and now, from washington's leading news station, this is "news 4 midday." i accept the calling of my generation to give our children the america that was given to us. >> tonight, mitt romney will tell us why he's ready to lead in the big finish of the republican national convention. and tropical storm isaac is much weaker but not totally finished, causing problems as it heads towards arkansas and southern missouri. good morning, everyone, welcome to "news 4 midday," i'm barbara harris. it's thursday, august 30th, 2012. tropical storm isaac tens to pound the gulf coast today, the storm is parked over louisiana and mississippi where it's

already caused historic flooding in some areas. in new orleans, though, people are breathing a sigh of relief because the city's levee system appeared to do its job. nbc's danielle leigh is live in new orleans where she's been since isaac arrived. >> reporter: the sun is starting to peek through in new orleans. for the first time in 24 hours, people are starting to walk the streets and if you look behind me, businesses are re-opening. rooftops are all that's visible in parts of southern louisiana and in mississippi, roads have turned to rivers. >> we didn't have time to grab nothing. it come so fast. >> come on. >> reporter: hundreds are now staying in shelters. the slow-moving isaac may not have had the strength of hurricane katrina but it's still leaving thousands in despair. >> it's just too much bringing back of a lot of katrina. it's just -- i'm done. >> reporter: christy mcnair lives in plaquemines parish, a community who felt the worst of isaac. the national guard had to rescue dozens stranded in top floors of

their homes after a wall of water toppled over the 18-mile local levee protecting the parish. despite isaac's devastation, much of new orleans had been spared significant flooding. >> we have no reason to believe that system will be compromised. >> reporter: still, metro new orleans sits littered by downed streetlights, fallen trees and debris from mingled buildings. isaac knocked out transformers, leaving at least 60% of the city without power. >> i'm just exhausted and tired. >> reporter: tired but holding on. as the storm continues its assault. because of the damage, the airports in new orleans are still closed. at this point they haven't been able to say when they will re-open. reporting live in new orleans, i'm danielle leigh, now back to you. >> thanks, danielle. we have some sunshine here this morning in the washington area. but are we going to see the remnants of isaac over the holiday weekend?

storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us. >> it does look like some of the remnants of isaac may be visiting us by sunday and into the holiday. i'll keep you posted on that. right now, this is what's going on. the center of circulation of isaac is weakening, winds are around 40 miles an hour, still a tropical storm but there's another area of moderate rain to heavy downpours about to move into the new orleans area from the south. elsewhere they've had heavy rain this morning in far western panhandle of florida and into mississippi. that is the zone that will be getting the heaviest rains today. the areas you see in the yellows and oranges and reds, that's where they're going to get as much as another 5 to 10 inches of additional rain, parts of mississippi and especially tomorrow into parts of arkansas and missouri, because the track of the storm, even though it will be weakening to a tropical depression over arkansas by late tonight into tomorrow, it's still going to have rain with it and all the way up into missouri and illinois, some of those areas could get 5 to 10 inches

of rain. as a remnant low it will begin to track off to the east and by sunday it will begin to move our way and perhaps give us a few of those passing tropical showers. right now, high pressure over region, beautiful day under way. quite a bit of sunshine, a few clouds around. temperatures are climbing to around 80 degrees now. later today, it will get hotter. we'll look at that, the forecast in detail, the next seven days and holiday. that's all coming up in just a couple of minutes, barbara. >> thank you, tom. we'll see you in here shortly. a truck carrying thousands of gallon of fuel overturned, causing a real big mess in lauden county. the crash is causing delays on the claiborne parkway in leezburg. news 4's megan mcwrath will be covering that for us. we'll be talking to her shortly. they found a pool of diesel in the grassy embankment on the side of the road from this accident. officials are diverting traffic

while crews tray to clean it up. >> it's a large-scale production to be able to offload this much product as well as the size of equipment they're going to need to be able to upright this, that they're going to need the entire lanes in order to be able to separate safely. >> officials hope to have all lanes open by 2:00 this afternoon. the driver was taken to the hospital with nonlife-threening injuries. cause of the crash remains under investigation. and let's check on midday traffic, seeing if this is affecting traffic even now. >> good morning, barbara. it's been a mess all morning long, westbound lanes still blocked again. but here's where your closure is right now. your closure is at belmont ridge road. there's detours in place if you're heading westbound on the dulles toll road follow the detour. you'll get on at schreive mill road. as you mentioned, barbara, they're hoping to have the road

re-opened by 2:00 p.m., definitely before the rush. let's head over to southeast. we have an accident involving a fire truck, this eastbound pennsylvania avenue at minnesota avenue. one lane will give you by the crash there. barbara, back over to you. >> thanks. new details in a high-profile murder. there may be a break in this case. june lim was killed inside her deli on h street back in june. now investigator have filed a search warn the for clues in this case. sources tell news 4 dna evidence from the scene matched that of a man in their system. robbery appears to have been the motive. today, the former university of virginia lacrosse player convicted of killing his exgirlfriend will learn his sentence. george huguely's lawyers will ask the judge to reduce the recommended sentence of 26 years offering an appeal from his mother. the native was found guilty in february of killing yeardley love. the sentencing is set for 1:00

this afternoon. we'll be live in charlottesville for that sentencing. look for the latest on news 4 at 4:00 and on nbcwashington.com. it's now six minutes after 11:00. coming up, it's mitt romney's big night at the republican national convention. what you can expect and if there will be any surprise guests. >> you put my name in your paper. >> that's kathleen turner. in "red hot patriot." we'll sit down with the actress we'll sit down with the actress right here in our studio

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you're watching "news 4 midday." tonight the republican national convention will culminate with the biggest speech of mitt romney's political career. the former massachusetts governor will accept the party's nol nation and attempt to introduce himself to millions of americans who will be watching. the cro will be primed by former florida governor jeb bush and rising star of the republican party, florida senator marco rubio. romney has a tough act to follow. his running mate, paul ryan, delivered a rousing speech last night. the wisconsin congressman promised economic reform, lashed out at president obama and tackled one of most controversial issues of the campaign, medicare head on. >> the greatest threat to

medicare is boomcaobama care ane going to stop it. >> a romney/ryan administration will strengthen medicare for my mom, your kmy kids and yours. ladies and gentlemen, our nation needs this debate. we want this debate. we will win this debate. >> ryan also said the republican ticket would not duck the tough issues and reiterated a promise to create 12 million jobs during their term. tonight's final night of the republican national convention could feature a surprise mystery guest we're hearing. there are rumors of legendary actor and director clint eastwood will speak during primetime tonight. the "dirty harry" star endorsed romney earlier this year. it was a successful launch for nasa's two newest satellites. >> liftoff the atlas 5 rocket and twin spacecraft on a mission to unearth mysteries of earth.

>> they'll study the van allen radiation belts, a part of near earth space with high radiation that can damage satellites. weather and minor technical problems have delayed this launch for close to two weeks now. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein was keeping an eye on that as well as all the weather around. you've had a busy week so far. >> it really has been. we're keeping an eye on isaac still. it might affect our weather for the holiday weekend. stay tuned. if you have to outdoor plans for the labor day weekend coming up. if you have travel plans today, if you're heading out of town early or perhaps tomorrow you'll have no travel problems locally. there is the live view from our nbc 4 hd city camera on trsday morning, the 30th day of august. and it is just delightful. a few clouds coming through there now over the washington monument and jefferson memorial.

just to the right, down river is reagan national airport where the temperature right now is at 81 degrees. the dew point is comfortable, it's at 62. humidity 52%. we've got just a very light wind. it's variable, generally around 5 miles an hour or so. and there's the view from space. showing a clear sky here, this is what's been happening over the last few hours. we've had a few clouds earlier this morning that are passing south and east of us. a few clouds around our sky now. elsewhere, most areas are clear and it's sunny and delightful with low humidity in place. this high pressure right now is sort of acting as a block in keeping what's left of isaac off to our west. but eventually it's going to drift off the coast and as it does, it will open up the door for isaac to begin to move in from the west after it advances north later today. well, look at the temperatures now. all the areas in orange are in the low 80s, that includes just about all of maryland and the eastern shore and virginia, too,

low 80s. the humidity not too high. across these areas in yellow, shenandoah valley, the panhandle of west virginia, this morning, down to the low to mid-50s, feeling like autumn rather than late summer. for the rest of the afternoon with the high pressure in place, it will be mostly sunny with low humidity. upper 80s by midafternoon and back down to the mid-80s by early evening. the wind will be variable at 5 to 10 miles an hour. overnight tonight, a clear sky, we'll have sunset at 7:41. low humidity in place. the low 80s early evening and back down to the mid-70s by midnight, the calm wind through the evening. delightful summer evening coming up. and then by dawn tomorrow we'll be down into the upper 60s and during the day on friday, lots of sun again. does look like we'll be hotter maybe into the low 90s on friday afternoon, average high this time of year, 85. average low is 68. it's going to be above average here for today, tomorrow and

again on saturday. now, the thing on saturday, it will be getting more humid. we'll have our wind shifting into the south and southeast. and in advance of the remnants of icing ak moe i isaac, we'll in with highs around 90 on sunday. saturday and sunday, it clouds up, beginning to see tropical showers from the remnants of isaac moving in on sunday. i don't think there will be so many that we'll have flooding or anything, it's just going to be some tropical showers coming through from time to time on sunday and perhaps off and on sunday night, monday, monday night and tuesday. not a washout but just sort of showers coming and going, highs in the mid-80s. but enough to keep an eye on the radar. stay tuned to nbc 4. we'll let you know what's going on. >> just a little something to mess up the holiday weekend. >> unfortunately. i'm sorry. >> we'll come up with fun things to do inside. >> there you go. >> thank you, tom. we check on the midday traffic. danella, you working on your

weekend yet. >> i'm trying to but we have traffic to get through. the closure is at belt mount ridge road. keep that in mine. that will be closed until around 2:00 this afternoon. eastbound pennsylvania avenue still, the crash there in southeast it's at minnesota avenue and only one of your eastbound lanes gets you by the accident there. it involves a fire truck. delays are grow growing in the area. eastbound kanacanal road, a cran the right lane but barbara, it's good. >> there's some good news for us. thanks a lot. 16 minutes after 11:00. still ahead, your chance to see kathleen turner on stage here in the washington area. we'll sit down with the actress to talk about her new show and a whole lot more. plus, adding a game of golf to your fitness routine. we'll tell you the benefits of that. first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

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you're watching "news 4 midday." >> no reporter takes a vacation in late summer. every news organization waits for the astonishing, the absurd and it always explodes in august. >> that was part of the production of "red hot patriot"

starring kathleen turner. kathleen turner is joining us in the studio this morning. with more on that and what audiences can expect. how great to see you again. >> thank you. >> you got a good texas there. >> i'm working on it. i've had some criticism that it's not quite twangy enough. but the problem is, that just doesn't sound so attractive. so i have to try to make a moderation between too much twang and a little southern. >> i like it. i'm from texas. i can tell you, you sound like a texan to me. >> okay. >> tell us about the show. it celebrates the show of mollie ivans, a texas syndicated newspaper columnist. >> mollie ivans was an extraordinary woman. she died only a few years ago of breast cancer. she had 40 years of writing as a liberal, humorous, she was incredibly politically savvy and wonderful word smith.

she had a -- she loved to sort of skewer the weaknesses of politicians. she would say things like, she'd talk about this republican congressman jim collins and she would say, who is reaching such fresh heights of human stupidity if his iq slips any lower, we'll have to water him twice a day. >> it's a real comedy then? >> it's grand. >> have you ever had the opportunity to meet her? >> i did. i did. i'm on the board of people for the american way for many, many years. one of our main focuses is protection of the first amendment. that, of course, was one of mollie's missions in life also. the freedom and protection of the first amendment as a journalist. she came and was our keynote speaker one note at our event. then we crossed paths at other times, once because her best friend, ann richards who was governor of texas, lived in my building in w york.

so i run into the ladies, you know, in the lobby and they'd haul me off up to ann's apartment to tell stories. >> you were inspired by those meetings to do the show. >> that and the fact that i truly believe what mollie had to say about the responsibilities of citizenship, about being involved with our representation, with our country, about being active in pursuit and protection of our individual rights. i could not agree more. >> now, doing that show in washington has to be a little different from doing it anywhere else in the country. >> this was planned, honey. i mean, i was working on this one. i wanted terribly to bring it into washington before the election. and mollie smith at arena stage theater agreed. so she opened the way for us to bring this show in. yes, i have to say although we've only been open a few days now, i've only been having audiences for about a week, one

of the differences i find is that when it gets to the real heavy political stuff about, you know, our individual freedoms and everything, the audience gets pretty quiet here. >> don't want to hear too much of that, huh? >> i don't know. i don't know. >> you think they're lecturing them. >> they are listening. >> you have the most incredible career. i was looking at the films you have done from "body heat" to "romancing the stone" and "crimes of passion." "peggy sue got married." everyone went crazy saying don't forget "serial mom." >> it's so funny. john waters is a great talent. he has this ability to take tomorrow who are essentially awful and make you really love them. you know? >> of all the movies you've done what has been your favorite role to play? >> i suppose some of the most fun, i mean, i really loved all of them. i've always chosen them because

i like them so much. but i think the most fun i probably had was with michael douglas and danny devito in our films, in "romancing" or "war of the roses." the three of us were kind of mischievous shall we say? we had some good fun. >> i facebook'd out that the body double for jessica rabbid was going to be here today. everybody thinks of you as one of the most sensual women in america. >> that's very flattering. >> people still say that about you. how does that feel? >> it feels pretty nice. pretty good. i'm certainly long past the age of being the, how do you say it, the sexual icon sort of level. >> but maybe that goes to show us that age doesn't really

matter. >> i certainly hope. i'll tell you one quick story, that when i was doing -- i developed the play "the graduate" in london. they asked me to bring it to broadway. i said no. there's full nudity. i didn't want to deal with the americans hypocrisy on this issue. but then i got a script that described the lead character as 37 but still attractive. and it made me so angry i called up the producers and i said we're going to broadway. >> so you did it? >> yep. >> what do you prefer, broadway or film? >> i love stage. i love stage. i love to be part of living thing that happens, the interaction between the audience and what's happening on stage. it's magic. >> and that's what's happening at the arena stage right now from what i'm hearing. >> thank you. >> your folks are very excited about what you're doing there. i think your father would be proud even though he didn't want you to be an actress. >> i think he would be.

>> thank you so much, kathleen. will you come back and visit us again? >> if you'll have me. >> i'd love to have you. we have so many more things to talk about. thanks so ch for coming. >> welcome. "red hot patriot" is open at the arena stage through october 28th. everybody says it's great. coming up, the red cross is still working to help victims of hurricane isaac. they're still at it along the gulf coast. and we'll talk about why this is a good time to prepare your house for an emergency. plus, the number of cameras to catch bad drivers could be going way up. an a look ahead

tropical storm isaac is still sitting right out there on the gulf coast today. it's moving just 8 miles an hour which means more misery for thousands of residents. new orleans appears to have been

spared any major damage but other parts of louisiana and mississippi are under water as we speak. forecasters expect isaac to weaken into a tropical depression later today. right now, the red cross has thousands of volunteers in place to help along the gulf coast. russ paulson joins us this morning with more on what the group is doing. good morning and welcome. >> good morning. thank you. >> very busy time for you all. >> it is. and hurricane isaac jogging all over the place made it an even more complicated thing. this morning about 4,700 people are waking up in shelters today, supported by red cross volunteers throughout the gulf coast as far away as georgia and texas. but most of them in mississippi and louisiana. >> what kind of services are you offering them down there. >> basic things. people have to have a warm, safe, dry place to go with their families. they need food, water, and the other thing we provide is sort of someone to talk to, an ear, because it's a traumatic event

people don't go through very often. >> do you steb places you'll be able to take people way ahead of time? you know this is hurricane season. do you know what you're going to do with those people well in advance of an actual natural disaster. >> we spend a lot of time getting ready. so we identified the places that might be needed for shelters over the past year, actually. then when the hurricane comes we have to figure out which ones do we send people to right now to be able to open up? that depends where the hurricane is wobbling toward. >> that's one of things you and the federal government are talking about, along with fema. you're trying to get people ready wherever they are to be ready in case of any kind of natural disaster. >> that's right. september is national preparedness month. we talk about important things that can be ready -- get people ready for whatever disaster might strike. i brought some stuff here. what i brought you is my personal kit. i grabbed this from under my desk this morning before i came.

people focus on the kit but the most important thing i have in my kit is this sheet of paper. >> what's that? >> front and back. it's my family disaster plan. when a disaster happens i need to know where's my wife going to be? where are my kids going to be after school in the worst stories i heard after hurricane katrina where from people who got separated from their families for days and didn't know where they were. my daughter is missing after school because the baby sitter can't find her, i freak out after ten minutes. this is my personal plan, name, phone numbers. it's amazing what you forget when you're under distress. >> what else is in there? >> potato chips, gatorade, some energy bars, masks in case it's something other than a hurricane in case you have a chemical release. i don't take much for medication but i do take allergy pills every day. i make sure i have that. and basic stuff everybody ought to have in here, i afirst aid

kit, gloves, flashlight, drinking water. >> where do you keep this? you take it with you everywhere? >> i have one in my car, one at home and one under my desk. this one sits next to the drawer where i keep my snacks for when i get the munchies during the day. i could shove stuff in there. >> can you quickly tell us what's in here? >> this is good for me. >> we don't have a lot of time. >> if i had a little kid i might need this or pampers. stuff like that. blanket, we might need pills if i had a lot of medications. this is always a good thing. i don't happen to have one in this kit because of where i work, a radio, crank operated or battery open rated, solar powered to know what's going on. thk through what you might need, put the plan together and put the kit together based on the plan. >> you should have this in your car, your house. >> i have one everywhere. >> everywhere. all right. thank you for coming in, taking the time to talk to us. >> it does make a difference in how you get through these

events. >> thank you so much. good luck for national preparedness month. >> thank you. we'll check in with tom kierein with the latest on our forecast. he's outside on the weather deck. >> right here on the storm team 4 weather deck this morning. it's beautiful. not a lot of humidity, blue sky, puffy white clouds is passing over us. there's the view, showing the sfin in washington, a terrific summer day under way. temperatures around the region or in the upper 70s to around 80 degrees. out of the mountains beginning to climb into the 70s. a few locations still in the 60s at the highest elevations. around the bay and beaches, beautiful summer day there for summertime activities and for those who are planning on heading out early for the labor day holiday weekend today, you should not have any travel problems as well as tonight or tomorrow, because a big area of high pressure is over us, giving us this delightful weather here for today, tonight and tomorrow.

afternoon highs should make it into the upper 80s. overnight tonight, 70s through the evening under a mostly clear sky. we'll be in the 60s tomorrow morning. then on friday, it looks to be a little bit hotter but still pleasant, not too humid, into the low 90s. getting more humid as we get into the weekend on saturday, high near 90 with increasing clouds. as we get the remnants of isaac approaching from the west, we could have a few passing tropical showers, sunday, sunday night, off and on labor day, monday night and into tuesday. that's the way it looks right now, barbara. >> tom, thank you. the school year is only a few days old but there are also problems in prince george's county. tracee wilkins has more on the county's school bus situation and how officials are working to try to fix it. >> reporter: some prince george's county parents are upset about changes and where the kids catch the school bus. due to budget cuts, some folks are walking farther than they're used to and some parents say

it's just not safe. things have changed this year for students in this ft. washington community. instead of catching the bus within their pedestrian friendly subdivision, these little ones have to venture on to washington drive, a road with plenty of traffic and no sidewalks. >> last year the bus stop was up there. and you know, it was more safe for the children. there's a sidewalk. we would sit on sidewalk and wait for the bus. >> the stop is now about a block outside of the subdivision at the corner of old fort road and washington drive, the cross-section of a major and secondary road. little elementary students standing here is something drivers aren't used to and parents don't want to get used to. >> i think it's terrible. i think something needs to be done fast. >> reporter: these parents aren't alone. there have been a number of complaints this year, since the prince george's county school system change some of its transportation rules and pickup spots. according to the prince george's county school's website, the transportation department had to make budget cuts.

the cuts redirected $5 million back into the classrooms. the changes include a maximum walking distance from home to bus stop of half a mile. adjust the walk zones of approximately 24 schools and some middle and high school students are riding the same bus now to save on stops. >> i think putting the safety of the kids in jeopardy over budget cuts is a big risk. >> reporter: shawn terry has a kindergartner, second and sixth grader at this bus stop. she's complained about the location and isn't happy with their response. >> they sent two people out and they deemed this was safe although the kids are not walking on a sidewalk. >> reporter: while a number of changes have been made in order to save money within the prince george's county school's transportation department, officials are still looking to hear from parents if they have concerns, they're asking them to contact them. in prince george's county, tracee wilkins, news 4. the school system just released a statement to news 4. 2 says in part, quote, the

school system enacted ink chas had this year to improve efficiency without compromising safety. we received two complaints about the site and the site does meet our criteria for bus stop placement, closed quote. drivers in the district may soon see traffic cameras at stop signs, a d.c. council task force is considering proposals that would add the new cameras at stop signs across the district. another proposal would add automated cameras. d.c. police assistant chief tells news 4 speed and traffic light cameras do work to keep drivers in line. >> we'd address locations that have greater proclivity for pedestrian injuries and crashes. we would probably start, hopefully with cameras in each ward. hopefully two to three per ward as we roll out. we do hope it's in the budget and these are life-saving measures. >> the new proposals would bring in an estimated $80 million a

year. let's take a look at our traffic right now out there on the roads as we speak. danella? >> thanks, barbara. traveling westbound, the dulles toll road, keep in mind until about 2:00 p.m. today, all the westbound lanes are blocked at belmont ridge road, you'll be forced off. there is a detour in place to get you back on to the dulles toll road. eastbound pennsylvania avenue and southeast, still watching the crash there involving a fire truck. as you make your way past minnesota avenue, only one lane is going to get you by there. traveling on i-270, it is smooth sailing. earlier this morning, lots of delays around father hurley boulevard. barbara, back over to you. >> thanks, danella. august is national golf month. golf is a way to stay healthy, get exercise and have fun all at the same time. our fitness expert steve hayes is here to share with us golf tips and exercises that you could do on golf course. good morning. >> good morning, barbara. >> who did you bring with you

today? >> nephra long. >> he's a tiger woods look-a-like. >> welcome. >> you got your first golf lesson ever. >> yes, i did, barbara. i went to golf dome, the pro over there, i never held a golf club in my life. he showed me how to hit the ball. this is golf pro tim at golf dome. i wanted to hit it like that. >> had you imagined it would take as much energy as it does. >> it's inkred. i thought it was just swinging it. no, it's technique. >> you feel you got a workout. >> yes. >> not just the walking over the golf course. >> no, absolutely not, the twisting, the movement of the arms. >> how important is form in golf? >> form is actually really important because if, you know, you're not swinging the golf club properly you won't be able to make solid contact.

>> is that where you get the exercise, trying to get your body in the right position to have the perfect form? >> it's working your whole body, working with your own swing and tempo. that's the main thing. >> are you ever sweating from the sunshine, of course, but are you ever tired and feel like you've had a real workout when you leave the golf course. >> yes, i do. you're walking a lot. it uses legs, upper body, too. >> that's the part you really get the exercise. >> the course 17,000 miles long. >> tell us about golf. i often wondered. i don't play golf myself. there are different clubs for different things. what are they? >> in a basic starter set, really, it comes with a driver which is right here. that's what you hit for the longer holes. then you get your fairway, which is the next one as well. in between that are a few irons here and there. then you have your wedge as well. this will be more of your scoring club here.

>> you must have these three types of clubs to play? >> we have one for you. we want you to try it. this is incredible. >> this is the putter. this is the most important club in the bag. >> demonstrate a putting technique. we have a hole for him to try to shoot. >> barbara, the thing about this, that thing has a laser on it with a gadget to the hole. >> is that right? >> that looks like an iphone. >> it is an iphone, ipad. >> that's an app on your iphone. >> you're download the app, type in your name and do five strokes or so and it will tell you the tempo of your stroke and how you're hitting the ball as well, too. >> do you play golf. >> no. i was just saying i've never played before. >> basically for me putting, you want to get in your stance, have a nice, good posture. when you putt, pretty much you

use your shoulders. >> how do you determine -- the club, what height you use for club. >> basically depending on how you are positioned over putt. you want your eyes directly over ball as well. as long as you're comfortable as well, that will determine how far you're choking up or down on the club. >> some her height -- >> i guess if you go to buy clubs somebody would show you what to get. >> starting for new golf clubs if you're 5'7" to 6'1", you'll be standard off the shelf. if you're taller than that you'll xtend the clubs by a half inch, an inch or so. >> thank you for coming on with us to talk about golf. a wellness tip? >> very quick. this is national eye exam month. there are fruits and vegetables that has vitamin c and licopene, tomatoes, carrots, and spinach.

good news for retailers. plus, a dog friendly beach nearby? we'll tell you abo

you're watching "news 4 midday." retailers are reporting strong sales gains for august. let's check in with cnbc's hampton pearson. he joins us more with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. we have stocks in negative territory so far today. we had a slight uptick in unemployment claims, trumping good news about consumer spending. at this hour, the dow down 100 points. the nasdaq down 28, the s&p down 10 points. the government says consumer spending increased in july after holding steady in june and falling in may. up 0.4% in july, personal income was up also 0.3% after taxes. and consumers have been going shopping. major retailers including target and costco are reporting robust august sales, up 6% among the top 20 retailers. much higher than economists

predicted for the $2.4 trillion retail industry. but investors are concerned that rising gas prices, up 11% this week, thanks to hurricane isaac and now 3.80 a gallon on average nationwide, that kind of a hike could force consumers to cut back on spending. and then there's the stagnant jobs market. the number of americans seeking unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 374,000 but that was a slight upward revision from the previous week. the four-week moving average just over 370,000. if you want to see the unemployment rate go down, jobless claims need to stay below 375,000. markets are hovering near their lows for the week. tomorrow, the focus willing on what federal reserve chairman ben bernanke has to say at the annual meeting of central bankers in jackson hole, wyoming. barbara, back to you. >> okay. see you tomorrow. >> actually i'll be on assignment tomorrow. so as they say, see you in september. >> oh, yeah, that's right.

we'll be starting a new month on saturday. have a great weekend. enjoy the labor day holiday. >> bye-bye. this week's wednesday's child we meet a wonderful young man with a few dreams he hopes will become reality. one of those dreams did come true when he got a chance to visit nationals park. these days it's not easy to find this place empty, especially when the nationals are actually in town. are you excited about being here? >> yes. >> 16-year-old rodney was definitely excited to be here at national stadium. and couldn't believe he was actually going to get to meet some of the players. >> guess who we have right over here? gio gonzalez and edwin jackson invited rodney to play a little catch. >> how you doing, man? you ready to go. >> yes. >> we'll let you get more comfortable. >> thank you. >> rodney came dressed up because he cares a lot about making a good impression, although he has some developmental challenges. he's a wonderful young man with a lot of hopes and dreams. >> he's very inquisitive.

he loves to cook. he loves rap music. he likes to build. he built his social worker a wonderful birdhouse. he loves to investigate things. he wants to know what everything's about. he's a very intriguing and interesting young man. >> we did it. we turned them. we turned him into a nats. that's it. >> the red glasses were rodney's idea for sprucing up his look. he has a wonderful sense of humor. >> show me what's up. give me a toss to e.j. >> rodney proved to have a good arm and edwin and gio were impressed. >> two hands, you saw that. that's the basic way, you see that? nice. gio and edwin talked about their dreams as kids. >> the dream that we live, we get to come out and you get to be the main attention on the mound. >> center of attention. >> nobody can play until you throw the ball. you have 35,000, 40,000 people, all these seats filled up. >> they asked rodney about his

dreams for the future. >> i would like to play for this team one day. >> absolutely. we'd love to have you. >> but mostly, rodney wants a family to love him. >> i would like to have a family like i would start home visits with and start visiting in the holidays and stuff. and then after i start visiting them for a long time, i could -- they would think about adopting me. >> would you like to be adopted? >> yes, ma'am, i would. >> a signed baseball was one of the gifts rodney got to take home but the biggest gift was learning that dreams can become reality. >> and i hope my dreams come true. >> if you have room in your home and your heart for rodney or another child who's waiting, please call our special adoption hot line, 1-888-to-adopt-me or

go to nbcwashington.com. our time now, 11:51. we'll help you plan a final trip to the beach this summer.

anncr: it'll start out as concrete and steel... but it'll become so much more. a new world-class resort casino in prince george's county. two thousand construction jobs to build it. four thousand permanent, good-paying jobs when it's done. hundreds of millions for maryland schools... real oversight to make sure the money goes... where it's supposed to. but none of it will happen unless we vote for... question seven this november. vote for question seven. and help build a better future for maryland.

in today's "weekend scene" a

guide to some of the beaches in the area. there's still some warm days left ahead of us here in the washington area to take in a beach or two. let's begin with a dog friendly beach. where is that? >> so many pet owners know there's not a lot of places you can take your dog off the leash and let them run around. >> dogs love the beach. >> that's right. in pasadena, maryland, this is fantastic. it's a dog's only park. humans can come but this beach siene tirely for dogs. it's actually open every single day. one you might want to hit with your pets. there's hiking trails, biking trails. >> you have another beach you want to tell us about. in a small town on virginia's northern neck. where's that. >> colonial beach is the second largest beach behind virginia beach. it's a nice beach. this was a place that was very

popular with wealthy washingtonians around the turn of the century. it's still there. it's completely free. there's no admission charge. there's a tiki bar and plenty going on. >> that is a very pretty beach, isn't it? one more to tell us about. these are going to be busy beaches now after you told everyone about them. this one is situated on the banks of the chesapeake bay. >> this is flag's pond. it's full of ponds. there is a little bit of a shore. this is rural beach, folks who like to take photos, do things outdoors, tranquil. it's got a great view of calvert cliffs which is an awesome site in southern maryland. people want to get out there, this is the weekend to do it. >> can you take blankets and a picnic to all these places. >> all these places. the dog park you don't want to get in the water. the beaches are open to winter. >> i love the beach in the

wintertime. thank you. have a great weekend. guess you'll head for the beach. >> more ideas for your weekend, logon to nbcwashington.com or the going out guide on washingtonpost.com. we'll take a look at some of the stories we'll be following for news 4 this afternoon. tonight on news 4 at 4:00, a stunning case of bullying and it's all caught on tape. a child beaten and dragged around the classroom and even the teacher joins in. then get ready for steve. danella heads to steve harvey's new set to find out the secret behind his success and what will make his show so different. plus, coming up on news 4 at 5:00, cashing in on great deals. liz crenshaw explains knowing what to buy at a certain time is the key to getting the best deal on a product or even on a vacation. it's time now for a final check on the forecast. tom? >> right now we're climbing into the low to mid-80s, low humidity, lots of sun. a few clouds coming and going. highs, upper 80s later today. a beautiful summer day tomorrow,

low 90s in the afternoon. will get more hume over the weekend. increasing clouds on saturday with a high around 90. as i've been mentioning we could still be on way of having some of the tropical downpours from the remnants of isaac on sunday, monday, labor day. and again on tuesday. we'll have updates. sty tuned. >> i can tell you don'ten wa the to tell us about it. >> i know. >> we have to live with it if it happens. that's "news 4 midday" for today. thanks for being with us. we invite you to tune in for [ male announcer ] we've made verizon fios even easier to switch to -- and harder to resist. because now you can upgrade to fios internet and tv for a super-low $79.99 a month, guaranteed for one year, with no annual contract required. once we got fios it was like somebody like took our computer, shook all the junk out of it. there's at least three computers. [ girl 1 ] a tablet. couple of gaming systems. we could all be running at the same time. we do not notice any dips.

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