other agents of change, go to cnn.com/thenextlist. >> thanks for joining us. i'm dr. sanjay gupta. we'll see you next sunday right back here. hello, you're in the "cnn newsroom." i'm fredricka whitfield. we're tracking tropical storm isaac. it is getting stronger. where this storm will go, however, is still not certain but it looks like florida may avoid a direct hit. that's good news for florida but now forecasters warn isaac is zeroing in on the gulf coast, possibly new orleans, louisiana. and forecasters say by the time isaac hits the coast, it will be a hurricane, possibly a powerful one. we have our team covering this storm.

let's begin in key west with jim spelman who joins us there, already feeling the outer band of this storm. let us know what's happening there. >> reporter: yeah, hey, fredricka. we saw a band go through here for about 45 minutes, really intense heavy rain. that's let up a little bit. wind are still howling. they're really preparing for more of a rain event and possibly a storm surge one to four feet. it will come in right there way, from the south right in to key west. there were some surfers out here earlier. they've even gone in now at this point. most of the seaside hotels like this have moved people to other parts of the complex or hotels on other parts of the island to keep them a little bit safer. the main precaution is trying to get visitors and tourists off of this island. only two-lane road, 120 miles or so back to the mainland of florida. they don't want people on the road today. they say if you didn't evacuate yesterday, stay indoors, that's the best way to stay safe here. >> jim spelman, thanks so much.

let's bring in meteorologist bonnie schneider. you've been tracking isaac for days now. made its way past haiti and brushed by cuba. now key west. then what? >> we just got the latest position statement. it is very close to key west. nos surprising we're getting strong winds in the key west area. right now the location of the center of circulation is only 50 miles to the south-southeast of key west. let's take a closer look. so the movement right now is still looking at mack mum winds of 60 miles per hour but gusts are even stronger. they are at hurricane force. track will take the storm straight into the gulf of mexico. we've had some major changes today in terms of the track and areas that will be impacted by it. notice the shift to the west. if you're just choining us now and you haven't watched since yesterday, this looks different than in the past 24 hours. storm center is working its way into the gulf of mexico. by wednesday it is a category 2 storm with a cone of uncertainty

stretching all the way across not just parts of the florida panhandle but louisiana now. now new orleans is under a hurricane watch at this time which we didn't earlier on today. as we go through the end of the week, we are seeing changes in terms of other areas impacted by heavy rain. thursday and friday when the storm is inland, i think some of that will be beneficial. we have a hurricane warning that remains for south florida, including the keys. as we go all the way across westward we see those southeastern parishes of louisiana, coastal areas, including metropolitan new orleans, now under a hurricane watch because within 48 hours we could see hurricane force win, winds stronger than 74 miles per hour. if you saw the track, the intensity actually for those winds to be even more intense, possibly a category 2. now i want to show you the timelines. we can really break it down for you here on cnn so you know exactly what to expect. tropical storm conditions. that's happening today. hurricane force gusts possible all through here all the way down through key west. you can see the wind field.

this is a computer model showing where we're going to see some of those strong winds. a lot of eyes have been on tampa for the republican convention. sunday, tonight, into monday afternoon we are still looking at the possibility of tropical storm-force winds with the more intense winds further off to the west into the gulf of mexico. now the timing takes us into the middle of the week when we are talking about a potential landfall, possibly a second landfall if we see landfall on the keys tonight. landfall is possible somewhere near biloxi, possibly by wednesday as a category 2. new orleans still looking at the risk for hurricane conditions there. but remember, fredricka, this track has already shifted many times over the past couple of days so it is something we're going to keep monitoring for you. there is a tornado watch in south florida. >> oh, boy, thanks so much. when it rains, it powers, literally. thanks so much, bonnie schneider. let's go back to key west. earlier we saw jim spelman who was at a usually very placid beach there in key west. now john zarrella's at the southern most tip of florida, of

the u.s., as a matter of fact there where the gulf and atlantic come together. i see a few raindrops. lot of wind. what else is happening? >> reporter: fredricka, it's been picking up steadily all day, as i'm sure jim spelman was telling you earlier as well. what's interesting is that as we were driving down into key west earlier this morning, there are cars that are parked all along the roadway in the middle and lower keys. they call that the wilma syndrome. that's because when hurricane wilma hit down here seven years ago, hundreds and hundreds of cars were flooded out by the storm surge that came in. so we definitely noticed that difference. right along the highway is the highest point that overseas highway is literally the highest point of land along the keys. what we've got down here, another thing that was different that we noticed was a lot more buildings were boarded up.

lot more sandbags out all along duvall street. people taking this quite seriously, even though officials in the florida keys don't believe -- they don't believe that this had is going to be a terribly significant event through here and the keys. you can see all of the buoys out there in the water behind me blowing, the water blowing in from the north now as the storm is approaching. the waves are actually approaching us here. as it gets closer we expect the storm, isaac, to be very close to us, probably about 5:00, 5:30 this afternoon, maybe 6:00. so that's going to be the height of the intensity that we see here. fredricka? >> thanks so much. keep us posted on that, john zarrella in key west, appreciate that. republican party leaders taking no chances when it comes to isaac. a decision today to delay the start of the national convention in tampa until tuesday now.

it was scheduled to begin tomorrow. but that's exactly when isaac is forecast to pass by tampa. >> the reason why we ultimately ended up making this decision was for the safety of our delegates and guests. we couldn't really be assured of total safety for the buses that are traveling over long bridges over open water with sustained winds. the secret service decided to take all of the tenting outside down, understandably so. but what that meant though is fewer entrances in the building and people standing outside for a long time in a driving rain and wind. >> joining me live now from tampa, cnn political director mark preston. mark, now a four-day convention. suddenly becomes a three-day convention but the word is they hope to get the same number of speakers in? >> yeah. what we're hearing right now from convention officials, fredricka, is that they are trying to cram it down into three days. they've canceled monday, as

you've said, out of abundance of caution. we talked about this yesterday -- they couldn't get the -- there's got to be concern from convention officials because if this storm intensifies and heads into the gulf coast, if it becomes a category 2, if it heads to new orleans, by wednesday evening you have to ask yourself will they continue on with the convention. it is very hard politically to do so and it is something right now election officials are weighing and certainly watching this storm very, very closely. >> i wonder how much it is going to change the message over the course of the next 24, 48 hours. >> it's been very hard the past week for the romney campaign. they first had to deal with the todd akin problem. then of course they've had to deal with this storm. governor romney talked about birthing, birther issue at the end of the week. they want to talk about jobs, they want to talk about the

economy. this is what this convention was supposed to be. four days of why governor romney would be a better president than president obama right now. that is now being taken off message. we are talking all about the storm at this point. but they're hoping, fredricka, hoping that this storm does not intensify and that in fact governor romney can go out an deliver the address on thursday night that he will use to turn in to the general election. >> mark preston, thanks so much, in tampa. be sure to stay with cnn for complete coverage of the republican national convention. later on today in fact we have a special -- in-depth look at mitt romney, "romney revealed." followed by a preview of the convention itself. our political team is in place for complete coverage all week long. isaac is not the only storm out there right now. we are also watching a massive typhoon. it is being called one of the worst in decades. we'll tell you where it's had e great shot.

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. isaac is not the only dangerous storm out there right now. a powerful typhoon is head toward the korean peninsula. it made landfall over the japanese island of okinawa earlier today. the storm is expected to bring up to 12 inches of rain. last night wind gusts reached 132 miles per hour. hundreds of people are without power. the syrian regime has released what it says is new video proving the country's vice president has not defected. the tape purr reportedly shows

him meeting with a top iranian official this weekend. rebels had claimed he fled the regime about a week ago but the syrian government has denied the rumors. meanwhile, regime troops are shelling daraya, a damascus suburb. more than 200 bodies have been found there. august has been the deadliest month since the syrian uprising began 17 months ago. in northwest china, a double-decker passenger bus crashes into a tanker carrying methanol. the bus immediately burst into flames killing at least 36 people on-board. only three survived the accident. back in this country, as represents get red do i meet in tampa, leader of the tea party movement want to make sure their voices are heard. find out what their priorities are. no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance?

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christian conservatives are gathering today in tampa, florida, ahead of the republican national convention. the event is put on by the faith in freedom coalition led by

ralph reed. live pictures right now. is being described as a mostly christian right gathering. several well known republican leaders are scheduled to speak, including virginia governor bob mcdonnell and wisconsin governor scott walker. mitt romney has had an uneasy relationship with conservative republicans. when he chose paul ryan as his running mate, many on the right and in the tea party movement cheered. as republicans begin their national convention, tea party leaders aren't just watching closely, they are working to influence the decisions made in tampa and beyond. the president of freedom works, an organization that works closely with tea party groups across the country and is committed to advancing the principles of lower taxes and less government, matt, good to see you. if there's a way in which to kind of encapsulate how have you and the tea party leaders been working to influence the republican party, particularly

on the eve of this convention? >> you have a lot of activists that have become part of the process running for precinct chairman, actually getting on to the platform committee that happened last week. we brought up a delegation of tea partiers from all the battleground states and asked them to represent a crowd source document that we were calling 12 and 12. the top 12 issues tea partiers care about in this election. we want to make sure the values of the republican party reflect as well as possible the values for the tea party. >> has that work been influential? >> we really think that we had an impact and got the republicans back to where they have historically been, with a they've always said that they believed in. it's basic things like we have to balance the budget, we have to roll back the obama spending

spree, we have to repeal obama care and replace it with a system that actually respects patients and gives patients control of their own health care, and we -- one of the things we accomplished was peeling back the iron curtain of the federal reserve so that taxpayers, voters, citizens can understand the deals that go on behind closed doors. >> were you feeling confident that the presumptive nominee, mitt romney, would be able to deliver on those things, or did it make a difference that his vice presidential pick became paul ryan and did that kind of seal the deal for your support? >> well, i think that the choice of paul ryan was an acknowledgement not just by the romney campaign but the entire republican party that they will win when they run on a set of ideas that have always been the core values that were the winning ideas for the republican party. paul ryan represents those ideas so now all candidates, not just

president -- or, not just our senate candidates, our house candidates. they all have to be comfortable defending the idea that we should balance the budget. >> real quickly, what's your contingency plan with this storm approaching? >> harry, can you give me an idea just kwikly what your contingency plan is for this storm, if anything? >> looks like we may have lost audio. all right, thanks so much, matt. stay with cnn for complete coverage of the republican national convention later on today. we'll have a special look at mitt romney. romney revealed airing at 8:00 p.m. eastern time, that's followed by a preview of the convention itself. and our political team is in place for complete coverage all week long. ♪ wow... [ female announcer ] sometimes, all you need

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perhaps you want to get away from it all. here's a beautiful place with lots of cool stuff do, even if it does take you roughly 20 hours to get there. new zealand, let's go right now. jetsetter.com has a lake that's not too far from auckland. >> reporter: this is a beautiful area around three hours south of auckland. i definitely recommend taking the scenic route on your way there and stopping off at the wonderful cave system, it is an underground system of caves that's permanently illuminated by glow worms that live in the roof or ceiling which is always wonderful to see. you'll find yourself in the

middle of new zealand's geothermal area. the lake it warm and full of spas and naturally occurring springs and so on. it also means that one of the great things do in the region is visit one of the great spas that you'll find there. i recommend the polynesian spa which is a collection of 27 naturally occurring geothermal pools, as well as a wonderful selection of treatments available which mean that the polynesian spa is often voted one of the world's very best spas to visit. another place is this private lakeside retreat for you and yourself and your family. it is a wonderful base for lots of water based activities. it has its own private jetty, as well as a boat house. there is a wonderful place to explore the wonderful surrounding lake, whether by boat, fishing, a great way to relax alongside some of the

wonderful spa treatments. >> i think new zealand, i think adventure. a lot of people love to whitewater raft. this is an incredible place do so. >> new zealand really is one of the adventure sports capitals of the world. whitewater rafting does particularly well there. i took a wonderful trip with a local operator who took me on a great adventure down the river there. the great thing about rafting is you don't need any experience to be able to take part. you just have to be enthusiastic, have the ability to swim and the ability to pull on a life jacket and away you go. >> then you're all drenched and wet from whitewater rafting so you want to now do a little mountain biking, perhaps a little hiking, too. >> lake taupo is the other big lake in the region. it is a great base for the activities you talked about. i like to mountain park in the

nearby park which features 160 kilometers of trails. right through to the new zealand national downhill track. for those with a little more experience, some bravado and really strong helmets. that's on the mountain biking side. there is also a great opportunity there to get involved with some jetboating which is fast becoming new zealand's premier tourist attraction. >> not to be confused with jet skiing. what's jetboating? >> that's exactly right. these super high powered, high-speedboat zoom around the network of lakes an rivers that you'll's find in the area really giving you an adrenalin rush which is quite unlike any other. i took my trip with rapid jets in the local area who combine that adrenalin rush with also a more scenic approach to explore rg the local landscape, including the opportunity to see two or three different film sets from the lord of the rings trilogy as well as the upcoming hobbit film as well which was quite the thrill. >> remember, you can get all kinds of travel tips and ideas from the folks at jetsetter. head to jetsetter.com/cnn.

i'll be back in one hour from now. meantime we're keeping a close watch on tropical storm isaac. florida could dodge a hurricane bullet from this storm but now forecasters warn isaac could have new orleans in some of the other gulf coast towns in its sights. the louisiana governor will hold a news conference at 4:15 eastern time. we'll cover that live along with the latest news from key west, florida where isaac is approaching right now. we have reporters on the front lines to keep you posted. i'm fredricka whitfield. stay with cnn. your money starts right after this. see life in the best light. outdoors, or in. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses.

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