inside an unattended car parked along the national mall. but first, you'll find pleasant conditions outside this morning as you step outside. a pretty sunrise there. however, things are warming up quickly as you head down to the national mall for today's memorial day event. storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell is here with your hour by hour forecast for the day ahead. >> good morning to both of you. good morning, everybody on your memorial day. sun came up at 5:48 this morning. already creeping up in the eastern sky. it will be a beautiful day to be outside today. and noticeably warmer than we have been. 54 now in frederick, maryland. in and around town temperatures are closer to the mid and upper 60s right now. south winds are already gusting between 15 and 25 miles per hour. those steady south to southwest winds will continue on through the remainder of your afternoon. hour by hour today, mid 60s at 7:00 a.m. low 80s by 1:00. warm and breezy, on the whole a pleasant day to be outside. temperatures back down to about

80 by 8:00 p.m. mid to upper 80s around town. good day to be out on the water as well. good sailing weather. could be a bit of a chop though countersy of that gusty -- courtesy of that gusty wind. highs up around 90 degrees near fredericksburg. we'll talk about the grilling forecast in ten minutes. back to you guys. that is video of the moments the bomb squad destroyed a suspicious device left on the national mall. you may have heard that blast before the memorial day concert there. capitol police found that device inside a car at 3rd street and madison drive northwest near the reflecting pool. molette green has more on the bomb squad's quick work. >> reporter: aaron, good morning. we are learning a little bit more about the man under arrest

in this case. israel shimeles of alexandria virginia is charged with operating a vehicle on a revoked license. his car left unattended got the attention of capitol police on routine patrol. they spotted a pressure cooker and noticed the odor of gasoline. that's when the bomb squad came in to detonate several items which set off this loud bang. this all happened during the time of the memorial day concert festivities down on the national mall. capitol police reiterate there was never a threat to public safety. their officers simply spotted this car on routine patrol. now pressure cookers have been used in the past to become explosive devices. most recently, during the boston marathon back in 2013. that is the latest from the national mall. molette green. back to you. >> thank you. ♪ ♪ rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air ♪

the police activity did not stop the 26th annual memorial day concert. thousands gathered on capitol hill. they honored the men and women in uniform who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. a prince george's county man is dead after stopping for gas. fire investigators say the man lit a cigarette while he was pumping that gas in riverdale yesterday afternoon. the flame may have sparked the gas vapors and set him on fire. a bystander jumped in and extinguished the flames but the man was badly burned. he died at the hospital. a building explosion caused a partial collapse at a business in beltsville. look at the picture here. this was on old baltimore pike in beltsville. the volunteer fire department says two vacuum pumps failed. no one was in the building at the time. a holiday fishing trip turned deadly after a man drowned in chesapeake beach. salvatore santos was on the boat

with four friends near the mouth of fishing creek and the small boat capsized. a bystander was able to pull them out of the water and tried to perform cpr. santos died at the hospital. president obama is marking memorial day. with a wreath laying this morning. he'll remember fallen soldiers at the tomb of the unknowns. you're looking at video of last year's ceremony. the president will also deliver a speech. president obama is asking americans to unite in prayer for the holiday today. he called for communities to pray for peace at 11:00 a.m. and then at 3:00 this afternoon you can join people around the country in a national moment of remembrance. you plan ahead if you're taking metro today. metro rail is on a sunday schedule. that means they're running from 7:00 a.m. to midnight. parking in metro lots is free. plan on a sunday schedule for metrobuss as well. all subscription trips are

cancelled today. more than 200 wounded warriors will be starting a special bike ride today. that ride to recovery supports their fellow veterans. soldiers will meet by vice president joe biden's house this morning and they plan to ride through the historic roads and battlefields. heavy rain taking its toll on parts of the south. the dangerous conditions people are deal being there as the storm claims another life. you won't see severe weather in our area. storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell has your memorial day drilling forecast at 6:11. and why

you're watching "news4 today." >> if you visit arlington

national cemetery today, you'll see a special tribute to the men and women buried there. the boy scouts put down different kinds of roses. >> from growers, distributors, retailers. they have in one way or another contributed to support this. >> 1872 -- >> the scouts placed about 130,000 roses on the head stone there is. they read the name of every grave they touched. >> so sweet. >> teach the kids early about what memorial day really means. it looks like a summer like pattern is getting started with our memorial day. >> look at you sounding like a meteorologist. >> did you see above average all week long? i have been listening to chuck bell. 80s and 90s. go home. >> angie goff said she was listening to what i said.

breaking news banner. this just in. outside this morning mostly clear sky out there this morning. the sun is popping up fast and as a result, the warm-up is officially underway on what's going to be a nice but toasty warm memorial day. temperature is 67 in washington. and 61 also from ashburn and down to manassas and bristow. already things are starting to move up. you'll be out and around town today for any of the major events the wreath laying ceremony at arlington national cemetery, that's at 11:00 this morning. the temperatures breezy at times, it will help a little bit with fact that it will be a warm day to be outside. and a touch more humid than we have been as well. highs today, mostly up into the mid and upper 80s. when you're grilling at 4:00 6:00 8:00, mid 80s at 6:00. still 80 at 6:00.

seven day forecast in a couple of minutes. for now back to the news. >> all right, chuck, thanks. well it is becoming an annual tradition along the national mall. what you need to know if you're headed down to this year's national memorial day parade. plus, why more and more hospitals are sending

oh, my god. stop stop stop.

he needs to get out. >> dramatic video to show you of some dangerous flooding in texas. take a look here. you can see rushing waters swept away an suv. this happened in the town north of san antonio. we're told the driver tried to drive across a flooded road. amazingly some people helped him or her escape that water. then the car flipped over and was washed away. eight people still missing in the dangerous flooding. >> that's right. hundreds of homes have been storms have taken at least three lives. we want to go to kristin wright at the live desk. she's monitoring the latest developments. >> well, texas governor greg abbott will tour the destination in wimberley today. one of the hardest hit areas. take a look. heavy rains, high winds destroyed up to 400 homes in wimberley alone. a man's body was recovered from the flooded area tornadoes touched down in texas and oklahoma.

firefighter jason farley was killed in texas. he was swept away in a storm drain while trying to rescue people from high water. a woman was killed in a traffic crash and unfortunately more bad news. rain is on the way. angie? >> thank you so much. look at this damage in houston, texas. a tornado hit this apartment complex. forcing more than 1,600 people to leave their homes. you can see strong winds ripped off the roofs of several buildings yesterday morning as well. hundreds of families were in the apartments when the tornado hit. crews rushed two people to the hospital for minor injuries. 6:15. and fish and wildlife officials say they're struggling to keep up with reports of injured animals after an oil spill off the california coast. officials say heavy holiday

traffic and downed phone lines are contributing to those delays in care for animals like the sea lion whose back fins are visibly oiled. beachgoers stayed with the pup for hours so officials could reach it. more than 100,000 gallons leaked after a pipe line broke last week. we now know that speed had something to do with the motorcycle crash that killed a 7-year-old boy in prince george's county. the biker collided with a car on saturday on east-west highway in hyattsville. it threw the biker off the bike and then that motorcycle careened into a group of people. the crash killed alejandro santos and critically another child. the bike also hit a man standing with the children and he may not survive. the world lost something when he died. that's how colleagues are describing the sudden death of john nash. his life and career inspired the oscar award winning movie "a beautiful mind." a fellow mathematician compared him to mozart. >> i think what mowzart had done

had he lived another 30 years and the feeling is the same what nash might have achieved had he continued to do mathematics. >> the nashs were returning from norway where mr. nash had just received an award. john nash was 86 years old. his wife was 82. hollywood lost a funny lady this weekend. anne meara passed away at the age of 85. she was married to fellow actor and comedian jerry stiller. they perform as a comedy team in the '60s and they appeared on the ed sullivan time. most recently meara acted in several tv shows and she appeared in "night at the museum" with her son ben stiller. she died on saturday. this morning, one woman is chained to this ship belonging to the shell oil company. she's protesting the company's plan to search for oil. this is happening north of seattle. one protester who was also chained to the ship left yesterday. that's part of a fleet that will help shell search for oil, but

the protesters want that exploration stopped. they're concerned about oil spills in the arctic region and the effect it could have on climate change. thousands will gather on the mall today for the tenth annual national memorial day parade. a hardy group of world war ii veterans are the grand marshals. they represent the 16 million who served and the 400,000 who lost their lives in world war ii. the parade will mark 70 years since world war ii ended and 150 years since the civil war ended. today there will be a memorial day observance at the world war ii memorial at 9:00 this morning. people from across the country visiting the memorial. it pays tribute to the greatest generation. the memorial is lined with wreaths and photos and flags. each tells a story of someone who fought, someone who died so that all the remember. this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. you can honor fallen soldiers this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. the u.s. postal service will dedicate the 2015 medal of honor

vietnam forever stamps. it will happen in a ceremony at the vietnam memorial. in rockville, the city will hold the 71th ceremony and parade. the wreath laying ceremony begins at 9:30 followed by a parade. and the parade steps off down park avenue at 2:00 this afternoon. you can go to the nbc washington app for a list of activities across our area today. and we know with so many things going on that it's taking place outside, it will be hot. but the good news is chuck bell, it will be dry. >> yeah. we don't have to worry much about rain chances for today. now, once we get into tomorrow and back on into wednesday and thursday our rain chances are going to start going back up again. which is actually good news. we have been a little on the warm and dry side. we have been a whole lot on the warm side. and pretty much on the dry side around here for most of the month of may. sun's already up on your memorial day. if you're headed on outside this morning. now, the sun's up temperatures

are starting to move in the upward direction as well on our memorial day. plenty of sunshine for anything you want to do outside. it will be breezy at times, south to southwesterly winds at 25 miles an hour at times and definitely on the warm side. temperatures running almost ten degrees warmer than average. a few spots holding back in the 50s this morning. but that south wind is going to start to mix in the warmer air. as a result, plan on a big rise in temperatures today. winds are currently gusting between 15 and 20 miles per hour. lighter winds up towards the shenandoah valley. right along, i-95 that's a steady south to southwesterly breeze right now. upper 70s by 11:00 this morning. out and about, plenty of sunshine. plenty of warmth. but a nice breeze. that wind will be bringing in the more humidity, but today i think the breeze off sets the increase in humidity. tomorrow with even more humidity around. the wind isn't going to help. it will feel summer like. no chance for rain today, but tomorrow rain chances low on

the western sides of the metro. but medium rain chances along i-81 during the course of the day tomorrow. a dry start tomorrow and dry through lunch time as well. but as we get towards 3:00 or 4:00 or 5:00 tomorrow afternoon, there's a chance for rain showers along interstate 81. then we dry it out and then rain chances come on to the i-95 corridor for wednesday afternoon and thursday as well. here's the seven day forecast. 87 today with a nice south breeze. tomorrow more humid, chance for showers out to the west. near 90 on wednesday with showers and thunderstorms likely in and around town. it continues on into the day thursday. i think we catch a little break from rain chances friday and sunday but technically with this warm and humid pattern around afternoon thunderstorm chances are a big part of the forecast. looks like it's one of the five warmest mays on record by the time all is said and done. following some breaking news

as we approach 6:22. derrick ward live for us near the ned federal center metro. what can you tell us? >> reporter: it looks like a hazmat response. that's all we can tell you right now. look at the scene outside the federal center southwest entrance. this is the entrance on "d" street and 3rd street. looks like they are at the ready. we don't know what's going on. hoses are extended. they don't look to be energized and again, looks like they're preparing to go in. they are on a sunday schedule, be no passengers or no evacuations that we have seen. just some firefighters standing by in hazmat gear outside the station. if we do find out a bit more about what's going on we'll be able to tell you. we can tell you you might want to avoid the intersection around the 400 block of third street southwest as most is blocked. third and "d" because of this

fire department response at the federal center southwest station. that's all we have for right now. we hope to bring you more later. we are live in southwest, derrick ward news4. new this morning the number of hospitals sending new mothers home with free samples of infant formula has dropped dramatically in recent years. the cdc says more than 72% of hospitals sent parents home with formula in 2007. well that number was down to about 30% in 2013. research shows women are less likely to breast-feed when they're given formula samples. a news4 for your health living at high altitudes can increase a baby's risk of death. researchers at the university of colorado examined the numbers behind sudden infant death syndrome. they said infants living above 8,000 feet are twice as likely

to die as those living in lower altd todays. researchers said it's still unlikely that a baby dies that way. and maybe some of you will be doing some walking or boating or grilling, but all of them can lead to the emergency room visit. memorial day is one of the busiest days of the year. they say motorcycle and atv accidents are the most common injuries. alcohol can be a contributing factor in many of the accidents. severe burns from backyard barbecues are common on memorial day weekend. new video just in of an earthquake rattling tokyo today. the stock exchange they felt it there. look at the monitor just rattling. 5.6, so one that you can definitely feel. 5.6 can cause considerable damage but so far at this point no immediate reports. this is a proceeding of federal -- government proceeding. you see people shaken up and rattled there. it hit during the middle of the afternoon at 2:30.

a lot of precautions taken including a tsunami warning issued, the subway symptomubpoena stop -- system stopped running for a short time. japan is one of the most earthquake prone countries. back to you. >> thank you. we're watching a developing story out of the middle east right now where the advance of isis has lawmakers here questioning the u.s. strategy against the terrorist group. why the fighting has even one member of the president's cabinet questioning the will of iraqi soldiers. and making a splash at their own risk. the scare along the california coast that has beachgoers avoiding the water this holiday weekend. clear skies, look at the sky this morning. the high temperatures you'll see

right now you're waking up to some pleasant conditions as you look live at the national mall where people will be observing the memorial day holiday today. >> most of you are seeing temperatures in the 60s already. but they'll be climbing quickly in the hours ahead. storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell is here with what you can expect today, where you live. good morning, chuck. >> good morning to you, angie and aaron. it's a quiet start to our memorial day this morning. sun's already up. this is the view from our tower. the job we like to have least in the world is changing the light bulbs on the tower. oh, no thanks, that clear -- look straight down, 500 feet, no thank you. outside this morning, clear skies to greet you. temperatures are still in the comfy 50s, but mostly in the 60s in and around the urban centers right now. 67 at reagan national. 57 in leesburg. skycast 4, this is what it will look like today.

high, thin cirrus clouds drifting by. mid 70s in town. low 70s in the suburbs today. everyone should be in the low 80s by 4:00 or 5:00 this afternoon. afternoon high temperatures are well into the mid to upper 80s in some neighborhoods. then dropping back upper 70s by 8:00 in the suburbs to around 80 in town. afternoon highs in your neighborhood bethesda chevy chase, rockville around 86 degrees. 84 in gaithersburg mid to upper 80 in prince george's county and out across fairfax county temperatures around 85 in fairfax. and down toward dumfries and triangle around 86 for your high temperatures today. a milder start this morning. then tomorrow afternoon, well up into the 80s. a chance for showers along the i-81, but i think we stay dry until wednesday in the metro. for now back to the news. >> thank you, chuck.

a developing story out of iraq. reuters is reporting that shiite muslim militias freed some 200 iraqi troops and they destroyed an oil refinery. that refinery has not been in operation since june. on this memorial day lawmakers are questioning whether the u.s. strategy against isis is working right now. some lawmakers even question if there is a strategy. nbc's tracie potts with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the syrians are taking action this morning with 15 air strikes against the islamic state. but lawmakers here in washington argue air strikes alone aren't working. as rolling thunder veterans mark another memorial day in the nation's capital, washington is debating how to defeat the islamic state. >> we need to have a strategy. there is no strategy. >> reporter: senator john mccain insists air strikes are not enough. we need boots on the ground. defense secretary ashton carter disagrees. he says the problem is iraqis

don't want to fight. >> we can give them training. we can give them equipment. we obviously can't give them the will to fight. >> reporter: iraqis have gaped ground since isis took ramadi a week ago, but the islamic state in iraq and syria is now the size of a small european country. >> we are losing. there is no doubt about it. >> reporter: even democrats worry air strikes alone aren't working. >> clearly, isis has gained momentum. >> reporter: some worry isis could get a nuclear weapon. >> we don't wait till they get it before we take action. >> reporter: but some lawmakers say it's not just a question of military strength. >> we still have a lot of work to keep the pressure on the iraqi government to peel the sunni tribes away from isis. >> reporter: keep in mind when they take these cities it's not just a matter of taking land. isis is destroying ruins. we saw that in palmyra, killing

people, more than 200 alone over the last week or so in syria including some children. aaron? >> thank you, tracee. this morning a volunteer paramedic is waking up in jail. timothy ward was arrested on friday. he is accused of having inappropriate conduct with a minor. he is a lieutenant with the rescue squad. he's being held at the loudoun county detention center without bond. and d.c. police are searching for whoever helped daron wint hold the savopoulos family and housekeeper before murdering them. none of them have been charged in the murders and the court documents required the presence of more than one person. police have not released a description on any other suspects in the murders. a new justice department report says the contract between

the city of baltimore and the fraternal order of police is hurting efforts to hold officers accountable that's according to "the baltimore sun." the 11-page report says some contract provisions are troubling including allowing officers to have unsubstantiated complaints expunged after three years. it comes amid outcry after the death of freddie gray in police custody and allowing officers up to ten days before they speak to investigators about incidents is quote unacceptable and unreasonable. five of the six officers charged in gray's death did speak with investigators right away. in cleveland, dozens of protesters could face charges today. demonstrators crowded streets after a jury acquitted a white police officer in the killing of two black people in 2012. prosecutors said that michael brelo shot russell and williams after a car chase after police officers had subdued them. >> i truly believe in his heart he felt he was protecting the community and himself. >> i have grandchildren. i have great grand children. i do not want to see them laying

on the street dead. >> police arrested 71 protesters. the justice department said it's reviewing brelo's case. new protections for the gay and transgender communities are set to become law july 1 and likely to happen without governor larry hogan's signature. "the washington post" reports that he won't challenge, but also won't sign two new bills. one bill gives same-sex couples equal access to fertility treatments and the others allows transgendered people to change the gender on their birth certificates. a developing story after a scare on the national mall. a man is taken into custody after a suspicious device is found in his unattended car. what we're learning about that device. beautiful weather this morning. good morning, as we look live from our camera in reston, virginia. no rain in the forecast for today, but we could see showers in the day ahead.

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beach goers in southern california may be staying out of the water this memorial day. you know when you hear that, you know what that means. more than a dozen great white sharks have been spotted swimming and feeding just 50 feet from shore. feeding, okay? so far they're not aggressive they say. but officials posted warnings about the potential for danger. unlike swimmers scientists are excited about these sightings. this could be a sign that the once struggling great white population is growing again. well this week virginia is helping you get ready for

hurricane season by saving you some money. you won't have to pay taxes on batteries, bottled water and other supplies $60 or less. same thing goes for generators priced at $1,000 or less. the tax free holiday runs through sunday. you can go to our nbc washington app. we'll post a list of supplies covered by the tax exemption for this holiday. that's right. and we want to take a live look at arlington national cemetery. very beautiful scene out there. on this somber, somber day that we actually are reminded through images like this. of what memorial day really means. >> yeah, we saw the old guard place the flags in front of every head stone last week. boy scouts were placing roses over the weekend. you see in the distance the air force memorial. we are reminded of why we're able to celebrate this holiday in such beauty because of the sacrifices that had been made. we want to get you up to speed on the forecast this morning.

chuck bell is in for tom. >> yeah, a beautiful shot out there. and the official wreath laying with the president is at 11:00 a.m. this morning. nice and warm and bright sunshine right around 70 degrees as the president lays the wreath out at the tomb of the unknown. a a very solemn ceremony. and then the parade between 2:00 and 4:00 breezy at times but sunny and warm. so a very good day for outdoor activities. no weather concerns for your memorial day. outside this morning from our tower there's tyson's corner in the distance. little bit of haze starting to show up in our sky and that's going to continue to increase during the course of the week. temperatures are now mostly in the mid to mid 60s around town. it will be a warm one today. temperatures 77 by 10:00 a.m. 82 by noon. about 87 for a high temperature today. no weather slowdowns for today or really for tomorrow. as you get into wednesday afternoon and thursday afternoon, afternoon shower and thunderstorm chances are

increasing. here are the rain chances, no chance. tomorrow a slight chance and most is out along i-81. wednesday and thursday, a pretty good chance in and around the metro. seven day forecast is ten minutes from you. >> thank you, chuck. a man in police custody after an alarming discovery. we are live with more on the device that the miss found in th

that is video of the moments the bomb squad destroyed a suspicious device left on the national mall. many of you heard that blast yesterday before the memorial day concert there. capitol police found that device inside a car at third and madison drive near the capitol reflecting pool. molette green has more on the bomb squad's quick work to handle this potential threat. good morning. >> reporter: aaron, good morning. police arrested an alexandria man in this case. israel shimeles is charged with operating a vehicle on a revoked license. now, here is what actually happened. capitol police spotted his car left unattended and checked it out and they saw a pressure cooker and other items that appeared suspicious. the bomb squad came in. safely detonated the device. the police cordoned off the entire area as people were making their way down here for

the memorial day concert festivities. pressure cookers have been used in the past to create explosive devices so this incident got a lot of attention on the national mall. we are live here this morning. i'm molette green. back to you. >> thank you. . ♪ ♪ the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air ♪ the 26th annual national memorial day concert went on as planned last night. thousands gathered on capitol hill to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. a man is dead after stopping for gas. fire investigators say he lit a cigarette while pumping that gas in riverdale yesterday afternoon. the flame may have sparked the gas vapors and set him on fire. a bystander jumped in and was able to get the flames out, but the man was badly burned and he

died at the hospital. a building explosion caused a partial collapse at this business in beltsville. take a look. this is on old baltimore pike in beltsville. the branchville volunteer fire department said two vacuum pumps failed. no one was in the building at the time. a holiday fishing trip turned deadly after a man drowned at chesapeake beach. salvatore santos was on a boat with four friends near the mouth of fishing creek. the small boat capsized and a bystander pulled them out of the water and tried to perform cpr. santos died at the hospital though. the president is honoring memorial day at arlington national cemetery later this morning. he will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. you're looking at video from last year's ceremony. the president will deliver some remarks at the event which is open to the public today. also today you the join people around the country in a moment of silence to remember american troops who have died in service to their country. the national moment of

remembrance is at 3:00 this afternoon. thousands will gather for the tenth annual national memorial day parade. a group of world war ii veterans are today's grand marshals. they represent the 16 million who serve and the 400,000 who lost their lives in world war ii. the parade will mark 70 years since world war ii ended and 1 50 years since the civil war. plan ahead if you plan on taking metro. the trains are sunning from 7:00 this morning until midnight. parking at metro lots is free and you will only pay off peak fare prices. plan on a sunday schedule for the metrobuses as well. all metro subscription trips are cancelled. 6:49 the good doctor, chuck bell -- >> dr. bell. >> yeah. >> the doctor is in. >> that'll be five cents. >> all right. cheap service. >> not too bad. nice weather for the whole weekend really. we're -- actually saturday

morning was chilly. 30s on the map. >> layered up. >> snow up in bangor maine. >> you can write on the windshields in the snow. it was ridiculous. >> that cool -- that cold snap of air that we enjoyed so much is now officially gone. high pressure has moved off the eastern seaboard. turned on the old heat and humidity pump in the form of a southeasterly breeze that will put the temperatures 10 or so degrees above average for today and all the way through the rest of the week. so warm weather is back. there's the view outside on city cam. mostly clear sky out there. 67 at reagan national. temperatures 63 now in manassas and 59 in leesburg. ashburn. 63 in front royal and 57 up in west virginia. not much of gusty wind this morning. but the winds are up in the 15 to 25 mile per hour range. then it's about where they'll

stay for most of the afternoon. so that nice breeze will help keep you cooler. even though temperatures are higher and humidity will be higher. temperatures now already 10 to as much as 15 degrees warmer than at the same time as yesterday. later on today i think it will be about seven or eight degrees warmer than yesterday's high temperatures. well into the 80s. nearly 80 degrees by 11. forecasting a high of 87 today. right around 4:00 this afternoon. satellite picture not much doing on in our fair realm today as high pressure is sitting over the top of us. as that continues to control our weather the next couple of days we stay dry. all this moisture back out to our west, that's going to eventually start moving in our direction. it will bring at least a little relief to parts of the southern plains today. but still flood warnings are up across much of oklahoma texas and kansas at this point in time. but all that deep tropical moisture is going to start to come here. our dew points which is the real measure of moisture in the atmosphere are going to start to climb during the day today and we'll be up into the summer muggies level as we get towards

wednesday and thursday of this week. here's future weather through the -- the course of the day today. >> need some water? >> i swallowed wrong. it will be bad the whole rest of the way here. sunshine for the rest of the day today. no rain chances today. tomorrow low chances for rain around the metro. but solid chances of afternoon thunderstorms firing up along the shenandoah valley tomorrow afternoon. here's your seven day forecast as i reach for my cup of water. it will be a very warm and dry and sunny day today. increasingly warm and humid throughout the rest of the week. rain chances are back for wednesday and thursday and into the first half of the weekend with highs back up near 90 degrees. >> all right. we'll get you a glass of water. 6:51 a live look along the national mall. below the washington monument where flags are flying at half-staff on this memorial day. >> a reminder of what this holiday is really all about and that is in fact the thousands and thousands and thousands of brave men and women who never

returned home. they made the ultimate sacrifice so we could enjoy days like this. on this memorial day, there will be an observance at 9:00 this morning at the world war ii memorial. this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. people from across the country coming to visit. >> a very fitting tribute to our world war ii veterans and of course we're losing many of those every day. so it's really time that we have this and bring them to see it and let them experience the tribute to them. >> the memorial is lined with wreaths as you can see. photos and flags also there. each tells a story of some who fought and some who died so that all can remember. and across the country, people came together to pay tribute to our fallen military. >> veterans wrapped up a 2,000 mile tribute called carry the load. nbc military analyst colonel jack jacobs tells us who they're

carrying. >> reporter: it's a day meant to honor all those who made the ultimate sacrifice. >> i get asked all the time what am i thinking about on memorial day and it's not what everyone else thinks. getting together with friends and family is fine, but i think every day of what i think of memorial day and that's all those left behind. >> the greatest fear is that we'll be forgotten. >> reporter: clint bruce's mission is to change all that. >> when i came home, after losing friends, i saw the nation not remembering them well on the one weekend they were supposed to. i wasn't okay with it. i started to walk on memorial day a few years ago. an older gentleman who was a world war ii veteran kind of walked up to me and said who are you carrying? >> reporter: he launched carry the load to remind everyone of the true meaning of memorial day.

>> it's to ask and answer the question of who you're carrying. >> i'm carrying the load for my grandpa who served in the vietnam war. >> i spent five years in the military, so i'm carrying my wife. >> the national relay began last month at west point. >> i'm doing this for friends and family. for the forgotten men and women who have died in this country. >> reporter: people of all ages walking miles at a time. >> i'm walking for my comrades in desert storm. >> i'm carrying 75 pounds to represent the fallen night stalkers. >> reporter: even the water at annapolis didn't stand in their way. dubbed memorial may, the nonstop relay spans some 2,000 miles passing through 200 cities and towns. and wrapped up in dallas more than 15,000 people participated. >> i'm carrying -- for first

class davidson. >> it's an opportunity to reconcile the nation and an opportunity to walk alongside and say, hey, what you did matter. >> reporter: carry the load reminds us of lincoln's sermon at gettysburg, that it is for us the living to be dedicated to the unfinished work of the fallen. colonel jack jacobs, nbc news, west point, new york. on this memorial day, more than 200 wounded warriors will ride bikes to support the fellow veterans. the ride to recovery starts in an hour. those cyclists will meet near the vice president's residence. they plan to ride through historic areas and battle fields more than 360 miles to virginia beach. 6:55. time for four things that you need to know this memorial daying. the national memorial day parade will kick off along the mall. the grand marshals are the survivoringworld war ii veterans. a flame may have sparked gas

vapors and set a man on fire. greg abbott will tour the town of wimberley. three people died in texas and oklahoma including a firefighter. an alexandria man is in jail after capitol police found a pressure cooker inside of his car on the national mall. a bomb squad destroyed the device during a controlled detonation. no one was hurt. chuck? seven-day forecast time, get ready for summer everybody. the unofficial start is today, june 1st marks the day of meteorological sunday. can you believe it is june 1st already? temperatures in the upper 80s to near 90 every day this week. ten degrees warmer than average. our warmest may since 1991. five warmest mays since 1874. a very toasty finish to the month of may. >> feels like we're getting a head start on june. >> i want it to leave early too. wouldn't that be nice?

cool in august. well i'll trade hot in may for cool in august any day. >> you get to work on that. >> i'm working on it. don't you worry. >> remember, all the pools are back open. i know a lot of people are excited about that. >> i had a lot of blow back for how cool the pool water temperature is. >> that's not your fault. >> thank you. that's what i'm saying. >> the "today" s

good morning. historic and catastrophic. >> oh my gosh! stop stop stop! he needs to get out! >> unprecedented flooding in texas and oklahoma. at least three people killed eight others missing. hundreds of homes washed away and more storms are on the way. breaking overnight. a pressure cooker found inside a suspicious car found near the u.s. capitol. the bomb squad called in to destroy it. that car's owner arrested. we are live with the latest on the investigation. legend lost. ann mirearameara, one-half of the