tonight the storms held out just long enough for a dazzling fireworks display at the mall. but they're moving in now and packing quite a punch. i'm jim vance. >> and i'm jim rosenfield. >> the storms are dying down now. we have seen them come through western portions of maryland and western portions of virginia with trees down in the winchester area of frederick county, virginia. this area had been hit hard the last couple days. but now these storms are finally

starting to wind down here. you can see they are down in southwestern portions of fairfax county in prince william county and they will continue to move to the south and east at 25 miles an hour. there are no longer any severe thunderstorm warnings. we had those for the last couple hours. but as they continue to die down we will cool off in the temperatures. but i just updated my numbers for the next couple days and we are going up. i'll have the updated numbers for you and let you know when the next chance for storms are coming up. now to breaking news in northwest washington. four people shot tonight. the bullets aimed at a courtyard full of people watching a small fireworks show. jackie bensen has our report. >> reporter: police say the four victims were part of a group standing together near shopping center on first street northwest when someone opened fire on

them. two victims ran to the unit block of gallatin street northwest. it happened as fireworks many of them large enough to be illegal in the district were exploding overhead. >> there was individuals on foot who walking down the street and opened fire on a group of another individuals that were up against the apartments. >> it's not clear whether some or all of the victims were deliberately targeted. investigators are questioning the less seriously injured. sources tell news4 investigators are looking into whether this shooting is connected to one that happened tuesday night in the sherman circle area. jackie bensen, news4. as we noted the fireworks down at the mall provided a welcome distraction from the heat and the power outages that are still frustrating so many people in the area. shomari stone reports. >> reporter: fireworks light up the sky above the national mall.

celebrating our nation's independence. this year's show is extra special for the finnegan family from burke, virginia. >> it's a great display at usual. washington does it best. it's great to get out here after four days of no electricity and that stress and getting out here and decompress and celebrate the nation's birthday. >> ashley flew from florida. >> there is no better place at all to watch the fourth of july fireworks. >> reporter: and a lot of folks tell me this is one of the hottest fourth of july celebrations in recent memory and tell me that bottled water isn't enough to beat the heat. >> living off ice cream and some shaved ice here. >> reporter: she needs something cold to cool off. temperatures hit 99 degrees with a heat index of 104 on the mall. this guy wears a hat. >> i don't have a lot of hair. i have to keep it on.

>> neither do i. >> this is just a way to sit down and decompress. it's just great. put it all bind you. -- behind you. >> reporter: right now people are leaving the mall. park officials want to make sure you pack patience because the metro rail is packed with people. on the national mall i'm shomari stone, news4. fireworks lit up the sky in virginia tonight, those fireworks followed a day of music, games and activities to mark the holiday. it was the fourth consecutive display since a mishap left spectators with serious injuries in 2007. a sixth night without power and air-conditioning. families in the hill crest section of southeast have been sweating it out since friday and many many have been frustrated by the wait.

others didn't wait time for a utility crew to show up. >> we thought it would come back on. but unfortunately it didn't. so it became unbearable and miserable. so my husband and i just went out and purchased this pool so that we can stay cool along with the generator. >> reporter: she says they got a pool big enough for family, friends, and neighbors so everyone stays cool. residents in wildwood manor are still in the dark as well. a pepco supervisor told them a crew would try to come by last night but that didn't happen. a utility poll is still dangling over damaged lines. some 2,000 customers in that area without power according to the outage map. in chevy chase, owners of a family-run grocery store say they lost a huge chunk of their merchandise. they lost power friday. the brothers who owned the market tried to save food that spoils but eventually they had

to toss it all out. the 60 people who work there have had to deal without getting paid. the owners say they are determined to recover and hope to reopen soon. power crews are making significant progress as they continue to work nearly around the clock. there are still about 50,000 people in our area in the dark tonight. pepco says it has restored power to 90% of customers who lost it during the storm. but, it's workers still have nearly 31,000 customers to go. dominion has under 12,000 outages, down from 1 million over the weekend. bg and e is working to get to the final 11,000 customers without power. the community is rallying around a 38-year-old woman severely injured in the storm. carolina alcalde was riding her motorcycle when a pine tree came crashing down on her back. the impact severed her spinal

cord and broke five ribs and one shoulder. she is paralyzed from the waist down now. her father is touched by the fact that friends have set up a donation campaign to pay medical expenses. >> every time i see these help that i'm -- we are receiving, my wife and i, constantly from -- support from everybody, i find out about the [ indiscernible ] my daughter and i -- i don't know how to react to it. >> just the first year of recovery could cost more than a quarter million dollars. she works as a mentor to children. the police in montgomery county shot and killed a man tonight who pulled out a gun in a restaurant on sandy spring road. officers got a call about a man in the restaurant with a gun

waving it at customers. the cops got the guy out of the restaurant but he wouldn't drop his weapon. that's when they shot him. the d.c. nightlife scene is mourning a promoter who was killed on the shoulder of the vw parkway. his name was gary richards. park police say he got out of his car to switch seats with a passenger. that's when another car came by and hit him. the driver of the other car stayed on the scene. richards was a local representative for the celebrity-endorsed brand cirac vodka. two siblings died of electrocution in missouri this afternoon. the 13-year-old girl and her 8-year-old bore were on a dock. at some point they got shocked. they were rushed to a hospital but could not be revived. the dock is wired for lights but it's unclear if or how it mall functioned. in tennessee a young boy

also died of electrocution while swimming this afternoon. two boys got shocked as they swam between two houseboats. several jump into the water to help them. they also got shocked. a 10-year-old boy died. several of the people who tried to help were taken to the hospital. the marina is closed while investigators try to figure out what went wrong. a huge mess north of chicago tonight when a freight train derailed over a bridge. 27 cars filled with coal toppled over and the bridge collapsed during that incident. it happened between glen view and northbrook, illinois. it also sparked a small fire. it could have been disastrous if the fire spread to the coal or a nearby propane storage unit. no one was injured. ahead tonight, a life guard fired minutes after running into the water to rescue a swimmer in distress. police no match for a speedy

dog and that made for one really slow rush hour commute. plus big news in the world of physics as researchers go public with the details of the so-called god particle. ♪

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it's being called one of the most significant discoveries in a general krags. scientists think they found the god particle. the higgs boson. it is believed to give size and shape to all matter in the universe. peter higgs came up with the theory 50 years ago. he is now 83. scientists are 99% certain that the god particle is for real. saving a life is not enough to save a life guard who left his area to save a swimmer. people started screaming about a swimmer drowning. lopez ran to help in the rescue but he left the zone he was hired to patrol. lopez was fired almost immediately after returning. recently two other life guards say they were fired for the same

reason and four others decided to quit because of that policy. the company that offers that life guard says it is reviewing the rule. the man rescued was taken to the hospital and is doing okay. one speedy dog is recovering after giving the police the slip more than once. you can see that dog running along the interstate in chicago yesterday. it looked like the chase would end but not so much. the dog gave the officers the slip again and was off. eventually a professional dog rescuers came to help. >> i jumped in my truck and got out there. he was so pooped out he let me get him. >> the doctors think he has been on his own for days or weeks. now they are looking for its

owner. we are a few weeks away from the opening ceremonies for the summer olympics. not everyone is excited about the preparations. >> reporter: 23 days to go and here in london they are even counting down the hours and seconds. the olympic rings adorn the tower bridge. the horse guards parade which is basically the backyard to the prime minister's office will be the venue to beach volleyball and the main road leading to buckingham palace will host the marathon. these olympics will turn the city into a giant party with big tv screens in hyde park for those who can't get tickets to the events. the only debate going on at the moment is security. the plan to place anti-aircraft missiles around the capital is being opposed by residents of one high-rised apartment block

which will get missiles placed on the roof. the security staff numbers 35,000 police, safety and military personnel. still getting the venues ready is running smoothly and the olympic village is already functioning, ready to accommodate 10,000 athletes from 200 countries. hundreds of military service members and their families spent their evening on the south lawn of the white house. the president went out to shake hands and pose with pictures with them. he called the fourth a day to recognize the sacrifice of military families. >> all the men and women who stand with us here this afternoon is an example of this generation of heroes. >> are troops in afghanistan honored service members killed

during the war. a large cake was served. in australia marines celebrated with a barbecue in darwin and played softball with members of australia's second cavalry. >> do you know who won? >> i don't know. how are the storms doing? >> they are calming down. a lot of people scared now about storms moving in. after the derecho on friday and 1.5 million people that lost power any time we mention storms a lot of people are saying how strong are the storms? let me say this, we will not see another derecho like that maybe in our lifetime. there have been strong storms across the area. outside right now a look at the full moon or just about. this is a live shot out there around the american university campus. not a bad night out there right now. we saw things cool off in a few locations. but around the district still

very, very warm out there. we need the wind to cool us off. the storm 4 radar showing you where the storms have been. we say hail reports up to 3/4 inch. we saw winds 60 to 70 miles an hour and trees down all along the path coming from western portions of maryland through frederick county, virginia. but now, they are pretty much dying out. another one starting to develop in the fredericksburg area. but just about all this rain in manassas is about gone. in the west still dealing with rain in woodstock. but this is just light to moderate rain and no thunder or lightning and no more severe thunderstorm warnings for the rest of the evening. to the north and west big time storms here trying to make their way down to the south. you see them in parts of pennsylvania and new jersey. this line is going to try to move in overnight as well. i expect it to die out but can't

rule out thunderstorms or storms in the morning. we saw a high of 99 degrees, one degree shy of the record of 100. look at the numbers right now. 89 at 11:00 but that's not the number i want you to look at. the current heat index at the airport is 96 degrees at 11:00. that is hot. we will stay in the hot side. right now 89 in washington but notice where the rain is falling, 73 in manassas. and 80 in la plata. the high temperatures, 100 in columbus, 98 in richmond. so you know the hot air is here. and that hot air looks like it will stick around right on through most of the weekend. mostly clear tomorrow morning. a few clouds, warm and very muggy. temperatures 70 to 78 degrees. it is going to be a very, very sticky morning and all day long.

mostly sunny, very hot and humid with a heat index about 105. the numbers are between 96 and 101 during the day tomorrow. a bit of relief down at the beaches. temperatures in the upper 80s to lower 90s just about every day. and not much chance for rain. can't rule out an isolated chance for a shower or storm. 100 tomorrow. 99 on friday. 102 on saturday. that is actually a record for the day. we'll see if we tie or break that record. 96 on sunday with a chance for thunderstorms. here comes relief. some good news. finally. high temperatures move back into the 80s and with lower humidity that does really, really looking good. but be ready for the heat. it's a serious matter out there. >> you had to raise those didn't you? >> i didn't want to do it. >> but accuracy prevailed. >> that's right. teenager from connecticut

recovering after being rescued from a crevasse on a glacier in alaska. the emergency responders were working to get the climber out of a 50 foot hole. he fell through a snow bridge. the brother called the fire and sheriff's department for help. after five hours the crews pulled the man to safety. his skin was pressed up the ice of the glacier for five hours and he is being treated for hypothermia. ♪

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we have us a baseball team. >> it is fun to watch isn't it? >> it really is. >> don't look now. go ahead and look now. the nationals have the best record in the national league. second best record, san francisco giants. they have been shelled in two games. 18 runs to 7. we have your fireworks. nationals park everyone in the holiday spirit. red, white, and blue as far as you can see. the nats up 4-3. ryan zimmer man leads all players in rbis. on july 4th he loves celebrations and starts one here with a two-run shot. almost went yard earlier many the game. the nats up 6-3. his fourth career homer on july 4th. if you are going to throw a fastball to michael morse, 92

miles an hour is not going to get it down. nats win it 9- -- 9-4. they have a lead in the nl east. >> we are getting healthy. i said it all along it's hard to shuffle the line-up around and have guys doing different things. now we are starting to get healthy and people know their roles it's easier to score runs. o's and m's in seattle. top two, no score, adam jones that's a crack of the bat high and far to left field. his 20th of the season. o's up 1-0. chris tillman not just getting run support. bottom third getting defensive help too.

a diving grab. birds win 4-2. tillman gets the win and gets optioned to buoy to keep pitching in the all-star break. listen to this, the l.a. lakers acquiring steve nash. >> huge. >> in a sign and trade deal with phoenix. the suns get four first round draft picks over the next couple years. >> four? >> four. nash gets three year, $27 million. he thinks pass first which is music to kobe bryant's year. and he is 38 years old. >> i know. >> but he can pass the ball. >> i think -- wow. >> you talk amongst yourselves. if it is independence day that means one thing time for the annual nathan's hot dog eating contest. joey chestnut won for the sixth straight year tying his own record downing 68 dogs in ten minutes.

and he gets 10,000 for the victory. on the ladies side, sonia thomas wins and knocks down 45 dogs in 10 minutes. she, too gets ten grand for the win. what's in your mouth counts. just saying. >> i have to tell you something i will fire anyone who puts that on the air. that's gross. we're not doing that

looks like social media is taking place of lost dog fliers. patch ran away from home in ireland yesterday and boarded a train to dublin which is an hour away. rail authorities put a picture of the dog on twitter. after 500 retweets the dog's owner rode to dublin and reunited with patch. >> paid for