we are at tidwell and beltway 8. you see people in the dead of night, the darkness, walking out of the water. i hope you can see that down there. but there are entire families and groups of people who live in the neighborhood just down the road here, just down tidwell who are walking through the water. they have just been rescued by boat. a lot of them have been cheering and celebrating as they came out of that area. it's just great to see. >> yesterday an a.p. photographer snap third down photo of a towel being held over a 4-day old daughter as they were rescued by boat by members of the louisiana wildlife and fisheries department. and the houston fire department. the city's mayor says more than 3,000 people have been rescued. a helicopter is still the best way to lift people from danger. this is released from customs border protection. the immigrant community has been

this is near an overpass at the beltway in tidwell in northeast houston. you can see just dozens of rescues before our eyes taking place. there are people in need and people carrying trash bags right there, filled with whatever they could get from their homes and their cars, that they could have been escaping, as well. so many people trapped in their cars. one thing you'll hear again and again from officials is do not try to drive in this situation, in this mess. there was an 18 wheeler submerged past their wheels. that couldn't get through. so believe me, your sedan isn't going to make it through that either. so much to look at right here. so much need across that state. if we can, i want to go to cnn's brian todd, who has been out all day. give us a sense of what you saw today and what difficulties are facing the rescue teams. >> reporter: right, john. we just a short time ago returned from some of those scenes from that neighborhood you're looking at in northeast houston. we were in lakewood, a very poor neighborhood, a lot of one-story homes that were

taking a look at tidwell road. one of the main staging grounds for that recovery effort.his is a northeast region of houston, and a part where the cajun navy has been using it as a main artery. but water everywhere. take a look at, you see the gas station pumps almost completely submerged in water. >> and it's that image that you see on the right that has been on so many newspapers. it is one of those that has really d really defined this disaster beyond the folks in the nursing home. and then there's a shark shot. no, mockingbird lane, actually in the west part of houston. take a look there, all right, >> that's a residential neighborhood. they're trying to guide people. because the streets are not >>> breaking news this morning on "world news now." the death toll is rising in texas. >> rain is tapering off, but the floodwaters remain at historic levels across houston and many parts of texas. more residents, though, pulled to safety. many people still stranded on roadways as reservoirs keep spilling over into neighborhoods. first responders and volunteers banding togethe

. >> around 18-year-old wyatt tidwell, he's at the gym, his buddies are lifting him up. he's about to grab that bar and pull himful right up. >> three, four, five. >> knock out a half dozen, a dozen. >> most of us can barely do half of one. >> how many do you do? >> about 6. and i'm exhausted. >> he's kicking some booty. >> back in october of 2016, wyatt suffered a motorcycling accident that left him injured, punctured lung, broken bones, also, a broken vertebrae. doctors told him he wouldn't be able to walk again, which is why this next video is incredibly impressive as well. >> i mean, it's the literal example, this recovery is going to go one step at a time. >> we have wyatt via skype right this minute, welcome to the show. >> tell us what happened? >> i bought an older motorcycle. and i was fixing it up, and it malfunctioned, and i couldn't slow the bike down. so i was ejected at 84 miles an hour, broke my femur, messed up the nerves in my neck, broke my back, i don't know. there was lots and lots of injuries. but miraculously, i'm still here. >> other people who mig

so they got the woman first and we walked from hidden meadows all the way to tidwell and from tidwellguard, 7:30. we're done. so what happens is somebody came and told us that the middle school got broken into. king middle school. we got there the second floor because the first floor was flooded. we got there and they said that they sent a truck or something that they sent a truck. and so when we got to the store, the boats were just coming. we didn't know. we were going to wait till 5:00 in the morning. so we were like let's go. they took us again, priority. three kids and pregnant. i've got my 3-year-old over there. >> we're glad to see you and your whole family are okay. it's so good to hear you got out. >> we're hoping they're boating everybody in. >> right now, we can see the boats and these big rigs. they're doing the best they can. glad you made it out of there. i know it was a long day for you. that's what the scene looks like right now in the city of houston. >> paul vercammen, thank you very much. one story among many. we've been hearing so many over the last few days coming

tidwell ofh chief the four service frequently in washington to make sure they are privatized -- prioritizing arizona. the four fry initiative. we've had some problems with the primary contractor but we are working through that. we will dothis year, as much as 50,000 rake -- 50,000 acres. if we can continue at that pace, we will make some progress. >> we appreciate your support on that issue. let's talk about tax reform. it takes a lot of leadership and commitment to get a piece of legislation that make through in an environment like today. can you talk about your direction her? sen. flake: we have got to lower our rate if we want to be competitive globally. if we want to be competitive globally, we have got to have a lower tax rate. that is priority one. every proposal we have seen has lowered the corporate rate. i am pleased that the houses abandoning its efforts on the border adjustment tax. i think anything that is maxing out a tariff is not good in this environment. we should not be putting up new barriers to trade. we are moving away from that. that is a good thing. i know secretary mnu

here's 18-year-old wyatt tidwell. he's at the gym. his buddies are lifting him up. he is about to grab that bar. and pull himself right up. >> nice. >> come on. knock out a half dozen. knock out a dozen. >> most of us can barely do half of one. >> how many do you do? >> about six and i'm exhausted. >> yeah, well, he is kicking some pullup booty. now, back in october of 2016, wyatt suffered a motorcycling accident that left him injured, punctured lung, broken bone, also a broken vertebrae. doctors told him he wouldn't be able to walk again. which is why this next video is incredibly impressive again. >> good. >> i mean, it's a literal example of this recovery is going to go one step at a time. you see right there. there's the first one. let's keep going. >> to tell us more about what he's up to, we have wyatt via skype "right this minute." welcome to the show. >> hey, everybody. >> wow. so tell us what happened. >> i bought an older motorcycle and i was fixing it up and it malfunctioned and i couldn't slow the bike down. so i was ejected at 84 miles ans hour, broke m

as chief tidwell shared forest service scientists believe that climate change is one of the major factors in seasonsthe longer fire that we're seeing with wildfires and morelarger intense. fire seasons are now on average nearly 80 days longer than they were in 1970. wildfires burn twice as many in 1980day as they did first in 1970. disagree the panelist with the forest service scientist that climate change is driving longer and more intense fire seasons? anybody disagree? panelists disagree that we are seeing significant with fightinged fires? despite this administration attempt to deny climate science and muzzle experts we're seeing the impacts of climate change. we're seeing longer and more intense fire seasons. to our ecosystems and to our is driving upies costs. federal government will continue not takerse if we do the action. these increases in fire fighting costs are less funding for other programs. fire borrowing. has 39% fewer staff in nonfire positions today than it did less than 20 years ago. seriously impacting forest management in minnesota and elsewhere. impacting work to thr

we're still trying to rescue people off tidwell and beltway eight. i'm trying to make sure our first responders, our coast guard and texas national guard get out to those areas. we are standing strong. we don't want to open them unless we have everything we need, food, cots, medical care. if we get through thursday, we can begin long journey of recovery and that's where the president ske congress comes in. we need not one divide. not one moment of sunlight between our focus on get the dollars here so that people can go on with their life. >> do you have a sense of what kind of scope the people are looking at in terms of the level of destruction? >> we know about a vast number of people and struck trurs underwater. it might be a large assessment of what has happened to those businesses, for example. that's the property aspect. we know city hall is underwater and having to be repaired. and we know the housing stock, from low income to high income housing have been impacted. so we're in the business, the city is 2.3 million. sandy was a request of $70 b

this committee, as chief tidwell shared, forest service scientists believe that climate change is one of the major factors in driving the longer fire seasons that we're seeing with wildfires that are larger and more intense. fire seasons are now on average nearly 80 days longer than they were in 1970. wildfires burn twice as many acres today as they did in 1980 first in 1970. do any of the panelist disagree with the forest service scientist that climate change is driving longer and more intense fire seasons? anybody disagree? ok. do any of the panelists disagree that we are seeing significant costs associated with fighting these fires? despite this administration's attempt to deny climate science and muscle experts, we are already seeing the impacts of climate change. we're seeing longer and more intense seasons that have real consequences to the ecosystems and rural communities, and driving up costs will continue to get worse if we do not take decisive action. these increases in fire fighting costs are less funding for other important programs. fire borrowing. forest service has 39%

entire families and groups of people who live in the neighborhood just down the road here just down tidwell walking through the water. they have just been res dcued b boat. a lot of them celebrating as they came out of the area. it's great to see. >> the flood waters are rising across south texas. rescue efforts have been nonstop as rain devastates the hard hit area around houston snchblt>>> the nation's fourth largest city has become paralyzed. now there's a political fight looming over the cost of recovery. >>> good morning. it's tuesday, august 29th. another day and more rainfall is on >>> today the president is set to visit texas, expected to stop in austin and corpus christi. the water is rising. in some areas it came from dams to prevent catastrophic breaches. last night dozens more people were rescued by boats and vehicles with giant lifts in the dark of night. this single spot, dozens of people brought to safety, carrying whatever they could. for the moment the death toll stands at three, but unfortunately, that is expected to rise. family members say a minimum -- a minivan carrying

we meet with chief tidwell frequently in washington to make sure they are prioritizing arizona. we've had some good results. about 500,000 acres ready to go. we have had some problems with the contractor but we are working through that. hopefully this year we will do as much as 50,000 acres and if we can continue at that pace, we will actually make some progress. >> we appreciate your support on that issue. let's talk about tax reform. of leadership and commitment to get a piece of legislation that make through in an environment like today. can you talk about your direction her? sen. flake: we have got to lower our rate if we want to be competitive globally. if we want to be competitive globally, we have got to have a lower tax rate. that is priority one. every proposal we have seen has lowered the corporate rate. i am pleased that the houses abandoning its efforts on the border adjustment tax. that is maxingg out a tariff is not good in this environment. we should not be putting up new barriers to trade. we are moving away from that. good thing. i know secretary mnuchin has sen

we meet with general chief tidwell frequently back in washington to make sure they are prioritizing arizona. we've had some good results. we have had an initiative for the four forest there. -- 500,000ut 50 acres ready to go. we have had some problems with the contractor, but we are working through that. your share we will do as much as 50,000 acres and if we can continue to work at that pace, we will actually make some progress on that. your supporteciate on that issue. let's talk about tax reform. a big topic for the republican party this year. leadership andof commitment to get a piece of legislation like that through in an environment like today. can you talk about your direction here? flake: that is a biggie. we have got to lower our rate if we want to be competitive globally. we are about the highest in the world. right. a priority every proposal will see does lower the corporate rate. i am pleased that the house has kind of abandoned its efforts on the border adjustment tax. i think anything that is maxing out a tariff is not good in this and vermin. we've got to be competitive. we c

then we started hitting beltway 8 at tidwell. there's hundreds and hundreds of people that need help. we are restocking fuel and supplies and heading back out now. >> you think there are hundreds and hundreds of people in one area that need help. do you feel everyone is being reached? >> caller: probably not. there's -- we just scratched the surface on that area last night. we went to one house, the last house we got had 13 people in it, eight adults, a bunch of kids z. one of the kids was 3 days old. the mom had a c-section and stuff. that's just one house in that cul-de-sac. i had to tell everybody else, at midnight, we had to pull out. we hadn't slept in three days. the water was raining so hard, we couldn't bail them out fast enough. it was rough, you know? >> it is a big risk you are taking to do this. what's been the response of people when you show up, i want to say to their doors, but chances are, maybe to their roofs to get them out. >> caller: most everybody is happy. a lot of them are real happy to see us. real despera

, entire families and groups of people live in the neighborhood just down the road here just down tidwell who are walking through the water. they have just been rescued by boat. >> entire towns are under threat. the rush to beat the water. >> it's bad. it's really bad. >> and the president now on board air force one. it's just started to move bound for texas. he's promising swift action to help the state recover. >> the people are handling it amazingly well and the people of texas have persevered. >> we begin with tropical storm harvey gathering strength in the gulf poised to make a third landfall as floodwaters keep rising in houston and emergency teams work frantically to rescue rez tesidents still trapped in r homes. president and the first lady on board air force one en route to texas where they'll make stops in corpus christi and austin. but take a look at this. the purple dots you see on the map from noaa and the usgs all though the major flood areas. look at houston. you can see that concentration being particularly hard hit. here's what we know at this hour. areas just north of ho

we meet with chief tidwell of the forest service frequently in washington to make sure they are prioritizing arizona. we've had some good results. we have about 500,000 acres ready to go. we have had some problems with the primary contractor, but we are working through that. hopefully this year we will do as much as 50,000 acres and if we can continue at that pace, we will actually make some progress. >> we appreciate your support on that very important issue. let's switch gears and talk about tax reform. that was a big agenda item for the republican party this year. it takes a lot of leadership and commitment to get a piece of legislation that big through in an environment like today. can you talk about your direction? sen. flake: we have got to lower our corporate rate if we want to be competitive globally. we talked about the importance of trade. if we want to be competitive globally, we have got to have a lower corporate tax rate. where the highest in the world. that is priority one. every proposal we have seen has lowered the corporate rate. i am pleased that the house is abandoning its

coming out of here and overnight in the northeast part of town, that was near the beltway 8 and t tidwell was incredible to see good samaritans bringing in their private boats and helping each other. it's a sight to see how this city has come together. the fourth largest city to help each other and the national guard has been -- has been a part of it, so has the coast guard and other local agencies, it really is amazing. i'm trying to get a better look at the side of the boats but they appear to be -- go ahead, hallie. >> you're right, there is a line of people -- they are coming from somewhere in these boats and i'm curious what they have with them. one, two, three, four boats packed with people. looks like an entire family will. there. you can see two little kids sitting with their parents in floaties, wearing rubber floaties like in a pool. >> reporter: we see that over and over again, even children using anything they can to stay afloat. for many of these families it's a desperate situation they've never been in before. and you know, you don't realize how serious this can get in you s