the result of it was two people are dead. this is not a police action. this is not the action i believe of those who set out to do protests. it is the persons who were involved after the legal time involved in illegal activity that brought violence to this community. so last night, unfortunately, a 26-year-old silver lake resident and the 36-year-old kenosha resident lost their lives to this senseless violence. a 26-year-old west allis resident was also injured but is expected to survive. this case is still very active. we have investigators out now still following leads and doing what we can to bring around -- bring about closure to that. the names of those involved are not being released at this time. as i said, it is a very active investigation. and we have a person in custody out of state. we'll be working to bring that

person to wisconsin for appropriate charges. welcome. i am jake tapper. you've been watching an update from officials in kenosha, wisconsin, giving an update on the unrest in us with following the police killing of jacob blake earlier in the week and violence afterwards. for the first time the chief of police spoke about jacob blake, saying he cannot talk about the incident. this comes as we've gotten brand new information in the last few minutes about the suspect taken into custody for separate shootings that occurred last night. according to the police department two people were shot and killed. another one was injured. cnn's sarah sidener joins me on the phone from kenosha, wisconsin. what do we know about the suspect? >> reporter: it's really interesting to note that so far we haven't heard the police nor the sheriff of kenosha talking about the violence that erupted last night where two people were shot and killed and one person injured here. the have you had yo there is of

one of -- the video there is of one of those shootings. we now know a 17-year-old, a teenager, is in custody. that has been brought into custody accused of intentional homicide. of the first degree. and so you've got this really awful scene that had unfolded overnight and we're not hearing anything we thought would be addressed by kenosha police or by the kenosha county sheriff's department. we do know the person that was arrested was actually arrested by a different department, the antioch police department. that is a town about a dozen miles outside of kenosha, and we understand from the antioch police that, indeed, the 17-year-old is also from and the u okthe -- from antioch so he had come into town. what we do not know, we've seen so many social media have you

had yoes one of which shows a young man who has a large weapon almost as large as he is walking through the streets being chased by people screaming he shot someone and then we have, we see him fall. we see him turn the gun, people coming up to him trying to apprehend him or attack him and he fires one shot at one person who crumples to ground and then you see him fire another shot at someone else who is at pouint blank range. we talked to a witness who said he was live streaming this. he said he was there and saw everything happen and the injuries to the man shot in the arm were massive. that this was a high powered gun and he lost most of the top of his arm. but that man has survived. we know two people have not survived in two separate shootings. we are still trying to ascertain whether or not the video that everyone has been watching on

social media of this young man walking through the streets with this high powered weapon and being chased then by people is the same person who has been arrested by and ttioch police t 17-year-old currently in custody who is said to be charged or going to be charged they say with homicide. so, you know, there are a lot of things that have not been explained by authorities, but it is also interesting to note that this is the first time we have heard from the kenosha police or the sheriff's department. they have not had any other press conferences. they have not spoken with the press on a large scale since the shooting of jacob blake. and that shooting precipitating the protests that have happened that have turned into in some cases riots and looting. those protests overnight, there are a f

is a new element. groups coming out armed to the teeth standing around buildings. they are mostly white groups standing around buildings saying we are here to protect the buildings. now you have this incident where someone is carrying arms, running through the streets, and ends up shooting two people. again, we're trying to ascertain whether that is the same person that has been arrested and charged with murder by antioch police, jake. >> sara, you probably were leaving the room getting ready to talk to us and so you didn't hear when the kenosha police chief did speak about the shooting last newt, not aboight who the perpetrator was that i heard. he said one of the victims killed was a 26-year-old resident of silver lake, wisconsin. another one was a 36-year-old kenosha, wisconsin resident. have we been able to ascertain, any of your sources in law enforcement or through any other

way, what -- who the 17-year-old was, what his motivation was, whether he is claiming he was acting in self-defense, just running around shooting protesters? do we have any idea? >> reporter: no. i mean, we do know one thing that when we talked to one of the witnesses of one of these shootings we know there were two separate shootings. one person was allegedly according to witnesses hit in the head. another person hit somewhere in the torso, in the body, then one person hit in the arm. we are hearing from people that this person they saw is a very young -- so it matches the description of the 17-year-old who has been arrested by antioch police. we do not know any kind of mo motivation. we don't know why the 17-year-old was in town, if he was taking part in the protests or here for some other reason. those are questions i'm sure police are trying to ascertain

and certainly the folks who witnessed this horrific shooting are trying to figure out as well. but we do know that he is from out of town, so he isn't someone b who is a resident and happened to be in the streets, that this person actively came into town for some reason or another and was armed. >> he is described as a 17-year-old resident of the state of illinois so not only not from kenosha but not even from wisconsin. sarah sidner, keep us up to speed as to what you are learning. joining us now to talk about this all cnn's political commentator and also a cnn law enforcement analyst. let's start a few days ago with jacob blake. the police chief minutes ago said he has no details on the incident. he cannot talk about it. this is in part of course because the state is handling the investigation. is it normal protocol for law enforcement at this point to not even have offered any sort of explanation, any sort of fuller picture that they are claiming

might be important context? >> jake, that is a fair question. i know a lot of people are unnerved because the officer's name has not been released but we have to look at this from the perspective these officers are entitled to due process and there is a system in place. yes there are unions involved and collective bargaining and what the rules are as far as releasing information about the officers. look, i thought the police chief threaded the needle expertly. he stated on camera at a press conference, we are not going to hide behind any preconceived, thin, blue line of silence. he says, we're going to get to the bottom of this. we are not conducting the investigation. jake, i think more facts are going to come out in regard to the officers involved. whether or not there were body come ra footage available and things like that the investigation has to play itself out. it just doesn't help when we have riots like this and we have people attacking innocent officers and businesses. that doesn't help the situation,

jake. >> obviously nobody is saying that it does. but let me ask a question and i'll come back to you, james. there's now two more dead people or two dead people. jacob blake is alive. and others injured. jacob blake and then somebody else who was injured. we know that two individuals who were killed, we know a 26-year-old silver lake, wisconsin resident and a 36-year-old kenosha, wisconsin resident. what is your reaction to what we're seeing? >> so, you know, i hear james and everything he is saying and let me start by being unequivocal in saying that i condemn the rioting. i condemn the looting. i believe that everybody has the right to a peaceful protest. i want people to take to the streets peacefully to echo the words of jacob blake's mother in giving their son, making sure his life matters and making sure when you have a grievance you can air it fairly. the biggest problem i have though is that people are asking

for us to give due process and ben fut benefit of the doubt to law enforcement where there is not that trust and that same ben fut -- benefit of the doubt was not given to jacob blake. he was shot seven times in the back. he wasn't tased. he wasn't billy clubbed. he wasn't tackled. he was shot seven times with lethal force in the back. when i hear the calls for benefit of the doubt and due process recall and remember that wasn't given to jacob. that is first. the second thing is, i hear people condemning the rioting and the looting and asking us and especially black folk to come on tv and condemn the rioting and looting. i will do that but i also want people to stand up and condemn these unlawful shootings that we're seeing against particularly men of color and also condemn these vigilantes which are making it more difficult for law enforcement to do their job. you had vigilantes attack the kentucky capital. you had them attack and march around the michigan capital. nobody said anything. now you have them in wisconsin.

they're not counterprotesters. they are vigilantes. we have two more dead and another injured. >> all right. thank you so much. in our health lead today, shocking change from the cdc. the cdc now suggesting fewer people be tested for the novel coronavirus, which is the exact opposite of what so many health experts say is needed to identify and isolate the virus in order to save lives. the senior federal health official tells cnn that this new change by the cdc was made after pressure from the top of the trump administration. we know that president trump has been lamenting that so much testing results in higher numbers of cases. >> we test more than anybody by far. and when you test you create cases. we've created cases. >> of course testing doesn't create cases. it uncovers cases. it uncovers an infection. as a top health expert put it,

people without symptoms are, quote, exactly the people who should be tested given that the cdc estimates about half of the transmission of coronavirus in the united states happens before any symptoms appear. let's bring in the director of the center for infectious disease research and policy at the university of minnesota. michael, good to see you. the cdc guidance on testing was until recently, quote, testing is recommended for all close contacts of persons with sars, covid 2 infection. now the cdc says, if you have been in close contact within 6 feet of a person with a covid-19 infection for at least 15 minutes but do not have symptoms, you do not necessarily need a test unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or state or local public health officials recommend you take one, unquote. does this new guidance make any medical sense? >> you know, all i can say, jake, is i am dumb founded by this recommended not just the fact that they made it but how they made it kindofunder the cover of night.

when someone has been exposed to the coronavirus, it is true that in the first two or three days they won't be positive and we of course counsel people at that point not to be tested. but by day four and five it is important to know if they are positive because, one, it reinforces the reason why they need to be isolated and not transmitting to others and, also, it gives them warning that they very well may need to seek health care. so i can think of no conceivable reason why this recommendation was made other than just to reduce testing. >> if the trump administration is effectively pressuring the cdc's health guidance, where should americans turn to get safe and accurate medical advice? their state health agencies? >> you know, at this point, in 45 years in this business, i've never sensed a time when both the fda and the cdc, two very critical agencies that have alsop rated on the top level of science and good public policy,

are now in a sense really under attack, meaning they are being asked to do things that are not in keeping with science. this is dangerous because our lives in fact depend on having the kind of accurate information about what public practices to pursue, what drugs to trust, what vaccines to trust. and this seems to be not just the cdc but both fda and cdc right now are in real jeopardy of being trusted by the very people who have counted on them most. those in the public health community. >> what you are saying is because there will now be fewer tests because an individual who comes in contact with somebody who has covid isn't necessarily going to be tested, unless they're in a vulnerable group, that means, tell me if i am getting this right, that person because they are no longer going to be tested will not be aware if he or she is infected, which means that he or she will be more likely to spread the virus. so what you're basically saying

is that the president's desire for lower numbers for apparent political reasons will cost american lives. >> what i can say with certainty is that when i tell someone who's been exposed to a patient, you need to isolate for 14 days, that is a very tall order to ask someone to do if they don't believe they really are infected. so part of the whole point of keeping them from being in the public to motivate them to actually complete that kind of isolation or quarantine is to in fact be tested to know, am i likely to transmit this virus? so this is an important part of the entire effort to get people not to expose others. you're right. we are taking that away now. and if there were data that supported, well, in fact it doesn't work, it is using up precious resources we need elsewhere, then we could at least have that discussion. we have not had an opportunity to have this discussion. this recommendation just

literally appeared overnight without any scientific review that anyone that i'm aware of has seen. and on top of that i, too, can confirm from my own discussions with senior cdc personnel today, this did come down from on top. this was not a science review issue. this was a policy issue that is in fact i think a very dangerous precedent. >> briefly, if you could, so what is the worst thing that happens because of the new rule? >> we'll see more cases, more transmission, and this pandemic is just going to continue to grow as we've talked about may u times. we're seeing on college campuses, high schools, the case numbers will go up substantially in the days ahead. we'll see more cases, more deaths. we are far from done with this pandemic. only 8% to 10% of americans have been infected with this virus to date. there are a lot of additional people that will get infected between now and the time we might achieve herd immunity, 50%

to 70% of the population protected by either disease or vaccine. and this is a huge concern right now. >> thank you so much for your expertise and time. >> thank you. coming up the challenges this pandemic has created along the gulf coast as this now major category 4 hurricane closes in. plus, warnings of unrest and danger from the republican convention. we are learning how tonight's headliner vice president mike pence plans to use them to frame his speech. so what's going on? i'm a talking dog. the other issue.

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democratic nominee joe biden. this vice president isn't particularly known as an attack dog. what can we expect? >> reporter: no he's not. if mike pence is going after joe biden that is probably what you'd see from president trump any day of the week. we are expecting to see him try to draw a contrast between choosing the trump/pence ticket and also choosing the biden/harris ticket. something that many aides close to the president's campaign and inside the white house have said really needs to be the strong focus of the convention this week. jake, we're not expecting him to only focus on that. he is also expected to talk about the pandemic given the fact that he is the head of the coronavirus task force but also he is going to talk about what is happening in wisconsin we're told. right now that is in his current version of remarks. depending what the vice president has to say it is not something we've heard a lot on the white house so far. the president has not publicly commented on the shooting yet though we do know he has been

briefed by the attorney general. we may hear more from pence on that tonight. >> kaitlan the hatch act was signed into law in 1939 and bans public employees from using their office for political reasons. how is the white house justifying the flagrant violations of this law by cabinet officials and white house staff and individuals holding convention events at the white house during this convention? >> reporter: basically they have two defenses here. one is they don't really have an option for other locations given the fact there is a pandemic going on and they feel they've been constrained to being in the white house and around washington though we should note they've been in other places on federal property as well and the vice president will be at fort mchenry here tonight which is a national park. they're not saying they haven't violated the hatch act but just dismissing it and saying it doesn't amount to a lot and it

doesn't really matter. we've seen this play out in the trump administration where officials violated the hatch act before and because the president is the one responsible for reprimanding people who violate the hatch act like kellyanne conway who has done it in the past he hasn't responded and has brushed it off in ways. we are not seeing a lot of concern among the president's officials though what we are seeing is something like you've never seen the white house used in this way so blatantly political before. while administration officials may be brushing off the hatch act saying these violations aren't significant to them, they are still significant and it does still matter to point out how they're doing this and how it does break tradition with what you've seen before. >> i've lived long enough to know that when a standard is eroded in washington, d.c. it almost never, of are comes back. kaitlan collins, fort mchenry, thank you so much. you can watch vice president mike pence and his speech on cnn tonight plus hear from the south dakota governor and the second lady of the united states.

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welcome back. in our 2020 lead vice president mike pence is expected to claim tonight that the democrats are out of control and dangerous. a message we've heard echoed by republican national convention speakers all week who claim a country led by democrats means looting and violence and more. let's talk about this with cnn's gloria borger. what do you make of this basic argument we're hearing that we are supposed to hear from vice president pence this evening that democrats basically mean anarchy? >> well, it is not a surprise. we've been hearing it throughout the convention to varying degrees and it is trying to tie joe biden to what they call the radical left saying he has been effectively taken hostage by the radical left and when you talk about anarchy then you can talk about what the president wants to talk about which is restoring law and order.

what they're aiming at are the suburban voters whom they think this might appeal to, which is to say, i don't want this at my front door. i don't want this kind of violence at my front door. i don't support it. and it gives them permission or so they hope to say, okay. i might not like a lot of things about donald trump but he might keep me safe in my own back yard. >> and let me ask you, there is so much we don't know about the shooter in kenosha, wisconsin. we know he is 17, shot with a long gun, is an illinois resident. we don't know his motivation. this is a speculative question. if his politics are not on the left, does that complicate mike pence, vice president pence, trying to tie the violence in kenosha to biden and the democrats? in other words, if he is a right winger, and we don't know, but might that complicate it? >> well, i don't think frankly

it really matters what his politics are specifically but i think what we do know based on the press conference that happened earlier is that officials in kenosha believe that he was a part of a group of white men who came into the city carrying long guns to be almost a deputized force, antiprotester force or antirioter force, and the result was this incredibly deadly situation. why that matters is because, yeah. this rioting and the violence is something that could be a very important political tool for republicans to use to say that this is what could happen if this continues forward. but there's also a responsibility think for the president and the vice president to take the temperature down. two nights ago at the republican national convention they had as a primetime speakers, two individuals who became famous effectively for pointing guns at

protesters now two people are dead on the streets of kenosha because someone decided to come into town with a long gun. i just think that is a completely different situation and it is something i want to see how the vice president is going to address because it does not fit neatly into this idea that it's all about violent anarchists and law abiding citizens. there are forces on both sides of this that need to be told to get violence off of the streets. >> yeah. gloria, democratic presidential candidate joe biden just released a video message on twitter reacting to the police shooting earlier this week of jacob blake. biden said he just spoke to the family of blake. he said he is sick over the shooting, condemned the violence occurring in the wake of the shooting. >> burning down communities is not protest. it's needless violence. violence that endawn jers lives, violence that guts businesses and shutters businesses that

serve the community. that's wrong. >> what is your reaction, gloria? >> well, i think what he is trying to do first of all, this is joe biden con soelg a family, which he does very often. but i think what he is trying to do is say, look. this kind of vigilanteism, taking it into your own hands, doing violence to communities that don't deserve it, taking advantage of a divisive situation, it is not where he is. and i think what you hear at the republican convention is that joe biden wants to defund the police. if you dial 911 nobody is going to answer. if there is a biden administration. and he is trying to draw a distinction here. don't forget you have a president who wanted to send in the national guard without the governors giving him permission. now the governor has given him permission, but i think that biden is trying to say, look.

it is not -- it's a complicated issue here and none of us, none of us approve of this kind of wanton violence. we just have to be careful about how we handle it. >> well, nothing the american people liked more than nuance. >> right. >> i just want to ask, i mean, i'm old enough to remember joe biden and kamala harris for that matter being attacked as too pro police and in fact harris didn't answer a question the other day when she was asked about her suggestion in a book that there be more police. if you look at the biden policy proposals they are actually talking about more police, community police, in black and brown neighborhoods. and yet the republicans are attacking them as defund the police types. while at the same time by the way we're also hearing criticism of them for being cops. >> yeah. this is hard to do which is why you're not actually seeing the republicans trying to do it.

what they are saying instead is that joe biden has been sort of captured. that he is a case of the body snatchers. someone has taken over him and that that is the reason why a biden administration would lead to defunding the police. the republicans i think know it is harder to make that argument because both kamala harris and joe biden are not exactly darlings of the defund the police movement. instead they have had to resort to saying it is not them. it's actually all the other people who are going to take over. i think that is a harder argument frankly. you have to make a couple leaps to make that case but that is the strategy we've seen over the last several nights. >> thank you so much. we have breaking news for you now along the gulf. hurricane laura is intensifying fast, nearing landfall. the areas most in the danger zone as one louisiana parish warns residents to brace for a catastrophic event. stay with us.

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back to choosing any car in the aisle. back to being the boss of you. go national. go like a pro. some breaking news in our national lead where hurricane laura is rapidly intensifying at this hour. the latest warning described unsurvivable storm surge. the massive storm is barreling toward the louisiana and texas coast expected to make landfall overnight. more than 1.5 million people are currently under some type of evacuation order. more than 23 million people are under watches and warnings because of the storm. cnn's jennifer gray joins me now from the weather center. what is the latest? >> this could become a strong

category four and i wouldn't be surprised if it makes landfall as a category 5 because it still has time to intensify even more before making landfall. it is moving to the northwest at 16 miles per hour and is expected to make a turn northerly over the next couple hours. we're still waiting on that to happen. winds of 140 miles per hour, gusts 155 miles per hour. you can see some of the outer bands already onshore. of course we'll have waves of that as the night goes on and then as the storm gets closer that is where the winds will definitely have an impact but there are reports along the southwest louisiana coast that water is already rapidly rising so we already have a surge of say 3 to 4 feet in some locations. that could go up to 20 feet before it is all said and done. with this storm still at 150 miles from the coast already seeing a water rise of 4 feet is really incredible. this is going to only get worse as the night goes on. you can see there is going to be

a flooding potential, a tornado potential, over the next day or two as the storm comes onshore but the biggest threat with the storm not only with the winds very close to the center but the storm surge is really going to be what we remember from this storm. we already have a rise of more than 3 feet, freshwater more than 4 feet. sabine pass 3 feet. could 15z to 20 feet in camden parish, the entire parish will be under watt wer a rise like that. this is such a low lying area we could see water all the way to i-10, jake. this is not a storm to mess with. hopefully everyone has gotten out of the way that ness that part of louisiana and east texas. >> all right. jennifer gray, thanks so much. gary tuchman is currently in louisiana at lake charles some 35 miles inland where residents are bracing for the possibility of a horrific storm surge. what's happening where you are now? >> that's right, jake.

lake charles is a beautiful city surrounded by bays, bu us, rivers, lakes, and the elevation is 13 feet. you heard from jennifer the storm surge can be up to 20 feet. and nevertheless you can be very clear about this, people here despite the fact that they are savvy when it comes to storms because they live on the gulf coast, they are scared. they are uneasy. this is a makeshift beach that people go to on the river. we just had our first outer band go through about 45 minutes ago. now there is an eerie calm. you heard jennifer talking about i-10. that overpass is i-10 to our north. the storm surge of up to 20 feet can go up to that interstate 10 bridge. if you have a storm surge of 20 feet and you were at an elevation of 13 feet how do you stay safe? emergency officials, police are staying in this casino hotel, the golden nugget, so it is considered a relatively safe spot. what we can tell you right now there is a curfew in effect in this parish from 7:00 p.m. to

6:00 a.m. and even the jail inmates have been sent to other parts of central louisiana to keep them safe as we wait for this very strong and potentially devastating hurricane. >> how many more cities are preparing for the intense category 4 hurricane? that's next. eliminate odorps instead of just masking it. and is made with three times more odor fighters. with secret, odor is one less thing to worry about. secret.

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and we're back with our national lead. the city of port arthur, texas, is already evacuating. home to more than 50,000 americans, it's right on the coast where louisiana and texas meet and squarely in the path of hurricane laura. peak winds gust in the city may reach up to 125 miles an hour.

with me now the mayor of port arthur. mayor, thank you so much for joining me. based on what we know right now, port arthur, texas, is going to be in the direct path of the hurricane. what are your priorities right before the hurricane hits? >> right now it's to be sure that all who have had a desire to get out have gotten out. i think we have probably until about 4:00 at the airport that's available there. but citizens will have to drive to the airport and they will be flown into dfw. getting people out of harm's way. we've been at this really since saturday. and we've made it mandatory on monday. we are doing everything we can to make sure that the citizens are not in harm's way because

this storm is going to be packing a real big punch. >> are you confident that enough of your citizens are taking the storm seriously and leaving? >> yes. the streets are almost bare. in several of the neighborhoods you can still do automobiles in driveways. but i believe most of the residents have actually evacuated or they are hunkering down somewhere because there is not any walking movement that is noticeable. neither do you see anyone moving around just to be moving around. this actually began yesterday. hopefully we have gotten just about i would say 70 to 80% of the citizens -- there could be another 20% who have decided they are going to ride it out, but that's their choice.

>> why would they do that? the people that are staying behind, the 20%, why are they telling you they are staying behind? >> i have no idea. i've never done it before so i don't know what frame of mind they're in. i don't know what angle they are thinking from, their frame of reference. i really can't answer that as to why they would stay. >> is your city prepared? do you have all the supplies and support you are going to need in the coming days? >> yes. well, we have -- i work with a great team of emergency management individuals who are knowledgeable of how to actually perform in situations like this. we have city staff. those employees are considered essential employees. they are trained and prepared and ready. so i'm very confident that, god willing, that this thing passes over and we've got about another 24 to 36 hours we will be able to come out, assess damages that

we know is going to be there because we have 105 to 130-mile-per-hour winds. we know that there is going to be trees down and powerlines down. some of the infrastructure will be inoperable. however, we're going to be sure that we have the personnel prepared to put all of these things back into service. now, the amount of time that it may take for all of those services to return may be a greater number of days than expected. to at least prepare to be gone in five to six days. hopefully after six days we can return. but we're not sure because in the past there have been some times that some of the electricity has taken two weeks. >> mayor thurman, thank you so much. stay in touch with us. make sure we know if there's anything you need that you are

not getting from your government, state, local, or federal. in our next hour, how hospitals along the gulf coast are getting ready for the possibility of more patients from this hurricane in the middle of a deadly pandemic. plus, the norms destroyed at the republican national convention. do the political props cross the line? i'll ask the president's former national security adviser john bolton who he thinks. now, simparica trio simplifies protection.

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welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we begin this hour with the 2020 lead as we head into the third night of the republican national convention. tonight vice president pence will deliver his nomination acceptance speech from fort mchenry in baltimore, maryland, with an audience of more than 100 guests expected. a source tells cnn that he plans to address the recent violence in wisconsin hoping to make a case for standing for the national anthem, and he will attack the democratic presidential nominee joe biden. one source saying he plans to, quote, take some lumber to joe. pence's wife, second lady karen pence, will also as well as -- as well as kellyanne conway. white house officials are defending president trump's use of the white house, the people's house as a political backdrop throughout the convention which breaks, of course, longstanding

press de precedent and a 1939 law called the hatch act which bans federal employees exempting the president and vice president from using their positions in government for political election purposes. as cnn's kaitlan collins now explains. >> reporter: tonight vice president mike pence will headline night three of the republican convention where he's expected to address the pandemic and racial unrest unfolding in wisconsin. he'll speak to the nation from fort mchenry, the site of the battle and the war of 1812 that inspired francis scott key to pen "the star spangled banner." he will urge athletes to stand for the national anthem. >> i don't think it's too much to ask the players in the national football league to stand for our national anthem. >> reporter: kellyanne conway and second lady karen pence will also speak tonight. >> it'll be an exciting night to highlight the heroes in this great country. >> repor