it is now the 6:00 hour on the east coast here and we're tracking this big, huge storm. brian and steve both off today. we have peter johnson jr. and mike is back. we haven't seen each other for so long. we see each other but not work together. >> it's been three or four years. we see each other in the building. >> sometime in the show, i'm going to share a secret about you. there's many but i'm going to share one. in the meantime, we have a fox news weather alert, right? that's why we're all here today bright and early because hurricane earl has made landfall drenching north carolina. downgraded though to a category 2 storm but still packing winds up to 105 miles per hour. we have live team coverage. we'll start with rick leventhal live in new york and jeff in nags head, north carolina but first start with janice dean in our extreme weather center. >> can i just say that most women around here have secrets about mike? >> no kidding! >> moving on, let's take a look. we have earl. we have fiona and we have what was gaston but that could actually regenerate. another way of coming off the coast of africa so we're into peak hurricane season, guys. we'll watch earl. good-bye, earl, great thing the next couple of hours but right now, still packing winds of 105 miles an hour moving north-northeast at 18. the good news is the center of the storm stayed largely off shore. so they are still getting tropical storm force winds, still getting a storm surge and still getting heavy rain but it's not the worst case scenario that we're so thankful for. there's the path at 5:00 a.m. new update at 8:00. give us the updates on the storm. remaining well off shore. still going to feel tropical force winds possible on the eastern coast of long island and up towards cape cod and the islands you still have a hurricane warning so we could see the potential for hurricane-force winds for you. just a quick look at your future radar as we go further out in time. there's the storm right now moving up the coast and just east of long island. we're still gonna feel some rain bands, though, but the worst of the storm will remain off shore and then as it moves closer to eastern massachusetts, still could see a couple of inches of rain, tropical storm force winds most certainly and some storm surge so we're not done with the storm yet but the good news is looks like it's not going to be that worst case scenario that we were all fearing. gretchen, mike, peter, back to you. >> all right. mike's speechless. he's wondering what your secret is. >> i'm very scared about janice's secret. >> we love mike so much. such a pleasure to see you. >> great to see you. >> very true. let's head out to rick leventhal who we also love. he's in montauk, new york where the storm will be moving on in. what's the conditions on the beach there, rick? >> i want to show you the most beautiful conditions we've seen so far out here. look at that sky! it's just turned pink and red. it was a little blue earlier and look at that! i mean, it's just so dramatic. and i haven't seen anything like this in a long time and it's usually when you see a red sky or a pink sky like that, it usually signals the oncoming of a big storm. and, you know, fortunately for montauk on the east end, we're not expecting to get a direct hit as janice has pointed out. they are saying sometime later today, maybe 12 hours from now, they're going to be getting 50, maybe 55-mile-an-hour winds, maybe more. maybe one to two three inches on the east end. could have some local flooding, could have some issues with power outages and trees down and they have actually stopped the running of two train lines of long island railroad very close to west hampton, about 50 miles from the east end here in montauk, stopped the running of those trains for the rest of the day because they're concerned about possible trees down and power outages and issues with those trains. beyond that, they're not worried -- that worried because the storm has veered off to the east so that's the good news. >> what's the red sky at morning sailor take warning, is that what it is>> can you even get in the water there, rick? >> we just got swamped. i don't know if you can tell, the waves, you know, we're near high tide so the water has been coming up and catching us off guard. it's no joke. we can't get in the water because the undertow is so strong. that's the biggest concern for officials out here, beaches are closed to swimming. thursday was a beautiful day. sunny. but the waves were really churning and all the beaches were closed and they don't have enough lifeguards to protect all these beaches. they have maybe 2% of the 17 miles of beaches in the east hampton township actually covered by guards. they're trying to get the word out. don't go in the water, it's too dangerous. people could die out there. >> there haven't been any evacuations at all at this point. what we're looking at, i guess, really is kind of a nor'easter at this point. i mean, not as bad as it could have been but still a significant storm. >> right. and there's still the potential for some regional not evacuations but the need to move some people if they are locked in an area because of floodwaters or left without power for too long and they do have shelters on standby so if there are people who have needs because of the weather conditions and because of the potential fallout from this storm that they will -- they will open some of those shelters. dozens of them standing by but they probably won't need them. there still is a chance, as i mentioned, peter, because of the rough conditions for some power outages so obviously, officials keeping an eye on that and they do have 1600 power workers that they brought in from out of state along with hundreds of trucks and extra equipment standing by in a staging area in case they lose power so as soon as the storm moves through, they can get the power back on as quickly as possible. >> turn around, view is getting even better. wow, what a shot! >> well, it's less red now and more white as the sun starts to come up here on the east end of long island. beautiful sight and here comes another wave. >> that's what they call a beauty shot with rick in there, too. hurricane earl starting to climb up the east coast. people are feeling the effects. beach goers in new york had to stay out of the water because of the dangerous riptides. >> people were going in and getting knocked down just when they were up to their shins really. and the water was coming up and washing out everybody's little blanket area. >> hurricane warning has expanded to massachusetts and a tropical storm warning has been issued for connecticut and rhode island. let's go on to some of the other headlines for a friday because we have another fox news alert. while you were sleeping, four concourses at miami international airport, well, they've just been reopened after a bomb scare. forced an overnight evacuation. right now, a passenger is in custody after screeners found a suspicious item in a checked bag. some 200 people were initially evacuated. >> called the manager and said we needed to evacuate the entire hotel and so we went in and got our cell phones and casually went down. but we didn't know with what we were evacuating from, whether it was a package or gunman. >> no details have been released yet about what caused the scare. mexico's army says it has killed 27 suspected gunmen for a drug cartel after a firefight near mexico. the scene of the battle is not far from san fernando where 72 people were gunned down last week. gulf drug cartels are engaged in bloody warfare for control of the drug smuggling routes through that area. is another economic stimulus coming? well, president obama has been huddling with top economic advisors, apparently, to brain storm ways to get the economy moving again before the midterm elections. reports say they're considering ex tending the research and development tax credit as well as boost infrastructure spending. white house has not put a price tag on the latest spending plan. those are your headlines. >> let's talk about b.p., what do you say? of course, b.p. is saying that they need to do some more drilling. they need drilling permits. otherwise, they won't be able to make money, you know. >> to pay off all the damages. >> if they don't have money, you can't pay off the mess they created in the gulf. pay off all the damages. what do you think about that? >> does anyone see the irony in all this? the whole thing is the obama administration put a moratorium on drilling in the gulf. b.p. is playing the one card, i think, if you don't let us drill and lift this moratorium, we can't make cash to be able to pay all those people who suffered all the damages. >> it's even going beyond that, gretchen, there's been a bill that's been passed in the house that targets b.p. and says well, you will not be able to get permits on the outer continental shelf to participate in what you've been doing for all these years. and their production accounts for about 20% of the production. >> that's george miller's bill out of california. >> that's correct. so what they're saying is we are talking about putting $21 billion up on the line to pay off our debts, it pay off damages and now, you're gonna make it impossible for us to compensate the people that we agreed to compensate by cutting off our livelihood. >> it looks like it's directed right at b.p. because the provision in it says we can't give you a permit to drill if you've had 10 fatalities at one of your platforms or facilities. and what was the fatality rate? it was 11. >> or if you've had fines more than $10 million and the only producer that meets that, as you point out, b.p. >> so what would be the ramifications, though? i mean, so if b.p. says that we cannot raise this cash, would they file for bankruptcy, then? i don't know what the final ramification is. that's always a potential. listen, you want us to fund these obligations. we've agreed to fund these obligations but don't cut off our capacity to work. >> very interesting. >> catch 22. >> it's tough. >> we have so much more coming up on the show. we continue to follow the storm as well as this. democrats pushing another stimulus plan on top of record spending already. well, stu varney is next with that potential fallout. hi, stu. >> and he promised to never take money from terrorists but he is a brand new fox investigation into the imam building a mosque near ground zero. makes that allegation. we'll talk to the reporter who broke the story. >> this is a good one. ♪ [ smack! ] [ smack! smack! smack! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? 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[ barks ] long live your buddy. oh, max! long live your dog. purina puppy chow and purina dog chow. >> let's talk a little bit about the economy. president obama says the nation must finally get serious about the economy. >> but the president has been ignoring the fact that domestic spending rose a whopping 16% last year and much was spent on entitlements and giveaways to washington and now they're thinking about, what, stuart varney, another stimulus? the great stuart varney is here. is that what they're thinking about, really? >> what do you do when you're facing defeat at the polls, you spent up a storm. you got record deficits and you still have mass unemployment. what do you do? we say we hear you, we feel your pain. we've got a plan. in fact, it's pure politics. and the president, i think, is going to offer a deal. he's going to say -- >> to who? >> the republicans. >> he's going to say we democrats will give you republicans tax breaks for business and a big new package. you will give us more stimulus spending on infrastructure and you will let us tax the rich. >> that's kind of like in my grandparents' household where my grandfather voted democrat and my grandmother voted republican. those cancel each other out, don't they? >> they do. it's daring the republicans to say no, we're not going for this in which case they can turn around and say the economy's problems are your fault. these are pure politics. >> in reading the press reports this morning, it seems they say we really want to spend money. we're not going to call it a stimulus. but we're not quite sure how we want to spend it. we're talking about tax credits maybe, but they're talking about -- when they're talking about infrastructure, we're talking about huge dollars that they're talking about. >> they're floating a lot of trial balloons. tax credits for research and development for business. maybe a payroll tax holiday where you don't get your social security deducted from your paycheck for a brief period of time. and maybe some other item like infrastructure spending. it's the trial balloons what will fly because the president has to hold this press conference next friday. he's going to be questioned about what he's going to do about the economy. so there's all kinds of ideas floated out there, some kind of package deal will be arranged. >> so i tend to be a cynic. are you saying that kristina romer is she's on her way out as part of one of his economic advisors and she floated the second stimulus plan, i think. >> she did? >> are you saying they asked her to do that. that was a trial balloon. they said, hey, put that out there. you had robert gibbs, spokesperson for the president said absolutely no second stimulus. >> no, i don't think they said please put this out there. she's part of the chorus on the left that is calling for a big, new stimulus program. everybody -- you're not going to get a big new stimulus program but there's the chance that you'll get a deal. some tax breaks for business in return for more infrastructure spending and taxing the rich. that's the outlines of a deal which i think is going to be presented which i think the republicans will probably reject. it's all politics at this point. it doesn't make for good policy to deal with this economy. we're going to get unemployment numbers today that are going to be bad. >> may we watch you today at 9:20? >> please do. >> on the business channel. thank you. >> jerry lewis is hopping mad. >> smack her in the mouth, i'd be arrested for abusing a woman. a>> what would you say to her? >> i would say you deserve this and nothing else. whack! >> who is he angry with? find out next. >> and he promised not to take money from terrorists but connect the dots and that is what you might find. the astonishing connection between the developer behind the ground zero mosque and terrorists next. with the reporter who just broke the big story. built with quality and backed with the best coverage in america including a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. that's 40,000 more miles than ford. chevy silverado half-ton. a consumers digest best buy and the most dependable, longest lasting full-size pickups on the road. now get 0% apr for 72 months on 2010 silverado half-ton models witan average finance savings around $5,800. thanks. i got the idearom general mills big g cereals. they put a white check on the top of every box to let people know that their cereals have healthy whole grain, and they're the right choice... 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[ male announcer ] you're at the age where you don't get thrown by curve balls. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done. ♪ so why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? isn't it time you talked to your doctor about viagra? 20 million men already have. ♪ ith every age comes responsibility. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects may include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. see if america's most prescbed ed treatment is right for you. >> well, you'll want to stay tuned to this because the august job numbers will come out in about two hours from now. unemployment expected to go up for the first time since april with a loss of more than 100,000 jobs. president obama will speak shortly after those numbers come out. a federal judge overturns nebraska's ban on desecrating the american flag. it clears the way for demonstrators to continue trampling on the flag during protests at military funerals. mike? >> get a load of this one. the developer of the proposed mosque near ground zero claimed he was steering clear of terror groups when it came to funding the project. >> we will not take money from iran. we will not take money from hamas. we will not take money from organizations that have unamerican values. >> however, fox has learned the man who actually bought the mosque has contributed thousands of dollars to a terror group. charles is with us from our fox affiliate here in new york city, fox 5. good to see you. >> thank you. >> be careful out there, all right? break it down for our viewers. who is this guy? >> ok, he is a man that has been linked to the developer of the mosque in real estate deals. he backed $39 million guarantor for a loan he did in a building in another part of manhattan. >> the chelsea section of the city. ok. >> correct, exactly. we have learned that this man who is an egyptian-born man who lives on long island. he is the money man. he actually put a significant investment into the purchase of the mosque which was paid for with $4.8 million in cash. that's just the tip of the iceberg. now we find out that this man who purchased that mosque had contributed to a terrorist organization back in 1999. >> 1999. is that hlf this>> what is that? holy land foundation for relief and development. this was an organization that was dubbed as a -- the largest muslim charity in the united states. it turns out that the federal government had been investigating hlf since the mid 1990's. and in 2001, it shut down hlf and declared it to be a terrorist organization because it was funneling money to hamas. which is, of course, an organization which is dedicated to really the destruction of israel by conducting violent jihad. >> so we saw some footage, was that you going after him in his driveway there getting into his s.u.v., if he thinks -- he says he didn't know, correct? >> that's where the money was going. >> but if he didn't know, what's he -- why is he running from you? >> well, first -- well, we first approached him last week in the video that you see here. >> right. >> i hadn't really discovered this yet. essentially i was on the money trail at that point and i was just poking around and at that point, i definitely got the distinct impression that he didn't want to talk to us and he didn't want to even touch this topic so now we've been able to uncover all this additional information, it stands to reason why, perhaps, why he didn't wa