lighting. the fire broke out after the lightning struck. fortunately, the owner was not home at the time. the home will take six months before it's repaired. howard county police still searching for the gunman in yesterday's nail salon smoothing. tuan minh pham came to the salon shooting his girlfriend and a friend. police are offering a reqard up to $2500 for any information. if you've looked outside, if you've been outside, you know that it's hot, basically a typical july dray in m i have to say that doesn't mean we have to be happy about it. let's check in with meteorologist mike masco. it's shave to say it's miserable outside. >> it's almost like it's the new form with these temperatures. we're going to go for 90s the

next couple of days and things will change. notice a few clouds billowing in. at times we've had spotty showers. right now we have a clean slate maybe into parts of kent cowed, moving toward queen anne's county but not much in the way of precip. let's talk about the heat. 94 in the city limits. you take the heat and humidity. you combine them, you get 101, the real feel number. 100 it feels like and even salisbury a pair of nines, a sticky and warm night. this evening barely getting out of the 90s. 93 with a mixture of sunshine and clouds will keep the wording but we're looking like a small chance of that happening. we have the high pressure. that is bringing in the southwesterly wind flow. this is a system that we have to keep an eye on, this cold front that will drop down through the

lakes and give us the chance for gusty showers and thunderstorms. we'll talk about that and their arieferl cup -- arrival coming up. extreme heat hits the region. scott goldberg joins us with the three h's -- hazy, hot and humid. what's the temperature like in new york? >> reporter: right now it's not so bad, 90s, but we are bracing for a heat index that could push triple digits later on tonight, moving into the next couple of days. the city is opening official cooling centers for people telling everyone to stay hydrated. meanwhile in other parts of the country the problem is too much water. this summer's weather pattern has been nothing if not predictable. seering heat wonings waited by -- punctuated by a storm.

>> the homeowner was sitting in the living room. >> not far away in so cane the freeway -- spokane the freeway was bumper high. in texas lightning killed two spectators sitting under a tree at a soccer game. >> i heard what sounded like a bomb go off. it was like sparks and fire. >> reporter: near phoenix, a summertime dust storm called a haboob. >> look at this massive haboob coming our way. >> now storms in the middle of the country after this fourth heat wave passes. today there are red flag fire warnings and heat advisories spanning the met. 13 states are and some kind of alert. over the next three days the oven like conditions will move

east affecting washington, d.c. type above the. the-- to boston. reporting live in new york, scott goldsburg. >> starting to sound like a broken record. 50 people are homeless tonight after sunday morning's early morning fire. two apartment billings were seriously damaged. firefighters needed four hours to get it under control. they are still investigating the cause tonight. baltimore county volunteer fire companies are warning about a telemarketer scam. apparently telemarketers are calling people saying they're with the baltimore county firefighters association but the callers are no none of the volunteer fire companies in

baltimore use telephone fund-raising. >> well, the latest tonight. the olympics are less than two weeks away and the city of london is make find preparations. according to a recent report they have a lot of work to do twee comes to security. suspects on terror watch lists were waved through immigration in the last three days. inexperienced officers were to blame for failing to catch them. despite the breach, the uk has stepped up secured. the olympics will mark the largest british military deployment since world war ii. british authorities have not responded to today's report but they have pledged that the games will be safe. more than 235,000 people are

expected to fly into heathrow parent today. that's about a quarter more than usual, a record for the airport. officials say extra staff will be on hand to handle the long lines. more than 500 volunteers, speaking 20 different languages will welcome olympic athletes and officials. coming up after the break, solar activity caught on tape, what the sun flares did this weekend and why we should expect more. >> and check this out. where did this gigantic food fight break out? we'll tell you about about this food battle. >> taking a look at the interactive app you can get at itunes, wmar. 94 in the city. this is what we're watching. this is what has us concerned for wednesday, big storms in the northern plains.

a water main break broke. you can see that dark murky water. if you take a look very closely at the shoreline, you can see the brown liquid that's pouring

into the water. traffic right now is a nightmare for people trying to least area because water, apparently, is knee high at some points. abc news is there. we'll let you know if you're waiting for someone leaving downtown, you might have to wait a little bit of time. we'll keep you updated on the water main pouring into the harbor. we want to he is you video of the sun's solar flair. it happened thursday but didn't hit the earth until this weekend. the burst of energy emitted from the sun was considered low level. so it wasn't a big threat to the earth's technology. nasa said this is normal. the sun is at the peak of its 11th year cycle. this might make you laugh. watch out for these flying tomatoes. thousands have people gathered in san diego for the annual

tomato throw. participants tossed around 46,000 pounds of tomatoes at each other. don't worry. the food wasn't wafted. they're past ripe or would otherwise be thrown away. here's a competition where the athlete goes toe to toe. it's the world's toe wrestling championship. look at this. it's based on the better known sport of arm wrestling, but you do it with your feet. athletes say it's not just toe strength. you git leverage -- get leverage with your ankle and side. police are searching for a suspect in a robbery in pg county. after the break we'll have more on the crime that left one man dead. >> gedding paid to go on

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prince george's county police are trying to figure out what happened curing -- during a robbery attempt that left one man dead over the weekend. >> reporter: this characters the focus of a crime scene in capital heights. >> it's very scary. >> reporter: an early morning attempted robbery that went terribly and frag jiccally wrong. >> somebody was under the car. that's what i saw. >> reporter: police said sunday morning three masked men stopped the car at gun point near the intersection of farmingdale avenue and oaks street and forced those inside to lie on the ground. >> it's unfortunate. >> reporter: the story gets

worse. the driver behind the wheel got startled and ran over and killed one of the people on the ground. >> what can you do? where can you go? that's crime. it's everywhere. >> reporter: neighbors said just last week a similar crime. they say a trio of masked men robbed a man of the $20 in his pocket. >> they're bold enough to do this in front of my house, what makes me think they won't do a home invasion. >> reporter: left behind orange markings from where the car was stoppedded. >> my family's got to live here. lack the doors. >> reporter: new this neighborhood is vowing to keep its eyes and ears open. >> the neighborhood watch would help a lot. taking a live look outside

downtown. you notice we are talking about this brown color, possibilities of maybe a water main break but certainly an interesting picture on our skycam. it's 94 with the heat index well over 100. a very steamy afternoon. take a look. not much happening right now. we had a few scattered showers or isolated showers crossing over the bay going into kent county top -- to queen anne's county. 91 easton. temperatures are into the 90s. it feels like it's 101. frederick feeling like it's 100. it feels like it's 92 in d.c. it's lower in d.c. we are seeing a spotty shower. speak of our city limits we have an excessive heat advisory until around 9:00.

i expect the kari bales to reissue this. notice a few clouds bubbling through here. otherwise, mainly clear skies. we'll take you through, 93 at 8:00. when we talk again, 79 with the humidity hanging tough through the evening hours. wake up to 76. we have a two-degree guarantee. hot humid conditions will continue. notice a few passing showers. down to the south better shots of some clusters of showers. those are big storms that rolled through virginia, with impressive pictures. the shelf clouds, amazing pictures. what we are watching is this cold front, warm front and low pressure combination. that's going to hop over the lakes. -- it will be in our vicinity. that will be the focus of scattered showers, perhaps some gusty storms. take a look at the heat.

not only are we dealing with the heat but it's well into the 90s and into the southern plains. it's another sizzling sunshine afternoon, keeping us hot and humid. things change. we showed you the cold front. that will cross into our area wednesday afternoon, wednesday evening. we'll keep an eye on it. i'll share some information with you. 95 to 98 degrees tomorrow afternoon through the 5:00 hour. then we'll move the time line going into wednesday. there's that imand of showers and storms, a very hot day as we go into wednesday with temperatures nearing 100 degrees. the overnight 74 degrees. muggy, mild. tomorrow a pair of -- not a pair of -- 98 degrees tomorrow. here's the seven-day forecast. 98, 97 on wednesday. there's those gusty storms as we head wednesday night into thursday. the problem is that front gets hung up on thursday.

so that could maybe give us more showers and storms. it's beneficial rain. the temperature around 90. all indications say by the weekend we clear out, dry out and we're looking at just decent sunshine. >> maybe the rain is not just at one time. >> no, but we need. it we have a deficit right now. democracy 2012 news. this week we're looking at five factors that could drastically reshape washington this november and we're looking at the battle for the presidency. one big mistake could make or break this. they're very, very close, right? >> reporter: the praise for the white house is turning into a photo finish. when voters head to the polls, one issue will matter the most -- the economy. president obama's message is clear. >> this notion that somehow we caused the deficit is just

wrong. it's just not true here many questions remain. are voters willing to give him another shot. >> my priority is bringing jobs back to america. >> reporter: or can mitt romney win the voter's trust. in the end it will come down to a few key states. there are seven states up for grabts and that totals 85 electoral vote oles hello, ohio. >> ohio will make the difference. >> republicans can't win the white house without winning ohio. >> reporter: it comes down states and economic vision. in this election the economy is the driving issue. but it's hard to get a clear picture of it. today unemployment stands at 8.2%. some key indicators like home sales are up while others like manufacturing are done, but the election isn't today. it's more than three months away, a lifetime in politics.

so kelly, a lot could change between now and november. some more state cost come into play. another thing to consider, though, is that no president since fdr has won a term with unemployment above 7.2%. >> obviously, the white house is keeping an eye on the voters. >> reporter: many people think ohio is a must win. the president held a campaign rally in cincinnati. for the president, this is his eighth trip this year, 24th since taking office. between both campaign bs in the independent groups they spent more than $22 million on campaign ads in the state. no surprise mitt romney is going

there this week. he has an event on wednesday. a super pac backing mitt romney is packed with cash. the group restore our future said this raised $20 million lamps lamps -- last month. the previous month they rayed $4 -- raised 4.6 million. president obama didn't raise anywhere near that amount last month. coming up at 6:00 we'll have the latest on the water main break that has shut downtown down. and we have the details on the state's attorney gregg baltimore grand prix. >> now here's preview of what's

ahead on burled news at 6 -- world news at 6:30. >> american athletes streaming into london among questions of security. pictures of guards caught napping. what we learned about the scramble to ensure security at the games.

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. you get vacation pay, right? then you get a bonus. add to that you must unplug. no phone, no laptop, no e reader, just a complete vacation. one software company in denver is offering that to keep

qualified workers. full contact is giving employees a $7500 bonus to go on vacation. the ceo got the idea after looking at a picture of himself on vacation, riding on a cam pel sending -- campbell sending a text. >> we give them a bonus to go on vacation. >> he is hoping to set his company apart in order to get top talent, probably won't have a difficult time with that. >> sky track puts virgin america on the top of its list of best domestic airlines. virgins will won best low cost airline and the winner of the best airline in the world goes to qatar airways. if you can afford a new

fiat, how about a car espresso maker as a feature. fiat is offering it as an option for european customers. it will between the front passengers. no word whether this will be in other markets, but it will go on sale in europe later this year. coming up, summer is the time of the jeer when thieves try to scam you. the top five scams you need to watch out for coming up at 6 which starts right now. >> this happened, but we have to keep going. >> they speak out about a double shooting. >> no denying the crack in the sky. you knew this was an