cuba. first at 4, five attempted attacks on women in arlington in just three weeks. >> yeah, that's right. the most recent just last night while a woman was walking home from work. news4's meagan fitzgerald has been following these cases. what are you learning? >> reporter: chris, at this point, police tell us that latest attack happened just behind us here at an apartment complex right at the intersection of columbia pike and south frederick. they say it was just after 10:00 when that woman was attacked. arlington police say the latest incident happened here, a woman was walking up this hill and looking at her phone. investigators say she noticed a man with a stick in his hand but she didn't think twice. that was until he grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her into the woods. >> he demand that she take her clothes off. fortunately, she continues to scream in some way, shape or form, hits him and it scares him off and he runs away. >> reporter: this is just the latest of four other incidents within a five-mile radius. in each case, police say women are being attacked by men.

they somehow managed to fight their way to safety. now, police say that suspect managed to take off with the victim's cell phone so they are hoping to use that device to track him down. police are saying there are many similarities between these five cases we have seen the last three weeks but are they connected? we will let you know what police say at 5:00. pat and chris, back to you. >> thanks, meghan. history in havana today the u.s. flag is flying at the embassy in cuba for the first time in more than 50 years. >> today's ceremony symbolically you shallers in ushers in a newer are eer era. what is your impression? >> reporter: you can see behind merck the live shots the past two days, something different, the american flag flying, first time in 54 years we have had that sight. impressions being on the ground,

first point out really, this was not widely advertised or promoted here in cuba, yet cubans, they found out about it and they showed up in numbers. it was hot. they got here really early this morning. they waited for several hours. and then we noticed they started unraveling american flags and cuban flags, some combined the two to have a united flag to show their support. >> a couple of weeks ago at the cuban embassy when the flag was raised here, compare the two events. >> reporter: epat, i think abou the cuban embassy, tough think of the cuban embassy. its cuban embassy at home on 16th street, tucked away with the other embassies, nothing particularly stands out about that embassy. look behind merck this backers the u.s. embassy, much more prominent location right here in havan. you can see looks right over the famous water walk and then beyond that the straits of florida looking back toward the u.s. the setting alone is distinct. being on the ground for the u.s.

flag raising, many more protesters, a very vocal event. here, we didn't hear that as much. along with me watching today professary ann marie stock from the college of william and mary. you have made more than 60 visits here since 1 1989. following this closely. you have started noticing the changes here, too? >> that's right, david, significant changes the past 20-some years. i think some of the more visible have been in the tourist sector. it's been remarkable to see the ongoing restoration of old havana, unesco world heritage site as well as construction of hotels and even more recently, a marina and the cruise ship terminal. there have also been a lot of changes in the economic sphere here with the legalization of remittances for cuba. they have another way of bringing in cash and they also can work as entrepreneurs. you have seen the opening of private restaurants of homes as

well as families who represent rooms and who offer transportation services, perhaps even sell fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets. i have to say, too, there have been changes in the increase in movements between the u.s. and cuba. i think increasingly, policies, practices and laws have been changing that provide cubans with more opportunities to get to the states for cultural, educational and personal reasons. and similarly, we have more opportunities in the u.s. to come to cuba. so i'm really excited about what my next visits to the island will bring. >> close watch to that. thanks for being with us. a lot more live coverage four. on news at 5:00, we are going take you to the ground as that flag was raised, hear from cubans who are here, some of the cuban-americans who decided to show up as well as some of the americans who popped in as well.

that is a small taste of what david has seen and heard. follow him on nbcwashington.com on facebook and twitter, posting pictures and stories from his week-long trip to havana. like he mentioned, you can see more of the reports in the next couple of hours at 5 and 6. catch "nbc nightly news" with lester holt live from havana at 7. doctors in virginia are on alert after bacterial meningitis killed this little boy. 3-year-old rowly died wednesday, the first case in richmond this year. the little boy's parents say he did go to day care but not clear yes came in contact with the bacteria. meningitis can spread when an infected person sneezes or coughs. a university of maryland women's basketball coach was arraigned this morning for alleged sex abuse. bryce mckey pleaded not guilty to the charge filed in kentucky. he is accused of groping a woman he coached at xavier university. the alleged abuse happened at mckey's kentucky home back in

may, a month after maryland hired him. maryland suspended mckey indefinitely. he is due in court early next month for a pretrial hearing. two parents from silver spring are in jail, accused of second degree murderer and child neglect in the death of their 2-year-old son. montgomery county police arrested jonathan turcios and blanca reyes yesterday. they brought him to the hospital battered. but it wasn't until the last month that the medical examiner determine he had died from dehydration and pneumonia. the parents admit they didn't get medical care for matthew when he was sick or hurt. today, our second warmest day out of the workweek. we have been pretty lucky this bomb, week, but now going to see the temperatures move up, way up, for the weekend. right now, got 87 degrees, reagan national, sunshine, the south wind helping to push the warmer air our way. across the area, high pressure, nice, clear skies, so a good

evening. nice and starry during the overnight period early tomorrow morning. maybe see another meteor shower or two come through the area. here is the story the next couple of days, turning up the heat feeling like 88 today, a touch of humidity tour the low 90s, mid-90s second half of the weekend. then it gets down right oppressive for a while next week. we will talk about how long this latest heat wave will last. going out this evening, your temperatures move in from the mid-80s to upper 70s late by 9:00. again, a nice, starry sky. can't make it to any county fair, we will take you there amelia segal, she has your forecast from the fair coming up. prince william and kate say the paparazzi have been a royal pain. the new reason the royal family says the celebrity media are putting prince george at risk. a twister sweeps through this community, leveling several homes. why a second strike could be on the way. and we will have more on the history made today in cuba after the u.s. raised a flag at the new embassy in havana.

we will bring you the

we have breaking news in the district. police just announced they made an arrest in a staffing on a busy street corner on monday. eric smith from suitland was killed -- or died after he was attacked at h and 8th streets in northeast. that's along the busy h street corridor. passengers on a bus who witnessed that attack, they tried to save smith. we will have more on this arrest and the pleas from police and the shooting on july 4th. that's coming up later at this hour. back to you. okay. we need to -- >> virginia has some pretty big fairs but none bigger than the one that storm team4 meteorologist amelia segal finds herself at this afternoon. >> on a perfect friday

afternoon. amelia? >> reporter: oh, it is nice out here, pat. it's hot, but it's summer. the humidity is low. and that's what's so great about today's weather. we are out here with the storm team 4 by 4. temperature on the truck, 88 degrees. we have been here about an hour and kind of held steady. we want to you come out to the fair tonight. this is the night that we are going to be here, nbc washington. you can grab the shades, obviously, we need them for this weekend. we have reusable grocery bags. we already have a crowd here, guys. say hi! and tonight is going to be perfect as far as the weather is concerned. it is dry and we always want you to download the nbc washington app for the latest weather forecast. but another great reason to download the app, for a chance to win this exact minicooper. you can come to the fair, check it out. this is the mini cooper you could win if you download our nbc washington app. if you can't make it out to the fair tonight, the weather looking good this weekend. tomorrow, high temperatures here around 88 degrees. sunday, high of 91. just a little bit humid on

sunday. veronica's going to have more on the humidity coming up in a little bit, guys. >> thanks, amelia. >> all righty. well, you may have noticed lower gas prices the last time you filled up. >> for some, p

you can still see smoke and fire burning in this chinese city two days after a series of massive explosions. the blast killed at least 50

people and injured more than 700. nbc's ian williams is in tianjin with the investigation and the recovery. >> reporter: the fire raged on this morning, thick, black smoke billowing into the tianjin sky. hundreds of firefighters are batting the inferno, today, pulling out alive one of their colleagues treated in a nearby hospital. more than 20 firefighters died in the blast and 13 are still missing. officials say firefighters themselves may have triggered the blasts by hosing water on an initial fire in a warehouse containing the volatile chemical, calcium carbide. that triggered the first blast, which moments later, sparked the second, bigger explosion. as other chemicals caught fire, captured in this cell phone video, shot by an american. he continued to film until it became too terrifying. >> let's go! let's go down. >> reporter: he told me he thought they were going to die. >> it was just monumental. i thought it was a nuclear bomb

going off in my face, what it looked like. >> reporter: official have tried to reassure nervous residents that pollution levels are normal while admitting they really don't know what toxins are in the air. they told people to move out of apartment blocks near the blast site and into shelters. local hospitals have been overwhelmed. the police have now cordoned off the blast area, which now resembles a postapocalyptic wasteland. a local clock frozen in time, marking the deadly moment this city will never forget. this is a city in shock after the explosion, but also, one in fear, as residents look at this smoke and wonder precisely what it is they are breathing. ian williams, nbc news, tianjin. the british royal family is criticizing the paparazzi today for what it calls increasingly dangerous attempts to take pictures of little prince george. photographers have followed george and his nanny around parks in london. they have also followed cars leaving royal homes.

in a letter released on twitter, kensington palace said there have been an increasing number of incidents involving paparazzi harassing prince george. >> the problem is in britain, this isn't a problem. but in the rest of the world, it is becoming an increasing problem. and our laws stop it. but other laws perhaps don't or aren't being enforced. >> the royal couple has tangled with the media before over the paparazzi's tactics, saying they want their children to be able to play in public without being photographs. the royals also complained about the harassment of kate before the couple married in 2011. turning now to the weather on this gorgeous friday afternoon. what kind of a night is it shaping up to be? veronica johnson is in the storm center. hey, vj. >> if wow described our day what tops the wow? hmm. it is going to be very nice this evening. and tomorrow really not bad either. it is all about the humidity levels coming up as temperatures start coming up as well. today, boy, they did.

again, our second warmest day of the workweek, holding at 87 now, 87, montgomery county, around gaithersburg and prince william county, manassas, amelia segal at the fair, more from her in a few minutes. closer to the 90-degree mark around fredericksburg, quantico, a little bit of heat south with cape may, ocean city running much cooler, around 80 degrees. so, here's a look at your beach forecast, water temperature at 81 degrees. saturday, sunday, on the cool side, 80 to 83 degrees. going to be gorgeous at the beach this upcoming weekend. and i think by early part of next week, a lot of folks are going to wish they were at the beach. 87, mild conditions, reagan national, not too many clouds out there. 83 by 7:00. then we drop to the low 80s by 11 p.m. clear, comfortable, going to be very starry night for us. 63 to 69. so, remember yesterday, we'd a lot of 50s pocketed just north and west of hagerstown, cumberland, mount airy, now

bring the temperatures up, too, for the overnight period, ch mog our way for the early part of the day. here is future weather, a few clouds drifting through. the windward side of the mountains for saturday afternoon, there's a possibility of some pop-up showers and storms on saturday. watch what happens on sunday. pretty similar, see more clouds coming in during the afternoon hours, maybe few could sneak a little further east, areas like leesburg, front royal, culpepper sunday, but really, a quiet weekend for us with more heat and humidity, especially on sunday. a look at tomorrow, 70 at 7 a.m. we hit that 80-degree mark by 10 a.m. then on to 90 degrees. forecast, 86 to 91 degrees a very low threat of rain until next week. we will take a look at the seven-day forecast with amelia seeing until a few minutes. >> thanks, vj. if you filled up lately, you may have noticed gas prices drop and they are down 20 cents or

more on the past month and while the trend could continue all the way to christmas, leanne gregg explains why it is a far different story for drivers in the midwest. >> reporter: for millions of people heading out on late summer road trips, the price is right when it comes to gas, like in south carolina, where it's under $1.90 a gallon. >> i would never, ever dream gas would be 1.87. >> reporter: with crude at a six-year low, analysts expect on average greater drops on prices at the pump. >> i think it's awesome, gives everybody the opportunity to travel if they want to. >> reporter: a benefit, however, not being felt in the midwest, where a dramatic spike in gas prices this week is expected to continue. some area does see a temporary rise in prices up to $1 more per gallon from just a week earlier. >> it all comes down to the fact that refineries aren't working the way it should be. >> reporter: problems at a bp refinery in indiana, the largest in the midwest, forced the

facility to cut production in half, driving up price and it could take weeks to restore full production. but overall, gas prices across the country are expected to remain low. >> americans are likely to pay the cheapest labor day gas prices since 2009 and that's good news for everyone who is going to be hitting the roads to end their summer vacations. >> reporter: a trend on track to continue for the rest of the year. leanne gregg, nbc news. giving obese teens extra doses of vitamin d may not make them healthier. researchers at the mayo clinic children's center found their cholesterol and triglycerides actually increased when they took extra vitamin d supplements. the teens also showed no changes in blood pressure, body weight or body mass index. experts say teens should take reasonable doses of vitamin d. an update now to a story we brought you earlier in this newscast. assistant university of maryland women's basketball coach bryce mckey has resigned. mckey is accused of groping a woman he coached at xavier

university. prosecutors want former governor bob mcdonnell to be locked up while he appeals his conviction to the supreme court. pretty soon, we could learn if they get their wish. the big decision that moves

jilt now, we are getting new reaction to a story we have been

following about the proposed purple line. >> yeah, that's right, prince george's county committed to spend another $20 million to help build it and news4's derrick ward has been talking to folks who believe it is worth every penny. >> reporter: it was nearly six years ago when planners began taking a serious look at a light rail connection between montgomery and prince george's countys. wes residents with he spoke to are already on board. >> public transportation is so much better than everybody driving around in their just, you know, one car, all by themselves. >> reporter: it was this week that the prince george's county executive announced that this $2.4 billion light rage plan would run right through the county's future, having the construction start here and the system's control center built here. >> those are two things that the governor's office looked at and, you know, said we could do that. >> reporter: with that, baker agreed to up the county's contribution by $10 million in revenue and another $10 million in land contribution. he looks at this as an investment for towns like riverdale and langley park but

figures into the burgeoning tech corridor around the university of maryland as well. it has already jumped route 1. >> you think of m square over here, the research park, it is going to be exciting for this area, for university of maryland. >> would you use it? >> yes, i would. my family takes the subway, so, yeah. >> reporter: baker believes the benefits will be felt regionally. projects like this attract business. >> make us competitive with the rest of the nation, we try to attract cyber security to this area. >> if the state and counties can iron out the funding and other issues, crews could start work on the purple line as soon as next may. the gop presidential field, of course, features 17 candidates, but could the democratic side be growing as well? we have got the latest buzz from the campaign trail. and a local man swiped nude photos of women by hacking into their computeders and it only

right now at 4:30, a former contractor with the homeland security department blackmails women with their own naked photos. today, he learns has punishment for the so-called sextortion. they put it on the line to help keep you safe. today, local first responders honored for their life-saving work. we all remember this dramatic video showing a surfer fighting off a shark on live tv. find out what he saw the first time he got back into the water this week. right now, a local man is heading to prison in a case of

sextortion that might make you think twice about what's on your computer. >> the home lands security contractor was found guilty of hacking into women's computers, then stealing compromising photos of them to extort money. news4's chris gordon is in rockville. >> reporter: a man that works for a contractor with the department of homeland security has begun serving an 18-month sentence in jail. he hacked into the computers of about 100 women, stealing naked photos of them stored on their computers. he exploited. they you could call it sexploitation, in this case, because he demanded more pictures and the names of other pretty women he could prey upon. 2-year-old mauricio rios pleaded guilty today in montgomery county court and sentenced to jail to undergo psychological evaluation. >> we we want to make sure we hold this individual accountable and today's plea an sentencing does just that. >> reporter: defense lawyer

simmons says rios had never been in trouble with the law before. >> everyone that i spoke with about him was shocked. he is a very, very decent person. he's good person but did he a bad thing. >> reporter: coming up on news4 at 5:00, a cyber security expert tells us how easy it was for rios to hack into 100 computers and take basically whatever he wanted. what is the latest from the montgomery county circuit court. back to you. we should find out in the next half hour whether former virginia governor bob mcdonele will be allowed to stay out of jail while he appeals his corruption charges. this afternoon, federal prosecutors sent a formal request that mcdonnell be denied bail. the u.s. court of appeals has until 5:00 to rule. mcdonnell is appealing his conviction to the supreme court after an appeals court declined to recore his case earlier this week.

and we are here live with the storm team4 by four at the prince william county fair, here at nbc washington for tonight, only the first night of the fair, we want you to come out, say hi to us, stop by our booth, lots of great stuff here. [ cheering weric [ we already have tons of fans out here. you can tweet about the fair using the #prince william pwc fair. we want to see all of your photos if you are out here. so many great events going on. guys, you have to check this out. oh. ha ha ha. so, this is sparky. this is sparky and his hand lefr -- handler. theft demolition derby. the weather not only great for fairgoers on into the weekend and early next week but great for heading to the pool because it is hot. we are talking about another heat wave that starts tomorrow and it is going to run at least six days, it looks like.

the humidity, not too bad tomorrow. it does start to get humid on sunday. by monday, everybody is talking about how hot and how humaned anisome right now, it is nice out here. again, we want you to come out, say hi, enjoy this beaut. evening out here at prince william county, the biggest county fair in the state, guys. >> thanks, amelia. head to montgomery county where a teenager from silver spring is accusing of raping his ex-girlfriend. he appeared in court today and police say marquis turner attacked a 19-year-old woman outside a courthouse in rockville back in june. she died on the way to the hospital but it's still unclear why. turner goes to churchill high school in potomac and he was charged as an adult in the case. some local heroes are in the spotlight today for their efforts to save lives. the gaithersburg germantown chamber of commerce honored public safety officials for their work over the past year, including montgomery county police officers julia chesley and michael simpson.

they were among the first on the scene at last december's deadly small plane crash into a gaithersburg home which called maureen gamele and her two youngest children. her husband, ken, was in the audience today. the officers braved incensed flame in an effort to help gemles and their neighbors. >> a once-in-a-lifetime call, a once in a career you get a call for an aircraft into a house. i just wish we could have saved them. >> we are not the only ones that you know, deserve this award, like there it was an entire group effort. >> the chamber of commerce honored 46 first responders and members of the community today. the already packed presidential field may be getting a new candidate and this time, it's democrat. there is speculation that former vice president al gore may jump into the race. as jennifer johnson reports, it is coming as most of the current candidates are in iowa for a

time-honored tradition. >> reporter: with the private e-mail controversy still swirling you around democratic front-runner hillary clinton, new reports suggest former vice president al gore may enter the race to re-enter the white house. gore is apparently talking to supporters about financial backing. >> how are you doing? >> nice to see you. >> reporter: it's tradition the candidates are glad handing their way through the iowa state fair, flipping burgers, taking pictures, wooing voters. long-shot martin o'malley believes there are no front-runners among the democrats. >> i think that people are hungry for an alternative. the phrases i hear all the time, we need new leadership and ability to get things done. >> reporter: jeb bush dropped a corn kernel in the bush jar, an unusual voting station. >>? a long haul, man. >> reporter: bush doesn't seem too worried about trump but thinks hillary clinton should worry about her recent troubles. >> mrs. clinton seems not to be able to have integrity and to

tell the truth and if she is -- if she has not done anything wrong, be honest about it and show it. >> reporter: rick perry in south carolina promised to stay in the race despite serious money troubles. >> this is a long game and i tell folks i'm in it to win. >> reporter: the political roller coaster is in iowa this weekend, every candidate believing they have a fair chance at winning the white house. vice president joe biden is in delaware with his family still mourning the loss of his son and making in no decision yet on whether he will enter the race. jennifer johnson, nbc news, washington. you probably remember this incredible video of a pro surfer being attacked by a shark in the middle of a competition. >> mick fanning got back into the water today competing for the first time since that close encounter. fanning is surfing in the seventh round of the world surf league in tahiti. he said it was time to put the latest scare behind him, last month's scare, but still a little nervous. the first time fanning got back into the water after the attack, he spotted a shark fin.

>> just the one that i peeked, fin come out and go through the waves, made it like, are you for real? like what's going on sneer it is good. i caught another wave and went in and then, yeah, it was sort of -- from then on, it was, you know, started surfing a little bit more. >> in the moments after the attack, fanning said he wasn't sure if or when he would surf again. >> completely understandable. the weather out west has been pretty wild. find out what's the top priority for officials right now. an officer's k-9 dies in a hot car. what he is doing now to make sure it doesn't happen again. you are looking live at the american flag at the u.s. embassy in havana. find out what cu

folks living in this part of owner is mexico are on alert for more severe weather tonight after the small tornado hit the state of oaxaca yesterday. the twister only lasted about five minutes but that was plenty of time to tear the roofs from several houses. no one was seriously hurt. state officials think an atmospheric phenomenon near the coast led to the tornado's formation. take a look at this a small plane took a nosedive into a river in eastern pennsylvania and the pilot survived. rescue crews pulled a man out of

the cockpit after he crashed in allentown. they say he was conscious and alert when they took him to the hospital this morning. the circumstances surrounding that crash are still under investigation. we are not going to have any wild weather here for a while we are not going to have much rain around here for a while. but what we will see is a heat wave starting. temperatures in the 90s this upcoming weekend. right now, we are at 87 degrees, just shy of the 90-degree mark. the southerly wind, just some wispy clouds coming through our area. has been very comfortable today a nice evening, too our temps drop to the mid-70s by 9:00, mild, again, a few more major shower wes could see, one or two shrinking through the sky, remember the last heat wave we went 13 day, i think we are going to half that with the next one coming up. a few minutes, amelia segal will have a look at how oppressive the next couple of days will feel, the worst to have with your seven-day forecast.

she is at the prince william county fair. there are a way to get school supplies tax free. we will show you how shoppers are saving money. a terrible tragedy in kentucky.

right now, a high school in kentucky is grieving in remembering this popular student who was about to begin his senior year. 17-year-old javon quarrels was killed on the school's football field in a freak accident.

>> heather hurriga (learning what exactly happened to javon and tells us. >> reporter: police say the teen was moving large heavy metal equipment when it accidently fell and hit quarrels on the head the 17-year-old later died at the hospital from blunt force trauma to the head. this did happen around 4 this afternoon but police nor school officials have confirmed this was before or during practice. police tell me that their knowledge, quarrels was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. school officials tell me this was not an unusual thing for players to be moving around equipment, but what is unusual and something team members are having a hard time grasping is the fact their friend, javon quarrels, will not be coming back. quarrels was going to be starting his senior year here on tuesday. >> they are taking it very hard as i said to someone, you know, you're a member of a team, you know, it goes beyond just friendships. sometimes they consider each other more like family, like

brothers. so everyone's taking this very hard, but especially the teammates. >> certainly understandable. an intense thunderstorm over las vegas has settled down this afternoon. this is what it looked like at the height of the storm. torrential rain fell on the area last night with winds topping 60 miles an hour. streets flooded and there were multiple lightning strikes. at least one tree was hit and caught fire. you can see it right there. right now, crews are trying to get the power back on. no rain spoiling the fun out in prince william county for the fair this weekend. >> yeah, amelia, you got a nice assignment there. >> it's beautiful. and the great thing is it is hot, i will say that but the great thing is the humidity is low, so it's manageable. out here, there isn't a cloud in the sky. we want you to come out tonight and say huh. we want you to down loetd nbc win this mini cooper. all you have do is go to the app store, google play and download our nbc washington app.

there, of course, you can get the latest weathera2c;p forecas when you're checking it out, you will notice a bunch of 90s on the board. looking at six-day heat wave that starts tomorrow and continues on into the upcoming week. despite the heat though the weather having a relatively low impact on your day tomorrow, plenty of sunshine once again, the humidity is still on the low side. temperature right now at 87 degrees and heading out this evening, it is going to be nice and with low humidity and lack of cloud cover, temperatures drop quickly once the sun goes down, especially in the more rural areas. out here at the fair, refreshing later on tonight, as you look at our hour by hour temperatures across-the-board. 7:00, temperatures 84 by 9. 11 p.m., temperatures mid-70s. walking the dog tonight, really refreshing, great night to have dinner al fresco as well. now, looking at the humidity, it is a little bit uncomfortable this weekend but certainly manageable for washington standards. once we head into the upcoming week, that's when we really notice the mugginess set in. it starts to feel oppressive

outside, that's when we start to deal with that feels like temperature, it feels about five to ten degrees warmer than the thermometer actually reads. right now, looking at high temperatures tomorrow, 91. sunday, a high of 49. plenty of sunshine this weekend. mid-90s continue monday, tuesday, wednesday, we do drop into the low 90s. our next chance of showers and thunderstorms does look to come on thursday. and that will cool us down, guys, a little bit for friday. high temperature next friday, there you see it around 88 degrees. >> all right, thanks, amelia. so hot and humid out there doesn't seem like it. but almost time to go back to school. the shopping season is in full swing. still take advantage of maryland's tax free week through to >> erika gonzalez hit the stores to show us how people are saving money on school supplies while still getting everything marked off their list. >> reporter: it's time to started tossing pence and pencils into your shopping cart. kids are going back to school.

parents, try to contain the joy. lexie is heading to high school. >> i got some spiral notebooks, a blue and yellow one. >> reporter: at this target in rockville, grandma, judy, is buying supplies for her five grandkids, got to be smart about t. >> i think every sag little more expensive so i'm looking for the sale items, if i can and i notice a big difference going from store to store. >> reporter: while the ayes, ma'ams maybe full of shopper, there are signs that consumers are spending less this year than last. the national retail federation says 2014 was a record year for back-to-school spending. now, it's estimated consumers will spend about $630 on back-to-school shopping compared to $670 last year. >> back to school this year is all about inventory, meaning parents are asking their children to take a look under the bed, look through their closets and even dig through their drawers to find what they may already have. >> reporter: these young ladies have their eyes set on new backpacks, that's all right with mom.

rose justin says she bought more than her family needed last year so she doesn't have to buy nearly as much now. so this year, of the full list, maybe you were in search for half of it instead of the whole thing? >> yes, half of it. >> reporter: another big difference this year, more people are using their gadgets to get supplies. more than 30% of the family shopping for back-to-school items this summer said they will use their smartphones to buy crayons and supplies and even apparel items for their children. >> reporter: erika gonzalez, news4. this afternoon, dozens of people in madison, wisconsin, are coming home to a complete disaster. see those cars? the ground swallowed them up after a nearby water main burst and created a sinkhole. informs to evacuate the complex since the hole created concerns about a potential gas leak. the good thing is nobody's been hurt. all summer, we have been reminded about the dangers of hot cars. >> that's right. some police departments have started using a special alarm to

make sure that police dogs stay safe on duty. in this report from wisconsin, the move comes after a recent tragedy. >> reporter: this is what a k-9 heat alarm looks like. sheriff deputy jamie burns and his partner, vasco, showed us the one in their car. >> as soon as it hits 90 degrees, the lights would go off, alarm would start sounding and back win goes automatically roll down. >> reporter: these alarms are crucial because k-9s spend a lot of time inside car. they don't necessarily get out whenever their partner does. >> we leave the dog in the car quite a bit. we really only need the dog out when it's working, drug sniffs, tracking it bomb expulsion detection, whatever he is trained in. >> reporter: the deputy and dog have only been partner these months but already, they are best friends. burns can't imagine what the deputy in brown county is going through after his k-9 partner,

wicks, was found dead in their car at whistling straits. the heat alarm never went off after the air conditioning failed. >> be like losing a kid or a family member. it would be terrible. >> reporter: k-9 teams across wisconsin are sending their thoughts and prayers. >> there's really no words to describe how close the bond is between not only the law enforcement and general but the k-9 handlers together. >> those partnerships are so strong. love that. a lot of k-9 units are looking at that device right now. if you are looking to add a furry friend to your family, tomorrow is clear the shelters day. animal shelters all over our area are hoping to find loving homes for their dogs and cats this weekend. a lot of them are even cutting or waiving the fees involved. you can find out everything you need to know about the shelter event in our nbc washington app right now, including some tips on how to make owning a dog in an apartment work for you. nbc correspondent jenna bush hager and her hubby are celebrating the arrival of their second daughter. poppy louise hager was born

yesterday in new york city. the couple made the announcement on social media. she is named after jenna's grandfather, former president george h. w. bush, known to the family as poppy. they also released a photo of the proud grandparents with poppy and her big sister, milla. i'm darcy spencer lining the chesapeake bay off of sandy point. there have been 17 boating-related fatalities here in the state of maryland so far this year. that is more than all of last year. today, the maryland department of natural resources, police and other agencies got together to announce a new safety campaign. it is going to start this weekend. >> this is not about revenue or tickets. this is about changing the mind set of the people on the water. we want you to have a great time but we want you to be thinking about safety. >> coming up on news4 at 5:00, i will tell you what the number one thing is that people are not doing that's costing them their lives. along the chesapeake bay, darcy

spencer, news4. rescue crews desperately try to save a man who was hit by a roller coaster. >> you will hear from a woman who witness the

a popular roller coaster at a theme park known for the thrill rides is open again right now, a day after a man was killed by a ride. police say the raptor roller coaster at cedar point hit him after he hopped a fence to

search for his cell phone. hillary gholston of our affiliate in ohio picks up the story from there. >> reporter: the image on twitter of rescue crews doing their goes save a man's life. from a different vantage point, megan moore looked on, stuck on the raptor roller coaster. he spoke with us over the phone. >> didn't know what to think, i was in shock because i didn't know what to do. >> was it pretty scary for you guys? >> yeah, it was terrifying. >> reporter: she was suspended in the air for ten minutes while the chaos unfolded. >> we were on the ride and we didn't know what to think. we thought, the people behind us [ inaudible ] and then we heard from [ inaudible ] that somebody was hit or dead. >> reporter: police say had happened around 5 tonight. at this point, they think it was the coaster's train that hit 45-year-old james young. he was trying to retrieve

something he lost on the ride. >> saw a bunch of, like, paramedics running toward the thing from the situation. [ inaudible ] then we heard a bunch of cars. [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: on the grounds, casey millar witnessed the aftermath. >> there's just people screaming and running around everywhere. it was just really crazy. >> reporter: a chaotic and tragic night. >> investigators say they can't remember an incident like this happening at that park before. news4 at 5:00 starts now chris and wendy. a developing story tonight at 5:00 women in arlington being attacked by the same man? i'm meagan fitzgerald, i will have a live report. after the latest safety lapse at metro, a major shakeup could be in the works. i'm adam tuss, i will have the

details. david culver here in havana, cuba. today, history was made. behind merck the american flag flying, first time in 54 years. coming up, going to take you to the crowd as they reacted to this historic site. but right now, we begin with some new concern that the same man is attacking women in arlington >> the number of victims just went up. five women have been attacked in the past month and it's all happening in the same general area from clarendon to south arlington. the most recent attack on south frederick street meagan fitzgerald joins us live with the latest attempted sex assault. what are you hearing? >> reporter: police tell us that latest attack happened behind us here in the driveway of an apartment complex just after 10. now, police admit there are many similarities with all these five cases and they say it's possible they could be connected. if ask you folks who have been in arlington for years, most will say it was a nice place to

live. >> people are very friendly in the neighborhoods. >> reporter: in spite of its friendly reputation, police have investigated five attempted sex assaults in the past three weeks. the latest happening here on thursday night. a woman was grabbed and dragged into the woods. >> he demands that she take her clothes off. fortunately, she continues to scream in some way, shape or form hits him, scares him off answered runs away. >> reporter: daniel mur vitt deputy chief of the arlington police department. he says investigators can't definitively say these case are connected but there are many similarities. women are the targets and they are usually being attacked at night. >> they are all described as a relatively young male, perhaps being hispanic. >> reporter: this is the sketch of the suspect from the first attacking on july 25th on 15th street north. six days later, another woman was attacked on south harrison street. police released this sketch of what they believe the man looks like. murray say he is doesn't want the community to live in fear but