The Slatest

Officials down in New Orleans are expressing cautious optimism as Hurricane Isaac continues to hover in the region.

While the the local levee in Plaquemines Parish we told you about earlier didn't do so well in the storm, the Big Easy's more serious flood protection systems appear to be holding for now. (Rest assured, we are knocking on wood repeatedly as we type this.)

"The system is performing as intended, as we expected; we don't see any issues with the hurricane system at this point," Army Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Rachel Rodi said this morning (via the Associated Press), adding that the corps will be on "high alert" for the next 12 to 24 hours as Isaac's dangerous storm surges continue.

Seeing as Isaac doesn't appear to be moving on any time soon, it's way too early to declare victory. But, on the 7th anniversary of Katrina, we'll take any good news we can get.