tracee wilkins, live this morning in bethesda.you in the studio. >> thank you. >>> earlier this year a group of students from silver springs found themselves in a similar situation. students from the barry school travel to china in may and were quarantined for a week. we were there as the students were re-united with their families at the airport. >> new today, there is word that federal researchers gathered countless warnings about the dangers of talking on a cell phone while driving but that they held back because they did not want to anger congress. that's according to "the new york times." it quotes the former head of the national highway traffic safety administration. he says the agency was told to withhold the findings because some lawmakers had warned against lobbying states. that may have put billions of dollars in financing at risk. >>> well, 18 rest stops in virginia closed overnight. the latest victims of the commonwealth's budget gap. chopper 4 is right now live over dale city, over one of the shut down rest stops. you

i'm tracee wilkins live this morning. barbara and joe, back to you in the studio. >> thank you. >>> in other news, a maryland man brutally beating in a church parking on on christmas eve is speaking out for the first time since that attack. wayne williams had just dropped off his wife for choir practice in college park when 28-year-old shannon washington attacked him with a baseball bat. he was left severely beaten and his wallet and car was stolen. >> i can't see out of my right ey eye. i have seven plates in my face. >> washington was arrested two weeks later and faces up to 28 years in prison. >>> police are looking for clues after a body was discovered in a burned out car in downtown bethesda yesterday found early yesterday morning in the 4900 block of bradley boulevard. inside police discovered a woman's body in the driver's seat. she was later identified as a 45-year-old from takoma park. the cause of death has not been determined. >>> alexandria's police chief will find out if he keeps his job after his drunk drivi

i'm tracee wilkins, live outside the courthouse.k to you in the studio. >> thank you. >> thank you. this is barry's latest run-in with the law. just this decade, back in october of 2005, barry pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for not filing years of income taxes. he was sentenced to three years probation. in september of 2006, the u.s. secret service stopped barry for running a red light and a dispute ensued over drug testing at the scene. a judge later found barry not guilty. and then in december of 2006, pa p coleedicharg barry wh ivn ingagedusndpe celinsli d.c. thdmverat b llamed a mpco ermpr.ro hi tr. pasfet uary, precsouts torhtugo reveht s rry's tax probation afte h teilla f jug again. e thdg ee xtended his probation two more years. >> there are growing calls to fire a metro train operator caught texting on the job. this video put on youtube has been seen by more than 17,000 people. it shows a train operator texting with his head down last month while the train barrels ahead. the operator was suspended but returned to work this

it is out of there just past wilkins. we have delays from frederick to wilkins avenue.pretty soon they will couple with the other delays around liberty. so we are looshing at a pretty heavy ride there. but at least the accident is gone. we will check what else is going on. 95 at white marsh some delays starting to form as people are tapping the brakes there. a couple of problem spots, accident in elkridge at 175 and ramp from camp mead to the inner loop on the south sied side blo with a sinkhole. you have a look at the forecast? >> the sun is up and we are in store for another awesome today. today the high only upper 70's to low 80's. water vapor showing a little activity in southern maryland. a few more clouds expected there but over the heart of the state we are under the influence of high pressure to the north. 60 at the airport, 59 on the eastern shore in easton. 64 in ocean city. we are aiming for a high of 77 to 82. partly cloudy, quite pleasant. a great day to play tennis. >> how about that segue? very nice. he's coached the likes of andy roddick, jennifer capria

tracee wilkins has the data. >> reporter: good morning, joe.a long workweek with lots of overtime. and at the end of the year, that's how much time you have spent in traffic if you are top average d.c. commuter. it is not good news. we'll take a look at the numbers. here's what the latest report is saying. in 2007 the average u.s. driver spent 36.1 hours in traffic down from 36.6 in 2006. but in d.c. drivers spent 62 hours in rush hour traffic. 62 hours, almost twice as much in 2007. up three hours from 59 hours in 2006. here's what was wasted at the end of 2007 in the d.c. metro area sitting in traffic. 2.8 billion dollars in productivity and also in gals gas and 90 million gallons of gas. this report conflicts with a report released a couple moments ago that found congestion was slightly improving in the area. regardless, both reports say d.c. is among the worst in the nation when it comes to traffic. this report rates our region second to l.a., which is considered the most congested. when they come to talk about making this better, the botto

tracee wilkins is on the scene now with the latest on this. >> reporter: i asked police at what point will you go ahead and storm the house and call it quits and ends the stand-off? they are saying that point will not come. they will see this throughout the end. and let it play itself out. little has changed this started at 6:30 p.m. yesterday. except for the fact they are now communicating with someone inside of the home although they won't say who. in the meantime, this neighborhood has been turned upside down. >> spent last evening in a hotel. we were told to park outside the neighborhood and drive down and pick up a few things. >> reporter: 24 hours later, neighbors are making other plans and there are more police shift changes at this falls church neighborhood as it remains the center of a police stand-off. >> we have invaded this community over 20 hours. it has been -- pretty tough work for all of the negotiators and people involved. we have not reached a successful conclusion yet. our mission, of course, is to -- to get everyone out of that house alive. >> reporter: it began la

tracee wilkins.tponed plans to roll out new buses along the x 2 line. road construction and utility work are the reasons why. the new ultra long buses would operate between lafayette square and the minnesota avenue metro station. it was supposed to be up and running by spring. metro was worried about bad road conditions along buenning road and 8th street. metro is studying ways to improve bus service along the corridor. >>> drivers on the chain bridge will notice traffic pattern changes next week. it will affect outbound traffic from the district into arlington. work crews will adjust the construction barriers and restripe the roadway on the bridge to create a separate lane for traffic turning onto route 123. currently traffic turning on to 123 and heading on to gleeb road share a single lane. the changes are part of the on going chain bridge project that began last month. >>> we're following a developing story in prince george's county this morning. that's where police are looking for an 8-year-old

i'm tracey will kips, wilkins, back to you. . one person is seriously injur in an apparent robbery and shooting in waldorf. police say two men were standing outside when two other men approached them and demanded money. the victims put up something of a fight and one one shot. the man was taken on to the hospit and is listed in critical condition this morning. ments today friends and loved ones say good-bye to a teenager girl killed in a violent crash with a sheriff's deputy. it happened last friday in dunkirk, maryland. rachel campbell was turning left on a very steep hill. the deputy was responding to a 9 is 1 call and came over the hill with lights and sirens and brig sided her. >> she went to trial for state trooper and was telling me all about it. >> she dies in a crash involving one of the sheriff's deputies. >> i know. that's the most ironic thing about the whole thing. >> sad. >> the other man involved in the accident was critically injured but released on sunday. : plans are not in line with what the president wants. mem

tracee wilkins, live outside the wilson building. back to you. >> thank you. >>> president obama is spending his last day in italy at the g-8 summit. today he is meeting with lead frers the african nations and later he'll meet with pope benedict xvi at the vatican. yesterday, president obama reiterated his goals for fig fighting climate change and opening up trade. the world leaders agreed to a target of trying to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by the year 2050. meanwhile, back here in the states, democratic party leaders defended the president's stimulus plan saying it will take some more time before the economy starts growing. >> our time right now is 5:07. 65 degrees out there. people in our area ready to rock. find out which mega stars are coming to nationals park. >> plus, a redskins star's in trouble with the law. we'll tell you albert hams' worst fate. >> lady, she was like, what are all these black kids doing? she said i'm scared. >> and a day at th pool sparks a racial controversy. just wait until you hear how the pool

looking good at wilkins avenue. this traffic report is brought to you by geico. log onto geico.com or call 1- 800-947-auto. back over to you. >> all right. thank you, sharon. the president's choice for the empty seat on the u.s. supreme court, answers the critic today. hari sreenivasan reports for wjz, judge sonia sotomayor is tackling tough questions about questions about her history. >> she did not answer her views on abortion rights. but she did say there t is settled law. >> there is a case that reaffirmed the will. that is the precedence of the court and settled in terms of the folding of the court. >> reporter: sotomayor was grilled on the second day of her confirmation hearings. and much was made of the judge's past comments that a wise latina might make a better have than a white man. >> you tell us what is going on here, judge. >> i do not believe that any ethnic, racial or gender group has an advancement in sound judgment. >> the top republican wasn't buying it. >> you do believe that your background will affect the results in cases. and that is troubli

wide open at wilkins avenue. a little busier. there's a look at the top side, looking good at green spring. this traffic report is brought to you by pennsylvania dutch visitors bureau. go to lancaster county.com to plan. back over to you. >>> nasa is hoping the fifth time is the charm for launching the space shuttle endeavour. you're looking live now. you can hear folks talking in the background. it's set to blast off tonight, after a month of delays, due to hydrogen leaks and bad weather. >>> the space shuttle endeavour is fueled and ready to go, again. it was set to launch a month ago but was twice scrubbed because of hydrogen leaks. it was delayed saturday to make sure all electrical systems were working after lightning struck near the launch pad. and storms around the pad and an emergency landing site, once again forced nasa to call off sunday's attempt. this trip to the international space station may be a science mission. but this is a construction job. >> we are crane operators, construction workers. we're going to replace

there is a look at the west side at wilkins, running at full speed there.problems on baltimore national pike. this traffic report is brought to you by loyola. now is the time to invest in your career with loyola. attend an information session. back over to you. >>> thank you, sharon. >>> the 4th of july weekend was a success. 321,000 people visited the resort over the long holiday weekend. that's about the number that was expected. it's about 4,000 fewer guests than last year. a more exact number will be released in september, when tax revenues are released. >>> still ahead. microsoft problem. the computer virus technicians can't seem to stop. >>> how police put a stop to the suspect. >>> where is sarah palin. she resigned her governorship in alaska. what's next? >>> and summertime weather doesn't get much better than this. bob is updating the forecast. >>> heavy flooding in china has forced people to live their homes. cars are abandoned in the streets after days and days of heavy rain. government officials estimate about $31 million in damage. >>> police b

tracee wilkins is live with the latest on the story you saw first on 4. good morning, tracee. >> reporter: one of the students infected is going to be a junior here next year, but the 22 students here took off for china and are now learning how serious the chinese government is taking the swine flu. the students seen here just before they left attended several schools. a week ago they took off for a language emersion program. on the plane, one of the boys had a temperature and it turns out he had the swipe flu. soon other students became sick as well. nearly half the group has been tested and a majority have tested positive. those who have not are isolated in their hotel. of course, the parents have it the hardest with their children sick a world away, but most are focusing on the bright side. >> it is not exactly what they had originally planned, but they have seen a lot of -- they see how the chinese health care system works, they have had a real chance to bd as a group, and that is just terrific because none of them had met prior to being chosen for th

. >> tracee wilkins is here now with more. >> everybody is having relief, except us.o the latest study, take one long workweek with lots of over time, and that's the equivalent to the amount of time you have been stuck in washington traffic by the end of the year. in 2007, the average u.s.ri drve spends 36.1 hours in traffic, down 36.6 hours in 2006. in d.c., drivers spent an average of 62 hours in rush hour traffic and 2007 up three hours, from 59 hours in 2006. so here is what was wasted in all of the traffic in 2007. $2.8 million in gas and productivity, and 90 million gallons of gas. this new report is done annually by the texas transportation institute. it was done in a report a few months ago. both reports do declare d.c. is among the worse in the nation when it comes to traffic in that report rates our region second to l.a., which is considered number one in congestion. so we ask commuters in our area, what do you think can help ease some of this. >> there is just a lot of roads that need to be expanded, but we are not going to get that done anytime soon. and w

i'm tracee wilkins.to you. >> thanks very much. >> a big development this morning in gm's battle in bankruptcy and major electronics retailer's going green. cnbc's courtney reagan joins us live with those stories and more. good morning. >> reporter: hi. good morning. futures look like they're going to kick us off lower. wall street, of course, coming back from the holiday weekend with no trading on friday. so it could be a bit of carryover from thursday's employment report which showed that 467,000 jobs were lost last month. that was more than forecast. investors are also gearing up for earning season. it fishingly kicks off on wednesday with alcoa's results. so far, markets around the world were lower overnight, and europe is in the red as well. the economic calendar this week is a bit lighter with reports on jobless claims, import prices and the trade deficit, but today we'll get a read on health of the nation's services sector. the dow's at 8280 after falling 223 points on thursday. the nasdaq lost 49

tracee wilkins, live this morning in dale city. to you in the studio. >> thanks very much. >>> if you walk or ride a bicycle to your metro stop, the transit agency wants to hear from you. metro's holding a public workshop this wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at its headquarters in northwest washington. it's trying to evaluate the needs of pedestrians and cyclists between 2002 and 2007, the number of cyclists biking to rail stations during the morning rush hour increased about 60%. the agency has already identified $45 million in bicycle and pedestrian improvements it would like to make before 2020. >> police in the district and northern virginia are warning bicycle owners to be on guard after a rash of thefts. those familiar with t problem say bike-stealing is similar to auto theft. there are chop shops. one bike rider we spoke to says he caught someone cutting the lock off his wheels two weeks ago. >> i was actually at a friend's house and was swimming. and just peeked over the wall to make sure everything was okay. i saw them going at e b

. >> stacy wilkins is live at d.c. superior court with the latest on this still-unfolding case. >> reporter: good morning. more is still happening. in fact at noon council member marion barry will hold a press conference. but this morning in court, it was all very quick, took less than three seconds. judge read his case number and said that the u.s. state's attorney had no paperwork on the case, meaning that it was dismissed. marion barry and his attorney weren't even there for this process. they didn't have to be. but in the meantime, the woman at the center of all of what happened over the last few days spoke out. >> he's slippery. >> reporter: donna watts says she a learned a lot. she's the woman at the center of marion barry's latest run-in with the law. after almost a week of press conferences in which marion barry's spokesperson denied allegations of stalking watts and at times aired the couple's dirty laundry, prosecutors have decided to drop the stalking charges brought against the ward 8 count member. >> the a

i'm tracee wilkins, live this morning at shady grove.studio, joe. >> tracee, thanks very much. metro says that investigators say that a train operator was not on her cell phone before last month's deadly metro crash. 9 people were killed and 80 others were injured in that crash. so far, six lawsuits have been filed. one of the plaintiffs is seeking up to $25 million in damages. experts predict the damages could run into the tens of millions of dollars and if negligence is proven that number could stretch into the hundreds of millions. transit officials say most of the costs would probably be covered by insurance. >> police have arrested three men in connection with the slayings of a wealthy florida couple known for adopting children with developmental disabilities. byrd and melanie billings were shot to death inside their home last thursday while 8 of their 16 children were asleep. police have since arrested two men on murder charges and another for tampering with evidence. officers say one of the men tried to paint over and hide damage

tracee wilkins has been following the story and is live on the scene. >> reporter: we want to stress this is a possible shooting suspect. police are not saying for sure that this is the man who shot this woman. what they are telling us is that they are watching this home very closely and will have changed since it started yesterday evening. but what has changed is that now they are communicating with someone inside of the home but at this time they won't say who. this all began last evening around 6:30 when police say a 36-year-old woman was shot on fisher drive in falls church. the witnesses reported seeing a man run from that scene and into a nearby home. that led to a stand-off, fairfax county and state police that is still ongoing. we are told that there are other people inside of this home but we don't know how many. police say they are communicating with someone inside of the home but they won't say who. >> police are continuing to negotiate with people inside the home. certainly the job of negotiator is a time-intensive one and takes time to build the relationship and build th

today members of his family reacted to that incident and tracee wilkins has their story. >> reporter: police say 27-year-old kellen anthony ad dyanne, isdy m thean that was shot and killed by u.s. capitol police yesterday. capitol police spokesman say white shot at officers first after a traffic stop. >> a routine traffic stop the officers and capitol police were trying to initiate hardly even got a chance to do that because the suspect's vehicle began to take off immediately. >> reporter: family members say that's not the kellen they know. >> we wish to extent our deepest sympathies those injured during yesterday's unfortunate incident. and we are certain that none of the injuries that were inflicted were intentional and as the matter is being investigated, we shall refrain from making any further comments at this time. >> reporter: shortly after 5:00 p.m. yesterday u.s. capitol police officers say they attempted to pull white over near union station. they say he sped away ee radically in the white mercedes-benz he was driving. here he nearly ran over two officers. police claimed whi

tracee wilkins reports. >> reporter: traffic on the beltway in alexandria backed up as far as crystal county after a tanker flipped over near van dorn and burst into flames and happened just before 7:00 a.m. traffic was a nightmare. >> i was coming from maryland and when i got like off the bridge, it was so backed up i just took route 1. it is ridiculous. >> reporter: police say the tanker's driver hit another car park order the side of the road for repair after he admittedly fell asleep behind the wheel. >> drifted off the road, sideswiped the disabled tractor trailer and causing it to overturn, and saddle bag ruptured diesel fuel spilled and ignited. >> reporter: the cab of the tanker was completely ripped from the rest of the truck and crushed. the police say the driver escaped with only minor injuries. at one point, the beltway was completely shut down near the accident. then for hours, several lanes remained off-limits in both directs as the department of transportation opened and closed lanes in nearby ramps so that emergency vehicles could get to the scene. >> there was a diese

tracee wilkins live in falls church. craig, back to you. >> thank you. >>> a loudoun county woman has been indicted in a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme. the loudoun sheriff's office said diane frederick took advantage of more than 100 home buyers in northern virginia. they say that she fraudulently inflated her clients' income, putting them into homes they couldn't afford. the authorities say the losses from this will affect all homeowners. >> case unfortunately that there are a lot of victims involved here. homeowners, those who may have put everything they had into a home and ended up getting foreclosed on because there was no way they could afford tonight the first place. of course, t mortgage companies that are out possibly $50 million as well. that's something that gets pass order to anybody that owns a home. >> investigators belief atari fled the country and working with interpol to find her. >>> the federal government and two dozen states are going after companies accused of taking advantage of homeowners in fi

tracee wilkins, live this morning. >>> good evening. bob ryan, storm center 4. earlier we were under a severe thunderstorm watch. now all of those watches are gone. no reports of any thunderstorms and, unfortunately, hardly any rain in the immediate area. few sprinkles and that's about all we have seen here. there's the one cell that's moved through southeast washington and heading towards suitland and that's about it. and there are still some watches out. tornado watch even for the tide water area of virginia. and there are some nasty storms down there. and there may be a few more as we go through the evening and u can see some in west virginia. that's about it. later on tonight, can't rule out completely 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, cool frontomes through. you may see a few more showers or a chance for some needed rain. great weekend coming up. tell you all about it when i join you. >> thank you, bob. >>> we are following a developing story out of indonesia tonight. so far no claim of responsibility for last night's suicide attack in jakarta. two suicide bombers posing

i'm tracee wilkins, live this morning outside the wilson building. back to you. >> thanks very much. >> thank you, tracee. >>> the court hearing for the suspect is in last month's deadly shooting at the holocaust museum has been pushed back again. 88-year-old james von brunn is accused of gunning down a security guard. he was scheduled to appear in court today, but his doctor said he could not show up. von brunn is still recovering from being shot in the face by guards who returned fire. he remains at united medical center in a lockdown ward. another hearing has been set for july 30th. >>> and police are searching for three men who attacked a couple in prince william county. it happened monday night in lake ridge while the couple was out walking their dog. the couple says three men came out of nowhere, demanding money. when they said they had none, the man says he was punched and tasered. >> next thing i know, i heard the pattering of footsteps behind me, and somebody grabbed me by the shirt collar and put a gun to my head, and said give me the mone

it is absolutely jam from wilkins avenue heading up to liberty road. we are looking at very lengthy 13 minute ride and there's a crash on outer loop rains between rice road and 7 95. that does continue heading all the way through parkville and eventually up to 95 and that is because of an accident yet another one on the inner loop lanes this at eastern boulevard. that's a look at the very miserable friday evening commute jeff back to you. >> all right thanks so much. >> largest free art festival in the nation is now under way. mile an hour an take live at art escape in mountain royal. >> kind of a soggy start to this year art escape. you know, this is typically they complain about the hotness i hear a but now it's kind of wet. but as you can see behind me it doesn't appear to be bothering folks. they are coming down with their umbrellas in hand to enjoy this year festival. as you know the artscape is america largest free art festival but to keep it that way in this economy organizers say they did have to cut back their budget by about 200,000 dollars.

the naacp, now celebrating its 100 years, roy wilkins turned against him.yndon johnson disinvited him to the white house, everybody turned against dr. king. i knew this. i went back to do some research on this. turns out that the last public opinion poll done about dr. king had his approval rating at the same level as george w. bush's when he left the white house. and we celebrate king and this iconic figure 40 years later, 41 years almost. but he dies on that balcony in memphis with the same approval rating that george w. bush left the white house. that's how low m.l.k.'s approval rating because of his opposition of the vietnam war. i asked you because you were out vocally opposed to the war as dr. king. had you navigated that moment where people thought you were crazy, thought you were insane, thought you were as wrong as king was for being so violence -- so vocal in your opposition to the vietnam war? >> well, i started early. i went on -- i created a march, i think, in early 1960's before it was even official, the war in vietnam. -to-orwere already out

we have some lanes closed just past wilkins avenue in the outer loop. a couple of, three left lanes squeezing by but causing delays back to frederick road. watch for this to affect the morning commute. this is our one big problem. we switch to the northwest corner at green spring, looking pretty good. barely any traffic on the inner loop away from us toward the j.f.x. j.f.x. good in town. no problems on the harrisburg expressway. another issue on the inner loop ramp that takes you from camp mead to the inner loop is blocked due to a sinkhole. 12 minutes on the outer loop west side, four on southbound 95 from 100 to 32 and about 11 minutes on the northeast outer loop. that is the latest. now let's get another check of buses and trains with kurt kroncke. >> good morning, sarah. we have a few delays right now on the marc train. penn 50310 minutes late. camden 841, 30 minutes. brunswick on time. light rail metro on time. on the buses 22 and 64 buses running 15 to 20 minutes late. 22 bus diverted at university and 40th due to construction. for the m.t.a. i'm

legalities check wilkins area. that's where we have an early morning accident. wilkens avenue, at least one lane closed and plenty of traffic backing down already this early hour so if you're traveling on the southwest corner of the beltway, this accident will tie you up this morning. we'll keep you posted on how it impacts traffic. meantime, sandy point, things are looking good in contrast. across the bay bridge, a nice ride. you can see into the toll plaza across the bay bridge. we do want to remind you southbound 95 at the 895 split a new traffic configuration starting this morning. you're going to have to watch for the signs because it is going to be a bit of a change to adapt to. but otherwise we are doing quite well through that area. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. back to you. good morning. >> good morning. >> our big story, a carbon mow noosm yied -- carbon monoxide leak. >> nine people were sent to the hospital and neighbors say the community is no stranger to scares like this. 11 news reporter jennifer franciotti live with the latest. what can

. ♪ activia >> welcome back to 11 news today. 695 at wilkins. we're look at mid 60's downtown.ower 60's out there. here's a look at what we're seeing temperature-wise, statewide. bottom line in the constant, cooler than normal when you consider it is july 6. 57 in westminster. only 53 degrees right now in york, pennsylvania. but in contrast with the urban heat island effect, always a bit warmer. 66 downtown. 58 or so around b.w.i. marshall. mid 60's on the eastern shore. you can clearly see where there's a frontal boundary to our south over virginia and north carolina. and disturbances around south carolina this morning as well as showers and thunderstorms. for us, we're in a dry sloth. another lovely day. high pressure building in. unlike yesterday where we saw variably cloudiness, we're go fog see mostly sunny skies today. beautiful sky conditions. 84 to 88. 87 is our normal high this year. so we're right in the normal range. however, we're not going to be contending with the humidity. it will feel quite pleasant. mostly clear, remaining cooler than normal. 68 or so downtown.

some pleasant surprises on the inner loop lanes entire west side stretch from wilkins avenue up to liberty road definitely a lot lighter than normal so we take that on this monday evening. we are looking at a 10 minute ride. that's the evening travels. now back to you. >> thank you. another beautiful day but there is a slight chance of rain. >> we tell you when that could possibly occur. that's ahead and of course in our sky watch forecast. >>> speed camera in maryland. who was really behind the state new law? >> allegations against the andarundle couldn't school system involve gangs murder system involve gangs murder and broken promises. that >> andarundle county school authorities accused of ignoring promises to stop gang violation against a student. police say it was gang violation that led to the death of christopher jones back in may. kathleen joins us now. >>reporter: now legal steps have been taken which will lay the ground work for a civil lawsuit against the andarundle county school system. chris jones was killed in may. police say it was related to neighborhood gang activity. jon

tracy wilkins joins us live with more on this. >> reporter: good morning.rogram definitely has some critic, but this is a federal voucher program that's as good as cash back. and the idea was to jump-start some greener car sales and chrysler is taking it one step further. and why not? since you may be able to make some money if you decide to get rid of your old car and buy a new more fuel efficient one. >>> sgl people are really excited about this because it seems like found money to the upper. >>eporr: under a new government program beginning today, if your old car gets 18 miles per gallon or less and is in drivable condition, and you you've owned it at least a year, you can qualify for a new car that's more fuel efficient. four miles per gallon for the cars, two for suvs. the cash back with be $3500 to $4500 depending on the gas you save in the trade in. >> in the environment we're in, a program like this is heaven sent. >> reporter: chysler taking the program one step further by offering up to $4500 cash back for trade-ins in addition to the government m

. >> news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live in the studio with the very latest on this. >> good morningis was an amazing experience. passengers say they literally looked up and saw a hole in the plane, deep and large enough for them to see the sky. the hole is described as a one foot by one foot hole in the rear of the plane that was, again, visual from the cabin. passengers boarded the plane at nashville. about 30 minutes in the flight, the aircraft started losing pressure. at 6:10:00 p.m., the plane made an emergency landing in west virginia. passengers were flown in on another plane to bwi airport last night. there were 126 passengers on board, along with five crew members. this passenger thought to take a picture of himself after his oxygen mask came down. he then later explained what it felt like on the plane after landing at bwi. >> all of a sudden, the loudest noise i ever heard came out of nowhere. there was no pop, no creek, no explosion-like noise. it was just a loud roar. took me a couple seconds to kind of wake up. i got the baseball cap out of my face and i look up, and the

tracee wilkins is here, more on the anticipation surrounding the service.ng. >> good morning. a lot of anticipation. it will be an all-star tribute to michael jackson this morning but there are still few details about the program or about the private family service that could be held before today's memorial. it's been 12 days since michael jackson died and today thousands will say good-bye in person and millions from afar. >> michael jackson. i love this man. >> the chosen few. >> charlie and the chocolate factory. >> reporter: more than 17,000 fans who won a spot inside the public memorial for michael jackson began picking up tickets and wrist bands yesterday. >> if you can watch it happen, u you'll see all these people up there. >> reporter: there is now a partial list of those who will participate. it includes stevie wonder, mariah carey, lionel richie, jen hifr hudson. part of an overwhelming lineup, even by hollywood standards. also overwhelming, the fans. more than 1.5 million who registered but didn't get a seat. >> i'm coming with or without a ticke

there's a live look at the west side at wilkins avenue. not much better at groan spring avenue. >>> we all like saving money on groceries but a new way you may not have thought of, buying at auction. >> reporter: this is to we aring rock grocery auction in maryland maryland. we're talking meat, fish, snack foods, drinks, you name it. among tonight's bidders, number 1248, linda dickerson, a self- drabbed grocery auction junky. >> i have six grandkids that live with me and i need haul the help i can get. >> reporter: she travels the country looking for these auctions. she loves the savings. >> i'd say at least 60, 70%. >> reporter: at the grocery store, 24 lunchable packs go for $48ed. at the auction, it's # dollars. ham steaks are $7 and $2.50 a voice here. two boxings of trace kits $8, compared to $4 at the auction. >> i think they're great. >> reporter: to get the food from wholesalers and overstock, some of it is close to expiration, some with years of shelf life left. there are lotsover frozen items. they have become so popular, it's mo

there's a look at the west side, wilkins avenue. west side, baltimore national pike. and the west side at liberty. no issues any of those places. this traffic report is brought to you by the cochran firm. call 1-800-the firm. or visit cochran firm.com. for a free visitation. >>> judge sonia sotomayor has answered questions on day three. hary srihari sreenivasan reports. despite several attempts, soto sotomayor did not disclose her views on abortion rights. but she did talk about her views on the orioles. >> she was calm and remained under control as she talked about her views on abortion rights. >> let's say i'm 38 weeks and we discover i have spina bifida. would it be legal to terminate that pregnancy? >> i can't answer that. it depends on which state. >> i understand that some people have understood them in a way that i never intended. >> reporter: also back on the agenda today is sotomayor's ruling that a group of white new haven firefighters were discriminated against. when the results of the promotions that they took were thrown out. the supreme court overturned

tracee wilkins is live at the tacoma station now on this story. >> it seems as long as the ntsb is doing the investigation, some of the investigation coming out is scary. the bottom line is they want to find out all the problems they can associated with the accident and any other problem and fix them. >> more problems are being detected on metro. one month after the accident that killed nine people on the red line. investigators with the national transportation safety boa are continuing to focus on the circuit that since this train on the tracks stopped them and runs them in automatic mode. the investigators have already reported a bond on the circuit replaced five days before the crash malfunctioning. officials say the problem was not so bad that the circuit could not detect trains. >> we have not found any failures. we are going through the records to insure that there were no failures during that time. if we find cases where we failed to detect the train, you will hear this from us. >> the ntsb have asked for records to see if anything was missed by operators. from once every 30 days,

there's another look at the west side at will wilkins avenue. eat local, go to maryland's best to take the bilocal -- buy local challenge. maryland's best.net. back to you. >>> the group representing all maryland players came to baltimore today. as mike schuh reports, they're using the power of celebrity to motivate and to inspire. >> reporter: this tv commercial, advocating service from nfl players was released today. >> visit serve.gov to learn more about president obama's call to service. >> reporter: that call was answered in east baltimore. >> good job. >> reporter: 150 ara mark employees. donated their day. >> just have fun with today. >> reporter: at the center, new ravens' quarterback domonique foxworth. he has played in baltimore. >> i went to local high schools and even went to college at the university of maryland. baltimore is in my blood. i feel so much more passion and so much more drive to do positive things in this community. >> reporter: he's here to inspire the volunteers rebuilding a community center. >> i actually was born an

and tracee wilkins joins us with details. >> reporter: tomorrow's memorial service is expected to be a celebration/concert tribute to the king of pop. thousands of fans are expected to come together in the same arena that jackson spent his last nights. the night before jackson's death he was rehearsing at the staple center for the ylong-awaited comeback tour. and 1.6 million signed up for the random drawing for the tickets to the service, but in a lottery, fewer than 9,000 people were given two tickets each. and the odds of getting a ticket were 1 in 183. and the other ticket holders will be seated in the neighboring nokia theater. and police have locked down the surrounding area. anybody that doesn't have a ticket and a fitted wrist band will be turned away, which makes the lucky few that do have a lucky ticket feel that much more privileged. >> it's overwhelming that we will be there and help celebrate his life with other fans and family. it's such a mn occasion. >> he was a master entertainer. i cannot think of anybody that comes close to what he was able to give to the public. >>

i'm tracy wilkins live this morning.ack to you in the studio. >>> and for more now on the start of redskins training camp, here's dan with your sports minute. >> reporter: good morning. your sports minute starts with the beginning of redskins training camp. this morning players start the long trek towards the start of the season and, of course, players have two practices today. head coach jim zorn says he may allow some of the veterans a break and only have them participate in one. it's only the first day, coach, you can't take it easy on them yet. lindsay and i will have live coverage of training camp starting at 4:00 p.m. >>> to baseball. the nationals blew a four run lead and a chance to win five games in a row for the first time all season. in the sixth inning last night, brewers pinch hitter casey mcgee clocked a two run home run off tyler and the brewers beat the nationals 7-5. to baltimore, the os rallied to beats the royals. nick and adam jones each had three rbis. the os win it 7-3. >>> and soccer, abby, the wps

tracee wilkins, live in bough thez nau, back to you in the studio. >>> another story we are followinglosely, here the watergate hotel is on the auction block right now. and megan mcgrath is at the auction house and told us the bidding began 15 minutes ago. and the opening bid was $25 million. we are hearing that was a cash bid. we should know the winner any moment. we will bring you the information on any new owner as soon as we get it. we understand there has been a break in the action there. a pause in the bidding at the moment. but once we find out more about the bid, we will let you know. >> all right. right now, let's check the weather. we could see much-needed rain this afternoon. chuck bell is up inhe storm center with details. >> i am disappointed, i am $20 million in the checkbook, and now i am already out of the bidding. >> only cash, your checkbook is not good. >> if i have checks, i have money. isn't that the way it works? temperatures are climbing in the upper 70s and low 80s. 80 in fairfax county. and 79 degrees in leesburg, and frederick, maryland. and doppler shows not

. >> reporter: i am tracee wilkins live in largo. >> thank you, racee. we will haveive cofere ag the memorial service startinge t 1:00 this rnteafoon, andte it wl be streamed live on the website at nbcwashington.com. >>> a very important meeting happened this morning between president obama and prime minister vladimir putin. and brooke heart has the latest on the meeting from capitol hill. >> reporr: president obama smiled and his body language with putin was relaxed and engaged. >> we may not agree on everything, but i think we can have a tone of mutual respect and consultation. >> reporter: prime minister putin, the former president is seen as russia's power center. many of the fans have putin's name on them. president obama told students in moscow, nato is not aimed at russia. and he said a u.s. missile defense system is not aimed at russia. >> this system is directed at preventing a potential attack from iran. it has nothing to do with russia. >> reporter: the president's goal to defuse russian fear. >> but if a threat from iran's nuclear missile pro

and a look at the west side at wilkins. this traffic report is brought to you by subway. try the new subway big chipotle cheesesteak. subway, eat fresh. back over to you. >>> maryland lawmakers stand up for auto dealers. there is a move in congress to force gm and chrysler to honor their contracts with car dealers. eyewitness news is live in annapolis. political reporter pat warren with more on what the auto dealers have to say. >> reporter: you know when you talk about auto dealers, you know you're talking about successful small businesses that employ thousands of people nationwide. and the question is, can this economy really afford to lose that? >> reporter: auto dealer jack fitzgerald said when the big wheel started turning in the gm and chrysler board rooms, they threw the dealers under the bus. >> they got to keep their jobs. they got bonuses to stay. and these are the guys who ran the company into bankruptcy. they're getting paid to stay. and i'm getting fired. there's something wrong with that. >> reporter: he joins 100 other dealers trying to undo the damage done

looking pretty good at wilkins. no delays at green sprang. this -- spring.affic report bought to you by. >>> take a look at temperatures and conditions. take a look. humidity way down. winds west at 13. barometer holding steady. we'll come back and take a look at weather after this. >>> and first, we're going to continue to update the breaking >>> we go back now live to chopper 13. just over the emergency landing of a southwest jet. >> southwest flight number 69, apparently departing. we have just learned updated information departing. bwi on runway 28, with 169 people on board. struck multiple birds. we are told at least 40 birds or so are dead. and laying along runway 208. apparently this southwest flight was able to maintain power throughout his climb. he circled around quickly. called in an emergency which we heard through the potomac approach. they quickly handed him backuffa to bwi tower. he took about five minutes or so to get himself set up. and you just saw hill now landing safely on runway 33 at bwi. he has rolled out all the way to the end. appare

wilkins avenue to security boulevard. 95 northbound. that does remain heavily congested from route 40. give yourself a little extra time. northbound harbor tunnel throughway. bumper to bumper. and an accident to watch out for in the lutherville timonium area. that's york road at pedonia road. as far as city accidents go, two in baltimore city. east at biddle street. and south street at east lombard. let's look at the top side at green spring avenue. this traffic report is brought to you by mv mountain side. com. the online home of maryland mountain. just two miles west of interstate 68. back to you. >>> school is out for summer. but summer school is a reality for many baltimore city students. thanks to a new partnership with the orioles, learning has never been so much fun. >> you must be a power hitter. >> reporter: before he was a baseball manager, the orioles' dave trembley used to be a teacher and it shows. >> there's a difference sound that you hear as it gets up here. as it gets up in this sweet spot area. >> reporter: in the mids

wilkins avenue and the way moving smoothly in both directions. that is the latest on "traffic pulse 11." back to you. >> our big story, some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry gathered to say goodbye and thank you to michael jackson in a moving ceremony that drew a worldwide audience. leanne gregg has more from los angeles. >> the arena turned cathedral was full of fans from around the world. a tribute fitting for a king. in the world of pop, michael jackson wore the crown. >> offstage he was shy, soft spoken and child-like. but when he took the stage in front of screaming fans he turned into another person, a mast master, a take-no-prisoners showman. >> a star-studded list of entertainers highlighted the work that spanned more than four decades. but he will never really be gone. he's going to live forever and ever and ever and ever. in >>♪ gone too soon >> a celebrated man with a sometimes troubled life. it was an outpouring of love with an emotional high point from jackson's 11-year-old daughter. >> and i just want to say i love

i'm tracee wilkins in bethesda, news4. >>> not long ago a group of students from silver spring found themselves involved in a similar swine flu scare. students from the barry school went to china in may and were quarantined for a week. news4 was there as the students came home and were reunited with their families at bwi thurgood marshall airport. none of those students ended up getting the swine flu. >>> the father of a 4-year-old boy rescued from a burning suv spoke out today. the boy's mother was driving an suv in milwaukee, wisconsin, when she hit a tree and that suv flipped over and burst into flames. heroic bystanders qui will i pulled the woman and her two 2-year-old daughter to safety. as the flames spread, two firefighter brothers managed to rescue d.j. harper from the melting car seat today. and his father talked. >> first want to take a minute to thank the firefights and all the brave citizens helped get my son out of the vehicle. and especially john and joe, the brothers that got my son out of the vehicle. >> reporter: doctors said today that the boy has been upgraded to

tracee wilkins was the first reporter on the scene and is there now. >> reporter: over my shoulders, they are towing the tanker. and this is a process that is still continuing. traffic on the beltway in alexandria backed up as far as prince george's county this morning, after a tanker flipped over and bursts into flames. traffic was a nightmare. it happened just before 7:00 a.m. >> when i got off the bridge, i just took route 1. it was so ridiculous. >> reporter: a driver hit another truck parked on the side of the road after he admittedly fell asleep at the wheel. >> he sideswiped it and caused it to overturn, and the fuel spilled and ignited. >> the cab of the tanker was ripped from the rest of the truck and crushed. the driver escaped with only minor injuries. at one point the beltway was completely shut down, and then for hours several lanes remained off limits in both directions as they opened and closed lanes and nearby ramps so emergency vehicles could get to the scene. >> there was a cleanup crew that has been called. the vehicle overturned has to be up righted, and the recov

it is a parking lot, west side inner loop at wilkins avenue there. this report is brought to you by subway. the new subway. piled high, with toppings, subway, eat fresh. have a great weekend, everyone. now back to you. >>> you do the same. thanks. >>> nfl training camps aren't open yet. but some of the best players in the world are going to set foot. athletes known only in this country as soccer players are headed. mike schuh has more on the first visible indication they're on the way. >> reporter: the roar of machinery echoes. it's targo. tons of live bermuda grass. what's the matter with the field the ravens play on now. >> the international rules call for the grass to be played on. >> reporter: if you go to the home center and you're looking for some sod, what you're going to get say half-inch cut. this stuff, much thicker. it's two inches thick. and under that, very heavy plastic. >> it's basically instant grass. it has so much weight. >> reporter: it's that weight which keeps it in place. each at this pace, it will take three days. the cost is $