radar and i'll show you why. a weak frontal system approaching from the west and north. will not cool us off but squeeze out more showers and thunderstorms. so bring along an umbrella. and by the evening commute we have to look out for the potential for strong storms. steve mentioned the warm temperatures. currently 76 at reagan national. 76 in fredericksberg. hagerstown is 73 and in ocean city 76. our forecast high, sorry about that, 94 degrees. i mentioned the possibility of some showers and thunderstorms. winds light out of the south and west at 5 miles per hour. not much relief in sight. we'll look at the five-day forecast. we have more heat by friday and saturday. those details are coming up. let's get to on time traffic and lauren demarco. inbound route 50, john hanson slow from 202 to kenilworth. let's look at new york at bladensberg, usual volume there coming to us from trafficland. you can see the left of the screen. folks headed inbound on new york, no accidents or incidents to report. northbound 95 in virginia, delays off of lorton up to springfield. northbound 395 does throw leaving the beltway toward edsel and duke street and then again to get across the 14th street bridge. sky fox flying over the scene of a water main break in montgomery county. randolph road west of georgia avenue westbound, you do lose the two right lanes because of the water main break and we'll keep an eye on that. and brief slowdowns past it at the scene. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. >> lauren, thank you so much. well more for commuters now. two things to watch out for this morning. whether on a interstate or suburban street, we begin in arlington where you begin to hand over green for running red. stacy cohan joins us live from arlington for the changes that came into effect at midnight. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i wore the right color today because this is the color you need to look out for. stop when you see red or you'll pay a price in arlington. i'm right by one of the brand new cameras. they're tough to miss. mounted on this large metal pole behind me is one of the brand new red-light cameras and they are targeted, they are focused on all of the cars and looking -- for people that cruise through the red. i'm at lynn street and lee highway camera. there is one at north glebe road at fairfax and washington boulevard and lee highway. now drivers caught running the red light will pay a fine. there is no points on your license. but the intersections were chosen, not by just speeding violations, more focused on the accident rates and issues of pedestrian safety. >> i think it's a good thing for the safety of the comings and goings of those automobiles and pedestrians. but if i'm driving through and running through the light, i probably won't like it. but i'm just kidding. >> reporter: nobody likes getting those tickets but if history is any evidence, in many cases in other jurisdictions that have tried the red light cameras, they seem to have a decent effect on getting people over time who change and adopt their behavior. i have been looking and i haven't seen them go off this morning. it is hard to detect with the sunlight, but do make sure you stop in arlington this morning. stacy cohan, back to you. now another warning for drivers. today is the second capital region h.o.v. awareness day. law enforcement will crack down on h.o.v. violators during the morning and evening rush hours on interstates across maryland and virginia. in the first h.o.v. awareness day back in may officers pulled over nearly 1,000 violators and arrest -- two fugitives. another big story this morning, frightening moments on board a flight from dulles out west. dozens of passengers were injured when the flight to los angeles hit unexpected turbulence. and gurvir has the latest on what happened. >> reporter: the flight was over kansas city when it was hit by extreme turbulence, tossing passengers and crew members around. passengers say the plane took a great dip and described it as an up and down motion. 30 people were injured, most had bruises, whiplash, strains and sprains but some people did have to be hospitalized. others were treated at the scene. here is what one passenger said happened. >> all of a sudden the plane dropped probably 20-30 feet. i saw at least two people hit the ceiling. the girl in front of me two rows, i saw her hit the ceiling and slam back down. luckily i had my seat belt on. >> reporter: after everybody was checked out, united worked with the uninjured passengers to get them on new flights. there was no obvious damage to the plane interior or exterior. the faa and the ntsb will take another look. back to you. i'm sure it was scary. >> i'm sure it was. an agriculture department worker was fired over charges of racism may get her job back. the drama has become a headache for the white house. and as doug luzader reports, the obama administration may have to backtrack. >> reporter: the secretary of agriculture said he's going to rethink this entire incident in what may have been a major rush to judgment. >> you have heard of a lot of layoffs have you heard of anybody in the federal government losing their job? that's all i need to say. >> reporter: we know of one example. the department of agriculture employee shirley shierod was fired because of this speech she gave at a naacp meeting back in march. and it was this comment that did her in about an incident more than 20 years ago. >> and here i was having to help a white person saying [ inaudible ]. so i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> reporter: an official at the department of agriculture called to demand her resignation because the white house was concerned fox news would carry the story. and the naacp piled on, condemning her remarks. sherrod was bewildered. >> it felt terrible. just no support at all. not even an attempt to look into what was happening. >> reporter: what happened was that she was telling the story of how she finally helped the white farmer coming to terms with her own racial assumptions and he came to her defense. all of that led critics to bash the white house now embroiled in yet another awkward incident involving race. >> i'm not sure she got a fair and complete hearing. >> reporter: now the obama administration may not be far behind. there will be a complete review at the department of agriculture. in washington, doug luzader, fox news. a serial killer is what police are calling the man of two mother-daughter murders. a mother and daughter were found killed and about a mile away another mother-daughter were found in the trunk of a car set on a fire. we're told the man is in his 20s, and is locked up on unrelated federal charges. co be one of the worst criminals in prince george's county history. >> i use the term zero criminal because he did additional crimes beyond murder. by the time you find out what this person is about you'll see this will become one of america's most famous criminals. >> sources say that man is also a suspect in the june 2008 murder of develop must butler of bowie. the charges could come in a week. and police are questioning the suspect in the murder of a azin naimi. police have not yet charged the suspect but it is said he knew her. she had clients in hollywood and heads of state. britain's prime minister continues his first visit to the u.s. we'll examine the relationship between the u.s. and the u.k. in the release of the lockerbie bomber. and we are in the middle of yet another heat wave and the temperature is only going up. especially when we look at this weekend. tucker has a look at the forecast when we come back. it's now 10 minutes past the hour. [ female announcer ] welcome to busch gardens williamsburg, where d.c. goes to get away. maybe it's because washington d.c. loves the legendary coasters. or that your entire family will have fun, even the little ones. it could be that water country usa has more of the waves, slides and rides everyone wants. so plan your getaway and come play. you never know who you'll run into. get started at buschgardens.com/dc. this doesn't have to be our future. not if the senate acts now on legislation to promote energy efficiency, biofuels, and renewable energy sources. let's make america more energy independent, protect our environment, and create millions of new jobs right here at home - instead of losing those jobs to other countries. if you want to change america's energy future, call your senators and tell them to support clean energy legislation now. 7:13 right now. let's check in with tucker with our forecast. and now we can guess what it is. >> hazy hot and humid. >> and maybe a thunderstorm this afternoon. but first we needed the rain. we had a good soaking rain across parts of the area yesterday and we'll do it again today. >> all right. >> don't look at me that way. it will only make it hotter in hereif you do that. let'go to the radar. we do have a few showers i want to mention south and east of the city. crossing thebay towards caridge and oxford at this moment. justind of blossomed in t lasthalf an hour so just a couple of light shers across the region. most of the area king up dry but i think by later in afternoon, the shores and thunderstorms will return and in some cases with a vengence. some thunderstorms could be on the strong side later today. let's go to the maps and look at most of the country, fairly quiet. a storm across central points of the country and that's associated with extreme heat out there. i'll show that to you in a second. quiet out in the west. they're having nice weather. and here in the east we continue to be under the influence of the summertime air mass. so the showers and thunderstorms will return later today. let's talk temperatures. 79 currently out in dallas. 81 in little rock. a lot of extreme heat advisories and into oklahoma, northeast texas, arkansas today. the reason i mention that, that extreme heat is headed in our direction. so into friday and saturday. highs today in the mid-90s. we'll be close to 100 by saturday. and we'll take the chance of showers and thunderstorms out of the equation as well. here is your forecast. better tomorrow, 93 and then upper 90s friday and saturday. cooler by the end of the weekend. >> that will be uncomfortable. >> sorry about that. >> 99, and when it's on the forecast, then it will be like -- >> 107. >> thank you. let's check in with lauren for a look at traffic. >> we do have a new accident on the 14th street bridge. you can imagine that will cause some problems for you. let's take a live look out there as you head northbound from the beltway. delays up to the 14th street bridge. i can say there is good news because just before i walked in the studio we had both of these lanes closed to construction and shut down and it looks like they've been reopened. everything once again reopening. and now in montgomery county delays off and on leaving germantown toward rockville, in bound on 270, and no accidents to report and lanes are open. beltway slowing from college park toward silver spring on the outer loop. and good news about the police investigation we were following in georgetown. m. street has been reopened. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. steve, back to you. today on the hill, two hearings regarding the gulf oil spill. one to make sure victims are taken care of, another to make sure the gulf is restored. the government's point man is down playing worries that the well is buckling under pressure. yesterday barack obama met with james cameron who is on his first visit to washington. the oil spill and the lockerbie bomber was the focus. and larry fitzgerald spent time in libia and has interviewed top officials and top british diplomats there. >> thank you. >> a lot of talk between brittan and been and libya when it comes to prisoner transport and if there was any relationship or or bad dealings between bp and the government of libya or britain. what happened with these prison erin mates and bp? what was the relationship there. >> i can address what happened -- i can't address what happened but i can say it seems that this is coming up now of course because of the oil spill in the gulf of mexico. and there is a lot of public anger over al maggie and his illness. but whether that will have an impact, i don't think so. because in the scheme of things, this is relatively small. the terrorist activity, the cad -- khadaffi renounced weapons of mass destruction a long time ago and as a result of that, relations between the west and libya improved dramatically. as per the libya transfer agreement, i understand he was released because of humanitarian grounds. so the argument that the scottish government gave was that it had nothing to do with the prisoner transport. >> and just for some background, was there a deal between bp and libya in some way to enable the processing of prisoners? >> i can't address that. there might have been. there might not have been. what is in the news now is that the scottish justice minister is alluding to the fact there may very well have deal and attempting, from what i understand, to deflect attention from his decision to the british government. and of course the british government right now is not happy about that. >> and let's talk about bp was involved in it, that being the oil spill in the gulf of mexico. what is the impact in britain because of this? >> again, i can't address that. it's not my area of expertise. what i could say is that the oil spill in the long-term is going to be a far bigger story, in my opinion, than anything having to do with libya. that of course was a large exploration deal, as i understand it, with 550 billion pounds of sterling. but compared to the oil spill, that is not a big story in the long run. >> is british petroleum or the british government handling this correctly when it comes to the situation with bp and the gulf of mexico? >> i can't address that. i don't know. but what i could say is that it's possible that some heads could roll as a result of what happened with the deals in libya. from what i'm understanding the british ambassador, nigel shine world might be on the way out. >> and what do you say in the future of the u.s.-u.k. relationships. i'm sure nations would like it to stay the way it is. and are there any differences between cameron brown and his predecessors. >> i don't see why the relationship would change in any way. >> what if the bp spill could have an impact? >> it could. it's possible. but a lot of the focus is on the prisoner agreement and on al mag raggy. >> and if that passes does that put more of an impact on the oil spill. we heard more that tony hayward could step down and that could be weeks or months away. have you heard any new developments on that and if that might impact? does that help the situation? >> i haven't heard anything on that. >> we'll keep an ear. larry luxor the news editor from washington diplomat newspaper. thank you very much. >> thank you. just about 7:21 now and it is 76 degrees on this wednesday morning. find out if you are one of the millions people soon getting a check from the federal government. and then one of the hottest tickets in town. we're going behind the scenes of mary popins at the kend -- kennedy center. we'll be right back. ecic a final vote is expected in the senate later in morning on extending jobless benefits to more than 2 million americans who can't find work. the vote yesterday broke a republican filibuster that had been holding up the bill. republicans say they want to extend jobless benefits, but they want democrats to pay with them by making other budget cuts, not to extend the deficit. lawmakers remain divided on this issue. >> when it comes to unemployed americans who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, americans literally faced with living in their cars, the republicans tell us sorry, we can't help. the deficit just requires us to say no. >> what we do not support and we make no apologies for this, is borrowing tens of billions of dollars to pass this bill at a time when the national debt is spinning completely out of control. >> the senate will vote again on the bill this morning. then it goes to the house for a final vote and president obama is expected to sign it before the end of the week. the local unemployment picture is improving a bit in the district. the jobless rate went down to an even 10% last month from 10.4% in may. maryland's unemployment also dropped to 7.1% from 7.3%. and in virginia, unemployment also went down slightly from may to june. it's now an even 7%. the results of the maryland school assessment exams are in and elementary and middle school students made modest improvements in every category except for elementary reading school activity. in our area, elementary students in prince george's county made gains in math and reading. in montgomery county math scores rose slightly but reading scores dropped. time now is 7:26. if you are planning a getaway soon stay tuned because we'll tell you which d.c. area airport will give you the best rates to get out of town. and then political strategists will join us on the controversial comments on the department agriculture employee who lost her job and the white house doing major damage control today. stay with us. es welcome back. let's take a look at today's top story. the traffic alert as arlington's county new red light cameras have begun issuing cameras. it will cost you $50. this is at fort myer at lee highway and north glebe road at fairfax drive. extreme turbulence on a flight out of dulles last night landed several passengers in the hospital. a few with serious injuries. the united airlines flight was headed from dulles to l.a. but had to be diverted to denver after experiencing rough turbulence over kansas city. three people were hurt. again a few of them seriously. for travelers looking to save a buck or two, experts say consider booking a flight out of an alternative airport. now here are three options in the d.c. area. according to cheap flights.com, you can get the best deals by flying out of reagan national, believe it or not. followed by bwi and then dulles. average price per ticket a couple of hundred dollars higher out of dulles. it was thought reagan national was more expense. >> and if you fly one way, they are cheaper now. >> i have noticed that. >> don't tell anybody. >> but you can get hooked up with that. that travel -- that happened to me once. they said you shouldn't book it separately because we can't help you on your return. >> do a lot of research. >> i think i spend more time researching than i do on the flight. >> and don't check your luggage. it will cost you $80. and it will be hot out there and humid and the word of the day, sultry. yes, that's right. hd radar, showers bubbling up to the east of the bay out towards cambridge. and this is pushing off to the east. so i think it will dissipate quickly. but we have more rain starting to develop out to the west, out in west virginia. let's push on to satellite radar and i'll show you what is going on. very summery air mass overhead. probably don't need to tell you that. a lot of humidity out there. we'll have very high temperatures around here today with highs expected to once again be back into the low to mid-90s and an increasing chance for afternoon showers and thunderstorms. weak upper-level disturbance. area of low pressure, i can't call it a frontal system, but it will serve as a trigger mechanism in the atmosphere to bring us strong storms this afternoon. so officially we're under a slight risk for severe weather around here later today but that's the potential for gusty winds and then some of the storms that produce the torrential downpours. so be ready for that. timing on that any time after 2:00 or 3:00 this afternoon. let's talk temperature trend and not work field goal our favor this week. 94 this afternoon. 93 tomorrow. if you like upper 90s, 100, wait until saturday. highs on saturday will be 99 degrees. so we're likely to have more heat advisories later in week as we'll have more extreme heat around here towards friday and saturday. currently 77 in washington. we're 75 in frederick. quantico has a temperature of 76. and 73 in leonardtown. i peopled the -- i mentioned the afternoon high temperatures back in the 90s. look for the possibility of strong storms with winds out of the west at 5-10 miles per hour. and overnight lows, just not cooling off these days. mid to upper 70s and maybe low 80s around here by the weekend. so we need cooling centers and a lot of water if you're going to be outdoors over the next couple of days. let's get to fox 5 on-time traffic. i bring you the bad news and lauren brings you the good news. >> well not really. it's a busy day. southbound 270 south of montrose at tuckerman, we have a live look out there, it looks like maybe things have been clear the off to the side of the road. we did have the two far left lanes blocked and things are moving better but still on the breaks off and on with delays from shady grove road. on the beltway in montgomery county, we have delays from college park on the outer loop around toward silver spring. here we are in virginia. the inner loop slows from merrifield to annandale and on the outer loop we have a disabled tractor-trailer at 123 blocking the right lane. so watch for that. northbound 395, very heavy from the beltway all the wayp to the 14th street bridge. we had an accident on the bridge. that is cleared. your lanes are open but moving slowly and still dealing with getting around those new -- the new construction work. two lanes to the left and two to the right at this point. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. allison, over to you. >> lauren, thank you so much. well overnight the agriculture secretary announced he'll reconsider the department's decision to fire an african-american employee over what were perceived it be racially tinged remarks. joining us is peter fenn and republican political strategist, jim innocenzi. good morning to you. >> good to see you again. >> this thing is a racial hot potato of sorts. this video pops up and it's determined that this whole big story was being told to say that in the end she realized it's not about race, it's about money or who is doing well, who is not doing well and helped this white family, this farmer. but what you saw was what we are seeing here, an edited tape that she appeared to be racist, boasting that she didn't help because he was white. and the agriculture department said the white house put the pressure on the department to fire her. >> i have no idea where it was coming from. this happened fast. jim and i were talking about it in the green room. we both agreed, that you have to get your facts before you act in something like this. the internet, 24/7 cable news, this is a big problem. and all they had to do was call her up. the naacp, all they had to do was call her up. all the white house or the ag department had to do was call her up. they could have check it out with the white farm family that owe her for saving their farm. >> she saved their farm. >> she saved their farm. and i have to also say, the reporters who hammered this all day should have checked their facts too. so i think it is incumbent upon the white house and the agriculture department to reinstate here and for both of them to apologize to her, to be perfectly honest. >> and today, the word out today, she did an interview for another network and is he shed, she night not go back to the department of agriculture because of all that has happened. your reaction to the story and who is -- who is complying? just your reaction? >> it's just sloppy. it's sloppy all the way around. people are thinking about -- it would be like if your child ate the ice cream and didn't say anything to you. what are you going to do? are you going to blame the child or are you going to say did you eat the ice cream? you ask them first. the preemption any more in poll -- the in politics is that if it's on the internet it must be true. and now mainstream media decided it must be true. whether somebody bothered to pick up the phone, and then you find the whole story -- this happened 24 years ago. i mean this -- it's a lesson that everybody should learn. the white house is saying they didn't do it, ag said it was the white house. peter is right, they should all step back, apologize, ask her for her job back. frankly i don't blake her for not wanting to go back because they made a mess. >> they threw her under the bus. which was not fair. it's the whole thing, shoot first and ask questions later. >> firing aim is a problem. >> we saw the battle between the tea party and the naacp, and the naacp wanted language that the tea party denounced any racist factions within the group. how much does one thing have to do with the other. it seems it be a racially charged. >> are there racists in the tea party? probably. are there racist in the naacp? probably. and are there racists in america? yeah. so get over it. and like peter said, we're feeding this engine of the press and we have to constantly be pounding out there and i think everybody needs to step back and take a deep breath and not just blow this out of proportion is what i think has happened now. >> and when someone engages in this kind of behavior, as the part of the tea party did with his -- this was a horrendous blog post, racist as all get out, making fun of the emancipation proclamation. the tea party cut him and said he's not our kind of guy. but get the facts straight and put it out there, figure it out and then move on. >> i think it's -- we're so hyposensitive to everything any more. and frankly people need to back off. >> because we're all sick of talking about it. let's be honest. that's our editorial aside there. and senate democrats said to push the unemployment benefits extension through. this is right along the party lines. republicans saying we want to help but it shouldn't be added to the national debt. jim, let me start with you. what will happen with unemployment and is somebody going to say i told you so, now we're in more trouble? >> well two things that are pretty interesting, the president throws out -- last week the president said the stimulus is working and more people are out of work, so which is it, mr. president? but back in november when they did pass an extension, the president said this is revenue neutral, this isn't going to add to the debt. the republicans came on board and signed up for it. i don't think the republicans are against unemployment benefits but i think the republicans are kind of saying, we have to stop all of this spending. and the democrats are like, let's just pass it. peter, i have to tell you, the democrat party has a problem. it reminds me of the dumb blond who keeps writing checks going well i have more checks. [ overlapping speakers ] >> after eight years of spending on the part of republicans -- and the other part of this is, no one says we're going to improve $35 billion for afghanistan and where are we going to pay for that? but suddenly when it comes to unemployment compensation, the republicans get up sex but the bottom set -- upset. but the bottom line is the republicans are making a big mistake opposing regulation on wall street and opposing the extension of unemployment benefits. the fact is when it comes to -- maybe not this election, jim, because your party is looking good, but in 2012 folks will say what about the republicans? what were they for? >> they're for trying to rein in the -- $13 trillion of debt. they're not opposed to cutting. >> jim innocenzi just joking. if we get the calls about the blond, i'll send them to you. peter fenn, thank you for joining us. steve, over to you. >> a carefully calculated move on his part. 7:41 on this wednesday morning. up next, which musicians are now calling for a boycott of arizona over the immigration law. and then this week our home town friday tour takes us to poolesville, maryland, in northwestern montgomery county. a little treasure up there. we'll be in whaling commons on friday morning from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. come on out and say hi to us. we'll be there on friday morning in poolesville. we'll see you there. [ female announcer ] welcome to busch gardens williamsburg, where d.c. goes to get away. maybe it's because washington d.c. loves the legendary coasters. or that your entire family will have fun, even the little ones. it could be that water country usa has more of the waves, slides and rides everyone wants. so plan your getaway and come play. you never know who you'll run into. get started at buschgardens.com/dc. this doesn't have to be our future. not if the senate acts now on legislation to promote energy efficiency, biofuels, and renewable energy sources. let's make america more energy independent, protect our environment, and create millions of new jobs right here at home - instead of losing those jobs to other countries. if you want to change america's energy future, call your senators and tell them to support clean energy legislation now. 7:45 as we take a look at stories making headlines this morning. we start in stafford, virginia, where police are looking for three men responding to a craig's list ad. they wanted to buy playstations and iphones and the sellers told them to meet them in dark parking lots and when they showed up, they were attacked. craig's list buyers are told to meet in public places. rage against the machine is boycotting arizona because of the new immigration law. group is donating proceeds from the friday concert to fight the law. sonic youth and can yeah west also signed on. and many groups are all apparently sharing the headlining bill for tickets for the september 20th show that are free. they go up for grabs at 10:00 a.m. on saturday. there are some pavilion seats that go for $125. they guarantee you a spot in the pavilion. the rest of the seats are free. last year the seats were gone in 15 minutes. >> when did concerts get so expensive. >> that's why people don't go any more. they can't afford it. >> well good show though, if you can afford to go. or just sit on the lawn. >> you don't have to afford to go. you can go for free. hopefully the weather will improve by then. looking at the 90 forecast, things should be better by september. let's get to it. talking about hot and humid conditions today with the possibility of strong afternoon thunderstorms and one other little weather feature i want to show you in a moment. 77 degrees now in downtown washington. new york city not doing much better. in fact, maybe worse. 81 in downtown new york. boston is doing better, 71 off to the north and east. looking at our satellite radar, we do have a few light showers developing, particularly east of the bay and south of us, down toward cambridge, pushing toward salisbury. and now out to the west, new shower redevelop. bottom line is showers in the forecast today. there will be peeks of sunshine but all in all clouds this afternoon and the possibility of more strong storms. this is the feature i want to show you. off to the south and east, and we're north now of the dominican republic, see the flair up there, that activity shows there is indication that could develop into a tropical storm. that might be bonnie and it would head toward the bahamas and central florida for the weekend. and we'll see if that does develop but the national hurricane center saying a 60- 70% chance that will develop later today and during the day tomorrow. there is your five-day forecast. a lot of 90s on the map. if you don't like mid-90s, hang in there, we'll be upper 90s to near 100 by friday and saturday. so only getting worse from here. >> thank you, tucker. >> and thank you for the forecast for us. lauren demarco perhaps has better news with a look at traffic. hi, lauren. >> hi, guys. we do have heavy delays southbound 270 because of a wreck south of montrose blocking the two left lanes, moved off to the the sold -- to the shoulder so that's good news. so heavy and slow before shade yes grove and very slow in the main and local lanes making the trip down toward montrose and after that a smooth trip toward the split. and the usual stretch from college park toward silver spring, in virginia the inner loop delays beginning right here, right at the robinson terminal after the springfield interchange and delays continue toward 66. on the outer loop we have a disabled vehicle at 123 that's blocking the right lane. it's a disabled tractor-trailer so watch for delays past that as well. here we are inbound northbound 395, your main lanes jammed from the beltway up to the 14th street bridge. we had a wreck on the bridge plus the new traffic pattern. the accident is clear and everything is moving on the bridge. but look at this creeping by, northbound 395 past duke street up to crossing into the district. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. steve and allison, back to you. >> lauren, thanks. 77 degrees right now at 7:49. coming up in the next hour, find out how one college student got a fancy hot rod without spending a dime. >> he did not win it nor did he steal it. that's a hint for you. sarah, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i have to tell you, i am so excited. so jittery i think i've had more than a spoon full of sugar because we are seeing what it is like behind the scenes with mary poppins and we wanted to see what it takes to put her costume on and gary is an expert on her hair. and look, there is my name. i'm going to be mary poppins coming up. we'll tell you more. we'll be right back. 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[ music ] and we're working on spelling. >> and pronouncing it. >> mary poppins is at the kennedy center through august 22nd. >> but today sarah simmons is there to find out what it takes to put on this classic show. sarah, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you both. it takes so much work and so many talented people that we've had the pleasure to get to know. and we want to talk with one of the folks on the stage and part of this, out there in front. elizabeth is one of the members. explain to us what part in the show that you are, so when people come out to see they'll think there is elizabeth. >> i'm a swing. which means that i cover all of the woman in the ensemble. so i know all of the women's tracks. and if there is a hole because an understudy has to go into a lead position or someone is out sick or has a vacation, i swing in, that's the term swing, and i cover these women and get to wear all kinds of lovely wigs and costumes. >> reporter: explain what part of the show this is. >> this is a scene where we're in mrs. cory's sweet shop. it's supercalifragalisticexpialidoci and it's an incredible wig. it's not every day i have yellow hair. >> but it looks great. >> they do such good work with these wigs. >> reporter: and gary martory is the one that helps make everyone look fabulous in their wigs and is going to help me look fabulous. explain how much work goes into putting the wigs together, getting them in costume and makeup and ready to go. >> it takes hours. they start off like this, actually, where they get washed and set. >> because it's real hair? >> it's human air. it has to be done every just like your hair and it gets comed out to look like mary poppins or mr. and mrs. banks. >> reporter: they're all part of the show. it takes a long time. and you said it's real hair, but how long to put on the wig, get them fitted and ready to go for makeup? that doesn't take too long. >> no. i can get it done in less than half an hour. >> reporter: so you have a really fast job, which is nice because i know john has a job that takes forever. i think the last time i saw you, you were taking a short cat nap because it took so long to do this. but he is responsible for these wonderful costumes. what do we have here? >> this is a collection of what mary wears throughout the show. pretty much in order of what she wears it. starting with her regular blue, which is the familiar mary look. and her jolly holiday look. nice and bright and colorful. >> reporter: beautiful. i love the colors. and then the next one is -- >> different colored coats throughout the show, the red, purple, black, different blouse, slightly different. >> reporter: how long does that take to do a costume change for mary in the different scenes? how long does it take? you have to be fast, i'm sure. >> most changes are so quick, and they are subtle. a lot of them are fast, like 30 seconds. it's a shoe change or shirt change or coat change. >> reporter: so they are running off the stage -- >> take it off and put it on and run back on to stage. >> reporter: and coming up we'll see what it takes to do the dancing, supercal frig liftic ex peeal defense and i don't know how i can do this. it will be very difficult. but it's a fascination to watch. i had the pleasure of watching last week. we'll test my skills in the next hour and see if i can keep up. back to you. >> how cool that you have your own -- she's the star of the show. thanks, sayrey. we'll see you in a little bit. and also after 8:00, we'll check out the one ingredient that could be hurting your healthy diet. >> i hope it's not potato chips. then high temperatures may be in the 90s but it looks like christmas in some local stores. we'll have more on why they have christmas decorations and holiday shopping bargains out early. >> i think potato chips is an ingredient. >> oh, okay. three minutes before 8:00. we'll be right back. >> the question remains. ecic well he could end up being one of the areas most famous criminals. this is from the chief of police after the murder of two mothers and daughters. so what did investigators uncover? we have new information here at 8:00. then a scare in the air. a flight from dulles to l.a. gets slammed with turbulence. things so bad more than two dozen people were hurt. another community activating red light cameras and starting today you will pay. we'll live with the exact spots to pay close attention to this morning. good morning. i'm steve chenevey. >> i'm allison seymour. and our friend tucker barnes is in today for tony perkins. and one word -- or three -- hazy, hot and humid. >> with the possibility of strong thunderstorms late this afternoon. and up in baltimore yesterday we had a tornado warning. potential again today to say good thunderstorms and high temperatures too. we say it every day, but it's hard to get used to 94 degrees. that's our afternoon high. to hd radar. showers bubbling up in the last hour or so. a good band there, east of cambridge, where you can see more shower activity breaking out in the eastern portions of west virginia and pushing into places likfront royal, winchester you ght get a light shower and down toward fredericksberg too. so we'll watch this push into the area. bottom line is more showers in the forecast. very unstable air mass across the area so it won't make much to get the thunderstorms firing up in today's atmosphere with high temperatures expected to push into the low 90s and a lot of water in the atmosphere as well. 77 the winning number in many places. reagan national 77. patuxent naval air station 77. baltimore, fredericksberg, harrisonburg, all 77. >> lucky 7's. >> lucky 7's maybe. i'm due. high temperature, 94, not such a lucky number. but it's not a good temperature number. here comes the clouds and then afternoon storms, some could be strong. winds out of the south and west at 5-10 miles per hour. more details on the forecast in a couple of minutes. >> thanks, tucker. >> sorry. >> that's all right. not as bad as the five-day in a few minutes. >> i'm playing the lottery today. all 7's. i like that. checking out the beltway, we have delays on the inner loop to virginia from the mixing bowl and springfield toward 66. then the outer loop slows past van dorn street as you head toward the wilson bridge. we have an accident reported on the inner loop near eisenhower avenue. that's off on the right shoulder. not causing any delay for you. now traveling northbound 395, you are just jammed from the beltway all the way up to the 14th street bridge. earlier we had a wreck on the bridge. that's cleared out. you can see everything is moving. we do have the new traffic pattern to get around the construction so just dealing with that and the volume again on the brakes all the way from the beltway. 66 slows leaving route 50 fair oaks and then past the vienna metro. 270 very heavy and slow from father hurley past montgomery and route 124 and delays continue to montrose where we had an earlier accident. all of the activity is off on the left shoulder. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. >> lauren, thank you very much. well if you drive through arlington, beware, you could get ticketed for running a red light, even if there are no police officers around. talking about those red light cameras that are in place and stacy cohan joins us from arlington with the details now. stacy, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. well we've had red light cameras elsewhere. they were in virginia and not in virginia and then back. nobody wants to get a ticket. but it's surprising what people are saying about the cameras. now obviously they are here. here is the brand new one behind me you can see on the large metal pole. i'm on lee highway. and let me give you the intersections. the first first one is lynn street at lee highway. north glebe road at fairfax drive, washington boulevard at lee highway. now the drivers running the red will face a $50 fine but only a civil penalty so you won't accrue points on your record. and the intersections were chosen due to their accident rates and issues of public safety, pedestrian safety in particular. i spoke to a bunch of people out here this morning and i was quite surprised to see that not many got very upset. >> if you know that they are there, of course it will make a difference. but those from out of town and tourists don know and will get the tickets. >> i think it's a good thing. so we have pedestrians out here and they'll get hit. >> sow don't mind? >> i don't mind it. >> reporter: let the tourists get the tickets. no, don't get tickets. stop when you see a red light. that's the easiest way to do it. they have red light cameras here in virginia from 1995 to 2005 and then the general assembly renewed the program again in 2007. so they are back. they have a great big sign about a block leading up to the intersection. so if you are paying attention you should be just fine. i'm stacy cohan, back to you. >> stacy, thank you so much. and another warning today, the second capital region h.o.v. awareness day crackdown will occur on several interstates across maryland and virginia. during the first crackdown in may, officers pulled over nearly 1,000 violators. hundreds of aggressive drivers and speeders, and they arrested two fugitives. the ntsb investigating on what happened from a dulles to l.a. flight slammed with -- turbulence. the flight had to be diverted to denver after hitting turbulence over kansas city. most of the bruises were whiplash and strains and sprains. one woman was jolt the out of her set -- jolted out of her seat that she caused a crack on the ceiling. a serial killer is is a young man with two master's degrees in his 20s and could be the most dangerous criminal in prince george's county history. >> reporter: delores dewitt and karen johnston were both nurses and had teenage daughters and lived less than a mile apart. now police say they were killed by the same man. >> i can tell you that we have overwhelming evidence. >> reporter: prince george's county police chief and the detective displayed thousands of pages of evidence but the public doesn't get to look at details because authorities are still awaiting an indictment from a grand jury. what police do say is that the man is in his 20s, he worked for a delivery company and that he was already locked up on unrelated federal charges. >> i use the term serial criminal because he did additional crimes beyond murder. so this is an individual that by the time this -- you actually find out what this person is all about, you'll see this has become one of america's most famous criminals that police investigators have been responsible in identifying. >> reporter: there is a lock box on the home where the loftons were killed. two doors down charles williams has returned to his routine. but thinking about karen and carissa lofton has become part of that routine. >> i always think about them. and like i said, she was so nice to people. >> reporter: the loftons were shot and killed in january 2009. then about six weeks later the bodies of delores dewitt and her 19-year-old daughter ebony were found in the trunk of a stolen car that had been set on fire. >> i thought about it a lot of times. and i was hoping they would hurry and catch him before he did it again to somebody else. that's what i was concerned about. >> reporter: sources tell fox 5 the man under investigation is also a suspect in the murder of thelma butler shot inside her bowie home in 2008. the killer set the house on fire. all that is left is a vacant lot. there is also emptiness for those who knew the loftons and the dewitts. now the emptiness is combined with relief now that police say they have their man. >> at first detectives were treating the cases as if they were unrelated but received a tip from an investigation with the bureau of alcohol tobacco and firearms that led them to the suspect. the official charges could come as early as next week. time now is 9 minutes past the hour on this wednesday morning. a cabinet secretary in the white house doing damage control after a federal worker is fired. >> coming up, will she get her job back? this morning new comments from the agriculture department and the worker at the center of the controversy. also just ahead, we'll check out the one ingredient that could be hurting your other wise healthy diet. that's coming up. let's look at some story making headlines this morning. agriculture secretary said this morning that the department is reconsidering a decision to force the resignation of this westmoreland, shirley sherrod, ousted after this tape showing her at an naacp making comments saying that some thought were racist but on the tape she's explaining how racism is wrong. she said she didn't know if she would return even job was reinstated. democrats overcome a republican filibuster to pass jobless benefits, the bill giving more than 2 million americans plor unemployment payments is expected to pass this morning. it heads to the house and president obama plans to sign it into law later this week. and our job of the day today is at hdr in silver spring, this an architectural company. they're looking for an economist. for more go to web welcome back and look for the job shop tab on the top of the home page. and let's head over to tucker for the forecast. and plus the bonus for the day. >> the cool factor. and we need the cool down today. it will be awfully warm today. let's get to the my first 5 photo of the day. everybody's favorite time of the day. this is 2 and a half-year-old ryan. and guess what he loves to do? >> go to the beach. >> and play in the water. and perfect summer for it. and with all of the heat around here. >> he's just chilling out in the water. he's so happy. >> he looks like he's totally relaxing. >> he's a water baby. >> enjoying the water. >> cute as he can be. >> lauren said he's chiliasming -- chill-axing. and highs will be back in the 90s. we're getting used to it at this point but warmer by the end of the week. ryan, let's look at our satellite radar and show you that just in the last hour we've had some showers redevelop out to the west. you can see them pressing toward the washington area. so we're likely to lose the sunshine here quickly and by late morning, early afternoon, we'll start to see the showers and thunderstorms break out back across the washington area. all right, yesterday we had a couple of big storms. today the potential is out there. we could do it all over again. and because of that, the storm prediction center has put out a slight risk outlook for the washington area. so there could be some strong thunderstorms and very gusty winds and the potential for some torrential downpours later this afternoon as the storms press through. not really a frontal system moving through, but our humidity will be a little less than it was during the day yesterday and today as we get into the daytime hours tomorrow, if that makes sense. currently 79 degrees at reagan national. humidity is 74%. here is a look at your forecast and then again afternoon highs with a lot of clouds around and increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms later today. about 94 degrees. drier tomorrow, but not cooler. drier behind the system. and then here comes the heat. friday and saturday daytime highs upper 90s. i should have put in 100 for saturday but i'm hoping to keep my finger crossed to keep it only in the upper 90s but very hot around here by the end of the week. let's look at the forecast and on-time traffic and lauren demarco. >> good morning. thanks, tuck. heading eastbound on the bay bridge, a disabled truck blocking the right lane and not causing any delays. stay to left to get by that. northbound 395, this is a problem. very heavy and slow from the beltway. here we are past edsel road and the delays look like this up to the 14th street bridge. once you get across and into the district, you're back up to speed. the beltway in virginia, also heavy and slow and stretches from springfield. in the inner loop past braddock and it continues toward 66. past there, things do pick up across legion bridge and into montgomery county. in montgomery county, the outer loop is heavy from college park toward silver spring. southbound 270 jammed from father hurley. here we are past 118, germantown road, looks like this all the way down toward montrose where we had an earlier wreck but that has cleared off and is on the side of the road. 66 slows from 50 fair oaks and again to vienna metro. and dulles toll road slows approaching the beltway. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. if you're freezer at home is anything like the one at fox 5, odds are it's jammed full of the frozen diet meals. >> the lean cuisines and the others. some foods that you think are those smart choices could be sabotaging your healthy eating goals. the problem is too much sodium. melanie alnwick shows us why shaking the salt from our diet is hard to do. >> reporter: grocery shopping with china terrell, will probably make you rethink your shopping cart. >> this is the safe section. >> reporter: no ramen noodles or macaroni and cheese, few canned foods or frozen diet dinners. >> you have to be careful. >> reporter: she's not concerned with fat and caloroys, she's trying -- calories, she's trying to avoid salt. >> i had a heart attack already once. >> this is probably the single deadliest substance in our food supply. >> reporter: too much sodium increases blood pressure, the risks of that are well-known to cardiologists like dr. patricia davidson. >> we know that high salt intake leads to strokes and heart attacks. >> reporter: yet the amount of sodium in our food is allowed to go unchecked. >> we need the food and drug administration to set limited. >> reporter: the director for the scient for the center of public interest said the effort to cut sodium isn't working. >> it has been a complete failure. >> reporter: today americans are consuming huge amounts of sodium. the fda recommended maximum daily amount is 2300 milligrams, that's less than a tablespoon of salt. the american heart association said 1500 milligrams is a safer level. but sticking to that is tough. because most of the sodium we eat is packed into processed foods. >> i discovered that half of what i was eating, i needed to throw away. >> reporter: we discovered when it comes to sodium, consumers have to be careful even with some meals that might look healthy. here is a few eye-openers. smart ones macaroni and cheese has 790 milligrams of sodium. lean cuisine's roasted turkey breast dinner has 890 grams. that's more than half of a day's safe amount. using the american heart association guidelines. most of the healthy choice meals had 600 milligrams of sodium. low enough to claim healthy under fda rules, but still higher than what many doctors recommend in a single meal. >> there needs to be a major national movement to get the food industry to lower the sodium. >> reporter: this institute of medicine report from april said the amount of sodium in restaurant and packaged foods is tie high to be safe and urges the fda to finally set a national standard. a spokesperson for the food and drug administration told us that sodium is a high priority issue for the agency. but also said the subject is so sensitive no one could come on camera to talk about it. we do know the fda is in the process of considering whether to set limits on the amount of sodium in our foods, but that may take a while. >> meanwhile its consumer beware. >> reporter: today china tries to shop the perimeter of the store where the fresh food is kept. >> i can't go back to the way i was eating before. >> reporter: she looks for the heart seal on packaged foods and makes better choices. >> that's an easy switch to do in your diet. >> reporter: try unsalted butter, swiss cheese, and yogurt rather than cottage cheese and low sodium bread instead of bagels. >> you have to not lead your children to heart attack and strokes at an early stage. >> reporter: some are already reducing our sodium levels. now all three of the companies mentioned in our story do have selections lower in sodium which is why it's important to read the label. and lean cuisine and smart ones and healthy choice are committed to reducing the amount of sodium in their products. melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. 8:21. lindsey lohan caking up in jail this morning. we'll show you her new booking photo, because we know you want to see that. and then one of the hottest tickets in town. behind the scenes of mary poppinsality the kennedy center. we'll be right back. rd this doesn't have to be our future. not if the senate acts now on legislation to promote energy efficiency, biofuels, and renewable energy sources. let's make america more energy independent, protect our environment, and create millions of new jobs right here at home - instead of losing those jobs to other countries. if you want to change america's energy future, call your senators and tell them to support clean energy legislation now. secretary of state hillary clinton announced this morning that the united states will impose new sanctions against north korea. she is in south korea now with robert gates and said the new sanctions are meant to stop the illegal weapons program. clinton and gates met with some of the thousands of americans and south korea troops. the two koreas are still at war as a truce ended the treaty. and elena kagen's nomination to the supreme, and only one republican voted in her favor. the vote goes to the full senate. she is expected to win confirmation within weeks. president is calling for a vote before congress takes its summer break next month. actress lindsey lohan has started her stint in jail. the 24-year-old actress turned herself into authorities yesterday morning and sentenced to 90 days for violating probation on a drug offense in 2007. now there are reports that she may not have to serve her entire sentence because of the over crowding. she's been separated from the general population for her own safety. 8:26 on this wednesday morning. hiv and aids is a major problem here in the d.c. region. but hope now around the world as a possible break-through in the prevention of the disease has been found. coming up next, we'll talk to a doctor about a gel that is showing promise. and about face for britain's prime minister after brushing off calls into the investigation of the lockerbie bomber. david cameron now said it's not out of the question. we'll take a closer look when we come back. [ female announcer ] welcome to busch gardens williamsburg, where d.c. goes to get away. maybe it's because washington d.c. loves the legendary coasters. or that your entire family will have fun, even the little ones. it could be that water country usa has more of the waves, slides and rides everyone wants. so plan your getaway and come play. you never know who you'll run into. get started at buschgardens.com/dc. ecic tes the man in charge of the government's response to the oil spill in the gulf of mexico is trying to reassure that bp's capped well is in fact working properly. retired coast guard admiral thad allen said whatever is seeping from the floor of the gulf isn't coming from the deepwater horizon well. he said it's coming from one of two other wells nearby that are no longer in use. in the meantime, bp is dismissing a report first in the times of london that company ceo tony hayward could step down within the next ten weeks. well hours after brushing off calls for an investigation into bp's alleged roll in the release of the lockerbie bomber, david ram con said it's not out of the question. this comes after meeting with a concerned group of senators and ainsley earhart has the story. >> reporter: a group of senators meeting with david cameron to discuss the release of the lockerbie bomber. >> the prime minister said that our request for an independent investigation, not just to look at the documents, was still on the table. >> reporter: it's an about-face for cameron who just hours earlier dismissed cause for an inquiry while condemning the release. >> i don't need an inquiry to tell me what was a bad decision and it was a bad decision. and releasing the lockerbie bomber, the largest act of terrorism ever committed in the united cong dom was -- kingdom was wrong. >> reporter: many were americans. >> this was a heartbreaking decision for them that reopened a whole host of new wounds. >> reporter: al mag ra hi was set free on compassionate grounds. he was welcomed in libia. >> he cannot have a convicted tore orist -- terrorist sitting in the lap of luxury for ten years. >> reporter: the oil joint landed a big oil contact in libya just before he was let go but prime minister defends death penalty. >> it was a decision by the scottish government. >> reporter: they said they never had any contact with bp and in sift the british government come clean. in north korea, ainsley earhart, fox news. it is 8:32 right now on this wednesday morning. >> it is hot today, and temperatures once again in the mid-90s. a lot of humidity and increasing chance to see more thunderstorm this is afternoon. some could be on the strong side. we could have torrential downpours and gusty winds. >> and we want to say, it realizes it sounds like a broken record, hot, hot, hot. are we complaining that it is hot? but this is a super hot summer. >> hottest month ever in june and so far in july the hottest in over a decade. >> it's not our imagination. >> 82 is the average temperature for the month of july. we'll go with the temperature trend and then show you a couple of other interesting features. highs today, 94. and we've been laughing all morning that we have to enjoy today and tomorrow because by friday and saturday, upper 90s. and i'm playing it safe, it might be 100 here by saturday. unfortunately that would be the third time this month that we hit the 100-degree mark. this is the warmest time of year but it's not this warm. average high temperature 89 degrees. currently in the upper 70s in washington. 79 in downtown washington. 75 for you in leonardtown. 79 in annapolis. and no relief here in the mountains. mountains not providing relief. 75 in martinsberg, 78 in winchester. very soupy and summery air mass overhead and no real break down in the weather pattern. so showers and thunderstorms will fire back up again later today. off to the west we have showers developing. we'll see if though don't move in in the next couple of hours. want to take you down to the tropics. this is a tropical wave but the hurricane center feels strongly this might become tropical depression or maybe tropical storm bonnie, tracking off to the knowledge and west toward the bahamas and perhaps central florida by the weekend. so we'll watch that in the fox 5 weather center. here is your five-day forecast. look out for the potential for strong storms later today. 94 the afternoon high. going to be sultry overnight, 76. and you can see the trend here only gets worse into the weekend. upper 80s in the forecast by the end of the weekend and by early next week. that will do it for the forecast. let's throw it to steve who has better news. steve. >> tucker, thank you very much. researchers are reporting a major break through in prevending-aids. a gel cut in half the ability to obtain aids from a woman recently. and doctor hite joins us this morning. you can talk to us about the drug or the gel and what it involves? >> well the study is about a gel which contains one of the hiv medicines and the gel is in certificated advantage -- is in certificate -- inserted vaginally -- vaginally to prevent the virus and the gel has shown that it cut the risk of getting the infection to about 39% in women depending on the adherence with the gel, people who were having high adherence with the gel, the risk of transmission was cut in half. >> now this is particularly a study used for this gel was done in africa. >> right. >> and this was done on heterosexual women in africa. is more research needed before something like this might be on the market? >> right. before it comes to the market, we definitely need another trial as a validation of the result. and then before the drug is approved, they will have to meet the fda's requirements before it is approved for marketing in the united states. >> and any idea how long something like that could take? >> the trial is a long process. ands you can see even for this trial, it had been going on for the last at least three years so it takes a while for patient recruitment and then getting the results and following up with patients for many months after the drug has been used in the trials. so it's a long process. >> i think that it was within the year that we had news of other research from another aids drug or medication that had come out. where are we now in this process of stopping the prevention of--aids? are we getting to a better place than we were. >> we are getting to a better place and this is because of the availability of excellent [ inaudible ]. but again, we still need to have more matters that -- more methods that people can use to prevent them from getting the infection and education if the community has helped in preventing the transmission of the -- the disease. >> and here we seem to have a higher rate of infection. >> washington, d.c. has the highest incident of hiv infection and so we need to do more in the area. >> as far as the particular study with the gel, is that where things are headed right now. and again i realize this is in protecting heterosexual woman is where the study was done. are we looking at other drugs or what else is in the future of hiv and aids. >> there are other trials and we are waiting for the results to come out. but this is one of the matters that scientists have talked about to use in terms of prevention because the intervaginal gel gives the westmoreland the power and authority to use on their own. they don't have to depend on the partner to use other methods. so this is very promising and there are trials going on in terms of using trials as profill axis and we've talked about abstinence. so this adds another venue in terms of preventative methods. >> but not available quite yet. >> not yet. >> but we'll keep an eye on it. doctor, thanks for being with us this morning. >> no problem. >> allison. 8:38 right now. thank you so much, steve. it's 79 degrees on this wednesday morning. imagine being able to fly from d.c. to l.a. in less than 45 minutes? up next, details of a major break-through in aircraft engines. then this week our home town friday tour takes us to poolesville, maryland, in northwestern montgomery county. we'll be in whalein commons on friday from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. and we'd love to have you come on out and see us. we'd love to meet you. we'll be right back. are you thinking about a trip by air any time soon? you may want to consider booking a flight from an alternative airport. there are three options to choose from in our metro area. cheap flights.com said you can find the best prices by choosing a flight from reagan national. next is bwi marshall, followed by dulles. well it's being called the most exciting milestone in aviation since jets replaced propellers. the x-51 expertal aircraft travels twice as fast. it uses oxygen. the scramjet traveled 200-miles in a test flight. >> the booster had lit and it was on pro file and people started screaming. it was really exciting in the control room. >> the ultimate vision is access to space or taking pay load into space at an affordable cost. >> the x-51 jet engine isn't the only thing that makes the aircraft noteworthy. the heat shields and the tile are the exact same materials on the space shuttle. neat stuff. >> it is cool stuff. if you could only get there that quickly. 8:43 on this wednesday morning. we're going to check in with sarah simmons to find out what she's working on with mary poppins. hi, sarah? >> reporter: hi. most people don't know how to spell superfrag liftic -- superfrag liftic ex peeal defense. they are teaching me to spell it out this morning where we are previewing the mary poppins show. we'll show you if i can get it right in a minute. christmas sales in july. stores are rolling out the deals to get you spending sooner than later. will thomas shows the marketing technique. >> reporter: two days before christmas, 2009. a shopping frenzy. >> very nice selection. i'll finish up my shopping here. >> reporter: and now in the middle of 90-degree weather christmas shopping is already here. >> way too early. and people buy into it though. >> reporter: and retail giants are counting on that. toys "r" us with ho, ho, ho hot teals and christmas in july sales. kmart doing the same. target is preparing for a one- day online back to black sale. it's the kind of sale you would expect to see on black friday, the day after thanksgiving. >> good for the economy. >> it works because you see the discounts. >> reporter: alice is the sears general manager in shopping mall in bethesda. they placed a christmas display next to onlines on one -- next to appliances on one side and tools on the other. the idea is to think about gift- buying now to ease the financial hit closer to the holiday. >> it puts the thought if their mind christmas is coming up and it's just five or six months away. we better start saving now. [ music ] >> reporter: even christmas music will periodically play through the store. and while most customers we spoke with like the idea of early bargains, some resist the idea. >> i don't want see christmas out yet. i don't even want to see halloween out yet. >> i'm from the north. christmas is in december. >> reporter: will thomas, fox 5 news. >> and layaway plays are making a come back and bonus cards. keep an eye out for free shipping. you can get those sales now. maryland making it even easier to use back to school shopping. the state will not be charging its 6% sales tax on certain clothing items but only lasts for one week. shop maryland week runs from august 8th to the 14th. the items cannot cost more than $100. if you plan on buying appliance, wait until the month for energy star discount to appliances. one college student landed a porsche without handing over one penny. we find out how from fox's ed lask os. >> how did you get a porsche? i get, you're driving daddy's car to school? >> reporter: and daddy wishes he could barter like his son steven. he works two to three hours a day. that much time with iphone in hand examing craig's list. and that's how he got this. this porsche boxster. >> the guy that i traded this, he wanted a classic car to drive down to mexico and he had this and he couldn't drive it down there. and he used the bronco for that. >> you can find anything on craig's list. this is the listings for today and it's barter area. i will paint your house for airline tickets, miles. i'm a message therapist and he wants a french tutor. even exchange. and here is someone down here. i saw an interesting one. exchange auto repair for handyman around your home. here is a motor scooter exchange and a lot of times the pictures show the product and gives you an idea, you are not being ripped off. with steven it started with a cell phone. >> i traded that phone for another phone. and that phone for an ipod. >> that ipod bartered into vehicles and now steven is jetting around in style. already planning his next barter. >> most likely i'll just trade it for another truck. just to do more stuff off road, mountain biking. >> not a bad deal. >> not a bad deal at all. sarah simmons is feeling let's say super this morning or she's feeling -- do you want to say it. >> no. >> supercalifragalisticexpialidoci >> she's at the kennedy center to keep a sneak peek at their performance. >> reporter: i was impressed with your atext you were very close. it's supercalifragalisticexpialidoci i'm impressed i can say it but doing the dance is amazing. so part of the cast is here today. they play several different roles. and i want to introduce you. we have jessie who also at times played burt. but he's burt tonight to come on out and see mary poppins. and elizabeth is one of the unsemble members. and this is eric and carol and they have been teaching me this morning how to do supercalifragalisticexpialidoci is there an abbreviated way to say that. >> the super cal. >> and so start us off. >> we start with the letter "s" and then up to the letter "u" and then the letter "p" and then the "e" and then we have "r." >> reporter: i feel like i'm taking flight. >> you are. and then you have "c," "a" and then "l." >> reporter: okay. >> and then stomp your foot. and now the rollercoaster begins. i.s.t. and -- >> reporter: i was about ready to break into something else. we don't know where they are going with this. and so it's very difficult. but how long does that dance last throughout the show? >> it's quick. >> there are three different versions. we have the super cal proper, which is the main number with mary and the kids and burt and that's about a four or five- minute number. and then we have the supercal where a big drop comes down and all of the letters are spelled out in a special way and all of this fun stuff and then it gets faster and faster and the audience goes nuts and then in the end we have our premix. >> it's like a remix. >> and we come out in spandex and -- no, not really. >> reporter: we were talking with you earlier as well, it's how much this is such a workout. i just did that, trying to move and i'm like huffing and puffing and i must be out of shape but it's a lot of work to sing and dance at the same time. >> it is a lot of work and the movements are so precise that when you are singing and dancing and having to hit this very uniform position across the stage, you end up sweating quite a bit. >> reporter: thank you so much. and coming up in the next hour, i'm heading down to the stressing room right now, i'm going to be transformed into mary poppins. i cannot wait. i know you're all so excited. you're like whatever, we do this every day, please. so tune in and sarah won't be here any more. back to you. >> can't wait. sarah, thank you. >> it won't be sayrey any more. bye to sarah right now. it was a movie. >> we are talking about the blind side. the story about a down and out man who came out a star. quentin aaron will be with us to talk about his mission today in washington. ecic caught on camera in russia, a parasailing donkey. this am at tour video shows a group of men attaching a harness to the animal and then launching the animal into the ocean -- or above it. some kind of promotional stunt. not everybody is laughing. police now investigating as a case of animal cruelty. that will do it for this hour. and for that the next hour we turn things over to gurvir and allison. a worker from the department of agriculture may get her job back forcing the obama administration to backtrack. we'll live on capitol hill with the lateest. >> and two dozen people are taken to the hospital after a plane ride. we have new reaction ahead. and red light cameras in effect at certain intersections in arlington. we're live with where those cameras are. and lindsey lohan is waking up in jail near los angeles this morning spending her first full day behind bars. she's supposed to spend 90 days there but could she be out sooner. we'll get the latest from our friends at tmz. >> but there are young stars out there doing some good stuff quentin aaron from the blind side will talk about his role in this year's keeping our promises to our children conference straight ahead. >> that's good news. >> looking forward to talking with him. a couple of ticks away from 9:00 and tucker barnes is in today for himself in the 9:00 hour. i was about to say in for tony,