Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain has announced most activities scheduled for the first day of the Republican National Convention on Monday will be suspended in light of Hurricane Gustav. The convention is being held in St. Paul Minnesota. The White House has announced that President Bush and Vice President Cheney will forego the convention and instead head for the Gulf Coast in anticipation of the storm.

The only scheduled business at the convention is the adoption of rules, election of officers and the adoption of the party platform. The convention was convened for two hours on Monday to handle routine business.

There remains a possibility that Senator John McCain will not physically attend the convention and simply give his nomination acceptance speech via satellite. McCain has recommended substantial changes to the convention schedule and urged all Americans to help with hurricane relief efforts. Depending on the extent of the damage that Hurricane Gustav causes, Republican Party officials managing the convention will determine the schedule for the rest of the week.

At this point it is likely that the GOP convention will focus on two things. One, Hurricane Gustav and relief efforts to help states and victims that suffer from the damage the storm is likely to cause. Two, the legal and technical aspects of making certain Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin's names are on the November ballot as the Republican standards bearers.

Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama have both expressed concern for residents of the Gulf Coast, with their campaigns canceling planned events.

(NSnewstv.com Contributor Sadiq Jeru Ahmed contributed to this update.)