on our broadcast tonight from tampa, hurricane isaac churning on shore and slowing down as it approaches. and sadly, it's got new orleans along with the mississippi and alabama coastline directly in its grips. here in tampa, opening night, after a rain delay, the romneys have arrived. ann romney getting ready for her speech tonight. while mitt romney has been nominated officially, to kick off the roll call the states. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and a special good evening for our viewers joining us in the western u.s. tonight. good evening from the gop convention in tampa, where again

tonight we're covering two events. one of them going on behind us here, the other happening in rough, warm seas to the west of us. isaac has tonight made landfall in plaquemines parish, louisiana. it came ashore well south of new orleans, and now has to churn toward the city of new orleans. it's going to be a very long night. the coastline of louisiana, alabama, mississippi getting pounded and drenched. and it's inescapably the backdrop to mitt romney's big sendoff to the general election, just 70 days from now. his name was officially, in fact, placed in nomination today. we have it all covered. our political team on the floor, but our weather team on the ground is where we begin. we want to go to weather channel meteorologist jim cantore. i see you're feeling this. >> reporter: we're feeling it.

we made landfall, and the pressure is still dropping in the storm. it's not decreasing in intensity at all. and we're feeling these bands that could produce hurricane force winds. 75 mile per hour gusts. you see horizontal rain coming down right now. this has the potential to do structural damage in the city of new orleans. we're going to be in this for a while. you can see the radar here, you mentioned the landfall, at 6:45 local time. no towns affected, really just out over the bayou, and back in the days when the bayou was plentiful, it used to slow these things down. it's been slowly chewed away. we have a long ways to go with this storm. as it moves toward the west and inland at its closest point to new orleans, probably sometime tomorrow morning, we'll continue to feel the effects of that rain. it moves out of the picture and into the heartland. we have got to get through this

rainfall first, which is really the biggest fear of most of the officials here in new orleans. they're worried about the kind of rainfall. 12 to 20 inches, pumps or no pumps, means we will flood. the radar shows a long show tonight for us, and the cone eventually takes it out of our picture sometime maybe thursday afternoon. in the meantime, that's 24 to 36 hours of a beating here on the eve of new orleans' worst nightmare. brian? >> jim, as you point out, the eye has a long way to travel, and it's just creeping now, almost stalled off the coast. jim cantore in new orleans, that brings us to lester holt, who is also in new orleans. so lester with this eye creeping, with so much rain and water headed your way, we're really all going to see what $14 billion purchased in taxpayer money there in public works programs to take care of this water. >> let me first say, jim 4 it right.

beating is the word for what we're taking. i have to tell you, i've seen water coming down the mississippi waves here that you can surf on tonight. brian, and we haven't even seen the worst of this, the mayor says they've done everything they can to prepare for this storm, he says it's time to hunker down, that's what folks are doing, everybody here is mindful of what's add stake, they remember katrina, some 1400 deaths, $135 billion in damage, and this is only a category one, they know it has a potential for loss of life. just hours before the rain and wind of isaac's leading edge rolled into town. engineers for the first time in the face of a real hurricane closed this massive new flood gate. pulling the trigger on a billion dollar post katrina project to protect new orleans from an expected storm surge of up to 12 feet. >> we feel like we're in pretty good shape, but we don't know yet, and we're not out of the hunt.

we have to stay in the fight until we're finished. >> reporter: the streets of downtown new orleans were virtually empty today, as most heeded the warning to take shelter at home. many confident the city could handle isaac. >> if you live in a levee protection zone, you're all right. outside of that levee protection zone, then you have to worry about that. >> reporter: others fatalistic. >> mother nature is a tricky thing. i don't care what you do, if she want to come get you, she going to come get you. >> reporter: the convention center, now a staging ground for some of the thousands of national guards troops ready to assist in rescues and recovery. >> it's jockeyed a little bit. >> reporter: just south of new orleans in plaquemines parish, officials are watching the latest storm surge predictions, knowing despite a last minute effort to reinforce earth and lev vize, it will be a very close call. >> i have five feet here, and eight feet here. >> it looks like it's going to

come in below that. >> that's where we need it to be. the only threat then, if it beats on it for a long period of time, we'll see some deterioration. >> reporter: still, the risk to the levees here will be overtop. it was high enough to force mandatory evacuations for parts of plaquemines and other high risk areas. many evacuees woke up in shelters this morning, hoping their nightmares of 2005 aren't about to be repeated. >> i'm just hoping it's not bad, and we do have something to go back home to. because i'm not looking forward to going through katrina. >> reporter: tonight for the people and government of this region, the clock on preparing for isaac has run out. he's here. already 100,000 utility, electric customers in the greater new orleans met potten area are without power. people have been told to brace for that, and the flooding that's sure to come. the mayor said this is a hunker down tomorrow time. he knows rescue mode will be

next. the question is, when will they be able to get out of this and help folks that may be in need, brian. >> i trust you know when a good time is to get away from that seawall. you have a safe night, same to our camera crews and technicians there. lester holt in new orleans. we want to move over to orange beach, on the alabama shore line, and mike seidel. hey, mike. >> reporter: brian, it looks more like a blizzard here this evening. the wind has been whipping up the sand all day, and will continue into tomorrow night, maybe thursday. this is a slow moving hurricane. tropical storm eventually. not only with the wind but the wave action, you can't see it behind me, we have 12 to 15 footers eating away at the beach. and precarious, tomorrow morning's high today about 10:30 on the mississippi and alabama

gulf coast. just about everyone has left town. many of these fragile coastal communities have been evacuated. tremendous amounts of rainfall, anywhere from 6 to 12 inches. we'll have tornado watches extended into wednesday, maybe even into thursday. brian? >> mike seidel thanks for that. mike in orange beach, alabama. let's check in on the mississippi shore line, there's a lot of it, weather channel meteorologist eric fisher is in gulfport. hey, eric. >> reporter: good evening, brian. we're talking about storm surge tonight in gulfport, mississippi, it was just seven years ago on this night that some of the worst impacts from carekatrina were just rolling ashore. the story here, when you look out into the gulf, it's so shallow here, you can walk out hundreds of yards on a normal day. not the case tonight. when the water is pushed up, it's so easy to get into the living areas that so many people call home here around gulfport.

this is low tide. high tide comes around 7:00 tomorrow morning. we're going to add 12 feet on to that high tide. storm surge so deadly, it kills many more people than wind. the wind grabs the headlines, and the low lying areas. there are mandatory evacuations for those low lying areas, we'll be talking about the governor of mississippi riding out the storm keeping a close eye on the situation. brian? >> eric fisher rounding out our coverage, thanks. a reminder to everybody, the weather channel will have this covered all night long as will your late local news and we'll have an update for you at the bottom of the broadcast tonight. to the other event, we're covering the one taking place behind us here in tampa, the republican national convention underway after its own rain delay. peter alexander covers the romney campaign for us. he's here traveling with the candidate, and on the convention floor to start us off.

peter good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you. just a short time ago, we heard from the republican governor of what will be an incredible swing state this fall. john kasich, earlier they wrapped up the roll call of states. it was exactly 5:40 p.m. that the state of new jersey put mitt romney over the top, nominating him as the next republican candidate. tonight we'll hear from ann romney, she's hoping to turn the tide in her husband's favor this fall. touching down in tampa, the top of the republican ticket. followed within the hour by paul ryan. but today, the spotlight focuses on ann romney. bringing her trademark welsh cake to the back of the plane during the flight to florida, mrs. romney talked about her highly anticipated prime time speech. >> i've never given a speech like this before. the verdict is still out. >> reporter: mrs. romney refined

her speech with advisers on the flight. >> i think you will see that my speech is heartfelt. and you know i've never gone off of a written text, so this is a unique experience for me. >> reporter: rehearsing at the podium this afternoon. >> four score and seven years ago. >> reporter: mrs. romney said reading off the teleprompter is her biggest anxiety. took a deep breath, but appeared confident. her task tonight, in front of tens of millions of viewers, improving her husband's appeal with women and softening his buttoned up image with the aim of making him more empathetic and likeable. >> i like my speech, i really like ann's speech. >> reporter: tonight's other big speech by new jersey's blunt talking governor chris christie, who this morning on "today," conceded romney may have fumbled recently when he boasted about his michigan birth certificate, reviving questions about whether the president was born in the u.s. >> if you get a chance to talk to governor romney, i think he'd

tell you he wishes he could take that one back. >> reporter: the stakes are incredibly high tonight. ann romney's speech tonight is the most important address of this convention. he said romney is losing the popularity contest, and the first speech is our best chance to close that gap. brian? >> it will be quite a moment at this gathering. we want to tell you ann romney will be sitting here with us in our studio tomorrow evening. we'll ask her how she thought tonight went when it's in the rearview mirror. when we come back, we'll check in on the convention floor, and another check in on the storm swirling to our west.

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and they bring out a speaker, we're seeing a number of films right now. chuck todd, andrea mitchell, luke russert are down there, each one of them near a different state delegation. chuck, it looks like you're near michigan? >> reporter: i am, but i'm also near puerto rico, which has almost as good of a seat as michigan. now you see the audience is very choreographed, the republicans have been criticized in the past for not having a diverse audience. this time they made sure they had delegations like puerto rico. you look over here, you have guam, the virgin islands, the northern mariana islands, all have front row seats. diversity getting into the crowd. so the camera will catch those shots of the delegates appla applauding. >> chuck todd down front as the governor of virginia was just announced as the next speaker. andrea mitchell has found her way to the great state of new

hampshire. >> reporter: the theme of diversity could not be more important when it comes to gender, the romney campaign knows they have a gender gap, they're trying to narrow it. showcasing women today. women who are not talking about todd akin or any of those problem issues. they're talking about the k3 economy. tonight we'll be seeing susana martinez, who will be showcased later in the convention, and also, from new hampshire their senator, kelly ayotte and one of the things she did is talk about how her husband came back from iraq, and started a small business, a landscaping business, he didn't want to hear her speech. she wanted to practice it for him. he wants to watch it tonight from the front row. that's her message about family values. they're all moms, and women trying to close that gender gap.

>> andrea mitchell down in new hampshire tonight, andrea, thanks. john yang has made his way north on i-95 to the great state of maine, john, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, all of mitt romney's primary opponents have endorsed him, all except one, ron paul. there was a little ruckus on the floor this afternoon, when the officials committee officially stripped maine of 10 of ron paul's supporters, they're angry over that, over rules changes that the romney campaign is pushing through. and they're especially angry that ron paul himself is not speaking at this convention. this afternoon when he visited the convention floor to visit his supporters, he told me he's not bothered by that fact that much, but he will be in the halls to hear another paul speak. he'll be here tomorrow night to hear his son senator rand paul of kentucky speak. he won't be speaking himself. brian? >> it really was the closest

thing to tension, we had some very vocal ron paul supporters near our booth during the roll call of states. luke russert is with the west virginia delegation on the floor. luke? >> reporter: brian, historically festive attire has been a part of the conventions, and tonight it's no different. folks getting into the spirit here in tampa. texas wearing the famous lone star on their shirts. colorado putting the west in the mountain west, even american samoa wearing their traditional garb. and you all saw michigan, gerald ford, the iconic jersey from america's most athletic president. and here in west virginia, a state that loves domestic energy

and is very proud of their coal miners, they're wearing a little bit of a hard hat, if you will, to honor those folks that live in that state. one more reminder, our prime time coverage starts tonight with mrs. romney's speech. and then the keynote by chris christie from new jersey. that's beginning tonight at 10:00 eastern, 7:00 pacific here on this nbc station. up next after a break, news about a well known name facing a serious health challenge. and a part of our world they fear may be slowly going away. b? these are hot. we're shipping 'em everywhere. but we can't predict our shipping costs. dallas. detroit. different rates. well with us, it's the same flat rate. same flat rate. boston. boise? same flat rate. alabama. alaska? with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. dude's good. dude's real good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes. starting at just $5.15.

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there's a new report out tonight on the level of ice in the arctic as monitored by the folks at the national snow and ice data center. they say it's at a record low since the time when satellites started tracking it in 1979. it is an ominous benchmark for the planet. the melting ice they say will have a cascading effect on sea

levels. the only positive effect worth highlighting in all of this is the freeing up of shipping lanes. the busy mars rover curiosity continues to send back stellar and detailed photography of the countryside. the bands of sediment in the hillside, the color of the soil, the topography continue to remind folks of portions of the american southwest. a veteran journalist has died, who will forever be associated with a shocking photograph we're about to show you. shocking to this day, even though it appeared on newspaper front pages across this country back in 1963. it showed a vietnamese monk, who had set himself on fire. the photo contributed to a change in our vietnam policy under kennedy. it was taken by malcolm browne, then with the associated press. he joined "the new york times" in 1968. the pulitzer prize winner did some television reporting, but was really at home on his own reporting it his way. malcolm browne was 81 years old.

many gop delegates here today were curious about press reports about the failing health of long time pennsylvania republican senator arlen specter. the senator has successfully fought back against cancer for years. a source close to the family tells us, he had a recent near fatal spell after some unexpected surgery to remove a mass, and then a subsequent infection. but he is doing better, is responding to chemo and is in a rehab facility. when we come back, another check on the location and strength of hurricane ice ago, which has now made landfall along the gulf coast. nearly everything in it? gave it greater horsepower and best in class 38 mpg highway... ...advanced headlights... ...and zero gravity seats? yeah, that would be cool. ♪ introducing the completely reimagined nissan altima. it's our most innovative altima ever.

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call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. next at 6:00, part of a san francisco street gone and a school forced to evacuate after a huge water main break. why it could take weeks to prepare the damage. back here in tampa, worth noting, a perfectly beautiful florida day in the tampa metropolitan area. not so for the night they're having along the mississippi gulf coast. new orleans is in for a time of it. isaac has made landfall officially south of new orleans. let's go to meteorologist jim cantore in new orleans tonight. jim, you keep reporting this is a very slow mover carrying so much rain and water. >> reporter: yes, brian, so much

so, that by tomorrow night at this time by the time we talk to you the, the form will be off to our west. it's going to pinwheel around, we're in that intense yellow and orange band which is producing rainfall rates at over an inch an hour. what are we going to wind up with, could we get as much as 12 to 20 inches of rain before this is all said and done. power outages continue to mount, not too far from me, i can see the transformers already blowing in the sky. back to you. >> jim cantore in new orleans. we're thinking about the folks tonight in new orleans, alabama, mississippi. and in the city of new orleans, we're about to see what $14 billion worth of improvements has paid for there. that is our broadcast on a tuesday night, thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams, a reminder weather channel coverage all night.

we're back on in prime time tonight with the two major speeches. we'll look for you here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com san jose state's president in some hot water with his own faculty. >> good evening and thank you for joining us. >> we begin tonight in san francisco where crews are still working to repair water main breakt