Stunned the entire room. Welcome to the lead. I m kaitlan collins in for jake tapper. And we begin this hour in louisiana where president biden is expected to speak any moment after touring communities ravaged by hurricane ida and meeting with state and local leaders. Those hardest hit towns including laplace where many neighborhoods are still swamped with water. More than 800,000 hopes and businesses across the state still have no power five days after the storm. As victims deal with their destroyed homes, temperatures continue to swelter. Right now in baton rouge, for example, the heat index is 105 degrees. We re covering the aftermath of ida all over the country. Miguel marquez in new jersey, ed lavandera in louisiana, and arlette saenz is live at the white house. Arlette, i want to start with you. What has been president biden s message while he s been on the ground today for several hours? reporter: president biden has had a message of support, both when it comes to the federal re
Catastrophic flooding in the northeast. The death toll rising to 50 as searchers look for those missing and underwater. We re learning that foreign terrorists are looking to exploit the u. S. Withdrawal from afghanistan as well as the 20th anniversary of 9/11 next week. Is that a threat to national security? we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. I m wolf blitzer, and you re in the situation room. This is cnn breaking news. And we begin with president biden s tour of hurricane damage in louisiana. Our senior white house correspondent phil mattingly is covering that breaking story for us. Phil, we heard the president speak just a little while ago, promising to support storm survivors and acknowledging their frustrations. What s the latest? no question about it. President biden showing up down in louisiana making clear he saw the victims. He wanted to personally see the aftermath of that storm and that the federal government support was both expans
Senators in the state as well as the mayor of new orleans and the governor, john bell edwards. He s out and about right now seeing the hardest hit spots throughout louisiana. They were hit by hurricane ida. One of the places he will be going to is aplace, louisiana. Some of these homes were submerged. People had to ride out the storm on the roof or attics, people hoping someone would come with a boat to rescue them. People there have lost everything in certain situations. They re having to wait in line for essentials like food and water, relying on the kindness of others. In the mornings, we had a threemile line waiting for us. Starting at 6:30 people are lining up. We re not open until 8:00, 8:30. The lines are long. It s hot. President biden will get a chance to see the damage that is very vast throughout the state from the sky. He will hop in a helicopter to get an aerial tour to places like grand isle. This is a city or town here in louisiana along the gulf coast that basically too
The midatlantic and northeast are trying to recover from unprecedented flooding as well as tornadoes in the aftermath of ida. A new abc news/washington post poll shows a drop in the president s approval rating. 44% of americans say they approve of how he s handling his job. 51% disapprove. Also, new data points to a slowdown in job creation. The labor department says some 235,000 jobs were added in augment economists expected more than 700,000 new hires. The unemployment rate is down slightly now at 5. 2%. There s increased concern the delta variant is taking a toll on the economy. This comes as longterm unemployment benefits are set to expire this weekend. This morning before his trip to louisiana the president spoke about the state of the economy. There s no question the delta variant is why today s job report isn t stronger. It has brought america out of an economic free fall. The second thing that has to happen in september is for the congress. The house and senate to pass the job
Then there s this. In their second deadofnight ruling in just over a week after striking down protections for americans facing eviction last week, the conservative majority on the supreme court declined to overturn the sixweek abortion ban in texas. The abortion law has no exceptions for incest or rape, and deputizes private citizens as bounty hunters searching for anyone who performed or helped a woman get an abortion after that sixweek period before most women even know that they re pregnant. While the decision is shocking, it shouldn t be surprising to anyone. We knew what america was signing up for when donald trump was elected president. Through the 2016 republican primary, some republicans were worried a womanizing reality star with three babies mamas and a taste for adult film stars might not be conservative enough, so trump made a deal. He d appoint judges, including to the supreme court if any openings were to happen, from a list carefully curated by the right wing heritage f