Capitol one arena. Before that, we have howie d. In studio. A very good friday to you. Good morning, and welcome to news 4 midday. Im erica gonzalez, today we are welcoming julie to the news 4 team. Were happy to have you back ime. Happy to be back, just like back streets back. Spent a few years at our sister station in new york. S. Were happy to have you, breaking new weve learned another shakeup in the trump administration, President Trump announcing alex asta is resigning. The two appeared together at the white house this morning, acosta ifyou remember, played a role in theen seng of epstein. He oversaw the agreement in 2008 that allowed epstein a toid federal charges. Another issue on President Trumps plate right now, immigration. After daysf hinting he would use an executive action tn insert a question about t citizenship, president is now backing off. Instead, hes ordering federal agencies to use already existing information to gather that data. Sarah dallehas more. Reporter President Trump backing off his bid to put a citizenship on th census. The case is already in three Federal District sa courts tha extremely unfriendly to us. instead, issuing an executive order tocompile a list from databases. We will leave no stone unturned. This as the president prepares for mass deportation rates this weekend. Several arrested in buffalo advocates speaking out in chicago. In d. C. , republicans support it. People who have gone through the process and lost their case, is not cruel. Its reinforcing the rule of law. Democrats furious. Moms, dads, families being torn apart, it is absolutely gn disgusting. It has nothing to do with the e ecurity and safety of th united states. The raid will reportedly target some 2000 people who are previously dered deported. But it also could involve some immi ants who happen to be stopped at thece sne. Sara dalles, nbc news, washington. Xdso3 barry is barling toward the gulf coast. co its bringing strong winds rain. Lenty of up to 15 inches of rain may fall in some areas, and there were concerns at the Mississippi River which is already higher than normal, may reach its highest level since 1950. To manda evacuations have been ordered, not everyone is leaving. Plenty of people have spent the past week piling up sandbags, boarding up windows and buying up enough supplies to last them at least three days. we have much more on barry in a few minutes. First, a look at our weather here at home. Chevy chase homeowner tells news 4 that last nights storms brought a tree crashing down on to its house. A skylight was shattered, the living room was left a complete mess. Ot trees in the other brought down by power lines. Some in the neighb hood fear that other trees may come down because of all the rain. The ground is s already saturated. We got a lot of rain yesterday. Lets get the latest from lauren rickets. Are we going to stay rainfree today . I am seeing one or two cells out there, only a 20 chance well see rain. Were talking about the trees down. Ourre friends just telling me, georgetown pike and springhill road, a tree came down and blocked that recently. Theyre dealing with these trees coming down, even though its sunny outside. The ground is so saturated. Were going to be watching for that all through the day and possibly al through the weekend. Were watching this all through the weekend, the latest advisory is am cog out on this. Winds ve now gone up to about 65 miles an hour, you have to have winds at 75 miles an hour to be a cat one rricane. Doesnt matter if its a Tropical Storm or hurricane, its going to wreak havoc on our friends in the louisiana and new orleans area. This is the cell i was talking about, again, most of the rain will stay south and west of d. C. Area. That will continue to float down through lou ray, for the most part were looking good. You could see the sky, it was beautiful out there, it is continuing to be a gorgeous day. Temperatures in the 80s, lets weekend. Ut the well dive into barry a little it more. Thats coming up in 15 minutes. Lauren, thank you. Developing this morning. Faarfax county Police Investigating a deadly accident involving a pedestrians. Theyve entified vx the victims 66yearold admasf alexandria. He was not in the crosswalk at the time. The driver of the car invstved di on the scene, that area was closed off earlier for the investigation. But is now back and this morning, police are investigating a suspected rape on a metro platform. Justin finch is at the station with details on that suspect and just how authorities tracked him down. It really is a chilling story for anyone, but especially for metro riders. A reported rape here b inad daylight. But quick action he helped track down that suspect one stop away. Youre looking at him right there. Thats abraham, hes been identified as a suspect in this case, authoritiein te us that close to 12 30 yesterday afternoon, he raped a woman on a train platform here. That sounds incredibly odd and strange, it turns out there were no other witnesses or riders nearby who saw this or were able to ntervene, however, the Surveillance System here at the station was working and was able to capture him getting on to that train and trying to make an stopped at dwood where he was arrested. As for that woman, she was taken to the hospital for evaluation, the man now set for extradition back here to maryland from d. C. Where he faces afi charge of t degree rape. Back to you. Justin, thank you. This morning a northwest d. C. Neighborhood is on edge after the trd murder in that area this year, police found thyearold clifton shot several times on nor capitol and m streets yesterday afternoon, he was taken to the hospital where he later died. This is the 85th murderhis year in the district. Students at Morgan State University are dealing with the murder of one of their classmates. He was a sophomore, business and management major, and he was from Prince Georges County. He was killed near anus off camp dorm, as he was getting into his car. Two suspects were trying to rob him. Louis was trying toeave early in the morning yesterday to get to his parents home in httsville when he was killed. Theearch continues for the two suspects believed to be involved in this case. Developing this morning, two people are dead at a Retirement Community in fairfax county. Now Health Officials are trying to figure out if thats because of an illnessythat recentl sickened dozens of other residents. The outbreak began about two weeks ago in springfield. Nearly 20 people were rushed to, the hospitome of them have returned to the communig after beineated. Green spring has taken several steps to stop the illness from spreading. Were learning more about r b singer r. Kellys latest charges. Hes being held in federal custody for sex trafficking charges in chicago and brooklyn. There are five counts in new york where he will be formally arraigned later today. His charges include sex trafficking, child porn and racketeeri kelly is also facing 13 counts in the chicago indictment. Some of the charges are felonies. His crisis manager says hes innocent. 12 people that are going to try mr. Kelly. Once they try uhim, if they believe what they heard, hell go to prison for the rest of his life. If they dont. Third time. And hell go back to recording, and i think hell be he was released on bail for additional sex abuse charges just five months ago. How police are going beyond the call of duty today to help what could be a crisis of blood shortage. The Backstreet Boys have wowed crowds since the 90s, and today theyre back in d. C. Hear wh a massive explosion in norta aroli, a kfc reduced to rubble. The good news is, no one was inside at the time. The blast damaged five other businesses in he are the explosion left a half mile field of debris. No word on what caused this, officials think it was gas related. Prince georges county jnes ther e is anrgent call for blood donations today. The American Red Cross says its facing a critical shortage. Megan mcgrath is livehet battle of landover thismorning. Reporter the donations are underway here at the community center. This is the battle of the badges, Public Service agencies coming together here to do a good thing, to help bolster the blood supplies in the area, which are at criticalsn[ level the red cross saying they have less than a two days supply. They really need help here, at stake is this trophy, the winner gets it, but more important than that, iselping people and boosting those blood supplies. W3 they are the people who come to help when yo call 911. These Prince Georges CountyEmergency Responders know f hand the importance of donating blood, it can literally save lives. Severe accidents where you have at of trauma, blood loss, shootings, stabbing those types of incidents where people lose a lot of blood. And need to have blood repl ed. Try to write a sentence without the letters a, b, o . You cant do it. Fire and ems areofficers, we cant save lives without that blood. The countyes agenci went head to head to boost the blood supplies and claim bragging writes in the Second Annual battle of the badges. The trop currently in the possession of the Police Department going to the agency that gives the most blood this year. Ved lar citizens got inv too, picking a department and donating on their behalf. The. O trophy is nice, the real prize is bolstering the supply of blood. The need for blood is critical severe w,÷ there is a shortage happening right here in our area. Yesterday we issued an emergency blood shortage that means we have less than a two day supply for o negative. Ve we ha less than a two day supply for other blood types as well. Members of the public can donate here up until 3 00, really you can donateost days of the week, you go totat red cross website, type in your zip code, and you can fi the nearest Donation Center to you. They really do need to boost those blood supplies, in less th two days, thats pretty critical. Megan, thank you so much. ni tonight howie d. Is going to be on stage at capitol one arena, along with the other members of the Backstreet Boys. Beforebeing greeted by hundreds of cheering fans including myself. Howie is in the stud with his good friend doug, and doug, not a bad assignment this morning for you. Ill take this. Youirn know i love doug only comes in on midday if theres Severe Weather and if howie d. s in the room. I love it. Ou h y a bahowiere and i have been fri for close going on 20 years now. He l lives in orlando, im up here with you guys, today hes here with you guys in washington, d. C. N his is your first stop our dna tour. Were excited to be here. I cant thinkl gk of a bette place to open the dna tour in the north america continent here. How cool is it for you traveling youre traveling wi yh your family, i love h took your family in europe. It wasamazing, to beable to this at weve been doi or 26 years, a lot of life has changed for us, since the earlyu years when and i knew each other with no kids. Now were all gettinged marri and having kids. To able to have the blessing to bring my kids on the road, and go to some of thes places. To see it again through their eyes, its an unbelievable cherishing moment. I went to vegas, i went to two shows. I know most of thesongs, everybody thinks they know these songs. When you guys are playg these to s, it takes you back where we were in the late 90s. Thisbas right ck right there at the same time too. Yep. What is it about your show, aboutat Backstreet Boys th continues on to this day . Le you know, i we just were bed with amazing fans around the world. Theyre truly the heart and soul of Backstreet Boys, its cool to see this 90s resurgence right now. Several other groups are out there. We give props as well to keep this momentum going. Ac exy as you said, were taking our fans back in time, youre reliving those memories, good moments. Some of the songs weresur fan first love, first kiss and so for us be able to be a part of ourin lives that way, its awesome to be out on stage with them. I dont just know howie d, i was his they dont believe me, when you got hungry on stage. I would take your place, and do the yes. Nobody knew that. Now. They couldnt find somebody closer to my height so. We need dance moves to prove that. Cant break them out. Cant break them out now. Its under contract, you couldnt show anyone moves except me. It goes hand and in hand, ous perfect. Were talking ab family,ok longevity, youre doing something newnd doing it with the family. Absolutely. As we were talking earlier, weve aow lpgrn, and life changes for all of us. R little ove 10 years ago, i started family with my lovely ewife. I hav two amazing sons, 10 and 6. James five years ago, when he was 5. I wasu trying to have that father son bonding experience you have with your kids, i had a hard time connecting with him. I just i was just bored, i wasnt entertained, i didnt understand it, there were a lot of great movies that were out there, toy story, wreck it ralph, incredibles, all thoiee great movs. I couldnt find the same thing in music, i remember looking out at theaudience, theres so many fans tt were teenagers many years ago, that have grow up, bringing their kids to our shows. I thought, why not make music that the parents and the kids can enjoy together and have bonding experiences. Today we talk about identity, for you, it was all about identity, trying to get this out, trying to find out who you are as a younger person. G and passinhat on to your son younger generations. When we were talking about making t w record, is scratching my head on what to ab write out, i had amazing writers i paired up we were doing some of the talks earlier, theyre like, your life is perfect. I like, my life is perfect . I dont think its thats interesting. You have a kid, everything you ent through. Find my identity, being shy, height challenged. My being in sisters shadow. The first things was a song called espanol. I was in a mixed multiracial family. As a little kid, we didnt speak spanish in our house. It was that generation where people wanted their kids to be. Americani no accents. I would be among oth latinos and they would as i coulan speech spish. I was able to deal with a lot of subjects, even the song espanol was a great bonding experience for me and my son. It was a cool bonding family therapeutic experience. Were excited to have you in d. C. Tonight. If youreo going t out there they Just Announced im the opening act. Get there really early. Really early. Can we know dougs coolness factor . Exponentially gone up . Hes like the tswag, shirts unbuttoned. We got a whole look going on today. Yall have a great show, thank you so much. Thank you. After the break, one of dougs oth passions, the weather. Lauren let were hoping for a rainfree friday, our ground is saturated. People are talking about toppled over trees. This is a problem for our area. I was shocked to hear during my update at 11 08, there are trees comingown in the last hour. The ground is saturated. Not a lot of rain as we head into the weekend. We have showers out there, but a small chance out there right now, most of us staying dry to ay. Today hot humid, i believe the humidity is going to fall as we continue through the afternoon and evening. Ha also some nice conditions as we get into your saturday and sunday, plenty sunshine. Be as bad on saturday as it is onda s not too shabby out there as we head into your monday. We ve to watch for barry, well talk about that in a vmt ets talk about thei] temperatures out there right now, not too bad. Hagerstown coming in at 79, seems to be the cool spot out here. You factor in that humidity. There. Already feeling like sfi in manassas, 90 in culpepper. ÷ vk going to be right around 90 degrees. Speaking of the pool, its going ketahrough the wee. We head 4 we have a stray shower. Mainly south and west of d. C. As we head through saturday and hasunday. We lower humidity on saturday, sunday not too bad. Both days looking dry. Heres that lonely shower i was talking about, in shenandoah county. That will continue to float toward louy. Anyt showers we see are going be south and west of the district. We also have barry. Still Tropical Storms, the pressure is dropping little by little, not too much, and as the pressure drops, this storm intensifies, its not ver organized. It doesnt really matter, eithe way, 245ir going to get flooding cght along theast of louisiana. Newest update from the National Hurricane center has it going up to a category one. As it makes landfall early tomorrow morning. Ill be with you tomorrow morning to cck this out as well. Were more interested, onceinn hits landfall, where does that moisture go. It looks like it could head into our area. That could be something were watching. Low 90s, less humid on saturday, hot as we get into thisweekend. Lauren, thank you. Still ahead, nbc investigates for profit colleges, hear from students who say they piled up debt and havent found a job. An update on breaking news, and alex called me this morning he wanted to see me. I said, well, we have the press right out here, perhaps you wan to say it the press, i want to let you know this wano him me, i am with them. President trump announcing the resignation of alex acosta. Epstein is accus of sexually abusing dozens of under aged girls. You can look for updates on this breaking news story throughout the day in our c washington app. Turning to the 2020 president ial race now, a new poll shows a shift in the crowded pool of democratic hopefuls, in the first surveye since debates, joe biden remains on top. The poll found among voters second choice, harris leads followed by warren and sanders, and just 12 of those polled say they have definitely made up their mind. Now to a joint investigation by nbc news and the hechinger report. Its putting a spotlightn o four profit colleges. Students go to these schools to get a certificate and theyre told they get a high paying job afterwards. Thats not always the reality it ke snow shows us what is happening for graduates. How much debt are you in right now . I owe right now as of today, 4,000. Thats a lot money. The wife and mom of three in massachusetts is still rhealing financially from the decision she