>> sneaking of pre-accuse -- speaking of precautions, crews will be at force different first add tenths. don't bring a tent, a grill, glass bottles, alcohol, or fireworks of your own. but do enjoy the show. >> some good news, sea foot dealers say there are plenty of crabs out there. we did tell you earlier in the week that there were concerns that a big spike in damn might mean a big -- in demand might mean a big spike in prices, but prices are as low at $100 a bushel, and we're talking large jumbo crab. i hear it's not going to be as hot as we thought. >> we'll feel the humidity on saturday, but it's not going to be too bad. i think it's bearable, as long as you prepare for t here's a look at the current conditions.

temperatures right now in the upper 80s, near downtown, culpepper per 86, cumberland, 86. tonight, yeah, go have dinner outside, get that walk in. clear and cool, once again. open the windows, give the ac a break, lows 58 to 68 degrees, and winds will be light. here's the beach and boating forecast. a lot of you folks are doing that, saturday, low 80s, waves 1 to 2 feet, on sunday, warmer, and waves will be again 1 to 2 feet, south wind, 10-15. chance of storms, to the east for the ocean, for tomorrow, 82-86 degrees and winds from the south at 10-15 degrees. i'll have more on your holiday forecast coming up later. back to you. >> thank you. if you are trying to figure out what you want to do this holiday weekend, we have you covered. log on to wusa9.com. we have the events interest all over the area. most of the road work will be suspended, but there's a commuter alert.

it has to do with metro. the transition service planning to work on the orange, blue and red line tonight and tomorrow, so starting tonight at 10:00, trains will be single tracking it between the eastern market and the stadium. same story on the red line, between van necessary, and friendship heights, and between new york and rhode island avenue, and tomorrow, that work extend between rhode island avenue to fort cotton. now check out the roads as folk are heading out of town. honda, i know it was tough earlier, -- monica, i know it was tough earlier, now i see the green. let's look at the bay bridge, i just got off the phone with the officials, and they say it cleared out about an hour ago on the eastbound side of route 50 heading to the bridge span, looking fine, heading to ocean city. no problems on the virginia beach expressway to 54 as well. now to the other side of town, if you're planning to held to the beltway, this is what it looks like on the west side,

same on north, heading to 95, which is where i'll take you now. 95 there are no problems up into baltimore, and new york, the vw parkway that is heavy before the pace improves, and 95 is not too bad right now from the beltway down to the triangle. one thing making it easier for drivers along i 95, a new lane. fourth lane on the southbound side opened today, just in time for holiday traffic. the 6-mile stretch is part of $123 million widening project. v-do the says you'll still see some crews working on lighting, pavement marking and cleanup. back to you. thank you: rape case against dominic strahs-kahn teters on the end of collapse, as prosecutors admit they have got serious questions about the credibility of the accuser. the judge today released the former head of the international monetary fund from house arrest, and he walked out of the

courthouse in new york with his arm around his wife, and a smile on his face. investigators for the da's office found the whom who said he raped -- the woman who said he raped her had lied previously. >> the commitment is to the truth, and the facts, and that will govern how we proceed. thank you very much. >> now that woman's attorney claims that the prosecutors is too scared to try the case against such a high profiled defendant. he says there is plenty of physical evidence that corroborates the woman's story, but strahs-kahn forced himself on her. joining me now is scott bold. he has seen this before. what has to happen, scott, for a prosecutor, way out on a limb here, accused this powerful man of a terrible crime to get in court and say oops.

>> they haven't said that yet, derek. he hasn't dismissed the case yet. the witness is the chief witness, she has some serious credibility issues. internally, what the office is trying to do now is figure out whether they can explain away the credibility issues that the defense most likely has come up with and shared with the government as a means of trying to get them to dismiss the case. this is called, we call brady material material that has been uncovered that tends to ex-cull pay the, if you will, or show the detective is innocent more than guilty. >> is it just about her credibility? could she still have been raped? and if that's the case, shouldn't this just go forward to try to get the bad guy? >> that could be the government's position, the defense didn't want that position, but the fact is the dna still shows that it was sexual contact, and the issue now is whether it was consensual. >> you've been saying they are looking for a way out or way in. what is the deciding factors? >> way out is can they explain

away her credit issues. there are just two witnesses in this case, that's the complaining witness who says, who is the victim, and that's the defendant, strahs-kahn. so they've got to figure out whether they can prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. it doesn't matter what happened per se, it's what the government can prove. >> and if they don't think they can prove it they won't take it forward. >> under the rules, ethicsly, they have to be able do that. >> let's talk about what happened with the defense attorney in front of the courthouse, we saw him basically seeming to appeal to the court of public opinion here is that what he's trying to do? >> of course, and trying to protect a civil case. there are parallel tracks of justice. the criminal case, if he's convicted, there will be a massive civil litigation in regard to where she susan strahs-kahn for this in prop -- sues strahs-kahn for this inappropriate conduct. her future payday if there is one, depends on what the

government it is as far as prosecution. >> if they drop the case, that means it's not as likely they're able to sue? >> they can still sue, but quite frankly, they would be, they would have a civil case that would be severely damages baud her credibility will still be at issue even in the civil case. >> let me ask you this. when you first heard about this case and everybody was rushing to judgment, the guy is guilty, did you have any thoughts going back to cases that looked bad when you first saw them and then ended up going the other direction? >> i like being on the defense side, i just do. prosecutors tend toover charge cases, -- tend to overcharge cases, and there seems to be a lot of media fanfare. but that does not get you a conviction. a grained jury can indict a -- a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich. i wait to see what the investigation turns up, our own investigation, what the witnesses are saying in attacking the credibility of the witnesses. because the government just has

one side, and i think they got way ahead of themselves in all fairness, the complaining witness went into the grand jury to testify under oath, and now she's changed her story. the government's kind of stuck with her now, and they have to decide how to get out of it. >> we'll be watching this, as we like to say, very closely. thank you for your insight. >> when the story first broke, who among you gave him a little of the benefit of the doubt when he said he didn't do it? you may have been innocent until proven guilty, but whether or not he did -- did he deserve better? i'd like to know what you think. this just in, the district department of employment services says dc police are looking into allegations of sexual abuse in the city summer jobs program. we're told it involves two incidents, this week in which

children in the program claim they were improperly touched. one at dc offices on went, and another today. we're working on this story right now, and will bring you more information tonight on 9 news now at 11:00. still ahead, learning the language. friday's hero highlights a local group helping adult learners turn their frustration into gratitude. 134 launches down, just one to go. a look ahead at space shuttle atlantis.

there have been 134 shuttle launches and tonight, exactly a week away from what will be the last one. three men and a woman will be on boards when atlantis lifts off next friday, and today, the commander of the "endeavour" last mission spoke out about the legacy. >> nasa will open a new and exciting chapter, we will continue to inspire our children and we're going to be, continue to be, a great investment for the american people. >> atlantis is scheduled to spend 12 days in space. from now on, fatigue will be an acceptable reason for air traffic controllers to take leave or call up sick, that's the decision from the federal

aviation administration today. the agency has been working with the national air traffic controllers association to change some of the rules on keeping controllers alert on the job. the faa disclosed 7 instances of controllers falling asleep on the job. a set back for people pushing to build that new dulles metro station underground. ray la hood says the above ground opposite is a better deal, that goes with what northerly virginia leaders think. it could save millions of dollars. the hood practice proposal comes as a blow to the -- -- the hood proposal comes as a blow to the administration. andy will be back with a look at the weekend forecast, but first, flames tear through four row houses in dc. that's up next.

more than 100 firefighters had to be called in to battle this fire in northwest dc this afternoon. flames damaged four houses in the hundred block of decatur street. americans are often frustrated when dealing with immigrants that don't know english very well, but imagine how trust frustrating that must -- frustrating that must be for him. an organization that helps. >> this is the fire station. >> reporter: the lessons sound

simple. >> that's my birthday, right? >> reporter: but for these students, it might as well be a foreign language. because it is. >> some learners might be learning the alphabet, might be learning to put together the word "cat" or "dog." now they have two things in common. they badly want to learn english, and they've come here to the literacy council of northern virginia to do it. >> we just focus on very, very beginning level, because there's nobody else helping that population. >> reporter: executive director patty donnelly says the help comes one on one from 1400 dedicated volunteers, and we do mean dedicated. >> in order to be a literacy council volunteer tutor, they have to take 12 hours of training to serve in the basic literacy program, or 16 hours of training to serve in the. sol program. >> abraham lincoln. >> born in 1809.

>> i'm very motivated to give someone a stronger voice to express her ideas and thoughts. >> reporter: anne has been helping her find her voice for the last year and a half, and the results speak for themselves. >> i never thought i would be typing a letter in english or, or taking my brother and sister, and go to the doctor and interpret for them. i never thought i would be doing that. >> when you teach someone to read, then they have the skills to learn more and more. you just are give something the keys to the kingdom. >> reporter: volunteers -- donations keep you going. [ indiscernible ] there is $5000 given to support the cause. annie, lay it on us, the holiday weekend has finally

arrived. what are we looking at? it's pretty nice, i think, for the fireworks, we will see the heat and humidity start to increase starting tomorrow, so you definitely want to be prepared for that. go to the pool if you can to stay cool. here's a look at the current conditions. it's still warm, but it's not that bad, 88 in downtown, 86 in winchester. already 84 in culpepper, and the reason it's not that bad, look at the dew points, in the 40s downtown. 50s in a lot of locations so, when we start to see 60s, that's when it starts to feel uncomfortable, so tomorrow, the humidity is on the rise. we are an under high pressure, so we're seeing clear side through tonight and through tomorrow, and we dry. the heat moves in, cool again tonight, open the windows, grab the sunglasses for the morning and the sunscreen. saturday, slightly sticky, and even hotter and more humid on sunday. so for tonight, great night to be outside and have dinner, clear and cool again, open the

windows, low 58 to 68. overnight around downtown, upper 60s, 64 for andrews air force base, fredericksburg, 61 in the morning, nice start, mostly sunny and pleasant, get outside, get jogging, do some gardening. temperatures in the 60s and 70s, and in the afternoon, yeah, mostly sunny and hot, and 60s again, but air quality is code orange which is unhealthy for sensitive groups, that the the elderly and young children, and people with asthma. high around 90, so generally lower 90s, a little above the average high, 89 for winchester, 92 degrees in culpepper. here's the 7-day outlook, 90 for tomorrow, sunday near mid-90s, and we have a chance for isolated storms generally and the interstate 56 corridor and south. then for the 4th of july holiday, 91 degrees also a slight chance for some thunderstorms as well. it's the autism 5-k walk that day, kicking off in the morning.

topper will be there. tuesday in the low 90s, we don't see any upper 90s, or 100s, but the humidity will be on the rise, especially by sunday and monday. >> dc, july, what do you want? >> we can handle it. and thousand to the weird news file. cats go meow, dogs be bow would you -- go bow wow: >> you hear that? that's a cat! barking like a dog. listen. >> you got me! and seems to switch back to meowing as he's embarrassed having been caught. cats do not get embarrassed in reality, but look at t there it is. that is what it looks like. you know what? he looks around, he says i'm a good kitty. i don't really bark like that. i think that's proof that cats

know dogs are way cooler.

should your boss have the right to test you for nicotine and refuse to hire you if you smoke? he says smoking is so deadly, perhaps it would be more palatable to increase healthcare premiums it employees who smoke, but this is a no brainer. smoking damages 100% preventable, it makes sense for a health insurance company to put the stake in the ground, but on the facebook page, cassie says cigarettes are legal, and that should settle it. what i do on my time is my business. not my company, somebody made the argue they test for drugs, but illegal drugs, and things that would compromise one's ability to do their job. and what about people who smoke but not at work? smoking a cigarette on the way to work would make you lose a job.

and there were more comments on the case of mr. strahs-kahn accused of rape but now his accuser under fire credibility. sherry says she knows why. police and prosecutor are backing away from this case, has it occurred to anyone other than myself that he's innocent? or perhaps, but debbie says the lesson is for us media types, innocent until proven guilty, although his banking career is over, after been trashed by the media. try to remember this incident, wusa 9 before you publish a photo of a still innocent person who had a the bad look of being arrested. there was a lot of rush to judgment in this case, i'm reminded sadly of the duke lacrosse team, however, this time around, just because the alleged victim has credibility problems doesn't mean she's not still a victim. how about we don't compound the mistake by rushing to judgment

in the other direction. our mail bag address is: that is our report. i'll be right back tonight at 11:00 with anita tax and we'll have more on the investigation into allegations of sexual abuse in the dc summer jobs program. log on any time to wusa9.com. have a great evening. good-bye.

this is "entertainment tonight," the most-watched entertainment news magazine in the world. kate, the great. the carriage ride, the recycled engagement dress. >> it shows that she's in touch with regular people. >> and new details from the royal hollywood hopes. >> i'm very much looking forward to that. >> plus, princess di's 50th birthday, today. would she have ever remarried? >> i think she would have dumped dodi al fayed and dated a hedge fund guy. and meet monaco's princess charlene. jennifer aniston solo on the red carpet. "horrible bosses" night out. but where was her new man, justin? which stars have hollywood's biggest diamond ring? "passion of the