i'm barbara harrison. it's tuesday, june 26th, 2012. right now firefighters are calling a group of teens heroes. the teens helped tell that their homes were on fire early this morning. as you can see from the damage, had they not been there, some of those residents may not have made it out of the building alive. a fire broke out around 1:00 this morning on gate hill place. that's where we find erica gonzalez. she joins us live with more for us now. can you tell us more about what

happened there this morning? >> hi, barbara, good morning. the teens are being called heroed. they tell us they just happen to be at the right place at the right time. >> we were just long boarding. it's what we do every night. >> reporter: 17-year-old and herdon high school student told me and his buddies were skateboarding around 1:00 a.m. when a fire broke out in these fires broke out. the trio quickly snapped these pictures. >> as soon as we got here, we were overhearing some lady that was just screaming to get everybody out of the house. >> reporter: that lady is tamra newman. >> three teenage boys that happened to be riding their long boards home. >> reporter: together the group ran door-to-door urging people to escape. >> i came out. >> reporter: by that time the fire had spread. >> and the chimney had engulfed the entire chimney and reaching out like hands across the building. >> reporter: it charred ten condos and has left nearly 20

people displaced. >> it was more like the heat of the moment. it wasn't like, i didn't even think it through. >> reporter: the teens worked to pull an elderly couple from their home. >> i had to nearly drag her out of the house and, you know, we got her out. >> reporter: another woman, they say, that could hardly understand english. >> everybody, as well. pets are accounted for and all people are accounted for and, you know, things can be replaced, people cannot. >> reporter: it took nearly 100 firefighters about two hours to completely extinguish the blaze. fortunately, only one person suffered minor injuries. >> because we probably should put the kids and they probably saved some lives tonight. >> reporter: the cause of the fire is still being investigated. meanwhile, detectives tell us that they estimate the total cost of the damages to be at around a million dollars. live in restin. breaking news in fairfax county right now. a man is holed up inside a house

at falls church and has been there nearly 19 hours now. the standoff with police is happening in falls church. tracee wilkins is there live with the latest there. good morning. >> good morning, barbara. as you can see here behind me, police are still here on the scene and still barricading more than six blocks here of hillwood avenue and falls church. as you said, yes, this situation has been going on for some time and we are quickly approaching the 24-hour mark. police say an armed man who's barricaded himself inside his home is communicating with them, but refuses to leave the house. and is still a danger to his neighbors. the only real movement in and out of the six-block barricade zone has been from officers relieving other officers. many people who live within this community were not allowed to return to their homes yesterday

evening and they stayed somewhere else. today they came back hoping to get in. >> have to go inside my house to get my prescription for high blood pressure because yesterday i didn't take it. >> reporter: her grandson was left at the barricade while police escorted her to get her medication. she was one of the few allowed inside the hot zone. >> it's a little frustrated to find it happening and have zero information. >> reporter: patience and time are running out. she has a plane to catch. >> in fact, we have a flight to catch this morning, so, i don't think a cab is going to be coming to my house. just lugistically nice to get more information about what's going on. i understand they're doing everything they can. >> reporter: this morning, commuterers were rerouted and more streets were closed off in an effort to keep drivers safe. city fl os say they are aware of the inconvenience this has all caused. >> disturbs their daily routine and we understand that, but the handling incident in the most efebtive way is the most important thing we need to do.

>> reporter: now, falls church police just updated me and said that the last time they spoke with this man was about ten minutes ago. so, they have been in constant communication with him. now, later or earlier yesterday evening there were some gunshots fired from inside of the house. no one was injured outside. but after that, they did decide to throw in a device to try and do something to the air inside of that home, maybe force the man out of the house and that did not work. since then, they have been in communication with him on and off trying to get him to turn himself in, but they want to make sure that all of this is done safely and, in the meantime, folks that live in this area are being told to stand back. reporting live in falls church, i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. >> thank you, tracee. and taking a look outside right now looks pretty nice and it feels fabulous. tom, what a great start to this day. is it going to last? >> it is a perfect june morning. a wonderful respite from our wonderful high heat and humidity

in late june. felt like autumn earlier this morning, thanks to high pressure that has been pushing down from ontario, canada. thank you ontario, we love you. they sent us this gorgeous weather here and it's been dry and comfortably cool and a few clouds drifting down across pennsylvania now and the latest view from space and otherwise a lot of sunshine and all the areas in yellow are now into the 70s. the areas in green, they're in the 50s and 60s and still cool out at the mountains. this morning, many of the high locations got down to the 30s now into the low 60s there. now, 74 at reagan national. and for the rest of the afternoon, absolutely gorgeous. sunshine, low humidity and a bit of a wind, a bit of a breeze coming in out of the northwest around 10 to 25 niles per hour. climb into the low 80s by mid-afternoon and back to the 70s by sunset. in florida, heavy rain. latest radar showing bands of tropical showers rolling across florida and the heaviest rains

now in northern florida. and that is where my colleague jeff morrow is joining us now from apalachicola. jeff, what is it like there now? >> well, it actually improved here over the last, i'd say, 24 hours. in fact, it has improved greatly. now, over the weekend, as debby was approaching, tremendous wind here on sunday and it did a lot of tree damage, knocked down some power lines. there was actually a barge that got loose out in aploach aplatc bay. yesterday i thought it was going to start to wind down, but debby is moving so slowly that we got a foot of rain here and, actually, some areas just to the east of us ended up with over two feet of rain. you can imagine what kind of flooding that's doing right now. going to take a while for that watter to drain out. in fact, people in the neighboring county are being advised not to travel because a lot of the roadways are impassable. best to just stay at home.

debby is still slow moving and it may affect parts of florida for the next couple of days. back to you. >> thank you, jeff. quiet and incredible storm. those rain totals are astonishing. our forecast here taking on a big change towards the weekend. all the details on that coming up in just a couple of minutes. barbara? >> all right, tom, thank you. and we're going to check on the midday traffic now, our first look this mid-day. here's danella sealock. good morning. >> good morning. busy morning. another accident for you to look out for. if you're traveling the outer loop of the freeway, crash there blocks two of your right lanes and got to stick to the left and delays are just right around route 1 and then jammed even passing i-95 but you're nice and clear as you make your way past new hampshire avenue. let's head over to virginia and here the 14th street bridge and bridge work continues, again, today and blocks the right lanes here. but it's not bad as far as your volume. stick to the left to get by. traveling 395 northbound. it looks good. here at 52 miles per hour and 13

minutes to drive from the beltway to the 14th street bridge. barbara, back over to you. >> thanks, danella. this morning, police in fredericksburg are asking for your help in finding two burglars. a tattoo art aest invited two men to his charles street home on saturday to discuss tattoo work. the homeowner says the men came back on sunday night with guns. they got away with cash, tattoo equipment and a video game syst system. no one was hurt. > this is a look at the tattoo artist drawing. the first suspect has a tattoo of a clown on his right forearm and a dog on his collar bone. the second suspect has a tat few of a skull on his right arm and angel on his left arm. if you know these men or have any information about this robbery, please, call police immediately. well, it's decision day for the university of virginia's board of visitors. the board is meeting this afternoon to discuss whether to reinstate theresa sullivan as the school's president.

many of the students and faculty are furious the board forced sullivan to resign earlier this month. less than two years after she took the job. thousands of them rallied on the charlotteville campus on sunday. adding to the pressure, a threat from governor bob mcdonald to replace board member physical the controversy isn't revolved this week. our time right now ten minutes after 11:00. coming up on news 4 midday. robert griffin iii reportedly blackmailed. details of the federal investigation. on the lighter side, what one father did for his daughter. we have the wild ride on video. you'll want to see this. stay with us, we'll be right back.

robert griffin iii is dealing with more than just adjusting to the nfl these days. the fbi says rg3 was also the victim of a recent extortion plot. agents arrested a former baylor

basketball player last week. he was arraigned yesterday. they say he threatened to release derogatory information about the redskins new quarterback unless he was paid. the redskins aren't commenting on this case and neither is griffin. a warning before you head outside, mosquitos in northern virginia have tested positive for the west nile virus. according to the "washington examiner" prince william county officials say mosquitos tested positive for the disease in woodridge and fairfax county officials say they four four groups of mosquitos that tested positive. maryland officials have not yet testing mosquitos. symptoms include fever, headache and nausea, which can develop within two weeks after being right now in richmond, power crews are working to restore service to some 60,000 customers after a wicked wind and rain

storm. home video posted on youtube shows the strain from last night's storm. it packed winds reaching 70 miles per hour and even blew rain sideways at new kept airport. the wind threw around debris at the minor league stadium. people there said the storm moved in and left pretty fast. they ran for shelter under a covered concourse and in bathrooms. >> it dropped out of the sky and i told them, we need to get to cover now. >> the storm also knocked several trees down. some on to houses. at one point, 100,000 people didn't have electricity in that area. and prince george's county is surveying storm damage to determine if it can apply for federal aid. 600 people had to evacuate their homes because of the damage, so far inspectors have deemed almost two dozen structures unsafe. some people who lived in the hard-hit area have been staying at a shelter set up at the high

school. >> that was quite a storm in some areas. we talked about it yesterday, tom. in richmond, wow, what do you think that was a little tornado out there? >> that was just a down burst from a thunderstorm and they said it only lasted a few minutes, but the force of a tropical storm that lasted, thankfully, only a few minutes and you can see that horizontal rain coming and those winds were 70, 80 miles per hour. thankfully, things have settled down and it is -- >> beautiful today. >> wonderful day just gorgeous with the low humidity in place and our sky is absolutely beautiful. flags are flapping in a nice breeze coming in out of the north and west at around 20, 25 miles per hour. there's a live view from our hd city camera overlooking washington on this tuesday, the 26th day of june. few puffy clouds have popped up and the low humidity in place and temperature right now at reagan national with the sunshine is at 74 and the dew point is a comfortably dry 45. when the dew point gets to around 70, that's when you have

sh sweltering humidity. it is extremely dry and wind out of the north around 10 to 20 and occasionally gusting to 25 miles per hour. here was our sunrise this morning and i called this morning junetober because it felt more like a morning in october than june. the record low for this date, the 26th was set back in 1979 and got down to 56 and only came within four or five degrees of the record low at reagan national this morning got down to around 60 there and then, yes, on the 30th back on 1919 and even late june in 1902 got down to 46 degrees. these are all the daily records. it can get chilly in june and the view from space over the last several hours showing a gorgeous, clear sky here. no clouds and just a few puffy cumulus clouds around and the temperatures, still, very comfortably cool and a nice breeze and low to mid-70s now and montgomery county, prince george's county and it's only in the low 70s there. absolutely gorgeous.

and in the southern prince george's and down towards charles county, low to mid-70s as is also in aural aingten, fairfax county. shenandoah valley still 60s in a few locations to near 70 northern neck and the bay and great weather for sailing on the bay. winds gusting around 25 miles per hour and through the rest of the afternoon, we'll have the sunshine with the low humidity and we'll peak in the low 80s perhaps around mid-afternoon and then drop back down into the 70s towards sunset, which today is at 8:37. and then it will continue to drop back down to the mid-60s by midnight with the low humidity. so, another cool evening. then by dawn tomorrow, the upper 50s and another cool start as we get going on wednesday. we'll have the low humidity still in place and diminished winds and tomorrow absolutely gorms. highs reaching low to mid-80s and should be great beach and pool weather. you'll definitely need sunblock today and tomorrow with the dry air and high sun angle and diminished wind tomorrow. then the heat is on, it's going to be building on thursday.

but, still not too humid thursday, but the big-time humidity comes right back in. we'll be sweltering. high heat and humidity it looks like for friday into the weekend, first part of next week each day into the 90s and morning low 70s and slight chance of some sthoorms on frid afternoon and evening and only a small chance saturday and sunday. but the big story is, enjoy this why you can. >> sure is nice, beautiful out there. we're all enjoying it. thanks a lot, tom. >> ahhhh! never again, grace elizabeth! oh, my gosh! >> oh, the things fathers will do for their kids. more than 400,000 people have watched this video of a terrified dad riding a roller coaster with his daughter who doesn't seem quite as scared as her father is. the ride is at the dollywood amusement park in tennessee and it's called the screaming swing.

you can see why. this fearless father was such a good sport, he even stuck around for a second spin on the screaming swing, believe it or not. well, what do you think of that, danella? have you been on the screaming swing? >> i love how he calls out her full name in fear. that's the true statement of a father. but it's awesome that he got back on the ride with her, right? >> i agree. >> all right, let's head over to the roads and have good news for you. if you're traveling the outer loop of the beltway in maryland on i-95 and earlier crash there. out on the roadway and hopefully you'll start to see some relief, but for now still slow at college park as you make your way on the outer loop and heads towards i-95. over to i-270. this was a mess earlier this morning, but it looks great. here's a live look at 270 as you make your way southbound all the way to the lane divide, you look great. northbound, no issues, no accidents, no delays at all. if you're taking the metro, guess what, i'm not seeing any work slowing you down and metro

is not reporting any delays. all looks good on the rails, as well, barbara, back to you. >> thanks, danella. time is 11:20. what you need to know before spending the day out there in the sun. summer skin care tips to keep you healthy and safe. first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

summer is here and many people go to the beach and other places and a lot of us are out running in the morning in the sun. a few things to protect your skin and body if you're going to get out there in the heat. dr. cheryl burgess is here with us. something you feel is probably one of the most important things for people to know. >> also, because the holidays coming up, people are taking off. the number one thing you should do for the summer, summer skin tip is sunscreen. i have a number of patients who come in the office, they're complaining about sun spots and sunburn and all these things and

they forget their sun screen. >> is there one particular type or something we should look for? >> that's what i want to explain today because the fda is going through a change with the company as far as how the labeling of spa or sun prote protectant. it's very confusing and the deadline was this month and they extended to december. a sun block and sun screen have different ingredients in it. i have some examples up here of some that are labeled sun block but there's no sun block ingredient in them. some are, this one here, in particular, doesn't even say sunscreen or sun block. >> body lotion. but it says it has an spf -- >> but it's not telling the consumer if this is a sunscreen or sunblock. >> what is it? >> basically this is both, actually. so, they haven't labeled it. but a sunblock is going to have titanium dioxide and zinc oxide

in it. the other preparations which are sunscreens have avoben zone and other ingredients in it. one way to know which one you really need is think of a screen and a door, a block and a screen and the screen will let sun light through, a wooden door will not. so, a sunblock is going to protect you more than a sunscreen. that's what you want to look for. avobenzone is in most sunscreens. >> how do you know which one is what you need? does it have to do with your skin coloring or what? >> well, not necessarily. say for instance you're on a medication that makes you sensitive to the sun or you have a medical condition or you have precancers, you want to block the sun totally. >> what about babies, children? >> well, it's not recommended for babies. in fact, it's recommended that you don't have the baby in the sun. that's it, period. >> at all.

>> so, sunscreens are usually labeled for two years and up. >> but sunblock generally for people who are very, very fair skinned who burn easily. sun block. >> sunblock. >> we now know two things you can look for on the product to see which one you're getting, block or screen. >> right, correct. that's where the confusion lies. so, it should be clear definitely by the end of the year. now, bug bites. very common. because we're outside and it's the holiday. >> just talking about west nile vir virus. >> yes, mosquito bites and what do you do? you're itching. so, hydrocortisone cream. this is just an example of one. but cortisone 10 and those are 5% which are safe also for children. so, if you have an itchy, nasty mosquito bite it helps to use twice a day a hydrocortisone

cream. >> last year you brought us some boxes and turned on and kind of made a buzz. >> that's made by off and you attach it to your belt and it's an insect repellent that has a cartridge on the inside and a little fan and motor and it actually kind of puts a shield around you of an insect repellent and i love it, i used it for the second summer in a row now. >> spray repellents are good to have, as el. >> yes, spray repellents, as well. >> got to get ready for those bugs and the hot sun out there. >> good to see you. >> good to see you, too. our time now 11:28. coming up in the next half hour of news 4 midday. >> me and my brother are home alone and these two guys are in our backyard trying to break in. >> we hear a teen's 911 call for help when intruders break into her home. then the supreme court struck down key parts of arizona's controversial immigration law. how the ruling is affecting the presidential campaign trail. plus, enjoy the cool weather

while it lasts. tom is back to tell us just how much longer we can enjoy it. much lo[ male announcer ]it. are you paying more

and more and more for cable -- and enjoying it less? upgrade to verizon fios internet, tv and phone for just $99.99 a month, guaranteed for a year with no annual contract. or choose a two-year contract and get $200 back and a two-year price guarantee. fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers america's fastest, most consistent, most reliable internet. and now, it's faster than ever. you get speed you can count on... even when everyone at home is online at the same time. plus, the best tv picture quality.

tired of cable's inflated bills? get fios for just $99.99 a month for a year with no annual contract. or choose a two-year contract and get $200 back, plus a two-year price guarantee. call 1.866.685.fios. that's 1.866.685.3467. fios. a network ahead. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v.

right now on news 4 midday. a man is holed up inside a home in falls church and has been there for 20 hours. the standoff is happening in falls church. the armed man barricaded himself inside his home alone. officers have been in communication with him, but consider him a danger to neighbors. firefighters are calling three fairfax county teens heroes today. they say the high school students helped alert residents of one condominium complex that the building was on fire last night. well, yesterday's supreme court ruling on arizona's immigration law is dominating the campaign trail now. president obama and mitt romney are reacting to the court's decision to throw out much of the law, but uphold one of its most controversial provisions. nbc's tracie potts has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: the supreme court says arizona can check to see if

people they stop are legal, but it cannot require immigrants to carry paper, stop them from working or arrest them for minor offenses like jaywalking. >> it is going to be fought legally and politically, no question about it. >> reporter: mitt romney and president obama are both courting latino voters. polls show the president has a 3-1 advantage. mr. obama promised to keep fighting to allow children of immigrants to stay here legally. >> i know where i stand on this. i know the choice i make. >> reporter: in a statement, romney said states need more power to secure their own borders. republican rob portman rheumered to be on romney's short list for a running mate, criticized the president for not delivering comprehensive immigration reform. >> this president isn't interested in pursuing something that he indicated in his campaign that he would do in his first year. >> now we wait to see if the high court would uphold the health law, requiring everyone to buy insurance. analysts say both issues may have little impact by november.

>> neither of them are going to be important as the state of the economy in november when voters go to the polls. >> that health care law decision, it's expected on thursday. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. and we're going to check, again, with tom kierein now for the latest on our forecast. tom? >> is this a dream or not? oh, it feels like it and looks like it out there. >> don't wake me up if it is. certainly wonderful weather and a terrific respite from our typical june weather here with high heat and humidity. hang on, that's coming our way in the next couple of days. today and tomorrow absolutely beautiful thanks to high pressure pushing down from canada and in place over the region giving us a gorgeous day with low humidity and lots of sunshine. those areas in green, they're still in the 60s and even a few 50s in some of the highlands in west virginia. but most of the area there in yellow is in the 70s and that includes just about all of virginia and all of maryland and 74 at reagan national and beautiful day at the beaches. in the 70s there and bright sunshine and it is a day for

sunblock as dr. burgess was talking about or sunscreen. same thing tomorrow and on thursday, lots of sun each day and these are the times of year, too, we have the very high sun angle around noon, 1:00, 2:00 is when you'll have that peak burn time. we'll have highs low 80s today with low humidity and winds gusting out of the northwest around 20 to 25 miles per hour and another gorgeous day tomorrow and highs reaching mid-80s and still not very humid tomorrow. getting a little more humid on thursday, but a lot of humidity, in fact, swelteringumidity moving in on friday and in place through the weekend with highs in the 90s each day. might get an isolated storm late on friday and only a small chance over the weekend. that is the way it looks right now. barbara? >> okay, tom, thank you. and let's head out to the roads, again, see how things are moving out there. here's danella. >> barbara, right now watching a crash i-95 northbound at 175. the accident there blocks three of your left lanes and you're

pretty slow if you're traveling northbound. as you approach 32, just 21 miles per hour. got to stick to the right to get by. if you're traveling along i-66, a much better story for you. i-66 at 123. traveling eastbound, no issues there. as far as westbound, as well, you're nice and clear. eastbound, your speed is at about 56 miles per hour. 11 minutes to make the drive from fairfax count ay parkway t the beltway. barbara, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. police identified a body found in northwest washington nine months ago. the remains are lawrence neal jr. and the medical examiner said he was murdered. neals remains were found last september on buweana vista terence. police have not said how he was killed or whether they have any suspects. in less than an hour a special prayer service will be held for the two young boys and their camp counselor shot in southeast washington.

police tell news 4 a man began shooting at another man at 18th and savannah streets. the suspect chased the victim on to 19th street where a group of children were standing. a 7-year-old boy was shot in the foot and an 8-year-old boy was struck in the shoulder. and an a adult camp counselor was also wounded. >> this is just absolutely ridiculous. anybody that would shoot when there's a group of kids coming down the street, regardless of what their issue is or who they're shooting at. open fire in the streets is just ridiculous. >> all the victims are still in the hospital. they're expected to make full recovery. so far no arrests have been made in this case. today's prayer service will be held at the shooting scene at noon today. a virginia gang member accused of running a prostitution ring that recruited high school girls is expected to enter a plea today. justin strom is due in court in alexandria today. he was the leader of a street gang that threatened girls if they refused to participate in a

prositution ring. four other men have already pleaded guilty. a florida sheriff says a 13-year-old girl responded better during a home break-in than many adults would have. she quickly and calmly grabbed her brother, found a hiding spot and then called 911. >> me and my brother are home alone and these two guys are in our backyard trying to break in. >> we run into the closet and shut it immediately. >> they're in my brother's room right next door. please come right now. >> that was a very scared alexis last thursday when three guys broke into her house. she was home with her 10-year-old brother at the time and the two hid in a locked closet and stayed on the phone with dispatchers until police arrived. the sheriff awarded the kids at a news conference yesterday and said he was impressed by their courage. alexis said she just wanted to keep her brother safe. >> well, my head was kind of everywhere, but i was trying to

make sure that we were safe and try not to make sure that we weren't going to get hurt. i was trying to protect my brother. i would have sacrificed myself for him. >> and deputies say it was three teenagers who broke in to the home and the house next door, as well. they all now face charges of arm aed burglary. representative jesse jackson is taking a medical leave from congress. his office says he's being treated for exhaustion. the illinois democrat is the subject of the house ethics investigation stemming from allegations he might have been in talks to buy the senate seat once held by president obama. and president obama is focusing on decision 2012 today. and wrapping up a two-day fo four-state tour. on monday the president visited romney's backyard making stops in boston and new hampshire and it wasn't all business. the president took some time to have a little fun with red sox

fans, thanking them for trading boston favorite kevin youkilis. >> finally, i just want to say, thank you for youkilis. have to change the color of his socks. ha, ha, ha. i didn't think i could get any boos out of here. but i guess i should not have brought up baseball. i understand. >> despite the dig, it is estimated the president's campaign brought in more than 3 million dollar at that stop. meanwhile, mitt romney is bringing his campaign to the swing state of virginia this week. today he'll visit carter machinery company in the roanoke area around noon to highlight his ideas on energy and small business. then tomorrow the prezumpative republican nominee will come to northern virginia to visit electronic design company eit in

sterling. the visits come just a week after the romney campaign released an ad specifically at virginia. and today for the first time in its history, the pentagon will hold an event in honor of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride month. the defense department's top lawyer will be the keynote speaker. also a panel discussion entitled, the value of open service and diversity. earlier this month, defense secretary leon panetta released a video marking the month and thanked lgbt service members. our time right now, 11:41. still ahead on news 4 midday, as the temperatures rise, so does the danger of heat-related illness. what you need to know to prevent a heat emergency that could land you in the hospital. then, going for the gold. olympian michael phelps prepares for his

[ crows cawing ] [ male announcer ] strange things happen in the black forest. [ metallic bell toll ]

[ car speeding down the road, lightning strikes ] where things aren't always what they seem. [ wolves howling ] because thrills hide in the shadows just waiting at every turn. [ coaster whoosh ] brave the black forest on verbolten. the all-new multi-launch coaster. only at busch gardens.

amazon is hoping to take a bite out of apple. releasing a new kindle fire to compete with the ipad. the new tablet could go on sale at the end of next month. the company isn't saying much about what the new kindle will feature, but we're hearing it may have a camera and physical volume controls. apparently, several users have complained about the touch screen volume controls on the current kindle.

you may not know it, but you have a facebook e-mail address now if you have facebook and now it's going to show up on your profile. the social network started adding this e-mail that ends in @facebook.com to all user profiles. facebook announced the change back in april, but critics poin out that they never mentioned making a physical change to your profile. the company is launching a setting that will allow you to change your profile and posts whatever e-mail address that you want. well, this is a time of year to lot of people take vacation, but some take more than others. let's check in with bertha coombs and joins us with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. hi, bertha. >> hi, barbara. if you're planning a stacation your property might rake a little higher. rose in april, according to the latest case schiller index. the two best metro areas san francisco where prices were up from march and washington where

prices rose nearly 3%, 2.8%. nationally prices are down about 2% on average from a year ago, but in the washington metro area, prices are up actually more than 1.5% from 2011. and more vacations are feeling better about taking vacation this year, but there is bag split between managers and employees. according to a new survey from career builder, 81% of managers have taken a vacation or planned one this year, that compares to just 25% of nonmanagerial employees. big reason is financial 20% of employees say they just can't afford it. part of the problem is that those workers are searching for vacation deals on a mac. orbitz found that mac uses pay 30% higher rates on hotels than pc users. they tend to steer mac users to pricier hotel deals and according to wall street journal report, they say you can still

change that up if you stack by price to see the cheaper deals first. but, barbara, apparently they found that mac users tend to spend more. they want to stay at the four and five star hotels compared to the pc users who like the three star hotels. >> one thing that drives them to buy the more expensive computer. >> must be. >> must be. mac users are better looking. >> what do you use? >> i use a mac. >> could have guessed that. so do i, incidentally. >> but most of my. but not here at work, though. >> i use both, i'd say. thanks a lot, have a great day. >> see you later. in news for your health today, identifying the warning signs of a heat-related emergency. warmer weather can get the best of anyone at any age and your condition if your condition could or it can become serious or even fatal if the warning

signs are ignored. we'll tell you more about that from dr. allison bruker. >> reporter: 45-year-old construction worker john green began feeling cramps in his feet, his legs, his arms and his hands. he said he'd never felt anything like it. >> sat down, drink some fluids and then i went back to work. and started all over, again. in fact, it got worse. >> reporter: john had the beginning of a heat emergency. >> with severe heat exposure, someone will become dehydrated and our body's mechanism to control heat eventually can be sort of overcome. >> reporter: heat illness can begin with cramps, according to emergency room dr. michael goodyear. if left untreated, it can progress to heat exhaustion. those symptoms include headaches, light headedness, cool, moist skin. >> if one doesn't seek shelter or get into a cool area or stop

physical xurtion it can progress to heat stroke. >> reporter: symptoms include a fever above 104, irrational behavior, extreme confusion, dry hot and red skin and even seizures. >> we missed people down with some, you know, with spray, have some fans on them, cooling them down as opposed to really putting ice, ice can cause you to shiver. >> reporter: dr. goodyear says you can try this at home, unless someone is confused or has under lying medical problems. >> if the person isn't feeling better within 10, 15 minutes, then it is time to seek some medical help. >> reporter: john green began feeling better once he was given iv fluids. doctors say he will make a full recovery. >> move my legs without pain. >> that was dr. allison bruker reporting. heat illnesses are preventable by taking precautions in hot weather. children, the elderly and obese people have the higher risk of

developing heat illness. taking certain medications or drinking alcohol can also increase your risk. olympic rivalry is already heating up this weekend out in omaha. ryan lochte beat michael phelps last night in their first head-to-head race at the u.s. olympic swim trials. lochte pulled away from phelps leading him by almost a second in the meddy. doesn't mean much since both will still represent team usa in the olympics. but this is likely phelps last olympics, he hopes to go out on a high note and using his mom as motivation. >> what has she meant? >> the world. she has been there every step of the way. good times, bad times. she always puts in her two cents. she has the right to. she's my mother. i love her to death and she's the most important person in my life. >> he's given me the world. not only his successes, but what

he brings to people. he's a kind soul that has, i think, captured the world. that has made a mark in history. >> lochte and phelps will face off, again, wednesday night. you can watch the trialalize week long on the nbc sports network and right here on nbc 4, as well. well, the hugely popular gymnastic team will be set by this weekend. compete in the olympic trials starting on thursday. the hp pavilion out in san jose has practically sold out. only six men and six women will make the team and it is a talented group, whoever they turn out to be. half of those competing have already won at least one olympic or world medal. you can watch the trials on the nbc sports network and right here on nbc 4, as well. stay with news 4 and nbc for all of your olympic coverage it begins with the opening ceremony in london, july 27th. also, logon to nbcolympics.com

and nbcwashington.com as team usa goes for the gold. well, it's shaping up to be a beautiful day and why not spend it outdoors watching some of the world's best golfers. they'll be holding practice rounds at congressional conclub. tiger woods is the tournament's host. it returns to our area after being played in the philadelphia area for the past two years. 11:52 is the time and coming up on news 4 midday. taking the plunge, how a wedding party ended up in the water. plus, meteorologist tom plu[ male announcer ]om are you paying more

and more and more for cable --

and enjoying it less? upgrade to verizon fios internet, tv and phone for just $99.99 a month, guaranteed for a year with no annual contract. or choose a two-year contract and get $200 back and a two-year price guarantee. fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers america's fastest, most consistent, most reliable internet. and now, it's faster than ever. you get speed you can count on... even when everyone at home is online at the same time. plus, the best tv picture quality. tired of cable's inflated bills? get fios for just $99.99 a month for a year with no annual contract. or choose a two-year contract and get $200 back, plus a two-year price guarantee. call 1.866.685.fios. that's 1.866.685.3467. fios. a network ahead. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v.

that was one of many dramatic demonstrations on the national mall this morning to show just how dangerous fireworks can be. it's a safety reminder ahead of the july fourth celebration from the consumer product safety commission. the agencies stress the danger of backyard pyrotechnics. never stand directly over fireworks when lighting the fuse and never try to light or relight or pick up fires that never light .

also, never let a young child handle fireworks. that book written by john edwards' former mistress is hitting store shelves today. rielle hunter's book is called "what really happened." john edwards, our daughter and me. the book provides intimate details with her affair with the former presidential candidate. edwards was acquitted of one charge of campaign financial violations last month and a hung jury was declared on the remaining charges. newly released financial documents reveal just how much it would cost to dress like kate middleton. she has become a style icon. she has been seen shopping in regular stores snapping up bargains and even using discount cards. it doesn't help that much, though. this morning we're learning that she spent close to $54,000 on clothes since the beginning of the year. the person paying for it all, prince charles. let's take a look now at some of the stories we'll be following for news 4 this

afternoon. pat lawson muse joins us with a preview of things to come. >> beginning at 4:00, a homeowner's terrifying ordeal caught on video. how he protected his family even with a gun to his head. and then coming up at 5:00 today, bottles of red wine put into a pill. how medical experts think this will help your brain. don't miss the special report about that. we'll see you on news 4 beginning at 4:00 today. >> all right, thank you so much. time now for a final check on the forecast. tom kierein is here. >> with pleasure. what a wonderful day. afternoon highs climbing into the low 80s and low humidity and lots of sun, sunblock weather today and tomorrow and again on thursday. but by the time we get towards the weekend, here comes the big-time heat and humidity. sweltering humidity, temperatures into the 90s each afternoon and thursday through the weekend, morning lows in the 70s. so, enjoy this wonderful weather why you can. see you tomorrow morning. >> it sure is nice.

thank you, tom. >> a michigan couple posing for their wedding pictures made quite a splash. they were on this deck for about 30 seconds. you can't see the dock any more. then it started moving and the whole party went crashing into the water and no one was hurt and everyone came out laughing. the newlyweds are now on their moneymoon in mackinaw island in lake huron. looks like a lot of fun. that's "news 4 midday." we thank you for joining us and invite you to tune in tonight. we will be back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. with news 4 midday. have a terrific day and we'll see you in the morning.