last week's republican convention. a mandatory evacuation in louisiana st. tammany's parish. north of new orleans. the evacuation covers 12 miles from the towns of push to himry. the evacuation orders is being issued because the river is expected to crest by monday more than 18 feet and could rise even higher. >> why is it -- >> syria's rebels, claiming a major prize in their fight for the country. the free sir yn army says it seized an air defense headquarters in the eastern part of the nation. rebels laid siege for 11 days before attacking. officers say the move was tactical to prevent airstrikes. an apology from the company that makes the thalidomide. it caused thousands of birth defects in the 1950s and 60s. the maker said he rejects the tragic side effects and admits his company has been silent in the 50 years since it was pulled off the market. the head of the survivor's group says an apology after all these years is not enough. >> into the air. floats it to the back of the end zone. caught. >> penn state football. first game of the new season today. first game sense the death of long time head coach joe paterno and they lost to ohio university. not ohio state. but ohio university. the once dominant penn state program was punished heavily by ncaa sanctions following jerry san dus can i's sex abuse conviction. one. world's great song writers passed away. hall david's song include "rain drops keep falling on my head" and "what the world needs now is love." 90-year-old died today in los angeles from complications after stroke. live pictures from sioux city, iowa. barack obama making a campaign stop in an important swing state. sioux city on the northwestern portion of the state. iowa, world famous for its caucuses but also important this time around for nine states that are considered toss-ups right new. we will have more a little bit later from shannon trent -- let's listen to what he has it say as he said good-bye. excellent timing. as soon as i stop talking, the president stopped talking. the president made his pitch to the middle class. all part of the lead-up to the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina. preparations are under way. and we will take you to charlotte next. if you made a list of countries from around the world... ...with the best math scores. ...the united states would be on that list. in 25th place. let's raise academic standards across the nation. let's get back to the head of the class. let's solve this. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number store's biggest sale of the year. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. never tried this before. this is your body there. you can see a little more pressure in the hips. take it up one notch. oh gosh, yes. when you're playing around with that remote, you get that moment where you go, "oh yeah" oh, yeah! ... and it's perfect. right now, every sleep number bed is on sale. queen mattresses now start at just $599. and for one week only, save an incredible 50% on our silver limited edition bed-but only through labor day and only while supplies last. once you experience it, there's no going back. wow. don't miss the biggest sale of the year on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. special offer ends labor day. only at one place: one of our 400 sleep number stores. the battle ground states trying to build momentum heading into the democratic national convention. shannon travis joins me now from charlotte north carolina. shannon, thanks for joining us. we heard a lot of talk going into the republican national convention about trying to humanize mitt romney. what's the major goal for the democrats this week? >> yeah, i mean, when you think about it, it almost highlights the mitt romney and a lot of people are introduced to him. not so much for obama. he's been the president for a number 6 years now. a lot of people know his biographies, his life story. so the plan according to democratic officials in this convention for the president is to make the case for reelection. we haven't seen any speeches, gary, obviously. but you can expect for democratic officials to file and basically play up what they see as economic growth that's happened under president obama, even given the sour economy. you expect for them -- we expect for them to play up the nation's healthcare law and say it is helping people, even though it is demonized by republican opponents. you can also expect them to play up the president's national security record. especially with the capture, with the killing of osama bin laden. so those are some of the things that you will see stressed throughout this entire week during the democratic convention as they make their case for reelection as the president, gary. >> shannon, the republican convention became a three day convention because of isaac. the democratic convention plans to be three days, tuesday, wednesday, thursday. but i assume as soon as it is over thursday, the president and vice president will hit the road. where are they going after the convention? >> it is all about momentum, right? not wasting time, getting right back on the campaign trail. the four of them, and by four, i mean president, vice president, and their wives, will head to new hampshire on friday. then they split up for the weekend, saturday and sunday. the president is going to florida. vice president biden is going to ohio. again, crucial battle ground states. two of them at each side wants to win badly, gary. >> you mention new hampshire, ohio, florida. i've count owned our cnn elector yl maps, there are nine states nine states that are battle ground elector yl state. these battle ground states are crucial, right? >> you might see them go on to the other 41 states to fund raise. but in terms of rallying and rallying the masses, just keep an eye on those battle ground states. if you live there, you've seen an inundags of campaign ads, campaign visits, whetherer is gates or themselves, they have to win those states to gain the presidency. >> we can't forget about fund-raising, shannon travis. shannon, stay with us. we will come back to you at the bottom of the hour. shannon travis from the cite site of the dnc, charlotte, florj carolina. dangers are lingering. a mandatory evacuation order has been announced in louisiana even though isaac is gone. a live update, next. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor. i'm committed to making a difference in people's lives, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. syou know, i've helped a lot off people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. (sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep? (sfx: loud thud sound) what a strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ♪ i can do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere ♪ i can go anywhere today ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announcer ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that doesn't taste gluten free. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. solutionism. the new optimism. we are tracking a mandatory evacuation order near louisiana's pearl river. people there are urged to leave right now. because a lock failure is believe end to imminent on the pearl river diversion canal. rivers are swollen from isaac's downpour. meteorologist karen mcbegin us is following the story. karen? >> yes, this is in imminent danger of failing. they are taking people out. this is this region right here. here is new orleans. you just have to go right across the lake. let's zoom in across there area. that diversion canal along the pearl river and they are saying that from lock two right around here, extending down to lock 1, in the vicinity of hickory, they are saying that lock 2 is in imminent danger of failing and for people to get out of that area immediately. this is because in some parts of louisiana, they have seen more than 20 inches of rain fall, thanks to what happened with hurricane isaac. right now, we are also staying on top of the some of the tornadic activity that seems to be erupting across the midwest. the central mississippi river valley and these red shaded areas, that's where we have tornado watches, lesser across central illinois. we get down towards missouri and kentucky, into paducah. we are looking at the possibility of tornadoes. even into memphis and northern section of arkansas. but most of these tornadoes, associated with the squaw lines, which ordinarily would have been feeder bands withler cane isaac, have spawned up a few reports of isolated tornadoes. there was some minor damage but no report of any injuryes. over the next several days, what we ever looking at and what we can count on, primarily east of the mississippi river valley and i emphasize that because to the west of mississippi they are in desperate need of moisture. farmers and growers there. now all we can expect it is moisture for the winter wheat crops. if you look across the ohio river valley, we are expecting between four to six possibly isolated areas of as much as six inches of rain fall as we go into the next 48 hours. this isn't strictly due it remnants of isaac. associated with the funnel system and remnants are isaac as it waves towards the east. temperatures in new orleans, it's 88. but take a look at what the heat index is showing us. we had seen the heat indices up around 100 to 105. right now, it feels like 99 degrees in new orleans. i just checked the number of people without power in new orleans. and they are saying right around 110,000. just in the new orleans. but throughout the entire state, roughly 380,000. most of them will be back in full-service as we go into monday. but perhaps some left over going into wednesday. so gary, not completely out of the woods. but isaac was just this pest that continues to affect a good portion of louisiana. with this evacuation now along the diversion canal. canal number 6 or lock number 2, i should say. but also into the ohio river valley where the rain fall could come down very heavy the next several days and the potential for tornadoes. >> a brutal and difficult labor day for many. karen, thank you very much. people are struggling with the aftereffects of isaac. people's precious belongs and their pets, and as you just heard a new evacuation order has people on the move again. george, thank you for joining us. what are you hearing about the mandatory evacuation a little north in st. tammany's parish? >> you know, gary, again we are talking about hundreds of homes that could be effected by this. as you heard a moment ago, between locks 1 an 2 on the pearl river, this river is above flood stage. right around 16 feet ppt river just above 18 feet from last we checked and expected to crest right around monday. so mandatory evacuation and officials are even using reverse 911 to reach people to make sure that they get out of the way. >> george, if we try it wait it pump it out, it'll take weeks if not months. by breeching the levy in strategic areas in low-lying areas, we will get the bulk of this water out in five to seven days, hopefully. some projections are 16 to 17 days. but we are going to breach it in many loeks to do the best job we can to get the east and west bank dry. >> gary, so i want to set that up, what you just heard there. we heard from the president of plaqueman's parish. he is talking about the situation just on the other side of the river. you can see the levy right over there. on the other side of the levy within gary, you find these neighborhoods that are under water. we are talking about the storm surge, up to 14 feet of water. that certainly was much more than the eight-foot high levees over there. so officials are taking time to pump out the water. they are doing that. but as you heard he is also doing controlled breeches along the levy there. i also want to speak with gina meyer. you live over there. you just came back. i want you to tell people kind of the situation over there what what you saw. >> the water is receding. the highest it got, 14 feet in my house, i'm six foot off the ground. about two, three feet in my house. everything's topsy-turvey upside down. majority of my sentimental things are still hanging on walls and are safe but any house is in bad shape. >> gina, i went over there and i saw so many homes in that situation. you went through katrina? >> digo through katrina. but we only got about three and half foot of water where we live. it did not get in my house. wind damage i have from katrina. >> you get this sense of resilience for people who have lived through this and began through this. i'm sure, many people ask, how do you start that process to start over. >> trust in god. rely on your family. and it is not just the people who are blood related to you. it is the people you have grown up with. all your life. and that's what gets you through something like this. gina, thank you. thank you for taking time with us. >> thank you. >> gary, i also want it bring attention to one other situation that i learned from the president of plaquemann's parish. he said there a plant on the other side of the river, a plant where there may be a leak of hazardous materials. shrieking into that. officials are paying very close attention to it. but what you see today, that process of trying to get as much water out of that area and trying to get people back to their homes, to see where they will have to start over. gary? >> george, seven years ago i was thereafter hurricane katrina. it was destroyed. and i wondered how are tle going to rebuild this place. they did successfully. now they are going through it again, those poor people. george, thank you for reporting their story. good seeing you? >> thank you. >> as we've been reporting, a mandatory evacuation under louisiana, part of st. tammany's pair parn lk failure is about to happen on the pearl river diversion canal. suzanne with the parish government, what is the latest on that evacuation order? >> we have received permission from the army corps of engineers to begin relieve efforts in an attempt to prevent the failure. we have opened some valves. we are beginning to relief some of the pressure and we are hopefully. however, the mandatory evacuation is still in place. we cannot -- we cannot determine total -- we continue determine we have yet been successful but we are taking steps to prevent it. >> my understanding is that pearl river is expected to crest monday. cot evacuation area get bigger between now and monday? >> we certainly hope not. we are actually talking, the pearl river diversion canal is a little bit to the west of the pearl and the west pearl rivers. so this is a man made canal with locks in it that was dug some years ago. and it is one of those locks that is beginning to stay open that is causing mandatory evacuation. at the same time, we have a watch on the pearl river and the west river river. the west pearl is supposed to crest sometime late sunday into monday at perhaps record heights. and so we are watching that entire area. so we are asking a much wider area to be watchful of the pearl and the west pearl. but at this moment, our specific concern is between locks 1 and 2 on the pearl river diversionnary canal. >> suzanne, can you explain to some of us land lovers, what a lock does? >> a lock allows a boat to glo go from different level fles a river or canal from one to the other. just as for instance, the most famous would be, of course, the panama canal where you enter and go through a system of locks, you connect water bodies that are of different levels. >> suzanne -- >> this allows for boat traffic or commercial traffic to go through there. at one time this was a commercial -- a commercial waterway. >> i didn't mean to put you on the spot, suzanne, but you explained that extraordinary well. i wish you all all of the resident of your parish good luck. >> thank you. >> the president of the united states spoke just a short time ago, and we will take a listen to what president is saying on his bus tour as he heads to the democratic national convention in charlotte. that's coming up next. >> you don't have to be in front after television to watch thn. can you do what i do, to stay connected, watch from a cell phone or compute are at your work. go to cnn.com/tv. this man is about to be the millionth customer. would you mind if i go ahead of you? 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[ male announcer ] treat yourself to the ultimate sleep experience and save up to $400 during the tempur ergo savings event. plus visit tempurpedic.com for full details on our 0% apr financing with up to five years to pay. don't wait. the tempur ergo savings event ends october 14th. and five-year special financing ends september 5th. visit tempurpedic.com now. tempur-pedic. the most highly recommended bed in america. i'm gary tuchman sitting in tonight for don lemon. it is 26 minutes precisely after the hour. let's get you up to speed. president obama making two stops in iowa today as part of his road to charlotte tour tour. pushing ahead to the democratic national convention which starts tuesday. he called the republican plan, quote, an agenda better suited for last century. unquote. we will have more from the event he just wrapped up in just a moment. anyone who hasn't left the southern part of louisiana st. tammany parish is being evacuated. officials warn a lock on the pearl river diversion ka flal could fail at any minute. evacuation covers about 12 miles from the tunes of bush to the town of hickory. the river is expected to crest early monday. taliban is claiming victory for a you too side bombing killing 13 in afghanistan today. one bomber attacked a joint u.s. military base on foot before another detonated a truck bomb. no service members were killed in the attack. penn state football off to a disappointing start to the first post joe paterno season. th new era for the lions. a team they haven't played since 1974, i'm told. either way, they did not expect a also today. they were hammered with ncaa sanctions after the jerry sandusky sex abuse scandal. the horror flick universe is all in atlanta for the festival of all things nerdy. it is called dragon con. shuffling down the street with super heroes like superman, through downtown atlanta. democrats won legal victory in ohio. one that could be pivotal in the race for the wlous. a new law restricting early voting on hold. saying that law could be unconstitutional. the law would have closed polls the weekend before election day. ohio is a key battle ground state and its electoral votes could be deice is any of november. president obama just finished speaking if sioux city iowa. part of its bush to the national democrat democratic convention on tuesday. he talked about the importance of taking care of america's veterans. >> you know what, it is up to you whether we go back to a healthcare system that lets insurance companies decide who to cover them, when to cover it, whether they can drop you from coverage whenever you need most or whether we keep moving forward with a law that is already cutting costs and covering more people and saving lives. they call it obama care. i like that name. because i do care. i care about all of the people that are being helped. all of the folks who are going to be helped. and maybe they want it run on their don't care plan. but because of this law, nearly 7 million young people are able to stay on their parents' plans. your grandparents are saving money on their medicine. women have gained access to preventive care like mammograms and contraception. we don't need to refight the battles of the last four years. we need to go forward. we need to go forward. [ applause ] now this november you get to decide the future of the war in afghanistan. governor romney had nothing to say about afghanistan last week. didn't mention it. didn't offer a plan in terms of how he might end the war or if he is not going to end it. he's got to let the american people know. because by the end of this month, we will have brought 33,000 of our troops home. when i ended the war in iraq, he said it was tragic. but you know what, i promised i was going to end that war and we did. i said, we would take out al qaeda and go after bin laden, and we did. i put forward a specific plan to bring our troops home from afghanistan by the end of 2014. we are in the process of doing that right now. and when i say i'm going to bring them home, you know they're going to come home. and as long as i am commander-in-chief, when they get home, they know that well serve our veterans as well as they served us because nobody who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads or descent healthcare when they come home. that's a promise we will keep. and issue after issue. governor romney and congressman ryan, they are going to take us backwards. you know, the story of america is going forward. that's what we do. we go forward. you will have the opportunity in two months. to choose a bath that will lead us to a better future. but i have to tell you over the next two months, the other side will spend more money than we have ever seen in our life times, and is basically the same thing they said a few nights ago. economy is doing bad, it's obama's fault. they won't tell you their plan because they know their plan won't work. go figure, the raising taxes on middle class families to pay for a tax cut for me and mr. romney is not going to ply too well. so what they are counting on, is that they can just feed enough negative information out there, you will get so discouraged, that at some point you will decide your vote doesn't matter. that you can't compete with the $10 million collection from wealthy donors. but you know what? i'm counting on something different. i'm counting on you. i need your lep. i need your lep sioux city. i need your help, iowa. first of all, if you're not already registered, i need you to register to vote. young people who are in the audience, you know who you are, you need to go to gottaregister upon the com. that is not got to, that is gottaregister.com. make sure you are registered to vote. then go to gottavote.com. that's not got to vote. that's gottavote to find out how to cast your ballot early. because here in iowa, you don't have to wait until november 6 to vote. you can start on september 27. so that's gotta register and gotta vote. the reason you gotta register and vote, is because we've got more work to do. >> barack obama speaking in sue sit sioux city iowa, an important battle ground state. he stop need a sport restaurant bar where lot of young fans were watching the university of iowa northern illinois football game and at one point people bauch watching the game started cursing when things weren't going well for iowa. and the president was there eating pizza while that was going down. but iowa won 18-17 so i guess the fans left the bar and restaurant happy. both presidential campaigns want to connect to you. a potential vote in their column. they even have apps for your smart phone but those apps may share more about you than you realize. that's next. want to try to crack it? yeah, that's the way to do it! now we need a little bit more... a little bit more vanilla? this is great! 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[ male announcer ] humana. now you're a real fisherman. my name is adam frucci and i'm the i love new technology,om. so when i heard that american express and twitter were teaming up, i was pretty interested. turns out you just sync your american express card securely to your twitter account, tweet specific hashtags, and you'll get offers on things you love. this totally changes the way i think about membership. saving money on the things you want. to me, that's the membership effect. nice boots! both romney and obama campaigns have programs available. they offer apps for users but what are users offering up in return under cnn's athena jones takes a look. >> reporter: on the campaign trail, smart phones and tablets are everywhere. now the obama and romney teams are taking this technology a step further. with apps that help supporters keep track of campaign activities and more. but the apps also raise privacy concerns. the romney campaign's app which allows users to sign in through facebook, can mine information from the user's friends from the site. the obama campaign app helps data to help volunteers canvas. we are here in a georgetown neighborhood of washington, d.c. there are blue flags at homes of registered democrats. we are going to see if we can talk to voters. does this concern you? the fact that this is available, someone could walk up to your door -- >> of course i'm concerned. sure. yeah. yeah. i'm very concerned. >> i mean, you did it this morning. you walked up to this door. you knew where i was and what it was all about. i had no idea. >> it is not just about maps. these apps can also get access to a lot of informing from those who download them. we asked privacy expert justin brookeman about this. >> contact friends telephone number perhaps. anything you do with your phone is designed to be exposed to applications you download. so whatever they think might be valuable as far as figuring out how to tailor a message to you. as far as who has the most money. you can't say no to. >> while romney campaign declined to comment. the obama campaign says this campaign continues to take great care of the information people share with us. in this instance all of the information comes from publicly available data and the campaign can take legal action against anyone misusing this public data. not everyone is worried. another georgetown resident we found using the obama campaign app called it harmless. >> 30 years ago if you worked for any party, any campaign, and you wanted to find out where the registered democrats in georgetown, you would go downtown, make a copy of everybody's registration and go through the it looking through street addresses. half a day's work. now 30 seconds. the bottom line is i don't feel that my privacy is threatened by this. >> aathena joan, cnn, washington. >> the first lady and her husband will speak before many thousands of people but recently the first lady answered questions one on one from cnn's viewers. that's coming up. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long. ntgomery and unitedhealthcare insurance company. abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. oh, yeah! wow. once you experience it, there's no going back. at our biggest sale of the year, every bed is on sale. queen mattresses now start at just $599. and save an incredible 50% on our silver limited edition bed. only through labor day, only at one of our 400 sleep number stores. first lady michelle obama wants you to stay fit and she's found wayes it keep herself in shape. she took questions from our reporters about her lets move initiative. >> hi, i'm first lady michelle obama and i'm here to answer your ireporter questions. >> hi mrs. obama. we are out for our evening walk. >> we were wondering, what's your favorite way of staying fit and ahealthy. >> i try it find things that i enjoy doing. i recommend that to everyone. find what is fun for you. for me, i work out everyday at the gym. but i try to get some cardio in. i try do weight, plyometrics but not everybody enjoys the gym. not everybody enjoys being on the treadmill. people don't have to make it complicated. turning on the radio and dancing is also fun. that's something i do with my girls. we dance around a lot. >> hi mrs. obama. my favorite healthy snack is gold fish. what is the president obama's favorite snack? >> the president, oh, one of his favorite snacks is quacamole and nacho chips. he has a -- he is has a weakness for those. if he is watching a game, he can eat a whole bowl of quacamole and nachos. that's one of his favorites snacks. but thanks for asking. and keep eating your vegetables. >> i'm shari from sri lanka. i wonder if your daughters have for lunch -- huge french fries and fried chicken. would you allow that for them or do they always have healthy foods? >> malia and sasha are like every kid in america. if they could eat burgers, fries, pie, ice cream everyday, they would. that stuff tastes really good. i would too, if i could. but what we try to practice and what i try to teach our girls is balance. but it takes a lot of determination, a lot of willpower. we have a very clear expectations in our house. and sometimes no has to mean no. >> i'm from north of iraq. my question is, how do you manage to be the first lady in the united states and a mother for children and wife for a husband, all at once. thanks. >> you know, it's balancing act. trying to be first lady, a mom, a wife. a daughter. but i don't think that my balancing is any different from anyone else's out there. but i think the key first and foremost is making sure that i'm healthy because i found that if i'm at my best shape, if i'm feeling good, if i'm in good spirits, then everything else i do from being first lady to being malia and sash whysasha's mom, i do it with a level of authenticity that works. >> what do you think is the best experience or best opportunity you've had since being first lady of the united states? >> oh, nicole, that's a really tough question. the best experience, opportunity that i've had. there have been so many. it is really hard it pick just one. we've gotten to travel, to go to parts of the world that i would have never dreamed to go to. one of the things i enjoy most is really just traveling around our country. going into communities and to schools and to churches. and really hearing from people and what's going on in their lives. i could go on. but i've got a great job. and i'm serving a great country. >> we want to give you a chance to ask a celebrity a question. we are looking for questions for actor lavor burton. a popular teen store, three managers are suing the store chain for racial bias. their story, next. and don't forget, everywhere you go, we go too. you can can watch cnn live on your computer while at work. or even on your smart phone. head to cnn.com/tv. ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere ♪ i can go anywhere today ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announcer ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that doesn't taste gluten free. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. solutionism. the new optimism. of the most highly recommended bed in america. the tempur-pedic ergo system. treat yourself to the ultimate sleep experience and save up to $400 during the tempur ergo savings event. plus visit tempurpedic.com for full details on our 0% apr financing with up to five years to pay. don't wait. the tempur ergo savings event ends october 14th. and five-year special financing ends september 5th. visit tempurpedic.com now. tempur-pedic. the most highly recommended bed in america. a trendy retail store called wet seal is facing a potential class action lawsuit. it comes after one of its store managers, who on paper, was one of its most successful, was fired. she claims because she was black. ♪ >> reporter: young, hip and trendy. this is the image of teen retailer wet seal. an image that nicole condell did not fit. at least that's what she says management made clear to her. >> being terminated because you're african american is totally different. >> reporter: fired, says cogdell, because she's black. she was a manager in springfield, pennsylvania. cogdell says she did so well at her job that the district manager promoted her to a new store. a higher-end mall, king of prussia. the vice president of the company came to inspected the store. that's when cogdell says she heard this. >> she literally looked to my district manager and said that's the store manager? i wanted someone with blond hair and blue eyes. >> reporter: four hours later, cogdell was fired. there have been cases like this against the fashion industry before. what makes this one so different is that lawyers say they can trace the discrimination to a vice president at wet seal with an e-mail. the e-mail was forwarded to cogdell. she says it's from the very same vice president who says she wanted a blond manager with blue eyes. the e-mail from the v.p. who has since left wet seal says, kwt needy versety. african american dominate. huge issue." >> when you read that, what did you think? >> i thought this is the essential smoking gun. >> reporter: the lawyer represents cogdell and two other former wet seal managers who say they were fired, denied pay raises and promotions as part of an unwritten but enforced corporate policy because black employees don't fit the brand image. the e-mail says this is a window into the ugly secret of retalt. >> people are constant about making judgments on their looks. i think they lose track of the fak that you may not make decisions based on race. >> reporter: they're asking california to declare this a class action lawsuit. wet seal would not speak to cnn on camera but released this statement. we do not discriminate on the basis of race or any other category. we are confident that when all the facts come out in this matter, the public will see that african americans are well represented. ♪ forget my number ♪ so call me baby >> reporter: cogdell, who no longer works in retail believes this, like much of fashion, is just an image. cnn los angeles. >> the woman in that piece who says she was fired for being black will join me for an interview at 10:00 eastern time. it was a warm moment, a quick smile. a wave to the crowd and, oh, yeah, some music. uh-oh, is there another artist unhappy that they're going political? a founding member of the temptations weighs in. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. so how much do we owe you? that'll be $973.42. ya know, your rates and fees aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans, you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive. because the last thing you want is to spend too much on your mortgage. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪ one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. a thing that helps you wbuy other things.hing. but plenty of companies do that. so we make something else. we help make life a little easier, more convenient, more rewarding, more entertaining. year after year. it's the reason why we don't have customers. we have members. american express. welcome in. a speech, a smooch and strings from a hit from the '60s. they're elements in anne romney's appearance this week at the republican national convention chl. the question is couldn't they add up to another artist's demand that politicians cease and day cyst. . >> it was too tempting to resist. >> this man will not fail. >> the temptation to follow up ann romney's speech with the temptations, first a kiss, then a hug, then another kiss. mitt romney and his "my girl." but how does this make the temptations feel? after all, performers always seem to be telling republicans ♪ we're not going to take it >> not to use their music. twisted sister's front man said to stop playing their song because there is almost nothing he stanlds for that i agree with. so will the temptations mind sharing their 1964 hit? >> well, my girl is the temptation's national anthem. >> otis william social security the only original member still with the group. >> it's like when we perform live and they first hear that boom, boom, boom. boom, boom, boom. ♪ ♪ i've got sunine >> uh-oh, williams is an obama supporter. he's not going to like the romneys using his girl. ♪ my girl ♪ >> kind of their music to smooch to. >> wow, that's a great song to smooch to. >> actually, williams says he appreciates the republicans using their music. >> a straight one, my girl can just transcend all kinds of borders, you know. >> the day after mitt romney read his girl off-stage. on the e that same stage, this guy asked his girl to marry him. bradly thompson, convention's production manager used the big screen to pop the question to laura bowman, production coordinator. >> i love you. i want to spend the rest of my life with you. >> an unconvinentional proposalt the convention. there is one temptation some republly cans should