right now at midday, live inside theenate chambers, it is a big day for them to take care of some unfinished busy. plus, officers under investigation for their alleged role in a sex scandal. and shop till you drop. deals on just about anything in the next week. "news4 midday" starts right now. good morning. i'm keith garvin. we begin with breaking news from capitol hill. d.c. fire and ems is on the scene at the 20lo0 bck of in northwest in northwest for a hazmat situation at the departntmef labor. stlare toll they are veinig linveag etter in the ck si. eo c osiple a couple of peopled w aou tedre the letter areayin sghatyhe t

now have a tir oheheir t we will bring younds. we will bring y in asiormn sn oo a w s eformation as soon as we lea n r bnofoinrew,gak n ew fos bw,treaking news at tw, department of labor. emergency officials are working on a hazmat situation. now to the other big news on capitol hill. here's a live look inside the senate chambers. right now senators are trying to take care of some important unfinished business before they head off on their summer recess. on their plate today, two key issues. cash for clunkers, and the nomination of sonia sotomayor to the supreme court. first on the clunkers, the senate is trying to pass a bill to add $2 billion to the program to keep it afloat but before that, senators will vote on president obama's pick for the high court. both are very divisive issues. brooke hart has the latest on these two big stories now from capitol hill. >> reporter: supporters of sonia sotomayor came out in force as the senate vote nears. >> this is a vote that will matter and will be long remembered by our latino community.

>> reporter: unions, civil rights and hispanic groups join democrats to brush aside gop criticism. >> i am not convinced that judge sotomayor will set aside her personal judgments and views. >> reporter: eight republicans are expected to break ranks and vote yes. that would give judge sotomayor more senate votes than justice alito, fewer than chief justice roberts. >> my vote for her confirmation will be based solely and wholly on relevan qualifications. >> i will support her, i'll be proud for her, the community she represents and the american dream she shows is possible. >> reporter: also on the senate agenda, whether to keep cash for clunkers alive. president obama wants it. >> what you've seen is not only greatly improved sales in the show ro showrooms, but trade-ins have improved fuel efficiency by about 10 percent per vehicle. >> reporter: critics were pushing back. >> the billions spent on cash

for clunkers we don't have. >> reporter: many gop senators agree. >> i'm not going to pass a bill on to our kids for $2 billion to buy a car today. it's not fair to our children to keep doing this to them. >> i don't think that's the case. i've had a number of good conversations with republican leaders. >> reporter: but democrats say they have a majority, ready to pump more cash to dealers and buyers and crush clunkers in the process. senators will debate possible changes to cash for clunkers, including one idea that would limit eligibility to low-income buyers. the expectation is that rebates some form will be extended until labor day. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news. now to the new details we're learning in that horrific shooting out at a pennsylvania fitness center. we're learning more about the victims of this tragedy. elizabeth gannon was a 49-year-old radiologist, jodi billingsly was a therapist and heidi overmyer, all three killed at the hands of 48-year-old george sew deknee who entered

the gym tuesday nights and started shooting. nine others were injured. after he shot the women she turned the gun on himself. brian mooar has the latest. >> reporter: this pennsylvania community is struggling to comprehend a deadly attack directed at innocent victims, women targeted simply because they were in an aerobics class that caught the eye of an embittered gunman. >> a mine later the lights go out. seconds later you just hear shooting and he's shooting all over the room. >> we don't know as we stand here what made him stop shooting. thank god he did. >> reporter: before taking his own life, gunman george sodini gave police a window into his twisted mind. in extensive notes and blog postings, he spelled out his failed love life. >> he complains about he's never spent a weekend with a girl. he's never vacationed with a

girl. he never lived with a woman. >> reporter: investigators say they now know he had been planning the fitness center massacre for months and made several practice runs. >> he just had a lot of hatred in him and he was hell-bent on committing this act. there was nobody going to stop him. >> reporter: police say there's now no doubt hot gunman was and why he targeted his victims. answers that provide little comfort. brian mooar, nbc news, bridgeville, pennsylvania. >> six shooting victims remain in the hospital, including the 26-year-old air robics instructor who was pregnant. doctors say she and the baby will be okay. an update on the breaking l o t the nef bout top of the stnews,caall-clear ht cll-ha ts br n given at ther af hazmat investigation. irc.esemas o tnhe scene a lring at complaiets in the mail room k sop tbuic ht people sk butt they hha tt e th is okay. continuing here at home, a house fire kept firefighters in prince george's county busy this

morning. it broke out a few hours ago in the 6800 block of standish drive in high yachtsville. no one was home. firefighters are trying to figure out what caused the fire. let's head outside now, a wet morning making things a little slick out there. should we expect rain to continue? tom has our first forecast. >> good morning. it has tapered off dramatically here over the last hour and a half or so. as we look at radar now, this was nearly all covered with showers about an hour and a half ago. new just a few scattered showers, sprinkles, near great falls and potomac and montgomery county. few sprinkles in prince george's and charles and these are heading off to the north and east. few other sprinkles just to the southeast of fredericksburg and around charlottesville but the overall trend is forhiongs t begin to dry out. in fact, sunshine's breaking out in the shenandoah valley, out in the mountains. almost feels like a fall morning with temperatures in the 60s.

generally from the blue ridge to eastern bay and shore, low 70s. 72 now in washington. rainfall over the last 24 hours, we've had anywhere from .1. .2. charlottesville, 1.77 inches. parts of calvert county this morning had heavy downpours. they had over an inch. eastern shores had over an inch in a few isolated locations. now in the mountains in the 60s. eastern shore the mid 70s. still steamy, eastern shore and southeastern virginia. but it is much drier off to our west. western maryland, panhandle of west virginia, up into pennsylvania, dew point in pittsburgh only 49 right now. that is really very comfortable, dry humidity. the area of low pressure that gave us that rain is continuing to drag off to the east. as it does move away, it is pulling in some lower humidity in its place. our skies should go partly sunny over the next couple of hours with light breezes, only a small chance of additional light shower. highs reaching the upper 70s.

a look at the rest of the week and weekend is coming up in just a few minutes. back to you. new admit day, the losses continue to mount for the united states postal service. the usps lost nearly $2.4 billion from april through june. that means the postal service has lost nearly $5 billion so far this year. it expects to lose nearly $7 billion by the end of next month. the agency already reduced hours at many offices and has proposed closing several hundred local post offices. congress has yet to act on allowing the postal service to cut mail delivery to five days a week. meanwhile, retailers report sluggish sales for july. job concerns seem to be fueling the shoppers' reasons for fm the stores. mall-based chain stores are the biggest concern. in this back-to-school shopping season as consumers focus on finding necessities for a low price. stores in virginia are hoping to cash in this weekend. tomorrow the commonwealth will kick off its annual tax-free shopping weekend.

megan mcgrath is live in alexandria with mor on how virginia stores will try to take advantage of this deal. >> reporter: good morning. with all your beautiful daughters, you know how expensive back-to-school shopping can be. a lot of jurisdictions have held what they call sales tax holidays where they exempt back ln to-school items from sales tax. the district in maryland used to do it but because of the bad economy they decided not to have that program this year. it is just virginia. virginia's sales tax holiday gets under way tomorrow and goes through the weekend. retailers hope that will bring people into virginia to shop. shoppers though are just trying to save a buck. brett popped out to the store this morning to buy shower gel but he's waiting until tomorrow to do the back-to-school shopping for three kids because tomorrow's the start of virginia's sales-tax holiday waving the 5% tax on back-to-school supplies and clothing. >> it is tough sometimes to find

all the things you need but we usually get it done in a day or two. >> reporter: it adds up for you. >> it does. it adds up. >> reporter: there are some rules that apply. the holiday is geared toward back-to-school items. shoppers save on supplies selling for $20 or less, and clothes and shoes selling for $100 or less. >> folders, notebooks -- >> reporter: mohammed started his shopping this morning. he's taking the tax hit today because he's only buying a few inexpensive items. he's putting off his larger purchases until tomorrow. >> tomorrow i'm buying nike shoes, because that's when like maybe instead of for $80, you can get $5 to $10 off in the taxes. in addition, clothing, maybe polos or jeans you can get a good price on. >> reporter: need a computer? walmart stores all over the state will absorb taxes for wireless items with no price limits. >> computers can range from $200 on to $600 here in the store. so with no sales tax that can really add a lot of savings.

>> reporter: it really can add up especially with those bigger-ticket items. it is a 5% sales tax they have here in virginia that you'll be saving on. the sales tax holiday gets under way tomorrow, it runs saturday and sunday. keith? back to you. >> megan, you can bet garvins will be in those aisles looking for some deals. >> reporter: so am i. hoping to get this story tomorrow. >> happy shopping to you. thank you. now let's get a look at the roadways. it's been wet all morning long causing quite a few problems earlier today. >> keith, we look a lot better than just an hour or so ago. getting to dry out a little bit. that's good news. we've been racked with trouble throughout the morning on the top side of the capital beltway. however, traffic settled down now. this is the inner loop, that's the outer loop around university boulevard looking a lot better. right now travel lanes are open. not a lot of road work out there. headed for downtown, moving along well now, 395 northbound up from the pentagon, to and

across the 14th street bridge, all lanes are open. for now things are settling down. keith, back to you. we are just getting started on "news4 midday." still to come -- an incredible scene unfolding on a local street. dozens of people rushed to help victims of a nasty wreck but it is where and when this crash took place that makes the story even more incredible. also, local police officers caught in the middle of a sex scandal. the eye-raising details coming up. plus, a wife arrested an charged with trying to have her husband murdered. but wait until you hear who she tried to hire to do it. and then at 11:30, is your home for rent? why it could be and you mayot n have any idea. the rentaca sm thotat you nee

unfolding on the streets of southeast washington yesterday. two cars collide and dozens of witnesses run to help. it all happened while district leaders were gathering in that area to prepare for a press conference. news4 tracee wilkins was live on the scene when the crash happened. >> she's pinned in. >> it was an amazing scene. the media was standing over here including myself and my photographer waiting for a press conference from the mayor. there were a number of government officials there when we heard a huge bang, looked down the road and saw one of these vehicles flip over. everyone sprang into action. i was one of the folks actually calling 911 to report serious crash. >> they hit me from the back and

flipped my vehicle over. all i know is when i turned around i was dragging. i say, oh, my god. i had my -- are my mother and aunt all right. when the vehicle stopped rolling i got out the vehicle and i proceeded to help free my mother. >> in all, five people were injured in the crash. bystanders were able to help several people out of the vehicles. two others had to be cut out by rescue crews. to a story you saw first on 4, two alexandria police officers are undernvestigation for engaging in bad behavior allegedly on the job. right now the police department's looking into those allegations. it's the latest in a string of negative events surrounding the alexandria police department. craig melvin has the story. >> reporter: the alexandria police department has launched an internal investigation into claims of misconduct involving two of its officers. sources also say the claims are sexual in nature, and thewere made by aan womho w hadho been pulled ove alexandria police det would only s as aatter of

po licy, "we don'the, t discuhe t specifics of any ongoing internal investigations." if the claims do turn out to be true, it would be the latest in a string of recent embarrassments for the department. july 25th, alexandria police chief david baker was arrested and crged with dui after crashing his city-issued vehicle. the next week an alexandria parking enforcement officer arrested for giving out handicapped parking tags to people who weren't handicapped. alexandria mayor bill yule is on vacation but told me by phone wedndaigy t nhttha had he not heard of theatt lt l investigation. he add, "we have one of the top s depantmein the metro region. they havy mupntrtpo s and their council and our citizens." some of those citizens strolling through old towne did not sound so supportive. >> it does seem to be a lot of coincidences filed one on top of the other. so i hope that the city will look into it and if there are

problems, things that need to be fixed, i hope they'll fix them. >> the police should be doing their job and if they're not doing the right thing, the people should be very concerned and they should be accountable. as a taxpayer, we deserve that they do the right job. >> i do love old town, i love living here. i'm kind of sad. >> reporter: craig melvin, news4. >> we should learn more about the investigation and the event that led to the investigation over the next few days. breaking news for you right twitter says that it is currently defending itself against what is called a denial of service attack. if you try to logon to the website right now, this is what you will see, a message saying that the site is experiencing problems. twitter says it's working to try to fix those issues and we will bring you more as we learn it. but the breaking news right now, twitter is down. apparently because ofer of cyber attack. an incredible video to show

you this midday of an electrifying sight in the midwest. this lightning strike in ohio was caught on tape. bolts of lightning lit up the tower, luckily not causing any damage. it was a common sight in parts of kentucky and southern ohio yesterday after strong storms moved into the area. wow, that's up close and personal. >> those towers are like big ele electrodes pnting up to the skies. especially those free-standing trees. we haven't had lightning this morning except on the eastern shore. there was a little bit of lightning with this rain that's ha'vweomde ing c through. it certainly is an unusually cool summer morning. temperatures still stuck in the low 70s and the view from our sky watcher camera over the last couple of hours, here's the time lapse showing two hours and 30 seconds. we've had a few waves of rain coming through, then it seemed like the sun was trying to break out.

then we had a few other light showers coming through and they continue to come through over the last hour or so. now it's beginning to brighten a bit off to our west. there is a live view of the sky watcher camera. about 30, 40 miles west of washington sunshine is out right now. we will see that sun begin to break out here, too. there's the view from our city camera. visibility has improved a lot. could hardly see the jefferson memorial an hour or so ago with drizzle and light rain. 72 right now at reagan national. today's sunrise and sunset, 6:14 this morning, 8:14 this evening. but by september 6th, we lose about an hour and 15 minutes of daylight. by then sunrise 6:42, sunset at 7:30. the days are getting shorter and shorter. as we look at the radar, it has really improved. we really have seen this rain area diminh considerably over the last couple of hours. just a few light sprinkles where you see these splotches of blue. getting maybe a moderate shower in the northern neck, that's going to cross the potomac in

st. mary's county in the next hour. elsewhere, few sprinkles north of baltimore, southeast prince george's county and on the eastern shore. things are improving but it's been a soaking beneficial rain. we've been needing it. it's fallen lightly enough it's been allowing it to sink into the ground and temperatures out in the shenandoah valley near 70 where the sun's broken out. only near 70 in washington. southern maryland mid 70s. few spots, weathheavy downpours moving off to the eastern shore but only .1 inch around washington. less in montgomery and fairfax counties. look at all the rain tt fell in charlottesville. it had almost 1.8 inches. rockville, 68 degrees right now. dew point at 66. that's moderate humidity but the rainfall there only about .15

inch. sun is out in the mountains but only in the upper 60s. eastern shore still under the clouds and in the 70s. dew point there 72. look how dry it is, pittsburgh's dew point only 49. some of that dry air is going to come our way, dew points in the mountains in the 50s. much of the rain is spreading up toward new england. behind this front we've got very pleasant temperatures throughout the midwest, only in the 70s now to 60s. certainly not feel like august. over the last 1 hours, been watching some of that dry air with the high pressure over the great lakes beginning to sink down toward our region. that area of low pressure that did give us that rain earlier this morning is beginning to pull off to the east. as it does, it will allow this lower humidity to move on in and give us some very pleasant weather here. a nice break from our usual high humidity and heat in august. over the next 36 hours, another drying trend, lots of sunshine tomorrow. in the morning in fact it may be quite cool. then during the afternoon, few

clouds popping up. onsaturday, does look like our winds will shift into the southwest. that will bring in heat and humidity. but for the rest of the afternoon, becoming partly sunny, a small chance of additional shower, temperatures only in the upper 70s. overnight tonight, clearing out, low 60s by dawn tomorrow with ow humidity and a pleasant day onay frid. saturday and sunday though, a heat wave. highs into 9heow l0s saturday,ow srh mid 90s on sunday .op eseiv. humidity sunday, ndnd asdayue tay wh highs in the 90s.it first real heat wave of the summer. certainly coming late in the summer. that's the way it looks on this thursday morning. >> we can look as today as sort of a break before we get to that heat wave. >> tomorrow, too, looks great. enjoy. 11:23. 72 degrees outside. a big name in american music rushed to the hospital. what happened to aerosmith's stephen tyler at a concert last night. he was already in trouble but after what this man did in court, he is going to be in a lot more trouble. and, website that can help you getou y on yourext

flight. look at look at igme of th top stories now on nbcwashington.com.

aerosmith front man steve tyler learning the hard way you can't "walk this way." he fell off the concert stage

when he stumbled backward and fell. he was taken backstage and the rest of the concert was called off. tyler had minor head and neck injuries. he also hurt his shoulder but it is not immediately clear how serious that injury was. it will take a little longer before chris brown is punished for beating up pop star rihanna. a judge has delayed the sentencing until later this month because he wants more information from virginia. brown is a native of virginia and the judge wants to make sure the commonwealth is able to accommodate his plea deal. it calls for five years probation, community labor, and counseling. d.c. mayor adrian fenty says it was a mistake for taxpayers to pay for a party his fraternity held in town. monday night a lavish reception was held at the historical society's carnegie library. somehow a request came from the mayor's office for $37,000 in taxpayer money to cover the cost of the gala.

fenty says his fraternity has repaid the city. 11:28. much more on "news4 midday." still ahead, next at 11:30, homeowners beware. internet scammers are trying to rent out your house without you knowing anything about it. also ahead, she says she didn't do it but find out what police say she did to her husband just months after they got married. plus, snake bitten. hear from a man who got more than he bargainhe f worn he bought a new snake. a wet morning but will it clear up for the afternoon? and what about the weekend? tom has de ws

we continue to follow breaking news right now at 11:30. twitter is down, west side operators say they are currently defending themselves against what they are calling a denial of service attack. if you try to logon to the website right now this is what you will see, a message saying that the site is experiencing problems. twitter says it's working to try to fix those problems and we will bring you more as we learn it. we're also following breaking news in the alexandria part of fairfax county. firefighters are on the scene of a fire at a home that was apparently home to a number of snakes. we're told animal control is also there. we have a crew on the way to the scene and will bring youeor as we get it. now to the weather. a soggy start to this thursday. we do need the rain but how long will it last? tom has details from storm

center 4. >> it's unusually cool as well. that's a live picture from our city camera. you can see the cloud cover over the potomac river. it's actually lifted. it was much lower just a couple of hours ago and producing rain. but right now it ise beginning o dry out. we're seeing areas of blue on the radar still getting a few sprinkles in southeast washington and around the beltway in prince george's county. there is one area of some rain now from bethesda and wheaton, rockville, gaithersburg, drifting off to the north and east. right around the bay on the eastern shore, toward queen anne's and kent county they are getting a few sprinkles right now as well. southern maryland this morning had really heavy downpours. a little heavier shower crossing the western part of the northern neck moving into st. mary's county. that will pull away. we have a drying trend coming in from the west at this hour. sunshine's broken out in the shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia. temperatures are now climbing

there into the low 70s. it is still only 72 in washington. we've been stuck on 72 for the last four hours. look at rainfall totals. not very much here around washington, .1 to .2 inch but some heavier amounts were farther to the south. charlottesville had almost 1.8 inches from heavy downpours there this morning, parts of shenandoah valley up to .75 inch. over the last six hours, watching this weak area of low pressure spread the rain to long island and southern new england. highs perhaps making it back up into the upper 70s win creasing sunshine, clearing and cool tonight. only near 60. tomorrow morning low humidity in place friday, terrific summer day with highs mid 80s. more humid win creased heat over the weekend in the first part of next week. that's the way it looks right now. keith? >> thanks, tom. we want to get a look at the roads. started off as a rough day with all the wet roads. how's it look now, jerry? >> last time around i said everything on the top side of the beltway looked good? well, i lied! m a liar!

unfortunately, we do have another accident, t serious in nature but again another accident on the bellway. outer loop at new hampshire avenue, left side of the road is blocked. police are on the scene. there is a bit after back-up coming out of the i-95 interchange. wilson bridge okay, 395 looks good. live look at the approach to the 14th street bridge, all cleared out for the morning commute. we're just loading up for the afternoon commute. for right now it's okay. keith, back to you. >> we're watching you, jerry edwards. imagine you are browsing on craigslist and you find an ad sayi your house is for rent. problem su didn't put it there. that's exactly what happened to a woman i prince william county. she is not alone. police say cases like this are popping up everywhere. jesse benson has more. >> reporter: beware of criminals on craigslist. that's the message from prince william county police after two incidents involving online classified ads, one of which has relt aed ininn ar irest. ea 19d-y 19-year-old ivan gilliam has

been charged with attempting to rip off people in a craigslist ad. >> he would rob them, threaten them with a rifle when they would arrive, or a shotgun, and relieve them of their money. >> reporter: police also point to the case of ashley pollard. she was horrified to discover that her manassas home for sale and under contract had been posted in the housing for rent section of craigslist last weekend. >> a picture of my house showed up with my full address on there and i thought, i was like just -- i didn't know what to do, who do you call? >> reporter: pollard says she thinks someone pulled the picture and address right out of the real estate advertisement. police believe the ad was placed by a man in nigeria. >> they're just trying to get someone to pay the down payment or the deposit, and then take off, i guess. >> reporter: police say a quick check of property records, which can be done by phone or online

in many cases, can prevent you from giving your hard-earned money to a thief. jackie bensen, news4. >> police have not yet arrested anyone in the manassas scam. new at midday, big budget cuts are on the way for virginia. governor tim kaine says the commonwealth will need to slash $700 million to $1.5 billion. he's asking agencies to trim up to 15% from their budgets. he'll announce the details in the neck two weeks. he says the cuts will probably mean layoffs but it's too soon to say how many. federal government is pouring money into metro to keep terror off the tracks. the department of homeland security is giving metro more than $9.5 million to create antiterrorism teams. the money will be used to hire 20 more officers who will staff teams focusing on preventsing terror attacks. metro is also getting more money to expand its chemical detection program at stations and upgrade radio communications in tunnels located in prince george's county. there are conflicting

reports surrounding a recent car accident involving d.c. mayor adrian fenty. the initial police report written by a member of fenty's security detail said it could not be determined who was at fault. but a statement from fenty's spokeswoman said the other driver was at fault. this morning mayor fenty tried to set the record straight during our "ask the mayor" segment. >> driving alone, four-way intersection. i'm stopped, a car proceeds into the intersection, pulls in front of me. i hit that vehicle at that point -- >> wer you driving? >> yes, absolutely. >> so you were the striking vehicle -- >> that's exactly what the report says. >> "the washington post" is reporting the initial report violated several police procedures. the names of fenty's passengers were not on the report, photos weren't taken at the scene. mayor fenty insists all the information that was needed was in the report. new details this morning in the probe surrounding d.c. councilman marion berry's spending habits. "the washington post" reports he spent $252,000 in taxpayer money

on outside contracts between 2007 and 2009. that's far more than the second-biggest spender on the d.c. council, quame brown's office spent $45,000. berry has been facing questions about his contract spending since revelations he awarded one to a woman he had a relationship with. a district man is recovering in the hospital after bng bitten on the hand by his own snake. 31-year-old jason dale of southeast just bought the snake from a neighbor. he thought it was a non-poisonous python but it turned out to be a venomous copperhead. when he tried to pick it up -- it bit him on the hand. >> only this right here was swollen in the beginning. i didn't think nothing of it. about 30 minutes my whole hand was swollen. that's when i say i need to go to the hospital. the minute i get there, i fainted, all that swollen. the swelling has spread up my arm. >> doctors say if dale had not received treatment when he did he may have died.

>> i didn't do anything and i didn't plot anything. a new wife defiant after being arrested on murder for hire charges. that woman is behind bars this morning accused of plotting to kill her new husband. detectives say the woman hired an undercover police officer to do the deed. police caught her on tape when the deal went bad. michelle king has details. >> i didn't do anything and i didn't plot anything. >> reporter: she came home to a fake crime scene here at the couple's home in renaissance commons in boynton beach. officers had already told her unaware husband his wife had plotted to kill him. investigators say he was stunned and in denial. >> i feel a little bad, but there's no reason she had to do this, you know? she was well off. she could have just left and did just as well by leaving. >> reporter: investigators say last friday the 26-year-old tried to hire a hitman to kill her 38-year-old husband michael. the hitman turned out to be an

undercover boynton beach cop. he says she paid him $1,200 up front for the deal and get the gun. the rest she would pay when the deed was ne. the phony hitman met with her a second and third time to confirm the hit. she told him, "i'm 5,000% sure i want it done. when i set my mind to do something, i get it done." >> here is a woman saying she's 5,000% sure. she wants to pay for her husband to be killed. at the scene you have a woman who is sobbing uncontrollably because she's just learned that her husband is dead. >> that was michelle king reporting. the woman is being held at the palm bea county jail. couple had only been married for six months. time now 11:40. what this defendant did that will probably land him in even more trouble. the social networking sight that doesn't just help you find friends, it can help you find a

fair deal. she tweeted she's de with

a kentucky man accused of murder may be in even more trouble after what happened innocent courtroom. bass webb appeared in the courtroom yesterday to plead not guilty to killing his ex-girlfriend but as he was standing before the judge, he spit on the judge. after a few moments, he was led away by deputies. there is no word yet if webb will face any additional charges

for the spitting incident. you saw the spitting take place just there. facebook is not just for keeping in touch. now you can also use it to find a flight. american airlines has added a fare finder feature to its facebook application called travel bag. users can search for the airline's lowest fares without nevada gating away from their facebook pages. feature also lets users save their trip searches and share search results with their friends on facebook. after eight seasons on "american idol," paula abdul announced this time that she's quitting the show. we now know that her decision had a lot to do with money. fox reportedly offered her a 30% raise to return next season, but that wasn't enough. she wanted millions more. "idol's" producers say they are saddened by her departure. abdul fans are upset. they have been threatening to boycott the show on the "american idol" message boards. late night legend jay leno is getting ready for his much-anticipated return to tv, coming back in prime time. everyone's asking what will the

new show be like? leno sat down to give us a sneak peek. >> thank you, everybody! thank you for watching. >> reporter: it was back in may when jay leno said his tonight show farewell. >> goodnight. see you in september. >> reporter: now after a summer break from tv -- >> you tell your wife you're going out for a coke and you go to argentina? great story! he's preparing to move into prime time next month with the "jay leno show." how many stars on that flag? >> moving too fast to count them. >> we got a lot of new elements in the show, we have a lot of young correspondents, a lot of young comics. we hope we can make some stars on the show. >> reporter: his comments came in a round of interviews in pasadena yesterday to talk up his new comedy show. >> the economy's so bad, arnold schwarzenegger has to read hooks on phonics cds. 10:00 now is all murder and

mayhem. you go to bed at night with someone's head being dissected, they take out the frontal lobe and show it to you. you go ah! >> reporter: they're turning over five hours of prime time real estate to the comedian. >> pencils wn. all righ then you just go with what you got. >> find out what people are really saying. >> reporter: leno says he may not beat his drama competition from the outset -- >> this is not a hard job. the right joke gets you. it's real simple. >> reporter: the new show debuts monday, september 14th. you don't know about your credit cards could hurt you. a major media organization charging for news. >> good morning. stocks right now are lower. dow is down greater than ten points after opening a bit higher. can't seem to hold on to the gains today though.

asian markets at least were higher overnight, europe as well. we heard from a lot of retailers today as far as july sales were concerned. things are looking pretty bleak, even big box stores that traditionally fare better in this economy are struggling. costco and target both saw sales fall. aeropastel reporting up 6%. t.j. sales up 4%. some of the only great arrows we saw for the month. cooler weather, weak job market all contributed to sluggish sales. first-time claims for job else benefits fell 550,000 last week, lower than economisted had anticipated. that comes one day ahead of the highly anticipated july jobs report. we'll bring you those details tomorrow. make sure to read the fine print on yourredit card bill because banks are tacking on new fees. discover is new levying a 2% fee on purchases made outside the u.s. a new credit card law that curbs

fees was passed in may as you might remember, but that doesn't go into effect until next year so there is still time for these companies to get these higher costs in there. rupert murdoch wants to start charging for online news content. murdoch's news corp. owns the "wall street journal," the "new york post" and fox news, among others. the company has suffered from the slump in ad revenue. murdoch says, "an industry that gives away its content is cannibalizing its ability to do good reporting." end quote. of course, the big question for all of the rest of us is, is everyone else going to have to start charging for content? will the model work? will people pay for it? there are lots of questions out there but looks like they're going to do it. >> they'll find out how much their fans really like them. courtney reagan, thank you. 11:48. 72 degrees. an update on the breaking news we told you about, a fire at a house filled with snakes. plus another check on the

break news for you now. firefighters are oe fouirn th i section of fairfax county. megan mcgrath is there with details. we understand the home was full of snakes? >> reporter: yeah, a bits of a surprise for firefighters responding to a routine house fire here in the kings town section of alexandria. they responded to this fire a little after 8:00 this morning when they arrived, they were told by the homeowners on the

scene that there were a number of snakes, about 30 snakes, inside the home actually in the bedroom where it appears that this fire began. what we're being told is that none of those snakes were venomous, though some were apparently quite large, they were of different varieties and being held in different containers inside that bedroom area up there on the second floor. their understanding that one of the people who lives in the house is an eagle scout, has an interest in snakes and actually is running a sort of informal rescue of sorts, if you will, that he takes in snakes that other people no longer want. he cares for them and uses them as teaching aids to teach others about the care and -- care of snakes. when firefighters went in, they had a situation involving 30-plus snakes inside the bedroom. now they had been told that none of them were venomous. they went about their business of putting out this fire and actually only took them about ten minutes apparently to put out the fire. they tried to remove as many of the snakes as they could from the area.

only six of those snakes, we're told, survived the fire. it is not illegal to have these snakes inside the home. that's our understanding here as well. no word on what started the fire. it did appear that it started though in the bedroom where the snakes were. we've got about $80,000 in damage and a family of five has been displaced. >> megan mcgrath, thank you. on a much different story, three years ago we introduced you to three brothers who were hoping for a permanent home together. someone was watching, made a call and started the ball rolling to a very happy ending. barbara harrison has the story. >> hi! >> reporter: they are brothers. 1-year-old gr here they are three years later. cory now 7, deshawn 8, gregory, now called anthony, is 15. >> i can't believe i'm seeing you guys again! you've all grown up a lot since i last saw you.

>> reporter: we first met them in 2003 when they were featured as a "wednesday's child" sibling group waiting for a home. today they had someone with them. who's that? >> our father. >> reporter: so great to meet you! congratulations. >> reporte anthony burrois the boy's dad now. he said he first saw them on wednesday's child. >> i saw them on the "wednesday's child" episode. i was watching the tv and i called the next day d.c. child and family services. i have them today. >> reporter: this is so exciting. how long did this t take this to actually happen? >> it was actually from the time i called, from june 4th, i went to the parenting class in august. >> reporter: in less than nine months, he became their foster parent. and then after the adoption, their real dad. had you ever thought of adopting before? >> no, never thought of it. never thought of it. i saw that show and i tell you,

it changed my life completely. >> reporter: and the boys say it changed their lives, too. >> he takes care of us. he gave us toys and buy us games. >> my dad is helping me doing my homework. >> reporter: as an air force veteran from a big family himself, structure and discipline come naturally t anthony burrows. he's now found that so does love. what does he say to you every night before you go to bed? >> brush your teeth. >> reporter: and they all know he'll be there when they wake up in the morning. >> i tell you, it has been very rewarding for me. >> reporter: barbara harrison, news4 for "wednesday's chd." >> happy ending indeed. hifouro ye navap iom your home wyo ihiho w as pedeleal l c,me al c l ourpeci saldoliot h, ne hotline 1-88-2-adopt-me or logon to

nbcwashington.com. jim, you have a preview. coming up this afternoon at 4:00 and 5:00, back to school shopping sends many folk to the electronics store. what's big this year is small. some must-have items and find out where you can find additional savings on back-to-school buying in our area. at 5:00, keeping the food in your fridge fresher for longer. liz crenshaw shares some tricks of the trade for storing fresh produce. plus we'll preview this weekend's air guitar championships. for these stories, all the day's news and your all-important weekend weather, join us at 4:00. keith, back to you. i don't know if there will be a lot of people doing air guitar outside today. >> the air is going to be there and it is going to be drying out. that's half of it. if you look at the sky, we have got the -- aually the sky's kind of brightened a bit, sunshine breaking out where you live. if you live west of washington you're seeing the sun 30 miles to the west. light er tow s ungp on thers shn m werar.rhood se t hereon moderate shower there ine

western part of the northern neck but it's been a cool morning. just in the low 70s right atnow2 is wthnaiinshn.e all rmo cingomonins inin coming from t rea of low pressure that's nowc east.f low pressure that's nowa behind that the sky's beginning toarle an enshahdo llva ey shenandoah fll ast virana olegini nes. virginia an .hery toarnn psusy a y . noo ooogresspr, just a ,sst js eslio sh anaio shower. highs reaching ath t uer 70s with a nonoh-rtrthwesterly breeze. then cool tonight, down to just the 50s to near 60 tomorrow morning and low humidity in place with sunshine tomorrow but heat and humidity building for theweekend. we'll see you tomorrow morning. >> thanks, tom. we all know small children can find ways to get into trouble. apparently that same rule applies to baby bears. this trio. cubs was seemaking misschief in a backyard in colorado. it was a little scary for the homeowners. that doesn't look scary. eventually the mama bear came

and led the cubs away. enjoy those views from afar. that's new"news4 midday." tune in for the latest on all the day's news at 4:00. have a great day. h-