now, maryland moves closer to expanding gambling in the state. >> lawmaker debated the measure tonight and late into the morning. it will get governor o'malley's signature this morning. there is still one more hurdle to clear. fox 5 morning news continues right now. good morning. it is august 15th, 2012. hard to believe we're halfway through the month already. getting closer and closer to fall. the temperature have been fall ago long with it as we get closer to that time. >> i'm sarah simmons. >> i'm wisdom martin. >> time to bring in tucker barnes. >> we have a mixture of fog in some spots. we may have some afternoon thunderstorms. we know this routine. we have some big changes as we get into the weekend. let's kick it off with a look

at current conditions and at reagan national, we are all the way down now to 74 degrees. 74 in washington. 60s here north and west. winchester, good morning. 64degrees for you. ocean city, maryland, 76 degrees. a little warmer, a lile more humid to our south and east this morning. watch the showers and thunderstorms get going. wow! yeah, they're very impressive there. carroll county and baltimore county in northern maryland. things have quieted down here overnight. you can see the sort of light white you see there. that is some cloud cover out there, some high, thin cloudiness. it won't be perfectly sunny start to your day. it should be feltrd sunshine as you head out the door with expected highs in the upper 80s to about 90. look out for the possibility of scattered thunderstorms later today. some of those could be strong just like yesterday as we continue to be dealing with a rather humid air mass. one more day of this and then much improved conditions for tomorrow and much cooler weather for the weekend. details in just a minute. >> all right.

love that. >> thank you. time now to say hello to julie wright as she is checking the roads for us early this morning. >> good morning. we're checking out the ride northbound i-95 as you make your way to the exit for the outer loop. the accident activity is allowing traffic onto that ramp on outer loop which would take you over towards van dorn street and out to the wilson bridge. traffic is able to get by. you want to stay to the left. northbound i-9 5s starting to stack up as you work your way north of the tanks headed to newington. heavy volume as you work your way northbound leaving wood brim through newington. that is the exit that will take you in the direction of the wilson bridge. taking it back inside, we'll update your ride here. eastbound 50 are, the car fire is after 704. that is what is tying up the right leap. this is where we had the accident activity. you will find if you are traveling westbound, all lanes are open. now, metro's blue orange line delayed now because of track

trouble. expect the delays as you travel foggy bottom headed out towards arlington cemetery and foggy bottom out towards clarendon. that's a check of your fox 5 on-timetraffic. imetraffic. fur. the big story this morning, we are one step closer to more gambling in maryland. >> the jerk passed the contentious bill during a special session in annapolis. melanie alnwick is live at -- the general assembly passed the contentious bill during a special session in annapolis. melanie alnwick is live with the details. >> reporter: maryland will now allow a sixth casino to be built in prince george's county, five in the state already. an all of the casinos in maryland could offer table games with real cards and dealers like poker and black jack and roulette.

the measure would allow casinos to operate 4 hours a day. support are say it is all about jobs and revenue. opponents are concerned that there simply aren't enough customers to support another casino and they say the expansion may hurt businesses that are just getting started like maryland live which opened in june. voters will have the final say in a ballot referendum in november whether to approve the measure. >> the voters i think passed the original slot machine bill with nearly 60% of the vote. i think, yeah, voters will uphold this and let mow go out on a limb. i think the voters of prince george's county will as well. >> reporter: prince george's county executive rushern baker said in a statement that he is confident his constituents will approve the measure saying that he believes this expansion will be good for the county and the state. it is going to be a big day here in annapolis.

governor o'malley is expected to hold a bill-signing ceremony at 10:00 this morning. >> thank you. we can learn more later today about how officials plan to handle the aftermath of a 911 outage. verizon is meeting with the metropolitan washington council of governments this morning. the company will officially hand over a report detailing what led to a widespread 911 outage right after the june 29th derecho storm. >> onto some of our other top stories we are following ate montgomery county man accused of killing his 1-year-old stepdaughter is expected to learn his fate today. david hang is charged with stabbing jessica nguyen 45 times. hang did not live in the home with the victim and her family but directives tracked him down using dna found at the scene and cell phone records putting him in the area at the time murder. the jury got the case last night. they will resume deliberations this morning. a renewed effort to

establish a lead in a murder case in stafford county an anonymous donor is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the death of sammy soen. he was found shot to death on march 1st, 2011. list say two men were seen running from the scene. if you have any information about the murder, you are asked to call police. also making headlines this morning, new numbers revolt just how bad the bickering in congress right now is. >> this shocking story out of new york state. a home reduced to rubble actually toddler killed in an explosion. what investigators believe set off this scene when we come back. [ male announcer ] the choice on debt...

mitt romney's plan: huge tax cuts for millionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and corporations that ship jobs overseas, adding trillions to the deficit. president obama's plan: a balanced approach that asks the wealthy to pay a little more, eliminates tax breaks for outsourcing and oil subsidies, cuts government spending, and reduces the deficit by four trillion. two plans. your choice. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

a deadly house explosion on long island, new york. and 18-month-old boy was killed when the home blew up around noon yesterday. seventeen other people were hurt and home is a complete

loss. the blast was so strong it knocked some air conditioning units and windows out of that are casing. the department of homeland security is launching a new program today that would let illegal immigrants avoid deportation and obtain a u.s. work permit. now, it is called deferred action for childhood arrivals. applicants must pay $465 and provide proof of identity and eligibility. the critics have called this back door amnesty y. they are worried about fraud. congress is on track for a dubious distinctionen. according to "usa today," theaw productive year on capitol hill in the post-world war ii era. out of 3, 914 proposed bill so far in 2012, only 61 have become law. not evening magazine the 80th

congress, which president tomb and called the do-nothing congress back in 1948, passed as few laws as the current one. not a good distinction to be having. >> not a lot of work getting done. >> it is also an election year. >> we'll see what happens next time around. >> up next, with updates on the campaign trail, hear what vice president joe biden said in virginia yesterday that is drawing controversy this morning. >> we are checking in with tucker for your full forecast. find out if we are in for another round of storms today or not. isn't that a gorgeous shot of washington monument? >> yes. 

dry conditions are causing big problems out west. three separate wildfires were sparked in washington state drivewaying at least 70 homes. 20-year-old firefighter ann

veseth was killed when a tyreo fell on her. federal officials are investigating the death that took place while she was battling the flames. another blaze in northern california is under control. but firefighters are worried about dry an condition triple digit temperatures there that could make it even worse. wow! we're take a live look outside. the sun is finally coming up. we are he trying to move the camera there. is it sun -- >> no, that's just you guys. >> what is going on? i'm getting dizzy. >> we are trapped in the matrix. >> is the sun shining? i can't really tell. >> the sun doesn't actually rise for five more minutes but it is getting light. we started off with rain showers and clouds around yesterday but then the sun broke out. we don't have the rain showers today but the sun will break out shortly. >> it stayed out most of the afternoon. >> it turned into a bright

sunny day. with any sunshine that we get, that will help build the possibility of an afternoon thunderstorm. yesterday, we dodged it but just north in built up into northern maryland, they had big thunderstorms. >> that is where we had the video we were looking at. >> the possible funnel cloud. lets he get to your headlines. i pretty much mentioned partly sunny conditions expected today. we'll be in and out of clouds for the next couple of hours and then i think we'll see midday sun. afternoon storms return. at least the possibility of storms. some could be strong later this afternoon so just look out for that. nice-looking day tomorrow. low humidity. highs in the upper 80s to about 90. lots of sunshine. tomorrow looks fantastic and a nice cooldown for the weekend. if you are heading out for the summer heat and humidity, you will get a bit of a break. still going to be summery but not quite the heat we've been dealing with the past month or so. temperatures right now, wash,

still warm, mild and humid. 74 right now in town. 7 # in annapolis. 73 in leonardtown. as you get north and west, you find 60s, lots of 60s. -- 73 in annapolis. a frontal system that tried to come through last night and didn't have enough push to get it east of us so it is hanging up right across the region as we speak. can't really see it but, trust me, it's there. we have a possess of energy out to the west. we'll call this an upper level trough. that is going to slam into the remnant of our front and give us -- provide enough lift out there that we could see some afternoon thunderstorms develop. in addition to some cloudiness, you can see that we do have the possibility of some scattered showers and storms arriving again later today. here is your forecast, partlysony skies. afternoon showers and storms return. what else is new? 88 your day heim high. it will be kind of humid out there. winds north and west at five to 10. gradually getting better tonight. evening showers and storms and gradual clearing overnight. tomorrow morning when you get

up, it will be a little cooler and a little less humid. upper 80s to about 90 but without a whole lot of humidity, it will feel a lot like sunday. friday, hot and steamy, afternoon storms. another cold front comes through late friday, and this one means business. 91 on friday, 82 on saturday and sunday. some of our coleest temperatures so far this summer get here this weekend. that is a look at weather. let's do some traffic and get the rest from julie. >> we've got northbound along i-9567 the accident activity has been moved over into the strained safety zone and off to the left there. the lanes are open once again as you travel northbound on i- 95. expect to find delays leaving route one out of woodbridge heading up to the accident scene. it was eastbound 50 after 704 where we had the car fire along the right side of the highway. that is in the process of being cleared and again, metro's blue

orange line having some track problems this morning. expect delays leaving foggy bottom headed out towards arlington cemetery and clarendon. that's a check of your fox 5 on-timetraffic. imetraffic. turning to the race for the white house, today, president obama will be joined by first lady michelle obama in iowa on his final day of a three-day bus tour. vice president joe biden speaks at virginia tech in blacksburg and republican mitt romney is schedule to attend fund rayers in north carolina and balance. >> romney's running mate paul ryan is expected to campaign in ohio. yesterday, rome any said the president was waging a war on coal. it was something the vice president said in southern virginia that is getting a lot of buzz this morning. >> he said in the first hundred days, he is going to bet the big banks once again write their own rules. unchain wall street. they are agoing to put you all

back in chains. >> rome me immediate hi criticize the comment saying the white house simpgz a little bit lower. an obama campaign spokesman says romney's comments seemed unhinged. -- saying the white house sinks a little bit lower. we'll bow live to fox business network in new york -- we'll go live to fox business network live in new york next. >> imagine flying from new york to l.a. in less than hand our. yesterday, the military tested a new aircraft that travels six time the speed of sound. it is being used to develop high speed cruise missiles. we should find out how it went later on today. get the car. hi howard. get in.

hi, good to see you. start with an actual written offer when selling your car, no strings attached. carmax. start here. barack obama has a long history of opposing work for welfare. "i was not a wild, huge supporter of the federal plan that was signed in 1996." [ male announcer ] on july 12th obama quietly ended work requirements for welfare. you wouldn't have to work and wouldn't have to train for a job. mitt romney strongly believes work must be part of welfare. the romney plan for a stronger middle class: it'll put work back in welfare. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

welcome back. time now is 6:23. so where is best city to get a raise and how about the worst

city to get a raise. lauren simonetti with fox business network is live in new york with the business beat. >> good morning. >> we want to take a quick look at the markets for today. how it is looking. ? >> another flat day. we are not seeing much movement in eating direction at all this week. that is expected. we did get apretty decent read on retail sales in the month of july. we are spending more money, most in four months. we do gettennation data so when you go food shopping, you film your car, we get the official numbers in about two hours from now. >> some evidence that some americans are trying to save some money eating out less apparently. >> this is really shocking. a rasmussen reports find that two out of five americans said they were more inclined to eat at home and not go to a restaurant. over the past six months, this coincides with evidence that the national savings rate is as

high as it has been. >> americans would like to ease the strain on the wallet. there is a if you haddie out with the best and worst cities for raises. hit me with the information. >> on average, can you expect a 2-point #% pay enclose but next year, it is expected to get a little butt better. expect to see your pay increase by 3%. the before the city comes in at 3.6% so not too much higher but that is denver. unfortunately, d.c. or maryland or any city in virginia are not on my list of best and worst. so i'm going to imagine you guys are right there with the average 3% pay increase expected next year. i would like so say with millions and millions of of americans out of work, a pay increase is just a cherry on top of the icing. >> it certainly is. that is a good reminder. thank you so much. >> back to the morning's big story.

maryland lawmaker place their bets on gambling. a late night end to a special session leads to approval of a controversial move to expand gambling in the state. the governor is set to sign it later this morning. issue isn't said and done just jet. it is an agentry whose decisions influence some of the biggest project in the region. after reports of lavish spending, one top official is out with harsh words of warning. time now is 6:26. 

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all right. muff be the money. tonight's powerball jackpot stands at $320 million. you would do okay if you won. i'mening you would be all right, tucker. the lull. sum cash option is $213 million. -- the lump sum cash option is

$213 million. the chances of winning are one in 175 million. >> i love how he is dancing over here as though he already won. you got a one in 170 million chance. >> i can feel it. it's going to happen. >> this is your time. >> i can feel it. things are different this time. >> i think you said that the last time. >> i think i say it every time. i'm in a group pool. you'll know because there won't be anybody here. >> i'll be here. >> tony and i will be vacationing somewhere. >> together? >> maybe we'll have to buy a plane or something. >> we can skype you in. >> okay. let's do temperatures. i love my job. i'm not sure i would want to retire. >> with $213 million in your pocket? >> what else would i do? >> spend $213 million. >> that would be like that movie with richard pryer. >> he had to spend all the

money in a certain amount of time. >> he hay the trouble. you know who didn't have trouble spending that money, mike tyson. >> i'm sure there are a lot of other people who don't have any problems. >> 74 degrees right now. we're generally quiet. right now, we are very quiet. we do have cloud cover out there. partly sunny start to your day. later this afternoon, scattered thunderstorms back in the forecast. just like yesterday, they won't be everywhere but we will see some scattered strong storms. highs in the upper 80s to about 90. it will be another warm and huge you had day but improving forecast for tomorrow and a cooldown for the weekend. ill ahave details on that in just a minute. we have a good ask the weather guy question from leonardtown, maryland. -- i'll have details on that in just a minute. >> are you going to give us a hint? >> it is about the garden. >> i can relate to that. >> let's check in with julie wright. >> let me get this straight. tucker wins the lotto and he

take tony away on a vacation. >> right. >> yeah, you got it. >> something wrong with that. >> i'm thinking tony's wife, rhonda might be upset about that. >> i might even bring you along if you behave yourself. >> the two of us alone on an island, only one of us is returning home. >> if you travel over towards kenilworth avenue, we have reports of accident activity. stay to the right to get by. the remains of accident activity off to the left shoulder so our lanes are open as you work your way northbound. you are experiencing delays out of woodbridge so leaving route one, it is heavy and slow up towards the fsp and headed out towards the exit for the outer loop. southbound 270 not too busy right now out of hyattstown. lanes are open out towards clarksburg. clarksburg. maryland governor martin

o'malley expected to sign a bill expanding gambling in the state. >> the general assembly worked well into the morning to get the legislation passed. melanie alnwick is live at the statehouse in annapolis with the new developments. >> reporter: first, we have to get the ballot referendum in november. it was about 1:00 in the morning when prince george's county executive rushern baker sent out a tweet saying what a wonderful night he had in annapolis. approval of this bill in the house and the senate means that prince george's county could build a casino not sooner than july of 2016 for the residents there in prince george's county approve of it. the bill also allowed casinos in maryland to offer table games with real cards and dealers like poke are, black jack, baccarat, roulette, not just electronic slots and video machines. it will let casinos operate 24 hours a day. supporters say it is all about jobs and revenue pointing to table games adding 1800 jobs. 2200 in a sixth casino in pg

county is built. they believe the expanded gambling will bring an additional $200 million by 2019. >> i think we've gotten over the hump. i think wave been able to convince people that this is an important revenue source for maryland and it is strategically good for our gaming system. >> each casino has its own deal now. each delegation has its own deal now. clearly, there are reservations. >> reporter: opponents are concerned there simply aren't enough customers in maryland to support another casino and the expansion they say may hurt jobs in casinos in anne arundel county and also in baltimore city. they say the job that are being talked about are primarily low wage jobs. after the bill is signed at 10:00 this morning, it will go for voters in november. if the ballot question passes statewide but prince george's

county voters do not approve, that means table games will be allowed but there may not be a casino in prince george's county. maryland lawmakers also worked overnight on a bill that would address dog bites by pit bulls. house and senate could not come a new agreement so the court ruling stands. that mean in an attack involve a pit bull, plaintiffs in civil cases don't have to prove the animal's prior violent behavior for the owner to be held liable for damages. landlords can also be held liable in dog bite cases on their property. r property. we could learn more later today about how officials plan to hand the aftermath of a 911 outage. verdictizeen is meeting with the metropolitan council of governments this morning. they will hand over a report detailing what led to wide spread out iyanlas after the

june 29 storm. a montgomery county man accused of killing his stepdaughter. david hang is charged with stabbing 12-year-old jessica nguyen 45 times back in 2011. detectives tracked him down using dna found at the scene and cell phone records putting him in the area at the time of the murder. the jurors got the case last night. they will resume deliberations this morning. a $50,000 reward is now being offered to anyone who can help police solve the murder of a man in stafford county. he was found shot to death in his apartment on fife street back on march 1st, 2011. police say two men were seen running from the scene. they got into a four-door, light colored small or mid- sized sedan. if you have any information about the murder, you are asked to call police. all police. we continue following a developing story this morning involving accusations against the metropolitan washington airports authority. the organization overseeing the dulles rail project is accused

of lavish spending, nepotism and contract issue. >> now, the transportation secretary is getting involved warning the board to shape up. this came in the form of of a fiery letter signed by the governors of virginia, maryland and d.c.'s mayor. fox 5's karen gray houston has the details. the metropolitan washington airports authority has an awesome job managing the operations of reagan national airport and dulles airport along with the dulles toll road and the ongoing construction of metrorail's silver line. but an audit showing some board members were reimbursed $4800 for three meals has been a distraction. >> anyone in a private organization that conducted themselves like the airports authority would be fired. >> reporter: transportation secretary ray lahood has fired off an angry letter to the

authority expressing outrage at reports of questionable contracts ordering the termination of all contracts with former board members and former employees demanding that the board tighten travel procedures to eliminate wasteful spending and to be more transparent with open meetings. the head of citizens against government waste says some important project could be in jeopardy. >> one of the problems with the silver line has been the lack of accountability, the board's abuses of power and questionable ethical practices. >> reporter: the airports authority has responded in a statement saying we have revised the travel policy for board members and employees to reflect best practices of the airport industry. we are revising the authority's ethics policy to clarify regular layings regarding conflicts of interest. we have ended or are in the process of ending all professional services contracts with former board members and we are committed to working

closely with the accountability officer appointed by the transportation secretary. >> that was care engray houston reporting. the statement from the authority's board chairman and president and ceo john potter says they will discuss their progress in more details and in a public meeting or in public meetlings on september 5th and september 19th. making headlines this morning, a former first daughter talks about the possibility of running for office. >> also ahead, whitney houston's last movie hits theaters this try. you will hear what the costars of sparkle have to say about the legend's lasting legacy. @ñ

could we soon see another clinton on the campaign trail? well, former first daughter shale sea clinton is profiled in the september issue of vogue magazine and she says before her mother ran for office, she would have said no to politics. but she believes that engaging in the political process is

part of being a good person and if there came a time where she felt the need on do so, she wouldn't rule it out. >> i don't think i'm overly surprised by that though. >> not really surprising. >> yeah. >> but interesting though. we'll keep an eye on that. the life and legacy of whitney houston lives on in the new movie sparkle. >> the late singer stars in the movie along with jordan sparks. we have a report. >> reporter: idol winner jordan sparks stars in the new movie spark allonge side the late whitney houston. the story set in the 1960s as cautionary tale about three singing sisters who go against their mother's wishes and break into the music industry. the actresses couldn't help but see similarities to houston's real life story. >> was my life not enough of a

cautionary tale for you. >> the parallels between her hive and the story of this movie, she was sparkle. she was sister and she was the mother and so there is a lot of her in this film. what i took out of the whole thing was her strength of having her whole life being played out since she was a young girl to now. >> reporter: following houston's tragic death, her costars saw her character may whole new light. >> i'm getting chills just thinking about t a lot of the things she says, it is almost like she is answering those questions that everybody has. this is like her saying, okay, here you go. it is like the movie is here is all the answers. here is everything that happened. >> part of reason she wanted to tell the story was because she recognized the creaser and life she had was a story -- the career and life she had was a story that was cautionary and celebratory on some level and that is what sparkle is all about. it is messy in that way. it is emotionally messy. it goes from you laugh, you cry, you are angry.

>> it make me feel i've done something right. >> reporter: what better way to celebrate whitney's memory than with a song from the film. the >> beautiful voices. >> yes. >> i was trying to remember the original sparkle but i can't remember t i can't remember there were two other people in the original movie. philip michael thomas and irene cara from flash dance. >> from miami vice? >> yeah. >> this was before. >> pulling that out of archives. i can't remember the actual movie. just remember they were in it. that was a long time ago. back in the day. >> it should be fun. >> our day looks fine. partly sunny, warm, humid start to the day. it will be warm and humid this afternoon. some would say hot. it won't be terribly comfortable armet few thunderstorms will be developing later as well. -- it won't be terribly comfortable. a few thunderstorms will be developing later as well.

70 in cambridge. lots of 60s north and west. 66degrees this morning in manassas. 63 in frederick. highs upper 80s to about 90 later this afternoon. and we've got some changes. a couple of different features to talk about here as we here get into tomorrow and the weekend. some filtered sunshine out there for your start. frontal system yesterday brought some issues to northern maryland. some big had been time thunderstorms across northern maryland. we didn't got a whole lot here but the same frontal system still hanging out falling apart across the region. a little upper level trough will slam into our front. as it does so, we'll likely see thunderstorms bubble up again later this afternoon. the more sunshine we see today, the better chances we'll see afternoon showers and thunderstorms just like yesterday. eventually, later tonight, that frontal system will get pushed to the east. as it does so, it will allow

slightly cooler and less humid air to start working in. upper 80s, near 90 tomorrow. a repeat perfor with comfortable conditions expected as we get into tomorrow. 88 today. scattered showers and thunderstorms return. much of your day will be dry here. this will be mid- to late afternoon. they will start to get going. thursday, upper 80s without humidity. friday, hot and steamy. low 90s. cold front come through. that one means business for a change. and by early saturday, we are cooling down. highs saturday and sunday in the low 80s. parts of the area in the upper 70s with a decent amount of sunshine and lower humidity. so wow! >> some of the coolest temperatures in a couple of months. months. >> guess what it is time for.

thank you very much. ask the weather guys, most popular segment some morning television. it is the segment where tucker barnes and i put our big heads together to answer your most pressing questions, weather- related or otherwise. >> i saw our new graphics yesterday. it is coming soon. >> is it? >> name change coming too? >> the name change is come something. >> we are polishing it and a couple of last-minute changes. >> a little retouching. >> look forward to it. >> today's question comes from carrie. carrie. >> fascinating question. >> can i guess? i don't really know. >> you are supposed to know the answer. you're one of the weather guys. >> i didn't get to work on this one very much. and i do know the answer a little bit. but when i heard the question,

my original thinking was it is probably not good for plants. >> i would agree with you. >> humidity isn't good for plants. >> i would think it would help them. >> was it the the humidity or temperature? >> all right. >> tucker has the answer. >> we got this. >> what is the answer? >> we are talking generally here because every plant is different. some plants are not native to the washington area and they will have their open issues. you know, you look around the world, desert plants will adapt differently. but around here, many plants do thrive on the humidity and the ron why, yes, they do thrive on the humidity. the rope why, are we going to look at plants? i don't know if we have any video. the process of photosynthesis, how plants breathe, they draw

in carbon dioxide through their leaves. this is basic science. when they open their leaves to draw that in, that is like breathing for a plant. >> there are actually pores in the leaves that open up. >> that process, they lose a lot of water. >> i want to point out this is from sarah's estate just outside of washington. >> isn't it gorgeous? >> that's my gardener there. >> if the air is dry, plant will quickly lose water and by losing water, they get 199whole lot of issues. they will start to have problems. remember when we go through the try spell in june, the plants started looking kind of dry and wilted. without the humidity, they lose

moisture much more quickly. they thrive in the humidity. some plants absolutely love it. i have have a list of plants that love it locally. just a few of them, day lilies. >> mine did well. >> begonias love it. salvia. >> i have some of that. >> black-eyed susans. that is sort of a local -- i i think it is the maryland state flower. so the bottom line is around here, plants love humidity. you know what else loves humidity? the tropical plants. so if you go down to the botanical gardens, you know how humid it is in that environment. that is the reason why. >> you know how healthy they hook. >> some plants, it is perfect for them because it allows the breathing process to occur at maximum efficiency. a lot of plants don't like it,

particularly the ones native to desert environments. >> thank you, carrie for the question. if you have a question that you want answered, go to myfoxdc.com and click on the weather tab. there is music from the cure. >> back in the radio days there. let's check in with julie wright for traffic. >> she doesn't love the humidity. >> she willets. >> she does. i thought you did like it. describe like it if i don't have to do all of this. -- she wilts. >> if i don't have to do the lip gloss and hairspray, it doesn't mother me -- bother me. >> just do the water and you're fine. >> southbound 95 coming in out of laurel is slow from 19 # to the beltway.

that is about a 22-minute ride right now. that is where the lanes open. outer loop flowing from college park head into silver spring. the crash reported on the inner loop at kenilworth avenue now cleared. traveling inbound on 50, no accidents to report but it is slow moving as you travel in from riverdale at 16 mirpdz. by the time you reach bladensburg road, you are back up. -- as you travel in from riverdale at 16 miles per hour. that's a check of your fox 5 on-timetraffic. imetraffic. >> thank you. new research shows getting enough exercise in mid-hive can hope protect your heart. the study looked at 4,000 people and suggests even those who wait to start working out until they are in their late 40s and 50s will still benefit. now, those who did their recommended two and a half hours of exercise a week had lower levels of inflamtory markers in their blood. well, this year is a big

year for the washington mystics. >> still ahead on fox 5 morning news, holly is hitting the hard court with some of d.c.'s most talented women including one who just got back from the olympics. she is live at the verizon center when we come back. stay with us. 

good morning i am holly morris i hope you are ready to hoop it up we are live at the verizon center where we are hanging with the mystics. it is middle of their season they have a lot of fun things going on like the return of jennifer, one of the assistant coaches here she was on the coaching staff of team usa she has the gold medal to prove it. we will talk toker will about her experience. you can't talk about the mystics and not talk about crystal lainghorn she will come out on the court and talk about the season this year. off to a rough start hoping for much better things second half we will talk to her about taking it in that direction.

two other players coming out will help take us through some of their training drills so we can see how professional athletes train and talk about their sum leagues as well. -- summer leagues as well. >> that is very impressive right on cue holly, so -- i am stunned right now. >> that is how morris rolls. >> sign you up put you on the team. >> all right holly morris i've seen you. >> more than just a cheerleader. time for our facebook fan of the day today we say hello to angela, she says she watches every morning, even when she doesn't have to be up early she is celebrating her birthday today so happy birthday, she could use a pick me up. hopefully we are picking you up on your birthday. for your chance to be tomorrow's fan of the day log

on to our facebook page and leave a comment under angela's picture. that is it for the 6:00 a.m. hour now send it over to tony and sarah for the next hour. >> thank you. coming up fox 5 morning news get ready to roll the dice at national harbour after months of debate lawmakers in maryland paveed the way to bring a casino to prince georges county. and a lot of personal attacks out on the campaign trail this morning joe biden under fire for comments he made to a crowd filled with hundreds of african americans in virginia. what he said that prompted a response from mitt romney. plus a significant change relating to immigration goes into effect today details about a new program that has some scrambling to get