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veterinarian preparing to turn herself into the police after being indicted on felony charges in her son's death. >> the man some think will take joe biden's place on the 2012 ballot addresses the reports for the first time. >> also here in washington, preparations under way for one of a kind spiritual gathering at the verizon center. good evening. i'm jim betts . >> we begin with the verdict that has stunned america, casey anthony not guilty of murdering her daughter. not since o.j. simpson has one case and one verdict captivated so many people. even casey's own parents appeared to be in shock and rushed out without acknowledging her. the six-week trial included some bombshell allegations, but it took jurors less than 12 hours to make up their minds. that was one of many reasons today's verdict surprised so many. jay gray starts us off from orlando, florida. >> as to the charge of first-degree murder, not guilty.

>> reporter: after more than six weeks of testimony and more than 400 items entered as evidence -- >> as to the charge of aggravated child abuse, not guilty. >> reporter: decision was quick. the jury deliberating less than 11 hours and delivering a resounding message. >> as to the charming of aggravated manslaughter of a child, not guilty. >> reporter: overwhelming nerves shifted quickly to tears and celebration as the verdict was read. at one point casey anthony could be seen saying thank you, but there have always been two different and very distinct aspects to this case. what happened inside courtroom 23. >> she's not guilty. >> not guilty. >> and the reaction outside. >> this is wrong. this is bad. >> reporter: the end was no different. so many who had followed this high-profile case for so long stunned, many angered by the outcome. >> this is no justice. this is incredible. >> reporter: prosecutors jeff ashton and linda drane burdick who said so much during the trial remained silent after the verdict, but state attorney

lawson lamar shared their frustration. >> we're disappointed with the verdict today and surprised. >> reporter: for anthony and her defense team, there seemed to be a sense relief. casy did not murder caylee. it's that simple. >> reporter: their excitement after the decision, tempered they say by the little girl at the center of this tragedy. >> there are no winners in this case. caylee has passed on far, far too soon. >> reporter: it may be the only thing that everyone involved, both inside and outside the courtroom, can agree on here. casey anthony was found guilty on four misdemeanor count of providing false information to law enforcement. sentencing is set for thursday morning with the very real possibility that she could be free by the afternoon. in orlando, i'm jay gray. now back to you. >> the interest in this case has truly been widespread. an nbc employee took this picture on an airman 35,000 feet

up and said an audible gasp would be heard from the people who heard the verdict live. to read reactions from across the country go to nbcwashington.com and search casey. just a few weeks ago there seemed to be a terrible accident, but tonight police believe it's a crime and that a mother deserves felony charges for leaving her child in a hot vehicle. jackie benson is in prince william county now with a report on why there's more to this story. >> reporter: dr. karen murphy was indicted by a prince william county grand jury on charges of felony child abuse. search warrants obtained by insidenova.com indicate dr. karen murphy, seen here on the website for her veterinary practice, accidentally left her son ryan in the car one time before the june 17th incident that resulted in the toddler's death. the warrant claims that in january of this year 2-year-old ryan sat in his mother's minivan

in the parking lot of the caring hands animal hospital in bristow for 20 minute until dr. murphy was alerted by the day care center wondering why she was late dropping him off. five months later the toddler died after sitting in the same minivan in the same parking lot for more than seven hours on a day where temperatures reached 85 degrees. police say dr. murphy only realized that ryan was in the van after she arrived home around 4:00 p.m. child safety expert dr. angela mikelaid says accidents like this can be prevented. >> you should put your briefcase or purse on the floor in front of the child in the back seat. you'll never leave the car forgetting your backpack, your briefcase, your purse >> reporter: organization safekids recommends calling 911 any time you see a child alone in a car, and they advise parents to use technology, set a cell phone or blackberry to remind you to drop off your

child and put a reminder in your outlook e-mail, did you drop off your child at day care and ask your day care provider to call if you're more than a few minutes late. dr. murphy is expected to turn herself in to police tomorrow. jim and doreen, back to you. >> thanks. the police in two jurisdictions are hoping that a new website will lead them to the killer in a cold case in georgetown. the site will try to get information in the 1998 murder of chrkristine merzion who was sexually assaulted and beaten to death on her way back to her dormitory at georgetown university. investigators say they recently used dna to connect her killer to a series of rapes in montgomery county in the early '90s. they hope by posting a composite of the killer they will have similar success to detectives hunting what's called the east coast rapist. a truck fire caused a nightmare commute for drivers on i-66 tonight.

bales of hay on a tractor trailer caught fire. it happened about 1:30 this afternoon. all the westbound lanes of i-66 were shut down west of route 123. the resulting gridlock lasted all the way through the evening rush hour. state police say the hay was very flammable so they had to make sure that it was completely extinguished and removed by backhoes before they could reopen the road. you may have a tougher time hailing a cab in alexandria today. the city suspended 68 taxis from service for failing to get their annual vehicle inspections. that's about 10% of the fleet that serves alexandria. taxi cab operators were notified back in january that they had until june 30th to get their inspections done. those who missed the deadline were allowed to continue providing service during the holiday weekend but are now prohibited from doing so. they are allowed back on the road just as soon as their inspections are complete. >> president barack obama is rejecting a short-term increase

to the debt limit. he's inviting democrat and republican leaders to hammer out a long-term solution. today the president called on republicans to relent on tax increases to help curb the soaring deficit. he also wants democrats to be more flexible with spending cuts. the white house debt summit is set for thursday. the nation will go into default for the first time ever if lawmakers don't have a deal before august 2nd. >> new york governor andrew cuomo is putting rumors to rest. he says he has no plans to become president obama's running mate. speculation has been swirling that he might replace vice president joe biden on the 2012 democratic ticket. cuomo addressed that at a property cap tax event today near buffalo. >> silliness, and we want to stay focused on doing the good work of the people of the state. that's what today is all about. >> cuomo went on to say there's

a lot more to do in new york, and that's what we'll focus on. >> a staffer for congresswoman gabrielle giffords went back to work today for the first time since that shooting in tucson back in january. ron barber is the district director for congresswoman gabrielle giffords' office in tucson. he was shot in the cheek and thigh during a shooting that killed six people and injured a dozen others, including representative giffords. barber is now back at work part time while he continues his recovery. >> still ahead tonight, how thieves are targeting church-goers in northern virginia. >> the dalai lama is here in d.c. coming up, what he and tens of thousands of other buddhists will be doing here at the verizon center for the next 11 straight days. >> for once it's not the "jersey shore" cast members making news in seaside heights. we'll tell what you led to more than 60 arrests there. >> and take two for a local fireworks celebration postponed by the weather last night.

>> it is hot out there. 84 degrees right now with a heat index of 82 at 11:00. that tells you it's going to be a hot day tomorrow and our chances of storms will

>> council member leslie johnson resigned today in the wake of

the corruption accusations. her resignation is supposed to take effect july 31st, but her colleagues want her to step down now so they can hold a special election to replace her more quickly. they voted to strip johnson of her office staff, car and cell phone for the remainder of her team. last week johnson pleaded filth toe destroying a check given to her husband, former county executive jack johnson in a federal corruption probe. >> police are looking for suspects who stole from parishoners and a number of churches during services over the weekend. members of at least three churches in vienna, virginia, had their purses or wallets taken on sunday morning. all the victims left their purses unattended inside unlocked rooms at the churches. police aren't sure if or how the thefts might be related.

>> fourth of july fires, police arrested 67 people and they had to close the boardwalk. not yet clear what prompted all the fights. the cast of "the jersey shore" is filming in seaside heights, but they say they weren't involved last night. seaside heights has also been the site of several music videos including from bon jovi. >> openly aggressive policing. >> and a stolen hit is returned, not on a silver platter but with a note that was

honey, why aren't you playing with your friends? i am playing with my friends. hey, mrs. d... joseph? sarah! it's mommy's turn now. let's go. [ male announcer ] the average home has over four internet-connected devices. we were gonna storm the castle. i love your hair. [ sarah ] thanks i went to your guy. it's perfect. i thought we were storming the castle. [ male announcer ] that's why you need the internet rated #1 for supporting multiple users and devices simultaneously. verizon fios. a network ahead. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-tty/v.

stay tuned. verizon center sees a lot of popular acts, but none may be better known throughout the world than a man that begins prayers and rituals there tomorrow. more from downtown now where the dalai lama is expected to have an extended visit. >> reporter: yeah, jim, in fact this will be the dalai lama's longest visit ever to the nation's capital. he and thousands of other buddhists from all over the world will fill verizon center for 11 straight days. the first time ever that verizon center has rented space for that long. they will be praying. they will be chanting, and they will be learning. outside verizon center, a subtle sign.

inside though workers transform an arena into a solemn space for secret rituals. at least 10,000 buddhists will pray and learn here every day for 11 consecutive days. they will come from 46 countries. >> it is diverse and how important it is, people who are traveling all over the world. >> reporter: it's an annual event that focuses on the teachings of life. it also doubles as a prayer ceremony for world peace. his holiness, the dalai lama, will preside. >> just an amazing inspirational force and just -- it's such a privilege to be in his presence. >> reporter: when melissa and her husband found out the event will be medl held in north america for just the third time ever, they knew they had to be here, so they made the drive from new jersey with their 2-year-old. >> to listen to him and take home something that was missing. >> reporter: this woman didn't

have to travel at all and lives near dupont school and ten years ago became a tibetan buddhist nun. >> rejecting ordinary conventions like hair and jewelry and dancing. >> reporter: for the dalai lama, this will be his first visit to the united states since he stepped down as political leader of the tibetan government in exile earlier this year. some worry his visit will upset the chinese who believe the dalai lama wants independents for tibet. organizers insist it will be about prayer and meditation. >> this is purely a religious event, nothing political. i'm sure you won't even see or hear anyone talking about tibet's struggle. >> reporter: while here the dalai lama will also be celebrating his 76th birthday. he'll be meeting with some top lawmakers on capitol hill, though at this point it is not known whether he'll be meeting with president obama at the white house. from northwest, craig melvin, news 4. back to you. >> thank you, craig. >> the rain may have washed them out yesterday, but tonight

fireworks lit up the sky in tacoma park. hundreds watched a tacoma park middle school. a city grant covered about 40% of the cost. donations made up the rest. >> literally as you zoomed into tacoma park, there was one little shower, that was it. that was all it took for them to cancel the fireworks. the rest of us, our fireworks went off without a hitch. saw a beautiful night last night and a great night tonight if you like it hot and steamy, and that is exactly what we're dealing with out there right now. the current temperature still in the 80s at 11:00 at night. the high temperature today got up to 91 degrees. once again this afternoon, the fifth day in a row with temperatures 90 degrees plus and, yes, i think storms will be on the return, at least a chance for storms will be on the return. don't expect tomorrow to be a washout because it's not going to be that, but you'll see the chance for some thunderstorms. 84 degrees out there right now.

the heat index, 89. that's how it feels outside at 11:00. that's a very warm -- a very warm evening. 80 degrees. look at the radar, really nothing to show you here as far as the rain is concerned. we're not going to see any rain overnight tonight, but this is a frontal boundary down to our south. notice a couple of showers forming along the mountains down here to the south and west, west of charlottesville. more shower activity down in north carolina. this front will move north during the day tomorrow, so it's going to wobble a little bit, and i think will come close enough to our area that we'll see a much better chance of rain that we saw today. tomorrow i do think we'll see a good chance, especially from the d.c. area southward. if you're in southern maryland, a pretty good chance for you. northern virginia, i think you have a good chance. north of d.c. less of a chaps. you can still see a shower or storm but the best chance will be to the south. very warm and very humid once again during the afternoon and

then here comes another front on thursday. thursday i think everybody has about an equal chance of seeing storms. it's only about 40% so once again don't think it's going to be a washout. just be prepared for a quick moving thunderstorms and heavy downpours at times. warm and humid. 74 degrees. tomorrow afternoon, partly sunny, hot and humid with scattered afternoon thunderstorms. temperatures in the upper 82s to low 80s and it will feel like the low to mid-90s with the humidity. your bay forecast tomorrow, not bad at all thinking about getting out there on the boat. 15 on wednesday and 48 on your thursday with a chance for some thunderstorms, and that chance is going to linger wednesday, thursday and friday. pretty much the same forecast. saturday things dry out. temperatures down to about 87 degrees. a little bit in the way of lower humidity and then, yeah, right back into july. 90s next week. >> get used to it. >> get used to it. thank you, doug.

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>> and how dtonight? venus í< how did they do tonight? >> got some fickle nationals fans out there. high quickly they forget. the boo birds were out. one night after scoring the game winning run jayson werth was booed after striking out twice. the nationals have maintained an interesting if not maddening trend. each the nationals' last nine games have come by one run or in extras, including tonight's game due in large part to a cubs mistake early on that yielded two national runs. the nats get the win 3-2 where

first lady michelle obama showed up tonight rallying support for military families. one of the kids threw out the first pitch. take a look at that. the first lady thrilled with his effort. bottom of the first inning now for the game. no outs, bases loaded for laynce nix. he grounds one to the right r!. d be a double play but baker throws it left into left field. wow, that was a gift to make it 2-0. love that teammate support. on the hill a mistake. leaves the pitch out over the plate. he gets all of a two-run shot. that the nats' lead to 2-2. he goes 5 1/3 allowing the two runs though. top of the seventh we go. nats all-star tyler clifford on in relief with the tying run on

second base and gets reed johnson swinging to end the threat. one of four relievers the nationals used tonight to shut the door on the cubs. top of the ninth, the fourth was closer drew storin. with the tying run on first. gets the high chopper off the plate to second and danny espinosa bare hands it and throws to first to end the play. he notches his 21st save and detweiler picks up his second career big-league win. now in arlington, texas. rangers looking to rebound after getting blown out by -- here we go. this is going to help the o's. first batter of the game. j.j. hardy gives the orioles an early lead. crushes it into the orioles bull pen for a lead-off home run. that would be his third lead-off home they are year. the orioles were up 1-0. bottom of the seventh now, 2-1 orioles, runners on the corners for josh hamilton who hits jim johnson's pitch to left field. reimold can't get to it.

a run scores. tries to throw the runner out at third and the ball gets away and elvis andrus comes home to put the rangers up, 3-2. johnson not a happy camper. the rangers go on to beat the orioles, 4-2. the castles open their season at home against the defending champions kansas city explorers who made it tough. venus williams did not have the best performance tonight losing both her singles and women's doubles matches. however, that's why they call it world team tennis. the castles pulled through beating kansas city. venus williams back m the court tonight after being upset at wimbledon, and believe it or not, show was upset again tonight in the women's single set. kansas city kristina mchale, serving on set point in the near court. venus' return goes long. mchale wins it 5-4.

venus williams eventually puts venus wihanks. qventually puts

there's a new campaign to fight unlawful police conduct. one of the largest latino u'"vlaints 0i restaurant is clucking along again in rockville now thatlett

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verizon fios. a network ahead. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-tty/v.

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[ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ the new miss south carolina has revealed a stunning part of her journey to the crown. she lost 110 pounds before she entered the pageant. she showed off a pair of size 18 jeans she used to wear. she says becoming a beauty queen wasn't her initial inspiration. her main goal was to get healthy. seems to have paid off. in addition to the crown, she also won the preliminary swimsuit competition. >> good for her. >> yeah. >> g