puerto rico. you can see the streets really flooded there. it really looks like a river, really something you don't want to see people driving through streets like that with flash flooding and roads washed away. look how close it is to many homes across parts of puerto rico. let's go to the dominican republic. purportedly one person died when their car was swept away. we'll talk about the potential for 15 to 30 centimeters of rainfall. andrew, nina, heavy rain, strong winds across the caribbean. back over to you two. >> thanks very much for jen delgado. >>> as events in libya continue to bubble over, a tension is on the country's vast and valuable oil reserves. we'll tell you who is eyeing it next. >>> from cnn london. i'm nina dos santos. >>> i'm andrew stevens. welcome

it has already battered the bahamas destroying homes and downing power lines. the storm is expected to hits new york and boston and residents of north carolina have been told to evacuate. >> introducing irene. 150 miles an hour of menace in to the bahamas. ad category three hurricane troubling -- toppling trees and power lines. in one coastal settlement, entire homes have been swept away. >> the eye of the storm, 65 miles east-northeast of nassau. >> the sense of irene's sheer enormity. at 500 miles from one side to another comes bearing down on america. i am the barrier islands of north carolina, they are fast selling out of generators and other emergency supplies peeving -- emergency supplies. >> it is a bad storm that hit directly, it will not take much of an elevation of sea level to create a lot of havoc. >> and for the north, the u.s. navy is moving warships away from their base in virginia. and along the east coast, communities right up to new york and cape cod are bracing for what may lie ahead. bbc news, washington. >> and a storm of a very different k

turks and caicos and bahamas are the latest to feel irene's wrath. may be north carolina and the storm could trigger flooding and power outages all the e y up to maine. more from abc's diana alvear. >> reporter: good morning. when it comes to hurricane irene, meteorologists say we're dealing with a very strong and very unpredictable storm system. and residents say they aren't taking any chances. its monster clouds visible from space. it's easy to see why when it comes to hurricane irene there is no calm before the storm. from the southern tip of florida to the carolinas, residents are preparing for the first hurricane in three years that poses a serious threat to the united states. >> bottled water and food that won't perish. >> reporter: the system is churning its way through the caribbean. 100-mile-an-hour wind whipped the dominican republic and pounded puerto rico, leaving more than a million residents without power and prompting president obama to declare a state of emergency. while tracking models vary by hundreds of miles, one even showing iren

it is north now of the bahamas.t is going to continue to improve for our good friends there east of florida. and now it has begun that northerly movement. 22 kilometers per hour. if we draw a straight line to the north there you see it slamming into north carolina. that's exactly what we think is going to happen over the next 24 hours. in the next 24 hours it's going to be right here gaining strength as it does. so water temperatures still very warm but the gulf stream here so we're not going to lose any significant intensity before it makes either a landfall or very close pass to the outer banks of north carolina. that would be for saturday afternoon. so we still have time to prepare if you're watching this from the mid-atlantic and certainly southeastern united states. you're okay georgia, florida and even south carolina i think is out of the woods here. but north carolina and points to the north, that is where the danger zone is going to be in the next 48. and then of course 72 hours. it remains to be seen the ex

right now it's headed for the bahamas. right now lilia is there. what are you seeing in terms of the effects? >> reporter: i've got to tell you, contessa, it's surprising how relaxed tourists are walking down the street, down bay street the main tourist area here. we have been talking to some folks who are heading back to cruise ships which are changing routes. some of them going towards mexico, others to the florida keys, anything to get out of nassau and the bahamas. we did interact with the prime minister. he gave a press conference earlier. he said that he's alerting all bahamian citizens to take this threat seriously. if it hits, if irene comes through the entire bahamas it would be the third time since 1866 that one single hurricane takes over the whole entire ark pel go. also authorities are opening up shelters throughout all the bahamas especially in the southeast where winds are expected as soon as this afternoon and later tonight. of course, folks are cramming the hardware stores and the grocery stores now preparing. and we are doing so o

it's on its way, bearing down now on the bahamas, and abc's linsey davis is there. good evening, linsey. >> reporter: good evening, george. irene has clearly arrived. and it is hitting us hard, not only bringing us drenching rain, but increasingly rough surf. the storm surge is expected to get ten feet or higher and that could obviously cause some significant damage. irene's rampage through the caribbean produced widespread destruction when it was just a category 2 hurricane. now, as a 3, with 120-mile-per-hour winds and up to a foot of rain on the way, the bull's eye is on the bahamas. and irene is just getting started. flying into the storm, hurricane hunters took measurements. but from space, the true size of irene became clear. >> it has taken more shape since we've seen it the lala two nights. there's definitely a central eye formed. >> and mike, we see that -- it's hard to believe that it's that big. >> reporter: irene's powerful winds stretch out over 400 miles, the same width as the entire state of arizona. more than 65 million people live along the path ire

then as we head into thursday in the northern bahamas.n as we head into the weekend we're talking into saturday, potentially making landfall it looks like in the outer banks region of the u.s. as possibly a major hurricane. so certainly anywhere along the path of hurricane irene everybody needs to make sure they have some type of safety plan as well as an evacuation plan. now, want to point out to you, updated conditions showing you where the hurricane warning is in place. anywhere in red. we're talking about our friends in the bahamas, turks and caicos. you're going to be dealing with a lot of rainfall through the next 24 to 48 hours. this model right here is going to give you an idea so you can visualize the track of hurricane irene. as i put this into motion you can see where the turks and caicos is, moving into northern bahamas into thursday. what this is going to do, it's going to be bringing a tremendous amount of rainfall. we're talking some locations anywhere between 15 and 30 centimeters of rainfall. let's go to the video right h

. >>> hurricane irene battles the bahamas and takes aim at the east coast. president barack obama is stepping in to help. >>> bay area skate park is reduced to rubble. why the state raise today and why it plans to do the same to another park. >>> it is heating up around here n .10 minutes i will have the forecast that calls for a warmer weekend in your neighborhood. . >>> a stretch of a roadway is open tonight after being shutdown to a raouptureed gas line. a construction crew working on the street hit a 2" gas line at 2:00 in the morning. a block away from interstate 80. taco bell was evacuated. the roadway reopened at 12:30. the park service says earthquake damage to the washington monument is more severe than originally thought. we have pictures to share with you today showing the damage inside and outside the 122-year- old landmark. engineers found more cracks. one four feet long and lime stone blocks shifted leaving gaps allowing light inside. the national park service says it is too early to know what it will take to fix the monument. it will remain cl

the now category 3 hurricane we have been telling you about is striking the bahamas at this hour with 120-mile-per-hour winds as it cuts an unwavering path toward a potential east coast landfall. tropical storm winds are blowing more than 200 miles from its nt.er. forecasters expect irene to intensify for a bit and then essentially hug the i-95 corridor up the east coast and as we look at the forecast track, that potentially puts tens of millions of americans at risk from flooding, rains and dangerous winds from north carolina to new england. already tonight, evacuations are under way along north carolina outer banks. our teams are in place and we have two reports tonight beginning with nbc's kerry sanders on cedar island, north carolina. kerry? >> reporter: good evening, lester, this is the first hurricane to threaten the u.s. mainlands this year. if irene does make it to the land, the real concern is not just those powerful winds and the rain, but also the tidal surge, that storm surge that comes ashore that could inundate coastal areas like this. hurricane irene slammed the turks a

it will rip through the bahamas today and tomorrow and maybe clip cape hatteras. track continues to move it to the east. and now cape hatteras, easternmost section in the north carolina. it could make landfall around boston. what is going around here at home. fairly clear as we look from emeryville back to san francisco but just out of reach of this camera, clouds are clinging along the coast and going to make a march eastward as wind of change are going to bring cooler conditions. let's take a look at what we're dealing with right now. 50s along coast. san francisco and into the north bay valleys. 50s for the rest of us until antioch at 71. monterey bay and inland, more cloud cover and temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. mostly sunny by afternoon hours, and breeze will make it not as hot. more clouds and not as warm as this morning. warmer afternoons will return over the weekend by about 24-hour temperature change. concord 6 and fremont 7, san francisco and san jose, 8, oakland, 9. santa rosa, 10 degrees cooler today. we have upper 80s, mid to upper 80s in san

. >>> and irene continuing to strengthen as it pounds the bahamas. already a major hurricane, it's got the eastern united states even as far north as new england in its sights. >>> it's wednesday, august 24th, 2011, and this is "the daily rundown." i'm chris cillizza in for chuck todd. >>> all that, plus the virginia earthquake, so powerful it had eyes in california rolling. let's get right to today's political headlines. there are a few of them amidst a lot of other news. mark murray's nbc news deputy political director. mark, let's start, it's been a quiet week. mitt romney, though, out on the campaign trail. we talked about this. a little bit of an up-and-down summer for mitt romney. there was good debate performances. michele bachmann, tim pawlenty fighting, but there's been some bad, too. let's look back on the summer that was for mitt romney. >> so, in a large part of the summer we had of kind the sense that mitt romney was the nominee in waiting. he has the laser light focus on the economy. his debate performances have been very strong so far.

irene is pummeling the bahamas right now and we're getting reports of at least two settlements there flattened by the power of this storm. phil keating is live in the bahamas with more, braving the elements for us, phil. >> reporter: absolutely. things are really -- things were hellatious this morning as we woke up in the 6:00, 7:00, # o'clock hour. if you saw that, you saw me getting battered but the speeds have slowed down in nassau to 35, 50 miles per hour but it's packing a good punch around the eye of the hurricane which has to have moved past, north the latitude of nassau and marchs northwest and northward into the northwestern sections of this 700 island nation that is the bahamas. damage a-- damage assessments in the eastern bahama, which hurricane irene slammed into, pounded through the night last night, some reports are the administrator of the islands saying there is -- there is a metalment, lovely bay, 80 percent of the homes are now destroyed, there are reports of a lot of power out over there, hopefully no loss of life, no reports of that yet. here in nassau, there are

of bahamas.na: something to keep an eye on. thank you very much. jon: the hunt for libyan dictator muammar qaddafi is on. there is new word from the pentagon where he might be. this as rub else -- rebels take control of most of his capitol city. we'll have live team coverage from tripoli on very fast-breaking developments there. [ ben harper's "amen omen" playing ] we believe doing the right thing never goes unnoticed. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ why settle for a one-note cereal? get more with honey bunches of oats. four nutritious grains come togetfor more taste, more texture, more healthy satisfaction. have a bowl of happy. jenna: high noon on the east coast. fox news alert. u.s. officials believe today of requires still in libya. that is according to the pentagon. we are so glad you're with us on this monday, i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. rebels are celebrating in the streets of tripoli after claiming they control most of that capitol city. rebel forces

this is theiss on the balcony of his hotel in the bahamas. a safe bet he's one of the few people on the continent right now trying to get closer to irene. >> this wind and rain combined is absolutely ferocious to stand outside in front of. >> reporter: but this is how he makes his living. when mother nature acts up -- he's there to take her picture. what are your observations of irene so far? >> i'm really, really concerned with the outer banks. that, to me, is where the worst part is going to happen. i've seen this before, but i think thth one might be the real deal. >> reporter: you don't have to take his word for it. just look at his pictures and you know theiss knows the real deal when he sees it. during hurricane charley in 2004, mike parked himself outside this gas station in charlotte harbor, florida, and documented some of the strongest winds ever caught on video. winds up to 155 miles per hour. how do you stay safe? >> i don't just go to an area and just wing it. i have to kind of understand the area and what's going on. >> reporter:

hola buenas tardes, les cuento que irene golpeo el sur de baha pla mÁs bahamas a su paso destru ciÓncipal cien otro de abastecimiento de agua de la isla cerrÓ puertas las 11 de la maÑana dejando a muchos sin el vital lÍquido, todas las alertas encendida y se ha publicado los refugios habilitados aus como centros de urgenÉe estarÁn abiertos durante y despuÉs del paso del huracÁn, irene se fortalece ra en las prÓxima horas esto significa que irene aumentarÁ su nivel de destrucciÓn, desde nassau regresamos a estudios. >>> ojalÁ asÍ sea, y precisamente para saber quÉ podemos esperar de irene aquÍ estÁ nuestro me tteorÓlogo eduardo. >>> aquÍ v intenso 120 millas una caracterÍstica es su exenciÓn mÁs de 600 mi blllas debe moverse con poco cambio en su trayectoria, maquinaria perfecta en las prÓxima horas amenaza aquÍ aviso y alerta para las bahamas y todos los sectores para todas las Áreas cerca de la florida, alerta de tormenta donde puede haber oleaje en las prÓxima horas con amenaza de caroli carolina del norte, desde el extremo este de carolina del norte tienen riesgo pudiera ser maÑan

irene already targeting the southern bahamas.he deadliest potential threat could be the surrounding sea. all that water swept inland by the storm surge. he mentioned it could reach 11 feet. jim spellman is in nassau where people are taking advantage of the blue sky to get busy with the last minute preparations. >> reporter: here in nassau, the winds are beginning to pick up and people are preparing for the arrival of hurricane irene expected to pass close by as a category or 3 hurricane. out in the bay, normally, you would see a handful of cruise ships with thousands of people on them. this beach here would be full of tourists. but the cruise ships departed to get out of the way of the storm. the beaches are closed. most of the tourists have flown out if they weren't on the cruise ships. those that remain are hunkering down in large tourist hotels like this one. >> the island is only 20 miles long. outrunning the storm isn't an option. their best bet, try to protect their property and hope for the best. >> basic shutters and they

emily is expected to continue toward the bahamas. it may bring rain to miami by friday afternoon and wilmington, north carolina, by sunday evening. >>> a homeless man is in custody this morning after jumping the fence at the white house yesterday. he was captured and apparently

hurricane irene blasted the bahamas, with winds of 115 miles an hour and headed toward a weekend strike on the u.s. east coast. and wall street pulled back, after a three-day rally. the dow jones industrial average lost more than 170 points. find more about the coming storm on our website, kwame holman has the details. kwame? >> holman: track hurricane irene's path using a special map with data from n.o.a.a., google and others. that's on the rundown blog. is eating healthy bad for your family's budget? our health unit examines the costs of good nutrition and offers strategies for smart shopping at the grocery store. plus we look at nasa research on how black holes can consume a star. watch an animation on our science page. all that and more is on our web site: newshour.pbs.org. ray. >> suarez: and that's the

como vimos en el camino proyectado de irene para esta noche las islas bahamas, veamos. >>> las bahamasa una de las tormentas que tiene capacidad de arrasar el archipiÉlago completo, aquÍ residentes estÁn en tiendas de ferreterÍa para conseguir lo necesario para preparar sus casas otros sobre todo los que estÁn en zona de inundaciones estÁn en albergues que el gobierno ha facilitado, turistas hemos hablado con algunos de ellos que se tienen que quedar en sus hoteles no pueden salir de la isla, los aviones parten en este momento y poco a poco, todo t tipo de embarcaciÓn tiene que ser despejada de la costa incluyendo los cruceros que tengo a mis espaldas que al final de este dÍa estarÁn en rutas distintas a las que tenÍan originalmente, a algunos decepcionado otros agradecidos de llegar a casa sanos y salvos. >>> y mientras, puedo decir que en estados unidos los preparativos para recibir irene estÁn en marcha incluyen evacuaciÓn, decenas de miles de personas comprando lo necesario para pasar dÍas sin electricidad y fortaleciendo sus vivienda ahora sÍ con luis carrera, buenas tardes la pre

barack obama dice que u dias terminaron >>> en republica dominicana, la bordea y se acerca a las bahamas> el que fuera el hombre más poderoso del mundo, ya no tendrá cargos >>> balaceras, en 2 estadios deportivos en estados unidos y en méxico vuelan las balas >>> esto es su noticiero univisión, con jorge ram y maría elena salinas >>> muy buenas noches, comenzamos con la caida de una brutal dictadura de 42 años, aunque no se sabe dónde está muamar gadafie sabe dónde está ahora el futuro de libia depende de los libios, para una li sin muamar gadafi días de lucha terminaron con el fin de una de las dictaduras más cerradas del mundo >>> las imágenes no pueden ser más gráficas, festejos y celebraciones, en los territorios de los rebeldes la cauta respuesta del presidente >>> quiero enfatizar que esto aun no ha terminado, advirt esta tarde el presidente barack obama, hay fieros combates amenazando pero las veriones de la tompa de trípoli dan más esperanzas más del 90% de la capital tomada, lo que ha sido barrio por barrio esta presentadora de noticiasesinato, leal a dictador y se muestra desaf

abc has the latest. >> in bahamas, business owners boarded up stores. and tourists lined up in airports. was it a quick get away they're hoping for. >> planned to have a week of relaxation. and we got here and spent two days and have to turn right back around. >> packing winds up to 120 miles per hour, irene is now a category three. soon suspected to grow into a category four. that is why residents in this tiny barrier island of north carolina are heading for higher ground. >> it's a low-lying island. if there is a bad storm, it won't take much of an elevation of sea level to create a lot of havoc. >> with winds over 400 miles, with irene is shaping up to be the most powerful hurricane to strike the east coast in decades. this is the storm from space. the image captured by the international space station. >> it's central eye is opening up. the central part is uniformed and dense. >> the force was on display, it tore through the care bin. -- caribbean. it blew off roofs and downed power lines. in dominican republic, trees are crashing down. and in cuba,

it's over the southeastern bahamas. still well off to the south by a couple hundred miles getting away from nassau and freeport in the northern bahamas. but the damage is going to be done over the next 24 hours in this location. as a matter of fact, when the storm develops an eye you get the corresponding eye waltham. 's the meat and potatoes of the storm system where the damage is done. on the northern eastern flank of the storm system even though it's going to be going just off to the east of nassau as well as freeport, we're still going to have a lot of rain and problem with the wind in this area as we're probably ramping up the storm system, probably getting category 4 over the next 24 hours. so we're expecting 131 to 155 miles per hour. that's ridiculous, jeff. >> jeff: so you have quite a wide swath of the east coast of the u.s. what's the level of certainty or what are the factors when you look at where it might make landfall and hit the hardest. >> the bermuda high pressure is pretty strong this time of the year

this is what the bahamas looked like yesterday before he irene hit. businesses boarded up, and tourists lined up at the airport. >> i'm lined up at the airport hoping the flight is going to take off. i don't want to stick around for it. >> good decision. >> this is the heaviest storm we've seen in terms of wind and rain, and now we're beginning to get hit by sleep. >> homes on two islands reportedly suffered severe damage. >> we're trying to stay on our feet to keep you informed. >> images show irene barreling over the bahamas packing winds of 115 miles per hour and heading north. there are already tropical storm watches and warnings in the carolinas. >> they said evacuate. so we figured we'd better listen. >> irene could affect 55 million people up and down the eastern seaboard. officials have already ord carolina's outer banks. >> you come home, and there's no damage, and you say, well, it was a big inconvenience, but at least you have the option of coming back home. people who don't evacuate may not survive. >> we have team coverage up and down the