from the hurricane hunter. so that means the storm is technically getting stronger and more tightly organized. right now the center is about good 75, 80 miles northeast of the northeast coast of puerto rico near san juan. it is continuing to track west/northwest at 16 miles per hour. this is north of the coast of cuba and it's making a right-hand turn to the north and being near miami and northeast of jacksonville. be remember this is the margin of error. it could be on the right-hand side or the left-hand side of this track. what we do know though is consistently it's staying the same or a little to the right. that means millions of people could be affected along the southeast coast. more that josh and i will share coming up. right now back to nancy. nancy: we will stand

thank you very much. this is what it looks like in st. thomas. you can see the trees blown and the wind as irma moves closer to the u.s. irvin islands this morning. the cars are lining up florida trying to leave the florida keys. maggie rulli shows us some of the damage so far and how people in irma's path are getting ready. hurricane irma is barreling on as a category five. one of the strongest the atlantic ocean has ever seen. the storm is bearing down on puerto rico. an island the experts say hasn't seen a storm of this magnitude in a hundred years. >> i covered hurricanes for 125 years. this is unlike anything i have seen. >> they are bracing for the worst. having seen the path of devastation irma already left behind in the caribbean. >> this is nature at the most fierce.

irma. with florida preparing for a direct hit saturday afternoon. right now miami is in bullseye. floridians are running out of the necessities. >> the manager told us they don't have any water in yet. so i am going to pick up other nonperishable items to get prepared for the storm. >> 25% of the gas stations in miami are already out of gas. >> gas is running out everywhere. i'm too late trying to get it, i guess. >> lines for water are wrapping around the block. >> i went to costco. they sold out of water. >> homeowners are scrambling to board up windows. at least 150,000 are under mandatory evacuation. in the florida keys and the other coastal communities near fort lauderdale and miami. maggie rulli, abc7 news. larry: well, take a look at this image of irma from the international space station. this is taken as the massive storm hit the caribbean in morning. meteorologist josh knight picks up the

with a look at how much damage irma could do. j i want to stress you can see the track. the number goes down from five to four to three. so you think it's getting better. but anything at a one, two, three, four or five can do some major damage. cat one here. and katia is in motion. we will start to get the winds at cat one. not as powerful. the trees bend in the wind. we lose shingles and some of the siding at a cat two. bumping up to cat three. now we have winds that are closer to around 110 to 130 miles per hour. we bump up to cat four and we have big issues. you see the four and the three approaching south florida to jacksonville that is a very big deal.

katzic damage. if you remember andrew from 1992 with the homes wipedded off the foundation that is something that you can see with the category five storm. larry: great illustration. i worked in west palm beach in the time of andrew. there is beauty to be had. the hurricane hunters flying through the storm last night to snap this picture of the moon through the eye. amazing. you can track irma downloading the stormwatch7 app. a look at people looking in area and own homes in florida are doing to get ready for irma. nancy: the group of people marching from charlottesville to d.c. are in the nation's capital. they arrived an hour ago. and jeff goldberg is live with them in southwest. jeff? jeff: this group of folks arrived at the m.l.k. memorial an hour ago in

washington. the march is continuing on. they will walk across the mall to the white house. this is a march against white supremacy. this is going on for ten days. even though the march will come to a close soon they have no plans to stop speaking out. the energy filling the last leg of the charlottesville to d.c. march crossing the key bridge to georgetown only seemed to strengthen with the force of the rain. >> one of the things i want to accomplish to bring people together to dennounce white supremacy explicitly. >> the tenth and the final day began in maryfield and through arlington in the rain. >> we speak together. it's a beautiful day. >> the 118-mile all march against white supremacy started right by the robert e. lee

park in charlottesville and organized in response to the neo nazi rally held last month. >> it was surprising to see what happened in charlottesville. jeremy came from minneapolis to march from start to finish. >> this is an important time to take a stand against white supremacy. >> it shows the strength of a new generation of people that want to fight for justice. [singing] jeff: just after 4:00 today they arrived at the final destination. the martin luther king memorial in southwest washington. >> we are here to move the envelope forward. we are not tired yet. we have only just begun. jeff: plenty of the marchers are from sout of town. like that je -- from sout of town. that moment from new jersey. a lot of the marchers walked for a couple of days here and there or joined one a group

today. a few marchers were part of the event for the entire ten-day period. the group is walking over to the white house. they have the plans to have an encampment at the farragut north metro station or near the area until the march for racial justice in d.c. which is going to be happening on september 30. live in southwest washington, jeff goldberg, abc7 news. larry: thank you. charlottesville leaders voting to remove a statue of stonewall jackson. a decision to remove the statue of robert e. lee is challenged in court. they draped both in tarps in memorial to heather heyer who was killed at the charlottesville rally. nancy: the church leaders saying that the debate on what to do with the windows centered on whether they had a place in nation's account spiritual home." removal work started today will take a few days. larry: developing right now one day after

closes, part of work on the purple line a community group is asking the judge for an injunction to stop the work. transportation reporter brianne carter is live outside u.s. district court in d.c. where we are waiting for the ruling. brianne: we expect to get a ruling on the temporary restraining order this friday after a half an hour of court proceedings playing out here in federal court. if granted tree cutting along the popular georgetown branch trail could be delayed for up to 14 days if the t.r.o. again is granted. well, maryland transportation officials today were asked about the tree cutting. they said it's expected to start happening for the large trees along that trail on the week of september 18. today they asked the court to possibly put it back a week. the two sides as you know may have ongoing case on the purple line i

appeals. today they told the plaintiff the new arguments to stop or delay the project are a stretch. but the judge did set a hearing date for later this month for preliminary injunction in the case which could prevent that tree cutting while the legal embow in the court of appeals continues to play out. >> being very careful. the case, a number of the elements of the case, although this is a new case, are on appeal. however, none of the facts that have occurred since early 2016 have been before this judge. there are several new violations of law which we lay out in detail in the complaint. >> they argue it would do with the funding agreement. both of them say that are in compliance with that happening. we expect to get a ruling on friday on the temporary restraining order. both sides are expected to be back in court on

brianne carter. nancy: new developments for the man who shot and killed three people including an estranged wife in rampage across two maryland counties last year. brad bell was in the courtroom when eulalio tordil was sentenced today. brad: that is the horrible crime caught on security camera. in the top left corner of the screen, enraged eulalio tordil is attacking his estranged wife gladys in parking lot of high point high school. gladys' taur runs to call 911. >> my mom was in the car and my stepfather came out of nowhere and tried to get inside the car. she couldn't get out. brad: help can't arrive in time as eulalio tordil chases and shoots and wounds a good samaritan who tried to save gladys. he turns and shoots in the car. walks away. comes back and fires one more shot at gladys. she is hit six

killed. >> he is an evil man. again, he deserves an eternity in jail. brad: p.g. state's attorney angela alsobrooks reacting after the video was played in court today. the judge ordering two life sentences and yet in court today when given a chance to speak, tordil asked for mercy. >> mr. tordil is a ruthless man. he is obsessed with himself. he is evil. he is a killer. brad: today gladys' daughters gave impact statements and told how the loss of their mother ruined their lives and they described abuse at the hands of eulalio tordil. one of the daughters smiling when she heard the sentence of life without parole announced in court. in upper marlboro, brad bell, abc7 news. larry: police in montgomery county searching for a pregnant teacher who has not been heard from since sunday. that

text message to family members and they haven't heard from her since. she may be driving a black 2011 ford escape with maryland tags. if you have seen her, you are asked to please call police. nancy: coming up at 5:00 -- out of the sewer. find out the punishment for the mail carrier who dumped all this mail instead of delivering it. larry: then later, two protests, a wedding and two dozen other events. what you need to know before a busy upcoming weekend in the district. >> the president doubles down on his stance on dreamers putting their fate now in the hands of congress. what is the plan on capitol hill? i'm scott thuman. that story coming up. >> i don't know that i was expecting this. i don't know what i was expecting. nancy: plus, as people start returning to the flooded homes in houston. congress making a deal to help them recover. >> they are barely back from houston and virginia task force one is packing up the bags once again and heading back dow

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nancy: the g.o.p. leaders are set to attach three-month debt ceiling increase in the budget extensions and democrats agreeing to the increase today catching republican leaders off-guard. larry: some of the people forced from the homes in harvey are getting a sense of damage. lisa bennett left when the water was up to her hips. >> it's heart wrenching. everything is gone. everything. everything i had is gone. there is nothinglet. -- nothing left. larry: other families wound mold everything and the whats crumbling like cheese. look at that. tonight, texas state official says gas supply is resolving quickly and shortages should be resolved in a day or two. nancy: members of the maryland task force one returning home from texas today. but others continued on. four members of the group hazardous materials team diverted to alabama to help

members of the swift water rescue team standing by for word if they will be deployed for the response as well. larry: more on the members of the virginia task force one. as we mentioned they spent time in texas. they are heading south as well. ryan hughes was in chantilly this morning when the homecoming turned into quick and another goodbye. ryan: this elite team has to be ready at a moment's notice. soon after 14 members with virginia task force one arrived home from houston another team deployed and heading south ahead of hurricane irma. reggie got the call late tuesday night as he was pulling into his driveway. >> got to see my wife and kids and repack to head out the doors. >> 80 members, the full crew. they spent the morning packing up the bags and getting checked in. as the monster storm threatens florida the men and the women are preparing to head to

>> it's what we have trained for. we are eager to do what we can. >> they made ten rescues to pull the people from flooded homes and neighborhoods under waters. this time around the team is larger. preparing for stronger winds and possibly more widespread damage. >> virginia task force one hit the road. short on sleep but says the quick turn-around will pay off. >> it's good to have someone who has been there already. >> the 80-member team is stapled in alabama and head further south to florida once irma hit. the team is expected to be there for two weeks. in chantilly, ryan hughes, abc7 news. >> irma is not the only thing. three hurricanes. >> irma is

brand new hurricane jose and katia in the southern gulf of mexico, so we will cover all three. first to give you update on the local stuff happening here. just rain. rainy afternoon. school. chilly. this feels like the end of october for september. cloudy skies and most of the rain is light and steady. but it is moving out of the area. all of this is moving east with the cold front. it will end later tonight. we will see the clearing overnight. upper 50's to start the day. once we get to tomorrow and friday and saturday and sunday and monday they are going to look the same. sunny with the temperatures in the 70's. gorgeous weather. we will hit tuesday.

see any potential effects from what is left of irma at that point. talk about the storms. hurricane katia is in the southern gulf of mexico. it's actually moving southwest near veracruz over the next few days. meanwhile, a ital farther east at the end is hurricane jose, 75 miles per hour winds. this is traveling northwest. probably missing the islands that are being affected now by irma. irma is a category five hurricane. the central pressure dropped a bit. that that shows it is steady for falling. live picture of puerto rico. the power comes and go. did we have it for a second in no. it gave a brief look here.

the center is 65 northeast of san juan, it will miss the island. you can see it move west northwesterly. the target is the turks for the land areas. the 5:00 update is sustained winds at 85. gusting up to 225 miles per hour. this is a very deep storm. i will equate out to 27 inches of mercury. that is huge. all right. here we go with the update and the track. the hurricane center maintains the strength. it takes us to the beginning of the week late friday night. it will move toward south florida. category three is a major hurricane by 2:00 monday afternoon. northeast after jacksonville. this is the center line of the cone so it could stay left or come up come up the west coast r the middle of

shows. or farther out to sea. it will make an impact along the atlantic coastline. south carolina has taken so many precautions today to get ready. this is the look at the latest spaghetti models. through 1:00 in the afternoon, the west/northwest heading and it will turn north. i could be anywhere. once we get through tonight i will explain we have beautiful weekend weather and the next ten days are different. spectacular for a long stretch through monday. we have the probabilities of potential impacts from irma. not to say it could happen. but it is a chance on the future track and strength. then we settle in to gorgeous september weather. nancy: i like the sound of that. quite a bit. speaking of irma this is catastrophic. you d

direct path to be worried about it. larry: still to come how snowbirds in our area with property in florida get ready for the storm. >> but first, congress pushes for action on daca the step more than a dozen states and the district are taking to try

born and raised incian, dr. rrural virginia went to vmi. trained at johns hopkins. an army doctor who treated soldiers seriously wounded in the gulf war. eighteen years as volunteer medical director of a children's hospice. as lt. governor, he's fighting to expand healthcare in virginia. he'll get it done as governor. ralph northam: i'm ralph northam, and we need to provide access to affordable healthcare for all virginians, not take it away.

nancy: the district and other states announcing they are suing the trump administration over the decision to end the daca program. immigrant grant tearfully watching the one group she hopes will keep her in the country. >> the dreamers here, i want to say a message to y'all. we will fought for you to stay here. >> why should they sit in limbo and be optimistic that they will get them amnesty and work permits when it failed before?

>> 2 democrats demand clean bills considered in house and the senate immediately. >> do you get bipartisan on this? >> we hope so. the president is saying that is what he wants, too. adding he had no second thought about putting the future in congress' hand confident they will act. >> i hope they do. >> wi are in touch with congress to make sure they present something to president. no is their chance to do it. >> if they don't put a bill on the floor they will attach the dreamer measures to every bit of legislation they can. >> in a week, a day of

protest. three different groups. how are police preparing? we have reports coming up. larry: later, breaking ground. what is built here that has not just the neighborhood but a whole city excited. >> a lot 06 people scrambling to get out

nancy: listen to the wind as hurricane irma came ashore. the category fave storm pummeling island this morning. to give you an idea of how strong this is, three lanes headed to brooklyn this morning to try to help people get out had to turn back to florida because the winds were too strong. that is not surprising when you look at the video. the visibility is zero out there. josh: yeah. that was earlier this morning when it was still more than 100 miles from puerto rico. the storm looks like it will pass north to keep an eye out for that. this may look different because this is broken up to sectors. zooming in and taking

so you have a smooth shot. look how it will grow to the picture. so where do we get the 185-mile-per-hour max winds? it's a small area in the iual around the eye. this ridge is squishing the storm down and holding it south. what happens is this cold front based on this trough that is moving through the area breaks down that high pressure. that allows it to make a sharp turn to the right. for south florida and miami on the track the front timing and the ridge is what sets us up to see a move through to make the landfall close to the area. so we look at the cone. and the org area. there is still uncertainty where it will go. keeping a close eye on that. south florida and ge

south carolina. larry: in florida people are piling up sand bags. what happens if you own a house there and you live here? stephen tschida is tracking irma live with the angle of the story. stephen: we spoke with several people. local people who have homes in florida. we heard from them panicked, worried. we caught up with a guy as he raced past us here for a flight to florida. and his home there. we also several people to be back here and away from you aremy. the luck ones got on planes and out of hurricane irma's path. >> this morning was very overcast. cloudy and windy. >> they cut their miami honeymoon short. >> hard to have a vacation when everyone is packing up the car to drive north. >> some florida colleges telling

and go now. >> kind of panicked. people trying to get out. i know flights were tough to get. >> airlines announcing they are canceling flights friday ahead of irma's aavril. tourists today shuffling the travel plans. >> we were told the airport in moment is closing on friday. we were due to fly out sunday morning. so we didn't want to say there another weak in the hurricane. >> not everyone is fleeing from hurricane irma. some are heading straightforward it. >> we have everything stored already. break it out and put it up. >> back live now, checking out the flight monitor. most things table. some are early. but we heard from american airlines one of the main carriers to and from florida. they are winding down after friday afternoon canceling flights and already at m

rather frantic situation. >> we are tracking hurricane irma. nancy: since the woman's march the day after president trump's inauguration we have seen plenty of people take to the streets in support of or in protest against this administration. next week they are planning rallies in the capital. richard reeve has a preview of what to expect on saturday, september 16. >> the district long place of protest. the daca demonstrations are the latest example. >> this is a challenge when you have so many moving parts in a day. >> but this will be especially challenging. 3,000 juggalos followers of the band insane clown posse wh

last july. >> they are protesting the 2011 decision by the f.b.i. to classify them as a gang after a series of arrests by people classified as juggalos. >> the juggalo family must shine the group's website says. we are not a gang, public menace, cult or any of the other untrue labels they attempted to slab on us throughout the years. the daca protests primarily at the white house but on the 16th, 500 people are marching to protest russian interference in the 2016 election. protrump rally of 5,000 will hold a mother of all rallies near the washington monument. >> the goal is to give everyone the opportunity to exercise the free speech rights or the assembly. but to do it in a safe way. >> from the aerial map, you can see how the three groups are separated. juggalo organizer jason webber says the group plans to stay within the march route. police watching all of them. >> we are able to analyze all the information that we have co

hopefully deliver a safe day for everyone involved. >> busy day of security. expressing first amendment rights. in the district, richard reeve, abc7 news. >> this should be a good experience. larry: of themism for the upcoming -- optimism for upcoming school year in prince george's county. 130,000 students going back to school. 700 showed up to the new fairmont heights high school. prince george's county school is the last direction in the area to go back to class. still ahead at 5:00, maybe a piece of humanity will be sparked in the hearts when i see the impact that the choices make. what the mother is hoping to change by sharing her story. >> i'm sam ford. guess how much time a mailman would get for dumping 15,000 pieces of mail down a sewer? i will tell you how many hours next on abc7 news. nancy: ahead at 6:00, must-see video. at first this looks like a woman checking in to a hotel. but

have been the most frightening five minutes of her life.

steve: this is wednesday. looking ahead to the upcoming weekend. the rice for the cure is early saturday morning. look at the sunshine. cool start. upper 50's beginning of the day. we will make it in the mid-60's moving to the 11:00 hour. you can watch it live on newschannel8. the rest of the weekend daytime highs around saturday. 72 degrees. sunday looking fantastic around 75. a little bit below average for this time of year. but at least it's sunny and it is going to be

born and raised incian, dr. rrural virginia went to vmi. trained at johns hopkins. an army doctor who treated soldiers seriously wounded in the gulf war. eighteen years as volunteer medical director of a children's hospice. as lt. governor, he's fighting to

he'll get it done as governor. ralph northam: i'm ralph northam, and we need to provide access to affordable healthcare for all virginians, not take it away. larry: the construction of the first wawa underway. the city officials breaking ground to mark beginning of the construction. it's on 19th street northwest and they plan to open five to ten in d.c. area over the next few years. nancy: did you grab a chocolate bar the last tim you stopped at wawa? d

a swiss cocoa company invented pink chocolate. ruby chocolate. tastes like berries. made from the ruby cocoa bean and it doesn't have added coloring. it's naturally that way. one of the shots looks like a pink eraser that you would use to erase the pencil. >> it does. nancy: i don't know if i'd try it. then again if it's chocolate, i'm always down for that. larry: do you like berries and chocolate together? i'm a chocolate straight guy. nancy: i like berries and chocolate so i don't know. larry: plenty of pink downtown on the national mall. join abc7 for live coverage of the susan g. komen race for the cure. we will have live coverage at 8:00 a.m. on newschannel8. >> parking anywhere in the area can be a huge pain. but what if you had a child with a disability? up next, "7 on your side" i-team investigation.

caught parking illegally in handicap spots. nancy: we are tracking hurricane irma. feeling the wrath of the storm

nancy: surprise that parking is a huge headache. but exclusive "7 on your side" i-team investigation shows most of us have it easy compared to what families with disabled children have to do to find a place to park? scott taylor, fighting back. scott: parking can be a nightmare wherever you live. but what if your child is handicapped? cindy and jennifer have sons who use handicap parking and they are fed up leaving notes of windshield of drivers illegally parked. >> some of it is play tant abuse -- blatant abuse. scott: these pictures show what they face. truck sparked in handicap zone at a little league ballpark. another vehicle taking up disabled parking at mclean, virginia, schools. but this makes the moms mad. >> we were just

toy store. so there is a u.p.s. truck that was double parked. not only taking up both handicap spaces but blocking in the curb cut-out. >> they sent us this video of the ups truck parking in the handicap spots as they lead and unload the trucks. >> they are the only handicap spaces at the shopping center. i waited for 30 minutes watching him. we just left. you don't want to be with him on day he doesn't have access to a toy store. isn't that right? scott: she says this is not an isolated incident. >> it's not just one truck. it's a systemic problem that needs addressing. scott: she documented it happening at two other locations with other drivers. >> here it comes. scott: "7 on your side" uncover as the u.p.s. driver in purcellville pulls in to a space that blocks the crosswalk and in between two handicap spots making them useless for anyone getting out of a side loading van. >> can you tell me why you are parked here in between two handicap spots? and also h

the driver admits he shouldn't have parked there. >> sometimes there is no good space. >> there was a free space this time. why didn't you park over there? >> i can move over there, sir. >> we share the photos and the video with u.p.s. is this time of parking in line with the u.p.s. policys? the answer no. u.p.s. wouldn't talk on camera but did send us a statement. "we appreciate you sharing these with us. it is u.p.s. policy to adhere to all local, state and national traffic laws." u.p.s. is investigating and says it will take appropriate action. the driver moved the truck and both of the moms hope the message will get through to u.p.s. and everyone else willing to snatch up a spot that belongs to somebody else who really needs it. >> maybe a little piece of humanity will be sparked in the hearts when they see the impact that the choices make. scott: let's hope so. tickets for illegally parking in the han

from $100 up to $500 depending where you live. this is disappointing. >> it's remarkable, too, to see that. for the delivery drivers, you know, this is easy but this is affect something many families. >> yeah. >> it's all about speeding up the delivery. c'mon, if you see somebody doing this. please tell them to move like we did. larry: absolutely. great piece. thank you for that. tracking irma tonight. new video in the last hour out of the british virgin islands. the storm battering the islands in the northern caribbean now. mike carter-conneen in the newsroom with a look at the latest images from the storm. mike? mike: these are stunning images out of st. martin. this is the lookby of --by of the beach plaza hotel. huge wavers crashing in the entire area. totally under water. a lot of destruction to that building. this video stunning to see the 180-plus miles per hour winds. simply uprooting trees and sending them flying into nearby structures.

there and captured this video. putting the life in danger. a lot of flooding in the neighborhood streets across st. martin. this video out of puerto rico shows downed power lines resulting in explosion and there are many reports of the power outages across puerto rico and the u.s. irvin islands this evening. >> we are still going with the latest update. the hour ago the national hurricane center updated information on three hurricanes. you may not have heard much about hurricane katia in the gulf of mexico. headed southwest toward vera, mexico. top winds in the 75 to the 80-mile-per-hour range. on the other side of irma is now hurricane jose. that is expected to become a major hurricane for a few days before it eventually weakens some and headed to the west/northwest. it will stay north and east it looks like. the islands that were horribly affected by irma right there. so top winds still at

miles per hour sustained with the gusts to 225 miles per hour. the pressure is the lowest it has been. the whole course of the time. that is something to keepian eye on. the area of the most severe weather expand and this is a large hurricane. the western flank continues to push the wind and wavers for hundreds of miles. this will make a trek north. it will weaken in time. this is a big cone so it could be offshore or on the western side on the gulf or up the middle. we will know more with precision of where it will go but a lot of states and people in play here for the potential impacts. the next few days are incredible. plenty of sunshine. the weekend is spectacular. su

70's. let's talk sports. robert: this is week one and the redskins preparing for opener against the eagles. they have to put the cravens drama behind them and focus on what is ahead. kirk cousins has a new toy to focus on. erin hawksworth has the latest on that and much more. >> week one is here. opener is the most anticipated game of the year. >> we learned something new. erin: kirk cousins received his own nook. >> i said i would like a place to leave my stuff. erin: that is what captain kirk got. >> we found an old o

best word i can think of. >> he wants to watch film in private. >> it has everything he needs to prepare for game day. >> i have my laptop and the video guys put a monitor in there for me. i have my jeff foxworthy you might be a red neck peel off calendar every day. >> we are told we can't put a door on it. >> but something makes it impactful. >> an old quote from ali i learned in college that says, essentially "the fight is won or lost lodge before i dance under the lights." the reminder when i'm in there often times the game is won or lost right here when you see something or you find a tip or piece of information to make a difference. erin: erin hawksworth, abc7 news. nancy: they would

lamp in there. larry: bean bag. there you go. robert: how is that? nancy: coming up next, you saw the video first on abc7. larry: find out what is happening to the mail carrier who dumped all t

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larry: you saw the story first on 7. piles of mail put in the sewer. the mailman who put it there today learned his fate. it's not a punishment as his own attorney asked for. >> i can't get over 150 community hours. that is it? >> a couple of years. five years. at least five. sam: northeast d.c. residents stunned by how little time a former mailman christopher newton flipping up the bird here receiverred in federal court for destroying u.s. mail. two years pro base and 150 community service hours. christopher newton pleaded guilty months ago to stuffing 15,000 pieces of u.s. mail

done this and other sewers. the judge asked why would you do something so stupid? he replied he wasn't sure. he was stressed. in may of 2016, residents around douglas and anacostia northeast were stressed by clogged drains. they snaked out u.s. mail. >> it was a shock to see that much mail backed up in the sewer hole like that. >> the prosecutors asked the judge to require 500 hours of community service for newton. newton's attorney asked for 200 hours. the judge gave 150. >> it was a good day. sam: the attorney argued that newton who took off after the sentencing was busy working for metro access and didn't have a lot of time for community service. the residents of northeast were hardly sympathetic. >> should have got more than that. that is people's mail. they need that. should have got more than that. >> not a good sentence for throwing away mail. >> the judge noted since newton is on two hours probation he could do 75 hours of community service each year to reach the so reu

sam ford, abc7 news. >> this is a massive storm. no one is ever ready for a category five hurricane. >> shaking doors and the wind howling. >> we are being aggressive in preparation of the storm. if you are told to evacuate get out quickly. >> we asked the people to keep us in their thoughts and prayers. michelle: that is the roar of irma. irma is pounding everything in the path. cnn is reporting two deaths already tied to the category five storm and that is before we get reports from tiny islands from st. more tin to puerto rico where buildings are damaged and roads are swamped. as we come on air tonight we are learning the tiny island is in ruins. home to

apart by the storm. jonathan: we are hearing that and we learning that irma may be intensifying. we have team coverage tonight of the storm and what comes next. stormwatch7's chief meteorologist doug hill is tracking irma tonight. who would have thought it's getting stronger. doug: the pressure is a subtle drop of central pressure but it shows a tendency. it is tightening up and getting perhaps stronger. wind speeds remain the same. 185-mile-per-hour sustained winds. gust to 225. now moving northeast coast of puerto rico. it is off the coast to the northeast by 50 miles but there are still big winds and waves there. i want to expand it out. to show the context here. here is the dominican republic. you lose puerto rico there. it disappears a little bit. but they are lashed by the high winds and waves. what will happen here in the next several days is still up to questions. the models are clear here. keeping on west/northwesterly track until late friday and then it will make a