nbc's brian mooar. thank you, brian, appreciate it. >>> on capitol hill, democrats are fuming over news that for years they were kept in the dark about a top secret cia program, and it was all apparently the work of vice president dick cheney. senator diane fine sten told members of congress that mr. cheney ordered the agency not to share details of this counterterrrorism program. by law, the cia is required to tell congress about its operations, and that's an issue that has been hotly disputed by democrats and republicans recently. feinstein said pa net la ended that 3r5 that and it was never fully operational. >>> nasa had to scrub sunday's liftoff of the space shuttle "endeavour" because of weather concerns. they are due to blast off on a 16-day mission to deliver spare parts to the international space station. nasa will try to launch again later tonight. >>> police in washington are looking for a pet store dog napper. surveillance video caught this woman reaching over the counter, picking up a $500 d

here is brian mooar with tonight's medical report. >> they are back. this time, are helping president obama -- >> we can get the job done this time. >> but they say the president has got the wrong prescription. >> the results are not going to be there. >> it is seeking up on television and the internet as the fight comes right down to the wire on capitol hill, but it is said that the president's deadline is looming ahead. >> there is a really good reason why the president wants to do this. he knows he cannot sell it is the debate lasts very long because it is so expensive. >> we want to have enough time for people to truly understand what is going on. >> the congressional budget office says that it may contain costs, even after spending $1 trillion. the white house is playing that down. >> they have an initial report on one of the initial bills, which says in the long term it does not bend the cost curve enough. >> who is going to win a marathon based on who they have. not a good way of judging things. we are making a lot of progress. >> still, not a l

brian mooar, nbc news, washington. >>> the nrdc offers some tips to avoid a bad beach experience. avoid going to a beach after a rainstorm and don't go in the water when you have cuts or scrapes. >>> stay with us. "news 4 today" continues now at 5:00 a.m.

i'm brian mooar in washington.t story coming up. >> and if you have plans for the beach, check out my forecast coming up after the break. >> this week thousands of people will come from near and far for the 20th annual artscape in mount royal's district. america's largest free arts festival. festival goers will be treated to continuous live music on four outdoor stages. there is three days of dance and performances by the baltimore city theater. the works of 150 artists, fashion designers, and crafts people will be on display in premiere spaces and art among the corridor. there is an international menu of food and beverages for maryland crab cakes and local homemade ice cream. in addition to enjoying the work of the artisans, the family art park provides an opportunity for festival goers to show their creativity as well as see demonstrations and special activities for children all for free. parking will be premiere this year but artscape is accessible by both m.t.a. and amtrak. we hope you enjoy the weekend as ther

brian mooar has our report. >> reporter: the first meeting between president obama and russia's primer from the showdown some had been expecting. >> with you, we -- link all of our hopes and for the furtherance of rations between the two country. >> we think there's an excellent opportunity to put u.s./russian relations on much stronger footing. >> reporter: many believe putin, former president, is the man really running russia. president obama recently accused him of having a foot stuck in the cold war past. now president obama says the former kgb man's old school suspicions may be giving way to new world pragmatism. >> infound him to be verymart and i found him to have a practical bent. >> reporter: president obama suggested a solution to two key sticking pnts. our missile defense system and russia's unwillingness to get tough on iraq. >> threat from iran's nuclear ballistic missile programs is eliminated, the driving force for missile defense in europe will be eliminated and that's in our mutual interests. >> reporter: the president was trying to sell a reset of u.s. russian relati

the nominee will face some tough questions. 11 news reporter brian mooar has more. >> after weeks of courtesy calls on capitol hill judge sonya sotomayor is ready to fight for a seat on the supreme court. president obama called to give her a private pep talk from the oval office. and some democrats are predicting a slam dunk confirmation. >> i think there's a very good chance she's going to get as many or if not more votes than judge roberts got, which was 78. she has wowed people. >> saying i'm not going to be playing with hispanic teams, democratic team or republican team, flying rt constitution -- playing for the constitution team. i don't know what more you could ask from a judge. >> but some comment. >> i think it's a fair area to question her about. certainly the rule of law depends on the same rules apply to each one of us, no matter our color, sex or ethnicity. >> critics also point to other ruling in a discrimination case where white firefighters were denied promotions because no african-american candidates were qualified. last month the supreme court overturned her ruling b

i'm brian mooar in washington. that story's coming up. >> and talk about a pampered pet. a new luxury airline for spets coming to baltimore. would you pay for it? that's our "watercooler question of the day." >> and after getting spoiled for much of the summer the humidity started to creep in a little bit this weekend. is it here to stay for the rest of the summer? the insta-weather plus forecast as 11 news today continues right now. [captioning made possible by constellation energy] captioned by the national captioning institute -- www.ncicap.org -- >> good morning. i'm lisa robinson in for mindy basara. >> i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> our top stories in a moment. first let's get a check of the forecast with sandra shaw. >> is the humidity here for the rest of the summer? >> i think if we could have i second half like first half. >> we have been blessed after such a wet spring. the deal is the humidity. ok today and tomorrow. coming back by wednesday. things look going this morning temperature-wise. it's going to be warm, mid to upper eal

brian mooar has the story from washington. >> reporter: the first meeting between president obama andtin was far from the showdown some had been expecting. >> translator: with you we have our hopes and further relations between the two country. >> we think there is an excellent opportunity to put u.s./relations on much stronger footing. >> reporter: many believe institutin is the man really running russia. president obama recently you a accused him of having a foot stuck in the cold war past. president obama says the former kgb' man old school suspicion may be giving way to new world practicing mytism. >> i found him to be very smart and i found him to have a practical bent. >> reporter: president obama suggested a solution to two key sticking points. our missile defense system and russia's unwillingness to get tough on iran. >> the threat from iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs is eliminated and the driving force for missile defense in europe will be eliminated and that's in our mutual interests. >> reporter: while the president was trying to sell a reset of u.s./russian r

in washington, i'm brian mooar, news4. >>> here is another sign of the economic times. americans are not taking cruises as often as they used to. the number of cruise ships to set sail from the u.s. ports in 2008 declined nearly 2% compared to the year before. that's the first such decline in ten years. however, the total number worldwide remains steady. last year some 13 million people worldwide took cruises. and that's a 4% increase. >>> planning family trips can be trick with you. where to go or where it is fun for kids and parents. >> fido has to go. july issue of washington parent magazine can help you. and it lists a bunch of websites and other source society you can plan a family trip to remember. dog lovers will love this. d dogtravel company.com. learn about dog friendly airlines, trains and cruise lines, too. and you are invited to share your dog traveling experiences as well. >> or visit wejustgotback.com. reviews families that have been there and done that. age-appropriate destinetation, travel deals and more. there's also a tip page where you can learn abou

brian mooar has the story from washington. >> reporter: it is the same story, auto dealerships across the country. >> our phones have been ringing off the hooks and not only that, we are selling eight or ten a day from each store sometimes. >> reporter: new cars flying off the lots, gas guzzlers being left in the dust. >> saturday and monday and part of tuesday, we were just going crazy. >> reporter: a uncle sam's offer of rebates up to $4500 has given the auto industry a sudden boost. >> we estimate that about 220,000-some vehicles have been sold. >> a few weeks guy there were skeptics that weren't sure the cash for clunkers program would work. >> reporter: but the program's overnight success has become a big headache for washington. cash for clunkers has blown through its billion dollar budget in less than a week and now washington is scrambling to keep it funded. >> the bill is passed -- >> reporter: before going on its august break, the house voted to pump in another $2 billion in stimulus money while several republicans supported the bill, others called it another expensive bailo

on capitol hill, brian mooar, news4. >> thank you, brian. >>> reform is coming.t's the boast today. a quote from vice president joe biden. and as he announces a major deal that will help pay for the white house overhaul of health care. the announce many was made today at the white house. the deal calls for hospitals to give up $155 billion in medicare and medicaid paints over the next ten years. the money saved would be used to help pay covering millions of uninsured people. >> today's announcement, i believe, represents a -- the represent -- represents the essential role hospitals play in making reform a real. and a reality will be we must enact this reform this year. we must and we will enact reform by the end of august. and we can't wait. >> some of the money the hospitals are giving out will come from reduced payments made by the government on be half of uninsured and l income patients. some community advocates fear the cuts will only hurt the poor. >>> do you know what is in your bottledwater? reports are for better labeling. reports are released today at a

brian mooar, nbc news, washington. >> we have showers in washington.here's strong cells, as you can see, coming through charles county now with some thunder and lightning. also possibly gusty winds and they will be out over the bay in another 30 minutes. bit more into calvert and charlie county. see you at 11:00. back to you. >> that's our broadcast for now. "nightly news" up next. >>ile weel a y s agaou >> we will see you again at 11:00.

brian mooar has our report. >> reporter: it is the same story, auto dealerships across the country. >> our phones have been ringing off the hooks and not only that, we are selling eight or tea day from each store sometimes. >> reporter: new cars flying off the lots, gas guzzlers being left in the dust. >> saturday and monday and part of tuesday, we were just going crazy. >> reporter: a uncle sam's offer of rebates up to $4500 has given the auto industry a sudden boost. >> we estimate that about 220,000-some vehicles have been sold. >> a few weeks guy there were skeptics that weren't sure the cash for clunkers program would work. >> reporter: but the program's overnight success has become a big headache for washington. cash for clunkers has blown through its billion dollar budget in less than a week and now washington is scrambling to keep it funded. >> the bill is passed -- >> reporter: before going on its august break, the house voted to pump in another $2 billion in stimulus money while several republicans supported the bill, others called it another expensive bailout for the auto i

on capitol hill, brian mooar, news4. >>> a stunning admission today from the american reporters sentencedwork in a north korean labor camp. laura link and euna. lisa ling says in a recent phone conversation that lauraling admitted the two broke the law. >> what happened on that day, the details, we don't know but she said it -- except a clear message the other day, we did break the law. now we need our government's help to try to secure amnesty for eunand me. >> lisa says she is concerned about the health of the two women. she says her sister has a recurrent ulcer and yuna lost 15 poun so far. neither has been able to work at a labor camp because of the health problems. >>> more websites have come under attack again by cyber terrorists. south korean officials say seven websites were struck early this morning, one of the affected belonged to the government. the other six are private. the u.s. officials have traced the internet address to north korea. but they caution that does not necessarily mean that kim jong-il's government is responsible. the cyber attacks started over the fourth of ju

on capitol hill, brian mooar, news4. >> on a global scale, world leaders of the g-8 said stimulus plans are still necessary. >> retail sales continue their slump. new reports out today find that mall-based stores have been hit especially hard as families look for bargains. the sluggish sales may mean retailers will keep deep discounts in places back-to-school shopping season gets under way. that may be good news for shoppers but the news has stocks struggling stay in the green. dow ended up on the day five points at 1883. nasdaq also gained five points today. meanwhile, the s&p was up three points. >>> the path out of bankruptcy protection for general motors appears to be clear. a judge's order a plan to sell most of the assets to a new company wants to take effect at noon today, a last-minute appeal was filed. but it is not expected to block the sale. >>> once the deal goes through, gm will become a new government controlled company. underperforming assets are being dropped in the much leaner company will sell a smaller crop of cars and trucks. >>> bernard madoff decided not to appeal

brian mooar with that report. >> reporter: on 430 in arkansas one sign the president's stimulus plan is creating jobs. but five months after congress pass the $787 billion plan, the hope for a flood of jobs is barely a trickle. three democratic governor space the pace is picking up. >> if you are frustrated so am i. i believe that this program will, in fact, have a significant effect and not only in job retention but in job creation but remember, it is just barely july. >> it is way too soon, in my view, to unfurl the mission accomplished xwaner. but we are on the right track. >> reporter: republicans disagree. every american has the right to ask where are the jobs that were promised. >> reporter: with unemployment now at 9.5%, gop lawmakers claim democrats are laying the groundwork for a second stimulus. >> i think it is an admission on the part of the administration that, you know, their stimulus plan is not working. >> reporter: but the white house budget office insists there is no second stimulus. >> no one in the administration is talking about a second stimulus at this point. w

in washington, i'm brian mooar, news4. >>> that's "news4 at 4."news4 at 5" starts right now. >>> tonight at 5:00, into details about the arrest of an area police chief on drunken driving charges. >>> the concerns that some red light cameras are nothing more than speed traps. >>> liz finds out if the handy vac will keep your food as fresh as it says it will. >>> and good evening. we> egwe>>in bitheh w t > we b>>in with the ait asl gyslov discovery. apoceliregacenvtiesft afterti arng b th ni merngng is morning. it happethned it happerlonin agt rdoa arlingt and braou bou brdrdvale in va bethesda. darcy spencer is there now leave with details for us. darcy? >> reporter: the gold-colored minivan was engulfed in flames this morning. wh t