work for him at the city of manassas electric department which provides power to more than 15,000 customers. >> the lights were on in manassas. >> reporter: while the vast majority of the major power companies customers were in the dark after derecho, only about 10% of manassas residents were without power. the reason? simple, underground power lines. >> you see the difference. >> reporter: 226 power lines or 79% are now underground and the city is involved projects like this one to bury the remaining 60 miles over the next 40 years or so. in the wake of the derecho, many d.c. area residents and elected firms are once again calling on power companies to bury their lines. >> as we were going to bed, everything went down. >> reporter: margaret is one of the few manassas residents who still rely on above ground lines and who lost power during the derecho.

she's now thinking that burying her power lines might be a good idea. >> eventually if they could put them in, that would be good, sure. >> reporter: for their part the major power companies have long said that burying their lines would be far too expensive and they point out underground lines are not foolproof and are expensive to repair. >> if not to solve all of the silver bullet. >> reporter: mike moon agrees with all of that but there's no arguing with the fact that the derecho which had a hurricane like effect on all of the d.c. area's major electric companies was not even the most significant storm of the season power wise in manassas. >> that's the difference. >> reporter: matt jablow, 9news now. >> pepco regional president thomas graham attempted to apologize to some customers from montgomery county for the massive power out alleges at the end of last month, but graham couldn't quite get his thoughts together. >> i'm not -- not having power for a week, it's not reasonable for a person to be upset at all. >> what? >> that didn't go over so well

as you might imagine. the meeting moved on with county lawmakers questioning graham about pepco's inability to restore power more quickly. a lot of people were upset. 9 news now also attempted to get some answers about customers being billed even though they had no service following last month's storm. 9news now investigative reporter russ questioned the maryland official who okayed the orders which allows pepco and bge to keep the meter running on your bill even when the meter running on your house isn't. >> reporter: are you going to change this? >> we will be glad to look at it. >> reporter: what are you going to do? >> we're going to be glad to look at it. >> reporter: but you won't be committed to changing it? >> i can't possibly commit in the course of an interview to do anything. i understand people are upset. i am not going to say any more than what i have said and we're deeply concerned. >> reporter: you're aware that people are asking you -- [indiscernible] >> i'm aware, yes.

>> he told russ he has no regrets about his decision. the parents of an 8-year- old prns william county boy are -- prince william county boy are charged with child abuse. they were arrested after the child turned up at a house on glen meadow lane and appeared to be lost. investigators say the boy had severe bruising all over his body. they believe the abuse happened on a constant basis. the child is in the custody of child protective services. 9 wants you to know there are new allegations of more misspent tax dollars at the general services administration. the inspector general is now launching an investigation into a reward and motivation conference the gsa held in 2010 at a marriott in arlington. the one-day conference allegedly cost taxpayers $270,000 and here are some of those costs according to investigators. $41,734 for travel, more than $34,000 to rent the venue,

$28,364 for time and temperature picture frames, $20,578 for 4,000 drumsticks to be used during a drum exercise, and $7,697 on a commissioners reception which included a violinist and guitar player. >> it's still blatant abuse of taxpayer dollars and it's going to stop. we'll continue to investigate. >> that was california congressman jeff denham. his house subcommittee has scheduled a hearing into the latest spending irregularity. the pentagon is taking steps to limit leaks of classified information. leon panetta has ordered the senior pentagon officials to monitor all major national level media reports for unauthorized disclosures of secrets. panetta also reiterated the policy that the pentagon's public affairs office should be the only source of defense information provided to the

news media. syria's president made his first public appearance since a deadly attack on his top lieutenants. >> manuel gallegus has more. >> reporter: syrian television showed a split screen of president bashar el-assad as the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. criticized a failed diplomatic effort to end the fighting in syria. >> the security council has failed utterly in its most important task on its agenda this year. >> assad was swearing in his new defense minister the day after three members of his inner circle died in a bombing. he had not been seen in public since the attack. it's unclear when or where the video was taken. at the united nations, russia and china rejected a resolution that threatened nonmilitary sanctions against syria. it's the third time both countries have blocked the measure. >> two permanent members are willing to defend assad and

protect him to the bitter end, even if it would seem logically not to be in their interest. >> reporter: ambassador rice said the u.s. will now work outside the united nations intensifying its efforts with the rest of the international community to confront assad and help the syrians. fighting raged on for the fifth straight day in damascus. rebels used machine guns against assad heavily armed forces who are trying to keep the capital from falling. manuel gallegus, cbs news, the united nations. 4:36. here's a look at some of the other stories making news now. u.s. officials believe hezbollah is responsible for a suicide bus bombing in bulgaria. the group denies any involvement in the attack, however, but says it believes the bomber targeted the bus because it was full of israeli tourists. israeli has vowed revenge on the killings. the former chairman of the penn state board of trustees is the latest person to resign in

the wake of the jerry sandusky sex abuse scandal. steve garby sent a letter to the university saying he is stepping aside immediately. he said his presence has become a distraction and impediment to the university's efforts to move forward. he was harshly criticized over the handling of this crisis. sandusky of course convicted of abusing ten boys over a 15-year period. contaminants found in a former dump site at fort detrick are showing up in carol creek. a contractor studying the contamination for the army made the discovery in april. the company found chloroform and cleaning supply chemicals in the creek near the fort. the report says all the chemicals were at acceptable levels under the federal law and posed no risk when it comes to drinking water. the time 4:37. our region expected to get another healthy dose of rain today. olga will let us know how much we can expect. at 4:40, seems like we're reporting these just about every day lately.

another automaker, another recall. at 4:49, a popular drug used to treat kidney disease to be the cause of an even bigger problem. we're back with your weather first in two minutes. keep it here.

welcome back. the time 4:40 on this friday morning. we have mostly cloudy skies. temperatures in the 70s in and around the beltway. we'll keep the clouds around, even a late day shower or storm possible. highs in the middle up toker 80s. in bethesda on the beltway at bradley boulevard, traffic seems to be moving well. there had been some issues on the outer loop at river road with high water and the inner loop of the beltway a serious accident overnight near 270 as well. that has been cleared. more details on area roads at

4:47. the time right now is 4:40. i am watching your money. it wasn't the biggest of rallies but we'll take t. better chan expected earnings from i.b.m. and e-bay offset disappointing news about the job market. investors are hoping to tack on more gains this morning after the closing bell. google, microsoft both reporting stronger than expected quarterly profits. the dow stands at 12,943. nasdaq was up by 23 points and the s&p 500 added about 4. 34,000 more people applied for unemployment benefits last week. that's a big reversal from the prior week. but experts say that number may be skewed because of seasonal summertime layoffs in the auto industry. home sales fell five and a half percent last month. the housing recovery may be losing some momentum but there's more incentive to buy a home this week after mortgage rates fell to another record

low. it's getting really cheap. the average rate now 3.53%. the owners of some ford escapes are being told not to drive them because the engines could catch fire. ford is recalling more than 11,000 escapes because the fuel lines can crack and leak. the recall affects only 2013 models with a 1.6 liter 4 cylinder engine. ford says it's had three reports of fires but no one has been injured. honda recalling 172,000 suvs and cars because the doors may not close completely. this affects the 2012 honda crossover suv and the acura ilx sedan. owners need to take the cars to honda dealers for inspections and free repairs. so far the problem has not caused any crashes or injuries. still ahead, the olympic games just days away. athletes from around the world

are coming to london, but what about athletes with four legs? >> when we return, we're going to show what you it takes to transport equestrian athletes across enter noongs waters. -- international waters. we're back in just two minutes.

olga breese is in for howard bernstein. people have names that fit their jobs. olga breese is the greatest name for a meteorologist. >> luck ever the draw. i would like a little bit of a breeze. it's muggy and sticky and steamy outside. the moisture that hit the ground gave us a little bit of flash flooding overnight. clouds are still around so the moisture is trapped close to the surface. there are patches of fog as well so take that precaution if you're getting out this morning during the early hours. the forecast today will feature a peek of sunshine occasionally but for the most part we're going to be partly sunny to mostly cloudy through midday.

we'll hold off on our rain opportunities for right now. the moisture has moved to the east but we're expecting later on this afternoon to pull in some showers and maybe some more of these thunderstorms by the time we get to the 4:00 hour. temperatures, though, today should make it into the middle range, 80s. 386, 87 degrees at reagan national airport by about the 4:00 hour. then later on in the evening, that's when our better chance of showers and storms start to roll on through and we'll be rain cooled as we head into the late portions of today. overall, it will be fairly sticky and muggy and the cloud cover is going to stick around in most areas. we will get the opportunity for a little bit of sunshine pushing on through. that's going to destabilize the atmosphere and give us the opportunity for the late day showers and storms so you want your umbrella as you step out this morning and will you notice an adjustment in the temperature. instead of the 90-degree temperatures we'll stick closer to the 80s for today. it will be very nice for the weekend. temperature wise. but then we'll run the risk of

showers and storms each day as well. so with our michael & son weather camera right now, we have a little bit of moisture on the lens but overall cloudy skies for reagan national. we don't have much of wind going for us. fairly light to moderate winds. no windchill and temperatures sitting in the 70s for most of us. moisture will continue to move in from the south. futurecast keeps the clouds around for most of the day but it is holding off on the moisture opportunities for the rain showers which i believe won't happen till later on in the evening rush and evening hours. it does look like the forecast today is going to be fairly warm so, yes, we're going to feel like summertime as we hit the 80s and as we get into the next three days, we'll stick with a code yellow for today and tomorrow because of the threat of showers and thunderstorms but you'll notice a nice change as we get to sunday as temperatures stay in the 80s. monika? if you're planning to head around town, one of our directors sandy and i noticed

there seemed to be a lot more cars on the road early this morning than we're used to. so what i want you to be aware of is that plus you could find tree limbs down and also signal lights out as well. for example, in silver spring, georgia avenue, between the beltway and spring streets, traffic lights are dark through that stretch. any time you approach an intersection like that, you want to treat that as a four- way stop anywhere in the washington metropolitan area. so keep that in mind. georgia avenue between the beltway and spring street, the single lights are completely dark. frederick down to clarksburg on 270, you're okay. no problems on i-70. we'll take a live look outside right now and show you what it looks like here on the beltway at river road. you may have heard of the overnight issues with a serious accident on the inner loop near 270 and on the outer loop near river road. high water. both of those incidents have been cleared. let's go back over to our maps this time to virginia. on the northbound side of i-95 as you come up from dale city, no problems into springfield and on to 395, we'll go there

live in shirlington where traffic seems to be moving well up to the 14th street bridge. nice and light early this friday morning. i'll be back with more traffic at 4:55. >> thanks, monika. see you then. just about 4:50 now. taking a look at this morning's health news, there's a new study of patients with cervical cancer and it finds one of the biggest reasons people are diagnosed in late stairnlgs is the -- stages is the lack of insurance. researchers say women without insurance skip screenings which could catch the disease earlier when it's more curable. the american cancer society estimates 4,000 women will die of cervical cancer just this year. researchers are questioning the safety and effectiveness of drugs commonly prescribed for chronic kidney disease. a enough study finds the drugs called phosphate binders are not as effective as previously thought. the study found the drugs can cause calcium buildup in blood vessels which can lead to heart problems. heart disease is the leading cause of death in patients with chronic kidney disease.

there's a new study out that finds ant disorders among poor -- anxiety disorders among poor members is more a result of their living conditions. the studies did not look at the environmental factors. researchers say in many cases the best way to help these moms is with financial aid, not therapy. well, the u.s. equestrian team is in london now for the olympics. >> did you ever wonder what it takes to move those very big and very expensive horses across the atlantic? monika shows us how they got across the pond. >> reporter: horses are inside these crates flown in from the u.s. to compete in the olympics. >> it's my first olympics. >> reporter: this man was one of the few allowed to fly with his horse. >> it's more than just being on the horse and riding it. you have to be really in tuned with them and know their fears.

you have to know all the ins and outs with them. >> reporter: these horses are frequent flyers traveling to world competitions. they're worth millions of dollars and they're treated that way. >> we have three horses in the container. today we have business class flights, the wider space. >> reporter: it costs several thousand dollars to ship a horse. they get special meals and pilots avoid turbulence so the horses can rest. the horses even have passports that instead of pictures the documents list any distinguishing elements like the color or if the horse has any browns or scars. a british medical team scans micro chips under the skin to check the health record of these animals. heather blitz of team u.s.a. says it was a nerve-racking wait for her 9-year-old horse paradigm. >> i'm usually traveling with him but this weren't enough seats. >> reporter: it will take the

horses two weeks to get over their jet lag. >> they are gorgeous. the olympic horses come from all over the united states. they were loaded on to specialized cargo jets before being flown to britain for the games which are now just seven days away. exciting new programming coming to sunday morning. this fall wusa9 will launch a new talk show with bloomberg government. the show will air on sunday mornings as part of wusa9's acclaimed power block. bloomberg chief washington correspondent peter cook will be the host. that's sunday this fall on wusa9. it is time now for the question of the morning at 4:52. good morning if you're just waking up. >> if you drive a red vehicle, you have a greater chance of this happening to you. a, getting a speeding ticket, b, getting bird poop on your vehicle, or c, having your car broken into? >> did you hear monika laugh in the background there? log on to the wusa9 facebook

fan page, leave your response and we'll have the answer to the question in the 6:00 hour.

we're back at 4:55 with mostly cloudy skies. the moisture moved off toward the east. how, we do have a possibility for late day showers and thunderstorms any time after noon today. it should make our highs in the middle up toker 80s much -- middle to upper 80s. much cooler on saturday and quite nice on sunday. if you are planning to travel into silver spring area, georgia avenue between the beltway and spring street, traffic signal lights are all dark through that stretch. you want to treat take as a four-way stop. here in virginia traffic is moving well to the 14th street bridge. more coming up at 5:00. the founder of a famed harlem soul food restaurant which carries her name is being remembered this morning. sylvia woods had alzheimer's disease.

she died yesterday at her home in mount vernon, new york. she was 86. the reverend al sharpton says sylvia's is more than a restaurant. it's been a meeting place for black america. her products are sold in stores nationwide. public television has severed its ties with actor fred willard. willard was recently arrested on suspicion of a lewd act inside an adult movie theater in hollywood. the 72-year-old actor is best known as the dog show announcer in the movie "best in show." till now he'd also been the narrator for the pbs show "market warriors" which is produced by wbgh, the boston public television station. ann hathaway explains how her new role as cat woman began with a single meow. we have more from hollywood. >> reporter: seven years after taking on the role of batman, christian bale is wrapping up

the trilogy. >> i'm retired. >> reporter: what was it like taking off the batman suit for the last time. >> knowing that i was never going to be putting it back on again? i didn't want to take it off. i wanted to sit with it for a while. >> reporter: while he's a familiar face in the series, there are some newcomers in "the dark knight rises." >> you have my permission to die. >> reporter: tom hardy plays the masked villain and ann hathaway is the conniving and nimble cat woman. >> could you always kick that high? >> that's a good question. no, i couldn't. i took dance classes when i was younger. but this was another level of kicking that i had to learn how to do for this. >> reporter: hathaway says she was on pins and neemgdzs until the director -- needles until the director finally gave her the part. >> my manager called me and just went meow and i knew i had gotten it. i really freaked out. >> reporter: a batman fan since

he was 4, gordon got to play a police officer. >> i was pinching myself all the time and trying to remain grateful. >> reporter: it took seven months to shoot the final batman movie. on the big screen, filmmakers promised all two hours and 44 minutes will be action packed. >> your punishment -- >> reporter: cbs news, beverly hills. >> in the past for batman movies, chicago was used as the backdrop for gotham but this time around new york, l.a. and pittsburgh were all part of making this look. i can't wait to go see this movie. >> it looks really sharp. good morning. you made the friday. thanks for joining us. it's 5:00 a.m. i'm mike hydeck. i'm jessica doyle in for andrea roane. monika samtani will have traffic in a moment. we're going to start with weather and olga breese in for howard bernstein. we're in the 70s this morning. we won't see too much of the sun.

we have the overcast clouds. by midday we're going to move in some moisture. that means we could see late day showers or storms. our day planner is going to try to squeak in a little bit of sunshine from time to time but we're talking it partly sunny overall. should top out in the middle range pushing the upper 80s. it will feel better as our winds are starting to shift out of the north and northeast. doppler radar is quiet. the immediate area for doppler 9000 looks great around the beltway region we still have some moisture pushing toward the eastern shore. looking at moisture off toward the west as well. i'm not expecting to develop anything significant for us till later this afternoon. around noontime that's when we'll see the opportunity for the showers and storms. a muggy start today with the next days ahead look pretty good as the temperatures should be a little bit below average. a couple of issues that you should be aware of. generally speaking in the metropolitan area with the storms that came through, tree debris, high standing water, and sing natural lights out in parts