at thousands of hotspots nationwide. to get amazing tv, our fastest internet ever, and phone at this incredible low price, call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v today. massive house fire. flames tear through the home of the former head of the d.c. school board. problem firefighters ran into that neighbors think made this so much worse. an agreement reached. a custody deal in the works for michael jackson's children. who will be the legal guardian? plus the redskins are not taking the field for the first day. training camp. how fans are marking the unofficial start of the season. "news4 midday" starts right now. good morning.

welcome to "news4 midday." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. a developing story in northwest washington. a frightening sight. flames lighting up the sky and consuming the home of ael l w known washingtonian. >> the houoaged r cidbroad r dlobetong r former.c. school board member. the district has seenhis too many times before. megan mg gracgrath joins us. >> reporter: the problem involves fire hydrants and low water pressure. they could not get the hydrants in the immediate area of this house to work properly. they went to great lengths last night to run hoses tremendous distances through this neighborhood to get to working fire hydrants. you can see we still have loodz clo

roads closed in the area because of all of the hose lines still running across the streets to get to those hydrants. when this fire broke out neighbors say it was not as large -- they thought it could have been contained. because firefighters could not get water to the scene it got worse and worse. flames shot up into the air turning the dark sky orange. the mansion on chain bridge road destroyed. as night gave way to day, dramatic images of a different kind. with the sun up, the full extent of the damage can now be seen. >> it is unbelievable. tremendous house, beautiful, well kept and everything else. i mean what can i tell you? so many porches and so many -- it was unbeevable. i still can't believe it. >> reporter: the once-magnificent home belongs to educational activist.

a metal sculpture in the yard is all that's left after priceless art collection. this morning firefighters continues to knock down smoldering hotspots. the water is flowing freely now but that was not the case last night. low water pressure prevented the fire hydrants from working, the crews couldn't get water to their hoses. as firefighters scrambled the blaze grew bigger an bigger. >> you could see the back of the house was on fire just bright red flames and then a really short period of time, i mean 10 to 12 minutes, the whole house looked like it was in flames. a huge three-story fireball. >> repter: fire officials concede that critical time was lost. they had to run hose lines to hydrants that in some cases were 2,000 feet away. it took hours to get the needed water to the scene. >> we had to actually go into other neighborhoods to get adequate water supply. it takes time to set that up.

chief ruben said last night it was two hours before we had a sustained continuous adequate water flow. >> reporter: the house is actually 2 1/2 blocks up the street on chain bridge. hoses come all the way down the street, they go down on to low burrow road all the way to the bottom of that street, hang a left on to rockwood parkway and there is where the working fire hydrant is. >> reporter: residents who live in this northwest neighborhood say they've had ongoing problems with the water and that the water and sewer authority knew about it. we have calls in that we haven't heard from this morning. we expect they will have a comment shortly, maybe in the next hour or so. but again, for folks who travel and live in this area, we still have road closures and crews on the scene. they're occasionally hitting hotspots. the family was not home at the time that the fire broke out, they're actually on vacation.

no word on what started the blaze. now we have another investigation that will have to get under way, figuring out exactly what happened with the water pressure and fix it so this sort of thing doesn't happen again. we asked the mayor about the fire this morning. he said it is still early but there will be an investigation. >> due to the fact that the fire department has some concerns. when i talked to someone else, apparently there was concerns throughout the week that water pressure was low in the homes around that area. let's get to the bottom of it quickly. mayor fenty also says they're trying to fix the problems with the district's fire hydrants. new details this morning about the future of michael jackson's children. the custody agreement is in the works right now. nbc news has learned details. the pop star's mother, katherine, will get custody of his three children, 12-year-old prince, 11-year-old paris and 7-year-old blanket.

debbie rowe is the old eest children's biological mother. under the agreement she'll retain her parental rights but will not make a claim for custody. in addition, rowe will not receive any extra money beyond the spousal agreement already in place. sources say rowe will have visitation rights and will begin to have a relationship with her children. a child psychologt will supervise the process. it could take another week before we learn what killed michael jackson. toxicology reports were expected this week but have been delayed and the coroner's office hasn't said why. authorities are focusing on jackson's doctor and whether he administered a powerful anesthetic that killed the pop star. dr. conrad murray told investigators he gave jackson a dose of propofol the night before he died so he could sleep. a death investigation is under way in alexandria after odth bfe oy a o man was found inside a car. a woman flagged down police

officers last night, then directed them to the vehicle where police discovered a man with trauma to his upper body. police are calling the death suspicious. they have still not identified the man or made any arrests. a guilty verdict has been handed down in a shocking murder case in the district. bonita jacks has been convicted of killing heric four daughters and living with the decomposing bodies for months. she was found guilty on four counts of felony murder yesterday, and also found guilty hr teeon counts of first degree murder and she was convicted of four counts of cruelty to children. her daughter's bodies were discovered in january of 2008 inside her home in southeast d.c. investigators believe the girls had been dead for seven months. prosecutors say there are no winners in this case. >> nobody comes out of this house happy. can't bring these kids back and you can't undo what the last moments of their c- last moments of their lives. >> jacks' lawyers says he will

appeal. happening today at the white house, the president will share a beer and conversation with the two men at the center of the controversial arrest in cambridge, massachusetts. the president will meet with harvard scholar henry louis gates jr. and police sergeant james crowley at the white house tonight. he's invited the two for a picnic table beer summit in an act of diplomacy. cr y d dy d chaharged him with disorderly conduct when he showed up to investigate a report of a possible break-in at the scholar's home. gates in response accused the racism.olice officer of all charges were soon dropped though. president obama inflamed the situation by saying the officer had acted stupidly. the president is hoping to mend the situation by listening and talking with both about what happened. it looks like it is shaping up to be a very nice day outside. meteorologist chuck bell joins us with a check on the forecast now. >> good thursday morning to you. there is a look at lincoln

memorial there. beautiful sight in downtown washington. bathed in filtered sunshine. that's the best way to describe what's going on outside right now. temperature's climbed up to 81 degrees here in washington. 85 in richmond. 87 raleigh, north carolina. there is a little bit of cooler weather just up to the north and west. pittsburgh at 74. elkins, west virginia, 73. dew points are down just a touch. a little bit of a north wind out the that puts the dew point temperatures down five to eight degrees compared to the same time yesterday. still feels humid but not as oppressive as it did yesterday. satellite picture, mid and high-level clouds drifting overloud. couple of sprinkles in southwestern virginia. one or two spotty showers is about the the most threat from mother nature we have today. highs today, upper 80s, few spots up into the low and mid-90s. seven-day forecast, beach and boating weather, everything you need to know in a few minutes.

jerry edwards has a look at midday traffic. >> good morning, everyone. an accident involving five vehicles, one of which caught fire on 66 a while back, westbound 66 between gleab road and sycamore street. police were directing off of 66 but not to worry, it is heavy, slow but lanes are open westbound toward the capital beltway. elsewhere, wilson bridge, no hang-ups to report. 270 looks good. if you're going down the ocean for a long weekend, no worries at the bay bridge. no pain, no gain. the washington redskins are back at the grind. today is day one of training camp and the summer heat out of redskins park. first practice began around 8:30 this morning. as usual fans showed up with barbecue grills to enjoy the

atmosphere and catch the players in action. here's what some had to say about what they were seeing. >> i'm looking for a good year, looking for an absolute great year from the skins. can't wait to see what they do at practice and looking to beat cowboys up. >> you don't know who's going to play well or who's going to make their break and establish themselves. that's why i love to come out every year. that's what i'm looking for today. >> eight practices will be opened to the public capped by fan appreciation day featuring an inner squad scrimmage on august 8th. last year they drew more than 28,000 spectators. stay with news4 for continuing coverage of the first day of training camp. live reports tonight on news4 at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. 11:11. still ahead, the height of vacation season and a new report shows just how clean or not so clean the nation's beaches are. which ones came out on top and how some local beaches matched

up. a scare on the runway. the problem one plane encountered when trying to leave new york city. plus, preparing to return to earth. how the crew aboard shuttle "endeavour" are spending their final day in space. ññ=lññññññññññññ

it is the height of summer vacation season and the beaches are packed but pollution is a big problem. a new study by an environmental

group shows some beachgoers are at risk of illnesses from rashes to hepatitis. ? with swimmers, with sun bathers, and sometimes also with human and animal waste. >> much of the pollution is called by rape rin runoff. many beaches in our area top the list as number one. tonight we'll learn more about a fifactelomg c to 18th street in ams morgan. ddot has scheduled aupdate the t teda7:he public at 7:00 isot atot the third dicistrt police station on i pednn bl. 1rth street. roe road will be rebumt f florida avenue toro.ad rothad. there will be changes designed to makens andedtriaesnsnd a bicyclists safer and new

lighting and landscaping. yacht side for ped screens. >> a little warm but it is july. yesterday dew points were up close to 70-degree mark and today they're down into the low and mid 60s. not all that bad by july in washington standards. not that bad compared to just yesterday. outside right now, we have some mid and high-level clouds nd drifting overhead. as a result it is dimmed down the sunshine a little bit. 81 is our current temperature. dew point down to 64 now. almost a break in the humidity. light north breeze at 5 miles an hour is why some of the cooler air is draining down into the region. still the third driest july on record with only 36 1/2 hours left to go in theonth of vjuly.

low 80s across most of the area. 82 baltimore. 79 hagerstown, maryland. 72 in culpepper. 81 manassas. 81 far southern maryland, st. mary's county. rainfall amounts over the last 24 hours, a lot of thunderstorms went through the area yesterday. so typically the case with thunderstorms, if you aren't right under it you don't really get an awful lot of rain. national airport, .005 inch. martinsburg, west virginia, over an inch of rain yesterday. nearly three-quarters of an inch of rain in quantico. some of the heaviest thunderstorms were from quantico down to fredericksburg. rainfall today? never say never to mother nature but most of these light sprinkles are dryingup. so one or two lonely sprinkles might make it into our southern and southwestern viewing area. by and large most of us will be on the dry side for today.

that main area of low pressure pulling away from us. the first area of disturbed weather looking away, the next one still a good distance behind it. 91 around here today but nowhere as near as it is hot in the pacific northwest. the weather story this week i think is the extraordinary heat in the pacific northwest. medford, oregon, yesterday 106. seattle washington not only set the record high temperature for the day yesterday when they made it to 103 degrees, realize in more than 100 years of record keeping in seattle, they've only been 100 once before. that was 15 years ago. that was 100 on the nose. 103 yesterday was the all-time record high temperature in seattle, washington. those folks i promise you are not used to that kind of heat. what about our weather around here for the neck two to three days? pretty good weather.

most of the rest of day, mid and high-level clouds will move through dimming out the sunshine a bit from time to time but won't take much of an edge off the heat. today high near 90. by late tonight, couple sprinkles down to south. generally dry overnight tonight. tomorrow mid to late afternoon time frame. i think we'll have another chance for passing showers with a chance for thunderstorms tomorrow. doesn't look like much in the way of a severe weather threat. that pulls on out and i think as a result, the weekend starts dry. saturday looks like the nicer of the weekend. rest of day uv index at 9. temperatures will be on the warm side for certain over the next couple of days. tt break in rainfall is coming our way. saturday will be dry. sunday a little chance after passing shower. monday looks dry. tuesday another chance of a shower. we do need the rain. it will be welcome a news.

good beach and boating weather saturday and sunday from annapolis to cambridge on the eastern shore. headed to the beaches, pick your favorite spot of sand and sit on it. it will be a good weekend for -- jerry's making fun of me. you got to stake out yourittle piece of sand. >> that's true. you going to go to the beach? >> i am. i'm not taking jerry. >> stake it out and then just sit on it. >> that's right. let's go to jerry edwards. >> just the way chuck said "sit on it." like, okay. all right. let's head out and take a live look at the capital beltway. it is a slow roll on the inner loop of the beltway leaving 236 in aenen dale up to i-66.

heads up. if you peer closely you can see the wilson bridge. if you look even closer you see vehicles both directions moving along nicely between alexandria and hobson hill at this hour. 11:20 now. 1 degre 81 degrees. new details about last month's deadly metro crash. the vaccine against the swine flu's almost ready. who health experts say should have top priority when it comes to getting a shot. michael jackson's personal

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to get amazing tv, our fastest internet ever, and phone at this incredible low price, call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v today. one beach that many locals know very well is ocean city, maryland. joining us to talk about the summer season at the shore, the mayor of ocean city. we see you about this time every year. great to have you here. we want to know how things are going. with the economy a lot of resort areas say they're seeing a decline in the number of people showing up for weekends. >> ocean city's fared very well weis year. 've had big weekends early on. our vacation numbers might be off slightly, but only slightly through today's date. we see lots of people at the beach, lots of people are coming down. we're really going out of our way to invite people and offer a

lot of free activities to help add value to their vacation experience and to encourage people to get away and come relax and enjoy some family tradition at the beach. >> not just a weekend. for a week or two. >> or for whatever. ocean city's within 150 miles of three major metropolitan areas. we're a drive-to destination, a tradition with many families in this tri-state area. ocean city's faring very well in 2009. >> tell us a little bit about the things you're doing to get folks to come. >> we're trying to add value to the vacation experience. we have und that you can come and spend a whole day on the beach in ocean city and it's free. that is a big thing. we started to add other oveneve. we have free movies monday and friday nights, family olympics on the beach tuesday nights, bon fires thursday nights, sundays in the park on sundays in the park on sundayundays. we make ice cream sundaes. all of these things are well

received by the visitors of ocean city. >> you've seen no drop in the number of people. what about hotels? >> we've seen a slight drop. very minimal in 2009. >> let's talk about the report that just came out that we just reported on on the quality. pollution on many of the nation's beaches. >> ocean city was actually 1 of only 5 or 6 beaches in the whole country that got a five-star rating. we're the only beach in the mid-atlantic area that got that five-star rating. we're at the very top of the list and we're very proud of that. because we know we have beautiful, pristine beaches. we know everybody loves our beaches. it is a great place to have a good time and it is a very safe place to bring your family and enjoy. >> i guess we ought to plan to go down the ocean. >> i think you should plan that every weekend. thank you very much. great to be here. >> joe? well, space shutt "endeavour" is getting ready to

return to earth tomorrow. ♪ i got you babe ♪ i got you babe babe >> this morning the crew's wake-up call came to the tune of "i got you, babe" by sonny and cher, dedicated to one of the crew members. today the crew will get ready to come home from a successful 16-day space mission. the shuttle is expected to land at the kennedy space center in florida. a flight from new york to turkey was side lined yesterday after a bird strike. they were getting ready to take off from jfk airport and it hi a bird and the pilot aborted the flight. the brakes triggered a safety device that allows the tires to decompress and the plane came to a stop. all 200 passengers got off the plane before it was taxied off the runway. no one was injured. the ntsb released new findings about the deadly metro crash. however, investigators still don't know why a control circuit lost track of a train stopped on

the tracks. investigators say adjustments were made to the tract's circuit just days before the accident though it is not clear what effect that had on the crash. also in the report we learned that the electrical components in the area where the crash occurred are original pieces of equipment that date back to the mid 1970s. the federal investigation does continue. our time is 11:28, 81 degrees. still ahead, a deal involving michael jackson's children is almost complete. details about the agreement and who will be named legal guardian. a meeting over beers at the white house. what president obama hopes to get accomplished at a gathering tonight. plus how a local teenager is using her illness to raise awareness about lyme disease. will we see any rain in the forecast? re

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us, ask about our free wifi at thousands of hotspots nationwide. to get amazing tv, our fastest internet ever, and phone at this incredible low price, call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v today. what's happening right now at 11:30, d.c. firefighters are trying to figure out what caused a massive house fire overnight. flames broke out last night at the home on chain bridge road in northwest washington not far from american university. the home belonged to former d.c. school board president and well-known arts patron peggy cooper. plus are investigating a suspicious death. the body machb was found inside the car on manor road yesterday. police say he had trauma to his upper body. his name has not been released. redskins players start a long training toward the start

of the season. head coach jim zorn opened trank camp th training camp this morning. to the latest in the michael jackson case. the new custody deal for his children. >> the pop star's children will live with their grandmother, katherine jackson. debbie rowe will get visitation but she won't ask for custody. jeff rossen reports. >> reporter: michael jackson's kids were his life. since his death they've been in limbo, no permanent plan until now. in a new custody deal not yet announced, nbc news has learned michael's 79-year-old mother katherine will get the children. 12-year-old prince, 11-year-old paris and 7-year-old blanket. under the agreement, debbie rowe biological mother to the two oldest will retain her parental rights but she agroees not to

make a claim for custody. she will get visitation but no extra money beyond t spousal agreement already in place. our sources believe prince and paris now know debbie rowe is their biological mother. in fact, as a central part of the agreement, they'll begin to have aelationship with her. now that their father is dead. a child psychologist will supervise the process and sources say rowe believes she can develop a meaning full bond with her kids. >> i think it's interesting that she is going to try to establish a relationship with the children. that's somewhat surprising that after all of this time reports had been that she didn't have a relationship, and the fact that she wants to start one up now is a bit surprising. >> reporter: sources close to the deal tell nbc news rowe did the right thing and decided the children are best off with katherine and the jackson family. the family they've always known. >> i think this puts to rest a lengthy and protracted piece of legislation. i think the children are going to benefit from that obviously. it orders their lives

immediately and lets them get on with the business of being children. >> this morning we're getting a rare look at those children and michael jackson the dad. happily playing with his kid on home video at neverland. here jackson is celebrating his daughter's birthday. it was 2002. paris was turning 4. >> i love my daddy so much. he's the best daddy in the whole world. >> that was jeff rossen reporting. jackson's toxicology test results are in but the coroner's office won't release them until next week pending further tests. we're also the firsthand account of the moments after michael jackson's death. jackson's personal chef appeared on the "today" show this morning to talk about the day he died. she says jackson missed breakfast so she started preparing lunch. suddenly his doctor conrad murray ran into the kitchen screaming for jackson's son prince. >> in a matter of minutes --

minutes, you know, i see paramedics running up the stairs and security skipping stairs, running up the stairs. at that point you could feel the energy change. >> she said jackson's home was usually a place of music and laughter but suddenly everything was still. she said jackson's daughter paris was screaming for him. now to a disturbing story out of massachusetts where a baby girl cut from her mother's womb has been found alive. two people have been arrested in the case. police traced 35-year-old julie cory and another man to a shelter in new hampshire. that's where they found the suspects and the newborn. friends were suspicious of cory's claims she'd given birth. baby's mother darlene hains was found dead in her apartment on monday, she was 8 months pregnant. the 23-year-old's death has been ruled a homicide. today the president's getting ready for a drink and some diplomacy. he's invited two men for a beer

at the whitehouse. one is a prominent black harvard scholar, the other a white small town police officers. they are the central figures in an arrest that turned into a racial controversy that divided the nation. president obama's hoping that some beer and calm conversation will cool things off and bridge the divide. brooke hart reports. >> reporter: before and after chip gates was handcuffed at his 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 could have calibrated those words differently. >> reporter: the president's reaction though fired up right wing commentators who called the president rash and racist. tonight it's beer on a white house picnic table for the three involved -- the president, professor gates and officer james crowley. charges against gates were dropped. his supporters took a stand last

night. the naacp backed up the president's first comments. >> indeed the president was right in his first analysis. we commend him for having the courage to begin raising shall use about racial profiling and racial relationships within the 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 overreacd. and i think obama spoke his opinion for -- >> reporter: will the divide tonight extend beer. >> all i can see is one party saying less filling and the other party saying more taste. >> reporter: still no indication that beer will soften their first instincts in the nation's latest image of race and police. sergeant crowley and professor gates insist it was the other who made the arrest about race. aides say president obama hopes tonight to start a dialogue and end what supporters admit has been a distraction from his agenda. in washington, brooke hart, nbc

news. health care reform is moving along on capitol hill. a house leader's finally reached a deal with fiscally conservative democrats. they approved a plan making reform $100 billion cheaper and loosening demands on small businesses. the senate is closer to a cheaper bipartisan congress but congress won't vote on the bill until the fall. >> it is going to increase the deficit and i think most americans are concerned with that. >> support for reform is dwindling among americans. 41% approve of the president's position on the issue but the president continues to make his push. at a health care forum in north carolina, president obama acknowledged his august decline -- excuse me, his august deadline will likely not happen but he also made it clear that he won't be patient if negotiations continue to drag on onapitol hill. let's check another check on our forecast from meteorologist chuck bell.

outside we see blue skies, high, puffy clouds, 81 degrees. >> no real concerns with rainfall though we can't rule out one or two sprinkles, especially a few folks in the shenandoah valley, down towards stafford might get a sprinkle or two, but that's about it. 82 in baltimore, 79 haigers town, 79 martinsburg, west virginia. culpepper mid-70s. couple sprinkles as close as wayn waynesborrow. most of the raindrops will evaporate before they get a chance to reach our area. one or two may, fredericksburg, maybe a sprinkle or two. hot and sticky today, high temperatures into the upper 80s and low 90s. better chance for rain for

everybody tomorrow afternoon. saturday looks dry. sunday another chance of a shower or thundershower late in the day on sunday. at least 36 out of the 48 hours this upcoming weekend will be dry. >> thanks very much, chuck. let's head out to the roads now. how's it looking on the roadways? >> ooh. whenever the traffic guy goes ooh, it is really bad out there. really tough going. this is i-95 in virginia, here's southbound 95. that's the point where there's road work going on, delays begin miles back at newington on 95 southbound. best bet right now for get about 95 south, use route 1 as the alternate. a work zone this way, 95 northbound up toward lorden. traffic slows for a couple of miles because of that. wilson bridge doing okay. if you're going down the ocean to follow the mayor back to ocean city, good shape.

270 moving along quite nicely. new concerns over the swine flu virus. the vaccine won't be ready before kids go back to school. and that has doctors worried the virus could spread even more. vaccine's clinical trials are under way and manufacturing is on track. the first doses will be out in october. but there won't be enough for everyone right away. that's prompted the centers tore disease control to decide who should get it first. >> they'll look at those populations in which the virus has been most active, where's it causing the most damage. >> priority will go to pregnant women, health care workers, people from six months to 24 years old, care givers for infants under 6 months, and adults 24 to 64 with medical conditions that would put them at a high risk for complications. doctors are quick to point out the h1n1 virus is not the only

flu threat that we have. there is a regular seasonal flu vaccine which will be ready and it will be readily available for everyone. it may soon start to see lime green ribbons tied to trees and posts around our area, a campaign to focus attention on lyme disease which can affect anyone but often goes undiagn e undiagnosed with doctors. it is something an alexandria teenager knows all too well. >> reporter: amy howell had dreech dreams of broadway. in march she got sick. it looked like a stomach virus. >> then my joints started to hurt like you sprained your ankle or something. then all of a sudden i couldn't stand up. then i couldn't walk. so two or three months i've been in this wheelchair. >> reporter: larry had lyme disease with a tick-born illness that can have debilitating symptoms. but not always recognized by a doctor. >> the doctor looked at me at

the end of the appointment and says you have lyme but i don't have all your tests back. there are some tests i'm going to run. but you're faking it and you should get hypnotized. >>. >> reporter: she's not faking it. she could feel it tightening up on her body. >> i was losing feeling in my legs six inch every hour. >> reporter: she finally found a doctor who properly diagnosed her illness and began a regimen of treatment. >> it has been called the great imitator and so it requires well-educated doctors who are focused on the reality that this can be a long term deal. >> reporter: it was all a tremendous challenge for this family. they've left their home of 20 years to find something that's more wheelchair accessible. >> yesterday i woke up in the

morning and had to leave for ids. but then we spent all day at the mall. >> reporter: while her health condition hasn't improved much lately, it's stopped getting worse. among all the uncertainty lyme victims face, she considers herself a lucky one. >> some were admitted to insane asylums because people think they're just depressed, when none of us really are. there will be a hearing today at the ronald reagan building. there will be testimony to try to raise awareness for the disease. the centers for disease control is raising fundingor research and prevention are of lyme disease. 11:44, 81 degrees in washington. coming up a plan to keep homeless people off the streets of new york. why the city's now offering to fly them anywhere in the world. plus a police chase. he was only 7 years old. (employee 1) subject: urgent!! bob!!

i need the baker file stat!! reply!! still making changes. circle back later!! what's with the yelling? oh, our ternet slows down during peak hours so sending e-mails and large files just takes forever. so, we just yell. ben!!! thanks for the flowers!!! i thought you hated me!!! lol!!! semi-colon! right parenthesis! winky emocon! (announcer) switch to verizon and get a dedicated high speed internet connection from our office to your small busines so you won't be slowed down even if your neighbors are online. and for only $79.99 a month for 12 months with a 3 year contract you'll also get our award winning internet security suite, unlimited nationwide calling, and over $180 back in available online rebates. plus, the reliability of the verizon network. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v today for the verizon single line business pak and data protection pak. one of the many tools in the verizon small business toolbox.

whoah oah whoa! honey honey honey honey honey! okay... i mean... you can't... this i't a stove, alright? i mean... what if i just walked into the kitchen and started making a salad? - that'd be weird. - right? i mean, look, there's a technique. - okay... - ( strikes match ) wow. it's okay, everyone. - thanks, hon. - you're welcome. announcer: yep, it's that easy, - with kingsford match light. - ( match strikes ) two years ago we introdud you to a 12-year-old boy who was hoping to find a permanent home. it didn't happen then, and often when kids reach their teenage years they no longer want to try to find an adoptive family.

but this teen is still hoping that it will happen for him. here's brandon. hi, brandon. how are you? do you remember me. >> yeah, i remember. >> reporter: it's great to see you again. it was two years ago that we first met brandon. he was 12 years old when we spent this hot summer day paddling around the tidal basin. delbert. >> hey, buddy. how you doing? >> reporter: today brandon can be now 14, still has lots of interests. one of his favorites -- football. >> ready for the camp today? >> yeah. >> you're going to have a lot of fun. you got to work hard, okay? >> all right. >> reporter: form eredskin runs summer football camp. this year had he a special session for kids in foster care and invited former and current redskins to help out. >> one-two-right, one-two-left. >> reporter: brandon jumped right in and proved to have some

real talent for the gridiron sport. what do you want to be when you grow up? >> i want to be a wide receiver for the redskins or i want to play in the nba for the lanos angeles lakers. >> reporter: two years ago brandon talked about going to college. he still has that ambition. >> i study prelaw and i will go to law school for for years and probably become a lawyer. >> reporter: those who know brandon say he is a bright kid who would go far with a family to encourage his dreams. >> if he wouldn't mind having a single-family home or two-parent home. he just wants a family that's going to love him and be permitted to give him all the care and attention that he needs. >> reporter: brandon says it's important, even for a 14-year-old, to have a family they can count on. >> when they have a family to care for them. >> reporter: at football camp brandon proved he's working hard to make at least part of his dreams come true. >> thank you for coming out.

did you a great job today. >> reporter: and his hope for a permanent fa li ilst a - orriy onist of ortf o dreams. if you he rn i your home, nd your het,or f brandon, or any other dhwhdidhild whchd, please cal our hotline or visit nbcwashington.com and search wednesday's child. time to take a look at some of the business stories making headlines this morning. >> cnbc's courtney reagan jones us now live. >> good morning. stocks are higher today and have been that way all morning. dow's up 149 points more than making up for the down day yesterday on wall street. asian markets also rose overnight. china rebounded from the ht losses the day prior. europe also higher. we heard from exxon mobile this morning. they reported a 66% drop in quarterly profits due largely to the slide in natural gas and crude oil prices, but also because of swollen demand for

those products. the world's largest publicly traded oil company reported net income of $3.95 billion a quarter. but missed analysts estimates. claims for jobless benefits rose 25,000 last week to 584,000. continuing claims though fell in the latest reading to their lowest since april. good news there with continuing claims numbers from the labor department. a senate panel has issued subpoenas to goldman sachs and deutsche bank seeking evidence of fraud in last year's mortgage market meltdown. reports say washington mutual now owned b jpmorgan is likely a target in the probe. lawmakers are investigating whether bankers had private doubts about the soundness of the mortgage securities they were bundling and then selling off to other investors. struggling homeowners have a new source for health. mortgages backed by the federal housing administration will soon be eligible for payment reductions. similar to the president obama's loan modification program, the fha does guarantee about 5

million home loans. borrowers can get loans with down payments as low as 3.5%, compared to 20% for a typical loan without mortgage insurance. hopefully that will be a good game plan for those people that need the help. >> courtney, thanks very much. it could soon be more expensive to shop in the district. the d.c. council has tentatively agreed ton a sales tax hike plus increases in cigarette atax and gasoline tax. the cigarette tax would climb by 50% making it then $2.50 per pack. that's among the highest cigarette taxes in the nation. d.c.'s trying to close a $662 million budget shortfall over the next three years. new york city's helping the homeless find their way home. city's buying homeless

families -- or a homeless person a ticket anywhere in the world as long as they have a relative who will take them in. the new plan will save the city money because it costs $36,000 to house a homeless family in a shelter. the program is voluntary. so far families have been sent to 24 states and five different continents. time right now is 11:53. meteorologist chuck bell will be back with another check he ton forecast. >ngwe for tor people who make the day special tlyhe ear morning hours. if you know someoik l eeethat, e-mail their story and a carle, close-up picrer o even a video to morningperson@nbcwashington.com. ryll try to tell their sto ghri t here or.thaie ir

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witnesses in utah were alarmed to see an unusual sunday driver. a car was speeding along at 45 miles an hour, but its driver was so pint sized he could barely reached the pedals. it turns out a 7-year-old was behind the wheel. he'd taken h parents' car on a joyride. police trailed him. the boy made his way back home then pulled into his driveway, jumped out and ran off to hide. worry's told he did it all because he didn't want to go to church. got to be a better way. >> you ever do that? >> i'm not talking. let's find out about some of the stories in the works for news4 this afternoon. >> sick of snoring or sick of

your partner's snoring? there may be a new way to remedy what seems to be a never-ending problem. then at 5:00, how about a lunch for $5? a lot of populations offer them but which one is the best for you? for those stories and all the day's news, join us for news4 at 4:00 this afternoon. here's mol grist chuck beet bell for a final look at our fo lolocatitions,s, high 80s to low 90s. only a lonely sprinkle or two in the southern parts of the shenandoah valley down towards charlottesville. high tomorrow 90 degrees with a 50% of thunderstorms. sunday another chance of shower late in the day, drying out monday and another chance on tuesday. about every other day. >> we'll take that. robots can do a lot of things these days. some day they may even be able to play baseball. >> let's check it out.

researchers at tokyo university have created a pitching robot. it is three flexible fingers and a fast-moving arm that enables it to throw a fast ball -- well, i don't know about that. this travels about 38 miles per hour. researchers have also developed a batting robot that can hit the pitch in a fraction of a second with the help of an eye sensor. that's "news4 midday." thanks for joining us. >> we'll be back tomorrow morning at 4:55 with "news4 today." until then, have a great day.