kristen wright shows how this case is shifting the conversation to the bigger problem of domestic violence. but we begin with dianna russini with new reaction just in from roger goodell. a lot of people want to hear from him. >> reporter: the question everyone has had since this video came out yesterday morning, did the nfl know about it, and why didn't they look at it before originally suspending rice for only two games? well, this afternoon, commissioner goodell tried to answer those questions. he told cbs news, we had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator. we assumed there was a video, we asked for video, we asked for anything that was pertinent. but we were never granted that opportunity. as for ray rice, an nbc producer went to his house today. rice declined to speak on camera, saying he is hiring a pr firm and he said he and janay would be willing to do interviews when the time is right. he did, however, speak on the phone to espn's josena anderson.

in that conversation, he said, quote, i have to be strong for my wife. she is so strong. we are in good spirits. we have a lot of people praying for us and we'll continue to support each other. i have to be there for janay and my family now and work through this. his wife janay also responded today. her comments via instagram saying i woke up this morning feeling like i had a horrible nightmare, feeling like i'm mourning the death of my closest friend. she went on to say, if your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass, take us feel alone, take our happiness away, you have succeeded on so many levels. recapping what happened monday, 4:00 a.m., tmz releases video inside the elevator of rice punching his fiancee. 10:00 a.m., the nfl puts out a statement, saying it had not seen video before that morning. 2:00 p.m., the ravens cut ray rice. and 3:00 p.m., the nfl suspends rice indefinitely. >> something fishy going on here. but the ravens play this thursday. no word if fans are going to be

demonstrating in favor or against baltimore's decision to cut the running back. back to you guys. >> thank you, dianna. tonight we're getting a snapshot of just how prevalent the issue of domestic violence is. take a look at these numbers just from maryland and just from the month of july. state police say they investigated more than 1,600 domestic violence cases. about a quarter of those were in the city of baltimore. news4's kristen writ has more now on how the issue is being dealt with in our area. >> reporter: the ray rice video is prompting a new nationwide discussion on domestic violence. >> it's not easy to walk away from a relationship that you thought was going to be your life. >> reporter: barbara harper works with battered women in prince george's county. >> it could be a religious reason. it could be financial. >> reporter: chief assistant sheriff colonel darren palmer as i say prince george's county serves 16,000 peace and protective orders a year. one fifth of those in the entire state. >> help is out there, but

oftentimes they need to make that first move. >> reporter: in montgomery county, that first step for some is the family justice center. >> basically, we like to see the family justice center as a one-sto one-stop-shop forms of domestic violence. >> reporter: lieutenant robert banano heads the law enforcement arm of the center. the domestic violence section serves temporary protection orders and offers a lifeline to victims in danger. >> safety checks. and that's driving by the house. that's calling. and in some cases, we recommend that the petitioner stay in an undisclosed location. >> reporter: but it's never easy. >> the unknown is fearful. what are you going to do? where are you going to go? >> the family justice center also helps with counseling, temporary shelter and career services, especially important for women who feel financially dependent on their abuser. the center in montgomery county has helped more than 5,000 victims of domestic violence since it opened in 2009. so just a very valuable

resource. >> the release of this new video will cause other victims to come forward. >> we hope. >> kristen wright, thank you. we have gathered information about where to go for help. if you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, log on to nbcwashington.com and search domestic violence. there is a desperate search under way for two children and their mother. the mother has been diagnosed with a mental illness. police say the children went missing 18 hours apart, both while under their mother's care. news4s pat collins spoke with their family and joins us. he's live in germantown. >> reporter: wendy, this is where kathryn hoggle was last seen, this chick-fil-a in germantown. she is missing. so are her two young children. all three disappeared at different times, and at different places. missing, catherine hoggle. she is 27 years old, police say she is a diagnosed paranoid

schizophrenic. missing, her 2-year-old son, jacob. missing, her 3-year-old daughter sarah. lindsey hoggel is catherine's mother, the children's grandma. >> just pray and if someone sees them, contact the police. >> reporter: any message to your daughter? >> please come home. >> i just want my frickin' kids back, dude. that's it. >> reporter: that's troy turner, the father of the missing children. today he was out looking and asking for help. >> thank you guys very much. i appreciate it. >> reporter: sunday police say catherine hoggle was at her mother's house in gaithersburg. she said she was taking jacob out for pizza. he never came back. monday morning, their apartment in clarksburg, catherine hogglel told troy turner she was taking her daughter sarah to daycare. sarah has not beenseen since. monday night, the couple stops

at this chick-fil-a in germantown. they were on their way to get the cops to help look for their children. but catherine hoggle slipped out of the restaurant and disappeared. police believe she may have gone to a nearby transit center and boarded a bus to a place unknown. >> we're about 1,300 strong on the police department of men and women on the street. we need the eyes and ears of the community to help us find these two little children and bring them safely home. >> reporter: if you have seen these children, if you know anything about this case, police want to hear from you. live in montgomery county, pat collins, news4. >> right now, crews are working to clear the scene after a school bus crash in upper moral boro. you can see the damage from chopper 4. the prince george's county bus crashed into a car. this was on west failure road, just west of richie marlboro road. students were treated in the

middle of the road as a precaution, but injuries were not serious. want search is on for two men who tried to kidnap a teenager in arlington last night on south 12th street not far from columbia pike. the 18-year-old was trying to get into her car when two men grabbed her from behind. she fought back and managed to get away, flagging down a police officer in the area. officers searched for the men but could not find them. and a virginia mother is now out of jail after investigators say she violated a custody order, tried to kidnap her son and take him to china. linda lew was being held at the alexandria jail. she was just released, pending a grand jury investigation. last week, lew's ex notified the fbi that she was trying to take their son to china without his permission. lew and her son were already in the air. investigators had to make the airline turn the plane around. agents arrested her at dulles airport. tomorrow night, president obama will address the nation to make the case for escalating the fight against isis terrorists.

today he called in congressional leaders, asking for their support and it looks like he'll get it. steve handelsman is on capitol hill with the latest. steve? >> reporter: right, doreen, thanks. good evening. the so-called islamic state is so threatening, it's actually uniting this congress and the american people against it. it's not hard for president obama to sell a stepped-up war on isis. to congressional leaders who came to the white house. >> we have a very serious problem and what we need is a strategy. >> reporter: a year ago, president obama failed to get support for intervening in syria. since then, isis grew enormously there and invaded iraq. brutalizing local residents and beheading two u.s. journalists. 71% of americans now back u.s. air strikes on isis in iraq and 65% support air strikes in syria in the "washington post" abc news poll. so do some u.s. lawmakers and liberals and conservatives. >> if the mission is to degrade

isis, i think you have to go to syria. that's where their headquarters is. >> let's destroy them. let's do it as quickly as possible. >> reporter: but president obama is no a rush. he's starting in iraq from the air. with kurds and iraqis hitting isis on the ground, hopefully getting help from saudi arabia. a coalition. lawmakers demand that. >> we can't bear the burden alone of defeating a terrorist organization that poses an even more imminent threat to many nations than it does to us. >> reporter: so a team of nations, no u.s. ground combat and air strikes in iraq. that's the obama plan. >> a congressional buy-in as the president described, is very important. it's a priority. >> reporter: so is a buy-in by the public tomorrow night. president obama says he does not need the okay of congress, but many lawmakers up here in both parties say, in fact, he does. and they're demanding a vote as america gets set to go back to war. i'm steve handelsman, news4. a lane of canal road is

about to shut down, so d.c. water can repair a sewer line. a portion of that road has been one lane for most of the day. crews pulled back the cones for the rush hour to ease the traffic and at 6:30, those cones go back up again. d.c. water is repairing that sewer line that was damaged in may. remember when it caused all that raw sewage to spill on the capit capitol crescent trail. the utility has not said how long the repairs will take. one man now linked to three high-profile murders. how his arrest is lifting the cloud that's been hanging over one victim's family for years. a mother accused of aun unthinkable crime. tonight new evidence in this case and questions about the response in the moments after that tragedy. and the new research that suggests it may be possible to reverse the symptoms of autism. and talking about a few showers out there today. not many, but there will be a better chance of not showers but a potential for strong thunderstorms. we'll talk about when those arrive in my forecast.

this is a different kind of airline. one that invented low-fares so everyone could fly. one that decides where to go next by putting your needs first. and knows people are its most powerful fuel. some say we do things differently. we say, why would we do things any other way? without a heart, it's just a machine.

in fairfax county we had to cut a lot of waste. we consolidated offices. started sharing printers. we can walk a few feet. replaced computers, but kept the monitors. they still work fine. we even discovered that the phone company overcharged us by three million dollars! i approve this message because congress doesn't need another right winger. they need someone who can balance a budget. oh, and we definitely didn't need so many government studies. tonight the man just indicted for three alexandria murders is awaiting the move from a loudoun county jail to alexandria. friends of one of the alleged victims, nancy dunning, at times feared they would never see an arrest in the nearly 11-year-old case. today northern virginia bureau chief julie carey spoke with some of those closest to the dunning family about what an arrest means.

>> it was a relief on two fronts. >> reporter: that was loni rich's reaction monday when he learned charles severance had been indicted for the 2003 murder of his friend, nancy dunning. and the more recent killings of two other alexandria residents, ruth ann lodato and ron kirby. rich was friends both with nancy and her husband. then sheriff jim dunning. >> i think it's a relief for the community to know for sure they have a person they think did all three crimes. >> reporter: but rich says there is relief too that finally a cloud that has hung over the dunning family, the adult children, liz and chris, has been lifted. for years, some in the community viewed the former sheriff as a possible suspect. he eventually left alexandria and died two years ago. >> it was a burden. i mean, it was a burden knowing there were people in the community who believed or thought that jimmie have been involved. >> reporter: nancy dunning's close friends and former colleagues at the real estate

company where she was a star say they too are encouraged to learn of charges after such a long wait. >> there is some relief. there is some, you know, possible closure. i mean, it's going to be a long trial, i think. and you know, to get to the end. so i do hope that they have found the right person, you know, so that we don't all have to go through this again. >> reporter: but jan walker and other friends are determined to make sure nancy dunning is not just remembered for her link to a possible serial killer. they want her to be remembered instead for the contributions that transformed the delray area. >> she was absolutely nancy dunning, the queen of delray. and people who live here now don't realize how far this town has come in a short amount of time and a lot of it has to do with nancy. >> reporter: and as they keep one eye on the upcoming trial of charles severance, nancy dunning's friends and family will also continue to try to finalize a proposal to the city to dedicate a public space in delray to nancy dunning's honor. in alexandria, i'm julie carey,

news4. a majority of virginia voters believe the jury got it right in the corruption trial of virginia's former governor. a poll by at christopher newport university find 68% of the voters agreed with the verdict that found bob and noreen mcdonnell guilty. 65% also said the general assembly needs to pass stricter ethics laws for public officials. they were found guilty of doing favors for a virginia basem businessman in exchange for more than $177,000 in loans and gifts. they face prison time when they are sentenced in january. what do you do when you're bored in the oval office? well, you face plant on the couch. what else? the white house just added this picture to its flickr account and it's going viral. their son dove on to the couch. neither the boy's parents nor the president seemed to notice. but looks like the white house photographer was aware of what was going on.

>> how fun. and you know, doug, that could be one of your kids. >> oh, that would be my kids. for sure. >> they are a couple of characters. >> you see them out of the corner of your eye and you're just like -- >> i don't think that kid was paying any attention to any direction no matter how tactful, from anywhere. so we dodged the rain today. >> yeah. and we've got some showers but that's all they are. showers and a few sprinkles. a drop here or there. we have had some issues of flooding but not much along the -- this is the washington channeling over there. we're going to be out there this weekend, right doreen? >> that's right. >> we're playing tennis at potomac park. come on down. just doreen and i going against each other. >> not big floods, but a coastal flood advisory, so you can expect something like this again up and down the potomac this evening. as well as over towards the chesapeake bay. once begin, coastal flood advisory in effect until midnight tonight, not causing too many problems.

73 degrees right now in leesburg. 75 in manassas. that coastal flooding a result of the easterly wind and the same with the temperatures. 70 degrees right now in winchester. 75 in warrenton. that east wind, close clouds, keeping things on the cool side. a few showers towards fredericksburg down i-95. there goes the windshield wipers. just a couple times, though, because just a few sprinkles and light showers coming in along with that easterly flow. we are watching the main storm system begin to move away. but this is all really from an area of high pressure to the north that's bringing in the east to northeasterly flow. we're going to watch that move out and then we'll watch this next system move in. it's going to bring a chance for severe weather into the middle part of the country tomorrow. and then it's going to transfer that energy to our area during the day on thursday and on thursday we're talking about hot and humid temperatures with a high temperature close to 91 degrees. now, tonight, once again, just a few light sprinkles, if anything. tomorrow, no real worries. could see some fog early in the morning, but that's really the only thing we're going to be

seeing. chance of an isolated possible shower tomorrow. yes, there but most of us just like today, on the dry side. thursday is the difference, however. thursday morning, we're on the warm and very humid side. you're going to notice a change in the air mass thursday. and here comes the frontal boundary, around 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 at night and that's when we have a chance forotonly strong storms, the potential for severe storms. that's the front that will usher in much cooler air as we head towards the weekend. tomorrow, a little bit nicer than today. 80 degrees in gaithersburg. 82 in d.c. 83 in culpeper with clouds around the area. i think we'll see more sun. your impact forecast, really no impact at all. much nicer, no problems on your wednesday. wednesday looking great. thursday, i think we'll see hot and humid conditions all day. it will be dry early. but then a good chance of storms late in the afternoon with that high of 91. and behind it, a high of only 81 friday. 75 on saturday. now saturday ar a 30% chance of showers. any showers that develop saturday will be on the lighter side. we stay on the cooler side, only

in the 70s all the way through early next week. >> still ahead, making these must-have looks could be a real fashion crime. >> right here is a rock python clutch. >> the news4 i team uncovering which labels could push species toward extinction. a cab driver aused of shooting a cop. tonight, the new e-mails that shows his mental state in the weeks leading up to the confrontation. and a happy first birthday from this set of former conjoined twins. conjoined twins. see how these boys are growing

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that's powerful.

a very big break in a maryland cold case that spans three decades. back in 1982, stephanie watson was brutally murdered in laurel. her car found a few days later covered with blood. her body was found in the woods later on. last year, prince george's county police got a dna match on a convicted rapist already in custody. they matched john walsh's blood to the blood found in watson's car. he will be arraigned and this case will go to trial. a cab driver who is charged with shooting an alexandria police officer will go on trial in three weeks. and we're now getting a first look at his defense. bashir is accused of shooting officer lavoie in the head during a traffic stop last year. lavoie did survive.

news4 pulled court documents this week that show e-mails bashir sent in the months leading up to that shooting. in one of them, bashir claims he was possessed. quote, i am not in control of my life anymore. i don't know how to get it to stop. it is driving me nuts, and i can't take it any longer. his lawyers are planning an insanity defense. some exciting news to report tonight about autism. a small study, a very small study, has found that early intervention could significantly reduce or even eliminate all symptoms of autism by the age of 3. the program was tested on seven babies who showed symptoms of autism between 6 months and 15 months. the therapy included parents working with the infants to increase attention, communication, social schools and language development. by the time the children in the study were 3 years old, six of the seven showed no signs of autism. >> if something like this does work, the excitement part would be we have an additional

treatment that can be implemented early on that perhaps can lessen the severity of this disorder. >> reporter: it's important to note, most children with autism don't start showing signs until they approach their first birthdays, and often they aren't diagnosed until after the age of 2. new questions in a disturbing double murder. why the young victims were taken to a d.c. hospital instead of one near their home. tackling the issue of domestic violence. how the ray rice scandal is shedding light on the mind-set of victims who often sufficient in silence. i'm adam tuss inside the troubled silver springs transit center. buses were supposed to be rolling here, but today this is what we've got. i'll take you along for the tour coming up.

two toddlers are dead. their mother charged with murder. why the children weren't taken to the closest hospital when help arrived. overbudget, behind schedule and plagued with structural problems. how workers are making the new silver spring transit center safe as you foot the bill for the mistake. and a special celebration one year after conjoined twins were separated. >> this is the real moment that's coming full-circle. >> reporter: more on their amazing journey and their family's plans for the future. prosecutors now say a young mother is competent to stand trial, despite receiving psychiatric treatment at a hospital one week before the

murders of her two children. tonight there are new questions about the response, including why the toddlers were not taken to the closest hospital. bureau chief tracee wilkins has some answers. >> reporter: sonya spoon had a lifelong battle with mental illness. a week before she confessed to suffocating her toddlers, her mother had her psychologically evaluated for threatening to kill herself and her eldest daughter. but the state's attorneys office believes she was meantally competent. >> we believe that ms. spoon was fully aware of what she was doing. >> reporter: as prosecutors peep their case, prince george's ems is sharing more detail about the call to the home that morning and fining the children barely breathing. >> when we have a case of cpr in progress, our protocol dictates we transport to the nearest available hospital. which in this case was prince george's hospital center. >> reporter: just to give an idea of how close the prince

george's hospital center is to cheverly, this is the entrance to sonya spoon's neighborhood. and right over there is the sign pointing you to the prince george's hospital. it is literally about a mile away. >> when dispatchers notified the hospital, e.r. staff, they were coming in with two critical cases, infants, both with cpr being performed, the hospital called back dispatchers and said we're not available to handle that, go to another hospital. >> reporter: so the decision was made to go six miles farther to children's national medical center in d.c. a hospital spokesperson tells me the hospital never turns away patients. she went on to say, the hospital does not offer child pediatric emergency services. it's part of the reason the county's ems services often relies on childrens in these cases. >> they specialize in children ages 13 and below. and reality, paramedics transported those children to the best possible place tore survival.

>> reporter: it is important to mention, there is no guarantee that either of these toddlers would have survived regardless of the hospital they were taken to. they were in extreme critical condition when found. in cheverly, i'm tracee wilkins, news4. new tonight, we learn that ray rice will lose about $1.6 million in endorsements this year of the because fallout from that video that shows him punching his then fiancee. among the companies partsing ways, ea sports, removing hem from the popular madden nfl game. and there's a growing wave of criticism over how this case was handled, putting law enforcement, the nfl and the ravens under scrutiny. this week's "sports illustrated" is featuring the image of rice and his now wife in the moments before that attack on its cover, seeking to explore the nfl's reaction to the issue of domestic violence. experts on the psychology of domestic violence are also weighing in. one person we spoke with today says the statement by janay rice in which she defendants defends

her husband and blasts the media is typical of how often victims of domestic abuse react. >> this video is a representation of the ugly face of domestic violence. it's frightening to see, but this happens every day. and so what i saw today in ray rice's wife's statement is that she is protecting him, and in protecting him, she believes that this domestic violence is a way that he shows love. >> block says no one but janay rice knows why she stays in this relationship. but for most women, the reasons they stay in volatile relationships can include children, poor self esteem, money issues or religious values. if you need information about where to go for help dealing with domestic abuse, we have gathered it for you. log on to nbcwashington.com for information on hotlines and centers in our area. just search domestic violence. anto s you back about

350 bucks. as for the new iphone 6, it will come in two different sizes, as you know. they're both bigger, they boast a better battery life, and an 8 mega pixel camera. they'll hit store shelves a week from friday and start at about $300. the tech company also unveiled a new electronic wallet called apple pay. the new operating system will be available for download next wednesday. doctors call them miracle babies. conjoined twins separated at just 2 months old. today tyler and tyson proctor are celebrating a major milestone at children's national medical center in d.c. as news4's chris gordon reports, they're doing so well, the dad is already planning their athletic careers ♪ happy birthday to you >> reporter: tyler and tyson proctor look like happy, healthy, 1-year-olds as they celebrate their birthday. their dad is already making plans for troubling trend of fashion

magazines never tell you about. when we visited the government's warehouse of confiscated animal products, we found high-end fashion makes up a large portion of government seizures. nestled between the polar bear and the tie ger heads, a $2,000 gucci purse made of reparticularlated python. and that alexander mcqueen gown was illegal to import, because it's a cousin to the crocodile. both brands are all owned by the luxury conglomerate kerring which boasts it's one of the greenest companies in the world with 100% of its skins and furs from sustainable sources. but the news4 i team found the government has intercepted almost 900 kerring items in the last five years. for problems with fox, alligator, crocodile and python skins. based in paris, kerring told us it's fully committed to legal and sustainable trade and none of the species taken by the sports.

we're now hearing from roger goodell. >> finally after 24, 48 hours here. it's the biggest news in the last hour. nfl commissioner roger goodell is breaking his silence about the ray rice scandal. just minutes ago, his first interview aired on cbs evening news. he said nobody in the nfl to his knowledge had seen the video of rice punching his then fiancee before yesterday. so how did tmz get it when the nfl could not? >> i don't know how tmz or any other website gets their information. we are particularly reliant on law enforcement. that's the most reliable. it's the most credible. and we don't seek to get that information from sources that are not credible. >> the question becomes, did the nfl drop the ball or was the nfl willfully ignorant about what was on this tape? >> well, we certainly didn't know what was on the tape. but we have been very open and honest. and i have also from

on our broadcast tonight -- under fire. the nfl commissioner and the growing questions about that hard-to-watch video like what the league knew and when. and now the widening conversation about domestic abuse. critical mission. the president prepares to make his case to the nation for destroying isis. tonight here we debut a new nbc news poll that reveals just how worried most america are. diagnosing autism. the small study making big news. it's about parents identifying the signs earlier than ever. and in some cases actually reversing some of the symptoms. and the reveal. with its usual drama, apple unveils the new devices designed to make our old devices obsolete including what they now want us to wear. "nightly news" begins now.