heavy rain down toward election electionington park. this is pretty good rainfall over toward cambridge. light rain right now. that's it. so things are improving back to the west. now, with that said, we've highlighted some of the flash flood warning, howard county, the district, prince george's county, everybody is pretty much under a flash flood warning. if you come across a flooded street, do not cross it by car or foot. fort smallwood, green haven, some of the areas to watch out for for standing water and water across the streets. we're still under a flash flood watch to midnight. we'll come back and look ahead to the weekend. >> one area hit hard,

frederick, maryland. roads are closed. that includes parts of market and patrick streets in historic downtown. today's storms have already knocked out the power to thousands of people around here. last checked. pepco has 10,455 customers in the dark. we want to know, how are the storms affecting your neighborhood. to submit your storm report, log on to www.wusa9.com. some other big stories we're following tonight, the woman -- appears in court. the latest in the lemon murder case. and for the final time, a shuttle blasts off into outer

space. i'm andrea mckaren where the lu lu lemon trial -- it was a struggle so violent it crushed her skull and severed her spinal cord. john mccarthy outlines some evidence he'll bring to trial in october. crime scene photos, dna, along with expert analysis of blood splatter and show prints found at the scene. for the first time her lawyer raised issues about her competentes. >> our investigation is still

continuing. i'm kristin fisher at the kennedy space center. i watched the final launch with my mother. i watched my mom fly in space when she became the first mother in space. i later watched my dad fly in space. to be here today it was truly impressive to be surrounded by all these current and former space shuttle astronauts as they watch the culmination of this 30-year program. it was also an exciting day for the nasa employees. they created some of the cargo that went up with the shuttle today. on board, tools that will teach scientists how to refuel satellites in space. they also sent supplies to the international space station. even though this is the final launch, employees say this is not the end of the space program. >> we're going to put a library on the surface of mars and

measure what's there and send that information back. >> scientist are working on way to use lasers instead of radios for long distance communications for those space vehicles. so what do you think about the end of the space shuttle program in are you sad to see the shuttle blast off for the last time or is it time to let go of something we just cannot afford anymore. e-mail us at the mailbag. the alleged scandal in public schools. the u.s. department of education is getting into the act and the big jumps in students' standardized test scores. our partners over at usa today reported more than 100 schools had unusually high rates of -- on their exam. the education department will not say either way if that's actually happening. it's been a rough night out

there, monica. >> it has. the severe weather did a number of traffic. the big story now is the king metro station. there was a fatal accident and because of that, authorities are single tracking between these stations. expect major delay there is. you may want to take livingston. well, a tragic loss leads to a teachable moment out on the highway. 28-year-old eric avilla killed yesterday when he pulled over on the beltway. he needed to change a flat

tire. drivers are urged to to get off the road, even if it means keep going on a flat tire. >> you should try to extra indicate yourself from the situation and never put yourself or your passenger in harm's way. if you can escape the car, exit the car. stand 150 feet away, that's the safest thing to do. >> two adults and two children inside their vehicles were hurt, but they're expected to be okay. police have not filed any charges against a third car which swerved off the road and crashed into the others. a man suspected of setting a fire that injured five firefighters says he's not guilty. maurice duse entered that play in court today. he's charged with setting fire to a home back in april. authorities believe he also set other fires around d.c. and in maryland. as of now he's being held without bond. it can be used to smoke

pot, but otherwise it's legal. unconstitutional? that's what a company is saying about cigar wrappers. now national tobacco is suing the legislation. the papers have no purpose except for illegal drug use. coming up, a survivor shares his story, a young man describes in detail his motorcycle crash, and the 22 hours he spent trapped in a ditch. but first, president obama is rolling up his sleeves and telling you lawmakers they need do the same thing.

a sunday meeting at the white house about the debt ceiling. president obama told the politicians from both parties today, come prepared. he wants to see their demands and plans. his plan slashes 4 trillion in federal spending. >> i'm ready to roll up my sleeves. i know people in both parties are ready do that as well. >> they better work fast. if a deal is not reached by july 22 july 22nd, it will be

difficult to push it through congress in time and that means america could default on loans for the first time ever. and president obama is blaming the uncertainty over the debt limit for the high unemployment numbers. >> today's job report confirms what most americans already know. we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the security and opportunity that they deserve. >> the labor department revealed that employers added the fewest jobs in nine months, and that puts the unemployment rate up a bit. more than -- americans are considered long term employed. that means they've been out of work for six months or longer. straight ahead, we're tracking the severe storms. will they stick around for the rest of the weekend? we're back with the full forecast. first, do you need to unplug your gadgets?

so what's ten more days after nearly three years. that's how long casey anthony will have to stay in jail. this is four days longer than authorities announced yesterday. she'll walk out of a florida jail.

she was slapped with a $4,000 fine also. a young man who wrecked his motorcycle and was trapped in a ditch for 22 hours shares his story of survival. >> i kicked my feet up in the air because i was laying like this. kicked my feet, waved my arms. >> 29-year-old -- has many broken bones, including three vertebra. even though the crash site was within a busy intersection, he couldn't get anybody's attention. so using a stick, he was able to break up a compartment and retrieved his cell phone. when i put the battery in, it didn't turn on. i had to take it apart, blow out all the dirt and stuff. scared me for a second, but it came on. >> he then called his brother and then he called 911. the rescuers found him pretty

quickly after that. they called for an airlift and he'll have to be in the hospital for another couple of weeks. doctors say he came within millimeters of being paralyzed. if you're caught driving more than 12 miles an hour over the speed limit in a school zone, you can expect a $40 ticket. the program is projected to generate 7.5 million bucks for the county. do you need a detox from your blackberry, ipod, ipad? if so, take yourself down to the quincy hotel. they have a program called be unplugged. it requires you to hand over all your gadgets when you check in. in exchange for giving up texting and tweeting, guests get a gift certificate to a bookstore. the hotel will return all your

tech toys along with a good dose of shame to go with it. folks in arlington are being credited with having a lot of goodwill. the goodwill is now one of the top performers in the country. it ranked no. 6 out of more than 2600 stores last year. in fact, lines of cars can often be scene snaking around the parking lot of that arlington goodwill center. we're getting slammed by storms storms tonight, but last night it was baltimore. now they're spending the weekend clenning up the mess. it ripped roofs off houses and caused floodingment at one point, 40,000 people were without power. now residents are trying to make sense of the aftermath. >> it went up to a quarter size hail. then the street flooded up and cars were floating down the

street. looks like we're renting a u haul to move. >> there was one water rescue. thankfully, though, nobody was hurt. sounds like they had it worse than we did tonight. >> they did. they were really getting hammered last night. we've had a lot of flooding and there's still a lot of warnings in effect. the flooding is still a concern. some warnings have been extended. let's start with the watch. there's a little sliver of maryland under the watch until 9:00. everybody else is in pretty good shape. live doppler 9,000, here are the storms, the heaviest activity across the bay now, it does stretch and dovetail back into maryland. we're looking at some heavy rain for the next several minutes or so. leonard town is about to get hammered. we'll back this out a little bit and put this in motion and tell you where it's going to go

over the next hour. you should the clear in southern maryland. we'll move across into the lower del mar, but, again, in the wake, that's flash flood warnings, and they are extended until about 8:00. please, never cross a flooded street on foot or with a car. sometimes the basement floods, but the sump pump is not plugged in. flash flood warnings continue and a watch continues until midnight. don't cross flooded streets. weekend looks okay. pretty nice, and also less humid. for tonight, showers and thunderstorms, some heavy and some severe, ending early, tapering off before midnight. the nats came should be fine. low 66 to 72. winds will turn northwesterly

when the front clears out. tomorrow morning, pleasant. winds northwest at ten and afternoon, partly cloudy, almost hot but not humidity. temperatures near 90. there will be residual clouds in the south. 76 to 82 by lunchtime, very nice, really. by evening, 84 to 89. warm but not humidity, not uncomfortable, fuel. all right. next three days. hot but not humid, 90. we're back in the mid-90s on monday. storms come in late more likely monday night. next seven days. fairly hot on tuesday. more storms. some of these storms could be heavy next week. we'll have to watch that. in the wake of that front, nice mid-80s. wednesday, thursday, sunshine. low humidity, clouds come back at us on friday of next week,

but we're holding into the upper 80s. that's a victory. >> yep, we'll take it. well, from our weird news file, usually we say man bites dog makes news. what if it's banana attacks gorilla? let's go to strongsville, ohio where a man wearing a gorilla suit because he's the mascot of this wireless store was attacked by a guy wearing a banana suit. it was very bizarre. she was just sort of standing there, and the guy with the banana suit ran and spears him after hiding in the pushes. knocked him down and ran away. we're told the gorilla suit guy gets up. grabs his sign, adjusts his head and continues on. apparently he's unaware na the food chain was turned on its head. we want to hear what you

think. send your e-mails to -- the address is -- ú

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where d.c. goes to get away. maybe it's because washington d.c. loves the legendary coasters. or that your entire family will have fun, even the little ones. it could be that water country usa has more of the waves, slides and rides everyone wants. so plan your getaway and come play. you never know who you'll run into. get started at buschgardens.com/dc. in the mailbag tonight, cursive writing. remember when we told you about the state of indiana, they're

no longer teaching kids to write in cursive. too old school in the internet age. around here the old school still has a lot of fans, like charles who says mend it, don't end it. people use cursive every day to write notes on paperwork they use, to study, or to make corrections. how long would it take to make notes by using large print writing. they should not put as much emphasis on it, but it does have a purpose other than signing your name. and, deb says it's not just about the writing. it's important to write and think clearly and real signatures will always be needed and valued. some still write and send letters by cards and snail mail. i worry there will be a whole generation without love letters and cards. what if some drastic situation the electrical power goes.

that's a very good question. however, the best case for keeping the cursive came our way by -- i hope i'm pronouncing that correctly. she says she's a retired public schoolteacher who finds herself teaching cursive to high schoolers. i began substituting and the first thing i did was writing my name on the board. i had to explain it does not da leg yaty but just cursive. you don't hear about latin being taught anymore, but it's still the same. there you have it, indiana. keep the cursive. latin, personally i don't use it so much, but i do use the mailbag every day. i hope you do too. well, that's our report. i will be right back here tonight at 11:00. tonight we're working on a family affair. our own kristin fisher in cape

canaveral watching the launch with her astronaut mom. you have a great evening. we'll talk to you later. good-bye. [ female announcer ] keurig brews more than just hot coffee.

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this is "entertainment tonight," the most-watched entertainment news magazine in the world. jaycee dugard's horrifying new story. >> having a baby, in a backyard. >> yep. i did. >> held captive, raped, impregnated. what you haven't heard from diane sawyer's tv special. >> i wasn't alone. >> william and kate hit hollywood tonight. the wind that caught kate's yellow dress, the royal stampede and "e.t." team on the ground in l.a., awaiting their arrival. >> the royals first stop is here in beverly hills. >> and right behind me is the 7,000 square foot mansion where they will be spending the night. >> plus, from marilyn, kirk and cher, to brad, george and tom. >> it's a great day for me. thank you. >> who has the most visited hand prints at hollywood's chinese theater? only we have new video for the debut of beyonce's number one album.