folks in d.c. are being told not to go back into those federal buildings and not to go down into the d.c. subway system. they are trying to confirm the extent of the damage there. we are told the la guardia control towers have not been evacuated. we understand that airport is open. it's conflicted about j.f.k. it was shut down earlier. that seems to have been changed. this earthquake was felt up and count east coast from martha's vineyard where the president is even down in georgia we are hearing this was heard to some extent and in new york city including times square just a couple weeks before 9/11. david lee miller is outside of our new york headquarters. let's get to him for the latest there. >> reporter: we were in the heart of times square and business as usual. most of know and the tourist unfazed by the aftershocks that hit the city. most people i'm i have talked about seemed more concerned about buying broadway tickets for this evening. by spoke to a couple of people in one of the office t

d.c.it's because we're getting reports of a 5.8 earthquake. magnitude 5.8 earthquake in washington, d.c. we understand that our cnn bureau has been evacuated. our folks there felt it. they also felt it at cnn even in new york. that's how far it traveled. once again, a 5.8 earthquake in virginia being felt, of course, in the nation's capitol. we're working on getting some folks on the line with us from d.c. that is about what we know on it right now. wolf blitzer from our bureau there in washington, d.c. is on the line with us. wolf, i hope you're doing okay and tell us what you felt. >> well, we felt an earthquake, it was really an earthquake. it was obvious it started sort of slow. i'm working in my office on the 8th floor of our cnn building near union station on capitol hill in washington, d.c. all of a sudden the desk starts moving a little bit. then you could feel a little bit of a tremor. then it got pretty intense. i'm guessing it lasted for 20 or 25, maybe 30 seconds. but you could

the earthquake being felt in d.c. and new york city obviously, and north carolina and michigan and georgia and illinois and getting reports again as far south as south carolina the tremors being felt here in the aftershocks, tamron. >> all right. craig, thank you very much, and joining us now is bob bizelle and you have interesting perspective of the difference of the east coast earthquake versus what we would see on the west, but the closest nuclear plant is the north anna plant which is on lake anna, virginia, and the plant has two reactors and both trippeded automatically and shut down, but the plant declared an unusual event which is the lowest stage in the emergency scale, so that is great news in that respect. bob, you were in japan and you saw the worseworse of what a earthquake and tsunami can bring and who knew there was a difference. >> yes, a big difference of earthquakes in the western united states and the eastern united states like the one we had a few moments ago. the ones in the western united states,

closer to us here in washington, d.c.only 35 miles south of norfolk, virginia, packing winds of about 80 miles per hour. eight deaths have now been confirmed. more than a million people are without power. new york officials are warning several thousand people under evacuation orders to get out now before the storm is expected to hit the big apple tomorrow. >> new yorkers, we like to think we're tough and we can handle anything. we are tough, but we're also smart. and we're smart enough to know that we don't mess with mother nature, and we are prepared for the storm. we'll be prepared for the aftermath, but during the course of the storm, new york should either evacuate or stay indoors. >> let's go to cnn's mary snowe in new york, at one of those evacuation shelters. what's going on over there, mary? >> reporter: rain coming down a little bit harder, wolf. and we are in lore manhattan, in the evacuation zone. i don't know if you can see it, but in this park which is virtually empty except for a police car coming through. i

she is there in d.c. show was supposed to be on the road for the big mlk dedication on the national mall. that is on hold right now. >> reporter: exactly. it has been postponed. safety first. there was a whole series of events around that. thousands of people were expected to come for this dedication that was set for tomorrow, sunday. the 48th anniversary of the march on washington and the famous martin luther king, "i have a dream" speech. the d.c. mayor vincent gray has declared a state of emergency for the city. he was one of several mayors and governors who had a conference call with president obama yesterday morning to talk about the storm. i should mention the president has cut short his vacation on martha's vineyard. he returned with his family late last night. people have been preparing for the storm for days. engineers were scramble to plug holes in the washington monument which was damaged in tuesday's earthquake. they were stuffing flexible insulation in the holes. they were also working on the

for the d.c. delegate for two years and five or six years for what was called the democratic study group. a lot of the posters and boards on the house floor, those were the kind of things i worked on. however 1994, the republicans took control of congress and one of the first things they did when they came into office in january, they defunded several organizations. the office had been there close to 40 years overnight, the office was closed down. where did you get your phd? >> howard in 1997. >> how long have you been teaching at american? >> now going on close do 15 years. >> who was paul jennings? >> paul jennings. another favorite character. maybe we shouldn't call him a character. another individual who pops out of the research. he was enslaved to the madisons james and dolly. by the time he was 10 years old, he was working at the white house. this was good because he happened to be there in 1814 when the white house was burnt down when the british invaded and burnt the city down including mu

we'll have a live report from washington, d.c. with all of the latest on the closures to federal buildings, airports, some damage that's been reported in the area and how all of this might affect you. that story and more coming up in our next newscast, ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. thanks for watching. have a great day. [ this broadcast captioned by erin c. mc clure ]

telling the maryland, d.c.ginia viewers there how those bands from hurricane irene are starting to pound that area, not like we have what seen in north carolina as well as virginia. and then you head north from there, and the potential damangs are great in new york city from new jersey. we heard that from the mayor of new york and earlier from the governor of new jersey. let's check in with one of our reporters there in that region now, our jason carol is there in -- along the new jersey coast where you're feeling the wind, not necessarily the rain in a big way, but describe for us what you're experiencing and if people have heeded those evacuation warnings in that area. >> absolutely. and just to set the scene for where we are now, we have seen conditions here in atlantic city deteriorate. we have been here since early this morning since 10:00. we have been watching the surf. the surf has gotten more intense. we have seen the wind pick up, we have seen many more of the bands of rain sweep through here, fredric

there is no department of happy in washington, d.c. my parents achieved their american dream is the old- fashioned way. they worked for it. i know that is a novel idea, but they worked for it. they achieved their dream is the old-fashioned way. one of the reasons i am running for president of the united states is because i have achieved my american dream and then some. 12 years ago, my first grandchild was born. when i looked into the little space for the very first time, the thought that went through my mind was not, "what do i have to do to make sure she gets a good education?" or "what do i have to do to make sure she gets a good start in life?" the first thought that went through my mind was, "what do why do to make this a better nation and a better world/" that was 12 years ago. when i saw president obama take office and watched the weakening of america, i knew the voice i heard 12 years ago meant that i had to use my skills and abilities to do something about this nation and get it off the wrong track and put it back from the rig

the d.c. delegates for two years and then for five or six years for what was called a democratic study group. that was the main office on capitol hill that did research for house democrats. a lot of the posters and big billboards that you would see on the house for, those were the kinds of things that i worked on. however, in 1994, the republicans took over and took control of congress. new to gingrich and the republicans, one of the first things they did when they came into office in january was defunded a number of organizations, including the democratic segment that i worked for. the office had been there for close to 40 years. basically overnight, the office was closed down. >> where did you get your ph.d.? >> from howard university. >> what year? >> in 1997. >> how long have you been teaching? >> now going on 15 years. >> who is paul jennings? >> paul jennings is another one of my favorite characters. maybe we should not call them characters. he was an individual who pounced out of a rese

preliminary reports from d.c. is that there may be a couple of minor injuries but nothing substantial. in the downtown area around the monuments and memorials and the white house area, we have absolutely no injuries and we may have some minor structural damage. but doesn't look like substantial. our aviation section, shortly after this event occurred, got airborne and did an aerial survey. they were checking the traffic flow and the bridges and nothing really obvious popped up for those folks. i think we're in pretty good shape downtown. >> what about just a quick check on the tourists. i used to live in washington, i know this time of year is notorious for tourists in and around the national mall. no injuries, no damage? >> right now we have a lot more tourists in town than usual with the opening of the martin luther king memorial. >> right. >> a lot of folks are disappointed they can't get into the washington monument and lincoln memorial. it's a good time to see the open park lands and enjoy the company of some

we spoke earlier with d.c.d ems chief kenneth ellerby and i asked him about the whole category 1 versus category 2 situation and whether people should still be concerned. let's listen to what he had to say, t.j.. >> even a tropical storm can do a lot of damage, so people need to be vigilant. we're prepared and we want them to rest assured that we're prepared for anything that comes up. >> reporter: so one of the ways that the city is helping residents prepare is by handing out sandbags. that's going on today. they handed out 7,000 yesterday and ran out, had to stop around 5:00 p.m. so that's getting started back up again today so that residents can help protect their homes. they're being limited to five sandbags per household, t.j.. >> athena jones for us in d.c., thank you. rob marciano in long island for us this morning and you put the jacket on. >> reporter: i did. you know what, the first official rain bands of irene have arrived on the long island coastline, and quite frankly, i didn't expect it to be that

d.c. traffic, not good to begipp with. and when you add an awful lot of shaken people, a lot of people having to evacuate early from their buildings. it can cause -- what we would cause a "secondary hazard." >> you were at the u.s. geological survey at the time? where were you when you were hit? at our headquarters building in reston, virginia, that initial feeling you're wondering what it is but as the shaking continues for a little bit it becomes pretty obvious and so i dutyfully got under a good solid object, my desk. the concern, prebl not for seeing an actual building collapse. but you can get a lot of damage just caused by what we call nonstruck occural damage. bookcases falling over, light fixturing falling and we're seeing lots of small damage. our initial estimate is, you know, very low probability of fatalities but in terms of economic losses it could add up. we're estimating the economic losses could be on the order of $100 million or more than that. >> unbelievable. it is, i guess, a little bit comforting to kn

we do need to have a term limit in washington, d.c.. as a matter of fact, one of our constituents down here lives in florida which in atlantis, florida. he has a plan for the house of representatives that max's you out at 12 years of legislative service. in the house, it messes you up from six to eight years. the longer people are in the sea, the less connection may have to the people. they never intended us to have career politicians. they intended us to have citizen servants who went to washington, d.c. they made certain pieces of legislation and came back and had to live under them. that is what we have to get back to. [applause] >> stanley wants to know more about the growth of the welfare population and some of the programs that service them. >> when i went back to atlanta, i did not recognize it. we have a 41% increase in food stamp recipients. we're going in the wrong direction. people came to america because they believe there was a land of opportunity. but if we start to get to being the land of a handout and suppressing the op

d.c. today around 98. we do cool it off in d.c. a little bit towards the eptd of this week, but it's been an incredibly hot summer and it continues. >> hottest july ever on record? >> not just july ever. all time month hottest ever for washington, d.c. >> all right. you're allowed to use the word brutal. >>> the final harry potter film reach as magical milestone. plus everyone's little blue guys managed to smurf up a big surprise at the box office. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. over the south pacific in 1943. plus everyone's little blue guys i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve. can be even more powerful, with precise pain relieving cream. it blocks pain signals fast for

born and bred in washington, d.c., back in the 1970s. >> it's home grown. it's d.c. music.it'll always be here. >> reporter: chuck brown has been living in washington for nearly 70 years and performing for the last 50. known by many as the godfather of go-go, brown has been and remains the driving force behind this unique brand of music. >> i move to my own sound. because i've always been inspired by people like james brown, b.b. king. ♪ don't mean a thing >> i have my own distinguished sound. ♪ it don't mean a thing if you ain't got the go-go scene ♪ >> reporter: that distinguished sound, a blend of funk, rhythm and blues and hip-hop. brown ultimately made it big in 1978 with the number one smash "bustin' loose." >> that's the national anthem in d.c. there's no question. ♪ i feel like bustin loose there's no question. an amazing moment for go-go. >> reporter: go-go reached peak popularity in the 1980s, and it didn't turn around. ♪ >> reporter: go-go music had its moments on the national and international stage. but it never went mainstream. but that's something that doesn'

it's tuesday august sixteenth pm in washington d.c. i'm christine for you're watching our team. you know as well i am back from ames iowa where i covered last week's g.o.p. debate as well as the iowa straw poll to spend some quality time in middle america and i also got a front row seat to some of the early campaigning that's going on for the republican primary and i've got to make some observations about what it looks like on the ground there especially when it comes to a certain candidate the night of the debate standing on a bridge overlooking the road where the candidates in the media come in a group a large group of ron paul supporters i ran into a couple college kids who said they had very little money for drove in from missouri to show their support and also going to family who drove from vegas for the same reason ron paul and if you want to debate and heard the cheers in the audience you don't understand he has a following and many of them were pleasant personally surprised to see that ron paul was asked a lot of questions by the mediators of the fox sponsored debate so

well washington d.c. is the economic ideal the rest of the country should be a lot of people there are working a lot of people there have government jobs which means they have retirement benefits they have a secure income they have the right not to be arbitrarily fired and on and on and on and so washington d.c. is a little mini country that is the country the united states used to be and it's days of greatest prosperity and a lot of you again so naturally they're feeling good about themselves the washington d.c. economy is being infused with national security money and other kinds of government money contractors are doing great in the military and security areas the government jobs are are still there so believe me i don't want this to turn into a diatribe against government because i think government is a great participant in society so that's not what we're saying at all i think what i'm really saying is that washington d.c. is benefiting from government's proper role and making sure we have a healthy

washington, d.c., what about you? take a look at this. the rain is starting to come down now. we'll watch this pick up in intensity for today. we think tropical storm force winds will be arriving by late afternoon. there you can see some pictures of that surge. that's going to be a problem potentially all through the chesapeake bay into delaware bay, as much as four to eight feet. check out philadelphia. you're starting to get the showers and thundershowers as well as new york city. new york, one thing to keep in mind for you, we were talking about how if this heads right into your city, we could have major problems with the wind. we think it's going to move just to the east of you. so your winds will probably be in the range of 55 to 75. new york, your winds arrive this evening. the height of it overnight tonight and through the day tomorrow. then it will start to subside by the evening. we'll talk about more specific cities when i see you again. flooding rain, a big concern. we'll talk about that fo

and all of this saturated ground, from d.c. all the way to new england, tree also fall on houses, trees will fall on cars, trees will fall on streets with all of this wind, and saturated ground t root also not be able to hold those trees up. the hurricane right now is just about exiting north carolina and will move back into the gulf stream. it may generate itself just a little bit. it not expecting any regeneration. in fact as it moves off and just very close to virginia beach, it will travel right along the jersey shore and right into new york harbor. why do i say fear the water more than the wind? you can deal with the 60 or 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts, it will be just fine, limbs will be down, trees will be down, but the problem is already, wolf, think about this, new york harbor at the battery, how far is this storm away, 300 miles away away, the wind has already pushed an extra amount of water into battery park. and that's not moving out. and that water will stay there during these tidal surges. there hasn't been a low ti

live in washington d.c. where they are not used to earthquakes back there, good morning carol. >> reporter: good morning, david. you can see we are constantly thinking about terror attacks so that when the building started shaking we all stopped looked at each other and ran for the door. check out this good video of how the quake shook the d.c. region and the shaking lasted 45 seconds and prompted the evacuation of every building including federal agencies and national monuments. when all was said and done we only found minor damage to buildings including d.c.'s largest landmarks. at the national cathedral parts of the tower fell to the ground. she thought the worst when she felt the shake. >>> we are front new york so it was a lot. >> reporter: this morning building inspections are taking place so schools in the d.c. area as well as federal agencies will remain closed. as for the after shocks geologists have reported a few taking place but none that i felt. live in washington ktvu channel 2 news. >>> well a

very few cars driving in washington, d.c. right now.listening to authorities and saying stay home, don't go out. cnn jeanne meserve is in ocean city, maryland, which is a very popular resort beach for some of the people who live in the greater washington, d.c. area, about a three hour drive from the nation's capital. looks pretty ominous over there, jean. >> reporter: yeah. the winds have picked up although the worse isn't expected here until around midnight. i just talked to the mayor of ocean city. he told me that conditions have deteriorated to the point where he's stopping police patrols around the city. if people make emergency calls into the police department they will be considered on a case by case basis but he doesn't want to put people out here in these dangerous conditions unless he absolutely has to. the winds as i mentioned are picking up. we've seen a few windows blown out. we've seen other property damage lakesiding blown off. a few light roofs that are starting to give way. the real issue is the water. the mayor tells me

national memorial in washington, d.c. this week.e stands 30 feet tall on the national mall and four acres overlooking the tidal basin. it took more than sa years for this to come to fruition and about $120 million. the sculptor created the king statue and was in d.c. monday as visitors caught a glimpse of the memorial. president obama will be on hand for the formal dedication of the memorial on sunday. the dedication also marks the anniversary of the 1963 march on washington where dr. king delivered the famous "i have a dream" speech. >>> cnn political analyst roland martin joins me with more on this event. roland, before we get into the event itself, i want to ask you, what accommodations have been made just in case this hurricane irene affects the weather there in d.c. on sunday? >> i talked to harry johnson, the ceo of the mlk memorial foundation. i talked to him on the morning show and he said they are in contact with the national parks service. they will make the actual final call. they control the national mall. based upon the

but d.c. the fbi and homeland security is in d.c. and in the d.c. region is doing probably a lot of the new york that this new york police department unit does up here. from what i understand about it, it's essential, because the only way that you're going to know about communication around the new york region and what's happening overseas is to be in and around it, and the federal government doesn't have the resources. so, you got to give bloomberg and his team a lot of credit for setting this up, for being so aggressive. from what i understand, the federal government really relies on the nypd to bring back intelligence. one thing was interesting was how many threats come against new york and washington, d.c. my police chief down in d.c. was briefed daily on threats, and they had to follow them and track them to make sure that they didn't escalate into something. >> and, matt, how much of this is done because the people of new york city say do what you have to do to prevent another terrorist

let me start with athena jones live in washington d.c. washington d.c.ot used to dealing with hurricanes, but it was a big weekend for d.c. in a lot of ways and all of that will be put on the back burner. >> reporter: exactly. we are here on the national mall. the d.c. mayor vincent gray declared a state of emergency. we don't expect the rain to pick up until this morning and wind and rain in the afternoon. people have been preparing for it. the national park service crews were scrambling to fill the holes in the monument. they were working to fill the turrets on the smithsonian castle. it has been a big weekend in terms of natural events here in the city, t.j. this oncoming storm has forced the postponement of the dedication of the martin luther king memorial. that was set tomorrow, which is the 48th anniversary on washington. thousands of people were expected to come. they decided to put safety first. that has been postponed until september or october. city officials have been advises residents to be prepared for power outages and have canned goods on

and my guess is in d.c. you'll see a lot of cancellations if the flooding is as bad as most folks presume. >> thanks, luke. >>> congressman donna edwards is a democrat from maryland and represents an area around the nation's capital. congressman, thank you for coming in. i know very busy and hectic day. let's start with hurricane irene. what are you hearing from your constituents? what do they want to know and what are you trying to help them find out or figure out? >> not quite yet. people say we don't do weather here in washington. but we've had three blizzards, an earthquake and now a hurricane just in the last two years. so a bad rap. i think our governor martin o'malley has declared a state of emergency. people are preparing on the coastline of maryland. and here in the washington, d.c. area, in the metropolitan area we've got a lot of trees. and very often when we get these kind of storms, like we did with isabel, it causes power outages. i think people are preparing for that. i know i'm cleaning my gu

let me show you how bad it has gotten in washington, d.c. are you ready to go to school? we are going to school. let's have our first lesson. oh my goodness. oh my goodness, i have to apologize. i have to confess because i did not bring my teleprompter with me when i came to myrtle beach today. [applause] you have never seen the president without his teleprompter, had you? in my white house, there will be no teleprompter. because people in myrtle beach can take the unvarnished truth. see that great buzz over there? there are also no czars in that bus and there will be no czars in the bachmann white house either. let's go back to school. the day i came in the united states congress was january of 2007. anyone have any idea the national debt we have accumulated? how much money do we owe as a country? yes, sir? oh, man, are you good. you take the cake. $100,000 million, billion, now here is trillion. no one tell barack obama what comes after trillion. do i have your word on that? very good. here we go. it is a whole new set of numbers. this is how much money it has taken our

>>> we have breaking news out of washington, d.c. where the pentagon is being evacuated after an earthquake near washington, d.c. >> the usgs is reported that go the magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck morning. it was 34 miles northwest of richmond, virginia. >> it was felt as far away as new york city and north carolina. >> and they are reporting shaking was felt in philadelphia and the delaware and new jersey regions, as well. >> we also have heard no reports of any serious injuries or damage. we're going to continue following this news and bring you updates online as soon as we get them. i'm cheryl jennings. >> i'm kristen sze. >> this morning bart's board president is apologizing to commuters. a protest disrupted service and forced bart to temporarily close two san francisco stations. on nick smith is live at bart headquarters in oakland. >> reporter: good morning. bart board of directors president would like to put an end to disruption of service. >> last night it was organized by the group anonymous. they were upset by the decision

structural changes in the way that we do business in the united states congress and in washington, d.c. and while i say there is no joy for me to be here today, in my view we have failed to do either one. there are no substantial reductions in spending, and there's no significant changes in the way that washington, d.c. does business. mr. president, this country needs certainty. and i've said all along that we need to raise the debt ceiling. there needs to be that certainty. and i've said it would be irresponsible for us not to raise the debt ceiling, but i've said all along it would be equally as irresponsible if we raise the debt ceiling without meeting the criteria that i've outlined. and while we'll have a discussion among all of us that continues today, and we'll probably play quarterback and friday afternoon morning quarterback after this is over. but there are no cuts in this bill. there is only a reduction in the growth of spending, and that reduction is so small -- $21 billion reduced in the first year in the growth and spending. now, in kansas, we hear the word "billion" and

while we wait, let's bring in my colleague andrea mitchell who was in the nbc building in washington, d.c. when this began to happen, and just to redress, retake your steps, andrea, describe what it was like when you first felt this quake? >> reporter: i felt the desk shake. it sounded as though a freight train was coming through the studio. everything wag shaking, papers rocking up and down and immediately the manager came running in and said, it's an earthquake. everybody out. and i initially said, well, can we finish the show? and it was clear that we couldn't finish the program, because everybody was running out and saying, of course, the safest thing, leave and head down the staircase with several other colleagues here we went down three flights of stores. it's a three-story building, and spent some time outside until the allall-clear was give's and people were allowed to go inside to work. a lot more happening around washington. you just heard from luke russert. the historic moments we washingtonians remember at the national cathedral and the country as well. state funerals for pres

it's my go-to meal. >>> washington, d.c. is assessing the damage. here is mayor gray who talked with alex witt in our 8:00 hour just thunderstorm. >> i think overall we fared well. the storm could have been a lot worse. the folks who work with the city have done a great job. we have power outages. which our electric company, our power company is starting to work on. we've got between 40 and 50 trees down. >> cnbc's eamon javers is live in washington, d.c. he's running down some issues, but we also know the dedication of the martin luther king memorial postponed, some 250,000 people would have been there marking that moment today. what's astonishing to me here is how quinnly it's changed. we've had drenching rains, really intense winds, and now we have clear blue sky and bright sun. what we need now is a pair of sunglasses. it's turned into a gorgeous day. it's a shame for those who canceled the dedication. they probably could have gone off without a hitch if they had had something later in the afternoon. the real challenge is all the power outages.

you don't even live in d.c. >> eric: i spend time in d.c.ing on the street in d.c. is this why? >> bob: there is large homeless community. but there is poverty through most of alcohol. they go to alcohol and drugs to get relief from depression. a fascinating -- one thing, joe biden is getting dumped op because the secret service respects his cottage at the beach. so biden is getting rental income from government. what is wrong with that? >> eric: nothing wrong with that. >> bob: he got rent before he became vice president. rental property. >> andrea: he is eligible for up to $66,000 until after the fall of 2013 when the rental deal -- look, he is an independently wealthy man. he was getting rent on the cottage. >> bob: this sounds like the mayan calendar thing. >> kimberly: i got it. >> greg: they should pay him more because he's entertaining. imagine living with biden. >> bob: that would be a barrel of laughs. >> andrea: the secret service wanted to be in the cottage so they would haven't to listen to him. >> bob: coming up, lawmakers fight

here are more pictures to show ya washington d.c.. ha ha >> in new york city, where kurds were standing around in the middle of the day, unsure of what to do what with themselves. there was damage not only in washington, but philadelphia, new york, you can see people shocked. there was fear that this was a terrorist attack. it is such a rare situation. you could understand why people did not know what is happening. many headlines that have been reading talk about the difference between the bay area having an earthquake last night and i hear people my >> we have been trappintrackinga hot spot on highway 4 at will pass route. it is on the shoulder but has added a second wave of slow traffic. will pass route is already heavy. looking at the bridges, the bay bridge back up is a pretty good one. by that i need a good size. it is backed up to the berkeley curve. on the san mateo bridge, we are a problem free but it is heavy on the span and on the approach. the golden gate bridge ride 101 southbound, still in the fault and is still heavy tra

was d.c. spared on that front? that's such good news. >> we were spared and thank god nobody, no serious injuries i'm aware of and no loss of life. this has been quite a week for us. we started with school openings on monday and the very next day we had an earthquake. we worked our way through that. so i think this is the week that will go down in history for the district of columbia. >> absolutely. a memorable week indeed. maybe you can catch a break and put your feet up. good luck, sir. thanks so much. all right let's go to nbc meteorologist bill karins that will tell us the updates. bill, i'll tell you, you were right. you defied the national hurricane center at 8:00 a.m. when they said it was a cat 1 you kept down playing that. well done. bravo. >> still had a significant storm surge and rain. set up what it is, alex. we watched the observation. we try to pass along the best sfoerm you can make the best decisions. because it was a tropical storm for a while we didn't that have significant power outages that loo

but that is not how things operate in washington, d.c..t is what you will see through september. am i optimistic about it? i guess. when i come before your faces, i see americans. i know that anytime america is pushed into a corner, with some churchill once said that americans will eventually do the right thing after they have tried everything else. that is why the only person not an american that we named a navy war vessel after. but he is absolutely right. this is how i see this battlefield. if any of you have ever read the book "the killer angels," or if you ever saw the film "gettysburg," you can understand what i am talking about. now is the time we are trying to find the holding action. by -- at gettysburg he knew he could not defeat the entire army, but he knew that if he can hold this piece of high ground, he could delay and a fine time for the army of the potomac to link up with them. then they could possibly defeat the army of northern virginia. which, to that point, had never lost the battle. in the three days of getty's three -

we also have my boss who runs our editorial side in washington, d.c. i can't say that i have a whole lot of contact. >> a lot of women? >> you see a lot of women. >> a lot of younger people. >> the entire channel has a lot of younger people on it and i think that they're really smart in doing that. i think that they've brought in a lot of people with fresh ideas that like i said i know that my audience isn't all young people. not only directing my show towards the younger audience. i know there's an older audience out there. and you told me yourself that you watch the show. >> i watch it. >> so that's a pleasure too. but i think the whole point is that we're willing to step outside the box. we're willing to try something different, to figure out how to make tv news exciting and entertaining and informative again rather than like i said the garbage that really is dwindled down tv. >> here's some more of your show. >> welcome to fireside friday's with your host. >> president obama was meeting with world leaders in portugal the u.s. military deploying a c

the d.c.osed today as they check the integrity of the buildings in the school systems and a lot of government buildings in and around d.c. are shut down as well today as they check those buildings to make sure that they're okay. but what's astonishing here, chris, is that the scope of this quake in terms of how big it was -- how -- the vast area in which it was felt, montreal in the north, you got atlanta in the south, all the way west out to chicago, no significant or serious, serious damage. and no injuries, and no deaths. it's really amazing, but they do say because the rock in the east coast or along the east coast is so hard, we may have felt a 5.8 much stronger than it would have been felt out on the west coast. back to you. >> tom, thanks for getting down there so quickly and thanks for the great reporting. >>> if it's wednesday, we've got election results for you. we'll tell you about a history-making vote in mississippi. >>> plus, first an earthquake, now a hurricane? hurricane irene

. >>> we have breaking news out of washington, d.c. where the pentagon is being evacuated after an earthquake near washington, d.c. >> the usgs is reported that go the magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck morning. it was 34 miles northwest of richmond, virginia. >> it was felt as far away as new york city and north carolina. >> and they are reporting shaking was felt in philadelphia and the delaware and new jersey regions, as well. >> we also have heard no reports of any serious injuries or damage. we're going to continue following this news and bring you updates online as soon as we get them. i'm cheryl jennings. >> i'm kristen sze. >> this morning bart's board president is apologizing to commuters. a protest disrupted service and forced bart to temporarily close two san francisco stations. on nick smith is live at bart headquarters in oakland. >> reporter: good morning. bart board of directors president would like to put an end to disruption of service. >> last night it was organized by the group anonymous. they were upset by the decision

this is what we're seeing in the d.c. area.re in alexandria this morning, didn't see flooding there. haven't seen a lot of flooding in d.c. mostly about people who have been out of power. about 1.5 million or more if you count virginia, maryland, d.c. in the last couple hours. those numbers are changing a lot as repair crews get out. we also know of no confirmed fatalities here in d.c. but four in virginia, all caused by fallen trees and one woman was killed in queen ann's county, maryland, when a tree fell on her home. for the most part in terms of flooding it seems like this area has managed to escape the worst, but there have been some fatalities. back to you. >> thanks so much, athena jones at the national cathedral in washington. >>> we're watching the mid-atlantic and watching farther north and rhode island is one spot. we'll speak with the governor eventually. it appears that so far that state has missed the brunt of irene, which is certainly good news for you in rhode island. let's go to kate bolduan. she's standing by

i think we saw why over the last few weeks in washington, d.c.he worst. >> well, the legislative process is never a pretty process. out of bismarck, you never watch sausages or laws being made. that's obviously the case here. there's not any good results. people back home are hurting. the job rates. jobless rate is very high. people don't see how we are going to get out of this. >> maria, the president is at the center of all of this. he campaign odd ending a lot of the business as usual tactics inside the beltway. but it seems like the bipartisan ship has never been worse. so how does he make things better and still get some of the legislative goals accomplished? >> i think the issue here is, yes, the president campaigned on changing things in washington and changing the tone. he can't do it alone. he has said many times he needs a dancing partner in his efforts here in washington both to continue the recovery for the middleclass to try to create more jobs. but also to change the tone, which is what americans desperately want. they voted in nove

a lot of progress. >> reporter: as d.c.'s mass exodus hit the highways. >> the one thing the district of columbia should learn from yesterday's event is evacuation planning as it's currently predicated is not working. >> reporter: and across the east coast, cell phone service was also overwhelmed and jammed while texting generally got through. amazing information there, texting and also social media works. remember that in the event of an emergency. but also amazing is there was no significant damage to dams, to nuclear power plants, to bridges, to airports so even tomorrow, most of the federal buildings that were closed today as well as d.c. area schools are expected to reopen. >>> overseas now to libya and shockwaves of another sort. the rebels as we have been reporting have control of tripoli, but gadhafi from somewhere in hiding is vowing to fight to the death. we have a team on the ground in libya tonight, chief foreign correspondent richard engel and our own stephanie gosk who got there late this afternoon. we'll begin

starting off today some excitement here in washington d.c. not to mention new york and along the eastern coast an earthquake seriously the u.s. geological society says it was the largest earthquake in this region since eight hundred ninety seven and there was also a five point nine earthquake. this afternoon it was just before two pm and within a few seconds feeling the rumbling of our desks my colleague lauren lyster and i did what we practiced so many times as kids growing up in southern california we docked and covered got under our desks now i think we were more worried watching through the window as some of the construction workers on the scaffolding several floors up some reason to be freaked out but it was a kind of a big one still five point nine and a lot of people here they were panicked confused full of anxiety this was a great majority of people here's first earthquake ever or lister is now outside on the streets of washington d.c. where we all evacuated earlier and lauren it looks like things are back to normal now pretty things

>>y con eso vamos a nuestra primera pausa desde washington d.c. en "enfoque".varé a mis alumnos al mundo del conocimiento y viajaremos con la ciencia al espacio. sé que muchos sueñan con ser astronautas... luego cruzaremos por una nebulosa de colores en la clase de arte. así que necesitarán... jugo, galletas, mochilas, lápices, cuadernos, camisetas y jeans... ah, tijeras y crayones. la escuela te pide mucho. target lo tiene todo. de herbal essences hoy usé una de colecciones con ingredientes que se activan con el agua para hacer el pelo más sedoso... y me transporté a un paraíso de ensueño. mi pelo se deslizaba, suave como pétalos, y con un brillo deslumbrante. estaba en el paraíso. [ locutora ] obviamente alguien estuvo usando herbal. herbal essences con ingredientes activos suavizantes. para un pelo suave y con brillo. [♪ tema musical ] >>continuando con "enfoque" desde washington d.c. usted, si vio el programa la semana pasada, vio que hablamos con gustavo torres de casa de maryland, que Él, junto a un grupo de activistas, se hizo arrestar justo en las afuer

hello i'm telling her going to washington d.c. and here's what's coming up tonight on the big picture we survived the great d.c. earthquake that only just barely is the epicenter of yesterday's quake was near a nuclear power plant i'll tell you how we just barely missed a fukushima like disaster right here in near the nation's capital and it looks like mission accomplished for president obama on the libya crisis but republicans are not ready to give the president any credit at all and according to a new wiki leaks cables master wonder just whose side the republicans were on from the beginning obama's record office. you need to know this the concerns raised by yesterday's five point nine earthquake here in the virginia d.c. area are still reverberating long after the quake itself in a few small aftershocks are over today schools and government buildings are closed in washington d.c. the fear of aftershocks and damage has been discovered at the national cathedral and the washington monument was the largest earthquake to strike virgi

both political parties seem to be off the rails somewhere the whole town of d.c. themes to be stuck on stupid talking about you there austerity or massive austerity but nobody's talking about investing in america creating jobs so who is sticking up for jobs not because who's doing it we couldn't find. an organization we said let's start one and so rebuild the dream. is a support system for creating a new movement that we call the american dream movement and we have now about one hundred fifty partners including some of the big superstar powerhouse organizations on the progressive side of the ledger move on dot org v.f.l. c.i.a.o. planned parenthood the center for community change a green for all campaign for america's future so many organizations i can name them all have decided to stand together let's put this idea out of having a movement to defend the american dream to fight for jobs for middle class. american people who want to join the middle class and we put the website up we said hey does anybody have any good ideas in america picks me economy but sides jus

ok that's right i came here to d.c. every day for the show everyone spends their time living in kentucky. and i know i am i do think that people are freaking out a little bit ok if there's a pull to the comes out with a message like if you feel like you're being bullied you think it's because your way you can exercise and you can eat healthy. healthier obvious is going to solve all of your problems but it'll make you feel more comfortable about your body image you know we've had discussions too about how in the us it's like this thing that people freak out about it's very taboo for people to talk to their kids about being overweight and in other countries it's not so much that they're just like you're fat we're just what i'm always look for and. i don't want to say that whatever but that's all right in that story. well take a look what a david letterman he made fun a lot of and then there were. songs of jihadist websites people wanted him killed there is tongue cut out and he actually joked about it last night on his sh

update on libya teachers fighting back against facebook laws you the viewer and today's earthquake in d.c. sorry for all the bad earthquake jokes on twitter earlier still a bit further up but because of the show some of you have called me of a leader in the freedom movement but we must remain in as we are today a leaderless resistance not only leaders are true love and joy you can follow me to them but that will make your leaders you'll have to leave for yourself so please enjoy the last episode from the d.c. studios an artsy america of adam vs the man. a great big w.t.f. shook the ground here of the imperial city this afternoon and if you're wondering no it wasn't our economy crashed into the ground that's still on the way it was an earthquake from my home near florida north capitol. it felt like it built slowly as if it was in the horizontal motion is increasing it's back and forth ones that seem to be about six inches back and forth that lasted about fifteen seconds obama remains in the comfort of martha's vineyard but the obama administration is already referring to this as the tea pa