we'll be at 79 degrees by noon, and that popup thunderstorm will start to become a more widespread scattered thunderstorm event by the p.m. rush, 82 degrees at 5:00 p.m. with that threat for more rain arriving even in the evening hours. current temperatures are pretty muggy, actually. 68 in leesburg and manassas. it's 68 in gaithersburg, 66 in fredrick and still 74 degrees in downtown washington. so we didn't really cool down very much overnight tonight. a look at these showers that are starting to move toward us from the west, and with the pockets of isolated sunshine, just off and on sunshine as we head into the afternoon, that will help to trigger a few thunderstorms. i'll have more on those thunderstorms coming up in the first alert seven-day forecast. but right now let's get another look at traffic with monika. >>reporter: thank you so much, erica. an accident now in prince william county, miniville road at catten hill road. on the north side of i-95, you'll find quite a bit of slow traffic now trying to get into triangle. all lanes are open into

woodbridge, all lanes are slow across the occuquan and in lorton, an consent in the h.o.v. lanes on the right side. that really should be cleared up by now hopefully. we'll take a live look on the inbound side of 66 here in manassas and that slow traffic is developing from route 234 to basically route 29, nothing out of the ordinary here on 66. back to the maps, this time to southern maryland, route 4, 5, 301, everything is okay here. alabama avenue near stanton road, the signal lights are malfunctioning, so you may find it a little slow through that area. no problems other than that. 210 looks good into oxon hill, across the bridge we're in good shape as well. a live look in college park here at route 1. back to you, an dree and jessica. >> thank you, monika. three football players at the u.s. naval academy in annapolis will soon be charged with a sexual assault. >> this assault allegedly happened last year at an off- campus party. the academy has not yet released any names or the official charges. delia is live with more.

>>reporter: good morning, jess. we are learn more about the victim in this case. that's -- we are learning more about the victim in this case. that's because she spoke exclusively to cbs news. the 20-year-old midshipman says she's been ostracized since the gang rape last april and sees a counselor once a week. she admits to drinking heavily and blacking out at the off- campus party, but says she woke up with bruises. later she read on social media that three football players that she knows claims to have had sex with her. she visited a doctor on campus but refused a rape kit, now realizing she was in denial. she made her report official, eight months later, only after confiding to her mother during christmas break. >> she said after the international ball i had been raped, and i just -- i mean, what do you say?

i just told her i'm so sorry, i'm so -- the only thing i can do is be there for her. >> i'm not going to let this assault define me or change who i am or what i want to do. the military is not perfect. the academy is not perfect. these are obviously some serious situations that need to be addressed but i haven't lost hope. >>reporter: she plans to graduate from the naval academy next year. now, according to the pentagon, sexual assaults in the military are on the rise with a reported 26,000 cases just last year. and just last month president obama was in annapolis, at the naval academy speaking to graduates and addressed this growing problem in the military. jessica, andrea, back to you. >> thank you, delia, live in our satellite center this morning. the u.s. supreme court tossed out an arizona law which

required people to show a federal identification when registering to vote. the law known as proposition 200 was passed by voters in 2004. arizona state leaders say it was a sensible precaution to prevent voter fraud. the high court, though, ruled the arizona law interfered with a 1993 federal law designed to make voter registration easier. the justices have three more big cases left to rule on. one looks at affirmitive action in the university admissions process. another deals with same-sex marriage, the third looks at whether part of voting rights act of 1965 is still constitutional. the supreme court is back in session thursday to issue more decisions. a vote is expected this week in the u.s. senate on immigration -- on an immigration reform bill. the bill is supported by a bipartisan group of eight senators. if the measure passes, the democratically-controlled senate, it will face an even tougher battle in the republican-dominated house. the house is is expected to

take up its own immigration reform bill this week as well. the man accused of cutting women on their back sides has pled guilty. prosecutors say before he was caught last year, johnny gillian pimmentel went on a slashing spree for months. he used a razor or box cutter to attack women along their back sides at fairfax county malls like tysons and fair oaks. he will be sentenced in september. he faces up to seven years behind bars. if you want to know where things stand on the medical center metro station facelift, you're invited to hear the progress directly from the montgomery county department of transportation. the $68 million construction project will include new entrances, elevators that go directly to a new platform and a pedestrian tunnel, all to make it safer to cross rockville pike. the meeting is at 7:30 at bethesda chefy chase regional services center. the nationals played until late in the game to make a run.

and some of the world's most famous performers will be here in our region, preparing for a week full of shows. coming up we'll let you know where and when wusa 9 returns

hi there, i'm first alert meteorologist erica grow in for howard. it's 6:09 right now, coming up on 6:10 and it's a little bit on the muggy side. and that's going to lead to some thunderstorms later on this afternoon. in it the day planner, we'll be at 78 degrees at 11:00 a.m., 80 degrees by 1:00 with those thunderstorm chances increasing as we head into the mid afternoon, and it could be an unsettled evening commute. by 5:00 p.m., 78 degrees with some more scattered thunderstorms. yellow alert day, so bring the umbrella and pack your patience as you're heading back home for

your evening commute. >>reporter: and, erica, traveling outside on the beltway north of town near new hampshire avenue, we're in great shape. but if you're going the length to the american legion bridge, you're going to find it slow trying to across the potomac river. an accident at the clara barton parkway crowds the outer side of the ramp. watch for slow traffic there. more coming up in a few minutes. back to you guys. >> thank you, monika. it is a show filled with acrobatic feats, some of the fansiest jump roping you've ever seen and even more clowns. it's cirque du soleil and if a few weeks the show will be in the d.c. area. this morning i'm join by jessica duff with the cirque du soleil and a few performers you'll get to see in just a little while. let's go back in history. this is the 9th cirque du soleil show and it first debuted in 1996, and the people talk about it's magical, impressive physical feats and nothing has changed about that since then. dpl exactly. it's still the same great classic performance.

it really brings you everything that the company is is now world famous for. so we have the beautiful aerial performers, the strong acrobats, the fancy costumes and makeup and some tricks you've never seen before such as jump rope. >> this time around? >> we bring you to the imaginary world of a little girl and you'll meet all these ek cent rick characters. towards the end of the show she'll find happiness and find her family. >> i remember when cirque du soleil first started and came to washington d.c. i was there when the big blue and gold tent went up. that's gone, that's changed. you're now in an arena show. what's the difference? >> we still have our trademark, blue and yellow coming to atlantic stations, the station once in a while. and now we have some of the older performers that have under the arena. we bring you an amazing show under a different roof and we can bring back shows like quidam that's been in the area

several, several years ago for a limited engagement. >> now we want people to remember, save the date, it is going to be at the patriots center in fairfax, virginia, and the dates are july 17th through the 21st. but you can start ordering your tickets right now. again, wonderful performers. jessica, introduce us to this performer. >> yes. we have this morning with us william lin. he is from taiwan. he is one of the newest performers to join the show quidam. sometimes in transitioning, quidam has a new act. it's completely different than the devil actor we used to have and our performer is one of the top devil performers. let's see him perform. >> thank you.

. june 17th through the 21st. you thought you mastered walking the the dog with the yo- yo. you can't compare to this. jessica and performer, thanks very much for being here with us. >> thanks for having us. >> erica. thank you very much. that is just an amazing display. i can't wait to see it live in person. let's take a look right now with the michael and son weather camera. you can see behind me the sun has risen, but there are plenty of clouds in place, and we actually have a little bit of fog out there, and it looks like it could cause a little bit of a problem for your morning commute coming in from pg county. i'll show you that in just a second. 75 degrees at 9:00 a.m., we'll be at 79 at noon, and that chance for thunderstorms really starting to increase as we head into the afternoon hours. right now it is 70 degrees at andrews, but 74 in d.c., 68 in leesburg and manassas. a little bit cooler in fredrick where it is 66 degrees. and you can see those areas of reduced visibility highlighted here in the yellow and kind of cream shading. only a mile and a half visibility at andrews, four- mile visibility in

gaithersburg, though, and you can see that pretty much the rest of the area maybe just a little bit of mist, nothing that's going to inhabit your ability to get to work on time. satellite and radar shows the rain on the approach, and that is is going to start to move in just in time for about lunchtime. you'll see that here on 9 futurecast. we're still dry through that tuesday morning commute, and then more rain pushing toward us for the lunch hour. so you might need the umbrella if you want to head out for lunch. but the thunderstorm activity doesn't start to get swens and fire up until we get into the mid afternoon. this is a look at 3:30 when the kids are getting off the bus for the last time, a lot of them in north virginia. you can see spotty thunderstorms in the leesburg and manassas areas. everything starts to slide to the east, though, as we head through the evening. so the p.m. rush looks like it could be unsettled, it could be a little bit difficult, but nothing too terribly intense like we had last week. some light scattered showers overnight tonight heading into wednesday morning. high temperatures today 85 degrees in the district, but 82

in leesburg, 83 in manassas, staying in the 70s where more showers are going to affect us in places like culpepper and fredricksburg, reaching a high of 79. overnight tonight, a little bit cooler, a little bit dryer, but still a aren't on the muggy side for most of us, i think. 62 in westminster and gaithersburg, 68 in d.c. and 63 in manassas. three-day forecast has two yellow alert days. tomorrow we'll still have that early rain and that will start to clear out in the afternoon. that sunshine, though, could fire up an afternoon thunderstorm. a high of 80 degrees, though, so it should be an improvement. and mostly sunny on thursday, it looks great, with a high of 82. in the seven-day forecast, beautiful weather staying with us, not only on thursday, but also on friday, a high of 86 degrees with all that sunshine. and then next weekend looks good, though a little on the hot side, close to 90 degrees, and a chance for an isolated thunderstorm on both sunday and monday. that's your first alert seven- day forecast. it's time for another look at traffic with monika. >>reporter: thanks, erica. we've got a couple of accidents to tell you about. first of all on the inbound side of canal road right after

the chain bridge, you want to watch out for an accident and i believe police are headed that way. southbound 270, you've got a slowdown 109 to 121, it's there every morning. and then a little more now forming as you travel into the gaithersburg area. it looks like it clears up from the rockville area to the point where the lanes divide. let's take a live look outside. if you're planning to head to the american legion bridge, accident cleanup squeezing the right lane coming off the clara barton parkway, here onto the american legion bridge. so watch for slow traffic heading southbound on 495 out of bethesda, trying to get toward virginia. if you're planning to head over inside the beltway, no issues, it looks great on 66 at 58 miles an hour, 395 at 57. 295 at 48, 295 southbound near bening road, an accident blocks the left lane and we'll end with a live look into springfield, slowing down as usual here, back to you guys. >> thanks, monika. 5:18. time for the question of the morning. when it comes to impressing women, men are best at doing

which of the following? investing in some flowers and a nice dinner, an expensive car or network. >> you can log onto the wusa 9 facebook fan page and leave your response. we'll reveal the correct answer during our next half hour. when you go to the facebook page, you can win a free round of golf with mike hydeck. join our facebook fan page and click on the button for your chance to win. good luck. hey, look! a shooting star! make a wish! i wish we could lie here forever. i wish this test drive was over,

so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. test drive! [ male announcer ] but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today.

welcome back. i'm meteorologist eric dhp a grow. it's 6:22 a.m. here's look at day manner, it's a yellow alert day because of the threat of showers and thunderstorms arriving in time for that tuesday evening commute which means that it could be a little bit difficult to get home this afternoon. 78 degrees by 11:00 a.m., 80 degrees at 1:00 and temperatures climbing into the mid-80s before the showers and storms start to push those temperatures back down. we'll see those thunderstorms throughout the entire beltway. not everyone is going to see rain today, but just about everyone is going to have some rain or a thunderstorm at some point on tuesday. >>reporter: good morning, everybody. i'm kristin berset. the washington nationals just can't catch a break this season. one night after getting blanked, the nationals rallied from behind, a chance to fend off their rivals, only to watch their hopes dashed at the very

end. nationals in philly yesterday for the start of a three-day game series. down two runs in the 4th, the nats start calling back. mendoza calling back. two hits for lombo on the night. top 9, nats a run down until chad tracy gets a piece of one, just squeaks it inside the pole and out of the park. game is all tied up heading to the bottom of the 9th. things go back for fern ando abad. with two doubts, -- two outs, dominic browns slaps a walkoff single. the nats were walked off for the second time during this road trip. >> it was tough. i guess he had a changeup, left it a little bit up and that's the ball game. but we fought back, it was a good ball game. both did a god job. tough loss. >> nationals did get some good news, though, regarding their young star. the swelling in bryce harper's knee has gone down, so doctors cleared him to resume walking and jogging.

once he's able to get whack to running, harper -- back to running, harper can get back to baseball-related activities, the nats could really use them. they're back in action tonight in game two against the phillies. i'm kristin berset, have a great tuesday. >> thanks, kristin. >>reporter: here's the beltway north of town at new hampshire avenue. right side of your screen is the outer loop. it still looks pretty good until you get into silver spring. but right now we're getting word of a possible serious accident on the eastbound side of central avenue just inside the beltway at bright seat road. i'll keep you posted on that coming up in the next few minutes. you're watching wusa 9. we'll be back after the break.

this guy first roamed the earth over 65 million years ago. like our van. yeah. we need to sell it. hi. need an appraisal? yeah. we do. vo: when selling your car, start with a written offer, no strings attached. carmax. start here.

good morning and welcome back to wusa 9. it's 6:30 on this tuesday morning. this is a live look at the white house. a yellow alert day today. i'm andrea roafdz. >> i'm jessica doyle in for mike. monika has your traffic, we have erica with your weather and she joins us live on the terrace with the first alert forecast. >>reporter: you can feel the stage is being set out here right now. it's a soupy atmosphere and when you have these warm and muggy conditions and then a few peeks of sunshine, typically this time of year you get the thunderstorms. let's take a look right now. another shot with the michael and son weather cam at the

national mall. and you can definitely tell there is haze out there and plenty of humidity in place. 74 degrees at 8:00 a.m., and we'll be at 79 at noon. and that's the earliest, really, that we could see any thunderstorms around here. by 4:00 the thunderstorm activity becomes more widespread and extends into the evening. 76 degrees at 8:00. it's already pretty muggy out there. 66 right now in manassas, 68 in leesburg. it's 70 at andrews and 70 at bwi as well. when i step inside with the first alert seven-day forecast, we'll time out the arrival of the thunderstorms with the futurecast and also a little bit of clearing in that seven day. everything is coming up in just a few minutes. >> erica, thank you so much. and if you're planning to head over onto the east side of town, we have a couple of actually pretty big incidents to tell you about. first of all an accident on the southbound side of 295. it's been there near bening road along the left side for some time. and you can see all that red forming because of it.

southbound on 295 coming south from chevrolet with that accident. you want to stay to the right to get by. now an accident on the eastbound side of central avenue right before you get to the beltway at bright sea road, literally at 495. two left lanes are blocked there and we are learning that it could be serious in nature. westbound side seems to be okay heading past the accident. of course i'll keep you posted as the information comes in. let's take a couple of live pictures outside. first of all here at pennsylvania avenue, the beltway looks good as you head into southern maryland and across the wilson bridge. you're going to be fine, no delays right now. we'll take a look at the trafficland camera and this is new york avenue at ballottensburg road and -- blattensburg road. a look on the side of i-95, we had a bit of a rough start, the h.o.v. lanes opened a little bit late this morning, but right now it looks fine in springfield, the h.o.v. lanes heading for 395. andrea and jessica. time now to see what our

partners at "cbs this morning" are covering. >> norah o'donnell is in new york and we get a chance to say good morning to her. good morning. >> good morning to you, andrea and jessica. ahead charlie rose sits down with president obama, and the president describes how the nsa surveillance program works, why he has no problem with it and how far the u.s. should go in syria. also we're going to take a reality check on alternative medicine. we're going to talk to a doctor who wrote a "new york times" op- ed entitled "don't take your vitamins." we're going to explain. the news is back in the morning. we'll see you at 7:00. >> all right, norah, thank you. we'll be watching. they're talking about it on "cbs this morning," we're talking about it now, the last day of the g8 economic summit is under way now in northern ireland. the u.s. has secured a deal to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement with the european union, but tensions on how to deal with the syrian civil war have overshadowed economic discussions. president obama and russian president vladimir putin

briefly discussed american plans to send arms to rebel fighters. russia is syria's strongest ally and stands with the bashar assad government. keith alexander, the director of the nsa is headed back to capitol hill this morning to testify at a hearing on the secret surveillance programs leaked to the press. intelligence officials say the controversial data collection programs have helped prevent terrorist plots in the u.s. and 20 other countries. the details of those plots are still classified. some in congress want the details to be declassified to show americans that these programs are working. in the meantime edward snowden, the man who confirmed the government is indeed listening in on your conversations says he's not a traitor. yesterday during an online discussion snowden says the u.s. government won't "cover this up by jailing or murdering me." snowden is believed to be hiding in hong kong. today the pentagon is expected to announce that all

four branches of the military will soon begin to allow women to train for all combat positions, including elite forces. under some of the guidelines, men and women will be required to pass the same physical and mental standards for front line positions. the u.s. naval academy has decided to move ahead with the military equivalent of a grand jury investigation. this amid accusations that three of the school's football players raped a female midshipman last year. >> now, this alleged incident happened during an off-campus house party in annapolis. delia gonsalves is live? the satellite center. good morning. >>reporter: good morning. the 20-year-old victim admits she was drinking heavily, even blacked out the night of that off-campus party. the night she says she was allegedly gang raped. she says, though, she woke up to bruises and then a buzz on social media. you see, her classmates were

tweeting and facebooking about the sexual assaults the day after that party last april. she says she knows the three football players and that they even bragged about having sex with her, claiming she was easy and didn't put up a fight. the midshipman made her report official eight months later. in an exclusive cbs interview, she recalls tense moments during a routine sexual assault briefing on campus. >> it was really upsetting. i went to the bathroom, i sat in the stall and cried, and it just so happened that there was another girl sitting right next to me and she was crying too. and she had come out of the stall and she's, like, you know, you can come out. and she just hugged me, and we just hugged each other. i don't know her name to this day. i didn't know her prior to that, but unfortunately we shared that same experience, and it just brought the whole situation to reality, that there is a much bigger problem than just this one circumstance

that had happened. i'm not going to let this assault define me or change who i am or what i want to do. the military is not perfect, the academy is not perfect, these are obviously some serious situations that need to be addressed. but i haven't lost hope. >> this type of conduct will not be tolerated and our military and won't be tolerated anywhere in our society. >> that's maryland senator ben carden speaking to our sister station wjz in baltimore. according to the pentagon, sexual assaults in the military are on the rise. a reported 26,000 cases last year, and that's up from 19,000 two years ago. andrea, jess, back to you. >> delia goncalfs from our satellite center. susan g. komen has named a new ceo. last summer brinker announced she would step down. her decision came after komen says the plan to stop giving

grants to planned parenthood for breast cancer screenings. komen's decision was quickly reversed. time right now is 6:36. and i'm watching your money. the federal reserve begins a two-day meeting on interest rates today. now, the fed is expected to determine that the economic recovery is moving more slowly than expected and that could encourage the central bank to keep interest rates low in order to stimulate borrowing and spending. a decision is expected tomorrow. home builders are more optimistic than they've been since before the great recession. home builder confidence has hit a seven-year high. this is according to the national association of home builders. low mortgage rates, rising home prices and a small supply of homes have fueled a recovery in the real estate market so far this year. google has settled a shareholder lawsuit which will allow for a long-delayed split in the internet giant's stock. the agreement resolves allegations of cofounders larry page and sergei bren, set up a

stock split in a way that would unfairly benefit the founders. the split now calls for a new class of stock with page and bren retaining control of the company. it's going to be a lot of stock that's splitting there. it is 6:37. a federal raid on a popular convenience store chain ends with dozens of arrests and claims of moderate-day certitude. we've all been amazed when we see sand sculptures when we go to the beach every summer. but what does it take to make something like this? so incredibly detailed. we're going to find out

good morning. and welcome back to wusa 9. it is 6:42, tuesday, as you saw on the screen, today is a yellow alert day. you will need your umbrellas. about when? >> from noontime onward. you might even need it when you're heading out on your lunch break. if you packed your lunch today, that might be a good way to avoid having to be out there in the rain. however, the evening commute looks like it's going to be unsettled for just about the entire d.c. metro. so let's take a look outside right now with the michael and son weather cam and we'll see just how hazy it is out there.

look at that shot. it looks like a bunch of low cloud cover, but it's really just that moisture hanging close to the ground, creating some haze. your day planner, a few peeks of sunshine are actually going to provide the instability for the heat and humidity to fire up some thunderstorms. so 79 degrees by noon with that chance for thunderstorms arriving. 82 degrees at 5:00 p.m. we'll pop into the mid-80s sometime in the mid afternoon before those thunderstorms really get rockin' and rollin', and that's what's going to help to cool those temperatures down as well. we're up to 68 in leesburg and 66 in manassas, 66 in winchester as well. but it's still 74 degrees in downtown washington. we're in that time of year where it just doesn't cool down at all as you're heading into the overnight hours. and we do have a few spots of patchy fog out there as well. if you're heading in from montgomery county, watch out for just a little bit of reduced visibility, though 2 1/2 miles should be okay. you shouldn't have any trouble on the major roads in gaithersburg. andrews four-mile visibility. that's an improvement. we were all the way down to 1/4-

mile visibility in the last hour. you can see that through much of northern maryland we're looking at reduced visibility, in some spots in howard county, the visibility close to zero because of that fog. luckily it's not like that in the beltway. but we do have some showers approaching. you can see them here on satellite and radar, that leading edge starting to make it into the d.c. metro. so let's time out the arrival of this for you on 9 futurecast. looks like you won't need the umbrella for that tuesday morning commute, though there could be just a couple light sprinkles. plenty of clouds in place, but those breaks in the cloud cover around noon will start to get some of those showers and storms firing up. so the leading edge of showers approaches by the lunch hour, but thunderstorms starting to make their way through the mountains, toward the shenandoah valley, some isolated flooding is not out of the question as we head into the afternoon and early evening hours. and look at this, as you're picking up the kids off the bus, northern virginia, for the last time for the year, plenty of thunderstorms around. the oranges and reds usually an indication of thunderstorm activity, so we'll see that

here in loudoun county, also down toward manassas could see some spots of heavier thunderstorms in it prince william county. and then this all starts to descend to the south and east as we're headed towards the dinnertime hour. but the evening rush will be unsettled throughout the entire beltway. rooks like southern maryland will be the last part of our -- it looks like southern maryland will be the last part of our area to be out of the activity. as we head through the afternoon today, we'll get up to 82 degrees in leesburg, 83 in gaithersburg, 82 at bwi, 79 at andrews and 85 degrees in the district. overnight tonight dipping down to 64 degrees in fredricksburg, 63 in leesburg, 62 in gaithersburg, but just barely below 70 degrees in the district, so a little bit more comfortable tonight than what we're waking up to this morning, but it's still going to be on the muggy side. wednesday, that's our transition day. we start out with the clouds, the showers, maybe even a rumble of thunder. we'll break into the sunshine in the afternoon with a high of 80 degrees. looks like it could be

unsettled for the morning commute and that's why we're in yellow alert mode. and then thursday mostly sunny, beautiful with a high of 82 degrees. and your seven-day forecast, we'll hold on to that sunshine on friday, 86 degrees. and then it starts to get a little bit on the hot side as we head into next weekend. near 90 degrees on both saturday and sunday. sunday gets more humid as well and that's why we have to introduce that threat for a thunderstorm. that's a look at your first alert seven-day forecast. time for another look at traffic with monika. >>reporter: erica, mock penline 505 is running 15 to 20 minutes late and now an accident reported on route 355 near route 27. let me keep you posted on these two accidents over on the east side of town. first of all southbound 295, this accident right near bening road was just cleared out of the road, but look at all that slow traffic leaving cheverly there and now two separate accidents on the eastbound along bright seat road on the left side. now affecting the inbound side of central avenue as well. so both directions of central

right here at the beltway, watch out for slower-than- normal traffic because of these accidents. let's take you outside live and show you what it looks like at colesville road on the beltway outer loop, it's going to be basically slow coming around from new hampshire avenue through here as you head right through silver spring which is normal for this time of the morning rush hour. back to the maps, this time we're heading all the way to the west side. there are no issues to report on the dulles toll road, nothing to report on inbound 66. in fact, let's take a live look at route 66 here at route 29 in centreville. no problems at all all the way to fairfax. back to you guys. i'll take it, monika. school is out for most kids. fairfax county, last day of school today. so a lot of kids may be headed to the beach and that makes it sand castle time. joining us this morning, a man who knows a thing or two about sand castles. we've got john gowdy here. john, you've come up with a remarkable castle in a very short period of time. tell us about what you've been working on here.

>> somebody's gotta do it. it's just a small little castle. i teach castle building to children and families all the time. >>reporter: you've got an exciting event going on right now where folks can come out and see some of these remarkable constructions out of sand. tell us about the event. >> this is nothing, believe me. they're getting up 14 feet in atlantic city with professional world-class sand sculptures, not just sand castles anymore, this is world class gallery- style artwork that is standing on the beach right now at missouri avenue in atlantic city. and there's 20 solos that already competed and we're just starting the doubles on thursday, and there's going to be like 38 standing sculptures on the beach until the end of june. it's going to be an amazing event. >>reporter: when you say this is nothing, you've been working on this for about an hour now which is not much time to come up with a creation like this. what is the secret to a decent sand castle, john? well, mainly practice. you need sand and water, obviously, and you need a few

kids mixed in, okay? and i teach originality, you know, having fun with your children, it's a family activity, it really is. get mom and dad down and dirty, get their knees in the sand and have fun with the kids. >>reporter: let's switch tools here. i'm going to give you the mic, you're going to give me one of your tools and show me what i should be doing. >> i'll show you. make some horizontal lines like that. >>reporter: i'm going to try my hand at this. i'm scared i'm going to ruin the whole thing. dpl we're just cutting bricks right now. this is texture for a sand castle. >>reporter: that wasn't that straight. >> that's all right. practice makes perfect. >>reporter: should i make the little hash lines? >> small vertical lines. >>reporter: and you're making bricks. >>reporter: mine is not as good looking as yours. you need to come to atlantic city and take some lessons from me. i give lessons all the time. >>reporter: this is not looking so good. so you use some tools to get

these cylinders? >> yeah. we have a bunch of cake decorating tools and brushes and all sorts of stuff like that. >>reporter: i'm going to take this back from you, john. this is remarkable, atlantic city, you can check out sand castles as high as 14 feet -- >> 40. >>reporter: 40 feet. unbelievable. well, we're going to be right back after this break. keep it right here. you're watching wusa 9.

welcome back. it's 6:53. i'm meteorologist erica groavment we're taking a look with our michael and son weather cam. you can see that it is very hazy out there, plenty of clouds in place, but the skies are still bright. that's going to change as we head toward the noontime hour.

the chance for thunderstorms arriving right around noon, we'll be at 78 degrees by 11:00 a.m., 80 at 1:00, 83 degrees at 3:00 and the chance for thunderstorms increasing today as we head toward that afternoon and evening rush hour which means that we are in yellow alert mode today, unsettled and disruptive weather in the forecast as you're heading home from work and school. actually, last day of school for those kids in northern virginia. jessica, over to you. >> thank you so much, erica. in the news today, chrysler is expected to file papers explaining why it's refusing to recall more than 2 1/2 jeep suvs. the vehicles are at risk of catching fire in rear end collisions. 51 people have died in crashes involving jeep grand cherokees and jeep liberties with gas tanks mounted behind the rear axles. today vice president joe biden is expected to announce plans to try and curb gun violence. in the weeks after the deadly shootings at sandy hook

elementary school last december, president obama passed his second in command to come up with a curb for gun violence. immigration agents raided 7-11 stores yesterday, they included those in virginia beach and chesapeake. nine owners are accused of using stolen social security numbers to hire illegal workers. they are then accused of forcing those men and women to give up their pay checks and live in illegal boarding houses. it is 6:54. time to answer the question of the morning. when it comes to impressing women, men are best off doing which of the following? is it a, investing in a nice dinner and flowers? b, buying an expensive car, c, expanding their network? >> facebook friend lynn wrote a, i try to impress the wife and then she asks, okay, what did you do? >> okay. the answer is, of course, a, investing in a nice dinner and some flowers. and this morning go to our facebook page for a chance to enter our blue mash golf course sweepstakes. the at & t national golf

tournament at congressional country club is just a week away, less than a week away. >> and you can win passes to that event and a free round of golf at blue mound golf course with mike hydeck. visit our wusa 9 facebook fan page. click on the button that says enter for a this guy first roamed the earth over 65 million years ago. like our van. yeah. we need to sell it.

hi. need an appraisal? yeah. we do. vo: when selling your car, start with a written offer, no strings attached. carmax. start here.

anncr: competition makes us but kids bring us together. america's beverage companies voluntarily removed... full-calorie soft drinks from schools. and we replaced them... with lower-calorie options, and smaller portion sizes. now, there are ninety-percent fewer beverage calories in... schools nationwide. it's just one of the ways we're helping everyone make more... balanced choices everyday. to learn more, visit deliveringchoices.org.

here's a look at the first alert seven-day forecast. mid-80s today. the big story, though, is the showers and thunderstorms arriving by around noon and extending through that p.m. rush hour. it's a yellow alert day. >>reporter: eastbound central avenue here at the beltway, two separate accidents along the left side. jess. we're going to be back here tomorrow morning, of course. >> "cbs this morning" is is next. and we'll be back with traffic and weather in 25 minutes.

>> see you tomorrow at 4:25. [ male announcer ] the new subway $4 lunch is for everyone. it's for value seekers. for spicy italian lovers. for veggie eaters. for meatball dreamers. for everyone who wants more of what they love. the new $4 lunch. a 6 inch sub and 21 ounce drink. tons to choose from. all day every day. ♪ good morning. it is tuesday, june 18th, 2013. welcome to "cbs this morning." president obama one-on-one. he tells me why nsa spying program critics have it wrong. plus, his new strategy for yearia and deali w