cathedral school where she was a tennis star and a brilliant scholar. the president praised her tennis playing. said she's not that good at basketball, which she also played at ncs. but to republicans, most of them here at capitol hill, this is no joke. they are not happy about this appointment, but they can't stop it. susan rice becomes president obama's top foreign policy adviser. >> susan is the consummate public servant. he puts her country first. she is fearless, she is tough. >> reporter: she will coordinator input from the cia, the pentagon and the state department. >> i look forward to continuing to serve on your national security team to keep our nation strong and safe. >> reporter: rice succeeds tom donalin who was national security adviser during the takedown of bin laden. rice looked on track to succeed hillary clinton as secretary of state until benghazi. five days after four americans

were killed on the sunday talk shows, rice blamed a demonstration that turned violent, using talking points scrubbed clean of what proved to be true. a planned attack by al qaeda. republicans blamed rice for protecting the president before the election. some questioned her appointment today. >> it's curious that they would choose ambassador rice as the national security adviser, only because she's such a polite plit cal lightning rod now. >> reporter: president obama's credibility has suffered. in a new nbc poll, 58% said benghazi raised doubts. 66% support the obama use of drones against terrorist targets. but just 15% support u.s. military action in syria. 11% back arming syrian rebels. all to be susan rice's issues at the white house. the u.n. ambassador's nomination goes to samantha power, a former white house adviser.

unlike rice, power does need senate confirmation. it's possible that republicans up here, upset that president obama has given susan rice such a top job, might take it out on power. i'm steve handelsman, news4. we are following a developing story out of philadelphia right now. rescue crews are still on the scene of a building collapse in center city. searching to make sure no one else is still trapped under the rubble. that building collapsed about 10:30 this morning onto a two-story building next door. at least one person was killed, 13 others injured. some of those rescued were helped by good samaritans who were walking by when the building came crashing down. >> it's like this can't be a mistake -- i mean this has to be a mistake, it can't be what theyment to do. so i took a picture and then i went over and put my things down and tried to help people. >> it is still unclear tonight what caused that building to

collapse. we do know it was in the process of being demolished. a news conference is under way right now. we'll bring you any updates as they become available. there were two violent home invasions within an hour of each other in northeast d.c. the first one happened this morning off north capitol and douglas streets. just a few blocks away, another attack, this one much more brazen. news4's jackie benson is on the scene with disturbing details. jackie? >> reporter: doreen, according to the police report, one of the burglars tried to rape the female victim. d.c. detectives went door to door in the edgewood neighborhood of northeast where an unnerving crime happened around 4:00 this morning. the police report says a couple awoke to find two men in their bedroom, one armed with a knife, the other had a gun. they took the couple's money, iphones and laptop, and when the man with the gun attempted to rape the woman, a struggle began. the fight led down the stairs and into the kitchen. that's where police say the

suspect fired his gun. then he and the man with the knife ran out of the house. the bullet went through the wall and into the kitchen of the rowhouse next door where the homeowner's 18-year-old daughter was sleeping on the couch. >> the window shattered, and there's a hole in our wall. yeah. >> reporter: did you know what was going on? >> no. well, we have a mouse problem, so we thought a mouse like tipped over a glass, but it wasn't because the police came banging on the door. >> reporter: an hour earlier, two men, one of them armed with a knife, broke into a home a short distance away on north capitol street northeast. according to the police report, the homeowner alerted by his dog picked up some ankle weights and yelled through his bedroom door, i'm coming for you. he chased the suspects down the stairs and threw the ankle weights at them. they escaped through the basement door without stealing anything. >> in both cases at least one of the suspects had a knife, so they're similar enough in the location and the time frame and

the area, that we're looking at them. we don't know for sure if they're linked or not but we believe there is a possibility so we're looking into that. >> reporter: and police think that the suspects are young, possibly in their teens or 20s. reporting live in northeast washington, jackie benson, news4. friends of an arlington high school student who was killed in a skateboarding accident are coming together now in an effort to cope with their sudden loss. a vigil for that student, john malvar is his name, a vigil will take place tonight at 8:30 outside washington lee high school. malvar was riding his skateboard while holding on to the back of a pickup truck when he lost control and hilt his head on the pavement. counselo counselors were on hand at the school today but some of the students are having a hard time putting their grief into words. >> it's really hard. i can't really tell, you know. >> he's a really nice guy.

he was really genuine. he's one of those kids that was always in a good mood. >> a 17-year-old friend of the victim was driving that truck when malvar fell. so far no charges have been filed. a school bus driver has been cited for speeding and negligent driving after a chain reaction crash in maryland. the driver was taking students to centennial lane elementary school about 8:30 this morning. we're told the bus hit a van which then smacked into a car. the bus driver and five children were taken to the hospital, minor injuries for all of them. police believe the driver may have turned his head to talk to the chipper just before the crash happened. a taxi driver murdered and a shootout on a street in adams morgan. we're learning more about how it all unfolded. the driver was shot twice and killed early tuesday. the police report says officers saw one of the gunshots as the taxi sped past them on ontario road northwest. a man running from the scene shot at the officers. police fired back.

the gunman kicked down the door of a basement apartment. the resident of that apartment ran out another door. police arrested the man and he's now been charged with murder. a second man was arrested near the scene on an outstanning warrant. the taxi driver's death comes as the district is focusing on the safety of both taxi drivers and passengers, but a hearing today on the issue took a surprise turn. tom sherwood reports that the taxi commission couldn't back up allegations that many drivers had harassed or assaulted their passengers, tom? >> reporter: doreen, these numbers are important. the city doesn't want people afraid to ride in city cabs. ward 3's councilmember was alarmed at the statistics, suggesting 1400 people a year, 80% of them women, complain of being physically or verbally harassed. she thought something needed to be done. >> to hear the frequency with which the commission receives complaints about harassment and violence in taxicabs is

startling, to say the least. >> reporter: 20 million cab rides in the district every year. 10,000 cab and limousine drivers. but as cab drivers and company operators sat in the room, it became clear the commission records didn't back up the statistics. with maybe a few dozen complaints, not 1400. >> 1,400 people per year, which is a big number. but i don't think that that matches up with what you've told us today, so i'm trying to figure this out. >> reporter: the taxi commission chairman said his agency was hampered by a lack of computerized statistics and different standards for reporting complaints and crimes. >> what you have today is a statistical report based off the top of my head remembrance when i testified. >> reporter: david grasso was astonished that the cab commission didn't have accurate records. >> if you don't know this on the top of the head how do you fix the problem? i don't get that. this is the kind of thing i would imagine you'd be working on every single day.

>> reporter: and the general manager of yellow cabs said the inaccurate complaint data unfairly taurn herbes all drivers. >> in eight years of running yellow cab company of d.c., i've had no complaints of sexual harassment or anything to that effect. i think you've heard a lot of numbers being thrown around, careless comments being made and now the council is asking for the facts. >> reporter: and the councilmember insisted that the commission report accurate records as soon as possible. >> thanks, tom. more fallout at the internal revenue service. today nbc news learned that two senior staff members have been placed on administrative leave for accepting free food. that's against irs policy. those employees allegedly accepted $1100 in free food and other items during a conference three years ago. the disciplinary action is part of an internal, top-to-bottom review of the agency, which is now under scrutiny for a number of questionable practices. now to our weather, a

tropical storm in the gulf of mexico could bring rain to our area later this week. let's get the latest on this rapidly developing situation. doug kammerer is in the weather center. doug? >> it is rapidly developing because this is the first named tropical system that we've seen so far this year. now we're talking tropical storm andrea making its way through parts of florida. tropical storm warnings up for portions of tampa all the way up toward portions of the florida gulf coast. now, what we're going to be seeing is this storm making its way our way. take a look at the moisture. once again, i think the rain will be the biggest issue but now we have to watch out for some wind because the hurricane centering, watch what happens here. it brings it up in through portions of the gulf coast and right up through portions of the southeast, right off our coastline and also keeps it as a tropical storm. meaning we could be seeing winds, tropical storm force, as a lot of us make our way down towards washington and to the beaches on friday and early saturday. i'll have much more coming up in just a minute. up next, the search for a killer after a teenager was shot

down just four blocks from his house in d.c. an arrest following a sexual assault outside a local post office. how science helped police zero in on a suspect. the first lady on the offensive, after she was heckled during a speech. and tonight the powerball winner has been revealed. an elderly woman in florida comes forward to claim her $590 million jackpot. we'll find out what she plans to do next.

40,000 people crowded into a stadium in houston, texas, today to remember four firefighters who lost their jobs -- lost their lives on the job. the people who were there saluted family members of the victims and paid their respects to those who were killed. four firefighters were killed last week when a motel they were -- when a motel collapsed. it is the deadliest fire in the

history of the houston fire department. there is still no word on what started that deadly fire. officials say the investigation could take months to complete. the american soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians says he doesn't have a good reason for why he did it. staff sergeant robert bales pleaded guilty to premeditated murder today. he told the judge he meant to kill the unarmed women and children but said he can't explain why. his lawyers said he had a brain injury after four tours of duty. he will serve a life sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. in august a jury will decide if he should be eligible for parole. three days over his court-martial after giving thousands of documents to wikileaks, the case against private first class bradley manning is now becoming clear. prosecution witnesses are testifying that manning defied orders to expose classified information but his attorney says the 25-year-old never meant to harm fellow soldiers or national security.

the most serious charge against him is aiding the enemy, which carries a possible life sentence. his trial is expected to run all summer. the first lady, michelle obama, does not like to be interrupted when she's delivering a speech. mrs. obama was speaking at a private democratic fund-raiser last night at a couple's home here in washington. no cameras were allowed there, but we're told about ten minutes into her remarks, a woman in the small crowd started shouting, demanding that the president sign an executive order on gay rights in the workplace. mrs. obama left the podium and confronted the heckler face to face. the first lady threatened to leave, but gave guests a choice, to listen to her or the heckler. the guests chose the first option and the woman was escorted out. t a group representing, lesbian, gay, transsexual and bisexual americans issued a statement that says in part we value the

first lady's leadership and invite her to lead the charge within the democratic party to end employment discrimination. as many as 20 major league baseball players, including some of the game's biggest superstars, could be facing suspensions tonight. it's because of new allegations about performance-enhancing drugs. a key player in those allegations who says he's now ready to talk. here's nbc's jay gray. >> reporter: major league baseball is taking another hit now after allegations that some of the biggest stars have used illegal performance-enhancing drugs. >> the impact to the sport will be epic. they have never had the kingpin in a flip like that. >> reporter: that kingpin is tony bosh, seen in this picture from a previous and unrelated arrest. he's the founder of a miami clinic that's closed down in the wake of the scandal. according to numerous reports, he has agreed to cooperate with mlb investigators and share a list of more than 20 players he provided with p.e.d.s, a list that includes yankees third

baseman alex rodriguez who admitted to experimenting with a banned substance from 2001 to 2003. >> i stopped taking it in 2003 and haven't taken it since. >> reporter: 2011 national league mvp ryan braun has also been tied to the latest allegations. >> he's going. >> reporter: braun failed a drug test during his mvp season, but a 50-game suspension was overturned after he challenged how league doctors handled his urine sample. he said his name appears in biogenesis records because bosh was used as a consultant during that grievance. >> i will not make any further statements about it. the truth is not changed. >> reporter: major league baseball won't comment either, citing the ongoing investigation. today the players union released a statement which says union attorneys will be with the accused players as they are interviewed by league officials and, quote, the commissioner's office has assured us that no decisions regarding discipline have been made or will be made until those interviews are completed. which means fans can only wait. >> i don't believe who to believe right now. >> reporter: and wonder.

jay gray, nbc news. >> maybe you're wondering how this might impact nationals pitcher gio gonzalez, once linked to that florida clinic? dan will have more on that a little later in sports. we've got some weather, delightful out there today but changes coming, huh? >> yeah, they could be big changes, especially if you have plans on friday or saturday morning. this tropical storm may be coming right up our alley. when it does that, i think we'll not only see the potential for heavy rains but maybe some heavy winds for those of us heading down towards the beaches this weekend. may not be the best time to go on friday. take a look outside and you can see plenty of sunshine. another gorgeous afternoon. it is a really nice one. our second day in a row we've seen temperatures around 80, abundant sunshine, low humidity. as we mentioned yesterday, things are going to be changing in a big way coming up over the next 24 to 36 hours. on the storm team 4 radar showing things all enclosure right n -- clear right now. we're talking about south carolina, in through georgia and

florida, this is tropical storm andrea getting its act together just a little bit. the latest advisory bringing it to 40-mile-an-hour tropical storm, that is a very weak tropical storm, but didn't even make tropical depression status, went right to tropical storm status when the aircraft went out there a little bit earlier. now on this track. it is moving to the north at only about 3 miles an hour to the northeast. it's going to be just south of florida, just south of the panhandle of florida at about 45 miles per hour tomorrow, around 2:00. then watch what happens in the next 24 hours. it moves right up towards us fairly quickly. by friday at 2:00 it's just to our south. that's when we could see the heaviest rain from this. on 11:00 friday night it is just off the coast right around ocean city, maryland. looks like it could be just off to the east but ocean city over towards rehoboth, that is in the corn of uncertainty so that's something we're watching out for. if you're thinking about heading toward the beaches, could be some high winds along the chesapeake bay bridge. take a look at the rain associated with this.

8:00 on thursday, tomorrow morning, not really worried about rain. the clouds will be moving in, thickening, lowering and by 1:00 we'll start to see the showers breaking out, mostly to the west of i-95 but even in the afternoon to the east we'll see a few showers. tomorrow i don't think we'll see anything too heavy but the best chance of heavy rain will be back to the west, in and around the i-81 corridor, leesburg and manassas. but it's really overnight into friday that we start to see the heavy rain move in. 9:30 in the morning, heavier rain starting to move in and by late in the afternoon everybody is seeing that rain. we're talking 1 to 2 inches of rain before it's all said and done with. starting to move out fairly quickly by 11:00, 12:00 on friday night so saturday may be okay. right now we're sitting at 79 degrees, winds out of the southeast at 9 miles an hour. tonight we'll see a fantastic evening. really all night tonight it will be pretty nice. tomorrow we'll see the clouds start to move in with a 30% to 40% chance of rain.

82 on your friday with that rain. but then notice saturday, 84 degrees. right now i've kept the rain out of saturday, put it in for sunday, though. a 50% chance of just some showers, maybe a few storms. temperatures moving back into the 80s sunday, monday and tuesday. take a look at friday one more time. this is when that storm moves in. warm and humid with the potential over an inch of rain likely in some areas and we'll continue to watch very strong winds, tropical storm force winds, maybe 40 to 50 miles an hour and gusts especially near the chesapeake and out towards the eastern shore. >> i don't like it when you start talking about that cone of uncertainty. >> the cone of uncertainty, which is off to the east. >> thank you, doug. coming up tonight, bright, colorful packaging but consequences that can be deadly. we'll report tonight on the new effort to crack down on synthetic drugs marketed to kids. a postal worker speaks out only to news4 after a brutal attack on her lunch break. why she still lives in fear even though there's been an arrest in the case. coming up in sports, it's a super bowl championship party at

the white house. and the nationals sending a big name player to the dl, as news4 at 6:00 continues.

a postal worker is breaking her silence for the first time since a disturbing attack. that woman was sexually assaulted during her lunch break last month in silver spring. tonight a man has been arrested, but the victim says her life will never be the same. pat collins has the report. >> reporter: this man, arrested and charged in the post office rape case. 47-year-old dennis nathan carpenter picked up in the district. law enforcement sources say he was identified through dna, that he had a rape conviction in prince george's county back in the '90s, that on the day of the sex assault, he escaped from a d.c. halfway house where he was

doing time for an attempted robbery. all this as the victim speaks out. today i talked to the clerk who was raped behind this post office in woodmore. we call her lily. for obvious reasons, we're concealing her identity. >> did you think he might kill you? >> yeah. he said he was. >> what did he say? >> he was going to cut me up and put me in a dumpster. >> reporter: it happened on may 2nd. she went out to get some lunch. she was walking back when she was approached by a man. he told her he had a truck. he asked if she wanted to see it. she said no. he asked her if she had a cigarette. she said no. he asked her if she had any kids. she said no. then as she started to walk into work, she says he grabbed her by the arm and forced her to sit on this curb.

>> he had a knife and he wasn't playing. >> reporter: at knife point, she says he forced her into the side yard and sexually assaulted her. >> after he said he knew i was going to call the cops. >> reporter: since the sexual assault, lily hasn't worked. she says she's getting better, but her life has changed dramatically since what happened here on that mayday. >> i don't go places by myself. i haven't been anywhere by myself in a while. >> reporter: since this happened? >> yeah. >> reporter: suspect dennis nathan carpenter, held in a d.c. jail tonight. he's expected to be brought to montgomery county to face those rape charges soon. in woodmore, pat collins, news4. mark segraves is now at the live desk with details on that deadly building collapse up in philadelphia. mark? >> reporter: that's right. philadelphia's mayor just wrapped up a press conference. we're learning a little bit more about the person who died in this collapse. mayor michael nutter identified

the person has 35-year-old woman. her name is not being released. he said at this point search dogs are still indicating there may be people trapped in the rubble. the fire commissioner says crews are prepared to continue to search. >> we're going to be searching through the night. we have all types of sound equipment. we also have seismic equipment on location. we're going to -- it's a tedious operation. we're going to be removing rubble a little at a time. >> reporter: 13 others were rescued in the collapse in center city this morning, some by good samaritans who just happened to be passing by the scene. there are some questions about how this demolition was taking place, but mayor nutter said it's still too early to comment on that of the investigators say there were no existing violations on the property. from the live desk, i'm mark segraves. a 16-year-old the victim of violence. he was shot and killed outside an apartment building in northeast d.c. this week. >> it happened on brentwood road

just a few blocks away from the victim's home. tonight police are trying to figure out who did it. chris gordon is at police headquarters now with more on this. chris? >> reporter: good evening. the metropolitan police department is asking for the public's help as d.c. detectives try to determine who murdered 16-year-old malik spears. his friends call him whiz. they say it's because he had a style. 16-year-old malik spears was shot several times monday night. police patrolling the 1200 block of brentwood road in northeast washington heard the shooting. >> we additionally had a report of a sound of gunshots through our shot spotter system. >> reporter: malik spears was rushed to a local hospital where he died the next day. his friends are frustrated. some of them say they heard the gunshots monday night. >> it was like the last three i heard, it was two and then they stopped. there was a little pause and then the last one went off, i was like oh, man.

somebody must have got hit. >> reporter: when friends learned the victim was malik, they got angry. >> it still gets to me, like why would they do that? why would they take somebody so close to me to make them feel better about they self. >> reporter: do you know who they are? >> i don't. >> reporter: and do you know why -- >> i don't know why. he was probably somewhere at the wrong time. >> reporter: with so many people on the street day an night, police are looking for information from eyewitnesses to try to confirm or discount stories that are circulating about what led up to malik being shot. >> well, they told me that the young fella had went and was coming back and some dude was randomly shooting at him. he was jumping the fence. he tried to flag the police down to say that he was hurt. >> reporter: in the neighborhood he was known by young and old alike as someone ho kept out of trouble and tried to be helpful. >> with my groceries and my house, he was a good kid. he didn't deserve this.

>> reporter: the d.c. police department tonight is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case. that's the latest, live from the d.c. police department. chris gordon, news4. >> thank you, chris. medical marijuana is legal in 19 states now, but some cannabis business leaders say it's nearly impossible for them to operate legally. more than 30 of them traveled to capitol hill today, pushing for change. they say the conflicts between state and federal laws also prevent them from getting small business tax breaks. >> but really the federal government has us in a position that's just impossible. >> the substance that they are asking for tax relief on is an illegal substance. i think we would be better off as a society if they did not exist. >> a separate report out by the american civil liberties union found that states spend more than $3 billion enforcing marijuana laws every year. tonight a local mother made it her mission to crack down on

synthetic drugs. they are sold online and at convenience stores too, but now business owners in mt. rainier, maryland, will face a fine or jail time for having the substance available on their shelves. tracee wilkins has the story. >> i want to know if it's pcp, i want to know if it's marijuana, i want to know if it's something dangerous. >> reporter: she said she didn't know what was wrong with her 13-year-old son when he was found a few months ago lying unresponsive on the street just blocks from his mt. rainier home. >> it amazes me. that something legal can have my kid in the street and unresponsive and he don't know his name. he couldn't tell the police where he lived at. you know, they found his phone to actually call me. >> reporter: turns out he was high on a synthetic drug. it's child-like packaging label that say potpourri but police say it synthetic marijuana and it's readily available at gas stations and stores throughout our area. >> it amazes me that something legal can be worse than a drug.

>> reporter: it's popularity has grown faster than the laws can keep up with. while there are federal regulations prohibiting the sale of this ever-changing substance, states deal with enforcement and now so does the city of mt. rainier. >> we wanted to get on top of it right away. >> reporter: last night the city council passed lentili eed legi giving them a fine and time in jail. >> we wanted to send a message out basically that this is not going to be accepted in the city and it gives us more local control with our police department. >> reporter: her son has undergone rehab and he's not the only kid on his block with a problem. >> there's a lot of neighbors on this street that got kids my child's age. we're all going through this. >> reporter: and while wilson says she's happy about the steps mt. rainier is taking, she's worried about other nearby cities. >> he just told me, ma, i can go to brentwood and buy it. that's not too far from here. >> reporter: folks with the police department tell me over the last six months they have seen 10 to 12 incidents dealing

with synthetic drugs here inside of the city. part of the reason that they enacted this legislation. in mt. rainier, i'm tracee wilkins, news4. the superintendent of the stafford county schools and his staff will need to find a way to cut half a million dollars from their budget. the county board of supervisors approved the school board budget but rejected a plan to add an activity fee for students. that fee would have charged students up to $100 for certain sports and other extracurricular activities. >> number of activities each of those families and those children are participating in, it could cost families several hundred dollars a year. we don't agree with that. >> you cannot continue to use cuts as a revenue-generating proposal. >> the school board will talk about a possible solution to the proposed cuts at their meeting next tuesday. an 84-year-old woman from florida becomes an instant

multimillionaire. tonight new information about the latest powerball winner and why she's waited so long to claim the prize. also a star-studded lineup for this year's fourth of july performance on the mall. and what about weather, doug? >> watching tropical storm andrea making its way up the coast the next couple of days. friday is the day, but how much will this affect your weekend? we'll talk about it coming up in a minute.

a minivan slammed through a taco bell restaurant in ohio, and it was all caught on video. the vehicle narrowly missed a mother and child who were getting ready to sit down and eat. three people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries from broken glass and debris. the woman driving the van swerved off the road for no apparent reason. she was also treated at the hospital and is expected to be okay. there's no word yet on whether she's going to face charges. an 84-year-old woman from a small town in florida is now the biggest single lottery winner in american history. her name is gloria mackenzie. she lives in zephyr hills, florida. today she came forward to claim her $590 million prize. she told lottery officials she

knew right away that she had won but spent the last couple of weeks getting everything in order, meeting with lawyers and financial planners. the winning ticket was a quick pick bought at a local grocery store. she said someone let her go in front of them in line because she was buying only one ticket. she's taking the lump sum. that will leave her with about $370 million before taxes. some big-name stars are going to headline this year's independence day concert on the national mall. singer barry manilow will perform some of his classic hits. he'll go joined by actor darren chris from "glee" and tom bergeron will be the host. it draws hundreds of thousands of people to the mall every year. don't we love another day of sunshine, but it's not going to last. doug will tell us when and why. coming up in sports, steroids rearing their ugly head

in baseball once again. the nationals sending another player, a big name, to the dl. plus the ravens celebrating a championship with the president. as news4 at 6:00 continues.

hello, everybody, i'm chief meteorologist doug kammerer. we're watching a beautiful day outside right now. take a look at our camera high atop our studios here in northwest d.c. looking at a little bit in the way of some gusts a little bit. looking at a little bit of a wind but not bad. a great evening, 79 degrees our s temperatures, 76 by 7:00, 73 by 9:00 and 69 by 11:00. it's going to be a beautiful night. it really is going to be quite nice so get used to it now. at least enjoy it while it lasts because we're not going to see it much longer. 73 in gaithersburg, 80 near ft. belvoir. so what are we going to be seeing? well, it's not rain right now. you have to go down to the south to see where our rain is coming from. it's tropical storm andrea, newly developed tropical storm andrea. it became a tropical storm about an hour ago. as it makes its way to the north and east, a tremendous amount of

rain. it's going to move up the coast. tomorrow we'll see shower activity but andrea will wait until friday to come in. we'll still see showers tomorrow west of i-95 and right across the area here on thursday, just about everybody tomorrow getting at least some shower activity or trying to see some showers. not going to be a total washout, though. friday will be the washout all day long. once again, 1 to 2 inches of rain possible and we're watching out for the potential for strong winds, especially east of i-95. the seven-day forecast coming up in a minute. so it just seems like one after another the stars are going down. big trouble. >> this doesn't seem like it's too bad. at least that's what we understand at this point. last year shutting down steven strasburg, one of the most controversial decisions in all of sports. this year, a no-brainer. straus be strasberg placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained lat. he left friday's start in

atlanta with a grade one strain of that lat muscle. he was supposed to throw a bullpen session today to see if he was ready to start saturday against the twins. he never healthy enough for that to happen so he is now on the dl. eligible to return june 16th. so that's about 11 days, not too bad. the team will call up a pitcher from aaa to make saturday's start against minnesota. >> he was examined by a doctor and there's still some tenderness and a little discomfort there and so we're going to keep him off the mound for two more days and after the doctors examine him, they wanted to pull him off, to be on the safe side. >> well, you don't want anybody to pitch with an injury. and so until he's symptom-free, you know, we're not going to let him pitch. >> each and every injury, there's symptoms and there's protocol for those injuries, and

we try to follow the protocol at all times and, you know, to prevent him from getting a small lat pull that doesn't get any worse. >> okay, so what is the lat muscle, you ask? >> the latissimus dorsi. >> exactly, but in english it's the one underneath your armpit. >> it's the one that makes you look like you have a massive back. >> you guys know about this because that's what you're in the gym trying to build up, right? >> of course. >> and failing miserably. already, moving on. according to espn, major league baseball is likely to suspend about 20 players connected to a clinic in miami that distributed performance-enhancing drugs. alex rodriguez the biggest name linked to the investigation. a-rod and ryan braun could both receive 100-game suspensions. gio gonzalez had previously been linked to the investigation but he's not expected to be

suspended. >> i'm focused on baseball and ready to continue. you know, this is -- i'm getting ready to see some more ws for the nationals. >> we've taken the distraction away. gio is very confident in that situation and we're confident in him and we feel he'll be exonerated and so it hasn't been a distraction. talking tennis now over at roland garros, we had some pretty solid tennis being played. rafael nadal, the defending french open champion, hasn't lost in his last 20 matches. his last defeat in april to novak djokovic, who just happens to be the world's number one ranked player. both men in action today trying to set up a semifinal showdown. djokovic looking to advance to the semis for the third straight year taking on tommy haas. first set all tied at three and djokovic just explodes with the forehand right here. you're not going to get that. he'd take the set 6-3. so we go to a second set tie-break. some nice back and forth between the two. check out djokovic with the

backhand. yeah, you're not going to get to that one either. >> too old. >> you think haas is too old? >> mm-hmm. >> third set. haas keeping it alive for the moment but djokovic says, you know what, i'm tired of messing around. look at that. is that a perfectly placed shot? and by the way, haas is only 35 years old, far from over the hill. it is kind of old. moving on, seven-time french open champion rafael nadal against varenka. nadal with a little touch on the backhand and look at rafa getting to that shot. he's getting to just about everything and he says, you know what, there's nothing he can do. a little racket damage as he puts it into the net. second set, good return by rafa but then watch the forehand. passing shot, no chance on that one. nadal serving for triple match

point, looking to close this one out and he does as the shot is long. nadal wins in straight sets and moves on to the semis where he will face djokovic on friday. on the women's side, defending champ maria sharapova advances to the semifinals where she will face victoria azarenka who beat alex ovechkin's fiancee. meanwhile, one more story to go, a big day for the super bowl champions. i almost forgot. the ravens will receive their super bowl rings on friday and apparently joe flacco and ray lewis both had some input in designing those rings. today a trip to the white house to hang out with the president. full balk vonta leach chatting it up with president obama. he was number 44. he said it was okay for mr. obama, the 44th president, to share his number presented by the head coach there, john harbaugh. handshakes all around and hugs for ray lewis. quarterback joe flacco chatting

it up with the president, who acknowledged it was great timing for that new $120 million contract. lots of joking around with the boys from baltimore. >> i suspect that these guys are wondering what kind of introduction is that? no smoke machine? no fire cannons? obama didn't even tear up chunks of turf and rub them on his suit. >> that's rough. >> that reminds me, by the way, please don't do that on the south lawn. i will point out, by the way, that he is getting some gray hair, though. i'm not the only one. you're like an old man. >> ed reed, 34 years old with a little gray patch up there. >> tough crowd there. >> yeah. >> those are guys with lats. they have got lats. >> we can't do that

tonight on news4 at 11:00, a young man arrested after a prank on his sleeping friend takes a dangerous turn. plus one virginia woman now

a big winner. her incredible surprise, tonight on news4 at 11:00. we want to report now the sighting of a two-alarm fire that's under way in the 1100 block of pennsylvania avenue southeast. that's about 11 blocks from the capitol area. as you can see, heavy black smoke rising in the air there. we do not know much more about this right now. we'll certainly bring you details as they become available. >> doug is here with one more check on our weather forecast. >> yeah, right now all eyes will be on that tropical storm the next couple of hours making its way through florida and eventually right up the coast. this is the official track from the hurricane center bringing it through florida as we make our way through the day tomorrow on that track. it's also going to make its way very close to our region on friday afternoon into friday evening and notice, if you're going down toward the beaches, it's going to be right off the ocean city coastline. the good news is i'm not expecting much in the way of beach erosion or anything like that, but you could still experience tropical storm-force

winds of 40 to 50 miles an hour. 82 degrees on your friday with heavy rain likely. right now saturday not looking too bad so we're not talking about a washout of a weekend, just friday. >> thank you, doug. >> good to know, thank you, doug. you've probably taken pictures on your cell phone that came out blurry because you couldn't hold your hand steady, right, because you're nervous about whatever it was you were shooting because maybe you weren't supposed to be shooting it. whatever the reason, you probably just delete it. over in london, though, today some blurry pictures sold for thousands of dollars. they are not framed well. they might be a bit difficult to make out. this is the famous red square in moscow. see it? today an art collector paid $77,000 for these pictures. that price all because of the artist. that was it, not him, the other one. mickey, a chimpanzee. go back to mickey. he took them back in 1998 under the guidance of a couple russian

artists. unfortunately he didn't see the appreciation for his work. he died a few years ago. >> $77,000? >> for a monkey's -- chimpanzee's pictures. >> i could teach my

on our broadcast tonight, without warning. a building collapse levels a huge area in the heart of philadelphia and triggers an urgent search for those trapped. we'll have a live report from there tonight. man under fire. our nbc news exclusive interview