the 90s again today. i'm steve chenevey. >> and i'm claudia coffey in for allison while she's out on vacation this week. we'll have more on the weather in just a moment. and much more on the breaking news of the death of eunice kennedy shriver and the mother of maria shriver. and also more on health care reform. >> i want you to know what is in the -- what is common to all of the proposals. >>s is similar to -- it's similar to what is happening across the country as lawmakers pitch health care reform and today the president may face a similar scene. plus a sneak peek into a world most of us will not never experience. there is a great book out that gives aa look behind the scenes in the secret service and ronald kessler will tell us

what you will learn and it will shock you. and breaking news out of cape cod hospital in massachusetts. eunice kennedy shriver has died. she was 88 and suffered a series of strokes. >> she watched her brothers make their mark in the political arena but she's left her own legacy as a champion of children with disabilities. gurvir joins us with the latest. >> reporter: many expected this and that's why many left their homes to be up with her in massachusetts. eunice kennedy shriver dead at the age of 88. she was from brookline, massachusetts. she was the 5th of kennedy

children. most of the children followed advice by entering public service or other competitive occupations. she focused on helping the mentally challenged. her inspiration was her sister rosemary who had been born with a mild mental retardation. she was marid to sergeant shriver junior and shared her long catholic upbringing and during her brother's presidency eventually became u.s. ambassador to france. in 1971 she established the committee on mental retardation but in 1978 she founded the organization for children with disabilities. and the family did issue a statement today saying she was the light of our lives, a

mother driven with love and service to otrs and that statement went on to say we are together in our belief that she is now in heaven, rejoicing with her family and enjoying the fruits of her faith and urging us on ward to the challenges ahead. her love will inspire us to faith and service always. again ms. shriver and sergeant shriver made their hope in potomac maryland but she died up in cape cod early this morning and we'll have much more on her passing throughout the morning here on fox 5 morning news. we have put more information about her amazing life on our website, myfoxdc.com. you'll find information about her work with the special olympics and the other activities in which she was involve and photos of the family which you see right there. so much more ahead this morning. back to you. >> and she left quite a legacy. >> of course maria shriver, her famous daughter, the first lady of california.

and actually mrs. shriver and sergeant shriver had five children and all of them really well accomplished in everything e contie to follow this one. thank you so much. and the latest onhe forecast today from tony perkins. another scorcher. termpesteurthatn i wih wi termpteatures in the 90s. hopefully it won't be quite as hot as yesterday. the current conditions reported at reagan national, 75 right now. relative humidity is at 87%. the winds are calm. the barometic pressure 29.90. and it has been falling. here is a look at the satellite radar for the region. you'll see a few more clouds moving in over us. again, not the cloudiest skies we've seen, but our mpskies wil feature a fair amount of cloud cover throughout the course of the day. we did have thunderstorms move through eastern portions of the viewing area last night. here is your forecast for today. plenty of clouds around. we do have some sunshine this morning breaking through the haze that we're seeing across

the morning. and what we will also see is for today, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. our computer tus ck. i'll let you know. hasca ce nc showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and this evening and our high toe y daisy about 92 degrees. we'll have mdee ta ils on that coming up in just a little bit. right now let's find out what is happening for traffic with julie wright. inner loop of the beltway after st. barnabus, we had a flatbed involved in an incident and now the brakes have caught on fire. they have stopped the traffic on inner loop to maneuver equipment to retrieve this tractor-trailer. once traffic is released it will get by along the left side of the highway. so from oxon hill toward alexandria, line up early to get through. no accidents to report top stretch of the beltway leaving college park toward 270. there the lanes are open. southbound along 270 delays south of hyattstown closer to the truck scales and eastbound

66 into the sunshine, traffic slows east of 50 fair oaks toward 123, nutley street to the beltway. that'a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. going to stop my employer from forcing me on to the public option if that's cheaper for their bottom line. >> that is senator carden getting grilled last night in towson, maryland. and at one point four police officers stood in front of the stage. and today it's the president's turn in new hampshire. >> if the crowd there is anything like the one in towson, the president may have to raise his voice last night too. critics interrupted the senator and others had to ask people to simmer down so he could speak. outside a bull horn and shouts of supporters and opponents

faced off. >> i believe that it's the president's intention to ram rod something through congress and not give the people a chance to consider it or be heard. >> i didn't realize that we had as many people that would be against something that is in their own interest. >> the town hall starts at 1:00 today. a counter protest is planned but that will not deter the president who plans to spend the month promoting his health care reform plan across the country. and at the white house, turning to one of the favorite tools to help push the reform. the obama administration launched a website to directly counter myths about the proposal. it includes a brief video with administration heavy weights. the president used similar tactics during his campaign. one of our big local stories, a deadly dog attack in virginia after a young man was mauled after breaking up a dog fight. the victim was found dead

inside a home. family alerted police after being unable to contact man. officers arrived to find his body, two roaming pit bulls and other dogs ilin the house. animal conol took the dogs. a 32-year-old woman claims she was targeted by two men in loudoun county and says one man held her down and the other sexually assaulted. the woman was in a familiar area but didn't know her attackers. police plan to release a sketch of the attackers in the next few days. anyone with information is asked to call the loudoun county police. a risky move in the race for virginia governor as creigh deeds attacked bob mcdonald's pro-life staff. yesterday deed told about 100

women that mcdonnell has a long history of opposing rights to choose. in a political environment dominated by talk over the economy, some analysts are saying bringing up a hot button social issue may be a risky strategy for democrats. >> voters mear in virginia are -- here in virginia are not as interested in social issues because the economy is trumping everything else. >> in a statement to fox 5, mcdonnell's campaign said he understands with the unemployment rate virginia should focus on jobs and opportunities. the los angeles county coroner's office has completed its probe into what killed -- what killed michael jackson but will not release the information. they must determine what roll prescription drugs played in his death. still much more ahead on the death of eunice kennedy

drive dead at the age of 88. and questions on the safety of metro. eleanor holmes norton joins us with the latest to keep riders safe. we're cox right back.

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7:13 now. she's known to keep her cool, she understood the pressure of being a first lady and presidential contender, but what set her off. someone asked her what her husband thought about archine's loan offer to the country and listen to her response? >> wait, you want me to tell you what my husband thinks? my husband is not the secretary of state, i am. [ inaudible ] so if you ask my

opinion, i'll tell you my opinion. i'm not going to be channeling my husband. >> the man said that what he metropolitan was, he wanted to know what president obama would think about it, but he said president clinton instead. he chuck it up to being lost in translation. mrs. clinton told him it's okay and not to worry about it. another hot o -- how hot it will be today. >> hot again. >> i feel like it's groundhog day. didn't i hear that same forecast yesterday? >> it won't be quite as hot as yesterday. and i just stepped outside. it's important for the weather man to go outside. it feels great outside right now. 76 degrees we're up to. fair amount of sunshine and not too bad. later on is what we have to worry about. we'll start with yesterday's high temperatures. and claudia, we made it into the upper 90s. 97 at reagan national.

but we did not break the record at national. it was 97. and dulles, we did set a , 97, and bkebhe record of 96. e.d bwi made it up to 94 rdnthr rd there. wee wearwno at 76 here in washington. new york city is at 77 degrees. raleigh, north carolina 76 degrees and in ptsbunh, pa, t i 70. and here is a look athe satellite radar. there are some clouds but a fair amount of sunshine over us this t morni. cldso ud bu ilids later on today. there is no precipitation this morning but later on, we could see, as a cold front comes through, some showers and thunderstorms develop here and there. your five-day forecast, as opposed of a high of 97, a high of 92 today. thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. tomorrow 88, that's close to a normal temperature. and then thursday, friday and saturday highs continue in the 80 wall street a chance of

showers and thunderstorms every day. that's latest on the weather. more coming up shortly. and pick any hour today and julie wright will step outside and say it's cool today. >> and i know we didn't get a chance to do the weather man question today, but if you're chasing the ice cream man down the street, is that a workout? >> it depends how far you chase it. >> i'll let you know tomorrow. on the roads, the lanes open with no accidents to report. if you're traveling on the outer loop headed for the wilson bridge but out of oxon hill toward the bridge, some trouble with an incident of a flatbed truck. brakes caught on fire. traffic getting through to the left. and at colesville, lanes are open but slow through silver spring and toward georgia avenue. no accidents to report on 95 and 295. eastbound 66 into the bright

sunshine. heavy and steady from manassas into centreville and from 123 to the beltway. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. and 7:16 no and new details are coming to light on metro's latest trouble on the track. michael nash was hit by equipment while working on the orange line. he was replacing cross ties near the vienna stop. they have ordered a safety stand down forcing employees to go through mandatory training. now this is just the latest incident that has called into question the safety of metro's rail system. joining us now from capitol hill is eleanor holmes norton, a sponsor of the national metro safety act. before we go into metro, when is an important issue, i wanted to get your reaction to what

we're covering this morning, the passing of eunice kennedy shriver. >> well my heart goes out to the kennedy family. but this is a woman who had a global affect. the special olympics is a monument to a life worth lived. so i -- a woman who acted on her compassion, so there is great sympathy to the family and love for eunice kennedy shriver today and always. >> thank you for reacting to that. we wanto go back to metro. we know that you're really pushing this national metro safety act througand i understand that it did pass through the house at this point. what would it actually do? >> believe it or not, for the

first time it would develop safety standards for the nation's metro or subway systems. it may be hard to believe that the only thing we can do is after a tragedy. such as the metro collision. you have the national safety transportation board go in and tell you what you did wrong. why isn't there some agency to tell you what you should do in the first place to avoid such tragedies? that's because for decades now there has been a prohibition on federal regulation of transportation systems across the country. we're trying to put a stop to that. we passed this bill in the house, i believe we will pass it shortly in the senate when we return, passing it shortly is not soon enough when you consider what metro went through with the june tragedy that we had here and that we still have not gotten over. >> and when that incident was

brought to light and obviously reported on, that's when we learned about the tristate commission that people didn't know about that oversees metro in safety standards. why does that particular organization have any power, the real power that it needs to go in and say you've got to enact these certain safety plans and procedures in place? why don't they have the power they need? >> i'm on the oversite committee and i never heard of them. and the reason we never heard of them because it was an awkward situation. we have maryland the district and virginia. we have three states. so no state can regulate the other state so they set up this commission with no staff, no regulatory authority, and all it does is show you that whether you are dealing with intra state subway systems or systems that cross state boundaries, there needs to be

federal regulations, nothing short of that will do. i think that the tristate group couldn't do any more than it did. we ought to just put it aside and do what we should have done 25 years ago and enact federal safety regulations. we have it for rail. we have it for air. why do we not have it for what the average person in this region rides every day and would increasingly across the united states and most want to ride. >> and we'll follow you and follow this measure as it goes to the senate there as well. delegateen nor home norton, thank you for joining us this morning. >> my pleasure. they've been bailed out but is it enough. there are new fears ofanother round of bank failures. and also ahead, they are on the inside for some of the most top secret information in the world and the life of the president is in their hands. we are getting a very special behind the scenes look at the

secret service coming up. and later this morning, it is not your everyday rodeo. holly gives us a sneak peek at a team building exercise from a local utility provider of all things. that's coming up. it's 7:21. ♪ e art of getting dirty. the art of getting clean. new powerfully formulated wisk®... is better on tough mud stains. sk®. powerfully clean. perfectly priced.

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the financial system may be getting back on its feet but banks are still threatened by bad loans. this is according to a congressional watch dog report warning that banks still hold billions of dollars of risky loans. the banks are being threat aned by rises in unemployment and real estate market collapses. the dropping home values in the district to scheme measures as thousands of people are disputing property tax assessments. there are more than 20,000 appeals in maryland and nearly 12,000 in d.c. officials are seeing a significant increase in the number of homeowners taking this step compared to

this time last year. triple-a is pushing for a major safety change on the bay bridge. it was a year ago yesterday a tractor trailer plunged off the bridge. a woman in an on coming car slammed into the semi. triple-a doesn't believe the way traffic is separated right now is safe. it says 70% of fatal accidents happen during two-way traffic and want better barriers. the safety panel is adopting changes made after the crash. and it's 7:26. coming up next, much more on eunice kennedy shriver who died this morning at the age of 88. and they are in charge of protecting the leader of the free world and we're finding out the secrets of the secret service. it is now 7:26. stay with us. hmmm... well... naaa... yeah!

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maryland. sherry ly is outside of the special olympic head quarters in northwest this morning. >> reporter: here at the special olympic headquarters we're told there will be a special tribute set up to the late eunice kennedy shriver, the sister of john f. kennedy. and the special olympics is perhaps her greatest legacy. she died early this morning in massachusetts near the kennedy family compound. she was surrounded by her husband, five children and 19 grandchildren. she was 88 years old. she fused on helping the mentally challenged during her lifetime, in spired by her sister rosemary, who lived most of her life in an institution. she founded the special olympics in 1968. today in a statement the family said she was the light of their life. a mother, a wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us

by example and with passion what it means to live a driven life of love to others. her work transform the the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the globe and they her living legacy. and just as proof as her living legacy through the special olympics, that organization now has more than 1 million athletes worldwide from more than 160 countries participating every year. now shriver had been in poor health for the last several years. she had been in the hospital since last week. her daughter, maria shriver, a well-known broadcaster and first lady of california. her son-in-law of course governor arnold schwarzenegger. her husband was the former vice president candidate and founder of the peace corp. and she will be greatly missed and we'll have more from the

special olympics here later. sher ly, fox 5 news. >> and tim shriver who heads up special olympics after his mother created it just pass add long words as well, saying that at the time of the death she was surrounded by her family, her husband, her children, her grandchildren and those who loved her and that though her hedy had et ar s het ar was strong and it was overabundant in her faith of god's will. and we'll have more coming up throughout the morning's newscast. >> and we'll have everything about her, pictures, anything you want to find on myfoxdc.com. can you -- you can check it out. >> and let's check in on our temperatures with tony perkins. it's actually pleasant outside. 76 degrees here in washington, d.c. 71 up in baltimore. frederick is at 73. fredericksberg, virginia is at 74 at this hour. here is a look at the satellite

radar composite for our region and there are clouds thought this morn -- out there this morning but not bringing us precipitation. you see some of the clouds in with us this morning. we'll see more clouds building in later on today as the frontal system comes through here and it could trigger showers and thunderstorms later as well. we turn our attention now to the tropics. something we haven't had much opportunity to do. there is a tropical wave out there and now a tropical depression, just off the coast of africa. tropical depression number two, the send one of the atlant hurricane season. we'll watch it. right now it has maximum sustained winds of about 30 miles per hour. and again, it's far away. but we could see some development with the system. once we get a named system, it will be anna, the first storm of the season. partly cloudy skies, scattered showers and thunderstorms are a

possibility. about a 30% chance. high today of 92 degrees. tonight another warm night. 74 in town, maybe 60s in out lying suburbs. and tomorrow 88 for a high, chance of showers and thunderstorms, drop off to the mid-80s for thursday and friday. and into the weekend we begin to warm up again. that's a look at the weather. now let's get more on the morning's rush hour traffic with julie. at st. barnabus we had the incident with the tractor- trailer and the brakes caught on fire. traffic squeezing by to the left. once you get past the scene, the pace improves headed for the wilson bridge. no accidents on the outer loop. pace below speed through silver spring. all lanes open on 95 and 290 out of laurel. southbound 270 out of rockville, no accidents to report, lanes are open as you travel south of 28 toward the split. a little bit below speed here but again incident free toward the lane divide. no accidents to report at this time for those continuing to make the trip south on 355,

reving gaithersburg toward the beltway. this is a live shot of northbound 395 approaching duke street. definitely below speed toward the 14th street bridge. no accidents, just volume delays. braddock road, a crash reported. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. they spend their days and nights protecting some of the highest profile political country. n the but life inside the secret service might not be exactly what you would imagine. in his new book, in the president's secret service, veteran journalist ronald kessler gives us a startling picture of what it's like to protect the leader of the free world and it's not the first time he's given us a behind the scenes look. his 18 previous books include the terrorist watch, the bureau, and the fbi and the c.i.a. at war. and you've done books on the fbi and c.i.a. and now you're focusing on the

seek represent service. and they say human security cameras, is this what got you inspired to put this book together. >> i know love people to hear about behind the scenes and it is a serious side because i think we need to know about the character of the people we elect. and this includes the character. and when they engage in duplicitous contact, should know. >> and in this book, there is a serious part to it, you're talking about psychics, about president's sleeping on the job, talking about illegal immigrants working for cabinet workers, affairs in the white house, this book may dish more dirt than what we see in the check out aisle sometimes. >> you're right. and at the same time, there is another serious side whh is how well do they protect? and the answer is on the one hand the agents are dedicated and brave and will take a bullet for the president as happened with ronald reagan. but in recent years since the

department of homeland took over the management of the secret service, they have been cutting corns to a degree of shock including not doing metal detection screening and shutting it down early. an one example is at the ole's game when biden through the first pitch in april, the secret service did no screening whatsoever. a terrorist or lone gunman could have brought in weapons or grenades and assassinated the president. when i talked to former agents of the level of deputy director, they can't believe it. they never would have allowed that. >> talk about that. because assassination in the key word and this is what nobody wants to hear and this is why a lot of americans view the secret service of having that one job, to make sure that the president is not assassinated. but yet, one secret service agent said to the point, i'm surprised we've not had a

successful assassination. why is that? >> not only are they not doing the magnet omter screening, they've cutting down the size of thassault screen and not doing regular training or firearms requalification and they covered it up by having the agents score themselves. and a lot of other areas where they've been cutting corners. it's just -- it's just like the s.e.c. ignoring the tips about the madoff scandal. it's just as scandalous and stupid, frankly. and it just has to be changed. >> a lot of people might says that in the past. but now in the present, with barack obama, talk about the number of threats that there may be against our current president. >> the threats against obama has increased about 400% since bush took over. so it's even more serious than before and there is even more need to not cut corners. but at the same time, the book

goes into what the president's are like. for example jimmy carter would pretend to carry his own luggage but he would carry empty luggage or carry it and then have aids carry it as soon as the cameras were off. he could woman into the oval office at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning and tell the press, i was in there warking hardor the american people at 5:00 a.m., but then he would nod off to sleep on the sofa. and then jenna bush gave her secret service detail a hard time as well as barbara, but jenna specially would go through red lights to try to evade her detail. she would -- she went to a halloween party with her boyfriend henry hager and he became so drunk he had to be taken to the hospital by the secret service. another time he almost got into a brawl in a bar in georgetown and the secret service had to intervene. mary cheney, dick cheney's

daughter, also very difficult with the secret service, would try to get them to take her friends to restaurants when the detail leader objected, and she had him removed, when is again an example of the secret service not having the spine to back their own people when they're doing their job. >> there is reason it's called the secret service. it's supposed to be secret. and you exposed the secrets. have you response from the department. >> no response. i keep hearing from reports and they're making up stories. the they say -- they say the reason they didn't do the screening is because it wasn't announced beforehand and you can do a google search and you can see there are dozens of stories announcing more than a -- a day before that biden would be there. >> and we touched on just a short amount of it. you've done this before with the fbi and the c.i.a.

and now the secret service. any one of them shock you more than others what you found on the inside. >> this is probably the most shocking, the cutting of corners, when democracy depends on the ability to elect our leaders and have them serve a full term. and if there is an assassination it nullifies democracy. and so what could be more important than the secret service doing their job. the agents are dedicated and take a bullet for the president. it's the management at fault. >> the book is called in the president's secret service. award winning journalist ron kessler, thank you for joining us. it is now 76 degrees, 7:41. up next, a rescue. what it took to get him out. and redskins training camp. while they are battling the intense heat, they are also dealing with the injury bug. we're coming right back. 

76 degrees at 7:44. this is a baby elephant stuck in a man hole in thailand. it fell into a drainage ditch

and got stuck it. two took rescuers three hours and some help with heavy earth moving equipmento get it loose. the elephant was not hurt. >> certainly not something you see every day. >> if it happened in america, the news this morning would be the elephant would be suing. so that's what people do here. >> they have probably 7 agents lined up, attorneys as well. >> in a lawsuit. and a reality show. [ laughter ] listen, it's not a bad start to the day. we're in the mid-70s and it actually feels relatively comfortable, to me at least. i stepped outside a short time ago. later on today we'll get the heat building back in. not as ast yas yesterday. so a little bit of relief for r on doou't lyok like you believe me. >> it's like a 2-egree >>fference.

and isaid a little bit. 76-degrees in washington. 72 in roanoke. new york at 77. k,a,gi v inigini s s at78 degrees. the satellite radar for our region. a cole of clouds out there this morning. we'lsee more clouds build in later on today innd w w hthe clouds, as the cold front comes through, we could see some precipitation. take a look. here is your surface map. warm one today. yesterday upper 90s, i think today lower 90s. this cold front knocks on the door and comes throughm we don't get the cooler air in here until tomorrow. when we're in the 80s. but for today it comes through and triggers showers and thunderstorms here and there. they will be more numerous than yesterday. five-day forecast, high today 92 degrees. a chance of showers and thunderstorms. tomorrow, same thing but 88 for your high. and then thursday and friday not bad. 85, 84. saturday we begin to warm up again. although on the five-day, some people look at that and go rain every day. no, it's a chance of rain every day. not everyone will get rain every day. i will average it out to about

a 0% chance every day for the next five days. >> that's like a little bit of release every time it rains. >> that's true. julie, how are things looking out there traffic wise? >> still busy. a crash at the wilson bridge. now outer loop after the wilson bridge, we have a stalled car along the right side of the road. 197 nor of 450, accident activity blocking the road at 197 and traffic being deterred off at 450. no acciden at 210, but again the incident occurred before this camera shot at st. barnabus and that's where traffic is squeezing by to left 390 slowing at seminary road and at the 14th street bridge. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. two days out now from the first preseason game and good news for the redskins as

cornerback carlos roger was back in pads and practicing today. he injured his calf on the second day of camp. and randy thomas' need is feeling better. santana moss did not practice as he's dealing with a hamstring problem. and devon thomas did part part in conditioning drills and hopes to be back in time for the opener against the ravens. > checking in with holly this morning, who is spending her morning at a rodeo. but there are not horses out there. >> reporter: that's right. no horses or cowboy hats. instead we're talking hard hats as we're live at the washington gas springfield operation center where they are gearing up for the gas demonstration rodeo. what it is and how it works and why they do it. live next on fox 5 morning news. stay with us.

when you think of a rodeo, the first thing that comes to mind are cowboys and horses. but the washington gas company is putting their own spin on things. >> this morning holly is with some of the employees as they prepare for a unique competition. holly, i know this isn't your

first rodeo, but it may be one of the more interesting ones. >> reporter: it's my first of this kind. i'm all suited up. i'm in my ppe, the personal protective equipment to go out and work. and what better way to show case someone's skills than to come up with a competition that really lets them put it to the test. and that's what we have going on here. tonya hudson is the operations compliance officer. she joins me in the field. thank you for this complimentary outfit. >> absolutely. you look great. >> reporter: she said that with a straight face. so let's talk about the rodeo and how it works and what it is. >> there are four qualifying events. the pipe cut, the hand dig, the meter set and the service run. and those are examples of work that our employees do out in the field and in the community. and we like to highlight their skills and the importance of safety that we place on it, team work, respect, and really just following the procedures

that they have. >> reporter: so you have an internal competition and then the winning team goes on fashion -- a national competition in september. >> yes. >> reporter: and this is the pipe cut. you tell me what is going on. >> they are putting the cutter on to the pipe and they have to measure exactly four inches. the piece of pipe they are going to cut off is called a coupon and it has to be exactly 4 inches or else they are penalized. >> reporter: and what is the time here? >> about7 seconds. >> reporter: 17 seconds. that is quick. we were talking about this earlier and we were saying -- oh, nice work. it was okay, i mean. i might be able to do better. [ laughter ] >> reporter: they all have their game faces on. i'm talking trash. but i am going to try this and i'm going to hook up with the team better known as the hoopers all-stars. rick here is going to be

helping me go through this. and so let's be serious. we'll slow it down a little bit so we'll be safe here. and what is my job. >> you're holding the cutters and swinging them from side to side to help cut the pipe. >> and i want to say buckiwas your team captain and he got hurt, so i'm taking your place. and you guy have won the national camp two times i think. >> right. >> reporter: i'm ready. >> judges ready, contestants ready. go. >> reporter: tell me when to go. >> there we go. >> cut. >> reporter: come on hoopers

all-stars. buckie, i'm trying to make you proud. [ cheering and applause ] >> come on. here we go. >> slow it down. >> reporter: oh, my god. can i just say for the more than 1 million customer of washington gas, i hope you have a new appreciation for these guys. are we almost there? are we there yet? >> almost there. >> reporter: we have more events to show. i'm going to leave them for a second. look at me abandoning my team.

oh, there we go. okay. we only have 30 seconds left and we want to get this in. real quickly, lorenzo is from the southeast operations center. >> hi. >> reporter: we're doing a hand dig. you guys modify your own shovels. >> we modify our own shovels and handles and pick up big scoops of dirt. >> repoer: all right. here we go. let's see the hand dig. so tell me what is going on here, tanya. >> they are digging a box. there are five docks in the bottom of the box and they have to recover all of them or else they are penalized. >> reporter: myfoxdc.com, we have a link to washington gas. you can see, these guys work hard for all of us. we'll talk about it more and what the workers get out of this in the next hour. back to you guys. >> holly, i'm very impressed. you were there in. because of you, that was

happening. >> she totally loosened it up. >> reporter: because of me it was too slow. didn't you hear her say it was like 17 seconds and that was like 2 minutes. >> but a job well done. rest up. we'll see you again next hour. right now it's 7:56 on tuesday morning. >> coming up next hour, we'll continue our look back on the life of eunice kennedy shriver. how her legacy will live on through one organization she helped create and loved so much. and also packed on a plane with just one bathroom, no food and nowhere to go. continental airlines doing damage control this morning to try to please passengers trapped on a tarmac for more than six hours. and it's good for baby and momma's too. another benefit to breast feeding that lasts long after infancy. we're coming right back. (announcer)  back to school means back to busy mornings.

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she's fiber focused! i have two cappuccinos, one coff with room, one large mocha latte, a medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate, hold the whip, and two espressos, one with a double shot. gonna take more than coffee to stay this focused. stay full and focused through the morning... with a breakfast of kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats® cereal; an excellent source of fiber that helps y avoid... the distraction of mid-morning hunger. no thanks, i'm od. we are following breaking news as we report the passing of eunice kennedy shriver. we'll look back at the life of john f. kennedy's sister. and then the death of a

local man so horrific brief counselors were called out to the scene and family pets were to blame. and police officers are needed to control issues and stroll the aisles. what sparks the fireworks at th discussion in maryland. good morning. i'm steve chenevey. >> and i'm cloudia coffee in for allison seymour today. we want to get to our breaking news with sherry ly. she's live outside of the headquarters of the special olympics here in d.c. good morning, sherry. >> reporter: good morning, claudia. this is a sad morning for the special olympics here. during her lifetime the late eunice kennedy shriver inspired people worldwide, channeling the rights of the mentally disabled, she founded the special olympics, driven by her sister rosemary who spent most of her in --ann institution and today they are mourning her

loss. >> she started this movement of accepting and including people within intellectual disabilities and she started the foundation but that transcended the playing field. she was making change in policy around the world. she changed attitudes and she brought on an army of people. shriver dies in cape cod near the kennedy family compound at a hospital. her family by her side. >> she was a proud member of america's most famous political family. she was born on july 10th, 1921 in brookline, massachusetts. the 5th of nine children, she grew up like the rest, under pressure. it was, she said, win, don't come in second or third. that doesn't count. one way or another, most of the children followed this advice, entering public service or other competitive occupations. eunice focused on helping the mentally challenged, her

inspiration was her sister rosemary, who was mentally disabled. he married sergeant shriver. during her brother's presidency, sarge founded the peace corp and became u.s. ambassador to france. in 1961 eunice established the community on mental retardation but it was in 1968 that she made her mark as one of the founders of the special olympics. since then the organization has grown worldwide to more than 160 countries. >> thank you, all of the citizens, for honoring the special olympians. , for honoring the scia olympians with the largest winter games in sports history. >> reporter: a strong woman in a family that honors strength. eunice shriver leaves behind her husband, five children, including california first lady and former tv broadcaster maria shriver and 19 grandchildren.

>> her son sent a statement to the special olympics family today saying though others could not see, she still believed competing in special olympics in her heart before she could unveil it on the field of play. she believed that people with intellectual disabilities could individually and collectively achieve more than any one thought possible. and as a testament to her legacy here at the special olympics have more than a million athletes from 160 countries worldwide. here at the headquarters on 19th street they will set up a tribute for people to come by and remember all that she has accomplished. live in northwest with the latest, sherry ly, fox 5 news, back to you. >> thanks, sherry. to more on the life and death of eunice kennedy shriver, go to our website, myfoxdc.com. and there we posted the family's full statement and a photo gallery on the home page. 4 minutes past the hour. we'll go check in with tony as

it will be hot today. this is the view from oxon hill toward downtown washington, d.c. blue skies and a few clouds out there, tony. it looks good. >> not bad. it's not a bad start to the day, frankly, with the temperatures in the 70s. a fair amount of sunshine. we had haze earlier, but that appears from this shot to have burned off. so that's nice. and it is setting the stage for a more mild day than we had yesterday. but still, in the hot range. this will be day three of the heat -- of the -- of the heat wave. temperature right now 76 degrees. relative humidity 9. winds are calm. barometic pressure is on the rise. here is a look at temperatures across the region. again, we're at 76 but elsewhere temperatures range from the upper 60s into the upper 70s. it looks like our computer is stuck so we'll get that for you in just a little bit. the forecast for today, essentially partly cloudy skies, a chance of a shower or thunderstorm later on today.

and a high toy of about 92 degrees. that's 5 degrees cooler than yesterday's high. but still in the 90s. more details on the forecast cominup in just a little bit. >> thanks, tony. julie, is the heat affecting the ride to work today at all? >> i was wondering that myself. because it's been kind of busy. and we have sunshine and it's not raining, but a lot of people colliding into each other so you have to wonder if the heat is getting to them out there. we have some accidents on the inner loop of the beltway after st. barnabus involving a tractor-trailer. that out of the roadway. outer loop of the beltway after the wilson bridge we have a car. crash reported at the suitland parkway and left side blocked off there. d.c. route 295 kenilworth at east capitol, center of the roadway is blocked. live, leaving 236 toward 66 out of annandale toward merrifield, bumper-to-bumper slow. no accidents on 95.

traffic still congested at the occuquan. and here at colesville, moving better. we had a minor fender-bender at georgia but that was moved over to the shoulder. southbound 270 on the brakes as you approach montrose road. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. how are you going tkeep my employer from stopping offering insurancend force me on to the public option if that's cheaperor their bottom line? >> other health care taun hall meeting and it didn't take long for both sides to get fired up. at times the senator had to shout his way through a meeting at towson university and at one point four police officers stood if front of the stage. the president hosts a town hall in new hampshire today and if the crowd there is anything like the one in towson yesterday it will be something else. the president may have to shout to get his point across. at last night's town hall in towson, critics interrupted senator carden and oranges had

to ask many to settle down so he could speak. outside bull horns were part of the scene as supporters and opponents faced off. >> me coming out here is not unamerican. it's unamerican to say you have to take this health care and do this, if not we're going to fine you. >> i believe protestors have the right to protest and i find nothing wrong with protestors. if you disrupt a meeting, that's something different. i disagree with that. >> republicans say rowdy forums are the sign of a public dissatisfaction in the health care plan but democrats believe the g.o.p. is behind some of the protests. planting some of the dissenters in the audience. while in mexico yesterday, the president set he expects -- said he expects the white house to pass the health care bill. there has been a new website launched. coming up this week, katie connelly joins us live to talk

about the heated health care debate. the latest trouble on the tracks for metro is causing a safety stand down. 63-year-old michael nash was hit and killed by a piece of equipment while working on the orange line. most trk mantenance has been stopped all all employees are retrained. they claim all equipment was working properly at the time of the accident. another big story that we are following. a fourth person now charged in the d.c. technology scandal. herndon virginia native search mear worked for a consulting firm that had millions of dollars in business with the government. they say they lied on contracts and obtained money for ghost employees that did not work. it is said to have cost the silty at least 500 -- the city $500,000. a 32-year-old woman claims she was targeted by two men

last friday on gum springs road in loudoun county. she says one man held her down while another sexually assaulted her. the woman did not know her attackers. the police are working with the victim and plan to get a sketch of the men in a couple of days. anyone with information is asked to call loudoun county. a man was malled to death by two pit bulls. the 20-year-old man was found inside a home. friends believe he was trying to break up a fight between the family dogs when they attacked and killed him. officers found another small dog dead and a cocker spaniel safe in a cage. the news was heartbreaking for those who knew the victim. >> we played pee weball and grew up through high school. this hits more home. >> dogs fight all of the time and i guess he was trying to get in between them because it got too serious and en the next thing you know they turned

on him. >> loudoun county animal control took custody of the dogs. the victim's name has not been released. turning to the economy now. a congressional watch dog reports bad loans still threaten banks despite signs the recession is slowing. the banking system could again loose footing and says many of the obama administration's financial stability efforts are working. swine flu fears are sweeping the nation and the globe. a look at some of your biggest concerns up next on fox 5 morning news. we'll get the very latest polling numbers from scott rasmussen. and also ahead later this hour, volunteers in maryland testing a vaccine that could impact. >> plus. >> if you ask my opinion, i'll tell you my opinion. i'm not channeling my husband. >> the question that set off

health care. fox 5 morning news continues after the break. explain. oh yea, we for 6 months, customers get all three: fios tv, internet and phone for just $799 a month. oh, all right, see... you're just moving your fingers, aren't you? i gotta cut my nails. (announcer) now get three amazing fios services for the price of two. tv, internet, and phone for only... for the first 6 months. it all adds up to one incredible deal from fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v unli cable, fios brings 100% fibeoptics

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8:14 now and this is our big story this morning. eunice kennedy shriver passed away at a hospital in cap cod, massachusetts around 2:00 this morning. she probably was best known for starting rights for the mentally disabled and founding the special olympics. ted kennedy released a time saying his sister learned the lesson of their parents, that much is expected of those who have been given so much. hundreds of americans are lining up for an experimental swine flu shot in eight u.s. cities, including baltimore. the government says the first doses will be available by fall. in a recent rasmussen poll when asked how likely it is you will get vaccinated. 38% said very likely and 27% said somewhat likely. scott rasmussen joins us live with more results.

hi, there scott. >> how are you today. >> doing well. >> and everybody is talking about swine flu and the vaccine and when it will come out and you zeroed in on those questions during the poll. one of the questions was how confident are you that the schools are preventing the spread of swine flu this coming year. 25% said confident, 23 not very confident. what do you make of those results? it seems like to me everybody is split. it seems like people don't know what to think. what do you think? >> that's it. these numbers suggest that people haven't focused on that question. the thing that really surprised me in the data was there was no difference between those who had children going to school at home and those who did not. so this is something talking about in the media nd obviously there are a lot of health efforts being made to address ccine but it has

not entering the daily dialogue. >> and you mentioned the media and reporting what the cdc is doing and reporting what is going on. do you think the danger from swine flu is being blown out of proportion. 46% responded yes. . what do you think is going on here. >> younger adults more likely to think the danger has been over blown. older adults less likely to think that. and that ties into the first question because older adults are much more likely to say they will get the vaccine, younger adults much less likely to do so. moving on to the cash for clunkers pgram. you have a question about. that the government has provided cash incentives for purchase new cars and should the government create similar

programs in other industries. that was the polling question. here are the results. 37% said yes, 46% said no. did that surprise you? >> not at all. even the cash for clunkers, the original program, while it was popular with people who could take advantage of it, most taxpayers did not like the idea. in fact 54% said the senate should not have approved the additional funding for the program just before heading out on recess. >> and lastly, instead of destroying the automobiles, you asked should they be n i during the cash for clunkers program and should they be available for those who could not afford a car. 53% said yes. did you expect that response? >> we're just hitting priorities. >> go ahead. >> well this gets into competing priorities. the notion of helping somebody who cannot afford their own car is something some americans would like to do in some way,

but yet that goes against its environmental objectives of the cash for clunkers program which was to get the gas guzzlers off the road. when you get into a topic like this, there was not a lot of serious debate on it but americans do have competing priorities. >> scott rasmussen, thank you so much for your time today. >> my pleasure. >> steve. we want to check in with tony perkins and get a look at -- at our forecast. and we also have a cuteness factor. >> tell me about that, tony. >> it takes the edge off some of the 90-degree days. >>trihithis relief. and it's wonderful and cute and it's the my first 5 photo of the day. let's look at today's photo. this is zirayah. and she is 5 and she's very pretty. and that is a pretty picture. we are told she loves to swim ad play in the park with her sisters. to send us your child's

picture, go to myfoxdc.com and click on mornings. yesterday's high temperatures, did we set any records? well reagan national, the record high for the date yesterday was 98 degrees. we did not get there. i thought we would. dulles international, i thought we would break a record there and we did. 97 degrere brdco of old record of 96. bwi marshall, nowhere near the record. oi ink threigi hr rdh foe the sy wa 100 degrees and we obviously did not get there. all right. here a s ilo okat thure cntre temperatures. 80 degrees now. nt to 80 here in norfolk and cape hatteras. so starting to see the war amir ma ssarro hehe, s ea ire kes ac t across the area, here is what we're looking at as far godar e e te gothe es. r there are somedserouclout ou ist is ht morning. we'll see more clouds build in later on today. no precipitation at this hour. nor do we expect any for a while. but later on this afternoon we can't rule out some showers and thunderstorms moving across the region. five-day forecast, high today,

day three of the heat wave, but not as hot, high of about 92 degrees downtown. tomorrow, 88 with a chance of more showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. same for thursday. but highs in the mid-80s for thursday and friday. saturday, we start to see the warmer temperatures build back in here. it will be warmer saturday and sunday, frankly. that's a look at the weather. now let's get more on the morning's rush hour traffic from julie wright. it's still busy out there with lays off of the beltway on the southbound baltimore- washington parkway. the lanes are open but it's kenilworth where we have problems with a stalled car tieing up the center of the roadway. outer loop of the beltway toward georgia avenue, 197 north of 450, the crash, follow police direction to get through. no aidents reported in virginia. off of 95, slow from the occuquan toward lorton and from the frank conia parkway to 395. and slow from annandale to merrifield. and here is a shot and below

speed up to 66. no accidents southbound on 29. slow out of white oak passing lockwood drive and toward university boulevard. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. she left millions to her dog trouble, but what about the rest of leona helmsly cash. why those in charge of her estate could be facing legal trouble. and holly is live at the rodeo, with no cowboys or horses but there sa utility crew on hand. and quite a workout for holly. more coming up it's 8:22. (eloyee 1) subject: urgent!! bob!! i need the baker file stat!! reply!! still making changes. circle back later!! what's with the yelling? oh, our internet slows down during peak hours so sending e-mails and large files just takes forever.

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hudson river to remove for wreckage from the crash. they found the small airplane and the body of the final victim inside the plane. it is the plane that collided with a sightseeing helicopter killing nine people. three relatives from pennsylvania and five italian tourists. police have released 911 tapes from those who witnessed the crash. >> is anybody injured. >> their probably totally injured. >> it landed or is crashed. >> i would hurry i -- i saw the last of it and i saw something explode and then something fall after that. so i would hurry. >> politicians and aviation perts are beginning to brainstorm ways to patrol the hudson corridor. one group of passengers were trapped on a tarmac overnight. why they were forced to sleep on a plane after arriving at the airport. >> plus the white house turned to the web to dispel myths

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♪ big and small! there's fun for all! ♪ thank you, all of the citizens of canada, for honoring the special olympians. >> eunice kennedy shriver addressing the opening of the international special olympics games in toronto ba in 1987. today the world lost ms. shriver. she died at the age of 88. we want to share more about wh what she did from her home in potomac, maryland. listen to what she told those from the games in 1987. >> you are the stars and the world is watching you. by your presence you send a message to every village, every city, every nation, a message

of hope, a message of victory. the right to play on any playing field, you have earned it. at right to study in any school. you have earned it. the right to hold a job, you have earned it. the right to be anyone's neighbor. you have earned it. [ applause ] >> and that is what you will hear and see iyou go to the special olympics website. i just went there myself and it's so powerful to see the words. you can sense the caring and love that she had for this organization and the determination she had to truly transform the way people felt and saw those with intellectual disabilities but we link our website to that website and it's a touching tribute. if you do get a chance go to that and check that out. a lot of pictures as well. >> her sob also with special -- her son with special olympics as well. she said when she first came up with the idea people didn't care and she stuck to it and one of the greatest

accomplishments. >> certainly quite a legacy for her. and we'll switch gears to the weather. another big story we're following today and tony perkins. >> before we get to the local weather, let's talk about prop cal weather, something we haven't done a lot of it. this is a tropical disturbance in eastern portions of the atlantic ocean. not far off the coast of africa. still getting organized but it is the second tropical depression of the season. not an organized storm. no name yet. if it becomes a named storm it will be anna. right now it has maximum sustained winds of 30 miles per hour. currently 78 in fredericksberg. frederick, maryland at 81 and in winchester at 78. and we make the climb into 80s and 90s for much of the viewing area. satellite radar composite for the area. we had some precipitation that came through off to the east

and an ap list and the chesapeake bay and eastern portions of maryland. some clouds with us this morning but a fair amount of sunshine coming through and that's the way it will be during the course of the day today. so here is your forecast for today. we're going to see partly cloudy skies. some scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms. more numerous than yesterday. high today of about 92 degrees. that's a look at what is happening with the weather. now we go to julie wright for a look at traffic. julie, tucker barnes has not had a chance to talk to you. he asked me to impart to you that he loves what you are wearing. >> well i don't think they have it in his side because it's for petite. he puts on something like this and it will have to be a two- top. >> tucker has a questioning look on his face. >> honey, we always ask about the questioning look on his face. that's really what he looks like? love you, tucker. here we go. out on the roads right now.

we have lanes open. no accidents to report as you continue to work your way along 95 and 395. what you will find is slow traffic out of woodbridge and across the occuquan and leaving the franconia springfield parkway and across the 14th street bridge. heavy and steady as you work into southeast washington. budge sound baltimore washington parkway slowing south of the beltway. a stalled car on east capital street to blame for that delay. southbound 29 on the breaks from tech road toward university boulevard. no dents, just volume delays. outer loop remains slow. 95 around to georgia avenue. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. now that lawmakers are not in session for recess, the white house is taking the battle for health care reform to town halls and even the internet with a new website called reality check. katie connelly joins us to talk about the heated health care debate. katie, talk about a heated debate. we have seen this play out in town hall meetings across the country, including last night

in maryland. >> i know. you've seen the footage on the news and on you tube and all of the places. these are heated debates. people are very fired up about this. >> is this a good thing because it keeps the issue in public eye or are we clouding the issues because of the political structure? >> anyone with a commitment to the democracy knows that having public meetings and town halls is a od thing. but we're seeing misinformation being spread and that's ultimately damaging to the debate because people aren't concentrating on the meat of the bill and what the bill is trying to do, they're concentrating on the rumors and these ideas that the wi house with the website is trying to combat. >> and with the website, i admit, it seems like it's a little confusing, the fact you have to good on and watch video presentation or find a link to the frequently asked questions to get answers. so in my opinion it's not clearing things up in the easiest way. >> i think what the administration is done is use a

tactic during the campaign. they had the website that was similar. they like to use different voices to make the point and bring in different experts to elaborate on some of the questions that are being asked. it worked for them well during the campaign. it remains to be seen whether it will work now. >> let's talk about a few of the issues, buzz -- because talking about health care is not the most intriguing but now it takes on new meaning. >> it's easy to talk about death panels that sarah palin talked about this weekend and euthanizing your grand parents which are not true. and the core of the issue, they are dull and dry and it's harder to get people's interest piqued in those things.

>> and these are opportunities for counseling that will be nonmandatory. >> exactly. this is not some doctor knocking on everybody's door over the age of 65 and asking them what they want to do with end of life decisions. that is not what is being proposed. it's counseling and offering information and those sorts of things. >> it's very easy to put the spin on thingsin the political manner. when we come to the town hall meetings which we've heard about, there is allegations of people being brought in for the ecific reason of disrupting meetings, is that happening? >> it is happening. and it's not new. we saw people do this with social security and saw people do this back in the early 90s when the health care plan of hillary clinton was being used. and this is tried and true and been used for many years. what i interesting is the passions are running very high. >> and this is stirring up the passion among the people, but not the people voting on this, it's congress. does this make a difference to congress, the reaction coming

from the meetings and hearing from the people. >> certainly. i think you'll see people coming back after the august recess and some congressman, particularly moderate democrats in swing states that will feel nervous about passing health care reform. they will be worried about the reaction in the electorates and that will make things more difficult on capitol hill. >> and so what happens? does something pass? is it a watered down version? >> something will pass. it will probably be a watered down version. the biggest question is whether nancy pelosi and harry reid can convince any of the counterparts on the other side to vote with them. >> we'll continue to hear another town hall meeting with the president today in new hampshire. >> looking forward to it. >> thank you for joining us this morning. it's a specially difficult time to be out of work and fox 5 is looking to help you find brand new opportunities. our job of the day coming up next after the day. so you ask my opinion, i'll tell you my opinion.

i'm not going to be channeling my husband. >> secretary clinton's outburst just a matter of misunderstanding. more on that question that set her off. still ahead. explain. oh yea, well for 6 months, customers get all three: fi tv, intert and phone for just $79.99 a month. oh, all right, see... i gotta cut my nai. (announcer) now get threamazing fios services for the price of two. tv, internet, and phone for only... for the first 6 months.

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jos of the dab y' day. stylist, barber and massage therapist positions all at the o nted touch salon and spa in laurel, maryland. to contact the employer and find more jobs or st anan openin g,go to myfoxdc.com and look for the link to the job shop. it was a fight mear for passengers -- a nightmare for passengers on board a continental express jet. they were stuck on board for hours. >> passengers were stuck on the plane with no food, toilets over flowing and babies crying. the plane was diverted. no one was allowed to get off and they had to wait for a new cr to be flown in. >> we were on the runway, and it was no longer a weather thing, it was how do we take care of these people for the next 6, 8 and 10 hours and that was not a weather issue, that was a logistic issue about getting us off the plane into someplace where we could breathe and eat and be

comfortable. >> you're so exhausted so you kind of doze off but you can't really sleep because babies are crying and the sinells are getting worse. so it's hard to sleep. and you're almost just numb like what is going to happen next. >> they didn't have any food. continental issued a statement apologizing to the passengers calling the incident completely unacceptable and saying it would offer customers a full ticket refund and certificate good for future travel. >> passengers finally made it to their destination on saturday. >> i would take that future travel certificate and say can i trade it for another airline. >> exactly. not a fun time. more still ahead. a possible cancer rate between breast feeding. the results of a study coming up. and holly is at the rodia but it's not what you think. >> reporter: this is a rodeo starring a utility comny, washington gas. we are live at the springfield operation center. go ahead and start it my man.

i have two teams that are practicing one event. this is called the service installation. let me say i want these guys to come to my house and install my next service this is just one of several events. what this whole rodeo thing is about and why it's important and swhat they get out of it live next at fox 5 morning news. hmmm... well... naaa... yeah! 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 rides tound. starat buschgardens.com.

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it the all new sesame street forest of fun... at busch gardens in williamsburg. with four family-friendly rides... and everyone's sesame street iends. ( elmo giges ) ♪ big and small! there's fun for all! ♪ welcome back at 8:46. 80 degrees now. time for a look at stories making headline this is morning. >>eunice kennedy shriver passed away this morning at a hospital in cape cod. her husband and five grand -- five children and all 19 grandchildren were by her side. inspired by her own mentally challenged sister, she organized the first special olympics. senator kennedy is remembering his sister as a young girl with great humor, sharp wit and a boundless passion to make a difference. she was 88 years old. another benefit to breast feeding. it may cut a woman's risk of developing breast cancer.

a new study in the archives of internal medicine found that women with a family history of breast cancer were less likely to develop it if they breast fed it. has also been linking to lowering a woman's risk of osteoporosis, ovarian cancer and high blood pressure. and now secretary of state health care was set off. this happened at a town hall meeting when somebody asked her what her husband thought about a chinese bank's loan offer to the congo. >> you went me to tell you what my husband thing thinks -- my husband thinks. my husband is not the secretary of state, i am. if you ask my opinion, i'll tell you my opinion. i'm not going to be channeling my husband. >> there is a little bit more to this that we want to tell you about. the state department says its

translator got the question wrong and the student who asked the question wanted president obama's opinion on the matter. not president clinton. >> once the confusion was clarified, the secretary and the student shook hands and she told the student not to worry about it. leona helmsly dog living in florida and funded by her estate. not a bad life. but back in new york there was a big court battle over more of her estate. the humane society, aspca and another fund says the money she willed is not being spent the way it should be. they want the court order that gave the charity trust the money thrown out. this morning holly is previewing another type of event that focused on natural gas safety. and holly, did you know you were going to get a workout like this? >> reporter: i think they kicked me off that team after

my last hour demonstration. these guys are good. this whole concept of the natural gas rodeo started back in 1990 with a local you'll company in denver. it wasn't until 95 that it became a national competition and it was about 2006 when washington gas decided to put together many teams and they have competed on the national level ever since they started being a part of it. and this year at stake is a trip to st. louis where the nationals will be held. and j.r. is with the hooper as all- stars. you went to the nationals last year. >> yes. we placed 16th. >> reporter: and you're expecting to do better this year. >> a whole lot better. >> reporter: and this was the team that buckie reilly was on. he got hurt playing softball, not here. but how do you -- why do you do this and what do you get out of it? >> this is what we do every

day, and to focus on safety and team work and have fun. >> reporter: was your family surprised the first time they saw it. >> yes they were. >> reporter: well one of the highlights events is the relay and i'm bringing back tonya hudson, the operations compliance offer and this is where everybody gets excited. >>ery exciting. and it highlights the difficulty of using the heavy equipment and how skilled they are at doing this. >> reporter: and let's queue them to start. and what is going on. >> the first event is the truck backing and they'll back through the cones and there is only a few inches on either side of the wheels of the trailer where the cones are. they couldn't knock over any cones or they get penalty -- and they'll back down and they have to touch the cone and if they knock the golf ball off they get a penalty. >> reporter: it's about speed and also about accuracy.

and first and foremost it's about safety. >> absolutely and you see he has a backer backing him so he knows how far he is away from the last cone. >> reporter: golf ball stayed on. very good. so he es the air brakes and that's a sign for the bat on to be run to -- >> to the backhoe. and this is very exciting. this gentleman will show his skills in pegging up an egg on the end of a spoon. >> reporter: let me make sure everybody understands. there is a spoon on the back of the bucket and he is picking up a egg. >> yes. and they will drop it in a bucket. >> reporter: how do they decide who is on the team? >> they ask for volunteers and they have gotten a lot of good support from the stations. last year we had five teams competing and this year we have three. >> reporter: and how much time do they get to practice? >> we start practicing three

weeks before the event and they practice a few hours a day. >> and what do you see when they are done being a part of all of this? >> you see great team work and enthusiasm with the guys. you also see pride in what they do and they feel they're getting recognition for the work that they do, because they're out in the field and we don't see them every day so the people in the office and i think the customers don't appreciate how difficult this work is. >> reporter: myfoxdc.com is our link to washington gas. if you're one of the more than 1 million customers that they serve and you want to find out more. i have to say, just going on record, i have to been to actual rodeos but this one is no less fun and the reason is because of the participants. we had a great time. i hope you have a new appreciation for washington gas, guys, what do you think? >> i am impressed with everything we saw this morning. >> i never knew. the skill blows me away. >> i want them to come to my house, agree with holly. it is 8:53 right now. stay with us.

right after the bre ta talk with the president and thecoo of the special olympics about the passing of eunice kennedy shriver. stay with us. gu remember, we're a solar system. mars is down...and... um, it's only 10am. who hasn't had their jimmy dean breakfast this morning?

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welcome back now. 8:56. we're covering breaking news and following the latest with eunice kennedy driver. she passed away this morning. she's best known for the mark she left on the special olympics as founding the special olympics. >> we want to go down to headquarters and want to be talking with the president, brady lum. we heard from tim shriver, and his response seemed to be personal. as somebody with your self, very involved with the organization. what is your feeling this

morning. >> this is incredibly sod for us here in d.c. and our organization and our 3.2 million athletes, it's a tough day. >> we've heard from people in washington and massachusetts and people from all over the world that have contacted you and the special olympics organization already. can you talk about that a little bit? >> we put a tribute site at www.eunicekennedyshriver.org and we have gotten responses from nearly 40 heads of state, governors. we received a note from the pope last night. it's truly an amazing outpouring from all of the family members of special olympics all over the world. >> mr. lum, i just looked at that website it is truly amazing. to see herwords and the pictures is phenomenal. this will be her legacy. where would she want the special olympics to go in the future? >> you know, i had an opportunity to talk with her several months ago and one of the things that i mentioned to her, i said, i don't have as

long of a tenure with special olympics as you do and she looked at me sternly in the face and said, brady special olympics is owned by the future, not the past and i'll never forget that comment and i think it's a source of inspiration not only for me butr for many of us that will carry her legacy on. >> mr. brady lum, thank you so much for your time this morning and once again our condolences to your organization. >> thank you steve and claudia. we appreciate it. >> you can check out what he said and the guest books signed and reactions around the world. we put links on our website at myfoxdc.com. you can get links to that information and mutt we put up -- we put up old photos. >> it's fascinating to look at. a final look at the weather. >> today will be another warm day. day three of the heat wave. not as warm as yesterday. 92 degrees for the high downtown. still chance o