the bottom line is that you probably know iran has an awful lot of plane crashes and as we mentioned, they have kind of a hodgepodge safety network set up in large part because of the u.s. sanctions and we don't allow any spare parts to go in or for that matter certainly no american planes are allowed to be sold to iran. so they rely on really old planes or they rely on russian planes that are also really old of the soviet era and there aren't a lot of spare parts around. >> you are keeping an eye on the investigation into the hole that appeared in the southwest airlines plane on monday forcing an emergency landing. what's the latest that? >> latest information now is that the ntsb in washington physically has that piece of metal, the pole, as you may recall the top of the plane, as it was departing nashville and its way to baltimore shall, made an emergency landing in west virginia and they are going to be doing tests on that particular piece of metal to try to determine what's -- was it a

metal fatigue, corrosion, was it some sort of a chafing that occurred on or around that piece of metal. why did that happen and why did it peel off of a plane that they don't have short answers to that? any quick answers. >> were there cracks in the planes discovered earlier? >> this particular plane had been inspected six months ago and there were 11 cracks on the fuselage of that plane, presumably all of those cracks had been repaired. however, the faa issued an air worthyness directive in may aimed at all 737 300s, 400s and 500s. looking for chafing near the dorsal fin. that's very close to where this happened. so the questio now is that -- did that air worthiness directive apply to this particular area where we now had this piece of metal peel up and are more importantly, does this apply, will we see other 737s with similar problems? you can imagine airlines are very concerned about that. >> lot of questions that need to be answered.

tom costello, thank you. >> police stand-off with the shooting suspect in falls church is now in its 22nd hour. scores of police and s.w.a.t. teams circle ad house near tysons corner. they say the man has been holed up inside the homes. a woman as shot yesterday evening. tracee wilkins has been following the story and is live on the scene. >> reporter: we want to stress this is a possible shooting suspect. police are not saying for sure that this is the man who shot this woman. what they are telling us is that they are watching this home very closely and will have changed since it started yesterday evening. but what has changed is that now they are communicating with someone inside of the home but at this time they won't say who. this all began last evening around 6:30 when police say a 36-year-old woman was shot on fisher drive in falls church. the witnesses reported seeing a man run from that scene and into a nearby home. that led to a stand-off, fairfax county and state police that is

still ongoing. we are told that there are other people inside of this home but we don't know how many. police say they are communicating with someone inside of the home but they won't say who. >> police are continuing to negotiate with people inside the home. certainly the job of negotiator is a time-intensive one and takes time to build the relationship and build that trust and we are continuing to work with the individual and to do everything we can to bring about a safe and peaceful conclusion to this incident. >> reporter: at this point police are not giving us any names or any ages. again, no numbers for how many people are inside of that home. and as i mentioned, craig, they are not seen saying that this man is definitely their suspect. they are not giving us a condition on the woman who was shot in the incident that led to all of this. now, police tells that the reason for being so vague is because they want to protect everyone involved i this and we have to trust the fact that, of course, they know what they are doing here. the information that we are getting is sparing information

at this point. we are bringing you everything that we are hearing as it becomes available. since this happened, police have had to shut down roads here in the neighbor hood and make adjustments to make sure that the things are safe for people that live here. we are going to hear from those people coming up at 5:00 p.m. for now back to you in the studio. tracee wilkins, lye in falls church. first on 4, we are hearing the frantic 911 call made by an elderly couple after a gunman stormed into their leesburg, virginia home. >> did you see a gun? did he a have a gun with him? >> he had a pistol. >> just hang in there. okay. >> all right. we are old. >> stay on the phone with me. just keep the door locked. okay. >> all right. >> i know. you are scared. >> i am. >> stay with me.

okay? >> the gunman spent eight hours inside the couple's home last friday before p before surrendering to police. the police credit it the couple for calming the gunman down. the gunman also led police on a crime spree. he allegedly stormed into another house in leesburg earlier that day and allegedly robbed a nearby pawn shop. coming up at 5:00, we will hear more of the dramatic 911 calls. chris gordon sits down with the elderly couple held by the gunman for hours. the judge in the banita jacks trial will allow the accused killer's police interrogation into evidence. jacks is on trial for killing her four daughters inside of her southeast d.c. row house. today the judge denied a motion to suppress statements that jacks made after the detectives found the bodies decomposing in january of 2008. in that videotaped interview, she said her daughters were

possessed and she withheld water, food, and clothes for them -- from them and locked them in their rooms. investigators believe the girls had been dead for morning six months before their bodies were found. beware if you get what appears to be a cell phone text message from your bank. >> also, local middle school students get an out-of-this-world lesson. >> police are searching for a hit-and-run driver that left a man critically injured in prince george's county. it happened just after midnight in capitol heights. police say that they found the man's body in the roadway. he was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. police have not released the man's identity or p a description of the car that hit him. authorities are still looking for a man who disappeared in the potomac river yesterday afternoon. emergency crews spent the morning searching for the man.

it happened south of angler's, the man was trying to swim across the river from the virginia side to the maryland shore. there is a new warning out for cell phone users. authorities say that scammers are using phones to obtain sensitive personal bank information. maryland attorney general douglas gantzler says there have been a number of reports of cell phone scams. scammers are sending text messages that appear to be from a bank. most bank will not contact their customers by text message or ask for personal information through an e-mail. the maryland summer centers program along with nasa is heading a state's career event for sixth and seventh grade students. nasa astronauts will attend and the event gave students a chance to learn about current applications of face technology and there will be a simulation of the process of designing a nasa discovery mission.

and students will learn all about the various careers in space exploration. supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor was back for another day of questioning on capitol hill today. sotomayor refused to reveal her personal views about abortion rights despite being pressed hard on that issue and steve handelsman has the latest. >> it is good to -- royf after the hearing turned to the issue of abortion, sotomayor would not reveal her views. but told senators that it is clear what the law is now. >> a woman has a constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy in certain circumstances. >> reporter: did president obama make sure sotomayor's pro-abortion rightsefore he nominated her to the supreme court. the white house says no. >> absolutely correct. i was asked no questions by anyone, including the president, about my views on any specific

legal issues. >> reporter: oklahoma republican tom coburn, a doctor who opposes abortion rights, pressed sotomayor. if doctors develop ways for babies to survive outside of the womb at an earlier stage than now possible, shod abortion restrictions be tightened? sotomayor refused to answer. >> probably couldn't -- i'm sure that situation might well arise before the court. >> reporter: coburn condemned this week's anti-abortion disruption. >> i apologize for the outburst that occurred in this committee. >> reporter: later as he joked with the first hispanic high court nominee -- coburn seemed to use the signature line of latino comic character ricky ricardo from "i love lucy." >> you have lots of 'splaining to do. >> you have done nothing to vindicate and reinforce the pride that so many people feel in you. >> reporter: some republicans are calling the nominee evasive.

>> confusing, backtracking on issue after issue. >> reporter: after three days of hearings, other republicans admit that sotomayor looks sure to be confirmed. >> the hard part for her the interrogation is almost over. tomorrow other witnesses come up to testify for and against sotomayor. i'm steve handelsman, news4, capitol hill. a vote by the full senate to confirm sotomayor is expected in early august that would allow her to join the high court for a casenvolving federal campaign finance law scheduled for september 9th. turning to the weather. the fabulous summer days just keep on coming. buare they coming to an end? chuck bell has our fast forecast from the storm center. chuck? >> a beautiful day outside today. although you probably noticed that our summer friend, humidity, is starting to make a little bit of a comeback. althou still a fairly nice blue sky hanging over washington right now. current temperature hopped up to 87 degrees. so on track for the middle of july.

88 right now down the road in richmond and 85 in salisbury, maryland. 87 in hagerstown. the real change has been the increase in humidity. this is the map that shows the change in dew point over the last 24 hours. our dew points here in washington climbed nearly 20 degrees and in just the last 24 hours. you are definitely going to start to notice a real touch of humidity around the nearest showers to us are down into far southwestern virginia. we still have many more dry hours to come. next chance for sprinkles may be just in time for the morning rush. the good night forecast is a cry one. mid 80s right now and mid 80s all the way through about 7:00, 8:00 tonight and low 80s by 9:00 and upper 70s by 9:00. there is a risk of thursday thunder coming our way. we will dehail that coming up in the complete forecast. the humidity making a comeback. the quick question now is how long will it stick around? complete check of all those details and the 7-day are in front of us. when "news4 at 4:00" continues, new details about the

death of michael jackson. was the king of pop murdered? an amazing rescue by a helicopter after a paraglider gets stuck in a tree. >> could you be putting yourself in danger the next time you head to the beach? why a study suggests you may want to stay out of the sand. >> and "harry potter" mania sweeps the country. fans are lining up to catch the w

maybe the sixth time will be the charm. this is a live picture from

outside of the space shuttle at the kennedy space center in florida where crews are getting ready for another attempt to launch the shuttle "endeavour." liftoff is scheduled for 6:03 tonight. astronauts will start board being 30 minutes from now. the last five launch attempts were scrubbed because of storms and technical problems. rob ryan says t weather down there is still a little iffy today. so it is down to the wire once again. kristen dahlgren has the story. >> reporter: it is a drill they have done. the astronauts suited up and smiled for the cameras. but are they headed for a launch or another letdown? with the crew now strapped into their seats and ready to go, it is a nail bite other launch pad 39-a. race against the countdown clock. nasa hoping this time the weather clears long enough to let "endeavour" lift off. >> a big way from chris cassidy

wearing his rally cap and hopes that that will change our luck. >> reporter: something "endeavour" hasn't had much of this mission. the launch was delayed wise in june when a hydrogen fuel line leaked. that was fixed but this week mother nature has been wreaking havoc. lightning strikes on friday force ad delay and then the threat of storms on sunday and monday meant two more scrubs. when "endeavour" gets off the ground astronauts have haeft lifting to do and installing the last part of the billion dollar japanese lab. a key component as nasa rushes to complete the international space station before the shuttle program retires next year. but even with the tight timeline today, there is little they can do but wait to see if the weather will finally let "endeavour" fly. this is one of just eight shuttle mission st. next scheduled to lift off in august. 'very tight timeline and officials admit that at this point it will be tough to keep to that schedule if they face

any more long delays. kennedy space center, kristen dahlgren, news4. >> we will bring thank you launch live if it happens this evening. dozens of d.c. area residents agreed to a local-carb diet. it is part of an annual event sponsored. 30 people pledged to ditch the personal vehicles for a month and drive a car-free lifestyle. that means instead of driving they will on choose instead to waushgs bike, take public transit or use a zip car if cessary. organizers say the goal of the effort is to show peopl living without a vehicle is not only cheaper and healthier but it is also easier than they think. imagine the commute. morning or evening from shady grove to the district or outer alexandria to the pentagon where you rarely tap on the brakes. it would be nice. the council of governments voted to use stimulus money for a rapid bus plan. kimberly suiters reports. >> reporter: the idea is to use

a lot less of this, bus owes the brakes and slowing down the daily commute. >> great deal. we need public transportation. >> reporter: $800 million plan to create rapid transit bus lanes. the council of governments voting wednesday whether to submit it and seek $300 million in federal aid. >> a good idea. good idea. >> reporter: 12 existing routes would be expanded. giving buses traffic signal priority and the ability to bypass congestion. >> sometimes when you ride the bus do you notice you get stuck in traffic just like all the other drivers. >> yes. that's happened most of the time. >> reporter: free lanes on k street, including those dedicated to premium parking and heavy traffic would be converted to buses only. >> a lot of people use public transportationill be grateful. >> reporter: everybody? not the truck driver who already finds d.c. traffic patterns perplexing. >> it is going to make it a

mess. it is bad enough. i thought they shouldn't have the trucks in the left lane and had the cars over to the right because they are the ones that get off more often. >> reporter: and not good for the cabbie. >> no. why? why? >> reporter: who would prefer to get close to the curb. >> bad for my business. >> reporter: because? >> because we don't -- not drive on the road. because we -- we not have a place, a chance. >> reporter: the cab driver worries he will be a potential loser not to be able to pick up customers on the side. people that like to drive their cars and business owners that say they need the customers to park right in front. one bus driver looks forward to rapid transit lanes. he says that at least we could get to all our stops on time. reporting in silver spring, kimberly suiters, news4. >> let's get the latest now on the afternoon ride home.

>> hello. let's take a trip around the capital beltway. looking at that time american legion bridge. the outer loop is going to be the slower of the two. and that's going to be along the right side of the roadway there. as you can see slowly rolling along, but still making its way down towards the tysons area. nothing in the roadway. all lanes open. inner loop of the beltway slow off and on beyond this point. more from 270 headed towards silver spring. if you are traveling elsewhere let's take a peek as we make our way in springfield. things are relatively good shape here. as you can see closer to the top of the screen, 95 southbound is starting to slow there. if you are traveling on the prince william parkway at suddenly manor drive, accident involving an overturned vehicle, one lane get fwhig both directions and that's causing a headache out of prince william county. back to you. >> coming up, off-duty police officer caught on tape going more than double the speed limit on a motorcycle. now authorities are trying to figure out why he wasn't ticketed for days. >> more and more people who are unemployed are mitting the road in search of a new job.

>> and soccer star david beckham celebrating his tenth weddi anniversary. he has advice for newlyweds. ??oó#ó#?cçóoç;ñ

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>> a fast-moving wildfire is threatening homes in western colorado. the blaze is burning near the town of norway. it has charred at least 500 acres so far. officials have evacuated about 20 homes as a precaution as the fire continues to spread. no word yet on what started it. firefighters have asked for more help in trying to put the blaze out. spectacular, gorgeous, amazing. not the case in minnesota. >> not so good in the beautiful land of 10,000 lake. this was the scene yesterday. hit hard by severe weather up there yesterday. tree knocked over there. a lot of high winds and reports of small tornadoes as well. quite a few roofs off of people's homes. made a big old mess of things. this is near spider, minnesota, yesterday. lot of damage done there. between didn't have to worry about that, beautiful weather and blue skies. current temperature here in washington, 87 degrees. dew point really climbing now. up to 59.

south breeze at 15 miles per hour. today the second day this entire month where it has been average or above average for temperatures. so it hasn't felt like july recently. 87 here. 87 in atlanta. memphis, 94 degrees. st. louis, 84 degrees. the big change, though, as i was mentioning earlier, is the change in humidity and really starting to come back now. yesterday we had dew points in 40s and low 50s. now we are in the upper zpifts low 60s and 70s are back out to the west. and that's the air that's coming our way. anything below 60 i grs for a dew point is comfortable. tomorrow in the light sly humid sxraeng the day after tomorrow will be in the humid range around here. dew points continue to climb over the next 24 to 48 hours. current temperatures, real industrial strength summer heat is now across the lone star state. dallas, 101. brownsville, 96. heat index values near or above 100 across the mid south and deep south and right along the gulf coast as well. satellite review here, there is the thunderstorms that roll out

of minnesota. they are now dying as they go lou parts of ohio valley. all part of a weather front that's going to be moving our way. high pressure moves away. it will allow the next weather front to come into our area during the day tomorrow. that will spark off at least a chance for a shower first thing tomorrow morning. and another chance important isolated thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon. do not look like much of a risk for severe weather tomorrow. most of the severe weather ris luc north of us during the day tomorrow. as we get into the day friday, an in-between day. mike cook up one or two lonely showers friday afternoon. mostly friday will be dropping. this evening, partly cloudy. warm. a little bit more humid. temperatures mid 80s for now. dropping into the upper 70s by 11:00. by the time you get up into the early morning hours tomorrow, partly to mostly cloudy and can't rule out a shower in time for morning rush. wakeup temperatures mid 60s in the suburbs to near 70 in town. by the bay. for tomorrow, mix of clouds and sunshine. can't rule out a spray passing shower or thunderstorm tomorrow afternoon. highs near 90 degrees. patting back over to you. >> thanks, chuck.

still to come on "news4 at 4:00," new information about the death of michael jackson. there are new questions about whether the pop star was murdered. swine fl is spreading. dozens of air force cadets test positive for the virus. is a credit card bill like you have never seen before. man opens up his visa statement to discover he owesó)

welcome back to "news4 at 4:00." i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm craig melvin. a look at the stories we are working on right now.

all 16 people aboard an iranian passenger plane are dead. the jet crashed into a field this morning. it had just taken off from tehran's airport to a flight to armenia. the aircraft caught fire before going down. most of the passengers aboard the plane were iranian. a police stand-off in falls church, virginia, is in its 22nd hour. scores of police and s.w.a.t. teams circle ad home near tysons corner. they say the man has been holed up inside of that house since a woman was shot yesterday evening. the police say that hostage negotiators have been in contact with someone inside of the home. also, nasa will try again tonight to launch the space shuttle "endeavour" to the international space center. liftoff set for 6:03. this is the sixth launch attempt. the others were canceled due to bad weather and tech mikhail problems. the astronauts are out at the space station and will be 13 people in orr sxwit that will be the biggest crowd in space ever.

pat? >> los angeles police are denying a report by tmz the michael jackson case is now a homicide investigation. and they reiterated that the probe is ongoing. as the investigation continues, so do questions about guardianship of the pop star's children. a hearing on that is set for monday. jay gray has the latest. ♪ >> reporter: than a week after their public good-bye to their dad, questions about who will raise michael jackson's three young children. lawyers for his ex-wife, debbie rowe, continue to fight allegations that she cares more about a cash settlement than custody of the kids. in response to a new york post story that roe agreed to a $4 million deal to drop a custody fight, her attorney wrote this letter demanding a retraction and insisting, quote --

>> debbie rowe on the attack. >> reporter: but the syndicated show "extra" interviewed this woman, rebecca white, who says she a friend of roe's and read e-mails that she claims are from roe days after jackson's death. >> i'm not going after custody, these kids are not mine. they were never mine. they were always michael's. my lawyer is telling me i have to take some responsibility about the welfare of the children. do i want the kids? hell, no. does it look good for me to ask for them, absolutely. >> reporter: again, roe's attorney answered with a warning and this statement. our firm sent miss white a letter disting the truth of her statements and demanding that she make a retraction in order to avoid legal action. the action for investigators is still focused on jackson's doctors. yesterday they made a second visit to dermatologist klein's beverly office where they spent an hour gathering medical records. while there continue to be rumors this is now a homicide investigation, the police say they will not make that decision

until they get a final autopsy report the coroner indicated that will likely happen by the middle of next week. in los angeles, jay grey, news4. >> fans continue to snap up michael jackson's music. 2.3 million cds have been sold since he died. are you surprised by reports that police are treating michael jackson's death as a homicide? that's our question of the day. to register your been that, logon to website, nbcwashington.com. we have new developments to report in the murder of the florida couple gunned down in their own home. authorities say that the suspects apparently did not expect cameras to be at the house. apparently someone was supposed to disable that surveillance system before the crime. that person never showed up. melanie and burt bill wrgs shot to death a week ago. they are known for adopting children with special needs and in extensive surveillance system captured the footage of the

alleged suspects slipping into the front and back doors of the couple's house in pensacola, florida. so far seven people have been arrested. we just learned a short time ago all seven are being held without bond. today police say they are looking for one moresuspect. there is a picture. they are looking for a female, real estate agent, who was described as a pivotal person in the operation. two motorcycle riders caught during 150 miles per hour. they did not get a ticket for days. turns out that the drivers, well, they were two off-duty state troopners ohio. this is from dashcam video from june 28 and shows them shortly after being pulled over by other officers. now, despite going 150 in a 65-mile-per-hour zone, the pair didn't get a ticket until at least four days later. everyone involved is being investigated. still ahead on "news4 at 4:00," a violent robbery at a bank is over in just minutes. it is all caught on tape.

and could you be risking your health the next time you head to the beach? the potential dangers of playing in the sand. ñgióóñyñqñssssst

welcome back. i'm meteorologist chuck bell. you are watching "news4 at 4:00." certainly a beautiful day in the washington area. there are a couple of lonely showers way down in southwestern virginia towards roanoke and blacksburg and christiansburg and couple of thunderstorms in far southeastern kentucky, heading towards the north side, knoxville, ten. all is dry around our fair realm. we don't need twoy about rainfall. overnight tonight, skies will go from mostly clear now to partly to mostly cloudy by morning time. could even have a sprinkle or two around just in time for the morning rush. wakeup temperatures upper 60s to the near 70 degrees. for the day tomorrow, mix of clouds and sunshine and can't rule out a passing shower. maybe even a rumble or two of thunder. especially across northern maryland by later tomorrow afternoon. the all-important seven-day forecast, tomorrow's high near 90 degrees with plenty of summertime humidity around. a passing shower also possible on friday with a high near 88. cooler weather moves in for the weekend and saturday looks like it will be the riskier day for outdoor activities because we la

l have a chance for showers. sunday looking dry for a high near 80. monday relatively cool by mid july standards. ten degrees cooler than average. next chance for shower after that comes along about tuesday of next week. a little chance for rain tomorrow. slight chance on friday. best chance of rain over the next couple of days comes up on saturday. back to the news. >> thank you, chuck. the low-fat and high-fiber diet proven to lower blood pressure may also be the recipe for keeping your memory sharp as you age. that's the word from researchers at utah state university. they spent more than a decade following 4,000 people over age 65. those who ate a diet rich in whole grains and veggies and low fat dairy and nuts and beans were less likely to suffer memory loss compared to the others. however, it is still unclear exactly how much of those foods you need to eat to see any benefit. stay active can keep your brain sharp. another study by the university of california found that older people who did not exercise

experienced faster rates of mental decline than people who worked out on a regular basis. the study also found that it is never too late to get moving. during the seven-year study said dwrar adults that started new exercise programs were able to sharpen their thinking skills. >> more health news for you. a warning about a popular beach activity today. it is playing in the sand. researchers found 13% of team that dug in the sand suffered some form of illness a few days later. most often it was a gastrointestinal illness. people also reported getting sick after being buried in sand. experts say they are not discouraging people from playing in the sand because the risk for getting sick was less than 10%. but they do say that using hand sanitizer or washing your hands after playing in sand is a very good idea. >> ever eat dirt as a kid? >> not deliberately. my brother would. >> lot of kids did that. >> did you? >> once or twice.

i didn't like it too much. when "news4 at 4:00" continues, during the tough times, more and more people who were losing their jobs are hitting the road. hoping to find work behind the wheel. >> plus lots of people love eating crabs but it can be difficult to cook. we will get tips from an expert when how to cook the crabs to perfection.

lot of people loved to eat crabs in the summer. but most fall short when it

comes to knowing how to prepare them. with a little help from the website monkeysee.com the owner of a popular crab market in virginia shows us how. >> i'm here to tell you how to choose ideal crabs. there are three important things to remember. first, you want them to be 5 1/2 inches foynt point. second, you want health care him to be hard, rusty bey. you want to make sure he is male. mal we prefer males as females's 'souls are reason it is depleted of crabs. i will show you how to cook them. first, i will start off with adding special ingredients to the water. i want to make sure you use a pot with the basket so the crabs aren't touching the water. you will lift them up about a couple of inches.

one to two is fine. you want to add about one-third parts water. then you want to add about one-third part vinegar. and, of course, youan't forget old bay. i use about two-thirds cup. now we are going to show you how to cull them. for those of you that don't kno what culling is, separating out the live from the dead crabs. it is important to separate them out because you don't want to cook a dead crab. the bushel basket in this position away of culling crabs. you just lean them up here. let them walk out if they want to. i'm not using gloves. however, it is preferable since you don't touch them every day, use gloves. from the point of boiling, you want to go about 25 to 30 minutes. okay. the crabs have been on for about 30 minutes or so. we are going to check to see if they are done. what we are looking for is a bright red color, the same all throughout and this one is perfect. a couple of tips about cooking crabs. you want to make sure that the

crabs in the middle of the pot are fully cooked. second, you want to make sure when you pull them out use tongues. they can be very hot. now that you put all the crabs on the plate, you want one finishing touch. a good helping of a lot of crab spice. just go ahead and load it on and they are ready to be eaten. now to more, learn the best way to eat the crabs. learn how to make grilled smashed potatoes to go along with your crab feast. go t nbcwashington.com and search monkey see. to better your chances of finding a new job many unemployed workers are going back to school. some workers are trading their white colors or white lines on the road. more and more people are apparently signing up for truck driving school. drivers earn an average of $37,000 a year, making an attractive job for many. experts say that the trucking is not for everyone.

training can cost up to $5,000 and take three to six weeks to complete. you also have to have a clean medical and driving record and being on the road all day is pretty hard work. >> sure is. still ahead on "news4 at 4:00," daring rescue involving a helicopter after a man gets stuck in a tree while pair gliding. soccer star, beckham. on the "today" show and gives matt lauer an unusual gift. good afternoon p.m. i'm wendy rieger. chilling calls for help from that elderly couple after an intruder broke fire that house and held the husband and wife hostage. we will hear them first on 4. are you looking for a bargain? five things you can get a good deal on right now. we will tell you what they are. how much is too much when it comes to homework? there are some new recommendations. those stories and much more tonight on "news4 at 5:0" éxóq

(announcer) the official $5

combo of summer is here. with curly fries and a drink for only $5. it's the $5 combo done better. it is so nice outside. chuck bell couldn't stay at his december. >> absolutely true. and now i'm wishing -- what i'm thinking is i should have brought my car keys because then i could just sort of migrate over to the car and then next thing you know, i'm home. work, work is always there. anyway, outside on the front lawn. beautiful day today. plenty of shine. we could use the rain. check out the news4 sample grass out here. a little onhe ry dide this ry n.n.oo b eage hn g eeasdittineastly drier over the last

couple of weeks. we had a half an inch of rain over the past few weeks. things are starting to dry out. you don't have to mow it as much. temperatures at 87 degrees in washington. not too bad. satellite picture shows there are going to be clouds on the increase around here. mostly clear skies for now. there you can see the line of showers with yes, ma'am bedded thunderstorms going through the ohio valley. clouds on the increase tonight. and chance of sprinkles in time for the morning rush. a dry evening. make sure evening plans without hesitation and wake up temperatures tomorrow morning with a chance of sprinkle around. upper 60s and low 07s. tomorrow's highs, nosing in on 90 degrees. if that happens it will be the second 90-degree day here in the month of july. back into the freezing cold studio. >> yes. just a little chilly in here. thanks, chuck. soccer star and heartthrob david beckham is back on american soil and getting ready to play for the los angeles galaxy. he's sll vmuery chhe ter fyamil n. ha m and his wife victoriabe en ten rbrheth t

frsary rtlyou kton mhe tar onocsiav d,caid got a special tattoo. ten roses on his upper arm. during the visit to the "today" show he offer ad few words of advice for newlyweds. >> see your face and get to see theirs. >> she is into the marriage. if you have children and lucky enough to have children, which we have three beautiful boys, you know, you -- you your priority is them. you know, you also have to make time for each other. it is so important you spend as much time together. >> now, did you happen to notice the suit beckham was wearing pt matt lauer told him the suit he was wearing. after the interview he took the suit off and gave it to matt who was more than happy to show it off. we don't know if he will wear. >> it if you look at the shot it looks like they are wearing the same suit. same shade of gray. >> maybe that's why matt liked it. >> maybe. coming up, talk about an expensive credit card bill. take a look at this guy's bill. his visa statement. he has been charged $23 quadrillion.

"harry potter" fans line up here and across the country to be some of the first to see the latest movie in the popular series. we will be right back.

you want to relieve a little of the stress in your life? cut the clutter. experts say a simple step like

downsize when it comes to your stuff can really enhance the quality of your life. an article in "washington woman" magazines offers a few ideas how to make all of the clutter go away. sell used items online. through ebay or craigslist. consign items at local thrift shops. donate you wanted clothes and goods to charities like the salvation army or dress for success. or you can list items on freecycle.org. items will go to someone that will use and appreciate them. they also keep you wanted items out of landfills. for more information go to nbcwashington.com. search washington woman. let's take a look at some of the other stories making news on the web today. a violent robbery at bank in washington state caught on tape. you can see the two suspects storm into the bank in the studio. brandishing guns and demanding cash. thankfully no one was injured and police say the whole ordeal lasted less than two minutes. police are still looking for both of the suspects. >> elsewhere in washington

state, crews had to rescue a paraglider that got stuck in a tree. you can see the navy helicopter pulling the man to safety and he was flown to a nearby hospital. that man only suffered minor injuries. at least 67 air force cadets in colorado had been put into isolation after being diagnosed with the swine flu. the cadets all attend the aforce academy in colorado springs. none of the cases will be severe enough to require hospitalization. however, the number of sick cadets could grow because test results are still pending on dozens more cases. and how about this for an expensive meal? john steele went out to ee monday night and when he looked at the credit card statement he noticed he was charged $23 quadrillion. that's more than 2,000 times the national debt. visa says it was a computer glitch and said that that same glitch impacted several thousand people. other other person was charged

$23 quadrillion. those errors have since been corrected. >> 15 zeros to make a quadrillion. "harry pott" mania is here. fans have been lining up all day across the kungtri for the first chance to see the highly anticipated movie. "harry potter and the half-blood prince" is the sixth installment of the potter movies and if the lines are any indication, this, too, will be a blockbuster. leanne gregg has more. >> reporter: sometimes strange and wonderful world of "harry potter" comes to life again in theaters across the country. ♪ >> reporter: lines were from los angeles to new york where the film officially opened at midnight. potter fans waited hour outside of the theeters to see the latest series installment, "harry potter and the half-blood prince." in this sixth potter film, based on the popular book series, the leading character reveal as new side. >> the tough guys in this movie.

>> reporter: even though described as an excursion into the dark side of the series the movie promises to please loyal fans with what's familiar in the franchise. >> there is amazing magic to it but yet, it flows as if you could practically feel like you are a teenager at the hogworth school. >> reporter: they will navigate trials and tribulations of high school with an add touch of magic. the longtime bond between characters helps stride the film. >> definitely will miss it. trying to make the most of it. >> reporter: harry and his sidekicks as they cast another spell on moviegoers. leanne gregg, n news. >> and that's "news4 at 4:00." "news4 at 5:00" starts right now. >> you are watching "news4 at 4:00." right now on "news4 at 5:00," we are live on the scene after police stand-off that has been going on for nearly 24