a caribbean... the most powerful storm ever measured in the atlantic. now it's headed toward puerto rico and the u-s. now at noon, hurricane irma slams into the caribbean, the most powerful storm ever measured in the atlantic. and now it's headed to puerto rico and the u.s. good afternoon, i'm michelle griego. >> i'm kenny choi. president trump has already declared a state of emergency in florida, puerto rico and the u.s. virgin islands because of

hurricane irma. cbs reporter craig boswell shows us the damage already done and how some people are preparing for even more. >> reporter: packing 185-mile- an-hour winds, hurricane irma made landfall in the caribbean early wednesday, barely missed the island of st. martin. the storm flooded a harbor, stranding cars. irma is the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the atlantic. this is the view from the eye of the storm. in puerto rico, the island's 3.4 million residents braced for the worst. the head of the power company says parts of the island could be in the dark for weeks or even months afterwards. irma is still days away from the u.s. mainland and is now tracking more east. >> the storm is bigger, faster and stronger than hurricane andrew. >> reporter: mandatory evacuations are already in effect for the florida keys forcing people to get in their

cars and leave. elizabeth lives in the keys. this is the first time in 51 years she is evacuating. >> i have been through andrew and wilma, not staying for irma, not happening. >> reporter: in miami, residents filled up sandbags. state officials are urging residents to live in low-lying areas in miami-dade county to start evacuating as well, although it is not mandatory. kenneth craig, cbs news, miami. >> a live look from st. croix in the virgin islands now as irma churns in the area. you can see no, sir high winds there just blowing the trees and everything in its path. and also that rain really coming down. neda is tracking irma from the weather center. >> this is the kind of wind that just rips rooftops right off, knocks walls down. that's a lot of what we have been seeing coming out of these islands. the eye of the hurricane passed right over barbuda, st. martin this morning and now over the british virgin islands, you see

the eye to the north of it. it is headed to puerto rico, expected to get north of puerto rico. that's how it's been tracking in a west-northwest direction. and here it is, right now it looks like wind gusts 225 miles per hour. it shows you a variation of the direction this may take. so it looks like it's going to be north of the dominican republic and haiti and then north of cuba and here's florida. so expect to get it east of florida it could take a direction and head out into the atlantic or it can hang along the coastline. that's why there are these evacuations going on. this is not just strong winds but also heavy rainfall. that storm surge is a vast amount of space it churning in the ocean. destructive winds. life-threatening flooding up to 20 inches of rain already in some areas. the storm surge 7 to 11 feet above ground level but also up to 20 in some areas.

so it's not just irma. we also have jose. tropical storm jose is expected to become a hurricane. and then katia in the gulf of mexico. a lot going on there in the atlantic. we'll have the local forecast coming up just a bit. a short time ago president trump agreed to raise the debit card as part of a hurricane aid deal after the house passed the bill to provide nearly $8 billion in emergency funding for hurricane harvey relief. now that trump has decided to phase out the daca program, the future is unclear for people who were brought to the u.s. illegally by their parents. as jackie ward reports from the newsroom, there is an effort on capitol hill to keep the program alive in some form. jackie. >> reporter: michelle, senator kamala harris and house democratic leader nancy pelosi were joined by the congressional hispanic caucus at the u.s. capitol this morning. they called on republicans to protect daca recipients and urged them to pass the "dream act" as soon as possible. >> we have to stop playing

politics with these people. and the reality is that rescinding daca is simply wrong. >> reporter: in front of supporters, senator harris told those against daca to stop vilifying 2. more than 220,000 daca recipients live in california. >> i have met with senior members of this administration who, when i asked, had to confess they have never met a dreamer! how can you form such strong opinions about people you have never met? >> reporter: house minority leader nancy pelosi called president trump's actions cowardly after making attorney general jeff sessions announce the change in daca instead of making it himself. >> this is the first president in modern times in the lives of these "dreamers" who has been anti-immigration, rejecting the idea that immigration is the lifeblood of our country. >> reporter: in a statement president trump released

yesterday, wrote, i do not favor punishing children. most of whom are now adults for the actions of their parents. but we must also recognize that we are a nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws. the legislative branch, not the executive branch, writes these laws. congress now has the opportunity to advance responsible immigration reform that puts american jobs and american security first. congress has until march 5th to take any kind of action on daca. if congress does not act by then, starting next year, nearly 300,000 people could begin to lose their status. less than an hour ago, it was announced that 15 states plus washington, dc are suing the federal government over the plan to end daca. in the newsroom, jackie ward, kpix 5. about an hour from now, president trump is expected to promote tax reform as an opportunity for bipartisan cooperation. he will deliver a speech in north dakota. that state's democratic senator will be there. the administration says she is

the first democrat to join president trump's tax reform push. still no details on the plan. san jose police investigating a deadly late night shooting but kpix 5's anne makovec reports that so far, they don't have much to go on. >> reporter: this is where a man in his 30s was shot last night outside of an apartment complex on sunset avenue and story road. >> it appears that this victim was attacked randomly. >> reporter: it happened about 9 p.m. he died at the hospital overnight. the shooter is still on the loose. >> no motive, no suspect. >> reporter: police shut down the roads through the early- morning hours to comb the scene for evidence and try to find witnesses who might help them come up with a suspect description. but so far, nothing. >> at some point, the suspect confronted the victim and then shot the victim. what transpired during that initial confrontation is yet to be determined. >> reporter: police say the victim was not armed.

police are looking to see if there were any surveillance cameras rolling in that area last night and hoping any additional witnesses might come forward. in san jose, anne makevoc, kpix 5. new at noon, pleasanton police say that this started as a shoplifting bust, but it turned out to be much more. detectives spotted two men yesterday taking baby formula from a safeway on santa rita road. they say that they later found more stolen items as well as illegal drugs. 35-year-old david brown and 29- year-old shaun ward face charges. walnut creek could soon be home to the newest transit village in the bay area. more now from kpix 5's jessica flores. >> reporter: renderings for the planned walnut creek transit village show space for new shops, restaurants and public plazas. another angle shows a new bart police station, enhanced bus stop area and new passenger drop-off spot. these are just some of the features for what bart officials say will be a hub for commuters.

>> it will be useful for riders on the move looking for a quick ride, grabbing a coffee. >> reporter: today is the start of the first phase of the project. work on the parking garage makes way for a new 900-space parking structure expected to open by the end of next year. bart officials say they will build the new garage in stages and they are going to keep the same number of current parking spots during construction. so parking availability should not be affected. >> the great part of transit- oriented development at bart stations is there's no cost to bart. there's a benefit. so private developers are paying to develop the station, including bringing up a new parking garage as well as other improvements. >> reporter: the village will also be a place to live, plans including 600 apartment units to deal with the housing crunch. bart wants 20,000 units next to bart stations. >> i hope there are places for people who don't have the kind

of income that many of these apartments around here require. >> reporter: bart officials say the entire walnut creek transit village will take years to complete and hope to have it done by 2023. in walnut creek, i'm jessica flores, kpix 5. a transit-oriented ribbon- cutting ceremony in novato celebrating the completion of the redwood and grant transit improvement project. >> working with the city and the team of consultants, they envision a modern, clean, efficient new facility as a brand-new gateway to downtown novato. >> backers of the project say that the new facility will improve safety, access and efficiency for passengers. still ahead, a possible benefit to a devastating virus. how zika could fight a certain form of cancer. >> plus, officers thought that they stopped their suspect from running. but see how this woman managed to slip away.

congress is back at work and they have a lot on their agenda. weijia jiang -- on their latest moves on capitol hill. from immigration reform to hurricane harvey relief, congress is back at work and they have a lot on their agenda. weijia jang on their latest moves on capitol hill. >> on this vote, the yeas are 419, the nays are 3. >> reporter: the house has overwhelmingly passed a bill to provide nearly $8 billion in emergency funding for hurricane harvey relief. >> congress acted today decisively and in pay bipartisan way as americans to come to the leaf of the people of texas so the message today is very simple. help is on the way. >> reporter: now the bill heads

to the senate, where it is expected to be rolled into a measure that also raises the debt ceiling. >> [ indiscernible defaulted so emergency resources can actually get to americans who need them. >> reporter: congress has until september 29th to raise the limit or the u.s. will begin defaulting on its loans. president trump invited republicans and democratics to the white house urging them to work together. >> we have many, many things that are on the plate. hopefully, we can solve them in a rational way. >> reporter: president trump added to congress's long "to do" list after canceling daca which protections immigrants brought to the u.s. illegally as children. the president tweeted last night that congress has six months to legalize daca or he will revisited the issue. >> we today are calling on speaker ryan and leader mcconnell to immediately put the "dream act" on the floor for a vote in the house and senate. >> reporter: they also have to pass a spending bill by the end of the month or there could be

a partial government shutdown. weijia jang, cbs news, capitol hill. taking a look at how the financial markets are doing on wall street, right now after a bad day yesterday the dow is now up 81. the safety features on small pickup trucks are improving but the latest crash test shows that many of them still come up short. meg oliver looks at which trucks have the highest marks. >> reporter: this is what happens at the nissan frontier cab going off the road hitting a tree or car. that small pickup truck had the lowest overall rating in the new safety evaluation in the insurance institute for highway safety. >> mainly the area around where the driver sits crushed in around him leaving him less survival space. >> reporter: the iihs rated eight small pickup trucks. the most challenging category was the small overlap test. >> you can imagine you're

driving down a two-lane country road and car coming the opposite direction swerves into your lane. you try avoid it. but you don't quite steer enough to miss that car and you end up having a small overlap crash. >> reporter: the toyota tacoma double cab scored the highest overall with good ratings for structure, restraint and injure measures. the crew cab version of the chevy colorado and gmc king got high marks. even though four out of eight got a good overall rating, they all fell short of the top safety award. that's in part because the insurance institute for highway safety says they all have poor headlights. >> when think when you drive at night you should see a good way down the road. if he can't see very far, then they get a poor rating. >> reporter: the iihs says small pickups are getting safer, but that large pickups will still be give you better protection. meg oliver, cbs news, new york. on the healthwatch, the

zika virus known for causing major brain development issues for babies may offer a benefit. researchers from uc-san diego found zika could help treat a common form of brain cancer. they performed an experiment on mice by injecting the animal's cancerous brain cells with the virus. they found that the treatments slowed tumor growth and extended the animal's life- span. researchers hope to begin human trials sometime next year. let's check the forecast with neda in for roberta. >> well, we are looking at the sky starting to clear up a little bit. it's burning off that marine layer. we have normal temperatures. here's a look at our mount vaca cam giving you an idea of the cloud cover. you can see lake curry right

there among mostly clear skies. temperatures in concord 82. san francisco 68. san jose 81. off the coastline, there's about 275 miles west of monterey bringing down some thunder, lightning and it's a little cell that's moving towards san francisco. it's expected to reach us possibly after midnight tomorrow. it's swirling around there off the coast. look at this activity in the sierra as the rain showers came through in the higher elevations. we could see clouds coming in. after midnight possibly some green there on the screen especially areas like santa cruz. might see rain from this but it could be in the north bay but not really inland. there is a red flag warning in effect this afternoon because

of lightning strikes. dry lightning is dangerous especially with erratic wind gusts with storms up to 45 miles an hour. so here's what's going on with our temperatures today. 84 degrees will be our high. 85 for concord. 73 for you in vallejo. our sunset tonight at 7:31 and here's that seven-day forecast where the 20% chance of rain exists for tomorrow and tomorrow will be the coolest day of the week. temperatures below average for a change. then they warm up in time for the weekend. >> thank you. love this cooldown. >> thank you. we have been asking for your back-to-school photos. check them out: 'll be together for one year at hillview middle school in menlo park. we'd love to see your back to school pictures, too. you can share them on our kpix 5 facebook page. and we'll share them here on the news at noon. we' >> mahalo aloha. >> we would love to see your pictures. you can share them on our facebook kpix 5 page and share them at noon. we'll be right back.

and her escape was all caught on camera. officers cuffed her after "ulta" a texas woman arrested for shoplifting managed to slip away from the cops and her escape was all caught on camera. officers cuffed her after a shoplifting call. they put her in the back of a patrol car and while they were outside sorting through her bags, she slipped off her handcuffs. she then climbed into the driver's seat and took off! the cops ran after her and then by car for about 20 minutes. they finally used a pit

maneuver to make her lose control of the car, cornered her and arrested her again. >> now she is facing more jail time. >> cuffs more tight this time. home security camera caught the moment a meteor flying over canada burst into flames on monday in british columbia. the fire department said the sky lit up and there was a huge boom about a minute later. we'll be right back. fresh grocer tony tantillo

looks at a versatile vegetable. that's it for k-p- i-x 5 news at noon. e bold and the b time now for our lunchtime tip of the day. fresh grocer tony tantillo looks at a versatile vegetable. >> reporter: sweet aniso e fennel, great on all salads. a little salt and pepper and fantastic. selection and storage is important in this versatile vegetable, sweet anise fennel. white right here where it's been cut and smooth, free from browning. and when you bring them home, store them in the refrigerator right away. that's so important. they don't last long. 4 to 5 days at the most after you buy it. sweet anise fennel. it's so versatile, for this time of year on the grill, and

many different salads. you can use the whole bulb and leaves. it's great. nothing to waste. i love this product. and i'm tony tantillo, your fresh grocer, and always remember to eat fresh and stay healthy. oh, smells wonderful! does smell good. >> i cook with a lot but never use fennel. >> i don't know how to use it. >> got to find some new recipes with fennel in it. >> there you go. do you. that all right, everyone. have a great day. hope you have some lunch. >> i'll bring something in for you if i make something. have a great day. ♪[ music ]

♪ ♪ >> steffy: you should take the day off. you barely closed your eyes last night. >> liam: i can't. i got to deal with this, steffy. it's got to stop. >> steffy: but it has. >> liam: has it? no, it hasn't. not really. and it's not going to as long as my dad doesn't think he did anything wrong. i mean, the -- the lie to sally and thomas about caroline's health, that's one thing. but my dad ordered spectra to be torched. for what? to sink sally so he can build his stupid skyscraper? if i let him get away with that, i'm no better than he is. truth has to come out. >> steffy: you know what would happen if the truth comes out.