Look at todays eye opener your world in 90 seconds. The weathers just not only is it blowing, its blasting. Hurricane harvey hits texas hard. Battering the Southeast Texas coast. The danger far from over. Debris everywhere. Harvey is no joke. These are about some of the woers conditions i have ever been in. The National Weather service National Weather service issued its first ever public storm surge warning. This thing will sit like a stationary waterfall. Its not weakening quickly. Were calling it an ironman storm. A political storm in washington. The pump pardons joe arpaio. Regardless of no pardon or pardon, id be with him to the end. Gorkin fired. We are watching what hes doing. Seems to me its a good strategy politically to d this on a friday night in the middle of harvey. Dont you think its devicive . North korea fired three short ranger ballistic missiles. The tests did not pose a threat at any time to guam. World championships in finland went again to the reigning champion. All that connoror mcgregor and floyd weather hitting the scales. After weekes of hype, anticipation growing. Im going to breeze through him. And all that matters. Big bear, big fly the first ever players weekend. Players get to pick their own nicknames to put on their jerseys. The tworun homer for mr. Smile on cbs this morning saturday. The president was briefed on the hurricane. He signed a disaster proclamation, which unleashes the full force of government assistance. Our thoughts are with them. Hurricane harvey has already wreaked a lot of havoc there. Trump came up with a very strong statement condemning the violence on both sides. Welcome to the weekend, everyone. Im anthony along with Dana Jacobson in for alex wagner. Hurricane harvey is blasting texas this morning, and this is what it feels like. Storm was a category four when it made landfall late last night northeast of Corpus Christi in rockport, with winds at 130 miles an hour and heavy rain. Tornado watch has been posted for most of the coast, all the way to louisiana. The hurricane caused tens of thousands of residents to flee. More than 210,000 people are without electricity this morning. Harvey is now a category one storm, but it could strengthen again. Its already brought storm surges of up to 12 feet and is expected to cause extensive flooding over the next few days, from as much as three feet of rain. We have a team of correspondents stationed throughout eastern texas. We start in victoria, which is just a few miles from the eye of the storm. Good morning. Reporter good morning. We are definitely seeing the worst of Hurricane Harvey as it churns inland here in victoria. Maximum sustained winds at 90 Miles Per Hour. Wind gusts can top 100 Miles Per Hour. Theyre intermittent but you get a sense of how dangerous and possibly destructive or even destructive as weve seen in other parts of texas, this storm will be. I can tell you the situation here really started to deteriorate around 2 00 a. M. Thats when the powers went out. You could hear transformers blowing, power lines coming down. What was really scary for people here, including us, was that the hotel started to sway. A lot of people right now out here have decided to wait it out in the lobby of the hotel, away from windows. As dangerous as the wind situation is right now and will be for hours, the real concern for officials here in victoria is the rainfall. Theyre not expecting to get nearly inches. They are expecting feet of rain. Up to 2 1 2 feet from this storm. What theyve been mentioning is cat dprastrophic flooding. Its why they wanted people to get out of the way of the storm. Some did yesterday. Others decided to ride it out. The big problem Going Forward is it could take days to assess damage here and any recovery because the storm is expected to linger. Now, youre getting one perspective from us here of how bad the situation is, but just to give you a wider perspective, yes, we are right here, close to the eye of the storm right now, but there are more than 7 million texans living in a state of disaster right now. Again, this situation is worsening for some right now. Be careful. Thank you. Danger is still being assessed from Hurricane Harvey. Late last night, President Trump tweeted that he signed a disaster proclamation, freeing up federal assistance for the state of texas. David is driving toward the city of rockport, where the storm made landfall. David, good morning. Reporter anthony, good morning. We left our hotel in Corpus Christi when it seemed safe to do so. The rain is falling at a heavy clip. This is still a category one hurricane, even as it has moved inland on the gulf coast of texas. Were headed to rockport because were told the damage is extensive. There was at least one report overnight where the city manager told cbs news the roof of a Senior Housing complex had collapsed, trapping people. Rescue crews were unable to get to get because it was not safe to do so. They eventually were able to get those people to safety. This storm, by the way, is going to rank in the top 20 of most powerful hurricanes to ever hit the united states. Video inside the eyewall of Hurricane Harvey shows the power of a category four as it barrelled into the gulf coast last night. Several areas looked like disaster zones. Wind gusts of over 160 Miles Per Hour and flooding rains slammed towns along the water. Its not expected to let up for days. Rockport and fulton were some of the cities hardest hit. They are the first Populated Areas to see a direct impact. Early views of the damage show several mobile homes flipped or already in pieces. A gas station sign lies flat on the ground after it was toppled. People staying at this hotel had to be evacuated to a nearby school. Debris everywhere. Roof gone. Rooms exposed. Harvey is no joke. Reporter as you enter the bedrooms of the hotel, the outer wall and windows are gone. Parts of this Area High School were left unrecognizable after demolished by the destructive winds. Just to the south of rockport in aransas pass, the Police Department showed the walls of their building blown off. This reporter in Corpus Christi was nearly lifted off the ground as the winds picked him up during harveys landfall. This is the first category four hurricane to hit the texas coast since hurricane carla, which came 56 years ago. The rain is coming down at a heavy clip and expected to continue the next two to three days. Thats why flooding is a grave concern with this storm which, by the way, is still roaring as a category one, even as it is over land here on the gulf coast of texas. By the way, in Corpus Christi during the height of the storm, a homeowner shot the alleged intruder. The intruder is still alive. No major injuries in the city of Corpus Christi. It is as you get out of the area that you find extensive damage. This storm did not weaken at all. As it nailed the texas coast. Anthony, when we get to rockport, well update you. David in Corpus Christi, texas, thanks. Hurricane harvey has caused significant damage along a big part of the texas coast. The storm is heading northwest. Winds decreased to about 100 Miles Per Hour. Demarco morgan is in galveston. Reporter good morning. The wind is still coming at us full speed. The rain has been off and on. We clocked 40mileperhour winds and topped at least 50mileperhour winds. I know manuel talked about it being 90 Miles Per Hour. This is some of the debris off the pildinbuildings. This coming at you even at 50mileperhour winds is dangerous. It is not always the wind that kills you but whats in the wind. Weve seen people coming out here and taking selfies. Be careful if youre coming outside to take in the winds. We have palm trees out here that have been blowing. Thats a familiar sign. The alltoo familiar sign when a Tropical Storm or hurricane is in the area. This is something extremely dangerous. Harvey is expected to soak galveston and the houston area for the next several days. Galvestons record for total rainfall over a fiveday span has been streets will likely be flooded for several days. North of here, three homes were destroyed by a windfueled fire. It is not immediately clear if they were occupied and if all of this isnt enough, there is also a threat of tornadoes northeast of galveston. We could be in the area where we could be facing the tornado threats. Again, we spotted some people out here. You want to be careful if youre coming out here. We spotted a group of five on several bikes an hour ago. This time of morning, these car. If you dont have to come outside, dont do it. Stay inside. Back to you. Thank you. Be safe. Demarco morgan in galveston, texas. Lets get the latest on Hurricane Harvey and where it is heading. Megan is here with the forecast. Good morning. Good morning to you, dana. We are looking at a major situation here. In and of the fact it made landfall as a category four. Look at, as a category one, it still maintains its structure. Still looks much as it did over the open waters of the gulf of mexico. Though the eye or center of circulation is now over land. What that does is provide friction. Its weakened the storm but it is still pulling in moisture. The moisture is coming courtesy of the gulf of mexico. Thatll be a problem for days. Wind speeds to 90 miles an hour. It is crawling at 6 Miles Per Hour. Lets take a hook look at the f cast. It does not move much. It sits, it spins, it continues pulling in these intense showers and storms for days here. This is taking us through the end of the day today. Watch as we go through time. Into monday, into tuesday, potentially wednesday, were still pulling in the gulf moisture. This is a situation that is going to continue. Well still continue to see winds, as well. They should lessen as we lose a little bit of the tropical characteristics of this through days and days of sitting and churning here over texas. However, there are several possible scenarios as we look at what could happen moving into the next few days. A couple possible paths for this. Different models showing us different ways that this could move. This is one here. Shows it coming back out over the open waters of the gull f o mexi mexico. This happens, it is likely to restrengthen, using the fuel of the warm sea surface temperatures over the gulf, then make another landfall, potentially pushing inland again, all the while still raining. There is a factor that takes it back on off to the west. Any of these scenarios is going to mean a massive amount of rain all across portions of texas. Were talking about 20, 30, poss miab possibly 40 inches of rain in some areas. This is a threat that is going to continue not just through the weekend but into much of next week. Anthony . Meteorologist from our chicago station. Thank you so much. At this early hour, while it may look like residents escaped the worst of it, a huge part of the danger and cost of a hurricane can come in the days and months after the storm. Its not just from flooding. Power outages are a major concern, especially when it comes to hot and humid weather that follow hose the storm. Temperatures next week are expected to be in the 90s. Some people may be without electricity for weeks. Poststorm illnesses may be the most serious concern. Among the deaths in texas in 2008 from hurricane ike, 31 were due to illness. 18 due to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. 16 due to cardiovascular failure. Other deaths came from fires and tree cutting. Another problem is the lack of flood insurance. A report by texas officials found that 61 of the households that sustained flood damages during hurricane ike were uninsured. Also in the path of Hurricane Harvey are Key Facilities for some of the nations fuel supply. Hundreds of oil refineries, pipelines and oil wells are spread along the texas gulf coast. There could be fuel shortages as a result of the storm. Hurricane has already pushed up gasoline prices in some places. Dp gas stations in the area were running out of fuel azors resids fled for safety. Stay with us on this station and our streaming service cbsn. Updates are available on cbs news. Com. President trump is facing sharp criticism for granting a pardon to the former sheriff of arizona. He gained notoriety for his aggressive action to arrest immigrants. Lawmakers and civil rights advocates are questioning the president s decision and its timing. To clear arpaio of possible jail time. He was scheduled to be sentenced in october. Reporter good morning. While the pardon itself comes as no surprise, democrat and republican senators, as well as a few civil rights organizations, are all slamming President Trumps decision. One group going as far as to call the move a defense of racism. Sheriff joe can feel good. Reporter President Trump eluded to his impending pardon at a rally in phoenix on tuesday. Do the people in this room like sheriff joe . Was sheriff joe convicted for doing his job . Reporter arkansaspaio was convicted last month, defying a judges order to stop detaining people solely on the suspicion they were in the country illegally. It was a practice criticized as racially profiling latinos. In a white house statement, President Trump applauded arpaio for, quote, his lifes work, protecting the public from crime and illegal immigration. And said after more than 50 years of Admiral Service to our nation, he is worthy of a president ial pardon. Cbs news has learned that pardon was driven by the white house and did not follow Typical Department of justice guidelines. It requires at least a fiveyear threshold before the agency can remove a clemency petition. The department of justice said the president exercised his Lawful Authority and we respect his decision. The former sheriff thanked the president and said hed hold a News Conference next week to tell his side of the story. Pardon, ill be with him till the end. I mean that. Ill let the true story come out about the views of the judicial system and politics. Reporter the decision has outraged civil rights organizations like the aclu. It called the pardon an endorsement of racism and that by pardoning arpaio, trump has chosen division over unity, hurt over healing. Now arizonas republican senators, john mccain and jeff flake, both denounced President Trumps decision. All of this happened while staff at the white house were dealing with yet another staff shakeup. It was announced friday the president s Deputy Assistant is no longer with the administration. One official explaining that he did not resign. Dana . Another busy night at the who white house. North korea fired several shortrange rockets off its east coast this morning in its effort to test its missile and nuclear launching abilities. This as kim jongun overseas military Training Exercises and shows no signs of restraint. The u. S. Says none of the missiles in this latest test posed a threat to the u. S. Territory of guam. Two flew 155155 miles. Another blew up immediately. U. S. And south korea continue with their drills, which the north claims is preparation for war. Hurricane harvey, President Trump with the political storm that always seems to be brewing in washington. Lets start with the pardon of sheriff arpaio, who as was mentioned, has been denounced by both republican senators in as. What do you think the political fallout from doing this right as the hurricane was about to hit landfall . It is a continuation of his political strategy, moving to the base. Obviously, fallout from democrats. Fallout from the establishment republicans. But something very popul yoular fallout from the establishment republicans. But something very popul youla the base. The rally in phoenix, a message to the base. We say this is hurting your agenda in washington, hurting your poll numbers but there is no sign of wavering among the base. Even among republicans, you have around 75 who have a favorable view of this president. So 2018, theres already can dates, p candidates, protrump candidates to primary. If only you have a small slice of people in this country supporting the president , but if they show up for a republican primary, itll get him more favorable supporters in congress. Even if it means the republicans lose the majority, it is a bigger strategy of blowing up this republican establishment. The president has a test right now in the hurricane. This news came as it was hitting. How big of a test is this for his administration . Well, hurricanes have not been good traditionally for republican president s. We can go back to andrew with george h. W. Bush. Katrina with george w bush. Even mitt romney as a candidate, could be argued he was hurt by sandy coming through before the election. There are hundreds of positions still vacant in the federal government. One of those is not the fema director. There is a fema director in there. General kelly, who came from dhs, now obviously has a direct line to the president. I think that will help, as well. But there is a long history of president s being hurt by these type of natural disasters. It is going to be something to keep our eye on, if this storm unfortunately keeps on the course its on. Another story that broke last night is that sebastian gorka, a Deputy Assistant to the president , is no longer a part of the white house. This slipped out quietly. What happened here, you think . This is a continuation of the fall of the bannon wing of this administration. Gorka was, i think, had a bit more Media Coverage that