wednesday, august 29th, 2012. right now hurricane isaac is pounding the gulf coast. the storm made landfall early this morning and it's barely moved since. isaac is pretty much parked over the coast, drenching louisiana and alabama with several inches

of rain and whipping the region with 80-mile-per-hour winds. danielle lee has been riding out the storm in new orleans and she joins us now with the latest on what's happening there right now. danielle? >> good morning. now that the sun is up, we're getting a much better sense of where the damage is and because of that, we're seeing an increased presence from police and also the national guard as they rush to help people who are in need. i want to show you some damage here along the french quarter as you walk along the street that we're now able to see. you look behind me, we saw two of those windows come crashing out of that building, shattering on the ground. if you lk higher, further to my right is a billboard and could be pushed sdoun by the wind. so many signs just blowing down this street down isaac's strength not able to stand up against it. another live look in mississippi about what isaac is doing of the storm surges and the waves that it is creating along the coast as it just rushes through here. as you come back out here live

to new orleans, the rain is continuing to come down and knock out power for more and more people. at least report, more than half a million people did not have power in this city and that's something emergency officials and energy personnel cannot even deal with until these storms die down, until these winds reach less than 30 miles per hour. i also want to update you on plaquemines parish. the coast guard is trying to rescue possibly up to 60 people who may be stranded there after waters brushed over the levees there. a representative for plaquemines parish is saying the situation there is worse now than it was during katrina. >> all right, thank you, danielle. stay safe down there. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein is here tracking on where isaac is headed next. tom, what can you tell us? >> isaac is not moving very much. just creeping along southwest of

downtown new orleans and as a result it's continuing to pommel new orleans in the metro area there with band after band of heavy downtop pour downpours an wind. you can see the tropical satellite, it's just barely creeping, only moving at about four, five miles off to the north and west. as a result, it is going to unload unbelievable amounts of rain there all throughout the day today. all these areas in yellow, those are the zones that may get as much as 20 inches of rain. mostly today and into tonight, that includes all of southeastern louisiana, southwestern mississippi and then it does track farther north. it's a category 1 hurricane now, but later today, it will be down to a tropical storm strength and into tomorrow when it does track into northern louisiana. and then by the time we get into tomorrow evening up into arkansas, then actually maybe tracking into illinois, missouri and indiana by the first part of

the weekend and then taking a right turn and perhaps heading towards us, only a remnant, maybe a few scattered tropical showers for us by the end of the labor day weekend. we'll talk to you about that in detail. look at the seven-day outlook in just a few minutes. barbara? >> thank you. traffic in northern virginia is just starting to recover after a fiery truck crash killed the driver earlier this morning. it happened on the ramp to i-95. news 4 tracee wilkins has more on the wreck and the impact it had on traffic in fairfax county. >> this fiery crash is heading close to home for a lot of drivers in the area. we talked with another tanker truck driver who tells us he had just fueled up with the driver who died in this crash there at that fuel depot here on fairfax county parkway. >> you know, you see a guy ten minutes and going next thing you know he's gone and kind of crazy. just after 2:00 this morning, there was an explosion. virginia state police say a fuel tanker carrying approximately 9,000 gallons of fuel was

heading from fairfax county parkway when it lost control and overturned. >> a spark was somehow ignited causing the truck to catch on fire. >> reporter: the driver was pronounced dead on the scene. fellow gas hauler al wit said he had just seen the driver at this gas depot less than a mile from the crash. >> he was up under the rack together loading, so, it just kind of hits close to home, you know, you just see a guy and next thing you know, he's not here any more. >> several lanes and ramps around were closed causing backups for miles in every direction. >> i have to go into d.c., so, i'll have to go around through springfield. >> wood said when hauling fuel there isn't a day that drivers don't consider the possibility of what could go wrong. >> you know you got a bomb on your back, so you just take your time, basically. you know, you're full of gas. >> reporter: virginia state

police are still investigating what caused that driver to lose control. his identity has not been released at this time. in fairfax county, i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. we'll check our mid-day traffic now and see what danella sealock has to tell us about what's happening on the roads. good morning, again. >> good morning, still seeing the exit ramp still shut down if you're traveling northbound cannot get on to i-95 nor can you exit off at this time, due to that earlier accident. delays on 95 not seeing any. let's look right now and have a house fire crews are responding to and right now shut down the 600 and 700 block of irving street, this is in northwest also closed is georgia avenue between columbia road to kenyan street. please, be aware of that as you're making your commute and give some extra time. outer loop of the beltway slow crossing the american legion bridge and you have your left lane blocked and then, also, your right lane is blocked. so, stick to the middle and you will be okay.

barbara, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. new this morning, police are investigating a double shooting along ponds street in northeast washington. the shooting happened around 2:00 this morning. police say two men were shot, one in the arm, one in the leg. both were taken to the hospital and are expected to be okay. so far no arrests have been made. a lawyer for the maryland teen accused of shooting a classmate on the first day of school says his client didn't mean to shoot anyone. he says a 15-year-old robert gladden jr. brought a shotgun to perry hall high school to intimidate bullies. the gun only went off when teachers rushed him. a 17-year-old special needs student was critically wounded in the exchange. he's still in the hospital this morning. he is charged as an adult with tempted murder. police arrested andrew piper for marijuana and illegal firearm possession after visiting that home yesterday. our time right now, seven

minutes after 11:00. coming up on news 4 midday, the republican national convention under way in tampa now. we get a preview on who will speak tonight. plus, hurricane isaac hits landfall. here's a live look as isaac moves into the area around new orleans. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is tracking the storm for us. we'll have a report for him, [ male announcer ] we've made verizon fios

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it's the moms who have always had to work a little harder. it is the moms of this nation, singled, married, widows who really hold this country together. mitt romney's wife, ann, is hoping her rnc speech will gain ground among women and romney spoke almost exclusively to the mothers, daughters and sisters watching last night and spoke about the softer side of her husband, their marriage and the struggles of women around the

country. well, today the focus will shift to mitt romney's right-hand man paul ryan. the wisconsin congressman arrived in tampa yesterday. he'll be the keynote speaker tonight as he attempted to help the american people learn more about his views and goals and those of romney/ryan ticket, as well. virginia governor bob mcdonnell's daughter will speak tonight. 39-year-old janine mcdonnell will announce john mccain. she served in iraq as an arm eplatoon leader and combat will join her on the stage. governor mcdonnell tried to get the focus back on the economy when he took the podium at the convention last night. the republican says more states would have an economic record like virginia's if mitt romney were elected president. mcdonnell boasted about the commonwealth's low unemployment rate and budget surpluses. a president romney would deliver prosperity to more americans. >> someone who has created jobs in the private sector, who understands the economy and who

has actually balanced a budget. heck, for that matter, somebody who has actually passed a budget. >> mcdonnell went on to say economic prosperity is not unique to virginia, but it's a trend in states with republican leaders. he says republican governors lead seven of the ten states with the lowest unemployment rates. well, it was all about playing the tough guy for fellow republican governor and keynote speaker chris christie. he called president obama an absentee leader who isn't doing the job america sent him to do. he said november is an opportunity for republicans to step up and make a change. >> it's been easy for our leaders to say, not us, not now. and taking on the really a tough issues and, unfortunately, we stood silently by and let them get away with it. but, tonight, i say enough. >> tonight, i say together, let's make a much different choice. tonight, we're speaking up for ourselves and stepping up. tonight we're beginning to do what is right and what is

necessary to make america great, again. >> governor chris christie of new jersey. a reminder about programming tonight here on nbc 4 and nbc "nightly news" will air at 6:30 this evening, that's a half hour earlier than normal so we can bring you the redskins preseason game at 7:00. nbc news coverage including congressman paul ryan's speech will air immediately following the game. this afternoon, president obama will make a campaign stop in charlottesville. he has been visiting college towns in swing states as part of his campaign tour. he will not be speaking at the university of virginia campus. school officials didn't want to cancel class this early in the semester or pay for the security necessary to have the president. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein has been busy all morning keeping an eye on things down in new orleans and how is it looking around that region right now? >> looking wild this morning and still wild right now. take a look at what was

happening. this was at 5:40 this morning. there's jim cantore while on the weather channel this morning with the winds gusting to around 70 to 80 miles an hour. he's down there on canal street. here he is, again, this is two hours later. look, nothing has changed. two hours later still dealing with wind gusts to 80 miles an hour. heavy downpours and then he and al roker were together. this was about 9:00 this morning. it hadn't changed at all over a four or five-hour period and still blowing that hard in downtown new orleans. all coming from the circulation of isaac that is sitting just to the southwest of new orleans. the center of circulation, you see, is just now beginning to creep here to the north, northwest, but for much of the morning, it has been nearly stationary, but it continues to bring in band after band, heavy rain, very strong winds and this is affecting not just new orleans, but all of southern louisiana and southwestern mississippi and extreme western

panhandle of florida. this is going to continue to track off to the north and, as it does, throughout the day today, very slowly moving north and west. it will continue to dump a lot of rain, all this area in yellow up to 20 inches of rain and southeastern louisiana, and southwestern mississippi and then it does move late tonight and and into tomorrow up into arkansas and spread some heavy rain there. still a category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 miles per hour and by late tonight and tomorrow it will be down to a tropical storm and through the day tomorrow, creeping up near baton rouge and heading up towards alexand reraw and farther north becoming a tropical low as it does move into arkansas. takes a a right turn and moves into southeastern missouri, southern illinois with tropical downpours maybe friday night and saturday. saturday up near ft. wayne, indiana, and still tropical showers from that and that may take a turn and head our way by the end of the holiday weekend. right now 80 degrees at reagan national and a clear sky and beautiful morning under way and just a very light, northerly and

easterly wind and dew point down to a comfortable 59 and thanks to a large area of low pressure that is over our region now and in place throughout the day tonight, into tomorrow giving us this wonderful break from our usual high heat and high humidity in august. right now all around the region, we're in the upper 70s 50 near 80s. nearby suburbs in prince george's, aural aingten, fairfax counties and shenandoah valley into the mountains of western maryland and west virginia. as we get through the rest of the afternoon, expect more of this delightful weather, low humidity and lots of sunshine. we'll have highs reaching mid-80s mid-afternoon and then back down to near 80 by around 6:00 or so and this evening sunset at 742 and a clear sky and low humidity and bright moon up and it will be near 80 early evening and back down to near 70 by midnight and then by dawn tomorrow, another morning, fresh and cool in the 60s. afternoon highs on thursday, mid

and upper 80s and still comfortably dry and lots of sunshine and then on friday it may get a little more humid. afternoon highs up around 90 and some clouds beginning to move in. then as we do get into saturday, we'll begin to have the increasing clouds as the remnants of isaac come our way from the west and in saturday night and perhaps sunday and, unfortunately, for labor day and again on tuesday back to work and school. we could be dealing with some passing tropical showers. i don't anticipate any flooding because a lot of the rain will pretty much have rained itself out, but, still, we could have tropical showers from that sunday, monday and tuesday. >> indoor pictures for monday. >> yep, yep, not good beach weather. >> thank you, tom. we'll check on the mid-day traffic and see how things are moving. some problems early this morning, danella, right? >> right now what we're dealing with in the district is a house fire. the fire department is on the scene and in the northwest the 600 and 700 mrauk of sirveing street still closed at this time. closures between columbia road

and kenyan street. please avoid the area while crews are working. let's head over to the american legion bridge and as you cross the american region bridge and also as you approach the american legion bridge the right lane is blocked, as well. barbara, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. our time 19 minutes after 11:00. still ahead, we're talking to the others of the new book called "capital girls." the dynamic duo joins us first in the studio. first, here's a look at what's first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. 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.

"the washington post" described it as having the power of the west wing made it with the jersey shore. we're talking about the new book called "capital girls" released

earlier this month. the authaers join us with more on this young adult trilogy. welcome to both of you. would you cause it the sleaze of the "jersey shore"? >> no, not at all. it's a fun read. fun being at the jersey shore maybe. >> who is it aimed at? the young readers, right? how young? >> ayoung adults. teenagers. anyone, anyone 15, 14 and up. >> i mean, really up, all the way. >> oh, absolutely. >> these books are about four young women and i say these books because you're writing a trilogy and the first one has been released. how did you come up with these four characters? are they people you know? >> not specifically. i would say they're a compilation of different girls -- >> i mean, we both raised daughters in d.c. so, you know, lots of kids to draw on and no one recognizable. i think our daughters would have killed us. >> did your daughters read the

book? >> of course. >> they love it. >> no language in there that you don't want your daughter to know you know. >> we try to be realistic and kids these day talk that way and talk about the subjects in the book and there's nothing in there that is in that sense that isn't sort of real. >> we got to learn new slang that can replace. >> things that kids say these days. >> no, we didn't need those, but just so i could replace my cool -- >> what do they say these days for cool? >> sick. >> that may be passe now. >> i will have to read the book so i can catch up with my kids, as well. okay, your characters have politically connected parents. are these parents based on people that you know or characters here in washington? >> definitely characters in washington. no one we know personally.

>> the president's a woman. we had fun doing that and the main girl in the book is dating the president's son and her mom is white house chief of staff. >> so, it's "capital girls" because it takes place right here in washington. people who live here, why would they enjoy reading the book, in particular? >> how would you not want to read about your hometown and it's sort of an urban fantasy d.c.-style. you will read about neighborhood you drive through and neighborhood you live in. >> places you go, eat, restaurants. >> you have real restaurants, real places in the book. >> yes. >> you both had other careers before you decided to do this. and i know that you're a chef and you are a journalist. >> yes, i was a political reporter f "new york post" covering national politics for 12 years. >> so, what was the inspiration to say, let's sit down and see if we can create a best seller? >> yeah, we were definitely looking for a best seller in anything we created.

>> well, you know, our kids had left so we were the classic empty nest moms and amy came up with an idea of writing a book about what we know best, which are raising teens in d.c. >> and i saw some pictures that were taken of the two of you down on the floor. did you come up with ideas and just kind of put those ideas on paper and share them and say, hey, let's have this girl do this and how did you do that? >> much more organized than the photographs would suggest. >> it was? >> definitely. unless the dog wandered through and then caused chaos. but we would do an outline on the computer of the entire story. and then we would get the old scissors and cut the paper apart. the outline apart because we didn't necessarily want it to go super straight chronologically. wanted to sort of mix it up and that's where the floor and all the pieces of paper.

>> did you ever disagree on anything? did you fight over any of the character's moves. >> no, whether i could take a break to get more coffee. that was it. >> the really cool thing is your book has already been optioned for a movie -- >> tv. >> three new movies. >> wouldn't that be fun? >> to washington "capital girls". >> and filmed here. >> you could have a cameo. >> i'll remember that. very nice to have you both. >> thanks so much. >> thanks for coming and good luck with your book and thanks for writing the next two. >> thank you. it's 11:27 now. coming up next in our next half hour of news 4 midday. how local officers are helping kids in need succeed this school year. right now hurricane isaac bears down on the gulf coast. we're following the breaking developments there. a welcome break from the heat and humidity here in our area. tom kierein will show us how long it will last

right now hurricane isaac is parked over the gulf coast. it made landfall for the second

time early this morning with winds topping 80 miles per hour. flooding is the major concern because of the storm being so slow moving. there were reports of a levee being breached in rural louisiana but new orlean levees appear to be standing strong. power outages are the other big issue at this point. more than half a million people throughout the gulf region have no electricity at this point. 60% of new orleans is without power. storm surges have also flooded beach front homes and businesses in louisiana, alabama and mississippi. we still haven't received any reports of widespread or major flooding and damage. the mayor of new orleans says that city's levees are holding and are not in danger of failing, he feels. going to check with tom kierein now to find out a little bit more on what is going on as that storm, that hurricane continues to churn out there off of new orleans. tom? >> it does continue to churn there just to the southwest of downtown new orleans.

here, look at this, a beautiful day. sun splashed lawn behind me a beautiful blue sky with puffy white clouds coming through. low humidity and there's a live view from our hd city camera showing the washington monument under this gorgeous, beautiful blue sky and as we take a look around down around the gulf coast, though, it is all about hurricane isaac. hurricane isaac is spinning away with strong winds, gusts to around 80 miles an hour. and it's going to be plaguing louisiana throughout the day today and southwestern mississippi with more rain and wind. here near 80 in washington now and much of maryland and virginia. low humidity in place and later today, highs in the mid-80s with just a light breeze and low humidity in place. tonight, and again tomorrow, another beautiful day on thursday with lots of sunshine, highs in the 80s and then on friday, a little more humid and we'll have highs near 90 and then rather steamy on saturday and, yes, does look like the

remnants of isaac may be coming our way perhaps on sunday and maybe into labor day and again on tuesday. maybe just some passing tropical showers. i don't anticipate any flooding or anything. unfortunately, a lot of clouds around and maybe passing showers. highs in the mid-80s. that's the way it looks. barbara? >> thank you, tom. police in fairfax county are helping a group of students get off to a good start this school year. they are taking the kids shopping for supplies and clothes. this is no ordinary shopping spree because these kids are all homeless. news 4 melissa mollet is live in fairfax with that story for us. melissa. >> this is the kind of story that just warms your heart. it was so cool to see these kids come inside and huge smiles on their faces and a big gift card in hand money wise, of course, going inside and they had free rein, imagine that, of the whole store. talk about an entrance. lots of smiles coming off this

fairfax county school bus. for many a of these kids, this might just be the best school year yet. they're filling their carts with t-shirts, socks, pants. >> shoes size 13. >> 25 kids here shopping at target as part of the shop with a sheriff program. all of them are living with their families at one of two homeless shelters in fairfax county today, though, no worries. >> just more of a warming experience than anything. >> they each get their very own shopping spree. a $325 gift card for clothes and school supplies. >> because i get to get clothes and it doesn't really waste any of the money that we have to earn. but everyone else is using their money to help us. so, i'm really appreciative. >> reporter: in its 19th year it

has helped hundreds of students, students scouring the aisles for the best deal. however, it is a little tough to just pass the toy aisle, so they do get to grab a treat. >> you're in public safety, there are a lot of unhappy moments you encounter and this is all happiness and to see the look on the kids' faces and they're getting to pick out these clothes. >> reporter: the entire program is done thanks to donations from the sheriff's department, target and several local companies. >> most of the time i really don't have a chance to get all the stuff that i want and with them here and helping me and giving me the experience is okay. feel excited. >> very, very exciting. i'm looking at my watch here. these kids have been inside for two hours, barbara. not one has come out yet. can you imagine, they're still inside spending that $325. schools, of course, here in fairfax county don't start until next week so they have time to test out all of their gear. melissa mollet, news 4, back to

you. >> terrific story, thank you for sharing it with us. a hero is honored for risking his life to save others. pete mullein accepted an award for bravery and courage last night. he helped dozens of kids and coaches and parents. a few moments after the rescue, a wall fell on him breaking his leg, back and wrist. it is going to take a few months for him to fully recover from his injuries. he says it's all worth it. >> if you had to do it all over again, would you? >> oh, absolutely. >> why? >> because that's what you're supposed to do. >> mullein has also received an award from state senator bryce reeves commending him for his dedicated service to the community. well, d.c. has already known for the worst traffic in the nation and now we have a title of also having the worst drivers. an annual survey for insurance company allstate ranks d.c. dead

last on its list of safest cities to drive in. the average d.c. driver goes just 4.7 years between accidents and is 112% more likely to get in a wreck compared to the national average. baltimore came in second to last. the safest city, sioux falls, south dakota, where drivers go nearly 14 years between accidents. well, in the future, new cars and trucks will get better gas mileage, we're hearing. the obama administration issued new mile standards that will double fuel efaceancy by the year 2025. right now it is 26.8 miles per gallon. that will grow in 13 years. automakers will need to introduce new technology, though, to make trucks and cars more fuel efficient. are they being efficient out there on the roads right now or a lot of stop and go traffic. let's ask danella sealock. >> still seeing the ramp closed. been closed all morning due to the earlier crash involving a tractor trailer. so, if you're traveling fairfax

county parkway, you cannot get on to i-95 or get off on to fairfax county parkway. that ramp still shut down but hopefully opening soon. inner loop of the beltway as you make your way towards braddock, i'm seeing delays here. but right now slow from robinson terminal to just past braddock road and looking at the beltway in montgomery county. earlier outer loop was a mess but right now things are looking good. back over to you. >> thank you, danella. a year after the martin luther king jr. memorial it is going to be fixed. it reads, "i was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness." well, apparently, that is not sitting well with critics, including poet ang lieu who says that inscription is not a true quote. she says it makes him sound arrogant.

they will begin work on changing the inscription next month or some time in october. this morning, we're hearing the first 911 calls from a boat crash involving a maryland lawmaker. two boats collided last week on the river near pasadena sending four children and two adults to the hospital. >> i saw people fly in the water, i don't know, they may be okay, they may not. i'm not sure. there is one boat flying and it seemed and the other was hauling some kids. >> the injuries in the crash were not serious. maryland's state delegate don dweyer admitted to drinking. so far no charges have been filed. police hope new video will lead them to the people responsible for brutally beating a man in the district's eastern market neighborhood. dozens of people packed a community meeting last night. d.c. police chief cathy lanier

spoke to the crowd about her efforts to stop a spike in crime. police released this video showing a man trying to use the victim's credit card at a gas station. the victim, 29-year-old thomas is still in the hospital. he was found unconscious on north carolina avenu southeast nearly two weeks ago. he was walking home after a nation's game when he was attacked. his wife hopes someone will recognize the men trying to use his credit card. >> we figure out who is responsible for this because there is a very good chance that it could happen, again. >> his wife says she is slowly making progress after going through two brain surgeries. an 8-year-old is recovering in the hospital after an suv hit him while he was riding his bike and dragged him 30 feet before stopping. paramedics airlifted the boy last night from mt. vernon highway in fairfax county. police believe the boy road into traffic on his bike and the driver couldn't avoid him. the driver did stay on the scene

and has not been charged. right now montgomery county police need your help finding a missing 23-year-old man. ali vanished last night. he was last seen at the falls grove shopping center in rockville. he is paralyzed and uses a moteerized wheelchair to get around. family and police are concerned about his mental well being. if you've seen him, please call police. a substitute teacher in loudoun county is out of a job after police say she showed up drunk for the first day of class. it happened at stone mill middle school on monday. jacqueline barnes has been with the loudoun public county schools for less than six months. the school said she had no interaction with the students, though, the morning of her arrest. a couple of dare devils from arlington took their love to new heights when they tied the knot. bob ewing and his bride recently wed in the eastern panhandle of

west virginia. the summit is 900 feet up and they did the climb on their wedding day in tux and dress and all. >> we love going out there, so we got engaged out there and anthony said she wanted to get married on the summit and i said absolutely. >> the dress was my mother's and it was a very simple dress that i could tuck into my harness so i wasn't restricting any of my movement because it was jammed into my harness and then when we got to the top, i let it out. >> it would clearly be impossible to fit a whole wedding party up there on top there. so, the ewings held their wedding party the next day for family and friends. our time right now 11:42. coming up, a news 4 midday, the morning wake-up call. how to get your kids up and out the door to school stress free. then, an upcoming book raises new questions into what really happened in the osama bin laden raid. laden raid. stay with us, we'll be back.

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.

next week you can buy the new book about the raid that killed osama bin laden. the retired navy s.e.a.l. that wrote the book said osama bin laden was shot in the head as he looked out his bedroom door and that contradicts federal accounts him ducking back in his room possibly reaching for a weapon. the publisher moved up his release date to september 4th. it was supposed to be released on september 11th. it has already bumped "50 shades of gray" from the top seller list. the economy grew slightly and we'll check in with hampton pearson and he'll join us with more on that. >> we have the markets in a narrow and mixed trading range de. right now the dow up seven points and the nasdaq up 1 and the s&p up 1 and it now appears the economy grew at a slightly

better pace in the spring than we thought. the economy grew at 1.7% annual rate from april through june thanks to stronger consumer spending here at home and more u.s. exports heading overseas. now, the initial estimate was 1.5% growth rate, not enough of an improvement to put a dent in the unemployment rate. more good news about housing. americans sign more contracts to buy homes in july than any time in the last two years. the national association of realtors says its sales index for existing homes jumped 2.4% in july and that index now at its highest level since april of 2010 and that was the last month that you had the federal buying home tax credit to potential home buyers. those signings increased in all regions of the country, except the west, where there is a shortage of available homes for sale. the biggest headlines on earnings so far today, h.j. heinz reporting a jump in income driven by higher prices and

emerging market sales. barbara, that's a lot of ketchup and mustard around the world. >> thank you so much and we'll see you tomorrow. we continue to follow the hurricane as it continues to churn over new orleans and barbara laflor who is the mother of one of our colleagues is riding out the storm in her home down in new orleans. she lives just blocks from the mississippi river and she joins us on the phone right now. are you there, barbara? >> i am. i'm here. >> can you describe what you're seeing out your window right now. >> yes, i can. it's, it's quite a scene, although you get a hum here, a constant roar and then you hear crashes and things and so you kind of shut in. but in the front, i'm looking in the front. i saw a sea of some kind of line that's across the street. so, if a car did come. this is just within the last hour, there would just be

windshield height and it's bobbing up and down and no idea of what kind of line that is and then -- >> you say that there is -- does it appear to be an electrical line down near your house? >> i don't know what kind of line it is. >> are you without power, barbara? >> i'm fine. no, that's a miracle. i'm one of the few people in this city that has power. i don't know why. the next street and so forth and i do notice the house on the corner, there's a driveway and the gates open, but there's no garage. so maybe i see the top of it, so, a tree might have hit that and that may have collapse. >> we're hoping you will be able to continue to stay there in your home. i know your daughter is happy to hear that you have power down there and so are we. we're keeping an eye on how things are moving and so happy to have a chance to talk with you. thank you, barbara, in new orleans right now. with summer winding down, the morning rush has started. we've been talking about that a

lot. parents rushing to get ready for work and rushing to get their kids off to school. it's all started, again. dr. yaujoshua weiner joins us w how to avoid the morning battles that come with the first few months of school and they do happen. >> they do. and they continue sometimes longer than any parent would want, right? >> i know it. but it's getting them out of bed. i remember my mother standing and telling us it's time to get up. nobody wants to get out of bed. >> it's really challenging. one of the big things that parents need to keep in mind is probably their kid isn't goating enough sleep. i think everybody underestimates the amount of sleep that kids actually need. remember, younger kids, eleme elementa elementary, middle school-aged kids they need 11 or 12 hours of sleep and kids in high school need nine hours. very few kids are getting that much sleep and that's making it difficult to get out of bed. >> rule one, get them into bed early. >> make sure they have enough time to get to sleep and sleep soundly throughout the night. a lot of kids have a hard time

falling asleep because there is a shift in their biological clock. one thing that i find very helpful for my patients is an over-the-counter supplement called meltonen and that's the sleepiness hormone and it makes you tired and makes you fall asleep more quickly. the dosage i recommend is anywhere from 1 to 9 milligrams. start low and every few days you can increase based on how it is going. >> how young can you start? >> i recommend it in kids as young as 7. >> so they have to take it early so they're not sleepy on the other side of the day. >> you should take it an hour before bedtime. but one of the great things of meltonen it doesn't cause the sleep in the morning. they make a special alarm clocks. these are alarm clocks that sit next to your bed and as it gets closer and closer to your wake of-up time there is a light that gets brighter and brighter simulating the daylight and that light then travels through your

eyelids to your eyes and enables your body to naturally start waking up. it does make it easier to get up in the morning. >> if you are one of the closed in the windows and kept the sun from getting in with curtains and everything, this will help. >> as well as maybe opening up the blinds. >> great ideas and some that i wish i had known when my kids were little. thanks so much. we'll see you next week. >> thank you. our time right now 11:52. the redskins cut one of the most popular players and meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check of

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the redskins will get their final tune up before the regular season tonight. they take on the tampa bay buccaneers in their fourth and final preseason game tonight. kick off at fedex field is set for 7:00, you can catch the game right here on nbc 4. well, someone will be missing, though, from the redskins preseason finale. chris cooley the skins released the fan favorite yesterday after eight seizen with the burgundy and gold. he was the longest tenured player on the team. he has battled through several injuries, though, in recent years. he said he has no hard feelings about being released. >> this organization has changed my life. in every way for the better and

i appreciate it. i've loved every minute of playing here. it's been, it's been a good ride. it's been a pleasure. >> i think he's got a great radio voice. what do you say, tom? the redskins released the ki kicker. comedian steve harvey has been making us laugh for years and now bringing his humor to an all-new daytime talk show right here on nbc 4. today he joined "today" show savannah guthrie for the advice that comes along with the humor. >> you know, i had an interesting life. my life has been full circle. a lot of people don't know, most of their humor comes from a lot of pain and my life has been an evolution of a lot of things, you know, a parent, a husband, unemployed, homeless, poor, successful. you know, so, it's a lot in there. i want to talk to everyday people, most interesting people, most relatable. i want the show to be relatable.

i want you to tune in and be able to relate and then laugh about it because everything is not life or death, you know. >> steve harvey premieres tuesday september 4th right here on nbc 4. let's take a look now at some of the stories we're following for news 4 this afternoon. coming up on news 4 at 4:00, we're tracking hurricane isaac. doug kammerer joins us live from new orleans, which is getting pummeled right now. plus, a rough arrest caught on tape. a woman gets pulled over for talking on her cell phone while driving. how the situation escalated to police slamming her to the ground. then at 5:00 tonight, you don't have to lift weights to get a real burn from your workout. check out a place where dancers float through graceful moves and still get a really tough workout, as well. time for a final check on our forecast. here's tom. >> just gorgeous. when i was outside, noticing how low the humidity was, beautiful sunshine and a blue sky. highs mid-80s today and more of the same tomorrow and getting more humid on friday and

saturday and then some of the remnants of isaac, the form of tropical showers may be on sunday. unfortunately, labor day and again on tuesday as we get back to work and school. have a good afternoon and enjoy this great weather. >> you, too, tom, thank you. that is news 4 midday for today. we thank you for being with us and invite you to tune in for more news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and tonight at 11:00. we'll be back tomorrow morning with more news. hope you plan to join us. until then, have a terrific day and we'll see you in the morning. [ male announcer ] we've made verizon fios

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