. roars ashore and unleashes its fury on the gulf coast. hello. thank you for joining us. i'm jc hayward. howard has been tracking the latest developments from the weather center and joins us now. >> isaac is a little weaker.

the bad news is it's moving so slowly, that the rain totals will abtremendous problem for -- will be a tremendous problem for areas across louisiana and mississippi. this thing still spinning. it doesn't look as impressive on the satellite, one sign it's weakening but when you switch it over to the ray gar imagery -- radar imagery, it's still officially a hurricane. this is just south of houma, louisiana toward morgan city as it marches slowly to the northwest. but look at these feeder bands that continue to pound the mississippi gulf coast, pound around mobile, the west side of mobile bay especially getting hit. but here's more rain coming in there. all the rain in and around new orleans, up tort baton rouge, the -- up toward baton rouge, the north shore. a tornado watch not surprising. that's also in effect as these feeder bands, we talked about this, often have mini tornadoes in them as tropical -- as

tropical systems make landfall. sustained winds of 75 gusting to 90 miles an hour but it's only moving at 6 to the north and west. these rain totals are going to be massive. we're talking maybe a couple of feet of rain in spots when this thing is done. by this evening, should be a tropical storm. southwest of baton rouge, not too far from lafayette, louisiana. 60 mile an hour winds. but this thing is going to take its time. it's not going to be up toward the shreveport area till tomorrow evening. that it will track into western arkansas, maybe eastern oklahoma before making the turn. so we'll be watching that. some moisture could head our way by labor day. it's been a rough morning across southeast louisiana, coastal mississippi. karen brown with cbs has the latest. >> reporter: the town outside new orleans is under as much as 12 feet of water after flooding topped an 18-mile stretch of levee. shrimp boat operators are rescuing some residents from their rooftops in plaquemines

parish. the massive storm is turning slowly over land and showing no signings of losing strength. it's dumping almost an inch of rain an hour and pounding the gulf coast with steady 80 mile per hour winds. >> it will gradually weaken but that will take well into today or tonight to come down from hurricane status. >> reporter: some of the most intense weather hit new orleans at daybreak and they have about 3,000 of these police officers cruising the streets. they have the national guard actually embedded with the local police officers. you see part of the convoy going by right now. they are determining to keep law and order in this city as isaac moves through. long time new orleans resident ellis is glad to see the show of first. >> i think they're doing a great job. doing a great job. >> reporter: you feel safe in this storm? >> yeah, i do. it's not like katrina. >> reporter: this man is working at a hotel in the french quarter today. his home in a neighborhood sustained damage but he and his

family are undeterred by isaac. >> if you learned anything from katrina, you just prepare yourself and you deal with it. >> reporter: power is knocked out to hundreds of thousands in louisiana, and utility companies say the winds are still too strong to send out repair crews. karen brown, cbs news, new orleans. want to show you live pictures out of gulfport, mississippi right now. you can see the storm surge coming inland. some spots, 10, 12, 15 feet of water already from this of the katrina, for example, had a 26- foot storm surge along coastal mississippi. if you'd like to follow isaac, you can always do it digital channel 9.3. we switched over to storm mode. we'll get back to the doppler when things change and weather is quiet. and also online at wusa9.com. i'll be back in a few minutes with the rest of our forecast. back to you. >> thank you, howard. by the way, 9news now is deploying new technology in order to track this storm. our scott broom right now is in alabama. he's headed toward biloxi,

mississippi. he joins us from our mobile newsroom on the gulf coast. scott? >> reporter: jc, you can see the dashboard cam in my vehicle here as i cross the alabama line. i've been assisting some of my sister stations in florida with their coverage of what's going on in pensacola moving to mississippi. what howard has been talking about what is so unusual about the storm, it's moving so slow -- [ no audio ] what they are not used to is the idea that a storm comes in and basically parks itself for a long period of time. so as howard has just reported, there's a huge amount of flooding in mississippi. you can see now it's -- as i'm crossing the alabama state line, moving towards mobile, mobile has had some problems. all of the airports in this region from pensacola to new orleans are still closed at this time. schools closed. lots and lots of effects as evacuees move in the other

direction from the direction i'm moving on interstate 10 into alabama and towards mississippi. you can see on my dashboard cam still here. the ominous skies above me outside the vehicle. winds blowing a little bit below tropical storm force, right around sustained 25 to 30 miles per hour with some gusts up to 30 and 40 at times. so you get pushed around on the roadway a lot. we're headed now into the thick of it. mississippi, waveland, biloxi, places like that getting the storm surge as howard has reported. there is some serious, serious flooding issues. that looks like where i'm headed right now. jc, back to you. >> all right. be safe. scott broom reporting live. an exit ramp to i-95 north in fairfax county is still closed after a fiery tractor- trailer crash that killed the driver. this happened around 2:00 this morning on the exit ramp from the fairfax county parkway to i- 95 north. kristin fisher has the latest

on the investigation. >> reporter: 8500 gallons of gasoline burning newspaper a big fireball -- burning up in a big fireball just off the fairfax county parkway. the tractor-trailer that had been carrying all that fuel overturned, sparking a fire that took over an hour to put out. it was then that fairfax county firefighters found the body of the driver behind the wheel. the cause of the crash still under investigation. >> the driver ever the vehicle -- of the vehicle had lost control of the truck and the vehicle went off the road to the right and overturned. >> reporter: the accident caused major delays on i-95 north in the middle of the morning rush. cleanup crews had to remove what was left of the tractor- trailer. now they have to repair the roadway. the fire was so hot, so intense, that it damaged the pavement. that work is expected to take most of the day to complete so expect that exit ramp to still be closed during the evening rush. in fairfax county, chris finish fisher -- kristin fisher, 9news

now. >> the driver has been identified at 59-year-old edwin hall of charles town, west virginia. police say that that ramp should be opening very soon. montgomery coty police are asking for our help to find a missing man. 23-year-old al alhari was last seen at the falls grove shopping center off shady grove road in rockville. he's paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. family and police are concerned about his mental state. anyone with information should call montgomery county police. coming up on 9news now, a disgruntled employee uses a bull bulldozer to show his rage. we'll have details in just a moment. >> plus, new developments on the book detailing the raid that brought down osama bin laden. we'll have these stories and more when we come back. president clinton: this election to me is about which...

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

a disgruntled employee is accused of going on a bulldozer rampage in texas. a 2-year-old lin benson smashed through a chain linked fence and drove through a office building in houston. windows were shattered. the keel collapsed. damage is estimate -- the ceiling collapsed. damage is estimated at more than a million dollars. he worked for the company for 12 years and is facing charges of criminal mischief. a book on the raid that killed osama bin laden is coming out a week early. the publisher of "no easy day,"

a firsthand account of the mission that killed bin laden says the move is the result of overwhelming excitement and strong demand. the book will be released on september 4. vice presidential candidate paul ryan takes center stage tonight at the republican national convention. his speech follows appearances by mitt romney's wife and new jersey governor chris christie last night. randall pinkston reports from tampa. >> reporter: republicans are looking to build on the energy from day one when paul ryan accepts his nomination to be mitt romney's running mate. the wisconsin congressman is expected to introduce himself to the country tonight and appeal to working class voters. >> i just can't wait for tonight because i think people are going to get to meet paul ryan the way i've gotten to know him. this is guy in politics for the right reasons. i think by this time tomorrow, he'll have a bunch of new fans across this country. >> reporter: mitt romney's advisor says ryan will also talk up the manual at the top. the -- man at the top of the

ticket. >> congressman ryan tonight i think will underscore the reason requests this country needs -- why this country needs mitt romney to lead us out of the mess right now. >> reporter: former secretary of state condoleezza rice will take the stage to shore up the foreign policy credentials. >> president romney i think would understand american exceptionalism, would not be afraid to lead from in front. >> reporter: they are trying to sell the republican ticket to all of those undecided. romney kicked that off last night appealing to women. >> no one will move heaven and early like mitt romney to make this country a better place to live. >> reporter: the convention hall erupted when romney joined his wife on stage after her speech. he's scheduled to be back thursday to accept his nomination. randall pinkston, cbs news, tampa, florida. coming up ahead, howard has

our forecast. >> jc, dealing with isaac on the gulf coast. we've got a gorgeous day here. however, if you're sniffling, sneezing, having some issues with the allergens, well, you can blame the weeds. they have gone sky high. the weed pollen not just high but six times higher than yesterday. mold and trees moderate. grasses low. full forecast coming up when 9news now returns.

if you like figure skating, do i have a star for you today. he is a three-time national figure skating champion, a two- time olympian. we love him. his name is michael weiss. he's going to be in our area in september. you can see him live. what a treat to have you. >> thank you very much for having me. >> i've got to ask you one thing. were the summer olympics as exciting to you as they were for the rest of us? i know you're this winter olympics. >> absolutely. being an limp january, you know, -- olympian, you know, you get -- as soon as you say the olympics or two-time limp january, my stop -- olympian, my stomach starts churning again. it's the feeling knowing you worked your whole life for something, you put everything into it and it all comes down to that one moment. watching the winter olympics, summer olympics, i'm jumping in front of the tv set just like everybody else. >> we just love you. you have so much personality and grace when you're skating.

and the fact that you're coming here to arlington, virginia, saturday, september 8, at 4:00 p.m. you're going to be at the kettler capitals ice plex. it's really a foundation for your. >> i used to train as most of d.c. has watched. i went to the olympics in '98 and 200026789 i always had so much support from the d.c. area. local businesses, local people helping and chipping in for all my training expenses. i reached a point where i said now i want to give back to the next generation of skaters. i want to help the next people. and we're having a great show that's a family oriented show with brian boitano and ashley wagner who is our current national champion. she's trained here in alexandria. used to train here. so she's a product of the michael weiss foundation and also u.s. national champion now. to be able to give back to the next generation of skaters is

really why i started the  foundation and why we have the show each year. >> people who come and enjoy a fabulous evening on september 8 will really be contributing to the next olympian. >> absolutely. we have kids 12 years old aspiring to be in the olympics down the road. we have people getting ready for the olympics in 2014. we have a great combination of experienced olympic champions and young local talent as well. tickets are michaelweiss.org. we have a great group of people. it's really a family-run event. my mom runs the silent auction. my brother-in-law does the announcing. it's really a group effort and we put on what i think is a great show. >> i'm going to tell my viewers go to jchayward.com. i'll have michael weiss's link there. the tickets range from $30 to $50. saturday, september 8 at 4:00 p.m. a fabulous show. i'm going to be there to see him because i love him and i love ice skating.

thank you for being here. a delight to have you. >> thank you very much. howard has the forecast. >> jc, it's a beautiful afternoon. we had a great morning out there. humidity levels are down, lots of sunshine. temperatures rising about # 5 here about -- about 85 here about 3:30, 4:00 p.m. light northeast winds 5 to maybe 8 miles an hour. evening plans enjoy. by 7:00 80 degrees. great night to potentially eat out on the deck or something. 9:00 still in the 70s. we'll be in the 60s, even upper 50s once again tomorrow morning. the front went through yesterday morning with some showers. not even on the map right now. we see barely any clouds nearby. a couple in the mountains. temps are in the 70s and 80s. a gorgeous 76 in hagerstown. annapolis and easton 79. still only in the 60s at 3,000 feet in garrett county with 81 in manassas and 82 in fredricksburg. as we look outside on our michael & son weather camera, look at the nice fair weather clouds out there. this is off the roof here at wusa in northwest d.c. a gorgeous day under way.

dew points in the 50s. so the humidity only 45%. 81 degrees. gulf course a little busier than usual for an august day. the gulf coast and dealing with isaac. you can see the circulation spinning over southern louisiana. barely moving 6 miles an hour. the water keeps flowing here. on shore we have some showers that are trying to form in the eastern gulf of mexico headed toward southwest georgia, the tallahassee area in florida. other showers in northern and south carolina. that's with the front. north of the front, the air is drier. high pressure is built in. it's going to be not just a great afternoon but a great night. i think a pretty darn nice thursday as well. with the drier air in place, that means a comfortable night tonight. you can open the windows, turn off the ac, enjoy that. we'll see a couple of 50s again north and west. for tomorrow the dry air is in place but a warmer day. instead of mid-80s like today we'll be in the upper 80s but not too humid so it will be okay. as we head toward friday, the humidity comes back up.

we're looking at temperatures friday in the mid-90s. looks like the chance of storms will be toward us again as we head toward late in the weekend and monday. i want to talk about isaac one more time. winds 75, gusting to 90. passing southwest of new orleans over toward baton rouge and lafayette this evening. it will slowly weaken as it tracks through louisiana but it's going to drop a lot of rain and the flooding from the rain is going to be a big problem for days to come. great weather around here today, 85. tonight we're in the 60s in town. maybe upper 50s north and west with light winds. 88 tomorrow. still dry. it's not going to be humid. friday 96 degrees. we will have partly sunny skies. 96. it's going to get toasty hot on friday. saturday 92. i think it's going to stay dry saturday. may get a couple of storms in here later sunday but some of the moisture from isaac labor day into tuesday ahead after front with temperatures in the mid-80s. could be a little unsettled by then. stick around. we've got a great meal or two in the kitchen. we'll share that with you when

nine nine now -- when 9news now returns.

today i'm one on one with one of my favorite chefs. i told you this before. he's with wildfire in tysons corner. look what he's brought. this is a key lime pie. they have a pie of the month every month. >> every month. >> this is your favorite. >> that's my favorite. coconut banana cream pie. it's absolutely to die for. >> of course you're known for your chopped salad. >> chopped salad we're known for. we have a new specialty item

we're probably going to put on our menu pretty soon. it's our bison burger out of colorado. we're very excited about that burger. >> bison is becoming more popular because it has less fat, less calories and very tasty. >> very tasty and lean. it's very good for you. >> when will you have it on the menu? >> hopefully soon. >> today you're making a nice, cool, resphreshing -- refreshing summer dish. >> labor day, end of summer, just to top the summer off. a nice little light salad, very crisp, refreshing. i'm making just a little vinegarette for it. it's a balsamic vinegarette. >> you putting in the vinegar? >> a little bit of oil, balsamic. going to put a little bit of garlic in here. this is a shallot similar to an onion. just a pinch of salt and pepper. >> all right.

watermelon. this is great. you mix that together. >> mix everything together. a couple slices of beautiful watermelon. >> i never know how to pick the right watermelon. >> pick it up. tap it. >> that's what i do but when i open it up, i never know if it's sweet. >> just tap the watermelon. pretend you know what you're doing. >> they also say look at the stem to see whether it's green or whether it's grown at the end of the watermelon. >> what you do is tap it. if it echoes a little bit, you know it's a really good watermelon. some arugula, nice and spicy. >> look at that. >> some graped tomatoes. >> gosh, wildfire in tysons corner. chef eddie shaq. try this new coconut banana pie this month. oh, my gosh. last time you brought me strawberry rue barred.

oh, it was -- rhubarb. oh, it was to die for. you gave me the recipe. it's on jchayward.com. you can do this at home. but go to wildfire. let them do it now. thanks for being here. come back and visit us at 5:00. have a great day. ♪

[ harry umlaut ] hey you know what, i speak european. [ sally umlaut ] european isn't a language. i think they speak all kinds over there. nah. it's basically one language with a few variations. my cousin has a passport. uh-huh. take this fascinating muller yogurt. frut up. means "fruit up." as in creamy yogurt down below. and a delectable, aromatic layer of blended fruity, moussey, uppiness on top. frut up. as the europeans say. in their language. wow. you really are bilingual. yeah, i dated a comma in high school.