fast and furious, flames, an out of control fire roars through the house of a prominent washington tonian. the problem firefighters encounter that had made battling the blaze so difficult. president obama had publ, a commander in chief, a harvard proves or and a place officer all walk into a bar. they'll sit down at a picnic table than the controversial issue that led to this white house summit. training day. the washington redskins are trekking toward the start of the season. what you need to know before you head out to watch them practice. good morning, quoel to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. and i'm barbara harrison. thursday, july 30th, 2009. and let's start off with a look outside. you can't tell right now, but there are clouds out there. and it is hot and humid. >> there are a few clouds, but i can actually see a couple of

stars an planets in my drive in. so there are some clear spots around the area. also a little bit ofatchyogural, t n in the ridge andnahe r sndna sgs ey annapos,li tf fo,chchg. o o fog. naanpolis, 74. german town ee.grrkmapo70 hagarstown. there's a checkf o live dopplera tnd a ease. lor reaaj maj threat for afa oss tre ay. todatoday. highs will be up into the low 90in many spots, a few plas evght engh reach the mid-90s. upper 80s in the high spots west of town, west otheean blu ridge. there's always that chance that never say neff chance of mother nature that we could have one or two lonely little showers today, but nothing compared to what we had yesterday. >> okay. thanks very much. let's go to jerry edwards now and take a look at the roadways. good morning. so far so good. we'll check out interstate 66

between fair oaks and vienna. looks like we're doing okay this morning. no late issues to report. they're wrapping up the construction on the inter-loop of the beltway. that should be gone by now. the drive to route 50 over the bay bridge, to worries. looks like central avenue is doing okay 37 new york avenue, all is well so far. barbara and joe, back to you. in the news this morning, a massive fire in the district has reduced the home of former school board president peggy cafritzo rubble. this morning investigators are trying to figure out what sparked those flames. >> the blaze ripped through the home on chain bridge road last night. it took firefighters hours to put out the flames because of what is becoming a pretty familiar problem in washington. >> news 4's meg mcgrath joins us with details. >> reporter: that problem last night, low water pressure here in the area. they also had a hydrant that

wasn't working. look behind me here. you can see that we still have road blocks in the area. we're actually here macarthur and nebraska avenue. they have chains blocking other the area. that's because of a low water pressure situation. they had major problems getting hydrants to work to get those hose lines going, so appartly they got hose lines running all over the surrounding area just in case hot spots flare up. so they've had to close down roads this morning so that people don't run over those hose lines with their cars. now, this was a massive fire. it broke out at about 8:15 last night. and actually neighbors say they saw flames in a relatively ntained area, it was actually rather small, they say, when it broke out on the front porch in the corner of the house. when crews arrived, though, they had one broken hydrant in the area. other hydrants had extremely low

water pressure, so they had trouble getting water, they had trouble establishing hose lines. as they scrambled to try on do that, the fire crews, the flames kept going and going and going and completely engulfed the house. the house is a total loss. now, this home belongs to peggy cooper cafritz, she's a well-known if i plan throw miss, as well as a community activist, she had a priceless art collection inside this home. everything it appears has been lost in this fire. so just a massive blaze and of course now we have a larger situation with the water pressure. many in the area very concerned about the water pressure situation, the fact that they could not establish hose lines to actually beat down the flames here. and according to neighbors, they say that this is just something that didn't need to happen this way, that when they first saw the flames, it was in a relatively contained part of the house. but because of the water pressure situation, they just could not get those hose lines

going. and of course the fire continued to grow and grow and there's really nothing left of this home at this point. >> it took them a couple of hours to get hose lines to get water to that fire. >> reporter: it was a very long time. it was a very long time. >> and apparently she and other familyembers were on vacation. they've had a hard time reaching her. i'm not even sure if she knows yet apparently. they had not reached her as of last night. >> reporter: there was nobody in the home. >> thanks very much. we'll have more throughout the newscast, of course. in other news right now, police are looking for the killers who are targeting restaurant workers in waldorf. they say the thieves are responsible for two robberies in a matter of week and the latest attack was deadly. this happened tuesday night at two brothers walked home from the yum's buffet on crain highway. the two were ham bushed after a struggle, lech nad dough in a narro guttierez was fatally stabbed. the body of a man was found

inside a car in alexandria and police are calling the death suspicious. a woman flagged them down and directed them to the car where police found a man withdraw made to his upper body. police have not identified the victim or made any arrests. the ntsb released new findings about that deadly metro crash, but investigators still don't know why a controlled circuit lost track of the train stopped on the tracks. investigators say adjustments were made to the track circuit just days before the accident. though it's not clear what impact that had on the crash. also in the report, we learned the electrical components in the area where the crash occurred are original pieces of equipment dating back to the mid-7. the federal investigation continues. metro employees who break the rules will pay the price. metro announced yesterday that delinquent employees will face stiffer penalties. this comes following a rash of alleged improper behavior. a metrobus driver was arrested on fellfully kidnapping charges

and just last week, another bus driver was arrested after getting into an argument with a passenger. metro says the driver refused to let her off the bus for about a half an hour. that driver is on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation. health care reform is moving forward on capitol hill. housers have finally reached a deal with fiscally conservative democrats. but the president's drawn out campaign is taking a toll on his popularity. according to a new poll, the president's job approval rating is falling for the third straight month. it dropped from 61% in april to 56% in june to 53% this month. the version of that fiscally conservative democrats came up with cuts costs by about $100 billion. under the deal, the house won't vote on the legislation until september, so lawmakers can read the bill and listen to constituents. >> it's not going to be cheap and it's going to increase the deficit. and i think most americans are

concerned with that. >> support for reform, though, is dwindling among americans. 41% approve of the president's position on on the issue, but the president continues to make the effort at a health care forum in north carolina, president obama said he does not expect congress to vote on the legislation until fall, but he also made it clear that he will not be patient if negotiations continue to drag on on capitol hill. president obama is hitting the pause button on health care today to settle a racially charged dissuit. the president will meet with harvard scholar henry lewis gates jr. and sergeant james crowley at the white house tonight. he's invited the two for a beer summit in an act of diplomacy. crowley took gate there is to custody for on disorderly conduct during an investigation into a possible break-in at the skl lar's own home. gates accused the boston cop of racism of. the president's comments during a news conference inflamed matters when he said the police

had acted stupidly in arresting gates at his own home. mr. obama is hoping to mend the situation by listening and talking with both about what happened. you're time is 5:08. 73 degrees. a government panel recommends who should go to the front of the line when the swine flu vaccinations begin. plus, what investigators are now saying about michael jackson's toxicology report and when they will release it. and what researchers are saying about organic food and how it affects your health.

a good thursday morning to you. it is now 5:11 on your thursday morning. 73 degrees here in washington. 72 in fairfax county. 71 in montgomery county, and 70 on the nose in winchester, virginia. highs this afternoon, upper 80s in the high spots west of town, but low to mid-90s right near around town. upper 80s by the bay and then for tomorrow, we'll start off with some sunshine, but tomorrow afternoon, the clouds have turned with a chance of thunderstormon our friday night. jerry, down to for you a check of the roads. let's see how we're doing. good morning, every. doing fine between proceroslyn georgetown. southeast corridor, 295 inbound are fine. a fender bend der southbound 295

just north of the beltway. police are wrapping that up. our time is 5:12. a guilty verdict is handed down in a shocking dh c. murder case. >> next at 5:15, health experts decide who will get topñ there are moments in time when the paths we take do determine our future. today we are communicating with each other as never before -

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our time is 5:14. updating the top stories, no word on what you caused that massive overnight house fire in the district. flames broke out on chain bridge oig road in northwest. the home belongs to peggy cooper cafritz. today president obama sits down for a beer and some conversation with a black scholar and the white police officer who arrested him. he's trying to well the controversy between henry lewis gates jr. and police sergeant james crowley. the president has said he made a poor choice of words in saying the police acted stupidly in the incident. and the space shuttle "endeavour" is set to return to earth tomorrow. the shuttle is supposed to land at the kennedy space center in florida. a guilty verdict in a shocking case of murder. a d.c. woman has been convicted of killing her four daughters and living with her decomposing bodies for months.

banita jacks was found guilty on four counts of felony murder, three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of cruelty to children before her daughters' bodies were discovered in january of 2008 inside jacks' home in southeast washington. investigators believe the girls had been dead for seven months. prosecutors say there are no winners in this case. >> ts is very sad. nobody comes out of this poor house happy. can't bring these kids back and you can't undo what the last moments of their of lives. >> jacks' lawyer says he will appeal. an indictment in last month's deadly shooting at the holocaust you moo see up, james von brunn is charged with first-degree murder in the death of steven johns, a secury officer at the museum. the indictment also includes hate crime charges and gun violations. some of the charges could carry the death penalty. von brunn is still in the hospital after he was shot by museum security guards. there's growing concern

about the swine flu. doctors can are concerned the virus coul spread because the vaccine will not be ready by the time children go back to school in the fall. the vaccine's clinical trials are under way and manufacturing is on target to get the first doses out in october, but there will not be enough for everyone right away. kristen dahlgren explains. >> reporter: with recommendationed h1n1 vaccines likely to be available this fall, the c it dc in you has at risk groups targeted for the front of the line. pregnant women, health care workers, people from six months to 24 years old, caregivers for infants under six months, and adults 24 to 64 with medical conditions that would put them at a high risk for complications. all groups now affected more frequently and severely than the general population. >> they'll look at those populations in which the virus has been most active, where is it causing the most damage. >> reporter: the government hopes the first doses are available for those groups by october. though doctors recognizes fact

the recommendations may have to be refined as they see exactly how much vaccine can actually be manufactured by then. >> influenza vaccines, whether seasonal or this new h1n1 vaccine, production can be unpredictable. right now we are on track expecting vaccine doses in the fall. >> reporter: but today, a painful reminder that the ultimate goal is to get protection to everybody. creep in a losher son and daughter just 19 and 26 this month. >> i never dreamed that this would happen. >> reporter: one family's heart break, a warning to all that the outbreak continues even as researchers scramble it to get out life saving vaccines. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, atlanta. government county schools have decided to provide both swine flu and seasonal flu vaccines to all of its students. this are more than 137,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. school officials say they will start disbursing the seasonal flu shot right after school

begins and then give out the swine flu vacci when it becomes available likely in october or even november. the shots will be offered for free, but they will not be mandatory. if you've been eating organic food for nutritional or health benefits, some researchers now believe you've been wasting your time and your money. about $50 billion was spent on organic food in 2007, most people who buy organic food say they're doing it because of its perceived health benefits. but after an exhaustiv study, british researchers found no evidence of significant health or nutritional benefits. well, football fan, it's that time of year again. redskins training camp begins today. >> here's this morning's sports minute. >> reporter: good morning. your sports minute starts with the beginning of redskins training camp. this morning players start the long trek towards the start of the season and, of course, players have two practices today.

head coach jim zorn says he may allow some of the veterans a break and only have them participate in one. it's only the first day, coach, you can't take it easy on them yet. lindsay and i will have live coverage of training camp starting at 4:00 p.m. to baseball. the nationals blew a four run lead and a chance to win five games in a row for the first time all season. in the sixth inning last night, brewers pinch hitter casey mcgee clocked a two run home run off tyler and the brewers beat the nationals 7-5. to baltimore, the os rallied to beats the royals. the os win it 7-3. and soccer, abby, the wps player of the week, scored the only goal of the game as the freedom beat the boston breakers 1-0. that's your sports minute. everybody have a great thursday. well, it's a tradition that dates back 85 years. tens of thousands of people lined the shore line yesterday to watch the am ponies run.

dozens of ponies ran across the channel yesterday morning. the swim only took a few minutes to complete and today as many as 80 ponies will be auctioned off 37 the proceeds will be begin to the local volunteer fire department which cares year-round for the herd. our time is 5:21. time again for traffic and weather. >> we'll check in with chuck. >> i never heard horses referred to as a herd. i've heard of cow, but never a herd of horses. i'm sure that's what you call them, i just have never heard it. almost as many people in boat as there were horses to do the swimming. outside around here today, we have r. in in store for a very summer like die. to doubt about it. 73 down up to already. 73n clinton, 63 degrees now in culpepper, virginia. the seven day forecast, today hot and humid, 92 degrees here today. a 50% chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms returns

tomorrow. then saturday looks like a dry day with a high near 88. and another chance it for thunderstorms late in the day on sunday. so sort of an every other day pattern for on us. monday looks dry. ofourse the day after that would be tuesday and another chance for showers and thunderstorms then. so, jerry, we've got this thing worked out where we have a best chance of rain about every other day. we can live with that. we have no choice. let's see how we're doing. clear dry road surfaces so far this morning. 95 coming up with dale city looks like moving along pretty well all the way on up into the capital beltway. all travel lanes open and any overnight road work has been wrapped up. let's check your speeds. from the north, along 270, from i-70 to clarksburg, 13 minutes. another two minutes between clarksburg and german town. and then from 27 headed on down to the 134risplit, just 17 minu. back to you. it looks like you can say a herd of horses. maybe there's another name, too, another way of describing a group of horses. >> not only can you, but we did.

>> we did. well, i certainly did, but i googled it to see if maybe there was some other because of describing it. the time is 5:22. >> what a 7-year-old boy did because he did not want to go to church. p. and investigators are saying when they think michael jackson's toxicology result will be release. plus, a fruit and venlable stand caught in the middle of a controversy thatid s dhu d first, we dig a hole next to the house.

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a utah boy took matter ngs it to his own hands when it got it too hot to go to church. he stole his parents' car and went for a joy ride instead. his parents had no idea their car or their child was missing. that's until police called and said an unusual reckless driver came in. look at him go. oh, my goodness. he we'ved through traffic and blewhrough stop signs everyone though he had some trouble reaching the pelds. investigators say the boy is too young to be charged with ime. they hope that his parents will now keep a closer eye on him. it's been five weeks since michael jackson died and we still don't know what killed him. toxicology reports were expected this week, but this morning there's word that they may be delayed for another week. the coroner's office hasn't said why. meanwhile, authorities are focusing on jackson's doctor and whether he administered a

powerful anesthetic that killed thpop star. >> did he issue propofol, did he have other propofol in store annual, what kind of medical files did he keep. all this evidence is relevant to the prosecution to show that dr. murray was reckless this treating mr. jackson. >> jackson's personal fish told investigation get a tors that he gave jackson a dose of propofol the night he died so that he could sleep. authorities have searched the doctor's property trying to find evidence for manslaughter charges. let's have a beer. the controversy that sparked a meeting at the white house. also, why firefighters took so long to battle this out of control fire that destroyed the home of a well-known washington tonian. and what we're learn bgt problems that may have caused that deadly crasalonmetro's g red line. fwrs wqocgc

a made sif fire destroys the home of peggy cafritz. why it took firefighter so is long to get the flames under control. happy hour. the controversial arrest of a black harvard professor by a white police officer. president barack obama's latest efforts to calm the controversy. kickoff. redskins fans are gearing up as the team's training camp gets started. what you need to know before you head out to watch the practices. good morning and welcome to

"news 4 today." i'm joe krebs and it is thursday, this 30th day of july, 2009. >> and i'm brash bra harrison. we're glad you're up with us this morning. let's start off with a look at our weather. as we look outside, we understand there are patches of blue and we had will see them i guess when the sun rises. but it's muggy out there. chuck, what can we expect for the rest of the day? well, i think you've hit the nail on the head. mugginess is on the way for today. plenty of heat and humidity here in the washington area. 73 downtown right now. 70 in kn 7072 in burke, 72 in montgomery village and 74 in annapolis. here owe h.'s our forecast. mostly sun any sky, although there will be a few passing clouds and only on the slightest chance of a shower. but it will be a warm one. get those portable fans ready to go. highs today into the low and mid-90s around town. sun comes up at 6:08. so that's not but 37 minutes

from now. let's head out to the roads and see what jerry has to tell us. any problems that the hour? >> good morning and, no, nice and quiet so far. keeping our fingers crossed. out on the major thoroughfares headed in, seem to be doing pretty well. east capital street, no early issue it is report. elsewhere, we'll take a look headed into southeast. bridges doing fine. out in fredericksburg, i-95 northbound to the beltway and 66 also look going. back to you. a massive fire in the district last night and a well-known washington woman's home is reduced to rubble pep this morning investigators are trying to figure out what sparked the flames. >> that blaze ripped through the home of peggy cooper cafritz on chain bridge road in northwest last night. it took firefighters hours to put out the flames because of what is becoming an all-too familiar problem.

>> megan mcgrath joins us live with details. >> reporter: it was a big problem. broken fire hydrants and low water pressure in the area. we actually still have road closures here. you can see that chain bridge is closed, parts of nebraska avenue also closed. that's because they're running hose lines all over the place because they could not establish a water supply in the immediate neighborhood. let's take a look at this video. this this was a very, very dramatic fire. it broke out at about 1815 last night. neighbors say they saw flames and a relatively small area actually on the porch at the corner of the house. they called 911. when fire crews arrived, they had one broken fire high drant and the other hydrants in the area had extremely low water pressure, so they had trouble getting water to their hose lines. they could not knock down the flames. they had to scramble to establish hose lines connecting them to hydrants in other areas and that cost valuable time as they tried to go forward with

that effort, the fire just grew and grew and grew and the house was completely destroyed. now, this home belongs to peggy cooper cafritz, she's a well-known philanthropist and community activist in the area. she also is said to have a price wls art collection inside the home. she was recently featured in "o magazine." one would have to think that it is a complete loss at this point. there really is nothing much rest left of this house at all. just a terrible situation. neighbors say they watched as the fire continued to grow and as firefighters scrambled to get those hose lines going, they just couldn't do it because of the water pressure in the area. talked to a woman who was walking her dog just a short time ago and she lives just down the street and she said the water pressure issue has been troublesome for a while since a lot of development occurred in the area. she says when these houses went up, they just started having all kinds of problems with their water. certainly that's going to be part of the investigation into what happened here yesterday. they'll be looking at the water situation trying to figure out what's going on and how they can

improve it. at for the cause of the fire, still under investigation. should also mention that nobody was home at the time. the house was empty. nobody was injured. but certainly a devastating fire here. and they're going to still have to figure out what's going on with the water pressure in this neighborhood. back to you in the studio. >> that's one of the questions we're going ask the mayor when he joins us later this morning. thanks a lot. well, the ntsb released new findings about that deadly metro crash, but investigatoring still didn't though why a control circuit lost track of a train stopped on the tracks. investigators say adjustments were made to the track's circuits just days before the accident. though it's not clear what effect that had on the crash, if any. also the report says that the electrical components in the area where the crash occurred are original pieces of equipment. they date back to the mid-70s. the federal investigation continues. the controversial arrest of a harvard professor will be hashed out over beer. today president barack obama is meeting it at the white house to discuss the incident and it

fallout. these are the images that sparked the debate. cambridge police sergeant james crowley arrested professor henry lewis gates jr. at his home. brooke shart live on capitol hill with more on what's happening today. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the president has said the arrest sparked what he called a teachable moment. he made himself part of the heated argument about it and tonight he hopes that some beer will help cool everyone off. before and after harvard professor skip gates was handcuffed 59 his own home, many saw one questionable call after another. glt cambridge police acted stupidly. >> reporter: president obama said later he didn't quite mean that. >> i could have calibrated those words it differently. >> reporter:ed president's reaction, though, fired up right wing comment at a time tors who called the police rash and racist, so tonight it's beer on a white house picnic table for the three involved. the president, professor sgat, and cambridge sergeant james crowley whose response was backed up by witnesses.

>> i support what he did 100%. >> reporter: charges against gates were dropped. his supporters took a stand last night. and the naacp backs up the present's first comment. >> indeed the president was right in his first analysis. we commend him having the church to begin raising issues about racial profiling and racial relationships withinhe united states of america. >> reporter: no apologies are expected from anyone, though many say blame is shared. >> i think the cop might have overreacted. i think gates, the homeowner, definitely overreacted. and i think obama spoke his opopinioion before all the fact were in. >> reporter: will the divide tonight extend to beer? >> all i can see a one party saying less filling and the other party saying more taste. >> reporter: still no indication that beer will soften their first instinct in the nation's latest image of race and police. in fact, sergeant crowley and professor gates say it was the other who matt arrest about race.

they say president obama tonight hopes to start a dialogue and end what supporters admit has been a distraction from his agenda. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. back to you. >> that you think, brooke. well, it is a debilitating december seize, one that on which goesundiagnosed, but today lyme disease takes center stage with a push for awareness. 9d disease of course is spread by ticks and the first sign is usually a circular rash. some patients develop fatigue, fever and aches. as the disease progresses, it can become more debilitating. today there will be a hearing at the ronald reagan building in northwest washington. our time is now 5:38. the temperature 73 degrees here in washington. strapped for cash? lawmakers are considering selling their house and senate buildings. plus, a popular place to get fresh produce. why concerns about safety could close down this maryland fruit and vegetable stand. and are you swimming in sewage or other dangerous pollution? hour our area's beaches faired

in the beach quality report. up and move. >> i don't see where this is any kind of issue of safety. i don't understand what it is, but it's just not fair.

>> maryland highway officials say the fact remainsnt right-of and should be used for roadside emergencies, not a roadside stand. the owner of country time has hired an attorney and is trying to fight the closure in court. after years of work aphistoric elementary school is ready to reopen. the mayor presided over a rib one cutting ceremony at hd cook elementary yesterday. the new school building was modernized and expanded using energy efficient designs. hd cook was built 100 years ago. the city spent $35 million on its renovation. and there was another ribbon cutting yesterday at the burn center. a newly renovated gym was dedicated. dos p injured patients normal l. they collect $100,000 for this renovation project. welsh the university of maryland is enacting a hiring

freeze because of budget con strantds there. the college park campus will also cut staff through retirements and possibly even layoffs. university president said the cuts are unavoid bl. the school has to eliminate mor year's budget. the maryland state university system faces a $37.8 million deficit. umd plans to offer new courses in hopes of generating more revenue. 00 d.c. man is just a hair away from a guinness world record. his name is brian peterton and he has a 6.5 inch long eyebrow hair. he's trying to beat the current record holder, a japanese woman with a seven inch long eyebrow hair. >> i will 00 be in bed and tossing and turning and have to be careful when you toss because it can just get pulled. >> brian has named this eyebrow hair wally as a play on the acronym for world's longest

eyebrow hair. >> okay. >> can't make it up, can you? >> you can't. ready for breakfast? >> that's right. >> let's check on the weather now. i'm here for a not soon enough subject change from that last story. plenty of humidity out there for you today and it will be a hot one, no doubt about that but you don't live in washington in the summertime without expecting at least a couple hot days. outside, a beautiful mostly clear sky now over washington. our 73 degree temperature makes it a fairly mild start to the day. yesterday, all the booming and racking around there, only 0 .05 of an inch of rain fell at national airport. our july total less than an inch, making it still the third driest july on record with only today and tomorrow left in the month. but we do have another chance for rain tomorrow. temperatures around the area, generally in the low 70s across most of the neighborhoods.

a few spots are in the 60s like winchester. warrington in the upper 60s, 66 in martinsburg. rainfall amounts around the area, again, only 5 .05 of an inch of rain yesterday. 5.13 at andrews air force base. more than an inch in martinsburg, west virginia. almost an inch and a quarter there. here's a check of doppler. one or two lonely sprinkles in the far western part of maryland, but by and large a rain free day today. most of the rain showers staying well down to our south and west. that's part of the next ripple that's coming our way. it will bring our chances for rain back into the area by tomorrow afternoon, but most of the action still well down to our south for today. so another day in the 90s today. it will ke our 109 90 degree day of the year. still less than half of our average number of 90 degree days. and around the country, another chance for thunderstorms and severe weather across parts of oklahoma and texas today. the real big weather story, no doubt about it, the pacific

northwest, check this one out, seattle, washington yesterday, their all-time record high temperature ever recorded, 103 degrees in seattle yesterday. the old a-time record was 100. and the record for the today yesterday was 95. so they smashed the record high yesterday by eight degrees and . unbelievable heat for our friends in the pacific northwest. around here for us today, you humid, hazy, sunshine for the most part. one or two isolated little showers are a possibility, but not a likelihood. better chances for rain return to us by friday afternoon and friday night, but i'm optimistic that the weekend is looking more dry than wet. so for today, hazy, hot and humid, highs upper 80s in the mountains to low and perhaps even a few spots in the mid-90s around town. plenty of humidy to boot. so keep that in mind as you make your plans to go outside. keep your hydration levels up. 50% chance of thunderstorms

tomorrow afternoon. saturday looks mainly dry. and then there's another chance for a cole showers or thunderstorms late in th a day n sunday and our generally off and on pattern for rain continues in to early next week. and if you're going out to the beaches or doing any sailing, on the chesapeake bay, good weather for saturday and an outside chance for a shower on sunday. and that goes in you're headed out to you dewey beach, ocean city, wherever you're going. highs generally hoe to mid-80s and an outside chance of a shower mainly on sunday. >> thank you very much. let's go jerry who is looking at the roadways. any problems? >> we did have a problem that just moved on fortunately. now we're getting reports of another accident same location. all this is 95 northbound between triangle and dumfries. a couple accidents on the shoulder. we'll be slow for a while heading north. elsewhere through northeast washington, new york avenue doing fine. 270, no hangups. frederick all the way on down.

headed for downtown, threats take a live look. 395 across the 14th street bridge, no incidents there. lower 14th or on to the southeast/southeast freeway. out at the wood droe wilson bridge, doing fine. no worries this morning. everything from yesterday's truck accident on the beltway in alexandria has all been wrapped up. all lanes reopened. back to you. thanks very much. some members of congress are pushing for a nationwide ban on texting while driving. if individual states don't comply, they would risk losing federal highway funds. currently 14 states, including virginia and the district, have texting bans in place. maryland's texting ban goes in to effect in october. a virginia tech study out this week shows that a driver's risk of getting in to an accident is 23 times higher while texting. some say texting is as dangerous as drunk driving. we're at the height of the vacation season and the beaches are packed all around the

country. but pollution is a problem at the beaches. much of the pollution is called by rain runoff and there's been zero improvement oefrts paover years. the best beaches for water quality are out now. delaware's beaches took the top spot for beach water quality. that's good news. virginia came in third. north carolina took the number five spot. maryland ranked eighth. while new jersey was number 10. times are tough. they're so tough that in arizona, lawmakers rnking about selling the house and senate legislative buildings. nd the plan, the state would then lease them back over several years before assuming ownership again. dozens of other state buildings might also be sold and then leased back. analysts think that the move could infuse arizona's government with some $735 million. a look at how foreign markets are doing today. asian markets are on the

rebound. china's shanghai gained 1.7%. stocks in both hong kong and japan edged up 5%. and to wall street now, the dow futures are pointing to a negative open. the dow last 26 points yesterday closing at 9070. the nasdaq slid seven points closing at 1967. we're always looking for jobs for you. the repahanic area services board is looking for a jail and detention center supervisor. the position would specialize in mental health and substance abuse. applicants should have a master's degree in behavioral sciences. to apply, visit their website and of course you can also find more jobs on our website by visiting nbcwashington.com and searching jobs for you. and sill ahead this morning on news 4 today, how swimmer michael phelps was able to bounce back from his first loss. mayor fenty will join us for

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raging inferno flames ripping through and destroyed the home of a prominent d.c. resident. neighbors describe the problem firefighters ran into trying to battle this fire and how small -- how a small fire turned into this. president obama invites henry lewis gateses and the police officer who arrested gates to washington today. how the president will look to resolve the controversy when they meet over a beer at the white house. well, good morning, thanks for waking up with us this morning. >> it is thursday, the 30th day of july, 2009. >> taking a look outside, we me

puffy white clouds anblue sky, but don't let that fool you, it's hot and humid out there again today. 73 right now, but it will be a little more comfortable than we've seen in the last few days. >> i think from a heat and humidity standpoint, no. it be brutally honest. il wbe a beaouif yr onilor i conou ydir air conaidionanintiokd g a oloi it. blue skies o eisllnrtiut sbo aeiv f .awteay stillmiuts nu away. in downtown sh in downtowt sh i72in prn prgeorge's7 3 nt7 3 in down in wonderfulks wn in wonderfulou sthern maryland. temperatures in the mid to upper 60s out in s the high otses f ai o rsenow t in. eothf ai oe r tn is well down it ut sor bsout it will be a steamy one today. raghghpeemtures up into the an pew lopeaprhw s even as stspo ss in to the mid-90s. a good day to have a cold beer. >> thanks very much. always a good day for that.

let's go to jerry and take a look at the roads. >> we'll head on out to down up to silver spring where there had been an accident cleared 30 seconds ago. this is on east west highway at 29. there was an ambulance on the scene. not a big deal, but kru heads up if you're headed through silver spring at this early hour. let's take a live look, the view of the woodrow wilson bridge where if you look very carefully, you can see vehicles both directions moving without delay. and lanes are open. back to you. it was a striking and fearsome image lighting up and filling the night sky. the home of a well-known washingtonian going up in places. the house belongs to peggy cooper cafritz and this morning we've learned it might have been saved if not for a serious safety problem that we've seen

in the district before. megan mcgrath joins us live from the scene with more on this story. we've been having this problem for several years now. >> reporter: that problem of course being fire hydrant that the are out of service as well as low water pressure. apparently that was a huge problem in this fire last night. the firefighters who arrived on the scene could not establish a sufficient flow of water to start fighting this water, to start knocking down the flames. they actually had to run hoses to high drantss that were more than five blocks away and it took them hours to establish a consistent water supply as they were scrambling to do that, the fire just kept growing and growing. the flames lit up the sky. homes a mile away were impacted by the smoke. the large house on chain bridge road in northwest is a total loss. neighbors say it didn't have to end like this. >> there is no question if the water pressure had been available for the fire

department here early, this fire could have been controlled easily. it was just at the beginning it was isolated to a small corner of the house on the porch and when the fire department arrived, it was fairly small and isolated. but it took hch-by the time waesh pressure came and by the time hoses were actually pouring water on the houts, the whole house was gone. >> reporter: fire officials concede that low water pressure hampered efforts to put out the flames. one hydrant in the area was out 6 service and others couldn't get enough pressure to supply hose lines. as firefighters scrambled to get water, the house burned. and you can see that we still have road closures in the area. the house itself is on chain bridge, but we're seeing road closures on nebraska avenue and other surrounding roads because they still have hose lines pulled all over the place and they don't want people running over those hose lines. so a big, big problem here. of course they'll have to figure out exactly what's going on with the water pressure in the area because that obviously played a factor in the way this all

turned out. should also mention that nobody was home at the time that the fire broke out and we still don't know what caused the blaze. joe, back to you. >> thanks very much, megan. the body of a man was found inside a car in alexandria and police are calling the death suspicious. a woman flapged them down on man or road and directed them to the car where police found a man withdraw made to his upper body. police haven't identified the victim or made any arrests. the d.c. woman found guilty of killing her four daughters and living with thaer decomposing bodies for months. banita jacks was found guilty on four counts of felony murder. she was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder. and she was convicted of four counts of cruelty to children. her daughters' bodies were discovered in january of 2008 inside jacks' home in southeast washington. investigators believe they had been did ted for seven months. prosecutors say there are no winners in this case. >> in is very sad. nobody comes out of this happy.

can't bring the kids back and you can't undo what the last moments of their lives. >> jacks' attorney says he will appeal. the alleged gunman in last month eye deadly holocaust museum shooting has been indict order several charges. a grand jury returned a accept count indictment against james von brunn. he's charged with first degree plur some the death of museum security officer steven johns. the indictment also includes hate crime charges and gun violations. some charges could carry the death penalty. von brunn was shot by museum security guards. he remains hospitalized. today the so-called beer summit will take place at the white house. it is happening two week after that controversial arrest of a harvard professor in came bridge. it's beer on the white house lawn for the three men. the president, profession arrest henry lewis gates and a cambridge sergeant james crowley. the preside's reaction hot arrest of gaits earlier this mopts fired up right wing

commentators. president obama said the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting gates for disorderly conduct at his home while investigating a possible break-in. tonight no apologies are expected from anyone. >> i think the cop might have overreacted. i think gates, the homeowner, definitely overrereacted. and i think obama spoke his opinion before all the facts were in. >> both police sergeant crowley and gates have said it was the other one who made the arrest about -- that made the comments about race. the president has called this a teachable moment on race relations and is hoping to put an end to what supporters admit has been a distraction from the president'sed a yen today. and this as the president continues to pitch his health care plan. he's been busy on the road at back to back town halls in north carolina and virginia. he spread his message on capitol hill congress is making progress after week of debate. house democrat leaders and conservatives have okayed a plan

making reform $100 billion cheaper and loosening demands on small business. the senate is closer to a cheaper bipartisan compromise, but congress won't vote until fall. >> congress will have time to read the bill. if they want to come or to the white house and go over line by line what's going on, i will be happy to do that. >> support for reform, though, is dwindling among americans. according to a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll, 41% approve of the president's position on this issue. michael phelps dives back into the water in a big way after his first defeat this years. and if you've been eating organic food for nutritional or health benefits, we have some news for you. one district man's unusual goal that is raising many eyebrows. ?o

a good thursday morning to you. it is 6:11 on this beautiful thursday morning and as of three minutes ago, the sun is up now no our eastern sky. going to be a beautiful sunrise. get on on out and take a look. you have to watch at least one or two sun rideses and sunsets every year. 72 in downtown washington. 70 in prince william and fairfax county, 70 in mow that is sis. 92 here in town. only the slightest chance of a shower today. more likely to see thunderstorms back in the area for tomorrow. jerry, down to you for a check on the roads.

we'll head back south toward triangle, take a live look and see if we come up with anything else along i-95 and the good news is we haven't. so it looks like the lanes are open. we do have a couple o acdci accident and they are out othe ays areel ds aree instigation inatstigveionst into th vr nt,oh.as onar node.la de..k brunswick, 872. seven minutes late. back to you. get in line, the government released its recommendations for who should receive the swine flu vaccine. and a look school district releases its plan for the flu season. and are you ready for some football? practice, the redskins training campy.todaksff today. y.

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to word on what caused a massive overnight house fire. the flames broke out on chain bridge road in northwest not far from american university. the home belongs to former d.c. school board president and well-known arts patron peggy cooper cafritz. police haven't identified a dead man found inside a car in alexandria. he was discover order man or road yesterday evening withdraw some to his upper body. police are calling his death suspicious. and president obama is holding a beer summit at the white house today. harvard professor henry lewis gates, james crowley and the president will discuss gates' controversial arrest. the three will meet at a picnic table outside the oval office around 6:00 this evening. this morning the washington redskins kick off the start of training k56r78 and fans are gearing up to see them in action this morning. news 4's tracy wilkins jones us live on what they can see out there today. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. if fan comes down here, they will witness a clean slate, a

brand new year, a fresh beginning. thyear that will be the year for the redskins. we say it every year, but we mean it this time around. folks can take part in redskins training camp by coming on down here to the park. practice begins at 8:30 p.m. practice generally lasts 90 minutes to about two hours. fans are encouraged to arrive early to avoid traffic and get a good seat. speaking of seat, it's fine for to you bring your own chair. there are no bleacher, so it's encouraged that you bring your own seating unless you want to stand. the parking lot opens 90 minutes before practice and gates open one hour before practice. fans are welcome to bring cameras for still photo, but no videos allowed. and pets are not allowed done here. you will be able to walk around designated areas to catch your favorite player and if you're lucky, you they may hang out advertise for autographs. if you want updates throughout training camp to find out what's going organizion u can logon to redskins.com to get that information. i'm tracy wilkins live this morning. back to you in the studio.

and for more now on the start of redskins training camp, here's dan with your sports minute. >> reporter: good morning. your sports minute starts with the beginning of redskins training camp. this morning players start the long trek towards the start of the season and, of course, players have two practices today. head coach jim zorn says he may allow some of the veterans a break and only have them participate in one. it's only the first day, coach, you can't take it easy on them yet. lindsay and i will have live coverage of training camp starting at 4:00 p.m. to baseball. the nationals blew a four run lead and a chance to win five games in a row for the first time all season. in the sixth inning last night, brewers pinch hitter casey mcgee clocked a two run home run off tyler and the brewers beat the nationals 7-5. to baltimore, the os rallied to beats the royals. nick and adam jones each had three rbis. the os win it 7-3.

and soccer, abby, the wps player of the week, scored the only goal of the game as the freedom beat the boston breakers 1-0. that's your sports minute. everybody have a great thursday. michael phelps rebounds with a world record. look at that guy go. he did it the day after being upset by germany's paul biedermann in the 200 meter free style at the world swimming championships in rome. phelps set a world record in the 200 meter butterfly with a time of there he touches 1:51.51. that tops his record at the beijing olympics. and for good measure, follow fell hims also surpassed another accomplishment with the 34th world record of his career. the swine flu vaccine won't be ready until later this fall and there won't be enough for everyone at first. that's why the centers for disease control has a priority

list. preg nept women will be the first in line. also on the list, infants, adults with high risk complains and young adults 19 to 24. montgomery county schools bath to provide vaccines to all of their students. there are more than 137,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. they'll begin disbursing them right after school begins. the swine flu vaccine will be available likely in october or november. they'll be offered for free but not mandatory. a push for awareness about a debilitating disease. there will be a hearing about lyme disease. th disease often goes undiagnosed. amy howell had dreams of performing a broadway. then she got sick with what at first seemed like a stomach virus. >> and then my joints started to hurt like you sprained your ankle or something. and then all of a sudden i couldn't stand up.

and then i couldn't walk. so then probably two or three months i've been in in wheelchair. >> ts disease is spread by ticks and the first sign is usually a circular rash. some patients develop fatigue, fever and aches. as the disease progresses, it can become more and more debilitating. if you've been eating organic food nutritional or health benefits, some researchers believe you have been wasting your time and your money. about $50 billion was spent in organic food in 2007. most people who booif organic food say they're doing so because of its perceived health benefits. but after an exhaustive study, british researchers found no evidence of significant health or nutritional benefits. it's moving up on 6:21. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> chuck? another beautiful sunrise coming up over the city of washington this morning. nice looking dayton on the outside today. although it will be hot and

humid. you'll need to sort of file that in the back of your memory as you make your plans to go outside today. only the slightest chance of a brief passing shower coming up later today, but i would say 95% of us or more will stay dry. it is 72 degrees in washington and brandy wine. st. mary's county 75. a little cooler across parts of the virginia speed month, culpepper in the low and mid-60s. youer 60s across western virginia. places like winchester. high today 92 with hazy sunshine. better cnces for rain showers and thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. saturday is looking dry and another chance for rain showers. cobung up late on sunday. but most of the weekend i'm optimistic will be filled with days off and sunshine. days off is fine. sunshine, that's a bonus. all right, speaking of which, we do have some sunshine which will slow you down coming in from the

west. so heads up for that. we're starting to see a few minor delays on 66 and possibly here outer loop approaching wood dr row wilson bridge. either where along i-270, very quiet morning thankfully. the incident from yesterday morning, if you weren't following it throughout the day, a truck accident on the beltway completely gone. nothing left to worry about. and southeast, we're doing all right. joe, back to you. federal investigators release new information about that deadly metro rail crash. and a stretch of the ret line tracks where it happened. and a district man's goal to reach a hair-raising cord. > but first, here's your liz on the money money saving tip of the day. an allowance is an important strategy in teaching children the value of money, so allow your children to feel a sense of accomplishment when they purchase something they really want.

while certainly part of parenthood is providing for your children, the satisfaction of earning impoan learn. learn. i'm liz crenshaw on the money.li

high produbrow or low wrow story, but a stretched out hair away from breaking the guinness world record. he has a 6.5 inch long eyebrow hair. brian says i losing sleep w cheerth h beereat the urrent record holdewho a scrjapanese woman. is is a contest which barbara has declined to enter. >> yuck. gosh. i don't even like to talk about it. it's been five weeks since michael jackson died and we still don't know what killed him. toxicology reports are expted this week, but this morning there's word that they may be delayed for another week. the coroner's office has not said doctor. meanwhile, authorities are focusing on jackson's doctor and whher he administered a powerful apnecessary thet tick that killed the pop star. dr. conrad muirry told investigators that he gave jackson a dose of propofol the night he died. so that he could sleep. authorities have searched the

doctor's property trying to find evidence for manslaughter charges. a developing story in an amazing story of survival. a baby ripped from the womb of her murdered mother is found alive. nd at problem firefighters had battling this massive house fire in d.c. the home was recently featured in oprah's magazine. president obama will be conducting some beer diplomacy today. we'll preview his meeting at the white house with harvard masetusch enry lieus gatesidsa e cambridge massachusetts hmmm... well... naaa... yeah! calculating for getaway. ♪ find your way to a perfect destination at busch gardens... and water country usa... where family-fun surrounds you... and world-class rides astound. start at buschgardens.com.

ñ it's quiet on the home front-- not a lot of activity. you read the news. and yet, some people need to sell and other people want to buy.

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magazine." neighbors describe the problem firefighters rap in on battling this fire and how a smalled turned into this. on tap. president obama will have a beer with harvard professor henry lewis gates jr. and the police officer who arrested gates. they'll come that at the white house today. how the president will look to resolve this brewing controversy. good morning. thanks for wake up with us this morning for "news 4 today." we're glad you're here. i'm wash braharrison. i'm joe krebs. what a beautiful sunrise under way this morning. a little color reflect order of the bottom of those clouds. who will win, the sun or the clouds today? >> i'll go with the sun. i think the sun will do its thing fdsm sh h le have someclro time to time, ande to to ae, mo renaertunchatbu, to mother nature f osts't uon dd ee ntoo ost of us don't nd ry w a ll wor bo at all about rainfall today.ome. ssayororla of of iced d a.

72 in town. 70 in baltimore. 65 in a nimiadstmartinsburg. mii ink we'll havei an an bnn da. today. might even make it into the mid-90s. sun came up at 6:08, didn't go down until 8:21. still a couple of those long summer days left. let's go jerry now and the traffic. any thursday problems? >> no, we're in pretty good shape. in fredericksburg, virginia, along the icht 93-95 corridor, tloonk very nicely. did see a little bit of fog up in garrisonville, but that's burning off rapidly. through northeast new york avenue doing fine. 66 the toll road possibly parts of the georgetown pike, watch

for sunshine delays to develop. >> thank, jerry. well, it was a dangerous, ferocious fire, one in which the flames grew to enormous size consuming the home of a well-known washingtonian. this morning we've learned the id enret if.ight haveteev prprs mouleobee wavee h sn n s proboblem we have seen in times se t s utidge road at a home bgi onidgeoad at a home belonging to former d.c. school board president peggy cooper cafritz. news 4 megan mcgrath joins us live from the scene with more. >> reporter: they had a major problem here with fire hydrants and low water pressure in the area. in fact, they had to run hoses more than five blocks away to hydrants in other areas because they just couldn't get enough pressure to get water on this fire. thousand, as they scrambled to do that, what started according to neighbors as a relatively small or controlled fire, it kept growing and growing and it

destroyed the entire house. the flames lit up the sky. homes a mile away were impacted by the smoke. the large house on chain bridge road in northwest is a total loss. neighbors say it didn't have to end like this. >> there's no question if the water pressure had been available for the fire department here early, this fire could have been controlled easily. at the beginning, it was isolated to a small corner of the house on the porch and when the fire department arrived, it was fairly small and isolated. but by the time the water pressure came and by the time hoses were actually pouring water on the house, the whole house was gone. >> reporter: fire officials concede that low water pressure hampered efforts to put out the flames. one hydrant in the area was out of service and others couldn't get enough pressure to supply hose lines. as firefighters scrambled to get water, the house burned. and you can see that we still have road closures in the area. nebraska avenue, for example,

closed in the area. foxhall and other sur vounding roads, as well, because they had to run these hoses all over the neighborhood trying to access fire hydrants. they don't want people running over those hose lines, so we still have road closures in the area this morning. should also mention that nobody was home at the time that this blaze broke out. they still don't know what caused the fire. obviously they've got another investigation on their hands, as well. they have to figure out exactly what's going on with the water pressure in this area and try to fix it so something like this doesn't happen again. back to you. >> megan, thanks very much. we're learning more about the investigation into last month's deadly metro crash. the ntsb released more of its finding. investigators still don't know why a control circuit lost track of the train stopped on the tracks. but they say adjustments were made to that track circuit just days before the accident so it's not clear what impact that had on the crash. also in the report, we learn the electrical components in the area where the crash occurred

are original pieces of equipment dating back to the mid 1970s. and now to a disturbing storypi. pilo new hashire. poce le op peteeswo t cc people accused of cutting a baby om her mother' wbom in massachusetts. officers picked up a man and a woman in plymouth, new hampshire. they say the pair had a baby girl with them that is in fairly good health. the baby's mother had been dead go several days when her body was discovered on monday inside a closet at her apartment in worcester, massachusetts. today the preside obama meets with 9 two men at the center of that controversial arrest in cambridge, massachusetts. the president has called it a teachable moment on race relations. he himself became part of the heated argument over the arrest of the harvard professor. as brooke hart report, tonight he's hoping some beer will cool everyone off. here's brooke's report. >> reporter: before and after harvard professor skip gates was

handcuffeded at his own home, many saw one questionable call after another. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly. >> reporter: president obama said later he didn't quite mean that. >> i can could have calais brated those words differently. >> reporter: the president's reaction, though, fired up right wing commentators who called the police rash and racist. so tonight, it's beer on a white house picnic table for the three involved. the president, professor gates and cambridge sergeant james crowley whose response was backed up by witnesses. >> i support what did he 100%. >> reporter: charges against gates were roped. his supporters took a stand last night 37 and the naacp backs upped president's first comment. >> indeed the president was right in his first analysis. we commend him for having the courage to begin raising issues about racial profiling and racial relationships within the united states of america. >> reporter: no apologies are expected from anyone, though ma say blame is shared. >> i think the cop might have

overreacted. i think gates, the homeowner, definitely overreacted. and i think obama spoke his opinion before all the facts were in. >> reporter: will the divide tonight extend to beer? >> allky see is one party saying less filling and the other party saying more taste. >> reporter: still, no indication that beer whether soften their first in-continuings in the nation's latest image of race and police. both sergeant crowley and gates say it was the other who made the arrest about race. aitds "say tonight president obama hopes to open a kyle log and put an end to what as been a distraction from his agenda. brooke hart, be in news. if you're interested in what beer will be on the mechb uhe, the white house sayshe president will be drinking bud light. it will be blue moon for sergeant crowley. and red stripe for professor gates. mayor fenty will join us live for on connecting with the mayor. we'll ask him about the my plan it to raise taxes on everything in fr gas to cigarettes.

some local beaches make the list of the best beaches for water quality. a police ase in hot pursuit caught on tape over a stolen car. the thief, look at that guy, a little guy. seven years old. b

a good thursday morning to you. a beautiful picture of the jefferson memorial alongside the title basin in downtown washington as the sun is rising in our eastern sky. beautiful day outside. temperature 72 degrees down there where president jefferson's memorial is. 72 in clinton, maryland. 71 in springfield, virginia. 70 in manassas. training camp getting started for the redskins. off to an early start for those morning practices. temperatures this morning will be in the mid to high 70s shortly after the sun comes pup. today hazy sunshine, hot and humid, highs today upper 80s to low and mid-90s. another good chance for thunderstorm tomorrow. jerry, down to you. we'll take a live look at the sunshine delays. and there they are. there's mr. sun. lanes are open. right about there was the scene of yesterday's truck accident. that's long gone. sunshine delays this morning as you travel from springfield on

over toward alexandria. elsewhere, through northeast, new york avenue fine. southeast corridor very quiet. the american legion bridge, no hangups between the i-270 spur and tyson's corner. back to you. our time 6:42. 72 degrees. what are t best beaches in the area for clean swimming? and d.c. mayor fenty is lear to talk about your taxes rising and a lot more. good morning, mr. mayor. a lot of questions to ask you. there's talk about why we keep t nge f hnt

shh. shh! [ chattering ] delicious authentic iced lattes from dunkin' donuts. made with real espresso, milk, and whipped cream, to help you take a break from reality. treat yourself today. america runs on dunkin'. i'm here with the mayor again. welcome. good to see you. the big story this morning is that very big fire here in northwest washington last night. neighbors say that that fire could have been put out quickly. they say the firefighters arrived very, very quickly when they called, but here's what one resident says. >> if the water pressure had been available for the fire department here early, this fire could have been controlled easily. there was -- it was just at the

beginning isolated to a small corner of the house on the porch and when the fire department arrived, it was fairly small and isolated, but it took -- by the time water pressure came and by the time hoses were actually pouring water on the house, the whole house was gone. >> this has been a problem with previous fires and here in the district most notably the georgetown library fire. and neighbors tell us that they've complained about it. some of the fire hydrants weren't working and they knew that. what's going to be done about that? >> first and foremost, i'm really sorry to peggy cooper cafritz and her family. she's a friend and she's done so much for the city. i talked to her last night and obviously when you lose that much property, it's tragic. you're in disbelief. i also, you know, am glad as most people are that no one was injured. not just the family being but firefighter, as well. georgetown fire was a situation where the fire high drapts in that area, up a can elf them

didn't work. you're probay referring to the adams morgan fire. the adams morgan fire, was a fire which had low water pressure very similar to the allegation that the neighbor just put on your newscast. it's got to be looked in to. it has to be investigated immediately. i'd be wildly irresponsible in just a couple hours if i came on your show and i sd i know that caused the fire, i know that happened, i'm not a fire expert. no one has looked at it. but given the fact that the fire department had some concerns anz then when i talked to ms. cafritz,pparently there was concerns throughout the week that water pressure was low in the home around that area. so let's get to the bottom of it quickly. >> and you plan to check fire hydrants all around the city? >> again, you don't want to mix the two up. what they're talking about is a water pressure issue. although there may have been one or two -- >> because neighbors do tell us that there was at least one hydrant in the area that they knew did not work. >> yeah, exactly about that but

i think this one was primarily an allegation of water pressure, though there were issues about fire hydrants. there is a huge collaboration between our government and wasa on fire hydrants. we can talk more about it in a later show. it's on our website. and we still need to do a much better job because there's been decades of this building up. moving on to something else, today president obama will meet with henry lewis gates and james with henry lewis gates and james crowley at the white house to discuss that controversial arrest of gates in his own home. what are your thoughts on all this? >> well, i don't know anything about the particulars about the arrest. i really haven't read much articles. but it's dominated the news. i've kind of got a little bit through osm ocht sis. president obama was asked a question and instead of saying, you know -- he obviously knew some of the facts. instead of saying he didn't know, he was willing to weigh in. and whether you agree with what

he said or not, i want ard who is not afraid to say, you know, in this situation we need to look at something. and i also know the fact that he has said -- maybe he didn't address it directly in the first place. and then taking this third step of being willing to engage, which i think is the number one thing that all of us need to do. there's no one in in city in, this country in this world, who hasn't made mistakes on race relations. but he's willing to sit down, n arle from it, and that to me is are biggest lesson all of us should take from this. >> this raises the whole issue again of racial profiling. what is our city doing to make sure that doesn't happen? >> very good question. racial profiling is a very real issue. and i think what the chief has built into her training is how to make sure that you makinging agrees sif assumptions but not do it based on anything either

except probably cause and what you see from an evidentiary standpoint. >> quickly let's talk about this. right now the d.c. government is looking to close a more than $600 million budget gap. the council is scheduled to vote tomorrow on a plan to increase sales gaps and cigarette taxes. do you agree with the plan? >> i have said back when i campaigned, i would not propose taxes as a way to balance the budget. but the council is an independent branch of government and if that's what they propose, then we'll have to live with it. but it wouldn't have been my first choi. >> we'll talk about that again next week as we all want to know what you'll do to try to close that gap. >> absolutely. and ihould say the council is coming a fabulous job. these are not easy choices toke eior ng usth .if ngor y h with us. if y'd hike the ma r yatyo l t'deikhe mayor us an e- e-mail to fenty at nbcwashington.com. and we may use your question on the air. and, again, thank you, mr. mayor.

well, the recent stock market is losing some of its momentum. courtney reagan joins us live with today's business headlines. courtney, good morning. >> good morning. futures are pointing to a higher open this morning. that's good news. of course we saw another downed day on wall street from yesterday due to a big drop in demand for durable goods. much larger than what was anticipated as well as the continuing slide in oil. commodity prices a we sill have the lingering worries about the pace of economic recovery. that's never good for gains at least. asian market disrise overnight with china rebound trg yesterday's big losses. europe is mixed. we'll get reports this morning on new filings for unemployment benefits as we did every thursday. as well as tons of earnings reports including from the world's biggest oil company, exxon mobil, sure to make headlines when that crosses. the dow did fall 26 points yesterday to 9070. so that's where we'll start 9 day off today. the nasdaq lost seven points to

1967. struggling home voerns a new source for help. mortgages backed by the federal housing administration will soon be eligible for payment reductions. stloor president obama's loan modification program, the agency starts its program on august 15th and the fha guarantees about 5 million home loans. borrows can get loans with down payments for as low as 3.5% compared with 20% for a typical loan without mortgage insurance. back to you. >> courtney, thanks very much. have a great day. >> you, too. in respect. well this, is the time of year when people people head to the beach, but according to a new report thars could be who are dangerous than you might think. researches looked at 200 beaches and found many contaminated with human and animal waste. 70% were so dirty they were no safe for swmi.ngen delaware's beach, however, took e ottospp or f beach water quality. virginia came in third. north carolina took the number fiveor spot.

maryland ranked number eight while new jersey was 10th. our time is 6:52. time for a look at traffic and weather. we'll start with chuck. a beautiful day outside today. no doubt about that. it's going to be a worm began, though, as we look live at the jefferson memorial in down tn washington. a beautiful day. one of my favorite spots to walk and jog by. always beautiful this time of the year. here's a live picture of the rest of downtown washington seen there our city camera view. temperature 72 degrees. yesterday all the booming and b banging nature, the july total now still less than an eventual of rain for the entire month of july and here it is july the 30th already. but we have another chance for rain before the month is through. that chance comes tomorrow on the 31st itself. 72 in town. 70 in frederick, matter land. 70 in fairfax, virginia. 69 degrees in leesburg.

rainfall amounts yesterday typical of summer thunderstorms. quantitity company, virginia, 3/4 of an inch of rain there, and martinsburg, west virginia, over an inch of rain yesterday. here's a look at doppler radar. no rain around our immediate area. and most of us will be dry today. can't rule out one or two isolated little showers, but by and large, you you don't need to worry about the rain today. tomorrow, the rain chances return, though, once again. temperatures today will be in the low perhaps enin the mid-90s for you folks down towards fredericksburg and richmond with plenty of sunshine, on another day in the 90s for today. weather map over the next 48 hours one or two lonely little showers today primarily west of the blue ridge. fair skies overnight tonight and then tomorrow during the day especially late tomorrow afternoon, thunderstorm chances go back up once again. so today, hazy, hot and humid, upper 80s to low and mid-90s. here's the extended forecast. another warm day coming up tomorrow with a high near 90 and a 50% chance of thunderstorms.

saturday looks good. sunday looks good, as well. and that unsettled pattern of chance of rain pretty much every other day goes on into early next week. beach and boating weather good weather on chesapeake bay for most h. moth tomorrow and sunday. if you're going up to delaware, th most beautiful beaches or the cleanest water, i gesz respect according to that survey, good weather for the beaches. ocean city also not far away, so the water hub very clean there, as well. >> i wonder which ones are the worst this. >> ohio i heard and iindiana. >> where are the beaches in ohio? >> that's what the survey said. >> let's check traffic. good morning. good morning. we'll head on over and start with i-270 southbound. no accidents or sdibtss. just a little bit of volume, but not much at all really. 'l hewel c we'll check isg.n he ting. uentstigation into the crash io

s.ot tinntvrs. ther than that, vr empty, la ysde .ma des rla . ything looking pretty good this morning. back to you. checking the top stories in the news for today, president obama will sit down for a beer and some conversation with a black scholar and a white police officer who arrested him. he's trying to well the controversy between hen re lieus gates jr. and serant james crowley. the president has said he made a poor choice of words in saying police acted stupidly in this incident. firefighters were hampered by water pressure problems while trying to fight a massive overnight house fire in washington. the flames broke out on chain bridge road in northwest not far from american university. the home belongs to former d.c. school board president and well-known arts patron peggy cooper cafritz. the washington redskins are gearing up for the start of training chasm. their first practice today begins at 8:30. parking lots open at 7:00 a.m. admission and parking is free.

today's morning person is described as a person with such smi wheutn you ity that n w you see him. an dy culps i aups delivery man as hasererelived packakages toe 22 years.es in southwest 22 ntdensi ishe t neighborhood alsoay thethandyt culp is a wonder hdolnde a hold and an excellent role model. if you know someone lie andy, e-mail that psern'sod story anda clear close-up picture or video to morning person at nbcwashington.com. witnesses in utah were alarmed to see an unusual sunday driver, a car speeding along at 45 miles an hour. its driver so pint size he could barely reach the pedals. it turns out a 7-year-old boy was behind the wheel. he had taken his parents' car for a joy ride so police trailed him. the boy made his way back home. then he pulled in to the driveway, jumped out and ran away to hide. did it all because he didn't want to go to church. >> i can understand that.

watch him get out of the car here. look how little that guy is. here comes the law. >> and he didn't want to go to church. >> that's the news for today. thanks for starting your day with us. during times like these it seems like the world will never be the same. but there is a light beginning to shine again. the spark began where it always begins. at a restaurant downtown. in a shop on main street. a factory around the corner. entrepreneurs like these are the most powerful force in the economy. they drive change and they'll relentless push their businesses to innovate and connect. as we look to the future,

they'll be there ahead of us, lights on, showing us the way forward. this is just the beginning of the reinvention of business. and while we're sure we don't know all the answers, we do know one thing for certain, we want to help. come see what the beginning looks like at openforum.com ( feedback )

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