death. welcome to this wednesday, may 4th, 2011. a live look outside right now. 52 degrees. much, much chillier than it was yesterday. what a big difference. the rains came yesterday and left a chilly morning. tom is here to tell us what this all means. felt like summer yesterday. what happened, tom? >> we hit the 80s. now it's down into the 40s many locations west and north of washington. we have had waves of rain coming through since last evening and continue to see that through the region on this wednesday morning. right now radar showing a little bit of thunder around fredericksburg as well as the eastern shore near easton. where you see the yellow is heavier rain falling in the shenandoah valley and the border there with virginia and west virginia. we are getting a break from the rain telephone rarely. getting some more moderate rain as well south and east of

fredericksburg. and waves of rain yet to come through throughout the morning. you'll need an umbrella and jacket. near 50 in washington. and in the nearby suburbs just near 50 degrees in prince george's county. arlington, fairfax, dipped into the 40s. 40s west and north. the front just crossing the bay. east of there it's in the six. low clouds over washington right now. and temperatures will hold steady in the 50s throughout the rest of the morning and into the afternoon we may get up to 60 or so by early to midafternoon. between now and then, though, occasional showers and a blustery northwest wind. we'll begin to dry out late this afternoon. overnight, changes on the way. night planner at 5:11. how is traffic, jerry? could be challenging on the wet roads. from frederick down, good news, no early accidents. let's try and keep it that way for a while, shall we? northern virginia from the west,

i-66. no concerns. a lot of road spray, slick roads. into town, northeast, kennel worth avenue, light volume of traffic so far from the maryland direct line headed down to east capital street. good to go as we get going so far. metro, vre, marc, no delays >> jerry thanks very much. breaking news out of maryland this morning. firefighters are investigating a house explosion in the 11,000 block of ashley drive. assistant fire chief scott graham is on the telephone right now. he can tell us what the situation is right there on ashley drive. chief, thanks so much for joining us. >> good morning, joe. >> good morning. >> just after 3:00 this morning montgomery county fire and rescue service was called to 11200 block of ashley drive in the rockville area, montgomery county. the first arriving unit found a single family rancher style home that was completely destroyed.

there was debris within 50 yards of the home in any direction. they found two adult patients, one adult male and one adult female, apparently who were in the home at the time of the explosion. they were on the exterior of the home when we arrived. those patients were treated and traps ported to a local burn facility with serious but nonlife-threatening injuries. we're interviewing those patients now at the hospital as well as some of the neighbors as to what might have led up to the event this morning. there was moderate damage done to the homes adjacent to the actual house. montgomery county fire explosion investigators are working with washington gas and pepco and they'll be working here throughout the morning to determine the exact origin and cause of this explosion. >> well, what are the immediate indications at this point? is there a smell of gas? has the gas been turned off at this stage? >> well, yes, we have secured

all the utilities to not only the house where the incident occurred but some of the adjacent house. we have secured all utilities, gas and electric, as a precaution. we're not going to speculate at this time as to what exactly caused the explosion. >> chief, did you have to make any evacuations in that neighborhood as a result of this while the utility companies investigate? >> well, as a result of the explosion, most of the neighbors were up and out anyway. we've had some people tell us it was heard within about two miles of the scene. and the neighbors were out of their homes. we did awaken at a few just to make sure we take readings inside the homes. we secured the homes we were concerned with, probably two or three north, two or three south and across the street from the actual incident itself. but the power in the block has been shut down. we're relying on our utility companies to help us bring that

back up as it's safe. >> do you know whether the two victims were able to get out of the debris themselves or were they blown from the site of the home, do you know? >> well, they were blown out of the home. but they did end up in some of the debris. our first arriving fire rescue personnel were able to extricate them from the debris and get them to an area of refuse aoupbl where they were treated by paramedics. >> assistant chief scott graham. thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. u.s. security remains on high alert this morning following the killing of al qaeda leader osama bin laden. today lawmakers from across the country will hold a home land security hearing on mass transit systems. u.s. officials say they have seen no credible intelligence of any terror plot that could be in retaliation for the killing. still they warn mass transit systems in major cities remain attractive targets >> it's still unclear as to

whether pictures that prove his death will be released. cia director leon panetta said a photo would be presented to the public. however, the white house will have the final say. white house officials say it's up for debate because of the sensitive nature of the photos. it took a team of navy s.e.a.l.s to take down the al qaeda leader. originally they said bin laden was armed and used his wife as a human shield. now the white house is clarifying that statement. >> bin laden's wife rushed the assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed. bin laden was then shot and killed. he was not armed. >> white house officials say that there were 17 or 18 people inside the compound at the time of the raid. many of them were armed. there was a firefight but so far

officials have not said mr. gunfire brought down the blackhawk helicopter that crashed during the operation. >> we're also learning more about the interrogations that helped track down osama bin laden. and there's debate over the techniques used to get that information. peter king told nbc news that the information came from so-called enhanced interrogation techniques that included water brooding. khalid shaikh mohammed was reportedly waterboarded some 183 times. conservatives have argued for years that such techniques aren't necessary to obtain information. president obama, however, said in the past, that some tactics are torture and unamerican. this morning president obama will attend an observance of new york's ground zero. mr. obama also invited former president george w. bush to attend today's service. he was of course in office when

the attacks occurred. mr. bush's spokesman, however, said while he appreciates the offer he has chosen to remain out of the spotlight during his post-presidency >> osama bin laden's killing seems to have put president obama in a more favorable light. 32% say they feel a lot more confident for obama as commander in chief. an overwhelming 98% said the u.s. military deserves a great deal of credit for that successful operation >> it's now 5:08, 50 degrees. ahead, flooding ravaging much of the country. this morning new dramatic video of an elderly woman rescued from fast-moving water. and we're getting some rain around the region.

good morning. final time for weather and traffic on the ones. 5:11 this wednesday morning. waves of rain coming across west virginia, virginia, and the district. they will continue through the morning. we should dry out this afternoon. big change in temperatures. it has dropped over 30 degrees in many locations overnight. 40s west of washington. points south and east, temperatures continue to drop to the 50s and six. not much rain in washington now. another wave coming in the metro area shortly. waves of rain into early afternoon. then late this afternoon, highs

near 60. we'll begin to dry out. and clearing out tonight. by this time tomorrow morning in the low and mid-40s. so a chilly start to thursday. 5:21. how is traffic, jerry? >> over the american legion bridge, outside the outer loop. a little on the slow side as well it should be. take it cautiously. between tyson's corner and the 270 spur, no accidents or incidents. pop on over, beltway south of town. outer loop. look at that road spray. a bit of a challenge. eisenhower avenue, inner loop, no accidents. as we check the rails, good news all the way around. metro, vre, marc, no delays. i'm sorry. in southeast, south capital street, atlantic avenue okay. now to the rails. a little bit too eager this morning. no delays. joe, eun. >> mr. eager, thank you very much, jerry. 5:12, 52 degrees. ahead on news 4 today, major changes coming to the way a lot of students get to school. why some stay at home moms

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5:15 is the time. prince charles will meet with president obama here in washington. he began his three-day visit yesterday. he planted a good at common good city farm on capitol hill, a small farm that grows produce for low-income residents. and he toured the u.s. supreme court. today he is slated to tkhrefr a speech at georgetown university at a conference on the future of food. he's also expected to visit the president at the white house. montgomery county will begin a controversial federal immigration enforcement program in the fall. u.s. immigration and customs officials told the county its secure communities program will be in tuesday, september 27th. the "washington post" reports fingerprint data from local police will be sent to federal immigration officials.

some advocates for crime victims say they're concerned that some victims and witnesses won't call for help or report crimes if they are undocumented. starting next year, you will have to pay a five cent bag tax in montgomery county. they imposed an extra fee on all retail establishments, not just stores that sell food. it applies to both paper and plastic bags. it's expected to reduce litter and generate a million dollars a year. part of that money will fund free reusable bags for the poor and elderly. the move mirrors a similar measure in the district. 5:17 is the time. d.c. students will test new metro i.d. cards similar to smartrip cards. about 500 students at the school without walls will test the dc-1 card. unlike the pass the students use now, it will have a chip that tracks usage. and you can disengage the card during nonschool hours. it would expand to other schools

in the fall. could lindsay lohan's luck be change something she has spent more time on court than on set. her next appearance in front of a judge could be a turning point. the so-called necklace theft case against lohan has been transferred from los angeles county district's office to city office. it was reduced to a misdemeanor. the city attorney often handles those case. a source close to lohan says she wants to move to a plea deal consistent with that >> new concerns about online data now have congress's attention. this week came the news that as many as 100 million sony playstation online gamers had their personal information stole by hackers. they would hold a hearing about the thraeft of data threat to american consumers. sony has been hacked twice in the last two months. customers have had passwords and other information stolen.

why two missouri national guardsmen are being called heroes. they saved an elderly woman from a powerful flood. the 93-year-old woman's car became trapped on a highway covered with water rushing from a swollen river. the guardsmen used a tow rope to bring the woman to safety. and missouri is just one midwest state dealing with major flooding right now. days of heavy rain left communities near rivers inundated with water. nbc news kirk gregory has a closer now at some of the areas hardest hit. massive flooding continues across six states. in parts of western tennessee, water as far as the eye and helicopter can see. the state's governor has requested $10 million in federal emergency funding. >> we are prepared to respond as quickly as possible. >> the mississippi river has already breached its banks. this is memphis, where rising

floodwaters are threatening neighborhoods. on the other side of the mighty mississippi, large parts of eastern arkansas are under water, including dozens of highways and roads. experts are trying to minimize damage. the army corps of engineers blew up this levee near kay row, illinois, sacrificing 130,000 acres of land and 100 homes to save the community. concerns continue to rise downstream. city officials in vicksburg, mississippi warning residents. >> this flood is going to be historic based on the prediction of the national weather service. >> and casinos aren't gambling with mother nature's destructive power. money is being taken away for safekeeping. many casino operators expect to be shut down by flooding for at least three weeks. curt gregory, nbc news. >> well, there really is wild weather there in the midwest. indeed. we had rain overnight. any flooding in our area? tom is over by the green wall,

the big weather wall to tell us more about our forecast. >> really, really big map. >> yes. this morning we don't have any flooding threats but we have waves of rain coming through, and we're getting heavier rain where you see bands of orange and yellow. right now that is moving into the northern neck of virginia. also getting more moderate to heavier rains in the panhandle of west virginia, shenandoah valley. heaviest east of fredericksburg. those continuing to advance north and east. right now getting light rain again in washington after a brief respite. waves of showers coming through from time to time through the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. right now temperatures much cooler. they plummeted kwroef night. down into the 40s west and north of washington. near 50 in washington and prince george's. arlington, fairfax, montgomery counties. down into the 40s now from yesterday's 80s. it's beginning to drop in southern maryland. lower eastern shore, the front is just now coming through

there. those temperatures will continue to drop as well. there's the cloudy sky and the light rain falling over jefferson memorial. sunrise, 6:07. occasional showers early afternoon. wind gusting to 25 miles per hour. highs today near 60. midafternoon. by then we'll be drying out. gusty northwest wind overnight tonight. by dawn tomorrow as we clear out, into the low 40s tomorrow morning. sunny thursday, upper 60s. a blustery wind. partly cloudy friday. might get an afternoon shower. right now for mothers day, sunday, might get a passing shower. jerry, how's traffic? could be a tough commute approaching the intersection. roads might be a little slick headed through northeast, new york avenue, kennel worth, rhode island avenue. good news it's just the weather. we haven't had any accidents to report. and that is very good news. out to the beltway in green belt, both directions we're told travel lanes are open. i'm sorry. we will head over and check the

g.w. parkway. both directions looking good. one more stop. out to the rails we go. no concerns metro, vre. one delay on penn 401. jerry, thanks very much. the baseball season is just a little month old already one pitcher has achieved something that only happens a couple teams a year, if that. >> liner to short. liriano has his no-hitter. >> yes, indeed. francisco liriano pitched the sixth no-hitter in minnesota twins history. it helped minnesota snap a six-game slide. it will do that. liriano walked six, struck out two and needed 123 pitches to complete the feat. he came into the game with an e.r.a. amazingly over nine. >> and jayson werth returned to fill tpl for the first time since leaving washington. 0 for 3 on the night.

former team cole hamils. new credit card rules could keep stay at home parents from getting a credit card. >> starting this fall, new credit card regulations will block banks from giving credit cards to people who do not have an individual surs of income. this is all meant to keep credit out of the hands of those who cannot afford it. but the new rule will make it virtually impossible for a stay at home dad like brian bradshaw from getting his new card. >> everything is families. so the idea that i couldn't use my wife's salary for proof of income or my wife couldn't use my salary for proof of income i find it kind of strange. >> military spouses, whose partners who are serving overseas, will have the same

problem. they could be an authorized user on a joint account or use a secured card preloaded with cash. this rule goes into effect the 1st of october. that's going to affect a lot of folks. >> a lot of stay at home parents will have to do the joint credit card. >> which a lot of families do. >> already. >> a lot of people like to keep their money separate so they can keep control of it sometimes. it could be difficult for a lot of families. our time right now 5:25. coming up, the instant bounce in the president's approval rating. also, why local lawmakers are taking a trip to new york hoping to come home with a piece of the fallen towers. of the fallen towers. next, an

like many chefs today, i feel the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. and that's what they do with great grains cereal. see the seam on the wheat grain? same as on the flake. because great grain steams and bakes the actual whole grain. now check out the other guy's flake. hello, no seam, because it's more processed. now, which do you suppose has better nutrition for you?

mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. breaking news right now at 5:28. a home leveled by an explosion sending two people and debris flying into the street. this happened on the 11,000 block of ashley drive in rockville. >> that's where news 4's tracee wilkins is. she's live on the phone to tell us what she is seeing on the scene.

>> reporter: good morning, joe. because of where we're located we may move our picture here. that's why i'll on the phone. we want to tell you what's happening right now. the house exploded just after 3:00 a.m. fire investigators are trying to figure out what caused this explosion. the possibility of it being a gas explosion but they can't say for sure until they're able to get in there, get some daylight and move through what's left of the house. that home is absolutely completely leveled by this explosion that happened. there was a couple inside the house, we're told by witnesses, a man and woman who moved in just a few days ago. they were blown out of the house in this explosion. they suffered some severe burns. they were taken to the hospital for treatment. fire investigators think they should actually survive these injuries. extreme situation. we spoke with one neighbor, one of the first on the scene to try and assist the couple after the explosion.

the neighbors were blown like the people who live in the house were blown out of the house and to the corner of the neighbor's yard where i found actually that guy in the sweater who -- he actually was back there tending to them already when i got back there. i have not heard anything. i saw them being pulled out on the stretch herb. one was doing better than the other. one was more responsive. he was just worried about the female in the house. she was she came out and was covered head to toe in fire blankets or something.

>> all right. tracee, thank you. truly an amazing scene. as tracee said earlier, lucky nobody was out walking the neighborhood at this time this happened because of all the debris. >> assistant chief scott graham said the utility companies are out there as well trying to assist in this investigation to determine if this was indeed a natural gas explosion. >> it has all been turned off while they investigate. >> closely watching the radar. it's wet out there. the rain could make for a really messy commute. let's get the forecast from tom. >> yeah. that moving color on the radar is waves of rain coming through since last night. and they continue here lieu this morning. radar with the lightning

detector also active showing some lightning in the northern neck of virginia. that's just now crossing the potomac river and heading into st. mary's county. a little bit of thunder and lightning with the waves of rain. don't anticipate any severe weather with these showers and thunder coming through right now. and where you see the green, lighter rain right now across scattered into west virginia, virginia and maryland. it's only near 50 degrees in washington. 40s west and north now. and we'll have highs today nearly 60 as we dry out this afternoon. blustery northwest wind. a look at tonight in 10 minutes. tom, beltway crash in virginia near route 50. arlington along the right side of the roadway. you can see police are on the scene there. fortunately it looks like they may be in the process of getting it out of the roadway. in the meantime, traveling outer loop, heads-up for that. inner loop slowing due to the weather. let's take a look at the trip on prince george's. route 4. travel lanes open there. we did have an accident outer loop, college park. should be to the shoulder.

metro and vre, no delays. one delay marc penn 401. thanks very much. 5:32. damaged but not defeated. that's what the head of the cia is saying about the fight against al qaeda this morning. while its leader may be dead the mission certainly is not over. tracie potts joins us from capitol hill with more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: joe, good morning. as of this morning, lawmakers on the hill have heard from the director of the cia some of the top secret inside details of this raid, how the navy s.e.a.l.s were able to track, capture and kill the world's number one terrorist. >> this was a highly classified briefing. >> reporter: lawmakers who heard how they tracked down and killed osama bin laden called it riveting. >> walked through point by point. the bravery involved, the planning, the decisiveness of the president. >> reporter: the white house is correcting some details saying bin laden resisted but was

unarmed. top officials are debating whether to release photos of his death. >> this is an issue that we are taking into consideration is that it could be inflammatory. >> insighting the taliban and other islamic groups who already vowed revenge. >> continue to worry about a lone wolf, a individual radicalized and begins to mobilize. >> reporter: the world needs proof that bin laden was killed. >> i've seen the photographs. we've analyzed them. there's no question that it's bin laden. >> reporter: meanwhile, pressure is mounting on pakistan to explain how bin laden hid for years virtually in plain sight within their borders. it's a delicate balance the white house calls pakistan a key partner in the fight against al qaeda. >> i think one clear message has gone out to the world. there's no place to hide. >> reporter: now we'll probably hear a lot more about this

today. previously scheduled hearing on capitol hill. homeland security committee on the house side taking a look at terror threats to mass transit systems in our country. joe? >> tracie potts reporting live. thanks very much. osama bin laden's killing seems to have helped president obama's approval rating. 32% said they feel a lot more confident about president obama as commander in chief. 39% say they are more confident in the wore on terrorism. an overwhelming 98% said the u.s. military deserves a great deal of credit for the successful operation. 5:35. tomorrow, president obama will attend an observance of new york's ground zero. bin laden masterminded the attacks on the world trade center which killed 3,000 people. he also invited president george w. bush to attend the service. he was in office when the attack occur. he said while he appreciates the offer he has chosen to remain out of the spotlight during his

post-presidency. prince william county leaders will be traveling to new york to bring back a small reminder of the 9/11 attacks. remnants of the world trade center are being divided up and distributed to communities across the country. local leaders are hoping to secure an artifact to display at freedom park where there is a 9/11 memorial. 5:36. if game 2 broke our hearts this one may have shattered them. the caps gave up two quick goals, as in 24 seconds. and they now find themselves in an 0-3 hole. dan has more on the series that seems to be slipping away in tampa. >> reporter: it's not just the tampa bay lightning the capitals are battling right now. it's history as well. guys trying to become the fourth team in 164 tries to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.

now, they came down to tampa down 2-0 and feeling very confident going into this one. second period, tied at two. caps on a 5 on 3 power play. mike green shoots. rebound back out to alex ovechkin. and ove goes top shelf. the caps take a 3-2 lead. and they're looking good going into the third. but things unravelled quickly. steven stamkos with the wicked snapshot and the game is tied. then just 24 seconds later, the lightning strike again. ryan malone continues the puck in, and the lightning go on to win it, 4-3. they now lead the series 3-0. the capitals have no room for error. >> they're uncanny when they want to get a goal. it's like they just snap their fingers or hit a button. it's like they just dial it up. you can see it's like flipping a switch. when they're down it's just like, ah, they know they're going to score or something. i don't know what it is.

it leaves you flabbergasted. >> in playoffs you have to be focused and ready on every shift. if you're not, bad things happen. it's another learning experience for us. backs against the wall. nothing to lose now. we have to win them all. >> game 4 here in tampa tonight. the capitals can either stay alive or they get swept by the tampa bay lightning. if the latter happens, then you have to wonder what happens to the head coach bruce boudreaux and some of these players. from tampa, dan helly, news 4 sports. >> you have to think after successive years of this sort of thing happening there are big changes. >> two seasons in a row you're at the top of the game and in the playoffs you blow it. not good. art. 5:38, 49 degrees. ahead, the good news from pepco that will put money back in your pocket. and the construction project about to get under way on one major commuter route. went already. when

weather and traffic on the ones. it's 5:41 on this wednesday morning. you'll need an umbrella and a spring jacket. it is chilly and wet. waves of rain coming through. getting some thunder and lie thing, too, along with showers that are coming into southern maryland out of the northern neck of virginia. and on the eastern shore too. temperatures only in the 40s to near 50 degrees near washington, points west and north. in the 50s and even 60s lower

part of the eastern shore. there's capitol hill with light rain falling here now. this afternoon near 60 as we dry out. blustery northwest wind. here's your night planner. much cooler tonight. clearing out after midnight into the low 40s tomorrow morning. and big changes on the way for the end of the week and the weekend too. a look at that at 5:51. >> beltway in virginia. outer loop near 50. arlington boulevard, right side of the roadway tied up. police remain on the scene. traffic behind it beginning to back up headed south from i-66. headed for downtown, good news there. despite the weather, no issues on the southeast-southwest freeway between an costeo and potomac. metro, vre and marc, no delays >> why prince charles came all the way to the u.s. to talk about food. why your pepco bill is about to get lower. and next, the latest on the a[ male announcer ]t on the washington, d.c.

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5:45. we are following breaking news in montgomery county. an explosion leveled a home at about 3:00 this morning. firefighters tell us two people were blown into the street and debris could be seen for blocks. the home is ashley drive in garrett park neighborhood. an update at 6:00 a.m. earlier this week a similar scene in northern virginia when a blast leveled a home there. this morning we're getting a close look at what is left and hearing the story of the neighbors who pulled the home owner out of that rubble. more on the heroic efforts. >> reporter: one look at what's left of the house on wayne drive in triangle, virginia, and you wonder how anyone could have survived the gas explosion that caused this monday morning. someone did survive thanks to caring neighbors. >> 8:45 in the morning, big boom. i was like, whoa, what was that? went out to the driveway and looked to the right and holy crap. a blown-up house. we all ran in there and just started screaming, hey, is

anybody in here, is anybody in here? and we heard a scream. i'm calling for them, calling for them. man, i don't know where you're at. i can't see you. you have to keep saying something. i have to find your voice. i make it upstairs. the stairs aren't even there. so i have to climb around beams. i got you, i got you. grabbed some boards and started throwing them out of the way. i was screaming, hey, i need some help up here. i have the guy up here. >> neighbors rushed towards the house. >> it was really a good thing, too because shortly after jose found him and pulled him out the fire started right where the guy was. >> the home's owner is expected to be okay. he was at the newly renovated house to meet new rental tenants. the moving van from which they had just unloaded. their belongings still partially trapped under the rubble. they were not there with when the explosion happened. rescuer jose, 22 years old, says he had no hesitation in helping.

>> i have to say a lot of it came from my mom and dad. >> the home remains cordoned off by chain link fence. it's been condemned by fire investigators. the house the owner spent five years renovating must now be demolished. in triangle, virginia, jack skwr benson, news 4. the man accused of being the east coast rapist will be back in court. aaron thomas is linked to at least 17 attacks on women in prince george's, fairfax, loudon as well as connecticut and rhode island. he was arrested in early march in new haven, connecticut after he dropped a cigarette butt and police picked it up and linkeded him to the attacks through dna evidence. his location was provided to by police by an anonymous tipster from maryland. they will receive an award from crime stoppers. federal immigration enforcement program in the fall. u.s. immigration told the county that its secure communities program will again tuesday,

september 27th. fingerprint data from local police will be sent to federal immigration officials. some advocates for crime victims say they're concerned some victims or witnesses won't call for help or report crimes if they're undocumented. beginning next year, you'll have to pay a five cent bag tax. they passed that measure imposing an extra fee on all retail establishments, not just stores that sell food. the tax applies to paper and plastic bags. it's expected to reduce litter and generate about a million dollars a year. part of that money will fund free reusable bags for the poor and elderly. this mirrors a similar measure in the district. we have good news if you're a pepco customer. you could save money on your electric bill. it is cutting its rates for maryland and d.c. customers. if you live in maryland, you will save $22 a month. in the district, about $10. pepco says it's lowering rates because of falling energy prices.

the company does not generate its own electricity, it purchases it from other wholesale suppliers. lights are back on in montgomery after a fire broke out in downtown bethesda. it closed part of wisconsin avenue for a while last night. the road is open again this morning, though. there's no word at this hour what caused that fire. 5:50 now. today prince charles is expected to meet with president obama. the prince is in washington for a three-day visit. megan mcgrath is live at georgetown university where charles is expected to speak today. megan, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. it's prince charles's first visit since 2007. yes, he's going to be here later on today delivering a key note speech at a conference here. it's a very short trip. he will be here just for three days. and he's making a push for organic sustainable agriculture. he's going to be speaking at the future of food conference here at georgetown university.

now, yesterday prince charles toured the common good city farm in northwest washington, a farm that grows food for low-income residents here and nibbled on a little bit of spinach they grow on their farm. advocates home his celebrity will help focus attention on the issue of sustainable farming. >> he's a proponent of sustainable agriculture. and i think more people will have awareness about eating right and about growing food in a sustainable way so that we have our resources indefinitely to continue to grow food. and i believe that the word will get out a lot quicker now that he's come to the farm. >> and the prince will be delivering that speech at the conference later on today. he's also going to meet with president obama at the white house. back to you in the studio. >> megan mcgrath. megan, thank you. let's go to tom to talk

about our weather. it's been raining. and a lot colder this morning, too, tom. >> dress like megan and hold an umbrella in your hand. >> yesterday it was shorts and flip-flops. >> dramatic drop in temperatures overnight. now we have had the rain coming through, getting thunder and lightning this morning as well in southern maryland. this is the radar history over the last hour. we continue to see waves of rain coming through from southwest to southeast. thunder and lightning in the northern neck of virginia, st. mary's county. that's just now exiting the northern neck and just now crossing the chesapeake bay. thunder and lightning towards cambridge and easton. farther west, it is just some scattered shower activity. where you see the green, light rain falling in washington, most of maryland, scattered across most of virginia. a few heavy downpours in berkeley county, west virginia, washington, allegheny county, maryland.

and temperatures much cooler. mid-40s washington, fairfax, upper 40s right now. arlington county, the district, near 50. near 50 in prince george's. it's continuing to drop in southern maryland. it's dropped 11 degrees at leonardtown in the last hour. still in the six on the lower eastern shore. but it's going to continue to drop there as well. out of the mountains, western maryland, west virginia, many locations near 40 degrees. there's the drippy sky over washington. live view from city camera. sunrise is 6:07. and blustery winds will be with us off and on in the morning, through the afternoon. we'll be drying out this afternoon as highs reach 60. overnight, 50s. 40s by dawn tomorrow as we clear out after midnight. tomorrow, bright and sunny. into the upper 60s. still a blustery wind. might get an afternoon shower or thundershower. sunny on saturday. low 70s. mother's day sunday might get showers and mostly dry after that. monday tuesday.

how is traffic? >> tom, definitely going to be a challenge. good morning, everyone. be aware it could be a little on the slick side. good news as far as the commute on i-95 no accidents to report as you head north. however, there had been an accident on 95 northbound. should be out of the road way. let's update you on the beltway. arlington boulevard still tying up the right side of the roadway. police do remain on the scene. a little bit of delay. inner loop certainly picking up a lot of volumement south of town earlier was dry. right now not so much. on again, off again rain showers. just receiving word that suratz road, prince george's county, wires down in the roadway. you might find the road completely closed off. so far so good metro, vre and marc with no delays >> thank you, jerry. 5:54. route 50 through arlington is

about to undergo a major makeover. route 50 will be renovated near courthouse road. it will include new ramps and bridges and pedestrian and bike paths. in the meantime, they will have to deal with stag erred closures of the 10th street and bridges. fairfax will be closed between the two bridges. vdot says all three lanes will be open in both directions during rush hour. the project should be completed by november 2013. new speed cameras going up this fall in howard county. council passed a bill allowing police to operate eight speed cameras in school zones. if drivers are caught going 12 miles per hour or more they will be ticketed $40. police must submit an annual report. more americans are buying smaller cars as gas prices rise. new models that get 35 miles per hour per gallon or better led most major automakers to stronger april sales.

chefly cruz, hyundai aoe hand extra and ford focus were among the top sellers. even buyers of pickup trucks chose more efficient engines. but the strong demand could raise the price if there is a summer shortage. honda warned that the 2012 civic and other models will be in short supply because of production delays because of the japan earthquake and tsunami. and it pushed back the fall launch of the cr-v by at least a month. a look at local gas prices. the price in the district is $4.18. in maryland, $3.97. virginia, $3.87 per gallon. west virginia above $4 at $4.11 per gallon. and you think those prices are high, get a load of this. "usa today" reports rental car companies are charging an arm and a leg for people who don't fill up before returning them. hertz charges $9.29 a gallon at

reagan national airport. enterprise has the cheapest refueling rate at $3.78 even below regular gasoline price. many veteran travelers are convinced rental companies are making a bundle at their expense. a strip club in clinton, maryland faces a gender discrimination lawsuit. the gazette says a woman is seeking an injunction to stop the mile high club from charging women a higher cover than men. they charged her $20 to get in while her husband was only charged $10. it seeks $200,000 in damages. the club has not responded. . 5 krpb 57. the new rules which will make it difficult for some people to get credit cards. also next at 6:00 a.m., breaking news. a home explosion rocks a neighborhood this morning. we're live on the scene gathering new details. and we're tag a live look outside. right now 51 degrees. chilly, rainy, soggy start to

your morning. cool today. tom will have your forecast and a look at traffic when we come back. stay with us. the kincaids live here. across the street, the padillas. ben and his family live here, too. ben's a re/max agent, and he's a big part of this community. there are lots of reasons why re/max agents average more sales than other agents.

experience, certainly. but maybe it's also because they care about the markets they serve and the neighbors who rely on them. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today.