tracks conditions and maintenance records trying to determine what caused the derailment that led to the deaths of two teenagers. good afternoon, i'm barbara harrison in for pat lawson muse. >> we've got new details on that deadly train derailment that killed two college students. today federal investigators say an engineer in training was at the controls. we're also learning that the train was traveling at the authorized speed of 25 miles an hour. the ntsb remains on the scene this afternoon trying to figure out what caused the crash. as melissa reports, friends and family are remembering two lives that ended far too soon. >> reporter: the cleanup here continues. take a look here behind me. lots of questions still this morning. the most pressing why did this train derail, killing two friends who were supposed to be heading back to college. below the bridge, heavy equipment, tactical crews and firefighters this morning, cleaning up further down the tracks too, more movement as

they worked to clear the spi coal and masses of twisted metal. here you can even see part of two coal cars buried. george miller's company was called in yesterday morning to replace some of the rails. >> we were told 1:00 this morning. but now they're doing some federal investigation, so it might be later on tonight or tomorrow morning before they can get us in there. >> reporter: the train was coming through just after midnight tuesday when it derailed. 21 of the 80 cars overturned. 19-year-old elizabeth ness and her friend, 19-year-old rose mayer was sitting on the bridge tweeting out pictures. both of them were killed and found buried under coal. >> my heart goes out to the girls' family. i know csx is doing what they can to get things taken care of, but this is tragic. it's a sad situation. >> reporter: the friends attended mt. hebron high school. the crash also crushed vehicles

under one section of the bridge. the ntsb is now heading up this investigation. they say though no one on board the train pulled the emergency brake, it automatically kicked in once the train began coming off of the track. >> there's a lot of forces in a derailment, so we need to look at all those pieces of rail and examine each one of them. it's an exhaustive effort that will take some time. >> reporter: investigators will also look at a camera as well as an event recorder on board the train. >> by a long shot this is the biggest mess i've seen. >> if you're just at the wrong place at the wrong time, you never know what's going to happen. >> reporter: the ntsb will be on the scene here another day or so. of course this investigation could take months. back to you. republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan says he has no plans to call congressman todd akin a second time to ask him to step down.

republican leaders from mitt romney to mitch mcconnell have urged akin to move aside after his controversial remark on rape and abortion. this morning on "today" akin said ryan called him last night. he said he told ryan he will consider the matter from a number of different viewpoints, but he said he thinks missouri voters want someone very different from claire mccaskill. >> i believe america is at a crisis point and it's extremely important that the voters have a choice of someone who is completely opposite to claire mccaskill and that sharp contrast is something that the voters will have a real honest choice come november. i believe that they stand with me on a whole host of issues. >> congressman ryan is opposed to abortion except in cases where the mother's life is in danger. he worked with akin on a bill that narrowed the definition of rape. today on a campaign flight from roanoke, virginia, to raleigh,

north carolina, ryan would not tell reporters exactly what he told akin last night but he said he agrees with the members of the missouri delegation who asked akin to step down. >> the akin controversy has taken the republican presidential campaign off message. steve handelsman has the latest. >> reporter: paul ryan went to virginia and north carolina, trying to get the campaign focus back on the economy >> we've got 23 million people out of work, struggling to find work today. unemployment has been above 8% for 42 months, and the real unemployment rate is like 15%. this is president obama's imaginary recovery. it's not here. >> reporter: the so-called ryan bump is not here. >> let's get this done! >> reporter: picking the congressional conservative did not help mitt romney's poll numbers much. president obama with teachers in nevada today leads 48 to 48% in the nbc news/wall street journal poll. he's ten points ahead in voter

like ability. and in recent polls running ahead with women, who outnumbered men in his camera shot at today's speech. >> we've got more work to do, we've got more good teachers to hire. >> reporter: in iowa, mitt romney mentioned women. >> it is free men and women that drive our economy. freedom is what makes america work. and president obama, bless his heart, has tried to substitute government for free people, and it has not worked and it will never work. >> reporter: not helping romney is republican todd akin, still standing, refusing romney's call to quit the missouri senate race, casting himself as an anti-abortion hero, after apologizing for claiming legitimate rape victims can't get pregnant. >> i don't apologize for the fact that i am strong in my belief of pro life. >> reporter: five days before romney's convention in tampa, tropical storm isaac is a threat. so is the storm over akin. republican leaders don't want

abortion competing with the romney economic message. i'm steve handelsman, news 4. >> stay with news 4 for continuing convention coverage. we'll have live team coverage from the republican convention next week in florida. we'll have coverage of the democratic national convention in charlotte next month. another gorgeous day out there for us, but just how long can it last? >> doug kammerer joins us with our first forecast. >> i think it could last maybe all the way through the end of the week and maybe into the weekend too. take a look at these numbers out there right now, simply gorgeous. 85 degrees, winds out of the southeast at 6 miles an hour. as we look across the region, here's what we're seeing right now. we're looking at these numbers coming through with highs into the 80s all across our area. we're talking low to mid-80s. 82 in gaithersburg, 84 in manassas and 84 down towards the south in fredericksburg.

as far as the rain is concerned there are a few showers out there mostly to the west just to the south of winchester. some of those showers may try to work their way into parts of northern virginia. we'll continue to watch out for those as we make our way through over the next couple of hours. something else we are watching, we are watching the latest on tropical storm isaac. i'll have the latest path for you, let you know where that track is going and what i think about that storm as well coming up. again, it could impact the u.s. alarming information today with west nile virus. the latest numbers out show that they indicate this could be the worst year on record. states from california to the carolinas have reported new cases, with texas hit the hardest. erica edwards has more. >> reporter: in texas, the assault on west nile disease includes insecticides spraying from the ground and air. >> tonight we begin a phase two of our aerial spraying operations. >> reporter: nearly half of the reported 1100 west nile cases nationwide have occurred in

texas. dallas county has launched an extensive west nile education campaign. >> this is -- >> reporter: even stopping cars to hand out flyers with prevention information. >> i have a youngster that gets eaten alive by mosquitos. so i need everything i can get to take care of it. >> reporter: the vast majority of people who get the mosquito-borne disease don't actually get sick. but so far more than 600 people have developed a severe neuroinvasive form of west nile, which can include meningitis and swelling of the brain. at least 41 people have died, but experts say even those who survive can have long-term problems. experts say to get rid of standing water from around your home because that's where mosquitos breed. also -- >> yoz a mosquito repellent when you go out. at dusk or dawn when mosquitos bite, cover up. wear those long-sleeve shirts. >> reporter: those who track west nile at the centers for disease control and prevention

say this could be the worst year for west nile since it first appeared in the u.s. in 1999. just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that rocked our region, we learned that it did not cause the washington mon noent sink. that's according to a team of experts who surveyed the city's tallest structure after last year's 5.8 magnitude quake. they called it surprising but atri attribute it to the monument's engineers. it's not expected to reopen until 2014. tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the quake. after today your cab ride may start to look a little bit different. the taxicab commission is starting to update all the city's taxis with high-tech smart meters. tracy takes a look at the new technology. >> reporter: d.c. mayor vincent gray introduced the new taxi smart meter system today during his weekly press conference. the system will allow passengers to pay with credit cards. the cabs are also equipped with

screens that provide gps so you can see where you are and where you're going. customers can review news, weather reports and current events on many tv monitors. nbc news and nbc 4 will provide the tv con tent for the taxis. the mayor says it will 90 days to install the system in the city's 6500 cabs. gray says this is not only a major step toward improving the convenience of cabs, but also the safety. >> because it will substantially reduce the extent to which this is a cash system and will protect not only the passengers, but even more so the drivers who will be less vulnerable to being robbed by somebody who knows that they're carrying cash. >> reporter: the city has a $1.3 million contract to have the smart meters installed. now, the two companies that wanted to win the bid, they're appealing. councilmember marion berry has initiated legislation to help the appeal process along and

stall the installation of these new motoeters, but the mayor sa he wants to keep the schedule and plan installation at planned. he said he doesn't expect to have any problems with the appeal process. and when news 4 at 4:00 continues, actor ll cool jay turns the tables on a burglar who broke into his home. a little girl saves the day when bees swarm and attack her grandmother. and later prince harry is known to get himself in trouble, but pictures of

rapper turned tv cop ll cool jay took down a real-life criminal early this morning. he confronted a would be burglar in the kitchen of his los angeles home, then held him there until police arrived. police say the entertainer was

sleeping upstairs when he heard some suspicious noises. ll and his family were not hurt but police say the burglar was pretty banged up. the suspect is now in custody. well, it appears it only took a heart attack for donald trump to at least temporarily end his long-time public feud with rosie o'donnell. the trump tweeted -- or the donald tweeted to rosie get better fast. i'm starting to miss you, he said. rosie got the message and promptly replied, thank you, donald. i must admit your post was a bit of a shock. are you trying to kill me? rosie donnel suffered what they call a widow maker but survived thanks to aspirin and a trip to the doctor. it's that time of year, kids heading back to school and doctors' offices are being swamped with health forms. joining us is dr. jackie with family allergy and asthma care

in gaithersburg, maryland. welcome back. >> thank you. >> first up, what are the most common meds that need to go back with kids to school and what do schools need to know from the kids? >> so the ones that really should go back are just the emergency meds, meaning not every kind of medication that's in your medicine cabinet does the school need to know about. the two most common are for asthma and food allergy. >> you mentioned asthma. what should parents keep in mind on that front? >> first, that school is not a clinic. school is not the emergency room so don't expect the school will diagnose and treat your asthmatic. if your kid is showing up in that health room more than twice a week, there's something wrong. if your kid can't get through gym class or recess without going there, you're on the wrong medicine. we like to see asthmatics every six months. >> food allergies a big concern. what should we keep in mind there? >> we should do a food allergy drill the same way we do a fire

drill. so if you were to have an allergy, where is the health room, how do you get there, who's got the epipen, who's got the key? be prepared, think ahead of time. last year we had a sad death in virginia of a girl who died from a food allergy. >> we do remember that. can students carry their medications with them and where should they keep them? >> they really shouldn't carry it with them is the bottom line. it really should be in the health room, because remember these are emergency medications. the thing that i see an awful lot with teenagers, they like to use their asthma inhalers as a fashion accessory and puff on that thing. it looks kind of cool as they do it so they like to do that. then you want to know if your kid had a food allergy problem, you want to know who's there to, again, administer that and dial 911. big problem with food allergy is they need to get that epipen right away. we like to say shoot first and ask questions later. >> time is critical. >> critical.

>> what about over-the-counter drugs, tylenol. can you carry that in your backpack? >> according to most schools you can't. i have seen interestingly some forms that are waivers that both the student and the parent sign that says i'm going to keep this thing with me and if i dare give it to somebody else then i have all sorts of repercussions, like suspensions. most medications can be taken at home and ones that can't, you'd really want somebody to know about that. >> what about after school time like sports and other activities? >> this is a very critical time. what you meant is whoever is taking care of your child after school is as well prepared as the people who take care when they're in school. we have dvds on how to use epipens, how to use inhalers. make sure you've got two sets of forms, two types of medications, that they're both in both places. coaches need to realize if you see a kid grabbing that asthma inhaler for emergency use, again, wrong way to treat

asthma. that kid needs better follow up. >> what if you haven't gotten the forms ready yet? >> one, you need to make your appointment for next year now so that you plan ahead, and second is you need to call your doctor's office and be really nice. we've been swamped and coming at us with a you've got to do this form when you're the one that forgot is not the way to handle it. we can get it done, and plan better next year. >> all right, early jump. >> yes. >> you've been down this road before with patients. >> many times. >> some important reminders for parents and students out there. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> barbara, back to you. coming up, forbes reveals the most powerful women in the world. in her first television interview, the woman who tried to swim from cuba to florida

i just found out that doug has a really fantastic singing voice. >> yes, he does. >> you should sing your forecast. >> you heard that, right? you and wendy, a duet. >> sing that forecast for us. >> barbara, i would love to but there would be admission

charges. let's take a look outside and show you what's going on as we look outside. plenty of sunshine, high temperature today in the mid-80s. right now currently, 85 degrees. there you go, barbara. that's all i've got for you right now. 85 and beautiful conditions. it is just a beautiful, beautiful afternoon. it does not get much better than this for most of us out there. we are currently seeing winds out of the southeast at 6 miles per hour. right now you notice just a few clouds out above the potomac and southeast washington. temperatures coming into the 80s just about everywhere, including one 90-degree temperature. we're talking about that number in frederick, maryland. so again not a whole lot going on out there as we look towards what's going to be happening the next couple of days as i make sure my clicker works. nope. yep. 81 on your wednesday in winchester, 84 in la plata. there's that 90 up towards frederick.

shower activity, not a whole lot around the d.c. metro area, but notice the showers just back to the west now. we'll start to see a few showers pop up around manassas. more back to the west along i-81 just south of winchester and north of front royal. down towards culpeper another big shower. any storms that do develop or showers that develop could produce locally heavy rainfall. now let's talk about tropical storm isaac. this storm not really together right now. wind right now at 45 miles an hour. here's the official track from the hurricane centeri. winds at 45 miles an hour moving to the west. this storm is coming very close to puerto rico. i think tomorrow in puerto rico, really going to have a tough time. i have a friend frying down there tomorrow. he may not make it. potentially a hurricane across hispaniola and making its way across western cuba and potentially in towards south

florida. this is monday morning with winds of 80 miles an hour. but notice the trend. the cone of uncertainty moves well west of florida and to the east of florida, so there's still a lot of uncertainty here, so don't pin this down on florida just yet. we're going to continue to watch this very closely the next couple of days. for us this evening, partly cloudy, a shower possible. if you don't see any rain, 76 to 81. tomorrow morning mostly cloudy, a great start. cool in the suburbs. 56 to about 68 in the city. tomorrow afternoon mostly sunny and a beautiful day. nice and warm, highs in the mid to upper 80s. a great day to get out for a lunch or evening dinner. 88 on your friday, 88 on saturday, 87 on sunday. could be a chance of a shower on saturday. best chance would be into portions of southern maryland. even next week looking very good as highs stay in the 80s. >> and lows in the 60s.

>> and lows in the 60s. that is something we can get used to. >> all right, thank you, doug. still to come on news 4, what happened with prince harry in las vegas that didn't stay there? in fact it's raising eyebrows around the world. around the world. i'm barack obama and i approve this message now mitt romney's attacking the president on medicare? the nonpartisan a-a-r-p says obamacare "cracks down on medicare fraud, waste, and abuse and strengthens guaranteed benefits." and the ryan plan? a-a-r-p says it would undermine medicare and could lead to higher costs for seniors... and experts say ryan's voucher plan could raise future retirees costs more than six thousand dollars.

get the facts.

welcome back at 4:30, everyone, i'm jim handly. >> and i'm barbara harrison in for pat lawson muse. ntsb investigators are sifting through a deadly train derailment yesterday. two young college students were killed. they're looking at videos, track condition and maintenance records. they are sifting through them trying to determine what caused the derailment. congressman todd akin says he has no plans to step down

despite more calls for him to do just that. on the "today" show akin admitted republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan even called him on the phone. akin says he told ryan he is considering many things as he ponders his future. the d.c. taxicab commission is in the process of updating the city's taxis with new technology. when they're done you'll be able to pay by credit card and they will have tv monitors with nbc news and nbc 4 content. it will be 90 days before every vehicle is upgraded. >> prince harry is back in england and royal watchers will say his father will likely have choice words about his naked romp in las vegas. they work to revamp the image of the third in line to the throne. harry recently won praise for representing the queen at the closing ceremonies of the olympics. the good press may have been erased by nude pictures posted on line by the celebrity gossip

site tmz. they were taken during a game of strip billiards at his suite of the mgm hotel. there's no idea who took the pictures or how much they may have been paid for them. >> he's been doing public service, representing the queen and everyone seems to think he turned a corner. but just as harry is, he's gone partying and got caught again. there's no question he should have been more wary of the people around him. he is a prince, the grandson of the queen. i think he has been a bit irresponsible with the people he's been partying with. >> not everyone agrees with that. several newspapers in the u.k. report that the british public has a soft spot for harry. he's respected for his military service and willingness to serve on the front lines in afghanistan. many londoners are slugging off the episode with a boys will be boys attitude. it's one of the most enduring mysteries in hollywood. how did actress natalie wood

drown? more than 30 years after her death, authorities in california have changed her death certificate. as kristen dahlgren reports now, officials aren't sure her drowning was accidental. >> reporter: when natalie wood drowned off the coast of catalina island in november of 1981, the death of one of hollywood's most famous actresses was shocking, to fans who couldn't believe the star was gone at just 43. to friends, who knew the three-time academy award winner was scared of the water. >> i've always been terrified, still am, of water, dark water, sea water. >> reporter: and to investigators, who for years heard conflicting stories about what happened on the yacht that night with her husband, robert wagner, and fellow actor, chris fer walken. here's wagner in an interview several years ago. >> we came to the conclusion that she had stepped on the swim step on the aft end of the boat, had hit her head and rolled into the water, a tragic, tragic

night. >> reporter: but a change to the death certificate reflects those lingers questions. where the cause of death once read accidental drowning, the death certificate first obtained by the associated press now says drowning and other undetermined factors, stating the circumstances that put wood in the water are not clearly established. the change in wording comes some nine months after homicide detectives renewed their inquiry into the star's death. in that time investigators inspected the boat, the splendor, while the boat's captain spoke out on "today," claiming that right before her death, he heard wood and wagner having a fight. >> was he responsible for her death in some way? >> well, like i said, i think we all made mistakes that night. >> mr. davin, that wasn't my question. was he responsible for her death? i'm not asking about your story. >> yes, i would say so, yes. >> reporter: earlier wagner had said through a spokesperson he expected a fair investigation.

and investigators have revealed little about what they found, only saying the change in wording doesn't mean a shift in blame, and there is still work to be done. >> authorities say neither wagner nor walken are considered suspects in woods' death and neither offered anything about the conclusions. swimmer diana nyad stopped by the "today" show and talked about her most recent attempt to swim from cuba to florida. she made it 50 miles before weather and jellyfish stings were just too much to take. >> the only part of my body that is open is my lips, and they come across. the tentacles come whipping across. savannah, you have no idea what the pain is, searing pain. if it was just the pain even, i would be willing to suffer but that, but it's not. you start trembling and you start going from paroxysms of

intersystemic difficulties. how are you supposed to do something that's already so difficult with your body debilitated like that. to me it's a mystery. i feel like i threw the kitchen sink at it and don't know how to combat them. >> she doesn't know if she'll make a fifth attempt. we've got much more ahead. how can people and property be better protected from disastrous weather? researchers are finding the answer is blowing in the wind. and it's not a dog's life and it's not a dog's life for the first family's i'm barack obama and i approve this message now mitt romney's attacking the for tpresident on medicare? the nonpartisan a-a-r-p says obamacare "cracks down on medicare fraud, waste, and abuse

and strengthens guaranteed benefits." and the ryan plan? a-a-r-p says it would undermine medicare and could lead to higher costs for seniors... and experts say ryan's voucher plan could raise future retirees costs more than six thousand dollars. get the facts.

but somewhere along the way, something went horribly wrong. george allen voted for trillions in debt while voting to raise his pay four times, then voted to keep special tax breaks for oil and gas companies and took over a half-million from them. worse, allen went to work for them.

politicians are at the top of forbes magazine's list of most powerful win. angela merkel is at the number one spot. the magazine credits her resolve in preserving the european union and her influence over the eurozone's ongoing debt crisis. secretary of state hillary clinton took second place, followed by brazilian president. the top three haven't changed since last year.

michelle obama's "let's move" campaign is hitting home. first dog bo is on a diet. the nearly 4-year-old portuguese water dog has apparently put on pounds in recent months. word of bo's diet came straight from the president. he leaked the news on monday. he asked the kids to be sure not to drop any scraps on the floor because bo eats everything in sight, he said. michelle obama has made solving childhood obesity her goal as first lady, including launching a national exercise campaign and planting a white house organic garden. >> it looked like he was sniffing around the lawn for some treats. >> at least he's doing a little running out there. coming up, a little girl springs into action when bees attack her grandmother. and the marriage of katie [ male announcer ] since 1996 welfare recipients were required to work.

this bipartisan reform successfully reduced welfare rolls. on july 12th president obama quietly ended the work requirement... gutting welfare reform. one of the most respected newspapers in america called it, "nuts!" saying, "if you want to get more people to work, "you don't loosen the requirements -- you tighten them." mitt romney's plan for a stronger middle class will put work back iwelfare. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

officials in idaho say two wildfires burning in that state could rage on into the fall. idaho's governor took a helicopter tour of the two fires yesterday. he also met with incident commanders who say it will likely be six to eight weeks before everything is under control. one of the fires on the trinity ridge region of the state now covers more than 140 square miles. heavy smoke is also forcing evacuations of more than 300 homes in the featherville area. all right. well, we might get a little relief down the road, but we're still sunny and dry here. >> we're still 8 inches below average. there's still some areas that are under moderate to severe drought in our region. drought encompassing 60% of the country right now, so we all need to see some rain. for us, there are a few showers out there, but none right now around the metro area. take a look out there and you can see some cloud cover across the region. we'll call it partly cloudy skies as we look out towards the washington monument and jefferson memorial.

current temperature right now 85 degrees with winds out of the southeast at 6 miles per hour. dew point of 62, so we're nice, we're low humidity, we'll have some sunshine. today just a spectacular afternoon on our wednesday. 84 in dulles, 86 leesburg. manassas at 84. 82 at camp springs and huntingtown coming in at 84 as well. so what are we seeing as far as the radar is concerned? we do have some showers and a few thunderstorms to the west of i-95. these are mostly back towards the mountains now, but there are a couple of stronger storms including this one right around culpeper. there are a few lightning bolts and some heavier rain. so if you're driving i-81, you may run into some of those. also a few showers that have developed in through prince william county, right over manassas and these are going to slowly drift off to the east. any of these will have the potential for locally heavy downpours, but that's about it. the downpours could last upwards of half an hour to 45 minutes but once again that's about it.

tonight if you're thinking about going out to the nationals game as they take on the braves once again hoping for the sweep tonight, 80 degrees. looking good. enjoy the game. of course that's exactly what i said last night when they had a 51-minute delay because of downpours. i don't think we'll see that tonight. i think we'll be okay and i think we'll come home with another win. let's hope. temperatures tonight through the west cool once again. 56 in winchester. 57 in leesburg. 68 in washington. la plata at 61. tomorrow everybody back into the 80s. 88 in washington, 87 town to the south so once again a couple of really nice days out there. 88 on your friday, 88 on saturday, 87 on sunday. you know, it's a broken record but you know what, keep that record broken because we want to keep this weather nice all weekend long. >> it makes your job easier. >> we're all smiling when we see you. thanks a lot. a chaotic and dangerous scene after bees went on the

attack in glendale, arizona. a grandmother was sent to the hospital. >> but her life may have been saved by the actions of her young granddaughter. william pitts has details. >> how many bees were there? >> a hundred. >> a hundred? you think? >> yes. >> reporter: 4-year-old whitney saw grandma get attacked by bees. there were way more than a hundred. >> how do you help grandma. >> i talked on the thing. >> you talked on the thing? >> reporter: the thing was 64-year-old betty's life alert. betty threw a blanket over whitney and pressed the button. >> it was really bad. her whole face around her eyes, up under her nose, all inside her mouth was just black with stingers. >> reporter: gerard is still in the hospital sedated. firefighters found the hive at a house one street over and foamed the whole house. someone may have been cultivating the bees there. bee experts say in a neighborhood, that's not a good

idea. >> it's not a wise thing. you can have good bee that say will turn bad in no time at all. >> reporter: and they did this afternoon. 98 po may bores were told to stay inside for hours. >> officers said don't come out until we let you know. >> how's your finger? >> good. >> reporter: the blanket probably saved whitney. she was only stung twice. >> my finger and my head. >> reporter: but her quick thinking probably saved her grandma's life. >> she was most concerned that grandma and the dog were okay. >> wow, for a 4-year-old that was pretty smart thinking. >> they really saved each other. the homeowner could face fines for violating property laws for having those bees. next on news 4 at 4:00, the decision on the future custody of michael jackson's kids. coming up on news 4 at 5:00, a woman killed while trying to get her mother's boyfriend out of her apartment. sobering numbers about how many teenagers are using drugs

and alcohol while they are at school. tonight at 6:00, a pay tonight at 6:00, a pay freezehe's made his choice. but what choices will women be left with? just like mitt romney, paul ryan would get rid of planned parenthood funding. in congress, ryan voted to ban all federal funding for planned parenthood and allow employers to deny women access to cancer screenings and birth control. and both romney and ryan backed proposals to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest. for women... for president... the choice is ours. i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.

one of the most high-profile hollywood relationshipses now officially over. >> the divorce of tom cruise and katie holmes is final today. the papers were sealed in new york city. a judge signed off on the divorce this week. the details are not public. holmes separated from cruise in june after five years of marriage. it was cruise's third, the first for holmes. holmes will have physical custody of the couple's 6-year-old daughter, suri. an l.a. judge finalized a deal appointing michael jackson's nephew as co-guardian of his three children. t.j. jackson will now share responsibility of michael's daughter and two sons with katherine. a judge gave t.j. temporary guardianship when katherine went

mia while staying with relatives in arizona. he said katherine is doing a great job. this deal is meant to alleviate some of the stress on the 82-year-old jackson matriarch. just ahead at 4:00, hurricane andrew was deadly and destructive. now scientists are using a giant wall of wind to help them better prepare for the next major round of severe weather. >> for all of y

a reminder there's still time to take part in nbc 4's backpacks for kids drive. we'll be dleelivering school supplies to needy kids throughout the region. right now we're collecting donations through our website, nbcwashington.com and you can find more details by searching backpacks. it's a firsthand look at the power and intensity of a hurricane. engineers have created a wall of wind that can replicate these storms. they hope this new technology will help reduce damage and save lives. >> these winds are definitely picking up. >> reporter: 20 years ago this week andrew slammed south florida. >> you can see the water whipping up, the wind is whipping up. >> reporter: wind gauges broke at 212 miles per hour and the

measure by which hurricanes judged changed forever. back then i was a reporter at the nbc station in miami, on the floorboards of a car. >> the winds are gusting outside our car up to 165 miles per hour. the car is shaking as if there were 10 people on either fender bouncing it up and down. you can see the camera bouncing here. i've got myself in this position in case some debris were to fly through and hit a window. >> reporter: when the sun came up the next day, most of homestead was gone. survivors endured desperation. ice a prized commodity. and what andrew didn't steal -- >> people looting stores left and right. >> reporter: looters tried to take. >> all looters will be shot on sight. >> and that's a real gun in your hand? >> yeah. >> a real shot gone. >> this is real bullets. >> reporter: michael minor remembers that day. he was in his bed when he heard a loud boom. >> the entire roof just lifts up over the bedroom. we look up and all we could see

was the stars and the rain and the wind and it was just unbelievable. >> reporter: to try to build structures to withstand a category 5 hurricane, municipal building codes have changed along the east and gulf coasts but putting new products to the test has been a problem, until now. >> wall of wind n. >> reporter: here with the wall of wind at the international hurricane research center, products can be placed in winds exceeding 150 miles per hour. some tests more dramatic than others. 60 to 70% of the homes in the hurricane zone today are built to this old standard, which means what? >> which means you better prepare for a hurricane. if another hurricane like andrew made landfall, you're going to see a lot of destruction similar or worse than andrew. >> that was kerry sanders reporting. researchers say for every $4 spent on rebuilding after a hurricane, it would cost $1 to reinforce a home and make it

more hurricane proof. next at 5:00, what caused that deadly derailment in ellicott city. >> right now the search is on for a man accused of causing a crash that killed a prince george's county police officer. a cdaughter is killed protecting her mother from an abusive boyfriend. tropical storm isaac threatening the u.s. coastline and the republican national nvention. good evening, everybody. i'm jim handly. >> and i'm wendy rieger. we're going to begin with new details on that deadly train derailment in ellicott city. the ntsb still at the scene and we now know the freight train was traveling at 25 miles per hour when it derailed yesterday. an engineer in training was at the controls. meanwhile, funeral services for the two teenagers killed has been scheduled for this friday. darcy spencer live in ellicott city with more to prevent the tragedy from ever happening again. darcy ir darcy. >> reporter: wendy, i want to

bring you up to date on what's happening right now. we're a little bit further up the tracks. a lot of heavy equipment has been brought here to ellicott city. you can see a piece of track hanging in the air. they are basically putting these tracks together piece by piece as part of this reconstruction and this continuing investigation. there's been a lot of talk over the last couple of days about the danger of these tracks. young people going on the tracks and up on the bridge. today a commitment from the county executive to make sure this tragedy doesn't ever happen again. two 19-year-old friends were hanging out on the bridge over main street in old ellicott city around midnight tuesday when a train came rumbling through at 25 miles per hour, the posted speed, an derailed, killing the teens. today investigators confirmed an engineer in training was operating the train when the accident happened. >> it was a three-person crew. consisting of a conductor, an engineer and an engineer in training. the engineer in training was at the