afternoon storms. >> chief meteorologist doug kammerer and veronica johnson are tracking the radar and hot temperatures out there right now. >> most ofdpz those storms conte to be just off to the west. we talked about this yesterday, that most of them would stay back toward the blue ridge, exactly what we are seeing. >> talk about slow moving, 10 miles an hour, a chance of hail for these, they continue to lift and some heavy rain as well. >> some heavy rain, lightning, get it. storm team4 radar tracking these storms for you. one thing -- these are called pulse thunderstorms. what's going to happen here, you are going to see these pulse up real quick and pulse right back down. when they come down, they actually dissolve and lose intensity, actually put out a bit of a boundary here, that is what we are seeing, these little outflow boundaries. with that, we could see showers pop up just about any were we have got one popping again over manassas. this is the area of the strongest storms around madison county, back down toward the men is nan dough wa county area, new storm in culpeper, the warrenton

area, the storm forming around frederick, come through frederick and the next 15, 20 minutes. again, not moving fast, one around harpers ferry, lovetsville, continue to track these storms as we make our way through the rest of the evening hours. the risks tonight, high winds, low to medium, biggest risk, heavy wind, not a big deal, something we will watch for, storm team4 all over it from the storm center. guys? >> thanks, doug. now to a breaking story in the district, a record setting seizure of synthetic drugs. >> two men arrested hundreds of pounds of bizzaro piled high at police headquarters. >> wendy rieger is working this story at the live desk. >> police are calling this an unprecedented seizure of synthetic drugs. look at this haul. they just put it on display at headquarters just a while ago. this is more than 19,000 packets, 116 kilos of synthetic drugs. this is the largest seizure in d.c. history.

we did the math and estimated to be worth $2 to $4 million. police say they intercepted these drugs yesterday as they were coming in from the west coast. two men are under arrest. let's take a listen to what police had to say just a short time ago. >>? a massive and unprecedented seizure. this operation is symbolic of the success law enforcement can have when we work collaboratively with our federal and regional partners and focus our efforts on the sources of these types of drugs which are wreaking havoc in our community. >> the biggest synthetic drug seizure before today was about 2,000 packets, that was in 2014. we have all the documents on the seizure and more information on who was arrested. you can find it on the nbc washington app. back to you. dozens of protesters outside the courthouse in baltimore calling for justice for freddie gray. the judge at today's pretrial hearing refused to dismiss charges against six police officers. mark segraves join us now with

more on the judge's ruling. hi, mark. >> reporter: here is the scene outside the courthouse right now. on the second floor inside, that hearing is still going on to decide the final motion they are hearing today whether or not to try all six officers together or in separate trials. as you said, earlier this morning, protesters were out here on the street, chanting, carrying signs, they ended up marching from in front of the courthouse down pratt street, headed toward the inner harbor. at that point, they did run into a little bit of trouble. police say they made one arrest and one officer was -- had a minor injury when one of the protesters refused to get out of the street. otherwise, the streets in baltimore have been calm, particularly here around the courthouse where security is very, very heavy. but again, inside the courthouse today, defense attorneys argued that state's attorney marilyn mostby contaminated the jury pool when she gave a press conference shortly after the riots and made several remarks

that they say were inflammatory. the judge disagreed and said that he was not going to admonish mostby or recuse her from the trial. he also said he would not dismiss the charges because of prosecutorial misconduct, which is what defense attorneys allege. the judge said that some of the claims by defense attorneys were, in his words, mind-boggling. but the judge did give the wag of the finger to mostby, saying he was troubled, "troubled" by some of the comments she had made in public but they didn't rise to the level of an unfair trial. again, inside, the hearing is still ongoing to determine if the trials will be separate or tried all together. next week, they will be back here before this same judge to try to determine whether or not the trial will be held here in baltimore or on another venue. now, prosecutors and defense attorneys have not been talking to reporters but there were some courtroom observers inside, including a lawyer for some of the protesters. here's how he characterized

today's hearing. >> i think that the judge was a bit solicitous in entertaining some of the arguments that were made. i don't think any of the arguments should gone this far. they probably should have been decided in camera, but i guess the judge wanted to be fair and by offering individuals a hearing to have whatever grievances or whatever issues they wanted to emphasize for the court, to have this it brought out in open court. nevertheless, i do agree with the judge's opinion. >> reporter: now again to wrap up inside the courtroom, a victory for prosecutors as the judge did not dismiss the charges against the six officers and out on the streets of baltimore, mostly calm all day today. protesters are saying they will be back out on the streets later this evening. chris, back to you in the studio. >> thanks, mark. also following developments in illinois where authorities say they are making progress in chasing down leads in their search for three suspects. they are all wanted in the shooting death of a police officer. about 100 officer on the ground

combing an even broader area. meanwhile, the community is remembering officer charles glynn know wits, killed yesterday during a police pursuit. more on that in the next half hour. also developing this afternoon, the death of an infant now under investigation in alexandria. police say they were called to an extended stay hotel on bragg street early this morning after report of a baby in distress. the child was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. an autopsy is under way. now to some scary moments on board a metro train. i posted this story on my facebook page about a woman who tried abduct a 2-year-old girl. a mom was with her toddler at the foggy bottom stop and says woman tried to snatch the child out of her stroller this morning. another metro rider stepped in to help her and police are now questioning that woman. >> as soon as the child was snatched or attempted to be snatched, the mother screamed out, asking for assistance. at that time, the male subject came behind the lady and held her. we were on the inbound try reign and subdued the individual

>> the mom and baby are crying hysterically, but they are okay. so far, police are questioning the woman but she hasn't been charged yet. a day of remembrance at the state house. scores of people are paying respects to former governor marvin mandel, who is lying in repose at the capitol. news4's chris gordon has special honors for the democrat who spent nearly three decades in elected office. >> reporter: governor larry hogan has ordered maryland flags to fly at half-staff in honor of marv marv marvin mandel who hogan says dedicated his life to making maryland a better place to work, live and raise a family. >> there's no doubt in my mind that his legacy will live on in the minds, hearts and souls of all those people he touched over the many years. >> reporter: marvin mandel serve as governor of maryland from 1969 to 1979. he died sunday at the age of 95. he will lie in repose in the

state capitol until 8:00 tonight. funeral services will be held tomorrow in pikesville. all new at 5:00, former maryland governors, democrats and republicans, share their memories of governor marvin mandel. back to you. she says her religion prevents her from issuing same-sex marriage licenses, but now this kentucky court clerk's romantic history is being called into question. the second largest school bus fleet in the country is about to hit the streets next week in northern virginia. why some schedule changes could cause big traffic jams. you are watching news4 at 4.

zoo for another two to three

hours, it will be wet on some area roads. we continue to watch these pulse thunderstorms, they go up and back down and at times, triggering another little thunderstorm just to the south and east. they are moving southeast at just 10 miles per hour. the main area south of 66 around warrenton right now, tracking this storm system as it heads through areas of madison county, rappahannock, culpeper seeing more of the storms continuing up until about 6 to 7 p.m. or so, producing some heavy rain and even a chance of hail so the rain intensity the highest between 5 and 6, then goes way back down between 6 and 7. but we are not done. more rain on tap. we will show you when, coming up. and right now, court clerk kim davis is back at work in kentucky. she has been ordered to appear this court tomorrow. davis continues to defy a marriage licenses to same-sex couples. she says her religious convictions prevent her from issuing those licenses. she refuses to resign and cannot be fired because she was elected to her post. critics note that davis has been married four times and divorced

three times. she says she had a religious awakening four years ago and has changed. they lost their son in south africa, now parents of a george washington university student are flying to find his body. on sunday, nicholas upton was swimming with trends in the eastern cape province when he got pull aid way in a riptide. rescue crews think their son kron drowned and are no longer looking for his bod day. gofundme page raised more than $42,000. his parents will use that money to help cover their travel expenses so they can conduct their own search. we will push out any updates on our app. potential traffic trouble looming. why school start time is changing in northern virginia could back up those busy roads. can't you feel it in your i'm not sick. i'm not sick.

i'm not sick. she's perfectly healthy. cigna covers preventive care. that's having your back.

fairfax county is gearing up for major traffic changes and when the doors to the area's largest school system open next on tuesday, you're going to see a lot more buses. high schools are starting an hour later this year. and transportation experts say you need to prepare right now news4's transportation reporter adam tuss is live in mary field. what are you hearing out there? >> reporter: chris, think about, this the fairfax county public school bus system is larger than greyhound international, second in size only to new york city's school bus system. let all that sink in and think

about the buss on the road next week, it is going to happen on tuesday to prepare for next beacon, the school buses have been out this week doing practice routes, high schools will be starting classes right around 8 in the morning, probably as you're battling traffic trying to get to work. the school system does say there is going to be a learning curve that everyone needs to go through. >> largely what we snow a lot of the traffic is from us. you know, it's our employees getting to work. it's our students and parents getting the children to the schools. so there will be some adjustment period, i think, you know, just -- i think everyone just needs to kind of be patient with us. >> reporter: yeah of course, it is going to get really crowded out there you might be living outside of fairfax county coming into the county, dealing with all that. so you want to prepare for that now. coming up on news 4 at 5:00, we are going to tell you what the police are saying about these changes and how they plan to keep everyone safe. chris, back to you. >> bigger than greyhound, hard to believe. but wow, thanks, adam. boy it is hotter than what

out there? >> doug, you fill in the blank, man. >> i just bought some chili. hotter than chili that i just bought here in the cafeteria. guys it is hot and we have a couple of thunderstorms out there, not a really big deal red mode, severe thunderstorms earlier, since died off. not expecting too many more. look outside, probably looking outside, here comes the rain downtown, the rain across the area. there's no rain close to downtown right now, until you get back toward fairfax county, the only area we do have some of those showers and storms. they were much wider spread earlier and again, some stronger storms developed with a couple of warnings. no warnings right now,s here the one storm i'm watching. this is right around city of fairfax, fairfax toward manassas, one area we are seeing that. i will go ahead and zoom on in here and show you right or wrong, fairfax, 123, here is 123 here, state of fairfax really seeing that very heavy rain, a light of lining thing associated with this developed back toward clifton, manassas and manassas park, see that along 28, fairly heavy rain into that area, too.

we move farther to the west, where we have seen the strongest storms. look at this. a ton of lightning. this is just down to the south of luray, more storms to the southwest of the warrenton area. these aren't moving really fast and they pulse up and then they pulse right back down. as they do that, they send out these boundaries and that's exactly what's happening around our region. that's what we have to watch. the boundaries will kick off more showers and storms and all be short lived. here is one to the east of charlestown, harper he is ferry, the city of frederick, zoom in and show where you this one is, 15, here is frederick, seeing some of that rain making its way a along 15, heavy rain towards that area, too. continue to watch it four, we have seen the rain, temperatures have come way down, 73, winchester, 92 still in d.c., 93, fredericksburg, very hot, very humid. high of 95 again tomorrow. another chance of scattered shower activity on friday. i think everybody gets in friday, a high of 90. 84 on saturday, 86, sunday, a beautiful, beautiful weekend. now, something we have all been

talking about, the allergies, way up there, weeds, grasses, mold, high high and high again. if you're sniffling, that's the reason why. guys? >> we want to talk about that right now. we are at the height of the rag weed season right now which usually peaks around labor day. here to help us get through it is dr. jackie eghrari-sabet, a family allergy and asthma care in gaithersburg. good to see you. thank you. >> something everybody is talking about, even if they don't know what is wrong, i think a lot of folks are feeling it. >> that's right. >> a bigger season this year than usual? >> stack up tore significant with that long, hot summer we have, climate change and increased growing season it is going to produce more pollen, combine that with the mold that's about to come and then also with the dust knights are here and can be pretty significant to many people. >> how do you know if it is an allergy to something, mold or rag weed or just a cold? >> so, how you'll know is the kind of symptoms that you can attribute toable allergy and that would be, first of all, you should get tested so you know it

really is allergy. but the common things are sneezing and congestion, eye symptoms, where you'll get actually pink-looking eye, headache and fatigue, not just fatigue but even you'll feel a little foggy, snoring and poor sleep, a lot of people don't understand that's really due to allergy because so much of their congestion and cough and wheeze. think of these things when you're realizing, wow, i have these new symptoms, maybe they are due to rag weed. >> i think i'm experiencing it for the first time. i never thought i had an allergy to rag weed. can you treat with over-the-counter drugs? ample lot out there over-th over-the-counter let's take a walk don't aisle. first are the nasal sprays, overthe counter ones to be used every single day. be careful you don't get a runny nose. anti-hist means all across the market. they can get -- some people can get a little sleepy on them. they take care of the itch and the drip. the decongestants, those are there for your congestion, watch if you have high blood pressure with that. lastly, eyedrops, many are more

stinging than the ones you can get as prescription. >> now, when should you consider seeing a doctor about this, an allergist, like you? >> when you see an allergist, either get a better idea of maybe it's not just the rag weed, maybe i'm also allergic to the cat, but really, it's because the you failed the medication and you want to get immunotherapy. that is really getting to the root of the cause of the problem and we give you something to make you tolerant. we can do this either as shots or as a new taglet approved, but it's too late to start the tablet now, you have to have started it a few months ago. >> well it will go away. if it's an allergy, probably go with the mold and everything else. dr. jackie has given us her top ten reasons to try to tackle this season with a little medication or whatever. we are so glad you came n >> sure. >> a lot of us need it right now you can also find her ideas on the nbc washington app. chris? >> thanks, barbara. fighting for change. what the a mself. doing to reform the criminal justice system. plus, a major poll ahead of

plus, a major poll ahead of the what did iran's supreme leader get in the nuclear deal? to start with, $100 billion. they keep their nuclear facilities and ballistic missiles. there won't be surprise anytime-anywhere inspections.

and after ten years, restrictions are lifted and iran could build a nuclear weapon in two months. congress should reject a bad deal. we need a better deal.

pope francis will be in town three weeks from today and for all you federal workers, that means something like a snow day in september. the district expects a huge crowd, the federal government is offering employees a few options. you can telework from home or adjust your schedules. officials are also encouraging workers to take leave or comp time. a major survey of catholics is out this afternoon and it

finds many disagree with several of the church's teachings. the pugh research center poll finds a third of catholics don't believe abortion is a sin. 65% have no problem with unmarried couples living together, although the number among regular church gears is half that. and about half of the catholics say sexuality is not a sin, although that number also dropped by a half among those who attend mass regularly. the survey was conducted in may and june of more than 5,000 adults with a plus or minus .6% margin of error. the pope will celebrate mass at the basilica at the national shrine of the immaculate conception and the altar is really starting to take shape. right now, painters are detail the altar at the basilica, designed by students from catholic university and crafted at a cabinet shop in frederick. after the pope's visit, it be installed as the church's permanent altar. we are helping you get ready for the pope's visit on our nbc washington app, check out the papal visit playbook and count

on continuing coverage here on nbc4. pretty in pink, but they pose a red-hot danger. we have got the details on iphone charger recall. call it liberty for all. what a prominent national church is doing to bring change to the criminal justice system. it's the highest crossing music biopic ever. why "straight

wet weather in parts of our area, we don't have any warnings up right now, but that could change. as far as driving the next couple of hours, driving impact forecast, i think our storms will be ending, wrapping up by 6, 7:00, temperatures still plenty warm in those locations that don't get the rain. i think we will be around 90 degrees, any place that doesn't get the rain, barge and sticky for the late evening early part of the night. the storms now, storm team4 radar, you can see them, the lightning mainly south of 66 and pull into the southeast very slowly at only 10 miles per hour. this storm system south of luray, a light lot of lightning producing hail toward madison again, that's why i think in madison county there could be a reissuance of that severe thunderstorm warning. fairfax also some lightning, heading toward areas of route 1, over 95. as far as other rain chances coming up, slight chance thursday, better chance tend of the week. and look at that dry pattern

that we go into. meanwhile, coming up in a few minutes, doug has got your labor day forecast and a look at maybe the return of some heat. women have that in a few minutes. police are questioning a woman about an attempted abduction on a metro train. police say she tried snatch a 2-year-old girl from her stroller. the toddler was with her mom on an orange line train on foggy bottom. the girl is oh ahead, we will hear from a rider who watched it all go down and helped subdue that woman. students at james madison university honored the life of a former student with a vin this will morning on campus. alison parker was killed last week during a live broadcast near roanoke along with her photographer, adam ward. parker graduated from jmu in 2012. her parents set up a memorial fund scholarship in her memory. her family scattered her ashes over her favorite river in north carolina. a judge refused to dismiss charges against six police officers in the freddie gray case and denied defense motions to remove state's attorney

marilyn mosby from the case. in april, gray's death sparked protests and riots in baltimore. news4's mark segraves has been live tweeting details from inside the courtroom. he will have another live update as soon as the hearing ends. make sure you download the nbc washington app, we will push out alerts on big developments in this case. from the death of freddy gray to the shooting in charleston, a coalition of churches is calling on the faith community today to take action. the group wants to bring change to the criminal justice system. news4's kristen wright was at a meeting this morning where leaders detailed steps that they want to take. >> reporter: this was a meeting of faith leaders from across the country making their message very clear, no more gun violence, no more inequality, no more racism. it is a coalition of black methodist churches calling for action now to prevent violent tragedies and end racism through change and action in criminal justice in the community, education, economic justice, gun reform and voting rights. the coalition is taking this

call to action to local communities across the country and to congress. no matter where you stand on gun control sobering moment came for everyone in the room at this morning's gathering, one that stands out. listen. >> all american, all americans, whether they admit it or not, have to be prepared for the possibility each and every day they may be shot and killed or wounded, whether they are in bible study in church, sitting in a movie theater, teaching or attending school, driving their car down the street, standing at a bus stop or reporting on tourism for the local television station. this is insanity. >> reporter: the coalition is designating this sunday as confession, repent nant talent and commitment sunday, calling on other churches and all faiths to commit to this very same

mission. in northwest, kristen wright, news4. these clients of yours, these rappers, look like gang members. >> you can't come down here and arrest people just because of what they look like. are you crazy? that's police harassment. >> that is a clip from "straight out of compton" distributed by nbc's sister company, universal. is it the music or message resonating with your listeners? >> a little bit of both, folks in my age range tells me it takes them back to the music of their youth. the defiant group that talked about problems really happening to young people at the time and now parents are able to connect with young people, their kids, on a similar kind of -- in the same kind of frame as there are still problems going on in our country today >> because a lot of these kids

weren't even born when nwa came out, yet, they are connecting with this film. >> one person told me that her kids first new ice cube from the movie "are we there yet"? dough boy in boyz in the hood, totally different story. he has matured, music has matured, again, speaks to the black lives matter movement and all those problems like that i talked to juwan, who is a senior at howard university. he says it is sad that we are still having conversations about problems that were happening 27 years ago. for my generation, i would say the reason why nwa's music still resonate, we still deal with a lot of the same issues this they speak to self-expression, feeling comfortable expressing yourself and then more specifically, dealing with issues with the police, dealing with issues in the community. when we listen to the music, not necessarily what they are saying, moring why didn't people get what they were saying so we wouldn't be dealing with the same issues they deal w >> you can see this generation is well versed in the music,

they understand not only the music of today but the music of their parents. now, very in tune to those kinds of things. >> look, these feelings are not going away any time soon, the freddie gray case stirred up more protest in baltimore today a lot of police officers feel right now, they feel like they are being targeted. >> there is that sense and, you know, folks are happy though that i've spoken to that, you know, the situation today, marilyn most bill is going to prosecute the case. they are happy with the mood, with the adjustments that were made in the case today. but it certainly says to them that we still have a a lot of work to do. there are police officers that are doing the right thing, but we are seeing situations where police officers are not doing the right thing. maybe this case will begin to kind of heal. there will be a situation where the system can change and some account bill lit happen and i think that's what the centerpiece of folks that i talked to when they see this protest today, that's what they are looking for. >> innocent people being shot for no reason and inspect police

officers just doing their job. thanks, troy. >> all right. and we are working to find out new information on the condition of a motorcyclist involved in a serious crash at rockville, it happened this morning on park land drive at aspen him the cyclist had serious injuries when transported to the hospital. the driver of the other vehicle did stay on the scene. in the district? two people were hurt when an. suv hit a parked car and flipped over it happened at 9:30 on park road and northwest on 16th, the driver of the suv and one passenger believed to be a child suffered minor injuries, no word what caused the crash. maryland senator barbara mckulski became the crucial deciding vote on the iran nuclear deal. republicans hope to pass a congressional resolution of disapproval this month. president obama has said he will vote toe that and mckulski's backing gives supporters the margin they need to uphold his veto. she released a same that says, in part, no deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with

the iranian regime. i have concluded that this joint comprehensive plan of action is the best option available to block iran from having a nuclear bomb. the news for i-team catches local businesses selling cigarettes to underaged kids. we have the new calls for change following our investigation. an iphone charger

hello, everybody, tracking a few showers and thunderstorms out there, most of the area on the dry side here, we will stay that way for most areas, but we are looking at some areas of heavy rain and some thunderstorm activity, too. take a look at the storms right here through fairfax county, prince george's county now seeing storm, a little bit of lightning along 301, along the upper marlboro area, and back toward fairfax county, an area actually seeing quite a bit in the way of rain the last couple of hours here, fairfax, just to the south of fairfax, around 123, the george mason university all the lightning with this, a lot of very heavy rain, too. we will keep you posted. veronica johnson has the forecast, which includes a change in a bit. a warning about an iphone charger being recalled due to a

fire hazard. apple didn't make these charges and they were sold exclusively at charlotte russe stores last october, made for the iphone 5 and 5s, if you have one, you should stop using it immediately and contact the company for a refund. we posted more information on our app, just search charger recall. soon, you won't have to worry about missing the breakfast hours at mcdonald's. the burger chain says its breakfast menu is going to be available all day at restaurants nationwide, starting october 6th. it means items like egg mcmuffins, hot care sausages, burritos, biscuits that everybody loves will be available any time, even though the exact menu will vary in different markets. mcdonald's made this major change as a way to boost their sales. new fallout this afternoon after the news4 i-team catches local stores selling rcigarette to the understaged teenagers are. how one local county council hopes to address the problem. deputies carrying long

rifles,

there are calls of change this afternoon because of an i-team four investigation. we revealed a growing number of local businesses are illegally selling cigarettes to kids and now, montgomery county is considering stiffening the penalty. scott macfarlane joins us with the new fallout from his report. >> chris in mary and lark you can't sell tobacco to anybody

under the able of 18. we found out it is happening more than you think and more than it used to news4 i-team undercover camera saw an underaged buyer deployed by officials buying cigarettes successfully multiple names wasn't and silver spring and another do so repeatedly in the city of frederick. our review of state health records saw a 7% spike in the number of businesses caught doing so since 2012. montgomery county council member says because of this store rush the council will consider new legislation to trim fines stores face when they unlawfully sell that fine would go up to $1,000. >> we are actually very concerned that the fines respect high enough. the $300 first offense is much too low. we need to make sure our stores are take it seriously, that folks understand this is a serious crime. >> the i-team found the number of inspections being conducted statewide has plummeted, just a fraction of the number that were done in 2009 because less money is being set aside to do so

council member's rice montgomery county is going to consider increasing what it spends on tobacco enforcement. all that happens when the council returns from its summer recess next week. yes continue to track scattered showers and thunderstorms around the area, the bulk of which really moving south of i-66, show you in just a moment, we have got isolated shower and thunderstorm now heading through frederick county, maryland, but most of it right down here, it is all southeast again toward madison. very slow movement with these, only 10 miles per hour. keep saying that because these are putting out some moderate, heavy rain. this one around fairfax, a little bit of lightning, but seeing less lightning than i did a couple of minutes ago, a storm that's diminishing or decreasing anyone tensity just over i-95, right around the southern part of the belt wait next couple of minutes some wet weather, at 91 degrees right now, reagan

national, look how much we have cooled off to the west, those slow-moving storms, 70s there from luray to winchester. 77, to 77 degrees, 88 in manassas right now. also 74 in hagerstown. there have been some storms up there as well. our heat index today, up to 97. tomorrow, i think it's going to be just a little higher, we come back down to at least some more reasonable heat for friday at the end of the week. again it is late summer. the weekend, say the, even sunday, nice conditions. we are talking about low humidity moving in. early tomorrow morning though, still some humidity, moisture around the area, so, like this morning, we are going to see some fog in spot, 77 the temperature, then 82, warm fast throughout the day tomorrow again, 91 to 95, isolated shower or thunderstorm tomorrow, better chance coming our way for friday. look at that 88 degrees already again, close to 90 by lunchtime, showers and storms popping across our area by lunchtime

tomorrow, then could go late into the evening on friday. there it, the friday storms, 90. beach location, right in town, feeling great and looking great, the labor day. we get up to 91 degrees on labeled. we have got a lot more. our busy radar coming up on news4 at 5:00. okay, vj a horrifying moment caught on camera when a construction worker is in the direct line of fire of a steam pipe explosion. we want to warn you the video is disturb bug we understand the worker is going to be okay. yeah, joel, maybe you should step out for a minute. [ explosion ] >> the explosion happened at a construction site at santa clara, california, last year, the involves a just released by officials in a dispute with their construction company. hard to believe a whirlwind last few weeks for the three friends who stopped that train terror attack in france. president obama called to thank them, they received france's

highest medal. even offers to pay off their student loans. one of the young men sat down with lester holt for an nbc news exclusive. >> you must have played in your mind how this could have gone the other way on the train. >> the day since, i kind of laid down and thought how easily things could have gone the other watch when we got up to rush him, he did fire at spencer but it just never went off. the whole time, i'm kind of to expecting a gunshot to go off, but it never came. >> see lester's entire interview tonight at 7:00 on "nbc nightly news" immediately following news4 at 6:00. now to the presidential race and potential candidate who has yet to declare. vice president joe biden is visiting one of the nation's top battleground states at this hour. he is in florida where he just finished a speech about college afordbility at miami-dade college. but that's not why the national media is following him. he is also headlining a democratic fund-raiser tonight and is thought to be testing the political waters as he considers entering the presidential race.

presidential hopeful carly fiorina may make the cut and be on the main stage at the next republican debate. that's because cnn changed the rules about who will appear. the move comes after weeks of public pressure from fiorina and her supporters. the original rules looked at polls between july and september. now, cnn is considering poll numbers between august 6th and september 10th. that means candidates polling better now could get a spot. the new rules give fiorina a much better chance at being on the main stage on september 16th. president obama will make a speech about climate change later tonight as he prepares to wrap up his historic tour of alaska. he has already made several stops at glaciers on his mission to drive home the impact of rising temperatures there. this morning, he posted an instagram selfie with adventure tv host, bear grylls. the president had a caption saying he was glad this was the only bear he met there >> glad to imagine the secret service was going to keep that to a low-risk endeavor.

controversy took a back seat to charity as redskins hosted fans today at their welcome home luncheon. this is the 54th year of the event which recognizes players' community service off the field. quarterback robert griffin iii was honored. you know he lost his starting job this week and even speculation he could be cut or traded. but he received a 15-second standing ovation as he was presented with an award for his work with the military. the redskins wrap up the preseason against the jaguars tomorrow night right here on nbc4. game time, 7:30. jason pugh and carol maloney live with all your coverage before and after that game. the kids at concord elementary school have brand new backpacks full of school supplies now. it's part of news4's backpacks for kids campaign. we, along with our partners at comcast gave out just under 400 backpacks to students today. you can still contribute to the washington.com. working developing stories in the newsroom right now,

including the public viewing that continues at this hour at the maryland state capitol. people paying their respects to former governor mandel. he died on sunday. we will have new reaction in ten minutes on news4 at 5:00. an unprecedented drug sting. police held a news conference and displayed thousands of packets of bizzaro, total street value estimated at $2.3 million. pat colins is going through the charging documents now and will have a live report at the top of the hour. prince george's county police are looking for an armed robber and his accomplice. the latest robbery happened just yesterday, but they believe that they are responsible for at least four that have happened throughout the month of august. they believe the two are responsible for a gas station robbery in brandywine, a convenience store in marlboro pike this past sunday and a subshop and convenience store on silver hill road. for bun of these robberies, police say that the men actually

carjacked a vehicle and then used it as the getaway car. police are looking for these men. coming up on news4 at 5 and 6, why they think the public can help to catch them. in palmer park, i'm tracee wilkins shall news4. we are following every development out of illinois where a non-stop search is under way for three men suspected of killing a police officer. detectives are

new developments in a story we reported monday, the remarkable survival of a pilot and his wife after the fiery crash of their small plane in florida. tonight, we are hearing from the pilot for the first time. he is still in the hospital being treated for burns. he credits his survival with his faith and training as a canadian military pilot. >> most accidents you talk about spatial disorientation, time slows down, this didn't slow down, it was fast. i didn't expect the aircraft to catch fire. >> ken mckenzie says he is grateful to be alive and not let the crash keep him from flying anymore because he loves it too much. a teenager in texas has died after he took a selfie while posing with a gun. the weapon accidentally went off and he shot himself in the throat. the teenager was a father of two young children. his cousin was in the other room when the shooting happened. police say the 19-year-old thought that gun was unloaded.

right now, a small illinois town is stunned and mourning the death of a popular veteran police officer who was gunned down while on duty. >> the manhunt for the three suspected killers is now in its second day. as jay gray reports, authorities admit they don't have much to go on. >> reporter: today, police are expanding the scope of their manhunt for three men accused of gunning down a police officer in suburban chicago. >> this is an ongoing investigation. we have been following up on leads since yesterday. >> reporter: more than 400 local, state and federal officers have been a part of the search for three suspects described only as two white and one black man who allegedly shot and killed fox lake lieutenant charles j. gliniewicz. investigators say gliniewicz was responding to a suspicious activity call on tuesday when backup arrived. they found gliniewicz dead. at the time, service revolver and other gear missing. >> send everybody you possibly k an officer is down.

>> reporter: the murder has rocked this community of about 10,000. >> woe always be on my street and say hi to us. >> reporter: gliniewicz was a mentor to young residents in the village of fox lake. a husband and father of four, he had prepared to retire a month ago but persuaded to stay on the force a bit longer. >> it's just very sad. senseless. >> reporter: emotions that drive the officers and federal agents searching around the clock for his killers. >> tenacious. their focus, en -- energetic and know exactly what their mission is. >> reporter: a mission forceful for this force and the community. jay gray, nbc news. news4 at 5:00 starts now with jim and wendy. right now at 5:00, tracking showers, who is getting hit at rush hour and what it means for

changes in your forecast. d.c.'s largest synthetic drug bust. where they found this haul which is worth millions. and officers charged today a late decision in the freddie gray case could be a win for the defense. and welcome. we are going to begin with -- by heading into the storm center because of all the green behind us. that's rain. >> it is lightening up on this radar, folks. those showers popping up and moving on fast. hey, you two. >> the amazing thing, they form so quickly and just as fast as they form, they decrease in intensity. saw a couple of severe thunderstorm warnings earlier, those are now since expired. haven't seen any in an hour. >> still a couple of wet pockets around there but for sure, the biggest storm south of 66 and kind of moving away from us, that big punch. >> do have a couple toward frederick, maryland, fredericksburg, and area veronica was talking about lore ray madison county. i want to focus in on the d.c. metro area here. one thing you notice, along i-95, woodbridge to springfield,

seeing some areas of heavy russian, shower south of manassas, more toward the prince george's county area, upper marlboro, moving in toward anne arundel. now shifting its energy to the mount airy region, 70 and 270, some slow downs on those roads. pulse thunderstorms, they will move up, they will come down, nothing too strong. we will continue to even our eyes on it here from the storm center. guys? >> thanks, doug. we had a business is day in court today as the nation watches to see how the case against the six baltimore police officers charged in the death of a black man, how that plays out. >> here are the headlines. a baltimore judge today refused to dismiss charges against those officers charged in connection with the death of freddie grave. >> the judge also refused to remove the prosecutor in a case -- in this case a case that sparked riots last spring. minutes ago, we learned that the officers will be tried separately. >> news4's mark segraves has been inu