last week's republican convention. a mandatory evacuation in louisiana st. tammany's parish. north of new orleans. the evacuation covers 12 miles from the towns of push to himry. the evacuation orders is being issued because the river is expected to crest by monday more than 18 feet and could rise even higher. >> why is it -- >> syria's rebels, claiming a major prize in their fight for the country. the free sir yn army says it seized an air defense headquarters in the eastern part of the nation. rebels laid siege for 11 days before attacking. officers say the move was tactical to prevent airstrikes. an apology from the company that makes the thalidomide. it caused thousands of birth defects in the 1950s and 60s. the maker said he rejects the tragic side effects and admits his company has been silent in the 50 years since it was pulled off the market. the head of the survivor's group says an apology after all these years is not enough. >> into the air. floats it to the back of the end zone. caught. >> penn state football. first game of the new season today. first game sense the death of long time head coach joe paterno and they lost to ohio university. not ohio state. but ohio university. the once dominant penn state program was punished heavily by ncaa sanctions following jerry san dus can i's sex abuse conviction. one. world's great song writers passed away. hall david's song include "rain drops keep falling on my head" and "what the world needs now is love." 90-year-old died today in los angeles from complications after stroke. live pictures from sioux city, iowa. barack obama making a campaign stop in an important swing state. sioux city on the northwestern portion of the state. iowa, world famous for its caucuses but also important this time around for nine states that are considered toss-ups right new. we will have more a little bit later from shannon trent -- let's listen to what he has it say as he said good-bye. excellent timing. as soon as i stop talking, the president stopped talking. the president made his pitch to the middle class. all part of the lead-up to the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina. preparations are under way. and we will take you to charlotte next. if you made a list of countries from around the world... ...with the best math scores. ...the united states would be on that list. in 25th place. let's raise academic standards across the nation. let's get back to the head of the class. let's solve this. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number store's biggest sale of the year. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. never tried this before. this is your body there. you can see a little more pressure in the hips. take it up one notch. oh gosh, yes. when you're playing around with that remote, you get that moment where you go, "oh yeah" oh, yeah! ... and it's perfect. right now, every sleep number bed is on sale. queen mattresses now start at just $599. and for one week only, save an incredible 50% on our silver limited edition bed-but only through labor day and only while supplies last. once you experience it, there's no going back. wow. don't miss the biggest sale of the year on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. special offer ends labor day. only at one place: one of our 400 sleep number stores. the battle ground states trying to build momentum heading into the democratic national convention. shannon travis joins me now from charlotte north carolina. shannon, thanks for joining us. we heard a lot of talk going into the republican national convention about trying to humanize mitt romney. what's the major goal for the democrats this week? >> yeah, i mean, when you think about it, it almost highlights the mitt romney and a lot of people are introduced to him. not so much for obama. he's been the president for a number 6 years now. a lot of people know his biographies, his life story. so the plan according to democratic officials in this convention for the president is to make the case for reelection. we haven't seen any speeches, gary, obviously. but you can expect for democratic officials to file and basically play up what they see as economic growth that's happened under president obama, even given the sour economy. you expect for them -- we expect for them to play up the nation's healthcare law and say it is helping people, even though it is demonized by republican opponents. you can also expect them to play up the president's national security record. especially with the capture, with the killing of osama bin laden. so those are some of the things that you will see stressed throughout this entire week during the democratic convention as they make their case for reelection as the president, gary. >> shannon, the republican convention became a three day convention because of isaac. the democratic convention plans to be three days, tuesday, wednesday, thursday. but i assume as soon as it is over thursday, the president and vice president will hit the road. where are they going after the convention? >> it is all about momentum, right? not wasting time, getting right back on the campaign trail. the four of them, and by four, i mean president, vice president, and their wives, will head to new hampshire on friday. then they split up for the weekend, saturday and sunday. the president is going to florida. vice president biden is going to ohio. again, crucial battle ground states. two of them at each side wants to win badly, gary. >> you mention new hampshire, ohio, florida. i've count owned our cnn elector yl maps, there are nine states nine states that are battle ground elector yl state. these battle ground states are crucial, right? >> you might see them go on to the other 41 states to fund raise. but in terms of rallying and rallying the masses, just keep an eye on those battle ground states. if you live there, you've seen an inundags of campaign ads, campaign visits, whetherer is gates or themselves, they have to win those states to gain the presidency. >> we can't forget about fund-raising, shannon travis. shannon, stay with us. we will come back to you at the bottom of the hour. shannon travis from the cite site of the dnc, charlotte, florj carolina. dangers are lingering. a mandatory evacuation order has been announced in louisiana even though isaac is gone. a live update, next. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor. i'm committed to making a difference in people's lives, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. syou know, i've helped a lot off people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. (sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep? (sfx: loud thud sound) what a strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ♪ i can do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere ♪ i can go anywhere today ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announcer ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that doesn't taste gluten free. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. solutionism. the new optimism. we are tracking a mandatory evacuation order near louisiana's pearl river. people there are urged to leave right now. because a lock failure is believe end to imminent on the pearl river diversion canal. rivers are swollen from isaac's downpour. meteorologist karen mcbegin us is following the story. karen? >> yes, this is in imminent danger of failing. they are taking people out. this is this region right here. here is new orleans. you just have to go right across the lake. let's zoom in across there area. that diversion canal along the pearl river and they are saying that from lock two right around here, extending down to lock 1, in the vicinity of hickory, they are saying that lock 2 is in imminent danger of failing and for people to get out of that area immediately. this is because in some parts of louisiana, they have seen more than 20 inches of rain fall, thanks to what happened with hurricane isaac. right now, we are also staying on top of the some of the tornadic activity that seems to be erupting across the midwest. the central mississippi river valley and these red shaded areas, that's where we have tornado watches, lesser across central illinois. we get down towards missouri and kentucky, into paducah. we are looking at the possibility of tornadoes. even into memphis and northern section of arkansas. but most of these tornadoes, associated with the squaw lines, which ordinarily would have been feeder bands withler cane isaac, have spawned up a few reports of isolated tornadoes. there was some minor damage but no report of any injuryes. over the next several days, what we ever looking at and what we can count on, primarily east of the mississippi river valley and i emphasize that because to the west of mississippi they are in desperate need of moisture. farmers and growers there. now all we can expect it is moisture for the winter wheat crops. if you look across the ohio river valley, we are expecting between four to six possibly isolated areas of as much as six inches of rain fall as we go into the next 48 hours. this isn't strictly due it remnants of isaac. associated with the funnel system and remnants are isaac as it waves towards the east. temperatures in new orleans, it's 88. but take a look at what the heat index is showing us. we had seen the heat indices up around 100 to 105. right now, it feels like 99 degrees in new orleans. i just checked the number of people without power in new orleans. and they are saying right around 110,000. just in the new orleans. but throughout the entire state, roughly 380,000. most of them will be back in full-service as we go into monday. but perhaps some left over going into wednesday. so gary, not completely out of the woods. but isaac was just this pest that continues to affect a good portion of louisiana. with this evacuation now along the diversion canal. canal number 6 or lock number 2, i should say. but also into the ohio river valley where the rain fall could come down very heavy the next several days and the potential for tornadoes. >> a brutal and difficult labor day for many. karen, thank you very much. people are struggling with the aftereffects of isaac. people's precious belongs and their pets, and as you just heard a new evacuation order has people on the move again. george, thank you for joining us. what are you hearing about the mandatory evacuation a little north in st. tammany's parish? >> you know, gary, again we are talking about hundreds of homes that could be effected by this. as you heard a moment ago, between locks 1 an 2 on the pearl river, this river is above flood stage. right around 16 feet ppt river just above 18 feet from last we checked and expected to crest right around monday. so mandatory evacuation and officials are even using reverse 911 to reach people to make sure that they get out of the way. >> george, if we try it wait it pump it out, it'll take weeks if not months. by breeching the levy in strategic areas in low-lying areas, we will get the bulk of this water out in five to seven days, hopefully. some projections are 16 to 17 days. but we are going to breach it in many loeks to do the best job we can to get the east and west bank dry. >> gary, so i want to set that up, what you just heard there. we heard from the president of plaqueman's parish. he is talking about the situation just on the other side of the river. you can see the levy right over there. on the other side of the levy within gary, you find these neighborhoods that are under water. we are talking about the storm surge, up to 14 feet of water. that certainly was much more than the eight-foot high levees over there. so officials are taking time to pump out the water. they are doing that. but as you heard he is also doing controlled breeches along the levy there. i also want to speak with gina meyer. you live over there. you just came back. i want you to tell people kind of the situation over there what what you saw. >> the water is receding. the highest it got, 14 feet in my house, i'm six foot off the ground. about two, three feet in my house. everything's topsy-turvey upside down. majority of my sentimental things are still hanging on walls and are safe but any house is in bad shape. >> gina, i went over there and i saw so many homes in that situation. you went through katrina? >> digo through katrina. but we only got about three and half foot of water where we live. it did not get in my house. wind damage i have from katrina. >> you get this sense of resilience for people who have lived through this and began through this. i'm sure, many people ask, how do you start that process to start over. >> trust in god. rely on your family. and it is not just the people who are blood related to you. it is the people you have grown up with. all your life. and that's what gets you through something like this. gina, thank you. thank you for taking time with us. >> thank you. >> gary, i also want it bring attention to one other situation that i learned from the president of plaquemann's parish. he said there a plant on the other side of the river, a plant where there may be a leak of hazardous materials. shrieking into that. officials are paying very close attention to it. but what you see today, that process of trying to get as much water out of that area and trying to get people back to their homes, to see where they will have to start over. gary? >> george, seven years ago i was thereafter hurricane katrina. it was destroyed. and i wondered how are tle going to rebuild this place. they did successfully. now they are going through it again, those poor people. george, thank you for reporting their story. good seeing you? >> thank you. >> as we've been reporting, a mandatory evacuation under louisiana, part of st. tammany's pair parn lk failure is about to happen on the pearl river diversion canal. suzanne with the parish government, what is the latest on that evacuation order? >> we have received permission from the army corps of engineers to begin relieve efforts in an attempt to prevent the failure. we have opened some valves. we are beginning to relief some of the pressure and we are hopefully. however, the mandatory evacuation is still in place. we cannot -- we cannot determine total -- we continue determine we have yet been successful but we are taking steps to prevent it. >> my understanding is that pearl river is expected to crest monday. cot evacuation area get bigger between now and monday? >> we certainly hope not. we are actually talking, the pearl river diversion canal is a little bit to the west of the pearl and the west pearl rivers. so this is a man made canal with locks in it that was dug some years ago. and it is one of those locks that is beginning to stay open that is causing mandatory evacuation. at the same time, we have a watch on the pearl river and the west river river. the west pearl is supposed to crest sometime late sunday into monday at perhaps record heights. and so we are watching that entire area. so we are asking a much wider area to be watchful of the pearl and the west pearl. but at this moment, our specific concern is between locks 1 and 2 on the pearl river diversionnary canal. >> suzanne, can you explain to some of us land lovers, what a lock does? >> a lock allows a boat to glo go from different level fles a river or canal from one to the other. just as for instance, the most famous would be, of course, the panama canal where you enter and go through a system of locks, you connect water bodies that are of different levels. >> suzanne -- >> this allows for boat traffic or commercial traffic to go through there. at one time this was a commercial -- a commercial waterway. >> i didn't mean to put you on the spot, suzanne, but you explained that extraordinary well. i wish you all all of the resident of your parish good luck. >> thank you. >> the president of the united states spoke just a short time ago, and we will take a listen to what president is saying on his bus tour as he heads to the democratic national convention in charlotte. that's coming up next. >> you don't have to be in front after television to watch thn. can you do what i do, to stay connected, watch from a cell phone or compute are at your work. go to cnn.com/tv. this man is about to be the millionth customer. would you mind if i go ahead of you? 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[ male announcer ] treat yourself to the ultimate sleep experience and save up to $400 during the tempur ergo savings event. plus visit tempurpedic.com for full details on our 0% apr financing with up to five years to pay. don't wait. the tempur ergo savings event ends october 14th. and five-year special financing ends september 5th. visit tempurpedic.com now. tempur-pedic. the most highly recommended bed in america. i'm gary tuchman sitting in tonight for don lemon. it is 26 minutes precisely after the hour. let's get you up to speed. president obama making two stops in iowa today as part of his road to charlotte tour tour. pushing ahead to the democratic national convention which starts tuesday. he called the republican plan, quote, an agenda better suited for last century. unquote. we will have more from the event he just wrapped up in just a moment. anyone who hasn't left the southern part of louisiana st. tammany parish is being evacuated. officials warn a lock on the pearl river diversion ka flal could fail at any minute. evacuation covers about 12 miles from the tunes of bush to the town of hickory. the river is expected to crest early monday. taliban is claiming victory for a you too side bombing killing 13 in afghanistan today. one bomber attacked a joint u.s. military base on foot before another detonated a truck bomb. no service members were killed in the attack. penn state football off to a disappointing start to the first post joe paterno season. th new era for the lions. a team they haven't played since 1974, i'm told. either way, they did not expect a also today. they were hammered with ncaa sanctions after the jerry sandusky sex abuse scandal. the horror flick universe is all in atlanta for the festival of all things nerdy. it is called dragon con. shuffling down the street with supe