. >> reporter: this is 9news now. good afternoon, everyone. i'm surae chinn. j.c. haywood is off today. just moments ago a judge lifted a house arrest. this comes after prosecutors raised questions about the credibility of the woman who

accused him of sexual assault. randall has the very latest from outside the courthouse in manhattan. >> reporter: dominic con is free from house arrest. a manhattan judge released him without bail after prosecutors told the court their sexual assault case against them is falling apart. prosecutors are raising questions about the credibility of the maid who accused him of attacking her in his luxury suite at a new york hotel. law enforcement officials told the new york times investigators believe the woman lied about her background and about what she did in the hours around the alleged assault. she reportedly talked to a man in prison about the possible benefits of pursuing benefits. prosecutors are also concerned about conditions this her bank account. he has been living under bank arrest after posting $600 million in cash and bonds and agreeing to pay for his own armed guards. it is rare to see the prosecution questioning its own witness.

>> it really strongly suggests that there are very, very serious problems here and even the prosecution is backing away if him at this point. >> reporter: the arrest caused him to resign and derailed his likely run for the french candidacy. he may be a candidate again. >> and the deadline for declaring candidacy in the french presidency is july 13th. some french politicians are causing the presidential primary calendar on hold if he is exonerated. a young man was stabbed to death and four others are hurt. it happened when a fight broke out near a movie theater in hyattsville university town square. lindsey mastis spoke with neighbors and employees in the area. >> it's sad. that's the only thing i can say. >> reporter: two groups of young people got into a fight thursday evening. >> they had stab wounds to their upper body like in the shoulder

area. a lot of profuse bleeding. >> one of the suspects pulled out a knife and the victim received trauma to the upper body. he was transported to the hospital and a short time later he was pronounced de ceased. >> reporter: it happened here. people who live and work here say this type of violence is happening more and more. >> people with guns. i had somebody try to sell me drugs once. >> reporter: many businesses here have shut down. people that have worked here for years say it's a combination of a bad economy, a bad crime and young people with nothing better to do. >> i am disgusted. they destroyed this place. >> the dry cleaners had their windows smashed. i had my car windows smashed in a $120 a month garage. i had stuff stolen. >> reporter: the latest violent outbreak is proof that more needs to be done. >> at one time they had security people working around here that moved the people on. but i don't know what happened. >> i think there used to be more

police presence. >> reporter: in hyattsville, i'm lindsey mastis, 9news now. >> please have not released any information about suspects nor do they have a motive. prince george's county police are leaving the investigation because hyattsville does not have a homicide unit. the dc officer accused of killing a woman while leaving her infant daughter in a hot car has been formally indicted. late last night, a grand jury filed charges against 41-year-old richmond phillips in connection with the death of wyanet wright and her baby girl. among other charges, he's facing two counts of first degree murder. wright had filed a paternity suit claiming phillips fathered the child. she disappeared the night before a hearing in the case. july 1st means new laws are in effect on both sides of the potomac. in maryland, alcohol is more. the sales tax jumped 20%. but wineries can now ship

directly to state residents. also pet owners can now dine with their canines. restaurants outdoor dining can treat dog owning patrons as long as they provide written notice to the health department. and in virginia, victims in abusive relationships now have more protection from the court. previously only family members or those being stalked received protective orders. starting today, those who fear harm in a dating or workplace relationship can get protection. also restaurant patrons can now bring their own bottle of wine to establishments. it will be a short holiday weekend for congress. they will be back to work on tuesday once again debating the deficit. last night at a fundraiser in philadelphia, president obama says that if a deal isn't reached in the next month, america could be mortgaging their future. democrats are proposing tax hikes on those making more than 200,000 a year. republicans say that plan is "dead on arrival". the former head of the cia

is now officially the new secretary of defense. in a private ceremony this morning, he took the oath of office. his first official act was to sent a message to all of the troupz and pentagon workers -- troops and pentagon workers. and treasure secretary timothy geutner isn't going anywhere. when asked about his future plans, he only said we have a lot of challenges as a country. . the state of minnesota is closed this afternoon. they shut the doors because lawmakers couldn't reach a budget deal. the democratic governor sparred over how to stop the state's $5 million deficit. this means all state parks are

closed for the holiday weekend. road projects are halted and thousands of state workers are without a job. it's a get away friday as people prepare for the long holiday weekend. but more of us will actually be staying close to home this year. triple a estimates 39 million americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the holiday. that's a million less than last year. analysts say the continuing pain at the pump has been blamed for the decrease in travel. so what can motorists expect when they pull up to the gas pump? lower prices actually? regular grade gas in the area averages $3.50. that is down $0.08 from one week ago and down $0.25 from one month. however, this time last year, we were paying $2.72 a gallon. reckless drivers you've been warned. >> the red light cameras in the city of fairfax virginia are now operating. there are two of them. one at fairfax circle. the other at university drive at

north street. you'll get a warning from now until july 31st. and after that, it's a $50 fine if they catch you running a red light. when students in montgomery county return to class after the holiday, they'll have a new superintendent. dr. joshua star officially took over as superintendent of the county's public school. he arrives in rockville after leading schools in kentucky and he takes over for dr. jerry wees who led schools for 12 years. coming up on 9 news now, mending those that protect all of us. we'll show you a special program that is helping all of the brave men and women hurt while serving our country. but first, fire racing towards a nuclear lab. the race to put out one of the worst wildfires in new mexico's history.

welcome back. firefighters in new mexico say they're confident that a wild fire will stay away from the town's nuclear lab. crews clear trees and brush around the facility that might have fueled the fire. nearly 12,000 residents were forced from their homes this week and won't be allowed back until at least sunday. a thousand firefighters are working frantically to contain the blaze that is just 3% contained at this point. this afternoon, prince

william and his wife katherine will role up their sleeves and get some cooking lessons from a premier canadian chef. the couple continues their north american tour with a stop at the quebec tourism and hotel institute. the newlyweds will also take time to honor william's mother princess diana on what would have been her 50th birthday. the royal couple will spend nine days in the country before coming to america. mob boss bulger will be back in court this week and by his side a court appointed lawyer. even though authorities found more than $800,000 hidden in his california apartment, he claimed that he couldn't afford his own legal team. but former members of bulger's organization say he certainly has more money hidden than what investigators found. >> one thing whitey always told me, he said whatever you do, never tell anybody where your money is, including me. >> so you have no doubt he has enough money to pay for a

lawyer? >> absolutely. >> some family members of alleged bulger victims are outraged at the treatment he's receiving. the former mob boss was taken to court in a helicopter and flown to boston by private jet. the judge presiding over the casey anthony trial has called an indefinite recess. he made this decision after the defense said the state didn't disclose all of the information on two of its rebuttal witnesses. anthony's legal team will now take depositions from the computer expert and forensic anthropologist before they take the stand. the 25-year-old is charged with first degree murder in the death of her daughter caylee. if convicted, she could face the death penalty. coming up on 9 news now at noon, fireworks go part and parcel with july 4th. and this year those who sell them are seeing their profits go sky high. olga. . >> starting to heat things up outside. temperatures already moving through the middle range 80s we're heading for the upper 80s this afternoon and the air

quality code orange. it's very unhealthy for sensitive groups. we'll have a warmup on the way. i'll have the full forecast in a few minutes. you're part of a team. >> i tell you, you haven't seen nothing yet. >> the reason we live together is we're best friends and i got your back, jack. >> is there anything better than this?

what is that? oh, we call it the bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. sort of like two in one. how did you guys think of that? it just came to us. what? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

this july 4th weekend many will take time to remember the men and women of our military, especially those injured in the line of duty. sandra hughes tells us about a

unique program that is helping men veterans with disfiguring wounds. >> reporter: marine staff sergeant octavio sz considers himself lucky to be alive. six years ago while serving in iraq, they rolled over a bomb. >> i launched the vehicle 40 feet. three of us made it out alive and one of my marines told me i was engulfed from head to toe. >> reporter: he suffered 30-degree burndz over 70% of his body. >> i just said please do whatever he can to save his life. >> reporter: they amputated one of his hands and fingers on another hand. sanchez thought there was nothing more he could do until he heard about operation men. the ucla program provides reconstructive surgery to service members at no cost. >> they have been through a tremendous amount, i mean more than i think anybody can comprehend. >> reporter: using skin from the forehead, ear cartilage and

a piece of rib, the doctor, a veteran who served in vietnam, was able to construct a nose, lips and cheeks for sanchez. >> that looks amazing. and it made all the difference. >> i'm at a loss for words. at times how do you say -- how do you talk about somebody who has done so much for us and taken his time and given back to us and giving us a little piece of mind. >> reporter: sanchez says operation men not only made him look better. >> there you go, buddy. >> reporter: but made him feel better about himself. be. >> to date, 48 service members from all branches of the military have been helped by operation men. >> for more information, head to our website wusa9.com. now to a story just in time for the 4th of july. despite the sluggish economy, there is one business that is booming. and that is fireworks. in fact, the sales of fireworks has climbed steadily through the

recession with sales last year topping $952 million. and the trend is expected to continue this year with towns across the country continuing the tradition of a grand fireworks show. >> when the communities can't show it, we've seen other sponsors come in. we've seen merchants, restaurants, anonymous donors. whatever it takes to make this happen. >> fireworks are now legal in 46 states. in our area, they are allowed in the district, virginia and maryland. but each has its own specific rules on which kind are legal. that, of course, is very important. always firefighters are out there scouting out these different venues. >> yes. that's very important. we have dry air in place. i heard a few neighbors practicing with their fireworks yesterday afternoon. but the forecast today does still feature some very low due

points dew points. our day planner today is spectacular. right now we're pushing on in through the 80s. most of us in the middle 80s this hour. we're going to hit the middle range and upper 80s by later on this afternoon. in fact, i'm expecting lake and national airport to make it to 89 degrees. then in the overnight, we'll have the clear skies as well and then some of the dropping temperatures tonight. so another comfortable one. by 5:00 this evening, we'll begin to back down a little bit but it's going to be a slow and gradual decline, even as late as 9:00 at night there are some areas that can be very close to that 80-degree mark. here is how we look with your weather headlines. nearly hot today with those upper 90s and then the dry air in place. but tomorrow even warmer still. most of us will be into the middle 90s and push the upper 90s by late in the wee forecast weekend. so we're going to get hot tomorrow. we're going to keep our humidity values fairly low and then the heat is going to continue

throughout the weekend and into next week as well. i can't rule out the possibility on sunday and monday of some isolated showers and thunderstorms popping on up as the cloud cover starts to move back on in. we should be dry for the 4th. over all the current temperatures are still warming. there are a few spots that are lacking behind. only 81 right now for gaithersburg but we are quite warm across the dc metro area down towards andrews air force base. even fredericksburg at 84 right now. the forecast will call for the dew points fairly drew. seeing numbers in the 40 and 50s. enjoy it while it lasts. that moisture is going to slowly start to move on it. i'm showing you the national satellite and radar to show you what is coming in our direction. right now we have high pressure in control. there is a cold front draped across the center of the u.s. just firing some storms in the upper midwest. but for us here in the region, it is the high pressure system off towards the east that is

keeping most of the moisture away from us. so we'll stay dry through today and tomorrow but then things will start to change as we head through the remainder of the weekend. the future cast model forecast breaks it down hour by hour into the overnight. we're clear as well. a passing cloud in the morning but notice in the afternoon a few of these clouds start to move on in. we'll end up with a partly cloudy day by saturday, but still temperatures will have a chance to rise. moisture tries to push on in from the north and from the west not making it too far, but we have a better rain chance on sunday evening and monday evening. today's high should make it to about 88 degrees. again for reagan national airport and the overnight lows cooling down again into those 60s. for the next several days, it's going to be continuing with that warming trend. lower 90s for tomorrow. middle 90s for sunday. and the seven-day forecast will have us near 95 as we get towards the sunday afternoon. we're going to see more moisture even during the overnight hours so the mugginess coming back in

our direction.

welcome back, everybody. we got to warn you the next segment is going to make you hungry. >> oh, you bet. >> oh, yes. we've got chef eba from the silver diner. and look at this spread here. it's going to look fantastic for your july 4th. . >> first of all, thank you for inviting me. for the 4th of july, i have a great dish for you. i want to keep it very simple. i got burgers over here. a great thing for the 4th of

july. >> okay. but what did you put in the burgers? >> i don't put anything in them. you just put a little bit of seasoning on them. a little bit of seasoning. and now what i'm doing is putting a little bit of barbecue on them. just to flavor it a little bit over here. >> okay. okay. >> and i think that's important not too put too much on there because you want to enhance the food. >> uh-huh. >> you don't want to take away all of the characteristics from the meat. so just a little bit on it. and as you can see, this is going to be why you are final product. while i have these over here. can you help me? >> i will definitely help you. >> why don't you put a little bit of lime juice in the bowl there. >> how much? is that good? >> that's good. that's good. that's good. >> we have lime juice. olive oil. >> okay. >> i make a little bit of dressing over here. flavor it with a little nut meg. >> nut meg. >> it brings the flavor in. >> okay. >> a little bit of cayenne pepper and i would like to use garlic. if you don't have it, can you use honey. and you put it in here. mix it up a little bit. >> uh-huh. >> and what it does it's a great

natural sweetener and it keeps your glycemic index correctly all throughout the meal rather than the spikes. >> okay. >> because the kids are going to be jumping up and down. >> we don't need that. >> you don't need that. >> and you put the dressing first on the spinach salad. >> i have organic spinach over here. and then cranberries. >>. >> we'll do that at the same time. >> the cans are fine. you like a lot of them. >> i guess so. okay. >> good. >> strawberries. >> strawberries. and a little bit of carrots in here. it gives you a little crunch. this is great for the summertime outside. >> mango. you do as much as you want. >> okay. >> we just mix it up over here. rinse your hands like you do at home. >> look how colorful that is. >> orange and red and green. >> you have all of these beautiful, healthy ingredients. and this is a greet dish for mom to prepare for family coming over. >> we have 30 seconds. we have have to taste this. >> here we go. we have little sliders.

>> it's hot. >> little sliders. >> look at the silver diner fries. >> silver diner is much better. >> all right. >> come to the silver diner for the sliders. i have them on the menu every day. take a bite. >> here is olga. >> go ahead and take it. >> it's her birthday. >> happy birthday. >> did you bring the beer? >> delicious. have a great 4th of july weekend everybody. see you later. >> thanks for having me.