car into house. an elderly driver fights to recover this morning after plowing her car into a home in wheaton. back in washington, president obama is back at the white house this morning after what he calls a meaningful trip to ghana. and a nice day ahead. the second half to the weekend looks even better than the first half. good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." it's sunday, july 12th, 2009. i'm kimberly suiters in for keith garvin. the news is just ahead. first let's go to steve villanueva up in storm center 4 for a look at this morning's weather. steve, did it rain last night? >> after all that, hmm?

yeah, it didn't rain. we did have a front that pushed across the area, but it just fell apart as it made its way toward the mid-atlantic. the northeast got a ton of rain. locally, nothing. here's what's going on right now. temperaturewise, 73 degrees here in the beltway, 69 at dulles, 70 manassas. a warm start to the day and dew points are on the high side. at least with the front moving through, these numbers will start to drop today so the humidity will be going down. you can see we did have a ton of rain up toward new york city. we are now on the northern fringe of the frontal band. eventually as the day goes on, the front will continue to slide off toward the south, taking the clouds with it. mostly sunny to partly cloudy for this afternoon. temperatures climbg into the mid-80s and much of the week looks pretty comfortable and warmer. we're going to talk about it coming up in a little bit. back to you. >> steve, thank you. we begin this morning with a double murder and a suicide that may be related. pococed disverehe the murder cts fit. investigyorsas firefighters responded tosa kenchit fire at rtan apatment a building on university boulevard in langley

park yesterday morning. while putting out the flames they discovered the bodies of a couple in their 20s. later, police in d.c. found a man who had apparently jumped to his death at a construction site on 1st street northeast. >> the male subject that committed suicide in d.c. actually was the lease owner here of this apartment. so, he committed the murders and fled to d.c. and actually committed suicide. >> police say the apartment where the bodies were discovered was being rented by the man who committed suicide. he has not yet been identified. police will only say he's in his 50s. an elderly woman is in the hospital this morning after she lost control of her vehicle and slammed into a house. the accident happened in the 11,500 block of daffodil lane. the homeowner was not hurt but his home was so badly damaged he needs to find another place to stay. darcy spencer has our report. >> big boom, you know. big booming like a bombing,

something like that. >> reporter: jay was jogging when he heard the crash. a woman in her 80s driving this chevy malibu drove into his home on daffodil lane in wheaton. the damage was so severe a building inspector declared the home unsafe. good thing you weren't in the house then? >> yes. i mean, i was not, at that time, in the house. lucky about that. >> reporter: fire rescue officials say it happened just after 6:00 p.m. the elderly woman was driving near the intersection of ar cola avenue and contentville road when, for unknown reasons, she drove over the sidewalk, through a privacy fence and into the house. >> the vehicle had a single driver occupant in it. significant injuries, unconscious, unresponsive. she was transported to local trauma center. >> reporter: the woman's injuries are considered life-threatening. this neighbor heard the crash and called for help. >> heard a large crash and about six months ago, there was a similar accident, so i figured i'd check the same area. came down to the cul-de-sac and,

sure enough, i saw the car in the yard. turned around the wrong way. so i grabbed the phone, called 911. >> reporter: residents say there have been several crashes at or near the intersection and they're hoping montgomery county will make it safer and take steps to slow down lead-footed drivers. >> i hope they'll put up some, some measures of safety here, maybe guardrails or something that the cars shouldn't come into our neighborhood. >> they put calming devices on kentville road but they still have a lot of problems. they need to monitor it with cameras and really enforce it. >> reporter: darcy spencer, "news 4 today." >> a fire on the 12th floor of a high-rise condominium building has caused trouble for firefighters in montgomery county. it broke out around 7:30 last night at pine way towers on piney branch road in silver spring. flames shot from the windows as the building was evacuated. a dozen people were rescued by firefighters. six were treated for smoke inhalation, cuts and other medical ailments but only one resident was transported to the

hospital. one firefighter was treated for dehydration. at around 9:30 last night, residents from the ninth floor down were able to return to their apartments. >> we are now hearing from a man police say tried to stop a violent suspect in the midst of a crime spree in leesburg on friday. 49-year-old william spencer is accused of robbing a jewelry store, holding a family hostage, stealing their car, then holding up an elderly couple. prescott engle works near the jewelry store and tried to stop spencer. he spoke to news 4 about what happened. >> he's walking ahead of me. i've got my weapon displayed, and when he saw the police officers, he took off running. there were several people on the street. i did not wan to fire my weapon. i didn't want to hit anybody else. and i simply wanted to detain him. but i ran across my front yard and i cut him off right there. he was right in front of me. i was right at my truck there. and he was at the entrance of

that gate when he fired a small r cabelind mgubeatn e.at eecdote t be t lyformalhaedrg moto.rmowrr police say he has an extensive prior criminal history. a disturbing find in glen burnie. anne arundel county police are investigating what they're calling a suspicious death after the body of an elderly woman was found in a freezer. derek ward has that ory. >> reporter: police were called just after 6:00 friday evening to a ground floor apartment here in the 7400 block of furnace branch road in glen burnie. the call was to report that someone had diedthere. >> upon arrival, they were actually -- they located a female apparently deceased in a freezer inside of the residence. >> reporter: the body was that of 83-year-old doris lee cook. homicide detectives were called to begin an investigation. >> they interviewed several family members who actually told them the female had been deceased for several weeks and they had actually placed her in that freezer and that she had been suffering from various ailments and conditions. >> reporter: police say cooke lived in the apartment with

relatives. >> the call was received from a family member outside of the residence who was made aware of the situation. >> when i come here and seen what happened, i went ahead and called the authorities and then the authorities handled it the right way. >> reporter: patrick hoover is the grandson of the woman found in the freezer and he says she lived in texas and west virginia before moving to glen burnie. she lives with two daughters, one of whom is mentally disabled but they were all very close. >> they all lived together from y one in texas. >> reporter: at this point, family members and authorities have more questions than answers about doris cooke's death and no one's speculating. >> it happened. we're dealing with it as a family, and we're going to try to keep dealing with it as best we can. >> reporter: this was obviously a tough blow for this family, but family members tell us regardless of the circumstances of the woman's death, or the circumstances of how she was found, the one thing they want remembered is that she was loved by a lot of people. in glen burnie, derrick ward, news 4. >> officials say it could be days before a cause of death is determined. they're awaiting autopsy results from the medical examiner in

baltimore. d.c. health department officials say three mosquito pools have tested positive for the west nile virus. officials say the mosquito pools were collected from an area of southwest washington near ft. mcnair. no one in d.c. has been infected by west nile virus this year. in 2008, six residents tested positive for the virus. the health department recommends that residents eliminate mosquito breeding areas around their home by simply removing standing water. still ahead on "news 4 today," will july continue to be cooler than average or is hot, humid weather in our near future? eve is back with a closer look. beautiful morning out there. and how about those nats? their bats were on fire, but did errors cost them the win again? we'll have the highlights. stay with us. there are moments in time

when the paths we take do determine our future. today we are communicating with each other as never before - and that requires a seamless network that is constantly growing better, smarter, and more secure. that's why our scientists and engineers in our labs, are taking the fastest technology in the world and making it mobile, better and faster - to keep pushing the internet further than anyone dreamed. last year alone we invested more in building america's future than any other company - improving and expanding our network, to keep you in control. and behind the scenes, that takes work by our employees, who pride themselves knowing, that because they do it right, you might not even notice. if all of that, makes your connections, faster and more secure... well, that's our business.

at&t... your world... delivered. good morning, everyone. it's 6:11 and it is 73 degrees outside. you can feel the humidity hanging in the air a little bit. >> it is. it's very humid outside. dew points yesterday actually made it into the low 70s, which is really, really humid. today, though, we have a cold front coming through and this won't cool things down, but it will, however, at least bring in less humid weather. >> okay. >> so -- >> that's perfect. >> it will be a pretty nice sunday. plenty of sunshine out there with mostly sunny to partly

cloudy skies. temperatures in the mid-80s and low humidity. in fact, we're going to see some pretty nice weather for the first couple of days of the workweek. however, it will get warmer as the atmosphere starts to cook things up. here's what it looks like outside. there is a bit of haze out there this morning because dew points are so high. we have some patchy fog southwest of town because of the low level moisture but for the most part it's going to be a nice day. 73, mostly clear. the winds right now are light and the dew point is at 68. when dew points are in the upper 60s, low 70s, it's just very humid. 73 in the beltway, 72 in prince george's county, clinton 69, 68 in springfield. dew points are in the upper 60s. it's very humid, but these numbers will start to drop as northerly winds start to bring in some less humid weather. this is the air that will be dropping down into the region today. you can see it's much less humid around buffalo and up towards the great lakes. this air will be coming down on northerly winds. even though we have the northerly winds, temperatures

won't warm up. temperatures will warm up. temperatures won't cool down. temperatures today will be climbing into the mid-80s and we still have more warm weather off to the west and this will start to make its way toward the mid-atlantic as we head toward the middle of the week so it's going to slowly start to warm up a bit. so there's the frontal band that's coming across the area. really fizzled out in new england. that's where we had a ton of rain with some really nasty storms. as the front makes its way southward, bring us mostly cloudy skies and the northerly winds behind it will bring in that less humid weather. over the next couple of days, the front will eventually just sag off to the south. by the time we get to the middle of the week it will come back north as a warm front and really start to warm things up for wednesday and for thursday. until then, high pressure will be the main player, keeping us high and dry and ver comfortable. so here's the deal. come this afternoon, mostly sunny. it's going to be on the warm side, less humid than yesterday. temperatures today in the mid-80s. 86 degrees. then tomorrow, 87.

likewise on tuesday. then on wednesday we're pushing 90 degrees. so finally feeling more like july, with temperatures in the upper 80s. on thursday we could actually punch into the 90s and see a couple of thunderstorms. then friday and saturday at this point in time looking okay. >> back to today, a pretty day today. >> yeah, it's going to be nice. >> looking forward to it. thank you. what a sixth inning for the nats. three consecutive homers. here's hakem dermish with today's sports minute. >> good morning, everyone. your sports minute begins with baseball. nats in houston last night, and it was liftoff for the nats. washington hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning. it's the first time that's happened in nats history. the nationals pounded out a season high 13 runs on 21 hits. they win big, 13-2. in baltimore, battle of the birds, o's and blue jays. this game went to extra innings. game tied at 3.

moore at the plate, he hits a walk-off home run to wright. it's his first home run in 50 games. the orioles win it 4-3 in the bottom of the 12th. in golf at the u.s. women's open, former clamp cristie kerr is clinging to a two-shot lead going into the final round. you can see the fourth round today here on nbc 4 beginning at 3:00. in the wnba, mystics hosting the l.a. sparks last night. elena beard scored a game high 26 points and the mystics win it 75-63. that's your sports minute. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. next, reporter's notebook, an inside look at the stories affecting your community. we'll be back in 15 minute was ot this morning's t o stories. for now, here's craig melvin. >> this is reporter's notebook. i'm your lows t this morning, craig melvin, joined by, of course, jim allen, jerry phillips, two regulars. i appreciate you guys letting me hang out with you this morning. we'll start with what everyone else is talking about, start with marion barry, the d.c.

politician with not nine lives, like 18, 19 lives. of course last week the stalking charges dropped. u.s. attorney's office announcing they would not be pursuing those charges. it is now -- still unclear whether there's going to be an investigation into whether some public funds were misused, but the larger discussion here has to be marion barry. at what point do you think folks in ward 8 say, okay, enough's enough? your time's passed. >> if we think back on some of his roughest days after he was forced to -- >> ramada inn. >> -- repay a debt to society, i think when he was re-elected initially it was sort of a protest vote. people of the district of columbia said the federal government is not going to tell us who we want to lead us. >> funny you should mention that. i heard that sentiment expressed before, that some of his political success can be attributed to the fact that a lot of people do see him as a victim. >> well, i don't know how far we want to go into this, but if

we -- >> right. >> if we go to the vista sting situation, his intent for going to the vista may have been sorry did but it was not for drugs. >> right. which he has said before, which he has admitted before. >> it was not for drugs. he was -- some people have very strong opinions about that. he seems to -- we saw someone -- a year or so back when he was reportedly robbed by some kids who were helping him with his groceries. >> that's right. >> this one has perhaps has some legs, as you mentioned, because of the fact that there are public funds that are in question. >> right. that's what one of the council members said. one of the council members said in that post article last week that it's one thing if you've got some sort of goofy traffic violation. it's another thing if you start to talk about misusing public funds. do we think that willecome the larger story out of this? >> it depends how it turns out actually, craig, because marion

barry's been throu these things before, not necessarily with public funds. >> right. >> but on the edge of public trust in many ways. here you have a man that people look up to, and there are those in the city or around the nation that don't like. they feel that he's a waste of good government trust. >> but we say that, but here's a guy that, in his last election, was elected with 78% of the vote. >> that's because you opened it up. he has nine lives. there are some people who have nine lives on earth. when you talk about this man having nine lives, it's all about this. marion is a very shrewd politician. he's a very shrewd administrator. he pretty much knows what he's doing, especially when he gets in trouble. he has the best lawyers to protect him. so, i an, when you talk about marion barry, you're talking about a very strong anchor in this town. even the park police have to back down and say, well, you know, maybe we should walk with this gingerly. >> if i may, let's look at the

political aspects of this and the ability of a politician to grant favors. because that's kind of what the unstated - >> that's what it's coming to now. >> at least been made clear to me that one of the reasons he is so wildly popular is because he a is a constituent servant. if the people of ward 8 pick up the phone and call him, he can get something done. is that the case or is he not the power player he used to be? >> perhaps not the power player he used to be. it seems we all remember the popularity of his summer jobs program. now, that's fallen into disrepair, let's say, in recent years. but we also know the problems that two couple of mayors back, anthony williams, previously the cfo of the city. we had control boards. we had bureaucratic bloat at a level that was nationwide in its scale. now, that having been said,

where does that bloat come from? marion barry was one of the creators of the middle class in d.c. if we want to be really honest about it, and a lot of those were government jobs -- >> that's right. >> government contracts, government positions. by the time pratt kelly and williams came along, they had to pare that stuff back. they're still paring back. >> we all know marion. i've known him for a long time, even worked in his communications office. but i noticed one thing about marion. he is has a big heart but a lot of people have taken advantage of it. i'm talking about people he did favors for. >> right. >> that's what's unfolding. >> that may be part of it, but the other part of it is i would think at least on its face it seems that here's a guy who routinely makes bad decisions. makes bad decisions -- >> he makes bad decisions because he is a -- what? street dude. that's what they used to call

marion barry. >> are you cleaning it up for television? >> that's what they would call him. listen, marion is a heck of an administrator. but the dude -- the guy knows the streets. and a lot of the things that gets him the headlines is tabloid thing about marion barry's life. >> how much does he enjoy it, too? >> he enjoys a lot of it. barry is a smart marketer. he kno that good or bad, your name is out there. >> one other aspect of the story we haven't touched on -- two quick things. one, the former mayor's getting a little long in the tooth now, and i think that you would think that these kinds of calamities would be happening less in one's life. >> 72, with one kidney, or with one of his own kidneys and someone else's kidneys. >> maybe he's trying to be like the italian prime minister over there. but in all seriousness, there is some concern here that he was

held or detained for two hours before he was arrested, and he was detained for a tote afl four hours before he was allowed to contact an attorney. now, that will be problematic for any citizen, let alone a city council member. >> i want to read the lead from the -- i thought this was so well written -- from the post last week. it says, quote, it started with an arrest as it often does. there was a woman involved, as there usually is. there were the denials, controversial behavior by the police, extraordinary news conferences that feed a local media obsessed with marion barry. how much have we been a part of all of this, local media? have we really sort of fanned the flames for years? >> he's -- the man is an excellent marketer. he's an excellent politician. marion barry, like him or dislike him, he is excellent at what he does, and that is keeping his name in the news. >> before the 24-hour news sick will that we are enjoying now -- either plagued with him, your perspective, marion barry was

like a flame and the moths were the media. >> he sold "washington post." >> i tell my colleague tom sherwood all the time. i said, tom, thank god for marion bearry. you wopt have a job. >> he'll tell you. >> but that's true. that's true. >> yeah. >> there's another former channel 4 reporter joe johns who made his bones on marion barry. >> that's right. >> i happen to be in his back yard the day they took him off to jail the last time. >> is that a separate story, a separate conversation? >> there were a lot of people at the cookout. >> okay. >> but that's to say, let's hope this is the council member gets this under control very quickly. if there are improprieties that they surface quickly and are dealt with. he's entitled to due process. >> going to take a quick break. when we come back, we'll go to va and talk about a current controversy that's brewing with the governor there, tim kaine, between how much time he spends as governor and running the dnc.

welcome back to "reporter's notebook." in our in virginia and talking about governor tim kaine. it came out last week that the governor is spending a day and a half working on dnc projects and there have been those now who have come out not said, wait a minute, governor kaine. you said when you took the job as dnc chair that it would not interfere with your job as governor. what do you make of this? >> anybody who bought that, i guess we probably try to they will them the wilson bridge after this program. moreover, if you watch this thing, i was -- my concern is an observer would be, all right, if you're the head of the dnc and you're the goverr of virginia, what does that mean for the possibility of passage of bipartisan legislation with your legislative body? in terms of carrying the water for the party, i've seen howard dean making as many appearances -- the former dn

chair -- on television as the incoming dnc chairman is, but i think that's a matter of they have a sort of a wink and a nod and a gentleman's agreement. you do the "meet the press" until i get closer to end date, the end game. >> governor kaine really feels that he can handle both because of technology today. he's using fax machines, e-mail and everything else. >> but how much of it is about perception, though? >> the point is that he's saying that he can do his job, his leadership in the dnc is not interfering with his gub tour natural policies. >> how could it not, jerry? >> excuse me. >> how could it not? >> excuse me. >> go ahead. >> he's saying it does not interfere. >> he's saying that. >> yeah. what do you say? >> he feels it does not interfere with the job as governor. >> are we buying that? >> well, now, that's questionable. there's those in virginia who

don't buy it. there are those in virginia who say, well, i don't see anything that's so wrong about it. the biggest thing about governor kaine, though, is the energy that he has put into trying to get transportation on the docket in virginia. and he has not been successful to that. >> going to talk about that in a second. you were about to say something? >> let's put this in some context and be fair to governor kaine. at least he's not resigning halfway into his term. at least he's not off to argentina or wherever -- >> oh, wow, wow. >> not con sorting with other -- >> this is the moral structure of america. this is what we have dealt with over the last 12 months or so so he's furthering his political career, which is what he's doing. >> also important to note the governor of virginia, it's a one-term gig. term limits in virginia. you have to position yourself, one would assume. >> excuse me. don't we have an election coming

up in virginia, with days numbered? therefore, his work with the dnc -- hey, come on. talking about lame duck right now. >> again -- let's not forget, he was on the short list for obama's vice presidency so he is very well connectd with the current administration. >> let's stay in virginia. the department of transportation has decided they will close 18 rest stops around the state. there have been some folks who have made a big deal about this, but the rest stop system was created when a lot of virginia -- a lot of other states -- were far more rural than they are now. you've got mcdonald's, starbucks. how much does it really matter in the grand scheme of things that they shut down these rest stops? >> i think they are important, dependinon the time of day that you have to commute. >> right. exactly. >> i remember a recent trip -- my son had an emergency apr appendecto appendectomy. he was in charlotte. i left here and it was pouring raining and on the way back, i had to leave at midnight to come back here actually to be on this program. so, i said, oh, my goodness.

if there wasn't that rest stop right outside of raleigh/durham i don't think i would have made it. >> aaa mid-atlantic is kind of concerned about the safety of drivers on the road, especially when the rest stops now, they're cutting out rest stops within 120-mile radius. that's not too cool because 120 miles is a long, long ride late at night when you could be sleepy. and one of the biggest problems we have besides alcoholism on the highways are those going to sleep. >> fatigue. >> so, you know, if you're going to pull over and take a nap, i would feel safer at a rest stop than just pulling over, taking a nap. in have va, of course, is saying this is a direct result of the current economic crisis that we're in. >> well, they're saying that, i mean, but we always hear about budgets and the current crisis. the point here is safety. and that has to prove itself, whether people are going to be

more unsafe because of less rest stops. >> we tried to squeeze in as much as we could, marion barry, the rest stops, governor kaine. >> by the way, welcome to "reporter's notebook" for the first time. >> thank you. i appreciate it. >> didn't do bad. you did well actually. >> i appreciate it. thank you so much. i enjoyed hanging out with you. this has been "reporter's notebook." we'll be back next week. for now, back to news 4. updating our top stories now. police are investigating a double murder and a suicide that may be related. firefighters responding to a kitchen fire at an apartment in langley park discovered the bodies of a couple in their 20s yesterday morning. later, police in d.c. found a man who had apparently jumped to his death at a construction site on 1st street in northeast. an elderly woman is in the hospital this morning after she

lost control of her vehicle and slammed into a house. the accident happened in the 11500 block of daffodil lane yesterday evening. the homeowner was not hurt, but his home was so badly damaged he needs to find another place to stay. and the man police say robbed a jewelry store, held a family hostage, stole their car, then held an elderly couple hostage will be formally charged tomorrow. 49-year-old william spencer was arrested late friday after surrendering to police in leesburg. good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm kimberly suiters. let's begithis half hour with a quick look at weather. steve villanueva is up in storm center 4 with a look at our sunny day ahead. steve? >> good morning, kimberly. good morng, everyone. starting off on the warm side of this morning, temperatures are in the upper 60s, low 70s. and we are mostly clear. there is a front coming through,

and on the back side of the front, humidity levels will be dropping as the day goes on. 73 right now, heading up into the mid-80s. dew points still quite high. those numbers will be dropping. the front yesterday did produce a ton of rain around new york city but it fizzled out locally. here's the front right here. as it goes -- as the day goes on, it will continue to slide off to the south. it could kick up a couple of clouds, especially into our southern zones a little bit later on today, but for the most part we'll see ample sunshine. temperatures today in the mid-80s and we're slowly going to start to warm it up over the next couple of days eventually as that cool front turns into a warm front. we'll talk about that in just a few minutes. back to you. >> thank you, steve. president barack obama is back home in washington this morning. he returned to the white house soon after midght following a week long trip that took him to russia, italy and ghana. he may have been far away, but questions about the u.s. economy followed the president every step of the way. brian moore explains. ♪ >> reporter: in ghana, president

obama was greeted like royalty by the people before giving a major speech to the parliament. >> this is a new moment of great promise. >> reporter: here at home, though, the president's approval numbers are slipping as republicans hammer him and his party on their stimulus efforts. >> they promised you that if you paid for this stimulus, jobs would be created immediately. >> reporter: with unemployment now at 9.5%, the president is facing pressure to explain results that so far have been modest at best. >> the recovery act was not designed to work in four months. it was designed to work over two years. we also knew that it would take some time for the money to get out the door. >> reporter: the administration points to highway projects like this one in arkansas as a sign the $787 billion stimulus plan is getting americans back to work. >> for the stimulus alone, washington borrowed nearly

$10,000 from every american household. let me ask you, do you feel $10,000 richer today? >> reporter: now republicans are trying to cast doubt on the president's ambitious and expensive plans to fix the nation's health care and energy problems. president obama bidding farewell to the adoring masses in africa and returning to face american taxpayers who are demanding results. the president now has a couple of critical weeks ahead with his health care reform plan and supreme court mie on the line. on capitol hill, brian moore, news 4. >> the gop's 28sire pntialrel eneenator jne mn aiccwi alnh n lee inchesng rentndbama sscoreinng me commog upg hiinrn "heon tsset pres ." p e ths"t "mespr btines as:310 a0 right here on nbc 4. the president's trip to ghana was steeped in symbolism. he was embraced as a son of

africa and welcomed with an outpouring of emotion. the president spoke of a new moment of promise in africa, and he challenged african leaders to end corruption and confront the scourges of war and disease, but the defining moment of the trip came when the first family visited the cape coast castle, one of the most infamous outposts of the atlantic slave trade. >> as americans, and as african-americans, obviously, there's a special sense that on the one hand this place was a place of profound sadness. on the other hand, it is here where the journey of much of the african-american experience began. it was particularly important for malia and sasha, who are growing up in such a blessed way, to be reminded that history

can take very cruel turns. >> the obamas' visit to the cape coast attracted thousands of people. president obama's roots, a son of kenyan goat herder well-known, but this is also an important trip for first lady michelle obama. her great-great-grandfather was a slave in south carolina. supreme court nominee sonia soet meyer is preparing for a busy week ahead. as brian moore reported, her confirmation hearings begin tomorrow. democrats will rush to defend the woman who would become the high court's first hispanic justice, while republicans will tread carefully as they try to discredit her without alienating women or hispanics. sotomayor will be questioned on everything from racial conflict to legal controversy, personal facts and perspectives, and her view on activism from the bench. fairfax county residents are getting ready to weigh in on a proposal to expand a controversy private school for muslim children. questions about textbooks at the

islamic saudi academy have put it in the spotlight for years, but now there's concern about how the expansion will also affect traffic. julie carey explains. >> reporter: overdue for mowing this 34-acre site in the quiet fairfax station area is where e sometimes controversial islamic saudi academy wants to expand and set up its main campus. funded by the saudi arabia embassy, for years the academy has operated a private school for muslim children at this mt. vernon campus in a building leased from fairfax county. 750 k through 12th grade students attended this school, while just 2 to 300 pre-k through second grade students were taught in the pope's head road buildings. that operation was shut terd a year ago in anticipation of the expansion. >> so they would like to build a much nicer, permanent facility for their students there on pope's head road. >> reporter: but the expansion proposal has stoked strong opposition on two fronts. residents along winding pope's head road fear with up to 500 students traveling in, traffic dangers will increase.

>> been very good neighbors. the only concern we have is the traffic situation and the impact itill have on that. we're concerned not only for our safety, but for the safety of kid whose would be driving on the road. >> reporter: in recent years, too, some of the textbook used at the academy have come under fire. a congressional panel found some contained language intolerant of other religions, along with passages that could suggest violence. this man lead as group who says those concerns are reason enough for the county to turn down the expansion proposal. >> it's the same fundamental issue that we have with the county, is that they look for the easy out when they need to be taking a harder look. essentially, they are guilty of judging a book by its cover. they'd rather look at lawn clippings and grass height than governmental reports. >> reporter: but the academy's lawyer counters the case before the board is about land use, pure and simple. she says the academy is promising a long list of transportation upgrades. >> they hired a transportation consultant, someone who specializes in traffic and

transportation, and as a result, have put together, i think, a combination of improvements and conditions that will minimize any impacts on pope's head road. >> reporter: supervisor says he's not made up his mind yet. >> we need to address the transportation issues and i think there are significant transportation issues. if we can get those addressed, then we go from there. >> reporter: julie carey, news 4 today. >> there will be a hearing tomorrow before the fairfax county board of supervisors. victims and families of victims of last month's deadly tro crash are taking action, legal action. after the first personal injury lawsuit was filed just two days after the accident that killed nine and injured 80. "the washington post" reports five more lawsuits have followed. legal experts expect claims to rise for months or even years and say damages could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, although metro's insurance will cover the bulk of that money. the lawsuits make a number of

allegations against metro. the train operator and al strom, the manufacturer of the system metro runs on. traffic is a huge headache for drivers. it's getting better across the country, but roads in the metro are still congested. that's according to a texas transportation institute study. the study says on average drivers nationwide are stuck in traffic about 36 hours a year. that's the second straight year there's been a decrease. researchers credit higher gas prices and the recession for keeping some drivers off the road. but d.c. has the second worst traffic constnionn i the country. in 2007, drivers wasted about 62 hours a year in traffic. that's three hours more than in 2006. >> been growing steadily over many decades. bad side of it is we haven't been investing enough in transportation, highways or transit, to accommodate the growth. we're always falling behind one year after another. there's more demand, more people on the roads than there is new

capacity. >> we will hear more about this study and hear from some of those experts coming up on "viewpoint" at 7:00 a.m. still ahead on this early sunday edition of "news 4 today," well-known restaurant in our area closing for good today. we'll tell you where and why. plus, this morning nasa's expected to decide whether to lunch the shuttle "endeavour." lightning delayed yesterday's launch. stay with us.

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it's last call for a landmark restaurant in georgetown. nathan's closes its doors for good today. the restaurant has occupied the southeast corner of wisconsin and m street since 1969, but the poor economy, a drop in business and mounting debt forced owner carol joint to shut down. she's inviting long-time customers to come to nathan's today for one last burger and one last beer. this week we'll take a look at wall street's most recent winners and losers and the latest data on inflation. here's cnbc's michelle caruso-cabrera with a look ahead in business. >> reporter: if you've got a passion for profits and, let's face it, who doesn't, then wall street's the place to be this week as earns season kicks into a higher gear. ibm expected to report that it made more money last quarter, thanks to its strong computerer visz business, but a bank of

america, intel, jpmorgan chase, they are looking at sharply lower profits as they continue to feel the effects of the deep recession. wel get two key readings on inflation, both wholesale and consumer prices are expected to have gone up just a little bit in june. and it will be an interesting week ahead on capitol hill. we have a house oversight panel which will ask former treasury secretary hank paulson whether he strong armed bank of america into buying merrill lynch. and muggles will be out in force wednesday. that's when "harry potter and the half blood prince" opens in theaters across the country. warner brothers, which releases releases the books in the united states, hope harry still carries some of the old box office magic. get all your business news on cnbc, now celebrating its 20th year. >> coming up next on "news 4 today," we'll have the morning's top sports stories, an update on the weather as well. steve says the humid it is making a return, but i think

you'll like what's ahead.

nasa will try again to launch the space shuttle "endeavour" tonight after severe weather forced saturday's

scheduled launch to be delayed. this is video that was recorded fray night of several lightning strikes near "endeavour's" launch pad. technicians found no damage but need another day to check the shuttle's systems. the crew is scheduled to finish assembly of a japanese laboratory on the international space station when they finally get up into space. looks pretty this morning. >> yeah, they had to cancel it because of the bad weather. we'll see things improve today. >> yep. >> and today we're going to have a fine day. >> i know. improvements for us today. >> in the sense that the humidity's going to go down. >> yeah. >> it's very humid out there. >> because of this cold front. >> because of this cold front that really didn't muster up any rain yesterday. >> right. >> so, it pushed across the area, but just kind of fizzled out last night. we didn't see much in the way of moisture. but at least on the back side of the front -- good morning, everyone. at least on the back side of the front we are going to see the humidity levels drop today so that's some good news. let's go outside and show you what's going on. here's the deal.

you can see plenty of sunshine out ere this morning. for this afternoon, i think we'll see mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. a few clouds could pop up as the day wears on with the daytime ating, but for the most part we'll see ample sunshine today and temperatures climbing into the mid-80s. even though the front is coming through, temperatures won't cool down. but the humidity will be dropping. 3, mostly clear. the winds right now calm. the dew point 68. that is muggy. all right. so the big picture looks like this. again, it is 73 here in the beltway. we dhave some cooler weather from chicago to buffalo but that will stay to the north. we do have much warmer weather across dallas, toward new orleans and, in fact, once again dallas will hit the trijle digits. been very hot in texas and also quite humid. now we have a dew point of 68 but notice there is some drier weather off to the north as the day goes on, as the front moves through, the drier air, the less humid air will start to push into the area. so, basic jet stream pattern goes like this. we have a big ridge of high pressure out toward the west coast, making things very hot in

texas. and for us, we've been in this pattern, a little disturbance along the jet stream and bring us reinforcing shots of cloud cover and storm systems. one front that came through during the overnight hours yesterday. there's the front right there. you can pretty much pick it out. where is that front? there's the front right there. so, again, as the front continues to slide up to south, it may pop up a cloud or two. an isolated shower possible well south of town, but otherwise high pressure will be building in. this will be creating that northerly flow which will help to bring in the less humid weather. here's future cast. there's the front. over the next couple of days, the front will sag off to the south. we'll see some showers and storms around the carolinas. then eventually the front's going to start to lift back up toward the north as we head toward the middle of the week. it will come through in the form of aarm front and warm things up. until then, high pressure in control. mostly sunny today, nice and warm, less humid. temperatures in the mid 0s. 86 degrees is the forecasted high for this afternoon. then for tomorrow, 87. tuesday, 87. on wednesday, it gets warmer.

temperatures around 90 degrees as that warm front pops to the north. then on thursday we stay on the warm side again before a cool front makes its way across the area and cools things down a little bit for the weekend. >> still, i can't believe it's july. >> i know. the middle of july. you expect it to be really hot. it's not. >> thank you, steve. it's not, thankfully. u.s. soccer continues its quest forhe gold cup. the nationals overcome some basic blunders to win big. here's hakem dermish with highlights. >> good morning, everyone. well, when you hear the phrase "base running blunder, "it usually follows with another phrase, proves costly. when you're talking about the nationals that's typically the case. but not last night. the nationals did the unlikely. we're in houston. top of the first, nats lead 2-0. josh bard at the plate with a man on first. barred send as shot into right center. adam dunn is hustling around the bases. and he scores all the way from first base. but not so fast, my friend.

dunn running around second, misses the bag, and the astros know it. so, mike hampton throws to second, and adam dunn is out. ends the inning. a run comes off the scoreboard. dunn in the dugout thinking, man, i can't believe i just did that. top of the sixth now, nats in front 6-2. nick johnson up. and johnson drives one deep to right. hunter pence has a beat on . leaps at the wall, and the ball goes off of his glove and into the stands for a home run. how about that? it's nick's sixth homer of the year. very next batter, josh willingham at the plate. he gets into one, send as shot to left. that gets out in a hurry. willingham hit two homers in the game. very next batter, adam dunn doing what his teammates did in previous pictures. liftoff. makes up for his mistake with a home run to left, back-to-back-to-back homers for the nats. that's the first time that's happened in nats history. then in the seventh, miguel

tejada lines one to center. check out nyger morgan. dives and takes a gorgeous grab. the nats pounded a season high 13 runs on 21 hits. they win big 13-2. >> it was nice just to get, you know, all the runs. for us to have an easy one for a change. you know, the fact that those guys put together those good at-bats is great. it was also nice that willingham snapped out of that 11-solo homers he had. that was a good moment for him, too. >> we're in baltimore, os hosting the jays, bottom of the 12th inning, game tied at 3. medical vip moore at the plate. melvin moore is a hero, hits a walk-off home run to right. his first home run in 50 games. i love this. mora slides into home plate, celebrating in style. the orioles win it 4-3 in extras. at the u.s. women's open, it's cristie kerr's tournament to win. the 31-year-old former open champ is clinging to a two-shot lead heading into sunday's final

round. you can watch all the drama play out here on nbc 4 today at 3:00. third round action, we start with the shot of the day. this is sun young yu, second thought on the par 4 13th. she hit as 3 wood. i would say that was a perfect choice. right into the cup for an eagle. that deserves a high five. yu is five over for the tournament. cristie kerr putting on 11 from a long ways away. check this thing out, though. has a chance, tracking in, but just lips out. oh, so close. kerr still leads the way by two strokes at 2 under par. on the pga tour, the john deere classic in illinois. this is steve stricker, his third shot from the fair way on the par 5 17th. oh, fans, it's a good one. in for an eagle. stricker shot a course record 61. he's at 10 under for the tournament, three strokes off the lead. in soccer, the united states continuing its quest for a third straight gold cup championship.

the u.s. has yet to allow goal in competition. last night taking on haiti. check out this kid, rocking the red, white and blue, the foam finger and everything. scoreless in the sixth minute. stuart holden with a nice pass to davey arnod. he boots it in. his first goal of the gold cup. u.s. with an early 1-0 lead. second half, u.s. trails 2-1, in the 90th minute, holden making things happen. a shot into the back of the net. nifty. u.s. battles to a 2-2 tie. they move on to next week's quarterfinals. in the wnba, mystics hosting the sparks last night. elena beard led the way with 26 points. these fans at verizon center very, very creative. i like that. optimistic. beard gets the steal. takes it straight to the bucket for two points and the foul. beard finished with a game-high 26 points. fourth quarter, mystics' shot is

blocked but they get the offensive rebound. harding to melvin. melvin hits the jumper. she's smooth. part of a 12-0 mystics run to close out the game. the mystics win it 75-63. that's your morning sports. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. >> we are back in two minutes with this morning's top news stories, plus weather, sports and news 4's "viewpoint." stay with us. many surfaces that seem smooth and strong...

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good morning. welcome to "news 4 today" at 7:00. it's sunday, july 12th, 2009. i'm kimberly suiters. let's get an update from steve villanueva in storm center 4 because it's going to be a warm, sunny day, right, steve? >> we are going to see plenty of sunshine today, and it will be warm even though a cool front is making its way across the area. but at least the humidity will be dropping as drier air comes in on northerly winds. right now in the low 70s, upper 60s southwest of town. dew points are still quite high but these numbers will be dropping as drier air makes its way across the region. a cold front is sliding across the area. could kick up a couple of clouds later on today, especially south of town. otherwise, it's going to be a pret day. mostly sunny to partly cloudy, mid-80s. in fact we're going to start to warm things up over the next couple of days. all the details a little bit

later on. back to you. >> thank you, steve. in the news this morning, police are investigating a double murder and a suicide that may be related. firefighters responding to a kitchen fire at an apartment in langley park discovered the bodies of a couple in their 20s yesterday morning. later, police in d.c. found a man who had apparently jumped to his death at a construction site on 1st street in northeast. >>an elderly woman is in the hospital this morning after she lost control of her vehicle and slammed into a house. the accident happened in the 11,500 block of daffodil lane yesterday evening. the homeowner was not hurt, but his home was so badly damaged he needs to find another place to stay. a new study reveals fewer people in our area were killed in traffic accidents last year. there were 57 fewer traffic deaths in 2008 than in the previous year. but the results are mixed. cording to the national highway transportation safety administration, road deaths decreased in northern virginia and the district, but rose in parts of maryland.

nationwide, traffic deaths dropped by almost 10% in 2008. those are the top stories this morning. next is channel 4's "viewpoint." we'll be back in a few minutes with an update. we'll see you then. welcome to "viewpoint," i'm your host this morning, craig melvin. we are going to talk about a traffic nightmare that exists in the d.c. metro area. we convened a panel of experts. we start this morning with the fairfax county board of supervisors. also ron kirby, who i'm told is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to matters of transportation in the area. ron is with the metro council of governments. and john townsened, john a familiar face. he's with aaa here in the area. study comes out, d.c. region is the nati's number two most congested traffic area in the country, second only to los angeles. for those of us who travel the highways, we knew it was bad. i don't know if we knew it was quite this bad.

john, i'm going to start with you. how surprised should we be? is this something that should surprise us, or is this -- for you guys, something we've known for some time? >> even for jaded motorists like all of us, it was a surprise because before, in the last accounting or reckoning, we were tied in second place with san francisco and atlanta. now, since most of us have never lived on -- let me say it a different way. since most of us don't drive on the west coast, it was hard to imagine what traffic in san francisco was like, but we knew what traffic in atlanta was like, and that was just absolute gridlock. and we were tied with them. now, in the latest reckoning, we're number two. we've won the spot, we own the spot now. >> we've won it. >> we have the second worst gridlock in the entire nation. we're the capital of the free world, and we have some of the worst gridlock in the entire world. >> ron, i know this is a loaded question but it's not going to stop me from asking it anyway. what's the problem? if we had to narrow it down to two or three things specifically, what's the problem

in our area? >> well, part of it's the good news, that we have a strong economy, and the region's been growing steadily over many decades. bad side of it is we haven't been investing enough in transportation, highways or transit, to accommodate the growth. we're always falling behind e year after another. there's more demand, more people on the roads than there is new capacity. so, that's our problem in a nutshell. and these comparisons with other areas are pretty sobering because the traffic in those areas we know is very ba and we're right up there with them. >> but if you look at the correlation between traffic and population density, there are other areas in this country where there are more people who live in a dense area but the traffic is not -- is not as bad. >> a lot of it has to do with the way our land use is distributed. we have a lot of suburban development. we've done pretty well actually with our metro system in concentrating development but there's a lot more we can do in

that remand. it a mismatch between where people live and work and where we've invested in our transportation system. that's a good part of the problem. >> what's the situation like in fairfax county? >> it's not dissimilar from what we've heard earlier. i have to say i was not surprised by the findings. on behalf of the residents of fairfax county i think we know we have some of the worst transportation gridlock in the country. it is very frustrating. the difficulty is how you plan appropriately, and one of the things we're trying to focus on in the county is trying to focus on how land use can help solve our transportation problem. everyone reacts to growth and economic development as a problem for transportation. we have not done a good job of making our land use work for our transportation infrastructure. >> what do you mean? >> around our metro stations we still have a lot of suburban growth in fairfax county. we have to take advantage of that. we have to get people using the metro system which means it has to be efficient, convenient and affordable. we need to do a better job of

laying out rail to dulles, make sure we plan effectively and construct properly around that, making sure we distribute jobs across the region fairly. we have big employment centers in northern virginia, but we have huge pockets of areas in fairfax county that are virtually only residential which means you can do nothing but get in a car and go to work every day. so we have to look at that from a land use standpoint and see how we can improve in that area. >> you mentioned the dulles project. what's the latest in terms of the progress of the dulles toll road? >> you mean the dulles metrorail extension? >> yes. >> it's moving along, moving forward, finally. that will add a lot to that corridor, allow people to move back and forth in that corridor and also down to the center of the region. by using transit system. that corridor is one that the areas in the region where we have the most density and growth and no transit line, no rail transit line at the present time. one of the worst mismatches of the region. >> i think we're so far behind the curve now it's almost a lost

cause. >> really? >> absolutely do. you think about -- >> so, traffic in the d.c. metro area will forever be awful? >> yes. >> really? there's nothing we can do? >> anything -- everything that we do is only going to be incremental, and what i mean by that is think about the major projects. this is the point that ryan made this week in "the washington post" and "the washington post" brought it out. you have the wilson bridge to come online, the springfield mixing bowl. you're going to have the i.c.c. all those projects have been championed by the transportation planning board, but yet we're so far behind the curve, so far behind the 8 ball because there's been such resistance on thpart of people who live in the -- in this area, residents and such resistance on the part of politicians to step up to the plate and find transportation projects, whether it's mass transit or rail projects. >> i was going to bring in

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welcome back. this is "viewpoint." we're going to pick up the conversation where we left off before the break. rain kirby here, john townsend and jeff. mr. townsend here had all but blamed politicians for our traffic woes in the area. >> i have heard that before. the truth of is matter is he's right. we are behind the ball in funding adequate transportation solutions. there are a various number of reasons for that, but i think the most acute, at least speaking in the commonwealth of virginia, is the road system is a state responsibility and that's why, in fairfax county recently, we've been talking about is there -- should we consider taking over our roads? they're in disparate need. we're at a point in fairfax where it is choking our economic development and our quality of life. fundamentally, the state is abandoning, one step at a time,

their transportation responsibilities in virginia. from my standpoint at local government that's not acceptable to the residents and we have to look at is there a better way to fund transportation? so when we talk about elected officials, at least in the commonwealth's case, the responsibility for transportatitrance important lies solely in the state's hands. >> one of the things we talked about before the broadcast, i did not know this. we know it's expensive to build roads. i don't think a lot of people realize how expensive it is to maintain those roads as well. and when you start talking about stoplights and things like that, the cost of those types of projects really add up. for a state like virginia, like some of the other states in the country right now that's dealing with this economic crisis and dealing with various shortfalls, how do you pay for it? >> that's a difficult question. clearly not enough money has been invested in the past. one of the reasons why we had a discussion as a board about taking over the roads is if you're a taxpayer in northern virginia, in fairfax county, in fairfax county, we get back 19

centings on every dollar in taxes we pay to virginia. 19 cents as a jurisdiction. we already are subsidizing road capacity and construction throughout the commonwealth on the backs of taxpayers in fairfax county. so we have a funding formula problem. if we corrected that problem, we would be able to dedicate more money to transportation, but it is enormously expensive. i mentioned a traffic signal could cost $250,000. the reason whyhat's important is the recent allocation from the state to fairfax county for our secondary program, secondary transportation program, f.y. 2010 is $240,000 for the entire fairfax county. >> that's a stoplight? >> f.y. 2004 that amount was $29 million. so, we are taking steps backwards in transportation funding, not steps forward. and we're reaching a critical crisis point where we have to step up and fund these improvements. >> well, pierce hole manier,

transportation secretary in virginia, announced in is current crisis there's nothing left to allocate. he's talking about $2 million and you're going to see 72% reduction in highway construction projects in virginia. in the state of maryland we're talking about if you're to fund the projects that are online, you would need an additional $50 billion to do that. >> that's not going to happen. >> it's not going to happen. >>hen you look at the district of columbia and they have budget woes, too. so, all of a sudden, we were flush with cash three years ago, before the recession began. and now we don't have the money to do any projects. we can scarcely do maintenance now. it is really a crisis. >> so, ron, considering that, considering that local municipalities, state governments, the federal government aren't going to pony up the money necessary to make these changes, then what's left? are tre creative things that can be done short of spending a bunch of money? >> well, i think one of the first points to go back to

jeff's earlier point is to recognize that the structure that we have for funding transportation is out of date. the state's got a very large role because of their responsility for building the interstate highway system, got a lot of federal funding. that's over. now the proroblem is to put transportation where the strong economic development and demand is, and that really means shifting responsibility and funding, you know, to the locations where the demand is. >> the model. >> that's right, changing the model. has is happening gradually. it has to be accelerated to give more responsibility. the federal government needs to recognize this, to put more funding to the metropolitan areas and less to the states to be distributed to the parts of the state that don't have much growth and don't have much need. and we're going to have to then, though, look to our own resources within the growing metropolitan area like this. transportation has to be paid

for and it has to be pd for by those of us that are using the system. >> i want to talk about the role that individuals can play in all of thisnd also talk about some of these rest stops that are going to shudown as well. this is "viewpoint." ♪ the art of getting dirty. the art of getting clean. new powerfully formulated wisk®... is better on tough mud stains than tide total care. wisk®. powerfully clean. perfectly priced.

good morning. i'm kimberly suiters. updating the news now, the man police say robbed a jewelry store, held a family hostage, stole their car, then held an elderly couple hostage will be formally charged tomorrow. 49-year-old william spencer was arrested late friday after surrendering to police in leesburg. police negotiators talked him into releasing an elderly couple he had held hostage for nearly eight hours. a dozen people were rescued by firefighters last night in a high-rise condominium in silver spring. the fire was on the 1th floor. six people were treated for smoke inhalation, cuts and other medical ailments. only one resident was

transported to the hospital. one firefighter was treated for dehydration. and alexandria is celebrating its 260th birthday this weekend. residents marked the occasion with picnics, grilling and a concert followed by fireworks once the sun went down. now back to "v."wpntoi >> welcome back to "viewpoint." we have been talking about that study that came out last week that said -- sort of re-affirm what we already knew, d.c. has the worst traffic in this country, second only to laung. we have convened a panel of experts this morning. we have been talking about the role of government in all this. we want to shift gears and talk about the role of individuals and hot lanes specifically. this is something that appears on its face to be working so far. >> well, i think it's too early to tell to be honest with you. i think what we've learned from hot lanes is that in virginia at least we're going to be having to look at creative ways to fund transportation improvements. they may not be the right ways but right now it's the only game in town. we have public/private

partnerships where folks have come in who of the revenue to rebuild our infrastructure, increase capacity on our interstates. the real question that remains still is will they be successful or not? that we don't know until we see what driver habits are. the truth is we could not be rebuilding most of the overpasses, bridges and adding capacity to the beltway, and importantly, through the hot lanes project from my standpoint is we're adding public transportation. one of the flaws of the capital beltway is there's no bus lines, no public rail, no public transportation. mostly single occupancy vehicles. the hope is with hot lanes you get more people to carpool to avoid some of the fees associated with it. more importantly we can get people to use mass transit on the beltway hot lanes. the other hot lanes project 395, of course, is a different animal because we have bus transit and other things in place on that corridor. but the fundamental issue here is how do you fund these improvements? we're turning more and more to revenue from users because of the lack of funding from the state.

>> let's talk about individual habits because everyone from the president on down has talked about one of the ways we could really, you know, solve this problem is if people leave their cars in their garages and if people just stop driving. i'm not sure if that's ever going to happen, but in terms of patterns that aaa looks at, what do we know about people and driving and whether they're doing more of it or less of it? >> since late 2007, around december 2007, when gas prices began to spike and the academy began to go into a tail spin, we saw a tremendous drop in driving in this country and this region. in the nation it dropped almost 130 billion miles. we've seen a 3% drop in the latest report from the transportation planning board. so, people are driving less. and part of that is because the gh price of gas did something that none of us expected and that is it changed people's behavior.

it took mass transit more. but the other part of it, too, is the reason it has been sustained and we've seen it across every month in the last 18 months with the exception of april and that is because -- also because of the economy. so, those two things, the high cost of gas and the recession, have forced people to change their ways, in ways we haven't seen since the 1970s. >> ron, is mass transit in the d.c. metro area sufficient? >> well, it's pretty good but we'd like to have more of it. we're bidding a new line out to dulles airport and beyond. there is a lot of opportunity for people to take advantage of the system that we have. one of the win/win strategies i always like to point out is if you can live closer in to the center and commute out to a employment center along those radial lines you're going to get a nice ride and new revenue from tro without any additional cost. that's, again, a matter of getting jobs and housing balanced in the right fashion. that's happening to some degree.

we're getting strong residential development in the central area because it's a good place to be if you want to stay away from traffic. if you can commute out on metrorail and we can get employment centers around those stations in the suburbs, we've got -- there's an opportunity to accommodate growth and travel without more expense. >> to add to that, as a member of the metro board, i think we've been pleasantly surprised that the increase in ridership is a result of high gas prices has been sustained. we're showing record high levels of ridership, and so one of the issues then, one of the questions is even with record high levels, we still have gridlock on our road system. it goes to the fundamental capacity issue. really when we had the tragic metrorail accident a few weeks ago, i think the region experienced what life would be like without metro. and you want to talk about gridlock. we're carrying over 600,000 passengers a day o rail alone. you can imagine if those people were in their cars. so, it's complimenting the issue, but it's not solving the issue. to solve the issue, you do have to get more people out of cars,

but you have to have the capacity to be able to carry them. our whole infrastructure system right now is strangled by a lack of funding, everything from public transportation to situates to secondary roads. thatundamentally has to be solved before we'll start to see real success in these areas. >> really important with regard to transit adequate, to emphasize the degree to which we're now dependent on metrorail. we're growing around it, we depend on it being reliable and safe. we have to fund the maintenance, operation and safety of that system. that's got to be an absolute top priority because if the reliability of that system starts to deteriorate, people will stop using it. and the whole strategy will begin to unwind. >> take a final break. when we come back, our panel will share some parting thoughts. this is "viewpoint." ño@ññ=wrq/ñud

welcome back to "viewpoint." we're going to wrap up our conversation, give the panel an opportunity to share some parts

thoughts. first let's go back to what we were talking about during the break. one of the things we haven't talked about is the cost to live in d.c. and how much that has driven the transportation problem. >> that's one of the major reasons why people are living further out and commuting longer distances, because of housing affordability. and if we n put in place strategies to have more affordable housing close ner and around metro stations that's one of the best things we can do. >> ironically, generally, the converse happens. if you live near a metro stop, developers can get more for the land and more for rent and more for -- >> so that impacts the middle class and also poor people. but the median price of a house in the washington metro area is around 340 now as opposed to 450 two years ago, before the recession and the foreclosure crisis came about. some other numbers to think about, 62, 42 and 1200. 62 extra hours being stuck in traffic. every year in the washington metro area, per driver.

and 42 wasted gallons of gas per driver. and $1,200 additional cost in terms of congestion costs. it's unbearable. >> it is. i'm glad you brought up housing because, for me, housing is a jor piece of the equation here. a long time ago in fairfax county we were the suburban sprawling area. now we are becoming the urbanizing county that folks from farther out are cutting through every day to get to their jobs, either in fairfax. we've hadobust job growth. or in the d.c. region as a whole. we have to do a much better job with affordable housing. in fairfax county we have workforce housing and affordable housing requirements on all of our developments, particularly around metro stations. as we start to develop properly around our stations in suburbans areas we must have affordable housing at those locations. if we don't, we will push people further out i-95, further out i-66. you cannot solve -- there will come a point in time where no matter how much xas it you put

on 66 and 95, if you don't stem the tide of housing development in those areas you will never accommodate the capacity needs that will be generated. we have to look at the land in our core jurisdictions around the metropolitan area, look at land around metro stations and make sure we provide add kwad, affordable housing. that is major step forward. >> parting thoughts? >> well, i think we've said a lot of the important things. i think perhaps the link between land use and transportation, if there's a thought we want to leave people, that's the thing we have to focus on. we can't provide transportation to accommodate continued sprawl. we see that already. that's why we're having so many problems. we haven't focused enough on that linkage. and planning our communities so that people don't have to drive as much. that's perhaps the best thing we can focus on. >> well, it's about life-style. and it's a miserable life-style new commute in the washington area. that's going to affect our future, again, we're behind the

8 ball in terms of transportation funding. we have a mentality and a mindset that we don't want to build anymore capacity, and even if you did, would it really make a difference? >> from aaa this morning, we can do anything, but at the end of the day, traffic in the d.c. metro area is going to be a nightmare. >> well, a little more optimistic than that. it is a nightmare, and, you know, what we have to do is look at creative solutions. land use and planning around transit stations is one piece of it. affordable housing is one piece of it. but we also have to encourage a lot of creativity. one of the things that is always amazing to me is our commuters are start people. whenou look at the springfield area in particular and lock at the operation and what people have done to figure out a way to get to work in a cost efficient expeditious way, we have to nurture that and encourage that type of behavior and that type of attitude because we will never have the capacity necessary if everybody wants to drive their own car to work in the d.c. area.

we have to encourage carpooling. we have to encourage mass transit. we have to encourage express bus routes in areas where fixed rail is too expensive. those types of creative things will help us solve some of this problem. but it is about behavior and it is about mindset which is a difficult thing to change. i think we're at a crossroads. i think the residents of this area have reached a threshold point and they are starting to consider other alternatives for getting around besides just getting in their car. that is a major positive step forward. >> i agree with you. >> i also think it's important to remember what you said about changing the funding model as well for transportation. gentlemen, thank you so much. this has been quite the enlightning conversation for me. jeff, do appreciate it, fairfax county board of supervisors, john townsend who is not on the payroll here at nbc 4 but is on enough that he probably could be, and ron kirby, council of governments. thank you. we appreciate you joining us for "viewpoint." thanks sow as well. this has been "viewpoint."

we hope yowill continue this conversation. back right now to news 4. back in washington, president obama is back at the white house this morning after what he calls a meaningful trip to ghana. lawsuits filed. the number of lawsuits filed against metro over last month's deadly crash is growing. and a nice day ahead. the second half of the weekend looks even better than the first half. good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm kimberly suiters in for keith garvin. the news is just ahead. first let's check in with steve villanueva u in storm center 4. steve, we could see the sun rising over the white house there. >> well, good morning, kimberly. yes, the sun is shining this morning. there's a cold front that came

through during the overnight hours. as the day goes on, as the front continues to push toward the south, less humid air will also overspread the region. right now we're in the low 70s, a warm start. 73 degrees. heading into the mid-80s. dew points aretill quite high but you can see up in hagerstown, dew points lower there. that's the air that will be filtering southward as the day goes on. the front making its way across the region. could kick up few clouds, especially to our south. otherwise, a nice day. mostly sunny to partly cloudy, in the mid-80s. we start to warm it up as we head into the middle of the week. all the details in a few minutes. >> thank you, steve. president barack obama is back home in washington this morning. he returned to the white house soon after midnight following a week long trip that took him to russia, italy and ghana. he may have been far away but questions about the u.s. economy followed him every step of the way. brian moore explains. >> reporter: in gab a, president obama was greeted like royalty by the people before giving a

major speech to the parliament. >> this is a new moment of great promise. >> reporter: here at home, though, the president's approval numbers are slipping as republicans hammer him and his party on their stimulus efforts. >> they promised you that if you paid for this stimulus, jobs would be created immediately. >> reporter: with unemployment now at 9.5%, the president is facing pressure to explain results that so far have been modest at best. >> the recovery act was not designed to work in four months. it was designed to work over two years. we also knew that it would take some time for the money to get out the door. >> reporter: the administration points to highway projects like this one in arkansas as a sign the $787 billion stimulus plan is getting americans back to work. >> for the stimulus alone, washington borrowed nearly $10,000 from every american household. let me ask you, do you feel

$10,000 richer today? >> reporter: now republicans are trying to cast doubt on the president's ambitious and expensive plans to fix the nation's health care and energy problems. president obama, bidding farewell to the adoring masses in africa and returning to face american taxpayers who are demanding results. the president now has a couple of critical weeks ahead with his health care reform plan and the supreme court nominee on the line. on capitol hill, brian moore, news 4. the gop's 2008reiasintdel miate,en s johnen mccai w llwiei ill onhen t t chaensges ntde ontband ama ssg reinomup this morning in " pethe." tssre "meet the press" begins at 10:30 right here on nbc 4. the president's trip to ghana was steeped in symbolism. he was embraced as a son of africa and welcomed with an outpouring of emotion. the president spoke of a new moment of promise in africa, and

he challenged african leaders to end corruption and confront the scourges of war and disease, but the defining moment of the trip came when the first family visited the cape coast castle, one of the most infamous outposts of the atlantic slave trade. >> as african-americans, obviously, there's a special sense that on the one hand this place was a placef profound sadness. on the other hand, it is here where the journey of much of the african-american experience began. >> the obamas' visit to the cape coast attracted thousands of people. president obama's roots, a son of a kenyan goat herder, are well-known but this was also an important trip for first lady michelle obama. supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor is preparing for a

busy week ahead. as brian moore reported, her confirmation hearings begin today. democrats will rush to defend the woman who would become the highcourt's first hispanic justice, while republicans will tread carefully as they try to discredit her without alienating women or hispanics. sotomayor will be questioned on everything from racial conflicts to legal controversies, personal facts and perspectives and her view on activism from the bench. families lined up this weekend at a historic cemetery located in the suburbs of chicago that is now a crime scene. burr oak cemetery has been shut down. investigators have exhumed one grave at the cemetery where four former employees stand accused of digging up bodies so they could resell the plots. thousands of relatives continue to show up at the cemetery with questions about their loved ones. >> we don't know what the end will be, and as god as my witness, no one wants to know more than me because i can't tell you how much i want to hold

some woman's hand and say, listen, at the end of the day we are going to get you here and you will be able to have ts type of peace and resolution. >> police say the investigation is unique and difficult one because many parts of the cemetery are poorly mapped out. victims and families of victims of last month's deadly metro crash are taking action, legal action. after the first personal injury lawsuit was filed just two days after the accident that killed nine and injured 80, "the washington post" reports five more lawsuits have followed. legal experts claim to -- they say that claims will rise for months or even years and say damages could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, though metro's insurance will cover the bulk of that money. the lawsuits make a number of allegations against metro, the train operator and alstom, the manufacturer of the mechanical system metro runs on. police in anne arundel county are investigating what they're calling a suspicious death in glen burnie. on friday evening, police were

called to an apartment on furnace branch road. when officers arrived, they found the body of 83-year-old doris he cooke in a freezer. police interviewed several family members who said she died several weeks ago after suffering from various ailments. it could be days before an official cause have death is determined. tomorrow, d.c. prosecutors will open the trial of banita jacks, the woman accused of killing her four daughters last january. investigators believe the girls had been dead for seven months before they were discovered. medical examiners believe one of the girls was stabbed and the other three were strangled, but jacks told police the girls died in their sleep, one at a time, over a ten-day period. a number of d.c. agencies raised red flags over the welfare of those children during their time with jacks, but nothing was done. she rejected an insanity defense and faces life in prison without parole. there will be a public hearing tomorrow on a

controversial plan to expand a muslim school in fairfax county. the islamic saudi academy wants to construct a new building on its campus on pope's head road in hopes of accommodating its growing student body, but some residents are worried the expansion will cause big traffic problems on pope's head road. >> not only for our safety but for the safety of kids who would be driving on the road. >> i think a combination of improvements and conditions that will minimize any impacts on pope's head road. >> critics also say the school should not be allowed to expand in light of a controversial congressional panel that found words of religious intolerance in the school's textbooks. beachgoers beware. beach patrols in dew yes and rehoboth are reporting an usually high number of people being stung by jelly fish. more than 100 people were stung in the last week, come bared to the usual average of 30 a week. officials say they normally see

a spike in mid to late july but warmer waters and changing ocean currents have been moving jelly fish into swimming areas sooner rather than later this year. what a sixth inning for the nats. three consecutive homers. you know it means a win. here's hakem dermish with more in sd's sports minute. >> good morning, everyone. your sports minute begins with baseball. nats in houston last night, and it was liftoff for the nats. washington hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning. it's the first time that's happened in nats history. the nationals pounded out a season high 13 runs on 21 hits. they win big, 13-2. in baltimore, battle of the birds, o's and blue jays. this game went to extra innings. game tied at 3. moore at the plate, he hits a walk-off home run to wright. it's his first home run in 50 games. the orioles win it 4-3 in the bottom of the 12th. in golf at the u.s. women's

open, former champ cristie kerr is clinging to a two-shot lead going into the final round. you can see the fourth round today here on nbc 4 beginning at 3:00. in the wnba, mystics hosting the l.a. sparks last night. elena beard scored a game high 26 points and the mystics win it 75-63. that's your sports minute. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. >> still ahead on this early sunday edition of "news 4 today," the latest from the tour de france in lance armstrong's coback attempt. stay with us. : ealast ylar... when companies were laying off hundreds of thousands of workers... walmart was creating 30 thousand new jobs... all right here in america. st save money. live bette walmart. st save money. live bette walmart.

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the "today" show is coming up next here on nbc 4. it starts at 8:00 a.m. after this hour of "news 4 today." lester holt joins us now with a preview. does it feel like july in new york city yet? >> hey, kimberly, gooz morning. coming up on "today," big developments in the double murder of a florida couple, parents of 16 children as police find a key piece of evidence not talk to two people of interest. we'll talk with a sheriff who's heading the investigation. plus, president obama is back from his historic visit to after r i ka and he's getting ready for confirmation hearings to beg on a supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. we'll get a preview of her hearings. then, hide and seek, a toddler hides so well that police and fire departments had to be called in. wait until you see where she was found and who found her. then, a new airline launches this week. you won't be able to fly on it but your pets will. janet takes us onboard pet

airways when we see you a bit later on "today." back to you in washington. >> lester, thank you so much. today one american is trying to make a serious comeback that is truly an uphill battle. cycling star lance armstrong is currently in third place in the tour de france. armstrong has dealt with cancer, doping rumors and tabloid headlines, but the question is, does he have what it takes to get a record eighth tour de france victory? he's considered kind of old now. here's nbc's john yang. >> reporter: the tour de france wound 110 miles to the pyrenees mountains, a stretch where for seven years lance armstrong dominated his rivals. but that was then armstrong failed to gain ground, remaining in third place. still, eight seconds behind leader rinaldo nocentini of italy and two seconds behind alberto contador of spain. armstrong acknowledges this year is different. >> i don't have the same confidence that i had before. that's normal, i think, and natural that after you've been

away for four years. but i come with an extreme sense of excitement and also, quite honestly, a heck of a lot of nerves. >> reporter: commentators say just being among the leaders is a singular achievement. >> no one's ever done what he's doing right now. no one's ever come back like this at such an age and been so strong and forceful in the race. >> reporter: two months shy of his 38th birthday, armstrong would be the oldest tour de france winner in history. he only ended his three-year retirement last september, not a lot of people to get into peak kwn for the grueling three-week race. armstro armstrong's already beaten the odds, winning the tour de france a record seven straight times after a painful battle with testicular cancer that spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain. he also developed a controversial reputation. >> the critics say i'm arrogant. a doper. >> reporter: which he addresses head-on in an ad for one of his

sponsors, dedicating the race to fellow cancer survivors. >> they can sake whatevy whatev want. i'm not back on my bike to fail. >> reporter: armstrong's return has meant the return to excitement in the race. every day he's mobbed by reporters. >> our rock star is back. there's such a crush for everything lance right now that it really -- it's made this tour very interesting. >> reporter: he's even winning over french racing fans, a group long skeptical of him. >> he's a great champion. the best of the world. >> i think he's very courageous to come back. >> lance armstrong. >> reporter: already a winner to many no matter what the outcome. john yang, nbc news. london. >> thumb's up, lance armstrong. >> yeah. >> got to admire the guy. >> i hope he wins. that would be amazing. 38 years old. >> already amazing, but yeah. >> i know. such an amazing athlete. >> makes me feel like a slacker.

>> yeah, it does do that. good morning. >> good morning. >> weatherwise, yeah, what's going on? we do have a front pushing through. what does that mean? we'll talk about it coming up. ♪ there's the other stuff. ♪ and then there's kraft macaroni & cheese. ♪ kraft has more cheese than those other guys. no wonder they call it the cheesiest!

bad weather is keeping shuttle "endeavour" on the ground. engineers are taking a close look at "endeavour" after at least 11 lightning strikes near its launching pad yesterday. so far, there are no signs of serious damage. nasa may try to launch "endeavour" again tonight. nbc's cristian dahlgren has the latest from the kennedy space center. >> reporter: it was a spectacular lightning show that turned into a show-stopper for the space shuttle "endeavour," forcing nasa to scrub saturday's launch to take a closer look at any potential damage. on friday afternoon, 11 lightning strikes why within .3 nautical miles of the launch pad, and while a sophisticed lightning protection system kept the actual spacecraft from a hit -- >> we do know from our camera system that we took strikes on the lightning mast, the water tower, the wires themselves. >> reporter: think of it as like a lightning strike near your house. you may not get hit directly, but the electrical and magnetic

fields can still fry your electronics. of course, here there's a lot more at stake. >> it's all one big giant wiring system. >> reporter: engineers are now looking at that vital wiring, while also searching for any damage to the solid rocket boosters which areordnances, ca lifting the shuttle into space when controlled, with the potential for ka as tcatastroph they were damaged. >> we need to be 100% confident that we have a good system across the board. >> reporter: nasa hopes that's the case and says there is so far no indicationf serious damage. they're aiming for a sunday launch attempt. but any concerns as engineers complete their examination could mean more tests and more delays. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, kennedy space center. >> that lightning way too close for comfort, it sounds like. but not here today. >> we're going to have such a pretty day today. >> good. i'm glad to hear it. >> we do have a cold front that's coming through.

>> cold is good. >> it's not going to cool things down. it's a cold front but it's not going to cool things down. >> stopped the humidity. >> it will do that. >> you're teaching me something. >> there you go. yes, a cold front's making its way across the area. on the back side of the front we're going to have a northerly flow today which will help to bring in less humid weather. however, temperatures will climb into the mid-80s so it's going to be a warm day today. by the time we get to the middle of the week,he front's going to push back north as a warm front and warm things up. also bring us a chance of some showers and some storms. here's what it looks like as we look across the potomac. very pretty out there this morning, 73 degrees, mostly clear, the wind out of the swept at 3. still muggy out there. dew points in the upper 60s. again, these numbers will start to drop over the next couple of hours as northerly winds bring in the less humid area. taerl temperaturewise, currently 73 here in the district. 71 quantico. a warm start to the day.

temperatures today climbing into the mid-80s. dew points are still quite high. a little bit lower up toward hagerstown so you can see the drier air now starting to make its way southward. eventually that drier air will overspread the area. so we do have the drier weather up to the north. we have a dew point of 44 in buffalo. again, this is the air that's going to b dropping down into the region today. the cool weather stays to our north, even though the drier air comes in, the cool air does not. with all the sunshine, it is july, after all. with all the sunshine, temperatures will climb into the mid-80s this afternoon. here's what's happening. he here's the frontal band. yesterday the front fell apart as it pushed over the region. the front will settle down toward north carolina, taking the moisture in that direction. on the back side for us, high pressure building in over the next couple of days, creating that northerly flow which will keep things quite comfortae. here's future cast. there's that frontal band. again, the front pushes to the south for the next couple of days. behind it, high pressure starts to come down from canada. this will bring us a nice day today, tomorrow, and into tuesday as well. then by the time we get to

wednesday, the front's going to start to lift back northward as a warm front. it's really going to warm things up with temperatures possibly in the 90s by the time we get to the middle of the week. for this afternoon, mostly sunny to mostly cloudy. temperatures on the warm side, less humid. temperatures in the mid-80s, right where we should be for this time of year. then a smidge warmer for monday and tuesday. wednesday, temperatures near 90. that will be the trend into thursday as well. plus, as these fronts start to slide across the area wednesday and thursday, we could see a pop-up shower or a thunderstorm. then cooler weather as we head into friday and into saturday. >> good looking forecast overall. >> very nice. >> thank you, steve. >> u.s. soccer continues its quest for the gold cup. the nats overcome basic blunders to win being. here's hakem dermish with the highlights. >> good morning, everyone. well, when you hear the phrase "base running blunder," it usually follows with another phrase -- "proves costly." when you're talking about the nationals, that's typically the case. but not last night. the nationals did the unlikely. we're in houston.

top of the first, nats lead 2-0. josh bard at the plate with a man on first. bard sends a shot into right center. am dunn is hustling around the bases. and he scores all the way from first base. but not so fast, my friend. dunn running around second, misses the bag, and the astros know it. so, mike hampton throws to second, and adam dunn is out. ends the inning. a run comes off the scoreboard. dunn in the dugout thinking, man, i can't believe i just did that. top of the sixth now, nats in front 6-2. nick johnson up. and johnson drives one deep to right. hunter pence has a beat on it. leaps at the wall, and the ball goes off of his glove and into the stands for a home run. how about that? it's nick's sixth homer of the year. very next batter, josh willingham at the plate. he gets into one, sends a shot to left. that gets out in a hurry. willingham hit two homers in the game.

very next batter, adam dunn doing what his teammates did in previous pictures. liftoff. makes up for his mistake with a home run to left, back-to-back-to-back homers for the nats. that's the first time that's happened in nats history. then in the seventh, miguel tejada lines one to center. check out nyger morgan. dives and takes a gorgeous grab. e nats pounded a season high 13 runs on 21 hits. they win big 13-2. >> it was nice just to get, you know, all the runs. for us to have an easy one for a change. you know, the fact that those guys put together those good at-bats is great. it was also nice that willingham snapped out of that 11-solo homers he had. that was a good moment for him, too. >> we're in baltimore, os hosting the jays, bottom of the 12th inning, game tied at 3. melvin mora at the pla. melvin mora is a hero, hits a walk-off home run to right. his first home run in 50 games. i love this.

mora slides into home plate, celebrating in style. the orioles win it 4-3 in extras. at the u.s. women's open, it's cristie kerr's tournament to win. the 31-year-d former open champ is clinging to a two-shot lead heading into sunday's final round. you can watch all the drama play out here on nbc 4 today at 3:00. third round action, we start with the shot of the day. this is sun young yoo, second thought on the par 4 13th. from just over 200 yards away. she hits a 3 wood. i would say that was a perfect choice. right into the cup for an eagle. that deserves a high five. yoo is five over for the tournament. here's the leader. cristie kerr putting on 11 from a long ways away. check this thing out, though. has a chance, tracking in, but just lips out. oh, so close. kerr still leads the way by two strokes at 2 under par. on the pga tour, the john deere classic in illinois. this is steve stricker, his

third shot from the fairway on the par 5 17th. oh, fans, it's a good one. in for an eagle. stricker shot a course record 61. he's at 10 under for the tournament, three strokes off thlead. in soccer, the united states continuing its quest for a third straight gold cup championship. the u.s. has yet to allow goal in competition. last night taking on haiti. check out this kid, rocking the red, white and blue, the foam finger and everything. scoreless in the sixth minute. stuart holden with a nice pass to davy arnaud. he boots it in. his first goal of the gold cup. u.s. with an early 1-0 lead. second half, u.s. trails 2-1, in the 90th minute, holden making things happen. rips a shot into the back of the net. nifty. u.s. battles to a 2-2 tie. they move on to next week's quarterfinals. in the wnba, mystics hosting the sparks last night. the mystics had no problems with the ladies from l.a. elena beard led the way with 26 points. these fans at verizon center

very, very creative. i like that. optimistic. third quarter, beard playing tough defense, gets the steal. takes it straight to the bucket for two points and the foul. beard finished with a game-high 26 points. fourth quarter, mystics' shot is blocked but they get the offensive rebound. harding to melvin. melvin hits the jumper. she's smooth. part of a 12-0 mystics run to close out the game. the mystics win it 75-63. that's your morning sports. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. >> that's "news 4 today." the "today" show is coming up next. steve and i will be back in about 25 minutes for a local news update. join us again at 9:00 for a full hour of the latest sports, weather, news. have a great morning, everyone.