right now at midday, breaking news, a major announcement from general motors. the auto make ser already out of bankruptcy. how it happened so quickly and what it means for you. >> just minutes o, president obama met with pope benedict xvi for for the very first time. there's the meeting. much more on hthis historic meeting. >> a metro makeover. what the transit agency is planning to do and how it will affect you. "news 4 midday" starts right now. good morning, everyone and welcome. i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. we begin at midday with breaking news for you. general motors is out of bankruptcy. just a few moments ago, ceo fritz henderson said the new

company will be faster and more responsive to customers than the old one. he also said the automaker will repay about $50 billion in government loans ahead of schedule. >> our vision is clear, to design, build and sell the best vehicles in the world, something that general motors was known for many years ago and something we need to re-establish. >> and here now to explain how this happened so quickly and what it means for consumers is cnbc's matt messto. >> hi. >> reporter: they said it couldn't be done. they said it would take years. they said it would crush demand from consumers, but when all was said and done, gm entered and emerged from bankruptcy in just 40 short days. no one saw that one coming. now the new gm, the new gm is promising a return to its core focus of, well, designing and building great cars and trucks via just four remaining brands, that's chevy, cadillac, bui and gmc. so what else is left at the new gm? well, about 70% less debt, a

workforce of 68,000. it sounds huge, but down by about 1/3 and 1/2 of what it was at the peak. and a company also that is going to be controlled by the u.s. and canadian governments as well as the united autoworkers. in addition, the ceo of this leaner, meaner automaker says he expects to repay $50 billion in loans ahead of a 2015 deadline. the company's also saying it could float shares for an ipo early next year, but the cfo just told us at cnbc they want to feel the market out a little bit, test things out. as for the old gm, you know what? it's now known as motors liquidation company. not your father's oldsmobile, if you will. could find itself tied up in court, however, in fighting creditors for years to come. so, wow, what a day. >> one question that's been bothering me all along through this whole thing. why are they keeping gmc when they already make chevrolet trucks? why gmc and chevrolet trucks?

>> reporter: that's a great question. they're calling it sunsetting the pontiac brand. there could be some overlap there. i guess it would have to do probably -- i'm guessing here -- more with the heavy end of the trucks, some of the gm heavy duty, heavy service trucks more for, you know, commercial work rather than, you know, your basic chevy tahoe or suburban. >> okay. matt reporting live. thanks very much. >> reporter: you got it, guys. >> right now, president barack obama is at the vatican. he's meeting with pope benedict xvi. it's the first time the two have met face-to-face. that happened about 45 minutes ago. all of this happened just a short time after the end of the g-8 summit in l'aquila, italy. world leaders have launched a $15 billion initiative to help farmers in poor countries boost production. the plan is to help tackle world hunger. not all of it is new funding, though. several countries are already well behind pledges that were promised in africa four years

ago. >> we have a report now from brooke hart. >> reporter: president obama leaves l'aquila, calling the three-day summit highly productive. >> we've agreed to take significant measures to address some of the most pressing threats facing our environment, our global economy, and our international security. >> reporter: the president's final stop before leaving italy is at the vatican. >> the president has been looking for an opportunity to visit the holy see and to meet in person with the holy father. >> reporter: experts say pope benedict is setting aside rifts over birth control, abortion and stem cell research. instead seeing a chance to team up with barack obama on problems like climate change. >> one of my highest priorities as president. >> reporter: the president brokered a broad summit agreement to slash climate warming emissions. he could not get developing nations to go along. >> obama strategy, curb global warminfirst in america and china will follow.

china's not following us anyplace. >> reporter: the president hinted at his own head winds on the issue at home. we each have our national priorities and politics to contend with. >> reporter: critics of u.s. emission caps aren't backing down. >> what we need to do is start here in congress by stopping job-killing legislation like speaker pelosi's national energy tax. >> reporter: later today, the president heads to ghana, his choice. >> such an admirable example of a strong democratic governance, vibrant civil society. >> reporter: aides say the president will highlight an african success story. he'll visit a former hub of the slave trade. fans eagerly await. >> he is what the ancestors have sent to us. >> reporter: there's been a major cleanup of ghana's capital in anticipation. president obama will deliver a speech on democracy to ghana's parliament. aides say it will be the start of barack obama putting his policy stamp on africa, the continent where his father was born. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news.

>> well, the d.c. council is planning to take a closer look at how district's contracts are awarded after it was revealed that ward 8 council member marion barry offered a $60,000 deal to his former girlfriend. this as barry talks publicly about the events that led to his arrest on stalking charges last weekend. tracee wilkins is life at the wilson building downtown with more on the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. that was the $60,000 contract this woman was awarded, and it has prompted the council to have an informal discussion about this, a closed-door discussion. we're told they were already looking at ways to try and make sure that the council's procedures for hiring contractors were good ones, and safe ones, but this has prompted them to take an even closer look. meanwhile, marion barry is still focused on what happened saturday with his arrest. >> it's the talk of the town. it's the talk of people on cnn reported it, marion barry arrested again. if this inappropriate arrest had not occurred, they couldn't

report that. >> reporter: during a press conference yesterday, ward 8 council member marion barry explained why he felt he was mistreated by u.s. park police when he was arrested on the fourth of july. >> i sat on the side of that park for an hour and a half. they were talking to -- i don't know who they were talki to. i think miss watts. i sat for an hour and a half. i was taken to the police station in handcuffs. and sat there for four hours. without my rights being read or being able to call my lawyer. >> reporter: the arrest happened after former girlfriend donna watts-brighthaupt told a u.s. park police officer barry was bothering her. the arrest resulted in stalking charges that were later dropped, but the allegations prompted barry to have a spokesperson hold a series of press conferences this week. in one of the conferences she revealed that brighthaupt was awarded a $60,000 contract from barry to run a ward 8 program. the contract was approved by the chairman's office as all council contracts are.

barry says the process was legal, and she was qualified. today, council members will hold a closed discussion about council contracts. yesterday, members of the press asked ward 6 council member tommy wells if he thought laws were council hiring contractors needed to be changed in light of the barry incident. >> i'm not ready to come to a conclusion about that, but i'm very concerned that if this is something that, you know, we're going through what are -- what's the nepotism laws versus the council rules. i think historically, there's been probably a bit too much slack. >> reporter: then council member wells went on to say that while historically there have been issues, he said that since the chairman gray came aboard they have actually made this process much more transparent, and he believes that more improvements can be made, but he's been happy with the work done so far. during his press kefrns yesterday, council member barry made some accusations about the work that the u.s. police officer did, and some issues

that he had with the way that he was taken into custody. we talked with u.s. park police about that today. they're saying that they will withhold comment until that arrest record is made public, and right now it's going through the process of that happening. but because they are a police agency that works within the government, they've got a lot of checks and balances that they have to go through before they can release something like an arrest document. i'm tracee wilkins, live this morning outside the wilson building. back to you. >> thanks very much. >> thank you, tracee. the court hearing for the suspect is in last month's deadly shooting at the holocaust museum has been pushed back again. 88-year-old james von brunn is accused of gunning down a security guard. he was scheduled to appear in court today, but his doctor said he could not show up. von brunn is still recovering from being shot in the face by guards who returned fire. he remains at united medical center in a lockdown ward. another hearing has been set for july 30th. and police are searching for three men who attacked a couple in prince william county. it happened monday night in lake ridge while the couple was out walking their dog.

the couple says three men came out of nowhere, demanding money. when they said they had none, the man says he was punched and tasered. >> next thing i know, i heard the pattering of footsteps behind me, and somebody grabbed me by the shirt collar and put a gun to my head, and said give me the money. i'm wearing mesh shorts and a t-shirt and i had no money on me. >> the victim, who did not want to be identified, says the robbers then forced him to his apartment. he says his girlfriend ran ahead, grabbed $50 from their home, and told the thieves to take the money and leave. an investigation is und way in rockville after a man and woman -- body of a man and woman were discovered inside a condo in the 100 block of monroe street. both victims were in their 70s. police are calling the deaths suspicious. they say there was no significant sign of tuma and no sign of a break-in at the apartment. the couple had not been heard from for several days and officers found the bodies responding to a call to check on them. their names have not been

released. >> new at midday, south korea has warned that cyber attacks which have slowed websites in the u.s. and south korea could peak today. the attacks have already occurred in five countries, including the united states. north korea is the suspected culprit, but south korean officials say it's difficult to pinpoint the exact source. the attackers have been sending viruses which overload websites, either slowing them down or shutting them down. the viruses could cause serious damage to personal computers and wipe out data. >> well, it's been nice and comfortable around here for fast few days, but could that all change just in time for the weekend? steve villanueva is up in storm center 4 and has our forecast. good morning. >> good morning, barbara. good morning, everyone. we do have changes in the forecast for the weekend, but it won't be a washout. here's what's happening right now, though, on this fine friday afternoon. 74 degrees here in the beltway. it's a bit cooler out in the shenandoah valley and down towards central virginia because

you are sitting underneath some cloud cover. dew points are quite low. dew points nr the upper 50s. that's very comfortable for this time of year. however, over the next couple of days, a southwesterly wind will start to bring in more humid weather. you can see there is some cloud coverage on top of the shenandoah valley. these clouds will start to burn away, giving way to some afternoon sunshine but this is the complex we're watching for the weekend. looks like it will push in late tomorrow, bringing us a chance of a shower or thunderstorm. lasting through sunday morning. all the details coming up in just a couple of minutes. back to you guys. >> thanks, steve. >> thanks, steve, very much. let's go to jerry edwards now and the news 4 traffic network. jerry, looks like it's moving fairly smoothly behind you. >> not so, not s hey, barbara and joe. spoke too soon, my friend. spoke too soon. half correct and half incorrect. 95 northbound no worries whatsoever. everything is moving along nicely. the culprit is southbound 95. there is no road work but it is

friday, and it's bowing to be a good weekend. i suspect folks are getting an early start. in addition to that, notice the hov lanes are still con fifigur for northbound. hopefully they'll get flipped. 95 southbound is miserable. elsewhere on the beltway inner loop as you travel from rockville pike to university boulevard, heads-up, construction in the right lane and a good size delay. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you. time 11:13. much more still ahead at midday, including a metro overhaul. details of a major makeover that could affect all rail riders. >> plus, an incredible story of a disturbing discovery made in a historic cemetery. find out how far some people allegedly went just to try to make some more money. >> and why there's a battle brewing on capitol hill over michael jackson's death. you are watching "news 4 midday."

hundreds of people turned out in nashville last night to pay their final respects to former nfl february steve mcnair. family, friends and former teammates gathered in nashville for his memorial. the former star quarterback for the tennessee titans and the baltimore ravens was killed on july the 4th. police say his 20-year-old girlfriend shot him to death before turning the gun on herself. mcnair's funeral will be held tomorrow in mississippi.

>> investigators are looking into an outrageous crime that happened at a historic cemetery in chicago. as many as 300 bodies were apparently dug up so the plots could be resold. kevin tibbles has the story. >> reporter: a pile of bones from more than 100 bodies discovered aboveground in an older and overgrown section of the burr oak cemetery outside chicago. >> this was not replacing graves. it was not moving graves. this was dumping them. >> reporter: by cook county sheriff tom dart says as many as 300 graves may have been desecrated here, all over the past four years, for profit so grave sites could be double sold. >> this was not done in a very, very delicate way, folks. >> reporter: the cemetery is in alsip, some 25 miles southwest of the city and is where many iconic figures from chicago's african-american community are buried, including civil rights symbolmmett till, whose grave has not been disturbed, blues legend dinah washington is also

buried here, as is blues man willie dixon. police havehaourg fedr f employees of the cemetery with dismembering a human body, alleging grave sites either had the bodies removed so the plots could be resold or the original graves were pounded down to make room for other caskets. >> this should be really a special place in hell for these graveyard thieves who have done so much to hurt these families. >> reporter: hundreds of family members converged on the cemetery, desperately trying to locate therave sites of their loved ones. difficult for many because at the time of burial they could not afford a headstone. >> my father's plot, wasn't nothing there but a big old hole. >> when i looked at my brother's grave and my my grandfather's, it's been disturbed, been dug up. they laid fresh soil and grass seed to try to replace what they dug up. >> reporter: the cemetery is owned by an arizona-based company which police say is cooperating with the investigation.

a team of fbi forensics expert was experience examining mass graves in serbia is also being brought in to assist in identification. >> that was kevin tibbles reporting from chicago. >> redskins tackle albert haynesworth has pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charges. he will be on probation, make a $5,000 charitable contribution not attend driving school. last december he was involved in an automobile accident in tennessee while he was a member of the titans. prosecutors say that he tried to pass another driver who slammed into a median strip, and the other driver was badly injured. haynesworth signed a $100 million contract with the redskins back in february, you'll recall. >> we are going to talk about the weather. we have $100 million day out there right now, hmm? >> today's another great day. we had just a beautiful week. very comfortable, very low hudity. today is the last day, though. tomorrow we're going to start to

see a change as we head into -- >> humidity or actually rain? >> humidity and rain. both will be on the increase as we head into the weekend, but here's what it looks like outside right now. just a couple of puffy, fair weather cumulus clouds. it will be another great day and a great way to end a wonderful workweek here in our nation's capital. as weook across the potomac, here's what's happening. 74 degrees. the dew point is at 58. that is very comfortable for this time of year. the winds are light and we do have partly cloudy skies out there. all right. temperature wise here is the situation. on this friday. 74 degrees right now in the beltway, 73 clinton, 72 at packs river. a smidge cooler toward charlottesville. that's because you have clouds sitting on top of you. with the daytime heating, eventually the cloudy skies will give way to partly sunny conditions for our western suburbs. dew points in the upper 50s. the air is very comfortable. these numbers will start to climb as we head into the

weekend as southerly winds start to bring in some low level moisture. on digital doppler we're quiet. by late tomorrow afternoon, that's when we can start to see some showers and possibly some thunderstorms in our western suburbs as a frontal band approaches the region. so, again, 58. that's our dew point. the air is very comfortable. like wus up in new york, likewise up in boston. but it is more humid from st. louis to memphis and into atlanta. this is the airhat will be pushing into the region coming in ahead of the next warm front -- cold front. here's what's happening. you can see the low clouds right there in the shenandoah valley. again, with the daytime heating some of these will start to burn away, giving way to sunshine. otherwise, for us plenty of sunshine today. that's the trend up into new england. that's because high pressure is dominating and the high's creating that northeasterly flow which will keep our temperatures in the low 80s today. very comfortable for this time of year. but here's the frontal band. you can see the front is producing some really active weather. we do have a slight risk of severe weather across the, oh,

looks like the upper midwest for today. then tomorrow ahead of that frontal band we could see some severe weather across the panhandle of maryland and west virginia so something that we'll have to watch as we head into tomorrow. so, if you're heading out toward the beaches this weekend, let's see, ce tomorrow out toward annapolis and cambridge, it will be a really pretty day with temperatures in the lower to mid-80s. men see of sunshine. again, it will be a bit more humid out there. as we head into sunday, we could have an afternoon shower or thunderstorm. likewise out toward the beaches, temperatures on saturday a little bit cooler, basically around 80 degrees with a mix of sun and clouds. as we head into sunday, a little bit warmer with a chance of a shower or storm. here's future cast for today. all is quiet. high pressure in control, partly sunny skies. then as we go into tomorrow, for the most part tomorrow will be a dry day, not a washout. the front approaches late in the day and that's where we're going to start to see some showers and thunderstorms on the increase. then during the overnight hours, the front moves across the

region, bringing us some rain showers and the rain will stay with us into sunday morning. i think we'll see improving weather for sunday afternoon. so for this afternoon, partly cloudy, low humidity, light breezes, temperatures upper 70s to the lower 80s. the extended forecast looking like this. again, for today, a mix of sun and clouds, temperatures in the low 80s. very comfortable. tomorrow we'll start to see the humidity on the increase. temperatures will also start to climb ahead of the frontal band, temperatures climbing into the mid-80s for this weekend. a shower or thunderstorm possible especially in our western suburbs saturday. and then on sunday morning, a few shower and storms. maybe in the afternoon a stray shower or storm, but i think for the most part sunday afternoon looks dry. the rest of the week looks a-okay. >> thank you very much. have a great weekend. our time right now is 11:23. up next, something happened at the running of the bulls today that hasn't been seen in more than a decade. >> plus, a cheerleader who turned rah-rah, says boom bah

into bah hg.buum >> as we got to break aoo loo at some of the top stories on nbcwashington.com. ewcú

we're following a developing story out of china this morning. more than 400,000 people have

fled their homes after a devastating earthquake in southwestern china. this morning's magnitude 6 earthquake was centered in the yunnan province. one person was killed and more than 300 others injured. nine aftershocks have rattled the region. authorities say tens of thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed. hundreds of rescue workers have been dispatched to the region to hope those left homele. >> tragedy today at one of the world's most famous sporting events, if you want to call it that. a man was gored to death during the running of the bulls in pamplona today. there are reports that the man was gored in the neck and the chest by a bull that separated from the pack. this is the first death in 15 years. nine others were injured in today's running. >> space shuttleouenavder" is scheduled to launch from kennedy sbas center tomorrow. the only concern is the weather. there's a chance of thunderstorms on saturday. the mission has already been delayed twice. "endeavour" has been grounded for the last month because of hydrogen gas leaks.

that's now been fixed. during this mission, "endeavour's" crew of seven astronauts will deliver and install the last part of japan's massive space station. >> 11:28 is our time, 74 degrees. next at 11:30, more on the breaking news we're following. gm is emerging from bankruptcy. we'll have details. >> also ahead, a major improvement project planned for metro. find out how this could affect all riders. >> controversy over michael jackson's death hits capitol hill. what some representatives say should not be done. >> a change in this cool and dry pattern. steve villanueva will be back with your weekend forecast. wúggwúwqococgc av

let's take a look now at what is happening right now at 11:30. general motors is out of bankruptcy. ceo fritz henderson announced today the new gm will be faster and more responsive to customers. says the detroit automaker is grateful that it's getting a, quote, rare second chance. >> president obama is touring the vatican right now after meeting with pe benedict. the two shook hands and held a private talk where they were expected to discuss poverty, abortion and stem cell research. first lady michelle obama also joined the two at the end of their meeting. >> police are looking for three masked robbers who attacked a man and woman in prince william county. this happened monday night in lake ridge while the couple was walking their dog. one of the victims says he was punched and tasered during the holdup. >> let's head outside now. another beautiful day shaping up

out there. >> nice blue skies, high, puffy clouds. we could be seeing more humidity and rain moving in this weekend. steve villanueva is up in storm center 4. >> good morning, everyone. we do have a change in the forecast for the weekend, a cold front will be approaching, and it will bring us an increasing chance of rain as we go through saturday. for the most part it's dry, but bay late saturday that's when rain could push into the area. 74 right now. we're heading into the low 80s. dew points are very comfortable for this time of year. again, dew points in the upper 50s. these numbers will be climbing as we head into tomorrow as the winds become a bit more southerly, this will start to increase the humidity. so here's what's happening on the satellite image. you can see we're for the most part clear herin the beltway but we do have some clouds across the shenandoah valley. but since we have that strong july sun, a lot of these clouds will start to burn away which will give way to afternoon sunshine. here's the storm that we're watching for the weekend. it will drop down into the region late saturday, bringing

us a chance of a shower or a thunderstorm lasting through sunday morning. so, for today, again just a really pretty afternoon. a mix of sun and clouds. temperatures in the low 80s. very low humidity. tomorrow the humidity starts to increase. daytime his right around 86 degrees. we'll see a mix of sun and clouds with about a 30% chance of a shower or storm late in the day. again, this is late tomorrow afternoon. then on sunday, a few morning showers. for the most part sunday afternoon looks dry but we can't rule out a stray shower or a stray thunderstorm. otherwise, 85 degrees and mostly -- probably pooartly to mostly cloudy. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, steve. joe? >> metro's red line is due to get a major makeover. the transit system is planning a major rehabilitation project to begin next year. it would cost $177 million and could take several years to complete. the project would begin with the red line, but metro says it would eventually involve work on all five lines. the early projects would include

a platform overhaul at the shady grove and rockville stations, the addition offest escalators the -- and upgrades to the automatic train control and communications systems metro's board is expected to approve this plan next week. soon after metro announced it was adopting a zero tolerance policy for any bus or train operator found using a cell phone yesterday, maryland transit officials announced it will do the same thing. mta officials say that any operator found using cell phone on the job will be fired even if it's a first offense. metro made the decision after a train operator was caught on video texting with his head down while the train sped down the tracks. >> take a look at traffic now. let's go to jerry who is standing by in our total traffic network. >> some very slow going for you

midday for those of you trying to get from point a to point b. not going to be easy. 95 southbound, reviewed the cameras. look what i found. a little bit of road work here as you head south from newington on down toward lohr done. very close to the overpass. there you can see the construction barrels. right side of the roadway is blocked. thus, the reason for the delays beginning back at the capital beltway. hov lanes are still configured for northbound, unfortunately, at this hour. elsewhere on the beltway, inner loop, look for delays about george avenue headed over to university boulevard. construction remains. up to baltimore you're okay. no worries now along i-270 northbound or southbound. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. the latest now on the investigation into michael jackson's death. this morning detectives are looking at his prescription drug history and trying to talk with several of his fmer doctors. the l.a. police chief told cnn that police are waiting for the coroner's reports before ruling out any possibilities in his sudden death. the coroner's report will not be

complete until several time-consuming toxicology tests come back. during the public memorial, texas congresswoman sheila jackson lee called for a house resolution to honor jackson's legacy, but she may have wanted to check with the house speaker before she said that. it seems not everyone is on the same page. norah o'donnell has more. >> reporter: who would have thought she was about to be starting something. the most powerful woman in politics said no to the king of pop. >> i don't think it's necessary for us to have a resolution. >> reporter: no on a vote to honor michael jackson. house speaker nancy pelosi appeared uneasy. >> we're into popular culture now, and michael jackson was a great, great performer and -- >> reporter: kind words are enough for the speaker who says she will not permit the house to celebrate the superstar with a formal bill. but wait. at jackson's memorial,

congresswoman sheila jackson lee promised that honor with millions of jackson fans watching around the world. >> this resolution 600 that will be debated o the floor of the house, that claims michael jackson as an american legend and musical icon, a world humanitarian. >> reporter: that resolution in page after page lists jackson's hit songs and chart-topping successes, credits his crossover appeal as an african-american entertainer and outlines nearly 40 examples of jackson's charitable giving. >> someone who will be honored forever and ever. >> reporter: but not with a vote. >> a resolution, i think, would open up to contrary views to -- that are not necessary at this time. >> reporter: meaning an awkward debate about the hugely talented but troubled star. republican congressman peter king already made clear he's no fan of jackson's. >> this guy was a pervert. he was a child molester.

>> reporter: even without a resolution, the house did pause the day jackson died. in happier days, jackson had played washington's biggest stage, honored at the reagan white house -- >> thank you very much, mr. president. >> reporter: a guest on capitol hill to support aids funding, and sheila jackson lee says she can be patient and will try to push her resolution again. >> this is very shortly after the death, so no door is closed. >> that was kelly o'donnell reporting. congresswoman sheila jackson lee says she will try to get more support for the resolution. aides for speaker pelosi say with so much going on in washington she feels they just need to work on some other business right now. >> new at midday, police in frederick, maryland, are looking for a man posing as a cop. slypped and searched a teenage ner the s owll broreow aa frederick on wednesday night. the teen told police the man waa ing a black uniform shirt with a badge on itwe thpolice impersonator drove a

kacord crown victoria with a spotlight on it and did not identify himself to the youth. a man accused of killing a baby in suit land, maryland, is in jail this morning. police have arrested 21-year-old caron wilson of d.c. in the death of 8-month-old anthony savoy. he was killed last year while sitting in his car seat. police say wilson opened fire on the car, targeting the boy's father who survived. wilson is being held without bond. s in micksae aseanar looking for a man accused of trying to abduct blond teenage girls. the suspect is described as a hispanic male in his late 30s or 40s. on tuesday afternoon, a 16-year-old girl was walking along cloverdale ad when a blue minimum very van tried to grab her. the man tried to grab her arm but the girl was able to get away. a similar incident happened last month when a teen was walking in that same area.

>> loudoun county is cracking down on bikers who don't obey the rules of the road. loudoun county authorities have been writing tickets to bikers who run stop signs. it happened last month to eight cyclists who wer taking part in a charity ride in had you been boxville. two of the bikers got off with fines. the rest pled ilty, paid the fines and got four points on their driver's licenses. >> that's what folks have to realize, is that they have an obligation to obey the law, like everybody else. they can be held accountable, like everybody else. >> news 4 talked to some cyclists who were out on the roadways. most said they knew that they had to obey the rules of the road, but they had no idea blowing through a stop sign could result in a fine and points. >> 11:40, 74 degrees. up next, they got billions of dollars in baout money. wait until you hear what aig wants taxpayers to pay for now. >> what one cheerleader is doing that has left a lot of people shocked and angry. you won't want to miss this story. >> getting ready for one of the

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blagojevich. he has repeatedly denied any charges that he tried to buy his way into the u.s. senate. >> a teenage cheerleader in georgia is in trouble for running off with a cash box from a local fund-raiser. the ent was organized by two young sisters who were trying to help their dad in this tough economy. nbc's ron mott has details. >> it just made me mad basically. >> reporter: give me a, the h-i-e-f. that spelled trouble for 17-year-old high school cheerleader chelsea steel in atlanta's famously conservative suburb of cobb county. she's now admitted to stealing a box of hard-earned money from children, including one in a wheelchair, at the neighborhood pool. >> we had $147. >> reporter: what's worse, this was no ordinary fund-raiser. it was to earn some summer spending money while helping a parent's struggling embroidery business. >> my dad's business, dad's designs, has been hurting, so we, we had nothing to do this

weekend, so we thought it was kind of cool idea to just sell these t-shirts and hats. >> reporter: the kids were selling a little bit of peace, love and freedom, but got much more than bargained for when the cheerleader and a few of her friends showed up. >> one of them asked for a green hat. she had a $20 bill. we were like this close. she took the $20 bill, took the box. her friend was holding the gate and they ran and the car went. >> reporter: hearing the commotion, dad joe green literally swang into action. >> mr. joe, they took the money. as soon as i found out, i immediately ran out the gate and jumped the wall and crossed the street. >> reporter: hours later, chelsea steel was arrested and charged with felony robbery, charges that could lead to serious prison time. >> she is just torn up about what happened. she'd like to express to the children who were involved in this and had to experience it, as well as their parents, that she is extremely sorry for what happened. >> reporter: the kids picked up where they left off, with one lingering question. >> i wanted to ask her why she

did it. >> reporter: but so far, like eir ney, the answer is still missing and police have yet to decide if they'll also charge chelsea's friends. for "today," ron mott, nbc news, atlanta. >> well, the budget shortfall in maryland may be much worse than originally thought. the general assembly's chief fiscal analyst warned legislative leaders the shortfall could total $700 million. that's about twice as much as previously estimated. he said that funds carried over from last fiscal year were supposed to help balance this year's budget, but he said they are essentially wiped out. well, we're following some big business news this morning. general motors is out of bankruptcy after just weeks in bankruptcy. >> cnbc's matt nesto joins us live now with more on that and the rest of the morning's business news. good morning, matt. >> reporter: hi. interesting. we are weaker here today, and pretty much at our low. this session looks like we're headed to our fourth consecutive weekly loss. this market hasn't had a big day

sell-off but we are bleeding to death. just 40 short days in bankruptcy, and they're out. it's the new gm. it's leaner, it's meaner, it's more focused and it doesn't have that crushing debt and contractual obligations hanging over its head. it will now do business via just four brands, chevy, cadillac, buick and gmc. get ready for this. aig looking to pay out more bonuses to key executives. "the washington post" reporting government-funded insurer will seek the blessing of president obama's new compensation czar before writing any checks, but indeed wants to pay $2 million in bonuses that created a firestorm a couple months back when word got out that it was paying executives bonuses. the federaludget deficit may be growing, but the nation's trade deficit has hit a nine-year low. the nearly 10% drop comes as exports rose and imports fell, leaving a gap of $26 billion. that's the smallest since 1999.

at the same time on the economic calendar, the latest check on consumer sentiment from the university of michigan shows a sharp contraction for july. the preliminary reading there down nearly 10% month on month. finally, speaking at the g-8 summit in italy, president obama says we have averted collapse, markets are improving, but a full recovery is still a ways off. back to you. >> sort of feels like that. thanks, matt. >> thank you, matt. >> have a good weekend. >> if you're looking to impress your friends you may want to throw a few new words in your vocabu vocabulary. they've added 100 new words to the list. they include frenemy, someone who acts like a friend but is really an enemy. waterboarding, a technique used to induce the sensation of drowning. vlogs, a blog that contains vide material. and webisode, a tv show that can be viewed on a website. some other words include lovicor

and staycation, which means spending a vacation at home. >> i guess if you're a humidiphobee, you will want to hear the forecast. we'll be back with a check of the weekend foca. st >> looking for people who make. the day special in the early morning hours. if you know someone like that, e-mail their story and a clear, close-up video or picture to morningperson@nbcwashington.com.

welcome back. preparations are under way now for the first ever concert at nationals park. elton john and billy joel will take the stage tomorrow night as part of their face-to-face tour. the show will be the biggest event to occur at the ballpark since pope benedict xvi's mass last year. and from tennis to text aisles, there are plenty of other things going on in washington area this weekend. >> that's right. wendy rieger has a preview in this week's "weekend scene." >> reporter: time to look ahead to the weekend scene with ellen mccarthy of "the washington post's" weekend section. hi again. tennis. my gosh, we have tennis mania here. it's not going away. >> so much fun, yeah. july is really going to be tennis month in washington. people might not know we have our own professional tennis team, but we do, the washington capitals. next week in particular is going

be really, really exciting. serena williams is going to be playing in town on tuesday night. on thursday night, you can catch john mcenroe, which is going to be really interesting. but really whatever night you can make it out there is fun. it's actually kind of a social scene. >> sure. >> right downtown, it's outside. people get a little bit dressed up. it's a really -- they make it easy to mingle, so you want to go, catch some great tennis and have a really interesting, very different night out. >> nice. president obama, items about his mother are coming to town, an exhibit about that. that sounds interesting. >> it is interesting, yeah. this happens in august at the textile museum. one thing we might not know about his mother is she was a collector of textiles. she was a weaver herself. she was really into we having. when they went to liven indonesia, she became a real collector of the certain type of fabric called batike. they've gotten ahold of several

of the items and they will be on display for two weeks in august. >> i like that. >> isn't that gorgeous? if you haven't seen the textile museum that sometimes gets, you know, lost with our bigger museums, it's a nice opportunity. just go and check it out. woodrow wilson is right there, too, so you can hit two. >> the national book festival is coming to wn. we're all reading our summer reading now. we'll have more to add to the list. >> this has become such a marquee event for washington. one of those events that makes you so glad you live in washington, doesn't it? september 26th is the date. just huge, big names. tom sherwood will be there. >> he's everywhere. >> judy bloom, ken ferns, paula dean, our favorite cook will be there. speaking of barack obama, he and michelle will be the honorary chairs of the event. they will be making an appearance. whatever kind of reading you're into, there's going to be somebody there for you. >> that's great. that's onsomething for july,

august, september. we're covered. thanks, ellen. >> thank you. >> you can find these stories and a lot more of the events going on this weekend on the web. go to the around town section of nbcwashington.com, or visit washingtonpost.com/weekend. >> barbie lovers are gathering in the district this weekend as well in honor of the doll's 50th birthday. the national barbiecotoecllsec convention is being held at the marriott wardman park hotel. the collectors unveiled barbie's latest life size dress, including a pair of pink stiletto. this week's convention is sold out, but you can still get in over the weekend. there's a public day tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. admission is $7. >> coming up this afternoon on news 4, the heel deal. we'll show you a new workout that helps women walk in the highest of heels without worrying about injury. >> then at 5:00, the things workers want that makes going to the job a little bit nicer. >> plus, hot off the grill, a

local chef shows us the secrets to a delicious chicken grill with corn on the cob on the side. those stories and all the day's news. join us for news 4 beginning at 4:00. >> that sounds delicious. out the door forecast, steve villanueva. >> well, good morning, everyone. it will be a wonderful day today, but changes on the horizon for the weekend. it's a cool start, 74 degrees right now. heading into the low 80s since we have a wind coming in off the water. it is warmer down towards memphis. likewise more humid. this is the air that will be heading our way for the weekend. so there's a disturbance right now across the upper midwest producing some active weather, all tied to a frontal band. the front will drop into the region tomorrow, bringing us a chance of a late-day thunderstorm, but most of tomorrow is dry. on the satellite image closer to home, you can see we do have some clouds across the shenandoah valley. these will start to burn off with the strong july sun so eventually you'll get some sunshine as well. now, out toward the beaches, and out toward the bay tomorrow looks better than sunday. tomorrow a mix of sun and

clouds, the temperatures in the mid-80s. on sunday a better chance of seeing clouds, likewise a morning shower or a thunderstorm. out toward re be beth, 82 degrees and partly sunny on your saturday. again, today, 81 degrees, a mix of sun and clouds. tomorrow a chance of a late-day storm. otherwise, partly cloudy and humid, a few morning showers possible on sunday as well. that's your forecast. back to you. >> okay. thanks, steve. >> thank you, steve. there's an interesting event taking place in virginia this weekend. >> it's not for anyone who's bashl y.fush virginia's only nudist camp will try to stage the nation's t laesrgsimultaneous skinny dip. to do so, whiteaiesl resort will offer free a tisonsio newcomers. called thes why it's white tail resort. it's annualou ope hnse hsshi t weekend. l be attempting to make the guinness book of world records tomorrow afternoon saturday at 3:00. show up, no dress code. >> that's "news 4 midday" for today and this week. be sure to tune in for news 4 at

4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. >> we will be back monday morning wit "news 4 today." we hope you have a terrific day and a great weekend. >> see you monday. >> bye.