>> pelle >> pelley: tonight, now we know the toll from isaac. the floods recede to reveal the loss. >> we were the expendables. >> pelley: mark strassmann with families facing a long recovery. while dean reynolds finds americans who hope isaac will be their salvation. as the new republican nominee, mitt romney tries to forget clint eastwood. >> so, mr. president, how do you handle promises you've made? >> the g.o.p. hears the president's answer. >> don't you believe it. here's the truth. >> pelley: reports from jan crawford, anthony mason, and bob schieffer. and "on the road" with steve hartman. a silent soldier hears the call of duty. >> 660 years later.

captioning sponsored by cbs >> this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, the storm cleared over the gulf coast today and the full impact of hurricane katrina is now becoming clear. the first hurricane to hit the u.s. this season left at least five people dead. more than 20 inches of rain combined with the storm surge left whole neighborhoods underwater in louisiana. the power is still out for more than half a million homes and businesses and the damage could top $2 billion. our mark strassmann has been talking with some of the people who have lost nearly everything. >> reporter: for the first time today we were able to look from the air at the abandoned neighborhoods in plaquemines parish, swamped by five feet of isaac's storm surge. crews have begun cutting as many as 10 holes in its levees east

and west banks to drain the water and in brathwaite, 19 miles south of norlts, residents are frustrated just as they were after katrina. a flood wall as high as 35 feet built after katrina protects new orleans and it worked-- for new orleans. but the new flood wall starts short of brathwaite and its 500 residents. timothy doody is president of the southeast louisiana flood protection authority. >> the communities that suffered the flooding are outside of the federal levee protection system and those communities often times build their own levee system. >> reporter: isaac's storm surge hit the new flood wall around st. bernard parish and had no place to go but over this 12-foot levee that protects brathwaite. >> we were the expendables. >> reporter: this man fled his brathwaite home as isaac stormed ashore tuesday night. this home, in nine feet of water in video he took yesterday. you feel as though the new engineering to protect new orleans might have saved folks there but it clearly cost you. >> oh, it definitely cost us,

there's no doubt. the storm, the way it worked, the way it stalled out, nobody could predict that, but you just sit there counterclockwise throwing water up against the wall and it won't pass, it's got to build up. you know, an engineer will tell you. that. >> reporter: like many people in brathwaite, he was driven from his home when the water rushed over his t levee. he lost one home to katrina and suspect he is lost another to isaac. >> pelley: mark, thanks very much. on his first day as the official republican nominee, mitt romney went straight for the flood zone. he teamed up with republican louisiana governor bobby jindal. it was an opportunity for governor romney to show his concern and that was one of the themes of his acceptance speech last night in tampa-- that he understands the troubles of average americans. the other message in the speech was aimed right at president obama's supporters of 2008. jan crawford has been traveling with the romney campaign today.

jan? >> reporter: well, scott, it was the most important speech of romney's life and it had a clear message to voters disillusioned by the president: it's okay to make a change. >> the president hasn't disappointed you because he wanted to, the president has disappointed america because he hasn't led america in the right direction. >> reporter: making a direct appeal to independents and americans who believe the country on the wrong track, romney repeatedly referred to president obama's 2008 campaign promise of hope and change. >> i wish president obama had succeeded because i want america to succeed. (cheers and applause) but his promises gave way to disappointment and division. >> reporter: quoting from a 2008 speech by then-candidate obama, romney mocked his expansion vision and offered a different direction. >> president obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans.

(laughter) and to heal the planet. (laughter) my promise is to help you and your family. >> reporter: but the strongest criticism was on foreign policy when he said the president hadn't just failed americans but america. >> president obama has thrown allies like israel under the bus even as he has relaxed sanctions on castro's cuba. (boos) >> reporter: now, romney also talked of his life, who he is, where he came from, all to try to show he understands people's problems and he's going to continue making those points on the campaign trail. tomorrow he's in two swing states-- ohio and then, scott, he's right back to florida. >> pelley: thanks, jan. all political conventions are precisely stage managed to make sure that nothing takes the spotlight away from the candidate's message. so many folks were surprised when the romney campaign allowed 82-year-old clint eastwood to walk on stage in prime time without a script. what happened next-- in the view of many delegates-- was

sometimes amusing, often confusing. a lot of people are talking about it today so we asked anthony mason to find out how it happened. >> reporter: in a convention otherwise scripted down to the second, clint eastwood's appearance was the one unrehearsed moment. but "dirty harry" went rogue. >> i've got mr. obama sitting here. >> reporter: the 82-year-old actor spoke to an empty chair. the furniture was a last-minute backstage request. according to a romney campaign official he just asked a prop person to bring a chair out and the prop person thought he would just sit in it. instead, eastwood launched into an often rambling conversation with a phantom president. >> i think it's maybe time, what do you think, for maybe a businessman. how about that? (cheers and applause) >> reporter: in his act, mitt romney officials say it was totally improvised. eastwood imagined the president answering back. >> what do you mean shut up? >> reporter: eastwood also had the invisible mr. obama uttering

obscenities. >> what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. he can't do that to himself. >> reporter: eastwood was scheduled to speak for five minutes but ignored the red light to wrap up and spoke for twice as long. as traffic on twitter about the actor's bizarre speech spiked, the romney campaign rushed out a statement, even as their candidate was delivering his acceptance speech. "judging an american icon like clint eastwood through a typical political lens doesn't work" the statement said. his ad-libbing was a break from the political speeches and the crowd enjoyed it. the obama campaign quickly tweeted a picture of the president in his white house chair with the caption "this seat's taken." and the morning after mitt romney's big moment it was eastwood who was the top trending topic on google. one republican official told cbs news political director john dickerson that eastwood was not scripted because they didn't want to rein in his creativity.

but after a senior romney advisor rolled his eyes and acknowledged it was a distraction-- one they couldn't turn off. as another republican official put it "it's clint eastwood. if elvis wants to sing a longer song, do you turn off his mic?" >> pelley: anthony, thanks very much. now we're going to open the mic of bob schieffer, our chief washington correspondent and anchor of "face the nation." he's already in charlotte where the democrats will be meeting next week. bob, in your opinion the hall with eastwood last night. >> oh, i tell you... (laughs) you know, scott this was gonna be mitt romney's big night, when they finally had the distractions out of the way and he could lay out his program for the american people. but this morning any television program you turned on, all the radio talk shows, all they were talking about was not mitt romney's speech but clinton eastwood's speech! and, i mean, it was the same on the ground. as i was leaving the hotel in tampa the car parkers are saying "what was that all about?

who was he talking to? what was he saying that he couldn't do?" i get out to the airport nobody asked me about romney's speech, they asked me about clint eastwood. i got on the airplane and the guy said "hey, are you gonna have clint eastwood on "face the nation"?" i said "we'll ask him." i'll tell you scott, it was like-- and you've been to these-- the fellow who spends a whole lot of money on his daughter's wedding and it's beautiful and the bride is beautiful and people are talking about her dress and then the future brother-in-law gets up and tells some story about them all going skinny dipping. it just changed everything. you know, it was a big night for romney but somehow he was overshadowed. and this just in, i have just learned the democrats are thinking about having a mystery guest at their convention here like the republicans did but i can report this, they've decided no, that's not a good idea. >> pelley: bob, thank you very much. bob's gonna bring you "face the

nation" from charlotte on sunday. he'll have a look ahead at what's likely to be a tightly scripted democratic national convention. the echoes of governor romney's speech appear to be ringing in the ears of the president. the president flew to texas today to talk to the troops at fort bliss and nancy cordes is traveling with mr. obama. nancy? >> reporter: scott, the obama campaign derided romney's speech today as a series of "snarky lines about the president and gauzey reminiscences of the past." the president's visit to this military base was not technically a campaign stop, but it was designed to turn the page from tampa and showcase his role as commander in chief. the president flew to fort bliss texas, to mark the two-year anniversary of one of his foreign policy milestones, the end of the combat mission in iraq. he did not mention governor romney by name but president

obama did challenge romney's harsh assessment of his leadership abroad. >> if you hear anyone trying to say that america is in decline or that our influence has waned don't you believe it. here's the truth, our alliances have never been stronger. >> reporter: obama campaign officials rebuked romney today for failing to even mention the troops, veterans or the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan in his convention speech. in texas, the president laid out his criteria for future engagement. >> in a world of serious threats, i will never hesitate to use force to defend the united states of america or our interests. at the same time, i will only send you into harm's way when it is absolutely necessary. and when we do, we will give you the equipment and the clear mission and the smart strategy and the support back home that you need to get the job done. (cheers and applause) we owe you that. >> reporter: the president will

spend this labor day weekend stumping in several battleground states but the white house announced today, scott, he will be cutting short a visit to ohio on monday so that he, too, can tour the destruction in the gulf. >> pelley: nancy, thank you very much. in syria's civil war the fight for the country's largest city has been going on for weeks and we got some astounding pictures in the newsroom today. the video shows entire neighborhoods of aleppo reduceded to rubble. syrian warplanes have been bombing them. this was a city of three million people. the assad dictatorship has been trying to crush a rebellion that broke out nearly a year and a half ago. the united nations estimates that nationwide 2.5 million syrians have run from their homes. many of them have fled over the boarder to turkey where clarissa ward is tonight and, clarissa, we understand there are about 80 syrian refugees in turkey. what sort of conditions are they

living in? >> reporter: well, scott, the conditions are far from ideal. the turkish government has spent more than $300 million trying to host these syrian refugees to the best of their ability but often these camps are very overcrowded. often there is no running water. there is limited electricity. and these refugees are often arriving with nothing but the clothing on their backs. so it's quite a desperate situation. >> pelley: now, the turks have talked about setting up some kind of a safe haven inside syria under the protection of turkey. now, how would that work? >> the idea is to try to isolate a small strip of land along the border that would be a safe haven for the millions of internally displaced syrians. but, of course, the main issue is who is going to protect the people inside that buffer zone? who is going to ensure that they can... the assad regime does not destroy... use its air assets to

attack those people and the answer is that the international community would have to agree on some type of small-scale no-fly zone and at the moment it does not appear that there is any appetite in the international community to do that. >> pelley: clarissa ward on the border with syria. thank you, clarissa. the chairman of the federal reserve signals that help is on the way for the economy. there's an epic battle to stop a wildfire threatening one of spain's top tourist destinations. and a national landmark reopens when the "cbs evening news" is rudy. his morning starts with arthritis pain. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended so, back aleve.e pills. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rudy. who switched to aleve. and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

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>> pelley: the ch >> pelley: the chairman of the federal reserve said today he is prepared to take new steps to stimulate the economy. in a speech in wyoming, ben bernanke described the economy as "far from satisfactory." he did not say what he plans to do or when but since 2009 the fed has made moves that have pushed down interest rates to record lows. we showed you the flooding in louisiana caused by hurricane isaac. well, the storm is now a tropical depression and it is soaking the mississippi river valley tonight. that part of the country is part of the country that is suffering under a record drought and there deep reynolds tells us isaac is bringing some hope. >> reporter: on tom kissee's thousand-acre cattle ranch there were two blessed events today--

the birth of a healthy calf and the arrival of a welcome guest named isaac. so it's raining today. what does that mean to you? >> it's heaven sent. we're anxious for more but we'll take what we can get. >> reporter: his spread in mount vernon, missouri, has had almost no rain since early june. his pasture is brown and chewed almost to the soil but his hungry herd of cows. this part of missouri is experiencing what's called an exceptional drought-- the most severe classification by the federal government. >> i have neighbors that are exactly in the same position that i'm in and some that are even worse. those poor cows out there are searching for any green sprig they may be able to find but they're few and far between. >> reporter: you don't have enough to feed them? >> no, we don't have enough to feed them with the cattle that we have on hand. >> reporter: because isaac dropped less than two inches here, tom's ponds are parched and need much more water to serve the herd. we're not there yet. not even close. >> reporter: and it would be normally up to here? >> normally up to right here.

>> reporter: so instead of fattening his livestock until the end of the year, tom will have to start selling them at a loss of $200 aa head as early as next week. his ranch could lose $50,000 this year. to actually break the drought, the ranchers here say they'd need three or more all-day rains-- but the remaining moisture from isaac just won't do the trick. >> looks like it's dead. >> reporter: in fact, looking at the soil, it's hard to spot any difference between yesterday with no rain and today when it finally fell. it's a drought even a hurricane can't beat. dean reynolds, cbs news, mount vernon, missouri. >> pelley: we're going to show you a stadium that is texas-sized, but you might be surprised who plays there. that's next. if you are one of the millions of men

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what are you waiting for? >> pelley: >> pelley: a wildfire is raging tonight across spain's costa del sol. plains have been dumping water on the flames in the major tourist destination. the fire has been burning since yesterday. one person was killed and thousands have been evacuated. when the friday night lights shine tonight in texas, no where will they be brighter than in allen, a suburb of dallas. this is opening night for their new $60 million megastadium. it has 18,000 seats and a 38-foot-wide high definition video screen. and just like texas, this is not the home of a pro-team or a

college team-- it's the home of the city's high school football team. today also marked the reopening of the reflecting pool in front of the lincoln memorial in washington. for the first time in two years, visitors can stroll the site and take pictures. the pool was closed so workers could fix leaks and stop it from sinking. two old soldiers make a remarkable discovery. "on the road" is next. you know why i sell tools? tools are uncomplicated. nothing complicated about a pair of 10 inch hose clamp pliers. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service shipping's easy. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that's not complicated. no. come on. how about... a handshake. alright. priority mail flat rate boxes. starting at just $5.15.

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>> pelley: the >> pelley: the headline for our final story could be what are the chances?" it begins with a mystery at a nursing home and steve hartman picks up the story "on the road." >> can you see me? it's me, john. how are you? >> reporter: john angerame says when you love someone with advanced dementia like his father has you can't help but wonder: are they still in there? what >> what do you say? give me a wink. >> reporter: although his dad augie can't commune kate, by all indications he is aware beyond words. >> what's that? remember? >> reporter: augie angerame

served in the korean war in an artillery unit. he was a combat medic which may partly explain his recent behavior at the v.a. nursing home on long island, new york. a few months ago augie started going into the room of this other veteran with dementia named frank dibella. mary rose monroe is frank's daughter. >> he's rub his back and then walk away. >> just check on him like a medic would do as he made rounds walking around. >> reporter: the kids agreed, it seemed like augie was trying to care for frank. like he was back in the war. what's even weirder, frank didn't seem to mind. the staff eventually moved the two men into the same room-- and that's when john started putting the pieces together. >> i was looking for something, i had this feeling. >> reporter: he started with the pictures of frank's bulletin board. he noticed something in the old shots. the buildings in the background. he'd seen these same buildings before-- here in his dad's photo album. >> and i stepped outside for a

few minutes and on the door it said "frank dibella." >> reporter: frank dibella. his dad talked about a frank dibella. he was the cook in his unit. >> he said frank had a penchant for getting steaks and food they don't eat. >> he loved cooking for the guys. >> reporter: apparently, frank even brought steaks to the front line. cooks didn't have to go to the front lines, but frank was no coward. once he even got injured by a bomb blast. and guess who cared for him? then and now. >> 50 years later still checking on his guys. >> reporter: they call korea the forgotten war, but leer two people who remember perfectly. >> they reach for each other. >> reporter: certainly if they can remember we should, too. steve hartman, "on the road", in northport, new york. >> pelley: that's the "cbs evening news." for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night.

this is 9 news now. we have chilling new details tonight about a suspected serial child sex offender. tonight police fear there may be more victims. 52-year-old michael brochu of bowie was rearrested after allegedly committing more sex offenses against children after he posted bond twice for earlier arrests. andrea mccarren with more. >> michael brochu has a history of child sex offenses dating back to the 1980s. in 1983 a howard county judge sentenced him to five years in prison, but then suspended the entire sentence. 52-year-old michael brochu of bowie is now under investigation for the alleged sexual abuse of four children. >> the victims are young boys and they range from age 6 to 11