air scare. a southwest airliner bound for baltimore encounters a problem in flight. the fear in the skies after a gaping hole to the sky suddenly opens up. >> crash clues. metro goes before congress to discuss that deadly accident. this as new safety recommendations are released aimed at preventing another tragedy on tracks. >> senate showdown. the supreme crt justice -- supreme court justice nominee sonia sotomayor is in the hot seat. the tough questions she will face during confirmation hearings on capitol hill. good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm kimberly suiters in for barbara harrison. it's tuesday, july 14th, 2009. taking a live look outside, a beautiful sunrise shaping up. let's find out from tom how hot it's going to get today. >> hey, tom. >> a cool start. down right chilly out in the mountains, only in the 40s this g.as ecer t csar c y,osk n ritipiobutt' i ositnl 65

shongtin.wa hay y"nl"oauec bset ha tis velow le arage fowor .mir oly 58ut a lldu,es j,us t5151 gin ,rgbutes w vrgnigiira paane.dl ooqu ctaa s litrtther g my ertyomunco mhe in t t 50r s nd a low 60s. in the mid-60s in prince georouge c'snty. c ercat, charles and st. mary's are in the 60s to near 70. 0s's ith oeer0s 6n the eastern sh ore. but look at elkins, west dorginia, ly .46 ghrihiwn c otyllut yerthe. af r,, the as lt s lix hours or so, we had some cloudsom cing through overnight. behind at c, we had the drier air moving in, and by sunrise at 5:55, it will still be chilly. but by 9:00 in the mid-70s. by mid-afternoon should be in the mid-80s. lots of sunshine, low humidity, a sunblock tuesday on the way. that's the way it looks. the forecast for tomorrow in ten minute zbls sleeping with the windows open in some parts. >> sure, good for that. >> wow. enjoy. >> let's go to jerry edwards. hope you're not sleeping with

the windows open in your car today. >> no, no, no. >> unless you're a passenger. >> if you're a passenger, snooze away. let's see how we're doing. ifou're driving, pay attention, keep those eyes wide-open. 270 southbound doing fine. getting initial reports of an accident, car to a guardrail, inner loop of the beltway at river road. police are headed over to check out that right now. elsewhere, take a live look, see how things areprogressing, 66 eastbound headed out toward the capital beltway, no worries. travel lanes open. we're doing just fine. joe, kimberly, back to you. >> thanks very much, jerry. today a congressional hearing will be held to discuss the deadly metro crash. a house subcommittee will focus on the investigation and safety measures implemented since the accident. >> this comes on the heels of new recommendations for metro by the national transportation safety board. they include upgrading the backups to the automated system this sysmai fdle as id edev to haaued csed c b --een ca h.thus oe lftas h'nt mo scrh.as the ntsbls ao wanroet m t

ua tteck t occupancy data on a realtime basis to help detect problems. >> news 4's megan mcgrath is following all of this from capitol hill where the hearings are expected to get under way. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. metro general manager is among the people who will be participating in today's hearing. later on this afternoon he'll be answering questions about what happened, what they've learned since the deadly crash, and specifically about what procedures have been put in place following that collision. now, trains are still running in manual mode with restrictions still in place through the crash zone. the cause of the collision has not yet been determined, but the ntsb is focusing on track circuits and the system that monitors the presence of trains on the track, sending instructions to trains to either slow down or stop i there is another train in the area. now, yesterday the ntsb issued urgent recommendations. they're asking metro to upgrade the backup system to the autoted system to create greater redundancy, also to evaluate track occupancy data on

a realtime basis. and they want this done as quickly as possible. now, metro says, however, that that kind of an alert system is not currently available on the market, that they would actually have to invent that sort of a system. they said that they will do their best, they will begin work on that. they're hiring some contractors to begin work on that, but it's unclear how long it would take to create such a system and how much it would cost. again, a lot of questions are going to be asked of metro today during this hearing. we'll have more coming up in the next half hour. back to you all in the studio. >> thanks very much, megan. >> thank you, megan. now to a developing story from the sky. southwest airlines is inspecting nearly 200 planes after the fuselage of a flight ripped off. it was bound for bwi, revealing a hole. flight 2294 took off from nashville yesterday afternoon when the hole opened up. the 737 had to make an emergency landing in charleston, west virginia. no one was injured, but it was a

terrifying ordeal for passengers. they were on board this flight when they noticed a frightening sight -- a one foot by one foot hole in the rear of the plane. witnesses say the hole was so wide they could see outside, and the cabin lost pressure. >> all of a sudden, the loudest noise i ever heard, came out of nowhere. there was no pop, no creek, no explosion-like noise. it was just a loud roar. took me a couple seconds to kind of wake up. got the baseball cap out of my face and i look up, and there's the sun. >> something you don't want to see on board. investigators don't know what caused the damage. however, southwest says it's inspecting all of its 737 300s as a precaution. those planes make up about 1/3 of the airline's fleet. >> new today, while you were sleeping, a small earthquake rattles one of the nation's largest airports. take a live look right now at los angeles international airport out in southern california. last night's quake was a magnitude 3.2. it was centered under the

airport runways. no damage was reported, and no flights were delayed. there were also no reports of any injuries. >> today the d.c. council is set to vote on an independent investigation into d.c. councilman marion barry's use of contracts. at large council member david catania says he's asking the d.c. inspector general to investigate a sear identifies questionable contracts worth several hundred thousands dollars that barry promoted through the d.c. department of health. barry says catania's move is politically driven. >> the u.s. supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor is back in the center seat for day two of her senate confirmation hearing. questions today could touch on hot-button issues that include guns -- gun rights, same-sex marriage and affirmative action. critics point to her comment that a wise latina would reach a better judgment than a white male and worry her background could cause bias. she is the daughter of puerto rican parents and lived in

public housing in the bronx. she said her background helps her grasp a case but not decide it. >> my personal and professional experiences help me to listen and understand with the law always commanding the result in every case. >> republicans plan to raise doubts about her impartiality, but senator lindsey graham predicting that sotomayor will be confirmed. if that happens, she would be the third woman and the first latina on the high court. president obama has nominated dr. regina ben,main to be the u.s. surgeon general. she is a family physician from rural alabama. she said she wants to make sure no one falls through the cracks. benjamin says she knows the pain disease can cause. her father died with diabetes -- died of diabetes. her only brother of hiv and her mother of lung cancer. benjamin awaits senate confirmation. >> the naval criminal investigative service is trying to figure out how a sailor died at ft. myer. the woman's body was discovered in henderson hall yesterday

morning. ft. myer's right next to arlington national cemetery, and we've now learned her body was discovered when she failed to report for work at the pentagon. a senior defense official tells nbc news there was foul play involved. no information about the victim has been released yet. >> 5:08, 67 degrees right now. skrund again. what space shuttle "endeavour" can expect -- when it can expect another attempted liftoff to the international space station. >> plus, how surveillance video helped lead police to another arrest in the murder of a prominent couple. >> what investigators are now saying about the toxicology results that could help determine what killed michael

>> well, here'sretoday' nsew 4 bargain blt. s etwi lllou y printou vacation photfr f oree. er the photo center isin o erff ri ps if you signpri new photo center account line. just visit cvs.com to sign up. >> 5:11 is our time. time again for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> a cool start to our morning. tom kierein has the latest. tom? >> unusually cool this morning. in fact, it's only near 50 degrees in parts of the shenandoah valley and the panhandle of west virginia this morning, around the blue ridge. weather watchers reporting temperatures only in the upper 50s. and it's just in the low 60s now in fairfax and montgomery counties. mid-60s in washington and prince george's counties, southern maryland. right near the waters it's near

70. inland in the mid-60s. out in the mountains, only in the 40s this morning. overnight, we had a few showers passing to the south of washington but those have dissipated. we'll have a clear start to the day. lots of sun this morning in the mid-70s by noon. by noon, near 80. lots of sunshine this afternoon, low humidity, highs in the mid-80s. a clear night tonight. 70s through the evening, low 60s tomorrow morning. for wednesday, mostly sunny, warm and still dry. light breezes, highs in the upper 80s. a look at the rest of the week and the weekend in ten minutes. j jerry, how's the traffic? >> see how we're doing along the trip north on i-95, coming out of dumfries, moving along very nicely. nohangups. the wilson bridge, isn't that a pretty picture this morning? all the lights on the wilson bridge lit up. you can see, if you look very carefully, traffic moving along nicely in both directions. marvelous photo for you folks. back to you. >> looks like a beautiful fake diamond necklace. >> there you go. >> very pretty. >> real or fake, it is pretty.

>> 5:12 is the ti, 65 degrees. the new details we're learning about the brutal murder of a prominent couple down in florida. >> plus, a couple held hostage here by a gunman for hours on end. next at 5:15, the victimsre a

time is now 5:14. updating the top stories in the news for today, southwest

airlines is inspecting nearly 200 aircraft after a llfobaot-se edbaol hopened up in the fuselage of a plane bound for bwi. it prompted an emergency landing in stchollearon, west virginia. no one was injured. investigators have not figured out what caused the damage. sonia sotomayor is gearing up for day two of her supreme court confirmation hearing. today, senate republicans are planning to confront her with her own words, criticizing her for saying a wise latina would make better decisions than a white man. sotomayor would be the first hispanic supreme court justice and the third woman, if confirmed. new photos of north korean leader kim jong-il. the pictures come from state-run media and are said to show him touring a factory in pyongyang. unconfirmed reports surfaced this week that the 67-year-old is suffering from life-threatening pancreatic cancer. >> it was a frightening ordeal.

an elderly couple held hostage in their leesburg home for hours. this morning they're telling their story. bob and francis beloathe had just finished breakfast on friday when a gun plan barged into their home and demanded money. francis made their captor something to eat. then he tied their arms together. they tried to calm the man as police swarmed outside. >> after he realized that the police were here, he was saying, how can i get out of here? where can i -- how can i escape? >> francis said that she talked to the man about his faith and salvation. police credit those conversations with helping bring the hostage situation to a peaceful end and william spencer was ultimately arrested. well, today's day two of the trial for a d.c. woman accused of killing her four daughters and living with their decomposing bodies. banita jacks is facing murder charges. yesterday, the court saw video of her being interviewed by police after she was arrested in

january of 2008. jacks said everyone i've been close to has mysteriously ended up dead. she also said her children were weak and hungry and that one day they began passing out. at jacks' request, the case will be decided in a bench trial, rather than by a jury. >> the supreme court has stepped in and delayed today's execution of a death row inmate in virginia. back in 2000, paul powell was sentenced to death for raping and killing a 16-year-old in her manassas, virginia, home. powell was also convicted of raping and tryin to kill her 14-year-old sister. the supreme court is considering whether to hear his appeal. powell's attorney argues he was tried twice for the same crime. >> this morning, there are new details in the murder of a florida couple. four suspects are now in custody but more arrests could follow. police believe as many as eight people might be involved in the murder of byrd and melanie billings. surveillance video shows the attackers creeping across the

lawn, all dressed in black. it also captured the billings' execution-style deaths last thursday. investigators say three of the nine children in the house actually saw the attackers. >> the children are coping very well. they've -- we've kept them busy. they are with lots of family and friends that they truly adored. >> police say one motive in the billings murder was robbery. we could find out more about why michael jackson died. the los angeles coroner's office says toxicology reports could be completed this week. those results could determine what substances jackson had in his body when he died. authorities are investigating claims the pop star took large amounts of prescription drugs. the powerful sedative diprivan was among the medications found in his home. >> this morning, convicted swindler bernie madoff is in a federal prison in atlanta, georgia. that is where he'll likely spend the rest of his life. the convicted swindler was taken away from the correction center

in new york city yesterday. last month, the 71-year-old was sentenced to 150 years in prison for masterminding the largest ponzi scheme in history. >> well, the major league baseball all-star game is tonight. third baseman ryan zimmerman will represent the nats at the game. >> and speaking of the nats we're learning more about the big shake-up in the team. lindsay czarniak has the details in this morning's sports minute. >> hey there, everybody. your sports minute on this tuesday begins with the nationals who yesterday fired manager manny acta. acta was in just his third season with the club, but with a 26-61 record at the all-star break, the organization grew impatient. the nationals are on pe to lose 100 games for the second year in a row. bench coach jim riggleman was named the interim manager. rick el man, who's from montgomery county, has managed three different major league clubs in his career. he will be introduced on wednesday. at the home run derby last night, st. louis slugger albert

pujols took center stage. pujols got a little help from the hometown fans, but it wasn't enough to get him into the finals. milwaukee's prince fielder outslugged enfor the home run title. the wi80th mlb all-star game is tonight. tonight, the wizards open up a five-game summer league schedule in las vegas. 12 players, including nick young, say it's a chance to make a big impression on new head coach flip saunders. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. >> another d.c. power player will be on the field during tonight's mlb all-star game. president barack obama will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. he'll also make a brief appearance in the broadcast booth. >> 5:21 is the time just about. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein up in storm center 4. good morning. >> good morning, stephanie -- excuse me. kimberly and joe. look at that moon. we've got a beautiful half moon

in the southern sky. live picture this morning. it's smili down on us. we've got another cool start. the air smells sweet and clean. it's now 65 in washington, and it's in the mid-60s in prince george's county but cool ner montgomery and fairfax counties. only in the upper 50s to near 60 there. near 50 parts of the shenandoah valley and the panhandle of west virginia. eastern shore, mid-60s. we're off to a car start. as we get going today we'll have lots of sunshine this morning. during the afternoon, low humidity and highs in the mid-80s. tomorrow, more of the same. not too humid and warm. terrific beach and pool weather. and then humid on thursday, could get some afternoon thundershowers, maybe a morning shower. friday and into the weekend turning a little less humid, another front coming through saturday might trigger a passing thundershower. but the weekend looks dry and cooler, too. now let's check traffic. how's it looking? >> problem on 66 this morning. good morning. it's a vehicle fire, 66

westbound near 29 and gainesville. authorities are on the scene. they've blocked the westbound side for the time being until they get the car fire knocked out. eastbound, though, coming in from haymarket to gainesville and manassas, your lanes are open. on the wilson bridge, earlier we showed you the bright lights. right now we're showing you the headlights and taillights moving along nicely in both directions between alexandria and oxen hill. back to you. >> thank you very much, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. >> time now 5:22, 65 degrees out there. what nasa is now saying about its latest scrubbed launch. >> what a new study suggests you should do to get rid of pain. >> plus, the tween sensations that took center stage at the verizon center. >> and here's your liz "on the money," money saving tip of the day. >> consumer reports magazine says now is a gate time to look for bargains at restaurants. one way is to clip coupons. many chain restaurants are

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the verizon center last night. yep, kevin, joe and nick performed for thousands of screaming fans. they're has been rat setup included a rotating stage. >> you can't even hear the music for all the screaming. imagine this. what if someone told you could curse the pain away? well, that's what a new study is suggesting. researchers in the u.k.ad students put their hand in a bucket of cold water. students who were told they could swear were able to tolerate the pain and keep their hand in the bucket longer than those who did not. the theory is that swearing may refocus your pain. >> it does seem to be an automatic response for a lot people, the old hitting the thumb with the hammer, i guess. judge sotomayor prepares for another day of hearings on capitol hill. >> also, what went wrong that caused an emergency landing at a southwest jetliner bound for baltimore. >> then, the new recommendations from federal investigations

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cleans better or your money back, guaranteed. scare in the skies. a southwest airline fsght bound for baltimore forced to make an emergency landing. >> safety first. new safety recommendations are released aimed at preventing another tragedy on the tracks. >> showdown. the tough questions judge sonia sotomayor will face during confirmation hearings on capitol hill.

good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs on this tuesday, the 14th day of july, 2009. bastille day. >> bastille day. i'm kimberly suiters. good morning, everyone. let's take a live look outside at the capitol, the sun rising behind it. a lovely view. >> beautiful picture out there. let's get a look at our forecast now. let's go to tom kierein in storm center 4. >> good morning. as we start off this morning, here's a view over the potomac looking toward the east, toward the sunrise and high in the sky there in the east we have jupiter. it's a soft summer sunrise under way with temperatures cool and comfy, in the mid-60s in washington and prince george's counties. only in the upper 50s now in montgomery and fairfax counties. off to our west, only near 50 degrees panhandle of west virginia and parts of the shenandoah valley. out in the mountains, only in the 40s. quite an unusually cool start for a july morning. eastern shore, mid-60s now. off to a clear start. lots of sunshine today.

definitely need sun block if you will be out for a long of time. highs reaching mid-80s by afternoon with low humidity. sunrise at 5:55, sunset at 8:33. by this time tomorrow morning, another cool start. a look at wednesday in ten minutes. >> thank you, tom. >> thanks very much. let's go to jerry edwards now and the news 4 traffic network. >> good morning. we'll start downtown this time around, let you know things are moving along nicely. that's new york avenue. there's the 3rd street tunnel inbound or outbound, i guess depending upon your perspective, but at any rate, things moving along nicely between new york f avenue and the southeast/southwest free way. making the trip elsewhere, take a look along i-95 toward the capital beltway out of newington looking fine. there are no hangups there. southbound 95 all the way to dale city and beyond continues to move under a light volume of traffic. joe, kimberly, back to you. >> thank you. >> a developing story now concerning one of the nation's major airlines. southwest is inspecting hundreds of its planes because of safety concerns. >> the inspections were prompted after a baltimore-bound flight

was forced to make an emergency landing. flight 2291 originated in nashville and was headed to bwi when the pilot declared the emergency. investigators say there was a hole in the fuselage of the plane. cabin pressure was lost, and the plane landed in charleston, west virginia, instead. >> news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live in the studio with the very latest on this. >> good morning. this was an amazing experience. passengers say they literally looked up and saw a hole in the plane, deep and large enough for them to see the sky. the hole is described as a one foot by one foot hole in the rear of the plane that was, again, visual from the cabin. passengers boarded the plane at nashville. about 30 minutes in the flight, the aircraft started losing pressure. at 6:10:00 p.m., the plane made an emergency landing in west virginia. passengers were flown in on another plane to bwi airport last night. there were 126 passengers on board, along with five crew members.

this passenger thought to take a picture of himself after his oxygen mask came down. he then later explained what it felt like on the plane after landing at bwi. >> all of a sudden, the loudest noise i ever heard came out of nowhere. there was no pop, no creek, no explosion-like noise. it was just a loud roar. took me a couple seconds to kind of wake up. i got the baseball cap out of my face and i look up, and there's the sun coming through the ceiling. that passenger went on to say that the crew was absolutely amazing, making the situation much better for all involved. he says passengers werectually high fiving the pilot as they left the plane. i'm sure they were very happy after they made on it the ground. investigators don't know what caused the damage. southwest says it's inspecting all of its 737 300s as a precaution. those planes make up about 1/3 of the airline's fleet. back to you. >> thank you very much. today, judge sonia sotomayor faces tough questions about her nomination to the supreme court.

it's her first full day of questioning by the senate judiciary committee. in her opening statement yesterday, she pledged fidelity to the law and vowed to be impartial if she's confirmed as the first hispanic supreme court justice. she told the panel t law will always command the result in every case. lindsey graham said barring a complete meltdown he expects sotomayor to be confirmed as the country's next supreme court justice. we'll have a live report on her confirmation hearings coming up in about ten minutes at 5:45. >> today hearings will be held to discuss the deadly metro crash. the house will focus on the investigation and safety measures implemented since the accident. this comes on the heels of new recommendations for metro by the national transportation safety board. they include upgrading the backupto the automated system. this systemleai fdnd iais tbeedevo have been the cause ed of last month's crash. the nt sb aols wantset mro to aluate track occupancy taet on a realtime basis to help tee

tekt problems. news 4's megan mcfwrath is following this from capitol hill. we will return to megan in just a moment. >> another day, another delay for the space shuttle "endeavour". nasa's hoping it will have better luck tomorrow. liftoff has been rescheduled for wednesday at 6:03:00 p.m. bad weather forced nasa to cancel yesterday's launch again. the shuttle has faced a month of delays due to everything from a fuel leako storms. "endeavour" is scheduled to deliver the final piece of a japanese lab to the international space station. >> now more on that deadly metro crash. megan mcgrath is standing by live on capitol hill. megan, hearings continue today? >> reporter: that's right. hearings are going to get under way at 2:00 this afternoon, and metro's general manager is among the people who are expected to testify later on today. he's going to be answering questions about procedures that have been put in place following st month's deadly crash. we're also expecting to hear from a member of the national

transportation safety board during this hearing. now trains are still running in manual mode with restrictions still in place through the crash zone itself. the cause of the crash has not been determined but the ntsb is focusing on track circuits and the system that monitors the presence of trains on the tracks, sending instructions to trains to either slow down or stop when there's another train in the area. that system failed on the day that this collision occurred. now, yesterday the ntsb issued urgent recommendations. thar ee asking metro to upgrade the backup system to the automated system. they want greater redundancy there so this sort of thing never happens again. they also want to evaluate the track occupancy data on a realtime and continuous basis. now, metro says that they will attempt to complyith the ntsb's recommendations, but they point out that no such alert system currently exists. that thar ee going to have to invent this system and they have no idea how long that will take

or how much that will cost. again, the general manager of metro as well as members of the ntsb will be on capitol hill later today so we're expecting to learn more information about the systems that are in place, what's going to be done in the future and perhaps learn some more information about the investigation itself. kimberly, joe, back to you. >> a lot of work to come. megan mcgrath, thank you. >> our time right now is 5:37, 65 degrees. a local airport launches a new way for your pet to travel the friendly skies. >> plus, arlington national cemetery gets a makeover thanks to hundreds of landscape specialists. >> dozens of people voice their opinions about a controversial school in fairfax county.

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and 60s in montgomery and fairfax county. farther to the west, only near 50 around the shenandoah valley and panhandle of west virginia. out in central west virginia, it's only in the 40s. the eastern shore now in the mid-60s under a clear sky. we'll have plenty of sunshine today. by mid-afternoon into the mid-80s. sunrise is just a few minutes away at 5:55. sunset at 8:33. we'll have a clear night tonight, another cool morning tomorrow morning. tomorrow, mostly sunny, warm and dry with light breezes, highs reaching the mid and upper 80s. winds out of the southwest around 5 to 15. i'll show you my forecast for thursday, friday, the weekend and a look at next week. that will be in ten minutes. jerry, good morning. how's the traffic? >> good morning. authorities wrapping up the vehicle fire we told you about earlier out in gainesville at 66 westbound just right at the route 29/gainesville interchange. only one lane is closed off. eastbound from haymarket in, all your lanes are open headed for the capital beltway. let's check the rails this morning, see how they're doing.

metrorail, everything's fine. by the way, we're told over at dupont, the escalators are out of service t his morning so bear that in mind if you normally take the red line. vre, no delays. no delays on any ofhe marc rail lines at this hour. joe, kimberly, back to you. >> thank you very much, jerry. >> the time is 5:42. the extreme makeover for arlington national cemetery. >> plus, supreme court justice nominee sonia sotomayor is in the hot seat again. next at 5:45, the tough questions she'll face during confirmation hearings that co oueinn pitol l hill you keep the good memories...

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damage. d.c. council member david catania is calling for an investigation into marion barry's use of taxpayer money. he wants the office of the inspector general to investigate allegations barry poured money into organizations that were run by his staff. there are reports that barely secured almost $1 million for six groups last june that did not formally exist at that time. federal investigators are urging metro to continue monitoring its computerized train control system. metro used to test it once a month before the june 22nd crash that killed 9 people. they are testing it daily now, but metro's general manager says the dly reviews are not enough to address this safety issue. >> supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor goes another round with the senate judiciary committee today. she's likely to face some tough questions from republicans. republicans will likely focus on what they view as her biases and plan to try to raise doubts about her impartiality. brooke hart is following these

confirmation hearings on capitol hill. good morning, brooke. >> reporter: good morning, joe. republicans on the judiciary committee say it was president obama himself who opened the door to their biggest concern. he said, after all, he wanted a justice with empathy and now critics want to know from judge sotomayor how who she is affects her decisions. passion was on display outside the senate building where the hearings are taking place. inside, s judge sonia sotomayor listened and summed up her bottom line. >> simple -- fidelity to the law. >> reporter: senators praised hire patience through opening statements. >> i give judge sotomayor an "a "for listening to that. >> reporter: and anticipated today's back and forth. >> her interaction with senators, which will start tomorrow, will be extremely important part of the process. >> reporter: questions could touch on hot-button legal issues like gun rights, same-sex marriage and racial justice. critics point to sotomayor's comment a wise latina would

reach a better judgment than a white male, and worry her background could bring bias. >> call it empathy, call it prejudice or call it sympathy, but whatever it is, it's not law. >> reporter: the daughter of puerto rican parents, her mother behind her in the hearing, sotomayor lived in public housing in the bronx as a girl. she said her background helps her grasp a case but not decide it. >> my personal and professional experiences help me to listen and understand with the law always commanding the result. in e case. >> reporter: democrats trumpeted her years as a lawyer and judge. >> a brilliant legal and judicial career. >> reporter: an influential republican offered a prediction. >> unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to get confirmed. and i don't think you will. >> the officer will remove the person. >> reporter: anti-abortion protesters interrupted the hearing several times. strong feelings and high stakes

behind this lifetime appointment. each of the committees 19 members has half an hour to question judge sotomayor. her goal and what she's practiced now for weeks with white house lawyers is to avoid the gaffe that could derailer confirmation. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. joe, back to you. >> thank you very much. >> the nation's chair alert system might be getting an overall. the obama administration is expected to make an announcement about the color-coded system today. the system was instituted during the bush administration. it rates threat levels from low danger, green, to high alert, red. but critics say the system is confusing and vague. the obama administration is expected to seat a panel to review the system. >> new today, dozens of people showed up to voice their opinions about a controversial school in fairfax county. this is all part of last night's public hearing about the islamic saudi academy. the school wants permission to expand its campus, but critics say the school's teachings are radical and promote intolerance.

the final vote on the school's request to expand has been moved to august the 2nd. >> the disict is closing the brentwood dmv office in northeast. the service center will shut down on august 14th. dmv officials td "the washington post" that they decided back in january to close the office because the space has always been inadequate. another big change started yesterday. none of the city's dmv offices will renew car registrations. vehicl registrations will have to be renewed online, by mail or through drop boxes at other dmv locations. >> arlington national cemetery's undergone a transformation. hundreds of volunteers pitched in to make it happen. they spent the day yesterday mulching, pruning and planting trees around the one square mile cemetery. the 13th annual renewal and remembrance project is sponsored by the professional land care network. it's a way of giving back to the men and women who give their lives in service to the country. >> they come back and visit. they really appreciate that

there's their fellow americans here to ensure that you are properly honoring their loved ones who have served our nation. >> the work done at arlington national cemetery yesterday is valued at more than $200,000. >> time now for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> tom kierein has joined us here in the studio now. >> it's downright chilly. out in the mountains only in the 40s this morning. some people may be getting the od stoves going on a july morning of all things. in fact, it's even colder in the upper midwest. i'll show you that coming up. right now the sun's coming up. it will be up in about five minutes. in a clear sky, that's a live picture from the city camera over the calm waters of the potomac river. now a cool and comfortable 65 degrees in washington with low humidity. and as we look at radar, therers no precipitation ywrendherearou the region this morning. the atmosphere very dry. it's only in the low and mid-50s weather watchers reporting right around the blue ridge and the shenandoah shntd. look at martinsburg, only 51

degrees there. in washington, the mid-60s. mid-60s in prince george's county. charles, calvert, st. mary's the 60s. farther to our west in montgomery, fairfax county and as well in frederick, loudoun, temperatures there in the upper 50s to just near 60 degrees. stafford and spotsylvania counties, temperatures there in the mid-60s. but down to culpepper and near charlottesville, shenandoah valley only in the mid-50s this morning. eastern shore under a clear sky there, and their temperatures are in the mid-60s. now look in the upper midwest. some places here in northern michigan, grayling, michigan, now is 36 degrees on a july morning in the 30s there. elsewhere, it's only 58 in detroit. buffalo's at 54. this is quite a large cool air mass. it's very dry. we'll be benefiting from that. it's a large area of high appreciate that you are is centered right over the northern part of the lower peninsula of michigan. that high is continuing to circulate this dry and

comfortable air right on down into our region. we have a stalled front to our south. that's keeping the humidity at bay. it's going to hang around down there and keep u dry here for the next day or so, but then eventually as we go forward over the next 36 hours, there's a line of some showers, maybe thundershowers crossing the great lakes later on today and into nit. then that front will drift over our region on thursday, give us a chance of showers and more humidity. now here's our forecast for today. by 9:00 in the0 m-7ids. a delightful morning. then by noon temperatures in the low 80s. by mid-afternoon, the mid-80s. so, a terrific summer day. have to say just a perfect summer day. great for the beaches and pools and for outdoor work and recreation. definite s n-7deeun ocdk, though. by 6:00 p.m. should be in the evw 80s and a terenfievc ing up.ing sunset's at 8:33. under a clear sky, in the 70s through the evening. another cool start tomorrow morning, although probably not as cool as this morning.

afternoon highs after a start in the low 60s should climb into the mid and upper 80s rrmoto.ow dan. still not very humid on wednesday. we'll have some increasing high clouds ahead of that front wednesday afternoon. wednesday night turning quite humid. looks like we'll heav seyteam conditions beginning to move in wednesday night. by dawn on thursday, we're going to know what we've been missing. only near 70 degrees with steam heat in place on thursday. quite a humid day with highs reaching the upper 80s. and that front sort of hanging around may trigger a morning shower, but there's a greater chance of maybe asias png afternoon thundershower. we need rain. in fact, we've been way below average here for the last almost three weeks. then by friday it looks like it will be a little less humid after that front goes by. it will be drier again. so really not a lot of heat around as far as uncomfort is concerned. on friday, it will be terrific for the beaches and pools. as we get into the weekend, another area of low pressure

coming up our way from the southwest may bring in some moisture, enough to perhaps give us a passing afternoon shower or thundershower saturday. but most of the weekend looks dry. should be cooler, too. in fact, highs only near 80 on saturday. sunday only near 80. should be sunny into sunday and monday as well as we start off next week. but we've only had four days this summer so far 90 degrees or higher. >> amazing. >> the average by this date, we should have had about 15 of them. >> i have a self-serving question. that rain on ursday, will it be going up toward, say, hershey park? >> yes. >> shoot. >> it may. it may melt your chocolate. >> all right. >> this humidity is behaving like good relatives. nice, short, little visits during the summer. then it leaves, right? that's nice. >> yep. >> thank you, tom. >> keep it that way. thanks very much. let's go to jerry, take a look at the roadways out there. >> good morning. start this time around in northern virginia on the capital beltway near route 193, the georgetown pike. there's georgetown pike.

there's the capital beltway, very quiet morning so far. everything seems to be moving along quite nicely. elsewhere, check your speeds, see how we're doing out there this morning. the capital beltway traveling from springfield on the inner loop up toward i-66, 8 minutes. tack on another 7 minutes off the i-66 interchange, over to the american legion bridge. about 22 minutes now building just a little bit in volume as you head from the american legion bridge toward the interchange at i-95. all travel lanes are open. downtown, word of an accident. somebody smacked into the back of a parked police officer at main avenue and 15th street southwest. nobody hurt, but, oh, that's a bad way to start your day. >> that is a bad way to start the day, yeah. ruined your breakfast. >> yeah. >> thank you very much. well, passengers said it was like a roller coaster. take a look at this video. a korean airlines plane trying to land in high winds got caught on its back wheels and the tail actually got scraped on the runway in japan yesterday. the pilot of the boeing 777 was able to stop the plane safely,

though. no one was injured. that plane had taken off from south korea. >> a new airline create erring to pets makes its debut today. pet airways will offer flights for dogs and cats. the airline will fly to new york, los angeles, chicago and denver but hopes to expand its service to 25 cities over the next two years. pets will travel in carriers in the main cabin of the plane instead of the cargo hull. the cost for a one-way ticket out of bwi will be about 150 bucks. >> here's something you don't hear every day. a utah woman is hoping her jeep wrangler will help her wrang a husband. kelly ovary posted a classified ad online offering her 1992 jeep for a proposal and a ring. she says she did it mostly as a joke but she soon had 200 to 300 e-mails. now she's trying to weed through all those suitors.

>> gis people have married for less, right, joe? >> i guess. >> to the money crisis now and a look at how foreign markets are doing today. asian stock markets are on the rebound. japan's nikkei gained 2.3%. hong kong's hang seng also went up by 3%. the shanghai gained 2%. to wall street where futures are also pointing to a positive opening. in new york overnight, the dow rose 2.3%. the nasdaq, however, fell 2.75%. >> news 4 is always looking for jobs for you. if you're looking for a job in health care, check out hca reston hospital center. they're looking for a team of perienced, registered nurses, a coding supervisor, respiratory therapist and more. to apply, you can visit nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you. >> still ahead this morning, she may be stepping down but not out of the spotlight. an op-ed piece from sarah palin is published this morning attacking president obama. >> following developing story

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holy cow or other spirited words to that effect. right now, southwest airlines is taking a very clo lkoo at nearly 200 airplanes after a hole opened in the top of a plane on its way to ik marshall. shisg,moinrn we havein picre of the hole and passengers describing what that ride was like. >> safety recommendations. the ntsb tells metro it needs to make some impornt changes to keep its riders safe. metro says there's one big problem with that. >> good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm kimberly suiters in for barbara harrison. today tuesday, july 14th, 2009.

taking a live look outside as the sun rises over the potomac. beautiful morning out there. >> that's a pretty picture. 65 degrees right now. not bad humidity at this hour, right? >> no. downright chilly. >> it is. in fact, in the mountains it's down into the 40s this morning, ouar theou sndnaheoah vall,na weather watchers in the low to mid-50s. here in washington we're in the mid-60s. montgomery, fairfax, prince george's counties y'snl o in the low 60s now. nothing on radar, no precipit yionlean as houd off ho work and summer school onhi t s motues yrning, the 14th of july. here's how we're looking for this day. by 9:00, mid-70s. durihe t afternoon we'll peak in the mid-80s. low humidity all arnd the region for today. he our sunset will be at 8:33. then overnight tonight should be clear, a beautiful evening coming up in the 70s. then by dawn another cool start tomorrow morning. i'll show you the forect for wednesday. that will be in ten minutes. >> all right. thank you, tom. >> thanks very much, tom. let's go to jerry edwards now,

take a look at the roadways. >> it's looking pretty good. not too bad at all. top side of the capital beltway from i-95 and college park around to silver spring, lanes are open. 50 at the bay bridge through annapolis and continuing on down to shef ali, no hangups. 66 seems to be doing well. elsewhere, a live look along the i-95 corridor near 212, camera zoomed in a little bit, but look at that. nice clear, dry pavement there. a little bit of volume on the beltway, prince george's county through greenbelt and college park but moving along nicely. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> we're following a developing story this morning. right now southwest airlines is inspecting nearly 200 airplanes after a football-sized hole ripped open in the top of a flight bound for bwi thurgood marshall. flight 2294 took off from nashville yesterday afternoon when the hole opened up. the 737ad to make an emergency landing in charleston, west virginia. >> news 4's tracee wilkins joins

us live in our studio with pictures and stories of understandably frightened passengers. >> absolutely. we will hear from a southwest airline spokesman, also some passengers who were on the plane. this was an amazing experience. passengers said they literally looked up and saw a hole in the plane, deep and large enough for them to see the sky. the hole is described as a one foot by one foot hole in the rear of the 737. that was again visual from within the cabin. passengers aboard the plane in nashville yesterday. about 30 minutes into the flight, the aircraft started losing pressure, activating the ygen masks throughout the cabin. at about 6:10 p.m., the plane made an emergency landing in west virginia. the passengers were then flown on another plane. there were 136 passengers onboard, along with 5 crew members. no one was injured. one passenger thought to take a picture of himself after the oxygen mask came down. >> i look up, and there's the

sun coming through the ceiling. they were asking me is it working? is the bag inflated? if you can feel your fingers and you're conscious by this point, the bag's working. but as soon as we touched down, as soon as we got to the airport in west virginia, everybody cheered. everybody high-fived the captain. some gave him hugs. but great crew, great flight crew, great flight attendants. everybody just did what they needed to do. everybody was fine. >> we're going to work vigorously with the proper authorities to examine all of the aircraft safety records and to try and determine the cause of this. >> now, at this point, investigators say they don't know what caused the damage. ntsb is working with southwest to investigate the plane, which is still in west virginia. southwest is going ahead and inspecting all of its 737 300s. they make up about 1/3 of southwest's fleet. for folks who have a flight this morning, airline spokesmen are saying the inspections should not affect today's service. joe? >> tracee, thanks very much.

new today, no one was injured in a small earthquake at los angeles international airport. last night's quake was a manager any tud 3.2. it centered under the airport runways. there were no flight delays or damage reported. >> metro goes before congress today. this afternoon's hearing comes as federal investigators told the transit agency it needs to make changes right now in order to keep passengers safe. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live from capitol hill with more on these recommendations, today's hearings and the impossibility of meeting some of these recommendations it sounds like, megan. >> reporter: that's right. it's going to be difficult, according to metro officials. this is the first congressional hearing that's been held since last month's deadly train collision. we are expecting to learn more about the investigation and what's being done to make sure it never happens again. metro's general manager will be among the people testifying on capitol hill later today. he will be answering questions about safety procedures that have been put in place following last month's deadly collision.

trains are still running on manual mode. additional restrictions are in place in the crash zone. the cause of the crash has not been determined, but the national transportation safety board is focusing on circuits and the automated control system that monitors the presence of trains on the track. that system failed june 22nd, and two trains collided, killing 9 people. yesterday, the ntsb issued urgent recommendations, calling on metro to upgrade backups to the automated system and evaluate track occupancy data on a realtime, continuous basis. while metro says they will attempt to comply with the recommendations, officials say no such alert system exists. it will have to be created, and it's unclear how long that will take and how much it will cost. metro board chairman jim graham is concerned that the ntsb recommendations take attention away from the key question -- why the safety system failed in the first place. >> we went to that precise

location where this device malfunctioned. we took the device out. we put a new device in, and it continued to malfunction so we're left with a bit of a mystery here. >> reporter: that hearing gets under way here on capitolill at 2:00 this afternoon. kimberly, back to you. >> all right, megan, thank you very much. supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor will be back in the hot seat today. lawmakers -- back on capitol hill -- are gearing up for day two of her confirmation hearing. questions could touch on hot-button issues like gun rights, same-sex marriage and affirmative action. critics point to sotomayor's comment that a wise latina would reach a better judgment than a white male, without her experience, and worry that her background could cause bias. she's the daughter of puerto rican parents and lived in public housing in the bronx as a girl. she said her background helps her grasp a case, not decide it. >> my personal and professional exriences help me to listen

and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case. >> republicans plan to raise doubts about her impartiality, but senators lindsey graham predicts sotomayor will get confirmed, barring a total meltdown. if that happens, she would be the third woman and the first latina on the high court. joe? >> 6:08 is the time, 65 degrees. a death investigation under way at ft.myer, what happened to a female sailor found dead at the military base. new details are emerging about the murders of a florida couple with 16 children as surveillance video is released of the attackers on the move. >> another scheduled launch for the space shuttle "endeavour" is scrubbed. will this shuttle ever get off the ground?

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at 6:11, here's today's news 4 bargain blast. looking to print out your vacation photos? cvs will let you print them out for free. the cvs photo center is offering 50 free prints if you sign up for a new photo center account online. >> it's 6:11, time for traffic d weather on the 1s. >> let's go to meteorologist tom kierein in storm center 4. >> good morning. there's a live puck turf our sunrise. some glittering ripples on the potomac river in the morning sunlight. temperatures are fresh and cool. now just down into the 50s at our western and northern suburbs, just near 50 parts of the shenandoah valley. only in the 40s in the

mountains. eaern and southern suburbs and around the bay, temperatures there in southern maryland are in the 60s now. by mid-afternoon we'll be into the mid-80s and overnight tonight clear, a beautiful evening in the 70s and cool ain tomorrow morning in the 60s. sunny, warm and dry tomorrow with highs in the mid and upper 80s. some high clouds coming in late in the afternoon. getting more humid by thursday into the weekend. look at that. in ten minutes, jerry. how's the traffic? >> good morning. let's see how we are doing. go down toward fredericksburg, everything moving nicely northbound and southbound this morning. near quantico, a minor fender-bender. should be out of the roadway by now. staying with 95, 395, headed for downtown, lots of space between the vehicles this morning to and across the 14th street bridge. we are looking mighty, mighty fine this morning. back to you. >> thanks very much. >> mighty fine sounds mighty good. thanks. the mystery this morning surrounding the whereabouts of disgraced financier bernard madoff. and a death investigation

under way at ft. myer. what happened to a female sailor found dead in her room at the military base. wrq/q/ ( rock music playing )

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updating the top stories in the news for today, southwest airlines is inspecting nearly 200 aircraft after a football-sized hole opened up in the fuselage of a plane bound for bwi thurgood marshall. it prompted an emergency landing in charleston, west virginia. no one was injured. investigators have not figured out what caused the damage. today congress holds its first hearing on last month's deadly metro crash. it will focus on the progress of the investigation and safety measures implemented since the accident. nine people were killed, dozens injured in that accident on metro's red line. judge sonia sotomayor is back on capitol hill today. she will be grilled by the senate judiciary committee. questions could touch on hot-button issues that include gun rights, same-sex marriage and affirmative action.

yesterday, sotomayor told the lawmakers she will always remain loyal to the impartiality of our justice system. >> supervisors have moved the date of a final vote about a controversial school's request to expand its campus in fairfax county. critics say the islamic saudi academy has radical teachings and promotes intolerance. last night, dozens of people voiced their opinions in a public hearing. the final vote on the proposal is now set for august 2nd. >> new today, two marines have been killed in southern afghanistan. the military says they were killed in a hostile incident in the southern helmand province yesterday. some 4,000 marines are pushing through the area right now. this is the biggest marine operation in afghanistan since the taliban was driven from power back in 2001. the naval criminal investigative service is trying to figure out how a female sailor died at ft. myer. she was found dead yesterday morning inside her room at the military base located next to arlington national cemetery. we're told the sailor was one of

only a handful of women living in the henderson hall barracks. her body was discovered after she failed to report for work at the pentagon yesterday morning. the cause of her death is still under investigation, but a senior defense official told nbc news there was, quote, definitely foul play involved. the execution of a death row inmate in virginia has been delayed. paul powell was supposed to be executed today. back in 2000, he was sentenced to death for raping and killing a 16-year-old in her manassas, virginia, home. powell was also convicted of raping and trying to kill her 14-year-old sister. the supreme court stopped the execution because it is considering whether to hear his appeal. powell's attorney argues he was tried twice for the same crime. >> police have made another arrest in the murder of a florida couple. four suspects are now in custody, and more arrests could follow. police believe as many as eight people may have been involved in the murder of byrd and melanie

billings. surveillance video shows the attackers creeping across the lawn, all dressed in black. once inside, they shot and killed the billings in a matter of minutes. >> four come up in the van. three entered the home. one remained with the van. we believe an additional three people came in on the north side of the home around the back. one remained with that vehicle, we believe, and two entered the house from the back. it leads moe to believe this wa a very well planned attack. >> one moat nif the billings murder is robbery. this morning, disgraced financier bernie madoff is at a federal penitentiary in atlanta. it's unclear how long he'll stay there. madoff is expected to end up at the federal prison in north carolina. that's where he will likely spend the rest of his life. last month, the 71-year-old was sentenced to 150 years in prison for masterminding the largest ponzi scheme in history.

the space shuttle "endeavour" isn't going anywher right now. bad weather is keeping "endeavour" grounde at kennedy space center. strong storms moved in before the shuttle could get off the launch pad. it's forced nasa to scrub the launch for the third day in a row and the fifth time in a month. tomorrow is the last chance nasa has to endeavor to get "endeavour" into space. if the launch doesn't happen, nasa will have to wait until later this month. that's because a russian supply ship is scheduled to dock with the international space station. >> the major league baseball all-star game is tonight in st. louis. third baseman ryan zimmerman will represent the nats at the game and another big hitter from d.c. will be on the field as well. president obama will throw out the ceremonial first pitch and he'll also make a brief appearance in the broadcast booth. with more on the all star festivities and the nats new manager, here's lindsey czarniak with your sports minute. >> hey there, everybody. your sports minute on this tuesday begins with the

nationals who yesterday fired manager manny acta. acta was in just his third season with the club, but with a 26-61 record at the all-star break, the organization grew impatient. the nationals are on pace to lose 100 games for the second year in a row. bench coach jim riggleman was named the interim manager. riggleman, who's from montgomery county, has managed three different major league clubs in his career. he will be introduced on wednesday. at the home run derby last night, st. louis slugger albert pujols took center stage. pujols got a little help from the hometown fans, but it wasn't enough to get him into the finals. milwaukee's prince fielder outslugged everybody for the home run title. the 80th mlb all-star game is tonight. the wizards wrapped up mini camp yesterday at verizon center. tonight, the wizards open up a five-game summer league schedule in las vegas. 12 players, including nick young, say it's a chance to make a big impression on new head coach flip saunders. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day.

>> well, this is an example of what happens when you stick your nose into places where it doesn't belong. a photographer at our sister station in greenville, south carolina, shot this video. this poor squirrel was spotted scampering around at furman university with a yogurt cup its head. the therefore blinded squirrel eventually fell from the bush. the photographer felt so bad for the poor critter he did put the camera down and remove the cup from the head of the squirrel. we're told that after that, the squirrel went away -- along its merry way, perhaps swearing off yogurt for life. bad deal. >> poor little guy. photographer's lucky he didn't get bitten. >> he is, yeah. >> traffic and weather on the 1s at 6:21. we will go upstairs. >> good morng. it's another unusually cool july morning under way here. in fact, our temperatures being reported by weather watchers in the shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia only near 50 degrees right now. in montgomery and fairfax

counties only in the 50s to near 60. in washington, in the mid-60s. prince george's county now in the mid-60s. in southern maryland mid and upper 60s. weather watchers across most of virginia and maryland reporting temperatures in the 50s. highs today with bright sun, low humidity, mid-80s. tomorrow, back into the 80s, still not very humid. then getting steamy on thursday. might have a morng shower but a greater chance maybe of passing afternoon thundershower and hot. then friday, less humid and lower humidity into the weekend. there's a chance of maybe a passing thundershower on saturday. otherwise, weekend looks dry and cooler. now, jerry, how's the traffic? >> take a live look along interstate 66 right at the capital beltway, looking pretty good. you can see the sunshine is going to be a bit of a deal here coming in through fair oaks so heads-up for that. check the rails, see how we're doing. metrorail, vre, everything is moving along on time. back to you. >> thank you very much. >> thanks, jerry. the ultimatum president obama is giving members of

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cleveland park turned into hog warts magically with a special advanced screening of the newest harry potter flick. the uptown theater showed the sixth installment of the series last night. "the half blood prince." the movie opens nationwide at midnight. >> in just a matter of days, we could learn what killed michael jackson. the l.a. coroner's office says toxicology reports could b completed by the end of the week or early next week. the tests will determine what substances were in jackson's body when he died. authorities are investigating claims that the pop icon consumed large amounts of prescription medications. the drug diprivan was found in his home. it's a powerful sedative normally only administered in hospitals. >> the ntsb makes some urgent

safety recommendations to metro following last month's deadly crash, but metro says there's a big problem. a hole in the top of a pla rips open and gas mask -- well, what are those things called? oxygen masks drop down. the dpr frightening flight for passengers. >> sarah palin takes on president @ñ4ñ

urgent recommendations. the ntsb tells metro some important changes are needed to keep riders safe. this new report comes as metro's general manager and federal investigators head to capitol hill today. >> holy moly. with emphasis on the holy part. the frightening flight for passengers on the way to bwi

when a hole rips open on the top of the plane. now southwest airliness racing to make sure its planes are safe. >> good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm kimberly suiters in for barbara harrison. today is july 14th, 2009. taking a live look outside at a morning jogger. surprised he doesn't have a sweatshirt on. >> good day to be out for morning exercise. what a great day actually. sun's up. let's talk to tom kierein now about what kind of day we'll have. >> a perfect morning, gnti ing yosur rep as we g rngoi gnoi t sduesd more ngth14th july. g s, it feels like a spr f rninor mlbeal f iu yo owa rwt t fasd.fo aing oshupg adnow rar rt ho is.ur aturnl o inln shgt nit pre t i t lowoid-60s in cee'inrguneocos ty neduspp goowt to near j 60 n in rymendryrfou f cs.axientai b a'sit ale coorouo trwest. in fact, only near 50 parts of the shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia. southern maryland, weather watchers reporting low to mid-60s. chantilly, virginia, look at that, 57 degrees.

the dew point a very dry r49. mo hlntrain very dryshl well. had .06onf an inch of rain. we need some rain. doesn't look like we'll have any today. highs today mid-80s, low humidity, bright sunshine. a look at tomorrow's forecast coming up at 6:41. >> thank you. >> thanks very much. let's go to jerry edwards now, take at look at the roadways for this tuesday. >> good morning. authorities just arriving on the scene of a beltway crash, prince george's county outer loop northbound on the beltway between the baltimore-washington parkway and greenbelt road. we're told left side of the roadway will be tied up. you might find it a bit slow there. wilson bridge we're okay, inner loop from springfield north toward i-66, no big deal. let's see how we're doing as we head downtown. pennsylvania avenue inbound picking up some volume now across the sousa bridge, but the lanes are open all the way to capitol hill. back to you. >> thank you very much. tough questions for a metro on capitol hill today. this ternoon, a house subcommittee holds its first congressional hearing on last month's deadly metro crash.

this afternoon's hearing comes as the ntsb tells the transit agency it needs to make some changes right now in order to keep passengers safe. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live from capitol hill with more on this. good morning, megan. >> reporter: well, good morning, joe. metro officials and members of the national transportation safety board are expected to testify during this hearing later on this afternoon on capitol hill. it's the first congressional hearing that's been held since last month's deadly train collision. now we're expected to hear the latest on the investigation and what changes have been made in safety procedures. metro's general manager will be among the people testifying on capitol hill later today. he will be answering questions about safety procedures that have than put in place following last month's deadly collision. trains are still running on manual mode. additional restrictions are in place in the crash zone. the cause of the crash has not been determined, but the national transportation safety board is focusing on circuits and the automated control system

that monitors the presence of trains on the track. that system failed june 22nd and o trains collided, killing 9 people. yesterday, the ntsb issued urgent recommendations, calling on metro to upgrade backups to the automated system and evaluate track occupancy data on a realtime, continuous basis. while metro says it will attempt to comply with the ntsb's recommendations, officials say no such alert system exists. it will have to be created, and it's unclear how long that will take and how much it will cost. metro board chairman jim graham is concerned that the ntsb recommendations take attention away from the key question -- why the safety system failed in the first place. >> we went to that precise location where this device malfunctioned. we took the device out. we put a new device in. and it continued to malfunction. so, we're left with ait of a mystery here.

>> reporter: and that hearing gets under way on capitol hill at 2:00 this afternoon. joe, back to you. >> thank you very much. >> also on capitol hill today, supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor goes for another round with the senate judiciary committee. she's likely to face some tough questions from republicans. they will focus on what they view as her biases and plan to raise doubts about her impartiality. brooke hart reports from capitol hill. >> reporter: high passion was on display outside the senate building where the hearing's taking place. inside, judge sonia sotomayor listened and summed up her legal bottom line. >> simple -- fidelity to the law. >> reporter: senators praised her patience through opening statements. >> i would give judge sotomayor an "a" for listening to that. >> reporter: and anticipated today's back and forth. >> her interaction with senators, whic will start tomorrow, will be extremely important part of the process. >> reporter: questions could touch on hot-button legal issues

like gun rights, same-sex marriage and racial justice. critics point to sotomayor's comment, a wise latina would reach a better judgment than a white male, and worry her background could bring bias. >> call it empathy, call it prejudice or call it sympathy, but whatever it is, it's not law. >> reporter: the daughter of puerto rican parents, her mother behind her in the hearing, sotomayor lived in public housing in the bronx as a girl. she said her background helps her grasp a case but not decide it. >> my personal and professional experiences help me to listen and understand with the law always commanding the sult in every case. >> reporter: democrats trumpeted her years as a lawyer and judge. >> a brilliant legal and judicial career. >> reporter: and an influential republican offered a prediction. >> unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to get confirmed. and i don't think you will.

>> officer will remove the person. >> reporter: anti-abortion protesters interrupted the hearing several times. strong feelings and high stakes behind this lifetime apintment. each of the committees' 19 members has half an hour to question sotomayor. her goal and what she's acticed now for weeks with white house lawyers is to avoid the gaffe that could derail her confirmation. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news. >> new today, the house will release plans for a massive health care overhaul. the bill comes despite grumbling about costs and an ultimatum from president obama. mr. obama says progress on the overhaul has stalled and has put everyone on notice. house speaker nancy pelosi says she expects a vote on the health care overhaul by the august recess. the plan could cost $1 trillion over ten years. >> today's day two of a trial for a d.c. woman accused of killing her four daughters and living with their decomposing bodies. banita jacks is facing murder

charges. yesterday, the court saw video of her being interviewed by police after she was arrested in january of 2008. jacks said everyone i've been close to has mysteriously ended up dead. she also said her children were weak and hungry and that one day they began passing out. at jacks' request, the case will be decided in a bench trial rather than by a jury. >> the "today" show is next at the top of the hour. let's go live to meredith vee air in a new york for a look at what they're working on this morning. good morning. >> good morning to you. coming up on a tuesday morning on "today," a hole in the cabin of a southwest airlines plane with 131 people onboard leads to an emergency landing. we are going to talk with a passenger who was sitting directly beneath that hole. then, a new arrest made in the murders of a florida couple as investigators reveal that some of their 16 children saw their parents' attackers. we'll get the latest on that. also ahead, a warning before you drink those popular energy shot for a quick pick-up.

jon of "john & kate plus 8" steps out with a new woman less than a month after filing for divorce. back to you, kimberly. >> thank you so much. >> she may be stepping down but not out of the spotlight. an op-ed from sarah palin is published this morning attacking president obama. d.c. council member marion barry finds himself in more trouble, this time with the arrest of the d.c. council. >> what southwest airlines is doing right now after passengers on their way to bwi see a hole rip open in the top of their vo: last year... when companies were laying off hundreds of thousands of workers...

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ra save money. live better. walmart. at 6:41, here is today's news 4 bargain blast. how about dessert for free? just sign up to receive e-mails from the melting potnd you'll receive a coupon for a free chocolate fondue. you can sign up at the meltingpot.com. >> let's find out what the fondue point is right now. we'll go to meteorologist tom kierein. >> that was so bad. >> pretty bad. >> it is low, and this morning we've got a beautiful shot of the air force memorial, the soaring spires of the air force memorial on this feeling rather cool summer moing.

it is soothing and cool, only 65 in washington. we're in the low 60s in prince george's county, only in the upper 50s to near 60 in montgomery county and fairfax counties. even a little bit cooler farther west and north. eastern shore, weather watchers reporting temperatures in the 60s. by 9:00, mid-70s. by noon, mid-80s, low humidity. a terrific evening coming up. we'll bottom out tomorrow morning in the low 60s. tomorrow, mostly sunny, warm and dry, highs in the upper 80s. some high clouds coming in late in the day. i'll show you the forecast for the rest of the week and the weekend in ten minutes. how's the traffic? >> slow this morning coming in from the west. eastbound 66 coming out of haymarket toward manassas, a couple vehicles on the shoulder. that's just enough to slow everybody down. lanes are all open for you. headed westbound, had that earlier vehicle fire out in haymarket. shouldn't be any big deal. one more stop, let you know the outer loop of the beltway between the b-w parkway and greenbelt, kenilworth avenue, should be about wrapped up. >> more problems for d.c. council member marion barry.

why the counsel is about to launch an investigation looking into his use of contracts. a hole in the top of a plane rips open and oxygen masks drop down. the frightening flight for passengers headed to one local airport.

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it's right up there with snakes and smoke. it's one of the last things you want to see on your plane. but it happened to passengers bound for bwi. a football-sized hole ripped open in the ceiling. it happened aboard flight 2294 which took off from nashville yesterday afternoon. the 737 had to make an emergency landing in charleston, west virginia. news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live in our studio with the pictures and the stories of some seriously frightened passengers. >> absolutely, kimberly. this was an amazing ordeal. passengers say they literally looked up and saw a hole in the plane, deep and large enough for them to see the sky. now, the hole was described as a one foot by one foot hole in the rear of the 737 that could be

seen from within the cabin. passengers boarded the plane in nashville at 4:05 p.m. yesterday. about 30 minutes into the flight, the aircraft started losing pressure, activating the oxygen masks throughout the cabin. at 6:10 p.m., the plane made an emergency landing in west virginia. passengers were then flown on another plane to thurgood marshall airport last night. no one was injured. one passenger thought to take a picture of himself after the oxygen mask came down. he described seeing the sun through the hole in the plane, and then explained what the plane looked like from the outside after they landed. >> i saw it from the airport looking at the airplane. it looked like a piece of metal just peeled back right at the base of the tail. once that happened, it sucked the ceiling out and little skylight for everyone. >> we're going to work vigorously with the proper authorities to examine all of the aircraft safety records and

to try and determine the cause of this. >> investigators don't know what caused the damage. ntsb is working with southwest to investigate the plane, which is still in west virginia. southwest is inspecting all of its 737 300s. those planes make up about 1/3 of southwest's fleet, but for everyone who has a flight this morning, airline spokesmen say the inspections should not affect today's service. >> thanks. sounds like everyone was good natured about it. pets on the go are getting an upgrade. a new airline for pets makes its debut today. pet airways will offer flights in and out of bwi airport for dogs and cats. pets will travel in carriers in the main cabin of the plane instead of in the cargo hold. the airline will fly to new york, los angeles, chicago and denver but hopes to expand its service to 25 cities over the next two years. the cost for a one-way ticket out of bwi will be 150 bucks. >> marion barry could be facing more scrutiny today. the d.c. council is set to vote

on an independent investigation into his use of contracts. at large council member david catania says he's asking the d.c. inspector general to investigate a series of questionable city contracts worth several hundred thousand dollars that barry promoted through the d.c. department of health. barry says catania's move is politically driven. new today, sarah palin mate be leaving the alaska governor's mansion but she's not stepping out of politics certainly. she has written an op-ed article that is published in today's "washington post." in the piece, she takes on president obama's plan to reduce greenhouse gases, calling it a threat to the u.s. economy. the so-called cap and trade plan would allow industrial sources to buy and sell pollution permits, but palin writes it would undermine our recovery over the short term and would inflict permanent damage. she adds, in addition to immediately increasing unemployment in the energy sector, even more american jobs will be threatened by the rising cost of doing business under the

cap and tax plan, she calls it. well, president obama is making the nation's community colleges a priority. he's proposing a $12 billion effort to help community colleges train more people for jobs. under the plan, schools could qualify for so-called challenge grants. the money would go towards new programs, online education and to expand training and counseling. some of that money could be available by the 2010 budget year that begins in october. about 6 million students attend community colleges right now. mr. obama wants to raise that to $11 million by the year 2020. >> wall street is expected to get a boost today when goldman sachs makes a very big earnings announcement. courtney reagan joins us live today with today's business headlines. good to hear some good news. >> reporter: yeah, it sure is. looks like things are looking pretty good so far this morning still. futures a little bit higher following yesterday's rally that was kind of a surprise. yesterday morning things weren't

look so wonderful and the rally we saw yesterday was ultimately powered by the financial sector. after a very influential analyst upgraded her view on goldman sachs and said that bank of america stock looks cheap. goldman does report earnings this morning. tech could feel a little bit of pressure today though as dell says business customers are still putting off buying new technology. asian markets rose overnight and europe is higher at this hour. we'll get data today on producer prices, retail sales and business inventories. the dow's going to kick us off at 8331 after jumping 185 points on monday. the nasdaq added 37 to 1793. bernard madoff moves into new surroundings today to serve his 150-year prison sentence. the ponzi schemer has been transferred to a federal prison in atlanta before his expected move to another facility in buckner, north carolina, an eight-hour drive from new york city. he's joining several other

high-profile inmates including john rig i guess, the founder of a tell if i a communications who was convicted of securities froud in 2004 and jonathan pollard, the former u.s. navy officer who admitted to spying for israel in 1987. back to you in d.c. >> have a chance to get to know each other. thanks, courtney. >> reporter: won't that be lovely? >> news 4 is looking for jobs for you. looking for a job in health care, check out hca reston hospital center. they are looking for a team of ex peensed registered nurses, a coding supervisor, respiratory therapist and more. to learn more about the jobs, visit nbcwashiton.com and search jobs 4 you. >> 6:51 is our time. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> how much is it going to warm up today? >> i have a job for you. make me a hot bowl of oatmeal. another unusually cool july morning. yeah, maybe a little name syrup and cinnamon, too. >> i had one this morning. >> a few blueberries.

there's the scene around reagan national airport where the temperature now is at a cool 65 degrees. that's pretty mituch the warm st because they are on the warmer waters of the potomac river. the sun's been up for about an hour. hasn't warmed us up any. as we look at radar, no precipitation but look off to the west. it's only near 50 degrees, the panhandle of west virginia. weather watchers reporting shenandoah valley and around the blue ridge just to the east of the blue ridge only in the mid-50s there. and in prince george's county, it's in the low 60s. montgomery and fairfax, upper 50s, just near 60 degrees now. howard and frederick, as well as how did you know county, prince william in the mid-50s. charles, calvert, st. mary's now in the mid-60s weather watchers reporting there. weather watchers from the northern neck and eastern shore reporting low and mid-60s. meanwhile, in prince george's county at andrews, a cool . look at the dew point, nice and dry, 48. less than .2 of an inch o rain there. look out in the mountains.

only in the mid-40s in west virginia and western maryland. and all around the region we've got a clear sky. we had overnight shower that rolled across the northern neck, now heading out to sea. behind that, we had the clearing sky. a few wispy high clouds in the east. flight delays again in florida along the gulf coast, perhaps arou the mid-mississippi valley as well as the upper midwest. maybe a little rain in northern new england and the northern rockies. but elsewhere, everything is dry. it is certainly a chilly morning. in fact, feels more like a winter morning in northern michigan, grayling, michigan, which is right here inland away from the great lakes, only 36 degrees. that's right under high pressure that's anchored there. the circulation arod that high is pumping in some mild air for us for today. we'll have afternoon highs reushing jt the mid-80s. that's below the avera high. it will be comfortably dry and overnotice tonight a beautiful evening. by dawn tomorrow the low 60s. still not too humid on wednesday. highs inhe upper 80s. then on thursd, samte heat,

maybe an afternoon thundershower. friday and into thend wamkeee, little less humid. front coming in on saturday may give us a passing shower or thundershower. otherwise, weekend looks dry. >> thank you, tom. >> thanks very much. let's go to jerry edwards now and the news 4 traffic network. we've had some problems out there. >> whave, indeed. got another one to tell you about. first like to share the good news. that is 395 northbound all travel lanes, look at that, plenty of space between the vehicles headed up glebe road, pentagon area. no worries. southbound also moving along nicely. here comes trouble. downtown at 23rd street at the intersection of i street northwest, just in, word of water main break. we are told that 23rd street is going to be closed now at the intersection of i street near gw hospital so be prepared for that. we'll have some details. that just in. looks like another water main break and it caused some problems. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> thank you. >> checking the top stories now in the news for today, a house

subcommittee will hold a hearing on last month's deadly metro train crash. today's hearing comes on the heels of new recommendations by the national transportation safety board. they include upgrading the backups to the automated system. the failure of the system is believed by some to have been the cause of last month's deadly metro crash. >> also on capitol hill today, supreme court nominee judge sonia sotomayor is expected to face some tough questions from the senate judiciary committee as her confirmation process continues. senate republicans are planning to confront her with her own words, criticizing her for saying a wise latina would make better decisions than a white man. >> a southwest airlines flight bound for baltimore was forced to make an emergency landing. a hole opened up in the top of the fuselage at the rear of the plane yesterday. it's not clear what caused that damage. the plane did land safely in charleston, west virginia. nearly 200 southwest airline planes are now undergoing inspection as a precaution. >> some of the passengers on that plane might have felt this way. let's face it.

there are tis when gee wilikers won't do, the case in point, when you're in pain. scientists told some college students to hold their hands in ice water. some of those students did it while cursing. others used cleaner language. as it turns out, the cursing students could keep their hands in the ice water longer. scientists say cursing may increase a person's tolerance to pain because it triggers the body's fight or flight response. >> well, today's news 4 morning person has the kind of smile that brightens your day. 89-year-old mildred malcolm -- listen to this -- is a volunteer greeter along the e-6 bus route in friendship heights. did you know they had volunteer greeters? on the weekends she can be found with a smile from ear to ear walking along 32nd street and chestnut street. friends of mildred say she is a person who exudes kindness and friendship. if you know someone like mildred, e-mail their story and a clear, close-up picture or

video to morningperson@nbcwashington.com. that is "news 4 today." thank you for starting your day with us. >> see you later for "news 4 midday" at 11:00 a.m. we leave you this morning. if you listen closely over all the screaming, part of the jonas brothers' performance last night at the verizon center. >> bye. ♪ ( dryer blowing, music ) you can probably imagine a lot of ways... to make land o' lakes butter spreadable. ♪ the easy way... land o' lakes spreadable butter with canola oil. with the pure land o' lakes butter you love. soft and creamy, it spreads straight from the fridge.

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