did all the research. >> yes. and in bermuda the businessmen do, in fact, wear shorts with their shirt and tie. >> i like it. i think that, you know, in honor of the heat, that a lot of d.c., the offices might want to take this look on. >> guys, we've got to unite today. get out there in our bermuda shorts and chill. you come in with the short sleeves and the skirts. you've got all this air and venting and what not, and we're sweating it out in these suits. >> it's called beating the heat. why not? let's talk temperatures right now. the other thing that's been crazy is the dewpoint temperature. it's at 75 degrees right now. yesterday we got up into the low 80s. last time we had dewpoint temperatures that high in the low 80s was back in 2002. so this is -- yes, it's unusual. 93 is the current heat index at capitol hill with a temperature of 85 degrees. lanham, maryland, it feels like 82 degrees. springfield, virginia, at 85. laytonsville, maryland, current heat index at 77 degrees. that heat index later today will be up to around 110 to 117. the air temperature up to 92 degrees by 9:00 a.m. i think by noontime today we'll be at 99 degrees. like yesterday, extreme heat, dangerous heat. do what you can to really beat it and stay inside. another warm, if not hot, night coming our way. danella? i knew this heat was causing us to act deliriously when i saw aaron's shorts. we're going crazy in here, and you'll go crazy out there. i'm checking your local roadways. no incidents to report for you. montgomery county, georgia avenue, southbound lanes reopened. and great seneca highway at muddy branch road looking good as well as we shoot down to d.c. good morning, d.c. this is maryland and "h" street. so far your local roadways are great. we're going to try to cool off and get our thoughts together. i'll be back in about ten minutes with another update. aaron and eun, back to you. >> thanks, danella. new from overnight, crews across the area working to restore power for hundreds of people who still have no electricity. thousands of people were in the dark just a few hours ago. right now the numbers seem to be dropping considerably. pepco reporting eight customers with no electricity right now. dominion virginia power has 418 customers without power. and bge is reporting 450 customers in the dark right now. most of them are in anne arundel county. many of the residents with no power right now are in arlington. news 4's megan mcgrath is there live for us this morning looking into what exactly is going on. megan? >> reporter: good morning. when the temperatures soar like this, of course, people start to crank up their air conditioning units, and that can cause problems with power outages. that's what we're seeing in this area. we're here at the intersection of wilson boulevard and north randolph street in the ballston area. you can see the crews on the scene. they had a transformer blow overnight. that caused power outages in the area. they had to come in and bring heavy equipment. they had to bring this large crane in. the transformer is down underneath the roadway. they had to open up the roadway and lift up the plates here in the area and drop in a new transformer. that, of course, is taking some time. they've been out here for a number of hours. unfortunately, that means there are a lot of folks that have been without their air conditioning, if you can imagine, on a day like this. it is still early. the sun's not yet up, but it is very, very warm and extremely humid out here. of course, we are expecting things to get worse and worse and worse as the day goes on. not a good day to be working on the air conditioning. they're working on the situation. i've been told they have swapped out the transformers. they have been able to replace it and put the new transformer down below. they're hooking things up. as soon as they finish that work-up, they put the plates back in and hopefully get things back up and running before rush hour. we do have lane closures in this area on wilson boulevard. again, the hope here is that they'll get all of this cleared up before we see the brunt of the rush hour. aaron, back to you. >> megan mcgrath live in arlington. megan, thank you. the heat isn't just putting a strain on humans but on machines as well. several local transit agencies say the extreme temperatures are causing trains to malfunction. and air conditionings to shut down, making for sweltering conditions for riders. news 4's melissa mollet joins us live from metro dupont station this morning, which may soon feel like an oven in those trains. melissa, tough news. >> reporter: it is going to be a really rough ride for commuters. i have lots of friends and family who take metro every day. they say the past couple days it's been pretty difficult because of this heat. you can see here behind me one of the escalators here at dupont already down this morning. a total of six at dupont down, just one where we're standing. for metro riders, of course, the workers cannot fix these escalators quickly enough. six are out here at dupont circle. the extreme heat has been tough for everybody, especially commuters dealing with hot cars and these escalators just at a stand still. inside the trains, the demand for cool air is stressing ac units. crews worked all day thursday trying to get the ac pumping through cars. many passengers, though, less than happy with their commute, the heat especially hard for one woman news 4 spoke with. >> i'm pregnant, and i almost passed out yesterday and today because it's just so hot. it's humid in there too. it's very muggy inside. a group of us got off yesterday morning from one car to another, and it was the same thing. we even went, i think, two cars down. and yesterday i switched over, but it was still the same. >> reporter: metro officials say, if the ac is out in a car that you're riding in, they suggest alerting the driver by pushing the emergency intercom. we were going to suggest go ahead and hop down a few cars, but she was saying, sometimes that just does not work. no matter how quick you are, if you can get in another car, it's not even that cool. a rough ride for commuters probably the next couple of days. i'm melissa mollet, news 4. investigators are trying to figure out what led to a shooting involving a d.c. police officer. they say one man was shot around 10:00 last night in the 5800 block of 13th street northwest. police say officers were responding to reports of a man with a gun. the victim survived the shooting. the officer whom authorities say pulled the trigger was not hurt. and the four fairfax county police officers involved in a deadly shooting yesterday in centerville are on routine administrative leave. ricardo leon was shot to death at a home on kendra way early yesterday morning. police say the iraq war veteran was holding a shotgun, and the officers opened fire when he refused to put it down. neighbors say leon was a nice guy who was happily married. 5:07 right now. the nfl lockout could soon be coming to an end. yesterday the owners ratified a new ten-year collective bargaining agreement. it will give players 48% of the league's revenue, but the players have not signed off on this deal just yet. they're expected to vote sometime today. the owners have given them until tuesday to make a decision. all signs are pointing to the lockout being done by the end of the weekend. >> it's been a long stressful, obviously, months and months. i'm just happy for our fans and the players. i'm anxious to see the players. it's been a while now. so i'm relieved. >> if the players agree to the deal today, team facilities for all 32 teams would open tomorrow, and free agency would officially begin on wednesday, the 27th. the august 7th hall of fame game has already been cancelled. but the first week of preseason games still on, including the redskins squaring off against the steelers on friday, august 12th. this morning major differences still stand in the way of a deal to raise the nation's debt limit less than two weeks before the government could default on its loans. democratic leaders met late last night with president obama over their concerns about possible cuts to medicare and other benefit programs. some republicans remain angry over potential tax hikes. a long term agreement may not be able to be reached right now, but momentum is building over a short term plan that would cut spending by $1 trillion and raise the debt limit by the same amount and postpone the default deadline until early next year. president obama is trying to put partisan politics aside in reaching a deal. he wrote in a "usa today" opinion piece, "neither party is blameless for the decisions that led to this debt, but both parties have a responsibility to come together and solve the problem." congress also has until midnight tonight to extend the faa's operating authority. missing that deadline could lead to a partial shutdown of the agency. that could cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars in airline ticket taxes. thousands of faa employees would also be furloughed. air traffic controllers would remain on the job. lawmakers still could not agree on a provision republicans want that would make it harder for airline and railroad workers to unionize. in just a few hours. president obama will head to the u university of maryland to participate in a town hall meeting. it will be held at the richie coliseum. the president is expected to address the ongoing effort to reduce the deficit and raise the debt ceiling. tickets are required for this event and were handed out in advance. university of maryland is reminding people to prepare for the heat. people wait to go get inside the coliseum will be given water, but will not be able to take the water inside the event. defense officials say new defense secretary leon panetta will certify the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. if comes two weeks after top military leaders said repealing the 17-year-old ban would not hurt military readiness. don't ask, don't tell will end 60 days after the appeal is certified by panetta, meaning gays could serve openly by the end of september. and maryland governor martin o'malley expected to detail his plans to search for same-sex marriage legislation today. the governor will express his support for a gay marriage bill during the next session of the general assembly in january. the governor says he's been studying new york's landmark same-sex marriage bill that passed last month for ideas on how to pass it in his state. gay marriage legislation passed maryland's senate this year but stalled in the house of delegates. it is now 5:11. 85 degrees. donald trump kept the political world guessing over his decision to run for president. >> now one interview suggests he may have people analyzing his plans all good morning, everyone. meteorologist veronica johnson here. not sure everyone is happy given how hot and mild and muggy it is out there. we're going to go several hours round for round fighting our way through the high heat, extreme heat today. 85 is the current temperature. that heat index currently sits at 93 degrees. other locations throughout the area, adams morgan at 93. franconia at 90. potomac feeling like 85 degrees right now. the high today, 101 degrees, danella. the heat index 116, maybe 117. >> that is out of control, veronica. horrible. but i can tell you the roadways look good. isn't that nice to hear? we're checking the roadways. so far we are pretty good this morning. starting out in d.c., new york avenue and bladensburg. i can tell you i've checked 295 and route 50 if you're heading to maryland and d.c. so far it is clear. no accidents to report. and a look at the beltway and connecticut avenue. inner loop and outer loop, excellent as well. aaron and eun, back to you. >> thanks, danella. ahead on "news 4 today," metro's plans to create a welcome back. 5:19 now. decision 2012, donald trump says he may reconsider a run for president. during an interview with fox news' greta van sustern, he said, if republicans pick a nominee he doesn't think is going to win, he would seriously consider running as an independent. trump announced in may he would not run as a republican candidate. he also said the state of the economy would influence his decision. rudy giuliani is also talking about the possibility of a run for president. he told fox news he would make a decision by the end of summer. giuliani says he believes no one in the current field of republican candidates can beat president obama. giuliani also ran for president in 2008. your tax dollars are no longer financing chrysler. the treasury department says it ended its investment in chrysler after italian automaker fiat bought the government's remaining holdings in that company. fiat has run chrysler since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009. the treasury provided $12.5 billion and its financing arm to prevent it from collapsing. the government has been repaid $11.2 billion of that money. it does not expect to recover the last $1.3 billion. metro riders, your weekend trips might take a little longer than usual because of track work on the red and orange line. metro crews will be making he repairs to the west and east falls church stations. the trains will still be open but delays up to 30 minutes. on the red line, trains will share one track on dupont circle and judiciary square as crews repair the ceilings and other parts of the stations. metro riders will soon be able to add money to your electronic fare cards online. the program allows smart card users to avoid the lines at the vending machines and add money to your smart card at any computer. by the end of august, the service should be available to everybody. a virtual tunnel between the farragut north and farragut west metro stations will be open in september or october if the testing goes well. riders would still have to leave the stations and walk one block along farragut square, but you wouldn't be charged for reentry. that would allow people to transfer easily between the red, orange, and blue lines. an underground tunnel between the two stations could be added at a later date. >> 5:21 now. time for weather and traffic on the ones. we're talking about just brutal heat. brutal heat. >> veronica, i love the fact you used the word insane. you move out of the whole meteorological speak, and it's just plain on -- >> i think the heat's getting to you today too. >> i'm good. i'm fine. we're air conditioned. outside it may be a different story. >> it really is ridiculous. even those of us meteorologists see something like this affecting part of the country, those heat index values throughout the nation and the fact we've got the highest values right here in d.c., that is just really hard to deal with so early in the day. but we are right in the middle of it. we're right in the middle of the worst heat, which means we can start to see the end in sight. 85 degrees the temperature. heat index at 95 degrees. throughout the area, from 93 here, mainly the 80s. 88 degrees baltimore. 85, it feels like, leesburg. 83 fredericksburg. 70s there thrown in. awfully sticky throughout. here's a look at the national heat index values. now at 93 degrees here. look at dallas, texas, at 91. phoenix, 94 degrees. worst right here so many of the big cities. because of that we're under an excessive heat warning throughout the area today. maybe just a little cooler back to the west around hagerstown, martinsburg, and winchester but not by a whole lot. temperatures running in the upper 90s to around 100 degrees. here's a look at your day sweltering today. 98 to 102 the air temperature. for the evening cooling down a little bit, 97 to 90 degrees. could have an isolated storm coming your way, your four day forecast. there's the end in sight, 94 for sunday. we'll get some storms. it will still be sticky. monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday of next week lower humidity. danella? >> good morning. taking a look at our roadways, let's start out with local bridges. woodrow wilson bridge looks good. 11th street, sousa bridge, checked them all. they look good. here's a look at the key bridge. so far it's a great time to be on the roadways. i know it's hot. get out early and avoid traffic and avoid the massive heat coming later today. and a look at the american legion bridge. some commuters on the roadways, but so far no incidents to report. and the metro rails look good as well, metro, marc, vre running on or close to schedule. thousands of people will brave the heat today to xwh commemorate the first major battle of the civil war. >> ready. fire! >> they're in manassas for the 150th anniversary of the battle of bull run. the anniversary kicked off yesterday. many people dressed for the event. the demonstration continues tomorrow and sunday. groundbreaking for the new stafford civil war park will take place this morning. it will be built on 42 acres of land within the stafford regional landfill. it will take about 14 months to complete that construction. what do you drink at your tailgate parties? water, gatorade, soda? yeah, right. you can be sure that beer will be popular at lsu football games this upcoming season. not just any beer, though. we're talking about lsu beer. the school is working with a micro-brewery in louisiana to create its own beer brand. it will be available just in time for the upcoming football season. lsu is hoping this venture is more than just profitable. it wants it to be educational too. >> there you go. beer is educational. it works. >> it will be tied to a food science training program to teach students about fermentation. and the fraternity houses rejoice. >> brilliant. beer as food science. coming up later today, an announcement from youtube about live music concerts. the google owned company will let us know about their plans to stream live two of the summer's biggest music festivals. live online coverage from chicago's local llapalooza and s austin's music city festival. the first is august 5th through the 7th, and the austin city limits festival runs september 16th through the 18th. and the opening lineup at the fillmore concert hall will be announced at 10:00 a.m. this morning. it's located across from the american institute's film theater. it's a concert/entertainment venue. opening day will be mid-september. in the meantime, the curious can visit the fillmore's preview center on elsworth drive in silver spring. what's so funny? >> the writer put the word slash in there. the words concert slash entertainment. you don't see that often. a vote is expected today on raising the debt limit. why lawmakers say dry mouth is uncomfortable. it can also lead to serious dental problems. [ male announcer ] new act total care dry mouth is alcohol-free and has fluoride to strengthen teeth. stronger teeth and dry mouth relief. you may have thought it was hot before, but, oh, wait until you walk outside today. >> you ain't seen nothing yet. good morning. i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist in for joe krebs today. welcome to "news 4 today" on this friday, july 22nd. meteorologist veronica johnson is with us, and you're looking for the silver lining in this awful heat fest. >> i try. >> and that is we're soon going to be on the down side of this. >> it is on today. get ready. get your best purcnches, or bes wipes ready. >> you're going to need four or five towels if you're going to be outside. you'll be sweating buckets. >> this is true. i just remembered again, i forgot to crack my windows just like yesterday. i'm going to get in the car, and it's like every day this week i've forgotten. 85 degrees is the temperature, folks. it is hot today. we're going up to a high. yesterday we hit 99. today 101. the heat index at 93 degrees. those are some extremely high values for so early in the morning. capital heights right now 78 degrees. annandale at 75. clarksburg up in montgomery county, you're at 80. shaw currently at 85 degrees. what does it feel like now? as i said, 93 inside the beltway. so many other areas upper 70s even mid-80s to 88 degrees. the feel like factor that heat index of baltimore up to 95. by noontime 99 degrees. like the last couple of days, so much moisture in the air, little pockets of lower visibility around the area. so that hazy gunk, some of that will burn off today. 101, still holding at 5:00 p.m. so from about 1:00 today up until about 5:00 today, peak heat around the area. we could get a few isolated thunderstorms today, but that is about it. danella? >> that sounds insane, veronica. you are right. i would really suggest just getting out early and commuting. the roadways look great. all the maps i'm checking, all the roads i'm checking, so far looking good. rails look good too. metro, marc, vre all running on time and not too hot. great time to be on the roadways. let's take a live look at the beltway, starting out at gw parkway. looking good in virginia as well as maryland. the beltway is picking up steam, but i have no incidents to report for you and no major delays. eun, back to you. >> danella, thank you so much. today is the day the white house says a deal to raise the nation's debt limit must be reached today to beat the august 2nd deadline. at that point, the government could default on its loans. nbc's brian gilmore is live with the latest. brian, good morning. >> reporter: in just a couple of hours on capitol hill, the legislation will vote on a piece of legislation called cut, cap, and balance. it's that balanced budget amendment that no one expects to pass, but everyone expects it to clear the way for house republicans, especially tea party members, to be able to move forward on some sort of compromise. we're hearing that president obama and house speaker john bener are negotiating behind the scenes, each trying to bring the fringe of his own party to the center in its own compromise. and there's the gang of six, the bipartisan senators. there's no shortage of plans on how to get the debt ceiling raised and start whacking away at government spending, but right now there is no consensus. today on "usa today," president obama is laying out the case for a big deal with some big spending cuts but also some revenue racers. the republicans are saying those are tax increases and out of the question. eun? >> what happens if a deal isn't reached by today. >> reporter: it raises the likelihood that president obama will have to do exactly what he doesn't want to do, which is sign off on some sort of short term measure until they can get a bigger plan in place. the president has said he won't do that, but everyone agrees that the debt ceiling has to be raised and has to be done by august 2nd. >> brian mooar live on capitol hill for us this morning. brian, thanks so much. 5:34 right now. a federal judge will let a lawsuit on posters hanging around d.c. move forward. you've probably seen the posters on lamp posts and signs around the city. they advertise everything from causes to candidates. the lawsuit centers around how long those posters should be allowed to stay up. two anti-war and anti-racism groups are suing the districts. they argue the city regulations unfairly allow election posters to hang longer than posters with general messages like stop war. the groups say the messages are unconstitutional and violate the first amendment because they give one kind of message preference over another. are you ready for some football? the nfl lockout could be come to go an end. yesterday the owners ratified a new ten-year collective bargaining agreement that gives players 48% of the league's revenue. the players have not signed off on the deal. they're expected to vote sometime today. the owners have given them until tuesday to make a decision. all signs are pointing to the lockout being done by the end of the weekend. meanwhile, fans are ecstatic the lockout is nearing an end. they aren't the only ones. local sports bars and restaurants are happy there will be an nfl season. they bring in big bucks for waiters, bus boys, and bartenders as fans pack the bars to watch their favorite teams. >> it's great. helps us out here. we're struggling right now in a rescission so bad going on. it's something to get hyped up about. >> i have season tickets to the denver broncos. i live in denver. i'm ecstatic the season's going to happen. even though the broncos aren't going to be good this year, but my season tickets are good. >> as for the players, if they agree to a deal today, team facilities for all 32 teams would open tomorrow, and free agency would officially begin on wednesday, the 27th. the first week of preseason games are still on, including the redskins squaring off against the steelers friday, august 12th. hard to believe that's right around the corner. today in white flint, a ceremonial ribbon cutting ceremony will mark the beginning of new development in the area. as of 11:00 this morning, white flint mall, county counsel members as well as representatives from the county executives office will officially begin accepting new development applications. planners and county counsel members say this area is perfect as an economic engine for the county and will hopefully change the look, feel, and function of the community. the heat is putting a strain on man and machine and could cause one brutal ride to work for commuters. transit agencies say the high temperatures are causing air conditioners to break down, trains to be delayed, and, of course, then you have to hike up those broken escalators. news 4's melissa mollet joins us from dupont metro station this morning with more on the sweltering commute. that's a recipe for disaster, melissa, in this heat. >> reporter: it definitely can be. eun, i have to say, when you see those workers out here out at these escalators this morning, you just want to take them some cold water, do something so that they stay out here as long as possible. we just had workers leave the north side of the dupont metro stop this morning. the left escalator is working. the right escalator is working. the center escalator at this point is off right now. we know six here are out of order at dupont circle. extreme heat has been tough for everybody, especially commuters, of course, dealing with the hot cars and escalators at a standstill inside the trains. the demand for cool air is straining ac units. crews worked all day thursday trying to get the ac units pumping and working again. many passengers, though, of course, less than happy with their commute. the heat especially hard for a pregnant woman news 4 spoke with thursday who said she almost passed out in one of the hot cars earlier this week. metro officials responding to that, saying they're doing their best to keep everybody cool. >> on any given day, several dozen get reported with hot cars, and we have more than 40 car maintenance techs that are deployed across the system to respond to hot cars. the best thing for customers to do is use the intercom on board to notify the train operator. they can have folks step on board to trouble shoot or, if they can't fix it, they'll take the car out of service. >> reporter: again, what they're suggesting is, if you do get on one of those hot cars or perhaps you want to move to another car because it's cooler, if you're in a hot car, take a minute, hit that emergency intercom button, and do let the driver know. they may not even realize that the ac is not working in that particular car. i have to tell you, aaron and eun, i like the hot weather much more than the cold. but even this is a bit much for me. >> agreed. i am right with you, melissa. i prefer hot to cold any day, but it's getting a little crazy out there. >> reporter: we're always cold in the news room, but out here, no, no, no. it's very warm. >> melissa mollet live at dupont metro station. >> she's glistening, though. she looks beautiful out there. moist. 5:38 is your time. coming up, what may explain why you have a higher tolerance for these sweet honey clustery things have fiber? fiber one. almost tastes like one of jack's cereals. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? uh, try the number one! i've never heard of that. [ wife ] it's great. it's a sweet honey cereal, you'll love it. yeah, this is pretty good. are you guys alright? yeah. [ male announcer ] half a days worth of fiber. not that anyone has to know. fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. ♪ [ rock ] [ chattering ] [ man on tv ] 96309. [ man ] ♪ she got it, you got it ♪ i got it, we got it [ groans ] ♪ who's got it see you later. ♪ yeah! ♪ come on, she got it you got it, we got it who's got it ♪ we're all different. that's why there are five new civics. the next-generation civic. only from honda. i eat lots of popsicles. >> he's got the right idea. popsicles a must if oar spending any time outside today. it helps if you're able to swim in the pool and take part in some water relay races or just sit there in the water. just don't move. >> that looks very refreshing with the popsicle. >> you had already left yesterday, but our bosses are nice move. every week they have ice cream come. i got one of the dream sickles. solid as a rock when i got it. by the time i got to the car, it was dripping in my hand. >> are people willing to stand outside in the heat to get it? >> i did it. full on sweating by the time i got it. there was like four people in front of me. >> this is why you're wearing bermuda shorts today. >> exactly. you're exactly right. so i can get some air. want to see the shorts again? >> i think once is enough. let's go to veronica. >> i don't know. once may not be enough. we have the 6:00 hour coming up, eun. i think we've got to go for it. >> we're threatening the 6:00 a.m. producer already. >> i think we should. my vote is yes. i miss those popsicles yesterday, guys, but my kids have been on a popsicle making kick lately, coming up with their own flavors. pretty fun to do in the summer. we're going to need it today, a popsicle, something cold. 93 degrees. the heat index right now. it went down a little bit over the last couple of hours. it's going to go right back up. temperatures throughout the air, 85 degrees. takoma park, 74. the heat index temperatures anywhere from 80 to 93 right inside the beltway. the high today, 101. from about noontime until 5:00 today, we'll be up around 100 degrees. the heat index today, 117. one more day tomorrow. danella? >> definitely hot. our roadways are picking up a little steam right now. nothing too severe just yet, but i've got to show you what it looks like. 270 at shady grove. i am seeing some congestion build as you head south towards the spur. don't worry yet. if you rush out of the house now, you're still traveling at a good speed. that's a good thing as we shoot down 95 north of the occoquan. your delays start out of dale city as you make your way towards the occoquan. aaron and eun, back to you. >> your time right now is 5:44. coming up, the controversial ad that has the new from overnight, crews across the area working to restore power to thousands of people who still have no electricity. right now those numbers have dropped considerably. pepco has 1,100 customers with no electricity in the district. earlier this hour, that number was 8,000. and dominion virginia -- just 8. sorry. earlier this hour, the number was 8. dominion virginia has 419 customers without power. and bge reporting dozens of people without power. many without power are in arlington. news 4's megan mcgrath is live with an update. it's a tough time to be without power, especially in this heat. >> reporter: absolutely. when it gets this hot, you don't want to be without air conditioning. it's the fact that people are cranking up their air conditioning that causes the power outage problem. the system can't take the demand. we have a transformer problem located underneath the pavement here in the middle of the road. it blew overnight knocking out power to a bumnch of folks in te area. the good news is they are making progress. they've already swapped out the transformer and reconnected everything. right now they're in the process of putting the plates and the grates back on the roadway. as soon as they do that, they're going to reopen the westbound lanes of wilson boulevard. they've been closed for a while at the intersection of north randolph street. obviously, they want to open this up as quickly as possible. rush hour, if that's closed, it's going to be a problem. it looks like they're about to do that. the folks here moving the cones around. hopefully, a few more minutes, and all of this will reopen. the key here is -- the temptation is great to crank up that ac and really cool things down in your house. but really the power companies are asking for your help. they're trying to lower demand here so they don't have the transformers blowing. they don't see the power outages. please try to conserve. when you leave for work, turn it down a little bit. you don't need it chilled like your refrigerator when you're at work. they need your help on this. back to you, eun. >> absolutely. megan mcgrath live in arlington. megan, thank you. some families in our region have power but no air conditioners at their homes. rockville has started a program to deliver new and used ac units to families who need them the most. the city has handed out 32 window units since june to homes without central air. all the units are donated and priority is given to seniors and residents who have health risks. the city says they do have more units available. 5:50 now. maryland is reassuring residents that their power will not purposely be shut off during the hot days. the maryland public service commission requires utilities to keep electric or gas service that's used for cooling turned on if the temperatures are 95 degrees or higher. that's even if the customer fails to pay. utilities are only allowed to shut off the power if someone is stealing electricity or the conditions are unsafe for power to be on. this oppressive heat is causing power companies to see record demand for electricity. officials say the electrical grid should be able to handle it. despite the record demand, peak summer demands are down because of the struggling economy. officials believe the weekend will help as businesses and office buildings will be empty. so they won't use as much power. with the end of the shuttle era, nasa is quickly turning its attention to the mission in mars. today the space agency will announce the landing site for its next mars rover called curiosity. yes, aaron. at the air and space museum on the mall. curiosity will be the largest rover to land on the red planet and will study the landing site for signs of life when it touches down in august of next year. the announcement is also in honor of mars day at the museum, in celebration of the first rover landing back in 1976. the shuttles, however, will not be forgotten. they are in the process of becoming museum pieces. "atlantis" will go through a decommissioning process before going on display at the kennedy visitors center. "endeavour" is headed to the california visitors center. and "discovery" is headed to our area in chantilly, where it will go on display at the air and space museum at dulles. >> veronica, i think the heat's getting to us, especially this one over here. >> it's friday. it's hot as you know what. i say go with it. >> that's true. people start actin wacky when the weather goes. >> sleep deprivation and heat exhaustion. >> they don't go together well. >> that's my excuse. >> speaking of excuses, all of us have a good excuse not to do anything today. maybe your boss can let you get by with that. you're supposed to heed the warnings, and we do have warnings up for today. poor air quality alert. that means unhealthy air for everybody where you don't want to overdo it when you're outside. same thing on the extreme heat warning. all of us vulnerable to the heat related illnesses today. why do anything? 85 the temperature. 93 the current heat index value. we had dewpoint temperatures yesterday running in the 80s throughout the area. low 80s. last time we had such high humidity, high dewpoint temperatures was back in 1982. fredericksburg at 79 degrees. currently 83 pax river. 84 degrees in annapolis. factor in that humidity where the current values are anywhere from 88 in baltimore to 93 inside the beltway. 85 to 83 degrees leesburg down towards fredericksburg, virginia. a look at values throughout the nation puts us the highest of anywhere throughout the country. through the mid-atlantic, tk, baltimore, down through raleigh today. lots of advisories throughout the area, a little less than half the nation. right here later today with the humidity rising, extreme heat, if you feel like we're up around 116 to 117 degrees. could get a few cooling thunderstorms. some of us today just to the north cumberland around frederick, maryland, maybe around gaithersburg later today. a very warm and sticky night. 81 to 82 degrees for the early morning. as far as today goes, it's going to be absolutely sweltering, and the evening dropping from 97 to 90 degrees. maybe an isolated or scattered storm today. better chance of rain on sunday and monday. high on sunday, 94. 90 degrees for monday. low 90s in more typical around d.c. for next week. danella? >> hey, good morning. happy friday. a little bit of good news if you're traveling on georgia avenue. those southbound lanes have reopened at randolph road. this is a look at arcola. traffic is flowing and no delays for you. 95 and duke street. if you're traveling 95, i see delays as you make your way out of dale city and head north. so far 395 is good from the beltway to the 14th street bridge. a look at the rails. so far, metro, marc, vre are all running on or close to schedule. that's good. great time to get out of the house right now. traffic is much lighter as of now. shoppers at walmart got an unexpected show as a flash mob broke out and performed at the store. ♪ >> everybody now. that routine is courtesy of the group respect d.c. they use the classic aretha franklin song to demand better pay and benefits for walmart workers. the company did not find the performance amusing, using the statement, real d.c. residents know singing and dancing are not solutions for those who need access to quality jobs and affordable groceries. the super store has four stores planned for the district in wards 4, 5, 6 and 7. tourists in las vegas got a free show as 50 showgirls marched down the street yesterday in protest. they were protesting casinos and what are called resort fees. it's a small daily payment that covers amenities, including internet access and valet parking, but are not included in the advertised room rate. the showgirls argued the money collected from the resort fees should go to employees instead of resort management. it's a bitter sweet day for book lovers. going out of business sales will start today at some of the more than 200 borders book stores around the country. a bankruptcy judge approved the liquidation plan yesterday. no buyers for the store means 11,000 employees will soon be out of work. that includes those from 18 stores in our area. there are talks that rival books a million will buy about 35 of the close be stores. got controversy? a new ad campaign for milk has sparked so much criticism that the company has removed a website for their product. the website, everything i do is wrong.org. it was an advertisement for milk from the california milk processors board. it promoted milk as a way to lessen the effects of pms and how men can deal with women who have pms. after multiple complaints, the company took the site down replacing it with a message, regrettably, some people found our message about milk and pms to be misguided. we apologize to those we offended. thank you for your comments, pro and con. >> why would you even go there? >> some man came up with that. google is shrinking fast, not the company, but the name. the internet's leading search engine will introduce a new domain name soon. gd g.co. the company will use the domain to lead to its various products and services. google just recently bought the domain but won't say how much they paid for it. >> we get to be laysier on the internet. we don't have to type out google anymore. coming up, the dress that