Transcripts For WRC News 4 Today 20100811

national transportation safety board indicates weather may have played a factor. based on early details, the four men who managed to survive the plane crash were on the ground at least 12 hours in tough conditions before being air lifted to safety. craig melvin, "news 4 today." the "today" show will broadcast live in alaska this morning coming up at 7:00 a.m. right after news 4 today. there's no escaping this extreme heat we've been dealing with 90 degree temperatures all summer long and today is no different, even the high heat didn't keep these people off the national wall yesterday. people were looking for any way possible to keep cool. it is a little easier for these kids who found a fountain to run through. they might want to try the same thing again today. tom joins us now live with how hot it's going to get today and yesterday was hot enough. >> our 50th day to getting 90 or higher. today will be day 51. it's going to be in the mid-90s by mid afternoon. it's in the upper 70s in prince george's county, arlington and fairfax in the mid and upper 70s. we have high humidity in place, except in the mountains, it's cooler there than usual. west virginia now 70 degrees. eastern shore right around 80 degrees, we have a partly cloudy sky, did have a few passing light showers overnight that had dissipated. at this hour we have clouds coming through and it's partly cloudy around the region on this wednesday morning. for today we'll have afternoon highs into the mid-90s. it will be quite humid, a small chance of an isolated thunderstorm. a greater chance, likelihood of needed rain on thursday, thursday night into friday. perhaps some thunder and lightning, highs near 90 tomorrow. upper 80s on friday. saturday should be humid with highs in the upper 80s, only a small chance of an isolated afternoon thunderstorm. how's traffic this morning? >> looking good as we get going along the i-95 corridor on the northbound side from dale city to the capitol beltway. should find the lanes open. the road work should be wrapped up. let's check elsewhere, the top side of the capitol beltway, inner loop and outer loop looking pretty good. eun and kimberly. >> a teenage girl is dead this morning after she was hit by a car in prince george's county. police say she was struck just before 10:00 last night in district heights. the 16-year-old was rushed to the hospital where she died early this morning. police say the vehicle that struck her did stay on the scene and the driver has not been charged with anything at this point. people from here to michigan are on high alert while a serial killer linked to 20 attacks is on the run. five died and three other attacks happened in leesburg virginia. investigators have little to go on except for most of the victims are black men. jackie bensen spoke to a family member of one of those victims in virginia. >> the sooner he gets stopped the better. >> reporter: strong words from the brother of the 67-year-old man stabbed in front of his leesburg apartment last week. stabbed in the back by surprise, it cost him a kidney and sent his family into shock. >> a lot of crying and grief, a lot of pain and a lot of praying. >> reporter: spr virginia to ohio, that's where investigators believe the serial killing suspect went after three crimes, two stabbings and a hammer attack in leesburg. >> we wouldn't be doing our job if we assume this person left our community. i don't think any of us in the law enforcement community are going to do that. >> this is an individual, regardless of what his motivation his and i truly it is pure hatred. this is an individual that is very dangerous. >> reporter: investigators believe less than 24 hours after security camera recorded these images of a green older model chevrolet blazer fleeing the scene where a 19-year-old leesburg man was attacked with a hammer, the suspect was in to lead dough. a 59-year-old black male exited a church to grab a quick smoke. he was stabbed several times by a suspect. another vehicle has come forward in flint, michigan. stabbed on july 27th, but a possible connection to the serial killings and connections was not made until his family saw news coverage of the crimes. people on leesburg remain on alert, very, very concerned about this suspect. jackie bensen, news 4 today. starting this farm, students he university of virginia will have to say whether they were arrested or convicted of any crimes after the death of yeardley love in may. love's ex-boyfriend, george huguely, was later charged with her murder. he had been arrested in 2008 after a drunken confrontation with a police officer. mcmahon won the endorsement for the steet. she faces richard blumen thal in november. in colorado, michael bennet won the senate nomination and now faces tea party favorite ken buck who won the republican nomination for the u.s. senate. in georgia, the republican primary is too close to call. nathan deal leads karen handle by less than 3,000 votes, the ultimate winner will face roy barnes in libertarian john motts in november. a decision to shut down one school, clifton was cited as having building problems. even after parents organized a protest. this lawsuit accuses the school board of abusing its discretion, the school board has not commented on the suit. ahead on "news 4 today." no, vincent gray is not prank calling your home. why he is having phone trouble. early results from the sudden acceleration problem. one possible cause has been crossed off the list. it is going to be another scorcher today. your weather and traffic coming we're never gonna catch anything. patience, son. ah! 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[ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft. enjoy the go. but you wouldn't want an antique computer. or an antique tv. ♪ or an antique remote control. so why are you still using an antique cable network created in 1948 for your 2010 tv? it's time to hook your tv up to 100% fiber optics. it's time for fios. visit verizon.com/fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. visit verizon.com/fios. ♪ welcome to ultimate rewards from chase. no blackouts, no restrictions on airfare and hotels, no limits to what you can get with ultimate rewards. no wonder it's called ultimate. available on chase credit, debit, and business cards. chase what matters. good morning, time for weather and traffic. i'm tom kierein on this wednesday morning. we have the humidity with us and it's going to stay with us throughout the rest of the day. 82 in washington, upper 70s in the suburbs, rural areas mid-70s. mid 80s near the bay. high today though climbing to the mid-90s, partly cloudy and small chance of an isolated storm this afternoon. tomorrow and friday, needed rain likely both days passing showers are possible with thunder and lightning, highs near 90 tomorrow. then perhaps thursday night into friday midday, we could get showers, perhaps thunder early friday afternoon. highs in the upper 80s then. friday partly cloudy and a small chance of an isolated storm. a look at sunday and into next week coming up in ten minutes. how's the traffic? >> pretty quiet into town this morning. new york avenue pat bladensburg road doing fine. kenilworth avenue, no hang-ups to report thus far. pretty decent shape all the way in. wilson bridge, okay, bunch of overnight road work on the virnginia beltway. we'll keep a close watch on it and we will let you know. 4:42 right now. still to come, vincent gray's telephone problem. overnight internet sensation, what the flight attendant says about the support he's receiving. trouble brewing in the gulf, what it means for crews hoping to p time for a check on this morning's top storiestories, fi people are dead, including former alaskan governor ted stevens. the plane went down monday during a fishing trip, a local man bill phillips senior was also killed in the crash. his teenage son survived and three others survived including sean o'keefe and his son. investigators in leesburg are trying to figure if the attacks of three men are linked to 16 other attacks, including five murders in michigan. the suspect is also being linked to another attack in ohio, almost everyone of the victims has been a black man. a 16-year-old girl was hit and killed by a car in prince george's county in district heights last night. the driver that struck her remained on the scene and not been charged at this point. right now here are the winners in tuesday's primaries. in minnesota, mark dayton won the nomination for governor. former wrestling executive linda mcmahon, in colorado, incumbent senator michael bennet won the domestic nomination. the federal reserve is leaving interest rates at a record low. is it a good time to buy? one in four home sellers cut their price from last year. in d.c. the price dropped 9%. kristen dahlgren is live on capitol hill with the details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. what a difference a few months make. at the beginning of this summer the fad was optimistic saying the recovery was progressing, now not so much seeing that it is more modest than anticipated, meantime, the price of homes continues to go south. as the long hot summer continues, it seems home sellers are having to sweat it out. one in four has dropped their price making this the fourth straight month with more price reductions, cities in the southwest seem to be leading the way. las vegas seeing 66% more price cuts, what happens in vegas is by no means staying there. >> people feel like their wealth is evaporating and they can't spend money. that will hurt the recovery and hurt the economy going forward. >> reporter: on that note, the fed downgraded its outlook on the economy. and took measures to drive interest rates on mortgages and corporate borrowing even lower. >> reporter: the fed sees the recovery slowing, therefore they are trying to lower mortgage rates and long-term interest rates so they can borrow more. if you're looking for a silver lining, it's the fact interest rates will stay low. if you're buying a house, now is the time to do it. >> reporter: there are plenty of sellers hoping that happens before they have to slash their price again. in our area, d.c. ranks 36th nationwide in the top 50 cities, 25% of homes have been reduced in price, an average of 9% down. that is a total of about $56 million. >> kristen dahlgren, thank you. president obama signed emergency legislation that democrats say saved 300,000 teachers and police and others from layoffs. the washington examiner reports school districts in maryland and virginia and district of columbia will receive $450 million in federal funds to save jobs. have you gotten a prank call from vincent gray's mayoral campaign? if so, you're not alone. it wasn't the campaign placing the call. someone has hacked into the campaign's phone numbers and made a number of hang-up calls. police as well as verizon are investigating. the charles councy sheriff's office is getting over a million in private grants to boost the ma reen program. since charles county is survived by water on three sides, the sheriff's office received aid for three new high-speed boats equipped with top of the line training equipment. >> this is a straight shot from here to washington d.c. where our most important structures are. we also have the station responsible for making the explosives were use in our wars. >> water patrols will cover 200 miles in charles county and 17 miles across the state of maryland. former president george w. bush is visited haiti as the people pin to rebuild their lives. relief efforts are continuing to come into the island nation. special correspondent jenna hager asked her own father about the charity he founded with former president bill clinton. >> to let the people who committee know the money is being spent wisely on individuals. we're focused on entrepreneurship and jobs and good health care and education. >> do you think she has the inside scoop? thanks, dad. you can watch more on the "today" show at 7:00 this morning right here on news 4. a preliminary federal investigation found no problems with the electronic systems in recalled toyotas. while looking into sudden acceleration, investigators found evidence of floor maps trapping the gas pedal and sticking accelerators. safety experts suggested that problems with the electronics systems could be to blame for toyota's sudden acceleration problems. this morning a tropical storm warning has been issued for most of the gulf affected by the oil spill. it's expected to become a tropical storm before this afternoon. meanwhile, drilling on the final 30 feet of a relief well remains temporarily suspended. crews plan to install a temporary plug to save guard what they've drilled so far. also near the florida panhandle, federal authorities have reopened 5 thurks square miles of the gulf for commercial and recreational fishing. storms heading our way? >> that is a depression, not a tropical storm and it will probably stay a depression as it does drift across the gulf and head towards the louisiana coast. there will be gusts to 30 to 40 miles an hour. right now around the region, we have humidity back and it's going to be in place here all the way into next week. on this wednesday morning, there's a live view from our city camera, the washington monument and the haze. 82 steamy degrees at national airport. we need rain. the deficit at national airport is about 4.5 inches for this year, richmond is about 6 3/4 and 7 2/3 below average. in the 70s throughout most of the region. right now in prince george's county in the upper 70s, montgomery and arlington and fairfax in the mid-70s on this wednesday morning. in the mountains it's cooler, eastern shore around 80 degrees. over the last 12 hours, we've seen this upper level flow tracking clouds from the mid wet, a few showers in the ohio valley. there's a small chance of an isolated storm this afternoon. otherwise partly cloudy, hot and humid, highs mid-90s. sunset, 8:0. overnight, partly cloudy in the 80s through the evening. on thursday, mostly cloudy day, highs around 90. likelihood of afternoon showers and maybe thunder and lightning. off and on and much of friday. saturday just a slight chance of a storm as well as on sunday. maybe a greater chance on sunday through the week. we're doing pretty well this morning along 270 southbound frederick to germantown near route 27. no worries down to the capital beltway. northbound very light up to frederick. let's update you along 66. unlike yesterday, all lanes are open as you head towards the capitol beltway and all of the construction barrels are out of the way. right now we're good to go. >> 4:531 your time now. a show of force after a brawl on metro. plus a flight attendant who flew off the handle and landed behind bars now has a cult following. a housekeeper throwing dirt. you won't [ malantiques can be nice. but you wouldn't want an antique computer. or an antique tv. ♪ or an antique remote control. so why are you still using an antique cable network created in 1948 for your 2010 tv? it's time to hook your tv up to 100% fiber optics. it's time for fios. visit verizon.com/fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. visit verizon.com/fios. calls to increase security on metro are being answered by citizen safety watch dog group. gard y the move is in response to a fight that broke out amongst 70 people on a train last friday. they will report violent crimes to metro police. she was hired as a domestic worker but a local woman says she was berated and treated by a slave by a montgomery county family. pat lawson reports she's fighting back with a new law. >> >> reporter: janet gonzalez is thorsed to work in the u.s. last september from venezuela took a job with a montgomery county family that quickly turned into a nightmare. >> translator: i felt like i would never be able to leave that house and felt a lot of fear. >> reporter: gonzalez said she was promised $350 a week plus transportation from the home to the shady grove metro station. according to a federal lawsuit filed today in rockville, the family of james and belinda karen paid gonzalez nothing for four and a half months holding her captive, allowing her little contact with the outside world. >> she worked for these people four and a half months and paid nothing. that's a pretty clear case. >> reporter: a desperate gonzalez secretly telephoned the national human trafficking hot line after seeing the number on tv. they contacted casa of maryland that sent representatives to the home. >> she is not just here as a victim. she bravely stood up for her rights and came forward. and something that is very difficult. we want to encourage other women out there, other workers out in to do the same. >> reporter: in addition to the lawsuit, gonzalez filed a complaint with the office of consumer protection, under a new law that requires signed contracts for household workers. council member george leaventhal sponsored the law. >> to make sure that in every domestic worker arrangement, a contract is in place if the domestic worker is hired for 20 hours a week or more. >> reporter: gonzalez is seeking back pay and damages. news 4, rockville. gonzalez says she was given two days off during the entire four and a half months. the family's attorney has not returned our calls but denied allegations to the "washington post." by now, you've almost certainly heard about steven slater who snapped during a flight on monday. you won't see him serving you on a flight any time soon but doesn't mean you have seen the last. he have become a kind of cult hero. thousands have visited a facebook page and hundreds have read about his meltdown as well. >> he's sort of become a -- i guess they are calling him a folk hero on the web. a lot of people have dreamed of doing what he's done. >> slater may have to wait a little while before he can cash in on his new found fame, he's facing charge that's could land him in prison up to seven years. what do you think, a book, reality tv show? >> might as well ride the wave while it's high. "news 4 today" continues at 5:00 a.m. unbearable heat. can you not only feel it, you can actually see it. when relief will come. tragedy in the wilderness, we're learning about the alaskan plane crash that killed a former senator and well known people from the d.c. area. a clue caught on tape. investigators believe a camera captured the man who has multiple cities on edge fleeing the scene of the most recent crime. good morning, welcome to "news 4 today" for this wednesday, august 11th, 2010. it is 80 degrees, clear skies, looks nice and doesn't feel too bad right now. wait until the sun comes up and the day wears on. >> we'll cook again and you'll walk into a wall of humidity. i'm tom kierein starting off with the higher humidity in place. it's near 80 in prince george's county and along the eastern shore. low to mid 70s farther west and north. in the mountains, it's cooler there, western maryland and west virginia up to around 70. as we look at the view from space, we did have one little shower move across maryland and at this hour we have clouds coming through. we'll have temperatures today with a partly cloudy hazy sky, upper 80s to low and mid-90s throughout most of the day. on thursday, it's going to be partly sunny and still humid. highs around 90 and much needed rain during the afternoon maybe with thunder. bit cooler friday and saturday. how's the traffic now? >> something we'll watch very closely. construction still in place at the inbound 14th street bridge. right now there's one lane getting by to the far left. one to the right. obviously you can see the arrow board. we'll watch and hopefully they get out of there sooner than later. don't need a repeat of yesterday. crews are in the process of picking the road work up in kenilworth avenue. no delay because it is so light out there. former alaska senator ted stevens is among five people killed in a plane crash in aalaska. the plane went down monday plowing into a remote mountainside during a fishing trip. investigators are still trying to determine what caused the crash but say they'll look at weather as a possible factor. >> we're looking to see whether or not there were any pilot reports, distress signals, whether there was any signals from an emergency locater. >> meanwhile the death of the 86-year-old stevens has stunned alaskans who refer to the former gop senator as uncle ted because of billions of federal dollars he secured for the state. some of the victims are from the washington area, tracee wilkins has more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the more we hear about this crash, the more devastating it is, the conditions the survivors had to deal with until they are found and taken care of. ted stevens, who passed in this accident, he was among eight others on this plane, a family fishing trip that went terribly wrong for everyone involved. all four of survivors have ties to the washington area as well as one of deceased. 54-year-old sean o'keefe and his teenage son survived. o'keefe is a former nasa chief. jim morhard also survived he founded a d.c. lobbying firm and had a long career on capitol hill. 13-year-old william phillips jr. survived the crash but lost his dad. all nine passengers were embarking on a family fishing trip when the devastating crash happened. now, again, the conditions that the survivors were left in while they were waiting for someone to come and rescue them. it was extremely cold and mountainous area they were in. 13 jld phillips had to lie there while waiting for someone to come and rescue him next to his father who passed in this zebt. they are still investigating what caused the crash. more questions and answers now. ntsb is looking into the possibility that weather played a part. live from capitol hill, back to you in the studio. coincidentally ted stevens survived a crash in 1978 that killed five people, including his first wife. it went down in december of that year at the anchorage international airport. he was seriously hurt but he and another man survived. a teenage girl is dead this morning after she was hit by a car in prince george's county. police say she was hit just before 10:00 at the intersection in the heights. the car that hit her did stay on the scene. the driver has not been charged with anything at this point. family and friends will pay time respects for a soldier who died in iraq. mcbeth was a medic with the 82nd airborne division. he was deployed to iraq last august. she received eight awards and medals. army officials are not saying how she was dead but that her injuries were not combat related. the eastern half of the country is on high alert this morning with the suspected serial killer still on the loose this morning. police believe that one man is responsible for 20 different attacks, chuding three in leesburg. the other attacks were in ohio and michigan where five of the victims have died. elaine reyes joins us from the leesburg police department this morning with more on the search for this man. good morning, elaine. >> reporter: good morning. the police chief here says that the suspects appear to be stalking the victims. we're about to show you surveillance tape. he said it shows it is very similar to several of those attacks. this video was taken from the leesburg plaza shopping center on august 6th. you won't see the actual attack but you can watch as the suspect's suv drives across the parking lot until it stops in a specific spot. moments later a 19-year-old was hit in the head with a hammer. authorities believe the suspect is responsible for stabbing two others in the leesburg area as well as other attacks in michigan and a recent case in ohio. now the brother of one of leesburg stabbing victims didn't want to be identified but had this to say about the case. his brother lost a kidney and remains in the hospital. >> it's a lot of crying and a lot of grief, a lot of pain and a lot of praying. the sooner he gets stopped, the better. >> reporter: now, the suspect's vehicle is described as a dark green chevy s-10 blazer. they are offering a reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction in this case. 80 degrees, ahead, a warning about deals being offered to lure customer as wear from pepco. steven strasburg proved he is human, what he says about his struggle. hot and humid, whether it is 80 degrees and it's bearable right now but it won't be once the sun comes up. >> wasn't bearable yesterday either and it's only going to get worse. >> it got to the record yesterday, tied the report at reagan national, 98 back in 1943. i don't think we're going to do that today. it should be a little bit cooler because we'll have more clouds around than yesterday. it is humid. right now 83 in washington. it is near 80 in prince george's county. now near 80 in arlington county and montgomery and fairfax in the mid-70s. weather watchers are reporting from the shenandoah valley and blue ridge of virginia. mid-70s there. weather watchers in the north neck of virginia reporting temperatures there near 80 degrees. highs today in the mid-90s and we'll have clouds in and out. it's going to be a humid day, small chance of an isolated storm. a likelihood of needed rain tomorrow afternoon and evening with thunder, near 90 tomorrow and upper 80s friday. saturday upper 80s. how's the traffic now? >> capitol beltway had overnight road work near the interchange of route 4. let's head over and look at most of the interstates in northern virginia looking pretty good. 95, 395, a-okay so far as the beltway is looking good. through northeast, new york avenue wrapping up the overnighting road work on kenilworth avenue looking good. 80 degrees, ahead on "news 4 today." prank calls that appear to be come from a mayoral candidate. plus a baseball game erupts into a full scale brawl even before a pitch is thrown. why this looked more like a hockey game. more people are getting tickets on the beltway and th [ female announcer ] why is 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[ male announcer ] amtrak guest rewards members earn up to 9,000 bonus points this summer. details at amtrak.com. time for air check on this morning's top stories, five people are dead, including former alaska senator ted stevens after the plane they were on crashed in a remote part of alaska. it went down during a fishing trip. a local man, phillips was killed in the crash. his teenage son survived and three others survived, including sean o'keefe and his son. investigators trying to figure out if three attacks were linked to 16 attacks by a middle aged white man. almost every one of victims has been a black man. a 16-year-old girl has been hit and killed by a car in prince george's county. police say she was hit in district heights last night. the driver that struck her remained on the scene and has not been charged at this point. deadly crashes on the beltway are down dramatically as police use new and aggressive initiatives to increase safety on the roads. the number of traffic deaths on the beltway is down 73% from 2010 compared to the same time last year. aaa is applauding state police for cracking down on speeders on the deadly stretch in 495. that area is now a speed enforcement zone and police have written 100,000 tickets in that stretch in the past two and a half years. >> states held primary elections. in minnesota, former senator mark dayton won the nomination for governor. he'll face republican state representative tom emer and tom horner in november. tim pawlenty did not seek a third term. lin linda mcmahon now faces attorney general richard blumenthal in november. in colorado, michael bennet won the democratic senate nomination and now faces tea party favorite ken buck who won the republican nomination for the u.s. senate. in georgia, the republican primary is too close to call. nathan deal leads karen handel by less than 3,000 thoughts. the winner will face roy barnes and john mont in november. worried about prospects for economic recovery and leaving interest rates at a record low. one in four home sellers have cut their prices from last year. according to that report, the price of homes in d krmt dropped 9%. kristen dahlgren reports. >> reporter: as the long hot summer continues, it seems home sellers across the nation are having to sweat it out. one in four has dropped their price making this the fourth straight month with more price reductio reductions, cities in the southwest seem to be leading the way with las vegas seeing 56% more price cuts. what happens in vegas is by no means staying there. >> people feel like their wealth is evaporating and they can't spend money. that's going to hurt the economy going forward. >> reporter: on that note, the fed downgraded its look on the economy. and took measures to drive interest rates on mortgages and corporate borrowing even lower. >> the fed sees the recovery slowing, therefore they are trying to lower mortgage rates and long-term interest rates generally so businesses and homeowner kz borrow more. >> if you're looking for a silver lining, it's the fact the interest rates will stay low. >> reporter: there are plenty of sellers hoping that happens before they have to slash their price again. but the feds move to keep interest rates low is seen as largely symbolic and experts say unlikely to help too much. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, washington. president obama signed emergency legislation that democrats say saved 300,000 teachers, police and others from layoffs. school districts from maryland and virginia and district will receive $450 million of the $10 billion in emergency funds. the fairfax county school board is now facing a lawsuit over its decision to shut down one school. clifton is one of the highest schools but even after parents organized a protest, they accuse the school board of abusing its discretion. the school board has not commented on the suit. we have a consumer alert for pepco customers who may be swayed to switch to another company. montgomery county office of consumer protection has reached an agreement with washington gas energy service after accusing it of mailing out false ads. they claim a locked in low price, the office of consumer protection says the ads are misleading because the pepco price is not a guaranteed rate. consumer officials say wgs's rate was not guaranteed in fine print. they say they did not violate any consumer protection laws but did agree to disclose more information and modify the automatic renewal system. there's good news and bad news for nationals fans. steven strasburg is pitching again. he may be a bit rusty. he started for first time in three weeks last night against the florida marlins. it turned out to be the worst outing of his young career. he and the nats lost the game, 8-2. strasburg was as disappointed as fans with his performance. >> i'm a little disappointed in myself. i really went out there not focusing on the one thing you have to focus on, going out there and competing and going with what you had. i spent the whole time worrying about trying to fix what was going wrong instead of just letting it go and throwing the ball. and strasburg had been out on the disabled list with a sore shoulder. it was just one game, tough on himself. who says baseball is not a contact sport. in cincinnati, the reds and cardinals game erupted into a brawl before a pitch was ever thrown. brandon phillips had made some colorful comments about the cardinals earlier in the week. we can't repeat them here. st. louis did not take too kindly to that, eventually order was restored and the game was played. st. louis came out on top. there's a reason they call them the boys of summer. that was before the first pitch was thrown. imagine if it happened in the middle of the game. >> little bit of heat out there today. >> quite a bit. we'll be up into the mid-90s but not quite as hot as yesterday. it got to 98 yesterday afternoon and that ties the record but not today. it will be cooler with more clouds around. right now we're in the 70s to near 80 with high humidity. we'll have this humid pattern with us into next week. we have a small chance of an isolated thunder shower this afternoon. overnight tonight partly to mostly cloudy, 80s for the evening. during the day on thursday, should be partly sunny with highs near 90. tomorrow there is a likelihood of needed rain, maybe thunder during the afternoon and evening as well as off and on on friday and cooler then. saturday, partly cloudy and into the upper 80s, a slight chance of an afternoon thunder shower. a chance for more needed rain monday and tuesday, highs in the 80s. how's the traffic? >> relatively quiet this morning. 395 between the anacostia and positi potomac, no worries. no progress has been made along 395 on the 14th street bridge. construction is it still in place, one lane to the far left, one to the far right. i'm holding my breath. let's hope they get out of there. out to the rails we go. metro rail, vre and marc all reporting no early issues. our time is 5:22. coming up, a mayor aal kand kan date's phone line hacked. the flight attendant who is making news around the world. a spread in a popular magazine is take a look at these pictures from the august issue of vogue inspired by the gulf oil spill. the model is shown draped in oil on rocks while clutching her neck. readers say it is offensive, not art, but the editor in chief says the message is to be careful about nature and to take care of nature. >> have you received a prank call from vincent gray's mayoral campaign? if so, you're not alone. it wasn't the campaign placing the call. someone has hacked into the campaign's phone number and made a number of hang-up calls. police as well as verizon are investigating. 5:26, still ahead this morning, where a local mail carrier is accused of stock pili piling gifts that did not belong to her. the flight attendant who quit and ran is taking off online. what he says about his new found cult fame. what we're learning about the local victims in the plane crash in the alaskan wilderness. allergies put me in a fog. now i'm claritin clear. claritin works hard to relieve my worst symptoms without drowsiness... ...so i stay as alert and focused as someone without allergies. for me, claritin is the perfect allergy medicine. i only live claritin clear for constipation relief... nothing works better than miralax. it's the one. the one recommended by more doctors. only miralax is clinically proven to relieve constipation with no harsh side effects. miralax is the only one. restore your body's natural rhythm with miralax. alaskan tragedy this morning, we know more about the local victims killed in the same crash that took the life of a u.s. senator. where is he now? aleesburg surveillance camera captures the suspect leaving from the crime rngts. the flight attendant who left dramatically has become an instant internet sensation. joe krebs has the morning off, welcome to "news 4 today." it's wednesday, august 11th, 2010. it's 5:29, 81 degrees. the lights of the city sparkling open the horizon, you can see the signs of sun about to rise. >> we didn't break the record but we reached the record yesterday and we felt it. >> the mid-90s, but not quite as hot. we have more clouds around, we have a partly cloudy start to this wednesday morning. but we do have increased humidity in place, good morning, i'm tom kierein. right now as we look at the temperatures, it is a steamy, 3 at national airport, 80 degrees at andrews air force base in prince george's county. near dulles it's at 75. in montgomery county, mid-70s, near 80 around the bay. and it's in the 70s around the blue ridge and shenandoah valley, and out in the mountains of western maryland and west virginia near 70 this morning and it is humid all around the region. as you look at the view from space, we have a few clouds drifting through. they'll be with us throughout the day. highed today into the mid-90s, small chance of an isolated storm this afternoon. a likelihood of much needed rain during the afternoon and thursday night and off and on on friday. >> we're doing pretty well for the most part along i-270. southbound traffic on the left side of the screen heading south through the rockville area, camera positioned close to falls road. no incidents, a little bit of volume. it's not that bad but the headlights make it look worse than it is. northbound, this is not pretty, 395 at the 14th street bridge at 5:32 there's still road work in place leaving one lane to the left and one to the right. i'm going to find out what's up and we'll let you know. let's check the rails this morning, good news all the way around. no delays and trains leaving on time. kimberly? >> former alaska senator ted stevens is among five people killed in a plane crash in alaska. the amphibious plane went down monday plowing into a remote mountownside during a fishing trip. they say they will look at weather as a possible factor. >> we're looking to see whether or not there were pilot reports, distress signals or whether there was any signals from an emergency locater. meanwhile the death of 86-year-old stevens has stunned alaskans who referred to the senator as uncle ted because of the billions of federal dollars he secured for the state. tracee wilkins is live on capitol hill with the latest. good morning, again. >> reporter: good morning, kimberly. along with the former senator, there were eight other people on board this plane. as we said, five of those people died, four of them, the survivors are all from this area. one of deceased as well. 54-year-old sean o'keefe and his teenage son survived the crash. jim morhard also survived and founded a d.c. lobbying firm and had a long career in capitol hill served as chief of staff for the senate appropriations committee while stevens chaired that committee. 13-year-old william phillips jr. of montgomery count thank you survived the crash but lost his father, a former aide to stevens and attorney and lobbyist. hear now from a friend of the family. >> the family is a wonderful family. all three of the boys played football at prep. they were all great football players and great students and athletes. and the boys, youngest boy who was hurt will probably be a prep guy next year. he's in eighth grade. from what i've heard he's going to recover. it's a tragedy for sure. >> reporter: the 13-year-old boy s suffered from a broken ankle and cuts and lacerations but expected to pull through his injuries. we are trying to figure out what happened to cause this crash, the ntsb is investigating. all of the survivors had to wait for 12 hoursz hours in the cold before being treated and air lifted to safety. kimberly, back to you. coincidentally, ted stevens survived a plane crash in 1978 that killed five people, including his first wife. it went down in december of that year at the anchorage international airport. stevens was seriously hurt but he and another man survived. a teenage girl is dead after she was hit by a car in prince george's county. she was struck just before 10:00 last night in district heights. the 16-year-old was rushed to the hospital where she died early this morning. police say the vehicle that struck her did stay on the scene but the driver has not been charged at this point. seven people are recovering after a hummer slammed into a day caravan in prince george's county at meadowland drive in glenndale. it flipped trapping the driver inside. he was freed and taken to the hospital with serious injuries. he is expected to be okay. six children also received minor injuries. there were a total of 18 people on the van, including 15 children as young as 6. a new report this morning shows that the chel ten ham youth facility is the most overcrowded of the secured detention center from the juvenile justice monitoring unit. while the department of juvenile services has taken steps to reduce the population at its overcrowded facilities, chel ten ham was over capacity every day april through july of this year. they acknowledged the overpopulation but said there have been no negative effects. the now famous jetblue flight attendant is free on bail this morning. steven slater was released from jail last night. he's facing charges that could land him behind bars. he yelled at passengers on board a flight and grabbed beers before taking off by way of the plane's emergency chute. >> sort of has become a folk hero on the web. there's a lot of people who have dreamed of doing what he's done. >> this story has made slater an unexpected celebrity. david usherly has details. >> reporter: while steven slater's fate lies in the hands of a queens court judge, it seems to be weighing in his favor. a facebook page has drawn tens of thousands of fans with the number growing rapidly. support like, you did what we want to do. you are a new hero. some posted images, i'm steven slater, make my day. that's it, i'm done. this one, an image showing the proper way of showing the emergency chute but with beer bottles added in as slater did. on nbc new york.com, the slater story has been setting records. >> he's become i guess they are calling him a folk hero on the web. a lot of people are -- have dreamed of doing what he's done. to prove it, they put the message out there. >> it's been shared from our site about 5 600 times, people have posted it on their facebook wall. >> retweeting 1400 times resulting in 60,000 web hits. >> i like to hear from steven slater, what he has to say about all of this. >> all we keep seeing is that smirk. >> i'm sure he has a lot of stories to tell over the 25 years. >> if he goes to jail, i'm not sure he'll be smiling. >> no, certainly not. >> it's 5:38 right now. ahead on "news 4 today." the search for a serial attacker. local police have a new clue in the hunt for a man they believe is responsible for a string of violent crimes from here to michigan. police releasing new information after attacks at the popular d.c. beachget good morning, time for weather and traffic early on this wednesday morning. we have consider bl choudyness and that's our friend. it will likely hold back the strong heating rays of august today. not quite as hot as yesterday but a steamy start. it's 83 in washington. high humidity in place. and in prince george's county near 08. arlington near 80 as well. montgomery and fairfax in the mid-70s. weather watchers reporting temperatures in the 70s all around the region. small chance of an afternoon thunderstorm. then tomorrow, a greater chance of needed rain, maybe thunder as well during the afternoon and evening. friday and saturday partly cloudy in the upper 80s. a look at sunday and next week in ten minutes. along 395 northbound you're getting a real good picture what it looks like at the 14th street bridge. one lane to the left and one to the right. about mid span you get an additional, they are saying this is the new traffic pattern, i don't think so. this is ridiculous. hopefully they'll get another travel lane open for you. let's head in and see how we're doing. 270 a-okay so far. >> new traffic pattern just for the construction time or forever? >> not forever, just for the construction time, but that could go on for quite some time. doesn't need to be like that for rush hour. >> 5:42. thanks, jerry. a local mail carrier in trouble, accused of going on a spending spree with gift cards that were not hers. trouble in the tropics causing crews to call off the last of the work on the damaged oil well. a local housekeeper claims she was treated as nothing more than a slave. why she's suing a maryland family. police search for the man wanted for a str [ male announcer ] how can rice production in india, affect wheat output in the u.s., the shipping industry in norway, and the rubber industry, in south america? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex global economy. it's just one reason 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information to read and consider carefully before investing. this security video only lasts a few seconds but may hold important clues. behind the wheel is a suspected serial killer who is want the around the country. investigators believe that same suspect attacked three men in northern virginia and one attack in high and 15 in michigan where five victims died. there is an intense effort to find out where he strikes again. elaine reyes joins us live from leesburg. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, eun. that recently released surveillance tape is an important clue for agencies in this region. the police chief says the suspect appears to be stalking his victim and the video appears to be similar to other attacks. >> this is an individual regardless of what his motivation is and i truly believe it is pure hatred. this is an individual that is very dangerous. >> reporter: this video was taken from the leesburg plaza shopping center on august 6th. you won't see the actual attack but you can watch as the suspect's suv drives across the parking lot. moments earlier, a 19-year-old man was hit in the head with a hammer. authorities believe the suspect is responsible for stabbing two others in leesburg as well as other people in michigan and a recent case in toledo. the brother of one of leesburg stabbing victims didn't want to be identified but had this to say about the case, his brother lost a kidney and remains in the hospital. >> there's a lot of crime, a lot of grief, a lot of pain and a lot of praying. >> reporter: most of the victims in all of these cases are mostly african-american males. the suspect is white. you saw his photo a few minutes ago or sketch. they say his car is an older dark green chevy blazer. back to you. elaine reyes, thank you. >> this afternoon family and friends will pay final respects to a fredericksburg soldier who died in iraq. morgan mcbeth was a combat medic. the 19-year-old joined the army two years ago and deployed to iraq last august. she received eight awards and medals. army officials are not saying how she died but that her injured were not combat related. her burial service will be at arlington national cemetery. starting this fall, students at the university of virginia will be required to say whether they've been arrested or convicted of any crimes after the murder of student yeardley love in may. love's ex-boyfriend and fellow la cross player george huguely was charged with the murder. after he was arrested it was revealed he was arrested in 2008 after a drunken confrontation with a police officer. all students will have to tell the school yearly about any arrests. police have now arrested sixteens responsibility for robbing people and stealing cars at the popular beach destination. authorities say the crime spree started last month which included five assaults and robberies. the teens mainly targeted people walking alone on the boardwalk. the victims were badly beaten in some cases. six teenages ranging from 15 to 18 all face a long list of charges, including robbery, assault and theft. and just miles away, 13 shops on the ocean city boardwalk are facing a lawsuit from luxury hand bag maker coach. the lawsuit says coach investigator bought fake coach items from the store in june. seeking $2 million in damages for each counterfeit violation or a court order to pay coach all of the profits earned from selling the items. metro riders are getting help from guardian angels. a citizen safety watchdog group plans to increase its presence along the green line after a fight that broke out amongst 70 people. a mail carrier in arlington faces charges for stealing mail she thought might contain gift cards. the u.s. post office says 100 pieces of mail were found inside the home offal va jackson. she stole as many as ten to 20 letters a week during busy holiday seasons from october of 2008 all the way through march 2010. court papers say she stole and used gift cards at target and macy's and best buy and walmart and several restaurants. now to decision 2010, four states held primary elections. in minnesota, former senator mark dayton won the nomination for governor. he will face representative tom emmer and tom horner in november. tim pawlenty did not seek a third term. linda mcmahon won the republican endorsement for the senate seat and faces richard blumenthal in november. chris dodd did not seek re-election. in colorado, michael bennet won the nomination and faces tea party favorite ken buck. and in georgia, the republican primary is too close to call. nathan deal leads karen handel by less than 3,000 votes, the winner will face roy barnes and libertarian john mons in november. a preliminary federal investigation found no problems with the electronic systems in recalled toyotas. while looking into sudden acceleration, investigators have found evidence of floor mats trapping the gas peddle and sticking accelerators. some safety experts suggested that problems with the electronic systems could also be to blame for toyota's sudden acceleration problem. this morning a tropical storm warning has been issued for most of the gulf affected by the oil spill. here's a live look at the tropical depression moving through the gulf of mexico. xpz expected to become a tropical storm before this afternoon. drilling on the final 30 feet of a relief well remains temporarily suspended. crews plan to install a temporary plug to save guard what they did so far. federal authorities have reopened 5,000 square miles of the gulf for commercial and recreational fishing. >> that is good news. let's check in with tom kierein. do you think it will stay a tropical depression? >> it does look like it will. if it does become a tropical storm, it will be a very minimal one. some showers may disrupt the interruptions in the gulf for the next few days. around our region, we're starting off with some clouds, that's good news. they'll have to hold back the heating rays of sun. we've been in the earth's shadow for ten hours and that has been a wonderful relief after the searing heat. right now it's still a bit steamy, 83 at reagan national. we need rain. right now at the national airport, the deficit is 4 1/2 inches and richmond is 7 inches below average. and we have a pretty good chance of getting needed rain tomorrow and friday. right now it's near 80 in prince george's county. montgomery county in the 70s as is much of the region. out in western maryland and west virginia near 70. eastern shore up around 80 degrees. over the last 12 hours the upper level flow has been grabbing clouds from the midwest and streaming them over our region. a few showers through north and west virginia over the highway. a small chance of isolated showers. sunset will be at 8:08. through the evening we'll be in the 80s and it will be partly to mostly cloudy at times. on thursday, it will be partly sunny and highs near 90 tomorrow and we have a likelihood of needed rain tomorrow afternoon and evening. i don't anticipate any severe storms. highs in the upper 80s. then on saturday, partly cloudy in the upper 80s and still humid. a slight chance of a storm then then a greater chance of passing thunderstorms on sunday and monday and tuesday and remaining humid. check the weather any time, weather channel on cable. not pretty for folks trying to get into town. at the moment, vdot is telling us that this is a new construction pattern for the work zone. one lane to the left and one lane to the right. you can see right there is the construction. there is a dedicated lane coming off the gw parkway for the most part as you make your trip into town. this is just a mess. 395 northbound will pull back with another camera and show you what the backup looks like. delays will begin north of the pentagon already this morning. it's not even 6:00 in the morning. be forewarned we're talking to ddot and vdot. metro rail and vre and marc all doing fine. drivers in northeast washington may run into delays this week. crews have become paving the star burst intersection of h street. the starburst intersection where 15th street and h street and bladensburg road meet in northeast d.c., the paving work will begin at 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. on saturday. and will require lane closures of a few hours each. deadly crashes on the beltway are down dramatically as police use new and aggressive initiatives to increase safety on the roads. the number of traffic deaths on the beltway is down 7 3% compared to the same time last year. cracking down on speeders in the deadliest stretch of 495. that area is now a speed enforcement zone and police have written 100,000 tickets in that stretch in the past two and a half years. the charlts county sheriff's office is using a million dollars in federal and private grants to boost its marine program. it's part of an effort by the department of homeland security to boost anti-terror efforts on the water. the sheriff's office received aid for two new high speed boats equipped with top of the line technology, equipment and a training program. but the new funding is aiding more than charles county. >> this is a straight shot from here into washington d.c. where our most important structures are. of course, we also have the naval station responsible for making explosives we use in our wars. the water patrols will cover 200 miles in charles county and 17,000 miles across the state of maryland. a domestic worker says she feared she would never see her family again. and she says her employers treated her like a slave. jenna gonzalez is from venezuela. she says james and belinda karen paid her nothing for four november months of work at their montgomery county home. she was promised $350 a week and transportation to the metro stop but she claims none of that happened. >> translator: i felt like i would never be able to leave that house and i felt a lot of fear. >> gonzalez finally called the human trafficking hot line and she was freed. the family's attorney has not returned our calls but did deny allegations to the "washington post." gonzalez filed a complaint with montgomery county. a new law requires a signed contract between domestic workers and their employers. the major movie deal that will give netflix subscriber mores options. the infamous jetblue attendant is out of jail and talking. sudden lane shifts, the lanes on the 14th street bridge that is creating a big backup. ted stevens and his one time chief of staff are among five killed in a plane crash. three people from our area survived. police survived surveillance video of a serial killer moments before he attacked a man in leesburg. a flight attendant is out of jail and talking, what he's saying about his tirade that has captured everyone's attention. >> thanks for joining us for "news 4 today." >> it's wednesday, august 11th, 2010. taking a live look outside. 82 degrees at 6:00, it's going to be another scorcher today although maybe not as bad as yesterday. tom kierein is here with the latest. >> maybe average temperatures next week. we'll take average. it does appear we're going to get a break from this extreme heat pattern but it is very humid, 83 now in washington. the temperatures in prince george's county in the upper 70s, we've got high humidity all around the region now, montgome montgomery, arlington and fairfax up per 70s. out in the moin continues it's near 70 in west virginia. on the eastern shore away from the water it's in the 70s but right on the bay and at the beaches it is near 80 degrees. over the last 12 hours, there have been a few -- we had that nocturnal shower come through last night but getting a few showers in north west virginia out of ohio valley drifting to the southeast. throughout the region today we have a small chance of an isolated storm. otherwise, should be partly cloudy and hazy and humid and highs reaching the mid-90s, then cooler weather moving in with much needed rain likely tomorrow afternoon and evening as well as off and on on friday. how's the traffic now? >> along 395 northbound, this is certainly an interesting morning getting across the 14th street bridge. one lane to the left, eventually you'll get two to the right. first you've got to get there. because right now traffic is split down the middle. we've been watching these guys here and i suspect we'll have movement, maybe an additional travel lane open. if this is the way the traffic pattern will be from here to whenever, we're in for a very long commute. delays have begun at the pentagon trying to get through this mess to the 14th street bridge. they are moving equipment, i suspect maybe it was moved to protect a piece of construction equipment. if that is the case, they need to get it out of there. we're talking to them and we'll keep you updated. i can't stand ir raceal behavior out there. inner loop looking good so far. on the rails nothing to worry about. metro rail is fine, vre, brunswick 874, six minutes behind schedule. our top story this morning, the plane crash in alaska that claimed the lives of five people, including former senator ted stevens. the plane went down on monday and investigators are trying to determine what caused the crash but they say they'll look at weather as a possible factor. >> we're looking to see whether or not there were pilot reports, distress signals or any signals from an emergency locater. >> meanwhile, the death of the 86-year-old stevens has stunned alaskans who refer to the former gop senator as uncle ted because of the billions of federal dollars he secured for the state. some of the victims of monday's crash are from our area. those victims include bill phillips senior, a prominent lawyer who was killed, his teenage son survived. tracee wilkins has more on the impact the crash is having on our area. good morning, tracee. >> good morning. all four of the survivors lived and worked here in the washington area as well as one of deceased. >> along with former senator ted stevens there were eight other people on board the amphibious plane that crashed on monday in alaska. four survived the crash and five died. one of deceased is bill phillips senior who lived in this home, he was chief of staff for former senator ted stevens and he was bon the board of reej ents and most reen recently a partner in a law firm in washington d.c. his 13-year-old son also on the trip survived. >> the family is a wonderful family. all three of the boys played football at prep, all great football player and great athletes. and the boy, youngest boy who was hurt will probably be a prep guy next year. he's in eighth grade. from what i've heard he's going to recover but it's a tragedy. that's for sure. >> phillips' 13-year-old son is suffering with a broken ankle and cuts but is expected to pull through. another survivor is jim morhard of alexandria who was chief of staff of the senate appropriations committee when stevens chaired it. 54-year-old sean o'keefe and his teenage son also survived the crash. the one time nasa administrator is now the ceo of eads new yo, contractor. the company released this statement saying, we extend our deepest sympathy to the families of those less fortunate. we owe a debt of gratitude to the members of the rescue crew and others who rushed to the scene. preliminary information from the national transportation safety board indicates that weather in the area may have played a factor in the plane crash. the exact cause is still under investigation. because of where this plane crashed, it took up to 12 hours for the survivors to be air lifted to safety. tracee wilkins live on capitol hill. back to you in the studio. >> a teenage girl is dead this morning after she was hit by a car in prince george's county. police say she was struck just before 10:00 last night in district heights. t 16-year-old was rushed to the hospital where she died. the vehicle that struck her did stay on the scene. the driver has not been charged at this point. seven people are roariecove after a hummer slammed into a day care in glendale. it flipped trapping the driver inside. he was eventually freed and transported to the hospital with serious injuries and is expected to be okay. six children also had minor injuries and total of 18 people on the van including 15 children as long as 6 years old. the nationwide manhunt continues for a serial killer. police have released this video which shows an suv driving through the leesburg shopping plaza on august 6th. moments later the man in s umt v attacked a 19-year-old with a hammer. he is wanted for two other stabbings in leesburg and another one in ohio and 16 attacks in flint michigan. five of those victims died. we spoke to a family member of one of leesburg victims who lost a kidney when he was stabbed. >> a lot of crying and a lot of grief and a lot of pain and a lot of praying. the sooner he gets stopped, the better. >> police believe the attacker's vehicle is a dark green chevy s-10 blazer, they are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case. the results are in from four primaries across the country. and steven strasburg's ego is feeling sore this morning following his first outing since returning from the dl. 6:08 is your time. a beautiful sky and hot and sticky. humidity is back. might feel a little bette good morning, time for weather and traffic on the ones. 83 in washington and we've got high humidity all around the rmg. in the 70s in the suburbs and rural areas, highs today reaching the mid-90s a. small chance of an ice latded storm. a likelihood of needed rain. we have a drought going on and we could get showers and maybe thunder showers. i don't anticipate any severe storms tomorrow. could get more showers and thunder thursday night and off and on on friday. humid, small chance of an afternoon storm. how's the traffic? >> the backup continues to grow, 395 northbound, delays have begun solidly at the pentagon trying to get across the 14 gts street bridge. there's a glimmer of hope. on the bridge span, there were a bunch of construction barrels completely blocking this right lane. we've been watching the guys pick the barrels up. i suspect, at least i'm hoping they'll crank this machine up and get it out of the roadway. if that's the case, we could have the lanes reopen in time for the rush hour. we'll keep you updated. maybe the people have spoken and maybe we'll be victorious. we'll let you know. >> hope so, jerry, thank you. an independent group monitoring metro in order to protect riders. president obama signed a $28 million jobs bill into law. the immediate impact it will have in schools in our area. the fed up flight attendant is becoming an the famous flight attendant is free on bail. he is facing charges that could land him behind bars up to sen years. in case you haven't heard his story, he yelled at passengers on board a flight on monday and grabbed a couple of beers by taking off by way of plane's emergency chute. >> what's up? >> something here has resonated with a few people and that's nice. >> jetblue says slater has been removed from duty pending an investigation. since his arrest slater has become a bit of a folk hero. here's more on his new celebrity status. >> reporter: while his fate lies in the hands of a queenz job, the court of public opinion seems to be weighing this his favor. a facebook page with tens of thousands of fans. some posted images, one saying, i'm steven slater, make my day. another, that's it, i'm done. this one, an image showing the proper way of using the emergency chute but with beer bottles added in as slater allegedly did. on nbc new york.com the story has been setting records. >> he's sort of become a folk hero on the web. a lot of people are -- have dreamed of doing what he's done. >> reporter: and to prove it, nbc new york.com fans have puts the message out there. >> been shared 56 00 time, people have posted it on their facebook wall. >> reporter: and twitter followers took notice as well, retweeting 1400 times. >> that was david usherly reporting. the federal reserve remains worried about prospect for economic recovery and leaving interest rates at the record low. it's a good time to buy a home. one in four home sellers have cut their prices from last year. according to that report, the price of homes in d.c. dropped 9%, kristen dahlgren reports. >> reporter: it seems home elers are having to sweat it out. the fourth straight month with more price reductions, cities in the southwest seem to be leading the way with las vegas seeing 56% more price cuts, what happens in vegas is by no means staying there. >> people feel their wealth is evaporating and they can't spend money. that's going to hurt the economy going forward. >> reporter: on that note the fed downgraded its outlook on the economy. and took measures to drive interest rates on mortgages and corporate borrowing even lower. >> fed sees the recovery slowing, there are they are trying to lower mortgage rates so businesses and own homeowners can borrow more. >> the silver lining is the fact the interest rates will stay low. if you're buying a house, now is the time to do it. >> reporter: there are plenty of sellers hoping that happens before they have to slash their price again. but the feds' move to keep interest rates low is seen as largely symbolic and unlikely to help too much. kristen dahlgren, nbc news. washington. president obama signed emergency legislation yesterday. the democrats say saved 300,000 teachers, police and others from layoffs. cool districts will receive a combined $450 million of the $10 billion in emergency funds. now to decision 2010. four states held primary electio elections yesterday. mark dayton won the democratic nomination for governor. dayton will face republican state representative tom em mer and independent candidate tom horner in november. republican governor pawlenty did not seek a third term. former wrestling executive linda mcmahon won the republican endorsement for the senate seat and faces democratic attorney general richard blumenthal. chris dodd did not seek re-election. in colorado, michael bennet won the senate nomination and faces ken buck who won the republican nomination for the u.s. senate. and in georgia, it is too close to call. najal deal leads karen handel by 3,000 votes. the winner will face roy barnes and john mons in november. let's start with the good news, steven strasburg is back on the mound again. the bad news, he might be a bit rusty. he started for first time in three weeks against the florida marlins. it turned out to be the worst outing of his young career giving up six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. a baseball and bruise after going to a game. he left her right in the line of fire. the guy looked like he was going to catch a foul ball and moved at the last minute leaving his lovely lady take it right in the elbow. >> you know when you're caught on tape, not protecting your girl, he's holding the ball at the end. >> instead of doing this, he's like, see you later. >> our instinct is to take care of ourselves first, you would like to believe it would be another way. >> what happened to chifalary. >> like a story about your my woman and dra kul la walks up behind me, you're a dead woman. today, we've got the heat that will be back with us. thankfully not as quite as hot as yesterday but still it's going to be uncomfortably hot by mid-afternoon. we'll have a lot of humidity around, a small chance of an isolated storm of the then on thursday and friday, much-needed rain likely, maybe with just thunder and lightning. i don't think we'll get severe storms tomorrow. it should be cooler as well. on thursday night into friday, we could get showers and thunder. on saturday, partly cloudy and still humid, a small chance of an isolated storm. greater chance of more storms and needed rain sunday and monday and tuesday. how's the traffic? >> common sense has prevailed. hallelujah. lanes reopen at the 14th street bridge. right now live pictures, you'll have two to the left for the moment, one to the right then the gw parkway. it is not going to stay this way very long. they got a piece of construction equipment out of the roadway. all of travel lanes are open so the people have spoken. wilson bridge no worries, if you're traveling beltway college park to silver spring we're okay. on 270 southbound at the spur, looking good with no early hang-ups of the on the rails, metro rail is fine, vre no delay. marc rail brunswick 874, six minutes behind schedule. 6:22 is your time. receive a prank call recently? wait until you hear where the call may be coming from. a state of emergency in the gulf, why work has been stopped on the relief well with only a few dozen feet left to drill. the kincaids live here. across the street, the padillas. ben and his family live here, too. ben's a re/max agent, and he's a big part of this community. there are lots of reasons why re/max agents average more sales than other agents. experience, certainly. but maybe it's also because they care about the markets they serve and the neighbors who rely on them. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. here's a live look at the tropical depression moving through the gulf of mexico. meanwhile, drilling on the final 30 feet of a relief well remains temporarily suspended. crews plan to install a temporary plug to save guard what they've drilled so far and encouraging news this morning from the florida panhandle, where federal authorities have reopened 5,000 square miles of the gulf for commercial and recreational fishing. metro riders looking for a little extra security on the trains are getting help from guardian angels. the d.c. guardian angels, a citizen safety watch dg dos group plans to increase its presence on the green line. it started at the gallery place station in response to a fight that broke out there among 70 people, mostly young people on a train last friday. the guardian angels will then report any violent crimes to metro transit police. 6:26 is your time now. 79 degrees. what investigators believe may have brought down the plane carrying former senator ted stevens and four people from our area. police release a new video they hope will help them catch a serial killer. tragedy in alaska, former senator ted stevens and his one time chief of staff are killed in a plane crash. three people from our area did survive. >> new clues police relief surveillance video of a serial killer moments before he attacked a man in leesburg. thanks for joining us for quts news 4 today. let's take a live look outside. 78 degrees an a gorgeous sunrise. 6:30 and time to check in with tom. >> looks like a painting. we have the clouds to help hold back those searing rays of august sun. but it is humid, right now 83 in washington, 70s in the suburbs and rural areas in the low to mid 70s. it's near 80 in the atlantic beaches. and other the last 12 hours, the upper level flow in the atmosphere out of the northwest is continuing to tap in clouds and there's a little bit of a disturbance triggering some showers into the ohio valley and northern west virginia passing to our south this morning. later today it will be climbing in the low to mid 90s. a little bit of a break from the extreme heat and big break beginning tomorrow into the weekend, about average highs and we have a chance for much needed rain tomorrow and into tomorrow evening and friday. maybe with just thunder and lightning, probably no severe weather. by the way today we have a small chance of an isolated thunder shower this afternoon. on saturday, partly cloudy and highs in the upper 80s and still humid. let's check traffic for wednesday morning. >> look being much better than just a short time ago. 395 northbound initially there was only one lane to the left and one lane to the right of the 14th street bridge. then crews got the message loud and clear that folks were unhappy about that. there's two lanes to the left and one to the right. once you get past this little construction zone, you'll have two lanes to continue towards the southeast-southwest freeway. that is looking a little bit better. we'll keep you updated. chopper 4 on the job along the capitol beltway. no significant delays, very good news there. just the usual slowing to the inner roop. to check on the rails, metro and vre doing fine. brunswick lines slightly delayed at this hour. breaking news right now, montgomery county police are on the scene of a sexual assault. police were called to the 500 block of fair avenue in silver spring. we did not have much more information than that at this point. police are on the scene trying to figure out exactly what happened. our top story this morning, the plane crash in alaska that claimed the lives of five people, including former senator ted stevens, the plane went down monday in alaska. investigators are trying to determine what caused the crash but they will look at weather as a possible factor. >> we're looking to see whether or not there were pilot reports or distress signals or any signals from an emergency locater. >> meanwhile, the death of the 8 -year-old stevens has stunned alaskans who refer to the former govern senator as uncle ted because of the billions of dollars he secured for the state. some of the victims are from our area. those victims include bill phillips senior, a prominent lawyer killed in the crash. his teenage son survived. sean o'keefe, a former nasa chief survived as did his son and jim morhard a local lobbyist. a serial killer whom police believe is responsible for three attacks in leesburg is still on the loose. they believe he attacked one man in ohio and 15 people in michigan where five victims died. police have a new clue they are hoping might crack this case. this is believed to be the attacker's suv moments before one of knows attacks. elaine reyes joins us live from leesburg with more. do we know what police are doing to try to catch this guy? >> reporter: not at this moment, kimberly. they released the surveillance tape yesterday and the police chief said looking at it, it appears the suspect is stalking his victim. they have the actual attack on tape but didn't show it to us. they say this particular crime you'll see seems to match similar other crimes in the leesburg area as well as michigan and ohio. >> this is an individual that's very dangerous rpts this video was taken from the leesburg plaza shopping center on august 6th. you won't see the actual attack but you can watch as the suspect's suv drives across the parking lot. moments earlier a 19-year-old man was hit in the head with a hammer. they believe the suspect is responsible for stabbing two others in leesburg as well as other people in michigan and recent case in toledo, ohio. the brother of one of leesburg stabbing victims didn't want to be identified but had this to say about the case. his brother lost a kidney and remains in the hospital. >> it's a lot of crying and a lot of grief and a lot of pain and -- >> reporter: police here are sharing this surveillance tape with other police agencies. the suspect's vehicle is described as a dark green older chevy trail blazer, there is a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. back to you. police in alexandria need your help tracking down the man behind a store robbery that was caught on tape. take a look. this is surveillance video inside the store on july 22nd. the suspect asked for cigarettes and when the clerk opened the register, he jumped over the counter and grabbed money before running away. if you recognize the person, call police. a teenage girl is dead after being hit by a car in prince george's county. she was hit just before 10:00 last night in district heights. 16-year-old was rushed to the hospital where she died. the driver that hit her did stay on the scene. that driver has not been charged with anything at this point. have you received a prank call from a phone number linked to vincent gray's mayoral campaign? if so, you're not alone and it wasn't his campaign placing that call. someone has hacked into the campaign's phone number and made a number of hang-up calls. police as well as ver rise zon is investigated. let's check in with meredith vieira to see what they are working on this morning. good morning. >> good morning to you. coming up on a wednesday morning on "today," new details on the plane crash in alaska that killed five people, including former senator ted stevens. four others, including sean o'keefe did survive. we're live with the very latest. also ahead, a sad story, former american idol fantasia bar reen no after trying to commit suicide amid allegations of an affair with a married man. a jetblue flight attendant who slid away on the plane's emergency chute is out of jail and speaking out. we'll hear from him when we get started on a wednesday morning right here on "today." >> that remains a real talker story of the morning. thanks, meredith. coming up, the deadliest stretch the beltway and what police are doing to make sure your commute is safe. major movie deal that gives netflix subscribers more options. it's stifling heat out there but a gorgeous sunrise. we'll be back with time for weather and traffic on the ones. good morning, i'm tom kierein, off to work under a partly cloudy sky and it is humid, 83 in washington, montgomery and arlington fairfax, low to mid 70s. we have the high humidity in place and temperatures should climb into the low to mid 90s. we'll a partly cloudy hazy sky, small chance of an afternoon storm, then much needed rain is possible tomorrow, likely by the afternoon. passing thundershowers are possible. we won't have severe weather just passing showers and then saturday partly cloudy in the 80s. a look at sunday and next week in ten minutes. we'll check out chopper 4, pretty quiet morning, however that hazy sunshine could come into play before too long, not only on route 7 but of course, 66 on the toll road. that's what route 7 looks like loading up for the traffic lights but no traffic accidents. in from the west along interstate 66, visitors center there, a few folks out and about. no accidents, lanes open to the capitol beltway. 6:42. a local postal worker accused of theft. what was found inside her home that was supposed to be inside your mailbox. the fed up flight attendant is out of jail and talking. >> the incredible survival of four locals on board a plane former alaska senator ted stevens is among five killed in a plane crash in alaska. it went down monday plowing into a remote mountainside during a fisher trip. investigators are still trying to determine what caused the crash but will look at weather as a possible factor. the death of the 86-year-old has stunned alaskans who was known as uncle ted. he survived a plane crash in 1978 that killed five people, including his first wife. some of the victims are from our area. those victims include bill phillips senior, a lawyer killed in the crash. his teenage son survived. tracee wilkins is live on capitol hill with more on the impact the crash is having on our area. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, all four survivors lived and worked here in the washington area as well as one of the deceased. along with former senator ted stevens there were eight other people on board the plane that crashed in the mountainside on monday. four survived the crash and five died. one of deceased is bill phillips senior who lived in this home. he was chief of staff for former senator ted stevens in the early 80s. most preently, he was a partner in the law firm in downtown d.c. his 13-year-old son also on the trip survived. he is suffering with a broken ankle and cuts but is expected to pull through. another survivor is jim morhard, a prominent lobbyist who was chief of staff of the senate appropriations committee when stevens chaired it. sean o'keefe and his son also survived the crash. one time nasa administrator is now with eads. when they found out o'keefe survived the company released this statement, we extend our deepest sympathy to the families of those less fortunate. we owe a debt of gratitude to the members of the rescue crew and others who rushed to the scene. we understand that it took about 12 hours for these four survivors to be rescued because of where the plane went down and because of the conditions. i'm tracee wilkins, live on capitol hill, back to you in the studio. >> thank you. the now famous jetblue fl flight attendant is free on bail. in case you haven't heard his story, i yelled at passengers on board a flight and grabbed beer before taking off by way of the plane's emergency chute. we should say he had been insulted by a passenger and something of a cult hero. tens of thousands have visited a facebook page dedicated to him. >> he's become a folk hero on the web. i think a lot of people are -- have dreamed of doing what he's done. >> slater may have to wait a little while before he can cash in on new found fame. he is facing charges that could land him in prison up to seven years. starting this fall, students at the university of virnlg wirth will have to say whether they are convicted or charged of any crimes. love's ex-boyfriend george huguely was charged with her murder. after he was arrest it was revealed he had been arrested in 2008 after a drunken conversation with a police station. all students will have to tell the school annually about any arrests. failure to do so would be violation of honors code and punishable by expulsion. now facing a lawsuit over its decision to shut down one school. clifton is one of the highest performing schools but last month the board voted to close it citing lawyer oi lower enrol. this new lawsuit claims the zrigs was arbitrary and accuses the the school board of abuses its discretion. a mail carrier in arlington faces charges for stealing mail she thought might contain gift cards. more than 100 pieces of mail were found inside the home of alvad. ja d. jackson. during the busy holiday season from october of 2008 and march 2010. court papers say she stole and used gift cards at target and best buy and walmart and several restaurants. the federal reserve remains worried about prospects for economic recovery and leaving interest rates at the record low. courtney reagan has more on what this means for you. good morning. >> good morning to you. investors are digesting the latest move keeping interest rates at historic lows but will use money from maturing bonds and mortgages to buy more government bonds. fed buying could push bond yields down further, a possible incentive for consumers to refinance. nearly five months into its investigation, the government says no new causes have been found in cases of sudden acceleration in toyota vehicles. the department of transportation told congress yesterday more than half the cases its examined, drivers may be at fault. data from the black boxes show the drivers were not stepping on the brake at the time of the crash. electronic defects are n s are investigated. a one billion dollar deal for streaming rates, netflix has been pushing the option to stream movies, that's up from 36% last year. technology is changing the way we do everything. thanks, courtney. >> i festill like going to the theater and getting a ticket and watching on the big screen. >> good way to stay cool. >> some people are saying it's going to be a thing of the past. you watched a movie with other people in the same room, what's wrong with you? >> another good day to try to seek relief from the unrelenting heat we've had some summer. there's the live view from the tower camera, 300 feet above northeast washington, and that sun is up in a partly cloudy sky, now 83 at national airport. where the 2010 drought has really parched much the region. reagan national's deficit is about 4.5 inches, richmond about 7 inches, almost an 8 inch deficit for rainfall in salisbury. much of the region has been parched throughout the last few months. and we do need rain. we've got a decent chance tomorrow. right now it's humid and temperatures around the region are in the mid and upper 70s. arlington, fairfax and montgomery in the 70s. weather watchers around the bay reporting near 80 degrees there. in western maryland and west virginia it's cooler, around 70 there. this morning getting the high clouds streaming in from the midwest from showers and thunder showers erupting there. there are a few clusters of showers moving across north central west virginia. but otherwise, we ought to have a dry day, this afternoon highs reaching mid-90 and the sunset will be at 8:08. by midnight the low 80s. during the day on thursday, partly sunny and highs near 90 and likelihood of needed rain and thunder during the afternoon and evening. i don't and strong storms. and we do have a chance for some passing showers and thunder showers then. over the weekend, saturday partly cloudy and upper 80s, a greater chance of more needed rain sunday and monday and tuesday. how's the traffic? >> a live look at this hour, it's looking better along 395 to the 14th street bridge. two lanes to the left, one to the right. once you get on the bridge span, it's two the left and two to the right. looking pretty decent. elsewhere we'll head over and see what's happening. chopper 4 checking out the major secondary roadways, route 29, just a little bit of volume, no big shockers so far. metro rail and vre doing fine. marc rail, brunswick 874 and 892 both delayed. if you drive through northeast washington, you could run into extra delays this week. crews have begun paving in the starburst intersection of h street wrrks 15th street and benning road and bladensburg avenue meet. it will begin at 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. on saturday. the work should be completed by next tuesday. deadly kracrashes on the beltway are down as police use new safety initiatives on the roads. the number of traffic deaths on the beltway is down 73 understand 2010 compared to the same time last year. aaa is applauding state police for cracking down on speeders. that area is now a speed enforcement zone and police have written 100,000 tickets in that stretch in the past two and a half years. people from virginia to michigan are on high alert this morning with a suspected serial killer still on the loose. police believe one man is responsible for 20 different attacks including three in leesburg. the other attacks were in ohio and michigan where five victims died. elaine has more on the search for this man. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. leesburg police released a surveillance tape showing what other police agencies, it appears the suspect is stalking his victim. let's look at that. we won't actually see it but the video was tab from the leesburg plaza shopping center on august 6th. you'll see the suspect's suv driving across the parking lot. and around that same time a 19-year-old man was hit in the head with a hammer. authorities believe the suspect is responsible for stabbing two others in leesburg as well as other stabbing attacks in michigan and recent case in tole toledo, ohio. they are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. the suspect's vehicle is described as a dark, older chevy trail blazer. you did see that suspect sketch there. hoping anyone takes a look at that tape and if anyone has information to give them a call. back to you. 6:56. already in the 80s outside. tom? >> prepare for another day in the 90s. but we are going to get a break from the extreme heat but today mid-90s and small chance of an afternoon thundershower. it will stay humid into next week but cooler more seasonal weather for august. much needed rain is likely tomorrow afternoon and evening and into friday with maybe thunder and lightning. how's the traffic now? >> let's take a live look and moving along pretty well on the american legion bridge. nothing to fear over here. a little volume along i-270 south out of germantown. an accident route 108 near centennial park. we'll keep you updated. that's "news 4 today." thanks for starting your day wi with. >> the "today" show will be next. hope you join us tomorrow at 4:30. we'll see you tomorrow.

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