reagan national airport. we'll see 93 for gaithersburg and out toward winchester and even some 90s down in toward southern virginia. forecast stays sticky and steamy for the next several days. we'll have a rain chance each day. so, bring the bottle of water if you'll be outdoors today and have the umbrella ready for later on this afternoon. monika? >> thank you, so much, olga. i've change the the light to green because things are looking great outside. no problems to report right now. a bit of volume forming. we're ok with that during the rush hour. let's take you over to the beltway. we'll zoom into the northside of town. take a live look on the beltway. volume toward georgia avenue. that will be about it. once you head past georgia avenue over to 270, you will be ok. it looks like university boulevard. things are looking fine on the topside of town. let's head back over to the beltway and zoom into 270 and take a live look out of frederick right now. you see the yellow cars there. once you pass route 109, it

will slow down into germantown. the lanes are open down the point where the lanes divide and over to the inner and outer loops of the beltway. on the inbound side of i-66, 71 thans the beltway, the toll road from hunter mill to the beltway, only 6 minutes. route 4 to the wilson bridge, only 9 minutes. another look coming up at 6:12. andrea and mike, back to you. top of the hour, let's check on the stories happening today. president obama takes part in a twitter town hall meeting. get that. focus will be on economy and the jobs. the event begins at 2:00. you can check it out. the new head of the international monetary fund holds her first press conference. christine lagarde arrived yesterday at imf headquarters. she's the first woman ever to head the organization. song and dance in south africa leading up to today's selection of the host city for the 2018 winter olympics.

it is between france, south korea and munich, germany. announcement is scheduled for 11:00. this morning, just about everyone who lost power in arlington, virginia, has their juice back. >> it has been a long week for them. power has been out since sunday night. >> surae chinn is live in arlington where the work wrapped up a few hours ago. with temperatures at 77 degrees, i know they're happy to have the air back on, right, surae? >> reporter: you bet. no one is happier than the residents who live here. they've had sleepless nights because it has been so hot inside their home but check it out. the traffic light is on. the power is on. the air conditioning is running. i talked with one resident, she was sweating out of her house. she's like i can't talk with you. i'm so hot and tired. thankfully, it is back on on day 4. it just turned back on by the way in the last hour. it was the last street dominion power had to get to here on

williams boulevard and 33rd street in arlington. the storm's so strong, they did a number here. crews have been working nonstop. residents have been patient because they've been given several deadlines. they have come and gone. >> we do our best to provide the best guesstimate based on the damage assessments that we do immediately following the storm. >> so, can you see that? the light is back on at this house. the third seems to be the charm here. they set the deadline for 6:00 this morning and they met it by an hour or two. the folks are pretty happy but some are wondering why it took so long. well, the national weather service said this was a macroburst and we've heard of microburst. it is essentially the same thing except stronger, some 60, 70-mile-per-hour winds coming out of the thunderstorms and downdrafts out of the storms so it really did a major number and it left a huge mess here in arlington county but things are getting back to normal.

back to you, andrea. >> surae chinn reporting live from arlington, virginia, this morning. thank you. the rail will be open in arlington. crews worked tuesday to remove fallen trees along the path of i-66 and north oak. the trail is a popular link to the rosslyn area. prince george's county council moved swiftly to strip leslie johnson's privileges after she tendered her resignation. >> the council has agreed to restrict all other funding to the district 6 office included but not limited to the use of a county car, county council parking, cell phone usage, grant expenditures and discretionary funding. >> her last day on the job is july 31st. last thursday, she pled guilty to obstruction of justice charges. she will be sentenced in october. now, county executive baker had

this comment... in other news, metro is stepping up to help relieve the traffic nightmare predicted by the pentagon shifting workers around. it will increase bus service to three key spots beginning this summer. the spots are fort belvoir in fairfax county, the marc center in alexandria and joint base an drews in prince george's county. metro is hoping to have its buses in place by august 8th. the military moves are scheduled september 15th. at 6:05, jessica and i are watching your money. we're here in the kitchen. you are saving us money in the house this summer. how are you doing that? >> obviously the temperature this time of year tends to go up because it is summer in

washington. we're cranking the ac. the power bill is going up as well because of that. but there are some simple things you can do to keep a cap on your power bill costs this summer. now, the department of energy has some recommendations for you. it says keep that thermostat around 78 degrees when you're home. a smaller difference between your indoor temperature and the heat outside will lead to less energy being spent and of course, the lower energy bill. keep it warmer inside when you leave for the day, too. use a programmable thermostat for that. also great because it is going to lower the temperature around the time you're going to get back from work and when you are back for the day, avoid the temptation to set your thermostat at a very chilly setting. this does not cool the room any faster and it is only going to result in unnecessary expenses. another thought here, keep your lamps, tv sets and other appliances away from thermostats. they can absorb heat and keep the ac running longer than necessary. also, avoid unnecessary build- up of heat by using appliances

that generate heat. we're talking don't start the dishwasher until you've got a full load. another recommendation, use some microwave oven more so than the regular oven to cook. this can apply to foodies. foodies are saying i need to cook. this is my no cook oatmeal recipe. essentially, you roast your steel cut oats at night for like a couple of minutes. >> you roast them? >> stick on the stove, saute them with a little bit of burt. add the water you need. let them sit overnight. they get incredibly creamy. all you do is just pop them in the microwave for a minute and i think they're better than cooking them for 45 minutes on the stove. >> she has blueberries in there. a little texture and taste as well. before we go, what about unplugging appliances? does that help on saving energy? >> absolutely. we have the ambient power running through appliances even when you're not using them. the toaster ovens, the tv sets.

have them all on a power strip. you just shut that off when they're not in use. >> since this is summertime, if people are outdoors grilling, that's a good way to keep it cool on the inside as well. because you do all of the cooking on the charcoal or the gas grill. >> you're going to put me out of business here, andrea. >> no, my husband told me that works. jessica, thank you. and she has breakfast already, mike. >> ooh, now you have my attention. your husband is awfully smart. we like mike. >> a big honor for one middle school in fairfax county. one. three schools in the whole nation honored for being environmentally friendly. the school, lanier middle on germantown road in fairfax. it won the green flag award for the national wildlife federation. students are encouraged to conserve energy and use less water. 30 schools in fairfax take part in similar ecoschools projects. well, there is a new way to find green jobs across the mid- atlantic. it is called green works job portal. it is at marc green works.com.

that's marc with a c. the seice search and recruitment tools. there are jobs across maryland, d.c. and virginia. to get a link, go to wusa9.com and look under our green news section. it is 6:09. here's a look at what's still ahead in this how were of 9news now. >> reaction to the casey anthony murder trial verdic what next after she's found not guilty. >> paying for extras. learn the one perk to which frequent fliers say i will shell out the cash. >> your weather first when 9news now returns.

good morning. it is 6:12 on this hazy, humid morning. we definitely have a warm forecast for you today. rain chance later on this afternoon. most of us top out around 90 degrees. lower 90s across part of the region. as the moisture moves in, great chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms later on this afternoon. monika is here with your timesaver traffic. >> thank you so much, olga. we'll take a live look on the beltway in prince george's county here at route 4. both loops look good if you're on the inner loop. in my next report, an accident reported in the district at 6:18. mike and andrea, back to you. it is pretty hard to find someone without some sort of opinion on the verdict in the casey anthony murder trial. >> the florida mother was found not guilty of killing her 2-

year-old daughter, caylee. it is making headlines nationwide. >> the trial took place in orlando, florida. here is the cover of the "orlando sentinel." it reads casey free soon? melissa rainey has more on the verdict and reaction to it and what's next for anthony. >> as to the charge of first- degree murder, verdict as to count one, we the jury find the defendant not guilty. >> casey anthony, emotional tuesday as she learned she was acquitted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of her 2- year-old child. outside the orlando courtroom, outrage. >> i can't believe this. that's disgusting. this is disgusting. >> even though two were close to the 25-year-old mother, expressed disappointment. >> i'm appalled and now i'm angry and i say shame on this jury. they're either not too bright or plain lazy. >> i walk away from this case

with just dissatisfaction with every side. nobody sought out the truth in this. this was about winning. it was never about the truth. >> all 12 jurors refused to speak to the media but an alternate gave some insight into the decision. >> i'm pretty sure i can say this for all 17 of us, there was some type of horrific accident. the family knows a lot more than what they're -- than what came out at the trial. they didn't prove that there was a murder. >> casey did not murder caylee. it is that simple. our system of justice has not dishonored her memory by a false conviction. >> anthony was convicted on four misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators. she will be sentenced thursday and could walk free with time already served. i'm melissa rainey for 9news now. >> this story got instant reaction from people on our facebook page. >> here is a sample. mary writes any mother that does not report her daughter

missing for 31 days is guilty of child abuse. partying while others are looking for her missing daughter is sick. >> suzanna wrote the whole trial was a fiasco. as much as i think she did it, i'm not remotely surprised by the verdict. >> rich writes i really don't agree with the hostility about the verdict. it is what it is. the jury may have seen things that we didn't see and probably did not see the things that we saw. join the conversation at facebook.com/wusa9. good points that they wrought up. we weren't in the courtroom so we don't know exactly what the jury saw and heard and you know, agreed, the violence at the reaction is not good. >> it will go on for weeks to come. >> weeks to come. >> we'll put that aside right now. at 6:15, we say good morning to olga breese in for howard bernstein. howard is on his way down to florida. hopefully he'll get to see the launch of atlantis. but it may not take place on friday. >> that's true. we're tracking some moisture moving on in. in fact, our wind this morning,

calm to light. led to muggy conditions for this morning. but that south-southwest breeze is moving on in and the gulf moisture is definitely moving north. for us, around the metro area for today though, we'll keep overcast skies through midday and late afternoon as temperatures push through the 80s into the upper 780s by midday. with the instability around, high dew points and muggy conditions, we'll stir up some shower and thunderstorm activity later on this afternoon. not everyone is going to get wet but we do have a pretty good chance at seeing scattered showers and thunderstorms by early afternoon and early evening. so, have the umbrella with you today just in case. i also want to tell you that our air quality is very, very poor. we're code orange for today. so, limit your outdoor activity and if you are in one of the sensitive groups, make sure you stay indoors or you have some filtered air-conditioned air. expecting national airport to top out around 91 degrees. we'll stick with the summertime pattern for the foreseeable

future. july-like weather. satellite and radar has started to show a little bit of action mainly between blacksburg and out toward the charlottesville area. some showers beginning to develop but most of us will be in the clear at least dry for this morning commute until we get into the afternoon hours. here's what i'm projecting for today. the clouds are moving in as we speak, humidity will be on the rise throughout the day. and we'll keep the opportunity for scattered showers and thunderstorms as we head into late day. in fact, the storm chance late afternoon, every day for the remainder of the work week. and then looks like we'll be able to dry things out for the weekend. currently, sitting at 77 degrees for reagan national airport. that's our overnight low down to fairly comfortable 70 for fredericksburg and up toward hagerstown. most of us still in the muggies. dew points are high. they're going to stay high and the relative humidity as well. future cast breaks it down for us hour by hour. clouds begin to increase. rain chances start hit-or-miss for the late afternoon.

as we get into the overnight, we'll keep the clouds. the forecast overall is going to stay sticky and steamy with rain chances including friday afternoon and evening as well as into the overnight. highs today right around 90 degrees. lows tonight back into the muggy 70s. the seven-day forecast, it will be very warm for the next few. each day features temperatures right around 90 degrees. monika? >> thank you so much, olga. good morning, everybody. i've changed the light back to yellow because we have an accident and it is in the district. let's take you to a live picture. northbound on minnesota avenue in southeast, right near the shot at pennsylvania avenue, police are on the scene of the accident. just be careful in the area. let's take you over to the maps. right now, around town, the beltway looks great. we'll zoom into 66 and take a live look where the yellow cars are. it will be slow from 50 to 123. then is ok to the beltway. back over to the maps. this time, let's zoom into the

other side coming up on 395. live look right now planning to head northbound between the beltway and seminary road, everything is fine as you can see here. duke street, no problem heading right up to the 14th street bridge and across that over into the district. we're doing fine. now, over to your trains. now, everything is running on time on metro just a reminder, the foggy bottom escalators are still out of service, vre is fine. marc trains begin track work at 8:00 a.m. will you experience minor delays because of that. coming up, we'll take a fly over the bw parkway. >> thanks, monika. >> next in sports, the first lady takes in a game at nationals park. let's see if she was good luck for the hometown team. >> it is our question of the morning. what is considered to be the most interesting perk employers can offer their employees. is it a, on-site child care. b, unlimited sick days or c, free food. >> our facebook friend tammy says none of the above would be my perk. national weather serviceable hours and telework are the two i look at. if you work in the d.c. area,

parking. keep your guesses coming. we'll have your answers at 6:48. [ female announcer ] keurig brews more than just hot coffee.

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>> definitely clouds moving on in this hour. the humidity is very high. temperatures have stayed muggy overnight. day planner is definitely going to stay warm. we're look at temperatures zipping through the 80s in no time. topping out into the lower 90s. yes, the trend will continue. i'm expecting a high at reagan national about 91 degrees. could see a few 80s closer to the shore. in all, the warm stretch is going to stick with us. slight rain shower is possible. mike, andrea? >> thank you, olga. >> in sports, here's hoping the nationals can beat the cubs tonight and do it for producer dan's mom, kathy. it is her birthday today. happy birthday, producer dan's mom. she's a huge fan. >> nats have won nine of their last 15 games. each of those wins has come by

either one run or in extra innings. >> last night was no different. nats hosting the chicago cubs first lady michelle obama was there taking hand in the first pitch festivities. she was there to honor military families at the game. the nats got all of the offense they needed in the bottom of the first. ryan zimmerman scored. d.c. led 3-0 just after one inning and ross detwiler went 5 1/3 giving up two runs on five hits. the bullpen gave up three hits after that and the nats beat the cubs 3-2. >> the washington castles visit philadelphia freedom tonight. d.c.'s season is off to a good start. the castles had a capacity crowd for the debut of its new stadium along the southwest waterfront. venus williams and rene won a doubles game in overtime to give the castles the win. d.c. tops kansas city, 21-18. the mystics were on the road last night visiting

chicago sky. holts had a season high 34 points for chicago. washington falls 78-65. marissa coleman had 14 for d.c. still ahead, the political showdown over the debt ceiling. the deadline is less than four weeks away. >> summer fun in ocean city, maryland. coming up, just how good the 4th of july was for the resort town. >> quick check of the commute now. monika samtani, over to you. >> thank you so much, mike. on the southbound side of the bw parkway, we're flying from route 100 all the way down to the beltway. the lanes are open. no problems on 95 in through baltimore. another look around the area. you're watching 9news now. stay with us. ♪

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so our dentist recommended act. [ male announcer ] act mouthwash restores enamel and makes teeth up to 2 times stronger. act. stronger teeth and fresher breath in every bottle. >> thanks for starting your wednesday with us. i'm andrea roane. >> i'm mike hydeck. angie and howard are both off today. meteorologist olga breese has a look at a pretty muggy start. >> muggy indeed. there is a haze out there. we is a mist of sun and clouds early this morning. but the clouds will be taking on over. your day planner for today does feature a lot of heat coming our way. we'll kick it off with

temperatures in the 80s by the 9:00 hour. up to the upper 80s by noontime. possibility for scattered shower or thunderstorm. take that rain gear if you have any evening plans. now, let's take a look at the morning ride. >> thank you so much, olga. you've got the green light around town because the earlier accident i was telling you about on minnesota avenue and pennsylvania avenue in southeast has been cleared. you are good to go and police have left the scene. now, we'll take you around town and show you what it looks like. the beltway is fine. let's zoom into the outer loop of the beltway and take a live look. on the northside of town, we've got delays, slow traffic really from 95 past colesville road. you're fine through silver spring and over to 270. we'll take you back out to the beltway. zoom into 270. let's take a live look. it has been a good ride in from frederick until you get down to route 109 where it slows down into germantown and again as you head down to the point where the lanes divide.

let's take a look at the travel times now. on the inbound side of i-66, no problems to the beltway. the toll road coming in from hunter mill to the beltway, six minutes. 295 heading north up to the 11th street bridge, only 7 minutes right now. coming up, another look around the area at 6:46. back to you. thank you, monika. today, president obama will take part in a twitter town hall meeting. the focus is on jobs and the economy. >> you can bet he's going to face questions about raising the debt ceiling. something that needs to be done by august 2nd or the government will default on its debt. >> the president will meet with congressional leaders tomorrow. he's asking both parties to leave their differences at the door. some republicans hint they are willing to find a short term agreement that does not include tax hikes. but president obama says that's not the right answer. >> i don't share that view. i don't think the american people here -- sent us here to avoid tough problems. >> frankly, we don't think the voters sent a wave of

republicans last november because they wanted us to raise taxes. >> we've learned the president met with house speaker john bain john john boehner over the weekend. >> a northern virginia mother charged with killing her son is expected to surrender to officials later today. a prince william county grand jury indicted karen murphy. police she she left her son, ryan in the family minivan for seven hours last month. this is not the first time she had forgotten the boy. in january, she left him in the van for 20 minutes. records show that she wasn't aware of the mistake until the child's day care called her to say he was absent. d.c. police have made a second arrest in a deadly shooting from last month's caribbean parade. deonte jay bryant is charged in the case. officers picked him up yesterday. jimenez also charged. he was arrested days after the june 25th shooting which killed

innocent bystander 43-year-old robert foster jr. three others were also shot in that but they survived. >> the lights, coffeemaker and air conditioning are finally back on for people in arlington, virginia this morning. surae chinn is live in arlington where dominion crews worked through the night. we hear the hum of -- is it an air conditioning unit? >> reporter: they are working this morning. you know the two people i've seen coming out of their homes. their first question to me was what time is it? i haven't seen a lot of people waking up maybe because they don't have their alarm clock or maybe because they've been spending the nights somewhere else. after days of -- without power, the lights are back on here. the traffic lights are on. you can see. so, there is the exception though of some of the homes not back online. that's because there is damage to their homes. they have to do some repairs. crews have been working nonstop since the storms hit sunday

night. winds up to 70 miles per hour knocked down trees and utility poles. residents were told they would be back online monday night. that didn't happen. then it was tuesday night. but that came and went and finally, dominion power said 6:00 this morning, they finally delivered. in fact, lights were back on by about 4:30, 5:00 this morning. you know the storms were extensive. the repairs were complicated but dominion power delivered this morning. andrea? >> all right, surae chinn reporting live from one of those lucky arlington, virginia, neighborhood where is the power is on and we can hear the hum. thank you, surae. >> why does it take so long to get the power back sometimes in this is what dominion has to say on its web site. its first step is to assess the damage which can take 24 hours. top priorities like power lines which bring electricity to hospitals, utilities and police departments. the next priority to restore

power in areas which can get the most number of people back online at once. maryland congressman roscoe bartlett said he's running for re-election again. 85-year-old said he hopes to fix the economy by cutting spending and reducing taxes. bartlett is a republican in his tenth term. he represents maryland's sixth district. it includes western maryland, frederick and carroll counties and the northern baltimore suburbs. you can read more about the primary challenge congressman bartlett is facing by going to wusa9.com. the story is in our where you live section on the frederick county page. at 6:35, jessica doyle is watching your money. >> she's looking at just how much we've spent on space. >> the tab seems astronomical. $196 billion, almost hard to wrap your brain around. that's the amount of money taxpayers spent during the lifetime of the space shuttle program now ending but let's put this in perspective. $196 billion is equal to the

amount of money the federal government spends in general in just three weeks. medicare spends that much in five months. $196 billion is slightly more than the $182 billion bailout of aig but it is also a lot more than the $50 billion bailout of g.m. and $12.5 billion for chrysler. employee shoplifting appears to be on the rise. here is a weird twist. experts say that's good news for the economy. the national retail federation finds that retailers lost $37 billion last year from theft. that's up more than $3 billion from 2009. analysts say retail employees are taking more risks because they now have a better chance of finding a new job if they get caught. >> one way to look at it. >> head scratcher. >> that will look good on the resume. >> we all pay for snacks and checked bags at the airlines. flyers are willing to shell out extra bucks for something else. access to short security lines. a survey by the u.s. travel

association finds 45% would either be very or somewhat likely to pay as much as get this, $150 a year to undergo a background check so they could zip through the faster security lines. not surprisingly, frequent fliers tend to like this idea a lot more than others. >> if i were a frequent flier, i would like to get through. >> flying for business regularly, four, five days a week, yes. >> think about it, too. nowadays, you have to show up an hour before, even a quick puddle jumper to new york city, you could just zip right in. it could be 15 minutes. >> does that mean $150 so if you're a family of four, $150 for you, mom and the kids. >> absolutely. >> you guys wait in line! >> i'll save a seat for you! >> thank you, jessica. well, they're not flying. they're driving. the crowds have come back to ocean city, maryland. ocean city tourism officials estimate more than 330,000 people came to the shore over the 4th of july weekend. it is estimated that the crowd

grew to more than 354,000 people on independence day of the many of the shops that cater to tourists say business was brisk over the weekend. >> good news. >> well, 6:38. we're on our way to a high of 91 degrees. coming up next, a unique peek ahead at the weekend. >> northbound 395 and duke street, cars are moving fast, especially at this hour. monika's next timesaver traffic report is 7 minutes away. >> a little 5th of july celebration. a daylight but plenty of fun. last night in takoma park, maryland. ♪

[ woman ] sam begged and pleaded... so i sent him to camp. we'd earned lots of points with our new citi thankyou card... and i put them to good use. he told me about his bunkmates,

and how he signs up for every activity. ♪ he even hangs out with the camp director. just like that. [ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it.

weather first time now. just about 6:43. thank you for joining us.

muggy start. 77 degrees. it is just 6:42. olga is in for howard. >> nowhere to go but up from here. the good news is that we have some sunshine this morning. most of us are waking up to kind of a mixture of sun and clouds. as we get through the later portions of the morning and into the midday, the clouds are definitely going to take over. the day planner breaks it down. partly cloudy for the morning. but very muggy already close to those upper 70s. we'll hit the 80s in no time and keep on rolling up to middle and upper 80s by lunchtime. most of us will top out in the lower 90s by later on today. there is a code orange air quality alert meaning it is very unhealthy outdoors today for those sensitive groups. limit your outdoor activity for sure and dress for the warm weather. if you're just getting up and getting started this morning. we should see the clouds increase and a late day shower or thunderstorm not out of the question. for many locations. hit-or-miss. so not everyone is going to get wet for today. better chances come tomorrow. satellite and radar at least

for the immediate metro area has been fairly quiet. over the last hour, i've been watching more of the clouds begin to take over. i'm tracking some showers and storms down toward roanoke and charlottesville. reported rain in blacksburg and in lynchburg as well. so, that moisture definitely pushing in as our south and southwest winds go from light to close to 5 and 8 miles per hour by later on this afternoon. so, here it is in a nutshell. what you need to know as you step out the door this morning. clouds are taking over. that's going to increase our rain chances and our humidity and i can't rule out that late- day scattered shower or thunderstorm possibility. then as we head into the next two days, the rain chances do continue each afternoon. so, this is typical, unstable july weather. particularly with the daytime heating. the relative humidity, quite high. 100% for manassas and culpepper. moist toward fredericksburg as well. we'll continue again pumping in the moisture throughout the day. temperatures though, as they rise in the daytime heating kicks in, the instability will give us the opportunity to

spark some showers and thunderstorms. here it is in your future cast, forecast model, clouds roll in by the 2:00 hour. by 5:00 p.m., scattered showers and thunderstorms for many of us across the region. it will be pretty quick after sunset, we should see things settle down between 8:00 and 9:00. overnight tonight, partly to mostly cloudy. moisture coming in tomorrow as well. so, late day shower and thunderstorm is an opportunity for thursday's forecast as well. highs today, i'm expecting 91 for reagan national airport. about 92 for andrews air force base. most of us will stay muggy tonight as well. we'll hit near 70 degrees for the overnight low. the forecast the next three days, lots of consistency here. around about 90 for each day. high humidity. rain chances each afternoon. we should be able to dry things out come saturday and sunday. then we dial up the heat early next week, back to the low and mid-90s. monika? >> thank you so much, olga. if you're planning to head outside right now and head to work, i've got the green light.

you're good to go all around town. we had a couple of early morning incidents. traffic has not been too bad around town. beltway, there are no problems. we'll zoom in to 66. you're coming in from the west. let's take a live look. you see the yellow cars ax bit below the speed limit. no big deal. slow traffic from manassas to centreville. no problems as you head into vienna. let's zoom into northbound i- 95. a live look here as well. where, again, it has been incident-free. it is just the volume, everyone headed to work as you leave route one toward newington. up on to 395. let's take a look at your travel times. outer loop, slowing down now for 14 minutes from 95 around to 270. 95 from 216 to the beltway is not affected by that. 66 in from route 7100 to the beltway is 13 minutes for that stretch. coming up, a look at the big picture at 6:58. back to you guys.

>> the top album downloads on itunes, beyonce's new album is number one in the u.k. and ireland. over on the r & b charts, jill scott's new release, the light of sun. and on the country charts, jason with number one with my kind of party. >> in just a few hours, jury selection begins here in washington in the federal case against roger clemens. >> the baseball legend is accused of lying to congress. he testified three years ago saying he did not use steroids. >> but former teammates and a former trainer say otherwise. a judge ruled yesterday, testimony from some of the teammates may not be allowed. clemens' former trainer said he kept needles used to inject clemens with hgh. they'll be presented at the trial. nasa is keeping an eye on the clock and an eye on the forecast for the final launch of the space shuttle "atlantis." nasa weather forecasters say there is a 60% chance of rain or thunderstorms which could

scrub friday's launch. however, they say the weather does look more promising after friday. four astronauts arrived at the kennedy space center on monday. 9news now reporter kristin fisher is headed to the kennedy space center. she will have live reports later this week as we get closer to the launch of atlantis. if all goes according to plan, it is scheduled for 11:26 friday morning. >> if weather does interfere, howard was saying the weekend looks promising. >> 77 degrees. up next, a check of the news before you go. >> right now, the answer to today's question of the day. what is considered to be the most interesting perk employees can offer -- employers can offer their employees. is it... >> mike is always talking about this in the morning so it may come as no surprise, the answer is c, free food. we're not sure if that includes hamburgers brought in for our on air eating contest.

time now for our united airlines travel forecast. calm winds, muggy conditions at the airport out at dulles but the forecast, well, it is definitely going to be a hot one. regionwide. and even as you head off toward the west. heading out toward chicago, partly to mostly sunny skies. temperatures making it up into the lower range 80s. we see the opportunity for a few scattered showers and thunderstorms heading to the higher elevations there in denver with mostly cloudy skies and temps in the upper 70s to near 80. it will be warm. desert southwest gets into the triple digits. even warm for salt lake city. nice in los angeles with sunny conditions and the upper northwest, looking pretty unseasonable. highs in the low 80s.

we have a forecast that will stay on the steamy side. we're headed through the 80s into the 90s. your day planner keeps it hot. late day showers or thunderstorms, very much a possibility. as we head into the evening and then later on tonight. things should begin to settle down. seven-day forecast features a lot of moisture. i'll have the details for you in just a couple of minutes. back to you. today is wednesday, july 6th. here is a check on the news before you go. here is a live look from northern arlington county in virginia. dominion crews worked through the night to get the power restored to just about everyone. it had been out since sunday night following a line of severe thunderstorms. >> commuters at foggy bottom

will get their cardioonce again today. a live look at the station at 23rd. the escalators are out again today. the blue and orange line station, trains are still coming through but you'll have to walk to get out. commuters on 66 last night didn't fare much better. they dealt with a truck and hay fire which closed all lanes. the truck driver was not hurt but delays stretched for miles! "the early show" starts in just about six minutes. >> minutes. chris wragge has a preview. >> coming up on "the early show," the verdict in the reaction in the casey anthony trial. we'll ask an adviser to her defense team what led the jury to return a not guilty decision. plus, the president calls in congressional leaders to work on a debt ceiling deal. some say there will be talk, a little action. we'll speak with two key senators this morning. in britain, a phone hacking incident has that outraged the nation. one victim, hugh grant, says it is time to stop.

he will join us here on "the early show" in a couple of moments. mike, andrea? >> thank you, chris. >> we have one more traffic and weather check when 9news now returns. what makes the sleep number store different?

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get the lowest prices of the season on our most popular bed sets. experience the sleep number difference. only at one of our 400 sleep number stores. >> one more thing. it is what serve talking about. the casey anthony trial. the not guilty verdict, it was the lead on entertainment tonight. it is not entertainment but that's what's happened in this case. so, the stars are rereacting. we have jay behar on twitter. i'm shocked by this though i can't say this is the first

time florida screwed up on important vote. >> harvey levin, of course, one of the tmz founders. >> and a lawyer. >> but he says having covered o.j. simpson, nothing really shocks me anymore. the verdict surprises me, especially how quickly it came which i thought was interesting. >> sharon osbourn on the talk says casey anthony not guilty is a disgrace. she'll probably get her own reality show now and the sad part is people will watch. >> probably. >> olga? >> well, forecast is definitely going to be warm one today. we're headed to the low 90s regionwide. late day shower or thunderstorm, definitely a possibility and carry that umbrella with you. we'll keep the warming trend through the weekend. next week, we really dial up the heat. get used to it. it is sticking around. >> all right. if you're heading around town, no accidents to report. we're actually doing really well. just a bit of slow traffic for the rush hour. here we are on the outer loop. it slows to georgia avenue. we'll take you over to 270 from frederick toward route 109 is the heaviest stretch.

you're ok from germantown down to the point where the lanes divide. on the brakes for two slow stretches, manassas to centreville. >> wall street is looking a little look luster this morning but we are waiting on some jobs data coming up. >> ok, "the early show" is coming up next. they'll continue to cover the casey anthony verdict. also, former hootie & the blowfish frontman darius rucker has several songs out. he'll perform his favorites. >> monika and i will be back in about 25 minutes with a live update on traffic and weather. >> you can get your news, weather and traffic by visiting wusa9.com. >> olga and i will see you at noon, we'll be all be back tomorrow morning starting at 4:25 a.m. have a great day! look at the beautiful shot of a morning in washington, d.c.