noaa's marine debris program leads this effort and noaa chairs the marine debris coordinating committee. the coast guard supports noaa by participating as a member of that committee. the marine debris research prevention reduction act of 2006 identifies the coast guard as an agency that noaa should coordinate with to address marine debris issues. to date, the coast guard has been fully engaged with noaa in support of marine debris monitoring and tracking to ensure the safe navigation of shipping and to protect the marine environment. coast guard actions in support of noaa depend on the type of debris. the coast guard is the federal on-site coordinator for the coastal zone with lead removal actions under the national contingency plan for any debris that poses a threat via potential oil or hazardous substance to the environment. the coast guard may also develop and issue broadcast notice to mariners and advise vessel traffic of potential hazards to navigation. the service also has the authority to destroy these hazards for navigation to make sure that we're making protecting lives and pre

noaa's program leads this effort and noaa chairs the court mcgee committee. the coast guard supports noaa by participating as a member of that committee. the marine debris research prevention act of 2002 vice the coast guard adequate agency that noaa should cordon it with address of marine debris issues. any debris that poses a threat via potential oil or hazardous substance to the environment. the coast guard may also develop and issue broadcast notice to mariners and advice vessel traffic of potential hazards to navigation. service also has the authority to destroy these hazards for navigation pc to make sure that we're protecting lives and preserving property. if debris creates a hazard navigation and navigable waters or channels, the coast are typically works the army corps of engineers, the lead federal agency for all obstructions determined to be federal maintain navigable channels or water. to address the matter. coast guard resources and personnel may also be requested by noaa to help with identifying, tracking and monitoring debris by conducting over

noaa wanted to hire a magician. but that's not all. according to senator scott brown from massachusetts, when the media got wind of noaa trying to hire a magician as a method of teaching leadership, noaa yanked the ad. but they can't make their problems disappear and the troubles go way sfurghter than one entertainer. griff jenkins with scott brown. >> reporter: what's going on with noaa? >> you tell me. there is a complete lack of accountability. you have the party boats that they purchase with noaa find money, where the engine broke and they had to get towed in. you have the magicians they are hiring at conferences. you have a complete lack of accountability. it is very, very frustrating, not only for me, but the fisherman whose lives of dramatically affected by this. >> reporter: let's separate those. the magician, after the gsa scandal, noaa wanted to hire a magician? >> it shows there is a complete disregard for the finds and monies they are getting. i have called for a firing. i think that's a good start to re-establish the trust

is that noaa's view? is that still noaa's view? >> i think the jury's still out. we have been doing a tremendous amount of work trying to locate any of the debris that would be in the ocean in where we have projected -- modeling has projected that that debris would be. in my testimony, i mention that we've been every possible venue to try and find debris including a lot of looking with high-resolution satellite imagery in quadrants where the models say the debris should be. we haven't been able to find any debris. that's not to say it's not there. it's not to say we're not still looking. but i think the concern is not overreacting right now. we know that there are place where there's more debris ashore. we've seen that in alaska. but we've been out there with our partners trying to identify that debris specifically from the tsunami, and for the most part, we have not been able to do that. we know there's increased debris here and there. we weren't able to find it at sea. we know we had 1.5 million tons in the water. how much of that gets to the other end? so i don

a reanalysis of how noaa responds to these issues. and maybe it is a more -- larger allocation to these ngos that are doing incredible work and have been for years on cleaning up the beaches and so forth. but now we're in a different ball game and we'll be in it for, as that one diagram shows there, many years. and maybe noaa needs to rethink how they're approaching debris not just monitoring and reporting but a more active role because we have now a stream that's not just incidental, it's significant. so i hope you take that back. but, again, the record will be kept open for ten days for additional questions. and i have a feeling we'll continue to have great discussion about debris. thank you all very much. the hearing is closed. ? thank you. >>> the u.s. house will be spending the afternoon on defense department programs and policy for next fiscal year. more than 140 amendments may be considered. the house will also vote on extending the national flood insurance program through june. that's the 17th time it's been extended while neg

house noaa -- has noaa asked the national science foundation for these kinds of issues, has noaa ask for money to help you move faster? >> we have had a discussion of the national science foundation about this. we used them effectively with the rapid response grants with deepwater horizon. they are helpful for us. >> this is a slow drive. >> they have money on focused research areas. they are receptive. i am not the one that had these discussions. it is related to me they are receptive but did not feel like they have the funds to engage. >> a sizable part of the debris, either one of you could answer this. it is the issue of plastics, styrofoam, these items that when they come ashore, they stay for a long time. they are not disappearing overnight. they will not be biodegradable. tell me a thought on that. i am assuming a sizable amount of this is going to end up in the garbage back or on our shores. is that a fair statement? it seems like this is one of the products that is not sinking. it is not going to disappear in the water. it is going somewhere. is that a fair statement? it may

has a certain role, but i know in the situation, maybe it's an analysis of how noaa responds to these issues. maybe it is a larger allocation to these ngos that are doing work on cleaning up the beaches and so forth, but now, we're in a different ball game and will be in it as that one diagram shows there. many years. and maybe noaa needs to rethink how they're approaching debris, not just monitoring and reporting, but a more active role because we have now a stream that's not just incidental. again, the record will be kept open for ten days for additional questions and i have a feelinging we'll continue to have a great discussion about debris. thank you all very much. hearing is closed. >> thank you. >>> when people are saying to him, don't take the vice presidentsy. right now, you are the most, you are powerful majority leader. don't take the vice presidency. you won't have any power. johnson says power is where power goes. meaning i can make power in any situation. about his whole life, i said nothing in his life previously makes that seem like he's boasting. because that's exactly

noaa -- the fish -- noaa had a system to protect turtles while not harming our fisherman. they said they would -- the fishermen agreed remove their nets from the water periodically to allow trapped turtles to escape. mr. landry: by doing that, they wouldn't have to use the turtle exclusion device. now noaa intends to regulate these shrimpers and force them to use t.e.d.'s. the recent rule making replace this is partnership and places the whims of the environmentalists ahead of the scientific data or the local fishing community. there is no day that -- data that lack of the use of t.e.d.'s are causing harm in the turtle population. this regulation if implemented, will affect thousands of fishermen in louisiana. fishermen will lose money due to the cost of the t.e.d.'s equipment and theals money from the loss of -- and also a loss of money from the catch. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. who seeks recognition? the gentleman from california. >> mr. chairman, i move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> i move t

a help wanted ad for noaa for a magician. what are they thinking? why is -- why are they looking for a magician? >> this was for a small group of people, this is the best and the brightest of noaa are in a special program. and they have some training events and they put this ad out for a conference speaker to speak on, the magic of change. you look at the specific requirements for that speaker and they include having, you know, the ability to do magic tricks and so on. so it turns out they wanted a motivational speaker who could put on a magic show. the budget was less than $5,000. we are not talk about this scale of the gsa. >> greta: how can they tell you this with a straight face? they have to get a magician? isn't enough motivation that we have a high unemployment rate and that's enough to keep them because if they don't, they don't have a lot of options. >> quickly. once this became an issue, they yanked this in a nano-second. >> greta: once they got caught. every crook drops the goods if the security goes off, alarm goes off. >> no money was s

while most quickly sank, noaa estimates 1.5 million tons of sna tsunami-generated debris is still afloat and being driven by winds and currents towards a west coast of north america. >> begich said at the hearing that large quantities of plastic netting are washing ashore in alaska and washington. lawmakers voiced frustration at the federal government's failure to lay out plans and retrieve the wreckage. they cited complaints from residents of coastal communities. they demanded the government provide information before debris washes ashore. an association noaa admitted that its attempt to track the debris by satellite is not entirely successful. he said the agency is developing models to better predict the path. >>> japan's government has raised its overall assessment of the economy for the first time in nine months. it says the economy is on the way to recovery. the government's monthly report released friday says personal consumption is rising at a moderate pace due to robust auto sales helped by subsidies for purchases of fuel efficient vehicles. it also says exports are showing signs

. >> today from noaa, a prediction for a near normal hurricane season between june 1st and november 30th. that means 9 to 15 tropical storms with 4 to 8 strengthening into hurricanes, and 1 to 3 of those becoming major hurricanes, category 3 or greater. the big wild card, the warming effect from el nino in the pacific that could help lessen the hurricane risk. >> it tends to increase the wind shear. wind shear tends to suppress or even kill off hurricanes. >> last year was one of the worst years on record for hurricanes. 19 in total. including one of the most expensive, irene. it slammed the east coast and even after being downgraded to a tropical storm, reached as far inland as vermont, tearing down historic bridges and isolating entire towns. the total price tag, nearly $16 billion. now 2012. >> this is something i have never seen before. >> already a year of extremes. 63 people killed as more than 400 tornadoes tore through the country in late winter and spring. >> peeked out the window and started seeing trees coming out of the ground. >> now the national's hurricane hunters begin th

noaa is the lead agency for the cleanup. but some u.s.s are not happy with the progress that has been made. in a hearing, noaa's national service acknowledges it doesn't have the budget or a plan. alaskan senator mark begich. >> have you made a low risk, medium risk analysis? and the answer from your administration was no. which made no sense to us, after a year, knowing, i don't know, tsunami did happen. >> i don't have an answer that is going to make you happy. that's for sure. i really don't. lots of priorities going on. and small program. and we're out there. we don't be -- don't know what the scope is. don't have a clue. >> reporter: now, the debris is following general ocean current flows. but it has dispersed, which has made it harder to track by satellite. >>> just in time for summer. a list of the best sun screens has been released. experts say sun screens labeled broad spectrum, are the best choices to protect the skin. these products guard against uva and uvb rays. and look for sun protection factor, or spf of at least 15. amon

if we look at the total numbers in the forecast, including from noaa and the weather channel. the numbers are in the same ballpark, pretty close to the long term average, but look what we say all the time. they can't predict if or where landfalls occur. even if we have an average season or below average season in terms of total numbers, as tom mentioned, hurricane andrew, 20th anniversary. there was a year where there were four total hurricanes. but that four hurricane total had one major andrew hitting south florida, brian. it can be a bad yew year for you even if it's a bad year. >> congratulations are in order considering the next time we speak it will probably be in the midst of one of these storms on the way. appreciate you joining us from the weather channel. >>> now to a story in the new york area that is getting national attention all day because it's a case associated with the start of a whole national movement. almost exactly 33 years aftera little boy named etan patz disappeared on his way to school, a man has told nypd investigators all these years later that he ki

. >> this from noaa, shows the path of the debris as it moves across the northern pa sick.s service acknowledged it doesn't have a budget or a plan. >> have you made a low risk, medium, high-risk cost analysis of what this would be? and the answer from your administration was no, which made no sense to us after a year knowing -- i don't know, tsunami did happen. >> i don't have an answer that's going to mack you happy, that's for sure. i really don't. lots of priorities are going on and small program and we're out there and we don't know what the scope is and i don't have a clue. >> david kennedy, assistant administrat administrator of noaa. it is facing a 25% cut under the obama administration budget for next year, so the cleanup may become the problem of cash-strapped states already struggling to make ends meet. >> to be very frank with you, it's somewhat frustrating to hear that statement because the role of the federal government in personalings is to assist states and not just your responsibility good luck because that's not acceptable. >> now the debris is following a

with respect to noaa, i thank chairman wolf for his continued strong support and oversight of noaa's satellite programs and his efforts to restore balance to noaa and research portfolio. the bill does this in part by redirecting the administration's proposed significant increases for climate science to higher priority weather research that will help protect lives and property through improved severe weather forecasting. this topic is very important to all regions of our nation and most recently to northeast texas, where an outbreak of tornadoes and severe weather in april caused significant damages to homes and properties, including in my home county in the -- a little city. i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record my communications to you, mr. chairman, in april regarding these weather research priorities. i hope to work with you as the bill moves to conference to preserve and enhance this particular noaa priority. i thank you. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's request is covered by general leave. yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. fattah: i'd like to y

are going to take a look at not only the beach and boating forecast coming up in a few minutes but noaaforecast for the hurricane season today which starts june 1. >> here we go. >> okay. thanks, veronica. >>> traffic alert for anyone who drives through southeast washington. the 11th street local bridge is now open. the bridge provides a direct connection between anacostia and the navy yard area. >> there will also abtemporary six foot separated walkway for ped wrans and cyclists. and a ramp from the bridge to the navy yard at o street. >>> still to come on "news4 at 4:00," the success of a popular fashion line. >> this dog is on the road for a go >>> welcome back, everybody. 4:30. i'm jim hand. >> i i'm pat lawson muse. your headlines, d.c. council member barry apologized today for comments he made about the asian american community. barry spoke alongside asian american community leaders in southeast. he had come under intense scrutiny in april after saying asians were opening up dirty shops in his ward. bare write says he hopes to make ward 8 a model of diversity. >>> new polls out to

so to save these little creatures, brian and his team have dealt 2021st century noaa's arks.free containners the jungles of panama. >> this is why frogs matter. >> reporter: research centers in the u.s. free of the disease while scientists search for a cure. just since 1908, 125 species from gone instinct but experts think the real number could be far higher. and 40% of the moan frog populations are already in danger. >> think of a fungal disease like athlete's foot except it could kill whales and rats and cats and dogs and cows. >> reporter: frogs matter because they occupy the middle of the food chain. and we are only just beginning to learn of the benefits to humans. like the chemicals they produce that can help with high blood pressure, diabetic ulcers, even blocking hiv transmission. >> i'm not going to hurt you. >> reporter: researchers are coating the frogs with a bacteria that seem to shield them from the fungus. the question -- could it save the world's frogs? >> so far what we have been doing is swabbing them every two weeks to see if the bacteria persists on the sk

. >> the outlook from noaa for a typical season. the next game is beryl. these are the names brought into service this season. you can see if your name is on that list. if your name is lower, you have less of a chance. we're expecting from 9 to 15. 12 is normal. we're talking about a normal season. typically get sick storms that increase to hurricane strength. that is what we expect this year. normally, three become intense with winds of 111 miles per hour. hurricane season around the corner, beginning officially on june 1 carrying through to november. while the season is about to begin, we still are keeping an eye on showers and storms east of miami. the hurricane center is in south florida. not too far from them. perhaps beryl is trying to form. this gets organized into a tropical system. we will keep an eye on it and see what develops. the school season is about ready to wrap up. we were talking to the sixth graders out there. a bright group of scientists in bloom down there. always smart and on top of the things as they study the weather. they keep com

here's the prediction from noaa, one to three image hurricanes with winds over 100 miles an hour. with tropical storm alberto, it does seem like we're getting an early start. don't worry. they're saying ease up on that. it's extremely important to get prepared. >> the most important thing here is to heed the warnings of the national weather service when storms are approaching, to heed evacuation orders from officials. work with your local and state officials. >> the00 season will last until the end of november. >> all right. while we're talking about the beach, let's get you into the beach forecast. maryland, delaware beaches, a chance of a pop-up shower. fog humid. 77. that cool sea breeze is the key. 90 in baltimore on sunday, upper 70s beach side, partly sunny skies. wart temps 65. that's swimmable, a little chilly, but swimmable. light breeze. shaking our camera a little bit. 79 at the airport. most active weather south and west of the d.c. area, north of fredericksburg and a lean of thunder boomers, perhaps a couple of isolated storms will hold together as they drift further

her claim after a long-time director jack hanes suddenly retired on sunday, an audit finds that noaa gave out $40 million in performance awards to contractors without proper justification. senator snow calls this a potential illegal transfer of taxpayer money. >>> at 6:03, jessica doyle is watching your money and how much you pay for gas. >> gas in our region about $3.61 a gallon but you say don't expect it to keep nose- diving. >> that's right. all good things must come to an end. this too, goes for gas prices and the recent drop. as the summer driving season kicks off, we're all enjoying gas prices than earlier this spring but we did just pay the third highest price on record for memorial day weekend. also experts are saying that the steady slide in gas prices might not go on all that much longer. so do you love facebook so much you'd be willing to buy a facebook phone? "the new york times" is reporting the social media site is hoping to release one by next year. the report says facebook is -- has already hired former engineers that worked on apple's iphone. some say it's a bad ide

this came out yesterday for noaa, national oceanic graphic atmospheric administration. dr. gerald bell was a ph.d. student when i was an undergrad. he's the lead forecaster. it's average, right where it should be. 9 to 15 named storms. average 10. not every named tropical storm make it is to a hurricane. of the four to eight, we're expecting 1 one to three becoming major hurricanes. if elnina starts to kick in early, the numbers might be lower because the upper level winds would sheer the tops of any developing tropical systems. it makes it more difficult to dove. this morning mostly cloudy, spotty drizzle at your bus stop forecast. lower 60s. even a touch of fog way west of town in the mountains. low 60s there to low 70s in town with sunrise happening here in about half an hour or so. 35 minutes give or take. day planner 75 at 9:00. still mostly cloudy. midday sunshine, 79 degrees. and by 5:00 84. we should make a high of about 86, maybe about 4:00 p.m. but also there will be an isolated thunderstorm or two in the afternoon but even less activity than yesterday afternoon a

. >>> no derrick rose, no joakim noaa. no problem for the bulls. they got it done with the defense. held the sixers to 26 in the first half. chicago avoided elimination with the 77-69 win. >>> in los angeles, lakers rallied from 15 down, but they couldn't get over the hump. nuggets up 3. kobe bryant's jumper off the mark. ramon sessions with another shot couldn't get it to fall. despite 43 from bryant, denver won, 102-99. >>> the ice, devils and flyers, both teams tried to set the tone early. number of huge hits in the opening period. but this goal pretty much summed up the series for philadelphia. bryzgalov ricocheted in. devil eliminates the flyers. they have the rangers or caps in the finals. >>> josh hamilton slugged his way in the record books. four home runs in baltimore, just the 16th player in baseball history to pull off such a feat. in perspective, more perfect games pitched than four home run games. josh hamilton single-handedly beat the orioles, 10-3. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some g

and more of the same in the noaa summer forecast. >> we're already in a drought in the southwestern united states, so when you have that combined with the persistent heat and the forecast, that can make a bad situation even worse. >> reporter: so there will be more scenes like these from the gladiator fire. >> i stayed as long as i could and now i just hope for the best. >> reporter: the best would be a season of soaking rains and cooler .tos which are not at present in the forecast. mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. >>> the atlantic hurricane season doesn't officially begin for another couple weeks, but there's late word tonight that the first tropical storm in the atlantic has formed off the south carolina coast. alberto has maximum winds of 60 miles an hour. forecasters at the national hurricane center say it's possible they'll issue a tropical storm watch for parts of the carolina coast tonight. alberto is not expected to reach hurricane status. >>> overseas tonight, police are on the hunt for a bomber who set off a device outstied a high school in southern italy, killing one student

while most quickly sank, noaa estimates 1.5 million tons of tsunami generated debris is still afloat and being driven by winds and currents toward the west coast of north america. >> begich said large quantities of fishing nets and plastic items are already washing ashore in the states of alaska and washington. lawmakers expressed frustration at the federal government's failure to lay out a plan to retrieve and dispose of the wreckage, cited complaints of residents of coastal communities. the lawmakers demanded the government provide information before debris washes ashore. japan's government is also discussing what it can do to help clean up the debris. deputy chief cabinet secretary tsuyoshi saito told top ministry officials the issue will take on an greater urgency as more debris starts to reach the north american coast. saito told them to forget about conventional ideas and come up with feasible measures after consulting with u.s. officials. >>> officials at a japanese government agency admit they pressured the nuclear safety commission six years ago to obtain a positive assessme

. >> reporter: despite this early activity noaa predict a nearly normal hurricane season. with nine 9 to 15 named storms. three of those are predicted to be major. there's a 40% that this storm will become a tropical storm in the next 48 hours. but whatever it's form, most of the forecast models keep it near the southeast coast for a majority of the holiday weekend. >> the other concern for most holiday travelers is gas. americans in record numbers are expected to get in the car and go for the weekend. and somewhat unexpectedly gas prices seem to be cooperating. abc's karen traifers reports. >> summer kicks off this weekend. americans are hitting the road for some fun in the sun. aaa predicts that americans will travel 50 miles from home for the memorial day weekend. >> we're seeing summer travel trends picking up a little bit. >> reporter: a few weeks ago, experts were predicting $5 or even $6 gas prices. >> gas prices have gone almost every single day. >> good news for there drivers, it turned out that those forecast may have been too aggressive. in early april, the aver

we are bringing noaa in to say, be part of this process. and then the last point that i'd like to make on this is the very significant economic consequences of approving a genetically engineered fish. historically, the entrance and the growth of farm salmon in the marketplace has had negative impacts on our salmon industry. we've got -- we've got incredible, abundant wild stocks. we're very proud of it. it is -- the seafood industry in the state of alaska is our second-largest employer, 500 vessels deal with salmon alone. but the concern is although we have very strong wild stocks, we could see the market respond with fear, unreasonable but still respond with fear and confusion to the introduction and the growth of engineered fish, particularly if it is not labeled. this, in my opinion, could have devastating impact on our fish industry, the jobs that it supports, and clearly at a time that it can't afford it. now, some will come back and say, hey, this is a new industry, it's going to create new jobs. well, i'll take you back to that c.r.s

noaa predicts we could see as many as 15 named storms, which is about norm, however, named storms forming this early is rare. the last one to make landfall in u.s. before june was tropical storm arlene in 1959. >>> severe weather forced the cancellation of the national memorial day concert in the nation's capital. the concert came to an abrupt end when a line of thunderstorms moved in. the crowd was told to seek shelter. country singer trace adkins and natalie cole had already performed. people watching a live tv broadcast of the event were shown last yore's concert. >>> oh. there goes the windshield. >> that is bad hail in north central kansas. hail and thunderstorm hit late yesterday. the hail so big, golf ball size and then some that it broke this car's windshield. for a second day in a row, record-setting heat is expected in chicago. chicago hit a high of 97 degrees sunday, breaking a record which had stood since 1911. the unusually hot weather had people cooling off along the lake michigan shore. it's part of a heat wave across of the midwest. >>> overseas and the massacre of scores

while most quickly sank, noaa estimates 1.5 million tons of tsunami generated debris is still afloat and being driven by winds and currents toward the west coast of north america. >> begich said large quantities of fishing nets and plastic items are already washing ashore in the states of alaska and washington. lawmakers expressed frustration at the federal government's failure to lay out a plan to retrieve and dispose of the wreckage, cited complaints of residents of coastal communities. the lawmakers demanded the government provide information before debris washes ashore. japan's government is also discussing what it can do to help clean up the debris. deputy chief cabinet secretary tsuyoshi saito told top ministry officials the issue will take on an greater urgency as more debris starts to reach the north american coast. saito told them to forget about conventional ideas and come up with feasible measures after consulting with u.s. officials. >>> millions of households and businesses in japan are getting ready for a hot summer. and that means they are getting ready to cut back on

nancy wallace monitors marine debris at noaa. >> the fukushima plant had a meltdown after the debriseady in the water. and from the experts we've talked to about radiation, they think the isotopes would be weathered and gone because of their half life by now. >> reporter: but he says unrecovered styrofoam and plastic may never go away. and if eaten, can be deadly to fish and wildlife. >> when we flew in here today, and i saw all the styrofoam, it made me want to weep. it's just really bad. >> reporter: the impact here pales in comparison to the devastation in japan, but what is now arriving on these shores doesn't belong in a place so remote and wild. a place of such grand natural beauty people are determined to preserve it. john blackstone, cbs news, montague island, alaska. >>> coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the latest on the crisis in syria. we'll get reaction from former defense secretary donald rumsfeld. a possible break in the honeymoon disappearance george smith. and recording legend paul simon talks life, love and music with wynton marsalis a little la

noaa issued one today. it doesn't take an active season to cause problems. let's start with how many hurricanes they are predicting as opposed to how many are normal. we'll go to the graphics. we're looking at on an average basis, 10, okay? that is average. they are predicting nine to 15. so it's kind of a wide range, but 10 is average. they say four of those eight named storms will become hurricanes. six is average. that's pretty much dead on for average and then one to three major hurricanes categories which means category 3 with winds 111 miles per hour or higher. three is average. last year only one hurricane made landfall. that was irene. it doesn't take much to cause problems. names? the first few names, alberto, beryl, chris and debby. what is the thinking with the hurricane forecast? here's what one official had to say. >> although this outlook suggests a less active season compared to recent years, the bottom line here toss prepare. as we saw nearly -- here is to prepare. as we saw nearly 20 years ago it, takes just one major landfalling hurricane t

noaa is hung up on 30 year averages which i think is ridiculous. the more data you have i think we should include it all. we have over 100 years of hurricane data. four to eight storms will become hurricanes. average is six. they think one to three will be major, two is average. that's about on the button. category 3 or greater which means winds for major hurricanes have to be 111 miles per hour or higher. last year we just had one landfall hurricane irene, but that was a pretty strong storm especially in terms of rainfall. some of the names, alberto we've had, beryl, chris and debby will start the season. we're offering it yet again. go to our website wusa9.com. our 9 hurricane tracker is up. download it free. track storms with us and check out the history file. it is pretty cool. there are some upgrades since last year. it is on the weather page and also on the homepage in check this out on the right side. download it because things will start cranking soon. here's a live look outside, some clouds but quiet downtown. it's our live weather cam bro

today officials from the coast guard and noaa will testify about the u.s. response to this growing problem. live coverage from the senate commercial subcommittee will start at 10:30 eastern here on c-span3. now former president bill clinton sits down with tom brokaw of nbc news and talks about some of the political and economic challenges facing the u.s. this is part of an economic forum hosted by the peter peterson foundation. it's 50 minutes. >> first of all, i'm very pleased to be here for what i think is one of the most compelling issues of my lifetime as a political journalist, and i think it's going to be a defining issue not just for the rest of this election cycle but for a long time to come. and i'm very pleased to have the opportunity to interview president clinton, who paused in his world travels to come down here because he cares so deeply about the subject that brings us here today. i've just spent, mr. president, the last three weeks as we were talking backstage going around america in a way. i was doing series of town hall, mid-atlantic, east

and noaa's forecast is 9-15, and so it could be 4 or 8. and major hurricanes, it could be one, above normal or, below normal. why? because el nino could get in the way. if it really builds off of the west coast of south america, mexico and even kind of runs up to the u.s., but really south america, that would ruin the season which means it would hamper the storms and all of the lower numbers. if el nino does not form, we could be above normal. remember, all of the numbers are just an estimate, and we have already had one storm if you have not heard about it, alberto, and it was there and did not hit anything, but by the weekend we could see burial off of -- burrell off of the east coast as a rainmaker for parts of florida and georgia and it is starting. >> i see csu, and noaa and you added the acronym cya and why is that not up there on the board? okay. there it is. >> we all know what that means. >> yes, we do. i had to think for a minute. did he say that on live television? okay. we have it covered. you have covered us all. thank you, ch

flight center manages operations for the hubble space telescope and develops satellite systems for noaa. firefighters are still trying to figure out what prompted the smoke alarm. >>> in landover, maryland an investigation is under way after a shooting near a rec center. it happened in kentland park off mlk highway. that's not far from fedex field. jackie bensen has our report from there. jackie? >> reporter: jim, a neighbor told me that she heard the gunshots just as she was getting ready to walk her dog. this happened about 9:00 p.m. tonight. here in the landover area. we can tell you that it happened on a wooded path near the kentland park recreation center. the area's patrolled by officers from maryland national capital park police. they responded along with officers from the prince george's county police department. now, we're told the victim is an adult male. we do not know his age. his gunshot injuries are described by police as non-life-threatening. at this time he's being treated at a local hospital. the rec center was closed at the time of the shooting. so it's not clear at th

i'll ask the head of noaa's coastal services center in a climate watch conversation coming up. ♪ >> belvagood evening, i'm belva davis, and welcome to "this week in northern california." joining me on our news panel are lisa aliferis, editor for kqed's "state of health." david bacon, new america media's associate editor. and josh richman, bay area news group's political reporter. you're back, josh, with news about the state budget. that's not new for you. how bad is the news this time? >> pretty bad. you know, when you consider how many dozens of times we've talked about there just on this show, you have to sort of put it in the context of all of those other bads. but the news is that started&poor's said we may be in more trouble. we already have the lowest credit rating of any state, but we may be in more trouble if lawmakers can't bass a balanced budget by the june 15 deadline. we've got two major complications for that. one, we're short on revenues again. we started this calendar year knowing that we had about a $9 billion deficit. and now we've got somewhere in the vicinity of another