with the mayor's response. plus, what his campaign staffers are saying. >> and a tough reception for mitt romney at the naacp conference. coming up, the remark that ignited boos at the crowd there at the convention. plus, a local professor will join us live with what she thinks is romney's best move forward. >> split second decisions are made every day by law enforcement and officers in prince george's county are getting high tech training to help them out. wisdom martin is putting their new system to the test. >> later, your one stop shop for the cutest cat and how you can take part in a new festival. look at that. that is super cute. >> what is it about cat videos -- >> look how long he's on his back legs. >> and fighting the air. first let's go to tucker barnes. he has the latest on the

weather. hey, tucker. weather looks fine. sunshine today. upper 80s to about 90. where we should be this time of year. without much humidity, and without much threat for showers and thunderstorms. should turn into a decent day. there's a little cloud cover, southern maryland, towards st. mary's city, leonardtown, you have a little cloud cover. and lower eastern shore as well. the rest of us, bright sunshine. the trend will be plenty of sunshine for most of us, and again we should be dry today with seasonal temperatures. current temperature reagan national, 74 degrees. very comfortable joe night with temperatures back -- overnight with temperatures back into the 60s in many spots. 75 in baltimore. 74 ocean city and 72 fredericksburg. kind of partly to mostly sunny skies. and high temperatures where they should be, 89 in washington. 90 fredericksburg. changes in the forecast this weekend, details in a minute. tony and allison, back to both of you.

tucker, thank you. new this morning, in a few minutes, the internal report into the jerry sandusky sex abuse scandal is expected to be released. it's from a team led by a former fbi director. they interviewed hundreds of people to find out how penn state university responded to warning signs that the former defensive coordinator was a serial child molester. a letter has surfaced from joe paterno and writes the issue is not a football scandal, but academic scandal. more evidence is expected to be released today in the shooting death of trayvon martin. it will include statements from witnesses, police reports and notes and george zimmerman's calls to police. zimmerman was released from jail after posting bail last friday. he shot martin in february. he maintains he did it in self- defense. investigators have several persons of interest in

connection with the murder of a local reporter. sarah greenhalgh worked for the winchester star and was found dead monday inside her burned out home. investigators believe the killer set the fire to conceal the crime. police are questioning a man that she dated. she referenced him as crazy in a facebook posting sunday. he is not considered a suspect. the ongoing investigation into d.c. mayor gray's 2010 campaign is our big story. >> three d.c. city council members are now calling on the mayor to resign. this move came on the same day mayor gray publicly addressed the allegations for the first time. our own melanie alnwick is live at the wilson building with the latest on this growing campaign corruption scandal that is plaguing the mayor's office and the d.c. government. >> reporter: it does continue to grow, tony. mayor gray says he didn't know about the illegal fund raising activities that were

coordinated by his former p.r. consultantant, and allegedly paid for by a well known businessman and city contractor. but the u.s. attorney investigating the case says the secret campaign was coordinated with gray's official campaign and the dominoes are going to continue to fall. three council members are now calling for the mayor to resign after that shadow campaign was confirmed in federal court. at a press conference wednesday, gray says he never knew about the shadow campaign taking place behind the scenes. tuesday, long time friend and campaign consultantant harris pleaded guilty to help fund money into secret donations. harris told the "washington post" she discussed the unreported spending with gray in january. former federal prosecutor paul butler says the pressure is building on the mayor. >> the classic d.c. story, the

cover up. we don't know who masterminded the campaign. when he was asked the question, when did you know yesterday, he said, that's part of the investigation. that's not a good answer. he needs to have said, i learned about it tuesday when ms. harris pled guilty in federal court. any answer other than that, he's in trouble. >> reporter: in a letter to the washington post this morning, two senior advisors to gray's 2010 campaign said they feel betrayed and also said mayor gray didn't do enough in his press conference on wednesday to quell the questions about what he knew and when he knew it and saying it further eroded the public trust in his administration. they do say they never saw any evidence the candidate knew anything about an illegal campaign. they say basically that it was conducted without the knowledge of most of the campaign's senior leadership and calling for those who are -- who are involved in this to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. remember, there's been a lot of

talk about jeffrey thompson. we have to remember that harris said in federal court that thompson was the source of the fund, she didn't say him by name, but there was somebody else who hatched this plan. that's what we're trying figure out, what is that somebody else, responsible for coming up with that shadow campaign? back to you. >> the plot thickens. thank you, melanie. new this morning, the race for virginia senate seat is heating up. democratic candidate tim kaine is raising more money an allen. but allen supporters are stepping up, a conservative outside group is spending $1.1 million on new tv ads.

for the last month, illinois congressman jesse jackson, jr. has not been seen. his office is saying he's getting medical treatment for a mood disorder. but his staff isn't giving out other details and won't say where he is. the chicago democratic took a leave of absence june 10th. at the time his staff said he was battling emotional problems. the house votes to repeal health care reform. republicans call it a job killing threat to the economic recovery. all of them voted to repeal president obama's legislation. only five democrats voted. democrats say the repeal would remove protections for consumers that are already helping millions. this has no chance of passing in the democratic controlled senate. talk about going into the lion's den, mitt romney spoke at the naacp convention and let's say he hit a few rough spots with the audience.

sarah simmons is back with highlights. >> that's right. romney got mixed reaction, especially on a couple of hot button topics. he probably didn't expect to win over many black voters when he addressed the convention in houston. it is the nation's largest civil rights organization. and includes some of president obama's most loyal supporters. the crowd did give some applause when he spoke out against gay marriage. but things did not go over so well when he made a bold statement directed towards the audience and made comments on the affordable care act. >> i submit to you this, if you want a president who will make things better in the african- american community, you are looking at him. you take a look. i'm going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program i can find, that includes obama care, and i'm going to work to reform and save -- [ boos] ] >> the crowd didn't like that

so much. romney is considered unlikely to win over the black vote. about 95% of african-american voters backed president obama in 2008. vice president joe biden will address the naacp convention today and president obama decided to skip the event this year. the white house says that was for scheduling reasons. coming up at 9:30, we'll take a look at why romney close to say what he did before the civil rights group. tony, back over to you. making headlines, a burial for a local hero. the funeral for niall coti- sears is getting underway. he was 23 years old when he was killed last month in afghanistan. he is from arlington and went to wilson high in the district, and studied music at the lavigne school. his family is asking anyone who

wants to send flower, instead send a donation to that school. we are just getting word of a massive fuel explosion in southern nigeria. nearly 100 people are reportedly killed in a blast in rivers state. a tanker caught fire after a fuel spill. villagers rushed to the tanker. 95 bodies have been found so far. women and children among the victims. 9:10 now. coming up, details on the new 911 system coming to the district. >> plus, shoot or don't shoot? wisdom is learning about a new police training system. >> reporter: we are in prince george's county and the police department has a new training system. we're going to go through a couple of scenarios and we're going to talk about why it's so important that we have this new system in place. that's all coming up when fox 5 morning news continues. [ crows cawing ] [ male announcer ] strange things happen

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recent storms forced lots of people to throw out anything nonperishable. while replacing that food does not come cheap, to help offset the cost, food stamp recipients have until july 20th to file claims for food they had to throw out. it's only for those on food stamps in june. contact the city's department of human services for more information. a new 911 system is being unveiled. it's free and allows residents to create online profiles about themselves to help emergency officials in their response. profiles include personal information such as pre- existing medical conditions and allergies that are automatically displayed to 911 operators during a call. that's smart. >> it is very smart. we don't often have to make those life and death decisions in split seconds that law

enforcement has to do all the time. >> in prince george's county there is a new training system helping officers with more than 400 different scenarios. our wisdom martin is out there testing the system this morning and joins us live. this is brand-new, right? >> reporter: you're right. this is a brand-new system. we're going to get right to it, right to the details about this new system, with major pearson. he is in charge of this operation. >> yes. >> reporter: thank you for talking to us. tell us about this new system. >> it was purchased with the homeland security grant last month for us. it's state of the art system. called the milo system. it's an interactive scenario based system. >> reporter: what's different, this system, the new one, versus the old system? >> the old system didn't allow us the capablebilities of using the tools we are issued. this system allows us to use taser, spray, flash lights,

both our long guns. that's what is a lot different. >> reporter: the scenarios, tell us how that works from the computer and with all the equipment. >> correct. we have about 425 scenarios that came preloaded from the company. we also have the capability of making our own scenarios, which we will start doing pretty soon. one of the things that the system allows, how you interact with the system, the controller can de escalate the situation or escalate the situation. >> reporter: clearly a tough job. >> it's a tough job. >> reporter: why it's important to have training. >> absolutely. communication skills is key here. if you can de escalate a situation using verbal skills, we'll do it here. if you don't use the proper skills, we can increase that. >> reporter: we're going through a scenario now. do i need to put these on? >> you do. >> reporter: we're going through a scenario right now. they've already given me this weapon now. turn the lights off or? >> dim the lights. >> reporter: stay with us on

this. we're going to go through a scenario. i'm going to try to get through this. you may need to help me with this. we're here. this is a screen. and what is this? >> this will be simulating cover for you, something we teach our officers, the scenario starts to be aggressive, might want to move to cover if you see a weapon involved or anything like that. in a few minutes you'll see that screen pop on and how you interact with the screen will determine what happens. >> reporter: you're going to narrate and tell me what i'm supposed to be doing. >> sure. >> reporter: or if i'm not doing this right. stay with us, tony and allison. here we go. all right. [sound of gunfire] >> you respond to a robbery in progress. identify a suspect fleeing from the building outside. >> draw your weapon. >> reporter: draw my weapon. freeze, freeze, stop right there! put the bag down.

>> move to cover. >> reporter: oh, move to cover. >> keep paying attention. you got another suspect. >> reporter: there's another suspect, okay. is it over? >> yes. the scenario ended. >> reporter: clearly i messed up, because i didn't see the second suspect. >> you hid behind cover, instead of keeping your vision behind target. that suspect would not have gone down if you didn't hit him. you did a good job. >> reporter: not bad for somebody who doesn't know anything about shooting a gun? >> absolutely. you should have moved to cover a lot sooner. because you were out in the open a long time. >> reporter: tell me how important it is for you to have this interactive -- and you know the part we didn't discuss, tell me how important it is to have this for the officers, to have this new system in place, interactive, and it also fires back. we didn't get to that part. >> absolutely. it's very important. because our officers have to use communication skills. it is the key to being able to control a situation, hopefully talk someone that wants to hurt someone else down from a

situation. so if you use the wrong communication skills, if you don't use any at all, we have the capability of firing back. >> reporter: that's the machine there. it shoots plastic pellets. shoots these at you. >> yes. >> reporter: doesn't hurt? >> goes about 280 feet per second. it can sting you a little bit. >> reporter: all right. very good. thank you very much for talking with us and explaining this. it's not an easy job. we already knew that. this is a tool that will better assist them and train them when they are out there in the line of fire trying to do their jobs. back to you. >> let me ask a question, we saw it shoot back at you, did you feel it or did you duck just in time? >> reporter: did i duck in time? when the guy was shooting back at me, did he hit me? >> we've got the capability of looking back and seeing that. >> reporter: they have that on the computer. they can see if i was hit.

i'm pretty sure i was slow. i'm not very fast. my reaction time was pretty bad. >> but good job. that's so interesting. >> it really is cool. it really is cool. i wish we had time to see you do more of the scenarios. wisdom, thanks very much. >> thanks, wisdom. >> it looks like a game, a video game. >> it does. >> it's not a game. >> no. when it hits you, you probably realize it's real. coming up, new ground video of that dramatic fireworks flop in san diego. remember that one? you don't want to miss it. it's not funny. >> it's kind of funny. >> a little bit. >> soon you can vote for your favorite cat stars. details on a festival coming up. first time to check in with holly. hello, there. >> reporter: guys, this morning, good morning to you, we are live at vida fitness. we have an amazing view of the city. but we have amazing guests that are even better. can you imagine, what's one

thing more nerve wracking than being an olympian like julie zetlin is? being the dad of an olympian. mark zetlin is joining us and we're going to talk about this whole experience of team u.s.a. as a family, and we're going to see if i can become an honorary member of the zetlin family, too. stay with us. you guys are holding up very well. 

we got new video of the fireworks flop in san diego on the fourth of july. this video was taken from the ground. it's bright and loud but only lasted 33 seconds and went dark, because all the fireworks went off at once. you can hear someone in the background yell, this is insane. another spectator chimed in with, best fireworks show ever. i guess they're being

sarcastic. >> best fireworks show ever. the first internet cat video film festival. yes! it will be held at the end of august in minneapolis. the festival will feature the most loved cat videos on the web. perhaps you like the video of the little kitten scared of a sneeze. okay. or-- there it is. or the cat versus blow dryer. look how long he's on his back paws. >> that's pretty good. >> that's amazing. we can't leave out this little guy, who is apparently starving for attention. he can't be quiet. the festival takes place august 30th. >> that's a cute cat. >> i just want to squeeze that cat. adorable. still ahead, one woman's mission to change the world one snuggle at a time. plus-- >> it was a tough reception as

mitt romney addressed the naacp convention. coming up after the break, i'm sitting down with jennifer lawson who has written why people have run for office. find out what she thinks romney needs to do next when we come back.

meet jaqueline, she's a professional snuggler. the 29-year-old -- >> really? >> yeah. professional should not be that in a sense, i don't think. the 29-year-old new yorker created the snugerry because she said many americans lack nonsexual touch. she says snuggling is a way to relax. she aims to make the world a better place one snuggle at a time. one hour will cost you sucks e

bucks. i guess she is profession $60 bucks. i guess she is a professional. >> tucker is dialing now. >> i've tried to start a snugery. but can't get anyone to come. >> maybe they don't look like that. sixty dollars an hour. an hour? >> katie says you lay on the bed and snuggle with her. she's walking a line. >> dangerous. >> can i do a shout out? yesterday as i was cruising around to different 7-elevens, getting in on the promotion, i know it's not right, we ran into a guy and he tried to take like six pictures, but his camera wouldn't work. he dvrs the show. he said, if you give me a shout out, that's just as good. hey, durak, nice to meet you

yesterday on 16th street in silver spring. >> very good. >> we're meeting a lot of people at food places. >> it's where we hang out. in another news, allison spent $15 in gas -- >> going to different 7- elevens. >> it was like 6:30, and they were like can we hit another? i was feeling adventurous. >> i'm sure a lot of people did. >> they were free. anyway. >> headed out to get a slurpee today, conditions fine. perfect slurpee weather. >> you'll have to pay today. much like the snuggler. >> can't help you with that. don't bring the snuggler back, i'll start laughing again. maybe low 90s afternoon highs. but better chance for both scattered showers on saturday and sunday afternoon. not going to rain all weekend. i think the second half of both days, scattered thunderstorms. heat next week. 90s are back, like mid-90s

tuesday and wednesday of next week. temperatures at reagan national, 77 degrees. comfortable out there. 78 in annapolis. overnight most of the region fell back into the 60s. you can see we're rebounding. nice. 76 at dulles. been talking about this front the past several days. far enough south and west of us we don't be dealing with the direct effects of it today. generally sunny skies in washington. south and east of the city, southern maryland, more in the way of cloudiness. all of us should be dealing with dry conditions today. the weekend, tomorrow and saturday and sunday, guess what will be back? our old friend, yep, that cold front will become a warm front, and as it does so, thunderstorms back in the forecast this weekend, along with more heat, more humidity. so it will feel very much like july around here by saturday and sunday. my advice, enjoy today as the humidity will remain relatively low. lots of sunshine and warm

afternoon. 89degrees. winds out of the south and east at 5 to 10 miles per hour. partly cloudy and mild overnight. 73degrees. wind out of the south and east at about 5. here's your five- day forecast, next couple of days, the clouds increase and scattered showers and thunderstorms back in the forecast both saturday and sunday. highs low 90s. remember, mid-90 around here by tuesday and wednesday of next week. all right. that's a look at weather. and when it's hot, i don't feel like snuggling much, tony, back to you. >> thank you for that information. anyone just joining in has no idea why he said that to me. but thank you. mitt romney told an naacp convention in houston he'd be a better president for african- americans than barack obama and he plans to dismantle the president's health care overall. the reaction was not positive. >> i'm going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program i can find, that includes obama care, and i'm going to work to

reform and save -- [ boos ] >> so, is this evidence of a disconnect between romney and the minority and female voters he needs to win in november? her latest book is "becoming a candidate." why go through that? thank you for coming in, doctor. >> thank you. >> i want to talk about romney first, and at the naacp. we say, is it a disconnect. in some ways, isn't is, you know, he went there and he stated his case. and he didn't alter his vision for this particular audience, only to go somewhere else a few days later and go back to his old routine. in some ways doesn't it make sense to say here's what i want to do? >> if there are points for

showing up, he got them. i think his tone was off and demonstrated some tone deafness with the community in he didn't go there and say, look, i know you like barack obama and voted for him last time. let me make a case why the last four years haven't gone the way you expected. instead, he tried to pitch as a candidate who understood his needs, when his policy preferentials aren't aligned with the naacp's agenda. >> good point. he could have couched it differently and, you know, made kind of a better presentation of it. >> i think so. framing matters, especially when you're walking into a room, where not only did 95% of african-americans support barack obama last time, but current approval ratings among the african-american community of president obama remain above 90%. this is not a group of voters where there's really much sway to be had. >> could maybe used a sense of humor in there somewhere about the situation? >> a little bit. and that 15-second pause where

he just accepts the boos. 15 secs is a very long time in real life. it was cringe worthy. >> this does speak to some of the criticism of romney, and it's not just about his appeal or lack of appeal to minority voters, but to women voters as well. there's a lot of criticism about, you know, i'm not even going to really try to reach out to women voters. either you're with me or you're not. >> that's right. and that's particularly damning because in every presidential election since 1980, there has been a gender gap in which women have been more likely man men to support the democratic candidate. for romney to win the election, needs to chip away at the gap. the gap will still exist, but he needs to make it small. he's made few gestures and the ones he's made are symbolic. anne romney saying she hopes he

picks a women as vice president -- >> so what does -- what would romney need to do because his views are not going to be widely accepted by african- americans, latinos and women voters? >> the first is he needs to shore up the amount of support he has not from those groups. he needs to insure his key demographic groups turn out in record numbers with a high degree of enthusiasm. the other thing he needs to do is demonstrate some of his policies, though on the surface might not appeal to women or african-american voters, could ultimately help them. it's a difficult argument to make. but i think when he's talking about the economy, talking about repealing the affordable care act, he needs to be specific as to how his plan would move the country forward in the direction barack obama's would not. >> it's lard to do that in -- hard to do that in a sound bite. >> it is. >> we're off time, dr. lawless,

i'd love to have you back. you've written about something we all wonder about, who wants to go through the process of running for office? it's a noble cause, but boy, it's tough. maybe we can talk about that before the election. >> i'd love that. thank you. >> thank you for coming in. we appreciate it. allison? shocking details coming out of penn state's internal investigation into the sex abuse scandal. the report was just released by a former fbi director, who claims senior leaders at penn state disregarded the welfare and safety of sandusky's victims. the findings also slow the leaders withheld facts about sandusky's abuse to avoid bad publicity. it says the board of trustees didn't know anything about the allegations between 1998 and 2001. sandusky was convicted of 45 criminal counts last month and currently awaiting sentencing. 9:38 now. up next, big celebration today for the rolling stones.

we'll explain. >> plus, where is bob dylan's guitar? there's a battle over its whereabouts. details on that coming up next in the buzz bin. ♪    q

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♪ opening the buzz bin this morning. big day for rock and roll fans. today is the 50th anniversary of the rolling stones first concert. they'll attend a photo session in london and rehearse for a new gig. there are rumors of a tour, but so far, no dates have been set. and you doubt that, right? >> yeah. sounded like they're not going to tour, but will put on a series of shows, madison square

gardens and people will have to come to them. they're older now. >> yeah. also, and congratulations to them. >> quite a feat. >> rocker bob dylan is in a dispute with historians over a guitar he made famous. >> he used an electric guitar when he played at the newport folk festival in 1965. he says he has the guitar in his possession, but a woman whose father flied him to the concert claims it's in her possession. experts agree with her. >> i knew it. it's like, that's monumental, and i'll ask you about why it's so monumental. >> he was really classified as a folk artist, protest artist,

and all of a sudden he pulled out an electric and people yelled out judas. the crowd is like, what are you doing? they were upset. they booed him. >> really? >> yeah. two music legends have teamed up -- >> very serious. >> it was. seems like nothing now. but it was big. two music legends teamed up this summer and they have a chance for you to see them for free. talking about rod stewart and stevie nicks, heart and soul 2012 tour comes to verizon center july 27. for a chance to win two tickets, go to myfoxdc.com. you must be 18 to enter -- what did i say? >> you must be 18 or enter. >> you must be 18 to enter and a legal resident of d.c., maryland or virginia. complete rulessen our web site. >> bob dylan going rock messed

you up in the head. >> still ramifications for that. >> morris is hanging out with an olympic gymnast. the first half of this year was historically hot, and your plants may not have been able to handle the heat. derrick thomas is here to show us how a little tlc can revive them. we'll be right back. rees around u. troducing share everything. unlimited talk. unlimited text. tap into a single pool of sharable data and add up to different des, including smartphones and tablets. the first plan of its kind. share everything. only from verizon. now add a tablet for only $10 monthly access.

don't you love that music? >> love that music. as athletes from our area head to london, we're getting into the spirit, taking a look at what it takes to get in the game, whether you're an olympian or cheering them on. >> good morning, holly. >> reporter: good morning. the only thing more exciting of

being an olympic athlete is being the dad. you be as proud as you want to be. this is an exciting time. and julie zetlin will be representing the u.s. who gets more nervous? >> i think i probably get more nervous. >> reporter: how is he in the stands, crazy dad? >> honestly, i don't usually see him -- >> reporter: heard the cow bell. >> i have heard the cow bell and seen videos of him from pan am games. he goes a little nuts. >> reporter: he's allowed. you've been there through the whole thing. when your little girl was announced she was going to be an olympian, what was your reaction? >> well, we kind of anticipated it for a long time, because we found out that she had earned a spot back last fall in france, but until they made the official announcement, which i don't think was until february, you know, you're never quite sure. >> reporter: we want to make sure we represent mom here, too. she has a big role.

>> definitely. >> reporter: tell me about your mom. >> she was a junior national champion from hungary and introduced me to the sport. i loved it and never looked back. >> reporter: now london is in your future. this is a fame event. tell me about the plan for the family. who will be there? >> we have like 18 people going over. both sets of parents, my parents live in maryland, and florida. and my wife's parents who live in hungary and my father-in-law just turned 90. >> reporter: oh, my gosh. >> my sister and her four kids and her husband, and one of julie's doctors and a friend of mine from new york. we've got a lot of -- >> reporter: and a reporter that covered -- oh, i was just adding myself in. if you want to jump in on the julie zetlin bandwagon, you can still get hotels. that's where vivian comes in. let's talk about hotels and the

options. >> a myriad of options still. apartments for rent, people that want to trade housing. once a team or somebody is no longer competing, hotels are more than happy to resell the room. options outside the city. it's not improbable. it might cost you more, the longer you wait there are things that open up to make it easy to attend. >> reporter: in fact, that's part of how you're getting a lot of your rooms, because rhythmic gymnastics is later in the meet, right? >> that's correct. ten rooms was reserved and each family had a room. they leave, and we have access to the rooms. >> reporter: zetlin party, let's bring in london. >> we had a lot of people to come, and we're leap to have the whole rooting section. >> reporter: i asked julie this last hour, but i'm going to ask you, if she wins a medal and

they're raising that flag because of your daughter, what is going to be going through your mind? >> indescribable. we saw that last year in the pan am games. actually saw that flag go up three times for three gold medals, including the first time that the individual all arounds and it's just a great feeling. you feel proud, but you feel patriotic that you're hearing our favorite song. >> reporter: absolutely. that's our favorite song, the national anthem, quickly followed by the olympic theme. >> correct. >> reporter: if you win a medal you're going to show it to us? >> yes. >> reporter: and let me wear it? you've said it on live tv. you have to do it. >> i promise. >> reporter: myfoxdc.com, we have a link for the vida fitness where we've been all morning. and vivian can plan a trip for you. go julie, back u.s.a. back to you in the studio. >> we are certainly rooting for her and all of team u.s.a.

thanks, holly. did your perennials poop out and your annuals say adios? it might not be too late to save your garden. our garden expert, derek thomas joins with more on what's my plant trying to tell me. hi, derek. >> how are you? >> some of our plants are screaming, help me! >> some need a life line, i think. plants like this fox glove, what's going on is the heat. a lot of people become afraid of actually going in there and doing the doctoring to a plant like this. and removing that piece that's no longer any good, getting that woody stuff out of there is what you want to do. cleaning it up. what's going to happen, and even if it's got blooms like this, the blooms are taking energy away from the plant. so i know it may seem a little harsh. >> yes. >> you want to get in there and

remove that. >> interesting. >> it will make seeds and will sap energy from an already exhausted plant. >> okay. >> and this one we did a couple of weeks ago, and you can see how much it's fleshed out. >> yeah. >> compared to the two sample plants. >> don't be afraid to take it down. >> don't be afraid to take it down. plants like this day lily, people say it and think their plants are sick. what's actually happened is this plant has responded to having, you know, the succession of 100-degree days. you want to take all that away, clean it up as best you can, and you see mother nature has given us more blooms. so this plant is not sick. it's actually just responded to the excessive heat. >> okay. >> also our grass plants, this one here in the foreground, i went ahead and cleaned up before, and you can see the difference in here. what you want to do -- and be careful when working with grass plants like this. they will cut you. use a pair of gloves.

get in there and clean out all the old and, you know, older stolens, and that will give you fresh growth. we did this about a week ago, and you can see the fresh growth coming out. >> okay. >> now, soil amendments are important, particularly going into a summer like this. make sure you have compost and a good organic compost. have a mulch. that will help your plants retain moisture during the heat waves. and-- >> cotton candy or -- >> does look like cotton candy. the one thing you want to make sure is give your plants a boost with a worth soluble fertilizer. that will be instantly absorbed and correct some of the problems like this rose. if you look at the foilage here, the rose has started to turn yellow. what that is telling me, what this plant is telling me is

it's having a bit of a problem absorbing iron, which is one of the nutrients it needs for green. using a high concentrated water soluble fertilizer. >> we'll be right back. [ obama ] i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.

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looking at the five-day forecast, 89 this afternoon. plenty of sunshine. low humidity. beautiful day. then the clouds will sweep in tomorrow. saturday and sunday, kind of hot, with afternoon thunderstorms. maybe more heat next week. >> today is nice, though. >> today should be beautiful. enjoy today. >> all right. >> thanks, tuck. >> we thank you very much, sir. of course, we thank you