stepping in to slammed the brakes on distracted driving. >> we have to latest on a violent confrontation. "good morning washington" begins right now. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. good morning, washington. it i wednesday. i'm doug mcelway. >> and i'm alison starling. thank you for joining us. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. >> adam caskey is filling in for brian today. >> all day felt on the cool side yesterday. we have a significant amount of cloud cover. more clouds then sunshine. you will get those brief breaks. 56 in rockville.

58 in the district. 68 is the high temperature again this afternoon. a few isolated sprinkles are possible throughout the morning and even into the afternoon. tonight will be cooler than last night. there could be some frost out west. >> they are clearing overnight construction around the area. belvoir travel is ok. interstate travel will look good. -- beltway travel is ok. we do not have any accidents to report around the region. we have a couple of cameras to show you. the volume is in your favor. things are goodon the beltway in maryland. this is springfield. we will wind down with traffic out of leesburg on the toll road. everything looks good. >> thank you. restart this morning with

some breaking news in fairfax county -- we started this morning with some breaking news in fairfax county. >> on bristow drive, there has been a fire that has been fueled by propane gas. we do have a crew of the white and will have more information as soon as it becomes available. if you take your eyes off their road for just one second to send or read a text, you have traveled the length of a football field. >> anything can happen in just that one second. there will be a summit today on distracted driving. pamela brown joins us now with a preview. >> they are -- texting while driving is dangerous. government members confirm this.

so many people do it. it is exactly what government officials are trying to tackle today at this summit, how to curb this dangerous trend. is even more dangerous than truck driving. it took nearly 6000 lives and caused half a million injuries last year. it is a growing threat to. >> texting is a bad thing to do what you're driving. >> this tow trucks submerged into a swimming pool because a driver was not paying attention. >> i watched the tow truck crashed into the car. >> images like these are not keeping people from texting behind the wheel. especially young people. but just a few people -- just a few seconds with your eyes author wrote makes you 20 times more volatile to be in an

accident. transportation secretary ray lahood cites the statistic as to why he wants to ban cell phone use while driving nationwide. it will be discussed at the summit starting at 9:45 this morning. pamela brown, abc 7 news. >> thank you. sliding floor mats has prompted toyota to launch its largest recall ever. it is recalling nearly 4 million vehicles. they can jam the accelerator to the floor. the affected vehicles are the -- if you own any of them, you'll get a notice in the mail next week. toyota says to remove any floor

mat on the driver's side immediately. the pacific ocean nearly swallowed up samoa and american samoa. entire villages were washed out. at least 82 people were killed. john hendren is following the latest. >> first came to the thundering earthquake for three terrifying minutes. >> it is really strong. we had a warning coming in now. >> then came house-size waves. >> it cost a tsunami or a tidal wave of about 15 feet in height. the quake struck quakedawn between a symbolic and america at samoa. it buried coastal villages, killing dozens.

officials fear a rising death toll to come. it measured at a rare 8.3 on the richter scale. there were somenomic watches in hawaii, largely ignored -- their work tsunami watch is in hawaii, largely ignored. >> our house is right on the water. when it hits, it must have pulled the kids in. >> for many, it has been a sleepless night. president obama declared a federal emergency for american samoa, paving the way for federal aid to come. john hendren, abc news. a police-involved shooting is under investigation. it happened after 9:00 last

night. two men were in a stolen car about a mile from fedex field. one officer opened fire. the men more arrested after a brief chase. one officer is now on routine administrative leave. tim kaine cannot think of any reason he was stopped the execution of d.c. sniper john mohammed. he killed 10 people i d.c., virginia, and maryland. kaine said he will review the petition for clemency when he gets i president obama plans to make a major funding announcement. it looks like it will be health related. he will sort a laboratory in bethesda and will unveil his funding plan. kathleen sebelius is scheduled to be there along with the head

of the national institutes of health. metro is taking extra precautions. workers at the west falls church station will demonstrate how trains and buses are cleaned. it is using an environmentally friendly disinfectant to wipe down surfaces. 54 degrees in rosslyn. >> 80,000 u2 fans in for a magnificent time. we have a wrapup of the big concert at fedex field last my. >> this morning feels a lot like yesterday morning. the coolest air of the week has yet to hit us. >> lisa baden will be back with another look at your morning commute. things looking good.

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good morning. 5:12 a.m. on this wednesday morning. temperatures are mainly in the 50's. the cooler air should hit later tonight. we could see some frost tomorrow morning down in cumberland,

maryland. 55 in arlington. warrenton, and 50. mount airy, 54. pretty uniform temperatures. we will be in the upper 60's, near 70 with mostly cloudy skies. we cannot rule out a few isolated sprinkles throughout the evening -- throughout the morning and into the afternoon. 40 should be the coldest all week. >> you look very handsome today. you look good, too, in your bathrobe. right now, not much happening on the highway. there was a structure fire at benning road overnight. 17th street is open. i will take you to a couple of cameras. this is across the 14th street bridge. nothing complicated.

270, all those headlights are southbound coming out of rockville and open to the lane divide. >> thank you. 5:13 is your time. we have 56 degrees. >> the public option, what the president wanted so badly, has failed. >> we will check headlines around the region. my name is quinn, and this is my eggo.

on fridays, i have hockey before school, so i take two eggo homestyle waffles and put peanut butter inside. i add a couple chocolate chips when dad's starting the r. there's only one way to eat an eggo -- your way. l'eggo my eggo. what kind of person writes a thesis calling working women "detrimental to the family..." then lies about his opponent to cover up his own record? the post said bob mcdonnell took office and began passing his social agenda... and the post confirmed that he voted to deny access to birth control. they said mcdonnell even opposed equal pay for women. no matter what his ads say, bob mcdonnell can't cover up his record. i'm creigh deeds, candidate for governor, and my campaign sponsored this ad.

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welcome back. 5:16. let's check our top stories. >> thousands of troops in ir will soon be coming home. more than 4000 troops will be returning by the end of next month. president obama once all troops out of iraq by 2011. >> several democrats joined republicans in rejecting some two proposals for the so-called public option. the house version still included. >> the government is considering adding salvia to a list of banned, controlled substances. some bands are in some states, including virginia. lawmakers are working on it statewide ban in virginia.

it is legal in the district. thousands of fans of the band u2 are winding down after a night of excitement. the irish rock band performed last night at fedex field. about 80,000 fans packed the stadium to see the group. >> pretty pumped up. >> partying like rock stars all weekend long. >> the problem with getting to fedex field was difficult because of traffic on the beltway. one said it took him one hour 10 minutes to travel 25 miles. that is like when you go out to nissan pavilion. it takes forever. >> i refuse to go. >> they have cool names like the edge.

>> or bono. >> the adam. let's talk about the weather. >> the coldest air has yet to sink in. it's a bit later on tonight. if you leave the windows open to ch, it might get to chilly. stephens city, a 56. bristow, 52. upper marlboro, 54. generally we're down in the 50's to start our day. mid 50's around the beltway. let's head to over to the weather graphics. we have some upper level energy pushing into the region. i a lot of upper level support. that is why we have this cloud cover pushing in. mainly gray skies to start our

day. a few peaks of sunshine from time to time. notice the echoes moving from northwest to southeast. we could see some isolated sprinkles. that would be it. a light shower. that would be the heaviest we would see. a few stray, brief showers throughout the day. highs in the upper 60's later this afternoon. tonight, cooler the last night. the skies will cool around dinner time. dry air will allow temperatures to drop into the 40's. a lot of sunshine tomorrow near 70. >> very comfortable right now as far as traffic heading into the district, nebraska, and southeast washington. headlights have left tysons heading up towards old georgetown road.

everything clear for those in the red. they're on their way to tysons and heading out to 66. nothing as far as traffic on the greenway, the toll road, and on 95 in virgia. >> thank you. put away the plug. for a leader night shows us a wireless-charging laptop. >> in tech bytes, dell brings new meaning to the wireless laptop. they have a computer that can be charged wirelessly. you place the laptop on the dock and the computer power is up. there is a wireless docking system and an external monitor. it starts at $2,000. microsoft is offering free anti virus software. it can be downloaded from their website.

it updates daily. microsoft says it will not slow down your computer. garmen is releasing its first gps phone. it comes with pre loaded north american maps plus millions of points of interests like restaurants and gas stations. it goes on sale on sunday and will cost $300. warner music has reached a deal to put its music back on youtube. there was a dispute over advertising revenue. now artists like madonna will be more prominently featured on the site. disney is looking to transform a story time for young children. they are unveiling disney digital books. there are hundreds of books. it is aimed dead children from 3

to 12. there is even a look and listen feature. it cost $80 a year. for more information, log onto the tech page at abcnews.com. those are your tech bytes. i am vinita nair. 5:22 is your time. 56 degrees. >> this is a busy time of year in the sporting world. whatever your sport, your favorite d.c. team is now in action. we will hear from stars as their teams,.

good morning, washington. the wizards (training camp. this team has high hopes and dreams. everybody is healthy, led by gilbert arenas. >> i think a lot of guys are anxious to get out there. once we get out on the floor, coach saunders and the coaching staff are ready to go. >> i thought i had a good day. i thought it picked up things pretty good. they showed a good amount of energy. >> the capitals open in boston tomorrow night. they talked about the upcoming season. they think this year could be a breakout year for washington.

>> we have the experience and we beat one of the best teams. we have to play well. >> there is a look at your sports. >> thank you. 5:26. >> linda bell joins us live from new york for business headlines. >> good morning. investors are looking at the commercial lending business. we're. cit group. citigroup and barclays are offering to arecit financing. recovery may begin on wall street today. second quarter growth will be reported this morning. economists say the report will likely show gdp contracted at a 1.2% rate. let's look at stock index futures, indicating gains on wall street today.

if you have a stranger knocking on doors, in my be a representative from freddie mac. they are now going door to door to try to help deliver borrowers in danger of losing their homes through foreclosure. the home fizzes will be focused on people that have not return letters or phone calls -- the home visits will be focused on people who of not return letters or phone calls. that is your business news. live at bloomberg headquters in new york, i am linda bell. >> it was good to see you in person yesterday. thank you for stopping by the office. >> it was wonderful to me you all. >> we will see you again next hour. 5:27. >> still ahead, a double attack on a local student. >> it makes me feel said. i thought all these people were actually my friends. >> the victim talks about the

attack. it was later posted on facebook. >> a fire makes for a dangerous situation for firefighters. i will have the story coming up. >> adam caskey live in the weather center. upper level

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>> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> welcome back. 5:31 is your time. i'm alison starling. >> and i'm doug mckelway. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes.

let's begin with adam caskey. >> we will warm up a little bit over the next few days, but only in the mid 70's. note huge temperature swings, except for tonight. i will show you the forecast in a second. temperatures are mainly in the 50-degree range. sister, 57. for today, mainly cloudy. a few peaks of sunshine. -- district, 57. tonight, and down in the 40's pretty much everywhere. a cool night, probably the coolest will see in the foreseeable future. >> we have a quiet start to wear rush hour this morning. there is some police activity on 270 at father hurley boulevard on the side of the road. beltway traffic looks great.

nothing on the southeast bass southwest freeway. green bars on 95 means traffic is moving at pace between baltimore and richmond. >> thank you. breaking news from fairfax county. a burning home in annandale has posed problems for firefighters. >> crews cannot find all of the residence on bristow drive. brianne carter is there. she has to breaking details. >> firefighters are still out here almost two hours after they received the original call. they received a call around it 3:30 this morning. they realized this was a gas-fed fire. they believe this fire started in the basement be -- the to a preliminary investigation and are trying to figure out because. they believed it quickly came up

through the house. the floor of the first floor has now been eliminated from the home, making it very dangerous for firefighters. they have been fighting this fire from the outside of the home. they have not been able to get inside the structure. investigators are continuing to see exactly what happened. we spoke to fire officials awhile ago about just how dangerous this became. >> firefighters did an exterior attacked and went inse for a little while but were not able to stay because of the gas-bed fire burning throughout the first floor. the first floor collapsed. we have to pull firefighters out. a pretty dangerous situation. >> the firefighters were looking for residents of the home. they were not able to talk to anyone at this point to find out

who lives in this home. we were able to speak with some neighbors. this say this is a group home and they believe the president moved out of this home about a week ago. fire officials are still trying to figure out if there is anyone inside. brianne carter, abc 7 news. >> thank you. the battle lines are being drawn deeper in the soand in virginia. it no less than a month for the election for governor. >> the winter depends on which poll you read. one poll puts bob mcdonnell ahead of creigh deeds if the election were held today. it is the same margin of error in a public policy poll, which has a bob mcdonnell up by apparently 5%.

it is almost within the margin of error. wildly different polls. you can ask the candidates directly through wjla.com. you have until tomorrow if you want to submit your question. then you can watch our battleground special. some people who want to save the school voucher program plan to rally on capitol hill. it offers scholarships so kids can attend private schools. the program is in danger of being eliminated. the rally will begin at 11:30 at new jersey and constitution avenues in northwest. a young victim, a brutal attack, says she continues to be victimized. she had just finished performing

with the kennedy high school pom squad when she was attacked. a vice principal was able to pull the attackers off. the assault was recorded and posted on facebook. >> they would laugh out loud, , ha, ha. it made me feel sad. i thought all these people were my friends. there were not. >> a principal said the girls wereisciplined and the incident remains under investigation. a lot 6 tomorrow that allows speed cameras at school zones and highway work zones throughout maryland. a new report finds speed cameras may be making the roads safer. the number of accidents dropped by 20% in one year. the number of traffic for a set -- traffic fatalities dropped by

39%. >> i hate speed cameras. i do not think they are fair. >> under the new program, motorists caught speeding will receive warnings in october. after that, they will be ticketed. speed cameras do seem to slow drivers down. >> there will be a massive summit today in washington. pamela brown has a preview. >> the data pros that texting while driving is the most dangerous distraction on the road. so many people do it, even in places like washington. experts are gathering today and tomorrow to tackle this issue and to try to figure a way to curb this trend. transportation officials say it is more dangerous than drunk

driving. it took nearly 6000 lives and cost half a million injuries last year. texting while driving is a growing threat. >> texting is a bad thing to do while you're driving. >> this tow truck submerged in a swimming pool. it is because a driver was not paying attention. >> i watched the tow truck crashed into the car. >> images like these are not keeping people from texting behind the wheel, especially young people. but just a few seconds with your eye off the road makes you 20 times more likely to be in an accident. speed and concentration all slow down. >> the public is sick and tired of people being distracted and causing accidents. >> ray lahood wants to ban cell phone use while driving nationwide.

he says he hopes this summit will set the stage for a nationwide ban. experts will discuss possible restrictions when it comes to texting while driving. the summit begins at 9:45 this morning. >> thank you. 5:39 right now, 56 degrees in rosslyn. still ahead, forget the et al. of the door knob. one university is putting on a romantic tryst policy. >> it is a comfortable start to our day. there is a slight chance of rain today. >> lisa baden will be back with another look at your morning commute.

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leesburg, up 58. district, 57. limited sunshine. a few peaks from time to time. upper 60's. we will warm up gradually. mid 70's by thursday and friday. we're expecting some rain on saturday. it is feeling like fall. >> ok. plan accordingly. 95, at 395, 66 has a heavier volume of traffic. a crash just reported a moment ago at georgia and eastern avenue. this is 270 @ father hurley boulevard. there was a pedestrian in need of assistance. help is on the scene. nothing is blocked. folks are curious. 270 southbound here at father

hurley boulevard. >> thank you. 57 degrees outside. 5:44. >> 7 is on your side about a recall that all toyota drivers ->( music playing )e about a - we know technology can make you more connected. but now it can make you more connected to your doctor through e-ma. st results from home. check records. change appointments. now doctors, nurses, techs, pharmacists are all digitally connected to each other. and ultimately connected to you. at kaiser permanente, we believe that if knowledge is power, shared knowledge is even more powerful. kaiser permanente. thrive.

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>> you are watching abc 7's "good morning washington," with doug mckelway, alison starling, meteorologist brian van de graaff, weather, and lisa baden, traffic. this is "good morning washington," on your side. checking our top stories. the death toll is rising from a tsunami that swept ashore on the samoan islands. at least 82 people have been killed. giant waves were spawned by a 8.3-magniture earthquake.

>> being overweight at middle- age can shorten the life span of a woman. women obese are almost 80% more likely to have multiple health problems by the time they reach age 70. >> toyota is recalling millions of vehicles because of formats that can lead to a crash. it applies to severaloyota toexus motl predict several toyota and lexus models. 5:48. adams says it will be cooler tomorrow. >> looking forward to that. >> me, too, doug. i get excited in these transitional seasons when we start to feel the changes.

dammar, 10 degrees cooler than today. right now, but 55 in gaithersburg. la plata, 55. we're in the 50's across the board. we do have some upper level energy that is giving us a considerable cloud cover. we are expecting more clout than sunshine today. there will be some breaks in the clouds throughout the day. we do anticipate a fair amount of gray today. a few rainshowers cannot be ruled out. one or two sprinkles may make over into the metro area. near 70 today. the average high is 74 today. we cannot rule out a light sprinkle. their real rain will, on saturday. a lot of sunshine, near 70 tomorrow.

looking good on call saturday. >> i am thinking about everything i needed to tell you. in virginia, not much. in virginia, 395, 66, 95, all good. there was some activity on the shoulder on 270, but no flashing lights anymore. the slow down is starting to ease. there was a minor crash at farmington road. authorities are on the way. traffic is getting by. back inside. >> have you seen this diamond? >> the hope one? >> no, it has just been found. it is amazing. it is a 507-carat diamond. it is the size of a chicken leg. it weighs quarter of a pound. -- is the size of a chicken

egg. no one has been able to estimate its worth. >> i am doing neck exercises so i can wear it. >> would you wear something that big on your finger? >> i would figure out a way. >> it would get some attention. >> i would carry a wheelbarrow around. >> very funny. it is a quick exit for kathy ireland. she failed to wow the judges. she and her partner were eliminated in a week two "dancing with the stars." she did win a lot of money for some charities. she is donating all hover of her "dancing" money to charities. >> wow.

>> all great charities. she looks great. >> i think she looks better these days. >> like a fine wine. correct very graceful. >> tufts university is laying down the law when you're there with a significant other. no sexual activity in dorm rooms, at least not while a roommate is at present. it puts them in a comfon uncomfortable third wheel position. no word on what happens if you break the rule. it is difficult to handle. it is awkward. >> to must be some incidents

that went on. >> i am sure. let's take a quick break. female announcer: from jennifer, get 40% off this bonded leather sofa, just $299, with very cool styling and so affordable. and at 40% off, it's just $299. from jennifer. you don't have to spend a lot to have good taste. progresso. we have a bit of a bad connection. oh hang on. is that better? much better. we love your weight watchers endorsed soups but my husband looks the way he did 20 years ago. well that's great. but he's wearing the clothes he wore 20 years ago too. oh.... i know the neighbors are talking about him. i'm sorry, can you hang on.

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one thing all lawmakers agree on is there needs to be some changes to the health-care industry. >> it is what being chged that is dividing the health-care

overhaul. it looks like liberal democrats will have to give up on vic public option. >> supporters of the so-called public option suffered serious setbacks in the senate after two amendments were defeated. >> it is nothing more than a trojan horse. >> they spent hours debating the amendments. >> there is no question the public option would improve this good bill. >> 8 ayes, 15 nays. >> matt baucus who was angered many with his centrist proposal that does not include a public option -- he is now unveiling a new advertisement. >> the choice of a public

option, i have to ask, whose side are you on? >> another group is going after republicans in their advertisements. >> whether it is the insurance companies, the case against health insurance reform gets down to one word. >> republicans are against the public option, arguing it would run public companies out of business. there is a lot more still to come. >> coming up, the scrub down on metro to keep you from getting the swine flu. >> experts will gather today to talk about how to keep you say for behind the wheel. >> lisa baden will help you navigate your wednesday morning commute. just as we promise 100% fresh produce...

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get in touch with your new cfo. pnc. leading the way. good morning, everybody. we are live on the scene of some breaking news. a fire at a fairfax county home. >> the death toll is rising after a tsunami. >> they say it is as dangerous as drunk driving, and more people do it. there will be a s