committee. megyn: frank luntz, thank you very much. new developments at the courthouse in los angeles as we await the reading of the verdict in the manslaughter case of michael jackson s doctor. when you get verdicts it s a big deal in american society. what hold us together besides law and order. whether it s a casey anthony kind of case or scott peterson. these are moments about how our justice system works. whether we believe tonight or think it needs some polishing up or whether it s working. and we share in those together as americans for better or worse. it will happen today at 4:00 p.m. eastern right here. breaking news on some astonishing and awful allegations against one of the most respect figures in college football. child sex assault charges at penn state university next in kelly s court. what s better than gold ?
convention is more than a year away. the host city, charlotte, north carolina is preparing for the big event and building up the economy in the process. here is tom foreman. charlotte s hockey team is in the playoffs. the sign says the hottest game in the arena is the coming democratic convention. all over town, new places are opening. old ones are polishing up. from his office high above it all this is a stage unlike any other. the mayor hears opportunity knocking. it s a big move to go after it during a recession. you think it sends a signal? yes. they are saying charlotte is growing and getting ready to be bigger and better than it already is. they say the convention will draw 35,000 visitors spending $200 million on restaurants, hotels and attractions.
things. floods from the mississippi river are heading their way. mandatory evacuations are in parishes. they are from the spillway. four flood gates are open to divert the mississippi floodwaters from baton rouge and new orleans. ed is joining us there. ed is at the scene for me. are a lot of people panic stricken? i think a lot of people knew it was coming, quite frankly. we are in the town cross springs, which is downstream from the spillway opened up yesterday afternoon. really, what s happening here is there s a massive levee system following the river down to morgan city. what happens is hundreds of tributaries and creeks that pour into the river. a lot of those creeks will be backed up. that is the reason why this flooding is a concern. it s why officials have been issuing evacuation orders. in a number of the small communities this afternoon, you don t really you know people were expecting this. still very devastating for them. we have been in several communities w
as more political players like newt gingrich announce byes for office the spotlight on 2012 elections gets only hotter. charlotte, north carolina, feels the heat as it hosts the democratic national convention in september. tom foreman takes us there in our building up america special series. reporter: charlotte s hockey team is in the playoffs, but the sign overhead says what everyone knows, the hottest game in this arena is the coming democratic convention. all over town, new places are opening, old ones are polishing up, and from his office high above it all this is a stage unlike any other. reporter: mayor fox hears opportunity knocking. it s a pretty aggressive move to go after a convention in the middle of a recession. reporter: you think that sends a signal to all businesses? they re saying charlotte s growing, charlotte s ready to be bigger and better than it already is. reporter: they say the convention will draw 35,000 viz
here will benefit no matter their political persuasion. charlotte s hockey team is in the playoffs but the sign overhead says what everyone knows the hottest game in this arena is the coming democratic convention. all over town new places are opening, old ones are polishing up, and from his office high above it all this is a stage unlike any other one. reporter: mayor anthony fox hears opportunity knocking. it is a pretty aggressive move to go after a convention in the middle of a recession. you think that sends a signal to all sorts of businesses. they re saying charlotte s growing, charlotte s progressing, charlotte s getting ready to even be bigger and better than it already is. reporter: they say the convention will draw 35,000 visitors who will spend up to $200 million on restaurants, hotels and attractions. but local leaders believe the real value goes far beyond that, beyond politics. part of what we re going to be able to show is not only how well we do in t