we're following two big stories tonight. a teen in d.c. rushed to ray is kags after getting his fingers stuck in an escalator.

a huge tree crashes on a car, killing the driver. it happened on georgetown pike in great falls. the road is closed in both directions as the crews clear the scene. news4's erika gonzalez is on the scene with the latest. >> reporter: when have you seen or heard of anything like this happening. an arborist ruled that the root of this tree is decayed. it is dead from the bottom. and this event has brought out an entire community. people talking about how often they come up and down this road and why this could have just as easily been any one of them. dan howe says he and his son were traveling down georgetown pike at 6:00 this evening. >> we were pulling out of the 7-eleven. >> reporter: when he witnessed

the horrific event. a massic oak tree six to eight feet in diameter came crashing down. authorities have confirmed an adult male was inside. >> i could see her hitting the brake lights and it was over. >> reporter: howell ran to the man's aid while his son called the firefighters. >> the firefighters did access the patient, found that the injuries were nonsurvivable. >> reporter: three hours later the car was pulled from beneath the oak. the limbs are sprawled all over the road. the fire officials say it came without warning. >> we don't see things like that. >> reporter: a ripple effect of the deray cho?

>> the tree was rotten at the base. >> reporter: this is one thing that the crews have to work to get out of the roadways. but go up with me. see that tree? it's 40 feet behind this one in the roadway. that tree, as well, arborists say that tree is dead at the roots. crews have to get rid of this tree and that one as well tonight. this road will be blocked off for several hours to come. a very long night tonight. erika gonzalez, news4. now to breaking news down on the national mall. a teenager got his hand stuck in a metro escalator tonight. the 14-year-old is now in the hospital visiting from canada with his family. metro says the teen's flip-flop got stuck and tried to pull it out and four of his fingers got caught. it took firefighters about 45 minutes to get his hand out but he was not seriously hurt. right now the escalator is out of service.

it will be closed until some time tomorrow. metro is reminding riders it advises against wearing flip-flops on escalators. today we hit the fifth day of 100 degree weather this month. the heat could slow metro trains again tomorrow. the transit agency reduced train speeds to 35 miles an hour for the daylight hours today. riders can take water on the trains tomorrow to beat the heat. it's not just here in our area. more than half the nation is experiencing drought conditions. it's the worst drought in half a century. the extreme heat is devastating the corn crop in the midwest. that could drive up prices for just about everything we buy. veronica is here with more on the heat. >> we're smack dab in the middle of the heat wave.

one more day to go. 100 degrees was the high temperature right before 4:00. we have had five now for july, six now for the year. we are now in third place rivaling the number of days we had at or above 100 in 1980. we could do it again tomorrow, giving us seven putting us in second place for the most 100 degree days. the temperatures are warm. 88 degrees right now. but because of how we rise tomorrow with the high humidity, the heat advisory for tomorrow and it could be stormy in the afternoon. a prominent political analyst is in the hospital after a violent confrontation on capitol hill and it started after someone stole his iphone. shomari stone is live with more on this assault. >> reporter: right now i'm in the 7-eleven store where this originated. i talked to david mercer's friends who say he is in

intensive care tonight. and police say it was all over an iphone similar to this one. >> reporter: david mercer walks into a 7-eleven on capitol hill at 10:00 last thursday night. the democratic party fundraiser who worked on presidential campaigns, talks on a cell phone and walks back and forth. he holds a red bag or rolled up t-shirt. he sets it on the counter and continues to talk on the phone. his iphone is set on the counter. the suspect takes the phone. david begins checking his pockets looking for the phone. he approaches the suspect and appears to ask him about him. the suspects walk out. david follows them outside. they got in an argument and a fight breaks out. metro police show up with fla ---ing lights and an ambulance takes davis to howard university hospital.

>> just like an executive and usually executive types aren't friendly but he was a friendly neighbor. >> reporter: back out here inside the 7-eleven. you can see that is the surveillance camera that captured this. the police have identified the people involved in this. as for david mercer her is in howard university hospital in intensive care. i'm shomari stone, news4. a family argument turned deadly in charles county. a 33-year-old say she proctor shot his mother and stepfather before turning the gun on himself. proctor died on the scene at 5:00 this morning. his mother and stepfather were both seriously injured. harris teeter is offering a $50,000 reward for tracking down two masked men behind a robbery. police want to know if it is connected to ten similar holdups

in north carolina. the robbers took cash from customers and employees at gunpoint. a worker describes the scene. >> i see he has a mask on. and he just has gun pointed to me and is like get down on the floor. >> reporter: anybody who might have information should contact the loudoun county crime stoppers. faa officials are combing for clues after a plane crash last night. the plane went down moments after takeoff. the 79-year-old flight instructor frank schmidt was killed in the crash. another man was critically injured. his name has not been released now. a criminal investigation in amsterdam to figure out who put needles inside sandwiches that were found in five turkey sandwiches on flights between

amsterdam and the u.s. over the weekend. one person was injured. >> the second bite was something jabbed me in the top of my mouth. my first impression was maybe there was a toothpick in it. >> the fbi launched a separate investigation. so far there is no evidence any contaminated products ended up on other flights. a manhunt for a pilot suspected of killing his girlfriend ended in suicide today. he had been on the run since friday when his girlfriend was found stabbed to death in colorado springs. he turned up 700 miles away at an airport in st. george utah. he scaled a barbed wire fence, took of an empty plane and crashed it into several cars. kerry kennedy is speaking out after being arrested for

dui. she pleaded not guilty to the charges in court today. she said friday's crash happened after she took an ambien pill. but today she had different reason. she says she suffered a seizure and doesn't remember anything from the moments leading up to the wreck. >> my doctors said this is the only seizure i have ever had and with robust investigation and treatment, i'll be able to live symptom free. >> kerry kennedy is the daughter of robert f. kennedy and the ex-wife of andrew cuomo. penn state is planning for another football season despite the fact that the football program could be shut down. a report accused top university officials of not doing enough to stop jerry sandusky from abusing young boys. the head of the ncaa says nothing is off the table in

terms of sanctioning the school. they will decide whether to remove a statue of the late joe paterno. one of the officials accused of covering up the scandal. the sudden closure of y-me has some in the region stunned and wondering what happened to their donations. members of a golf group sent the charity a check for $13,000. y-me is known for mother's day runs and 24 hour hot line. y-me's only explanation so far is partly a cash flow crisis. doctors say it could be the most effective new therapy to fight obesity yet and has one approval from the food and drug administration. the fda cleared a pill named qnexa. patient lost up to 10% of their body weight. the drug was rejected in 2010.

but based on new data this year the fda decided the benefits outweigh the risks. next high drama outside a new york city high-rise after a girl falls 30 feet out of a wane doe and survives. a neighborhood goes to extreme against the birds. the couple in this picture has come forward sort of. and a toddler's tantrum goes viral.

scary moments in new york city after a car fell five stories down an elevator shaft. a parking attendant was driving a car into the elevator but the car wasn't there. the attendant driving the car and another one working on a lower level were both hurt but expected to recover. a new york citys but driver is living proof you can be at the right place at the right time. he heard a scream and ran over and saw a girl standing on a third floor air conditioner. he threw out his arms and caught the girl as she fell. >> you were the only one with the presence of mind to stand beneath that. >> i have a seven-year-old. that's the instinct and from the heart and any parent or anybody who loves kids like me would

have done the same thing. >> the police say the girl had autism. she suffered bruises. he tore a tendon but says it's well worth the life it saved. sparks fly in frederick maryland in a battle against birds. officials trying to ward off flocks of crows and starlings. city says this usually becomes a problem in late summer. the birds today didn't take flight after hearing the guns. wildlife officials will continue the scaring efforts through friday. amid a pending rate increase and a request to conserve energy, pepco is looking for reliability solutions. they are conducting a study on burying power lines in maryland.

pepco says the study will allow the company, it's customers and the public service commission to make informed decisions about putting the infrastructure underground. the mystery couple behind a romantic photo has come forward, sort of. the picture was snapped by a tourist from nevada who saw the airman slip a ring on his companion's finger. they say the picture does not show a proposal. the couple got engaged twoeeks earlier and were scouting locations for their wedding and want to maintain their privacy. >> after all this on the "today" show. >> see what happens when you get caught. >> we're going to be caught in the heat tomorrow. >> we are going to get caught in the heat. now we could be looking at storms. storms along with the heat. you know that is a bad mix for

us. we have done it so many times this summer already. can we move on? like a couple of folks sending me messages saying that they are ready for snow even if it's snomageddon. outside right now a mostly clear sky. check out the high temperatures across the nation today. we hit 100 degrees. the only other area, 100 in kansas city, missouri, 99 in little rock. phoenix at 103. we get the award, right for some of the highest temperatures in the area today. as far as your planner forecast for tomorrow morning right through the noontime in the afternoon, 77 at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. again temperatures are going to rise in a hurry and by noontime tomorrow, i think we could easily hit 95 degrees, easily and by 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. hitting 100 degrees again. we're going to have a mostly clear sky and it will be humid

and muggy. and as we hit 100 degrees it will feel like 105 to 106 degrees. storms building too for the afternoon. so right now we've got the mostly clear sky. we have clouds around pittsburgh. up to the north, more storms even at this late hour. buffalo and albany. this is the front up here that we're going to focus in on tomorrow. it's going to make its way southward. storms popping around 2:00 or 3:00. any of the storms could be slow moving. the air is juiced up. we might be looking at flash flood advisories or warnings tomorrow too. and then we do it all over again on thursday as the front gets closer to us. but until it passes it's going to be hot and humid. we have a slight risk for severe storms. this whole area shaded in yellow for here in d.c., baltimore, philadelphia and new york too

where we could get the slow moving storms, downpours and hail possible. a lot of lightning and high winds. that for tomorrow and thursday too as the heat starts to ease. tomorrow morning's forecast, 72 to 79 degrees, warm and muggy with a mostly clear sky. in the afternoon, the threat of rain, 50% chance in the form of showers and storms with that heat index at 105 to 106. here's a look at the four-day forecast. the heat eases by thursday with a high of 92 degrees but a higher threat of storms. 81 on friday. wet for friday. a 30% chance of showers in the forecast. the weekend couldn't be better. 82 on saturday, 85 on sunday. sunday is the day we get more sunshine and we climb back in the low 90s for the early part of next week. steamy, stormy and hot.

>> our wild ride continues. still ahead, a little boy thoughs a huge fit after getting a surprise from his mom. also in sports, the mets and nats play a

tom sherwood tweeted tonight. this nats game is wild. >> he got to stay until the end? >> i don't know. >> you had to leave before the

end, obviously. >> this was an awesome game. if you were at the game you got your money's worth, extra innings, a couple of lead changes and the nationals win. ross detwiler put the nats in a good spot and the nats' bats came alive when they were needed the most. this is lucas gee lito. he was in the house to meet and greet the fans. top nine, tyler clipard on for the save but he has a blown save. bottom nine the nats down to their last out. and danny espinoza with runners on the corners. we're tied at three. this going to extra innings.

top ten. mike gonzalez out of the pen. but josh thole finds the gap and daniel murphy scores and the mets take a 4-3 lead. bottom ten with a man on second. bryce harper turns on this one, sends it into right field. in comes solano and we're tied at 4. bases loaded for tyler moore. he had a home run earlier. doesn't need one here. the wild pitch and ryan zimmerman scores the game-winning run. the nationals win a thriller. 5-4 is the final. bryce harper is one of the reasons for the win. >> you know, i was just trying to get a good a.b. and get someone through the hole and score that run. just trying to get something going and we won the game. >> the nationals are 52-36,

still the best record in the national league. the biggest question surrounding this team is who will replace stevphen strasburg if the nationals make the post season. he will be shut down in august or september. today i asked what it would be like if he has to watch the team go to the world series without him? >> it's tough to say. we have a second half of baseball here. you know, still got to get there. a lot of things can happen as you can tell from last year. can't count your chickens before they hatch. not worried about the post season or the world series. just worried about the next start. excited to go back out there in a couple of days. i'm not going to shut it down any time soon. >> strasburg has not discussed how much longer he will be

pitching. the wizards have parted ways with andray blatche. and they had to eat the remaining $23 million on his contract. he was designated as the amnesty player. he gets paid his money but it country count against the salary cap. >> that's the reward. >> an amnesty clause. i have to remember th

. parents worry about their kids getting tattoos. but one woman probably won't have that concern. >> it won't come off? it's okay. it's a pretend tattoo. it's okay. it's for fun. >> that's 16-month-old marshall. his mother posted the video on youtube. she got one at a festival and wanted to include him

>> announcer: it's "the tonight show with jay leno," featuring rickey minor and "the tonight show" band. tonight, jay welcomes -- from "total recall," kate beckinsale. comedian adam carolla.