hours. show you latest advisory for you. maximum winds at 125 miles per hour. but look at the wind gusts now at 155. this is going to likely make landfall in six hours or so. bat this is a -- this is a track i haven't seen before. meanderses and it will circle for not only one, two, three but up to four days. not moving a lot. saturday at 1:00 in the afternoon. barely to shore. wednesday moving to the eastern texas. a live shot from houston, texas. lana zak joins us right now. lana: good afternoon. president trump is currently deciding whether or not to declare a state of emergency in advance of hurricane harvey making landfall. that is expected to happen in about se

it is starting to get real. >> the winds are ripping and the rain is falling and the water is getting choppy. this is nothing what coastal residents will experience after hurricane harvey hits laterment to. >> we are dealing with human life. >> massive flooding, three feet of rain in some areas. storm surges that are projected to reach 12 feet. whyspread power out -- widespread power outages. >> the power could be off for three to seven days. >> evacuations are in effect. the measure heard over and over again don't risk it. >> the storm could change. they are not going to risk the rescue. >>

tell drivers to prepare. >> in corpus christi the tiniest new residents relocated. they are tweeting praise for the support team evacuating the nicu there. >> in houston there are a lot of concrete. that plus the massive rainfall could equal flooding. the governor urged residents he himself would get north but the mayor telling people to stay off of the highway and be safe. if you have a good place to be, now is the time to hunker down. reporting live, lana zak, abc7 news. alison: thank you. while harvey is more than 1,500 miles from our area, the effects are being felt at the airport. brianne carter is at reagan national airport. what are you seeing there?

>> what happens to the travelers when they get to texas? flights in and out of corpus christi canceled and as of 3:00 this afternoon, a hundred flights at houston airport and many more cancellations. >> hoping to get to destination before mother nature wreaks havoc. >> we are nervous. >> travelers flock to the airports today. carl is happy to be heading home earlier on a flight. >> the meeting wrapped up early. i said i'm out of here. >> the biggest concern at home is flooding. >> the rivers overflow in the flood. i want to beat that. >> brian: for some travelers it is about getting home to stock up before the storm barrels down. >> the shelves are empty they say. trying to get food to eat without cooking. >> flights are in and out

corpus christies are canceled. there are travel waivers for the coming days. some hope a layoff in texas doesn't derail plans. >> hoping that it won't affect our travel plans as we stop there for an hour and a half and continue to seattle. >> this is expected to get worse. as always, weather related issue the f.a.a. is saying they are asking anyone traveling to check with their airlines specifically before heading to the airport. alison: thank you. we will track hurricane harvey. we'll bring you updates as they happen. another live check-in from the impact zone at 5:30. we will show another local impact. that is influx of rescue animals from texas. already taking shelter here in our

larry: breaking news from fairfax county. that is where the search is underway for a missing canoer. three people on the canoe. it tipped over. only two of those canoers have been accounted for. q mccray is live at the scene. >> we just found out that they are considering this a search and recovery effort. the fairfax county rescue department. they have the underwater search and recovery team. we have skytrak7 over the scene. sometime this afternoon three people were in a boat enjoying themselves here at burke park lake. when for whatever reason h

boat capsized. i found out that some of the lifeguard here on the scene rescue two of the boaters. but the third person went underwater. the search for the third person has been going on ever since. that is the latest information. we will find out more about the boaters and those are the answers we are trying to get to. that is the latest. i'm q mccray. back to you inside. jonathan: thank you. one person is dead and another missing after a house exploded. the house on bear run road fully engulfed in flames when they showed up at 4:00 this morning. they were able to put it out in an hour, the house completely lost. not employer at this point what cause -- not clear what caused the explosion. alison: the d.c. government today denouncing a wave of flyers that someone left all around georgia avenue in northwest d.c. they are focused on the horrifying crimes. that involve illegal immigrants.

illegal immigrants they know to keep crimes like these from happening again. in a statement mayor bowser called them hateful. she said they will continue to work to address the issue to ensure that residents feel safe. >> there is anxiety on the local running trails after another attack against women. this happened wednesday. along the trail. tonight "7 on your side" is fighting back with how women can protect themselves when you are out on the trails. kevin lewis is live in arlington with the tips for us. >> they recommend taking a cell phone with you. you can call 911. resist the urge of putting the ear phones in both ears so that you are more aware of the surroundings. >> wooded path and trails are peaceful and serene. making a

unsettling. on wednesday, arlington county police arrested this man for allegedly grabbing two women and exposing himself along the trail. >> i try to be prepared. >> this agent walks and runs nearly every day. the exercise has meditation but never with the head phones. >> i put volume way up. i have it close to my ears so i hear it. at the same time i'm aware of what is going on. i'm not totally loss. >> last month she was stabbed in the neck. a male suspect snuck up behind a woman. >> my boyfriend lives in apartment.

>> she walks to the gressry store but only between 9:00 to 5:00. >> be safe. come early in day. don't come out in the everything time. that is all i say. >> that is the best advice? >> yes. >> taking to the paths with pepper spray or fellow friend will help ensure you stay safe. >> at 8:00 route 4, south of suitland in upper marlboro. a woman says a car was aggressively tailgating her. the driver finally drove up to her, showed her a gun. as she got out of the way he opened fire. hitting the car. she was not hurt. but clearly her car was. the state police arrested this man. jonathan boynkon who faces a list of the criminal charges including attempted murder. still ahead for

possibly major break -- possible major break in case of natalie holloway. what the new d.n.a. tell us about the human remains found in aruba. alison: plus, the big thing that fairfax county wants the parents to remember as the students prepare to return to school. >> thanks to an executive order, local resort goes into bonus time. jonathan: have viaspan the vid joe? terrifying scene on video and the warning never seen up next on "abc7 news at 5:00". your brain is an amazing thing. but as you get older, it naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. the secret is an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown

prevagen. the name to remember.

jonathan: stop who you are doing for a second. watch this. an accident waiting to happen. this is in texas. dump truck had the load up opposed to down. drivers honking the horn to get the driverer's attention. he didn't listen. the bucket slammed in the overpass with the sign on it. we are told that the crash took hours to clean up. no word on the conditio

drivers in the wreck. >> i hope everyone is okay. unbelievable. meanwhile, back here at home, ocean city is about to begin a bonus week of sorts thanks to the maryland governor larry hogan's order for schools to start after labor day. they are getting an extra week of tourism. brad, a lot of people at the beach? brad: there are a lot of people on the beach. last year we were here as they sign the executive order. now the time arrived. and the schools can't start before labor day. this is maryland week. welcome back to ocean city, marylanders. it's packed. line

the beach looks like an umbrella garden. there is not a single complaint about school starting after labor day. not from germantown fifth grader and his dad. >> you get extra days off. >> i enjoy the extra time with my son. >> nobody is enjoying it more than ocean city mayor. >> a big deal for us. >> he fought for years to push the start of the school year back. victory came last year when governor hogan signed an executive order. now he is waving a banner of thanks. >> it's good for the economy and the state and marylanders. >> the last weeks in august traditionally have been quiet here. restaurants like shenanigans on the boardwalk they are seeing a difference. >> it will be a bonus week for us. we look forward to having a great week next week. >> back live. this is crowded down here.

be it will be after labor day to see what the executive order will mean for the town. they call it bonus week. in ocean city, brad bell, abc7 news. jonathan: have a look at the scene on the chesapeake bay. that is water stop. how cool is that? this is one of the few spotted this morning near cape charles. the social media app banjo flooded with the pictures and the videos like this. they didn't make it to land. this is just cool to see. >> it's thankful to see it offshore. our weather is awesome. we haven't seen this in 12 years. jonathan: even with katrina they d

did you hear a storm predict this much rain? >> this is a yardstick. 30 inches of rain way up here. that is a lot of rain. >> in 12 hours? >> it could be four days. four days. >> you can turn this into it easily. there is a lot of information coming in. south padre island. in gal reston the folks are still out and about. they are going to board up and evacuate at this time. the storm is set to hit in six or seven hours. rockport texas, live. we haven't seen action with the people here. it looks like they are deteriorating

this is the latest information. maximum winds at 125 miles per hour. if we get the winds. sustained at 130 miles per hour. that would jump in a category four hurricane. the forward movement out of the northwest at 10 miles per hour. this will only add energy to the storm. it may jump to category four briefly. the latest track. we normally see the tracks that come ashore and quickly move on out. not just saturday. but sunday, monday, tuesday. by wednesday this is only over louisiana. there are rain totals up to 20 to 30 inches. switch the directions

to home. the temperatures out there at this hour is looking good. this is well below average but we take this for the end of august. look at oakland, maryland. lower 60's for afternoon readings. a lot of folks going to baseball game. i it will be beautiful. first pitch at 75. in is cooler in the northern and the western suburbs. this is a great night to open up windows to give the a.c. a break. tomorrow there is a chill in the air for some of you. the temperatures are upper 50's to the 60ed. the highs

plenty of sunshine and all day. beach forecast. ocean city, robiskie and bethesda. 75 degrees. 74 degrees and then moving to the labor day weekend daytime highs in 80's. at least of right now it look like it will be mainly dry. we will track harvey over the weekend. make landfall at 11:00 eastern. jonathan: we will get another live report from the hurricane path. >> we have rescue pets that are looking for homes in the area. >> critical reminder that fairfax county schools for parents as students prepare to head back to class.

fairfax county students enjoy the weekend. they are if final days of the summer break. jonathan: are you kidding? parents are happy school going back in. the school leaders are working overtime to make sure that people remember school is back in session.

school officials want to remind everyone classes start a week earlier than normal this year. >> my overall concern the safety of if children. >> total of 142,, 650 students will be getting on buses in the county come monday. not to mention thousands of the walkers police push patients. >> on the newer school buses you can expect to see a six foot extension. >> they have buses to get ready from the engines to the flashing lights that must be inspected. >> we'll make the deadline. >> but they won't fill 100 bus driver vacancies.

>> as your children head back to school, we want you to share the big moment. look at the guys. happy to go back to school. >> thank you for sharing with us. >> ahead for us. the new search for natalie holloway. >> rescue doing what they can to help then malls impacted -- animals impacted by hurricane harvey. 9-week-old cowboy. i'm amy aubert with the story coming up. alison: so cute. we go live to texas where millions brace for the major hurricane. just hours from landfall.

jonathan: happening right now they are bracing for a major hurricane in texas. warnings are posted. evacuations ordered. it strengthened in the last hour and a half and hours from landfall. the forecast for

catastrophic. some areas could be measuring rain not in inches but in feet. in addition to a massive storm surge and the power winds, jordann lucero joining us from victoria, texas. 30 miles from the coast. we watched the conditions deteriorate. but this is nothing compared to what is coming ashore. >> we have been getting hit hard now. and this is starting to puddle and pool. this mall is closing. this is going nonstop and it won't cease for days. jonathan: what kind of preparations have you

are folks heeding warnings? >> they are for sure heeding the warning. closer by the coast there is hardly anybody in there. all the towns along the coast seem like the ghost towns. some businesses closed since last night. they have boarded up with windows. they are ready and prepared. they made their way inland. >> what are people telling people? they have been on the broadcast system to let everybody know this is a storm that can kill you. what are they telling people to get them to get out? >> i think people are just realizing this is a very dangerous storm. this is not like the hurricane tropical storms they have dealt with in the past. so they heard mandatory evacuations. they heard the forecast. most of them started to get out. we have seen officers on the patrol trying to see if anybody got there or kneads help. they want everybody to evacuate. to go more north and more in

the mainland they don't get pummeled by this. >> coming to us from victoria, texas. you can hear the wind behind her and that is nothing compared to what blows ashore. >> be careful. harvey won't hit the area but it could hit the wallet. gas prices are predicted to rise in the next couple of days because there are hundred of oil rigs and refinery in the storm's path in the gulf. all of them are shutting down halting the production. alison: puppies, dogs, cats, they are arriving by the truckload at local shelters. all of them evacuated from the path of hurricane harvey where the workers heard that groups of the animals are being put down ahead of the storm. our amy aubert visited rescue animals and spoke to the humane society about reports. >> rescue in waldorf is doing what they can to help the animals from the areas that are expected to be hit by hurricane harvey.

his name is cowboy. he is one of about 80 puppies and adult dogs that they took in just days ago. they expect to get at least a hundred more in the coming days. >> shelters, what do you do? you have to leave. you can't leave the animals in the cage. you can't take them with you. there are too many. unfortunately, they are doing mass euthanasias. >> the humane society of the united states couldn't confirm that is happening. in a statement saying in part we hope it's not true because we are now in a position in our country where the shelters all over the nation are willing to help take in animals from the natural disasters and have multiple transport options available including air. >> i feel like my gosh we have to do something. >> they plan to send the team back down next week with a truck full of food and supplies. when they come back, they plan to load the truck with the at-risk dogs and cats. find out how you can help the animals like

that isment to at 6:00. alison: you can download the stormwatch7 weather app. >> we have new, on breaking news. a massive search going on for hours. alison: we have followed this for an hour. q mccray is there. >> i found out that the missing boater is a grandfather. i spoke to his wife and daughter off-camera. they walked by me with the pastor with them. a sad story. they are optimistic that the loved one will be found here. you notice that the police department is here. thigh have a boat in the water. divers are getting in water

now. the boat capsized for whatever reason. the lifeguards saved the grandson and family friend but grandfather. we underwater and the search has been going on ever since. all three boaters were issued life vests but it is unclear if they all three had them on when the boat capsized. that is the latest information. i'll stay on top of this throughout the evening. back to you. jonathan: thank you. human remains found in irue bah could be those of natolee hallway that disappeared in a vacation in 2005. preliminary tests show bone fragment are those of caucasian or european descent person. they got a tip from a roommate from joran van der sloot who was the last person to see her alive. the family hasn't given up on finding what happened

>> it would be the end of a long journey but we are not there yet. >> her father. conclusive results are expected in the next month. >> thousands of the jobs now moving to fairfax county. t.s.a. is going to build a consolidated headquarters in springfield. we are told the office is 625,000 square feet. big. size of a football field. stacked ten stories high and will open in three years. alison: woman behind bars this evening after the police say she tried to steal a charter bus from her job. mellat kassa was driving the bus through maryland but was not driving the proper route. the company started tracking her by the b.p.s. and contacted the police -- g.p.s. and connected the police. she switched lane and tried to get away but it came to an end when she reached the plaza. she was arrested without

incident. jonathan: tried to steal a bus. coming up for us -- >> tell them to keep battling and move forward. you are get through it. jonathan: great words. the virginia teen won his battle with cancer and now he is helping others do the same thing. meet our rising star coming up. >> we all heard laughter is the best medicine. this worki

steve: the weekend is finally here. tomorrow is a gorgeous day. if you can eat lunch outside, great day to do it. noontime around 76. daytime high in town at 78 degrees. a lot of sunshine. so a nice, nice day ahead. the delmarva beach forecast. saturday and sunday. both days around 75 degrees. saturday, tomorrow may see added clouds. sunday is the brighter of the two days. but any w

great weekend to go to the beach. enjoy yourself. water temperature around 76. 70's this weekend. better chance of showers tuesday.

alison: there are difficult things happening in the world lately and it's safe to say we could use a good laugh. tonight's working woman says laughter should be a way of life. we should make a point to laugh more often. she believes that laughter really is the best medicine. you see the group of downtown d.c. coworkers you must be wondering what is so funny? >> there is no reason to laugh. and, you know, we laugh anyway. once you start laughing, and you start feeling so good that you want to continue laughing. >> in fact, the certified laughter therapist made it her life's work to get people to laugh. anywhere, anytime. as often as possible. it reduces pain and

>> but it didn't start out funny. >> i was feeling bad and couldn't get out of bed. tough time. >> she was diagnosed with breast cancer, went through surgery in 2001 and treatment. she looked for anything to feel better. reresearcher laugh every therapy and laughter yoga it helped her with the stress release and it changed her attitude and helped her cope with life. so she got certified to share her joy. >> i felt like i discovered the secret to happiness in life. >> she teaches small and large groups. she gets groups laughing on the cruise ships or with the clients one-on-one. she has a tv show on local cable channel. her mission to help heal and uplift is going strong. one laugh at a time. >> every morning i bring joy and happiness to someone's life that may be dark and

lonely. alison: they look happy. she calls it intentional laughter. make yourself laugh. then build it from there. we have a link to learn more about her programs. the bodies are built to laugh more than we do. jonathan: is it infectious? did you start laughing? >> you feel weird if you are not and everyone else is. jonathan: coming up next at "abc7 news at 5:00" -- the trump administration also tracking hurricane harvey. we look at how presidents through the years have been responding to the natural disasters and what is done this time to get ready for the storm. alison: plus, bill nyge the science guy, you know him? he is crunching numbers and they are not adding up. why he is suing disney. that is next.

jonathan: check out amazing pictures from mars. nasa shot them when the snow started to melt. it's not water that we are talking about here. the melting reveal the red sand dunes under the snow and ice. of

the ice is frozen carbon monoxide which is known as dry ice. the science guy says math isn't adding up on the paycheck so he is suing disney over $9 million over earnings from his show. he filed suit after disney demanded he repay the 2007 earnings. no response yet from disney. alison: well, "7 on your side" with health matters now. it turns out abstinence until marriage programs for children are not very effective. sexual acttities was not delay -- sexual activities were not delay and it found they withhold medically active information and that comp hepsive sex education has better effects. jonathan: coming up at 6:00, short time. video from a burglary in southeast. homeowner says he called d.c. police thinking they would help. but instead

that the officers were making fun of him. see his video proof of it. hear from him at 6:00. we continue to track hurricane harvey. 7 is on your side. fema headquarters prepare to jump into action at the headquarters with the help of local rescuers. all of that coming up at 6:00 in 15 minutes. alison: let east get back to -- let's get back to hurricane harvey. power 68 hurricane is going to hit the texas coast in a few hours. this is a live picture of the beaches in galveston. we have seen the strong wind already. heavy rain in the area. the worst, of course, is yet to come. we will continue tracking that throughout the hours and days. meanwhile, fema is racing at a furious pace to get supplies in place before the worst of the storm. crews are moving the massive generators into place. right in the path of the storm so they can be turned on and

missions as soon as they may be needed. jonathan: in the meantime, president trump meantime tweeting out an image that shows him coordinating the response that will happen following the storm when it makes landfall. this is where the fema crew. administrator brock long and homeland security secretary elaine duke seen in the past, natural disaster and they know is a major test for any president. we have seen some that have done well and others not so much. chief political correspondent scott thuman looks at what we and the president can learn from the past. >> as hurricane harvey tears across the gulf coast with the prospect of devastation, it will be president trump's first test on how he handles the natural disaster. remember, he once mocked president obama for his absence from the louisiana flooding. >> obama ought to get off the golf course and get down there. scott:

political guan dry. president bush had one of several regrettable moves. >> brownie, you are doing a heck of a job. >> political analyst. >> republicans never want it to happen again. they want their president to show humanity. compassion. this makes a great opportunity for him. tragically. >> trump will join a long list of leaders to determine when to send in troops and how much emergency to dispense. and also visiting the site or tying up the first responders or avoiding them and risk look incensetive. >> we had charlottesville situation. there is a controversy on the president and how he responded. if he responds in a visible and a positive and somewhat an emotional way for people to understand that he really is caring about them. i think that that will kind of help move the country in the right direction. >> president trump

that by tweeting restorm concerns. photo today of him being briefed by fema and emergency responders. president trump is monitoring events from camp david but the staff says he will go to texas next week. on capitol hill, scott thuman, abc7 news. jonathan: you can see in the lower part of the screen we are putting up harvey. this has grown in the last couple of hours. category three. huge storm. alison: what are you hearing? steve: a well-defined eye with the system and it may intensify more before it makes landfall. in a few hours or so. right now, the maximum winds at 125 earn many. winds gusts at 155 miles per hour. category three storm. if it increases in speed by five miles it will become a category four storm. a strong, strong system out there. where is it going as it moves through several days? this won't move a lot. it will meander in the same

place and by late sunday to monday we will start to drift on off little farther toward north and the east. so, eventually it will get better. talk about what is going on out there at home. 78 at dulles. same for manassas. upper 70's in fredericksburg. beautiful evening underway. bright night to go to ballpark. temperatures in the 70's. we move to the end of the evening and the overnight. tu burr balance location and to the west will fall in the upper 50's. waking up early tomorrow morning a chill in the air. it won't last long. still going to be a beautiful day around the d.m.v. hope you have a chance to take advantage of it. highs will be a little below average for the time of the year in the upper 70's to 80 degrees. but sunshine from morning to the noontime hour and into the afternoon. the ten-day outlook once we get through the weekend. better chance of showers tuesday and wednesday. the area of the low pressure develops off the coast. then we clear things out as we move to labor day weekend. already labor day weekend. temperatures then

the lower to the middle 80's. jonathan: all right. thanks. alison: all right. erin is here now with sports. erin: scott has a great story. it's about kids helping kids. that is what kyle's camp is all about. kyle diagnosed with leukemia nearly seven years ago. since then he has raised $2348 for cancer research. scott abraham has the rising star. scott: the sweet sound. bat hitting ball. >> the feeling was the ball is coming in. you know your are going to make good contact and rip it to the outfield. scott: 13-year-old kyle priorities every day on the diamond. >> when i was sick i couldn't flay. but i thought when i'm not sick i can play again. >> he had a three and a half-year fight against leukemia. kyle beat the

>> he created kyle's camp in 2011. an organization that raised over $2 million for children national medical center. >> this is a dream come true. >> using experiences to motivate children with cancer. >> telling them to keep batting. keep moving forward. you will industry through it and get past it. >> leaving a legacy much bigger than the success on the diamond. erin: such a fighter. he can motivate the other kids. incredible. jonathan: the message he

than he came through and survived. >> he says i can do it. you can do it. >> good to see him healthy. >> playing baseball again. >> if you know someone overcome adversity to excel in the athletic arena please e-mail us. the e-mail on the screen. jonathan:

there's the view. there's more to life than the climb. you've got to stop... ...and look around a little. remember who you are. let the child inside you out to play. come... shed life's layers in asheville.

and let the magic find you. asheville. discovery inside and out.

alison: two teens forced to rely on the survival skills after they got lost hiking in the grand canyon. they spent five days in 100-degree heat before a rescue crew ultimately found them. as marci gonzalez reports they survived by drinking puddle water and eating one ga know la bar. two teens on a cross country road trip to start college getting five-day crash course in survival. they turned off a trail in a day-long hike in the grand canyon and got love. >> i don't think i could have done it with anyone else other than r

100-degree heat with no cell phone signal toal call for help. running out of water on the first day. surviving drinking from puddles and rationing the one granola bar each they carried with them. >> every day we'd eat a piece of a granola bar that big. >> hiding out in the shade but making sure if the rescues came for them they would know where to look. >> we made a sign with rocks at the base of the trail that pointed where we were. >> it worked. on the fifth day a helicopter flew past and the stranded best friends were spotted. >> i had a big lifeguard whistle. i start blowing. we are waving at it. >> rescuers from the national park service bringing them to safety. they were dehydrated but okay. >> they learned a big lesson saying if they go hiking again they will take experts' advice to bring maps and tell others where they are going. marci gonzalez,

angeles. >> it's a hurricane that is going to prove more dangerous than many hurricanes. >> i'm afraid that people may not be taking the storm seriously. they may not be heeding the warning. >> hurricane harvey packing a punch. the category three storm barreling toward the texas coast. our team is standing by with complete coverage. jonathan: plus, a burglary victim is outraged saying the d.c. police officers responded starting making fun of him. more of the shocking video and the discipline for those officers. announcer: now, "abc7 news at 6:00". on your side. jonathan: they are bracing for hurricane harvey on the gulf coast. 35 inches of rain. catastrophic flooding. life threatening storm surges. those are the dire warnings going out all along the texas coast. nancy: the category three hurricane expected to make landfall in hours. but already happening right

rain is falling. the water, you can see it behind sus getting choppy along the -- be -- it is getting choppy along the gulf coast. this is the strongest storm to make landfall in more than a decade in the united states. the main concern is what happens after it come ace shore. >> think of your life first. the most important thing we are dealing with right now is human life. jonathan: widespread power outages is a concern. they are talking about the outages that could last three to seven days. steve: the storm is picking up more steam. galveston, texas. the ocean is very, very choppy. this is north of where the main storm is located. this is where we have now. latest update. maximum winds 125 miles per hour. it is moving north and west at 10 miles per hour. it is going to slow down a bit. here is the eye