Transcripts For WRC News 4 Today 20100722

and online warning for the creators of the tv show south park. in it he wrote they could be killed for mocking the profit mohammed. the charges filed against him are not related to the south park warning. it is 4:31. 83 degrees. a time to look at the forecast. it looks like we're going a little bit cooler. >> it's a little less humid, although still hot. we'll have yet another 90 degree day, but at least it won't be quite as humid. right now on the radar, we are picking up one little shower just to the south of winchester in the northern shenandoah valley. that shower is slowly drifting off to the east and is beginning to dissipate as we get going. it is a little less humid around the region except around the bay and northern neck of virginia, still quite humid there with temperatures around 80. and it's in the 70s in montgomery. near 08 at prince georges county and on the eastern shore. out in the continue mountains, low to mid-70s. we did have a few of it those scattered thundershowers yesterday afternoon and evening, but those have dissipated. drier air beginning to move in today. lots of sun and that should heat us up into the low and mid-90s. and then the humidity returns tomorrow with even more heat. into the upper 90s on friday and we'll probably have a record high on saturday up to around 100. the record for saturday is 96. and it's going to be steamy. just a small chance of afternoon storms friday and saturday. and then it a greater chance on sunday as yet another front comes in. could get some showers in the morning, maybe a passing afternoon thunderstorm with highs in to the mid-90s. now let's check traffic. >> good morning. looking pretty good. we did have one beltway crash a short time ago at route 50 in virginia. that has been cleared, but the construction barrels still along the right side of the roadway here on the inner loop as you pass braddock. i believe they should be getting all the travel lines open momentarily. elsewhere the trip along 270 no early hang-ups. southbound by now you should find all lanes open there. the daily commute can be a mess and at least people with headaches just getting to work. now there is a new report out that finds more people are travelling farther to get to work. chris gordon has the results of the new state of the commute survey. >> reporter: 60% of area commuters are satisfied with their trip to work daily. 40% are not happy with it. those are some of the conclusions in the latest state of the commute survey presented to the national capital regional planning board. the transportation survey has been taken every three years since 2001, using a random sample of employees in the region. >> we're up to 25% of commuters working at least 1.2 days a week. and that's dramatic because it was at 19% last time we did the survey and we did it in 2001, it was at about 1%. >> reporter: the poor commuter who has to face traffic here along 95 at the mixing bowl, or 66, or the beltway every day. headache, anyone? >> i drive it every day to work and it's a lot of traffic and a big headache. why like it. if i ever do get on 66 anytime, anywhere, weekends, after evenings, always traffic. always. car to car. >> reporter: the new survey shows more people are taking public transportation. car and van pooling. riding bicycles. and walking to work. >> i commute from h street area, and i do have combination of bus, metro and walking. really depend gnds on the day, weather, the time. >> i drive. >> reporter: how long? >> 40 to 50 minutes. >> reporter: and then when you get here, you're paying what for parking? >> $95 a month for parking. and then i walk about four or five blocks to my office. >> reporter: the new commuter survey could be used by regional planners who are considering transportation alternatives for the future. chris gordon, news 4. it may not be is surprise that show the happiest commuters are those that live closest to work. mayor fenty is celebrating a small victory this morning in his re-election bid. the mayor won a strawle poll in which more residents were allowed to vote. it took place last night. six candidates including mayor fenty and vincent gray took part pft mayor talked about a reduction of crime in the district during his time in office. gray focused on his head indication plans. ex-usda employee shirley sherrod got an apology from the white house. and now the department of agriculture is offering her a new job. tracie potts joins us from capitol hill live this morning with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. well, this is certainly taking some turns. first fired and now perhaps rehired after the obama administration has a made an embarrassing admission. >> this is a good woman. she's been put through hell. >> reporter: shirley now has had apologies from her boss aunts the white house. >> a disservice was did done for which we apologize. >> reporter: she was fired monday after a conservative blog posted an edited version of what she said about helping a white farmer 24 years ago. the clip made her look like a racist when, in fact, she was denouncing racism. today she has a new job offer from her old boss, something unique the government says to help them fight discrimination. >> let me just say i'm recaring at this point. >> reporter: the firing ignited anger and shine as light on how the obama administration dealt with race. secretary vilsack insists the president's not to blame. >> this was something i decided and i have to accept full responsibility for this. >> reporter: black leaders say it's a teachable moment. >> in many ways racism is swept under the rug. >> reporter: now forced out in the open in a very public way. now, the second ended up catching up with shirley sherrod by phone as she was headed to new york and there's no word yet if president obama will speak with her. aaron, back to you. >> tracie potts for us up on the hill. and she'll be live on the "today" show this morning to talk more about the comments she made and the job decision that now lies ahead of her. ahead on "news 4 today," tragedy at a virginia hotel. a construction worker falls from the side of the building. also, a local man killed while going after his dream job. what police noticed in this surveillance video that could help crack this case wide open. and another muggy morning. we'll check your weather and a live look outside. 82 degrees already here in the district. but just like a little breeze going this morning. it actually feels a little cooler. >> and we'll take all the little breaks we can get. >> and i'm sure your hair-omet event r is floiing it, as well. >> my hair is a little poofier. >> and it's a day you will be benefitting from a little less humidity. right now one little dissipating shower there in the blue ridge. elsewhere, temperatures under a partly cloudy sky in the 70s to near 80. near 80 in washington and prince georges county. still steamy on the eastern shore, but should dry out there too, today. we'll have quite a bit of sun and it's going to be hot again up in the low and mid ninth. even hotter with the humidity back on friday. small chance of an afternoon storm tomorrow we also on saturday. near 100 on saturday afternoon. beach and pool weather and a small chance of a thunderstorm saturday. a greater chance on sunday. a look into then week in ten minutes. the traffic is very quiet. there had been a construction zone westbound 66 at sick are a more street inside the beltway. but it looks like they may be wrapping that up. so should be in pretty fair shape. inbound, no worries all the way to the roosevelt bridge. 95, route 1, doing okay. on the approach to the bay bridge, travel lanes are open both directs and i-270, incident free all the way on down. >> sound goods. thanks. 4:42 is your time. 82 degrees. still to come, all eyes on the caribbean just as the oil sdasner the gulf appears to be getting better, a new threat is looming. also, a danger to dogs. a local store owner says somebody's been dumping rat poison outside his shop. >> and next, how police say they tracked down the person who killed an internationally known art expert. police in montgomery county say a 35-year-old man has confessed to killing ale local restoration artist in maryland. how police caught up with the alleged killer. >> anything that is in this world on an artistic level -- >> reporter: in an interview taped for the asian media outlet, the 45-year-old naimi oiz described her love for the arts. after graduating, her mow said naimi spent the rest of her life traveling the word, studying paintings and restoring them for famous clients. but on monday, d.c. police found her body stabbed, beaten with broken ribs, lying in an alley in northwest d.c. >> this this is a heinous, violent act. and this man is off the street right now and that the point we'll continue to investigate it. >> reporter: prosecutors say this man, 35-year-old raymond williams, admitted to killing naimi in her art studio in rockville sunday night and dumping the body wrapped in a blanket in d.c. police linked william to the crime by using surveillance footage captured at naimi's studio. only will yip was seen coming out. >> they were able to use images of the suspect and have him identified by i believe the building owner. and that's what allowed investigators to narrow their focus to the suspect. >> reporter: according to the court document, williams hifed here on dewey road in kensington. neighbors say they saw his multi-colored art van parked out front for the past three months. many neighbors are shaken up. >> you recognize that no matter how safe and secure you think you are, really you're not and you need to be aware of your surround goings maybe more. >> reporter: many who worked with her say naimi will be missed. her mother says she is losing more than just a daughter. it's the world that is losing one of the greatest art scholars of the time. >> i just wish -- >> reporter: the victim's mother tells us her daughter was in the process of finishing up her novel about her travels and the art work she found all over the world. a book that now may never be published, but police say they will continue to investigate and find a possible motive in this vicious killing. reporting from rockville, john slip slippen, new 4/"today." police on the west coast are hoping new surveillance video will help solve the murder of a local man killed while going after his dream job. this is the tape released by investigators. it looks like it's tough to see, but there's man and woman in this video. they are suspects in the robbery and the murder on sunday night. the robbers got away with just $17. nefs california to interview for a job with google. he was married and has three children. police are continuing to build their case against the man they claim will be remembered as one of america's most infamous killers. they're calling the man a person of interest at this point, but he could be charged with a pair of mother/daughter murders sometime this month.subject is already in custody on an unrelated weapons charge. he's also accused of among other things carjacking and sexual exploitation. the mother of the alleged exploitation victim meanwhile is speaking out. she wants to remain anonymous, but she also wants the world to know how her family feels about the case. >> we could have been portrayed as one of the worst victims. >> prince georges county polices say they expect investigators there other jurisdictions to start looking at this h person of interest to see if he's connected to crimes elsewhere. >> a virginia construction worker is dead this morning after falling seven stories to his death. it happened yesterday afternoon at the arlington court suites hotel.man felle through a glass atrium and into the front lobby. it's not clear what he was doing at the time, but crews were working on the balconies above the atrium at the time of the accident. 12 before the hour. this morning there's a new threat with the sights set on the gulf pap storm in the caribbean could strengthen by the weekendnd and impact oil cleanup efforts. this as crews were making progress toward permanently stopping the spill. leanne gregg has more. >> reporter: forecasters and cleanup officials will keep a close eye on the weather throughout the day as the system could move closer toward the gulf coast, once depend threatening to delay efforts at oil containment and killing the damaged well. bp is approaching the final stages of drilling a relief well it hopes will permanently stop the spill. crews put in a storm plug yesterday after suspending some of the work they had plan planned about. >> the reason we did that is with the weather window that we could see at this time, there was no way we could get the casing in, have it cemented, and do all we need to do to be able to move off before we could have tropical storm force winds at the site. >> reporter: officials must also decide whether to keep the broken well capped even if they can't monitor it with underwater vehicles because of the weather. if they reopen the well as a precaution to protect the wellhead, oil once again would flow in to the gulf. more worries for residents struggling for survival of their way of life. and now uncertainty with a new possible threat looming in the caribbean. leanne gregg, nbc news. the submit seasonian is lining up to help the recovery effort in the gulf. scientists are starting to determine the full impact of the oil spill on wild life owing. the smith ownians has the most complete set of invertebrate species. the specimens are stored in maryland. scientists will h use the collection as a starting point to determine what lived in the gulf before the spill and what disappeared. the envertebrates like worms are important for fish, birds and other creatures. >> didn't even think about invertebrates out there. >> it affect as lot of things. here we've got the humidity dropping a little bit i'm happy to say. at least briefly. we'll take anything we can get this time of year. this is our usually highest heat and humidity. and this morning it has turned a little bit worse. 82 at reagan national. less humid on a northwesterly refreshing breeze this morning as a weak area of high pressure has moved in. right now on radar, we did have one little shower just south of winchester. it did move into the blue ridge and now it's pretty much dissipated. temperatures in the low 70s in arlington, prince georges county. near the bay it's near 80, as well as around the eastern shore and the northern neck. and it is still rather humid there, but lower humidity continuing to move in. mountains, a few locations have hit the upper 60s. eastern shore now in the upper southwest. over the last 12 hours, did get beneficial needed rain that did come through with a little bit of thunder and lightning. widely scattered now that has dissipated and we have a weak area of high pressure moving in that will give us the sunshine today. it will be hot, but a little less humid. up around 90 by noon, mid-90s by midafternoon. sunrise at 6:01. the sunset at 8:28. and by sunset, we'll be back down in the 80s. should be good weather for tonight's game with the nationals. and strasburg is pitching, ishl. and we'll have temperatures by dawn into the 70s. and we'll have during the day on friday increasing humidity. it's coming back on a southwesterly breeze as this weak area of awful moves offshore. we'll have temperatures in the upper ninth tomorrow. maybe even near 100 on saturday and still quite humid. both tomorrow and saturday, a small chance of an isolated afternoon storm. then a greater chance on sunday as another front comes our way. highs in the mid-90s. could get showers and storms mainly in the afternoon. after that, a front goes by. ought to be less humid on monday with highs around 90. turns humid again as we get into next week. a chance of storms on tuesday and again on wednesday. you can check the weather anytime, the weather channel on cable. jerry, how is the traffic? doing pretty well. capital beltway close to 210, so far both directions moving along nicely. for you folks up to the north in frederick county, route 340, very close to the interchange of route 180 in knoxville, i know a lot of you folks watch us every morning. word of an accident 340 east near route 80. let's head over and see how we're doing this morning headed for downtown, not a worry this sight. all the an costa bridges, a light volume of traffic. from earth to outer space. a massive star in the gallon galaxy far away. the new star weighs in at a whopping 260 times the mass of our sun. but they say it slimmed down over time. the stellar surprise could rewrite the books about stars. many scientistses first thought large stars were still unstable and would die a huge explosion. this is not the case. this star is about a million years old. it's hard to even wrap your mind around -- >> i'm sitting here trying to and i'm thinking as much as i watched star trek growing up, you'd think i'd be able to sxre behi comprehend that. >> very cool. someones has been dumping rat poison outside a local pet store. also ahead, investigators say he aspired to train with terrorists. how they were able to stop him before he left the country. and a look at damage caused the ntsb wants to talk to passengers on board that united airlines flight that ran into extreme turbulence. born a dozen were hurt and the flight from dulles to los angeles had to make an emergency landing in denver. some on board took pictures of crackses in the plane's interior where a woman hit her head help the ntsb is also going to analyze the flight's data recorder. it arrived yesterday in washington. a warning now for pet owners. watch out for rat poison in the georgetown area. jay hugh runs the dog shop on wisconsin avenue. saturday she discovered neon green rat poison pellets on the sidewalk. those can be harmful to dogs and cats. she knows of three dogs who are have died from rat poisoning in the area this year along. she doubts anyone was trying to do harm, but says everyone needs to know how dangerous this is. >> and i honestly think it's somebody who thinks they're doing a good thing, not realizing how lethal this this is to domestic animals, children, runoff into the river. >> a reminder, it is illegal to put down poison pellets and complaints have been filed with d.c. police. a judge who deflated a woman's tire outside the courthouse? charles county has been suspended without pay. the punishment against judge robert nalley will last for five days.ruling came yesterday from the matter and court of appeals. last august nalley, a circuit court judge, let the air out of a tire of a car parked in his reserve space. that car belonged to a cleaning lady. nalley later resigned as achieved a minute straight difference judge, but he still presides over civil cases. and take a look at this. a thief broke into a convenience store and stole $6500 in lottery it tickets and $7,000 in cigarettes. this happened at the edgewater convenience store. the man broke into it a vacant building next door and used a slnlg hammer to knock a hole in the cinder block wall. if you recognize the man, you're asked to call police. stay with us. "news 4 today" continues right now at 5:00 a.m. home grown threat. a local man accused of trying to leave the country to train to train with terrorists. good morning, everyone. >> welcome to "news 4 today" for this this thursday, july 22nd, 2010. we're taking a live look outside at 5:00 a.m. it's 81 degrees out there. feels a little bit better and tom says it's because there's a little less humidity today. >> brief relief. it's coming back tomorrow. at this hour, the humidity is dropping on a west/northwesterly breeze. it's still quite humid around the bay, the eastern shore, but should be turning less humid there, too, as the day progresses. 79 in washington. upper 70s prince georges county. in the low 70s now in montgomery and fairfax county. weather watchers reporting around the blue ridge in the low and mid-70s. eastern shore upper 70s. mountains in the 60s and low 70s. over the last 12 hours, we've seen the atmosphere settling down as weak high pressure moving in bringing in that lower humidity. high today hot into the mid-90s with quite a bit of sun. great beach and pool weather. and then tomorrow humidity returns and the heat builds in the mid and upper 90s and a small chance of an afternoon thunderstorm. hotter on saturday. small chance of an afternoon storm and still humid. on sunday, a front will be coming in later today n. dat that i may trigger perhaps a morning shower, but more than likely an afternoon thunderstorm with highs mid-90s. then a little bit less humid as we start off next week. let's check traffic now on this thursday morning. how is it looking, jerry? >> 395 northbound at the inbound 14th street bridge with the new lane configuration. however, we just received report of one of the construction barrels. apparently smacked it and it was bouncing around on the bridge span. the gw parkway southbound traveling under 395 is doing fine. 16th street out of silver springs from the traffic circle headed on down told walter reed and beyond, travel lanes open there. a man from fairfax county is? custody this morning accused of trying to join a group with ties to al qaeda. agents arrested zachary chesser yesterday. tracy wilkinss is live outside the federal courthouse where chesser is expected to appear later today. >> reporter: good morning. investigators are saying that the 20-year-old wanted to join an extremist international terrorist group and has already admitted to deadly bombings overseas and this suburban kid wanted in. zachary chesser is accused of being a terrorist recruit. he became interested in july of 2008 and after studying it through videos and speeches began posting and even making his own youtube sites. investigators say chesser was in the process of planning a trip to somalia to join al shabaab. chesser attended oakton high school where are he played football. he went to george mason university dropping out second semester. >> mr. chesser went to school here, took chass in fall of 2008. he did not return in '09 and that's been the last official affiliation we've had with him. he was following his own journey after he left here. >> reporter: chesser is joining a list of 34 other americans who have been charged with involvement in international terrorism. this has started since january of 2009. tray sis will kin, live this morning, back to you all in the studio. this morning we are learning more about the murder of a world renowned recent store artist. a 35-year-old handy man who worked at the business adjacent to her studio is now charged in that crime. police found 45-year-old azin naimi wrapped in a blanket in an alley in the 300 block of monday morning. her family reported her missing of a iter she didn't return to her rockville home sunday night. people who knew naimi say they can't understand it. >> i've been involved with a working relationship with her for several years. she's been my day to day working companion for the last approximately six months. and she was an amazing person and a wonderful artist. will be surely missed. >> police say 35-year-old raymond williams of kensington beat her and stabbed her a numb times with a pair of scissors. he's been held without bond. if are you about to head out on the road and consider this the worst part of your day, you're not alone. a new report out shows more people are traveling farther to get to work and it is causing more than just congestion, but also stress for a lot of drivers. chris gordon tells us what the survey found. >> reporter: 60% of area commuters are satisfied with their trip to work daily. 40% are not happy with it. those are some of the conclusions in the latest state of the commute survey presented to the national complaint regional planning board. the transportation survey has been taken every three years since 2001 using a random sample of employees in the region. >> we're up to 25% of commuters commuting at least 1.3 days a week and that's dramatic because it was at 19% the last time we did the survey. in 2001, it was at about 11%. >> reporter: pity the poo virginia commuter who has to face traffic here along 95 at the mixing bowl. or 66. or the beltway every day. headache, anyone? >> i drive it every day to work. and it's a lot of traffic and a big headache. i don't like it. >> if i ever do get on 66, anytime, anywhere, weekends, after evening, always traffic. always. bumper to bump ir. >> reporter: the new survey shows more people are taking public transportation. car and van pooling. riding bicycles. and walking to work. >> i commute from northeast d.c.h street area, and i do a combination of bus, metro and walking. really depends on the day, the weather, the time. >> i drive. >> how long? >> 40 to 50 minutes. >> and then when you get here, you're paying what for park something. >> $95 a month for parking. and then i walk about four or five blocks to my office. >> reporter: the my commuter survey could be used by regional planners who are considering transportation alternatives for the future. chris gordon, news 4. it may not come as much of a surprise that the survey shows the happiest commuters are those who live closest to work. >> d.c. mayor member if i is celebrating a small victory this morning in his re-election bid. the mayor won a strawle poll in which ward 2 residents were allowed to vote. last night six candidates took part in a debate. the mayor talked about a reduction of crime in the district during his time in office. gray focused on his education plans. the time is 5:07. ahead on news 4 today, how a fifth grader became pen palses with the president. plus they say there is no such thing as bad publicity. tiger woods may skrus be proof of that. also an investigation launched after a tragic fall at a northern virginia hotel. and next we'll get a check of your weather and traffic. a gorgeous sky out there. we'll be right back. 5:10 is your time. that is such a beautiful sky. kind of spooky out there. if you look hard enough, it looks like a pirate ship? what do you think? >> wow. >> you know how you stare up into the sky and little forms shape in your head. >> kind of rooks like casper the friendly ghost. >> there you go. tom has an imagination. >> it's what it feels lying. we have lower humidity on a fresh northwesterly bridge this morning, a brief break it in fr our usual mid summer high humidity. and right now it's in the low 70s in montgomery and fairfax counties. mid-70s arlington county and prince georges county. around the bay, eastern shore, in the mid and supper 70s there. still rather humid there, but the lower humidity is coming your way, as well. lower humidity in place throughout the region as the day progresses. it's going to be hot, though, with lots of sun. we'll have it up into the mid-90s by midafternoon. then overnight tonight, humidity begins to creep back in as winds shift into the southwest. a hot day on friday and again on saturday with the humidity coming back. highs upper ninth to near 100 both days and a small chance of a thunderstorm. and then sunday a greater chance of thunderstorms mainly in the afternoon with highs mid ninth. a look in to next week in ten minutes. the top side of the capital beltway very quiet. the inner loop and outer loop between i-95 and 355 looking pretty good. let's see if the good news continues as we check out the dulles toll road both directions between the capital beltway and the airport no worries. beltway around the toll road also looking good. let's update you at the wilson bridge. no hang-ups it there. the southeast corridors are all in really fine shape so far this morning. new york avenue, kenilworth avenue, rhode island through northeast, no worries. see any pirate ships? >> no, but i saw what i thought was a cheese burger. 5:12 is your time. ahead, president obama has cruising on his mind. what new that yous he's expected to sign that will impact anyone about to set sail. plus a whale of a tale this morning where a giant sea creature tack a leap on to a couple's boat. and first fired, now rehi d here's a look at some of the top stories this morning. a fairfax county man facing terror charges this morning. federal prosecutors say 20-year-old zachary chesser tried to travel to somalia to join a group with ties to al qaeda. chess ser is expected to appearn court later today. an arrest in the case of the local art expert whose body was found in the district. 45-year-old azin naimi was wrapped in a blanket in an alley. now police charge 35-year-old raymond williams of kensington with first-degree murder. he's being held without bond. police say they're still investigating a motive. a storm in the caribbean is threatening cleanup efforts in the gulf. we could slow progress in it continues to strengthen. a drilling of the relief wael has already been halted. b.has to also decide if they will leave the cap on the damaged well during the storm. more people are taking public transportation than ever before. the latest state of the commute survey also found 60% of local commuters are satisfied with their trip to work. that means 40% are not happy with it. the new survey could be used by regional planners who consider transportation alternativeses for the future. ex-usda employ year shirley sherrod has received some unexpected news. sherrod, who had been fired for alleged racial comments, got an apology from the white house and now the department of agriculture is offering her a new job. tracie potts reports. >> this is a good woman, she's been put through hell. >> reporter: shirley sherrod's now had apologies from her boss and the white house. >> a disservice was done. >> reporter: she was fired after a conservative blog posted an edited version about what she said about helping a white farmer 24 years ago. the clip made her look like a racist when she's denouncing racism. today she has a new job offer to help them fight discrimination. >> let me just say i'm reconsidering at this point. >> reporter: sherrod's firing i go noted anger and shines a light on how the obama administration dealt with race. second vilsack insists the president is not to blame. >> this was something i decided and i have to accept full responsibility for this. >> reporter: black leaders say it's a teachable moment. >> in many ways race has been swept under the rug. >> reporter: now forced out in the open in a very public way. sherrod spoke with secretary vilsack by phone. no word yet when she'll speak with president obama. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. shirley sherrod will be live on the "today" show this morning to talk more about the comments she made and the job decision that now lies ahead of her. that's this morning on the "today" show at 7:00. a virginia construction worker is dead this morning after falling seven stories to his death. it happened yesterday afternoon at the arlington court suites hotel.man fell through a glass atrium and into the front lobby. it's not clear doing at the time, but crews were working on the balconies above the atrium at the time of the accident. federal investigators are now looking in to what happened. new safety measures will soon be in place requiring cruise lines to improve passenger and crew safety and crack down on criminal activity while ships are at sea. >> we have to have high standards for those people who are cruising. we can't afford to have a bad reputation about people cruising because it will cut down on the demand and that will hurt h us. >> president obama expected to sign the new cruise ship safety law that requires ships to systemically report all crimes. the law requires ships to carry rape kits and have a trained forensic sexual assault specialist on board every ship. it also mandates peek holes in cabin, security cameras and emergency sound systems. one fiftd grader from philadelphia has some backup the next time she gets bull lid at school. that backup, the president of the united states. the 11-year-old said she was bullied for years at her school. she finally had enough of it in january and wrote a letter to president obama to share her thoughts. she didn't think she'd get a response, but she was wrong. she got a letter a few months later from the commander in chief. >> he said dear student, your letter demonstrates a desire to change the culture of your classroom as well as your community. together we will survive to make this a reality. thank you again for writing your letter. sincerely, barack obama. >> she's doing more than just gloating about that letter. she is starting an organization to help prevent bullying. good for her. well, it's been a rough year for tig tooer woods. apparently it hasn't been too rough of a year for his bank account. he is still the highest paid athlete in the country. that's according to sports illustrated. tiger has made more than $90 million in the past year. most of it, $70 million, came from endorsements. tiger was last year's top earner, as well. also one named redskins fans will recognize close to the top of that list. albert haynesworth may be in the dog houts right now, but he can certainly afford to live in the penthouse. he is 20th on sports illustrate's list. earning more than $24 million in the last year, unlike with tiger, though, almost all of haynesworth's earnings came from his salary, not endorsements. someone was a little trigger happy last night at the nationals/reds game. >> fireworks went off. the fireworks are still going off. >> aaron probably heard the fireworks. these were set off after a reads player hit a foul ball. the catcher was up to pat in the bottom of the eighth when he hit a ball down the third baseline. the third base umpire called the ball foul, but someone thought it was a home run because fireworks started to fly. and it was a fireworks worthy night, however, for stephen strasburg who went five innings and struck out seven. he also got his fifth win as the nationals beat the reds 8-5. >> kind of weird to have all the fireworks going off. >> maybe you'll hear them tonight. >> i hope not. >> we had a witness of the show in the sky last night. one of our viewers said she saw a bright streak of light over rockville last night. kristi barnett e-mailed us and that was probably a meetier probably about the size maybe of a baseball. only coming in from space and probably going at about 50,000 miles an hour burning up in our high upper atmosphere. at this hour, we've got the sun beginning to glow on the eastern horizon. we're seeing the pre-dawn glow there. the humidity has dropped overnight. 79 in washington. it's in the low 70s now in montgomery county. and fairfax. upper 70s in prince georges county. and a weather watcher reporting from southern maryland, eastern shore, still humid there, but lower humidity is moving in from the west/northwest on a northwesterly breeze. it will be in place today, lots of sun, hot, highs mid-90s. even hotter though, humidity back on friday and saturday, highs upper ninth near 100 both days. small chance 6 afternoon storms. then sunday, a greater chance of store as the front comes through with highs in the mid ninth. and on monday, a little less humid with highs near 90 and then getting more humid again, perhaps stores around on tuesday and wednesday. how is the traffic now, jerry? >> unusually quiet this morning. let's hope it stays that way. new york avenue at florida avenue headed in through town, no worries. just took a look at ken nil worth avenue through the work zone and travel lanes open for you there. this is loading up very quickly 95 northbound as you head up on to the interchanges in springfield. volume only. travel lanes are open, but we are slowing down. so here they come. 5:23 now. 82 degrees outside. coming up, why it's a good time to be a graduate in the district. also a danger to dogs. why a local store owner thinks someone has been leaving poison outside a popular pet store. and next, the story behind some pretty incredible pictures off the coast of south africa. stay with us. two south african sailors found themselves with a whale of a tale to tell sunday. take a look at these photos. they were sailing off the coast of cape town when a 33-foot long white whale crashed right on to their boat. the impact crushed the mast, not surprising there, but fortunately the experienced sailors were not hurt. they first noticed the whale about 100 yards from their boat. but soon the whale was right next to them. there is an investigation to see if the sailors provoked the whale to attack, but the boaters say the whale simply did not know the boat was there. >> get out of the way next time. >> yeah. if you just got your degree, you can't find a much better place than washington to get a job. business week ranks us as the second best city in the country for recent college graduates. houston tops the list this year. washington is followed by dallas, atlanta, and austin. the rankings are based on wages, cost of living and job openings. still to come on news 4 today, a look at the damage done on this flight out of dulles that hit some trouble in the sky. >> plus how police tracked down the suspect accused in the brutal attack and murder of an internationally known artist. and next a local terror suspect locked up. investigators say he almost slipped out terror ties. a local man accused of trying to get out of the country and train with a notorious terrorist group. how investigators stopped him. >> welcome to "news 4 today" on this thursday, july 22nd, 2010. a live look outside as the sun begins to creep over the horizon. a beautiful picture there and it feels much better than it has the last several days outside right now. the question is h it last. >> you can see that the humidity has dropped. in that view, the visibilities have improved a lot. we don't have that thick summer haze in the air. but it's still going to be hot. only a break from the high humidity and right now it does continue to drop, that humidity, as we have a pressure northwesterly breeze coming in. weak area of high pressure moves in, 79 in washington, upper southwest prince georges county. but cooler in montgomery and fairfax counties. hoe 70s there. arlington in the low 70s. still a bit steamy around the bay and eastern shore, but even there, the humidity should be dropping today and temperatures out of the mountains of western maryland, west virginia in a few locations are dropped down into the upper 60s. weather watchers reporting and we have a cheering sky after with did have some of those showers yesterday. and lower humidity in place today, but hot in the mid-90s and the humidity returns tomorrow and saturday. both days hot, near 100 and small chance of afternoon storms. greater chance of storms on sunday, mid-90s. jerry, how is the traffic? a live look along 270 at the i 370 interchange, southbound traffic obviously the headlights there. right now very quiet frederick all the way down to the split. travel lanes are open. northbound you shoul be all right. elsewhere traveling the interstates northern virginia, i-95, 395, 66, no concerns. prince georges county, the water main break that they've been dealing with for a while, silver hill road may still be going on in the northbound lanes. authorities indicating as of last night that they had at least one travel lane open, so we'll keep you updated. out to the rails. check things out. not bad so far. one early morning delay on vre, fredericksburg train 300 delayed about ten minutes because of other train movements. a fairfax county man is die in court on charges that he tried to doctor join a group with ties to al qaeda. zachary chesser was arrested yesterday. tracy wilkins has the latest. >> reporter: this is a man who first gained notoriety after going online and posting that the creators of south park were risking death for mocking mohammed and one of their episodes. but this is not the reason that federal investigators have been after this man. they say he has been trying to join a violent international terrorist group. once an all-american suburban kid, they're saying he wanted in. 20-year-old zachary chesser of fairfax county is facing federal charges and accused of being a terrorist recruit. an all-american boy, he once played football and rode crew. when he graduated, he went on to nearby george mason university. he dropped out during his second semester. >> mr. chesser went to school here to classes in fall of 2008. he did not return in '09 and that's been the last official affiliation we've had with him. he apparently followed his own journey after he left here. >> reporter: on july 10th, 2r7gs safety officials stopped chesser at jfk airport in new york as he tried to fly to somalia he was on a no flight list. chesser confessed that he planned to go to somalia to join al shabaab. they say he also confessed to knowing it was a designated terrorist organization with ties to al qaeda saying, quote, al shabaab is an easier organization to join tan other known organizations overseas such as the taliban or those in iraq. chesser is married, he has an infant son. according to documents from the federal court, he was actually planning to use his infant son to get on to a plane and fly overseas to join this terrorist organization. now, chesser joins the list of some 34 americans who since january 2009 have been charged with trying to join international groups. investigators saying this is a growing concern. tracy wilkins live this morning, al leaexandri alexandria. investigators say a co-worker is to blame for the death of a world renowned artist in montgomery county. the handyman in her studio is charged with the crime. police found azin naimi wrapped in a blanket in an alley monday morning. her family reported her missing of a tir she didn't return to her rockville home sunday night. her business partner, who also employed the accused killer, finds this all hard to believe. >> i've been involved in a working relationship with her for several years. she's been my day to day working companion for the last approximately six months. and she was an amazing person and a wonderful artist, will be surely missed. >> police say 35-year-old raymond williams of kensington beat her and stabbed her a number of times with a pair of scissors. he's being held without bond. prince georges county police are continuing this morning to build their case against the man they claim will be remembered as one of america's most infamous killers. they're calling the man a person of interest at this point, but he could be charged with a pair of mother/daughter murders. the subject is already in custody on unrelated weapons charges. he's also accused of among other things carjacking and sexual exploitation.mother of alleged exploitation victim, meanwhile, is speaking out. she wants to remain anonymous, but she also wants the world to know how her family feels about this case. >> when we found out we could have been portrayed as one of the worst victims of his crime spree. >> prince georges county police say they expect investigators from other jurisdictions to start looking at this person of interest to see if he is connected to crimes elsewhere. a warning now for pet owners. watch out for rat poison in the georgetown area. jane runs the dog shop on wisconsin avenue and saturday she discovered neon green rat poison pellets on the sidewalk. they can be harmful to dogs and cats. she knows of three dogs that have died from rat poise noink in the area this year along. she doubts anyone was trying to do harp, but she says everyone needs to know how dangerous this is. >> i honestly think it's somebody who thinks they're doing a good thing, not realizing how lethal this is to necessary tick animals, children, runoffs in to the river. >> it is illegal to put down poison pellets and complaints have been filed with d.c. police. 5:37 is your time. 78 degrees. ahead on "news 4 today," an amazing discovery in a galaxy far, far away. plus the state of the commute right here at home. how many drivers say they dread the morning rush? the answer might surprise you. and next it's already 78 degrees outside. but it doesn't feel as bad as it did yesterday. we'll tell you why. promise me low prices. and stick to it. like seriously low prices. [ male announcer ] at safeway, we made a promise of low prices. and we're keeping it. [ female announcer ] take our great club card specials like 12-packs of refreshe soda just $1.88 and any refreshe 2-liter 2 for $1. i need to know that when i'm here, the low prices will be too. monday, tuesday, everyday. i'm a big fan of everyday. [ male announcer ] and with thousands of everyday low prices, you'll save all over the store. [ female announcer ] low prices you can count on. at safeway, that's our promise. that's ingredients for life. 17 billion dollar investment, and what do you see? at at&t, we see the dreams and ambitions of everyday americans coming true. we see an economic recovery taking root as businesses grow and prosper and add jobs, thanks to the amazing power of an open internet that works. america needs an internet that is always getting faster, safer, and more secure. at at&t, our investment last year of more than 17 billion dollars in the wireless and wired networks of tomorrow is what's fueling innovation today and creating jobs and opportunities now. we invest because we know the internet works. it's working for our children, our families, our economy and our future. and if there were ever a time to stick with what works, now is it. the future has always been our business. and the future begins now. time for weather and traffic. i'm happy to report humidity has dropped overnight on a northwesterly breeze. weak area of high pressure moving in, 79 if washington. low and mid-70s in montgomery. arlington, fairfax counties. weather watcher respect report low ir humidity moving in from the west. lots p sun. partly cloudy friday and saturday, more humid, highs upper 90s to near 100. slight chance of afternoon storms. sunday, greater chance of storms. a look into next week coming in ten minutes. how is the traffic, jerry? >> very quiet morning underway and that is very good news for those of you headed on out 95 north bound to and southbound no woi worries. look out for the water main break silver head road. still to come on news 4 today, a new threat brewing in the caribbean just as things were looking up in the gulf. and next the state of the commute. how many people dread getting behind t just how bad is the drive to and from work in the latest state of the commute is out. you can see people already on the road this morning. more people are traveling farther to get to work and it's not just causing congestion, but also stress for a lot of drivers. more people are taking public transportation than ever before. the latest state of the commute survey also found 60% of local commuters are satisfied with their trip to work. that means 40% are not so happy p. the commute is 16 miles on average. more people are tele commuting. consider this when you're stuck in traffic. wouldn't it be nice to ditch your car and ride a bike to work? it will it be easier to do next month. the bike rental program will be expanded to 100 stations. we'll find out next month will those stations will be. the ntsb wants to talk to passengers on board that united airlines flight that ran if into extreme turbulence. about two dozen people were hurt and it had to make an emergency landing in denver because of that turbulence. some people on board took pictures of crackses in the plane's interior where a woman hit her head. the ntsb is also going to analyze flight's data recorder. it arrived yesterday in washington. a house vote expect dad to restore jobless benefits to almost 3 million unemployed americans. the bill has been caught up in the senate for months. it finally passed yesterday and now the bill heads to the house. if it passes there, those who have been denied benefit shoes start receiving back payments in a few weeks. this morning d.c. mayor fenty celebrating a this morning victory in his re-election bid. the mayor won a straw poll in which ward 2 residents where are allowed to vote. this took place last night during a mayoral debate about that six candidates including mayor fenty and vincent gray took part. the mayor talked about a reduction of crime in the district during his time in office. chairman gray focused on his plans for education here in the district. this morning there is a new threat looming over the gulf oil disaster. a storm in the caribbean is strengthening and it is threatening to hamper cleanup efforts. the new setback comes as crews were making preparations to stop the spill permanently. leanne gregg reports. >> reporter: forecasters and cleanup officials will keep a close eye on the weather throughout the day as the system could move closer toward the gulf coast. once again threatening to delay efforts at oil containment and killing the damaged well. bp is approaching the final stages of drilling a relief well it hopes will permanently stop the spill. crews put in a storm plug yesterday after suspending some of the work they had planned. >> the reason they did that, with the weather window we could see at this time, there was to way we could get the casing in, have it cemented, and do all we need to do to be able to move off locations before we could have tropical storm force winds at the site. >> reporter: officials must also ski decide whether to keep the broken well capped even if they can't monitor it with underwater vehicles because of the weather. if they reopen the well as a precaution to protect the wellhead, oil once again would flow into the gulf. more worries for residents struggling for survival of their way of life. and now uncertainty with a new possible threat brewing in the caribbean. leanne gregg, nbc news. vice president joe biden will make his second trip to the gulf today. elvis it alabama with admiral thad allen to check on the cleanup effort there. biden will also heat with local residents, fishermen and small business owners. he made his first trip to the gulf three weeks ago. and the smithsonian is lining up to help the recovery effort in the gulf. scientists are starting to determine the full impact of the oil spill on wildlife. the smithsonian has the most complete selection of in-brert bra species. they're stored in the warehouse in maryland. scientists will likely use the collection as a starting point to determine what lived in the gulf before the spill and what disappeared after. invertebrates like worms are an important source of food for fish, birds and other creatures. try to wrap your brain around this this discovery. astronomers have found a massive star in a galaxy far, far away. british scientists found the star outside the milky way. the new star weighs in at a whopping 265 times thes mass of our sun. they took a scale out there, i think. they say it slimmed down over time. the surprise could actual itly rewrite the books about stars. many scientists first thought large stars were so unstable that they would die in huge explosions. this is not the case, though. that star is about a million years old. and a crazy thing that they can figure out that it's 265 times the mass of the sun. >> the technology, the ability to detect these things deep in space has really improved in the last number of years. and of course the hubble space telescope has helped out a lot, as well. well, here today, we're seeing our sun beginning to glow on our eastern horizon. we're just now emerging from the earth's shadow. sunrise is in about ten minutes. that's the live view from our city camera. and you can see the visibility has improved. the humidity levels have dropped overnight on a northwesterly breeze. right now national airport has a north early breeze around seven to ten miles an hour. and the humidity has dropped year night. it will certainly feel a lot better this morning. right now temperatures in prince georges county are near 80 degrees. montgomery county in the low 70s now as is fairfax county, arlington now mid-70s. closer to the bay, it's right near 80 and it's more humid in southern maryland, northern neck and eastern shore, but even there, the humidity levels should be dropping as the day progresses with a norths westerly breeze. coming in, a weak area of high pressure moving in h. elsewhere weather watchers reporting temperatureses in the low 70s. a few locations in the 60s. and central west virginia, southern west virginia, mid-70s there. eastern shore now, upper 70s. the atlantic beaches is near 80 degrees. still rather steamy there. but we've had this high pressure beginning to move in and overnight it continued to drop our humidity. and even still rather humid around the bay and eastern shore, the humidity level should be dropping there, as well, as this day progresses. here's how things are looking for the rest of this thursday. by 9:00, we should be in the mid-80s. lots of sun today. it will be a sun block day, great beach and pool weather. by noon, near 90. by midafternoon, the mid-90s. and sunset will be at 8:28. by then, we'll be back down to near 90 to mid-80s by evening and we'll have the nearly full moon up and then by dawn tomorrow, it will be getting more humid. looks like we'll be in the mid to upper 70s starting off friday morning. then during the day tomorrow, the heat builds, the humidity is back. partly cloudy. a small chance of an isolated storm in the afternoon. highs reaching the upper 90s tomorrow. and then on saturday, maybe even hotter. likely breaking the record for the day. highs reaching near 100 by saturday afternoon. steam heat and a small chance of a storm. then a front will be moving toward us on sunday giving us clouds and a chance of a shower and passing thunderstorm mainly in the afternoon. highs reaching the mid-90s. but after that front goes by that should susher in again a brief break from the high humidity and heat on monday. in fact, highs only in the upper 80s to near 90 monday with lower humidity in place and it looks like we'll have lots of sun. and then it looks like humidity returns a bit on tuesday and wednesday next week and a chance of passing afternoon storms both days. afternoon highs near 90, morning lows around 70. and that's the way it looks with our weather. now let check the traffic for this thursday morning. jerry, how is it looking? >> very quiet morning so far. we're keeping our fingers crossed over at the american legion bridge. smooth sailing, extremely light volume both ways, so that's good news. let's check things out. the district outbound side of the sousa bridge, had report of a broken down vehicle. that may be it right there. certainly not having a major effect. the inbound side doing fine. let me show you one other camera here. outer loop of the beltway north of town as you come around from university boulevard heading on over to silver springs, word of a broken down vehicle possibly in the roadway, outer loop around georgia avenue, so we'll keep a watch out for that. heading out to catch a train? let's see how you're doing out on the rails this morning. so far, metro doing fine. vre two delays on fredericksburg, 300 and 302. slightly delayed about ten minutes each. up on marc rail, camden 841 running ten minutes behind schedule. that's how we're doing right now. police in oakland, california hope images caught on tape will help in the murder investigation of a computer engineer from fairfax. he was in california for a job interview when he was killed in a robbery attempt. elaine >> the video shows two persons of interest. and police hope it will generate more leads. >> it was senseless, truly nobody's life is worth any amount of money to be lost at the hands of a bad person. but for $17? that's ridiculous. >> oakland, california police released this surveillance video. they have reason to believe these two people, a male on the left and a female on the right, are responsible for shooting and killing the 45-year-old from fairfax, virginia. the video caught the potential suspects on tape minutes before the crime took place sunday night. the detectives hope it it will jog someone's memory and lead them to the couple. >> they only get a good look for a second, but that helps when you have video because then it kind of confirm what is they told you. >> reporter: he had travelled from virginia to the bay area for a job interview at google he will. he had just left a dental appointment and was with another person when the suspects approach. investigation gatd tors say the man demanded some money. all he had was $17. so he handed it over, but got shot anyway. he leaves behind a wife and these children. his fairfax neighbors are stunned. >> the nicest guy. nothing but good things to say about him. >> completely shocking. completely unexpected. >> reporter: oakland police have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. >> elaine, thank you. a judge did do who deflated a woman's tire outside the courthouse has been suspended without pay. the punishment against judge robert nalley will last for five days. that ruling came yesterday from the maryland court of appeals. last august, the circuit court judge let the air out of the tires of a car parked in his reserve space. the car belonged to a cleaning lady. nalley later resigned at the achieved a minute straight difference judge, but he still presides over civil cases. and it ta a look at this, a thief broke into a convenience store and stole $6500 in lottery tickets and $7,000 in cigarettes. this happened at a convenience store in edgewater, maryland. police say the man broke into a vacant building next door and then used a sledgehammer to knock a hole in the store's cinder block wall. the million dollar pledge to revitalize a neighborhood in the district. also ahead at 6:00, first she was fired. now possibly rehired. what the agriculture department worker who was forced to resign is saying about her new job offer this morning. look inside a more than 17 billion dollar investment, and what do you see? at at&t, we see the dreams and ambitions of everyday americans coming true. we see an economic recovery taking root as businesses grow and prosper and add jobs, thanks to the amazing power of an open internet that works. america needs an internet that is always getting faster, safer, and more secure. at at&t, our investment last year of more than 17 billion dollars in the wireless and wired networks of tomorrow is what's fueling innovation today and creating jobs and opportunities now. we invest because we know the internet works. it's working for our children, our families, our economy and our future. and if there were ever a time to stick with what works, now is it. the future has always been our business. and the future begins now. so i told the guy i wanted yeah. a convertible. and this is what he had in my budget. aw! well, the top is down. the top is gone! lots of head room... tons of head room! --careful! that's sharp. jeez! yeah...sorry. narrator: settling for less is not smart. what is smart is getting more car for your money at carmax. guaranteed-quality used cars can cost a lot less than new cars. so you can get more car for less money by shopping at carmax. now more than ever, the smart choice is carmax. the way car buying should be. home grown terror. a man would went to oakton high school and also attended george mason university will be in court today on charges of supporting terrorism. a gray area. the head of the agriculture department issue as public apology to the bomb forced to resign after her remarks about race. now the government has a new job offer for her. >> thanks for joining us for "news 4 today." >> it is thursday, july 22nd, 2010 p 2010. a live look outside. take that in, a beautiful image as the sun is up over the nation's capital. and it doesn't feel horrible outside just yet. >> that pink over there to the right just doesn't seem like it could happen in nature, but it does. >> there it is, there's the sun just now coming up. the horizon's moving down. >> yes, technical tom. and our latitude is rotating about 900 miles an hour. at that speed, we go around once every 24 hours. and there it is, there our nearest star just now appearing. and at this hour, it is 80 in washington, upper 70s in prince georges county. fairfax mid-70s, but we do have lower humidity moving in. the air feels fresher and more pleasant this morning. in western maryland and in parts of northern west virginia, the temperatures now are in the 60s. on the eastern shore, around the bay, it's in the mid southwest now. over the last 12 hours, you've had the low are humidity moving in on a northwesterly breeze as weak high pressure is pushing if from the north and west and will be in place today with highs in the mid ninth with lots of sun. hen tomorrow and saturday, hot and more humid again in the upper 90s near 100 both days. small chance of a passing afternoon storm. how is the traffic now, jerry? >> let's take to the air. chopper 4 on the job for us over the i-95 interchange in maryland where it meets the capital beltway. smooth sailing so far at this point, however, on the outer loop of the beltway, had word of a broken down vehicle in the right lane, so we'll peruse for that and keep you updated. but right now looking pretty good. along 395 northbound as you driver up from the capital beltway, not bad. everybody seems to be dealing with the new lane configuration in at least a reasonable fashion. let's see how we're doing out on the rails. metro rail no delays. vre, still have 300 and 302 slightly dhaed 10 to 15 minutes each. and marc camden line 841, ten minutes behind schedule. a fairfax county man is waking up this morning in jail charged with trying to join a terrorist group. zachary chesser was arrested yesterday. the 20-year-old is accused of trying to join the somali organization with ties to al qaeda. chesser is due in court today in alexandria and that's where we find tracy wilkins who joins us live with more. >> reporter: good morning. this organization that investigators say he wanted to join is considered very dangerous. according to court spokesmen, they have already claimed responsibility for deadly bombings overseas and now this once quiet suburban kid wanted in. 20-year-old zachary chesser of fairfax county is facing federal charges and accused of being a terrorist recruit. an all-american boy, he once played football and rode crew when he attended oakton high school in fairfax county. when he graduated, he went on to nearby george mason university. he dropped out during his second semester. sgle went to school here in classes of fall of 2008. he did not return in '09. that's been the last official affiliation we've had with him. apparent will he he followed his own journey after he left here. >> reporter: july 10th, officials stopped him at jfk airport as he tried to fly to somalia. his threats landed him on a no fly list. chesser confessed that he planned to go to somalia to join al shabaab. they say he also confessed to knowing it was a designateded terrorist organization with ties to al qaeda. saying, quote, al shabaab is an easier organization to join than other known organizations overseas. such as the taliban or those in iraq. chesser gained notoriety earlier on because he actually posted on the web that the creators of south park were risking death would i doing an episode that mocked mohammed. now, he is now joining a list of some 34 americans since january of 2009 who have been accused of direct involvement with international terrorism. officials say that this is becoming a growing problem. in alexandria, tracy wilkins. back to you in the studio. this morning we're learning more about the murder of a world renowned artist from montgomery county. 35-year-old handy man who worked at her studio was charged in the crime. d.c. police found 45-year-old azin naimi wrapped in a blanket in an alley on monday. her family reported her missing after she didn't return to her rockville home sunday night. naimi's business partner who also employed her accused killer says this is all hard to understand. >> i've been worked in a working relationship with her for several years. she's been my day to day working companion for the last approximately six months. and she was an amazing person and a wonderful artist, and will be surely missed. >> police say 35-year-old raymond williams of kensington beat her and stabbed her a number of times with a pair of scissors. he's being held without bond. this morning police continue to build their case against the man they claim will be remembered as one of america's most infamous killers. they're calling the man a person of interest at this point, but he could be charged with a pair of mother/daughter murders sometime this month. the suspect is already in custody on unrelated weapons charges. he's also accused of among other things carjacking and sexual exploitation. police say they expect investigators from other jurisdictions to start looking at this person of interest to see if he's connected to crimes elsewhere. the ntsb wants to talk to passengers on board take united airlines flight ran into extreme turbulence. about two dozen people were hurt and the flight had to make an emergency landing in denver because of the turbulence. some people on board took pictures of the cracks in the plane's interior would wr a one hit her head.n tcht sb will also analyze the flight's data recorder. it arrived yesterday in washington. a virginia construction worker is dead this morning after falling seven stories to his death. this happened at the arlington court suites hotel. the man fell through a glass atrium and landed in the front lobby. it's not clear what he was doing at the time, but crews were working on the balconies above the atrium when the accident happened. first she was fired. now possibly rehired. the new job offer for the agriculture department worker forced to resign following her remarks about race. take a look at this picture. a 40-ton whale jumps on a sailboat. stay tuned for this whale of a tale. and 79 degrees today. a beautiful sun up this morning. it is going to get warm in a little bit here. tom has your forecast and jerry checks traffic all next. time for weather and traffic on this thursday morning. good morning, thank you for joining us. the sun is up and that's a live view from our sky watcher camera overlooking northeast washington in the distance. right now 80 degrees in washington. upper 70s in prince georges county. month gomry county now in the low to mid-70s. it's in the low to mid-70s as well in arlington and fairfax county. weather watchers checking in reporting the lower humidity moving in on a northwesterly breeze. it will be hot, mid ninth by midafternoon. humidity returns friday and saturday, even hotter both days with a small chance of a passing storm. and we'll take a look into next week in ten minutes. how is the traffic? capital belt wi looking pretty good, but we did have a report because of road work, the ramp from the beltway to route 4 was temporarily blocked off. but on the beltway, pennsylvania avenue, looks like we're moving along pretty well. out to the west near dulles airport, no worries to report except the sunshine. just when things looked like they were going to turn the corner in the gulf, workers suffer yet another setback. and an out of this world discovery. we have pictures of a star hundreds of times larger than the sun. sgh what the agriculture department worker who was forced to resign is saying about her new job offer this morning. ex-usda employ year shirley sherrod received unexpected news yesterday. sherrod who had been fired for alleged racial comments got an apology from the white house and now the department of agriculture is offering her a new job. tracie potts reports. >> this is a if woman. she's been put through hell. >> reporter: she's now had apologies from her boss and the white house. >> a disservice was done for which we apologize. >> reporter: she was fired monday after a conservative blog posted an edited version of what she said about helping a white farmer 24 years ago. the clip made her look like a racist when, in fact, she was denouncing racism. >> i'm not an friday today. >> reporter: today sherrod has a new job offer from her old boss, something unique the government says to help them fight discrimination. >> let me just say i'm reconsidering at this point. >> reporter: sherrod's firing ignited anger and shined a light on how the obama administration dealt with race. secretary vilsack insists the president is not to blame. >> this was something i decided and i have to accept full responsibility for this. >> reporter: black leaders say it's a teachable moment. >> in many ways racism has been swept under the rug. >> reporter: now forced out in the open in a very public way. sherrod spoke with secretary vilsack by phone. no word yet when she'll speak with president obama. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >> and sherrod has also received apologies from the naacp which originally condemned her comments. sherrod will be live on the "today" show this morning to talk more about the comments she made and the job decision that now lies ahead of her. that's this morning on the "today" show at 7:00. happening today, a house vote is expected to restore jobless benefits to nearly 3 million unemployed americans. the bill to extend unemployment benefits has been caught up in the senate for months. it finally passed yesterday and now the bill heads to the house. it passed those who have been denied benefits should start receiving back payments in a few weeks. the vote is expected to take place later today. we're following a developing story in the gulf this morning. that's where a storm could impact containment efforts at the site of the oil spill. the storm is in the caribbean right now and is strengthening. crews are quickly preparing for rough seas that could hamper cleanup efforts. drilling on the relief well which is in its final stage has been stopped. bp is also trying to decide whether to keep the cap on the damaged well during the storm or if the underwater robots will be able to stay in place. the worry is that rough seas could further damage the well if the cap stays on. crews lines will soon there to improve passenger and crew safety. no one is makes sure crimes are prosecuted or even reported. the law requires ships to carry rape kits and have a trained forensic specialist on board every ship. it also mandates peepholes in cabins, security cameras and emergency sound systems. more people are traveling farther to get to work. it's not just causing congestion, but also stress for a lot of drivers. here's a live look on the roads in maryland. you can see people are already on the road this morning. megan mcgrath is live in alexandria with what the sur fay found. >> reporter: good morning. it really doesn't matter where you're coming from, the traffic in our area is bad pretty much everywhere. now, this survey is taken every three years and it's not too surprising that many in our area are not happy with their daily commute. about 40% of those questioned say it takes too long to get to work. according to the state of the commute survey, the average drive is 16 miles and takes between 30 and 35 minutes. 25% of those surveyed say the commute is worse now than it was a year ago. now, will will might be a silver lining in all of this, however. the terrible traffic has many people actually getting out of their cars. some are even tele commuting. >> the most significant thing is the growth in tele commuting. that has been growing quite dramatically. it was about 11% of commuters in 2001. it's now 25%. >> reporter: and many people are also turning to public transportation to sit on metro instead of banging your head against the steering wheel out there in the trafrg. so there is good new wgs some of this. but, again, the bottom line, not a big surprise, but the traffic is very bad, a lot of people are extremely frustrated. the hope here is that the survey will h give concrete information about the trends in our area and help planners, transportation planners, take a look at the bigger picture when trying to come up with new transportation projects. back to you. >> and we know there are so many road projects out there. is any of this development helping the traffic problems out there in our region? >> reporter: one thing that's interesting is the trend toward tele commuting. so not necessarily just road projec projects, but the fact people are getting out of their cars, that the frustration level has reached the point that they're willing it to get out of their cars. also a lot of employers are now seeing the benefits of promoting that within their workforce. now, certainly road projects are always a big deal in our area, anything that you can do to improve the roads, add more laneses and the like. the hope there is that that will help with congestion, as well, but certainly a combination of a lot of things. >> absolutely. megan mcgrath, thanks so much. we turn to tom for a look at our forecast with less humidity. >> i noticed the cars driving behind megan there h with twith windows down. it has turned less humid. much more pleasant. enjoy it while you can temperature brief break anyway from our high humidity. right now it's 08 in washington. upper 70s in prince georges county. in montgomery county in many locations, it's just in the low 70s now. arlington county, mid-70s. as well in fairfax county. and around most of the region, we're in the 70s now and lower humidity moving in on a northwesterly breeze. and it will be in place today, lots of sun, though. it will us up. it should get us in the mid-90s by midafternoon. and then tomorrow and saturday, hotter and the humidity returns. small chance of passing afternoon storms. a greater chance on sunday as the front comes in. that will bring in another break from the high humidity on monday and the humidity should be creeping back mid weak next week. the extended outlook it does appear we'll have the possibility of a passing thunderstorm on tuesday and wednesday with highs near 90. now, jerry, how is the traffic? let's see how the commute is treating us. not bad at all. german town along the 270 corridor, southbound traffic left side of your screen and virtually no delays he says optimistically as you travel from frederick headed on down to the split. i suspect that will change. water main break on silver hill road just above route 4. there is a little bit of a detour in effect. so silver hill road, pennsylvania avenue, heads up for that. the beltway traveling from springfield on up toward i-66 by way of the inner loop, no worries right now. travel lanes there are open. catching the train, metro rail is doing well. vre two delays, fredericksburg 300 and 302, up to it 15 minutes each possibly p. and marc rail, good news, no delays. 6:22 is your time. the new surveillance pictures police believe is the key to solving the murder mystery surrounding a fairfax county man killed in california. and we have a whale of a tale for you. we'll tell you what happened next as a 40-ton whale is about to land on a sailboat. >> and out of this world. what scientists found that is hundreds of times larger than the sun. look inside a more than 17 billion dollar investment, and what do you see? at at&t, we see the dreams and ambitions of everyday americans coming true. we see an economic recovery taking root as businesses grow and prosper and add jobs, thanks to the amazing power of an open internet that works. america needs an internet that is always getting faster, safer, and more secure. at at&t, our investment last year of more than 17 billion dollars in the wireless and wired networks of tomorrow is what's fueling innovation today and creating jobs and opportunities now. we invest because we know the internet works. it's working for our children, our families, our economy and our future. and if there were ever a time to stick with what works, now is it. the future has always been our business. and the future begins now. two south african sailors found themselves with a whale of a tale to tell sunday. take a look at these photos. they were sailing off the coast of cape town when a 33-foot long white whale crashed on to their boat. the impact crushed the mast, but fortunately the experienced sailors were thought hurt. they first noticed the whale about 100 yards from their boat. there is an investigation to see if the sailors provoked the whale to attack, but the boaters say the whale simply did not know the boat was there. >> and apparently the whale was okay, too. this time much year it's winter in that part of the world and whales and sharks are pretty normal in those waters. >> a good thing the whale didn't eat those sailors. i love the story because they were experienced sailors. can you imagine? what would you do? >> i have no clue. no clue. we've got a pretty incredible story to tell you about this morning, as well. astronomers found a massive star in the galaxy far, far away. british scientists found the star outside our milky way. the new star weighs in at a whopping 265 times the mass of our sun. but they say it slimmed down over time apparently. the stellar surprise could re write the books about stars. a lot of scientists first thought large stars were unstable and they would die in huge explosions. not the case, though. this star is about a million years old. you see itight there in the middle of the screen -- no. it's in there somewhere. it's a big one. 6:27 is your time now. 79 degrees. >> a local man charged with trying to join a terror network linked to al qaeda. sglt danger for pets in one local neighborhood where a woman found poison on the ground. >> and new pictures this morning from inside a flight from dulles that had to make an emergency landing. the pictures show just how damaging severe turbulence can be. home grown terror threat. a man will be in court on terror charges. what he's accused of doing and how he tried to use his infant son as cover. good morning and thanks for joining us for "news 4 today." >> it's thursday, july 22nd, 2010. bright sunshine to start off this morning if you're about to head out. and it's a little bit cooler, at least it feels that way outside. we turn to tom to break it all down for us. >> the humidity has dropped and we'll get a nice break. a welcome break from our high humidity we've had the last few days. right now it's 80 in washington. upper 70s in prince georges county. and a bit cooler in montgomery, arlington and fairfax county. weather watchers reporting in the rural areas of maryland and virginia just near 70, except right near the bay and northern neck where it's still quite humid. out of the mountain, even cooler. weather watchers reporting down into the mid-60s there in many locations. panhandle also in the upper 60s to near 70. over the last 12 hour, this weak high pressure has pushed in and will be with us today giving us a break from the high humidity, but not the heat. it will be hot, highs reaching mid-90s by midafternoon with lots of sun. definitely need sun block. and friday and saturday, humidity returns. the heat builds. small chance of afternoon storms. how is the traffic now, jerry? here comes the sun and here come the delays. eastbound traffic will have to deal with the sunshine. as you make the trip in from manassas through centerville and vienna, travel lanes open. let's h. outbound pennsylvania avenue at the soo susan bridge, broken down vehicle, but no delays. inbound doing all right. on the rails, metro rail continues to run with no delays all the lines fairly all the trains leaving on time. good new there is. still some lingering delays from some earlier signal problems on vre fredericksburg trains 300 and 302 and marc rail penn 407 delayed seven minutes. fairfax county man accused of trying to join a terrorist organization is due in court today. the fbi arrested zachary chesser yesterday. he's charged with trying to travel to somalia to join a group with ties to code. news 4's tracy will kins is live outside the pearl courthouse where chess ser expeer is expec appear today. >> reporter: he first gained notoriety on the web after he was posting shall concerns and saying that the creators of south park were risking death by mocking mohammed. but that's not the reason they arrested him. they're saying arrested him because he was trying to join international terrorist group. 20-year-old zachary chesser of fairfax county is facing federal charges and accused of being a terrorist recruit. an all-american boy, he once played football and rode crew when he attended oakton high school. when he graduated, he went on to nearby george mason university. he dropped out during his second semester. >> mr. chesser went to school here to classes in fall of 2008. he did not return in '09 and that's been the last official affiliation we've had with him. he followed his own journey after he left here. >> reporter: on july 10th, transportation safety officials stopped chesser at jfk airport in new york as he tried it on fly to so he mal kra p about his writings, threats, landed him on a no fly list. investigators say that chesser confessed that he planned to go on somalia to join al shabaab and also confessed to knowing it was a designated terrorist organization with ties to al qaeda saying it's an easier organization to join than other known organizations overseas such as the taliban or those in iraq. chesser is a married man with an infant son. according to court documents, he actually wanted to try to use his son as a way to get on to the plane more discreetly. now, he is joining a list of some 34 americans who have been charged since january of 2009 trying to join international terrorist organizations. fbi officials say this is a growing problem. i'm trays is wilkins, back to you in the studio. a handy man is charged with killing a world renowned artist in montgomery county. d.c. police found 45-year-old azin naimi wrapped in a blanket in an alley monday morning. her family reported her missing after she didn't rush to her rockville home sunday night. her business partner, who also employed the accused killer, finds this all thhard to believ. >> i've been involved in a working relationship with her for several years. she's been my day to day working companion for the last approximately six months. and she was an amazing person and a wonderful artist and will be surely missed. >> police say 35-year-old raymond williams of k s beat a stabbed her. she's being held without bond. police continue to build their case against one of the most infamous killerses. they're calls the man a person of interest at this point, but he could be charged with a pair of mother/daughter murders sometime this month. the subject is already in custody on an unrelated weapons charge. he's also accused of, among other things, carjacking and sexual exploitation. police say they expect investigators from other jurisdictions to start looking that the person of interest to see if he's connected to crimes elsewhere. the flight data recorder from that united airlines flight that ran into extreme turbulence is now in washington, so ntsb investigators are examine it. about two dozen people were hurt and the flight from dulles to los angeles had to make an emergency landing in denver because of the turbulence. shall people on board took pictures of crackses in the plane's interior where wr a woman hit her head. the ntsb also wants to talk to passengers about tincident. a virginia construction worker is dead after falling seven stories to his death at the arlington court sweets oig hotel. he fell through a glass atrium and in the front lobby. it's not clear what he was doing at the time, but crews were working on the balconies above the atrium at the time of the accident. d.c. mayor an dree an fenty celebrating a small victory in his re-election bid. he won a straw bomb in which ward 2 residents were allowed to vote. it took place last night during a debate at the washington plaza hotel. six candidates took part. the mayor talked about a reduction of crime in the district during his time in office. gray focused on his education plans. police release new surveillance video they say is the key to the case of a murdered fairfax county man and the father of three. pet owners, one local neighborhood is being littered with poison. and it is 6:37. 79 degrees here in the district this morning. weather and traffic together next. look inside a more than 17 billion dollar investment, and what do you see? at at&t, we see the dreams and ambitions of everyday americans coming true. we see an economic recovery taking root as businesses grow and prosper and add jobs, thanks to the amazing power of an open internet that works. america needs an internet that is always getting faster, safer, and more secure. at at&t, our investment last year of more than 17 billion dollars in the wireless and wired networks of tomorrow is what's fueling innovation today and creating jobs and opportunities now. we invest because we know the internet works. it's working for our children, our families, our economy and our future. and if there were ever a time to stick with what works, now is it. the future has always been our business. and the future begins now. we can actually see outside today. see the capitol dome there and that's because the skies are a bit clearer. >> less haze. >> and less humidity. >> and i say we give full credit to tom for that. >> well, i take full blame in other situations, so why not. at this hour, we do have the lower humidity moving in. the atmosphere has been dehumidified thanks to a breeze. off in the distance it's arrest link to think. and way off in the distance is falls church. right now 80 degrees in washington. 78 at andrews air force base. a bit cooler in montgomery, a arrest rilingto arlington, fairfax. less humid today, but tomorrow it returns and the heat builds. small chance of an afternoon storm. more of the same on saturday. and then sunday, increased chance of some showers and storms as the front comes in. highs in the mid-90s. a look into next week at 6:51. how is the traffic now? prince georges county, chopper 6 other the capital beltway. entrance and exit ramps are open. keep in mind the water main break on silver hill road. the trip out of town, had a broken down vehicle outbound on the sousa bridge tying up the right side of the roadway, but outbound, not that big of a deal it at the moment. and inbound travel lanes are open. we're loading on up now toward barney's circle. very, very rapidly. that's how we're doing right now. 18 before the top of the hour. the punishment for a local judge who deflated the tires of a woman when she took his parking spot. >> first she was fired, now possibly rehired. what the al gri culture worker who was forced to resign is saying about her new job offer. and how more and more people in the area are getting to work every day. shirley sherrod has gone from being condemned to being praised overnight. and now she may be getting her job back. sherrod was fired after a video clip surfaced that appeared to show her making racist comments. however, the full clip of the speech showed she actually help hed the farmer save his farm. she has since received apologies from both the agriculture department and the white house. and her hold boss has offered her a new job. the secretary agriculture is taking the blame for the situation. >> this was something i decided and i have to accept full responsibility for this. >> let me just say i'm reconsidering at this point. >> sherrod will be live on the "today" show this morning to talk more about the comments she made. and the job decision that now highs ahead of her. that's this morning on the "today" show at 7:00. it a good look at this picture. police hope this will generate leads in the murder of a computer engineer visiting from fairfax, virginia. he was shot and killed hours before a scheduled job interview with google. news 4's elaine reyes joins us live from the newsroom with more details on this story. >> the video you're about to see whether show two persons of interest. their picture abouts match the description given by a witness to the shooting and police hope it will lead to an arrest. >> truly nobody's life is worth any amount of money to be lost at the hands of a bad person. but for $17? that's ridiculous. >> reporter: oakland, california police released this video. they have reason to believe these two people, a male on the left and a female on the right, are responsible for shooting and killing 45-year-old of fairfax, virginia. the video caught the potential suspects on tape minutes before the crime took place sunday might. detective mike gant hopes it will jog someone's memory and lead them to the couple. >> they only get a good flook a second, but that helps when you have video because then it kind of confirms what they told you. >> reporter: he travelled from virginia to the bay area for a job interview at google. he had just left the dental appointment and was with another person when the suspects approached. investigators say the man demanded some money. all he had was $17. so he handleded it over, but got shot anyway. he leaves behind a wife and three children. oakland police are offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. aaron, back to you. a judge who deflated a woman's tire outside the courthouse in charles county has been suspended without pay. the punishment against judge robert nalley will h last for five days. the ruling came yesterday from the maryland court of appeals. last august nalley let the air out of a tire parked in his reserve space. that car belonged to a cleaning lady. nalley later radio resigned as achieved a minute straight difference judge, but still presides over civil cases. a warning for pet owners. watch out for rat poison in the georgetown area. jane runs the dog shop on wisconsin avenue. on saturday, she discovered neon green rat poison pellets on the sidewalk and they can be very harmful to dogs and cats. she said she knows of three dogs who have died from rat poisoning in the area alone. it is illegal to put down poison pellets and complaints have been filed with the d.c. police. d.c. officials say they will will spend more than $1 million to revitalize a strip of storefronts in the columbia heightses neighborhood. the 24 buildings are on park road northwest. the small stores house businesses that represent eight nationalities. mayor an dree an fenty and ward 1 council member jim graham oig say the city's goal is to keep diversity in that area. ben bernanke heads to capitol hill this morning to give congress and update on the state of the economy. courtney reagan joins us live with more on what bernanke expected to say. >> reporter: good morning. this is day two of the semiannual testimony. ben bernanke says the outlook for the economy is unusually uncertain. bernanke says the fed stands ready to act if the recovery falters. steps could include easing interest rates even further or reinvesting mortgage bonds that are matured. he says the fed is till banking on sustaining the sluggish growth and chances are low the economy will slip back into recession. he's back on capitol hill later this morning. tiger woods hasn't been knocked off the to which the list of the world's richest athlete. sports illustrated says woods is number one for the seventh straight year even though his endorsement earnings are down $22 million from last year p. he still pulled this an estimated $90 million. tiger's rifle, phil mickelson, is second. >> a lot of money. we should have gone into golf. thanks so much. as you might expect, the redskins are represented on the list of highest paid athletes, as well. albert haynesworth is the 20th highest paid american athlete. he's made more than $24 million in the last year. deangelo hall is ranked 40th making more than $18 million. any of those, i'm in. >> we decided to be story tellers professionally. >> right. i don't know. let's take a look outside right now. a picture of the capitol dome off in the distance and we can actually see it morning. tom, tell us why. >> last couple of mornings, it's been so hazy, the visibility has been reduced. but the humidity has dropped. here's another view of our sky from our sky watcher camera above northwest washington. it's looking off towards the west/northwest. montgomery county is on the right and way off in the far distance on the right is louden county. on the left in the far distance is fairfax county. right now at national airport 80 degrees and the humidity has dropped on a north early breeze. weak area of high pressure pushing in giving us brief relief from the high humidity, but not from the heat. right now it's pleasant. it's in the low 70s in montgomery county. mid-70s in arlington and fairfax counties. district of columbia is in the upper 70s as is much of prince georges county. southern maryland around the chesapeake bay, weather watchers still reporting rather high humidity, but your humidity levels should be dropping there as the day progresses. farther to our west, weather watchers reporting temperatures in the upper 60s around the blue ridge. and farther to our east on the eastern shore and at the atlantic beaches, it's in the mid southwest on this thursday morning. should an great beach and pool day as this high pressure has moved in from the north and west. bringing us the lower hupt and we'll have plenty of sunshine today, as well. by noon, near 90. and peeking in the mid-90s with that strong july sun. and then after sunset, we'll dip back down into the 80s and we'll have a nearly full moon up tonight and then by dawn on friday, the mid and upper 70s with increased humidity. the humidity returns tomorrow and the heat will be climbing, as well, into the upper 90s during the afternoon. small chance of an afternoon storm. then on saturday, perhaps even hotter. saturday's record high, 96. we'll probably exceed that and we'll have the humidity still in place with a small chance of an afternoon storm. then a greater chance of some showers and thundershowers on sunday as a front moves in h. highs in the mid-90s after that front goes by, should be another brief break from high humidity and heat on monday. and then humidity creeps back tuesday and wednesday along with a chance of storms. how is the traffic, jerry? >> up we go, chopper 4 checking out the capital beltway as you head around through prince goshes county looking pretty good approaching route 5, route 4, really all the travel lanes open and not bad at all. so very good news headed over there. in from the west on 66, certainly sunshine will catch you in a couple of spots and that will hold true for any roadway coming in from the west, of course the toll road, georgetown pike. so just be aware the sun will be a factor this morning for your morning drive. out to the rails we go. metro rail, no delays. vre, 300 or 302 just about to their destination. marc delays on 409. more people are traveling farther to get to work and it's not just causing congestion, but also a lot of stress for drivers. here's a live look on the roads in maryland. you can see people are out and about on the road. megan mcgrath is live in alexandria with what the survey found. >> reporter: we're here along route 1 in al58 alexandria. if you drive anywhere in our area, you know it is often not pretty. this survey is performed every three years. and it's not too surprising that many in our area say that their commute is not a good one that it takes too long to get to work. about 40%, in fact, of those questioned say that it takes too long every day to get to work. now, according to the state of the commute survey, the average drive is 16 miles and takes between 30 and 35 minutes. 25% of those surveyed say the commute is worse now than it was a year ago. now, this h may be a silver lining in all of this, however. according to the survey, the terrible traffic has prompted many people to leave their cars behind and use public transportation. others are starting to telecommute. >> the most significant thing is the growth in telecommutintelec. that has plane growing quite dramatically. it was about 11% in 2001. it's now 25%. >> reporter: and many employers are more receptive now to the idea of their employees telecommuting. and a lot of people are just leaving the cars at home all together and have now started taking public transportation to try to at that time frustration out of their daily commute. but certainly if you drive in our area, you know just how bad it can get. the idea behind this survey is to provide information to transportation planners so they can look at the big picture, follow the trend, and hopefully choose transportation projects in the future that will help he's congestion. >> and we need all the help we can get. megan, thank you. it's 6:55. here's a look at the morning's top stories. a fairfax county man facing terror charges this morning. federal prosecutors say 20-year-old zachary chesser tried to travel to somalia to join a group with ties to al qaeda. he's expected to appear in federal court in alexandria later today. a house vote is expected to restore jobless benefits to nearly 3 million unflighted americans today. the bill was stalled in the senate for several months but finally passed yesterday. if approved today, those who have been denied benefits should start receiving back payments in a few week. a storm is threatening cleanup efforts in the gulf and could slow progress if continues to strengthen. drilling of the relief well which is in the final stages has already been halted. bp also has to decide if they will leave the cap on the damaged well during the storm. and one last look at the forecast with tom before we head out. >> we'll have temperatures today soaring to the mid-90s, but somewhat lower humidity in place. lots of sunshine. tomorrow partly cloudy, hot and more humid again. more of the same on saturday. both days a small chance of a storm. how is our traffic? let's take a live look, 270 just briefly heavy in a couple of spots. merging traffic right at the spur. no accidents. 66, make sure you have your sunglasses. you will need them today. >> thank you, jerry. and that is "news 4 today." thanks for starting your day with us. >> the "today" show is next. join us right back here tomorrow morning at 4:30. until then, have a great day.

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