afghanistan after a militant attack on the american university of afghanistan. some students there were jumping from windows. some scaled other buildings in an effort to escape the gunfire. at least one person is dead. >> and we are working new angles to both stories tonight. first to the quake that hit central italy, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its path. it's impacting towns that are popular with tourists this time of year. >> here is what we know so far. at least 159 people have died. hundreds more are injured. drone video shot by the italian fire brigade shows streets of rubble where shops and homes once stood. the focus now is on an effort to find survivors. rescuers are looking for people who might still be alive under the mounds of debris. lucy kavanov has the latest. >> reporter: we are in

so powerful was this quake that i felt it 100 miles away in rome. you can see behind me scenes of devastation this ancient town that had withstood the time of centuries now virtually a no-go zone. buildings collapsed. rescue workers are digging through the rubble, trying to get to any people that may have been trapped underneath. one local police official told nbc news that he estimates at least 50 people may have been killed in amatrice alone, those numbers likely to rise as rescue workers try to figure out who is trapped under the rubble, who is dead, who is alive. we've seen tragic, awful picks in front of us, people's bodies pulled from the ground, take n n stretchers. ambulances were going in and out. local officials have been begging for rescue equipment, blood donations and basic food, medicine, diapers, water, equipment for the residents who have survived the

earthquake in order for them to be able to continue with their lives. a lot of people have lost their homes. they'll need temporary shelter. this is one of the worst earthquakes in recent time in history. the last was in 2009 where 300 people were killed. that town now a ghost town. and here in amatrice, whether this becomes a ghost town is a question. for the people living here, for the tourists visiting here, their lives shattered, now turned upside down by this quake in italy. back to you. here at the live desk, we're watching some new developments in afghanistan, where militants have attacked the american university in kabul. local officials say they detonated a car bomb at the main gate and forced their way inside. right now, officials say at least one student was killed in that attack and 18 others wounded. we're told u.s. troops have been deployed to the area to help afghan troops. they're mostly in an advisory role. the state department saysit

still trying to account for embassy personnel and u.s. citizens. two professors were abducted from that school earlier this month and haven't been heard from since. this operation didn't simply target americans or other foreigners in afghanistan. it was an attack on education itself. now the taliban has historically put schools, teachers and students in their cross hairs, especially afghan girls, who are trying to get an education. so far, no group has taken responsibility for this attack. >> chris, thanks. a masked man held up two women and a little girl at gunpoint. this happened yesterday in a busy shopping center in the alexandria section of fairfax county. mark seagraves joins us live with the terrifying account from one of the victims. >> reporter: good evening,

this would be a horrible attack for anyone but imagine someone putting a gun to your 7-year-old daughter's head. the two women working in the store were going about their normal duties when the gunman walked through the front door, pointed the gun in their faces. >> i said i give you everything. no problem. take everything. >> reporter: then he asked if anyone else was there. at first they lied. but after the gunman threatened to shoot them, they told him the one woman's 7-year-old daughter was in the back room. >> we got up, holding me. got back to the little girl over here come out. she had to flat down lay down, too. >> all three of you were on the ground? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: the suspect forced all three into the storeroom and asked the owner to open the safe. then he put the women in the bathroom and told them if they called

back to kill them. >> i told him to take whatever he wanted and we weren't going to call the police. >> reporter: the little girl is still upset. her mother said she had nightmares all night. the woman who owns this store is in her 60s. despite this incident she has no plans of closing up her shop or clo moving to another location. she had security cameras installed and is hoping that will help catch the man who held them up at gun point. back to you. police are trying to find whomever it was who shot and killed a man in burtonsville. sayed hassan was shot inside his home in sandy spring hill last night only 20 years old. he may have known his killer. two people inside that house at the time of the shooting were arrested on drug charges. police say they found a large amount of marijuana inside that

house. police will be canvassing a neighborhood in maryland where an up up and coming rapper lived and was killed over the weekend. they're trying to find any information in the deth of 18-year-old douglas brooks, known on the street as swipey. police say it was an ambush-style shooting. no word yet on why he was killed. more controversy on the campaign trail. clinton foundation is under more pressure now to shut down. it comes amid the revelation that donors got access to hillary clinton at the state department. donald trump is leading this criticism. nbc steve handelsman joins us from capitol hill with more. >> angie, thanks. trump's not the only one. lot of clinton backers are upset. they believe bill and hillary clinton are jeopardizing her campaign by being stubborn and giving her opponent something new to talk about, besides e-mail

the clinton foundation ends and the state department begins. she then lied about her crime to congress over and over to congress. she lied to congress. >> demanding the clinton foundation mothball, stop operating now while she runs. no, says her spokesman. >> more than half the people in the world receive aids drugs from the clinton foundation. no, clinton foundation will not be completely shouldering its work even if clinton wins the presidency. >> what about oval office access if at secretary of state, half the private individuals hillary spoke to had contributed to bill's charity as ap reports? >> the issue is what kind of access are these 6,000 donors that have already contributed to the foundation going to have if mrs. clinton is president? >> reporter: clinton campaign says that the

trump owing millions to russia and others. >> to the african-american voters, great people. to the hispanic voter, who have been absolutely treated terribly, i say, what do you have to lose? >> reporter: he could lose the election if the outreach fails. he has been trailing in states with minority voters but that was before the new revelation about hillary clinton. steve handelsman, nbc news. >> thanks, steve. the washington monument will close for a few weeks at least and a longer closure is planned after that, in fact. immediate repairs will keep the monument closed until mid september. then a more expansive repair project is needed to fix the persistent problems with the monument's elevator. that could take eight to nine months.

parks officials today and tells us she finally feels they're on the right track. fixing the elevator could cost as much as $3 million. still to come tonight, controversial project that has sparked protests from north korea to d.c. tracee wilkins. coming up on news 4, pattern of the prince george's county school system having issues of being in xhiens wicompliance wi start. who took the fire truck out of fire truck park? did the city do it to itself? i don't know. that story, coming up. news 4. and another beautiful day across our region today. temperatures into the low to mid 80s today. but the 90s, tahey're cing riomgh

we are learning new details tonight about the disappearance of a popular part of a playground in the district. the dpaerisappearance of a kid-friendly fire truck have people upset. it appears that truck will not be coming back. pat collins with more now on this story. >> reporter: jim, they couldn't fix it. so they say they threw it away. and then they didn't tell

so, no fire truck here in fire truck park. the fire truck engine at walter pierce park. turns out it's been tossed out. it was broken they couldn't fix it owe they trashed it. they didn't tell anybody about it, including the police, who had launched a fire truck theft investigation. >> what happened to the fire truck, theo? >> it disappeared. >> reporter: you think somebody took it? do you want it back? that fire engine was a neighborhood favorite. the centerpiece of this popular playground. >> this is known as the fire truck playground by my son and a lot of other families here. that's how we refer to this whole playground. that was the main traction. >> reporter: a few days ago the fire tru

neighbors say it had a hole in it. they were hoping the city would fix it, not trash it. >> are you going to come down? >> reporter: patricia lopez was in the park and saw some men take it away. >> they took the whole thing together. it's not like they pulled apart. they took the whole thing together. >> reporter: and put it into a bigger truck? >> yes. >> reporter: did that truck look like a city truck? >> it did. it did. >> reporter: general services department says it hopes to have a new fire truck here soon. angie, back to you. >> definitely hope sooner than later. thanks, pat. >> prince george's county public schools are emptier than usual this week because a number of students either aren't immunized or still haven't proven that they've gotten their shots and they'll have to stay home until they get it done. the deadline was the first day of school, which was yesterday. school spokesman told us earlier there are still nearly 6,400

students without proper documentation. when you send your kids off to school, you rely on teachers to keep them safe. a new report detailing abuse and humiliation in prince george's county schools also revealed a pattern of deficiencies within the program over several years. bureau chief tracee wilkins is here live to explain. tracee? >> reporter: angie, what we're looking at here is a pattern of problems at the prince george's county school system has had with complying with head start. in a previous investigation, news 4 i-team learned that some of those problems included things as serious as criminal background checks of staff. >> we're not going to lose the funding. we'll have a head start program here in this county. >> reporter: one day after prince george's officials defended the head start program and vowed to find funding to continue it, news 4 has learned that the county has had problems in the past with federal investigations. in a 2013 letter to the prince george's board of education from head start, there was a long

the program. in february of that year, it was discovered that criminal background check files for 103 ofi of its 129 staffers were inaccurately kept. seven employees had no completed criminal background checks at all. there were a lack of thorough health screenings and files for staff as well. half didn't have required health exams or tuburculosis screenings. cleaning chemicals, uninsulated hot radiators and broken toilet seats were also discovered. county head start was also not properly reporting on meals and snacks. all of these noncompliances were corrected by january 2016 and the program grew. then one year later deficiencies were found and the federal government stripped the county of its $6.4 million funding. >> they have a very high

uncorrected deficiencies. >> reporter: now in a letter, five county board of education members are calling for the board's chair and vice chair to be removed. the county executive told me yesterday that he will not be removing the chair or the vice chair. he appointed both of them. he says that he has absolute faith in their leadership. now tomorrow the board of education will be meeting for their regular board of education meeting. we were expecting to see on the public agenda something about what's happening with this head start program but it is not there. reporting live in upper marlboro, tracee wilkins. jim, back to you in the studio. >> thank you, tracee. part of main street in ellicott city, maryland, is back open tonight. the first section to reopen since that terrible flooding there that killed two people last month. officials in the county are asking people not to go sightsee down there. they say park something limited and crews are still trying to repave roads.

protest in d.c. today, actress susan sarandon joined hundreds of demonstrators to protest the dakota access pipeline. groups of american indians in north dakota are currently in a standoff, blocking crews from entering the construction site. the pipeline, which stretches more than 1,000 miles long, will threaten water supplies and run through burial grounds. they filed a lawsuit in washington to stop the project. >> my message is very simple. to the vehicles out there that are marked for department of homeland security, we are homeland security and we are here to protect the water. >> reporter: the company behind the pipeline says it has the proper permits from the u.s. army corps of engineers and say it will allow crude oil to travel more safely from north dakota to illinois. there is a new report out there that shows how peopl

coping with safe track repairs on metro. convenient or concerning? growing debate over technology being used to help people track down their parked cars. it was my last race in rio and i wanted to make it count. >> and there she is. baddest woman on the planet. katie ledecky, back home now, talking about her big wins in rio. tonight she will reveal what was going through her mind as millions of us watched from home as she smoked everybody in the pool.

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nbc working for you in the community. we want to thank everyone who went to kingstowne and stopped by apple federal credit union to donate to our backpacks for kids campaign. we still need your help to make sure that local kids are ready and equipped to go back to school. to see a list of things to give and to donate online, go to nbc4.com and search backpacks for kids. boy, did they have great weather collecting those backpack. >> last couple of days it's been that way. doug, you're telling us we're about to suffer again. is that what i heard you say earlier? >> yeah. after days ith

we're hoping this stretch will last a little while. looks like we're starting another heat wave as early as tomorrow. we're just dealing with some sunshine. very nice afternoon. humidity not all that bad at all. so, even though it's in the mid to upper 80s earlier, now we're down to 83 degrees. very comfortable evening. it will stay that way through the rest of the night. underground temperatures, mt. vernon 82 degrees. down toward the honeytown area. katie ledecky throwing out the first pitch for the nats and orioles game. about as good as it gets for a night game here. 77 by 9:00. by the time you're getting home around 73 degrees, hopefully with a nationals win. radar, nothing to talk about. no rain or storms to talk about. at

much different picture when you widen this out here. we have big-time storms around indiana. numerous tornadoes reported today in indiana. take a look at some video we just got in here to news 4. you can see what happened around the town of cocomo. homes were literally destroyed by this tornado. by the looks of things i would say an ef-2, ef-3 made its way through the cocomo area. another one made its way right through portions of indianapolis. something we'll wait for. it's not going to come our way. what will come our way, though, is an area of high pressure that will give us more heat. something else we're watching is the tropics. we're watching this wave to the north and east of puerto rico. not a very organized system right now. matter of fact it's right here. no thunderstorms over the center. that tells us it's a very poorly

bringing it through the bahamas in toward south florida as a tropical depression or tropical storm. it's not expected to become a huge storm here. but still something we'll be watching closely because by late next week, some of this tropical moisture may work its way back in toward our region. we'll watch it for you right here from the storm center. 93, hot and humid again. heat index should stay under 100. 95, 96. not nearly as hot as it was the last two weeks. it will be quite hot tomorrow. outdoor activities this evening, not looking too bad. for a pool day about perfect. same thing for tomorrow. heading out to the pool, really looking quite good. temperatures in the 90s, not bad as far as that humidity goes. tomorrow high of 93. 95 friday. the weekend on the warm side. high temperatures in the low 90s. next tuesday, wednesday, thursday, tropical moisture trying to move in. gives us a better chance of showers and thunderstorms. help for folks who mi

forget where they parked in one of these big garages. but it's who that help is coming from that has some worried. more coming up on news 4. also tonight, a ride to remember. a father sharing his personal story of loss after biking across the country in an effort to save lives. >> plus a battle over video billboards, popping up all over the city. some say they don't belon

>> now at 6:30, new privacy concerns at a local parking garage over a system that's designed to tell you where you left your car. >> i don't like the idea. i didn't realize that was happening. plus cross country crusade. local father rides to honor his son and help others suffering in silence. >> for me, it was just important that i finish for them. we'll take a look at how the metro safety track surges are having an impact on red line riders and we'll tell you why the next round might be even worse. find out what's next for katie ledecky after the bethesda swimmer nailed all of her goals in rio. >> goal setting never ends. first, high-tech parking system soon will be operating in the garages at the reston town center. >> it will be in place when the town center starts charging to park next month but not everyone is happy about

news 4's derrick ward joins us now with concerns about privacy. derrick? >> reporter: age-old parking problem of forgetting where you parked your car especially in a big garage like this. what it is, it involves cameras. lot of people aren't too happy about having their pictures taken, along with the license plate. and pictures being taken without their consent. ever forget where you parked your car in a big garage? >> i usually take a picture of where i parked. >> soon when you pull intoey aparking space at one of these garages at the reston town center you'll get your picture taken by the ceiling-mounted accuracy, part of cutting-edge system that will help you locate your car should you be unable to. you enter your number in a ki. osk, verify it's your car. >> someone could put my tag number in and find out if my car is parked or not at the town center, that would be

concern. >> reporter: the advantage of these systems, say your information is protected and can only be accessed at the kiosk in the garage and these systems are in 50 locations worldwide. some are a bit more secure if you enter your parking ticket number to find your car. managers at reston town center have opted for a ticketless system to keep from having backups at a gate. this motorist sees a possible benefit, too. >> the positive would be if someone is being taken by force, under the influence and being taken. it will be easier to track them down. >> reporter: systems have been tested and they'll be up and running next month. >> folks here say the key thing is this information will not be online on an app. only here. opponents say it's still an invasion of their privacy. some feel strongly about it. online petition to have them change that

12th. live in reston, derrick ward, news 4. >> extra patrols around washington and old dom inion trail tonight. a woman says two men tried to sexually assault her last wednesday near sterling boulevard. she told loudoun county deputies 10:30 at night two men came out of the woods and a passing biker was able to scare them away. authorities are encouraging walkers to travel in groups and stay alert. federal government has just released another report that question s metro and its cultur of safety. federal transit agency found metro is not following the rules to allow parked trains from rolling away. now in charge of overseeing the safety of metro started to look into the problem after three runaway trains at metro rail yards last year. turns out thousands of metro rail riders became bus riders in

recent red line shutdown. scott mcfarland obtained copy of an internal report of how passengers cope with the emergency repairs on metro's busiest line. he is here with details on that. scott is this. >> internal review from montgomery county's department of transportation. in that report montgomery county's ride-on buses got a bigger workout than perhaps some people expected. in addition to the normal routes they were used to provide free shuttle service to metro passengers at the stations and nearly 30,000 people used those shuttles in a short period of time. route 46 bus line, shady grove metro station and rockville station saw a 9% spike in ridership. older, so-called retired buses had to be put back into service to handle that load. 17 of them, in fact. they reported success in adjusting the timing of traffic lights and eliminating on-street parking to better manage

transportation official s are more concerned about the next repairs of the red line, total shutdown between ft. totten and noma, more disruptive to montgomery county's many commuters. angie? >> scott, thanks. >> 2015 was a record-setting year for tourism in the capital. 2 million visitors visited from overseas, not including canada and mexico. china the most tourists, united kingdom, followed by germany. the city saw a record number of domestic visitors with more than 19 million americans traveling to the district. there is a controversy tonight about nearly two dozen video billboards showing up around town. those big screens have drawn the attention of some city regulators who have issued stop work orders on their

community groups say the video screen violates d.c. sign regulation regulations. >> in most basic terms, tom, it has to do with respect of this historic city. >> reporter: the out-of-town company installing the screens told nbc 4 today it is challenging the stop work orders. bethesda's golden girl, katie ledeecky, swam into the record books in reo tonight she's talking about life after the olympics and being a role model. i'm darcy spencer. d.c. man just rode his bike cross country to raise awareness about teen depression and suicide. coming up, very personal reason for the 3,200-mile ride. >> i do wish he could have been -- really could have been with me. i'm talking more heat making its way in across the region. say hello to the 90s once again.

things are going to get. live look at rockville

a d.c. man did something pretty remarkable in memory of his teenage son. >> he rode his bike cross country after his son took his own life. it was an emotional and personal journey, but one also designed to save other young lives. darcy spencer reports. >> reporter: home after riding 3,200 miles from seattle to washington on his bike, to bring awareness to teen depression and suicide after his 16-year-old son, sule, took his own life last summer. his body found in the anacostia river. >> people would ask me why was i riding, was i doing it for fun or what was the cause? i would tell them interesting you should ask. this is why i ri.

supposed to take with his son. obviously during this trip, he had a lot of time to think. one of the lessons he learned, he said, was to stop asking the question why. >> the question doesn't -- for me, it didn't help the healing. it just created more sadness and grief for me, personally. >> reporter: during the ride, he reflected on his son and the thousands of teens battling depression, especially those who have succumbed to their illness. >> for me, it was just important that i finish for them, you know. because they weren't able to finish their ride. >> reporter: he saw the ride's ups and downs as metaphors for life, something he would have shared with his son. >> i had to deal with mechanical issues. i had to deal with personal injuries. but that's life. >> reporter: he had his own struggles along the way. he lost a front tooth and sprained his wrist when he crashed his bike. >> i'm flying off

landed on my mouth. >> reporter: pedaling on to the finish was never a second thought. plenty of family members were waiting for him. now that he's home, he wants to continue to spread his message. >> suicide is a problem and life is the solution. >> reporter: in the district, darcy spencer, news 4. >> if you or someone you know is suffering from depression and needs professional help head to our website. we have posted a list of links and resources as part of our changing minds initiative. coming up, she captured our hearts and blew our minds down in reo tonight katie ledecky is talking about her incredible olympic performance, moments off camera and what she calls her next challenge. >> i know it will be challenging at first, getting used

luann bennett. after losing her husband to cancer, she raised three boys here in northern virginia and grew the family business. a single working mom who helped create over 1,000 local jobs, bringing people together to solve problems. i'm luann bennett. in business, you bring everyone to the table and work to get results. congress just doesn't get that-- there's too much partisanship. i approve this message because washington needs more common-sense problem solvers.

did you know the olympic flag is still on the move? in fact, it arrived today in hanada international airport in tokyo. tokyo is, in fact, the site of the 2020 olympic summer games. the flag will be displayed all across the city and will be used to promote recovery efforts from the devastating earthquake and tsunami five years ago. when she isn't throwing out the first pitch at the nationals' game, bethesda's katie ledecky is spending much deserved time with her family and friends. she sat down with news 4's

and what comes next. >> i've been smiling a lot the last couple of weeks. >> reporter: katie ledecky has good reason to smile, bringing home four gold medals, silver and identifytime of memories from her experience in rio. >> it's been a great journey. you know, it's not just every four years, like some people think when they tune in to the olympics. but it is every day, every year, trying to get better. >> reporter: she spent years getting better here at stone ridge school in bethesda, where at 19 she is a legend. >> i never dreamed i would make the olympics. i started setting goals from early, early aenlg age and work toward those and goal setting never ends. >> reporter: she broke her own world record for gold in the 400 meter freestyle. thrilled in a tough race for gold in the 200 meter and inspired all with her record-breaking swim in the 800 meter. she w

well. at one point she looked like she was all alone in the pool. even with that sizeable lead, she didn't slow down one bit. >> you can't take anything for granted when you're out front or favored to win or anything like that. i just had to focus on how i wanted to put together that race and it was my last race in rio and i wanted to make it count. >> reporter: some of her favorite moments from rio include bonding with her fellow swimmers. >> i couldn't have been part of a more special team. it was fun every day to see what my teammates were going to do and see them succeed. we were all just feeding off each other's energy. >> reporter: concerning that controversy involving one teammate she said swim something much bigger than ryan lochte. >> i still feel honored and privileged to be part of this team and what we accomplished. >> reporter: heading to stanford university next where she'll swim with the school team. she wants to try to have a normal freshman

first, getting used to the new environment and adjusting to everything. but i'm trying to get everything ready right now as i'm just unpacking from rio. i have to start packing for stanford. >> reporter: ledecky is used to-to-working under pressure, manages it with strength and grace. she credits her parents for supporting her every step of the way and is grateful they could share in her olympic victory from the sidelines but always close to her heart. >> at the medal ceremony, national anthem and the last night as the flag was being lifted, my parents were in the section in the stands right under the flag and i couldn't help but cry. >> reporter: eun yang, news 4. >> wow! worth watching ledecky's world record shattering swim again. what can we say? >> any superlatives. >> it wasn't even close. >> nochlt it was

we put a link to it on our nbc washington app. search ledecky. >> one of the most incredibly delightful people that we have ever met. remember, she was here four years ago when she was 15 years old? >> yep. >> yeah. >> with such grace and poise. and it hasn't diminished in the least little bit. if anything it's just gotten better. she is remarkable. >> absolutely. >> she would like to swim outside today, wouldn't she? >> absolutely. she works at my gym. you and i talk about this all the time, the stuff we do. she works out at my gym and does things that at this stage i'm having a tough time doing. more power to her. great to see her every time she's in there. you mentioned the outdoor pools. that's where we'll be the next couple of days. heat back into the area. temperatures into the 90s. it looks like it will be an extended period of the 90s, temperatures only in the low 80s. beautiful weather making its way in here tonight. looking really good for

at 83 degrees. simply spectacular. great evening to get out and about, do a little barbecue. 7:00, around 80 degrees, temperatures dropping into the 70s. if you're in the suburbs, down close to the upper 60s by midnight, 1:00 tonight. it is going to be quite nice right on through the night tonight, mostly clear skies as well. no rain to talk about the radar. all clear. we'll not be talking much in the way of rain any time soon. could be an isolated chance of a shower or thunderstorm tomorrow. that's going to be about it. tonight and tomorrow, 78 degrees by 8:00 tonight, 74 by 10:00. what we'll be dealing with tomorrow morning, waking up with temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s. very nice start to the day on your wednesday. what's tomorrow? thursday. >> thursday. >> thank you. checking to make sure you're paying attention over there. temperatures across the area on your thursday, 93 manassas,

it will be hot. here we go. i start something? did i start something? >> you might have. what's it going to be tonight, doug? >> let me go back to that, van. >> payday. >> did you see that one? 78 right at 8:00. next couple of days looking good, too. you open up the mikes and hijacking the show. take a look at this, huh? take a look at that. >> i like that. >> you do? >> yes, i do. i like those evenings. evenings in the mid 70s are delightful. great for barbecuing and anything else you want to do. don't you agree, doug? >> i do. here we go again with eight days in a row of 90s coming up. not quite as hot as our last heat wave but still on the hot side. and tropical moisture next week. that's something we'll be watching. >> we'll be watching with you. we're behind you all the way. >> thank you. >> paying attention to every word. coming up in sports, katie

ledecky and more. you think she's good in the pool watch her on the pitcher's mound. what do they call it? the bump. she's good there, too. nationals' manager and players are reacting to meeting an olympic superstar. the olympic superstar. first, lester holt with a look at what's ahead on "nbc nightly news." angie and jim, deadly earthquake disaster in italy. our team is there with the dramatic rescues. the latest update on the tropical system that could put florida and the gulf coast at high risk. and for 20 years, no one would listen to her claim. how a homeless woman got $99,000 and vindication from the u.s. government when we see you for "nhtly news"ig r

you folks probably already know this but dusty baker knows everybody, tight with all kinds of people, rock stars, politicians and athletes of all kinds. i got the impression he was really impressed with katie ledecky. >> she dominated in rio. big night for nats fans tonight at nats park, katie ledecky is throwing out the first pitch. the nationals didn't fair too well in baltimore. max sherzer is starting tomorrow. carol maloney is at the park.

little energy from the home crowd tonight. >> reporter: these are called the dog days for a reason. dusty baker reminded us of that today. nats are coming home, tired of being beat up. they have a lead in the division and dusty says they haven't reached their peak yet. >> i'm a strong believer. i believe our best time has not come even close to yet. we've had two guys at a time hot in the lineup at the same time. >> reporter: speaking of the best, katie ledecky throwing out the first pitch at nats park, practicing with her neighbors. just thrilled to be back in this area and the support she has received from the fans. it turns out she has big fans in the nats clubhouse. >> they were how happy they were. they are pretty happy. it's a different feeling for me to have them be a fan of me when i've been a ge

>> reporter: earlier today, bryce harper, press conference to unveil these hats he helped design for harper's heroes, benefiting his charity. so much more on the nbc washington app on this cause. go on the app and search harper's hats. carol maloney, news 4 sports. >> thanks, care. is there anything katie ledecky can't do? >> she worked on it, probably has a mean slider, fastball. what pitch? >> lot of pressure throwing that. >> it's awful. >> she handled it very well. >> nailed it. good for her. we'll move on to the nfl for a moment. redskins might have the new center on their roster. we think. brian stork was released by the patriots today, when we learned he was traded to the redskins. turns out he was actually contemplating retirement and the redskins officially announced they have acquired the third year pro, starting 17 games

super bowl with the patriots and is expected to compete with lichtensteinger. redskins and bills kick off on friday night. stick around for the redskins postgame report, carol maloney live with player reaction friday here on news 4. let's go down a level now to college football. starting quarterback, head coach d.j. durkin naming senior perry hill the starter today. he has won the job. starter last season as well. they're hoping for more consistency from them. eight passing and three rushing touchdowns but threw 13 interceptions, third most in the big 10. he was second in the big 10 in interceptions. they open up the season a week from saturday. state of maryland won 18 gold medals during the 2016 olympic games in rio.

athletes to represent our area very well, to win gold in wrestling. she lives in california now. earlier today, she stopped by news 4. you can tell she has -- how special it was for her to stand on that podium. >> it was amazing. it was so surreal. i was just thinking like, god, do you remember this little girl, this 7-year-old girl who was shy and scared and you brought me through all these struggles and challenges and so many people i've met along the way that have sacrificed so much for me for this gold and this is the moment i get to enjoy it and all i could do was cry. >> good for her. >> awesome story. >> gold medals are heavy. they weigh over a pound. katie ledecky has to get used to -- >> i wouldn't know it. good for them. that's our broadcast for now. "nightly news" is coming up next. >> see you back here at 11:00.

breaking news tonight. tornado outbreak, tornadoes on the ground, twisters, bui buildings demolished, a coffee shop flatt flattened. >> people just got run over. trouble in the tropics and alarming forecast check. frantic race against time in italy. scores dead and injured and the army mobilizing a massive rescue mission to find so many buried alive. an american university horror, terrorists storm the campus in kabul, an hour-long siege and teachers and students tracked. racist hack attack, star leslie jones, the target of privacy issue. and out pouring of support.