i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow. this morning on "early today," louisiana landfall. hurricane isaac batters the gulf coast with fierce winds and heavy rain. it's official, the republicans newly nominated presidential candidate takes center stage in tampa. and martian landscape. nasa's mars rover snapped stunning new images of the red planet. tlsh captions paid for by nbc-universal television hell and dwood morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with the stalled storm. hurricane isaac slammed into louisiana last night. it knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people along the

gulf coast. now conditions are only getting worse as the rainfall adds up from that slow-moving storm. nbc's danielle leigh joins us now. she's in new orleans. good morning, danielle. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. wind and rain has been ripping through the french quarter here. you may be able to see a palm ripped from one of the trees behind me. if you look to my right shoulder behind me on a building, there's a sign that's just dangling in the wind. we've seen many of those signs ripped from buildings here this morning. this is really just the beginning of the storm. isaac is coming ashore with a fury. vicious winds and heavy rain are barrelling down on coastal cities in four different states. the storm is knocking out trees and taking down power lines. in new orleans alone, more than 300,000 have lost power by the early morning. violent waves are hurling down along the coast and storm surges up to 12 feet high are leaving low-lying areas under water. >> strong winds, heavy rain for long periods of time could produce flooding well away from

the coast. >> reporter: the storm is expected to last in new orleans at least 24 hours and could bring more than a foot of rain. >> we're in the heart of this fight. we're in the hunker down phase. >> reporter: on the mayor's advice, many neighbors devastated by katrina aren't just hunkering down, they are helping each other survive. >> it's about knowing who's here so if something bad happens, you know where you have to stop. >> you never know who you're going to need in this world. >> reporter: lessons learned from a hurricane that struck exactly seven years ago today. and just to give you an idea of what we're experiencing here in the french quarter, the wind and rain is just ripping through here. here's a palm that was just ripped from one of the trees behind me. as the storm continues to bring rain on new orleans, that means the potential for more flooding. in new orleans, i'm danielle leigh. back to you. >> danielle, thanks so much.

let's get a check of the latest of hurricane isaac. bill karins has been tracking this storm for us since it made landfall about 6:45 last night. >> it's really making its way through southeast louisiana, including new orleans. jim cantore is in a different location. this is when a squall came through a short time ago. winds were gusting up to 74 miles per hour, hurricane strength. the wind coming down at the same time. it was definitely one of those winds you have to lean into. this storm, the worst of it, right over the top of new orleans as we go throughout the early morning hours here. it's starting to lighten up a little around pensacola. nothing as strong as what we're seeing on that north and northeast quadrant of that eye going through new orleans. already almost up to nine inches of rain in new orleans. it could rain for another 24 hours. incredible amount of wet weather in this area. still, wind gusts just recently in new orleans at 70 miles per hour. at the airport just to the northwest side of new orleans, 61. we're still dealing with some extremely strong winds with this

storm. you can see it on the very edge of the screen here coming up. there's louisiana. you notice how all of the west is calm. most of the rest of the country is calm. >> bill, thanks so much. well, elsewhere farther east along the storm-soaked gulf, mitt romney became the republican party's official candidate. tracie potts joins us from tampa. she has some of the highlights from yesterday as well as what's coming up later today. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. good morning, everyone. here there was a real focus during these speeches yesterday on women. >> this man will not fail. >> reporter: ann romney from the heart trying to do what her husband so far has not, win over america's moms and working women.

>> i love you women! >> reporter: she talked about mitt romney the family man, the student, and eventually the entrepreneur, telling america don't hate success, embrace it. >> mitt romney was not handed success. he built it. if the last four years had been more successful, do we really think there would be this attack on mitt romney's success? >> reporter: delegates thought she hit the home run romney needs. >> everyone around us, male and female, were just looking at each other like, oh, man, she just hit it out of the park. >> she was very natural, good-flowing speech. she's opened up a new side of the romneys that you don't see. >> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie focused on romney the tough guy. >> mitt romney will tell us the truths we need to hear to end the torrent of debt that's compromising our future and burying our economy. >> reporter: christie put romney over the top for the nomination. >> all 50 of its votes for the

next president of the united states. >> reporter: tonight we hear from running mate paul ryan. he's expected to talk about his small town roots, less government, and strong community. >> that was tracie potts reporting. now let's get a check back in on hurricane isaac. for that we go to bill karins. bill. ye . >> yeah, the storm is going to be with us a long time. i heard an estimated report that about three quarters of the population there don't have power this morning. it probably won't be until thursday that the crews can get in to begin getting power back. it shows you what a stalled out, slow storm it is. let me show you what you're dealing with in the west. we're not looking at really anything on the map whatsoever. just a little weak storm trying to kick up there through british columbia. temperatures this morning in the 50s in the northwest. still warm in the deserts. the forecast for today, we are going to keep it pretty much cool in the coastal areas around san francisco. l.a. not bad at 85.

desert areas still very warm. still dealing with smokey conditions in idaho from those fires. they continue to burn unchecked in the higher, more rugged terrain. still a hot day through denver and the northern plains. a chance of showers in seattle. very slight chance. windy at 94. salem oregon, 73 and mostly cloudy. >> all right, bill. thanks so much. coming up, home prices rise, consumer confidence falls, and too good to be true? teaching your baby to read. plus, there's a new woman in russell brand's life, and she's another singer. a pair of all stars get

knocked out. nascar's bad boy trades in his wheels for a tank. >> and the strangest catch you'll ever see. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here's some of your top headlines this morning. syrian troops are being aided by commanders and soldiers from iran, this according to a "wall street journal" report quoting members of the revolutionary guard. that is the first confirmation by iran's military of its role in the syrian civil war. in chile, clashes between police and student demonstrators. an estimated 100,000 protesters had to be marching peacefully through the streets to protest education reform. a federal court has blocked the redistricting plan by the texas state legislature saying it discriminated against hispanics. the judges ruled the plan protected districts belonging to white members of congress.

in germany, bomb experts detonated an american bomb from world war ii in an explosion heard an seen across the city. a number of nearby buildings briefly caught fire, but no reports of injuries. new spectacular images of mars have been sent back by the curiosity rover showing the view to the southwest from the landing site. it's unbelievable. a second image shows a closer look at mt. sharp, which is the rover's eventual destination on this mission. pretty cool there. all right, now here's an early look at how wall street is going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,102 after losing 21 points yesterday. the s&p was down a point, but the nasdaq gained three. overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei inched up 36 points, but in hong kong, the hang hank -- hang seng was

down 23. stocks ended little change tuesday on another day of low volume and even lower energy. investors saw little reason to leave the sidelines, ben bernanke is expected to announce new measures to boost growth. mixed economic data didn't help. home prices rose in june for the first time since 2010, but august consumer confidence dropped to the lowest level since 2011. printer maker lexmark soared after cutting 1,700 jobs, roughly 13% of its workforce. ketchup maker heinz up on a rosy earnings forecast. movado skyrocketed on good results and raised forecast. higher sales for tommy hilfiger and calvin klein lines. the obama administration raised

fuel efficiency requirements for new cars and trucks to an average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. watch dycom today, results short of expectations. also keep an eye on chevron, which rose tuesday on speculation it's looking to buy something with its cash. and, no, you can't teach a 9-month-old to read. the federal trade commission has filed a complaint against the makers of your baby can read, marketed as a tool to teach infants to read. it costs about $200 and sold nationwide at retail stores including walmart and babies r us. a nascar driver ready for a war, collision at home plate, and the first round at u.s. open tennis. plus, the giants use teamwork and a little luck against the astros. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. i'll have an update on isaac and the fact it's stalled over new orleans is not good. that's coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the mets rallied past the phillies in extra innings last night for their third straight victory. here's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines.

>> the mets haven't scored four runs in a game in about two weeks. yesterday they did it in one inning, taking on the phillies. tied at five. in the 0 10th ike davis with an rbi double. mets take the lead. that sparks a four-run inning. mets win 9-5. the rangers' yu darvish threw a gem against the rays. ian kinsler did the rest. solo shot in the fourth. that's all the rangers would need to win it 1-0. tough couple days for the dodgers' matt kemp. monday he ran into the wall and tweaked his wrist. yesterday, this. slams into the wall at full speed. kemp down for several minutes. remained in the game, but could not finish. dodgers couldn't fair much better, rockies won 8-4. pirates and cards. tabata with a single to right. guns down josh harrison at the plate. yadier molina holds on, but gets the worst of it. molina down and out, and so are the cards. pirates win 9-0.

wild play between the giants and astros. foul ball down the line. pablo sandoval is under it, misjudges it. the ball bounces off his glove. brandon crawford is there to make the diving grab. you can watch a ton of games and won't see a stranger catch. giants held on to win 3-2. andy roddick cruising to a straight set win over fellow american ryan williams. serena williams also won. finally, during saturday's nascar race, driver tony stewart was so mad at matt kenseth, he threw his helmet at number 17 as he was driving by. watch out, matt. tony has a new weapon of choice, a tank. that's right, tony stewart took this world war ii tank for a spin around the charlotte motor speedway. no word if the tank fires helmets. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. coming up, lindsay's off the hook and the biebs comes to the

ratings rescue. your early morning entertainment headlines straight ahead. plus, a jarring experience in california with a happy ending. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." southeast louisiana is going to be a place that will remember this storm isaac for a long time. it wasn't a katrina, category 4, 5, or even 3. but for a slow-moving storm,

it's leaving its mark. it made landfall 13 hours and and is still sitting there. as far as the west goes, we're looking at a nice day today. temperatures are comfortable, and your forecast looks dry just about everywhere. still pretty hot in the inner mountain west. if you're watching us on king 5 news, seattle, washington, step into an dome and experience 360-degree views of the puget sound. that's at the seattle aquarium. that's your pacific event of the day. >> bill, thanks so much. early look at the headlines in entertainment. russell brand has rebounded and it's another singer. brand has fallen for former spice girl geri halliwell, aka ginger spice. you may have heard of her. the tabloid reports they've been dating since rehearsals for the olympic ceremonies. >> spice girls are hot again. >> they are. redo. justin bieber taped a segment for the increasingly

ratings desperate "the x factor." lindsay lohan will not be prosecutored for stealing more than $100,000 worth of jewelry and sunglasses. e news reports prosecutors didn't exactly proclaim her innocence saying only, quote, we do not have sufficient evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt. shia labeouf told "usa today" he took acid on the film "the necessary death of charlie countryman" to help understand his character. that's taking method acting a little too farther. "us weekly" reports robert pattinson is selling his house he once held with ex kristen stewart because there are too many memories there. >> of her with another man. >> hopefully it wasn't in the house. that would make it so much worse. >> i'd get rid of the house too. >> you know. clorox it off. this came to us from kgte in bakersfield, california, where

traffic was brought to a crawl during a slow, delicate rescue. a truck carrying nearly 100 turtles in plastic bags lost its precious cargo along a highway. a few of the little guys didn't make it, but nearly all were saved and gently carried to safety. as luck would have it, there happens to be a turtle and tortoise society nearby. talk about lucky. that group is now going to be put in charge of taking care of the surviving turtles, and they're going to put them up for adoption. >> that's so good. the turtle crossed the road to get to the shell station. >> i think you've used that joke before. >> i think i have. i just can't help it. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today." your first stop of the day today, on your nbc station.

one tokyo aquarium is getting in touch with its creative side. the art aquarium feature as over 5,000 goldfish swimming through unique tanks. it provides visitors with new ways to view the fish, including a giant goldfish bowl and a digital screen that shifts backgrounds. in the future, its creator hopes to exhibit the art aquarium around the world. new york city students created a piece of sporting equipment fit for giants. they are hoping to set a record for the world's largest tennis racket. looks like they are on their way. the 50-foot racket's body is made of wood with plastic tubing used for strings. it took a team of over 30 and ten days to create. a crane was used to hoist the 12,000-pound racket into the sky for display. finally, in australia, canoeists took a surprise guest on board.

amateur video shows a koala who felt trapped on the bank of a creek dipping into the water and swimming to a group of canoeists who lifted the animal into their boat. the boaters later dropped the creature at a local embankment where koalas are known to populate the gum trees. that's a cute surprise. except for the huge claws. >> they have to climb the trees and eat the eucalyptus leaves. do they eat eucalyptus leaves? did i get that right? i don't know. i think so. i feel confident now. >> everything you say is right, bill, how about that? it's time for a look at the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. in new york city, levi aaron will be sentenced for the killing and dismemberment of an 8-year-old last july. aaron pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering the brooklyn boy who went missing after walking home from a day camp.

yale university will welcome the first rotc unit in 40 years to its campus. the university agreed to bring back both navy and air force officer training last year after congress voted to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. the rotc originally left campus amid anti-vietnam war sentiment. happy birthday to actor elliot gould. he turns 74 today. stay on top of the latest developments and those stories and others on msnbc and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally here's what's coming up this morning on the "today" show. meet a unique-looking cat who recently became an internet sensation. and hear a heated debate about pregnancy and weight gain. are women using pregnancy to let their body go? keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.