Image: Chron.com
Tropical storm Isaac is making its way across the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to hit from the far western part of the Florida Panhandle to New Orleans, which is remembering the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina tomorrow. By the time it reaches land, Isaac is expected to be a category one hurricane. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are all preparing, with states of emergency declared. Oil production has been trimmed by 25 percent in the Gulf and natural gas production by eight percent. Oil prices have increased as a result.
Tropical storm Isaac has already wreaked havoc on the Republican National Convention, which has postponed all but today’s banging of the gavel to open the event. RNC chairman Reince Priebus (who got his you-know-what handed to him this morning by Chris Matthews on Morning Joe over Mitt Romney’s awful birther joke on Friday) says he believes the storm is an important story to follow, but stands by the Republican message and its ability to get out to a distracted public. Separately, Romney spoke with Politico about how he would govern, saying BET’s CEO Debra Lee is a model, but couldn’t remember her name. Yikes.
The Expendables took the top spot over the weak box-office weekend. The lull is “typical” for this time of year, says Bloomberg, but the low returns were exacerbated by the lack of a surprise blockbuster. The one surprise the weekend offered was the success of an anti-Obama documentary, 2016: Obama’s America, which has been out for a couple of months but just went into wide release. It beat the new horror flick, The Apparition, and nearly beat out the new Joseph Gordon-Levitt bike messenger movie Premium Rush.
Victoria’s Secret is being sued for $15 million by hosiery maker Zephyr’s for featuring photos of the company’s product on Victoria’s Secret packaging, but selling cheap knock-offs.
The first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, died over the weekend at the age of 82. He succumbed to complications following heart bypass surgery. He walked on the moon on July 20, 1969.
