chief of staff who tells news 4 he forgot he had the gun in his briefcase or bag and put it on the conveyor belt on the security checkpoint just inside the building. the .9 millimeter smith & wesson was discovered by security as it went through the x-ray machine. he was taken into custody. >> he broke the law. >> reporter: congressman marino sets on the homeland security and judiciary committees and is a former u.s. attorney. his chief of staff told news 4 he is taking this very seriously. he says frank will he, we are disappointed in ryan's lack of judgment." while ryan works on the hill, he lives in virginia, which has much different gun laws than the district. ryan is now facing a felony charge, carrying ato without a license. it was a mistake that got him in legal trouble and could cost him his job.

>> think he should be punished severely or -- >> no, not severely, but no, should be reprimanded. >> i am told he will spend the night in jail. is he due in court sometime tomorrow afternoon. we are seeing brand new video tonight that is reported to be the last video taken inside malaysia airlines flight 17 before it was shot down. this is posted to instagram by a passenger as people were still taking their seats, and as a pilot made an announcement. the caption reads, "in the name of god, feeling a little bit nervous." there's some confusion surrounding the post. the name on the account does not appear to match the name of the passenger who is reportedly widely -- who is widely being reported, that is. international investigators, meanwhile, are arriving in ukraine as the world begins to mourn the loss of nearly 300 people. tonight a vigil will take place

at the dump embassy in northwest to remember those lost. we learned earlier today that one of those victims is an american. meanwhile, there is more evidence of pro-russian rebels may be to blame. the missiles that downed the jet was fired from a rebel held location, and the u.s. ambassador to the united nations says it cannot be ruled out. that russia helped. president obama today blamed russia for continuing hostilities in the region. >> russia has refused to take the concrete steps necessary to de-escalate the situation. we want russia to take the path that would result in peace in ukraine, but so far at least russia has failed to take that path. as investigators hope to recover that wreckage, we're now getting a clearer picture of some of the victims on board with connections to our country. so far quinn channelsman is the only american person on board that plane. he was born in new york city. he did carry dual dutch u.s.

citizenship. he was living in amsterdam. this is what appears to be his facebook page where many have posted messages. at least one other person on board has ties to the united states. carlin kescher. she was working on her chemistry doctorate where she was on the rowing team back in 2011. the u.s. will be helping in the investigation, but it's not going to be easy as russia and ukraine point fingers. there is concern that whoever is responsible for shooting down that plane will not be forthcoming with evidence. nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker joins us with more on the president's role in this. kristen. >> wendy, the president is focussing on mobilizing that international investigation in his remarks today. stressed the importance of making sure that the crime scene is not tampered with in any way. the white house also focused on making sure that the u.s. investigators from the ntsb and the fbi make it to the crime

scene. this is going to be incredibly challenging because this is all unfolding in a war zone. the reason for the importance of making sure that this investigation is deered out properly is because -- whom err is responsible. u.s. intelligence suggests at this point that the plane was shot down from a missile that was fired from an area in ukraine that is controlled by pro-russian separatists. if it is determined that there is a link there will be increasing pressures on this administration and the crp and allies to levy heavier sanctions against russia. president and this white house wants to make sure that they have a tight pace against putin and if those are the -- in fact, responsible. i anticipate will be making --

his counterpart does this investigation gets underway, and -- president obama announced the stiffest round of sanctions yet against russia. europe also announcing sanctions, but didn't go as far as the u.s. if there is, in fact, a russian link, it will be right from the percent perspective of the u.s. that they are on the same page in terms of levying harsher sanctions. the president monitoring the situation in the middle east while he is at camp david this weekend. >> kristen welker at the white house. stay with us for more coverage of the malaysian airline crash. we'll go inside kuala lumpur. nbc news with brian williams will have more coverage. a guard is in the hospital right now after a van slammed into his guard shack this afternoon. take a look at this video. police aren't yet sure why the minivan lost control and hit the shack on curtis drive. the guard shack is located in

front of an apartment complex. firefighters say the guard suffered serious injuries. news 4 ace tracy willingens spoke with residents there who cheered as he was rescued. we'll get to her live report coming up in just a few minutes. an officer who swore to serve and protect the public is about to go on treel in an alleged road rage killing in maryland. jury selection was supposed to start today in the trial of joseph lamont walker. walker seen in this mugshot is a police officer in new jersey. prosecutors say he shot truck driver joseph hardy last summer after the two argued near i-97. the baltimore sun reports defense lawyers tried to -- the judge refused. they say walker shot the victim in self-defense. and in virginia the uphill battle for uber and lift is getting a little steeper. eight taxi companies have filed a complaint in fairfax county circuit court asking a judge to stop uber and lift from

operating in the commonwealth claiming that they do not have the right legal permits to operate in virginia. last month virginia issued a cease and desist order for the two countries, but the companies are still operating. it might be a confusing sight for some drivers, but it's really the start of a whole new way to travel in northern virginia. today arlington transportation leaders broke ground on their portion of the crystal transit way. transportation reporter live with more on how this project could eliminate traffic projects. bus riders in the future. take a look right down. >> passengers --

not a unique concept as far as transportation, but certainly unique for our area. take a look at this map, and can you see the plan is to have these dedicated transit lanes from pentagon city metro station all the way down to the road metro station. alexandria is scheduled to open next month. people who work here say they notice transportation options are shift awaying from the car. >> they're coming -- the bike path and now they're trying to get rid of the traffic. >> the big idea. >> arlington county board member mary hines says people are going to keep moving to this area so we have to find other ways to get them around. >> our projections show that something like 60% of the growth in arlington in the next 30 years will happen on this corridor. >> you don't have to be here long to find out what she means.

juan gomez commutes to crystal city from stafford, virginia, every day. he says bring on the transportation options. anything to help cut down on the commute. hoping for more good days ahead. >> reporter: back here live along the transit way. this is another transportation project that virginia is getting off the ground. there is a similar project like this plan for maryland, but it's want happening yet. straight talk about that coming up next hour at 6:00. reporting live in alexandria, adam tuck, news 4. that underscores just how many people need dental and health care in the state. the southern maryland mission of mercy group held a free dental clinic in walsdorf today. it will be opened for a second day tomorrow at north point high school. tomorrow's hours will be 6:00

a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and like today the lines will likely be long. when all is said and done, mission organizers expect to see some 2,000 patients. well, july just couldn't be better than it has been this week, but we could see some changes as the weekend rounds the corner. really nice weather as we head into the weekend. doug. nobody is complaining. you guys complain about the weather? no. not with all -- especially on a friday. we're talking about backyard weather and have -- we got a great backyard for you. the friends, the family of the eadvantage lows here. we'll be talking about the back with regard in just a second. you guys said, hey, are those -- no, they're not. take a look at those clouds. a lot of rain in the southeast.

it will not ruin our friday. i'll see you in about eight minutes. >> thanks, doug. >> parking can be tough to come by. a new transportation hub will make it a lot ease wrer for thousands to commute. news 4 has the exclusive tour, and it's not just for drivers. what happened to a woman on her daily run. a van crashes into a guard shack. miraculously, the guard inside survived this crash. i'm tracy wilson. coming up on news 4, we were here as he was rescued. we

sxwlirchlgts an accident involving a vehicle with the metro bus is under investigation right now. it happened on old georgetown road at the entrance to the beltway just over an hour ago. early reports are that two people on the bus were injured along with two people in the vehicle. we don't yet know how serious the injuries are. he was just doing his job protecting a community when the unthinkable happened. this is what remains of a guard shack after a van rammed into it. news 4's tracy wilkins arrived after it happened. she's look to look at the rescue that took place to save that guard. well, it really is amazing that he actually made it through. let me show you what's left of

the shack now. they are repairing it, and they have taken down what was there. a truck was there. let me tell you something, it was unbelievable, and when we arrived, i was shocked to hear that there was still someone inside. a minivan crashes into this guard shack at the carriage hill apartments in temple hill. >> it's terrible. i don't know. >> what's most amazing is the guard who was working inside is still conscious and communication communicating with rescue crews as they try to extricate him. >> extract him from under the car. >> reporter: dozens of residents rushed to the shack watching. some taking videos and pictures with their cell phones. >> it is incredible that he is alive. >> reporter: the crowd begins to cheer as the security guard is pulled from the guard shack talking and moving. he is expected to be okay. the driver stayed on the scene and made it out of the van safely, but why he crashed is still unclear.

>> it's still an investigation. we're trying to find what actually occurred with the driver's vehicle. >> reporter: these residents believe they witnessed something amazing today. a life somehow spared. >> i thank god every day that miracles happen. >> residents we spoke to did not know this guard by name. they did know his personality, and how he treated them. coming up on news 4, we'll explain why so many of them were out here praying for his recovery. reporting live at temple hill, i'm tracy wilkins, news 4. a virginia woman will spend three years in prison for using her clients' names for fake income tax returns. she was sentenced for filing false income tax returns and then pocketing the money for eight years. as well as committing wire fraud. once she's out of jail, she'll have three years of supervised probation. she also has to pay back almost half a million dollars. we've had unbelievable days

here in the month of july, and the question is can they continue? >> yeah. doug is living it up in someone's backyard because it's friday. >> oh, you're fine. keep going. keep going. go down. there you go. hey, guys. tell you what, a backyard -- just wait until you see. i'm coming down from the pool area. there's also a playground. some really great things. i love this coy pond too, and that's a water slide. it's not a water slide. it might become a water slide. you know how the backyard weather things go. this is angelo here, and angelo, what's your last name again? >> kasaras. >> that is -- >> greek. >> i heard there's some great greek food that we're going to have later. >> we sure are. >> and as far as you wanted us to come to your backyard, why would you want us to come out? >> i want you to come and enjoy yourselves and get to see a piece of rockville and a piece of my property and my friends and family. >> hello, everybody. >> hey. >> they're excited we're here. i have to say it's amazing.

there's five acres here, and it's your own nook and cranny, and you have done something with every piece of it. >> i have been. i have been busy the last 25 years. >> its taken 25 years. we're going to show you in a second. first off, though, i want to show you weather and take a look at how things are going to be the next couple of days. we still have some nice weather coming in. even though we're going to see a lot of cloud cover the next couple of days. 84 is the current temperature with those winds out of the east at about three miles per hour. beautiful friday afternoon. it looks as if the temperatures around the rest of the region, gaithersburg, 79 degrees. 79 in martins burg. 82 down towards manassas and fredericksburg at 84 degrees. as far as the radar is concerned, nothing to show you, where rain off towards the best. backwards towards west virginia and we should maryland. that's really it. that's kind of a sign of things to come. can you see the moisture trying to stream up from the southwest. as we take the wider view, notice the rain, notice the clouds down towards the southeast. we're talking about that --

those clouds coming in from places like georgia and tennessee and alabama. that's a lot of rain trying to make its way here. fortunately, for the weekend we've got an area of high pressure that should try to keep us on the dryer side of things, so that rain will not make its way up here. take a look at future weather. here's what we're going to be seeing. starring off on your saturday. cloudy skies during the day. some sun. watch what happens on sunday. some of you guys here about sunday. back towards the west. back towards the mountain. sunday is the day that we're going to be watching for shower activity. then as you move through the day on monday. we are going to be on the cool side. as far as it goes into july.

83 tomorrow. 84 on your sunday. >> we can't swim with -- >> we can't swim with fish, but we could jump to the pool above. >> it's mermaids in that pool. wait until you see those mermaids. we have those coming up in just a second. pretty cool stuff. president obama reveals one of the first lady's weaknesses, and she makes a drastic decision during a state dinner. plus, it was his last hope. find out how a passenger on the malaysian airlines flight made a joke about what would happen to his plane.

back here at news 4 at 5:00, i'm carol maloney live at nats park. let the second half fun begin. the washington nationals are back. they are in first place taking on the brewers tonight, and ready to pick things up where they left off. making a push to the playoffs. there are three things that have to happen for them to be in the postseason. number one, they have to stay healthy.

key players who miss games in the first half of the season. now they are all back. let's keep it that way. >> they don't have guys healthy when you need them healthy. not as good a chance to win. if we stay healthy and continue to do the little things right in the game, then we should be where we want to be at the end of the year. >> number two, bryce harper returning to form at the plate. thumb surgery derailed his first half, and he struggles since his return from the d.l. he showed some pop in his swing right before the break. >> you feel that pressure? >> you know, i think going in the second half, i'm just going to try this on and really relax and battle through and play hard and, you know, see where we're at. >> and number three, ryan -- are his throwing woes a thing of the past? the national defense needs some consistency as the pressure

mounts down the stretch. talking to zim today he said he is ready to take on the second half challenges no matter what they are. also, coming up at 6:00 geogonzalez, he is not paying his scheduled start tomorrow, but why is he smiling as he is telling us that? that information coming up on news 4 at 6:00. back to you in the studio. >> thanks, carol. zimplt the white house has hosted a whole lot of state dinners over the years. president obama says none of them were as fun as the one hosted today. >> 54 children from across the country invited to a kids state dinner. they're the winners of the third annual healthy lunchtime chal epg. contestant hz to whip up a healthy, affordable, and tasty, original lunchtime recipe. winners from e. were chosen out of more than 1, 500 entries this year. some were served at the event. >> because the truth is that if 8, 9, and 10-year-old kids can cook and happily eat a healthy

tasting meal, then there's absolutely no reason why we can't get nutritious food into every school in this country that kids will actually enjoy. >> the president made a surprise appearance. shamed the first lady into swearing off french fries telling the audience that his biggest weakness is chips and guacamole. >> i like it too. >> who doesn't? >> some people call it a sidewalk stunt. we're going to find out where a so-called cell phone lane is grabbing a lot of attention. >> some of the world's most renowned aids researchers were all killed in the malaysian plane crash. now we're learning about a local connection to the victims. in fairfax county an early evening jog turned into a terrifying run for a fairfax county woman.

sdmrirjts right now at 5:30, macy's just settled a massive lawsuit. find out who is probably going to get a big payout and why they claim some shoppers are being singled out. also, a little boy who vanished for days and was found locked in his own basement. why his parents went to court to fight for their rights. f the best home grown rock stars are coming together on one stage. concerts to bring in cash force some other musicians in our area. ♪ you're the reason i'll travel

along ♪ ♪ you'll think twice ♪ it's all right >> but, first at 5:30 fairfax county police are looking for a man who attacked a woman on a neighborhood trail last night. >> it happened on a popular path through the woods that run from the green breyer neighborhood to the fair lakes area. police say the woman was jogging. the man came at her on a bike. we're joined now live from the trail. jewel where i. >> well neighbors in the community tell me they usually only worry about ticks and snakes when they venture along that path into the woods there, but after that incident last night, there is a brand new concern. >> reporter: it was early evening about 7:00 when a woman started her jog down this path that runs through the woods in the green briar neighborhood. about 1en yards down the path trouble. a man on a bike tried to assault her. she escaped and ran away. she called for help when she emerged on the other end of the trail near the fairfax county

parkway and monument drive. >> we then responded with several units, including the helicopt helicopter. >> he lived across from the path. >> if there's something going on, and he said they're waiting for this entrance here to see if anybody comes out because -- >> she said she might avoid it for the next few weeks. >> i was shocked. in this neighborhood. because we're really family-oriented here. we're all pretty close. >> police say until they can learn more about the incident, residents should be cautious on

the path. >> there is a danger level to the general public, but given that we don't know as much as we would like, we feel that the public needs to be on guard. >> reporter: coming up on news 4 at 6:00, some advice from police about something joggers and walkers might want to take with them when they go out on trails like this one. for now reporting live in fair tax county, i'm julie carrie, news 4. we have the latest on the malaysian airlines disaster in ukraine. we learned today that some of the victims who lost their lives were doing groundbreaking work to help save the lives of others. here's a look at how the aids researchers who died are being remembered. >> such a sad aspect to this story, wendy. we don't yet know how many, but it is confirmed that a number of passengers on that malaysia airlines flight 17 were scientists and activists on their way to the international aids conference in australia. among them well known dutch

researcher dr. longa. they held a moment of silence remembering him, not only for his research, but also for his efforts to improve people's lives in some of the poorest countries. longa had researched h.i.v. since the earliest years of the epidemic, several decades ago. on twitter dallas-based medical doctor sima yasmine praised longa and mourned the others who were on the flight saying "what a tragedy to lose so many who made it their life's work to care about humanity." president obama echoed that send meant at the white house. >> these were men and women who had dedicated their own lives to saving the lives of others and they were taken from us in a senseless act of violence. in this world today we shouldn't forget that in the midst of conflict and killing, there are people like these, people who are focused on what can be built rather than what can be destroyed. >> and more reaction coming from

our area. the director of the national institutes of health, dr. francis collins, said this in a statement. "we deeply mourn the death of all 298 victims, and we acknowledge with great sorrow that the loss of knowledge carried by those who died on the plane will have a devastating impact on h.i.v. research." as for the aids conference in australia, dr. anthony fouchi, the national institutes of health, is expected to arrive at that conference this evening. the conference president said the event will continue because that's what the victims would have wanted. wendy and pat. >> thanks. a statement regarding malaysian flight 70 ---ure team coverage continues with miguel in malaysia with more on how some families have gathered twice in the same airport to learn about tragedy on the same airline. our coverage -- >> reporter: this is a terminal where family members arrived yesterday looking for any

information about their loved ones aboard flight mh-17. it was an erie scene here. so many family members looking for information about their loved ones. it was four months ago in this same terminal, this same airline where family members received a terrible news about flight mh-370 that disappeared over the indian ocean. malaysia airlines has not yet released any official documentation naming the passengers who lost their lives. families here certainly were disappointed with heartbreak and grief for so many that arrived here. back to you. >> our coverage of the crash aftermath continues throughout the evening here on nbc 4 and on nightly news. we'll have more on a vigil taking place in the district tonight at the dutch embassy. that's coming up at 6:00. it's not all about the music. ♪ ♪ you're the reason i'll travel along ♪ >> some local musicians are hoping for a big turnout. they're putting on a concert that will bring in some big money to help other musicians.

i'm meteorologist doug. coming up in just a minute i'm going to learn how to do this right here. well, possibly. and we're going to meet a couple of great mermaids, believe it or not.

the silver line is opening its doors, and tonight news 4 got a sneak peek inside one of the massive parking garages. it's more like a transportation hub. the northern virginia bureau reporter is live at the entrance of the wheelie resten station. >> hi there, wendy. this doesn't officially open to the public to see until tomorrow, and then it's another week before folks can start riding the metro here at the silver line and the rusten station. today we have an exclusive first look at what's below this plaza. >> reporter: let's go underground into the bus depot as we started our exclusive tour of the place. it happened to be training day for fairfax connector. they are learning how the new routes will work, and there's a lot of them to get down. >> we're modifying 28 routes and adding 16 new routes as part of our silver line bus service changes. one of the most important connections we're going to be making here from wheelie is a connection from wheelie metro and our bus hub to dulles airport. >> reporter: this is likely the

slowest you'll ever see this station's bus depot. we were toured around the station garage. there are several bus stops five levels of parking and the secured back room. there's a secure facility in addition to free bike parking just adjacent to us. >> rick runs the commuter store here. will he sell and reload stores. >> that's one of the main keys why we're opening this store here is the personal touch that we can give with the schedule. >> back on pedestrian plaza you'll notice construction here for at least another six years. apartment, condos, stores, a hotel. six new high-rises in all will fill the western skyline. >> we showed you a little bit of that securetive bike room. there's much more i want to show you all new at 6:00 tonight. >> trying to plan your commute and looking at the new bus

routes that are already planned. i'm going to tweet out the place can you go and find out exactly what those routes are all about and how you can use some. we're live in rustin. more trouble tonight. a prince georges county accused of renting out foreclosed homes that she didn't even own. shannon lee pleaded guilty to forgery and burglary. she was supposed to be stock exchangesed last friday and claimed she was in the hospital. >> the attending physician and the admitting physician who were lifted on the paperwork hadn't practiced at that hospital in over two years. her home address on those medical documents. she's now expected to be

sentenced. macy's is ready to pay up after a customer complained about how he was treated. find out what happened that turned into a lawsuit that's gaining national attention. back to school is nearly here, and i am helping you not feel the squeeze in supplies. i'm erica gonzalez, and i'll tell you what you should wait for before you head to the stores.

music may be the best medicine for two local musicians.

their fellow music makers are banding together to help them after they both got some serious diagnosis. it gives you not one, but two rare opportunities to hear some great music. mark seagraves has the story. ♪ john jennings has been writing, producing, and playing music for decades. ♪ >> most notably, with mary chafin carpenter. >> starland vocal band fame, it is genings and chafen carpenter wrote their first songs together decades ago. >> that became her first album. the start of this really beautiful relationship between john and chafin. >> reporter: now jennings has been diagnosed with cancer, which has taken a toll on his ability to earn a living. >> i would be -- i would be doing recording projects, but i don't really have a choice in that. i mean, being sick has kind of taken me -- it's put me on the dh for a while.

>> reporter: jennings considers himself lucky, and he knows he is not alone as a musician facing a debilitating disease. his good friend and nationally renowned celtic singer faith griffith who also lives in our area is battling parkinson's. >> it's getting to the point where she really can't sing a lot anymore. >> reporter: it took griffith two years to record her latest cd because of her illness. she had to record it one phrase at a time. >> every record i think to some extent is a labor of love, and i would think in grace's case particularly so. >> reporter: while insurance covers some medical expenses, health issues like cancer and parkinson's, can bankrupt a person. particularly artists. >> these guys get paid when they work and sing. >> reporter: sunday night musicians like tom paxton, eddie from ohio, cathy fink, and marianne redmond, along with many more, will be performing at two separate benefit concerts for their friends. the benefit for griffin is at the birchmeier in northern virginia and the jennings

benefit at the bethesda blues and jazz club. >> it's going to be great. it's going to be a wonderful night, a magical night. >> reporter: jennings knows that while he and his friend are both seriously ill, they both have a lot of music left to give. >> we're supposed to keep doing this until we can't do it anymore, and she can still do it. so can i. >> reporter: mark seagraves, news 4. >> to learn more about this weekend's tribute concert and how to donate, go to nbcwashington.com and search benefit. a new cell phone walking lane is confusing d.c. pedestrians. the lanes on the sidewalks say no cell phones on one side and cell phones walk at your own risk on the other. these were posted on the 1,000 block of 18th street northwest yesterday, but this is not real. the markings have since been washed away. the national geographic channel is taping reactions for a new tv show. arlington county sprrz supervisors may be ready to make a change for rules for pub

crawls. this follows trouble at last month's event where charles mack was charged with driving drunk and being naked in public. police say he drove the wrong way on wilson boulevard, hit several parked cars before police could catch up with him. well, now the supervisors want to include bar crawls at special events. they'll be meeting on this issue tomorrow and if the change is made, pub crawls will require a permit. that way the city would have the necessary emergency and safety personnel in place. great day to hang out in the backyard. especially here in rockville. that's where doug is. >> yeah. with mermaids. >> oh, yeah. hey, wait until you see this, wendy. i know you'll like this. we're going to get to the mermaids in just a second. you can see we're by the pool here. angelo, this is the house you've had for -- you said since 1983. you've done a lot of work on this house. these are your boys, by the way. what are your kids' names, and your daughter. >> haley, jacob, matthew. >> i asked you to give me a little -- at least a little wave

to the camera. there's the camera. wow. that was bigger than i thought it was. okay. you mentioned the house. take a look at some of the backyard, guys, because, again, five acres. you have done so much sfwloosh yes, i have. in between my projects, my crew and i come in here and we find a spot that needs to be fixed up and looking improved, and we do it, and we move on to another project. >> a few years ago that was this pool, and i have to say, you guys have been waiting to go into the pool. give me a big wave real fast. hey! okay. all right. you wanted to get into the pool, so you guys get into the pool, and then as i showed you, we got some mermaids right here. take a look at this, guys. these aren't just little mermaids. can you guys do swimming for us? this is like the coolest thing ever. i have to get me one of these when i get home. i don't know where you guys came from. if you can grant wishes. i'm not sure what happens. if you can, i'm ready for it. take a look and show you the weather because, again, just ae beautiful afternoon across our region.

we see temperatures today that are around 8 4 degrees. those temperatures will continue to fall this evening. it will be another cool night tonight, but not bad at all. take a look at the numbers around the rest of the region into the upper 70s to low 80s with no humidity. once again, a beautiful, beautiful friday night. nothing on the radar. storm team 4 radar is on the clear side. we're not going to be seeing anything there. as we move on through the day tomorrow, what we will see from that is the chance for a more cloud cover to be out there. we will see high temperatures tomorrow into the low 80s. once again, we are talking about another very nice day, but with a little bit more clouds, we'll continue to watch and see what happens as far as the clouds are concerned. i don't think we'll see any rain tomorrow. a better chance of at least some rain coming during the d on sunday. high temperatures, though, remain in the 80s until late next week. at least the middle of next week when we fwet into the 90s. a pool like this will definitely come in handy as we get to around 95 degrees potentially on wednesday. that's when we have a good chance of storms. now, if you want me to come to your backyard, because we still got about six more weeks of summer left.

yes! [ cheering ] yes! if you want me to come to your backyard, go to my facebook page, facebook.com/doug camerer. they have two mermaids. you need to have at least -- >> four -- >> four mermaids, and i can come to your backyard too. guys, back to you. >> up the ante. it is july, and we are already thinking about back to school, and, of course, the cost is going up. >> of course. news 4 consumer reporter erica gonzalez, though, joins us now with ways for parents to stay in control of the back to school spending. >> lots of money for back to school spending. the average family with kids will spend about $700 on back to school shopping this year. there's still hope. according to the national retail federation, they gave us the stats there, but we've got four ways for you to cut back on the spending. bank rate.com says first, build those shopping trips around the tax-free weeks and weekends that are coming up. in virginia, for instance, you can shop tax-free during the

first weekend in august, and in maryland there's a tax-free week from august 10th through the 16th. next this is a really great idea. you want to wait until september for discounts on fall clothes. maybe get the kids, like, one good outfit for that first day back. then many retailers have their highest prices just before back to school, so you can save by waiting a month or two. then post a clothing swap. dig in your kid's closet for clothes that no longer fit and exchange them with friends who have kids of similar ages. lastly, see if your school contract with a company, such as school toolbox where you can buy all of your supplies on-line in advance. the one cavat here, you might have to pay for shipping. fedex, though, now being charged by the government foralgedly delivering prescription drugs to customers who did not have a prescription. a federal indictment says fedex conspired with two on-line

pharmacies for ten years ending in 2010. the justice department wants fedex to pay the $820 million that it allegedly earned from those ventures. fedex insists it did nothing wrong, adding that it shubt have to take responsibility for what its customers shipped. e book lovers, here's one for you. a new option to get your reading fix. amazon.com is launching a subscription service that lets customers read as much as they want for a price. subscribers will pay $9.99 per month or about $120 per year for unlimited access to more than 600,000 ebooks on your kindles. books will include popular titles like life of pi and the hunger games. publishers are worried, though, that book subsubscriptions will push many customers to a library-style model which may wind up hurting sales. if you have a story idea or a tip for the consumer watch, we would love to hear from you.

send us an e-mail or give us a call 202-885-4884, and happy friday, everyone. >> thanks, erica. he was in the base am as his parents begged for help looking for him. now his parents have a new request. find out why they brz

it swims. why a gas station won't be floating in a local river next. well, a facebook post turned out to be a haunting last message. one of the dutch passengers on that malaysian airlines flight posted a photo of the plane just

before he boarded. his caption translates "should it disappear, this is what it looks like." his message is referring to that missing malaysia airlines flight that's presumed to have crashed in the yipd ocean back in march. people across the d.c. area are still talking about last night's meteors. here is what appears to be a meteor falling in raleigh, north carolina. this was caught on a driver's dash cam. it's already had more than 60,000 views on youtube. there were about 100 reported meteor sightings last night, including sightings in falls church, rock hill, and in college park. and macy's is settling lawsuits that accuse the store of racial profiling at shoppers. one of those who sued as african-american actor from the hbo series "treme." rob brown says he was trying to buy a $1,300 watch for his mother last year when he was detained by security. he says macy's workers mocked the idea that he could afford it. macy's says, "it values every

customer." new developments in a high profile child abuse case. part of which played out live on national tv. the detroit father who reported his son missing only for his son to be discovered in his own basement during a news interview is making moves to regain custody. nbc's sean lay has our report. >> reporter: well, the parents of young charlie are keeping quiet. the father, charlie, iv, under the microscope for allegedly abusing his son. >> do you care to say anything about this at this point? >> reporter: and the boy's step mom, monique, who the boy says put him in the family's town home basement and allegedly told him to stay there. >> did you care to say anything, share anything at this point, ma'am? >> reporter: both back in court today to argue that they want their parents rights back. the two children were removed from the home. protective services say the children were at risk. they also want young charlie back. the court was told he was flourishing now living with his mother.

for now the couple won't be getting their kids back, and they're demanding a trial by jury to dpet them back. >> anybody dweelg a tragedy, you don't have another choice. >> where was young charlie for the 11 days he was miss sng. is the boy making part of this story up? >> we don't know what's going on. part of it could be a fantasy. part of it could be made up. part of it could be truthful. we don't know. >> there is a pre-trial hearing set for july 28th. now at 6:00 they're the faces of flight mh-17. new images of the victims as new pictures emerge from the crime scene, and tonight a team of investigators from the u.s. is headed to one of the most volatile parts of the world to find out who is responsible. a congressman's press secretary arrested wrrn. >> what he brought to work. it landed him in jail, and it could cost him his job. israel ramped up his ground offensive in gaza.

the next step as his conflict rages on. sfwa we begin with the investigation into the crash of flight 17. i'm door even gensler. >> and i'm wendy reeger. we don't have time for propaganda. those are the words president obama used today in his strongest remarks yet about the crash. he demanded an immediate cease-fire in eastern ukraine so that investigators can get to the crash site. the president also revealed an american citizen is among the victims. nbc jennifer johnson has the latest. >> reporter: president obama today said there is clear evidence that malaysia airlines flight 17 was brought down by a surface to air missile in an area of ukraine controlled by pro-russian separatists. all 298 people aboard were killed, including an american, quinn lucas seansman, on his way to meet family members vacationing in malaysia. >> this was a global tragedy. an asian airliner was destroyed i