>> exactly. we've got fireworks tonight and maybe a little bit of rain as well. we'lle talking about that. let's talk about the temperatures. it is warm already. 81 degreesere in t district at this point. then outside the beltway, you can see temperatures in the 70s. you factor in the mugginess out there. this is what it feels like. here in d.c., not even 00, it feels like 86 degrees. you know it's going to be another warm day. t not going to be quite as warm as we have been last couple days. we'll have more of an easterly wind and we'll see temperatures in the low tomid-90s. yesterday, 97 degrees. i saw a heat index up to i 7. s in annapolis. 93 i the daytime high today. we have a chance of isolated storms. we'll b timin those out for you in about 18 minutes. let you know if you can have rain in your neighborhoods before the fireworks get going. aaron? >> now to a developing story. several families without honis

after lig hit an apartment building inga gaithersburg. >> the lightning strike sparked a fire in the crattic. s put out the flames and thankfully, nobody was hurt. >> you'r looking at a rehearsal here. a fewef hourse the real event. that's are the temptations practicing yesterday for tonight's a capital fourth concert. it begins at 00 p.m. o the west lawn of the capitol. >> security will be tightgh to u.s. park police says it's not tracking any specific threats but people should still be aware. >> our guests that come and visit our nation's capital become our eyes and ears. vigilant. be

reach out to a member of law enforcement if you -- >> before tonight's concert, most streets downtown will be closed for the national independence day parade. that kicks off this morning at 11:45. all the streets highlighted in red shut down at 6:00 a.m. we have this map in the nbc washington app. if you plan to watch the parade or go to concerts, there are things you cannot bring. check the apputor that too. coming up at 5:00, justin finchav willa live report along the national mall. sin it is so hot outside, meo is allowing riders to carry and drink water on trains and buses today. that's usually not allowed. chillers and all the indoor metro stations are working to help riders cope with the heat. if you are headed down to the mall today for the, festiviti catching the metro is your best bet. it opens at 7:00 a.m. and closes at 11:30 tonight.

after 6:00, metro will run extra trains to move the crowds to and from the national mall as quickly ashey can. 4:33 now. new evidence, two years after an explosion in central park left a northernirginia man badly injured, this photo was released of the plastic bag that exploded on july 4, 16. he was 19 years old at the time. the oakton high school graduate from fairfax county wasit vg new york for the holiday when he stepped on that explosive. doctors had to amputate most of his leg. the bag was from a baker that closed long before the blast. they're hopeful it leads investigators to the pern responsible. >> want closure on this. both for our benefit and connor's benefit. be able to move on and get justice. >> they're seeking a $40,000 reward to track down whoever is

responsible. a woman badly hurt after an explosion inside a fireworks warehouse. this was thecene in missouri. she was trapped crinside. s were able to get to her quickly. there were as many as 90 firefighters battling the blaze there. here's a look at thece in northern thailand where rescue teams are racing against the weather. t soccm and their coach have been trapped for 11 days in the cavethere. they are surrounded by floodwaters and more heavy rain in the forecast. the thai officials say theyno m t be able to rescue each at the otme time. a depends on their individual health. u.s. flagsere lowered to honor the victims of the capital -- shooting. president trump had refused the question. governor larry hogan isin vestigating why more action wasn't taken.

ramos had a long-standing grudge with the paper. the list of supreme court nominees is getting shorter. seven candidates under consideration including mike lee and court of appeals judge brett cavanaugh. y cone i barrett and joan larsen. the president wil announce his new nominee next month. time now 4:35. urming up, a new coach for champion caps. up next,e'll tell you about the man we hope can lead us to another sta fireworks for sale. just because you can buy them doesn't mean you're allowed to set them off. we'll break down where they're illegal in the area before you begin your celebration. at havertys we know everyone has different tastes.

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following breaking news in illinois, a fireworhow turned deadly. not in the way you think. look at this video out of rock isla esland. a group of peoere watching a fireworks show under a tree. they heardck loud c and a large branch fell on top of the crowd. one person was killed, five others i again, witnesses say the victims had just been sitting there watching the .sh it's not clear what caused the tree branch to fall. i overals a sad situation forhat was supposed to be a very fun night. aaron? >> chris lawrence, thank you. it's 4:39 right now. the nba free agency frenzy continues. this time the wiz ds get another player. according to reports, center dwight howard wil sign a one-year deal with the team. he's waiting to be butght the his contract with

brooklyn nets. he was traded last year aheadf the nba draft last year. he's an 8-time the wizards will be his sixth team. stanley cup champions officially have a new man leading the team. >> it's still a familiar face takingver the head coaching job. todd reirden. he had been serving as an associate coach under barry trots. now trotz c isching the islanders and reirden has a chance to make good on the back-to-back chants. t.j. oshie had at the big celebration on the mall. >> now that they've had a little taste of it tastes pretty good and they're enjoying that for the first time in the history of the washington capitals, able to have the title of stanley cup champs next to th they've earned and deserve it. something we'll use as motivation toag do that n. >> no pressure, right?

reirden says he's most excited about only one team to defend the stanley cup champions. here we go. wish them luck. >> the caps this year, no time waste. the caps first pre-season game is just over two months away on september 16thth. until en, the celebration continues. russian born alex ovechkin taking the stanley cup to the world cup. he'll be i moscow with the cup for the final game against croatia. >> i wonder if that fits in an overhead compartment. >> dear friends, i'le happy to see anyone who wants to pke to with the stanley cup. well, good morning. it is fourth of july. as we start off your day, it is warm and humid. as we go through the afternoon, once again we'll be in the 90s. the heat wave continues. but a frly isolated storm chance. not for everybody today. we're going to talk more about your fireworks forecast.

lauryn is back in a few minutes with a closer lookt that and more. ♪

a live look outside at 4:45 on this fourth of july. going to be another hot day in the nation's capital. temperatures climbing up into the 90s again today. also in the forecast, some thunderstorms. >> will the rain come during the fireworks event tonight? sheena and lauryn have the answer for fat. your fulecast ahead in just a few minutes. now, if you were planning to stay home to celebrate, keep in mind, you could get in trouble for setting off your own fireworks tonight. it's easy and legal to buy your own fireworks. but you could get into trouble

if you cross the>> line. no fireworks allowed in maryland. you cross the line, you could get in trouble, locked up, whatever. we have a full list of public displays throughout the dmv in the nbc washington app. those displays will be better than anything you could come up with. trust me >> that's right. clashes between pice and protesters for a second straight day in philadelphia. officers scuffled with activists as they tried to clear the entrance to the immigration and customs enforceme agency there yesterday. 29 people were arrested in this. protesters are calling for i.c.e. to be replaced and for families separated at the border to be reunited. this a comes as the trump administration tried a new fak particular at the border. >> chris pollone has more from capitol hill.e what cho are immigration officers being told to offer parents? >> good morning. this comes from an immigration and customs enforcement form obtained by nbc news.

it covers parents who came across the border with your chdren in may and june and then were separated from those children. the government is giving em twochoices. do you want to go home to your home country with your children or witho your children? apparently, those people are not being allowed to be reunited with their children as they await asylum. immigration advocates say that this is being presented to tse immigrants who came across during those two months and are separatem their children without waiting to see if they are granted some sort of asylum or a court proceeding. an immigration and customs enforcement spokesperson says they're only to be given to people who received final removal orders butot would clarify whether they're allowed to go before a judge and ask for asylum first. >> chris polne onhe hill for us. thank you.>

at the live desk, following breaking news in the uk where police are calling it a major incident. a man andoman are in critical condition after police say they were exposed to some o type unknown at first they thought this couple had perhaps got aholdwe using drugs and got ahold of a contaminated batch of crack cocaine orheroin. now they're not so sure. they were found unconscious o saturday. n done say testing has b to determine what type of substance they've been exposed to. here's the thing. they were apparently poisoned near the town where that former russian spy and his daughter were poisoned back in march. aaron? >> chris, thank you. 4:48 now. right now at reagan national, last minute holiday travelers one of ng and going in the busiest stretches of air travel in years. six of the top ten busiest travel days on record have happened in just this year. most in the last few weeks. the friday before t fourth of

july last year was that the top ten. the other thr busie days were all around thanksgiving in 2004. pick up a friend at the airport today. right during all the mfestivities. ike oh, no. are you kidding? >> can you just wait for us. we'll pick you up at like 6:00 tonight. there is a new court ruling that will affect anyone who flies. >> the faa says it's not going to order airlines to stop shrinking the size of the seats. they claimed planes were too cramped to safely evacuate dunng emergency. >> nbc's tom costello has more on the controversy. >> reporter: it's up to aircraft manufacturers to prove that every passenger can get out of a plane within 90 seconds with half the exits blocked. but lk closely at these tests. most people are young and fit and no oneeaches for a carry-on bag. critics say it's not tepresentative of a modern s

cramped plane filled with young and old passengers, many of bwhm are obese. >> lives are at stake. we have to make sure that the faa and the manufacturers areh testing b demonstrations. >> the faa said the tests prove they can be evacuated in time and they don't need to regulate se sizes at that that have been shrinking even three out of four americans are overweight. in a court filing, the faa says there's it doe hamper the heeed of passenger evacuation. >> fromiracle on the hudson to a fiery explosion in chicago to a crash in denver, every passenger has gotten out. the faa says those emergencies prove passengers ar getting out alive. for now, don look for your airline seat to get any bigger. tom costello,ne nbc , washington. all right. let's turn tohe weather now. >> lauryn ricketts is here. we're still melting.

>> it's hot out there. >> it is hot out there. everybody isut going to bede today. you're going to be grilling. you're going to be out. >> i am like, t that's scientific assessment. it's hot. >> i'm done. >> why did y t comeo work today? >> i don't know. i can tell you when the heat is breaking. that's with why i came here today. >> how about that? >> you can get that on your nbc washington app. >> don't say that tooloud. >> just throwing it out there. tdid make this map today. it's showing yout it's not as hot today as it is yesterday it was yesterday. now, yesterday made it to 97 degrees. my goodness. then we also have rain chancesr to and friday. a cold front is coming through on friday and then by the time we head into the weekend, the humidity is lower, the temperatures are lower. this weekend will be beautiful. but it's pretty right now.

it's ggy. 81 degrees with fog out there as well. you factor in the humidity. that's already in place. 81 in d.c. this is what it feels like. feeling like 86. the sunasn't come up yet. again, it is a warm start to the morning. iwe figured would be. temperatur will feel closer to 100 degrees. l if you're headed out to the parade, we have of parades going on. this one starts at 10:00 a.m. again, humid, sunny. temperatures in the mid to upper 80s. no rain to worry about. especially for some of the earlier parades.n no ro worry about if you're headed out to the red sox and nats game. heard the fireworks there last night. by the time the first pitch goes, it's feeling like out there. by the end, feeling like 97 degrees. so for your fourth of july events, pool time, mostly hot and dry andn t grilling around 100 degrees. it you're boating around the potomac. isolated storms.

owmaybeoad the nbc washington app. no rain out there. at area beaches, we're looking dry. here's a look at future weather. pop-up showers and thunderstorms possible as we head through the afternoon. k this is overdone a little bit. they'll be more isolated. we could have a few out there. as sheena was saying earlier, if you're getting e, probabl be unlucky. they're just isolated storm chances throughout the afternoon and intohe evening. for the fireworks, temperatures in the 80s dropping io the mid-80s by the end. tomorrow at 91 degrees. we'll have a chance for storms tomorrow. better chances come on friday. but then look at this. saturday and sunday, low to s. mid-80 low humidity. plenty of sunshine. we keep low humidityth going ugh at least monday. then that humidity starts to go up along with the temperatures for early next week. lauryn, thank you. 4:53 right now. be the star of your holiday cookout with expert advice from grill masters. longhorn steakhouse will open

its grill us hotline. >> i think it's grill us. >> ty're owning a hotline. >> there no hive en yphen in th. >> the phone number on your screen there. 855-lh-grill. yocan also chat live with a grill master on facebook, twitter and instagram. the hotline closes at 4:00 p.m. i got to be honest, i don't know that i would share that with people that i cooked for. i had to call hotline. so before you start up the grill, a local chef has advice for you burger lovers. pushing down on the patty, that's bad. don't do that. doing this wit your spatula actually causes the burger to lose all of its fat. you want that in there. you want the fat. it helps with the flavoring. >> the whole idea behind

barbecuing is that the fat dripping off hitting the charcoal and the flavor of the oke on to your protein. you'll get that by leaving it alone. i wouldn't suggest pushing down . on >> if you are looking owe. >> what if you have a gas grill. you don't have charcoal. >> the essence is to keep all e juices and the flavor there. if you're looking for ways to spice up your fourth of july, chuck marshall has you covered. find more grilling aice in the nbc washington app. search barbecue recipes. >> there she goes again. molly schuler defending her four-timetl she took home a trophy and $1500 pr e. she ate21 in ten minutes. after she won, she wanted to drink a a milksha take a nap. the mom of four and professional competitive eater stands 7", weighs 125 pound.

when asked how she stays so slim, she said, quote, i have four kids. there you go. that's apparently the secret. >> nice work if you can get it. good for her. we're hours away from the most famous eating competition. the 46th annualna an's hot dog eating contest. >> competitors weighed in on coney island yesterday. the eaters have ten minutes to eat as many hot dogs as cssible. >> joeystnut is the favorite this year. he's beaten his own record the last two years. in 2016 he ate70. in 2017, he ate 72. >> let that sink in. >> i interviewed him last year or the year before. >> you >> this is a job for him. this is what he does. he strategizes the whole nine yards. last month, he broke a world record and ate 73.5 hot dogs. the question, can he do it again >> the defending women's champion will try to beat her number last year of 41. nix ext at 5:00, epa

administrator, one mother's public and har words go viral. the fourth of july is here. but will mother nature play spoiler for the millions hoping to celebrate. we're helping you plan your day when "news4 today" continues.

it is 5:00 a.m. good mornipp everybody. fourth of july. i'm aaron gilchrist. i'm eka gonzalez the fourth means barbecues and fireworks. >> but today, it means really hot temperatures. storm team 4's sheena parveen and lauryn ricketts are both meteorologists. they're re. >>hat's right. >> we are. >> nailing it, aaron. >> to tells how meteorological they can be today. go. >> now it's our turn. go ahead, lauryn. >> thanks, aaron. >> it's hot outhere already. those temperatures are already he the low 80s at this point. i can't rememberast time we didn't have a hot fourth of july. i was looking back. it's been pretty hot. yeah, it has. a couple years ago, you were somewhere else. >> i was in philly. >> we had fog and in the 60s. it was like three years ag >> today is not going to be like that at all. we're going to be hot again. we're still in a heat .