the center of the category 1 hurricane as we speak, about 70 miles south-southwest of the crescent city, canal street where mardi gras floats and cable cars cruise on happier days. a miserable place on this night. the eve of the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina, the storm that shattered so many lives up and down the gulf coast. a storm that has all of us wondering how will isaac compare? how will the rebuilding hold up? to get a whole picture of what's going on on the gulf coast, the abc news extreme weather team stands out from all the way from gulfport, mississippi and we will check with all of them in just a moment. but first, this is the image so many people are watching in shelters of plaquemines parish and the latest track shows that isaac came ashore at 6:45 p.m. local time at the mouths of the mississippi with winds of 80 miles an hour. it looks like isaac is destined to be a slow, wet moisture machine which could dump 10 to 20 inches of rain in some areas already saturated and drench the midwest in the coming week. this is what isaac looks like from the international sp

a sloping strong band of wind and rain was clamming the crescent city i'm sarah simmons i'm wisdom martin. it was seven years ago to the day that hurricane katrina hit new orleans and the gulf coast and now they are being devastated again by more storms, more rain, possible flooding, all kind of things. >> not as bad as katrina. >> well, right. we have to wait and see obviously. they are in the middle of it now. all indications are this storm is not quite s powerful as katrina. the maximum is only 0 miles per hour with gusts to about 90. katrina was a category three hurricane. >> still eerie that it is happening the same day. >> still very strong. there is a live look at your radar. still a category one hurricane. maximum winds, 80 miles per hour. the storm is keeping its strength together and it is now moving. that is good news. an hour ago, it was stationary. see the darker yellows and even the reds you see over new orleans, that is an extremely heavy band of rain likely dumping a couple of inches of run an hour across parts of the city as we speak. inside that particular part of the st

. >> the crescent city is trying to hold on. we'll take you to new orleans coming up. [ female announcer ] with swiffer wet cleaning better doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm gonna...use these. ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] unlike mops, swiffer can maneuver into tight spaces and its wet mopping cloths can clean better in half the time. mom? ♪ ahhhh! ahhhh! no it's mommy! [ female announcer ] swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. ♪ >>> you know, scunny was one of us. he yelled oh, during the an tom, drank natty bo and was one of baltimore's best chore leader. he was in a bike accident and today we bury patrick mccusker. what he did at that bar -- >> scunny was a force of nature. he was a rare individual who lived with passion and with love for his community selflessly, a family man whose family was the center of his world. his family suffered a tremendous loss. our city suffered a tremendous loss and i suffer and friend. >> tonight toast to natty bo. they will raise money f

north eastern portion of california we are looking at thunderstorms in fact, lightning around crescent city in the last hour still very dangerous conditions with the red flag warning north and east of the bay. it has been dropped for the sierra nevada, always dry conditions this time of year. 60 oakland, upper 60s antioch, the breeze in fairfield, 65, sunny all morning long. elsewhere even with cloud cover, mild this morning. waking up to the upper 50s and 60s has allowed for a degree to seven degrees of warming since this time yesterday. once we clear and that sea breeze kicks in it is going to feel good. cloudy and mild this morning, with warmer temperatures by five degrees today and the afternoon clearing more like peninsula, marin county, coastline, partial clearing. we are warming up a little today, as much as five to seven degrees of warming tomorrow we are not stopping there. there's the low pressure that continues to lift north and east still allowing for rumbles of thunder in parts of the state this is what is to come very hot air mass headed our way not only for the week ahead loo

. >> reporter: and residents of the crescent city has 14 billion reasons to ride it out. that's how much tax money was spent shoring up the levees that so famously failed, leaving the rooftop rescue a sad hallmark of this proud city. this is a little sample of what they got for those $14 billion. brand, spanking-new, mighty fortresses against the surging storm waters. and you can see, these federal levees are doing their jobs. but just down the mississippi, are old earthen levees only about eight feet high, which were no match even for this category 1 storm. sometime in the night, the surging water either topped or breached the old levees. and the rural suburb of braithwaite woke up with the realization that their homes were drowning, and fast. >> we had it break through the ceiling and come through the attic. and they took us out of the attic into a boat. it's very bad down there. very bad. >> i lived in braithwaite for 53 years and this is my first time seeing something like this. this ain't never, ever happened to us. this is a shame. >> reporter: some were rescued by g

as we come on the air, the eye of the storm is churning, sliding just to the west of the crescent city. as the relatively weak category 1 hurricane. but if you look up and down canal street where mardi gras floats and cable cars cruise on happier days, nothing seems weak about this right now. and what a way to mark the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina, the storm that changed so many lives up and down the gulf coast, had us wondering how would this storm compare, would people be ready? to give you the whole picture, we have our extreme weather team up and down the gulf coast tonight and we'll check in with each one of them in just a moment. but first, this is the image so many people are watching in shelters of plaquemines parish and the bars of the french quarter tonight. the latest track shows that isaac came ashore at 6:45 p.m. local time at the mouth of the mississippi with winds of 80 miles an hour. those gusts may be much weaker than katrina's. it looks like isaac is destined to be a slow, wet moisture machine which could dump 10 to 20 inches of rain in some areas already

the fierce rain and wind roaring into the crescent city, all seen here in a few seconds. those pictures tell the story, for sure. >>> now, a look at where isaac goes from here. we continue our coverage live at the accuweather forecast center. >> meteorologist jim dickey is tracking the storm for us. >> isaac is crawling its way, north and westward, it's producing heavy rainfall, especially across mississippi, moving at 5 miles per hour. plenty of rain to go here. the storm will crawl its way northwest, through many spots. extreme eastern louisiana. six to eight inches of rain on top of what we already have. and that will continue to spread its way into the nation's midsection, into the ohio valley. and will induce flash flooding through friday. rob and diana, wback to you. >>> now, to our other big story this morning. that's down in tampa. >> a big week in politics, as well. the republican national convention wraps up with mitt romney's acceptance speech. paul ryan made his national debut last night. t.j. winick is in tampa, now, with the very latest. t.j.? >> reporter: g

karen is in the crescent city bracing for isaac.  now a category one, capable of producing serious rain, flooding, and loss of power. >> usually lively french quarter which is abandoned this evening as new orleans awaits the arrival of this bislow moving 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. mitch 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. >> katrin

storm team four is back from the crescent city.elcome back, doug. >> a lot of people seeing a ton of rain from this storm. anywhere between 10 and 20 inches of rain. you could still see louisiana stuck in some of the feeder bans here. very heavy rain continuing in this area. also, many areas in the gulf coast seeing that tornado tlout. and that threat will continue tomorrow. the center of the storm now moving into arkansas. and, yes, it is e venl sventualg to start to move our way. they need to see some rain out there and i think we're still dry on saturdays. tropical shower starting on sunday and then we run into labor day. have that labor day forecast coming up. we're not done with the tropics. >> major power outage at tyson's galle galleryia tonight. an underground switch failed and left all 107 businesses in the dark. restaurants had to close early. crews were able to restore power to most of them. however, 33 stores are still wow power. >> former uva lacross player delivered a message to the victim's family. he addressed yardl

that's the crescent city connection behind us that you can barely see in the early wind and rain bands ahead of isaac. so let's check with the very latest here. if there's any surprise in the track of last action of it, it's that this storm wants to spend a little more time slowing down just south of the delta of louisiana and maybe even curve a little bit more to the west, riding the coast. that slow path will mean more wind and more rain. and it will also spend an awful lot of time in america's heartland, dropping very heavy tropical rain in places that aren't used to seeing that action. here's the path. take a look at it. it's a little amazing as it goes from the gulf, past the border of st. louis. that rain goes from atlanta and as far west as dallas. now shgas far as the winds go, s you may see a category 1 and think it's a small storm. but it's actually large in space storm. it ranges from 60 miles on either side of the center of the storm. and the tropical enforce winds about 180 miles an hour. there's an awful lot to this category 1 storm, diane. >> okay. sam. thanks. from new

we have more from the crescent city. >> reporter: plywood is popping up all over new orleans in preparation for isaac. >> right now i feel all right. we're very much protected. >> reporter: forecasters predict isaac could hit as a hurricane tonight. >> it's going to hit us direct. if not, we'll stay and tough it out. >> reporter: interstate 10 was packed yesterday with evacuees. >> i almost made the mistake of staying for katrina. i said i would never make that mistake again. >> reporter: the airport was also busy. all flights are canceled today. it was the sun before the storm in plaquemines parish where some areas are under mandatory evacuation, a reminder of seven years ago. >> i lost of lot of stuff. i'm hoping for the best. >> reporter: more than 50,000 people in low-lying areas have been told to evacuate but not everyone will listen, confident the rebuilt $14 billion levee system will hold and keep them safe. >> we're going to stay and ride it out. >> reporter: the waterfront community is outside the levee system. almost all of the 1,000 residents are leaving. >> we had a couple of pe

we'll head back to new orleans and doug with more on high wind and rain lashing the crescent city. doug. >> yeah, guys, we are watching the storm right now. once again. here on bourbon street central new or leans, bourbon street and canal street. wind starting to pick up. watching the latest band come close to our area. expecting wind to pick up. as they were earlier. 60, 70 miles an hour. show you the radar. the storm has been making its way to the northwest. also a little jg og to the west. computer models going farther west. the national hurricane center track. that will be the case. passing new orleans, tomorrow during the day, by just off to the west. that does put us in toward the potential for not only flooding. but the potential for tornados tomorrow and very strong wind. this thing has become a lot org. a ragged tropical storm the last couple days. take a look at wind we are seeing across the area. wind gusting upwards of 60 to 70 miles an hour. we have seen some gusts, 80 miles an hour across the region. done to the south. i sawne gust, at, george grand isle, 82 miles an

back in 2008 and the big question at the end of the day is, will new orleans be able to keep the crescent city dry. >> all right, jim cantore starting us off from new orleans. >>> nbc's lester holt has also made his way to that city. lester is standing by as well. lester, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. to answer jim's question, authorities here do believe the pump system will hold here. it's been upgraded. the city officials have basically said they will not be caught flat-footed as they were seven years ago by katrina. the hurricane warning center is telling folks that preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion. the big concern, the water, especially in those low-lying parishes to the south of new orleans that are outside the levee protection system. when word came to evacuate the east bank of plaquemines parish, wilma taylor didn't hesitate. she and her grandchildren are getting out. did you think twice? >> no, i didn't think twice. i think one time and i'm gone. >> reporter: in this parish just south of new orleans where katrina first came asho

new orleans mayor mitch landrieu is g an evacuation of the crescent city but is ordering residents who live outside the levee system to leave. >> we are going to be facing a category one, potentially a two storm. >> reporter: the storm preparations continue. all day, people have been driving up to the center and getting loaded one sandbags trying to do anything they can to protect themselves and their property against isaac. in st. person arrested parish, casey steigel, fox news -- in st. bernard parish, casey steigel, fox news. >>> the storm forced a brief opening to the republican national convention. romney is arevving today, two days earlier than planned and tonight, the big speeches include his wife, ann romney, in prime time and noirnlg governor chris christie is giving the big keynote ddaess. yesterday's opening session only lasted 27 seconds. >> this convention, we also want to draw your attention to the unprecedented fiscal recklessness of the obama administration as depicted by the real time national debt clock shown here in the arena. >> coming up in our next hour, we'll hav

the crescent city connection, that's dark. that went dark last night. so power outages and power flashes continue to happen here as this wind continues to batter the greater new orleans area as does the rain. the center of this storm as dr. knabb pointed out, is about 50 miles just due south of new orleans. and the hurricane force winds extend 50 miles to the east. we're right on the cusp of hurricane-force winds. not seeing them sustained but we're seeing them gusting at times. that's why you're seeing the damage around the town -- around town. you're seeing the trees and power lines down around new orleans. it looks much, much worse this morning in the crescent city than it did late last night for sure. and it's going to be several hours. much of the day today, we're going to see these kind of conditions. soledad? >> yeah, i believe it. we're getting a lot of that wind and rain right now. a moment ago it was much calmer and certainly those gusting winds are picking up where we are. i want to get to david mattingly in gulfport, mississippi, standing by

and abc's meteorologist ginger zee, a veteran storm chaser is in the crescent cities tonight and standing on one of those levees. ginger. >> reporter: diane, during hurricane katrina, lake pontchartrain has so much storm surge -- come with me -- that it pushed up and over all that water into neighborhoods just like this one. now, these levees are taller. isaac is a different storm, and new orleans is a very different city. >> we're dealing with tropical storm isaac. >> strong winds, rain and storm surge. >> reporter: in new orleans tonight, they're not taking any chances. >> we're going to leave later today. >> reporter: reminders of that 2005 disaster are everywhere and anxiety is high. >> will we evacuate? will we not evacuate? will it be a level 1 or will it be a 3 or better? >> reporter: linda anderson lost her home in katrina. >> we had nine foot of water in our home. >> reporter: she moved back just a few months ago. >> we're really hoping that the corps of engineers have done their job. >> reporter: the corps said, we have. are you ready? >> we feel confident about the system. it's

jay gray is lift in the crescent city where the labor day will mean a lot of recovery work. >> absolutely. for the first time today, good news, no rain at all, but patches of night. this is what the city desperately needs to shine light on what isaac left behind and what it will take to recover. the storm may be gone, but evidence is still scattered across the gulf coast. >> we are now fully in the cleanup and recoveries phase of the storm in the city of new orleans the bell has not rung on this storm, and it won't ring until we're finished. >> reporter: and just like the slow-moving storm, the cleanup is going to take some sometime. after two straight days of driving rains, floodwaters still fill some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods. >> we'll continue to see flooding challenges, because we do have the tide levels in the rivers and buy use yews and quite frankly the water still continues to accumulate from the rain. >> power crews are just beginning work to get a million customers online. for survivors, recovery has become an all too familiar thing. >> i've been through it. you just pick

in one area south of new orleans, less than about one hour drive from the crescent city, we actuallyid hear of a levy being overtop the there, about an 18 mi. stretch. this was the low-lying community that was under an evacuation. sheriff's deputies began going door to door seeing if anyone needed to be rescued because there is water beginning to go into many of the home. >> thank you for being out there giving us the live updates >> this form was updated to a hurricane that 930 pacific time yesterday. >> we will need to wait another 24-36 hours to see widespread devastation but it will be devastating. the storm surge is 6-12 ft.. it began to back up into mississippi which is why we saw the levee breach. it is moving very slowly at six m.p.h., just wandering in a holding on to hurricane strength even though it is moving on shore. the problem is that it is a slow mover. it will take until friday morning before it moves out of town so we are likely to see some places with maybe 20 in. of rain. widespread flooding is likely. >> firefighters in san jose are still on the scene of a massiv

the army corps of engineers has closed the floodgates and that is the first for the crescent city. the floodgates and system of levees was built in response to hurricane katrina's devastation and it is the largest pumping station in the world. >> now your 11 insta-weatherplus forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> that nasty storm on the gulf coast not an impact on the weather for the next few days. perhaps of a labor day weekend. we're getting set for some late august weather. it is warm out there right now. 91 in downtown baltimore. 88 in frederick. and on the muddy side but northwest breezes are starting to bring in some drier air. the dew point measures that. the lower the dew point, the dry air and more comfortable the areas. the dew point is 54. temperatures will be warm and it will feel very nice. 58 sabres, 66 downtown. the skies were clear of and sunset at 7:43 pm north wind out of the northwest at 5 to 10 miles an hour. the school from winter with some scattered showers in high- pressure in and out of southern canada. look how comfortable the air is here. th

fox's elizabeth prann is braving the storm to bring us a live update from the crescent city. all right. we saw you about an hour or so ago. how are you doing now? looks like the conditions have stayed the same if not gotten a little worse there. >> reporter: yeah. the wind bursts come very sporadically which we know is characteristic. storm. we are getting about 61-mile- per-hour winds now. that rain hasn't stopped since 8:00 last night and we don't expect it to. we have a [ signal breakup ] plaquemines parish levees where water is overtopping that levee. we talked about plaquemines parish along with saint charles parish about an hour southwest of where we're located. really the southeastern tip of louisiana. very vulnerable. those people were under a mandatory evacuation on monday. [ signal breakup ] ... don't always heed those mandatory calls for evacuation so now [ indiscernible ] [ signal breakup ] deputies are now working to rescue them from their homes. so a very dangerous situation not only for people who need to be rescued but also... [ signal breakup ] steve, allison

new orleans mayor mitch landrieu is not ordering an evacuation of the crescent city, but is urging residents who live outside the levee system to leave. >> and the clarity is that we are going to be facing, unless things change and they always, can of course, a category 1 potentially a 2 storm. >> reporter: meantime storm preparations continue. all day people have been driving up to this center loading up with sandbags trying to do anything they can to protect themselves and their property against isaac. in st. bernard parish casey steigel, fox news. >> isaac caused airline cancellations, more than 200 flights, in fact, today. american airlines scratched almost 150 flights in florida alone. as airports in southern florida are getting back to normal, all flights at louie armstrong new orleans international airport will cancel from late tonight into at least wednesday morning. >>> tropical storm isaac also forcing the gop to make some changes. the republican national convention officially kicked off today in tampa, but it was an abbreviated schedule. fox's carl cameron is on the campaign trail

aaron neville is from the crescent city. he and his family evacuated to memphis before katrina hit. cnn producer jessica dunn sat down with neville to talk about the months after the storm and how the city has since recovered. >> i was kind of bitter. i was, like, i don't know, i felt violated, you know? because i never went back to that house where i lived with my first wife, joelle, and it was like i didn't want to go back and, you know, because we had been getting away from hurricanes for a few years, you know. if i'm on the road, i tell them get out of town, you know, and they go for three days, take three days worth of clothes and come back. and so they met me in memphis and we thought three days and go back. we're watching the tv and saw the water come. and so, you know, never went back to that house. and we started doing these benefits with the red cross and larry king. and i would do some from louisiana 1927. i didn't know it, but they'd have pictures of people floating in the water and all that behind me. i'm glad, because i probably couldn't have got through the song. ♪ ha

times-picayune," there in new orleans, i asked him how isaac compares to katrina, that struck the crescent cityyears ago today. here's some more of what he had to say about how the new levees are holding up today. >> it is a small hurricane. it is large in size, in breadth, but not in terms of intensity. and that's, that's the good thing. >> how is the city weathering the storm so far? >> residents were told to hunker down in their own homes if they didn't plan on evacuating voluntarily. and that's pretty much what everybody has done. the winds are still fairly high outside. we're still getting gusts to, to 65 miles an hour. >> the fact that this storm is moving so slowly would seem number-one concern, as you said, the amount of rainfall, the estimates we are hearing, 10 to 20 inches, what could that potentially mean for the city? >> one of the real concerns is making sure the pump stations continue to work. and the pump stations have all gotten backup power supplies in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. so that so far seems to be working. >> what is still being looked at closely in terms of w

here is new orleans, kenner, metairie, all the way back here, here is the crescent city, there would be the french quarter. zoom into where this problem is, it is right here, plaquemines parish, a long parish, goes from new orleans all wait to the gulf of mexico. and this is the area that has levees all around it. there's mississippi river levee and then the back levee that goes 18 miles all the way back here, this is a swimming pool with levees on all sides that's great to keep the water out from coming in here. this is the bayou. you don't want the water to come in here if the mississippi river ever floods. so, all of this area, all basically 10 to 15 feet higher on all ends, all sides, due to the fact that there's levees all around. let's fly you in and show you the town that people were evacuated from, the subdivision, they called it right here, that's where all those people were getting pulled out when the water did breach over the top of this the water did get to this levee. here is the levee, ashleigh, you can see here the water filled up here around went over the levee and ba

a lot of people heeding the warnings, although there were no mandatory evacuations in the crescent city. it was more of a voluntaria basis. a lot of people said they were going to get out and not ride this storm out. the only mandatory evacuations were a handful of the lower lying parishes, like st. bernard and also in clackman's parish, where we had water spilling over a levy, but no breaches. isaac is really the true test for all of the improvements and everything that we have been, you know, we have been hearing about, since hurricane katrina, 7 years ago. today, guys. >> you know, casey, i know you have been out and about talking to a lot of folks there. what are they telling you? what's their reaction to this? >> well, it's mixed. you know, you talk about 7 years from katrina, although, you know, it may seem like a long time for folks like you and i, for people who lived here and people who rode this storm out and lived the nightmare, it feels like it was yesterday. and so when you talk to some people, they say, each with a strong category 1, like isaac is, they were not going to t

good morning, what's the latest from the crescent city. >> good morning to you, rob, and diana, new orleansntil dawn. as you can see this rain is still pounding the city. outside of the city, there is enormous devastation. isaac has been relentless, punishing the gulf all day. fierce wind, storm surges and rains over 22 inches in some areas. washed out road. snapped trees. and knocked down power lines. mo than 700,000 peoplen four states are without power. rescuers risked dangerous conditions to save people stranded by the floodwaters. >> our focus obviously has been on evacuation today and to get people out of harm's way. >> despite their house being under water this father and son are beg called heroes. >> oh, we have rescued a lot of people. and saw things you never thought you would see. anxious moments outside a nursing home. medical vehicles and school buses waiting to evacuate patients. as isaac takes its time, moving across the gulf, officials have issued new mandatory evacuation orders for those at risk for flooding. [ indiscernible ] isaac is much weaker than hurricane katrina whi

it's slowly making its march toward crescent city, drenching everything in its path. >>> just a remindere stories we're following today. hurricane isaac roared ashore with reporting ittopping levee. >>> all eyes on paul ryan as he's set to take the stage at republican national convention. we'll take a break. when we come back, we'll take a look at ben bernanke's big speech from jackson hole, and ann romney introducing her husband to american voters. > >>> angela brayly resigned over wellpoint. the company has taken big losses on medicare plans in california and recently cut its full year earnings forecast. wellpoint's board says it will look at internal and external candidates for replacement candidate. stock up today 1.4%. >>> john paulson is reassuring clients investors aren't fleeing his firm even though his funds have flagged. last week citigroup's private bank decided to stop investing with paulson. he says he's disappointed by the move but notes fund withdrawals haven't been unusually high. down nearly 13% this year. >>> nj services in new orleans have reported hurricane isaac topp

it is less than 165 miles from that crescent city. landfall expected tonight or early tomorrow.ac could bring welcome relief to the drought stricken states. not only a deluge of rain expected from the storm when it comes ashore but the national weather service is predicting rain for eastern arkansas, southeast missouri and southern illinois. all very dry there. >>> speaking of illinois, governor pat quinn rejected a pran to ex- -- plan to expand gambling in the state. he vetoed a bill for land based gambling hall. he said the bill lacked proper regulatory oversight. the lawmakers can vote to override the veto. we'll watch i'm sure. those are the headlines from the fox business network. back to lovely ashley and tracy. ashley: what are the odds of a veto? tracy: stealing some of the spotlight away from the republican national convention, president obama is planning on campaigning in three different battleground states this week. peter barnes joins us with more on this, peter. i thought there was a gentleman's agreement that you don't campaign during conventions? >> i'll tell you,

that's the crescent city connection bridge. closed the port area down and no barge or tanker traffic is allowed up here unless the captain of the port needs to order a vessel secure. operations in this busy important area shut down for now. >> okay. obviously we know that will change in a couple of hours. i know brian the mayor says it's too late to evacuate if you live in this city center. i know people just have to really stay put and ride it out. why not call for mandatory evacuations? >> reporter: they just feel this storm will not be of the strength to really trigger that kind of an evacuation. the mayor was talking about this a moment ago. he is telling people in lower lying areas of the city that are outside the levee protected areas that you should leave if you can do that. he doesn't want a panicked exodus. if you're not protected you still have a bit of time to get out. for anybody that wanted to leave, yesterday was probably the better time to do it. no mandatory evacuation for new orleans. they don't believe the sto

a cool pattern to the north and also some rain from our observer ronald thompson up in crescent city.here is a little bite feel to the air. cloudy, mostly cloudy, clear. the santa cruz coastline has been clear and cool with a lot of 40s. clearing, warm inland, warmer, i should say, it won't be that warm. tropical storm isaac continues to move away from florida heading into the gulf. now, still, a couple of things going on, it's getting better organized. it's still tropical storm strength. it's not hurricane strength. most signs take it right towards new orleans. we'll see it that track continues. some peel it off fors mobile. the majority -- off to mobile. the mart jo take -- the majority take it to new orleans. it will head towards the florida panhandle, somewhere around the mouth of the mississippi river and we'll see what develops in the 24 hours if it continues to strength. 40s for some 50s for others. the pacific northwest low is keeping us from warming up too much. i think we'll see a 7-degree jump for temperatures. low clouds, sunny. it will be warm inland. breezy. gonna send i

that's the fabulous crescent city connector bridge.affic. because of isaac you see barges across the river they are tied up, as are the tugboats. nothing on this river today until the threat of isaac has moved on. we have the latest from the national hurricane center. isaac has slowed down. two things significant. not yet a hurricane, and its forward motion slowed down. right now isaac is 185 miles south southeast of biloxi, maximum sustained winds, moving west at 7 miles per hour. that's the big problem we're going to see withic. it's going to be a slow mover. we do have hurricane warnings up from morgan city all the way to the alabama florida border. that's an issue. we're also going to be looking at the path of isaac. isaac will probably make landfall as a category one storm. we expect it probably right around 11:00 isaac will become a hurricane, category one, make landfall tonight or tomorrow, the seventh anniversary of katrina. again, moving very slowly. because of that, we have to worry about the storm surge, that wall of water b

report by the greater new orleans data center shows that more than one in five properties in the crescent cityhere are homes destroyed by the homes abandoned by their owners and now there are safety hazards and depressing eyesores. i live directly across the street from just such a place and decided it was time to enact my very own extreme home makeover, so please come along with me as we visit my new home. this is the home that my husband and i just bought. and it's the house that in many ways became, for us, the site of crime in the neighborhood. to try to address that, we have purchased this house with the goal of completely renovating it, bringing it back to life and contributing ultimately to the safety and security of this neighborhood. you literally look directly through this home because it only has three walls. it has a front wall and two side walls. truly exquisite and beautiful home. and, for me, this house is very much representative of new orleans. and what we are facing since the storm. that if you just glance at it, all you see is the destruction. but if you look at it and look

another key question, that bridge right there, the crescent city connection, it's a very high bridge close it as of now, but they're going to be monitoring this storm. >> yeah, and the winds and the rain. thank you so much. live from new orleans this morning. want to talk to someone who not only witnessed the levee's breach, he took charge of a city sliding into chaos. it was chaos in new orleans at the time of hurricane katrina. russell honore was the man who coordinated efforts in the wake of katrina. he's now retired, but is kind enough to join us from baton rouge. welcome, general. >> good morning. >> president obama is set to speak in about seven minutes. what do you hope he says? >> i hope he uses presidential power and declare this a hurricane and get it over with so people are not confused that it's just a tropical storm. we knew it will reach based on the science sometime this evening, but we need to be taking action now and treating this like a hurricane, a category 1 hurricane, but as it gets late e, it's going to get dark and people will not act, thinking it's just a thun