stormy conditions this afternoon. temperatures by 9:00 in the lower 80s. 5:00, lower 90s. scattered showers and storms possible. 74 degrees and it is cloudy out there. currently in laurel, good morning to you. 70 degrees. in centreville, 72. manassas also 72 degrees. here is a look at live doppler 9000 hd. around the beltway, it is cloudy. you can see around south of 66 around warrenton or fredericksburg, light mist. lower 90s in downtown. look at andrews air force base, you'll be hot at 94. winchester in the lower 90s. so, i'm concerned about tomorrow's storms being more widespread. showers and storms likely. temperatures in the mid-80s. here's angie with your traffic. >> anny, thank you very much. hello, everybody. we're starting off the 6:00 hour, keeping that yellow light on. still got problems out in the hyattsville area but hey, things are improving.

202 landover road at firehouse road. all northbound lanes remain blocked. we've learned that southbound lanes are open. good news there. better news, i should say. taking a wide view of the area, other parts of the region, they're checking out ok. 66 doing just fine. no major slow goes to report. as we track the road through our cameras. we're dealing with a little bit of the fog this morning. not a bad idea to factor in some extra minutes, especially those of who you travel past route 50 to inside the beltway. still doing ok all the way out from haymarket. let's check on 95 moving back to the maps. going northbound, notice the stretch of yellow on our screen because we're starting to pick up the volume around the dale city exit. overall, you're doing fine approaching the mixing bowl continuing on to 395. as far as the travel times are concerned, on the outer loop still in the green from 95 over to 270, southbound 95, no problems down to the beltway. already dragging from the beltway up to that 11th street bridge. about a 10 minute drive time.

still ahead, the latest on the hyattsville accident. i'll have that coming up at 6:12. over to mike. thank you, angie. let's get to some of the stories happening today. we'll learn the winning design for the renovation of president park south on the southside of the white house between the ellipse and constitution avenue. the goal makes the grounds more appealing and increased security at the same time. >> the smithsonian folklife festival gets underway today. the three event has nation of columbia, r & b music and the peace corps. it runs through sunday on the national mall. >> it is time to run with the bulls in pamplona, spain. the festival kicks off today with the annual run, bullfight and party. the festival lasts eight days. >> also today, we'll get reaction from metro on a report that tells us what a lot of commuters already know! >> the escalator problems are not getting fixed fast enough. >> surae chinn is live at the foggy bottom station to tell us what this report says.

good morning. >> good morning. this report says that metro is not doing a good enough job, especially when it comes to escalators. isn't this a familiar sight? you see that escalators aren't working and this one at foggy bottom is surrounded because it is being replaced. it is boarded up and there is a big sign that says it is part of this project. it has been like that for most of the year. metro's latest report card is not getting high marks. it is due out today. dozens of escalators are out throughout the system this morning. the escalator problem came to light last october when the brakes failed at l'enfant plaza during the jon stewart sanity rally sending dozens of riders tumbling to the bottom. in may, the number of escalators out of service was 103 out of nearly 600 escalators. today, it is around 80. >> i wish they would invest the money in getting the things done faster. >> many of the 82 are out of

service because we're rebuilding them, not because they're broken. >> reporter: well, there are other issues in this report card including metro police officers complaining that their radio service is working. sometimes, sometimes not. it is so bad some officers refuse to go to some stations when they have no radio service. that could be a big, huge safety issue. also some rail car reliability that can cause some delays. doors not opening and also injuries to riders have also increased. this report will be presented in front of the metro board later on this morning. andrea? >> surae chinn reporting live at the foggy bottom metro station in northwest washington. a heads up for everyone who uses branch avenue in and out of the district. ddot will close the road at pennsylvania avenue at 10:00 this morning, closed on both sides of the intersection as crews rebuild the roadway. it will remain closed through monday morning. so, follow the signs for the

detours. pennsylvania avenue will remain open. maryland state police are searching for clues in a bizarre attack on the bw parkway. >> a man in his 60s went after a speed camera vehicle and the contractor inside. >> this all happened along the parkway near interstate i-95 and bw marshall airport. >> the contractor was sitting in a jeep which was used as a mobile speed camera vehicle. he says the suspect came up near the rear window and began tapping on it with a shotgun. >> the witness was obviously frightened at that point and began blowing his horn. he said the individual then came around to the front of the truck and began striking the front windshield. >> police shut down the parkway for a few hours while they searched for the man. they never did find him. the contractor inside the jeep was not hurt. >> today, president obama meets with congressional leaders from both parties. >> they're trying to strike a budget deal. one that would avoid uncle sam possibly defaulting on the debt. >> the debt ceiling debate is

an important story we're following for you. jessica doyle is tracking developments in our information center. jess? >> good morning to both of you. this meeting today at the white house could be crucial. leaders from both sides of the aisle will try to come together to solve our nation's spending problems. at his twitter town hall yesterday, president obama discussed his goals for the debt ceiling debate. democratic sources say he was doing a lot of talking on the subject yesterday, calling all four top congressional leaders to make the case for cutting close to $4 trillion in spending. that is even more than the $2.4 trillion that the g.o.p. has been calling for. the debt ceiling debate has lawmakers very much on edge. >> the debt ceiling should not be something that is used as a gun against the heads of the american people to extract tax breaks for corporate jet owners. cutting $4 trillion would

require republicans to agree to raising taxes and cutting defense spending. democrats have compromises, too, here. they would have to agree to big cuts in medicare and medicaid. if a deal is not reached by this august 2nd deadline, the financial consequences could be dire. the country's credit rating would be slashed and that means interest rates for americans would soar. back to you. all right, jessica doyle live in our information center this morning with information on the debt ceiling that affects all of us. >> a woodbridge, virginia army officer has a lot of explaining to do. police arrested him after they found him hiding in the closet of an adult video store with a blowup doll. 28-year-old justin dale is charged with burglary, grand larceny and destruction of property. police found him while responding to a break-in call. the dog discovered him and his friend. he remains in custody at this point. this morning, nasa says it is a 70% chance weather will

delay the mission of the space shuttle "atlantis." >> this is the final planned mission of the shuttle program. if tomorrow's launch is scrubbed, it could go up over the weekend or next week. >> they'll be watch tpg closely in greenbelt, maryland. home to the goddard nasa space center. it makes voice and data communication in houston possible. people there say this mission is a bittersweet one. >> what happens with me is i get so focused on making sure nothing gets missed for our mission that i haven't had a chance. i see it is the final mission but it hasn't processed in my brain yet. do i have the paperwork done? >> weather permitting, this will be the 135th launch of the space shuttle program. our kristin fisher is in florida. she'll have live reports beginning tonight at 7:00 and we'll be talking with her tomorrow morning. if it goes off tomorrow, it is scheduled for 11:26 a.m. >> fingers crossed. >> here's a look at what's

still ahead in the next hour of 9news now. >> sniffling and sneezing in the summertime. a health alert on summer colds and summer allergies. >> facebook founder has promised an awesome new development. at 6:37, find out what awesome is. up next, anny hong has our weather forecast. ú

>> by 9:00, temperatures in the lower 80s. by 3:00, lower 90s, a chance for some scattered showers and thunderstorms late this afternoon and into early this evening. a couple of them, possibility could be heavy to severe with damaging wind gusts. here's angie with your traffic. >> good morning. >> we want to keep you posted on what's going on out in the hyattsville area. landover road at firehouse road, still got northbound lanes closed. we're going to have an update on this and other maryland roads in my next traffic report at 6:18. for now, back over to mike and andrea. >> big names of baseball. barry bonds, mark mcgwire, sammy sosa are among the 100 people prosecutors could call in the trial of roger clemens. >> it is one of the stories making news at 6:12. the pitching legend is on trial here in washington. he's accused of using steroids then telling congress he never used them. jury selection resumes this morning. it could take until next week. >> rebel supporters in libya

are taking to the streets. they're renewing their call for the ouster of moammar gadhafi. nato is intensifying the bombing campaign as rebel forces move closer to the capital of tripoli. >> south korea will host the 2018 winter olympics. pyeongchang beat out cities in austria and germany. the 2014 games will be held in russia. with temperatures in the 90s and the humidity is high, the last thing you think of is the word cold but a lot of people get bad summer colds. >> they're very miserable this time of year. there is science as to why they're worse than the winter ones. manuel gallegus explains why in this health alert. >> reporter: ellen's summer is off to a lousy start with a miserable cold. >> i started with kind of a scratchy throat. and then my nose started

running. >> the cold and flu viruses that make us sick in the winter often combine with other warm weather viruses in the summer. including a nasty bug called the nro virus. that combination can cause stomach problems and a cough that just won't go away. it can last longer and is more likely to come back. >> it really tacks the immune system more. they're more run-down. that's what's making it last longer. >> reporter: doctors also say that trying to get back into shape too fast after a long winter can also run us down and make us more susceptible to summer viruses. >> air conditioning and recirculated air on planes also spread viruses. sometimes the colds are actually allergies. >> most of the time people don't realize they have allergies so they think it is a cold. >> how can you ward off a summer sickness? wash your hands often. get plenty of sleep and stay hydrated. after two weeks, ellen is finally feeling better.

>> next week, i'm already planning activities, things to do. >> reporter: ready for a better late than never start to summer. manuel gallegus, cbs news, new york. so, are you sniffling as well? what about the allergies? feel like they're starting earlier in the spring and lasting later into the summer. they do. you're right. doctors are seeing a bigger allergy season. some believe global warming is to blame. over-the-counter prescription options can help you fight off the allergies though. >> allergy shots are a way to desensitize the body to what the body is allergic to. we're seeing a lot more patients opting for that. >> they work. personal experience. >> it helps to minimize your time outdoors. pollen is usually the highest early in the morning between 6:00 and 9:00. >> good thing you're watching 9news and getting your weather from anny hong. >> good morning. a threat for some showers and storms this afternoon. very typical summer-like

pattern for july around here. in fact, i think some of the storms could be fairly strong. maybe some isolated, severe storms are possible today and then better and bigger storm chances for tomorrow. here's a look at your day planner for today. expecting partly cloudy conditions throughout the morning hours. by 11:00 in the upper 80s. 1:00, lower 90s. by 3:00 and 5:00, a chance form the scattered showers and storms to impact our area. better chances to the north. temperatures in the lower 90s. here is a look at live doppler 9000 hd. we've got some light fog and mist being reported in these areas where you do see some green right around warrenton, just south of culpepper into orange where some of the visibility down to maybe even a quarter mile in some locations. in fact, here is a look at culpepper down to a mild -- orange improving. it was a quarter mile. now 3/4 of a mile. down d.c. 6 miles. no major problems in the immediate beltway area.

temperatures pretty mild if not warm outside. 74 in downtown. leesburg, 72. culpepper at 73 degrees. your weather headlines for today. a warm and muggy start for today. hot again this afternoon. some storms possible. that could impact some parts of the evening commute. here is your future cast. i think this model here picking up more of the storms to the north of us this afternoon around the mason-dixon line. some of the storms, the strongest ones could produce damaging wind gusts. we'll watch out for that and also some isolated large hail. tomorrow, we start out pretty nice. then in the afternoon, we have widespread showers and storms likely and a larger threat for severe weather. highs today lower 90s around downtown. 95 in leesburg. culpepper, you'll be hot. fredericksburg, 92. annapolis in the lower 90s. right around average for a lot of the locations.

here's how your next three days are breaking down. so, for today, still hot. temperatures in the lower 90s. a chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and early evening. couple could be heavy or severe. friday, showers and storms are likely. not as hot but still warm. in the mid-80s. then on saturday, maybe a lingering shower or two. temperatures in the lower 90s. here is your seven-day outlook. sunday looking storm-free. temperatures in the lower 90s. get ready for the heat on monday. temperatures around 95 degrees. on tuesday, chance for showers and thunderstorms return. here is your traffic with angie. >> thank you, anny. hello, everybody. 18 minutes after the 6:00 hour. we continue to keep on the yellow light because we have problems out in the hyattsville area. 202 landover road at firehouse road, that's where the crash activity investigation continues. we're currently still losing all northbound lanes, southbound lanes remain open. let's take a look at the wide

map for everybody. to show you that everyone else checking out incident free. 270 in the yellow here. slow already out of urbana down to 109. this is adding to it, the fog this morning, good reason to factor in extra minutes for your commute especially if you're making the southbound trip out of frederick toward the split. moving back over to the maps, this time, we want to shift our focus over to prince george's county road. accokeek, fort washington, route four, route five, they're checking out incident-free. the usual volume we see. as far as travel times are concerned, inner loop from brad ok up to 267, everything is moving smoothly to make it to the toll road. speaking of the toll road, no problems approaching the toll plaza from the greenway. southbound 95 is look good through 216 down to the capital beltway. still ahead, the very latest on the hyattsville accident investigation. for now, back to you. it is 6:19. next in sports, nationals

manager davey johnson does something he's only done twice in his career. find out if it paid off for the team. >> this morning, we're talking about toys. 47% of people in this survey said this was their favorite toy to play with when they were a kid. is it... >> nicole says b. the thing you could do with a box, it could be a fort, a sled, a spaceship, anything. cast your vote and join the conversation at facebook.com/wusa9. we'll have the answer at 6:48.

>> time now, 6:23 on your thursday morning. bring the umbrella before you head out door. just in case we do have some storm chances this afternoon. also some areas of fog as you're heading out the door. here is a quick look at the visibilities where as for

manassas, culpepper and orange, we're looking at visibilities to maybe 3/4 of a mile to around 2 nach for manassas. your day planner for today, temperatures warming up to the lower 90s. let's go to andrea and mike. good morning. >> thank you, anny. they did it for producer dan's mom's birthday yesterday and sports, the nationals go for a four-game sweep of the cubs tonight. d.c. have won five of its last seven games. >> they did it with the long ball and small balls. tied at 2 in the fifth, we start off one on for ryan zimmerman. he vaporizing as brett haber says. fourth home run of the year. 4-2, nats. to the 7th, tied at 4. michael morris on third. ramos at-bat. he misses the sign so the suicide squeeze doesn't work. so, they try again.

>> again. there's the bunt. the nationals take the lead. they did it again. >> pretty cool! it is only the second time in 2,000 games manager davey johnson has called for the suicide squeeze and it worked both times. nationals beat the cubs. they win 5-4. you have until 4:00 this afternoon to get michael more toys the all-star game. he's one of the national league candidates to be the last man in as voted by fans. just go to mlb.com, nationals.com or text n4 to the number 89269. in theory, the redskins training camp opens in about three weeks but who knows if that will happen in reality. the nfl's commissioner and player association leader will meet today in new york. espn reports the two sides are getting closer to an agreement but nothing is final just yet. sounds like the debate over the debt ceiling. a local face is back with

the washington capitals. the former captain signed a one-year deal worth $825,000. he played for the caps for six seasons. he hails from potomac, maryland. >> still to come, the problem metro transit police are having with their radios and now it is putting you in danger. >> in 20 minutes, we'll meet a real life hero. the man who was named virginia's state trooper of the year. >> quick check of traffic. angie? >> we're out in hyattsville. landover road at farmhouse road. the accident investigation blocking all northbound lanes. southbound doing ok. still ahead, a check on your d.c. roads. keep it here on 9news now. what makes the sleep number store different?

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hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> this is the place you'll always get your weather first. you can see the fog anny has been talking about. 71 degrees there right now. >> thanks for waking up with us. i'm mike hydeck. >> i'm andrea roane. >> howard is off today. anny hong is on the weather terrace with our forecast. >> good morning, guys. you can feel the mugginess out here. it will stick around for the next couple of days here. we also have storm chances today and tomorrow. some of them could be heavy to severe. pack the umbrella as you're heading out the door today. just in case you get caught in a storm. here is a look at your day planner for today. temperatures in the upper 80s, close to 90 by noon. partly cloudy. by 5:00, for some folks, it

could be a wet evening commute. live doppler 9000 hd out toward south of 66, we've got fog and light mist in culpepper and orange. visibility could be impacted for you as you're driving through that. highs for today, lower 90s in downtown. manassas 94. winchester 92 degrees. here is a look at your roads with angie and your timesaver traffic. good morning, angie. >> thank you very much. we have a traffic alert for you which is why we have the yellow light on. we continue to follow the very latest out in hyattsville. we have new details on this crash activity. 202 landover road at firehouse road. this happened about an hour ago. we're learning from officials. it is confirmed as a fatal accident. someone has died. it involves a pedestrian so there is no time line as far as when they plan to open up the roadway. for now, northbound lanes, all remain shut down. southbound lanes do get by. but expect more delays than usual traveling on 202 landover. moving out to a wider view of the map, other parts of the

region checking out incident- free. a closer look at d.c. roads, no problems to report on inbound new york avenue. volume actually looking pretty good out here from the times building over to bladensburg road. next up, fox hall and canal, very nice and quiet. all clear making your way in toward georgetown. a check on your trains reveal metro, vre and marc, all lines are running on time. we'll have a check on roads around the region including the latest out of hyattsville at 6:46. back to you. thank you, angie. the debt ceiling debate is in the spotlight today here in washington. a live look now at the white house. today, the president will be sitting down with congressional leaders of both parties. they're trying to find a way to raise the debt ceiling so uncle sam can pay the bills. check out this web site. u.s. debt clock.org. the national debt is up to $14,500 billion which works out

to about $47,000 per person. that's a big chunk of change. i'm joined by jessica doyle. she is are big numbers as far as that debt clock is concerned. what about the red numbers on the clock? >> it really hits home how big of a financial problem the nation is dealing with here. if you looked at that, the debt per taxpayer is close to $130,000. that's what we would all have to pay in order to bail out the federal government but that's certainly not the type of plan they're talking about on capitol hill. tear talking about raising taxes and cutting social services. >> everybody is arguing about that. is that the central issue on capitol hill today? >> what they're fighting about is how to deal with their spending problems. let's take a look at this. think of this like a credit card we've maxed out at $14.3 trillion. august 2nd comes around, we're cut off from being able to borrow anymore money. if we don't have the deal in place by then, we're going to start to default on our loans like someone would miss a credit card payment. >> so, possible default. what does that mean to you and

me. i have credit cards and a mortgage. does it affect those? >> these are dire financial consequences. federal employees, tons in the washington area might get ious instead of paychecks. we're also talking about the military here. default would slash our credit rating down to possibly junk status. that would likely trigger a major wall street sell-off, interest rates would skyrocket on all types of loans. your mortgages, your credit card rates, your car loans and with all of that credit drying up, consumers would be unlikely to go shopping. that would slow down the economy, companies might have no other choice but to start laying off workers. we're looking at potentially worst-case scenario, a downward spiral that could push it back into a double dip recession. other people are talking about the d word. let's not go there just yet. >> we've seen a lot of blustering at the podium from both sides. behind the scenes, some things may be improving.

>> absolutely, eric cantor made a comment that indicated republicans are willing to discuss and seriously consider closing some of these loopholes. the president has informed -- so, we're hearing from democratic sources, before leaders of the house and senate, the different parties that he's willing to look at $4 trillion in cuts which is actually double the republican's plan that they've been pushing for so there seems to be some -- they're growing closer together potentially. >> does she know how to break stuff down or what. andrea, over to you. today a judge will decide if casey anthony should didn't free. a jury decided tuesday she was not guilty of killing her 2- year-old daughter, caylee. she was guilty of lying to investigators. each count carries a one-year sentence. she spent three years behind bars already so a judge could give her time served. experts say anthony's safety is a big concern when she's

released. >> she's despised seemingly by most of america if you read face books and twitter and listen to commentary. >> they're being tight-lipped about security measures in place should a judge release anthony. today, metro's board of directors is going to get a report card. it is not so good. >> there are problems with escalators, train doors and buses, all headaches riders have to deal with every day. >> surae chinn is following this morning's commuter alert. she's live outside the foggy bottom station where yet another one of the escalators is under repair. good morning, surae. >> good morning to you. >> here at foggy bottom, they're replacing the entire escalator. it is a familiar sight here at foggy bottom. we've seen this under repair for at least a year now. what you're seeing there, it is surrounded by boarded up wood and big signs here but i will tell you, as the metro riders are coming off the trains, they do have an escalator in each

direction going up and going down. so, some good news here as this escalator is being replaced. and despite pouring in $150 million into fixing the escalators, we're still seeing a lot of them out at this point. but an update on how metro is doing is coming out today. and it doesn't look good. these reports come out from time to time. and in it, it says rail car reliability has gotten worse and that means trains are either late or the doors aren't opening properly. also, injuries to riders have increased. the mounting problems and improvements that metro is trying to make have forced metro to lower goals and standards. >> we're stopping here for a few minutes and the few minutes turns into like 7. >> we haven't lowered standards to make our jobs easier. we've lowered the goal because we are doing so much track work on the system. it is a short-term reflection

of reality. >> reporter: as soon as i said there is an escalator working in both directions, just now, the escalator going up has now stopped working. that's been the case all morning long, in fact. now, people are having to hoof it up the escalator. something we've been seeing from time to time. this report comes out later on today at the board meeting. back to you, mike. >> a little bit of exercise might help if they've been schlepping it. thanks, surae chinn at the foggy bottom station. >> also, spotty police radio reception, another concern that metro officials are going to face in today's board meeting. many officers say they're rolling the dice every time they try to communicate in an emergency over the airwaves. some riders we spoke with found this news pretty unsettling. >> communication has gotta be key with public safety.

>> there is a situation going on and you need back-up, you have to call your buddy and reach them. you have to get in touch with them. that's the real issue. >> now, in a statement, metro acknowledges there is a problem and says it is working on improving the radio reception within the tunnels. here is a question people in upper marlboro want answered. where is outgoing prince george's county leslie johnson? "the washington post" reports fellow council members have not heard from johnson since she tendered her resignation monday. she will remain on the county payroll until the end of this month. last week, leslie johnson pleaded guilty to her role in an effort to destroy evidence in a federal probe. mrs. johnson will be sentenced in october. >> well, if facebook were a country, it would have the fourth biggest population. over 750 million between india and the united states on the list. wednesday, ceo mark zuckerberg promised an awesome

announcement. the social media site is teaming up with skype to roll out some video calls. facebook is launching a group chat feature which users can quickly message a small group of friends all tame. grab an umbrella this morning just in case. we'll hit 90 today. anny hong tells us what to expect this weekend. >> here is a live look at 270 and 118 in germantown. traffic you can see through the fog moving pretty well at speed. angie's next timesaver traffic report, 7 minutes away.

>> we saw some fog in the fredericksburg, virginia area. do we have fog closer in? >> we just have cloudy conditions out there. definitely when you step outside this morning, you can really feel the humidity. in addition to the fog and some of the mist we're seeing

basically, south and west of us. here's a look at your day planner for today. and by noon, temperatures warming up to the upper 80s near 90 degrees. 3:00 and 6:00, a chance for showers and thunderstorms. more scattered in nature. better chances to the north. i'll show. >> model on that in just a moment. here's a look at live doppler 9000 hd. on the beltway, it is dry. cloudy conditions out there. boy, does it feel muggy. look out through the south and west of us around warrenton, culpepper, fredericksburg, all of that is some light mist and fog. visibility down to less than a mile in some locations. here is a look at the visibility. culpepper down to now a quarter of a mile. same thing for orange. manassas down to 2 miles. fredericksburg, 3/4. leave earlier if you have to go through those communities. 72 in leesburg. 69 in martinsburg. it is mild out there. so, a warm and muggy morning for this thursday.

hot again this afternoon. some afternoon evening showers and storms could impact part of the evening commute. it should not be widespread. friday, even more storms. the severe threat goes up tomorrow as well. here's a look at the future cast. this afternoon is ok but then late this afternoon, we have some storms in the area. basically north of us around the mason-dixon line. some of the storms could also have some damaging wind gusts and some isolated large hail. so, we'll watch for that possibility as well. then tomorrow, the severe threat goes up even more. highs for today, lower 90s in downtown. 94 andrews air force base. another hot and muggy day. manassas, 94. winchester in the lower 90s. here is your next three days. hot and muggy today. afternoon showers and storms possible. tomorrow's temperature around mid-80s. not as hot. still warm. then showers and storms are

likely. severe threat, just stick with us. it goes up tomorrow. saturday, lower 90s then on sunday, we're looking dry and storm-free with high pressure back in control. monday, it is going to be hot! mid-90s. here's angie with your traffic. >> things are heating up out there. thank you, anny. hello, everybody. we're creeping closer to the 7:00 hour. the yellow light stays on. we've still got problems out in the hyattsville, maryland area. what we have is maryland 202, landover road at firehouse road, still have all northbound lanes blocked as investigators continue to investigate that crash scene involving the person who died and the pedestrian. this is an accident that happened more than an hour ago. they're still telling us they don't know when they'll be able to open up the northbound lanes. southbound travelers, you're doing ok. let's move it out to the outer loop, the sun glare will be a factor this morning. looks like the slow go has set in from new hampshire over to georgia avenue.

university boulevard. 270, the fog starting to lift a bit. but still, something to contend with for the commuters out here making their way from 80 down to 109. break from germantown road down toward montrose. switching over to virginia side, 66 traveling eastbound, fog also an issue. low visibility from 50 over to 123 dragging a bit. a delay, that's growing and getting longer. 395 headed northbound, the slow gofrom has set in. still doing ok. your top traffic stories of the morning including the latest out of hyattsville up at 6:58. back to you. thank you, angie. don't call matthew cochran a hero because he just might blush. >> that's what he is. he's also the virginia state trooper of the year! >> cochran is based in carroll county, virginia. last year, he was first on the scene of an apartment fire. the flames and smoke were strong but he heard a woman trapped inside the burning building and said there was

never a choice not to go in. >> hearing her scream is motivation to go in and you know she's still alive. you have a chance to get her out. we did. >> he went in, got her out. saved her life. she says the trooper is her hero. but trooper cochran shares that credit with other first responders who were there that night. >> well, you have a chance to be a hero this weekend to some of your neighbors. and you might get something out of it, too. the nationals are holding their annual food drive. it benefits the capital area food bank which has seen a surge in demand with the rough economy. bring nonperishable food items on saturday or sunday at the game and you'll get two tickets to a future game. you can drop off your donation at the centerfield gate or inside the park until the fourth inning. >> that's a good deal. our time is 6:49. 74 degrees here in northwest washington. a check on the news before you go is up next. >> first, time to answer the question of the morning. 47% of people say this was their favorite thing to play

with when they were growing up. >> the most inexpensive thing on the list, the answer is b, a cardboard box. >> my 1-year-old does exactly that regularly. here is your united airlines travel cast for this thursday. right now, at dulles international, lower 70s. we have fog out there. visibility down to zero miles. that could impact maybe some takeoff and landings for today. here's a look at chicago o'hare. 83 degrees. lots of sunshine. no storm threats there. that's not the case for denver. 85 the chance for scattered showers and storms. vegas, hot at 100 degrees. los angeles, l.a.x., upper 70s. lots of sunshine. up in the seattle area, 70s. don't forget your sunglasses and sunscreen.

>> here is a look at your day planner. before you head out the door, grab the umbrella just in case. temperatures warming up in the upper 80s. hot and humid once again. lower 90s, a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. 73 and mostly cloudy. mike and andrea? >> thank you, anny. today is thursday, july 7th. here is a check on the news before you go. metro's board receives a report card today grading the system on its service. it found escalator problems

persist and troubles with train car doors are growing. metro says it is working to address all of the issues. >> check out this mess from overnight in wheaton, maryland. a car smashed into a building on georgia avenue near university boulevard. the driver suffered minor injuries. no word at this point what cause the crash. this morning, branch avenue will be closed at pennsylvania avenue in southeast. a construction project will keep it closed until monday morning. pennsylvania avenue will stay open during the work. we have one more traffic and weather check when 9news now returns. [ mom ] can a little bowl of cereal change your life?

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i remember those days in second grade, mrs. rhone was my teacher and i learned to start writing cursive. >> mrs. roane was your teacher? >> my mother was my second grade teacher. but guess what, cursive writing is going the way of the dodo bird. >> schools in indiana don't want to make it a requirement. they want to make keyboarding a requirement for kids instead. don't you feel good when you get a handwritten thank you note from somebody? >> they say that's the real thing. teachers don't have the time to focus on it. they have all of the no child left behind requirements, testing, so, they're going to do what the kids are doing. kids are going to school with ipad 2s. >> do i feel old because i want them to continue to do that. >> you are old. >> ok, weather now. >> here's anny. >> here's one last look at your seven-day forecast. temperatures in the lower 90s today and muggy. we have a chance for scattered

showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and early evening. some could be heavy to severe. damaging wind gusts, locally heavy rainfall. tomorrow, showers and storms are likely and a bigger chance for severe weather. here's angie with your traffic. >> thank you, anny. we're out in hyattsville. firehouse road. all northbound lanes remain closed as they continue to investigate that fatal crash. meanwhile, we're looking at a shot of the inner loop here. where drivers obviously are slow. making their way from braddock up to route 50 on the outer loop in maryland north of the district from 95 to georgia. sun glare is a factor. we're below speed. over to jess. >> as for wall street, higher this morning ahead of some new economic data and of course, the big meeting at the white house over the debt ceiling. >> "the early show" previews the sentencing for casey anthony plus more on nasa's final shuttle launch. >> anny and myself are back in 25 minutes with another live update on your and weather. >> get news, weather and traffic by visiting wusa9.com. >>