tropical trouble. tropical storm isaac heads towards the gulf coast expected to make landfall as a powerful hurricane. states of emergency in louisiana and mississippi. drenching the convention. isaac forces a change of plans at the republican convention in tampa. but the gop vows to press ahead. california quakes. dozens of earthquakes rattle and roll residents in southern dozens of earthquakes rattle and roll residents in southern california. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, august 22, 2012. good morning everybody. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. this morning, tropical storm isaac is gaining strength as it churns across the warm waters of the gulf of mexico. isaac is forced to hit the gulf coast as a hurricane late tuesday or wednesday. isaac is 450 miles southeast of the mouth of mississippi river. that storm moving west,

northwest with sustained winds of 65 miles per hour. isaac is moving away from the florida coast. hurricane warnings are posted from morgan city, louisiana to destine, florida, including new orleans. emergency declarations have been issued in louisiana and mississippi. right now, more than 50,000 residents of st. charles parrish in new orleans are being told to get out. meteorologist of our miami station wfor has the latest on where isaac may be headed. >> here's the latest on isaac. as of had morning, as you can see a blow-up of thunderstorms. it does appear that as we speak, isaac is strengthening in the very warm waters of the gulf of mexico. let's go to the satellite and show you what i mean. lots of heavy rain still coming down in that band across south florida. so far we've seen 6 to 12 inches of rain and also a tornado watch in effect for the southern and central part of the state. now, the storm is moving just west, northwest away from florida. later today and tonight it will be located about 300 miles to

the west of tampa. that's quite a distance, but they're still going to see very heavy rain and strong gusty winds. the brunt way out in the gulf of mexico. as the system approaches the northern gulf coast around new orleans, biloxi and mobile, it should be a category 2 or could be a category 2. it's possible it could be slightly stronger than that because it has a lot of warm water to work with. as a result, hurricane warnings in effect for that area. once again, we could be talking about a pretty strong hurricane making landfall later tuesday during the day and during the evening, especially along the north gulf of mexico coast. i'm cbs meteorologist for cbs news in miami. >> we have two reports on the storm, susan mcginnis is in tampa at the republican convention which has been shortened. but we begin with bigad shaban. isaac has driven a blow there already. bigad, good morning. >> terrell, good morning to you. the locals consider the storm nothing more than an inconvenience. across south florida 16,000

homes were temporarily left without power and at the miami international airport, more than 550 flights were canceled. but the storm is a deadly one. it's blamed for taking ten lives in haiti and the dominican republic. isaac's winds are blowing north to the gulf coast. the storm is on course to hit land somewhere between new orleans and the florida panhandle on wednesday, the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina. the governors of louisiana and mississippi both declared states of emergency. >> obviously, like with every storm, we always hope for the best even as we prepare for the worst. >> in con key florida it threatened to wash away his crab fishing business. >> stressed out for the past couple of days. >> but the $10,000 worth of traps stayed intact. along key west, duvall street, shops remain boarded up. the loss for business owners was a gain for wave-loving surfers. >> the waves became a bit of a

tourist attraction in key west. with much 6 the town closed because of the storm, local piers were flooded with onlookers. >> we weren't able to leave because the airports closed. so we've been enjoying it ever since. >> jacqueline foster and amelia king flew in from west virginia for a bachelorette party that was supposed to end sunday. isaac's winds canceled their flight but didn't ruin their trip. >> it's just really windy mostly. it's not even raining that hard or anything like that. i thought it was going to be a lot worse. >> forecasters warn isaac's winds could get worse later this week possibly to a category 2 hurricane. >> and oil companies with rigs in the gulf, terrell, have already started evacuating workers. >> bigad shaban, thank you. in key largo. to tampa now where isaac disrupted the republican national convention. susan mcginnis is there. good morning to you. >> terrell, good morning.

the republican national committee the moved the start of the convention from today until tomorrow because of the threat of high winds and driving rains from isaac. amid the precautions, some festivities are still taking place. the party had started in tampa. thousands showed up sunday night for the republican national committee's welcoming party much it was the first official event on the rnc schedule. the second will be a little delayed. >> i got to get out of here there's a hurricane. >> tropical storm isaac is expected to bring heavy wind and rain. because of that, the convention will be gaveled into session this afternoon and adjourned minutes later. >> obviously, you can't be assured what would happen on monday if you had a full arena and couldn't get people out of here. i mean, it's an obvious choice. safety first. >> most delegates agree with the decision and don't think it will hurt their momentum. >> i think we can get it done in three days and we can probably get it done in a day if we had to. >> when the convention does get under way here on tuesday, republicans say they have two jobs.

first, to prosecute president obama for the job he's done in his first term. the second to introduce mitt romney to the american people. >> we have to tell the mitt romney story here. >> telling mitt's story will start with ann romney. she's the featured speaker tuesday night. >> the romneys spent sunday afternoon practicing their speeches at a private school in new hampshire. while he's concerned about the folks in isaac's path. romney is looking forward to the convention. romney will be nominated as his party's presidential candidate tuesday night and will accept the nomination on thursday. and some protests are also going on as scheduled. several hundred folks turned out yesterday. terrell, only one arrest was reported. >> susan mcginnis, thank you. before the gop convention both candidates got in last minute swipes. president obama had an interview with the associated press. accused mitt romney of taking on extreme positions consistent with the view of many

house republicans. the president says whether he actually believes in those or not, i have no doubt that he would carry forward some of the things he's talked about. romney, during an interview yesterday accused the president of running a campaign of anger designed to divide the american people. >> i think his whole campaign has been about dividing the american people. it's between the haves and the have nots. the people of one location versus another. this is one street versus another street. that's the divisiveness that americans recognize. romney accused president obama. trying to tie him to todd akin's comments. romney called that a new low. over seas another deadly attack. early this morning an afghan soldier killed two nato troops. in southern afghanistan. the nationalities of the soldiers haven't been released. they're the 11th and 12th nato troops to die this month. in so-called green on blue killings. disturbing new evidence on a massacre in syria's civil war involving hundreds of people. activists say syrian troops trying to retake a town close to

the capital killed more than 300 men, women and children. most of the dead appear to be young men. government tv blames the slaughter on terrorists. also this morning, witnesses say rebel troops shot down a syrian army helicopter as it was bombarding a damascus neighborhood. amateur video shows a helicopter engulfed in flames. there was heavy fighting in the area at the time. take a quick break on this busy monday morning. when we come back. shaken up. california earthquakes caught on tape. dozens of quakes rattle the region. this is the morning news. 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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mmmm, just how satisfying of new light & fit greek? morning donut cookies chips, chips,...! silence those tempting thoughts with new light & fit greek. its creamy thick texture helps satisfy you. it has twice the protein of regular lowfat yogurt. and at 80 calories it's the lightest greek yogurt with fruit. cupcake! it's not gonna happen. new light & fit greek. be light and fit and satisfied. a tribute to neil armstrong from his alma mater, purdue university. a statue of the astronaut sits on the campus and is covered in flowers. remembering his incredible accomplishment. on july 20, 1969 armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. purdue dedicated its engineering building to armstrong in 2007. he died saturday at the age of 82. dozens of earthquakes rock southern california yesterday.

the largest a 5.5 magnitude quake near raleigh. more than 30 other quakes shook the same area. a man took some amazing video just as the quake struck. the quake caused sporadic power outages and pushed some mobile homes off foundations. no injuries reported. "moneywatch" time on a monday morning. fuel costs continue to rise and gm is staying out of the campaign. erica ferrari in new york with more. >> good morning, terrell. gas prices are up 7 cents over the last two weeks and they could be going higher. daily oil production is already down 24% thanks to tropica storm isaac. oil companies are shutting down rigs and removing workers as the storm passes through the gulf of mexico. a deadly explosion at venezuela's largest refinery could also cause prices to rise. saturday's blast killed at least 39 people and damaged hundreds of nearby buildings. officials say once the fires at the refinery are out, production could resume in two days. stocks were lackluster.

the nikkei added a fraction. the hang seng lost half a percent. a big buy for hertz. it's reportedly struck a 2.5 billion deal to acquire dollar thrifty. if the deal is approved, it would make hertz the second-largest rental car company in the u.s. shares of dollar thrifty and hertz rose on thursday when word surfaced of the potential deal. wall street staged a rally late last week. the dow added 100 points on friday. that wasn't enough to push it into positive territory for the week. overall, the blue chips lost 117 points from monday to friday. the nasdaq lost 6. and don't expect to see president obama or mitt romney touring any general motors facilities until after the election. gm is putting the brakes on campaign events at its plants through election season. the company says it wants all of its energy to go into making and selling cars. of course, gm received a nearly $50 billion bailout from the

government in 2009 and it still owes more than $26 billion to uncle sam. terrell? >> erica ferrari here in new york. thank you so much. up next, your monday morning weather and in sports, japan pounds the u.s. in the little league world series forcing officials to say the one word no team ever wants to hear. team ever wants to hear. [ music playing ] [ music playing ] the blissful pause just before that rich sweetness touches your lips. the delightful discovery,

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sun in chicago, 84 degrees. thunderstorms in dallas, 95. clouds then sun in los angeles, 82 degrees. let's check your national forecast. the outer bands of isaac will hammer florida. intense rain, strong winds and tornadoes are possible across the sunshine state. scattered showers and thunderstorms will also begin to hit the gulf states and a cold front moves into the northeast and midwest. some areas could get heavy downpours of an inch or more. in sports, the braves break out the bats against the giants. check this out. homer number one in the fourth. atlanta's francisco launched this. the deepest part of at&t park. more power from the braves in the ninth. jason heyward, a blast to right. freddie freeman sends a rocket to center. the braves crush san fran 7-1. former astronaut john glenn going underhand for the first pitch in cleveland. the 91-year-old was a good friend of neil armstrong. he died saturday. in the game, curtis granderson

hit his 200th career home run to help the yankees roll over the indians 4-2. the tribe losers of nine of the last ten games. still can't find the end zone. dueling quarterbacks can't find a groove. mark sanchez was intercepted. finished 11 of 18. tim tebow also intercepted going 4 for 14 for just 55 yards. carolina beat the jets 17-12. the jets have not scored a touchdown in three pre-season goods. not good. called the mercy rule. unfortunately, it had to be used against the u.s. in the little league world series. japan destroyed the boys from good letsville, tennessee. by the fifth inning, the kids from tokyo wrapped up a ten-run lead and that was it. game over. japan won in this one, 12-2. to take home the world series championship banner. speaking of kids, 15-year-old lydia coe drained this putt on 18. she won the canadian women's open. she's the youngest winner in lpga history and the first

amateur since 1969 to win a title. coe was born in south korea, she plans to stay an amateur and go to college. that's what we like to hear, lydia. good for you. when we come back, another look at the top stories, and protecting primates. a surprising look at what we can do to help save the disappearing orangutans half a world away. ng. 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.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. d.c., partly cloudy, 88. same deal in atlanta, 89. morning thunderstorms in st. louis, 87. turning cloudy in denver, 93 p clouds and sun in seattle, 75. top stories now on a monday morning. tropical storm isaac is expected to make landfall in the gulf coast as a hurricane sometime wednesday. states of emergency have been declared in louisiana and mississippi. southern florida avoided the brunt of the storm but at least eight people were killed in haiti. isaac has forced the change of plans at the republican national convention in tampa.

the convention will convene today and immediately recess tomorrow. mitt romney and paul ryan will be officially nominated. >> a hiker in alaska was mauled to death by a grizzly bear. he had been photographing the bear. it's the first fatal attack in the park's history. the hiker came within 50 yards of the bear. the park rules say he shouldn't have come within a quarter mile. state trooper killed the bear on saturday. >> pennsylvania police are investigating how a bull got loose at a fair. wonder how that happened? the bull was caught running through the grounds at a hartford fair on friday after a rodeo show. the animal ran back and forth several times sending people into the carnival booths. at least ten people were injured before it was captured. the injuries weren't serious. the orangutan is fast approaching extinction. their natural home is the leafy rainforest of sumatra. and borneo. those areas are being wiped out by companies by making an ingredient in products we use every day. john blackstone reports.

>> orangutans can fill us with wonder. partly because they're so much like us. but these two at the oregon zoo are part of a species fast disappearing. >> all of the apes are endangered. orangutans, we're at a critical point. >> jennifer davis runs the zoo's primate program. >> open. good boy. >> she recently wanted to see their plight firsthand in their most important habitat. >> i flew to sumatra and expected to see lush tropical rainforests. as far as i could see it was palm oil plantations. >> huge plantations for producing palm oil are wiping out the rainforests in sumatra where most of them live. >> you'd be amazed how many products it's in. it's in shampoos, soaps in your biscuits, including very, very well-known brands. it's in chocolates and it's everywhere. >> ian singleton who heads the orangutan conservation program

in sumatra says the biggest threat is the growing demand for palm oil. >> it's a very, very precarious situation. >> those working to save the animals are asking consumers to start looking for a label like this. it can be found on products produced in places that do not threaten crucial habitat. >> it is oot at a point where we need to take focus on this or we could lose the species. it's a very real possibility. >> a possibility visitors here seem to grasp. the future of the orangutan may depend in more ways than one on their close connection to us. >> john blackstone, cbs news, san francisco. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the latest on the path of tropical storm isaac and charlie rose is live in tampa for the republican national convention. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." n. this is the "cbs morning news." mmmm, just how satisfying is every spoonful

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tampa, florida, rolls out the red carpet this week for the republican national convention. but there's a side few visitors get to see. the tampa st. petersburg metropolitan area has the highest rate of homelessness in the nation. lee cowan looks at some organizations helping to get people back on their feet. >> for this couple homelessness snuck up fast. they had beaten the odds for months but were at the point where the street was a day away. ken blamed himself. >> because a man is supposed to provide for his family. i felt that i wasn't doing that. it hurt me more not to take care of my kids, for them not to know what's going to happen the next day. >> i was embarrassed to even tell people that we had nowhere to sleep. >> i guess i didn't want people to feel sorry for us. >> the rosses are among 50 homeless families living in

temporary housing run by metropolitan ministries, a new building will double capacity. >> we're putting in allthe footings for the foundation. >> tim marx runs the privately funded organization. >> our goal is to go from homelessness in a crisis to self-sufficiency in a six-month window. >> the kids sleep right there. >> for the ross family, home is a 260 square foot room and a bathroom. a solid foundation with room to build. >> this is our starting ground. this is what's going to get us back on our feet. >> metropolitan ministries also prepares 2500 hot meals every day for the homeless all throughout tampa st. pete. >> the biggest delivery is to a shelter called safe harbor for adult men and women. the pinellas county sheriff opened this last year. >> the jail is a dumping ground to solve a social problem.

they come here, diverted from the jail and get services that will help them break the cycle of homelessness. >> the sheriff says this saves tax dollars. it costs $13 a day to house a person here. jail, $106 a day. the beds here are almost always full. latoya mosley slept in a cardboard box on the street before a police officer brought her here. she lost her nursing job a year ago and has been unable to find work. >> there's a lot of us in here. we've had everything and everything got taken away from us. it's not promised to you to make money all the time. the economy is bad. you can lose your job in a second and be right here where we're at. >> as far as tropical storm isaac goes this week, city officials in tampa say if it gets bad enough, police will send out vans to pick up the homeless in known gathering spots much as they did during hurricane charley in 2004. lee cowan, cbs news, new york.

on "cbs this morning," an update from tampa on tropical storm isaac and where it's likely to make landfall. plus a preview of the republican national convention and remembering astronaut neil armstrong. buzz aldrin pays tribute. that and more later on "cbs this morning." that is the "cbs morning news" for in monday. as always, appreciate you watching. i'm terrell brown. take care everybody. i'm terrell brown. take care everybody. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

good morning everyone is august 27th. the time now was for 29. the or to start at right now with a check of the water.