good morning and welcome to news4 midday, i'm melissa mo ett. >> and i'm erika gonzalez. the queen of soul, arethain fran has died. she passed away this morning eatic a battle with pan cancer. >> she was 76. marc barger has a look back on the legend's life. >> reporter: the queen ofsoul, a disk jockey bestowed that nickname on aretha frankl., and it stu ♪ feel like a natural woman >> reporter: through a musical reign that has few rivals.

in a career spanning more than 50 years, rranklinorded 40 albums, and put 45 songs on the tstop 40 ch more than any other female artist ever. one song became her signature. that chart topper was n only her first number one hit, but the i recordingustry association of america named it one of top five songs of the 20th >> it's incredible. i mean out of all of this music, i couldn't fallenth over o floor. >> reporter: franklin was born in memphis in 1942, but her ngsical journey began in detroit, sin gospel in her father's baptist church. >> i had no real formal training.ng my formal traias my ear. >> reporter: franklin recorded r first gospe album at the age of 14, but early motherhood inrrupted her career until the '60s. a switch to rhythm and blues and

"respect's" monsteruccess ignited franklin's career. a string of hits including "natural woman" kept that career soaring through the '70s. yet another classic earned franklin a memorable turn alongside john belushi in the 1988 comedy "the blues brothers." ♪ the rock 'n' roll hall of fame made franklin its first female inductee in19 , punctuating her musical impact. >> the united states honored aretha franklin. >> reporter: the presidential medal of freedom followed in 2005, and four years later, franklin, wearing her much he ked about hat, was featured singer at president barack obama's inauguration. aretha franklin had all style her own, and so many career milestones, including 18 grammys, she had trouble singlingneout. >> everything, remember everything.

eperything. >>ter: the queen of soul's regal musical legacy will take care of that. rc barger, nbc news. >> well, there are many memories of aretha franklin here in washington, from the inauguration with president obama to performances at theke edy center. >> sydney miller is the founder of black radioxclusive magazine which is dedicated to entertainers of color. he's kno and has beenriends with aretha franklin for 45 years. >> you know, aretha franklin is questionably the most talented female singer, i think, ocethe of the earth. >> miller says franklin was a diva. she knew what she wanted and there was nothinatwrong with >> okay, if you know what aiva is, she created the word, all right? she's very, very specific about what she wants from her band. there will never be another

aretha franklin.ou >> asan imagine, people around the world reacting to the news of aretha franklindeath. coming up at 11:30, a look at some of the memories people are posting on social media. >> you can also see a gallery on fran many performances in d.c. through our nbc washington app. all right, now to more fallout after last weekend's white supremacist rally and perceived special treatment for participants from the "unite the right" event. >> in just about an hour metro union workers are going to call for the firing of e transit agency's chief. megan mcgrath is live with details on this. megan? >> reporter: well, good morning, guys. that's right, thel union wil be holding a rally here in aittle ss than an hour. it's going to happen here at the metro center station at 12t and g. we are seeing a small police presence in the area, nothing major, but we are seeing officers in the are preparing. metro's largest union is calling for the firing of general manager paul wedeford over the

handling of the white supremacists as they ud the metro system last weekend to attend that rally. take a look at the video here. kessler andr, jason his followers, were escorted onto a rear metro car marked special. offirs rode on thear and walked the group to the metro station as they made their way to the rally. the union that represents rail and bus workers say that consnttuted special treatme for the white nationalists and that metro said that there would be no designated trains for the group. you know union leaders also said african-american rail operators were not told they would be transptinghe t group. wedefeld has defended it saying police presence was necessary for security reasons to make sure there were no confrontations and flare-ups as the group used the system. also said that allin orange t were marked as special because of track work that was being done. now, while the white nationists, the white

supremacists were put on that same rear car, metro says that this was a not designated train. it made all the normal stops and other people wer on the tra as well. now, the rally is set to get rnd way in a little lessn than hour and the union calling for the resignation or firing. back to you. >> megan mcgrath, thank you. now we takek a l at the weather temperatures climbing again today. meteorologist amelia draper jos us with how high they will get. hi, amelamelia. >> we're going to see high temperatures today in the low 90s. right now4 we're at degrees. notice the winds out of the south at about 6 miles an hour, in that southerly helping to bring warmer and more humid air into the area. we were in the 90s yesterday here in shington, 90s again today, but the difference we're noticing that mugginess. i was o for my run this morning and you could just feel the humidity out there. here's how w measure the humidity. it's with the dew point temperatures.y yesterhey were in the 60s, today they are in the 70s. when you start to get close to a

dew point temperature of 75, it's feeling tropical out there and that's how it's feeling out right now. with a high tperature today of 93 degrees and a mix of clouds and sunshine throughout the day. we are completely dry today, but some storms potentially impacting us tomorrow and storm chances over the weekend. i'm going to break that down in about 15 minutet, >> all ri thank you. developing this morning, three d.c. w families have spent 12 years wondering what happened to their loved ones finally have an answer. d.c. and fbi officials have identified thehree sets of human remains found i southeast back in april. we now know all three women were black, in the 40s and went missing in 2006. d.c. police say all three were murdered. jewel king was 47 years old and last seen in april of that year. the mother of three died of a gunshot wound. verdell jefferson was 41, she went missing about a month later. police say she died of blunt force trauma andas buried with king. dorothy butts was 43 years old

and lastas seen on chris day in 2006. she also died of a gunshot wound. investigators say she was found separate from the other two wctims. we spoith one neighbor who knew one of these women. >> i knew her through theru program that i was in. when they showed me her face and i knew who she was, i saidoh my god, you know, you ain't never thought thereboould be so you know. >> officials are not ruling out the possibility tt one person could have killed all three cmen. paul manafold learn his fate by the end of the day. jury deliberations began in alexandria this morning. president trump's former campaign chair is f ing 18 counts of tax and bank fraud. if convicted, manafort could spend the rest of his life in prison. e to download the nbc washingt app for updates throughout the day. critics are speakingagut nst president trump's decision to revoke security clearance for former cia direct john ennan, and he's threatening to do the same to a

long list of others. news4's susan mcginnisxplains what's coming really behind this move by president trump. >> repnter: in a unprecedented move dnesday, president trump revoked the security clearance of former cia director john brennan, pointing to erratic behavior and criticism of the president. >> mr. brennan has a historyat alls into question his objectivity and credibility. to make a series of unfounded and outrageous dallegations, w outbursts on the internet and television about this administration. >> reporter: others have warned they're u ter review andir clearances could be yanked as well. all have served in democratic administrations, all have been critical of this one. brennan fired back on twitter and nbc suggesting this is an effort by the president to

suppress free speech and that americans should be worried. i've seen this type of behavior and actions on the of foreign tyrants and despots and autocrats for many, many years during my cia n andional security career. i never, ever thought that i would see it here in the united states. >> reporter: on capitll, mixed reaction. >> i think i called him a butthead and i meant it. i think he's given the national intelligence community a bad name >> this had an eerie memory of an enemies list. >> reporter: the president provided no evidence brennan improperly used his security clearance. director of national intelligence dan coats was nothi informed of decision. in washington, susan mcginnis, nbc news. at today's "new york times" editorial page, the headline "a free press needs you."

you may see a similar headline in almost any paper you pick up today. "the boston globe" invited newspaperscross the country to stand up on president trump's attacks on fake newsg by push editorials on press freedom today. the president has repeatedly referred to t journalists as enemy of the people. more than 300 papers are expected to participate with #freepress. new at midday, wre hearing om the parents of jordan mcnair, the university of maryland football player who fed after sufferom heat stroke. what they say should happen to the school's head coach. and reaction to our breaking news at this hour, the death o singing legend aretha franklin. essence saying frklin's iconic voice touched all our souls.

new this rning, we are hearing from the parents of a university of maryland footballa player who dieer suffering a heat roke. we've also learned the pourboar regents will hold a special eting tomorrow that could consult in major changes to the university's footballram. the board of regents was shocked and saddened bygi the t death of jordan mcnair and has found subsequent allegations related to the university of maryland terrapins football program profoundly alarming. theeeting could decide the future for the football coach

and university president. mcnair's parents who appeared on boood morning america" have strong feelings durkin. conditioningth and coach has resigned. the head coach is on administrative leave. do you guys resign as well?d >> yes. absolutely. he shouldn't be able to work with anybody else's kid. you don't send your kid away to college, michael, you send your kid ay toollege for them to be dev yoped intong people, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and just teach our young kids, our young people that we worked so hard to get there to, hey,g i'm givy child to you. keep him safe. >> the university's president and aletic director met with mcnair's parents earlier this week. they andlogized said the university accepts, quote, legal and mor responsibility for thede 19-year-old'sh. the fallout in the church

sex abuse scandal rea es all the way to the vatican. reportter an explosi revealed hundreds of catholic priests in pennsylvania got away with abusing children for decades, pope francis has yet to address the crisis. for many, his silence is deafening. anne thompson reports. >> reporter: in his five years as leader of the cathoc church, pope francis has made mercy the centerpiece of his papacy. sharin b hisirthday meal with the homeless, spending time with the sick and disabled, bringing syrian refugee filies to italy on the papal plane. but when it comes to the issue of abuse byst s, to some his signature compassion has been noticeably absent. >> he was somewhat defensive of the bishops in chile, and he found out, boy, that was a mistake. i should have listened to the viims more. so he's learned the hard way, have we >> reporter: and yet at wednesday's appearance in st. peter's square, the pope did not y one word about the shocking,

grand jury revelations in pennsylvania, horrific allegations that 0 predator priests violated more than 1,000 ildren, enticing them with alcohol or pornography, ending in molestation or rape. he praye for the victims of the genoa bridge collapse b offered no comfort to the abuse victims. cardinal dolan says that omission should not be missbl misinterpreted. >> we actually k frustrated he is about it. >> reporter: in this country while there have been words of apology, so far there is little action by u.s. bishops, especially about those church leaders the grand jury said covered it up by moving abusive priests around. again, all eyes turn to rome. >> if only the pope is someone who can discipline or take action to a bishop, the people in the pews are calling for the pope to do that. >> reporter: shawn dockerty is not waiting for the vatican.

he working to convince the pesylvania legislature to eliminate the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. i don't know what is more shocking than this report, so if this doesn't do it, we're in real trouble as asociety, i think. >> reporter: he has an ally in state representative mark rozzi, who says he too was abused by a priest as a child. >> for too many years we have let these predators attack our children. i'm not going to allow that to happen here in pennsylvania anymore. >> reporter: that was nbc's anne thompsonreporting. the state's attorney general's office in pennsylvania says since the news broke, it has received more than 150 calls and nge-mails repor abuse. the bombshell report also alleges archbishop of washington, cardinal donald wuerl, helped cover up some of the abuse. wuerl served as archbishop in pittsburgh for years. the grand jury repor mentioned wuerl's name nearly 200 times. wuerl has publicly defended his

cations. >> here's what tell you about cardinal wuerl. the public comments that he has ma directly contradict the o church documents that we found in the secret archives, and that's all spelled out in the gra jury report. >> wuerl issued a statement saying this part that he acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and will prevent future acts of abuse. he hasli so far dd our request for an interview. well, this morning the p ber k on at reagan national airport aftea blackout plunged terminals into darkness just before 10:00 last night.rs passenere in the dark for over an hour. here's news4's justin finch with the latest. >> reporter: well, the power is now back on and some relief for passengers. no major iues we have seen for those flying into or out of reagan national, but for those who were here last night in the say of that outage, they it was kind of creepy to be here when the airport went dark. s now, onial media, they also

shared videos. you'll hr some people gasping as those lights flickered and then went completely out close to 10:00 last night.e generator power did kick in, allowing crews to get to work os some of the es, though. the power was limited. the ac we're toldas of the escalators and elevators weren't working as well.ni do energy crews were on the ground working for more than an hour to reowore that and eventually got the lights back on close to 11:00. but weet also with the mother and father who were here at the airport waiting for their kids to fly back into town from dallas,nd they say when they got here, they realized there was a problem. >> we were walking through the dark from the parking garage int, the airp so we knew that the power was out in at least part of theairport. we could tell the ac wasn't on, so clear somethingasn't right. >> as for what the issue was that caused the outage, the airport n looking at two feed

supplies to the airport that came from dominion energy that somehow failed lastnight. of course they're working to make sure that doesn't again because an airport this busy needs power. at reagan national, i'mti j finch, news4. this morning former governor mike huckabee says he was stuck on a quarantined plane at an airprt. earloday he tweeted his american airlines flight from l.a. had been grounded for 40 minutes in nashville. passengers were tolthat, quote, someone on board is sick. a spokesperson for theidirline he flight landed and moved to a remote area of the airport whilearedics treated a passenger. everyone else on the plane was held by police for a couple of hours until a physician could confirm they were all to leave. >> that's very interesting. all right. alreadyrd looking for to the weekend, are we? we all are, yes, we know. up xt, amelia will track some rain chances moving in. >> andajor work outside the international space station. what scientists in space arewo ing on studyg in ethar.

you are looking at russian astronauts preparing for an epic ace walk. yesterday they left the international space station to fling tiny satellites into orbit. they also spent several hours installing an antenna for tracking birds on earth. this will observe small animals

from space and i will start out tracking blackbirds, turtledoves with small gps tags, interesting, and eventually move on to bigger. wildli >> pretty much the weirdest thing i've ever heard. >> two turtledoves and i'm thinking o christmas now. >> far from that today because it is roasty toasty out there. 0s temperatures today warming into the low but it's going to feel closer to 100 degrees isen you factor in that humidity, so iot and humid out there today and it's going to be hot and humid again on your friday with late-day thunderstorms tomorrow. new information coming in right now, though, suggesting most of the day is going to be dry. it friday evening when we have the chance for a few thunderstorms out there. it's not a washou though, they're going to be hit and miss and some rain chances over the weekend, especially on your saturday. currenray our temres in the low to mid-80s for the mos part. one of the warmer spots at 87. 83 up in gaithersburg and 84 in

washington. if you're heading to the pisl afternoon, you have the right idea. another fantastic day out there, late summer day. tomorrow i would still head to the pool despite latersay thunrm chances. go around the midday and afternoon hours and you'll bow just fine, even if you're just trying to take the kids to the playground or get a walk in outdoors. on saturday, scatteredunhowers and rstorms are looking more likely during the afternoon hours, so if you're headioo to the or playing some golf, you might have to take a pauseb use of a thunderstorm moving through the area. as we tal about humidity, it's back in full force today. yesterday was our transition day. tomorrow is going to feel oppressive once again. even saturday the humidity lel is pretty high but by sunday the humidity levels come down nicels and it f comfortable out there. not only humidity, but our temperatures on sunday in the low 80s. take a look, here's your weekend forecast. 88 on saturday, 82 on sunday with some scattered late-day showers and thunderstorms on saturday.

sunday right now is looking mainly dry, but saturda not a washout at all. if you're heading to the beaches, i'll have that forecast ming up in 15 minutes. coming up, a teen targeted our area by a flasher. the new evidence police want you to and what seemed to be a picture-perfec family now shattered. the case of a missing mom and her two lite girls rocking a denver community after her husband is arrested for killing them. plus more on our breaking news, t death of aretha franklin. entertainers, politicians, fans, all reacting this morning.

♪ feel like aatural woman >> the queen of soul, arethaas franklin, died. she passed away this morning after a battle with pancreatic cancer. >> franklin was 76 years old and there's an outpouring of support just take a look at some of the social media posts so far.os one of the is from nbc news' lester holt tweeting, quote, feeling overwhelmingly sad. thank you, aretha franklinor the gift of your voice and your soul. rest in peace. smokey robinson saying he lost his longest friend.

>> and we here at news4 know how franklin haooet ar been to so many of you and us. her voice has beee and will the greatest gift for so many weddings and other celebrations. we want to m sure that you have a place to reflect on franklin's life in your own time so we posted complete coverage on our nbc washington website. well, a colorado man is in custody just days aer he reported his pregnant wife and young daughters are missing and asked for the public help to find them. >> a law enforcement source telling our station in denver that he has now confessed to killing them. nbc's miguel almaguer reports.>> eporter: the quiet suburban home where shann wattsnd her two daughters were last seen alive becoming a crime scene overnight. a law enforcement source telling r denver affiliate, kusa, chris watts has now confessed to killing his pregnant wife and l their twotle girls,

3-year-old stce and 4-year-old bella, a confession coming just days after they were reportedissing monday afternoon. watts doing media interviews playing the victim. >> it just sms like i'm living in a nightmare and i can't get out of it. i just want them home so bad. >> reporter: watts spoke to kusa hours after he claimed his wife and children vanished. >> i h le no ideae where they went. and it doesn't -- it's just eart shattering. i don't feel like this is even real right now. >> reporter: three days after f aski the public's help, the alleged, stunning confession.ac rding to local media, watts also reportedlystelling inators he would lead them to their bodies. nbc news has not yet confirmed that report. >> we're missing some people out of a neighborhood, a mother and her small children j >> reporter:t hours earlier, police officially lisng the trio as in danger, circulating their photos to neibors in a small suburb outside denver.

>> there's a lot at stake here, and we are exploring all avenues in order to not rule anything out. >> reporter: questioned by friendsnd family, watts stuck to this story. he said his pregnant wife came home from a business trip at ay 2:00 a.m. mo the couple having an emotional conversation before he left for work at 5:00 a.m. watts says his wife wasn't responding to text messages and never answered the front door by.a friend who stopped early clues say loved ones said something was wrong. >> she left everything at home, her purse, her wallet, all of her money and i.d. >> i justknant people t i want my family back. i want them safe and here. >> reporter: overght shanann's brother writing on facebook, i just want to knowhy my precious family, bella, celeste and her just found out unborn son ni. i just want 30 seconds alone

with hhatrtless psychopath. >> my husband an i have two beautiful girls. >> reporter: this morning a pregnant mother and her two baby girls gone. a husband and father soo to be charged with their murders. >> that was miguel almaguer reavrting. police not said if the bodies have watts' wife and g littleirls have been recovered. we expect to hear more from them later on today. developing this morning and just steps away from yale university, officials are trying to figure out if someone intentionalldrkstributed a laced batch of the drug k2. rescue crews say first responders have been called to 60 ovdoses since tuesday. here in d.c. more than 260 people were taken to hospitals over aten-day period in july for synthetic drug overdoses. k2 is often called synthet marijuana but the chemical composition is different. fairf p countyice are searching for a man who exposed himself to a teenage girl. this is ath sketch o suspect's face.

on august 4th officers say this man approached t girl from behind in the newington station area of fairfax county m the touched the girl and then exposed himself before running off. well, we know it is still summer butot's time start thinking about flu season, unfortunately. we'll tell you how one drugstore is rewarding customers who come in for a flu shot. and to all the moms and dads out there packing lunches, you might want to spend a little time to get creative with these lunches. some ideas on how to improve that cominup.g (announcer) there's a freedom about asheville. an unspoken invitation to discover who you really are. come up for air. asheville. discovery, inside and out.

we are getting your kids ready for hool. as you buy those backpacks and notebooks, it's also time to start thinkbout meal planning. >> yes, take it from me it can be tough to find something that the kid wants to eat and is healthy. we like french fries in our ck house, c nuggets in our ho

use. haley hernandez has se tips on making a well-rounded lunch. >> my favorite part is unrneath here -- >> reporter: who said school cnches have to be boring. dietitianhristy king says this is how to get a variety of foods into one lunch box. >> containers and lunch boxes that can help you make this fun and interesting will help. lifting up cartons, opening up things. >> reporter: each lunch should have a protein, fruit, vegetables and grains. popcorn u serious that counts as our grain? >> it ldoes. g as it's not covered in butter. >> reporter: some examples including pairings like this. >> cheese tortellini, add a litt cherry tomatoes and i actually chopped up some cheese sticks to put in there as extra protein. broccoli e've got a salad, which is to die for. >> do you think these kids will eatthat? >> i do. >> reporter: a nice try, but we'll be the judge of that.

meet first grader ella, second grader jack and sixth grader avery. >> it looks presentar:e. >> reporut does it win their affection? the blt goes to avery. the lettuce and tomato equal one of her servings of vegetables too. and jack jumps on the peanut lltter apple with chocolate milk while eats cucumbers.e they sampl and swap. >> i wouldns do this iad of that. getting a : carrots hard pass, while the chicken salad lettuce wraps are presented in an appealing enough y they'll give it a try. >> i like everything not tor.hing each ot >> reporter: we quickly learn the kids like almost everything and are even willing to eat veggies or grain.y avoesn't want the popcorn but would prefer more vegcaes e much to my surprise she does like the broccoli salad. >> it doesn't taste like

broccoli. >> it doesn't? it's good? >> write douwn the things that they like. >> reporter: ella promises to eatit just don't skip on dessert. >> every lunch should come with something like eat all your good stuff and then you like have like aprittle se at the bottom. >> i would take all the help i can get with ide and things because whatever i do seems to bewrong. i didn't want that. >> as long as he has something, right? get something in you tummy, please. all right, warm outside. >> and thankfully most of us still have aays away until school starts. >> and twoo weeksink about it. >> out there right now, temperatures are coming in in the d-80s for the most part in washington. when you factor in the humidiee, it'sng warmer so 84 right now outside but with the muggines it's feeling like 90 degrees. feeling like 92 out in leesburg so it's hot and humid today. this is fthure w tomorrow

at noon because we're going to be dry today. tomorrow we start off dry look at what happens as we head into the afternoon and especially the evening hours.. 3:00 pe're starting to track scattered showers and thunderstorms back around i-81. 5:00 p.m. they're moving through montgomery,n, loud prince william, fauquier county. 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. they move through the district and into geince ge and anne arundel counties. his is the potential for heavier rain and strong thunderstorms, not a huge threat for severe weather tomorrow. but again few thunderstorms could wring some gusty winds so be on the lookout for that. 're not really worried about flooding issues tomorrow but by 10:00 p.m. still the chance for scattered showers and we dry ouh over saturday starts out dry and there's a chance for late-day thunderstorms once again on your saturday. if you're heading to the beach, some late-day thunderstorms on friday but most of the day it's going to be dry. saturday, 50% chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms during the

s.ternoon and evening ho on sunday at the beach i have to say i really think it's gng to be mainly dry there. here's a look at your storm team 4 seven-day forecast. tomorrow a high of 94, saturday a high of82. look at that cooldown between saturday and sun, we go from 88 to 82 degrees. the humidity levels are comfortabl sunday is looking mainly dry. we'll keep monday dry as well with partly suy skies and a high of 84. >> all right, thanks,amelia. new crash test results are out. see how some of the mt popular family vehicles are being ranked. lost him because ofph maceutical greed. >> and a mother's grief, the

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we are working for your health. millions of americans need insulin to control their diabetes for many ople, the price has jumped dramatically. manyamilies have resorted to rationing their daily doses to be able to afford it. nbc's tom costello reports on how that can have nsvastating couences. >> reporter: 26-year-olds are not supposed to die because they don' have insulin, but withou insurance, alex smith couldn't afford the $1,300 a month tois control diabetes, so he

tried rationing his insulin. empty vials fnd near his body. >> i was so heartbroken just to see that he had resor d to those type of measr:es. >> repor million americans depend on insulin to control their blood sugar, but with few competitors, the price has skyrocketed from $21 in 1996 to $320 per vial today and many require several vials each month. after spending t$524 on vials for her daughter, a frustrated tweet went viral. i left the phaacy and sat in my car and krocried. i don't have themoney. i have love and worry a24/7. ale study found one in four diabetics cuts back on insulin because of cost. mostly lower class americans putting themselves at risk. >> over time it leads to complications such as blindness, kidney disease, nerve disease, amputation.

h reporter: president tru promised to bring drug prices down but his hhs secretary, ale azar, came from eli lilly which doubled drug prices from 2011o 2016. in a statement lilly says in the laste 8 monthsve introduced a number of initiatives to help reduce the amount people pay at the pharmacy and provide access to lower-income people with diabetes. but for alex smith's mother -- >> the child that i gave birth to, my flesh and blood, i lost him because of pharmaceutical greed. >> reporter: a lifetime of heartbreak. tom costello, nbc news, washington. a former tesla employee now claims that he has proof the company has been putting driver's lives at risk whistleblower martin tripp tweeted internal e-mai and photos that he says are evidence of flawed manufacturing practices at tesla's btery factory. he refers to specific cars that received batteries containing

damaged cells. tripp claims that elon musk had direct knowledge of these practices and failed to intervene. the former employee h been fighting a legal battle with tesla. the car maker says tripp stole and shared fsified information. another round of crash tests is offering somees mixedts for minivan makers. nbc's marc barr has details on the insurance institute for fetr es >> reportehir: theway institute tested three 2018-19 minivans. the honda odyssey, chrysler pacifica and toyota thciena. focused on passenger side frontts crash tsimilar to real world scenarios. >> a vehicle may go off the road and strike a tree or an object on the side of the only a portion of the front of the vehicle actually gets crushed. >> reporter: in these small overlapped tests, the ciena only received a marginal rating overall and poor rating for structure. >> the safety cage around the

right front passenger started to fallapart. >> reporter: in a written statement toyota in part called the test a severe specialized test that depose beyogoes beyoe safety requirements but pointed to steps taken to improve the f performance o toyota vehicles in the small test. the pacifica earned a maurnl rg rating. the odyssey far best, scoring acceptable on structure and good overall. >> we'd ideally like to see all vehicles ring good overall, but those that rate acceptable don't have too many probtems. >> reporr: in fact the odyssey and pacifica eac received the top safety pick award for front thash protectionoverall. >> we know that e car makers are getting the message and making imp evements ton better ratings in our crash tests. >> reporter: helping on safetyious consumers. marc barger, nbc news. there is a little extra incentive to get your flu shotar

this contessa brewer explains the special offer. >> rite-aid is offering a sweet incentive to encourage p aple to ge flu shot. the drugstore chain is offering free scoops of ice cream with every shot throughout the entire flu season. shots are also available a more than 2,500 rite-aid stores across the country. mark your calendars for a little holiday shopping novber 7. that's when aldi's starts sell two advent calendars, one filled with wine and the other with imported cheese. the wine calendar will cost $69.99 and features 24 mini bottles of different varieties. the cheese calendar costs $twel $12.99. this was run in the uk last year and the calendars quickly sold out. with your cnbc morning business report, i'm contessa llewer. you often think of

animals in shelters as being sad or locked in cages. >> after the break, a group that's making sure animals in their care are treated a little differently.

we could finally see alex smh making plays on the field in a redskins uniform tonight. the team will take on theyo new rk jets for their second preseason game. smith didn't play in the first game last wk but starters usually play for about a q rter

of the second preseason game. that startsonight at 8:00 at fedex field. animal shelters acrosshe country constantly struggle with the issue of crovding. for an older dog, that might mean a little extra stress. >> news4's sheena parveen shows usne shelter that has a solution to that. >> reporter: this is hopper. he is 14 years old. for the last ten of those years, he's been a shelter dog, butu ink he's sad, think again. employees and volunteers at the friends of homeless animalte sh in loudoun county aren't sure why he hasn't found a home, but at first glance, you'd thins he already one. >> how's he liking this? >> he loves it. this i hishome. i mean you can tell he is -- he is not stressed here. he's kind ofur ambassador for thell viage. >> reporter: you could call this the senior dog community at . foha ten individual homes, allcr

eated to give older and r long-termidents here a more comfortable life. >> of course a home is always our primary focus, but yeah, this is the second best thing for sure. >> some even have their own private pool, free roaming inside and out, heat and ac, a comfy bed and all the love in the world. friends of homelessls ani plans to build eight more of these condos starting this fall. litt is p good for an older dog at this shelter. >> i think this is unique. i haven't seen place like this either many times, so yeah, it's a really neat place and something we're very proud of. >> at this point i hopper's life, it's all about comfort. while he waits to find his forever home. sheena parveen, news4. >> if you want to add a pet to your family, join nbc this weekend as we clear the shelters. animal rescues acrossur area are offering discounts, even waiving fees for adoptions on

saturday. you can find much mor information in our nbc washington app. this is usually a day where we see lines and lines of people waiting to add a family member to their home, so we aredooking forwo seeing a lot of folks out there. >> sheena will be at a shelter tomorrow morning. make sure to log on to the app and check out all of the regulations, because i know some shelters do want your entire faly there before you adopt. you don't want to get there, think you're picking something out and being unable to bring that little ledude home. >> now the question is if we'll have good weather. >> well, today we're going to be dry, hot and humid. right now it's almost feeli like 90 degrees when you factor in the mugginess and a high today of 93, but that's goingtoo feel close00 because of how high the humidity levels are out there with o a mix clouds and sunshine. tomorrow we'll have a mix of clouds and sun oaie a little more cloudiness on friday with a high of 94 and scattered late-day showers and thunderstorms. on saturday some scattered

showers and thundersto forecast once again later in the day with a high on saturday of 88. and then we're cooler with lower humidity levels for sunday, a high of 82. mostly cloudy skies. there's the chanc s fore showers on sunday, especially south of washington, but most indications are looking like eunday is a mainly dry day. we'll conti to get new information in this afternoon so doug and i will have the latest comingp at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. next week it's looking really nice.e as for the chance for thunderstorms on tuesday, we keep it dry with highs in the mid-80s, melissa. >> all righthanks, amelia. that is it for "news4 midday."ng thanks for joius. we're back on air this afternoon at 4:00. >> you can get news and weathers updany time with our nbc washington app. have a great day and we'll see you back tomorrow morning.

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y2x56y y16fy >>li we re in five, four, three, two, one. ♪ what you want baby, i got it ♪ what you need you know i got it ♪ ♪ all i'm askin' is for a little respect ♪ ♪ yeah, hey, baby just a little bit ♪t ♪ jlittle bit yeah, yeah >> oh, i love seeing that. we begin today with what y have heard the passing of the queen of soul aretha franklin at age 76. welcome to "access live." natalie is off today. and actress melissa peterman and scott evans is joining me and right before we went on live, we have been blaring the aretha music all morning because