tv Fox Morning News FOX August 22, 2012 7:00am-9:00am EDT
7:00 am
with just a few week before voter head to the polls, democratic candidate tim kaine is out with the first television ad. we are going to take a closer look at the 30 second spot with the former governor himself. fox 5 morning news at 7:00 starts right now. ts right now. good morning to you, it is wednesday august 22nd. hump day, two more days until friday. >> we've made it. >> we've made it. we're over the hump at 7:00 this morning. a lot of kids are back to school as well. >> happy with you with us today. >> well, we have a really nice day ahead for you. more sunshine today. then yesterday, that's my ening headline. let's look at the temperatures, because it is fairly mild this morning. 69 degrees at reagan national airport.
7:01 am
humidity is at 81%. the winds will be light throughout the course of the day. an easterly flow and in the neighborhoods. we are 62 at baltimore. satellite-radar composite is showing not much happening. plenty of sunshine in the forecast today. a weak ridge of high pressure in control for us. we still have a system that is off to the east. but i can't rule out a pop up shower or maybe even an isolated thunder later. the chances will diminish into the evening once we have sunset, the same as yesterday, we saw a little bit popping up before it was said and done. our high today, 85 degrees. now, traffic and lauren is in. well, good morning. i just realized tony and julia must be at a party somewhere. all right. we'll have to check on that. all right. now, we're going to watch the
7:02 am
drivers and passengers are able to give us information. from the right side of the car, you can tell it is the person. that is helpful. it gives us an idea what is going on. download this app, it is free for your smart phone. let's take a live look from traffic land and in montgomery county, if you are traveling 270. heavy and slow. further along, it improves. no problems right now. 66, heavy. then from once you are past 123 it opens up. sky fox over 395. we have volume here.
7:03 am
that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. >> thanks. new this morning welcomed news. a toddler abducted in maryland was found unharmed. police issued an amber alert for 1-year-old martinez on monday. he was found near his home yesterday. there were reports the boy was taken by his father. prince gorgeous county police have confirmed this is a parental abduction and charges are pending. checking out some of our other top stories this morning. a train derailment, takes the lives of two college students. >> the 19-year-old girls were hanging out at a bridge. the train cars toppled yesterday morning. cleanup crews have been working
7:04 am
non stop to remove the damaged cars. we are live with the latest. >> reporter: each of the cars will have to be inspected with every part. the track, the wheels and assemblies and more. it is a very complicated puzzle, but we know that the train's emergency braking system was automatically activated. the 19-year-old college students, friends from high school, were partying on the trestle on monday night. they tweeted pitchers before midnight. one of them shows their legs dangling over the edge. investigators are saying it is not clear if their presence called the derail. their bodies were under coal on the bridge. the crew of three on the train didn't feel anything unusual. but the brakes were applied automatically. the 9,000-ton train was bent and cars went flying off of the rails. >> i hear the trains all of the time. i thought it was a train, but i
7:05 am
did not expect it was derailed. >> the sounded like gunshots was going off. the house was shaking. >> reporter: investigators are saying that the crew did not apply the brakes. but an air line yoke that set off the emergency brakes on each car. so, the main focus what broke and why. it is possible the death of these two college students was a coincidence. >> thank you. new developments in the deadly crash that took the life of a prince gorgeous county police officer. police made an arrest. mitchell is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle. he was a passenger of the stolen acura when police chased it on monday. morris ran off the road and down an embankment. he was thrown from the car and died. the other officer was hurt, but is now out of the hospital.
7:06 am
a former university of virginia lacrosse player convicted of killing his ex girlfriend want as new trial. attorneys from george hugely are expected to make a formal request today. they contend there was a series of error before and during the trial. huguely was convicted of killing love in 2010. a man in washington state is now in the custody of secret service for making an e-mail theft against president barack obama. he was arrested yesterday in a seattle suburb. he met police at the door with a shotgun. two officers took control of a weapon and removed another gun. the specifics of the e-mail are not known, but a spokesperson is saying she understand it was a left to kill the president. all right. now polls are out in the race
7:07 am
for the presidency. they are showing it is tight. both are saying that the race is a statistical dead heat. an "associated press" poll is showing it well within the margin of error. the president one point up and a new nbc poll is showing 4 points, again with a margin of error. on the campaign trail today, president barack obama speaks with teaches at a high school in las vegas and tonight, he will be inch new york city for events including the obama classic basketball game and meanwhile, mitt romney is speaking in iowa, while gop running mate, ryan is in virginia this morning. now to the virginia senate race. the campaign has released it's first television ad. take a look. >> during the worst recession in decades. i worked with both parties to cut virginia's budget by $5 billion. i cut my own pay to lead by
7:08 am
example. we were fiscally responsible and advancing our most important priorities, like education. why i was governor, virginia was named the best state for business and the best state to rise a child. >> all right. the former governor is using the 30 second spot to have a joining us now from richmond, the virginia democratic runner. >> how are you? >> let's talk about the new ad. we got a press release about your ad. saying that -- >> let me guess, their response is negative. >> it is negative. they are calling it an extreme makeover that you used ecaggrated claims in the ad.
7:09 am
how do you respond? >> everything in the ad is true. every newspaper and, and, independent source looking at it, is confirming that everything in the ad is true. the thing that i like best about the ad, the other side has been running negative ad against me since november. $8 1/2 million worth. the ads have been found false. they are founded buyout of state super packs. we made a decision it would be good to look in the camera and talk directly to virginia voters and offer them a positive vision. that's what i like most about the ad. >> all right. this is the first ad from your campaign, but plenty of ads attacking you and what your running for. >> yes. >> what do you think about the impact this will have on the campaign? >> well, i really do think virginians, i have been in virginia elected office for 16 years as a mayor and lieutenant- governor and governor. virginia is positive. so the other side started up in the air against me in november.
7:10 am
i think there is an indication that ran 6,000 negative ads against him, but it didn't affects the race. they were tied when it started and still tied. what voltererize hungry for is a positive vision. in this particular ad it talks about fiscal responsibility. it talks about working together. it talks about leading by example. i cut my own pay, a governor in a tough recession. my hope is and my belief is that virginians want to see positive. we have other positive ads in store for them. >> another question for you. let's turn to the looming budget cuts the results of a failed debt negotiations in congress. they've had a devastating impact on virginia jobs in the defense industry. now, the campaign implies that you had something to do with the cuts because you supported them. what is your stance this morning? do you think that congress will act in time to reverse the cuts?
7:11 am
>> yes, the apen campaign response is non seneschal. congress needed to reach a deal or america was going to defall on the credit obligations for the first time in the history of the country. the governor, the republicans, the u.s. chamber of commerce. we all agree that we had to find a deal. george allen was saying that we should not find a deal and default on credit obligations. but no family business or government should do it. congress needs to do their job. they're still drawing a paycheck. they need to find a solution to avoid the defense cuts. i put a solution on the table. it we let the bush tax cuts expire at year end for people making more than $500,000 a year, that will create $500 billion in revenue in the next ten years. we can use that to soften the cuts that the defense and/or core priorities. george allyson saying make all
7:12 am
of the tax cut permanent, that would written the different saturday and make the cuts deeper. >> we have 10 seconds left. you're role in the upcoming convention. your message? >> my message if washington follows virginia methods, the nation will be better off. >> all right. thank you for coming in and taking with us this morning. >> all right. great to be with you. >> we appreciate it. >> we did reach out to the george allen campaign. he was unable today. it is 70 degrees on the wednesday morning. still ahead this morning. [ male announcer ] you paid in to medicare for years.
7:13 am
7:14 am
7:16 am
love it. it makes you dance. i love it, doesn't it make you smile. back now on fox 5 morning news. it is time to share your first day of school photos. kids in the washington, d.c. region head back to class. here is katlin, a first grader at andrew jackson academy. look at you, a round of applause. have a great day and year. you're looking at. today is the first day of school at st. mary's and culpepper county, virginia. so, keep the pictures coming. 7:16 right now.
7:17 am
all right. >> i love it. >> yeah. that's, that's -- is that haze? fog? what is that? or a bad camera shot? all right. >> all right. that's the football stadium. i know that. >> nice shot. thanks, sky fox. >> football season is around the corner. the real football season. not preseason. >> i think i say warmups -- >> pushups. >> got the super eyesight going on. >> yes. a winner. >> all right. >> that sounds good. a crystal ball going off in there. well, we have beening weather today. it is not bad at all. a little bit more sunshine today than yesterday and -- temperatures are going to be comfortable. we're starting off fairly nicely as well right now. 71 degrees at reagan national airport. the humidity is 75%. expect the winds to push in from the east this afternoon. so, pretty nice day. it is currently 61 degrees. that's the same number.
7:18 am
to the west, 57. then we've got 70 at annapolis at this hour. 62 at baltimore and 65 to the south. so, we're going to see our temperatures rising into the 80s today. the mid 80s everywhere and as far as sky conditions. weak ridge of high pressure is building in. that's keeping the clouds at bay. mostly sunny today for the weather conditions. once again i cannot rule out a pop-up shower and thunderstorm. keeping a close eye on the tropics. this is tropical storm isaac. it pushes its way to the east. we're keeping a close eye on this and trying to figure out if it will impact the u.s. expect to move over cuba and become a hurricane in the next 48 hours for us here at home. 83 degrees by midday. by the 5:00 hour, 85 degrees and yesterday, we had a evening pop up shower and an isolated thunderstorm, could see the same thing today. your five-day forecast is
7:19 am
looking great. that is coming up. >> thank you. now time to get a look at traffic and transportation and all things roads and everything close to it. yeah. headaches, drama. all of the things in the morning. good morning. >> hopefully, not too bad this morning. we had earlier issues with metro, but that cleared out. that is good news there. let's take a live look outside. if you are traveling route 50. we had delays off and on approaching the parkway. right now looking okay. watch out for that. give yourself extra time.
7:20 am
all of the way here past 123. before it does open up. the accident is clear, but police remain on-the-scene. 395 across the 14th street bridge. and a wreaked on wreck -- eastbound on the freeway. >> thank you. making headlines today. federal regulators are looking at it beef from six cows reached the human supply. it was shutdown on monday is, after an animal welfare group showed the cows struggling to walk and stand. investigators are now considers if meat products should be recalled. all right. this morning fire officials in northern california are assessing how many of the 50 buildings destroyed by the wildfire are people's homes.
7:21 am
the fire has burned through more than 33 square miles on saturday and it is still threatening hundreds of homes. 2,000 firefighters are working around the clock in a rural area, 175 miles north of sacramento. the weather may play a key role in next week's republican national convention in tampa, florida. they are keeping a close eye on isaac. right now the track it is on could take it to florida. isaac is moving west towards the caribbean, which prompted storm warnings for pote rico, the u.s. and the virgin islands. coming up -- he's made his choice.
7:24 am
but what choices will women be left with? just like mitt romney, paul ryan would get rid of planned parenthood funding. in congress, ryan voted to ban all federal funding for planned parenthood and allow employers to deny women access to cancer screenings and birth control. and both romney and ryan backed proposals to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest. for women... for president... the choice is ours. i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.
7:25 am
good news now. last year's east coast earthquake did not cause the washington monument to sink further into the ground. that is good news. there were concerns because the monument was built on ground that was once underwater. it has sunken more than 2 inches since 1901. the 5. eight tremor caused large cracks in the upper region. there is expected to remain closed for repairs until 2014. we will get a look at the new washington, d.c. taxi smart meters with the mayor demonstrates one this morning. they let riders pay by credit card. you can catch us in the cab
7:26 am
with our weather reports. they allow passengers to quickly call police our ambulance. they will be required in all cabs and installed in the next month or so. the mayor is demonstrating how they work at 9:30. all right. an age-old question, can you tell the difference between bottled and tap water? now you may be able to come up with an answer to that today. washington, d.c. is kicking off their blind taste test. it is a challenge to promote drinking washington, d.c. tap water. the group is saying residents can save money and protect the environment by ditching the water bottle. today's challenge will be held at northwest from 11:00 to 1:00. all right. >> i think i can tell. >> i think i can tell in some situations. i think i can tell, too, but maybe situations where tap water in the bottle. >> oh. >> i'm just saying. all right. still ahead --
7:28 am
7:29 am
from the first hands-free system, and micro-climate controls powered by twinchill technology, the new ge french door refrigerator puts fresh in a whole new light. come see the new ge french door refrigerator for yourself at bray & scarff. buy now and save up to $500. but hurry this incredible offer ends october 10th. come in today or visit online at brayandscarff.com.
7:30 am
all right. the internationals are looking for the series sweep tonight against the braves. last night atlanta would hit a wall. striking out 10 and allowing 1 run in 6 innings. flores had the big hit of the night. a three-run homer in the 5th. the nats would win, 4-1 and lead atlanta by 7 games. we have to keep this league big just for when they shut him down. we don't have drama. >> i know, right? >> yeah. we don't need late collapses coming into the postseason. >> shut him down for his own good. >> shut him down for his own good and keep pushing for the playoff spot. >> have the trump card. >> yes. >> he is too excited about the sports thing. >> typical man. well, nice day today
7:31 am
weather wise. in fact, our guest came into the studio and said it is wonderful outside. that is great, we have more sunshine than yesterday. a weak ridge of high pressure will give us the benefit of that. the current temperatures are comfortable. the humidity is not too bad. it is 71 degrees at reagan international airport. we have 59 at fredrick. we are going to give way to mostly sunny. so, this ridge of high pressure will help us out in the course of today and the rest of the week. like yesterday, i can not rule out a scattered showers or storm into the evening hours tonight. we had that yesterday briefly
7:32 am
it is possible. we have a trough of low pressure to the north of us. but it is warm. into the mid-80s. the temperatures will continue to climb into the week. you will like the weekend once you see my five-day forecast. easterly throw we will get by the time to afternoon kicks in. tropical storm isaac is leading up with a lot of questions. mouthing west at 18 miles per hour. the question is will effect florida as it pushes its way towards cuba and heads off to the sea. that's the million dollar question. it is going to become a hurricane and strengthen in the next 48 hours. so, thursday and friday we expect to see it happen. right now the spugetae models are all over the place. a a lot of them have the storm pushing straight for florida. some have it moving to the northeast. so, three to five days out is a little bit too early to call on whether or not florida will have to deal with the storm as the progresses through. we will have an update at 8:00. mostly sunny for today.
7:33 am
spotty showers and storms are possible. 85 degrees for your daytime high. tonight, an overnight low of 65 degrees. the five-day forecast showing you, as i mentioned, the temperatures on the rise and heading to the 88 by the end of the weekend. now, lauren in traffic. >> thanks. if you are traveling northern 95 in virginia. the only stretch of slow traffic is on 395. spots with delays. take a look at wade right now. here's the beltway approaching the mixing bowl and you can see slow traffic on the outer loop.
7:34 am
we have construction equipment out there on the sides of the roads slowing folks down. 66 eastbound, heavy and slow. now, i want to mention the parkway inbound. we are seeing slow traffic there as well and here we are traveling inbound, new york avenue. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. >> lauren, thank you. it has been a big week so far, on the campaign trail. mitt romney and paul ryan united again and now president barack obama is taking aim at the educational proposal, but still making headlines the comments made by todd akin about rape and abortion. despite calls by gop leaders to drop his bid. he is vowing to stay in the race. here is check. good morning. nice to see you on the show and
7:35 am
jim. jim, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> now, let's talk about todd akin. he is on the morning news shows today. saying the people of missouri chose me, i'm going to stay right here. now one is going to pressure me, not the gop leadership and he is leading in the senate race. where are we? is an apology not enough and leaders asking him to step aside now. >> well, i mean, it is not enough. a policy is not enough at this point. you notice the one person is not asked to step aside, which is mccaskill. there is a reason for that. she wants to run against him. when you look at everybody from the united states of america senators from every republican leaderships. this is the seat the democrats were going to have to defend and a tough seat to hold. now, the situation is flipped.
7:36 am
this is a seat that republicans needed to win if they had a chance of taking over the senate. if they don't wind the seat it makes it tougher and everybody, from, from, you can say from the rhinos, from the liberals, from, from mark, limbo and sarah palin, everybody said to this guy get out. he could have gotten out by 5:30 yesterday. they could have replaced him. he didn't. you know, he wants to be a u.s. senator. give him credit for sticking to his guns, but i think it is a big mistake. >> is the damage, the jeanie out of the bottle. what would be the mind-set. if you could tap into the republican side of your brain, to, what would be the mind-set the pull the money from his campaign and say we went you to get out. >> it is a distraction on so many levels. mitt romney doesn't want the
7:37 am
distraction. this was a seat that was tough for democrats to hold, but aiken has been on congress for four terms. he has been there, people in missouri know him. he feels like is his raise. democrats love that he is going to stay in. love it was a distraction on the other side. and missouri was going to be a tough seat. it is a distraction on so many levels and mitt romney would love to be talking about jobs and the economy. president barack obama, he has to talk about the aiken story. the longer he stays in, the better it is for democrats. >> if he does stay in, what reflection on mitt romney, jim? is this that big of message. because i believe that campaign -- might need a little bit of help with some women out there, and independents out there, the swing states out there who might go either way. is that the bigger message here, and then we will move on. >> we can talk about this all day if you like. mitt romney immediately came out and, and, distanced himself
7:38 am
from the comments. those are comments, stupid comments. i mean, on the other hand, this is not the first time a politician has said something stupid and offensive. he added his name to the list. this is a destruction for a couple of days. it will go away, people well move onto something else. someone else will say something stupid. i don't think it plays in a bigger picture. i think it gets back to the economy. >> the presidential race now the conventions, i can almost smell them, they are so close. are you excited? are you going, jim? >> i'm going down for a couple of days. >> you're going. okay. so, what is the message. the team is in place, i was not here last week to talk about this. what's the message when we go to tampa coming up in the coming weeks? >> well, it has two messages. the first message, there will be a refocus on jobs and the economy. that's what the election is about. peter and i have been talking about that all year. this is what america and
7:39 am
the voters wants. this is what america needs. we need more jobs and a better economy and certainty in the market. all of those things will happen. you will see the focus. another side to the mitt romney ryan ticket. probably a little bit more of a personal side. a human side. everybody said that mitt romney is not warm and cuddly. maybe he some not warm and cuddly, it doesn't mean he is not a nice person. so, you're going to see another sign, not the bain capital side. so, they will focus more on tuesday, wednesday and thursday, talk about jobs the economy and their personal lives of the guys and put a human face on them. >> chuck a lot of talk from the mitt romney ryan campaign. we're talking about jobs and president barack obama care label that we heard bantered about. so, what is the message on the democratic side? what do you say if you're in this room how we go forward the democrats. >> it is about reenergizing the
7:40 am
base. these are the most active members of both parties and giving them red meat to activate them. it is about when they return home, will they call their neighbors and friends? and drawing a contrast. the election is about the american people. you will see both sides trying to do their best doing that piece. bringing home the side of mitt romney and president barack obama and biden will talk about what they have done in the past four years. they will draw defenses about the two parties. then, give the aiken comments. this morning the dnc announced ten speakers publicly speaking at the convention. all of them are very strong women. very strong women candidates and leaders. they realize that women, minorities and latinos are a key to winging key straights and battle ground areas if president barack obama will be eelected. >> very, very interesting. anybody on the list that you can share? >> one that jumps out at me is
7:41 am
tammy. a war veteran who is returning for congress against joe in illinois and lost both of her legs in afghanistan or iraq. she is speaking a strong leader. a war veteran and returning for congress. they want to highlight the women who are mixed leaders of our democracy. >> the surprising one. joe biden is in tampa. that is surprising, they would put the vice president down there during the republican convention. number 1, why expose him to the contrast and number 2, it is joe biden, why take the risk. put him somewhere where he can energize the base. so, we'll say. >> all right. interesting. it is getting good night. jim and chuck, thank you for being with us. we'll be right back. he's made his choice.
7:42 am
but what choices will women be left with? just like mitt romney, paul ryan would get rid of planned parenthood funding. in congress, ryan voted to ban all federal funding for planned parenthood and allow employers to deny women access to cancer screenings and birth control. and both romney and ryan backed proposals to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest. for women... for president... the choice is ours. i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.
7:44 am
7:45 am
high school students know a classmate who sells drugs at school and 60% are saying that drugs are available on-campus. very disturbing. >> yes. it is. an interesting find in a tennessee attic. audio recordings of the late dr. martin luther king, jr. a man was rummaging through boxes in the attic. he stumbled on an audio reel king interview and it was dated in the '60. here heard his father interviewing him for a book that was never published. >> what happens now? he has that. can he publish the book. if it was his fathers. >> his father died, yeah. >> very interesting. >> we'll see. >> yeah. >> i hope that he holds onto it. >> he better. all right. 7:45. >> yes. >> looking pretty outside. >> it is looking nice outside. great for the students going
7:46 am
back to school today. we have sunshine for you. let's take a look. we're going to tell you just what our temperatures are right now. that international airport, currently it is 71 degrees. humidity is at 75%. we're going to see the temperatures get into the 80s during the course of today. but it will be comfortable. 63 this hour. we have 61. 62 at baltimore. and hagerstown at 61 and cooler to the west. so, a weak ridge of high pressure in control. that's going to give us no shortage of sunshine today. mostly sunny today and once again like yesterday i cannot rule out the possibility of a pop up shower or thunderstorm. the jet stream to the south of us moving a little bit to the north during the course of today. that will give a chance for the heat to shift to the east during the course of the day and the weekend after a fairly nice day. by midday today, 85 degrees.
7:47 am
by the 5:00 hour, 85. that's our daytime high. once again into the course of this evening and late this afternoon. could see the pop up shower and thunderstorm. it is very isolated in nature. yesterday we had, but the five- day forecast is looking great. a nice day ahead and a nice week for everybody. so, hopefully, everybody will look forward to. >> nice and mild. thank you. >> time to hit the roads. lauren? >> all right. the weather puts you in a good mood. very nice, especially for kids not back in school. a nice couple of last days of summer. a new things in virginia right now. an accident is reported at sunrise valley drive. also, gw northbound, the right lane is blocked by fire and ems because of a response to an incident on a bike trial. now, let's take a look at wade. once again our passengers are helping us outline in the outer loop of the beltway.
7:48 am
who he-- we had a report of a correct. move onto trafficland. we can take a look at that. there is the flashing arrow moving everyone over to the right. the accident is on the left side of the roadway. so, watch for that going to springfield. moving on, traveling northbound, 395. heavily and slow here. again, across the 14th street bridge, where the earlier crash in the express lanes. the eastbound freeway is slow. this is 295, as you travel, or pennsylvania avenue as you travel across the bridge to 295. things are looking good there on the left hand of the screen. 295 northbound is pretty heavy and slow. the welfare way itself, the right lane is the outer loop. heavy with volume. over to you. >> thank you very much. still ahead -- l ahead -- digging up the past. >> we are live in montgomery county this morning with interesting fines.
7:49 am
good morning to you. >> good morning to you. this is an amazing story of discovery. the slave that inspired the novel, "uncle tom's cabin," but did you know that he lived and worked here? where we are live this morning. a history lesson you don't want to miss. [ male announcer ] since 1996 welfare recipients were required to work.
7:50 am
7:51 am
7:52 am
7:53 am
special. all right. i tried to go with you today. >> you, you want to field anchor the show from here. >> right. anything. >> reporter: i just wanted to review what you just said. we're going live. we are literally steps away from old georgetown road. but we are in this treasure- trove of history. that most of you probably don't even know is here. so, let's get started. mary bradford, she is the director of parks from montgomery county. this is a public site. we want people to respect it. i would say if we polled people on the street, 9 out of 10 people would not know this exists. >> they would not know this exists. this is a plantation house in maryland. when people think of plantations they think of the south and gone with the wind. this is a plantation house. the riley plantation. it was home to a special man. >> sure. you have been working on this
7:54 am
for years. >> that is right. this site was acquired by montgomery park in 2006. >> but it recently gotten the spotlight on it, because america said, we need to go there and see what is going on. >> that's right. the pbs station in oregon was so intrigued with the site that tells the story about a slave named josigha. one of the inspirations for "uncle tom's cabin." >> they discovered amazing thing. >> they did amazing work. in three days they really over went and kind of lifted the place. did a lot of archeology, we could have never afforded to do without their kind of support. their technology and skill and equipment. >> and what did they find? >> they found evidence of foundation. artifacts they found all kinds of things to help us determine the story here. official maybe uncover interesting relics from the past. >> this is open to the public.
7:55 am
it is not open every day. >> no. >> so, how best for people to come learn about the site? >> well, we keep information on the website, we open for tours eight time as year and people can go to montgomeryparks.org and read on there. we will advertise it or let the local media know. >> give us the exclusive. >> all right. >> thank you very much. >> of course, we will have a ling to their website on ours www.myfoxdc.com. now, here is an archeologist. i know that time team america found stuff on three days. you have been working here for some time. the first question, how do you know that the reverend worked and lived here. >> we have this autobiography, his own words to start understanding his life and the life of the slaved person living inch montgomery county. >> the pin pointed this location. >> absolutely. >> what have you found over the year?
7:56 am
>> we find things typical of people's lives, things that they use and discard. we find small pieces of artifacts. this is part of aty potted -- teapot. these are smoking pipe fragments that would have looked like this. and nail, button and personal items. a marble and recreational items and food items under the carbon porch. >> they are so small, but significant. >> yes. we learn about people's lives. >> what's the most rewarding thing about your job. >> getting a chance to handle the same objects that someone like the revn't may have handled. >> it is amazing that we can see it as cars are rushing by. >> a surprising place as
7:57 am
montgomery county. that's where people. i hope that they take away. they know this is here. these places exist. >> all right. www.myfoxdc.com. our website. there is a link there and coming up in the next ho director flew in. we're going to talk to her about the site live later. more fox 5 is coming up after the break. stay with us. [ harry umlaut ] that's one creamy muller. [ sally umlaut ] it's greek-style yogurt. this greek style yogurt has style. you can say that again. why thank you. this greek style yogurt has style.
7:58 am
okay. stop saying it now. you're sending me mixed messages. [ male announcer ] muller. the european for yummy. [ male announcer ] you work hard. stretch every penny. but chances are you pay a higher tax rate than him... mitt romney made twenty million dollars in two thousand ten but paid only fourteen percent in taxes... probably less than you now he has a plan that would give millionaires another tax break... and raises taxes on middle class families
7:59 am
8:00 am
>> your realtime captioner: linda macdonald. straight ahead at 8:00, still for questions man answer after a coal train derails in maryland killing two students. we'll have an update. >> isaac takes aim at the u.s. we'll have an update on the storm's track as it gains strength in the atlantic. >> and later from buckingham palace to buck naked in vegas. the prince harry pictures you have to see to believe. >> oh, yes. i'm allison seymour. >> i'm sarah simmons. tony is on vacation. we'll get to gwen tolbart for the latest on our forecast.
8:01 am
>> that's funny. i'm sorry. >> very funny. >> can you see the queen now, oooo... >> that was great. >> she is not happy. >> i'm sure she is not. it's a whole new generation for her. a lot's been happening. we have a nice weather day ahead for you. you are going to get to enjoy temperatures that are going to be in the mid-80s. it's currently 71 degrees owe figley at reagan national. humidity 75%. it's mild outside. it's going to continue to be that way throughout the morning. 70 degrees at quantico. 64 hagerstown. mostly sunny skies in the forecast. it's also a day like yesterday. we could see an isolated pop-up shower or thunderstorm in the late afternoon or early evening. here's the tropical tracker as
8:02 am
we keep an eye on isaac. this hour we'll have an update on what the forecast is saying about this storm as it continues to push its way to the east strengthening in the next 48 hours. 58 degrees for the high today, mostly sunny skies. hopefully you'll enjoy it. >> thank you so much. let's check in with lauren demarco for the latest on your traffic now. hi, lauren. >> hey, guys. if you are traveling northbound 295 between the beltway and south capital, heavy and slow. an accident southbound bw parkway just prior to route 50. that was blocking the right lane so stay to the left to get by that. let's move on it traffic land if we can. okay. if you are traveling the beltway, the outer loop approaching springfield we have a wreck after bradock. you can see that little arrow pointing you to the right. the two left lanes are blocked. about a two-mile delay at this
8:03 am
point. good shape toward the 14th street bridge where it's heavy and slow to head on the freeway. 66, accident in reston fairfax county parkway at sunrise valley drive. gw parkway northbound after slaters lane right lane blocked with some police and fire activity. beltway looking good in montgomery county. brief delays college park to silver spring. that's a that's a check of your "fox 5 on-time raffic." sarah, to you. the tragic train derailment in ellicott city that took the lives of two college students is our big story this morning. the 19-year-old girls were hanging out on a bridge in the historic downtown area at the time of the accident. now federal authorities are trying to figure out what caused the deadly crash. melanie alnwick is live with the latest. >> reporter: the three-person train crew has told investigators that they did not
8:04 am
see the young women or slam on the brakes of that csx train that was carrying coal from west virginia to baltimore. somewhere along the train a brake line snapped which threw the brakes on every one of the railcars causing them to accordion and flip. this morning we are getting a new look at the crash site courtesy of skyfox. the difficult work of removing the railcars continues including on one that flipped off the bridge and onto frederick road. each car needs to be inspected. 19-year-old college students rose mare and liz nash friends from high school in ellicott city were on the train tressel when the accident happened. they had just tweeted pictures moments before saying they were drinking on the top of the ellicott city sign. their bodies were found on the bridge under a pile of coal. ntsb investigators say the train's crew did not apply the emergency brake so they are trying to figure out where in the train the brake line snapped and how. now, the train does have an
8:05 am
event data reporter and head-on video camera. that information has been downloaded. investigators are going through it to see if it can help them focus their efforts. both students were entering their junior year of college. rose mare at the university of delaware and liz nash at james madison university. investigators will have an update for the media at 11:00 a.m. >> thank you. new this morning a quickened to an overnight amber alert. police say julio cesar abducted his one-year-old son monday but the child was found safe near his home in district heights. charges against the father are still pending. also new this morning, a washington state man under arrest after e-mailing a threat against the president then pointing a shotgun at officers who came to his door. anton colorio is due in court to face federal charges. a secret service spokesman says the suspect sent the throat a general purpose fbi account.
8:06 am
no word on a motive or the threat. on the campaign trail today, president barack obama speaks with teachers in las vegas. meanwhile gop rival mitt romney stuffs in iowa while his running mate -- stumps in iowa while his running mate speaks in virginia in roanoke within the hour. also today new polls show a tight race. an "associated press" poll has the president leading romney 47 to 46%. an nbc poll finds 48% support the president and 44 for the republican ticket. next week's rnc convention could be a washout. tropical storm isaac is moving west towards the caribbean and forecasters say it could track towards florida. but it is still too soon to tell. the storm has already prompted tropical storm warnings for puerto rico and the british virgin islands. right now, isaac has top winds near 40 miles per hour. one other note from the trail. representative todd akin is now
8:07 am
taking to twitter to appeal for campaign donations after defying his party and staying in the missouri senate race. akin had until yesterday at 5:00 to drop out without complications but in a series of interviews he says conservative leaders are overreacting to his comments. earlier this week he said women's bodies had ways to stop a pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape." a wildfire in northern california is worse now. about 50 buildings in the community of manton have been destroyed. the region is 170 miles north of sacramento. many of the buildings are believed to be residences. about 3500 homes are still threatened. names have burned more than 33 square miles since the blaze was sparked by lightning last weekend. the search for a job in the district just got a little easier. >> still ahead at 8:00, d.c.
8:08 am
congresswoman eleanor holmes norton joins us live from capitol hill with details on a special employment fair and who can attend. >> the mars rover is getting ready for its first road test. >> we are saying hello to students heading back to class. niles is a first grader at judge elementary school and jaden is a first grader. we'll be right back.
8:10 am
bye, mom! wewe're here! these days, hey, girls! nobody has time to get sick. mom, i don't feel good. but minute clinic makes it easy to get well. our nurse practitioners can diagnose and write prescriptions for everything from strep throat to sinus infections, with no appointment necessary, so you can feel better in no time. minute clinic -- the walk-in clinic at cvs/pharmacy, where you'll get $10 off sports physicals. only for a limited time. find a clinic near you at minuteclinic.com.
8:11 am
8:12 am
degree murder in february for the death of yeardley love. a judge will rule before his august 31 sentencing. he faces up to 26 years in prison. also today, first lady michelle obama heads to florida to make a special announcement about veterans employment. white house staff showed some 2,000 businesses nationwide have hired more than 125,000 military veterans and spouses in the past year. that's above the goal of 100,000 set by the administration by the end of 2013. finally, the mars rover getting ready for its first test drive and in preparation, "curiosity" is wiggling its wheels. rover sent images of its right rear wheel moving back and forth. later this morning it will move about 10 feet, turn right back up and park near the spot where it landed. >> got all that? >> yes. >> these are amazing. >> love these pictures coming in to us. >> awesome. >> we also love this time of day because we have a cute
8:13 am
picture. >> we do. show us, gwen tolbart. >> we are ready for the cuteness factor of the day. time for the "my first 5" photo. today we say hello to 4-month- old cutie. his name in the bible means lion. he is really cute. he says i know my picture is being taken. >> mommy's big guy. >> he is adorable. to send us your child's picture go to myfoxdc.com and click on "mornings." we like him. adorable. sweet. hopefully you're going to like our forecast, as well. we are doing very well weather- wise. currently 72 degrees at reagan national airport. humidity 78%. it's going to be comfortable temperature-wise. we'll be close it where we
8:14 am
should be in terms of the seasonal average. it's 64 at gaithersburg this hour, 70 quantico, 61 manassas, 59 degrees at frederick. and we have 61 degrees at martinsburg. sky conditions not much happening there. just a few clouds. we have picked up just a little bit of shower activity near al ber marl county. tropical storm isaac with winds at 45 miles per hour. headed toward the leeward islands by this evening. tropical storm-force winds extending some 45 miles. and it's expected to strengthen and become a hurricane by thursday into friday. so we are going to keep a close eye on it. will it impact southern florida? still a few questions to be determined on that so a little far out to determine right now. here's a look at the spaghetti track models. some of them have it moving northeast and some straight for the coast so we'll watch that closely. so warm conditions for us today
8:15 am
as we head to a high of 85 degrees. once again that weak ridge of high pressure in control. 65 degrees for your overnight low. lauren demarco standing by with a look at your traffic conditions. how's it looking? >> we have a few things going on. 295 slow northbound leaving the beltway towards south capitol street then bw parkway approaching route 50 a wreck blocking the right lane and 50 itself slows inbounded approaching the bw parkwait of in all those areas. let's take a live look at the beltway. traveling in maryland, as you leave 95, college park, heading around towards greenbelt that's what you're looking at there, the inner loop we have some delays off and on so watch out for that. the outer loop we have head to trafficland is heavy and slow in that typical stretch from 95 college park into silver spring. it's been easing somewhat but you will still be off and on the brakes. beltway in virginia outer loop jammed. the accident has cleared so that's some good news, it is heavy and slow from little
8:16 am
river turnpike towards springfield 66 remains very heavy from 7100 to nutley. that's a check of your traffic. here's tracy with your forecast. hey, thanks, elizabeth. -- that's a check of your on- time traffic. >> thanks, lauren. if you are looking to fill a position don't miss the annual jobs fair tomorrow. it's an event that d.c. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton hosts each year for city residents only. she is taking time out this morning to fill us in on what you need to know if you plan to attend. good morning, congresswoman. >> good morning. >> let's talk about this. first off, unemployment here in the district did drop in july. it's still high though. but it's at its lowest rate since february 2009. you're hoping to lower those numbers even more with what you're doing at the convention center. >> we have had four straight months of decline in unemployment but you still got one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. the good news is that we have had to turn away some employers
8:17 am
from our job fair. we're all full up. >> wow. >> we have employers from all across the region, all the regional public employers and employers from the private sector from safeway to lord and taylor's but you got to be a d.c. resident in order to get into this job fair. you have to have some photo i.d. or utility bill or something that shows you live here. otherwise, we would be overwhelmed by the much larger number of people in the region. before the job fair there's going to be an hour long fun workshop we call it the top 10 offerings. they are going to be top 10 offerings all geared to today's regional economy here on preparing a resume' for today's jobs and the jobs here, top 10 offerings on getting a job in the hospitality industry.
8:18 am
the reason we chose that, it's one of the most rapidly expanding industries in this region, top 10 tips on getting a federal job where the great plethora of jobs in our region is. we have to top it off with a fashion show about how to dress for various parts of the region given the jobs that are available in offices and in high-tech places. so that ought to be fun. that's from 10 to 11. the job fair at the convention center is from 11 to 3. so we invite d.c. residents to bring their id and dress for success because there are going to be people there with jobs to offer. you could not get into our job fair as an employer unless you had some open jobs. >> right. how many would you say, congresswoman, jobs would you say may be available at this convention center ready to be filled? >> even they couldn't tell you
8:19 am
that because you would have to survey all of them ahead of time but we did know that there will be almost 100 employers there. the importance of a job fair, sarah, is that it saves our residents the time and the money and energy from running all around the region or around the internet trying to look for a job. it gets you face to face with somebody at some employer so you can find out what's really happening. that's why people tend to appreciate our job fairs and why we want to see people there bright and early. if you are there from 10 to 11, you'll get into the top 10 offerings workshop but from 11 to 3, job fair. >> again that's at the washington convention center. again, as the congresswoman mentioned, only open to d.c. residents so bring proof of
8:20 am
residency with you. while i have you, i just wanted to ask you real quick, turning to politics now, i'm sure you have been watching obviously what's been going on with missouri congressman todd akin and him speaking out about women and abortion in terms of rape. can you speak to -- i know obviously probably a lot of people think what he said is pretty ridiculous and out there. but can you speak to the pressures of the party specifically not just republican but democrats as well when something like this happens, someone makes a gaff, can you explain how much pressure that person is under and whether or not he will eventually have to step aside? >> i have never seen anyone under quite this kind of pressure. this wasn't a gaff. this man went on to explain his gaff as it were. he went on to explain his view of rape. and i seen him in the house. the house is the scene of the crime. the house is where the republican party has essentially been taken over by
8:21 am
the tea party extremists. that's where you have people who believe that life begins at conception. the personhood amendment, that's within paul ryan has voted for that idea of abortion with no exceptions whatsoever. not for health, not for rape or incest or any of the other exceptions which, by the way, prior republican congresses had approved. now, what you have here is something that is very difficult to handle because it is very difficult to say to somebody who has won his election, he won the primary of his party, that he should step away. because then you're fighting his voters, not just him and what he said. and i can understand why he won't step away. if he steps away he is going to
8:22 am
get horrific criticism for being the kin of twit he has been called. he is hurting his party but he is hurting his party for what frankly i can tell you as a member of the house of representatives his party stands for. that's what they voted for. >> congresswoman eleanor holmes norton, thank you so much. we appreciate it and good luck at the job fair tomorrow. >> my pleasure. coming up on "fox 5 morning news," prince harry puts the crown jewels on dismay. ooo in vegas. the pictures you have to see to believe. okay. and later living history. holly is live at archeological dig that could reveal a new link between one of the most famous antislavery novels and the city of bethesda. time now 8:22. we'll be right back.
8:24 am
i'm barack obama and i approve this message now mitt romney's attacking the president on medicare? the nonpartisan a-a-r-p says obamacare "cracks down on medicare fraud, waste, and abuse and strengthens guaranteed benefits." and the ryan plan? a-a-r-p says it would undermine medicare and could lead to higher costs for seniors... and experts say ryan's voucher plan could raise future retirees costs more than six thousand dollars. get the facts. means back to school germs. that's why lysol partners with schools all across the country providing resources designed to help teach healthy habits. so make sure you add lysol no touch hand soap and lysol wipes to your "back to school" list. that way, the healthy habits they learn in school,
8:25 am
will reinforce the good habits you've already taught them at home. to learn more, visit lysol.com/schools. lysol. mission for health. ♪[ music ] ♪ it's getting hot in here, take off all your clothes ♪ >> or maybe think twice about it. [ laughter ] >> he should have. >> yeah. >> talk about a royal hangover. all right. a spokesman for prince harry has confirmed that the naked pictures of him that popped up online are really him. >> oh, boy. >> but the royal family isn't saying much about it. >> really? >> of course, be quiet.
8:26 am
>> tmz published the full frontal pictures right there of the younger prince taken during the 27-year-old's recent trip to vegas which we were just talking about yesterday. >> good old times. >> they also show a woman possibly topless, too. the website says harry disroped during a game of strip pool. apparently this is after the poolside party he was having earlier in the day. we'll have much more on the scandal in the next hour when dax holt joins us live. lots of fuel for tmz. >> you know what that means. kanye west new throne could be a seat at the judge's table at "american idol." tmz says the hip-hop star is in talks to john randy jackson and mariah carey on the hit music show. producers reached out to west and he expressed interest but there is no deal yet because he is still deciding. you know, still on the fence. >> is there anyone else in hollywood that hasn't been on the show yet? >> i still say it needs to be
8:27 am
garth brooks. >> yeah. >> that's my pick. >> really? >> yeah. they need a little country. >> i think you're right. we haven't had country on there, have we, ever? >> no. >> that's a big idea. >> branch out. coming up, even if you have all the money in the world there is no reason to pay for things you can get for free. still ahead in the next half hour, fox consumer reporter steve noviello helps us find those freebies. >> but first in the right place at the right time. an eight-story explosion caught on tape. we're going to show you the pictures. >> wow.
8:30 am
in the headlines, syrian tanks stormed a suburb of the capital this morning killing 23 rebels outside damascus. meanwhile syria and russia are warning the united states not to intervene saying the civil war will spread. it's already spilling over into jordan and clashes are flaring up in neighboring lebanon with another four dead and 60
8:31 am
injured there yesterday. closer to home now, a local soldier killed while serving his country. 24-year-old sergeant david williams of frederick, maryland was killed in kandahar, afghanistan, august 18. sergeant williams joined the army in 2008 and deployed to afghanistan with his unit this past april. the department of defense says the cause of death is still under investigation. a controlled underground dynamite blast went awry in new york city yesterday afternoon at east 72nd street and second avenue. the blast was so strong, it shot chunks of rock on the roof of a five-story building next door. no one was injured during this. city workers had blocked off traffic before the explosion. that likely saved lives, too. investigators are looking into whether dynamite was in the right place. 8:31 right now. gwen is here with us. we're talking a little weather right now. >> we have a nice day ahead as we have in the middle of the
8:32 am
week. the rest of the week is good also. you will likthe five-day forecast. >> great. >> we have a lot of sunshine to talk about today. so let's get right to it because we're going to have more sun today than we had yesterday. and here's a look at your satellite-radar composite for you. you can see that not a lot is happening. we don't have a lot of clouds to talk about. we have a weak ridge of high pressure that's in control here and that's going to hold you steady for the sunshine. like yesterday i can't rule out a possible thunderstorm this afternoon into the course of the evening. it's possible. we had one yesterday in the late part of the day. something very briefly, so we may see that once again so just fair warning to keep your eyes to the skies a little later just a slight, slight chance of seeing that happen. we have a trough of low pressure to the north. we have an east flow today. chance of a spotty storm. tomorrow we're also talking a fair amount of sunshine not bad. so mostly sunny skies overall and we'll get some improvement
8:33 am
in terms of our temperatures warming up as we head through to the later part of the week. also keeping an eye on this tropical storm isaac. sustained winds now at 45 miles per hour as it moves west at 20 miles per hour. and it's going to become a hurricane by the time we get to thursday, friday. so it is going to intensify. the question is what impact will it have if any on the u.s.? our spaghetti models are all over the place. some are showing it will definitely hit florida, others saying it will go northeast. we are going to watch this closely over the next few days. seven of the last storms that began with the letter i have been retired. so we'll see what happens with isaac. quick look at the five-day forecast. by the weekend the upper 80s. to you. >> i like it. and i like 88. that's a good number for me. all right. they say the best things in life are free but never tell you where to get those free things, until this morning. fox consumer reporter steve
8:34 am
noviello joins us from dallas. steve, dinner is on you i hear tonight. >> reporter: i hear you have three kids at home to feed. so how about i take care of them. then you pay for the rest. the website is mykidseatfreeway.com. -- mykidseatfree.com. according to the website, 80% of kids eat free promotions are unadvertised so this is the place to find them. because you search by city, this is a resource in your hometown as well as a great resource on vacation to feed the kids too. >> sarah, write that down. kidseatfree.com. is there no justice for the parents in this, steve? >> reporter: well, there is but you have to wait until your birthday. birthdayfreebies.com is the website. you have to sign up and answer survey questions. but the payoff is substantial
8:35 am
when you do, things like dvd rentals, ice cream, food, $30 gift card to benihana, $25 to rain forest cafe both for free. here's my word of advice when using sites like this. i have a totally separate email account that i use for this kind of stuff so all the spam that gets generated doesn't clog my inbox and, of course, that extra email address is free too. >> i love it. i want to talk about this free car situation. how is that -- what are we talking about here? i need a car right now. >> reporter: it's going to take a little bit of doing, but the website is autodriveaway.com. if you want to travel across country, maybe you don't want to pay for a plane or car, you can check out this website. they relocate cars for people had are moving so you go on and register and apply to become a driver and then you search through their trips and if one looks good to you you can drive the car for those folks who are
8:36 am
relocating. some of the car deals even come with vouchers for gasoline along the way. >> that is kind of cool. okay. now, finally, books and magazines. i'm a big reader. i like the books angle on that. >> reporter: absolutely. especially if you love the classics. we'll get to that in a second. first in exchange for survey information, all sorts of publishers want to get their magazines into your hands. we found freebies on easy eats he is square, scientists, road and truck all deliver to your door free. when we're talking about books, it's called project guttenberg. there are 40,000 free titles that are available for download or you can read them online. the reason why they're free is this. the copyright on them has expired in the u.s. so if you love the class, things like huck finn, "pride and prejudice," dracula, jane eyre, any classic for which the copyright has expired, they are all available for free and project gutenberg is the place
8:37 am
to find them. we have links to all these freebies on your station website. >> i like those very much. steve, thank you so much for joining us today. >> good to see you. >> see you next time. >> he has such good information. time is running out to raise money for repairs at the national cathedral. still ahead at 8:00 we'll check in on how far they have to go nearly a year after the east coast -- after the east coast earthquake. but first, a new gig for nfl sunday host michael strahan? and as we head to break, we're sharing more of your pictures from the first day of school. he's made his choice.
8:38 am
but what choices will women be left with? just like mitt romney, paul ryan would get rid of planned parenthood funding. in congress, ryan voted to ban all federal funding for planned parenthood and allow employers to deny women access to cancer screenings and birth control. and both romney and ryan backed proposals to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest. for women... for president... the choice is ours. i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. for women... for president... the choice is ours. look at this bed! this nightstand! this wardrobe! what are you doing here? you're in ikea. my dream bedroom is in ikea? yes. what's that bedroom over there? that's your husband's dream bedroom. whatever your style, take home your dream bedroom together.
8:40 am
8:41 am
games. the teams wrap up the series tonight. a symbolic end of an era for the washington redskins. tomorrow clinton portis will announce his retirement almost two years after he played his last nfl game. portis will join skins owner dan snyder for the official ceremony although he was not a life-long member of the burgundy and gold so to speak, he played the majority of his career here in d.c. and endeared himself to fans both with his on the field play and his off the field personality. finally it looks like michael strahan has found another way to stay busy during his retirement. multiple reports say that the fox nfl sunday host and former giant linebacker will join kelly ripa as cohost of her daytime talk show live with kelly. the official announcement will be made september 4. i have seen him sitting in on the show. he is pretty good. >> i missed him on there but she has had so many. how many is it? >> over 30 or -- >> i don't know.
8:42 am
it's a lot. i coming up, we'll check in on repairs at the national cathedral. days before the one-year anniversary of the east coast earthquake. why the church still has a long road ahead. >> and then holly morse is showing us living history right in our area. she is in bethesda this morning. good morning. >> reporter: i am in bethesda and i am live at josiah henson park where they made amazing discoveries as they learn about the history of this man. it's getting a lot of attention. in fact this morning it's attracted the executive director of the harriet beecher stowe. she is here to talk about the significance of this site and what it meant for the writing of "uncle tom's cabin." it's next on "fox 5 morning news." stay with us.
8:45 am
8:46 am
comment under his picture. have a great day. like this picture. >> good job, brandon. well, thursday marks one year since the ground shook under the d.c. region. you may remember. but you can still see the effects of the magnitude 5.8 earthquake every day just by looking at the national cathedral. the tremor caused tens of millions of dollars of damage to the temple and the church needs your help to restore its glory. joining us now live from northwest with an update on repairs is the director of communication richard weinberg. thanks for talking with us. >> my pleasure. good morning. >> i guess i was surprise the one year later we hadn't talked much about it. there is a lot of work left to be done on the building. >> reporter: there is a lot of work to be done at least five years. our masons can imagine working on this project for 10 years. >> so give us an idea. we were talking tens of millions of dollars. how much more do you still need in order to get this work done?
8:47 am
this is expensive work obviously because this is very detailed work. >> the good thing to understand is that over the past year what we have been successful in doing is stabilizing the damage. so you look at the building, it's a massive structure. it's the sixth largest one in the world and our central tower where the majority of the damage was sustained is the highest point in washington and i'm not a seismologist but i understand that during the earthquake, all the energy just traveled from the ground up, up, up until the pinnacles in our central tower were literally shaken apart and damaged so much. so the damage has been stabilized so it's safe and sound to be here. we were thrilled to reopen back in november after being closed for ten weeks. so what we're embarking on tomorrow officially is the kickoff of the restoration phase of recovery and our stone masons will be up in the tower to make the first official repair to the pinnacle. >> okay. so yeah, a lot of work still
8:48 am
left to be done. give me an idea of fundraising efforts that you have that are under way right now to try to keep this work moving. >> right. well, the total need is around $20 million. so far we have raise the around 3 million of that to stabilize the building. and this week we're hopping to raise $100,000 of new support. your viewers can go to nationalcathedral.org and see that as of now, i think we have raised around $30,000 toward that goal. and we're hoping to raise $100,000 by tomorrow at midnight. >> okay. yeah. hopefully i'm sure people in the area obviously have been to the building and enjoy it and would like to see it restored to its glory. i understand tomorrow you are going to be talking more about this or thursday rather which is tomorrow. you have another big announcement that's going to be coming out, as well. what can you tell us about this? you're keeping it quiet a little bit but what can you tell us about this big announcement for tomorrow? >> thank you for asking.
8:49 am
but unfortunately, i can't steal our own thunder but i can tell you it's exciting news about our ability to continue this work. the exciting moment is going to be visual up in the building where media is invited to attend so that viewers can see the official start of restoration. our team of stone masons is going to take a crockett stone about this size if you can see my hand, it's one of the nodules on the grand pinnacle and they are going to set in place a recarved crockett stone from the original limestone of the building into place and it will be blessed and the work before it begins and the staff is going to be gathering in prayer. you know, it is $20 million. it's a lot of money. but so many in the region and across the country have already stepped up in support and we're very, very thankful. as you said, people here in d.c. you can't not see it. you look up and there it is on the skyline and we like to
8:50 am
think that it's this symbol that means that faith is important in america and we serve as a spiritual home for the nation. that means a lot to some people. >> it does. we will watch as you continue to make the repairs. it's always been fascinating to watch you do this, as well. so we will continue to do that. wish you the best in the fundraising efforts, as well. richard weinberg, thank you for talking with us. >> thanks, sarah. bye. >> one other quick note. government surveyors say the washington monument is sitting on solid ground. they were afraid the obelisk sunk even further at last year's quake since it was built on ground once under water. over the last century the monument has sunk a little more than 2." history comes to life today in bethesda. and that's where archeologists are investigating new findings that could shed new light on a former enslaved man who inspired the novel "uncle tom's cabin." we're also learning more about the book's author harriet beecher stowe and the impact on
8:51 am
our nation. holly joins us live with more now. holly what a great morning. >> reporter: this is a great morning. you're going to be fascinated by the things we're about to show you. there are few novels out there that really help define us as a country. and "uncle tom's cabin" is one of them. that's why the new finds here at josiah henson special park are so significant because they help us learn details about our story and that's in part what brought catherine cane down from connecticut the executive director of the harriet beecher stowe center. welcome. this is your first time here. >> i'm so excited to be here. i wanted to visit henson's space and here i am. so thanks for setting this up so i could do this. >> reporter: for someone that knows so much about the book, what does it really mean for you to be standing here in this space? >> it gives me goosebumps because this is the space that connects harriet beecher stowe and her best selling novel "uncle tom's cabin" that changed american attitudes before the civil war and it
8:52 am
connects josiah henson who is one of her sources for writing about what slavery was really like. and he lived here on this agricultural plantation. >> reporter: this makes the pages of this book right here qom to live. by the time these volumes were printed 60,000 volumes were already printed. the printing presses couldn't keep up. >> everybody wants a copy of this book. >> everybody wanted it. >> that was back then. today we were talking -- people don't necessarily understand that maybe internationally, this book is even bigger than what we appreciated for here in america. >> that's totally true. i was speaking in denmark this spring and i asked the group of 250 people, how many of you have read "uncle tom's cabin"? and they all raised their hands. >> really. >> that wouldn't happen in this state. >> sadly. >> this is the book that helped change our country. so you have that book and perhaps even more important is the one you have nextit. >> this is a facsimile edition of the key to "uncle tom's
8:53 am
cabin." so -- >> reporter: this was the answer that harriet had to her critics? >> exactly. everybody said or some people said, you didn't get it right in your book about slavery in 1852 and she said yes, i did. and here's the proof. so she collected all of the stories including josiah henson' story which is right here in her chapter about uncle tom himself and josiah henson is cited. his book about his experiences. >> reporter: this is really the book that says, josiah henson was your inspiration. his name is listed. so there is no question. >> one of her inspirations. >> one of them. >> reporter: she used many sources but that is true. i want to show some of this because this is really rare. >> well, print materials are one thing. there are multiple copies. manuscript materials, these are letters and signatures so here is josiah henson's signature from the stow center's collection.
8:54 am
here's another one. this is a man who live in slavery and bondage and doesn't learn to read and write. he doesn't have a fancy signature. but if you look at this letter here another 19th century letter which is narrated by him, it's from him and signed by him but somebody else had to write it. >> reporter: so think of that moment. he's telling his story which is amazing so he is telling his story but the person that's listening realizes that it needs to be written down and uses his ability to do that to help tell the story. >> that's right. he narrates it and its published in 1849. he has to narrate it. so we -- in the introduction it says, we used his words and some of his sentence structure. so the poor man is subject to other people's interpretation of the story he is trying to tell. >> reporter: amazing. >> it's just another example of the evils of slavery as stowe would have described it.
8:55 am
>> reporter: you started out as an archeologist yourself? >> i did. so i get goose bumps at archeology sites. i can't help it. this is all about the details of history, the little things that give us the information to tell us about these people who built a world before us that we have inherited. >> reporter: thank you so much for take the time and effort to come down. myfoxdc.com is our website. we have a link to the harriet beecher stowe center in connecticut if you want to stay there. pbs is working on a special about the site. coming up we'll talk about that and kids in the area that got to be involved in the field school. back to you in the studio. >> thank you. this seems so ridiculous now. but what happened in vegas didn't stay in vegas. did not stay a secret at least for prince harry. >> good segue. >> coming up in our next hour, tmz's dax holt has the latest
8:57 am
every paycheck. now, when you need it obama has cut $716 billion dollars from medicare. why? to pay for obamacare. so now the money you paid for your guaranteed healthcare is going to a massive new government program that's not for you. the romney-ryan plan protects medicare benefits for today's seniors and strengthens the plan for the next generation. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.
8:59 am
>> your realtime captioner: linda macdonald. good wednesday morning. i'm allison seymour. >> i'm wisdom martin. tony is off this week. right now the 5:00, a maryland town remembering two teenagers killed in a train derailment. melanie alnwick has the latest on the investigation including a possible problem with the brakes. >> campaign polls out this morning plus a distraction. mitt romney urges representative todd akin to abandon his senate race but he won't quit. hear his response ahead. >> don't let your back-to- school list break the bank. at 9:15, financial author jennifer streaks joins us in studio with tips to save you money and your first stop may be your own house. we'll explain what that's all about. >> too late.
219 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
WTTG (FOX) Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on