and already rain in western maryland and we stvirginia. this afternoon in the metro not before 2:00 or3:00 we could see strong to severe thunderstorms as the front approaches and we have the heat and humidity to deal with. this morning it is quiet and erteesatmp urin mpeserurat in ur er reywevhe70s . ev ywhere. even culpeper. we are down to 69 on the bay in annapolis. 77. we are looking at a warm humid day with severe thunderstorms possible this afternoon. highs in the mid to upper 80s. it is 6:00, just about, and angie is watching the traffic. >> we are ready to kick off the noon hour. thank you for joining us. it is friday and we are feeling good. we are dealing with some things that could slow you down early on. in northeast dc, fire activity and crews are on the scene. rhode island avenue. it is closed between w and fifth street. so we will let you know when lanes open up. moving up. 95 and the bw parkway out of baltimore past 198 to powder mill to the beltway.

we are incident and accident free. keeping things going. take it to the outer loop in maryland. lanes are wide open past new hampshire avenue. in virginia the same situation on 66 heading east. from centreville to the beltway, no incidents to report at this time. 95 northbound. that is a different situation. already from 123 to the fairfax county parkway we are heavy heavy heavy. and that's due to an earlier accident that was going southbound at the fairfax county parkway. we know all lanes are getting by. drivers on the south side are actually backed up to back lick. we will follow these delays and let you know how big they grow. keeping things going send a it over to jessica doyle who has more news. >> on the rundown at 6:01. you will soon be paying to solve the district's budget program. the city council meets today in public to talk about a series of tax hikes it is a story you first heard on bruce johnson's blog at wusa9.com. digital correspondent armando trull is live in northwest

washington with the latest. >> jessica, after today's dc council meeting all of the folks you see behind me may have to pay a little more money to spend money in the district. the district has a population of nearly 600,000 people and with a projected budget deficit of $660 million, that works out to over $1 million perez dent. those residents and anyone else who purchases anything in the city may soon be slapped by a higher sales tax from 5/3/4 to 6%. >> i have a problem with paying higher taxes to reduce dc's deficit unless i have a sense they will do a more efficient job of managing their resources. >> reporter: if you think gas prices are high now, you might pay an extra 3 # 3 1/2 cents per gallon. >> to raise taxes is ludicrous in a recession. >> smokers would pay 50 cents extra a pack. >> makes it more difficult for people to go out and buy things

and they are more hesitant to buy things. like tobacco tax. i actually smoke and it is really not good. >> reporter: even if the $50 million sales tax hike is approved -- approved more budget trimming is needed says mayor fenty. >> one thing we are committed to is we will make sure the services don't diminish and we find a way to improve them. >> reporter: nevertheless one big hit is for dc public schools nicing a $45 million reduction in their budget. and that's why some district residents are willing to wall slow the bitter tax medicine. >> as long as those fire engines keep running and the ambulances come down the street, go for it. >> reporter: jessica, the council could have also raised income tax and property taxes but they thought that would not be a good idea given a recession. armando trull for 9 news now and wusa9.com. a university of maryland program offering medical services to the poor is about

to be cut back. starting on august 15th, well mobile sites in glen burnie, cumberland will shut down because of state budget cuts. the good news is operations in montgomery and prince georges county will continue. the university of maryland's nursing school runs the program. a 76-year-old boxer is attacked and killed in his own neighborhood and now family friends are looking for answers. he earned a golden glove years ago. he was walking to area a a stor in anacostia earlier this week when he was attacked. he tried to fight back but died several days later. his daughter can't believe a neighbor would do this. >> to think a 76-year-old man who has been in this area all of his life. everyone knows him and someone to kill him. it don't make no sense. >> reporter: police have not made any arrest in the case due to the nature of the attack, dues could only identify his

attackers as two men on bicycles. more problems for metro this morning. a bus driver was arrested on thursday actual crashing her bus along good hope road in southeast washington. our partners in the examiner report she was driving on a suspended license. her license was suspended in may but it is unclear as to why. also yesterday, a newly- surfaced photo of a bus driver seemingly using a cell phone behind the wheel was first posted on a local blog. the metro gm says the image is not bun he wants out there. >> the policy is very clear.

the government's cash for clunkers program is such a hit the bank account for it is nearly empty. the program just started on monday. you can get up to $4,500 for trading on an old gas guzzler for a new car. $1billion was put aside. the associated press says the money is nearly gone. the white house is reviewing the program and says any deals already made will be honored. a hes up for iphone users. a big hacker danger out there today and it is an easy one to fall for this time. digital correspondent has the latest from california. >> reporter: if your iphone gets a tech message that looks like this, with a single square character be very concerned. >> if you were to see a text message with a square, shut off your phone immediately and give

it some time. >> reporter: the square character is the only sign you'll have the iphone is getting invisible commands and getting hijacked. once they are in the bad guys can do anything you can do, turn it off, call people, e- mail, run the voice recorder, take pictures or worse. >> a lot of people carry really private information like bank account information and passwords and things like that in their phone an the attacker would have access to that, as well. >> famed hacker charlie miller discovered the flaw and told apple about it six weeks ago. the company has in the fixed it. apple has not returned the phone calls. >> still creepy nonetheless. >> always creepy. >> reporter: at the apple store the reaction from owners is disbelief and worry. >> how much of your life do you put in the iphone? >> a lot. i have everything on it. that's pretty major. >> that's kind of scary. it is like your own security. all of your information is on

here. your e-mails, contacts, pictures, everything on is here and for that to happen is scary. like they are pursuing your life. >> reporter: for now there is not much to do to protect yourself. if you get the text message turn it off and then on and hope you stop the hijackers before too much damage is done. >> if you head over to wusa9.com and visit the "living $mart" page we have more information on how to avoid it. the time 6:08. in three minutes kristin profiles the latest hero and in ten minutes the beers seen around the world. reaction to the suds summit around the world. we are looking at western maryland this morning. we are lookin g atg li doppler hd. see see the action here. west e of hancock, cumberland a route 220. temperature-wise it is a steamy morning out there once again. we hin in the 70s. most spots a up

fa r far western maryland and cumberland is 72 and on the play 77. we have a chance of thunderstorms scattered about this afternoon. some will be strong. temperatures topping off at 86 in damascus and 87 particular la plata. take it away, angie. >> 270 southbound happy to report no delays from frederick to the split. we have some volume here around the shady grove area. moving to the inner and outer loop in maryland. drivers, we are finding them at speed past new hampshire avenue. it is like this over to 95 or from 95 i should say. mapping out route 4, branch avenue and crane highway. giving the roads a thumbs up. wake up, washington it's going to be a great day. 9 news now will be right back after these messages. and water country usa... where family-fun surrounds you...

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♪ big and small! there's fun for all! ♪ i'm re at the web center with christian tin fisher for today's hero central report. you are giving us an update, kristin. >> that's right. every morning on this show we like to highlight a local hero in our commune and this morning we have somebody very special to honor. his name is lee daust and he is a volunteer at the school if in fairfax county and the school serves tunes with deveer disabilities. his grandson used to be a student there. he since moved away but lee never stopped volunteering at the school. he spent thousands of hours and building equipment and doing maintenance work for the school. look at this picture. it is a shot of one of the things he has built for the school. it is a stand for a candy

capped seat so the child can be easily moved around the room and employees say he works tirelessly and without fanfare to advance and improve the life of our students. a hero indeed. now, this hero nomination came from carolyn, a physical therapist at the key center school. but if you would like to nominate a hero for an upcoming hero central segment, i would love to i'hear about it. e-mail heros@wusa9.com. now, i'm already hard at work on our next which which o it is about the ght lu house for e th foe e thblind oup hares thgr p s been helping lepewho lvehaost their vision and ve0 10s.ar ty 100 years. typically they teach people how to get around and work and read ou yckhes hiouout t ri here, this digital data it i which they are oping up to veterans and it teaches them how in pssdoroce cur ntfos the federal government. and the best part about it is fo

ey athreanar guedtevernment as s e fedegol asmern s ath ey e program t out of th and the entire program takes just three months. it is is a great story. we will have it here on monday morning. it is 6:13 on this friday morning. here's what is in the news now. an antiabortion amendment to the health care reform was put in and then taken out. the decision cames hours apart. and it would have stopped any coverage for abortion in the new health care bill. people in brian, texas are finally in their homes. they were forced out yesterday after a fire at a capital plant. it also forced police to close part of the texas a&m campus. check this out. 30,000 rubber duck i cans swimming through the chicago river. it was part of the windy city rubber duck i can derby. it benefits special olympics. >> how's the weather looking. >> weather is okay tomorrow.

dark star park festival is going on. 25 years it has been open with public art work and the weather should cooperate for that. if you have plans today, like going to redskins park, keep an eye on the weather. this afternoon, especially we will have some thunderstorms around. maybe a shower this morning but really this afternoon we're most concerned with. the threat for severe weather. tomorrow a dry day near 90 and then on sunday we have temperatures in the 80s with some thunderstorms and family day over at the legg mason tennis tournament. hope that will hold off on the storms. let's talk about the morning forecast in writing. partly sunny. isolated shower. we have some rain across western maryland and west of hancock there and parts of west virginia romney and paw paw. in the 70s and in mid to upper 80s. winds 10 to 15. a few storms lingering through the evening and mostly cloudy upper 60s to low 70s.

talk about the severe weather threat. through new york, philadelphia, through us. down to raleigh. damaging winds and large hail is possible and the strongest storms east of 81. it covers the bay and much of the area. right now we have showers and storms. well to the north and west. in western maryland parts of west virginia can't rule out a stray shower this morning but you get the idea. the bulk of this will miss us. a lot of energy in the upper levels of the atmosphere and a steamy air ma. the time lapse, cloud cover has with us. high and mid level cloud cover. we are starting off mostly cloudy in washington. the air mass is soupy. the dew point is 70. humidity is up to 88% and the south winds at 12 pump up toe moisture and keep the temperatures uncomfortably warm to start. especially in cambridge, 79. saint indigos 78. 77 fredericksburg. 72 frederick. hagerstown at this hour 75 and

in winchester 72. going to the coast this weekend, well, today not bad. could be a thunderstorm. temperatures in the mid to upper 80s to near 90 in southern maryland. wins on ebay southwest at 11. could be rough at times especially with thunderstorms. saturday is the better looking day. low to mid 80s. inland upper 80s. look at the water temperatures in the low 80s in the bay. sunday we will feature a threat of more thunderstorms at our coastal communities with temperatures there in the 80s. offer shore water temperature about 75. nice time of year to be going in the ocean. here's our seven-day forecast which includes thunderstorms today. 86. a break tomorrow. more storms on sunday, 88 and then heat and isolated storms. next week the pattern not changing much at all. what about the traffic pattern? >> you know what i'm all about, hooking you up with personalized traffic report. pop in to my live chat and cam

on wusa9.com. we wanted to begin in northeast dc where i am updating you on the house fire and the crews on the scene there. we know that fourth street is closed between w street and rhode island avenue. so that is the latest on that situation. on i-66 eastbound we are still below speed from 50 to 123. thing start to open up approaching the capital beltway. moving to 95 in virginia. from 123 to the fairfax county parkway, heading northbound you are slow. going southbound, seeing a lot of congestion from back lick to the fairfax county parkway thanks to an earlier accident. hey, maryland, what's going on. 270 southbound, traffic is below speed from shady grove to montross but no incidents to report. and come fly with me. we are on 50 westbound from the buy bridge to the beltway. you are going to find lanes wide open. that's a quick look at traffic. now, over to you. it is 6:17. the harvard professor and the city police officer hope to move past pair -- past their

controversy. dr. henry lewis gets, junior and sergeant crowley let last night with the president. they shared a beer and talked their issues and joel brown has the story. >> reporter: it was the round of drinks heard around the world. president obama invited cambridge, massachusetts police sergeant james crowley and harvard professor gates for beers at the white house. vice president biden sat down with the men for a conversation the president called friendly and thoughtful. professor gates applauded the meeting saying he hope it led to to -- >> it is an effort to move not just the city of cambridge or two individuals past this even but the whole country. >> reporter: they sipped beer and munched on peanuts and pretzels sitting at a patio table here near the rose garden. it the police sergeant says the events of the past couple of

weeks are still a blur. >> i'm not sure this is really happening. i'm still haven't caught up with it. >> both men brought their families to the white house and took a tour and sat down with the president in the oval office before they headed to the rose garden. the controversy began when crowley arrested gates in his own home after a neighbor reported a suspected burglary. the president invited both men for a meeting after he admittedly made matters worse at a news conference. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly. >> reporter: president obama says the incident could serve as a teachable moment for the nation. the police officer and the professor say they are already planning a second meeting to reach an even greater understanding. joel brown, cbs news, the white house. a poll before the meeting showed 41% of americans disapproved of how the president handled the situation. 29% approved. in a separate poll, 27% said professor gates is to blame for

the controversy. and 11% blame sergeant crowley and 29% said they were both to blame. the time 6:19. a report from redskins training camp including a look at the rocky relationship between coach zorn and clinton portis. but first the signs of now. a california think you know the answer? find out if you are correct when we come back. en

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we're back with the signs of now. she's riding a flying bicycle on the label. the picture violates alabama law. the viner in is selling it with the slogan, taste what they condition have in alabama. in sports, reskins training camp is underway. another open practice begins

today at 8:30 in ashburn, virginia. camp began in ernest yesterday. some are focusing on the relationship between coach zorn and clinton portis. they got off to a rocky start last year. portis spoke out yesterday. >> the respect i have for him and understanding it was his first year. i think we both know where we went wrong. so we are past that and get along just fine. as grown men you are going to have differences but he's the head coach. only thing i can do is listen and take what he tells me and try to use it positively, you know? >> reporter: our sports team has redskins training camp covered. we have live reports tonight and throughout the weekend. go behind the scenes and watch uncut video at wusa9.com. just visit the sports page. the nationals are in pittsburgh. they begin a weekend sunrise with the pirates tonight. jonathonen gets to start for the nats. yesterday afternoon the nats wrapped up their series with

the brewers. tied at three in the 7th. two on. milwaukee's jason kendall grounds to third. zimmerman throws hope but the nats lose this one 7-3. the time is 6:25. in ten minutes making effective complaints as a consumer. how to do it and what the biggest problems are out there. and more on wednesday's mansion fire in dc. a closer look inside the home. angie? >> on 395 northbound at the shirlington exit ramp. we have an accident scene and a cluster of police are blocking the ramp. i will have an update when 9 news now returns. howard? >> it is a steam bath out here this morning. more like he the mid gulf coast than the mid-atlantic and the heat and humidity could cause problems for us. i will have details when we return. b@ ?fñ ( sighs ))

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& it's a beautiful day ♪ ♪ >> that was the wakeup call for "endeavour." it is scheduled to land this morning at the kennedy space

center ending the 16-day mission. thank you for starting your friday with us. i'm jessica doyle. andrea is off today. howard bernstein is life on the weather terrace and he has the friday forecast. >> i had to loosen the tie out here. the air is so thick and we have low clouds and the moisture is in place. this afternoon when the front is closer and the upper level energy we will fire up shower and storms. go outside on the satellite and radar and show you a t to acont you can see a spin ky. that upper level . nt eat upper level lp help msor lo. fok storms. look tat readings, 76 naanreal wianth agresonametion . oakland with some rain in garrett county in the lower 60s. just about everybody else 70 or better. a chance of a shower here and there this morning but really this afternoon. i think in the metro not before 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. strong to severe thunderstorms and highs in the mid to upper 80s. how about the roads.

with more here's angie. >> how about those roads. not good news on 395 northbound. you are going to want to factor in extra minutes if you plan to hop on that interstate right now. this is the situation at the shirlington exit ramp. got an overturned car on the tow truck. police continue to block the ramp entirely. result of this has impacted traffic on 395. that commute. switching the camera shot over i can show you we are stacked from the beltway to duke street. a new accident just popped up in the last 30 seconds or so. all lanes are getting by. because of the shirlington accident drivers will use the brakes once they reach seminary and make their way to shirlington. moving over to 270 southbound. we are slow shady grove to montross. no incidents or accidents here. and 495 in maryland from college park to georgia avenue it is free flowing. over to you.

uncle sam warned the cash for clunkers program would go on as long as the money lasted. the government didn't figure it on it running out so soon. the associated press reports $1 billion put aside for the program is nearly gone. you will remember cash for clunkers offers up to $4,500 to trade in a gas guzzler for a more fuel efficient car which means over 222,000 deals and people are moving fast. the news is a shock to one car dealer in indiana. >> we have to figure it out in a hurry. this is just -- i mean somebody is not using their head. >> reporter: the white house tiys the government will make good on any deals already made and it's taking a look at the program to see if more money is available. the district has its own money problems. today city leaders could enact a series of tax hikes. they will hit you whether you live in the city or not. this is a story first reported on wusa9.com. digital correspondent armando trull is live in northwest

washington with a look ahead. -- here in the district folks will be paying more money if the dc council has its way. buying gas in the district may cost you an extra 3 1/2 cents a gallon, the new tax 23.5 cents. >> there aren't many places where you can go to get gas. >> reporter: a pack of cigarettes may cost an extra 50 cents. >> not going to generate the money they expect it will generate. i think people will go across the river and buy their cigarettes that way. i honestly believe the black market will be an issue. >> reporter: sales taxes will go up from 5 3/4 to 6%. >> i wouldn't have proposed the tax increases. that's not how i like to drop the budget but it is the council's prerogative if that's how they want to structure the bug. >> reporter: the council is considering drastic budget cuts, including $45 million from dc public schools.

>> we don't want to lose momentum or move backwards and i think the elected officials in the city are committed to making sure that doesn't happen. >> reporter: the tax hike may bring $50 million but that is chump cake compared to the district's $660 million budget short fall. sources inside the council say they opted for the tax hike because they didn't want to raise income or property taxes. live in adams morgan, 9 news now and wusa9.com. the judges assigned to hear a civil lawsuit in the virginia tech murder case have recaused themselves. in court papers, the montgomery county maryland judges cite a conflict of interest in hearing this case. the lawsuits were filed by the families of two of the students killed in the massacre. a new witness surfaced in the chandra levy murder case and the man charged with killing the former federal intern heads to court today. the new witness identified the

suspect as a man who attacked her on a jogging trail. it is unclear where that attack took place. levy disappeared in may of 2001. her body without found in rock creek park a year later. the head of the dc water and sewer authority vows to complete a review of water pressure and hydrants. that's in the wake of wednesday's mass fire in northwest washington. the two-alarm fire consumed a multimillion-dollar mansion. fortunately no one was seriously hurt. firefighters were hampered by low water pressure in the area. the mansion which burned wasn't any old house. it belonged to a community activist and former chairman of the dc school board. her love of the art that's inspired her to cofound the duke ellington school of the arts. this passion wafl d reinecte her home recently featured in oprah winfrey's magazine. >> she's a wonderful dc activist. she started the duke ellington school for the arts and it is

so ironic and horrible that something like this would happen to such a wonderful woman. >> reporr: e she also worked in local television. one of her jobs was as a producer here at channel 9 in the ' 70s. hate dealing with bad customer service? who doesn't? the list is out of the top consumer complaints for the last year, samantha hayes looks at the stuff which drives us wild. >> reporter: to come consumers it is simple the more money you have to spend. >> the more you have to complain about. >> especially if you don't get the service to pay for. >> check the signature on the credit cards. >> according to the top ten list, grieve advances last year were up over the year before. in fact the 34 consumer agencies surveyed 62% reported an increase. the consumer federation of america, one of three organizations behind the survey found the poor economy is

partly to blame. the top fastest growing complain was about aggressive debt collection tactics. and the most frequently cited worse complaint was about mortgage-related problems, especially mortgage foreclosure rescue scams. >> reporter: of the top ten complaints misleading ads or sales of new and used car and faulty home improvement and construction jobs were the top two. in all agencies tackled a quarter of a million complaints last year and say they were able to obtain 250 million there's in restitution or savings for consumers. proof sometimes it pays to complain it. >> does work. state and local consumer protection agencies can't promise to resolve everyone's complaint. no one can but they certainly will try to help you. >> reporter: more than half of the agencies surveyed said tough times caused them to have to cut resources which in turn

affected their ability to help consumers. samantha hayes for 9 news now and wusa9.com. right now at u.s. wusa, learn how to write a complaint letter that gets results. get advice from the better business bureau and it is therein there on the "living $mart" page. dogs have fur but that dunn stop some people from from dressing them up. there is a new way to keep fido warm, believe it or not the snuggie for dogs. >> it is a muggy morning ou to y ketaou to doppler 9000 and show yokeu west of 81. we ha ofersh s owuple of showere aseast northeast. not out of the question over to winchester. off sprinkle this ok at in at temperatleescalled called i scott. it is a humid 76. thunderstorms and temperatures in the 80s. angie, how are the virginia

roads? keeping our eyes on the interstate and the problems that can slow you down. 395 at duke street. here's the situation. crash activity to the left shoulder. as you can see impacting traffic. we are becomed up to the beltway past this scene. from 5 -- 50 to 123 a lot of congestion and no incidents or accidents and we are flying southbound on the gw parkway, and we will show you nothing but green cars from the beltway to the key bridge. you are watching 9 news now. tgif. we'll be right back. vo: since 2006, walmart has sold over 26n miiollcompact fluorescent light bulbs.io

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together to make a quilt they are the winter. find more tips at wusa9.com. click on living green. it is 6:42. the latest as seen on tv product is out there and it is already a hit on the internet. kristin fisher dressed for the occasion in our web center shows us what it is about. >> what, it is casual friday. of course you had to bust out the snuggie. and that is what this is this ridiculous blanket with sleeves and this has been on the mark less than a year but already about 5 million of these guys have been sold which means, of course, there's sure to be some spinoff and you are not going to believe the latest product to hit the market. so put down your coffee. take a look at this video. >> your dog needs to go out but it is a cold, chilly night. a pet sweater could help but they pull and they are tight and putting them on can be a battle of wills. how do you keep your dog warm

when they are feeling a chill. now there is snuggie dog. >> that's right. it is the dog snuggie. i'm not joking you don't make this up. for 14.95 plus 7.95 in shipping and you can have one for urdog. it comes in various si s. g. here's is anwethe bsite. seriously. this led me to -- i had a few questions erthe were there were other bizarre snuggie pin spinof on the market. >> and this inis peekaru. an ped knekar t if, je a buif you is erekbig have a second one how about carrying them in. atth ks ooke l li a it looks like a kangaroo. n'ati dot know. ana. i know you actuali lyjessica. i know you actually own one of these. >> i do. >> i will embaesrrs yoasu e.th

>> asthbueyt have a snuggie yo n twecaogara tunic style. i will sit here so you can see my magnificent cape but i actually got one of these for my birthday yesterday. i don't know what that is saying. >> my if force be with you. >> this is not my own but i do own one. i'm now part of the snuggie cult. >> at least we match. >> that's right. no snuggies needed today. when i was driving in at 3:30 this morning it was 77 degrees outside. >> the atmosphere is so moisture rich temperatures don't want to drop. we will get some showers and storms. some of which could be vein we are talking e about. light rain showers. gey neerrallstwen stmaryland

through romney and kaiser, but also from woodmanek rkw matow and luray and rk81 moving up 81 to front royal, straussburg, winchester. and you can get some activity over the next hour. the forecast for the next three days. talking about temperatures mid to upper 80s with showers and storms likely this afternoon. tomorrow, i'm going mostly dry upper 80s to near 90 and a few storms with temperature in the 80s. this morning partly sunny at times and mostly cloudy with an isolated shower. mainly west. in the 70s. we will quickly climb to the 80s and mid to upper 80s today and scattered strong to severe thunderstorms. sunset 8:20. tonight a few evening thunderstorms and mostly cloudy. still muggy, 67 to 74. winds northwesterly at five to ten but not looking at a big dryout. the big yellow area, that's the severe threat from the storm prediction center and includes

us. damaging winds and large hail the severest of the storms. we have a lot of moisture outside. we are seeing that on radar. we saw a little on doppler 9000 but in western pennsylvania, ohio, kentucky, tennessee, this will all lift northeast. the first batch will miss us but with the daytime heating i expect us to fire upa thunderstorm. 73 winchester. 79 cambridge. easton is 75 along with quantico and culpeper. in washington, we sit at 76. with a dew.of 72. the heat index is already 80. we could see heat indices in the low to mid-90s an uncomfortable day but thankfully not going to be even hotter. big picture. here we go. nice in the central part of the country but as this piece of energy tracks a little spin here. coming up. as it gets closer watch out for

shower and thunderstorms. here's the seven-day forecast. mid to upper 80s with thunderstorms. stay up on the weather this afternoon and you can always track it on-line with new interactive radar and doppler 9000 at wusa9.com. 89, dry tomorrow and sunday more storms and monday and tuesday warm with isolated afternoon thunderstorms. here's angie. >> thank you, howie. hello, everybody. we let ge getting -- we are getting ready for the 7:00 hour. ready for the weekend, i want you to know we are tracking a house fire situation in northeast dc. we are crews on the scene and they continue to block fourth street between w and rhode island avenue. in virginia, 395 heading northbound. this elates on the accident past duke street has been pushed to the right shoulder and continues to block part of the right lane. as a result of this we are dragging along from the capital beltway past this point and then you are okay and will slow down once you reach seminary. moving to 66 eastbound.

i like what i see out here. delays approaching the beltway, starting to clear out. do we have a friday light on our hands? i hope so. 270 southbound a slow ride. a little shaky shot for you here. shady grove to montross road, drivers are using the brakes and 50 eastbound travelers from dc heading to the beach, your drive is a peach and going westbound you are okay, too. over to jessica. a fairfax county, virginia man will spending ayears in prison for a drunk driving crash which killed a maryland girl. last august, michael eaten plowed in to a family's jeep along 270. he was drunk. he killed 10-year-old jasmine harris and injured her 12-year- old sister. he didn't turn himself in until 12 hours later. he apologized to the family before yesterday's sentencing. most of the local kids quarantined on a chip to china are back at home. -- on a trip to china are back at home. they planned to attend a two-

week summer school program in china but during the flight over one student showed symptoms of h1n1 and chinese authorities decided to quarantine them. a handful did test positive for the flu. >> these guys in full-body suits, like full quarantine body suits came and put me in an ambulance and took me to a -- like a makeshift hospital. it was sketchy at first. >> reporter: not all of the kids from the summer school program are back yet. some decided to stay another week or so to make up for the time they lost. in sports the baseball world is wondering today if two world series titles this decade by the red sox are tainted. the new york times reported that david ortiz and ramirez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003. the players were towed anonymously and then their names were kept hidden. neither player admitted or denies the report.

it is 6:50. 76 degrees here in northwest washington. michael vick trying to get his financial life in order. in three minutes what he is hoping to do in court today. i'm maggie rodriguez. coming up on the "early show," the rite jean for your mr. right. our fashion expert will break down which jeans for men are hot this season and which are not. plus, the latest house mate to be evicted from the big brother house. that's coming up on the "early show."

it is 6:53. here's what is in the news now. sergeant crowley and professor gates say they plan to meet again. president obama hosted them at the white house last night for a chat less than two weeks after gates ' arrest. later this morning the dc council will vote on a hike in taxes for sales, cigarette and gasoline. michael vick heads back to court today. he's trying to get a judge to sign off on a plan to repay his creditors. his dog fighting conviction just ended july 20th. it will be warm and sticky this afternoon. watch out there could be severe thunderstorms around. right now 76. angie has another traffic update on the other side of the break. b@ a

here's a live look at the gallery in northwest washington. this is the line in advance of the running of the brides. filene's base annual dash for brides to be. you can get good discounts on wedding dresses. a lot of women travel in teams, consider them packs, grabbing dressing, pushing the competition out of the way and with the economy the way it is you know people are looking for deals. doors open at a.m. and the sale lasts for one hour. you can see the anticipation in their eyes. >> i know. i have heard of people getting dresses for 300, $400. it is a steal. a lot of money but still. >> bring on the bridezilla action. >> watch out for my stiletto. >> he watches for my stilettos

every day. >> an accident is blocking the right lane or pushed to the shoulder. back to the beltway. slow from edsall to shirlington. a fire in northeast dc has fourth street closed between w and rhode island. and the outer and inner loop is moving nicely without problems. over to howard. a sticky day out there, few showers west of 81 now. some storms this afternoon. some could be severe mid to upper 80s. dry tomorrow and 89 and more storms as we head to sunday afternoon. temperatures in the mid-80s and a little hot next week. just coming over the wire, skins signed orakpo. he is the 13th overall pick in the draft and today happy birthday, his 23rd birthday. >> check that out. >> good birthday present. >> indeed. the "early show" is next. they will have more on the possible demise of the cash for clunkers program. and coming up at 9:00 a.m. it is mind over money friday our experts will be here to answer your quon