firefighters used an axe to break through the roof of a home that's completely under water. they rescued a man and his dog who were trapped inside. at least 75 people were rescued from the rooftops of their homes after hurricane isaac's floodwaters pour over an 18- mile stretch of levee in plaquemines parish outside new orleans. sheryl hicks says her entire town is wifed out. >> it's horrible. everybody's house is gone. >> reporter: sharon sylvia and her family tried to drive away from the rising water, but it was rain doing hard. they were stranded until a bolt picked them up and got -- a boat picked them up and got them to safety. >> they took us out of the attic into the boat. it's very bad down there, very bad. >> reporter: the giant storm has been churning over land dumping as much as 1 inch of rain per hour. winds that topped 80 miles per hour knocked down trees and power lines leaving more than a half million people without power in southern louisiana.

flooding and wind damage like this huge tree toppled across a street just outside the french quarter is expected throughout the evening. one reason the mayor of new orleans has issued a dusk to dawn curfew. >> the weather, wind has been real intense. the roof has been feeling like it wants to pull off, but overall i think we'll make. it. >> reporter: new orleans' rebuilt levee system is holding up, but the army corps of engineers is expected to remain on high alert throughout the night. you are taking a live look at one of these buildings here on jackson square that has been weathering the storm. mater of new orleans has placed nearly 3,000 -- the mayor of new orleans has placed nearly 3,000 law enforcement personnel on the streets of new orleans. that is national guardsmen embedded with local police officers. they are determined to keep law and order in this city as isaac pass to lose. reporting live in new orleans i'm karen brown. back to you. >> we'll check in now with meteorologist topper shutt in the weather center and, top,

isaac doesn't team to be mything very much. >> he's creeping -- moving very much. >> he's creeping along. established winds are 70 miles per hour. the location of the storm is about 60 miles west of new orleans or if you prefer about, 35 miles south of baton rouge. he's been a tropical storm about three hours now and still wind gusts to 80, that's still a strong healthy storm. it will move away through sections of arkansas and eventually accelerate once it gets into missouri and into the midwest and yes, this could impact our weather getting into the holiday weekend, but it's not moving very fast very far. even friday at 1:00 it's still in the state of arkansas. massive bands continue to circulate around the storm not moving very far very fast. it's going to actually threaten portions of northeast texas before it's all said and done. 53 mile-per-hour wind in new

orleans, 39 mile-per-hour winds north and a 47 mile-per-hour wind in biloxi. biloxi is where our own scott broom is and he can tell us just how bad the bands there are. bands-- bands are there. >> reporter: topper, i'm here in downtown by biloxi where still at time reporting tropical storm conditions. u.s. highway 90 through biloxi down to new orleans is broken up by different sections of flooding. it's impossible to move up and down the coast right now. it's a testament to just how slow this storm moved. it's still 120 miles away from us and weakening, but it's continuing to pound the coast and three states with lots of wind and that is driving huge amounts of water up onto the coast. i'm inside my vehicle now. let's take a little tour of downtown biloxi as we make a u-

turn through some relatively shallow water here on u.s. route 90 and you can see up and down the highway here all kinds of debris in downtown biloxi. ahead of us on the roadway looks like a bunch of lumber, some sections of piers that appear to be been broken up out in the gulf. this is interstate i-10. the raches come right down into the water here on u.s. -- the ramps come right down into the water here on u.s. 90 and i'm going to show you the gulf of mexico which is still pounding more than 120 miles away from the center of the storm still pounding into biloxi, mississippi, and other communities between new orleans and mobile, alabama. i'm scott broom, topper, reporting live in my mobile newsroom in biloxi, mississippi, back to you. >> looks like you'll have one more band of showers and heavy thunderstorms. so you probably have another 12 hours of nasty weather in biloxi. we'll come back and talk about the direct effects of isaac on our upcoming holiday weekend. >> nasty weather indeed.

in fact. isaac's effects on the gulf coast's infrastructure is being closely monitored right hire in washington d.c. >> the army corps of engineers headquartered in northwest is making sure areas impacted by isaac have the help and resources they need during and after the storm. they're keeping a close eye on the new improved levee system in new orleans. our anny hong joins us live from their headquarters. how are those levees holding up? >> reporter: well, as expected for the most part, most of those federal levees are actually fine. we're live at the unified operation centers where we have staff working around the clock making isaac their no. 1 priority. they're also watching several of these monitors. this one here shows which teams are where. also this monitor is the national hurricane center's website showing where isaac is and then we've got the navigable waterways site up showing them the waterways up the mississippi river. now all these folks here are taking in all this information to help them strategize as

they're tracking isaac. for the first time isaac is tessing the rebuilt $14 billion -- testing the rebuilt $14 billion levee and flood wall system in new orleans which we all remember infamously failed during katrina seven years ago today. the u.s. army corps of engineers says its federal levees and close surge barriers are working for the most part. they did have one pumping station briefly go down today, but operators did get it back. the corps of engineers anticipate -- >> emergency roofing, these are the police officer roofs that you hear about because with all the wind damage -- the blew roofs that you hear about because with all the wind damage we are helping those people, too. >> reporter: we are live next- door to the operation center where they do briefings and meetings with government officials and other agencies and with fema. this is their u.s. drought monitor. the one thing good about isaac is once it makes its way up toward the lower and middle

mississippi valley, it's going to bring in a lot of much needed rain to those intense drought situations. we are live in northwest d.c., anny hong, 9 news now, back to you. >> great to see how they track it all. local rescuers who helped during katrina seven years ago say they feel chills watching today's rescues and it's possible the entire team could be deployed now. surae chinn spent the day with fairfax county's task force one. >> reporter: virginia task force one's fairfax county urban search and rescue or stand-by with two members already deployed, but if the entire team would be activated, they would move here to the new facility in chantilly. all the supplies are stacked here. they would take these bags, load up at the dock and ship out. >> we're in this business for a reason and that's because we want to help people. >> reporter: on a picture perfect day it's hard for assistant chief john costen to sit back and watch louisiana get pounded. >> we always want to be there, but we also respect that the

authority having jurisdiction there, the public safety partners there. >> reporter: his skilled team deployed to new orleans and mississippi seven years ago during hurricane katrina. he remembers the first responders he worked side by side with were helping people while they were losing everything they had. >> and they're coming in to work at the same time they either had a home that was totally devastated or was totally gone, family members, their whereabouts still remaining in question, but yet they drug themselves in to do the job. >> reporter: the fairfax county team is paying close attention eyeing ides acquisition and waiting for the call -- isaac and waiting for the call. >> we're poised and ready to go because that's required of us to be effective. >> reporter: on a day he remembers those desperate moments and saving lives, he also prepares for the possibility his team may have to do it again. >> we're trying to remain optimistic of that, but at the same time reflecting back on the devastation that those

folks, communities down there, dealt with. >> reporter: fema will make the final call on the deployment. virginia task force one is third in the rotation behind texas and tennessee. in chantilly surae chinn, 9 news now. >> we've launched a hurricane isaac live blog on our website. you'll get constant updates and links from all kinds of sources about the storm. just follow the links for isaac on www.wusa9.com. coming up tonight at the republican national convention congressman paul ryan will accept the republican party's vice presidential nomination and speaking before ryan will building arizona senator and former presidential candidate john mccain, also former secretary of state condoleezza rice. joining to us talk about the lineup tonight, mitt romney's campaign chair in maryland, former governor bob ehrlich. glad to have you back again, bob. >> my pleasure, derek. how you doing? >> just fine, thanks. at least we're dry up here in any case. last night we heard about a lot about mitt romney, the man, the, do the husband. tonight it's paul ryan, someone

who conserves like a lot. does he introduce himself or is it going to be about mitt romney again? >> i'll tell you it's going to be about not introducing himself so much, but introducing his ideas, what he stands for, his philosophical approach to the issues, what he's about and using his team as house budget chairman to again reiterate this theme that it's adult time in america. it's adult time in politics. we have real serious problems, enough of the goofy 30 second attack ads. paul ryan will talk about what he's done in the house, his vision, their vision, the team's vision, the platform's vision, the party's vision for the country and again that's very serious concerning fiscal realities and the tone will be a centerpiece. >> we were seeing some foreign policy experts in term of condoleezza rice and senator mccain coming up earlier in the

evening. how do you attack a president who most people think has done a pretty good job on foreign policy? >> well, it's going to be interesting. clearly with regard to positions that president obama took in the campaign that are no longer his positions, basically he's adopted a lot of the major bush administration planks, you're right and by the way to the consternation of his progressive supporters. so how you deal with that, you say you know, what mr. president, good job. we're glad you did not mean what you said in the last campaign and you governed responsibly. i think that's actually part of the message. >> let's talk about last night's speeches pause i was fascinated by chris christie who talked about how well he'd done in new jersey and went on to deliver a very if you would almost say nonpartisan speech. was there any unhappiness at the convention this morning with chris christie? >> actually no. some of the commentators on the

national show ofs have talked about maybe he spent a few too many minute on his record in new jersey -- minutes on his record in new jersey, but it's a little bit like rudy guiliani talking about what people thought could not be done in new york which he got accomplished with a lot of help from a strong staff. he's done the same thing as chris christie in new jersey. so i think the predicate of the speech which was hey, it can be done, we've done it in a tough place like new jersey. now we need to do it in the country obviously with the romney/ryan ticket completed the speech. a few folks thought it went maybe a few minutes too long on the new jersey record, but it is an outstanding record. >> bob ehrlich, maryland chair for the romney campaign, former governor, thank you for chatting with us. we'll have you again later on this evening. >> look forward to it. coming up on 9news a fiery crash lights up the night sky and shuts down a major 95

interchange for the entire morning. kristen. >> reporter: i'm live at fedex field, redskins/tampa bay going for the preseason finale. i'll tell you what to look for coming up in sports. >> we're monitoring the track of tropical storm isaac as it continues to pound the gulf coast with high winds and heavy rain. it's not going anywhere fast. we'll be right 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.

sky 9 flew over the scene of a fiery tractor trailer crash that killed its driver just after 2 a.m. this morning on the exit ramp from the fairfax county parkway to i-95 north. >> kristin fisher has the amazing video from the moments after the crash. >> reporter: 8,500 gallons of gasoline burning up in a big fireball just off the fafax county parkway. minutes earlier the tractor trailer overturned that carried all that fuel 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 of the vehicle had lost control of the truck and the vehicle went off to the road to the right and overturned. >> reporter: the accident caused major delays on i-95 north in the middle of the morning rush. clean-up crews had to remove what was left of the tractor

trailer. now they have to repair the roadway. the fire was so hot and intense that it damaged the pavement. kristin fisher accident 9 , v kristin fisher, 9 news now. >> the driver has been identified as 39-year-old edwin hall of west virginia. at the national zoo there's a newly renovated section called the american trails exhibit which features sea lions, seals, otters, beavers and eagles. the space also includes a seal rock cafe that serves sustainable seafood. in two hours the redskins will take the field for their final preseason game against the tampa bay buck nearlies. kristen berset is live at fedex field. >> reporter: there's going to be plenty to check out in this game, those last ditch efforts

for the battle of some of the positions. you've got wide receiver, running back, but tonight kirk cousins, the fourth round pick, will get to start at quarterback and play about 75% of the game. jonathan crompton was resigned today. rg3 and grossman will be sitting. it will be interesting to see how cousins handles the starting job. he's been impressive throughout the pry season. in the second -- preseason. in the second preseason game he lit up the field with 264 yards and three touchdowns in the 2nd half alone. cousins said this week it's going to be adasept feeling knowing that he's -- a different feeling knowing that he's taking the first snap. >> it's like my super bowl and my opportunity to she won't only the redskins, but 31 other -- show not only the redskins, but 31 other nfl teams what i'm capable of. >> reporter: like i said, there's a lot of position battles to be played out. the team has to cut down to the

53 man roster by friday. this will also be the first redskins game without chris cooley on the roster. live from fedex field, kristen berset, back to you guys. >> all that other news it's easy to forget there's also a football game, but in the meantime there's also some very rough weather. so, topper, what's the deal, my friend? >> we'll start with the football weather. >> this is unbelievable, really nice. >> late august. we should bottle this and bring it back next july perhaps. let's start with the redskins forecast. clear and comfortable, a little cool late. if you're there late, you know, see the whole game, might be in the upper 60s to low 70s, but it will start in the low 80s, winds northeasterly at 10 about, a picture perfect night for the redskins as we host the bucs, our final preseason game of this season. back to the hurricane now. here's the track again. it's a tropical storm, winds 70 miles per hour, but that's the high end tropical storm, over

74 becoming a hurricane, so still pretty strong. it will accelerate saturday into sunday and make a right turn into the midwest, indiana, illinois and ohio and throw showers our way sunday and labor day. in the meantime it's going to build slowly until that point. it's going to crawl through louisiana tomorrow, get in through arkansas friday. look at the band of rains and showers and thunderstorms. it's almost a hurricane, that crane out a billion tons of rain a day. that's -- can rain out a billion tons of rain a day. that's how strong these systems are. it's moving about 6 miles per hour 16 miles to the west of new orleans. here's a live shot from long beach, mississippi. that doesn't look good, water covering the streets. we still got some pretty good rains. remember we have hundreds of thousands of people in mississippi and louisiana and it's not going to be over soon. we talked about the water being the problem. that will indeed be the problem. winds no bargain, either, still

gusting to 52 in new orleans, 39 mile-per-hour wind in baton rouge, 20 in jackson and 39 mile-per-hour wind in lake charles and 55 west of morgan city. so it's still a high end tropical storm. for us live look outside, our live weather cam on our tower looking south and east, fantastic brought to you by michael and son, 84, dew points in the 50s. that means good player, open the windows tonight. winds -- hair, op the windows tonight, currently temperatures fantastic, pleasantly warm, 83 in great falls, 81 in vienna, 82 bethesda, 83 college park and 81 in bowie. so great night for football, maybe a light jacket at the game. give the ac a rest, warmer thursday, a hot finish to the week, still not terribly humid even on friday. tonight clear, cooler, open the windows. lows in the upper 50s in the burbs, upper 60s downtown. tomorrow morning we're looking at sunshine and a nice start.

look at the lows even inside the beltway tonight comfortable, 68 in arlington and downtown, but 60 in gaithersburg, 61 reston and fairfax and maybe even 59 out in leesburg. next three days keep it code green. why not? fantastic tomorrow 88, 94 friday, hot but not humid and then saturday hot or almost hot 91, an isolated storm saturday. next seven days, now we get some of the moisture from isaac, some storms possible sunday, 85, better chance labor day 87 and even into next week tuesday and wednesday we'll be flirting with 90 degrees, just a slight chance of a shower on tuesday. so i'm not concerned that much in terms of severe weather or flooding from isaac here in the metro area, but i am concerned this is kind of our last unofficial weekend for the summer that we may have some rain and showers to contend with, especially late sunday into labor day, but now perfection. >> we'll take it.

>> absolutely. coming up next president obama travels to the home of the university of virginia trying to reach out to students from middle income homes and their parents. >> up next why you better pack your patience the next time you drive in downtown bethesda, crowded as it is. we'll be right back. ah.

fire bad! just have to fire roast these tomatoes. do you churn your own butter what? too?

this is going to give you a head start on your dinner. that seems easier sure does who are you? [ female announcer ] new progresso recipe starters. five delicious cooking sauces you combine with fresh ingredients to make amazing home-cooked meals. ♪ ambiance [ female announcer ] new progresso recipe starters. your head-start to home cooked.

a heads up for drivers in downtown bethesda, part of wood mont avenue will be closed 20 months starting in the next few days. the roadway being closed is between miller and bethesda avenues. workers are building two residential buildings and shops on top of parking lots and an underground garage is also under construction. the capital crescent trail will remain open. a west virginia trooper shot and killed tuesday night after a scuffle with a driver in a traffic stop in charleston. officers say the suspect took off and got into a shootout with the roane county deputy and was shot and killed. the tow truck driver was also shot and wounded. the investigation is ongoing. two area sheriff's deputies were remembered today on the

10th anniversaries of their death, they were both prince george's county sheriff's office's deputies killed while trying to serve a warrant at a house in adelphi. the ceremony was held on the new memorial monument of the grounds of the sheriffs headquarters building. there was a shopping spree today for deputies at the target in burke for homeless children. the program is a partnership between the fairfax county sheriff's office and target and this has been going on for 19 years. >> what a great idea. coming up we go back live to tampa where we catch up with the only delegate representing d.c. at the republican national convention. >> also ahead a disgruntled worker takes a bulldozer to his employer's office. >> we continue to track tropical storm isaac as it pounds the gulf coast with

heavy winds and high rain. we'll be right back with more news.

you're back on 9 as we continue to track tropical storm isaac. this is a live picture now from biloxi, mississippi. they're about 140 miles from the storm, but they're still getting pounded with heavy rain and they're not done. remember, tropical storm force winds are 39 miles per hour to 74 miles per hour. right now isaac is a high end tropical storm. here's the satellite picture.

winds are sustained at 70 miles per hour to 60 miles west of new orleans and it's moving just crawling northwest at about 6. notice this picture, the reds are less prominent than yesterday which means the convection is weak among. it's getting over land. the cloud tops are rant as high in the atmosphere. that said it is still -- are not as high in the atmosphere. that said it is still cranking out some serious rainfall. it will probably take until tomorrow night to get out of louisiana and then begin to accelerate off into the midwest and it's actually going to be a silver lining, some much needed rainfall in the midwest possibly a result of the remnants of isaac. joining us now to talk about how isaac's winds and rains are taking a toll on the gulf coast's infrastructure is major joe ingram, staff weather officer for the army corps of engineers here in d.c. thanks for being here. let's say we add another 4 to 8 to 5 to 10 inches of rain to what's going on now.

county levees take it? >> yes -- can the levees take it? >> yes, they can. a lot of the areas that the storm is tracking are in that drought condition, so some beneficial rain could be good especially along our navigable waters. >> i read something earlier this morning about a couple of levees that weren't breached but were overflowing. anything we should be worried about, especially levees south of town and around lake ponchartrain? >> no. actually the storm is starting to pull away to the north, more to the north, northwest. so we anticipate the conditions to actually subside. we still could have some potential storm surge particularly along southeastern louisiana as you alluded to, but as far as the major threat along the coastline, we anticipate that to start to subside over the next 12 hours. >> katrina is working pretty

much. joe? >> yes. >> what you did in -- >> everything is working as designed. >> that's good, always nice when it pans out that way. we appreciate it, major joe ingram of the army corps of engineers. thank you for joining us in d.c. again we also have the radar up for you 24/7 now on 9.3 and our social media we have images of isaac, also on facebook and twitter. i just tweeted out a really cool animation from the international space station of isaac. back to you guys. it is vice presidential nominee paul ryan's big night at the gop convention. he will make the case for smaller government outlined in his lean budget plan and one of those watching will be a lonely delegate from d.c. as will our own bruce leshan who is live in tampa. hi, bruce. >> reporter: hey, lesli. one of the big goals of this convention here is to kind of humanize mitt romney. the polls consistently show this big likability gap that

people think that president obama is much more likeable than mitt romney, but i talked to a guy from d.c., a d.c. delegate who says that mitt romney gave him one of his first jobs and he says that the impression that a lot of the public has of him is just a plan wrong. just-- plain wrong. now that the gop convention has officially declared mitt romney its guy, the work to close the likability gap with president obama kicks in. >> while he offered me a job 30 years ago at bain consulting. >> reporter: michael cleary has known romney for decades and knows there is no way his old friend will carry his hometown, heavily democratic d.c. >> we lobby everyone we can speak to. >> reporter: but cleary hopes to carry a different image of mitt romney to places like battleground virginia. >> he is a terrific fellow. >> reporter: the perception is he isn't. >> i know. that's the perception and

that's got to change because my personal view of him is he's a terrific guy, very honest, very great leader, very smart, very decisive. >> mitt romney, the businessman. >> reporter: groups supporting president obama have questioned mitt romney's time at bain capital. even newt gingrich called romney a vulture capitalist, but cleary insists that that is wrong. >> you tonight make money by destroying the -- don't make money by destroying the company you invest in. you make money by making it successful. >> reporter: across the convention floor where the virginia delegates were late arriving, people like former virginia governor jim gilmore said romney can win with the simple message, that he is better equipped to put america back to work. >> can mitt romney win without virginia? >> he, can but i don't think he's going to have to. i think mitt romney will carry virginia in the end. >> reporter: now former virginia lieutenant governor

jon hager says the obama campaign really beat the gop on the ground and in social media four years ago. he says that will not happen again, but, of course, the reputation for the obama campaign is that it's very, very strong in deft out the vote. so we'll have to see -- in get out the vote. so we'll have to see what happens in november. >> thank you, bruce. coming up an explosion lights up the sky one day after construction workers find an undetonated bomb all the way from world war ii. >> but up next one news chopper captures another one forced to make an emergency landing in southern california. we've got the pictures for you after the break. >> don't forget we are always on at www.wusa9.com. stay with us. we'll be right back.

president obama made a campaign stop in battleground virginia today. the president held a rally right near uva in downtown charlottesville this afternoon right on the eve of mitt romney's big acceptance speech at the rnc. >> it was the third stop on a three-state tour of college towns in which he's targeting his message to college students and their families to middle

income parents. >> you can't get tired now because we've got more work to do. we've got more work to do to grow this economy and we've got more work to do to create more good jobs and strengthen the middle class and in november your voice will matter more than ever. >> the speech was originally scheduled for the uva campus but was moved to downtown charlottesville because administrators said the appearance would be too distracting to the students there. caught on tape a news chopper that makes some news because it made the emergency landing after smoke just started pouring out of one of its engines. this was monday night while the l.a. news helicopter was out covering possible reports of a gunman. the pilot noticed smoke, started going down, found a spot in an empty hollywood parking lot. authorities say it was all caused by an oil leak from a crack in the engine, landed safely, though. a disgruntled employee is accused of going on a bulldozer rampage in texas. police say 52-year-old lynn

vincent smashed through a chain link fence, kept going into an office number houston where she shattered win -- office building in houston where she shattered windows and the ceiling collapsed and the damage is estimated at $1.5 million. vincent apparently worked at the company for years. big scare today outside amsterdam airport. workers involved in an excavation project near the main terminal found a bomb from world war ii. military bomb disposal experts were called to the scene and many flights combating from the main terminal were caps -- departing from the main terminal were canceled. another previously discovered world war ii bomb detonated last night in central munich, germany. it could be heard across the city. the 550-pound bomb was discovered monday night at the

site of an old bar that was being torn down. don't know how it got there. thousands of residents were evacuated before they blew it up. the bomb disposal squad decided to set it off after determining that they could not defuse it. >> still very explosive. still ahead tonight a health alert about what your kids will be eating as they head back to school and protecting those with severe food allergies. >> but first women may get the wrap about the weakness for love and chocolate, why a sweet tooth could be good for the guys as well. >> that's good news. 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.

we start tonight's health alert with a pretty sweet way guys can help their health, eating chocolate. it may help prevent strokes. more than 30,000 men took part in the study which found those who regularly ate chocolate had a 20% decrease of strokes. 1/3 cup a week can give you enough natural flavonoids to benefit your health. dark chocolate has the most. here's something to think about as another school year

gets underway. of the 6 million kids with food allergies in the u.s. one in four had their first reaction at school. now there's a push to make sure teachers know how to use life saving epi pens. >> do you always have an epi pen with me? >> yes. and benadryl. >> reporter: 13-year-old marissa cole knows she has to be vigilant about any food she comes in contact with because of dangerous nut and fish allergies. >> because my throat closes up and it's like i can't breathe. >> reporter: at a recent nationals game she started eating some vegetarian chili until her mom spotted what looked like a peanut and snatched it away. >> by the time she was getting ready to dip her chip in there and i said what are you doing? i said put it down. there are nuts in there. >> reporter: ruth cole contacted the health department and the the restaurant to make

sure signs were put up to warn patrons about nuts in certain dishes. at schools kids can be exposed to dozens of foods and thousands of severe reactions happen each year. >> approximately half those people actually have epinephrine in the vicinity or available. it just wasn't used in time. >> reporter: the dr. says adults may feel intimidated about injecting a child, so teaching school staffers how to use epi pens quickly is paramount. this pediatric specialist has seen the same things in a preschooler study. 70% having life threatening food allergy reactions were not given the shot. >> even though the medicine was available to them it wasn't given and that's typical because people are scared to give the medicine or in the panic of the attack they're really not sure what to do. >> dr. woods says many people give benadryl or other antihistamines. that does not always work. the take home message, parents, if you're sending an epi pen to

school, make sure staff knows how to use. it. today the cdc reports west nile cases are up 40% since last week and the numbers may rival the record years of want 2 and '03. close to 1 -- 2002 and '03. close to 1,600 infections have been reported, half of those in texas. even around here we need to be using our bug spray. this is a peak time period for west nile activity. transmission can continue through october. >> 40% since last week. >> pre fink able this whole out- - pretty incredible this whole outbreak this year. >> not so good. >> another thing that's not so good, the tropical storm has left a real mess and it's not moving. >> it's moving 6 miles an hour. so there's a lot to dispatch you can walk that fast. >> we -- there's a lot to go. >> you can walk that fast. >> yes, you can. look at the ban of showers and thunderstorms. heavy activity is still over the mobile bay clipping the

florida panhandle. the storm is 60, maybe 55 west of new orleans at this point, but the bands will continue the next 24 hours in portions of louisiana and in some portions of louisiana the next 48 hours. winds are still no picnic, 54 mile-per-hour winds in new orleans downtown, 51 west of morgan city and even way over in biloxi with scott broom there's still 44 miles per hour. those are all tropical storm force winds, again, anything over 39 miles per hour being a tropical storm force wind. if you want to track the storm, you can go to our website and download our hurricane tracker for free, www.wusa9.com, or go to 9.3 and watch the radar for us. we'll keep that posted for a while. temperature 84, gorgeous, dew points in the 50s, all you need to know. dew points in the 50s, it's nice, open your windows at night. winds north, north east at 6, pressure coming up to 29.96

inches of mercury. temperatures are great, 87 rockville, 82 great falls, low 80s vienna and fairfax, 84 downtown, 85 college park, 81 in bowie. we're looking at a great night for football, maybe you want a light jacket late in the game. give the ac a rest tonight, please. warmer thursday, a hot finish to the week but not crazy humid friday. clear, cooler tonight, lows 58 to 68, winds east, northeast at 5 to 10. even inside the beltway downtown it will be comfortables with upper 60s to around -- comfortable with upper 60s to around 70. 59 tonight towards leesburg. tomorrow morning sunny, spectacular, temperatures in the 60s and 70s, light wind. by afternoon another great day, mostly sunny, warmer but not humid, high temperatures 86 to about 90. the next three days heating up, but we'll keep it code green, fantastic tomorrow 88, 94

friday, hot but not humid, 91 saturday, isolated thunderstorm possible. the next seven days some storms are possible sunday and labor day. that could be courtesy of isaac, in the 80s over the holiday weekend. back to you guys. well, you know a little rain would go a long way toward cleaning up an annual tradition in spain. this is the annual massive tomato fight, part of what they call the tomatina festival, tens of thousands of people grabbing tons of ripe juicy tomatoes and throwing them at each other. i guess it's fun. >> can you imagine the smell there after a while when you mix all that? >> you need to have your tide extra strength. >> visual and the -- yeah. the redskins are getting ready for their final preseason game. >> they will take on the tampa bay buccaneers in about an hour. >> our kristen berset is live at fedex field. >> reporter: fans are starting to come in, the preseason if i

marriage rg3, the starters sit -- finale, rg3, the starters are sitting, but this is important because there's lots of position battles underway tonight that we'll get to in a second, grant pahlsson is joining me tonight. this is the first game in eight years chris cooley hasn't been on the redskins' roster. what was your initial reaction when you heard the news yesterday? >> generally surprised by the timing. generally it does not happen three days before final cuts when a player like chris cooley is released. it's not necessarily shocking they moved on from him entering his ninth season. it's just the timing. i thought it would have happened a few months ago to give him a chance to latch rolewhere. it's a somber day -- role elsewhere. it's a somber day for a lot of these redskins. >> shanahan said he can get a chance to start somewhere else, but final cuts are friday, so

how much opportunity will he really get with another team? >> it's going to be very difficult. he's 30 and coming off an injury riddled season. there were a lot of tight ends released the day before he was and moraesed on friday. my guess is if he -- more released on friday. he says he has not made up his mind yet pep wants to play football somewhere other than -- if he wants to may football somewhere other than washington. >> reporter: what should we be looking for tonight at wide receiver? >> this is going to be fascinating. you've got five wide receivers vying for two, perhaps three roster spots. anthony armstrong will start. two years agency was third in the nfl in yards per catch. last year he had a very mediocre year, saw him not get many opportunities. so which guy is he and where do the redskins project him? des briscoe led in touchdown receptions last year and got a

touchdown each of the last two weeks and doesn't play special teams and the redskins already have four guys as wide receivers who don't play on teams. he's going to try to play teams tonight and prove he can do that. >> reporter: before i let you go just a couple other positions that you will be looking at. >> linebacker is curious to me. kris wilson was out of football last year after spending four years in washington. he is looking to solidify a roster spot at this point. >> reporter: thanks so much for joining us, graham. be on be on a big game for some of these -- obviously a big game for some of these young guys fighting for that roster spot. back to you guys in the studio. seven years to the day katrina made landfall isaac soaks the gulf coast, a look at some of the dramatic rescues coming up. >> reporter: how about some 52,000 bicycle -- vehicle collisions in this country in 2010? this past friday we had

another. >> i had lacerations. >> reporter: coming up the victim makes the case on why we've all got to look out for one another. >> also up next searching for back to school savings, it's not too late to find them. we'll be back.

the mad dash to get the kids ready for class this year doesn't quite involve buying

school supplies. more parents are spreading out that shopping and if you're just getting started, there is plenty of time to tackle your list. these are the final days of uninterrupted play before school begins. >> we can make our own music. >> reporter: a signal it's time to begin a familiar ritual. >> i still have a lot more to do. i've done a few things. >> reporter: turns out monty frazier is not alone. more parents are starting slow this year. according to a recent survey by the national retail federation, only 40% of families polled had finished their shopping and financial experts say smart shoppers should do some research before they fill their cart online or head to the stores. >> you can get better deals not just online shopping, but it can also help you find the best price if you want to go to your neighborhood store. >> if i can do something from my computer, it makes it a lot easier. >> reporter: monty visits the oshkosh site to get her boys

rough and tumble ready and she finds big savings, too. >> i saved $100. >> reporter: then she packs up the kids and uses an app called coupon sherpa to unlock mobile deals at the children's place. minutes later she saves a bunch on -- >> a little hat and pants that are very function a. >> reporter: next she heads to gymboree and does a little searching and gets a 40% discount and finds her budget intact. >> i might have actually done better maybe in the malls. >> reporter: a welcome surprise for this mom of two especially since she still has a ways to go. in all monty saved close to $300 by shopping online and in stores. these price savers will also help you tackle that task, first shop the kids' closet. repurpose clothes that still fit and add to that collection. swap the clothes the kids don't need to swap.com or

threadup.com. don't leave home without your price comparison apps and be sure to friend or follow your favorite companies to get a heads up on the deals. the school shopping season goes through october which experts say is also a great time to buy jeans on sale. in the meantime tell us about the deals you've found online or in stores. go to our facebook page or share yours with me on twitter at lesli foster. this is 9 news now. >> i didn't expect it to be this bad, but this should be a lesson to have one out there. you know, you can't mess with mother nature. >> you cannot mess with mother nature. as a matter of fact, tonight tropical storm isaac packing plenty of punch. it just sit there creeping along the gulf coast. the pumps in new orleans are working nonstop while the nearby neighborhoods are inundated with water. chief meteorologist topper shutt tracking isaac from the weather center. i guess it's not hard to track