elizabeth prann reporting from new orleans. as tucker is saying they are going to continue to get these bands of rain and strong winds for many, many hours now as slow-moving as that storm is. so dangerous conditions there. >> yes, it is. we will of course be going back to that shot and that story all morning long. >>> right now we want to get to our other top news stories on this wednesday morning. there is concern this morning about a missing montgomery county man who is confined to a wheelchair. hehe is a 23-year-old man last seen on shady grove road in rockville. he is paralyzed with a tattoo on his left a.m. >>> police are asking the pun's help in the case of a capitol hill man brutally robbed. investigators say the suspects used tc masses lynn's credit card to fill up at this exxon station not far from the scene of the crime. there may be three people inside the car. it's believed to be a 2005 hyundai sonata. mazl in was attacked. his wife says he is making progress after a second brain surgery over the weekend. >> i wrot

folks's elizabeth prann is in the big easy with more on what people are doing d.c. fox's elizabeth prann is in the big easy with more on what people are doing to be sure they're ready. [ pause ] >>> isaac is just below hurricane strength and approaching the central gulf coast. >>> reporter: isaac is expected to strike louisiana sometime today. it could also hit mississippi where the governor says the state is taking every precaution necessary. >> we have to err on the side of caution. if we think -- if they tell us it's a category 2, we plan for a category 3, 65-mile-an-hour winds, we're planning for 80- mile-an-hour winds. >> reporter: in louisiana, the army corps of engineers were busy piling tons of sand to reinforce the new orleans levee system. parts of the city are still recovering from the likes of hurricane katrina back in 2005. but some residents say after surviving that storm, they can handle isaac. >> we should be relatively okay. i'm not kidding myself. i know we're going to have wind and water but as far as katrina destruction, i'm knocking on wood. >>

. >>> we are going to get a live report in a little bit from elizabeth prann who continues to report from down there but first tucker barnes can tell us what to expect next with isaac and what we have going on here. >> right. isaac is still a tropical storm hard to believe since it made landfall over 36 hours ago. maximum winds about 45 miles per hour. the pressure is on its way up. let's get to the radar. it's still dropping heavy rain across portions of louisiana, mississippi and alabama. we have had a plenty of clouds tude of tornado warnings this morning across portions of western florida and alabama. so isaac still packing a punch even after this late hour. it's tracking northwest at 8 miles an hour. it is forecast to move far enough away from new orleans and the deep south here over the next 24 hours that things should wind down there. so that's good news. but stillthe potential for flooding rain across many states here later this morning and even into the afternoon hours. temperature in washington let's do local weather real quick 72 degrees, your winds northeast at 3. we are

elizabeth prann is live in atlanta with more on that. hi, elizabeth. >> hi, gregg.se entrepreneurs who we spoke with say their success didn't happen overnight. in fact, for many, it took years. but the key to success for them was starting with a very think small approach. what started with just two laptops and a few ideas at a kitchen table has blossomed into a successful business for dave and mary morris. a few years ago, they launched porch ideas.com, a web site where you can find tips, photos, and building materials to give your porch a makeover. >> with this web site, there were so many different ideas, very detailed, very easy to understand that it wasn't overwhelming to us. >> at first, they got 30 visitors a day. but today that has grown to more than 9,000 thanks to growing advertising revenue, they quit their day jobs. >> during the daytime, i had a corporate job downtown. >> when i came home, dave and i would sit at the kitchen table and work on our business. >> the corporate world wasn't a good fit for this couple either. the duo started good-bye girls.com

first we go to elizabeth prann in new orleans where it's expected to make a direct hit sometime todayight, gretchen. you can seat dark clouds behind me. the winds are starting to pick up right around 25 miles per hour now. but as each hour continues, we expect these conditions to deteriorate. the fact is, as people are in the mandatory evacuation zone, it's too late for them to leavement the governor said don't misunderstand the fact that it's sunny outside, it will deteriorate quickly. people in the voluntary evacuation zone made the choice. we saw a mixed bag of people who decided to stay. we saw them at home depot and wal-mart getting fuel for not only their cars, but generators. and they say they want to hunker down for the storm because perhaps they didn't suffer too much damage during hurricane gustav. others say they want to get out of town because the fact is once this storm starts to get really bad, it will stay that way. anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. then after hours, the gulf states did not suffer from the drought of 2012, the earth is already saturated. the water has nowhe

elizabeth prann, thanks. >> jamie: oil prices are skyrocketing, hith their highest level in three months, just last friday. gas prices have jumped 39 cents a gallon since last month. the white house is considering tapping into the nation's oil reserves to ease prices. last year, the u.s. released 30 million barrels of oils from the strategic petroleum reserve with limited success. so is it a good idea to do it now? steve forbes is the author of the book, the freedom manifesto, why free markets are scmoarl big government isn't. he is the chairman and editor of forbes media and joins us often. it is great to have you here. good morning. >> good to be with you, jamie. >> jamie: so, i read the book. >> terrific. >> jamie: at time, it's disturbing, it is a very realistic picture. you say this is a turning point. let's talk about the gas price situation, first. the president and the white house say through senior spokesmen that they may open the reserve, it's on the table. would it benefit us? or his campaign? >> it's the campaign. which in his mind benefits all of us. but it's an election-yea

elizabeth prann has the latest. >> reporter: good morning. that storm has now been downgraded to a tropical storm and soon to be a tropical depression. although it didn't really swamp new orleans like we thought it would, it did wreak havoc on other parts of louisiana. take a look. lieu lou's plaque minutes parish is one of the areas hardest hit by isaac. the storm dumped several inches of rain on the area causing severe flooding. officials were forced to rescue dozens ever people by boat. >> national guard working with local officials, sheriff's deputies, private citizens and others that reported at least 35 people have been rescued. >> reporter: rescue operations were called in for st. bernard parish. a number of residents there chose to ride out the storm in their homes despite vac orders and became overwhelmed by the heavy rain. >> we lost everything, like a lot of people. >> reporter: in new orleans, the storm had less of an impact than many expected. the city's biggest problem seemed to be downed power lines, scattered tree limbs and mi

elizabeth prann is live in atlanta with more. hi, elizabeth. >> hi, rick. there is about 27 million small businesses across the nation. like you said, opening a business after the recession is no easy feat. what we're seeing is an emerging trend of folks who are opening up small businesses while they're keeping their day jobs, keeping very low risk and low overhead. dave and mary morris are the perfect example of this. they spent the better half of their adult lives in the corporate world. but about three years ago, they launched porchideas.com, the very simple idea, a web site that offers photo shares, building tips, designs of front and back porches. it went from about 30 viewers had they launched, to about 9,000 viewers a day, attracting advertising dollars. >> which has now allowed the couple to work from home. >> we really put our heart and soul into it for 18 months until we saw there's a possibility that we could leave the corporate world and work from home 'cause we started seeing a lot of traffic coming in and started earning enough money to where

elizabeth prann is braving the storm to bring us a live report right now from the crescent city. hear us? >> reporter: hi, wisdom and sarah. we hope you both are well. we have been battered since hurricane isaac made landfall last night. we are getting wind gusts between 60 and 80 miles per hour. rain continues to fall. citizens say they are prepared but it is a long road ahead. >> i'm glad it's here because the build-up is sometimes worse than the actual storm. >> reporter: hurricane isaac is here indeed. the storm made landfall in louisiana tuesday. some are concerned about the storm surge isaac may bring along the state's shoreline. >> we can only take about six feet of tidal surge. with it turning to the west, it may mean 9 to 12 feet. >> isaac is making its way towards new orleans. several inches of rain has been drenching the city as pumping stations in the area have been working to keep the region from flooding. >> some rain and wind but it will be all right. hopefully the levees will take care of us. >> reporter: isaac's approach has left streets deserted in the french qu

fox's elizabeth prann is live in new orleans with us with the latest. set the scene us for, how things are looking right now weather condition-wise. >> well, you can see that we are getting about 25-mile per hour wind gusts right now. certainly nothing compared to what we're going for see in the near future has the storm approaches. we will see sporadic bouts of rain. that is very character of thetic of this storm. the bands come in sporadically. they hit hard and we know that the rain system is going to be hovering over new orleans for quite some time. we'll see anywhere from 18 to perhaps even 22 inches of rain for folks in low-lying areas. they are under a mandatory evacuation. if there was any evidence, yesterday, we did see very long lines, people getting out of town. we know that people did heed the warnings. people would feel like their homes can survive this storm, perhaps they survived hurricane gustav in 2008, they are hungering down. they are boarding up their homes. we saw the lock gas lines and people at home depot preparing for anywhere be

this is the scene last night when isaac first made landfall as elizabeth prann reported live from new orleans. she had to grab onto a pole to stay in place. there were heavy winds battering the city. jonathan serrie was also live from new orleans. all night he wore protective safety goggles to protect his eyes from the debris in the whipping wind. easy for me to laugh sitting here in the studio. new orleans was not the only area hit. the water is also rising this afternoon in mississippi, and how. this is the scene in gulfport. the director of the u.s. national hurricane center reminding people that isaac will continue to hit this area throughout the day, the thing won't move, it's just at thi sitting there. there is news from new orleans from water from lake pons train could overflow. rick leventhal is standing by right now live from us. >> we've been getting rained on for about 24 hours now. the good news is the wind has died down significantly, probably ten to 15-mile an hour sauce stained winds. a gust within the last hour of 25 miles an hour. last night we were getting tropical s

elizabeth prann is there. >> reporter: there is a huge concern not only in texas but across the nationear-old cancer survivor died after being infected with the virus. and there are more than 690 reported cases across the nation. the cdc says most cases has been in texas, wheres in the state, 14 people have died. there have been 6 deaths in louisiana. other states, such as arizona, california, mississippi, missouri, oklahoma and south dakota have also had deaths. that being said, as long as people are prepared, death could be prevented. dr. mark segall tells us, four out of five victims won't feel any symptomsats all. listen. >> if you get west nile, if you get the disease, 80% of the time, you don't even get sick. 20% of the time, you get a mild flew. 1% get really sick. >> reporter: for the first time in decades, texas officials are taking on the public health epidemic, resuming aerial spraying in dallas tonight, after a two-day delay. more than 80,000 acres have been covered, but officials say they want to spray another 200,000 acres between tonight and next week, this is all in an

jon: elizabeth prann in new orleans. thank you. we will take you to baton rouge.nor bobby jindal is there, he's holding a news briefing right now providing an update on the state's preparations for the storm, this as they get ready to mark seven years since hurricane katrina devastated so much of louisiana and really all of the gulf coast. governor bobby jindal keeping an eye on things. if he makes news during this briefing we'll bring it to you live. jenna: it is the mother of all battleground states, we are talking about the state of florida. 29 biggie electorial votes. coming up we'll break down the polls and what it will take to win the sunshine state in november. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supple

as a result, the damage is far less than expected and fox's elizabeth prann reports. >> reporter: the city of new orleans suffered minimal damage within the city limits. but it's those homes in those outlying areas where the homes are basically submerged. >>> reporter: louisiana's plaquemines parish is one of the areas hardest hit by isaac. the storm dumped several inches of rain on the area causing severe flooding. officials were forced to rescue dozens of people by boat after they became stranded. >> national guard working with local officials including sheriff's deputies, private citizens and others have reported at least 35 people have been rescued. >> reporter: rescue operations were also called in for saint bernard parish. a number of residents there chose to ride out the storm in their homes despite evacuation orders, then became overwhelmed by the rain. >> we lost everything. like a lot of people. >> reporter: in new orleans the storm had less of an impact than expected. the city's biggest problem seemed to be downed power lines, scattered tree limbs, and minor flooding. >> th

but let's start with elizabeth prann in new orleans.it is windy. >> yes. we get a moment of reprieve like we're getting now. then we get these gusts of about 61 miles per hour. we're also seeing this rainfall that is just unyielding. it's starting around 8:00 p.m. last night. we expect the conditions to stay overt next 24 to 48 hours because the eye of the storm is 55 miles southwest of where we are in new orleans, which means we're in the eastern quadrant, why we're getting a violent effect of the storm. really shows you just how long it will last 'cause we still have 24 hours. we have new information regarding those levees in placquemine parish. it's very low lying area. we know there are search and rescue efforts going on now. keep in mind, the wind gust is not a safe speed. there's a long road ahead for folks here. >> steve: all right. thank you very much. >> brian: doing the best to stay upright with that wind and we're looking at 20 inches of rain before it's all said and done. maria molina is at the weather center. where is this