Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Isaac rose to hurricane strength this afternoon and should make landfall on the Gulf Coast sometime this evening. It's nowhere near as powerful as Katrina, but the storm will test systems erected since Katrina, both physical barriers like flood gates and seawalls, and administrative and political changes.

Thermodynamics — the branch of physics dealing with heat and its relation to other forms of energy — is profound stuff.

Rooted in the engineering realities of engines and air conditioners, it also rises above these day-to-day realities to embrace heady, universal principles in complexity, order, chaos and organization. Thermodynamics touches everything that really matters in human life, including — most famously — the nature of time. It is profound and slippery.

The story of Hurricane Isaac will more than likely be one of flooding. The National Hurricane Center says that some places along the Mississippi and Louisiana coast could see up to 18 inches of rain.

Over five days, the tropical system will spread rain far and wide.

How widespread, you ask? Look at this map put together by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It shows their prediction of how much rain will fall in the next five days:

It's a big night for Ann Romney.

She's addressing the Republican National Convention in Tampa at 10 p.m. Eastern, in a speech many pundits see as her big chance to combat her husband's "likability gap" and convince voters that Mitt the man is more than just a "rich guy."

So how does she handle the stress? Apparently, she bakes.

Every year since 1994, volunteers from the Hattiesburg Jaycees have been holding a blood drive to replenish the area's blood supply. This Friday, the group will be grilling burgers and hot dogs for anyone willing to kick off Labor Day Weekend by donating at the Labor of Love Blood Drive.

It's not exactly good cop/bad cop, but the main speakers Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention will play diametrically opposed roles.

Ann Romney — the wife of Mitt Romney, who becomes the official GOP nominee with Tuesday's delegate roll call — will try to present her husband in the most flattering, personal light. By contrast, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the convention's keynote speaker, will have the job of attacking President Obama's record.