brianne carter at the "live desk" with more excitement at the eclipse swept coast toest co. ome folks describe it as the most amazing sight ever. others were brought to tears as the first full blown solar eclipse in a century to sweep the u.s. happened. we got a chance to see the change in the daylight here. nothing like what folks in path of poe tallty saw. drop of temperature coast to coast in a matter of minutes. this is all in places like oregon folks were gazing through the telescopes and the handmade viewers. a lot of cereal boxes and the protective glasses for the folks to witness history. for many it was not just breath-taking but emotional. >> i thought it does a cool experience to experience with the friends and family here. something i will never see again. >> spectacular two minutes of our lives. >> amazing. >> she sobbed for ten minutes. >> we saw people laying on the blankets, sitting down and looking up. some people lucky enough to get a closer view. a number of the folks on the flights traveling near the path of totality got to see it midflight, glasses in han

transportation reporter brianne carter shows us the the interstate. brianne: designed to ease congestion and commutes. eight miles of toll lanes will soon be up and running in northern virginia. wednesday morning governor mcauliffe and others officially broke ground on the new express lanes along 395. the project will change the two h.o.v. lanes now designed for carpoolers to three express toll lanes. the lanes will operate just like the tolls along 95 but 15 million collected annually from this stretch will go toward other transportation improvements. including new buses and the bridge rehabilitation. >> 395 express lanes project will benefit the military, civilian and the contract employees. who work at and near pentagon. brianne: it is also improving the bus and the slug lanes and configuration of the access road. >> we will address the bottleneck on 395 south by adding a new fourth lane. brianne: officials saying once it's complete they expect it to shave ten minutes off the commute each way. some drivers tonight say it's still not worth it. >> you

brianne carter has -- fidget spinners and brianne carter has more guidelines. brianne: they are issuing new guidelines about the popular toys. so many kids have them and issues with some of them that may be catching fire. we are talking about the battery operated fidget spinners. there have been reports they are catching fire. c.p.s.c. says with anything that requires a charge make sure that you are using the cable that came with it. we are talking about the cable that comes with the battery operated fidget spinners. even though the plug may fit from something else not all charging cables are interchangeable. keep all fidget spinners away from small children. we know they are already relatively small. if they break in the small pieces that could pose a choking hazard. something to be aware of next time you have it in your hand. at the "live desk," brianne carter, back to you. >> if you want to see the great eclipse you will need a pair of these. but there are knockoffs out there. consumer alert report coming up. nancy: speaking of which, on that note we are j aw

reporting live, brianne carter, abc7 news. horace: the united states taking part in a show of force following a missile launch by north korea. u.s. warplanes took part in exercises of the japanese and the south korean allies. the u.s. military says the fighter jet and bombers collected life fire exercises over a training range in south korea today. on monday, north korea launched medium range missile over the japanese island. michelle: the state department getting even. after russia cut u.s. diplomatic staff in moscow. u.s. officials now closing three russian offices on american soil. annex in d.c. will close with facilities in new york and san francisco. this comes after 750 american staffers were russia in retaliation for u.s. sanctions handed down earlier this year. any mother will tell you a baby will come on their own time. horace: whenever it's ready. this mother found out the hard way. >> they were trying to get her to the hospital. in a car. the baby didn't want to wait. horace: heroes stepped in to help woman deliver

transportation reporter brianne carter takes us to what is the diverging diamond. brianne: shifting traffic to the opposite side of the road to improve congestion. >> they cut the ribbon or the kirst d.d.i. in northern virginia. in -- on the first d. d.i. in northern virginia. they will now veer left to ease the traffic flow on and off. >> people would minutes to get here to gainesville. >> this is about eliminating 90-degree turn and about the safety for the tens of the thousands of cars passing through each day. officials say since the first lane opened in january the interchange has been accident free. at other diverging diamonds across the state, the crash numbers have dipped. however, the residents are concerned that the unusual and at times confusing pattern could lead to more problems. >> i don't think it's best idea ever. i like the old way. straight there, straight back. the draft plan for 66 outside the beltway project calls for adding one at nutley street in fairfax. in hayward, brianne carter, abc7 news. side" with a look it at what the purple line looks

brianne carter explain the systems and those designed to keep an eyeing on the blind spot are working. brianne: it's something you may have seen on a local road. a car drifting in another lane. it's equipped to warn the drivers as it happens. according to a new study the technology may be working to keep everyone safer. >> now we have empirical evidence that the technology works. it has the potential to reduce hundreds of thousands of crashes on the highway. >> the lane departure warning system are lowering the single vehicle sideswipe and head-on crashes by 11%. technology being credited with reducing the crashes with the injuries by 21%. according to the a.a.a. in 2015, there were nearly 250 lane departure fatal crashes in maryland. nearly double the aou virginia. according to the report if all cars had the warning system nearly 85,000 crashes nationwide could have been prevented that year. blind spot detection system are also helping reduce collisions. the study shows the lane change crashes are down 14%. if every car had the technology, 50,000 crashes a year could have been preven

transportation reporter brianne carter is live with what you need to know before hitting the road thisorning. time now for weather school today - potential for a tropical storm (irma) to develop off se coast later today (could impact us locally tomorrow with cool showers) - harvey continues to bring life-threatening flooding to east tx - dry start to labor day weekend; rain from harvey by sunday today: sunny start; increasing clouds. unseasonably cool and breezy. winds: e 5-10+ mph tonight: mostly cloudy. stray shower. lows: 58-67 winds: ene 5-10 mph tuesday: mostly cloudy. cool with showers. highs: 70-74 winds: ne 5-10+ mph right now at 5:xx rescues are still underway in houston as crews pull people trapped inside their flooded out homes cars and businesses. this morning the water keeps rising as the rain keeps falling. good morning washington i'm autria godfrey,. and i'm larry smith. our team of stormwatch-7 meteorologists are tracking harvey. let's get right to veronica johnson and eileen whelan. washington. - dry & cool for back to school today - potential for a tropical storm (irm

brianne carter is live to explain why. brianne: there are still questions tonight. but there are road closures and preparations in place tonight for a celebration for a local star. it was slated to be an event to celebrate the hometown basketball star but kevin durant day in seat pleasant has been cut short. >> unfortunate circumstances and scheduling conflicts the festival part of kevin du >> he signed up for one of the tickets to attend. >> my ticket had me in the v.i.p. section, closer to the stage. >> this morning on "good morning washington," seat pleasant mayor eugene grant said the parade will still go on but didn't elaborate why the festival wasn't happening. >> the parade, we were going to have a concert and a celebrity basketball tournament with the young people in the community. we made adjustments to the event. we are going to move the concert to next may, seat pleasant day. >> statement later they issued statement and cited unforeseen circumstances postponing what was supposed to be an afternoon celebration. folks in seat pleasant saying having less tim

brianne carter has a look at the project and the timeline. brianne: along the southeast water front where construction is booming, the largest public project in d.c. history is about to get >> this is a huge milestone for the district. this bridge will be built to and replace the existing anacostia river crossing and that bridge will be torn down. the new bridge is a connection between ward six and eight will feature three large arches and the oval public spaces on either side. >> the oval on the west side of the bridge will function more like dupont circle. have passive recreation and formal park space. >> the new bridge will add capacity. this existing bridge has five lanes. the new bridge will add one more having six. the new bridge will increase space for cyclists and pedestrians like braden graham. >> i was walking my dog and had to move out of the way for bikers and runners. it will be more accessible. >> graham lives next door to the bridge and sees the traffic crossing. >> it's back up every morning. it will help people. >> the projec

nancy: transportation reporter brianne carter shows us how often the drivers blow by the stop sign arms. brianne: captured on camera a school bus stopped. but a car zoomed right past. a second later a student crosses in front of the bus. it's a near miss danger that soon will be a concern again as the school buses get ready to fill the region's roads over the coming weeks. we did some digging to find out how many people aren't paying attention to the rules of the road. last school year alone montgomery county issued 15,000 citations to drivers illegally passing a stopped school bus. cameras more than 200 school buses. the maximum fine last year, $250. but starting october 1, that fine doubles to $500. across the river in arlington county, more than 600 drivers were cited after they were caught on camera. once the program was re this upcoming school year there will be camera on 19 county school buses driving the routes with the most violations. >> when you have over 20,000 school bus ticket cameras in the area, that tells us that people aren't stopping for school buses and they should be

brianne carter is live to explain why. a lot of disappointment surrounding this. some say they are all trying to take it in stride. we are noticing preparations still underway. we have seen the signs. no parking here along the area where the parade is expected to take place. this is expected to be closed. only for a short while. we noticed sprucing up for the basketball star. the day long event celebrating kevin durant has been cut short. the hour long parade will go on but the festival portion of the day has been postponed. for the reason, the city officials tonight only pointing to scheduling conflicts circumstances. on the event web page free tickets for the event and the tickets for the vendors were sold out. but tonight the city isn't answering questions about what happened to the tickets. he still wants more information from the city. >> the streets are blocked off. people are making plans now for the area being blocked off from eight to four to six. now it's just public one hour parade. they need to know tonight. they need to know today. >> back here live y

brianne carter explains that the construction will wait until after the labor day getaway. brianne: major botneck. route 50 across the severn river bridge. next week, construction will start on a new $22 million project aimed at alleviating the backup. today, maryland governor larry hogan announcing crews will work to add the fourth lane eastbound along the busy bridges. we join them together and we will be able to thin up the barrier between the two. we will move the outside barrier farther to the exterior. the lanes will be reduced to an 11-foot lane from 12. i don't think people will notice the difference. >> the improvements are not only expected to save the more than 122,000 daily drivers hide on the everything commute. but also provide relief for beach-goers next summer. >> the newly designed severn river bridge planned be open for business before next year's commissioning week at the naval academy and before memorial day weekend. >> transportation officials saying if not addressed problem would only get worse. saying right now on friday in the summer 145,000 cars go t

transportation reporter brianne carter is live in arlington with the new data. brianne: jonathan, take a look behind me. we have one there just across the way. of the bicyclist across the street even more. this is a popular intersection in arlington. but according to the new data it's not the intersection necessarily they need to watch out for. it's everywhere else on the road. >> you have to be on your toes and be careful. >> judy is an avid cyclist. today choosing to ditch the car and hop on a bar and run an errand. but there is a troubling trend that comes to riding on two wheels. according to a new study out today the governor's highway safety association the recent data shows the bicyclists deaths are up 12%. are up 7%. >> i have had several near misses. the troubling trend shows a majority of crashes involving cyclists and cars aren't happening at the intersections. but rather along the road. >> really, really scary. i don't want to give it up. >> the most hazardous time is at night with 53% of cyclists deaths happening between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the m

transportation reporter brianne carter live in arlington w for us. data owing that the bicyclists' deaths on the rise. from last year when the data was collected in 2015. now we are learning more about when and where. we take a look at this intersection here in arlington. this is a busy one. not only for cars but for bicyclists as well. according to the new report by the governor of the highway safety association. a majority of the incidents aren't happening at intersections. according to the new study, the average age of the cyclists killed 45 years old and likely a man. they say that is increase in terms of age. where it used to be the younger cyclists they were seeing the time of day. also playing a big role. 53% of the fatal crashes happening between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. with 6:00 to 9:00 at night being the most dangerous. >> the early morning commute and the evening commute, when you are just rushing to get home is when crashes really happen. take some make sure that you know the street is safe. and you are not going to hurt somebody whether

transportation reporter brianne carter was there when governor mcauliffe helped break ground on new lanes. >> three, two, one. brianne: with the official groundbreaking wednesday they worked to transform 395 to h.o.v. to h.o.t. lanes is underway. the project will extend the existing 95 toll lanes eight miles from alexandria up to the d.c. line. designed to ease congestion, a third lane will be added to the express lanes along 395 and the interchange at 39 3 -- 395 and edes road. but some will go to local jurisdictions to pay for the other transportation buses, motorcycles and cars with the three or more people will continue to ride for free. >> we do now believe combined improvement can save carpoolers now on average more than ten minutes each way a day. >> the governor touting success saying it will improve congestion in the region. he says he would still like to see additional toll lanes in other part of the region. what he is calling a dream of his, we have more at 6:00. in alexandria, brianne carter, abc7 news. alison: meanwhile, metro is being sued. a few groups say wmata ad policies

along the bike path. >> the project is slated to be complete in march 2019. >> in northeast, brianne carter, abc7 news. >> right now part of east capital and third street northeast is closed for some movie filming. crews are getting iconic shots for the film the papers. that is the film about rick spielberg's take on the pentagon papers. the real estates on the map here will be closed until 10:00 tonight. they will be closed from 12:00 noon until 10:00 tomorrow. >> it appears to be smell. larry: an investigation underway in the source of the smell. on a jetblue flight thursday night, the plane made an emergency landing in buffalo. one of the pilots and the two flight attendants started once on the ground the crew members taken to the hospital. passengers were put on another plane to continue the flight to san diego. coming up at 5:00, what is in your water? "7 on your side" to try to find out after complaints in one local county. nancy: plus. panda watch. what has the national zoo watching mei xiang closely tonight? larry: later. north and south. the street signs can cause confusion in the

brianne carter is with mobile trak 7 with all the details this morning. >> we are here along tilden streetfolks come here to access beach drive for over a year. there is a new closure in place, if you make a right there, now you can no longer make a left. a new section of drive is back tilden street it has been and this morning it is open to drivers. overnight the work has shifted north. just south of military road. the next phase is broken into two different segments with work , and werea, reopen that expect that to be completed in the fall of 2018. another year-long closure happening along each drive. expect aims to be a little less impactful for morning and evening commutes. autria: from the roads to the rails, happening today, finally digging begins on the purple line. it is the start of construction on the project. -- light rail project. larry: long way to come. princelyairfax county, and county, heading back today, they have some great weather for us. feel i couldes taste of fallout there. starting off in the 50's this morning, nice and dry area it will be gorgeous, clouds , andning

transportation reporter brianne carter with a ripple effect brianne: there are flights still taking off for houston at this point. delays and cancellations are piling up at the houston airports. meanwhile, cancellations across the board at corpus christi airport. likely we are expecting to see more delays and cancellations head in the night and the weekend. also flights in and out of corpus christi are canceled. the number of the impacted flights are going to pick up as the weather deteriorates. the airlines issued travel advisories for the areas affected by the storm. change fees are waved for the customers heading to and from texas. carl steel took advantage to change to an earlier flight at the reagan national. he wants to get back home to austin around came here to get new flights. >> part of austin are prone to flood anyway. just like a bad rainstorm. up to a foot of rain they say >> this is all about trying to get back home to texas before it's too late. we have more on that and what you should do if you are traveling this weekend at 5:00. reporting live, abc7 news. jonathan: than

brianne carter is live with the latest today. brianne: here is the latest information. the police have been handing out -- we know they canvassed the area last night, all of this after what happened in this stretch of very busy road. tonight, this new image of the man police believe is behind the abduction and it tempted assault of a 22-year-old woman. police say the man is said to be in his late 20's or early 30's with a beard and stocky build. he was last seen wearing a red baseball hat. some residents are concerned the image may not be enough to track him down. >> a beard and baseball hat, how common is that? briann e: the woman was walking along this stretch of short drive when she was grabbed from behind and forced into the wooded area. this is like to remove her clothing but left suddenly. >> horrible anytime you are dealing with something like that, especially when there are schools and stuff. brianne: jeff goldberg and his running group go by the area daily. he says there is not usually a lot of pedestrian traffic in this stretch. >> a lot more questionable to m

brianne carter has the developing story and new measures that the navy is taking now. brianne: that is the biggest concern. the missing members of the military after the collision. tonight, search and rescue efforts are underway. ten american sailors are still missing tonight after the uss john mccain collided with a tanker on the waters east of singapore. the collision damaging the ship's hull. including crews sleeping quarters and the communication room. five soldiers suffered non-life threatening injuries and taken to a singapore hospital. >> there is an investigation underway. >> they are ordering a one-day navy standdown. to ensure the safe and the effective operations. this is the se accident in two months and makes four ship crashes in the past two years. they cited this saying the force of the accidents are needed to address the trend. >> this has been the basic seamanship. >> that is what the safety standdown will be. for when it will happen, it will happen across the navy on different days. meanwhile the uss john mccain underway for inspections following the c

brianne carter is line with the developments. brianne: take a look at where this all happened. sidewalk,h along the and people in the area say it is not heavily traveled by pedestrians. they say there are a lot of people often driving through this aa. take a closer look at this image. take a look at this picture. it shows a man with a beard wearing a red baseball hat. police believe the man is in his late 20's or early 30's with a stocky build. police are looking for the man in connection with the alleged abduction and attempted sexual assault of a 22-year-old woman monday afternoon. the woman was walking on that sidewalk when she was grabbed and drag into the wooded area. we talked to residents who frequent the stretch. >> the road and in the woods right behind it as well. we have never seen anything like that. i have been out here a lot. this area is usually very safe. believe police say they the man may have immediately gotten into a silver car. we are standing in a parking lot just down the way. there is also an additional parking lot a. to please give them a call. -- polic

brianne carter is at reagan national airport. what are you seeing there? >> what happens to the travelers when they get to texas? flights in and out of corpus christi canceled and as of 3:00 this afternoon, a hundred flights at houston airport and many more cancellations. >> hoping to get to destination before mother nature wreaks havoc. >> we are nervous. >> travelers flock to the airports today. carl is happy to be heading home earlier on a flight. >> the meeting wrapped up early. i said i'm out of here. >> the biggest concern at home is flooding. >> the rivers overflow in the flood. i want to beat that. >> brian: for some travelers it is about getting home to stock up before the storm barrels down. >> the shelves are empty they say. trying to get food to eat without cooking. >> flights are in and out corpus christies are canceled. there are travel waivers for the coming days. some hope a layoff in texas doesn't derail plans. >> hoping that it won't affect our travel plans as we stop there for an hour and a half and continue to seattle. >> this is expect

. >> in hyattsville, maryland, brianne carter, abc7 news. >> still ahead at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- threeasy ways to extend the battery life on your phone. we will help you get through an entire day without changing our surf offing and app habits. >> fairfax county fire crews picked up the different tools. to give the kids in fairfax county a fresh start to a new school year. i'm amy aubert. i have the sto jonathan: days before heading to school, they are gearing up for the big day. >> the first responders volunteer their time to mark a fresh start on the first day. >> giving back. for the kids, this is all about a fresh start. >> this makes them feel good about going to school. >> firefighter with the fairfax county fire and the rescue department picked up the different tools on wednesday. >> i put a smile on the face. that makes me appreciate what i'm doing even >> he is giving free haircut to start the school year off right. >> i know what it means to do the children's hair for you. one less thing you have to worry about. >> it saves a lot of money that people don't have. this is wonde

arlington, brianne carter, abc7 news. alison: cassini space probe sent back these stunning images. nasa describes 2 saturn clouds as strokes from a cosmic brush. cassini reaching the end of the 20-year mission and expected to burn up as it enters the atmosp we are six days away from the eclipse across america. we will have a special for you starting monday. it will be so exciting. doug: next best thing to being there. alison: what is going on today? doug: it's clearing out slowly. a small rain area but it will improve tonight. it will stay muggy. fog. tomorrow is nice. summary toward the end of the week. a live look at the national harbor. you can see the patches of blue. that is the low arrival of the drier air after the rain moved out. national airport. dew point is 74. so it feels like it's 85. that is why it feels so muggy because of the heavy moisture in the air. we had a partial eclipse just now i just think. but now back to the numbers on the weather bug network. 78 in columbia and washington. look at the rainfall totals. columbia had the highest total on the network locally

northwest washington, brianne carter, abc7 news. >> they are looking for a woman who threw cup of urine inging on bus driver. they have it not identified her yet. nancy: the driver of this car had minor injuries after crashing down embankment rock creek parkway. this was this morning. sharing the image of the rescue operation near virginia avenue. it backed up the traffic for miles. at the height of rush hour. >> developing now, the maryland department of education hired a d.c. firm to investigate allegation of the grave manipulation in the prince george's county kevin lewis says he welcomes the investigation. >> do we have people that haven't dotted the eyes or cross the t -- dotted the i's or crossed t's? undoubtedly. but it doesn't make it systemic issue. the allegations that were made are reckless. painful to have to deal with. larry: the first alvarez and marshall will determine if the grades will change to boost graduation rate. final report due by the end of october. nancy: former staffer with the obama administration throwing his hat in ring to be the next prince george's county

brianne carter was in court. she will have much more ahead at 5:00. a woman charged in the disappearance of her two children wants a clean slate. catherine hoggle has been held since doctors found her incompetent to stand trial three years ago. because it has been that long her defense team can request the case be dropped. but as montgomery county reporter kevin lewis explains, prosecutors are prepared to counter. >> if she wants to be released, i can't speak to that. kevin: he represents catherine hoggle and today he filed a motion to dismiss the criminal case against the 30-year-old mother implicated in the disappearance of her children sarah and jacob who now would be 6 and 8. they ready for trial. putting the case in legal limbo. >> as a general rule if someone is incompetent for three years then charges will be dismissed. kevin: they may have to file new round of charges to restart the clock, such as first-degree murder. >> they'd have to have sufficient evidence to make the charges. i haven't seen any that would lead me to believe they had that

transportation reporter brianne carter covering metro live outside d.c. superior court. where the woman just appeared before a judge. >> this is in the last 90 minutes. we saw opal brown the woman accused in the case walk out of court here. brown is facing a misdemeanor assault charge and said the judge telling the court today that with it being a misdemeanor she would be released this afternoon. as she was walking out she had no comment. this afternoon walking out of court. she is supposed to stay away from the bus driverer. she will also under go weekly drug testing. apparently she threw it at the bus driver because she was mad and hates >> first thing we want to apologize to the operator for what should have never happened for anyone serving in public service. this is a tragic intersection between public help -- public health and transportation issues. >> speaking of public transportation the largest union had a large presence in court in the hearing today. they don't believe it goes far away to have a stayaway order but would have seen it from all bus lines throughou

reporting live, brianne carter, abc 7 news. >> a quick update for you on a newly issued severe thunderstorme arundel county, extreme southeastern montgomery county and northeastern prince george's county, until 6:45. is moving out off towards the east at 25 miles per hour. we are going to continue tracking this storm for you. more coming up in just a few thank you. next at 5:00, a loophole or government waste? the 7 on your side digs into of dollars in grant money dolled out to bars in the district that shouldn't get them. >> i wasn't even thinking. amazed.st -- i was >> he was amazed and so will you be. what a 10-year-old did that bragging rights in his family for life. in prince george's county gives parents updates on their child's school bus, coming up. you how to tap in. >> here's with what the good morning washington team is on for monday. >> thanks, guys. monday, on good morning washington, d.c. students finally heading back to school. we are live to see how they're up for their first day. >> plus, you can't find these eclipse glasses anywhere. have them and we are giving them away!

in northwest washington, brianne carter, abc7 news. >> these pictures out of richmond, texas, sum upow difficult it's been for the rescue crews. they are finally getting r&r using the mattress showroom. the only place to find comfort between shifts. jonathan: nice to see so many stores aren't flooded and are opening up the doors to let folks get a rest. our sister station are teaming up to raise money for the hurricane harvey victims. the parent company sinclair broadcast group will match the first $100,000 donated. stay tuned for more information on how to help. our weather is a beautiful day. doug: it is beautiful. we have a high overcast and way up there. if sun is shining through. i'm dim but take it over yesterday. get started to look ahead to the holiday weekend. temperatures now are very nice. 80 degrees in culpeper and charlottesville. the warm spot is 77 in washington. washington dulles, 72 in southern maryland and lexington park. 77 in the city of washington now. drop in 60's tonight. through the early evening we will hold in 70's. partly cloudy skies. the sun down tonight