some time. hurricane warnings haven't changed. still posted for most of louisiana and also the coastline of alabama and mississippi. a little bit of the florida panhandle as well. the track, good news. it will make land fall tonight as a category one. storm surge maybe 6 to 10 neat. maybe 6 to 12 feet. rain fall amounts, 5 to 15 inches before all is said and done. derek. >> all right, thanks. hurricane isaac threatens to flood four gulf coast states. it prompted evacuations as it heads to new orleans. we have a live report now from karen who is in new orleans with the latest on the story. >> the wind and the rain has definitely picked up as the eye of the storm inches closer to land fall. i'm in an abandoned french quarter where new orleans is preparing for a slow, big storm. isaac approached the gulf coast tuesday forcing people in at least four states to hunker down and prepare for the worst.

authorities across the region are advising residents to be ready for heavy rain, flooding, and power outages. president obama told people to in effect, listen up. >> as we prepare for isaac to hit, i want to encourage all residents of the gulf coast to listen to your local officials and follow their directions. now is not the time to temp fate. now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. you need to take this seriously. >> as wednesday marks the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina. new orleans mayor warned residents. >> do not let this storm lull you into complacency. that would be a terrible mistake. we have dodged a bullet in the sense that this is not a category three storm, but a category one. >> katrina caught us off guard. we had five or six warnings and everybody became complacent when the big storm came. that's one of the problems we

have with these people running off and getting into a frenzy. >> meteorologists say most deaths in hurricanes are caused by water, not wind. the national weather service says isolated areas could receive up to 20 inches from isaac and flooding is expected. while flooding is expected, wind is a factor and we are definitely feeling it now. it picked up in the last minute as well. the storm is going to be moving into the new orleans area either later tonight or early wednesday morning. but the gulf coast says that it has never been more prepared than it is today. reporting live from new orleans, i'm karen, now back to you. >> all right, karen, thank you for that. we should note that louisiana is not the only state in the cross hairs of isaac. that hurricane will also found the mississippi coast with high winds, maybe a few tornadoes. jennifer is in mississippi. she has more on what they are doing to get ready. >> it has been a wet and windy

afternoon. the water is coming in. it is starting to show white caps. watent to show you how the is pressing up against the sea wall. these are normally calm waters. that's a sheer indicator that hurricane isaac is on its way out here. and the folks here are starting to prepare to get inside, get off the road. they are already starting to see the low level roads flood. there is a curfew in place here tonight from 7:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. officials want to keep people off the road. red cross set up some shelters. four of them, in fact, one takes pets. trying to give people a place to get out of the storm. we'll continue to ride it out, for now, back to you. >> and while isaac is making land fall hundreds of miles away, the hurricane is battering florida's panhandle with tropical storm conditions as well. but despite the heavy rains and the flooding, people from even further west are heading there seeking refuge. >> i'm scott broom between storm squalls here in pensacola

beach, florida, where they experienced tropical storm conditions that have left behind some minor flooding. regardless, this city has become a refuge for some evacuees from new orleans. bands of heavy rain, a steady, strong wind, and a surf has produced minor flooding here, but no serious damage. at least one boat broke away, leaving this crew scrambling. >> very dangerous. >> between squalls, life guards are keeping careful watch on a 14 to 20-foot surf nearly overwatching the pier at casino beach. despite the tropical storm conditions, refuge for families like the husseins who evacuated from louisiana. >> we were in the hurricane and we had big damage in our apartment and we decided not to do that again. >> schools in florida's two western most counties are closed today and some hotels are closed as well due to earlier evacuation orders.

orders that many people here ignored as isaac strikes a glancing blow. >> scooted broom, 9news now. >> you can keep up with the latest on isaac and where it's headed on our website. scott, we have a special tracking section right there, right now. >> governor bob mcdonnell, the great commonwealth of virginia. we are honored, to cast three votes for congressman ron paul and 46 votes for a great job creator the next president of the united states, mitt romney. >> and just minutes after virginia's governor cast those delegates, the republican party officially nominated mitt romney as its candidate for president. the first full day of the republican national convention is just reconvened and one of the key speakers featured

tonight is a woman who knows mitt romney the best. sandra endo with more on that. >> with festive hats, delegates pack the floor to nominate their republican ticket. presidential candidate, mitt romney, and running mate, paul ryan, arrived in tampa tuesday before the days activities. on this full day of programming, organizers are rallying the party's base. >> barack obama and his party may be satisfied with attacking the american dream. but republicans won't be satisfied until we rebuilt the american dream. >> key prime time speeches tuesday include popular gop governor, chris cristie, from new jersey. and the candidates wife, ann romney. >> i had a lot of input in this. i must say. and a lot of tweaking where i felt like i was getting what i

really wanted to say. >> the goal tonight, defining the republican nominee. who polls show is in a dead heat with president obama heading into this convention. >> we are hoping to continue to reach out to folks who maybe haven't focused on the election so far to give them an understanding of our team, what we call the comeback team and their vision for america. >> the candidate himself has been practicing his acceptance speech, which advisers say he wrote himself. he will be delivering that on thursday. in washington, i'm sandra endo. >> and you can see ann romney's speech as well as the new jersey governor's keynote address right here on wusa9. we'll carry it live. president obama is trying to counterthe republican message by breaking with tradition. he is heading out on the campaign trail during the gop convention. the president kicked off a swing through three ball ground states today at iowa state university. and there he is trying to energize the youth vote that

helped him get elected four years ago. the president told students he is committed to higher education, but romney, he says, is not. >> i don't want to pay for another millionaire's tax cuts by raising taxes on the middle class. i don't want to pay for that tax cut by cutting financial aid on 10 million students. >> the president continues his campaign push with college students tonight in colorado. tomorrow he is in charlottesville, virginia. still to come, another push to reform d.c.'s campaign finance law. we have details on mayor gray's latest idea. but first, police release a brand-new video hoping to catch the folks who beat a father and husband out on capitol hill late one night. that investigation continues. we'll have the latest up next.

d.c. police released security video they hope leads to the folks who severely beat a 29-year-old man named thomas.

he was attacked out on capitol hill about a week and a half ago. out at night with his friend. and investigators say video taken at an exxon station on pennsylvania avenue chose the suspect trying to use his stolen credit card. he is slowly recovering and his wife is asking for the public's help to find the people who did this to her husband. >> so people take a minute to look at that, think about something that they might have seen or somebody they know. >> now he has undergone several surgeries, including two on his brain. if you know the folks in that video, i know it's grainy and hard to see. maybe you recognize the car, call d.c. police. our rainy morning turned into a picture perfect day. how long will the clear skies stick around? topper's full forecast is coming right up. but first, arguably the best redskins tight end ever. chris cooley off the team. his emotional good-bye comes your way next.

chris cooley is a washington redskin no more. today the team released the two- time probowl tight end. cooley spent eight seasons. his whole career so far here with the burgundy and gold. he set the franchise record for all-time receptions by a tight end and today, cooley got choked up when he had to say good-bye. >> this organization has

changed my life. in every way for the better and i appreciate it. i've loved every minute of playing here. i guess finally say thank you to our fans. it's been great. thank you. >> we love you, too, chris. by the way, chris cooley finished his career with 428 receptions, 4,700 yards. in fact, his total receptions ranked 19th all time by a tight end in the nfl. by the way, better than dallas clark or mike didka. today, family, friends, and fellow officers had to say a final farewell to adrian morris. the funeral drew hundreds from states all over the region. >> i'm armando trull in mitchellville where a young police officer was given a hero

sendoff. a thin, blue line by every jurisdiction and beyond greeted earthly remains of 23-year-old police officer, adrian morris. bag pipes whaled sadly as his casket was taken inside a packed church for his mother, father, brother, sister, grandmother, and uncles became part of a larger family that struggled to hold back the pain. morris killed after his cruiser flipped and crashed on i-95 while he pursued a suspected stolen car was eulogized for his devotion to family and dedication to the uniform he proudly wore for almost three years. the jamaican born morris was also proud of his american citizenship. it was perhaps fitting that he passed beneath a giant american flag on his way to his final resting place. more than 1,000 vehicles escorted the young officer on that last journey. it was truly a hero's sendoff

reserved for those that make the ultimate sacrifice after swearing an oath to serve and protect. in mitchellville, armando trull, 9news now. >> and supporters are joining forces to support laws when they go to the ballot box. equality maryland, a civil rights group and an immigration rights organization announced the partnership today. the group and supporters say the alliance makes sense because both laws actually fight for the same thing. >> the dream of an education, a dream of a family and a marriage, those things are essential to the american experience. >> joining forces, it's really truly a testament to how we take care of all. >> maryland's dream act allows certain illegal immigrants to get in state tuition at public colleges. it was signed in 2011. legalizing same-sex marriage, but both of those measures are on hold as opponents petition

to get referendums on them and voters will have the final say come november. d.c. mayor pushing for campaign finance reform. he unveiled a bill that would outlaw a lot of fundraisers he currently used. the bill would ban campaign contributions from d.c. businesses that has government contracts worth a quarter million dollars or more. and it would prohibit the contributions. >> trying to make this, you know, as open as we possibly can. >> keep in mind, the d.c. council overwelmingly voted down many proposals. it comes in the wake of a federal investigation into political corruption on d.c., including his campaign. >> it is rough in the gulf of mexico and about to get rougher as hurricane isaac rolls ashore. what are we looking at right now? >> right now they are getting anywhere from 60 to 80-mile per

hour winds and land fall later on this evening, depending on what you fall land fall. it will be close to new orleans by the time we get to late tonight and early tomorrow morning. let's start with the radar and you can see a tremendous amount of showers and thunderstorms and there's also tornado watches in effect for much of the gulf coast. now we have this radar, essentially this radar, a different version of it up on 9.3. we'll keep it up there. we replaced our local doppler with this doppler to show you the storm as it rolls ashore tonight. we're talking about tremendous rain. even back to pensacola and essentially tropical storm force winds from mobile to new orleans, all the way down into south western portions of louisiana. all right, let's talk about the wind speeds. well, inland only 24 miles per hour. but we are seeing winds 50 miles per hour and 50 to 60 miles per hour around new orleans. so they are feeling the effects, no doubt about that. and hurricane warning in effect

for most of louisiana. also the coast, the mississippi, as well as a good chunk of the western part of the florida panhandle. all right, the track. again, tonight it goes through new orleans. late tonight. as a category one. so some good news there. not a wind storm. kind of a rain and tornado and a storm surge kind of storm. winds are not very impressive with this. but then it goes through new orleans, goes up through louisiana and turns a little bit to the north through arkansas. and we are still talking about winds just below tropical storm force as we get into thursday. and then it turns back to the north and to the east. this could bring some rain. some much-needed rain to the midwest. places like illinois and indiana and even ohio. all right, live look outside brought to you by michael and son. it's nice here. we are getting spoiled. 86 right now. dew point still in the upper 50s. that means it's comfortable. open your windows, take a walk. no worries. winds north, northwest at 10. temperatures, 82 in bethesda.

80 in fairfax. 79 in vienna. 85 in college park. 81 over in bowie. so, your headlines look like this. great for late august. turn off the ac tonight. if not tonight, should do it tomorrow night. you'll need your shades tomorrow, and a fantastic forecast for the redskin game. temperatures in the 60s. you might want to bring a light sweater or jacket. clear to partly cloudy tonight, comfortable, low 52 to 70. next three days, we'll keep it code green. tomorrow, spectacular, 84. thursday is fantastic, 88. and friday hotter, but not bad. temperatures in the mid 90s, but dry. next seven days, we get into saturday. a shower or thunderstorm possible. the bulk of the day looks okay. better chance for showers and storms on sunday. even a better chance on labor day. we can thank isaac for those storms and back up to 90 on tuesday under partly cloudy skies. >> thank you, top. we'll be talking to you as the evening goes on. we'll be back in a minute.

in the mail bag tonight, redskins fans seeing the pain -- feeling the pain of seeing a favorite be cut. devastation to redskins nation. you will be missed. thank you for your time and effort in giving us a chance and joseph says typical redskin move, getting rid of a good guy who played the game like a human tank. and goes so far to say, i am no longer a redskins fan. i love chris and i can't stand rg3, just for the record. so, cooley gone, i won't be watching. michael says you know, nothing lasts for ever. don't get me wrong, cooley is a great player, but he hasn't been able to perform like he used to and he is always injured. the redskins need fresh, young players with good legs. i'm sad to see cooley go, but

what can you say? nfl stands for not for long and cooley had a heck of a run. i'll miss him, too, but i can't be mad for dumping him and his $6 million salary when guys like fred davis are the future. if cooley can still go, and mike shanahan was was eerily silent. that's our broadcast. we'll be back tonight at 11:00 with the latest on the storm. bye bye.

now, "entertainment tonight," the worldwide leader in entertainment news. was prince harry's naked night in vegas all caught on video? the new report as a royal bodyguard speaks out to "e.t.." >> very, very significant security breach there if video was taken. plus, harry's new naked photo controversy. the scandalous spoof raising royal eyebrows, stripping, drinking, naughty pool and naked twister. and ll cool j's home invasion. the bizarre video of the intruder in court today. the stars brace for the storm as isaac barrels down on new orleans. plus the storm's impact on ann romney's speech. robert pattinson and kristen stewart. kate hudson and anne hathaway.