Independence. From the festival to the fireworks later on. Really, theres something for everybody. One thing to keep in mind is you will notice a lot of police. Law enforcement on high alert. News 4 derrick ward is live downtown with what you will need to know about that and other big events going on for the fourth. Its raining, i see, derrick. Reporter in this part of town, you will see a lot of police around town. Considering whats going on and what day this is, theres probably a bit more. Certainly more of a secure per am ter. There are other things going on as well. The fireworks are the big draw this evening. Theres a Folklife Festival on the mall. Its been moved up closer to the capitol. I dont think its necessarily a security concern, but logistics and repairs being done to the mall. Folks are already down here getting ready gather. The parade gets under way at 11 00. Some folks are going to be here ahead of time. The prime spots are under trees. We caught up with folks who were actually here by happenstance, a group from australia. Lets listen. An experience. See a little bit of a parade if theres a parade on today. We are looking to enjoy it. We have our own Birthday Celebration for australia in january. This will be great to take in americas. Reporter they are passing through. They are on their way to a square dancing competition in massachusetts. They happened to be here. I asked them if they were concerned about the security concerns and the talk leading up to this. They said not in the least. From the look of things here a lot of spectators feel the same way. We are live on constitution avenue derrick ward. Theyll have a great time. Thank you. See you soon. The fourth of july parade starts at 11 45. You can line up along constitution avenue. The parade goes from 7th to 17th street northwest. Marching band, giant balloons and drill teams will bring the parade best until 2 00. At 8 00 tonight the sights and sounds of the holiday will certainly come to life on the west lawn of the capitol. Its going to be a beautiful sight, i think. A lot of you are excited about a capitol fourth concert. Barry manilow hunter hayes and casey and the sunshine band are performing. The gates open at 3 00, concert goes until 9 30. Its sponsored by the National Parks service and the orchestra. So much going on. If you are headed out, give yourself extra time. Theres going to be a lot of street closures. Roads are already closed at this hour. They will remain shut down until 11 00 tonight. The parade is inbound to constitution avenue, going to be closed today. The nbc washington app, this is a good time to download that. It can be your travel companion, a list of road closures. Entry to the National Mall opens at 10 00. Thousands of you will use metro to get around today. Metro will run on a regular saturday stead yule until 2 00. Then they will ramp up service similar to a weekday rush hour. Keep the nbc washington app on you. It will keep you moving throughout the day. The metro stop will become entrance only at 9 30 tonight. Thats to help folks exit the mall safely. You can get a free ride home after the celebrations if you are unable to drive home safely. Soberride will get you there. It will run from 10 00 until 4 00 a. M. If you celebrate too much, call soberride. Here is the number. 1800200taxi. You can get up to a 30 fare for free. Nationwide more than 40 of traffic deaths on july 4th involves drunk drivers. The show must go on. Despite a broken leg the foo fighters will perform at rfk tonight. The frontman fell off the stage and broke his leg last month wile performing in sweden. He came back and finished the show on crutches. Tonights performance marks their 20th anniversary. The National Mall isnt the only place for fireworks. In prince georges county, the university of marylands Fireworks Show on baltimore avenue. That starts at 9 00. Bring your own blankets, lawn chairs. Montgomery county, the stepanek park. Then Fairfax High School has all daye vents ending with a Fireworks Show at 9 00. We have more places to check out the fireworks in the sky on the nbc washington app. In mourning after the death of a police officer. A memorial was held to remember carlos silva, a brazilian officer who died in a bicycle crash while racing. Silva died wednesday. A tire blowout caused the Chain Reaction crash. The key here is he was your brother. But from this day forward, he is no longer just your brother. For he is our brother. You know, with little time to prepare, organizers really put together a service of dignity and honor for the fallen detective. Teammates say he will be remembered for his wide smile, love of his job and family. Police officers in d. C. Need your help this morning. They want to know if you recognize this man. This man robbed the Wells Fargo Bank on alabama avenue in southeast. It happened yesterday morning. This is the second time this past week a man wearing a fishermans hat robbed a d. C. Bank. No word if the robberies are connected. Working for you, we talked to the department of public works this morning. They tell us everybodys water should be back on in laurel. A massive water main break had water shut off most of yesterday. It happened near the little patuxent river. A lot of you called saying water wasnt on after the department of public works said it was. As many as 30,000 of you were without w we hope everybody is back online this morning. Especially with fireworks going on, you want access to the water. 9 08. We are working for you to keep you safe this fourth of july. Fireworks safety what you need to know so you dont get hurt. Finally, after two failed attempts supplies on their way to the International Space announcer you are watching news 4 today. Every year, firefighters show us how dangerous fireworks can be. You can obviously see in that video. A maryland woman is recovering after a firework exploded in her hand. The explosion significantly injured three other fingers on her hand. It happened wednesday night in a backyard in capital heights. Consumer grade and homemade fireworks are illegal in the county. More than 200 people are taken to the e. R. On the fourth of july for injuries. This morning, we have some ways that you can stay safe. Number one never buy fireworks that are wrapped in brown paper. Why . Thats often a sign they are professional grade. If you are not a professional, dont do it. Never stand over the firework while lighting it. Stay a safe distance away when lit. Keep a hose or bucket of water nearby in case a fire starts. Make sure fireworks are legal where you live before you use them. Definitely keep all of these tips in mind. While you may love the fourth of july, who doesnt . Your pets may not be too crazy for the holiday. E. R. Visits to the vet skyrocket by 48 . Its not just because pets are afraid of fireworks, many of them are, though. Most of the visits had to do with animals eating something they shouldnt or long, hot road trips. Be mindful of that. Good advice there. Still ahead, diplomatic relations between cuba and the u. S. Are reestablished. Plus, deadly lightning strikes. Severe weather we know it can be dangerous. We look at the spring thunderstorms and what we can expect this month. Kristin . Right now, we are so focused on todays weather and what the rest of the day is going to bring. Storm team 4 meteorologist amelia segal has your fourth of july forecast. Thats coming up. At 9 15 right now, an unmanned russian cargo rocket which you see right there has taken off. Its on its way to the International Space station. The rocket successfully launched yesterday carrying water, food, spare parts and experimental equipment. It should arrive tomorrow. Two previous supply missions failed to the iss crew. They are anxiously awaiting its arrival. There are going to be soggy hot dogs for millions of americans this fourth of july. Torrential rain and strong storms pummeled areas in the south last night bringing with it look at that, severe lightning lighting up the sky. More is on the way for them. Lightning strikes peak in july and weather experts say parts of the country are experiencing the most deadly. One is take nothing chances. He installs lightning rods on every house he builds. Puts peace in your mind to know you are safe. 15 people have died this year after already being struck by lightning and last year the death toll, just to give you perspective was 26 for the entire year. Fortunately, we are talking about some storms today but its not going to ruin the day. Its nothing like you saw. Theres a chance for garden variety thunderstorms no Severe Weather in the forecast for today. Theres only a chance you are dealing with a thunderstorm. What most of us are definitely dealing with, rain. The weather having a moderate impact on your fourth of july. This fourth of july is likely the coolest in at least a decade. Dealing with showers this morning into the midday and mid afternoon hours. At times, not a total washout rain not the entire time but you will have rain moving through, moving over at times until at least 2 00 or 3 00 p. M. We cant rule out a late day shower or thunderstorm after that. So fourth of July Fireworks are looking good still. Know, with the rain we are seeing this morning into the midday hours, the ground will be damp. Keep that in mind. Test, 6 00 p. M. , a shower or thunderstorm is posz possible possible. 78 degrees. 9 00 p. M. Most of us dry temperatures in the mid70s. Even at midnight as everything is wrapping up temperatures around 72 degrees muggy feeling. Pack the poncho, just in case especially if you are getting there earlier. As we work toward 9 00 p. M. The rain threat diminishes across the area. D. C. Metro seeing rain right now. A bit of a lull in activity in prince william, fauquier counties. This is where we are going to pool the threat midday and early afternoon showers. Once that moves through, only the chance of a shower or thunderstorm after that. Otherwise we could have late day sun breaking out that will help to boost the temperature. Future weather, noon tracking showers, 3 00 p. M. Future weather is intense. I dont think it will be this intense as far as heavy rain and thunderstorms go. You get the idea, the rain pushing through around 3 00. By 5 00, this activity is south of washington. Areas north and west are dry. 7 00 p. M. , just about everybody is dry. Breaks in the cloud cover and look at that. 9 00, fireworks time, our entire area is dry. Good news there for the outdoor cookouts today. I wouldnt necessarily move them indoors, if you dont want to get wet for sure you should. Have a plan b. Be able to pick up and move inside. Highs 70s and 80s. 79 in winchester. 81 in washington, 75 in annapolis. By far, more clouds than sun. Temperatures right now mainly, are in the low 70s. 73 in washington. Tomorrow, big improvement. Partly sunny. Patchy fog around during the Morning Hours and a high of 86. Monday, a High Temperature of 85. Theres a chance of showers and thunderstorms mainly later in the day, otherwise we are looking at humid conditions, then the chance of showers and thunderstorms remains in the forecast for the rest of the week. Thanks, amelia. Thats good. We are going to be okay. You can now fly directly from new york city to cuba. Jetblue started the new schedule yesterday at jfk. Its the first Major Carrier to offer a direct flight between new york and havana since the white house ease zed travel restrictions. The flight leaves at noon on fridays and lands in havana at 3 30. Plans moving forward to open both the u. S. Embassy in cuba and the Cuban Embassy in the dris ricket. Later this morning, 40 minutes from now, we are going to bring you closer to the island nation. Join us for rediscovering cuba a journey home. We are going to show you a sneak peek of reconnected with family on the island. This is my moms cousin. He agreed to join us on the journey for the reunion with family. He grew up in cuba and left when he was 10. The first stop, to reunite with his aunt. He last visited back in 1999, never expected to see her again. I havent seen her 16 years. 16 years. I thought i would never see her again and i get to see her again. Oh reporter at 86 we could tell this was the highlight of her life. It it was first time my grandmother and mom had seen her since 1961. Mom only remembers her from pictures. I had never met her but growing up, we embraced this part of the latino culture, extended family get a hug and kiss. She eagerly wanted to show us around her homeless home opening up the glassless windows. The heat and humidity unbearable at times. We headed into her kitchen. This is all the water she collects. Only Running Water twice a week so she saves up. Her propane tank indoors next to the stove it fuels. Her food pantry, a couple bare shelves. The bathroom she was ashamed to show us. She wants to stress its 80 years old. Mid tour, a brief interruption. We watched her shuffle to the window pick up a plastic bag and in came her daily bread ration. She stressed, this is for tomorrow. Theres also some beautiful sights on the island that we would love to show you, if you join us for our second edition of rediscovering cuba. Its coming up at 10 00 here on nbc 4. Its going to be right after news 4 today. I have to say to anyone that didnt watch the first time, you have to watch today because i remember i was in bed watching it on my phone. I was laughing but in tears. You really just take everybody there to how special the trip was for you and your family. I fell in love with your family. Thank you. I appreciate that. Im thankful for that and the people that reached out they have connected with it as well. Its interesting no matter what background. Coming up at 9 23. Dancing into history. We take a look at the career of misty you have seen her dance at the kennedy center. Now Misty Copeland is making a historic leap in the world of dance. Nbcs rehema ellis has more on her past. Reporter after years of dedicated preparation Misty Copelands dream finally came true. I dont think i could be part of this if i didnt like to work hard. Reporter she is the first africanamerican promoted the principle female dancer in the 75 year history of the american balley theatre, the big moment captured on her facebook page. Last week, she stepped out as the lead in swan lake at the met. Another first for an africanamerican woman. Raised by a single mother at times living in a motel. Her struggle to the top defied the stereo type. You have the wrong body for ballet. At 13, you are too old to be considered. I had to remind myself that i really did believe i was born to do this. Why would i let someones small minded opinion change my past . She began her studies at the advanced age of 13 in california. Soon labeled a prodigy. Copelands reach goes far beyond the ballet. Do you know who Misty Copeland is . Yes reporter at new yorks National Dance institute mystery copeland is idolized. Try harder, never stop. Whatever happens, then you should keep going. Reporter gorgeous and graceful with a body as strong as her desire to break ballets barrier, she is dancing into history. Rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. National building museums annual summer exhibit opens today and they are bringing you to the beach. They created a massive beach with a wading pool. They got 1 million translucent balls. Thats the kind of place i would not be able to get my daughter to leave. She would not want to leave. They are so much fun. Yeah it does look like fun. The time is 9 28. Its july 4th. Thats right. We are excited. Coming up an inside loocnn at the preparations for the capitol celebration on the National Mall. A new report is out on the hiv cases in the district. D. C. Mayor shares good news in the fight against the epidemic. Amelia has been telling us we could see a popup shower or two. This is a live picture this morning. Its hazy out there. Amelia is watching it for us and in todays top stories everyones eye is going to be looking toward the sky tonight for some fourth of July Fireworks. They are going to start after 9 00. They will be launched from the reflecting pool. You will be able to see them around the city. The fourth of july parade downtown at 11 45. You can line up along constitution avenue. The parade goes from 7th to 17th street. Marching bands, drill teams much more. They are going to bring their parade best until 2 00. Here is good news when it comes to getting into thedistrict from virginia. The express lanes will head northbound all day until 7 00 tonight. The southbound lanes will reopen around 9 00 tonight just as you are heading home from the celebration so normal northbound traffic, we should tell you will be back and forth on sunday for those returning home from this holiday weekend. With that, we welcome you back to news 4 today im david culver. Good morning to you, im kristin wright. Happy fourth. It is, yes indeed. Its a little dreary and braining at the park. Amelia segal is tracking the forecast. First pitch is around 11 00. What are you thinking for the game . The rain we are tracking in the metro area is going to move out by the first pitch. Plenty of clouds at the park. The temperature at the first pitch around 75 degrees. As we get into the seventh inning stretch, still mainly dry, but it will be damp. Temperatures in the upper 70s. As it has game is wrapping up a shower is possible. I think they will get the game in with the temperature around 80 at that point. Here is the latest on storm team 4 radar. This is the batch of rain im talking about. This will bring the wettest conditions we are dealing with today. Looking to the west, this broken line of showers is going to keep the threat of some hit and miss showers, maybe a thunder shower in the forecast until the mid afternoon hours. Timing for you that broken line at about 1 00 leesburg 1 30, washington after 3 00. After that, an isolated storm poszsible possible. You can see the broken line further back to the west we are looking at clear skies. That means for us late day sunshine. Im going to have more on the fireworks forecast in a bit. Well look ahead to that. It is the fourth of july. There is a lot going on around our town today. Lets map it out for you. We are going to start with the Folklife Festival that starts at 11 00 this morning. You can see where thats going to be. Then, if you would rather take