sitting in the safest possible h ihchair. cannot believe the momentum. i cannot believe the support. >> and success after the shutdown. five months a two furloughed government workers turned to baking to get by. they have an exciting update for us. >> announcer: news 4 today starts now. it's4:00 a.m., good morning, everybody i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. thlcome to wednesday. we're halfway ugh the week. we're getting there, right? to help you get going today, melissa mollet is standing by with your first four traffic. >> let's start with chuck bell. >> well, let's just say that baseball is going to be a little tricky to play today. >> uh-oh. >> right? get the game in last night? >> i don't know. >> oh. >> i know they didn't get it in the nit before last and we had more rain yesterday than the day before.nd i'll fi out for sure.

playing two games of baseball today will be dicey at best. the overnight rains are coming ma an end, but our rain chances for today re extremely high. so don't plan on any dry hours past about lunchtime. here is storm team 4 radar, scanning the skies, finding the last of the shower in thewe parts of the chesapeake bay. once again in the muggy 60s to around 70 degrees temperature wise. it will be warm. it will be humid and before this day is done it will be rainingc again. high chances for rain maybe a rumble or two of thunder but not a big severe weather threat today. that severe weather threat returns for tomorrow. more on that in a f. let's go over to melissa and see how traffic is coming on a gdnesday. >>ood morning. look at the beltway, inner loop, outer loop no issues on the eltway, everything is movin along fine. no road work to be worried about. southbound 295 malcolm x avenue right side blocked by crash.

another problem, arlingt northbound gwkw par diverted to memorial. aaron? >> melissa, thank you. 4:02. tracking a developing story where a wan was shot and killed overnight. >> around 10:30 last night, montgomery county police were called to a home. af road is off connecticu nuf. police found a gun at the scene and arrested a man. officers say this does not appear to be a random crim we're working to learn the name of the people involved. d.c. police are looking for two woman involved in a suspected arson. the fire started in a ofour- complex along pennsylvania avenue southeast not far from the maryland line. surveillance video shows two women at the building entrance. one dumps a bag in the lobby and keght a few matches before flames and smo fill the room.

ajre causedor damage to the building. 11 people were forced out of their homes. no one was hurt, though. we are now hearing a bipartisan call for transparency in the shootingof death 25-year-old guyser.ar gha was unarmed when he was shot to death by two officers in 2017. the want to know why investigation has been on going for 19 months. the fbi still has not said whether this shooting was justified. it's 4:03 more than two dozen democrats have already entered the race for the white house. >> last night the onlyan republn the race officially began his campaign. >> i stand before you to officially launch my campaign for a second term as pres of the united states.

thank you. >> president trump kickedf his re-election campaign in front of a friendly crowd in florida. the president listed his accomplishments while railing against democrats and the congressional investigations focussed on him. he then turned hz atttion to the former vice president. >> remember the statement from the previous administration, you need a magic wand to bring back manufacturing. well, we'll tll sleepy joe we found the magic wand. sleepy guy. >> the president promised to be aggressive on the campaign trail and while this was the first official re-electi gathering, th was on his th rally since taking office. the stage is set for the first series of democratic presidential debates. news 4 is committed to bringing you complete coverage ofio decis2020. i'll be reporting from miami live as 20 candidatesen the emocratic side clash over the course of two nights. next wednesday and watch the

debate right here on nbc 4 wednesday and thursday night at 9:00 p.m. >> happening today, former white house communications rector hope hicks will go before lawmakers on capitol hill. they will interview hicks behind closed doors. this will be the first timee lawmak hear from someone linked to president trump's inner circle since house democrats launched investigations of special unsel robertmueller's report. the committee is expected to questio hicks about possible instances of presidential misconduct and otruction of justice as detailed in the mueller report. also happening ttoday, bes selling author and hollywood actor will testify before au ref rations out for slavery. it coincides can juneteenth today. they will talk about a propral to ceate a group to look into how reparations could be done. after the hearing the aclu will host a forum to the continue

discussion about ref rations on m street northwest at 1:00 p.m. and is opened to the public. a program that is a big part of summer in the district will get a big boost today. the city is pushing $1.75 million to extend the mary and barry summer youth employment program. re yalbouzer will make the announcementtoday. the money going to the program today is just part of a larger commitment to keep the progrago ng through 2030. it's 4:06 now. d.c. council member jack evans is defending himself once again. >> evans, who is also chairman of the metro board, is facing allegations of using hispo itical position for personal gain. in a letter sent by the chairman of metro's ethics committee,t outlines serious allegations against evans who is also the focus of a separate federal es invgation. the letter makes clear the ethics board could only agree

that s violated one ethics cold. he failed to avoid colict of interest but they took official action allowing evans to maintain his innocence. >> everybody to hear this, the ethics committee at metro found no violations of any ethics rules as far as i'm conceheed. >> t letter is only signed by the chai the ethics committee, not the entire committee. news 4 request to speak with the chairman about the letter were enot rrned. the woman who took over prince georges county schools after a series of scandals was tapped as the permanent ceo yesterday. mon kal has been acting chief ter her predecessor stepped down amid controversy. tracy wilkins explains how goldstein was selected. >> reporter: there were plenty of standing ovations after dr. monica goldste n wased the new ceo. she has been serving as interim ceo for the past 11 months.

she was appointed to thatsi poon after former ceo kevin maxwell decided to step down afofer years controversy. under maxwell's le ership, the school board was divided. the system lost millions in federal head start funding and was entangled in a graduation rate scandal that led to state oversight of the system. the county school system is in teed of stability. it had some eigh leaders in the last 20 years. goldson was among 20 nationaldi ctes the selection process lasted a year and a half. she awares of precedent she's setting. >> to serve a district i was a student in and to get to this point is amazing. i never thought in my wildest dreams that today was probable. >> reporter: now the board of education has to approve this nomination. the county executives is sing she's hoping to have all of this tied up in the next few weeks. >> eight minutes after 4: a.m. now. d.c. police credit the man to

his sneakers. investigators say 33-year-old le romeo co targeted at least five homes in the capitol hill area since the beginning of the month. they arrested him on sunday. police were able to catch cole after an officer recognized his brightly colored high top sneakers from surveillance video. he not only wore the same shoes but the same clothes in a suspected burglary the day before. might details about what be in store for the rapidly approaching july 4th celebration in d.c. "the washington post" reports there wil be a mlitary fly-over including one by air force one, presi trump vows to reinvent the independence day celebrations in the district. the white house still has not approved many of these details. e president plans to speak outside of the lincoln memorial as well. several protestsl are aady being planned for this event. now to an update. two prince georges county sisters turn their federal furlough situations into a sweet booming business. >> sisters jackie wright and

nikki howard were forced to find a way to make ends meet. they turned their lo for baking into the cheesecake business. the sisters appeared on the ellen degeneres show. >> since then, they have sold nearly 5,000 cheesecakes. they quit their government jobs. they'll be in the100 selected walmart stores started august 18th. >> it's a privilege. we know this opportunity doesn't come by -- it's not a common thing. we were told thatur company was only a month old when we were sitting in arkansas at walmart headquarters and the yer said, this doesn't happen. there are people waiting over a year. >> elles touch doesn't hurt, though. >> nope. >> you can buy the furloughed cheesecakes on their website. >> i kn ellen has a

relationship with walmart and probably just picked uphe phone. so happy for those ladies. they quit their government job, moving on. 11. up next f you missed caleb green on "america's got talent" last night, we'll fill you in on ho it went with thej udges. where you can check out the latest grocy store location. the gift of sight. a high schoolers world goes from black and white to color. very cool. chuck? >> that's a great story. r rain chances remain very high but our threat for sere weather is delightfully low. more about the threat for thursday. thursday. a

>> announcer: you're watching news 4 today. ♪ another inedible night on "america's gott atalent." the group advances to the next round. you may recognize one of the members retired masters sergeang calebreen has performed the national anthem in front of

thousands of fans mtimes his kor tet says it's yujing magic music therapy or music therapy i just added theorld magic, to help veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress. caleb is the one wi the glasses. "america's got talent" returns next tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. right here onbc 4. >> they sound so good. >> they do. they're talented, not just fan favorites because of the local connection. a pennsylvania teen is or seeing the wld in a whole new light. > all thanks to a very speci gift. watch this. >> yeah. >> you know what color my hands are. >> is that red? >> yes. that's red. >> that is the mom that 17-year-old geegee experienced color for the first too many. for most of her life she saw shy.es of gr this video is from about two weeks ago when she tested a pair of corrected gass. pecial program gave her a pair ofla those gsses as a

graduation gift. a whole new world. >> it is. i'm so happy for her. 4:16. forget using the remo control. some ccast subscribers can control their tv using only their eyes. the service is designed for people with disabilities. users can change channels, set upe rcordings and search for show using special software called eye gaze. comcast is the parent company of c washington. i lve when technology can do good things for people who need help. >> changes lives. starting today, you'll have a new place to sop for groceries in prince georges county. they will open a new store in college park lidl. first 100 customers will get a gift card ranges from 5 to $100 each. they plan to open more stores in maryland by next year. >> maryland's governor larry hogan is tting ss to boost

the state's ability to protect itself against cyberattacks. this all comes after a cyberattack crippled partsf ltimore city last month. government emails didn't work. bills could not be paid online. real estate transactions couldn't be processed. governor hogan signed an executive order creating a chief information security officer positir. the der also creates office of security management and a state cyber security cl.rdinating counci over the past couple weeks we have seen how severe weather has destroyed homes and communities across the midwest. new this morning, exrts say southeastern virginia could lose $40 billion if hit by a major hurricane.r earchers at old dominion university say it could riously hurt the economy. there could be a decline in economic activity if the regions infrastructure and military suffer major damage. >> wow. >> we know the impact that

weather can have on so many parts of our society. >> that part of virginia is particularly susceptibl to our changing climate as well. that's the reason the defense department thinks chie mat change ishe number one global security threat going forward. it's some other country. no, it is climate change for sure. >> what about our weather for today? another day with a very high rain chance. not going to rain everywhere all the time but everybody needs to keep that umbrella handy because rain showers are indeed a likelihood onyour wednesday. right now, quiet outside. 72 degrees in washington. a little bit cooler in parts of the shenandoah valley. afternoon highs not quite as warm. we were at 91 on monday. we were 87 yesterday. we'll be 84 today. that slightly cooler weather keeps our severe weather chances delightfully low. rain chances are high. severe weather chances are low

for today. 68 in loudoun county. 72 in frederick, maryland. your planner for today, increasing likelihood of rain maybe a couple rumbles of thunder today but not going to be a severe weather threat for today. st an abundance of moisture lingering about across parts of carolinas and virginia. increased chance for severe weather for tomorrow arrives later in the day on thursday. but for now, already some rain drops out here across western west virginia. we're getting a clearing trend for now, but that willnot be the case for long. future weather by 3:00 p.m. soday, showers likely just about anywhere acr the area. most likely time for rain will be between 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. this evening.da by pre- tomorrow, we should be dry but during the afternoon and especially the evening commute tomorrow could be hard hit by some strong thunderstorms. here is the upside of all of ,

friday morning, the rain is over. we get a gusty northwest wind on friday. at takes the humidity out of the picture and out of the forecast for both friday and saturday. two really ce days. temperatures cooler than average. humidity lower than average. we'll take that for sure. just havehao keep umbrella for today and a weather eye to the sky tomorrow. what do you got going on, melissa mollet? >> good mornig, chuck. arlington northbound diverted to memorialri bdge. use 110 if you want to get around it perhaps more. easily accident at 50 at gum spring road. outer loop between the toll road and chain bridge you have to see two right lanes getting by the work zone. that's the issue in that area. southbound 295 at x malcolm right side blocked by a crash in that spot. aaron? >> melissa, thank you. he> 4:20. up next, t highchair where your little one will eat

breakfast today may not meet new government standards. susan hogan will join us to display new guidelines that go into effect today. and what that means for famies using older model highchairs. this afternoon, be sure to catch alen right here on nbc 4 at 3:00 p.m. stick around for news 4 t 4. stick around for news 4 t 4. we'all not all water is created equal.

only 1 billionth of 1% is filtered naturally. and emerges crisp and refreshing enough to be called deer park 100% natural spring water. born better®

>> announcer: you're watching "news 4 today." welcome back at 4:23. if you have a baby at home, you may want to hear this next story. mandatory standards to improve the safety of highchairs take

effect today. >> consumer reporter susan hogai is w for you with what you need to know tokeep your baby safe. >> reporter: well, good morning, you guys. i'm joined by patty davis with the consumer producte safty commission. this is exciting news.ge let's right into it, because this is certainly something that a lot of parents want to know. so this is a highchair you said that meets the new federal standards, mandatory. >> that new federal standard goes into effect today. what it has now is an increased stability requirement. so in case somebody climbs up or climbs out or is rocking back and forth the highchair is not going to tip over. it also has tougher testing requirements for these straps so they don't just come apart when your child is in the highchair. and this warning label really important it's merch bold and actually telling parents and care givers that kids have suffered severe he injuries including skull fractures from falling. >> bottom line, starting today,

june 19th, what should we look parents?s >> what you want to look out for as a parent ise if you in the market for a new highchair or about to have a baby, get a new highchair. look for the date on the highchair. it should be june 19th, 2019 or later. anything manufacturr aimported after that d has to meet the new federal standard. that doesn't mean youannot use an older highchair, but the safest option for a consumer would be a to highchair that does meet the new federal standard to protect your child. >> patty, thanks so much. all right, guys, ba to you. >> some manufacture have been making highchairs that comply with these new standards.bu you're ng a highchair in the new future, be sure to look out for all the safety features susan mentioned. san francisco is close to becoming the first major u.s. city to ban cigarettes. city leaders unanimously approvedo a plan t amend the health code to ban people from

selling, making or giving away electronic cigarettes. recent cdc study shows nearly 5 million middle and high school students admit to vaping last year. still ahead, as more are arrested and charged with the g shootinf david ortiz, the former red sox's wife speaks out. what you need to know if you would like to help a dog hat aly saved from abrede would make fine addition to your family. so would toughy. the temperatures on max 2 are the 70s. we can go to max 1 and get the dog walking forecast. otherwise, nothing to worry about. it's all dry here first thing this morning anincreasing ch for rain later in the day. there's toughy go to

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starts now. good morning, everyone i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrist. 4:30 right now. let's get check on your forecast and your commute. melissa mollet is standing by with a look at first 4 traffic. >> but let's begin with storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. more rain today, chuck? >> yeah. >> wow. >> quite a bit of rain. national airport over an inch.s two inc of rain in two consecutive days. crazy amounts of rain in the city. outlying areas so places didn't get a drop yesterday. even higher chance for rain today. fortunately our severe weather chances are low for today. that changes for tomorrow before soeally nice weather returns for friday and saturday. today the risk of severe weather is way out to our west. again, it will be here for tomorw. so let'senjoy our one-day reprieve from any