alison: right now at 4:00, olympic superstar ryan lochte apparently now caught in a web of lies. at least that is what brazilian police are saying today. following what we know was animes don't at a gas station. jonathan: so the question today. was this a case of robbery? thank you for staying with abc7 news. if it was all made up, could it become a disappointing asterisk on an impressive olympic competition? we want you to weigh in on wjla.com/votenow. if it's true, how disappointed would you be? alison: when you vote you can slide it from not at all to national black eye. get the latest for now. adrian chronicles the olympic controversy, which includes the americans interrogated in ray owe. reporter: claims made by members of team usa swimming that they were robbed at gunpoint outside the olympic village on sunday crumbled. the police saying there was no robbery. federal brazil

sources saying one of the four olympic swimmers including ryan lochte are seen breaking down a bathroom door at a gas station, then getting into a fight with a security guard. rewind to last week and the controversial interview lochte first gave to nbc news. >> a guy pulled out his gun. he cocked it. he put it to my forehead and said, "get down." i put my hands up, i was like whatever. reporter: lochte now saying the gun was only pointed in his direction. the 12-time olympic medalist is back in the u.s. his teammates jimmy feigen, jack conger and gunnar bentz all remain in brazil. two of them seen here in a rio police station after being pulled for a flight bound for houston. >> they came by and said, "sir, you need to depark the plane." and they took them off the plane. reporter: members of the i.o.c. conducting the own investigation and talking about forg

sometimes you take action that you later regret. reporter: rio chief of police saying they should apologize telling the brazilian network globo saying the only truth is they said they were drunk. a federal police source tells abc news two of the swimmers being questioned and cooperating with authorities could get their passports back and return home to the u.s. possibly as soon as tonight. abc news, new york. alison: our montgomery county reporter kevin lewis is there in rockville. so kevin, you just tried to go there to jack conger's father's house. did you get any response? jeff: unlike yesterday, his father was no home. there were no cars in driveway. no sign of anyone inside of the upper middle class home. located just northeast of downtown rockville. off of norbeck road. there are some neighbors we spoke to. somewhat hostile that the media was there. they told us off-camera that the conger family are great people. you ca

white, blue ribbons around the front tree in the family's home. there was a sign that had been put up by members of the community hanging from the garage. if you were just looking at the house you would have no idea that their son was embroiled in this scandal. alison: okay. keep us posted. thank you very much. jonathan: we have breaking news we're following this morning from the east falls church derailment investigation. that train, remember, slipping from the tracks at the crossover section late last month? now we understand metro transit police are investigating that derailment. there are concerns following employee interviews and also inspection reports when it comes to tracking rail defects. even questions about video that was taken at the time. now we are gathering more information on exactly what all this entails. we'll have more throughout the evening right here on abc7 news. alison: meanwhile, we have more breaking news today. multiple sources involved in that deadly silver spring explosion investigation are confirming to our maryland bureau chief brad bell

explosion and fire were the result of a gas leak in a pipe or a piece of equipment at or near the gas meter. now this is the gas meter for the entire apartment building. the leak is believed to have allowed gas to build up in a lower level utility room until the massive explosion happened. ntsb investigators will be there looking at the gas transmission equipment for possible defects. jonathan: this is also developing this afternoon. this is big. the state department now is saying that a $400 million cash payment to iran was contingent on american prisoners being released. they said it wasn't ransom. now this is coming out. that had previously been denied by the white house and everybody else who went in front of the camera that said the payments were back pay on a deal made years ago and money that was confiscated from iran a long time ago. we'll have more on the developing story coming up tonight. alison: around the world, this is becoming an iconic image of war. a 4 or 5-year-old boy pul

blown apart in aleppo and then placed in an ambulance. if you take a look and listen as we play out the entire sequence. [yelling] alison: this scene as a couple more children who survived the blast are also carried to safety. it is so moving. and so, so difficult to watch. richard reeve is here with more now. rich, perhaps it's

this that make this war that is so far away hit closer to home. richard: just heart-wrenching the face of the little boy. we're at the syrian embassy that was closed because of u.s. concerns about assad regime. now we have these images crossing the world. little omran, 5 years old. airstrike that they believe russia or syria did this. the little boy carried out of the bombed out building. the symbol traveling around the world. a symbol of suffering by the innocent. >> war is all they've ever known. syria has been in a civil war for five years at this point. that is their reality. we can only hope that the unfortunate events and these pictures that are being shown will actually stir the international community to do more to resolve the issue, the conflict in

richard: it just makes you think for a minute. he is 5 years old. that country has been at war for five years. he has always known war. one good development here, we are told he was later reunited with his parents. now coming up at 5:00, we will hear from an immigrant who came to this country dealing with similar war-torn issues. back to you. jonathan: all right, richard. thank you. also developing, united states postal service employees have been arrested. the investigation covering more than just one post office in d.c. jeff goldberg has the investigation for us this afternoon. jeff? jeff: well, jonathan, we are still waiting for the federal government. to release court papers to explain what went on here. we know three postal employees wrapped up a court hearing in federal court in the last hour or so. two female employees and one male. that male facing felony drug charges. here now is our cameras catching up with one of the suspects about 30 minutes ago. this is alicia norman. she did not

reporters. another woman, another postal worker was released after today's hearing. the mail suspect dean vaughn row is not being released today. held by authorities. we are told that row is a manager at the river terrace post office in northeast washington. we are told the two female are in northwest washington and they are most in court in the postal uniforms. we are tell waiting for more information from the federal government. we hope to get the information in the next hour or so. we will have it at 5:00. as well as one of the suspects had to say to our cameras after her release following the court hearing. until then, live in northwest washington, jeff goldberg, abc7 news. jonathan: jeff, thanks. coming up next at 4:00 for us, a new first for uber. alison: also next today. if you have er lived or been to california you know the term "

the threat from them tonight. and tens of thousands of people evacuated. jonathan: it is not fires here but storm damage from last night. a look at the destruction left behind. that's next. but first, doug hill, do we have storms on the horizon tonight? doug: it's not looking that way. we thought we had a chance of showers but it's quiet now. over the weekend we have those chances and the seven-day at "abc7 news a

jonathan: if you haven't seen the video from the california fire, it's incredible. norm normally at night they lay down for the night but not this one. they're exploding. they give you an idea of how large the fire is. it's almost 32,000 acres in size and less than 5% contained. we are joined live from southern california. what they need is rain. please tell me they have some in the forecast. reporter: jonathan, i'm not sure about that. what we do know right now is that the red flag warnings are still in place in southern california. which means more extreme conditions for firefighters who are now on day three of fighting the flame. the blue cut fire is still out of control. >> the conditions are brutal. it's extremely hot. the weather is over 10

degrees. today is the first day we have had temps below 100. reporter: the gusty wind and heat making it hard for firefighters to keep the fast-moving flames from destroying more land. >> it's not santa ana wind season. it doesn't come until october. so really that fire season for us, this isn't supposed to be fire season. reporter: evacuation order still in place for more than 80,000 residents. this morning, the fire once again coming dangerously close to homes and a major freeway. >> this is the biggest flare-up we see so far this morning. reporter: but to the north and south a different scene. the clayton fire slowing down. 4,000 people in the lake county area finally returning home. in san diego, a wildfire that started yesterday is under control. back in san bernardino county, even with the extreme conditions, firefighters doing whatever it takes to slow the fire down. >> i know for the majority of the guys here, the firefighters and the fire service, it's just a job we do. we'll fight this

end. reporter: we have just learned that a major roadway from southern california to los angeles, the i-15 through the cajon pass reopened. it was one of the first things to shut down when the fire started. reporting live from california, donya backes, abc7 news. jonathan: thank you. alison: former nfl champion and superstar darren sharper has been sentenced to more than 18 years in prison following his rape conviction. he was convicted of drugging and raping as many as 16 women in four states. sharper did plead guilty in federal court in new orleans where he played for the saints during part of his nfl career. jonathan: new from chicago, a recommendation that the seven officers involved in the deadly shooting of mcdonald be fired. recently the dash cam video was r

contradicted what they said happened. van dyke fired 16 times at the 17-year-old who was veering away from police who said they were lunging at him. alison: a scary start to a flight. flames, look at that, started shooting out of the engine. this is a qatar airways air bus a330. you can see some of the fire out of the left engine. no one was hurt. jonathan: if you would rather keep your wheels on the ground, uber announced they will start using driveless cars for passengers in pittsburgh. really? that will begin in the next several weeks. they assure potential passengers hey, we'll still stick a human behind the wheel but he won't be driving. this is part of a $300 million deal with volvo who is providing the s.u.v.'s. how comfortable would you feel

jamie sullivan is joining us with details. what do you think about driverless cars? jamie: it worries me. but if it happens, it happens. we have people in their cars in bumper-to-bumper traffic. we are seeing this in quite a few areas. start on 95. if you travel in virginia working your way from the mixing bowl closer to the harbor and even getting into stafford county this is the pace you will be at in most areas along the stretch on 95. right now just under 15 minutes from the occoquan continuing south closer to triangle. and again, that is not the heaviest area. we still have it through lorton. we had a midday accident that tied it up that just added to the congestion that we always see in the afternoon. in the district right now, not too bad. we are not seeing big issues as far as problems. traveling along the beltway, yes, we have a slow stretch as you get on inner loop from tysons continuing closer to 270. once you get into silver spring, take a look here. top side of the beltway lacks great

georgia avenue. moving at or above the posted speed limit. if you are traveling on 95 or 270, still a clear ride. a little sun glare on 66. jonathan: thank you very much. more disappointed tourists here in d.c. they were planning to visit the washington monument today, go up in the elevator to see everything. that didn't happen. i was closed for repairs because of the darn elevator. yesterday an employee was briefly trapped and one of the elevator cable nearly broke. the park service has's not said when the monument will reopen. that is a bummer. that is one of the big draws here. alison: of course! today weather wise, if you weren't in the sun especially in the morning it's nice. jonathan: not bad. doug: it's a little bit hot. the average high is 97. around 92 tomorrow the next couple of days but still by the middle of next week a beautiful air mass coming. give you something to look forward to. alison: "a beautiful air

mass." got to like that. doug: i can't wait. it's not terribly humid. a few clouds armed. -- clouds around. we haven't seen the clouds getting higher and higher in the sky to indicate showers or storms are forming. it's pleasant out there. a warm side and on the humid side in spots where it feels like it's 96 in washington. 95 is the feels-like temperature in fredericksburg. leesburg at 96 degrees. 94 in frederick. 91 in annapolis. it feels like 96 in the nation's capital. overnight will be partly cloudy. muggy and maybe a touch of fog. temperatures are comfortable in the morning. upper 60's to the lower 70's in the metro region. the future cast keeps things quiet tonight. partly cloudy skies. tomorrow in the afternoon, showers and thunderstorms could develop well south. we think we will have sunshine. 90, 92 degrees. saturday is partly cloudy and hot and humid around

by late saturday afternoon, scattered thunderstorms will be a possibility. we think on sunday even a better chance as the cold front starts to push more of the moisture in your direction. so again, sunday afternoon and evening, the nighttime hours could be pretty good probability of rain around the area. the seven-day forecast, interesting because i'm blocking the best part. i'm doing it intentionally. let's deal with the 90's for a few more days. 92 tomorrow. 90 on saturday. 90 on sunday. those days feature a chance of showers but likely the showers and the storms turn cooler and less humid on monday at 85. look at tuesday and wednesday, delightful, bright sunshine, low humidity. it will finally turn warmer for the day on thursday of next week. and it's 4:00. you know what that is on thursday? it's trivia time. this is a good one for you. we have had a hot august so far. saturday, sunday and monday it was 100 degrees or higher. the question today, when was the last time washington reached 100 degrees or higher for three c

the month of august? was it august of 1988? august of 1956% august of -- 1956? august of 1930? alison: it's been that long? even if it's 1988 that's a long time. doug: we will have the answer. don't hang out on the edge of your chairs and don't move. jonathan: that's what we do. we are poised on the edge of our seats. alison: jonathan always gets them right. jonathan: i have my answer locked in. doug: he is buddy google. jonathan: you always say that. i get lucky. how about this? "7 on your side" consumer alert. the next iphone may be delayed. alison: the 7 and the 7s will be available september 23. this is according to a source for the website 9 to 5 mac. this news comes after rumors you would be able to ditch the older models earlier this year. bloomberg initially reported that september 7 would be the unveiling, which would make sense. 7, right? apple has not firmly confirmed

jonathan: well, they are so darn secretive about everything, they will never let you know. alison: we'll see what happens. jonathan: still ahead for us at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- actually, coming up at 4:30, our first look inside the damaged store fronts of ellicott city. it's a mess. the flood destroying part of historic main street. we will take you on a tour. alison: first, the team player of the week is the survivor who threw out the first pitch at nats park. >> i'm telling you. i am going to share this moment everywhere. alison: you are going to meet karen. the disease she has battled and how she is using her experience to help others after this.

jonathan: this week's team player is a fighter. last week she took the mound at national park. erin hawksworth introduces us to karen. >> i am going to share this moment everywhere. erin: the team karen is playing for, fighting for is a profound one. >> i'm here to try to bring awareness to the world of lung cancer. i am a lung cancer survivor. erin: she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer almost four years ago. >> she always impresses me. i'm totally amazed by her. erin: karen is an avid baseball fan and she loves the nationals. >> it lifts my

watching baseball. it's a perfect get-away from everything. erin: last week what a thrill. she got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. >> this is a dream come true for me. erin: the pitch was a little short. >> that was my wild pitch. erin: but the purpose is to show she and ercancer patients can ral -- and other cancer patients can rally against the dreaded disease. that is a perfect strike in anybody's book. >> she gives me strength because she is amazing. and she just holds her head up and keep going. >> the whole point here is lung cancer awareness. it's great fun to do this but this actually serves a purpose. erin: all the best to karen. this week's team player. alison: wow! what a great energy. jonathan: she had a nice windup, too. it wasn't a bad pitch. straight to the catcher. alison: good for her. wishing her the best. jonathan: coming up here at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- yet again last night, severe storms blowing through the area. the roof of a d.c. building actually ripped righ

cleaning up tonight. we'll take you there to show you what they are up against. brad: for the first time, ellicott city business owners are giving dawn to dusk access to their properties. coming up we tell you why they have to move quickly. alison: here is one last look for you at the weather trivia question today. doug hill will be back with the forecast and the answer after this.

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announcer: you're watching "abc7 news at 4:00". on your side. jonathan: it seems like it's been a long time. but now for the first time residents in ellicott city are getting a chance now to go back into their homes and go back into their businesses on main street to clean up, pack and move what is left. brad bell is in ellicott city tonight. some heartbreaking stories are coming from the folks. brad: it seems like a long time and it has been a long time. i'm standing in the middle of frederick road. the barricades as far as the general public. until today, really, the business owners and residents have been allowed to go. but today as you look down the street at the boarded up building the business owners were allowed dawn to dusk access with their own

to start to reclaim their lives. for the first time in two and a half weeks, bran -- brenda will be able to clean up her antique shop. >> my basement is full of mud and all kind of stuff. brad: she has until monday to do what she can before the town is shut down for three weeks so the county can repair roads and water and sewer lines. >> if you want a bucket, grab a bucket. here we go. hand sanitizer. brad: gathering donated supplies from volunteers before loading in a four-wheeler for her escort into town. the town still in shambles after the july 30 deluge and torrent. this video provided by howard county showing the damage and some of the clean-up. today is the first day business owners have been allowed to bring in vehicles of their own to move out their stuff. the first day many have been given time to start planning their future. >> i frankly am

wreck. i mean, i never experienced nick -- anything like this. brad: you can understand why she is an emotional wreck. yesterday was the first time she is able to see her antique shop. the devastation as bad as she feared it would be. and everybody as we said having to rush because the town, can you imagine this, getting ready to close down for a month. in ellicott city, brad bell, abc7 news. alison: wow! unbelievable. if you want to see all of our coverage of the ellicott city floods including that 3d video of main street and a photo gallery we have put together, just log on to wjla.com and search ellicott city. in the meantime we're hoping to avoid a repeat performance of last night's storms. wow, that was something else, doug. doug: yeah. they were really fierce with the tremendous lightning show we saw. and the high winds. we saw damage from that. and the torrential rain. now it's gorgeous outside. we thought there mig

early this evening but nothing yet on doppler radar. 91 right now at reagan national. wind direction at 12 so it's helping to dry it out. current areas is around 90 in many spots. leesburg, manassas at 90. 84 in annapolis. 87 in baltimore. 88 in frederick and in hagerstown right now. as far as the forecast goes tonight, we are just going to call it partly cloudy and mild. 68 to 74 degrees. the winds will be light out of the northwest at 5 miles per hour. tomorrow is sunny. i don't think we will see any rain chances tomorrow. but it will be hot around 90-92. and tomorrow evening when the jets come to town for the redskins second preseason game, it will be partly cloudy and a bit on the muggy side with the light winds. temperatures about 90 at kickoff. dropping into the lower 80's in the course of the game. here is our weekend outlook. it will be hot and humid. 90. it will be hot

thunderstorms saturday afternoon and evening and better chance of more widespread rain. better risk of thunderstorms on sunday. now time to answer the trivia question. when was the last time we had three consecutive days in the month of august when the temperature was 100 or higher? 1988, 1956, 1930? alison: okay. i'm going with 1988. jonathan: i'm going with 1956. doug: 1956. alison: is he right? doug: the answer is -- 1930! alison: are you serious? doug: yeah. a long time. do the math. it's 86 years. can that be right? 86 years. jonathan: a long time. alison: that is shocking, really. it always feels so hot here in august. i'm surprised. doug: but to have that many days at 100-plus. jonathan: when did t

doug: early 1870's when reliable local weather station records started. jonathan: holy cow. thanks. something we are just getting in the newsroom. the washington monument will again be closed tomorrow for repairs to the elevator. man, sounds like a broken record. alison: it continues. jonathan: all around the region we talk about weather and people still cleaning up after the storms knock down trees and power lines. the worst of it we saw damage in the district where a roof was torn off of an apartment building. alison: so now dozens of people are looking for a place to live. abc7's john gonzalez has the story. >> as you know, but i'm glad everyone got out, got out all right. john: a violent combination of thunder, rain and wind rumbled through southeast d.c., partially ripping the roof off of this building in capitol hill. but the debris landing teat from a children's playground. >> it looked like somebody lifted a blanket or something off the top the building. john: garland foster and his wife were inside on the top in particular when they heard and

felt the roof i thought rain coming through the window. japan: from the overhead shot you can see where the chimney cracked in section. jonathan: they took us off in police cars, escorted us off. john: 60 residents were taken to a temporary shelter. >> today was an emergency. this is my medicaid and i.d. and everything. i'm a diabetic. john: so they let you go in to get that? >> yes. i had to. john: the d.c. housing authority who owns the building has had the police force here all day long protecting the area, keeping people away. now that the clean-up is going on. but you look at all the debris here in the yard of the building and it's hard to believe no one was injured. well, now, many

into their home. back to you inside. alison: all right, john. thank you. yesterday we told you about mcdonald's giving away the fitness monitors in the happy meals. well today word that mcdonald's has pulled the step-it trackers. parents have been reporting the children were getting rashes rashes from the devices. a mother's facebook post went viral and was shared 100,000 times. jonathan: didn't last long. this is not the average pothole. it's huge! look at this. a portion of the highway in ohio washed away. i can't believe they are calling that a pothole. that is a canyon or crevice. heavy rain will cause the culvert to compromise the top of the road and it collapsed. a van was parked on the road and narrowly escaped disaster. the damage is so bad the department of transportation now says the highway could be closed for weeks to come. alison: amazing. jonathan: how about this? a

place in utah. they stopped a car. look what they found. nearly 70 pounds of methamphetamine in a suitcase in the trunk. this could be the state's biggest bust ever. officers say a tip led them to this guy along a busy highway. his name is 56-year-old blake arcand. police say the canadian man told them he rented the car to go meet his wife in canada. she may be waiting a while. if he is convicted he could go to prison for ten or maybe more years. alison: well, let's turn to the race for the white house now. relatively quiet afternoon on the trail. but things should be heating up tonight. republican presidential nominee donald trump will be in north carolina. he has a rally this evening at 7:30 in charlotte. republicans are hoping to turn this tossup state red in november. and democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton is meeting with eight leading law enforcement leaders in new york today. the discussion about policing and the racial tensions exposed by high-profile killing in recent

is to connect the presidential candidates to our viewers to better inform and empower you in the process. we want your voice to be heard. tell us what you would ask the candidates if given the chance, what fisheses are important to you. we want to give you a voice in the historic and important race for the white house. so share your questions at yourvoice@wjla.com. coming up for us at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- the pro football hall of fame trying to make amends after they had to cancel the game due to the paint they used on the field. the compensation that fans are getting. we'll have it for you. alison: plus, a grieving family waiting for answers from the veterans administration. >> i feel heavy, i feel tired, i feel weary. yes, we do own the mistake. alison: still ahead, the resolution for the family and the cost of this mistake by the v.a.

but how did we end up here? his mom thought he had the flu and that he was covered by the meningococcal meningitis vaccine he had received. until 2014 there were no vaccines for meningitis b in the u.s. now there are. while uncommon, meningitis b can lead to death within 24 hours. trumenba is a vaccine for 10 through 25 year olds to help prevent group b meningococcal disease. trumenba should not be given if you had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose. most common side effects were injection-site pain, fatigue... headache, muscle pain, and chills. ask your doctor or pharmacist about all the risks and benefits of trumenba and tell them if you've received any other meningitis b vaccines. meningitis b can be spread by typical sharing like... a drink... a spoon... a kiss. it all started here... it might have been prevented with trumenba. ask your doctor or pharmacist about trumenba.

alison: i don't know if you remember this but there was a preseason football game canceled because the paint on the field was too hard. jonathan: i remember. i had tickets. no, i'm kidding. a big embarrassment following the hall of fame induction of stars. a lot of people came out to see them play. the pro football trying to make things right offering a full reimbursement of the ticket prices and parking and all fees. on to

one night of hotel accommodations will be refunded to the fans who can verify they were staying the night for the game. alison: not bad. jonathan: they will change paint for the next game for sure. coming up next at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- either airline complaints are down or we're tolerating bad days at the airport better than we used to. the two airlines with the most complaints and the two with the least coming up. reporter: it's a first at quantico national cemetery. i'm chris papst. the i-team report that led to the body of a veteran

jonathan: the v.a. medical center in d.c. told the "7 on your side" i-team it made a mistake and now it's being fixed. the body of a veteran who died 19 months ago was buried in quantico national cemetery. it's now be exhumed for autopsy. alison: this story you'll see only on abc7. our government watchdog investigator chris papst broke the story in may and chris has an update on the latest here. chris: the director of the quantico national cemet

this has never happened before. never has a body of a veteran been disinterred at quantico until now. >> i feel heavy. i feel tired. i just want to know. chris: it's been 558 days since monica fields lost her father. 558 days of her fighting to find out what killed him. >> i'm tired because it has taken all these months. i mean it's emotionally draining. chris: in february of 2015, robert fields underwent heart surgery in the v.a. medical center in d.c. but the 78-year-old died on the operating table. field's family filed this autopsy request soon after to learn what happened. but a "7 on your side" investigation found the autopsy was never done. and fields was buried in quantico national cemetery. a serious mistake the v.a. acknowledged to the item back -- the i-team back in

>> yes, we own that. >> the v.a. is following through on the promise to make things right. >> have the v.a. -- had the v.a. been honest from the beginning and just to prolong it out unnecessarily. chris: on tuesday on what we told is a first for quantico, field's body exhumed for an autopsy. for $5,000 the v.a. flew in a pathologist from california to perform the four-hour procedure. a cost that does not include reburial. >> that's an expensive mistake. >> it's costly to the v.a. no doubt but it's making sure the family has the closure. chris: heather frasier told the i-team field's original autopsy request was never processed. she blames retirements and a lack of employee training. problems she said were corrected with new procedures and better training soon after the item broke the story.

story. >> we don't want it to happen again. >> you are confident with the changes you made it won't? >> correct. i hope that is true. i just don't want any other family to. >> to endure this because they should not have to. chris: the autopsy is being performed at the v.a. medical center in richmond. results are expected in about four to six weeks. but the pathologist told fields and her family that 19 months after her father's death because of that, the results could be inconclusive. so for now we have to wait to see what happens and hopefully the families will get the answers they need. jonathan: it's a shame it cut through so such red tape to get closure. chris: it took a long time to get it done. alison: sure did. tough oner. thank you, chris. jonathan: caribbean fantasy ferry is still smoldering one day after it caught fire off the coast of puerto rico. ups of passengers rescued from the ship. more than 100 passengers have been treated for smoke inhalation, dehydration and

cradling a baseball, a woman collapsing before being carried away on a stretcher and children holding hands as they were led to safety. two dozen people hospitalized, injured in the evacuation. >> it has gotten worse. you see more vessels responding. jonathan: the ntsb is investigating that fire. we do not know what started it but we know where it started. it was in the engine room of the ship. alison: either passengers are more satisfieded with the air travel lately or we're not formally complaining as much. according to the department of transportation, airline complaintses are down 12% this year. that includes delays, cancellations, customer service. however, discrimination complaints are up. the most complained about airlines are american and united. southwest and regional carrier express jet have the fewest complaints. all right. well here is a study that may surprise you. cracking y

for you? yeah? that is despite being incredibly annoying to your coworkers or your family and probably your parents telling you forever not to do it. researchers looked at the ultra sounds of 400 knuckles being cracked. and they say those who crack their knuckles have increased flexibility after doing it. scientists think when you crack a knuckle you are pulling apart two surfaces of the joint and that, of course, brings down the pressure. the study was presented in december at a meeting of the radiological society of north america. apparently they have a lot of time. a lot of ultra sounds. jonathan: don't do it. he does it and you can hear every single one. alison: no. at least it's good for him. jonathan: now we know it is. i'm not going to tell him that. alison: too late. non-profit group has taken a really controversial method to raise awareness about the spread of the zika virus in south florida. jonathan: the aids healthcare foundation put up a billboard showing an unrolled

pressured by the tourism board to take the thing down. the tourism board countered saying the billboard is inaccurate because condoms have been shown to only reduce the risk of zika transmission. alison: all right. well, it's time now to focus once again on the weather and it sounds like things will be changing for the better pretty soon. doug: by early next week. monday, tuesday we'll get a cooler, drier air in. until then more of the same. not the extreme heat and humidity. let's get into it and talk about the weekend and what is coming our way for the next several days. the jets in town against the redskins tomorrow. 7:00 kickoff at fedex. skies will be sunny across the area. temperatures will be plenty warm. about 87 at kickoff and falling in the lower 80's in the game. winds should not be a factor for kicking during the game. now the weekend outlook is out and humid. typical august stuff. 90 saturday and sunday. partly cloudy sky both days. 30% chance of evening showers on saturday that will go up to 60% and may g

sunday afternoon. the cold front will do good stuff for us and cool us down to bring us drier air. new york is in town against united on sunday at r.f.k. at 3:00. a game you can see on newschannel8. it looks as though the temperatures are in the upper 80's game time and about 90 and a chance of a few scattered showers and thunderstorms. if you are going to the beaches, this is the story. for the beaches, partly cloudy and warm. 87 on friday. beautiful on saturday. storms sunday night, 88. warm weather. what a nice thought. jamie: that sounds perfect! this afternoon on the roads, not much to say as far as perfect. we are seeing areas where it looks good. but definitely that congestion we always have. let's run through what you need to know. in the district, no crashes to worry about. we have, of course, slowing on the inner loop getting to tysons and closer to bethesda. we are look near the american legion bridge. there was a earlier disabled that addedt

right now volume on both sides is what we have. as far as the lowst areas, 95 -- slowest areas 95 is okay in maryland. but the b.w. parkway heading southbound is just under an hour. that is getting from route 32 continuing closer to the capital beltway. 95 heading southbound in virginia. occoquan closer to triangle, just under 25 minutes. and outbound on 66, you mix in the sun glare and it will take you about 23 minutes just getting from the beltway. a little bit closer to the fairway county parkway. a reminder for you. safetrack surge number 7 was supposed to end today. but nope, they rescheduled it and it will be in place through the 21st. so tomorrow you will still have surge number seven in place. that is a look at traffic. alison: thank you very much. coming up next at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- paying for parking has always been a pain. but with the newer machines replacing meter, some of them are just confusing. the rules you must follow so you don't get a ticket next. jonathan: then speaking of

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john: did you ever park at a lot in the d.c. area with an automatic parking machine?

to a woman who paid to park and still ended up with a big parking ticket. suzy johnson is furious. she parked in the downtown lot a few days ago and paid for it at this machine. >> paid the $10. the automatic thing. and it says place face up on dashboard. john: she said she dropped the little piece of paper in the car before she walked off. >> i put it in here like that. john: she was stunned to come back and find a green envelope under her wiper. >> saw this and it was wrapped in plastic and a ticket for $6 of -- $60. john: she ended up with a $60 ticket accused of not paying. >> i said there is no way. there is no way i can get a ticket for paying to park there. john: i called the parking company which agreed to investigate and see if suzie's ticket was visible on the windshield like that. wait until you see what they came up with. a.b.m. parking the nation's second largest parking company and the operator of the lot quickly found the problem.

car's windshield with the time and date hidden. suzy says they still should have realized she paid. >> even if you pit it down here, you can still see that it's a parking ticket. john: an a.b.n. spokesman are instructed to issue tickets if they can't read the date and time because people are always trying to scam the system. so there is a lesson here for suzie and all of us. make sure the parking slip doesn't slip down where it can't be read. after we contacted the parking company that agreed to drop her $60 fine. but it's a reminder to everyone make sure that paper slip is visible so you don't waste your money. i'm john matarese. abc7 news. jonathan: tonight, did lochte lie? a video made public from the night the swimmer said he was robbed. that scene at a brazilian gas station. plus, postal workers indicted for federal crimes. what one of them had to say when leaving port today. >> i think we will lose a lot of customers. jonathan: it's always been free but now a popular town center starts

parking. what thousands of customers are planning to do. announcer: now "abc7 news at 5:00". on your side. alison: tonight, images of gold replaced by images showing four u.s. olympians apparently caught in a lie. today, brazilian investigators said ryan lochte and three other olympic swimmers were not robbed as they claimed. instead, they said they broke into a gas station bathroom. and now they could face criminal charges. one of those other swimmers who was pulled off of a plane in rio last night, jack conger, is from rockville. our montgomery county reporter kevin lewis is live in rockville with more on this. kevin? kevin: well, alison, this news has certainly stunned the local swimming community. jack conger had swam competitively all across the metro area. two weeks ago, everyone seemed they wanted to be connected to conger. but now people are starting to distance themselves. red, wh

adorn a tree in the front yard of jack conger's rockville home. up like yesterday, no one was there. off-camera residents in the upper middle class neighborhood spoke highly of the conger family. >> can you say anything? kevin: yet today, conger and fellow olympic teammates gunnar bentz entered a rio police station to answer mounting questions about an alleged armed robbery involving them, plus ryan lochte and jimmy feigen. brazilian authorities say they fabricated the story in a drunken stupor following a night of partying. today the chief spokesman avoided any and all media questions about the case saying only that he had seen the news coverage. >> look. as much as i know you love me to talk specifics on this case, i can't do that. i have privacy considerations.