our megan mcgrath was there, and she watched the whole thing unfold. we'll check in with her in just a minute. first we want to check the forecast from storm team 4 meteorologist amelia siegle. good morning. >> good morning. a dry start for most of us. partly to mostly cloudy skies. i am tracking rain to the west. those of you in frederick, loudon, prince william, faulkier counties will see scattered showers this morning. the d.c. metro area inside the beltway, that includes washington, i think you are going to see a dry morning. but getting into the midday and afternoon hours, scattered showers are likely across the entire region. but once again, it's going to be that hit-or-miss activity. you need to keep the umbrella handy today. once again, you might not need to use it. you can see there is plenty of moisture back to our west. that continues to work in throughout the day today. right now we're at 76 degrees. so how hot are we going to get today? the answer coming up in ten minutes. for now here's dawnella with first 4 traffic. >> good morning. in the traffic office, still pretty quiet in our area.

i-66 for those of you planning to take i-66 any time soon, it is nice and clear. this is the best time to travel. except no one wants to go to bed that early. you know, to get up this early. 66 clear. here's a live look as you make your way past 29. again, no accidents in this area. it will take you 12 minutes to get from fairfax county parkway and inside 66, clear here as well. this is a look at glebe road. that drive just 13 minutes. over to you. >> dawnella, thank you. the president of asiana airlines is on his way to san francisco this morning. he's going to meet with crew members and will likely face some tough questions from the ntsb. before leaving south korea, he personally apologized to the families of the two chinese teenagers killed in that plane crash. he met them at an airport near seoul and bowed to them. one of the fathers was visibly upset with him. the two girls were part of a group that planned to attend summer camps at universities in

california. now, the visit comes as the ntsb hopes to shed more light today on the pilots in control of flight 214 including what they were doing as much as 72 hours before the crash. nbc's danielle leigh in san francisco for us again this morning where investigators are back out on that runway again. danielle, good morning. >> reporter: aaron, good morning. and investigators will be returning to the runway behind me again this morning as they continue to look for clues about those final moments. and we've got some new video that really paints a picture of the chaos just after the crash. you can see those emergency slides being sent out of the plane. people exiting the smoking plane, trying to get to safety. and you know, it was just after those moments that emergency responders came to the scene to help. firefighters have said there is a possibility that they ran over one of the two teen girls who was killed in this crash. initially we had expected to get the autopsy results yesterday. but now investigators are telling us it could be as much

as three weeks before we are given those autopsy results and before that investigation is complete to determine whether or not those first responders did, in fact, run over that teenager and whether or not that contributed to her death. you also mentioned one other key detail and a key development today. we are expecting to hear more from investigators later today, specifically about the crew in charge of the plane. those pilots. there's been a lot of attention on them because one of the pilots was in training. and so investigators are trying to find out what exactly was going on in those final moments. did they have a miscommunication? did inexperience come into play? but they're also going 72 hours back to see, was fatigue possibly a factor? so a lot of questions that we could be getting some answers to here later today. reporting live in san francisco, i'm danielle leigh. aaron, back to you. >> danielle, thank you. we are staying on top of breaking news right now at 5:04. crews rescued a worker at a construction site for the national museum of african-american history and

culture. this is happening at constitution avenue and 14th street in northwest. news 4's megan mcgrath is live on the scene. she's been there all morning and has the latest. megan? >> reporter: well, eun, we're getting more information about the nature of this medical emergency. d.c. fire and ems saying that a construction worker, a 37-year-old construction worker, complained of experiencing chest pains. now, here is the challenge, though. that worker was down at the bottom of this massive hole here at the construction site. 60 to 80 feet down in the center. so when rescue responders came here to the scene, they had to actually go down in ladders, make their way to the patient. and here's what they had to do to get him out of here. take a look at this video. very dramatic visuals here. what they did was put the worker into one of those rescue baskets. and he could actually be seen seating himself in that basket. they then attached the basket to one of these massive sky cranes that they're using as a part of this construction project. and then they hoisted him out.

and then just swung the basket over onto 14th street, and that's where the ambulance was standing by to take him from the scene. now, again, he was experiencing chest pains. we could see that he was moving. he was conscious. he was assisting his rescue crews in terms of getting in and out of that basket. but we don't have any other information about his condition at this point. but quite a dramatic rescue for sure. back to you. >> megan, thank you. 5:06. new this morning, the three women held captive in a cleveland home for a decade are finally speaking out. it's been two months since amanda berry, gina dejesus and michelle knight were released from the house. the women released a video on youtube thanking the public for financial support. take a listen. >> thank you for the support. >> i'm getting stronger each day, and having my privacy has helped immensely. i ask that everyone continue to respect our privacy and give us time to have a normal life.

>> i have no problem expressing how i feel inside. be positive. learn that it's important to give than to receive. thank you for all your prayers. i'm looking forward to my brand-new life. >> last month the man accused of kidnapping the girls was deemed mentally fit to stand trial. ariel castro pled not guilty to 32 counts of kidnapping and rape charges. he's being held on an $8 million bond. his trial is set to start next month. if you'd like to watch the full video statement, we have a link on our news 4 today facebook page. 5:07. this morning one d.c. neighborhood is grieving after a tragic discovery, a missing 7-year-old boy found dead just steps away from his home. d.c. police found the body of michael kingsbury last night inside a locked car.

it was in an alley right behind his family's home on west virginia avenue in northeast. it is not known how the body made it into the car or how police did not find him sooner. it's in an area believed to have been searched twice. michael's mother spoke to us st hours after the discovery. the community is now pulling together to help his family with funeral costs. this morning mothers will gather on capitol hill dressed as cows. this is set to happen at the senate hart office building. the group will even deliver to you cows and cow keychains to senators' offices. this comes about three months after the bipartisan manchin/toomey bill on stricter gun laws failed in the senate. this morning rusty the red panda is finally going home. rusty was released to the panda exhibit, the red panda exhibit area, around 9:00 this morning, or he will be. it will be the first time he's back in the exhibit since his escape from the national zoo last month. you see him here being caught in adams morgan. rusty was given a rabies booster and kept in isolation for a while. zookeepers say they think he was able to get out of the exhibit by climbing onto a low tree canopy inside his habitat. why smokers may catch a financial break when president

obama's health care law takes effect. plus why the secret to your child's success may be tied to the time you put them to bed at night. also ahead, a dramatic rescue while you were sleeping after heavy rain trapped people in canada. and i'm continuing to track some light rain over the mountains. will this impact your morning commute and how hot is it going to get on your tuesday? the answ

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saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. skies right now are partly to mostly cloudy, and we're at 76 degrees. don't expect a lot of sunshine for today. mostly cloudy to partly sunny skies as we work our way throughout the afternoon hours. for the morning hours, those of you in frederick, loudon, prince william and faulkier county, some scattered showers are likely in those areas. getting into midday and afternoon hours once again we're going to see that hit-or-miss showery activity across the entire region. a high today of 90 degrees. dawnella, how are the roads? >> right now i'm checking on a water main break in northwest. "r" street shut down between connecticut and 21st street. if you follow us , i'll tweet

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welcome back. at 5:15, new this morning, we are getting a look at the flooding caused by heavy rain in canada. rescuers pulled a boy from a flooded commuter train in toronto. about a month's worth of rain fell in four hours. the storm knocked out power for 300,000 people. today vice president joe biden will attend a memorial service for the 19 firefighters killed while battling that wildfire in arizona. that service will happen at tim's toyota center. the men will be laid to rest at funerals throughout the week. the u.s. honor flag is on its way to that service. it arrived at the san diego

airport. officers will escort the flag to arizona. families returned to their homes in yarnell, arizona, after the wildfire forced them to leave. cars lined the streets as they entered the checkpoint. as for the, it remains 90% contained. new this morning, a judge postponed the trial of a koesco concordia courtroom. a judge quickly reskeejed the hearing until july 17th because of a nationwide lawyer strike. the captain is set to go on trial for the shipwreck off the italian coast. the boat hit a reef off tuscany. he is charged with manslaughter, causing a wreck and abandoning the ship. shmorning investigators searching for the cause of a fiery train derailment that damaged a small town's center in canada. take a look. at least 13 confirmed dead, 50 still missing in quebec near the maine border. investigators fear they may find more bodies as they seech the

epicenter of the explosion and the fire. all but one of the train's 73 tanker tars was carrying crude oil when it somehow the brakes failed, causing that train to derail on saturday. the white house says there are no plans to stop sending $1.5 billion to egypt even though some members of congress want to withhold some or all of the annual aid package. michigan senator carl levin and arizona senator john mccain both are calling for an aide cutoff until a civilian government is restored. this comes after more than 50 people died during a confrontation outside where president mohamed morsi is being held. the state department calls egypt's political polarization dangerous, but the u.s. has yet to call the uprising against morsi a coup. the obama administration says the aid is in the best interests of u.s. security. 5:18 now. this morning the wife of secretary of state john kerry is listed in fair condition at a boston hospital. doctors at massachusetts general say teresa heinz kerry suffered

a grand mal seizure. we're told secretary of state john kerry stands by her side. thousands of people on both sides of the abortion debate rallied outside the capitol yesterday. supporters wore blue, opponents wore orange. the bill seeks to restrict abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. it also requires abortions to be performed in surgical centers. those centers would also have to be within 30 miles of hospitals. if passed, the bill would effectively close all but five abortion clinics in texas. another hiccup in the rollout of the president's health care law could save smokers money. the administration says a computer glitch will limit the penalties insurers can charge smokers. the law is supposed to allow insurance companies to charge smokers as much as 50% more for their premiums. but the computer system isn't letting them charge different people different penalties. this comes just a week after the white house announced a one-year delay in another part of the

law. let's check in with melissa at the live desk. melissa? >> want to show you pictures just in of a brand-new wildfire burning in arizona. this is about 80 miles southeast of phoenix. it started late last night. it's already consumed 200 acres. one home has burned down. the fire also threatening a local airport. 150 firefighters right now on the scene. we know a mobile home park has also been evacuated. right now unclear how it started, but a lightning strike was reported in the area before the blaze began. at the live desk, melissa malay, news 4. and news for your health now, babies conceived in may are 10% more likely to be born prematurely. that's according to a new study published in the journal proceedings of "the national academy of sciences." the flu may be to blame. babies conceived in may are due in february which is typically the height of flu season. doctors recommend all pregnant women get a flu shot as a precaution. just go to sleep. a new study says enforcing a bedtime with your kids is the

best thing for their brains. british researchers studied the sleep patterns of 11,000 children. irregular bedtimes increase the likelihood for lower test scores in reading and math by age 7. the problem was significant in girls who didn't have a regular bedtime at ages 3, 5 and 7. pediatricians say the inconsistent sleep could undermine the brain's ability to acquire and retain information. >> we try to respect the bedtime in our house. it's tough to do, though, sometimes, especially in the summer. >> you let it slide a little bit, but not too much. not too frequently. >> it is. >> mommy goes to bed at 7:00. you go to bed at 7:00. >> i wish. if only. 5:21. time for weather and traffic. here's amelia with our forecast. >> good morning. for the most part it's a dry start to the day. there is rain over the mountains. as this continues to make its way east towards washington, it is going to start to break up. and you see this activity here on storm team 4 radar. this light rain, it's looking pretty widespread now, but like i said, as it continues to

advance towards the east, it is going to start to diminish somewhat. widening out the image, there's a lot more moisture back to the west. working our way throughout the day today, we're once again looking at those hit-and-miss showers and a few isolated thunderstorms especially arnold the midday and afternoon hours. it's a balmy start on this tuesday. 71 in rockville and reston. 76 in washington. 75 presently in college park. as we get through into the midday hours by noon, we're looking at partly sunny skies. so for the morning hours, we're going to be mostly to partly cloudy. temperatures generally in the 70s. those of you this morning in frederick, loudon, faulkier, prince william counties, i do think we'll see scattered showers. areas to the east, that includes the d.c. metro area, dry this morning. can you see this afternoon at 3:00, we're looking at scattered showers and a few isolated thunderstorms likely across the entire region. 88 degrees at 3:00 p.m. we hit our high of 90 today at 2:00 p.m. for the evening there's the

chance of showers. otherwise the temperature at 6:00 of 85 degrees. so this is another day you need to have the umbrella handy. don't cancel those outdoor plans, but definitely have a plan "b." for tomorrow, we're humid and hot. a high of 91 degrees. more in the way of sunshine tomorrow. partly sunny skies. but getting into the afternoon hours once again, it's looking like scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely. some downpours are also possible tomorrow, dawnella. some downpours also possible thursday. more details on that coming up in ten minutes. for now, send it over to you. >> in the traffic office, still watching a water main break in northwest. folks planning to use "r" street, it's shut down this morning between connecticut avenue and 21st street. that's as of right now. while the water main break is under way. you can use "p" street or florida to work your way around that closure. now talk about the commute in charles county. nice and clear. folks in waldorf along 5, no issues to report here as far as accidents, delays, even

construction is clear. over to 210 as you approach the beltway, really in both directions, very light volume on the beltway. passing 210 as you make your way towards the wilson bridge, travel lanes open both directions here as well. and making the drive between the wilson bridge and van doran street, that's just a seven-minute drive. i'm back in ten. eun, over to you. >> thank you. 5:23. later today first lady michelle obama will hold the second annual kids state dinner. this is video of the first state dinner from last year. the event will recognize 54 winners from the healthy lunchtime challenge. the challenge was designed to have families create a healthy affordable and tasty original lunchtime recipe using the nutritional guidelines of my plate. a former nfl player is suing the redskins this morning for a hit he says ended his career. former giants' linebacker barrett green is suing the team and former assistant coach gregg williams. green claims a cheap shot hit during a 2005 against the redskins ended his career. he also claims the hit was a

result of a bounty program that encouraged redskins to injure opposing players. the nfl cleared the redskins of any wrongdoing in the bounty scandal back in august. the ex-wife of a former orioles pitcher is in jail this morning for holding him at gunpoint. kris benson's ex-wife, anna, was arrested yesterday after addlely breaking into his georgia apartment. this is kris pitching for a minor league team. anna benson was wearing a bulletproof vest and dmanlded money from the former pitcher. he told her he would pay her but left to call police instead. benson pitched for the orioles for one year in 2006. a roman catholic nun will spend 90 days in jail for stealing nearly $130,000. sister maryann rapp was sentenced yesterday for stealing from two new york churches to support her gambling habit. she was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service. she must also repay $128,000. gambling can be dangerous. >> it can.

honoring the flight attendants who were on board asiana flight 214. also ahead, speaking out for the first time since they escaped years of captivity. what these ohio women want you to know this morning. plus, a very blunt warning for people who may want to go swimming near great falls. and another hot, humid day on tap. your forecast is next with weather and traffic on the 1s. coming up on 5:26 live on air and online. you're watching news

right now at 5:28, we are following a number of new stories this morning. our cameras were rolling as a construction worker was rescued earlier this morning. the worker suffered a medical emergency while he was down some 60 feet at a construction site along the national mall. for the first time, we are seeing and hearing from the three cleveland women who were held captive for years. overnight they released a video thanking everyone for their support. breaking news in the mideast, a large explosion rocked a hezbollah stronghold in lebanon. we'll have much more on those stories throughout the morning. first good morning to you. i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrist. welcome back to news 4 today on this tuesday, july 9th. amelia siegle is here now with

what you can expect as you head out the door. amelia? >> for the most part it's going to be a dry morning. partly to mostly cloudy skies. 76 degrees now. now, those of you well to the west of the d.c. area in frederi frederick, loudon, faulkier counties, scattered showers there this morning. into the midday and afternoon hours, we'll start to see those hit-or-miss showers once again across the entire area with isolated thunderstorms. so let's break it down for the morning, midday and afternoon hours. 8:00 a.m., 77 degrees. at that point those scattered showers west -- well west of the d.c. metro area. by noon, most of the areas mainly dry, partly sunny skies, a temperature of 85. 4:00, we're looking at scattered showers and a few isolated thunderstorms likely across the entire region. 87. so this is another day where you need to have the umbrella handy. know, though, you may not need to use it. for tomorrow we're going to see more in the way of sunshine. throughout the day, just limited sun. a high of 90. for today, a high of 91.

once again, showers and thunderstorms are likely tomorrow. mainly during the afternoon hours. tomorrow, some downpours are possible. downpours also possible on thursday. with a better chance for more widespread rain. i'll have more on your forecast coming up in ten minutes including a look at your forecast with future weather. but for now, here's dawnella with first 4 traffic. >> good morning. in the first 4 traffic office this morning checking on i-95, your trip out of fredericksburg, virginia, very clear. a lot of green. travel lanes open. very light volume. here's a look at prince william parkway. drive time northbound, easy trip from quantico, just under 30 minutes. southbound on 95, easy trip between the beltway and fredericksburg. let's head to the 14th street bridge. there was a work zone in place blocking the right lane. it's clear. across the 14th street bridge, easy commute into the district. nice drive time as well. from the beltway to the 14th street bridge, that drive will take you 12 minutes. make sure you follow us at first

4 traffic tweeting out all traffic alerts throughout the morning. over to you. >> thank you. 5:31. new this morning, we are hearing from the three women who were held captive in a cleveland home for a decade. it's been two months since amanda berry, gina dejesus and michelle knight escaped the house. nbc's tracie potts is live with more on what the women are saying. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this came out just after midnight. we had been waiting to hear what these young women have to say about their ordeal. the main message they had after being held captive for nearly ten years by ariel castro, their message today is thank you. here's part of an excerpt from that video that was released early this morning. >> i may have been through hell and back, but i am strong enough to walk through hell with a smile on my face and with my head held high. and my feet firmly on the ground.

>> i'm going to get stronger each day, and having my privacy has helped immensely. i ask that everyone continues to respect our privacy and give us time to have a normal life. >> gina, if you could say something to each and every person out there who contributed money to your fund to help you, what would you say to them? >> i would say thank you for the support. >> reporter: 52-year-old ariel castro is being held on an $8 million bond. he's awaiting trial. that date has been set for august. he's facing over 300 kidnapping and rape charges. but the focus today squarely on those three young ladies who survived. eun? >> tracie potts live on capitol hill for us, thank you. 5:33 now. news 4's melissa malay at the live desk. >> tropical storm chantal, what it actually is doing now, we know it's approach puerto rico, should be in the dominican republicly wednesday. going to remain a tropical

storm, we understand. tropical storm warnings still in effect for islands like barbados, st. lucia, martinique, moving at about 26 miles per hour with 50-mile-per-hour gusts. the weather team, of course, keeping an eye on this as it approaches the u.s. to see how it affects florida over the weekend. at the live desk, melissa malay, news 4. this morning we are getting a clearer picture of just how slowly asiana flight 214 was flying when it crashed short of the runway in san francisco. the ntsb says everything seemed normal about a minute and a half before that crash when the autopilot was switched off. it continued on a normal descent until the final 16 seconds. that's when the plane began to quickly drop below the target speed of 137 knots it needed to land safely. by eight seconds out, the pilots called for more power. but by that time the engines kicked in five seconds later, the plane had slowed to just 103 knots, or about 40 miles per hour slower than it should have been going. investigators say they want to know if the pilots were too

reliant on automated systems to notice the air speed problem. today investigators hope to shed more light on the pilots behind the controls there when the president of asiana airlines arrives in san francisco. he is flying there now to meet with the flight crew and the ntsb. before he left south korea, he personally apologized to the families of two chinese teenagers who died in that crash. he met them at an airport near seoul and bowed to them. one of the fathers was visibly upset with him. the two girls were part of a group that planned to attend summer camps at universities in california. and take a look at this new video of the moments after that crash. it shows the emergency slides being deployed from the plane just moments after that 777 slammed into the ground. 305 of the 307 on board were able to escape on those slides, and many passengers say that is thanks to the flight attendants. rescue crews have called the asiana attendants heroes for getting everyone off as quickly

as possible, cutting the passengers from their seats and literally carrying children off on their backs. investigators say their quick actions likely saved many lives. right now montgomery county police are asking for your help to find a missing germantown man. take a look at your screen for a second. this is 31-year-old omar webster, last seen around 7:00 sunday night at the whole foods on kentlands boulevard in gaithersburg. webster is 5'8" and about 140 pounds. he was last seen wearing a gray v-neck t-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers with green soles. his family members are concerned about his mental well-being. if you have any information, contact montgomery county police. we expect to learn more this week on whether felony embezzlement charges against this chef will be thrown out. chef todd schneider and his attorney told northern virginia bureau chief kerry that they are under a gag order and can't talk about the case. they have argued that the office of the attorney general went

after schneider to cover up other alleged wrongdoing by the mcdonnell administration. there is a blunt warning for people who may want to go swimming near great falls. the firefighters union in fairfax county posted this message on their facebook and twitter pages "you swim here, you die here. any questions?" two people drowned in the potomac river this month. swimming is not allowed in the gorge section between the key bridge and great falls because of the dangerous currents. but that doesn't stop everyone from doing it. this youtube clip raised eyebrows and even sparked a police investigation. now the man who pulled a gun at freedom plaza is talking to us about why he did it. the mission ahead for nasa's curiosity rover after a lengthy delay. and a dry morning for most of us, but there is some rain back to the west on storm team 4 radar. coming up after the break, i'll be showing you exactly

take a look at this waterspout caught on video here. the twister formed over a body of water in central florida. fishermen say that waterspout lasted about 15 minutes. they also say it was at least ten feet wide. it's a long journey across the red planet this morning. the mars rover curiosity is on a trek that will keep it very busy for months. for the next nine months, the

rover will head to a mountain known as mt. sharp. the journey is a slow one. since last week it only went about 200 feet. for the last seven months it's been pretty much in one place. the biggest discovery during that time, finding an ancient stream bed shows life could have once existed on the red planet. hey, it did that. that's a lot of work. >> got to keep it slow, though. no aaa on mars. blow a tire, it's all over. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. let's check in with amelia siegle. >> good morning. as the sun comes up, partly to mostly cloudy skies. beautiful red skies there as you can see looking out over our city cam. highs today at or near 90. washington hits a high of 90. radar showing rain back to the west. this continues to advance towards washington bringing scattered showers this morning to areas like frederick and faulkier counties. otherwise it's going to be a dry start with plenty of cloudiness. getting into the midday and afternoon hours, we're once

again looking at some scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms across the entire region. dawnella, how's traffic? >> right now i'm watching delays in the traffic office on i-270, don't worry, they're usual delays as you make your way heading southbound toward the beltway, here's what you're looking at. 85 at 31 miles per hour, so it's a little sluggish. the trip clear from germantown to the beltway, no issues to report. >> thank you. looks like college students may catch a break after all when it comes to what they pay for student loans. not backing down, a protester's defiant message this morning after pulling a gun in downtown washington. plus living to tell his story. a teen talking

in the day ahead, a very unique rally set to unfold this

morning on capitol hill. a group of mothers and their children will hold a rally urging action on gun control, and they will do it dressed as cows. this is set to happen at the senate hart office building. the group will even deliver to you cows and cow keychains to senators' offices. this comes about three months after the bipartisan manchin/toomey bill on stricter gun laws failed in the senate. it is a video that alarmed a lot of d.c. residents and spurred a police investigation. now in a news 4 exclusive, the man who posted that youtube video of himself loading a shotgun is speaking out. we first showed you this video last week. he says he took this video of himself the morning of july 4th. he says the video and the gun are real. it's illegal to openly carry a loaded gun anywhere in the district, but he says the video wasn't just protesting that. >> it's a cause that's bringing

people together from across the political spectrum. whatever your political orientation, why would you want to be tied together in this giant collective that ends up serving the special interests of politicians rather than the needs of the people. >> he's been traveling the country raising support for what he calls the final american revolution. he's promising an open-carry gun march on washington for next july 4th. today jury selection begins for the army major accused in the deadly shooting at fort hood. and it looks like the accused gunman will represent himself. major nadal hasan's attorney told an austin newspaper he will not represent him during the jury selection process. he's accused of killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others in a shooting rampage at the texas army post in november of 2009. he faces the death penalty if convicted. by the end of the day, police are set to reveal more evidence against former new england patriots player aaron hernandez. a judge ruled yesterday that the public should know exactly what investigators seized from hernandez's home.

he and two others have been charged in the death of semipro football player oden lloyd. meantime, patriots' owner robert kraft says that if the charges against hernandez are true, his organization has been, quote, duped. the team dropped hernandez the same day he was arrested. 13 before the hour now. and today some of the testimony in the george zimmerman trial could center around trayvon martin's toxicology report. yesterday the judge allowed that report to be entered as evidence. it says a small amount of marijuana was in martin's system at the time of his death. prosecutors said the information is prejudicial, but zimmerman's attorneys say it is relevant. zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in martin's death, claiming self-defense. and george zimmerman has sued nbc universal, the parent company of this station, for defamation. the company has strongly denied zimmerman's allegations. today a board set up to help protect your civil liberties will hold its first public hearing on the nsa spying programs. 16 experts will testify before the privacy and civil liberties

oversight board today. the independent agency's five members include an internet freedom advocate and two former bush administration lawyers. president obama has tasked the board with leading a national conversation about the secret spying programs. one of the countries that has offered asylum to the leaker of those spy programs wants a decision from the former intelligence contractor. venezuelan president nicholas maduro asked edward snowden to decide if he wants to seek refuge in his country, and if he does, to communicate when he will arrive. snowden has been holed up in a moscow airport for about two weeks now, but his asylum requests have also been accepted by bolivia and nicaragua. the man who could be the next head of the fbi could face some tough questions today. jim comey is due on capitol hill right in the middle of a government surveillance controversy. comey who was deputy attorney general under president george w. bush has a reputation for combatting the white house on surveillance programs. if approved, he would succeed

robert mueller as director of the bureau. today former south african president nelson mandela begins his second month in the hospital. the 94-year-old was admitted on june 8th with a recurring lung infection. in the last health update, the south african government says mandela was in critical but stable condition. well wishers created a makeshift memorial outside the pretoria hospital where he's being cared for. it is now 5:50. in the day ahead, d.c. police officers will join members of the brightwood community for a neighborhood walk. the walk will begin at 7:00 tonight on the corner of georgia avenue and rittenhouse. a department in crisis. that's what some people have called the d.c. fire department in recent months. many, though, are defending it now. a group of community activists gathered outside the d.c. council chamber yesterday to defend the work of d.c. fire chief kenneth ellerbee. many have called on ellerbee to step aside, although many in this group say ellerbee is

making things better. >> the fire chief is doing the job that we think he should be doing to represent the citizens of the district of columbia, and we ask them to stand down and allow him to do his job, to support him. >> now, this group claims a recent council report which said the department was understaffed and over budget was politically motivated. tonight you have a chance to comment on contract negotiations with prince george's county's new schools ceo. the board of education is holding an emergency meeting tonight at 7:00 in upper marlboro. dr. kevin maxwell was named the school's ceo last friday. he worked for prince george's county for 22 years before becoming superintendent for anna rundle county schools. today the d.c. council will consider emergency legislation to move next year's primary election from april to june. the democratic primary will likely decide who will become d.c. mayor. but the winner will not take office until january 1, 2015. council chairman phil mendelssohn argues that without

the change, nine months would be too long for lame-duck leaders to remain in office. the original bill did not make it out of committee. weather and traffic, we turn to storm team 4 meteorologist amelia siegle. most people walking up in the 70-degree neighborhood. >> absolutely. not much in the way of sunshine now. in fact, throughout the day today, you can see, though, pretty sunrise it's making for this morning. red skies there with our reston camera. tyson's off in the distance. throughout the day today, mostly cloudy to partly sunny. the most sunshine we'll actually see during the midday and early afternoon hours. right now on storm team 4 radar, i'm still tracking this light area of rain over the mountains, trying to make its way towards warrenton and leesburg. i think it will successfully do so, but it's going to continue to break up. so this morning those of you in frederick, loudon, faulkier, prince william counties will see scattered showers in those areas. off to the east you remain dry for the morning. it is a balmy start to the day. 7:00 a.m., we'll be at 76

degrees. 8:00 a.m., a mild 77. still, though, limited sunshine. by 9:00 a.m., there's that chance of a shower still for those of you well to the west of the metro area. d.c. metro is dry this morning. 78 degrees at 9:00 a.m. getting into the afternoon hours, we're looking at those hit-or-miss showers once again across the entire area. with some isolated thunderstorms. overnight tonight, there's just a chance of a shower before midnight. otherwise we're looking at mostly cloudy skies. 3:00, we're at 88 degrees. 6:00 p.m., 85. it is going to be hot today. tomorrow, hot once again. a high of 91 but very humid tomorrow. some scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms are likely tomorrow. some downpours also possible. for thursday, a cold front moves through with that more widespread rain is likely. some downpours are also possible on thursday. nice weather then for friday and saturday with temperatures in the mid to upper 80s. dawnella, how's traffic?

>> fois for folks taking the rails. not reporting delays at this time. all running on or close to schedule. over to the roadways, checking drive time green the greenway and toll road, both directions your travel lanes are open. folks getting by without any issues. it's a 15 minute trip from 28 to the capitol beltway. and now let's shoot over to route 50 in maryland. the trip this time from 301 as you head to the beltway, that's just a seven-minute drive. not bad at all. i'm back in ten minutes with another look at your traffic. aaron and eun, back to you. >> thank you. you could soon see major construction on the roads in mass transit system in prince george's. maryland funding $650 million in new transportation projects in the county. it will include new traffic flow and pedestrian walkways at metro stations, the final design of the purple line. the new money is coming from the recent hike in maryland's gas tax. a bridge in prince george's

county that's been closed since 2011 will finally reopen today. that bridge crosses rock creek on baden nailer road in brandywine. that 30-foot span has been closed since part of it was washed out by heavy flooding that hit the region during hurricane irene and tropical storm lee. the county says it took so long to rebuild because about 75% of the $2.5 million project was paid for by fema. and getting that funding was a, quote, lengthy process. the senate is taking another crack at student loans. senate majority leader harry reid scheduled a procedural vote for tomorrow. the bill would restore the interest rate on federal student loans to 3.4% for one year. interest rates doubled to 6.8% last week. congress can retroactively reduce interest rates. most students do not take out loans until the beginning of the fall semester. 5:55. new information that shows all that money you're spending in stores is actually giving the economy a boost. cnbc's courtney reagan live with that story for your money. courtney, good morning.

>> hi, good morning, aaron. consumers broke out their credit cards in may, just another sign they're more optimistic about the economy. the federal reserve says consumer credit jumped 8%, the biggest monthly gain in a year. the biggest chunk of consumer debt is what's known as nonrevolving credit or student and car loans but the fastest growing segment is revolving credit or credit cards. that may show a willingness by people to build up their balances. well, apple's app store is sell bratding its fifth birthday today, and many developers are marking the occasion by giving away free downloads. these include several gaming apps and a deejay software program that normally costs $19.99. the app store has come a long way with 8 # 50,000 programs now available. in may apple said customers are downloading more than 800 apps per second or roughly 2 billion apps per month. that is really incredible. they sort of created that business. and now look at how far it's come.

back to you. >> indeed. courtney reagan live for us at cnbc. thank you. well, there's a central florida teen sharing his story about how he survived an alligator attack. >> this is incredible. a 17-year-old was bitten in the head and survived and has the stitches to prove it. andrew hudson says he was swimming in little big econ state forest when an alligator attacked him. he says his head was locked inside the alligator's mouth. hudson's friends called for help as the teen fought back and swam away with the gator. away from the gator. >> i didn't see one all day in there. it just came up behind me and i felt it and i started kind of freaking out and swimming as fast as i could. >> hudson says he took off his shorts and wrapped it around his head to stop the bleeding until paramedics arrived. his quick thinking saved his life. >> unimaginable. >> way too kploclose for comfor. i'm glad he survived that attack. we are following breaking news in bay cute. a deadly explosion there.

plus new video released by the women held captive in ohio for years. the message they want everyone to hear. and a downtown d.c. rescue. how crews used construction equipment to pull a man from 60 feet underground. a live look over the nation's capital this morning. the sun is up and a relatively cool start to the day at this point. your weather and traffic on the 1s as news 4 today continues. good morning! wow.

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i may have been through hell and back. >> new this morning, the women kidnapped and held for years in ohio, just released a new video to say thank you. their encouraging message. also new, rescued from 60 feet below ground. we were there when a man was lifted to safety in downtown d.c. how crews used the construction equipment already there to get him out. also breaking news just in, a boeing 777 from japan heading to san francisco turned around during the flight. we are gathering more information right now about this incident, and we'll check in with melissa at the live desk in just a minute. first good morning and welcome to news 4 today. i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrist. a live look outside at this early hour. 6:00 a.m. here's a picture of union station and just a little breeze out there to greet you this morning. a little less humid now. >> let's check in with storm