fate. now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. now at 4:00, isaac on the verge of making landfall as it strengthens to a hurricane. the storm surge and heavy rains from the slow-moving giants already being felt along four states and the impact could be felt nationwide. good afternoon, i'm richard jordan. >> and i'm barbara harrison. jim handily and pat lawson muse are both off today. the latest on hurricane isaac. the storm expected to make landfall tonight. live pictures from new orleans which is in isaac's sights and where the dark memories of katrina are still present. we have coverage from storm 4 meteorologist veronica johnson and doug. >> hello, barbara, we are right now along the mississippi river just in the downtown area of new

orleans. you can see the downtown area behind me. what you are seeing are some outer rain bands coming through. winds only 20, 25 miles per hour and we haven't seen the whole way of wind just yet and i don't expect it to pick up until 7:00, 8:00 tonight. what we are in now will continue to be some of that heavy rain. earlier a band that would come through and then we'll see some sunshine and now, however, i think we'll be pretty much in the rain right on through, not just tonight, not just tomorrow but potentially right on through the day on thursday and that's what makes this storm very, very diffent eran a katrina, which came through very, very quickly. the big deal was the storm surge and here it is the rain and the inland flooding that is a bigger problem. you can see inheavier rain coming in right now. let's look at the radar picture and you can see where this storm is. right now to the south and east of new orleans along the louisiana coastline, the storm

itself still off there and you can see a little bit of an eye wall trying to form there. it has become a hurricane with winds of 75 miles per hour. the latest track from the national hurricane center still brings it inland tonight and then right around new orleans later tonight into tomorrow morning. i really think this thing is going to stay south of new orleans and the heaviest rain in here overnight tonight and tomorrow. i don't think it will come onshore and make its way towards new orleans tonight, i think i will stay along the coast and as it does so, just be able to churn there and as it churns it will continue to bring the heavy rain. see anywhere from 10 to 15 inches and maybe isolated areas of 20 inches of rain and that has not only residents, but officials very, very concerned. the mayor came on earlier and was talking about the flooding here in the city. this is a very flood-prone city, as he put it. he just wants all the residents in this area to stay calm. what is that storm going to do next? i think it will stay down here for the next two to three days and this is a long, long

duration event and the people here in new orleans hopefully are taking those precautions very, very carefully here. we'll send it back inside to you guys right now. continue to be here throughout the afternoon, throughout the evening and back at 11:00 and then again during the day tomorrow. i expect the worst to be overnight tonight and into the day tomorrow. we'll talk much more about that coming up. >> thanks a lot, doug, just the northern part of the outer bands that have been making their way up through areas of southern louisiana. take a look at the radar. and as i zoom in a little tighter, you can see what i'm talking about. the far outer bands on the northwest side there. as you've heard doug mention for hours this storm system is going to sit, it is a sizable storm system. the winds, yeah, they're at hurricane status right now, over 74 miles per hour. so, this system does have a lot of wind with it, but a tremendous amount of rain and that storm surge, that water is going to be building up in many areas, pushing on the levees. landfall, probably just, we're

thinking just west of this track and maybe wednesday, early in the day, but just west of that track and that will put it into areas around laugh yet again some time early wednesday. as it will be more to the west, it will take longer for that center to move inland. everything to the north of that, that's those bands of rain and a lot of rain, too, not only pushing on the levees, but a lot of rain falling from the sky. again, 6 to 18 inches, perhaps even 20 inches in some locations. so, the impact on isaac, one more time for you, a storm surge of somewhere between 6 and 12 feet and rainfall between 6 and 18 inches. again, a little later now, landfall somewhere new just south of new iberia. we'll have more on our weather coming up and when we could see some of the tropical moisture from isaac making its way here. >> all right, veronica. as doug mentioned, new orleans is feeling the effects of isaac. strong winds and rain are going

to be a big test for the city's revamped levee system. meanwhile, president obama already signed an emergency declaration for the sdtate of louisiana and took time to remind residents along the gulf coast to take this storm very seriously. >> we're dealing with a big storm and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area. now is not the time to tempt fate. now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. >> isaac has virtually shut down oil production in the gulf. some areas have already seen prices jump more than ten cents. and we invite you to stay with us for more on hurricane isaac, doug will be back with another live report at 4:30. you can also keep track of the storm and get the latest information on nbcwashington.com. isaac forced a delay to the republican national convention in tampa, but today the candidates arrived to really set the event in action. mitt romney and paul ryan flew in with their families.

nbc steve handelsman has details on the start of the convention. >> mitt romney flying to tampa for the biggest of his political life. ann romney brought aboard cake she said she baked and said when she addresses the convention and the nation in primetime tonight she will urge voters to consider what she calls the right things. mitt romney will watch his wife's speech and go back out campaigning. if ann romney is nervous, she didn't show it at her walk through. rnc delegates anxious to get going after day one got canceled can't wait to hear her. >> how do you hope ann romney tonight helps elect mitt romney in november? >> i think ann romney is probably the greatest spokesperson that mitt romney could have. >> in his speech tonight, rising gop superstar, new jersey governor chris christie touts political savvy. >> works with 85% democrat

legislature, most work it across the aisle to get things done. >> reporter: delegates hope christ christie's speech will sway undecided voters. >> where we are and the direction that we're going. >> this convention will come to order. >> reporter: republicans have competition for the nation's attention. the storm in the gulf, president obama already involved in the government response. but mitt romney tonight and paul ryan are nominated by a roll call of the states. and two of the biggest names here, ann romney and chris christie will start what will be a three-day republican push here to change presidents. at the rnc in tampa, i'm steve handelsman, news 4. >> and a programming note on wednesday, august 29th, that's tomorrow night, nbc "nightly news" will air a half hour early at 6:30 p.m. so we can bring you

the redskins game against the buccaneers. rnc coverage of the convention, including congressman paul ryan's speech will immediately follow the game. traffic is back to normal on the chesapeake bay bridge this morning after inspections created a messy morning rush. movement prompted the inspections. a painting crew felt the span swaying up and down. the westbound lanes were shut down. that had traffic backed up for several miles. news 4 darcy spencer will have more on what may have caused that unusual bridge movement, that's coming up at 5:00. arlington police made a disturbing discovery when they were called to an apartment to investigate a domestic dispute. they allegedly found a working meth lab, which is highly explosive. the building is on north monroe street, just one block away from the virginia square metro station. it happened around 10:00 last night. hazmat and bomb units were brought to the scene as a

precaution and dozens of residents were temporarily evacuated. they said the meth lab was in a third floor apartment. two men we arrested. full honors for a fallen officer. he died in a police chase while pursuing suspects down a highway. today family, friends and hundreds of officers from across the country paid their respect. here is a listening to a reading from woodstream church in mitchellville for where he was not remembered how he died, but for how he lived. >> do not grieve for me, because i am free. i took his hand when i heard him call. i turned my back and left it all. i could not stay another day to laugh, to love, to work to play. things left undone must stay that way, i found at peace at

the close of the day. if part aing has left a void, then fill it with remembered joy. a friendships shares a laugh, a kiss, oh, yes, these things, too, i will miss. be not burdened with tim of sorrow, i wish y the sunshine of tomorrow. my life has been full, i saver much. good friends, good times a loved one's touch. perhaps my time seemed all too brief, don't lengthen it now undo grief. lift up your hearts and peace to thee, god wanted me now and set me free. ♪ >> and when news 4 at 4:00 continues, a news chopper covering a story becomes part of the story itself when smoke starts billowing out of its tail. how the pilot averted a

disaster. the unexpected guest that hitched a ride with some pedd r peddlers. the list of highest paid celebrities is out. can oprah maintain the ranking she held for the past few years? volunteers are standing by to take your phone call right now if you can help a school kid in our area get the supplies they need to start the school they need to start the school year off right. i'm barack obama and i approve this message now mitt romney's attacking the year 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.

christina aguilera is releasing her new album and this one she is calling "rebirth" she since divorced her husband and mentored young singers on "the voice." fellow voice judge celo green is performing on the album.

her first single is "your body" and she will perform it on september 17th, a week after the debut of the thufrd season. oprah still the highest paid celebrity in 2012. oprah claimed the top spot for the fourth year in a row. the magazine estimates that winfrey earned $165 million between may of 2011 and may of 2012. rounding out the top five directors michael bay and steven spielberg and bruk himer and dr. dre who earned $110 million last year. katy perry ex dating a spice girl. what happens to your itune collection if you die? some people in china hate wearing seat belts. >> hot 99.5 cruise. how is it going? >> good to see you guys. >> great to see you, too. >> british comic russell brand got split up from katy perry but he found someone new. >> he has been dating around

since the divorce was final. apparently, he was at the olympics and performed during the closing ceremony and met ginger spice and now they're dating, which is kind of interesting because after some interviews when he was talking about katy perry he kept referring to her as very young. she's a little bit older than he is and it is getting serious, he already met her daughter. it's kind of heating up for russell brand and ginger spice. >> we have to see what happens. when someone passes away, they usually leave their stuff through a will. what about digital content, what happens to that when someone dies? >> we all buy the songs on i tunes or amazon or whatever and we have these playlists on your computer. if you die, you can't give your playlist to someone else because you're not really owning the song they're leasing the songs to you in a sense and an agreement that is nontransferable. you can give your computer to someone, you can say, i want my

son, my daughter to have the computer, but they better have all the passwords otherwise they don't own any rights to all those songs. all of them that you pay for, you get to use them, but apparently no one else can. >> i never heard it called a lease. >> a nontransferable kind of agreement. to play the songs and enjoy the songs but never share them. >> you have to put yourself in this new era of all this other technology. >> we need the laws to catch up to some of the new technology. >> let's talk about this chinese designer, targeting to people who hate to wear their seat belts, but it's not safety. >> we should put this out right away. horrible idea. a way to trick police and it's a t-shirt that has a big like black line over it, so it looks like you're wearing a seat belt when you're not wearing a seat belt horrible idea, right? there it is. so, you're driving by and the police say, that gentleman has his seat belt on. >> i don't think that is fooling any cop. >> if you're moving and you're

driving by, it just might. >> if you want to fool somebody tough luck if you have an accident. >> i can't read chinese, not sure what it says there. >> if it's $5, it might be a good deal. >> when is the new show? >> tonight more chances to go to the iheart music festival. i guess it's next month now, september 21 and september 22nd. at 7:00 and 8:00 we' g you in free trip to vegas. >> free seat at the concert? >> yeah, it's great, i heart radio music festival. >> thanks. >> thank you so much. >> all right, here's a look at what's coming up on news 4. a popular dvd series that promise to help infants learn written words is coming under fire. and what a view. the new rover on mars sends back the clearest yet images from the red planet. and for all your news, follow news 4 online and search nbc washington on facebook and on twitter. anncr: it'll start out as concrete and steel...

but it'll become so much more. a new world-class resort casino in prince george's county. two thousand construction jobs to build it. four thousand permanent, good-paying jobs when it's done. hundreds of millions for maryland schools... real oversight to make sure the money goes... where it's supposed to. but none of it will happen unless we vote for... question seven this november. vote for question seven. and help build a better future for maryland.

a live look now at the scene in new orleans. the city still recovering from

hurricane katrina seven years ago, now, residents there are facing the threat of hurricane isaac. nbc 4 and comcast are teaming up to help needy children from all across our area to get the school supplies they need with our backpacks for kids campaign. the goal is to provide as many backpacks as possible to needy children in the area. we have volunteers right there to take your call to off aer a pledge. nbc 4 and comcast will use the donations to purchase the supplies and deliver them to where they're needed. in addition, secure credit card donations can be made at nbcwashington.com or you can mail us a check made out to backpacks for kids northwest d.c. 20016. and joining me are two people who accomplished a lot to help us collect backpacks. emily lori is a cooper middle

school student who collected and is donating more than 60 backpacks and school supplies and her botbar mitzvah is whered it. collecting 300 backpacks with school supplies from his church. welcome to both of you and thank you for all the hard work you've done. emily, tell us how you decided to do this at your bar mitzvtzm? >> my dad is an educator at wakefield high school now and he suggested the nbc 4 backpacks for kids program and i thought it would be a really good opportunity to make a big contribution to the program and i thought if each of them brought something small, then we could make a big contribution. >> did you have them bring money to donate and you brought the backpacks or they brought the backpacks? >> in the invitation we sent out we wrote a letter we would

appreciate it if you could bring a used backpack or some school supplies and some people brought backpacks and some people brought backpacks with school supplies in them and smthen som people brought school supplies. some people brought checks. >> how about you, mark. you did it at your church. tell us about your projec >> we have an opening doors campaign and one of the projects we partnerred with nbc 4 with this backpack project and we had folks bring in backpack supplies and we had members who went out to the neighborhood and got their neighborhood folks to contribute to the program. so, we collected backpack supplies and over 2,600 in donations. >> w, 300. >> 300 is the goal and we're almost there. this sunday is the last sunday for this and we're going to hit 300, barbara. >> are you going to fill up those backpacks yourself? >> some we did and others brought in completed backpacks and we encourage them to do that. >> well, you really have been a

wonderful, you've given us a goal, or helped us reach your goal and certainly given the people who are watching a reason to join in and up us out. you did a really terrific job. and if you don't have time to call us right now, you can go to our website at washington.com, nbcwashington.com or you can mail us a check and we'll buy those backpacks and here is where you send it. backpacks for kids. nbc 4 4001 nebraska avenue northwest, washington, d.c., 20016. thank you, again, for your outstanding work. >> thanks. we're going to talk more about hurricane isaac now. are you expecting it to get any sdrau stronger? >> it could get a wee bit stronger, but that's not the part of the storm system. the rainfall has come in around and you saw doug camerror

earlier. look at the rainfall totals already today as some of the early bands making their way north on through areas of southern louisiana. new orleans over a quarter inch of rain and coming over quite quickly, too. and you have areas like cocodrie and north vacherie and over three, close to four inches of rain already. that's what we're going to be seeing with this storm system. for the most part, ranging 6 to 18 inches and some locations, for sure, that see more than that. perhaps upwards 20 inches of rain by the time the storm system makes its way north past louisiana. and it's going to be a slow mover, too. big storm system. so, it will take a while for the bands to clear the area. 90 degrees the high temperature and right now northwest wind, the big story for us today is the fact that we had a little bit of rain and a cold front that moved through. today our dew point temperature at 70 degrees, extremely sticky and mid-afternoon 65 and tomorrow morning i think we'll

be at 60. it will be a delightful day coming our way tomorrow. still out there right now, a bit warm. 88 in leesburg and while the radar is quiet here, again, very busy down to the south. they even got tornado watches up around the coastal areas of louisiana and winds gusting to 43 miles per hour there and now in new orleans and mobile, alabama, and also the area on the eastern far most part that is going to get a lot of wind and a lot of rain. front for us continues to move down to the south, high pressure continues to move in and we'll have a lot of sunshine around the area tomorrow. and that high pressure system, i think, will even hold on through wednesday. but it's after wednesday that we're going to see the moisture from isaac make its way northward. western maryland and virginia and sunday it's over us. sunday we're talking some of the tropical rains. 73 to 80 degrees and feeling better during the overnight period. 62 to 70 degrees for your start tomorrow. it's going to be clear and very,

very comfortable heading out the door this time and waiting that bus stop and don't have to worry about the rain at all tomorrow and make sure you take along your sunglasses. 80 to 85 degrees for the high temperature. we deal with lovely weather for the rest of the week and we're keeping our eyes on isaac and saturday here as we get ready to get into the labor day weekend is looking quaint and monday is looking a bit like a soaker for us. >> labor day, it's supposed to be an extra day off. >> i just report it. >> getting a little bit of isaac on sunday. >> sunday and monday, that's right. >> all right. okay. >> thanks, veronica. still to come here on news 4 at 4:00, an unusual surprise for a group of paddlers. the unpexected guest that hitched a ride with them. >> terrifying moments for a 6-year-old boy after he gets lodged between two walls. the pictures from his dramatic rescue. we'll check back in with doug

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.

good afternoon, i'm richard jordan. >> i'm barbara harrison. jim handily and pat lawson muse are off today. four states along the gulf coast region bracing for a hit from hurricane isaac. we continue our coverage tonight with storm team 4 meteorologist doug kammerer. he joins us from new orleans. he's live there. tell us what's happening down there, doug. >> hello, everybody. yeah, right now, barbara, we're looking at the wind that came in. you saw the rain from half an hour ago, that was the last band that had some dry air behind it. very heavy rain, a band of rain come through and now we're in a little bit of a dry slot. this is the last area of dry conditions, i think we're going to have. you can see what i'm talking

about on the radar right here. that radar right now showing that ban making its way across new orleans just off to the west and you can see much more in the way of rain, just down to the south and east. that's when we'll start to see the heaviest winds. that's when we're going to be inundated with the rain. upwards of 10 to 15 inches of rain and maybe upwards of 20 inches of rain and, once again, this storm making its way over portions of the louisiana coastline very, very slowly. the last advisory, i believe, or had winds moving at 10 miles per hour. i think this thing might slow down and stay to the south of new orleans. continuing with the onslot of rain. once again, the biggest threat is not the storm surge, it's not going to be the major flooding like they had with katrina. what this is going to be, inland flooding and the mayor said earlier our city is very prone to flooding and that's what we're expecting from this. as far as the winds go in new orleans with the latest trek and what we're looking at a, veronica and i were talking about this, the biggest winds in new orleans sustained 45 to 50

miles per hour and we may get some 60, 65, 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts and i don't expect it to be too much stronger than that. the official track takes it over new orleans or very close to over new orleans here and making its way to the north during the day tomorrow and into thursday. again, i don't think that's what's going to happen. we'll talk much more about that. we'll stay down here with you from new orleans, i'm meteorologist doug kammerer. >> all right, doug, thanks. stay with news 4 for the on hurricane isaac. doug kammerer is live in new orleans and the latest tonight on news 4 at 5:00 and you can also track the storm and get the latest information at nbcwashington.com. a chopper covering breaking news out west became the news story with a dramatic emergency landing. the helicopter sprung an oil leak yesterday in los angeles. the cabin filled with smoke, but the pilot kept a cool head while he brought the chopper down in a vacant lot in the hollywood area.

>> we were coming down, i was watching my instruments and everything was staying normal, i had had engine power, good temperatures, good powers and i had a healthy engine and all i needed was to put it on the ground. >> luckily nobody was hurt. talk about being caught between a rock and hard place. a 6-year-old boy in china spent terrifying moments lodged between two walls. the child had less than eight inches of space and he could not move his head, chest or arms. neighbors were not able to free him, so they called in firefighters who got him out in just minutes, leaving him with just a few bruises. and there's more to come on news 4 at 4:00. up next, the troubles facing the makerses of a popular dvd program that claims to teach infants to read. surveillance cameras

chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save. the man behind the your baby

can read program is defending himself against false advertising charges. the $200 dvd series promises it can help infants as young as nine months old learn written words and claimed a it taught a 2-year-old to read a novel. but the company does not have scientific evidence to back up his claims. the, the tc is suing the founder in federal court. two other defends have settled. the company claims it's going out of business. more now on the efforts of nbc 4 and comcast to help needy children from all across our area get the school supplies they need. it's our backpacks for kids campaign. the goal is to provide as many backpacks as possible to needy children in our area. now, we have volunteers right now take your call 202- -- nbc 4 and comcast will use the donations to purchase the supplies and deliver them to where they're needed. in addition, secure credit card donations can be made at nbcwashington.com or you can

mail us a check made out to backpacks for kids to nbc 4 4001 nebraska avenue, northwest d.c., 20016. joining me to talk about this project, two people that i am happy to have with us here today. make a big impact on what we do here every day. donna of comcast and, of course, jackie bradford who is our general manager and president of nbc washington. thank you, both, for being here. let's start with comcast. what is it that makes this such a good fit for what you do? >> well, the backpack drive just fits squarely within our focus. we want to help kids succeed in school and nothing says that like backpacks and the materials that go in it. so, we're just really excited to help with the initiative. >> you have a number of projects that help needy family as across the area and across the country. >> we do. our number one community investment initiative is called internet essentials.

and we provide at-home, low-cost internet service for low-income families. so, this is initiative with the backpack drive, we're putting a flier in all of the backpacks so families that do qualify can learn about it. >> thank you for that. tell us why nbc 4 has been doing this for so many years and how long has it been now? >> this is our eighth year. as you know, barbara, this is what we do. we give back to the community and this is such a tremendous opportunity now with comcast as our corporate owner who also has a huge investment in giving back to the community. so, this is something that we take very seriously. over 3,000 backpacks that we've organized to date and still growing. call those numbers and go online. also, just want to take this time to thank our partners because it's something that we need -- given us a lot of supplies to put in those backpacks and keep these events and programs going. >> and you must be hearing from

a lot of principals across the area who are so happy. >> raising their hands sglp talk to some kids as you know earlier today. one little girl who collected backpacks at her bar mitzvah. so many people can get involved. thank you, both, for coming to talk about this. >> thank you. >> and we look forward to next year, too. >> richard? thanks, barbara. when news 4 at 4:00 returns, a heartwarming reunion for two young brothers and the recently deployed dad. a view from above. the clearer than ever picture of what life looks like on mars. continuing coverage of the big story. hurricane isaac, live picture from new orleans and they are now bracing for impact. now bracing for impact. news 4he'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.

turned out to be a pretty nice day out there. >> that, it did.

it was pretty lousy this morning. i didn't know if you were out, but a couple people tweeted me and said i just got done with a run and it is very sticky. >> and humid. >> exactly, humid. a little bit of rain, too. not a lot and certainly not the kind of rain they're getting currently down around louisiana, mississippi and alabama. but we've got some rain, too, coming from isaac. that's days out, though. right now, we've got some warm temperatures throughout the area. 88 in rockville and 88 degrees in college park and green belt also in 88 as is camp springs. 90 in monases and down around warrington, currently we'll see the temperatures drop here during the evening and down to 79 degrees. by 11:00 p.m., the other thing we're going to see is the cloud cover over

a month before curiosity completes in trek to the foot of the mountain there. the rover is looking for any organic materials that could

have allowed microbial life to evolve. >> you waiting for it to find the people? >> i don't know if it will. i bet the people will be pretty terrified when they see that coming up on it. anding up on news 4, what is in that drink? why a senator is asking for a probe of a popular energy or all popular energy drinks. and surveillance video captures a nightmarish scene for a mother. what happened when someone tried what happened when someone tried to abduct her daughter? anncr: it'll start out as concrete and steel... but it'll become so much more. a new world-class resort casino in prince george's county. two thousand construction jobs to build it. four thousand permanent, good-paying jobs when it's done. hundreds of millions for maryland schools... real oversight to make sure the money goes...

where it's supposed to. but none of it will happen unless we vote for... question seven this november. vote for question seven. and help build a better future for maryland.

national guard troops have moved in to handle potential flooding. in new orleans hurricane isaac could dump up to 20 inches of rain. you're looking at video right now where the conditions are just expected to worsen over the coming hours. >> daddy! >> daddy!

take a look at that. one boy was jumping up and down. he's so excited because these two young brothers in tucson yesterday were surprised when their father returned from an eight-month deployment in afghanistan. he just surprised them during their school day closing activity. >> yesterday dad was protecting our country. >> and now he's home. >> now he's home. >> we really missed daddy for 1,000 days. >> 1,000 days. i was gone for 1,000 days? >> no. >> dad hopes he won't be redeployed for at least a year. the next big adventure is a big trip to disneyland. some voters in australia were also in for a surprise. while canoeing in a creek, the koala bear jumped in the water and paddled over towards them. it happened over the weekend. the whole thing was caught on video when the animal got to the boat, the group lifted it into the canoe so it wouldn't drown.

although koalas can swim, they apparently prefer not to. one expert said it's possible this koala felt trapped on the bank of the creek and felt the canoe was its best possible escape route. they took it to a golf club where they are known to live in gum trees there. >> just lucky to hitch a ride. >> brave to take on that traveler. >> he's a pretty good swimmer, too. still ahead on new 4z. family members of the 12 people shot inside a colorado movie theater are opening up about the

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.

family members of some of the 12 people killed in the colorado movie shooting are asking for their needs to be heard. relatives say fund-raisers brought in millions of dollars in donations, but each family has only received $5,000. nbc chris shows us what has the families banding together. >> family of those killed or injured in the aurora midnight shooting are complaining about the aurora victim relief fund. a fund that raised $5 million that is supposed to help the victims and families affected by the july 20th rampage. >> we want it and still want the donations going directly, not just to the 12 families who lost loved ones, but to all of the

victims to help everyone heal. >> reporter: tom teevs whose son, alex, was among the 12 killed said the money is not being distributed properly or fast enough. >> there's not enough money in the federal government to replace what we lost. >> reporter: he also says victims don't have a say so in how it's distributed and feel humiliated for having to ask. >> you don't understand how difficult it is for someone to ask you, as though you're going to apply for welfare what you need that money for. it's not about the money. it's about i have four kids now that will get through the rest of their life without a dad. a spokesman for the fund called kusa they're still getting organized. and they had trouble contacting some of the families. a gunman wearing body armor and a gas mask opened fire on july 20th in a packed theater in aurora. during the showing of a batman movie. in addition to the 12 killed, 58 were injured.

the 24-year-old suspect james holmes faces charges of murder and attempted murder. he's being held without bail and hasn't entered a plea yet. holmes is mentally ill. chris clackm, nbc news. up next, the latest on the path of hurricane isaac. now the bands of hurricane isaac are already pounding parts of the gulf coast at this hour. doug kammerer is along the mississippi river and he'll join us live, next. mitt romney's right hand is getting ready to take center stage tonight at the republican national convention. live team coverage from tampa. tonight a final farewell as hundreds of officers from across the country pay their respects to a police officer killed in the line of duty. good evening, i'm richard jordan in for jim handily. >> i'm wendy reigr. at this momentiz