an elderly couple is freed after a suspected jewelry store robber holds them hostage for hours. two-alarm fire. several businesses are damaged after firefighters discover heavy flames coming from an office park. and more humid. after a very comfortable week, a little more heat and humidity return to our forecast. good morning. welcome to the 6:00 edition of news 4 today. saturday, july 11, 2009. i'm kimberly suter in for hang yang. look at the forecast. steve is up in the weather center. good morning, steve. >> good morning, kimberly.

good morning, everyone. we have a front heading our way today. not that it will be a washout, but the storm will bring us some showers and storms. this will happen much later in the day. for the most part, the day will be dry. here's what's happening right now, the temperatures are in the mid and upper 60s. dew points are up a little bit. still pretty comfortable. these numbers will start to go up as southwesterly winds go to humid weather. here's what's happening right now. you can see clouds streamingn overhead. notice the front across the upper midwest. that will drop down to the gion later on today bringing the chance of showers and storms. this won't happen until the evening and until the overnight hours. tomorrow, a chance for rain as well. early in the morning. after that, things are quiet. monday, well, a tiny chance of rain. we've gotten used to the dry weather. >> it will be nice. >> thank you, steve. one man led peicol on a

crime spree through leesburg, virginia. the gunman barged to two houses in leesburg yesterday. he held an erlderly couple hostage for eight hours before surrendering to the police. the police credit that couple for a safe ending. her husband was found inside the home after the gunman surrendered without incident. the man in his 80s suffered injuries that were described as not life threatening. joseph price credits the couple with con vincing the gunman that his best choice lay in getting himself up. negotiators developed a rapport with the gunman that helped end the standoff. before the peaceful ending, police say the suspect broke into another leesburg home. jackie benson spoke with another couple that had a terrifying encounter with a man. >> he opened the door. all i saw was the barrel of the gun. >> reporter: the 26-year-old

womawho asked not to be identified talks about the moment she and her husband walked to the door of the home expecting to be greeted by their 2-year-old son and the babysitter. >> the guy came out and told me to get in the ground. >> reporter: the couple noticed some police activity but they did not know they were in pursuit of an armed man who robbed a pawnshop. now he was in her house demanding money and car keys. >> he tied her up. he locked the door and put a wire around the door handle and tied it to the railing so she couldn't get out. my son was trooper about it. >> reporter: the suspect made the man place a false 911 call. >> he made me call 911 and report he was over near walmart so it would throw the police off to get out of the house. >> reporter: moments later he was able to text a relative and then call his boss. >> he said very quietly, listen

to me carefully, there's a man in my house and he has a gun. and he's going to kill me. >> reporter: what it seems hike an eternity later, the suspect left in the couple's jeep grand cherokee and the police arrived. the suspect is identified by police as 49-year-old william spencer of baltimore. reporting from leesburg, jackie ben sop, news 4 today. several businesses were damaged in rockville bay two alarm fire. it happened at the office park. the office park consists of two townhouse-type buildings. the fire damaged six of those buildings. it took 70 firefighters to extinguish the fire. no one was injured. the cause is under investigation. dc is calling for a probe. marion barry stalked her exgirlfriend. why barry was arrested.

for some council members, it's all getting to be too much. michael flint has the story. >> i welcome this. >> reporter: marion barry reacting to news that the city will conduct an independent investigation between the contract between him and his ex-girlfriend. she's wearing pink in this file video with barry. vincent gray announced the probe. >> i believe the an independent review is the logical first step. >> i cooperate fully. i know what's going to happen. there's no question about the propriety of this contract. >> news 4 was first to obtain barry's arrest report in july 4. the former mayor was driving erradicly. on the wrong side of the road when park police pulled him over in ancosa park. she said barry was harassing her

and continuing to threaten he would use his powers of influence to have her ex-husband arrested. they dropped the stalking on thursday. >> barry defended himself against the announcement, david qahtaniya walked out saying he had enough. >> there's noallyg behind marion. when he stepped forward at that press conference and attempted to portray himself as a victim, it's more than many of us could take. >> you look at the documents first. >> former federal prosecutor bob bennett will lead the inquiry between the personal services contract between barry and his and confirmed they complied with city laws and coup sill rules to award it. >> i have no doubt in my mind we followed all of the procedures. >> michael flynn, news 4 today. ruled unconstitutional. dc police began stopping cars in

the trinidad neighborhood last summer. motorists who could not prove they live in the area were tapped out. a group called the partnership for civil justice sued the city. a federal judge upheld the check points in october. but friday, a federal appeals court ruled they were violated and the lower court must consider the position. steve men dollson agrees with the court. >> we have a very strong liberty interest in this country. people have the right to move about freely. the roadblocks interfere with that ability to move around freely. >> dc police chief kathy lanier strongly supported the check points. sterday she released a statement saying she believed the stops were thoughtful and saved lives. working foot patrols in the district's fourth all hands nirn

t initiative of the year. 491 arrests were made in the last, 13 fire arms seized, and $40,000 in drugs were confiscated. ra . former nfl quarterback steve mcnair will be laid to rest. his funeral is in hattiesburg today. family, friends, and fans of the former titans star are turning out to pay respects. mcnair was shot and killed by his girlfriend on the fourth of july. in sports, it was a no-hitter last night in the mlb. sap fran's giants, sanchez, hit the first no-hitter against the padres. the nationals have recorded 60 losses befe the all-star break for the second straight year. more on "sports minutes." good morning, everyone. your sports minute begins with

baseball. not picking on the astros. high drama in houston. bottom of the ninth, jeff blum up with the bases loaded. a walkoff to win it. the astros beat the nationals. orioles hosting the blue jays. dave trembley walks the game as he begins serving a two-game suspension. brent cecil shot out the os, the former terp, two hits. brendan morrison yesterday to a one-year contract with a reported $1.5 million. in his 12-year nhl career, morrison has four 20-goal seasons. notary public golf, at the u.s. women's open, christy kerr who won the tournament in 2007 leads the way by one stroke. you can watch the third and fourth round. that's your sports minute, i'm hakeem durmish.

have a great day. why 350 passengers were forced to evacuate using inflatable slides. plus, president obama in ghana. residents of that african country are showing their enthusiasm. we'll explain. seom virginia shoppers 7x=ñq e

some scary moments for british airways passengers out in phoenix. last night, fumes filled the

cabin as flight 747 was preparing to take off for london. hundreds of panels were forced to use slides to evacuate. everyone did get out safely. fire crews say electrical problems may be to blame. investigators outside chicago say they found more human remains dumped outside of an historic cemetery. the cook county sheriff closed the entire burr oaks cemetery lastnight. investigators will try to determine how many graves were disturbed. also hampering the investigation, the cemetery records seem to be missing, destroyed, or to disorganized to follow. the sheriff wants to give families answers as soon as possible. >> this is a horribly, horribly difficult. i can't tell you the number of women i talked to today who can't find their children, who can't find their babies that they buried here. people can't find their mothers. >> four employees have been arrested. it's believed they made hundreds

of thousands of dollars reselling the plots. president obama's visit to ghana has caused quite a frin si. the first family arrived in ghana last night. they were greeted by drums and dancing. it's mr. obama's first trip to sub saharan africa. president obama will speak to the president of ghana before speaking to the parliament about his hopes for democracy in africa. hope is certainly in the air in ghana. on the streets of ghana -- >> obama! >> reporter: the party started long before the guest of honor arrived. members of this fan club, friends for obama, has been celebrating all week. >> it's direction -- >> welcome home. welcome to africa. welcome to ghana. >> reporter: president obama's visit will inspire the entire nation, they believe what does

this torch represent? >> the torch as president obama is coming to ghana to signify that we change the world, we go about everything we do. >> ghanaians are welcoming obama like a native son. for these vendors selling souvenirs, it makes no difference that president obama's family is from an entirely different country. >> barack obama is kenyan. ghanaians are proud of him. >> we're part of it. >> reporter: it's pervasive. you can see today the front page of almost every local paper has obama on it. the streets are full of billboards and signs and the radios are playing obama music. >> a song welcoming obama. >> reporter: people are coming from all over the count troy do just that. this son and dad travelled from about 60 miles away.

why did you come here? >> i want to greet obama. >> reporter: the man everyone says he resembles. >> they call me obama! every time. >> reporter: what part of you thinks looks most like barack. >> everywhere. >> reporter: felix sees himself in obama. he's not the only one. obama has changed the way many people here have seen themselves. >> the flame of change. we will spend for the rest of our life. >> reporter: that was mark reporting. president barack obama and pope benedict xvi met for the first time friday. the michelle obama was also there when the pope and the president exchanged gifts. the pope gave the president a copy of the vatican document on bioethics explaining the church's opposition to use embryos for stem cell research. the president gave the pope a stole that had been placed on the remains of the first male

naturalized u.s. citizen to become a saint. up next on news 4 today -- the top sports stories and the update on the weather. steve will talk about

shoppers in northern virginia go out quite a surprise recently when a very hungry bear showed up at a grocery store. people in the parking lot backed up and reached for their

cameras. but the same bear may have been out more than once. g anplns . g >> i say this, what i thought was at first a rottweiler coming across the parking lot toward us. i thought, wow, that's the weirdestng lkioo rottweiler i've ever seep. as i got closer, the sinking feeling came and i realized it kiwaa bear. >> but she did not run away that fourth of july evening, she grabbed her camera and snapped these pictures. >> shocked -- shocked beyond belief there was a bear there. >> black bear walking like that, you know? so, i was just like, what? there's a bear here? >> a black bear climbed on top of the shopping cart to peek inside the giants store off of route 17 in stafford county. all that food was oh so close but couldn't find the door. >> he was purposely heading

right toward the giant. he knew where he was going. >> bears are venturing out more frequently as the habitats continue to shrink and they tend se follow their wano. o butosu. iarb one 't hk yoacs blarbe hin suburb suburbia, but we do. >> a family glimpsed what they believe to be the same black bear in their back yard. >> slammed the two bird feeders together. it broke them open and got the seeds. i came out and it ran into the woods. >> what do you think about that? >> well, you know -- i've seen bears before. i've seen them at yellowstone. i've seen them on -- >> on trails. >> in cartoons. >> i've seen them on hiking trails. but never -- >> never like that. >> start moving into today's territory. >> i'm surprised. >> it's a wacky story. the bear comes out at walmart or wherever you are and there's the bear. >> hey!

>> anyway -- >> hey, bear! >> good morning. >> how are you? >> great. >> are you ready for a halfway decent weekend? >> okay. because the undecent part will happen at nighttime. >> oh, well then i'm really rey for it. so we have a front coming our way. the front is going to move through. however, the front will come through overnight. so it's like perfect timing. ahead of the front though for today, will be warmer than yesterday. the humidity will start to climb. then late in the day, that's when we start to see thunderstorms move across the area. some of the thunderstorms could be on the strong side. that's something we'll have to watch. but, that will, again, that will happen late in the day. so here's what it looks like outside. you can see the clouds are out there ahead of the frontal band. mix of sun and clouds today. we'll call it partly sunny as we look across the potomac. temperaturewise, 67 degrees here in the beltway. a lot of clouds out here to start off the day. a mix of sun and clouds. partly sunny, ahead of the front.

tomorrow ahead of the front, looks nice. up in frederick. elsewhere, 64 down in pax river, 67 over in annapolis. dew points in the low 60s. they're higher than yesterday. yesterday the dew points in the upper 50s. very comfortable on the outside. these numbers start to climb as southerly winds turn in to moisture. all is quiet on digital doppler. look at the dew points. they are higher. likewise, cincinnati. that's the year that will be pushing towards the region ahead of the fronta you can see the clouds moving through. there's the front right there. the front gets closer, going to pick it up and push it to the area. a mix of sun an clouds with a mix of showers and thunderstorms late in the day. most of the day will be dry. late in the day and in the evening hours, storms push through. we could even have an isolated thunderstorm. especially out in far western maryland and in the panhandle of

west virginia. here's the future cast. for the most part today, we're dry. here comes the front. the front moves through. bring us a chance of showers and storms later in the day, tomorrow morning, maybe a lingering rain shower. high pressure building behind the front tomorrow afternoon. it looks decent. partly cloudy, a bit humid. a late-y thunderstorms not out of the question. but the five-day, the seven-day looks a lot more ominous. not that ominous. so late today, late, lachlt, late -- chance of showers and storms. and early tomorrow, a chance of showers. then on monday, an isolated thunderstorm. the rest of it looks fine. so all in all, the weekend will be dry, but tonight, that's when the best chance of rain. >> good sleeping weather. >> good sleeping weather. >> thank you, steve. still ahead in sports, the nationals and the os fa. here's hakeem durmish with the highlights. baseball. nashville's third baseman was out of the lineup for the first time all season because of a

death in the family. his 82-year-old grandmother passed away. he expects zimmerman to rejoin the team this weekend. nets and astros. nats trail 2d-0. a play on third. johnson sends a shot to deep left center field off of the wall. niger morgan scores after stealing second and third. jobson rolls in to second. the next batter is adam dunn, the texas native getting things done here. singles up the middle. johnson at second is sent home. he's not a fast guys. michael borne comes up throwing. it's a perfect throw. johnson doesn't have a chance. out at the plate. top nine. nigel morgan, up with a man on second. morgan, making things happen. up the middle. base knock up the middle. willie harris is going to test

michael borne. he's a faster guy with the throw. it's good. pudge makes a better play. scoops it, tags harris, he's out. phenomenal play by pudge, the future hall of famer. bottom nine now. game still tied at 5. mike mcdougal facing jeff blum with the bases loaded. blum -- an exquisite situational hitter walked off single to right. yeah, that's it. the nats lose it. 6-5, the final. watching the game with the sweep. he begins serving a two-game suspension. fen sill pitching for the blue jays here in the second. nolan ryan is swinging. a sign of good things to come for the maryland grad. top five, blue chezes up 1-0. raul schaub is up with a man on. the outstretched melvin moore with third. sha chez onboard with an rbi double. more than enough for cecil. bottom six, see sell in the

game, just cruises, luke scott sw swinging. that was nasty. cecil struck out five, allowed four hits and gets it third career win as they shot the orioles to nothing. brendan morrison to pa one-year contract with a reported $1.5 million yesterday in the 12-year nhl career, morrison has more four 20-goal seasons. a vet raab who won the tournament before leads the way after two rounds. this is rachael hetherington. she did not make the cut. she has the shot of the day. she starts it here on the 11th hole. the ball kind of stops. but it has momentum. picks up speed, and apartly had gps for the destination at the bottom of the cup. for birdie. good for her. here's the leader, christie kerr, her approach shot. listen to her, she's talking to

the ball. come on, baby. the ball responds, lands in the green, stops just inches from the cup. kerr would birdie. she leaves the open at three under par. watch the third and fourth round here on nbc this weekend. that's sports. have a great day. >> nothing wrong with talking to the ball. in the next half-hour on news 4 today, the weekend edition. the crew of the space shuttle "endeavour" will try for the launch for the third time today. already, weather is a concern again. we'll have tlatest on that. plus, michael jackson's hometown celebrates the pop star's life. and christmas in july? a national retailer getting ready for the holiday rush early

updating our top stories now. leesburg police say an elderly couple held hostage for hours last night is now free. they were released unharmed around 9:00 last night. police were called to a jewelry store in leesburg at 11:00 a.m. friday after an appent robbery. the suspect fled on foot, broke into a home, and stole an suv from the family before barricading hielf in the home of an elderly couple. several businesses were damaged late last night in rockville by a two alarm fire. it happened before 11:00 at the franklin office park. the office park xied of two townhouse-type buildings. firefighters say the blaze damaged at least six of those buildings. and dc council members have announced an independent probe into a contract marion barry awarded his exgirlfriend. she's the woman accusing barry or who had accused barry of

stalking her last weekend. barry says he welcomes the investigation. let's start this half hour with a quick look at the weather. we're up in weather center 4 and promises our daylight hours will not be disturbed with rain. >> promise is a strong word. but, it looks like the fun is going to come through once we're going to go through in the nighttime hours. the bulk of the moisture if that comes through in the overnight hours. here's what's happening right now. 67 degrees here in the beltway. 67 to teller. 64 down in manassas. heading in the mid 80s today. warmer than yesterday. dew points will be on the increase. dry at the moment. we have clouds overhead. but look at what's coming our way. there it is. the frontal band moving across the great lakes. and eventually that front will

drop down to the region bringing the chance of showers and storms. that won't happen in the overnight hours. the late in the day thunderstorms today. pretty much as nighttime. likewise, early tomorrow morning. so most of saturday's dry, most of sunday's dry. on mondays, a few isolated storms are possible. for the most part, we are looking at dry couple of days. but a little ominous. we're going to explain all of this coming up a little later on. >> won't hold you to it too closely. the third time could be the charm. space shuttle "endeavour" launch take three. nasa is hoping for a break in the weather tonight. if all goes as planned, "endeavour" could lift off at 7:39 eastern time. chrys yoon dahl green has the report. as endeavour sits on the launch pad, nasa says it's ready to fly. astronauts are standing by. >> the crew and the entire operations team are eager and ready to get to work.

>> a leaky fuel valve that scrubbed last month's launch attempt is fixed. >> in issues to speak of. >> there is one issue. not with the shuttle, 's with the sky. storms are forecast to threaten in endeavour's ten-minute launch window leaving the rocket scientists sitting and watching and waiting. >> i don't worry about the things i can't control. i cant control the weather. >> when endeavour does lift off, it will be an historic mission. the crew size was increased to six. when the endeavour seven get there, the most people ever living together in space. >> 13 people onboard a spacecraft. i think this dynamic is going to be very interesting. >> it will also be one of the longest missions ever -- 16 days. while at the iss, astronauts will attach the last part of the japanese lab using three different robotic arms working together at once.

some heavy lifting. if only endeavour can lift off. christen dahlgren, nbc news, kennedy space center. it happened today at the pentagon. emergency responders will put the skills to the himself. they'll test the response to the biological attack at the pentagon. arlington county and other federal and local agencies will also take part in the drill. pepco customers in maryland will get a break on their bill next month. that's nice to hear. customers will see a $30 credit on their august bill. the credit is the result of the $39 million settlement with the utility reached with the morantz corporation. so pepco will distribute the profits from the sale to its 500,000 customers. the maryland public service commission approved the credit earlier this month. pepco customers in dc received a

similar credit last march. fairfax police have arrested a convicted sex offender saying he was trying to assault another wo is event happened late thursday night at the home of th areafta ilian in burke. g iinrdto investigators, the woman was asleep on her couch when she awoke to a manin cmblig on top of r. the woman fought back and the other family members in the house were able to restrain the n.man. police have ideifdie him as 39-year-old george milt jr. he's charged with burglary, dttempted rape, and abduk. he had prior convictions of rape but not reregistered as a sex offender when he moved to the area. the man accused of killing a security guard inside the holocaust museum remains bedridden. the attorney told the judge he's not well enough to appear in court. he's accused of killing security guard steven johns on june 10. others shot von brawn in the face.

he was may be able to appear in court later this month. police released surveillance video of the crash between a car and a train near detroit that killed all five people in the car. you know this, is a different story. all right, we'll keep going with this story. the video shows it black car speeding around an suv that had stopped and running right in to the path of the train. five people were killed. they ranged in age from 14 to 21. the 21-year-old, tarence harris is from stafford, virginia. the 19-year-old behind the wheel was driving on a suspended license. former senator and presidential candidate bob dole is in the hospital. he was admitted to walter reed army medical center in bethesda last week. his office released a statement saying he underwent surgery for open sores on his left leg. he has a skin graft on hiseft leg.

mr. dole is 85 years old. a memorial for michael jackson turned into a celebration of his life and hometown in gary, indiana last night. thousands of people gathered to sing h songs and dance to his music as they remembered michael jackson and gary as the place where the king of pop got his start. >> this is where he came from. >> the world. >> reporter: thousands packed the u.s. steel yard stadium to pay tribute to gary's own michael jackson. it's the place where a kid became a king. >> i think he's here. >> means a lot just to say good-bye to him to see where he started out. >> i'm very honored to see people from all over come here. >> this is the closest thing that he with could do. we love michael and we're here for him, really. >> reporter: to get everyone involve in this memorial, a souvenir ticket, a white glove to wear on the right hand and

invited to sign the memorial wall in memory of michael. >> i grew up with him. i wanted to be here. we couldn't go to l.a., we came up here. >> reporter: this was more than a memorial, it was a celebration of jackson's life. fans dancing in the dugout. gloved hands waving. a sing-along in the crowd. >> mourning is not good all the time. yeah, he's gone but he left his legacy behind. >> reporter: on stage in center field, performances featured the king of pop's most memorable music. messages from reverend jesse jackson and the family patriarch, joe jackson. >> i've been around the world so many times. it does feel good to be back home. >> from michael jackson's hometown, this is a fitting farewell to their favorite son. that was genie reporting. still ahead on news 4 today, the weekend edition. the latest on more bonuses for aig employees in business news. and hunting for pythons. why some wild life officials are

encouraging the practice. stay with us.

sears is hoping you are seriously ready to do your holiday shopping right now. the retailer has put out a winter merchandise in hopes of enticing folks to start shopping for christmas early. sears usually waits until november to begin selling

holiday merchandise. but the reception caused the department store to rethink its strategy. that includes encouraging customers to buy things now that they might not be able to afford come christmas. the reception is forcing many to tweak their habits, the same store sales were down last moh. but a few retailers made a profit. here's cnbc's michelle caruso cabrera with the business headlines and more. it's the dawn of a new era for general motors. the automaker out of bankruptcy and on a mission to focus on and listen to his customers. gm is partnering with e bay so people can buy cars by auction on-line. insurance giant, aig, the company knew the taxpayer billed out to the tune of $140 billion, asking permission to pay out millions in bones to top executives. delinquencies for credit cards, home equity loans and mortgages hitting a record level for the first quarter of the year. the federal reserve said americans are borrowing less and

saving more. ten months in a row of declines. but a few retailers like aeropostale and the buckle saw higher sales. u.s. hospitals say they'll give up $155 billion over ten years in medicaid and medicare payments to help pay for president obama's health care ovhaul. and the first-time jobless claims lower. continued claims for unemployment benefits reached a report $6.88 billion. two deals to sell the chicago cubs and wrigley field with the buyers. both deals in the hands of the bankruptcy court judge. i'm michelle carew so cabrera. get all your news on c nbc now celebratinged the year. >> the story of someone else celebrating. you used to be so embarrassed how we looked. would wait until dark to go inside. but this week, he burst into the national spotlight. smith who's from phoenix used to way more than 600 pounds with the help of a trainer and a

strict diet and exercise regiment, he lost 400 pounds in two years. on the today show friday moing, he showed the t-shirt he used to wear. he's telling the story in a documentary premiering on cable this sunday. that's bursting on to the scene, isn't it? sports and weather straight ahead. steve is in studio to tell you about the weekend forecast. we'll be right back. ñgo?ñwñsñsñyysñ

it is 6:48 and 67 degrees outside. inside. but not normal. we're used to just -- >> hello. it's july. >> it's gorgeous. >> you would expect it to be 90 during the day. 70s at the nighttime, humid. >> we went swimming yesterday. i was freezing. >> i was -- i mean, literally, inwent out to dinner the other night, outdoors, put on a sweater. >> you put on a sweater. >> what's up with that? >> i love it. it's crazy. it's july. and the trend continues. i mean, there's a front coming our way tonight. >> right. >> it will bring in the showers

and storms. but luckyenough, it will happen at nighttime. so, for the most part today should be dry. some clouds out there and we'll be in and out of the clouds today. temperatures warmer than yesterday. so we will be climbing today up to the mid and upper 80s where it should be this time of the year. it will feel a touch more humid. a front will come through and a front will bring you chance of showers and storms. for e most part, the overnight hours. today looks dry. the front looks dry. there's a chance of rain late tonight and tomorrow morning. other than that, sitting pretty. 67 degrees. cloudy skies right now. southeasterly. a plain old southerly flow. increase the humidity. in the upper 60s. continue to go up as these winds bring you some humid weather. 67 out in quentin. dew points in the lower 60s. these numbers will be on the increase again in the southerly winds bringing you the low level moisture. all is quiet.

later today, we'll start to see the showers and the thunderstorms pushing to the area especially to the western zones by the time we go to the late afternoon and in to the evening hours. the dew points are much higher from st. louis, memphis, down to atlanta, cincinnati. this is the humid air that we'll be marching eastward coming in ahead of the front making their way to the chicagoland area. ahead of the front, the winds will eventually go southwesterly. this will bring in the warm weather, the humid weather. we head to the mid and upper 80s today. at least the mid 80s. here's the situation. we do have at least a threat of severe weather later on today for far western maryland and the panhandle of west virginia. this is late this afternoon. the front makes its way across the area. by the time the front moves here, we're going to lose all of the daytime heating. we're going to lose all of that good daytime heating. so ahead of it, though, for today, a mix of sun and clouds. moisture. it's going to come through in the overnight hours.

not that we can't see a shower or thunderstorm ahead of it. for the most part, it will come through today. look what happens behind the front. morning rain showers. clear things out. things looking good as well. temperatures still rm. a little coole as we go to the sunday. then monday, a wave of low pressure along that front. for the most part, to the southwest of us, for the most rt, an isolated storm. and we go off and it's pretty good. pretty good. >> a little springtime in july. >> good. >> it looks like it's an -- a typical el nino type of sentiment. that's what we're seeing. warmer waters. there you go. >> just fine, it works. >> it works. up next on news 4 today, an likely hero for the giants. the near perfect performance from a pitcher who was demoted earl inn ?

in pamplona, spain, tragedy struck during the running of the bulls. the man was gored to death, becoming the first fatality there in almo 15 years. the victim was a 27-year-old spaniard. he died almost instantly as he secured for cover under a wooden barrier. the bulls gored him in the neck.

nine others were injured friday. the ceremonies will continue as scheduled today. becoming legal to hunt for pythons. the python population of more than 150,000 is, quote, out of control and spreading. pythons can be very dangerous. last week, a florida toddler was strangled to death by a pet python. >> put the calls around you, start to constrict and suffocate somebody. >> we're developing a plan immediately that will roll out that we will allow people to train supervised by us to go out and hunt pythons and kill them. >> under the plans, 750,000 acres of land and florida will be open to python unters with permits. however, the national park has made it clear that hunting will not be permitted on their grounds. they promised to curb the python population including nonlethal methods. the nationals have recorded 60

losses before the all-star break for the second straight year. and the third round of the u.s. women's open gets under way today. here's hakeen durm irk sh. starting with baseball. ryan zimmerman was out of the lineup last time for the first time all season because of the death in the family. his grandmother passed away on wednesday. he expects zimmerman to rejoin the team last weekend. top of the fourth inning. 2-0, not for long. nick johnson with play on third. johnson sends a shock to deep left center field. off of the wall. steals after steing second and third. the very next batter is adam dunn. the texas native getting things done here. singles up the middle. johnson who is at second was sent home. not a fast guy. michael borne comes u throwing and it's a perfect throw.

john sont doesn't have a chan out at the plate. top nine. game's tied at five. niger morgan up with a man on second. morgan making things happen. base knock back up the middle. willy harris is going to test michael borne. he's the faster guy to the throw. it's good. pudge makes a better play. scoops it tags harris, he's out. phenomenal play by pudge, the future hall of famer. bottom nine now. the game still tied at five. mike mcdougal facing jeff blum with the bases loaded. blum -- the situational hitter walk-off single to right. yeah. that's it the, nats lose it. 6-5, the final. dave trembley watching the game as he begins serving a two-game suspension. brent cecil pitching for the blue jays here in the second. and that's a sign of good things to come for the maryland grad.

top five, blue jays up 1-0, toronto's raul chavez with a man on. he lines one past the outstretched melvin moore at third. alex rios trots home. chavez onboard with an rbi double. that's more than enough for cecil. bottom six, cecil still in the game, the former terp just cruises. gets loose, that was nasty. cecil's family cheering them on. struck out five, allowing ur hits. wille gets the third career hit as the jays shut out the orioles 2-0. brendan morrison to a one-year contract with a reported $1.5 million yesterday in the 12-year nhl career, morrison has four 20-goal seasons. in golf, in the u.s. women's open, a veteran who's won the major tournament before leads the way after two rounds. this is rachael hetherington. she does not make the cut but she has the shot of the day. watch here, she starts it putt on the 11th hole.

aiming at the yellow bag. the ball kind of stops but it has momentum. picks up speed, and apparently it had gps because the destination is at the bottom of the cup for birdie. she's pumped good for her. here's the leader. christy kerr. look at her, talking to the ball. come on, baby. on the green, stops just inches from the cup, kerr would birdie. three under par. you can watch the third and fourth rounds here on nbc this weekend. that's your sports. i'm hakeem durmish. have a great day. >> jonathan sanchez was demoted to the bullpen. last night, he made up for his early season problems. he pitched the first major no-hitter this season. sanchez nearly tossed a perfect game. the only runners came on an error. that is news 4 today. the "today" show is coming