time to say hello to fredricka whitfield. busy day in politics. >> i know. we're going to have a very busy afternoon. politics kind of leading the charge on all that. let's get straight to it. extremely busy in the world of politics. two major stories happening right now. one in iowa where republican presidential candidates are taking part in the state's critical straw poll. and then in south carolina, texas governor rick perry is about to throw his hat into the ring. we'll have live coverage of that big announcement. >>> first we begin with breaking news this hour out of pakistan. an intense search is under way for an american kidnapped from his home in lahore. the victim is identified as warren weinstein, a development expert, who works for a u.s.-based consulting firm. reza sayah is live from islamabad. what more have you learned about this kidnapping? >> reporter: well, fredricka, if you look at the details of how this kidnapping went down, i think it's clear that it was a very intricate and well-coordinated plot. police say it happened around 3:15 a.m.

i'm fredricka whitfield. >> i'm brooke baldwin. let's get you caught up on what we know at this hour on this storm. president obama an hour away from making the statement about the storm. he will be doing so 5:00 eastern from the rose garden. we'll bring it to you live as soon as we see the president. >> irene continues to lose power since making landfall this morning. floodwaters are receding on new york's long island and downtown manhatt manhattan. evacuation orders for low lying areas including the rockaways were lifted just last hour. residents are venturing out to examine the storm damage. >> the storm has proven to be fatal. at least 15 people across six separate states were killed during the storm. irene's powerful winds toppled trees, knocked down power lines, damaged homes. early wind damage estimates alone are expected to top more than $1 million. more than 4 million people without power. >> as homeland security secretary janet napolitano said earlier today, quote, we're not out of the woods yet. >> no matter where you ar

i'm fredricka whitfield with brooke baldwin. talking about some 4 million people without power all along the east coast in the mid-atlantic area in the nation's capitol, maryland, d.c., va, 1 million without power, a lot of people still shaken by the earthquake. >> what was it, last tuesday? 5.8 magnitude. >> that's right. national cathedral among those structures shaken. athena jones, give us an idea of what kind of damage. a lot of toppled trees throughout east coast. >> reporter: well, exactly. as you can see, rather a large tree fell here at the national cathedral overnight toppling another tree. this is one of the 200 or more trees that have fallen in the d.c. area, brought down by the storm. but i've got to tell you, as you guys were mentioning, this site, this cathedral has seen a rather interesting week in terms of natural events. the earthquake on tuesday toppled some of the main spires you see at the top in the back of the cathedral on the backside, toppled those so, the cathedral has been closed. on a normal sunday li

i am fredricka whitfield. let's get you up to speed.ning bell after a better than expected jobs report but have been up and down since then. the dow is coming off yesterday's steep plunge. right now the dow taking a big plunge of 215 points. we will continue to watch the markets throughout the day. >>> some positive news in the highly anticipated jobs report out today. the economy added 117,000 jobs in july. economists were expecting about 75,000. the unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 9.1%. and last hour during a speech on helping veterans find work, president obama said improving the job out look is his number one priority. >> my concern right now, my singular focus is the american people, get the unemployed back on the job and lifting their wages and rebuilding the sense of security the middle class has felt slipping away for years. >> a big relief for 4,000 furloughed faa workers. this morning the senate approved a deal to temporarily resume the agencies funding. it was held up in a dispute, and congress will have to take it

i am fredricka whitfield. let's get you up to speed. mubarak will return to court in 12 days.e faces the death penalty if convicted of conspiring to kill protesters. he was wheeled into a courtroom and put in a cage. many egyptians said he looked well. >> i have to wonder what kind of strings he is trying to pull today. his hair is black and he is 83 years old, and how sick is this ma man? >>> and then this. the crisis in syria. it's worsening. a resident that fled hamas says corpses left on the ground as tanks roll in. people are running out of food and being cut off from communications. council members plan to meet for a third day to discuss the crisis. almost 2,000 people have been killed since the up rising began in march. >>> bomb squad officers in australia secured the 18-year-old girl who was attached to a suspicious device. police are examining the device as they describe as a elaborate and sophisticated one. >> stocks fell sharply before regaining some ground but are still in negative territory. investors are worried about disappointing economic reports. the dow is do

i'm fredricka whitfield. the u.s.dispatched dozens of ships to open sea today to get them out of the way of hurricane irene. it's barreling through the bahamas today with top winds at 115 miles per hour. it will impact the east coast this weekend even if the eye doesn't come ashore. disaster officials are already getting ready for major disruptions. >> i would caution people, don't get too hung up on the actual category of the hurricane. we've seen tropical storms produce devastating flooding and even up here in the northeast with some of the tropical force winds we can see a lot of power outages. >>> apple's stock is down today. investors are worried about the company without steve jobs at the top. jobs says he can no longer run apple day to day though he'll remain chairman of the board. he has a rare form of pancreatic cancer. he brought the ipod, itunes, iphone and ipad. >> every other company in the world whether they're in consumer electronics or clothing or automobiles, they can learn from apple and what they do

i'm fredricka whitfield with a look at the top stories. >>> a gunfire and explosions rocked tripoli todayn rebels and moammar gadhafi's forces intensified. a fierce gun battle broke out near a hotel where many international rorpters are staying. rebels say the opposition offensive in the capital is, quote, going easily. libyan officials deny that and say thousands of people are ready to defend tripoli against any invasion. >>> the families of two american hikers sentenced to prison in iran are holding out hope for leniency. iran has handed down eight-year sentences for josh fattal and shane bauer. they were accused of spying. in a statement, their families are calling on iran to show compassion and release the two. >>> back in the states, speculation is growing today that the sexual assault charges against former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn may be dropped. the woman making those charges has been asked to a closed-door meeting with prosecutors tomorrow in new york. no comment coming from the d.a.'s office. >>> and join me at the top of the hour for more news. next, back to "fareed zak

i'm fredricka whitfield. cnn newsroom continues at the top of the hour.ct your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. in one place. ♪ the race of your life you never ran. the trip around the world you never took. the best-selling novel you never wrote. but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. the lexus golden opportunity sales event, with exceptional values on the lexus es. but only until september 6th. see your lexus dealer. [ grandpa ] relationships are the basis of everything. [ grandma ] relationships are life... if you don't have that thing that fills your heart and your soul, you're missing that part of your life that just fulfills you. ♪ [ male announcer ] for us at humana, relationships matter too. the better we know you, the better we can help you choose the right medicare plan. that's why humana agents sit down with you to figure out your medicare options. and we have nurses you can call anytime, even at 3 a.m. because when you're on the right humana medicare plan and taking good care of yourself,

i'm fredricka whitfield. major breaking news out of libya. the battle between rebels, government forces is escalating rapidly. gunfire and explosions rocked the capital today. rebels say they're making substantial gains in their fight to seize the capital. reuters reports thousands of rebels were seen closing in on tripoli today. nato says moammar gadhafi's regime is, quote, crumbling. the libyan government denies the rebels are making any gains. but a government official who asked not to be named concedes that parts of the capital and its suburbs are no longer in government hands. in an audio address broadcast on state tv today, gadhafi vowed to fight until, quote, the last blood drops from every man and woman. >>> a fierce gun battle broke out today near the hotel where many international journalists are staying. cnn's senior international correspondent matthew chance joins us live by phone from tripoli. matthew, you were in that very hotel. tell us more about what's happening around it. >> reporter: fredricka, it's a very bad line. i don't

i'm fredricka whitfield at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. hurricane irene is ashore, particularly on the north carolina coast. as many as 65 million people all along the eastern seaboard are going to be impacted in some way, shape or form by irene. and many people are already trying to find shelter where they can. take a look at the size of this storm. eight states from north carolina to massachusetts are under states of emergency. and right now, this first hurricane of the season that is impacting so much of the east coast is pummeling north carolina. it barreled ashore on the outer banks of north carolina just after dawn this morning, about five miles northeast of cape lookout. it is now down to a category 1 hurricane with maximum winds of 85 miles per hour. still very significant. make no mistake, it is a very powerful storm. and it is still very dangerous. there have been two storm-related deaths in north carolina reported so far. and we're seeing a lot of fierce winds and drenching rains there. parts of the region haven't seen a storm l

. >>> cnn news room continues at the top of the hour with fredricka whitfield.ng to have to do this more often. t.j.'s going to have to go on assignment more often. we love you. happy birthday. >> oh, yeah, happy birthday, t.j. have you heard of swatting? there are so many different things out there. mob calling, flash mob is taken on a new connotation. hackers calling on computers or hacking into x-boxes and then sending a message that then is sent to dispatch, 911, s.w.a.t. teams and s.w.a.t. teams descend on a certain address and there's nothing going on. >> so, like the reverse of the flash mob. >> it's interfering with responding to real calls. there's a recent case in naples, florida. it involved a 15-year-old and his x-box. and then, you know, we're dedicating to helping people kind of rebuild their finances. so, if you're out of work, lost your job, you probably, you know, what is five or six months of savings that you've probably already eradicated? you've probably maxed out your credit cards. we're going to have a financial expert to help you rebuild.

i'm fredricka whitfield. it is official. texas governor rick perry is now a presidential candidate. he declared his candidacy at a conservative gathering in charleston, south carolina, about an hour ago. here's what he said. >> it is time to get america working again and that's why with the support of my family, and unwavering belief in the goodness of america, i declare to you today as a candidate for president of the united states. >> cnn political correspondent jim acosta is at the red state conference in charleston. he joins us live now. jim, the impact that perry may have on this presidential playing field. any guesses? [ inaudible ] >> we'll have to work out the audio because you're not the only one who is not hearing jim acosta. we'll try to re-establish that in a moment. there is another major political story going on right now in iowa. the nation's first caucus state is holding its famous ames straw poll. it is a critical test of a candidate's strength. it can boost a candidate to the front of the pack or eliminate them from contention altogether. the best political team on

i'm joe johns in for fredricka whitfield. tim geithner will discuss the credit downgrade during a conference call tonight with representatives of other g-7 nations. in the meantime, the financial world is waiting to see how asian markets will react to the downgrade, announce affidavit the end of trading on friday. it's already monday in eastern asia and financial markets will open there in just a few hours. there is already evidence the downgrade is making some investors very nervous. middle eastern markets were open today, and prices fell 3.7% in dubai. the israeli market had to halt trading for a time and it closed down more than 6%. cnn's kevin flower is in jerusalem. >> what analysts here are telling us, this is not only a market reaction to the credit downgrading of the united states, but also a response to broader losses posted last week and on friday on global markets. >> in a related story, the white house gave treasury secretary tim geithner a vote of confidence today. geithner has come under fire from critics who bl

i'm fredricka whitfield. we continue to watch hurricane irene and all that it is doing and wreaking havoc along the east coast. right now, live coverage from our affiliate out of norfolk, virginia, wavy, wayv vy as it i referred to. sure talking about a child that might be trapped. let's listen in. >> two people and their cat rescued after their boat was anchored and they got caught in some vicious water trying to escape hurricane irene. we understand they are okay. we also have many road closings. the hrbt is closed with the midtown tunnel and the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel. you look at the pictures and you can see why. this is a view from our vdot traffic cam, traffic jam cam, it shows virtually nobody on the road because conditions are getting progressively worse. >> we talked to melody woodrow a few minutes ago in hampton. melody had to move because the james -- she was stand on the james river -- the conditions got so much worse there that we had to move melody from that location. we're going to be tal

the moment i've been waiting for this morning is to say good morning to fredricka whitfield. we missed our moment a few minutes ago. we have our little chat. >> i know. we'll do that another weekend. we've got a lot going on. this is really impacting a whole lot of people. got friends and family all along the east coast. i talked to my mom, my family members. you've got the water, got everything -- my best girlfriend in new york, what are you going to do? everyone has a plan. that's the good news because this is a monster of a storm. folks get more nervous when they see category 2 and 1. maybe they rest that you are laurels. don't do that. >> don't do it. the new york friend, what is she going to do? >> she's on the 34th floor. >> oh, wow. >> on the upper east side. they have all their water, their supplies. they really couldn't find their way out. it was an issue of where to go. and that is the case for a lot of new yorkers. many people don't have the capacity to leave the city or don't have a place to go inland. so -- >> they don't have hurricane plans. >> they're die-hard

fredricka whitfield will be along here with me in just a moment with a preview of her show starting ate hour. but guatemala. they are close relatives of the president are constitutionally barred from running for president. so, the former guatemalan first lady, sandra torres, she decided to divorce her president husband so she could run for president herself. but the country's supreme court ruled that she could not be president, even after the divorce. no word on if they are going to remarry now. cnn editorial producer nadia bilchik first introduced us to this story and then later today she brought us another tale of what women will or won't do for love or power. >> reporter: this is a woman who is actually related to kim james ii, churchill, and princess diana. she has so many titles that she does not need to courtesy or bow to the pope. >> wow. she's a big deal, is what you're telling me. >> she's a big deal and she is worth a lot of money. this will be her third husband, she's about 20 years her junior. he's had the odd nip and tuck. and she, when people come to spillane, celebrities

. >>> hello, i'm fredricka whitfield at the cnn headquarters in atlanta. hurricane irene is pounding the east coast right now with drenching rains and winds reaching 85 miles an hour. just look at the expanse of it there, it is so big. it can cover europe. this is the view from space as irene barreled ashore earlier today on the outer banks of north carolina. we know of four storm-related deaths. more than half a million people are without power in north carolina and virginia now. hundreds of thousands are evacuating as irene heads up the eastern seaboard. it is down to a category 1 hurricane now, but make no mistake, it is powerful and dangerous. nine states from north carolina to massachusetts are under a state of emergency. the latest to be added now maryland. president barack obama stopped by the headquarters of the federal emergency management agency, fema, he says the government is ready to handle whatever comes. but it is going to be touch and go for many people throughout the weekend and into next week. >> it is going to be a long 72 hours and obvi

i am fredricka whitfield. let's get you up to speed. stocks plunge as fears about the economy grow.concerns. the number of americans filing for unemployment barely budged last week. they are down 319 points at 11,576. we will check in with alison kosik and the new york stock exchange, and poppy harlow in new york as well. and alison, tell us about the plunge. >> the dow down 326 points. we're getting close to seeing the market correction. right now we're at 11,571. when we get to 11,521 that's the level of a market correction in that that the past two weeks the dow has lost more than 1,000 points, poof, gone. the reason is we have a combination of factors that work here including the concerns about the possibility that the european debt crisis could get worse and spread here to banks and businesses here at home, and then the litany of economic reports that are weighing on the markets here and weighing on investors and that's why you see the selling today. just an indication of the market fear. we look at the thing called the vicks index, and that shows there's a lot of fear in the m

i am fredricka whitfield.n tampa, florida, this hour, police say they headed off a school plot that could have claimed more victims than the columbine attack. a student is in custody accused of planning freedom high school next tuesday, the first day of class. the police say they found explosive materials and a written minute by minute plan to kill about 30 students and two administrators. >> we will probably able to thwart the catastrophic event. >>> president obama's bus tour rolled into illinois this hour. a senior administration official says the president will unveil a new jobs initiative shortly after labor day. it's likely to include tax breaks, and innovative infrastructure projects and help for the long-term unemployed. and he talked with wolf blitzer during a stop in iowa. >> we made progress since the start of the recession in 2008, and it has not been fast enough and we have to accelerate it. there are two things that need to happen. number one, we have to make sure people have confidence, and we'r

. >>> at the top of the hour, i am fredricka whitfield. the dow blue chips are down. 388 points.int of a growing risk of a new recession. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. what is the grooming news driving this selloff? you have a trader as well and maybe he has an insight. >> i do, and this is teddy wiseman of newport securities. we have heard of economists already been upping their forecast for the possibility of a recession. what makes what morgan stanley said so different? >> you said it would lower it -- >> they have been upping their odds. >> upping the odds of the recession, but lowering the growing forecast, and i think morgan stanley this morning lowering the growth forecast for europe just reinforces the negative. it just reinforces what we already know, and clearly that's not priced into the market. as a result, you know, we see the not so bad at the moment, but we were down over 500 points soon after the opening this morning. >> is this panic selling that you are seeing? >> well, i don't know if it's panic selling because, you know, we have the whole iss

our "cnn newsroom" continues now with fredricka whitfield. hello, fred. >> see you later and throughout the weekend. it's a busy one. 1:00 p.m. in the east coast. 60 million people are awaiting their encounter with hurricane irene. hurricane warnings are in effect from coastal north carolina to south of new york city. gusty winds and choppy seas already are being felt on the outer banks, and worse is on the way, much worse. president obama is watching irene from martha's vineyard, but not for long because he is heading back to washington, d.c. a day ahead of schedule. earlier he called irene a historic storm. >> i cannot stress this highly enough. if you are in the projected path of the hurricane, you have to take precautions now. don't wait. don't delay. we all hope for the best but have to be prepared for the worst. >> irene is on track to follow the northeast corridor right up to new england and beyond. cnn is there. reynold wolf is in new jersey, and athena jones is in annapolis, maryland. we will start here in the weather center with cnn

fredricka whitfield in for suzanne malveaux. >>> live from studio 7, i'm fredericka whitfield in for suzanne mral sorrow. let's get you up to speed. dow stocks tumbled almost 100 points at the open told, but investors cut their losses as the morning wears on. right now blue chips are up thankfully about 12 points, the dow plunged 419 points thursday on fears of a new recession, driving most asian and european markets lower today. >>> at a time when politicians are