new orleans could be in the past. >> good afternoon. well, it's clear skies here, but that's not the case along the gulf coast area. >> veronica johnson is joining us with the latest on isaac's path now, veronica. >> hey there. still tracking isaac. right now we have -- it's far out in the gulf of mexico, just west of petersburg, florida right now. still a sizable storm. there's been some weakening today, with the eye of isaac getting a little ragged. it's winds at 65 miles per hour, movement still to the northwest. back to the northwest at 14 miles per hour. on this track at northwest, at 14 miles per hour, we expect see isaac making its way toward areas around louisiana. let me go ahead and put it into motion for you here. it is expected to strengthen to a category 1 storm before it makes landfall, which again will

be sometime late tuesday night, if we can go ahead and take a look at the track. here we go. there we go. tuesday laid, early wednesday morning as a category 1 storm just west of new orleans right now. again it's the flooding more about the storm surge, as well as how much rain they could be getting down there. and wind some of the rains could be making its way north and noheast toward us. i'll have that in a couple minutes. thank you. residents along the gulf coast are busy bracing for isaac's arrival. several parishes are under mandatory evacuation orders. the storm prepares to ma'ake landfall almost exactly seven years after hurricane katrina came ashore. jay gray has the latest for us. >> reporter: if the french

quarter is the heart of new orleans, the canal systems that run through the city and levee that is surround are its arteries and veins. it was the catastrophic failure of that flood protection network that exposed new orleans to katrina's fury. >> one of the levees has given way. >> reporter: it brought an extension of the network of canals, pumps and gates. the cornerstone of the $14.5 billion project that now stretches 350 miles around the city is this massive two-mile barrier wall that extends the first line of storm defense eight miles further outside the lower ninth ward. 12 miles from the superdome downtown. isaac could provide its first real test. >> we have the absolute confidence in the perimeter system to defend us against this

storm. >> reporter: the current forecast track shows isaac will be a strong category 1 or perhaps category 2 hurricane when it strikes. new orleans is clearly in the cross harris. >> for the parisheses in the direct path, the forecast shows hurricane-force winds that could last for as long as anywhere 8 and 10 hours. >> reporter: south louisiana could see the worst on wen dade seven years to the day after hurricane katrina. >> it is worth noting that brings a high level of anxiety to the people of new orleans. >> reporter: tensions that will only ease when these walls prove they can hold back the water and the city weathers this storm. engineers and emergency officials are quick to point out that the levees and canals are only designed to protect property. they stress that evaek ways are what saves lives and the time for that is running out here. in new orleans, jay gray, news4. more than 4,000 national guards troops have been activated in anticipate of that

storm. >> isaac veered away from tampa, but the storm has affected the convention nonetheless. the gavel came down today in a hall that was mostly empty the a recess was called just a few moments later. steve handelsman has the latest. >> in session and called to order. >> reporter: the republican convention opened, start add clock to emphasize or rapidly mounting debt and the rnc recessed until tomorrow, day 1 canceled. as it turns out, storm isaac passed far west. delegates killed time, some disappointed. >> bright and sunny outside, no rein at all, and i think we wondered why it was being canceled. >> reporter: on his way to tampa, paul ryan got a big send offin wisconsin. he'll accept the vice presidential nomination on wednesday. >> it's not too late to get people back to work. it's not too late to fix this country's problems. we can do that.

>> reporter: the convention climax comes thursday. mitt romney's address, he's practicing. >> i like my speech. i really like ann's speech. >> reporter: romney leads president obama by a point in the new abc/"the washington post" poll. some delegates dismissed that. >> likability is overemphasized. we are so used to being entertained and wowed. >> reporter: others say romney is likable and can show. >> come off as something that's empathetic to those in all the different class structures. >> reporter: what if isaac wrecks the gulf coast before romney is set to speak? >> my thoughts are with the people in the storm's path, and i hope they're spared any major destruction. >> keep them safe. >> delegates are praying for that, but in any case, the plan is for the convention to continue and for romney to make his big speech. one seasoned republican told me we can tone it down and forget

the balloon drop, but we need mitt romney prime thai on thursday. from the convention in tampa, i'm steve handelsman, news4. with her husband set to become the gop presidential nominee, ann romney now has secret service agents assigned to her. that's standard practice for the wives of candidates to receive this type of protection. just yesterday agents accompanied her to a supermarket near the family's vacation home. mitt romney has had secret service protection since january. a many practicing note, on wednesday 6:30 the nightly new, so we can bring you the preseason game with the redskins. and coverage of the national convention, including congressman paul ryan's speech will immediately following the game. a 15-year-old student is in custody and a 17-year-old in a hospital after a shooting at a baltimore area high school today. it happened before shortly 11:00

a.m. in the calf tier in perry hall maryland. it's the first day of class there is. all students were evacuated, and classes canceled. police say they believe the 15-year-old shooter acted alone. they don't think the victim was targeted. coming up on "news4 at 5," pat collins will have a live update with reaction from students and parents. today marks the first day back to school for thousands of students across our area. in maryland classes got under way. in carroll, charles, frederick, howard and montgomery counties. louden county, virginia been and the district started a new school year. news4's megan mcgrath takes a look at some of the improvements in the class and out. >> reporter: for some it's the first day at a new school. >> i'm a little scared, because other kids are in bigger grades and i'm still in the fourth

grade. >> reporter: for others it's a return for familiar faces and friends and on to new challenges. i'm ready to go back to fifth grade. >> reporter: why? >> because fifth grade is fun, and you learn new things in fifth than in fourth grate. >> reporter: are you looking forward to seeing your frepds? >> um-hmm. yeah, a lot. >> reporter: this marks the official end of summer vacation as students headed back to school. the return to class meant major improvements including bruce monroe. the beautiful old building haven given a broond eight everyone and color new work. old wood paneling has been restored, and the owner nate ceiling is revealed. >> i like how it has swings and the different colors. >> the old school was totally, um, it wasn't up to par. now it's totally up to par.

>> reporter: also new this year, $10 million in grant money to 59 different schools. some are using that money to extend the school day. >> in some cases as many as an hour and a half to two hours a day. one school by atten an hour and a half five days a week will effectively add one extra cool day a week. >> reporter: some schools that were awarded grants have spent the money on new technology and they're incorporating that into classroom instruction. other schools have started new before and after-school programs. in northwest, megan mcgrath, news4. a serious crash hurt dozens of people in downtown lange. a metro bus and train collided. 32 people, most of them on the bus, were treated for their injuries, but they're all expected to be okay. investigators are still work are to figure out what caused that collision. train service was shut down for hours. coming up next at "news4 at 4," a traumatic ride.

what happened to this mother when her accelerator got stuck. >> plus, do you really need to turn off your electronics during the takeoff and landing of a plane? and "jersey shore" star snooki has a new little man in her life. life. what she's made his choice. but what choices will women be left with? just like mitt romney, paul ryan would get rid of planned parenthood funding. in congress, ryan voted to ban all federal funding for planned parenthood and allow employers to deny women access to cancer screenings and birth control. and both romney and ryan backed proposals to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest. for women... for president... the choice is ours.

i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.

investigators are looking into a fire at tyler perry ace studio complex in atlanta. one of the roofs call the fire this morning. back in may, more than 100 firefighters had to put out a massive blaze that scorched one of the simulated streetscapes of the studio. that fire send flames into about six stories. the cause of that fire has never been determined. snooki is a new mom and

keeping her fans up to day on twitter. she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. she and her fiance welcomed him at 3:00 in the morning. she gave birth in livingston, new jersey. mom and baby are doing just fine, we hear. she took to twitter today, saying she can hardly get any slime, good, in her words, it's so worth it. >> robin roberts announced she's starting her extended medical leave. she says she'll go into the hospital next week to prepare for a a bone marrow transplant. she revealed she has a blood and bone marrow disease. she says she's luckier than many workers, because she's getting the needed time off and sell knows her job is waiting for her when she can return. you know about the rule turning off electronics, soon you might be able to keep your

laptop or ipad on. >> the faa is studying, and whether to change the long-standing rules. nbc's tom costello is joining us. >> don't hold your breath. this is a long study the faa is embarking on, including industry groups as well as, you know, the airlines and the people who make all of these gage either and devices. we get frustrated when we sit on the plane and can't use them, because at 10,000 feet and below, the faa says you can't turned them on, because of their concern about possible interference with the aircraft's avionics and computers, what have you. they have heard so many complains they'll study this. they already studied it back in 2006 and sell, yes, it does or can cause interference, we don't know whether it's actually contributed to a crash, but we don't want to take any chances,

and because technology changes so rapidly, that they've said we don't want any of these devices on below 10,000 feet. now they'll study it again and say, is it possible to get kind of like an underwriters laboratory stamp of approval on the device, so that we know, okay, this device is safe, this device, no, not so much. then maybe down the road you could leave that device on. >> what about the above 10,000 foot level. is it considered safe there now? >> yes. they don't want the transmitters on. that's why they tell you below 10,000 feet, the truth is above 10,000 feet you can't hit a cell tower, and very few if any of these things are actually connected to a satellite, so it's really not an issue. the only issue is which they believe it's actually hitting a cell tower and could pinchally

cause interference. >> how do they test this? let 'see how many we can turn on -- how do you figure out what's the right number? >> in fact, i went to boeing headquarters and spent several days with the engineers there, and they have this huge big studio, almost like this size, all insulated, and they turn these devices on, and they have very fist indicated electronics to try to read the signatures and see if it's causing interference. sure enough it did. the trouble is is it the kind of interference that could bring down a plane? here's the issue -- they don't know and they don't want to take a chance. now they come back and revisit the issue. >> the rumor has been they just don't want to hear everybody yakking. that's really not the reason. >> no, that's not. and here the deal, the pilots have these up in the cockpit, but the transmitter is permanently disabled. the question is how do you make surthe flight attendants don't have to be the bad cop on the

plane. >> tom costello, thank you. i'm one of those who was hoping where you could at least use a laptop. >> you can, just not below 10,000 feet. >> all right. >> thanks a lot. good to see you. still to cup on news4, the new risk factor that links an aggressive form of breast cancer to women. plus a fight over funding for the repair of a part of the skyline. and why police in germany say expensive cars are being targeted business arsonists.

i'm barack obama and i approve this message now mitt romney's attacking the president on medicare? the nonpartisan a-a-r-p says obamacare "cracks down on medicare fraud, waste, and abuse

and strengthens guaranteed benefits." and the ryan plan? a-a-r-p says it would undermine medicare and could lead to higher costs for seniors... and experts say ryan's voucher plan could raise future retirees costs more than six thousand dollars. get the facts. hundreds of bikini-clad women descended on ocean city for saturday's parade. they were hoping to break the guiness world record currently held by a city in china. they needed 1,086 women to do did, but they felt short. only about 325 women turned out. they walked the 25-block parade. part of the money raised will go to charities, including the

american cancer society's relay for life. >> there's nothing like a bikini parade on a cloudy, rainy day. kind of a downer. >> yes, so what's going on with our weather? no rain today? >> no rain today, but by tomorrow morning we should see some showers, and then things will pick up with our cold front. take a look at this video. it's a waterspout. in southern maryland, there's a lot of people that shot it, a lot of pictures that came into nbcwashington.com. thankfully no serious injuries or damage was reported. and of course you get out your phone, right? you start taking video. a tremendous amount of rain, too, across the area. 1 to 2 inch rains down across maryland. st. mary's county yesterday picking up around 6 to 8 inches of rain, and then over in eastern maryland, about 14 inches of rain. over a foot fell, and reagan

national we just had 0.48 of an inch. throughout the area right now, upper 80s to around 90 degrees, down toward friday rick burg, and tomorrow i think it will be just as warm. there was some storms earlier today in new york city, that line has moved east, but another line getting ready to move in. and down through cleveland, ohio in cincinnati, this is -- eastward coming through our area, tomorrow early afternoon. down to the south, the big rains, those outermost bands from isaac, making their way all the way north into spots like macon, georgia, tropical rains, jacksonville down toward ft. lauderdale, and mime in those rains just about really to touch on new orleans, some of the outermost bands of rain. what we get to with storms like

this, of course, one of the most damaging aspects of it is the heavy rains and the flooding that comes in. we'll take a look, folks, we're expecting the track on isaac landfall sometimes late tuesday, early wednesday as a category 1 storm. winds 74 to about 95 miles per hour possibly as this storm makes its way inland. i think it will be just to the west of new orleans. that's the current track. as we look at what folks down there can expect, again, a lot of rain, take a look at what they're expecting down there, a storm surge of 6 to 12 feet, no katrina this will be, but still a dangerous storm, 6 to 18 inches, again sometime late tuesday, early wednesday morning there. as far as the winds currently blocki 23 miles an hour, 23 miles an hour gusts reported at tampa. i'll continue to monitor those winds, too. for us it's a cold front coming into the area, scattered showers only at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, so

umbrella ready for early in the morning. i think probably by 2:00, 3:00, probably south of our area. we'll be looking at a whole lot tomorrow afternoon. as far as the forecast, a 30% chance of showers or storms, with a warm one tomorrow. most of your rain will come early, 58 with sunshine on wednesday, the rest of this week, tomorrow is looking a-okay, with sunshine, highs anywhere from 85 to 93. a look at your weekend. >> warming up again. we were liking the 80s. >> at least it's going to -- >> thanks, veronicaen. still to come, how a dog name lemon pie is getting back on its feet after a brutal attack. will it hit your brakes at all? >> we've tried everything. >> okay. have you put your car in neutral? >> i can't. and the dramatic 911 calls

made by a driver as her car careened down a highway at careened down a highway at speeds more than 100

i'm barack obama and i approve this message now mitt romney's attacking the speedpresident on medicare? the nonpartisan a-a-r-p says obamacare "cracks down on medicare fraud, waste, and abuse and strengthens guaranteed benefits." and the ryan plan? a-a-r-p says it would undermine medicare

and could lead to higher costs for seniors... and experts say ryan's voucher plan could raise future retirees costs more than six thousand dollars. get the facts.

welcome back to "news4 at 4." i'm richard jordan. >> and i'm barbara harrison. the gulf coast is bracing for the arrival of tropical storm isaac. several parishes are under mandatory evacuation orders and the airlines have started to cancel flights in and out of new orleans. it's expected to make landfall seven years to the day that hurricane katrina came ashore back in 2005. tampa is no longer in the cross harris of the storm, but the republican national convention is affected anyway. the convention opened today and they started a crock to

emphasize the growing debt, but that was it. the convention went into recess until tomorrow. further changes could come as isaac nears landfall. >> a teenage suspect is in custody for a shooting at a baltimore area high school. it started shortly before 11 arm in perry hall, maryland. a 17-year-old boy is in the hospital. no other students were shot. police say the shooter is a 15-year-old student, they believe they acted alone. one of the quietest days of the year on wall street, the only other day with lighter trading so far was july 3rd. it ended down 33 points, the s&p 500 is down less than a point. nasdaq closed up three points. one to one mother's terrifying ordeal behind the wheel. >> her accelerator got stuck, forcing her to avoid other drivers up to speeds up to 120 miles an hour. >> it was 35 minutes of sheer

terror. >> reporter: a 47-year-old iowa mom hurled down the highway, the kia so rendo clearly out of control and gaining speed fast. the accelerator jammed. >> reporter: the car was unstoppable. she swerved erratically to avoid other cars. >> reporter: her car continued accelerating hitting speed as high as 120 miles per hour. >> reporter: within minutes state police arrived and attempted to divertraffic out of your law.

through 59 miles and 35 minutes, she desperately dodged traffic. finally troopers advised to pull the accelerator and the brake at the same time. a winning combination that finally -- amazingly she didn't hit a thing, and no one was hurt. she climbed out shaken, but safe. wow, that was mara coffee campo reporting. >> they say it apprs to be an isolated inns didn't and they'll continue investigating and will work with her to resolve the problem. after nearly a year-long investigation, we now know what caused a vintage plane to crash into a group of spectators during a racing show last year in nevada. federal investigators say extensive modifications to the

plane made the aircraft weak. the pilot lost control and crashed into the stands. dozens more were hurt. the crash happened last september at the national champion air races in reno. >> i think what we saw is there were many modifications to this aircraft and it had not been flown at the speeds that we saw on race day prior to the accident. >> investigators say a weakness in the tail section was a main culprit. race organizers are preparing for this year's event set to begin on september 12th. the firstman to walk on the moon, neil armstrong, will be laid to rest on friday. rob portman will deliver the eulogy. armstrong commanded apolo "apol

moon landing. hundreds are gathering to say good-bye to a fallen police officer. 23 years old adrian morris was killed last monday when his police cruiser ran off i-95 while pursuing a vehicle. there was a viewing this afternoon. a second viewing begins at 7:00 tonight. the funeral is tomorrow morning. two suspects are in custody in connection with the car chase. we'll have more in a live report at 5:00. senate democrats are pushing for immediate funnels to repair one of the most eischenic buildings in washington. the dome has fallen into disrepair between at least 1,300 cracks. new york snort chuck schumer says $61 million is needed. he's asked the funds be added to the upcoming stopgap bill. schumer argued it's a national embarrassment for the dome to

continue to decay. he said delays the repairs will only increase the price tag. there's more to come on "news4 at 4," a warning from doctors today. what they are saying about a connection between sleep and an aggressive form of breast cancer. and berlin sky lit up by a series of car

the country's most influential pedestrians group is saying the health benefits of circumcision in newborn boys outweigh any risks and insurance companies should pay for it. 80% of newborn boys were circumcised. in 2008 it dropped to 56%. the academy of pediatrics says there's science for benefit, including lower risks of becomic

infected with hiv, other stds and cancer. >> the financial risks are huge. per person, but you start to talk about medical costs in the billions of dollars that means for and the cancer rate is to men and women. there's new evidence tonight that getting a good night's sleep could help you live longer. researchers at case western found a link between sleep and more aggressive forms of breast cancer. it included 400 post-menopausal women. those who averaged 6 or less a night were more likely to have their cancer come back. no link was found in younger women. lack of sleep is also linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. when "news4 at 4" returns, the buzz around the ipad mini

gets louder. when apple's latest product could make its debut. and were tracking tropical storm isaac. president clinton: this election to me is about which... candidate is more likely to return us to full employment. this is a clear choice.

the republican plan is to cut more taxes on upper-income... people and go back to deregulation. that's what got us in trouble in the first place. president obama has a plan to rebuild america from... the ground up, investing in innovation, education... and job training. it only works if there is a strong middle class. that's what happened when i was president. we need to keep going with his plan. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

you know, ronny... folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. and how happy are they jimmy? i'd say happier than a bodybuilder directing traffic. he does look happy. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

meet lemon pie, a very brave dog from mexico. police found this pooch in a dumpster. they believe a criminal gang cut off his two front legs, but a foundation made an international appeal and raised enough money for prosthetic legs. they say lemon pie appears to be moving around just fine and now will be able to lead a normal life. >> that's sweet. >> can he bury his bone? >> that's the real test. >> is it gathered steam?

last time i looked, the eye was kind of rat. just kind of stays at status quote. make no mistake, there's -- around the coast of mississippi. over ten inches of rain, close to 13 inches of rain, palm city florida, about 11 inches of rain so far, this is a sizable storm,

so outer bands stretches pretty farce. into spots like georgia our rain is expected to move into the area early tomorrow morning. so the clouds will be increasing. 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, there could be some showers. leesburg, manassas, down toward charlottesville, then with the daytime heating, there's a possibility there will be enough heating, but behind this front, at least it's going to turn less humid. so 90 in d.c., 90 in culpepper for a high tomorrow. there's a snapshot at wednesday at 7:00 p.m., right down to the south. there's isaac already ashore, as far as the movie from isaac here, i don't think we're going

to see that until sometime late sunday, early morning next week. for us tomorrow, 30% chance of showers, 85 for wednesday, 93 for friday, so we cool down, then heat up a bit. >> moving into the roller coaster time of year. >> yes we are. it will be a busy fall for appear now it look lice the i pat mini will go on sale in october. the story was first reported this weekend. the new i had pad will battle against the kindal. a new class of college freshmen are stepping into higher education this month.

they look at things just differently than freshman classes. we look at the class of 2016. >> reporter: as they settle in on college campuses across the country. know this. they have always lived in cyberspa cyberspace. their lives measured in the fundamental particles of life. that's actually a direct quote from the mind-set list for the class of 2016. written by ron on the left and professor tom mcbride on the right. both from tine,beloit college in beloit wisconsin that have been documenting the mind-set many incoming freshmen. they say it's similar to recent years. rather than radio, they listen to mp 3 players or ipods.

some of what these listen to is so loud, a quarter of them already have suffered hearing loss. they've never readily seen an they'll investigate whether the textbook is available for rent or purchase as an e-book. to them, the twilight zones involves vampires. they watch television everywhere, but on a television. they consider point-and-shoot cameras so outdated, and like last year's class, when they say amazon, the last thing they mean is the river in south america. nbc news. coming up how one restaurant's attempt to advertise has ruffled the feathers of a town council. and the 3w067d it seems to me to rescue, of the efforts now being made to save it.

i'm wendy rieger. coming up on "news4 at 5," a student opening fire inside a calf nearia on the first day of school. pat collins will join us live. furious over how much those cameras are costing in the district? soon that fine will be going down, maybe. plus -- >> i'm julie carey at the republican national convention where a certain virginia delegate is getting a lot of attention, because he's barely old enough to vote. we'll talk to the youngest del great at this convention, coming up. took at 6:00, new fallout after the landmark ruling in the battle between apple and samsung.

someone torched six parked cars in berlin, the latest in suspected auto arsons. fire crews had their hands full putting out the flames. all of the cars were completely

destroyed. whoever did this is 12i8 at large. for the past few years germany has been dealing with a series of suspected arsons. some reports blame vandals, others say social activist are are behind the crimes. there's an update on the fresco that may have been destroyed by an elderly woman. sxh experts arrived at a church in spain to see whether there's any hope for the 120-year-old painting that was damaged by a misguided but well-meaning parishioner. the original title of the work is behold the man. after it became disfigured, people started calling it "behold the monkey." they'll know soon if it can be repaired. a controversy that's come to roost in a tiny indiana town. plus a search for answers

president clinton: this election to me is about which... candidate is more likely to return us to full employment. this is a clear choice. the republican plan is to cut more taxes on upper-income... people and go back to deregulation. that's what got us in trouble in the first place. president obama has a plan to rebuild america from... the ground up, investing in innovation, education... and job training. it only works if there is a strong middle class. that's what happened when i was president. we need to keep going with his plan. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

a 28-foot rooster is creating quite a controversy in indiana. it advertises fried chicken and sits along what's known as indiana's chicken trail, famous for many chicken restaurants. some say the size violates the zoning laws, but others say it's

attracted tourists. the zoning board will ultimately decide if the sign must come down. a search for answers at a national park in alaska where a california hiker was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear. as miguel almaguer reports, investigators are still trying to peet together exactly what happened. >> reporter: it happened along a riverbanks a scenic spot. park rangers say 949-year-old victim had been photographing the male grizzly for at least eight minutes. some of the final imaging showing the bear looking slightly agitated, according to park officials who recovered the victim's camera. in the last two photographs, the bear is moving toward the photographer. >> the bear changed from feeding on the vegetation to deciding to attack this individual. >> reporter: spanning more than 6 million acres denali park is

home to countless wildlife. >> i wouldn't be real brave and try to get up and take pictures or anything like that of the bear. just give them their room. we're in their backyard. >> reporter: when park rangers discovered the site, the large grizzly was sitting on the victim's body. the bear was shot and killed. today rangers insist the park is safe, describing the attack as a tragic encounter in a region renounce for its beauty. >> rangers say hikers are required to go through a safety course before given a permit in the park. up next, a shooting inside a maryland high school. right now, evacuations are under way along the gulf coast as tropical storm isaac prepairs to make landfall.

>> police are still at a maryland high school after a student used a shotgun and open fired inside a cafeteria. good evening, i'm in for jim handly. >> and i'm wendy rieger. on this first day of school, a student opens fire at perry hall high school near white marsh in maryland. pat collins joins us with more. >> it started at a foot fight, a student gets upset, goes out, gets a gun and comes back firing. gun fire at perry hall high, on this, the first day of school, in the cafeteria, a 15-year-old shoots and critically wounds a 17-year-old. both the gunman and the victim are students.