root not only in phoenix, but throughout the entire va system. i would like to highlight two issues that were identified in the final report. first the report describes the veterans who face either clinically significant delays or questionable care from the phoenix facility. they received sfefb suicides that occurred between january of 2012 and found veterans and five experienced substandard quality of care. many experienced obstacles while trying to establish needed care being treated in the emergency room. the lack of follow-up coordination and quality and continuity of care, many of these is troubling and unacceptable. the most troubling issue described in the report was the awareness of the ongoing scheduling and challenges that many facilities face. furthermore they had opportunities to address the systemic culture of inappropriate scheduling practices. they did not act to address the inappropriate practices of manipulation of wait time data. this lack of accountability was engrajed by the decision to waive the fiscal year 2013 annual requirement for the directors to certify co

phoenix or elsewhere within the department of veterans affairs? in the broader sense of the legislation we've passed, my understanding and i think i know this sufficiently well to say this, that many of the authorities that are given to the va, in fact, directives given to you in the veterans act, are already things that you have the ability in your discretion to do related to providing care outside of the va, and i'd love to hear about what's transpiring now as we wait for the implementation of this act. how are we caring for veterans who are either through lack of timeliness or geography having a difficulty accessing veterans' medical services, in particular i'd like to hear how you intend to utilize a.r.c.h., itthe pie t program in the five states across the country and the authorities given to you in the new legislation allow you to not only extend that program, but to expand that program, and i'd like to make certain there is nothing that stands in the way of either one of those things happening from the va's perspective. and to make certain that that program, a.r.c.h. is used whil

the phoenix v.a. health care system. next, a portion of the hearing featuring testimony from the ig and whistleblower sam foote, the former phoenix v.a. medical direction. or. this is an hour and 20 minutes. >> i would also like to ask unanimous consent, he is not here yet but that our colleagues david schweikert from arizona be allowed to join us here to address this issue. without objection, so ordered. also members we do have a series of votes that will start at 1:00. i apologize for that. this hearing was moved from its original schedule time because of the joint session of congress to hear the president of the ukraine. what we will do is immediately after the final vote move back as quickly as you can. we will resume the hearing as quickly as we possibly can so that we will not keep the witnesses waiting any longer than absolutely necessary. on the 26th of august, the v.a. office of inspector general released its final report of the phoenix v.a. health care system which defaulted to national attention after hearing on april the ninth. the oig confirmed that an appropriate sched

actionstaken many other in phoenix and the surrounding areas to improve veterans' access to care including putting in place a strong acting leadership team. these are good people with proven track records of serving veterans and solving problems. increasing phoenix staffing by 162 personnel and implementing aggressive recruitment and hiring processes to speed recruiting, reaching out to veterans identified as being on unofficial lists or the wait list, and completing over 146,000 appointments in three months. as of september 5, there were only from may through august, phoenix made almost 15,000 referrals for non-v.a. care. we have secured contracts to utilize primary care positions from within the community and the future. i have spoken to veterans. congress and service organizations, and other stakeholders. during those visits, i have found v.a. employees to be overwhelmingly dedicated to serving veterans and driven by our strong v.a. institutional values of integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and held in this acronym, i care. we will continue to work with stakeholders to

felicia gaston of the phoenix project and one of the program participant felicia, you and i have been friend for a long time. >> a very long time. happy to be ouhrough performing stars which works with much younger children. >> questiyes. >> you started the phoenix program to start young men like gentleman car jacari. >> it's based in marin city and four years ago our community was experiencing lots of high crime. it was affecting so many people. a every time you picked up the newspaper it talked about young black males robbing people underneath the underpass at the bus stop. it just wasn't a message we wanted to get out. it was just very important to bring resources right into the area where our young men were hanging out. blic housing, which is called the 2 a lot and the phoenix project started right then. >> we're looking at some images of some of your young men doing a variety jobs through the phoenix project. i was happy to cover that story, too. >> yeah. it was so exciting, especially to see that phoenix project focuses on connecting them with all types of resources so they can

? >> nexa government investigation looks at veterans medical care in the phoenix arizona va system. it doctor expose some of the problems at the troubled phoenix hospital testifies and we would hear from robert mcdonald and acting inspector general richard griffin. this house veterans affairs committee is chaired by congressman jeff miller. [inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon. this hearing will come to order. i think everybody for attending this hearing which we will examine the oig report on the phoenix issue. i would also like to ask unanimous consent, he is not here yet but that our colleagues david schweikert from arizona be allowed to join us here to address this issue. without objection, so ordered. also members we do have a series of votes that will start at 1:00. i apologize for that. this hearing was moved from its original schedule time because of the joint session of congress to hear the president of the ukraine. what we will do is immediately after the final vote move back as quickly as you can. we will resume the hearing as quickly as we possibly can so that we

report on the phoenix va health care system. the investigation identified 40 patients who died while awaiting appointments in phoenix but found there was no conclusive link between delays in care and veteran deaths. t representative jeff miller of florida chairs this committee hearing. >>> good afternoon. this hearing will come to order. i thank everybody for attending this hearing which will examine t the oig report on the phoenix issue. i would also like to ask unanimous consent. he's not here yet but that our colleague from arizona be allowed to join us here to address this issue. without objection, so ordered. also, members, we do have a series of votes that will start at 1:00. i apologize for that. this hearing was moved from its original scheduled time because of the joint session of congress to hear the president of the ukraine. what we will do is immediately after the final vote move back as quickly as you can. we will resume the hearing as quickly as we possibly can so that we will not keep the witnesses waiting any longer than absolutely necessary. on the 26th of august, th

involves the fbi. it involves the u.s. attorney's office in phoenix. >> so there is a process if in case causation is found. >> absolutely. >> an to your -- >> if criminal behavior is determined to have occurred. >> yes. >> right. >> and to your knowledge, you mentioned the federal tort claims act, are you aware of any cases that have been followed -- i mean filed under the federal tort claims act as a result of deaths because of wait times? >> i'm not aware of any, but that doesn't mean that there might not have been one. we checked on the 45 case reviews, and we didn't find any file on any of those 45. >> thank you. dr. foote and dr. mitchell, i want to thank you for being here and for coming forward. i'd expressed to you in the past that i appreciate your courage because all of us on this committee really are united with you in our care for veterans and making sure that they get the medical care and access to that care that they really care about. and that's why i introduced the whistle-blower protection act. wish that had been in place for you, but hopefully that'll make things bette

constituents are the same number is happening here in phoenix because once you hear something like that and of course it makes you worry and begin to think that there are problems. i've talked to isabel once a week to be reassured that they aren't but still i just want to encourage you to finish up because not only do we not want to solve any problems you might find that i think that is a big problem of restoring trust is to get that done and move on with it. also, you put forth the 24 recommendations and as i look at them i think there are enough and that relates specifically to phoenix, but the rest of them look at the systemic problem. you've given those to the va. this is a big dose, a large order that you are calling for. are you confident that the va has the facilities and the means and the intent and the ability to carry out those recommendations and solve these problems so this does not happen again? >> it would be the first to admit that they need additional clinical space. they need additional clinicians and a new scheduling process. they need a methodology by which they can remot

that work. your investigation whether it be phoenix or the other 93 facilities, is focused on schedule, correct? >> that is what we go in to look at. along the way, you sometimes become aware of other activities you need to look at that may be related. principally, they are wait time, there are place where is it is expanded. >> is it fair to say that the investigation started out in phoenix because of damming things being said about phoenix. is it fair to say that scheduling problems are pervassive throughout the va? >> absolutely. >> specifically, for phoenix. look. i mean, a good portion of montana heads down there in the winter time. was there parts of the year where the schedules was worse or was it that way all the time? >> we didn't try to carve out the snow bird aspect. >> i was curious. >> we didn't find a good quarter in any of the quarters we looked at. >> what would you say to the folks, in the conference committee, we heard a lot from the members of the conference from both houses, talking about this isn't a work force issue. what would you say to that? >> i would

times and poor patient care at the phoenix va. the ig's report provides troubling details of the nail your of our nation to provide high quality care to veterans. what happened in phoenix is inexcusable and must never happen again in any va facility. i w i was especially disappointed to learn the extent to which sr. va executives and consider clinical staff knew about inappropriate scheduling practices in a telling exchange, when asked by a physician in hawaii to share best practices about how the phoenix va have presumably been able to reduce itself patient wait time from 238 days, down to seven days, quite a fete. the chief of primary care e-mailed one of his fellow colleagues in phoenix and stated, quote, wonderful, not sure how to answer this, can i just say smoke and mirrors? end of quote. and of course that's what it was, it was all smoke and mirrors. that individual is no longer with the va. the people who lie, who acted dishonorab dishonorably, who manipulated data in phoenix and elsewhere clearly must be held accountable. the indenment nature of this problem is identified by

looks at the findings of an inspector general report on the phoenix v.a. health care system where 40 patients were alleged to have died while awaiting appointments. the report found there was no conclusive link between the delays and care -- delays in care and veterans death. those testifying include sam foot. other witnesses include veterans affairs acting inspector general richard griffin and secretary robert mcdonald. we will take your phone calls on the issue a and about 2.5 hours. >> good afternoon. this ring will come to order. i think everybody for attending this hearing which will examine the oig report on the phoenix issue. i would also like to ask unanimous consent, he is not here yet, but that our colleague david schweikert from arizona be allowed to join us here to address this issue. without objection, so ordered. also members, we do have a series of votes that will start at 1:00. i apologize for that. this hearing was moved from its original schedule time because of the joint session of congress to th the president of the ukra. what we will do is immediately after the f

professionalism. it is very helpful to us so thank you for your work. your investigations, whether phoenix or the other 93 facilities, is focused on scheduling. correct? >> what's that we dgo in to loo at but sometimes along the way you see other things you need to look at that may be tangentially related. there are some places where it is expanding. >> is it fair to say that the investigation started out in phoenix because of some pretty damning things that were being said about phoenix. is it fair to say that the scheduling problems are pretty pervasive throughout the va? >> absolutely. >> okay. specifically for phoenix, look. a good portion of montana heads down there for the wintertime. was it that way parts of the year or all the time. >> we did not try to carve out the snowbird aspect that may impact phoenix. >> i was just curious. >> we did not have a good quarter in any of the quarters that we looked at. >> okay. what would you say to the folks -- because in the conference committee opening statements we heard a lot from members of the conference, from both houses, that talked abou

committee examines the ig's report on the phoenix va health care system. >> no doubt you heard thuabout data breaches at places like home depot, target, sony play station. we are going to discuss data breach reports with wade baker who is the chief director with vires. what do you do? >> guest: we research technology and try to bring them into the our are products. >> host: what is the definition of a data breach? >> guest: an unauthorized person or group gains access to private information. could be personal information, e-mails or anything you don't want the public to see. >> host: what some major conclusion of the data breach report? >> guest: this thing is getting more and more complex every year. we see a wider variety of attackers. ten years ago in the security space we mainly worried about network worms that roamed around and knocked servers off line. now we worry about large scale attacks, eastern european attacks, advanced threats centered on espionage. >> wade, the focus has been on the big point of sale attacks that are happening between when you swipe your card and with when

phoenix to investigate all of the above. i get a response from the office and december, 2013 to join a conference call with them on december. the team came up to investigate the december 16 through the 20th and at that time i and others told them about the on address scheduled appointment convoy and showed the northwest electronic folding clinic which was being used to mask the true demand for the return patient appointments. we updated them on the secret electronic waiting list summary report showing that 22 patients had been removed because they had died. we only had the names of the two deceased because none of the employees who were working with me had the electronic keys to print the names of the deceased. we asked the inspectors if they could do it but they responded that they could not. the last response that i had from them was on december 21, 2013 when i received him out of the office until december 31, 2013 reply. i offered to fax or mail the names that we had at the time that they were unable to give me a working fax number or address to mail it to. facts and a standard mail

. so thank you for that work. , whether itgations be phoenix or the other 93 facilities, is focused on scheduling, correct? in to lookwhat we go at, but a long way, you sometimes become aware of other activities that you need to look at that might be tangentially principally they are on scheduling and manipulation of wait times, but there are some places where it is expanded. mean,it fair to say -- i the investigations started out in phoenix because of some pretty damning things that were being said about phoenix. say that the scheduling problems are pretty per race of throughout the v.a.? >> absolutely. >> ok. specifically for phoenix, look, a good portion of montana heads down there in the wintertime. was there a part of the year that was worse for scheduling, or was it that way all the time? >> we did not try to carve out the sober aspect in phoenix -- >> i was discouraged. >> we did not find a good quarter in any of the corners we looked at. >> ok. what would you say to the folks, because in the conference committee opening statements, we heard a lot from the members of the confere

. it is a dust storm. >> it is a funny name. >> not fun to be in. i've been in phoenix in the summertime when those roll in, everything gets coated like a film of dirt, not fun. the rains washing it away. that is if you're not dealing with any flooding. the phoenix area over the last hour and two hours really got soaked. we were under a flash flood warning in the downtown phoenix area. so be careful on the roads. there is a lot of water right now in between phoenix and flagstaff. and we'll be driving through the regions. in the phoenix area, sky harbor airport, we picked up three quarters of an inch of rain, still raining. the yellow on this map is pretty heavy downpours. the flash flooding life threatening in this region early this morning. when you wake up, our computers are estimating that somewhere between vegas and phoenix, a chance of getting upwards of 2 to 3 inches of rain. pretty rare event. i know we get some monsoonal rains, but this is excessive by your standards. a lot of this will not make it to the central portions or much of northern california at all. this is

job, and then thank you for visiting the phoenix facilities a your first stop after you were confirmed. that really gave a message to our veterans in arizona, that you care and you're paying attention. i want to focus on conditionability, because our committee has heard from people who say, they're getting excellent care at the va, and that the employees at the va care about veterans, many of them are veterans. but i'm sure that you're familiar with the business motto, if you will, that an organization is only as good as its weakest link. and we know that there are weak links in the va. i just want to get your thoughts about how you ensure that there's continuing accountability, and i just want to tell you some of the ideas that we have heard, and then if you could comment on them. one is rolling audits, review bay neutral party, mr. micheaux has an idea about setting up a blue ribbon committee that would develop a strategy for the va. i have a veteran in flagstaff who talks to me frequently about the idea of a volunteer board of veterans, who really don't have sort of the so

were killed in arizona's flash floods on the rainiest day in phoenix history. other cities nationwide also endured massive flooding including las vegas. >>> president obama will define his strategy today to fight against the terror thugs of isis. it's tuesday, september 9th. "early today" starts right now. >>> good morning. i'm richard lui. baltimore ravens ray rice has been terminated from the nfl indefinitely, but the question, is that enough? that question after that violent new video coming out yesterday, rice delivering a knockout blow as you see here to his then fiancee's face. the other question, did the nfl see this video before? it says no. the president says hitting a woman is not something a real man does. after a rush to cut all ties with rice, the nfl store for instance dumping his jersey. here's nbc's jay gray with more. >> reporter: the video released by tmzsports.com is graphic and disturbing. a savage hit that overshadowed the first week of on field action in the nfl. running back ray rice knocking out his fiancee, now wife, janay palmer, in a casino elevator last feb

? so we will be doing these on a quarterly basis. i won't be here for the next one in phoenix but we'll may go back to dayton i will be doing the one in ohio. i am recommending to ever comes behind me that we hold these out in the community and people will be moving around the city of phoenix and then also they will be going to some of our outpatient cities where we have outpatient clinics in those areas. why do we start off if i can ask everyone to stand please and we will just have a moment of silence to send our thoughts to those that are fighting in the war on terror. all right, thank you. while we remain standing and join me in the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all. all right, thank you. i also wanted to take a moment and acknowledge it's the time of year when we think about our p.o.w. and m.i.a. veterans and i don't know if we have in a former p.o.w.s were family members here in the audience? do they want to s

, thank you for taking the job. thank you for visiting the phoenix facility as your first stop after you were confirmed. that really gave a message to our veterans in arizona that you care and you're paying attention. now, i want top focus on accountability because our committee has heard from people who say they're getting excellent care at the va and that the employees at the va care about veterans, many of them are veterans. but i'm sure you're familiar with the business motto, if you will, that an organization is only as good as its weakest link. and we know that there are weak links in the va. and i just want to get your thoughts about how you ensure that there's continuing accountability. i just want to tell you some of the ideas that we've heard. and if you could comment on them. one is rolling audits, review by a neutral party, an idea about setting up a blue ribbon committee that would develop a strategy for the va. i have a veteran in flagstaff who talks with me frequently about the idea of a volunteer board of veterans who really don't have any connection with the administ

. check out this mess. cars in phoenix almost completely submerged. rain hitting nevada, arizona, utah and turning highways into rivers trapping drivers. two people died in arizona when their cars were swept away. the governor is declaring a state of emergency. we have fox news coverage. maria molina in the fox news weather center and adam housley from the west coast newsroom. we'll start with adam. >> reporter: shannon, half a year's rain came down in the phoenix area in half a day. a deluge of water really flooded the area. they are expecting some rain today but it has been quite a tough 24 hours there as well. yesterday's storm is the remnants of hurricane norbert from the pacific. as much as four inches of rain soaked the area, beating single day record in phoenix metro area. left cars stranded on freeways and parking lots flooded and surface streets turned into rivers. more than a dozen water rescues. two people died. one of them was swept away when the husband and wife tried to drive across a wash near tucson. pumping stations couldn't keep up with it as the water came rushing in

may. what it looked like in phoenix, arizona. this is in west phoenix. the cars submerged up to the rov. a lot of businesses and schools had to shutdown. they had to open up a dam north of the phoenix to relief all the water. phoenix a half inch of rain causes flooding. today they got 3.29 inches of rain. the records began back in 1895. phoenix had a little than 2 inches of rain. more rain is heading there tomorrow. locally it's quiet and cool. a lot of the clouds east of philadelphia. 68 currently. wilmington is 6. >> we are showing that there is a slow-moving low pressure center. it's off of coast of the carolinas. it's moving to the east. it's encountering dry area. we have a squeeze play of winds ouout of the east. 74 in philadelphia. lots of clouds. south and east of philadelphia this is where you get the easterly fetch. that brings in more moisture with showers. 7:30, lots of clouds around philadelphia areas to the south. farther to the north a few peeks of sunshine. and north and west not much going on. showers are developing along the coast on-and-off showers. along the beac

inspector general's final report on the phoenix va health care system. the investigation identified 40 patients who died while awaiting up limits in phoenix have found that there was no conclusive link between delays in care and veteran deaths. veterans affairs secretary robert mcdonald and phoenix va health care system officials also testified. >> [inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon. this ring will come to order. i think everybody for attending this hearing which will examine the oig report on the phoenix issue. i would also like to ask unanimous consent, he is not here yet, but that our colleague david schweikert from arizona be allowed to join us here to address this issue. without objection, so ordered. also members, we do have a series of votes that will start at 1:00. i apologize for that. this hearing was moved from its original schedule time because of the joint session of congress to th the president of the ukra. what we will do is immediately after the final vote move back as quickly as you can. we will resell him the hearing as quickly as we possibly can -- resume th

around the city of phoenix and then also they will be going to some of our outpatient cities where we have outpatient clinics in those areas. why do we start off if i can ask everyone to stand please and we will just have a moment of silence to send our thoughts to those that are fighting in the war on terror. all right, thank you. why don't we remain standing and join me in the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all. all right, thank you. i also wanted to take a moment and acknowledge it's the time of year when we think about our p.o.w. and m.i.a. veterans and i don't know if we have any former p.o.w.s were family members here in the audience? do they want to stand? thank you. we will keep them in our thoughts. i am glenn cortie. for those of you that know me i am glenn cortie director of the dayton ohio va and i was asked to come to phoenix to help out for four months. i arrived july 9 and at the end of my two or will be t

not too late. i'm encouraged. be encouraged. that's what faith can do. you are like a phoenix that rises out of the ashes. i'm there with a smile on my face because i know we serve a god of the possible who can make it happen. and with people like yourselves, we cannot lose. so, thank you, values voters. god bless you and god bless the united states of america. [ applause ] >> thank you. >> thank you, congresswoman bachmann. only one of a kind and the liberals are glad of that. well, our final speaker this morning is a combat decorated u.s. marine, a number one best selling author. in fact, he has his brand new book available by oliver north called "counterfeit lies." he'll be doing a book signing right after he finishes speaking so you want to be sure to pick up a copy of that. also a successful businessman with three u.s. patents, a syndicated columnist and host of "war stories" on fox news channel. he is also the founder of freedom alliance, a foundation providing support to injured military heroes and college scholarships to the sons and daughters of u.s. personnel killed in th

that were not properly managed. to give those names to people in phoenix to make sure they got it as quickly as possible.á7 >> yes or no. does it feel like cultural changes are changing the accountability? >> does a complete more investigations. >>. >> for my testimony to be made public. >> no. >> i yield back. >> dr. daigh and, you cannot conclusively examine all the medical records to determine the release of thema final report of the long wait times causes the death of the veterans. how can it say to us synthetically that no link the wait times if you did them and examine all the records? >> 200-0409 records were evaluated. the service point looking at their records of the patients on the near system if they never made it through the maze. with that electronic medical record that all the cases we're able to review those ted to do with of waiting list. they did very thoroughly review the cases it predetermined delayed care. and those where there were improper care prepublished those. and as a result they were harmed. an additional 17 cases where standard of care was not met republ

. >>> let's talk about the scary moments at phoenix sky harbor international airport. violent storms turned off part of the terminal. passengers say they could feel the planes shaking. >>> there are dozens of people feared dead or buried alive after a volcano erupts in japan. scientists are warnings it could explode again. we'll head to japan live coming up. [ female announcer ] you change your style. why not your eye color? new air optix® colors prescription contact lenses enhance your eye color for a naturally beautiful look with consistent comfort. find your perfect color and get a free trial offer at airoptixcolors.com. find your perfect color and get a free trial offer what's your favorite kind of cheerios? honey nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... oh yeah, and frosted! what's your most favorite of all? hmm...the kind i have with you. me too. hey there, i just got my bill, and i see that it includes my fico® credit score. yup, you get it free each month to help you avoid surprises with your credit. good. i hate surprises. surprise! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat

cloud 9'. phoenix "la policia de phoenix esta al tanto, reconoce que tipo de drogas hay aqu" los jovenes ponen gotas de la droga en su lengua, en goma de mascar o dulce e incluso en sodas para disimular su uso. otros la usan en cigarrillos electronicos. cloud 9' provoca sintomas como los de un ataque al corazon, presion alta, sudor, vomitos, mareos y desbalance segn medicos. lo alarmante es que se vende en gasolineras y pequenas tiendas de forma legal en algunos estados. julio cisneros phoenix "asi como esta droga existen muchas mas que se venden de forma legal ya que segn las autoridades los delincuentes encuentran la forma de presentarlas como si no fueran drogas. algo que los padres de familia deben estar alerta". phoenix "cambios en la actitud, cambios en la escuela, cosas que quiza estan escondiendo en su recamara" la dea esta al tanto de la situacion y lanza una advertencia. ramona sanchez ttipo de drogas,mientraque hayaa tanfetaminas o caina, si de smo n ilegales estatal yderalmente" cesar facebook cesar --- ford estetirando del mercado 850 mil vehculods nuevos modelos, de

coast-to-coast. >> at least two people have died in the phoenix area from rushing floodwaters. and the images from the storm zone are alarming. the water in some areas, approaching three feet deep. >> and left behind in its wake, miles and miles of mud and utter devastation. abc's tahman bradley has the latest. >> reporter: record rains, paralyzing parts of the southwest. in phoenix, more than three inches fell. the city's wettest day ever. at least two people were killed. >> that's going to be close. oh. don't move that car. >> reporter: cars stranded on highways. >> a big tidal wave came up and took me out. and it flooded my truck. >> we had calls in the hundreds of people of stranded, flooded out cars, accidents. people sliding off the roadway. >> reporter: this gives you a sense of how high the water rose. watch this kayaker pass by a basketball hoop. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> reporter: near tucson, a woman was killed when water surged, pushing her car under a bridge. >> really, no words would put into effect, you know, the panic and what that person was feeling when, obvio

arizona tonight, and these images pouring in. california, romming rapids in one neighborhood. in phoenix tonight, cars stra s stranded. and in mesa, arizona, that girl kayaking past a basketball hoop. and it's not just in the west tonight. the east under water, as well. two major systems and abc chief meteorologist ginger zee tracking it off. >> oh my god. oh my god. >> reporter: record rains devouring parts of the southwest. this phoenix highway, now an eerie, water-filled graveyard of abandoned cars. our allison rodriguez from knxv, right there. >> interstate 10 has been turned into a river, with dozens of cars stranded here in the middle of the roads and on the sides of the roads. >> reporter: firefighters trudging through, helping children out of a daycare, and into the arms of their parents. so many neighborhoods on edge. >> oh, that's going to be close. oh. don't move that car. >> reporter: just waiting to see how high the water would rise. in this park, kayaking almost rim-high through the basketball hoop. more than three inches of rain falling, the most phoenix has ever recorded

vulnerable at a homeless stand down in philadelphia. i've talked to schedulers in phoenix, nurses in palo alto, medical residents in durham, north carolina. i've met with academic partners at the university of pennsylvania and the duke university of medical school. i have met union leaders, government workers, and thousands of advocates at conferences. with every group i engage, i i make this point. our mission is clear. it is to serve veterans. there is no higher calling than that mission. veterans are our customers. that means effectively and efficiently providing them the high-quality care and benefits that they have already earned. havewhere i have gone, i found v.a. employees overwhelmingly dedicated to the mission. they are enthusiastic to be a part of the solution to our current challenges and they are excited that we have an opportunity to improve care to veterans in ways that did not exist before. are driven bys our strong v.a. institutional values. advocacy, commitment, respect, and excellence. all of that is summed up in the acronym i care. here is something i have heard i

already drenched, the southwest. in phoenix, winds up to 75 miles an hour shaking even the airport. and take a look at this, giant pieces of roof littering the tarmac. cars standing no chance with the torrential rain. some spots select collecting an inch and a half in 30 minutes. and this at the public library, a visitor climbing under a tree to get to the door. we'll have the forecast in just a moment. first, abc's senior meteorologist rob marciano leads us off with the storm on the move tonight. >> reporter: so much for the desert southwest. at round of heavy rain and severe rains and storms this weekend. yesterday, so much rain fell, even the interstates were flooding. this month alone, phoenix was receiving ten inches of rain. that is ten times the average amount. and yesterday's wind, hurricane strength, gusting up to 75 miles an hour. >> look at it. >> reporter: that is the roof off terminal two at phoenix's airport. and the storm shut down the airport for an hour. and 40 flights to be diverted. and winds caused debris to hit electric lines. and you can see transformers exploding

two deaths are being blamed for the flooding in arizona. danielle nottingham said phoenix got more rain in one day, over three inches, than it normally does during the entire summer. >> reporter: treacherous floodwaters swept through the southwest, turning freeways into rivers and low-lying communities into small lakes. there were dramatic rescues like this one, in tucson, arizona, emergency crews saved this stranded driver, but one woman died after flash floods trapped her against a bridge. >> within basically a minute or two of us being on scene that vehicle was swept downstream. and it immediately went down under water. >> reporter: arizona officials declared a state wide emergency and for the city of phoenix. widespread storms set an all-time record for rainfall in a single day, caused power outages and closed schools in phoenix. >> the city of phoenix and our entire region saw levels of water that we haven't seen in a century. >> reporter: some residents used kayaks to navigate their neighborhoods. the deluge flooding dozens of homes. angel escalante had just renovated and mov

talk about. >> yeah. all that rain and horrible flooding we dealt with in phoenix and utah and colorado has now pushed into the midwest. we got really hit hard last night in missouri. still raining very hard through areas of the central u.s. including near chicago. right there in the middle of the street is kirksville, missouri. that's not a misprint. if you were impressed by the 3.5 min chs phoenix got, they got over nine inches last night. san diego gets ten inches on average in an entire year. everywhere else in the west is pretty much dry as that storm system moved out and the drier air moved in yesterday. it is cool and chilly in montana. we have rinter storm warnings, the highest elevations in montana. winter weather advisories and watches -- it's at the higher elevations, but still not pretty. this is the first snow accumulation since last spring. >> i can't believe this. >> that's not nice. >> billings will be 44 degrees with a chance of rain and snowshowers. everywhere else on the other side of the mountains is plenty warm and looking kind of toes stay in the northwest, a few c

weather tears a section of roof right off the phoenix airport. we'll give you a closer look at the damage. ♪ >>> we begin with a manhunt underway in missouri who for the persons who shot at two officers overnight. one in ferguson, and the other in st. louis. the ferguson police officer was shot in the arm while on patrol, and in a separate incident just three hours later someone shot an off duty st. louis police officer in a drive-by. he was hit. the incidents have both communities on edge. tensions, as you know, are still high in ferguson after an unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by a white police officer last month. let's go to cnn's sar why seidner in ferguson. what are the conditions of both of the officers? >> we can tell you that they were both injured. one of them shot in the arm. they are both nonlife-threatening injuries. the other officer was not hit by bullets, but by glass and had some minor injuries from the glass there. and the two incidents do not appear to be related in any way, according to authorities, and also, the incidents don't appear to be related

not over yet. phoenix got more rainfall today than we've seen since march 1. not a cloud in the sky, but not that warm today. we'll tell you when temperatures change to the tune of 20th degrees -- 20 degrees. this is a different kind of airline. one that invented low-fares so everyone could fly. one that decides where to go next by putting your needs first. and knows people are its most powerful fuel. some say we do things differently. we say, why would we do things any other way? without a heart, it's just a machine. is it the biting? ...we need to break up. cuz i can stop? no! i love you and your show. it's cable. customers are more satisfied with u-verse. switch and we can stay together forever. forever? ow. i'm not gonna lie to you. it's also the biting. break up with cable. choose u-verse tv from $19 a month for 2 years. afternoon at six flags magic mountain in southern california. ments the >>> flames erupted on a ride this afternoon at six flags magic mountain in southern california. take a look at these pictures. they captured moments that the flames started to spread across

, august, and september, the wettest months of the year for phoenix, because of the monsoons. but what happened here on monday morning is equivalent to those three months of rainfall combined. you have to go back 119 years of data and you would still not find a day that was as wet as monday morning in phoenix. up wards of six inches in six hours. and phoenix, again, in the early morning hours that picked up over three inches, or 80 millimeters of rainfall, five times their monthly average. wettest day in recorded history for phoenix. rainfall equivalent to a 1,000-year event that happened here on monday morning. the rainfall totals out at gateway community college, keep in mind, phoenix on average, gets eight inches in an entire year. parts of the valley picked up six to seven inches. and a camera perspective from the arizona department of transportation showing you one of their highways and what it looked like. you can see the lanes here disappear and cars left stranded on the roadways as the water accumulated in buckets across this region. so you take a look, the broad perspecti

2 news. >>> and a tropical storm has brought november where rains to the phoenix area. they got up to 6 inches of rain today in phoenix. that's about as much rain as that area sees in an entire year. this is from tropical storm norbert. it was a hurricane. they're going to continue to see thunder showers. they continue to see thunder showers now. if you have travel plans to the phoenix/tucson area tomorrow, check your plans. we have a few high clouds from norbert, the ex-hurricane this morning. mainly south of the district. now it's low clouds and fog. temperatures today were 10 or 15 degrees cooler in some places than they were over the weekend. temperatures tomorrow will warm slightly. a good 5 or 10 degrees over where we were today. tomorrow, you're going to see fog. current temperatures in the upper 50s. getting cool overnight. santa rosa, right now, 54 degrees. overnight lows are going to get down into the 40s. starting to feel like fall. the fall forecast, not quite as expensive as this morning. it's going to burn off more quickly. all the way to san jose, all the way north t

wide. two people were injured in arizona's flash floods on the rainiest day in phoenix's history. las vegas also suffered flooding. and president obama will define his strategy today. the fight against the terror thugs of isis. good morning, everybody. thank you for joining us. baltimore ravens' ray rice is terminated from the nfl indefinitely but it is good enough? that question after that violent new video seen here, rice delivering a knockout blow to his then fiancee's face. hitting a woman is not something a real man does. this morning a rush to cut all ties with rice, the nfl store has dumped his jersey. here is nbc's jay gray. >> reporter: the video released by tmz sports.com is graphic and disturbing. a savage hit that is overshadowed the first week of on field action in the nfl. ray rice knocking out his fiancee now wife in a casino elevator last february. >> any man that hits a woman should, you know, have to suffer the consequences. >> reporter: monday the consequences were swift and severe for rice. his reported $40 million contract terminated by the baltimore ravens.

yesterday? >> i did. amazing. >> the phoenix stuff. we had vegas. we had areas of virginia, too, hampton roads. phoenix yesterday this is the desert. they get eight inches of rain a year. they picked up over three inches in one day. this was like epic stuff. the most they ever had in one calendar day in the phoenix area going back over 100 years. and as can you see, the results of it. we're fine this morning. things improved in the phoenix area. we're not concerned there anymore. the other concern we're going to have is going to be severe weather out there. and, of course, the worst of it is going to be heading into the great lakes and into the ohio valley. and thomas, yesterday it snowed in calgary and alberta, canada, like inches of snow. and that cold air is heading to the midwest. not the snow but we have big changes coming. >> really, that quickly? >> yes. >> all right. >> so fall is upon us? >> yeah. leaves, pumpkins, scare crows. >> and the harvest moon? >> the full moon was great last night. i think it is setting now. it was beautiful. >> okay. all right. so for those th