progress east. that has caused a lot of problems in a lot of different areas because of the flash flooding. we do have some flash flood warnings in effect until 7:15 tonight including montgomery county, howard county, anne arundel county, prince george's county and even the southeastern portions of the district under a flash flood warning until 7:15. frederick county, maryland hit very hard earlier, but the rain is now done for you for the time being. i do think we are going to see another chance for some rain coming up a little bit later this evening. i'll show you why. it's back towards the west that we're seeing more rain into portions of west virginia. that's another little system that's going to make its way through overnight tonight into the next couple hours. so i think we're going to get a break here. the rain has stopped in your area, i expect to see a break for the next one to two, maybe three hours. and more rain will come later this evening. so they may actually be able to get in the nats' game or at least start the game on time as the rain has moved out of the district. but wednesday again, southern maryland getting hit hard. i'll continue to keep you posted here from the storm center. >> see you in a few minutes. thank you, doug. the weather is causing big delays out there and flights have been grounded at all three airports. right now at dulles international airport and bwy-marshal, delays up to two hours. and at reagan national airport, delays up to an hour and forty five minutes. as always, check with your airline before you head to the airport. if you have any weather pictures from your community, we invite you to share them with us. the e-mail address is weather@nbcwashington.com. there was a threat of bad weather in florida this morning. but in spite of that, the space shuttle "atlantis" did in fact cut through the sky on its final journey into space. after 30 years, the shuttle program is being retired. millions of people watched the "atlantis" launch today. many had mixed emotions, though. kristen dahlgren reports from cape canaveral, florida. >> reporter: they are moments we have seen for years. but today was different as atlanta's astronauts took the final steps. tension building as workers and watchers kept their eyes on the weather, hoping skies would clear for one final look at the iconic spacecraft as it raced into orbit. >> one more time. >> reporter: after those words from the commander -- >> zero and liftoff! >> reporter: "atlantis," the only remaining space shaulths, shuttle, lifted off for the very last time. >> spreads its wings one final time for the start of a sentimental journey into history. >> reporter: "atlantis" is carrying a 30-year legacy. >> i look back at what the shuttle has done in 30 years, the hubble space scope, magellan, galileo. opened up space. >> reporter: after 135 launches and more than 20,000 trips around the earth, the final shuttle flight marks the end of the program that for more than three decades brought america incredible highs and twice united us in overwhelming tragedy. so on this day, close to 1 million gathered near kennedy space center, their eyes raised sky ward. but for many, their hearts heavy. >> part of me didn't want it to go today, because i didn't want it to be over. but it was beautiful. >> full time, 3:16. >> reporter: at the last minute, it almost didn't go, with just 31 seconds on the clock, a technical glitch needed a closer look. >> liftoff! >> reporter: but in the end, "atlantis" soared into history, leaving many wondering about the future, especially the hundreds who worked on the shuttle for so long. >> it was like the end of a party and you just don't want to go. i just want to hang around a little bit longer. >> reporter: but as they lingered, "atlantis" lifted away, through the clouds and out of sight, carrying for the final time high emotion and immense pride. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, kennedy space center. we'll have more coverage on that historic launch today. coming up, a report from kennedy space center. and later, we'll see how commercial space travel in our region is picking up as we come to the end of this current era in space flight. next week, the d.c. council will be asked to consider a proposal that would license the city government itself to sell handguns. it's an unusual move by the city to comply with the supreme court ruling that struck down the city's previous handgun ban. tom sherwood is here with more. kind of ironic, huh, tom? >> yes, dorene, if the city had its way, no handguns would be allowed. none. but the city has to comply with the supreme court ruling. from the late 1970s, the district of columbia had the toughest ban on handguns in the nation. in 2008, the u.s. supreme court struck down the law, saying it violated the second amendment right for private owners to have such guns in their homes. the city since has written tough rules on where gun shops may be located, but there are no active dealers, and there is no federally licensed dealer who can transfer guns in from other states. a road block that could make the city violate the supreme court rule to go allow guns. now, d.c. council public safety chairman phil mendelson has an unusual idea. he'll ask the council on tuesday to approve emergency legislation to let the city act as the federal agent to transfer guns. >> i'm presenting legislation, temporary legislation, before the council that would make clear the authority of the government to acquire a federal firearms license, so that people will be able to exercise their constitutional right to purchase a handgun, which they can only do outside the district and bring it into the district. >> reporter: mendelson acknowledges the city is going from the tough handgun control of the 1970s to facilitating gun sales now. >> clearly, we are not today where we intended to be as a government back in the 1970s when we said nobody could own a handgun in the district. but the supreme court changed the law with regard to that, and we have to comply with the supreme court. >> reporter: on thursday, police chief cathy lanier cold wtop radio she thought it would be okay for chain stores like walmart to sell guns in the city. >> walmart and others coming to town that could take that on, are they will to go take that on and become the firearms licensed firearms dealer here in the district. we don't know. and it's certainly not a lucrative business in the district of columbia. how do you encourage others to take on that venture? >> the law permits a gun store to open up in the district. and the gun store could be walmart, it could be just a gun store dedicated solely to the sale of guns. >> reporter: the district is still facing illegal challenges to its new handgun rules. lawyers say the rules are too restrictive. dorene, back to you. >> tom sherwood. thank you, tom. an employee with the u.s. agency for international development has been arrested on child pornography charges. last weekend, a tip led police to the home of 60-year-old carl mitchell. following a search of his house, mitchell was arrested and charged with making and is possessing child pornography. usaid says they have suspended mitchell without pay. they have also removed his employee security clearance. usaid provides humanitarian assistance around the world in support of u.s. foreign policy. the woman accused in the death of her co-worker at a yoga store in bethesda will go on trial in october. her name is brittney norwood. she's accused of murdering jana murray inside the lululemon store back in march. today a judge set her trial date for october 24th. police say norwood beat murray to death after murray apparently caught norwood stealing store merchandise. after a court hearing today, norwood's lawyer said he's not ruling out the possibility of addressing his client's mental health. >> a serious case like this, you have to explore every possibility, because you -- you know, as you go along, you discover certain things in the case. and our investigation is still continuing. we're looking into our client's backgrou background. so we're just trying to keep that as an option. >> reporter: for now, norwood's lawyers are still preparing for a trial and not a plea. the new jobs report for june is out, and the results are not too encouraging. fewer jobs than expected were added, and unemployment inched upward again. the news comes as president obama and congressional leaders try to make a deal on raising the debt limit. brian mooar reports. >> reporter: u.s. employment virtually stalled last month. a net growth of just 18,000 jobs. that nudged the unemployment rate to 9.2% and raises some serious recovery concerns. >> our economy as a whole just isn't producing nearly enough jobs for everybody who is looking. >> reporter: president obama blamed economic headwinds, natural disasters, sky-high gas prices and government budget cuts that slashed 39,000 jobs. despite an early-morning rain in louisville, kentucky, people began lining up before dawn to apply for 1 of 1,800 jobs at a retooled ford plant. >> opportunities like this don't come around that often in this type of economy. i had been to be here early. >> reporter: while the economy added 16,000 manufacturing jobs in june, that's a drop in a very big bucket. >> any way you cut this data, it's lousy. >> reporter: the president called congressional leaders back to the white house on sunday to break the stalemate over the debt ceiling and government spending. democrats and republicans are united on one point. they don't like what they're hearing so far. >> we are not going to reduce the deficit or subsidize tax cuts for the rich on the backs of america's seniors and working families. >> there is no agreement in private or in public. and as the president said yesterday, we are this far apart. >> reporter: the white house is lowering expectations for sunday's meeting, predicting bottom lines, but not breakthroughs. on capitol hill, brian mooar, news4. the bad news on the job front made for a rough day on wall street. the dow, nasdaq and s&p all finished the day down. the dow ended off more than 62 points. the nasdaq was off 12, and the s&p down 9. one silver lining overall, the market showed positive gains for the second straight week. the final launch of the space shuttle "atlantis" was watched by millions of people, both in cape canaveral, florida and here in d.c. there were viewing parties at the air and space museum and at the goddard flight center in green belt, maryland. for people who have worked at goddard, it was especially emotional. kristen dahlgren is down at the kennedy space center with the latest on the successful launch of "atlantis." kristen. >> reporter: >> hey, jim and dorene. it was a really bittersweet day. i've watched a lot of these launches. today had had a different feel, knowing this was the very last space shuttle launch ever. and not knowing exactly when we'll see american astronauts on an american spacecraft going back into space. there's going to be a push for commercial flight to go into low-earth orbit, what the shuttles are doing now, and then eventually the u.s. will build a heavy-lift rocket. but in the meantime, american astronauts are going to have to buy seats on russian rockets. and so people watching here, some had tears in their eyes today. it really is a problem for them losing their jobs, and the economy around here going to suffer. but also really just watching the end of an era, this craft that has meant so much to americans for the past 30 years. it united us twice in tragedy with the "challenger" disaster and "columbia" disaster, but also launched space flight, launched the hubble telescope, helped build the international space station. it really brought the world together in many cases by carrying international astronauts on board this space shuttle. and so today watching it, a lot of people just had an emotional day. they were happy that it got off the ground, it was a spectacular launch. but also knowing that this was the last shuttle flight ever was difficult for some people here, guys. >> kind of bittersweet. thanks, kristen. >> you bet. coming up, it was a deadly day at the ballpark. a fan made a move that ended up being his last. another day of drama in the phone hacking scandal in britain. a man who once was hired by the british prime minister was arrested. a man killed in a deadly accident on the beltway was distracted by something that's not really too uncommon. a popular hair straightener could potentially be dangerous. now congress is looking into a new trend at salons. hakem, what's ahead in sports? >> coming up in sports, the nationals are taking some of the blame for last night's letdown. the capitals part ways with another rugged forward, and mike shanahan proud of his players during the lockout. we'll tell you why as news4 at we've got some thunder bumpers all over the area. frederick maryland, looking at pictures of market street up there. lots and lots of water. flooding the streets in frederick, maryland. they really had the blues from this particular storm. doug is going to come along in a few minutes to tell us more about what happened earlier, and where all those storms are long about now. dorene? all the flags at ranger ballpark in arlington, texas are flying at half staff tonight, and before tonight's game, both the rangers and the athletics will observe a moment of silence. they'll do that for the fan who died while trying to catch a ball. th shannon stone is his name, he is a firefighter. he was at the game last night with his 6-year-old son and fell out of the stands while trying to catch a ball lobbed into the stands by one of the players. stone fell about 20 feet to the concrete below. he was conscious when he was taken to the hospital. but he suffered cardiac arrest and died a short time later. a former news of the world editor was arrested and released as part of the investigation into allegations of phone hacking by the popular tabloid. that individual also served as prime minister david cameron's communications chief. as michelle kosinski reports now, cameron is coming under fire for hiring him, despite his troubled past. >> reporter: only days after these terrible phone hacking allegations exploded once again in britain, one day after the "news of the world" announced it will cease to exist, two former employees of the "news of the world" have now been arrested. one is a former editor, later hired as a communications director for the prime minister. something the prime minister now is again coming under fire for. >> the decision to hire him was mine and mine alone. and i take full responsibility for it. >> reporter: the second person arrested is a reporter who actually did prison time for phone hacking at the "news of the world" back in 2007. the thing is, since then, and only recently, the allegations have ballooned to include possibly thousands of potential phone hacking victims, including the families of soldiers killed in battle and the families of murder victims, even in one case, the murder victim herself. the government now wants to know, has this been going on at other newspapers? why did the original police investigation fail so abysmally, in the words of the prime minister? why were police allegedly taking huge payments from journalists, and why did politicians who may have had wind this is something much bigger not do anything more about it? and the prime minister said, look, who does the public trust? the police to protect them, politicians to represent them and the press to inform them? he says the public has been failed by all three, and that he won't rest until this is thoroughly, independently investigated. and then fixed. back to you. >> that's michelle kosinski reporting from london tonight. coming up on news4, kids just barely got out of school a few days ago, it seems, but stores are already offering up big back to school deals. doug, where are all those storms now? >> right now, jim, moving through southern maryland on to the eastern shore. most of us are now out of the woods for now. but we're not quite done yet. i'll show you when our next round could move in, coming up. we've had thunderstorms all over the area for the last couple hours and as is inevitable in such conditions, there are power outages. here are the latest numbers we have at this particular time. dominion power reports more than 1,400 customers without power. southern maryland electric with nearly 700 people in the dark. pepco says they're dealing with about 8,500 people without power. novak has more than it ii hundred outages. bg&e is reporting more than 3,000 customers without power. jackie bensen has more on conditions in montgomery county. >> reporter: this is tuckerman lane near west lake drive. you can see the road is closed. this is the reason why. a tree fell across the road i'd say probably just before 5:00 this afternoon. now, there are no power lines in this section. we're near a montgomery county park, the cabin john regional park, and you can see those power lines over there. the tree is on top of them. but on the other side of the road, just a short distance away, the power lines are actually down and on the ground. a significant section of them. and the montgomery county fire department is down there in that area. and in addition to that, the creek here is very, very high. it's not quite up to the road level yet, but anymore rain, there would definitely be a potential for flooding along this road. back to you. >> all right, jackie bensen reporting. kind of look like it was a good call to cancel the backyard barbecue for today. >> i looked at one point and said where are these storms now. i was supposed to go to brandy wine in prince george's county and looked at it, and right in the middle, brandy wine. we had to cancel our backyard weather for the day today, but don't worry, we'll get out there in the next couple weeks. it will be quite nice, at least hopefully, better than what we had today. once again, we needed to see the rain. we didn't need it to come down in buckets like it did today, though. out there, you can see the rain has passed through the district and that is good news. but i do expect to see a chance for more shower activity later tonight. all of the rain now, the heaviest well to the south and east of the district into southern portions of maryland. and you are getting clobbered into southern portions of calvert county, northern portions of st. mary's county. southern charles county also seeing a lot of rain. a lot of lightning associated with these storms, too, and moving slowly off toward the east at only 10 to 15 miles per hour. that's why we have had that flood threat, and that flash flooding threat throughout the afternoon. so we're going to continue to watch as those move on out of here. we do have some rain around chesapeake beach, huntingtown. you have probably seen the heaviest move to your south right along 4, if you follow down, areas just down along the river. and this is what i'm talking about here, island creek, right along the river, very heavy rain in that area. cross over into st. mary's county. you see where that heavy rain is associated there, too. the only areas that we have the severe thunderstorm watch, earlier it was for everybody. now most of northern virginia in the district is now no longer in that severe thunderstorm watch. so i think we're good as far as severe weather goes. and once we get through that line to the south, we'll be out of there, too. but here's the first round of rain. notice that rain moving out of the area. but then you look back to the west. look at this area of rain around charleston, this has been increasing toward the south. so some thunderstorm activity. but it's also been moving further to the sout