guy got into an argument with a family and grabbed their dog and threw it over a bridge. there's new information this evening about the man accused of kidnapping an 11-year-old girl and holding her captive for 18 years. in california the coroner officially today released a cause of michael jackson's death. we will get to those stories in just a moment. first, though, we have some heavy rain moving through parts of the area tonight. good evening. i' vance. >> i'm wendy rieger sting in for doreen. we are going to start by getting a check on the weather with bob. >> we are under a flood watch and we have still very, very saturated air. you can just see it outside. here are the areas under flood watch until later tonight. including the washington, most of the metropolitan area but heaviest rains now are for you folks into charles county and into southern maryland. they are not only heavy rain but also some thunder once again. some areas have had up to one to two inches of rain while other che ca s eeyo satn yonee batch of moder b od ra coming up i-95, too. and as we go through the remainder of theigarht we e going to continue to see some of these areas of heavy rain. look at andrews air force base.w almost two inches. so again, it is a flood watch through later on tonight. after midnight things will be settle down. meanwhile, in the atlantic, there's where most of the weather is for danny. look. this is a great picture from, again, polar orbiting satellite. it is a minimal storm now. moving to the north and no big threat to the east coast. but there will be heavy surf. also some showers from danny as it rapidly moves to north. big impact on new england. our own weekend weather when i join you downstairs. private memorial service for senator edward kennedy is scheduled for 7:00 tonight. the public viewing for the senator has now closed. thousands aunds of people flowed flew to pay their final respects. many of those that filed through got personal greetings and thanks from members of the kennedy family. steve handelsman is in boston now and joins with us more on this. >> reporter: jim, thanks. good evening. from the jfk library where most of the mourners that came today, yesterday as well, are from massachusetts. they are well affair of the kennedys' family's common touch. what they experienced hear today exceeded their expectations. emotions ran high as thousands more mourners filed past senator edward kennedy's coffin to say their final good-byes and thank yous. >> wade open space and no running. >> reporter: outside along the long lines of people waiting to get into the jfk library, the thank yous came from the kennedys. family members were greeting the public. kennedy kids, as young as 12, like michaela kennedy. >> a lot of me and my cousins are going around and saying hi to people. >> reporter: twin brothers, matt and joe kennedy, they are the sons of joe jr., former congressman said to be on the short list to succeed uncle ted the senate. locals used to the kennedy touch were still impressed. >> i have never seen nothing like this in all the years i have lived. >> reporter: not far away was sydney lawford, senator's niece. her three sons saying thanks, making a strong impression. >> showed so much caring that they care about people and have so much love for people. that's why the kennedys are so well appreciated in this country. >> reporter: then vicki kennedy arrived. senator kennedy's widow. for a second day, making her gesture of thanks, reaching out to people like john. >> my life is complete. i spoke to victoria kennedy. everybody around owes a debt to the kennedys and vickie has made ted's last 17 years wonderful. >> reporter: now the senator is gone. the last of the storeied kennedy brothers, the end of an era stirring powerful feelings. tonight there is a private memorial service. the limousines are already arriving. there will be televised coverage. we will have some selected details at 11:00. tomorrow is the funeral here in boston. then senator edward kennedy makes his last trip to his second home in washington for burial in arlington national cemetery. live from the jfk library in boston, i'm steve handelsman, news4. jim, back to you. >>thanks, steve. ode> fy b s oenatdy kenne ir or fceenndwsiror fce oo trnom tfrre fhe he afternoon from the cade proceeds inform deca proceeds inform the u.s. capitol. ente ngavnd tiueon cin f avndenue a con senate chamber steps aue ndhe henate chamber steps ahendre w ethotot m morcade will sto ie ier erprdeay. brprayer. from the capitol the motorcade travels down constitution avenue and to arlington national cemetery. arriving about 5:30. julie carey is in arlington to tell bus how this will unfold. julie. >> reporter: by about this time tomorrow night the private funeral service up there on the hill will be coming to a close. down here on memorial avenue, hundreds are expected to gather to pay tribute and to witness history. as the last of three famous kennedy brothers is laid to rest. at the arlington house, atop arlington national cemetery the flag flies at half-staff in ahonotu or of senator edward kennedy. at the bottom of the grassy hill, two ladder-like structures mark the spot that will be his final place. it is here the for will rejoin his brothers, 100 feet away the simple white cross senator robert kennedy's grave. another 100 feet beyond that, the eternal flame at the grave of president john f. kennedy. arlington cemetery's longtime historian says teddy kennedy was a frequent visit to a site he held dear. >> many times he would just show up and we would bump into each other accidentally. other times wasn't orchestrated a bit. each and every time you can see in his eyes, his words, that he's truly knew what arlington meant and not just to his family but america as well. >> reporter: outside of the cemetery crews put up special fencing to help safely accommodate the thousands of spectators expected to line memorial bridge and memorial avenue as the motorcade passes. it will reach the gravesite around 5:30 p.m. the kenne family and a few invited guests will be joined by vice president joseph biden, cardinal mccarrick will be the only speaker. at fort meyer the old guard team that will carry the casket prepared for their historic duty and sergeant john kennedy from massachusetts, it is a chance to honor a man revered by his family. >> personally it means a lot when i was -- when my mom was pregnant with me, between didn't have a lot of money. and we couldn't get the medical care necessary for my mother during the pregnancy. and she wrote senator kennedy a letter and made sure we got the funds necessarily to get the medical care needed. my family, he is a huge -- an icon. hero. >> reporter: tomorrow's service has special significant for arlington cemetery superintendent. his father was superintendent when the other two kennedy brothers were buried. >> it is quite a legacy here. for the kennedys and for me personally to be able to do this, following in my father's footst footsteps. >> reporter: arlington cemetery will be open tomorrow. however, the kennedy gravesite will be closed to the public. the entire day. then on sunday, visitors to the kennedy gravesite will find at kennedy's spot a white cross justikteha t ois hthro b ha fboy' o his brother h e.ju >> e. i>ju stay with news4 thhoroutug innd a weekend for ouragovfeer y'keed mnniasfem services. ng sthomstawor tni mrotor aat thtas torrow morning at inamdereomg vion o streaming video on oweit nbcwashington.com. we are going to also have live coverage of tomorrow's burial at arlington national cemetery. that begins at 5:30. other news today. the los angeles county coroner released an officialause of death for michael jackson. and while the detail tokstology report was not released, the coroner did provide more information about what probably killed jackson. jay gray has our report. >> reporter: following the final leersal michael jackson ingested a cocktail of sedatives that ultimately took his life. that according to the one-page release from the los angeles county coroner this afternoon. more than two months after the pop star's death, the coroner ruled it was a homicide. established the cause as, quote, acute propofol ink to intoxication. five depressants, anti-anxiety drugs and muscle relaxants and contributed to his death. >> those drugs, you can build a tolerance to and at some point he was taking more of those drugs. i think that in order to keep pushing to get the effects they wanted, that is good night's sleep, they just went too far. >> reporter: also today, their investigation continues, los angeles police confirmed they will ultimately turn their findings over to the district attorney to consider charges in the case. according to law enforcement sources, the most likely charge is manslaughter. the primary suspect continues to be jackson's personal physician, dr. conrad murray. jay gray, nbc news, los angeles. in order to win a manslaughter conviction the prosecutors must prove murray acted recklessly and with negligence. in the past several years, very few doctors have been found zbilty of manslaughter. but most convictions in such cases involved administering painkillers to their patients. state of emergency in california now where wildfires are burning large areas and threatening homes. governor arnold schwarzenegger gave the order as firefighters battled blazes in the forest of l.a. the fires have already damaged several houses and they forced the evacuation of more than a thousand homes. in monterey county, the fire is covering about eight-square miles and forced the evacuation of 100 homes there. the fires are fueled by high temperatures and low humidity. arguably one of the me important games of the preseason for the redskins tonight take on the patriots at fedex field. dan is at the stadium with more on this. >> tonight really a chance to see what the season might have in store. tom brady and patriots, you could not ask for a better opponent for the redskins tonight. the third preseason game, easily the most important because the starters are goingo play. two quarters and probably more. you know all eyes are going to be on jason campbell in this game against the ravens, campbell was without portis and moss. the offense shut out the entire game. last week against the steelers, campbell had all of his weapons but misfire order a couple of passes. tonight the offense can quiet the crics with a couple of touchdowns. something joe bugel would love to see. >> you get in the -- the first bunch ready for that opening season game. you mo what i mean? you like to see good results. we need to put touchdowns on board. what we understand that. we are not stupid enough to believe that you can win with no touchdowns. that's the key thing there. protect the quarterback and running the football, score. >> it could look like last week. just started pouring buckets which is why we are inside here just outside of the locker room. the startlers play. rain or shine because they need to play before that first regular season game. more coming up later at 6:00 in a few minutes. >> nothing like watching a football game in the a run on grasz. that's good stuff. >> sloppy. >> thank you, dan. >> coming up in our broadcast, hearing from the man accused of kidnappi kidnapping a girl 18 years aglow. >> a man threw a dog over a bridge because of an argument over a driveway. >> mark sanford responds to calls for an ethics investigation into his actions. >> the mega-millions jackpot is now more than $300 million. >> bob, how's -- >> oh, wendy, jim, we have that batch of rain that dan talked about. moving out of the fedex area, though. heaand s local heavy th> maed r- -y gea11agr-o rts couagood was in courtoday t in ar dycsd ugwabd ad uc jaycee dugard was bbdntro f ofeo southou in south tahoe tahoe91. sh un sp i antioch,satoenam,ca rn is now back with her family. police say her abductor kept her hidden in his backyard. brian mooar has our report. for 18 years, this p maze of tents and sheds was jaycee dugard's prison. it was home for her two young daughters, ages 15 and 11, fathered by the man accused of kidnapping jaycee when she was just 11. convicted sex offender gill garridond his wife who allegedly helped him today are answering up to dozens of criminal charges in a california court. in phone interview from jail, garrido tried to defend himselfo l criminal case begins, jayce sxe her family have been reunited. the stepfather that witnessed her kidnapping calls her safe return a miracle. >> she's fairly healthy. my wife said she looks almost like shes what she was kidnapped. you know. she has been outside in the rough for like camping for 18 years in the compound. >> the compound included more little a makeshift shower, outhouse and extension cord for power. >> i had no idea. it was so -- like a living quarter. >> reporter: the neighbor was one of manyri g doar od nd garrido odd if not alarming. as the case unfolds, authorities are learning about missed opportunities. >> well, the haunting thing that i had yesterday when the solution came was did we miss something during the initial investigation. >> reporter: now that investigators have a suspect in a case once gone cold, they are working to build a case that will put him behind bars for life. brian mooar, nbc news. >> a neighbor told police three years ago there were people living in tents in the suspect's backyard. the officer who responded issued a warning to the couple but never went into the backyard. nasa will try to launch the space shuttle discovery late tonight. bad weather and problem with the fuel valve have scuttled the first two attempts earlier this week. shuttle managers skipped an early morning launch opportunity today to given gin ears more time to study that valve. discovery is now scheduled to blast off at one minute before midnight. weather again could be a factor. 60% chance the weather will be clear enough for it to take off. the governor of south carolina today said he welcomes a public investigation into his travel records. governor sanford is firing back against allegations that he used state airplanes for personal and political business and accusations that he took unnecessarily edgrupaded mm ercialflights. sanford said today that -- an investigation made public will lay out the truth. >> on the ethics probe against me because my belief is we have an outstanding record with doing the right thing consisntly. >> the scrutiny began after he admitted to having an affair with a woman in argentina. iran's president called for imprisonment for lead ier. ahmadinejad made the comments during friday's prayers in tehran and echoed hardliners who called for the prosecution of mousavi and others who led the protest after the disputed presidential election. he also said the opposition was working with iran's critics in the west. not everyone agrees on wednesday iran's supreme leader said he saw no evidence opposition leaders colluded with the west. coming up tonight, a report on two students from virginia tech murdered just a few miles from the campus. a dog had to be rescued afr citemingco tedpp ied tomorrow marks four years since hurricane katrina devastated the gulf coast. more than 1800 people were killed. most of the people died in the aftermath of the storm when the levees in new orleans broke. 80% of new orleans flooded. katrina is one of the costliest storms on record. it is the fifth deadliest in american history. >> remined how how so much of the city has not recovered. >> whole area and -- yet -- i was down there over a year ago. you see new stores and new restorations but such a slow painful process four years. >> terrible. outside today, boy, we have had depending on what side of the street you are on, either having some light rain showers or standing under niagara falls. i got caught in one of those. our high temperature outside made it up to -- rainy traffic. that was it. 79 degrees. officially down at national airport, less than a tenth of an inch of rain. rain for august is below average. more than a tenth of an inch in some areas. getting breaks. you can see these clouds like the tropical air right in over us. our current temperature here in washington right now, 77 degrees. we still have this tropical air with the dew point near 70. pollen count today was 19. washed some of that away. look at the temperature range. right here where the weather boundary 68. we are at 77. not only that but the humidity to our north is quite a bit lower than it is here. what we have had is that weather front that i talked about yesterday hanging around us. humidity coming from the south. of all things rip until the at months pier and area of low pressure. that's the reason we have those tropical rains this latest batch for you folks on the east side of wash, prince george's county, over around bowie. few more up to our west up to the north. as you can see, right now, annapolis, on into silver spring, even downtown washington, getting some of those rain showers. there's still that flood watch until later on tonight. 1:00, 2:00 in the morning. st. mary's county, once again. calvert county, you are getting it. and once again, right here in washington, really on the edge of things. on the other happened, down into culpeper and fauquier coun, i think that's about it. as a matteof fact, there may be a few breaks in the clouds so here's the future scan as we go through the evening, 9:00, pretty much everything really begins to move off. what a range of rainfall. look at annapolis. about an inch of rain. at the same time front royal, folks there had rains yesterday. overnight. but today only a tenth of an inch and ocean city, only a hundredth of an inch. that will change tomorrow. there is danny. circulation of danny. as i showed you earlier, the main circulation is away from where all of the clouds are. so as it does move up the coast, any winds will be stayi off the coast. there will be heavy surf around ocean city and rehoboth. then by later on tomorrow it will be more like a nor'easter. passing new england. nasty nature tomorrow night. up into parts of cape cod where there could be seas up to ten feet. but for us, what we will be seeing as we go through the future is the clouds, showers moving off and tomorrow morning, there's danny. off the coast of north carolina. and watch as it moves up into eastern new england. and behind it, trailing cool front, might be the focus for afternoon showers later tomorrow. certainly not a washout for the weekend. i think we will see a bit of breaks in the clouds. few more showers and thundershowers once again. prince george's county and anne arundel county. just to the east of washington after 9:00, 10:00. things begin to move off. we may see a few morning showers tool morning. and then things will break up a little bit as we go through the afternoon. temperatures tomorrow morning only about 70. still remaining humid. then i think partly cloudy skies for sunday. it is possible that there may abfew more showers. i think out to the east on sunday if you are heading out for the beaches. lower humid tid comes in. so look at tuesday morning. and monday morning ask into the high 50s to low 60s. pretty pleasant. middle part of next week as we head into september. >> that's right. >> where does summer go? >> goes fast. coming up on "news4 at 6:00," a man admitting to ilrowing a family's dog over idge.e ahel we will hear from hi >> two student a gia tech murdered just a few miles from the campus. >> united airlines worker at dulles airport accused of stealing hundreds of items from passengers. >> tonight's mega-millions jackpot is worth more than $330 million. coming up in sports, the redskins and patriots here at fedex field. jason campbell looking to get into a rly.eamuhythm rleay. ea . a look at stories making headlines. >> tens of thousands of mourners paying their last respects to senator edward kennedy. members of the family were there to personally greet and thank those supporters who filed through boston's jfk library where the senator's body lies in repose. his private funeral and burial will be held tomorrow. the los angeles county coroner has officially ruled michael jackson's death a homicide. caused by would drugs. in a statement released this afternoon, the coroner named the cause of death as acute intoxication from the anesthetic propofol. jackson's personal doctor told investigators that he gave jackson the anesthetic the morning of his death to help him sleep. police are starting to build their case against the convicted sex offender who is accused of kidnapping an 11-year-old girl 18 years ago. the victim who is now 29 has been reunited with her family. authorities say she bore of two her captor's children. police say the alleged abductor kept her hidden in his backyard. his wife is also charged in this case. coming up in half of "news4 at 6:00," a dog had to be rescued from an old well in prince george's county. we will be live at the stadium where the redskins are taking on the new england patriots tonight. and preseason. and people are rushing to the store because the mega-millions jackpot is $330 million. we are hearing from a couple tnight who say thawas was tossed off a bridge inn a act of retaliation. ea hng from the guy ocueadsed doing it. arand and a half old cahhuhiua was stole froua her home in jun. it a all followed an argument between one of zoe's owners and a man who had driventon ir ohe t on to their paoperty. ty cnsliol has whey mlipo co she was my m mpcoion. she was ou ramil fy fanmp ion.co she went oio e tovshwo.usul tverao eshre with us. oadften h her in my pu hrse. >> like a member of the family. >> absolutely. like ars daughter. >>te rorndep ar:o t lose her. >> it feels like i lost a child in my family. >> reporter: kasha misses her dog zoe, 1 1/2-year-old four-pound teacup chihuahua. apparently kidnapped and tossed over this bridge last june after an unusual encounter. but i'm getting way ahead of this story. friday, june 19, kasha and her husband take their ford truck out to get gas. they had some big weekend plans and they wanted to make sure it was -- topped off. in their driveway, they encounter a man in a red station wagon and is on a cell phone. they ask him to leave. he says he wants to stay and make a call. there is an exchange of words. it is not pleasant. >> i told him i was going to call the police. he laughed at me and went like this as i was talking to him, he was going like this. >> reporter: and then comes what you might call the coffee cup incident. >> started his vehicle and started down the hill towards me like he was going to run over me. and i yelled out to him go ahead, you -- run over me in front of my family. but i was thinking to myself toss the coffee. but instead he kept going and i went like this on the rear window. >> reporter: the man in the red car takes off and goes down the road this way. they taketruck, trk,uc theyonk,ow g theow road that wa zoe. turns out, that man in the red car went back to the house and took zoe and drove to the creek and tossed the little dog off the bridge. that man is david beards. he has confessed. i talked to him today. >> i have made few months ago the worst decision in my life. and i want everyone to know that i deeply regret the pain and suffering that i caused this family. i have dealt with this stuff very heavily. and it peaked my family an ndfries and to them, i owe ndiefrs and to them, i owe them ie apology as ll. >> reporter: the family has since obtain ad any chihuahua. but it is no zoe. there's hope that somehow zoe survived this. a reward poster is still up near the bridge. i'm pat collins, news4, point of rocks. >> david beards has been charged with trespassing and animal cruelty. he is under going anger management and seeing a psychiatrist. stressful afternoon for people that -- who own ad dog this afternoon in prince george's county. the dog fell into an old well underneath the back deck of a house on glen drive in suptland. it happened as the storm was blowing thru through the area and water rising in the 30-foot deep well. the owners called for help fire department brought in a high angle rescue team to pull the dog to safety. the dog is a 120-pound dog. it suffered a slight injury above one eye but the owner says he's just grateful the fire department could pull off the rescue. a united a iesrtpos liteng headreds of items fromngt thauieitat the airport iramezwith two counts o ndentwo counts of y. dhaou larceny. she hadescc u as to access to u fandndou bagge ndareaarseou h ernd house inagks ho.ago. and they recovered a laptop and cell pnes danewndelry a other itemsrytha t they sayha drz had stolen from travelers over the past five years. officials are trying to contact those travelers and return their stolen belongings. police say that the murder of two virginia tech students appears to be a random act. the victims were dating and apparently drove to the caldwell fields area of the jefferson national forest wednesday night and spot is about 15 miles from campus. early yesterday morning a man walking his dog found the bodies. 19-year-old david metsler and 18-year-old heidi childs. both students were from the lynchburg area. metsler was found in his car. childs was just outside. they both had been shot. investigators say they would like to talk to anyone that had contact with either student this week. the chairman of the prince george's county school system says a major scheduling snafu for students should be cleared up early next week. prince george's officials say there are about 1300 students who still don't have their rom 8,000 students when schools opened on monday. on wamu radio today, virginia jacobs said the board has confidence in school superintendentilliam hite. >> i'm not interested in turnover now. i'm interested in how we go forward. and make sure that we have the kind of koopg we need for kids in prince george's county. >> i think there was some discussion -- >> officials say a computer glitch was to blame for the scheduling problem. in the driktd school chancer michelle rhee said friday that no rules were broken when signing mayor fenty's two sons to a sought-after school that's outside their neighborhood. rhee, awtop radio, declined to say whether the twin fourth graders were given special treatment by the school system. as chancellor rhee can make exceptions to school placements for the good of the school sis people. mayor fenty has repeatedly refused to answer any questions about how his sons were admitted to lafayette elementary school which is one of the better schools in the district. it is the second largest prize in lottery history. here in the u.s., the mega-millions jackpot is up to $330 million and all over the area people are lining up for chance to win it. ticket buyers in our area say they don't really need to win the whole thing. >> my family, kids. nothing major. i don't want to be some big-time millionaire sitting on the hill but nice house and means to support my family. >> mega-millions is played in 12 states including maryland and virginia. if the winner opposite to takes the payout they will get an estimated $210.4 million. if they take the payment plan, it would come out to $12.8 million a year before taxes for the next 26 years. lucky d.c. area residents got the chance to dig for diamonds today. selected contestants dove into the sand where 60 diamonds were buried. it was a promotion for anna jeweler. it varied in size totaling $15 thousand. the dig was to celebrate the launch of the company's website. mervisdiamond.com. coming up on our broadcast we will tell you about the controversy surrounding a 13-year-old girl who wanted to sail around the world by herself. >> supposed to be diplomatic gift. today we learned that what was thought to be a moon rock isse. some gelse. bob ryan, storm center 4. officially still under that flood watch. that may be lowered before we get into midnight. you can see still some medical rat rains for you folks on the east side of washington. that green area, that is the area that's still officially under the flood watch. i will take that off because you can s where the rains are now. moving out in parts of prince george's county. as we go through the evening, still lingering showers but after the next couple of hours, i think pretty much we are -- will be away from it. here is how we look. earlier today, you can see those heavy rains coming right up and over us and meanwhile, danny will continue to be off the coast with just rain showers and racing up into new england by later on tomorrow. we will see afternoon sunshine, i think, perhaps tomorrow afternoon. back to you. >> thanks, bob. we have an update on the casket of emmett till. which is being brought to the smithsonian's national museum of african museum and history and culture in washington. emmett till was shyears old when brutallily murdered in mississippi in 1955. allegedly for whistling at a white woman. last month officials investigating the cemetery near chicago where till is buried discovered his original casket. till's remains were exhumed in 2005 and buried in a new casket. today till's family spoke out. >> hopefully this casket with its own display at the smithsonian, young boys, young girls from all over the world are going to see it. it is going to inspire them to fight for those who are too weak to fight for themselves. >> today marks the 54th anniversary of till's emotional funeral in chicago. dan's at fedex field where the redskins are getting ready for their big game. >> jason campbell ready and he will be tested tonight. sloppy conditions out there. seems kind of redundant. same issue last game. plus the defense certainly ready dan and lindsay are at fedex and a few other -- maybe a couple dozen people at least in a little while for game number three. right? this one matters. >> yes. >> yes. you hit it on the head, man. probably 90,000 people here if they want to break the rk for most important game of the preseason. >> it is raining already. >> it is. it is going good. the starters areoing to play. lindsay, could there really be a better test than tom brady and the new england patriots coming in? solid on offense and very good on defense as well. >> waiting to see the redskins pass rush. it is exciting, too, because when you were talking to player earlier this week they were all getting thrilled to play against brady. the other thing is the guy is looking for jobs, the redskins have to whittle down the road from 80 to 75 by 4:00 p.m. tuesday. they can start making cuts any time they want. for a lot of the guys it rests on tonight. >> the goal for the redskins in preseason to be injury-free. they have been relatively injury-free thus far. cartwright, rogers, mike williams. three of the guys that will not be on the field mitt. but the players who will be playing are treating this like a regular season game. starters could play as much as 2 1/2 to 3 quarters. say what you will about the preseason in general. the redskins might have the toughest prey season schedule in the league. last week it was the super bowl champs. the redskins offense and defense have had their moments. clinton portis looks solid on offense. defensively new addition, albert haynesworth and brian orakpo. both seemed like they can be game changers. all the redskins want to see tonight is progress. >> final dress rehearsal before the big show. this is the last opportunity to get in our corrects and made from -- previous mistakes from the last two games. communication and the past runners. stoppage and everything. this is it. >> intensity will pick up because you know that -- you kn, you will be facing a really good football team first and foremost. then we will be doing, you know, for majority of football games. so with that being said obviously the focus has to be