stand up once again for american greatness for our children and grandchildren. god bless you and god bless america. >> chris christie, the governor of new jersey, came out on stage at the end, he put his blackberry back in his pocket, there have been people ten people deep. not at the stage but at the box. i could see mitt romney choke up as this crowd stood for him. a lot of emotion. >> kelly o'donnell on the other side of the floor from the floor. let's take a quick break.

we'll come back after this. humans -- even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? but somewhere along the way, something went horribly wrong. george allen voted for trillions in debt while voting to raise his pay four times, then voted to keep special tax breaks for oil and gas companies and took over a half-million from them. worse, allen went to work for them.

we are back wrapping up the first night of our prime time coverage on the floor of this convention in tampa. chuck todd, our political director across the floor from us. chuck, would you sum up what the new jersey governor was able to do tonight? >> he was here to be the key

note and boy, he was here to tell the chris christie story. he spent as much time doing that as he do d to fire up the crowd about mitt romney. but he served his role. these folks are fired up and i didn't think it was possible, but i think he topped ann romney's speech tonight. whether they meant that to be the case, i don't know. but that is certainly what happened here at the end of the night, brian. >> chuck todd, thanks. luke russert was also on the floor. during ann romnes spee, what was the reaction in the sectio where you were posted? >> i watched the speech with some women of the delegation. they said it was poetic, touching, humanizing. they want ann romney to show that she had faced adversity in her life. these women felt would help her husband's campaign. they felt she did that and put a great women's touch on this campaign. will it shrink the likability gap between mitt romney and president obama? that will be the big question coming out of ann romney's speech.

every woman over here where i was standing, many of them had tears in their eyes. ann romney whom we had not heard from a lot on this campaign, connected. >> luke russert, chuck todd, thanks. as the house lights come up and the get home safely announcements come on, the republicans have gotten the first night of their big show off and on the record successfully, all the while knowing we're distracted by the huge storm to our west. our coverage of that continues. our coverage of this gathering continues when we're back with you tomorrow night. more tomorrow morning on "today" for our entire team, i'm brian williams, nbc news at the

>> we are officially in the

fight. the city of new orleans on the front lines. >> hurricane isaac makes landfall. 130,000 people in new orleans without power. and the worst is yet to come. the biggest threat, the high wind, relentless rain, and the storm surge. >> all those factors will be a test for the levee system that was rebuilt after hurricane katrina hit. that was seven years ago tomorrow. meteorologist doug camera is in new orleans right now with latest on the situation there. doug? >> yeah, right now, guys, walking down canal street at the corner of canal and bourbon street. see bourbon street above me. the trees behind bourbon trees, the sign right there, not really blowing all that much. here we are seeing wind of 20 to 30 miles an hour. in the heart of the city. in other areas, completely different story.

at the airport, 67-mile-an-hour win gu wind gusts. to the south, 80 miles an hour. the storm off the coast right now. made landfall. it is back over the open waters of the gulf of mexico. it will make a landfall overnight tonight and into the day tomorrow. take a look at some of the videos. one of the heavier band came through earlier. out shooting video earlier. saw a couple trees down. we saw a lot of wind. talking wind upward of 60, to 50 to 60 miles an hour in parts of the area. take a look at the video you. can see the wind howling. across parts of the region. what we will see. wind will buffer the region. the rains will continue here as well. take a look at the radar picture the see what i am talking about right now. we have the wind coming in from the southwest. rather from the south and east of us. right now. take a look at, show you what is happening. over 100,000 people without power right now. in through portions of louisiana. the video, rather the radar,

showing where the storm is. south of new orleans. the heavier bands, to the south, by 10, 15 mile. when that come in here we will once again seat wind. gusting upward of 50, 60 miles an hour. watching that tonight. here its the latest track. new track from national hurricane center. taking this to the west of new orleans. not much of a change here. just to the west of new orleans. still as a hour cane evernight tonight. into the day tomorrow. i think it will cross us during the day tomorrow. tomorrow will be a much different day. when you see me tomorrow. saw me earlier in rain and wind. when you see me tomorrow. a lot different for sure. expecting sustained winds. 50, 60 mile an hours with gusts, 70, 80, new orleans area. back, veronica and i will break down the latest on hurricane isaac. >> alabama is receiving a glancing blow from isaac. this is video from mobile bay where the violent surf ripped apart a dock this afternoon.

mandatory evacuation orders were lifted in alabama. but many are still staying in the shelters until the storm passes. further west, mississippi, rough waves, lashing the coast. as isaac moves in. most people in gulfport left for higher ground. parts of mississippi are expected to see a 10 to 12-foot storm surge with 15 to 20 inches of rain expected over the next two days. >> this hurricane is hitting close to home for local whose have loved ones in new orleans. tonight, they're hoping for the best as relatives try to ride out this storm. >> reporter: quiche is on the menu at bayou bakery in arlington tonight. but, isaac is top of mind for the owner on the eve of the 7th anniversary of katrina. >> talk about picking the scab, wow, okay. this new orleans native saw his parents lose their home in katrina. his folks moved away. other family and friend are still there.

>> i think people are a little more prepared, and you know smarter this time. >> reporter: smarter in the lower ninth ward. >> your mama here where robert green is on patrol, getting a handle on who is stag put. >> it is really important to know who is here. one of the things, during katrina is you didn't know who and where people were. >> hello? >> in arlington, he quizzes loved ones riding out isaac. >> just checking on you. seeing how you are doing? >> all right. >> reporter: well aware, flooding is a real concern. >> predicting 18 to 20 inches of rain in the next 36 hours. you know just one of the things you. hold your breath and hope that the pumps can keep up and things, can, flush out. >> it's tough watching and waiting for word from a thousand miles away. but he is optimistic that the final headline on isaac's impact on new orleans will be he was no katrina. in northwest, jim rosenfeld,

news 4. in florida, republicans meeting there made mitt romney to go up against barack obama. the nomination came before a series of speeches including romney's wife ann and governor chris christie. more on their message, hi, aaron? >> the convention wrapped up for the night. ann romney's job was to humanize, mitt romney to show america the man that no one knows any better than her. the first thing she said when she started to talk was let's have a heart-to-heart. she went on and talked about her relationship with mitt romney, their struggles through the early part of their marriage, raising children. she talked to women, a big goal of what she had to do tonight. she talked about single mothers and hardships they have in raising their families. as a part of telling those stories, she wanted to start to paint a picture of mitt romney, the person. mitt romney the man. then she sort of brought it home toward the end of what she had to say by saying you need to elect my husband. he will lift america up.

>> this is the man who will wake up every day with a determ nation to solve the problem that others say can't be solved, to fx what others say is beyond repair. this is the man who will work harder than anyone so that we can work a little less hard. >> she brought women in this auditorium to tears. mitt romney, who, wasn't originally supposed to be here tonight. did comen early this morning. came out on stage. hugged, kissed her. they've went and sat in the audience to hear, governor, chris christie of new jersey, deliver his remarks. in his speech he was expected to take president obama to task. and he did just that. spent a lot of time talking about himself. then he spent a lot of time talking about why he, why mitt romney, why many republicans believe president obama and the work he has done in the last four years, have not worked well for america. and why mitt romney is the

person that should replace him come november. take a listen to what he had to say. >> it doesn't matter how we got here, there is enough blame to go around, what matters is what we do now. see -- i know -- i know we can fix our problems. when there are people in the room who care more about doing the job they were elected to do, than they, worry about winning re-election, it's possible to work together, achieve principled compromise and get results for the people who gave us these jobs in the first place. [ cheers and applause ] >> now, tomorrow, we will hear from the -- the nominee for vice president, paul ryan. to see what he has to say. before mitt romney accepts the nomination come thursday. as was the case all day today and tonight, everybody will hammer away at president obama and talk about why mitt romney would be a better choice than him. want to bring in julie cary, here to listen to virginia governor bob mcdonald make his remarks.

again he went after the theme of we built it. also talked about how president obama has not done well in his opinion? >> the theme of republican leadership. picked up on that. he pointed to republican led virginia as an example of why america should elect mitt romney. >> mrplease welcome, virginia governor, bob mcdonald. >> governor bob mcdonnell in the spotlight. more states would have an economic record like virginia if mitt romney was elected president. the republican governor boasted about the commonwealth, low unemployment rate and budget surpluses and said president romney would deliver prosperity to more americans. >> some one who has created jobs in the private sector who understands the economy and who has actually balanced a budget. heck for that matter, someb sbo who picked a budget. mcdonnell has been given high profile duties by the campaign.

platform committee chairman and head lean speaker. from the front row seats, delegates revel in the attention. >> virginia is a battleground state. we want to be here to turn things around and turn the white house back red. >> when they leave the convention later this week, delegates say the pressure will be on them to deliver virginia for mitt romney and they say they are ready. >> we are going to work hard as we can this year and make sure that, we carry the state for, for mitt. >> now, not all of the virginia delegates left the flr hapoor h. earlier there were word exchanged between young ron paul supporters and governor bob mcdonnell. they want to add to ron paul's vote total, he got three of four virginia's votes. he said no. that left ron paul supporters unhappy. >> julie, thank you for that. appreciate it. again the session has ended for today. they will reconvene at 7:00 tomorrow night. and paul ryan will be the headliner.

that's the sich watuation from . president obama travels to the battleground state tomorrow. virginia. he has been visiting college towns in the swing states. as part of his campaign tour to. day colorado state, fort collins. tomorrow charlottesville. but of he will not be speaking on the university of virginia campus, school officials there did not want to cancel classes this early in the semester and didn't want to pay for the security. tonight we are hearing the first 911 calls from a boat crash involving a maryland law maker. two of boats collided last week on the river near passadena, maryland. two children and adults were sent to the hospital. >> i'm not sure. there was one boat. and seemed like, the other one, and with some kids. >> can you get the people in their boat? >> absolutely. they have life preservers.

>> injuries were not serious. maryland state delegate, don dwyer admitted to drinking while operating his vote. >> he risked his life to save others in a storm. he issen a wheelchair and sharing his story. >> a news helicopter filled up with smoke heading to a story. >> there are destination weddings and there are destination weddings. a couple climbs 900 feet to say i do. >> more coverage of hurricane i.

hurricane isaac, dumping a lot

of rain on the area, though not a whole lot of it right there in that picture. more is expected to come. all of this on the eve of the -- of hurricane katrina's seven years ago. we'll have a live report from doug camera coming up in just a couple minutes. >> first to los angeles where a chopper covering breaking news became the news. with a dramatic emergency landing. the helicopter sprung an oil like yesterday. the cabin filled with smoke. the pilot kept a cool head. he brought the chopper down in a vacant lot in hollywood without any injuries. a hero honored for risking his life last month. the man jumped into action helping kids get to safety as the roof flew off of a dance study. south of fredericksburg, virginia. >> reporter: a special moment. he accepts an award for bravery and courage. how do you feel right now receiving this award? >> unworthy, i don't know.

kind of -- a little humbled. >> reporter: humility within of his many characteristics. call him courageous. of a strong storm, micro burst, wind up to 80 miles an hour caused the gym to cave in with cheerleaders, coaches and parents inside. >> this man made sure everybody was safe before himself. >> heath rescued kids. second later a wall fell on him breaking his leg, back and wrist. why did you sacrifice yourself to help others? >> what else -- would anybody else do. >> they honored cheerleaders, deputies, parents who worked together to save lives. ultimately everyone got out okay. seven people were hurt. they thanked god. >> i pray that you bless each and every one of the individuals here tonight. >> reporter: if you had to do it again would you? >> absolutely. >> why? >> that's what you are supposed to do. it will take months to fully recovery.

he is pleased to have received an award from state senator bryce reeves, commending him for his dedicated service to the community. in spotsylvania, news 4. continuing our hurricane isaac coverage. it did make landfall in louisiana this evening. storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson with a look at impact for our area. we'll head back to new orleans and doug with more on high wind and rain lashing the crescent city. doug. >> yeah, guys, we are watching the storm right now. once again. here on bourbon street central new or leans, bourbon street and canal street. wind starting to pick up. watching the latest band come close to our area. expecting wind to pick up. as they were earlier. 60, 70 miles an hour. show you the radar. the storm has been making its way to the northwest. also a little jg og to the west. computer models going farther west. the national hurricane center

track. that will be the case. passing new orleans, tomorrow during the day, by just off to the west. that does put us in toward the potential for not only flooding. but the potential for tornados tomorrow and very strong wind. this thing has become a lot org. a ragged tropical storm the last couple days. take a look at wind we are seeing across the area. wind gusting upwards of 60 to 70 miles an hour. we have seen some gusts, 80 miles an hour across the region. done to the south. i sawne gust, at, george grand isle, 82 miles an hour. 74 miles an hour. rather just down to the south. 61 in new or leans. those are the latest wind gusts out of the, out of this hurricane. as far as rain is concerned. that is dpog going to bea big i. may not be storm surge. it is a long the coast. take a look at inland flooding potential. with rainfall totals of 12 to 20 inches of rain. not just overnight tonight. during the day tomorrow.

also into the day thursday as this is going to be an extremely slow mover. take a look at the first 48 hours of the track here. one thing you notice. it doesn't move a whole lot. it is going to start to weaken a little bit. doesn't matter about the wind once again. it will be the rain. has biggest potential and impact here on the people and citizens here in new orleans. toss it become to veronica. watching the track. latest official track, national hurricane center. takes you into parts of the country that need the rain. and then, closer to our region. >> right. first to the north. then the northwest. it is going to be hanging out here, around louisiana. for at least the next 4 hours. as you heard doug say, huge storm system. that means a lot of rain. lashing that area. what happens after that? the tropical rains will not just head to the nor. more to the northeast. so for us, some time late sunday. i think we are going to see some of the tropical rains, make their way into areas of west virginia. around the blue ridge. around western maryland.

and then on up to the northeast. pennsylvania. those are areas that need the rain. on top of that. watching another tropical storm. newly named, we have got tropical storm kirk. right now it looks as though it is going to be nothing more than a fish storm with its path to the eastern side of bermuda. some time at the end of the week. before recur. ing to the northeast. now, tropical storm, kirk, the dropic tropics, atlantic busy. team of the year. first thing tomorrow morning at the bus stop. dazzling weather. 62 to 70. crisp and comfortable. a lot of sunshine over the next couple days. high pressure moves in. so through friday, we could in fact see temperatures really warm up. for us tomorrow morning. nice start. clear sky. tomorrow afternoon. not bad. it is going to be gorgeous. 80 to 85 degrees. there its 95. heat end of the week. as we look towards the labor day

weekend. again, looking for the potential, some of the tropical rains from isaac, making their way in here late sunday. on labor day. and it is going to be cooling our temperatures off too, from, the mid 90s. into the low 80s. labor day weekend. >> nice out there right now. lovely. thank you, veronica. >> next in sports -- redskins say good-bye to a fan favorite. >> also

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you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. fiber beyond recognition. . >> thaw >> don't know if it is a big cause for concern. makes your ears perk up. when you hear five straight losses. strasbourg, normally the losing streak stopper, tonight. anything but normal. strasbourg gets shelled by the

marlins, giving up seven runs in five innings. the nationals have now lost five straight for the first time since april. let's go down to miami. strasbourg going for win number 16. but the start would not be sweet. at all. bottom one. the second battery faces, and that ball is touched up. marlins taking an early 1-0 lead on the solo home run. that was the start of things to come. miami now, 2-0 in the third. the carlos lee grounder, booted, and brian peterson scores on espinoza's 12th error. 3-0. then in the fourth. 6-0, miami. donovan solano. knocks a single to left. george karlos, stanton scores. and marlins up 7-0. strasbourg, five innings, nine hits. seven runs, five of them earned. the nationals drop their fifth straight, 9-0 is the final. wind of change.

blowing at redskins park. one day after he won the kicking job he was released. that was the side bar story. the front paige will read -- cooley cut, the redskins. parted way with chris cooley. >> it's been awesome. i have been very, very fortunate to play for a franchise that -- that has embraced me and for a fan base that has embraced me. the way that they have. this organization has changed my life. in every way for the better. and i appreciate it. i have loved every men out of playing here. it's been -- been a good ride. it's been a pleasure. >> he is going to be missed.

he retained an agent of the last 4 hours. hopefully looking for a new place to land. on the pitch, d.c. united returns to rfk for a big one against their rival, the new york red bulls. this morning, united on the practice field trying to rn their way into the playoffs. d.c. united on the playoff bubble right now. sitting in the fifth. final playoff spot. tomorrow night the guys have a chance to knock off second place red bulls. you can use one word to describe tomorrow's match. >> huge. you know, first, and the rival. some one ahead of youen t ein t standings. we have ground to make up. in playoff possession now. nice to give us room to breathe. >> the east is so tight right now. it's new york. our rivals -- and, they're looking to get, to first place. and we're looking to, to continue to move up. >> bennie olsen, know it has been a while. hard to look at h