recession rebound. all eyes are on wall street after some upbeat news from the federal reserve. the new sign the nation's struggling economy could be stabilizing. under fire. metro's once again in the spotlight after several incidents on the rails. why the man at the head of the transit agency could soon be out of a job. kickoff. redskins fans gearing up for the team's first preseason game. we're live with the excitement as football fans rally behind the burgundy and gold. good morning. welcome to "news4 midday." i'm joe krebs. i'm barbara harrison. it is a phrase we certainly

can never get enough of around here, hail to the redskins. tonight football fans are hoping that phrase rings true. >> the first pre-season game of the year, kickoff just 8 1/2 hours away. news4's megan mcgrath is live at freedom plaza downtown. >> reporter: good morning. 7:30 tonight, that's kickoff. and it's the ravens versus the redskins. redskins fans of course very, very anxious to see what their team is going to do. there is a lot of excitement. we've been talking to the fans here today, and i would say that they are cautiously optimistic about tonight's game, as well as the season. fans have gotten a feel for the team during training camp, but tonight is the first time they get to see the redskins really play. the skins take on ravens in their first pre-season game in baltimore tonight. fans will be watching closely hoping to gain insight into the way the season will go.

>> there is a lot of optimism. there is a lot of hope. to see if they can mesh together, keep the injuries away, i think we'll be all right. >> pre-season is the time to see what their strengths and weaknesses are and adjust. we'll see some of the strengths and probably some of the weaknesses. >> reporter: last year's season was a business disappointing. a strong start fizzled taking the skins out of playoff contention. fans are hoping for more this time around. >> i'm hoping for the best this season. hopefully we'll get a chance to see some of the new backup quarterbacks potentially and hope the offensive line is good, too, as well. a good chance to see what happens tonight. >> if they look okay on defense and offense, then we have a good season i think. if we don't, then we're short. >> i'm expecting success. i don't know if we're going to go to the super bowl. >> i think we're going to do

pretty good. i think we'll make the playoffs if we push hard enough. >> reporter: and everybody we spoke to thinks that the redskins will beat ravens tonight. they're very, very confident about that. now in terms of the rest of the season though, they have high hopes for sure but they are kind of hedging their bets a little bit. they want to see how they perform tonight and in some of the other preseason games. but certainly there are high hopes. not necessarily hopes for the super bowl among a lot of them but eveone pretty much thought that they have a real shot at the playoffs at least. back to you. >> megan, thanks vyer chmu. a reminder,ou cetmu gan a first look at the g 2009 versio of the redskins riger he on nbc 4. nen at 7: nto usnight's gamendti sh ckit w when it'sver for live post-game coverage. let's take a live look outside right now. we have a rather nice summer day underway. puffy clouds up above us right now. tom will join us now to tell us what we can expect for us and

for tonight's redskins game. >> hey, tom, good morning again. >> delightful summer day underway, air not too humid. just a few clouds floating through. by kickoff tonight, in baltimore for skins and ravens at 7:30, temperatures should be in the upper 70s and shouldn't be too humid. looks like a good night for football, partly cloudy through the game. just a small chance of an isolated thundershower perhaps around the region by early evening. th by later in the ening things should improve. right now temperature 81 in washington. we're in the upper 70s in montgomery, arlington, fairfax and prince george's county. farther to our west, in the mid 70s. mid an upper 70s around the bay. current dew points are in the 60s. not too humid. just slightly humid on the eastern shore. temperatures in the upper 70s now. it is more humid there as well as southeastern virginia and the outer banks. lower humidity out in the mountains where they're still in the comfortable 60s. now we do have a stalled front just to our east. that's what's been triggering the showers we had overnight.

those are moving on up toward new england. there are some showers in southeastern virginia right now. for the rest of the afternoon, partly cloudy and rather humid. just a small chance of an isolated thundershower. highs reaching the mid-80s. winds out of the northeast around 5 to 10 keeping it cooler than we certainly had it earlier in the week. i'm show you forecast for friday, a look at the weekend next week as well as the tropics and what's going on there. that will be coming up in just a couple of minutes. barbara and joe -- >> thank you, tom. out to the roads now, let's see what jerry has to tell us about the traffic. any problems? >> good morning. a little bit of road work but for the most part, midday's treating us fairly well. over in northeast washington, new york avenue was closed earlier this morning. travel lanes are reopened now. it was a building fire up there. no worries through the northeas elsewhere, south of town to the wilson bridge we're okay. on the beltway, both the inner loop and outer loop and the

stretch between telegraph road and van dorn street. rights now we're doing okay. >> break news right now out of ft. washington, maryland -- a live picture right now. a search is under way for the remains of chiquita bell. police s a cadaver dog has had a hit in the area and a piece of cloth has also been found. she disappeared 13 years ago. herself confessed killer, michael deckerson, claims to have buried bell's body in this area. a 12-year-old boy is fighting for his life after a serious crash that left him and three other young people injured. it happened last night in german town at the intersection of ridge road and morning star drive. police say the four young people were in this car trying to make a left-hand turn when it was rear-ended by a pickup truck. all four were taken to the hospital and 129-year-old is in critical condition at this hour. residents tell us this

intersection has been the scene of many serious accidents in recent years. >> near-misses every time. you really take your life into your own hands when you try to get out of thedriveway. >> this is the third serious accident in the nine years i've lived at this corner. each time we've written letters. >> the driver of the pickup truck was not injured. he stayed on the scene. no word on whether there will be any charges. a man convicted in a series of violent home invasions in d.c. and maryland is receiving his sentence in court right now. jose garcia was convied on four cntons of robbery after breaking into the homes of four different women. in eh case he hog-tied and bound the women inside their homes. the final victim was severely beaten and died fromes her juri injuries. he was convicted of first degree murder in that case. he could face life in prison without parole. this morning a woman is accusing a judge of deflating

her car tire outside a courthouse. woman says a security guard toll her charles county circuit court judge robert mally let the air out of her tire on monday. she says did he it because he parked in his restricted spot. "the washington post" reports that now they reportedly said that he had left notes for the driver and that he thought deflating the tire was less inconvenient than having the car towed. the incident was allegedly caught on a cell phone video though that video is yet to surface. police department confirms it is investigating a case of vandalism but will not say whom they are investigating. it's been a rough summer for metro. now there are calls for agents at gm to resign. an online petition says john cato hasn't done enough to make safety a priority it states in the wake of the merrific june , 2009 crash on s o' ntrdreline, it has becomed alarmingly clear that the currtan menagemt is t

ly feinsaagun adm to safely administer the et mus bra an metro busemsyst. thme transportation asyiassoc op t2009's top public 009 orsption manager.or whensk about whether he'll resi resign, cato says he's focusing on the crash investigation. the ntsb is changing its tune about when metro reported a close call on the tracks. it happened in march at the potomac avenue station. metro says the train safely -- the train's safety system failed. an operator had to usage emergency break to avoid hitting another train in this incident. the ntsb initially said it didn't learn about the incident until last week while it was investigating the deadly crash that happened in june. however, investigators now say metro told them about the close call right after the deadly collision. to the money crisis now. finally good news to report about the econom the federal reserve announced that it is seeing signs the economy is beginning to stabilize.

that has many wondering whether theecession might be over. brooke hart has more from capitol hill. >> it was the fed's first sunny assessment in more than a year. economic activity is leveling out, it said, as it left low interest rates alone. >> it's early days. but i think that things are improving. the feds are going to stay the course. >> reporter: is the great recession over? president obama this week took credit for halting the slide. >> we provided assistance that has saved the jobs of tens of thousands oforkers who provided essential services, like teachers and police officers. >> reporter: the president and the fed said warning signs remain. job cuts continue. 1,800 of them ahead in health care giant kaiser. that in response to so many layoffs elsewhere that left fewer people on kaiser's rolls. the jobless rate is expected to fuel record foreclosures in july. that number's out today. >> the combination of again the residual effect of bad mortgage

practices and now the unemployment spike is contributing to record high levels. >> reporter: also out today -- retail sales figures. how much americans are buying in tough times. >> with the recession going on, you have to really be tight on your budget. >> reporter: many areas are offering tax-free shopping days to spur sales. macy's reports its outlook improving. less luck though for las vegas. the number of visitors there has fallen for 13 straight months. fewer people these days in a gambling mood. some worry it's washington giving out easy money that bailouts and still no new rules for financial markets have only rewarded wall street since the financial crisis began. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news. world stock markets also shot higher today after the u.s. federal reserves promising news. every major market in asia experienced gains after tumbling the day before. thousands are expected to attend today's public memorial for eunice shriver.

a wake bins this afternoon at 1:00 in massachusetts. a number of special olympics athletes are expected to attend. shriver founded the special olympics in 1968 and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the mentally disabled. she died early tuesday morning at the age of 88. what former vice president dick cheney's revealing in his new book about the actions of former president george bush. plus, maryland senator ben carden sounds off about what needs to happen if residents plan to participate in town halls about health care. then, what d.c.'s newest powerball winners are saying they're going to do with all that money. and the latest on the investigation into who dumped a dog in the trash and left her for dead. nd

6r7b8 6r7b89s. senator ben carden tried to get his point across hosting another town hall meeting on health care reform. >> i think that the obama administration has already started to restore trust in health care -- >> the senator often struggled to be heard above the crowd yesterday afternoon. hundreds of people showed up at ha hagerstown community college. despite cries of "just say no" carden told them something needs to be done to fix the system.

>> i believe our federal government has a responsibility to make sure that every american has access to affordable quality health care. i believe that's a shared responsibility. >> he told the crowd he respects their right to express their opinions even though he might not necessarily agree. he assured the opponents in the crowd that he will not vote for a bill that does increase the federal deficit. the swine flu vaccine will not be available until the fall. d.c.'s mayor's urging parents to get their children vaccinated against the regular flu before sending them to school. this morning on "news4 today," adrian fenty said that the school system is preparing for an outbreak by learning lessons from last year. >> we tried to be very cautious the last year, make sure you're not infecting anyone but not in a knee-jerk way close down the schools. >> the mayor says notices have been made about whether to close the schools in the event of a

swine flu outbreak. president obama awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to 16 people at the white house yesterday. mr. obama described the recipients of the presidential medal of freedom as agents of change. among those receiving the honor, actress sidney poitier, tennis legend billy jean king, former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor and joe madison crow of the last living plains indian war chief who fought in world war ii wearing war paint beneath his uniform. ailing democratic senator edward kennedy's daughter accepted a medal of freedom on his behalf. there was also a posthumous award for gay rights advocator harvey milk and susan komen was among the 16 winners. nasa is set to launch the space shuttle "discovery" this month. astronaut patrick f oreerstf springfield, virginia ll be flying on the shuttle's next mission to the international space statfn. this will be his third journey

into space. the launch is scheduled for august 25th at the kennedy space center in florida. thomas joins us right now in studio to tell us about today's weather, whether we're going to get any storms today. >> there is a small chance this afternoon but overall it is a soft and pleasant summer morning that's been under a, as we get into the afternoon, still not a lot of heat, not a lot of humidity. so enjoy, a great day for the aacbendh pool for outdoor recreational activities. over the last two hours, this is looking over washington from our vantage point here in the upper northwest. can you see those upper level clouds moving along, moving in from the southwest toward the northeast. then later on this morning, in the last hour or so we've seen a few other clouds popping up in the lower levels of the atmosphere. you can see those are moving almost the opposite direction coming in out of the northeast. and heading to the southwest. cross-wn traffic up in the sky. there's the national cathedral s

there, lower left-hand side of the screen. there's a live view of our sky watcher camera showing those low clouds are beginning to fill in a little bit. around our region, don't have any precipitation. there's the view from our city camera showing some of those low clouds passing s or washington dan then potomac river. looking at the view from our r, no precipitation around the region at this hour. these are the lows we have this morning. it was comfortably cool in the shenandoah valley. low and mid-60s from the blue ridge all the way to the atlantic beaches. we bottomed out in the low-70s, reagan national at 73 where the temperature is now at 81. it is in the upper 70s in montgomery, fairfax, prince george's, arlington county. southern maryland near the bay, wind off the water is in the upper 70s with the nearly flow at low levels. out in the mountains in shenandoah valley, it's now climbing into the low 70s. current dew points, not too bad. comfortable dumts in the 60s all around the region. temperatures on the eastern shore in the upper 70s as well

as down around the outer banks. out of the mountains in the upper 60s, comfortably cool this morning there, got down near 60 degrees. we'll take that for an august morning out in the vmtmountains. a loft has been streaming showers into southeastern virginia, all part after stalled front that's just off our atlantic seaboard which is right here. here's waington. here's the atlantic ocean. way out here in the atlantic, this is a tropical depression that has been trying to become a tropical storm the last couple of days. it's still a depression. here's the latest statistics on it as winds around 30 with gusts to around 40 miles an hour. it is still way, way away from us. over 3,000 miles southeast of ocean city. over the next few days it will track to the west, maybe become a weak tropical storm later on today or maybe tomorrow. then head off to the west-northwest, perhaps head toward the dominican republic or perhaps puerto rico by the weekend ra a weak tpical

storm. then it will take a turn perhaps toward the southeast coast by next week. for us, we've got this stalled front just to our east. a weak low pressure center formed along that, gave us some thundershowers last night. now that's ledding up toward new england. behind that we've got dryer high pressure moving in from the midwest going forward over the next 36 hours. just a small chance where you see this area of color, isolated thunderstorms popping up this afternoon. otherwise we stay drive. >> for the afternoon, partly cloudy not too humid, highs reaching the mid-80s. a smallncenha ce of anha rsh thundershower. late afternoon, into theve engnn which may affect theinirskedamse the rinsks game up in baltimore as they take on the ravens. 7:30 kickoff time shoulde b in the upper 70s. rest of the evening, partly cloudy to mostly cloudy, maybe a little patchy fog around g.rnoinrrow then on friday, looks like a palyy c udloudy,da still not too humid but rather humid as we get y,intohewe ekend, highs near 80. very small chance of an isolated thundershower friday, saturday and sunday.

a little hotter over the we st fent nirf w otexkee as well. greater chance of mid-week thundershowers next week. that's the way it looks at this hour. to jerry edwards now in the news4 traffic network doing a parking lot report. >> pretty much so. i want to share something very important i learned a few moments ago. don't eat oreo cookies right before you go on tv. >> just don't smile. >> was it delicious though? >> they're great. anyway, back to business. on 95 northbound, fender-bender, fortunately not a serious accident. because the lane was blocked here, looking at delays for about a mile 95 northbound trying to get up toward lourden. route 50 out to the eastern shore to annapolis, okay. no hangups along i-270 at this

hour. >> milk would help. >> yes, ill go get some. >> wash it down. all right, thanks a lot. 11:22, 81 degrees. the road to recovery for a local dog dumped in the trash and left for dead. plus a group of local employees hit the jackpot. what they're going to do with all the cash. then we thought the skins said no to michael vick. so why is vick's name popping up on the back of a burgundy and gold jersey? and two american journalists freed after being jailed in north korea, the special message they're now sending out to those who prayed for their release.k

a man was killed when his boat hit a jetty. it happened just before midnight. victim has been identified as 77-year-old harry pollo jr. investigators are still trying to figure out why his boat hit the jetty. we have other breaking news involving the man accused in a series of violent home invasions. a court just sentenced him to life without parole. he was convicted on four counts of robbe after breaking into the homes of four different women. in each case he hog-tied and  bound the women inside their

homes. victim fromnatim ficm be onverelyte fas wonired cvict of first er rd tmun ireegcahat a arder in that ca e tcothid dur neced thocourt decided no to the port him because last time he was deported he got back into the country. the redskins have said no to michael vick but it seems that the people at nflshop.comhomnfl. bi co biqut. qu f ock a back of an o the on the site. ey jseeras w actually eor page for rolen laje. eyrs jeitrsey. it rssi tlshtey orewrafs n etshtloutl b. reporting on it vick is still looking for a team ter his recent release from federal prison. 11:27, 81 degrees. a massive wildfire is now forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes. plus new details in the

search of cha bell. former vice president dick cheney is telling all in his new memoir set to be released.

good morning. welcome back. some of the top stories we're following right now, in the news a serious crash seriously injured three siblings all under the age of 17. a 12-year-old is now in critical condition in a hospital. crash happened in germantown

last night at the intersection of ridge road and morning star drive. an intersection area residents is known to be dangerous. new information about a close call on metro back in march. the train safety system failed and an operator had to use an emergencbrake to avoid hitting another train at the potomac avenue station. the ntsb initially said it didn't learn about the incident until last week but now they say they were told about the close call right after the deadly collision that killed nine people back in june. the redskins return to the field tonight. team plays plor in its first pre-season game of the year. starters are not expected to play very much but fans will get a first look at the newest redskin, you can watch the game right here on nbc 4 beginning at 7:30. breaking news right now out of ft. washington, maryland. a search is under way for the the remains of a missing woman

who disapared 13 years ago. herself confessed killer claims to have buried bell's body in that area. the fate of a popular fruit and vegetable stand in bethesda is going before a judge today. the stand has been serving customers on river road for the past decade. now maryland officials call it a safety hazard and say that farm stands a not allowed in a state right of way. the owner of the fruit and vegetable stand wants a hearing on the matter. this morning a judge is deciding whether that will happen. the army corp of engineers is halting work after a dangerous discovery in a neighborhood in northwest washington. they found a flask containing traces of mustard gas in the spring valley neighborhood. the flask had been buried right behind american university's campus during world war i, scientists produced an experimented with chemical thhaanrg in charge of the di sheays t army needs ors n dstogr to regroup and review safety

procedures before continuing to search. 11:32. time to take a look at our forecast for today. we have some clouds above us. see what that means. >> tom's in storm center 4 for the expert word on what's going on with the weather. >> good morning. here's a live view overlooking the potomac river from our city camera showing, yes, some of those clumpy clouds clogging our sky now. it is partly sunny at this hour. temperatures 81 at reagan national. right now on radar getting some showers on the eastern shore. it is mostly cloudy there. those may rotate a bit down farther to the south and east and perhaps in toward our region here by later on this afternoon. right now we're in the upper 70s to near 80 all around the region. mid-70s in the shenandoah valley, dew points are in the 60s as well. that's not too humid.

mountain now near 70. eastern shore getting a few showers associated with this stalled front that's just off to our east, partly cloudy and rather humid for the rest of the afternoon. small chance after passing thundershower. highs reaching the mid-80s. kickoff forecast, 7:30 in baltimore, skins and ravens. should be in the upper 70s by game time. and be in the 70s throughout the game, partly cloudy, there is a small chance after shower during the game. then some patchy fog may form tomorrow morning under partly cloudy skies as we bottom out near 70. friday partly cloudy, highs in the mid-80s. partly cloudy saturday and sunday, small chance of an isolated thundershower, friday, saturday an sunday, little hotter saturday, sunday as well. highs near 90 sunday, monday and tuesday. mid-week showers and thundershowers possible as we get into next week. that's the way it looks, barbara and joe. >> thank you, tom. >> let's go to jerry edwards and the news4 traffic network.

>> road work really slowing things down. we'll start here on the outer loop of the beltway as you make ur trip from van dor in the street to telegraph road. >> the left lane is taken away. there are delays leaving springfield. the accident 95 northbound lourden, about a mile of backed up traffic. 395 specifically, heading across the inbound 14th street bridge. at midday all the travel lanes headed for downtown appear to be open. back to you. the dogs that attacked and killed a young man in leesburg have now been euthanized. loudoun county animal control says the two animals were put to sleep with the consent of the victim's brother. a bite to the neck likely killed i fasound inside his grandfather's ho ilenrg bues on moay. spoceliayce delaney may have tried toayelpel amallll dog tha was being attacked when the pit

bulls turned on him. a dog that's captured the sympathy of our area has endured more surgery now. but trooper is still in a battle for survival. investigators are hoping that someone will come forward and tell them who abandoned this pet in a dumpster. news4's jackie bensen has the story. >> she has been through a lot. >> reporter: bandaged and going to gi from surgery needed to clean a deep gash over her right eye, trooper just looks awful. but she is a survivor. last friday washington humane society officer eve russell pulled the 2 1/2-year-old pit bull out of a dumpster in the 4200 block of 9th street southeast. the severely wounded dog had been tightly duct taped into a trash bag. she survived by chewing a hole and sticking her head out. officer russell is now trying to find the person who discarded trooper like a bag of garbage. likely the result of illegal dog fighting. >> it's pretty difficult without any help from somebody who might

know. right now we're just kind of hoping that wre going to get some more information from the community. >> reporter: investigators believe dog fighting has declined in the district since a law was passed to make it a felony even to be a expect tatar. but the shadowy activity continues with participants discarding dead and wounded dogs after they fail to win a fight. even with the reward that now stands at $4,000, finding the person who hurt trooper will be extremely difficult. but chris schindler of the u main society of the united states says all it takes it one person with a conscience. >> we want somebody to come forward so somebody can be charged with this crime. because they're going do something else. these types of crimes are directly connected to other acts of violence towards humans. >> that was jackie bensen reporting. vets say trooper is a loving dog. if she survives, they hope she can be rehabilitated and adopted. the remains of a navy pilot

shot down out of iraq 13 years ago are making their wayeom today. captain michael scott speicher had been classified as missing in action for many years. he plane was shot down on their gr.wa r.s remains are being flown to jacksonville, florida, his town where he'll be permanently buried. the veterans memorial wall is planning a service to honor him. two journalists held prisoner in north korean jail, captured and sentenced to 12 years hard labor after crossing the border into the country. last week former president clinton went to north korea and negotiated their release. on a video posted on current tv's website, the journalists thanked all those who campaigned for their release.

>> we are so, so very grateful for all of your love and support. >> we're so happy to be back with our families. it was tough time in our life. >> they say in time they'll share details of what happened to them but for now they just want to spend time with their families. the man currently behind bars for the 1988 bombing of pan am flight 103 could soon be released from prison. a libyan man was convicted of blowing up the plane heading from london to new york, killing 270 people. the convicted bomber received a life sentence but the bbc is reporting that he will be released next week on what's being known as compassionate grounds. they say he has terminal cancer and will beomenhot heo t libya. e scottish justice who would set him free says no decision though has been made. vice president dick cheney is preparing to write his memoir and it could expose all of his

secrets. "the washington post" reports that the book will be a tell-all. according to the "post," cheney believes president george w. bush stopped listening to him during their second term together. cheney has been quoted in the past as saying the stuft limitations has expired on many of his secrets. the book is expected to be released some time in 2011. >> we're follong a developing story in california. that's where hundreds of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes because of a fast-moving wildfire. it's burning in the santa cruz county area authorities say the fire began yesterday, but this morning had grown to 1 1/2 square miles. officials called for mandatory evacuations of about 600 people. plans to build a new hhi wn in the washington region gets a stamp of approval. plus, if you're looking to go to the winter olympic games we've got a unique idea on how you can stay in vancouver for cheap. then, how you can get unlimited flights on jetblue for an entire month.

but it depends t

in just six months, the eyes of the world will be an vancouver, canada. the site of the 21st winter olympics. vancouver's been preparing for the games for years now. all of the venues are complete involving the crown jewel, the richmond oval. athletes village is ready for the 2000 competitors who will call it home. also finished on time, a new subway system to shuttle people from the airport to the city.

the city admits paying for all of this has been a rea challenge but they say they just had to get it done. tens of thousands are looking forward to traveling to vancouver but some people are looking to get out of town. many of them want to escape winter and find a warm, sunny beach. how about olympic house swapping. is there we would really love to get down to san diego for a couple of weeks and just trade off with somebody up here, give them a downtown experience in vancouver, close to all the action and without having to take a shot on their house to do it. >> reporter: mark is a vancouver real estate agent looking to swap houses with someone in february he told us many of his friends are doing the same thing. san diegons have a rare opportunity but it is one of the few places worth the trade. >> people from vancouver love southern california. most folks in vancouver love the

weather down there. >> reporter: craigslist is filled with people looking to swap pads. here's a picture of a house being offered up by somebody in san diego in return for something near the olympics. he's looking for an even trade. >> our place downtown, we're smack in the middle of downtown. we're 15 minutes to everything. olympicwise, we would be looking at something comparable when we are looking in san diego, something on the beach or near the beach would be great, in la jolla or del mar or mission beach. >> reporter: he told me there are lots of people in the suburbs of vancouver who would probably be willing to take something inland in return. apples for apples, basically. he also says he'sarboef aulut who he deals with because of possible crooks and scams. >> tickets for the games are being sold in phases and on a first come, first serve basis. they are expected to go on sale again next month. time now for a cck on how

overseas markets and wall street are doing this morning. let's go live to cnbc's courtney reagan. courtney, good morning. >> good morning, joe. right now stocks are higher just by a bit, the dow up by more than 13 points, following yesterday's nice rally we had in the wake of the fed's decision where, as expected, they kept rates stable, also saying the economy is leveling off and inflation should stay under control. good news all around there from the fed. markets did rise overnight in asia. europe is also higher on the back of that fed news, as well as the fact that germany has emerged from recession. first-time claims for jobless benefits rose last week by 4 how to to a to by 4,000 to 558,000. retail sales were down .6%. auto sales are excluded. walmart, kohl's and urban outfitters all beat analyst estimas this morning. deadline day for several big companies yet to repay their

government bailout loans but are still under the thumb of america. bank of america, citigroup, aig, gm, chrysler all must submit plans on how much they're playing their top employees to president obama's pay czar. he has 60 days to review the proposal and has the authority to make changes to the pay packages if he deems them excessive. toyota reportedly plans to launch a new hybrid as early as 2011. this is cheaper and more fuel efficient than the popular prius. car will be build using key parts from toyota's subcompact yaros model. will be sold in japan, priced at $15,600. considerably cheaper price point than that chevy volt that's supposed to be priced at $40,000. >> sizable, yeah. thanks very much, courtney. you've heard of all you can eat. now jetblue is offering all you can fly. this air carrier's selling a monthly pass for $599. it gives customers unlimited flights to any of the airlines'

56 destinations in the u.s., caribbean and south america. the all you can jet pass can be used for travel between september 8th and october 8th. but you must sign up by august 21st. the d.c. area jetblue flies from dulles airport and also will be adding service at dwi thur god marsh thurgood marshal next month. >> south america, that could be a pretty inexpensive way to get there. 11:48 is the time, 81 degrees. still more news ahead on "news4 midday." >> we'll have a final check on the forecast. he'll also tell what you we can expect for tonight's redskins game against the ravens. then we're looking for people w make the day specialle in the early morning hours of the day. if you know someone like, atth send us a clear close-upat picte and sorenf imation to morningperson@nbcwashington.com. f

welcome back to "news4 midday." michael jackson's estate continues to grow by the day. in the 48 days since he died his estate has increased by $100 million. most of that is from a film deal and merchandising contracts. "the new york times" estimates that by the end of the year that number will double to $200 million. it's unclear wha will happen to

the money though. legal wrangling continues among family members and jackson's debts are still being sorted out. today's "wednesday's child" is a teenager who has spent more than a third of his life in foster care. he's hopg for a loving family and one that happens to like baseball. hi, alex. >> hello. >> reporter: great to see you. meet alex. who just turned 15. to celebrate his birthday, he wanted to come to nationals park where his favorite team, the nates, of course, had a game on tap for later today. >> pretty excitg day. meet alex. >> nice to meet you, buddy. >> reporter: alex is a big fan of yours. catcher josh bard welcomed us and congratulated alex on his birthday. for the last five years josh has been in foster care. his social worker says although he was a little nervous today, he has a great personality.

>> alex has a very contain just smile and laugh. i mean when he laughs, he usually lights up a room and he really enjoys telling jokes to people and making other people laugh. i think one of his best qualities. >> i'm going to show you how to throat ball straight. >> reporter: while the field was still being groomed for the game, josh gave alex a few pointers. >> biggest game with baseball, i already see it in your face, have you fun. you light up when you throat ball. >> reporter: alex has some learning challenges but works hard in school and does well. he's hoping for an adoptive family that will be proud of all he accomplishes. >> i'd like the family to be caring, lovable, likes baseball. and -- >> we're really looking for either a single parent or two-parent adoptive family for alex. i really want a family for him that will accept him for who he is and really integrate him into their family in terms of family activities, holida, because he

really enjoy those kinds of activities. zh alex, thanks for coming out today. i got you a special bat. >> reporter: alex got a few things to take home with him, and tickets for a nationals game. he would love to one day have a family who could come and enjoy the nats with him. if you have room in your ,meho me c ahi ldheart, for s waiting, plewhalon tlinho e,l 1-888-2adopt-me. plans to build a marriott hotel across from the washington convention center have finally been approved. d.c. mayor adrian fenty signed off on the deal last night. the 14-story building will be built at 9th street and massachusetts avenue northwest. construction of the 1 s 100 room hotel is expected to begin in october. the effort is a public/private partnership. city officials hope the new hotel will draw more visitors and conferences to washington. a group of hotel workers from our area has won a

powerball lottery prize. the pool of 27 employees at the washington hilton played powerball last week. turns out they matched all but one number and won $10,000. after taxes, that's a cool $259 apiece. one woman who organized the pool told her co-workers about the big win. at first they didn't believe it. >> i thought initially that she was maybe just fibbing a little bit to get a little excitement. >> reporter: many of the hilton 27, as they are called, are donating their winnings to a nonprofit group called tourism cares. the group provides scholarships and helps preserve historic sights around the world. here are some of the stories coming up this afternoon on news4. why do some people need eight hours of sleep a night while others can function well on just a few? researchers think they have the answer and we will explain. then at 5:00, we'll have live team coverage of the redskins in their first preseason game. for all these stories and all

the day's news, join us for news4 beginning at 4:00 today. let's get a look at our forecast. tom? >> it is a pleasant summer iteidtumnoy t we've humidity not too bad this morning. some clouds have been building. here is a live picture from our sky watcher camera. skies getting increasingly filled with clouds now. on radar over the last three hours, watching a few showers heading south out of eastern pennsylvania and across delaware and around the beaches now. it is mostly cloudy and getting a few showers there. our local radar not picking up any precipitation here now. temperatures around the region in the upper 70s to near 80. 81 in washington, georgetown, largo, tyson's corner around rockville. we have the humidity levels in the sort of moderate range. the dew points are in the 60s generally around the region. that's not too humid. eastern shore around 80 degrees. few showers around norfolk and upper 70s there out of the

mountains near 70. dryer air in the mountains. over the last six hourse've seen the cloud cover beginning to fill in a little bit. if you're traveling today, there could be flight delays along the gulf coast and perhaps up and down the atlantic seaboard. arizona, new mexico, southern utah, colorado. it is really a pleasant summer day all throughout much of the east. temperatures in the near 70s to 80 from new england all the way to the midwest. really no big heat waves look to be on tap for us for the entire region for the next number of days. just some showers now around the calinas. along that stalled front to our east and high pressure with the dry air to our west, both of these systems holding steady where they are. still partly cloudy, rather humid. a chance of a passing thundershower this afternoon, highs reaching the mid 80s. for the game tonight, by kickoff time at 7:30, we'll be near 80 degrees, partly cloudy through the game, small chance after passing shower. then by dawn tomorrow, some patchy fog around, near 70. on friday, partly cloudy and

rather humid, highs mid-80s. very small chance of an afternoon thundershower. more of the same an saturday, a bit hotter though. sunday up around 90. see you tomorrow morning starting at 4:55. >> thanks, tom. that is "news4 midday." thanks for joining us. >> we hope you'll tune in tore more news at 4:00, 5 with being, 6:00 and 11:00. have a great day.