prepared and national guard members are already in place and ready for action and along the jersey shore from cape may to ocean city, businesses are already boarding up and sandbagging getting ready for what sandy just might bring. so, further south now, north carolina, also gearing up for sa sandy. a total of 40 counties are under a state of emergency. george howell joins us from kill devil hills. sandy is quite a few miles offshore. we mentioned it's about 355 miles offshore from charleston, south carolina, but making it to your way. we can see the surface kicked up and lots of wind. what kind of preparations are under way there, george? >> fredricka, we are definitely feeling the winds pick up here. we're watching people as they, you know, prepare for whatever the storm has to bring. people are, you know, some people have decided to ride this storm out. a lot of people we've seen here. so the storm is slowly but surely moving this way and we're getting these off and on rain showers, not the heavy stuff yet. that's yet to come. but the situation out here definitely deteriorating hour by hour. now this area here along the outer banks remains under a flash flood watch and a tropical storm warning. and we know that at least 40 counties here on the eastern side of north carolina have all declared states of emergency and you mentioned this, some 61,000 national guard troops are scattered here along the coast from this area northward, just to be ready as the storm moves in, fredricka. >> and so obviously there are always going to be a handful of folks who say ride out the storm as you mentioned. but while they're doing that, have they, you know, boarded up their homes, tied things down, have they let authorities know they are remaining in their residences just in case they do need help? >> you know, that's the interesting thing about this area. keep in mind, that there are some people who have homes here but don't live here, so it was interesting to drive into this area and see that a lot of the homes have not been boarded up and also you find people at hotels, people also in their homes who have decided to ride this storm out. they're paying very close attention to the radar. this storm looks to be very different than irene a year ago. irene was more of a direct hit in this area. this storm looks to be bringing just more rain, the winds, so people are paying a close eye on what happens with that. >> all right. thanks so much. keep us posted throughout the day. you saw the map there of the expected track. again it's not far off the coast of charleston, south carolina. going to make its way past the north carolina coast. let's check in with meteorologist alexandria steele. when we talk about 300 miles off the coast we can see it's enough to kick up the surf but those low-lying areas like a beautiful city like charleston, they don't have to worry about too much, do they? >> right. well you know, you talk about this. we are seeing a hurricane for sure. of course and we're going to see it along the coast like we normally would. we have our reporters along the coast like we do. but what makes this tropical storm so anom mow his, a, it's the hurricane now, so we have all that moisture, but it's also really going to morph into this powerful hybrid of a storm. the tropical nature is just half of the piece. the other piece is an area of low pressure kind of more like a nor'easter in the winter. so with this, we'll see maybe ten inches of rain through the outer banks of north carolina. but on the backside, the cold side, how about 10 to 20 inches of snow potentially because of the real energy from the area of low pressure. so really it's a powerful hybrid. here we are still now a hurricane here. you can see where it is. right now the center of circulation off the florida coast from florida to upstate new york will be impacted by this. so instead of this hurricane moving like it normally would, getting picked up by the jet stream pushing east, we have a rex block. what that means meteorologically all you need to know it's going westward instead of eastward. with that about monday, maybe evening into the night time, we'll see the center of circulation come ashore somewhere between new york and washington. four to eight foot storm surge potentially in that area. that's really one of the first hazards we'll see with this. then upstate new york, western new york, this area of low pressure sits and spin and doesn't move as fast as it's moving now. the potential for maybe a foot of rain if it sits there. an inch an hour for a day, day and a half so that's where perilous situations come in with the inland flooding. the first bands of the rain coming here into the southeast. we can see that. and, of course, we're going to watch this model guide take this hurricane, again bring it onshore, fredricka. monday and then you can see the snow on the backside. we're talking about a hurricane with snow because this is not just purely a tropical feature. it really will be a hybrid and a powerful one at that and, of course, the power outages and travel delays are another story. >> wow. thanks so much alexandria. keep us posted throughout the day. there are continuing to be national weather updates throughout the day to give us an idea of the status of sandy. thanks so much. >> sure. >> meantime that political storm called the race to the white house, that is here and now. and it all comes to a head. ten days from now. election day. mitt romney and the president are campaigning at opposite ends of the east coast right now. romney is hitting several cities in florida, including pensacola this hour. and later today, in kissimmee. and the land o lakes area. president obama will be in nashua, new hampshire, this afternoon. singer james taylor will be making an appearance on behalf of the president in new hampshire. both campaigns had to scrub some of their events scheduled because of hurricane sandy. paul steinhauser is live in pensacola, florida, where mitt romney is holding a rally later on this hour. just how much of an impact has this hurricane had on the travel plans of the president and candidate romney? >> it's definitely having an impact, fred, no doubt about it. today's reallies in florida are on for mitt romney but he's canceled one tomorrow in virginia beach, virginia. the same thing, jn, the vice president had a rally today planned for virginia beach that's been called. into the weekend and next week you may see more of these events canceled in the battleground state because of the storm. i've talked to campaign officials both in boston with the romney hq and in chicago with the obama hq. they say they're monitoring the situation, have contingency plans but the safety of the people in the storm's way comes before politics. one other thing fair to say, if this storm does hit and it is devastating, it could be part of the campaign. >> a live event about to be under way. we'll check back with you later on appreciate that paul. >> while mitt romney's quest for the white house, has been documented, ann romney's journey has been fascinating in its own right. in a series of interviews with gloria borger you get a glimpse of her role in this campaign. the journey of ann romney, cnn saturday night, 7:30 eastern time. we continue to watch hurricane sandy. flooding is a major concern for the east coast. we'll tell you what measures are being taken to prepare. and the youngest son of the late robert kennedy is accused of child endangerment and harassment. his case is now in a judge's hands. our legal guys will be weighing in. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. 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[ male announcer ] because enbrel®, etanercept, suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel. all right. live pictures of norfolk, virginia. placid right now as hurricane sandy is still quite a few hundred miles away. much further south, but there in the town of norfolk and along the virginia coast they're bracing for what it might bring. it's expected, sandy could bring a lot of flooding along the coast. let's go now to athena jones in alexandria, virginia. you know with flooding a big concern there, what kind of measures can be taken especially from your vantage point just outside washington, d.c., area? >> hi, fred. that's right. we're here in old towne, just across the potomac river from washington, d.c. we've heard a lot about estimates of $3 billion or more damage from this storm but that's just wind damage, not even counting the flooding. of course old towne is an area that floods very, very easily. let's take a look over here. these are some flood lines, nine feet, ten feet, 11 feet showing how high the water can go here. people are taking it very, very seriously. we've spoken to some police officers around here that told us in 2003 with hurricane isabel, this street flooded all the way up there past another block or so. you can see here all of the businesses that would be affected if the water does continue to rise as is expected. we know it could be as much as a foot of rain that could get here. i want to show you what this business is doing. it's a thai restaurant. they've stocked up on sandbags. they're getting ready. they're used to this sort of thing. this is if they end up getting the 4 to 8 to 12 inches of rain they could get over a 48-hour period and we've been told by the governor of virginia in one of his preparation calls, fred? >> people are kind of going about their business, looks sunny and gor guess, enjoying the cafes. but there are other concerns, today was to be the first big day of early voting in this state of maryland. my mom among them who can't wait to vote early. what's the concern about what this weather might do, particularly for that whole early voting or what kind of preparations are being made in nearby maryland? >> well, certainly here in virginia and in maryland, the early voting is happening. we've passed a station here, not really long lines as you might expect but there is some concern people who planned to vote early are going to have to shift those plans. i can tell you that in maryland and places like annapolis, they're handing out sand bags to people. folks in baltimore on the harbor have started trying to secure some of their boats. people we've talked to here at least, they say they're stocking up on batteries, on sandbags and flashlights and candles and the light. they're hoping for the best. >> all right. very good. keep me posted. it looks load good for now. let's hope it stays that way. we know sandy could stir up trouble. thankses so much athena in beautiful oldtown, virginia. downward facing dog is not sitting well with some parents in southern california. they don't like yoga being taught in schools and they're threatening to sue. we'll see how the legal guys bend on this one. ♪ this is the car that loves to have fun ♪ ♪ it's got something for everyone ♪ ♪ the car of the future many have said ♪ ♪ 'cause at the pump it's miles ahead ♪ ♪ let's hum, hum, hum, hum ♪ let's hum ♪ a prius for everyone ♪ the perfect match, electric and gas ♪ ♪ mile after mile its tank could last ♪ ♪ we made three more for all to use ♪ ♪ big, small, and plug in, it's yours to choose ♪ ♪ and let's hum, hum, hum, hum, let's hum ♪ ♪ a prius for everyone all right. a group of parents in california have their own warrior stance on free yoga classes being taught in their school district saying yoga is a form of religious indoctrination. the parents are considering legal action now. let's bring in our legal guys ave ri freeman a law professor joining us from cleveland. good to see you. >> hi, fredricka. >> and richard herman a new york criminal defense attorney and law professor from miami, good to see you as well. >> hi, fred. >> avery, you first. the parents say this is unconstitutional and its attorney sent a letter to the superintendent saying stop the yoga or we're suing. do they have grounds for this? >> well, they're saying essentially that yoga is a form of, as they're saying it, hindu prose la tizing. these are evangelical hindus. no science about the workout, no science about breathing. they're just saying it's anti-christian. let me tell you something in my opinion it is a constitutionally unhinged argument. there is no basis. you know what, i spent time in federal court getting restraining orders under the first amendment. let them take it into federal court. the federal judge is not going to grant a restraining order. it is not anti-christian, it is not prose la tizing. it is absolutely proper for these 5500 kids to be exposed to this physical workout. >> richard, why now after three years and like a half million dollar grant to keep this program going? >> yeah. i respectfully disagree with my dear friend, avery, on this one. whenever you're using public funds in public schools, you cannot, you cannot force children to take any sort of religious activity. and be in this particular case -- >> isn't that -- is this a religious activity or is this exercise? >> the allegation. >> thank you. that's the point. >> in the course of the exercising, what they are teaching is eastern hinduism. the poses are out of respect to hindu deyaedies and they claim they're indoctrinating the students with this type of education. if that's the case, fred, this program is going to be discontinued ands the federal court will take it and there is -- >> it's not going to happen. >> there is a viable claim if that's the case. i don't know what's going on in the classrooms. >> nothing. nothing. not going to happen. >> there is a statement coming from the union school district in ense nita, tim barrett saying this -- it's as if he was listening to you. >> that's the point. >> even if they don't say nam ma stay or not using some of the trigger words that really are talking about the poses, at least that's the interpretation of a lot of yogis that it's -- >> that's right. >> it's communicating what the poses are, not necessarily, you know, the hindu religion. are you saying on those grounds it would be okay then? >> if they strip away that and if that's an accurate statement which we heard, then the exercise will continue and there is no lawsuit. i agree on that point. >> it's based -- >> the allegation is -- it's a little more than nam ma stay. it's a little more than that. >> okay. no. it's -- believe me, if the guy is for real, let them file the federal lawsuit. not going to happen. he's going to lose. >> we'll see. >> until then they get to continue on. let's talk about another case, this one involving a famous family name, the kennedy name. douglas kennedy, tenth of 11 children of robert kennedy. he's being charged with child endangerment. the trial is under way. he was in a hospital, he wanted to remove his day's old baby from the hospital and the nurses allege that he got violent with them. he actually removed the bracelet, the security bracelet from the child and said he wanted to get some fresh air. richard, you first. this is in your backyard there in new york. what is really at the root here? is it an issue of he was trying to do something that most parents are not allowed to do, remove your child for a little fresh air outside? or -- >> fresh air? >> was he, indeed, bullying or harassing the nurses there? >> he's charged with child endangerment and harassment. we have to get the dictionary tout look up insanity because it appears this particular insane kennedy decided to remove his newborn from the maternity wing and take the child outside and have a chat at 7:30 at night without going through any protocols. this is insane. and this day and age, where children are being stolen from maternity wards, we're forced to put electronic bracelets on babies for fear they get mixed up or stolen, it's ridiculous. this is really insane, fred. this guy -- >> why did he insist on that? >> the sense of entitlement that he and other members of his family have, to take a newborn -- >> oh, take it easy. >> out of a hospital is ridiculous. there is a doctor who is an eyewitness to the incident who claims the harassment was wrong, that the nurses, there was no attack or physical confrontation with the nurses. this is a nonjury case. nonjury. why they went nonjury i don't know. but i tell you, fred, the child endangerment should stick. >> avery on that, whose request is that nonjury and why would you advocate that as a defendant? >> well, i -- it's a deal worked out with the prosecutor. it favors douglas kennedy. let me tell you something, this was a code pink. >> there's no deal here. >> he took off the security wristband. the baby bo is 48 hours old and he's telling the nurses he's going to take out the baby, the infant, the newborn for fresh air. >> why, why, why? why would anybody want to do that? >> you want to know the answer. i hate to do it but i agree with richard in this respect, when -- >> you have to agree. >> he kicks one of the nurses, be twists the other one's arm, it's easy to pick on the women but when a male security guard shows up instead of fighting them like with the women, he goes, do you know who i am? i mean look, you got hospital