and the mega ball was 31. we're waiting on the medical examiner to determine what killed a celebrity district

jockey. dj am was found dead. police did find a crack pipe and prescription pills. he was known for dating stars like mandy moore and nicole richie and survived a plane crash last september. he openly discussed previous addictions but said he was clean. dj am was 36 years old. the shuttle "discovery" is finally in orbit. >> booster ignition and liftoff of "discovery" celebrating its birthday. >> it took off nearly a week of delays. they are headed to the international space station. they are carrying more eight tons of equipment and supplies including a treadmill named after steven colbert. this is a weird connection. tried to get a space station room named after himself.

to help finally slim down all of those chuby astrauts. >> colbert told the astronauts because they stretched because no one can hear you pull a hamstring in space. nasa named the space station name tranquillity in honor of the 40th anniversary of man landing on the moon. up next, a look at sports and check on the weather. are we going to see flash flooding? >> no, we are not. the flood watches have been dropped now so that is welcome news and that is already a step in the right direction for your saturday. but don't get too open tismy a cloudyng fecast coming up. u

so we escape flash flooding but the rain is not done with us yet. >> the good news is it is not going to rain really really hard. that's a step in the right direction. step number two, it's already saturday. right there, people's weekends have already started, that's another step in the right direction. the fact it will be cloudy, that shouldn't be a knock on what should otherwise be a day filled with optimism. wouldn't you agree with everybody? welcome to your weekend, a cloudy sky awaits you outside but it's not going to be a washout of a satee ndu just nee backuplans rdy t to go. outside right now, under a cloudy sky, visibility is limited. the washington monument is 555 feet tall. we can almost not see the top of the monument out there first thing this morning thaves to the low clouds in the area. 73 in washington. a dew point of 70 degrees and

you know what that means. any time the dew point is 70 or higher it feels like florida. it's been a warm and dry august. august still more than 2.6 degrees above average for this time of the year. out we go, temperatures right now in the low to mid 70s, off to a very humid start on your saturday morning. baltimore, 73. hagerstown, 73 degrees. 67 degrees in win chester. here's a check on doppler. no real heavy rain coming down across the metropolitan area but there are showers on the eastern shore. you can see a dry commute on the capitol beltway and dry on interstate 95 as well. what on earth is going on with my radar this morning. goodness gracious alive. rain showers. the heavier of them out on the eastern shore of maryland. raining now from dewey beach

through fen wick island. no longer a tropical storm, danny is a depression at this point in time. as it works its way up the eastern sea board. tropical moisture to the east and weather front from the west. the weather track will keep it off the coast line but it might graze nantucket and cape cod. moving northeast at 27 miles per hour. this storm will be racing up the coast during the course of the day today. if you're going out to the eastern shore, the delaware beaches, don't expect much of a day as far as beach day is concerned and don't get in the water. like last weekend, very high surf and dangerous rip current all along the coastline today. a day just best to sit out and look at the waves crashing in. 84 in washington, 85 tomorrow. 50 /50 chance you'll get rained on around here today. torrow will be the better outdoor weather day.

and a real taste of autumn coming our way. high temperatures barely into the low 70s by tuesday, wednesday time frame. >> that's kind of exciting. >> summer is nearly done. >> thank you, chuck. in news for your health, doctors and patients questioning the success of a popular weight loss surgery. the lap band procedure is one a lot of people are turning to. in many cases doctors say patients never lose the weight or gain it right back. grant stinch field talked with one woman who tried out the procedure. >> reporter: when it comes to weight loss surgery, thousands of people like stephanie are complaining about the popular lap band procedure. >> i vomited every day for two years. >> reporter: insisting for them it doesn't work. >> two yearsto later i never lo any weight. >> reporter: not even a single band and her lap band was supposed to change her life. >> everybody was looking at me going, where she is, another

diet thing she tried and it didn't work. i had a physician say the band didn't fail you, you failed the band. >> reporter: the doctor is a weight loss surgeon and often procedures the lap band procedure. >> there's a group of patients that do not respond initially. >> reporter: because of that he believes there is a better alternative. >> my personal preference is the bypass. much more successful than the lap band. >> with the bypass, you go from a football sized stomach to a stomach about the size of your enthusia thumb. >> i went from a 24 to a 10 in about eight months. >> reporter: she opted for a gas tick bypass following her lap band failure. >> the surgery was not a big deal. i had fiveincisions. >> reporter: she lost over 100 pounds. weight loss professionals all agree even after weight loss surgery, psychological

counseling is a must. >> until you address what's under lying the overeating the weight can come on again and again. >> her involvement with weight loss support groups is the key to controlling her food addiction and keeping the weight off. >> you have to get a handle on that. there's no doubt in my mind i'm a food addict, ulz have been. >> stephanie has now conquered her food addiction thanks to counseling and her bypass surgery. still ahead, we're learning new information about the man investigators say held a woman hostage for 18 years and the observant officer who helped free the victim at last. plus dangerously dry conditions, raging wildfires forcing people out of their homes in southern california. and a dog pulled from the depths of an old well, here from the local family who have never been more thankful t

a found fair well to an american icon. latest on the funeral of senator

ted kennedy and what to expect here in washington. thousands of people have been forced from their homes as a half dozen wildfires now burn in southern california. a big ordeal for this local pooch. firefighters had to make a dramatic rescue to bring him home to safety. welcome back to news 4 today, the weekend edition, i'm kimberly suit ers. good morning, chuck. >> off to a cloudy and humid start. don't count on seeing an awful lot of sunshine onsaturday. we will get a slifr or two of sunshine from time to time. it's going to be more cloudy. temperatures in the low 70s, a few upper 60s on the map.

rainfall amounts in the last 24 hours or so have been generally light but parts of prince georges county more than 2 inches of rain. some of those slow moving soakers did leave a lot of rain but most missed out on the showers. highs this afternoon into the mid-80s with one or two legal brea little breaks of sunshine and no flash flooding is expected. >> thank you, chuck. today the world says good-bye to one of most influential lawmakers of our time. senator ted kennedy, the pat tree arc will be laid to rest. among them, president obama will deliver the eulogy. kennedy's niece spoke about her uncle's legacy during a memorial service. >> i looked up and there was

this one star hanging low in the sky that was just bigger than all of the rest and brighter than all the rest with a twingele and sparkle louder than all the others. i know it was jupiter but it was acting a lot like teddy. >> and senator kennedy will have a funeral mass to match. it will include seven priests, 11 paul bearers and9 2 honorary pa bes.be after the funke my'nnsed key'eds hire awsed andrewse t as n.rn 3:om0000hi ot mdeca woromil motorcade wills etntcohenguisas theenat s amrbebe steps. w aef brief pyer and to ueen to arlingtonional cemetery nnkesy'y ed tor f a television to televisionat we

live on our website, nbcwashington.com. a frightening ordeal came to a happy ending yesterday when firefighters pulled a very big dog out o a well. it's a call firefighters don't train for but therapeuty were ho help out as the rain began to fill with rain water. jackie benson has the story. >> repter: after spending hours barking and whimperring, kujo, all 120 pounds was lifted into the arms of travis lambert. a gentle giant. >> i was glad he was really friendly. >> just pulled him out. >> reporter: daniel ellis was overjoyed to be reunited with

the 3-year-old. the dog had an abrasion over one eye but otherwise remarkably uninjured after the fall of some 30 feet. >> been in there since 1:00, 12:00 today. this is my son, kujo. >> did a fine job. >> reporter: the urgent call came around 1:00 p.m. from the home on glenn drive. first responders found an unusual situation, the long unused well was directly below a deck that kujo had crawled under. a cave-in unit was requested and firefighters had to saw through pressure treated board to lower an air supply down to the trapped dog and the water was rising. >> the call came in when we were having a terrible storm, pouring down rain. there was water pouring into this hole. the water was filling up the hole around the dog. >> reporter: just after 5:00, firefighters managed to rig a harness and travis lambert

descended to have a big face with large eyes. firefighters tell us the well had been there for a long time. possibly people are unaware of it. it is now being secured. jackie benson, news 4. >> glad to see the happy ending of the an rg. in a aea lds to a ria ofetal retaliaon al re pet.if dnt back in june, the family said david beers parked in the home and argued about it and asked him to leave. he went back to the home and stole a year and a half old chihuahua from the yard. he threw the dog over the bridge. >> it feels like i've lost a child in my family. >> i have made a few months ago the worst decision of my life. and i want everyone to know that i deeply regret the pain and suffering that i caused the

family. >> t >> that was david beers. t zoe has not beenfound. but they are still hoping she is alive. he is charged with animal cruelty and other charges and scheduled to be in court next month. in southern california, the enemy is wildfires. nbc's michael oku has the latest on the fight to beat back these fires. >> reporter: a fire red sun rising above the community of flint ridge, an om mouse wake up call shrouding skies of downtown los angeles for miles. for days, bill johnson has seen the smoke and feared the fire. today the flames came within yards of the 78-acre ranch. his wife and children fled but johnson stayed behind because he has support. >> they put one drop there.

i'm fine with it. these guys are professionals. >> reporter: the blaze has now covered more than two square miles, officials urged 900 residents to evacuate. >> fuels that will burn in a few years. >> reporter: half a dozen major wildfires are burning in southern california fueled by triple digit temperatures and drought. >> the smoke is building all over the basin and so air quality is dangerously seriously bad. >> reporter: 40 miles south in ran choe pal os verde, half a dozen home sustained minor damage after helicopters were able to make precision water drops overnight. >> they made an amazing stop on this fire. >> reporter: by morning firefighters had the upper hand. >> the embers were blowing on to her roof. all of us can say this is nothing short of a miracle.

>> that was michael oku reporting. in greece hundreds of greeks gathered at the parliament building and called for the government to step down over its handling of recent wildfires near athens. protesters brought burned tree and chanted let parliament burn. last week fires destroyed 150 homes and 37,000 acres of forest and farms. no one was injured in those fires. we are learning more about an incredible story of a california girl found alive 18 years after she was snatched from a bus stop. her name is jaycee dugard, she was 11 years old when she was abducted. this week police found her and held captive by the man police say abducted her. he fathered two children with dugard and kept them all in his backyard. dugard has been reunited with her family. >> and she's fairly healthy. my wife said she looks almost like she was when she was kidnapped. she's been outside in the rough

for -- camping for 18 years in the compound. it's unbelievable. >> police say they were tipped off after any noticed garrido acting strangely, he had two children acting robotic and looking unnaturally pale. officers say they questioned him and garrido confessed to the kidnapping. coming up on news 4 today, people do it all the time to make a little extra cash. why not use a garage sale to solve budget woes for an entire state. plus, a video game price. fight, the cost of a popular system slashed and could be . coming up next.

more promising news that our economy may be back on the right track. bill griffith has more in this weekend's business report. >> reporter: the housing bubble

got us into this recession, perhaps housing is now beginning to help lead us out of it. new home sales in july rose to the highest level in ten months, up 10% from june. that follows last week's jump in existing home sales figureslus we're seeing prices rise for a second month in a row. the wildly popular cash for clunkers program is over. 700,000 cars were sold with rebate requests totalling $2.88 billion. that contributed strongly to a solid increase for big ticket items as well. two readings on consumer confidence showed some improve. . the index rose markedly from july. university of michigan's final survey was better than earlier in the month but still the lowest point in four months. initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 10,000 but the faltering us post office will office buyouts to as many as

30,000 mail carriers for a possible savings of half a billion annually. ben bernanke for a second term this week as the nation's top banker. the nomination does require senate approval. it is expected. microsoft is slashing the high price of the xbox elite to compete with sony play station price cuts and it may jazz up what may be a bleak christmas for retailers. get all of your business news on cnbc now celebrating its 20th year. che on lights from last night'a theforecast. >> everybody wants a littlene bt sunshine but will you get it?

so everybody wants sunshine on the weekend. are we going to get it? >> don't put your expectations too high, at least not today. we'll be fighting the clouds in and out much the day. we will get a little break of sunshine from time to time but that may actually help our rain chances for the second half the day as we all know, a little sunshine adds a little bit of instability to the atmosphere and may cook up a rumble or two of thunder but no severe weather

is expected and no flash flooding is expected. the heavy rain threat has now moved away. outside we have a cloudy start on your saturday morning. temperatures are very near the 70-degree mark in many neighborhoods, as you look live over the north end of the runways there, not too much folks out there just yet but they are thinking about going out for the morning jog. they are trying to decide if it's worthy or not. it's a good morning for the morning bike ride or jog or sitting on the pore of reading the newspaper. august 2.6 degrees warmer that be average. it's been a very warm and dry month of august here in the washington area. temperatures are generally in the loi 70s, 72 in frederick, 73 in hagerstown. annapolis, 73 degrees. the heavier showers were south and eat of town late yesterday. the better rain chances will be the further east and southeast

you go from the washington area. no rain right around the capital beltway, a fairly dry start here. the heaviest of the rain showers are staying well offshore but it is a raining morning along the coast line and very dangerous day for rip current and large waves out there. if you're going to the beach, it's going to be a good day to go. i would not recommend getting into the water at all on saturday. 73 here in town, 68 degrees in cincinnati. here you can see on the satellite review, the first little push of moisture came in and what's left of danny, only a tropical depression at this time. 280 miles to the south of ocean city, maryland. this will continue to race off to the north and eventually to the northeast. running at 27 miles an hour in forward speed right now. maximum sustain winds at 35. just a tropical depression bringing the waves and wind towards the coast line. we will face the chance for

scattered showers off and on throughout today. weather starts to improve during the day tomorrow with a weather front sagging south of washington area. may have a few showers in the eastern shore as we get into tomorrow afternoon. by and large, most of our rain chances occur today, not so much tomorrow. today, cloudy and humid, showers likely. one or two rumbles of thunder possible today. tomorrow a little bit more infu chance of rain tomorrow is south and east of the washington area. if you're planning on heading out to do boating today, i recommend staying on the chesapeake bay as opposed to the great waves of the atlantic ocean. humidity today, less humid tomorrow and much cooler wednesday monday tuesday and wednesday and highs, by tuesday and wednesday morning, a lot of our western suburbs will be way down into the 50s. >> that's always helps the kids feel like it's okay to go back

to school now. >> that and a kick in the pants. >> you're not very nice. >> you can find a lot of gems in garage sales, especially true when an entire state puts one on. the redskins starters showing some e eh

well, it has the feel of a regular season game. the redskins starters getting significant playing time this season and looking good. here's this morning's sports. >> good morning, the third game of the preseason is always the biggest, your starters get legitimate time to prove themselves and you either find out if your team has the ability to do big things or has big

problems. last night they made big plays however the patriots won a measly field goal. wanted to see production out of the first-team offense. he got t first offensive series, jason campbell smooth in the pocket, goes down the sideline to moss, who makes an incredible catch first and goal to marcus mason, first team offense scores first td of the season. 7-0 skins. jim zorn thiing we've got to stop tom brady, but you can't stop him when he has a teammate named randy moss. moss had two touchdowns and brady 150 yards passing. skins trail 17-7. jason campbell back to pass, finds his buddy chris coolly over the middle and the tight end has running room. gets a nice block.

he would go all the way down to the six yard line. skins in business, a 73 yard catch and run. after a penalty, third and goal, jason campbell says, i'll take it myself and takes it to the rewarding peace of real estate for six. third quarter, still tiled at 17. coal brennan in the game, tried to hit his receiver here as the skins are threatening but jonathan reads his eyes, picks it off and there would be an abundance of running on the play. 99 yards for the touchdown. patriots take a 24-17 lead. but hold on a second. colt brennan would redeem himselves finds marco mitchell, a beautiful throw and catch, however the patriots would win n-2 o4 a last second field

goal. kelly praising his performance. >> the guy is a talented guy. the whole line has been giving him time to throw the ball. he was a lot more confident in the huddle too. after he made fist play on first drive, we're going to go down and school. that was his mentality. >> last night's nationals/cardinals game began as a pitchers duel and ended when swinger put on a show. cruising along, gets julio lugo swinging. and his parents and fans in the stds. therapeut they were loving it. his counterpart, john smoltz, on top of his game, throws a nasty

o off-speed pitch. making the only mistake of the night, a solo shot. green'sixth of the year. bottom of the ninth, still tied at two. over, he tosses it like toothpick. pujols 45th homer. and cards win it in dramatic fashion. in golf, in the mix in bar clay. trail s simpson by two strokes. we start with the first hole, started on the back nine and the birdie putt, it drops. mari marineo even on the day. long birdie putt, very, very nice. drains that, mickelson, for over

par. 14th, smooth, gets the birdie to go, eight under for the tournament. where's tiger woods? how about eight strokes back. tiger makes this putt, he was one over for the day and he's even par for the tournament. he's got a lot of work to over the weekend. that's your morning sports. have a great day. >> thanks akim. you probably heard that expression, one man's trash is another man's treasure. california held the great california garage sale yesterday. people showed up to buy everything from office furniture to kayaks and watches and sold 300 cars and plans to sell 300 more today. california had major budget crisis problems this year. the money will go to the state's general fund. creative way to do that. that's news 4 today, coming up next is the "today" show, we'll be back in 25 minutes for a local news and weather update and sports. join us again at 9:00 for a f