News Briefs

Isaac Soaks Gulf Coast

Hurricane Isaac made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Louisiana Tuesday, Aug. 28.
Its slow, rainy march through the state is expected to have caused as much as $1.5 billion in insured losses, according to a CNN article.

Isaac pales in comparison to Katrina, the 2005 hurricane that made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane and which was recorded as the sixth strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. Nevertheless, Isaac wreaked havoc on residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas.

According to CNN, more than 644,000 people were left without power following the storm, while some 100 residents had to be rescued from flooded homes and rooftops in coastal Plaquemines Parish.

CNN reported that the storm could have also caused more than $500 million in damages to off-shore energy production.

Isaac continued to work its way up the Mississippi River, bringing heavy rain and the threat of flash floods, until it was downgraded to a tropical depression. At this point, the National Hurricane Center stopped issuing updates on the storm.

Lynchburg residents should prepare to be soaked by remnants of Isaac on Monday through Wednesday as it continues to move up through the country.

Clint Eastwood Steals Thunder at RNC

The Republican National Convention drew to a close Thursday, Aug. 20, when Mitt Romney accepted the long-anticipated nomination as his party’s candidate for president.

In an unexpected turn of events, award-winning actor, director, producer and composer Clint Eastwood delivered a surprise speech that captured the attention of the audience and stole some thunder.

In the speech, Eastwood spoke to an imaginary Obama sitting in an empty chair next to the podium. He addressed many of the promises that were made by Obama during his campaign that have failed to come to fruition in his time as president.

“So, Mr. President, how do you handle promises that you have made when you were running for election, and how do you handle them?” Eastwood said.

“I’ve been to eight conventions. That is the best moment I’ve ever been to at a convention,” Time Magazine Humor Columnist Joel Stein said in a CNN article.
The speech directed to the empty chair left Stein wondering how the Romney Campaign allowed it to happen.

“They’re such a scripted group,” Stein said in the report. “I’d love to hear the pitch that he made where everyone said, ‘Yes, let’s do that.’”