making news in america this morning -- isaac's torrential rain. >> the storm comes ashore. then, slams on the brakes. it is now pummeling parts of the gulf coast, with not only heavy rain, but winds, as well. all that to continue for at least most of today, even tomorrow. as the rain comes down, hundreds of thousands of folks have been left in the dark. even some of our abc colleagues were plunged into darkness last night. and our other big story this morning. taking the stage at the republican convention, ann romney talks frankly about her husband. while new jersey governor, chris christie, takes aim at president obama. and a contradicting account in the new book about the mission that killed osama bin laden. was he supposed to be captured? or killed?

and good morning, everyone. we begin this wednesday with the wicked storm. hurricane isaac, battering new orleans and the gulf coast region. ironically, on the seventh anniversary, to the day, of katrina. >> more than 200,000 homes and businesses have already lost power in the hours since isaac roared ashore southeast of new orleans. that number almost 150,000 folks without power. >> now, the slow-moving system is delivering a deluge. we go first to abc's brandi hitt. she joins us on the phone from a very windy new orleans. good morning, brandi. >> reporter: good morning, paula. hurricane isaac is unleashing powerful winds and rains. i'm talking to you on the phone because we cannot put up our satellite dish. it's too windy outside. it could easily snap. we're seeing upwards of 80, 90 miles per hour right now. and the streets of new orleans are empty.

there is no one out here. you can barely stand. the families right now are hunkered down. and they're waiting for this storm to pass. hurricane isaac is battering the gulf. the category 1 hurricane came ashore tuesday night with 80-mile-per-hour winds and heavy rain that is drenching the region. >> the effects that we thought would come, from a major storm, are, in fact, taking place. >> reporter: winds are so strong, they ripped the roof off a home of a louisiana parish president. storm surges up to 12 feet are flooding roads. trees are falling. and hundreds of thousands of homes are without power. >> this is a very dangerous storm. and with those waters rising as quickly as they could be, a loss of life is a good possibility. >> reporter: shelters are filling up in louisiana and mississippi. and residents are on-edge. >> feeling anxious and ready to get it over with. >> reporter: it was seven years ago today, hurricane katrina hit the region. and louisiana's new $14 billion

levee system and pumping stations are now being put to the test. >> it will be all right. hopefully the levees will take care of us. >> reporter: isaac right now is really a slow-moving hurricane. it is sitting right over where we are located in new orleans. and we were hoping within the last half hour, it would pass so we could get our camera gear back up. that's not happening. it's just sitting on us. and because it's so slow-moving, it could dump up to 20 inches of rain in some areas. >> even though you're via phone, we prefer you stay safe. we don't want to endanger you nor the live truck. that's brandi hitt reporting live from rain-soaked new orleans. >> dealing with rain until thursday afternoon. that's how long that storm's going to be around. thanks again, brandi. we mentioned the power outages in the show. in one case, it played out on live tv. our new orleans affiliate was in the middle of our storm coverage when the lights suddenly went

out. viewers could still hear them. so, they continued to deliver the news in the dark. the emergency generator eventually kicked in. things got back to usual. meteorologist bruce katz there, on the left. my old town of new orleans. they've been working around the clock. >> i think some folks would prefer to watch us in the dark some days. >> true. as isaac bears down, we're tracking its every move this morning. >> we go to the accuweather forecast. mark is here with the latest. >> this system is crawling along the louisiana coast. here on the radar, you can see the center of the circulation of isaac. it's south of new orleans. new orleans east, that's where the worst of the storm is being felt. we've had a recent report of a wind gust to 113 miles per hour, by a h.a.m. operator. and we're getting reports of

water coming over the levee in braftway. and police are going door-to-door, evacuating people. significant surge in this area, shell beach to waveland, seven to ten feet. water rises. tremendous amounts of rain coming down here. flooding is going to be a big concern with this system now, as it moves very slowly across southeast louisiana. here's your tropical storm-force winds. these winds will stay over new orleans for the next 36 hours or so. combine the wet soils with the strong winds, relentless winds, we'll continue to see power outages and trees knocked down. 337,000 people without power here in southwest louisiana. storm surge, at the time of high tide. and the rain will continue to dump on these areas, 15 inches or more. flood willing be a huge problem. eventually, the system will start to move northwest, where

it's getting close to baton rouge and up towards shreveport. and eventually in arkansas. the winds will gradually go down in these areas. major stories unfolding in tampa, where mitt romney is officially the republican candidate for president. >> according to our latest poll, romney is facing major challenges among voters. t.j. winick is in tampa this morning, the site of the convention. good morning, t.j. >> reporter: good morning, rob and paula. that is right. one of the major goals of this convention, to human izmit romney. even at this late day, many voters say they just don't know that much about him. last night, we heard from the one person who knows mitt romney better than anyone. ann romney was in the spotlight tuesday night, making the case for her husband of 43 years. >> this is the man america needs.

this is the man who will wake up every day with a determination to solve the problems that others say can't be solved, to fix with others say is beyond repair. >> reporter: the appearance brought tears to the eyes of her sons. and republicans hope it will convince women voters considered key to the election, to vote for the gop ticket. >> a storybook marriage? nope. not at all. what mitt romney and i have is a real marriage. >> i think people just felt a very human connection to them, through her. >> she was absolutely awesome. she's going to blow it away. she has heart. >> reporter: the speech comes at a critical time for the romney campaign. a new abc news/"washington post" poll found that romney has the lowest personal popularity at the time of the convention of any major party nominee dating back to 1984. while ann romney made the personal pitch, the keynote speaker, tough-talking new jersey governor, chris christie, made the political

one. >> we entered an era of absentee leadership without purpose in new jersey. i'm here to tell you tonight, t it's time to end the era of absentee leadership in the oval office. america needs mitt romney and paul ryan. and we need them right now. >> reporter: yesterday's session, the convention quickly approved a platform for tax cuts, not government spending, to stimulate the economy. rob and paula? >> thank you very much, t.j., for us in tampa. >> paul ryan speaking tonight. and president obama is making an appeal to young voters. later today he travels to charlottesville, virginia. yesterday, he was on iowa state and colorado state campuses. time, now, for a quick look at weather from across the country. aside from all that rain that isaac is bringing to the gulf coast, look for showers and thunderstorms across texas, from dallas to midland. also, some record highs with

afternoon storms in the rockies. heating up across the midwest. and a gorgeous day in the northeast. >> triple-digits in billings, colorado springs, as well as phoenix. coming up next, some new computer problems for united airlines. and what could be the new double-life of the next iphone. we're going to explain it all, straight ahead in your business news. and on top of that, one irritated employee's revenge against her employer. it is a texas-sized mess. [ female announcer ] now get high speed internet at home

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welcome back, everybody. automakers have 13 years to hit 55 miles per gallon. that's the average fuel efficiency car companies must reach under new rules announced by the government. currently the average required for all cars made by companies about half of that. all this puts pressure on the automakers to not only make more electric vehicles but to get us to actually buy them. and there's even more good news about the housing market this morning. prices are beginning to recover in all of the top markets, even the hardest-hit cities. overall, home prices are up from a year ago. the last time that happened two years ago, there were tax breaks for buying a home. the iphone 5 could double as a wallet. it appears the next apple smartphone will have a chip allowing mobile payments with just a tap. other phones have that capability. but apple will have an app that stores discounts, cards and tickets.

apple is expected to unveil the next iphone in two weeks. united airlines is cleaning up the backlog after another computer failure. this outage affected both reservations and passenger processing at airports as well as at unite's website. many flights were delayed or canceled. this is the second such computer problem for the airline since it merged with continental airlines. maybe they need a new network. just saying. >> just saying. and whatever else the u.s. accomplished in iraq, it is leaving behind a legacy of fast food. even while serving overseas, american g.i.s love their burgers and fries. >> now, iraqis, too, are crazy about fast food. even opening restaurants, like this one in baghdad. other items include pizza, chili and cheesesteaks. good to see we had such an impact. >> welcome to america, fellas. when we come back this morning, the angry families of the aurora theater massacre victims. they're claiming now that a charity is not doing its job. and the wedding this bride and groom surely will never forget. stay with us.

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are a sizzling deal, starting at 6 bucks. try our new lunch-size chicken fajitas, sauteed onions and peppers topped with grilled chicken, served with soup or salad. chili's lunch break combos, starting at 6 bucks. eat tomato sauce on my spaghetti. the acidic levels in some foods can cause acid erosion. the enamel starts to wear down. and you can't grow your enamel back. i was quite surprised, as only few as four exposures a day what that can do to you. it's quite a lesson learned. my dentist recommended that i use pronamel. because it helps to strengthen the enamel. he recommended that i use it every time i brush. you feel like there is something that you're doing to help safeguard against the acid erosion. and i believe it's doing a good job.

and recapping our top story now. isaac is slamming the gulf coast this morning after making landfall as a hurricane southeast of new orleans. hundreds of thousands of folks have lost power so far. but the city's revamped levee system is holding up. pumps are working. isaac, though, is now stalled. and that means up to 20 inches of rain could fall in some areas. >> a fortune building up that pump system. and now, for a look at morning road conditions. flooded highways along the gulf coast. it's going to be a wet ride inland from arkansas, alabama and the carolinas. slick roads across texas and the central rockies. >> and if you're flying today, airport delays are possible in the south, of course. predictably in new orleans. and also, in atlanta. well, readers wanted to get their hands on that new book by a navy s.e.a.l. who took part in

the osama bin laden raid. they're not going to have to wait much longer. >> with all the attention, the release of "no easy day," has been moved up to next tuesday from the original release date of 9/11. also, details are already being leaked that contradict official government accounts of the raid. the book says bin laden was apparently shot in the head, as he looked out his bedroom door in the compound, not after he ducked into the room to possibly get a weapon. family members of those killed or wounded in the colorado movie theater massacre are butting heads with a charity over millions in donations. the fund has collected $5 million since the shooting rampage. but survivors and relatives facing medical bills and other expenses say they've only received a small fraction of that money. they're now demanding a say in how the money is spent. in other news this morning, a disgruntled employee at an auction house in texas lashed out at his employer by plowing into the building with a bulldozer. police say he first rammed through a chain-link fence.

and then, crashed into an office area, that wiped out computers, the phone system, even water pipes. co-workers insist they have no idea what may have prompted the attack. >> wonder if they have insurance. maybe disgruntled employee insurance. after discovering an old world war ii bomb in central munich, experts tried diffusing it but failed. so, they had to come up with plan "b," figure out how to detonate it safely and quietly. [ explosion ] >> there it goes. but when they blew it up last nights, the explosion created a giant fireball over the central district. thousands of people had been evacuated. and no injuries have been reported. >> can you imagine that bomb just sitting there for decades? the paralympics get under way in london today. queen elizabeth will be there for the opening ceremony. >> but as for sports stateside, highlights, now, from espn. >> good morning. i'm hakem dermish, with your

"sportscenter" update. rays taking on the rangers in tampa, facing yu darvish for the first time. it was evident. top two. darvish gets carlos pena swinging. then, in the third, b.j. upton, looking. nasty. top five, desmond jennings swinging. darvish, seven inning, no earned runs, ten strikeouts. the rangers win 1-0. and the rays lose their fourth 1-0 game of the season. 15-game winner, chris sale, the white sox, taking on the orioles. bases loaded. facing nick markakis. bottom seven, adam jones at the plate. 25th home run of the season. the orioles shut out chicago, 6-0. their fourth win in a row. seven innings of shutout baseball. stephen strasburg and the first place nationals, hosting

the marlins. he had a rough night, though. bottom one, giancarlo stanton to right. carlos lee coming in. beats the throw. 2-0, marlins. bottom five, 6-0 marlins. strasburg still in the game. rbi single. strasburg, five innings, nine hits. marlins win 9-0. and the nationals have lost nine in a row. i'm hakeem dermish. that's your "sportscenter" update. anybody who plays madden football video games knows their attention to detail. but one player is pointing out one thing the game got wrong. >> reporter: there's marcus thomas, defensive tackle for the new york giants. will the real marcus thomas stand up. that's not him. >> here's the real marcus thomas. the guy in his madden profile hasn't played since 2009. suffice to say, the real marcus, yeah, he's pretty upset about that. coming up next, "the pulse," this morning.

lindsay lohan and that jewelry case we told you about yesterday. could there be even more trouble? and prince harry, new details about that party in vegas. were drugs involved? stay with us. i don't spend money on gasoline. i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. the last time i went to the gas station must have been about three months ago. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. ♪

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grand of jewelry and sunglasses from a friend. >> prosecutors say there is no case. lohan said on twitter, when i'm doing great, people fabricate lies. poor prince harry. the bombshells from his notorious trip to vegas keep coming. >> an eyewitness tells radar online that some people were snorting cocaine at the party in the prince's suite. and others arrived already high on mushrooms. but that same source did not see harry himself using cocaine or drugs. and a different source says there's actual video of the antics that is now being shopped around. >> going to get a pretty penny. and a couple in the d.c. area has become an online sensation thanks to their spectacular wedding spot. >> it's an extremely narrow peak in west virginia. a sheer climb of 900 feet that they scaled, clad in full wedding garb. not room for a big bridal party. just family members who pitched in to perform the ceremony and take pictures. stay tuned. you'll see that couple live today on "good morning america." well, i had all the classic symptoms...

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next, a commercial nursery in san jose burns overnight. firefighters watched it burn. >> hurricane isaac makes a second landfall in louisiana overnight. we'll have the latest. >> meteorologist mike nicco has isaac and the bay area forecast. i'll show you the cooling in time for the holiday weekend.ur-corners regi. warmer than normal across the midwest. a beautiful day here in the northeast. finally this wednesday morning, the house where mark zuckerberg launched his little start-up called facebook. you may have seen it in the film "the social network." >> it's a real house near

stanford university, where its new tenets are hoping the facebook karma will rub off on them. jonathan bloom has the details. >> reporter: it's 1:00 in the afternoon. and programmer zach bowers is just rolling out of bed. have you started on the energy drinks yet? >> no. starting with diet coke. >> reporter: zach pretty much works all the time. >> everybody has different schedules. the days last about 16 hours. >> reporter: seth bannan explained it's a social network for fund-raising. >> it's a big problem in the world, nonprofit fund-raising. all of the apps are stranger-to-stranger. we make them friend-to-friend. >> reporter: how appropriate that they're working out of the same palo alto house that mark zuckerberg and a crew of hackers spent the summer launching facebook. there's four bedrooms, unless you count the mattress on the living room floor. no one makes their beds. >> no time. >> reporter: and there's the pool, so famously portrayed in

the movie, "the social network." the zip line is no longer there. it was tied to this chimney. >> it was dangerous hell of a lot of fun. >> reporter: now, fun comes in the form of nerf gun battles. and forcing guests to try on this ironman helmet. ironman is their unofficial mascot. but these men don't need metal suits to do the impossible. they just need a really good place to eat, sleep and write code. >> getting so much work done, as protocchetive as we were. that has something to do with the windows or the architecture. or maybe it just is the facebook karma. >> reporter: but the ironmen only have the bad for a few weeks. they're subletting it for the summer, from a group of stanford grad students that need to move back in at the end of september. jonathan bloom, abc news. that's what's making news in america this wednesday morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america."