good evening, i'm doreen gentzler. >> and i'm jim vance. the storm made landfall an hour ago south of the texas/mexico border. grant stinchfield is in south padre island, texas. >> reporter: the wind powers down as locals hunker down prepared to ride out the storm. people along the south texas coast are taking a pounding. high winds and heavy rain are causing power outages, flooding and even tornadoes. >> i'm just going to hope we can make it through the night. >> reporter: as alex lumbers its way on shore, it's dumping rain faster than the rio grande can handle it. >> they're saying it's not going to handle it. >> reporter: some residents in brownsville are already seeking cover from the early season storm in shelters. alex is the first atlantic june hurricane in 15 years. in mexico, alex is becoming even more dangerous. as the eye of the storm moves on shore there. if flooding is intense, alex is forcing thousands to evacuate coastal fishing villages. hundreds of miles away in the oil spill zone, the storm is churning up the gulf and hindering the cleanup effort. >> fully expected if there's a storm surge we could see oil moving further inland or in the marschs where we hadn't experienced that before. >> reporter: now with alex here, emergency managers are hopeful the slow-moving storm will leave faster than it arrived. back here on south padre, the main causeway on and off of this island remains closed at this hour. it is not expected to reopen until tomorrow. we are live on south padre island, i'm grant stinchfield. back to you. >> thank you. now to meteorologist chuck bell where exactly hurricane alex is heading. chuck? >> thanks, doreen. it's the official community down in mexico where the eye of the storm has crossed onto the coastline. here's a dramatic look. over the last 12 hours of radar imagery, you can clearly see the center of circulation plowing onto the mexican coastline. you can also get a sense of all the incredibly heavy rain that's coming into much of central and south texas. very bad news for them. you can see all the storminess across the northern part of the gulf of mexico as well. we'll be keeping a close eye on that. high island, texas, almost four inches of rain today. brownsville, texas, 5 1/2-plus. and it's still raining hard with 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts. what about our holiday weekend? all those details coming up. jim? >> thanks, chuck. for many nights now for more than two months, we've reported on the situation in the gulf. with video from land, from air and from sea. but tonight we have a different perspective. one told in still pictures, some in color, eothers many black an white all taken from a local photographer. craig melvin here with more. >> he's an adventure photographer. he went to the gulf as he puts it to capture the spirit of the disaster. he also wanted to give people a unique look at those affected by the spill and those working to clean it up. several things struck him including the surprising stillness and solemnness of the oil spill. >> wind coming off the gulf of mexico had a heavy petroleum smell. >> reporter: the second thing he noticed -- >> the slow motion of the disaster, if you will. it's not like a hurricane where overnight there's mass destruction. >> reporter: for two weeks the virginia artist snapped black and white images using a painstaking process called wet complete photography. he camped out near grand isle, louisiana, where he found this giant tree dead. >> i thought that was pretty kind of symbolic of, you know, what was going on in this community. about a week after i made this, i went back to the same spot. and this boat had benefited for skimming operations. on the left hand side there's a pile of bags that they used to put the contaminated sand in. >> reporter: while he spent much of the ways highlighting ways they're trying to clean up the coast, he also found people like eugene. >> he's a truck driver that drives a vacuum truck, an 18-wheeler that sucks oil directly out of the water. >> reporter: phil got a firsthand look at what happened from the shoreline and he also spent some time on the water. but it was the day he took a helicopter over what will hopefully soon be one of two relief wells that moved him most. >> at first it started large areas of what is called sheen. and then as we got closer to the rig site, it started coming into heavy black oil in the blue water ribbons of it as far as you could see. >> reporter: he did snap a handful of the types of pictures you or i would take, but he spent the lion's share of time on these black and whites to enhance the impact. >> this type of photography forces, i believe, even the viewer to slow down and really take in what's going on. >> reporter: phil's work will be on display soon at irvine ton temporary on 14th street. he uses a camera from the 1890s that he bought on ebay a couple years ago. >> painful images. >> thank you guys. appreciate it. a three-alarm fire sent smoke high into the air in frederick, maryland, tonight. the flames broke out just after 7:00 in an industrial building near south carroll and old saint streets. fire officials say the building housed a company that was destroyed. nobody was inside. one firefighter had to be treated to be heat stress. it's not clear how it started. bar and restaurant patrons in virginia may get a surprise tomorrow. a new law takes effect allowing customers to carry concealed weapons. jackie bensen reports from alexandria. >> reporter: starting thursday, the person sitting next to you at a virginia bar could be carrying a concealed handgun. that did not seem to bother many of the patrons at pat troy's in old-town alexandria. >> if you're carrying a concealed weapon, that means that you've gone through the proper procedures to get that. and that means that you've been checked for your background, and therefore are an appropriate person to carry that weapon. >> i don't know how i feel about it. but generally speaking, my opinion is pro gun rights. >> reporter: virginians have long been able to openly carry a weapon in public places. gun owners like jim snyder have voiced approval for the starbucks coffee chain's recognition of that law. he believes the new law applying to bars and restaurants closes a loophole. >> this was an artificial restriction that they placed on permit holders and they proved themselves to be totally law abiding, and there's no problem. >> reporter: but don't expect those carrying concealed handguns in a bar to be sipping a beer. the law says they can't drink alcohol under those circumstances. that does not relieve the concerns of pub owner pat troy. >> if a man comes in with his wife and he has a gun and, you know, somebody besides him starts saying nice things to his wife and he gets mad, he's automatically going to take out the gun if they get into a fight and shoot him and shoot a bunch of customers around. and this is going to happen. >> reporter: virginia joins 27 other states with similar laws and will recognize as legal concealed weapons permits from those states. reporting from old town alexandria, jackie bensen, news 4. still ahead tonight, an online announcement in the maryland governors' race. police in oregon have reopened an investigation into a woman's claims that she was groped by former vice president al gore. we're learning more about the woman who's become the face of an alleged russian spy ring. also, the last day of work, a surgeon who helped save president reagan takes us inside the er on that day in 1981. dan, what about sports? >> doreen, it's a sad farewell to federer at wimbledon. plus, the nats in atlanta. what happens when a pitcher helps his own cause. we'll tell you as news 4 at 11:00 continues. the place in. police in portland, oregon, are reopening allegations of sex assault against former vice president al gore. the case involves a massage therapist who says gore groped her at a hotel in 2006. police closed the case back then. they said there wasn't enough evidence. today they reopened the case, but they won't say why. the spokesperson for gore says the former vice president unequivocally and emphatically denies the accusation. in maryland tonight, republican gubernatorial candidate bob ehrlich announced his running mate. he chose mary cane to be his lieutenant governor. she's the former secretary of state. she lives in potomac. you are lake and cane will appear tomorrow at a rally in silver spinnings. former governor ehrlich is in a rematch of their race four years ago. three people who live in northern virginia accused of spying are set to appear in federal court tomorrow. a judge will decide if they should remain in jail. in the meantime, we're learning more about one of their alleged colleagues in new york city. her name is anna chapman. >> i think the most challenging part of my life really started when i quit all my jobs, really cut all my salary and really did something i wanted to do. >> that was an interview back in february in which chapman talked about a new job. the 11 people charged in the spy ring are accused of sending information back to russia. still to come tonight, one of the surgeons who saved president reagan retired today but not before describing the moments the president first arrived in the emergency room. animals given up by residents of the gulf coast have arrived in washington. >> chuck has more on the holiday weekend weather and our return to the 90s. yeah, they're coming back. not that long ago, many families were priced out of an overheated housing market. but the times have changed. get the facts at remax.com. it's a great place to see all the listings in thousands of cities and towns. with lots of houses to chose from and down-to-earth prices the dream of owning a home seems more attainable than ever. find out what an experienced re/max agent can do for you. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. nearly 30 years ago john hinckley jr. tried to assassinate prose ronald reagan in downtown d.c. many believe the president might have died if he hadn't gotten such quick medical treatment. one of the surgeons who safed his life that day retired today. but not before talking about that day in 1981 as well as his enthusiasm for medicine. >> reporter: march 30th, 1981. president ronald reagan is leaving the washington hilton hotel after a speaking engagement when gunshots ring out. the president is immediately whisked into his limo. moments later secret service agents realize president reagan has been shot. he's taken to george washington university hospital. trauma surgeon dr. joseph giordano was one of the first doctors to see him in the emergency room. >> when he first came in, he fell to the floor. he just dropped down to his knees because his blood pressure was so low. i think that was his low point. and had there been another delay of five or ten minutes, then i think things would not have gone well. >> reporter: dr. giordano and others worked together to stabilize the president, giving him blood transfusions to replace what he had lost from the gunshot wound. giordano's hope was to increase his blood pressure so he could make it through surgery to repair the damage from the bullet that had pierced his lung. >> within 35 minutes, when he left the emergency room to go to surgery, he was, in fact, in much better condition. we replaced his blood volume. >> reporter: dr. giordano was there when the president made that now famous joke to wife nancy as he was wheeled into surgery. >> that's where he looked up at her and he said, honey, i forgot to duck. >> reporter: again when he questioned the surgeon's political affiliations. >> he looked at me specifically and said i hope you're republican. i said today we're republican. for one day i was a republican. >> reporter: president reagan left the hospital after 13 days. a crowd of supporters cheered him on as he walked out of the hospital doors. >> i think it's a testament to the fact that we had a good team that really functioned well. everybody had a role. everybody knew their role and it went very well. >> reporter: dr. giordano came to work at g.w. hospital 42 years ago and he's seen a lot of changes in that time. that used to be the emergency room where president reagan was treated that day, but it's a big construction site now, as you can see. but even with all the changes and all the current problems in the health care field, dr. giordano still believes it's a very rewarding career. >> but getting up in the morning and going in and operating on patients is spectacular. it's a spectacular profession. >> reporter: dr. giordano retires after 42 years at the hospital. besides being chairman of surgery, he's trained a lot of young surgeons. >> it's still a rewarding career. we're very lucky we're surgeons. we are very lucky. >> dr. giordano says he never thinks about the history unfolding that day in 1981. he says he was too focused on saving the patient's life. chuck's here with our weather forecast. big improvement today. >> whoo! you know, and if you can figure out a way to spend all of the next 48 hours outside, you need to do it because, as we all know, as tomorrow is july the 1st, cool weather cannot last for all that long. and i promise you by fourth of july and especially july 5th, 6th, 7th, you're going to be wishing that it was tomorrow again. outside right now, an absolutely beautiful picture. the waning moon rising out there this evening. a beautiful picture for you. temperatures were delightfully mild today. only 81 degrees for a high temperature this afternoon after a 67-degree start this morning. our current temperature as of the 11:00 hour is an even 72 degrees. the dew point 50 degrees. light northwesterly wind continuing to push in. that cooler, less humid air, an absolutely spectacular night outside tonight. and two really nice days coming. saturday's going to be nice, too. but gradually the warming trend will return. 67 degrees already in fairfax and arlington. 61 in manassas. 67 degrees in winchester. martinsburg in west virginia, 69 there. even way down into southern maryland, 64 degrees for a current temperature. radar shows no rain around us. all the heavier thunderstorms are way down to the south across the carolinas and georgia. they are not going to be coming our way any time soon. in fact, the dryness that we are experiencing now is going to continue to get more and more extreme over the next week. hardly a raindrop in the seven-day forecast. nice days and cool nights for now. we're on the front side of that big ridge of high pressure. all the steaminess has been pushed down to the south into the carolinas and georgia. warmer weather for the fourth coming our way, though, as this area of high pressure eventually works its way off the eastern seaboard. that will open up floodgates. places like bismarck, north dakota, nearly 100 today. and that big bubble has nowhere to go but towards us. we'll keep you posted. there's the latest on alex. now officially on shore on the mexican coastline. the observations here are going to continue to bring the heavy rain and the wind into the interior sections of mexico. we'll not need to be worrying too much more about alex over about the next 24 hours. for tonight, generally clear, much cooler. low 50s in the western suburbs to low 60s around town. tomorrow, a beauty of a day. plenty of sunshine. low humidity. nice cool breezes out there. if you're headed to the beach for tomorrow, great weather on thursday and friday. a 0% chance of rain all the way through thursday, friday and into the weekend. there's the seven-day forecast. our warming trend gets us back into the 90s by sunday. as we get into monday, tuesday, wednesday, those might be 95, 96, 97 again. >> live it up while we can. still ahead tonight, just about the last thing you'd want to see in an airplane overhead bin. >> ew. and in sports, big upset at wimbledon today. the first time that i saw a sporting event on fios, in high definition... ...you see detail that you didn't even know was there! and i'm standing like a little kid saying, "wow!" [ male announcer ] as if verizon fios wasn't amazing enough, we've added something new, a worry free guarantee. if you're not completely satisfied, you have the freedom to cancel. there's no term contract required. [ henry ] the fios installation was wonderful. i actually sent a note to the service guy, i was so pleased. [ male announcer ] time to switch to fios. call 1.888.get.fios. [ dennis ] you couldn't make me give up fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. [ deb ] people don't just come to ge capital for money. they come to us for help. at ge capital, we've been financing taylor guitars for over eight years, helping them build a strong dealer network. bringing music to people... i like that. ♪ ♪ [ bob ] i didn't know you could play. i didn't either. ♪ june was a weird month for the nationals. "weird" was a gentle word. >> we're going on to a new month tomorrow. >> forget about it. steven strasburg made his record-setting major league debut and became the most googled name in baseball in the process. but as a team, the nats have been putrid, 7-14 since strasburg arrived and 8-19 for the month of june. things weren't any better for the guys as they closed down a three-game set in atlanta. j.d. martin on the hill for the nationals facing brian mccann in the first. and the georgia native takes him not quite out of the park but all the way to the wall. martin prado comes around to score. braves on top, 1-0. jurrjens started for the braves. jurrjens was feeling it tonight, gets cristian guzman looking right down the pipe. jurrjens strikes out six in six innings of work, gives up just one run. helping otherwise own cause at the plate. fakes the bunt and clubs it into left. eric hinske comes in to score. an rbi single for jurrjens. the braves down the nationals, 4-1. we're in baltimore now. o's hosting the a's. kevin millwood pitching to suzuki, sends one into right. check out nick markakis, full extension here. and he was on a full sprint. that's a pretty sweet grab by markakis. bottom seven, 6-6. luke scott at the plate facing cedric bowers who just came into the game. and scott says this one is over and out. a solo home run. bowers not pleased at all. you've got to be kidding me. you know, the orioles are so lucky this year that things like this happen. luke scott pulls a hamstring on his home run trot. not good. the o's win it 9-6. they're now a robust 24-53. on the season. a couple of basketball notes now. john wall will wear number 2 for the wizards in nba free agency in case you haven't heard in the last two years. starts at 12:01 tonight. the wizards have already said they will not be wooing any marquee names. the marquee name is lebron james. he's been linked to a number of teams. or he could just stay in cleveland. meanwhile, across the pond, roger federer finally ran into the wimbledon wall. federer ousted before the finals for the first time in eight years. federer taking on thomas berdych in the quarterfinals. we start in the fourth set. berdych leads 2-1 in the near court. rips it right past federer. he finished with 12 aces in the match. big serve and big forehand for a big dude. berdych is 6'5". on the receiving end. this time an unforced error. you can tell he just did not have it today. match point now. berdych serving again and federer just can't get to this shot right here. he falls in four sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, easley the biggest win of berdych's career. federer out for the count at wimbledon. i'm sure he'll be back. just not automatic for federer anymore. >> and that's all that it is. the other guys are getting better. rafa wins it all. whether you're shopping or eating or just visiting, alexandria just got m