and government officials call rebel claims lies. we'll have a live report just ahead. take a look at this. we're tracking tropical storm irene. there's a chance the storm could affect the u.s. we'll tell you where it's headed. a soccer team scattered for safety after gun shots ring out in mexico, sending crowds ducking for cover. we'll show you what happened and what sparked it. we begin in libya, and our correspondents this morning say gun battle in tripoli. this video is from another city just 30 miles from tripoli. one of gadhafi sons says the rebels are losing every belgts. a senior u.s. administration person says obama has been briefed on the situation in libya from his vacation spot. >> the raising of the white flag we will not talk about, and it's nauz because of islam, this is rejected by the people of libya. >> i want to get the detail from our man on the ground, our international correspondent with cnn. matth matthew, what else are we hearing from the libyan government? >> reporter: we had a press conference in the last couple of minutes with the spokesperson saying eventually that nato has been stepping up the air campaign in tripoli and on the outskirts of tripoli for rebels to enter the city, and he warned tripoli was protected by thousands upon thousands of soldiers, and there's interesting overnight from lib raw television, the state's television, one of the state television channels here in the country. you see one of the anchors of an overnight television broadcast bran dishing a gun, and there were reports that there was gun fire outside of the headquarters of that television station, and she said the state television would kill or be killed, and they are going to defend trip i tripoli. this is the kind of words that we have been hearing from colonel gadhafi, and even the state broadcasters in this country. >> you said things have changed dramatically overt past 24 hours. explain that for us. >> reporter: well, yesterday tripoli was quiet and stable. we were talking about the fighting raging elsewhere in the country, and really 30 miles west there was a battle under way for the town that controls the road in tripoli. that is essentially over. the rebels established some control of that city, at least they perhaps have control over the whole of it, and i don't know because we will have to speak to the other team about that. and what has happened since that rebel advance is all hell broke loose in tripoli. there were armed gangs that have risen up and they battled the security forces on the streets, and all night, despite the fact that the libya government, the gadhafi regime's situation was under control, we were hearing ferocious clashes between groups, and grenade explosions and things like that is continuing today as well, and clearly the situation outside the hotel, it's very volatile indeed. >> matthew, thank you very much in tripoli. and assad goes on television today to talk about his country's future. that's a look at the scene on friday in damascus. yesterday syrian forces fired on protesters in the city of holmes. al assad is continuing to process. last week the u.s. called for assad to step down. and this is video from the damage yesterday where one person was reported kill in israel. and israeli authorities arrested dozens of men belonging to or supporting hamas. in cairo hundreds gathered peacefully outside of the embassy. one group burned the israeli flag. they are calling on israel's ambassador to be expelled. in norway, just a couple minutes away from a national ceremony remembering the victims of the july 22nd massacre. the service will conclude norway's month of official mourning. 77 people were killed as authorities describe as one man's bombing and shooting spree. the suspect has pleaded not guilty to the crime although has reportedly confessed to it. there's a lot we're watching in the weather department. so harvey never became a hurricane, but tropical storm irene just might. reynolds wolf has the details. i know it's too early to say whether it's heading to the united states, but it's heading in that general direction, reynolds? >> it certainly is. that's the best way to put it and the best tone to use, there's a lot of uncertainty. and it's one system we're dealing with, and it will be interacting with land quite a bit. a perfect example of what happened to the tropical system when interacting with land can be seen when you are looking at harvey, and it made its way from the caribbean south of the yucatan peninsula. still a heavy rain maker but i would give it a few hours because it will fall apart more. however when you look at irene it's a different situation. notice the top half, the top two quadran quadrants, a lot of deep convection there for the time being. the path will make its way a bit more to the area here, and it will react with land. if it hop scotchs from the islands it will be tough for it to maintain the same kind of power and structure. it's a wait and see sort of thing. with this forecast it does bring it into the keys and perhaps into the bahamas and south florida. it's the time of years, folks, we have to watch the tropics carefully. we always do that here at cnn, hurricane headquarters. we have showers moving into parts of the northeast, and frontal boundary and storms in places like new york, but as it moves through you will have a blast of cooler temperatures and we'll talk about that coming up at the bottom of the hour. >> thank you, reynolds. ahead, fighting to feed their four children. >> i get up with my boxing gloves on every day for them. >> hard times for families across the country. we'll tell you how one washington family is making huge sacrifices. also coming up, a soccer match in mexico comes to a grinding halt with gun fire. so what happened? we'll tell you. and getting a fresh start in life. a lot of people are lining up at a temple in thailand, trying to turn their luck around but in order to turn to a new page you have to do that. we'll have that extraordinary new story coming up in our morning passport. stay with us. 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[ male announcer ] glucerna. delicious shakes and bars. helping people with diabetes find balance. first it was the bass basketball brawl, and now this. >> imagine if you are a fan of a soccer match and you hear gun shots filling the air. >> i am ducking for cover. >> yeah, it's video, and listen for the gun shots. the area is known for being violent and levels of drug cartel crimes. three vehicles with armed men failed to stop of a military check point out side the stadium, and the soccer match was stopped and cancelled for the day, and the mexican president there says nobody was fortunately killed, but what a scary moment for everybody involved inside the stadium, and the players not knowing where it's going. >> what is happening in the sports world? >> that's a whole other statement. we will transition to college football. a bar fight that landed several lsu football players in the doghouse with their head coach. less miles, totally furious, 15 of his players, including his starting quarterback was involved in the brawl. four people who were injured took themselves to the hospital. no charges filed, but the coach says no charges are charges. he will lay down the law his way. >> i can tell you that we have started disciplining our team because this was a team violation. this was not just a guy. this was the team. and so we ran them, and we're running them. >> he's an old school coach, and he whip keep running them and running them more and keep running in the louisiana heat. i would not want to be a player on that team. >> reminds me of my tennis days. >> yeah. and a funny way to end this. betty white, appearing with shaquille o'neal, and she says no to his proposal. >> a wedding proposal? >> yes. >> betty, will you marry me? >> don't be silly! you are too old for me! >> apparently, she likes them young, because shaq, he is 39, and she is 89 -- >> 80 something. every since she made an appearance in the television commercial, remember when she was tackled in a football game -- >> it's a snickers commercial, and she hosted "snl," and -- >> yep. >> thank you for that update. it's tough getting a job, and tough getting your foot in the door. in georgia people stood in line for hours at a job fair. coming up after the break we will talk to one of those people who said she certainly didn't get what she bargained for. and then how to land a job in the tough job market. that story is next. u never bou. the lucrative investment you never made. the exotic vacation you never took. but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. the lexus golden opportunity sales event, with exceptional values on the lexus rx. but only until september 6th. see your lexus dealer. ♪ let me make you smile ♪ let me do a few tricks ♪ some old and then some new tricks ♪ ♪ i'm very versatile ♪ so let me entertain you ♪ and we'll have a real good time ♪ [ male announcer ] the new hp touchpad starting at $399.99. ♪ with aveeno nourish plus moisturize. active naturals wheat formulas target and help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. 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[ announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ president obama says he will roll out a new jobs plan after labor day. he's working on it right now. he is said to be meeting regularly with key economic advisers during his vacation on martha's vineyard. the plan is still a work in progress. in his weekly address the president said there are things the administration can do right now that will mean more jobs, more customers for businesses, and certainly we need to see a drop in unemployment. so we will wait for the jobs report to come out. meanwhile, how to stand out in a tough job market. no doubt about it. it's tough out there. last week in atlanta, thousands of people stood in line for hours at a job fair that was sponsored by the congressional black caucus. some camped out overnight and others wait in the heat and many complained when they finally did see a recruiter, they were just told to apply online. now, in a statement the congressional black caucus said it will follow-up with employers who were there to see how many jobs they filled. joining me now is joe hanna hill, and she attended the job fair, and also we have a media coach. you waited 4 1/2 hours and got inside and what happened? >> they explained to us to go and visit the different recruiters, and as you got to each one, i only had one and i think it was verizon was the only one that took a resume, and all the rest of them basically just explained to apply online and they gave you their website. >> how did that make you feel? >> ahhh, especially after waiting in line for over four hours. i think everybody else along with me, we really expected to speak to a recruiter. we were even told that there were 70 employers that would be hiring on the spot, and i did not see any that hired on the spot. >> they said for job seekers it's up to them to follow-through with online applications but the problem is you have been out of work and cut your internet serving to save money, right? >> exactly. exactly. so it's very difficult. what i have been doing is following up -- there are places where you use their internet, and the department of labor you have access, and all of the libraries, doesn't matter what county. >> you are going to the library and trying to update your resume. >> exactly. >> what is your advice to johanna. >> well, when you are applying for jobs online it's crucial that is targeting for jobs online. >> not the old paper resume. >> right. >> you have to have several. and a lot of times you get screened out when you are applying for a job, just by the computer process before you see a person, right. what do you do? >> use key words in your resume. you need to review job descriptions and see what it is they're looking for in the job descriptions, and make sure they are in your resume, skills, job titles, and computer programs, and anything in the job description needs to be in the resume or else the computer doesn't choose you for the interview. >> and even if you have not held the job before, right, it's a way to trick the system if you will? >> well, using headlines on your resume that are job titles, even if you never held that job title, it gives the system an opportunity to say this person can be qualified. >> employers will deny this, but there has been a lot of talk out there that when people go to apply for jobs they are told if you don't have a job, don't bother applying. so what do you tell someone like johanna, you have to have a job to get one? >> well, it's important to appear to be involved in your field, even if you are not working. >> what does that mean? >> if you are not paid to do your job, you can be active in social media. i tell people how they can interact on twitter, and engage on linkedin, and share advise with others in their field. >> what have you done in terms of making yourself more marketing? >> i have not done the twitter and facebooking, but i havebeen networking with people. >> just talking to people. >> yeah, somebody standing on the corner, it doesn't matter who they are, and i open myself up to let everybody know i am seeking employment. >> there are a few sectors hiri hiring. at this point johanna says she has been out of work for 18 months and will do anything. >> the number one thing is to say i can do anything. employers don't want somebody desperate. so focus in on what your specific skills are and then identify specific jobs. don't say i would like to apply for any job in your organization. >> when you hear the numbers, the unemployment rate overall in the nation is 9.1%. for blacks, it's 15.9%. for whites, it's 8.1%. nearly double for african-americans. >> and it may be even more than that, because honestly, they are not counting -- i think the numbers are sort of fudged. and the reason why i say that is because there are people still unemployed, but their unemployments have been exhausted, so they are not counted in the numbers so to speak. it's a little unfair, but it is -- hey, that's the way it is. you just try to keep your head up and keep going. i have had some good outlooks, so i think things are looking up for me and changing. >> i hope so. i wish you the very best of luck. 18 months is a long time. you look great. >> well, thank you. >> and marion, thank you for your advice. thank you so much. coming up, looking for a way to get a fresh start in life? try this. can you climb inside a coffin and bury the person you used to be. it's happening in thailand. an unusual ceremony to say the least in thailand. what is it about? >> it's interesting. it's the temple about 66 miles northeast of bangkok. here what you have is people who literally have mock funerals as a way of erasing bad luck, getting rid of the old and bringing in the new. you see them beginning the ceremony. they lie with a bunch of flowers, and for 90 seconds they close the coffin. they take the sheet and with the sheet going that way we pull out all the bad luck and then they bring in all the good luck. people pay and $6 to do this. >> they pay to do it? >> they pay to do it. now they are bringing back and in all the good luck. what they are paying for is the chanting of the buddhist priests, and it's a death chant and then a birth chant. two things determine your fate. one is your name and the other is your birth date. if you are having bad luck, let's change your birth date and have a new birth date. >> now it's making sense to me. >> so the concept, beginning again and today is the first day of the rest of your life and some essence of rerival is not a new one. >> has it been going on for a long time? >> it has been going on for decades. there was a revival when there was a movie called "the coffin." people will do it several times a year, revive, renew and p refresh. what you get for $6 is the chanting, and flowers, and a merit mag, and there's a toothbrush and tooth paste and food to get you through. >> you have a gift bag when you leave? >> yeah. >> like going to a charity dinner? >> exactly. but you have a psychological sense and a lot of psyeople say they weigh in on the concept of let us have an opportunity to start again. >> that part i can wrap my head around. thank you very much with our morning passport. keeping the sound of senator joe lieberman. >> turn the blackberry off and television off and be prepared not to answer the phone. but i would just say to you, try it. you will love it. >> sounds like a perfect way to spend your sunday. senator lieberman has written a book about keeping the sabbath. we will hear from him in "in faces of faith" after the break. and tropical storm irene could be taking aim at the united states. reynolds wolf is tracking the storm and is live next. would der our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. i don't always have time to eat like i should. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes, which can help lower a1c. 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our reynolds wolf is watching it all for us, and it's -- i want to be careful with my language, it's heading in the general direction of the united states. >> when you mention general direction, it's so tempted to say its moving from point a to point b. they don't move smoothly at all and jar themselves around on the ocean waters. and we're looking at something taking shape. and you can see some of the outflow way far to the south to the coast of south america. what we will be seeing with this thing is developments, deeper convection in parts of it. you are cutting it in four slices. you would have the northeast, the northwest quadrant, and then the northeast and north west quadrant, you will see the deepest conviction. there are a couple flies in the ointment in terms of it getting strong, there would be sheer and things more detrimental. and the path from the national hurricane center brings it over parts of the puerto rico and even over cuba, and it brings a trek that will go all the way into the florida keys into the bahamas as we fast-forward into early thursday morning. and then that being said, there's a chance it could move well to the north or drift further to the south, and it could weaken out and die, but it could explode in strength. we do anticipate 70-mile-per-hour by monday at 2:00 a.m. and then tuesday, wednesday, and certainly thursday it's a little shaky. we will watch it carefully and monitor it throughout the day. let's pitch it back to you. >> thank you very much. pope benedict ended his four-day visit to madrid for world youth day. he announced during a mass today that the next world youth day will be held in 2013 in rio. it's the setting for the 2016 summer olympics, and will hold the world cup soccer tournament in 2015. good for that country's economy. and in faces of faith today, keeping the sabbath. it means putting one day of the week away for rest, and it's one of the ten commandments, remember the sabbath day and keep it holy, and six days you shall labor and work but the seventh day is a sabbath to the lord, your god, and do not do any work. and senator lieberman is jewish and has written a book about enjoying the sabbath. this is him in his own words. ♪ i am senator joe lieberman and i am jewish, and today we are talking about a book i have written, it's called the gift of rest. this poor, long-suffering woman usually does this before i get home. the sabbath is a very old institution. in my belief, it goes right back to mt. sinai where god in the ten commandments gave the fourth commandment, which was on honor the sabbath and keep it holy. and some ask how can you be a senator and take the sabbath. and i tell them i don't know how i can be a u.s. senator and not take the sabbath. on friday afternoon for me, i turn the blackberry off and the television off and be prepared not to answer the phone, but i will tell you, i just would say to you, try it. you will love it. over the centuries, a lot of religious rituals observe the sabbath day. you make sure you bring your wife and your sabbath table flowers. we go to synagogue and say prayers to welcome the sabbath and to bring us into the spirit of the day of rest, different from every other day. we then come home and there is a sabbath meal, so we have two twist breads, and this is a continuation of the idea from the bible. parents bless our children every friday night. we literally put our hands -- i do, anyway, on their shoulder or heads, each one of them, and i say a priestly benediction from the hebrew bible, but anybody that goes to a synagogue or church will recognize it, and may the lord keep you and may he grant you the greatest of all his gifts, the gift of peace, and give each child a kiss. i made a decision early in my career and public life way back in the early '70s when i was a state senator that i could not, should not, and would not be involved in political activities on the sabbath. as much as my ambitions and obligations would lead me to do that, it's not the right thing to do and was not consistent on the sabbath. if i had governmental responsibilities, but one which i could not delegate, such as voting in the senate, or ones that related to security or safety of the people, who i was responsible for, i would find a way to participate in government. now, this is not fake. we are actually going to eat at this table tonight, folks. there's a way in which we feel that we are interacting in some special intimacy with god on the sabbath. ♪ >> he doesn't have a bad voice either. can you read more about keeping the sabbath and share your thoughts at cnn.com/belief. the president has one of the lowest approval ratings in history, so what is his campaign strategy with that hanging over his head. 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"state of the union" with candy crowley coming up here at 9:00 eastern on cnn. candy is joining us live from washington with a preview. i know you have a lot on your rundown this weekend, and we want to start with axelrod, and he will talk about the election and the economy and the other candidates and all that stuff, right? >> all that stuff, absolutely. the question here is this is an uphill battle for president obama in this way. history sort of repeatedly shows when the economy is bad and the president up for re-election, it is a tough fight. so what we have here now in the latest gallop poll that we saw, the president's approval rating on how he is handling the economy is in the upper 20%. that's a strong head wind. the question is, how does the president run with the economy still struggling? that's one of the questions we want to put to david axelrod. even as he struggles to move the economy along the president is getting hit from the left and from the right. at this point certainly, a year and a half out, it's interesting to talk to the president's top strategists, about how do you maneuver your way through all this. and we will go to the states and talk to governor martin o'malley of maryland, a democrat, and mcdonnell of virginia, and both head of the governor's associations to say what do you need from the federal government or do you want the federal government to back out of it and what have they done in their states to keep the economy moving. both of them have the jobless rate under the national average of 9.1. we want to talk to them. ae alie jaw comings in coming on. they have been upset with obama for not doing enough to help the stricten african-american community where the unemployment rate is nearly twice that of whites. we will talk about that. >> candy, i found it interesting when max aen waters came up and expressed her disappointment in the president. were you surprised noo no, they talked to the president this year alone when they said you have to do something aimed at the african-american community. the unemployment rate among black young men is 17%, it's ho hoerid. the best thing i can do for any community is to lift all of them, and they reached their point where they feel like they have to address this in a public way and pressure the president. whether it will do any good is an open question, but certainly they have brought what they said privately to the president into the open. >> and that brings me to my next question. i know it's an august habit for the media to criticize whatever president is in office for taking his vacation, but is there any teeth to this? you know, there have been a lot of people saying now is not the time. the economy is in shambles. >> i don't think i ever covered a president, republican or democrat, who did not go on vacation at a bad time. let's face it. the word is fraught with pairil. there are many things that can go wrong at any minute and that's why the president has a portable white house, he has aides with him or instantly able to contact him. so i think the worst the president gets is when they go on vacation during an election cycle, and that's what this president has done, he is on vacation, and you have all these republicans out there who are campaigning for his job, kind of taking hits. he is not the first president to take hits for going on vacation when the country is in pain for one reason or another, and he won't be the last. >> candy, as always, great to see you and we will watch you at the top of the hour. keep it with for "state of the union" with candy crowley. starts in 13 minutes or so. 9:00 a.m. eastern, and 6:00 a.m. pacific. right here on cnn. stores and pick outo to thee everything you want. the sinks ringing. hello? you think those guys have "everything you want? 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[ gnome ] your fingers are quite magical. we have this just in to cnn. our top story. an update on the american hikers just sentenced in iran. this morning we're hearing from the families of those two americans who were sentenced to eight years in prison. shane bower and josh fattal were accused of entering iran ille l illegally. of the 751 days of their imprisonment, today ha have been the most difficult for our families. shane and josh are innocent and have never posed any threat to the islamic republic of iran. we appeal to the authorities in iran to show compassion and allow them to return home to our families without delay. meanwhile, the economy, the big story as well. the ripple affects of the recession spreading to the most vulnerable victims, our children. >> i get up with my boxing gloves on every day for them. >> we will introduce you to a family that is struggling. parents sometimes force to go hungry themselves in order to feed their children. that story when we return. o crar and savor 3 crab entrees under $20 like our crab and seafood bake... or our snow crab and crab butter shrimp. my name's jon forsythe and i sea food differently. i don't always have time to eat like i should. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes, which can help lower a1c. [ male announcer ] glucerna. helping people with diabetes find balance. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes, and lexus for audi than ever before. ♪ experience the summer of audi by september 6th and get over 130 channels of siriusxm satellite radio for 3 months at no charge. ♪ let me make you smile ♪ let me do a few tricks ♪ some old and then some new tricks ♪ ♪ i'm very versatile ♪ so let me entertain you ♪ and we'll have a real good time ♪ [ male announcer ] the new hp touchpad starting at $399.99. ♪ keep it here. state of the union with candy crowley coming up at the top of the hour. first, listen to the staggering statistic. 1 in 5 children now living below the poverty line. athena jones caught up with a couple in washington who have fallen on hard times. >> this is the wedding dress. >> okay. >> reporter: the ripple effects of the recession can be felt here. both have been out of work for more than two years, and their unemployment benefits have run out. they live in public housing and don't have to pay rent, but they have struggled to pay their utility bills and recently had their power cut off. >> we did candles. we just, you know, some days during that six-week period, it was the kids eat what we eat, and we had to make sacrifices. >> both cars have been repossessed and they will have to come up with $120 a month for metro passes for their kids once school starts. >> i get up with my boxing gloves on every day for them. >> reporter: according to a study by a national charity, 1 in 5 children lived below the poverty line in 2009. they receive food stamps each month, but run out after three weeks. nathan mows lawns, and she sells candy. >> i do it on the corner. with the candy, i do it all on the metro. i do it at the subway stations and do it up and down the street. i do what it takes to make sure we can survive another day. >> reporter: she brings in as much as $145 on a really good day. 13 million people were unemployment in july, and many are like the wallaces, people who have been out of work. >> we can't forget about children as we make decisions in the fiscal crisis. we can't cut these programs thinking eventually we might put money back into them. childhood is a short time. >> keanu has a lot of plans for her own future. >> first, i want to go to college for designer school and after i graduate from designer school and then i want to put in my pictures to be a model, and then i want to open my own start, a clothing store, and after i open my store i want to be a writer. >> one more interesting finding from the study. 42% of the nation's children, that's 31 million children live in low income families, and those are families that live below twice the poverty line. so a lot of people are struggling. >> thank you for the report. we're a couple minutes away from the top of the hour. let's get our last look at today's weather. you're watching tropical storm irene, reynolds wolf? >> yes, and this system, again, may indeed become a named storm, and may become a named hurricane. and this season, the winds are probably going to increase. the national hurricane center agrees with that. it has it going a bit more to the west and on monday at 2:00 in the morning, winds of 70 miles per hour expected. if you look at the cone of uncertainty, if it moves to the north the center remains offshore and away from puerto rico, but it may intensify more, and that may fluk wait a bit. the forecast brings it right close to haiti and the dominican republic. as we fast-forward into wednesday and thursday, you will notice the end of the cone of uncertainty going back