last sunday. dozens of families have lost their homes to wildfires. in oklahoma city alone, fires destroyed 25 homes just this week. and in texas, crews are still battling 14 separate wildfires. they have been making some progress, but a weather system is expected to bring high winds to texas to tomorrow. and that could turn the embers back into flames. politics and sarah palin's latest appearance in the critical early voting state of iowa. the former alaska governor and former vp candidate was a keynote speaker at a tea party rally. she didn't use the rally to declare her presidential bid but she definitely sounded like a candidate. watch. >> candidate obama didn't have a record while he was in office, but president obama sure does and that's why we're here today. candidate obama, he pledged to fundamentally transform america and for all the failures and broken promises, that's the one thing he delivered on. we have transformed from a country of hope, to one of anxiety. today, one in five working aged men, they're out of work. one in seven americans are on food stamps. 30% of our mortgages are underwater. >> congresswoman gabby giffords is spending labor day weekend in her home state of arizona. she arrived in tucson yesterday taking a brief respite from rehab therapy in houston to spend time with family and friends. it is the second time giffords returned home since being critically injured in a shooting back in january. the fall of tripoli is giving the world a look into the once secretive way the libyan government did business. including deals allegedly made with the unite ed kingdom and t united states. i'm talking about a treasure trove of documents left behind when libyan officials were forced from tripoli. our senior international correspondent ben wedeman has seen the secret papers. you were looking at them with a flashlig flashlight. tell us what you saw. >> reporter: we were in the basement of the libyan external intelligence agency. the libyan cia and what we saw were files of xon s corresponde between the lead of the intelligence agency and porter goss who was the head of the cia. it documents a developing relationship between the two intelligence agencies after libya renounced its program for the production of weapons of mass destruction. it talks about the -- what is known as extraordinary renditions, basically the united states would hand over to libyan intelligence suspected islamic militants, members of al qaeda. they would give the libyan intelligence people a list of questions they wanted asked of the prisoners. the understanding according to human rights watch activists is they were handing the people over for them to be tortured by the libyan security services this a way that, of course, is illegal under american law. this relationship continued for quite some time. it is rather ironic that year after year, the u.s. state department and its annual report on human rights around the world would focus on libya's violations of human rights. sat the aim time, another branch of the u.s. government was essentially involved in those violations. >> i know you've been working your sources over there. has there been any reaction yet from the u.s. government or the british government on this? >> reporter: from the cia, we heard from a spokeswoman who would not comment directly on these particular documents but did stress that the american intelligence community works with other intelligence agencies with the goal of protecting american citizens around the world. that's the rational for this program of extraordinary renditions, a program that for years has been harshly criticized by human rights activists because it essentially was the americans handing suspects over to intelligence services in libya, in egypt, in tunisia and other countries with horrendous human rights records. they used methods that the americans didn't want to engage in directly. >> i see the traffic in the background. it is extraordinary to see it like business as usual in tripoli. the rebels, this comes as gadhafi is given another deadline to surrender. is there any indication that that might happen? >> reporter: what is going on is there are a few strongholds left that are marginally loyal to moammar gadhafi. and what the rebels would like to do is avoid a bloodbath, a battle where people from both sides will die. they're trying to under the table, away from the attention of the media, they're in contact with people in the towns in the last three strongholds of gadhafi loyalists to convince them there is no point in going on supporting him, that clearly the tide has turned, the capital is in the hands of the opposition and that they do much better to simply surrender rather than fight in a losing cause. >> senior international correspondent, ben wedeman, live in tripoli for us, great reporting as always, ben, thank you very much. back to our top story, tropical storm lee which has much of the gulf coast on high alert now. it is coming one week after irene slammed the east coast. the tropical storm is closing in on the southeast. the rain already started along the coast. winds have knocked out power to thousands of people. cnn's ed lavandera was in new orleans this morning and moved a couple of miles east to bay st. louis, mississippi. give us a sense of what's going on where you are right now. >> we're monitoring situations like these. this is some of the low lying area here in bay st. louis, east of new orleans. a lot of people remember this town from hurricane katrina. this is much different from that. many poem who live here aren't quite impressed by a tropical storm of this magnitude. but people are monitoring the situations. low lying roadways that fill up quickly. the water here is dissipating a little bit. they said they had thigh high water down there. these are situations that keep popping up throughout various parts of the coast here between louisiana and mississippi and alabama and the western panhandle of florida as the rain continues to move inland. the concern isn't just along the shoreline. it is really now starting to move inland as this massive storm slowly starts it make its way in and hook back toward tennessee. the concern will be over the next 24, 38 hours will be the inland flading. that's a concern. they're urning people, look, be careful, if you're driving down roads like this, make sure no reason to if you don't have to. these are situations where people can get swept away in the floodwaters. for the most part, we haven't heard any reports of drownings or deaths or injuries, but these continue. this is a deadfully flow moving storm. >> it will be a soaker that's for sure. you showed us some of the residents who park their cars on higher dwrou eer ground, very s thinking. have you talked to some residents there and are they making any specific preparations ahead of the storm? >> we just did a -- between our last reports, we did a drive around town. and we get the sense that people aren't that preoccupied with this. business as usual. many businesses are still open, restaurants, gas stations, people carrying on and doing what they normally do on saturday. going about their business, they have done their preparations, gotten their supplies. as i mentioned this is a community that was shattered and devastated by hurricane katrina. they're not that bothered by a storm of this magnitude. >> ed lavandera live for us. thank you very much. see you soon. jacqui jeras tracking all of the developments on tropical storm lee. she joins us now with an update. what is the latest? >> it is not moving. that's the biggest problem. it is stationary. we're given this burst here of convection near the center. as long as it stays over open water, we could see this inte e intensi intensify. look at this video we just got in. this is from overnight in mississippi. you can see big waves and this boat that was just pushing up and slamming up against this pier and the people were trying to save that. i wouldn't recommend this. let the boat go, guys. it gives you an idea of how power -- how much power we have with this storm and how big the waves are. the waves are not the biggest threat here. this is a flood stoorm. and something we're going to be dealing with for days because it is just not moving and you can see that forecast track. look at this. this is tuesday morning. it is still here in alabama. it is not moving a lot. we're talking about potential for land fall later today. look at some of the forecast totals. we have seen 8 to 9 inches of rain in parts of louisiana. it is this big purple and white area we're talking about for the greatest accumulation has we're talking 10 to 20 inches easy. this is in the next 48 hours. it will be making its way inland. we have flood watches and warnings which are posted which cover a large portion of this area. the storm will be hooking up with a cold front. it will pick it up and start steering it toward the north and east. we have flood watches in advance of this. we're expecting to see heavy rainfall on top of this already very, very flooded area. one other threat we have to talk about is the threat of tornadoes. you can see we have that watch box in effect this is until 10:00 tonight. we had multiple tornado warning over the last couple of hours, one ground truth in lafayette and very brief. we haven't see any reports of damage on it. it is gusty, rainy, it is a washout of a weekend. not a whole lot of fun for people trying to enjoy the labor day holiday. >> how concerned are you for new orleans? they're still cleaning up from hurricane katrina. how bad could it get here? >> if i can get back this map, i'll show you what i'm talking about. it depends on how much rain they get over a period of time. if it is slow and steady, those pumps will bring it out. the thing i wanted to point out is look at where new orleans is and take a look at where most of the rainfall is coming in. it is all to the east of there. most of it has been offshore. this will start to wind through, heading up there. if this keeps the heaviest rainfall, they will fare okay. it can become a little more symmetrical and we could eheavier bands. an inch or less an hour, new orleans will fare better. >> spread it out over time. okay. jacqui jeras, thanks so much. the gulf coast braces for tropical storm lee, new jersey gets ready to show the president how badly it got hit by hurricane irene. remember. that storm was just a week ago. we'll have a live report from new jersey just ahead. exclusive to the military. and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. from free checking to credit cards to loans, our commitment to the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. ♪ visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. usaa. we know what it means to serve. possibilities are everywhere. multiply them with the premier rewards gold card from american express. with triple membership rewards points on airfare, double on gas, double on groceries, and a single point on everthing else, it's a fast way to earn more every day. plus, you can earn 10,000 bonus points. and the annual fee the first year is on us. call 800.axp.gold to apply. president obama will visit patterson, new jersey, tomorrow, one of the places hurricane irene hit the hardest. want to bring in susan candiotti in new jersey this week as people have struggled to cope and i know you spoke to the mayor of patterson. what did he tell you? >> reporter: he's very excited to hear that the president is coming to visit here tomorrow. let me set the scene for you. we're standing here in front of the passaic great falls in patterson, new jersey. it is a 77 foot drop this waterfall, and certainly it is a very popular site for both tourists and locals. it is drawing more people this day because of how it now looks. normally it is very serene and quiet. but thanks to irene, look at how that water is gushing, a strong current. it is the passaic river that has been flooding parts of the city. the good news is that the water is starting to recede. but many people have been evacuated. remain evacuated from their homes. cannot go back yet. two of the seven bridges remain closed, so do some roads. some shelters remain open. some people still have to boil drinking water. that's the backdrop for the president's visit and they're hoping for a disaster relief and will begin getting it so says the federal government. inspectors have been looking over buildings here damaged by the flood to make sure they're safe before people go back in. i asked the mayor not only about the president's visit but how people are holding up. >> we're all online. we just kind of understood, we have a chance now. we have a chance to build, we have a chance to help each other. once you get to a point of recovery, help somebody else. >> reporter: because federal disaster money is heading this way, it is the hope of the mayor that patterson will be on the road to recovery soon. this is a city that has had its share of troubles over the years, economically, hit hard by unemployment. many plants have closed. they're looking forward to this flal help not only to recover from the hurricane, but perhaps to get a fresh start. >> we were talking about vermont and the situation there, about how so many roads and bridges have been washed away as a result of eye republican. what is the road situation in new jersey where you are. are they impassablimpassable? >> many of the roads are impassable because the water level has been going down, floodwaters reseating. some roads remain closed off and as i said earlier, two bridges here, you still can't go across. you have to pick and choose where you go. some areas, the downtown, most if not all businesses are up and operating. in people still remain without power. >> unbelievable, a week after the storm. susan candiotti, ahead of the president's visit. susan, thank you very much. sarah palin is taking on republican presidential candidate rick perry. we'll shell you what she said after the break. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. sarah palin is grabbing the spotlight in the key presidential caucus state of iowa she just wrapped up her keynote speech at a tea party rally in a town of indianola. if she walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it is a duck, right? she hasn't announced a presidential bid. she sounded like a candidate today, though. >> she did sound a lot like a candidate. you're absolutely right. sarah palin is a person that can walk like a duck and sound like a duck but may not be a duck. palin did go farther than she has before and trying to outline some broad policy proposals that she would implement if she runs and becomes president. among them, eliminating all corporate taxes, sarah palin famously raised taxes on oil, industry in alaska when she was governor. she's proposing to eliminate them. she was saying the loss revenue by eliminating the taxes would be made up for by closing loopholes in the federal tax code, also by decreasing federal regulations and revealing -- repealing obama care. she did sound like a candidate in a lot of ways. >> some gop candidates, they also raise mammoth amounts of cash. we need to ask them too, what, if anything, do their donors expect in return for their investments. we need to know this. our country can't afford more trillion dollar thank you notes to campaign backers. >> you heard sarah palin right there, not mentioning any of her potential republican rivals, but palin sources, you know, have pretty much made clear that that comment right there was directed at texas governor rick perry who is a prolific fund-raiser and criticized by his opponents in texas for a long time of rewarding his political allies and campaign don'ters with government contracts and plumb jobs. palin drawing a line in the sand there against governor rick perry, the republicanalina. >> she said polls are for strippers. i haven't heard that ever, i don't think. having said that, she did not announce her candidacy today. her people say that she will make some sort of announcement within the next month. but what are your sources saying about whether or not she's going to run? >> the only people that know sarah palin is going to run for president is sarah palin and todd palin. i can tell you that they're waiting until the last minute to make this decision. they know they have to make a decision as you said by the end of this month. but they didn't announce today, they're not going to announce tomorrow in new hampshire and they're probably not going to announce for several weeks. so that's all i can tell you. even her staff have no idea. they do know they have to weigh some basic political ground work for her -- which they're trying to do a little bit of in iowa in case she does run. but, again, until sarah and todd pull the trigger, there is no campaign, alina. >> all right, there you have it. peter hamby, live in iowa where sarah palin gave a speech to tea party members. peter, thank you very much. rick perry is campaigning hard today in the state of new hampshire. traditionally, the first state to hold a primary, of course. the republican presidential candidate is attending a backyard house party in manchester. he spoke at the event taking aim at president obama's economic policy. when it comes to economic growth, i know the answer is not forcing government stimulus through some massive bureaucracy to a handful of handpicked industries to create temporary jobs. i know that's not the answer. mr. president, you cannot spend your way to prosperity. it doesn't work. it is never worked. i'm tired of liberals who only care about jobs, just to staff up more government programs. i want to create jobs so that families have more income, so that families can live free. >> perry isn't the only republican trying to woo voters in the granite state. jon huntsman is there today. mitt romney arrives tomorrow and monday sarah palin pays a visit. thousands of unwanted dogs are put to death every year. in 1995, one woman decided to train shelter dogs for disaster relief. her work is making wilma melville a cnn hero of the week. >> when the oklahoma city bombing happened, i saw the size of that building on television. i had a hobby of learning to train a disaster search dog. i was deployed to oklahoma city. i did wonder can we really do this? can we really find live people? when i got home, i said, what is this nation doing with approximately 15 fema certified dogs? this one building alone requires far more than 15. my name is wilma melville. our organization trains rescue dogs and firefighter handlers to save lives after a disaster. right turn. we like to use shelter dogs. it is a humane thing to do. there is nothing better than a dog's nose to find a live human. we have been to the world trade center, japan, joplin, missouri, and haiti. >> in haiti, on a fourth day there, we made contact with a 10-year-old girl. we would ask her to acknowledge us with a tap. around the sixth or seventh hour she stopped tapping. >> finding live people is our goal. but providing hope for the onlooker and a place to begin work for the firefighter, those are meaningful, meaningful objectives. >> if you knew someone who deserved special recognition, go to cnn heroes.com. we're back after this. we were so blessed when we had triple