the big day mitt romney will accept his nomination. this is going to be a very important day. he's been waiting for this for a long time. we will, of course, carry it all live for you on cnn. and on saturday, here on cnn saturday morning, we'll be talking a lot about the dnc. the democrats' convention begins on september 4. that is in north carolina. so we'll be having all -- we'll have all of that covered for you coming up on saturday. thanks for starting your morning with us. we've got much more ahead on cnn sunday morning which starts right now. >> declared a state of emergency for the state of florida. >> tropical storm isaac picki up steam. now florida is bracing for a hurricane. we'll take you there live. and politics are no match for mother nature as isaac moves north. the republican convention is under threat with some events already canceled.

that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> mankind loses a legend. the life, the career, the inspiration of neil armstrong. good morning, everyone, i'm randi kaye. it is 7:00 on the east coast. 4:00 a.m. out west. thank you very much for starting your morning with us. florida is under a state of emergency right now. tropical storm isaac racing toward the florida keys after trashing haiti and killing at least two people this. isaac could become a hurricane by the time it moves across the keys and into the gulf of mexico, possibly within hours. governor scott says florida knows what it has to do to get prepared. the keys, they've already started battening up the hatches. even as delegates arrived at the airport, the republican national convention is not taking any chances.

it will open as scheduled intampa tomorrow. but monday's big events, speakers will have to wait. republican officials say people's safety comes first. we are covering isaac for you from all the angles. jim spellman is in the florida keys, bonnie schneider at the severe weather center, and cnn political editor paul ste steinhauser is in tampa for us. let's first go to jim spellman in key west, keeping an eye on the storm for us. what's it like now? >> reporter: it's definitely getting breezy here, but it's dry. we haven't seen rain. yesterday we saw squalls coming through. later today is what they're bracing for. many of the projections -- paths have the storm going right over key west. they're anticipating if nothing else flooding on the low-lying streets. they can get that from a thunderstorm here. they think that's going to be the main problem rather than wind. the structures, tourist hotels

built to withstand certainly a category 1 wind level. it's the flooding in the streets that they're most concerned about. >> and florida under a state of emergency. is that standard protocol? >> reporter: it is in something like that. when the governor signs something like that, it allows them to get help from other states, national guard from neighboring states. it allows them to ask for what they may need from the federal government if it gets to that level. i think it sends a strong message to everybody that the government in florida it seriously and people should, as well. >> are people taking it seriously? there are evacuation orders -- are you seeing people pretty calm, or are thigh -- are they heeding the warnings? >> reporter: they're taking it serious keys style i think. a lot of people have left. tourists -- only about 20% occupancy in the hotels. people who stay, almost every person we spoke to, has said they're going to have a

hurricane party. they're going to ride it out and haveun. they don't want to lose their vacation. sometimes it seems cavalier. they say they've been lucky before, they hope they'll be lucky again. >> how tricky is the evacuation route, the one road? >> reporter: yeah. well, for -- some people fly here. there is a commercial airport. yesterday they added flights, tried to get as many people who flew here out on planes. they've shut down the airport now. and it's a two-lane road, about 120 miles to get back on the mainland. some point it's just an elevated road over water. some points a narrow island. one accident can back it up all the way. they don't want people out in the middle of this road when the storm is going off. that's why they wanted to get everybody out yesterday. the people that are staying, they're encouraging them to stay off the streets, stay inside if you're going to have your hurricane party. do it inside your home, inside your hotel, not out on the street. >> yeah. that is -- that's good advice there. jim spellman in key west, florida, stay safe. thank you. meteorologist bonnie

schneider joining us now from the cnn severe weather center. good morning. so tell us the latest on the storm's track. >> the track is definitely shifting more westward as we look at it this morning. we're also seeing a slight change in intensity. right now the winds at 65 miles per hour. a good portion of the day yesterday they were at 60. it's not surprising. the storm is going to work over the open waters and eventually get even stronger than that. you can see some of the convection, a piece of it, pushed northward toward the bahamas. we're getting heavy downpours there, as well as across much of south florida now. let's take a look at the track. you'll see as we put this into motion. unfortunately, really much of the florida keys is right in that cone of uncertainty. it's likely that we will see hurricane-force winds in the florida keys, specifically i think toward key west. you see the track takes it right over that portion of the keys and then brings it into the gulf of mexico as a category 1 hurricane as early as tonight and into tomorro when we start getting into monday and tuesday with all eyes on tuesday on tampa, we are going to see changes in intensity. yesterday this was looking like

a category 2 storm by tuesday. now depending on how long it stays over the open, warmer waters of the gulf of mexico, we may see it hang on as a category 1 and turn to category 2 by the wee hours of wednesday morning. i talked about the possibility of a potential landfall in the keys. the first landfall. a second landfall is imminent, as well. it's likely to strike now anywhere from parts of louisiana all the way to the panhandle of florida. so this pattern has shifted a little westward with mobile, alabama, smack in the middle. then as we go further on into the latter part of the week, this could be a big rainmaker for parts of the deep south. from huntsville, birmingham, alabama. we are definitely looking at the potential for a lot of rain here. of course, some of that will be beneficial due to the drought situation across states like georgia. check this out -- we have a hurricane warning all the way from the shores all the way southward, most of the florida keys, all the keys included in that. this does include the bahamas. i also want you to know that there's a hurricane watch issued, as well, for some of the southeastern parishes, coastal

areas of louisiana through mississippi, alabama, even portions of florida. a hurricane watch means we could see conditions with hurricane-force winds within 48, possibly as early as 36 hours. if you haven't done your hurricane preps for this part of the country, it's very important to do so. it's interesting, one storm impacting so much of the southeast. >> yeah. it's got a wide swath there for sure. bonnie schneider, thank you for the update. appreciate you watching that for us. the convention as we've said was supposed to kick off tomorrow with a full slate of events and speakers. thanks to isaac, there's a whole new schedule. cnn political editor paul steinhauser joining us from tampa. good morning to you. so what's changing? bring us up to date. >> reporter: good morning. daylight now here in tampa. and yes, basically what they're going to be doing is taking four days of a convention and squeezing it into three. tomorrow, monday, they are going convene the convention and will immediately recess. then everything will be pushed back to tuesday. what gets pushed back? take a look. the big speakers on monday were going to be nikki haley, republican governor of south

carolina, as well as former governors mike huckabee of arkansas and jeb bush of florida. they will now be moved to other nights. ann romney, wife of mitt romney, was supposed to speak on monday, but she's already moved to tuesday. the other big thing that's going to move back is the roll call, putting mitt romney's name into nomination to formally be nominated. that will now obviously be pushed back, as well. republican party officials say the most important thing, of course, is safety. that you've got about 50,000 people coming to this convention. their safety is much more important. but they say they will get their business done. mitt romney and paul ryan will be nominated. and the platform will be passed. we've seen this before. remember four years ago, the republican conventioin st. paul, minnesota, was pushed from four days to three days when hurricane gustav slammed into the gulf coast. we're probably going to get details this afternoon on the official schedule and how things will change, but we may hear more on "soviet union"soviet ut"

>> an action-packed show. is it true that some of the speakers won't get to speak? is it a chance some will be cut? >> the republican party officials will try to accommodate everybody and make sure everything happens. they can extend the hours on tuesday, wednesday, and thursday if needed. the original plan was to have primetime sessions. now they can extend that to the afternoon. they're in constant communications with federal, state and local authorities to figure out where the storm is going. they can move things around. one other thing that's being canceled -- vice president joe biden was supposed to be campaigning in tampa monday, in orlando and st. augustine on tuesday. that now has been canceled. the obama campaign says it's been canceled because of the storm. >> like the academy awards. they'll have to start bringing up the music, get the speeches done, people off the stage. i think we're on to something -- >> reporter: pick up the pace. exactly. >> see you -- sncnn political editor paul steinhauser. remembering neil armstrong.

we'll have more on his legacy and mission to the moon. >> hello neil and buzz. i'm talking to you by telephone from the oval room at the white house. and this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made. i just can't tell you how proud we all are. mom: ready to go to work? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ every mom needs a little helper.

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we are remembering neil armstrong this morning. the famed astronaut died yesterday. his family says the 2-year-old armstrong -- 82-year-old armstrong died as a result of complications from recent heart surgery. president obama called him a hero for all time while fellow astronauts are remembering him as a fearless pioneer and a friend. armstrong cut his teeth as a test pilot and was a skilled engineer. in 1962, he joined nasa's astronaut program, and the rest as you know is history. the highlight of armstrong's career had to be "apollo 11" and the mission to the moon. do you remember where you were when the eagle landed? millions were huddled around their tvs to see the black and white images from the moon's surface. here's the mission again in two minutes and ten seconds.

>> guidance is internal. 12, 11, 10, 9, ignition scene starts, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, all engines on. we have a liftoff. liftoff of "apollo 11." >> drifting to the right a little. >> back light? okay. engine stop. >> the eagle has landed. >> roger, tranquility. we copy you on the ground. we've got a bunch of guys -- >> whew. >> armstrong is on the moon. neil armstrong. 38-year-old american standing on the surface of the moon. on this july 20, 1969. >> tropical storm isahat's one

man, one giant leap for mankind. >> that was beautiful. [ inaudible ] >> much like the high desert of the united states. it's different, but it's very pretty out here. >> beautiful. beautiful. [ inaudible ] >> you're clear for takeoff. >> i understand we're number one on the runway. seven, six, five -- beautiful. very smooth. very quiet ride. >> "apollo 11," over --

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welcome back. 20 minutes past the hour. they can't even drive yet, but they already have a very big job. student reporters. part of the scholastic news kids press corps will be covering both the republican and democratic national conventions. the next generation of journalists is gaining valuable experience outside the classroom. already interviewing some of the nation's top leaders. two of these student reporters are joining us here on cnn sunday morning. 14-year-old shelby fallon is in tampa this morning. she began reporting during the 2008 presidential election. and 11-year-old topenga senda joined the corps in 2010, landing an exclusive interview, amazing, with president obama. you're both covering the rnc now. shelby, you have actually interviewed mitt romney once before. do you think you'll get a chance to talk to him this week?

who else are you looking forward to speaking with at the convention? >> yeah, i think i'll probably be able to talk to him this week. depends on the security and the other press and the scheduling. and i'm really excited to maybe possibly interview paul ryan. and i think it will be fan taftic to interview both of them again and get the information about their few on politics. >> what do you want to ask paul ryan? >> i really want to ask in my city in lakeland, unemployment is a big deal now. over 11% of the population. n la -- population in lakeland is noed. i want to ask what he's going to do here in america and whate thinks needs to be fixed to make it better. >> a very smart question. topenga, what do you want to interview? >> i would like it interview mitt romney at the republican national convention. >> dune what you'd ask him? sgls. >> yes. how did he choose his vice

presidential running mate. >> and what else? anything else? do you think you'll get to talk to paul ryan, as well? >> maybe. >> shelby, besides unemployment, what would you like to see mitt romney and then later president obama address? >> i would like to help them also address the whole health care aspect right now because the health care will definitely affect family and friends and practically the entire country with this. and if no one has health care, then what is going to happen to all the senior citizens who can't afford it and how are they going to take care of themselves. >> that's another good question. topenga, you had the chance to talk to the president. how did you land that interview, what did he tell you? >> well, my editor, dante, sent me an e-mail one day, and i got to -- that's how i got to interview president barack

obama. and what was the other question, i'm sorry -- >> what he did tell you? >> i asked him about -- what would he say to struggling families. he told me that his administration is creating opportunities for these struggling families. >> if looks like from the video you got to meet bo. >> yes, i did. >> it looks like he barged right into the interview there, the white house puppy. so tell me why did you want to become journalists? shelby, i'll start with you. >> i have been interested in it since i was 7 years old. my mom's a teacher and i saw an ad in the "scholastic kids" magazine how they were accepting applications to become a journalist. you had to write two essays, where the community was so special and why you deserved to be a reporter. i sent it in and was one of the ones to be picked. i love it. it's fun getting the real

information and telling people all about it. it's a dream of mine. it's so much fun. >> you sound like me. when i was 13, i knew exactly that this is what i wanted to do. we're right there at the same taj. what about you, topenga? what made you decide to get into this? >> it started when i was selected for my school's news. then i got an e-mail one day. to apply for the "scholastic news." here i am reporting. >> who's your dream interview? if you could talk to anyone, who would it be? >> my eyes are set on the royal family from the queen to kate middleton and england's prime minister, david cameron. >> nice, shelby, what about you? >> it would probably have to be president barack obama or george w. bush. >> all right. two tough interviews to get. i'm pretty impressed with both of you. why do iave a feeling that i'm going to be working for both of you one day?

i don't know. i have a feeling. you two are well on your way. shelby and topaa, nice to hav you . thk y >> thank y. good ith interviews, as welyo, b bye. l be fwaek tback at the top the hour with the latest headlines. first, "sanjay gupta m.d." starts after this. ntntgomery an abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you.

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