commute this morning. in the meantime, let's check in with tony perkins. >> the current conditions reported across the area, right now at reagan national we have a temperature of 72 degrees. relative humidity at 91%, so a muggy start to what will be a hot a d hidumay. winds out of the south at 9 miles per hour. here is a look at the radar for our region. and earlier this inidorng we were seeing significant rainfall and thunderstorm tivi across eastern and southern portions of shuou t st cross delaware or out to sea. we do have a couple of lingering showers here and there but we'll get i break before more showers later today. forecast for today looks like thtmlyos mostly a udy s, chance of showers and thunderstorms, saying a 50% chance. humid, humid, highs in the

upper 80s to low 90s. 87 in annapolis, 88 in d.c., 91 in fredericksberg. now let's get an update on this morning's rush hour traffic from julie wright. a crash southbound along 270 toward the split, that will impact your commute this morning toward the lane divide. outer loop is slow leaving 95 toward georgia and on the inner loop slowdowns around toward the greenbelt metro. 395 at duke street, no incidents to report. lanes are open north of duke up toward seminary aroad and across the 14th street bridge. lower 15th street remains open at constitution and pennsylvania. we are told you can expect temporary closures for a event at the reagan national and building held later on today. -hat's a check of your fo o- an time traffic. an accident our foul play. po police found a body in a

burning van this morning on bradley boulevard. sherry ly is live with our top story. >> reporter: as you can see, things are still very active. a number of police and fire investigators still on the scene here. the minivan is in the median there. the body is still inside we're told. police are now telling us that bradley boulevard between arlington and hillendale will be closed through rush hour while police figure out how this person died. police got a call around 4:00 this morning of a car fire. when officers arrived they found a minivan in the median of bradley boulevard felly engulfed in flames. firefighters put the fire out and discovered a body in the driver's seat slumped over the wheel. witnesses say they heard a horn honking. police don't know if this was a man or woman. montgomery county police's major crime, homicide and sex unit are on the scene investigating but it's unclear if this was an accident or a

crime. >> it raises some suspicion and i guess the police will do their best to find out what happened. >> we don't have direct evidence of foul play at this stage of the investigation, but the investigation is just beginning. so we are open to all possibilities. >> reporter: now a crash reconstruction team is also out here on the scene trying to piece together what led up to this accident and how this minivan perhaps caught fire. the body, we're told, will be taken to the medical examiner's office to determine just how this person died. investigators out here all morning long. we're told again that this stretch of bradley boulevard will be closed through the morning rush hour. it should be clear though by the afternoon. that's the latest here in bethesda. sherry ly, fox 5 news. back to you. >> thank you sherry. we'll see sherry again in a little bit. in the meantime the search

continues for an 11-year-old maryland girl. nicole owens was missed since a misunderstanding with the family last night. she's african-american, 5'2" and wears her hair in a pony tail. a man was trying to swim from one atbo to anoerat when he disappeared over the weekend. the search is over for an 11-year-old girl missing on friday after a boating accident in cecil county. searchers found her body yesterday a half a mile from the accident near kennedyville. he has put people in jail for dui and now he is accused of the same crime. this morning alexandria's police chief on leave and under investigation. this stem from a crash over the weekend in arlington when he hit another vehicle while trying to enter i-66 near fairfax drive. his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit for virginia. city manager jim hartman says

he's not sure what this means for his career. >> i'm not prepared to say that right now. i think that we are looking at all of the facts of this case. obviously this is a very serious situation. i think that the chief and i will be having more discussions today and over the next coup of days. >> i've talked to him and he's obviously upset and concerned. >> baker was driving a city- issued suv at the time. earl cook will serve as acting police chief until the investigation is complete. baker has served as police chief for the last three years. a man opened fire on a backyard cookout in baltimore last night on ashland avenue in east baltimore. most victims were wounded in the legs, arms, shoulders and back. police don't have any information to share on the suspect a motive in this case. today the defense going to begin making its case in the

case of banita jacks. the d.c. mother accused of killing her four children and living with their bodies for several months. the prosecution wrapped up on friday. jackson's lawyers acknowledged the case will be short with a handful of witnesses. a beauty salon turning into a crime scene. somebody smashed out the front windows of heavenly hands and spray painted nasty words. the salon is two-doors down from a police substation. and vandals stole computers and salon equipment and destroyed the rest by dousing the equipment with fuel. >> they actually put gasoline and pourd it in here. so if you turn this on, you don't know what will happen. >> that's my money. that's my bread and butter, that's my bill money. so i'm losing on that end. >> she's been that location for two years and says this is the first real trouble she's had. she vowed to clean up and hopes to reopen in the next couple of

months. this morning sarah palin is waking up as an ordinary citizen. no official work of the people to do. her resignation took affect yesterday. her lieutenant governor is now in the top job. in a last public hurrah she took a jab at her critics. >> democracy depends on you and that's why our troops are willing to die for you. so how about in honor of the american soldiers, you quit making things up. >> palin posted her final message on her official alaska account on twitter saying quote, thank you alaska, i love you, god bless alaska, got bless the usa. she's considered a candidate for president in the year 2012. is this a showdown for 2012. hillary clinton just can't seem to escape the question do you plan to run again.

on sunday she said no but left wiggle room. she said she doubts very much anything like that will be part of her life. she didn't say yes or no, just doubts it. there should be a movement this week on the appointment of sonia sotomayor. they vote this week whether to reject or confirm her. the senior republican on the committee jeff sessions says he's made up his mind but not ready to make that decision public just yet. so far two of his republican colleagues have said they will vote against sotomayor but four republicans have said they will support her nominations. you can't miss the commercials but it is off and running. the cash for clunkers is a billion dollar plan to get americans to turn in less fuel- efficient cars. you need to cash in, if your old car is eligible. it must be 1984 or newer and must be driveable and get 18

les per hour or lesson. that's the combined fuel economy when it was new. several websites give you that information. then look for your new car options. you'll get between $3,500 and $4,500 and we've put that information on our website at myfoxdc.com. just look under web links. straight ahead this monday morning on fox 5 morning news. >> we'll check out some of the other stories making headlines this morning, including more on the murder of a former american idol contestant. and less than 100 days away from the virginia ce. this weekend the candidates went head to head. and it's hard for financials to give financially but it doesn't cost anything to donate your time. tomorrow on fox 5 a team of experts standing by to help match up volunteers with organizations in need. we hope you will help out and stay with us because it will be right back. it's 10 minutes after the hour.

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it is 7:13 on this monday morning as we look at stories making headlines today. police are investigating a deadly crash on a parkway north of new york city. 8 people were killed yesterday when a minivan headed the wrong day down the parkway, slamming into an suv headon and hit another vehicle before rolling down an embankment and caught on fire. police are not sure why the driver was oing the wrong way. a former aerican idol castoff was found dead on the new jersey shore. authorities discovered the bodies of alexis cohen. police believe she was the victim of a hit-and-run. she appeared on season 7. she was known as glitter girl.

the father of newborn con joined twins says they will not be separated. the boys were born on friday with one body and two heads. they share all of their vital organs except each has their own hard. the hospital says it is medically separate the otherwise healthy babies. tony is now in with a check on our forecast for the workweek. >> we'll start with the temperatures which are in the low 70s across the area this morning. it's not the temperatures that are an issue. as soon as you step out you will feel it. this is the humidity. the temperatures at this area, reagan national has a temperature of 72 degrees, at dues it is also 72 degrees, bwi marshall is at 71 deges s hour. ssacro the nation, looking at temperatures that you would expect to find for this time of year, 73 up in boston, cincinnati isact a61, st. loui 68. up in minneapolis 'sit, 6969 dallas is warm at 79.

las vegas is warmer at 90 degrees his morning. d anl.a. is at 65. here is d a look at the nationa satellite mpdae.r coitos much of the action is in the mid section of the itnation and in the eastern third of the nation. not much going on out to the west. we do have some rain showers s xassros na, onnornte and oklahoma. the active area has been our area where we saw thunderstorms across eastern and southern portions of maryland. forecast for today and the next five days, hot and humid, temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s and chances of rain every day. >> that's the forecast we've been waiting on all of july. >> whether you've been wanting it or not. >> that's what we expect. >> it's a july forecast. let's check in with julie wright and find out what is happening out there. it's been a busy morning. >> yes it has. and we have lanes open traveling in each direction at the wilson bridge.

no accidents between college park anbethesda and the lanes are open on the inner loop. a wreck moving to the left shoulder, inner loop leaving college park and toward the greenbelt metro. out of rockdale toward the split, the problem was an accidentouth of shady grove road at 28 where they were looking and it was tieing up a lane but the main line and local lanes both slowing out of rockville toward the lane divide. slow out of germantown. eastbound 66 approaching 50 fair oaks in a backup and the earlier incident has now cleared. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. 99 days to go now until the virginia election and over the weekend democrat creigh deeds and republican bob mcdonnell met for the first deba focused on transportation and

the economy. and joining us this morning is dr. steven barns worth assistant professor at george mason university to break it down and alook ahead. what is your take. >> good morning. i think both the republicans and democrats have put forward democrats to make themself as a center candidate. virginia is not going to be overwhelmingly democrat or republican, so the real decision in virginia is always made in the center and both of the candidates have shown they're going to campaign for the center. >> and virginia for the first time in 44 years went to a republican president and one of the things that came out during the debate, there seem to be a lot of focus on federal issues, on national issues. >> i think because there is relatively small difference idealogically, they're trying to run against more polarizing

figures. for the republicans, they want to run against president obama and for the democratser they want to run against president bush. and it was striking how much conversation there was in the debate and in the campaign so far about washington politics, trying to get the effort to try to link the republican candidate to an unpopular republican president, trying to get a democratic candidate taking sides on some of the more contentious issues that the obama team is talking about right now, hlth care, cap and trade legislation for environment and things like that. >> ultimately though, transportation and the economy are crucial for virginia. >> yeah, i think that as the campaign progresses in the next several weeks, i think we'll see that reminder, that all politics is local. it's fine to talk about trade legislation at the national level but these people are running for the state of virginia and they're worried about the economy in the community and transportation

issues and particularly in our region, so it's not possible to run wi washington when it goes forward. >> when it comes down on how to pay for issues of transportation, bob mcdonnell on saturday said no new taxes. i'm not for raising taxes. creigh deeds said he -- he didn't say yes or no and left open the possibility that there could be taxes to pay for those types of things. and how will that sell? >> i think ultimately there is a constant problem in politics, whether it's national or virginia where people have not come to any kind of consensus of what they want to pay for, how much government they want to pay for. they want government services but don't want to pay for them. and now in virginia, which is required under state law to have a balanced budget, you can't print more money and so it becomes a constant problem. any democrat who says upfront in a state wide election they want to raise taxes is facing a huge barrier of hostility from the voters. and so you can't affectively

say that. although it seems that democratic candidates do come up with plans thado include tax increases. whether or not they pass is another matter. >> well creigh deeds got some former republican delegates in virginia, so again going back to which one is more moderate, will that hurt bob mcdonnell. >> i think ultimately people do not make decisions based on endorsements all that much. there are some endorsements that are really powerful and one of the key ones to watch for is the national rifle association. deeds had been endorsed by the nra when the two met four years ago in the race. mcdonnell won that by a number of votes. >> 300, right. >> but when people elect a candidate, particularly for an executive office, they are making up their own minds. they look at the candidates saying do we trust this person and like the policy issues. this is something where party labels matter less than some of

thlesser races where the candidates might not be as well known or get media attention. >> and the nra has not endorsed either candidate in this race so far. >> not yet. >> not yet. and both men say that they have backed legislation that would close the loophole at gun shows or purchases of weapons. thank you very much. we'll watch what happens in the next 100 days or so. >> thank you. >> i appreciate you being here. steve. one world leader collapses while jogging and another caught on camera ordering a burger, fries and a shake when we come back. and holly will join us and tell us why northern virginia in auto shop has been given the label female friendly. we'll have more after this. stay with us.  there are moments in time

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disturbing new projection as health officials say up to

40% of americans could catch swine flu this year and next year. and without a successful vaccine, several hundred thousands victims could die. in the meantime, health and school leaders in maryland will meet today at a swine flu summit in annapolis and on the agenda is seasonal flu immunizations and emergency preparedness. nicolas sarkozy collapsed yesterday while jogging, and doctors say it was because of heat and over work. doctors monitored his heart over night and didn't detect any problems. he has been ordered to rest for the next few days. a big name made a surprise visit to a local burger joint. bill clinton popped into the z joint. the burger enthusiast ordered double fries and a shake. the owners say he hung around for 40 minutes taking pictures with the staff and the other

folks that were there eating. and restaurant week kicks off today in the greater bethesda, chevy chase areas and that means good deals on food. restaurants offering discount deals. you can get a two course lunch or a three course dinner. go to myfoxdc.com and look under web links for more information. time now is 7:26. >> an update on top stories and how this closure will impact the morning commute. and stocks are on their way back up. how are your personal finances? and are we through with this? we'll find out if the goodnews will trickle down when fox 5 morning news comes back. there are moments in time when the paths we take do determine our future. today we are communicating with each other as never before -

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right now let's look at our top stories on this monday morning. montgomery county police are investigating the discovery of a body in a burning vehicle before 4:00 a.m. this morning. a minivan was on fire on bradley boulevard near arlington road in bethesda. police say it's too early to tell if this was an accident or foul play might have been involved. alexandria's top cop on the wrong side of the law. police chief david baker arrested over the weekend in arlington charged with dui.

his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit in virginia. the second highest ranking officer, earl cokll, o serve as acting chief. and a commuter alert to pass along. a rtion of ll14retsth et northwest will be closed at various points throughout the day. that's 14th sttwn penn lvania and constitution avenue, right in front of tpe h national and building. there is a major conference on u.s.-china relations taking place. secret service will close lanes as needed for the dignitaries to arrive and the president will be there as well. and let's check in with tony for the forecast today as to the steamy end of july -- whatever. >> it's muggy. >> we're in the soup. >> we'll be in it all week long. i haven't looked beyond that beuse a weebek is enough. we'll start with hd radar. we've been monitoring this radar all morning a th andfew e active, aitquaive, t a ffdic of hours make.

earlier ths morning, thunderstorms and heavy rain acrs theastern and southern maryland, the chesapeake b and even waldorf got in on the action. you can see it pushed out, pushing out to sea and well off to the east. and things are -- i won't say clearing up because there are still clouds but certainly precipitation has died down and we'll have a lull before we get more precipitation building in here later on today. current temperatures around the region, we're in the 70s. 72 in washington, 71 in boston -- i'm sorry, baltimore. frederick at 68, dulles airport is 72 at this hour. here is another look at the local radar. you see the action this morning pushed well off to sea. we do still see activity along coastal portions of delaware and southern new jersey seeing this activity but most of the rest of the area is clear as far as any precipitation goes. forecast for us for today looks like this: can't rule out more

precip. have a 50% chance of it under mostly cloudy skies. 88 degrees for the high downtown and humid. for tonight, a warm, muggy night. partly cloudy skies and an early shower or thunderstorm is possible. 71 degrees for the low tonight in town. five-day forecast, read it and weep, more of the same. it's summertime, folks. hazy, hot and humid almost every day. chance of showers and thunderstorms every day although the chance will vary depending on the day. tomorrow's high is 91 degrees. that's the latest on the weather. now let's get more on the rush hour traffic with julie wright. >> read it and weep, who is weeping? >> it's summer and it's what we expect. the only issue i think most folks would have is the humidity. >> sit on the beach all day and there is no humidity. >> we can tell you've been doing that. >> if i don't get to traffic, i might be doing it more often. and inner loop of the beltway, route 1 college park still a delay for those continuing around toward the

exit there at the greenbelt metro. the problem is an accident tieing up the left lane and moved it over to the shoulder so the lanes are open again but the damage is done. a lot of slow traffic from college park through greenbelt. outer loop looks good leaving the ikea but you do hit the backup at college park toward silver spring. southbound 270 congested out of rockville toward the split. northbound 395 across the 14th street bridge. not bad right now. lanes are open down the lower 14th street and as gurvir said, they do have 14th street open as you travel between the exit for constitution and pennsylvania avenue. they will do temporary closures as needed as dignitaries arrive at the reagan building later today. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. anllwi will be smeo construction on the chain bridge starting tonight. department of transportation officials say they're making adjustments to the traffic pattern inorder to improve the flowetween inarlington and

sh. in gt oncrews e tgoing o start repositioning construction barriers and restripe the roadway to create a separate lane for affiurintturning route on to o route 123. right now cars turning on 123 share a single lane with photograph -- traffic on glebe road. and nearby businesses are seeing a spark in customers. v-dot closed rest stops to save $9 million, including rest too manies on i-81, 95, and 66 near manassas. wall street is showing signs of coming back from last year's free fall and that is helping to fuel speculation that the worst may be behind us but it may not be time to celebrate just yet. there could still be bumps in the road. joining is now christine weller, associate professor at the university of maachusetts. thank you for being with us this morning. >> thank you, steve. >> this is four straight quarters of contraction.

i think the first time since the great depression that the economy has seen this but the newsweek is out with a headline that says the recession is over. do you believe that. >> we'll still seek rising foreclosures but that's one part of the story. but what happens after the recession is over. let's say it would be over sometime this year and most economists think that's likely, the last two recessions, the last recovery doesn't give us confidence to show strong labor growth. before the 1990s recovery meant rising employment. that wasn't the case in 1991 and in 2002. so you can have a recovery that doesn't rekate jobs -- create jobs and that's the biggest worry, that we take our eye off the ball too early and stop paying attention to the economy before the labor market is in full swing back. >> and it's easy to do though, because the bull market is taking off on wall street, it

seems. we see numbers we haven't seen in months and a lot of people might be saying, well let's celebrate a little bit. >> well you have to remember, most people are working for a living and don't live off their 401k plan for the investment. so i think for the majority of people out there, what happens in the labor market is much more important than wall street, notwithstanding what we see in the headlines. >> and not to mention the wall street might be due to the job contraction. >> and during that period wall street does celebrate job cuts because it's goes go to the bottom line. in the long run you can only survive if you have customers. >> and what do you expect as far as when we might see a turnaround either from an economic stand point or from the job market? >> i think the best case scenario we see at this point is we're probably going to see an end to the recession

bottoming out and growing by fall. and then the guess is what happens to the labor market. that is anybody's predictn. in both 1991 and 2002 it took 18 months before unemployment started falling and that's what should give us a headache. >> and we saw that in june with another almost 500,000 jobs that were cut. it is a lagging indicator when it comes to the jobs. but the question now i think is with companies restructuring the way they've been doing things, trying to save money, what incentive is there for these companies to hire workers back or create new hires if they're getting by now. >> the biggest incentive is strong growth, meaning there are customers coming through the door and the stimulus is out there to do that. people have some more bump in unemployment and tax cuts but people need to bring it to the stores and start spending. it's an odd combination. we tell people, save more for your retirement and pay down on your house but we would like to see them come through the door

and spend and ultimately the way to square this is way is to give people more income growth and that's the secret sauce that really we need people to start spending more money, and the spending needs to translate to good jobs and not just any job. >> it's tough to make any argument for the folks that have lost their jobs and there is millions of them over the past years. what indicators do you keep an eye on in the next couple of months. >> what is happening in the housing market. that is the one big question mark. is the recory or the bottoming out that we've seen, is that real and will that translate into not just the bottoming out but really a strong recovery to housing, because that is typically the lead out of the recession. >> and we're well away from a full recovery but can i take a peak at my 401k after i've hid my eyes. >> it's better in march but what people look at is jobs. >> just don't look at anything

in 2008 and we're okay. we appreciate the insight. we'll have more information at myfoxdc.com. gurvir. >> that is a little encouraging. i'll open up my 401k statement. and the octo-mom is cashing if on didn't on her children. and how much they're making. and also a world record attempt. find out about this motocross star and whether he was able to beat his own record for a high jump. we'll be right back.

if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he'll have to cut benefits for his employees. but we n act. the president and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act.

taking a look at stories making headlines at 7:42. in north korea they say it's open to new dialogue over the nuclear weapons program. and it appears to refer to direct talks with the united states, although the message wasn't specific. the investigation into the 2001 anthrax killings finally coming to a close. several law enforcement officials told the associated press the justice department is considering closing the case last week but government lawyers needed more time to review evidence and determine what can be made public. five people died eight years ago. the suspect, bruce ivan, killed

himself last year. a virginia man convicted of joining al-qaeda and plotting to assassinate president bush is scheduled in court. acmed omar was convicted back in the year 2005. last year an appeals court ordered that he be sentenced again, citing his 30 year term was too lenient. and the octo-mom has signed on the dotted line. her 14 kids will make $250 a day for a new reality show. the show is scheduled to begin taping september 1st and will pay the kids a total of $250,000 over the next three years. right now it's time to heahy tfio nd tto find our w atour . dhe t. p. d . t.p. >> your conditions at the local> 72hi nin washington. 71 in baltimore. frederick, maryland is at 68. so is hagerstown. patuxent naval air station is 72 an adurtllespoir is po72.

satellite radar composite for our region, and again we can see there is the activity tha came through earlier this morning and has pushed into southern new jersey and it's dissipated quite a bit so we don't see nr eaucinml h al ra as what we were seeing earlier today and not seeing any rain mylrnananard d po oioylsouthern maryland at this hour. so that's a good thing. some improvement there. here is a look at the sur dur -- surface map for today. storm stalling out. it will help the humidity to continue to work its way in here. and in advance of the front or along the front, i should say, we could see more showers and thunderstorms develop during the course of the day. here is a look at your five-day forecast. high today of about 88 degrees. chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and this evening. again tomorrow but even warmer. 91 for your high. wednesday, thursday, friday, chance of showers and thunderstorms every day, highs in the upper 80s, humid all

week long. that's a look at the weather. now let's get an update on the morning rush hour traffic from julie wright. traveling in virginiaalong i-95 the lanes are open, no incidents reported out of dale city toward the beltway, traffic slow across the occuquan. no accidents at the pringfield interchange and on i-95 lanes are open. on southbound 270, a lot of slow down out of rockville toward the split. an earlier wreck at 28 has moved on but the lanes are open and the main line is still slow for those southbounout of rockville toward the split. outer loop of the beltway was slow leaving 95 to georgia. inner loop on the brakes leaving 101 and 395 not bad over the potomac to the

southeast southwe freeway. anacostia freeways running with ease. traffic light delays from the area. and from the west, lanes are open from the dallas toll road and toward the free way and over toward wolf trap. beltway in virginia will slow at separate stretches toward merrifield andbethesda, bradley boulevard remains shut down over at arlington road pending an investigation from this morning. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. in sports this morning, congratulations to the washington capitals and head coach murphy jensen. they had the home court advantage in the world team tennis pro league championship and it paid off. they won a back and forth battle with its springfield lasers. one clinched the win right there. and the nationals on the field hosting the padres. they had a lead. in the top of the 9th a home run tied the game but austin

kearns came through. the nats were able to edge the padres. final score was 3-2. and the 21st and final stage of the tour de france, a nearly 102-mile journey into paris. alberto contador celebrating. he would win the tour de france for the second time in three years. lance armstrong capped his return with a 3 place finish. the second older rider to reach the tour podium. he's 37 years old. motor cross star ronnie renner breaking his world record for the second time. >> check this out. he broke the motorcycle high jump for the third time in front of a crowd in chicago. he hoped to hit 59 feet but went beyond that making the new record 63 feet and 5 inches. >> i don't know how they measure that. time now is 7:47. coming up next, she's probably

best known as margine heffman on big love. >> jennifer good win will join us live. holly. >> reporter: how many women out there are comfortable caring for their car? we're live at curry's auto service in arlington where being free male friendly happens to be a specialty. we'll explain it all live next on fox 5 morning news. calculating for getaway. ♪ find your way to a perfect destination at busch gardens... and water country usa... where family-fun surrounds you... and world-class des astound. start at buschgardens.com. this is another. new total blueberry pomegranate cereal gives you 100% of the daily value of 12 essential tamins and minerals.

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welcome back. there is a live look right now. this is 14th street northwest between pennsylvania and constitution right there in front of the reagan national and building. portions of 14th street will be closed today. >> they were going to shut the street down all day and now just some rolling blocks there. so we'll let you know what is happening. be aware you'll have some trouble between constitution and pennsylvania avenue. >> there is a big conference taking place on u.s.-china relations there and the president will be there as well as other dignitaries. so the heads up. getting your caserviced can be kind of intimidating. espeially for women. you don't want to just make that blanket statement. but i think for a lot of women it can be intimidating. >> and holly is at curry's auto serve wis a story about how

thing -- auto service with a story about how things are better for women there. >> reporter: we've heard stories about women getting taken advantage of because they don't have all of the knowledge to answer the right questions of can i tell you firsthand i was a victim of that when i was back in college. remind me to tell you about how much i paid to get hi tire fixed one ti. i think my dad is still going after that guy. here at curry's auto service, they are officially certified as being female friendly. only one of it's kind in the virginia area. judy curry is here with me. she joins me this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> reporter: why did you think this was so important? >> i'm a female owner and i have colleagues coming in and i want them feeling comfortable. and it's as simple as greeting them in the showroom and treating them with the honesty. >> reporter: so they feel like

they're not being taken advantage of. and so it'sx it'saskpatty.com. >> we have free beverages and snacks, free wi-fi, a place for the children and activities for them. and the most important with the certification, all of our employee have been trained on what women need when they come in. and one of the most important things is to provide the information and make their visit as informative as possible. >> reporter: one thing we noticed is that it's very clean and that it's so bright. >> yes. these are the colors that i picked out myself. >> reporter: a woman picked it out. how about that. well thank you very much. one of the things too is that nowadays women are more independent than ever. generals are less defined and you have to have the knowledge. matt is the other curry here. and he's going to take us into

the inspection area and we'll talk about basic things we can learn to get our cars ready for vacation. >> right. >> reporter: we don't have to have our husband to do it. we can do it. >> that's right. a lot of people are traveling and some of the simplest things that you can do to look at your car yourself. the first thing you want to do is give the car a quick walk around. maybe sure nothing is hanging out. a lot of cars have plates underneath them, so make sure nothing is hanging off the car. checking tire pressure is for gas mileage, for handling purposes and safety purposes as well as getting the air pressure, and making sure you don't have unusual wear. picked off a tire off a customer's car and you notice when i turn the steering wheel so i can see the whole tire. a lot of the big tires you can't see the inside.

and this is an actual tire taken off a customer's car and you don't want to take a trip with that. fluid levels are important. both the condition and the levels. this is the engine dip stick. make sure the oil is full and clean and that -- >> so this is what happened the last time i checked my oil. i'm just kidding. so you take this out, how do i know if that's enough oil? >> well what you need to do is you take a rag, and i'll use this for now, and you wipe it off clean and you want to check it when the engine is off and you check it and this was -- and if it's within the minimum or maximum. >> i see. >> and this one is dirty so it might be time for an oil change. a lot of times they're clear. >> reporter: so checking the tire pressure and the tires and walking around the car and checking the oil. what else? >> look at the air filter to get the best gas mileage. make sure your car is properly

tuned. the air filters are very important, fuel injected vehicles. so make sures that nice and clean. let's get this out of here and this air filter is in good shape. a lot of these things you can do yourself. transmission fluid, brake fluid, windshield washer fluid and check the battery. >> and go into a service and learn where everything is and you can do it next time. >> or bring it into your trusted rry auto service and we'll give it a once over to make sure you're okay. >> reporter: we have a link if you want more. coming up next hour, we'll talk about more things you can just do yourself. >> can't argue with free. speaking of mone what is a little loan between friends and family. in today's money monday segment, the dos and don'ts of giving money to somebody close to you. >> and then just a week away from august and that's a time when we see our hottest weather of the year. coming up in our next hour, tips on how to keep your air-

conditioning costs down without having to sweat it out all summer long. it is now 7:57 and fox 5 moing news back at 8:00 in just 3 minutes.

new this morning, a disturbing discovery in downtown bethesda. a body found inside a burning car. ahead at 8:00, we arlive on the scene with new details. and then the alexandria police chief finds himself posing for a mug shot over the weekend. we'll have more on the charges against him. and also aheads up for drivers headed into the district. 14th street will be closed between constitution avenue and pennsylvania avenue at various points today. so julie will help us steer around this mess in just a couple of minutes. good morning and thanks for joining us this morning. i'm steve chenevey. >> and i'm gurvir dhindsa filling in for allison today. this morning we're off to a muggy start and even some storms in some areas, mr. perkins. >> they have pushedded out. we ha tddhem in southern maryland but theypushed out.

ac're likely to see por storm t vity develop. pe hh oederan,aite er you gee you s it there from s t'noofthis nod anw ite thf e. . e f the coast an iopoof snsthern . w ne jersey are sngeeine rain but nothing like what eastern and southern maryland saw with the heavy rain and thunder and lightning. temperatures at the area airports were in the 70s. right no 72 at reagan national. 72 at dulles. bwi marshall is at 71 degrees. and it's muggy out with the humidity right up around 90%. forecast for today, a lot of clouds today. some scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible during the course of the day today. high downtown about 88 degrees, a humid day as well as we enter e summer doldrums. there you go. >> is that what it is? >> yes. >> perk up a little bit. let's check in with julie wright. what is going on now? >> well a little bit of this and a little bit of that. we're still trying to recover from an earlier incident on 214, the ramp to the outer loop

of the beltway. traffic is able to squeeze by under police direction and we are talking about downtown as you had just mentioned. there will be portions of 14th street between constitution and pennsylvania shut down as dignitary as rival for the event -- arrive for the event. and again as more v.i.p.s arrive there will be temporary closures but right now everything is open. traffic volume working in your favor with no incidents out of virginia into d.c. on the inner loop of virginia, this is the camera angle at 236 and we have delays pushing northbound toward 66. nothing out of the ordinary here. typical slowdowns as you travel from annandale toward merrifield. the pace is good off the toll road leaving the green way toward wolf trap. the inner loop seeing daylight. earlier crash at the greenbelt metro has cleared so lanes are

open and the pace is improving southbound on 95, 49 slow toward georgia avenue. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. and we are following a developing story this morning. authorities found a burning van in the middle of the road in r o r te crews doused the flames they made a disturbing discovery. a body inside the van. it's an active scene in bethesda as police and fire try to figure out what is happening. sh ily joins us from the scene. this is a busy intersection there too. >> reporter: it is. and there is a lot of traffic diverted. this investigation will take some time. and they have brought out traffic control to divert drivers around this crash scene. that burned up minivan where the body was found is still in the middle of the median of bradley boulevd. just a short time ago we saw detectives go through the van with a k-9 unit, likely sniffing for some type of

accelerant. people want to know how the person inside died. the call came in with a minivan on fire in the middle of bradley boulevard. police arrived within one minute. it was just before 4:00 a.m. a routine vehicle fire until firefighters put it out and discovered a body in the driver's seat slumped over the steering wheel. >> our major crimes homicide sex detectives are investigating along with the fire marshall and our collision n't know the n unit. cause of the fire, the nature of the death. >> reporter: homicide investigators are called in for any unattended death. it's not clear if there was any crime committed. the minivan does not show any major major damage from the wreck so how did it catch fire? shawn ver oddy who is staying nearby raises questions >> it raises suspicions and police will do their best to find out what happened. >> reporter: the body is being taken to the medical examiner for an autopsy. police can't say whether it was

a man or a woman. a crash reconstruction team is trying to piece together the events that led up to the crash and fire. police haven't ruled out foul play. >> we don't have direct evidence of foul play at this stage of the investigation. but the investigation is just beginning. so we are open to all possibilities. >> reporter: now bradley boulevard between arlington road and hillendale police tell us will remain closed through rush hour this morning. it should reopen by late morning or early afternoon in time for the evening rush hour. investigators are still out here looking over the crash scene, searching for evidence. there are a lot of questions about this van fire and the body found inside. those still have to ben -- have to be answered. sherry ly, fox 5 news. and also new this morning, police need your help in finding an 11-year-old maryland girl. nicole owen has been missing

since a family dispute. she was last seen at a superfresh groce store. she's african-american, 5'2" and weighs about 130 and wears her hair in a pony tail. he's put people in jail for dui but now he's accused. this morning alexandria's police chief is on leave and under investigation. this stems from a car crash over the weekend in arlington. police say baker hit another car while trying to enter interstate 56. his blood alcohol level was said to be twice the legal limi it's a blemish for someone with a stellar record. >> i'm surprised is the most i can say. this is behavior that i have never seen. it is something that has certainly not been a part of his career or even his ethics. >> baker was driving a is theyish -- is driving a is they issued suv. earl cook will serve as acting

chief until the investigation is complete. montgomery county police searching for whoever shot two people outside of a shopping plaza in silver spring. two men were arguing in ront ce the bridge cheney shopping nter and one man pulled out a gun and shot the orange. a woman believed to be an innocent bystander also hit by bullets. both people were ticken -- taken to the hospital. police are asking for help in finding the suspect. vandals will not run out the owner of heavenly hands salon. over the weekend somebody spray painted a threat, reading more to cox but brown says only the best is yet to come, that will be when she reopens. it is now official, sarah palin is waking up a private citizen this morning. in a last public hoorah she

used a farewell speech to take a poke at critics. >> that is why our troops are willing to die for you. so how about in honor of the american soldiers, you quit making things up. >> palin posted her final message on her official alaska account on twitter saying quote, thank you alaska. i love you. god bless alaska and god bless the a. her political future is unclear but in many circles she's considered a potential candidate for president in the year 2012. president obama doing backtracking. he now admits he used the wong words to describe the cambridge police officer who arrested harvard professor henry gates. >> neither of them were able to resolve the incident in the way that it should have been resolved and this is the way they would have liked it to be resolved. >> so the president is also going on the offensive to resolve this incident by inviting both men for talks at the white house maybe over

beers. but the negotiations will include a different flavor. caroline shively explains. >> reporter: call it brewski diplomacy. henry lewis gates, jr., and sergeant james crowley have both accepted the invitation for a beer. >> i know the sergeant told the president he was game and i read professor gates was the same way. >> reporter: sarge and crowley was called to investigate a call to investigate two black guys at the home. it turns out gates was trying to get into his house. tempers flared and gates was arrested for disorderly conduct. >> professor gates begins to be rate the officer and says you don't know who you're dealing with. >> the cambridge police dropped

the charges against gates but didn't apologize for at rest. al sharpton says it's important to sit down and talk so others can learn from the situation. >> i think society can move forward bysaying how do we define racial profiling and define abuse of power and let's resolve this because we still havein equality in this country. >> reporter: no word on when they will meet at the white house. caroline shively, fox news. what is a little loan between friends or family? in today's money segment, dos and don'ts of giving money to friends. why bill gates is giving up no facebook. and when you log on nwith us, you can check out behind the scenes pictures. just search fox 5 news. there is no space between the word fox and 5fox 5 morning news is coming right back.

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social networking site because too many people wanted to be his friend. >> i wonder why. >> about 10,000 people so far. apparently he had trouble figuring out who he really knew. he just wanted to be friends. >> just limit it to people you really know. then you don't offend anybody. >> that's why tony perkins doesn't get involved. >> i know. tony says forget that stuff. >> i'm just not part of it. i can't be bothered. >> have too many other things to do. this is the time of the day for the cute factor of the day. >> we'll start with that. time for the my first 5 photo of the day. check her out. she is findlay. isn't she cute. she went the washington

capitals playoff game -- what's that? it's grace? >> our producer says findlay. >> is this the right pictures? >> okay. this is findlay. she went to the washington playoffs game and got her racquet signed by her favorite player and we're told that is nadia petrolla. and for more go to myfoxdc.com. >> she's adorable. and let's k cechouecweather conditions around the region. satellite radar, here we go, the radar showing you the precipitation. it's gone and moved out to the east. t's out over the a ofs rtnd parts of a eastern stern new jersey. regional temperatures, currently we're back up to 73 w ges. york cine ascigone up to 74 degrees. boston has gone up to 74 degrees. 78 in norfolk and 81 in cape hatteras at this hour.

five-day forecast, high today of about 88. can't rule out showers and thunderstorms during the course of the day today. a hot and humid day. tomorrow more of the same. 91 for your high tomorrow. chance of showers and thunderstorms. wednesday, thursday and friday, more of the same. hot, humid, chance of showers and thunderstorms. highs in the upper 80s. that is julie wright weather and here she is to talk about the morning's rush hour traffic. >> just for me. >> just for you. >> i love it. and i have to say thank you because you and tucker did a fabulous job with birthday weather for me last week. thank you very much. >> glad we could make that work. >> you and me both. if you're traveling the top stretch of the beltway, you're not the only one. delays leaving 95 toward georgia avenue. inner loop the delays are easing from 95 toward the greenbelt metro. earlier incident has cleared. southbound 95 leaving 212 down to the beltway will slow. again lower 14th street between constitution and pennsylvania avenue, the right side of the road blocked off in front of

the reagan building but that's it. lanes are open right now as you are traveling between pennsylvania and constitution. i'm told from authorities they will temporary close the section of 14th street as dignitaries arrive. only the right side blocked. traffic volume not off 14th street bridge toward lower 14th street. and the top stretch of the beltway, from the west side of the beltway leaving annandale toward merrifield. the lanes are open toward 66. 66 slow between 7100 and the beltway. and right now no incidents to repo on 395 on the beltway to the 14th street bridge. in montgomery county, authorities still on the scene of the incident at bradley and arlington. bradley boulevard is closed off in each direction. sherry ly is reporting live from the scene and arlington road is open but an investigation on going at this time in bethesda. that's a check of your fox 5 on-

time traffic. gurvir, back toou. friendship can be a wonderful thing until money gets involved. if you have ever loaned money to a family member or a friend or were on the receiving end of a loan, you probably know how uncomfortable it can be, whether it's for $100 or $1,000. in today's money segment biller man says the only way to make sure the transaction is a success is to treat it as if it's business. which is hard to do for a lot of people. when your emotions get involved and your heart gets involved. it's tough to do. >> it's a real challenge. when you're dealing with people think your money is your most valuable thing, but it's not, it's your family and friends. so you want to keep it as a business transaction as best you possibly can. and draft up a contract. look at some of the legal

ramifications behind this. >> because most people, i would imagine, most of us have been asked for a loan or maybe we bore ode money -- borrowed money from mom and dad and most think it's a gift. >> right. >> so you say start with a contract. >> absolutely. >> how do you do that? >> i back it up. look at your self-and make sure that when you're trying to do is helping this person isn't hurting you at the same time. people don't look at their own financial well being and make this gift or loan, assuming it will come back and it may or may not. but make sure that you're in the position where you can do this for yourself. then look at the steps in the contract. >> what kind of contract? >> it can be something as simple as setting the terms just like a bank. i'm lending so and so x amount of money and these are the terms and i expect the money to be paid back at this time. set a reasonable interest rate. if you don't set an interest rate the irs could look at this

as a gift. but nobody wants to have that. >> so the interest rate is -- for legal purposes, for tax purposes, more than anything else. >> absolutely. >> more than just maybe getting some money back that -- >> you don't want to gouge your brother or mom but make sure to protect yourself. >> and you also say ask for collateral. who thinks to do that. >> and a lot of times you don't. if it's a minor loan of not such great magnitude, you might not want to worry about it. but with a large amount of money, you may say what are we looking at as far as collateral. if something should happen to you, so i have something to fall back on as well. >> and you say document the loan. so don't just make the loan and kind of forget about it, but actually write it out. >> that's part of having the contract. have it written out and marked on. you not only gave this person the check but you expect to start receiving money back on a

regular basis at whatever interest rate. >> do you need to get a lawyer involved or is this something two people can work out. >> it depends on the individuals. i think more times than not i side on be more conservative. consult your advisors whether it be your legal advisor or tax advisor, financial advisor. but it depends on the individuals. so if you're feeling more squirmish, you might want to have someone review the document. >> so you've drawn up the contract and said i'm going to charge some interest here. you've asked for collateral. you have documented the loan. what other tax ramifications could there be? what other things do you need to watch out for when you start loaning money? >> this year, you can -- any individual can give to any other individual $13,000 without a tax consequence. it's just a gift. you're able to do so. so you want to make su that you're looking at where are you within whatever the current tax laws are at that time. again, consulting your tax advisor will help you in doing

so. but once it's in place, it's just pretty much like any other loan that you do with any other institution, whether it's a bank or credit card company or whom ever. and then it's just following the terms of the loan. the hard part is removing the emotion. >> you got that right. it's easier to ask for money with a bang -- from a bank because there is no emotions. >> you want to make sure thanksgiving stays comfortable. you don't want it to turn into a food fight and it's important to look at it that way. know the person you're lending you look back at different relationships, whatever, if there is somebody who has had an issue with managintheir finances, one of the things you might want to consider is maybe the better thing i can do for you would be to pay for you to go meet with a professional who can teach you to better manage your own money so you learn how

to fish rather than just getting dinner. >> that's a great idea and just learn to say no. thank you very much. the time now is 8:23 on this monday morning. swine flu is back in the headlines. we'll have more on the the statistics of how many could be affects. and holly shows us why one auto shop has been given the label female friendly. we'll be back after this.  there are moments time when the paths we take do determine our future. today we are communicating with each other as never before - and that requires a seamless network that is constantly growing better, smarter, and more secure. that's why our scientists and engineers in our labs, are taking the fastest technology in the world

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if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he' have to cut benefits for his employees. but we can act. the president and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act.

health and school leaders in maryland will gather today at a swine flu sum knit annapolis. on the agenda is seasonal flu immunization and emergency preparedness. they predict up to 40% of americans could detect swine flu. the president tibs to fight for his -- continues to fight for his health care reform bill. he will stop in virginia and north carolina while lawmakers on the hill continue to wrestle

with the details. white house press secretary robert gibbs told fox news sunday that the white house has reached an 80% agreement on capitol hill. the president is hoping lawmakers could get this deal done before the august recess but some say health care reform is too important to be rushed. >> as you well know, having spent any time in this town, without a little poking and prodding, not a lot gets done. >> i think it's a very good thing for us to go back home over the august recess, lay it out to our constituents and say what do you think we ought to do. >> so far republicans mostly oppose a government takeover of health care while democrats are concerned aut how much it will cost. and coming up, we'll get an update on our top stories, including a shotting at a backyard barbecue and two of the victims was a 2-year-old girl and a pregnant woman. in our next half hour, tips on how to keep your air- conditioning costs down without

having to sweat it out all summer long. stay with us, we're coming right back. you know what, this looks just like

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it's 8:31. and today as top -- today's top story. authorities are investigating the body in a burning vehicle. it occurred on bradley boulevard near arlington road in bethesda. police say it's too early to tell if this was just a horrible accident or if foul play might have been involved. a 2-year-old girl and a pregnant woman are among a dozen people were injured after a man opened fire in a backyard cookout in baltimore last night on ashland after in east baltimore. most of the victims were wounded in the legs, arms, d oulds ckanba . police don't have any ina ve a omo aotive. > ha wvea mmcouter alrnrtg a suts iinrnas a 14ta vario d ay . toar's

f ay. it's part of e t n ieetrin etllow on the map bweeten octutipens tionconstitution rofnt of the reagan building. there is a u.s. conference on china relationships. they are closing streets for the president and dignitaries to arrive. and all of the farmer that's needed -- all of the farmers that needed it. >> yes, they did. 73 here in washington. baltimore 72 at this hour and frederick, maryland at 73. 73 at dulles. so we've come up into the 70s now. ocean city is 77 right now. here is a look at the radar picture. a lot of rain to the south and east of the district. light rain at reagan national. all of that has pushed off so we'll have a spell without any precipitation and then later on this afternoon more showers and thunderstorms popping up.

but right now prepare has push -- precipitation has pushed off. clouds in advance of a cold front. the main thing this will do is serve as a triggering mechanism for showers and thunderstorms and will not cool us off at all. conditions remain humid for today and for the bulk of this week. forecast then for today looks like this. a lot of clouds around. you get some of the brightness from the sunshine behind the clouds, but clouds will thicken up later on today. scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible. high today of about 88 degrees downtown. that's a look at the weather. let's get an update on this morning's rush hour traffic for julie wright. >> sticking up like a milk shake. >> what? >> thicking up like a milk

shake. >> yeah. the clouds are thicking up like a milk shake. >> you really -- okay. >> i've been up for a long time. i'm getting hungry. >> right. right side of constitution is mostly open with the exception of the stretch here. they will temporarily block that off for the arrival of dignitaries. this is the commute off the gw parkway. lanes are open but traffic does slow north of the airport toward 395. traffic inside of the roslyn tunnel heavy, 66 eastbound toward the tunnel and toward constitution avenue. southbound 270 out of rockville still heavy out toward the split. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. hazy, hot and humid. the forecast for the rest of the week. >> and allison got some tips on

how to stay cool while saving some money. >> when it is brutally hot, you can change some of your utility costs by making changes. good morning. >> good morning. >> let me get a little bit of history how you came up with angie's list. it had to start with you. >> we started angie's list 14 years ago in ohio and it came out of my co-founders challenges finding contractors. he was trying to renovate a house and we felt it was better to share information. >> and it's a great source. let's get to the air- conditioning tips because i've tried to wait but the air- conditioning must come on soon. but there are ways to save money and you say one of the tips, clean and change the filters regularly. >> a lot of times people do not pay attention to the filter in their furnace and that is one of the big culprits because if

it's if the clean and the air- conditioner is working over time to keep your house cool. and having it serviced each spring. sometimes we tend to want to skip on that one. but one of the most common things that -- the problem is people get emergency calls out when the air-conditioning company has to come out when it's 95 because they haven't taken care of those filters and had the air-conditioner serviced. >> these are great tips. this one i would never think about. plant a tree or shrub around the unit. why. >> well that can provide shade. but the key here is that it needs to be out far enough that it's not actually touching it. sometimes you'll see people put their shrubs right up against it, that's not allowing the system to breathe. so keep them out away and keep the air-conditioning in the shade. >> and we're hearing this, that programmable thermostat. >> a programmable thermostat is probably under $100, maybe $80 to have one of those installed, but that can allow you to keep the house warmer when you're not there. a lot of us will forget to adjust it and if you're not

doing that regularly, you will end up wasting it and keeping the house too cool when everybody is away. >> and i love that ceiling fan feel of the fresair and you say switch your ceiling fan to summer setting. >> you want it to move counterclockwise in the summer so it's pushing the air down and you can run a half a day for like $1.50 a month. so install them in bedrooms. you can eliminate a lot of costs in the air-conditioning. >> these seem to simple but they're not. i wouldn't he thought of these. thanks for joining us. angie hicks from angie's list. and ousted governor rod blagojevich is speaking out about his impeachment. what he has to say when we come back. and it's hard for a lot of families to give financially these days but it doesn't cost you to donate your time. tomorrow on fox 5 morning news,

we're going to have a team of experts here with us to help match up volunteers with organizations in need. more on that all day tomorrow. stay with us. we have a lot more ahead here on fox 5 morning news. we're back after the break. hmmm... well... naaa... yeah! calculating for getaway. ♪ find your way to a perfect destination at busch gardens... where family-fun surrounds you... and world-class rides astound. start at buschgardens.com.

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i want to talk about how you can do sometng and act and hold those politicians more accountable to you. >> that's disgraced former governor rod blagojevich from illinois. sunday he hosted his second radio show in chicago and used the air time to take aim at the current governor. he is said -- he said he hosted the show to many could hear his side of the story. and astronauts will venture out for the final mission. crews will install tv cameras on the japanese lab. endeavor will dock tomorrow. and do you remember cloe and kit kat we introduced you to last week? this morning we have an update on the search and you'll want to hear it. and of course see the video one more time. >> and the star of big love, and he's just not that into you

is here. we'll talk to jennifer goodwin when we come back. stay with us.  you've got a strawberry pop-tart,

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let's look at stories that are making headlines on this monday morning. north korea is open to dialogue over the nuclear weapons grerodict ct talks with the u itreedatst es . t that wasn't madees spif you may gas ond cega ceiave dropped. drivinwashington cewinh asongtan pa eravnge of 2.5555 and ins ilat' mandlas t'sds pe xe eivns ss le expensive in virginia s wh re it's $2.35. the nationwide average price of gas fell about 7 cents a gallon just in the last two weeks. the octo-mom clan now has steady income. nadia suleman's 14 children will make $250 a day each for a new reality show. the show is scheduled to begin taping on september 1st and will pay the children $250,000 over the next three years.

and this might just be your favorite story of the morning. this is a fox 5 follow-up on the odd couple at the d.c. animal shelter. do you remember cloe and kit kat, the chihuahua and kitten, the tough economic times forced the oner to give them up but we're happy to report that they have a new home. a fox 5 viewer named sandy and her husband adopted the pair after they saw or story last week and they don't have a new mom and dad, but they have a sister named zoey who is also a chihuahua. >> and hopefully a hammy family for -- a happy family for years to come. and many took part in the humane society program and

joining us is jennifer goodwin. isn't that heartwarming. >> i just heartwarming. and i just rescued a kitty and it's like they know. that love is so unconditional. >> and you've been an advocate for them. and it shows its bigger picture which is these days, economically it's tough for people to care for animals. >> yes, it is. there is a huge problem with over population in the shelters and in the foster homes. and thanks to the neutering and fixing and spaying programs that we're going to be able curb that. >> and so you were in town this weekend. you were a a keynote speaker on saturday night. talk about the animal lovers coming together. what are you trying to get people more aware of? >> i think that somehow animal rights has had some not so cool p.r.

and what i have found in my work with the humane society of the united states, is what they're trying to do is not only cool, but just very practical, reasonable, accessible, economically more efficient, more earth friendly. and i think that its just a matter of getting the word out that it's not so much that these groups like the humaneo site of the united states are trying to vegannize the world, all we're trying to do is make the world a better place and give the animals the respect they deserve. and i'm really excited about the things we're lobbying for today. >> and you realize if you're going to put a positive spin on something and washington, d.c. is the place. >> i have to say i'm excited. it's much like hollywood. >> so today is the day is lobby day. >> it is lobby day. >> and are you involved in any of this up on the hill today.

>> i am. there are these shocking issues that the united states is trying to get passed. and one of the things i'm talking about today is -- this blew my mind and i only found out this weekend -- did you know that when you buy a fur garment, whether it's made of fur, or the lining, and that fur is values under a certain ridiculous amount of money, there is no law that states that the designer, that the manufacturer, that the retail operation has to be honest with you about what it's made of. so it can say it's faux fur and it can be real. it can say its fox and it's really domesticated dog. and so one of the things we're trying to get passed is a bill that makes it illegal to lie, because the humane society of the united states is able to

prove there is rampant dishonesty and major obscene markets and all we're trying to do is give consumers the truth and let them make their own decision. >> a lot of work still to be done. because when it comes to animals a lot we take for granted. >> absolutely. and we assume that these animals, i don't know who we think are taking care of them, i certainly thought that in some way the term animal rights meant that animals had some before i got involved in this cause and i do think we take so much for granted and really, like, we are the ones who have to fight for them. >> well before you go, let me ask you about big love. because now we can say the emmy nominated big love. congratulations on that and you're renewed for a another season. >> start work on season 4 on friday. >> that's exciting. >> yes. >> and are we going to see a continued evolution. >> we are. and we have some juicy stuff coming up, i have to say. i think it's going to be our

best year yet. i enj as an audience member being surprised myself. >> keep up the good work. it's good to see you. >> good to see you. >> you haven't been here since you we a kid, you said? >> not since i was a kid. >> well don't wait so long next time. >> thank you. >> jennifer goodwin. >> and thank you for what you do for animals too. and it's now 8:51 and coming up, tony is back with one last look at the five-day forecast and i'll warn you, it's muggy. plus we'll check in with holly at the female friendly auto shops this morning. >> reporter: that's right. we're learning a whole bunch of good stuff this morning, like, ladies, do you know how to change your own tire and we'll learn more at curry's auto service, a female friendly auto service in northern virginia. how do you go about finding a reputable auto service coming up next on fox 5 morning news. stay with us.

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when you take your car in to get an oil change or tires rote tated it's hard to know if you're being the one taken for a ride. >> and especially if you're a woman. and one auto shop has been declared female friendly by ask patty.com. and holly is there live. >> reporter: so whether you're a male or a female, you need to know how to care for your car. ladies, we can do it. we're learning this morning by curry's auto service just designated as a female friendly shop. this is matt curry and this is my question to matt.

i said if you had to teach your daughter one thing when it comes to a car, what is it. and you said -- >> changing a tire. late at night or stuck on the side of the road, it's something that is pretty easy to do. you have to know the proper procedure. >> reporter: because when you're talking about changing the oil and doing the mechanical stuff, cars are so complicated today and there are computer systems involved that you need to bring them in. but when it comes to changing a tire, you can do it. >> anybody can do it. you just have to know how to do. first thing to do is make sure you have the right stuff. we have everything out. but you want to make sure you have the spare and the proper tools. we have gotten everything out. tony here is an ase master technician. >> reporter: so he'll ride around with me everywhere i go so in case my tire goes flat. but quickly, let's go through what we need to do. >> first thing is make sure the jack stand is in the proper

location so it doesn't fall. so get the jack in there and start to get the tire a little bit off the ground. >> reporter: and in your owner's manual, it will tell you how it works with your car, right. >> correct. and familiarize yourself with that. and before you lift it up too much, loosen the wheel bolts so the tires will free spin. and once you do that, you jack it up all of the way and loosen it up. go left. left is lucy, right is tighty. and then take everything off and do it by hand. >> reporter: this did happen to me one time. i was on the side of the road, and i needed to change my tire and my biggest problem i had was getting them initially loose. >> so that's why you want to have the tire on the ground. because that is sometimes -- the torque is about 100 pounds. so don't be afraid to kick it a little bit or whatever you have to do. >> reporter: that was me. i was standing on top of it hopping up and down.

so go ahead and do that. and i want to bring in judy, because i wanted you to talk about this askpatty.com and what it is. >> it's a wonderful resource. here is my certificate that we've earned. >> reporter: she's proud of that. >> the website is linked to our website so you can go directly to ours. but it's a wonderful resource. there are links to anything you would ever want to know about auto repair. there is laws and they also have an expert panel, an advisory panel thattive put together. >> reporter: hold on. so we took that off and now we're going to line this back up and put it on. >> you want to make sure the holes match the holes where the hub is. and tighten them down there. >> reporter: i'm right handed so i'm working. >> we have a fatality here. and we're going to try to help you out a little bit.

>> reporter: and after you do all of this and they're not tight enough to drive around totally on that, so you need to tire. >> you want to snug it down and then when you put the car back down on the ground, snug them again. >> reporter: we have very little time left, but if you're looking for a reputable place, give me some quick pointers on ow to pick a good shop. >> find somebody that will be honest and somebody that will be talking to you and in your terms. and we pride ourselves in being honest and being able to communicate back and forth. >> reporter: we have to go, myfoxdc.com is our website. we have a nk to the curry's auto website. they have five locations in northern virginia and they're check your car out for free if you're heading on vacation. >> that is good news. thank you very much. hot today, muggy, chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. high of about 88 degrees. >> good to know. >> have a good day and we will see you at