extreme heat and the second day of heat index is over 100 degrees. taking a look outside, the sun is out after a stormy night. a possibility of more storms today. chuck bell with us now to talk about the forecast. >> typical summertime heat and humidity. the transition from where we are to the weekend could bring another round of severe weather back to the area by later this afternoon. keep a weather eye to the sky as you make your plans to go outside. temperatures climbing quickly, 87, prince george's. 87, charles county, st. mary's county over into the old dominion we go. 85, falls church. 86, manassas. 82, winchester. 76, martinsburg, west virginia. the line of thunderstorms late last night went down through tidewater. the pink-shaded counties, on the far left, severe thunderstorm watch, which has already been issued for areas well out to the west of the mountains. that's going to continue for the next several hours. i do believe that we will have a severe weather watch box here in the washington area probably by about 2:00 or 3:00 this afternoon. there will be an opportunity for severe weather today. otherwise, very hot and extremely humid. heat index values, between 100 and 105 degrees. even though the air temperatures will only be around 95 to 96 degrees. be very cautious outside. lightweight and light-colored clothing. drink your extra water and shade breaks. be heat smart. >> you need both shades and a hat in weather like this. >> you need anything you can do to stay safe from the sun. >> thanks a lot. see you shortly. >> tourists and city officials are preparing for another day of extreme heat. add in the chance of thunderstorms keeping the power on, is an added priority. megan mcgrath is live at pepco headquarters in northwest. are you gearing up for this heat wave, this extreme heat today? >> they certainly are. pepco was highly criticized for their handling of last month's massive power outage. they have learned a few things since then. they are going to do things a bit differently this time around. we are expecting the possibility of those severe thunderstorms. also, things are starting to heat up already out here on the street. we are expecting very, very uncomfortable temperatures today. people are going to have to take some precautions. a hot day in the nation's capital. as the sun beats down, people brace themselves for an uncomfortable day. >> at the washington monument, tourists lined up early this morning, the plan, to see the sights before things get too hot. >> yesterday, we were having a hard time walking over to the jefferson memorial. we were really hot. >> what's your strategy? >> get out early and get done and get back to where it is cool. >> reporter: as the mercury rises, local governments will open cooling centers for those without air-conditioning. people with health conditions are advised to stay inside and those who do venture outdoors need to keep a close eye on the weather. with the brutal temperatures, could also come severe thunderstorms. if you are outside, seek shelter. >> don't go under a tree in a lightning storm. seek refuge in a building if you can. expect, you know, that we can have these severe storms. so pay attention if you sense that something is coming, you know, seek refuge and get out of harm's way. >> also in the forecast is the chance of high winds. that could lead to downed power lines. pepco took it on the chin during last month's massive power outage. tens of thousands of people lost electricity for several days. pepco officials say they have learned some lessons from that storm and will bring in extra staff to man the phones and better coordinate repair work. >> what's going to be different now? if it does look like the storm will be significant, we are going to be bringing in more live bodies much faster. we will have people in place to be able to do what they need to do, to supervise, to make decisions. we are going to work toward that effort. >> reporter: pepco has a special control center, a command center, they open up when they are expecting severe weather, when they are having a major power outage. they are going to open that center up later on this afternoon as that threat of storms gets closer. they are keeping a close eye on it. it was a pretty ugly situation with that last storm that knocked so many people and left so many people without electricity. they are hoping things won't be so bad this time around. if we do see power outages, they are handling things differently. >> it's hard to know what mother nature is going to do. see you later. thank you very much, megan. >> metro's smart trip users are still having trouble getting through the fare gates. the new computer system is taking longer to read the cards. the most recent issues was during last night's commute in huntington stations. it is working on the issue. it is not clear how long it will take to get it all fixed. i am going to check on traffic. let's go to jerry edwards. a do zi of a hush hour. five minutes ago, finally started to clear out. there have been a couple of accidents on the beltway. one up near route 50. travel springfield through annandale up through 66, we are doing better. outer loop, not too bad. a hopeful sign, anyway. let's head over and see how we are doing. i apologize for the quality of the camera. i did want to show you this. delays coming off the i-270 spur to the american legion bridge. much, much earlier, there was an accident on the outer loop at bradley boulevard involving a motorcycle quickly cleared. another one on the outer loop of 123. that too is gone. those delays remain at this hour. we will keep a close eye and keep you updated. barbara? right now, two dozen boy scouts are in town and stranded. they are desperately trying to get home right now after spending more than 24 hours inside reagan national airport. the scouts were in town for the national jamboree. news 4's elaine reyes, tells us when their travel troubles might end. >> reporter: storms delayed and canceled the boy scouts flights yesterday. it is sunny and they are hoping it stays that way. boy scout troop 1014 is ready to go home. >> it has been nice here but i haven't seen my mom or my little brother much. i would like to get back to see them, maybe seeing my house and my pets again. >> reporter: the group joined tens of thousands of other boy scout it's for the annual jamboree in washington, d.c. now, they are passing the time every possible way they can. after their flights got canceled yesterday. >> cheap entertainment, i guess. the boy scout motto is, be prepared. it still didn't make sleeping on the airport floor any fun. >> we are used to camping in tents not in airports on grounds. we are stuck here with this. >> reporter: the organization dictates a certain number of boys must be accompanied by a certain number of adults when traveling. it made rebooking flights a challenge finding large blocks of seats to accommodate the group. >> we have gone through a couple different possibilities and the best option is for us to sit here and hope that our flights go out on their scheduled times. >> reporter: more storms are expected later today. the boy scouts say if they are delayed again, they will just handle it if it happens. from reagan national airport, elaine reyes, news 4. one group of scouts is scheduled to fly out at 1:00 this afternoon. another group is scheduled to leave at 4:00. the race for d.c. mayor is heating up. d.c. councilman upset mayor adrian fenty in a straw poll. they voted 581 to 481 for gray last night after a passionate speech. mayor fenty attacked gray's record when he ran the department of human services. >> you scratch your head like me and say, hold on, isn't that the agency that went $72 million into debt in our homeless programs. this he had 14 divisions in receivership when he took over and 16 when he left. at the end of that administration, the control board took over the city. >> collaborative, cooperative, open and transparent. i want to be your mayor, because i want to be able to leverage the resources of this sit tichlt so that we all can benefit, those that pay taxes, live here and work here and those who have made the sacrifice is to bring this city to where it is today. >> last night's straw poll took place in mayor fenty's home ward. we should get a better idea of how the district will control medical marijuana distribution. a law took effect last week making the drug legal for certain health conditions. district officials say they plan to publish their first draft of marijuana regulations tomorrow. that will determine how to track licensed dispensaries, doctors and use esand identify where to have wholesale productions. they won't be able to buy marijuana in d.c. until next year. the wake for the nunn killed in a car crash in northern virginia will be held later today. sister denise mosier was in a car hit by a drunk driver. sister charlotte lang, the driver, and sis story connie ruth luctan remain hospitalized. the wake for sister mozier is tonight in brchisto at 11:00. the president is defended his bailout of the auto industry. crowds are anxiously awaiting his visit to a ford plant. they are trying to finally plug the damaged oil well for good. what that means after the use of heavy mud yesterday. supermodel, naomi campbell, testifies before a war crimes tribunal. we will explain why. stay with us. right now, president obama is in chicago wrapping up a tour of the nation's big three auto groups in his hometown of chicago. his agenda included a discussion on his decision to bail out the automakers and explain how it has saved jobs. ford plans to add 1200 jobs at its chicago plant later this year. it will begin producing a redesigned energy efficient explorer suv. the senate is expected to pass a bill today that would provide billions of dollars to save the jobs of teachers and other public workers. democrats unexpect edly cracked a gop physicalfilibuster. today, a new justice may be on her way to the u.s. supreme court. elena kagan is expected to be confirmed. at least five republicans and most democrats are supporting her. opponents argue that she is a political activist who won't be able to put aside her liberal views and make an impartial decision. supporters call her a highly qualified legal scholar. most observers say she won't alter the eyidealogical balancef the court. sarah palin is throwing her support behind a little-known candidate, brian murphy, in maryland's gubernatorial race. she described him as a common sense conservative with private sector experience from his work in the energy sector. some observers feel her pick won't have much impact on that race. >> now, to the gulf disaster, bp officials say they pumped cement into that blown-out oil well. they hope to start sealing it off for good a day after they forced a slow torrent of heavy mud down the broken wellhead and pushed the crude back to its underground source. now, the question everyone wants to know is where is the oil. government scientists say three-quarters of the oil has broken down naturally or was recovered or burned. 26% remains, which is still five times the size of the exxon valdez spill. >> out of sight doesn't mean benign. we remain concerned about the long-term impacts on the marshes and wildlife and beneath the surface and are actively studying that. >> thad allen approved the plan as long as it doesn't delay the ultimate solution of drilling a relief well that will cut off the leaking well far below the sea floor. chuck bell is here to talk a little bit about our dangerously warm weather we are expecting today. heat index, in excess of 90 degrees. it could be over 100 in the next hour or two hours. it's a take-it-easy kind of day. if you have to do anything outside that you could potentially put off until tomorrow or the weekend, that would be my official recommendation, put it off as long as possible, especially if it involves anything like mooing the lawn. at 11:00, it is 86 degrees at national airport. the dew point has surged once again up into the low 70s. dew points in the mid-60s early this morning. at advertised, surging back up into the 70s. that's the fuel necessary for the thunderstorms we will have later on. you combine the temperature and the humidity out there, our heat index already 93 degrees. it will be probably close to 100 next hour and over 100 by about 1:00 this afternoon. it is 82 in frederick, 85 in fairfax. 85, winchester. out in maryland, we go. 85, annapolis. 87 degrees in brandywine. 86 in upper marlboro. 87, st. mary's. you factor in the humidity. low to mid-90s now. we will spend three to four hours with the heat index over 100 degrees. that's the reason the heat advisories have been issued for the rest of this afternoon and early this evening. no rain around the immediate area at this point in time. the showers are not too far away. already making progress into pars of central and western west virginia. this is all part of a weather system which is going to be bringing us a chance for severe weather later this afternoon. this pink-shaded area, that's a severe thunderstorm watch in central west virginia and parts of kentucky for now. eventually, my suspicion is the storm center will issue a severe thunderstorm watch that will impact the washington area. that's going to come up between 2:00 and 3:00 this afternoon. keep that in mind. it is sagging down into pittsburgh, pennsylvania and right along and ahead of that front, that's where the greatest ris fo risk for severe weather is going to be. heat index, 105, the current heat index in memphis, tennessee. it goes from philadelphia, baltimore, washington, all the way down into the deep south. very intense levels of heat and humidity have persisted for an unusually long period of time. the weather front will take the edge off the heat as we go towards tomorrow afternoon. more importantly, in time for the weekend. slight risk for severe weather today includes all the northeastern corridor down into portions of the carolinas and deep south, all being sparked by that weather front as it sags down. technically, it is a cold front. back behind the front, we are going to have temperatures in the upper 80s to near 90. not all that cold behind the front. we will appreciate the drop in temperatures and humidity as well. for today, last day in the real sticky, steamy stuff for a little while. hot and humid today. strong, perhaps severe, thunderstorms possible late this afternoon. keep a weather eye to the sky. heat indexes, 100 to 105. highs tomorrow, upper 80s, low 90s without as much humidity around. making your plans. thursday is the new friday for people making their plans to get down to the beaches. temperatures will be perfect toe, sunshine, mid 80 gs, water temperatures about 75 degrees. there is our four-day forecast. temperatures around here back down in the upper 80s to near 90 for saturday and sunday. that is welcome news in indeed. out to the roads we go. jerry, things getting any better out there? >> for the most part, yes, they are. we are keeping our fingers crossed. hopefully, we will have a quiet midday. let's head out and see how we are doing. very tough going through 95 to the 14th street bridge. a little hard to tell. if you look right there, you see the right lane of the two that go to the left. construction there. as a result, it is really jammed up. far right lane looks pretty good. delays back near army, navy drive. if you are headed into downtown, it will cost you a couple of extra minutes. 95 southbound, construction remains between newington and lorton in the right lane. t the hov lanes are open for the southbound flow. that's starting to alleviate the southbound backups. 11:21 is the time. still ahead, watch your weight during pregnancy. that's the recommendation coming out of a new study. we will explain why. plus, the daughter of a former presidential candidate busted for shoplifting and the wait is almost over. the real housewives of d.c. premiers tonight. first, a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. jooirngs. former new york mayor rudy giuliani's daughter was caught on tape taking $100 worth of makeup from a beauty store in manhattan. they have not said whether they will file formal charges against the 20-year-old harvard university student. she has a scheduled court appearance on august 31st. supermodel naomi campbell is admitting she received dirty rocks, sometimes called blood diamonds. she said it during a war crime of the former liberian president, charles taylor. she said she received a gift of a pouch containing dirty-looking stones after a party in 1997. prosecutors said this is evidence she received uncut diamonds from sierra leone rebels in exchange for weapons. campbell had fought hard to avoid testifying saying she feared for her family's safety. d.c. has been the setting for several popular reality shows. the five stars of "the real housewives of d.c." have been making the media rounds. perhaps the most well-known is michaele salahi who became known as the party house party crasher. she said she was given a rough welcome on "the view. she confronted her asking if she had was claiming she had been hit by her. >> i am just there as a guest. it's my first time. i think i started crying, because now i have someone that i don't know. i am a guess the of their show and they are berating me with "f" this. she said, you have to know me, i just say "f" this, "f" you. >> i don't know her. i knew her from the movie "sister act." i don't expect a sister to be saying "f" u. >> it seems like there will be plenty of trauma for fans. "the real housewives of d.c." preme premiers tonight. if you love the red sara she was wearing, you can buy it. money raised from selling it will go to victims from the haitian earthquake and those suffering from multiple sclerosis. coming up in the next half hour, seven puppies die in the cargo hold of a plane. how hot will it get today? ? a federal judge overturns california's gay marriage ban. is the case now headed for a higher court? we will go inside a local officer's car during a wild chase. you will not believe how this one ended. right now, on "news 4 midday," we are bracing for another hot and humid day. a heat advisory is in effect from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. the heat index could be anywhere from 100 to 105. chuck bell will have more on heat and possible storms in a few minutes. mayoral candidate vincent gray beat mayor adrian fenty in a straw poll. democrats in ward 4 voted 581 to 401 in favor of gray. mayor fent attacked gray's record when he ran the department of human services. gray fired back at the major on crime. last night's straw poll took place in mayor fenty's home ward. the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is celebrating a victory for their struggle in marriage equality. a judge ruled a same-sex ban violates the u.s. constitution. pete williams has the story. >> reporter: outside the san francisco federal courthouse, advocates of gay rights cheered the history-making ruling. >> we have had a very happy life together. we want to make sure the next generation has a happy life too. >> reporter: the ruling came in a legal battle launched by two gay couples in california against proposition 8 approved two years ago by 52% of the state's voters. it amended the state's constitution declaring that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. the judge struck that down, ruling that prop 8 violates the u.s. constitutions of equal rights, treating same-sex couples differently without a good enough legal reason. the judge said the times have past when marriage roles were distinct and male-dominated. it showed that same-sex parents are of equal quality. a prominent republican lawyer surprised his fellow con sie conservatives by arguing for the gay couples. >> with this decision, carefully analyzing the evidence, we are well on our way toward an ultimate victory. >> reporter: opponents of gay marriage that supported proposition 8 denounced the ruling and began to fight back. >> the judge has shut the constitution, imposed his own agenda, made a lot of people happy in the gay community in san francisco but he is the most dangerous type of judge in america. >> that was pete williams reporting. there won't be any new same-sex marriages though right now in california. the judge put a temporary hold on his own ruling while the parties appeal his decision. the case may go all the way to the supreme court where a decision there would apply nationwide. new videos show a dramatic police chase through montgomery county. it all started at the summit hills apartment complex back in silver springs back in july, july 22nd. police say two teens were believed to be involved in an attempted robbery and then drove away in a stolen vehicle. officers chased the teens all the way to a one-lane bridge that crosses talbot avenue. when the driver couldn't pass by another car, he decided to put the car in reverse and back into and up on the hood of the windshield of the police cruiser. >> it happened so quick. my daughter popped in my head the very first thing. >> reporter: did you think you were going to die? >> i guess i didn't know. i never had anyone back over me. i said to my daughter, duck. >> he was not seriously hurt. three teens were arrested. american airlines is investigated the death of three puppies traveling in a cargo plane. the temperatures reached 86 degrees outside. american airlines has a policy against carrying warm-blooded animals if the forecast temperature is above 85 degrees. the airline is not identifying the person or company who was shipping the puppies. let's check with chuck again about our weather for today to hear his warnings about keeping everything kind of down on the quiet side. >> you have to sit down in your chair and keep it on the cool side today. find a good, shady spot, and break out your favorite book and take it easy this afternoon. definitely getting hot. it sounds like a bit of a broken record after our number one hottest june. we have tied for the number one hottest july. as a result, as you can imagine, we are in first place for the hottest summer ever here in washington, at least on records. we have been keeping records since 1870. we are not just in first place. we are way out ahead in first ac summer. temperatures in the mid to upper 80s. increasing clouds coming in from the west will help hold temperatures only in the mid 90 today. as a result of all the humidity out there, it is going to feel like it is in the 100 to 105-degree range. the doppler is clear at this point in time. there are thunderstorms starting to roll into portions of western west virginia. the orange-shaded counties lighting up, those are severe thunderstorm warnings approaching the charleston, west virginia area. that's all part of a weather system bringing some potentially stormy weather to us. i think the best time frame we will probably have a severe thunderstorm watch issued between 2:00 and 3:00 this afternoon. i think the opportunity for a thunderstorm warning going up around here starts wrapping up after about 4:00, 4:30 this afternoon. temperatures in the mid-90s. heat index, 100 to 105. cooler weather tomorrow. great weather for the weekend. >> sounds good to me. thank you, chuck. let's check in once again with jerry edwards for the mid-day traffic. jerry? a few folks hot under the collar with the delays out there at this hour. finally improving on the beltway as you head towards the american legion bridge. a couple of moments ago, backed up to river road from accidents that happened hours ago. all lanes are open. so now looks like we are good to go for the afternoon rush-hour. if we are downtown, 395 northbound really jammed because of that construction in the far right lane of the two. that scoots off to the left toward lower 14th street. delays now begin about the pentagon. i suspect if time is not of the essence, you can go there. otherwise, memorial bridge or even through southeast looking wide open for you. that's how we are doing, barbara, back to you. thank you, jerry. have a great day. this morning, a southeast woman faces charges for stabbing an intern with national public radio. it happened yesterday morning outside a bank at 7th and "i" streets. the woman was stopped and later arrested. police are trying to figure out what provoked the attack. the intern is expected to be okay. a self-admitted neonazi is behind bars charged with van dalizing a sin dog in montgomery county. 23-year-old ian jacob baron spray-paint spray-painted swastikas all over the synagogue. he was adopted by jewish parents and raised as a ju. he is now behind bars on $5,000 bond. he has a criminal history that includes an assault charge. a former u.s. capital police officer has pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography in a court in alexandria. he used the network to distribute child pornography. when law enforcement approached him, he claimed that he was just wanting to see how readily available it was on the internet. he did delete the images. bell faces five to 20 years in prison at his sentencing in october. >> anne arundel county police will now determine if an off-duty federal officer should face charges for killing a families dog. a siberian husky was playing on monday evening. bear-bear ran up to another dog on a leash and got too excited. when the other dog's owner, who happened to be an off-duty police officer pulled out his gun and shot bear-bear. >> they said that he was shot with a hollow gun. it destroyed his kidneys, pierced his internal organs. there was no way for him to recover from it. >> the off-duty officer told the police that bear-bear attacked him as well as his dog when he went to break up the two animals. police say there were no other witnesses in the park at the time of the shooting. archaeologists from three different agencies are surveying a shipwreck dating back to the war of 1812. it was found in the pa tux son river in prince george's county. they are trying to uncovered evidence of the dramatic events preceding the bloody battle and have mapped an underwater area where they think where the "ussscorpion" went down. this will supplement the contributions to the war of 1812 buy centennial. still ahead, most asian stock markets rose today. a look at how stocks are doing here this morning. the country's richest promise to open their bank accounts for a d.c. is among the five metro areas with the most millionaires. d.c. placed fourth with 1520,00 millionaires. new york topped the list with 676,000 millionaires more than the total of the next three runners up. los angeles was second followed by chicago, d.c. and san francisco. what would you do if you have $1 billion? dozens of u.s. billionaires have agreed to donate half of their fortunes to charity. it was organized by two of the world's richest men, bill gates and warren buffet. as carl quintonia reports, it is off to a great start. >> reporter: they are names you know and some you may not. they all have more money than most americans can imagine. 40 of them have agreed after being prodded by one of the nation's richest men, warren buffet, to give half of it to charity, rather than passing it down to their kids. >> the fact that so many americans are now thinking about giving away as much as half of their fortunes to charity and declaring that attention now. >> reporter: it all began a few years ago when buffet and bill gates said they give away more of their fortunes arguing the wealthy have a responsibility to make the world a better place. since then, they have worked the phones having ted turner and mike bloomberg follow suit. >> i would like to encourage other people to do the same thing. this isn't going to change what i'm doing. i've set up my foundation, taking care of my kids and the thing that gives me the most pressure in the world is knowing that i'm making a difference. >> reporter: how much money could this bring in? fortune magazine estimates that if every person did it, the total could be $600 billion. that's more than double the amount all individuals gave to nonprofit causes in the u.s. last year. i think it is the most powerful effect is in the years to come. this money will flow over generations of time. so that's the really transformative effect. >> reporter: many wealthy americans already give anonymously. buffet's message to them is, don't be shy. andrew carnegie, the steel tycoon has his name on carnegie hall and carnegie university. initial requests for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level since april. we are going to check in with cnbc's courtney reagan. she joins us live with that and the rest of the day's headlines. courtney? >> stocks are lower. it looks like the dow is down about 31 points after wednesday's modest gain. we are probably about even between the two days. asian markets were mixed overnight. europe slightly positive. like you mentioned, that big economic data point is the first claim for jobless benefits. it looks as if they did rise to 19,000 to 479,000. that is the highest level since april 10th. the monthly jobs data is due out tomorrow. private sectors increased for the month. a bit of good news on the labor front. we have got july retail sales coming in all day today. so far, we've gotten some mixed results. we were thinking we were going to be up about 3% across the board as compared to significantly down this time last year. so far, the results are kind of mixed, macy's, limited, costco and gap were reporting better than expected and target and nordstrom below. the good news from media companies, viacom jumped 52%. time warner cable profits rose thanks to more internet. a lot of data points to look at as we are looking at the markets. the dow down only about 35 points right now. back to you, barbara. >> we seal what happe'll see wh rest of the day. have a great day. we introduce you to two wonderful brothers in our wednesday's child segment. they have been lucky enough to be together throughout their long stay in foster care. they hope a parent or parents will come forward who will be willing to make both of them a permanent part of their family. meet marquette and raymond. >> reporter: hi, marquette, raymond. i am so glad to see you guys again. >> hello. >> reporter: it looks like you are all ready for football. >> yeah. >> reporter: shall we get going? let's go for it. marquette and raymond are brothers. how old are you, raymond? >> ten. >> reporter: march quell? >> 11. >> reporter: the boys are big redskins fans and excited to meet a couple of redskins players at a football camp they were invited to attend for the day. >> this is carrie campbell. robert henson. >> reporter: wow. >> they are both very shy when you first meet them. after a while, they will start to warm up and really start getting to be very talkative. >> reporter: before heading out to the field, they met trainer and former redskin, chris russell. >> today, we are going through some drills to help improve your athletic ability. >> reporter: they weren't so shy when they got out on the field. >> good. >> reporter: the boys have been lucky to have spent their time in foster care together. >> they came into the attention of social services primarily due to neglect. they have been in foster care for about five years. >> reporter: what grade are you going to be in next year? >> fifth. >> reporter: what grade are you going to be in in september? >> seventh. >> reporter: both marquette and raymond are hoping to find a family that will care about them and say i love you. raymond and marquette. what would you say to them? >> we would say things. >> reporter: what does love mean? >> i don't really know. >> reporter: kind of hard to describe, isn't it? it just means that somebody is going to be there for you always and you are always going to be there for them. >> they will always be that way. >> reporter: they were given some gifts to take home. that brought some smiles and thank yous. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> you are welcome. >> if you have room in your home for marquette and raymond or any of the children we feature on wednesday's child, our adoption hotline is waiting for your call. the number is 1-88-toadoptme. our time, 11:50. coming up, a reason not to eat for two during pregnancy. chuck bell will listen up, all you single men. you might want to pull the redshirts out of your closet if you are looking for love. women were more likely to say a man looks sexy when he was wearing red or his picture was in a red frame. they also thought a man in red would have a higher status in society. believe it or not, the same impression was found among men in the study but not quite as significantly. you could have a risk of obesity well before you were ever born. the new study is placing that blame on your mother. erika edwards explains. >> reporter: eating for two may mean you are gaining weight for two. new research from children's hospital of boston finds women who gain a lot of weight during pregnancy tend to have heavier babies directly impacting the infant's risk for obesity later in life. previous st previous studies couldn't account for the genetic factors. this study looked at women who had multiple children, different risk for obesity based on how much weight their moms put on while pregnant. researchers say it is healthy for a baby to be born with some fat but too much can indicate the fetus developed in an abnormal environment. obesity is associated with multiple health problems. problems like high blood pressure and coronary artery disease and diabetes. >> if we can take an obese individual and get them down to a normal weight, we can get the health problems to go away. >> reporter: the trick may be to stop the cycle before it begins inutero. >> they recommend 25 to 35 pounds of weight gain during regular nancy. we will take a look at some of the stories we are following on news 4. the senate is poised to vote on elena kagan's nomination. with the heat advisory in effect, we will be following our chances for severe weather. plus, the time of summer, where we are right now, many green thumbs are looking for ways to bring color to their gardens. we will hear ex perpert advice plants that add color and vibrancy in this heat. a tony-award-winning show on broadway is making its way to the district. we catch up with the avenue pickup peuppets off the stage. it's time for a final check on the forecast. chuck is here. >> yes, indeed, a very stormy afternoon i suspect is on the way. the risk for severe weather ramps up the further south you go from washington. northern merrill, not as much of a risk as down towards richmond. nonetheless, everybody will need to keep a weather eye to the sky. hot and humid. strong to severe thunderstorms quite likely today. weather front will bring in pleasant changes if you are making your plans to get on down to the beach. great weather at the beaches. today, 70% chance of thunderstorms. some will be severe today. just a 30% chance of showers lidge gerring into the first part of tomorrow, saturday, and sunday, el perfecto for the weather this weekend. mid-90s for monday and tuesday of next week. men often wear cologne to attract a mate and animals are no different. they would like not to be. it appears the big cats have developed an affinity with op session for men. the same calvin klein fragrance that many guys wear. zookeepers say they spray it to encourage what they call natural behavior. one reason they may like it is it contains cinnamon oil. maybe they like that. whatever the reason, it seems to be working. the denver zoo started buying obsession for men after the bronx zoo in new york conducted research that showed big cats were attracted to the smell. we have no word on whether any offspring have resulted. >> the poor guy who feeds the lions probably found out the hard way. >> 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. join us tomorrow morning at 11:00. we'll see you then. va great day! bye now.