oakland is 55. we're still 77, a little bit warmer on the bay. the bay temps, they are in the low 80s right now. we're looking at highs today going into the upper 80s in most areas. let's go to monika now, 5:59. she has timesaver traffic. there is an accident on the southbound side of 295 at south capitol street. watch out for that accident. southbound on 295 at south capitol street. there's also another one in frederick. this one is on the southbound side of 85 at route 355. this one is blocking the right lane. so be aware of that as well as you come out of frederick. other than that 270 looks great. no problems on i-70 out of frederick. all lanes are open down toward germantown. we'll take a live look outside right now and show what you it looks like. it is slowing down in hyattstown. at least the weather is good but you're going to have to sit in some slow traffic as you head through hyattstown toward germantown before the pace improves. let's go back over to our maps. this time we'll head out west.

no problems to report in from 66 and in from the south. northbound i-95 still looking all right. just a bit slow in woodbridge and springfield and one more last live look outside. here's what it looks like in spring field. at least the lanes are open both in the main and hov lanes. we'll be back with more traffic coming up at 6:11. >> thank you, monika. this morning dozens of people who live at a prince george's county apartment complex are waking up outside of their homes. the building was devastated by a fire last night. >> it started about 11 hours ago as the building on rochelle avenue which is just off walker mill road if district heights. delia goncalves is live with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. red cross is helping those displaced residents. crews are just pulling off after being here overnight, boarding up many portions and many windows and doors of this building. 75 firefighters from throughout the county arrived just before 8:00 last night, but crews say the fire was burning for some

time before they even got here on the scene. flames were shooting out of all three floors we're told. fortunately all residents in the 22 apartments evacuated safely but sadly we're told one resident's dog died in the flames. >> it was just terrible. the flame was just -- just like that. it's like it happened all of a sudden. >> we cared about that dog. i don't know who the dog was but we care about the dog. the dog is like somebody's animal, you know. so it was just -- it was just horrifying. >> reporter: coming up at 6:30, how these residents got out of their house. who literally knocked on every door to get these residents out of their burning homes and why this fire spread so quickly in the first place. we'll have that story coming up at 6:30. back to you. >> thanks, delia. delia is live in district heights this morning. police in arlington are dealing with their first murder in more than two years. it's believed to be a murder- suicide. police found the bodies of a

man and a woman yesterday afternoon along 31st street south in park shirlington apartments. they say the to had a relationship and -- the two had a relationship and lived together. the victims' names have not been released at this point. happening today, a major announcement on the future of union station. amtrak will propose a $7 billion plan to overhaul the commuter hub. "the washington post" reports the goal will be to double the number of trains to the station can handle and triple the number of people it can handle. union station is already the second busiest amtrak station in the country. it opened in 1907. pepco says its service could get even worse in maryland if you can believe that. all because it didn't get the rate hike it wanted. last week the maryland public service commission approved an $18 million rate hike. pepco wanted $68 million. pepco president thomas graham said in a statement tuesday the decision was counterproductive

to pepco's goals in improving customer experience. do d.c. government agencies deserve to be on the honor roll or do they get a big fat f? there's a new pilot program allowing you to grade city services. bruce johnson tells us what the first report cards are saying. >> reporter: this is bruce johnson in southwest. what kind of grades are citizens giving the gray administration when it comes to city services? you can go to this pilot program or go inside the department of motor vehicles in southwest. >> you can't even pay tickets here. >> this is my fourth trip. >> my name was spelled wrong. this is my second time today. >> reporter: not every experience is a bad one. what kind of grade would you give them? >> a b. >> reporter: even the director at dmv admits services here could be improved. the agency recently got a c minus from citizens in the new testing service. >> with the increased population, you know, over a thousand new residents a month, that we do indeed need

additional capacity. >> reporter: d.c. mayor vincent gray unveiled the grades for the public works department. transportation, dmv, and parks and recreation, all scored cs or a b, all but dmv showed improvement over their grades in june. bruce johnson, 9news now. right now wusa9.com, you can check out those report cards for the d.c. agencies and you can do some grading for yourself. the story is on our d.c. news page. prince george's county is making it easy for you to keep in touch. it just launched something called county click. it's a one-step website allowing you to keep in touch with county agencies like the police department, schools, arts council and even senior services. you can also submit a service request for things like potholes or street lights that are out. it's sort of similar to the 311 calling system. you can download an app for your iphone or android. we have a link to it at wusa9.com. the time right now is 6:05. i am watching your money. and more of us are facing a

dilemma when our money and saving it for the future. just 31% of us have financial plans for our future. that's according to a new survey by the consumer federation of america. 38% of us are living paycheck to paycheck. 15 years ago that number was just 31%. just 48% of families with college-bound children are actually saving any money for their education. and only 34% of us are sure we can retire at age 65. 15 years ago 50% of us thought that was the finish line. four square rolling out a new feature that will let you get alerts about deals and promotions at nearby businesses. the application currently lets you check into a location on twitter but now the service is taking it up a notch. businesses can use a new feature called promoted updates. it will allow participants to send out dealer alerts and updates to mobile users in the area. you can find quite a few

restaurants here in pres a manger. they are known for freshly made salads and sandwiches. a big difference from fast food options most restaurants in target have. there are a couple of them in the washington area. they're really good. >> cool. time 6:07. in five minutes a really uplifting story about a wounded warrior. see some new features in his home built by some amazing volunteers. >> howard says today is the pick of the week weather wise. ahead how nice it's going to be and when ugly summer weather returns. >> fir the story near and dear to my heart. ten cups worth. 63% of americans say they drink coffee every day and most of them don't just stop after one. a poll finds the average coffee drinker enjoys two and a half

cups a day. amateurs. >> we understand that the older you get, the more you need that caffeine boost. 44% of americans sage 18 to 34 have a cup of joe a day. it jumps to 70% for adults between the ages of 35 and 54. people older than 55 have even more. 74% of them have a cup of joe every single day.

we're in for a beautiful wednesday across the region. drier air has moved n. plenty of sunshine. by lunch time do this one outside. 83 degrees. highs today upper 80s to near 90. edge joy today. high heat -- enjoy today. high heat returns on thursday. here's a live look on the inbound side of i-66 in the warrenton area. want to let you know northbound route 17 is closed near marsh road and old marsh road because of a large barn fire. going to be aware of that as you head northbound on route 17 near opal. i'll be back with more traffic at 6:17. the time right now coming up on 6:12. time to check some of the stories making news this morning. secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. will work with the rebels in syria as they gain more territory. fighting now in the fifth day in the largest city of syria. government forces pay be gaining the upper hand there.

protesters in anaheim, california damaged cars and set a dumpster overnight. they're upset with two deadly police shootings in anaheim's latino community recently. the city is asking federal authorities to investigate those shootings now. new york city leaders will vote in september whether to limit the size of sodas you can get at restaurants. people on both sides of the issue spoke at a hearing yesterday. if approved the ban would take effect next march. so many of you tell us via facebook and other methods you really like to hear some good news stories. this morning we have one now. a local wounded warrior gets a brand new home. >> it's all thanks to the work of some volunteers. peggy fox has the story from mclean, virginia. >> reporter: when 30-plus volunteers with sheers and shovels get to work, it's pretty impressive. they're from the nonprofit rebuilding together which are renovating the newly purchased home of patty and captain moran who is my brother-in-law.

>> it's a huge day of celebration. we're so glad you're all here. >> reporter: five years ago this month pat was shot in the head while on duty in baghdad. the scary days are still vivid in all of our minds. >> we didn't know if he could speak or walk. it was catastrophic and in the beginning it felt like there was little to know hope -- to know hope [ inaudible ] >> that's what they told me. >> reporter: pat has made a tremendous amount of progress over the years thanks to his determination and hundreds of medical professionals, but the bullet left him with difficulty speaking and reading, weakness on one side, vision impairment and epilepsy. they recently bought this home in mclean but there were safety issues, like the stairs. fortunately a renovation gift from sears along with the nonprofits installed an elevator and safe bathroom with nothing to fall over. >> i got really excited because we got a really nice bathroom. it's going to be really big so

i can walk around and i don't have to -- i'm not going to hurt myself. >> reporter: there were also problems in the backyard. off the porch there was a major tripping hazard right here. so the volunteers at rebuilding together decided to build a new porch that pat can maneuver easily. >> we're trying to make his home healthy and safe for him so he can continue to heal and be part of the community. >> reporter: after five years of living out of suitcases and moving from hospital to rehab centers, pat and patty are finally home. >> we never got a welcome home. the welcome home was pat laying with tubes coming out of him in icu. this is our after five years our welcome home and we love virginia. we're so happy to be back and start our new life. >> that was peggy fox reporting. what a great story. rebuilding. all the charities do a lot to help our wounded warriors and

give generously. >> you've worked with them. >> i worked with them for years. it's a great organization. speaking of good news, we have some in the forecast today. >> absolutely gorgeous today. it's one of those mid summer days you wish you could hold on to for the rest of the season. however, we're only going to have it today. it's going to be great. humidity levels have dropped off significantly. we're looking at dry air in place. temperatures actually normal. seasonal for this time of year. we're looking at readings by noon in the low 80s. don't forget the sun block today. you know, just prepare yourself to be sunburned if you're going to be outside for any amount of time. 87 by 4:00. highs 88, 89. absolutely perfect when you consider the fact that it's not going to feel sticky at all and we've got winds today northwest to northerly 5 to 10. it will turn southerly tonight and that will bring a big change by tomorrow. i like this number more than the humidity because this is a measure of the moisture which isn't dependent on the numbers.

when we see numbers in the 50s, that's the dry air still coming toward us. sticky in norfolk and kentucky but we have changed air masses completely. temperatures by the way up in pennsylvania this morning 50s to around 60 in williamsport. we've got the 70s to our south and even in town we've got 70s. but many areas now in the 60s like in laytonsville 64. 68 in columbia. it is 63 in northern loudoun county and lovettsville. even fairfax county lots of mid- 60s from vienna, reston and great falls. in prince george's county, don't want to forget our friends to the east. bowie 65. andrews, baden and crofton 68 degrees. a gorgeous morning. you can see that on our michael & son weather camera. look at that beautiful shot of the nation's capitol there or the u.s. capitol with the sun off to the left this morning. we've got temperatures at 73. dew points down to 60. humidity at 64%. a very comfortable north, northwesterly wind at 7 miles an hour. folks in the middle of the country wish they were here. high pressure sitting right

here bringing more heat, more high heat, a hundred-degree- plus heat. big storms in minnesota this morning. behind the storm in new england, that's where it's bringing in the milder air. we'll have a beautiful day. you can see futurecast nothing coming our way today. going past roanoke you may run into a few showers late this afternoon. tomorrow a different story. we'll have the high heat in place. we'll bubble up some showers and storms in a couple of spots for the afternoon. i think a few more storms again on friday. so the forecast today northwest wind 5s to 10, 878 -- 5 to 10, 88, beautiful. maybe a few upper 60s tonight. we surge to 100 tomorrow with the chance of the afternoon stores. i think a heat advisory goes up so yellow alert tomorrow and again on friday but friday's yellow alert for the threat for storms. pemp temps in the i.d. -- temps in the mid-990s. -- mid-90s. monika samtani is in with an

update on timesaver traffic. thanks so much. if you're planning to head over to the greenbelt area, you want to know about a problem right now where there are wires down in greenbelt just outside the beltway blocking southbound kenilworth avenue between carriy wood lane and the beltway. so what you want to do is maybe use greenbelt road, route 193 to the beltway instead as your detour. plus, police are there detouring traffic. there are wires down in the roadway. it may take a little while. in the meantime bw parkway route 50 through cheverly look great into the northeast corridor. no problems on the beltway in prince george's county. we'll take a live look outside and show what you it looks like over here on the beltway at kenilworth avenue. the beltway itself is not affected by that problem. let's go back over to the maps. this time we'll head over to 270 coming in from frederick. no issues. everything looks good as you travel into germantown. it's just slowing down a bit. plus, accident cleanup southbound route 85 at route 355. i'll step out and show you one more live look. here i-70 east of i -- i-70

east of 270. the sunshine in your eyes. other than that it looks great. we'll go to virginia at 6:25. the time right now is 6:18. next in sports, redskins training camp is said to begin while the nationals go for a sweep today in new york. >> come on, guys, you can do it. let's check the question of the morning once again. according to a new study, there apparently is now new scientific proof that men just can't help doing one of these things. is it a, leaving the toilet seat up, b, falling asleep after making love, or c, hogging the remote control? >> this one has lit up the facebook page this morning. jay nichols writes, i do not like feeling such guilty but the answer has to be b, falling asleep after making love. just ask my ex-wife. >> we want to hear from the men and women on n. we'll have the answer at 6:54. we'll be right back.

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welcome back. almost 6:23 on this wednesday morning. a gorgeous day ahead. the humidity levels are down, very, very comfortable. i lope you can take advantage of it -- i hope you can take advantage of it. sunshine all day long. lunch time temperatures will climb only into the low #s on. winds north, northwest at 5 to 10 miles an hour. 3:00 temp 86. looking for a high of about 88, 89. a lot of people, if you go to work you might hear them whistling hail to the redskins because the players have to report to training camp today. >> i have to change my facebook profile page. it's exciting for skins fans because it's all about robert griffin iii, rg3 and the other rookies have been in ashburn for a few days. they will speak to reporters for the first time. dave owens will be live in ashburn later tonight on 9news now. training camp opens to the public tomorrow afternoon. the first open practice is at

2:55 in the afternoon. saturday, august 4, that is fan appreciation day. the big one, remember, order to visit training camping, you have to print out your own free invitations from redskins.com. well, the nationals and the mets play a matinee in new york. first pitch 12:10. they're going for the sweep. gio gonzalez had one of his best outings of the year. he went seven innings giving up one run on two hits. he struck out four. it was tied 1-1 in the 6th. adam laroche says he grabbed the young bat. it was a good idea. he blast add home run into the upper deck in right. i think he has a new bat now. 5-2. the nationals hand the mets pitcher his fifth loss since april 18. he's that knuckleballer. packed house in southwest last night for the washington kastles, their home finale. they were hosting the

philadelphia freedoms and it wasn't even close. d.c. topped philly making it 27 wins in a row for the kastles. still ahead, why there will not be talk of expanded gambling today in annapolis. >> the ruling on carrying a concealed weapon in maryland. learn what it means for people in the free state. >> before you grab those keys, monika has a quick check on the traffic you're going to find on the roads. >> here's a live look from sky 9 on the northbound side of i- 95 at the fairfax county parkway. you've got this long, slow stretch as you head towards springfield and 395 which also closed in landmark. other than that all lanes are open. i'll be back with more traffic coming up in my next report at 6:30. you're watching 9news now. [ male announcer ] where did all the obama stimulus money go?

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6:29. this is the place where you can always get your weather. you're going to love it today. >> i'm motivated. thank you for starting your day with us. i'm jessica doyle. i'm mike hydeck. andrea roane will be back next week. why am i here? why am i not out there with you? >> we'll take you outside here. it is nice outside. much nicer than the last few mornings where the humidity levels were way up. it's going to be a good hair

day too, monika. temperatures are going to be in the 80s for the most part. by noon 83. it's 73 now. high about 88, 89. a couple of spots may tickle 90 and 5:00 p.m. still sunny and 87. 6:30 last night had the big storms still south of town. they quickly moved to the south and east. this morning southwestern virginia had a few storms but other than that, quiet and clear. we're in the low 70s in town. look at all the 60s like culpeper, winchester. frederick down to 65. they had a thunderstorm yesterday afternoon. in garrett county 55 degrees this morning. it's gorgeous there. today's highs mid- to upper 80s. might flirt with 90. we'll be back inside with weather in a few. right now here's monika with timesaver traffic. if you are planning to head outside, there's good news and that's that we're in the summer traffic pattern. the bad news is we do have a couple of incidents to tell you about. one is southbound 295.

accident cleanup continues near bolling air force base. there are wires down southbound kenilworth avenue blocked between cherry wood lane and the beltway. you have to follow police direction or go ahead and use route 193 greenbelt road as your alternate route. we'll take a live look outside at the beltway in college park. you can see no real delays till you hit the 95 interchange and then it slows westbound into silver spring. back over to our maps northbound i-95. no issues to report. it's been incident free all week long. just slow traffic. let's take a live look from our sky 9 northbound 95. this is in newington or lorton actually heading toward newington and springfield. just one long, slow backup but the lanes are open. i'll be back with more traffic at 6:42. mike and jess? >> thanks, monika. the presidential campaign takes on an international angle. presumptive republican nominee mitt romney takes off on a three-nation tour. >> wecbs this morning is taking a closer look at the campaign. gayle king joins us live with a

preview. good morning. >> hello, mike and jessica. i just heard the traffic park and heard college -- traffic report and heard college park. i got tingley because i went to school in that area. president obama said -- is said to be putting the election ahead of security. and a c.e.o. will tell us how he turned a cheese company into a billion dollar business. those stories and more when we see you at 7:00. >> gayle, thanks a lot. have a good show. see you soon. today the first funerals will be held for people killed in last week's movie theater shooting in colorado. 12 people died in all. >> dozens of people survived that horror. some of them are finding reasons to celebrate. teresa garcia has their stories. >> reporter: katie medley gave birth to her son hugo jackson medley tuesday morning. there in the same hospital

where katie's husband caleb is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head. >> the baby is doing good. katie is -- she's recovering. caleb, he's still in critical condition but he is stabilized. >> reporter: the medleys went to go see the new batman movie last friday night in aurora, colorado for their last date before she would deliver their baby. a half-hour into the movie, caleb was fighting for his life with a gunshot to his eye. on tuesday he got to meet his son. >> she put hugo in caleb's arms and she was holding his hand when the baby was laying with caleb and his blood pressure and his heart rate went up. we know that he could hear her. >> reporter: also in the hospital, batman star christian bale. the actor visited with survivors, including carey rottman who posted this photo to his facebook page. we're also learning more about what happened inside the theater. early reports suggested the gunman said nothing during the

shooting but at least two people who were there disagree. stephanie dave questions kept her friend from bleeding to death from a gunshot to the neck. off camera she told reporters, quote, he would shout what are you doing? i said stand up and he would pick people up. i saw him stand over someone. i just see hair and him holding the shirt and boom. james holmes is being held without bail. teresa garcia, cbs news, aurora, colorado. >> colorado state officials say gun sales have spiked in the days since that theater shooting. here in maryland a ruling that could lift a law on conseemed weapons. a federal judge ruled the state cannot demand citizens have to provide substantial reason to request a conceal and carry permit. if upheld that law will be removed in two weeks. gun rights advocates call the ruling outrageous. supporters believe it protects the constitution. >> that does not mean it will be a free for all in maryland because we are keeping the vast majority of important standards that the entire rest of the

country recognizes. things like background checks, things like i.d.s, things like fingerprints. none of those things are disturbed by the ruling and we do not want to live in a country where we have to show the government a good and substantial reason to exercise our rights. >> again just a reminder, this does not mean an end to things like background checks and fingerprints. fire investigators will be back on the scene this morning of a three-alarm blaze which tore through an apartment complex. the fire left dozens of people homeless. it all began last night on rochelle avenue in district heights, maryland. delia goncalves is live there with the latest g. morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, jessica. as you know there's still no cause of this fire but we do know that the fire started in a ground floor apartment in the back of the building. there's not much facing the back of the building. that's why investigators believe that fire burned unnoticed for some time.

when firefighters arrived shortly before 8:00 last night, all three floors were fully engulfed in flames. it's unclear, though, just how long the fire was burning. before we're told a police officer on routine patrol in the area noticed smoke and then called 911. he didn't see any residents out here so he then quickly got out of his cruiser, banged on all the residents' doors to get everyone out safely. unfortunately one resident's dog died in the fire. >> would we have to remember is risk versus benefit. we don't want to risk much -- we will risk much to save much. so when we arrived on the scene, we found heavy fire conditions. we waited until we had adequate water supply. we went inside and started to knock the fire down. by the time we were called, it was well advanced and had a head start on us. >> reporter: about 70 residents are homeless this morning but they are getting help with the apartment's management and with the red cross. back to you, jess.

>> thank you, delia, delia goncalves live in district heights, maryland, this morning. rescue teams discovered the body of a drowned teen last night in laurel. police say the teenager was found in a pond at the willow lake apartment complex. that's on old stagecoach road off route 197. emergency teams arrived at the scene after witnesses reported seeing the teen go under the water and never resurfaced. leaders of the maryland house of delegates were supposed to talk about possibly expanding gambling in the state today, but no dice. baltimore city delegate kurt anderson postponed the meeting. he says he needs more information from the governor before he can make a decision. lawmakers will meet, today, however to discuss whether or not a special session will be done to take up the issue. sherman helms hemsley, the man who played george jefferson has died at the age of 74. >> 11:00 on a sunday morning, we just are having breakfast. that's sinful. >> no it ain't but this ain't

breakfast. it's brunch. the rich folks invented it so we wouldn't have to worry about getting up too late for breakfast or too early for lunch so they call it brunch. >> the role began on "all in the family" and was spun off into the hit sitcom "the jeffersons." it was on for 11 seasons. hemsley was also known for his role in the '80s sitcom "amen." he died of natural causes at his home in el paso, texas. time is 6:38. coming up in nine minutes, we'll be joined by an author who is going to talk about his new book a high stakes mystery set at the olympics. >> it's going to abgorgous summer day. low humidity and highs in the upper 80s but another warm-up is just 24 hours away. howard has our forecast when 9news now returns. ♪

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it's 6:42. 73 degrees. monika here with timesaver traffic and a live look from our sky 9 on the northbound side of 395 just inside the beltway. the blake lights begin here at edsall road. they're pretty much continuous through landmark before the pace improves at seminary road. but it's been incident free today and all week long thankfully. let's go over to our maps. a couple of things i want to tell you about. southbound kenilworth avenue it cherry wood lane and the beltway, wires down and police directing traffic through the area. you might just want to avoid it all together in greenbelt and use greenbelt road instead. the bw parkway, route 50 inside the beltway through cheverly both fine but if you're planning to head southbound, an accident. some slow traffic. luckily it's on the southbound side against the flow. northbound you're not affecting by this. we'll step out again and show you another live look this time at the wilson bridge. great across the river.

both through oxon hill and alexandria. all of your lanes are open. i'll be back with more traffic again at 6:58. in the meantime nice outside, guys. it is indeed. we have a special guest doing weather today. ryan smith is our intennist, his last day interning with howard bernstein. how long, ryan? >> i've worked seven weeks worth of hours. >> he's a great guy. we'll give him a chance to do a little weather. 73 degrees and humidity is absolutely gorgeous outside. >> nice and dry after the front came through yesterday. the day should be looking nicer than it was yesterday. 76 by 9:00 this morning. nothing is going to change much throughout the day. it's going to be sunny. we're looking at temperatures in the mid- to upper 80s. 86 by 3:00. 87 by 5:00. you should see the wind shift from the northwest to the southwest there but other than that, nothing terrible for today. >> not bad. >> a quick question. you've been here a couple of months. what do you think the most important thing you've learned has been? putting him on the spot. >> most important thing i've

learned. i guess weather wise like actually related to this job is always be ready for the next hit. >> because we do so many. >> and the computers, you got a chance to work with the computers. >> got a chance to make a bunch of graphics you've seen on air. hopefully you like my artwork. >> thanks very much. >> thank you, sir. >> could not have been a nicer guy. >> one of the nicest we've had. let's get you going with a look at the rest of the forecast. here's the day planner. we have some storms in southwestern virginia into the carolina region now. that's not going to abproblem for us. we're looking really final. temperatures this morning very comfortable. look at all the 60s we have out there. north and west of town, 63 in gaithersburg. 55 in oakland this morning. how nice is that. still 77 in southern maryland at the pax river naval air station and annapolis warmer thanks to the bay. look at the sunshine we've got n. is our tower -- we've got. this is our tower camera. bethesda in the distance.

a beautiful start to this day, 73. winds out of the north, northwest at 7 miles an hour. the humidity at 64%. hot weather middle of the country. once again low 100s here. i point this out because we're going to get into some of that heat tomorrow. today we're looking good. big storms unfortunately once again hitting minnesota into wisconsin. we've seen the thunderstorms to our south. the same band of storms or same boundary responsible for the storms yesterday has now moved south and west of us. for the day we've got this nice bubble of high pressure with the drier air in place. we're going to get a real nice break today as those temperatures stay in the 80s. we're looking at the future cast. it's all quiet around here. maybe some storms in far southwestern virginia this afternoon. tomorrow with the heat, we do have a threat for an isolated storm or two. the forecast 88 today. great. tonight low 70s. tomorrow, though, the heat surges. i think we could be under a heat advisory tomorrow. a yellow alert. 100 for the high. isolated storms in the afternoon.

scattered storms friday. temperatures still in the mid- 90s to a yellow alert day as well. saturday a few storms, 92. sunday looks dry at 90 and more unsettled weather next week, highs in the 80s. >> thank you, howard. the summer olympics begin friday in london and there's already a mystery novel out about the athletes taking part. joining me this morning, you know this guy, author john feinstein. thank you for coming in to talk about this book, number six in the series. tell us a little bit about the book. >> the different twists in this one is the two main characters have been aspiring sports writers since book one which took place at the final four. i set susan up as a swimmer right from the beginning because i'm an old swimmer. i made her the athlete and made her a swimmer. in this book she makes the olympic team. like a lot of teenagers she blossoms as a swimmer at 15. misty frank lynn, 17, made it in seven events in real life.

she goes to the olympics. stevie is there as a reporter and all of a sudden the whole world want as piece of susan if she wins gold. that's where the mystery starts to unfold. the good thing about having it come out just before the olympics, i can't get anything wrong because it hasn't happened yet. >> i think it's fantastic you write young adult books as well as the fantastic nonfiction you write. but you get into the pressure on these kids that is outrageous. tell us about that. >> throughout the series i tried to use my real life experiences as a reporter having been to these events, having seen what happens to athletes, having seen what it's like on the inside. that's why a lot of real characters appear, michael phelps in this book. tony kornheiser appears in every one of them just to make him angry. i put him in all the books. i want to give people a sense of what it's really like. this is what it's really like behind the scenes. >> we can't let you get away without telling us what you think about the penn state sanctions that were handed

down. >> nothing good. i think that mark emmert had a chance here to make a real statement. if the ncaa was going to get involved in this at all, they had to shut the program down. by not doing it, they trirve eyesed what happened to -- trivialized what happened to the kids. for mark to stand up there with miz lovely hairdo and love for the camera and say these are unprecedented sanctions, they're not. smu got a worst penalty. if they were going to do it, they had to go all the way. they dropped the ball to use a metaphor. >> thanks for coming in this morning. we're right back here on 9news now.

6:52. beautiful out there this morning. 73 in town. we've got lots of 60s in the suburbs. 83 by noon with a high in the

upper 80s. low humidity levels. a glorious wednesday ahead. >> glorious is a great word. thank you. today is wednesday, july 25. here is a check of the news before you go. >> 13 people were arheed yesterday outside the white house. they were part of a rally demanding more money, more term aid when it comes to trying to find a cure for h.i.v. and aids. today the international aids conference in town will focus on outreach to young people across the globe. ride on bus service in montgomery county will be back to normal today. it's been on a holiday schedule since the bus fire last week. that prompted the county to pull dozens of buses like this one out of service. >> adam laroche gave the nationals a lead last night. nationals take care of the mets 5-2. gio began disal les pick -- gonzalez picked up his 17th win of the season. time to answer the question of the morning. >> this is so much fun. one more time. according to a new study

scientific proof there is now apparently that men cannot help doing at least one of these things. is it a, leaving the toilet seat up, b, falling asleep after making love, or c, hogging the remote control? >> all right. you wanted the answer. here it is. it's b, snoozing after some passion. >> i want to see this study. in a word duh. one more check of weather and traffic when 9news now returns.

make you should plan a trip to the national zoo because there's a pretty quite reason. >> just check out your tv screen. put down your cup of coffee. walk over to the tv to see these cheetah cubs that were born in april. they were on display tuesday

for zoo members. and on saturday the general public can take a look at them. >> they're absolutely adorable. you may remember there were other cubs last summer so this is another little litter. they're absolutely adorable. you want to hug them. you can't. they just have a limited time where you can see them so 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. that's this weekend. >> it's for one hour so one viewing is at 10:00 a.m. one viewing is at 1:00 p.m. because they're so little. it's a boy and girl and they're going to name them after the fastest olympians in the hundred meter dash in the olympians. >> that's cool. >> i want one. >> i do, too. >> look it. they're frolicking. >> that's what they do. >> they're so cute. beautiful today. temperatures will be in the upper 80s, low humidity levels. plenty of sunshine. tomorrow really, really hot. we're going to get toward 100

with an afternoon storm. by friday maybe some more storms and still hot in the mid- 90s. if you're planning to head on the beltway in annandale, here's a live look from sky 9. no issues to report here and a quick look as well on the other side of town in college park. outer loop just slow 95 to georgia avenue. >> you have a special guest, howard. >> intern ryan, one last time. any big plans for the fall? >> school. keep my grades up. >> keep your grades up. cbs this morning is coming up next. they're talking about mitt romney's international tour and bill gates is going to talk about microsoft's first ever quarterly loss. howard and i will be back in just 25 minutes with a live update on traffic and weather. while at work, get your updates on news, weather and traffic by visiting us at wusa9.com. we'll see you tomorrow morning. here's your cheetah cam. got them for a couple more seconds. oh. oh. oh.