accused killer. we are live with the dramatic testimony. a surging threat. i'm steve handelsman on capitol hill. just since may, there's been a big increase in isis-inspired terrorist plots and arrests. why such a frightening increase? plus breaking news, autopsy results are just in for sandra bland, her death ruled a suicide by hanging. we will tell you why the medical examiner ruled that way and the lingering questions over that viral dash cam video of bland's arrest and what do do if you're in the driver seat. i'm tisha thompson at the live desk. new video of donald trump visiting the texas/mexico border. the republican presidential candidate is touring the border right now in laredo. the country's largest land port. border patrol agents were supposed to be escorting him but pulled out on the last minute at

the advice of their union. before the tour, trump held a press conference blaming washington for the cancellation. and he said again that he would win the hispanic vote despite controversial comments he has made in the past about undocumented immigrants. >> the hispanic vote and i went all over with the hispanic vote because they know i will take jobs back from china, i will take jobs back from japan and every other country that's killing us, i will bring the jobs back and you know, the hispanics are going to get those jobs and they are going to love trump and they already do. >> trump also said today he would consider running as a third party candidate if he does not win the gop nomination. chris and erika? >> thanks, tisha. first at 4, you saw at the top of the newscast, new video of a passenger causing an emergency train -- emergency stop on this metro train. >> it caused an absolute mess during the evening rush on tuesday and now metro and riders are talking about the bizarre

incident. >> reporter: i'm adam tuss. so, what would your reaction be? a guy misses his stop on the metro then decides, you know what, i'm pulling the emergency lever to stop this train and getting off. we have the video of the whole thing, the guy gets off the train with a young child, runs away, passengers staring at him like what exactly just happened? this happened the other night on the green line and it screwed up the evening rush for hours. coming up, going to hear from metro on their take on the situation, plus did this guy get in any trouble for doing this? >> adam tuss, thanks very much. the suntrust bank is back open following a robbery in the heart of downtown silver spring that left drivers navigating around heavy police activity on georgia avenue near route 29. police say a man handed a note to a teller demanding money and then just ran off. gone up in flames and the mayor of harpers ferry, west virginia, says he is grief

stricken. today a massive fire consumed several buildings in the historic town and they had to call in firefighters from maryland and virginia to help put out those flames. the buildings were built in the 17800s, but fortunately no one was hurt. harpers ferry is a national monument where abolitionists tried to spark an armed revolt among slaves during the civil war. a guilty plea from an arlington man who sparked an eight-hour manhunt across our area. he escaped from police custody in march while being treated at the hospital. he carjacked two drivers during the chase and was eventually arrested in d.c. he faces a minimum of 32 years in prison. he will be sentenced in october. we now know more about the events surrounding the murder of ruthanne lodato in alexandria, a woman who was a caregiver for lodato's mother testified in the severance trial today. the woman saw a man, she fell

down and he shot her. when she screamed, he ran away and she went out the back door to get hope. franco ran out of the courtroom crying. u.s. intelligence officials are more worried than ever about a lone wolf intake inspired by isis. isis has overtaken al qaeda as the number within terror threat within the united states. news4's steve handlesman has more on what's keeping the director up at night. >> reporter: not so much al qaeda. the white house seeking credit said al qaeda is less of a threat because it has been des mateded by the obama drone war, but despite administration efforts, eyes is is looking like a winner, syria, iraq and online online. the latest terrorist tragedy in our country, chattanooga, the government has not said the gunman killed in the shootout was, in fact, influenced by eyes circumstance the assumption of

many and you look at what happened just since may, before and even after the alert, the terrorist alert, focused on the fourth of july. something like eight different isis-inspired terrorist plots uncovered, numerous arrests. that's far, far higher number than similar time ever. administration officials, james comey yesterday saying isis a big problem. secretary of homeland security, jeh johnson today saying isis and home-group terror inspired by isis is the number one threat, to which you might look and say, we know that already. we have known that since "charlie hebdo" in paris, known that maybe since the marathon bombing, that home grown terrorists are a big, if not the biggest worry, probably the biggest problem because of isis. well, a critic says that's kind of the lag to bang problem the administration has, meaning they see a flash and then in a while, you heart bang. today, the bang. they say this is a problem.

the charge, chris, is that the administration has let isis grow so strong in iraq and syria that they are an inspiration and that's why critics say their online efforts work so well. i'm steve handelsman, news4. >> steve handelsman, thank you, sir. we have new information on the likely cause of a deck collapse in howard county. the deck gave way at a townhouse in columbia on tuesday night, injuring five people. the "baltimore sun" reports the joints holding the deck to the house were rotted. everybody who was there is supposed to be okay is what we are hearing. all right. let's get a check now, storm team4, looks like the 80s are going to be moving out of the area and vj is already tracking the 890s, coming back already. >> i know, but it's been nice for a while now, we are going to hang on to this nice weather for just a little while longer. come on, you knew it wouldn't last, right? temperature, 87 degrees, reagan national, sunshine across the area, been a little bit of a

light breeze, too, occasionally coming our way. nice, dry breeze. just lay back and enjoy that. humidity is still low, here is a look at the satellite and radar loop the last couple of hours, look at that clear skies, pennsylvania, down through, the most part, virginia, the cloud cover, heading through areas like north carolina now. so, our temperatures like last night, under the clear sky, can really get a chance to drop again, it was almost chilly for a while during late last night, early part of the day this morning for some of you. 82 at 9:00, 79 by 11 p.m. and headed down into the 60s again. so, yes, a little bit of a nice stretch continuing for a while longer, but we have got changes to our weekend forecast, show you why. it's only going to impact some neighborhoods, not all for the weekend. >> thanks, vj. a massive underground project in the district moves into a new phase today. news4's mark segraves explains why this big dig is going to impact the water that you use and your wallet. >> reporter: this is just a small portion of the massive

drill that's been working underground for the past two years. this is the bore head. today, it was lifted out of the ground because its mission has been completed. the four-mile tunnel stretches from the blue plains treatment facility down the potomac river, underneath the anacostia river and then comes up here near nats park. it is part of a $2 billion project that will result in cheaper rivers, creeks and, yes, more expensive water bills. d.c. water has had to raise its rates every year and they say those rates will continue to go up in order to pay for this project. they say the upside is, again, much cleaner rivers and it will eliminate the flooding that we have seen in neighborhoods like bloomberg over the past several years. in the district, mark segraves, news4. we continue to follow a breaking story in texas. prosecutors hold a news conference to discuss the death of sandra bland. more details from the autopsy straight ahead. talk about a fund-raiser

fallout, a baltimore

two teenagers are under arrest for a murder that is so disturbing, neighbors say you can see the horror on police officers' faces. now, this happened overnight in broken arrow, a suburb of tulsa, oklahoma. police went to the house after someone called 911, but didn't say anything to the dispatcher. when officers got inside, they found five people stabbed to death and a 13-year-old girl wounded. there is a toddler in the house, but she was okay. now, everyone involved is related to each other and lived there. the two teenagers rap out of the house when the police arrived. they are 16 and 18 years old. tonight, people in hayward, california, are paying tribute to a police sergeant who once

said that he loved the city so much, he would patrol its streets for free. sergeant scott lunger was killed during an early morning traffic stop yesterday. the hayward police chief says her officers have lost a role model. >> he was a great leader here in our organization. he inspired people every day. an incredible friend. a great father. >> sergeant lunger was the father of two college-aged daughters. the alleged killer is in custody and investigators say he is affiliated with a gang. sandra bland's friends and family are questioning whether she really committed suicide, but the new autopsy details have just been released in texas. a lot of questions surrounding what's acceptable and what's not acceptable when being pulled over by a police officer. coming up, we take a look at your legal rights.

[ no audio ] >> i'm chief meteorologist doug >> i'm chief meteorologist doug

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as we just mentioned, the autopsy results are in on the death of sandra bland. she is the woman who died in a texas jail cell last week, three days after a police officer arrested her during this traffic stop. bland was found hanging in her jail cell last week.

moments ago, prosecutors confirmed that it was a suicide. they said they based that conclusion on physical evidence. >> the only injury which was present on her neck or head was what's called a ligature furrow or a ligature mark. this is consistent with a suicide, according to the harris county institute of forensic science. >> a texas tv station, meanwhile, says it obtained a voicemail from a call bland made from jail. in it, she told a friend that she couldn't believe what was happening to her. >> you know, that case has a lot of you wondering what rights do you have when an officer pulls you over. news4's meagan fitzgerald is along connecticut avenue in northwest d.c. and she has been looking into this. meagan? >> reporter: legal experts say it is very important for drivers to know their legal rights when they are stopped by an officer during a traffic stop but also say it's important that both the officer and the driver do what they can to try and deescalate a

situation. now, we -- according to the aclu, if a police officer pulls you over, it's not illegal to do things like smoke a cigarette in your car, have a radio on at a low level or even eat a sandwich in the middle of a traffic stop, however, they say just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. if an officer asks you to step out of your car, legal experts say you must comply. but an officer has to have probable cause to search your vehicle, unless the driver gives their concept. monica hopkins maxwell with the aclu says to avoid confrontation with the police, both the officer and the driver have a part to play. >> i think that there is, you know, respect that has to happen on both sides. it is an unbridled level of authority and i think it's the constitution that keeps that in check. >> reporter: maxwell says if you feel your rights were violated, she recommends getting the badge number and the name of the

officer and filing a complaint with the department. she says you can take legal action if necessary, but she says what you don't want to do is to try to pick a fight or argue a battle in the street with an officer. most cases, you don't win that fight and it's certainly not one they recommend you pick. now, coming up at 5:00, we talk to the fraternal order of police, the president of that organization. he takes a look at the video with us and gives us his professional opinion on how everything played out. back to you. >> meagan fitzgerald, thanks very much. a maryland venue cancelled a controversial fund-raiser mapped for the six baltimore police officers charged in the arrest and the death of freddy gray. a former baltimore officer wanted to perform in blackface at a glen burnie theater. when news of the event began spreading on social media, the venue pulled the plug. the officer was fired from the force in the 1980s when the department found out that he was performing in blackface while off duty. tom brokaw is getting behind an effort to build a memorial

for president eisenhower. the former "nbc nightly news" anchor is joining an advisory committee for the eisenhower memorial project. mr. brokaw says when he was researching his books about world war ii, he learned a lot of veterans want to see president eisenhower honored but up until now, design issues and funding problems slowed that project down. beautiful day outside, backyard weather this week takes us to loudoun county. >> around the office, we know this is an excuse for doug to go to people's homes and eat their food. so -- >> i saw him earlier. >> another beautiful day out here for backyard weather, our second backyard in a row, we did one last week, doing two this week, one today, another one tomorrow, because the weather just could not be better, no humidity, the sun is beautiful right now, and they are ready to go. you guys ready for this? we are in loudoun county, the

bramble ton area, up on the deck, introduce you guys to somebody. this is the brinker family. brinker family, go ahead and wave to the camera there. no, no, not to me, the camera. a little different, got to wave down there. we go back a little ways, but this is ann. this is james mitch jamie, i want to you introduce your boys here. >> this is jack, this is evan and where's william? william -- >> i'm right here. you got the best vantage point, william, i like that through the bars down there, buddy. but they had me come out to their backyard. ann and i actually went to high school together, graduated in 2003. it's been great, hasn't it? >> fabulous. >> and you guys, you said, hey, doug, we want to you come to our backyard. how come? >> we love doug. who doesn't love doug? but we always want to come out to bramble ton to see where we live and enjoy our neighbors. we are all excited that you are here. >> neighbors came out. come on, ladies, you got to get in the camera here. get in the camera, make sure you see yourselves on television. that's what we are doing. guys, i will tell you august beautiful day here in loudoun

county, all across our region today. temperatures only in the 80s. for many areas, low 80s, 87 currentlism look at that dew point, only in the 50s a nice, dry afternoon, going to continue to see some beautiful conditions. there we are right now, loudoun county, leesburg, coming in 82 degrees, manassas, 82, gaithersburg, 81, martinsburg, 81. once again, some of the best weather we have seen all summer long, radar, nothing to show you, no rain to talk about, bright blue skies, what we will continue to see, move on through the night tonight. clear skies the most part, we move on through the night, in toward the evening, traveling, whether doing some exercising, low humidity, no problem there, out and about tonight, thinking about eating dinner outside, barbecuing, what i'm talking about, very nice later on. tomorrow, another great day, 80 by noon. then in the afternoon, going to get a little hot tomorrow, close to 90 degrees in the city, but once again, low humidity, going to be another fantastic day and we will call it a fantastic friday. again, i will be in somebody else's backyard tomorrow night.

over the next couple of days what are we going to see? heading down toward the beaches, ocean city, fenwick island, bethany all looking very good now, through the next couple of week, high temperatures low 80s, plenty of sunshine. this could just be the best weekend we have seen all season long. how about the seven-day forecast? take a look at that 92 saturday. then we start to get a little bit humid again. sunday, 93, a chance of a late day shower back toward the mountains, most of us looking good all weekend long, dry but humid, sunday irk monday, tuesday, wednesday, look at that, sun shining here, all working on our tans. you guys working done orb yes. what do you guys have -- what are we eating later? >> we got some hot dogs and lots more hot dogs. >> he said lobster. he said lobster and hot dogs. what you said? we will be back, guys. yeah, sure he did. thanks, doug. a man who waist 600 pounds is pedaling across america. why his inspirational journey hit a roadblock and how the

community came to help. community came to help. nasa reveals a

iran keeps their nuclear facilities. military sites can go uninspected. restrictions end after 10 years. then iran could build a nuclear weapon in two months. iran has violated 20 international agreements and is the leading state sponsor of terrorism.

the european union is accusing hollywood studios and a british company to unfairly blocking access to content. >> the anti-truth authority filed charges against sky uk, britain's pay channel, and six stud grows including disney,

warner brothers and our parent company, nbcuniversal. the studios licensed movies to sky uk but the contract requires sky uk to block for those viewers outside the uk and ireland this is an effort to give peoplen the same access to digital content. social media is abuzz right now a long lost dr. seuss book will finally be released on tuesday. this is a really cool story. beloved children's author, thedor seuss geisel died in 1991. his wife found an unpublished manuscript soon afterwards, she set it aside and forgotten until it was rediscovered two years ago. the new book is call kwgsd what pet should i get" and features the familiar brother and sister team from "one fish, two fish." >> i have read that book about 20 time us in the past couple of months. yeah. a man who weighs nearly 600 pounds is on a mission to lose weight and turn his life around. he hit a major roadblock this

week but now, he is back on track. eric heights is trying a ride a bike from massachusetts to california. his so-called fat guy across america tour started last month. he was averaging about eight miles a day. but his bike broke down in rhode island and he was stuck there for several days, not sure what to do next. heights just posted on his facebook page, a local bike shop gave him a new one for free, he is off and pedaling again. we posted a link to his epic journey on our nbc washington app. i also posted a link on my facebook page, just so you know, heights has already lost about 60 pounds. >> incredible. nasa says it is the closest it has ever come to finding a planet like ours. scientists reveal their incredible discovery. a west virginia community has been rattled after a fire ravages part of downtown. a new damage assessment from harpers ferry. why the pope's approval

at 4:30, donald trump touring the u.s./mexico border. the republican president a.m. candidate made border sec your ate cornerstone of his campaign. now, necessary laredo, texas, just feet away from mexico. we can take you there live in 15 minutes. four teenagers now face charges for setting fire to 11 vehicles in fairfax county. the vehicles were parked in the

clifton centerville areas. the fires caused more than $120,000 in damages. a massive fire marks a loss of history and creates new concerns about the future of harpers ferry. this morning, flames consumed several buildings in one of the oldest sections of the west virginia lands mark. news4's megan mcgrath shows us the damage. >> that's my shop. >> reporter: history up in flames in harpers ferry. cindi dunn's shop, the vintage lady, is no more. the sign is about all that can be salvaged. the building, dating back to 1840, is now a burned out shell. >> what this has done to the -- not just to me personally, but to the fabric that is harpers ferry is just -- it's devastating. >> reporter: flames raged through a section of the historic business district on high street this morning. four buildings, home to several businesses and apartments, were

destroyed. it's quite a blow to this tight-knit community. >> when it actually happens in a small town like this, it's your neighbor. you know, you know everybody affected. oh, the poor people down the street. you know who the poor people are. you know everybody. >> reporter: while the loss of property is extensive, cyndi dunn takes comfort in the fact no one was hurt but she worries about the long-term impact on the up to. >> people love this town. and it's heartbreaking to think how it is going to change harper he is ferry. >> reporter: when firefighters arrived on the scene early this morning, they say the bulk of the fire was in an area there is a longwooden stair case. the flames spread from there, but too early to say what caused this fire. in harpers ferry, megan mcgrath, news4. turning to meteorologist veronica johnson now, clear to everybody, low humidity, we are loving it. the question how long will it

last, vj? >> a little while longer, this weekend, you're going to start to notice the humidity coming back into the area, but today, it's quite comfortable. i like the fact that we even have a little bit of a breeze out there today, ever since the early part of the day, just kind of pushing around that nice warmth that we have got. pleasant conditions today. here's what happens. we stay pleasant for your saturday. there's the change. we will watch what happens by sunday. gets a little sticky around here. then more uncomfortable as we get into the early part of next week. midpart of next week, temperatures really going up, humidity, too. the other thing, 81, 82, these are the water temperatures and they have been a little higher than usual, maybe you notice the green tint to the water, to the potomac, certainly that is a result of the algae blooms taking place. right now, 83, ocean city, 80, rehoboth. meteorologists doug kammerer gave that you beach forecast, low 80s for the weekend and got him coming back in a couple of minutes with more backyard weather. >> thanks, vj. they call them sanctuary cities, local towns, cities,

that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities. well, just moments ago, the house voted to punish those cities by pulling some federal funding for them. there's been a renewed focus on illegal immigration since a san francisco woman was man who had been deported five times. today, her heartbroken father was on capitol hill urging congress to act. >> suddenly a shot rang out, kate fell, looked at me and said, "help me, dad." those were the last words i will ever hear from my daughter. i tell you this because the alleged -- >> this is a house bill but the house is already threatening to veto it. nasa has found a planet that is very similar to earth. nbc's chris clackum reports on how nasa found it and why some are calling it earth's cousin. >> reporter: this plan set 1400 light years from earth, and like earth, orbills and gets its energy from a star, just like we do from the sun. its temperature is the same as earth and there's a good chance

of matching our planet's rocky mass as well as life-forming water. >> it makes me feel like there really is a solar system like our solar system out there. there really is another earth out there. there is an earth 2.0. >> reporter: kepler 452 b, as the planet is officially known is 60% larger than earth, has twice the gravity and is the closest nasa has ever come to finding a planet like ours. >> it's the fact that's a similar sun, a similar orbit and a planet just a little bit bigger than earth that makes it that close cousin. >> and liftoff of the delta 2 rocket with kepler. >> reporter: the planet's named after the nasa mission that was launched in march 2009 to discover earth-like man lets orbiting other stars. >> and this is part of the quest, to find out if we are alone in the universe. i think that's one of the great questions not only of science but for humanity. >> reporter: a question whose answer is getting closer. chris clackum, nbc news.

lots of tweets and posts about this one, a possible lion, a lion walking through a city. a new update this afternoon from animal control officers. and why the pope's approval rating is fall

i'm a five-time corn hole champion for the state of virginia. that is not a real thing. but ohio state, my intern goes to ohio state. >> oh. >> yeah, all excited about that let me see if i can make at least one of these guys before i do the weather. okay. so far i have zero points. oh, i got a point! i got bun point. thank you, everybody. thank you. no? no? thanks a lot. take a look at the weather, show you how things are out there right now, we move on through the rest of the day. going to be a pretty nice afternoon. 87 in d.c., look at pittsburgh, pennsylvania, only 79. columbus, ohio, there you go, intern eric, 81 toward ohio. temperatures the next couple of days, going to be on the nice side, tomorrow, call it a fantastic friday, humidity will return as we move on through the weekend. you know what, i think that's going to bring a chance for some storms, too, that's something we will continue to mention. i will be back in a little bit. show you that seven-day forecast again, veronica will have that for you coming up and have more

for backyard weather. i get another chance of this, how are you lining those up there? that's what you do? is that how you play? we will come back with backyard weather and figure out the rules, apparently. i don't know what i'm doing. am i doing it wrong? i'm doing it wrong. back to you guys. >> all right, thank you, doug. firefighters are still working to douse hotspots at that massive warehouse fire that broke out about 40 hours ago -- 40 hours ago in north brunswick, new jersey. 200 people who live nearby were evacuated because of concerns about potentially toxic smoke from burning plastic. the warehouse covers 1 million square meet. the pope may be suffering from francis fatigue. the past year, his approval rating dropped sharply and a gallup poll shows his approval a at 59% a lot of politicians would love to have that number but it is down from 76% in february of last year. his approval rating is down 18% among american catholics and now

stands at 71%. gallup says people appear to be getting tired of the pope's views on climate change and the free market economy. they are embarrassing. now a court of appeals says you can't keep them private, talking about pocket dials, also known most bluntly as butt dials n a surprise ruling, the sixth circuit court of appeals says do you not have a reasonable expectation of privacy if you dial people by accident. the court based its ruling on the plain view doctrine which says anything observed lawfully can be obtained and used in court without warrant r the lesson here, lock up the phones before slipping this em in your back pocket. what presidential candidate donald trump had to say today while he visiteded u.s./mexico border. we are going live to laredo next. why this video has a major city very nervous now the city very nervous now the problem it is causing for

oh my gosh, it's the guy from last night. what?! can i jump on your wi-fi? yeah, you can try it. hey! i had a really good time last night. yeah, me too. the only thing is that... the only thing is what? what's the only thing? oh my gosh he's married. he's a kleptomaniac. he's a pyromaniac. he's a total maniac. hey! hey! go back to your wife you sociopath! leave slow internet behind. the 100% fiber optics network is here. get out of the past. get fios. now $79.99 a month. go online or call now. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v

well, this is where donald trump says he is risking "great danger." the presidential contender landed in laredo in the last hour and he is touring the border with mexico. >> and both supporters and protesters met him there. with trump's controversial remarks on undocumented immigrants on the top of

everybody's minds, nbc's jay gray also there this afternoon. jay? >> reporter: erika, chris, donald trump is safe now in theory, back on his private jet and leaving this area. look, this was the last stop on his tour of central texas, south texas, rather, and the border, a trip that started with a group that invited him announcing this morning that they no longer would be a part of his tour. it is a dry, rugged and in many places, desolate region, but make no mistake, the border between texas and mexico has been fertile ground for donald trump. there's nothing more important than what i'm doing. and i'm the one that brought up the problem of illegal immigration. >> reporter: trump traveled to laredo this afternoon for a tour of the border. border security continues to be a corner stone, trump's unorthodox and up apologetic presidential campaign, a run that began with this controversial comment about undocumented immigrants. >> they are bringing drugs, they are bringing crime, they are

rapists and some, i assume, are good people. >> reporter: a handful of protesters followed trump during his visit and former texas governor, now fellow gop contender, rick perry, blasted trump wednesday, calling his candidacy "a cancer for the republican party." >> donald trump, the candidate, is a sore of division, wrongly demonizing mexican-americans for plight cam sport. >> reporter: as the controversy swirls this morning shall the group that initially invited trump to laredo, the local union representing border patrol agents, pulled out, saying in a written statement -- >> they cap selled, because frankly, they don't want to get involved. >> reporter: trump refusing to cancel his trip or back down from an issue driving his run for the white house.

and with growing criticism within his own party, donald trump has said he will not rule out the idea of running as a third party candidate if he feels like he has to. that is the latest live here in laredo, texas, i'm jay gray. erika? >> thanks very much. good see you. a big recall impacting thousands of bikers across the country. harley david recalled more than 185,000 motorcycles today. the problem, saddle bags on those harleys can come loose, this he can fall off and that can increase the risk of a crash. we have got a full list of the affected models on the nbc washington app. just search harley davidson. the public is really divided over the smithsonian display of bim cosby's art, but for now the museum is standing by the exhibition. the museum has received dozens of e-mails calling for the collection of a am art to be removed. others are threatening to boycott the smithsonian by canceling their memberships or withholding donations. all of this is coming in the wake of a deposition that reveals cosby admitted he on taped drugs to give to women he

wanted to have sex with. the possible lion panic in milwaukee creating new dangers for other animals in that city. a woman shot this video of what appears to be a lion or some other kind of a big cat earlier this week. that sparked so many fears that someone reportedly fired a gun at someone's pitbull, claiming that they mistook the dog for the lion. the dog is expected to be okay. meanwhile, animal control officials have told people to remain calm, please, if they do spot the lion. is >> i don't think anybody has any were to panic and i think people should just use their regular level of caution. nobody should be leaving children or animals i don'ted you side unattended ever. >> wildlife experts say the sighting isn't too surprising. a cougar has been spotted in wisconsin in recent years.

across the area it has been nice. seeing temperatures really going to drop off again during the overnight period, high pressure over us. cloud-free sky the most part, got some clouds around roanoke, richmond area, tells across the area now, 81, gaithersburg, germantown, 85, stafford, spot sylvania, 81, 83, rehoboth and ocean city. so your evening planner forecast from 87 degrees, reagan national airport, right inside the beltway, areas like adams morgan, 84 gorgeous conditions, 7:00, got that clear sky again, drop to the low to middle 70s by 1 1 p.m. yes, headed back down to the 60s once again. you get the green light once again for all those activities you have got to do, driving around this evening, dry pavement, of course, low humidity, perfect for exercising out and about, very nice for anything you have to get done.

impact forecast for tomorrow. the weather once again having a low impact on our area, another beauty of a day coming up. meanwhile, this weekend, we are going to start to shift into the change and then a bigger change comes next week. 60 to 70 degrees, feeling nice with that great start to the day tomorrow, another good friday coming our way. 87, gaithersburg, 89 in d.c. 88, la plata, around waldorf, to 90 degrees down areas south by quantico, 88, culpepper, sunshine throughout the area again. you got to get out of the house, got to get the kids out, too, mid-80s by 1:00, the good outdoor planner forecast for tomorrow. great for saturday, any weddings going on, hotter and more humid your way for sunday. no extreme heat until again we get to the midpart of next week. wednesday, thursday, 95, 96, that comes with higher humidity. so, about two good days and then we are going to start to shift into bigger change.

we have got more backyard weather, too, coming up on news4 at 5:00. guys? right now, we are working several developing stories in the newsroom, including the murder of ruth app low dat toe in alexandria. now we know more about the events surrounding her death. today, the woman who took care of low dat toe's mother testified at a hearing for charles severance. she was crying and said she saw a man, she fell down and then he shot her. northern virginia bureau chief, julie carey has been at that hearing, live for ten minutes about more on that testimony. lady bird emerging from her burker, that's the name of this massive digging machine underneath the a nah cost ya river. the cutter head dug four and a half miles the past two years to dig a tunnel to eliminate pollution. mark segraves will take you up close and personal in about 15 minutes. trying to clean up the chesapeake bay for decades but officials took a big step forward today. federal and regional leaders got together in d.c.

they are pledging to implement a series of new actions to reduce the soil and pollution runoff harming the bay. six states in the district have waterways that directly affect the chesapeake. environmental activists say the governments are doing better but still falling short of what they promise to be at in 2017. tom sherwood has a report on today's meeting coming up on news4 at 5. residents who once lived in this apartment building say they were dealing with a bed bug infestation that cost them thousands of dollars and a lot of pain and grief. they are suing the berkshire property group for $20 million, in association with all they lost. this happened back in 2012, but these residents are just now filing their lawsuit in the prince george's county court. what they are saying is that they were living with bed bugs that were not properly treated. as a result of that, this he had to throw o -- they had to throw out lots of furniture, moment toes and

this apartment complex did not do as they promised and pay these folks for all that was lost. people had their credit impacted and a number of other issues much these residents are describing what they went through as being worse than an actual fire, since that's how it's impacted them since it happened. on news4 at 5:00, we talk with the berkshire group. they owned this property when all of this transpired. we will hear what they have to say. in hyattsville, tracee wilkins, news4. an autopsy just released in the death of sandra bland. what prosecutors are saying about the injuries she suffered while in jail. a man misses his stop on metro, pulls the emergency lever. i'm adam tuss.

the chances of getting struck by lightning in any given year are about 1 in 700,000. what are the odds you're naked when that hits? three people are recovering after a lightning strike at a nude beach. lifeguards have just ordered everyone off the beach when the storm hit south florida yesterday. lightning hit the water and nearly electrocuted two swimmers. someone else went to help them and collapsed. >> my peripheral vision, i saw lightning strike really close and i kind of heard the lightning snap and i heard the largest sound of thunder that i had ever heard. >> lifeguards had to go back in the water during the storm to rescue all three of those people. >> incredible story.

what are the odds? more on the death of sandra bland, the woman found hanged in her jail cell, after being arrested in texas. >> the autopsy was just released late this afternoon and apparently, shows no defensive injuries. her death is now officially ruled a suicide. >> reporter: authorities said that sandra bland killed herself. the cause of death is hanging, the manner of death is suicide. >> reporter: preliminary report includes a startling discovery, she either smoked or swallowed marijuana in custody. >> there have been some instances or claims about a substantial amount of marijuana found in her system. i can tell you that there has been a confirmation of those rules. >> reporter: also, there's evidence that she had recently cut herself. >> there were approximately 30 cut marks on her left wrist, which were also in a state of healing. >> reporter: authorities also leased documents that included bland's admission that she tried to kill herself in 2014 after she lost a baby, but she said

she was not suicidal the day of her arrest. the toxicology report and the booking documents are just the latest twists in this story that began when bland was pulled over by a texas state trooper for allegedly failing to signal a lane change. this is an excerpt of dash cam video, edited by nbc news. >> reporter: blands wa was arre for assault the officer. after she was taken to jail, she left a voicemail for a friend. >> reporter: the voicemail was obtained by abc station ktrk in houston. three days after the arrest, bland apparently hanged herself in her jail cell. bland's family says this doesn't make sense. she had just gotten to texas the day before. and she was about to start a job. >> reporter: bland's body is in the chicago air for burial. news4 at 5:00 starts right now with jim and wendy. right now at 5:00, emotional

testimony in alexandria's triple murder case. a survivor tearfully describing what happened the day she was shot. a metro passenger pulls the emergency brake after realizing he missed his stop. the trouble it caused for your commute and what happened when police caught up with him. a lot of you want to know what your rights are after seeing that dash cam video of sandra bland's arrest. we asked the experts and we are going to break it down for you. a woman spoke through tears today as she recounted the homes a man opened fire in ruthanne lodato's alexandria home. >> the caregiver of lodato's mother took the stand today at a hearing for charles severance, accused of killing low dat toe and two other people in virginia. julie carey was live tweeting from this event today and joins us live with the latest. >> reporter: the issue at this hearing today is whether a photo lineup that includes a picture of charles severance can be used

at trial. now, it was that employee in the lodato home looked at the six photos based on her description of the man who shot her and killed ruthanne lodato. today on the witness stand, she relieved that terrible day, february 6, 2014. charles severance listened quietly as the woman whose description led to his arrest described a heart-wrenching day when she was shot, her employer, ruthanne lodato killed. severance is charged with killing lodato and two other well-known alexandria resident he wasary ten-year period. most of the family's family and friends were in tears when the testimony finished. >> i will never know what it is like to go through what they have gone through and to have to relieve that in open is understandably hard. every day is hard for them. today was very hard. >> reporter: the judge did not permit photos of the witness as she took the stand. she was caring for ruth ann low