here's a look at some of the town's. belchertown, massachusetts, roachtown, illinois. and a place called the monkees eyebrow, in kentucky. >> that's my favorite. there's another hour of news starting right now. >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> a two-alarm fire being called suspicious, by investigators. we will tell you what happened overnight in dupont circle. >> lawmakers could expand gambling in maryland. we are live in annapolis with the latest. >> young athletes find inspiration at the london olympics. we will share tips for paying for your child's sports streak without going broke in the process. good morning, washington. i am cynne simpson. >> i am steve chenevey.

let's check in with adam caskey for the latest on the potential of bad weather. it's really coming down on the highway. >> 270 shows the downpours. live super doppler 7 radar in the belfort furniture weather center, along and west of 95 as well as southern maryland and there's heavy rain in king george county moving across the potomac into charles and st. mary's counties. the heaviest rain along 270 from clarksburg through the potomac, bethesda rockville, moving off to the northeast. showers and storms will have some movement today. flash floods are concerned but not as much as the past few days. the first round of rain is this morning. the second this afternoon and evening. later on today and tonight it could be strong to severe. >> metro rail reporting delays because of an earlier

malfunctioned at the van dorn station. we have had accidents on 66 off to the west because of the rain. 123 near hunter mill road, closed because of an accident. wires down. we will take you to see how hard it's coming down. that is beginning to collect. hydroplaning is possible. allow yourself extra time. get there safely. now back to news. >> new this morning, in dupont circle, fire investigators are looking into what they're calling a suspicious fire. this is at the hampton court apartments in the 2000 block of new hampshire avenue nw. a door to a third floor apartment caught fire. two or apartments were affected. everyone has been allowed to re- enter their homes. >> following a developing store from afghanistan. the u.s. military says 3 american troops were shot and killed by a man wearing an afghan army uniform. this happened in helmand

province. it's the third coalition soldier killing this week. the defense department says that an uncertain detonate a suicide bomber vest on wednesday killing two u.s. soldiers. they were identified as major thomas kennedy of west point new york. command sergeant kevin griffin from laramie wyoming. >> on the first day of the special session in maryland, a senate committee moved a bill making a pit bull owners responsible for their dog bites and a new casino bill to a vote. brianne carter is live this morning in annapolis with the latest on the gambling showdown in maryland. >> things are moving rather quickly. yesterday the senate committee gave approval to the gambling legislation. today the full senate will take up this measure. if it is passed, then it will move to the house. that's where many have thought there could be more debate. back-and-forth discussion on whether to expand gambling to include table games like poker and whether to add a sixth

casino site in prince george's county likely at the national harbor. supporters say this is long needed, that the revenue that could be collected is something the state needs. but opponents say this is not the right way to get additional revenue. they don't believe adding another casino is the right thing to do. maryland governor martin o'malley says this is the step they need to take. >> we have the ability to create jobs by getting more gaming in our state. >> opponents say if jobs is the focus, perhaps they could have a discussion specifically about jobs and not about expanding gambling. this is already moving quickly. the senate committee already approving this and the senate expected to take it up and passed the legislation. and in most of the house. if it passes the house, it will head to the voters in november. if lawmakers hope to have the

special session wrapped up by. tuesday by brianne carter, abc 7 news. >> the senate also could vote today on the bill addressing pit bull attacks and who is at fault. the senate committee approved a bill making dog owners liable for all dog bites. this is after maryland court of appeals ruling that declared pit bulls a dangerous breed and made landlords and other property owners liable for dog attacks. >> president obama gets off the campaign trail after swinging through colorado. he will welcome muslims to the white house tonight to celebrate the holy month of ramadan. there will be an evening dinner. >> republican presidential candidate mitt romney is preparing to launch a battleground state bus tour beginning tomorrow in virginia. he is scheduled to appear in your folks in the morning, then to shop at the hearse pavilion in manassas in the afternoon. -- in norfolk in the morning.

robert griffin iii had his nfl debut. >> they want7-6on 7-6 in the opener against the buffalo bills. >> good morning. it was not all pretty, but a win is a win. robert griffin iii and put out some pretty good numbers for his first nfl game. he went 3-0 in his first series of handoffs. then he changed with back-to- back passes to wide receiver pierre garcon. the pair connected on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the redskins believe in the game. robert griffin completed four of 6 passes for total of 70 yards last night. redskins fans who saw the game last night say they see an improvement. >> i am psyched after all the

years of hardship and paint. gretzky may redefine the position. a new breed of quarterback. we are the first ones to have him, so we are excited. >> coach mike shanahan said he was happy with the team's performance overall. what did ourrg3 think about his performance. we will hear from him at 6:30. >> thanks so much. 6:07. >> the ravens won the battle of the birds in atlanta. you saw the game last night on abc 7. the falcons gave atlanta the early lead. but then baltimore won the game, 31-17. >> 74 degrees. still ahead, details on homeowner mortgage protection. >> and howard road kill became part of some lane [ crows cawing

] [ male announcer ] strange things happen in the black forest. [ metallic bell toll ] [ car speeding down the road lightning strikes ] where things aren't always what they seem. [ wolves howling ] because thrills hide in the shadows just waiting at every turn. [ coaster whoosh ] brave the black forest on verbolten. the all-new multi-launch coaster. only at busch gardens.

>> hi, we're at the montgomery county fare. -- fair. >> we will be here from the 10th through the 18th. >> good morning, washington. >> 6:00 in on this friday. a warning for metro riders. add extra time to your weekend commute. red line trains will not run between kroger and friendship heights from 10:00 tonight until closing on sunday. there will be shuttle buses. orange line trains single- tracking between foggy bottom and clarendon. also between stadium-armory and cheverly. trains single-tracking between foggy bottom and arlington cemetery.

green line trains single- tracking between fort totten and prince george's plaza. a pennsylvania road crew failed to clear some road kill before they started striping the street. not pretty. >> this was in central downtown pennsylvania, downtown philadelphia. they did not have the truck to clear the road of debris and writing ahead of the paint truck, so it was too late. -- riding ahead of the pain truck. >> you just have to keep going with those types of trucks painting. we have heavy rainfall at the american legion bridge. look at the downpour along the beltway. i will zoom in on the radar.

heavy rainfall especially in montgomery county, then king george county, crossing the potomac into charles county. 270, rockville towards gaithersburg and laytonsville and olney into wheaton is where we have the heaviest rains fall. we expect another round at later on today and those could be strong to severe. the one redeeming factor is that they are actually moving today. seven the nine and the district, 68 in manchester. the second round of rain is this afternoon and evening. that's when we could have damaging wind, which will be the biggest threat later on today. highs in the mid to upper 80s this afternoon. sunny breaks during lunchtime. the more sunny breaks, the higher the threat for thunderstorms later this afternoon. lisa baden now. >> it has been busy. the rain has created challenges

on the highway including ponding and puddling. visibility stinks'. 66 in particular, many accidents. in gainesville, 29 is closed southbound between 55 and lived deprive -- and 15 because the mount pleasant baptist church is on fire. metro rail is on normal service systemwide. i have two pictures. first, the rain subsiding just a little at the american legion bridge. in virginia, slowing down between edsall road and king street. >> that's a mess. still ahead nasa suffers a failed mission. >> and a recent uptick in violent crimes in arlington as

police searching for suspects and neighbors debating whether there is cause for concern. >> cutting costs the right way to support your child sp

>> you are watching abc 7's "good morning washington" with cynne simpson and steve chenevey. this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> not quite to the ending nasa hoped for. one lender morpheus crested during a test at kennedy space center. it is destroyed. nasa officials gathering information to learn more about what went wrong. nasa hopes morpheus will someday builde able to deliver cargo to

the moon. the mars rover is tweeting picture is of itself. it is continuing to send images of the red planet. the latest pictures show mountains and other rough terrain in a 956-mile crater. >> tropical storm ernesto blamed for two deaths in mexico, to build fishermen. many citizens refused to evacuate before landfall. we're hearing from the father of the only u.s. prisoner of war from the afghan war. he was captured in 2009. president obama called his parents on memorial day weekend after they expressed frustration if the u.s. government is not doing enough. robert byrd all's father says the president posing colorado reassured him that military leaders are doing everything in

their power. >> checking was around the region arlington police say residents want to know if a recent uptick in violent crime is part of a trend. this is after a man was critically injured when he was stabbed outside a restaurant on wilson boulevard in clarendon. police are searching for his attacker. there have been four murders in arlington in the past two weeks. some residents don't believe the crime rate is getting worse. >> i expect it will stay low. >> it is concerning, but it's beyond our control. >> arlington police are concerned about the recent wave of violent crimes, but they don't believe the crimes are connected. >> the thick police need help finding a person or persons trying to solicit young boys. police say a man in april was distributing flyers at american university park offer tutoring services to young boys. this past monday somebody complained about a man in mount pleasant with child pornography.

three boys on tuesday told police a naked man tried to lure them into a locker room at wilson high school. on wednesday a boy said the man followed him and offered him a ride as he walked along 36th street. resentencing set for today for the first of 13 men and women convicted of smuggling millions of dollars of drugs into the united states. five defendants will be sentenced today in federal court in and alexandra, facing a possible prinprison sentence. the first of them is from africa. they say they were just casual users and are asking for minimal or no jail sentences. rex adam caskey is back with us. the rain is coming down hard. very heavy rainfall in warrenton. bethesda has had over 0.6 inches and over half inch in rockville.

still raining in those locations. the second round is this afternoon, which could include gusty, damaging wind. at least today we have a upper level wind pushing the storm. otherwise they don't move and you get too much of a good thing, flash floods. live super doppler 7 in motion right now, you can see areas of rain moving to the north northeast. the heaviest rain in the upper montgomery county, eastern montgomery county, moving into howard county. columbia clarksville laytonsville olney, aspen hill moving into college park, and leading northeast d.c. over southern maryland, the knights bridge from king george through dahlgren, that's where we have heavy rainfall. light rain in the plate and waldorf and southern prince george's county. 79 right now on the district, 70

a dulles airport 68 in manchester. wide-ranging temperatures on this friday morning. highs will be in the mid to upper 80s. showers and storms in two rounds. the first being this morning. a break in the action by lunchtime with some sunshine. the more sunshine you get today, your likelihood of strong storms in the afternoon. the son sunday stabilizes our atmosphere. strong storms for the drive home and into the night some could be severe with gusty wind. morning rain on saturday. less humid and comfortable with sunny skies on sunday. >> in montgomery county, dealing with wet pavement and road spray. this is near 355 and pooks hill road just inside the beltway. in virginia, and headlights are northbound on 95 words and rainy. out of newington to the pentagon, lanes are open. in the district, there's wet

pavement, so be careful coming across the potomac river, the anacostia, heading to capitol hill. metro rail is on normal service. back to you. >> thank you. new homeowner protections in the works. >> looks like you'll have to dig deeper to find your dream wedding. sunny hostin explains. >> topping america's money, homeowners can look forward to new mortgage protections. government owes the consumer financial protection bureau wants new rules requiring lenders to provide clear billing statements and corn borers of rate hikes and correct errors quickly. the government will not prosecute goldman sachs in connection with subprime mortgage securities that helped trigger the 2008 financial meltdown. a fraud investigation did not turn up enough evidence to make a criminal case. domestic airlines are showing their best on-time numbers since the government started keeping track. 84% of flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule in the first

half of the year and there were fewer lost backs. couples are facing sticker shock for the big day with the average cost of a wedding just under $27,000 and does not include the honeymoon.

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> finally, a year after the world cup, redemption for the u.s. women's soccer team in

london. president obama gave a shout out to the gold medal winners tweeting his congratulations. five huge saves. from saves. the u.s. final score was 2-1 sweet revenge for team usa i. an olympic record, 80,203 fans packed with this stadium for the gold medal game. and usain bolt on the track became the first man tow win a gold medal in the 100 meters and 200 meter. he said a record on twitter with 80,000 tweets per minute. the u.s. has 90 overall medals.

china is in second place with 80, followed by russia, great britain, and germany. summer olympics have a lot of youngsters now interested in swimming and gymnastics and other sports. >> you get inspired watching the games. but sports for kids can cost parents a lot of cash. now, how to save money. >> a lot of youngsters are starry eyed with dreams of olympic glory. it can take a financial toll on a family as lessons, travel, and equipment can add up. if your budding olympian wants to dive into a sport, take things slow at the start. >> it's good to give your kids a broad experience, but you don't want to overdo it. exports equipment can be a waste of cash because children can

lose interest. >> get something used, first, at least for the first couple seasons until the kids really make a and commitment to this. >> get things new perhaps at the end of a season when prices are lower. a car point is a cost savings and time saving most. for multiple kids, ask if there's a discount for families at your local pool or gym. >> we still have another half- hour of news. the weather is coming down especially in parts of montgomery county and could affect your commute. 395 at duke street in virginia as well. >> leave extra time. and how lawmakers in annapolis are moving a bill male announcer

] in 1996 president clinton and a bi-partisan congress helped end welfare as we know it, by requiring work for welfare. but on july 12th president obama quietly announced a plan to gut welfare reform by dropping work requirements. under obama's plan you wouldn't have to work, and wouldn't have to train for a job -- they just send you your welfare check. and welfare to work goes back to being plain, old welfare. mitt romney will restore the work requirement, because it works. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

>> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> straight ahead at 6:30 -- some rain moving through the area and affecting the morning commute. >> the community gathers today to say goodbye to say goodbye to those killed in the temple shooting. >> friday to you and let's check in with adam caskey. >> you will need your umbrella more than once today. you'll meet this morning and this evening. the on the lookout for some stronger and severe thunderstorms later. it is raining almost everywhere. some heavy rainfall is moving through and in montgomery county, there is just like rain.

round one this morning and around two this afternoon and a little bit of sunshine in between. >> as a result of the weather hundreds of pepco customers are waking up without power this morning. >> that does not even mention the hundreds of thousands of people lost power last month and are still paying for it. >> the timing could not have been any better or worse. in silver spring, we're getting heavy rain this morning. once again residents are waking up with no power. about 500 customers are without power in montgomery county right now. part of the problem in aspen hill is a big utility regulators who decided to hold a hearing on whether power company should be allowed to charge customers

during the first 24 hours of a major outage. it is an energy efficiency program. they want to limit the energy surcharge to the first 24 hours. opponents argued that customers without power for a day are forced to power -- pay for power they are not getting. about 500 people are without power this morning. >> quite a mess. the time the 6:33 so let's hit the roads. >> here is lisa baden. >> we have had a series of accidents sprinkled along 66. 95 between richmond and baltimore travel time is still decent. this is the beltway in montgomery county with the normal backup.

we are open along 270 and metrorail is on normal service. . >> 6:33 and authorities are investigating what they say is a suspicious fire in northwest d.c. it happened in an apartment building at the hampton court apartments. it caught fire earlier this morning. two apartments were affected and there were no injuries. some residents were being evacuated but they have been allowed to come back again. tragic new developments related to the wednesday fire in capitol heights that killed a 5-year-old girl. the uncle died yesterday. he was suffering from severe burns and his niece was rescued -- rescued from the burning home but she died hours later than the boy's father -- the girl's father remains in critical condition. it was an overlooked -- overloaded power strip that sparked the fire about maryland lawmakers are heading back to annapolis in a special assembly

session and they are voting to expand gambling. brianne carter is live with more. >> expect another big day in annapolis as the senate gets back to work taking up that measure that was passed by a senate committee yesterday to expand gambling. then it could move into the house. that's where it could face a tough fight. it is day two of debate in the maryland state senate as lawmakers continued to consider the possibility of expanded gambling in the state. the senate committee passed the development of a new casino and national harbour. >> we have the ability to create jobs by getting this of dimming regimen right in our state. >> it would be on the november ballot. opponents say they hope it does

not get that far. >> casinos bring an element that i'm not sure the county needs. >> that has been the argument and many say this is about jobs. they don't want to talk about expanded gambling. it passed the senate committee and the full senate will discuss it today and then it will move into the house and of the house passes it, it will end up in the ballot in november and i hope to wrap everything up by tuesday night. >> maryland lawmakers also could vote today on a bill to find who was responsible for dog attacked three senate could vote on a bill that would make all daube -- old dog owners liable regardless of the breed of dog. this follows up on the maryland court of appeals ruling that designates pickles as a dangerous breed. -- pit bulls as a dangerous

breed. >> attorney general eric holder will be among the mourners at the service held at a nearby high school after the sikh shooting. the son of the temples late president had words for the victims and the command. >> they are living the american dream. the other person was a cat or. at the end of the day he should always be remembered as a coward. >> the suspected gunmen shot himself in the head after a police officer shot him in the stomach. the motive for the rampage is still not clear. 6:37 now and we're looking at 70 degrees on this friday and still ahead -- why lance armstrong is heading back to court today. >> we will hear f

[ crows cawing ] [ male announcer ] strange things happen in the black forest. [ metallic bell toll ] [ car speedi down the road lightning strikes ] where things aren't always what they seem. [ wolves howling ] because thrills hide in the shadows just waiting at every turn. [ coaster whoosh ] brave the black forest on verbolten. the all-new multi-launch coaster. only at busch gardens.

you're on timeout leo! some things won't last 25 years. ah! woof. some things will. save up to 20% on an ikea kitchen. >> no matter how you slice it, there is an exciting preseason to the redskins'. >> robert griffin iii had a good starting and the redskins won 7- 6. jummy olabanji is live with how

rg3 rated his performance. >> he thinks he did pretty well he did not get sacked and he did have one fumble but no interceptions. he went to handoffs and then he decided to show his arm strength with back-to-back passes. he connected on a 20-yard td pass. griffin succeeded in four of his six passes with 46 yards. >> i played football for a long time and the game has changed. the talent level has changed and it was fun to get out there and run around. it is something i will not forget. >> rg3 was taken out of the game after the touchdown pass and was replaced by the other rg on the

team rex grossman. they play next week in chicago. >> thanks so much. it was fun to watch. it was good in the first quarter. >> we want to see that continue. i am hopeful that things won't fall off. >> are getting some changes out there with traffic and weather. >> it is an active friday and have been focusing on friday all week long with our forecast. we have morning rain and we're expecting afternoon storms and some could be severe. widespread soaking rain this morning across the area. it is heaviest down in southern maryland, east of 301. it is moving off to the north east and that will clear parts

of northern calvert county. we are in the seven deposit right now. we are on our way to about 89 degrees. we will have a break in the action by lunch time and a little bit of sunshine. we will have more storms this afternoon and evening and weekend looks comfortable. sunday as lower humidity and sunshine. >> it does not look too comfortable but here's a picture of the geico traffic center camera of delays on 270. it was coming down hard earlier but no accidents fortunately on 270. 26 in mount airy is closed. they have been working a complex accident. there's a large structure fire in mount pleasant/gainesville virginia. 29 is closed. it has been hard pressed in virginia on 395 northbound where lanes are open coming out of springfield.

the delays will carry you to about king street. all the railways are reporting normal service. >> the time the 6:44 and we will pick our final winner of the three montgomery if a county fair tickets. >> plus, we will tell you about what was f

[ byer ] jason bourne was the tip of the iceberg. what are you gonna do? ♪ ♪ [ cross ] i'm gonna finish what he started. [ dita ] it's aaron cross. consider the magnitude of what we're facing. let's go. [ male announcer ] "the bourne legacy." rated pg-13. >> a disturbing discovery and russia by some members of an islamic sect. dozens of children and adults were found last week living in an eight-level underground bunker. many of them had been hidden away for almost 10 years.

a state-run russian newspaper said some of the children were born underground and had never seen daylight. 19 of the 27 children found replaced and institutional care and police are investigating. >> lance armstrong will be in federal court in texas. the anti-dumping agency says of the biker used steroids from 1999-2005 and armstrong denies the allegations. laura's will argue -- lawyers will argue that the process is unfair. >> and people find the strangest places to sleep and not this is an x-ray with a norwegian sleeping. no one could find him and he fell asleep on the baggage belt. he traveled 50 minister way

secure baggage area before he was spotted because of the x-ray machine. >> wow. >> the arlington county fair is officially under way and started wednesday night and i was there last night to kick things off officially. it is the 36 annual arlington fair which continues through sunday. at the thomas jefferson community center. it is right off of route 50. the fair is open from 5:00 until 10:00 p.m. today. it has rights food, and indoor exhibits and that includes raising piglets. -- racing piglets. >> we will see some good weather to complement that. >> today is not a good day for good weather. we will have areas of rain this morning and showers again this afternoon and into the evening. we have rain and you can see it is pretty widespread.

it stretches from the potomac highlands down to the chesapeake bay. it is moving to the north-north east and we will see a bit of a break and parts of fairfax county and even in montgomery county. look at the heavy showers which is a line stretching from the benedict bridge area all the way south across the potomac into the northern neck of virginia. we are seeing some of that heavy rain pushing north. it is arrived -- it is right along route 5 in st. mary's county. we have round one of rain this morning and ground to will be off to our west. it is causing storms in ohio and parts of kentucky. that will have as later this afternoon and this evening. between that time in the midday, we will have a break in the action.

we could actually squeeze in some sunshine. 79 at dulles airport 68 in winchester and 75 in frederick. sunny breaks in the midday and the more sun you get the higher your chances are for stronger storms. look at sunday, sunny, lower humidity and in the 80's. >> the blue and yellow line customers are exploring -- are experiencing delays outside of national airport. they were looking for a collision at colesville -- at connecticut ave. the outer loop are the headlights. it does not look too bad to get to the mormon temple. you will find a wet pavement around the region. but no accidents. >> 6:50 and it is time to

announce last winner of the montgomery county fair tickets. they also get $25 to spend on food this morning. >> congratulations to our winner from silver spring. we will get you some sunshine at some point in the next few days. we will be out there live on monday morning. come hangout. >> 6:51 and 69 degrees and we will have a live roundup of our top stories. >> everything you need to know before you head out the door

>> let's get things started with john gonzales. >> on a morning when 600 pepco customers are without power currently, the public service commission has decided to hold a special hearing next month on whether power companies should be allowed to charge customers the first 24 hours during a major outage. opponents of a recent surcharge will say it is not fair that customers are forced to pay for something they are not getting. >> the washington redskins won their first preseason game by beating the buffalo bills' 7-6

and robert griffin iii completed 4 of 6 passes for 76 yards and threw a touchdown pass. the redskins play next saturday night in chicago. >> here's a look at things you need to know -- >> metro track worker impacter weekend trip -- travel. the interstate community council holds -- holds its annual event for school dress and for needy children to get new clothes. >> also, mitt romney swings into virginia tomorrow with stops in norfolk and manassas. president obama will launch a

new advertisements whether mitt romney pay any income tax. >> the nationals had a shut out last night. here is lisa baden. >> keep your headlights on and your pays down and you will make a just fine this morning. >> watch for rain this morning which is around one and by lunchtime some sunshine and this afternoon and evening and into early saturday, thunderstorms some of which could be severe. the highs today will be in the mid to upper 80's. looking to the weekend, we will start saturday rather soggy and by the afternoon on sunday, there will be less and humidity with bright sunshine. >> that's a nice way to end up the weekend. >> for

[ crows cawing ] [ male announcer ] strange things happen in the black forest. [ metallic bell toll ] [ car speeding down the road lightning strikes ] where things aren't always what they seem. [ wolves howling ] because thrills hide in the shadows just waiting at every turn. [ coaster whoosh ] brave the black forest on verbolten. the all-new multi-lalaunch coaster. only at busch gardens.

you're on timeout leo! some things won't last 25 years. ah! woof. someme things will. save up to 20% on an ikea kitchen.