this is going to be bigger than andrew in that we're going to have much more storm surge with this. the size of the hurricane is way bigger. >> it is clear this is a dangerous storm, and people need to get out of southern florida. we'll take a look at the damage hurricane irma is already leaving in her wake. and where she's tracking next. we'll have a look at that as well as your local forecast. and text messages are the only clue family members of a missing pregnant teach very to go by, and they have stopped. hear why they think the disappearance is so alarming.

i'm erika gonzalez. >> and i'm eu n yang. welcome to news4 midday. hurricane irma is crawling through the caribbean right now, blowing winds at 180 miles an hour. the hurricane is about to hit haiti, turks and caicos and the bahamas are next. >> people are turning highways into bumper to bumper traffic. the florida highway patrol says it's putting extra troopers, rangers, and wreckers on the roads. in the islands, at least nine people are dead after the storm hit and we are getting a firsthand look at some of the damage. >> nbc's morgan radford is in puerto rico right now where there is a lot of roofr to do already. >> reporter: at least nine people reported dead overnight as the eye of that hurricane moved just 55 miles north of us here in puerto rico where many spent the night in shelters, cell phone signal down, lights flickering on and off and were waking up this morning to a

scene of destruction. many of the people i spoke to in the shelter said they left only with what they could carry and others in the low-lying areas said they were going to stay home and protect their families. they wanted to protect their homes. but also, the governor of puerto rico gave a press conference this morning. he said that there were more than 6200 people who slept in shelters last night. there are about 402 shelters set up across the island as an emergency precaution but he also said that this morning flooding is a major concern. lots of fallen debris on the roads and he's trying to make sure that people are getting there safely. this is as 1 million people are waking up without power today. back to you. >> all right, now, let's stay on this topic. let's get a clear look at where this storm is headed. >> storm team4 meteorologist joins us now. >> i can tell you right now, it's still a very powerful storm. wind speeds registered at 175 miles per hour, still a cat 5. and again, it is going to be

i think that's the next country up. now we just got the latest advisory in out about 11:00. they updated the track there -- sorry, we're having some issues with this graphic. nonetheless, areas like the keys, the florida keys, lake okeechobee in southern florida are under a hurricane watch. according to this track, again, this is a cone of uncertainty, meaning that we could see it push a little farther south, north within this cone. nonetheless, the hurricane is expected to move over some warmer water so it's still going to keep its strength before downgrading a little bit to a category 4. you can see the projected path is expected to move along the coastline in florida and then possibly into the georgia/south carolina line so we're going have to keep our eye on this one but again, latest update t ke, keys and southern florida are under a hurricane watch. as the evacuations continue, we expect to see our area airports become very busy. take a look. this is video fromga

national airport last night. as people arrived from florida. one man told us he left his condo behind in sarasota and flew to his home in virginia and a woman flew out of miami to ride out the storm with her sister in montgomery county. >> i come to your house? she said, yes, of course you can come to my house. >> and i just said, i got to get out. i can't -- i'm not going to mess with no water, no electricity, no way of getting up and down the elevator. >> smart to get out of the way now. florida is bracing for a direct hit from irma on sunday as the storm gets closer, we could see a lot of cancelled flights. and we are following this storm's track hour by hour be sure to stay with news4 for live reports from david culver as irma gets closer to south florida through the weekend. you can also follow him on twitter @david culver. now to this developing story that has place add blanket of fear and worry among a local family. laura wallen is a

who recently announced she's expecting a baby. what's been an exiting time for her family quickly changed when laura vanished. news4's justin finch is live in colu columbia now. what do we know at this point. >> reporter: we just spoke with montgomery county police a short time ago. they say at this moment, no major moves in this investigation but they say laura's family says this is just not like her, to up and vanish. they say she is a reliable, solid person, a teacher here at the high school who told her neighbors shekds n neighbors she could not wait to get back to class and also a mom to be, expecting a baby that she just could not stop talking about. >> she's great. >> reporter: lauren smith worries about her close neighbor, laura. >> we're real close. i've known her since i've been here. she made this bracelet for me so, i'm wearing it this morning. on behalf of her. >> reporter: a handmade turquoise bracelet, part

jewelry line laura designs and sells. but there's something new she was even more excited about. >> since she came out the car when i drove up, yeah, she showed the little picture on her phone. >> reporter: a baby. laura's a 31-year-old mom to be, four months pregnant. the sonogram posted on her fridge. neighbors say she was also looking forward to the new school year here at wild lake high in columbia where she teaches law and history. but she didn't show up the first day back on tuesday. neighbors haven't seen her car in days. >> and i did notice that it wasn't here last couple of days, and we usually get up at the same time in the morning, you know, and for her not to be going to school, i was like, this is kind of odd. i'm missing her three days in a row. >> totally torn our world apart. it's like -- it's like a tv drama that you wish you could shut off, but you can't. >> reporter: laura's family i

last time anyone saw her, about 8:30 labor day morning here at her condo. about an hour later, she sent her family a text, a message they call troubling and one that drove her dad, mark, to come over and check on her. but she wasn't there. >> i had no -- you feel so helpless at that point. because you don't know what, you know, where the -- where your child is. >> reporter: very sad story there. wild lake high does have a school support staff for those who are taking this hard. also a howard county schools crisis team on stand by. police still looking for laura's car as well as a 2011 black ford escape suv. maryland plate m 522473. we have more information on laura's story and also those details on our nbc washington app. we're live here in columbia.

back in to you in the studio. >> all right, justin, thank you. an autopsy is being done to figure out how a man died at a silver spring park. montgomery county police say a hiker found the man's body in a creek in the long branch steam valley park. the grim discovery was made near garland avenue. police have not released any further information but we will update you when we get more information. in about a half hour, the man accused of killing three little girls in clinton will be in court. we could learn whether antonio williams will be allowed out on bond and the results of his mental competency report. he is charged with killing his 6-year-old sister and their two young cousins at a home in clinton last month. prince george's county police say williams confessed to the crimes but did not say why he killed them. we're following a developing story this morning. a 74-year-old man is dead after colliding with a police cruiser last night.

on what led to that crash. >> reporter: well, it happened last night in the dark at this very busy intersection that you see behind me here. right around 9:45, a 74-year-old man was driving a motor scooter. he was southbound on monterrey drive and he was trying to cross the road. police say he successfully got across the westbound lanes but when he went to the eastbound side, that's when the scooter was struck by an unmarked montgomery county police cruiser. the police officer was on duty at the time and we're told that he immediately gave first aid to the man on the scooter. however, that driver of the scooter taken to an area hospital and later died. now, several witnesses were here. they stayed on the scene. they're talking to investigators, and they're still trying to piece together the exact chain of events here, but a 74-year-old man has died in this crash. back to you. >> megan mcgrath, thank you. new this morning,he

maryland has a new name. this is been renamed to honor former governor bob ehrlich. he made the icc toll road a top priority when he ran for governor to try and ease confession between montgomery and prince george's counties. governor larry hogan made the renaming official earlier this morning in rockville. >> had the vision and the foresight to realize the transformative effect that this 17-mile east-west link would have on the entire region. every time we come off of 95 or 29 on to the icc, i just remember all the meetings. i remember all the planning. i remember so much, the tours, the helicopter rides over the proposed road. >> maryland transportation officials say 65,000 vehicles use the icc every day. that's up from about 30,000 when the road first opened in

with our consumer reporter susan hogan who has new information on ford explorers and the problem of carbon monoxide seeping into the vehicles. plus president trump, the deal maker. the problem, republicans say he's dealing with the wrong party. stay with us.

as news4 recently reported, police departments nationwide, including in montgomery county, are taking their ford explorers off the road after officers complained their suvs are making them sick. >> they say carbon monoxide is seeping into those vehicles but a news4 consumer investigation reveals police officers aren't the only ones reporting similar symptoms while driving their explorers. consumer investigative reporter susan hogan joins us now. so, tell me about what you're learning in this special report, and by that look, that's not a good thing. >> so many people, we started hearing from people who thought they were literally going crazy because they were experiencing these feelings and symptoms and until they started hearing about these police vehicles they were like, aha, we put two and two together so only on news4, we have these exclusive interviews with ford explorer owners. susan from white plains, maryland, she says she has constant migraines. she's actually even had a number of close

she thought her health was failing her, but now she realized it may actually be her car. >> i woke up to a tree in my eye line, in my path, and it scared me and i jumped. i could have either hit the tree or i could have hit the oncoming traffic. and it was by the grace of god that my son and i did not die that particular day. >> so, our news4 consumer investigation exposes a potential danger on the road and why some drivers like susan claim ford is turning its back on its customers. so starting tonight on news4 at 6:00, we are going to reveal what we've learned and also what you need to know to keep your family safe. and we have one other thing too. as we actually had a carbon monoxide toxicologist, this is all he does, come and test one of our vehicles from one of our viewers, and the results, boy, let me tell you, you're going to want to stay tuned for that. >> you don'tea

especially with this case. >> yes. you were a hundred percent right. you're talking about a car. so, yeah, this is very serious stuff. >> all right to, see more on susan's investigation entitled "asleep at the wheel" we'll see you this afternoon on news4 at 6:00. right now, donald trump jr. is on capitol hill facing questions from staff of the senate judiciary committee. this is part of their investigation into russia's interference in last year's election. trump junior likely to face questions about a meeting that he had with russians at trump tower last year. meanwhile, republicans are up in arms about a deal that president trump made with democrats. >> he did it about -- an about face, backing democrats on a plan to avoid a shutdown, pay the bills and get money to harvey victims. news4's tracie potts has a look at what this all means. >> thank you very much. nancy, chuck, appreciate it very much. >> reporter: this is not what republicans were expecting. >> we have an extension which will go out to december

>> reporter: president trump cuts a deal with democrats, allowing america to borrow more money to pay its bills, keep government running until december with a short-term budget, in exchange for quick approval of nearly $8 billion in aid for victims of hurricane harvey. >> kudos to pelosi and schumer. they pulled it off and this president fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. >> reporter: hours later, mr. trump crossed lines again, appearing with a democrat in north dakota to push tax reform. >> everyone's saying, what's she doing up here? but i'll tell you what. good woman, and i think we'll have your support. i hope we'll have your support. >> the president what he was elected to do and that's reach across and work with both parties. >> reporter: democrats say they'll work with republicans to legalize daca, protecting immigrants brought here as children. >> we're going to need them to right the ship. >> reporter: president trump ended daca, giving congress six months to fix it. >> it's -- it only reasonable and fitting that we also address the root cause of the prob

sufficiently controlled. >> reporter: 15 states plus washington, d.c., are suing the government for ending the program. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. and on that topic of daca, just about an hour ago, the president tweeted, "for all of those daca that are concerned about your status during the six-month period, you have nothing to worry about. no action." education secretary betsy devos will be in george mason university within the hour to talk about how schools should deal with sex assault allegations under the law known as title ix. the current directives were issued under president obama. he made combatting campus rape a top priority after a series of reports suggested that schools were not taking allegations seriously enough. devos signalled in july that changes were coming when she said she wanted to help assault victims and also those who had been falsely accused of rape. new this morning,

not all going to be the king of england one day but we all remember our first day of school. this morning, prince george started his first day at a prestigious prep school in london. the prince is 4 years old. there he is with his dad and his new teacher outside that school. his father, prince william, was there to take him in. his mom, kate middleton, was not there. she's pregnant with another little boy or little girl and he she's got some pretty bad morning sickness these days so there was good old data. >> adorable. he looked a little apprehensive but what are you going to do, it's the first day. tonight is the start of the nfl season, how hurricane irma is impacting games. and new today to prince george's coty,un

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

he'll get it done as governor. ralph northam: i'm ralph northam, and we need to provide access to affordable healthcare for all virginians, not take it away. fios is not cable. we're a 100% fiber optic network. and with the new fios gigabit connection... you get our fastest internet ever. with download speeds up to 940 megs - 20 times faster than most people have. switch to fios gigabit connection with tv and phone for $79.99 a month online for the first year. plus hbo for one year and multi-room dvr service for two years,

and switching has never been easier. get out of you contract with up to a $500 credit to help cover your early termination fee. go to fiosgigabit.com are you ready for some football? the nfl regular season kicks off tonight. right here on nbc4. >> we're a little excited around here. the super bowl champion new england patriots are going to take on the kansas city chiefs. news4's jay gray has a preview. >> reporter: preseason practice is over now. crews are wrapping up pregame preps inside and outside the stadium and fans, they're ready to go. >> i've been amped up and even since last super bowl, i've been amped up and ready for this season to get under way. >> reporter: we but as the seas begins, the nfl once again faces off the field questions and controversy. >>

could hurt the popularity of the nfl in my opinion, it is that, the medical issues, injuries, and especially head injuries and head trauma. >> reporter: and the nfl again facing a potential legal battle with a super star surrounding allegations of domestic violence. while crowds outside league headquarters have accused team owners of blackballing unsigned quarterback colin kaepernick who took a knee during the national anthem last season to bring attention to racial inequality. several players have done the same this preseason. but starting tonight, the focus returns to the field. >> broadcast team is fired up. >> reporter: along with the fans. >> i'm very excited for the football season to start. >> reporter: kickoff now just hours away. jay gray, nbc news, gillette stadium.

effect on miami's home opener. that game was scheduled to happen between the dolphins and tampa bay on sunday. that's been postponed. that's now going to happen november 9th. both teams were scheduled for a bye week then, so this just means that they will not get a week off this season. all right, we want to turn things now to somara theodore who's been tracking this storm as it continues to inch closer to the united states. >> i think that by this evening, we could see it start to encroach upon turks and caicos. but the most recent update we had, now we have lake okeechobee and the southern keys under a hurricane watch. this is for the weekend. we're expecting this to possibly impact southern florida as we head into sunday. right now, though, i want to give you a look at the atlantic. very active. the last time we had three named hurricanes in the atlantic was about september 2010, but of course the biggest impacting hurricane is i

what we're tracking right now. the eye just to the north of dominican republic, they are experiencing hurricane-force winds but the core of this storm really projected to move west northwest, possibly impacting turks and caicos and that's a very small island so we could see major damage from that. as a cat 5, by the way, wind speeds have been recorded at 175 miles an hour. so let's track irma out. right now, you can see i got a little ahead of myself there, but you can see around sunday, 8:00 a.m., that's when we're going to start to look for it possibly impacting southern florida, so sunday's going to be a major day for areas in southern florida. remember, this is a cone of uncertainty, meaning that we could see this track shift either way as we head closer and closer towards the weekend, but i will say, the models very very consistent trending, pushing the trajectory towards southern florida up the coastline, little bit of a break there and bending back in to georgia and south carolina as a cat 3. so we're going keep a close eye

here at home, much more settled weather. this morning, it was a cool start. temperatures right now at 69 degrees and climbing. in the district. but you can see back towards oakland, we had mid to upper 40s earlier and northern maryland, upper 50s holding on there. as we head through thursday, this is what you can expect. breezy at times but really nice, mostly sunny as we head throughout the day. 4:00, temperatures topping off around 75 degrees. for the weekend, well i say you head to a winery, perfect weather for that, very reminiscent of fall, temperatures in the low 70s, tons of sunshine. a few days impact to note. this stint of good weather pushes into sunday. monday, a bit of a transition day as we start to see clouds building in and depending on where irma tracks, we could be seeing some remnants tuesday and wednesday. i'll have more on that, but for now, back to you all. all right, thank you. get ready to shop.

the brand-new nordstrom rack is open in prince george's county. it is in the same shopping center as the new wegman's. as somara just mentioned, a hurricane watch is now in effect for parts of florida. i want to show you some live pictures now. people living along the coast are trying to get out before irma arrives, and it is a slow trip. shopping and getting gas in parts of florida also a problem this morning, a live port from remi

as hurricane irma gets closer and closer to the united states, people are preparing for the worst, and they're seeing the kind of damage it can cause. >> we want to show you this video here that we have of the massive flooding in the island of st. martin on the dutch side of the island. the airport there was really damaged. on the french side, at least eight people dead. the storm could reach florida by this weekend, and there are already massive evacuations going on. nbc's sara rosarios live in miami where a hurricane watch was just declared. sara? >> reporter: yeah, erika, all eyes are on hurricane irma's path where this could be the strongest storm to hit south florida since

here in miami today, it's a beautiful day outside, if you take a look, you can see i'm standing at biscayne bay right now. a hurricane watch was just issued and we know that as hurricane irma nears, things will change here and quickly. mandatory evacuations are already in effect for the florida keys and in low-lying areas of miami. today, many people are using this time to prepare or get out. we've seen a lot of traffic on the roads heading north. the gas lines wrapping around buildings. this monster storm is raging towards florida, and the governor is warning people to get out now. also, sentiments echoed by the national hurricane center, emphasizing hurricane irma's uncertain path. now with stricter building codes in miami, since hurricane andrew, some people are choosing to stay, but local leaders warn that irma is more powerful and is not worth the risk. so, even though this storm is not expected to hit unt

start feeling tropical storm winds as early as today. meteorologists here say that people need to heed the warnings against something that the governor is emphasizing as well. >> all right, sarah live for us in miami, thank you. we are just coming off of those terrible images from hurricane harvey. is sarah still there? can we ask her about what type of flooding they're expecting there? it's hard to even talk about this because that picture is just so beautiful behind you, sarah. >> reporter: yeah, erika, we know that there was a lot of concern with flooding with hurricane harvey, but this storm is a lot different. hurricane harvey was a slow-moving storm that kind of stood over that houston area and in southeast texas for quite a bit of time, causing that flooding there. plus that area is flood-prone. here, our major concern is storm surge. and this is a fast-moving storm so we're not nes

all depends how much force and wind this hurricane irma brings and people will be looking out for the storm surge here in the south florida area. that's most concerning here. >> all right, sarah, hey, we appreciate the update. you guys stay safe out there. thank you. and as people are trying to leave the southeast, first responders from our area are prepared to head in and help. the spokesperson for montgomery county fire and rescue just tweeted that maryland task force one is on standby. its hazmat team has already been sent down south to help respond to hurricane irma. and we're following the storm's track hour by hour. stay with news4 and the nbc washington app for more live reports from david culver as irma gets closer to south florida through the weekend. you can also follow him on twitter. now to a story that you saw first on 4, the violence in charlottesville has now changed the way the washington national cathedral looks. the episcopal church has begun removing four stained glass

generals stonewall jackson and robert e. lee. they'll be placed in storage once they come down. the cathedral says they're an obstacle to church teaching. >> we thought it was important to do it now, because the sooner we can take care of it and get it done, the sooner we would like to move on with the mission and ministry of this place. >> last year, after the massacre in charleston, south carolina, these are not images from that day, the church removed two tiny confederate flags from the same panels. ♪ i know you can see >> members of the dave matthews up and down are responding to the recent violence in their hometown of charlottesville with a free concert. some big headliners have signed on to perform. the acts include fairly williams, justin timberlake, and the co

september 24 at the university of virginia scott stadium. we posted details on how to get tickets in our nbc washington app. just search, dave matthews. if you're a parent, it can be very upsetting to get a call saying that your college-age child is being rushed to the emergency room. now imagine getting that call but the doctors and nurses won't tell you anything about your child's condition. consumer reporter susan hogan is wo working for you with the one thing you can do to make sure it doesn't happen to you. >> reporter: as her daughter heads back to college, she'll rest a little easier knowing her daughter has signed a medical authorization form. it's a simple yet significant document saying it's okay for doctors and nurses to share her daughter's medical information with her in an emergency. >> i mean, yes, they're 18, they're considered adults but i want her to be min the proper medical hands. >> reporter: the privacy rule of the health insurance portability and accountability act, also ow

child is legally an adult at the age of 18, parents have no more right to their child's medical information than they would to the information of a stranger on the street. >> it doesn't even matter whether your child is still on your health insurance or if you're paying the bills. >> reporter: health experts at consumer reports say that signing a simple document could help smooth things over. >> you're basically getting your child to sign the equivalent of a permission slip. then if there's an emergency, it helps eliminate any ambiguity. >> reporter: although you can find many versions online, there isn't one official document called a hipaa authorization form. they typically specify who can be given the medical information. the type of information that can be shared, and the applicable dates. >> some hospitals and college medical centers have their own forms, so if you know where your child is likely to get health care, you might want to reach out to them in advance and ask. >> reporter: thinking about the unthinkable may help you better handle a crisis. susan hogan,

consumer report says the best thing is for your child to carry that form tucked into a wallet or backpack, but during an emergency, a parent forwarding a scanned copy may be enough to persuade a doctor or hospital to release the information. there's a brand-new barbershop available to freshman students at howard university. and it's totally free. news4's molette green visited the shop this morning and talked with one of the most popular guys on campus these days, head football coach mike london. >> reporter: you know about barbershop talk. some of your players get their haircut for free. what's this all about? isn't this cool? >> barbershops are the corner stones of neighborhoods and particularly here at howard. lamont does a great job cutting the players' hair and i made an appointment with him also. so it's something our community craves and needs. we talk about sports, politics, everything, and so it's a great atmosphere, and -- >> reporter: hyped about football, and we're hyped about free haircuts. >> absolute

the freshman male dorm. it's open about 15 hours a week and it offers all sorts of grooming services and mentorship for students. >> very cool. >> convenient, right? i love that. amazon has plans to expand yet again. a look at how many new jobs that could mean. and storm team4 is keeping an eye on the weaer localthly ♪ and storm team4 is keeping an eye on the weaer localthly do you want to do a monster check? yes. no monsters. ♪ how about the drawer? ♪ no monsters. nightly monster checks are how grant makes home his. and homegoods is what makes it all possible.

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there were -- there was very little competition for foul balls at the nats game last night. look at that. still right to those people sitting there. they're not leaving miami a day too soon with irma on the way, and because so many people evacuated florida, the marlins didn't have much of a crowd on hand last night either. marlins fans would have been disappointed anyhow. the nats won 8-1 and completed the

they play the phillies tonight. much better weather for us for baseball but we know there are parts of florida under this watch. tell us about that somara. we have a hurricane watch that was released at about 11:00 a.m. and it is for southern florida but also lake okeechobee and all of key west. it's the areas that be shaded that are under this watch, and this watch means that they could be experiencing those hurricane-force winds between sunday morning into monday morning but they could see the tropical force winds as early as saturday. to we've got to keep a close eye on them. here's a look at irma right now. what a spectacle. yesterday, we measured it in at 400 miles wide. this is a huge storm just to give you the magnitude of it. right now, the core of the storm still to the north of hispaniola. biggest area in danger at this point, turks and caicos, as the storm has that west northwest pull. i want to track this

notice what happens. right now, the models are really starting to push it through areas like cuba and the bahamas. we've got some warmer water there so it's going to hold on to this cat 5 status. b by the time it reaches areas just south of the bahamas, we're looking at about 155 miles per hour but remember you can't be married to this intensity. the trajectory overall, though, a lot of the models have been consistent for the past couple days, having it skirt through southern florida, going back over water, and then impacting areas like savannah, georgia, that georgia, south carolina line as a cat 3 storm. so, this is pretty intense situation that we are under. we're going keep watching this, though. be sure to download our nbc washington app for the latest updates. right now at home, temperatures are in the upper 60s as we head throughout the day. we're expecting highs in the low to mid 70s. if you're running errands, it's a great day to do so. i'll have your ten-day coming up. you know, couples getting married usually register for things like china, toasters. >> yeah. >> little later, we're

is asking for hundreds of book bags and coats and they're getting them. and listen, i don't need any excuse to eat a great taco but today i have a good reason to

well, there is no bad time to eat tacos as far as i'm concerned. but today, we are giving you good reason to eat them in abundance. thef

news. thanks for being here today. >> thank you for having me. >> first of all, you have two taco bamba locations, one in falls church and you're opening another one very soon. >> springfield, 6691 back lake road next to the chick-fil-a with the long lines. we're very excited. >> you're going to take some of those customers. >> we're handing out free tacos to them. so we're trying. but it's a great location, it's been a long time coming. it was supposed to open before vienna so imagine the delay. >> but now you're getting it rolling. you're doing a good thing because i know the d.c. area restaurant community has really stepped up to help victims of harvey and you were in houston. can you tell us about your trip and what you were doing. >> i went with world central kitchen, i'm on the board of world central kitchen, it's a chef organization where we activate chefs throughout the world, really, to help out. and we were able to do that, and we're also

bahm bamba, the ricky bobby taco and it's going to be on the menu in springfield when we oregon it's an ode to texas. great chili relish. you're going to burn today. >> it's spicy. >> i'm not taking it easy on you. >> you're going to, like, pour it on heavy. >> we have a poblano ranch dressing so that will cool it down a little bit. >> but the proceeds to this, the ricky bobby. >> they go to world central kitchen to help our efforts on the ground in houston. they were hit pretty hard. we were down there. it was, you know, i've had the pleasure of seeing -- i've been able to contribute at a lot of disaster areas, and you know, this was particularly jarring to see the waters and all that kind of thing. but come contribute by eating throughout the d.c. area, and at taco bamba. >> the ricky bobby.

preview to the springfield menu, so -- >> looking forward to it. i'm going to try this while you tell me a little bit about -- you're expanding. >> with r you going to sweat. >> i might. it's hot under these lights. how do you -- i don't mind. it's worth it. how do you maintain quality when you're expanding? because this is the third store. >> and that's always the challenge, right? so, at springfield, we're putting our best guys to the test. we have a great -- we have a great staff. our chefs are, you know, as good as you're going to find anywhere and they're all making tacos and all going at it. so, for us, it's all about maintaining a really great quality staff and using great quality ingredients and having a great time cooking. so it's good. it's good. >> this is delicious. >> is it all right? >> oh my gosh and i love spicy. i'll take it. >> in springfield, we have a beautiful big craft cocktail program and a bar withon

can cool that down. >> and you have some traditional and nontraditional options at taco bamba as well. >> we have the traditional options, and they change a little bit. but every time we open a taco bamba, we change the menu up. so, as for us to be, you know, kind of constantly inspired and having fun, we don't want to do the same things over and over again. it's not about khacookie cuttert the traditional menu sis there. i didn't invent traditional to k cos, i just make them and we're doing things like these flautas. you're going to eat these later. >> so the ricky bobby taco, helping victims of hurricane harvey. chef victor, thanks so much as always. erika, i'm saving you some taco. >> oh, you better. america is well represented at this year's u.s. open. in fact, we already know an american woman will be crowned champion. and the finals aren't until saturday. now the question is,

and coming up today on "ellen," miley cyrus stops by and opens up about her new album and her many personal changes over the years. ellen is back from her summer hiatus and you can watch new episodes on nbc4. tune in or set the dvr and stick around for news4 at

born and raised incian, dr. rrural virginia went to vmi. trained at johns hopkins.

seriously wounded in the gulf war. eighteen years as volunteer medical director of a children's hospice. as lt. governor, he's fighting to expand healthcare in virginia. he'll get it done as governor. ralph northam: i'm ralph northam, and we need to provide access to affordable healthcare for all virginians, not take it away.

toys r us hopes lawyers can keep them from filing for bankruptcy. cnbc confirms the toy giant might have to file for bankruptcy unless those attorneys can dig them out of debt. the news comes ahead of the all important holiday shopping season which can make or break brick and mortar stores that are competing with online retailers. starting next month, kohl's will have designated spaces for amazon products. you'll be able to browse the items and buy directly from amazon. the in-store experience won't be available in our area. meanwhile, amazon is searching for a second headquarters. the tech giant says that it will spend $5 billion and add 50,000 jobs. amazon is based in seattle and says that over 16 years, they've added $38 billion to the city's economy. going to let you know which cities begin vying for the heat quarters. mystics fever is

get even hotter. for the first time since 2002, the mystics are advancing in the post season. >> gray heaves it up. and that will do it. the washington mystics hold off the young dallas wings. >> awesome. the mystics beat dallas 86-76 last night. but that win didn't go without some heated moments. at one point, tiara and ari el had a fight. powers was eventually rejected. the mystics will now face the new york liberty on sunday. well, they took the name u.s. open seriously. today the women's semifinalists at the tennis tournament will be all american, an extravaganza. the action starts at 7:00 with the most famous of the four, venus williams, after she placed slim stevens, and madison will face off. getting a lot of attention for her serves, keys

117-mile-per-hour serves yesterday. i mean, she was looking really strong. the finals are on saturday. and you don't know how whowho t for. 117 miles an hour. i can't imagine being on the receiving end of that. >> i wouldn't even see the ball coming. now to a heartwarming story of a teacher who will will soon walk down the aisle. >> she's saying an early "i do" to take care of her students beyond expectations. nbc's joe fryer shows us how a traditional wedding gift registry is pouring hope into students' lives. >> okay, so let's talk some needs. >> ricky stewart is teaching her finance students the difference between wants and needs. >> a home. okay. we need a home. >> reporter: to her, the lesson is personal. >> this is a cinderella moment. >> reporter: this saturday, stewart is getting married and when it comes to wedding gifts, she wants what others need. >> we started our registry with shoes and

>> reporter: not for her. you see, stewart put her registry on donors choose.org hoping to collect essentials for students who are homeless. ever since, her utah school has been inundated. her students now sorting donations from strangers who heard about stewart's request and said i do. >> a lot of folks are giving you credit for this. >> i shouldn't get any credit for this. i just had a crazy idea. it is honestly because of the kindness of absolute strangers. >> reporter: her school, copper hills high, runs a pantry that gives food, clothing, and more to the 110 students here who are homeless. it certainly helped this recent graduate. >> i'm going to cry. it was just nice to have have to go and feel safe. >> reporter: she's blown away by the sight of all these coats. more than 1,000 so far. >> to have ms. stewart help all of these kids is just the kindest thing of her, especially because it's one of her biggest days, in her

wonderi wondering how the groom feels about all this, he's thrilled. >> it's one of the reasons, quite frankly, that i lover her. >> reporter: a wedding with vows to help those in need. joe fryer, nbc news, west jordan, utah. >> are you in tears? >> i mean, just incredible. show of heart and commitment and kindness. >> that's the kind of teacher that you hope that your kids have. >> exactly. all right, somara, tell us about the good weather. >> yeah. well, you know today's going to be great. most of us already in the weekend. if that's the case, take a look at your beach forecast, terchs in the low 70s along the coast. water temperature around 74 degrees. looking at the most sunshine on sunday. but i think it might be the warmest around saturday. your storm team4 ten-day outlook, here's a look. some really phenomenal weather all the way through the top of next week. and then we could be tracking the remnants of irma the middle of the week. so we'll have more on that. for now, back to you all. that's it for news4 midday. thanks for joining u

we're back on the air this afternoon. and you can get t weather hean

stand by, everyone, we're live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. come on out. >> everybody say hello to steve mcqueen's batch leer. >> he's cute. he's got a little salt and pepper. that's your new bachelor. this was emily maynard's season when she chose jef. he was a race car driver. >> now i think he's a real estate agent. he's going back to. he had his own career. he's established his name already, he's not using the bachelor franchise to make a name for himself.