d.c. what one worker is accused of doing to two babies in her care. first though, meteorologist tom kierein is preparing you for the day ahead with your weather headlines. >> good morning. look at your tv, we've got a peaches and cream sunrise under way. live view from the storm team 4 tower camera on this friday morning. starting off again with low humidity and beautiful morning under way. temperatures are cool now but they'll get mild in the next couple of hours. hot afternoon coming up. then turning more humid for the weekend. right now it is cool, it's just in the low 60s, prince george's county, much of montgomery county around 60. and rest of northern virginia upper 50s to near 60 degrees. next weather and traffic on the 1s at 6:11. your walk to work forecast. melissa is looking at light volume on this friday. >> light volume we'll take it, right? this is chopper 4 over 95 on the right side of your screen, outer loop of the beltway.

looks good. let's keep it this way. not so hot on 15 shut down at lucketts road still because of the fire. your alternate, new valley church road is the best way around that. looking at 270 a little slow southbound as you're headed to 80. had some debris in the roadway. remember to listen to our friends on wtop 103.5 f.m. beltway, no problems. aaron? >> thank you. 6:01. now to the developing story out of louisiana. police are checking out suspicious packages found inside that louisiana movie theater. police say that they found a backpack and a few other items inside the gunman's car. now overnight the bomb squad blew up the trunk of the car. we're still working to figure out what was inside. we know that the gunman stood up about 20 minutes into last night's screening of the movie "trainwreck" and began firing into that crowd in lafayette louisiana before he turned the gun on himself. two other people died, nine people hurt in addition. some of those victims are in

critical condition right now. new at 6:00, we are hearing from people inside the movie theater when this all happened. listen to how one witness described the gunman. >> i could see his stance -- he was like erratic or nervous. he looked like he was very calm standing there and walking down the aisle and firing. >> now also the writer and star of "trainwreck" is condemning this shooting. amy schumer sent out a tweet saying my heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in louisiana. and you can look for complete coverage of the shooting on our app. also we'll send any breaking news updates straight to your phone. later this morning, the man charged with killing a man on a metro train will go before a judge in two separate cases. d.c. police say jasper spires stabbed american university grad kevin sutherland at the noma station on the fourth of july. police had released spires from jail the day before the murder in a separate assault. he's due in court to face charges in both cases.

today we expect emotional testimony at the sentencing for the maryland man who killed his girlfriend's 2-year-old son. clifton bernard of suit land pleaded guilty in december to the 2013 murder. prosecutors say he became angry with the child and rammed the boy's head through drywall. the boy's relatives are expected to testify during today's hearing. bernard is facing up to 70 years in prison. 6 quln 03 right now. a worker at a high end d.c. day care is accused of abusing two children in her care. this happened at the kiddie academy in d.c. in foggy bottom. the alleged victims both under a year old. news4's megan mcgrath live with more on what we're learning about all this. >> reporter: well aaron, the allegations are disturbing. a day care worker at the kiddie academy d.c. west end accused of physically abusing two infants. a 3-month-old and a 7-month-old.

35-year-old claudia roldan has been charged with two counts of second degree child abuse. one was examined and was found to have 12 separate bruises. injuries that appeared to be caused by blunt force or compressive force. the foggy bottom day-care center is well regarded, and it has an extensive security system and that helped police in their investigation. there's also a witness who has told police that she had seen roldan pinch other infants at the day care. now, in a written statement, the owner of the kiddie academy of d.c. west end said we have been working closely with authorities that are conducting this investigation. the education, well-being and safety of the children in our care continues to be our priority. and of the upmost important to the staff and to the owners. claudia roldan was released after her -- after being taken into custody, released on her

own recognizance. back to you in the studio. >> thank you, megan mcgrath. montgomery county police caught four teens responsible for the fires. since the beginning of the month, the teens caused more than $120,000 in damages. all the car fires were in communities bordering clinton and centreville. the suspects are from the area. that according to police and they're now in the juvenile center. and knocking millions off the cost of the purple line in montgomery. in a letter obtained by news4, the maryland transportation secretary tells ike leggett that the county will have to kick in an extra $40 million. that's instead of the $50 million the state initially requested. a spokesperson for the county says leggett has agreed to the $40 million. now the county council will look at the plan. prince george's county is still in talks with the state about

the contribution to the project. the cost for both counties went up last month when governor larry hogan scaled back state funding. new details and pictures expected today from nasa's new horizon team on the pluto mission. the team is going to hold a press conference this afternoon to release some new images. they'll discuss the latest results from the spacecraft's flight through pluto earlier this month or around, near close to pluto i guess is a better way to describe it. the pictures and information from pluto are the result of a 9 year, 3 billion mile journey by the new horizons spacecraft. gunned down on the job. the message to the family of a security guard killed outside of capitol heights apartment complex wants you to hear this morning. a brand-new crash bottom of the beltway here at telegraph road. we are sending chopper right now, hoping for some live pictures in a couple of minutes. first though, a developing situation out west where a number of wildfires are burning

out of control at this hour. one family's dramatic escape as the fire closed in on them.

big developments out of california's wine country this morning. people evacuated their homes because of wildfire. they're being allowed back in at this point we understand. fire crews have finally gotten a handle on the fire. it didn't spread much yesterday. that's a good thing. officials cancelled the evacuations for 50 of the residents who were told to get out. more than 10 1/2 square miles have burned since the fire broke out. look at the images here. amazing images coming from the massive flames. this fire broke out in napa valley on wednesday. but it's not just in california. wildfires are also a threat in montana. cell phone video shows the moments when the duncan family narrowly escaped a wildfire in glacier national park. >> oh, my gosh, go! go, now.

go. go! >> so at first it looks like the fire's at a safe distance and then it seemingly explodes and races towards them. the family fortunately made it out safely. officials evacuated more than 600 campers. some of the visitors were forced to leave their cars entirely along the roadside as officials took them to safety. one car left behind was absolutely consumed in flames. >> wow. >> incredible video. >> mother nature much calmer around here in the last couple of days. we can stretch it out a bit longer. >> we wish it would stick around, but i think some changes are coming. for that, we want to go to storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. >> we saw a live view from the storm team 4 tower camera, a soft pink glow from the sky. when waiting for the bus, waiting at metro, you'll be under a clear sky. temperatures now in the 60s. near 70 over the next few hours. dry walkways when you're headed

back home, up near 90, but still another day with not a lot of humidity. cool start this morning. might need a light jacket or sweater. low 60s. inside the beltway 60s near the bay. next weather and traffic on the 1s a look at the hotter and more humid weekend at 6:21. melissa, a problem on the beltway? >> yeah, bottom of the beltway, outer loop at telegraph road, we have chopper on the way, should be there in the next couple of minutes. 15 at lucketts road is now open. thank goodness, the earlier fire is cleared out of the way. outer loop of the beltway to 270 looking good as well. in virginia, travel times on 66 inbound and 95 inbound rolling along nicely. remember to listen to our friends on wtop 103.5 f.m. when you hop in your car. >> thank you. hey, a bathroom break he probably wishes he hadn't taken. why a cyclist's urgent pit stop is being blamed for a wildfire. >> it's not going to stop. it's not going to stop.

>> dramatic video showing the exact moment a freight train plows into a limousine. what may be to blame for tha

6:15 now. the latest developments on that movie theater shooting in louisiana. we know police say that the 58-year-old man opened fire inside a packed movie theater last night. three people including the gunman died there. nine others hurt. the gunman officially tried to escape the crowded theater by blending in to the fleeing crowd there. he turned back when he saw police heading inside from the parking lot. police have identified -- they have not released his name though. they do believe he acted alone. right now, no word on a motive. a maryland mother says she was not supposed to outlive her son and now she says she needs help catching his killer. 26-year-old adrian kinard had a fiancee and a little girl. someone shot him last week while working as a security guard in capitol heights. prince george's county police say kinard and another guard were filling out paperwork when someone walked up and started

shooting. his mother says she knows the police will catch who ever is responsible. >> you know no ed to turn yourself in. eventually you're gonna be caught. >> the other security guard survived the shooting. police say they've recovered the car that the suspect drove that night. police believe the two security guards were targeted. we have calls in to police now to find out if a man died after a shooting in the district. it happened near patterson elementary school on darrington street southwest last night. the man was not conscious when the paramedics arrived. police have not released any information on a possible shooter. the man accused of dragging a prince george's county police officer with his car has turned himself in. police say danny harvell sped off with the -- while an officer tried to question him last week in district heights. he got caught in the door and he was dragged about a hundred yards before the driver hit a tree and ran away. the officer has a broken leg.

a congressman from texas is now pressing d.c. to share more information with federal immigration authorities. representative louis gomer has introduced the safer d.c. act. it's a lot like a house bill passed yesterday that punishes sanctuary cities for not helping with deportation. to push to end the sanctuary city policies was sparked by the murder of a woman in california by an undocumented immigrant who had been repeatedly kicked out of the country. d.c. delegate eleanor holmes norton says she will fight this bill. social media giants are pushing back against terrorism. twitter, yahoo! google they don't new laws require them to alert federal authorities of terrorist activity. these companies say they already alert officials if they suspect someone might get hurt. social media sites say this kind of law is too broad and would bury law enforcement in false

leads. the senate intelligence committee included the requirement in a broader intelligence bill. we are waiting for the results of a full autopsy on a woman found dead in a texas jail cell, but findings show that sandra bland did in fact take her own life. the medical examiner said marks around her neck are consistent with suicide by hanging. officials also say she didn't have defensive injuries. prosecutors added there were 30 cuts on bland's wrists. they say they were probably self-inflicted. brand's family maintains she would not have hanged herself. bland's arrest and death are under investigation. her funeral will be held tomorrow in chicago. police brutality was front and center in annapolis as acts appealed to lawmakers for policeeform. yesterday's demonstrators rallied while a panel discussed ways to increase police accountability. the panel heard from people impacted by police brutality and hopes to have several bills ready by next year's legislative

session. but outside, activists voiced their frustration and growing impatience. some reform was passed during the last legislative session, but demonstrators say it didn't go far enough. the parents of a 4-year-old virginia boy are charged with child neglect. that boy showed up at a stafford hospital with drugs in his system. the sheriff's county office said he had marijuana in his system, but not saying how it got there. the boy's father turned himself in to police this week and the mother is still on the run according to investigators. it's video that might make your blood boil if metro commuter. it shows a train coming to an abrupt stop just as it's leaving the l'enfant station on tuesday. turns out a rider pulled the emergency stop switch because he missed his stop. 30 seconds later that rider pulls open the door and he and a child run down the platform. the stop caused a mess, an absolute mess of the evening rush. metro did catch up with the guy.

he isn't being charged because metro said he did nothing criminal. did you see that? believe it or not, nobody was hurt here. that plane slammed into the limousine. this is in indiana. the driver of the limo says they were going across the tracks when the car got stuck somehow. it was closed for several hours on saturday as they removed that limo from the tracks. well, you know what they say about good intentions, right? a cyclist in boise idaho, will be fined and may have to pay the cost of put out a 73-acre fire that he inadvertently set. he was trying to burn his toilet paper after relieving himself. the fire was contained by wednesday night and the cyclist was not identified when we got the information about the

possible fire. >> no comment. let's move along. let's talk about the weather. tom, please, can you help us change the topic of discussion. >> it has been absolutely gorgeous the last couple of days and we'll keep it rolling on this friday. we're hash tagging it fab friday. it is beautiful morning. great day for a paddle boat ride and that feels like high temperature will be in the high 80s and low 90s with the increased humidity. then monday, back down to the low 90s for the feels like temperature with a combination of the air temperature and humidity. right now it is fresh and cool. we're down to theupper 50s to near 60 degrees. reagan national at 69. out at dulles, just 59. ten degree difference between downtown and in the suburbs. right near the bay. upper 60s and away from the waters near 60 degrees. no rain no storms anywhere in

our region on the storm team 4 radar. there's a pastel pink glow over washington. live view from the tower camera. hour by hour, temperatures quickly jumping. mid 80s by noon. near 90 by this afternoon. quite a jump from where we are right now. we'll have the low humidity in place today. more humid, but still a gorgeous summer day on saturday. highs around 90. sunday might get a shower in the evening. partly sunny low 90s. next chance for any storms looks to be monday afternoon with highs around 90. low to mid 90s, tuesday, wednesday and thursday. only a small chance of afternoon storms on those days. next weather and traffic on the 1s coming up 6:31. your neighborhood highs today. problem on the outer loop. >> they're looking for at this point this morning, i'm looking here because i can see chopper here over the scene, not seeing the actual crash. the info is that the crash is outer loop at telegraph road and

we are hearing that two lanes are blocked. chopper not seeing that, so we'll see if they can find that in the next couple of moments. 295 north, a brand-new crash that popped up there. 66 overall nice and light volume. 95 northssues. b.w. parkway, 95 and 29 everything is nice and green. back in a couple of minutes. >> thanks, melissa. take a look at this video from dallas. that is police officers firefighters and bystanders actually lifting a car to free a woman that was trapped beneath it. this video was taken on july 9th. police say the car hit the woman while she was riding her motorcycle. the car then ran her over and dragged her several feet before stopping. the biker is still in the hospital, but she is expected to be okay. you will spend some extra time waiting on the platform this weekend on metro because of some track work. orange, blue, silver lines will run every 20 minutes.

red line, they will run every 24 minutes. red line cars will run from eight to 16 minutes. the dominion virginia power coming one a new way to inspect power lines. small aerial drones equipped with high-tech cameras will take to the skies. the utility says that the drones could one day replace helicopters it currently uses to inspect transmission lines. the first test around live wires will be next month along virginia's eastern shore. federal prosecutors want a former peanut company executive to receive a life executive. stewart parnell was convicted for the deadly salmonella outbreak in 2009. the cdc says the outbreak was responsible for nine deaths in four states including virginia. parnell's attorney called the life sentence recommendation absurd. a federal judge will hand down the sentence in september. it's no secret that having a

glass of wine with dinner increases the amount of calories you consume. but you might be surprised to learn of another way alcohol can wreak havoc on your diet. researchers at the indiana university school of medicine conducted a small study on women by using mri scans to determine what the brain. they say alcohol actually made some women fixate more on food aromas. two-thirds of the women in the group had a larger lunch after having alcohol. unwelcome guests triggering a multimillion dollar lawsuit. the pest problem three women say they're living with that has them suing their land lord. traffic cones going up at a busy montgomery county intersection. what you need to avoid from getting stuck in traffic this weekend. pleasant conditions as you look live at dulles international airport. the conditions you will see in your neighborhood next with your

we begin at 6:30 with that developing story in lafayette louisiana. working to learn more about the

man accused of opening fire inside a packed movie theater killing two people and wounding nine others before turning the gun on himself. right now, police checking out backpack found inside the theater and a few other items found in his car. we'll have more on the victims and what we know about the suspect coming up in 15 minutes in a live report. but first, meteorologist tom kierein is tracking the high temperatures you're going to see and feel when you go out there today. tom? >> yeah. quite a jump from where we are now. it's invigorating and fresh and cool. neighborhood highs north and west of washington, shenandoah valley, into the mid 80s. across virginia and southern maryland should be in the upper 80s again. should be in the mid 80s around the chesapeake bay. lots of sunshine. low humidity today. great weather for all kinds of outdoor activities or if you have to work outside this is a blessing. enjoy. melissa, what's going on? volume building now? >> we have some volume building

especially the bottom of the beltway. outer loop of the beltway, telegraph, we have volume building at the site of the crash. that might be cleared out of the lanes at this point this morning. so just waiting on a tow truck there. 295 northbound at the 11th street bridge seeing some volume build. northbound on 295 because of that accident. 270 at middlebrook, northbound and southbound, no problems. overall prince george's county nice and green. not even a speck of yellow there. wide look at the beltway, looking good. breaking news in indiana. five people are dead after a crash involving two tractor-trailers and three cars. this happened early this morning on i-65 that's just north of lafayette, indiana. a truck was going way too fast in a construction zone before hitting a van, pushing a car off the road and then crashing into another truck. two adults and a child in the van were killed as well as a driver of another vehicle. the truck driver that caused the

accident has also died. the roadway remains closed at this hour. we want to give you a heads up now about a major construction project starting tonight in montgomery county. expect some lane shifts at the georgia avenue randolph road intersection in the glenmont area. news4's molette green live now with how this will impact your weekend plans. molette? >> reporter: impacting your weekend in a big way with the big changes. so here's the information that will help you get through this. travel on both georgia avenue and randolph road, down to just one lane in each direction. all of this happening and kicking in tonight at 9:00. you will still be able to make left and right turns. there will be police and flag crews out here to try to help get you through the intermittent traffic stops that are expected to cause major delays. your best bet is to try to avoid this area. one big thing they're doing throughout the weekend is turning off existing traffic lights and activating newones.

this interchange smack dab in the middle of a major redesign to try to cut congestion and make things safer for drivers and pedestrians in the end. all of the traffic lanes expected to reopen by monday. that is the latest live from the glenmont area. i'm molette green. back to you. >> thank you. your wait times on metro will stay the same for now. the metro board was weighing a plan to increase wait times on the silver, orange, green and yellow lines. that move would have caused wait times on the blue line to go down. this was part of a plan to sort of reorganize train schedules to match ridership. the board says it wants more information before making a final decision on this. today, family and friends will gather to remember two of the marines killed in shootings last week in tennessee. a funeral will be held for staff sergeant david wyatt and a memorial service will be held

for lance corporate squire skip wells. four marines and a sailor were shot and killed in attacks on two military facilities. the man accused of killing another man, a rockville couple on mother's day is expected in a courtroom today. scott tomaszewski attacked the couple while they were in bed. stabbing dick vilardo 42 times and his wife jodi eight times. after news of the deaths went public, tomaszewski wrote about their deaths on his facebook page. he's expected in court for a hearing later this morning. and the trial begins today for a woman and her lover, both charged with murder. larlane brown and hussain ali zadeh are accused of killing her husband cecil. prosecutors said he was found beaten to death in his own backyard. court documents show brown searched terms like poisons you can make at home before that murder. 6:35 now.

three women suing their apartment complex in hyattsville over a bedbug problem. tonya stokes and her 87-year-old mother ethel lived at the kings park plaza apartments. they say their apartment was infested with bedbugs but the property owners didn't fix the problem so they moved out in 2012. then a different tenant moved in but she was unaware of that creepy creepy crawly issue. >> my legs and feet were swollen. her chest and back of her neck was all bit up. by the bedbugs. >> now, all three women filed a civil suit against the berkshire property advisers. they own the building when they lived there. it's now under new ownership. the women are asking for $20 million. we are now learning even more businesses were damaged during -- than previously thought during riots in baltimore this past april. that's according to "the

baltimore sun." around 400 businesses had physical damage. that's up from the earlier count of 361. a lot of the businesses have reopened or say that they intend to do so. seven of the biggest travel websites are running out of ways to fight d.c. over a $60 million settlement. "the washington post" is reporting an appeals court denied the companies' appeal over the unpaid taxes. they paid sales tax on how much the sites were charged not on how much customers were charged. both sides have been fighting this out since 2011. d.c. said it's missed out on more than $200 million total. good news from larry hogan's health team. the tumor in his neck has shrunk by about 80%. hogan says the dock or thes are pleased with how he's responding to treatment. he left the baltimore medical center yesterday after his second round of chemo.

back in june, governor hogan announced he had been diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma. a pricey day care in d.c. is responding to allegations of child abuse. what one of their workers is accused of doing to two babies in her care. and right now, i have a problem here as far as volume goes on 395 inbound. going to talk about that one. and 295 north, a crash also slowing things down. more coming up. we told you about the cameras going up in virginia to try to spot the black bear roaming around the area. well, it's already working.

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. police in south korea have arrested a man they say made threats against the u.s. embassy in seoul. back in march mark lippert was

attacked by a knife. this threat was posted on the white house's website on july 8th. it promised to kill the ambassador using nuclear poison. police arrested a 33-year-old unemployed man for making that threat. there's been another black bear spotted in northern virginia. animal services installed the new cameras in wooded areas near river bend park in great falls. we told you about a dog in the area that survived what looks like a bear attack earlier this week. there's more than a dozen bear sightings reported. miss are not sure if it's -- police are not sure if it's the same bear that did that to blue. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. >> here is your friday drive time forecast, in the 60s. jumping into the low 70s. dry roads, bright sunshine. need the visor down. up near 90. need the a.c. back on. see the next chances for rain next weather and traffic on the 1s, that's coming up at 6:51.

what's going on melissa? >> at ed sell road take a look. nothing in the way. just a lot of volume there. 295 northbound at the 11th street bridge we have that accident here. still slowing things down travel times in maryland no major problem here on 270 or the top of the beltway 66 inbound okay. about ten minutes behind 95 northbound from quantico to the beltway. remember to listen to our friends from wtop 103.5 f.m. when you hop in your car. that story we have been watching closely all morning, a man walked into a crowded movie theater in louisiana and opened fire and killed two people and then himself. we'll take you live to the scene in lafayette for what police ar

6:45. a developing story playing out in louisiana right now as police search for clues after a deadly movie theater shooting overnight. they have been on the scene throughout the night. it is one of the stories that we are working on to fete you up to the -- to get you up to the minute the minute you're up. tom kierein has the coverage. >> it is a gorgeous morning, and it will be jumping up to 70 and then by noontime the mid 80s. a few clouds in the afternoon. not very humid. high northeasternear 90 in the afternoon. >> we're talking about 95 northbound there at the 11th street bridge, you can see the

backups as you're approaching the 11th street bridge. more on this coming up. we're watching a movie. it was just loud, like one big loud bang, made my ears ring. but i knew it was a gunshot. >> new developments in that deadly shooting inside a louisiana movie theater. three people were killed and nine others were hurt when a lone gunman opened fire inside a packed theater in lafayette. some of the victims are in critical condition. and nbc's john yang is joining us with more. >> reporter: good morning, aaron. that loud bang that the witness witnessed, a semiautomatic 20 minutes into the showing of "trainwreck." some thought it was a fire cracker, but it was the gunman opening fire on two people in front of him. when it was all over, there were two dead, nine wounded and then

the gunman killed himself. he's a 58-year-old white male. that's all they're telling us right now. they know his name, but they're not telling us what it is yesterday. they say he has a criminal record, but it's not a recent one they say. he tried to flee the theater by blending in with all the other people who are running out. police say that he saw the police coming into the theater, he turned around, went back in. and then killed himself with a single gunshot. now amid all this terror and tales of a tragedy, there are also tales of heroism. two teachers were watching the movie together, they were both wounded but one may have saved the other's life. then the woman who was shielded had the presence of mind to stand up and pull the fire alarm, which may have saved more lives by clearing the theater. >> john yang more from him on the "today" show starting at

7:00 a.m., thanks. and the writer and star of the movie that was being screened "trainwreck," is condemning the shooting. amy schumer sent out a tweet saying quote, my heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in louisiana. just hours before that shooting in louisiana, president obama told the bbc gun control was the issue that has left him quote the most stymied. the president says he's frustrated that the u.s. doesn't have what he called common sense laws for gun safety. he also pointed out that fewer than 100 americans have been killed by terrorism since 9/11. yet tens of thousands have been killed by gun violence. look for live coverage from louisiana throughout the morning. starting in just the next couple of minutes on "today." 6:48 your time now. a worker at a high end d.c. day care is accused of abusing two children in her care. this happened at the kiddie academy in foggy bottom. the allegedtims both under a

year old. megan mcgrath has more on what we're learning about this. megan, good morning. >> reporter: -- worker accusing your child and it happened here at the kiddie academy of west end. they say a member of the staff here physically abused two infants, a 3-month-old and a 7-month-old. 35-year-old claudia roldan has been charged with two counts of second degree child abuse. the 3-month-old was examined by a doctor and was found to have 12 separate bruises on the back arm and both thighs. injuries that could have been caused -- or appeared to have been caused by blunt force or compressive force. the foggy bottom day-care center is well regarded, it sends daily e-mails to parents and they have an extensive security camera system and those cameras, those images, have helped police in their investigation. there's also we're told a witness who told police that she

has seen roldan pinch other infants. now, in a written statement, the owner of the kiddie academy west end said we have been working closely with authorities that are conducting this investigation. the education well-being and safety of the children in our care continues to be our priority and off upmost importance to the staff and owners. now, roldan was taken into custody, charged and had been release on her own recognizance. back to you in the studio. later this morning, the man charged with killing another man on a metro train will go before a judge in two separate cases. d.c. police say jasper spires stabbed american university graduate kevin sutherland at the noma station on july 4th. kevin sutherland right there on your screen. police had released spires from jail in connection to a separate assault case just the day before that murder. he's due in court today to face charges in both cases.

also today we expect emotional testimony at the sentencing for the maryland man who killed his girlfriend's 2-year-old son. clifton bernard of suitland pleaded guilty in 2013 to the murder. bernard became angry with the child and rammed the boy's head through drywall. the boy's relatives are expected to testify during that hearing. bernard is facing up to 70 years in prison. right now, president obama is in ramstein, germany for a quick stop on his way to kenya and ethiopia. he voiced strong support for gay rights in africa. in an interview with the bbc he said he had been blunt with african leaders about gay rights. kenya is president obama's ancestral homeland. breaking news right now that could impact your health insurance. major merger deal just announced that impacts moor than 53 million -- impacts more than 53 people. cnbc's landon dowdy with more.

>> good morning to you. that's right. this news just breaking in the past 30 minutes. anthem striking a deal to buy signa for $54 billion including debt. the company combined will serve more than 53 million customers. the merger is just the latest in the round of consolidation in the industry as companies look to keep costs under control because of changes to obamacare and other factors. it comes three weeks after aetna agreed to buy humana. back over to you. i want to turn to tom kierein and get everyone caught up on the lovely weather. at least this morning. >> great to have erika with us. anything to investigate here weatherwise? >> as far as the weather is concerned -- >> nothing to investigate, nothing to look at here. >> whether or not the meteorologist can keep this forecast going. >> fine. let's do that. no need for an umbrella or rain boots today. great morning for walking the dog, you need a sunblock and short sleeves later on today. but long sleeves this morning.

down to the upper 50s and near 60. inside the beltway we're in the mid and upper 60s. there's the sunrise yesterday in frederick county. knoxville, maryland. photo by rhonda posted on twitter. feels like today in the upper 80s. low 90s on monday as we get the humidity increasing over the weekend. look at the excellent visibility live view from the tower cam. another day with low humidity. by noontime hitting the mid 90s and with that low humidity only will feel like the upper 80s. for saturday, should be bright and and sunny. more humid, quite humid on sunday. the low 90s. increasing clouds and might get some showers on sunday evening. and then monday afternoon, some storms. highs near 90. hot and humid after that. highs low to mid 90s. smaller chances of storms tuesday, wednesday and thursday. what's a going on now, melissa?

>> seeing a little bit of volume, chopper 4 over 66 inbound here approaching the beltway. slowing down more than we'd like to see, but pretty typical for this time of the day. 295 northbound at the 11th bridge, an earlier crash there. a report of a crash at van ness. no major problems on the beltway as you look at the beltway. 66 headed inbound you can see how some of the volume starts to pick up there. 95 north, dale city, going your nastiest spot. and then top of the beltway no major problems. outbound, b.w. parkway, just a tad slow at shady grove. nice and light, guys? >> thanks. developing today, part of a california bridge that washed way any a flood will reopen. the westbound span of the i-10 bridge will reopen at noon. eastbound will take longer to fix. the road is a vital link between

l.a. and phoenix and especially for truck drivers. one man was seriously hurt when that bridge collapsed on sunday. maryland state leaders are knocking millions off the cost of the purple line in montgomery county. maryland's transportation secretary tells county executive ike leggett the county will have to kick in an extra $40 million. that's instead of the $50 million the state initially requested. a spokesperson for the county says leggett has agreed to the $40 million amount. now the county council will look at the plans. prince george's county is still in talks with the state for the cost of the project. the cost went up last month when governor larry hogan scaled back state funding. a proposed memorial to honor president dwight d. eisenhower in washington is getting more backing. david keane is joining the committee. former "nbc nightly news" anchor tom brokaw joined it this week.

it's been slowed by design and funding issues. here are 4 things you need the know this friday morning. starting tonight expect lane shifts and closures at the intersection of georgia avenue and randolph road in glenmont. all traffic lanes should open by monday at 5:00 a.m. a wildfire in california's wine country is under control and homeowners have been allowed back in their homes. in montana, strong winds have pushed flames through acres of land at glacier national park. later today, president obama will land in kenya for a summit. security very tight on this trip. the region has been the target of attacks by the terror group al shabaab. we'll continue to monitor that deadly movie theater shooting in louisiana throughout the morning. look for a live update coming up in a few minutes on "today." #fab friday. temperatures by 8:00 near 70. by noon mid 80s. a few clouds during the afternoon, low humidity. up near 90 by late afternoon. melissa? slowest spot is 295 at the

11th street bridge. an earlier crash is blocking one lane. keep your eyes open for that one. >> thanks. that's the broadcast for this morning. news when its breaks on the nbc washington app. we're back here at 7:25 with another update. >> make it a great friday, everybody. pitch

good morning. breaking overnight, a 58-year-old gunman opens fire in a crowded movie theater in louisiana, killing two, wounding nine others before taking his own life. >> it's a pretty horrific scene. >> one that could have been worse if not for one woman's brave actions. >> she was shot in the leg and had the presence of mind to pull the fire alarm and help save lives. >> we'll have the latest on the heroes the victims and what police are saying about the shooter as the investigation unfolds today, friday july 24 2015. >> announcer: from nbc new ss this is a special edition of "today," louisiana theater shooting with matt lauer and savannah guthrie,