this morning, storm threat. >> isaac, changing course overnight. the storm set to become a hurricane later today. and now, on a new track, that could be very baz news for the convention in tampa. and s.e.a.l. secrets. a book written by a navy s.e.a.l. who was there. sitting down with the man accused of covering up the sex scandal. the school's former president. an abc news exclusive. and royal reaction. prince harry arriving home to face the music about his american escapades.

good wednesday -- thursday morning, everybody. we begin with tropical storm isaac, now on track today to become a hurricane and rain on the republican parade. >> the track of the storm actually shifted west overnight, increasing its chances of hitting tampa during next week's gop convention. >> but this morning, isaac is kicking up 45-mile-per-hour windand dumping some heavy rain on the virgin islands and puerto rico. abc's tahman bradley has the very latest. >> reporter: tropical storm isaac, already the size of texas, is quickly moving west. the storm is expected to make landfall in the caribbean island of hispanogola. the storm is dangerously close to the florida coast, making officials there nervous. >> we've been talking to fema, the department of defense. >> reporter: forecasters predict

isaac will move to cuba and then to florida. >> it's what you put in the wind. flying debris can damage it. >> reporter: in tampa, preparations continue for next week's republican national convention. but there's fear about isaac. >> we could have a tropical storm. we could have a category 5. we could have nothing. you know, each of those would cause us to have a different type of response. >> reporter: the city's mayor says he will cancel the convention if the weather poses a threat. there's been seven years of near-misses for the southern coast. u.s. military personnel in cuba are not taking chances. pretrial hearings for prisoners at guantanamo bay for the 9/11 attacks were postponed, as they plan to evacuate the people. >> we're preparing. my biggest concern is preventing any loss of life. >> reporter: in florida, republican officials say they have contingency plans in place if the storm disrupts the

convention. >> what a logistical nightmare it could be. thanks, tahman. let's look at the forecast map, now. this one showing all of the different computer models tha are calculating isaac's possible path. one has it heading towards new orleans. not the news they want to hear, so close to the katrina anniversary later this month. another takes it east of florida. most of them have them moving right up florida's west coast. we'll get a full update from sam champion later today on "gma." another storm is threatening to cause chaos at next week's republican convention. the uproar over gop senate candidate todd akin's controversial remarks on rape and abortion. opposition to abortion, in cases of rape and incest. he says he defers to mitt romney who would allow abortions in those cases. romney is hoping the lagging economy, not abortion, will take center stage at the convention. on a trip to new york city, president obama was attacking

congressman akin. at a fund-raiser that brought in 3 million bucks, the president mocked akin, saying he somehow missed science class. even though he's now a member of the house science committee. mr. obama said akin's remarks represented a desire to go backwards. a new book about the mission to kill osama bin laden will be released on september 11th, triggering questions about the public release of classified information. that book, titled "no easy day," was written by a retired navy s.e.a.l. the author led one of the teams that assaulted bin laden's compound. he wants to set the record straight about one of the most important missions in u.s. military history. the pentagon says it has not vetted the book nor provided any information for it. first lady michelle obama heads to wisconsin today to meet with the families of those killed and wounded in the attack

on the sikh temple. a white supremacist killed six people in his attack before turning the gun ultimately on himself. and a baton rouge man caused a major scene onboard an american eagle flight. without warning, shoving crew members out of his way and locking himself inside the cockpit for three hours until he finally surrendered voluntarily. investigators said he had a ticket and luggage but no weapons. and that he seemed distraught. a rather big story this morning. infections from west nile virus have jumped more than 60% in the last week alone, putting the current outbreak on pace to become the worst ever in the u.s. texas is the hardest-hit state, prompting aerial spraying around houston last night. other states are set to begin their own air assault against the mosquito-borne disease. more than 1,100 cases have been reported nationwide. 41 people have now died. three northern california counties are under a state of

emergency, as a monster wildfire continues to rage. the ponderosa fire is 50% contained after torching 21,000 acres and 50 buildings, many of them homes. 2012 is on track to become the first fire season on record. more than 7 million acres have burned across the country this year. las vegas is in for another day of heavy monsoon storms after getting swamped by a record rainfall. more than an inch and a half of rain came down yesterday, flooding intersections and stranding drivers in their cars. some taking a dip. the storm also caused flight delays and knocked out power to thousands. make lemonade. some people having a nice, little swim. >> maybe all of the rain could have cooled off prince harry. time, now, for a look at weather across the country. in addition to vegas, those monsoon storms drench palm springs, albuquerque and denver. showers from omaha to the twin cities and green bay. thunderstorms along the gulf coast, from south texas over to

florida. also, pretty wet in the carolinas. >> 80 from new orleans to new england, the midwest and rockies. 96 in phoenix. and just 66 in seattle. coming up after the break, an ominous warning from washington saying another recession is imminent unless congress takes quick action. plus, good news for iphone fans. there are more signs this morning that an all-new version is just weeks away. and the other bike. not just for luke skywalker anymore.

welcome back, everyone. the congressional budget office is warning that the u.s. will plunge into another recession unless congress acts before the end of the year. if not, a hefty series of tax increases and budget cuts will kick in january 1st. the cbo also predicts the unemployment rate will remain above 8% for 2012. economists are seeing the start of a recovery in the housing market. existing home sales were up last month. and prices are about 9% higher than a year ago. but analysts warn it may be a while before sellers see significant improvement. and tight lending practices are still holding back the market. mcdonald's is the latest fast food chain to stop doing business with a california slaughterhouse that's now been accused of animal cruelty. the agriculture department is suspending purchases from the california meat packing plant, where undercover video like the one you see there, shows cows

simply too sick to walk. government regulators have shut down that slaughterhouse. there's more signs we're going to see a new iphone in a month. walmart is cutting the price of the 4s. electronics manufacturer, l.g., says a new screen is on the way. united airlines and other carriers are planning to install slimmer seats in some of their planes so they can squeeze more of us in without taking away anymore leg room. they have thinner padding, allowing an extra row. and they weigh less because they're made of aluminum. we'll have more room. we'll just be sitting on uncomfortable seats. for those who always wanted to be like the storm troopers in "return of the jedi," there is this. an aerial vehicle, powered by two rotors. the driver controls it by just leaning and balancing. its maker in california says this is just a prototype,

though, for new unmanned drones. those are expected next year. how cool is that, though? >> i have one word for that. awesome. >> that would be nice. make the morning commute so much easier. >> very enjoyable. it's not a morning commute. a night commute. >> on this shift, yeah. prince harry back home after his wild time in las vegas. >> and he's wearing clothes. also, important medical news this morning. what a father's age has to do with cases of autism. an abc news exclusive. penn state's president during the sex scandal on whether he could have done more. we're right back. mmmm, just how satisfying is every spoonful 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

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♪ here is a fabulous reason to make a beeline for the sand and never go into the water to begin with. those flashes of white water, a gang of sharks in a feeding

frenzy 50 yards off the jersey shore. apparently a school of fish was irresistible. >> where's snooki when you need her? now, for a look at morning road conditions on this thursday. flooding in the west from southern california and vegas into the four corners region. wet roads along the gulf coast into the carolinas. and thunderstorms make for a slick commute from the twin cities to omaha. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in phoenix, las vegas and minneapolis. well, prince harry is back at home this morning, after raising a royal ruckus out in sin city. >> naked photos of the third in line to the british throne were viewed by millions over the internet. but british tabloids and tv stations were banned from showing them. the queen may have been shocked by her grandson's nude antics. but some of his fellow brits came to his defense. >> to think that someone would take photos of him in his own hotel room in his own privacy, is ridiculous.

>> i wish i was there with him. >> he's a hero to some. harry may have to meet with military officials to explain his actions. >> most guys are just jealous. don't listen to the haters, harry. party on. more news this morning. a new study from the journal "nature" has uncovered evidence linking autism to older dads. call it the male version of a ticking biological clock. researchers found the dads over 50 years old are twice as likely to father an autistic child as dads over 30. but they add their findings are simply a peek into the mystery of autism and should not prevent older men from considering fatherhood. >> i want to make it clear that the risk for being an older father is very small. and nobody is saying to older men that they shouldn't have children. but this does provide another clue to the causes of autism. >> in fact, dr. besser tells us that a father's age only explains about 5%, actually, of the risk of autism. and a mysterious, new

disease has emerged leaving scores of people dead in asia and the united states. this mimics aids by damaging immune systems, though patients are not infected by hiv. so far, all of the infected patients are asian. the cause is unknown. but the disease does not appear to be contagious. frightening news there. graham spanier is offering his strongest and most personal defense yet of his actions in connection with the jerry sandusky sexual abuse case. spanier does acknowledge he was told in 2001 about sandusky engaging in what was described as, quote, horseplay with a child. but in an interview with abc's josh elliott yesterday, he claimed he was never told the child was actually being abused. >> reporter: didn't you have a moral obligation to find out who that child was and find out what happened? >> i didn't conjure up anything more than what i would have

thought of as simple horseplay. so, no, i didn't think of anything more than that. it's not in my nature to go around thinking the worst of people. i'm not a law enforcement agent. i'm not an investigator. i was a university president. >> spanier revealed he was abused at the hands of his father. he talks about the penn state-backed report in which he is accused of covering up the sandusky case. for the lighter side of sports, nfl's week three of preseason is tonight. as for baseball highlights, we have more from espn. >> good morning. i'm randy scott with your "sportscenter" update. we start in texas where adrian beltre has himself a ball game. bottom two. rangers and orioles. former teammate pitching. but beltre doesn't care. solo shot. 20th of the season. bottom four. another one for beltre.

this one, a two-run shot. the rangers would bat around. beltre came up again in the fourth. and he would go again. his third of the game. rangers win, 12-3. whatever you do, do not touch beltre's head to celebrate. rays have been red-hot. they're getting it done on the mound. james shields, facing the royals. top eight. shields still in there. ge ge gets eric ausmer. joaquin arias, not a lot of playing time. he's making a case for it. san fran looking for the first three-game sweep of their rivals in three years. arias, with that home run. five rbis. the giants get the job done in support of matt cain, who was fantastic. gets his 13th win of the season.

8-4, your final. for all of your sports information, you can go to espn.com, catch "sportscenter," or watch "the highlight express," at 11:00 eastern time. up next, a tv star comes face-to-face with an intruder. something the clue, momma said knock you out. and only in russia. try commuting on that. [ male announcer ] did you know all those screens that keep you connected are sucking moisture from your eyes, causing irritation and dryness? [ thud ] really? [ male announcer ] revive your eyes with visine®. ahh. [ male announcer ] only visine® has hydroblend, a unique blend of 3 moisturizers that soothe, restore and protect eyes for up to 10 hours of comfort.

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♪ momma said knock you out i'm gonna knock you out ♪ that song is so appropo for this story. we start with a burglar learning the hard way, not to mess with l.l. cool j., who sang that song. >> the rapper showing his muscles aren't just for show. he had a knock-down, drag-out fight with a man who entered his home in southern cali. >> l.l. wasn't injured. he acted out of concern for his family. >> picked the wrong house. wrong house. we told you about britain's prince harry and the start of the fallout from his naked

rounds in las vegas. >> the british tabloid press has been pretty coy about this one. adhering to a request by the royals to not publish the pictures of harry au naturel. >> here's what "the sun" came up this morning. anything for that story. that is not prince harry. >> brave man. brave reporter to do that. why didn't we think about doing that on this show? >> maybe next time. >> yeah. and finally, check this out. that's a guy in russia, climbing and riding what's being called the smallest functional bike that can actually be ridden by a human. >> is that riding the bike? just a couple inches long. no bigger than a shoe. all requirements to be a bike. two wheels, a frame, and pedals. it's fun to watch him ride it. one stroke at a time.

i'll be to work in five days. >> some people have too much time on their hands. for some of you, now, local news is next. ♪ i'd do anything for you, dear ♪ ♪ anything, yes, i'd do anything ♪ ♪ anything for you ♪

updating the top stories. tropical storm isaac is expected to become a hurricane today. now, overnight the path shifted closer to tampa, where the republicans are preparing for their national convention. and, yep, the mayor of tampa said he is prepared to call off the convention if isaac hits. officials say they are prepared to evacuate tens of thousands of delegates if necessary. what a mess it could be. >> a hit for the economy. aerial spraying is under way in dallas and around the country, to combat what health officials call an unprecedented spread of mosquito-borne west nile. already this year, it has killed 41. heavy monsoons and flooding in the west. flooding from minneapolis to omaha and along the gulf coast. also, some showers in the carolinas. and finally this thursday morning, maybe you're about to tuck into your own breakfast

here. here is on eye-opening story for you. >> it's all about the seemingly unimaginable amount of food that we waste every year. billions and billions of dollars worth. abc's t.j. winick has more. >> reporter: a new report finds americans are throwing out nearly every other bite of food. >> i'm shocked, especially considering how many people are starving out there. >> i see people order a meal and just pick at it. >> reporter: according to a study by the national resources defense council, we end up wasting more than 40% of the country's food supply every year. that's $165 billion of produce and meats. >> no matter how sustainibly we're growing our foods, if ear not actually eating it, it's a terrible waste of our resources. >> reporter: the group found a family of four squanders nearly $2,300 of food each year. or 20 pounds of food per person, per month. it's alarming during a time of record drought, high food prices expected to get higher and

families unable to afford food. the council says food gets wasted in several areas along the line, not just at the dinner table. >> the department of agriculture, buying a lot of food. you have consumers buying food. there's no one group saying here's the amount of food we should have. and here's how it should be distributed. >> reporter: most waste takes place in stores and homes. and the nrdc suggests ways to curb it. >> we can start in our own refrigerators by making sure we use up what's in there. in supermarkets, for instance, i'd love to see adjusted promotions. in the united kingdom, they're experimenting with other promotions like buy one get one later. >> reporter: supermarkets lose $15 billion each year on unsold fruits and vegetables alone. t.j. winick, abcewews, new york. >> wasteful country. >> and yet, we're the fattest country. thanks for watching, everyb