fireworks shows. this is a live look at the national mall. gray skies but so far the rain has kept the crowd smaller than usual and it will likely pick up as the night goes on. leon: it looks like the wind is picking up. maureen: windy clouds. we have team coverage. ryan hughes on the national mall following the extra security procedures in place. sam sweeney is checking out the crowds. we begin with the big question. what is the weather looking like? chief meteorologist doug hill has the latest. doug: right now the skies are cloudy. you pointed out no rain in the city at the moment. we have the chance of showers tonight. the best news is the threat of heavy rain and thunderstorms. it looks like it will hold off until later tonight. we have a warm front just to the south. as you look at the satellite and the radar you can see two separate batches of storms. one is passed to the east of washington. the other one is still to the west. in between, we have been noticing a clear shot for a good portion of the afternoon. but with that, that has filled

with the showers and a couple of downpours over the mountains. i think we are still good to go as far as the national forecast. continuing forecast. we are seeing breaks in the pattern. we get to 9:09 tonight the time of the fireworks looks like it will be in a position where there may be scattered showers but clearly the heaviest activity at the time is well east and still remain well to the west. it's damp. we see the breezes picking up as a warm front moves in from the south and the next area of low pressure moves in from the west. northeast of prince george's county. we will keep that in mind as we make an updated forecast. cloudy skies. it's muggy and mild fireworks time. there could be isolated showers in the area at that time. now also other part of the area. we don't see widespread heavy rain at that time. with luck maybe the rain will stop in the fireworks display. we know later tonight it will tend to come back in. some computer mo

picking up a little. steadier rain patch. the stormy stuff will remain well west until later tonight. the thunderstorms are possible after midnight. think it's cool today? just wait. it will get hot again and i mean soon. we will have that in a couple of minutes. leon: thank you, doug. maureen: as we said earlier the weather is forcing the jurisdictions to postpone the fireworks show. college park rescheduled the show for tomorrow. greenbelt pushed back its show until tuesday. the city of gaithersburg will wait until friday to put on its fireworks. and fredericks fireworks will now take place july 24. leon: as of now, the national mall's show is set to go. that's where we find sam sweeney standing by with the crowds. sam: that is the word from the national park service. this doesn't feel like the 4th of july here. it's wn

and it's quiet out here. i am standing a few hundred feet away from the washington monument in the shadow. this is primed real estate. we expect to see several hundred people, at least several hundred people out on the national lawn setting up their blankets, claiming their turf for fireworks. but you can see they are not here. despite that, the national park service says they expect hundreds of thousands of people to pour out here. we caught up with the dire fireworks fans and they say a little rain won't stop them. >> it rains but what else? we will probably never be here again for the 4th of july. why not? >> keep an eye on the radar. hopefully everything will come out all right. >> if it rains will you stay out? >> yes. >> yes. if they don't cancel it, we'll stay. sam: the first fireworks expected to light up the sky

fingers are crossed that the weather will hold. back to you. maureen: thank you, sam. with the recent rash of terror attacks in this country and around the world, security at tonight's event on the mall is of course at the top of the priority list. abc7's ryan hughes is following this part of the story for us. ryan? ryan: maureen, police have been out here since early this morning and they will stay out here until late tonight. you can see behind me a couple of officers have roads blocked off around the mall. we just checked in with u.s. park police a short time ago. they are seeing a steady stream of people coming down to the mall. before anyone can get in, they will be searched. the gates are open and large crowds expected on the national mall for the fourth of july festivities. all bags, coolers and the personal belongings won't make it without getting checked. the u.s. park police say do not bring weapons or fireworks. they are getting a lot of

national guard around the region. >> security is tight after several recent terror attacks. major roads are blocked off. tourists traveled from all over on the independence day and they welcome more police managing the streets to keep everyone safe. >> it's a good thing. we haven't had any issues. no problem. everyone is friendly. >> they are asking everyone to be their eyes and ears. if you see something that doesn't seem right let them know right away. ryan hughes, abc7 news. maureen: thank you, ryan. besides d.c. there may be no place where security is tighter today than new york

an estimated 3 million people are expected there to watch the fireworks tonight. leon: let's turn to the war on terror where it's been another violent delay around the world. especially in saudi arabia. there were two separate attacks involving suicide bombers in that nation. the most recent took place near a mosque killing at least four people. earlier in the day another suicide bomber blew himself up near the u.s. consulate. a man blew himself up after police approached him in a hospital parking lot. there have been three attacks as in that country in the last 24 hours. people are still looking for those missing after a deadly truck bombing in baghdad. 157 people have been killed. the bombing took place in what is described as a upon lar area for shop -- popular area for shopping. isis claimed responsibility for that attack. >> they are trying to remain relevant on the global stage. they are trying to show that as they

sickos from across the globe, they are trying to show that hey, we are still a viable plet. >> last week iraqi forces retook fallujah from the militants. maureen: if you plan to take metro tonight for the first time in a while there is no scheduled track work. safetrack surge three begins tomorrow at 8:00. it will of course the blue and the yellow line. no trains will run between reagan national airport and braddock station. surge three runs through july 11. leon: when we come back after the break, the latest on a virginia teenager severely hurt when he stepped on homemade explosive on new york's central park of all places. >> once again, donald trump is not shying away from controversy. his response today over the backlash over a tweet he posted that some say is antisemitic. >> this money isn't protecting this country. it's only protecting

bands. leon: later on this 4th of july, a possible sour note for military bands. why congress may want them to turn down the music. maureen: we are continuing to keep a close eye on the rye dar. will the rain wash out the fireworks show on t

okawhoa!ady?

nothing should get in the way of the things you love. ♪ get america's fastest internet. only from xfinity.

"abc7 news at 6:00ment" on your side. maureen: flu details about the explosion in new york city -- new details about the explosion in new york city's central park. they have amputated connor golden's left leg under the knee. it's believed that the explosives were an attempt to replicate fireworks that make noise when thrown on the ground. >> we would not categorize this as an explosive device number one. this is not placed to have someone be hurt or touch on it. maureen: police believe the bag of explosives had been on the rock for several days. golden is from fairfax and he recently finished his first year at the university of miami. leon: now to the white house. donald trump is facing backlash for somewhat some believe included the star of david. on saturday trump sent out this image of hillary clinton,

the words "most corrupt candidate ever." many said it promoted a jewish stereotype. today trump called it dishonest for depicting it as the star of david as opposed to the sheriff's star or a plain star in his words. tomorrow, hillary clinton and president barack obama will campaign for the first time. the joint appearance was first set for june in wisconsin but it had to be rescheduled after the orlando terrorist attack. obama endorsed clinton saying that he doesn't think there has ever been someone so qualified to be president. maureen: the first family celebrating a milestone. the obama's oldest daughter is 18 years old today. she was thrust in the national spotlight in 2008 when her father became president. last month she graduated. she is expected to attend harvard university in 2017 but she is taking a

leon: time flies. all right. when we come back, stay with us here, folks. answering the question of the night. how much rain are we going to get? is it enough to wash out the fireworks show on the national mall? stay tuned. erin: it's 4th of july. what kind of fireworks would the nat provide today. and the rich get richer. the g prodders, shuckersers,

all giant produce is triple checked. we're focusing on fresh... ...so you don't have to guess. my giant. woman: i have a masurprise for you.are you? man: you have a surprise for me? narrator: at dominion, 1 in 5 new hires is a veteran. and when they're away, they miss out on a lot. but they won't miss out on financial support. because we cover any difference between their military pay and their dominion salary, and continue benefits for them

why do we do it? because our vets sacrifice enough. "dominion. depend on us for more than energy." ♪ stand by me. trying to make me eat my greens?low.

een. whaaat?! thousands of blue tags. thousands of low prices. my giant. leon: the 4th of july in the nation's capital is one of the biggest events but next year it could look and sound differently. there is a bill in the u.s. senate passes. "7 on your side" government watchdog chris papst has the story on this and joins us now from the national mall. what is the story here? chris nothing says americana like fourth of july parades and military marching bands. that's what we had down constitution avenue a few hours ago in d.c. but the combination of those things is in jeopardy. the marching bands in the military are expensive. and congress has put them on the chopping block. the fou

nation's capital. what could be more patriotic? the crowds, the flags, the military bands. >> we don't have anything like this. i am hoping to keep it going. chris: next year the independence day parade and others around the country could look different. >> without the bands it would be another parade. >> the bands aren't a priority. protecting the country is. chris: every year military bands eat up $400 million of the pentagon's budget. a bill in the senate would cut that limiting how often the bands play. the measure was added to the 2017 defense department budget, which is already passed the house and receiverred blowback -- received blowback. petitions like this one at white whitehouse.gov received signatures but others say there is only so much money and it needs to be prioritized. >> we are not saying get ri

amount spent on the bands and put the money back to the pentagon and spack in the program to help defend this country. thigh will likely take up the measure in the fall when they come back from the summer break. the senator that introduced this bill is from arizona and a veteran. chris papst, abc7 news. maureen: thank you. it wouldn't be the fourth of july without the nathan's hot dog eating contest in new york. joey chestnut regained his title eating 70 hot dogs. i can't stand to look at it. he has won the title nine times in the contest's 100-year history. leon: 70 hot dogs in one sitting. maureen: multiply it by nine times. and then all the other contests that he eats in. doug: i have to take a nexium just watching that.

leon: it's crazy. doug: the big story all day is will it rain in fireworks time? maureen: will it? doug: there is a chance there could be rain but i don't see indication right now that it will be heavy rain. i don't see an indication that it's thunderstorms. so based on that and based what the reporters told us all day long fireworks will be fine. maureen: wonderful. doug: look at the national harbor. we have gray skies all day long and the temperatures are very cool. that in itself is a bit of a minor weather story. i say that because in the almanac page today officially so far 73 degrees at reagan national. our average high is 88. we will know later tonight. this may go down as the coolest high temperature recorded on july 4 in washington for 100-some years since the records have been kept. it will be closer to that tomorrow in the 90's. plenty of hot water south. warm front will bubble northward. 75 in charleston this way. the good news about having the front to the south is later this evening, probably the best chance of heavy

this area. however, as we get through the overnight hours and the next disturbance comes in, maybe a few more thunderstorms in the overnight. in the short-term we are looking at rain. just rain over most of the region. most of it is light. patchy. it is continuing to move west to east. we do have a bit of a break developing to the west. we are hoping the timing works out fine that we are cloudy. maybe a little light rain at 9:00. later tonight the next area will come in. everybody should be safely home by that time. closeup of the doppler right now shows a few shower. again, they are moving steadily from west to east across the area. no rain in the city of washington at the moment. so for fireworks time, isolated showers. cloudy. mild and muggy. 72 degrees at 9:09. the future cast brings the heavier rain in. over night, the brighter patches and thunderstorms and then clearing skies in the daym to. morning thundershowers possible. then we get back on track for the real summer weather here. 86 tomorrow with the clearing skies in the afternoon. and then as we head through the next seven days lo

91 on wednesday. 92 thursday, friday, saturday. late day friday, saturday shower and storms. it will turn less humid and cooler on sunday and monday. leon: all right. good deal. good decision that we have all been waiting to hear from the nba. finally comes down. it's got heads shaking. erin: i know. i was looking at twitter all morning. when is it going to come? now they are calling it the core four. how kevin durant announcement took over the 4th of july. and would there be fireworks in the matinee between the nats and the brewers? we'll show you next in sports. "credit karma, why are you checking your credit score!" "you don't want to live with lucy forever, do you?" "glass?" "nah, i'm good." "do we have any towels?" "i got ya!" "we should really get a toaster."

"i got you!" "credit karma huh?" "yea, it's free." "that was easy." "check out credit karma today. credit karma. give yourself some credit."

and the unexpected. know that at least the process of buying a new home can be clear and simple. know your investments can make retirement closer than you think know. the one word behind all the guidance we provide, tools we create, d services we offer. because when you have insight, you know.

announcer: and now the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealer. erin: the biggest news in the sports world is brought to you by kevin durant. he announced he will join the golden state warriors from thunder. he signed two-year deal at $54.3 million with a player option for year two. by adding k.d. to a roster with steph curry, draymond green and klan thompson the warriors are heavy favorite to win the championship next year. durant's mother wanda had this to say. hello,

congrats. you have a great player coming. i'm excited. other tweets -- i guess that is the goal. in the meantime the nationals hosted the brewers today in a matinee. the brewers were called for batting out of order in the first inning. they don't normally see that. that was fairly interesting. we will take you out to nationals park. miss liberty in the house checking out the game on the fourth of july. a lot of red, white and blue in the crowd. unfortunately, no fireworks. not for the nats. max scherzer gave up this solo shot to maldanado in the fifth. that is all the scoring the brewers needed as the nats lose 1-0. here is scherzer on his performance. >> there was a sole blast. that was the difference. a 1-

most of the time the solo bombs don't beat you. that is the mentality that works. only time in my life you lose on a solo bomb. it happened today. >> an you ventful type of day. there is nothing else to say. erin: we are used to them scoring 14. big sister venus, roger federer and andy murray move on to the quarterfinals of wimbledon with serena. leon: worried about the nats using up their runs in the last few games. maureen: what about the rain tonight? doug: looking at the radar now we have patches of rain moving in from the west. we hope heavier patches will hold off until 11:00 or midnight. it will call for muggy weather definitely. 72 degrees and fireworks time. showers. steve will have what is coming next at 11:00. leon: fingers crossed.

♪ amsleep number beds with you with sleepiq technology give you the knowledge to adjust for the best sleep ever. don't miss the lowest prices of the season sale, with the c2 queen mattress now only $699.99 plus 36-month financing. know better sleep. only at a sleep number store.

tonight, dangerous weather this fourth of july. torrential rain and flash floods slamming the midwest. even reports of tornadoes. severe storms pushing east. will you be able to see the fireworks in your neighborhood? new clues about the blast that rocked central park. now more police than ever taking to the city's streets this holiday. and around the country, authorities tracking millions all at once, looking for sipes of danger. donald trump's tweet at the center of a political firestork. is it anti-semitic? what's he saying tonight. and the 911 call that prompted this aggressive takedown. >> do not move! >> why police are now apologizing tonight.