. tonight the hammer has come down on parents as new laws on drunk driving take effect tomorrow. the chance of storms increasing in the next few days. and american teenager golden. an american favorite off the medal stand. and the empty seats becoming the story in london. good evening i'm jim vance.

>> and i'm wendy rieger. >> we begin on a crackdown on drunk drivers. >> jim rosenfield is live with the details. >> reporter: the d.c. council has hit the reset button on drunk driving laws with new fines and penalties. .08 is the legal limit for most but not all drivers. if you are driving drunk with a child in the car you are doing jail time. starting wednesday, get behind the wheel after a few too many at the bar in d.c. and your time behind bars could stretch to up to half a year. >> a clear message to the people who drink and drive that the consequences are more likely to come down on them and be more serious. >> reporter: how serious in the maximum fine for a first offense increases to $1,000 and you could spend up to 180 days in

jail. if a child is in the car you will serve a mandatory jail car. and it is tougher if you are driving a commercial limit. the limit is .04 with a man tear minimum jail sentence of five days. and d.c. police are expected to resume using breathalyzer machines to test blood alcohol levels. problems with reliability of machines has been fixed. >> it's going the be scientifically administers as opposed to lay people responsible for breast testing. >> reporter: reaction to the testifier laws? >> that incentive is the financial incentive. but it will be a deterrent. >> you are putting others at risk. if you take that risk you should have a harsher punishment. >> reporter: there are tougher penalties for repeat offenders. jim rosenfield, news4. jim and wendy? it has been a calm night

outside in the atmosphere but the threat of thunderstorms will be intensifying this week. doug is tracking the changes. >> we are looking a at beautiful night right now. currently at 79 degrees. winds out of the southeast at 8 miles an hour. it is gorgeous out there right now. we had couple of thundershowers and thunderstorms that developed during the day today. just a few left over in the blue ridge. but over the next couple days that threat is going to be on the increase. i'll show you when we have the best chance for storms plus when the heat returns. it's all in my forecast. pepco's self assessment on the response to the derecho storm has local lawmakers fuming. the utility says it did everything possible to restore power quickly. but lawmakers say they are making excuses for poor preparation. >> they say whatever they did was quickly enough. it reminds me of through the looking glass. and that is pepco's position.

if it's quickly enough for them it's supposed to be quickly enough for those who suffered. >> pepco says it needs to improve estimates on how long it will take to restore power and needs to protect other health care facilities from outages. power regulators will decide whether the utilities will face fines for their response to storms. a dead man has an ominous warning for someone who stole his dead grandmother's body. the grandmother died 16 years ago. her resting place a mausoleum in new jersey with five family members. but someone broke in, pried open her casket and took her body. >> you done with her, bring her back. if anything works in their minds, grand mom's goind to haunt them the rest of their lives. >> the mausoleum is in a excluded part of the cemetery.

investigators are looking to the possibility this could be part of a cult ritual. the suspect in that colorado movie massacre made a second court appearance today. he showed no signs of emotion as the judge told him about the charges against him including murder and attempted murder. james holmes is facing 142 counts in that rampage that left 12 people dead. prosecutors will ask survivors and relatives for input on whether to seek the death penalty against holmes. since that shooting erupted during a screening of "the dark knight rises" our local batman is no longer allowed to make visits to sick kids. he dresses up in a bat man and drives around in his bat mobile while trying to lift the spirits of sick children. a hospital in chicago said it could upset kids and their

parents. a spokeswoman says that other hospitals have stopped visits. precious moments wasted and you might be to blame. there is an increase in distracted drivers. we hopped on board fire trucks with cameras rolling to see the problem through their eyes. tisha thompson shows us the wild ride. >> reporter: when the call comes every minute counts. a woman and a baby stuck in an elevator. two cars on fire from downed power lines. but sometimes the battle is just getting to the emergency. >> getting worse with more congestion it's worse. distracted or confused drivers in the way. >> we see every reaction. >> reporter: jamming on brakes, going around fire trucks. we hit one of the biggest obstacles, intersections. >> this intersection stinks. >> reporter: one, two, three,

ten cars fly buy us despite lights and sirens blaring. >> i know it's there. >> reporter: riding with station 30, a traffic jam at this light. drivers freeze, not sure what to do. one call pulls into the intersection, another backs up and pulls ahead, still blocking the lanes. >> in a one-mile travel time on a call we would encounter seven or eight drivers doing the wrong thing. >> reporter: never continue into the intersection. >> we have to keep about a three car distance. and even then people try to duck in front of us. >> reporter: this car slams on the brakes and takes off. >> reporter: on station 26 truck most cars get out of the way until the turn where a silver suv suddenly pulls out. >> people pull out -- see us coming out and decide to pull out. >> reporter: maryland law says that drivers have to pull over

and stop. you can be slapped with a $110 fine and a point on your license. >> they will jump on our bumpers. a car gets in between two fire trucks as station eight responds to a school alarm. >> stay back 500 feet. >> reporter: for these drivers every minute counts. >> you have a three or five minute window. >> as cars spread out in all directions on this 100 degree day. an infant is trapped in an suv. it doesn't have to be this hard. be attentive, have a plan. >> if the driver in front of us puts on their turn signal. >> reporter: so you don't keep the firefighters where where they need to be. in d.c. you have to pull over and stop or face a $150 ticket. in virginia you should pull to the nearest edge and stop. there you can get slapped with four points and if you pass a responding emergency vehicle you

could be charged with reckless driving. tonight, a potential link between two jewelry store robberies in d.c. and virginia, one of which turned deadly. surveillance video from the last month shows a gunman robbing a business in d.c. and the victim spoke to news4 but asked we not show his face. >> i gave up the jewelry and didn't fight or question the guy. he went on his way. >> reporter: the gunman was wearing a neon safety vest and beige baseball cap, the same outfit worn by the man who killed tommy wong on saturday at the capital jeweler's store in arlington. danger in ocean city. police are searching for a man who tried to sexual assault several women. these attacks are happening in dark, deserted areas near bars. the most recent one was this saturday. police are warning women to avoid walking alone.

former president bill clinton will have a major role at the democratic national convention next month. he will make the case for re-electing president obama with the nominating speech. campaign officials say mr. obama asked clinton personally if he would speak to help the obama campaign to take advantage of clinton's popularity. mitt romney is expected to accept his nomination without any former presidents in the audience. nbc news confirmed that dick cheney will not attend the convention in tampa. no word on why. cheney and his daughter held a fundraiser for romney and raised $5 million there. george w. and jh.w. bush will not be attending. if you take southbound 295 into d.c. there is a direct ramp over the 11th street bridge to get you downtown.

it is marked 695, 395 capitol hill and it will take you to the southeast-southwest freeway. it should shave ten minutes off your commute. a new ramp to northbound 295 is expected to open this fall. scary moats for a young thrill seeker. the rumor mill running rampant over apple's new tech toy, the ipad mini- outrage at the olympics. the reason behind all the empty seats and the new plan to pack the stadiums. dan joins us live from london. at kaiser permanente, we've made major advancements in reducing the incidents of broken bones in seniors. we've received recognition for getting hypertension under control for over 80% of our members. we've made significant advances in asthma, immunization and maternity care. and j.d. power and associates ranked us highest in member satisfaction

among health plans in the virginia/maryland/d.c. region. we're focusing on the big things so you can enjoy the little things. kaiser permanente. thrive.

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a freak accident involving a 12-year-old in the front seat of a roller coaster. a bird slams into in as the ride reached speeds of 130 miles an hour in six flags in jackson, new jersey. the boy turned his head seconds before impact. he suffered a few bruises but it

won't keep him off the roller coaster. there are reports out that have ipad fans wondering if a newer, smaller version of that tablet might with available by the holidays. apple could announce the release of the ipad mini on september 12th according to a blog called i more. the ipad miepy ni is rumored toe a screen that is 7 inches long and could be on store shelves in november. day three of the london olympics. china is leading all the countries in gold. it has nine so far. the u.s. is next with five followed by japan. dan hellie is in london. >> reporter: day three and

swimming taking center stage. 17-year-old missy franklin one of the brightest swimming stars in the world going for an olympic record trying to win seven medals. and the missile as she has been called started with a bang. she was fantastic in this race today. franklin swimming the finals of the 100 meter backstroke 11 minutes after she barely qualified for 200 meter freestyle final. she came from behind to win in a race that will be fist of her many finals. the first leg in an attempt to win seven medals. she is only 17 years old. >> i told myself i was just going to go and give it all i had. i saw that flag and just tried to have any ounce of energy left to touch the wall. >> reporter: many thought ryan

lochte would be this year michael phelps but he had a disappointing finish in the 200 meter freestyle where he finished fourth. it was being called the toughest individual test in london where as many as half the swimmers had a potential to win the race. but no one could hang with angel, lochte couldn't hang and looks worn down as he has three events to go in this olympic games after finishing fourth in the 100 meter freestyle. >> that wasn't a good time for me. but you know, i raced as hard as i could. and that's all i could really ask for. >> reporter: now to an issue that a lot of people are talking about all over the world, everybody trying to get a ticket to these olympic games but you may have noticed the empty seats in nearly every single venue.

it's because of sponsors and delegates who haven't been showing up for events. a big, big story over here right now. the daily mail reporting that organizers are considering new rules for tickets. you could lose your ticket if you don't take your seat within half an hour of the start of an event. the british prime minister says there will always with be a problem with empty seats. but they are trying to make sure they are used when possible. that is a frustrating thing for the british over here. they had to be on wait lists to get tickets for the events and they watch on tv and there are all these empty seats. >> i don't blame them. >> other than that. seems like the olympics have been going pretty well, wouldn't you say? >> reporter: it's been very smooth and the weather has been great. today is the second day it started out a little drippy in jolly old england. but they are expecting the next

couple days to not be as rainy. >> have you been to the beach volleyball competition at all by the way? >> reporter: vance, it's funny i figured you would ask that. that is on the agenda. >> we are talking about the men's one right? >> that's the one he wants to check out. >> reporter: you come over here with me and i'll take you to the men's one. vance and i will watch the women play. here's a look at the events tomorrow night. michael phelps goes to try for the gold in the men's 200 meter butterfly final. the women's gymnastics team goes all in for the team competition. and the women's divers go for the women's synchronized platform round. >> we are in the middle of summer and he is wearing a coat. >> account be nippy in london

even in july. >> the volleyball players were wearing full outfits and long sleeves. in our weather we were cooler than we have been. but our temperatures in july is upper 80s for the average this time of year our average high is 88 degrees. today we hit a high temperature of 89 degrees. we'll call it a very average day. but that goes down as a nice day in my book. here's one thing we need, we need to see rain. 7 1/2 inches below the average for rainfall for the year. i do think we'll have better chances of rain the next couple days. that's good news for you and your lawn. 79 is the current temperature. took a walk this evening. it was spectacular. one of the nicer evenings in a while. temperatures down to 70 in frederick. and 73 in fredericksburg. radar just a few showers some back here in west virginia and

others down along the northern neck here. maybe see a few showers the rest of the night tonight and into ear early in the morning. look at all the showers and thunderstorms across the area today. widely scattered. that's what i expect tomorrow too. nice and warm here with low pressure moving off shore. this will stay off shore. tomorrow, isolated showers or later today. but here comes wednesday and this frontal boundary and moisture out of the southeast. there is a good shot of meaningful rainfall here. some areas could get half an inch to an inch. that is good news as we really do need to see the rain. tomorrow morning, partly cloudy, a nice start. temperatures 66 to 71 degrees. maybe an isolated shower. don't be surprised if you see one. tomorrow morning a few showers and storms, not too strong. temperatures 85 to 89 degrees. in the next couple days, down at

the beaches, nice weather down here. don't cancel your beach plans. i expect some sunshine. temperatures at 86 on thursday. inland, 89 on wednesday. that's where we have the 50 to 60% chance of rain. then it's 94 on thursday, 96 on friday. that's the extent of the heat. we drop back into the mid-90s. above average but nothing we're not used to in the month of july. >> or august. >> we start august. so true. >> thanks dan. did i say dan? >> yeah. >>

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and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team.

. shout out to jim vance. always saying good things about me. i appreciate it. it doesn't have to be that way. >> wall e gives you a shout out.

>> much love. and thank you. i appreciate that. that was a prize. >> i was watching you thinking -- >> what was that? we're going to do sports here. dan is over here and you're stuck with me. deal is we are ten days from the redskins' pre-season opener. jonathan goff has been released. he has just torn his acl for the second straight year. that is a shame. in addition, kory lichtensteiger had a procedure on his knee and could be out for the year. robert griffin iii says he is feeling better than otas and mini-camp and a big reason is the receiving corps with whom he is developing a strong relationship. >> throwing with those guys over the summer, helped.

being out there in the otas and mini-camp helps. you can never say you're there. i think we have a good chemistry right now. if we had to play tomorrow i think we could do it and it could be effective. we don't want to play tomorrow. we practiced hard today. it's getting better and i feel really good about the guys i do have and the talent. >> i can't wait to see these guys crank it up and kick it off. a rare day for nationals. it is the first day without a game since the all-star break. but even without playing, you talk about being on a roll, the nats have sole possession of the very best record in baseball. ain't that something? compliments of a loss by the cincinnati reds. the yankees are now a game and a half behind the washington nationals. can i say that again? the yankees are a game and a half behind the washington nationals. that's thanks to some orioles magic. gonzalez on the hill for the

birds in the bronx in the bottom of the fourth tied at one. he gets nick swisher swinging. that ends the inning. gonzalez struck out 8 over 6 2/3 innings. top of the seventh o's up 3-2. nick markakis gets into this one and off the bottom of the wall in center field. quintanilla comes in to score. orioles win 5-4. they trail the yankees by 6 1/2 games in the east. let's look at olympic basketball. this is a beat down. u.s. women against angola. third quarter they are up by 35 in transition. lindsay whalen and one. 90-38. that ain't even fair. but so it goes. and a final note, caroline

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it's her first individual gold. >> one final look at the big win today. missy franklin, the is swimming phenom took home the gold in the 100 meter backstroke. >> theis going for seven medals in the games. she said it was special because her parents were there to watch he