you can see where the roots have parted and it burned, a and -- >> emotional sunday for one congregation. lightning struck their church igniting a devastating firetonight, though, they are vowing to rebuild. good sunday everyone. i'm craig melvin. first, though, potential for severe weather. much of our area is under a severe thunderstorm warning now. kim martucci is live in the

weather center. >> a severe thunderstorm warning in effect until 7:00, that includes washington, d.c. and prince georges county. but the cluster of storms moving towards up is up in the north and west. the warning on those storms includes montgomery and fairfax that goes until 6:15. you folks in howard count vi a tomorrow warning until 6:30. these storms are generally moving to the south and east, anywhere between 20 and 30 miles an hour. the whole area is under a severe thunderstorm watch until midnight. i'm tracking these storms and will have your detailed holiday weekend forecast coming up in just a few minute. craig, back to you. >> thanks, kim, appreciate that. sunday services were not the same today for a small maryland congregation in mt. airy. many awakened to the sounds of strong storm, then word spread lightning had hit their church and it caught fire. members are determined to rebuild. >> the church was built in 1888,

and it's all we've had -- a small congregation. >> reporter: mark is a lifelong member of this methodist church. it's hard for him to talk about what happened sunday morning. >> when we got there, you could see where the roof it parted and the steepleburned. >> reporter: only hours before services, firefighters arrived to find the church on fire. they believe lightning from a strong line of storms overnight hit the steeple causing extensive damp to the building. >> we see the damage done inside of that building, it just takes your breath away to realize that it is nothing but just -- debris everywhere. >> reporter: the fire didn't stop services for members of marvin chapel. about two miles down the road, members of another congregation lent them some stakes.

marvin chapel services will take place at nearby prospect united methodist until repairs are finished. member, confident they'll get their church back. >> i'm hoping that we will rebuild, and serve the community, and i'm sure we will. we don't give up easily. >> it's a building and we recognize that. it's the people that make the church what it is today. and we know god will provide. he always has. >> reporter: reporting from mt. airy, news 4. >> that church is working to get contractors and insurance adjusters in to assess damage. members say they probably won't have a financial estimate until after the july 4th holiday. an emotionally charged day in closing arguments in the casey anthony murder trial. after six weeks of testimony and evidence, the prosecution and defense got one more chance with the jury today. jay gray is outside the courthouse in orlando. >> reporter: their attorneys now will present their final

arguments. the final day began with a montage of pictures of caylee anthony and outlining what he described as a web of lies that led to the little girl's death. >> casey anthony may change her lies until they absolutely cannot be maintained anymore. >> reporter: ashton laid out the day-by-day narrative. >> she knew that that night she would be in the arms of her boyne friend and caylee would be dead. >> reporter: casey anthony, first shaking her head then turning away and crying as pictures of caylee's remains were shown to the jury and the prosecution described the scene. >> this is the bag that caylee was found in. this is what, i guess you could say this was her coffin. >> reporter: after a little over an hour, defender jose baez got his chance to refuse the state's case. >> the strategy behind that is, if you hate her, if you think she's a lying, no good slut, then you'll start to look at this evidence in a different

light. >> reporter: he says it was based on emotion and bias instead of facts. >> reallies coot question as it relates to manslaughter, child abuse and murder charges that you're going to be presented with, is how did she die? >> reporter: using photos and poster boards -- >> this is outrageous. >> reporter: and going after several states' witnesses by systematically beginning to question evidence and key elements of the prosecution's case. as the tension and emotion grew in the courtroom, it changed from legal to personal. baez lashing out. >> this laughing guy or whether it's myself. >> objection vgtsz it's outburst and anger delays think high-profile trial. jay gray, nbc news, orlando. exxon a cleaning up more than 40,000 gallons of crude oil in the swollen yellowstone river tonight. a pipeline near yellowstone national park in montana ruptured late friday night. more than 100 people were

evacuated but since allowed to return home. workers were able to fix the pipeline but the oil spread fast and environmental officials are trying to figure out how bad it is. >> you know, i don't know if it's getting in my water system. you know, i could smell it in the house through the sump pump as it's pumping out from underneath. my home's in jeopardy. that's eating at me. >> certainly we want to protect the environment, you know, have a clean river for all of us to enjoy. we all live here, and so we're doing everything we can. >> we still don't know what caused the pipeline to burst. it was last inspectsed two years ago. heavy rain triggered mudslides in southwest china and at least eight people are missing there. authorities say the group was in a chemical plant when one of the mudslides hit. a major highway connecting southwest and northwest china was also shut down when a downpour of rocks and mud hit five different sections of the roadway. chinese authorities are also looking for 40 missing miners

after two coal mine accidents in southern china. back here, a serious crash sut down a main thorough fair in gaithersburg for several hours today. it happened just before 10:00 this morning along great seneca highway near an intersection of muddy drive. a car veered off the road and into woods. the driver was taken to the hospital. and great seneca highway was closed until late this afternoon. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. still ahead, star as rives n washington to prepare for the capital fourth. >> how about a capital third? everything the fourth has except the fireworks. details coming up. also, coming up at the top of the class with a very special report. and about who bought that winning lot with ticket worth more than $100 million? and in sports, get out your gloves. trying to

prince william and katy rived in quebec city as part of their 11-day north american tour. the duke and duchess of cambridge set off on a canadian naval ship, and watching a fireworks display as they departed. arriving in quebec this morning, the newlyweds visited a community center and city hall,

met by supporters and protesters as well. the couple will visit prince edward island. the town of herndon, virginia, is all abuzz. not because of cookouts and even the forth of july. the winning ticket for the $100 million megajackpot was sold at the giant food store in elvin lane. the shoppers say the news that there's a new multi-millionaire somewhere in northern virginia has everybody talking. >> yeah, my mother calm immediate yesterday and told me she'd heard on the news, i guess, that someone had large a large amount. the mega millions and asked if it happened to be here. happened in herndon, hoping it was me. i had to disappoint her and tell her unfortunately it wasn't. >> the lucky winner hasn't come forward. they will have to wait to do that until tuesday, because the lottery office, of course, is closed tomorrow for the fourth of july holiday. stars braving the heat and humidity, possibly storms as well. all getting ready for one of

biggest july fourth celebrations in this country. that story coming up. and once again, most of the area under severe thunderstorm watches right now. kim march tuchsy tracking the storms and your updated fireworks forecast on what makes the sleep number store different?

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the performers breathing a steamy summer day here in the national capital, getting ready for a fourth of july tradition. not a rehearsal, but visitors got quite a show.

live at the capitol with that story. >> reporter: you might say this is a third of july tradition. i talked to folks who make it a regular thing to do, check out the rehearsal. if you look at the trees on the west lawn you can see some of the folks starting to show up for this. of course you don't have the fireworks and dress rehearsal, but it's still a good time. the third of july can be as much of an event as the fourth. run-through, rehearsals can be tedious. stopping and starting, but for spectators, a rare opportunity to take it all in. >> you get to see the songs done like two or three times. you get all the kinks out. it was great to see steve martin over here earlier. you know. and it actually allows you to be here without the crowd. >> reporter: for the folks who make it happen, it's not just an event. after decades of doing this, the executive producer says it never gets old. >> hundreds of thousands of people, great entertainers.

it's a wonder if public. >> reporter: and spontaneity. dancing straight from "dancing with the stars" worked out these moves on the fly. >> a little jive. in two minutes. >> we usually come prepared. not something we usually do. >> reporter: and, of course, it's nice to hear a little more harmony. a little more of people who actually play together well on capitol hill. >> we watch the special every year. be here at the nation's capital and be leer at the capitol building and singing songs that really mean so much. i couldn't imagine spending the fourth of july anywhere else. >> reporter: and it is the fourth of july. let's say there's a precedent for having a good time on the grass. >> that's what john adams said we ought to be 235 years ago. have a big party. fireworks and celebrate this as the most important day of the nation. >> reporter: now, if you take a look behind me, folks are starting to gather on the west lawn and weather permitting, the dress rehearsal, it staunlts at

8:00 runs to 10:30. the firsttiveties start tomorrow at about 8:00. jimmy smits hosted but little richard, steve martin, the million dollar quartet. josh groban. a plethora of people to come down here and see. so weather permitting, make it your. live at the capitol. back to you. >> reporter: appreciate that. folks, on this holiday weekend you do not have to go far to get et best seafood in america. maryland's chesapeake bay has the best in the land. that's according to a ranking compiled by the chiefflight.com. maryland's eastern shore was picked for the countless places to get what the website calls "the freshest crabs in the unt country" coming in second, batten rooub for its crawfish, boston maine for oysters, georgetown for lobster and charleston, south carolina picked for its atlantic shrimp.

>> hmm. >> and out of the capital, do we think the weather will affect the festivities tonight? >> it will. the people out there now probably can't hear me. i wanted to get word to them and say, they need to find some health isser to g shelter to get into. a severe thunderstorm includes d.c. and the mall until 7:00, and that means this storm that we've been tracking this afternoon will be affecting them with heavy rain and definitely the lightning. off to other severe thunderstorm warnings and watches i want to talk about. start with the graphic. everywhere in pink, where we're talking about, that's it's severe thunderstorm watch that goes until midnight. be on the lookout for severe weather. the warning, counties shaded in orange. what i'm tracking with digital doppler. closer. including fairfax county, montgomery county, prince georges county, city of alexandria, this thunderstorm warning until 7:00. the storm moving southeast at 25 miles an hour.

now, you folks up in howard county, eastern montgomery county, this storm and the one that also includes rundal county, until 7:15. that storm moving east at 35 miles an hour. we don't want to leave out the viewers to the west. no warnings on the storm. upper ville, north foxville county right in between barriville. all right. led back to the maps. busy weekend. we had a high of 92 today before the storms came in. we had the early morning storms as well. we did have that nice low today i was talking about this morning, where we could sneak in the highs up into the 90s with the sunshine. here we are right now. this is going to drop quickly when the storm gets here with the hour in d.c. we're going to drop down to 72 tonight and the storms get suppressed to the south. tomorrow afternoon, i think we'll have pretty much a rain-free day. isolated storms towards fredericksburg and southern maryland. how the computer model has it. the cloud cover begins to

dissipate during the overnight and the july 4th looks pretty good. a caution. there could be a stray storm to the south. at the beach, 85 tomorrow pap 30% chance of a thunderstorm, and as for the fireworks, i am making the call. going to be dry, 84. very warm and humid. in writing, this is how it goes. the severe thunderstorm watch in effect until midnight. temperatures quickly dropping down into the 80s as the storms roll in. by the morning, mostly cloudy. the storms diminishing and then we'll keep it partly cloudy and hot tomorrow with highs back in the 90s. more storms fire back in here, though. we'll have that little rep pit tomorro respite tomorrow. the end of the weekend into next weekend, we don't shake free of everything until sunday, craig. we'll be watching the storms throughout the evening. if anything becomes severe i will, of course, run the weather call to keep everyone updated. >> appreciate it. still ahead, the sweet taste of victory at wi

baseball's all-star game around the corner. >> tuesday, july 12th. out in arizona. chase field. i'm going to be there. i'm pumped. >> are you? sending to you arizona? >> yeah. who else is going to be there, clifford an all-star. the 26-year-old righty named to his very first mid-summer classic. clifford certainly deserving. his 57 strikeouts ranked second

among relievers in major league baseball, and a second all-star. first baseman michael moore among the national league players on the ballot from the fans. 46 rbis. until f until 4:00 p.m. thursday to vote. get it done. when clifford found out he made the all-star team. pretty shocking, pretty awesome. >> yeah. this was not awesome. pirates lead 2-0 facing lisle overbay. and andrew mccutchen. pirates up 3-0 in the first. top two, more trouble. 5-0. mccutchen up way man on, driving into right center. jones scores, and marquise lasted an inning and a third. gave up six earned run. top four. 8-2 pirates. and pitching to mccutchen. on the move.

dives on the warrning track and makes the catch. see it again. sensational snag. unfortunately, there was no rail today. the pirates had 16 hits in the game. they crushed the nats 10-2. >> feel like they were running to the edge and coming out. i thought it was a good game and the we got way behind. we got nine hits. we've been bet perp it's one of those things. you got to stay optimistic. i don't like to get beat. it wasn't a fun day. >> nope. not fun. in atlanta, orioles against the braves. representing baltimore in arizona, leiter's first all-star game. and facing brandon beachy and putting a good swing on it. get out, ball. it's out. just over for a solo home run. the first of his career. os take a 1-0 lead. former virginia cavalier. man on, and putting the pitch in

the wheelhouse. proctor wasn't happy with the pitch. two-run home run. third in two game. 18th for him this season. orioles beat the braves 5-4 and snap a five-game losing streak. tennis. novak djokovic garntjokdjokovic take over from nadal. today he provided early fireworks validating his number one spot by taking down nadal in the wimbledon final, in the all england club. youemember this guy? u.s. openory mcilroy in the house looking sharp. and his record, 47-1 this year. serving in the far court, novak on the run. check out the drop shot. awesome. nadal wins the first two sets 6-4, 6-1. djokovic wins the first, 6-4, 6-1. he's pumped. nadal rips one off the net. djokovic, overhand loby.

sweet. a lob. nadal, tries the trick shot between his legs. nifty, but not effective. nadal wins the third set. this day belonged to novak djokovic. going for the championship. serving in the far court. 125 miles an hour, ball in the corner. nadal's return is long and djokovic beats nadal, first of his career win at wimbledon. his family loving it. he takes the grass from center court. on a gluten-free diet. that's okay. the best tennis player in the world. >> it is -- a lifetime goal that i had and i achieved it, and i will definitely come back for more. you know? now that i know that i'm the best player in the world, it makes my heart full. you know? it makes me believe that all the hard work that i put into over this, these 20 years is paying off right now, and i'm still

young. i still want to win more grand slams. >> novak djokovic wins his third grand slam title, beating nadal five straight matches. and quickly here -- >> let you go. one more severe thunderstorm warning now in effect for warren, clark, louden in northern virginia until 7:00. these storms moving southeast at 20 miles an hour. a lot of lightning with this. tracking it throughout the evening and keeping you updated as the night goes on. stay with us, if you are home tonight. "nbc nightly news" is next. see you back here at 11:00. that's the new.