dr. john torres, nbc news, boston. >>> when we come back, swimming in the shallows, rare encounters as a whale makes its way right up to shore. >>> we end tonight with images from the west coast. a gray whale coming >>> we end tonight with images from the west coast. a gray whale coming literally within inches of suspected swimmers. nbc's ron mott has the story. >> reporter: for a few swimmers and beach goers, a whale of a tale. sharing the pacific up close and personal with a friendly beast thanks to an apparent wrong turn. he soaked up the sun in dana point harbor this week. captain put his drone to work. >> this lady on the front just dives into the water and swims over to this whale. everybody is kind of stunned and then a whole bunch of people kind of helped out and they were actually able to get the whale out of the harbor. it's not something i would normally recommend doing. >> reporter: the orange county sheriff's department also captured the stunning encounter as good samaritans tries to shoo the young whale out to sea. but the whale took a couple more detours, first laguna beac

dr. john torres, nbc news, corpus christi. >> we continue that president trump is spending the weekend at camp david where he will be receiving updates on the storm. it's the first major test for president trump and his team. kristen, what are you hearing from the administration about a federal response? >> well, lester, president trump is tweeting about it tonight. i am closely watching the paths and doings of hurricane harvey. be safe. top officials briefed mr. trump today including his homeland security adviser who told reporters the federal government is coordinating with state and local officials. tonight one top republican is urging the president to heed the lessons of former president george w. bush who was criticized for being slow to respond to hurricane katrina. officials here say they're confident the president is up to the task and say he's planning to visit texas early next week. >> as he monitors the latest of the hurricane i know he's also facing a storm of a different kind in washington. criticism from a top member of the west wing team. what can you tell us about that. >>

dr. john torres, thank you very much. we're going to take a break in a moment we'll have the changing trend among america's dads that may surprise you. >>> we're back now with a cancer breakthrough, for the first time ever the fda has just approved a gene therapy treatment. it's for children and young adults are relapse right leg leukemia. genetically modifies the patients own immune cells. in the past we have reported on emily white head, the first child to receive the then experimental treatment in 2012. five years later she remains cancer free. you might find this spriedsing that american men are becoming dads later than ever before. the average age of first-time father's in the u.s. has risen to nearly 31, up from just over 27 in 1972. according to a new study. researchers point to a number of possible factors like more effective birth control, longer life expectancy and a desire to focus more on careers before having kids. >>> it's hard to believe it's been 20 years since we got that tragic word from paris. princess

dr. john torres reports. >> reporter: when steven johnson was at the international space station, a visitas out of the question. but they could in minutes have a doctor on call. >> realtime communications, a very minor delay, you could have a doctor on the radio with you while you're working with the patient. >> reporter: nasa's new plan for the final frontier have people heading further afield. to mars. 34 million miles away from earth. it takes 20 minutes for the call for help to reach earth. >> if you have an emergency, you're not going to wait for help on board. >> reporter: doctors working with only the supplies on their ship. >> they have limited resources to deal with in that situation to figure out how they might be able to save that person's life. >> reporter: nasa has teamed up to create a first of its kind space simulator to teach astronauts how to deal with medical emergencies, ranging from simple injuries to major events like a heart attack. in one scenario, a pipe on the ship bursts causing poisonous gas to go throughout the spaceship. the astronauts face a double dilemma. t

dr. john torres is on the scene. >> high blood pressure, and all that medicine is gone? >> yeah. >> it's mass casualty situation. >> it is. >>> and then in london, where princes harry and william pay after her death. "early today" starts right now. good to be with you. i'm frances rivera. my co-anchor phillip mena is there in houston following harvey's impact. harvey is still unleashing rain, but is now classified as a tropical depression as it heads northeast. a dangerous situation is taking place right now at a chemical plant in houston, which could explode any moment. there's no way to prevent it. and at issue, no power or working generators. couple that with possible calamity of 2 million pounds of chemicals being released. overnight, the death toll reaching at least 28. officials say that number is certain to climb after a dramatic day of rescues played out, including this of one monther and her son reunited after they fought for their lives. >> i thought y'all was going to pass up, because up. when you seen y'all looking at us, we got so emotional, like please help

dr. john torres, nbc news, new york. >>> plenty more ahead tonight.zy neighborhood where mansion owners are outraged after something was bought right out from under them. the first person to survive alzheimer's disease is out there. and the alzheimer's association is going to make it happen by funding scientific breakthroughs, advancing public policy, and providing local support to those living with the disease and their caregivers. but we won't get there without you. visit alz.org to join the fight. bburning of diabetic nerve pain liked to style my dog as a kid... and were pumped to open my own salon. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and she prescribed lyrica. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling

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dr. john torres, is live in corpus christi. dr. john, why are some choosing to stay behind?katy, that happens. sometimes people stay behind for a variety of reasons. sometimes they have something they have to really take care of, they have loved ones, property they don't want to leave. for whatever reason, people do stay behind, which means that people have to stay behind to take care of them. now we drove down this morning from san antonio. the roads were definitely passable. but we could see ambulances constantly going north, getting patients out of here. in the hospitals, they have gotten the critical patients out of here. but they're still open, the ones more secure, and they're keeping the patients that aren't quite as critical in thesecure, and t rooms are staying open to take care of people around here. the patients pregnant, babies don't come by appointment. so someone staying behind, beth overton, a certified professional midwife with the corpus christi birth center. and you stayed to help a client who is pregnant and could not leave for any reason. >> i don't feel

dr. john torres. we discussed earlier the danger of looking into the sun, but for these folks in these areas where they're dodging clouds and me might feel the clouds will give them some protection -- >> absolutely not. the clouds are not going to give you protection. you can get sun burn on a cloudy day and the same thing is is happening here. >> columbia, missouri we're looking at now. >> it's beautiful. you need to keep your glasses on if it's clear regardless. until that final instant of totality, those ultraviolet rays are coming out and it can cause damage to the back of the eye. there are no pain receptors there and that's part of the problem. you may not know it until a day later or a month later. there's a spot there that's fuzzy or blank. you can't see things you look directly at because that's part of the vision it hits. when you think of a lens, it's like a mag ifnifying lens, you' not feeling it and it can cause permanent damage. >> important warning, and we will continue to sound that wa

dr. john torres, thank you so much. and jacob, thank you so much for your reporting on this. >> you bet. >> we'll be right back with the inside scoop. stay with us. to know who i am and where i came from. i did my ancestrydna and i couldn't wait to get my pie chart. the most shocking result was that i'm 26% native american. i had no idea. just to know this is what i'm made of, this is where my ancestors came from. and i absolutely want to know more about my native american heritage. it's opened up a whole new world for me. discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com. when i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. i just snapped a photo and got an estimate in 24 hours. my insurance company definitely doesn't have that... you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™ liberty mutual insurance. for her compassion and care. he spent decades fighting to give families a second chance. but to help others, they first had to protect themselves. i have afib. even for a n

dr. john torres, has details. >> reporter: just 43 years old, lynn howard never imagined her heart would suddenly stop beating. >> i had no health problems before this. i was completely healthy. >> reporter: but the mother of three suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, a condition so deadly, more than 90% don't survive. >> the goal is to nip some cardiac arrest in the bud. because by the time it happens, it's too late. >> reporter: it's not a heart attack which is caused by a blockage. sudden cardiac arrest is caused by a short circuit in the heart. there hasn't been a good test to determine who's vulnerable. >> we don't have any real predictors of risk. >> reporter: after this doctor studied a million people, he found a possible solution, using an ekg, an inexpensive test that's been around for 100 years. >> we're looking at six data points on this ekg, ranging from the heartbeat, to electrical activity recorded from the heart. >> reporter: dr. chu discovered that data is the key to predicting who's at risk. the goal now, to get that risk score included on every ekg, and implant high risk p

dr. john torres has the new warning tonight. >> reporter: katy rich just had her third child, a boy named brady. when weeks later she got a terrifying call from her doctor. >> he said, it's cancer. and he said it wasn't good. >> reporter: the 33-year-old had stage 4 colon cancer. >> it was devastating. >> reporter: a life-long athlete, she had no family history of the disease. her only symptom? pain in her ribs. the new report shows katy is one of a growing number of younger people getting colorectal cancer. researchers found deaths in white people under age 55 are on the rise. and it's not only the result of more screening. >> this increase in incidence is real. and it's scary. because we don't know what's causing it. >> reporter: colonoscopy is currently recommended beginning at age 50 for most people, and repeated every ten years until age 75 for those with no risk factors. every five years for other screening tests or when colonoscopy finds small polyps. but today's startling report has some doctors rethinking those rules. >> should we be screening at an earlier age? >> for a patient

dr. john torres. >> reporter: as a junior volunteer firefighter, 16-year-old cheyenne cameron has learned to handle pressure including her own high blood pressure. >> i always felt like my heart was racing. i also thought, oh, high blood pressure is for like when you're old. >> reporter: that common misconception all the more reason today's new screening guidelines are so important. >> the increase in the prevalence of hypertension in kids i think is really driven by the rising prevalence of childhood obesity. >> reporter: the new guidelines recommend pediatricians check blood pressure every year starting at age 3. younger if a child was born premature which increases the risk of hypertension. ask parents about the family history. suggest better diet and exercise first. if that fails, medication may be necessary. while being overweight is just one sign a child may have high blood pressure, doctors stress many body types can develop the condition and without warning. >> hypertension is often called the silent killer. and most children with high blood pressure don't have any symptoms at all

dr. john torres. obviously, nobody wants to be in pain, but are these drugs overprescribed? and what options are there out there? >> yes, lester, bottom line they're being overprescribed. part of the reason is because patients come in and are demanding these medications because that's what they think they need. on top of that they're easily available, cheap and oftentimes insurance companies cover them, but the bottom line opioids can be very addictive and somebody can get hooked after just a few doses. current guidelines tell us after three days of an acute pain syndrome, where they have it after surgery or injury, that we want to switch to non-opioid type medications, things like anti-inflammatories or nonmedicine treatments, physical treatments, massage therapy or yoga. in all cases talk to your doctor before taking any medication to make sure you get the right medicine, the right amount and the right doses and come off of them as soon as you can. >> dr. john, thanks. good to have you here. >>> there are bizarre new details tonight in a jailbreak and a manhunt under way i

dr. john torres.ng about one of the biggest, if not the biggest medcenter in the country here. how do you handle this? >> the texas medical center, this is a huge complex. a lot of different hospitals. some of those hospitals and in the medical center which is essentially in the middle of houston is doing fine. other ones that is the one that is in the process of evacuating 350 patients. they did get flood waters in the basement. that has basically limited their food supply to two days and that's why they're evacuating the patients. what you typically do you evacuate the patients that are more critical. the ones that are on life support and need that equipment. you take them out very carefully and get them to other places where that same equipment is there so they can get that sustained care. then you start taking care of the other patients that are more ambulatory and help with their own evacuations and get on buses and can actually move on their own or at least with some assistance. and then start g

dr. john torres has the details. >> just 43 years old lin howard never imagined her heart would suddenly stop beat sblg i had no health problems before this pitd was completely healthy. >> but the mother of three suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, a condition so deadly more than 90% don't survive. >> the goal is to nip sudden cardiac arrest in the butt because by the time it happens it's too late. >> it's not a heart attack which is caused by a blockage. sudden cardiac arrest is caused by a short circuit in the heart and there hasn't been a good test to determine who's vulnerable. >> we don't have any real predictors of risk. >> after this doctor stu studied a million people he found a possible solution using an ekg, an inexpensive test that's been around for a hundred years. >> we're look at six data points on this ekg ranging from the heartbeat to electrical activity recorded from the heart. >> dr. chu discovered that data is the key to predicting who's at risk. the goal now to get that risk score included on every ekg and implant high-risk patients with ady fib bra later that shocks th

dr. john torres. >> reporter: as a junior volunteer firefighter, 16-year-old kim has learned to handle pressure including her own h was racing. i also thought, oh, high blood pressure's for, like, when you're old. >> reporter: that common misconception, all the more reason today's new screening guidelines are so important. >> the increase in the prevalence of hypertension in kids, i think, is really driven by the rising prevalence of childhood obesity. >> reporter: the new guidelines recommend pediatricians check blood pressure every year, starting at age 3, younger if a child was born premature, which increases the risk of hypertension. ask parents about the family history, suggest better diet and exercise first. if that fails, medication may be necessary. while being overweight is just one sign a child may have high blood pressure, doctors stress many body types can develop the condition and without warning. >> hypertension is often called the silent killer, and most children with high blood pressure don't have any symptoms at all. >> reporter: since her diagnosis, and with regular monitoring

dr. john torres.r family member is addicted to opioids right now, what does this news mean for him or her? >> more money and more effort going towards treatment for them and hopefully fighting this epidemic on both fronts. for people who are addicted and making sure people don't get addicted. for those already addicted it means opening up more treatment fusacilities and actually an obscured law saying they can't be bigger than 16 beds or they won't get paid. what thar they're saying they can apply for waivers and get that taken care of. a lot more emphasis and looking down the line and get training in how to prescribe these medications appropriately and treat people who are addicted to these medications looking at pharmaceutical companies to put out medicines that don't need to be put out and looking at the whole aspect of the addiction, just putting a whole lot more effort into this and help people right now and hopefully over the long term, as well. >> what is the time line? >> once he signs it, the

dr. john torres. so once this declaration is executed, dr. torres, what then happens?tally depends on what happens during the execution and what's actually on that paperwork. when they declare an emergency, the president has a lot of leeway to put in there what he or she thinks we need in order to get through this. and so it's going to depend on what they actually put down on the paper. essentially what it does is a couple things. it frees up money, helps get drugs into the hands of people who need the drugs and frees up regulation. so some of these regulations that stifle hospitals from treating certain people, treating in certain areas, it gets rid of those. at least waves them for a little bit so they can go into areas. swine flu in 2009, it let them put temporary emergency rooms in different parts of the areas, because they were able to get through the regulations that way. >> beyond the funding for treatment, beyond the enforcement, talk to me about how this move to declare an emergency could impact doctors, could impact the prescribing of medications? >> i think

dr. john torres with the details.r being with us and walk us through some of these numbers here. they are, frankly, stunning. >> good morning. what happens in 2015 they did a big survey across the country looking at opioid use here in america. what they found was stunning. it surprised them the results and, frankly, most doctors will be taken back a little by these numbers. what they showed is 98.1 million americans showed prescription opioids. 11.5 million americans misused those opioid and 1.9 million were addicted. this shows you the numbers in hard facts in the overdoses that we're seeing and calling an epidemic. again, in 2015 they got those hard numbers and probably didn't fall much in 2016 either. >> what is misuse, what does that mean? >> it means you're using it outside the directions the doctor gave you. it could be a few things. not taking your own prescription. people in a household will share prescription, taking greater amounts instead of taking one or two pills you take two or four pills. instead of eve

dr. john torres. dr.lcome. >> good morning. >> why is it that doctors are prescribing so many of the opioids to people? >> there's a lot of things going on. i called it the perfect storm of events that are happening. we treated pain historically. back in 1990s and 2000s, pain getting overemphasized. the government was using it as inspection criteria. it was the fifth vital sign. because of that, it ges overemphasized. and because of that, pain made kagss are more out there. more numbers, more types and able to prescribe it more. the medication does work. and it works at a high cost. >> i've had my share of orth petic surgeries over the years. and sometimes you get refills and you thi what kind of conversation are doctors starting to have before they prescribe these? >> that's the main thing here. doctors are starting to switch their mind-set. it used to be we looked at pain as the main criteria. we want to get rid of pain. now, we're starting to say, we might not get rid of pain. we want to get rid of suf

john torres. he has since gone to dallas for a closer look. is that right? is that where you are, dr. torres? >> yes, i'm here in dallas. i'm in front of the kay bailey hutchison convention center, a major evacuation center for people evacuating from houston and other areas. in the center itself, they set up 50 to 100 medical beds, pediatric beds to take care of children, doctors, nurses, pharmacists are involved to try to take care of the healthy, the people coming here. the person in charge is dr. ray fowler, a physician at parkland emergency department, and chief medical officer for the mini hospital here. thank you for being here. you're a busy, busy man. what are the health conditions you're most concerned with right now initially? >> current clinic we have, this one is just opening today, 22% of the population are age 3 or under. there is going to be an enormous pediatric population. this will be the largest disaster response we have ever done in dallas. this is our fifth major hurricane response in 12 years. hurricane katrina was enormous. i worked with that unwith. this this is going