as this monster hurricane is rreling toward the u.s. ane florence is expected to stay a major hurricane as it ames for the coast, just a few hundred miles south of us. >> we won't see a direct hit here but preparations are us underway in case it does change course. >> the district joins maryland, virginia, and the carolinas in declaring a state of emergency. that designation will let the states put resoues in place before the storm starts. >> right now 1.5 million people are under evacuation order. the focus in our area is to f prepare youily early. >> get to the grocery store, make sure you have your medications, make sure you have flashlights andbatteries. news4 is working for you with team coverage from here a the way down the coast. >> jim handly is there.

doug kammerer has the story. that's been happening over the next six to 12 hours, it is underrequesting an eye replacement cycle, meaning it has to fluctuate in intensity a little bitful it has come down a little bit. take a look at the latest satellite picture. one thing you do notice toward thethnd o satellite loop, it was looking very ragged. not anymore. look at th. the eye really coming into its own again. i think this isen strengg. the 5:00 advisory coming out in 45 minutes to an hour. dvthe latestory at 2:00 had it at 130 mil an hour. moving to the west northwest at 17 miles per ho the pressure at 950 millibars. yesterday it s939. so it is a little weaker storm than this time yesterday. the latest track making its way toward the carolinas here. tiis is new. okay? right here.

this is category 3. winds of 120 miles per hour. no longer expected to be a 4. a category 3 on thursday nighta into fr that's when we expect landfall and then it just sits in our area. one other thing. look at the cone of uncertainty. one thing we'll continue to see over thepl next c days, something we've seen over the last few days, coastal flooding. we have coastal flood warnings. alexander re, a georgetown, heads up in those ea speaking of alexandria, a northern virginia reporter live in alexandria right now. how are things going right now? >> reporter: obviously, it is the calmow here right and it is not really a concern here as much as the coastal parts of virginia and carolina more than anything else. what just came down a short time ago. e u.s. senators office, telling me that president trump hasigned a federal emergency

declaration allowing virginia, should ty need it, to pull from federal resources in the event of any sort of catastrophic impact from the storm. anything of the remnants concerning clean-up. the biggest iue down in hoe hampton roads in particular, the folks down there are considering, y, northern virginia, the d.c. area, that's where we'll head. i just spoke via face time a short time ago with someone who you'll hear from in a short time. the governor caught up withd hi he said, he doesn't care where you live in the commonwealth. he wants you to get ready. >> fks are looking at the coastal impact. would you say they need to be just asprepared? >> they absolutely do. this is a very large, dangerous storm. it will affect all of virginia and certainly t coastal areas. we worry about the storm surge and flooding. but inland with the rain, i

noticed the potomac river is very full right now. so i think everybody has to pay attention to what's going on. >> reporter: late today in fairfaunty, officials putting out an alert to all their oesidents asking those you who live there to help them out a bit. do somee clearing of drains. do some trimming in the area. if you have important items on the sement or ground floor, move it up a a precaution to be safe. >> all right. important to be prepared. >> thanks. because of florence, the parks service is pushing back work on the arlingtonemorial bridge. it was scheduled to be closed all weekend so crews could set up for major repair work. the closure being planned for two weekends from now. they will start the evening of friday the 21. it will reopen on monday the 24th. jim hdly is in his car heading down the coast right now. find him on social media for

behind the scenes pictures and videos as the monster storm makes its way toward land. >> this is the best timeask, is the government prared? they insid they are ready. >> but 3,000 people died after hurricane maria hit puerto rico and the new government watch dog report finds other problems with disaster response. >> just moments ago, presidnt trump sis administration's response to puerto rico was, quote, an unsung success. so he says despite the criticism, he doued down on e phrase that he initially gave his administration for its response to puerto rico. now, this is going to be his administration's first major test since my ie and te going to great lengths to show they are ready. today a promise from president trump. fema is ready for. floren >> we are totally prepared.

we're ready. >> in aie s of tweets telling those in the path, be safe. we areith you. >> but as hurricane florence barrels toward the east coast, the federal governmt is dealing with the criticism from last year's hurricanese on. with hurricanes harvey, irma and marie, a new federal report finds fema was short staffed, delaying its response in puerto rico. the death toll there, nearly 3,000fter initial estimates cited only 64. >> president trump praised his administration's response as a 10 despite frequent criticism from the mayor of sanan >> i am begging, begging anyone that is here to save us from dying. >> today president being brief by the heads of homeland security and fema as officials speak to the country.

>> hurricane florence is a very storm.ous >> washington vowing it is ready to act as the east coast braces for a major blow. and again, the white house just now, president trump urged anyone in harm's way to get out and listen to local authorities. meanwhile the president has decided to cancel two campaign events that were previously scheduled for this week in ssouri and mississippi. back to you. >> all right. thank you. >> in court today, opening statements in the high profile d.c. mansion murders trial. attorneys for daron wint launched a surprising defense. >> reporter: we're now getting an idea how they plan to prosecute this case. prosecutors said dna evidence found on five items including a dominos pizza crust will prove that daron wint murdered the

familiar and the housekeeper. meanwhile, the defense team argues that daron wint's brother and half brother organized and carried out the murders andhat th tricked him into coming to the crime scene. the defense told the jury in the end, their evidence will show that prosecutors have the wrong guy. i'll have more on howes both s plan to prove their case, coming up tonight at 5:00. news4. ni> there were o statements today in a capital murder trial many prince william county of the ronald ha charged with killing his wife. it took three weeks to sit the jury in the trial. it was in februar 2016 when investigators say hamilton shot and killed his wifecr tal. police showed up at the house and that's when detectives say opened fire on officers. officer ashley windon died.

it was her first day on thejob. two more officers were shot but they survived. the trial is set to last for three months. >> you know the date. today is the day we reflect on the loss of 3,000 americans. coordinated terrorist attacks. >> today's tribu to the fallen started before the sun came up. an american flag unfu ting ov pentagon. news4's amy cho shows how people in our are are marking the y. trag >> reporter: there have been people from all over the world here at the pentagon today and every person we talked to say they are determined on never forget. >> reporter: a quiet song to honor those lost too masoon. from silver springs said she comes to the memorial every

year around september 11th. >> to show m respect and to extend my lovmi to the . if i can help one person and lift them up, that's my >>purpo. eporter: a purpose shared by all here today. these army veterans were inside the pentagon during theat cks. they share a hug as they remember those who died that >> they were just people doing service for their country which do. loved as we >> reporter: and as the country marked 17 yea since thact of evil, some people lay flowers. others simply reflect. they will never understand why it had to happen. >> you can't put a reason on it. you can't make sense of it. but you know that you have to go on. we'll go on but we'll never forget. >> reporter: at the pentagon memorial, news4. turning back to florence, it

appears the storm grong in size. >> the nowory 4 assurance growing closer to the carolinas. we'll go there live next. and remember this video? caught a lot of people's attention yesterday. an update on the story you saw first on news4. someone going around, cracking open fire hydrants from the district. plus, leading ladies. some of hollywoos biggest

the only sign the hurricane is coming is the lack p ofple there on wrightsville beach. >> locals and visitors are hitting the roads instead of the beach today.en ja rayua is live now. are people defying orders to leave or f are theylowing orders? >> reporter: i think that they are paying attention. the marina is locked down. there's ada mry evacuation

order here. they are clearing out as florence prepa ts move in. it is moving day across the southeast. it is important to evacuate. >> reporter: even the navy shipping out ahe of thestorm. >> we are in a very deadly and important gam of chess with hurricane florence. >> reporter: the next move for more than a million along the coast is th higher ground. >> for us, we've never been through one, we don't hav a clue what to do or where to go. >> reporter: officials warnise even t who have been through storms before, this one is different. this storm is a monster. don't b your life on riding out a monster. >> reporter: she is securing everything she can before she leaves. >> i have a second story. so i took all the electronics upstairs. the tv and everything. >> reporter: on the first floor, the furniture is raised and

stacked. >> hurricane florence is the strongest stormar tot the carolinas in this part of our country insome who plan to ride. >> we're ready. we're ready every t's your time time. >> reporter: the time to prepare leaving or staying is across th. >> you know, the rain and strong winds expected here sometime. the conditionsill only intense identify as the storm approaches, making landfall metime late thursday into friday. and this is a storm that is growing as it approaches the coast. >> that's what we keep hearing and that's the bad news. thank you. stay safe. we'll check back with you. >> so what's the word on how it might impact us? >> i feel a lot better about this in our area. what i mean is less rain, less potential for flooding, less

wind in ourtharea. 's all good news but that doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet. that doesn't mean we don't to have watch it. the latest computer models saying we might skip thi one and it is all toward the carolinas. we're still three days out from is and we have to watch this extremely closely. hurricane florent . thereis. it has undergone an eye wall replacementcy e. what happens with an eye wall, that's where the strongest wind are in storm. and you can see here, the eye was fairly erratic earlier. not exactly concentric. the eye opens i up, gets a little bigger and you start to see the redson fashi it a little faster. this was 130-mile-an-hour winds. you scaitee hsarow f getting m there's more to life than the climb.

there's the view. you've got to stop and lo around a little. come. shed life's layers in asheville. let the child inside you out to play. remember who you are. . life is for the takingt not for taking isy. asheville.di overy, inside and out. the hurricane definitely on everybody's minds on just about

the entire east coast. we're feeling a little better about this forecast in our area. >> really good news. >> we have to stress the forecast can change but today inall the information c in really has lower impact on our area than yesterday. >> yentioned it can change. today it has changed from yesterday in a much more favorable position for us but that doesn't mean we're outth o woods just yet. it is really startinto get i act together. lookingy very, v good. it looks like a doughnut. this is something we'll continue to track. local impact. what does it mean for us? we'll talk much more about that. we'll have more in about 10 or 15 minutes. as florence spins closer to theas the delays are starting to stack you. >> people are evacuating quickly. >> ad sam live at reagan

national. >> reporter: that's right. n and less of how much r wind we get, we are starting to feel the impact. here ator reagan national ai a lot of people coming f inrom down south to get awayrom the storm. it is truly a race to clear parts of the south. >> absolutely. it was very, veryow crd. people are really rushing. >> flights comg in fro places like charlotte, raleigh is that charleston.ed loith travellers to let's just say, happy to be here. >> i'm glad i'm nothere. i was there two weeks and i'm glad i made it back. >> reporter: debby just left her daughter and grand kids behind if charleston, south carolina. she's starting to grow a bit worried. >> i would le to seehem a little more inland. they're about 35 miles from the coast but the area, all of the

low country, it is very sea level and it tends to flood. >> reporter: also woh noting that am strtrak is canceling ma trims. and crews are working to help get driversway from the coast. we also talk to the airport. they said they'll start to see e flights stacking up tomorrow and thursday. a lot of earls get their planes out of harm's way. back to you. >> all right. that will mess up a lot of people'splans. >> let's look at our inactive radar. you can watch all the tropical activity all over the road. just click storm track. >> an update on a story news4rd broke yes about a suspect going around the district

illegally opening up fire hydrants. last night, police arrested a suspect but not before six more hydrants were opened, including four inside the third street tunnel. now more on how police caugh the man and how the suspect may have been urging others to do the same thing. >> reporter: things like th have been happening more frequently over the last week or po. someone opening u fire hydrant, mostly in northeast d.c. this one sent water rushing into this grocery store. then last night it happened again including fr fire hydrants inside the third street tunnel. and those hydrants weren't the only ones opened up last ght. one right by this walmart was also opened up. it actually flooded part of the store. but then police spotted the suspect. >> we actually got a tip from a community member who photographed the suspect. and then once our officers saw

that, they were able to stop them. >> reporter: thesuspect, 34-year-old who had a 14-inch wrench when he was arrested. ynlhe o illegal fire hydrant openings. the police say they're investigating whether he is responsibleor others. >> eighth 14ncnch w would tip it off. >> the question is why? why do it? families with allergies listen up. aife changing announcement. your access to medication just got a little easier. and the pathway to land for florence changes.

more than 1.5 million people are under orders to leave before it is toolate. >> the governor of north carolina, very blunt in his warning today. ridingt bet your life on

out a monster. >> the video shows crowded mpads. president t insists the federal government is ready for this storm but a new government report finds fema was understaffed when hurricane maria hit puerto rico last year. the federalasesponse in his words an unsung success. it is not clearhich metric he is using to measure successful 3,000 people died after maria. the capital murder trial underway. police sayto ronald ham gunned down crystal hamilton in 2016. he then opened fire on officers. one officer died and two other officers were wounded but they survived. the heist begins for apple's big event ittomorrow. will be about more than just the iphone. we'll be watching for a possible new operating system along with

a new version of the apple watch and possible upgrades to othere products l the ear pod. a freshman at georgesiwn univ who gained national recognition after his parents kicked him out of the house being gay appeared on the ellen show today. >> he earned a partial fellowship to georgetown but hit pa refused to pay the additional costs. he said on ellen today his father found out he was gay by going through his cell phone. after being homeless, hit teachers and others started go fund meage and more than 41 ,000 later, he has plans for the money left over. >> i wld like to donate the money to starting a scholarship. start en went on to kic the fund with a $25,000 check. >> a good start.

hard to believe it's been 17 years since the attacks on september 11. >> we'll show you the newof tow oices killed on those flight 93. and here's the latest track. a very impressive cegory 4 hurricane florence. winds at 140 miles an hour. ngstill loo to have cat strofk impact on parts of the carolinas and souern virginia. what does this mean in our area? what does this mean in our area? doll be breaking it z2ydoz z16fz

y2yd y16fy

and we are watching flor florence. we are expecting a new update and we'll have that for you in three minutes. today across the country, people paused to remember the victims of september 11th.

it's been 17ceears s that dark day. chris takes us to some of the ceremony. the vois of 40 united flight 93 passengers will live on long after their deaths. 40 wind chimes dedicated to their memories will hang in aor tower fever at the field where they died after becoming unsuspecting and unlikely heroes. >> they boarded the plane as stngers, and they entered eternity linked forev as true heroes. >> psident donald trump lauded their sacrifice in stopping hijackers from receiving their intended target. >> this memorial is now a message to e world. america will never, ever submit to tyranny. >> reporter: as a nation am ticans vowed never forget

the 3,000 innocent victims of rithe september 11th ter attack. so even 17 years later, they pause to tell their story. at the pentagon -- >> we commit ourselves to remembering and honoring the lives that might have been. we keep faith withoc the it who perish -- >> and in new york -- the epicenteral lit ground zero of the attack where children have grown up before our eyes,g repeathe name of a father or mother, sister or brother, so we the nation, the world won't forget them. >> i will always love you and never forget you. >> reporter: and we won't because we promised we never would. nbc news, new york. >> every single one of us remembers where we were that day. we will always remember. opening statements today in the trial of the man acced of gunning down his wife and a police officer and then wounding two others when they arrived at

the home to hel out. standing by in the news room with a look ahead. >> thisn happened prince william county. the opening statements began today. this is the trial of ronal hamilton. he could get the death penalty for the murders of his wife and police oicer ashley againdon killed on the job. the arguments his attorneys are making to spare his life. and a former car dealer at mgm national harbor pleads guilty today. what we're learning about just how much he's accused of stealing and how casino patecns were affd by it, and who else could be involved? and then hricaneflorence, hurricane florence, hurricane florence. the impact a storm could have when it arrives on the east coast and what it will feel like. we'll see you soon with those stories and mo. it.you've got

and let's get the latest on florence's track. let's go to the storm center. >> the newest strak ju esest tre we feel a litetter about this forecast for us. >> when we're making a forecast like, this, we want to see this. >> take a look at the local impact in a second but speaking of local, let's showt you w we're dealing with outside. it is a nasty day again is this has been the pattern. i think this pattern really sticks with us all theay into next week. 76, d.c., wdst 6 miles an hour. a little shower activity. you see it he. some of the showers around warrenton toward the frederick . ar some storms lake the southern portions of big time storms as well.

ytemperatures were o in the 60s. you can see it clearly defined right there. look at the line of storms right down through portions of north a caro hurricane florence. it has strengthened. the latest advisory has it as a category 4 storm. the last one was at 130 miles an hour. moving west northwest at 17, ths pressure w at 950 millibars. it is strengthening and may continue to do so. expect to it stay 4 all the way to landfall. now friday, coming inland, changing to a category 3 weakening as it comes onshore. but look at the new track all the way back to the we.

lantnon th c o uncertainty. this has very goodmplications our area. florence looks farther to th south. >> what we have to say over and ays awayin is it is a this forecast will continue to evolve. you do need to stay tuned. the newss good for our area. that's exactly what we want to hear. take aook at the total rainfall amounts through next n.tuesday aftern myrtle beach, we're talking about rainfall amounts. over a foot or higher some of the areas around wilmington, north carolina corks see ased on the als current track of 30 to maybe0 even inches. you can see virginia beach, around three inches. our area about, an inch and a half. we're forecasting through next tuesday about, two to four inches of rain. still some issues here but thankfully, it won't be as bad

or at least looking better than it was yesterday. take look. i think the numberrn one con that we'll continue to experience into the weekend and early next week will be flooding around areas like georgetown and alexandria. along our area waterway, mark story on twitter shared, these two photographs from today. you can see there the walls up and water is hitting it. it will continue to be an issue with winds out of the east bringing rainfall, the higher war, into areas like the potomac. so again flooding along the waterways wil continueo be an issue into next week. the local beaches. some erosion, itill be breezy. the redskins game. a chance for fowers. and a barbecues, you don't want toancel your plans just yet but for our area, this is not loong like an his, to event. >> but we have to stay prepared,

stay tuned. we'll keep you posted on air, on twitter, you can reach us there. our nbc washington app. wednesday, thursday about, a 50% chce of showers. not much in the way of thunderstorms. we could see a up. friday, saturday, tracking florence. mostly to the south. the best chance would be friday. the best chanceor rain and breezy conditions. winds upwards of 20 to 30 miles an hour.n not eropical force. but because of all the even a 30-mile-an-hour wind gust could take out some trees. >> the newss better. thank you. right now, a shortage of something tt many americans need to have in their homes just in case. >> the life changing medications in case of food allergies. plus, what's the best way to clean your compute without damaging it? >> and soon the storm is

expected to slam into this beach in north carolina. we track hurrica florence.ne

fleeing florence. more than a milli people warned to get out as it makes its way toward the u.s. the best chan for rai and wind here as a result of the storm is later this week. stay with storm team 4. here is a life announcement for families with food allergies. your access to life saving medication just got easier. an injector t similarthe epi-pen is now availablet walgreens. >> they're like a third appendage. you have to have them at all times. >> sheas at least four sets oft

injectors all times. her 14-year-old daughter has food allergies and not having it available dog could be the difference between life and death. >> it is food, water, injector. if you don't have it, a very dangerous issituation. i >> so when she heard the news about walgreens, it is similar to the epi-pen will be available at walgreens across the country starting now and no cost to those with commercial >>surance. hat i hear from my sources, this shortage that we have currently should be fixed quite quickly. >> the doctor works at northwestern memorial holiday. seeing patients regularly who need an epi-pen foriv su. >> the he saepineferin is th be and only medication to treat the condition. if someone doesn't have an epi-pen or it has expired, they do get concerned.

rightfully so. >> she said to not have to worry about access means an easier life for mpllions of p living with an exhausting condition. >> never want that cost to be a factor. how serious is this reaction? you never want that to play a role. but it will for a lot of people. right now we are tracking the latest path of hurricane florence. >> category 4 storm expanding in size. today we're getting a better idea about where iiseaded and whe ill we're talking about life reatening storm surges. destructive winds and major flooding. >> the district is makingio preparns for the worst joining maryland,irnia and

north carolina and south carolina. >> more than 1 million people ordered to evacuate. some of them are othe move while resources are getting ready to move into the area. >>e've got team coverage tonight. let'segin with doug and amelia with the latest. and florence has strengthened. back to a 140-mile-per-hour tegory 4 hurricane. north carolina is looking at this going, oh, no, looking at this saying we may have dodged a bullet here. >> the news for us isood tonight. but i've been saying this earlier, you've been saying this. we continue to nd to monitor the forecast because the path can still change. >> we've got two or three days to watch the storm. if itontinues north like it was yesterday, we could be dealing with different conditions. and d.c., maryland, virginia,

all under states of emergency. if it does come fartherorth, we'll be in a world of hurt. look at the eye. fa.ly ragg hit some cloud cover over the eye. that tells you, it didn't have its act together. you've got red all around the eye. it looks like a perfect doughnut. you can see it makin its w in and it has increase in the intensity back to 140 miles an hour. i eink it will conti to strengthen. moving west northwest at 17 les per hour, the new track brings it very close to wilmington, north carolina. very closevio wrighe beach. you notice the cone of uncertaintyoward hatteras, virginia beach, but no longer hits d.c.ft it s south enough, the cone now includes