reporting live in downtown d.c., kimberly suiters, news4.arbara and joe, back to you. >>> well, first lady michelle obama will spend part of her day in virginia, bowling green, to open a new community health center. the center got $1.3 million in stimulus money. the president will be in the commonwealth this week, stopping in bristol, virginia for a town hall meeting. on wednesday, to build public support for his health care reform plans. >>s did my honor to speak to all alaskans, to our alaskan family this last time as your governor. >> the state of alaska has a new governor this morning, after sarah palin officially stepped down from the post. in a fiery campaign-style speech, palin said she's stepping down to take her political battles to a larger stage. the former vice presidential candidate said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates and build a right of center coalition. she thanked the people of alaska and paid tribute to her home state. >> former lieutenant governor shawn parnell will now take over the remaining

. >> and i'm kimberly suiters. straight ahead on "news 4 today," new recommendations following that deadly metro crash. what federal investigators say needs to be done to keep you safe when riding the rails. >> plus, a scare in the skies for a flight bound for bwi marshall. what went wrong that caused an emergency landing hundreds of miles from baltimore. >> we will also have your weather and traffic on the 1 >>> good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, events for the major league all-star game got off to a smashing start as some of the game's heavy hitters took center stage. here's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. with baseball's all-star break upon us, eight of the power league's hitters slugged it out. albert pujols, the logical crowd favorite. eliminateded in the second round. despite his early departure, the crowd still witnessing a great show. in fact, they had to love this shot by milwaukee's prince fielder. the ball sails 503 feet

i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm kimberly suiters.breaking news first. the head of a local sports team has been fired. >> plus, the gruesome discovery put a local mom in the spotlight this morning. the trial is set to get under way for banita jacks. >> metro under scrutiny. how the transit agency wants you to help prevent drivers from breaking the law. >> then taking your resume high tech. some helpful tips to get your w c >>> and good morning, everyone. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, red sox pitcher josh beckett sent his team soaring int the all-star break, shutting down the kansas city royals to notch his 100th career win. here's nbc's mario see lease with an early look at all your sports headlines. >>> the first half of the baseball season is in the books but not before all-star worthy performances from around the league yesterday. we start out in beantown. red sox and royals, first inning, kevin youkilis with a shot to shallow center. pedroia hustles from second. sox up 1-0. that's all the offense josh

kimberly suiters joins us live from d.c. court with details. >> reporter: we have been reading about the new witnesses, the new evidence and also from the prosecution's view, incriminating statements, even alleged confessions. newly filed documents indicate ingmar guandique was offered a plea agreement that expired july 24th. he apparently has not accepted it. the next step would be a trial where prosecutors would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that guandique murdered chandra levy. document eentially now lay out the prosecution's case against guandique. they include notice of a new witness who claims to have been attacked and stabbed by a person matching the description of guandique. guandique, 27 years old, drew the attention of police early on for attacks on female joggers in rock creek park. he was serving a federal prison sentence for those crimes when he was charged last march with levy's murder. among the hundreds of documents, a list of witnesses who could be called to testify about other crimes allegedly com

i'm kimberly suiters. let's get a weather update from steve villanueva up in storm center 4. ood morning, steve. >> good morning, kimberly. good morning, everyone. we are starting off with partly cloudy skies and going mostly cloudy later on today as a cold front approaches. it is a weak one but it will kick up some storms. 71 right now. 70 out of dulles. we are heading up to 90 today. it is quite muggy. we are dry at the moment. we have light rain showers out towards the shenandoah valley with a bigger batch of rain in west virginia. all of this tied to a front that will drop into the region over the next couple of hours. some of them on the strong to possibly severe side by the time we get to the late afternoon hours. there is something there that of course we will watch. more weather later on. kimberly? >> we know you will watch it all u,y sch.teve in thk u, syoteve. in the ws,neolic pt weano t talo to anyoneal has been inside the annandale virginia how many of chung ou, who was murdered earlier this week. sources tell news 4 she was bound and stabbed to death. she ran an a

i'm kimberly suiters. let's begithis half hour with a quick look at weather. steve villanueva is up in storm center 4 with a look at our sunny day ahead. steve? >> good morning, kimberly. good morng, everyone. starting off on the warm side of this morning, temperatures are in the upper 60s, low 70s. and we are mostly clear. there is a front coming through, and on the back side of the front, humidity levels will be dropping as the day goes on. 73 right now, heading up into the mid-80s. dew points still quite high. those numbers will be dropping. the front yesterday did produce a ton of rain around new york city but it fizzled out locally. here's the front right here. as it goes -- as the day goes on, it will continue to slide off to the south. it could kick up a couple of clouds, especially into our southern zones a little bit later on today, but for the most part we'll see ample sunshine. temperatures today in the mid-80s and we're slowly going to start to warm it up over the next couple of days eventually

. >> and i'm kimberly suiters. it's monday, july 13th, 2009. >> let's take a quick look outside this morning. there it is. we have some light already on this early monday morning, the 13th of july. this is monday the 13th. i hope that's a lucky day. >> this is my favorite part of the morning, when the sun just starts to rise. i envision it being so dark outside, but our cameras pick up that early light. >> yeah, now the sunrises are getting later and later now that we've passed the summer unlstice. sunrise about an hayr aw . aw hwee some high clouds coming over. good aor hnings warstfe oft pth moay. cionre tita othratidar is . orur gtcotane mf 72 iin, wash lonhurned esdmis ert.ovnigh it i'she t uer0sppn i megoprnt , ryine' grgdeoans , tiirfacoun.es slo60ouw .he tndardglue ri e he shenandoah valley. and southern marylan near the bay, norther neck, eastern shore near 70. out in the mountains, u 5pper.0s we have some high clouds coming through. that will be with us throughout much of the day but they'll be zipping awa

i'm kimberly suiters. good morning, everyone.'s take a live look outside at the capitol, the sun rising behind it. a lovely view. >> beautiful picture out there. let's get a look at our forecast now. let's go to tom kierein in storm center 4. >> good morning. as we start off this morning, here's a view over the potomac looking toward the east, toward the sunrise and high in the sky there in the east we have jupiter. it's a soft summer sunrise under way with temperatures cool and comfy, in the mid-60s in washington and prince george's counties. only in the upper 50s now in montgomery and fairfax counties. off to our west, only near 50 degrees panhandle of west virginia and parts of the shenandoah valley. out in the mountains, only in the 40s. quite an unusually cool start for a july morning. eastern shore, mid-60s now. off to a clear start. lots of sunshine today. definitely need sun block if you will be out for a long of time. highs reaching mid-80s by afternoon with low humidity. sunrise at 5:55, sunset at 8:33. by this time tom

we just want to spread the joy. >> reporter: in arlington, kimberly suiters, news 4. >> the average cost of a caring wall is $24. if you want to know more about them or if you've ever considered a career in hospice care, there are job openings. news 4 has contacted 16 hospice centers around the region, and half of them are hiring. you can find out more about them by going to capital hospice.org. joe? >> the fallout continues from sarah palin's surprise announcement that she is stepping down as alaska's governor. on the sunday talk shows, gop pundits debated whether the move will hurt palin's chances for a possible 2012 presidential run. some say she cannot concentrate on her national political aspirations. others argue she just committed career suicide. >> it is not clear what her strategy here is by exiting the governorship two and a half years through the term and putting herself on the national stage that she may not yet be prepared to operate in. >> a disaster for her both in the sense that she was very incoherent in articulating why it is she was quitting and wha

kimberly suiters reports. >> reporter: the idea is to use a lot less of this, bus owes the brakes and slowing down the daily commute. >> great deal. we need public transportation. >> reporter: $800 million plan to create rapid transit bus lanes. the council of governments voting wednesday whether to submit it and seek $300 million in federal aid. >> a good idea. good idea. >> reporter: 12 existing routes would be expanded. giving buses traffic signal priority and the ability to bypass congestion. >> sometimes when you ride the bus do you notice you get stuck in traffic just like all the other drivers. >> yes. that's happened most of the time. >> reporter: free lanes on k street, including those dedicated to premium parking and heavy traffic would be converted to buses only. >> a lot of people use public transportationill be grateful. >> reporter: everybody? not the truck driver who already finds d.c. traffic patterns perplexing. >> it is going to make it a mess. it is bad enough. i thought they shouldn't have the trucks in the left lane and had the cars over to the right because they

i'm kimberly suiters. arth pis was brepin ug p when hoas killed outside a me in theow les lsl ian i sterling.of collegnt s detung hdetios theti ew4s heri ted tis to keep things under control and never expected this. michael flynn has our report. >> reporter: detectives at the scene of a deadly shooting in sterling. 19-year-old man was shot and killed after leaving a party at this house, just before 3:00 am. investigators say there was an argument in the street between three partygoers and that's where the victim was shot. >> it was just a party. people were having a lot of fun. >> reporter: the young man who hosted the birthday party asked us not to show his face. the shooting happened minutes after he told everyone to go home. the host rushed to his backyard and that's where the victim had collapsed with a gunshot wound to his neck. >> i took off my shirt. i put it on his wound. we prayed. we did our best. >> reporter: police have charged 20-year-old guillermo elvarada and 26-year-old raheed nurse with mu

kimberly suiters, news 4. >> the poker industry hopes to have the law repealed some time this year. >> stay with us. we'll be right back. "news 4 today" continues now at 5:00 a.m. >>> breaking news this morning. there are more questions than answers. why a group of local students is quarantined overseas. >> the highest bidder bears the name of

kimberly suiters has our report. >> reporter: the snake was seen slithering outside of a courtroom ina juvenile holding area. and in a utility closet. >> copper snake in the building. i was scared. >> reporter: miller came to the courthouse and almost ran out screaming. you saw that thing slithering towards you. >> i would have run. i don't care what the police said. >> reporter: big brother didn't even know about it but he wasn't scared. sort of. >> i'm not scared but some i can be. it is the poisonous ones i might be scared of. it depends how much venom it has. >> reporter: how about the two-foot long variety heading your way? >> i can't deal with that. i have to run or hide somewhere or get on top of something or a tree or anything to get ay from it. > reporter: this is what a coadpperhe looks like. itoner wess told w us it was abt two feet long. the chief deputy told us the type of snake is not confirmed. even so, one deputy tried to trap it under a box and in this hallway and he chased it into the boiler room. where it went down these pipes and kind of spooky in there. a courtroo

i'm kimberly suiters. >> i'm wendy rearing.to remember

news 4's kimberly suiters joins us live here in the studio with more on this. morning. >> good morning. many in loudoun county say this plan is a home run. they want the minor league system today. the loudoun county board of supervisors will likely meet and vote this morning on whether to brinthe ballpark there. the proposal is to build it right here, on this undeveloped tract of land near intersection of route 7 and 28. there would be a hotel, restaurants and a retail center proposed as well. the chief strike against the ballpark, concerns about traffic. but monday night, a small rally of supporters gathered outside the county board of supervisors public meeting. even little leaguers kept their caps on inside to show support for the stadium. supporters said no matter what is developed in that space, there's going to be traffic, and their view a ballpark is the best reason to have it. now, they brought out some heavy hitters. hall of famer brooks robinson pointed to the poparity of other minor league parks he's developed. the legendary third baseman for the ori

>> reporter: in montgomery county, kimberly suiters, news4. >>> to make sure that the kids and the familyog can't escape the yard, they g 1,000 feet of wire mesh donated to secure it. the buntings are organizing a fund-raiser in september called bubby's belly run. the baby is due in november. >> the road is generating mor thmoney an ever bneefore. tolls went up last january on the 14-mile span that connects dulles airport to leesburg. it costs drivers a buck more to get on the greenway during rush hour, but for some people, the cost is just too much. a new report shows week-day traffic on the greenway fell 8% during the first three months of the year, but the revenue jumped 11.5%. >>> some drivers in alexandria are getting used to a new route today because most of the eisenhower avenue connector is now closed to traffic. the closure is part of the ongoing bridge project. workers are replacing a deck on the beltway above the connector. the roadway will be closed through september. detours have been set up and drivers can get to eisenhower avenue through van dorn street or telegraph road. b

. >>> good morning, i'm kimberly suiters, it's 7:56.nny acta said he has been fired as the manager of the nationals. he said he learned the news last night. the nats' record is 26-61, the worst in the league. the nats are expected to make the announcement today and to name bench coach jim wriggleman as the replacementing. >>> a rockville restaurant may have to remain closed after flames broke out in the kitchen. flames broke out in the bombay bistro. firefighters say grease build-up caused the fire. >>> your weather and traffic are next. stay with us. >>> good morning. we have humidity advance to our region over the weekend. it's retreated back to the south of us. temperatures with the lower humidity in place are in the 60s and low 70s now. highs today into the 80s wh the northwest breeze and low humidity and lots of sunshine. more of the same tomorrow. a little more humid on wednesday. could guilty quite humid on thursday with highs near 90s. afternoon thundershowers. how is the trafc? >> an accident along interstate skax eastbound. lo

kimberly suiters has been following the story closely today and joins us live now in the studio with the latest. >> there will be no money. there will be visitation. this letter comes from the lawyer of debbie rowe. michael jackson's ex-wife and biological mother of two jackson children. and it appears to answer any remaining questions regarding custody. the lawyer says rowe were united in their goal to do what's best for the kids and that both mrs. jackson and rowe were on the exact same page. rowe apparently wants to begin a meaningful relationship with the kids. since their father's death, the two oldest children reportedly learnefor the first time that rowe is their mother. her visits will include a child psychology and in an exclusive interview on the "today" show jackson's personal chef talked about the children and the painful memory of the frantic rush to try to save their father. >> the doctor comes running down the stairs screaming, hurry, go get prince, go get security. paris is screaming daddy, daddy, daddy. the kids want to know what's going on. >> at least two of the ch

that's the way it is. >> reporter: kimberly suiters, news 4. >> one of the biggest stories he reported on was the space program, of course. here's an interview he did with nasa tv years later. >> 1969, i'm sure, is going to be perhaps the one historical date that children 500 years from now will recognize. >> apollo 11 commander neil armstrong says cronkite enjoyed the highest ratings because his passion earned the trust of his awed yins. cronkite died just three days before the 40th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing. a number of events are planned on monday to commemorate the anniversary, including an all-day retrospective at the national air and space museum in southwest washington. >>> 40 years later, the crew of the space shuttle "endeavour" went on a space walk of their own yesterday. two astronauts ventured out to do some construction work. they're installing an outdoor platform for japan's space lab. this is the first of five space walks scheduled for the two-week mission. the next space walk is monday. >>> this morning, two u.s. defense officials are confirming the man seen

i'm kimberly suiters. it's tuesday, july 28th, 2009. our time is now 9:56.or was rented out to different events including a popular go-go night. no one was hurt. >>> alexandria's police chief should find out next week if he'll keep his job following a drunk driving arrest. police arrested david baker saturday night in arlington following an accident with another car. according to court documents, police smelled a strong odor of alcohol on baker who said he had two beers. the documents say he failed four field sobriety tests and had a blood alcohol level of .19 more than double the legal limit. some drivers are unfairly ticketed by speed cameras set up inside school zones but they're snapping pictures and issuing $40 tickets even though school isn't in session. police say the problem will be fixed when speed camera laws change in october. >>> let's find out how the roads are doing this morning. jerry edwards is in the studio for traffic. >> good morning, everyone. we're struggling to recover from what has been pretty tough commute for folks along 270. the iss