peggy cooper cambridge -- peggy cooper arrived to see the home. firefighters had problems with water pressure that forced them to go five blocks away to get the water. at this point, d.c. mayor adrian fenty is saying very little about what caused the fire. >> the general question is, is this fire department equipped to comment and do the job that they do every day, saving the lives and property in the district of columbia? absolutely. >> peggy cooper -- peggy cooper cafritz actually founded the duke ellington school of the arts. her home was featured in oprah magazine with priceless art collection. >>> a group of students is back on u.s. soil after a harrowin ordeal overseas. they arriveat ul ds lesul eibjilengbjing.ior some of them had the swine flu while they were there. stephen tschida has the story. >> a welcome homecoming for area high-school students after their trip to china took an unexpected turn. after 17 anxious days, the last moments dragged on. >> it has been very difficult. >> finally, what they had been waiting for. children who spe

school board president peggy cooper cafritz.egan mcgrath joins us live from the scene with more. >> reporter: they had a major problem here with fire hydrants and low water pressure in the area. in fact, they had to run hoses more than five blocks away to hydrants in other areas because they just couldn't get enough pressure to get water on this fire. thousand, as they scrambled to do that, what started according to neighbors as a relatively small or controlled fire, it kept growing and growing and it destroyed the entire house. the flames lit up the sky. homes a mile away were impacted by the smoke. the large house on chain bridge road in northwest is a total loss. neighbors say it didn't have to end like this. >> there's no question if the water pressure had been available for the fire department here early, this fire could have been controlled easily. at the beginning, it was isolated to a small corner of the house on the porch and when the fire department arrived, it was fairly small and isolated. but by the time the water p

our heart goes out to peggy cooper. our coverage of the story will continue on our website, wusa9.com. you can see raw vie of the fire and what may have contributed to it getting out of hand. go to our website at wusa9.com. >>> services will be held today for three victims of the helicopter crash. the helicopter crashed last thursday night near hagerstown, maryland. four people were returning from a charity event where they gave helicopter rides to people in order to raise money for troubled youth. services for kim felix will be held this afternoon at 2:00 in damascus and at 6:00 p.m. family and friends will attend the visitation for instructor george tutor in manchester, maryland. at 7 p.m. tonight, a viewing will be held for the pilot jeff nordaas in columbia, maryland. he will be buried tomorrow. arrangements have not been announced for the fourth victim. >>> president obama hopes that a private round of beers at the white house will put a racially charged controversy to rest. the president is hosting the black harva

we are told that peggy cooper cafritz has been up in nantucket. officials will not know the cause of the fire for several days, but we are told that many residents want the water pressure issue resolved. greta kreuz, abc 7 news. >>> one dozen local teenagers who were quarantined in china are returning home. chinese officials enudhost s atsarrtnely students shortly after ariving in beijing when one of the boys showed symptomsof the swine flu. some of the parents said nine of the students tested positive for h1n1. the students are part of a culture and the language program at the university of maryland. we'll have more at 6:00. >>> investigators are trying to figure out by a truck crashed into a building in southeast d.c. one person suffered minor injury when the truck plowed into the building at martin luther king avenue and good luck road in southeast. there's no word on why the driver lost control. >>> workers are repairing a water main break in nohwest. the eight-inch main ruptured on belmont street nw. belmont street is closed between 13th and

the house belongs to peggy cooper. we will have much more on the story coming up. >>> our other top story could affect a lotof muom. crste re nre aewthere newre findings t month's deadly crash on the red line. courtney robinson has some of the details and what it means for the transit system. >> most of metro's electrical equipment has not been replaced since the 1970's. investigators are quick to point out that this investigation is very much in the fact-finding phase. as investigators continue looking into the deadly crash, they are now focusing on two critical pieces of electrical wouldn't that help keep trains a safe distance apart. >> we should look deeper into what we have ever done before and we should respond faster. that is what we're doing. >> in addition to extensive testing, they are ao looking into maintenance performed by metro crews just five days before the crash, including adjustment to the signal strength. the investigation is far from complete. these are clues as to why the circuit modules d not dete

>> in the mail bag tonight, bernard, apparently of no known address offered condolences to the peggy cooper who lost her home in a fire. a situation he says did not have to happen. the complete loss of the home and everything in it could have been saved if our city had done what it should have, concerning the present fire hydrant situation. if we can spend so much money on things that are not needed why can't the city get behind such needed repairs as our fire hydrants. it is sad it takes such terrible happenings to wake up the city to what is really needed. >> the wakeup happened a couple of years ago with a similar situation in adams morgan when there wasn't enough pressure to fight a fire. mayor fenty promised answers as to what went wrong this time and what needs to be done to fix it and we can only hope. >>> more michael vick blow back. last night i suggested it would be a mistake to let the return of vick to ruin one's enjoyment of it all together. and one viewer said it is i that was mistaken. okay, wait a second. now you are comparing michael vick to a rapist and those that don't li

it's huge multimillion dollar mansion that is owned by peggy cooper cafritz, a former d.c. school board member who happened to be out of town when the fire broke out at her home. firefighters got the call around 8:15rom a neighbor. they arrived, saw fire coming from the front of the house and called for backup. eventually, 100 firefighters were on the scene here but they ran into problems with water pressure coming from the hydrants. the low pressure slowed them down initially but neighbors say the fire was already burning strong when firefighters arrived. >> the house want up in flames pretty quickly from the smoke to seeing a three-story ball of flames. it was about 10 to 12 minutes and it was very frightening. >> reporter: we understand wasa has 140 hydrants out of 10,000 that are actually out of service. we ped those were not the hydrants were being used here at the scene but they are continuing to look in that this morning. back to you. >> thank you. >>> meanwhile, police in alexandria are investigating a suspicious death. police say a woman found a man's body inside a

are still trying to determine what caused the fire that destroyed the home of community activist peggy cooper. she took family and insurance adjustors on the property to inspect the damage. the roof and portions of the walls collapsed but dc fire and ems says some items parts of the base could be salvaged. >> there are some areas in the basement that, you know have some water and smoke damage but for the most part no fire damage. >> reporter: the fire also exposed a major problem with water pressure in the neighborhood. council member jim graham has scheduled an oversight hearing to look in to the matter. >>> still to come when 9 news now continues, a superstar and big summer concert, how things are shaping up for paul mccartney this weekend. >>> and talk about music to the ears. how you can get tickets to your favorite team or performer for half price. that's coming up in "living $mart" but you don't need a ticket to check out the redskins training camp, right, bret? >> that's right. good news. the one guy who wasn't here is now here. first round pick brian orakpo. after his one-day holdout.

. >>> the northwest washington mansion owned by peggy cooper cafritz was destroyed in a fire last night. it took firefighters two hours to put out the fire because of low water pressure along that area of chain bridge road. nobody was injured, but hurt expensive art collection was destroyed. it -- but her expensive art collection was destroyed. >>> d.c. council members are considering raising taxes on cigarettes by fifty cents. another proposal would raise the sales tax up to 6%, and attacks on a gallon of gasoline would climb 3.5 cents. council members say it did not generate revenue they will have to cut programs. >> we cannot reduce government spending and programs on the backs of the middle and low- income families. it clearly, there has to be revenue enhancement. >> if approved, the new rights would take effect october 1. they say the increases could raise $50 million per year. >>> a panel of scientific experts has launched a review of the fbi's and rex investigation. -- anthrax investigation. fiveeople died and others became sick from letters mailed shortly after the september 11

the home belongs to peggy cooper cafritz, a fompler president of the d.c. school board. more than 500 firefighters rushed to the scene but they ran into problems with the water pressure. the mayor and other city leaders are now launching an investigate. >>> and another fire is also under investigation. flames erupted at a building on rhode island avenue in northeast. that building houses self businesses. the inferno was so strong, it caused part of the roof to collse. nobody was injured. >>> coming up, a mother convicted of killing her four daughters. up next, we'll see and hear the recordings of bonita jacks as she was questioned by police. >>> it has happened again. another metrobus driver is caught on camera doing something that they shouldn't be doing. we'll show you what made one passenger so angry. >>> income, crack open a cold one at the white house. it was the so-called beer summit, but it d. it solve ything? we'll have that and more when we return. fiber one. i'm looking for some fiber. this bar is an excellent source of fiber. there's no fiber in this. tastes t

peggy cooper is speaking out for the first time since the fire. she did not want to appear on camera but spoke to fox 5s karen gray houston. karen? >> she's devastated, visibly shaken and too upset to give a coherent interview. peggy cooper this afternoon stayed -- staying with neighbors now. she was with friends on martha's vineyard in massachusetts when she got word that something horrible happened. she thought at first her son was dead and said she was relieved to know he's alive. aside from that, she's not sure what happens next. the front wall of the house is about all that is left. a look from above gives a more complete picture. pieces of wood and twisted metal. what you can't see, art collected over a lifetime, mostly gone up in smoke. we're seeing the first aerial views of the scene. the fire department brought us up and what they call a coward shock. if you look there, you can see what a tough job they have ahead of them, going to bring in heavy equipment so that they can move all of that debris to try to figure out what caused the fire.

the home belonged to peggy cooper cafritz being a former d.c. school board president wod neighbors say was out of town. about 100 firefighters rushed to the scene but they had to go to a neighboring area to find height rants because nearby ones had low water pressure which made fighting the massive blaze an uphill battle. >> i got to say the house went up in flames pretty quickly. from the smoke to seeing a three-sty ball of flames, it was about 10 to 12 minutes and it was very frightening. >> wasa has been notified about the water pressure problem. we want to flash back to 2007 when low water pressure was partly to blame for the severity of the georgetown fire. officials said they would spend more than # million over the next five years to replace 500 fire hydrants. >>> alexandria police are investigating a suspicious death ate man's body was found inside a car yesterday evening in the parking lot of the lloyd apartments on manor road. neighbors say they were told the man had been shot and stabbed. the car was backed into a parking space with i

. >> reporter: peggy cooper cafritz had a priceless art collection which was featured recently in oprah's o magazine. you can see here posing with some of the pieces, a patron of the art she founded the duke ellington school of the arts and is no doubt devastated by her loss. >> the sad thing was all the firemen had to kd of sit because there was no water coming through the hoses. and they were just sitting there waiting for the water pressure. disblb neighbors up and down chain bridge road have been complaining about problems with water pressure for years now. and that's something the fire department and the washington water and sewer administration are looking into. the fire department says it wasn't so much a fire hydrant issue as a water flow issue om city water mains. after a huge fire two years ago at the georgetown library and at another fire in adams morgan, the city began inspecting, repairing and upgrading fire hydrants all over town. >> we're approximately 40% through the system right now. our anticipation -- we anticipate a replace -- anticipate to replace about 550 a year. >>

. >> when i came out and saw the fire -- >> the multimillion-dollar estate belongs to peggy cooper cafritz, founder of the duke ellington school of arts and former president of the board of education. the loss is devastating. her in valuable art collection that filled her home was recently featured in an oprah winfrey's magazine is in ruins. >> it is really devastating irreplaceable items are gone. a total loss. >> firefighters arrived in the scene shortly after the fire broke out at around 8:30 p.m. last night but they could begin putting out the flames until about two hours later because of a loss of water pressure in the surrounding hydrants. >> at least four of the 144 out of service fire hydrants are in this neighborhood. when firefighters discovered the water pressure was too low, they went in to other neighborhoods to bring in water. >> we had hydrants -- they were a distance away. but close as one, the pressure was not -- >> he says water pressure has been an issue in the neighborhood for the past year. he said what used to be an inconvenience is not a serious concern. >> we unders

this house belongs to peggy cooper cafritz a well-known d.c. socialite. they worked to control the fire located near american university. cafritz is reportedly on vacation when it broke out. the time is now 5:07. some thieves in need of cash didn't rob a store. they ripped the a.t.m. out of it. >> a mexican police commander and his family are dead. why it could be connected to the country's drug problem. >> this is a live look at traffic. we will have an >> welcome back to "11 news today." it is 5:10, 73 very steamy degrees downtown right now. muggy conditions will prevail today like we have seen all week. but today we won't see the trigger mechanism for strong showers and storms like the last several days. a few low-level clouds are that not really showing up yet are associated with patchy fog. the bulk of the low pressure area that generated the severe weather late yesterday is up into the new england area now. for us today just hot and humid for the most part. 88 to 92 the forecast high. typical late july weather. winds variable out of the northwest in

the house belongs to peggy cooper cafritz, the former school board. more than 150 firefighters responded to the scene but ran into water pressure issues. now the mayor and other city leaders are launching an investigation but stress pin pointing a cause and determining any issues in fighting the flames could be a long way off. >> we -- [ indiscernible ] -- to come up with any conclusion that would say with any level of certainty that we know this happened or we know this didn't happen. >> fortunately no one was hurt but the home and the extensive art collection were all destroyed. >>> a d.c. building that houses several businesses also went up in flames tonight. it broke out around 8:00 on rhode island avenue in northeast. at one point the fire was so fierce, it caused part of the roof to collapse. fortunately no one was hurt. >>> alexandria police now say a man found dead in a car last night on manor road was murdered. investigators say 40-year-old carlos luna of prince george's county was shot to death. police are now looking for his killer. >>now t

. >>> many of you may already know of peggy cooper, a community activist and former d.c. school board chair. but it was her love of the arts that inspired her to cofoun sc oe thart. that passion was reflected in her home for all of them. >> she is just a wonderful activist, starting the schools of the arts, so ironic for them and that wo ppd enthis would ha toento su ach wonderful woman. as a producer right here on channel 19 in the 1920s. >> our coverage of the story continues on wusa9.com. you can see raw video of the fire. learn more about the problem that firefighters endured. and a status and blog since last night. read what they are saying right now. >> just about everything that you buy could soon be more expensive in d.c. the city council, they have approved a plan to raise the sales tax to 6%. and opponents, they are worried that all three measures will sent customers across the river to virginia where the taxes are lower. jackson evans does not like the plan. it takes us up to the highest reason, going across the boundary to buy gas at a cheaper price, worrying

. >> the house belongs to peggy cooper. no one was home when the fire broke out. the art collection was destroyed. >> whoever the house belongs to come out a totally lost the place. >> firefighters arrived in minutes. it took them nearly two hours to put the fire out. there was high humidity and heat and it made it impossible to control the fire. the fire chief said if there had been enough water pressure, this fire could have been controlled. the investigation into what caused the blaze will continue. pamela brown, abc 7 news. >> thank you. >>> now to the latest on the deadly metro collision. >> ntsb officials are focusing on two pieces of electrical equipment. they are more than 30 years old. courtney robinson is live with more on this. good morning to you. >> investigators. out they are very much in the fact-finding phase of this investigation. it could be one step closer to knowing what caused the crash that killed nine people. investigators continue to look into the deadly red line crash. they're now focusing on two pieces of electrical equipment. pieces that

and peggy cooper, one of d.c.'s best known community activists. she, of course, started duke ellington high school for performing arts. president of d.c. schools, back around 2000, synonymous with philanthropy. collector of art. in fact the collection said to be so impressive it was featured in "o" magazine last month. chief reuben told us a short time ago. it appears at this point as if her home and art collection may all be lost tonight. the investigation will continue tomorrow. but for now, craig melvin, news 4. jim, back to you guys. >> storms rumbling all over the place this afternoon. things are clearing up now. we are told it will be really hot tomorrow, huh, bob? >> matter of fact we have some showers around. and one or two, lightning flashes. no reported sightings. right now we have showers moving through montgomery, and the bigger view of things. the last of the showers for today. and even, with today we had .05. we were still the fourth driest july we have ever had here in washington. tomorrow, back into the 90s. i'll tell you all about

peggy cooper cafritz was out of town when it wnt up in flames last night. we're told she lived there with three other family members and some home office staff. none of them were there at the time either. now, residents say at the height of that fire, the cafritz home looked like terror burning in the movie "gone with the wind." it spread like wildfire taking out everything in their path. including peggy's art collection. she was a patron ever the arts. she nted to introduce the arts to young people in d.c. she found the ellington school of the arts. water pressure was a huge problem. firefighters stood around helplessly when they couldn't get enough water to put out those flames. residents say they've complained to the city for years about broken hydrants and low water pressure to no avail. they say idoesn't seem right that cafritz who has done so much for the community and education and philanthropy and the arts has lost everything. >> she's lost her home. she's lost her beautiful art but more importantly, it could happen to any one of us on this street.

firefighters could not tap enough water to keep the fire from destroying former dc school board chairman peggy cooper cafritz's house last night. what's the latest on the story. >> reporter: the mayor promised a quick, who, knew, what, where investigation of who knew water pressure problems and what effect it had, if any, on fighting the fire. neighbors demonstrated their normal water pressure and what happens when a private pump kicks in. should the government have addressed that water pressure issue long ago? >> we will put together a public report that spells out in specific detail exactly what was known to the government, what was done, what was not done, and how that impacted the fire of last night. >> reporter: worried about water pressure, they want to know if residents. >> can have confidence if there is a fire, the firefighters will turn up at the scene and be able to put it out. >> can you tell the residents of washington dc there is sufficient water and sufficient water pressure and give them the assurance that can happen. >> yes. >> reporter: they are uncomfortable waiting for the report.

all that peggy cooper found was that ashes from a very expensive chain bridge road home. the fire broke ghni he other night. fire hydrants five blocks away needed to d. u se >>>esnv itigators are look gnv pa sed a fire at a vacant apartment building on rhode island avenue. part of a roof collapse. the apartments have been vacant for some time. the ground level is home for several businesses. nobody was hurt. >>> a water main break is now prepared. the 8 inch main ruptured on belmont street. it had to be shut down between the 13th and 14th street. traffic is now back to normal. water service has been restored. >>> we have 74 degrees. when we return, a grudge match off the field puts the redskins on the defense for the first day of trading campy -- of training camp. >> adam caskey live in silver spring. it is warm and humid. we will talk about the weekend coming up. >> lisa baden will be back with another look at your morning commute. taking a live look at the shirlington circle area. r his a lot try the new subway big chipotle cheesesteak. an updated all-time favorite: jui

. >>> the home that was destroyed belonged to peggy cooper. after doing research we found pictures of the home on the oprah magazine website. it was featured in an article about going inside of an art collectors home. this is a look inside the home. these are courtesy of oprah magazine. she is a well-known member of the washington community and a patron of the arts. she's responsible for founding the duke ellington school of the arts. our coverage of this story continues at wusa9.com. >>> today services will be held for three victims in the helicopter crash. the chopper crash last thursday night near hagerstown, maryland. services for felix will be held this afternoon at 2:00 in damascus and at 6:00 p.m. family and friends will attend a visitation for george tutor es in manchester, maryland. and at 7 p.m. a funeral will be held for pilot jeff nordaas. arrangements have not been made yet for neil booth. >>> metro is cracking down on bad behavior by bus drivers and train operators. this is after a recent string of questionable accidents includin

school president peggy cooper. the home was filled with her extensive collection of paintings and other pieces. when firefighters got the call at about 8:15 last night, the flames were so widespread they had to call for backup. eventually 100 firefighters were on the scene. but they ran into problems trying to put the fire out. >> it was about two hours before we had a sustained continuous adequate water flow. >> reporter: firefighters are still pumping water blocks away from the scene just to put out hot spots. neighbors reported low water pressure in the area in recent weeks. fire officials say they weren't aware of the problem when they arrived. it's unclear if that information would have helped firefighters save the home. >> this fire was already in advanced stages when we got there. so, it was a real fight from the beginning. and then it's complicated by the fact that we appeared to have inadequate pressure. that puts us behind the eight ball. >> reporter: john lives a few doors down from the home. he says low

that home belongs to peggy cooper cafritz, former president of the d.c. school board. she wasn't home, no one was hurt in the fire. it took about 150 firefighters four hours to get the fire under control. their efforts were hampered by problems with water pressure. the mayor and other city leaders are launching an investigation. >> we view it would be wholly responsible less than 24 hours to be able to come uwith any conclusion that would say with any level of certainty that we know this happened or this didn't happen. >> fire officials say it will probably be a week before we leaed what caused the fire. >>> another distracted rival -- driver. a metro bus driver is accused of talking on a cell phone behind the wheel. inbound number 63 bus driver was found using her cell phone while driving. that's despite thnew zero tolerance policy. john catoe says he is embarrassed by the driver and plans to fire the employee. >>> the washington post is planning that prosecutors plan to call a new witness against ingmar guandeke. this is said to be the same man that attacked others a

that home belongs to peggy cooper cafritz, the former d.c. board of education. efforts were hampered by problems with water pressure and the mayor and investigators are launching an investigation. >> we view it would be wholly irresponsible less than 24 hours to be able to come up with any conclusion that would say with any level of certainty that we know this happened or this didn't happen. >> fire officials say it will probably be a week before we learn what caused that fire. >>> the d.c. council is tentatively agreed to raise taxes to close a budget gap. if approves the sales tax would go up to 6%. the gas taxes would go up to 20 cents a gallon and the cigarette tax would go up t $2.05 raising the cost of the average pack of a cigarettes to 7:50. and michael brown says this will be beneficial in the long run. >> it was very much the last resort. i don't think anyone ever wants to raise taxes but sometimes it's absolutely necessary and right now it is. and when you're looking at what the mayor sent down, the budget he sent down had so many cuts that would affe

the home of peggy cooper cafritz caught fire. the only thing left is a burnt shell. investigators are looking into water supply problems that forced firefighters to go to neighboring areas to get enough water to fight the fire. derrick ward has our report. >> reporter: a luxurious home full of private artwork reduced to raging inferno. >> tremendous devastation. our hearts go out to the family. >> reporter: the fire started wednesday night. crews were on the show shortly after making progressttacking the fire from the inside but then something happened. >> we really struggled with the water pressure. about 10, 15 minutes later, we called for a second alarm. eventually we had about 150 firefighters on the scene. >> reporter: but they would have to attack the blaze from the outside. hoses had to be run more than a thousand feet to the nearest properly working hydrant and the ongoing issue that came to bear on this blaze. >> we feel like with the appropriate water supply, we would have been able to curb this. exactly what happened to the water supply, we are not sure. >

the home belongs to peggy cooper cafritz, a former d.c. school board president who was out of town at the time when the fire broke out. firefighters got the call around 8:15. they called for backup. eventually 100 firefighters we on the scene but they ran into problems with water pressure coming from the hydrant and the low pressure slowed them down. >> we were able to go to plan b and plan c to get second water supply and that takes a few minutes and by that time we were able to contain the fire and we weren't able to put it out and the fire consumed the house. >> the house went pretty quickly, from the smoke to seeing a 3-story ball of flames, it was about 10-12 minutes and it was very frightening. >> reporter: now you may remember a few years ago we had a similar issue with low water pressure problems. that was at georgetown library fire and wasa at the time said the system needs a complete overhaul and they were going to spend $26 million. >> that's sarah simmons reporting from the scene. we lost her signal there at the end. we'll get

it belongs to peggy cooper cafrittz, the former school board president known for her extensive art collection that and everything else inside is gone. tonight there are questions about hydrant pressure problems there on the scene of that problem. fox 5's wisdom martin sorts it all out. >> reporter: nearly 24 hours after a massive fire on chain bridge road, there are still questions and concerns about the lack of water pressure that slowed firefighters' ability to fight the fire. >> the hydrants that we did use, we had pretty low pressure. we sfrugled with that -- struggled with that initially. >> reporter: today mayor adrian fenty said it's too early to say what the real problem was. >> less than 24 hours to come up with any conclusions that would say with any levelof certainty that we know this happened or we know this didn't happen. >> reporter: the fire call came in at 7le 17 p.m. -- 8:17 p.m. at 8:22 firefighters arrived as flames were exploding from inside the house. more than 150 firefighters were called to assist. but they ran into water pressure issues. they had to drag their hoses se

blaze totally gutted a mansion belonging to peggy cooper, a former president of the dc board of education. >> the residents are out of town from what i understand from neighbors. >> reporter: the fire raged over four hours. >> we have a second-alarm fire, pretty stubborn fire. >> reporter: firefighters say low water pressure and broken fire hydrants in this exclusive american university neighborhood severely hindered their efforts to contain the fire. >> all during the process, the units were converging on the scene. firefighters were struggling with water pressure. >> reporter: let me show you what kind of daunting task firefighters face. this is a fire hose. and it snakes all the way down that hill, around the block, to a fire hydrant. the fire hose is actually meant to connect all the way back up the hill, to that fire engine. the house fire is actually half way up the hill that you are looking at. that's the kind of distance that the water had to travel at very low pressure and it's no wonder it took firefighters so long to contain the blaze. reporting live, armando trull for 9 news n

. >>> coming up, we will take a closer look at the art lost in this week's fire at the home of peggy cooperand a preview of the new movies you can catch this weekend. c#2g >>> this morning in the examiner, an investigation uncovers new clues in president obama's abrupt firing of the americorps inspector general. >>> new immigration enforcement programs take shape and a dc man and his nephew are charged with robbing a handful of area banks. read these stories and more in the examiner. >>> the woman whose northwest washington home burned last night is a well known person in our community. the forth former dc school board president and lindsey mastis has more on the woman who was in her home. >> reporter: these are images caught by ugca by "o "magazine of what . r home looked like before the refi >> like an art museum. >> this is seremua um called niwer to the people and in oongdim, r muhe dining room, a wall hanging made of bottle caps. it her house reflected a love of the arts. here she is standing in the entryway. they say that peggy didn't just collect those pieces. she loved every one of

school board president and well-known arts patron peggy cooper. >>> plus are investigating a suspiciousachb was found inside the car on manor road yesterday. police say he had trauma to his upper body. his name has not been released. >>> redskins players start a long training toward the start of the season. head coach jim zorn opened trank camp th training camp this morning. >>> to the latest in the michael jackson case. the new custody deal for his children. >> the pop star's children will live with their grandmother, katherine jackson. debbie rowe will get visitation but she won't ask for custody. jeff rossen reports. >> reporter: michael jackson's kids were his life. since his death they've been in limbo, no permanent plan until now. in a new custody deal not yet announced, nbc news has learned michael's 79-year-old mother katherine will get the children. 12-year-old prince, 11-year-old paris and 7-year-old blanket. under the agreement, debbie rowe biological mother to the two oldest will retain her parental rights but she agroees not to make a claim for custody. she will get visitat

school board pros peggy cooper cafritz. they did run into problems with the water pressure. >>> another fire in the district is under investigation as flames erupted around 8:00 last night at a building on rhode island avenue in northeast. the building is home to several businesses. the fire caused part of the roof to collapse. luckily, no one was injured. >>> we're starting this friday off kind of like we have most of this week and that is hot. >> it is muggy. ld temperatures, got a lot of clouds around and unlike yesterday, when for the most part, it was sunshine -- what are you laughing at? >> i said it was hot and you said mild temperatures. >> hot to me is upper 80s. >> it is not really hot. >> let's agree to disagree. let's have a cup of coffee and agree to disagree. >> i'll do the weather. you u ysdo the beer summit. let's look at hd radar. it is mild out there. we'll take a look at temperatures in a minute. some would say it is hot. 'll say it is hot for most of the rsfi most of the shower activity off to the west.

gutted the home of peggy cooper cafritz. the response will be examined and the water supply that was available. that home on chain bridge road went up in blaze wednesy. the priceless african-american art collection was destroyed. >>> congress is moving quickly to keep afloat the government's cash for clunkers program. the billion dollar program that they viewed last week and already it is running out of cash. the program offered owners of old cars and trucks up to $4500 in rebates toward a new more fuel-fshtd vehicle. the offer was supposed to last until november but so many people are turning in their vehicles, the money is flying out thedoor. if the obama says he wants the program to continue. >> we are now working with congress on a bipartisan solution to ensure the program cacontinue for everyone out there that is still looking to make a trade. i'm encouraged republicans and democrats in the house are working to pass legislation today that would use some recovery act funding to keep this program going. >> the house voted

school board president peggy cooper cafritz. morning shows just how devastating that fire was. that home on chain bridge road in northwest d.c. went up in flames on wednesday night. firefighters say one reason it got so out of control was because water pressure in the neighborhood was so low. today the water and sewer authorities said it is working with the fire department to determine what happened that night and what steps need to be taken to make sure all the hydrants in the city are working properly. >>> in alexandria, another victory for councilwoman hughes. she was sworn in on july 1st but her term got off to a rocky start after a formal complaint was challenging her residency. she could have lost her seat. the commonwealth's attorney ruled she was indeed a resident when she filed to run for city council. the complaint was dismissed. >>> unsettling sight in alexandria this morning. the judge had to move proceedings because there was a snake in the courthouse. kimberly suiters has our report. >> reporter: the snake was seen

the flames broke out in northwest not far from au, the home belongs to well known arts patron peggy coopertz. no word what started the fire. >>> metro says it's cracking down on workers who break the rules. it's reviewing its discipline procedures and will institute tougher penalties. this comes as one metro bus driver faces kidnapping charges after getting into an argument with a passenger. police say the driver refused to let the passenger off the bus for about a half hour. >>> today the redskins players start the long slowing toward the start of the season. head coach jim zorn opened in ashburn. >>> let's get a roundup of weather and traffic. chuck? >> yes, filtered hazy sunshine across the area now, still sun getting through to generate a shower or two. temperatures are cliing into the upper 70s, about ready to move into the low 80s across the area as of the 10:00 hour. high temperature this is afternoon will be on the hot side. typical for the last couple days of july. high today 92 downtown, 94 at fredericksburg. 87 in martinsburg. our extended forecast, hazy sunshine today, one or t

school board president and arts patron peggy cooper cafritz.tarted the fire. >>> in minutes the skins will officially begin training camp. the first practice begins at 8:30. admission and parking are free at redskins park. dan hellie and lindsay czarniak will have live coverage. we'll take a break and come back and look at our weather forecast and check out the thursday traffic. >>> good morning. i'm chuck bell. it's a hazy and mild start, temperature right now 75 degrees, high today 92. better chance for showers and thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. saturday looks dry and sunday a chance of a shower late in the day. >> chuck, top side of the capital beltway had an accident approaching university boulevard. quick work by authorities, the backup begins close to i-95 headed toward silver spring. earlier accident at lorton remains on the shoulder, drawing a little attention. delays starting to move up ream on 395 headed for downtown. >> tonight at 5:00 liz crenshaw finds out who gives you the best >>> 8:30 now on a thursday morn

finally peg guy -- peggy cooper who fall duke he will link ton school of the arts and called me one day. a mutual friend, frank pearl. wanted to start a new publishing company. called persis books. he created an print. he wanted a huge, large-scale reference work and she told me and i called him and for 26th time, ladies and gentlemen i made the pitch, for the encyclopedia "africana". he had a swooirt at suite carlisle hotel. it had a crimson cover on it. i will never forget. for the 26th time i made a pitch with the funky computer. only thing i could do was make the cd-rom. it was wired for me, easy to use version. and after that 45-minute present, frank pearl turned to me said this is great. how much do you need? i said, $2 million. and he stuck out his hand, said, you got a deal. and i looked at him, don't mess with me, frank. [laughter] said, you got a deal. i said, six months ago i pitched it to microsoft and, they didn't get back to me. but if they do, i'm commit to do it on cd-rom. said, tell you what. if they get back to you. give you million dollars. get a million dollars from

. >> it belongs to peggy cooper cafritz.ted the home, severely damaging her art selection. >> where the house belongs to, they lost the place. it is really bad >> . firefighters arrived in minutes. it took them nearly two hours to begin putting in doubt. a lack of dependable water supply made the fire impossible to control. >> there was a fire truck hopes up to the fire plug in front of our house. it obviously was out of the ordinary and a little alarming. >> residence on the block have had problems with water pressure over the past few weeks. >> that was pamela brown reporting. >>> the d.c. council tentatively agreed to raise some taxes to help lower the budget gap. sales tax would increase to 6%. the 20 cent a gallon gas tax would rise by three and a half cents. the council is set to vote on the in crises' tomorrow. >>> we all need some comfort food. today is national cheesecake day. the cheesecake factory is offering a slice of cheesecake at half price. they will debut their newest flavor, the ultimate red velvet read che

peggy from altoona, pennsylvania. caller: good morning. i have a question. i wanted to know if your organization is cooperatingr coordinating with any other organizations right now to increase awareness regarding bias, not only to the issue of ancestral history, race, or creed, but so still the economic impact -- socio-economic impact. when i hear the word empathy used regarding the current nominations, it brings to mind a right-brained fuzziness, and i just want to know if you think in your organization that many things labeled racists in this country today entered the realm of the socio-economic status. >> interesting question. anytime you delve into the interest of the issue of race today, is a complicated issue and there are many who believe that we have moved far enough along as a country where perhaps we no longer need to be race- conscious work -- or have any consciousness with regard to ethnicity. i think while we have made significant progress, the fact of the matter is that there is still a lot more to be done on the basis of race and gender and any other type of category like that. i do think that i

peggy. >> caller: good morning. i have a question. i am a little bit foggy at this morning. i wanted to know if your organization is cooperating or coordinating with any other organization right now to increase awareness regarding not only to the issue of race or creed, but socioeconomic. when i hear the word and that the used regarding the current nomination to the supreme court, it brings to mind a right brain fuzziness. i just want to know if you think in your organization thinks that many things that are labeled racist in this country today surpass color and enter the realm of the socioeconomic status? >> guest: well, it is an interesting question. i think anytime you delton to the issue of race in this country today, i think it is a complicated issue and there many who believe that's we have moved far enough along as a country where perhaps we no longer need to be a race conscious, or have any consciousness with regard to ethnicity or gender. i think we'll we have made a lot of significant strides in progress for many communities of color, the fact of the matter is that there is still a lot more to be done on the basis of