good morning, everyone. welcome to "news 4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. it's friday, july 30th, 2010. we begin this morning with new information on the man suspected of releasing classified documents to the website wikileaks. the army private from potomac is now back in the united states and faces a court-martial. bradley manning arrived last night at quantico marine base in virginia. he has been in custody since may 29th after being accused of leaking video to the website. the pentagon is focusing on him and the latest disclosure of secret documents. they are still determining the potential security the risks brought on by the leak. they came down hard on the website that released the documents. >> there is no accountability. there is no sense of responsibility. >> the truth is, this he might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an afghan family. >> the pentagon says the fbi has joined the criminal probe into the leak. the white house is now imploring the website not to post any more classified documents about the war saying u.s. national security and afghan lives are at risk. officials say that manning is essentially on a suicide watch out of fear that he may try to harm himself. with one day left in july, it has already become the deadliest month for u.s. forces in afghanistan. overnight, we learned three more u.s. service members have been killed. a nato statement released early this morning says the americans died in two separate blasts. just minutes ago, another report that three more soldiers have died. those six deaths bring the u.s. death toll in afghanistan to at least 66 according to the "associated press." that's the highest one-month total in the history of a nearly nine-year war. marc riders are feeling the pain caused by yesterday's storms. several trains were canceled less than a day after power lines fell on to the tracks. it happened between silver spring and formest glen stations just before the evening rush. thousands of commuters from union station dealt with delays. the situation was much worse for more than three dozen passengers on board a train that was stranded near the downed power lines for about three hours. >> they said we have to wait one hour. after that, not only one hour but we wait three hours. so that is not good. >> all things considered, all things came together well. >> at first, when the train stopped, i thought it would be something where we would just move on and the conductor said, we will move momentarily, we will move momentarily, about ten times after that, we realized we were going to be stuck for a period of time. >> despite the aggravation, passengers say everyone stayed pretty calm for the most part. pepco crews meanwhile are still working to restore power to thousands of area residents still in the dark after sunday's storms. most customers had their electricity again. more than 2200 customers in montgomery county still have no power. in prince george's county, that number is 167. about 599 pepco customers in the district have no power right now. >> let's take a look outside right now. beautiful sunny morning. a little on the humid side. not as bad as it could be. 82 degrees, our current temperature. it isn't quite as hot. >> it is a huge improvement over where we were. >> we should feel like we are comfortable. >> yes. >> we'll try to feel that way. outside, beautiful friday, late morning. great day to be outside. a nice north breeze is keeping things stirred up. temperatures, no one has even made it into the 80s. culpepper, virginia, 81. everybody else holding back in the 70s. this time yesterday, we were already 91. a big change from yesterday, no doubt about it. we can all appreciate the change as lower humidity air moves on in. high pressure in charge. it is going to be great around here for the rest of today and into the weekend too. delightful afternoon. sun doesn't go down until 20 minutes past. between now and then, temperatures will climb to the mid to high 80s. 10 to 20 miles an hour. if you are holding tickets to the baseball game, nationals hosting the philadelphia phillies, first pitch, 7:05. 82 degrees under a clear sky. great night for baseball. hopefully, a great night for a nationals win. that's what we would like to have it be. jerry edwards, i'm sure you have the millionaire's row seats down at the stadium. >> i do, indeed, own them all. i am happy to rent them out for a nominal fee. good morning, barbara, chuck. happy friday, everyone. so far, so good. along i-95, typically, not quite this spectacular as you travel south. no construction in sight for the moment. 95 southbound as you head on down in the capital beltway and the hov lanes are configured for southbound traffic. that's better news. let's see if that continues elsewhere, traveling the capital beltway, near landover road, a couple of accidents earlier including one on the beltway. as you come on up from forestville on up towards college park, both directions, things are looking good. we will try and keep it that way the rest of the day. barbara? >> we hope you will. >> i'll try. >> thanks a lot. we have some good news coming out of prince george's county this morning. crime is down to its lowest level in the last 35 years in the county. police statistics show crime has fallen. homicides are down 14% and forceable rates dropped 11% in prince george's county. burglaries are down 4% and the number of stolen vehicles dropped 6%. since 2005, criminal homicides are down 43%. metro riders will have a little longer to pay out of their pockets in preparation for the new fare hikes that we have been talking about. the second phase of metro's fare increase set to take effect on monday will now take place in two parts. on monday, a new 20 cent peak of the peak fee will take place later in the month. the two-step increase was needed to allow more time to upgrade fare gates and handle the fare hike. the tysons connectors days may be numbered. fairfax county leaders are thinking of shutting down the taxpayer funded shuttle program according to a report in "the examiner." it started in november and runs a loop through the tysons corner area about every ten minutes from 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 in the afternoon. it picks up fewer than 100 passengers on an average day. it costs about $1 million a year to operate. the fairfax county board of supervisors plans to take another look at the shuttle program in september. well, what would you do to save a few bucks on a dress, not just a few bucks, a light. would you wait in line all night and fight anyone that stood in your way to get a beautiful new dress? you would if you were one of the hundreds of brides to be who took part in this morning's annual running of the brides. megan mcgrath witnessed the carnage and she joins us live. >> reporter: it was wild and crazy when they opened those doors. you had hundreds of brides to be, all of their friends and family members assisting them. they pushed into philene's basement, all of them looking for the best deal on that dream dress. there is no concern for comfort. a decent night's rest? >> we haven't slept. >> reporter: this is combat shopping. the mission, to snag the perfect dress at deep discount. >> i've heard about the $10,000 dresses you can get an awesome deal for like $250. i'm looking for those deals. >> reporter: it's an annual ritual, the running of the brides at phi lean's basement, an event that inspires hundreds of women to camp out. wedding gowns originally priced between $900 and $9,000 on sale for as low as $249. as the clock clicks down, the excitement increased. brides and their teams reviewed their strategy. >> our strategy is to run up toward the front of the store by the register and encircle an area, grab as many dresses as we can and sit on top of them and just keep pulling dresses off until there are no more dresses to pull. >> reporter: then, at 8:00 a.m., the doors opened and the chaos began. kimberly bode fell down in the crush. she limped off to the side but kept going. >> i'm all right. i'm all right. i'm still going. >> reporter: teams grabbed as many gowns as they could get and guarded them until their brides could try them on. it is not a sale for the faint of heart but for those willing to go to the extreme comes the payoff. >> it is perfect. >> reporter: you found it? >> i found it. first one. >> reporter: there are a lot of people who did find their dream dresses and saved doing it this way. we encountered a gal that saved about $1,000. other people saved even more than that. so you've got to be brave. you've got to have nerves of steal and be able to deal with large crowds. there were deals to be had. they had 1700 dresses. i'm telling you, barbara, the amazing thing is, everyone crushed in at 8:00. within two minutes, all 1700 of those dresses were all the racks. people sitting on piles. women taking off their clothes and trying them on right there in the store. it is a sight to see if you have never gone to the running of the brides. >> i think i saw in your tape there that there were guys in there too as part of the teams. is that right? >> reporter: there were a few guys. >> so much for the modesty, to try on the dresses. >> reporter: i was surprised. there were women stripped down to their skivvies and primarily dad and spoken-for fiancees but pretty wild. >> i think that they do it every year, so people don't mind doing it. they know what they are facing when they get in there. great story, megan. always fun. see you later. you can almost hear the wedding bells. former first daughter, chelsea clinton will marry mark ms. vinsky. the service will be tonight in a 300-year-old barn. it is a 525 acre private estate in new york state. the theme is country chic. many will wear jeans and a blazer. saturday's wedding will be on the grounds of as store court, a private french style mansion overlooking the hudson river. state troopers won't confirm the wedding but are prepared for extra people. >> we expect a significant influx of people and vehicles into the area which is typical during any summer weekend. furthermore, there will be an area in and around line beck four corners where parking will be prohibited completely. >> the area where the wedding will take place will be under a no fly zone from saturday afternoon until sunday afternoon. our time right now is 13 minutes after 11:00. a local hospital could be hiring temporary employees. plus, president obama is arriving in detroit at this hour. he is focusing on the u.s. car business today. a little good news for the redskins today. what key player comes to terms with my friends we'll do almost anything. out for drinks, eats. i have very well fitting dentures. i like to eat a lot of fruits. love them all. the seal i get with the super poligrip free keeps the seeds from getting up underneath. even well fitting dentures let in food particles. just a few dabs of super poligrip free is clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. a lot of things going on in my life and the last thing i want to be thinking about is my dentures. [ charlie ] try super poligrip free. right now, president obama is on his way to detroit to visit gm and chrysler plants. he is there to promote the auto industry bailout. the visit comes on the heels of a white house report highlighting what the administration calls success stories of the auto bailout. the administration says american car companies could have lost over 1 million jobs. instead therks say, automakers have added 55,000 jobs. republicans argue the bailouts and taxes on business are actually hurting manufacturing. ousted usda employee, shirley sherrod sayings, she will sue andrew breitbart. he posted an edited video cope of sherrod earlier this month, which made her out-of-contest remarks sound racially charged. that individual joe prompted the usba to ask for her resignation. she has since been offered a new job with the agency and the obama administration has apologized. sherrod says she is still considering the job offer. new york democrat, charlie rangel, has reached a plea deal in his ethics investigation. that according to sources close to the talks. it is not clearly how many of the 13 ethics violation charges rangle would accept. republicans say, not so fast. the top republican on that panel, representative michael mccall says that rangel was given the opportunity to negotiate a deal during the investigation phase. that opportunity has past. now, they are in the trial phase, he says. the house ethics panel investigating his conduct held its first meeting yesterday. a nurses strike could be looming at a d.c. hospital. washington hospital center is waiting to learn if it could be without regular nursing staff for 24 hours. the hospital's 1600 registered nurses voted last night whether or not to go on a one-day strike. the result is expected on monday. the strike would be in protest of the dismissal of 18 nurses that were let go because they didn't make it to work during the february blizzard. the hospital says it will bring in temporary nursing staff if that strike happens. >> chuck bell is here with a look at our weather. he is looking feared to a baseball game. >> i wish i could go to a baseball game but, unfortunately, i will be in bed. news 4 starts at 6:00 a.m. on saturday. i will be here forethere. as a result, there is no baseball game for me. that's all right. >> can you watch it on tv? >> no. >> you are going to sleep? >> i will be sound asleep by 8:30 tonight. outside, on a beautiful friday morning, good-looking weather outside. good day to be outside in it. not stuck at the office. 79 degrees, our current temperature here in washington. the dye point, 55 and very pleasantly low. humidity now only 44%. winds are light out of the northeast at only 7 miles per hour. had two rounds of rainfall yesterday at national airport. it left just under .75 of an inch of rain. about 3.5 inches behind for the year today. folks in the shaen an doe after valley and the panhandle of west virginia, the drought is more substantial for our friends and neighbors out to the west. almost .75 of an inch in washington. about .50 in dulles and the naval academy. with the sunshine, temperatures are on their way up to near 80 degrees. 78, win she isster and front royal and toms brook and beautiful st. mary's county. this little air mass, back across the ohio valley and the eastern great lakes, we have a north/northwesterly wind flow. cooler dryer air moving in for today. we get to keep it for this afternoon and tomorrow before moisture and rain chances come back, especially for your sunday. dew point changes, it feels so much nicer outside. our dew points have dropped some 15 degrees in the last 24 hours. that takes the edge off the summer temperatures to get the humidity out of here. the last of the showers, long off the virginia cape. cooler and lower humidity for us. rain chances will be going upstarting late saturday night and into the day on sunday. be ready for a 50/50 weekend. i don't think sunday will be a wash out but it will be hit and miss showers most of the day long. you may get a little four, five hour dry stretch in there. you need to have a backup plan for any of your outdoor plans on sunday. for today, plenty of sunshine. an absolute lay delate full friday afternoon. temperatures will top out in the mid to upper 80s. doing a little boating and sailing on the chesapeake bay, saturday, the better day, 84. sunday, a good chance of showers rolling in. the good weather will last longer into the day on sunday. the sunday rain chance is all the way down at the coastline and it won't roll in until much later at the day. there is our four-day forecast. sunny and dry today. some clouds coming back tomorrow. sunday going to be a farreirly y day with showers. we will have showers and shower chances all day. back up into the low 90s as we head into the middle parts of next week. a touch of humidity coming back. >> we'll check in with your hair on tuesday. >> thanks a lot. >> let's check in with the traffic now. hey, jerry. good morning, barbara. generally speaking. it's a fairly decent friday midday. let's take a look and see how we are doing. the drive south looks as close as it would work. don't see any construction. very good news. the hov lanes are open for the southbound flow if you head south flew dumfries. let's head over and see how we are doing over the american legion bridge, heavy, slow from river road all the way across the bridge span. no accidents or incidents. everybody is slowing down down around the dulles toll road where they have taken down the trees and doing the hot lane construction. that is distracting commuters just enough to back things up into maryland. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. 11:22 is the time right now. still ahead on "news 4 midday," albert haynesworth back on the field today at redskins park. with the same outcome. we will explain. they is proving she is a good sport. why miss iowa is making a trip to national stadium today and event expert, sandy off man, has brought us ideas for the perfect wedding and a sparkling fourth of july party. she is sharing more of her secrets. planning the perfect party, start to finish. here is a look at what's hat on nbcwashington.com. the redskins first round pick is practicing with the team today, trent williams signed a six-year, $60 million contract and more than $36 million of that monies is guaranteed. he is projected at to start at left tackle for the redskins replacing chris samuels who recently retired. defensive tackle, albert haynesworth, is hoping the third time is the charm for his conditioning test. he failed the exam for a second straight day today keeping him from practicing with the rest of the team. during the first day of training camp, that's what's kept him from practicing yesterday on the first day. coach mike shanahan says he must pass the conditioning test first. >> obviously, you would like him to be in the type of shape that most of our players are in. the bottom line is we're going to get him in shape. he is going to be on our football team and he is going to play at the level we would like him to play, then he has to be in great football shape. >> shanahan says that haynesworth was first class all the way when he learned that he had failed the test. stephen strasburg on the dl won't be on the mound for a while but miss iowa usa will. katherine connors will be throwing out the first pitch before tonight's game. why should you care? she was the butt of a joke miguel bautista made after he started instead of strasburg. his remark. people started boo me and they hadn't seen me throwing a pitch. you hear miss iowa and you say, iowa and then, you see her up close and you say, wow, she is gorgeous. 11:27 is the time now. coming up in our next half hour of "news 4 midday," what schools who ployed a teacher who pled guilty of salting a student knew before his arrest. plus, wildlife officials say they have captured the fourth and final grizzly bear involved in a fatal mauling. more evacuations for a fast-moving wild fire has grown to more than seven square miles. chuck bell is back with the latest on our weekend forecast. stay with us. (voice 1) we've detected an anomaly... (voice 2) how bad is it? (voice 1) traffic's off the chart... (voice 2) they're pinging more targets... (voice 3) isolate... prevent damage... (voice 2) got 'em. (voice 3) great exercise guys. let's run it again. right now rs on "news 4 midday," july has become the deadliest month for u.s. forces in afghanistan. three more service members were killed today. that brought the u.s. death toll to at least 66 this month. it's the highest one-month total in the history of the almost eight-year war. service on metro's red line is back to normal this midday after yesterday's storm brought a power line down on the tracks in silver springs. a train with 41 passengers was stuck for about three hours and commuter rail service in the area was halted just before the evening rush. california firefighters have been battling wildfires all week. some cool weather helped to kill some of the blazes but six new fires sprung up yesterday afternoon. one dubbed the crown fire has spread overnight to over 5,000 acres and is threatening 2000 homes. nbc's jinah kim reports. >> reporter: overnight, firefighters battled the raging wild fire near palmdale. one of six fires that broke out thursday afternoon fueled by high winds and heavy, dry brush, quickly spread to nearby communities forcing the evacuation of 2000 homes. >> i got as much as i could off the ranch. i think everybody is going fire flames as the firefighter moved toward home catching many off guard. >> it looked far away. then, it was on us. >> reporter: 25-mile-an-hour winds swept through making it difficult for firefighters to control the blaze. it was a close call for this hillside animal shelter home to dozens of animals. >> we get fires up here all the time. that's the closest i have ever seen it get. >> that was nbc's jinah kim reporting. firefighters are unsure how many homes have been damaged by that fire so far. we are going to check in with chuck bell about our weather. they must be having pretty hot, dry weather out in the los angeles area. >> you have to be in the want category for rain out in that part of the country, very rare. they usually average less than one-tenth of an inch. >> any kind of an offshore blow brings hot hair down and makes fire fighting worse and all the steep terrain and the canyons, it is a tough place to fight a fire. temperatures up near 90 degrees again for them today. not the best news for them. for us, we've caught a little break. we are happy to see the dry air come into the area after we have been sitting in the soup for most of the week. 79, our downtown temperature right now. it is 76 degrees at andrews air force base. 76 at the naval academy. 79 in beautiful winchester, virginia. 75 up in the panhandle of west virginia. plenty of sunshine on tap for today as high pressure is ruling the roost around here. plenty of sunshine. temperatures, mid to high 80s later on this afternoon with a nice north breeze to keep things stirred up. nationals and phillie rs, first pitch, 7:05. mid-80s for tomorrow. increasing numbers of clouds around. starting late saturday night but primarily into the day on suay. that's when our rain chances do ramp up once again. that's good news. a lot of folks, their grass is still brown and unmowable. >> i know. i have one of those lawns. now, to the the gulf oil disaster. a crucial weekend is coming up in the final preparations for permanent permanently sealing the broken well. it could plug up the damaged rig for good. a method intended to east the job could start monday or sooner. the stasic kill that involves pumping heavy mud in is on track for completion next week. less work for skimming vessels and economic life line for out-of-work fishermen. >> i hate to use the word downsize. i think right size is more the word. >> after the fractured rig is fixed and there is less oil, the mission will shift from response to long-term recovery. more than 6,000 graves at arlington national cemetery might be mislabeled. that estimate is far higher than the 211 unmarked or misidentified graves initially reported. the re-evaluation and revelation came out of yesterday's congressional hearing on the scandal. the cemetery's former superintendent is taking full responsibility for this. john metzler testified that his staff and a lack of resources are to blame for the controversy that cost him his job. that didn't satisfy senators that grilled him and his deputy. >> did the chief of staff of the army ever see a document from you that we've got a problem? we found cremated remains and we don't know where they belong? >> did that ever occur, mr. metzler? >> we took the records and buried them as unknown in the seam tary. i did not send a memo to the chief of the staff of the army. >> metzler and his deputy were forced to retire after army investigators found the unmarked and mislabeled graves. >> you vote yet if you believe yes. you vote in favor of something if you believe it is the right thing. if you believe it is the wrong thing, you vote no. we are following a procedure. i will not yield to the gentlemen and the gentlemen will observe regular order. the gentlemen will observe regular order. >> things got a little heated on the house floor last night to say the least. it happened during debate for a bill that would provide health care to people who got sick after the 9/11 attacks. congressman anthony weiner of new york got upset after the voting procedure was changed requiring a two-thirds majority. democrats say the change was made because republicans threatened to add an amendment. the bill failed 255-159. >> rangers in montana have trapped a grizzly bear they believe is responsible for a series of attacks outside yellowstone national park. they trapped the 400-pound bear and two of her three cubs. the third cub was captured this morning. they are conducting dna attacks. one was injured and two others injured as they slept in separate attacks at the campground out there. one of the survivors setd only way she made it through the attack was to play dead. >> i couldn't believe the strength of this animal. i could just feel everything crushing. i knew i didn't have a chance fighting that. that was to play dead and hope she went away. she did. >> if the dna tests show this is the bear that attacked, it will likely be put down. >> we are going to go to the road and check with jerry to see how things are moving on this friday almost afternoon. jerry? close enough for us. hey, barbara, let's head out and see how we are doing. a couple of very slow spots. i-95 northbound and southbound, doesn't malt ter which direction you are goings ayou head between triangle and headed on down towards dumfries or up to dumfries. travel lanes are opened. the friday getaway is well underway at this hour. let's head over and see how we are doing. eastbound to the toll booths is moving along nicely. all travel lanes are open. multiple toll booths are open if your headinged that way. osborn high school english teacher, kevin ribs, entered the guilty plea yesterday. he is now being investigated on federal child pornography charges. investigators say they found pictures on a notebook describing sexual acts he committed with former students. prosecutors say schools where ricks has worked had been warned of inappropriate behavior. he may have been stopped sooner if they had paid attention to those red flags. >> today, another hearing has been scheduled to discuss last year's deadly metro crash. members of the washington, d.c. area congressional delegation, will meet with the head of the national transportation safety board. they will be discussing more about the ntsb's findings and recommendations. earlier this week, the ntsb blamed a faulty electronic circuit and the safety culture on the deadly crash that killed nine people. another tuskegee air man has died. colonel spam watson spent the rest of his life inspiring and mentoring young people. craig melvin has his story. >> reporter: during the 1920s, span watson noticed something as he grew up in segregated south carolina. >> the good things some people had and the nothing most of us had and i decided that wasn't going to be good for me. >> reporter: after seeing charles lynn berg at a local air show, he decided to fly. in 1936, he enrolled in howard university. six years later, he became an original member of the 99-fighter squad. >> you can't judge a man here by the color of his eyes or the shape of his nose. on the flight's trip, you judge a man by the way he flies. >> reporter: watson was one of the first blacks to fly combat missions during world war ii. after that, he taught. by the time he retired in 1964, he had spent 5,000 hours in the air. all three of his sons went into the military. wayman watson was a navy pilot and remembers the only time he had the nerve to take his father flying. that was just a few years ago. >> i flew for a little while and took the airplane. it was like he had never gotten out of a plane. he was a great pilot. >> reporter: decades after, there was bound to be breaking flying days. this is how watson spent his time. talking to young people. he did more than give spooeeech like he found. >> he showed it just about every way, every avenue we could to have an appointment at the air force academy. >> reporter: his seven grandchildren grew up knowing the legacy and hearing the war stories. >> we know and appreciate and admire it about him but that's not what we think about and that's not what will matter. >> reporter: thursday morning, lieutenant colonel span watson joined the ranks of our couldn't tri's fallen at arlington national cemetery. the guns, the trumpet, the few remaining tuskegee airmen that came to pay tribute. according to his son, the colonel wanted his life to be the greatest testament. >> the whole problem of racial barriers was something he encountered all his life. he didn't think it would be something he would conquer in his life but he was determined to fight it. for him, it was a never-ending mission. >> reporter: craig melvin, news 4. there are now four remaining tuskegee airmen from lieutenant colonel watson's squadron. 11:42, the time right now. still ahead, the government says the economy grew at a slower pace than expected. going to take a look at how the mark kelts are reacting to that. from start to finish, we will walk you through manning the perfect party. >> delta airlines is adding flights out of there. destinations include several florida cities as well as st. louis, hartford and columbus. tickets for the new flights will go on sale tomorrow. economic growth slows to the weakest pace in nearly a year. we are checking in with courtney reagan. she joins us live with more on that and the rest of the business headlines. >> good morning, barbara. >> at least stocks are a little bit higher than they were earlier. thou they are still low. they are underneath, of course, that flat line. the dow is down about ten points. we were down more than 100 at a point. getting better. this is "the final trade"ing day of july. believe it or not, we are on track for the best monthly gain in a year. all the major indices did close lower yesterday and the day before. asia closed lower. europe is down too. we are taking some of that momentum towards our trading day today. like you mentioned, the government said the u.s. economy through during the second quarter. it was slower than the revised 3.7% rate for the first quarter and a bit lower than economists had expected. chevron earned $2.70 a share, 26 cents above estimates. merck also had consensus. good earnings. walt disney has sold mira max for $660 million to a private investment group. it is official and final today. we'll brush off the fund-raising trail in new york. president obama is in michigan today visiting general motors and chrysler e is going to their plants because the white house is making a push for the auto bailout to be scene as a success. gm and chrysler received a total of $60 billion from the federal government. the white house warned that over 1 million jobs would have been lost without the bailout. 55,000 new auto workers have been hired since. back to you. we'll see you next week on monday. moving on, throwing the perfect party takes a lot of planning. everyone knows that. from the invitations to the guest list. event planner, sandy hoffmann joins joins us with a step by step guide to throwing a party. >> we are always happy to see you. we are going to start a reality show for the next six weeks talking about how to plan a party. we are going to have a real life couple you are planning for. why don't you introduce them to us and the audience. >> terrific. i thought what might be fun is to do something a little more personal and really reality. most times you see these party planning shows and the party planers are doing it for their clients. i'm going to show you what it is like to do it for my own. so often, people say to me, what would you do if it was your own. your own daughter. i said, well, this is a perfect time to do it. so here goes. the very first time, i want to introduce you to the couple. this is jamie and austin. they have been engaged and they are getting married in april and we are going to plan an engagement party for them at home. >> we can't wait to see what the first thing is to do. we know that you have got to pick a date. this is an engagement party coming up in september. >> that is correct. what i want to say is we can use this as a format for any kind of party you want to have. >> so how do you begin? >> so you first decide whether or not you want to celebrate a specific occasion. so you pick an occasion. this particular time, it's an engagement paert. the next thing you do, you choose your date. the most important thing is that you are conscious about holidays that might conflict or vacations that people may be taking or business commitments or school calendars or religious holidays. that's the most important thing. set the date. >> sometimes the party is based on a particular date. it could be a march mibar mits holiday party of any kind. >> you want to put that down and give yourself -- let's say we are working on a six-week segment. i am going to take you to the 11th of september where you will see the party being planned and the party being taped. let's move that two weeks forward. let's start today. i want you to pick the date and i want you to pick the venue. >> okay. you have just said that we have got to pick the date based on -- do we have enough time? >> yes, you do. if this is going to be on the 11th of september, you think about planning something toward the end of september or october. we can start today. >> you are going to pick the place where you want it. >> all right. >> you can go to restaurants. you can go to hotels. this particular event is going to be at home, because these kids are having their wedding in a hotel and they would like to celebrate something at home. we chose home. >> it's easier anyway, because you don't have to compete with anybody else to get the space. >> well, you don't. it also depends on what kind of house you have and how often you entertain. i do a lot of entertaining at home. i wanted to do something a little bit different. we are going to take our furniture in each one of the rooms and either move them out of the house or move them around. you can rent a u haul truck and put your furniture in a u-haul truck and have an open, empty room that you can recreate any way you want it. >> that probably is, even with the rental of the truck, the cheapest way to go. >> the least expensive way to do it. >> now that you have determined where you are going to have it -- >> then you are going to contact a caterer or you want to think about your menu. today, caterers are very happy to work with you. for instance, i like to cook some things. maybe somebody else would like to cook some things and you can talk to the caterer about mixing the two together. or you may want to pick something up at your favorite restaurant and put that in on your menu. anything is possible today. they are happy to work with whatever you want. so you want to start thinking about menus, bars, save the dates, invitations. >> invitations. speaking of that, that's what we are going to look at next week, how to pick the invitations, how soon they have to go out. who is going to be on the guest list. you have to figure out how many people you can fit into the space that you are going to use. >> this is going to be a lot of fun. >> this is going to be great. >> we look forward again to our couple, your daughter and her fiancee. we will look forward to maybe getting a chance to meet them. i have one quick question to ask you before you go. we know there is a big wedding coming up this weekend. chelsea clinton, mark medvinsky wedding. what's going on right now? >> they are having a wonderful time but behind the scenes is getting nerve-racking. i would imagine they had access to this venue four or five days ago. at this point, they are starting to see the things that are not coming together and what is very important is that whoever is planning it, i'm sure they are very capable people, is that they are fixing the mistakes and making it so that the guests see nothing wrong. >> are the mother and father of the bride nervous at this point about how things are going to come out? >> hopefully, they say at this point, whatever it is, it is. it is now in the hands of the professionals. >> we are always happy to see you with your professional ideas about how to throw a party. we will see you next friday with the next step in the party we are planning. the time right now is 11:53. coming up, meteorologist, chuck bell will be back with another check of the forecast. stay with us. topping the weekend box office, one of most anticipated comitidi comedies of the summer arrives in theaters. >> switzerland. i love switzer land, it is one of my favorite countries. i love your army knifes with the tooth picks. dinner for schmucks plays a boss who shows an unusual monthly competition to see who invites the strangest person to dinner. that's where steve correll comes in. if you are looking for something with more substance "charlie st. cloud" is out today. it starts zach efron, rated pg-13. >> let's take a look at some of the stories we are following. jim hanley joins us from the "newsroom" with a preview of things to come. busy day ahead. coming up tonight at 4:00, hot off the grill. we are grilling fish with the executive of jackson 20. a little time spent looking for some late summer travel deals could be time well spent. we will help you find the best deals out there in august. then, at 5:00, we told you about redskins star, albert haynesworth being sidelined after failing his conditioning test. could you make the grade? all the day's news and your forecast when we join you today at 4:00 and 5:00. let's check with chuck bell one more time for the weather. >> it's going to be a nice day to be outside today. we are only a few minutes from getting a chance to get outside an join a little bit of it ourselves. in between now and then, temperatures will climb into the mid and upper 80s. if you are going out to the chesapeake bay, bay water temperature, 83. good weather tomorrow. a little bit of a chance for stormy weather coming our way as we get into sunday. that's all right. we do need the rain showers across the area. look at that, barbara. no 90s on the next. i looked back. we had to go to june 30th and july, 1, 2, 3 since we had four days in a row below 90. >> thank you for that. that's good news to end with. that's "news 4 midday." we thank you for being with us and invite you to tune in for the daily connection at 2:00. we'll see you monday morning at 11:00 a.m. have a great weekend!