Hurricane Gustav

TAMPA, Fla. - As Republicans bowed to Tropical Storm Isaac, canceling most of their convention opening night in deference to the storm, there was some hurricane history they might have recalled. Or perhaps wished to forget. Four years ago, Hurricane Gustav slammed into Louisiana, prompting Republicans to drastically curtail the first day's session of their national convention in St. Paul, Minn. Instead of politicking, the day was devoted to fundraising and other relief efforts for storm victims.

Republicans scrambled Sunday to reshape their national convention to a more austere and less political event as Hurricane Gustav upended their plans to showcase John McCain and his new running mate, and to take apart Barack Obama in a nationally televised extravaganza. After the Democratic nominee's acceptance speech in Denver broke television records, McCain had hoped his own party's four-day gathering in St. Paul would draw attention to his agenda. He had sought to distance himself from the unpopular Republican president, buttress his image as a reform-minded maverick and connect with economically stressed Americans.

The marquee act for opening night just canceled, but some Republicans couldn't be happier. All year, Republican strategists have worried about showcasing President Bush at the Republican National Convention when his standing with the public lies at a near-record low. So, when Bush canceled his planned appearance at tonight's opening session to focus on preparations for Hurricane Gustav, there were more than a few sighs of relief. "It's a good thing," said former Rep. Dick Zimmer, the Republican candidate for Senate in New Jersey, where Bush is not especially popular.

Calling the hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast "the mother of all storms," Mayor C. Ray Nagin on Saturday night declared a mandatory evacuation of this city's more than 230,000 residents and tourists. "You need to be getting your butts moving out of New Orleans now," Nagin said of Hurricane Gustav, a storm the National Hurricane Center said could be a Category 5 -- the top intensity -- when it enters the Gulf of Mexico today. Gustav, watched closely all week by Louisianians still recovering from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, gained frightening strength Saturday.

As Hurricane Gustav bore down Sunday on New Orleans, top officials at the Army Corps of Engineers said that despite repairs and reinforcements, the 350-mile levee system still might not be able to fully protect the city. The earth and concrete levees are stronger and higher than when Hurricane Katrina struck three years ago, but they would still be unable to resist a storm of the same size. "It all depends on the strength of the storm, in terms of wind speed, water surge and how fast the hurricane tracks," Maj. Gen. Don T. Riley, deputy chief of the corps, said in an interview.

Republicans convened their national convention Monday in a session truncated by a hurricane and roiled by vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's revelation that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. John McCain's campaign sought to keep the focus on the emergency response to Hurricane Gustav, limiting partisan functions and parties to underscore that Republicans would not repeat 2005's much-criticized response to Hurricane Katrina. Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan opened the convention by urging delegates to take out their cellphones, then giving them a number to call to donate to the Gulf Coast relief effort.

They left the shrimp boat in which they work and live on the Louisiana shore, driving north at noon, daring the hurricane in their red Ford Expedition. They were running on a tank of gas, and there were no stations open for miles. Neang Pum, 66, and her boyfriend, Sobong In, 69, came to the United States as Cambodian refugees more than two decades ago. On Monday, they fled Hurricane Gustav -- which sent palm fronds flying, trees toppling and waves of water across the highway before them.

As city workers hung American flags and added patriotic-elephant decorations along downtown streets Saturday, tens of thousands of Republicans from across the country began arriving here for the party's national convention. But the festive atmosphere was dampened by growing concern over Hurricane Gustav, which is bearing down on the Gulf Coast; the arrest of protesters who police say planned riots; and cancellations by several high-profile speakers, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Astana cycling team leader Johan Bruyneel is looking forward to reuniting with seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. Bruyneel said Wednesday he already had begun discussions with close friend Armstrong, who's coming out of his three-year retirement to try to win an eighth Tour title in 2009. "He won't have a problem finding a team. But it's clear that the relationship we have means that I can't allow him to go to another team," Bruyneel told reporters at the Spanish Vuelta.

As the water began to rise on the first floor of her house Monday, Connie Danese hurriedly stacked ornaments, photos and other valuables on top of a piano that had been in her husband's family for decades. Other keepsakes were piled onto every available surface on the kitchen counter and table. More belongings were hauled upstairs. Connie and Sam Danese refused to evacuate when Hurricane Gustav approached their two-story house in the Oak Harbor subdivision of this small coastal Mississippi town.