because of a slow-moving and strengthening tropical storm lee. it is keeping people guessing about what it's going to do. also this morning, is this any way to teach kids about the events of 9/11? a coloring book where kids can color in pictures of the towers burning or of a navy s.e.a.l. shooting osama bin laden. it's real, folks, and the publisher will be here to explain why he thinks this coloring book is a good idea. an illinois congress member calls president obama idiotic. what he says he really meant to say. it's saturday, september 3rd. i'm t.j. holmes. let's start with the tropical storm. it is whipping things up in the gulf of mexico. there are several states of emergency that are in effect. mississippi and louisiana getting their ducks in a row right now just in case that water starts rising. take a look at what is happening in grand isle, louisiana. the rain is already there. people are preparing for more and maybe a lot more. listen to the mayor. >> you can't fight mother nature. my job and the council's job and the chief of police's job is to make sure we don't lose a life. >> let's say good morning to alexandra steele. this thing is a mess. >> it is a mess. it is erratic and slow moving. it is moving and vacillating around. it is not well organized. the center of circulation is askew. all of the rain is on the west si side. let's show you what we have. here is the area of the convection. the center of circulation is expected to move ashore later today. louisiana and mississippi and alabama coastlines are under the gun. it is very slow moving. here is the look at the amount of rain we are expected to see with this, especially along the coast. that is where the flash flooding will be. once again, remember with irene, we talked flash flooding. the potential for flash flooding here as well. what we will see in terms of the movement. here is the the forecast track. expected by later today which is the center of circulation. it is expected to intensify. it will stay a tropical storm. maybe get its act together a bit more. maximum sustained winds are now 50 miles an hour. moving at 7 miles an hour. it has picked up the pace a little bit. here's the forecasted track potentially. we will watch it again. the center of circulation come onshore later today. by monday morning, we will see 45-mile-an-hour winds. by tuesday morning, 40-mile-an-hour winds. alabama and mississippi and louisiana will get the brunt of this thing. by thursday, we are still watching a rainmaker with this and still watching winds. we will watch this thing straight through the end of the week and bring a lot of rain. most notably to the gulf coast with a lot of flooding and tornadoes are spawning up. that is typical, t.j., with hurricanes. they are swift moving. >> alexandra steele, good to have you with us here on the weekend. a lot of people getting ready for the worst with this storm. let's talk to rupert lacey. he is the director for gulfport, mississippi. what has you nervous about the storm? >> good morning. one of our biggest concerns along the mississippi gulf coast is the definite track of what lee is doing. as we have noticed over the nighttime hours, we have started to see the increase of the winds with the rains. of course, what we had is sporadic tornado spinoff because it is starting to affect our coastline. >> sir, how much rain can you handle? we are talking up to 20 inches in some places. what would you think is your threshold? >> any community, if you are talking 20 inches of rain, you would love to see it over four or a five daytime period. friday was an off and on day that we were seeing a very light amount of rain. over the nighttime hours, in some areas of our coastal communities, we have noticed some of the rain gauges getting up into the neighborhood of 2 to 3 inches of rain because of the heavy down falls or the feeder band activity coming in. of course, you know, be that we are under a tropical storm warning, we, of course, are under the flash flood warning. we are starting to see the ponding and urban-type flooding as the feeder bands were very large with the rainfall. >> mr. lacy, i know you have a couple of days to hunker down there. are evacuations a possibility? >> of course, they are. we are still in that process of rebuilding after katrina. one of the misfortunes is in some of our lower lying areas of our county, people have not built back right there in paradise along the water. we have had about ten roads that we had water over because of rivers coming up the southeast flow. you know, we had a couple of homeowners who talked to us about the standing water. if we have to, we are ready to pull the trigger and open up a shelter. we are still trying to -- we still have a little bit of time so people can prepare their homes before we have to open the shelter building for them to seek shelter from the winds and higher rains. >> rupert lacy, thank you so much. we will check in with you again. good luck to you folks. >> thank you. you know, again, please call us back at anytime. >> thank you so much. we will certainly check in. it will be a long weekend. alexandra steele says this is a slow-moving storm. it will sit there and hang out and dump all of that rain in the gulf coast. we will check in throughout the morning on that storm. let's give you a look at what else we are working. the united nations is sending aid to libya and assessing the needs of the country. they were welcomed by the new transitional council. one of the biggest problems facing libya right now is a shortage of clean water. a travel alert from the federal government as the tenth anniversary of 9/11 happens. citizens traveling or living abroad need be to aware of the threat posed by al qaeda. there have been no specific threats. all you folks who don't like the body scanners at u.s. airports, new software is being rolled out. this is new video of the new software. this is at the airport in dallas. they are now supposed to take pictures that don't show as much of your junk as it used to. it is just the outline of you that it is supposed to show now. now you and the screener will be able to see it. the tsa announced this rollout in july. you will see it yourself. you will see what the tsa agent is gigging about. $3.66 is the average gallon of gas as you head out over labor day weekend. it is a few cents less than you were paying last month. the higher price of gas is expected to keep more of us at home this weekend. aaa says close to 32 million americans will travel more than 50 miles this weekend. that is around 1 million less than last year. you remember this horrible scene. we showed you this a couple of weekends ago. this is a stage collapse at the indiana state fair. the state attorney general's office now says 14 people are planning to sue over this incident. seven people were killed. 40 others were injured. the stage came down during a wind storm. an investigation is looking into whether the stage was as strong as it should have been. also, coming up, a small town in italy that has some big dreams. they want the town to be an independent state. first thing first. they started printing their own money. there is an idea. it's a big labor day weekend. all of the candidates are out, but one person is taking up a lot of the attention. sarah palin. we will tell you what she is up to this weekend. excluve 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. we are at 11 minutes past the hour now. labor day weekend. you know the barbecues and picnics and politics as well as part of labor day weekend. candidates will be out there all weekend. as paul steinhauser tells us more. >> reporter: sarah palin doesn't have a hard time drawing attenti attention. every time she falls out of the spotlight, she comes back stronger. palin's bus tour from here in washington to new england was a top story over the memorial day weekend. she played cat and mouse with the reporters. she reignited speculation she might run for the white house. she crashed mitt romney's party. on the day he was there to announce his run for president. >> i don't believe that former governor romney is upset that we are here. >> reporter: fast forward to august and palin shows up at the iowa state fair creating a media frenzy the day after the debate in iowa and the straw poll. >> i don't think i'm stealing any spotlight. >> reporter: today, palin is back in iowa. monday, she speaks at another tea party gathering in new hampshire. is palin planning on making big news this weekend? maybe not. she doubted she would be a candidate by labor day. >> there is a lot to think about into a life changing decision for a family. >> reporter: today is the three-year anniversary of her speech when she became her party's vice presidential nominee. cnn reports that palin will highlight the themes that made her a superstar. t.j. >> thank you, paul. did you catch the august jobs report that came out yesterday? no new jobs came out last month. the unemployment rate held at 9.1%. it gave the presidential candidates more to talk about. >> obama is not working. he has disappointed the american people. did you see the numbers that came out on job growth? look, there is zero faith in barack obama. >> here is rick perry. he said our country cannot afford four more years of economic misery. i will continue to cross the country to get our country working again. bachmann said the economy is sitting at a nation's stop sign. the president gave us a speech about the jobs speech. we don't need speeches. we need jobs. 14 minutes past the hour. when tornadoes ripped through alabama in april, the university there was for the most part, spared. the community around the university was devastated. we well tell you how the football team is trying to rally tuscaloosa. she needs help from me. and her medication. the exelon patch -- it releases medication continuously for twenty-four hours. she uses one exelon patch daily for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's symptoms. [ female announcer ] it cannot change the course of the disease. hospitalization and rarely death have been reported in patients who wore more than one patch at a time. the most common side effects of exelon patch are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. the likelihood and severity of these side effects may increase as the dose increases. patients may experience loss of appetite or weight. patients who weigh less than 110 pounds may experience more side effects. people at risk for stomach ulcers who take certain other medicines should talk to their doctor because serious stomach problems such as bleeding may worsen. people with certain heart conditions may experience slow heart rate. [ woman ] whenever i needed her, she was there for me. now i'm here for her. [ female announcer ] ask the doctor about your loved one trying the exelon patch. visit exelonpatch.com to learn more. visit exelonpatch.com any questions? no. you know... ♪ we're not magicians ♪ we can't read your mind ♪ ♪ read your mind ♪ we need your questions ♪ each and every kind ♪ every kind ♪ will this react with my other medicine? ♪ ♪ hey, what are all these tests even for? ♪ ♪ questions are the answer ♪ yeah ♪ oh 16 minutes pastthe hour. these people don't play in the sec. what you are seeing there, this is not far from us in downtown atlanta where some of the georgia fans set up. you can bet they are already barbecuing and partaking in a few beverages at 6:14 in the morning. they are getting ready for the first football game of the season. they are taking on boise state. big game today. it is a big weekend. college football and the university of alabama will be returning to the field today as well. this is the first major event in tuscaloosa since that devastating tornado destroyed parts of the city. that was in april. students and athletes hope the return of football will help the city heal. reynolds wolf is in tuscaloosa. >> reporter: t.j., it is game day at the university of alabama. we are outside the stadium if you are a fan of the crimson tide. many people will come here. in excess of 100,000 people will make the way to the campus. the campus was relatively unscathed in terms of the tornado. many ways of getting to the campus, people for the very first time since last season are going to see some of the areas of devastation. some places that are now completely cleared out where there were neighborhoods or stores. all of that is gone. they will get here and for a few hours, they will get a chance to think of something else other than the devastation. we spoke with some of the students and certainly some of the people that call this community home recently and they cannot wait to tee it up. >> i think the game is pretty important. the team will have to come out and show the community that through the tornado and through everything that we can still come together for a good cause and a good game of football. >> everybody that usually comes in for games that hasn't seen it yet will realize exactly what happened. they'll see it and everybody will be together for what this town is built around. >> i think it is a big deal. it gives us something to take our mind off what we have to see every day driving home. >> reporter: one of the touching things about the contest doesn't deal with alabama, but kent state. kent state football players were in the community and helped out with crimson tide players to rebuild the community. good sportsmanship and being good people. back to you, t.j. >> thanks to our reynolds wolf. we go from that feel-good story of football to this one. take a look at the screen. this was happening in florida. this was on thursday. keep in mind this is a youth league football game that got ugly. you can see people going back and forth. the coaches and players. some people did not appreciate the call the referee made. this is when things get crazy. the coach gets kicked out of the game for arguing with the referee. then this ensues. you see that? the referee was taken out by one of the players. again, folks, we are talking about a youth league game. he goes in full pads at the referee and takes him down. i emphasize this is youth league. these kids are not anymore than 14 years old. now, at least four people associated with the sarasota gators football team, are being charged. to referees were attacked in the incident. the one you see taken out right there. he was punched and kicked on the bottom of a pile for a little while. he was able to get up and run away and get out of there. at least four people charged in connection with this incident. let's turn to italy. in the middle of a major debt crisis. what does the mayor of one small italian town plan to do? starts printing his own money. that story is next. chevyilve ra. and not because of the awards or the accolades. no, it was good because you told us so. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. just announced -- celebrate labor day with an additional $500 bonus cash. with all other offers, including the all-star edition discount, that's a total value of $6,500. ♪ our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. a network of possibilities... ♪ in here, pets never get lost. ♪ in here, every continent fits in one room. it was fun, we played football outside. why are you sitting in the dark? ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, you're never away from home. it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds! yeah, that'll certainly stick with me. we'll take it. go, big money! i mean, go. it's your break, honey. same coverage, more savings. now, that's progressive. call or click today. 23 minutes past the hour now. say good morning to nadia bilch bilchik. something you thought about doing all the time. print your own money. >> here in flotina, italy, which is 65 miles from rome, the mayor is upset. because the austerity measures that are happening with the government. he is saying why don't we print our own money because at the end of the day, i would like to create an independent state and monarchy. he said everybody wants to be a prince. it is a more serious issue. what the government is saying small towns like this with under 1,000 people, the government says let's merge them so we have one mayor for every two towns. the small towns are up in arms. there are 163 small towns that will be affected by the austerity measures. they are taken in libyan refugees and saying let's get our numbers up so we don't have to share mayors and resources. >> is this a matter of financial consideration of not merging or they want to hold on to their own identities? >> it is both. italy is made up the little towns which is part of our history. so this particular mayor is going let's print our own money and have our own coat of arms and create something like san marino. it is the oldest surviving state and not in debt. it is independent of italy. >> that is the currency? >> that is the currency. there he is. >> who is this guy? >> this is lucas salarey. he is lucid and sane. the mayors of the towns on monday are banding together and will protest the austerity measures. it is having an impact. we may see by printing his money, how legal is it? some people are using it. whether it is symbolic or real, it is happening. >> it is not good anywhere else but around town. is he for real here or trying to make a grander point? >> i think he thinks he is totally real. it is symbolic. he says we do not want to be at the mercy of the austerity measures. one brave mayor and narcissitic mayor. >> thank you. we will see you again in the 8:00 hour. you are a pizza fan? >> yes. it has to be thin crust. >> dominos? >> i like to be non denominational. as long as it is a very thin crust. >> dominos does have thin crust. now they have big plans. not for what kind of pizza they will make, but where they will make it. look at your screen. they reportedly want to make pizza on the moon. i know you think this is a joke. they put a lot of money and effort and hired firms and artists to put this together. this is the japanese arm of the global pizza chain domino's. these are artist renditions are you seeing. they are envisioning a domed-shaped building two stories tall. they are made of 70 feet of concrete. they hope to use mineral deposits from the moon to keep costs down. staff would be required to live on the premises and the project would cost about $22 billion. now a lot of people think this is some kind of publicity stunt and get some attention worked up. they envision somewhere in the future that humans will be living on the moon and traveling to the moon. and yes, we want to put a domino's on the moon. we are at the bottom of the hour on this cnn saturday morning. cat williams is apologizing for a controversial rant at a show in phoenix. we will tell you who he offended and what he is saying this morning. that is coming up. if something is simply the color of gold, is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. unlike others, you get twice the points on travel, and twice the points on dining, and no foreign transaction fees. call now or apply at chasesapphire.com/preferred. with less chronic low back pain. imagine living your life with le