it's a probably that's never been wassed by a quake in this country until now. first responders may be getting reasons. stand by for dr. sanjay gupta and details of a new medical study. i'm westbound westboun i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> how did their political leaders do big things like reduce the debt if they butt heads over a scheduling speech. we're learning more about the duty-up over the president's make-or-break jobs speech this week, and how the date was finally set. athena jones is covering the story for us. now, actually scheduling that speech has turned out to be the hard part. >> what the american people expect the president to do, what they expect their senators, congress men and women to do is listen to them and take action. they do not give a lick about what day next week the president speaks before congress. >> reporter: the great date debate came to the first public view through a tweet. at around noon on wednesday, the told hi twitter followers, president obama asked to address a joint session of congress the following wednesday to. in a her to speaker of the house jan boehner, he cited -- as he called on washington to put politics aside and start making decisions based on what goes best for our country. but in washington, politics are everywhere. the house's first day back in session would have conflicted with the republican presidential debate, something that jay carney called a coincidence during wednesdays 'briefing. >> there are factors that go into scheduling a speech before congress, a joint session speech. again, you can't -- you can never find a perfect time. >> by 3:00 p.m., just after 4:00 p.m., speaker boehner responded to the white house's request with one of hose own, asking that the president's speech be pushed to thursday the 8th, to ensure there would be no parliamentary or logistical embedments that may detract from the address. >> let's bring it up to speak. the press secretary put out a statement saying the president had agreed to speak on thursday. now, that just happens to be the same day as the nfl season opener. it's the saints versus the packers. one thing that jay carney told us in today's briefing, the president's speech will be completed before kickoff. last thing i asked jay carney, what was the president's reaction to all of this discussion about the speech timing? he said, he spent a lot of time this morning with the president, and the subject never came up. wolf? >> athena, thanks very much. let's dig deeper with candy crowley. she's the anchor of cnn's "state of union." i guess the bottom-line question is did the white house deliberately want to poke their fingers in the eyes of the republicans who for months had that debate scheduled over at the reagan library. >> it is hard to believe not a soul in that white house who knew that the president, for who a month said he was going to have a jobs speech, so they had a month to look at the days and say where -- it's hard to believe that not a single person in that white house knew there was going to be a republican debate that night. >> isn't that why there's staff members on the white house team and in the house hand senate, so they work this kind of stuff out? behind the scenes before letters are exchanged? >> yes, exactly, but having said that, listening to jay carney, i totally agree, i don't think anybody out there cares what night the president talks, that the issues override this, though i love they now say, don't worry, we'll be done before the football game. setting that aside, the fact is the next result is to have everyone outside this beltway thinking, are you kidding me? these let's forget who did what to whom and who was trying to out-flank the other one politically, this, nobody comes out a winner on this stupid thing. >> because it seems to be the burden is on the white house to get it right, as opposed to congress -- congress an equal branch, a legislative branch of government, an executive branch of government, they're invitic the president to come up to capitol hill. shouldn't the white house defer to congress and congress says no, and the republicans the majority? the house -- did boehner do anything wrongening particular case? >> listen, i don't think we're a matter of right or wrong. he -- did he snub the president? >> listen, if you are a republican at this point, you think the president deliberately tried to override and make himself look presidential on a night when he knew republicans would probably be firing at one another. >> but in the end he sort of looks weak. >> because he had to cave. this is a fight the white house did not need to have. >> that's why the people who worked for him seem to have failed him. >> or they meant to do it. either some bad advice, or they actually meant to do it. my guess is it really did somehow get overlooked, though that's hard to believe, because this debate has been scheduled for so long. in the end, if you're a republican, you think the president you know is wrong, if you're a democrat, you think the republicans are wrong, except for james carville, he was saying, you know, this is bad of them to try to do this on the night of the republican debate, but having said that, i do think washington itself, as we see those numbers go lower and lower and lower, loses on all of this. >> one of the reasons why. candy, thanks very much. let's bring in jack cafferty with "the cafferty file." >> heading into an election year, president obama has some issues, and they start very close to home. top black leaders are criticizing the president, saying he hasn't focused enough on the problems that are devastating the african-american community, things like poverty, civil rights and jobs. the unemployment rate among blacks will have 16%. for young african-americans, almost 40%. nationally unemployment is holding a shade over 9%. the congressional black caucus recently challenged president obama in a series of town has, leaders say they don't know what his jobs plan is for the black community. here's the bottom line. if president obama wants a second term, he must get blacks to come out in record numbers like they did in 2008, especially? states like north carolina, pennsylvania, virginia. african-americans will vote for president obama overwhelmingly, but the question will be how high is the turnout? and that's critical. the president is losing support among another dedemocratic voting bloc, women. another poll shows his approval rating among women has dropped to 41%, a 30-point decline from the 71% that it stood at when he first took office. overall, 1 in 4 democrats in a recent poll think the party all to nominate somebody else other than president obama in 2012. two thirds of all americans give him a thumbs down on the economy. that's the nation's top issue. like i said, say the -- here's the question. is it how much trouble is the president in, do you think? >> the republicans look like they've been auditioning candidates at ring ling brothers. with the xhepgs major of ron paul, who i think doesn't get elected, maybe the best friend is the republicans. >> jack cafferty, with the cafferty file. thank you. misery on different ends of the country, fire in the west, flooding in the east. stand by, we're having live reports from both disaster zones. a new message from moammar gadhafi, telling his supporters not to be cowards. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." [ male announcer ] to the seekers of things which are one of a kind. the authentic, the rare, the hard to define. to those always searching for what's pure and what's real from we who believe we know just how you feel. haagen-dazs. rescue crews have reached the last of the flooded small towns in vermont. still a far cry from business as usual. let's go to the amber lyon once against joining us from wilmington in vermont. what is the latest? what's going on? >> well, out here today, we saw inspection crews going around inspection the flood-damaged buildings to see if they needed to be condemned or if the big owners can start to rebuild. we're seeing more and more just belongings turned into junk. after the floodwaters caked everything. even the trash cans have become trash. i'm going to throw on the mask. the air is a little dangerous to breathe. this line up here, that's how high the wall of water came. water squept through this town, then went back down, definitely leaving a lot of destruction. look at this. this used to be a clothing, jewelry shop. i spoke with the owner. she was very upset. she thought she had flood insurance, then realized only the building was covered and none of her clothing and jewelry was covered. she said she faced about $200,000 in losses. we're headed noun into bean heads, this is the popular coffee shop. people used to sit here, drink coffee, read the papers. this is owned by a local couple who actually met in this coffee shop, and then ended up getting married. i'm joined by them right now. this is lori and kevin downey. and you guys have just been through an emotional me the past couple days. how are you handling it, standing here and seeing your business just destroyed like this? >> you have to think back to the same table where the same guys sit every morning and, you know, it's just -- >> our regulars would come in every day. there was a table right there, where a bunch of the guys would sit down, we would shoot the bull about politics or sports and now we can't do it. you're standing -- right behind you there was a four-inch pile of mud right there. all our tables are gone down. we took them out, did you it was a mishmash, looked like pickup sticks in here. >> our livelihood is just gone. it just disappeared in hours, and how do you build back from that? >> it's going to be very hard. we've got to find out for sure our insurance company, they told us that we had the insurance we needed to have, but they never told us that we should have flood insurance. i assumed that our flood insurance -- because we're only ten feet above a river right behind a building that we would have flood insurance. >> reporter: so you didn't have flood insurance. if i can have you shine a light back there, you see the area where it's all destroyed. the refrigeration equipment was in there. and you were telling me, what's that, $50,000 to $70,000 worth of damage? we had over a dozen pieces of refrigeration, thousands of dollars of ravens brew coffee out of alaska. everybody came in for the great coffee. >> reporter: and i've been trying to get him to put a mask on. you've been cleaning in this air. you can feel it in your lungs. are you worried about his health? >> he's stubborn. >> reporter: i see. >> i'm a stubborn irishman. i'm a union construction guy, going back, i'm retired. i know the hazards. i'm shocked and i'm just doing things my way right now. i'm about up to here with is the insurance companies and all the -- we've had a lot of help from the community. i know that the state is trying. >> reporter: we've seen volunteers out there. you just see volunteers going up and down the streets, people that don't wolf, that's what you've noticed. you feel a sense of community here, and people surprisingly positive attitude out on the streets. wolf? >> ask the downies if they've checked into any federal or fema aid programs that might be of assistance to them, or maybe state assistance programs, because often in other disasters, either the state or the federal government comes to those who don't necessarily have the appropriate insurance. he wants to know if you've checked into in assistance? >> i called fema yesterday, as soon as i gave them our zip code here, i was told that we're not on the disaster area list yet. it's expected, but we can't do anything with fema. i calmed vema, which is vermont emergency management, and because apparently because they're -- their offices are up in they're in the same situation. >> could anyone help you, give you hope for the future? >> not directly. i know they're trying. i talked to 245ir federal guys, and they steered me to vema. i trust they're cost the best they can do. i'm scared the best they can do is not close to enough. not close. we're scared. >> we're all scared. >> a vibrant town is dead right now. there's no businesses downtown. just a few short days ago it was bustling. this dining room would have been full, and nothing. >> thank you guys very much. best of luck. i know kevin happens to be a huge yankees fan. wolf, i don't know if you're happy about that or not. >> wolf, i hear you like the nats. i thought i've seen him hype the nationals. >> he's right. guys thanks very much. >> good luck to all the folks that have been seriously requested, including my home state of new york. much more coming up. meanwhile, the newest hurricane has weakened to a tropical storm with 70-mile-an-hour winds, yet it's expected to strengthen as it moves west. right now it's far from land, and people -- but the extended forecast shows it pasting puerto rico on monday. a much different concern in texas. firefighters are battling several major wildfires. jim spellman is joining us from 9 front lines. >> reporter: over here to the left, we watched the fire come down the and devastate this forest right here. right now is the dangerous part of the day for firefighting. they're trying to get these people back in their homes and tourists back to the resort area before the labor day weekend. >> jim, thank you. katia isn't the only storm they're watching. yet another storm in the gulf of mexico could flood parts, get this, of new orleans. you'll find out how dangerous it could be. something happened in iraq last month that's never happened before. we're going to tell you what it is. that's coming up right here in "the situation room." [ doorbell rings ] hello there. i'm here to pick up helen. ah. mom? he's here. nice wheels. oh, thanks. keeps me young. hello there, handsome. your dinner's in the microwave, dear. ♪ where do you want to go? just drive. [ engine revs, tires screech ] mom? ♪ new unemployment claims numbers are up. lisa sylvester is monitoring that. some other top stories. >> the labor department says first-time unemployment claims fell to 409,000 last week. that's 12,000 fewer claims than the week before. the reason? striking verizon workers who filed for unemployment returned to work. strikers are not eligible for benefits in most states, but some applied anyway, pushing jobless numbers up for two straight weeks. the federal reserve is sanctioning gop man sax for questionable practices in the former mortgage unit. the fed says the bank has to investigate a pattern of negligence and misconduct, including rob osigning. that's when lone servicer would rubber stamp foreclosure documents without even looking at them. gold man will face monetary penalties and have to compensation homeowners harmed by the misconduct. in a bizarre mystery in canada. for the 11th time in the past four years, a severed foot in a tennis shoe has turned up in the waters of british column by yay. authorities, though, they don't suspect foul play, because there were no signs of trauma. what's behind these gruesome discoveries? some are speculating they are actually drowning victims whose feet get pulled to the surface because of the buoyancy of the tennis shoes. this is the first month without a u.s. military death since the united states indiana raided iraq in 2003. the u.s. pulled troops out of the iraq last year, but about 50,000 u.s. troops remain there to provide support and training. wolf? >> more than 4,000 troops have died in iraq since that war started, 4500 or so. >> but a good month for august, no deaths in iraq, and they're calling that a victory. >> let's hope that -- they're supposed to be out by the end of this year, though the obama administration and iraqi government are negotiating to scheme some troops there. that's a controversial issue in and of itself. thanks very much. the only republican in the congressional black caucus threatens to leave the group. we'll tell you why. stick around, you're in "the situation room." you name it. i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. have i got a surprise for you! yeah, it's new [ barks beneful healthy fiesta. gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. [ doorbell rings ] hello there. i'm here to pick up helen. ah. mom? he's here. nice wheels. oh, thanks. keeps me young. hello there, handsome. your dinner's in the microwave, dear. ♪ where do you want to go? just drive. [ engine revs, tires screech ] mom? ♪ two new rants from moammar gadhafi, both audio messages were broadcast today, exactly 42 years after gadhafi's rise to power. here's a clip. >> libya will never be occupied, and we will fight against you whatever your -- we will sacrifice our lives so that the scent of libya will become -- and they will be able -- you will never have peace of mind inside our land. >> two of gadhafi's officers have given mixed messages. . let's go to libya to talk more about the hunt for gadhafi, and life after the fall of his regime. arwa damon is standing by. arwa, you just spoke with gadhafi's foreign minister, who is now siding with the rebels. what did he tell us? >> reporter: that's right el he handed himself to the rebels, saying that he felt be staying at home some is units would be threatening with him. he is now in their custody. they say they'll investigate and put him on trial, but here is what he had to say to us earlier today. >> do you know where colonel gadhafi is right now? >> no. >> reporter: do you have any idea where he could have gone? >> he could be in tripoli, anywhere -- or he could move to -- and siirt, but i don't know him, i haven't seen him in two months. >> reporter: you haven't seen him in two months? >> reporter: would he ever surrender, give up? >> i doubt. my view -- that he surrender himself that he be able to put down arms, or he will be killed. >> he also said that he believed that gadhafi was increasingly losing support, especially from senior regime members. in fact, earlier today in an interview on air arabiya -- >> you've been in tripoli now for a while, arwa. what's it like in the capital of libya? is there still fighting? to gadhafi's forces control any parts of the capital? what's going on? >> reporter: well, the street to street battles have certainly subsided. there are this has led to the formation of the tripoli revolutionary council that has 5,500 members. they say that they are going to take on responsibility for security, for setting up checkpoints, protecting hospitals, other significant institutions. they are in fact asking that anyone who wants to carry a gun inside the capital and protect the capital register with them. they're asking other fighting units to leave those that came from areas like misrata. they're trying to establish some sort of control and structure. when it comes to people's day-to-day lives, they're still suffering from a severe lack of water. there are water shipments coming in from the united nations. fuel, of course, still a problem, though the weight we're being told has gone from being days long to hours long. then there is, again, the challenge of food commodities. that too in short supply. at the end of the day, people say they are for the time being able to cope. what they say is the big challenge, especially as the euphoria begins to subside is setting up institutions, institutions that have to be set up