the prosecution's case, lawyers outline new witness details in a high profile murder. the in evidee the chandra levy investigation that could help make the prosecutions case. insufficient funds. the popular cash for clunker program has had a roadblock. the federal government's plan is in danger of shutting down. home ward bound, space shuttle "endeavour" has been cleared for landing much the crew gets ready to return to planet. good morning and welcome back to "news4 today." i am joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. it is friday, july 31st, 2009. we will look outside now. take a look at that. it looks like we have what could be clouds but still dark, hard to see. maybe we ought to ask chuck bell about the skies right now. we have a few clouds out e. erth f stars la p otsneut planets

e.th er ured s sprised more clouds as thepr more clouds as theour fr es gidayr fridg. gou aigds bse a n.rnds are a bigcafohistreafs t ghal focast this afternoon. right now, it is 76 degrees downtown, 77,hi s,nalipoli quantico. here is a check of dop particular. western showers through central virginia and quern maryland. they will be making slow but steady progress. our clouds will be on the increase. by mid-afternoon, rain showers become a possibility and late this afternoon and evening, strom to severe thunderstorms. keep a weather eye and ear ready to go. >> i will keep my weather ear. >> keep the other eye and traffic ear tuned on the roadways. here is jerry edwards. so far, no big deals. as the rain moves in later on, we will have to watch it. for you folks, head out to the eastern shore, may be coming western on 50 over the bay

bridge. no early hangups to report. along i-95 and 395, a quiet start. american legion bridge and i-270 looking good. >> thank you, jerry. new details in the murder case of chandra levy. prosecutors have ban uplining their evidence to court and a trial could be eminent. >> a 27-year-old is charged with first-degree murder of the washington intern. >> kimberly suiters is live in district court with what the prosecutors have found, d.c. superior court it looks like. >> reporter: that's right. good morning. prosecutors have new witnesses they say. they also have an extensive list of evidence as well as what they consider incriminating statements made by gaun decay himself. he was already incarcerated for

attacks against other women. newly filed documents say he was offered a plea agreement. he has not accepted it. the next step would be a trial where prosecutors would have to prove beyond a reasonable down that he murdered chandra levy. the 27-year-old dru attention of police for attacks on female joggers in rock creek park. he was serving a federal prison sentence for those crimes when he was charged last march with levy's murder. among the hundreds of documents, a list of witnesses that could be called to testify about other crimes allegedly committed by him. they include a former cellmate to says he was tied up and raped by him. another witness would testify he was often in trouble in jail for lewd behavior. another witness says he told him he enjoyed abusing women, would hog tie and rape them if they didn't want him. finally, documents state that he

told a witness if he were ever released from jail, he would, quote, kill everyone that he could. now, there was dna evidence found on chandra levy's tithes. the prosecution is going to argue that it is unuseable because right now it appears i is not linked to ingmar gondekay. after spending more than a week being quarantined in china, a dozen high school students are back at home. they arrived and we greeted by anxious parents. the teens come from several different schools, part of a cultural exchange program at the uflt of maryland. after arriving in beijing for a field trip earlier this month, several tested positive for the swine flu. those students were hospitalized while the others were forced to stay inside hotel rooms. >> i didn't get sick.

i sat alone in a room all day. >> we had to wear facial masks. the other students were trying to run away from us. the funny thing is, the next day, all of them had to put facial masks on and they were like -- we are like, yeah, are you going to iran way from us now? the students did spend most of the trip in quarantine. they did get to do some sight seeing before returning home. a developing story this morning. the cash for clunkers program has a real problem. there is no more cash for the clunkers. the program had automakers offering deals to trade in old cars for more fuel efficient cars. the billions of dollars in funds have all been used up. jay gray reports. >> the federal government is apparently putting the brakes on the so-called cash for clunk kers vehicle trade-in program.

ray lahood notified key senators that the rebates would be suspended amid concerns the program was on the verge of using up $1 billion in federal funds set aside for new car shoppers. wildly popular, the program gave consumers up to $4,500 if they traded in a gas-guz letter for a more fuel-efficient vehicle and helped to ramp up the auto industry. >> we have increased our business probably about 30%. >> reporter: in less than a week, more than 22000 people took advantage of the incentive plan spending nearly $96 million. >> there were a lot of people that weren't going to get a car but $4,500 makes a big differences in a car purchase. >> reporter: a huge backlog in processing thousands of deals raised concerns that auto dealers may have driven past the $250,000 vehicle limit funding by the program. apparently parking the fence to

park the initiative for now. jay gray, nbc news, los angeles. >> so far this year, car sales are running under an annual rate of $10 million light vehicles. as of recently, they sold more than 16 million cars in light trucks in the u.s. metro riders can expect a weekend of delays. there will be track maintenance on all five lines. the trains will be sharing single tracks. customers should budget an extra 30 minutes for travel time. it will happen on the red line from 7:00 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. saturday and sunday. it will happen on the blue and yellow line from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on saturday and sunday. expect delays on the green and yellow from 8:00 tonight until 6:00 p.m. on sunday. time, 5:07. 76 degrees. what investigators are saying about michael jackson and his use of prescription drugs. plus, we are hearing the intense interrogation of a d.c. mother convicted of killing her four children. and why this man is jumping

from a car through a fast food restaurant's drive-through window. ?

kick off the weekend with free chocolate. mars is giving off coupons for free candy. >> to get your free candy, sign

up on line at 9:00 this morning. go to nbcwashington.com and search bargain blast. >> snikers for life. >> i know that that would be -- >> it would be good. it would be a good thing. >> i am trying to stay away from candy. i am the one who is the chocoholic around here. good morning, everyone. it is 5:11 now on your friday morning. temperatures are on the muggy side. still, in the mid and upper 70s across much of the area. 76 in town. 75 in hagerstown. not much in the way of rain out there. a few sprinkles in the west, virginia mountains. rain showers coming into the metropolitan area by mid to late afternoon today. have the umbrellas ready to go. you may not need it before 4:00 or 5:00.

you might. highs today, mid to upper 80s with rain showers moving in. tomorrow, jerry, sunny for your saturday. perfect lawn mowing weather. we will take a live look along 395 northbound. clear, dry road surfaces from the beltway into downtown. elsewhere, a peek along the south side of the beltway, as you head across the wilson bridge, seven minutes from the wilson bridge up to route 50. 16 minutes and 8 minutes on your travel times from route 507 up towards i-95. back to you. our time is 5:12. 76 degrees. tale of the tape. the intense interrogation of a d.c. woman found guilt of killing her four children. space shuttle "endeavour"

our time is 5:14. new witnesses come forward in the chandra levy case. she says she was attacked on a jogging trail attacked by a man matching the description of the suspect in the chandra levy

murder. temperatures are responsible for at least one death in the pacific northwest. a 66-year-old man died due to the heat wave hitting seattle. a man in his 50s with a heat-related illness died at a hospital in tacoma. on wednesday, portland hit 106 degrees. seattle hit 103. the new cash for clunkers program is run out of gas, that is, to say, cash. the government-sponsored program designed to stimulate car buying and get other cars off the roadways has burned through his $1 billion budget in less than a week. lawmakers say they will try to find more money to keep the program going. the clearance has been granted for space shuttle end f "endeavour" to return to earth. good morning, megan. >> it is one of nasa's longer trips. if the weather cooperates, the

mission will wrap up later today. the shuttle "endeavour" is scheduled to touch down at 10:48 eastern time. they got an early wakeup call, woken up by the song, "beautiful day." the weather looks pretty good in florida. so the shuttle has been given the go-ahead to come on back. >> good morning, "endeavour." tom, that was some youu2 for yo and your teammates. >> they are wrapping up a 16-day flight with the residents and the crew members on "endeavour," it was the biggest gathering in outer space. during the flight, they put on a new addition to japan's $1 billion lab, went on five space walks and freshened up the space

station with new batteries and space parts. they will b bringing back a japanese astronaut who has been aboard for four and a half months. he hasn't changed his underwear since he went up 4 1/2 months ago. he is on an experiment for odorfree clothing. >> once they land, we will find out whether it worked. >> ty will take that undergarment and test it. good luck with that. >> interesting. >> welcome back. thanks very much. >>. >> now, in other news, this morning, we are hearing convicted murderer bonita jacks, on wednesday, was convicted of torturing and murdering her four daughters inside her southeast washington home. police have released interest video that shows her in a police interview room and told the police her daughters were possessed by demons and they

died in their sleep. >> i could not. i could never hurt a child. i would not. that's not what happened. >> jacks could get life from prison without parole. her sentencing is scheduled for october 16th. no one was injured when a vacant apartment went up in flames in northeast washington. it happened yesterday afternoon. the fire began on the fifth floor and eventually the roof collapsed. nearby row houses were evacuated as a precaution. a huge fire burned a home to e ground in northwest washington. it happened on wednesday night on cambridge road. the nearest working fire hydrant was several blocks away. neighbors say they had been

complaining about low water pressure, wasa, however, says there was sufficient flow to fight the fire. workers say they only received one report over the past week from a customer on that block. when a worker checked it out, there was enough pressure. prince william county police are looking for a knife-wielding robber who jumped through a fast-food restaurant's drive-in window. the man drove up, jumped through the window and demanded money. employees ran away while the man took cash out of the cash registers. he climbed then back through the drive-up window, got in his car and drove off. there he goes. day two of training camp. today, the redskins will have a new teammate out on the field. >> lindsey czarniak has your sports minute. good morning. your sports minute on this friday morning begins with redskins news. late last night, the redskins agreed to terms with defense

self lineman brian arakpo. he is expected to join his teammates. we will have live coverage at 5:00. to baseball, the nationals have a lot to be upset over after a loss to the milwaukee brewers. interim manager was ejected for arguing with the umpire. the brewers took the lead when mike cameron slid under will me he have vez' tag. the ball beat cameron to the plate. 7-3. elena beard had a great night to lead the mystics over thnew york liberty. the mystics got the win 78-73. that's your sports minute. our time right now is almost 5:21. let's check in with meteorologist tom -- not tom.

>> i have a funny feeling he is awake and watching. >> let's say good morning. how you doing out there, buddy. yes, indeed. finally, friday morning is here. there are some showers up, mainly west of interstate 81 moving into the panhandle of west virginia. a couple of sprinkles for our western most viewers first thing this morning. it is a dry start here in town. 77 in annapolis. 77, calvert and st. mary's county. 76 degrees in walldorf. 75 in quantico, virginia. here is your forecast as we go through the weekend. today, an 80% chance of rain showers. we have the opportunity for strong to severe thunderstorms today here in the washington area. keep a weather eye to the sky. especially late this afternoon and this evening. tomorrow's high, 90 degrees with some sunshine. another chance for showers rolls in here late in the day on sunday. a farrell dry pattern early next week. starting with highs the in upper 80s to near 90 on sunday,

monday, and tuesday. >> got some trouble over on 95 with an accident southbound 95 near 7100 in newington. we are told it is one vehicle that has rolled over n, not a l of traffic getting by. the hov northbound lanes, a lot of rubbernecking going on. elsewhere, 270, pretty quiet. i-70 between baltimore and frederick, no issues currently reported. barbara and joe, back to you. our time, 5:22. 76 degrees. residents,e aware of snake eyes, the slit they ary surprise lurking in the streets of one neighborhood. lightning gets too close for a man trying to witness mother nature in action. how investigators are describing michael jackson's use of prescription zils.

>> here is liz on the money saving tip of the day. an allowance is an important strategy in teaching children the value of money. if your child asks you to buy something expensive. consider offering to split the cost. if he realizes how much money will have to be saved for the purchase, he might decide to save for something more affordable instead.vi (announcer) you think bleach gets your toilet perfectly clean? fact. bleach doesn't get rid of stains.

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with her son off to college, liz turned to target for great deals. like a twenty dollar comforter for his bed. a fridge for healthy snacks a reading lamp to study by and a cell phone to call home. so liz chose target showing off her college smarts about savings target. expect more. pay less.

it knocked me way back. >> a florida man taking pictures for his website got more than he bargained for. he was on the porch of a st. augustine home when the weather turned violent. he started taking pictures when lightning struck in front of him. he caught the entire thing on tape. fortunately, he was not injured. that's dangerous behavior. we still don't know what killed michael jackson. we do know what will happen to his children now. jackson's mother, katherine, will be the children's legal guardian. debbie rowe is the biological mother of the two older children. she will retain visitation rights but will not seek custody or receive any extra money. >> i think this puts to rest a lengthy and protracted piece of litigation. i think the children will benefit from that.

>> meanwhile, there are signs that manslaughter charges could be imminent in jackson's death. they have alluded to the pop star as an addict and they are looking for evidence related to a powerful anesthetic. his doctor, conrad murray, has told investigators he gave the singer propofol the day he died. they are looking into whether murray broke the law through excessive prescribing. they are still waiting on toxicology reports to show why he died. the officer and the professor meet the president over a cold one. >> what the prosetion is saying about the evidence in the case of murdered washington intern, chandra levy. investigation against atr di

evidence-based, what prosecutors have discovered into the investigation to murdered washington intern, chandra levy. candid conversation between a police officer, a professor and the president of the united states and the vice president on race relations. strapped for cash. the government's car discount and fuel efficiency program is running on empty. good morning again. welcome to "news4 today." i'm barbara harrison. it is friday, july 31st, 2009.

good morning. i'm joe krebs. let's take a look outside. 76 pretty humid degrees out there this morning on this final day of july, 2009. meteorologist, chuck bell in storm center 4 to tell us what we can expect on this last day of the month. good morning. >> barbara, joe, good morning to you too. welcomeo friday, your weekend. it is so close now, so close. if you have made it to 5:30 on a friday morning, you are practically there. a couple of showers in west virginia headed up into the panhandle. more rain back out to the west of that. these showers are going to be steadily moving over the mountains during the next couple of hours. you folks west of the blue ridge could see some showers before lunchtime today. here in the washington area, mid to late afternoon before the rain arrives. you could get away with your without your umbrellas i you needed to. there is an opportunity for strong to severe thunderstorms late this afternoon and evening. keep a weather eye to the sky.

barbara and joe? >> thanks very much, chuck. out to the roads with jerry edwards. good morning again. sg. >> good morning. we have a problem in northern virginia. live pictures in the early morning darkness of an accident 95 southbound near route 7100 in newington. early reports indicate a rolled-over vehicle. some traffic is getting by under police direction. but looks like there is some more emergency to get to the scene. southbound 95. here is the northbound hov lanes. everything slowing down to get a look on the southbound side. north bound, lanes are open. trip on 66, no early hangups. dulles toll road so far so good. i-95 between washington and baltimore. barbara and joe, back to you. thank you, jerry. there are new details in the murder case of chandra levy. prosecutors are outlining their evidence and a trial could be imminent. >> ingmar guandique is expected

in court for a hearing, the 27-year-old is charged with first-degree murder of the washington intern. >> kimberly suiters is live with what prosecutors have found. >> reporter: good morning. prosecutors are going to be talking about new witnesses, a long list of evidence and, in their view, incriminating statements. newly filed documents indicate ingmar guandique was offered a plea agreement that expired july 24th. he has not accepted it. the next step would likely be a trial where prosecutors would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered chandra levy. documents lay out the prosecution's case against him. they include notice of a new witness who claims to have been attacked and stabbed by a person matching the description of guandique. 27 years old. he drew the attention of police for attacks on female joggers in rock creek park. he was serving a federal prison sentence when he was charged

last march with levy's murder. a list of witnesses who could be called to testify about other crimes allegedly committed by guandique. they include a former cellmate who claims he was tied up and raped by him. he said he liked to commit similar crimes against women. another witness testified that he was often in trouble in jail for lewd behavior in front of female guards. another testified that guandique told him he enjoyed abusing women. he told a witness if he was ever released from jail, he could, quote, kill everyone he could. now, the defense will point to dna evidence found on chandra levy's running tithes that does not match ingmar guandique. they will dismiss statements made against him as simply jailhouse snitching and finally, the defense has claimed that

they have not had enough time to prepare, that the prosecution had an eight-year head start. reporting live at d.c. superior court, i am kimberly suiters, news 4. metro's new zero-tolerance policy may have cost a bus driver her job. the first casualty of a new pol sich cy. a rider snapped this photo. it showed the metro general manager, john catoe. he said such incidents reflect poorly on all metro operators. he won't tolerate it. >> my reaction is, i'm ashamed. i have angered and made clear the consequences of using a cell phone while operating a metro vehicle. once we determine that this is what happened, you all know the consequences of it. >> the transit union says it will file a grievance if the driver is, in fact, fired. cold beer and calm words are

fears that have eased some of the tensions between a harvard scholar and a police officer who arrested him for disorderly conduct. professor henry louis gates and a suburban boston police officer, james crowley, are both upbeat following a meeting with president obama. tracie potts from capitol hill. >> reporter: as promised, president obama had a beer with his friend, harvard psychological lar, henry louis gates, sergeant james crowley, who arrested gates and vice president biden. we were told no one apologized but the production was productive. >> we have agreed that both perspectives should be addressed to provide a constructive outcome to the events of the past month. >> reporter: gates called the national attention on his arrest rouddy and unrule but added that it invokes greater sympathy for the daily perils of policing on

the one hand and the genuine fears about racial profiling. the president, who backtracked after first saying that crowley acted stupidly, called this a friendly, thoughtful conversation. some analysts say mr. obama has some making up to do. >> played badly because it was the kind of obama he tried to avoid showing, taking sides during his campaign. perceived as taking sides, especially with black americans. >> reporter: up nex crowley says he will have more public discussions with gates. as for the arrest, itself, gates says it is time to move on. that's what the white house is hoping too, that this meeting will clothes the chapter on the president's comments and allow him to move on to more pressing issues like health reform. people called it a beer summit. president obama said he preferred to think of it as simply as three guys having a drink at the end of the day. the national academy of

sciences is beginning a review of the anthrax mailings. it killed five and sickened 2000 others. the fbi developed a novel method to trace the spores. it led them to bruce ivans. he committed suicide a year ago. 76 degrees in washington. why it may soon get more expensive to shop in the district? ? how a local teenager was hit by a chunk of concrete? a slimy crest whitestrips has created a strip so revolutionary...

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the discount the most. outside in sports, we have some clouds hanging outver washington. what a beautiful sunrise this is going to be here in the next little while. sun rise is at 6:08 this morning. look at how wonderfully lit up the bottom of those little clouds are. get up and outside and enjoy it. here is a check of dop blpler. showers across west virginia into western maryland. they will be on the march today. temperatures right now are in the muggy mid 70s. today, becoming cloudy. rain showers likely. thunderstorms possible and some of those may be severe. so we'll have to keep a weather eye on that. saturday, sunny, hot and humid. highs thmotoow up near 90 degrees with the sunshine back just in time to get the weekend started. jerry, over to you. >> chuck, good news or improving news. the accident on 95 southbound near 7100 and newington looks like it has been removed from

the roadway, if not cleared completely. those delays starting to ease. we are loaded up in the mainline and the hov lanes northbound. 270, no worries. looks good at the american legion bridge. >> thanks, jerry. our time right now is 5:42. the temperature is 78 degrees. good food at a good price. we will tell you the best lunch for only $5. plus, it seems to be too much of a good thing. next, at 5:45, why the mo

5:45. a new witness has come forward against suspected chandra levy killer, ingmar guandique. the witness claims to have been attacked on a jogging trail and stabbed by a man matching the description of guandique. a group of local students is back on u.s. soil after a harrowing overas experience.

they were quarantined in china after some came down with the swine flu. they arrived in dulles and said, although it wasn't the trip they imagined, they were treated well while in quarantine. the space shuttle "endeavour" will land today in florida. they spent 16 days in space performing tasks at the international space station. nasa thinks the weather should cooperate today. the cash for clunkers problem is a real problem. it has no cash for the clunk kers. they had automakers offering deals to trade in old cars for a new fuel efficient model. after one week, with such a demand, the billion of dollars of funds have been absolutely used up. jay gray has more on this ve developing story. >> reporter: the federal government is apparently putting the brakes on the cash for clunkers vehicle trade-in program. according to sources, transportation secretary, ray

lahood, notified key senators that the rebates would b suspended amid concerns the program was on the verge of using up a billion dollars in federal funds set aside for new car shoppers. wildly popular, the program gave consumers up to $4,500 if they traded in a gas guzzler for a more fuel-efficient vehicle. >> we have increased our business probably about 30%. >> reporter: in less than a week, more than 32,000 people took advantage of the incentive plan spending nearly $96 million. >> a lot of people weren't going to get a car but $4,500 makes a big difference in a car purchase. >> reporter: a huge backlog in processing thousands of deals raised concerns that auto dealers may have already driven past the 250,000 vehicle limit funding by the program. apparently, prompting t feds to park the initiative for now. jay gray, nbc news, los angeles.

so far this year, car sales are running under an annual rate of 10 million light vehicles but as recently as 2007, automakers sold more than 16 million cars and light trucks in the u.s. a st. mary's county teen is recovering in the hospital after she was hit in the head with a piece of concrete while riding in the back seat of a car. it happened wednesday night on cavanaugh road in mechanicsville. four teenagers were riding in a car when someone threw a chunk of concrete through the open driver's side window. the drivers ducked but it hit a 15-year-old girl in the back seat. police do not think this attack was random. >> the area this occurred in, everyone in that area knows everyone. they frequent the area a lot. so we believe that more than likely this was not a random incident. >> the girl who was hit was taken to the hospital with a skull fracture. after spending time in intensive care, she is now listed in

stable condition. a metro bus driver is facing can kidnapping charges authorities say. he refused to let a passenger get off his bus. this happened in prince george's county over the weekend. a metro spokesperson says a woman board the bus at the metro station and got into an argument with the driver. when she wanted to get off the bus at regency parkway, authorities say the driver refused. metro says the driver will be fired if he is found guilty. it was a frightening ride for a number of people stuck on an elevator at the metro station. six adults and four children, including a baby were on the elevator when it got stuck. firefighters were called in to help free them. the baby received medical attention but everyone should be okay. the latest in the race for governor of virginia. the candidates will be in the hot seat answering queions about agriculture and forest tri.

dem kr democrat creigh deeds and bob mcdonnell. they will be answering issues from water to pperty rights. the two industries have an annual economic impact of $79 billion in the commonwealth. if you live in gaithersburg, be on the look out. a missing four-foot long python escaped from a condominium on streamside drive last friday. a resident snapped a picture of it as it slithered by. christian patilo was pet sitting when it got loose. animal experts say it is not considered to be dangerous. a reward is being offered for the snake's return. barbara, lift your foot. >> not considered dangerous by whom? >> wow. so nice weather for pythons out in montgomery county?

>> yes, oddly enough. i am thinking that pythons like it warm and humid since they come from warm and humid places, southeast asia for the most part. it feels a little bit like southeast asia in the winter or summertime around here. plenty of heat and humidity for us on the way for today. that's going to stick around for much of the weekend. we call it july here in the washington area. right now, we have a farrell cloudy sky overhead. these aren't the rain clouds just yet. they are on the way, though. 76 degrees here in town. as we get ready to start the month of august, i did a little calculation, barbara and joe, between today and labor day, we are going to lose an hour and 24 minutes of daylight. so just between now and labor day, about five weeks away, we are going to lose more than an hour of day light. that must mean the end of summer is drawing nigh. outside this morning, 76 here in town. 75 in fairfax county. 74 degrees in montgomery village. 72 in frederick maryland. 70 degrees in martinsburg, west

virginia. some showers not too far away from martinsburg and winchester. a couple of speerinkles of the mountains of west virginia. the rain showers will be making a steady move over the mountains as we go through the day today. here is a look at the bigger view. most of thesshowers are heading up into pennsylvania. there are month showers down across kentucky and tennessee. those are the ones that are coming our way for later on this afternoon. satellite review shows fair weather clouds. the bulk of the rain across tennessee and kentucky. this area of low pressure is going to go almost directly overhead. strong thunderstorms are a possibility. some could be severe today, extending from new york city down through baltimore and washington down into south central virginia. that's where the opportunity for severe weather is coming up late this afternoon and this evening. sort of keep a weather eye open

to the sky for later on today. so this is the rain shower chan chance for today. this will be moving on out. there is saturday's sunshine. the next impulse in far west texas, that is the one that will bring us a chance for rain late in the day on sunday. we have an every other day pattern for the rapshowers. for today, through 8:00 this evening, thunderstorms firing up, moving quickly out over the eastern shore. overnight tonight, most of the rain will be coming to an end by about midnight or shortly there after. by the time you wake up on saturday morning, maybe a few lingering showers along the eastern shower. most of date will be a dry one and another chance dpfor needed showers on sunday. friday, good-looking day, clouds on the increase, rain showers and thunderstorms are likely. some storms could reach severe limits. be on the lookout. a lot of sheer in the atmosphere. a close eye on the weather. highs today will be mostly in

the 80s. up near 90 degrees with the sunshine back for tomorrow. that will be welcome news. a little chance for thunderstorms again late in the day on sunday. monday, a little bit lower humidity. that sticks around for monday and tuesday and as we get into the middle of next week, another couple of chances for rain showers. all right. it is friday morning, beach and boating time. ch you are headed out to the eaesapke bay, eastern shore or western shore. you can pick your shore, however you would like. temperatures in the 80s. a good day. a chance for showers on sunday. out at the ocean, going down to the ocean. ocean city, any of your favorite spots of sand, highs in the 80s. may have more clouds early in the day. saturday afternoon and evening should be good. the late chance of a shower at the beach. >> which beaches are considered western shore? >> annapolis is on the western shore of the bay. cambridge is on the eastern side. >> okay, all right then. >> pick your beach. >> pick your side. >> let's check traffic.

what's going on, jerry? good morning again. we will check things out along i-270. nothing to worry about. a few brake lights towards germantown. all and all, a very quiet morning down to the split. let's see what else is happening. for those of you headed south of town through the friday morning haze, you can see the flashing lights of the woodrow wilson bridge. trust me, even though you can't see it, directions looks like traffic is moving along nicely. if you are going in through northeast, no worries to report along new york avenue or kensle worth avenue. the southeast corners, 295, pennsylvania avenue. on the southeast freeway, we are doing fine. back to you. there is a new battle line in restaurant's fight to attract customers. the $5 lunch deal. which one gives you the most bang for your buck. subway has bushing $5 foot long, kfc, arby's, quizno's and peelt

za hut. >> i would go for arby's. >> you get a sandwich, fries and a drink. >> kfc. >> why? >> you get more than your money for $5 at kfc. >> of the 42 people we asked, only one picked quizno's. three, pizza hit, eight said subway. 11 chose ashby is and 19 said kfc. it may soon get more expensive to shop in the district. the sales tax would increase .25 to 6%. the cigarette tax would increase to $2.50 per pack. this would help close a budget deficit. to the money crisis now and a look at how foreign markets are doing today. asian stock markets ended the

peek week on a positive note. japan's nikkei gained 1.89. hang seng, 1.68. shanghai, 2.72%. to wall street, the dow is pointing to i apos tiff opening. the dow reached its highest level since last december. it gained at 9,154. the nasdaq gained 16 points closing at 1984. candidates should be prepared to work a variety of hours. they need a valid driver's license and the ability to drive a manual transmission. visit nbcwashington.com. search jobs for you. still ahead, an important alert if you plan to ride metro this weekend. you will see delays no matter where you are going. local high school students return home from china and

describe what it was like to be qu quarantined because of swine flu. >> stay with us. we are coming right back. vo: since 2006, walmart has sold over 260 million compact fluorescent light bulbs. saving our customers over 7 billion dollars on their electric bills. save money. live better. walmart.

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look can outside, we do have some clouds. patches of blue. chuck bell told me that. >> those patches are on my blue tro trauicce.rtifates >> i don't hav go .th got them. >>jot atl jo l aittle joke. >>it laler a literal 76 degrees 76 degrees downwnto rwnight no w. 77 in owal utso, down int maryland., ryland.. lplata, maryland. most of the showers are west of interstate 81. it will be a while before they reach to the metro area. nonetheless, the chance for rain is in the forecast for the second part of our friday. it is neither good nor bad news. we have an opportunity for some severe weather coming up later this afternoon and evening. you need to keep a weather eye to the sky. the atmosphere will be charged

up by 5:00, 6:00 this evening. let's go to jerry to take a look at the roads. good morning. so far, so good. friday, everything is moving along pretty well. that's very good news. over the american legion bridge we go. here is the outer loop. come off the i-270 spur. very light volume of traffic as well. south of town to the wilson bridge, no early hangups, had an accident earlier. 95 southbound at 7100 newington. northbound, typically heavy as you begin the trip from daly city through the interchange on up to springfield. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. we are following new details in the chandra levy murder case. the man charged in the case is expected in court later today. kimberly suiters joins us from d.c. superior court with details now. good morning. >> reporter: good morning,

barbara. soon, we will learn more about the new witnesses. all that new evidence as well as incriminating statements according to the prosecution, even alleged concessions. newly filed documents indicate ingmar guandique was offered a plea agreement that expired july 24th. he apparently has not accepted it. the next step would be a trial where they would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered chandra levy. they lay out the prosecution's case against guandique. they include notice of a new witness who claims to have been attacked and stabbed by a person matching his description. he drew the attention of police early on for attacks on female joggers in rock creek park. he was serving a federal prison sentence for those crimes when he was charged last march with levy's murder. among the hundreds of documents in the case, a list of witnesses

who could be called to testify about other crimes allegedly committed by guandique. they include a former cellmate who said he was tied up and raped by guandique. they said he liked to commit similar crimes against women and he was often in trouble in jail for lewd behavior in front of female guards. another told guandique that he enjoyed abugs women and would hog tie and rape them if they didn't want him. >> he told witnesses if he was ever released, he would, quote, kill everyone he could. the defense will likely point to dna evidence found on sean drew levy's jogging tights that does not match ingmar guandique. they will dismiss statements made in jail as bragging or jailhouse talk and snitching. the defense has argued that a january trial date is too soon for them. the prosecution has had nearly

an eight-year head start. it was the most anticipated happy hour in washington yesterday. this morning, president obama's go at beeriplomacy is the talk of the town. they all sat at a table in the rose garden. henry louis gates. mr. obama and vice president biden. they met to talk about the brouhaha brouhaha that followed gate's arrest. professor gates and i bring different perspectives. we have agreed that both perspectives should be addressed in an effort to provide a constructive outcome to the events of the past month. >> gates said the national attention was rowdy and unrule.

it gave him sympathy for policing and general fears about racial profiling. we are following a development story. the government's cash for clunkers program has been a huge success, maybe too much of a success. the initiative, instituted less than a week ago, has run out of money. jay gray reports on what's next with the program. >> reporter: the federal government is apparently putting the brakes on the so-called cash for clunkers program. they notified them that the rebates would be suspended amid concerns the program was on the verge of using up $1 billion in federal funds set aside for new car shoppers. wildly popular, the program gave consumers up to $4,500 if they traded in a gas guz letter for a more fuel efficient vehicle and represented to ramp up the

industry. >> we have increased our business probably 30%. >> reporter: in less than a week, 32,000 people took advantage of the plan spending nearly $96 million. >> there were a lot of people that weren't gng to get a car but $4,500, that makes a big difference in a car purchase. it brought them off the sidelines. >> a huge backlog in processing thousands of deals. it raises concerns that auto dealers may have driven past the 250,000 vehicle limit funding by the program prompting the feds to park the initiative for now. jay gray, nbc news, los angeles. a white house spokesman says they are evaluating all options to keep the program funded. weekend filled with delals, maintenance on all five metrorail lines. the trains will be sharing a single track. customers should budget an extra 30 minutes of travel time. it will happen on the red line at 7:30 to 9:30 saturday and

sunday. from 7:00 to 6:00 p.m. on saturday and night. expect delays on the green and yellow delays from 8:00 tonight through 6:00 p.m. on sunday. our time right now, 6:07. a teenager from maryland is hospitalized after someone throws a piece of concrete through the car window she was a passenger in. a frightening robbery caught on tape. a knife-yielding thief jumps through a fast-food windows. >> the space shuttle "en =d?

. is 6: os>>10 i is. 6:e.s rs im ts mars isivin gwag ay giving away eer 50 nsca po for free candy. ha b sni einin leg bngni a thin ee beginning at d f d ine link, go to nbcwashington.com and search out bargain blast. >> 6:11 is the time. time for traffic and weather. let's go to meteorologist, chuck bell. he is in for tom this morning. outside, wed a very pretty sun rise. shortly after the sun came up, it went right back behind the clouds. that was it for most of our sunshine. we might get a few breaks of sun

durth morni during the morning hours. clouds will win the day. there are showers out in the mountains of west virginia headed up toward the front royal area. not a lot of heavy rain just yet. our morning commute will be mostly dry. we don't need to worry about that. rain showers are on their way for later on this afternoon. highs today, jerry edwards, wil strong to perhaps severe thunderstorms later this evening. tomorrow, sunny and dry goat your saturday started. >> chuck, commute, rather uncomplicated so far this morning. the trip to t woodrow wilson bridge, no hangups. there was an accident 95 southbound at 7100, long gone. northbound, typically slow. no sunshine delays along 66 at the toll road as of yet. we are okay. >> thanks very much. the big contract deal, the redskins worked out overnight and the space shuttle "endeavour's" mission will not be over when it is scheduled to land this morning. why scientists will be checking

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the man charged with the murder of washington intern, chandra levy, is expected to appear in court. prosecutors have told the court they have a new witness who will testify she was attacked and stabbed on a jogging trail by a man who looked like guandique. no apologies after the beer summit at the white house. president obama obama and vice president biden met with the harvard professor and the boston police officer. they sat around and had drinks and all sides said it was productive. spl. the white house is struggling to keep the cash for clunkers program alive. $1 billion has been set aside to help people replace their gas guzzlers. the program is so popular, the money is being depleted quickly. they are trying to help keep that program funded. nasa has given the space shuttle "endeavour" all clear for today's landing when it analyzed wing and nose image one

final time for possible damage. megan mcgrath joins us with more on the landing. >> the weather in florida looks relatively good. with a slight chance of showers and maybe lightning. it looks like "endeavour" is coming home today. it took the shuttle six tries to launch because of bad weather conditions. this time, the crew is hoping to come home in that very first window. that window is at 10:48 this morning. the seven astronauts got a very early wake-up call. the crew was woken up by the song beautiful day by the band u2. it was dedicated to tom marsh burn and mission control deliverethe good news about "endeavour's" return. tom, that was some u2 for you and your crew mates. it looks like a beautiful day in space and florida. we hope to see you safely on the

ground in a few hours. >> reporter: the crew is wrapping up a 16-day flight to the international space station. with the six spacetita son residents and the seven crew members on "endeavour," it is wa the biggest gathering ever. they put on a new addition, went on five space walks and freshened up the space station with new batteries and spare parts and did some emergency repairs on the station's toilet. >> it is an extremely successful mission, in spite of a lot of interesting curveball. hopping a ride home will be japanese astronaut ckoichi wakata. he is part of an experiment in odorfree cloeting. he hasn't changed his underwear for a month. >> my station members did not complain for a month. i think the experiment went

fine. >> one last experiment due to be completed after the shuttle returns. some lucky technician is going to tt the underwear worn by wakata. >> you are calling that technician lucky. you through the short straw. >> whatever it is, they don't pay that guy enough. >> they must not like him. >> thanks, very much, megan. "endeavour's" heat shield has checked out okay. so long as the weather cooperates, the shuttle should touch down once again at 10:48 this morning. a dozen local high school students are back at home after spending the last week being quarantined in china. they arrived at dulles airport last night, greeted by anxious parents. they came from several different schools part of a cultural exchange program at the university of maryland. after arriving in beijing for a

field trip earlier this month, several tested positive for the swine flu. those students were hospitalized while the others wer forced to stay inside their hotel rooms. >> i didn't get sick. i sat alone in a room all day. >> we had to wear facial masks. they kind of run away from us and stuff. the funny thing is, like, the next day, all of them had to put facial masks on and they were like -- we were like, are you going to run away from us now? >> although the students did spend most of the trip inside a hotel shall they did get to do some sight seeing before returning home. a st. mary's county teen is recovering from theospital after she was hit in the head with a piece of concrete while riding in the back seat of a car. it happened wednesday night in mechanicsville. four teenagers were riding in a car when someone threw a chunk of concrete through the open driver's side window much the driver ducked by the concrete hit a 15-year-old girl in the back seat who suffered a skull

fracture. after spending time in intensive care, she is now in stable condition. police do not think this attack was ran don dom. some fast food workers got quite a scare on tuesday when a robber jumped through a burger king drive-through window. you are watching the surveillance video from a manassas burger king. watch the man drive up, jump through the window andy manned money. employees ran away while he took cash from the registers, climbed out through the window, got in his car and drove off. police are still searching for the suspect. today is day two of redskins training camp. fans will get their first chance to check out brian orekpo. lindsey has that and more. good morning, everybody. your sports minute begins with redskins knew. late last night, they agreed to

terms with defensive lineman brian orakpo. he he is expected to join his teamtes tonight. >>. >> to baseball, the nationals have a lot to beupset over after a loss to the milwaukee brewers. yesterday afternoon, the interim manager was ejected for arguing with the umpire. the brewers took the lead when camera slid under will's leg. elena beard led the miss sticks, they got the win, 78-73. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. it is now 6:21, time for traffic and weather. let's go to meteorologist, chuck bell. >> i can figure out why they had trouble dealing with brian

orekpo. glad to have him on the redskins. 76 in washington. a couple of sprinkles in the best virginia mountains. be ready for some rain showers. here in the washington area, it will be dry for most of the day. but, by mid to late afternoon and into the evening, showers and some possibly strong thunderstorms coming our way. keep a weather eye to the sky. sunshine returns for saturday. another chance for showers late in the day on sunday. monday, finally a little touch of lower humidity coming our way. you are in favor of lower humidity, aren't you? >> you got that right. got to protect the hair. let's head out and see how we are doing. trouble on 395 northbound, accident overturned car. fire rescue crews are on the scene. they have completely closed off the exit ramp back up traffic on 395 northbound headed on up from

duke street. look out for that. wilson bridge, no worries there. the interloop from i-95 up toward 66, all lanes are open. the cast of one of tvs most popular shows is reuniting. new news about the michael jackson death investigation. here is liz on the money, money saving tip of the day. >> an allowance is an important strategy in teaching children the value of money. if your child asks you to buy something expensive, consider offering to split the cost. if he realizes how much money will have to be saved for the purchase, he might decide to iabfoadnsle.tetafoabad i itense i'm li

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a much-anticipated reunion has been confirmed. the cast of seinfeld will reunite on "curb your enthusiasm." the first time that the cast members willppear together on the screen. david also says the "sign feld" stars will appear in five "curb" episodes throughout the season.

investigators looking into michael jackson's death now think the pop star may have been an addict. fbi agents searched the home of his personal doctor, conrad murray, earlier this week. they say they were looking for any evidence relating to the sale or shipment of the powerful drug propofol. jackson's mother, katherine, has been named the legal guardian. debbie rowe, the biological mother of the two older children, will retain visitation rights. our time is 6:27. the prosecution lays out new evidence against the man accused of killing chandra levy. the district looks into the cause of a dangerous reoccuring problem. what caused the low water pressure which hampered firefighters efforts against this huge house fire in northwest d.c. what happened and what was said at what was perhapsaped hp

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new evidence prosecutors in thelleg aed levy murder case the alleged killer, ingmar guandique. cashed out, the government is scrambling to find more money for the government's cash for clunkers program because it is too popular. good morning. i'm barbara harrison. good morning. i'm joe krebs. it is friday, the final day of july, 2009. there will never be another one like this. it's over. >> it's absolutely, positively the end. that is it. >> what is this final day o f lyng gjuoibe to julike? >> morenny.su

at g'sth oo adnny. that's a good to helpg,suo t h. 76 oegdesihtutig r egrees outside right 75 ni springfield, rgvi.inpriavirgur. 73 degrees in rockville. our forecast for today, clouds on the increase. rain becoming more likely by middle afternoon. time frame and by late afternoon and evening time frame, thunderstorms, i think, are going to be something we are going to be happy to deal with. sorext e extremely dry july, thd driest july on record to this point, might not even be in the top ten if we get a half inch of rain before midnight. >> we'll watch for that rain and see if we get it. >> how easy the fall from grace comes. >> let's go to jerry edwards and take a look at the roads. >> we have a continuing problem with an accident in virginia. it occurred 395 northbound at the exit ramp to go on to shur

lington. the exit ramp remains completely closed off and now we are beginning to back up at least from edsel road on 395 trying to get past the accident and to the 14th street bridge. look out. northeast, you are kaya long new york avenue and kennel worth avenue is fine. traffic on the light side. joe, back to you. the man charged with killing washington intern chandra levy is set to appear in court. more information coming out including new witnesses and evidence. kimberly suiters joins us live from d.c. superior court with details. >> reporter: we have been reading about the new witnesses, the new evidence and also from the prosecution's view, incriminating statements, even alleged confessions. newly filed documents indicate ingmar guandique was offered a plea agreement that expired july 24th. he apparently has not accepted

it. the next step would be a trial where prosecutors would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that guandique murdered chandra levy. document eentially now lay out the prosecution's case against guandique. they include notice of a new witness who claims to have been attacked and stabbed by a person matching the description of guandique. guandique, 27 years old, drew the attention of police early on for attacks on female joggers in rock creek park. he was serving a federal prison sentence for those crimes when he was charged last march with levy's murder. among the hundreds of documents, a list of witnesses who could be called to testify about other crimes allegedly committed by juan decay. they include a former cellma who claims he was tied up and rapped by guandique. he said he liked to commit similar crimes against women. another witness testifies that guandique was often in trouble in jail for lewd behavior in front of female guas. another testifies that he told ghim that he enjoyed abugs wom

and would hog tie and rape them if they didn't want him. the documents state guandique told that witness if he were ever released fr jail he would, quote, kill everyone he could. now, on the other side, the defense will likely point to dna evidence that does not match ingmar guandique. it was found on chandra levy's running tithes. the defense will likely talk about those allegedly incriminating statements being just jailhouse chatter, brag and snitching. finally, we have heard from the defense before. we may hear today. their concern about this january trial date, they haven't been given enough time to prepare a defense. they argue that the prosecution is eight years ahead of them in preparation. reporting live from d.c. due peer yor court, i'm kimberly sue terse, news 4, back to you. an important vote that could affect consumers. the d.c.

council agreed to raise sales, gas, and seg rhecigarette taxes. if approved, the taxes will raise about $50 million annually. it would increase the sales tax from 5.75% to 6%. the 20 cell gallon a gas takes by 3.5 and cigarettes by .50 cents a pack. a massive fire that destroyed a house in northwest washington is raising serious concerns about water pressure. they said the nearest working hydrant was several blocks away. last night, d.c. mayor, adrian fenty looked at the damage with the homeowner. he said the washington area sewer authority will face some tough questions. >> they have this very serious infrastructure challenge they have to resolve as well as probably a lot of management

challenges. >> wasa says there was sufficient flow to fight the fire. only in washington could a happy hourou have such high esak st the harvard professor and the cambridge police officer who arrested .m,hi allm, invit to te white house for a round and discussion. pundits call it beer diplomacy. president obama calls it a few guys sitting around having a drink at the end of the day. good morning, tracy. >> reporter: good morning. that much-anticipated meeting at the white house has finally happened. this morning shall the big question is, was it largely symbolic or could this actually lead to a new national discussion on race? as promised, president obama h a beer in the rose garden with his friend, harvard scholar, henry louis gates, sergeant james crowley, and vice president biden. afterwards, the officer told reporters, no one apologized and

the two agreed to disagree. the discussion was productive. >> professor gates and i bring different perspectives. we have agreed that both perspectives should be addressed in an effort to provide constructive outcome to the events of the past month. >> gates, on his website called the national attention rowdy and unruly. >> the cambridge police -- >> reporter: the president, who backtracked after saying at first crowe firstly crewly acted stupidly. >> he played badly because it was the mr. obama he tried not to show in his campaign, that of take can sides. >> reporter: up next, crowley says he will have more public discussions with gates. as for the arrest itself, gates says, it is time to move on.

>> enough. the white house is hoping too for president obama that this meeting will finally put to rest the comments he made so he can move on to more pressing issues like health reform here on capitol hill. live from capitol hill, i'm tracie potts, news 4. >> thanks very much. an important alert if you plan to ride metro this weekend. yre going.e delays no aat g.ngi caug onoi camera, a bus driver may become the first victim of metro he's zero-tolerance poly. a snake owner searches for his missing python, which is now round one maryland neighborhood. gc ri

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here i stdawsne . bargain blast is is a fr'sidayt rantsthichta sns for g br oyoinwnurdyud bud for each friend y etllu gn a extra$5 .et an eehr t three friends to get15 off. don't forget to print a coupon out at tgi friday's.com. 6:41. time for traffic and weather. >> here is chuck bell to tell us what we can expect. happy friday. you made it through another week

at the office. yes, indeed. summer vacation, kids. one week less now. all right. check of the sky there. plenty of clouds outside in our sky this afternoon. that's what you should expect. temperatures are on the muggy side this morning, in the middle 70s. clouds are going to continue to lower and thicken during the day. late this afternoon, our rain chan chances will start to go up. we will have the risk for strong to perhaps severe thunderstorms later this afternoon and evening. jerry edwards, the weekend will start dry. sunshine for saturday with a high near 90. a miserable commute over in virginia this morning. authorities still dealing with the accident, overturned car, 395 northbound at the exit ramp to shirlingto northbound at duke street tying up the left side of the roadway. from springfield through

shirling ton. there is the wilson bridge, live and in living color through the haze. no hangups to report. travel lanes are open. now, he says, outer loop of the beltways travel from i-95 to georgia avenue, lanes are open. the ongoing search for a missing python on the loose in a local residential neighborhood. the government is scrambling to find more money to pay for its newh cas fnkor clunkluprers pro be er

we are following a developing stories about the cash for clunk kers program, designed to boost the auto industry. that popularity has turned into an unexpected roadblock, one that could threaten the program's survival. tracee wilkins joins us live with why. >> reporter: you are right. wildly popular is a good way to explain how this program has taken off. the idea was, of course, to help t the environment, getting some of these older cars off of the roadways and replacing them

with more fuel efficient cars. they knew it was going to be popular but they did not tnk they would run out of $1 billion in just a week. it appears that's what has happened as of wednesday. the federal cash for clunkers program aided in the purchase of more than 22,700 new vehicles. the program offers owners of old cars and trucks, $3,500 to $4,500 toward a more fuel efficient vehicle. they notified congress that the program would need to shut down because of low funz. the white house is getting involved in reviewing the program. they are saying they don't want it to shut down on be suspended. they are looking at other o options. we also have some dealers who are worried that some of the deals that they have made may fall through. we understand that an additional 25,000 customers at least are waiting for their cash for their

clunkers. i'm tracy will kin, live this morning in rockville. back to you in the studio. >> thank you, tracey. a bus driver may lose her job because of metro's new zero-tolerance policy. a photo was snapped of a female driver talking on a cell phone. news 4 showed john catoe the picture and he says he won't tolerate such incidents. >> my reaction is that i am ashamed. i am angered. i have made clear the consequences of using a cell phone in operating a metro vehicle. if we determine that this is what happened, you all know the consequences of it. >> the transit union says they will file a grievance if the driver is fired. metro riders can expect a weekend of delays. track maintenance on all five lines. the trains will be sharing a single track. customers should budget an extra

30 minutes for travel time. the track work will happen on the red line from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. saturday an sunday. it il with happen on the blue and yellow lines from 7:00 a.m. to 66:00 p.m. saturday and sunday. expect delays on the green and yellow lines from 8:00 tonight until 6:00 p.m. on sunday. happening today, one of the longest space missions every is on schedule to come to a clothes this morning as the space shuttle "endeavour" is scheduled to land just before 11:00 a.m. there is a slight concern about showers and landing but for now, they are anticipating a successful landing. the crew spent 16 days in space performing improvements and space walks. on wall street, the dow is on track for its best july in some 20 years, believe it or not. cnbc's courtney reagan joins us live with today's business headlines. good morning. >> good morning. futures are high ahead of the opening bell.

it could all change when we get the latest figures that does measure the total output of goods and services and expected to show the economy contracted this spring. hopefully, not as big a decline as what we saw in the first three months. we will have to wait and see until we get the numbers in hand. asian markets were higher across the board overnight. rope is in the red on a mixed bag of earnings reports. investors cheered on positive earnings near. like you mentioned, the dow is having its best july percentagewise in 20 years. it rose 83 points. the nasdaq gained 16 points in 1984. that's where we will start the day today. back to you. >> thanks very much, courtney. we are finding jobs for you. carmax is looking for sales consultants for their locations in rockville, dulles and woodbridge. candidates should be prepared to work a variety of hours. they need a valid driver's license and the ability to drive

a manual transmission. for more information, visit nbcwashington.com and search jobsforyou. people in gate thursday burg should be on the lookout for a missing snake chblt the nearly four-foot python escaped from a condominium on streamside drive last friday. a resident snapped a photo of it as it slithered by her. christian patillo was pet sitting when the pet got loose. >> i have been looking for it. hopefully, i will find it before she comes back. >> we hope so too. at its current size, this snake is not considered dangerous. a reward is being offered for the snake's return. new today, people in mississippi are left cleaning up after a round of strong storms here in olive branch, a tornado touched down tearing at least eight homes apart. another 50 were damaged by the powerful winds. a little farther north, another tornado touched down at a shopping center in memphis,

tennessee. no injuries were reported. >> what would you do if a python slithered by? >> i would be moving in the other direction fast. >> anything you say, sir. >> that's correct. the heart attack threat is for real. i wouldn't want to be a mouse in gaithersburg around this time. outside, our skies have gone over to mostly cloudy here in washington. clouds will be the rule, not the exception for today. it is not going to rain all day. the showers for now are out in shenandoah county, virginia and up into the mountains. 76 is our current temperature. summer, yes, indeed, july ending today, august beginning tomorrow. summer is starting to wane a bit. between now and labor day, we lose almost an hour and a half of daylight. 76 in downtown. good morning, manassas. 73 in your backyard. 72, frederick, maryland this morning. no rain around the washington area just yet. there are some sprinkles along

interstate 81. most of them in shenandoah county, virginia. most tracking up to the northeast, not making a lot of eastward progression yet. later on, another chance for showers. this is the batch which gradually will work over the mountains. a couple of light sprinkles late this morning and early this afternoon. most of usill stay dry until the mid to late afternoon hours. our chances for thunderstorms are pretty high today. we even have a slight risk for severe weather. there is the area of low pressure that generated the severe weather. that's going to go almost directly overhead later on this afternoon. strong to severe thunderstorms will be a possibility all the way from southern virginia to the virginia north carolina border threw tough the baltimor area. flights may be delayed. our best chance for thunderstorms arrives after 4:00, 5:00. it should be diminishing by

midnight. a couple of lingeng showers on the eastern shore by first thing tomorrow morning. in washington, a sunny day tomorrow. another chaps fnce for rain, la sun. clouds lowering and thickening during the day. rain, likely. strong to perhaps severe thunderstorms possible. tomorrow's high near 90 degrees. 86 on sunday with a chance of more showers coming in. just in time for monday, a little lower humidity. beachers and boaters enjoy. tomorrow will be the better beach d boating day. whether you are going to annapolis and cambridge or all the way out to the show. saturday, the better beach day of the weekend. >> okay. if you are planning to go. >> i am planning to go. >> let's go to jerry edwards and take a look at the roadways. any problems? a busy morning on 395. the original accident still on the ramp from 395 northbound to

shirlington circle. that's an overturned car in the back of another accident now tying up the right side, 395 northbound at duke street. from at least springfield on up, bumper to bumper along the 395 corridor ahead for downtown. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thanks very much. checking the top stories in the news for today. the man charged with the murder of washington intern, chandra levy, is expected to appear in court. they have told the court that it has a new witness who will testify that she was attacked and stab on a jogging trail by a man who looked like inga march guandique. president obama sat down for a cold one with the harvard professor and the cambridge police officer that arrested him. vice president biden was on hand for a beer summit. no apologies but all parties say they had a good discussion. >> the white house is trying to figure out how to save the cash for clunkers program because it

has become too apopular. $1 billion was set aside to help people replace their gas guzzlers. he money is running o quickly. the white house is trying to keep the program funded. we have two news 4 morning people for you today. jenny and ra shell work at the downtown silver spring panera bread company. they say that both jenny and rachelle greet everyone with a smile. if you know anyone like jenny and rachelle, e-mail that person's story and a clear video to morningperson at nbc.com. you are looking at a brides sale. it will start at 8:00 this morning at phi liens base ul in northwest washington. they are expected to try to snag their wedding gown of their dreams.

discounts are deep from dresses that cost as much as $10,000 will be priced as low as $250. they want to assure late-coming brides that there are still plenty of dresses left. some people read about super heroes. others try to become them. case in point, a man in london. he built a bizarre contraption to help him climb a building like a real-life spiderman. he took a vacuum cleaner and turned it into a pair of gloves to help him suction his way 120 feet into the air. now shall he needs a spidey suit to put on since he has so many people watching him. >> i bet he is hoping he does not lose power on that thing. it could be an ugly scene. out-the-door forecast. >> expect a chance for rain an thunderstorms later this afternoon. temperatures today, mid to highe 80s before the rain showers. sunshine is back for tomorrow. >> let's get a final look at the

traffic, jerry. >> not a pleasant trip on 395 northbound. two separate accidents, one at shirlington and one at the back of the duke street jam well before the efltwabey. that is "news4 today." thank you for starting yr friday with us. >> we will see you at news 4 midday. stay connected at facebook and twitter. we will see you on monday morning at 4:54 a.m. see you then. the distance from the field to your table just got shorter.

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