pennsylvania. we're watching out for that one. a couple more down to the south. a lot of storms to the west. mostly in the mountains. they've not been able to make their way over into the area just yet. so once again, waiting to see if they're going to be able to make it over the blue ridge. if they stay together, some could have some locally heavy winds as well as a lot of lightning and very heavy rain. right now also not just severe thunderstorm warning down here this is rockingham county well south and east and west of us. severe thunderstorm warning here and a flood warning. they have seen a lot of rain from the storms. the storms continue. so watch out if you're along the i-81 corridor. we'll continue to watch out for that scenario. for us, around washington, d.c., the best chance for our storms will be between 7:00 and 10:00 tonight. yes, as we continue to mention, some of those could be strong to severe. we have to get all the way through these back here towards ohio once these make their way through, things will start to settle down for us. we'll talk more about that and what's in store for tomorrow. we're not out of the woods just

yet. we'll talk about that and the weekend forecast in a couple minutes. >> we're getting more answer nouz about what led to that widespread 911 outage in northern virginia after this summer's chill. the storm ravaged the area in june and knocked out power to millions. now after an already released report from verizon, they clued us in on what happened. even more lights being shed now on why there were failures and what's next. news 4's derrick ward has more. >> reporter: the storm brought down havoc upon the local infrastructure, exposing tree root systems and a vulnerability in part of the area's emergency response. the 911 call system and critical time. electrical power was already out all over. a report released by verizon notes failures at two backup generators at central facilities. the generators were supposed to keep the 911 system going but the failures meant calls wouldn't go through or were dropped in the hours after the storm moved through. >> i think there was very

substantial need, particularly immediately after the storm went through. >> reporter: john foust is a member of the fairfax county board of supervisors. his district was among those experiencing the 911 issues. >> that's one of the issues we're looking at. what happened to our own 911 during that time frame? the verizon was still working. >> verizon's assessment indicates air in a fuel line disabled one generator and the other exceeded the load capacity. back up batteries had run the worse before the generators were triggered. some residents of one of the streets hit hard by the failures in fairfax wouldn'ter if the issues would have made any difference since phone lines come down anyway. >> there were no lines. i guess it is an infrastructure problem. >> still failures of the backups pointed to a troubling problem. >> there should be a plan they need to have in place for the next time this happens. >> in the report, verizon notes corrective action such as more intense testing and monitoring of the backup systems. tomorrow officials will gather in alexandria to look more

closely at verizon systems as well as the county's emergency response footing to see that they mesh together well enough to keep the area safe. >> a man is accused of trying to kidnap a female jogger in fredericksburg. today we have a better idea of what the suspect might look like. police released this stech. they say the man tried to pull a 22-year-old victim inside his car on high land road saturday morning. she managed to get away. the victim says the suspect drove an older looking white car with four doors and a red cloth interior. sentencing for the former uva lacrosse player convicted of murder will not be delayed. his lawyers wanted to put off sentencing until after october 1st. a judge denied that request. sentencing is set for august 30th as plan. huguely was convicted in february of second-degree murder in the 2010 death of his ex-girlfriend yardly love. his lawyers are also still working to get him a new trial.

>> transportation secretary ray lahood is demanding the metropolitan washington airport's authority make drastic changes immediately to regain the public trust. lahood's letter included several changes that included cancelling all current no bid contracts with former board members and employees. this comes after a federal audit done in may found the agency too often awarded contracts without competition. it also questioned thousands of dollars in travel expenses from the airport authorities' board. virginia governor bob mcdonald and martin o'malley and vincent gray also signed the letter. a nationwide two-week crackdown on drunk driving is set to start on friday here in the washington region. police tell us they're ready to step up checkpoints, sobriety tests and arrests. tom sherwood is here with more on the story. tom? >> police from all over say they're serious about this. drive sober or get pulled over.

10,000 people die in drunk driving wrecks each year. 70% of them caused by someone who's blood alcohol was more than twice the legal limit of .08. washington area police and federal highway officials staged a drunk driving checkpoint tuesday to promote the nationwide crackdown that runs friday through labor day. montgomery county police chief thomas manger. >> if you're not driving sober, you're going to be pulled over. your chances of getting caught are greater today than they've ever been before. we hope we send a clear message that people need to drive safely and don't drink and drive. >> the bottom line and best rule of thumb is if you've been drinking, do not get behind the wheel, period. >> officials displayed device that's can detect drunk driving and block vehicles from starting. actors played the role. have you ever driven drunk? >> no, sir. >> reporter: never? >> never in my life.

i have ridden with somebody who is drunk, yeah. >> reporter: scary? >> it's terrifying. >> police are still trying to get a new breath test approved for the city. officials say a plan start date now won't come until after august. federal officials say breath tests are crucial. >> it's essential. i mean really it is the core of proving if you're over the limit. and officials are reaching out to all drivers because they say there's no profile of the typical drunk driver. >> age-wise, gender, ace, ethnicity, everybody. we see folks from every part of the community. >> outside d.c. superior court, everyone liked the idea of saving lives. >> yes, even children, kids, adults, whoever it may be. i think, you know, if you're drunk, keep from behind the wheel. >> again, the two-week crackdown begins friday. police say any day is a day you can be pulled over. jim? >> tom sherwood, thank you. as nbc news first reported last month, new jersey governor

chris christie will deliver the keynote address at the republican national convention. the keynote is the highest profile speaking role at the convention aside from the two speeches delivered by the candidates on the ticket. in an interview announcing his selection, chris christie said his speech will offer in, his words, "some direct and hard truths about the trouble we're in." the convention in tampa starts august 27th. president obama and mitt romney are both campaigning in battleground states again today. romney is in ohio. the president is in iowa. today they clashed over energy. romney was with coal miners. >> if you don't believe in coal, if you don't believe in energy independence for america, then say it. if you believe that the whole answer for our energy needs is wind and solar, why say that? i know he says that to some audiences. >> governor romney even explained his energy policy this

way -- i'm quoting here, you can't drive a car with a wind mill on it. now i don't know if he has actually tried that. he had other things on his car. >> in the meantime, vice president biden started a two-day campaign swing through virginia. and republican vice-presidential candidate paul ryan drew crowds in colorado. >> a slow start to what is expected to be a crucial day for the future of gambling in maryland. the house of delegates was expected to take up a bill hours ago, vote, then send it on to the state senate. we have more on the holdup. tracy? >> delegates in favor of this bill started out the morning very confident that it would pass. but as the day progressed, they became a little worried about having the number of votes that they needed to make this happen. there have been a number of meetings and dealing going on to try and insure that they were going to be enough votes to get this bill passed. that delayed the session if starting. we were expecting it to start at 2:00 p.m.

it didn't start until 4:30 p.m. the delegates are working to come up with a bill that's going to please a lot of different sects of this whole thing and in the long run, prince george's county voters. labor unions and minority owned business owners for prince george's county came together to show support. for $800 million, las vegas style casino and the county. >> we're looking at thousands gf jobs. good jobs with good benefits, health care, and retirement benefits. that's what we're about. >> the bill will also allow for table games and black jack was introduce bid maryland governor martin o'malley. it was passed during the special session last week by the senate. supporters of the bill say now it's time for the house to turn it over to the voters. >> if you trust the voters, then vote this thing out. if you have a good case to make and can you make it between now and november, you will carry the day. you should not be afraid.

but this piece of legislation to go to the voters. >> reporter: numerous arre amendmented were added and taken away as the bill was debated. one of the most important amendments will guarantee maryland live in an arundel county and a baltimore casino in 2014. it will be allowed to keep tens of millions of dollars in additional revenue. the money is supposed to make up for having to compete with a prince george's facility. delegates representing the county say they are also looking for guarantees. >> what we're trying to do is get a bill that will appeal to the voters because the voters have to approve whatever we pass here. it doesn't go into effect. >> labor unions and business owners that support the bill say this legislation isn't about gaming but jobs. >> it's not about weather you support the issue or not as manufacture tmany of the delegates are saying. it's about whether or not you support jobs. >> reporter: now if the house does pass this bill, there will be two versions, the senate's version and the house's version.

and the senate's going to have to vote. they're going to have to come to a compromise. we were expecting the senate to begin its session at about 8:30 tonight. obviously that, most likely won't happen. we're expecting this to go way into the night and possibly into the morning. i'm tracy wilkins. news 4. >> overnighter. tracy, thanks. we're just getting started on news 4 at 5:00. the west nile virus is spreading. >> a wildfire roars out of control out west. and a popular bridal store plans to close its doors for good. [ male announcer ] the choice on debt...

mitt romney's plan: huge tax cuts for millionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and corporations that ship jobs overseas, adding trillions to the deficit. president obama's plan: a balanced approach that asks the wealthy to pay a little more,

eliminates tax breaks for outsourcing and oil subsidies, cuts government spending, and reduces the deficit by four trillion. two plans. your choice. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message. . general motors is recalling 10,000 vehicles tonight. it involves chevy express and savannah vans from 2004. gm says there is a problem with fuel pipes that can rust and leak. if that happens, it could cause a fire. the vans were sold in 0 stat20 and the district. >> flames from an out of control wildfire are threatening more than 100 homes in central washington state. fire claimed more than 60 buildings and 26,000 acres since yesterday. hundreds of firefighters from across the state are working to contain the blaze. no injuries have been reported.

on sunday, a 20-year-oldoman was killed fighting a fire in idaho. another firefighter died battling a blaze in oregon. >> so far this summer the west nile virus has been confirmed and pools of mosquitos in the washington area and across the country it's even worse. nbc's chief science and health correspondent joins us live from new york. bob, what are the county's across the country doing to prevent the west nile virus? >> well, jim, you prevent it by preventing mosquitos. you spray in the areas where they're hardest hit from the air or on the ground. and individuals need to take precautions. don't go out at dusk and dawn. use insect repellent. make sure the screens are in order and get rid of the standing water around your house. it's particular my bad in the north part of texas. the cdc came out with numbers as close as 700 cases nationwide. more than of half of them are in texas. >> if, bob, you are about bitte

mosquito, how do you know it's the virus? >> well, it's interesting question. most people who are infected with west nile virus, let alone get bit by a mosquito, but most people who get infected with the west nile virus, 80% don't know they were infected. 20% get flu like symptoms. and that goes away fairly quickly. 1 in 150 people gets the brain infection and those are the people that can get very seriously ill and the elderly often die in that stwaituation. we'll have much more on the west nile outbreak coming up at 7:00. it from frightening out. there. yes, indeed. and we've been watching some storms in parts of the washington region this afternoon. doug has his eye on them. >> most of them still to the

west of i-81. we have a new warning in effect until 6:00. that is in south and west county and warren county. first off, let's take a look outside. you can tell what is happening. temperatures are 85 degrees at the airport. another warm day. the humidity is not all that bad. you can see we're also dealing with a lot of cloud cover right now. those clouds come in as a result of down stream thunderstorms, rather upstream storms. stems are 89 here. take a look at the rest of the region. we're sitting at 77 in mart inzburg. 8 hagerstown. to the west, 77 here. 77 in winchester. rain cooled air making its way through partsst area. you can see exactly what i'm talking about. there are a few showers around the metro region. most of the activity to the west of the blue ridge. starting to move out. there is that one warning. watch out if you're down. there the heaviest showers to the north of baltimore and back towards the west. the d.c. metro area, a couple

light showers. we say a sprinkle come through the bowie area. this one to the west of gaithersburg should be over 270 in the next 10 to 15 minutes. it's just a shower but it's been developing. i wouldn't be surprised if it came a little stronger here. another thunderstorm south of mart inzburg along 81 just to the north of winchester. no warning with this storm right now. it does have some lightning associated with it. it brought fairly heavy rain to parts of the region. the one that severe right now down around luray. this is making its way in towards rap hahanock county. again, these will make their way across the mountains. if they do so, we'll see a lot of lightning and the potential is there for rather strong winds. we're going to watch those carefully. there's a lot of thunderstorms out here. one thing you notice, we are not under any kind of a severe thunderstorm watch. and that tells me the national weather service really doesn't

think this is going to be a very widespread severe weather outbreak. that's exactly what we mentioned last night during the 6:00 and 11:00 news. we do have a lot to go even back towards the west swrechlt to wait for these to move through before we can send the all clear. a slight risk of severe storms today. watch what happens tomorrow. this area shifts to the south and east. still includes the delmarva, southern maryland and northern neck. we're not even out of the woods in washington tomorrow for some rather strong storms. we'll continue to keep you posted. it's all because of this frontal boundary. it will move through the region and stall to the east. that's why we have the strongest storms to the east of us during the day tomorrow. we make our way into thursday, we clear out nicely. and thursday is looking like a very nice day. plenty of sunshine. temperatures on the warm side. this evening, heads up throughout. partly cloudy. strong storms. some could have heavy downpours and strong winds. as you move through the day tomorrow, high temperatures back up into upper 80s. 90 on thursday.

93 on friday. could be a chance of some storms late in the day on friday. most of the day should be dry. saturday, another chance for some showers and storms. only about a 30% chance. the big news here besides today's chance of severe weather is much cooler air coming in saturday, sunday, monday, and tuesday. highs in the lower to middle 80s. that is something we have not seen an extended stretch of for quite some time. >> that's good. >> it will feel really good. thanks. straight ahead on news 4 at 5:00, much more in the future of aviation. a look at a hyper sonic jet about to take flight. chad ochocinco johnson's wife issues her first statement about her husband's arrest. and in sports tonight, why redskins teammates are appreciative of all the attention rg-iii is bringing our way. and coming up tonight at 6:00, vice president biden made a controversial comment during a a controversial comment during a ral[ male announcer ] in 1996,

president clinton and a bi-partisan congress helped end welfare as we know it, by requiring work for welfare. but on july 12th, president obama quietly announced a plan to gut welfare reform by dropping work requirements. under obama's plan, you wouldn't have to work, and wouldn't have to train for a job -- they just send you your welfare check. and welfare to work goes back to being plain, old welfare. mitt romney will restore the work requirement, because it works. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

seen this? mitt romney claiming the president would end welfare's work requirements? i'm barack obama and i approve this message the new york times calls it 'blatantly false' the washington post says: "the obama administration is not removing the bill's work requirements at all." in fact, obama's getting states to move twenty percent more people from welfare to work. and president clinton's reaction to the romney ad? it's just "not true." get the facts. . today fans got to see the team practice for the last time in ash burn. >> and the last chance to see rg-iii in close and in person. any baby kissing out there? >> lots of babies. unfortunately, no babies being kissed by rg-iii. wouldn't that be great for on camera? the last day of training camp,

it means only one practice for the players, no fans in attendance. the crowds are definitely going to be missed. but not for the reasons that you might think. the players say, yeah, they appreciate the fans and they like the attention. but they love watching the way that rg-iii handles getting most of it. >> rg-iii. >> absolutely ridiculous. for the most part, he doesn't get in here until at least an hour after everybody is already showered and heading to the meetings just because he has such a large following. >> everybody wants a piece of rg-ii. >> you have ever seen anything like it before? >> me personally, no. >> i haven't had to handle somebody chanting my name in a very long time. so he kind of takes it for us. >> his teammates fly. >> narrator: radar when rg-iii is around which is very much appreciated. >> the key is getting beside him and then everybody forgets about you so you justin to walk and, you know, get on with your day.

he's been -- he took a lot of heat off a lot of other people. >> do you feel sorry for him at all? >> you know what? not at all. i've seen him in action. i really admire the way he handles himself in front of everybody. >> any time you're a quarterback in this league, those guys are going to get the most attention. i don't think anybody is jealous or anything like that. it doesn't bother us. if anything, kind of helps you out as far as getting seen. when you have more people coming out there, they see what you're able to do, more media. okay, what's this guy doing? you get a little bit more attention as well. >> you're the go-to interview guy. you're one of the best talkers out there. i see you getting walked by reporters now. everybody is waiting for him. >> that's fine. you know, eventually people will want to talk to me. i talk because i have to. >> and you're good at it. >> i don't really mind. hopefully when i'm done and somebody wants to give me a job, i'll be happy to take it. >> reporter: so while rg-iii keeps taking the spotlight, he in turn shines i right back on his teammates. >> it was sitting behind him on

the bus before we went to buffalo. and instead of him keeping to himself, he is on the front row. every single person that gets on the bus, he comes by and gives them a fist bump or high five. i'm like that guy is a leader. he's a rookie. he's mature enough to be conscious of his teammates and getting them ready to play. and that just told me a lot about the guy. >> high praise from jordan black. he's been around the league. he's seen a lot. he is impressed with the rookie. speaking of the rookie, he's get ago tension in the locker room as well. check out what happened today moments after reporters were allowed in the redskins locker room. a crowd of media folks gathered around his locker. griffin wasn't even there. everyone is checking out what was on the inside, action figures, inspirational sagz. we've been asked you not to show you the pictures of the contents. griffin said some things are for show and some things are just for us. there won't be much that griffin can keep out of the spotlight this season.

so we have decided to go along with that request. just can't a superstar get a little privacy? my favorite slogan i can tell you is forget about the mvp, forget about the pro bowl. those are prizes if you don't get a super bowl ring. how is that to resonate with the fans, right? >> that says it all. what fans want to hear. >> it z. >> carol, it looked like they kept you at distance away like ten feet away or something. roped off area. >> you know what? he is a hard guy to get up close to. you are right. even the media as we're trying to take pictures, there are so many people around him. it's like a security detail team out here around rg-3. >> he's big time. security detail provided by the fans. all right. thanks, carol. coming up in our next half hour, it's deja vu for firefighters called to the home of a former fire chief. what do you do when you have five siblings and each one is getting married? the answer next.

i'm darcy spencer in great falls, virginia. it was one month ago that a man died after a falling tree crushed him on this road. i'll tell you what's happening now to make it a safer place for

. fast forward now through the headlines. the maryland house of delegates is now debating on a bill that could bring a new casino to prince george's county. lawmakers were expected to start the session hours ago. democrats delayed it to make sure they had the votes they needed to pass the legislation. as nbc news first reported last month, new jersey governor chris christie will deliver the keynote address at the republican national convention. the keynote speech is the highest profiled speaking role at the convention aside from the speeches the two candidates on the ticket give. starting friday, police in our area are ramping up across the country, too, they're launching a crackdown on drunk

driving. highway safety officials say wrecks involving alcohol kill 10,000 people every year. you can expect to see checkpoints and other efforts through labor day weekend. let's last forward to the weather. >> a little on the warm side. most areas seeing sunshine. most of us are dry for now. starting to she showers developing around the metro area. back to the west, most of these continue to be west of the blue ridge right now. we'll do a couple zooms for you. you see a couple of showers including one that's about to make its way through fairfax county in towards arlington county. and then eventually probably into the district. very light rain with that one right now. other areas of rain around gaithersburg and back to the west. this is where we're seeing heavier storms and in to berkeley county. watch out there along 81. even more storms to come. we'll talk about that and show what you is in store next as this storm system moves on bichlt pat? a month after a deadly freak

accident in fairfax county, crews are trying to prevebt vent a similar tragedy. we have more on the tree removal efforts and the aftermath of a tree that killed a driver. >> reporter: i was able to speak to the daughter of the man who died in that wrathic incident. it happened along georgetown pike. she supports this tree removal effort as long as it saves lives. and that's what it's intended to do. 64-year-old albert karl rove the third was killed a month ago when a huge decaying tree fell on his mercedes in great falls after a severe storm. >> i basically saw the tree falling down. was very devastating. all i could think about was there is a person under there. and there is a family and a life that's been lost. >> reporter: the death of rove forced the vdot to take action.

they're removing 59 trees that pose a potential danger to drivers in the great falls area. while some residents have mixed feelings about the loss of the trees that provide shade and beauty to their neighborhoods, they support the project. >> it was a real tragedy. no one wishes it would ever happen f by taking down some of the trees we can avoid that, you know, again. >> reporter: officials say after the 40 ton decayed oak tree fell on his car, residents alerted officials about other unsafe trees. >> some are very large and old and close to development. but it's time. if they're dying, if they're dead and a safety hazard, then we need to take them down much it's our responsibility to do that. >> a team of fairfax county tree experts expected numerous trees in the great falls area and came up with a list of 59 to be sawed down, chipped up and hauled away. making these tree lined streets potentially safer for motorists.

>> i think it's wonderful. absolutely. yeah. we always drive around and see limbs hanging over the trees. and, you know, resting on power lines. so i'm all for it. >> reporter: vdot officials told me this tree removal project is basically unprecedented. it's being handled on an emergency basis over the next three weeks at a cost of $60,000 to $80,000. reporting live from great falls, darcy spencer, news 4. police hope a $50,000 reward will help them solve the murder of the man you see in this picture. he was shot and killed in his own home back in march of 2011. it happened in the basement apartment of a house located on 35 fife street in stafford county. witnesses saw two men run from the apartment and get into a four door light colored sedan. the car was last seen driving down courthouse road. he owned the subway on while

poll street. the reward money is from an anonymous donor. fire fight hers to put out a second fire today at this home on lehoo court in ft. washington. the first fire started sunday night when a barbecue grill was placed too close to the house. that fire was put out. but when members of the cleaning company went to the house this morning, they noticed a fire on the second floor. investigators say the second blaze may have been caused by an electrical short. we also learned that home belongs to former d.c. fire chief theodore coleman. police have arrested and charged a man with sexually assaulting a woman inside a whole foods grocery store. jackie benson is live at the store in arlington with this story. jackie? >> reporter: one shopper we spoke to described this incident as disgusting and creepy. police say it happeneded about 2:00 p.m. sunday. they tell us that 24-year-old frank bucna came up behind a woman in the wine aisle.

he grabbed her between the legs and refused to move his hand and then walked away laughing. officers who responded to the store searched the area and found the suspect asleep on a nearby park bench with a bundle of pornographic magazines. once in custody, detectives repeatedly found the suspect fondling himself in the interrogation room. shoppers we spoke to called the incident zbudisturbing. >> i never noticed anything. yeah, we've been shopping here. i live up the street. i come here every weekend. never seen anything like that. >> no, i haven't heard anything about that. yeah. that's awful. >> i always feel safe shopping at whole foods. >> reporter: it's not clear whether bookknight is connected to other similar incidents in the area. reporting live from arlington, jackie benson, news 4. after 35 years a landmark d.c. store is closing its doors. chevy chase bridal was the last remaining part of the harriet kasman salon. when he retired in 2009, she

closed the boutique part of the store that sold ball gowns and formal wear. her son kept the full service bridal shop open until now. the store will close for good in october. harriet kasman died earlier this year. can you imagine the potential for wedding drama when five siblings got engaged within weeks of each other. there's the happy, big family. it happened to three sisters, two brothers and the waldie family in mesa, arizona. they decided to hold a joint wedding. there were five separate ceremonies, one right after another. there's the cake and the face and then all five couples celebrated with 1,000 guests at a single reception. that's the air force museum there. a factor in the siblings decision is that one brother has been ordered to report to pilot training at the end of the month. so there would not be time for five separate weddings. they decided they would rather celebrate together. i wonder if they're honeymooning together? >> oh, that's truly a family

affair. >> that's tough to pull off. >> yeah. coming up next, get ready for a new shopping in laurel. >> a look into the future one day a plane can fly from new york to l.a. in, get this an hour. [ male announcer ] the choice on debt... mitt romney's plan: huge tax cuts for millionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and corporations that ship jobs overseas, adding trillions to the deficit. president obama's plan: a balanced approach that asks the wealthy to pay a little more,

eliminates tax breaks for outsourcing and oil subsidies, cuts government spending, and reduces the deficit by four trillion. two plans. your choice. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

. that's zz top. he's headed for maryland later this fall for the virgin mobile free fest. he'll be joined by jack white, naz and others at merry weather post pavilion october 6th. free tickets to the vent will be available starting at noon on august 24th. but if you follow virgin mobile live on twitter, you'll get access to a private presale on the 23rd. tonchts day engineers hope to get a step closer to flying across the atlantic in just 60 minutes. the air force is testing an experimental aircraft called the x-51-a wave rider. it's unmanned. it can travel at mach 6, 4500 miles per hour. it is fast enough to fly from new york to london in less than an hour. this hyper sonic flight technology could eventually allow missiles or even people to fly across the world around the world in minutes rather than

hours. >> so much for the red eye. it was flipping up side down. i don't think i'd like that so much. >> that might make you a little queasy. >> coming up on news 4 at 5:00, luxuryflunked the latest crash test. >> and michael phelps can promote anything he wants. the latest commercial that has him trending. >> that's a weird look out. there also something going on. we're watch something thunderstorms off to the west and some developing showers right now around the metro region. i'll show where you those are, what to expect for the rest of the evening

. a highway safety group revamped the front end and collision safety test. they show the need for more safety features even for some of the safest cars on the road. we have more on the new test and which cars are making the grade. research these new crash tests focused on the new rules and used the safest cars available. the insurance institute for highway safety was baffled by a question. >> why do so many people still die in frontal crashes? and they're performing well in the government's test. >> reporter: the institute addressed what is happening in about a fourth of these head on

collisions. instead of full frontal impact, only a quarter of the car slammed into a structure. what they found was greater risk of serious injury to those inside because it's the part of the car that offers the least but needs more protection. >> when these crashes began, there is some strong interaction that helps absorb the energy of the crash before the forces reach the occupant kpacompartme. >> 11 cars were fested. only three, the acura tl, volvo s 60 and infinity g earned a good or acceptable rating while the lexus i.s. and e.s. models along with audi's a-4 and mercedes c class were all rated poor. in a statement, toyota told nbc news with this new test, the institute has raised the bar again and we will respond to this challenge as we design new vehicles. audi said it, too, is always working to improve safety.

but mercedes told us it disagrees with the test. and strongly believed the c class is safe. >> doug is watching some stors.z what you are seeing? >> you can see things got on the dark side here. we have one shower trying to make its way in through downtown. 89 degrees with that cloud cover. winds out of the south at 9 miles per hour. the rest of the metro area, 85 right now in reston. montgomery county, 89. gaithersburg had a shower go through. 82 degrees there. right now honeytown coming in at 84 degrees. here's the radar. can you see what is going on the last hour or so. storms making their way towards the mountains. dying out here. this is where the bulk of the activity is still west of the blue ridge. we have a couple coming across the blue ridge. a couple starting to form now in towards or liarlington county.

can you see it coming across the southeast and the an costa freeway. you may start to see a few showers there. also right along the beltway, you're seeing some of the showers. watch out there if you're making your way in and around town throughout the rest of the evening. this shower making its way to the north and east. over toward the ballpark, good thing they're not playing there tonight. i-81, to the south of inwood, seeing shower activity here too. this was a pretty strong thunderstorm earlier. now no more lightning associated with this. heavy downpours in berkeley county. to the south, we have that severe thunderstorm warning for rap hahanock county. that does include, just twoest of little washington here. heads up there right along 211 and again, again, right around the luray area, seeing showers and thunderstorms. very heavy rain associated with those. there is more to come. a lot more storms off to the west. they're trying to move over the mountains here. having a very hard time doing so. i think we are going to see some rain across the area f you're heading out this evening, make sure you take your umbrella.

72 degrees overnight in washington. 65 in gaithersburg. best chance of rain this evening around the metro area and to the east. tomorrow, same deal. temperatures in the mid to upper 80s. best chance of rain will be to the east of the i-95 corridor. on thursday, things clear out very nicely. friday, looking pretty good with a chance of storms very late. right now, some cooler weather making its way in here for the weekend. high temperatures around 82 degrees. >> thank you, doug. michael phelps retiring but not hanging up his speedo just yet. teammate lieian lochte making a tv appearance and not so great news for groupon tonight. >> here's what's trending. michael phelps is the new face of louie viton. he posed in a much smaller body of water, a bathtub for this high end brand. another photo features him having tea with the former

soviet gymnast who held the record for most medals until phelps shattered her record at the london games. phelps gold medal team may ryan lochte is heading for tv in a camo of 90210 where two of the main characters are staying. this may be lochte's only tv action. reports claim he is also talking with "dancing with the stars" and "the bachelor." groupon's stock took a big nosedive today. shares finished down 27% after the company announced lackluster sales numbers. groupon is blaming the weak economy in europe and bad currency exchange rate. consumers are getting tired of the daily deals. they closed at $5.55. shares were $20 during the ipo last november. crews got started on the new town senter in laurel. this redevelopment project is happening at the laurel mall on route 1.

residents told angie goth about their excitement over the area's new addition. it's going to be a live, dine, play atmosphere. >> reporter: a ground breaking that has a laurel business community beaming, finally plans to revitalize the old laurel mall is closer to becoming a reality. >> i'm pretty excited that we're going to have a mall now and maybe hopefully one day a movie theater again. >> reporter: the 31-year-old mall now called the laurel town center will get a makeover. there will be residential housing, 400,000 square feet of new restaurants, spots to entertain and 50 new stores and businesses including a grocery chain and cinema. >> i won't have to travel to colombia mall or another mall to shop. >> i feel like we have more people and more crowded and more business. good for our town. >> reporter: the project's progress has been slow following years of financial struggles. now with new developors, a new day with hopes the revamped

center will become more than just a core of this community. >> we're talking about 1500 permanent jobs. so it's going to be a boost to the city of laurel and prince george's county. >> reporter: the demolition process started to day. and that's going to include this parking garage. they're going to tear that down and gut out the entire building. developors say that will take five months. from there, the construction will probably take close to two years. they expect the new laurel town center will be ready and open for business by the fall of 2014. reporting from laurel, angie goth, news 4. new revelations to day after a woman says she was held captive for ten years. coming up tonight at news 4 at 6:00, the home of the late steve jobs is a crime scene and there is a reason that math scores in virginia are down. check out who is showing off their moves in a flash mob in arlington. those stories and a lot more

i'm barack obama and i approve this message seen this? mitt romney claiming the president would end welfare's work requirements? the new york times calls it 'blatantly false' the washington post says: "the obama administration is not removing the bill's work requirements at all." in fact, obama's getting states to move twenty percent more people from welfare to work. and president clinton's reaction to the romney ad? it's just "not true." get the facts.

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. a new jersey woman found pad locked in a room says she was never held against her will. the 44-year-old spoke out today before her boyfriend was aappear in court. she claim she asked her

boyfriend to lock her in the room. police found her on thursday during a drug raid. they believe she was held captive for up to ten years. she claims she was afraid of maintenance workers seeing her in her nightgown. today the boyfriend pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping. kim kardashian no longer has the shortest celebrity record. there are reports today that evelyn filed divorce from chad ochocinco johnson. they got married six weeks ago. earlier today she made her first public statement since johnson's arrest on friday. she says johnson needs help and she says she's deeply disappointed that her husband has not taken responsibility for his actions. she hopes to encourage other women to break their silence on the issue of domestic violence. we report on the 911 call released. >> reporter: chad johnson allegedly head butted his wife

saturday. she went to the next door neighbor's house who called 911. >> what is your emergency? >> yes. i have somebody here in my house that was in a little domestic dispute with her husband. we need to have a police officer come here. >> in the call, you hear johnson's neighbor calmly tell police that she stufrd a cut on her forehead. >> does she need a pair mettic? >> she probably is going to need stitches, yeah. >> they asked police to keep a low profile. >> let's not make a big scene. she's worries he'll get mad and he's a high profile person. i want them to come with lights on but come until everybody calms down. >> he was charged with domestic battery. it started when she questioned him about a receipt for condoms and she found in his car. the miami dolphins not interested in the drama. they released johnson last night

hours after released from jail. >> it is really just about a fit. it didn't feel like to me this fit was going to be right for us as an organization or for chad. it just is time to move on. >> the couple's wedding was part of the vh-1 reality tv show ev and ocho. the network quickly canceled the show. now at 6:00, tracking the latest storms in the washington area. >> it's a war of words in the battleground state and a controversy in virginia. >> the 911 system failed after that big summer storm. verizon's backup system was a bust, too. now there's a plan to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> strong storms out west are rolling into our region tonight. we'll tell what you to expect in the next few hours. evening, everybody. >> we begin tonight with the storms we've been tracking all evening. doug is pinpointing which neighborhoods could get hit. doug, what's the