i'm andrea roane. i'm jessica doyle. mike hydeck is on assignment at the at&t tournament. monika samtani will is traffic. bright sunshine this morning. it's a good looking start to this wednesday. we're in the upper 60s in town. we have some areas in the low 50s in the suburbs, especially in the rural areas. by noon 81. this afternoon we're league at a high of 88 which is where we should be and the key today humidity levels are still nice and low. they're going to stay low today. clear skies this morning. that's why we've got the bright sunshine out there. expecting a mainly sunny day. a little bit of a breeze. temperatures there in martinsburg down to 53. 49 at harrisonburg this morning. 45 in peters during but in town we've got the mid- to upper 60s. notice manassas 52. this afternoon again sunny, not too humid. your highs from the mid to the upper 80s. enjoy it. eight been a good ride in -- it's been a good ride in so

far. still not too bad outside. you just have the normal slow traffic on the interstates, the major thoroughfares. i think we can deal with that i don't have any reports of major accidents. on the northbound side of 95, a little bit of slow traffic across occoquan river and it's bunching up in springfield. let's take a live look on the northbound side of i-95 and 395 where things are fine as you head for the 14th street bridge. here's our 50 camera. route 64 up to the beltway, the pace improves heading through landmark to the 14th street bridge. back over to our maps and this time to the west side of town. no problems to report as you head in on the dulles toll road, 66 out of manassas. it's just bunching up in centreville route 50 to 123. another live look outside. this time at the american legion bridge on the west side of town. this is a good indication of the beltway between 270 and 66. coming up in my next report, we'll go to the bw parkway in a few minutes. good news for millions of

college students this morning. a deal is near on keeping student interest loan rates pretty low. >> parents are happy about this, too. the plan reached in the senate could keep stafford loan rates at 3.4% for another year. they were slated to double on sunday. >> the money would be raised by hiking the price on federal insurance for pensions. both party leaders in the senate say they have a deal and it may be paired with a deal over transportation. >> we have an understanding we think will be acceptable to the house. that may or may not be coupled with the highway proposal over in the house. that to my knowledge is not yet resolved as to whether that will be some kind of extension or full multi-year bill. >> that transportation funding bill is a hundred billion dollar package and it's linked to more than three million jobs nationwide. life should finally get back to normal at the university of virginia.

the last few weeks have seen the school's president fired and then given her job back. the board of visitors formally reinstated teresa sullivan wednesday. her ouster was met with two weeks of protest by students and faculty. finally the governor got involved and the board of visitors unanimously gave dr. sullivan her job back. she addressed the board after the vote. >> i do not ask that we sweep any of this under a rug but rather we engage one another in candor and respect. all of us speak only one thing. what is best for our university. >> there was a sign of reconciliation even before the vote. our camera caught sullivan and board president helen dragas walking together into the uva rotunda. prince george's county police need your help locating a missing teenager with special needs. the family of 17-year-old erica williams is worried about her. you see her picture right there on your screen. she was last seen yesterday

leaving her home on murray hill drive in fort washington. at the time she was wearing a light blue shirt, light blue came prepants, blue flip-flops and she was carrying a pink purse. she last spoke to her social worker around 9:00 last night. she's said to have the mental capacity of a 12-year-old. three suspects in custody this morning following a stabbing in front of the howard theatre overnight. medics rushed the juvenile victim to the hospital. his condition is not known. police caught all three suspects around the corner at 17th and s streets northwest. authorities do not believe the attack was connected to last night's concert at the theater. the golf world is focused on montgomery county this week. that's because the at&t national returns to congressional country club. >> it's going to be a busy and exciting week in bethesda. we're going to have special live coverage every day this week. right now anny hong is live at congressional on this gorgeous

morning. anny, it looks fantastic out there. >> reporter: it is gorgeous out here. a little on the cool side thanks to low humidity, but my little sweater came in handy this morning. yes, we are live at the congressional country club here in bethesda kicking off the at&t national. it officially starts tomorrow but all this week they've had quite a few events. this morning is the pro am. that's where pros and amateur golfers get together to play. tiger woods will be here at 6:30 teeing off at the tenth hole. this focus, the tournament is not just the golf but also celebrating our nation's wounded warriors. all this month our dave owens has been introducing us to veterans using golf to heal. this morning we meet corey. >> i broke three vertebrae in my back, two compression fractures, ten ribs, collapsed lung. i'm just getting by.

>> reporter: just getting by. that's right for corey as he goes through grueling rehab at walter reed. the day he was wounded still fresh in his mind. november 13, 2011. >> it's kind of a days at first -- a daze at first. after the initial blast it takes a second to come around. but at that point i was actually more worried about my crew. >> reporter: not surprising it was always his m.o. to think of others. so it's also not a surprise that while he's working to get better, he wants to go back to afghanistan. >> absolutely. absolutely in a heart beat. >> reporter: wow. >> that's actually when i got here to walter reed, the first thing i asked the doctor is when can i go back. >> reporter: ferris won't be rejoining his band of brothers but golf helps divert attention away from the battlefield. >> as long as you're hitting the ball well, you can relax. your mind opens up and you just

don't worry about some of the past struggles take you've been through. >> reporter: still, the man who's already spent three tours and 34 months in both iraq and afghanistan finds it hard to forget the men he left behind. >> it almost doesn't seem fair, you know, me being out here and my unit still out there. you have to put that past you and realize hey, you know, i've got to focus on myself sometimes. >> reporter: dave owens, 9news now. >> back out here live at congressional where the at&t national kicks off officially tomorrow, but this morning is the for am. let's go to our -- is the pro am. let's go to our tenth hole camera to show you where tiger will be at 6:30. he's expected to tee off at 6:30 this morning. 's among quite a few pro golfers who will be here this morning. tiger woods, dustin johnson, vijay singh at 8:30. we also hear that donald trump may also be among the amateurs

playing today. so hopefully we'll get a sighting of him. weather wise it is a nice morning out here. a bit on the cool side but this coming weekend it is going to be very hot and humid so golfers hopefully will take caution and prepare for that we're live in bethesda, anny hong, 9news now. >> anny has it all covered. anny live at congressional this morning. we'll see you again in about 15 minutes. thanks, anny. stay with 9news now for continuing coverage of the at&t national. mike hydeck, derek mcginty and dave owens will have coverage from congressional tonight on 9news now at 5:00 p.m. and at 11:30 tonight catch a special recap of the day's actions. you can also follow the tournament by going to wusa9.com. the time right now is 6:08. up next, howard tells us if it's going to be a good day to watch golf on the course or if you should stay inside. >> in four minutes we'll go back live to capitol hill. learn why post-traumatic stress

disorder will be in the spotlight today. stay with 9news now.

it's another pleasant morning out there. we're in for another nice day. it's going to be warmer. by lunch time low 80s. still a breeze out of the northwest 10 to 15. highs mid- to upper 80s but the real heat coming the next few

days. full details just ahead. overall slow traffic on the southbound side of i-270. it begins at route 85 in frederick down to 121 and then again through germantown to 124. in my next report, a closer look at maryland roads at 6:18. thousands of veterans home from iraq and afghanistan are living with post-traumatic stress disorder or ptsd. >> many of them suffer in silence, but more is being done to raise awareness and get them the help they need. >> a big rally is happening today on capitol hill. delia goncalves is there live with a preview. good morning, delia. >> reporter: good morning, andrea, our own anita brikman will be emceeing the event which kicks off at 10:00 a.m. on upper center park on the corner of constitution and new jersey avenues here on the hill. ptsd is becoming much more common. according to the department of veterans affairs, nearly 8% of americans will suffer from the condition at one point in their

lives but getting help is not as easy as you would think. steven webb was on a waiting list for more than eight months we're told when he returned home if active duty suffering from ptsd. he became depressed and we're told withdrew from his family. his wife and 10-year-old daughter stopped by our 9news studios last night to share their story. they'll also be here at the event later today. >> it changed him. made him very sad, very closed in, very depressed, suicidal and for the longest time we didn't understand what was wrong. >> he went upstairs inside of the bathroom and he didn't come out for a while. so my mom went upstairs to go check on him and he was gray, laying on the bathroom floor. she had to call 911. >> reporter: pretty startling hearing the 10-year-old girl describing seeing her own dad on the floor gray and seemed to

be lifeless but he is doing much better thankfully and is in counseling getting treatment for his condition. however, his wife says more intense treatment that he probably needs, that takes a long time. he was told the waiting list for inpatient treatment is more than a year long. so what can you look for if you fear that you have a loved one who may be suffering from this condition? i'll let you know coming up at 6:30. >> delia goncalves live on capitol hill this morning. it is 6:14 on this wednesday. here are some of the other stories making news. utah senator orrin hatch survived a tough primary. the 78-year-old republican beat his tea party rival in a landslide. hatch is expected to win a seventh term in november. 32,000 people are being forced from their homes by this wildfire in colorado. this is the waldo canyon fire near colorado springs. flames there have already destroyed several homes.

and debby has been downgraded to a tropical depression. the storm finally made landfall yesterday in northwest florida. heavy rains have closed part of interstate 10 across the state. it's going to be sticking with them for a while. >> it's starting to pull out but the flooding will subside. it's a 50-mile stretch between jacksonville and tallahassee they had to close. tremendous rains going on. >> 26 inches so far, something like that? >> yes. it's been crazy. i'll show you this on the satellite. it's starting to move out on the radar. could become a storm in the atlantic but looks like it will be northeast. we'll be saying goodbye to debby very soon. here's a live look outside with your day planner. we're looking good today. we have sunshine. a nice pleasant morning with humidity levels in check. they'll be in check all day. high temperatures getting into the -- temps getting into the low 80s by lunch but upper 80s for the highs. again the humidity levels down today. so while it will be warmer, it will still be rather

comfortable. this morning we're looking at temperatures across the region into the 50s and 60s. notice as you get toward the bigger cities, we've got the 60s but you get away from all the asphalt and cement and the warmer waters of the chesapeake, we're falling into the 50s. 48 down this way. gaiptersburg is down to 52 -- gaithersburg is down to 52 degrees. still in the places -- in the 50s places like readville. 55 in catlett. bright sunshine this morning. clear skies. 68 degrees in washington with a dew point of 47. that gives us a relative humidity of 47% and a west, north west wind keeping the dry air in place. but the heat is out there. very hot day in the middle of the country with temperatures in kansas city 101. here in west central kansas, could be 105 to 110. that heat is going to be expanding toward the east as we get into thursday. notice chicago tomorrow,

lexington 102. 97 detroit. we shoot into the 90s tomorrow but those hundreds, the low hundreds potentially will be in spots by friday. the record friday, that's 101 in washington. only about 96, 97 at dulles. i think some record setting heat on friday. today warm but still not humid, 88. tonight 60s and low 70s so not as cool. hot tomorrow, 96 with a little bit more humidity. but the hot, humid weather rolls in friday. maybe a slight chance of an afternoon thunderstorm. 101 on friday. that heat stays with us through the weekend. saturday 99. sunday 100 again. an afternoon storm will be possible. it's 6:17. monika samtani has been telling us about a good morning so far traffic wise. let's see if she can keep it going. i'm trying to keep it going. so are commuters. we have no major incidents to report outside i'm happy to say. here's a look inside the beltway on 66. you're going about 55 miles an hour at fairfax drive. 61 mile an hour at duke street. no problems on 295 insides the beltway trying to get to the

11th street bridge. let's take a live look if you're planning to head northbound on 395 to the 14th street bridge and again across the potomac river here, you're doing absolutely final. let's go back over to the map and this time to the gw parkway leaving the american legion bridge. no delays yet till you get closer into town. that's where of course it slows down even early in the morning. no problems to report on the dulles toll road heading for the beltway. we'll take a live look once again outside. here's what it looks like 66 at the parkway. nice and quiet here. i'll be back in a few minutes. >> thank you, monika. the time right now is 6:18. next in sports, see why nationals manager davey johnson was thanking his hitting coach after last night's game. maybe bought him a pizza. >> right now time for another check on the question of the morning. 55% of americans say they keep this in their car. is it a, a flashlight, b, toilet paper, or c, candy. >> we like the way facebook friend carlton thinks. he says it's c, candy.

all might be useful at times but who doesn't have sugar urges all the time? >> keep your guesses coming. we'll reveal the correct answer at 6:48.

welcome back. 6:22 on this wednesday morning. still very comfortable out there but the heat is going to be moving in here, especially by friday. here's a look at it today, though. you're going enjoy this one. a warmer day than yesterday but still not humid. plenty of sunshine. a little bit of a northwesterly wind. mid afternoon 87. we top out at 88. we're driving home again still dry and 87. >> thank you, howard. it took to games in denver but the nationals finally found their swing. >> boy, did they. last night they scored the most runs all season and they had the most hits in three years. >> nationals versus rockies. d.c. blew it open in the 5th. the nats scored five runs

capped up by tyler morris' three-run home run. bryan zimmerman who has been struggling at the plate late but not last night. i hit his fourth home run ever the year. he also got career hit number 1,000. nationals top the rockies 12-5. gio gone disalless picked up his -- gonzalez picked up his tenth win of the year. the capitals will introduce adam oates as their new coach. he was with the caps when they made their stanley cup run in 1988 and worked the last two years as an assistant coach for the devils. despite the forecast for the weekend, the scomper, the crowds will be huge at congressional country club for the at&t national golf tournament. >> we're going to go back live to anny hong at congressional for what fans need to know and there's one word: tiger. >> reporter: oh, yeah, we're waiting for him to show up any

minute because he's supposed to tee off at the tenth hole just behind me. so when he comes walking up, we'll be sure to get you that picture live. we want to talk about what you can and can't bring when the at&t national kicks off officially tomorrow. this morning is the pro ams. take a look so you can be prepared. it is -- you cannot bring cameras and video cameras, no radios, no coolers and beverages, no folding arm chairs, but folding stools with arms are okay. also strollers are okay during the tournament. now, here's a little bit of golf etiquette for you. stay quiet and still when players are about to hit the ball. hands in the air means stop and be quiet because they're concentrating. do not cross the fairways except in designated areas and kneel or sit down when possible. again we're live out here at bethesda congressional where tiger woods is supposed to tee off here at 6:30. let's take a live look at the camera for the tenth hole.

you can see there's people kind of getting set up. we saw another person warming up out there earlier this morning. some other celebrities and pros will be plague this morning including dustin -- playing this morning including dustin johnson and vijay singh. there you have it. some golf etiquette. i learned something new. back to you. >> all aalso want a hat to -- you'll also want a hat to keep the sun off your head. anny hong live at congressional. but nothing too big to block the person behind you. we'll see you in about ten minutes.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. happening right now, we want to go live to congressional country club. we promised to show you that man. is there he is. one of the best golfers in the world tiger woods. >> he's doing his signature bouncing the golf ball. this is the pro am looking to tee off later this morning at congressional. >> this will be the best day of the tournament as far as weather is concerned. we're going to stick with it for as long as we can to see him take his little putt there. >> obviously a big crowd gathered for the excitement. there's going to be a little bit of consultation going on

about the hole. you see a photo opgoing on at this moment. >> when we started this morning, no one was there, just our camera. now steadily the group has picked up and grown in size. >> only about three of the previous five at&t national champions are going to be in the field this week. last week's winner, the 2009 champ tiger woods and kj choi. he's fun to watch. we're going to see how they compete. of course tiger looks like he's starting to tee up. this is the big moment everybody was waiting for. >> mike hydeck, remember him? he was doing coverage last night and they were talking about how tiger prepared for this. and he said really he took some sometime off just to spend the time with his children,

decompress and hopefully coming out here fresh. people are happy to see him but they'd love to see him rack up another victory here. he wasn't here last year. >> congressional actually hosted the u.s. open last year and it was closed the year before for renovations. mcelroy set all sorts of records at the big u.s. open last year. >> he was incredible. >> there's howard. >> let's take a look and listen. >> there it goes. there it goes. of course we've got howard on the weather terrace. how is the day going to play for the golfers out there given the weather we're seeing today and the weather over the next couple of days? >> it's going to be a great day to be out at congressional watching the pro am with temperatures this morning right about 60 'ish. even upper 50s in some of the suburbs. humidity levels will be down. high temperatures will be in the 80s. this will be a comfortable day. when the tournament gets going tomorrow for the pros, that's when the temperatures will start to heat up. we'll be flirting with 100

degrees friday, saturday and sunday. a tough week for them and an even tougher week for the spectators who have to be mindful of staying safe. a beautiful morning. sunshine. temperatures by noon in the low 80s. we're in the 50s and 60s. by 5:00 topping out at 88. humidity levels are still low and comfortable. let's go over to monika samtani. she's going to update ow your time saver traffic. we have a lot of slow traffic this morning on the interstates but we haven't had any major accidents i'm happy to say. so if you're planning to head around the beltway, you've got those delays as usual on the outer loop from 95 toward georgia avenue. then beyond that you're good into springfield and down across the american legion bridge into the tysons area. all lanes are open. no problems coming in from the west on the dulles toll road or on i-66. we'll take a live look outside right now and show what you it looks like if you're planning to head southbound on i-270. your overall delays out of frederick around route 85 it's going to be on and on past hyattstown toward clarksburg and then again toward

germantown so really not too bad. this time we're heading to the other sides of town. bw parkway route 50, both of those corridors look great through cheverly into northeast. a quick live look south of town at route 210 in oxon hill, a good indication of what it looks like to the wilson bridge and beyond into alexandria. we'll go into virginia at 6:44. >> thank you, monika. today there will be a rally on capitol hill to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder. >> delia goncalves is live on capitol hill with a preview. good morning to you, delia. >> reporter: good morning, jess. our own anita brikman will be emceeing the event which kicks off behind me on the corner of new jersey and constitution avenues later this morning. the rally raises awareness for a condition that has become more and more common among service members, and according to the depght of veterans a-- department of veterans affairs is directly linked to the rising suicide rates. up to 80% for army soldiers alone. 10-year-old barbara webb will be sharing her story with folks

at today's events. her dad returned from an active duty suffering from ptsd and could not get help right away. but after a suicide attempt, he was hospitalized and is beginning to get the help he needs but his wife says it's simply not enough. so bashry a said the in-- so barbra said the inpatient wait for treatment was nearly a year long. so her husband was on a waiting list for a very long time. finally has gotten the help that he needs. he's in counseling. she says, though, it is not certainly enough. we do have some statistics that we do want to share with you. i don't know if we have that graphic but according to the department of veterans affairs, up to 20% of veterans from iraq and afghanistan suffer from ptsd, 10% from desert storm, and 30% of vietnam veterans suffer from the condition. and we're told women are dice as likely as -- are twice as likely as men. symptoms include flashbacks,

nightmares, depression, substance abuse, and memory loss. according to the department, up to 80% of folks diagnosed with ptsd also suffer if other psychiatric problems so certainly you can understand this is a growing problem and it can lead to other additional mental psychiatric problems. so getting the help that they need right away is extremely crucial and that's what today's rally is all about, trying to get families, trying to get service members and to get the public on board and so this event starts at 10:00 a.m. here, upper senate park. it is open to the public. back to you, andrea. >> delia goncalves reporting live from capitol hill this morning. a step back for the district having more say over its own budget. d.c. leaders requested a senate committee pull a bill wednesday. kentucky senator paul introduced amendments which calls for relaxed gun laws and places bans on city funded

abortions. the district says those amendments go against their priorities. the bill would have given the district more control and spending over its own tax dollars without congressional approval. will virginia's governor be on the republican ticket this fall? bob mcdonnell had denied speculation he's on mitt romney's short list for running mate, but here's what he told wtop yesterday. >> i'm not discussing the vice presidential vetting process. thank you. >> this is a different answer you've given in the past. >> there was no vetting going on. apparently there's a vetting process and i'm not going to discuss it. you can address those questions to the romney campaign. >> reading the tea leaves. the one person the romney campaign has confirmed it's investigating so far is -- vetting so far is florida senator marco rubio. as maryland -- if maryland's governor were a gambling money, he might put money on another special session in annapolis.

there's a 50-50 shot he will call a session to discuss expanded gambling. the governor says he wants to reach out to state delegates to see if a deal can be made. the practice round is getting under way right now at congressional down club in bethesda. >> the start of the at&t national golf tournament is tomorrow and what can fans expect this year? >> we go live to the course. anny hong is covering the story for us this morning. good morning, anny. besides the heat, what else can they expect? >> reporter: good mopping. we just had come donald trump walking by. donald, can you say hi to us. it's anny hong at the channel 9 cbs affiliate in washington, d.c. we were talking about you earlier. >> i'm here. >> reporter: come on over. >> how are you? >> reporter: nice to meet you, donald. >> nice to see you. wow. >> reporter: have you played here before? >> i have. a wonderful place. i'm here playing in the tournament also at trump national right up the river.

>> reporter: you ready? it's a challenging course. >> i'm ready. i hear we're playing all the way back and it's okay but i'm ready. >> reporter: thanks for coming over. good luck to you. >> have a good time. >> reporter: there we go. we saw tiger woods just a few minutes ago teeing off at the tenth hole and now we just saw donald trump walking by getting ready for the pro am this morning. i also want to introduce my guest here, steve, the golf writer for "u.s.a. today." so, steve, tell us, we just saw tiger teeing off. what are your expectations of him in this tournament. we know he's changed his swing and that has provided some challenges for him. >> he's won two tournaments and there's only been three players this year who have won two tournaments. tiger's problem -- the problem with tiger is he's always compared to tiger of old. if you compared everyone to tiger of old, then everyone is struggling. so when tiger doesn't win, people think he's struggling.

he said his new swing has alleviated all the pain from his knee. as soon as he gets comfortable with his new swing so it's a natural motion over and over again, he'll start spending most of his time on the short game and he'll obviously improve his short game then. but tiger, he's the favorite this week and i think he's still the favorite every same he tees it up. so i think fans will be -- they'll enjoy what they'll see this week from tiger. >> congressional has undergone some changes and and renovations the last couple of years. they put in new grass. the weather didn't cooperate the last couple of years with all the storms. how do you think that -- how will that impact players this time around you think? >> last year i think the usga which governs the united states open, they would be very happy with how the course is set up right now. if it had been set up this way last year. this week the players are not going to be able to go over pins like last year because the greens are so soft, they didn't

have to worry about getting bad lies or hops off the green. the course is firm. the fairways are firm. so balls are going to run out into the rough. you don't want to be in the rough. this week it's going to be more about hitting greens and hitting fairways than it was last year at the u.s. open. it's going -- [indiscernible] the rough is about the same. i think it's going to be tougher and i don't think anybody is going to get into double digits under par. >> thank you so much, steve. there you have it. again we're live at bethesda congressional where the at&t national pro am has just kicked off this morning. the weather is cooperating today. a very nice breeze this morning. low humidity. this weekend it will be a tough one. we're expecting temperatures in the triple digits and the humidity to go back up. >> wonder if the humidity will slow the ball down, too. thank you. >> lots of big names out there today. tiger woods, the donald, anny hong. >> stay with 9news now for continuing coverage of the at&t national.

you don't know who you might see popping up on our screen but you will see mike hydeck, derrick mcginty and dave owens with our coverage from congressional tonight on 9news now at 5:00 p.m. and at 11:30, camp a special recap of the day's actions. you can also follow the tournament by going to wusa9.com. 9news now returns after this.

welcome back. monika here with time saver traffic. i'm happy to say that generally speaking, it's been a pleasant morning all around weather wise and traffic wise. no problems to report. i just got word of one accident in germantown, though, on route 27 north of brink road. i don't think it's anything serious but i'll keep you posted on that situation. inbound on route 50 coming from annapolis all the way into cheverly, things are fine. no problems in from greenbelt

and laurel on the bw parkway. we'll take a live look inbound on new york avenue where you've got overall delays beginning basically down at south dakota avenue to bladensburg road and florida into the third street tunnel. so a couple of slow stretches into the northeast area. let's go back over to our maps this time to the south side of town. route 4, 5, 301 out of brandywine. everything is looking good into oxon hill on the beltway. we'll take a live look on the northbound side of i-95 in springfield. it's just slow in this direction and 395 most of the way into landmark. in my next report we'll go to the west side of town. weather is out on -- howard is out on the weather terrace. you might want to have breakfast on your deck or patty and take advantage of the -- patio and take advantage of the great air mass that has moved in and will be moving out in the next 24 to 36 hours. today still a very nice day. we have low humidity levels. we're going to have light winds this morning becoming northwest 10 to 15 so a bit of a breeze.

temperatures a little warmer than yesterday. yesterday we stopped in the low 80s. today about 88 is where we're going to get for that high 4:00, 5:00 this afternoon. if you've got plans this evening, still looks pretty good with an 8:00 p.m. temperature still about 84 degrees. we're looking at temperatures now still in the 50s in spots. in fact low 50s up in gaithersburg. coming into the low 50s in northern loudoun county and manassas. lovettsville 53. centreville 58. 61 in fairfax. we'll go to the east in prince george's county. mid-50s in upper marlboro 56 but andrews 66 along with alexandria and bwi, columbia thork. very comfort -- columbia this morning, very comfortable 61. bright sunshine this morning. no clouds in the sky. 68 degrees with a west, northwesterly wind at 12 and the humidity a very pleasant 47%. that will be the key to today. the humidity levels are down. as we look at national satellite and radar, big ridge of high pressure in the middle of the country. underneath it a lot of heat and some humidity as well.

by the way debby is now a tropical depression. the heat today going to be kansas up into parts of nebraska. this area here could be 105 plus. 101 kansas city. 90 st. louis and chicago. tomorrow look how the heat expands eastward. st. louis 105. chicago 102. lexington 102. we'll shoot into the 90s tomorrow and potentially the lower 100s by the time we get toward friday and upper 90s, low 100s through the weekend. if you're wondering about the golf ball, this very hot air gets less dense so balls can travel even farther. so the heat, the humidity make for longer drives. # 8 degrees today -- 88 degrees today, not humid. tonight 60s and 70s. tomorrow hot, a little more humid, 96. but we turn to code yellow. yellow alerts on friday for the high heat. slight chance of a storm. that would be a record tying 101 on friday. the weekend free turs more heat -- features more heat and humidity and an isolated storm into early next week. it's 6:48. >> thank you, howard. the 46th annual smithsonian

folklife festival kicks off later this morning. we spoke with emily earlier. she told us what cultures are being celebrated this year. >> we do have three themes this year. the first is a celebration of -- [indiscernible] , the 25th anniversary this year. well he also be celebrating universities and their partnerships with the usda and we'll also be celebrating a program on the cultures and traditions east of the anacostia river. >> the smithsonian folklife festival starts today through sunday, july 1, and wednesday, july 4 through july 8. it's going to be very hot so bring your water. for more information or to catch a live web cast of tonight's brink back the funk concert featuring the always awesome george clinton, just go to the festival's website at festival.si.edu. it is 6:49. time to reveal the answer to our question of the morning. the question one more time 55% of americans say they keep this

in their car. is it a, a flashlight, b, toilet paper, or c, candy? >> the answer is b, toilet paper. we hear it's because it's partially because it's a cheap alternative to clean next. >> if you bought one of the emergency kits that the american red cross has which i have, it comes in there just in case. >> there you go. we'll have a check on the news before you go up next. ♪ jif to go goes here, goes there ♪ ♪ jif to go goes anywhere ♪ jif to go goes here, goes there ♪ ♪ jif to go goes everywhere ♪ goes here, goes there ♪ jif to go, wherever you go

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6:53. a beautiful wednesday morning. we have 68 in d.c. some are still in the 50s this morning. low 80s by noon. upper 80s for a high but humidity levels are in check. >> thank you, howard. today is wednesday, june

27. here's a check on the news before you go. police haven't said why it took 28 hours to end a standoff in falls church, virginia, but it's -- but it finally ended around 9:00 last night when the s.w.a.t. team tasered the suspect who is now in police custody. the term government is giving -- federal government is giving $10 million to expand the anacostia river walk. the trail runs from the river terrace area to navy yard. the money will extend the hiker- biker trail another four miles. adam la roche hit a pair of home runs for the nationals last night. ryan zimmerman and tyler moore also went deep. nats beat the rockies 12-5. gio gonzalez becomes the team's first ten-game winner this year. cbs this morning begins in just six minutes. they're going to take a look back at the life of screen writer nora ephron. she passed away on tuesday. >> up next, we'll have one more check on traffic and weather. stay with dmien -- stay with 9news now.

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back with one more thing. we're playing -- there's a new geographic study that came out that shows 80% of americans are certain ufos exist. one in ten believe they've spotted one. >> haven't seen one but i have no doubt we're not alone. >> andrea, you have something fun. >> this is unbelievable. 79% believe the government is with holding information about ufos and 55% of us believe that men in black, they're out there. >> if they do attack earth, many of us believe that the hull, batman and spiderman will deal with them. >> the avengers. >> et phone home.

>> steven hawkins says avoid them at all costs if they come. >> there's also a political side to this, too. a majority felt barack obama, the president would do better than romney if alien dos attack. >> howard, save us. dry today, low humidity, warmer, 88. 96 tomorrow, really hot. maybe record heat coming in by friday through the weekend. an accident in maryfield at route 29 and gallows road and a quick look on the northbound side of i-95 which is just slow here in springfield. cbs this morning is next with the latest on tropical depression debby. plus, the high cost of putting on the summer olympics. >> howard and i will be back with a live update on traffic and weather. get your updates on news, weather and traffic by visiting us at wusa9.com. we'll see you tomorrow morning at 4:25. have a great day, everybody. bye-bye.