melanie, you appear to be okay. tell us about your jump. >> i'm fine. it was about 35 feet, which is equivalent to three stories high. i was just freaking out. i didn't even second guess it. i was like i'm jumping. i'm out of this ride. >> why not wait until fire crews come or rescue workers? >> you can't tell in the video but the storm was above us. there was lightning surrounding us. >> who was in the chair with you and did you feel bad about bailing out on that person? >> actually, my best friend. she's actually here right now. i started to cry and when i -- after i landed someone came down from the boardwalk, ems from new york who was off duty on vacation with his family he jumped off the boardwalk to help me. she was going to jump with me but she got scared. >> don't jump. >> how did she get down eventually. >> 10 or 15 minutes after i jumped the ambulance came and they were able to reactivate the ride. >> she jumped off? >> yeah. >> what did your parents say when they found out. >> my mom was hysterically crying. i called her i was like mom, i'm s

. >> and melanie alnwick has the latest. melanie? >> reporter: look at the building behind me and as you look to the front of it, come around to the side. when you look at the side, that is when you get a sense of the damage. i will walk slow here. look at this and there is nothing left. this used to be a dance studio. the national weather service is going to send a team here on to monday. the strong thunderstorms that ripped through the area on sunday evening. can you see the damage is severe and we're on fleming street in fredericksburg and there is nothing that looks the same. a home is off of the foundation and this brick warehouse looks like it's cut open like the cardboard box and this is that dance studio with 25 people inside and that landed on an elderly couple's home. >> and some people, we had to kick the door in. >> and they were not seriously injured but had some broken bones and some children had minor cuts and bruises and there is that nearby chiropractor's office and some building inspectors. i don't think there is an

melanie alnwick has the details. good morning, melanie. >> reporter: and prosecutors say that eugenia harris used two of the companies to funnel mean and that she has close ties with jeffrey thompson, who has been under investigation by the federal authorities for several months now and according to federal documents, harris is charged with violations of some federal and local election laws and tax fraud, including two counts of conspiracy and in connection with illegal contributions andy that say he got friends, family and employees to make contributions and they would be reimbursed for the money. $44,000 in 2010, and all of them reimbursed by the businesses owned by co- conspirator one and court documents describe co- conspirator one as someone who has a close friendship and repra -- relationship with harris and harris was paid to do some work and court papers are an information document and that can not be filed without the suspect and that is -- and that is not the way it goes. and that is not their request. basi

fox 5's melanie a.-- melanie alnwick on the scene. >> we moved around to the other side to give you a better picture of the totality of what is going on here. this pile of branches behind me, this is from the 100 feet tree that fell last night. these pieces are huge. they are absolutely amazing. this is part of one of the branches and the upper part of the trunk. see how this is thin. we'll talk about that how this is hollow and rotted out. that is part of the rope why they are working on this tall are tree back behind us. this is a twin tree that was pretty much just like this one here. they are worried that one is going to fall. they are still not even halfway through and they've been working on it since 11:00 last night. let's look at some of the video from last night. so you had this 100-foot oak tree. people say it weighed about 40 tons, sent to eight feet in diameter at its thickest part. it fell last night just before 7:00 on a black four-door mercedes. we are told a man in his 60s was driving the car and he must have heard or seen something because witnesses say he tried to st

. >>> welcome to fox 5 news sunday i am melanie alnwick. >>> we are keeping a close eye on the weather. we have seen a bit of rain a nice soaker i thought in the last few days nice cool down, with fox 5s. gwen tolbart tracking how the rest of the weekend will look. doesn't seem that will last too long. >> we have temperatures on the rise as we move into the course of the week but today will not be too bad. the good news at least we have some of that wet weather out of the way. lots happening on the national mall into the course of today. let's look at numbers and show you where we are headed to as far as yesterday is concerned, 71 degrees regan national airport, 69 dulles, 69 bwi marshall. regan national airport, the high was the coolest since july 26th, 2002 and for baltimore, the coolest since july 29th, 2002 and at dulles since july 29th, 2001. these temperatures actually some 18 degrees below the seasonal average we really did take a big drop in temperatures, it was so hot. here is a look at satellite radar composite moisture well to the south leaving us with plenty of clouds acros

fox 5's melanie alnwick has a roundup. >> reporter: for many the mass murder in aurora, colorado, brought back the pain and anguish felt during 9/11. >> i think it's a terrorist that wanted to take a wasn't just from the people that are here but from the country our ability to enjoy life to, go to the movie theater which for most of us is a refuge. >> reporter: colorado governor john hickenlooper appeared on several sunday talk shows. it was said the federal assault weapons ban that was brought up in 2004 should be reinstated. >> they had magazines to take down as many people and the police responded in 90 seconds and yet he was able to take down 70 people. >> reporter: on face the nation colorado's earl pearlmutter said congress won't be able to avoid the issue when it returns from recess. >> i think this is really a congressional issue that has to be dealt with. you know, should we reinstate the assault weapons ban? i think we should and i think that's where it starts. we ought to be taking a look at how this guy was able to accumulate so much ammunition. he had enough ammunition for li

. >>> good morning welcome to fox 5 news sunday i am melanie alnwick. it is already starting to heat up outside. tucker barnes has a look at what we can expect good morning tucker. >>> yeah, not really cooling off overnight temperatures only falling back to upper 70s that has been the trend around here last couple mornings. more heat, high temperatures, get into the upper 90s could have a stray thunderstorm later this afternoon honestly we don't see the widely organized event we had around here late friday night in the forecast today. let's get to your radar, the washington area, there you can see quiet conditions at the moment. a few light sprinkles, good thunderstorms during the evening hour, south of frederick, heat down towards richmond, southeast virginia, a lot of sunshine in the forecast. could pop up a thunder storm later this afternoon mostly hazy, hot and humid highs expected to top out upper 90s. right now 78, at regan national, 78 degrees, as we switch maps, our humidity way on up, 79%, let's -- thank you winds out of the south and west, 3 m

melanie alnwick has th roundup. >> as a corporate raider he shipped jobs to china and mexico. >> the obama outsourcing attacks, misleading, unfair and untrue. >> reporter: outsourcing became the flash point this week. the obama campaign says mitt romney was in charge of bain capital when some 0 the companies -- of the companies the firm invested in sent job overseas. >> my opponent in his private business was investing in companies that the "washington post" calls pioneers of outsourcing. >> reporter: romney says he was on leave during the time in question. but the war of words didn't end there. >> either mitt romney through his own words and his own signature was misrepresenting his position at bain to the s. e. c.s and a felony. >> reporter: on "face the nation" obama, cutter had to defend her use of the word felony. >> no one is suggesting that mitt romney isn't following the law. >> you were saying he wasn't following the law. >> no, i didn't suggest. >> to label him a felon? >> no, we saw the transcript right at the beginning of the show. what i said exactly i'm happy to repeat

fox 5's melanie aldewick is live on the scene with the latest. melanie.: well, tony, the latest is that one lane of traffic is now getting by here on georgetown pike. you as anyone who drives through here knows, this is a very busy section of georgetown pike right here in the heart of great falls village. it has taken most of the night and into this morning to get these trees cleared, and you see the tree stump, jason, right over there. that was the tree that had to come down as well to make sure that things were safe for drivers to come through here again this morning. take a look of that tree coming down just a short time ago. and when that tree came down, that thud, you could feel it through your feet, reverberating through the road and the sidewalk here. you can only imagine that is the kind of force that came down also last night on that car that was coming through here, just one of those freak things, a black four-door mercedes just before 7:00 last night, driving through here on georgetown pike, as that first tree began to fall. now, witnesses beli

fun for the entire family. >> melanie is live with the details.nie., >> reporter: we are continuing our celebration here at the at national museum of the american indian. we have moved into the cafe, where celebrity she have. >>> we'll show you how you can come down and sample these. [ male announcer ] where did all the obama stimulus money go? friends, donors, campaign supporters, special interest groups where did the obama stimulus money go? solyndra: 500 million taxpayer dollars. bankrupt. so where did the obama stimulus money go? windmills from china. electric cars from finland 79% of the 2.1 billion in stimulus grants awarded through it went to overseas companies. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. today is the start of kind brew, that's a -- kaypi peru. >> you know, we are talking about some really good food. fo so especially for this occasion, for the celebration of kaypi peru they have brought in executive she have soloranzo.o. what is so unique? >> it has -- [ indiscernible ] this mixed together with a lota of -- came

the ride lost power - with melanie and her best friend herlide joseph dangling 35 feet in the air.withhtning decided to jump. melanie we're next to a huge metal ee pole and in my mind, i'm like we are in a metal death trap &pnow. in my mind i was like lighting, or i break a leg ayb" got off afely including ne --3 rossomando's friend, who didn't jump. temperatures in the low 90's today... the pumidity not as baddas over the weekend and last week.but chief meteorologist vytas reid.... 3 3 will the orioles lose out on theer first round cunningham has that tory next innsports. 3 cocococococococococo[ barks ]st] [ cat meows ] [ woman ] ♪ i just want to be okay ♪ be okay, be okay ♪ i just want to be okay today - ♪ i just want to know today - [ whistles ] ♪ know today, know today - [ cat meows ] - ♪ know that maybe i will be okay ♪ [ chimes ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about... and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need... and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage... or visit travelers.com. ♪ ♪ [ m

good to see you. >> good mornling melanie how are you. >> doing well. unemployment, this has dogged president obama since the very day he took office, friday's jobs report not helping. >> if you look back many the early days job losses were massive he managed to get a pretty good up take a year ago and then after a couple of three months of fairly good job creation, earlier this year things have really gone, into the doldrums only 80,000 jobs created has month following 69,000 the month before that, and a bad number for april as well. it is a did i have result record to run on, -- difficult record to run on, difficult to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. we will put the question to debbie washer man schultz how president obama can run on that economic record. and then we will talk with the chairman of the republican national committee about the romney campaign, and some problems it has had, over the last few weeks, which have fed into problems that it has had over the last few months as well about messaging how they got so convoluted on their messag

. >> and the storm hit fredericksburg, virginia, the hardest and that is where melanie alnwick is live with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, wisdom. as the sun comes up, on quieting -- we're getting a better picture of the damage and that came from that white warehouse building to the street front and the winds came through here, took the wind off and hit the cheerfusion dance studio and look all of the way through and that is where the roof landed on the top of the house and that storm started at 95 degrees and in that afternoon. the temperature dropped to 70, 240 lightning strikes per minute reported at the local weather station with 35 miles an hour winds and then the lights went out and have some twitch people huddled inside the cheerfusion dance studio and that roof landed on the home of an elderly couple and that knocked it off of the foundation and helped each other out of the buildings. >> and when they went to the house, they could not open the door. there was so much debris there and the gentlemen i talked to afterwards said his feeling is in the basement. it knocked hi

melanie is reporting live from connecticut avenue. we know the southbound stretch of connecticut avenue is shut down between deersville road and university boulevard. southbound traffic diverted and picking up university boulevard. still a portion of canal road blocked off between reservoir and arizona. basically headed into georgetown. can't do it this morning. use mcarthur boulevard as the work around due to storm damage and cleanup. if you are traveling over enterprise road, blocked off between 450 and 50 due to wires down across the highway. again, various situations across town. wires down, standing water to deal with along hunter mill road, south of sunrise valley. number of signals are still dark. be patient making your drive into work today. hov listed on 270 and 66 inside of the beltway to alleviate the tieups. it was a help this morning. things will change by tomorrow. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. >>> thank you so much. there are quite a few closures due to the damages and power outages. the federal governm

. >> melanie has more on this special month for millions of muslims worldwide. melanie?ing from sun up to sundown and that includes no caffeine. i don't know a lot of people that could make it but 300,000 muslims are supporting each other through it as they celebrate this holy month of ramadan. they will learn about their traditions. we will talk in a few minutes to the people at the all dulles area muslim society about the traditions and customs and how they incorporate community service into their religious observations coming up. ns comi >> time for our facebook fan of the day. we say good morning to john and his daughter decked out in matching pittsburgh steeleers jerseys. thanks for waking up with us. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] virtual wallet can help you be that person who's good with money. see what's free

. >> montgomery county got hit especially hard and fox 5's melanie alnwick is live in kensington with more on that. >> reporter: this is where the traffic is going to be getting back to its normal pattern. this entire southbound lane of connecticut avenue here for several blocks is shut down. you can see part of the rope why. we've got just part of trees tangled on power lines and the scene looked like that literally up connecticut avenue and so what they're having to do is shut down this entire side of connecticut avenue southbound. you can see the southbound traffic now squeezing by in one lane this. you will have to be very careful because the northbound traffic there is coming in the lane right next to you. this is just one of those situations that we are finding all over the area. the good news for pepco customers, i suppose, if there is any good news in this for people that are still without power, that those mutual assistance crews that they asked for are due to arrive today and they are supposed to get out in the neighborhood and start working right away. everyone has said the

but melanie alnwick is reporting live from the scene. between veirs mill road and university, there is a portion of connecticut avenue that is blocked off because of large tree debris that has yet to be cleaned up. we just bumped in with another shot from northwest washington. a number of areas still shut down because of the clean-up t continues right now. the efforts are ongoing. be patient. get out on the roads early this morning. watch your speeds. you just don't know when you are going to lose a lane because there is debris in the roadway. this happens to be the top stretch of the beltway which is running smoothly notch problems to report there between college park and bethesda. 66, hov rules lifted inside the beltway headed in towards the tr bridge. if you are traveling 95, 395, your hov rules are still in effect. 270, the hov rules have been lifted. on route 50 in maryland, you will fine the hov rules are in effect. that's a check of your fox 5 on-timetraffic. on-timetraffic. -- you will find the hov rules are in effect. >>> the po

melanie alnwick was reporting that. last night, they had at least 240 lights out. that has improved some overnight and into early this morning b57 without power in fairfax and about 55 without power in the district. so if you come up to a signal light that is not working, treat it as a four-way stop. beltway looks pretty good. no problems to report here. hov restricts for those on 270 as well as for those traveling on 66 inside the beltway. if you are traveling 395 at took street, still an easy go. no problems to report at the wilson bridge. that's a check of your fox 5 on-time traffic. >>> it wasn't just the light and air conditioning. friday night's storm also knocked out power to a verizon facility in arlington causing widespread problems with 911 in northern virginia. limited service was restored late saturday. laura evans talked with the county board of supervisors chairman about the problem on fox 5 news at 10:00 last night. >> we are not 100% yet and so what originally was a complete failure of the system, 911 calls just were not going through, now, there ar

i think he's going to be just fine. >> all right, melanie bromley, melanie, thank you so much for yourg. >> thank you. >>> coming up next, new jersey governor chris christie gets into a heated confrontation on the jersey shore. >>> plus, fine or offensive? the outfit for babies that's raising eyebrows, after this. also, get a free flight. you know that comes with a private island? really? no. it comes with a hat. see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but... [ man ] there's never any seats for 25,000 miles. frustrating, isn't it? but that won't happen with the capital one venture card. you can book any airline, anytime. hey, i just said that. after all, isn't traveling hard enough? ow! [ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? uh, it's ok. i've played a pilot before. ♪ [ male announcer ] food you eat [ sizzling ] is a blt. but food you love ♪ is a blt with best foods. nothing tastes like it. made with real ingredients like cage-free eggs and exceptional oils and vinegar ♪ for the unmistakabl

back to you. >> melanie, thank you very much. >> melanie, thank you. >>> coming up, an 18-mile spaceump that you don't want to miss. >> and tomorrow is friday, time for another ask allison. if you have a question you'd like to ask me, head to myfoxdc.com, click on the morning tab for the link to ask allison. tomorrow we have a really interesting one. in the wake of electric cars. >> okay. >> we'll have a demonstration from an owner. ♪ at sleep number, individualizing your sleep is at the heart of every innovation. with the sleep number bed, it's not about soft or firm. it's about support where you find it most comfortable. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. wow! that feels really good. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. take it up one notch. my sleep number is 50. i'm a 45. and now, for those interested in trying memory foam, sleep number introduces our new memory foam series the only beds that combine cradling memory foam with the amazing dual-air adjustability of the sleep number bed. the memory foam bed tha

melanie sloane of crew.ia basically woke up one day and told 750,000 people that they might be ineligible to vote. thank god for courts of law. later, wherever the republican nominee for president goes, brett ehrlich is sure to follow. >> i've got the voters of mitt romney sent to england you didn't see. probably because i sir... excuse me, excuse me... can i get you to sign off on the johnson case... ♪ we built this city! ♪ don't let food hang around. ♪ on rock & roll! ♪ [ orbit trumpet plays ] clean it up with orbit! [ ding! ] fabulous! for a good clean feeling... eat. drink. chew orbit. what's my secret for sunday lunch? my little helpers... and 100% natural french's yellow mustard. it has zero calories for me, and a taste my family loves. double miles you can "actually" use. but with those single mile travel cards... [ bridesmaid ] blacked out... but i'm a bridesmaid. oh! "x" marks the spot she'll never sit. but i bought a dress! a toast... ...to the capital one venture card. fly any airline, any flight,

melanie sloane of crew.ia basically woke up one day and told 750,000 people that they might be ineligible to vote. thank god for courts of law. later, wherever the republican nominee for president goes, brett ehrlich is sure to follow. >> i've got the voters of mitt romney sent to england you didn't see. probably because i was photo shopping. don't go away. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> i would say we have identified specifically the problem of-- >> jennifer: that's the sound of demonstrators in pennsylvania rallying against the state's controversial voter i.d. law which actually went on trial today. if this law is upheld more than 750,000 pennsylvania voters, voters who by the way are overwhelmingly democratic, they may be disenfranchised. you heard me right. almost 10% of the state's 8.2 million registered voters might lose their basic constitutional right. tonight i want to introduce you to some of the folks behind the statistics. this video of them comes to us court city of the aclu's website. meet 95-year-old

melanie. >>reporter: well, tony, both of those trees are down now this morning, but i gotta tell you, the buzz here as people have started waking up and coming together, there's a lot of consternation among the residents that i've talked to that these trees were not taken down sooner. i'm told there was a survey that was done within the year, talking about the condition of the trees, i'm not sure exactly who was responsible for that survey, but the people i talked to said there was some debate as to whether to take all of these trees down or not. i did find a picture here, i hope you can see it, this is from the great falls historical society. there's no date on this picture, but this is an old picture of this exact oak tree that came down last night, and people that i talked to say that they believe it is anywhere between 100 and perhaps even 200 years old, and not only did that tree come down, but, again, last night they had to start taking down the tree behind me, what was behind me because

melanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, allison. building inspectors arrived a short time ago taking a look at what used to be the cheer fusion dance studio. you see the yellow sign there, danger. this building, as you can imagine has been condemned. take a look at it. there is practically nothing left. there were about 25 people inside. students, intructors and parents, when the half dollar size hail rained down. people said it sounded like an explosion as the roof tore off and the cinderblock walls collapsed. the roof landed about 300 feet away on top of a home. the house was knocked off its foundation. people rushed inside to help the elderly couple out. we got video of the front of the fleming center that got hit first by the strong winds. there is a mat stress store, beauty shop with daylight where it shouldn't be because parts of the roof are missing or collapsed inside. now, the owner of the hair salon and her daughter were inside the building. they managed to run to a utility closet. when everything collapsed they got trappe

melanie now is live in d.c. with the latest on the scandal plaguing the d.c. government. melanie? >> reporter: the numbers aren't ut they do show rising dissatisfaction among city residents after all of these financial scandals and all of these federal investigations. the mayor's approval rating now just 29%. when asked about whether they thought the mayor should resign, 54% of the adult d.c. residents surveyed by the post said yes. 37% said he should not and 9% had no opinion. when it comes to the direction of the city, opinions are closer. 45% say city matters are on the wrong track. that's better than the early 90s when 70% said the city was in bad shape. that's not saying much for some residents. >> i think it's much improved over marion berry, but i think to have another corrupt government here in d.c. is tragic, and why we put up with this, i just don't know. >> we need to find out what all is going on. once we have the process approved then we can have judgment. >> reporter: franklin garcia one of the leaders in support of the mayor that held a rally yesterday. some have tr

they had the southbound lanes blocked and melanie alnwick reporting live from the scene. she's noticing some traffic using the northbound side of the highway, but without police direction, so it's skeptic now for those on connecticut avenue. be careful. avoid this area is the better bet. traveling along canal road, blocked off between reservoir and arizona. use mcarthur. loudoun county, still a number of signal lights that are dark. we got traffic that's stacked up along route 7 coming in towards wolf trap. at least 70 signals without power downtown. good hope road at 13th street in southeast, first street at florida, and northeast washington, just to name a few. some intersections police out there to help direct you by, others on your own. enterprise shut down with wires across the highway. >>> thank you very much. regular washingtonens deal with the power outages and storm damages, official washington is still reacting to the supreme court's decision upholding president obama's health care law. chief of staff and the senate minority leader faced off on fox news sunday.

he loved her with all he had, said melanie. in the short time they had together, kaylee became her daddy's little girl. her grandmother melanie said she looked so much like him at that age, we say she is tater made over, just in address. she has -- just in a dress. she has his smile and her eyes light up like his did. she also has his daddy's stubborn streak and smartness. nate would play video games and kaylee would sit beside him with an old video controller nate gave her pretending she was also playing the game. when nate bobbed, she did too. nate was deployed to afghanistan for operation enduring freedom in march 2010. as melanie put it, tater was due to come home for his r & r in august 2010 but unfortunately didn't make it. he lost his life one day before his mother's birthday and two days before his 21st. he never got to meet his son who was born april 9, 2010. we're thinking of specialist nate garvin's loved ones as i recount his story for my colleagues today. mr. president, that would include his wife brittany, his par

we'll check in with melanie coming up next. stay with us. we'll be right back.reo and dunkin' are the perfect match for the perfect moment. enjoy the new oreo coolatta and donut today. america runs on dunkin'. >>> live look outside. for some people, frustrations still continue to run high because they still don't have power at this point t has been five days since friday's violent storms. here is a look at the latest outage numbers. pepco is reporting more than 57,000 customers without power. more than 35,000 dominion virginia customers are in the dark and bge is reporting more than 36,000 out ands in montgomery, prince george's, anne arundel and howard counties. still lots of work to be opportunity. >> tucker is channeling those people that are hot right now. he has his sleeves rolled up. >> his coat is off. >> later today, you want to do whatever can you to stay cool. >> you got to be outside in a short while. >> i'm headed with dave ross down to nats park here in just a bit. they have an 11:00 game tonight. >> at least it is early. it won't be as hot. >> it w

we'll have more on that with melanie alnwick. and also schedule changes take place with marc today. you want to check the internet. let's take a look at the roads. trafficland, if you are traveling northbound 95, we had the wreck at the prince william parkway tying up the right side of the road. watch for delays out of dale city. once you get past this, your lanes are open. no problems on 359 leaving the beltway up toward the 14th street bridge and into the district. 66 running pretty well here out of manassas to the private your screen. that is inbound traffic. lanes are open. no problems approaching the beltway. dulles toll road, the greenway, no issues for you heading inbound at this point. beltway also looking good in virginia and in maryland. we did have the wreck, 29 colesville road at 198 so watch for that. that's a check of your fox 5 on-time traffic. >>> our big story, americans kidnapped in egypt. the american embassy in cairo is working with egyptian authorities to get a pastor and another tourist released. the pastor's church near boston turned to prayer yesterday as the

melanie? >> reporter: tony, we moved locations from the front of the air strip here to the back of the air field. i want to show you, you can get a better look here through the trees at where that plane went down. you can see pieces of that beach craft plane there. i want to show you how close this plane came down to some of the homes. take a look, right across the street here are homes. this one, and there's another one in the corner there. this is a neighborhood. so definitely could have been a close call here. witnesses believe the men in the plane did try to turn the plane around and basically get it back toward the air field, back toward the runway. they say it ran out of air speed and sky and hit the ground, killing the flight instructor, 79-year-old frank schmidt. he logged more than 18,000 flight hours and friends say he was the go to guy when someone wanted lessons. the pilot, also in his 70s as well, survived. the pilot we're told recently purchased a share in the plane, a 1964 plane

in bethesda, melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> and as melanie motioned as of this morning, pepco crews restored 75% of the outages from friday's storm and this is a look at the latest numbers. more than 67,000 customers are without power. more than 15,000 in prince georges county and under 13,000 in d.c. clay anderson, a spokesperson for pepco joins us on the phone with the latest. clay, you think you can get them wrapped up or is it still looking like the end of the week? >> reporter: it looks like we're still close to friday and some folks are getting updated estimated times of restoration or eths and in particular, neighborhoods as we speak and friday evening, we'll continue with that restoring a process. >> the question is, in most people's minds, if you're able to do 75% in four days, how come you can't do the last give% in under three? >> what happened there as we get into the neighborhoods, you get many homes and businesses, apartment complexes that just have the one line from one house to the poll. we call them onesies and twosies. and takes crews to go through the hopes that c

thin teeth, shark eggs. >> melanie is learning about peru.ad some cooking lessons, coming up, -- we'll bew right back. right back. this is the plan for back to school. introducing share everything, only from verizon. a shareable pool of data to power up to 10 different devices. add a smartphone like the samsung galaxy siii, so everyone in your family can enjoy unlimited talk and text. the first plan of its kind. share everything. get your student a samsung galaxy nexus for $99.99. with the sleep number bed, it's not about soft or firm. it's about support where you find it most comfortable. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. wow! that feels really good. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. take it up one notch. my sleep number is 50. i'm a 45. and now, for those interested in trying memory foam, sleep number introduces our new memory foam series the only beds that combine cradling memory foam with the amazing dual-air adjustability of the sleep number bed. the memory foam

. >> melanie mentioned wisconsin. after the wisconsin recall some leaders were frustrated with a lack of support from national democrats that challenge scott walker. is that all forgiven? >> i was in wisconsin for election night. i had not been there for awhile -- i had been there for a while working with coalition partners. we do not the wisconsin has a loss. it was a disappointment. it was a setback. i got an e-mail from our members from wisconsin the night of the election. the e-mail said -- i feel like i have been hit in my gut. mighty careless. my mouth is bleeding. i'm going to go back to bed tonight and i'm going to wake up and i will be fired up and i am going to be working very, very hard to support the work of the middle class. that is how our members feel. they will continue to be engaged. we were born in wisconsin, our union. we were there yesterday. we're there today. we will be there tomorrow fighting the good fight. i am optimistic we will win in the end. our partners have made a strong statement. we we

fox 5's melanie alnwick is live on the scene with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. we have abeen watching all morning as they've been working on the second oak tree that definitely was in danger of coming down ads well. take a look at the progress that they have made in the last hour or so. they've tape most of the tall branches off of the tree and now they are really taxing that very thick trunk. you can see there is a rope on the top of the tree there and if you can look across the street, jason, my photographer here, if you can follow that rope down being you see there are guys across the parking lot. they are holding another end of that string. their job is once they cut enough into this tree trunk, they are going to give it a big pull. that is the bulk of the work they are having to do to get this tree down this morning. the big problem that started all of this was last newt. take a look at the video of the other tree, the twin 100-foot oak tree. it is said to be about 40 tons, seven to eight feet in diameter, when it came crashing down. we are told that a man

melanie griffith says her family saved her.uggling with addiction three years ago, when her two daughters, dakota and stella, begged her to get help. in a revealing new interview, griffith tells "the los angeles times" quote, my daughters really sat me down and said, look, mom. this is what it is. you really need to get help. >> often times, it takes for an addict to hear from the people who love them most, exactly how they're each being affected by the choices of the addiction. >> reporter: griffith, the mother of four, credits her two daughters for opening her eyes. adding, quote, i couldn't have done it without them. i really couldn't have. and i'm so grateful. i see, now, i just didn't get it before. it doesn't mean that i'm stupid. it's just that that's what the disease is. griffith's stint in rehab in 2009, was the third for the academy award-nominated actress. she's sought help for alcohol and cocaine addiction in the past. first after her hit film "working girl." >> a nice little buzz. >> reporter: in 2000, she went bac

melanie? good morning. >> reporter: the revelations keep coming.ep mayor gray would not talk to reporters who swarmed his office yesterday, but a spokesman did assure us that gray would takeu all questions at a regularly scheduled press conference thiso morning.nf the guilty plea by harris basically confirmed there was ae out the books campaign to get gray elected. 75-year-old jeannie harris wiped her eyes as she admitted to theo scheme tuesday.me the plea agreement says an unnamed co-speed tore funneled $653,000 through her public relations firm. had she pled guilty to twoto counts of conspiracy conspiracy longer be his contract. >> jeffrey have i thompson has none been -- jeffrey thompson has not been charged.e harris is expected to get two and a half to three years in prison under searchingpr guidelines.is >>> another big story we're watching on, playing out onon capitol hill,. >> there is a vote in congress for try to overfurnish presiden- overturn president obama's healthcare plane. doug

kensington, melanie -- melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> and that is so true.e stood in line for almost 45 minutes, i'm epbear assed to say with my husband saturday morning, and they had it running like a well-oiled machine to get everyone their coffee. >> and it was worth the wait. >> everyone went to the one starbucks that was open. >> no matter ha hot it is, you start the day with traffic. >> and -- coffee. and that is all there is to it. i told myself to be patient on river road with all of the lights being out and anyway, we're going patient, right in look at that. it was less humid today, i hope you noticed. >> did you? >> dy. >> granted temperatures were in the mid-90s, but lower humidity is going to help and you will probably feel it this evening, to. the temperatures will drop off and you will find it. i'm not going to say refreshing is the word but you will notice it more this evening before sunset and after sunset and into some suburbs. unfortunately, the humidity will return and this is washington, summertime. it's going to come back and we'll get a

melanie alnwick has the latest. >> reporter: this part of georgetown pike is shut down still at this hour. v-d.o.t. thinks it could be several more hours before they get this stretch of the road open. take a look at the video from last night. you had a tree, a 100-foot tree, 40 tons, seven to eight feet in diameter that fell on a black four-door mercedes. the man driving the car must have heard or seen something because witnesses say he tried to stop slamming on the brakes but the tree came crashing down, crushing the roof of the car. they had to use the crane to lift the industry and it happened just feet from the entrance to a fairfax county fair station and the two men who were driving behind the car were actually with an out of state tree service that was here to remove trees after the derecho. >> i slammed on the brakes. i looked in and that is what i see it. of his deceased. >> the tree came straight down on the car. the car slammed on the brakes. when the tree started coming, they heard something so they slammed on the brakes. >> what you are seeing right now is work that is g

we are not going to let it. >> reporter: melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> let's switch gears and talk little bit about sports right now. the washington nats with a big weekend seer ayes. four games against the team chasing them in the standings. >> it is not how out start. it's how you finish. sports breakfast is coming up next and our perfect dream factory'been built. you're feeling sleepy already? nighty-night. [giggling] >>> in sports, the nats wrapped up their series with the atlanta braves. ryan zimmerman kick start the the offense way two-run homer in the first. his very next at-bat, he will do it again. the nat go on to win 9-2 and split the series with atlanta. they're in second place, the atlanta braves. the nats head to new york next to face the new york mets. >>> the baltimore orioles in cleveland. j.j.hardy blasted a two-run homer. the os led it in the ninth inning but jim johnson got the final batter to strike out. baltimore gets the three-game sweep. >>> the final round of the british open. it seemed like the aussie adam scott, had this one in the bag. but he had a meltd

melanie became stuck on a sky ride when a severe storm knocked out the power.s in seaside heights, new jersey, fearing for her safety while hanging 35 feet up. she decided to take drastic action. >> i looked and we were right next to a huge metal pole. i was like, we are in a death trap right now. i'm getting struck by lightning or i break a leg. >> melanie was not seriously hurt. her best friend agreed to jump out of the chair, but decided against it at the last minute. some other beach goers who pulled out their cell phones to capture the storm ended up taping melanie's ordeal. >> elsewhere, a hot air balloon near phoenix today. the wind dragged the balloon through a field for several hundred feet before it finally came to a stop. wind speeds were reportedly about 20 miles an hour in the scotts dale area at the time. >> that's good. also caught on tape, a disturbing scene at a little league baseball game. >> this is home video of a brawl breaking out between fans and columbus, georgia. according to a legal newspaper. the fight started after a parent of one te

fox 5's melanie alnwick is live in bethesda with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. a big thank you for crews from oklahoma, florida, missouri, even as fur way as new brunswick, canada who are coming here to join in the effort. they didn't get here for the most part until yesterday and so today, they are really making more and more inroads into the neighborhoods. the focus we're told right now is on restoring the feeders. those are the big power lines that can connect as many as 1,000 homes at once so they can get a lot of people turned on with just getting those feeders back together. but we are seeing still some very slow progress in neighborhoods like this one in bethesda where this large tree has come down and the residents say that they've called several times but still haven't seen any tree trimming crews out here. again, it is going to be slow going. pepco says they are making progress. at this point, pepco says it has restored tower to 60% of the 443,000 out at the peak. 2700 personnel have been moblized for this effort including 700 out of state power line w

melanie? >> reporter: tony, the washington post polled 1,002 adult residents and found for the first time since 2006 more of them think the city is headed in the wrong direction and mayor gray's approval rating now is just 29%. onto the question of whether the mayor ought to resign, 54% said gray should. 37% said he should not and 9% had no opinion. half of those were african- americans, half of those who said he should resign african- americans. 45% say city matters are on the wrong track, versus 40% who believe the opposite. in the early 90s, 70% felt the city was in bad shape. he has his supporters and some rallied yesterday. they believe calls for the mayor to resign are premature. >> the reality is is that we need to learn civility, we need to be patient, we need to be patient with the legal process. not jump the gun. not begin to sort of take the city at this point through more trauma and drama. >> reporter: another interesting thing that came out of the poll, wile a majority think he sh

melanie alnwick is live at metro headquarters with the details. what happened? >> reporter: good morning. they're still trying to figure out what happened, and i think that's why even though metro says they're taking steps so they won't have additional problems this morning, they don't have 100% assurance, because if you don't know what the problem is, how can you solve it? there was major track work this weekend, but technicians haven't been able to say what caused this particular system to go down. it happened twice over the weekend, this computer malfunction, it brought the trains to a stand still. happened saturday between 2:10 and 2:50 in the afternoon and around 1:00 in the morning sunday. there's a system that allows controllers to see where the trains are on this digital map, and they can also remotely control the switches. suddenly, that system went dark. each time the trains were told to hold their position at the next station. passenger delays lasted as long as 40 minutes. metro says the operators were able to use traffic lights and speed commands wer

ahead, melanie