today he was one step closer to learning his fate in this leesburg courtroom. it was october of last year when patrick wren and his wife, leah, were killed as they rode together on a harley. >> they both loved it. that was just something they enjoyed. >> reporter: the driver who hit them, 54-year-old attorney mark scarlotta was driving drunk. his blood alcohol level was almost twice the legal limit. today he pleaded ggt to two counts of manslaughter and one dui telling the judge, quote, it's the best way to put all this behind us. not so simple a task for the victims' family. >> taking a day at a time and seeing what they would want me to do. >> reporter: he could get between 1 and 20 years on each of the manslaughter charges. he's out on bond but is due to turn himself in on august 7th with a sentencing hearing scheduled for december. in the wake of the family's loss, there's reflection and also advice for those who would make the decision to drink and drive. >> i couldn't imagine doing it. i know what it's like to go through it. i couldn't imagine anybody else going through it. i don't see how it's even a possible thought to get behind the wheel when you're drinking. >> reporter: now, family members say they plan to return to this courthouse for that december sentencing hearing. they will deliver victim impact statements and they want to see exactly how this all ends up. we're live in leesburg, derrick ward, back to you. all lanes on the outer loop at annapolis road are closed because of this crash we're going to show you here. chopper 4 above the scene just a little while ago. three cars were involved. we're told that one person was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. check out the backups. we've got a live look. melissa says those backups are at least six miles. today the key witness in bob mcdonnell's corruption trial will be back on the stand. we're expecting intense cross examination of jonnie williams. yesterday he denied having any friendship with virginia's former governor or his wife. williams said he gave them more than $150,000 in gifts and loans because he thought it would be good for his company. just an hour ago, mcdonnell said the testimony isn't over yet. >> you know, i've got tremendous lawyers and i think cross examination is important. we'll see how the truth comes out today. >> williams is testifying under immunity. he did not say anything as he entered court today. julie carey will be in that courtroom tweeting everything she learns. for the latest developments from richmond, follow her on twitter. her handle is @juliecareynbc. now more on our wet weather. most of the area will see some rain in the next hour or so. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein joining us with the first forecast. >> yeah, first raindrops just now arriving in the washington metro area coming in from the south. it's been slowly creeping up our way. it's been raining lightly. all the areas you see in the light and darker greens is mostly light rain and that stretches from right in southeast to northeast washington into prince george's county and farther south into southern maryland and across north central virginia. it's slowly creeping a little farther to the north. just a few sprinkles inside the beltway now. pavement beginning to get wet along 95, and along route 50. much of southern maryland getting wet as well. it's going to be slowly moving in into the afternoon. a lot of clouds around. it is way humid too. there's a view of our sky overlooking northeast washington. right now it's 78 at reagan national. dew point way back up to the upper 60s. high humidity in place. a light southerly breeze. a look at the timing on this rain over the next 12 hours and a look at our rain chances for the weekend. a big change coming next week in just a few minutes. richard. >> all right, tom, thanks. right now crews are working to fix this massive water main break in hyattsville. this is the scene along route 1 from chopper 4 earlier this morning. the line broke yesterday dumping 6 million gallons of water on the roadway. it is still causing a big mess for anyone who drives that area. news4's megan mcgrath is live with more on what is happening right now to clean up that mess. hi, megan. >> reporter: good morning, richard. well, i just got an update a little while ago and i've got to tell you, the news is not great. take a look behind me here. you can see we've got a little bit of a lull in the action going on. they're not actually working on the pipe right now. that's because they're waiting for some more equipment to arrive on the scene. they have gotten rid of the section that was broken, the section that broke deep down into that hole right there, broke yesterday afternoon. that they have identified. the problem is that they think that there may be another break a little bit further down the pipe. so right now we've got one lane of traffic getting by in the southbound direction. they are going to take that lane away. they're going to close everything down so that they can continue to dig up the street and access this other section of pipe to see if it's broken or not. so the bottom line here is that coming up very soon in the next hour or two hours, maybe three hours, they're going to close all of rhode island avenue down. as crews continue to make repairs, drivers on rhode island avenue are forced to find a work-around. >> how about that detour? >> it's a little tricky right now. >> reporter: only one southbound lane gets by the water main break, and all the northbound lanes are closed. >> it made me get to work almost late. by the skin of my teeth i made it on time. >> reporter: and if the traffic isn't bad enough, there are the trains. the tracks run right through the detour. wssc says there are only a handful of homes without water. for some with water, they have noticed -- >> the water pressure is quite a bit lower than usual. >> reporter: the 12-inch main burst thursday evening, sending 6 million gallons of water across the road. the repair has proved tricky and is taking longer than hoped. crews will work all day, but will rhode island avenue be open in time for tonight's rush hour? >> at this point i would not hold my breath that this will be open. we have to see how the day goes. >> reporter: not only will it probably still be closed tonight, but it's possible that this is going to drag into the overnight hours and into tomorrow. in fact it's looking more and more likely that that's what's going to happen. it's just a bigger repair than they were originally expecting. so enjoy your one southbound lane for the moment. it's going away soon. reporting live in hyattsville, megan mcgrath, news4. richard, back to you. right now a trial is under way in a controversial child pornography case. we received some new video this morning of 17-year-old trey sims as he entered the court house. he's facing charges for sexting his 15-year-old girlfriend at a manassas high school. our northern virginia bureau learned that prosecutors will not use explicit photos of sims in the trial. be sure to watch news4 and 5:00 and 6:00 for full reports from northern bureau reporter david culver. new this morning, solid hiring has stretched into a sixth month but at a slower pace than expected. employers added 209,000 jobs. the unemployment rate ticked up from 6.1 to 6.2%. experts say it's still a good sign because more people entered the labor market. right now we are following two stories developing on capitol hill. lawmakers putting off their vacations to pass some kind of border bill. eric cantor's early resignation. a look at how both issues are being handled by democrats and republicans. plus storm team 4 is keeping an eye on bertha. a look at where the tropical storm is now and where it's new developments this morning in the israel-gaza conflict. israeli shelling forced trucks carrying goods and supplies into gaza to turn back. this came just a few hours into what was supposed to be a 72-hour cease-fire. israel says hamas and other palestinian militant groups in gaza violated the cease-fire by firing at soldiers. gaza officials say israel air strikes -- israeli air strikes killed four palestinians two hours into the cease-fire. more than 1400 palestinians and more than 60 israelis have been killed since the violence started on july 8th. two americans being held in north korea are speaking out. let's go to pat lawson muse at the live desk. >> reporter: laethat's right. two americans charged with anti-state crimes are asking for help from washington. the man in this photo, jeffrey foul, was taken into custody in april after reportedly leaving a bible in his hotel room. matthew miller was also arrested in april. today the men released a combine video statement saying they expect to be tried soon and could get long prison terms. the men also apologized saying they had committed crimes. it's not clear if they were coerced. north korea says the americans committed hostile acts that violated their status as tourists. at the live desk, i'm pat lawson muse. richard. >> thanks, pat. this morning we're hearing some chilling audio of former president bill clinton speaking hours before the september 11th attack. it's chilling because of the subject matter, osama bin laden. >> i'm just saying osama bin laden is a very smart guy. i spent a lot of time thinking about him and nearly got him once. i nearly got him. and i should have gotten -- i could have killed him, but i would have had to destroy a little town called kandahar in afghanistan and kill 300 innocent women and children and then i would have been no better than him. and so i didn't do it. >> again, that was bill clinton speaking on september 10th, 2001. the 9/11 commission report says a missile strike was cancelled back in 1998 due to a large number of probable civilian casualties. right now house gop members are on the hill trying to move forward on a bill addressing the border crisis. they are supposed to be on a break but yesterday there was no vote on a bill to address the flood of undocumented immigrant children crossing the border. republicans have been making a final push for support since 9:00 this morning. new this morning, you won't see virginia congressman eric cantor back on the hill when congress returns from its summer recess. cantor announced that he is stepping down earlier than expected. he will officially resign on august 18th. the former house majority leader lost his primary election to tea party candidate dave brat in a stunning upset in june. in today's "richmond times dispatch" cantor wrote in an op-ed, he said i certainly look forward to doing what i did when i first became a republican, advocating as a private citizen for the conservative solutions to the problems we face. brat also responded to the news. the college professor said the time one has to sacrifice to be an elected official is enormous and he has sacrificed a great deal to serve the people. i wish eric and his family the best in their future endeavors. for more on cantor, we are joined now by nbc news political reporter carrie dan. good morning, carrie. >> good morning. >> so cantor now calling for a special election -- he wants the governor to call for a special election. >> this came as a little bit of a surprise. cantor was actually on the floor yesterday resigning as majority leader but he was expected to stick around until after the november elections. then he told the "richmond times dispatch" yesterday that he's actually going to resign on august 18th. he's going to request a special election is set up on election day. that would let dave brat, assuming that he wins in this heavily conservative district, come to congress right away until waiting until after the lame duck session. that will give brat a little time to get used to congress. he'll be there during the lame duck and give him a little bit of a leg up on seniority over his fellow freshmen. >> but this special election to cost them more money so do you think the governor would consider this? >> it's going to be on election day so i think it's probably going to allow brat -- i mean it's going to set up a situation where brat will be able to go seamlessly into that job. it also lets eric cantor, the last couple of days haven't been fun, instead of coming back and being a regular rank and file member get on with the rest of his life. >> what if the governor says no, though. it would be a setback for brat in a way if he's looking to try to get that leg up, like you said? >> it would be. this is a pretty heavily conservative district. we're expecting brat will probably cruise to victory no matter how this works out, but it's something that cantor -- it's a decision that does make sense in light of especially the house is seeming to look now. >> let's talk about this border bill. it's why we've got still members of congress still in town right now. what do you expect to happen today? >> well, we've just gotten -- our colleagues on the hill are reporting there appears to be a deal to vote on a new measure. yesterday they were expected to vote on this border bill. they pulled it at the last minute. that's very embarrassing for john boehner and other house leaders. they didn't have enough conservative support to support it. now they're saying we're going to reintroduce the bill, add about $35 million for the national guard, we're going to allow another vote that would address the dream act or issues like the dream act that will probably nullify some of the conservatives. some of the conservatives holding out yesterday were emerging today saying i think i can be on board with this. >> how soon could that happen? >> it could happen this afternoon. >> so only one extra day maybe. >> one extra day. poor congress, one extra day of school. >> all right, carrie, thanks so much. for more from carrie and the rest of the nbc news political team, check out first read. that is up right now at nbcnews.com. today 25 children from our area will become new american citizens. the oath of allegiance ceremony will happen today at the dumbarton house in the district. the new americans represent 17 different countries and those children range in age from 6 to 16. we're back now with storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein talking about the rain has arrived. >> it is just now beginning to move into the metro area, coming in from the south. so grab an umbrella if you're about to head out the door. you will likely be needing it throughout the rest of the afternoon. if you have plans for this friday night too, there could be interruptions due to this rain coming on in. right now as we look at the reagan national airport, we have a temperature now there is at 78 degrees. around our region, we do have just a few sprinkles are beginning to move on through and those sprinkles will be with us off and on for a couple of hours. then the rain actually may pick up in intensity as the day goes on. and as we take a look at the temperatures now, we have it well into the 70s around the bay and across the -- much of virginia and much of maryland, as we get into the afternoon hours. we will have it warming up to maybe right around 80 degrees or so. and the storm team 4 radar is showing up now with the rain in virginia. it's a little bit heavier just to the west of richmond and right around the bay. and close-up view showing light rain right in washington and the nearby suburbs south and east. right along 95 it's rather wet there too, as this light rain just enough to put down a little bit of coating of water on the roads there. could be very slick on 95. you had several days with no rain and then get the first rain on top of that, it can get quite slick so watch out for that. here is timing on the rest of the afternoon. by 3:00 maybe a few scattered showers and maybe a little heavier downpours, these areas in yellow to the west of the area. otherwise just a lot of clouds around, a few scattered light showers late afternoon into the early evening hours. late evening maybe a few more moderate downpours coming into the metro area from the south and that will likely interrupt the national game with the phillies. there is the satellite view of bertha, tropical storm bertha now getting closer to the caribbean islands, heading off to the northwest. the latest track on that would take it up near puerto rico during the day on saturday as a tropical storm with maybe 50, 60 miles an hour winds, a lot of rain. getting toward the dominican republic on sunday. then it takes a turn to the north and shifts off to the northeast as we get into next week, remaining offshore near bermuda tuesday into wednesday. could be heavier surf on the beaches of the outer banks all the way up to the beaches in maryland. temperatures now that are in the 70s will be climbing into the low 80s maybe by 2:00, 3:00, and then drifting back down to the 70s. we'll get this off and on rain activity into the early evening few more showers coming on through. here's your weekend, saturday up near 80 degrees. then a pretty good chance of mainly morning to midday showers is the new timing on that. may actually get a little sun during the afternoon. then another round maybe of some showers on sunday. mainly in the afternoon sunday with a passing shower or a thundershower. no severe storm and not enough rain to cause any flooding. and you can keep up with all this weather if you're out and about over the weekend on your mobile phone. you can download our storm team 4 weather app, it's free google play and the itunes store. seven-day outlook, heating up next week. monday getting into the upper 80s to near 90 and it's going to be quite humid next week. august acting like a summer month. might get a few storms around on wednesday. >> all right. with the rain around here this weekend, might be a good time to go back-to-school shopping. we'll take a look at how much you can save during virginia's tax holiday. and a little tough love on late-night tv. julia roberts takes a ball to the face just to get a laugh. we'l show you. first here's a look at what's hot right now on nbcwashington.com. what's it like paying for internet rated 6th out of 7 in customer satisfaction? umm, i don't like it. we showed people a survey that stacked fios up against comcast. i'm with comcast right now. in the muckety muck. in the muckety muck down here. are you happy with next to last? no, that's not fun. that's not so bad, you're not dead last. it would be great to be up here. just squint at the chart and see if that makes a difference. you know i still kind of know i'm at the bottom. if verizon fios gets the gold medal, what does comcast get? probably lead. tilt your head just upside down, just look at it this way, you're kind of on top. if i was like this, all day. all day. switch from the bottom to the top and see why millions of satisfied customers have made fios #1. now through august 10th, get a verizon fios triple play online for just $89.99 a month and get an amazing $400 back with a 2-year agreement plus as an extra bonus from verizon wireless get a free lg g tablet or up to $200 off any tablet but hurry, this great offer ends august 10th - don't wait! with an offer this great, it's time to step up to fios call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v in news4 your health, the birth control pills could lead to breast cancer. a new study from the cancer research center found 50% of cancer patients used roller contraceptives. high doses of estrogen in birth control pills were linked to breast cancer while low dose estrogen pills do not have an increased risk. today president obama i signing a law allowing you to unlock your cell phones to switch carriers without any penalties. normally carriers will make you change phones to switch services. the president says this will give americans more choices when it comes to finding a provider that meets their needs and their budget. right now a blood test that could prevent suicide is being tested in our area. coming up the science behind what could be a life-saving break-through. plus the extreme measures being taken to prepare a u.s. hospital for a patient infected in ebola. and keeping an eye to the sky, we are expecting rain on and off throughout the day. tom kierein is back with an update. stay with us. developing right now, the intense effort to contain ebola is turning into a wide scale international operation. here's what we know at this hour. the world health organization is backing a $100 million aid plan. part of the plan includes the cdc sending a 50-person team to affected areas in west africa. within the last 24 hours, the u.s. upgraded a travel alert. they warn against any unnecessary travel to guinea, sierra leone and liberia. a hospital in atlanta is preparing to treat one infected patient. the possible evacuation of americans infected with ebola is sparking a new wave of concern here in the states. nbc's stephanie gosk tells us emory university hospital is expecting this arrival in the next couple of days, and they are ready. >> reporter: the medevac plane is specially equipped, like this one, designed to carry patients who must remain isolated. here at atlanta's emory university hospital, staffers are preparing the isolation unit for the patients' arrival. emory officials emphasize the unit is physically separate from other patient areas, with equipment providing an extraordinarily high level of clinical isolation. experts say the staff is well prepared. >> this team has been trained in how to use the personal protective equipment and to take special precautions to avoid any potential exposures. >> reporter: while the incoming patient's identity is unknown, we're learning more about the conditions of the two americans infected in ebola. the relief agency samaritan's purse reports both nancy writebol and kent brantley are in stable but grave condition. brantly refused an experimental serum after learning there was only one dose, insisting that it be given to writebol. >> i'm just as proud of him as i could possibly be. >> reporter: brantly's wife issued a statement saying i remain hopeful and believing that kent will be healed from this dreadful disease. also on their way back to the u.s., hundreds of peace corps volunteers evacuated from west africa. shrian just finished his mission. he said he's concerned for his local friends in guinea that have no way out of the country. >> i'm on edge that someone i know could contract ebola and die. >> that was stephanie gosk reporting. emory is uniquely qualified to handle ebola patients. their isolation ward is one of only four of its kind in the country. this morning neighbors in columbia heights are still in shock after a woman is charged with kill her own mother. those who live near the family say they saw the 30-year-old screaming and yelling in the courtyard of an apartment complex yesterday morning. police were called there to investigate an aggravated assault. she led officers into the apartment where her mother was lying on the floor. she had blood on her face and more blood coming from the back of her head. neighbors say they can't believe this happened. >> they were quiet people, very respectful people, i do know that. it's a sad thing because they had no trouble. i thought they got along perfectly. >> cava hooks is now charged with second degree murder while armed. now to a story you saw first on news4. a d.c. advisory neighborhood commissioner is under investigation for a possible hate crime. police already arrested leo dwyer for simple assault. they say dwyer admitted to throwing a homeless man's belongings into the street and then spraying him with disinfectant. a witness says dwyer used a racial slur, then sprayed the witness with that liquid. according to police, dwyer admitted to spraying the man. when asked if he used a slur, he said "i don't think so." we reached out to dwyer for comment but so far have not heard back. we're getting a peek at the fbi headquarters if it moves to grown belt. renderings show five buildings make up the complex near that metro stop. there's a parking garage and also plans for apartments, hotels and private offices. two other locations made the fbi short list for potential sites. those are in the old landover mall and a site in springfield. today a campground torn apart by a tornado is reopening. hundreds of volunteers have been working nonstop to get the area back open this weekend. two people were killed at the cherry stone campground last week. dozens were hurt when the ef-1 twister ripped through that site. let's check in again with tom kierein. he's outside on the storm team 4 weather deck. tom. >> we are getting some light rain here in northwest washington. just a very little bit. just enough to wet the sidewalk and wet the pavement around. we've got a gray sky over washington now. that's a live view from the storm team 4 city camera. 74 here at northwest. it's in the upper 70s in washington. storm team 4 radar showing this very light rain passing into the metro area coming up from the south. it's going to be with us here off and on into the afternoon as it tracks off to the north and east so have an umbrella with you as you head out the door. right now metro area temperatures mid-70s in montgomery, prince george's, fairfax counties and most of the region now into the mid-70s. and as we get into the afternoon, it may climb a couple of more degrees, but not much more. so cooler than average again today. and occasional showers may interrupt the national phillies game tonight. and then tomorrow, it looks like mainly showers in the morning through midday. highs are reaching near 80 as we have a little sun breaking out late saturday afternoon. then another round of some showers early sunday morning and in the afternoon passing showers, maybe a thundershower sunday afternoon and evening. otherwise partly sunny to mostly cloudy sunday, a little bit warmer. then on monday we heat up as we get into next week. highs near 90 each day monday all the way through thursday and we could get some storms on wednesday. that's the way it looks. >> all right, tom, get back in here where it's dry. thanks so much. you're going to want to avoid part of the red line on metro this weekend. two red line stations will be closed. that's red island avenue and brookland. you can use metro's shuttle buses or take the green lines to get around those closures. metro's other lines are running on a normal weekend schedule. a big traffic alert to let you know about in northwest washington this weekend. starting sunday the following streets will be shut down. it's f street between 14th and 15th street. 29th street between k and m. the southbound curb lane on 23rd street from e street to constitution. and the reason for this is that african leader summit will begin here in d.c. this coming week. there's a reminder of a traffic issue that's happening right now. all lanes at the outer loop at annapolis road are closed because of this crash. chopper 4 above that scene just a little while ago. three cars were involved. one person was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. take a look at the backups. this is a live look. melissa says the backups are as much as six miles long. watch out out there. scientists at johns hopkins say a single gene could tell them who's most at risk for suicide. nbc's peter alexander tells us what they discovered. >> reporter: scientists say the danger may already be inside a person's body. researchers in this johns hopkins lab pinpointed problematic chemicals that affect the gene ska2. that gene controls how the brain reacts to stress hormones that stop negative thoughts and impulsive behavior within us. abnormal levels of cortisol are found in the brains of suicide victims. >> we may be able to identify people at risk and attempt to intervene to save lives. >> reporter: johns hopkins professor, zachary kaminski tested more than 300 people for variations to that one gene. instead it predicted with 80% accuracy who had history of suicidal attempts or thoughts. >> we like to think of it a bit like a faulty brake pad. once we're stressed, once we start driving that car, that's when we're going to realize that we're in trouble. >> reporter: each year, about 38,000 americans take their own life. that's more than are murdered. suicide is the third leading cause of death for those 15 to 24 and the second leading cause of death among adults 25 to 34. and while the genetic link is promising, critics caution it's not always that simple. >> genetics is not destiny. we know there are probably many other genes involved and other factors, biological, psychological, social and environmental, that all contribute together to suicide. >> reporter: scientists concede more studies are needed but they're hopeful some day there may be an fda approved blood test for this indicator. >> this gene represents a new player and points out that looking at gene regulation as a way to try to predict people's disease ahead of time holds a lot of promise. >> that was peter alexander reporting there. now, this is not a blanket fix. crisis hot lines and counseling are still the best ways to treat suicidal thoughts. today a local charity will hold a fund-raiser for the family of a fallen marine. the dove project will hold a 24-hour bike ride fund-raiser beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the health center. they're hoping to raise $5,000 for david stewart's family. stewart was killed in afghanistan in june. right now an entire community is rallying behind a spotsylvania county family after the pregnant mother of four suddenly died. sara hard ki sara harkins was in her backyard when she was stung by wasps. she had an allergic reaction and died the next day. >> she fell unconscious. she went to the hospital and there was discovered a brain aneurysm. during the trauma of it all, it burst and caused her death. >> sara's friends and family are raising money for her husband and her four children online. so far the go fund me site has raised well over $100,000. youcaring.com has more than $36,000. if you would like to help sarah's family, we've posted links to the two funds on our website, nbcwashington.com. money saver. coming up, we are making the calculations and will let you know how much you can save this weekend during virginia's back-to-school tax holiday. >> hi. >> hi. >> and a talking atm that is giving a lot more than just cash. if you are planning to spend this weekend buying your child's school supplies, you picked the perfect time. we break down virginia's tax-free holiday. >> you don't have to pay any sales tax on some things you buy in virginia from now until sunday. the best part is you don't have to live in virginia to enjoy this. kids school supplies and the clothing you buy are tax-free this weekend. here's some of the rules. for school supplies, no one item can be more than $20. they can add up to more, but single items over the limit will not count. now, for clothing items, you have to have a $100 cap and the tax exemption isn't just for your kids. you can stock up on winter items, gear like gloves, earmuffs an all the coats. they're all tax-free this weekend as well of the we did the math for you here. we looked at some typical school lists. this is for sixth graders at manassas park school, not including elective class supplies. it came out to $63. which means you save $3.80 total. we have other tips for you for saving money. just check nbcwashington.com for back to school. meanwhile, your favorite soda may soon cost you more. congress is set to debate a new tax on sugar sweet and beverages called the sweet act. it would require manufacturers to pay a penny tax for each teaspoon of sugar or high fructose corn syrup they use. that would come out to a dime per can of soda or $20 for a 20-ounce bottle. the american beverage association says the tax is an old idea that has failed before. it is almost lunchtime so we want to help you decide what you should eat and short and long-term effects the food will have. nutritionist johnny boden is here. we're talking about those brain-boosting foods. what have you got for us, johnny. >> the top of the list, the stuff your grandmother told you about, fish. fish is brain food. it contains omega threes. they really are brain food. they're very, very important for lowering inflammation and inflammation is one of the first things that goes in the brain and in the heart. so we want to keep an anti-inflammatory diet at all times. the best way to do that is with wild fish, like salmon and tuna, sardines, and i believe everybody should supplement with fish oil because we just don't get enough of these wonderful wellness molecules. my favorite brand is ocean blue because it's available at cvs, walgreens, it's very pure and you don't burp when you take it. we need antioxidants from fruits and vegetables, nuts and beans. these are just powerhouses for the brain. blueberry extracts make old rats get up and start to dance the mambo. we need an oil change. we've all been told to use vegetable oil, not to use saturated fat. that's a mistake. so we want to cut back on all these corn oils and all of the other vegetable oils and start using some of the healthier like malaysian palm oil. it's red because it's got antioxidants in it. you can find it in other oils. olive oil is a good oil to use, coconut oil but i love malaysian palm oil. >> what about fiber, you say fiber is good. >> people don't think about fiber in terms of the brain, but they should and here's why. first of all, everything that's good for the digestion system is good for the brain. most of our serotonin, the brain chemical that makes us feel good, is made in the gut so we must have a healthy gut and we need fiber for that. most of us have been told to get fiber from things like breads and cereals, but there's a ton of wheat in there, there's gluten in there, there's five grams of sugar in one serving of this cereal. i believe fiber is another one we need to supplement for. i like some fiber because it has no taste, you can mix it with everything. one of the main things women don't like about fiber supplements is eliminated, no bloating, no gas. >> should you load up on fiber early for breakfast or any time of day? >> any time of day. we stick this into a shake and even the teenagers will eat it. nobody tastes it, it's great. all the organizations that monitor our health say we need between 25 and 35 grams of fiber a day. we get between 4 and 10. we need to supplement with fiber. >> what about for memory loss, especially when people get old. you start getting forgetful, what foods are out there to help boost your memory. >> i wish i had a perfect answer. the best thing to do is protect the brain before all of that happens and that's what we're talking about. >> we know a lot of people start dragging in the afternoon. maybe 3:00 hits and they go for that snack. they want to get a soda to boost them up. >> really bad idea. really, really bad idea. >> what's the alternative? >> for energy, and i'm not going to get into the issue of whether we should be eating bread and dairy and all that, but for most people, the most energetic snack is a tuna fish sandwich with a glass of whole milk. that will energize you for the rest of the day. i'm not a big fan of bread in general but tuna fish with a glass of milk will do it for you. >> thanks a lot, johnny. appreciate all your insight. t a new challenge online is starting to make the rounds and it's already landed several kids in the hospital. it's called the burn or fire challenge. it involves pouring alcohol or another flammable liquid on yourself and then lighting yourself on fire while someone else records the whole thing. at least one 11-year-old boy in florida almost died frnom this. his mother says she doesn't understand why these videos are on facebook and why kids are doing it. >> i didn't think my child would do this. it never came across my mind