side. plenty of juice in the atmosphere, we have warm and humid conditions to start your morning. let's take a look at the current number. reagan national, 81 degrees. humidity 67%. winds out of the north at 5 miles per hour. saw on the live shot we have plenty of water in the atmosphere and plenty of warm temperatures. the good news is, the trend is favorable for us here. our temperatures won't be as hot today as yesterday. and we will gradually take the risk of showers and thunderstorms out of the forecast as we get closer to the weekend. today another day where we'll see at least the possibility of scattered showers and storms this morning. nice and quiet on radar. not expecting issues with the morning commute. most of the morning nice and dry. mid- to late afternoon when we'll have to look out for the development of additional showers and storms. high temperatures only in the upper 80s and low 90s. that's a little better, with scattered storms by 4:00 p.m. good looking weekend. i'll have that coming up in a minute. let's do traffic and lauren demarco has the latest. good morning. >> good morning. things looking good on the roads as well. we have some volume in the usual stretches, but not major accidents or incidents this hour. route 50 inbound delays approaching the bw parkway. live look from trafficland at the roads in virginia, 395 starting to slow leaving the beltway heading past duke street toward king street and seminary. once you get past there, the pace includes. a nice pace into the district. 66jammed up. earlier wreck that's cleared out. but heavy and slow from centreville the entire way past route 50 fair oaks. beltway, the outer loop jammed from springfield past van dorn to eisenhower. nice trip across the wilson bridge. outer loop in montgomery county slows from 95 past new hampshire avenue. that's a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. allison? new this morning, an attack on a bus full of israeli tourists carried out by a suspect with a fake driver's license from michigan. israel is putting the blame on iran. seven teenagers were killed and another 20 tourists injured in the suicide bombing. this morning the u.s. is promising to help israel find out who carried out the attack. president obama called israel's prime minister last night following this attack. tony? in syria this morning, rebels continue advancing into the capital of damascus and clashes reported near government headquarters. some parts of the capital are calm this morning. president assad hasn't been seen and is reportedly in a coastal city. yesterday's bomb blast is being described as a turning point in this possible civil war. up in new york, the u.n. is in a stalemate as russia is refusing to vote for a new resolution on syria. an expert joins us later live to talk about it. our big story this morning, disapproval towards mayor gray growing as a result of his 2010 campaign corruption sandal. so far, three of his former aides have pleaded guilty to campaign violations in federal court, and three d.c. council members have called for the mayor to step down. appears the majority of d.c. residents agree with the council members. >> according to a new poll, most people believe the mayor should resign. fox5's melanie alnwick is live in d.c. with the latest on this scandal plaguing the d.c. government. melanie? >> reporter: tony, the washington post polled 1,002 adult residents and found for the first time since 2006 more of them think the city is headed in the wrong direction and mayor gray's approval rating now is just 29%. onto the question of whether the mayor ought to resign, 54% said gray should. 37% said he should not and 9% had no opinion. half of those were african- americans, half of those who said he should resign african- americans. 45% say city matters are on the wrong track, versus 40% who believe the opposite. in the early 90s, 70% felt the city was in bad shape. he has his supporters and some rallied yesterday. they believe calls for the mayor to resign are premature. >> the reality is is that we need to learn civility, we need to be patient, we need to be patient with the legal process. not jump the gun. not begin to sort of take the city at this point through more trauma and drama. >> reporter: another interesting thing that came out of the poll, wile a majority think he should step down, there is not a majority that thinks the city would actually be better off with vincent gray as the mayor or without him. gray did get good marks in the poll for trying to bring new business to the city and 55% say they believe d.c.'s economy is good or excellent and that is an improvement from last year. all the other things that came out of the poll, most of the people polled believe the on going investigation into the mayor's campaign, and the investigation into the dealings of former council members, they believe they have been conducted fairly. but residents are very much evenly split on whether they think corruption in d.c. is worse than in any other large city. back to you. >> interesting. thank you. checking some of our other top stories this morning, the montgomery county council wants to find out more about how pepco responded to last month's severe storms. they are meeting today to discuss the company's performance during the aftermath of the storm that left more than 100,000 customers without power. the meeting will be held at the county office building and it is open to the public. meantime, pepco says they are looking into whether they can bury power lines to prevent future outages. a federal investigation into the massive emergency outage in northern virginia. according to the "washington post," the fcc has opened an inquiry into the 911 failure that affected verizon customers. the fcc calls the problems "stemmatic in northern virginia and west virginia." montgomery county's ride on bus service will run on a modified holiday schedule today and tomorrow. this comes after a series of fires in one of the system's fleets. the most recent happened yesterday morning in silver spring on ramsey avenue. the bus was out of service. no one was hurt. this is at least the seventh fire in the last three years on the smaller buses made by champion international. as a result of yesterday's bus fire, all 38 champion buses in the ride on fleet were taken out of service. those are the smaller buses again that hold 30 people. a computer glitch that shut down rail service over the weekend is now fixed. metro says a failed module is to blame and once it was replaced yesterday, all the errors were corrected. the glitch caused the operation center and its backup to lose the ability to see the location of trains. the man accused of killing trayvon martin is giving his first television interview. it's only to fox. george zimmerman sat down with sean hannity and he says he is sorry and praying for trayvon's parents. >> i'm not a racist and i'm not a murderer. >> reporter: george zimmerman giving his first television interview. he sat down with fox's sean hannity talking about the death of martin. zimmerman giving his version of what happened in sanford, florida, on the night of martin's death on february 26th. >> after he couldn't hit my head on the concrete anymore, he started to try to suffocate me. and i continued to take -- push his hands off high mouth and nose, particularly because it was excruciating, having a broken nose and putting his weight on it. >> reporter: the former neighborhood watch volunteer is charged with second degree murder in the killing of the 17- year-old. he has pleaded not guilty, claiming it was in self- defense. >> he said, you're going to die tonight, [bleep]. took one hand off my mouth, and i felt it going down my chest towards my belt, my holster. that's when i didn't have anymore time. >> reporter: he is living in a safe house as he awaits trial. no trial date has yet been set. >> do you regret getting out of the car that night? >> no, sir. >> do you regret that you had a gun that night? >> no, sir. >> do you feel you wouldn't be here for this interview if you didn't have that gun? >> no, sir. >> reporter: the 28-year-old also apologizing to the victim's family. >> i love my children even though they're not born yet, and i am sorry that they buried their child. i can't imagine what it must feel like, and i pray for them daily. >> during that interview, zimmerman also said he prays for martin's parents every day and feels it was all in god's plan. the teenager's father, tracy martin, reacted to the statements saying in a telephone interview with the associated press "we must worship a different god. there's no way my god wanted george zimmerman to murder my teenage son ." how high is too high, the debate over building heights limits in the district heads to capitol hill today. >> virginia voters weighing in on their choice of who to lead the country and the state senate race. >> here's a live look outside. a little bit hazy. still some humidity out there. will it be as warm today as yesterday? tucker barnes has the forecast, lauren demarco is here with traffic. we'll have that and more when we come back. it's 11 minutes after 7:00. a new fox news poll shows the race for president is a statistical dead heat among registered voters president obama shows a 45 to 41 lead over mitt romney. that is still within the margin of error. and the jobs issue may be key. the largest share of registered voters say the president has made the economy worse. when it comes to speculating on romney's vp pick, condoleezza rice leads the pack. she has again said no thanks. and an idea of how voters in virginia feel about the race and the senate race. a poll just out this morning shows a dead lock in virginia between president obama and mitt romney. both getting 44% support. romney erased leads the president had in polls last month and back in march. meanwhile, in virginia's senate matchup, the poll shows george allen has a slim point lead over democrat tim kaine, 46 to 44%. and virginia one of the key states in the presidential race. those numbers are striking. >> okay. exciting time. especially in washington, right? >> yeah. what that means is political ads between now and november. >> sure does. weather, it's looking better but not quite where we want to be yet. additional showers and thunderstorms and storms in the forecast this afternoon. temperatures not as extreme as yesterday. more on that coming up. number temperatures 100 plus this summer. 81 in washington. 77 in baltimore. very humid out there. mix of clouds and haze and sunshine across the area. i think later this afternoon we'll have more of that as this frontal system continues to meander through the mid- atlantic. currently it's just off to our north, and as we get into the afternoon hours we'll watch it try to move in a little closer. showers and storms will bubble up -- there's that word again, allison. >> bubble up. >> showers and storms will develop along that frontal boundary later today. and then tomorrow as well, as an area of low pressure rides along it. little unsettled, bumpy ride today and tomorrow. can't rule out the possibility of one or two severe storms later today. just be prepared for that possibility. then things should improve over the weekend. high temperatures by saturday and sunday will only be in the low to mid-80s. how about that for a change? >> going to be nice. >> yeah, going to be great. there's your five-day forecast. could be a shower early saturday. much of the weekend should be dry. >> tucker says that, because i say to him, nothing good ever bubbles up. then holly corrected and said, champagne does. so go ahead and use it. >> okay. very good. >> yeah. >> someone who is also quite bubbly, lauren demarco is here with a look at the traffic. >> really? i've never been described as bubbly before. >> i would say mildly bubbly. >> she's the good stuff. >> i can be like a fine champagne. things looking pretty good on the roads. no major accidents or incidents reported. just dealing with the volume we see typically this time of the morning. live look, if you are traveling in -- well, actually heading into maryland across the woodrow wilson bridge, the outer loop not looking too bad. we have some delays leaving the mixing bowl heading past eisenhower avenue. then things break free. nice trip heading into prince george's county. the inner loop leaving the mixing bowl in springfield, you will be off and on the brakes up towards 66, just volume there. no accidents or incidents reported all around the beltway now. 66, that has been a problem spot. earlier wreck prior to 123. that coupled with the typical volume, you are heavy and slow from manassas through centreville, continuing to route 50 pretty much all the way to 123. 270 looking pretty good. no issues heading past 370 and all the way into the beltway. open and running at speed. beltway in montgomery county, typical stretch of delay around new hampshire avenue and silver spring. that's a check of your traffic. thank you. more news about metro. it is a constant battle for anyone driving to the system. >> you get to the station and look for a parking spot, but the garage is full, or the sign says full. why are entire levels still empty and instead being sold for a premium? fox5's sherri ly is monitoring metro. >> still have heavy delays. >> reporter: as commuters toil in traffic to get to work every morning, thousands of metro riders find another kind of congestion. >> it's a nightmare. it's a nightmare. it always fills up. >> i have been late to work several times because i can't find parking. >> reporter: at the busiest garages, drivers carve out a spot wherever they can. according to metro, the lot fills up at least falls church by 7:45 a.m. and vienna, branch avenue and shady grove, all the spots are gone by 8:30. rock fill, by 7:45. an hour later, you can find a spot here, except these require a reserved permit. and that will cost you. for an extra $65 a month, that's on top of the roughly $85 a daily parking fee each month, anyone can get a reserved parking permit. for those who have one, it's sometimes the only way to get to work. >> metro has got me where they want me. it's a high price, but i have no options. >> reporter: often reserved spaces never fill up. two-thirds of the more than 8,000 reserved permits have not been sold. broken down by stations, shady grove and franconia over 600 permits available. all told, more than 5,000 spaces go wasted, enough to fill the entire shady grove marking garage. >> some places are overutilized. some places are underutilized, depending on the region. we try to make that balance, we're not building more parking structures. >> reporter: after 10:00 a.m., anyone can park in the reserved spaces. any time before that, and you risk a ticket. metro is reevaluating its reserved parking spaces. in some underutilized spots it could be open to the public. >> i think about 10 stations we're analyzing now that will probably have lower prices for the reserved spaces. >> reporter: there's a balance between having enough parking for everyone, not just those who arrive early, but those who need to come later. >> otherwise, the people who need to come after 8:30 would have no option. it would be completely filled up. i guess i think it's okay, that pro makes more money and give -- metro makes more money and gives people an option. >> reporter: but there's not enough parking and likely never will be. sherri ly fox 5 news. >> metro plans to make changes in the fall. they say one reason the lots fill up so fast, most people are driving alone. they say people who can't find parking can always get to the station by bus. unless for some reason that's not an option for you. free up some of the other spots. it's 7:22 now. >> still ahead, a victory on the hill for pro-life advocates affecting only women in the district. >> and holly is getting a taste of belgium this morning. she's celebrating its history live at that country's embassy in d.c. we'll check back with her in a little bit. it's 7:23. [ male announcer ] where did all the obama stimulus money go? friends, donors, campaign supporters, special interest groups where did the obama stimulus money go? solyndra: 500 million taxpayer dollars. bankrupt. so where did the obama stimulus money go? windmills from china. electric cars from finland 79% of the 2.1 billion in stimulus grants awarded through it went to overseas companies. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone likes a bit of order in their life. virtual wallet helps you get it. keep track of spending, move money with a slide, and use the calendar. all to see your money how you want. ♪ [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... a bill that would ban abortions in d.c. after 20 weeks of pregnancy will go to the house floor for a vote. the legislation is based on the disputed claims that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks or older. opponents say the bill is an attempt to undermine a woman's right to an abortion and intrusion upon the district's self-rule. it is not expected to get past the democratically controlled senate. tony? after more than 100 years, taller buildings may soon be allowed in the nation's capital. there is a hearing today to discuss implementing minor changes to the building height restrictions. several d.c. officials are expected to testify to say they're open minded about it. 7:27 now. a lot of new developments out of syria this morning. indepth look at the crisis there is coming up. >> the nationals increase their lead in the nl east last night. highlights of another big win next. >> here's a live look outside as we head to the break. we have the latest on the forecast from tucker barnes. lauren demarco is leer for julie wright today. she'll tell us about the drive into work. stay with us. 7:27. welcome back. it's 7:30. the nats and mets went at it again last night. scoreless in the 6th inning. laroche knocked a 2-run homer. then a double off the scoreboard in right to score two. that proved to be the game winner. 4-3the final. they wrap up the series this afternoon. >> all right. we want to go back to something we were talking about 45 minutes ago during this morning's ask the weather guys segment. whether dogs can see images on tv. can they watch tv. >> i heard they couldn't. >> that's what the person who wrote in. but they can. for the longest time they haven't been able see it very well. now they can see it better with the advent of flat screens and all that kind of stuff. we asked our facebook fans whether their dogs watch tv. we're getting a lot of response. here's the proof. dogs love fox 5 morning news. >> awww. >> this was sent in by stephen. >> of course he would want to watch that. i also hear they see in black and white. >> that is true. they are color blind. that is why they're color blind, they're wonderful creatures. >> thanks for that. if you're going to the nationals' game, it's a day game today, i think they'll squeeze it in. close call. mid- to late afternoon, scattered showers, maybe thunderstorms. >> maybe a couple of delays? >> possibly. i'm hoping the game will get in before the rain gets leer. hopefully hold the rain off until late this afternoon. daytime highs yesterday, you know we've been talking on and on. that's a record for dulles yesterday, 101 degrees. beat a record from 1986. bwh marshall, that record went back to i think 1877. not your imagination, if you think it's a hot summer. 104yesterday at bwi. temperature now, it's warm and humid. but at least it's not as hot as yesterday. 81 now in washington. 73 in gaithersburg. 79 this morning in annapolis. warm humid start to the day. afternoon highs not as warm as yesterday. upper 80s and low 90s. more in the way of cloud cover. still the risk of showers and storms and i can't guarantee a few of those won't be strong later today. be ready for that possibility, just like yesterday. frontal system is here to our north. it's going to do one of those, very slowly fading into the area the next couple of days and meander through the mid- lick tomorrow. risk of scattered shower or thunderstorm. the trend will be to get that front south of us, and highs in the 80s by saturday and sunday here. heat is retreating. big dip in the jet stream, working in a favorable direction for us. today highs expected to be in the low 90s. 92 in washington. 91 in columbia and 90 in culpepper. forecast for the weekend, temperatures in the mid-80s with partial sunshine. could be a shower early saturday. that's a look at weather. let's do traffic and lauren demarco has your latest. good morning. you're talking about tucker. >> i can't say it. >> i don't know what's going on. things are looking pretty good on the roads. we have delays northbound 395. take a look at trafficland for that. as you leave the beltway, not too bad. off and on the brakes heading past edsel and duke towards seminary. slowing approaching the 14th street bridge. reports of an accident possibly blocking a center lane or disabled vehicle at the 14th street bridge. slowing here at edsall as well. give yourself time across the freeway. other than that, looking pretty good around town, traveling pennsylvania avenue heading toward the freeway. there's a look at the outbound traffic to the right, to the left is inbound traffic. everybody moving there. route 50 reports of delays leaving 410 continuing inbound. 66 does remain pretty heavy. heading into centreville traffic is heavy. tony, over to you. thank you very much. the crisis in syria now, the u.n. security council today hopes to vote on a new resolution. yesterday's bombing that killed three leaders of the syrian regime shows president assad is losing control of the country. joining us is a middle east and expert and serves as a consultant on mid-east issues with government agencies and corporations. thank you for coming back. >> thank you. >> yesterday's attack was extraordinary. inside the national security building. first of all, was it likely an inside job? >> there's no doubt there is now fissures within the syrian establishment. if before this crisis the assad family had 25% of the country's support, that has now shrunk to maybe almost 15%. and yes, this demonstrates there are deep divisions and the beginning of the end possibly for the assad regime. >> if you're president assad, this has to be disconcerts, because before the fighting going on all around, but now it's inside one of the government buildings. is he even likely -- does this send a message is what i'll ask first, does this send a message to him, look, we can get you? >> absolutely. there's no doubt that's the message. but i think while we don't know what's happening behind the scenes, the telephone calls mr. assad he's getting from vladimir putin from the iranian regime, it's what sustaining him. if those calls don't come through, yes, we'll probably see the building of the end. and he'll probably escape or put up a fight to the end. if he still has the support of russia and the government of iran, it will be difficult to dislodge him. >> our understanding this morning is he's now not in damascus but in one of the coastal cities. if he does decide to flee, where is he likely to go? would he go to russia? would iran take him in? >> there's no doubt the iranian regime would take him in. yes, he may go to iran, he may also go to venezuela. there are a number of bad countries out there. the most important issue here is henry kissinger suggested the syrian crisis should not be of importance to the united states. i disagree. i believe that we have as the united states a moral obligation to help the syrian people. we don't necessarily have to send troops to the ground. but we can certainly help with the refugees for example that are in turkey, lebanon. we need to show our moral resolve. because there will be a tomorrow in syria, and that tomorrow belongs to the syrian people. and we need to be in front of that, not behind it. >> stepping up to the plate in syria, though, does that put us on a collision course with russia, for example? >> fine, but so be it. the fact is the russian government seems to be willing to support dictatorrerships. whether it's in tehran, dictatorship in damascus or in venezuela. we need to be ahead of the curve. we are the united states of america. we need to be in front of the issues and not behind. >> talking about being in front of the issues, in all likelihood there will be a postassad syria, well, there will be, and the question is what will that be like? what will it take for there to be a legitimate government there and one that, from the u.s. point of view, is pro u.s.? >> here's where the government of saudi arabia can play an enormous role. to the extent saudi arabia plays a role, that will be beneficial. to the extent turkey plays a role, that would be beneficial. let's go back to history. at one point damascus was the cradle of the islamic civilizations. the best joke today in damascus, of the wrong syrian, referring to steve jobs. his father was a syrian. this is a nation that can blossom. they have the ability to blossom. they've been suppressed by the assad family over 40 years. it's why we need to be in front and help them blossom, because they have enormous potential. >> we would love to have you back soon. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. allison, back to you. 7:40 now. 81degrees. still ahead, a major discovery centuries old involving the most viewed photo of all time. >> and attempted kidnapping caught on tape. coming up, how the little girl managed to get away. we'll be right back. ♪ pens and markers, paper wide ruled. ♪ ♪ hoodies, sneakers, tape, sticks of glue.♪ ♪ large boxes pencils, highlighters. ♪ ♪ sneakers and t-shirts. ♪ notebooks and jeans, ♪ notebooks and jeans, ♪ notebooks and jeeeeans, yeah! ♪ ♪ notebooks and jeans! announcer: school takes a lot, target has it all. friends, donors, campaign supporters, special interest groups where did the obama stimulus money go? solyndra: 500 million taxpayer dollars. bankrupt. so where did the obama stimulus money go? windmills from china. electric cars from finland 79% of the 2.1 billion in stimulus grants awarded through it went to overseas companies. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. making headlines this morning, disturbing video, a kidnapping attempt is caught on tape in philadelphia. the suspect still on the run, take a look. you can see a man grab a 10- year-old girl. the two struggle and he runs off when the girl's 2-year-old brother starts screaming. police say the video shows the girl in shock start to run and then realize she has to get her baby brother. hikers who make their way onto utah's mountain might be in for an unlikely surprise. some people reported seeing a man dressed as a goat. wildlife officials suspect he may be trying to get closeup pictures of the wild goats in that area. is that the picture of the man in the goat suit? okay. they want to unmask the goat man before someone gets hurt. >> goats can be aggressive. you know, they can be territorial. there have been reports of people that have been injured, even killed, by goats. >> wildlife officials are also worried the man might get hurt during a hunt on the mountain come september. as a rule, i wouldn't dress up as wildlife. you know, many things can go wrong. >> might mistake you, right. >> it's not good. could get dicey. >> here's the thing, if they feel like he's trying to get good pictures and dressing as a goat, the costume isn't going to be that great. >> who is he fooling? >> he's manipulating the cameras, it's a tipoff to the animals. >> always full of good advice here at fox 5. >> don't ever dress up as a goat. >> what have you got for us? ♪ summer days ♪ >> summer days to get you into the mood. tell me more. >> upper 70s and low 80s. >> i thought it had to do with goats. >> i thought it was going to be on the bump to go out. >> wasn't that goat boy on "saturday night live"? >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> do you remember goat boy? >> vaguely. >> 81 in washington. cooler to the north and west. boston 69. cooler temperatures on their way. today will be a day where it will feel better than yesterday. highs in the upper 80s and low 90s. still a lot of humidity. and the risk of additional showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. but they're going to be scattered, not widespread like yesterday. still possibility a few could be strong. 5:00, lot of clouds around. one or two scattered showers or thunderstorms according to futurecast. then overnight tonight, into early tomorrow morning, the risk of additional showers and storms. not done tonight and even into your day friday we'll have more showers and storms in the forecast. the trend in the right direction. check out the weekend high temperatures, low to mid-80s after early showers on saturday. i think we'll clear things out saturday afternoon and sunday looks great now, with low humidity. >> gets better. thanks, tucker. >> let's go to lauren demarco with a look at traffic. >> all i can picture is that goat boy segment. >> they kept -- >> it was weird. >> anyway. >> things are looking very good on the roads. no major accidents or incidents reported. we had been following a situation on 66. looks like they may be checking for something here. we had an earlier crash prior to 123, so that tied things up. you can see heavy to get past route 50 towards 123. beltway to the right of the screen. heavy delays leaving the mixing bowl springfield heading past van dorn toward eisenhower. in maryland, the outer loop, typical delay from 95 college park past new hampshire avenue. once you get past georgia, that should open up for you. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. listen, could be an incredible find, archaeologists in italy believe they have discovered the remains of the real mona lisa. she became a nun after her husband's death. the bones will undergo a dna test and if they belong to her, scientists will try to reconstruct her face. >> wow. okay. >> i don't think they need to reconstruct her face. i think we know. >> i know, but in this world of instant gratification, like i was waiting for a picture for a moment. this is what she looked like -- >> they may do it. okay. bottoms up belgium. >> the country is getting ready to celebrate its heritage in a few days, but the festivities are underway in the district. >> reporter: take a look at this, president woodrow wilson and the belgian king. you'll only find pictures like this here, celebrating belgian week. we'll talk about the history and how we can all celebrate coming up on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. welcome back. it's belgian restaurant week in d.c. and that means mussels, chocolate, and beer. >> i like it. >> what's behind the tradition and how did it begin? >> holly is in northwest d.c. at the belgian embassy with more. good morning. >> reporter: this is the third year they've had belgian restaurant week in d.c. when you think about fine cuisine in our area, who do you think of? >> i don't know about that. >> reporter: this is chef robert, the magic and the man behind marcel, the mussel bar, and more -- >> bravo. >> reporter: you're a busy guy. let's walk up this way. >> i'm excited to be here at the embassy here. it's awesome to be here and meet the ambassador. >> reporter: i'm bringing you along because i know you're connected. >> i appreciate it. this is nice. >> reporter: i think this is the last time i get to call you mister, because you're going to be sir, right? >> oh, let's don't talk about that. >> reporter: we're standing with the ambassador himself. >> good morning, how are you doing? >> doing very well. >> reporter: thank you for letting us come here today. >> it's a pleasure to host you here in this particular week. a few days ahead of belgian national day and restaurant week. >> reporter: can you tell us about the history? >> what we celebrate is the sovereignty of our country. in 1830 it freed itself and they made a constitution, the people, and one year after that the constitution was ready and the king was sworn in. the 21st of july, 1831. that is what we celebrate. the day of our constitution, in fact. >> reporter: i want to come over here, because there's an amazing coat of arms here. i want the ambassador to explain what we're looking at and the significance of it. >> this is the official seal of belgium. it is an expression of our sovereignty. the centerpiece is a lion, and it's a symbol coming out of medieval times. there are no lions in belgium, you know. it dates back to the crusades, the knights in the early years, they had symbols and lions. so you have a shield with the lion, and above that you have the helmet, open helmet, topped by a crown. the crown is a typical king's crown with a globe and a cross over it. then you have two lions supporting it. to the left you see in fact a hand. it's the hand of justice and on the right you see the feather of sovereignty with a lion on top. >> reporter: i love that everybody means something. how are you going to celebrate saturday? >> in belgium itself on the 21st, there is a military parade, traditionally presided over by the king, chief of staff, military and the government, prime minister. the parade is followed by a kind of big party in the center of the city, and fireworks at the evening. of course, there are a few receptions. receptions for politicians, parliamentary members, open door days for old ministries, so the people can come in and see how their government is working. >> reporter: i'm trying to figure out how we can get over to belgium by saturday. what's going on here? >> we started belgian -- celebrated it this week. saturday a big party at the yards. mussel throw down. numerous chefs from the city cooking mussels and we're going to have bands and lots of belgian beers and lots of people and celebrating this big week of belgium. >> reporter: and they have a white party tomorrow. we're going to find out about all this. don't go away. myfoxdc.com, we have a link so you can find out specifically about all the stuff. we're having our own mussel throwdown in the next hour, featuring mussels for breakfast. and i want to find out more about you being a knight. >> okay. >> thank you, holly. cell phone safety, and a closer look the threat cell phones may pose to younger women. >> the search for new leadership for prince george's county schools. we'll get an update from the chair of the school board. time now is 7:57. we'll be right back. still thinking of replacing the truck? 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[ male announcer ] citibank mobile check deposit. easier banking. every step of the way. [ female announcer ] every woman who believes decisions about our bodies and our health care should be our own is troubled mitt romney supports overturning roe versus wade. romney backed a law that outlaws all abortion -- even in cases of rape and incest. and that's not all. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. [ female announcer ] for women, planned parenthood means life-saving cancer screenings and family-planning services. but, for mitt romney... planned parenthood. we're going to get rid of that. straight ahead, fading support for d.c. mayor gray. the new poll that could mean big trouble for the embattled city leader. we'll have a live report. >> i feel it was all god's plan. >> george zimmerman breaks his silence. what else the admitted killer says about the night he shot trayvon martin. >> later, live from hollywood, the 64th primetime emmy nominations will be announced. 8:00. good morning, everyone. i'm tony perkins. >> i'm alison seymour. like tucker warned, last night's cooldown came with a cost. one northwest neighborhood is a soggy mess. this is video of high water from the strong storms and the damage it caused in the bloomingdale section of the district. the storm also toppled trees, knocked out power to thousands of people. >> i feel terrible for those poor folks. >> i do, too. >> i don't think the storms will be as strong as yesterday, but slow moving and heavy rain, at least the potential for that later this afternoon. bring along an umbrella and be ready for it. most of the day partly to mostly cloudy today. the good news is temperatures cooler today. only in the low 90s. >> well, it is cooler. >> 81 right now at reagan national. humidity 65%. winds out of the north and west at 6. yeah, let's do the radar. frontal system is just to our north. central and southern pennsylvania. will continue to sag into the washington area. it's moving so slowly that it won't pass through until late friday and early saturday. next couple of days with the front hanging out in the washington region, risk of afternoon showers and storms. even overnight tonight and early tomorrow, few more showers and storms. we've got plenty of opportunities for rain showers next couple of days. more clouds than sun today. scattered showers and storms return. 92 the daytime high. at least we won't be setting records temperature-wise this afternoon. >> we'll take it. >> thanks, tucker. >> lauren demarco has the latest on the rush hour traffic. >> i think we are do for a record-free day. >> yes. >> accident reported northbound connecticut avenue between georgia and bell prix. live look from traffic land, off and on the brakes leaving college park, heavy and slow past new hampshire avenue, heading into silver spring. past georgia it should open up. no accidents reported, just volume at this point. if you are traveling 66, things pretty heavy to 123. earlier wreck that's cleared out. accident on route 50 eastbound after annandale road. 14th street bridge heavy to head onto the freeway. but things are looking better now as you leave the beltway, delays beginning after the pentagon. new york avenue slowing to bladensburg. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. allison? thanks, lauren. our big story this thursday morning, d.c. mayor vincent gray has been under fire for months, but now local churches are standing by his side. this was the scene outside the wilson building yesterday, where a crowd gathered to show their support. however, new poll numbers show this sentiment is not the norm. according to a "washington post" poll, a majority of d.c. residents no longer support the mayor. >> it's the latest fallout from an ongoing campaign corruption scandal. our own melanie alnwick is live in northwest with the details of this poll. good morning, melanie. >> reporter: good morning, tony. among the results of that "washington post" poll, more than 60% of those asked said they don't feel that vincent gray is honest or trust worthy, and they don't feel he's running an ethical administration. the bottom line is his approval rating is now a dismal 29%. when asked whether they do think mayor gray should resign, 54% of the 1,002 adult residents surveyed said yes. 37% said he should not. 9% had no opinion. half of those who wanted the mayor to step down were african- americans and they were his base in 2010. when it comes to the direction of the city, opinions are a little closer here. 45% say city matters are on the wrong track versus 40% who believe the opposite. >> the mayor has been very consistent in his statements at that he has no plans to resign, that he is staying focused on his administration, that he feels that he is doing a good job running the city, and that this is not a distraction. you know, in some ways he blames the media for focusing on the investigation instead of the programs he's been putting forth. >> reporter: the washington post did ask those they polled about some of the programs mayor gray is putting forth. they asked about his performance on improving schools and creating jobs and the majority said they don't think gray is diagnose a good job in those areas either. gray did get good marks for trying to bring new businesses to the city and 55% of those surveyed said they do believe the economy in d.c. is doing well and that's an increase from when they were polled this time last year. so a few bright spots. but clearly not enough to win the majority of support for the mayor here in the district of columbia. back to you guys. >> melanie, thank you. in the meantime, the montgomery county council wants to find out more how pepco responded in the recent storms. they're meeting today to discuss it. the meeting will be held at the county office building and is open to the public. but the public will not be allowed to speak at the meeting. that will come at a later meeting. meantime, pepco tells the maryland service public commission it will study the feasibility of burying power lines to help prevent future outages. after the storm a federal investigation into the massive outage in west virginia of 911. the fcc calls the problems "stemmatic in northern virginia and in west virginia." more trouble for montgomery county's ride on bus system. a line of buses linked to a series of fires has been pulled from service now. that means ride on is running on a modified schedule today. the latest fire was yesterday and the bus was out of service at the time. in the last three years have have been at least seven fires on the fleet of buses made by champion international. meantime, there is good news for metro riders. they could finally see a smoother ride after several days of delays. the transit agency says it finally found the source of the computer issues that brought the system to a halt twice over the weekend. metro blames a hardware failure and says the broken module has now been replaced, but they are still investigating what caused the failure. george zimmerman is speaking out. it's the first time since his arrest for the killing of trayvon martin and he's exclusively talking to fox news. >> he sat down in an interview with fox's sean hannity and he says he is praying for trayvon's parents. wisdom martin is back in the studio with more. >> this is the first interview, his first interview since this incident happened back on february 26th. zimmerman says he was not chasing trayvon martin. the interview with sean hannity comes weeks after zimmerman was again released on bond. take a listen. >> do you regret getting out of the car to follow trayvon that night? >> no, sir. >> do you regret that you had a gun that night? >> no, sir. >> do you feel you wouldn't be here for this interview if you didn't have that gun? >> no, sir. i'd have a feeling i would not be here. i feel it was all god's plan and for me to second guess it or judge it -- >> is there anything you might do differently, in retrospect now that time has passed a little bit? >> no, sir. >> the former neighborhood watch volunteer is charged with second degree murder in the killing of the 17-year-old. zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, claiming the shooting was in self-defense. during that interview, zimmerman also said he prays for martin's parents every day and as you heard, says he feels that it was all in god's plan. the teenager's father, tracy martin, reacted saying in a telephone interview with the associated press -- >> zimmerman is living in a safe house as he awaits trial, but at this point no date has been set for the trial. that is the latest on the zimmerman situation. back to you. >> the latest but not the end. >> not the end. this will go on for some time. no trial date has been set. no telling what else will happen next. it keeps going on and more information keeps coming out about this. again, wait and see what happens next. >> thanks, wisdom. >> thank you. can your cell phone change your metabolism? one expert says yes. >> she joins us next with the risk she says you could be carrying in your pocket every day. >> and a deadly bus explosion and what was found in the wreckage that could help identify the attackers. it's coming up on 8:11. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney, and i approve this message. [ male announcer ] when a president doesn't tell the truth, how can we trust him to lead? the obama outsourcing attacks: "misleading, unfair and untrue." there was "no evidence" that mitt romney shipped jobs overseas. candidate obama lied about hillary clinton. so, shame on you, barack obama. [ male announcer ] but america expects more from a president. obama's dishonest campaign: another reason america has lost confidence in barack obama. making headlines in syria this morning, fighting continues to rage in parts of the capital city. the army is conducting operations and the rebels are warning tv and radio stations to evacuate before they attack. meanwhile in new york, there's a stalemate at the united nations on a new resolution about the fighting. the council will meet again today. in bulgaria, an attack on jewish tourist kills 6 teenagers and the suicide bomber. the suspected bomber had a fake driver's license from michigan and the fbi and cia are helping investigate. a new report by the government accountability office found some people banned from flying because their considered terror threats were able to attend flight school. some completed training without full background checks and were in the country illegally. tsa says it's already added new security procedures. it is 8:15 now. it's a thursday morning. we're getting ready for another hot one out there. >> yes, we are. but before we get to that, tucker barnes has the cuteness or cool down factor of the day. >> let's do it. time for my first 5 photo of the day. cute as can be. >> it's cool. >> this is logan, everybody. >> that hat will keep you cool. that hat is almost as big as her. >> yeah. is it mom's hat? mom says all the ladies in the church choir wear the hats though sunday service, and logan lad to be like her mom. >> so cute. >> looks like a flower. >> little pose on the steps there. cutie pie. >> she loves clothes and shoes, just like her mom. >> there you go. >> you know where that comes from. >> little fashionista in training. >> you might need a hat this afternoon. showers and storms back in the forecast. 83 now in washington. overnight temperatures fall back into the 70s and even low 80s in the city. plenty of humidity with the rain we picked up yesterday. 80 in annapolis. 80 in baltimore. 79degrees in leonardtown. let's talk about the jet stream and the big dome of high pressure, we've been talking about for days and days, won't completely move out for the drought ridden west. at least for us, a little dip in the jet stream, cooling us down for the weekend. that process will take a couple of days. clouds in the forecast today with a frontal system, and the risk of a few showers or thunderstorms this afternoon and just like yesterday, one or two of those storms could be on the strong side. look out for that possibility. i don't think it will be as strong as yesterday. but that possibility with the frontal system hanging out in the area. bottom line for the weekend, things look brighterrer and cooler with less humidity. something to look forward to. here's your five-day forecast, as we get into the afternoon hours, possibility of storms and highs in the low 90s. lots of humidity. and there you go for the weekend, highs only in the mid- 80s with sunshine and particularly by saturday afternoon and sunday things look great. that's a look at weather. now we're going to hand it over to lauren demarco who has got the latest on something interesting. lauren? >> that's right, tucker. i have moved on from thank. we're jumping into the tech world. today we are looking at the series side, when it comes to cell phone radiation. how much is too much? could cell phones be linked to breast cancer in younger women? dr.deborah davis is author of "disconnect, the truth about cell phone radiation, what the industry is doing to hide it and how to protect your family." good morning, dr. davis. >> good morning. >> i want to talk about the new research with breast cancer and cell phones. >> well, these are preliminary reports, but we thought they were sufficiently important that we put them on our web site. there are several young women whose doctors have contacted us who kept their cell phones in their bra. normally breast cancer occurs in the upper outer quadrant. these women had it where the cell phones were. >> i have done this. when i went jogging i wanted to hear the music and i didn't have pockets. there are people out there who know about this. >> even a foolish device called a jelly bra. a cell phone is a two-way microwave radio. the fine print warnings tell you keep it 5/8 or 1 inch away from the body. keeping it near the body where there's all fat and fluid is a bad idea. >> the other thing is young children. we have a prop here. this is the fisher price device to protect the phone. >> yes. it's designed as it says there, to protect the phone from the baby. it protects the device from the dribbles and drools of the child. you can put a phone in there. this is a bad idea. the american academy of pediatrics has recently sent a letter to the fcc urging standards be revised. >> is it worse for children? >> of course. the developing brain is supposed to protected. it's why we put our children in seat belts and bike helmets. we certainly need to protect their brains from microwave radiation. >> the government accountability office is coming out with a new report this month. what do you expect from that and where do you think we're falling short with keeping people informed? >> standards for cell phones were set in the 20th century. this has become a 21st century device, most rapidly growing users today are children and teenagers, and young children whose parents aren't aware they're emitting microwave radiation. pediatricians and developmental neurologists are warning that we have to be careful about how we use the devices. they should be used as part of an overall program. children have to learn how to write. we have an epidemic of boys who can't write because they go right to typing. they don't develop the fine motor skills needed. >> i wanted to throw up a full screen of tips quickly. keep the phone away from your body as much as you can. >> right. >> go hands free and all of that. also, as we just said, it's not a toy. keep the phone fully charged. you mentioned that. >> when the phone is actually weak, it puts out more energy and when the signal is weak, it drains faster. that's why when you're in a weak signal area, turn your phone off. because it's using more energy and draining itself faster and half of the radiation gets into you, if you have it in your pocket. phones are never tested in the pocket. that's why it's actually, scientists warn you not to do that. samsung now says phones are not a toy and shouldn't be used by children. >> i wanted to mention lastly, we said consider your cover. you brought in this cover. you said this is actually a better cover? >> this case will deflect radiation. using that, that's my phone with that head set, reduces your radiation. the important thing to do is understand distance is your friend. phones shouldn't be kept for hours a day and months a year and thousands of minutes in a lifetime on the body. that's where we're starting to see unfortunately increases in brain cancer and other diseases. we don't want to wait like we did with tobacco before taking procauses. everybody is using phones now. >> i think better safe than sorry. >> well said. >> we're going to have a link to the information on your web site. thank you for coming in. good information this morning. >> thank you, lauren, i appreciate it. >> back to you guys at the desk. thank you very much. the first place nats add another curly w, and more on rg3. >> if the only belgian food you know is the waffle, you are missing out. holly morris is live at the belgian embassy with a look behind the scenes at one of the nation's best cuisines. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. 8:25. in sports, the nats and mets went at it again. scoreless in the 6th inning. laroche knocks a two-run homer. 16th of the year. the nats up by 1, in the 7th, a double off the scoreboard in right, two runs score. the nats win 4-3. the teams wrap up the series this afternoon. franchise quarterback on the practice field at rookie camp. >> robert griffin iii finally inked that contract for four years at more than $21 million. griffin hit the field with his teammates yesterday. the team now has all of its rookies under contract. >> good to see him out there. the u.s. military and nascar will continue their road trip together. congress rejected an effort to trim nearly $72 million spent on sports scholarships. supporters say the sponsorships attract new recruits. the measure targeted money the national guard spends on dale earnhardt junior. the spending bill failed in an effort to cut the $600 billion defense bill. the search for new leadership for prince george's county school front and center during the summer break. >> the district's two top administrators are on the way out. just ahead we'll sit down with the chair of the county school board for a closer look at the process and how long this could take. >> first, caught on tape, a kidnapping victim's daring escape from a moving van. we're going to show you what happened. time now, 8:27. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] where did all the obama stimulus money go? friends, donors, campaign supporters, special interest groups where did the obama stimulus money go? solyndra: 500 million taxpayer dollars. bankrupt. so where did the obama stimulus money go? windmills from china. electric cars from finland 79% of the 2.1 billion in stimulus grants awarded through it went to overseas companies. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. checking our top stories this thursday morning, a new poll looks at how virginiaens are feeling about the presidential race and u.s. senate race. the survey shows a deadlock in virginia between the president and mitt romney. both getting 44% support. in virginia senate matchup, today's poll shows republican george allen with a 2-point lead over democrat tim kaine. a new fox poll shows the race for the white house is a tie. president obama has a 4-point lead if election day were today. both candidates have 52% favorable ratings. but the president's unfavorable rate is 6 points higher. president obama kicks off two days of campaigning in florida today. mitt romney will be meeting privately with his staff in boston before attending a fundraiser. we now know that it was a 64-year-old virginia man killed tuesday when a tree crashed on his car. police identified the driver as albert ropth iii. his family described him as a kind man who loved horses. he died when a tree suddenly fell down in great falls. check this video out. it's a kidnapping victim making a daring escape from a moving van. it's all caught on tape. this happened last week in pittsburgh. authorities were on the scene of an unrelated incident when a van pulls by and a 22-year-old hostage jumps out and runs to safety. officers say he made his escape after he heard his captors talking about killing him. the suspects are still on the run. a lot of surveillance video these days. if something happens, we know about it, just like that. >> which criminals should keep in mind. maybe you shouldn't be doing the stuff you're doing. >> exactly. i'll say you shouldn't be doing the stuff you are doing. >> now i look bad, because i said maybe. definitely shouldn't be doing the stuff you're doing. another strong stance at fox 5. >> good advice. we're full of it this morning. >> some people say we're full of it every morning. >> reagan national, 83 degrees. humidity 58%. breeze north and west at 12. warm and humid start to the day. not going to be as hot as yesterday. only in the low 90s. yeah, only in the low 90s for afternoon highs. our cold front just off to our north and that will continue to push through the area today. obviously hasn't made a lot of progress in the last 24 hours and won't make a lot more today. lots of clouds in the forecast today. some periods of sunshine as well. warm and humid with highs in the low 90s. the risk that we could see additional shower and thunderstorm activity later this afternoon and tonight. particularly that band of rain you see east of chicago, we'll have to watch that for later this evening. here's your surface map. again, it's going to be moving slowly to the south over the next 24 to 48 hours. showers back in the forecast today. and tomorrow with an area of low pressure, we could see some additional showers. kind of unsettled around here for the time being. as we get into the weekend, the front will get far enough south of us that we should see return to sunshine, lower humidity and finally, high temperatures in the 80s. better looking forecast as we get into our saturday and sunday. there's the next couple of days. again, trending downward as far as temperatures are concerned. could be a shower early saturday. i think by saturday afternoon return to sunshine with highs in the low 80s. sunday looks great. back in the 90s by monday. that's a look at weather. allison, am i tossing over to you? tony? >> me. it's me. thank you, tucker. appreciate it. our next guest rode his bike from san diego, california to annapolis, maryland, all for a great cause. he stepped up to the challenge in june to raise money for his cause called hope can, which is an organization that keeps home bound kids with cancer connected to their classmates. he joined us before taking off on his remarkable journey. you may remember that. and he's here today to talk about the success of the race. good to see you. >> thank you. >> congratulations. >> thank you very much. >> when did the race end? >> ended june 24th. 8:30in the evening. >> you're all rested now. you feel good. tell us how you did in the race, where you finished. >> my total was to finish within the 12-day cutoff and i won my age division. >> very good for you. congratulations. also a big part of this, you raised a lot of money. >> our goal was to raise resources and awareness for hope can. our goal was $150,000. when we finished, we raised $320,000. >> that's fantastic. really good. for those who maybe did not see our segment in june, talk about hope can and what exactly that is all about. >> it started 10 years ago when my son matt had cancer when he was in the fourth grade. i wanted to connect him with his friends at school using web cameras. it grew into a charity. we've helped hundreds of kids. the total was to help more children and raise awareness and take it to a larger audience. >> you found your son was feeling somewhat isolated from his friends and classmates while he was going through treatment. >> at the toughest time in his life, he was disconnected from the people that meant the most to him, his friends. having cancer and going through treatment is like having a piece of their childhood taken from him. i tried to give a piece back by connecting to his friends and classmates to remind him he wasn't forgotten. when he went back to school, it made such a difference when he returned because he felt connected all the way. we wanted more children to have at that feeling. >> that's great. tell me about the trip. was it harder or easier than you thought it might be, or about what you expected? >> a lot of preparation goes into it. the thing that was most surprising to me was the fact that we entered with the notion that we just would try to finish. about midway we realized we were winning. i never expected it to be a race. but i couldn't have done it without the help of a dozen volunteers who gave two weeks of their life over father's day weekend for many of them to help me. you can't get there without a crew of people of nutritionists, massage therapists, drivers, navigators. >> who is that there? >> one of my friends, board member, that met us on the course. >> what did people say as you encountered people across the country? >> tremendous support. we wanted the name to be visible on our vehicle. a lot of people asked questions. we received over 500 e-mail messages through our web site that were read to me at night to help motivate me. >> good. >> from people that learned about us and people that were friends with us. more importantly, the whole concept of sponsoring a child, every day i rode for a child. people asked if there was ever a time i felt like not going forward. i had made so many commitments to so many people, that thought never entered my mind. >> you'll do it again? >> no. >> you'll do other things. >> what i'll do is write a story about it. i want to tell people about the journey i took, looking to exercise to deal with the stress of my son's illness. >> very positive person. a great program. and again, congratulations on your position in the race and especially raising so much money for hope can. >> thank you. >> good to have you here once again. it is -- we're going to go back to allison now. it is 8:37. i'll do the time. it's a thursday morning. coming up later, the search for new leadership at prince george's county school. first, disgraced congressman anthony weiner and his wife talk about the sex scandal that forced him to leave capitol hill. details are next. a big day for television. >> the emmy award nominations are being announced this morning. they've started to do it. jimmy kimmel and kerry washington. jimmy is in his pajamas. >> that's funny. >> they're cohosting the nominating event this morning. history is on the line, if it's nominated, mad man would have a shot at a record-breaking fifth emmy for best drama. kimmel will also host the emmy awards in september. we'll lay out a list of nominations in the next hour. anthony weiner is making a comeback, but not committing to a political run. he and his wife gave an interview to people magazine. they talk about how they survived the scandal which led to his resignation. weiner says for the time being, he is dedicated to being a family man. his wife says he spent every day since that scandal trying to be a good dad and husband. all right. next on fox 5 morning news, the mussels from brussels. >> but we're not talking about john claude van dam. holly morris is at the belgian embassy to explain. >> reporter: can you find out what happened to john claude van dam? >> reporter: this is what you need to care about. you need to care about the fact that this is belgian restaurant week. it's the third year they've had it in this area. we're live at the belgian embassy, where these fine gentlemen are musselling it up. we have mussels, beer, and belgian chocolate. you can enjoy it as well, and we'll tell you how next on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. the first time i saw fios it was absolutely amazing. for years and years we had to put up with cable. once we got fios it was like somebody like took our computer and shook all the junk out of it. [ male announcer ] don't settle for the same old cable technology. switch to a verizon fios triple play and upgrade your entertainment equipment with our 100% fiber-optic network and whole home solution, including a high-speed wireless router plus a new multi-room dvr and new hd set top box free for 12 months. everything has to be fast now, and that's what fios provides us right now when we want it. [ male announcer ] and now, with new fios quantum speeds, you can enjoy internet more than twice as fast as anything you've ever seen. fios gives me way more for my money. [ male announcer ] switching to fios has never been easier with our whole home solution. get what you need in one easy package -- a $359 value. call 1-877-827-fios. that's 1-877-827-3467. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. say goodbye to your old technology. welcome to life on fios. ♪ in the black forest. [ metallic bell toll ] [ car speeding down the road, lightning strikes ] where things aren't always what they seem. [ wolves howling ] because thrills hide in the shadows just waiting at every turn. [ coaster whoosh ] brave the black forest on verbolten. the all-new multi-launch coaster. only at busch gardens. it's time for our facebook fan of the day. we say hello to andrea. she says she's a big fan of fox 5 and the waze app. she says without it, she would have been late for an important meeting. glad we could help you out with that. that's good. for your chance to be tomorrow's man, log onto our facebook page and leave a comment under andrea's picture. not one, but two top jobs are open in the prince george county's school system. finding permanent replacements for the superintendent of schools and the deputy superintendent could be a complex process. joining us with more, is chair of the prince george county's school board. my pleasure to welcome you to the show. >> good morning, thank you so much. >> the deputy and -- first of all, the superintendent and the deputy superintendent both announced within a short time of each other that they are going to pursue different opportunities. how big of an issue is this for the system? >> i got to tell it's a big deal, in the sense we have the deputy and superintendent leaving at the same time. we don't necessarily see it as a crisis, because we also see it as testament to the fact people across the country are looking for talent and the progress in prince george's county has proven that the superintendent and his family have chosen to move on. >> the timing just is horrific and she does feel for the timing, but she, too, felt the need to go back home and lead a school system there. so now you're faced with the issue of finding, first an interim superintendent. >> yes. absolutely. we've actually put together what we consider to be a good communications plan and process around how we're going to get that person in place. we hope to seat the interim within the next few weeks. that person could be internal or external. we're going to do our due diligence to make sure a number of people from the region, for example, and see if we can find a person to take over until we announce a permanent, which we hope to have by july 1, 2013. >> seemed to be a priority for the board to be transparent in this process, and at least in the interim, to do it fast. >> yes. we wanted to make sure someone was in place. the most critical issue is that the first day of school opens smoothly and parents and kids are ready to start learning the first day. so we want to get that process done. we want to make sure that, we hope that our community engages in this process and are really prepared to help u.s.s. select the next superintendent. >> what are you looking for in a superintendent? >> for prince george's county, we want something -- over the last six years we've been going through a reform effort that's proven to be successful for students. we're looking for someone who is reform minded. we set forth a theory of action, if you will, that laid out the vision for our school district. we're not necessarily looking for a guru, but someone who can look at our plans and tell us what talents they have to help us move the district forward. >> this is not a negative question, please don't take it like that, but were there issues that you hope to improve upon? let's say it like that, with the next superintendent. spaces where you feel like it might be an even better fit, if you will? >> there's always room for growth and change, and always room for looking, you know, sort of that monday morning quarterback, if you will. we're going to really assess that as a board. we have actually asked dr. height, we want to do an exit interview. much of what he has said to us for the last six years, he was part of the reform exit and he saw an opportunity in philly. prince george's county has prepared a lot of people to -- >> i would think the hope is prince george's county to be a destination and not a stepping stone for the next place. what's your hope? >> that's true. >> thank you for coming in. good luck to you. we'll be here waiting for your announcement. >> thank you very much. >> tony, over to you. thank you both. it is back to all things belgian and this morning mussels are on the menu in honor of belgian restaurant week. what makes belgian food and beer so unique? holly morris is in northwest d.c. at the belgian embassy with those answers and more. >> reporter: tony, i have the answers, including the answer as to what jean claude van dam is doing now. in 2011 he was the voice of master croc in kung fu panda ii and was offered the role, he turned it down, but word on the street, he'll be in ex spendables 2. >> he should be. >> reporter: in addition to that, you can have jean claude van dam on saturday thanks to this guy here. good morning to you. that is the name of your mussel dish, right? >> for saturday, right. >> reporter: anybody can do mussels in white wine. >> absolutely. >> reporter: you're kicking it up a notch. >> we have the beer, balances well with the mussels and bacon. adds a great element to the dish. >> reporter: mussels will take on the favor of what you're cooking them in? >> in you can make a great soup or broth, you can probably make a good mussel dish. >> reporter: hard to cook them, easy to cook them? slow and -- >> everybody has their own methods. i use the saute method, some use the steaming method. >> reporter: can i try one? >> absolutely. >> reporter: you have to use an empty shell to get one out of another shell, right? >> exactly. >> reporter: look at that. that is so good. you know what's even better? when you wash it down with the belgian beer. >> absolutely. >> reporter: which brings me to jay. good morning. >> good morning, how are you? >> reporter: i also learned this morning that belgium is roughly the size of maryland, and they have 178 breweries in the country. we love this country! >> it's a beautiful place. >> reporter: tell me about belgian beer here. >> mainly the beers that i brought are beers that typically go great with mussels, white beers, which we're focusing on tonight. we're doing a white party. all the participating restaurants in d.c. are doing white beers, featuring white beers throughout the night. white beers are native to belgian. typically unfiltered. light flavor. little bit of pepper or coriander and citrusy finish. you want to try one? >> reporter: oh, twist my arm. >> we've got a couple here. this is highwaygaard -- hoegaarden. >> reporter: pretty good. >> this is more citrus. >> reporter: keep that for me, because i have to move on. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> reporter: how are you doing your mussels? >> steam them, and i use lobster bisque, shallots, some tarragon. >> reporter: why do you like the steaming method? >> because, i mean, that's the way we cook them in belgium, in the double deck bus. then you have all the brats are going to stay there. >> reporter: where is the bread? the key is to sop up all that juice, right? >> yeah. >> reporter: last but not least, we're going to end with belgian chocolate. that's where neil comes in. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> reporter: why is belgian chocolate so decadent? >> it's just the best. >> reporter: what makes it the best? >> one of the reasons is the roasting process of chocolate. the whole process that they put together is not too bitter, not too sweet. if you go to europe, south is bitter, north is too sweet. belgian is right in the middle. >> reporter: perfect. which should i try? >> i would recommend the sea salt with caramel, which is one of our top sellers. >> reporter: i'm going to take that and the whole box. myfoxdc.com is our web site. we have a link to all the restaurants represented here, and to belgian restaurant week. they're having their white party tomorrow night, and the mussel throwdown saturday. you can find information online. the ambassador has invited us up into his office. we're going to see what he does all day long. back to you in the studio. >> thanks, holly. 8:55. it's a thursday morning. up next, the sounds of go-go. ♪ >> d.c.'s very own eu, experience unlimited, live in the studio this morning. that was one of their big hits from a long time ago. is this it? >> no. >> no, it's not it. >> another one of their songs. >> anyway, they'll be here in a little bit. stay with us. [ obama ] i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. [ female announcer ] every woman who believes decisions about our bodies and our health care should be our own is troubled mitt romney supports overturning roe versus wade. romney backed a law that outlaws all abortion -- even in cases of rape and incest. and that's not all. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. [ female announcer ] for women, planned parenthood means life-saving cancer screenings and family-planning services. but, for mitt romney... planned parenthood. we're going to get rid of that. good morning. welcome back to fox 5 morning news. we are coming up on 9:00 a.m. big in the news today, the voters are getting their voice heard. a new poll out today says that supporter for d.c. mayor gray is slipping.