julie. >> all right, nicole collins take care out there tonight. a bob cat cub was rescued from the chip's fire that's been burning in plumas county for four months. the tiny little cat is recovering at the tahoe wildlife rescue center. fire officials contacted the wildlife center after finding the cat on saturday. the cub is now being called chips and fortunately is expected to make a full recovery. >>> meanwhile that fire has now burned more than 73,000 acres. and is now 70% contained. over 1,500 firefighters remain on the fire lines battling the flames. the cause of the fire still hasn't been determined. >>> the giants and a's were seeing action tonight. mark ibanez is on deck. but up first another first from mars. the song curiosity sent back today. -and i'm erik. both: we're the fruit guys! back in 1998, we had this idea to deliver fresh fruit to offices in downtown san francisco. we built these wooden crates, filled these with fruit in my one-bedroom apartment. the fruit guys has been with bank of america since they first started. we work with

julie. >> all right, nicole collins take care out there tonight. cole thank you. >>> a bob cat cub was rescued from the chip's fire that's been burning in plumas county for four months. the tiny little cat is recovering at the tahoe wildlife rescue center. fire officials contacted the wildlife center after finding the cat on saturday. the cub is now being called chips and fortunately is expected to make a full recovery. >>> meanwhile that fire has now burned more than 73,000 acres. and is now 70% contained. over 1,500 firefighters remain on the fire lines battling the flames. the cause of the fire still hasn't been determined. >>> the giants ♪ [ female announcer ] you can always measure the growth of your children by the way they clean themselves in the bathroom. try charmin ultra strong. with a new duraclean texture, charmin ultra strong helps you get clean. plus it's four times stronger than the leading value brand. and you can use up to 4 times less. good news for even the biggest kids in the family. we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin u

reporter nicole collins is standing by. wonder if can you tell us what you're seeing, experiencing right now? i'll bet you had a big band of rain come through a while ago we have, sue and i would say the past moment minutes or so and we get the stronger gusts, perhaps they're the bandings coming through here and you can see over my shoulder there, the wind and rain and another thing i am seeing here in the last few minutes are hum views on the streets and -- humvees and 4100 national guard troops are nominated here and those troops are on hand to help anyone needing assistance and they handing out supplies like ready to eat meals and tarps and sand bags, things of that nature to help residents here who might need any assistance and this particular area is under a volunteer and not mandatory and came in on i-10 yesterday from pensacola, florida and we expect a lot of residents have gotten out of town this morning and we went to that home depot, the controversy store and there are still a lot of residents stocking up on suppl

in new orleans, nicole collins, fox news. >> coming up in the next hour, we bring you live reports from new orleans with the latest. >>> the republican national convention wraps up tonight. last night included a who's who list of republicans. condoleezza rice and john mccain were among the highlight speakers. but this was running mate paul ryan's time. he largely focused on fiscal issues and hit president obama hard on the economy and health care. >> i accept the calling of my generation to give our children the america that was given to us with opportunity for the young and security for the old. and i know we are ready. our nominee is sure ready. his whole life prepared him for this moment. >> mitt romney is scheduled to give his acceptance speech at 10:00 tonight. >>> our big story, the final chapter in a university of virginia la crosse murder case. melanie alnwick has the latest. >> reporter: today, george huguely will learn how much time he will spend behind bars for the death of his girlfriend, yeardley love. his family filed an appeal for leniency. huguely did not testify during

nicole collins, fox news. >> down to the weather center we go, sue palka tracking the storm. >> it'sf louisiana. that doesn't mean the rain has stopped, but the center of the circulation is 95 miles south, southwest of little rock, arkansas. let's go to the maps. you'll see the system still has a lot of rain especially north of it. so that very heavy rain is now through arkansas. the redbox is a continuing tornado watch for mississippi where we've had some very heavy rain. it's still rather slow moving, only moving north at 10 miles an hour. the winds with our tropical depression are about 30 miles an hour. grand bay, alabama, over 11 inches, vero beach 16 inches in florida. hammond, louisiana, 12 inches, new orleans about 10 1/4, widespread amounts and it's really centered through southern mississippi and southeastern louisiana. some of the estimates as you can see by our doppler radar including a 12 1/2 just a little west of mobile. so what's next? high pressure is going to guide the remnants up through the mississippi valley and over the next several days we'll be hearing a lot of

fox's nicole collins is live in new orleans tonight. so, nicole, let me ask you: how are people preparing in what are you seeing on the ground there? >> we don't so a lot of people, laura. actually, we saw a steady stream on interstate 10 yesterday leaving town. a lot of the lower parishes, officials, believe, have been voluntarily evacuated. no mandatory evacuation in new orleans, but in the last few minutes, we heard the first report of street flooding and we have been getting this more and more consistency over the last hour or so. the wind, we're getting gusts of 45 to 50 miles an hour and that is not the wind that is the problem but it's the storm surge. it's the rain and that means flooding, as i said, already street flooding noted here in new orleans and we're expecting six to 20-plus inches of rain. those double-digit numbers expected in just a few areas. but still, that is a lot of rain for the area to hold. >> i know, there are a lot of shelters set up there, nicole. are they full or have people just gotten out of town? >> i t

for the very latest, let's go to nicole collins. she is in the big easy. >> hurricane isaac is here. its biggest threat, massive flooding. hurricane isaac makes land fall with waves crashing into the store line after the storm traveled through the gulf of mexico. isaac reaching hurricane status today increasing in strength before reaching land. residents along the coast being urged to leave for higher ground by president obama and local authorities. >> we continue to urge anyone living in low lying areas to evacuate. even if an order hasn't been issued for your area. if it is even not mandatory, we are saying now it is time to evacuate those low lying areas. >> some deciding to stay as the storm hits land on the eve of hurricane katrina's 7th anniversary. >> we have a generator, thank god. that was one of the things we did and so if it does, we do lose power, we have a generator to get us through. >> since katrina, reenforced the levee system that failed new orleans in 2005. and the red cross is on the ground using lessons they lear

>> shepard: nicole collins from the fox news edge. affiliate news feed service who is working for affiliates across the country from canal street across the way. thanks very much, nicole. i want to get to ed rap port update on the storm where they believe it's going and what things are going to be like over the next 12 to 48 hours. what you can tell us? >> recent observations which unfortunately starting to confirm what we were expecting for wind and storm surge. if i point out new orleans right here. there is elevated platform offshore which had a wind gust to 106 miles per hour. the reason that's important, they are at 280 feet is that the upper floors of high rises in new orleans and other places getting close to 280 feet will receive some of those similar winds. so, gusts to 100 miles per hour could occur in those high rise areas. now, in terms of the storm surge, which we have been talking about as well, it's already a storm surge of 5.5 feet in the waveland, mississippi area. and in lake born, just to the east of new orleans, the

everybody needs to continue to be cautious. >> that was nicole collins reporting. >> getting ready for tropical storm isaac today. >> likely to become a hurricane later today. and i want to show you this cool picture. if you look carefully, what we call the central dense overcast. and that's the area around the center of circulation. and you can see the storm in the last couple of frames. watch how it bubbles up. isn't that amazing? that shows us the storm is intensifying and becoming deeper. and i'll show you other pictures in a minute that indicate that the storm is getting stronger. just incredible pictures taken this morning. and these are obviously government pictures from colorado state university. >> okay. >> big thanks to them. >> that northeast quadrant of the track could hit new orleans dead on. >> and of course, that's the strongest side of the storm. and that would potentially cause a lot of problems. isaac is not as strong as katrina. but you never want a hurricane through the city. >>> i want to show you a few other features with the forecast. and there's another look at

nicole collins is live in new orleans.ast night, when she joined us, she was being pushed around by the strong wind. what are the conditions like now? >> reporter: frank, we're experiencing the back end of this storm. the outer bands, as isaac moves towards the plain states. it has improved. i'm standing here able to talk to you. not like last night, of course. but this weather still considered dangerous by officials so they've put into place, a mandatory dusk to dawn curfew. that is also in place to prevent looting. the rain, wind, and storm surge causing massive flooding, knocking out power lines and leaving hundreds of thousands of customers in the dark. >> it was just kind of crazy. it was really windy. really wet, and there's branches all over the place. >> reporter: plaquemines parish, one of the hardest hit areas. crews going out in boats rescuing people and their pets. eerily similar to the rescues made during hurricane katrina seven years ago today the day. >> the national guard working with local officials, inclu

nicole collins is live in new orleans.t night, when she joined us, she was being pushed around by the strong wind. what are the conditions like now? >> reporter: frank, we're experiencing the back end of this storm. the outer bands, as isaac moves towards the plain states. it has improved. i'm standing here able to talk to you. not like last night, of course. but this weather still considered dangerous by officials so they've put into place, a mandatory dusk to dawn curfew. that is also in place to prevent looting. the rain, wind, and storm surge causing massive flooding, knocking out power lines and leaving hundreds of thousands of customers in the dark. >> it was just kind of crazy. it was really windy. really wet, and there's branches all over the place. >> reporter: plaquemines parish, one of the hardest hit areas. crews going out in boats rescuing people and their pets. eerily similar to the rescues made during hurricane katrina seven years ago today the day. >> the national guard working with local officials, includi

in washington nicole collins, fox news. >>> major garrett, white house correspondent for the national journal joins us. thanks for being here. >> great to be with you. >> you wrote about paul ryan saying he was a 10-fer to presidential politics. >> five advantages and five potential hazards to the paul ryan addition to mitt romney's ticket. i won't go through all 10, but paul ryan is one of the four people running for vice president or president who has a budget. joe biden, barack obama and mitt romney doesn't. they have plans, but paul ryan put together the most specific comprehensive package to deal with the fiscal future of this country. republicans love that about paul ryan. democrats believe it's an incredibly juicy target in states like florida where the revamping of medicare in the ryan budget might be a huge issue and also in the swing state of pennsylvania, second highest in concentration of elderly voters and possibly in ohio. so there's the advantage of a specific budget, a bold set of ideas but also the potential peril of those political ideas not resonating in the very sw

nicole collins, fox news, washington. >>> lennystein horn joining us now. thank you for being here. >> good to see you, shawn. >> reporter: we remember and know that sarah palin was a game changer for the last presidential election. is paul ryan a hit or miss for the romney campaign? >> let's keep in mind that she was initially popular and declined when she got more exposed through the press. paul ryan, i think, is an interesting choice. i think where's a benefit for romney and a benefit for obama. he's a benefit for romney because he excites the base. the tea party. he's personal believe -- personable, comes off well on television. he's a benefit for the president because the paul ryan budge set direct -- draconian and can you see huge cuts in services for the poor americans and the middle class. the obama campaign will be driving this home that this is not an election between the economyby two ideologists. >> the democrats are linking his budget and take on medicare and medicaid to mitt romney. what impact do you think this will have on voters, especially

fox's nicole collins tells us why the president is being forced to play defense. >> reporter: mitt romney's running mate has been accused of wanting to slash medicare benefits for the nation's seniors, but the gop ticket now turning that argument around pointing to cuts already made to the program by president obama. medicare reform, a touchy topic for the nation's seniors is becoming a central issue in the race for the white house with bet campans tackling it head on. >> we need this debate and we will win this debate. [ applause and cheers ] >> reporter: mitt romney and his running mate house budget chairman paul ryan now criticizing president obama for cuts he made to medicare. >> the president takes $716 billion out of the medicare trust fund to pay for obamacare. i think this is something which seniors are going to be very concerned about. >> reporter: while defending his record on medicare, president obama said a plan authored by ryan would eventually force seniors to pay an extra $6,400 a year. >> my plan reduces the cost of medicare by cracking down on fraud and waste and subsidies

meeting with officials and taking in the damage. >> that was nicole collins reporting. let's take a look at where isaac is right now. gary is down in the weather center tracking the storm. what are you seeing? where is isaac now? >> moving north. it's going to make a turn around to the right or to the east over the next couple of days. it's moving faster, but let me show you. we have plenty of rain coming down. now look, this is rain coming down in places that desperately need the rain. so everything you're seeing up through missouri and illinois and hopefully into iowa there for the corn belt, this is going to be well received. they can get 6 to 8 inches of rain in places. let me show you the current conditions in terms of where the tropical depression isaac is right now. maximum winds 25 miles per hour. moving to the north and to the northeast at 15 miles per hour. there is the track over the next several days. you can see it is moving in our direction. that means unsettled conditions coming up for this holiday weekend and beyond. more on the forecast, laura. >> thank

nicole collins has the story. campaigning in illinois, mitt romney launching a new attack, accusing president obama of turning the federal welfare program into a handout, by allowing some to wave the welfare work requirement put in place by former president and obama backer, bill clinton. >> that is wrong. if i'm president, i will put work back in welfare. we will end a culture dependency and restore a culture of good, hard work. >> reporter: the welfare attack coordinated with this new romney ad is being called dishonest by the white house. >> this hypocrisy knows no bounds. governor romney joined with 28 other republican governors in support of policies that would have eliminated the time limits in the law and allowed people to stay on welfare forever. >> reporter: as candidates and their campaigns spar over economic issues, talk over who romney will choose as his running mate intensifies, with the white house responding to a report that claims the president thinks his gop rival may tap four-star general david p

fox's nicole collins is live in the new orleans area. how are things there tonight, of course on, this seventh anniversary of katrina? >> reporter: yeah, brian, things are still a little questionable here as this storm moves towards the plains state. we're catching the back end of it. so those outer bands, we're catching gusts of winds and downpouring of rain intermittently, but the real issue is in southeastern louisiana, plaquemines parish where some homes are almost under water. officials say some of the damage there is even worse than in hurricane katrina. >> isaac was a test to levees and buildings battered by hurricane katrina seven years ago today. the mayor of new orleans says the levee system is holding exactly as it was expected to do. the flooding is much less severe than in 2005, but some of the katrina's survivors are taking no chances. the boat ravage casino closed tonight as a precaution. >> you know, if something would give it an oomph, 5 miles an hour, not going to go far. >> it went up to 6 miles an hour at 11:00. they

fox's nicole collins has more from the big easy for us. >> reporter: hurricane isaac is here. the biggest threat, massive flooding. hurricane isaac makes landfall with waves crashing into the shoreline after the storm traveled through the gulf of mexico. isaac reaching hurricane status increasing in strength before reaching land. residents along the coast being urged to leave for higher ground by president obama and local authorities. >> we continue to urge anyone living in low-lying areas to evacuate. even if an order hasn't been issued for your area, even if it is not mandatory, we are saying now it is time to evacuate those low-lying areas. >> reporter: but some deciding to stay as the storm hits land on the eve of hurricane katrina's seventh anniversary. >> we have a generator, thank god. after katrina, that was one of the thens we d so if we do lose power, we have a generator to get us through the next couple of days. >> reporter: since katrina, the army corps of engineers reinforced the levee system that failed new orleans in 2005. and the red cross is on the ground usin

. >> reporter: in washington, nicole collins. >>> more details now, cia director patreas is denying rumors of his name being on the top ticket -- petraeus. he was mentioned this morning as a potential running mate. hours later a spokesman issued a statement saying petraeus is not seeking office. >>> martell has been named the new chief of police. he worked for the antioch police department and was a military police officer in the army. martell has 28 years of law enforcement experience. >>> new photos from mars. plus a warning about candy that can be dangerous and what one the group is doing to get them recalled. >> just how hot we expect to get and how long it will last coming up. >> a first new video as the circus's biggest acts come to town why they were greeted by protesters. >>> new video tonight of the circus arriving in town. wringling bros staged their elephant watch. activists were also standing by shooting video as the animals walked into the coliseum. for the next several days the circus animals will call oracle arena home. >>> nasa's curiousty rover has sent back several images

. >> reporter: in washington, nicole collins. >>> more details now, cia director patreas is denying rumorss name being on the top ticket -- petraeus. he was mentioned this morning as a potential running mate. hours later a spokesman issued a statement saying petraeus is not seeking office. >>> martell has been named the new chief of police. he worked for the antioch police department and was a military police officer in the army. martell has 28 years of law enforcement experience. >>> new photos from mars. plus a warning about candy that can be dangerous and what one the group is doing to get them recalled. >> just how hot we expect to get and how long it will last coming up. ♪ here we go! ♪ ♪ you're not doing what i think you're doing? yeah, i am. ♪ [ male announcer ] "the expendables 2." rated r. in theaters august 17th. >>> new video tonight of the circus arriving in town. wringling bros staged their elephant watch. activists were also standing by shooting video as the animals walked into the coliseum. for the next several days the circus animals will call oracle arena home. >>> nasa's

. >>> nicole collins live in florida.at threat from isaac denying events from the national convention. we ha doug luzader has the latest on the changes. >>> they are already hitting here. the rain kicked up noticeably over the past few minutes. we are getting winds that kind of thing but take a look to the right. >> we went inside yesterday we are going through the whole process they are going through dress rehearsals getting everything ready for the convention. it had to be delayed for at least a day because convention organizers have to have flexibility. >> we couldn't be assured with the huge buses over the bridges between clear water and tampa. that was the first thing. the second thing is the secret service took down the tents in the forum. >> it will be a mess no question. as far as the schedule is concerned everybody gets pushed back a day. spent a good part of the weekend getting ready for that. ing it it is a final best chance to reintroduce himself to the american public. >> remember the popeye line i am what i

fox's nicole collins joining us live from new orleans and ier being with us. describe the conditions you're experiencing. >> reporter: i'm hearing new orleans. i am saying higher ground. some downed trees here and some signage being damaged and that is a big thing across up to. also, you can see the stop sign here. not as dramatic as in the southeastern part of the state where some homes are up to the roofs in water. what this shows us is this levee system re-enforced after hurricane katrina is holding up that investment the federal government put into that and there is some good news there and into plaquemines parish, an 18-mile stretch of one levee was over top and not breached. that led to massive flooding in the areas and dozens have been forced to climb into their attics and roofs for rescue and we don't know the extent of how many people are in trouble. officials can't get to every hour. the winds are going in the 50 miles per hour range. and they can't get out until those winds die down. until the rains die down. we don't know when that will happen. >>

fox's nicole collins is live in pensacola, florida with the latest.ood morning. >> reporter: good morning. we saw lines like that here in pensacola beach as well. gas running out. certain supplies running out. but everyone here trying to take precautions, trying do what is best to get ready before this tropical storm or potential hurricane makes impact here. we are under a local state of emergency and shelters are set to open first thing in the morning. isaac leaving behind a path of destruction on some caribbean islands. now, it is head to the continental u.s. with parts of south florida already getting soaked. the storm is projected to gain strength and strike the gulf coast in the coming days. >> hurricane warning is now in effect from east of morgan city eastward to destin, florida. >> reporter: in pensacola, beach house residents taking precautions boarding up with hurricane shutters. we are staying here to take care of our property. >> reporter: along pensacola beach sunday, some locals spent part of the day enjoying the surf and sand. >> we've

nicole collins, fox news. >> we're told the storm has pushed water over an 18-mile levee, so much so it's putting so much strain on that engineers down there are thinking about puncturing a hole in the wall to relieve the strain. we'll stay on top of that developing story angle. >> in the meantime you're tracking this thing. it's not going anywhere. >> it has barely moved. people cannot believe it hasn't budged, but it's blocked by high pressure to the north. this impressive radar picture still really looks like the strong tropical storm it is. notice how so much of the rain is east of new orleans, very strong feeder bands going into biloxi and mobile. they've had rain coming up on 10 inches. we've seen unofficial reports of 18 and 20 in localized areas in new orleans itself. it is 30 miles south of baton rouge now and 60 miles west of new orleans. that's pretty much where it was at 6:00. so it's officially moving northwest at 5 miles an hour. it's all but stationary for all intents and purposes and inland flooding will be a big deal. so what is next? we believe that in 24 hours it m

. >> gretchen: nicole collins joins you live. how are things look down there?south than we are. >> yeah. we're actually more north and to the west right on the florida panhandle there, about an hour east of mobile. the wind really picking up this morning. the temperatures are dropping here. the sun starting to come up. we're hoping you can see better what's going on behind me. the wind whipping the grass there and that weather warning flag, that's at a medium level, indicative of how people here feel. they take this somewhat seriously. they are preparing, but they're not evacuating necessarily just yet. although voluntarily evictions were recommended last night. we also know that shelters will open in three hours. officials certainly preparing as we understand, tropical storm force winds are expected later this evening. hurricane conditions expected here within the next 36 hours. steve, gretchen, brian. >> brian: thank you very much. two minutes after the hour. we have to go to more news regarding the tropical storm, which could turn into a hurricane. >> gretch

fox's nicole collins is live on capitol hill with the top story. >> reporter: good morning tony. medicare now gaining traction this week with voters as a new poll shows 73% of adults say the issue will heavily influence their choice in november. making it personal. mitt romney's running mate paul ryan takes his 78-year-old mother on the campaign trail saturday. pitching medicare reform at the villages. a retirement community in florida an important swing state in the election. >> mitt romney and i will protect and strengthen medicare leave it intact for our current seniors and save it for the next generation. [ applause ] >> reporter: romney and ryan argue president obama is raiding the medicare trust fund to pay for his health care law while the president says the republicans want to turn medicare into a voucher program. >> the budget office says if you do that, seniors on average will see costs rise by $6,400 per year. >> reporter: romney illustrated his medicare message for reporters in south carolina before addressing an unsubstantiated charge he avoided paying taxes for a de