sound, but her kidnapper is still on the loose. good afternoon. i'm pat lawson muse. >> and i'm jim rosin field in for jim handly. police say this happened north of baltimore. violet ripken was in her garage where a man approached and forced her into her own car. he drove her around for several hours. at some point last night, a man spotted the car, called police after seeing vi ripken tied up. early this morning, police found her back in her neighborhood, still tied up in her car. >> at this time we don't know what, if any, relationship there was between the perpetrator of this crime and the ripken family independents w . >> reporter: was there a random demand? >> at this time i can say we know of no ransom demand.

>> the ripken family released a statement this afternoon that reads in part -- this has been a very trying time for our family, but we are grateful and relieved mom is back safe and healthy. we want to thank everyone for their tremendous support, especially all of the law enforcement agencies that worked so hard and quickly. the statement went on to say -- this is an ongoing investigation, so we hope everyone understands we cannot comment further at this time. news4's pat collins will have more coming up on "news4 at 5." tonight we'll get a chance to hear from washington's new quarterback, robert griffin iii will speak during a news conference in ash burn at 5:30, the first time he'll be speaking publicly sin signing his contract with the team. we'll bring that news conference to you live when it happens on "news4 at 5." other news now, union station may get a major facelift. today am track unveiled a $7

billion proposal that includes plan for 40 new high-speed trains, new platforms. news4's tracee wilkins has more on what this could mean for riders. >> reporter: union station is the second busiest train station in the country with more than 100,000 people coming through here every day, but officials say they're at capacity and are hoping some new construction will nonincrease the number of trains and passengers here, but also bring new development to the district. during peak rush, this can be the scene at union station. >> very overcrowded in the station, the whole entire station rurp union station brings mark, vre, metro pack and others together, but much of union's rail structures have not changed since the early 1900s. am track wants that to change. the rail company says the

upgrade will help make it a high-speed rail hub for the northeast. the innovation will double the 234u78 better of trains that union station can accommodate. >> i think in general we need to expand the rail system nationally to give people more options. >> i think it will make it worse, but it's kind of a balance between the two. we need the trains, we need them to run on time, and we still need the space for the people. >> reporter: in addition to adding trains, district-based developer acridge released a statement saying it will include a mixed-use development including shops, homes and business space. they aim to create a new urban neighborhood in downtown washington d.c., it will be built over the railyards north of the station and connect both to capitol hill and noma neighborhoods. >> i think it's a good idea. everyone wants to talk about jobs, and this is ton of jobs,

and we're expanding, stuff like that, so yeah, i think it's a good idea. according to "the washington post," the proposal calls for the restructures of the "h" street bridge. the paper reports there could be funding issues ahead for the project, since it appears they'll need federal funds to pay for it. >> wow, that's a lot. i doubt they'll spend that much. >> reporter: reporting from union station, i'm tracee wilkins, news4. can we talk about the weather today, pat? >> let's do that. >> enjoy it while we can. this is kind of a bummer. today as beautiful as it is, extreme heat is coming back. >> yes, the heat's back on. chief meteorologist doug kammerer is outside on the storm4 weather patio to get is ready. >> it is absolutely gorgeous out here. weather could not be better. plenty of sunshine, bright blue skies, a temperature of 89 degrees out there at the airport. really just a fantastic, fantastic afternoon. i asked for a couple things when i came in here today.

a, get me out on the weather deck. and two, get me extra air conditioning in the office tomorrow, because i think we'll be over 100 degrees again. currently sitting at 89 degrees out at the airport. 86, actually, we've come down a degree or two. 52 the dew point, so the humidity only 31%. the heat index actually lower than the actual temperature. how about that? as far as our temperatures go throughout the rest of the region, 82 in martins burg, the warm spot right now, 88 in both manassas and la plat tars, so just a fantastic afternoon. of course that means nothing to show you on storm4 radar. we're high and dry. i think we'll stay that way through the day. there could be potential storms on friday, but nothing between now and then, i don't think, except for just a few isolated showers through the mountains. through your morning, if you are over toward montgomery county, how about rockville. you can see what it will be

like. 81 degrees around 7:00, 775 by 11:00, 73 when you wake up tomorrow morning. hot and humid tomorrow. that's why just about the entire area is under a heat advisory. that heat index tomorrow could approach 105. i'm going for an actual temperature of 101. i'll let you know what we'll see for this weekend. i'll have it all in my full forecast. all right. today the first victim of the colorado theater shooting was laid to rest. investigators say they have a vital piece of evidence in the case. as jay gray reports, they say the evidence was provided by the very man accused of being the shooter. >> reporter: this afternoon federal agents tell nbc news james hole systems told them where to find what could be key evidence. he parent told investigators about a package he sent to

colorado's campus. they found the package unhoped. inside they discovered what's described as handwritten details about killing people. as the investigation continues, so does the mourning here. >> i'm overwhelmed by the tragedy of all of this, and the senselessness of all of it. i mean, good people taken. >> reporter: people like 51-year-old gordon cowden, the oldest victim of the massacre took his two teenage daughter to the movie. they survived. he was laid to rest today, the first of at least 12 funerals for victims of the attack. >> i need officers on the east side of market. >> reporter: after the chaos and killing at the theater, there are now growing questions in this grieving community about what will happen to the crime scene. some say it should be torn down and replaced by a memorial. others, though, argue the cinema should reopen to show the world the gunman didn't win that night. right now the building is still locked down by police, but could be returned to the owners by the end of the week.

looking to provide some strength and comfort, the star of the movie that will forever be livaned to the tragedy traveled to colorado yesterday. christi christian bale visited the memorial, and spend time with the victims and first responders. >> he was very nice, very sincere. he wasn't there about himself. he was there to show his support and show that people cared. >> reporter: concern and help this community will need for a long time. back to the investigation now. evidence teams are still inside the theater behind me. police say it will stay locked down through at least friday. in aurora, colorado, jay gray, news4. the release of the new batman comic book has been delayed a month until late august. the publisher says it's out of the concern for the shooting victims. at least 24 people were arrested, six others injured when protests turned violent in anahe anaheim, california. this happened last night. they were updebt about a police officer shooting an unarmed man

last weekend. storefronts were broken, protesters threw rocks and bottles, officers fired pepper spray. the battle over tax cuts, playing out on capitol hill right now. if congress fails to reach a compromise, everyone's tax bill in january goes up. issues at the heart of the presidential race. jennifer johnson reports. >> reporter: senate democrats and republicans in a showdown over a plan to extend tax cuts to all americans. the democrats want to exclude the very wealthy. >> we need to make sure the richest 2% of americans are paying their fair share, so we can pay down the deficit. >> reporter: but republicans want the cuts extended for everyone. if a compromise isn't reached. billions of tax increases and spending cuts go into effect in 2013, which republicans say is fiscal suicide. >> the president's proposal is the policy equivalent of thelma and louise intentionally driving

their convertible off the cliff. >> the tax showdown is at the heart of the presidential race. president obama accuses republicans of protecting the wealthy. >> they have decided to hold middle-class tax cuts hostage until we also agree to spend another $1 trillion on tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. >> mitt romney is in london kicking off an overseas trip. before he left, he said president obama should prevent massive defense cuts set to go into effect at the end of the year. >> the new president will be able to put together his own budget and own tax plan, which will get the economy going and finally get us on track to a balanced budget. >> reporter: as the olympics are set to begin, obama supporters are using the theme over outsourcing and his private accounts. >> you've got to say this about mitt romney, he sure knows how to go for the gold -- for himself. >> reporter: but romney backers staged several evans today supporting his ideas to grow

small businesses. romney has vowed not to attack obama on the foreign trip. his advisers says he'll meet with several world leaders to listen and learn. jennifer johnson, news4. when "news4 at 4" continues, why michael jackson's mother no longer has custody of his children. ♪ well we're moving on up ♪ to the east side plus he's the man best known for playing george sfwrefr son. we remember sherman hensley and what he told his mother about his hopes for the future. ♪ and a surprising revelation from bruce springsteen, when the rock star says he contemplated suicide.

we're following some breaking news in prince george's county, a garage fire has caused a plume of black smoke that is so large it can be seen for miles. here is what it looks like. take a look at this video, smolt about half an hour ago. firefighters say the smoke is coming from the hansen creek golf course on tucker road in ft. washington. the fire is coming from a large garage designed to store golf carts. no injuries have been reported. today fans are remembers sherman hemsley, who died yesterday form he's best known for his role as george jefferson in "the jefferson" that ran for 11 seasons. he also played a number of other karats in sit-coms. he began acting on theaters before making his tv debut. he was a singer and air force veteran. in an interview last year, he said, quote, i always told my

mother i wanted a job where i could have a lot of fun and a lot of time off. he was 74 years old. bruce springsteen is one of the most successful musical artist, so what he revealed to "new yorker" this month took many by surprised. he said at one point he suffered from severe depression. however, springsteen said decades of therapy has helped him deal with what he described as. debra messing one of the several flannisphilanthropists. she joined the fight about 20 years ago when she lost an acting teacher to the disease. she recently visited zambia, where she says discrimination against those with aids is a

significant problem. he smelt wi she met with one woman who was ostracized. >> she had a beautiful baby on her back, another one on the floor. the great news is that she -- she has access to medicine, to arvs, and she's being counseled how to stay healthy with a positive status. >> during her time in washington, messing has met with leaders on capitol hill as well as doctors studying aids. she says she urged them to stay committed to -- just two days to go before the competition begins this london. believe it or not, olympic athletes are more prone to suffer from asthma than the general population. more than 20% of u.s. olympic team competing in the 1996 summer games in atlanta reported they suffered from asthma. in get healthy for life today,

asthma, athletics and what he with learn. dr. jackie is here to talk about this. do doctors know why so many suffer from asthma? >> athletes will recognize they need their lungs, their career depends on it, i think they just get a better diagnosis. >> does the kind of sport matter? are some sports more prone to have athletes? >> there's such a stretch on the lungs, interestingly enough mountain bikers are the number one olympic athlete that as asthma. when they're working their lungs, they're working uphill on an incline. >> which is tougher? summer games or winter. >> actually worldwide it's the winter games, the cold dry air you get in the winter games. let's look at some of the sports there. what's the biggest possible trigger for athletes in track

and field? track and field, it would be they get exercise-induced bronc ospasm. it's due to the dehydration of the airways. they'll wheeze and cough when they exercise. what about swimmers? >> it's a bit of a chicken or the egg. we're telling kids all the time action go to the pool, because it's warm humidified airs. is that what's causing us to see more asthmatics or the chlorine they're around that's causing burning of the lungs? how about cyclists? >> they're out for long rides, full of pollen. >> and some of them ride long, long distances. >> through beautiful scenery full of pollen. how about marathon runners. >> here's where place comes into play as with many athletes. the hope is for london, which can be a city that has a lot of pollution, is those temperatures are lower and there's a lot of rain, that they do better. >> now, with so many restrictions on drug use in

sports, how would tricky is it to treat the olympic athletes who need meds. >> it is a bit tricky, they have to make an application. the last olympics there were over 1,000 applications that were approved. there's two types of medications that they go on. one is an inhaled steroid. that is not the same kind of steroid that balks up their muscle, but they till need approval. the other is a beta agnoist. it speeds many your heart rate. would you get there if -- so you have to be properly worked up to know you need those meds. >> very interesting. finally, what can the rest of us take away from this? >> really it is, if these people can go out with their disease and manage it so well, and they can win gold medals, silver and bronze and stick with their sport, why can't your kid go to gym class? and can't you make it to the

aerobics studio? you shouldn't use asthma -- >> so a lot of the parents are calling, saying, hey can you give my kid an excuse? >> this is the time of year we're filling out school forms for the coming years. or parents are asking can you get my kid out of doing exercise? i think the message from the olympics is, it's completely unnecessary. >> thank you so much. >> you're welcome. news4 is your home for the olympics. the open ceremony takes place on friday. we'll check in with michael phelps and katie la decki. they'll tell you how they are getting ready for the games. a scandal they call rome alone. how an 11-year-old ran away from his mother and took an international flight without even a ticket. the heat is about to make a big return. how long will we have to sweat through extreme temperatures?

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sdplo snell decided to switch things up. >> keeping you on your toes. >> this is one of those days when you think, this is so great, and you wish it could just hold on, but that's not going to happen at all. >> live for today. >> very good. live for today, because today is simply gorgeous out there. tomorrow, we have big heat moving back in.

temperatures should get above 100 degrees. let's take a look at that. no humidity in the atmosphere. that's why we're looking at these crystal clear blue skies. it is simply gorgeous. dew point at 52. humidity at 31%. the heat index is lower. it feels like 84 out there at the airport today with that low are humidity. once again just spectacular. currently 86 in leesburg. 88 in manassas. right now 8 p degrees, and look at annapolis, 81 along the chesapeake bay. storm4 radar, to chance of rain, and this is the reason why. there's nothing here. all the way down, you have to go down towards north carolina to see any ink lynns of any

thunderstorms. what is moving our way will be the heat. yes, we have very nice weather with plenty of sunshine. watch what happens here, our warm front moves back across the area into the day tomorrow, and here comes the hot weather. not just hot, but very humid conditions. you'll notice a big difference by tomorrow morning. tomorrow could also be a big day for severe weather from ohio to pennsylvania up through new york. friday, that front will move our way. so it still will be hot. i think we'll have a chance for strong to severe storms during the day on friday. not a widespread event, but chance of storms there. the biggest news will be the heat as the heat advisory is in effect. clear skies, just perfect. enjoy it now, 77 to about 84 degrees this evening. tomorrow morning it will be more on the humid side, so a warmer start than what we saw this morning, but not bad. temperatures 66 to 73 degrees. it will warm up very quickly,

however. we'll see a high near -- 91 on saturday, 89 on sunday. then it gets unsettled i don't see much of a chance to get above 90, that could be a good day. a chance of showers and storms. not too bad. still to come on news4, first michael jackson's mother was reported missing. now she's lost custody of his children. the latest on a bizarre family feud that wound up in court today. a serious case of road rage captured on tape. a driver pulls

more jackson family drama. just days after being reported

missing, michael jackson's mother no longer has custody of his children. welcome back to "news4 at 4." i'm jim rosin field in for jim handly. >> and i'm pat lawson muse. a judge appointed tito jackson's son as a temporary guardian. >> the judge is concerned she left for arizona with no warning, and-hand spoken total children in days. all this is going on with the concert tour in the background. kerry berg lund has the story. >> reporter: while her sons were on stage at the greek theater saturday night, they were wondering what happened to their mother. she was supposed to be here. under most of the jackson radar, kathryn had slipped away to spend time with her daughter in arizona. the official website to michael published this picture of the matriarch playing uno.

but in true jackson family fashion there's more to the story. katherine jackson was misting for several days. a neighbor who lives right across the street told me she didn't want to worry the grandchildren. it turns out that's exactly what she did. paris was tweeting for help, sending out a phone number. i want her home now, she wrote. they filed a missing persons report, and with janet, came to the calabasas estate to take the grandchildren away, but paris, prince and michael didn't want to go, and an argument ensued. a sheriff's spokesman says there was an altercation, and no one is speaking out today, but there is still tweeting and statements being issued, talk that there might be another struggle. jermaine says we are following doctor's orders, period.

the two men in charge of the estate issued this statement following what they say was a her from, quote, certain of the jackson siblings. quote -- we are acutely concerned about the welfare of mrs. jackson and most particularly with michael's minor children. we do what we can to protect them from undue influences, bullying, greed and other unfortunate incidences. >> that's carey bergland. maryland's michael phelps has 14 medals. if he wins just three more medals in any color, he'll be the most decorated olympian of all time. he says this is his last olympics. this morning he talked to ryan seacrest. >> it's cruel to say, but kind of emotional. i think back over the last 20 years of what has happened through my career, and it's been

a lot of great memories? just having a lot of good memories and moments and hopefully finish my career with good swims. >> you're staying with the other athletes in the village? >> we are. >> what are you doing in your down time? >> pretty much just watching tv. i started "the wire" catching up on "breaking bad". >> there's been reports there was no air conditioning. is that true? >> we walked in and try to do crank the thermostat. they told us in a meeting we have no air conditioning. >> yikes. michael phelps says the athletes have been given fans to cool off their rooms. another olympic athlete to watch is katy indicat katie la . she's from bethesda and goes to stone ridge high school of the sacred hard. this morning on "today" katie

said she's embracing the competition. >> it feels great to be here with these older athletes, being around them and being able to compete with them. it's a great honor. >> you can look out for katie swimming the 800-meter freestyle. nbc4 is your olympic session. the opening ceremony on friday. dan hellie will bring us live reports from london. check out nbcwashington.com for a list of event to watch and local updates. >> and there are a lot of them. >> yes there are. you've seen "home alone" this is roam alone. how an 11-year-old boy was able to run away from his mother and board an international flight without a ticket. a man accused of terrorizing a family by breaking into his home naked. why he says police made it all automatic. and video

a major security scandal overseas. somehow an 11-year-old boy passed through multiple security checks in britain, boarded a flight to rome with no ticket or passport. he wasn't discovered until the plane was in the air and

passengers became suspicious. manchester airport spokesman said the incident was embarrassing, but the boy did go through security and was never a threat. the boy initially ran away from his mother during a shopping trip, headed to the manchester airport. he's fine now and been reunited with his parents. beyonce is actually praising one of her fans for re-creating her music video for the song "countdown." ♪ oh ♪ killing me softly ♪ and i'm still fallin' ♪ still what i need ♪ i won't be with you >> you have to laugh at something like that. a 16-year-old boy recorded this video for what he calls the snuggie version. so far it's gotten more than 800,000 hits on youtube. that's funny to watch. >> she posted it on hurl tumblr page. she said it was brilliant and better than her own video.

>> it's right on. >> it's a carbon copy, just not beyonce. he's got the moves. >> yes, he does, and the words. >> wait, did you see the eyebrows there? he can move them independently. i can't do it. >> he can do it all. when "news4 at 4" continues, a serious case of road rage. cameras are rolling when an angry driver pulls out a gun and fires bullets in a neighborhood. also doug says the heat is about to make a big return. his forecast is next.

we are enjoying this day. beautiful weather. >> you have another eight hours to enjoy this day, because tomorrow -- >> what did i just tell you? >> that's right, you said live for the moment, live for today. carpe diem, carpe manana.

does that make sense? >> not the manana part. >> we are dealing with a very, very nice day. as we look out there right now, plenty of sunshine, bright blue skies, just a few clouds streaming on in across the area. take a look at these numbers. right now we are sitting atle 6 degrees, with plenty of sunshine, dew point only 52, so the humidity is only 31%. winds right now out of the west. light winds. around the metro region -- warrenton is the warm spot right now. look at this. 81 towards annapolis. wouldn't it be great today if you had a boat out there on the chesapeake? call me. as far as temperatures go over the next couple days, you know we'll warm up. don't worry about rain, don't worry about thunderstorms. i don't think we'll see too many, as most should be well to

the north and west. we will see that heat. overnight not bad. still in the 60s. i do think it will feel a lot warmer when you wake up tomorrow morning. temperatures will start to skyrocket. they'll move very quickly in the up direction, closer to upper 90s around 100. going for a high of 100 in baltimore, 101 in washington, two degrees shy of a record, but if we do hit 100 tomorrow, 28d be the second time ever we've had eight days of 100 degrees or better for the summer, and i do think we'll get there. 100 in culpepper, and 100 out towards the pax river. we are going to see the heat index approaches 105 during the afternoon tomorrow, as we move through the next couple days, 97 on friday. then we start to cool a bit. 89 on sunday, 89 monday, then still in the upper 80s as we move towards tuesday.

a bit better weather. it may be unsettled with some rain, but after this very hot summer, some rain is not a bad thing. >> we need it. >> yeah, we do. thanks, doug. tonight a family is telling the story of a frightening interruption, a naked intruder barges into an apartment and trying to snatch a little girl. we're hearing the girl's story firsthand and why the suspect's says the story is all made up. >> i had no breath left. >> reporter: little kylie went through what she describes as the scariest moment in her life. in her own home when a neighborhood intruder barged in and grabbed her. >> we were sitting here watching cartoons. >> kylie and her little sister were done with their chores and watching tv while their mother was in her bedroom. in their instant the quiet afternoon turned terrifying. >> i heard three, four slaps on the door, so i told my little sister to go run to the room. >> police say it was this man,

33-year-old joshua daniel reardon who stormed into the apartment completely naked. as kylie ran to her mother's room, he grabbed her. >> he got ner and i yell at him, screaming like, let go of me. >> kylie's mother, who assist nine months pregnant came out and confronted him. >> i didn't know what he was capable of doing. i slammed my bedroom door, locked it and i called 911. >> el went to run into the closet and my baby sister hid under the blankets. >> reporter: police were already on their way, called after a neighborhood and her two little girls ran into reardon outside. >> he was completely naked, and i said, what's wrong with you? my mom started yelling at him and so were the other girls. i made my daughters close their eyes and rushed them up the stairs. >> during the initial appearance, he said police made things up. >> the cops didn't have enough to arrest me.

he may deny the charges, but the damage is done. >> i kept thinking about it, because my head kept -- and did not want it to. we did not like what he did, but -- but we did not want to see it. >> i will never, ever make the mistake again of forgetting to lock my door. >> wow. >> yeah, strange. coming up next, video of a killer whale trying to drown a trainer at seaworld. ♪

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. this dramatic video has been kept under wraps. it shows a -- it happened in san diego back in 2006 during a live performance. trainer ken peters was dragged underwater by a whale named kasatka. it was eight minutes before he was able to calm the whale

before freeing him. he suffered a broken foot, but recovered. it was used by the government last year in a court ka is that involved the death of a trainer in orlando in 2010. it's released now, because an author filed a freedom of information request. a fawn is getting special care, but it's serves as a warning. someone dropped the animal off at the fire station monday night. wildlife officials say the baby deer would have been better off left in the wild. the animal can spread disease, of course. on top of that. the mother may not find it again if it's released in a random place. gaming authorities are trying to get out the warning after people picked up at least three fawns so far this month. coming up next, a dangerous case of road rage. a driver pulls a

residents in a florida neighborhood are on edge after an apparent road rage shooting that was captured on video. the victim says he still doesn't

know what he did to set the guy off. >> reporter: watch as this man gets out of his tan bmw and begins firing in the direction of this black ford f250. it happened in late june on the 1400 block of northeast 56th street. the brazen shooter didn't seem to care, nor that his crime would not be cloaked by darkness, in fact caught on camera. >> i heard gunshots. i've got my 10-month-old daughter in the house. it was scary. >> reporter: wilt bullets pierced the ford on the passenger side. we were shown the damage. he said if this was the as a result of road rage, the suspect had a very short fuse. >> there's no idea to what caused him to be so enraged he would in broad daylight take a firearm and just randomly start firing off multiple rounds at a

vehicle. >> reporter: the victim says he can't remember shares a lane with him for more than a quarter mile. in affect, he was behind it. he pulls into the driveway first. ft. lauderdale police consider this man to be dangerous, because he didn't seem to have any regard for the lives of those -- >> a bullet could have gone think anybody's window and could have gotten hurt. >> reporter: the video call by a neighbors's video camera, captures his face. >> we're hoping that someone out there who will know what that person is and they want to make sure we're all safe by turning this person in. now at 5:00, a hall of famer's mother is kidnapped. >> former baseball great cal ripken jr.'s mother is held hostage for 24 hours. a new way to drive quicker there you virginia without paying tolls. are you ready for some tubal?

today robert griffin iii talks to the immediaty. you can watch it live at 5:30. withendy and jim are off tonight. a gunman kidnapped her and held her for 24 hours. news4's pat collins joins us live from aberdeen, maryland with more. pat? >> reporter: pat, neighbors saying mrs. ripken had a habit of going out to mcdonald's for breakfast. maybe the gunman knew that. maybe that's why he was wait fog her at that garage. violet ripken, the 74-year-old mother of orioles star cal ripken. he was kidnapped, tied up, blind gp folded, held for 24 hours before she was released this morning just a couple blocks from her aberdeen