home invasion. a teenager in fairfax county attacked in her sleep. we'll tell you who police are warning to be on the alert for. perdermsiilre blint clonmant perresident bill clinton makes a surprise visit to north korea. the mission that brings him overseas. >> and abandoning the post. the postal service could be closing 1,000 offices across the country. find out whether your branch is on that list. good morning. welcome, everyone. we're glad you're up with us. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm keith garvin in for joe krebs. it is tuesday, august 4th, 2009. we'll have much more on all of our top ur atwere r.no agonannaalonar, near rg, in geo coe' nd'she t andid upper 60s in montgomery county and fairfax

po, ts west mid-60s to pos inou50 tt hemoinuns.ta eastern shore near .at l dteseww bllilotri ter still not tctrifa , ist' fa , it's comfortably d infa the mountains ofhehendndh oa valley. around washington, moderate humidity buth it's steamyro au the bay and eastern shore, southeaster earn virgini as tay day progresses, highs re nacnghiear ng. also air quality will be dinithshg inisg afternoon. code orthopedange for poor air quality. i'll show you the forecast for tomorrow coming up at 5:11. >> all right, tom, thanks. >> thanks, tom. we want to tell you how things are going on the roadways at this early hour. jerry edwards is in the news 4 traffic network. >> good morning, barbara, keith, tom, good morning. good morning, everyone. doing pretty well. a lot of overnight road work, most of which should be wrapping up right now. along the 95 corridor in virginia, dale city up, northbound lanes, everything appears to be moving along nicely under a light volume of traffic so far. elsewhere making the drive in through northeast new york avenue, kenilworth avenue, no

early worries to report. south of town, any overnight road work -- there was some on the wilson bridge approach -- should be wrapped up. barbara and keith, back to you. >> thank you. now to a developing story out o. a quadruple shooting overnight tef otanea dd and three others it happened jusef bore b1:00 a.m. in the 6400 block of livingston road. news 4's megan mcgrath has just arrived on the scene. what can you tell us? >> reporter: i can tell you that this happened at the puerto bellow apartments in the 6400 block of livingston road. police got a phone call a little after 12:30 last night with a report of shots fired in the area. when they arrived on the scene, that's when they found the four victim victims. according to police, there was some kind of argument among a group of people inside the apartment building, apparently in the stairwell area of one of the apartment buildings. shots were fired. four people were struck by bullets. we're told one man was transported to the hospital where he later died of his

injuries. another man is in critical condition and then we're told two women have nonlife-threatening injuries and are being treated. no arrests have been made at this point. no word on motive. but again apparently there was some kind of an argument inside the stairwell of this apartment building just prior to the shooting. now, police are still here on the scene. they have police tape up surrounding the parking lot area. but i should also mention for folks who travel through the area, it is not impacting -- the investigation is not impacting livingston road but we are expecting them to be on the scene a bit longer. one person dead, three others in the hospital. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, megan. police in falls church are warning people who live in ground-level apartments to keep their doors locked. that's after an intruder entered one apartment and penned down a 14-year-old girl. it happened early yesterday morning at an apartment building on peach orchard drive. police say a man somehow got into the apartment and jumped on the young girl who was sleeping on the couch. she screamed and he ran away. >> today we are expecting to

learn more about plans for metro's purple line. it's supposed to connect bethesda and new carrollton ro siugth lvh ngrier. s,hours,ill nounce the next st f worepanhesnounl the next steps for the proposal. we could learn whether the line will consist of rapid bus service or light rail. also, the senate could vote to pump another $2 billion into the cash for clunkers program. the cash could run out of cash. but objection from critics could delay a vote until september. the proam allows car buyers to trade in current cars and get up to $4,500 toward a more fuel-efficient vehicle. the obama administration is lobbying the senate hard. >> to make sure that all senators understand how wildly popular this is, how good it is for the economy, how good it is for the environment. >> senate critics say it is too early to know the environmental impact. they also caution that cash for clunkers is only helping the auto industry, not the economy

as a whole. >> a war of word ss under way after a fire broke out at a fire station in prince george's county. it has to do with the response to yesterday's fire at the boulevard heights fire company. a truck broke out in flames and firefighters called other st but the closest station in capitol igdnhtdis 't have anyone on duty.di it t eoo it took eight minutes for the k next closest station in district heights to respond. now there's a fight about whether staffing changes are to blame. >> the staffing and current redeployment that we're using in prince george's county had no impact whatsoever, zero impact, on this particular incident. >> we were just fortunate this time that it didn't get really out of control and burn the station down. but so we can't have people that work for us that do not follow basic policies for prince gege's county fire ems. >> the public safety director says the station is to blame for canceling an initial alarm detected by an alarm company.

investigators think a mechanical problem sparked the fire. and we are following breaking news out of bangkok. nbc news has learned that bangkok airways airliner has skidded off the runway at an aport and crashed into a control tower. there are no reports of any injuries at this time. we're told there has been heavy rain there on the island in the past few days. we'll bring you more information as it becomes available to us. and more breaking news at this hour. we're following this from iran. reuters is reporting that the three americans being detained in that country are now under interrogation. ir rannan state television is also reporting that the issue is being used as propaganda against the islamic republic. shane bauer, share a shourd and mike fattal were hiking last week when they reportedly strayed over the border in iran. according to iran television reports they were detained after refusing to heed warnings from border guards. >> another developing story we

are following this morning. former president bill clinton has arrived in north korea for a surprise visit. some nor korean lears greeted him at the airport. mr. clinton is expected to push for the release of the two american journalists arrested after entering north korean territory. this is only the second time a former american president has visited north korea. jimmy carter did it last, while clinton was in office. today the full senate is expected to weigh in on sonia sotomayor's nomination to the supreme court. the senators are expected to begin debating today and a final vote is expected on thursday. sotomayor received approval from the senate judiciary committee in july, but her confirmation must be approved by the full senate. if confirmed, sotomayor would become the supreme court's first hispanic and third female justice. time now 5:07, 74 degrees outside. the deadly plague that has people in china on alert.

>> and we have -- an astronaut makes a pricey mistake during a space walk. what happened to the missing tool bag? >> and find out how a man won half a million dollars and lost it in the very same day.

4 here's ndasy'sew bargain blast. gidairyth a birthday domino's giveke. >> between now a acae nd >> between now andus at ug31st,

mi dono'sn on ocal on your bth eefr one free chocolate lava cake. proof of your birthday is required. >> i have an august birthday, but i had no idea domino's made cakes. >> when's your birthday. >> on the 23rd. a few more weeks to shop for me. >> all right. let's find out what today is going to be like, if somebody's celebrating their birthday today. got a good day for it? >> if you like hot and humid weather. going to be typical sort of mid-summer day here in washington. at this hour, good morning as we get going at 5:11 in the morning, weather and traffic on the 1s, 73 in washington, 60s in the suburbs and rural areas. we've got a mostly clear start this morning. a little bit of haze in the air and that nearly full moon setting in the west. as the day progresses, we'll have decreasing air quality, unfortunately. highs reaching the low 90s. we'll have a rather humid. sunset at 8:16. sunrise this morning around 6:11. the evening progresses, we'll

have increasing clouds. a slight chance of a shower tomorrow morning, in the low 70s. tomorrow, a likelihood of afternoon thundershowers, partly sunny and rather humid with highs around 90. a look at thursday, the rest of the week and the weekend. that will be in ten minutes. jerry, good morning. how's the traffic? >> tom, good morning. clear, dry road surfaces this morning. we will start south of town right at the wilson bridge, both the inner loop and outer loop between alexandria and oxon hill look good at this hour. no hangups. elsewhere, let you know that things are looking good on the top side of the beltway, greenbelt, college park to silver spring. drive in on 66 and up on the toll road incident-free thus far. barbara and keith, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. >> 12 minutes after 5:00. the temperature's 73 degrees in washington. the court battlever michael jackson's legacy. why it will take 17 lawyers to settle his estate. >> plus, a sign of the economic times. 1,000 post offices could be closing their doors.

e xt at 5:15 a.m., find out o e talh ncn o st. and we are loongor f orople who make the day special in the early morning hours. kifouso yw nomeone like that, e-mail the sndtow ary a aeaclr close-up picture or video to in rnmogpersonbngcwashisoton.com and we may tell their story on the asr.ai you can seetoday's morning person at 6:55.

time now 5:14. updating our top stories of the kay, police are looking for an intruder who attacked a teenage girl in falls church. it happened early yesterday morning at an apartment building on peach orchard drive. officers say a man got into an apartment and pinned down a 14-year-old girl who was sleeping on the couch. she screamed, and he eventually ran away. it's only happened once before. a former president visiting north korea. bill clinton has arrived in the capital of pyongyang. he's expected to push for the release of two american reporters recently sentenced to 12 years hard labor for entering north korean territory. police in afghanistan say suspected tall babb militants fired seven rockets into the afghan capital of kabul today. one of the rockets hit the home of a senior interior ministry official, which is near the u.s. embassy. no one was killed, but at least one child was injured. and it was a frightening sight. flames lit up the sky in

northwest washington, consuming a home of a well hone washingtonian. this morning we're hearing from the homeowner for the first time. former d.c. school board president peggy cooper calfreceipts owned that home. a month earlier, an art collection was featured in a magazine. with everything gone, she said she hopes to start a new art checkingings but not before she takes care of other business involving her family. >> will i continue to collect art? right now, i have to think about getting my kids some shoes for school. but when my head is calm and when i can, you know, again embrace the beauty of that, i'm sure i will attend to it. >> she did not want to address concerns about the water pressure in the neighborhood. firefighters say a lack of water pressure hindered their ability to put out the flames. police in frederick county are trying to figure out who torched part of a high school

football field. investigators say someone burned the artificial turf at middle town high school, using lighter fluid early yesterday morning. you can see the damage near the 50 yard line. that artificial turf field is brand-new. the damage could cost up to $75,000. >> at training camp today, the redskins are hoping to get one of their newest teammates back on the field. >> lindsay czarniak has more in your sports minute. >> hey ere. good morning. your sports minute on this tuesday morning begins with the redskins. defense and tackle albert haynesworth may try to give it a go in practice today. he was held out of practice on monday after getting an injection for his knee. hayneswoh says the injury is not serious. the defensive tackle has played in all 16 games just once in his career. to baseball, t nationals return home tonight to start a series with the marlins. last night adam dunn and ryan zimmerman each homered and the nationals beat the pittsburgh pirates 8- 4.

the baltimore orioles gam ended with celebration but it was the detroit tigers jumping up and down. theying ergs won 6-5. denny hamlin, whose grandmother died last week, said he would win the race for her. he did just that. he ended a 50-race winless drought to take the pocono 500. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. >> even loose tools can be a problem for astronauts. take a look at a video of a tool bag floating away in space. remember that? it came loose during a space walk last year. nasa says it orbited earth more than 4,000 times but that journey has come to an end. it entered the earth's atmosphere yesterday morning and met a fiery end, burng up in the atmosphere over the pacific ocean. wow.

so, that's what happens. >> okay. yeah. they usually do such a great job. accidents happen even in outer space. >> we'll all remember that moment when she lost that tool bag and it went floating away. the postal service is buckling under the recession right now. everybody seems to be. it could cut 1,000 offices across the country and that includes 13 right here in our area. news 4's kimberly suiters joins us live from one of those branches in silver springs. is that one about to close, kimberly? >> reporter: well, i wouldn't say about to close. it is being scrutinized, along with 3,200ther post offices in our country. 32,000 post offices across the u.s. so this is a look at about 10% of them. let's show you the ones in our area that are under consideration. we have some information here for you regarding that. in the district, columbia heights, ft. davis, ledroit park, naval research laboratory and the navy annex. another billboard to show you, the second list.

northeast, petworth, randall and woodbridge branches. then also the third group in maryland, rockville, bethesda, hyattsville as well as branches -- no, those are the main maryland branches. rockville, bethesda, hyattsville, the one we're standing in front of in sill ser spring. no branches we're aware of in northern virginia being scrutinized. the post office is expecting $7 billion in losses this year, even after a 2-cent stamp hike. congress is looking at changes in rye tiree benefits to save billions of dollars. the general accounting office says everything is on the table or the postal service will be unable to pay its bills. >> well, i would think that would be very unfortunate. i come here about once a week to deliver my product in the mail so i really hope that it does stay hospital. >> i work across the street, and, you know, we do business with them.

we send stuff to our clients and stuff so i think that's real bad. like where are we going to go now? >> reporter: well, don't give up on your local post office yet. you can show how much your post office is needed by actually using it. no changes will go into effect before september 30th. reporting live in silver spring, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. back to you. >> thank you, kimberly. >> thanks, kimberly. time now 5:21, 73 degrees. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> we're going to check in with tom kierein up in storm center 4 for an update on the forecast. tom? >> good morning. the moon, stars and planets putting on a show this morning. we can see venus over the potomac river, and the first glow of predawn, the sunrise is 50 minutes away. temperature now 73 in washington. it's in the upper 60s in prince george's county and fairfax counties, mid-60s in montgomery and loudoun as well as frederick and howard counties. southern maryland, charles, calvert, st. mary's, anne arundel, they are in the upper 60s to near 0 near the bay. farther to the west in prince

william county, fauquier, spotsylvania,t's in the low 60s. off to mostly clear start. a little bit of haze in the air. a few high clouds in and out as the day proper grez. highs reaching the low 90s. code orange for poor air quality this afternoon. tomorrow, up around 90, rather humid and a chance of afternoon thundershowers. thursday, partly cloudy with highs in the 80s. looks like an april press sieve heat wave will come members for the weekend. morning lows in the 70s. jerry, good morning. how's the tuesday traffic? >> tom, good morning to you. good morning, everyone. doing all right. take a live look at the capital beltway around van dorn street, inner loop and outer loop, no worries. travel lanes are open. check your speeds this morning. for those of you headed west along interstate 66 from the roosevelt bridge toward the beltway, 17 minutes. only 13 minutes from the beltway

to centreville. between the 229 interchanges out west, only ten minutes. headed west, you're looking good this morning. back to you. >> okay, jerry, thank you. >> thanks, jerry. 73 degrees outside. a controversial school allowed to expand in fairfax county. coming up we'll tell you why opponents are giving up their fight and why they say lawmakers need to watch out. >> plus, the latest on the fight over michael jackson's legacy. the custody battle is over. we have we'll tell what you big issues lawyers are tending to w. >> here is your liz "on the money" money-saving tip of the day. >> does it pay to refinance your home? money magazine says to find out you'll need to get your credit score fromquifax for $7.95. you'll need a score of 740 and 20% equity to get the best rates. then, shop around for the lowest rates and use a refinancing worksheet to answer that refinancing question. i'm liz crenshaw, "on the

it is official. after several days, katherine jackson has been named the official guardian of michael jackson's three children. the singer named his 79-year-old mother as the official guardian in his will. debbie rowe will get visitation. with the custodial rights taken care of, the judge and as many as 17 lawyers have now begun the monumental task of tending to jackson's estate.

they will reconvene next monday to decide oneveral issues, including a settlement between the estate and concert promoter aeg live which was handling jackson's comeback tour. >> imagine winning half a million dollars and then losing it all in the same day. that's exactly what a florida man says happened to him. louis couldn't stop smiling when he purchased a gold rush scratch-off lottery ticket that ended up being a $500,000 winner. he confirmed it was a big winner and then called lottery officials to find out where to bring it. the 69-year-old says he stopped at a gas station to get directions and put the ticket in his back pocket. after that, the ticket vanished. he hasn't been able to find it anywhere. it's a fortune that came and went in a flash. >> three weeks from now, you look back on this, what do you think you're going to say? >> what am i going to say? i'm still going to curse. i'm still going to curse. >> he suspects he could have been the victim of a pickpocket.

lottery officials say since he didn't sign the ticket, anyone who has it can claim the big prize. i wonder when he called if they told him, you better sign the back of it? >> after this broadcast you and i are going to go looking for that lottery ticket. >> down in florida, do it. >> 5:28. a frightening outbreak in china. coming up we'll tell you how the government is trying to contain an illness that can kill someone in 24 hours. >> also, cash for clunkers running on empty. we'll tell you how the government is trying to refuel the popular program. >> a good samaritan punished? we'll tell you the fate of a man who was ticketed for trying to help

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home invasion. a teenager in frfax county attacked in her sleep. we'll tell whou police are warning to be on the alert. good morning, everyone. welcome to "news 4 today." so glad you're up with us. i'm barbara harrison. it's tuesday, august 4th, 2009. >> i'm keith garvin in for joe krebs. some of the other top stories we're following today. running on fumes. caorsh flusnk cve perro to be too popular. how makers could step in today to save the program. >> abandoning the post. the postal service could be abandoning 1,000 offices across the country. find out whether your branch is on the list. >> i really thought -- >> an iraqi ride.

hear from the passengers on board during an emergency landing after severe turbulence strikes a plane. those stories and more coming up after traffic and weather on the 1s. >> let's talk to meteorologist tom kierein in storm center 4 to get our forecast. tom? >> hi, barbara and keith, weather and traffic on the 1s, good morning to 5:31. our temperatures are pleasant under a clear sky. 73 in washington. it's in the upper 60s in prince george's county. weather watchers checking in from arlington and fairfax county reporting upper 60s. montgomery county mid-60s now. from washington's shaw neighborhood to glendale, herndon and colesville, a little hay haze in the air. these are the dew points. where you see the green air, that's comfortable humidity. air of yellow is rather steamy in southeastern virginia, the lower eastern shore. off to a mostly clear start and highs should reach near 90 today, but unfortunately, the air quality will diminish this afternoon. if you have a heart or respiratory illness, stay inside. hazy sunshine, low 90s. a look at tomorrow in ten minutes. barbara and keith?

>> thank you, tom. >> we turn things over to jerry edwards for a look at how traffic's going on ts tuesday morning. >> hello. good morning once again. we're doing all right so far. keeping our fingers crossed. 270 southbound as you head through rockville moving along nice. no early hangups to report. elsewhere check out northeast traffic looking good, in from the west, 66 and the toll road, no early concerns. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thank you. >> whoa. that's the fate of many of the cars traded in under the cash for clunkers program. business is booming n only at car dealerships but also salvage yards like this one in new jersey. they pay the dealers for the cars, then sell off the scrap metal. and those salvage yard owners will be watching what's happening today on capitol hill. the senate deciding whether to give cash for clunkers some gas. not everyone is in favor of committing $2 billion to keep the program running. brooke hart joins us live with more now. brooke, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the critics here are wary of

what sounds to them like a car lot sales pitch. they're under pressure to extend the cash for clunkers program. a quarter million trade-ins last week, mostly big cars for mostly small cars helped boost car sales in the u.s. in july to their highest level in almost a year. weeks ago who expected car dealers to be saying this? >> chrysler sent us more cars. >> reporter: sales are brisk, dealers and carmakers credit cars for clunkers. its $4,500 rebate offer brought marilyn in. she traded her old '86 van for a new ford escape. she more than doubled her fuel efficiency. >> we got in under the gun. >> reporter: she helped give ford its first sales increase in nearly two years. >> sales really elevated as soon as the program became official a week ago friday. that's what put us over the top. >> reporter: but the popular program is guzzling its cash.

how lawmakers have agreed to top it off with another $2 billion. the white house wants the senate to do the same. >> if it doesn't happenhis week, it's unlikely that we'll make it to the weekend with a program that can continue. >> reporter: skeptics are wary of the rush. >> ran out of money in a week. prompting the house to rush a $2 billion extension before anybody even had time to figure out what happened with the first billion. >> reporter: there are calls to verify that clunkers are scrapped, not resellable, and to tighten fuel efficiency benefits. >> without those things then we're just handing people $4,500 to go out and buy a new car. >> reporter: but bipartisan backers say they're satisfied. they say buyers are getting on average ten miles a gallon better. >> that has sav 61% improvement. >> reporter: a good deal supporters say all around. >> that was brooke hart reporting. we're following breaking news out of bangkok at this hour. nbc news has learned that a

bangkok airways airliner has skidded off the runway at an island airport and crashed into a control tower. thai cable tv reports the pilot died instantly. other injuries includeroken bones. a police officer on the scene says all 68 passengers have been evacuated from the plane. we're told there has been heavy rain in the island over the past few days. we're going to bring you more information as it becomes available. and more breaking news we're following out of iran this morning. state media cobb firmts the three americans being detained in that country are now under interrogation. iranian state television is also reporting that the issue is being used as propaganda against the islamic republic. shane bauer, joshua fattal and sarah shourd were hiking last week when they reportedly strayed over the border in iran. according to iran television reports, they were detained after refusing to heed warnings from border guards. a developing story in north korea, former president clinton

arrived at the capitol of pyongyang this morning. he's expected to lobby for the release of two jailed american reporters arrested and sentenced to 12 years hard labor after crossing the border into that country. some north korean leaders greeted clinton at the airport in pyongyang. it is the only second time a former president has visited north korea. jimmy carter did it last while clinton was in office. >> in neighboring china, the government is working quickly to contain an outbreak of the pneumonic plague. a rural farming town is being diss infected. so far, three people have died. a handful more are sick. doctors say the disease can kill a person within 24 hours if left untreated. it's easily spread through the air. they are keeping a close eye on anyone who's come into contact with the sick. we are following a developing story out of prince george's county, four people were shot overnight in oxon hill and one man has died. it happened before 1:00 a.m. in the 6400 block of livingston road. megan mcgrath just arrived at

the scene. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. investigators are still here on the scene. they're collecting physical evidence and they're also trying to find and interview witnesses. this happened at the portabello apartment complex, that's in the 6400 block of livingston road in oxon hill. just a little bit bv 1:00 in the morning, police say there was an argument inside one of the buildings in the stairwell area. shots were fired. two men and two women were struck by bullets. we're told that all of the victims are adults. now, one man was transported to the hospital where he later died. we're told that a second man is in critical condition. the two women, though, they have nonlife-threatening injuries but are being treated at this time. no arrests have been made. no word on potential motive or how many gunmen were involved in this incident. they're still trying to sort all of that out. no i.d. yet on the victim. keith, back to you. >> okay. megan mcgrath, thank you. >> our time is now 5:38. temperature 73 degrees in washington. hate speed cameras? well, you're not the only one.

we'll show you how vandals targeted the devices in montgomery county and why police say it's no laughing matter. >> he was ticketed for helping a famili family of geese cross the road. we'll tell you how the situation ended in court. (announcer) now skating...jim perdue.

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weather and traffic on the 1s, good morning. now at 5:41, 73 in washington under a mostly clear sky. temperatures in the 60s in the

suburbs and rule areas reported by weather watchers this morning. and we'll have some hazy sunshine around today with diminishing air quality, unfortunately. code orange for poor quality by this afternoon. hazy sunshine, highs into the low 90s. a great beach and pool day. if you have a heart a respiratory illness, stay inside. tomorrow, partly sunny. a cold front coming through will likely trigger afternoon thundershowers. highs near 90. as we get into thursday and the weekend, details on that in ten minutes. jerry, how's the traffic? >> doing pretty well out there. good morning, everyone. the american legion bridge we go. so far, so good. inner loop of the beltway, outer loop between tysons corner and the i-270 spur moving along very nicely. no hangups to report. the trip south of town to the wilson bridge incident-free. southeast, all the major roadways to the an on costs tia, you're looking good. back to you. >> thank you very much, jerry. >> thanks. >> 5:42 is the time right now. 1,000 post offices could soon be closing their doors. coming up, we'll tell you if your local branch is on the list. >> plus, a terrifying ride for

some airline passengers on board a plane and severe turbulence. next we'll hear from one of those who was injured.

our time is now 5:45. updating our top stories of the morning. we'll find out more today about the proposed purple line in maryland. it's supsed to connect n aesewnd ardaes c a nto carrolltonthroh governor will. d governor will discuss the details later this g.mo rn we could learn whether the line could consist of rapid bus service or light rail. the senate votes today on the nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to the supreme court. the democrats call her a moderate, who is restrained in her legal interpretations but some republicans call her an activist who would bring bias to the bench. suspected taliban militants fired seven rockets into the afghan capital of kabul today. one of the rockets hit the house of a senior interior ministry official, which is near the u.s. embassy. no one was killed, but at least

one child was injured. >> some frightening moments for nearly 200 peaks on board a continental airlines jet. the houston-bound flight from brazil hit severe turbulence over the atlantic. some passengers hit the ceiling. more than two dozen were hurt. a handful had to be taken to the hospital after an emergency landing in miami. the airline says the seat belt light was on. many who were hurt say they weren't wearing a seat belt. >> i didn't have my seat belt on. i t my head to roof. i fell down, hit it on the monitor in front of me. >> still photos taken by passengers show some oxygen masks dropped down from the ceiling. there were no storms in the area at the time. >> police in falls church are looking for a suspect in a violent home invasion. it happened early yesterday morning at an apartment building on peach orchard drive. police say a man somehow got into a ground-level apartment and pinned down a 14-year-old

girl. she screamed and he eventually ran away. police are reminding people who live in ground-level apartments to keep their doors and windows locked. e able to h ae to udi academy in expand its campus after much debate. the county board of supervisors approved the school expansion yesterday. opponents aren't happy about that. some view the school as a breeding ground for terrorists. others are concerned the expansion could cause traffic problems. >> i have personally seen three fatalities within the half mile from my home to the school, and that is totally overridden by other people's agenda. >> we're actively going to solicit candidates to run against them and we are going to work to defeat them. >> the islamic saudi academy is currently located on rich mopped highway. it was founded in 1984. >> when was the last time you set foot in a post office or bought a stamp? fewer people are doing it these days and it could force the post

office to close hundreds, even thousands of branches. >> in fact, 14 branches in our region are under the microscope for possible closure. nine in the district, four in suburban maryland and one in fredericksburg. news 4's kimberly suiters joins us live from one of those branches in silver spring. kimberly? >> reporter: good morning, barbara. this kind of surprised me. there are 32,741 branches across the u.s. for the u.s. postal service. they're looking at closing potentially about 1,000, and of those, there are about a pool of 3,200 they're scrutinizing. this branch here in silver spring is among those. this is the list. it's a long list. cities like st. louis take a real hit. 38 branches they're looking at closing there. but let's look at the branches in our area that are being scrutinized, according to the postal service. first of all, in the district, columbia heights, ft. davis,

ledroit park, naval research laboratory and the navy annex. also northeast, petworth, randall and woodbridge branches. in maryland, rockville, bethesda, hyattsville as well as this branch in silver spring. no branches in northern virginia except for fredericksburg, the main post office there. now, the postal service is suffering from $7 billion in losses even after a 2-cent stamp hike. congress is looking at changing rye tire yeah benefits. the post master has been asked to reduce delivery from six days to five. they say everything is on the table for the postal service or they will be unable to pay its bills. >> well, i would think that would be very unfortunate. i come here about once a week to deliver my product in the mail so i really hope that it does stay open. >> i work across the street, d and, you know, we do business with them. we send stuff to our clients and

stuff so i think that's real bad. like where are we going to go now? >> reporter: the closures are a little less than two months away, september 30th is when you could expect to see closed signs on your neighborhood post office. reporting live i'm kimberly suiters. news 4. back to you. >> kimberly, thank you. >> a virginia plan is fighting a ticket for what he says was simply an act o kindness. last month, joe vamosi saw some geese trying to cross fairfax county parkway in reston. he hopped out of his car and allowed them to pass. an officer ticketed vamosi for jaywalking, saying he nearly caused a massive pileup. >> what i saw in my head, trouble ahead, possibility. if those animals walked through the 60-mile-an-hour flying cars. >> in court yesterday, a judge said he'd throw out the ticket provided vamosi stays out of trouble for six months. no more stopping the car to help

geese for -- at least for six months. >> reminds me of the story, make way for ducklings. do you remember that story? >> sure, yeah. >> one of my favorites as a child. what about the weather out there, tom? >> well, children are loving this weather, going to the pools and beaches as you're going to want to do that later on today. it will get uncomfortably hot and humid. as a result, we will have, unfortunately, poor air quality developing by this afternoon. there is the sunrise under way now. sun will be coming up in about 20 minutes. sunrise this morning is at 6:11. at 5:51, there is the potomac river. it's calm this morning. you can see the river looks le a mirror, reflecting that sky. temperature now 73 at reagan national. on radar we don't have any precipitation around the region. it's in the upper 60s in prince george's county. in fairfax, arlington, it's in the upper 60s. montgomery in the mid-60s as is howard county and frederick county. fauquier and loudoun and prince william are in the mid-60s.

weather watchers checking in from southern maryland, calvert, they're reporting temperatures in the upper 60s this morning. and off to our west, weather watchers around the blue ridge, shenandoah valley reporting low and mid-60s. around our neighborhood network, in great falls it's at 66 now. the dew point still a comfortable 63, but remember the dew point's around 70, that's when it's quite humid. it is, the dew point near 70, also matching the temperature on the eastern shore. these are the dew points. it is 100% humidity there at salisbu salisbury. where you see the yellow zone, that's the high humidity from richmond to around williamsburg to virginia beach and the outer banks. it's a steamy morning, as well as the northern neck. weather watchers reporting there. farther to our west, this area of green is comfortable, lower humidity there. out in the mountains. weather watcher in garrett county reporting a cool 54 this morning so a nice, cool start there. off to a clear start. traveling today, shouldn't have any travel problems fro the west coast all the way through the rockies, mbe a little rain in the northern plains.

there could be some flight delays around the great lakes as well as through parts of the midwest from ohio, indiana, down to kentucky and tennessee as well as north central florida and the gulf coast. elsewhere, though, no travel problems. around our region, well, there's a cool front just now coming into the great lakes region. that's triggering some thundershowers there. there's a few clusters of thundershowers rumbling out of indiana into ohio. there's a lot of humidity coming in ahead of this front. this frontill be sweeping through our region here tomrow afternoon and as it does move through, we could get some showers and thundershowers, looks like by wednesday afternoon, looks like those thundershowers will quickly move through. then behind that front we ought to clear out a bit and get some lower humidity returning for thursday. so here's the forecast for thist tuesday. hiha nezyhins by 9:00, near 80 s. noon in the upper 80 it will hover in the upper 80s, low 90hthugro mid-afternoon. that's when we will have our air yital diminishing. es rpiratory nduced r

eid yond reduce then for alon for tonight's gatinas tinaonals park, they're taking sh the marlins. ould be good baseball weather. cmolestlyararnd inn the 80s. thudenlo cin ulop after midnigh tonit.gh we'll see temperatures by dawn owtorrmot. right around 70 degrees. there will be quite a bit of cloudiness around, maybe a shower in the morning. a small chance of at. greater chance of anno aerfton passing thundershower tomorrow. isoterrwhee,arrwtly sunny and highs around 90. it's going to be rather humid, too. ttle lsa humidity around on thursday and friday, too. morning lows upper 60s, afternoon highs mid and upper 80s and partly cloudy both thursday and friday. now the weekend. brace yourself. we haven't had this yet this summer. yikit lnks l ae oppressive heat wave of l things. a ng i several days. in fangct, it may hitr nea 100 degrees on saturday, nd aynd a ndmo. d and upper 90s norea 100 azyazy sunshine and high se day

.tyi those are going to be the days you'll want to just kickback and don't overexert. it's unusual. we haven't had it this summer. looks like the first big heat wave this weekend. >> we got to get a little of that. otherwise you won't be excited about the snow. >> we would have to change the name of the town. >> we look so forward to those days -- to the fall. >> that's right. >> all right, tom, thank you very much. we'll see you in ten minutes. >> we also lk forward to jerry edwards and what he has to say about traffic. how's it looking out there? >> looking good so far. no big hangups, no big deals to report. very good news along interstate 66 on the approach to the capital beltway. looks like traffic is moving along nicely. travel lanes are open. do have one accident in maryland, route 1 at 175. let's check, see how we're doing out on the rails this morning. again, continuing possible delays on the red line from metrorail as the crash investigation continues. other than that, doing okay. e, no delays.

marc rail, also no early delays. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. dozens of new bus stops in the district have been vandalized in recent days. someone is shattering the clear glass panels that frame the bus stops. the damage has been reported in several parts of the city, but most of the affected bus shelters appear to be in northwest washington. to montgomery county now, where someone is vandalizing speed cameras. someone spray painted two cameras in cabin john. police say the cameras are installed at the request of the community and with the approval of a citizen advisory panel made up of residents from across the county. each speeding ticket costs $40. here's one for fairfax county. y there's a job opening for director of public works and environmental services. candidates should have a bachelor's degree in engineering, business administration or a related field. they also need nine years of experience as a manager or supervisor. for more information, visit nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you.

well, men sweeping the women they love off their feet, sort of. it is the annual fe-carrying contest in latvia. 55 couples competed. here's how it works. the men have to carry their wives or girlfriends up a 410-foot hill. all of the women must weigh at least 110 pounds so that no couples have the unfair -- ouch -- unfair advantage. as you can see, there are different strategies involved. it's tiring as well. one man said by the time he finished he couldn't even feel his feet. no word on whether he went home single. the winning couple gets a much deserved r and r. they win a trip to sweden. if it was me, i would say, hon, you felt as light as a feather. i don't want to get in trouble when i get home. >> a series of bizarre burglaries has police on the manhunt. why you might want to think twice before taking a look at this suspect. >> billionaire donald trump is about to be top dog again. >> we're watching weather and traffic on the 1s. stay with us. "news 4 today" continues now at 6:00 a.m. (announcer) create a gourmet meal on a weeknight?

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shots fired. four people gunned down in a prince george's county neighborhood. this morning thenv investigatio under what may have led to the outbreak of violence. >> bumpy road, growing financial problems for a popular government incentive. why the cash for clunkers program could hit a dead end in t. negoatti.at y former president bill clinton is taking his power of persuasion to north korea. good morning, everyone. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. ndnd a a i > k kei garvi sti inor joe krs. istuesy, augus 4th, 2009. take a look. sun on its way up. a beautiful sight. >> looks like a little bit of haze out there right now but not too humid. at least it wasn't when i came in. tom is here to tell us what we can expect from the weather.

>> we had a break from the humidity yesterday. looks like again today. rather humid this afternoon. right now radar not showing any precipitation around the region. a little summer haze in the air. mostly clear skyver theaze. inll have hazy sunshe ugrout the day. sunrise at ug6:12. sunset at 8:16. highs reaching low 90s by ternoon. that's when theli qtyual wil lila be diminishing. f youave a heart or reatiry ailment, stay inside ftth aonisernoat as hhser reach the low 90s by mid-afternoon. a look at the forecast for tonight and tomorrow coming up. >> thanks, tom. >> time to turn things over to jerry edwards for a look at the roadways this morning. good morning. >> good morning. we'll check out new york avenue at north capitol street, no worries. did have an accident on new york avenue outbound at 1st street northeast, that has been removed from the roadway. so both ways lanes are open. elsewhere word of an accident route 1 up at 175, police are dealing with that. wilson bridge approach, you're doing fine. no worries right now at the american legion bridge, with

travel lanes open. barbara and keith, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. thanks. breaking newshtw.nonow. nbc newskko a airne has r ff il pfe oothe tto pr. the pilot ofkilled in the crash. edll in the crash.ersere jure ein injured. d.e 68 people on boa thela pne have been teevuaacd. bangkok airlines i non a cncsrefee hold aews c conference within the next hour. we will bring you more information when it becomes available. and new today, an eruption of gunfire at a prince george's county neighborhood. four people are shot, one person is dead. while police are combing for clues and looking for the shooter. >> officers were called to a scene of the00lo64 bck 6400 blo livingston road in oxon hill just after midnight. megan mcgrath is working the details live from the scene now. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. we got an update from investigators, and we can tell you that police are looking for

a specific individual in connection with this shooting. they say that the person that they are looking for is an acquaintance of the four victims. he was seen running from the area. they are still trying to track that person down, but they believe that person fired the shots in this incident. now, this happened very early this morning at the ptabello apartments here in the 6400 block of livingston road right before 1:00 this morning. police say an argument broke out inside one of the buildings here in the complex, in the stairwell area. that shots were fired. two men and two women, all adults, were struck by the bullets. one male was transported to the hospital. he was later pronounced dead. another male is in critical condition. we're told that the women have nonlife-threatening injuries but are being treated for bullet -- gunshot wounds, rather. no arrests have been made, but again, police have a pretty good idea of who they are looking for. they say that that individual is an acquaintance of the victims who we shot. they say that this is an isolated incident. police don't believe there's any larger threat to the community.

back to you all in the studio, barbara, keith. >> thank you, megan. >> thanks. police in falls church are warning people who live in ground-level apartments to keep their doors and windows locked. that's after an intruder entered an apartment and pinned down a 14-year-old girl. it happened early yesterday morning at an apartment on peach orchard drive. police say the man got into the apartment andup opened the young girl who was sleeping on the couch. she screamed and he ran away. police are not sure if the apartment's doors were locked when the man got inside and pinned down the girl. >> anyone who's on the ground floor to put a safety bar against their sliding glass doors and keep their windows locked. >> keep it locked. we have a bar that comes up. i mean, when you live on the first floor you're kind of open to anything, so i mean, wkeep a bar up, keep the door locked, keep the front doors locked. >> anyone with information about this home invasion is asked to call police. >> police in the district are investigating after dozens of new bus stops were vandalized. someone has been shattering the

clear glass panels that frame the bus shelters. damage has been reported in several parts of the city, but most of the affected bus stops are in northwe washington. if you know anything about the vandali vandalism, the city is urging you to call 311. >> new today, we are expected to learn more about plans to build a purple li through maryland. the new line would connect bethesda and new carrollton through silver spring. today maryland governor martin o'malley is expected to announce the next steps for the proposal. on muang other things, we could find out whether the le would consists. rapid bus service or light rail. >> the senate is deciding whether to keep the cash for clunkers program running. to do it they'll have to invest an extra $2 billion. so far, the white house says the program has accomplished what it set out to do, get old gas guzzlers off the road and boost sales. one company, ford, posted its best numbers in two years, but the money is already gone and if something doesn't happen today, the program could stall soon. >> if it doesn't happen this week, it's unlikely that we'll make it to the weekend with a

program that can continue. >> the vote is no sure thing. some senators oppose giving up $2 billion and not everyone is making money off the program either. charities that rely on old car donations are taking a big hit. >> a developing story overseas, bill clinton is on a mission to free two american journalists. reporter laura ling and euna lee were arrested back in march. clinton is hoping to negotiate with north korean officials to release the two women. they have been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor after crossing the border from china to north korea. another developing story. still no official word on the status of three americans believed held by iran after apparently crossing into the country from iraq. but iranian media reports say the three have been arrested for illegal entry and an investigation is under way. the group was believed to have been hiking along the border between iraqi and iranian kurdish regions last week. >> today, the senate will begin a historic debate on the

nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to the supreme court. sotomayor received approval from the senate judiciary committee in july but now that confirmation must be approved by the full senate. democrats appear unanimous in their support. however, many republicans have branded her an activist judge. if confirmed, sotomayor would become the supreme court's first hispanic and third female justice. >> it is now seven minutes after 6:00, 73 degrees outside. the birthday celebration planned for our nation's leading man. president barack obama. >> plus, the well-known washingtonian speaks out about what she'll do after her home was destroyed by fire. >> and what a judge had to say about that virginia man ticketed for helping a flock of geese cross the road. stay tuned. a sand castle? help me build

sure, pal. let's just find a good spot. [ dramatic music plays ] a big day at the beach with the legendary taste of dunkin' donuts coffee on ice. this looks like a good spot. you kin' do it. america runs on dunkin'. treat yourself today with an authentic caramel swirl iced latte.

here's today's news 4 bargain blast. celebrate ago birthday in august, domino's pizza will give you a free cake. >> between now and august 31st, stop by your local domino's on your birthday to receive one free chocolate lava crunch cake. proof of your wirbirth date is required. keith, you will be heading over there on the 23rd. >> that's right. you remember. i don't know how pepperoni goes with oatmeal and raisins. i didn't know domino's made cake. >> lava cake. that's where you put your fork in, and it all -- chocolate. >> had no idea. domino's, the place for lava cake. >> hey, tom, good morning again. >> are you guys hungry or something? >> we are.

>> pepperoni, cookies, cake. those who are hungry for hot, humid weather will be granted their wish. there is our predawn glow. sun coming up in one minute. sunrise this morning is at 6:12. 6:11, 73 at national airport. you can see that summer haze over the berry farm neighborhood of washington as well as in lan am, annandale and clarksburg. in the 60s in montgomery, fairfax and prince george's counties southern maryland near the bay. also in the low and mid-60s farther to our west and north. hazy sunshine. code orange for poor air quality by this afternoon. if you have a heart or respiratory ailment, stay inside and don't overexert. highs reaching the low 90s by mid-afternoon. good weather for tonights nats/marlins game at nationals park. by dawn, clouds around. slight chance of a shower tomorrow morning but a greater chance of afternoon thundershowers as a cool front sweeps through the region. rather humid. otherwise, partly sunny tomorrow, highs around 90. a look at the rest of the week and the weekend in ten minutes.

how's the tuesday traffic? >> tom, let's head out, take a live look, see how we're doing. so far, so good. there's the capital beltway near the work zone at van dorn street. right, now, smooth sailing. story on the inner loop, no worries between telegraph road and the springfield interchange. elsewhere, along 395 northbound picking up age little volume, getting a few customers across the 14th street bridge. no hang jums from the beltway to downtown. outbound side at 395 off the 14th street headed toward shirlington also moving along nicely. barbara and keyed, back to you. >> thank you very much, jerry. >> it is now 6:12, 73 degrees outside. the home of a well-known washingtonian is destroyed by fire. this morning, peggy cooper cafritz is talking about what she'll do next. >> plus, desperate measures by area post offices faced with red ink. >> reporter: the sun is rising in washington but setting o

mo

time now 6:14. one man is dead and three others hospitalized after an overnight shooting in prince george's county. it happened just before 1:00 a.m. in the 6400 block of livingston road. no one has been arrested. today the senate is expected to vote on the future of cash for clunkers program. the popular government program could run out of cash by theened the week if the senate does not vote to increase funding. under the program, car buyers can get up to $4,500 for trading their cars in for a more fuel-efficient vehi e. former president bill clinton has made a surprise visit to north korea. he's in the capitol of pyongyang this morning. he's expected to push for the release of two american reporters recently sentenced to 12 years hard labor for entering north korean territory. >> there is more fallout concerning the nation's money crisis. the u.s. postal service struggling lately as it loses much of its business to e-mail is saying it is preparing to

take some drastic measures. that includes closing hundreds or even thousands of post offices across the country and possibly cutting back on home delivery. news 4's kimberly suiters joins us live from silver spring with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there are 32,741 u.s. postal service branches in our country. they're looking at a pool of about 3,200 branches, whether they need to close or not. this is one of the branches they're looking at here in silver spring. this is the list. i was counting, looking at different cities. st. louis has close to 38 different branches they're looking at closing. consider that comparing to our area. we're not so bad off. in the washington, d.c., area, they're talking about potentially closing 14 branches, and these are the ones on that list. in the district, columbia heights, ft. davis, ledroit park, naval research laboratory and the navy annex. also northeast, petworth,

randall and wood ridge branches. over in maryland, rockville, by these dah, hyattsville as well as here in silver spring. no branches in the immediate northern virginia area except for fredericksburg. now, the postal service is suffering from a $7 billion loss currently. even after a 2-cent stamp hike. congress is looking at changing the retiree benefits. the post master has asked to reduce service to five days a week delivery. the government accounting office basically says everything has to be on the table or the postal service will be unable to pay its bills. >> well, i would think that would be very unfortunate. i come here about once a week to deliver my product in the mail so i real help hope that it does stay open. >> i work across the street and, you know, we do business with them. we send stuff to our clients and stuff, so i think that's real bad. like where are we going to go now? >> reporter: early this morning i was talking to a manager of a mcdonald's. he said, well, i know i'm broke,

but the post office, too? don't expect to see any closings before september 30th. reporting live in silver spring, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. barbara, back to you. >> you know the holiday season, of course, is their busiest time. it will be interesting to see if they do anything before that. >> reporter: i'm not sure it will be enough. thanks, barbara. >> thank you. >> this morning we are hearing more from the woman whose northwest washington home was destroyed by a devastating fire. former d.c. school board president peggy cooper cafritz owned this home that went up in flames last week. a month earlier, the house and her priceless a collection were featured in oprah's magazine. with everything gone, cafritz sayshe hopes to start a new art collection. >> will i continue to collect art? well, right now, i have to think about getting my kids some shoes for school. but when my head is calm and when i can, you know, again

embrace the butte identify that, i'm sure i will attend to it. >> cafritz did not want to address concerns about the water pressure in the neighborhood. firefighters say a lack of water pressure hindered their ability to put out the flames. the cause of the fire is still under investigation. a fire inside a prince george's county fire station is raising new questions about staffing issues among firefighters. a fire truck caught fire yesterday morning inside the alton street station in capitol heights. only two firefighters were on duty at the station, and it took eight minutes for the other firefighters from another station to arrive and help. by that time, the fire engine had been destroyed. the county's public safety director says he believes missteps by the firefighters, not staffing issues, contributed to the problem. >> there were some frightening moments for nearly 200 passengers on board a continental airlines jet. the houston-bound flight from brazil hit severe turbulence over the atlantic. many passengers were jolted out of their seats. some hit the ceiling. more than two dozen were hurt.

a handful had to be taken to the hospital after an emergency landing in miami. the airline says the seat belt light was on. many who were hurt say they weren't wearing a seat belt. a series of bizarre burglaries has police near philadelphia on a manhunt, but they got a good look at the guy, maybe too good a look. he is a naked burglar, they're calling him, caugh on a security camera running in the buff from an apartment building friday afternoon. police say the intruder walked into an unlocked apartment, stripped off his clothes and stole a laptop computer. minutes later, he burglarized another home. >> does he have his toes painted, too? were those his feet? >> i don't know. >> all right. that's a bizarre one. all right. well, the redskins, turning to sports now, head back out to training camp today. >> lindsay czarniak has more on your sports minute this morning. >> hey there. good morning. your sports minute on this tuesday morning begins with the redskins.

defensive tackle albert haynesworth may try to give it a go in practice today. he was held out of practice on monday after getting an injection for his knee. haynesworth says the injury is not serious. the defensive tackle has played in all 16 games just once in his career. to baseball, the nationals return home tonight to start a series with the marlins. last night adam dunn and ryan zimmerman each homered and the nationals beat the pittsburgh pirates 8-4. the baltimore orioles game ended with celebration, but it was the troit tigers jumping up and down. cleat thomas homered with two outs in the nth to give the tigers a 6-5 victory. nascar washout on sunday forced driver to hit the track on monday at pocono raceway. denny hamlin, whose grandmother died last week, said he would win the race for her. he did just that end. he ended a 50-race winless drought to take the race. that's your sports minute. >> time for traffic and weather

on the 1s. >> let's talk to tom kierein about the weather and what we can expect today. tom? >> we're merging from the earth's shadow. now sun is emerging from the rather thick haze that hangs over the potomac river this morning. there is the live picture from our city camera. 73 in washington. it's in the 60s in the suburbs and rural areas. highs today low 90s. code orange for poor air quality this afternoon. tomorrow, a cool front sweeping through will trigger afternoon thundershowers. a little less humid on thursday and friday, highs in the 80s. a big heat wave coming in for the weekend appears now on tap with highs near 100. saturday, sunday and monday with high humidity. jerry, how's the traffic? >> a live look along i-270, picking up some customers, getting a little bit busy now. the good news is from frederick to our cera here in rockville, just a little bit of volume, no accidents or incidents to worry about this hour. elsewhere, the earlier accident, route 1 up at 175 in jessup has been cleared. out at the wilson bridge, no

worries. new york avenue, rhode island avenue, ken nil worth avenue all doing fine. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> time now 6:22, 73 degrees outside. speed cameras are used to target drivers. now they are becoming the target. >> ticketed for helping geese cross the road. how a judge rules when a virginia man has his day in court. >> a surprise appearance at the michael jackson custody hearing. o'wh who'

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it is official. katherine jackson has been named the permanent guardian of michael jackson's three children. debbie rowe, the biological mother of the two old are children, will get visitation rights. making a surprise visit in court was an attorney representing jackson's dermatologist. according to e online, he expressed his client's concern for the children's welfare. meanwhile, a judge and as many as 17 lawyers have begun the monumental task of attending to the estate. they will reconvene on monday to decide several issues, including a claim by aeg live, who was handling the comeback tour. >> a simple act of kindness, some would say, landed a virginia man in court. last month, jo vamosi was driving down fairfax county

parkway when he spotted 11 geese trying to cross the busy road. he jumped on it of his car to help them but ended up with a jaywalking ticket. >> if you don't protect animals, who going to protect them? >> som of us have our -- have morals that may be at odds with the law. >> in court yesterday, a judge said he would throw out the ticket provided vamosi stays out of trouble for six months. >> all right. well, it is now 6:27, 73 degrees. we're following a developing story overseas. why former president bill clinton made a surprise visit to north korea. >> also, we're live on the scene of an overnot shooting that left four people shot and one of them dead. >> a

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deadly shooting. gunfire erupts in a maryland neighborhood, leaving three people injured and one person dead. >> roadblock. why some members of congress are threatening to scrap the cash for clunkers program. >> good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> and i'm keith garvin. it is tuesday, august 4, 2009. i'm here for joe krebs who we imagine is enjoying his day. we are going to enjoy this day looking at the sun coming up. a beautiful picture there. >> isn't that pretty? meteorologist tom kierein here in the studio to talk about the weather for today. >> yeah, un ip u in summer sky. y th wsumm sky. that was a.ur o tycaci.memra our city ca temhirature 73 in o, pe. ncin m mid-60s in pe ri ge or'sntouy danantiunco.es ti. arlington and fairfax counties in the upper 60s.r rt hefartheto the west in the midrt and low 60s. inand low 60s. in the monow. 5 now. these arehe d tewpo .ints it is steamy. teeel s y helo see theello yw z from richm williamsburg, the northern neck, lliamsburg, the northern neck,r syamrtta n but not

que bas humid around washington. in fact,ry d aorarni f ng derth ofune squsheitin b of o sunsh pouring through the haze. there's some thundershowers way out in the midwest. ose highhose hh clouds in and out from that n o today. highs reachingnhe t low 90s by mid-afternoon. poor air quality as well. if you have a heart or respiratory ailment, stay inside. look at the forecast for tomorrow, that will be coming up in ten minutes. >> thank you. >> time for a look at the roadways. jerry, any takers out there? >> a lot of takers but no big deals to report. that's very good news at this hour. just volume as they say along 395 northbound just above landmark at the lane drop. a little sunshine might slow you down here as you head on up toward shirlington. lanes reported open. headed for downtown, check your speeds on the top side of the beltway from college park to the american legion bridge, 24 minutes. that's just volume. after that, smooth sailing, 7 minutes from the bridge to i-66. another 8 minutes from i-66 down to springfield.

barbara and keith, back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> breaking news right now. nbc news has learned that a bangkok airways airliner has skidded off a runway and crashed into a control tower. it happened at the samui airport. according to news reports, the pilot of the plane was killed in the crash. several other passengers were injured. the 68 people on board the plane have been evacuated. bangkok airlines is expected to hold a news conference within the next hour. we will provide you more information as it becomes available. >> an eruption of gunfire in a prince george's county neighborhood. four people are shot, one person is dead. >> officers were called to the scene of the 6400 block of livingston road in oxon hill just after midnight. megan mcgrath is working the details live from the scene. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. police say they have a pretty good idea of who they are looking for. they say the gunman in ts incident is actually an acquaintance of the four people who were shot inside this

apartment complex in oxon hill. this began to unfold shortly bere 1:00 in the morning. police say there was some kind of an argument here at the portabello apartments, actually inside one of the buildings in the stairwell area. a gun was pulled, shots were fired. four people were struck. one man died at the hospital. another man is said to be in critical condition. two women were also injured, although we're told that those injuries are not life-threatening. now, a man was seen running from the scene after this shooting. again, police believe that this gunman is an acquaintance of the people who were shot. they say that there is no larger threat to the community, that this is an isolated incident. but they are trying to track that person down. anyone with information you're asked to call prince george's county police. back to you. >> thanks, megan. >> thanks. speed cameras are being vandalized in montgomery county. someone spray painted two cameras on sunday night. the damage is so bad the cameras are now useless.

again, a major problem here for the folks in montgomery county. >> they create a dangerous situation. why not have a speed camera there to at least, if nothing else, make the people slow down? >> i think they're a bit frustrating. a way for the government to make money. >> police say the cameras are installed at the request of the community and with the approval of a citizen advisory panel made up of residents from across the county. each speeding ticket costs $40. police in frederick county are trying to figure out who torched part of a football field. investigators say someone burned the artificial turf at middletown high school using lighter fluid early yesterday morning. you can see the damage near the 50 yard line. that artificial turf field is brand-new. damage could cost up to $75,000. >> polic in falls church are warning people who live in ground level apartments to keep their doors and windows locked after a frightening home invasion. it happened early monday morning at an apartment building on peach orchard drive. police say a man somehow got into the ground floor apartment and pinned down a 14-year-old

girl who was asleep on the couch. she screamed and he eventually ran away. anyone with information is asked to call police. >> a developing story overseas. former president bill clinton is in north correspokorea to free american journalists. clinton is hoping to negotiate with north korean officials to release the two women. they were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. another developing story. this morning, iran says authorities are questioning three americans detained four days ago. the three were arrested for illegal entry. the group was believed to have been hiking along the border between iraqi and iranian kurdish regions last week. this morning a possible birthday bash is in the works for president obama. the president turns 48 today. it's his first birthday in office. he will spend part of his day

working. he's having lunch with senators. the white house hasn't said how he'll spend the rest of the day. our time right now is 6:35. the vote is in on a controversial school expansion in fairfax county. >> plus, if you're looking to travel you'll want to hear how you can tweet your way to a cheaper deal. >> and a new study showing teenagers are lacking a certaint r eis thveisli rat k.ttin r eis veat risk.

not a lot of activity. you read the news. and yet, some people need to sell and other people want to buy. this is a moment of challenge and opportunity. fortunately, re/max agents have the experience to help u meet the one and recognize the other. thanks. because the future's counting on us. nobody sells more real estate than re/max.

here's today's news 4 bargain blast. celebrate president obama's 48th birthday with a free lunch from z-burger. they will hand out free tokens for free milkshakes and burgers to its first customers today. >> you can still stop by a free burger add a piece of birthday cake between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. the "today" show is next at the top of the hour. let's go live to meredith vee arp air a for a look at what they're working on. >> former president bill clinton kes a surprise overnight visit to north korea to seek the release of two impris ondz american journalists. we will get the latest. then, why does michael jackson's dermatologist want a say in the custody case for his client's children? we'll ask katherine jackson's

attorney about that in an exclusive interview. also, three women accused of torturing a man after allegedly learng he was romantically involved with each of them. wait until you hear what police say those women did. those stories, plus sandwiches that could be ruining your diet when we get started on a tuesday morning here on "today." back to you, keith. >> we will be watching. thank you. >> we are moving up on 6:41, time for traffic and weather on the 1s. there's tom kierein. good morning. >> good morning. around our region this morning, still not really humid except around the bay and the northern neck and the eastern shore. it's still rather steamy there. but off to a rather pleasant start farther to the west and north with lower humidity in place. from mt. pleasant to upper marlboro, berke and poolsville, temperatures in the upper 60s. low 70s in washington, near 70 near the bay. by 9:00, near 80. by noontime the upper 80s. a hot afrnoon. highs in the low 90s by nid

afternoon. poor air quality this afternoon so reduce your physical activity. sunrise was at 6:12. sunset will be at 8:16. good weather at tonights nationals senior marlins game at nationals park. in the low 70s by dawn tomorrow. a slight chance of a morning shower. then a greater chance of afternoon thundershowers on wednesday. it will be partly sunny and rather humid, too, with highs around 90 degrees. i'll show you the forecast for thursday, friday and the weekend. that will be coming up in ten minutes. now let's check traffic for this tuesday morning. jerry, how's it looking? >> getting reports of an accident on the capital beltway in montgomery county. reported to be on the outer loop in the stretch between river road and american legion bridge which is a pretty significant stretch of roadways. that's where authorities are checking. we will keep our eyes open, let you know if they find anything. there's the inner loop. that's looking okay right now with no hangups. elsewhere, check things out, making the trip in, route 50 coming in from the eastern shore, no worries there. northeast corridor's very quiet. southeast corridor's no worries.

looking good both inner loop and outer loop between alexandria and oxon hill over the wilson bridge at this hour. back to you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> our time is now 6:42. coming up, a warning for parents about their children and vitamin d. >> plus, the end of the road could be in sight for the popular cash for clunkers auto incentive program. next, why some members of congre

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today senate discussions are expected to continue about the $2 billion extension of the popular cash for clunkers rebate program. senate democrats are struggling to win over enough reluctant republicans to approve the program. if funding is not approved, the program could end in the coming days. brooke hart is following the story live from capitol hill. she joins us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. critics say this sounds like a car lot sales pitch. they want to slow down but they're under pressure to extend the program. a quarter million trade-ins last week, mostly big cars for mostly small cars, boosted u.s. car sales in july to their highest level in almost a year. weeks ago, who expected car dealers to be saying this? >> chrysler sent us more cars. >> reporter: sales are brisk,

dealers and carmakers credit cash for clunkers. its $4,500 rebate offer brought marilyn in. she traded her old '86 van for a new ford escape. she more than doubled r fuel efficiency. >> we got in under the gun. >> reporter: she helped give ford its first sales increase in nearly two years. >> sales reay elevated as soon as the program became official a week ago friday. that's what put us over the top. >> reporter: but the popular program is guzzling its cash. house lawmakers have agreed to top it off with another $2 billion. the white house wants the senate to do the same. >> if it doesn't happen this week, it's unlikely that we'll make it to the weekend with a program that can continue. >> reporter: skeptics are wary of the rush. >> ran out of money in a week. prompting the house to rush a $2 billion extension before anybody even had time to figure out what happened with the first billion. >> reporter: there are calls to verify that clunkers are

scrapped, not resellable, and to tighten fuel efficiency benefits. >> without those things then we're just handing people $4,500 to go out and buy a new car. >> reporter: but bipartisan backers say they're satisfied. they say buyers are getting on average ten miles a gallon better. >> woor seeing these tremendous increases in fuel efficiency. >> reporter: a good deal, supporters say, all around. not everyon is cheering, though. charities that rely on used car donations say they're losing from this program. but democrats in charge here see an overall win for main street ahead of their august break. they could push for a vote in the senate as early as today. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. keith and barbara, back to you. >> brooke, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> the islamic saudi academy in fairfax county is celebrating a victory. the county board of supervisors has okayed the school's expansion. it's been a controversial issue. opponents are worried about traffic. others view the school as breeding ground for terrorists.

>> it teaches sharia law. it teaches terrorism. they're raising the next generation of homicide bombers right here in virginia. >> a lot of the charges that were directed at your school were misplaced. >> opponents say they won't give up. the islam cic saudi academy was founded in 1984. >> the pose al service facing budget issues. they have a list of 14 post offices in our area. the agency faces a $7 billion loss this fiscal year. 3,200 post offices nationwide will be scrutinized. nine of those are in the district. the columbia heights, ft. davis, ledroit park, naval research laboratory, navy nex, northeast, petworth, randall and wood ridge branches. also branches in rockville, bethesda, hyattsville and silver spring could be on the chopping block. the fredericksburg main office is also on the list. no closures are expected until

at least october. we are pointing to a lower -- rather, futures are pointing to a lower open on wall street. let's go live to cnbc's courtney reagan with more on today's business headlines. good morning. >> reporter: -- pausing for a baeth after yesterday's strong rally. fueled by automakers, thanks mostly to the cash for clunkers program, a surge in commodity prices and positive reports on manufacturing and construction spending. asian markets were flat overnight. europe is lower so far today, but there is more economic data on tap this morning. personal income and spending figures, something the fed watches very closely for signs of inflation, we'll get those a little bit later as well as pending home sales. the dow jumped 114 points on monday to 9286. the nasdaq rose 30 points to 2008. ford is launching a new model today that may look

familiar. the ford taurus starts rolling off the assembly line in chicago this afternoon. the taurus, which was once the top-selling vehicle in the u.s., was diss continued in 2006. well, ebay's pay pal system did go down worldwide for about an hour on monday afternoon. ebay says it was an internal issue. pay pal is the world's largest online payment system handling about $2,000 in interstate commerce every second. meet the new boss. well, same as the old boss. donald trump has regained control of the atlantic city casinos that bear his name. he beat back rival bids from bond holders to buy trump entertainmenwhic operates the trump marina and other resorts. they did file for bankruptcy for a third time in february. guess you can't trump the donald. >> just when you thought the donald and his hair were down, he's back. thank you. >> reporter: that's right. he's back. >> thank you, courtney.

>> if you're looking for a good deal on an airline ticket you may be able to tweet your way to a big discount. some airlines are now using the online social networking site twitter to announce reduced airfare deals. if you follow jetblue or united on twitter you can get first dibs on ticket sale alerts. the tweets are a knewer way to fill seats. >> we are always looking for jobs 4 you. fairfax county is looking for a director of public works and environmental services. candidates should have a bachelor's degree in engineering, business administration or a related field. you should also have nine years of experience as a manager or supervisor. for more information, visit nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you. >> well, here's a warning about the sun most parents probably never expected to hear. doctors expressing concerns that children aren't getting enough of it. at least not enough vitamin d. the reason they believe, kids are not spending enough time outside these days.

sunshine is a natural source of vitamin d. a new study says seven out of ten children have very low levels. that increases their risk for heart disease, weak bones, even ricketts. researchers say the problem is children have too much to entertain them inside these days. >> four hours a day of using computers or watching tv or playing video games, they were 60% higher risk of having vitamin d deficiency. >> doctors say they are particularly concerned about african-american girls because they aren't getting out enough, and when they are outside, their skin naturally filters out the sunlight. >> too many video games and too many reality tv shows. >> well, yeah. there's a lot to keep people inside. all the games. you play them, don't you? >> from time to time, but i get out and get my sun, yeah. >> basketball. >> yeah. >> a lot of people are wondering about, hey, how's the weather going to go with my outdoor

plans for today? there's a view of the sunrise over the potomac. inwash's washington's temperature nowwa7. on radar we ha no precipitation around the region. we just he osummer haze in the air on aish summer haze in the air on this it's in the mid-60s now in prince george's county. arlington and fairfax counties now in the upper 60s, mid and upper 60s in montgomery county. agent farther west and north in howard county, frederick and loudoun county, temperatures in the mid-60s. weather watchers checking in from southern maryland, anne arundel reporting upper 60s to near 70 there. farther to the west, weather watchers around the blue ridge and the shenandoah valley porting low 60s. damascus is at 65g also matching the dew point. the air is nearly saturated there. as the temperature rises, the dew point will stay about the same so it will feel drier as the day progresses. regional temperatures now, 50s out in the mountains, weather watchers reporting there. now in the upper 60s on the eastern shore. these are the current dew points. where you see the yellow is

where we have steamy humidity. but farther west and north, it's not as humid. we do have a mostly clear sky over the summe he this morning around the region. here's the wider view. a cool front that's just now coming into the great lakes region, may trigger flight delays there if you're traveling. could have flight delays in the upper midwest. clusters of thundershowers rumbling through ohio and indiana will pass to the east. ahead of that, we have the humidity that continues to ild. that will move in here by ler on today and into tomorrow. highs today near 90. poor air quality, ce orthopedic ange. if y h. heart or respiratory tri ailment, stay inside. tonight's game at nationals park, should be mostly clear. clouds around tomorrow morning, near 70. might have a morning shower. g ca eatnchaer of afternoon thundershowers on wednesday with highs near 90. a little less humid on thursday and friday, a bit aenth big hea in for the weekend,hestir f one of the summer. highs near 100 saturday, sunday

and monday with high humidity as well. that's the way it looks. >> thanks, tom. >> we'll see how things look on the roadways. we go to jerry edwards in the traffic network. >> good morning. along i-270 southbound notice right here on the spur it is going to be a bit slow early. the accident that police were looking for, the outer loop between river road and the american legion bridge actually found on the shoulder right at the very end of the 270 spur so the lanes are open but it is drawing some attention. elsewhere headed for downtown, beginning to b down just a bit, 395 to the 14th street bridge right now looks like lanes may be open. watching that van right there. yep, he's moving on. okay. that was close. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. >> our time right now 6:54. one man is dead and three others hospitalized after an overnight shooting in prince gege's county. it happened before 1:00 a.m. in the 6400 block of livingston road. no one has been arrested. the senate could vote today on whether to pump another $2

billion into the cash for clunkers program. the program may run out of cash at the end of the week if the senate doesn't vote to increase funding. the program allows car buyers to trade in current cars and get up to $4,500 toward a more fuel-efficient vehle. and former president bill clinton is in north korea today. he made a surprise visit to the capital of pyongyang. he is expected to push for the release of two american reporters recently sentenced to 12 years hard labor for entering north korean territory. >> today's news 4 morning person is someone who starts every day with a smile. john is a barista at the john garlg ton starbucks in gaithersburg. starbucks patrons say he greets every customer with a smile and remembers most people's drinks within one visit. one of our viewers says john definitely makes every morning a delightful one. if you know someone like john, e-mail their story and a clear, close-up picture or video to morningperson@nbcwashington.com.

>> well, as the saying goes, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. four women from wisconsin are facing serious criminal charges for allegedly tying up a married man and assaulting him after learning he was romantically involved with each of them. police say the crime happened last thursday at a motel in stock bridge, wisconsin. 48-year-old teresa zeniman is accused of luring the man to the hotel where she was joined by three other women and the man's wife. he was punched in the face and his private parts were glued to his stomach. the women are charged with false imprisonment. one is charged with fourth degree sexual assault. >> one woman can be tough enough to deal with, but four? >> they were scorned. >> yes. really scorned. ouch. >> we're going to getrcir scodhd by the weekend, it looks like, but between now and then just some typical summer weather. could get some thunderstorms

tomorrow, but a big heat wave for the weekend coming in. >> all right. >> he wasn't scorned. he was scarred. out at the wilson brimming we're okay. most areas moving along well. enjoy your drive this morning. >> that is "news 4 today." the "today" show is next. >> we'll see you tomorrow morning, 4:55 a.m. have a terrific day. frh...fresh...fresh. really fresh. come into your local giant today for mouthwatering fruits and vegetables, all at prices you can handle. like white seedless grapes just 99 cents a pound. this week only at giant. you know, it's not theri lthat makes a delicious, tender, perfect piece of steak. [ crowd gasps ] it's the steak. enjoy quality selections from the butchers at giant, like porterhouse steak just $4.99 a pound. k w aoneeant lyt.gi

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