springfield. we're joined live from there with a look at the push for virginia votes. hi, julie? >> reporter: hi, there. an energetic rally wrapped up a short time ago. the once full parking lot has cleared out. just a week on the campaign trail as mitt romney's running mate and paul ryan has spent part of three of those days in virginia. today he tried to connect with virginia voters talking about everything from the hunting and fishing expedition he's taken in virgin virginia, to the defense cuts facing the defense industry in northern virginia. >> first of all, it's great to be here at west springfield, home of the smartepar tans. thank you so much. >> reporter: with mitt romney taking a day away from rallies, his running mate wisconsin congressman paul ryan was in the campaign spot light working for votes in all-important virginia, hitting vote-rich fairfax county and suburban richmond. and with tens of thousands of defense jobs at stake, with the automatic budget cuts of sequestration looming at year's end, ryan says a romney/ryan

administration will stand with the house against them. >> i tell you what, in the house, we already passed the bill to cut spending in other areas of government to make sure these devastating cuts in defense never occur so we don't put virginians out of work until we have a strong national defense. >> reporter: ryan stuck to broad themes and did not mention medicare or romney's tax returns, which dominated the campaign if recent days. instead, ryan turned the focus back on the economy, promising to cut taxes to create jobs. >> when we tax our job creators and our businesses at much higher tax rates than our foreign competitors tax theirs, they win, we lose. that's what obama-nomics is. we're going to reject obama-nomics and clean up this tax system, get this thing reformed and help small businesses and families grow and create jobs. >> reporter: but northern virginia democrats say a romney/ryan administration's tax policy would favor millionaire

businessowners over the middle class. >> it's providing tax breaks to the billionaires. what about the middle class folks? that's what i hear about when i knock on doors. what about us? that's a real, real life concern that i hear day in and day out. >> reporter: romney supporters say their enthusiasm for the gop ticket has grown with the addition of paul ryan. >> i can't believe what's been happening in the past week. everybody's so excited. the numbers are up. and it's just, you know, a shot of new blood and energy into the campaign. >> oh, i thought he did a fabulous job. he was really on top of it the whole time and he's a good speaker and i think he reay reached o out to the crowd. >> reporter: paul ryan wraps up his day with a fund-raiser. online donations, $10 million in one week since he was added to the ticket. 68% of them from new donors. reporting live from springfield, virginia, julie carey, news 4. president obama and mitt romney both stayed off the campaign trail today, but there was some off camera campaigning.

yesterday, romney told reporters that he paid at least 13% income tax for the past ten years. president obama's team challenged him to release five years of returns and promised not to ask for anything beyond that. mitt romney's team refused. today, tampa, florida, residents learned how local law enforcement officers there plan to handle security during the republican convention later this month. police held a public town meeting to explain the security exercises they'd been working on over the past year and a half to keep things safe. officials also showed off the khaki uniforms every officer will be wearing during the convention. and the brand new bicycles, some of them will be riding. and the s.w.a.t. vehicles they'll be using as well. they also showed off the gear they will wear when dealing with not so peaceful protesters. there's also a mounted patrol. julie has a one-on-one with paul ryan, that story is tomorrow night on "news 4 at 11" right after the redskins/bears game.

federal prosecutors are pushing to keep the man who tried to kill president reagan from getting more freedom. u.s. attorneys filed a motion today asking the court to deny john hinckley jr.'s request for expanded privileges. hinckley is staying at st. elizabeth's mental health hospital in d.c. hinckley wants to live with his mother in the williamsburg area and wants to have more time out alone in public. last night the mental health group overseeing his care decided not to take part in his treatment. police continue to search for explosives at movie theaters across the country. it comes after an atlanta-based theater chain received a bomb threat. investigators say a man left a message at carmike cinema's headquarters. nbc's jay gray has more on the extra precautions people, police are taking tonight. >> reporter: there are heightened tensions and security today at a string of movie theaters across the country after a threatening phone message was left on an answering machine at the carmike cinema's headquarters in georgia overnight. >> the caller said that, you

know, there were bombs placed throughout the theaters all over the united states. so probably every single theater in the united states that belongs to this company is being searched right now. >> reporter: search teams, some with dogs, locked down then looked through theaters in several states including georgia, kentucky, illinois, north carolina, and pennsylvania. to this point, no explosives have been found, and police have not talked about any possible connection between the threats and an arrest made last night when 23-year-old joshua vardman tried to carry a loaded .9 millimeter pistol into a carmike cinema in columbus, georgia, where the theater chain is based. more ammunition was found inside his car. this evening the investigation and the searches continue. jay gray, news 4. turning to weather, some showers out there tonight. meteorologist chuck bell is keeping an eye on the conditions from the storm 4 weather patio. chuck? >> reporter: hey there, jim. good afternoon to you. good afternoon, everybody. the sunshine is really faded out

now behind some late afternoon, early evening cloud cover, and that trend is going to continue lowering and thickening of clouds here for the remainder of your friday evening and that will eventually lead to raindrops for most but not necessarily all. still 90 degrees down at national airport. winds out of the southwest at 14 miles per hour. you may be able to hear a rustle of the breeze across my microphone. we have a nice breeze in upper northwest. dew point temperatures are in the upper 50s to near 60 around town but much more moisture-laden air to our north and west where the rain showers are now. northern maryland, out to the panhandle of west virginia, even more showers, northern prince william county there right along interstate 66. so as you make your plans to enjoy your friday evening, backyard barbecues, it isn't going to rain a lot on your metro barbecues but i'd at least do what i did, your friendly weather man did not go outside without one of these. i'd have your one of these somewhere close at hand over the next couple hours. >> thank you, chuck. the washington nationals are

in first place with their sights set on the playoffs. that means more and more fans are proud to have nattitude and they are flocking to the stadium in big numbers. that's good news for the city but not so great for traffic. tom sherwood is live at nats park with more on the impact of the nats' success this season. tom? >> reporter: jim, you know, there's nothing like a winner to draw the clouds. the whole ballpark area is booming. the city wants to be sure it can handle the traffic now and in the future. here at the nats ballpark, even some visiting mets fans were talking up the home team. >> the atmosphere is -- it's electric around here. you can tell. they love the team. they're getting into it. we're supporting them. anybody but the braves, phillies or marlins. if it's not going to be the mets ♪ line you'll ever find a terror in the fray ♪ >> reporter: some members of the west point alumni glee club were warming up to sing tonight's national anthem. ♪ always here with song and

cheer ♪ ♪ this is the tale >> reporter: the 30-member group says the nats are 5-1 when they sing. hours before tonight's game against the new york met, the first place nats have fans singing their praises. what about the fact the nats have had a tough schedule, haven't done so well but now they're in first place? >> it's just amazing. so we're really enjoying it and i'm learning and more facts about ball games. >> i did kind of wane last year whether i was going to continue coming here this year, but when they got off to a hot start, you know, that sold it to me. >> this year they really put it together. we're big u.v.a. fans, so zimmerman, we've followed him since he's been here, and this is the year that they've really stepped it up. so it's been exciting. >> reporter: the whole area of southeast washington is coming alive because of a better city economy and the wins team. it helps put fans in the seats and boost city revenues. d.c. chief financial officer nat gondi. >> i think we're doing very well

on that front as well, and the way we had arranged the financing of it, even if you had just about 10,000 people in the stadium, just 10,000, we would still meet all of our obligation of a debt service so now we're talking about a sellout crowd. >> reporter: the improving area is forcing the city to review a growing traffic problem. >> we're trying to strike a balance between the needs of all residents, if they're biking, if they're driving, we want to make sure we're able to, indeed, accommodate all the travel and traverse and live and visit this corridor. coming up, d.c. lobbying groups are making some changes after a security guard took a bullet on the job. protests are growing in support of feminist punk rockers. who will do some serious time for protesting the russian government. powerful waves cause trouble at sea and on land. and virginia's golden girl and virginia's golden girl finally comes home and makes

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zbrmplts > breaking news, prince georges county. chopper 4 high above a serious accident on marlbourogh road. state police arrived on the scene. there's a rescue in progress. we don't know of any injuries right now. these are live pictures from the scene. we'll bring you more information as it comes into news 4. take a look at this incredible video from chile. monster waves are causing a lot of problems at sea and on land. cameras captured the waves pounding the coast there yesterday. they were so strong they actually caused a ship to run aground. 22 crew members were hurt. they were air lifted to a local hospital. none were seriously hurt, we hear. the waves also breached the

seawall of a coastal town, pouring water into the streets there, making it hard for people to walk and drivers to even get around. wikileaks founder julian assange is stuck inside the ecuador embassy in london tonight despite being granted asylum in ecuador. british officials say they will arrest assange if he leaves that embassy. they plan to extradite him to sweden where he is wanted for sex crimes. assange denies those charges. he says swedish officials will send him to the u.s. assange is accused of leaking thousands of secret u.s. military documents and posting them on the internet. protests erupted from russia all the way to new york city with word that a moscow judge convicted three feminist punk rockers. he sentenced them to two years in jail for staging a political demonstration on a cathedral. experts believe that punishment is far too harsh. as nbc's michelle kosinski reports, supporters believe political pressure motivated the tough sentence. >> reporter: these young people,

two of them mothers, have spent nearly six months in jail. now found guilty of hooliganism and sentenced to two years in prison. meanwhile, protesters are being arrested outside the court. what they did was stage about a 30-second sort of punk rock protest inside moscow's main cathedral. legal experts say that should have landed them maybe a $30 fine. >> translator: why am i here? it is a question of the future of russian justice. what we see in the future, not just politically motivated trials, but open lawlessness? that bears as much relation to courts as the inquisition does. >> reporter: now their lawyer plans to appeal. activists have threatened big protests in the near future. you know, what really stands out from this video we've seen is how brave these women are, remaining defiant and how dangerous dissent still is in russia. even during peaceful protests. back to you. a horrifying attack in afghanistan against american troops today.

a newly recruited afghan village police officer opened fire on the two u.s. service members who had just given him the weapon as a gift. happened in the western part of the country during a ceremony. the attacker was killed when forces returned fire and an afghan national police officer was seriously wounded. this is the seventh time in two weeks a member of the afghan security forces has shot at international forces who were working as allies. university of colorado will segregate students who have valid permits to carry concealed weapons. the "denver post" reports the school will designate dorms at cu boulder and cu colorado springs to accommodate students who are over 21 with concealed carry permits. the change comes after a state supreme court decision that struck down the school's gun ban. students with permits will be barred from bringing their weapons to athletic and cultural events on campus. a washington state resident shot this video as wildfires burned near his home.

meanwhile, firefighters say they're starting to make some progress. the wildfires are about 33% contained now. crews hope to have them fully contained by sunday. and many of the residents who had to evacuate are now allowed to return to the burn zone to see what's left. destroyed at least 70 homes since they broke out earlier this week. chuck's back indoors with a check on the forecast. how warm did we get out there today, chuck? >> 94. >> wow, 94 again today. plenty of sunshine early on. led to another zippy hot day outside today. and now we've got rain showers to worry about. just in time for your weekend. we'll talk about that -- >> just what we're looking for. >> i know. we'll get ahold of your weekend forecast. is this weather time? >> it is. >> go. >> get out of here. i thought were we were teasing weather coming up. showers are inbound for most of your friday evening plans. be ready for it. outside, our sky, nice and blue, filled with white puffy clouds a

little while ago. now gone mostly gray here in washington. 94 as i mentioned is our high temperature today. what a beautiful day to be outside today. oh, outdoor recess. everybody enjoying the beautiful sights and sounds of washington, d.c., this afternoon. hopefully you had a chance to get outside and be a -- look how cute she is. pigtails and a little sun umbrella out there. great day to be outside today. boy, it was warm. at least we had that southwesterly wind. that made all the difference today. you had to actually sit outside and enjoy the relatively warm weather. 94 as i mentioned. that's the 48th day this year 90 degrees or higher. by comparison, last year, which was also a blazing hot summer, by this point last year, we'd also had 48 days 90 or higher. guess how many more 90-degree days we had last summer after the 17th? two. that's it. we only had 50 for a total last summer. so even though we've been real hot and had 48 days 90 or higher now, we may or may not have that

many more 90s left here in the summer season. 90s at national airport. winds out of the southwest averaging 14 miles per hour. that southerly wind is what provided us with such a warm day today, but back behind it, a little weather front coming our way. notice the rain-cooled 60s and 70s on the map right now. so you should plan out your friday evening, showers moving into the metro area over the next couple hours. off and on spotty showers likely through the 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 time frame. the clouds linger through much of the overnight on into your saturday as well. here's the way tomorrow's breaking down. cloudy with a risk of raindrops in the morning. showers may linger longest down for you folks into southern maryland, south of annapolis, down to st. mary's county. shower chances a lot more likely there tomorrow afternoon. you folks up in martinsburg, your rain chances are done by early tomorrow morning and going forward from there. here's a look at it on live doppler. not a lot of rain in and around town just yet. there are steady rain showers. hagerstown, toward hancock, maryland.

some locations reporting nearly an inch of rain in the last couple hours and a patch of very light raindrops now, northern parts of prince william county coming along interstate 66. those will be the nuisance raindrops in the metro area over the next little while. it's part of a weather front which literally extends all the way from maine to florida. up and down the eastern seaboard. if you're expecting friends and relatives to come in for the weekend and they're on flights up and down the eastern corridor, they may be delayed tonight. the evening thunderstorms will be coming to an end after about midnight tonight. but the front will linger right along the coastline. that means limited sunshine tomorrow. especially south and east of town and a not so good day at the beaches tomorrow. weather looking a little better for anything you want to do as you get into your sunday. there's your beach forecast. not the best day tomorrow. only off and on shower chances for sunday and monday. tomorrow may be the best day to drive over to the beach as opposed to get out on the sand. for us tonight, rain likely. one or two rumbles possible late tonight into early tomorrow morning. start off temperature, 67 to 74.

tomorrow, cloudy in the morning, risk of a few showers through lunchtime. clouds and raindrop threat linger longest in southern maryland. highs tomorrow, 10 or 12 degrees cooler than today. same story coming up on sunday. and no more 90s on the seven-day. i think that's an important stat, you guys. 48 last year. 48 90-degree days this year. to this exact point. we only had two more 90-degree days last summer after this date. >> we can get 90-degree days in september. >> 90 degrees on september 24th two years ago. >> a lot of numbers swimming around in that head tonight. >> it's all up here. >> thank you, chuck. coming up next on "news 4 at 6" tonight, human west nile cases on the rise in our region. we'll tell you about the very serious symptoms. airline passenger complaints are soaring and for one airline the complaints are piling up. coming up in sports, the redskins take on the bears, it's a wide open competition at wide receiver. an olympian goes from the track to the gridiron. for the nats as they return

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conservative groups in our area are taking extra precautions now after that shooting at the family resource council headquarters in the district two days ago. >> meanwhile, the guard wounded in the attack got a special visitor at the hospital today. and there's more encouraging news about his recovery. jackie bensen is outside the council headquarters on "g" street northwest with more for us now. jackie? >> reporter: hello, barbara. news 4 has learned in addition to a .9 millimeter pistol and 15 chick-fil-a sandwiches the suspect also had the address of another conservative policy group in his backpack. the traditional values coalition. meantime, his motive remains something of a mystery. this is a screen grab of floyd

lee corkins' facebook page displaying one friend. it was taken down shortly after he was identified as the man arrested for walking into the family research center on "g" street northwest wednesday and shooting security officer leo johnson, stating, quote, i don't like your politics. a handwritten sign at his family's home in herndon reads, no trespassing. the center, a gay community organization on "u" street northwest where corkins volunteered has been besieged by reporters, a new handwritten sign there reads, closed thursday and friday. even basic information about corkins is murky. officials confirm he attended george mason university for two years but did not obtain a master's degree, as has been reported. meanwhile, the odd discovery of 15 chick-fil-a sand pitwiches is backpack prompted wider concerns. conservative policy organizations that weighed in on the same-sex marriage controversy sparked by the fast food chain's owner says they have beefed up security.

among them, the d.c.-based national organization for marriage. >> obviously we don't want to reveal those, but we've had to beef up security and this is not the first time we've had threats like this. i think there's some ownership you have to take for when you don't give your opponents the benefit of the doubt. >> reporter: the family research council released a statement on security officer leo johnson's condition this afternoon saying "it will take time, but he will be back with us soon, for which we are all grateful." d.c. mayor vincent gray visited the security officer in his hospital room today and thanked him for his sacrifice. reporting live in northwest washington, jackie bensen, news 4. >> more proof today virginia is a crucial part of this year's race for the white house. republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan has spent more time in the battleground state than any other since he was named to the ticket a week ago. he returned to the commonwealth today campaigning near richmond, then heading north here to talk to voters in springfield. well, we're less than an hour away from opening pitch at

nationals park. as the first place team gears up for the playoffs. and the city is gearing up to handle the growing number of fans, too. d.c.'s department of transportation is reviewing the area's traffic problems as the nats' success and the local economy continue to grow. and an aerial assault on mosquitos under way in dallas today after a west nile outbreak that's killed ten people there and sickened more than 200. crews began spraying last night, focusing on dallas county's northeast region. they plan to cover 49,000 acres. this is the first time in more than 45 years they've had to take this drastic action. the west nile virus is spreading in our area as well. new cases have been reported in virginia and the number of known cases in maryland increased this week, too. melissa mollett has the latest numbers for us and steps you should take to protect yourself. >> reporter: right now, there are five confirmed human west nile cases in maryland, two in virginia, and none in the district.

>> 80% of the people that get west nile virus have no symptoms whatsoever. 80%. they get bit, they get infected, and they get resolved. their immune system is good enough to resolve it. >> reporter: others have flulike symptoms that show up within a few days, more likely to get sick, anyone over age 50. this time of year, big for bug repellent. >> i think it's important just because you don't know which mosquitos have west nile. >> we do spray before we go out and play. >> reporter: dr. arias with the fairfax county health department has spent his life studying mosqui mosquitos. when he had flulike symptoms last year, the last thing he thought of was west nile virus. >> never crossed my mind. never crossed my mind that it could be west nile virus. >> reporter: by the time he was diagnosed with a blood test, he'd begun having seizures. since it's a virus, only symptoms can be treated, so doctors put him into a coma. he spent two months in the hospital, another four learning to walk.

still he's only 30% recovered. >> i just think it's one of those things that happens and it just happened to me. >> reporter: there are all kinds of ways to block bugs. sprays, wipes, pesticides, even a good old-fashioned long sleeve shirt. all of these very important investments since mosquitos aren't just annoying but can make you very, very sick. >> my wife thought that she'd lost me. i couldn't breathe. >> reporter: because of our warmer winter, our area is seeing the virus early, with the number of infected mosquitos is on par with years past. in fairfax this year, 19 in 1,000 mosquitos are testing positive for the virus. >> talk to your doctor about what symptoms you. >> reporter: melissa mollett, news 4. >> anything that holds standing water like a birdbath or kiddie pool is perfect breeding place for mosquitos. peak risk times are dawn and

dusk. for more information on west nile log on to nbcwashington.com and search the keyword, west nile. another health alert tonight. we just learned six people in maryland recently came down with swine flu. the health department tells us five children and an adult came into contact with pigs on four farms in queen anne's county. they tested those pigs and found they had the same strain of the virus as the people who game sick. none of the infected people had to be hospitalized. symptoms are the same as the seasonal flu including fever, sore throat, and coughing. the rides, the food, the games. we are smack dab in the middle of fair season, folks. but are you wasting your hard earned money on some of the games you can play at our local county fairs? tisha thompson with the news 4 i-team shows you what you need to be on the lookout for in this preview. >> reporter: they seem so easy to play. bounce the ball and throw a dart, pick up a bottle. but is something else at play? >> this game, the way it's made,

is designed for the player to lose. there's no doubt about that. >> reporter: bruce walstad is a retired cop who trains law enforcement on carnival games like how nudging a bottle few inches can mean the difference between winning and losing. >> your chances of winning, slim to none, if at all. >> reporter: the news 4 i-team and "dateline" nbc are showing you tricks of the trade you might not have noticed before. >> it's not 100%. >> reporter: we're visiting local fairs to show you what games to watch out for. which are guaranteed to win you a prize. >> they're not rigged. they're not rigged. they can win any game out here. >> reporter: and what you need to know to improve your odds the next time you hit the midway. it's all sunday starting with a "dateline nbc" at 7:00 followed by our local investigation at 11: 11:00. tisha thompson, news 4 i-team. the teenager accused of attacking animals at frying pan

park in herndon has been conv t convicted. the 17-year-old was found guilty on wednesday. the teen was convicted on three felony counts of animal maiming and a misdemeanor trespassing charge. back in april, three therapeutic riding horses were found with deep slash wounds. the horses were part of a program for special needs children. a month later, two goats, a cat, and a chick were cut at the kidwell farm. all of the animals are expected to recover. and just in time for the start of the school year, the prince george's county board named an interim school superintendent, dr. alvin crawley. he will serve the county for the 2012-2013 school year. he's a 32-year veteran in the education field. he comes from the d.c. public schools. he'll start on tuesday september 4th. william height left the top post last month for a job in philadelphia. and there was a ride to remember today in honor of the victims, survivors and heroes of the september 11th terrorist attacks. motorcycles lined up and drivers

rode hundreds of miles today for the tribute. the rides started this morning in somerset, pennsylvania. here the riders are headed through historic downtown leesburg. they then headed on to arlington, where they visited the pentagon and then they'll leave for new york tomorrow. the 9/11 foundation ride says it holds the event in august to leave the sites free for families and survivors in september. a happy homecoming for a wounded warrior and his family today. they got the keys to their brand new home here in ft. washington today. it's thanks to operation home front, the non-profit group provides financial aid for families of deployed service members and for wounded veterans during their recovery. john served four tours of duty in iraq and afghanistan and was injured three times. he and his family had been living in transitional housing. they say the new home is a big change. >> it's still shocking. still a little bit in shock. it's a lot to take in. so -- a lot of room. it's great.

>> the home is mortgage-free. it is 1 of 16 homes donated to veterans and their families by operation home front so far. the non-profit hopes to donate 350 more homes by 2013. coming up, after winning gold in london, gabby's back at her home in virginia. find out what's on her to-do list. gas prices going up again. but there could be a plan to give you some relief. and chuck, what's up with the weather? >> well, i have good news and some bad news in the forecast. good news is, not everybody's going to get rained on on their friday evening. the bad news is, somebody sure is going to. is going to. we'll ta but somewhere along the way, something went horribly wrong. george allen voted for trillions in debt

while voting to raise his pay four times, then voted to keep special tax breaks for oil and gas companies and took over a half-million from them. worse, allen went to work for them.

don't expect relief at the pumps this weekend if you're hitting the road for a late summer trip. national gas prices have jumped about 40 cents a gallon since early july and drivers in our region are certainly feeling it. in washington, d.c., the average

for a gallon of regular is creeping closer to 4 bucks. it's $3.93. up 32 cents from a month ago. up 10 cents from a year ago. in maryland, the price for a gallon is about $3.68 now. an 11-cent increase over last year. and it is $3.57 in virginia, that's up a dime from last year. the spike is blamed on an increase in oil prices and refinery problems in some regions. a senior white house administration official says the president may consider releasing oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to help ease prices if they don't drop soon. barbara? >> all right. also, on the rise, the number of dissatisfied airline customers. travelers lodged nearly 1,400 complaints with the department of transportation in june. that's a 44% increase from may. most complaints were directed at united airlines, which has experienced some glitches while integrated with continental airlines.

other gripes, high fares, numerous fees and packed planes. some air france passengers really had reason to complain. their flight made an emergency landing in war-torn syria. then their pilot literally asked them to open their wallets to buy some fuel. the flight was heading from paris to beirut wednesday but landed in damascus because of civil unrest near their destination. local authorities said they would only take cash to refuel the plane, so the pilot got on the intercom and asked passengers if they had any money on them. eventually the situation was worked out without the passengers' help. the plane refueled and did finally make it to beirut. lou holder now. what do you got coming up, buddy? >> half last year we wanted the nats to win a game. now they're winning. >> we're spoiled. >> next in sports, a big-time player returns to the nats just in time for the playoff push. in[ male announcer ] you paid in to medicare for years.

every paycheck. now, when you need it obama has cut $716 billion dollars from medicare. why? to pay for obamacare. so now the money you paid for your guaranteed healthcare is going to a massive new government program that's not for you. the romney-ryan plan protects medicare benefits for today's seniors and strengthens the plan for the next generation. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

beautiful weather outside today. 94 our high temperature today at national airport. back down now to still 90 degrees, as of the 6:00 hour. but look at the rain-cooled 77 in leesburg.

rain-cooled 70 now in martinsburg and hagerstown. 75 in charlottesville. 89 degrees in st. mary's county. 88, annapolis. live doppler, not a whole lot going on around town. a few sprinkles in southern montgomery county. steadiest and heaviest of the rains, though, by far up toward hagerstown, martinsburg, to the north and west of winchester, virginia. there are a few dying little patches of sprinkles now drifting into western parts of fairfax county. most of this is falling apart as it comes eastbound, but as you're making your plans over the next 60 to 90 minutes in and around town, if you get hit by five minutes of light raindrops, that's what that is right there. doesn't look like a washout of a friday evening. don't be scared by the first few drops. nationals and mets, 7:05, 85 at first pitch time. clouds are back, a quick shower possible. i really think they're going to play the game all the way to completion, that's how light any raindrops will be. lows tonight, 60s to around 70. then tomorrow, a big change. noticeably cooler.

highs tomorrow only about 10 to 12 degrees cooler than today. we were 94 today. i'm forecasting 82 tomorrow. then on your sunday, cloudy and cool in the morning. i do think sunday will be the better weather outdoor day as we get into the weekend. that especially goes for beachgoers. not the prettiest day at the coastline tomorrow. sunday and monday look a little bit better. here's your seven-day forecast, though. nice and cool with all the clouds this weekend. chance for some showers tonight and through at least the front half, maybe a little more of your thursday. and then turning warm and dry as we finish out next week and go on into next weekend. always follow me on twitter @chuckbell4 for the latest forecast. on to chicago, where the players have to prove themselves to the fans, more importantly, the coaches, lou. >> it's a job audition. it's a big job audition in the windy city. 90 players, 53 spots. first cuts for all nfl teams is a week from monday. saturday's game against the bears is crucial for a lot of

the guys on the burgundy and kboe gold. no bigger fight than that at the wide receiver position. mike shanahan and his son, kyle, have a log jam at the wide-out spot. 12 players listed. r.g. iii is trying to get to all of them. every catch is going it be important especially for third year wide-out anthony armstrong. he's been hampered by a right shoulder injury but is expected to play in chicago tomorrow. and he knows what this competition is all about. >> you know what, man, i think it's -- i think it's pretty even, you know, everybody does special teams in some aspect. everybody can run the routes and get open. going to come down to consistentsy and production. everybody's trying to make it difficult on coach shanahan and bruce allen to make decisions. hopefully at the end of the day i get to stay around for a little bit. >> the competition is great. i love the competition part of it because that makes everybody get better. one person doing something, you feel like you got to make a bigger play than he made.

the next man fieels he has to d something. that's always good. the more competition there is, the better you're going to be and better you're going to be as a person, the better the group is going to be. >> nbc 4 is your official redskins station. see the burgundy and gold take on the bears right here tomorrow night. dan hellie who's yet in another time zone. and doc walker will be live in chicago with the pregame at 7:00. followed by the game at 8:00. all right. the olympics are over but the great story lines from the games continue. jeff demps, a member of the silver medal winning 4 x 100 relay team is about to sign on with the new england patriots. demps played running back for the florida gators, and he's expected to be used in the patriots' return game. to lambeau last night, packers/browns. aaron rodgers looking to take advantage of an early cleveland turnover. hey, jordy nelson, go get it. a 20-yard strike to make it 7-0

packers. no highlight is complete against the lambeau. good times wouldn't last for long. third quarter, backup quarterback graham harrell to the wrong jersey. 38 yards later, and david sims. browns go on to win 23-7. and win 53-10 over the green bay packers. falcons, second quarter, tied at three. andy dalton takes the snap. he's going to take one high to his favorite target a.j. green. 50-yard strike. >> whoa. >> that will be at fedex field for the skins' home open september 23rd. dalton 8 of 14, 125 yards and a touchdown. in the words of the late great marvin -- let's get it on is correct. after going 8-2 on their recent road trip, six very important division games at home for the

best team in all of baseball. tonight, the team begins a three-game series with the mets and they'll get a big boost back in the lineup. the nats have activated all-star shortstop ian desmond from the disabled list, he'll bat sixth tonight. desmond missed the past 25 games an oblique strain. at the time, he was put on the dl, desmond was batting .286 with a career high 17 homers and 53 r 3 rbis. needless to say, he's happy to be back. >> i feel great. great batting practices, way better than i felt before the break, so, you know, i don't know if i would say 100%. i don't think anybody in here is 100%. but no, i dinitely feel better, very optimistic. i was able to swing pain free yesterday. i played catch. i felt good. that's what they're looking for. >> i've been watching him swing, and, you know, he has had no discomfort. and, you know, he even pulled

that scare tactic on me in san francisco that he was hurting. so, no, said, yeah, my ears are hurting from the loud sound coming off my bat. i said, that's good. last night the red sox, and everybody shake those hands! early, it looked promising for the birds off of clay buchholz. bottom of the first. two on for adam jones. slaps it down the line. markakis and j.j. hardy score and the o's take a 2-0 lead. top of sixth. tied at three. two on for justin pedroia. the rookie sensation is human after all. red sox take the lead and go on to win 6-3 over baltimore. the orioles will visit detroit tonight. this is a big series. >> oh, it is. >> for the washington nationals. the mets are always going to play hard. then the braves come in here. >> that's monday, tuesday, wednesday, right? >> the expectation last year was let's just win a game.

now it's like, you're not wins every game? >> and win them big. >> where's the attitude? let's get it on. >> we're so spoiled. >> i like an attitude. >> we are spoiled. >> thank you, lou. >> no problem. coming up, an unusual discovery is made as the drought has some rivers at the lowest levels in decades. and for all your news, be sure to fall news 4 online. search us on nbc washington on facebook and twitter. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

[ male announcer ] you work hard. stretch every penny. but chances are you pay a higher tax rate than him... mitt romney made twenty million dollars in two thousand ten

but paid only fourteen percent in taxes... probably less than you now he has a plan that would give millionaires another tax break... and raises taxes on middle class families by up to two thousand dollars a year. mitt romney's middle class tax increase. he pays less. you pay more. the record low rainfall has reduced water levels in some of the country's largest rivers. in mississippi the river's low level revealed the roof of a car. the deserted car was submerged in the riverbed. police say it could have been stolen and dumped there more than a year ago. the last time the mississippi and missouri rivers reached levels this low was back in 1988. >> you can get a good deal on those wheels right there. >> yeah, you can. >> if you can get it out of the

water. >> that is yuck. >> it's just, the steam cleaner away from being as good as new. and the mississippi is known for some of the cleanest water you'd ever want to rinse your car out with. >> the old muddy mississippi. we have raindrops to contend with for our friday night. not a big deal, but be weather tough, everybody. if it starts to sprinkle, hold tough out there. in and around town. temperatures still 89 at national airport, 90 in manassas. the baseball game, nats and met at 7:05. there's a risk of a quick little raindrops at the baseball game tonight. i think they'll be able to reach all the way to completion no matter how many innings it takes to win the game. the heaviest of rain to the north, hagerstown to martinsburg. your barbecues are pretty much washed out. here in the beltway here, the area of the region, light rain showers now inbound on 66. drying up as they come eastbound, but still i couldn't rule out a five or ten minute

sprinkle. showers down south of charlottesville. the beaches for the weekend? no rush to get down there at the break of dawn tomorrow because it's going to be a cloudy and stormy day at the coastline tomorrow. plenty of clouds lingering through sunday at the beaches as well. may not be a whole lot of rain on sunday. not necessarily the best weekend at the beach. great weekend to try your favorite restaurant at the beach. you should go, anyway. otherwise the hotel people down there get mad at me. you should go and eat out. if you're going to be down there. cloudy and wet this morning. breaks of sunshine coming our way by tomorrow afternoon except for you folks, southern maryland. there's your seven-day forecast. it's 94 today. there's not a single 9 0-degree number on the seven-day. >> that's a nice change. >> we like that. >> summer is close to done. thank you, chuck. gold medal winning gymnast gabby douglas is back home and continues to celebrate her amazing performance in london. the 16-year-old has another pressing matter, getting her driver's license. she told nbc's lester holt, she's got expensive taste. >> you're going to get a license.

>> yes. >> you know what kind of car you're going to get, right? >> yeah. >> what? >> i want a bentley, but i have to start at something downgraded. >> i want a bentley. >> maybe like a bmw or something. >> yeah. douglas flew into norfolk, virginia, yesterday at the aiinal. there were people decking out with balloons to welcome her home. she was the first off the plane, didn't waste any time greeting her fans. the terminal was packed with people waiting to meet the two-time gold medal winner. douglas spent today in norfolk with family and friends taking well deserved time off. she is in demand. i like that. she wants a bentley. she's got the british taste now. that does if for us. "nightly news" is headed your way next. we'll be back at 11:00. hope to see you then. >> see you then.