good morning and welcome to "news 4" midday. i'm angie goff in for barbara harrison. it is monday, july 9th, 2012. we begin with a developing story in northern virginia, a community in fredericksburg is cleaning up from yet another round of severe summer storms. yesterday's strong wind practically flattened a number of businesses. emergency crews rushed four people, including children to the hospital. "news 4's" melissa malay has the story. >> reporter: this build behind me is almost completely gone.

cars smashed in the parking lot next door, debris everywhere. looking at the damage, it's amazing to think no one was hurt. the storm came from the northwest, barreling across jefferson davis highway, first slamming into this strip mall of the salon, ma tris stories. insulation torn from the wall, the roof gone. you can see the pile of debris inside this is a lon. the wind peeled back a portion of the roof, lifting it off smashing into the suv of the owner in the back alley. he owns a car lot across. it crashed into cheer fusion, blowing away most of the cinder blocks here. the 20 children and their parents hid in this doorway in a room aligned with metal. seven were hurt, four went to the hospital. but it didn't stop there. the cinder blocks and roof

flying across this storage lot, smashing into this home where john bettes and his wife have lived for 50 years. >> just turned the house upside down. everything started falling over. isn't that something. >> reporter: the winds then slammed into brenda mcfall's house, she had been outside building a shed. >> we saw the skies get door, come inside. then we're watching everything and the next thing we see hail, so we knew it wasn't a regular thunderstorm. >> reporter: the gusts careened across this street slamming into estates, knocking down power lines. marie white's home splattered with leaves and mud. >> the tree in front was down, all the debris and everything on the porch was nothing but debris. >> reporter: building inspectors took a tour. power was out and some suffered only minor water damage. >> i just can't believe it. it looks like a war zone out

here. >> reporter: the next step will be a survey by the national weather service to determine if it was caused by anything more than very strong winds. in fredericksburg, virginia, melissa malay, back to you. >> turning to the weather will we see more storms today? meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first forecast. tom? >> thankfully, no, angie. it does appear that things are settling down around the metro area and cooling down. thankfully around the region, we've had just some passing showers, lightning and thunder around dawn. you see breaks in the clouds. a little clouds breaking up near maryland and the pennsylvania border as well as across parts of northern virginia. all around, still cloudy and getting a few sprinkles. northeast washington, southern montgomery. those patches of green where we're getting a few sprinkles as well. elsewhere, a little sun trying to break out. temperatures now are beginning to climb to near 80 where the sun has broken out. charlottesville to 84.

whilemont, arlington, fairfax and prince george's is in the mid-70s. what a refreshing change from the weekend. last week it's 76 at reagan national. for the rest of the afternoon, a few breaks in the clouds. overall a little bit of cloudiness, a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm popping up. we'll reach the 80s. elsewhere we'll be hovering into the low to mid-80s and wind. it does look like this cooler pattern is going to continue the rest of the week into the weekend. details on that coming up in just a couple of minutes. angie? >> those are the types of patterns we like. thank you, tom. >> the excessive heat that scorched our area more than a week has finally come to an end. 74 deaths are attributed to triple-digit temperatures across the country. 13 were in maryland and ten were reported in virginia. illinois was the hardest hit by

the heat. 18 died there since the beginning of the heat wave. and it was smooth sailing for riders on the green line this morning after a train derailed near the west hyattsville station over the weekend. metro officials say the scorching temperatures caused what's called a heat kinch. crews worked all weekend to fix the piece of bent track that caused the derailment. thanks to low temperatures today there will not be any heat-related speed restrictions. it was also a smooktd commute for drivers in bowie. the heat buckled parts of route 50. shut down eastbound lanes forces drivering down to just one lane and to the shoulder. talking about the rails, talking about the roads now, danella ne sealock is in. >> still affecting some drivers actually right now. so if you're traveling route

355, urbana pike, still seeing standing water in that area. please avoid it. if you see any high standing water in the area, this is around route 108 clarksville road at columbia road. also in columbia, maryland, we have an accident at oakland mills road. crash there involves a vehicle. >> thank you. new this morning, one person is in custody with a triple stabbing in the district. it happened in the 1300 block of northwest near spring road. one man was stabbed in the arm. police did not release details about the other two injuries but they say that all three victims should survive. investigators are investigating circumstances that led up to the stabbing. >> one man is dead after a shoot-out with fairfax county police. it happened near the intersection of frye road and match lane. that's in mt. vernon. this hatched late last night. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us

live. megan. >> you can see behind us the police still have a section of this area cordoned off. there's an officer keeping people away. things unfolded quickly late last night when police aroached two men along frye road. it turns out that one of those men had a gun. he opened fire on police. it was a move that turned out to be fatal for him. using flashlights, police search for shell casings and other physical evidence. the area near frye road and imagine lane became a crime scene last night after a man fired at police, prompting an officer to shoot back. jennifer gomez had just returned from work when she heard the gunfire. >> it was like three gunshots like all of a sudden, and they were like one after the other. and it was scary. >> reporter: it all began just before 11:30 sunday night. police say officers confronted two men who were acting suspiciously. >> the two officers approached

those two men and while speaking with them, one of those men fled. the officers pursued him on foot and there was an altercation. during that altercation, that suspect produced a handgun and fired at the officers. >> reporter: police say one of the officers fired back, fatally wounding the suspect. the officers were not injured. and police have not identify the man who was killed in this incident. as for that second suspect who was involved, they're still at large at this point. reporting live in mt. vernon, megan mcgrath, "news 4." >> megan, thank you. the time right now is 11:08. coming up, president obama starts a push for the middle class. what the plan could mean grour. plus a family crisis for usher. the hip-hop star's son is

. the u.s. mill kon tirr confirms. an improvised explosive device went off near the military base south of kabul. another boll killed 24 afghan

policemen, women and children. >> here's a live look at the capitol. this week the house will vote to repeal president obama's recently upheld health care law. the president will also propose a partial extension of the bush tax cuts. they hammer mitt romney over his aftershower bank accounts but republicans say it's nothing but a distraction over last week's dismal job report. nbc's brian mooar has the story from capitolhill. >> as congress returns today from the july 4th recess, president obama has words pl plannpla planned for lawmakers. he's reportedly going to ask congress to extend the bush era tax cuts for those making less than a quarter million dollars a beer. it's aiming u its guns not only on capitol hill but on

republican mitt romney's personal finances. >> he offshores most of his own personal investments presumably to shield them from taxes. >> i've never known of a swiss bank account to build an american bridge, create american jobs. >> reporter: romney supporters call it a cheap shot and a distraction. >> in terms of governor romney's financial success, i'm happy. e we've got a president who's never run a business. >> reporter: back on capitol hill they'll have to try to get in line. democrats still control the senate. still it promises to keep the heat up in a town that's already seen too much of it. the president's tax cut extension is designed to make anyone who stands against it look like they're standing against the middle class. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. >> romney will do quite a bit of traveling before next month's national convention. he'll be in london for the

opening ceremonies. that's in 18 days. after that he'll head to israel where he'll meet with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he's city finalizing details. our doug kammerer is getting ready for the olympics. we sent him on over to check it out in london. tonight on "news 4" at 6:00 doug will have an olympic preview and a firsthand look how london has transformed for the celebrations. you can check out his reports all week on "news 4" at 6:00 p.m. okay, so after a terrible stretch of excessive heat, a much well deserved cooldown is coming our way. >> yeah. and we'll take this break in mid-july. this is a wonderful gift. we're going to have below average temperatures here for the next few days after the torrid heat we had last week and into the weekend. yesterday 102. that was a new record for the date and now here on july 9th a big change occurred overnight.

we had a shift in our winds, we had clouds roll in, and there is the cloudy sky over washington right now. you can see the lincoln memorial there nestled in the trees along the tidal potomac, and we have a little bit of haze in the air and under the clouds it's still in the 70s around the metro area. just 76 at reagan national, but it is still very humid. dew point at 69. we have a nice northeasterly breeze that has been bringing in some of the cooler air. and we're going to have this with us here for the next several days. and as we duo back in time, all this moving color, that was rain. a lot of that is now just almost totally gob now, just on the eastern shore. they're getting a few sprinkles. right now getting a little sun breaking out inmont county. the farther north you go, the more sun there is along the pennsylvania border and western maryland. all cloudy in washington and most of montgomery and prince george's and into arlington and fairfax counties.

a little sun trying to break out there. the lower part of the eastern shore. a little sun breaking out there as well. and where the sun has broken out, it's near 80 degrees. much of southern maryland, northern neck, central virginia. under the clouds though around the metro area, still in the 70s. 73 in leesburg but in hagerstown, they've got the sun there. 82. cumberland, 81 degrees. elsewhere it's well into the 80s in central and southern virginia. they are going to have a potential area of strong storms maybe right along this stalled front, which is just to our south. there's the virginia/north carolina border. this is going to be lingering into the tennessee valley. it's going to be holding forth and be in place throughout the day today and into tomorrow. as a result, we'll have a lot of cloudiness and maybe some showers rolling on through the front. as we go forward over the next essentially hours all the moving zones and potential rain, i don't have much of a chance during the rest of the afternoon and into the evening as well.

we have clouds breaking up a little bit. a little bit of cloud cover break-up through the night. but then it does look like it will return tomorrow. maybe some more rain. so for the rest of the afternoon, we might have a little more sun breaking up. temperatures climbing into the mid to upper 80s. just a small chance of an additional shower or thunderstorm popping up. overnight tonight, mostly cloudy and rather humid. a few breaks in the clouds. we'll fall from the 80s down to the 70s. by dawn tomorrow, down to near 70. at least another comfortable start tomorrow morning. it's going to stay humid. the humid is not leaving. it going to be cooler. highs tomorrow, mid-80s, just delightful. clouds and maybe an afternoon storm. on wednesday, partly sunny, still humid. lows near 70. afternoon highs around 80 degrees, mid-80s or so. on thursday we'll be again into the mid-80s but a greater chance of storms around f. we do need rain, off-and-on

showers. a little sun each one of those days, but i don't think we're going to even get to 90 degrees for the next seven days. >> i think at this point with the gloom and the rain, people don't mind it dark outside because of the temperatures. >> we'll take it. >> feels good. >> thanks, tom. let's check in on the midday traffic now with danella sealock. >> thanks, angie. we're watching i-66 eastbound. we have a disabled vehicle. not bad. just in your shoulder lane while we're traveling. i-66 eastbound, no major issues at all. again, this disabled is at nutley and no accidents for you outside 66, outside the beltway as well as inside. it was jammed all morning long but nice and clear as you make your way from the beltway northbound all the way to the 14th street bridge. nothing to report. angie, back over to you. >> thank you. still ahead on "news 4 midday," we're going to tell you about a foundation that's giving away

millions in scholarship money to help the children of veterans. plus, how to train a dragon? we'll introduce you to some of the characters to the new live show coming to the verizon center. first here's what's hot on nbcwashington.com. the first time i saw fios it was absolutely amazing. for years and years we had to put up with cable. once we got fios it was like somebody like took our computer and shook all the junk out of it. [ male announcer ] don't settle for the same old cable technology. switch to a verizon fios triple play and upgrade your entertainment equipment with our 100% fiber-optic network and whole home solution, including a high-speed wireless router plus a new multi-room dvr and new hd set top box free for 12 months. everything has to be fast now, and that's what fios provides us right now when we want it. [ male announcer ] and now, with new fios quantum speeds, you can enjoy internet more than twice as fast as anything you've ever seen. fios gives me way more for my money.

[ male announcer ] switch to fios for just $99.99 a month with a two-year agreement. and get our whole home solution -- a $359 value. call 1-888-879-fios. that's 1-888-879-3467. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. say goodbye to your old technology. welcome to life on fios. ♪ 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. real big deals of the week. or how to get great prices on things you need. we know you look around for the best deals. that's why we give you real big club card deals each week.

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we stepped outside the studio because we need more room. just imagine a flying breathing dragon soaring through the skieses. you're going to see the live "how to train your dragon" arrives here at the verizon center earlier next week. you're lucky as we get a preview. we meet a special guest, a warrior viking along with a baby dragon who will be joining us. i know first things first. >> i want to thank you for coming, having us here. i appreciate it. we do have baby, her nas is sig, by the way. >> so glad to have you here. just real quick, what can we expect from the show? i know we're familiar with the

movie. is that what's going to be on stage? >> it's going to to be what's on stage. toolktless flies over the arena. and two of the other stars ott string and hiccup will get on top of toothless and fly throughout the arena. >> as you mentioned some of them are big, breathing fiefrmt should the kiddies be afraid? >> no. they should not be afraid. it's a children's show. it's a new format from dreamworks. if you want to be part of flying or under water, you're going to see it live. >> i believe we have a small sampling as we walk farther. what is this before me? so cool. >> this is a baby. listen, whom's in the show is seven times the size of this baby. now, this baby doesn't breathe fire, nor does it fly yet just

because it's a wee baby. >> those are baby sounds i take it. >> yes, they are. they are. if you ask the baby to see its wings, it's very, very tame. >> baby, can we see your wings? show me your wings. he's still growing. please, please, we can't be rude. >> see that. >> that's a good wing span there. >> see if the baby can blow some flame or smoke. >> blow me some flames. please. can you blow me some flames? >> there you are. >> wow. he's getting there. >> he's getting there. >> he's just a baby. >> fire, not yet. >> right, right, right. >> i do have to ask you the big question before we go. how do you train a dragon? >> well, if you're up to it, i can show you a quick free lessons. >> okay. >> all right. stand over here. put your hand out like that, all right? look at me real quick. give that dragon a very fierce

dragon stair. fierce viking stair, got it? okay. move in slow. very slow. put your hand right on his nose right there. now, right now the second lesson is we're in the blind spot. every dragon has a blind spot. >> so hi can't see me. >> he can't see me. but he knows we're here. now, if you touch him right underneath the chin -- hold on. that's the sweet spot. look at his eyes. he likes you. he likes you. >> okay. >> that's the three lessons. they have a 3w4r50i7d spot and a sweet spot. you just found it. now the dragon will do everything you want. >> baby nader, you've done a huge thing. you've shown us that the show is not only entertaining but educational. oh, i'm going to miss you. you don't want to miss this. tickets are still available for the show. how to train a dragon.

live spectacular. july 19 through july 22. the time right now is 11:25. coming up, the heat wave is over. what can we expect. next tom kierein is back with an update. plus, upward trend, what is pushing gas prices back up. and the latest on the health of

right now on "news 4 today," the system hit a strip mall hard along jefferson davis highway. wind ripped off the roofs of building, smashed glass and threw around degree. the storm also sent four people to the hospital in that region, including children. everyone is expected to be okay. fairfax county police are investigating a deadly shooting involving one of their own officers. it happened late last night at

the intersection of frye road and imagine lane in mt. vernon. police say officers approached two men acting suspiciously. one of the men opened fire at the office who shot back, killing the man. neither of the officers were hurt in the incident. bad news for drivers. the declining prices at the gas pump has ended. now they're moving in the other direction. nbc's mara sharapova has more news. >> it hurts the pocketbook. >> reporter: gas prices once again ticking back up. >> no road trips in the future. not with the gas prices. >> reporter: just how bad is it? last week the national average jumped to $3.38 to $3.33. >> it's only been about five cents a gallon but it is pretty significant because this is the first time we receive prices rise in about three months. >> reporter: in fact, the trend was going in the opposite direction, with prices dropping

75 of the previous 77 days since their peak of $3.94 a gallon back in april, prompting many to hit the road. an estimated 35.5 million motorists traveled for the fourth of july, a ten-year record. so what's fueling this new increase? oil prices have been fluctuating. >> we can't be satisfied. >> and disappointing jobs numbers leased last week didn't help. >> everything has to do with consumer confidence in the economy and also whether or not oil prices are rising and falling. gas prices are intimately related to oil prices. >> reporter: analysts say while it's hard to predict what's happening with gas prices moving forward, they typically i go up this time of year and are likely to remain high all summer. >> and that was mara share a campo. the lettest in our area is in virginia at $3.22.

d.c. mayor vin vecent gray wants more time for drunk drivers. he wants those -- the sentence will climb to 15 days. this measure won't be considered until the fall. the d.c. council has not scheduled a hearing on the bill and the council begins a two-month recess on friday. and on tuesday the d.c. council will also decide on a $35 million contract requiring taxi cabs to install new equipment. the equipment would allow all taxis to take credit cards, have video monitors for passengers, and electronically track whether cabs ignore some parts of town. today could settle plans on whether to build a whole foods in prince george's county.

county officials say the $226 million development could create jobs. neighbors worry about traffic gridlock in their community. the county council is expected to take up the issue this afternoon. that powerful boom stopped play at the rangers/twins game last night in texas. it was the top of the fourth inning when that loud crack sent the players rushing off the field. the cameras've went black for a moment. rangers officials say the lightning struck north of the stadium and did not hit the facility at all. texas won the game following a 46-minute delay and it looks like they did the right thing there, running for konk. let's take a check on what's going on in our area weather wise with meteorologist tom kierein. >> we had thunder last night, nothing like that. did not have any severe weather last night and into this morning.

we've had it settle down, but between last night late and into the morning hours, we had some of those passing showers an thundershowers rolling through. left anywhere from about a quarter of an inch to half an inch around the metro area. although frederick county, maryland, had four inches of rain. there was flooding there. some creeks and streams came out of their banks. now breaks in clouds around the region and temperatures are climbing in the yellow. reagan national is at # 7. it's into the 80s, those areas in original that include parts of southern maryland, northern neck and all through virginia. in western maryland and west virginia and near ocean city it's near 80 degrees. a little sunshine breaking out around the region for the rest of the afternoon. maybe an isolated thundershower popping up. only a small chachbls we'nce. highs, mid-80s. storms around wednesday,

thursday, friday into the weekend. that's the way it looks now. >> nice to see no 9s in that forecast. >> yeah, it looks great. >> thanks, tommet. let's check in on the midday traffic with danella sealock. it looks like a busy morning. >> it is. let's start with the beltway. we have a disabled vehicle at university possibly blocking one of the lanes in the area. congesting. slow as you make your way toward i-66. no accidents, though, just delays. and still seeing flooding slowing you down. this is at urbana pike at big woods road. you see high-standing water. turn around, avoid it. angie, back over to you. >> good advice. thanks, danella. right now the man who shot and killed trayvon martin earlier this year is at a florida safe house. george zimmerman was released from jail on friday for a second time after posting a $1 million bond. zimmerman is wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet and he can't leave seminole county.

a judge revoked zimmerman's $150,000 bond after the judge accused zimmerman and his wife about misleading the court and their finances. the death of actress natalie wood remain as misstry nearly nine months after detectives reopened the case. there were reports that the los angeles coroner changed her cause of death to undetermined. the sheriff's office says the investigation is open and ongoing. wood drowned off the coast of southern california. she was vacationing with her husband robert wagner and actor can christopher walken. the stepson of singer usher has been declared brain dead after an accident. 1

the 11-year-old was riding an inner tube when he was hit by a jet ski. officials say it's too early to tell if charges will be filed. the boy is the son of his estranged wife tameka foster. ernest borgnine died yet with his family at his side. he may been best known as the trouble-making naval officer in the sitcom "mchale's navy." ernest borgnine was 95 years old. still ahead on "news 4" midday, 000 keep your teens out of trouble this summer, especially online. and what could be good for your the first time i saw fios it was absolutely amazing.

for years and years we had to put up with cable. once we got fios it was like somebody like took our computer and shook all the junk out of it. [ male announcer ] don't settle for the same old cable technology. switch to a verizon fios triple play and upgrade your entertainment equipment with our 100% fiber-optic network and whole home solution, including a high-speed wireless router plus a new multi-room dvr and new hd set top box free for 12 months. everything has to be fast now, and that's what fios provides us right now when we want it. [ male announcer ] and now, with new fios quantum speeds, you can enjoy internet more than twice as fast as anything you've ever seen. fios gives me way more for my money. [ male announcer ] switch to fios for just $99.99 a month with a two-year agreement.

and get our whole home solution -- a $359 value. call 1-888-879-fios. that's 1-888-879-3467. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. say goodbye to your old technology. welcome to life on fios. ♪ 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.

a new study shows cases of hvp in young women have gone down since the vaccine hit the market. that includes those who never got the shots. researchers at children's cincinnati hospital studied girls.

they found down cases went down nearly 60% after the teens started getting vaccinating. the decrease was the most significant among those who got the shots. experts say larger studies are needed. man's best friend might be hoping your kids stay healthy. a new study from finland shows children who are supposed to dogs starting at infancy usually had fewer respiratory and ear n infecti infections. they're quick to point out there might be other causes for lower infection rates. teens are spending more and more time online and a new study shows that parents are increasingly unaware of what they're doing. nbc's erica edwards talks about some ways parents can make share their kids are save while searching the web. >> being a teenager can be tough. >> we all understand teen peer pressure. it's been going on since the beginning of time. >> reporter: but in today's world they're experiencing that

pressure online. >> peer pressure in social media is a pressure cooker. >> reporter: and it's leading many teens to engage in risky behavior online according to a new study from the security company mcafee and it seems parents aren't plugged in at all. >> ignorance is not bliss in this situation. >> reporter: according to the story, three our four teens did not tell parents when they felt pressure or uncomfortable. experts say it's important for parents to start the conversation it's important that parents open up, talk to their kids, understand the technology, walk through the internet and all the different risks with them. >> reporter: and monitor their diseases. >> parents need to monitor every aspect of their child's digital device, whether that's a mobile phone, laptop or mac. knowing what they're doing and who they're doing it with. >> but tech-savvy teens can use tricks to bypass that. clearing the internet browsing history is one way to hide their

activity. they may create a duplicate media address or social media account so that the one you're using might not be the one you're using. picscheckered on safe eyes can help parents. they can keep it as safe as possible. erica edwards, nbc news. today google is launching a new campaign to support rights for the lgb kmurchlt it's called legalized buzz. at first they were launching a worldwide buzz to legalize same-sex marriage but they say it's about promoting safer conditions for gay and lesbian people inside and outside the office in countries with anti-gay laws. >> stocks opened for a week lower. let's join jackie deangelis with the rest of the day's headlines. >> the markets are lower as you

said. the investors still digesting the jobs report and the start of the earnings season when alcoa reports after the bell this afternoon. meantime today could be a problematic day for some users whose computers were infected with a virus more than a year ago. to find out if your computer is affected shlg you can go to www.dc.g.org, although we're hearing there's not much noise from this problem today and also it seemed too good to be true. gas prices were declining. they have now climbed for three days in a row. that's according to aaa. still the courage average is $3.38 comparing to $3.55 a month ago and $3.62 at this time last year. and finally president obama is expected to call on congress today to extend the bush era tax cuts for one year for families

making less than $250,000 a year. the bush cuts will expire, of course, on january 1st without congressionala, part of a so-called fiscal cliff that includes automatic spending cuts. the republicans have called for benefits to be extended for everyone. back over to you. >> thanking for the update. the marine corps scholarship foundation will award money in the next academic years. that is a record number of awards and margaret davis, president and ceo joins us this morning along with katharine james, a scholarship recipient. glad to have both of you in studio with us. >> thank you. great to be here. >> i want to start with you, margaret. there's a special ceremony going on. >> we're honored to have a ceremony of students of peace representing 1,900 across the country when we'll be acknowledging the $6 million of

awarding to sons and daughters of marines and navy corpsmen. look at the sacrifice. >> $6 million. how do you decide who gets these scholarships? >> we use three important criteria. first is financial need. there's a lot of that. the second would be the parent's military service and the impact of that on the family with the last ten years and the volunteer force fighting on the long war, you can imagine the impact on the families and the third would be the skcholastic achievement record. >> i know there are some people who have received it more than once. conta catherine, that's your story. you're a student at east carolina, ecu. >> that's right. >> how has that changed your life? >> my dad passed away when i was little. his dream was all of his

children get his bachelor's through college. it's been wonderful. >> yeah. and i know we have a picture here of your father and it's a very compelling story. can you share with us a little bit more about your dad who i know passed away when you were very young. >> i was about a month old. he was test flying the osprey over the potomac toward quantico and there was a small explosion in the engine and he went down along with others on board. >> he valued education. >> absolutely. >> you're on the path he would definitely be so proud of. and i want to go back to you, margaret, because i know this foundation, you don't just grow $6 million on trees. you've got to get it from somewhere. how do you raise the money to be able to help students like catherine? >> we're ford gnat there are individuals, corporations and foundations around our country who believe in education and want to honor marines by educating their children. every year we raise more and

more money. we've been very fortunate during this recession, that more people have been coming forward and believe in what we're doing. they truly want to make america stronger. more than half of our children are the first in their families to get to college and we have an over 80% graduation rate. we're very pround and they're wonderful, wonderful students. catherine is a terrific representative and she's on to excellent things just like all of our students. about 40% are studying science, technology, engineering, and math and those are global competitive forces for us to have as a country and for the future. >> yeah. >> these kids are great investments and think the american public is responding to the in fact this is a good investment. >> and for the public that's responding right now, if they wanted to respond and donate, perhaps, what's the best way? >> please do so. we need the support. please go to www.mcsf.org and we'll greatly accept your contribution and invest it in

1,900 to 2,000 students a year. >> speaking of tech savvy, you are. i browsed over your twitter account and websites. >> like us on facebook and tweet with us all during the ceremony tomorrow. >> and before we go, i just want to know a little bit more about you, catherine? what are you studying? i know you mentioned science and math. >> i'm actually drugging drug and alcohol rehabilitation. i want to be a substance abuse counsel lore when i graduate and hopefully go on to get my master's. >> that's wonderful. scholarship money will help you pursue your career and make such a difference in other people's lives as a mentor around counseloor. >> once again what's the website? www.mcsf.org, marine corps scholarship foundation. >> if you don't get it this year, try next year.

>> absolutely. try again next year. >> the time right now, speaking of time, just 11 minutes away from the noon hour. coming up, meet the newest reality tv star, plus meteorologist tom kierein, he's a pretty popular guy this morning. he's going to be back to let us he's go[ male announcer ]let us are you paying more

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welcome back. the three washington nationals are back to kansas city. gio gonzalez, bryce harper were selected to represent the national league. now, washington entered the all-star break on a down note against colorado. in the ninth inning pitcher tyler clifford threw his first wild pitch of the season. that scored a run. the rockies go up, 4-3. that's how it all goes down and the game ends. the nats go in with 39-34, leading the nl least by four games. >> today we're learning the divorce in the works between tom cruise and katie holmes may never end up in a courtroom. tmz and "people" magazine report they're trying to work out a

settlement. they're also reportedly negotiating property between the two. she filed late last month citing irreconcilable differences. a spokesman said she was seeking sole custody of their daughter. >> courtney and scott have welcomed their second child and first dotter. penelope scotland disick was born early saturday morning. grandmother says courtney had an easy delivery and penelope looks like her big brother mason. no word if the family will show the birth on their hit show, "keeping up with the kardashi kardashians." he's known as the little darth vader and his force is being restored. max suffered a congenital heart defect and last month he

underwent an eighth surgery. the time in the hospital has not put a damper on his spirit. he and his mom joined savannah g guthrie on the "today" show. >> i feel awesome. i feel great. >> can you tell the difference? >> it feels way better. my heart feels better now. >> how did it feel before? >> i got tired more easily. >> he says he feels better than he ever has. it makes me happy. they said it was equivalent to like wearing a back pack for him. weighted back pack. now he feels light. our biggest challenge is holding him back. he's such an athlete. he wants to get back to all of that. >> it melts your heart seeing him comfort his mom there. he can't quite run free yet. doctors say he has a couple more weeks of lying low before he is fully healed. well, here are some of the

stories coming up on "news 4" this afternoon. scott peterson, the california -- in california facing a death sentence for killing his wife and unborn son is appealing the verdict. we're going to hear from his lawyers and how they think they can get him off. then at 5:00, a smoothie taste test. liz crenshaw finds out which one ices the competition. join us for these stories on "news 4" beginning at 4:00. time now for a final check on our forecast. tom kierein joins us now. >> i love hair aaron gill treft said we're spelling wrrelief, t-o-m. >> we're having rain. that continues to fall around the eastern shore regions but it's really starting to look a lot better. we're seeing the cloud cover breaking up now. we have just a little bit of sunshine across the pennsylvania border. it's very sunny up there.

you can see a lot of cloudiness across the district, the eastern shore and the bay. we're going have cloud cover going up here. hold out hope for a little more sun. we don't want too much. thankfully we're still just in the 70s. 79 now at reagan national. we ought to get into the mid and upper 80s which thankfully is average for this time of year, not the extreme heat we had last week and the weekend. tomorrow, wednesday, thursday, heise mid-80s, maybe some storms around. a little greater chance tomorrow. thursday, friday, sarksd and sunday. highs in the 80s. enjoy. see you tomorrow morning. >> all right, thank you, tom. today mark as new chapter in the history of the "today" show. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie.

live. >> savannah guthrie kicked off her new role as co-anchor alongside matt lauer. she's taking over for ann curry who's taking on a new role as international foreign correspondent. she joined "today" with the third hour. she calls the opportunity a real pinch-me moment. we're so happy to have her join us. she's a familiar face. always a pleasant person to run into in the halls here at "news 4." that's going do it for us. be sure