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Flood Traps Family In Attic; Isaac Weakens Slightly; Isaac Stalls, Swamps Gulf Coast; Isaac Tests New Orleans Improved Levees; Pending Home Sales Highest In Two Years; Republicans Announce Their Platform; Ryan Set To Speak To RNC

Aired August 29, 2012 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thank you so much for joining me this morning. I'm Carol Costello. A special edition of NEWSROOM.

We are watching two stories unfolding this hour, Mitt Romney and the Republican nomination, but this morning the buzz is about who really stole the show. The first Hurricane Isaac unloads its fury. Flood waters are rising and rescues lagging far behind.

So let's quickly bring you up to speed on Isaac and the widespread flooding that's dredging up painful memories of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina struck seven years ago today.

Right now, Hurricane Isaac is over Louisiana and it is barely moving, dumping massive amounts of rain. Some areas could see two feet of rain when all is said and done.

Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans, floodwaters are washing over a levee and swallowing homes. In some areas, the water is 14 feet deep and it's rising.

This morning, we are going to hear from one family that did not heed the warnings to evacuate the parish. Floodwaters have chased them to their attic where they remain stranded with their baby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE ODDO, TRAPPED IN ATTIC (via telephone): Right now, I'm in my attic with my wife and my year and a half-year-old baby. The local police came around about 2:00 in the morning and told us the levee broke. Within an hour, water was coming up.

I barely got my vehicle to the levee. The real levee is dry. But the water came up so quick. It looks like we lost everything. If I have to, I'm going have to shoot a hole in the attic to get out on the roof.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The family, at last check, still waiting to be rescued. According to the parish president, they may be waiting for quite some time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUEMINES PARISH (via telephone): We are trying to get a few people that stayed behind out. The roads are completely impassable. There are a couple people stuck on the roads.

We hope in the storm we wouldn't stay out there that long. We keep pumping the water up on the levee. There's only so much it can take. Not only did we see the worst case scenario, it got worse than that. All of it came out there. So, the levee's can only take so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Meteorologist Rob Marciano is in New Orleans. So Rob, the New Orleans new levee system, which is different from Plaquemines Parish levee system, is it keeping up with the storm?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, so far, so good. Talking with the Army Core of Engineers and city officials --

COSTELLO: I knew we lost him. It's hard to maintain a live shot in the middle of a hurricane. Go ahead, Rob, we can hear you again.

MARCIANO: You got me? All right, so --

COSTELLO: I think it's going to be like that all day. Let's head over to the weather center and check in with Jennifer Delgado. There's a bit of bright news.

JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we are seeing some improvement out of the system and the fact that it is weakening. We do have a new advisory from the National Hurricane Center that came out moments ago.

We do know now it is 75 miles per hour. As I show you on the graphic here and as we start off on the graphic, right now, the wind is at 75. It's going to be moving very slowly, Carol.

We saw Rob's live shot. You have to keep in mind. He's located roughly 40 miles from the center of circulation so very gusty conditions. Hurricane conditions are going to continue across that region as we throughout the afternoon.

I want to point out to you. It's not going to be moving very much. The center of circulation is not going to exit out of Louisiana it looks like until Friday. That's when it starts to approach parts of Southern Arkansas.

Now, the winds we saw in Rob's live shot go down, 60, 70, 67. So certainly, conditions are gusty there. But as we take you back over to the radar, I want to point out very quickly. We do have two tornado warnings in place.

You can see for areas we do know now in the north eastern part of Mississippi, anywhere you are seeing this Fuschia box, we will look at potential for storms to -- I should say some of the storms produce tornadoes.

We certainly want to make sure you are at low ground because we do have a tornado watch in place for really until 4:00 this afternoon -- Carol. We are talking Central Time.

COSTELLO: We are talking Central Time.

DELGADO: A lot of rain headed this way.

COSTELLO: A lot of rain, but the storm is weakening?

DELGADO: It is weakening and the wind event is going to expire, but the rain and the flooding is going to last through tomorrow. That's really going to be the big story. Ten to 20 inches, Carol, of course some of these areas with high tide storm surge is going to make matters worse.

COSTELLO: OK, let's try to go back out to New Orleans where Rob Marciano is. Hi, Rob?

MARCIANO: Hi, Carol. Yes, you know, the wind around this structure are certainly swirling and gusting. Our satellite truck is here in a corner. There are times when the wind sweeps around this corner and literally lifts the truck up by its tail, and that's when we get knocked off.

In the northern part of the Port of New Orleans, it's obviously shutdown. This is a facility that not only houses a massive amount of Mardigras gear, but also likely entertained Mardigras balls, weddings, other big events inside and outside.

This is the outside structure. Steel beams that are bolted down to the concrete. You wouldn't expect those to move. You obviously expect the canvas to be ripped off. In some cases the steel beams have been lifted up.

We are keeping an eye on that. We don't expect it to last too much longer. Winds switched. Here is the river. Winds were going this way last night pushing the water up river against the flow. Now winds are coming out of the east.

You can actually see white caps there coming out of the east and bashing up this side of the wall. By the way, the river up here is not going to over top. The levee that protects the city of New Orleans is not going to over top.

The flow is pretty low to begin with. The levee that surrounds the city that's been beefed up by the feds is holding up fine, from what we have been told, the pumping system holding up fine.

Lots of flooded streets. We are going to continue to see that. There's lots of debris on the roads, trees down, power lines down, over 70 percent of the city without power. We'll continue to see that especially with these winds.

But as far as what's going on in Plaquemines Parish, outside of the (inaudible) they are privately held levees that are lower for the most part. They have been overtopped and continue to be overtopped.

Hopefully, they don't go to a full out breach where we get a hole. Then we are talking another scenario. But there are several people still down there. They are trapped in some cases.

I talked with the Coast Guard, the guys that gave me a lift the other day. They are coordinating rescue missions they can't fly this stuff. They need winds to be less than 50 miles per hour.

Visibility has to be better. Those choppers are on the ground and are not going anywhere until the winds and rain begin to lighten up. It's not going to happen anytime too soon -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Rob Marciano, I'm glad we got the chance to talk to you. Thank you.

I want to talk more about New Orleans and the levees. Retired Army General Russell Honore joins me now via Skype from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As you know, he coordinated the military response in the wake of Katrina. Hi, General.

LT. GENERAL RUSSELL HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RETIRED): Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, so we have been talking about this family trapped in their attic in Plaquemines Parish. We here a baby crying in the background. There was a mandatory evacuation for Plaquemines Parish. So when you hear stories like that, what goes through your mind?

HONORE: Most unfortunate. I feel sorry for them. The bright side of this is they have some of the best boats men in the world there in Plaquemines Parish. I'm sure if they can they are going to get to them.

There's probably going to be volunteers there in the neighborhood that's going to get them, Carol. You just heard there are reports from the Coast Guard. But I'm sure as soon as they can those local fishermen are going to get in and get them out.

COSTELLO: I hope so. The man said he was going to shoot a hole in the attic. What did he mean by that?

HONORE: Well, there were reports people did that during Hurricane Katrina. They didn't have an ax. They would shoot through the ceiling to try to get out.

It's probably another thing we recommend, if you are in a shelter, have a capacity to get to the ceiling and have the capacity to cut through that roof. So he's been having a bad day.

COSTELLO: He certainly is. I hope rescue workers get to him soon. But you are right. They do a great job down there in New Orleans.

Let's talk about the levees in Plaquemines Parish. The water has gone over top the levees. If the pressure continues to build, they would breech. Why did Plaquemines Parish decide to build these levees on its own?

HONORE: Well, Plaquemines Parish like many places in the United States when you look at the floodplains along the Mississippi River and Florida, they have developed lands in what all of our previous generations knew as floodplains.

That being said, that's local, that's local parish and county officials approving that structure to be built there. It's no wonder when you get a good price on the lot, get flood insurance on it.

I doubt any of those homes have flood insurance. They are not protected by a levee system. They are in a flood zone. That being said, I hope they're able to help people and do something for them. But that is not the only place in the United States we have that problem right now.

COSTELLO: So the levees in New Orleans, the ones built by the Army Corps of Engineers funded by the federal government. From your vantage point, how are they working?

HONORE: They are doing a great job right based on what we have, this storm hanging around and continuing to push that water. Right now, the tidal surge has not challenged the levees. We are better off than we were in Gustav and I think we are 100 percent better off than we were in Katrina.

But remember, Carol, this time, seven years ago, I can remember sitting there and I went back to look at the time line for Katrina and what we were doing and first army at the time.

We thought New Orleans dodged the bullet. Sometime later, we figured out there was a breach. We have a lot of storm left to deal with. Everyone has to stay and listen to what the government is telling them. Hunker down, stay in place. Look out for your neighbors.

COSTELLO: General Honore, thank you so much for being here with us this morning. Thank you.

HONORE: Good day.

COSTELLO: OK, let's head to Coastal Mississippi now because much of that area is already dealing with flooding. It may be about to get much worse. This hour, the storm surge is expected to roll in. David Mattingly is on the beach in Gulfport. David, how is it looking?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, right now caught in the middle of a little bit of traffic here. Come on through. This road is supposed to be closed. This is all news media coming in because the blue lights are telling them to get off this road.

The reason for that is right back here. The Gulf of Mexico, very churned up right now. What's happening is high tide is less than an hour away. Already, we are -- we are seeing some of these waves hit the floodwall or hit the seawall and splash over it.

A city park a couple blocks down has a lot of water in it right now. So their concern as we reach high tide. We will see more of the gulf on Highway 98 here. They have extended the curfew that was in effect for Gulfport all the way until noon.

That tells you they think this storm is going to be around and causing problems for hours yet before they can allow people to be out of their homes. Right now, I feel like I'm being attacked by a swarm of bees.

The rain is coming in really strong. It's stinging as it blows up against you and hits your skin. But, every hour, I think I'm going to be able to stand here and tell you it seems to be getting better.

You can look around me and see what's happening now. It's just the same as it's been since midnight last night. It just won't quit -- Carol.

COSTELLO: David Mattingly, stay safe. Thank you so much. Let's turn to Jennifer Delgado now. More trouble for Mississippi besides just the rain.

DELGADO: Absolutely now we do have a tornado warning is in place and it looks like it's going to expire at 9:15 Central Time zone. But, Carol, we are going to see the threat for tornadoes throughout the day in addition to the heavy rainfall.

Of course, the strong winds when we get these tropical systems coming through. Of course, we see these tornadoes popping up. I think we have the graphic and maybe we can show you. Anywhere you are seeing the pink box is where the tornado warning is in place.

If you notice, our reporter came out of Gulfport. It is including Gulfport, but it looks like for the next couple of minutes, 9:15 Central Time. They have one a couple of hours ago.

So a lot of the people and the residents there, they are worried about the flooding, but they also need to pay close attention for the potential of tornadoes. We have a tornado watch in place until 4:00 for a good part of the northern gulf coast.

That includes Louisiana, of course, Mississippi into Alabama. So you really want to make sure you are in a steady structure, especially with this threat out there.

COSTELLO: Jennifer, thank you. You can get the latest information on Hurricane Isaac including satellite and a forecast track at cnn.com/hurricane. If you are in the path of the hurricane, we invite you to share your photos and video at cnnireport.com.

The GOP convention last night was marked by a rousing speech from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: If you are willing to stand-up with me for America's future, I will stand-up with you. If you are willing to fight with me for Mitt Romney, I will fight with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But it's not just about what he said. It's also about when he said it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A lot happening this morning. It's 17 minutes past the hour. New housing numbers just into the NEWSROOM. Maribel Aber is at the New York Stock Exchange to break those numbers down. Good morning.

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning, Carol. This is what we have. Pending home sales rose in July to the highest level in over two years jumping 2.4 percent last month. This is a forward looking indicator based on contract signing.

So what it tells us is what future sales reports may look like and it came in better than expected. Economists thought the number would remain unchanged. The pending sales have now posted 15 straight months of year over year increases.

So this, Carol, follows a report we got yesterday on home prices. Now it showed home prices posted a nice rebound in the second quarter rising almost 7 percent between April and June so we may be looking at the long awaited recovery in housing.

You know, near record low mortgage rates are big incentive these days and there's also some pent-up demand. But, you know, Carol, we have a long way to go here. There's still a huge of unsold homes on the market.

It's still tough for a lot of Americans to qualify for credit to buy these homes. I'm hearing a lot of these, Carol.

COSTELLO: I have heard a lot of it too. I have been through it myself. Maribel Aber, thank you so much.

Now to the Republican National Convention, another big night on tap in Tampa where vice presidential candidate, Paul Ryan, will address the delegates in prime time.

But Republicans are also making some headlines for the release of their official platform. It's a list of the party's beliefs and goals over the next four years, one of the most controversial sections, abortion.

The platform on that reads in part, quote, "we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental, individual right to life, which cannot be infringed.

We support a human life amendment to the constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the 14th Amendment's protections apply to unborn children.

We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or fund organizations, which perform or advocate it and will not fund or subsidize health care that includes abortion coverage.

Mitt Romney has said his administration would allow abortions under certain circumstances, rape or incest or if it threatens the life of the mother.

But his running mate has opposed abortion. Paul Ryan probably won't be talking a lot about that tonight. He will be talking about a lot of other issues when he takes the stage.

Brooke Baldwin is in Tampa with a preview. Good morning, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning. Yes, this really is Mitt Romney's week to shine. This is the biggest audience they really have before the November 6th elections.

But I was on the floor last night, just steps away at the forum. I have to tell you. I was talking to a bunch of different delegates and I was saying who are you most excited to hear?

Number one was Chris Christie. Number two was Paul Ryan. So tonight is the night. The nominations are official. It's pitch time. This financial wonk/catfish noodle/father of three, this is his pitch of his political career. Take a look. Carol, are you with me? We were rolling a piece.

COSTELLO: We are having technical problems. We apologize. Give us a preview of what Paul Ryan might say to the delegates tonight.

BALDWIN: You know, the issue number one here is the economy. We heard from Ann Romney last night. It was her job to humanize her husband and I think talking to people here today, she achieved doing that.

With Paul Ryan, everybody talks about the Ryan budget. It's popular with the House. He's the intellectual figure head within the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives.

So I would also look for him to sort of make a nod at the national debt clock of which there are two as we talked about a couple of days ago. The national debt clock and the one that began ticking when they gavelled the convention to begin on Monday.

We are talking dollars and cents. You know, as we have been looking, Carol, at some of the polls, this is the one poll where, at least at the moment, Mitt Romney has been outpolling President Obama when it comes to the economy and fixing it.

A lot of Americans want a plan and they want specifics. Hopefully, we'll be hearing some of that tonight from Congressman Ryan -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Brooke Baldwin, thanks so much. Live in Tampa for us this morning.

You may live hundreds of miles from the gulf coast, but you may still feel the effects of Hurricane Isaac at the gas pump. Prices are spiking.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk about one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, did the GOP make a case for Mitt Romney?

Tuesday night was the night voters were to fall in love with Mitt Romney. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Ann Romney tried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANN ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S WIFE: This is important. I want you to hear what I'm going to say. Mitt doesn't like to talk about how he has helped others because he sees it as a privilege, not a political talking point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ann Romney was electric, strong and stunning. She got a standing ovation. Matt Drudge called her Mrs. America. Yet, it was clear Ann Romney loves her husband, but some say she missed an opportunity to tell us something about Mitt we didn't already know.

Peggy Noonan who wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan blog, quote, "She, Ann Romney, failed to make it new and so she failed to make it real."

As for the keynote speaker, Chris Christie, it took him almost 20 minutes to mention the presidential nominee, really. Christie's speech seemed like a showcase for his take no prisoner style than on ode to Romney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIE: Leaders today have decided it's more important to be popular, to be popular, say and do what's easy. Say yes, rather than say no when no is what is required.

The people of New Jersey stepped up, they shared in the sacrifice. You know what else they did? They rewarded politicians who led instead of politicians who pandered.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: But still the crowd loved him. It really loved Ann Romney, but, did it love Mitt? Talk back question today, did the GOP make a case for Mitt Romney? Facebook.com/carolcnn. Your responses later this hour.

For thousands of New Orleans residents, sleepless night turns into a long day. They are suffering through hours of heavy rain. There is more rain to come. We'll take you live to New Orleans and to Gulfport, Mississippi, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. I'm Carol. It is 30 minutes past the hour.

Things are deteriorating in Gulfport, Mississippi. So let's head there now.

Heavy winds, heavy rain. David Mattingly, I can see what it looks like. Tell us more.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you don't want to know what it feels like. It's really uncomfortable right now. This -- this rain is blowing in, in a way that I have not seen all night. And we've been watching this wind and rain come in, in tropical storm strengths since about midnight.

Now we keep keeping our eye on the ocean behind me. It's very angry right now. We got a high tide coming up any minute now. And we're already seeing some of those waves splashing up over the seawall behind me. That was expected.

But we just don't know exactly how high the storm surge is going to be going with the storm. And we don't know how much rainfall we're going to end up with here. They've revised the forecast to about a foot of rain to possibly, in some areas maybe 18 inches of rain.

That's just because Isaac just won't move. It just won't get out of here. Officials thought that they would be done with the storm by now and they'd be into the assessment and the clean up phase by now.

The city of Gulfport has extended its curfew which originally expired at 7:00 this morning. They have extended it until noon. If this doesn't let up, they may have to do it again. But right now, everyone is sitting back wondering how much more does Isaac have to dish out before it moves out and they can get back to putting things back together -- Carol.

COSTELLO: David Mattingly reporting live from Gulfport. Of course, they are wondering exactly the same thing in New Orleans. South of New Orleans, in Plaquemines Parish, we know of two families trapped in their homes. One man and his family, including a young baby, a year and a half old I believe, are trapped in the attic. He says he may use a gun to shoot a hole on the roof and get out to safety. You just saw pictures there of rescues going on -- rescuing people from their homes. Martin Savidge is in New Orleans. And yes, it looks pretty bad there, Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes I have to tell you, Carol, this is about the absolute worst we've felt so far. This city has been buffeted ever since all night. But definitely with sunrise, it has gotten harder and heavier to stand out on this weather.

You know that this system here and I'm talking the flood control system is coping according to the Army Corps of Engineers. That's not a concern but it's Plaquemine Parish as you pointed out. And down there what they've had is overtopping of a levee and that's created flooding in certain areas.

One of those people who was trapped with his family in a dramatic call to a local affiliate was Gene Oddo talking about what they were doing and feeling in the attic of their home. Take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GENE ODDO, TRAPPED IN ATTIC: Right now, I'm in my attic with my wife and my a year and a half old baby. The local police came around about 2:00 in the morning and told us the levee broke. And within an hour, the water was coming up. I barely got my vehicle to the levee. The real levee is dry you know at the patio but the water came up so quick. It looks like we lost everything.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Carol, your heart goes out -- you can understand the terror that family would be feeling. We hope that they've been rescued and that they are among those that were pulled out by boat. Down in that part of the state, they know that if help is going to come, it's going to be a neighbor. And somebody showing up on a jam boat we that's what happened. Because authorities said they just can't get out until the storm subsides. And we know that's going to be awhile, Carol probably until later today or maybe tomorrow.

COSTELLO: Martin Savidge reporting live from New Orleans and Martin is right about that. A lot of debris on the roadway it's tough for -- for a pick-up trucks to get through, rescue workers to go to where they need to, to rescue people. So that family in the attic they are just going to have to depend on their neighbors or maybe that man did what he said he was going to do, shoot a hole through the roof and then climb out on top and wait for help to come. We'll keep you posted.

Wherever you drive in the United States, you are being affected by Hurricane Isaac. Gas prices spiked nearly five cents overnight. People in the southeast, well, they are seeing even larger jumps at the pump.

Maribel Aber is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us why.

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol. You know, this is a huge jump here. In fact, it's the biggest one day spike in prices since February, 2011. The national average for a gallon or regulars is now $3.80. And as you mentioned, we're seeing some big jumps in the southeast. We've got prices in Kentucky and Georgia jumped eight cents overnight and five cents in Louisiana.

But I want to highlight something interesting here, the increases are actually even bigger in the Midwest which gets gas from pipelines in the Gulf. So we're talking about a 14-cent jump in Ohio and double-digit gains in Indiana and Michigan as well.

And what's really pushing up gas prices so much here well, it's the eight Gulf Coast refineries shut down or who cut back production really preparing for the storms. So those eight refineries alone account for about one-eighth of the nation's refining capacity. And it's really all about the law of supply and demand Carol, with less gas on the market prices are rising. And at this moment, this is specially so in geographic areas that get their gas from the Gulf Coast -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes I know, gas prices are going up. I bet when I get outside today, getting my car and drive down the street I'll see gas prices even higher than I did earlier this morning. Maribel thanks so much.

And you're right about the oil refineries. Big oil platform, many of them are located of the coast of Grand Isle, Louisiana. We know that area is being hit hard right now as is the Port of New Orleans. That's where Rob Marciano is right along the Mississippi River. Rob what's it like? Oh.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: -- that has been this entire storm, Carol. The consistency of the storm is remarkable. Up near Lake Pontchartrain we have wind gusts of (AUDIO GAP)

COSTELLO: I don't know. I don't know if we're going to get Rob. You know we have our satellite truck in the corner but the winds are so strong, nothing can really protect that satellite truck. Oh, I hear we got Rob back. Rob?

MARCIANO: Ok. So yes. It's another puff flipping the truck, as you mentioned. Hey the -- the winds now blowing at a different direction than yesterday. The waves on the Mississippi slapping across the side where New Orleans proper is, no problem notice this is going to stay where it is. But you know dent (AUDIO GAP) Plaquemines Parish on the east bank, that's where we are having the issues. That's where people -- (AUDIO GAP)

COSTELLO: Yes. I think we're going to wrap it up Rob Marciano. But -- but thanks for the little information you were going to pass along. We appreciate it.

Let's talk about politics now. Ann Romney gave one of the biggest speeches at the Republican National Convention last night. Was it all about politics?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANN ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S WIFE: Tonight, I want to talk to you about love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You'll hear more from Ann Romney, a woman who could become the nation's next first lady.

But first, let's check the numbers on Wall Street. You can see they are up just about five points. But still beyond that 13,000 number. We'll be back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We heard from our David Mattingly just a couple of minute ago say things were deteriorating rapidly in Gulfport, Mississippi right along the coast there. The Governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant is with David now. Take it away, David.

MATTINGLY: Thanks, Carol. Governor Phil Bryant telling me just a few minutes ago, that with everything going on he didn't want to be sitting in an office watching the results come in. He wanted to be out here to see the elements and see what was going on himself. As you're out here, looking at it what do you think?

GOV. PHIL BRYANT (R), MISSISSIPPI: Well, we're looking at the surge. Again, it could be 11 to 12 foot. You've got high tide in about 20 minutes, that's another four feet. So we're going to have 16 feet out there. And we're about 25 feet above sea level. So we ought to be good where we're at.

But what worries me is the duration of the storm. These bands come in, you get that heavy rain, we get the surge that's blocking the rivers and tributaries. And then behind it, we are hearing 48 hours of rain. That's going to -- inland is going to be a lot of flooding. So we're having to shift some resources there to prepare for that eventuality.

MATTINGLY: You're talking about the storm staying here so long. Everybody I've talked to, with all the plans they had, everything was working fine until the storm stopped moving.

BRYANT: Yes we looked at it as a Cat 2 -- we always planned for a Cat 3, or one above that. But again as they normally do, they hit and move out. But if you've got to think about Katrina, that surge, that 28-foot stayed here for six to seven hours.

So it's not the first time it's happened. But again, if it just stops if it stalls here, this is a lot of water. We've got water blocking highway 90, blocking highway 63. So we're concerned about folks in the low laying areas in the Waveland, Mississippi a beautiful town. But people may not be able to get out. We can't get boats in if someone is in there because of these hurricane conditions.

So we're working on that right now. I've got 2,200 people in our shelters. We've got 361 shelters that will take 200-mile-an-hour winds. We feel good about where we're at. We just wish the storm will move on. MATTINGLY: But the important question, how many people do you think may have ignored those evacuation warnings and might be in the Waveland area and need help right now?

BRYANT: Yes it's hard to tell. Last night, I was with the highway patrol agency and looking at some of the neighborhoods. And -- and most of them, you could tell, people in the low lying area, people were gone. Now what we're doing now is moving in highway patrol. We have about an additional 65 and moving in the National Guard to protect those homes so people can have some comfort that they've moved out and done the right thing.

MATTINGLY: Governor Phil Bryant, thank you very much. We've got hours to go on this. We'll be talking to you later.

BRYANT: You do. Long storm ahead.

MATTINGLY: That's right, back to you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks David and thank you Mr. Governor.

Let's head to the Weather Center now with Jennifer Delgado. Because as we know hurricanes spawn tornados.

JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes they do, tropical storms and whenever you're dealing with all of this moisture out there, of course, out at the center , the rotation in the air, we are seeing another area now dealing with a tornado threat.

In fact, this is a tornado warning. Anywhere you are seeing this pink shading and that is an area just north of Biloxi, roughly I'd say. about 120 miles to the north. It includes a Green County as well as parts of southwest in Green County. And this is in effect Carol until 10:15 local time. And we have been saying this all along, we are going to continue to see the threat for tornadoes throughout the afternoon.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Jennifer.

DELGADO: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: We'll be back with much more after this.

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COSTELLO: "Love" and "we built that". Ann Romney mentioned both. Her goal -- to tell the nation about her husband, Mitt Romney: the man, the husband, the father and the leader. She was also tasked last night at the Republican National Convention with convincing women there is no Republican war on women.

Many analysts say Ann Romney was electric last night. Decide for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANN ROMNEY, WIFE OF MITT ROMNEY: It's the moms who had always had to work a little harder to make everything right. It's the moms of this nation -- single, married, widowed who really hold this country together.

We are the mothers. We are the wives. We are the grandmothers. We're the big sisters. We're the little sisters and we are the daughters. You know it's true, don't you?

I love you women. And I hear your voices. There's my -- some of my favorite fans down there.

You are the ones that have to do a little bit more and you know what it's like to work a little harder during the day to earn the respect you deserve at work. And then you come home at night and help with a book report just because it has to be done.

You know what those late night phone calls with an elderly parent are like and the long weekend drives just to see how they're doing. You know the fastest route to the local emergency room and which doctors actually answer the phone call when you call at night. By the way, I know all about that.

You know what it's like to sit in that graduation ceremony and wonder how it was that so many long days turned to years that went by so quickly.

You are the best of America. You are the hope of America. There would not be an America without you. Tonight, we salute you and sing your praises.

I'm not sure if men really understand this but I don't think there's a woman in America who really expects her life to be easy. In our own ways, we all know better. You know what; that's fine. We don't want easy.

But the last few years have been harder than they needed to be. It's all the little things. The price at the pump you just can't believe. The grocery bills that just get bigger. All those things that used to be free like school sports are now one more bill to pay.

It's all the little thing that pile up to become big things. And the big things, the good jobs, the chance at college, that home you want to buy just get harder. Everything has become harder. We are too smart to know there aren't easy answers, but we're not dumb enough to accept that there aren't better answers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And that was the line of the night, at least one of them. Let's talk about Ann Romney's speech with Jackie Curtiss. She's is a Republican delegate and a member of the Alabama GOP. Welcome Jackie.

JACKIE CURTISS, REPUBLICAN DELEGATE FROM ALABAMA: Hey, thanks for having me. COSTELLO: Ok. So you are sitting in the audience. Ann Romney enters the stage, what goes through your mind?

CURTISS: I was really excited. And I know that everyone around me was excited. You know, Ann Romney is someone that we don't feel like we know that well but we want to know her better. And I think last night was really important. Her showing us who she is.

COSTELLO: She talked a lot about being a mother. Did that kind of thing resonate with you?

CURTISS: Yes. I'm not a mother, but I am a daughter and, you know, it was important to hear that message. I have friends who are young moms. And I thought that her message was really good. You know, even if you are not a mom yet, she spoke to you because you know that those are challenge that are going to come in your life.

COSTELLO: Ann Romney's other challenge was to make her husband appear the way she says he is -- a warm, compassionate, strong leader, good husband, a good father. Did you find out anything new that you didn't know about Mitt Romney from Ann Romney's speech?

CURTISS: Yes, I think she made him seem more human. Because I think a lot of people just look at Mitt Romney as a politician. Last night, we got to hear about Mitt Romney the man, Mitt Romney the father, Mitt Romney the husband. And the way that she feels about him and her faith in him and the sincerity in her voice and in her eyes when she talks about what she thinks he can do for America, I think that made other people believe it, too.

COSTELLO: I guess I was just waiting for some anecdote. I mean she talked about how they met and how their young life in college was difficult. I just -- I kind of wanted -- like give me a funny Romney story. But she didn't share that.

CURTISS: Yes. That's just not who the Romneys are. But I appreciate what she was willing to share. And you know, some of the stories that she did share about living in a basement and about Mitt Romney liking when her parents weren't around. Everyone can relate to those stories. And I think it was nice to see that side of them.

COSTELLO: I talked with one Republican voter last hour who talked about that part of Ann Romney's speech. Talked about how when they went to college, they lived in this basement apartment and they had like a desk that was on sawhorses. He kind of was perplexed by that because both of them come from wealthy backgrounds. He didn't quite buy that.

CURTISS: I think they do because just because you have wealthy parents doesn't mean they are necessarily providing everything for you. And you know, that's how my life has been. I went to school, I got a scholarship, and I, you know, worked to get through school. I think a lot of people can relate to that story.

Even if your parents are wealthy, I think a lot of people do it on their own still. COSTELLO: Jackie, thank you so much for being with us this morning, we appreciate it. Bye Jackie.

We asked you to "Talk Back" on the big story of the day. And of course, that was Ann Romney and Mitt Romney. Did the GOP make its case for Mitt Romney last night? Your responses next.

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COSTELLO: "Talk Back" question this morning, did the GOP make a case for Mitt Romney?

This from Pam, "Ann Romney is an eloquent speaker and portrayed a picture of her lifetime experiences with Mitt Romney. She effectively communicated the real reasons for his success in business, government and life."

This from Mariah, "It was like watching one of those a late night infomercials -- fabricating and exaggerating a product I don't want."

This from Bob, "They made a clear, logical and compelling case of Romney as a strong leader with a demonstrated record of success at every level as a caring, loving human being and as a person who can unite others."

And this from Jess, "They made a better case for Ann as first lady than for Mitt as president."

Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolCNN. And thanks as always for your comments.

And thank you so much for joining me on NEWSROOM today. I'm Carol Costello.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.

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