up in flames. as massive fire leaves more than a dozen people without a home this fourth of july weekend. >> serious allegations against workers at the d.c. summer youth program. the incidents the mayor calls reprehensible. and free for now. the developments in the case against dominique strauss-kahn that let the former imf chief to walk free. welcome to news 4 today, we'll get to the day's big stories in a momd, bent, but first we need

check in with kim. >> pressure is on once again. a holiday. i think you'll like what we get this weekend. it's been hot the last few days, but the humidity has been manageable. it's going to start inching up today. right now we're at 68, but look at those 50s in our suburbs. a pair of 5s at martinsburg. southern maryland, 58. enjoy it while we have it. the clear skies will stay with us today. we'll be warming up, though, to 91. and the humidity will come up. so it won't feel as comfortable as what we've been having the last few days. late in the afternoon, we'll see clouds move in and that will lead to some showers this holiday weekend. i'll tell you when they're going to happen and if our fireworks forecast is in danger. >> thanks, kim. new from overnight, a car accident in southeast washington has left one person dead and

three others badly hurt. that crash happened around 2:00 this morning in the 11 ook brock of. in mississippi avenue southeast. here's what we know. four people were in the car. one person was killed. you see the car there flipped over. the other three people in that car were rushed to the hospital in critical condition. we'll update you as we collect more details this morning. this morning d.c. fire crews are monitoring the scene of a row house fire in northwest washington. flames quickly spread to six homes. you could see black smoke from miles away. 13 people lost their homes over this holiday weekend. >> reporter: this video taken by park police helicopter camera shows thick black smoke and flames engulfing four row houses on decatur street northwest. the flight crew apparently the first to spot the fire that left more than a dozen people

displaced. >> when we arrived on scene, we had some pretty heavy fire conditions. it was well advanced and already from the basement up through the roof essentially spreading to the neighboring houses. >> reporter: the flames broke out around 4:45 in the afternoon. raymond meadows who was hard of hearing was inside his home. he says someone banging loudly and persistently on his front door saved his life. >> i just hear a bang. most people know i don't hear well. so whoever did it that, i came out of the house and that's when i saw this. so god is good. >> reporter: black smoke bill lowed from the buildings. firefighters say the blaze started toward the rear of one house but flames quickly spread to three others filling two more with smoke. >> i just lapped to see the fire flames and they were shooting out -- i thought somebody was shooting fireworks. but it was fire everywhere. >> reporter: the blaze went to two alarms drawing 115

firefighters to the scene. battling the flames in the heat and thick smoke caused problems for some firefighters. two were treated for heat exhaustion, including this fireman who was taken by stretcher to and on scene rehab unit. firefighters were working in rotation, drinking cold drinks, and resting at a cooling station. >> fire is definite stating in and of itself, but when it gets this personal, it's really scary. >> reporter: d.c. fire conducted apall night fire watch. they wanted to remain on scene just in case there were any flare-ups. 13 people are being assisted by the red cross. the cause remains under investigation. in northwest washington, darcy spencer. two d.c. city workers are accused of sexually assaulting two teens. they charged an employee after the first incident this past wednesday and then just yesterday a 19-year-old said she was groped by a file clerk with the department of employment

services. d.c. officials call the incidents isolated but still want to reemphasize safety with workers and teen workers in the program. >> we just want to make sure that the participants are very aware of their surroundings, that the host supervisors are always looking out for them. and i just think we need to heighten the sense of awareness about who they're interacting with and making sure that we're providing a safe environment. >> the employee charged is currently on paid administrative leave. charges are pending against the second worker. former imf head dominique strauss-kahn is a free man for now at least for a little while. the new york district attorney agreed to release strauss-kahn from house arrest after new questions arose about the credibility of his accuser. in court yesterday, prosecutors admitted the woman made false and conflicting statements, including lying when she applied for political asylum back in 2004. there are also reports she was in close contact with a

suspected drug dealer after the incident with recorded phone calls between the two and she discussing how to profit from it. >> it's so important in this country that people especially the media reserve their judgment on the facts of the case until they're all in. >> it is a fact that the victim here made some mistakes. but that doesn't mean she's not a rape victim. >> the scandal ruined his chances at the french presidency, about an one poll tesch than is suggesting they should delay a vote because of the new developments. this fourth of july weekend, d.c. is getting ready for huge celebrations. one of the largest traditionally happens along the national mall. the smithsonian folk life festival is going on right now. that event features two weeks of cultural events and exhibits and draws more than a million

visitors. but before you put on your walking shoes, organizers say don't for get about the heat. >> keep in mind heat stress can kill. we've been fortunate on the mall to keep everybody safe. we have had incidents of heat stress and we've got them taken care of and we want to keep it that way. >> then for the big show, pyrotechnicians say they brought in 14,000 pounds of explosion sh explosives. the show begins at 9:20 monday night. you can expect delays if you're using metro get to the national mall. crews are doing track work on the red, orange and blue lines. also the smithsonian metro station will be closed most of monday. it will reopen after monday's fireworks. and many escalators at stations downtown will be turned off as safety precaution. and all damon, off peak fares will be in effect. head to nbcwashington.com for a

complete list of independence day events around town that includes parades and fireworks shows. you can also check out which personal fireworks are legal where you live. that's all right there on our home page. it's 6:07. it was a scary scene at an alexandria pool as a 6-year-old boy was found unconscious and not breathing. but thanks to somewhat row hero lifeguards, the boy survived. >> i was standing by the pump room when i heard her call. >> reporter: this lifeguard says she had one thought. >> my first reaction actually was you can't let this boy die. >> reporter: it happened about 1:30 p.m. she works at another pool but was this this pool for a lifeguard's meeting. >> the child was not breathing when he was pulled from the water and immediately our staff jumped into action and followed

our emergency action plan to begin reviving him. >> reporter: once the child was out of the water, she immediately began cpr with a fellow-guard calling the breaths. the world stood still as she breathed life into the child's body and began turning again only when giant whoosh of water came out of boy's mouth. >> i was so relieved. seeing him come back and seeing him respond, seeing him react, i mean, having a child myself, just seeing somebody come back in, everything's okay and he can go home to his mom tonight, that's really great. >> reporter: this pool has been here for more than 40 years and the hundreds and hundreds of lifeguards who have been trained here have used that responsibility and discipline to go on to college and successful careers. jackie bensen, news 4. >> what an incredible sense of accomplishment. way to go.

6:09. he's been to space. could mark kelly's next job be on capitol hill? the astronaut responds to rumors about a possible career in politics. fruits of their labor. the number of americans the obama administration says have jobs today because of the controversial economic stimulus package. and how much green did white house staffers bring home last year? a look at the salaries inside the west wing when we return.

denny's new tour of america menu. 50 star cuisine. the new tour of america menu. starting at $4.99. only at denny's. america's diner is always open. no holiday weekend off in the casey anthony trial. closing arguments are expected tomorrow. in rebuttal yesterday, process

coutures tried to disprove earlier testimony from cindy anthony. cindy said she made chloroform searches on the house computer, not on her daughter. but two co-workers testified that cindy was at work when those searches were made. prosecutors claim casey suffocated caylee anthony. the defense argues the child accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool. hau lawyers are working today preparing for their closing arguments. lawyers are appealing a judge's ruling that allows prison officials to fork the accused gunman in the tucson shootings to take medication before jared laoughner is being given antipsychotic drugs. since being moved to a prison hospital in missouri, authorities say loughner spit at his lawyer and threw chairs at a psychologist. he pleaded not guilty.

since the tragedy in tucson, the husband of wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords says he is not interested for running for political office. he plans to retire as a nasa space shuttle commandner october. kelly told the national press club here in washington, d.c. his main focus is now to spend more time with his children. the fourth of july isn't until monday, but wall street decided to start the fireworks a little early thanks to its best week in two years. the dow gained almost 600 points this week as traders were encouraged by growth in manufacturing. investors were also reacting to news of greece's debt crisis being temporarily solved. in the end, the dow gained 5 pbs 4% for the week closing above 12,580, nasdaq and s&p 500 did

extremely well gaining 6.2% and 5.6% respectively. for all three, it was their biggest weekly percentage gain since july of 2009. meanwhile a new report shows more than 2 million jobs exist because of the stimulus package. the council of economic advisers say thanks to the stimulus package combined with tax breaks, at least 2.4 million jobs were created. the council was careful with its term nalg, however. it avoided saying that jobs were created or saved. president obama has faced criticism for this deal in the past especially when despite the deal unemployment reached 10.1% in october of 2009. this morning we're learning just how much white house workers are making. the white house says it will pay more than $37 million in salaries for 454 employees this

year. take a look at the break down. about 20 employees takes home a salary of about $172,000, about 30% earn between $100,000 and $200,000 a year. 154 others will take home less than $50,000 this year. and three policy advisers don't get a paycheck. 6:16. maria shriver has officially filed for divorce from arnold schwarzenegger. it comes about six weeks after the former california governor confirmed he did father a child with the former housekeeper. the divorce papers were signed nearly two weeks ago. they cited unspecified irreconcilable differences. the two were mayor pod 25 years. shriver's filing does not show if the couple had a pre-marital agreement, but do state she is seeking spousal support. well, it didn't get quite the attention that will and kate received for their royal wedding -- >> but it was quite the star-studded affair in monaco. prince albert ii married his

long time girlfriend, a former olympic swimmer. the two exchanged vows during a civil ceremony yesterday. the wedding was not without controversy. earlier in the week, there were reports that she tried to skip town on a one way flight to south africa. maybe she was just checking out the honeymoon location. to celebrate, people in monaco had a special treat. there was pink beer for residents and visitors to enjoy. pink matches the color of the national flag. one customer said the beer was great because it had the same elegance as the royal wedding. the creator said, quote, this is the special beer for the special moment of the wedding. you know in french probably sounded a lot more elegant than that. >> kim's here. >> you have nothing say about that.

>> the three of us are sitting here and suddenly i thought let's pull her into the conversation. >> the pink beer would be nice with your pink jacket. >> early, though. >> says you. joking. >> yeah, really, hit me up. it's only 6:18. i'm going to have your weather forecast coming up. straight through that holiday weekend, i'll tell you when we'll see some thunderstorms. all coming up. consumers today have a legitimate concern about the chicken they eat.

they want to know more about how they were raised, what they were fed. we spend a lot of time on the feed because a chicken is what it eats.

[ jim ] this seal verifies we feed my fresh all-natural chickens an all-vegetarian diet including corn, soybeans, and marigolds. we actually ask the usda to come check us. we have never fed steroids or hormones and never will. no blood meal, no meat and bone meal. yuck. no animal by-products. it means when you put my chicken on the table, you know where it came from. it works great on wet or dry skin because it's seriously waterproof and ultra sweat-proof. coppertone protects across 100% of the uva/uvb spectrum. coppertone sport. embrace the sun.

don't be alarmed if you see this low flying plane hovering around. it's a nasa plane doing an air pollution study. for the next month, pilots are flying these specially outfitted research turbo jets over high traffic areas. nasa is working with howard university researchers and local scientists. crews on the ground launched weather balloons to measure surface plus. it will help scientists improve satellites in space. i can see you getting way into that. >> and the one phrase i remember learning in my air pollution dynamics class is the solution to pollution is dilution. isn't that sad? >> the ivy league does rhymes? >> we do. good morning, you guys.

le hot day weekend is upon us, so let me tell that you today will be great and i think our fireworks should be good, too. we have one hurdle to get over and that is your sunday weather forecast. so if you're planning three days here, sunday is the one you'll have to look out for. let's take a look around this morning. it's pretty comfortable outside. we've been blessed with some low humidity despite the heat, we've had highs in the ninth, but it just hasn't felt that hot because the dew points have been so low and the humidity's been low. we're at 68 at reagan national airport. a quiet morning. and a comfortable morning. digital doppler shows that we are dry, we're not worried about any showers or thunderstorms today. so from the mountains and the shan dough a valley to the chesapeake and over to the beaches, you're in good shape to enjoy your saturday weather. here are the numbers. that is 58 at sterling. it is 63 in fredericksburg. down here is where we expect some 92, 93 readings today. up to the north, 55 in frederick.

you got to love it. this is open the window weather in the morning. here are those highs for this afternoon. lots of lower 90s around from d.c. down to upper marlboro. upper winchester will have a high of 90. we have this dry air on top of us for now, but it will slowly erode and we'll notice southerly winds start to bring up the dew points and humidity. if you're out on the bay doing some fishing, this afternoon is not a problem. 86. 87 tomorrow with 50% chance of thunderstorms. and it looks hike the south bay on july 4th as a chance of storms. otherwise it should be a decent weather forecast for you. boaters out there on the bay for your july fourth pretty much from north point and up to the north up towards baltimore and whatnot. here is that high pressure cell keeping us rather hot today. as it heads in to the atlantic, we get south early winds.

sunday in the afternoon we'll have showers and thunderstorms. then it gets pushed to the south on july fourth. a risk for an isolated thunderstorm on monday. i'm calling for a dry july fourth for the fireworks. today mostly sunny. this eeching, we'll stivening, upper 80s. and then by tomorrow morning, some clouds around with a thunderstorm off to our east. but during the day on sunday, that's when we get more storms especially later in the day. 94. there is that july 4th forecast of 92. as we extend the forecast, we'll keep 90s through the rest of the week with isolated storms by thursday. and more on friday. if you have any weekend plans getting out of town, join me on facebook and send me a message and i'll be happy to hook you up with weather for wherever you're going. >> so you've matt call.

a july 4th -- >> a dry fourth, yes. >> i don't know about dry. people did to that. not me. david johnson hoped to get his first win as the nats manager and the nationals looked to end a three game losing streak. >> highlights in your sports minute. good morning. your sports minute begins with baseball. nationals opening up an 11 game home stand last night and davie johnson making his home debut as nats manager. bottom nine, tied at one. he sends matt stairs to the plate to pinch hit. with runners on the corners, he comes up clutch. drives one deep to right. ball game, walkoff win. the nats beat the pirates 2-1 and improve their record to 41-41 and davie john so that gets his first win. in atlanta, jason hayward hit a

two run home run. the braves blank the orioles 4-0. baltimore has lost four straight. day one of free agency in the nhl. caps trade varlomov to the avalanche for a first round pick in next year's draft and a second round pick in either the 2012 or 2013 draft. the 23-year-old varlomov appeared in 59 regular season games and 19 postseason games for the caps. varly gone and gordon signing with phoenix. at for you new guy, halpern return and he brings with him hamrlik and joe ward is signeded to a four year deal. elsewhere, former caps forward signs with the flyers. and in tennis, sharapova in the wimbledon final. you can see the match at 9:00 a.m. here on nbc 4. that's your sports minute.

i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. >> the summer travel season is well under way. simple things you can do to save bucks. >> and the controversial contest at one university that pays homage to the slain al qaeda leader. plus taking control. the new rules the government hopes will keep air traffic controllers awake and alert on the job. [ female announcer ] keurig brews more than just hot coffee.

now you can brew over ice for delicious iced coffee or tea. hot or cold, keurig is the way to brew everyone's favorite cup in under a minute. choose. brew. enjoy. keurig.

welcome back to news 4 today at 6:30. >> the holiday weekend is under way. millions are hitting the roads and air to celebrate. >> but the experts say the number of people traveling this weekend is down drastically compared to last year. michelle franzen explains. >> reporter: the july 4th holiday getaway is on. this year, more than 39 million americans are expected to travel. that's down 2.5% last year. >> it's really all about the sustained period of very expensive gasoline prices which are right now about 80 cents more than they were this time last year. >> reporter: the majority of travelers are still hitting the roads, but this year there is also a shift. despite a jump in ticket prices, air travel is expected to be up

9%. >> it certainly seems that will is a pent up travel demand. people have definitely put their leisure travel on the back burner over the last few years and it appears that they're ready to travel again. >> reporter: when it comes to destinations, orlando still tops the list for families along with national parks and the beach. but whether flying or driving, travel sxermexperts say there a still deals. >> they should be taking advantage of added value deals from hotels. this is free nights, free room upgrades, kids stay free. take advantage of all of those offerings to offset higher gas prices and higher airfare. >> reporter: but for many americans, travel plans are still taking a back seat to concerns over the economy. >> we're going to stay local. things are tight. >> reporter: staying close to home, but still celebrating this fourth of july.

michelle franzen, nbc news new york. if you're driving this july 4th weekend, it will cost you a little bit less to fill your tank. the national average is at $3.55 a gallon. that's about 25 cents cheaper than it was on memorial day. in d.c., the average is at $3.86 a gallon. virginia is way cheaper with drivers paying with $3.42. maryland, less expense expensive with the average about $3.55. and in west virginia, you're enjoying lower gas prices, too, drivers paying $3.58 to fill up. not to be a bummer, but the they're still nearly a dollar more than last year. >> it doesn't stop thousands, though, from hitting the beltway to get away. all those cars combined with continued hot lane construction caused major backups. one family traveling from hershey, pennsylvania to the outer banks, they said that they were traveling no matter what obstacles got in their way.

>> gas prices, we just had to save a little bit more. it didn't change our plans. we just had to plan ahead a little bit more and do some additional saving. >> and be sure you watch your speed. police have added additional troopers to monitor speeds this july 4th weekend. so the prediction is a dry fourth of july, but that doesn't mean dry all holiday weekend long. >> let's check in with kim martucci with a look at our forecast. good morning, yes, it looks like the holiday weekend for the most part is looking good, but there is one day when we expect showers and thunderstorms. right now i have digital doppler up. today is not that day. we have clear skies out there. and the weather will be pretty decent. we are in the 60s in town, but lots of 50s in our suburbs. for july, this is so comfortable this weather. perhaps you've noticed the lower humidity. today a lot like yesterday, but

the humidity will be up just a little bit more so that high of 91 is going to feel a little more like 91. we will keep it mostly sunny for you. i have to talk about those thunderstorms coming our way on sunday and of course the fire work forecast and i'll throw in that beach forecast when i see you in just a little bit. >> we'll see you soon. well, there wouldn't be traditional oohs and aahs in many areas. several cities in the southeast and in the west have actually canceled fireworks because of the risk of wildfires. that goes for public displays and personal fireworks. about a dozen states have drought conditions right now. wildfires already have scorched thousands of miles of land this year. most people seem to be understanding of the precautions, though, but some have actually protested, even challenged the cancellations in court. 6:34. to prevent air traffic controllers from falling asleep on the job, the faa announced new rules to help keep them awake. air traffic controllers can now listen to the radio or read to help them stay awake during

overnight shifts. but only if traffic is light. also they can use sick days or vacation days if they feel they're too tired to work. despite these changes, the faa has still said any air traffic controllers caught napping on the job can be fired. and a man arrested for flying without a valid boarding pass was denied bail during a court hearing. he was caught using someone else's old boarding pass while trying to fly from new york to l.a. it turns out he might have done this before as he was caught with ten other expired passes. authorities are trying to figure out how many times he flew for free. there are also reports he was charged for not paying a train fare in clig several yehicago o ago. we've heard a hot about the federal budget here in washington. the same debate is going on all over the country and threatening to take away a number of services from different communities.

in fact as john yang reports, a showdown has turned in to a shutdown in minnesota. >> reporter: as the holiday weekend begins, minnesota state parks and camp grounds are locked shut. earlier, sarah hanson took her five kids to a park swimming hole. >> we decided to come out here one last time. we heard it was going to shut down and so we got out here to go swimming one more time. >> reporter: also closed, state offices like driver license exam stations, highway rest stops, everyone the state lottery. 23,000 state workers are laid off. it's all because the republican controlled state legislature and the democratic government can't agree on closing a projected two year, $5 billion deficit. like president obama, governor mark dayton says any deal has to raise taxes. >> the republicans insist that inequality continue so millionaires do not have to pay one dollar more in taxes. so far they haven' >> reporter: and like their water counterparts, minnesota

republicans say savings should only come from spending cuts. >> this is about shutting down government for a political purpose. very disappointing. >> reporter: the national conference of state legislature says at least 31 states from hawaii to maine began the current budget season with did he ever sits totaling more than $86 billion. >> the fact that this fiscal crisis affecting state budgets has gone on for well over three years means that the decisions about what to do get harder each progressive year. >> reporter: as the economy improves, there may be different kinds of fights. in south carolina, republican governor nikki haley and republican lawmakers are fighting over where higher than expected revenue should go to restore spending cuts or to cut taxes. a problem many governors and lawmakers would probably love to have right now. john yang, nbc news, chicago. in world news, moammar

gadhafi lashing out against nato threatening to attack europe unless air strikes against his country stop. gadhafi says he will carry out attacks against european homes, offices and families in a message played to a huge pro government rally in tripoli. the long time leader is currently in hiding as the criminal court is hoping to charge him for his brutal attacks against his own people ptd. the death of osama bin laden has been cell celebrated pie many, but the university at pew jab university is sponsoring a literary contest to glorify the leader. the contest organizers run known, but students and teachers believe a conservative islamic student group is behind it. in the past the very same group has been accused of trying to enforce it religious views on the rest of the campus. sometimes attacking students with whom they disagree.

still ahead on "news 4 today," taking the diet out of diet soda. why switching to sugar free soda may not necessarily make it easier to shed some pounds. and can airplanes control the weather some the reason jets can help determine how rough our winter is. [ mr. clopper ] i don't talk to them as much as cindy does... good morning chickens!

[ jim ] you know, that's our business so we want to be the experts in chicken. we're not the status quo. perdue is the first and the only chicken company to have usda-process-verified programs for fresh all-natural chickens. [ jim ] this is an all-vegetarian diet, no animal by-products, no animal fat. [ joe ] we never have used steroids or hormones of any type. it's not gonna happen. [ joe ] and always raised cage free. we set our goals higher than anyone. we're trying to make a better chicken. [ jim ] my dad did, my grandfather did and it's what we do today.

thinking of enjoying a diet soda at a cookout this weekend? you might want to put that can down. listen to this. a study at the university of texas followed nearly 500 adults for a decade. they discovered those who drank diet soda experienced increases in waist size compared it those who don't drink soda at all. having a can here or there will not hurt. the greatest increase was seen in those who had two or more every day. meanwhile if you're a sea pood lover, you are definitely in luck. dealers in maryland say crabs are plentiful and cheap going for as low as $100 a bushel. prices and demand were a little higher in baltimore. decembers spite a brutally cold winter, the catch has been great so far this year, so eat them while you can. the founder of a major restaurant chain based in maryland has died. brice phillips created phillips seafood. he and his wife opened phillips crab house in ocean city in

1956. they opened their first restaurant at baltimore's inner harbor. brice phillips later expanded to 19 restaurants and retail products. a spokeswoman says he died at his home in ocean city yesterday. bryice phillips was 90 years ol. the "today" show is next. good morning, amy. >> good morning. coming up this morning on "today," free on bail. the dramatic new turn in the rape case against democrat sneak strauss-kahn. this morning new details on the maid who prosecutors now say lied about her story. also, the jury awaits closing arguments beginning this weekend in the murder trial of casey anthony. prosecutors say she killed her daughter caylee, but is there must have reasonable doubt to find her not guilty. we'll have a live report from orlando. plus good news for your fourth of july holiday getaway. gas prices are going down. but will those numbers keep

falling? and royal vacation. prince william and princess catherine are in can in a today, part of a trip to north america that will end with a gala in hollywood. we'll have those stories and more when we see you right here on "today." now back to to you. >> we'll see you in a bit. thanks. here's a reason to get up and do some house cleaning this saturday morning. oh, boy. d.c. residents can drop off hazardous waist and old documents for shredding today at the ft. totten transfer station. d.c.'s public works kedepartmen will also have free compost for waist pickup. and there are some people who get very excited about cleaning up closets and getting rid of all stuff. my husband is one of them. >> send him over to my house. you can have a good time. >> and some of your co-workers benefit. i think i got a car seat from that. >> you did. >> i got some great stuff from you. >> a little trailer for the bike. >> yes, so thank you.

all right. so we have to talk about some weather or lack thereof today. i think you'll like the forecast for most of your holiday weekend. it is just about 6:45. we will be right back with your full forecast. we love the sun !

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it seems airplanes could be to blame for extra snow at certain airports. a new report shows planes can cause snow by flying flew certain clouds causing ice crystals and more snow. denver is a prime example as many lower level clouds are punctured causing more snow to

fall than normal. however, one scientist says these clouds are very specialized and it isn't often that planes fly flew them. >> send them through. more snow. i love it. >> yeah? >> yeah. >> interesting. >> denver is a good place to go for that. don't bring it here. are you buying that? >> no, it's not that i'm not buying it it. i had never heard that. i know that contrile clouds are that little stream you see behind the plane. i remember after 9/11 when there was no flying allowed, this was not as many sirius clouds that we normally see. didn't know that about the snow. so i'll have to look into that. great to be here. today will an rain free day. great to see you. happy july 4th, independence day weekend. let's talk about the weather forecast. and which day i think we will see some showers. that would be sunday. until then, enjoy this afternoon. it's going to be fantastic.

right now it is 68 degrees. and the dew point is still comfortable in the 50s. that means humidity 73%, winds out of the north at five miles an hour. otherwise we have lots of 50s here. gorgeous weather in july. trust me, don't see this too often in the district. they's that 36 in fredericksburg and we have 66 down in southern maryland down towards st. mary city. this afternoon we take a trip up to on about 91 with mostly sunny skies. later this evening, clouds will increase. i think we could have a shower or two off to our east. and then we'll see better chances for scattered showers and thunderstorms when you think about your sunday weather forecast. but high pressure is protecting us for now and this is also going to ensure nice weather not just for the bay today, but over at the beaches. ocean city's high, 80. 82 tomorrow. the difference between the beach weather and our forecast is they have better odds of seeing showers and thunderstorms on the july 4th holiday, a 30% chance,

where we have a better chance of see something thunderstorms tomorrow. a 50% chance. here is how the weather will unfold. this high pressure cell will head into the ocean. it will allow our winds to shift to the south. the key to this forecast, those outed southerly winds bring in warmer weather and higher humidity. this front will scoop that up on sunday and provide us with the thunderstorms especially by the afternoon and evening. we will be north of the front on sunday, so i'm thinking july 4th we'll be dry, but it's going to be very close. you folks just south of d.c., southern maryland over to the beaches, and the northern neck of virginia, could still see some thunderstorms on the july 4th holiday. keep that in mind. this afternoon, we take a trip up to the lower 90s. by tomorrow morning, we'll be in the lower 70s with clouds around, but i don't think we see a lot of rain or thunderstorms until later in the afternoon. here is your weather forecast as we extend it, that 50% chance on sunday. july 4th monday, 92. could have a thunderstorm to the

south of us on july 4th. and then as we think about next week, we'll keep the weather pretty much around 90 or so with a chance of storms thursday and friday. bill freeman of falling waters, west virginia facebooked me. he and his family are going to get out on their kayaks and river tubes and do a slow drift down the potomac. doesn't that sound like fun. >> yes, we life ve rk, with lif sure. thank you, kim. >> the latest sign michael vick may be returning to his pre-dogfight popularity. and food fight. as if stuffing your face with burgers isn't ugly now. we'll show how one eating

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experience the eep number differenc only at one of our 400 sleep number stores. of a tr nearly four years, nike resigned michael vick. the company released a statement that said michael acknowledged his past mistakes and we support the positive changes he's made to better himself off the field. vick's lawyer says he wants to use this renewed relationship to help have as positive impact on kids. the nats look for their first win under davie johnson and caps pull off a major raid. >> here's that kesports.

davie johnson told us he got a great night's sleep, ten hours, and he was ready to go. so last night in his home debut, davie makes a gutsy decision and earns miss first victory as nats skipper. davie johnson looking sharp as always. top three is where we start. no score. the bunt is down. ball gets away. a bad throw to first. oh, man. that gets away, too. mike mchenry goes to third and the pirates would take a 1-0 lead one batter later. but in the sixth, first pitch of the inning, he crushes to right. solo home run. we're tied at one just like that. miss fif his fifth of the season. playing well. top seven, still tied at one. two outs and the go-ahead run at second. and check it out here. nasty change-up for strike

three. he strikes out eight. bottom nine, still tied at one. davie johnson sends matt stairs to the plate. batting .132 this season with runners on the corners and the 43-year-old canadian comes up clutch. wa walkoff win for the nats. davie johnson gets his first victory and stairs gets a pie in the face. here's a happy skipper. >> feels great. i've got a great group of guys out there and i thought we were going to score a bunch of runs today. we were swinging the bats better. but it was a great game. loved every minute of it. >> you get in the situation where you want to drive the ball hard and i got a pitch to hit and it was a good feeling. >> a lot of fun at the ballpark. to atlanta, the braves hosting the orioles and, yes, sir, that is one fine hat. super style point for adam jones. no score in the fourth.

guthrie delivers to freeman, drives it to the deepest part of the park, but check out jones. simply glovely. he says thank you very much, my friend. bottom six, still no score. jason hayward up with a man on. adam jones not going to catch this one. crushes it for a two run homer. the braves blank the orioles 4-0. the final. day one of free agency in the nhl and the capitals were busy trading varlomov to the of a large for a first round pick in next year's draft and a second round pick in either the 2012 or 2013 draft. it was initially reported that varlomov would play in russia's khl, but that can't work out. yesterday colorado signed thhimo a 2 1/2 deal. several injuries limited his playing time.

he patterned in 59 regular season games and 19 postseason games for the caps. here's a look at the caps free agent friday. varly gone and boyd gordon signing with phoenix. new guys, halpern returns to the caps. he brings with him hamrlik on defense and joel ward, the caps sign him to a four year worth $12 million. and elsewhere, former caps forwa former signs with the miers. that's your morning sports. i'm that keek der might be. have a great day. a food fight broke out in continually town with the emphasis on fight. >> there wasn't actually food that was thrown, but fists almost were flying. >> sore loser. >> it kept going. look at this. they almost came to blows.

during the eating contest, pete accused dale of leaving food on the table and, therefore, not winning the contest. in the end he took home the title chowing down on 17 burgers in ten minutes. his prize? $3,000 cash and food vouchers. like he needs more burgers. >> so he wasn't the sore loser after all, the sore winner. >> but he was right. first of all, this is disgusting, i'm sorry. >> dipping his hands in those cups and -- >> pulling out somebody else's left overfood. grown men fighting over food. >> wow. have a great breakfast, everybody. we're coming up on 7:00 and we'll be back in 25 minutes with a local news update. >> join us again at 8:00 for a full hour of news this morning. until then, we hope you have a great day.