. >> 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 television is on the ground in iowa, among them cnn deputy political director paul steinhauser. why is this one poll so important when a lot of people say other straw polls are insignificant, don't matter? >> well, hey, good point there. this is nonbinding. candidate, campaigns can pay for their people to come in and vote, so it is not very scientific either. why does it matter? this is like no other straw poll. and, shann

that's why we have our jim acosta down there. as you also mentioned, sarah palin, the former alaska governor, we don't know if she's a candidate or not. she says she'll decide by september. but she was here in des moines yesterday. she got a lot more attention yesterday than any of the announced candidates because it's sarah palin. >> paul, appreciate that. again, straw poll results, that comes tonight. join cnn in the "newsroom," a special report, the iowa straw poll with don lemon and candy crowley and 7:00 p.m. this evening. later on this hour, we'll tell you how sarah palin stole the spotlight even further in iowa even though she is not on the straw poll ballot as paul was underscoring there. and we'll go live to charleston, south carolina, where texas governor rick perry is preparing to make that announcement of his presidential bid. >>> it was a strong message, police fanning out across the streets of philadelphia. why did they take 50 teens into custody shortly after 9:00 p.m. friday? the answer and a live report straight

cnn's jim acosta has that. >> reporter: score one for the tea party movement.he people by hind the anti-tax, anti-big government rallies that burst on to the scene two years ago have changed the debate in washington. witness the debt ceiling deal. all spending cuts, no tax increases. has the tea party won? >> i think there was a victory for the tea party and a victory more importantly for the american people. instead of talking about spending and more taxes, we're talking about less spending and no taxes. >> reporter: standing against a white house that wanted to eliminate some tax breaks for wealthier americans, an army of more than 80 house gop freshman including idaho's raoul labrador held their grounds, at times defeating their own speaker. >> you did not get your butt in line? >> i did not. >> reporter: while some tea partiers are a no on the deal allen west is a yes even though he said he didn't get everything you wanted. >> when you run a marathon, you start at mile one. you don't automatically get to mile 26. >> reporter: that's your message to tea part

jim acosta, cnn, charleston, south carolina. >> let us know what you think, we're on facebook or follow us on twitter. @andersoncooper. i'll be tweeting tonight. >>> up next, the first big test for gop candidates tomorrow, some of the most interesting moments from the debate last night and sarah palin showing up in iowa for the straw poll. the question is she seeking publicity or does she have a reason to be there? candy crowley, john king join me in a moment and later, the latest from syria. the resistance not backing down even in the face of truly staggering brutality, kidnapping children to punish their parents who protest. >> dramatic video from today. first let's check in with isha sesay. isha? >> polygamist leader warren jeffs is now in prison serving a life sentence for having sex with minors. we'll play some the taped evidence that was sent there. it's chilling. you'll hear from ex-followers as they explain how he became a cult-like leader, bill a harem and still worshipped by his followers today. that and much more when "360" continues. man on tv: ...rbis and 36 homers. swings

jim acosta, cnn, charleston, south carolina. >> let us know what you think, i'll be tweeting tonight. >>> up next, the first big test for gop candidates tomorrow, some of the most interesting moments from the debate last night and sarah palin showing up in iowa for the straw poll. the question is she seeking publicity or does she have a reason to be there? >>> the latest from sear yark the resistance not backing down even in the face of truly staggering brutality, kidnapping children to punish their parents who protest. dramatic video from today. aisha? >> polygamist leader warren jeffs is now in prison serving a life sentence for having sex with minors. we'll play some of the tape that sent him there. it's chilling. you'll hear from ex-followers as they explain how he became a cult-like leader, bill a harem and stillare shipped by his followers today. that and much more when "360" continues. whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing, instant hot spots, and 4g devices like the motorola photon. so let's

jim acosta is live at the service. bit about perry's involvement and why it's yoefl. why it's controversial. >> reporter: texas governor rick perry is on stage right now. as you know, he is a potential gop contender, a republican party activist would like to know very much whether or not he's going to jump in this race for president. and his aides say he should have a decision close to the end of the summer. in the meantime, he is holding this religious gathering here in houston, texas, inside the reliance stadium, a football stadium that holds 71,000 people. organizers of this event say about 25,000 people are on hand so far. that number has not been independently confirmed. i can tell you so far, joe, this event has been pretty much about prayer and not politics. governor perry is few moments ago said god is not wise enough to be affiliated with any political party. but he talked about some of the economic struggles happening in this country right now. that his heart breaks for people who have lost their homes and th

i want to bring in jim acosta. he is at the houston service. this gathering has been getting a lot of attention because rick perry could possibly run for the white house. let's talk a little about the controversy he's facing. there are some people who don't like this idea of mixing religion and politics. >> that's right. rick perry has no problem mixing religion and politics. he's done it almost throughout his political career. certainly during his time as governor of texas. and it was a couple months ago when he issued an official proclamation from his office as governor of the state of texas. calling for this day of prayer and fasting. what is now known as the response. and he was on this stage earlier this afternoon. it is interesting. tens of thousands of people have come from across the state. probably from across the country to see governor perry make his remarks here. today he was only on stage for ten minutes. but his script was certainly mixed with scripture. >> he is calling all americans of all walks of life to seek him, to return to

jim acosta has the "raw politics" tonight. >> amen. >> amen. >> amen. >> reporter: for rick perry, it's a question keeps coming up, not whether he's running for president, but whether he's running from a certain president named george w. bush. >> i called him on his birthday. >> reporter: this week, perry told "time" magazine there's no bad blood with the man he replaced as governor from texas. >> not from my perspective and not between george w. bush and i. >> reporter: go to youtube and you'll find a different story. four years ago speaking on behalf of rudy giuliani's failed campaign in 2008, perry slammed his predecessor. george bush was never a fiscal conservative, never was. wasn't when he was in texas. >> if washington won't protect our border, texas will. >> in his run for re-election in '06, perry blasted washington on illegal immigration and clarified in an interview which washington he meant. >> which washington are you criticizing, the republican-controlled congress or the republican-controlled white house? >> all of them. >> all of them. >> and the fact of the matter is eve

jim acosta has the "raw politics" tonight. >> amen. >> amen. >> amen. >> reporter: for rick perry, it's a question keeps coming up, not whether he's running for president, but whether he's running from a certain president named george w. bush. >> i called him on his birthday. >> reporter: this week, perry told "time" magazine there's no bad blood with the man he replaced as governor from texas. >> not from my perspective and not between george w. bush and i. >> reporter: go to youtube and you'll find a different story. four years ago speaking on behalf of rudy giuliani's failed campaign in 2008, perry slammed his predecessor. george bush was never a fiscal conservative, never was. wasn't when he was in texas. >> if washington won't protect our border, texas will. >> in his run for re-election in '06, perry blasted washington on illegal immigration and clarified in an interview which washington he meant. >> which washington are you criticizing, the republican-controlled congress or the republican-controlled white house? >> all of them. >> all of them. >> and the fact of the matter is eve

jim acosta. candy, i want to bring you back in here. is perry the guy republicans have been looking for? the polls have been showing that people are not so hot about the candidate that have declared already. >> they have been waiting for him. i don't know it's who they are looking for. people always like the politician who is just beyond reach, sort of the political version of the grass is always greener and politicians either come in and live up to all the hype, or they can come in and crash. >> don't you miss the studio when you don't have the wind. >> i still like this. >> just little things like that. thank you. we'll stick around here as soon as the results come in we'll bring home to you here on cnn. we'll be here. cnn will bring you live coverage of the iowa straw poll results as soon as we get them. join me and candy right here for cnn newsroom special report on the iowa straw poll results. that begins at the next hour at 7:00 p.m. eastern. i think we make a pretty handsome couple. we'll bring you those poll results live regardl

>> thanks so our jim acosta. at 1:00 eastern time when cnn will have live coverage of rick perry's expected announcement that he is run for president. >>> let's turn to philadelphia. and police there in philadelphia are now saying that maybe their curfew worked. they have been enforcing the city's new weekend curfew law. they say they arrested about two dozen teenagers overnight. it's from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. a ban from teen on the streets. in response to violent attacks organized through e-mail and social media. minors and their parents could face fines for $300 for a first offense, $500 if they're picked up again. >>> well, let me bring in reynolds was ming me about this yesterday. are these actual pictures? is this an aboutist rendering of the night's skies last night? >> i believe it is an artistic photograph of the night skies. >> okay. >> a nice little house there in the background. what's beyond that picture you see the night shir with a bursting of meteor shower. i know you're blown away with this, a l

let me bring in our jim acosta, who is in south carolina, where this announcement is expected. and jim, we thought all the action was supposed to be in iowa this week, but here we are starting with you in south carolina. why is he a big deal getting into this race? >> reporter: this is a very big deal, t.j., because rick perry, if you look at all the polls, he comes into this race as a top-tier candidate. he has the potential to knock some of the other contenders in the gop field out of this race, and he's coming to south carolina to essentially steal the show that is going on in iowa right now. there's a red state conference happening here in this hotel that we're standing in in charleston right now. it's a conference for conservative activists. and governor perry signed on to speak at this event several months ago. and at the time, he was saying, i'm not running for president. look, let me make myself clear, i'm not running for president. something in the last couple of months changed in rick perry's mind and now he's expected to announce that he is running for president later

let's turn now to our jim acosta who is in charleston, south carolina, this morning, where the announcement is expected here in just a couple of hours. and jim, he's jumping in and a lot of people looking at him as already one of the front runners. >> reporter: that's right. he enters this race, today, t.j., as a top-tier republican contend contender. he's going to be right up there according to our latest poll, nipping at the heels of mitt romney, vying for that front-runner title here in this gop slugfest that's going to be playing out in the next couple of months. he was down in alabama last night test driving his speech that he's going to be delivering today. he focused heavily on his job as governor of texas and his economic record in texas, which you'll hear a lot from republicans on. basically, nearly half of all the jobs that have been created in this country in the last two years have been in texas. that is something that texans are very proud of. democrats will say, that's because of the business climate and energy sector down there. rick perry will say, no, that's because of his

jim acosta, thanks so much. really appreciate it there. >> reporter: you bet. >> and a lot of music going on behind you. thanks so much. >>> well, turning to another story, terrifying video from a killer storm. we'll show you just-released pictures of the tornado that leveled much of joplin, missouri, this past may. [ female announcer ] introducing purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins and purify pores. and with natural willowbark it contains no dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. dirt and toxins do a vanishing act and my skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser from the new line of neutrogena naturals. i don't even know anymore. [ tapping ] well, know this -- for a good deal on car insurance, progressive snapshot uses this to track my good driving habits. the better i drive, the more i save. it's crystal-clear savings and only progressive has it. nice. this has been a publ

jim acosta, part of tbest political team on television live from washington. what are people saying about the work that the house has been doing these days? i imagine not good things. >> no, martin, it's a good thing congress is about to go on its august recess because the public is pretty much dissolved with the job they're doing here in washington. there's a new cnn orc poll which we released at 10:00 a.m., it was conducted yesterday as an instant response to get the public's attitude about this debt ceiling deal. and i think there is one number that really sums up pretty much everybody's feelings on this subject. elected officials, how they dealt with the debt ceiling, responsible adults, 17% according to this poll spoiled children. a little bit of hyperbole, but perhaps appropriate for this subject. 77% according to our children. so americans are not feeling very good about what they just witnessed over the last few weeks. and who can blame them. it's been pretty nasty and even people inside the kacht ocapito both parties will agree to a certain extent, if

now we want to check in with jim acosta in mount vernon, virginia., can you tell us what the situation is there? >> caller: randi, we were at mount vernon early yaer today shooting a story. essentially, we started feeling the ground shake underneath our feet. my knees buckled, everybody around me had the same sensation, like oh, my goodness, i think this is an earthquake. we were actually rolling some video of the mansion at mount vernon as this earthquake was happening. we have video we're efforting to get on the air that shows some shaking of the mansion at mount vernon. you can see on top of the mansion, the bird on top that sits on top of it, it was actually shaking as well. the tourists came rushing out of the mansion as a precaution. the park asked everybody to come out of the house. obviously, a lot of tourists were very shaken up. we talked to a few of them. they were obviously very worried about what was going on. but there was no fear that anybody was in great danger. this was over in seconds. and from what we understand from talking to the

t.j. >> thanks to jim acosta.e coverage of rick perry's expected announcement that he is officially in the race. >>> 38 minutes past the hour now. i know you have been wondering. what does the world's oldest edible ham look like? would you believe reynolds wolf actually found it? yes, you can eat it. we are going on the road with reynolds. one trip. one tank of gas. just how far can he go? of yr mid s 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. yeah. 24 bucks later. that hurts. it's not like i really had a choice. snack on this. progressive's "name your price" tool showed me a range of coverages and i picked the one that worked for me. i saved hundreds. wow, that's dinner and a movie. [ dramatic soundtrack plays ] this picture stars you an

second time in history after coming from three goals down to switzerland six fall or in moscow jim acosta reports. russia has already standish itself as one of the world's big soccer powerhouses alongside giants like brazil spain and portugal to name just a few the euro league super final held in moscow for the first sign by the way proved once again that they seem is a force to be reckoned with come the world cup however the home team started the super final slow and that spoils it lightly the swiss side who are the euro league runners up in last year's tournament managed to upset the sold out improvised beach area three times by the end of the first period their star player and look what he must go striker day youngstown goodish scored a brace and his teammate borrero added the third the g.p. got it and i'm getting it was obvious that you weren't in top form in the opening minutes believe we could hold on to the goal and eventually conceded some pretty easy kills i think child care which we were by far will come from the second period only goldsmithing and achieve the result of the russ

jim acosta, thanks so much.will be interesting to see whether it's a religious event or ends up as a political event. we're going to check in with you. thanks so much. >>> reynolds wolf up next with another sizzling forecast. and later, educators with a lesson plan. thousands of teachers march on washington. we're going to tell you why. what's left behind? [ female announcer ] introducing purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins and purify pores. and with natural willowbark it contains no dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. dirt and toxins do a vanishing act and my skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser from the new line of neutrogena naturals. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist

jim acosta has the story. jim, this saturday in south carolina, rick perry is expected to make it official, although it might not be an afigures announcement throwing his hat in the ring. >> that's right. the texas government will throw his cowboy hat into the ring on saturday at the conference in south carolina. his speech expected to focus heavily on the texas economy, half of the jobs created in this country, in the last two years they were in texas. republicans are going to point to that as a success story. democrats say not so fast. most of those jobs are low wage jobs. democratic source told me earlier today, governor pair vee all hat and no cattle. but after the speech in south carolina, anderson, he heads off to new hampshire and he taped an interview with a tv station. he's making all of the moves of a candidate tonight. >> he's also headed to iowa this weekend but not taking part of the ames straw poll, is sne. >> that's right. this was designed to steal the show from the ames straw poll this weekend

jim acosta, thank you. i want to talk about something else that we're hearing from the president.ast yefd, we told but moammar gadhafi's family, poured hot water all over her as punishment. cnn has now tracked her down. we will take you to her bedside coming up. e to pick up helen. ah. mom? he's here. nice wheels. oh, thanks. keeps me young. hello there, handsome. your dinner's in the microwave, dear. ♪ where do you want to go? just drive. [ engine revs, tires screech ] mom? ♪ but afraid you can't afford it? well, look how much insurance many people can get through selectquote for less than a dollar a day. selectquote found, rich, 37, a $500,000 policy for under $18 a month. even though dave, 43, takes meds to control his blood pressure, selectquote got him a $500,000 policy for under $28 a month. ellen, 47, got a $250,000 policy for under $20 a month. all it takes is a phone call. your personal selectquote agent will answer all your questions ... and impartially shop the highly rated term life companies selectquote represents for your best rates. give your family the security it

jim acosta in houston.here are two more areas where e we can possibly save a few more billion dollars in the weeks and months. the iraqi government appear right now to be close to a new deal that will allow thousands of u.s. troops to remain in iraq after the end of year deadline when all u.s. forces are supposed to be gone. right now there are still about 45,000 american troops in iraq. if they do reach an agreement to maintain a military presence, long term in iraq beyond the deadline. make sure the iraqis pay for most of it, just as germany and south korea pick up a lot of the tab for much of the american military presence in their countries. if thousands of u.s. troops remane in the years to come, we're talking obviously about billions of dollars. iraq can now afford to help out. it's a major oif he can exporting country and is pocketing billions of dollars with the price per barrel so high now. american taxpayers already have spent hundreds of billions of dollars liberating iraq. the second source of p

jim acosta, cnn, houston, texas. >>> and for the latest political news you need to know, you know wheretics.com. >>> the international red cross is ramping up its emergency operations in south and central somalia, hundreds of thousands of people, desperately need food and water, ccnn's nima -- >> the humanitarian crisis is deeping and hue -- in their fight against hunger and starvation. the world food program through its local partners is supporting so-called wet feeding programs where the food is cooked and then distributed. the last time aid agencies rolled out a wet feeding campaign was in haiti. for those people who see queuing here, this is the only guaranteed meal that they have. and wet feeding is especially necessary in somalia. increasingly here, the hungry and vulnerable are being targeted for the little aid they're receiving. >> it was their suggestion to move my -- their foods should be cooked and everybody benefits, it's better that way, other than others taking away their food. >> reporter: but it's not just corruption that worries them. one woman who refused to speak on c

i want to go to jim acosta, he's standing by for us in south carolina, where perry made his announcement today. jim, did he kind of steal some of the thunder today? >> john, you know, you have heard a lot of folks say today that you're in the center of the political universe, but there were some republicans here in charleston, south carolina today who might say you were missing the lone star in that constellation, governor rick perry who announced he is running for president today and he gave a speech that is pure tea party, blaming mr. obama for the recent downgrade of the u.s. credit rating. take a listen. >> 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. for three years, president obama has been downgrading american jobs. he's been downgrading our position in the world. he's been downgrading our confidence and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children. >> reporter: so there you heard rick perry there, really going after the

our jim acosta ] is also there in charleston, south carolina. so this presidential candidate getting a rousing applause several times there in this convention hall, making promises that he is the right fit for america to be the next president of the united states, jim. >> reporter: yeah, fredricka, this was a rousing speech. and it was received well here at this red state conference. you might want to rename this conference the red meat conference because rick perry was throwing a lot of it out there today. and this room was eating it up. he went right after the president on a number of occasions talking about the recent u.s. downgrade of u.s. credit, saying it was just a long line of things being downgraded in this country, jobs, the economy and so on. he basically touched on just about every talking point that republicans like to hear. he said he would bring down president obama's health care law. he would work to balance the budget. he said he would try to bring tort reform to washington, something a lot of republican presidents have tried an

texas governor rick perry is running and jim acosta's got the story. he jones us now. this sunday in south carolina rick perry is expected to make it official and although may not be official throwing his name in the ring, not have a a republican source close to the perry campaign has confirmed to cnn that the texas governor will throw his cowboy hat into the ring, if you will excuse me me on saturday at red state conference in south carolina. his speech is expected to focus heavily on the texas economy, half of the jobs created in this country. the perry people will point out in the last two years, were in texas. republicans are going to point to that as a success story. democrats say, not so fast. most of those jobs are low-wage jobs. the democratic source told me earlier today. governor perry is all hat and no cattle but after the speech in south carolina, anderson, he heads off to new hampshire. he taped an interview with one of the tv stations up there today. so he's making all of the moves of a candidate tonight. >> he's also headed to iowa this weekend but he wa

texas governor rick perry is running and jim acosta's got the story. he jones us now. this saturday in south carolina rick perry is expected to make it official and although may not be official throwing his name in the ring, not have a republican source close to the perry campaign has confirmed to cnn that the texas governor will throw his cowboy hat into the ring, if you will excuse me me on saturday at red state conference in south carolina. his speech is expected to focus heavily on the texas economy, half of the jobs created in this country. the perry people will point out in the last two years, were in texas. republicans are going to point to that as a success story. democrats say, not so fast. most of those jobs are low-wage jobs. the democratic source told me earlier today. governor perry is all hat and no cattle but after the speech in south carolina, anderson, he heads off to new hampshire. he taped an interview with one of the tv stations up there today. so he's making all of the moves of a candidate tonight. >> he's also headed to iowa this weekend but he wa

jim acosta, thanks so much. >> you bet. >>> they took the stage last night. the show. michele bachmann and tim pawlenty. setting aside minnesota nice but verbally attacking each other, paul steinhauser live in des moines this morning. we learned why it's called the straw poll. you put the extra in and see which way the wind is blowing. did it give any more indication of the straw and its leaning in whose direction? >> reporter: they have a lot on the line at the straw poll tomorrow which is a big test. listen. since our debate, christine, two months ago, in new hampshire, which was the last presidential debate, michele bachmann has been on the polls, tim pawlenty, not so much. they've been sniping on the campaign trail. since then it blew up on the presidential stage. she may be in a way almost comparing him to barack obama. take a listen. >> she's done wonderful things in her life, absolutely wonderful things, but it's an undisputable fact that in congress her record of accomplishment and results is nonexistent. >> when you were governor in minnesota you imp

jim acosta is looking at the story for us.e is going to places that give a significant hint of what his intentions are. >> as you tweeted earlier, iowa, new hampshire and south carolina sums it up. he may not get the most votes this saturday, but rick perry might steal the show this weekend. >> a gop allows them to make their picks for period might get up staged by a texas two-step. rick perry is bypassing the poll and instead flying to south carolina and new hampshire. the kind of moves that point to a run for 2012. >> they are going to have to talk about here are the results of the iowa poll. here's the candidates. i think strategically it's a great move. >> president obama who leads an action committee when and has volunteers on the ground said the governor fills a texas-sized void. >> this is a field that we feel like there is something missing. >> to make up for the absence, perry has been calling activists who told cnn the signal is clear. >> it is very nice to get a chance to meet me and a lot of others and wanted to kn

in fact, jim acosta takes over our coverage right now in the "cnn newsroom." jim, take it away. >> thanks, guys, very much. good morning, everybody. it is almost here. hurricane irene is curving closer and closer to tens of millions of people. waves and wind already kicking up and the first rains will soak the southeast today. this is a big storm. hundreds of miles across and even from space, it is a monster. an astronaut on the international space station called the view "terrifying." >>> we have crews deployed up and down the east coast. reynolds wolf is in kill dils hill, north carolina and john zarrella is north of there. then candy crowley in long island and mary snow and jacqui jeras. reynolds, they are bracing for a direct hit, aren't they? >> they certainly are. one of the most troubling things about this err area is the how it's susceptible to the tropical systems. when you think about the outer banks of north carolina think about the water offshore. to our south we have a current we refer to as the gulf stream and works its way to the north. then a fe

captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> well, the tea party express is rolling eastward and our jim acostahis weekend. hey, jim. >> hey, kyra, that is right. the tea party is gearing up for the the presidential race next year. they have the tea party express bus tour crossing the countkunc. today they are in nebraska. but they are holding a different rally in iowa and it is an interesting billing, kyra. you have heard that sarah palin will be at the event in iowa this saturday, and a lot of people were wondering whether or not she'd announce her campaign for president, but she is sort of waiving everybody off of that, but something to note about this event on saturday, she has a pretty interesting warm-up act that is worth noting. christine o'donnell, you know, remember her? the former tea party-backed candidate for senate in delaware? well, she is going to be giving the speech setting up sarah palin's address to tea party activists out in iowa this weekend. so we are all going to be watching that one, and it is too good to pass up. and another tea party favorite, rick perry is doing quite

let's bring in cnn's jim acosta. he's watching all of this unfold. we know the economy will be issue number one. but national security will be a key debating point for the democratic and republican candidates. >> that's right. it's flareed up recently with libya and with the killing of osama bin laden. it's still important, wolf. like you said, with so much attention on the economy, foreign policy has taken a backseat on the campaign trail. but not today. >> it was something of a debate. president obama, mitt romney, and rick perry all sounding off on foreign policy, all revealing some of their battle plans for 2012. >> we can't lead the world by hoping that our enemies will hate us less. >> in a speech to the veterans of foreign wars, romney stook to his attack of the president playbook. >> have we ever had a president that was so eager to address with the down in the heart? >> romney delivered a jab on the weak economy that seemed aimed at rick perry. >> career politicians got us into this mess and they simply don't know how to get us out. >> takin

let's go to jim acosta quickly, as we are also watching the markets begin to close. jim, what are we talking about? >> brooke, we are talking about rick perry. cnn has just confirmed through a source with the perry campaign that the governor of texas will be announced on saturday that he is running for president he's going to be making the announcement at the red state.com speech. as you know, the redstate.com blog is influential blog for conservatives. the person behind that blog, eric erickson is a contributor here at cnn. a lot of people have been looking to this speech as some kind of indication to what the texas governor is going to do. earlier this week, we learned that he was going to make his intentions clear. now we understand that the governor of texas is going to throw his cowboy hat into the ring in this race for 2012, this very crowded field for 2012. you know, he did give an interview for our friend mark halperin over at "time" magazine earlier this week indicating some of this. some of that video is now on the timemagazine.com website, in which perry sa

. >> reporter: mitt romney on a milk carton and our political correspondent jim acosta explaining whyonal candidate. he's been late to the game in weighing in on this debt ceiling crisis. he put on a statement nine hours before the house passed a compromise deal saying that he didn't support it and so a blogger on the conservative website daily caller put a picture of a milk carton with romney's photo on it with a caption saying missing leadership. so the campaign, romney's campaign says he supports a more conservative report. the cut, cap, balance plan that passed the house but failed in the senate. but critics are saying romney hasn't really taken a clear position on increasing the debt ceiling. also on the ticker, a story coming kind of from the white house, the president is going to be taking his jobs m

i want to check in with jim acosta watching owl things on the political ticker.and rick perry leading in yet another poll. >> yeah. randi, it might be time to call him the front ruper in the gop field. one poll can say is an outlier of political speak. two polls, that's part of a trend. this new poll that just came out today shows that rick perry has a pretty sizable lead right now. take a look at this. i want to show you the numbers from this. it's interesting to see rick perry at 24%, mitt romney, who everybody was calling the front-runner until a few days ago, at 18%. sarah palin at 11% and she hasn't decided whether or not she's going to get into the race or hasn't said so publicly. this is shaping up as a two-man contest, if you look at this poland the cnn orc poll that came out earlier this week. it might be time to start calling rick perry the front-runner in this field. because of that, randi, it's no surprise to see romney tinker with his campaign strategy. he had been, up until this point, keeping the tea party at arm's length as he goes for the gop nom

jim acosta is joining us with more on this part of the story. they saying about the washington monument and this 5.8 earthquake, jim? >> wolf, right now the u.s. park police say the washington monument, the lincoln memorial and jefferson memorial are closed as a precaution because of safety concerns following this earthquake and speaking of the washington monument, here is something you don't see every day. this is video we shot in the last hour or so of u.s. park police investigators inside circling the top of the washington monument doing an inspection of the structural integrity of the monument, want to make sure there isn't anything wrong with it. the park police told us on the scene perhaps there might have been some damage to the washington monument, might have been falling mortar that came down after the earthquake occurred and couple of reports, wolf, the monument was leaning. at this point the park police say that doesn't appear to be the case but they're checking. >> i heard reports some people thought it was tilting a little bit. coul

jim acosta is following what's now seen as the top tier candidates. >> all of a sudden, the real race for the gop nomination is starting to come into focus. >> rick perry is feeling the love in iowa. it was a response to romney's feather soft jab at perry earlier in the day, when the former massachusetts governor and ceo suggested there's a difference between running a government and running a business. >> understanding how the economy works by working in the real economy is finally essential in the white house. and i hope people recognize that. >> perry lobbed one back. >> what i would say is go take a look at his record when he was governor and look at my record when i'm governor, then you've got some apples to apples. >> the race has been blown down to three front-runners. a top tier in the making. it's a fight romney doesn't want. the strategy up till now has been all about obama. the romney campaign e blasted out this image, mocking the trip as a magical misery tour. >> frankly, i think the american people would rather see him in washington working on getting this economy going a

jim acosta in washington, where do we begin? both headlines getting a lot of attention. >> it's no surprise, kyra, that as hurricane irene was making its way up the east coast that the political rhett roarke was getting close to category 5 status. consider what congresswoman michele bachmann said in a florida at a rally yesterday. she was joking about the natural disasters who have hit the nation's capital in the last week or so, including hurricane irene. here is what she had to say. >> washington, d.c., you would think by now they would get the message. an earthquake, a hurricane. are you listening? the american people have done everything they possibly can. now it's time for an act of god, and we're getting it. >> of course, irene hit other parts of the east coast, not just the nation's capital. so there might be some republicans scratching their heads this morning, wondering what congresswoman bachmann said. her defenders, of course, will say she was just kidding, talking about government spending in washington. someone who

thank you, jim acosta. we will see you back here bright and early tomorrow morning. over to suzanne malveaux. >> yes, thank you, kyra. we are going to look at the severe flooding there in new jersey, and we will speak to a couple of officials there on the ground and folks who are still trying to get out of the mess. thank you, kyra. live from studio 7, i'm suzanne malveaux and up to speed for august 30th, tuesday. here we go, again, the rivers in new jersey are bursting the banks overwhelmed by all of the rain that hurricane irene dumped on the state. the passaic river has been overrunning parts of paterson, new jersey, all morning long. emergency workers pulled some 1,500 people to safety after the passaic flooded homes. governor chris christie says that nine new jersey rivers have surged to record flood levels, but thankfully, they are receding now. he says only one, the passaic has not crested. the number of people killed now by irene and the aftermath rose to 38 today across 11 states. i want to get the latest on the emergency rescues in paterson, new jersey, whe

. >> jim acosta is attending governor rick perry's day of prayer event. to announce his presidential candidacy anytime soon? >> well, you know his aids have said all along that he is expected to make some kind of an announcement at the end of the summer. we don't expect him to make that announcement here tomorrow. he is supposed to speak at this event from one organizers tell us. was we're not sure what he's going to say, how he's going to say it. this event has generated a lot of controversy ever since rick perry called for this event, what they call the response. people say this is really tearing down the wall between church and state and part of that is because this is really a christian-only lineup of pastors that we're going to be hearing here tomorrow at reliant stadium in houston. but besides, you know, just the prayer that's going on here. they're also calling for fasting. and the reason why they say is the country is in crisis. if you go to the website for this event, the response usa.com, it says clearly they hope people will pray and fast at th

jim acosta is probably the best team on television live at the political desk in washington. the president finally got his deal. that could help in the polls. some are saying he lost a lot of political muscle in this trade off. what did he have to give up here? >> well, you talked to a lot of here? >> well, you talk to a lot of democrats on the hill today, drew, and they will tell you he gave up the store, gave away just about everything to get the deal done. what the president gains is they won't have to go through this in six months from now. there was some talk in the earlier proposals that there might be another debt ceiling vote that would have to take place in the fall or around christmastime, and that is now out of the deal and not part of the deal, and it gets the president beyond 2012, so he can focus on the re-election campaign. so that is something that they are probably pretty happy about. but, you know, i will tell you, drew, that if you talk to a lot of democrats on the hill today, they are pretty steamed at this president over the deal that he has cut, and that

financial future. [ bell dinging ] >>> and now for our cnn equals politics update, let's go to jim acostashington. good to see you. what do you have? >> well, brook, it's no surprise with the tea party folks being declared winners in the debt ceiling debate that nearly all of the gop contenders in 2012 are coming down against this deal. the politics of this is kind of interesting. because, you know, you have a lot of folks saying, well, the tea party won this battle and yet, you have some tea party members of congress planning to vote against this deal. you have some who are going to vote in favor of it. you have folks like mitt romney coming out strongly against this deal. saying it opens up the door to tax increases later on. newt gingrich said this might be a good deal if it doesn't end up raising taxes in the end, but he didn't really come down and say one way or the other. john huntsman is the one republican at this point who's supporting this deal. tim pawlenty is not. but john huntsman fave found a wedge issue to drive some of the contrast between himself and some of these other co

we asked jim acosta to take a closer look into the politics of this storm and all the other disasters that matter. what did you find out? >> this discussion is happening at an important time on this sixth anniversary of hurricane katrina, the debate over the federal government's role in disaster response is still raging and the tea party may be winning the argument. just as hurricane irene was slamming the east coast, the political rhetoric was approaching category 5 strength. gop presidential candidate breanna keilar joked the disaster was a sign from god that federal spending was out of control. >> washington, d.c., you think by now they'd get the message, an earthquake, a hurricane. are you listening? >> reporter: budget cutting fever could one day have an impact on how washington responds to disasters. ron paul would eliminate the federal emergency management agency, which he says bails out homeowners living in risky places. >> this idea that the world comes to an end if you don't have somebody at the federal level taking care of you, i mean it's a natural problem. its a wind, it'

jim acosta, part of the best political team on television, live from the political desk in washington word on rick perry. is he going to run? >> looks like he's going to run. it sounds a lot like george w. bush the way you set this up, suzanne. the texas governor is making some moves this week that are really leaving little doubt as to what his intentions are. he is not going to the ames straw poll on saturday which might say to a lot of people maybe he's not interested in running for president. no, no, hang on. perry has other plans. he's going to south carolina, which is going to hold the first in the south primary next year. he's going to palmetto state this weekend for a political event being staged by red state.com that is a pretty influential conservative blog and what has been said through various sources to cnn is that the texas governor expects -- is expected to make a pretty serious announcement this weekend in south carolina. if not officially throwing his hat into the ring, he may just leave no doubt that he's running for president this weekend at that event in south carol

acosta talking about those as we watch the live picture from the floor. and it's a bit -- it looks like -- is that biden -- i mean is that lieberman on the floor, jim?at is senator joe lieberman and i guess we tonigdon't know he'll vote, although it's expected he'll vote yes. so the votes aren't finalized, i suppose until they actually happen, but if you're wondering and if americans are wondering what their fellow americans are feeling about this process that they just witnessed this last couple of weeks, they are not it too happen. a new poll released this morning at 10:00 ach.m., it was conduct yesterday to get an instant response from americans on how they felt about this debt deal. and look at this number. this is incredible. how have elected officials dealt with the debt ceiling? 17% responsible adults, spoiled children, 77% of the people surveyed feel that elected members of congress and the president, as well, have acted like spoiled children. so not very good number there is. we also took a sampling or a look at how folks feel about the debt ceiling agreement overall. 44% approve, 52% disapprove. and there are some new approval numbers for