on the road. a lot of that water dissipated. >> gregg: live in atlantic, new jersey. these are the pictures we've been saying how the rain has become a one-sided event. it was fascinating last night to see the dry air come kaim in all the rain was left side of the storm and rain and surf push was on the radios of push. honored to be joined by commander of the u.s. coastguard in atlantic city area. how are things from the seaside of things? >> good afternoon. actually i'm in st. resolution, i oversee the atlantic area. we've been dealing with irene since you it started in puerto rico. as you know up in new england we have actually stations in lake ontario as a result of the storm. >> lake ontario is still getting it? >> yes, they. >> shep: what has it been like? have you done a lot rescues? >> i am extraordinary proud to lead our coastguard team. this is an extraordinary experience. i think the teamwork has been great. preparation has been terrific across the board when i was down in puerto rico all the way up the coast. now, we're really fully into the response and recovery stages.

us today, we're so glad you're with us everybody, i'm jenna lee. gregg: i'm gregg jarrett in for jon scott, here in the fox news room and "happening now", people up and down the east coast are cleaning up after hurricane irene, that storm claiming at least 24 lives and it left millions of people without any power at all and caused billions of dollars in damage. jen still counting at this time. vermont, one of the last states to feel irene's fury, is now dealing with historic floods. take a look at those images. as you can see, washing out roads and bridges and obviously causing a lot of damage, gregg. gregg: the storm surge is really the big problem in places like long island, new york, entire neighborhoods, jenna, are completely under water. jenna: and a raft, having one probably a good idea right now if you're trying to get around trenton new jersey, it's one of the only ways to get around, as you can see. gregg: look at that, isn't that amazing. we saw a lot of it over thing -- over the weekend. will the weather cooperate with the cheenup? that's the question now. janice dean is l

the right time. gregg: seized the day. martha: he says you can't just go into walmart and take what you yuan and leave! gregg: good for you. "happen position now" begins right now. martha: see you tomorrow, have a good day. jon: a very big couple of hours ahead, we begin with this fox news alert, the journalists have been freed, foreign journalists left their hotel in -- the rixos hotel in tripoli after being held there by forces loyal to moammar qaddafi. one of ours was held there and we will speak to him as soon as it's absolutely safe and we can make the connection. >>> and new informs just coming in on the track of hurricane irene, as well. good morning to you, i'm jon scott. >> jenna: hi everybody, i'm jenna lee, we're here in the fox news room and "happening now", we have big news from overseas and here, hurricane irene is a dangerous category three storm and headed for the bahamas after ripping through the carribean eye lawns. jon: that was a category one when the center blew through but it was strong enough to rip up waves, knock out power and unleash torrential rain and flo

, revealed despair. he will mean with the homeland security. gregg: he is busy man. not getting much sleep. neither are the people that are inundated. irene blamed for 7 deaths in new jersey. the latest victim sucked into a drain pipe while clearing debris in a drainage basin. david lee miller has more. how bad is it there? >> reporter: it is pretty bad. a picture is worth a thousand words this picture is worth a million. the pa say quick river done to the bridge in patterson new jersey, completely impasseable. the water moving at very swift pace this morning. we're told that the river crested 13 feet above flood stage. further down river you can see what is the left of this pride chicken restaurant that apparently was closed. it is for sale. what is happening today, certainly not good for the real estate market in paterson. just off in the distance behind the fried chicken restaurant, you see four building blocks, four apartment houses. all of them were evacuated in the last 24 hours because of the flooding. we are told that thousands and thousands of people have been evacuated here in pa

contribution he made, amazing legacy in those songs. gregg: so many more. martha: thank nor being with us, everybody, we will ao*e see you right back here tomorrow. "happening now" begins right now. have a great day. jon: and brand-new information coming in right now on the track of hurricane irene, good morning to you. i'm jon scott. jenna: i'm jenna lee. hurricane irene is barreling down on the dominican republic as it heeds right towards us in the united states. the powerful storm is lifting up high waves and unleashing as you can see torrential downpours on the resort areas. jon: irene is a category 2 hurricane right now but getting stronger as it heeds for the turks and caicos as well as the bahamas. jenna: forecasters say irene could grow to a category 3 today, meaning it would have winds as high as 130 miles an hour. that is strong enough to damage roofs, blow down shrubs and trees and cause extensive damage. jon: a category 4 storm which irene could very well become before it hits the u.s. packs winds as high as 155 miles an hour. here is an illustration of some of the kind of dam

glad you are with us on this tuesday. i'm jenna lee. gregg: i'm greg garrett in for jon scott. jenna: whole communities are isolated by record flooding. fema is supplying emergency supplies as thousands have no power that may not come back on for weeks. gregg: connecticut's governor touring his state had to do it by helicopter, couldn't do it on the ground. irene leaving two people dead, dozens of homes destroyed. crews from as far away as colorado are coming to help after hundreds of thousands have lost power. jenna: new jersey hit by devastating flooding as well. rick leventhal is covering it all live from little falls new jersey. this story over for some but just beginning for others. >> reporter: absolutely. there are 450 to 500 homes in little falls that are in deepwater. we are right between little falls and wayne. this is the pa s-rbg sack river. it does flood when there are heavy rains. the mayor told me never this bad. route 23 here, deepwater, fast current, you see trucks and vehicles that have been caught up in it, and businesses that are surrounded by bats here. again wat

teeth. gregg: that's really dumb. don't do that. martha: thank you for being here, everybody. "happening now" starts right now. have a good day. jenna: we start with this fox news alert out of libya, brand new developments, on the one hand, you have reports, reports that the rebels inside libya have this man, qaddafi, surrounded in the residential compound. those reports are unsubstantiated at this time and we have this just coming to us from the associated press, the spokesman for moammar qaddafi, telling the a.p. that qaddafi is safe, healthy, his morale is high, he is indeed leading the battle for our freedom, and independence every day. so one consistencey in the story seems to be the inconsistencies of reports coming out from inside libya. we have a live report from our very own steve harrigan, straight ahead. >>> first a fox news weather alert and brand new information coming in on the track of hurricane irene. it's one of our big stories this week. we're so glad you're with us, i'm jenna lee. rick: i'm rick folbaum in for jon: jon scott and irene isa category three, gr

for gretan the record. gregg: have a safe weekend and take all the precautions necessary. we'll see you, we'll be here owl throughout the weekend. "happening now" begins now. rick: i'm rick folbaum in for jon scott. we'll be joined by jenna lee in a moment. "happening now," hurricane irene is a category 2 storm packing winds up to 115 miles perdue hour. rain is already falling in the carolinas, and tropical-force winds are expected there by this afternoon. residents all the way up to new england are prepping for irene. seven states have declared states of emergency. we are expecting a live statement from press which should happen in about a half an hour. let's get the latest path of hurricane irene from janice dean. >> reporter: we got the new path and advisory. this is still a category 2 storm. 105 sustained winds. moving forward at 114 miles perdue hour. a very large storm. we will feel the affects of the storm all along the coastline as it hugs the coast and possibly makes a landfall saturday morning, we're thinking somewhere between morehead city and cape hat ta rufplts you can

long america. >> gregg: hello, the noose may finally be tightening on moammar khadafy on rebel forces, remitted right on the doorstep of the capital of tripoli right now making dramatic advances. look at these pictures have government troops on their heels to the rebels racing toward the capital even in pickup trucks mounted with machine guns capturing a military base along way and inside the capital we are hearing reports that rebel units may have activated despite the khouy forces. streaming live nearby the border. what do you know? >> reporter: there is a major offensive being launched by the rebels from the west of the capital of tripoli. it begin a couple of hours ago. they managed to completely overcome the major base that the khadafy forces had, brigade run by khadafy's second son. they completely swarmed the base. what they do is scooped up thousands of ammunition from their arsenal, rebels running around with heavy weaponry and they sped straight off for the capital. khadafy responded immediately with an angry audio message on a telephone line, calling on few supporters he ha

. >>> hello, i'm heather childers. >> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. welcome to america's news headquarters. >> heather: despite evidence to american hikers, they were just sentenced to eight years in an iranian prison after having been in captivity for the past two years. a look at their options. >> gregg: rebels in libya claiming that khadafy's number two has defected and aiding them trying to overthrow the libya strong man. >> and water blewl manhole covers up in the air. >>> a stunning turn of vaccines for two american hikers locked up in iran. the two have both been sentenced to eight years behind bars. the news dealing a major blow for the two that many thought would be freed in the recent weeks. the pair have been held for more than two years but now they have 20 days to appeal before they are locked up even longer julie banderas has more. >> julie: the state department which has repeatedly called for the release of these two men releasing a statement that reads in part, we are working to confirm these reports and are in contact with the swiss protecting power. they have been in pris