visit our website. go to nbcwashington.com and search swine flu. >> and we will be right back with a full hour of news. stay with us. tropical trouble. the first named storm to make landfall in the united states and the threat doesn't stop there. the one-two punch brewing in the atlantic ocean in this so far quiet hurricane season begins to heat up. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs on this monday, the 7th day of august 2009. nice picture out there. the washington skyline all lit up as we begin another workweek. >> and we're going to talk to meteorologist tom kierein now in the studio about this workweek, begiing today what can we expect from the weather? >> a hot day. great day for the beaches and pools. you'll want to stay cool. by this afternoon we'll be soaring into the-9 m-90s.

right now, no precipitation m as we look wase look radar we are ofoo aadf rar we are ef af rtof -freraree start.ino. wagtinup. upper 60s in montgomery, fairfa pnth serou mnanareaylar the bay. on the eastern shore. these are the current dewpots. iney are comfortableth ts. they are comfortable in the low mi and tsd-60s. that's not too bad. out in the mountains, temperature's near 60 this morning. it's in the mid-60s to near 70 on the eastern shore. a weak disturbance is passing to our east, giving us aanew cloud this morning. a few high clouds today. to the mid-90s. nogtoo humid. you'll certainlyunee sdlo bck if you will be out for a lengthb of time and tomorrow more of the same. then more humid, chance of some showers and thundershowers with highs near 90 wednesday and thursday. frid aurnd satday loo sngki kind of wet,too, but cooler. highs in the 80s. drying out saturday night into sunday. that's the way it looks this morning. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. >> all right. thank you very much tom. >> let's go to jerry edwards and the news 4 traffic network. jerry? >> hello there. good morning. happy monday.

as we get going we'll start over along the 95 corridor, very quiet so far from dumfries to the capital beltway. haven't had too much in the way of overnight road work here so that is good news. elsewhere, pop over and take a peek here. headed out to the wilson bridge we're moving along pretty well. getting initial reports of an accident, car spun out outer loop between george avenuend connecticut avenue. fire department's going to go up there and take a look, see what they can see. out at the bay bridge, eastbound and westbound doing okay. drive south along interstate 270, there had been some construction through germantown. that should be wrapping up. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> thanks very much. well, the atlantic hurricane season started slowly but it picked up speed this weekend. one, two, three named storms. ana and bill threatening to become hurricanes in the atlantic. then there is claudette which seemed to come out of nowhere over the weekend. just hours ago, tropical storm

claudette became the first to hit the united states this year. it made landfall, cing ashore on the florida panhandle. claudette has kicked up the surf and caused some minor flooding. experts say the last thing people should do is to underestimate the storms because it's been a slow season. they point out that hurricane andrew, a devastating storm to hit florida, didn't form until this day back in 1992. >> we're just now getting into the time frame where we, on average, see our first storm reach hurricane intensity. >> as for claudette, the storm's already weakening over land. the winds topped out at 50 miles an hour. forecasters predict it will dump between 3 and 6 inches of rain. stay with news 4 and nbcwhington.com for the very latest on the tnbpical storms in nte laatic. just visit our website and chseeather. >> the search continues t s. morning for the person who walked up to a crowded bus stop in northeast washington and opened fire. it happened near the minnesota

avenue metro station on saturday. investigators say at least one gunman opened fire and sho seven people. many of the people standing at the bus stop had just come from a go-go party a few blocks away. all of the victims are expected to recover. >> well, there could be finally some movement in the health care reform debate today. president obama and the white house are signaling he could be willing to give some ground on oncontroversial aspect of reform that he's pushed for months. brooke hart now joins us from capitol hill with more on what all this means. brooke, good morning. >> reporter: it could mean a big bargaining chip in order to get a reform measure passed. president obama himself now is playing down the need for a government-run insurance option. as he took in old faithful and the grand canyon with his family, president obama appeared newly willing to bridge the nation's divide on health care reform. could he drop the controversial government insurance option? >> that is not the essential

element. >> reporter: this was president obama saturday in colorado. >> the public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform. this is just one sliver of it. >> reporter: the president promoted the so-called public plan as cost competition to insurers, but it's gallon vannized opponents of his reform push. >> this isn't about republicans or democrats. >> reporter: critics complain private insurers would go bust. >> the public plan is an uneven playing field. it will destabilize private insurance. >> reporter: leading senate democrats say the public plan fight's over already. >> the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the united states senate for the public option. there never have been. so, to continue to chase that rabbit, i think, is just a wasted effort. >> reporter: north dakota's kent conrad promotes a member-run company open system instead. would that win gop votes? >> we ought to look at it. i think it's a far cry from the original proposals.

>> reporter: the price could be democrats' votes. west virginia's john rockefeller calls the plan a must. backers see it as a long-term answer for the uninsured. 8,000 people are lining up for free, donated care at e los angeles forum until tomorrow. presidentbama wants health care agreement here next month. today he turns his attention to the nation's veterans, thanking them at a gathering in arizona. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. joe, back to you. >> thanks very mu. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> authorities in afghanistan are beefing up security ahead of this week's presidential election. voters will head to the polls on thursday. the country' confidence has been shaken by a series of recent attacks so afghan troops are patrolling the skies using american helicopters. the u.s. and nato have contributed troops to help protect voting sites, particularly where there is a taliban presence. militants have warned afghans not to vote and have threatened to attack the polls. >> we are connected to your

commute. today we have a heads-up. driving through tysons corner you will notice major traffic changes for the next several weeks. tracee wilkins joins us live on details of a new detour you may have to talk. good morning. reporter: good morning, joe. if you're heading from the beltway onto 123, some major changes coming your way for the preparation. the outer loop o tp the n3 route te12 n3th towa m weardnill be cd the next 4 5 the xt te ouopr lo outeop exitor b efe exit before ur usual exit, get o .5 45-b. sesro ,road, exit t te r23ou 1x3 rt mh nordtoea mcln or-a19 19-a ty..sons ns drivers already on t holl ored noa access road who normallety yg heon to t outer 1thor n 1 nthte iona9 or19-b to oufw, yse mis now, if youat, there are de tefithni,oi

ong g b tedefiniteoily signs to tl ylyou y whereou need closure willhe rowlosure will them to actually build piers to prepare for hot lanes and to make sure folks can exit those hot lanes from west park drive onto the beltway. this will be going on for the next 45 days and there are going to be signs to tell you which way to go so look out for those. please slow down whenever you're in a construction area. tracee wilkins, live this morning in tysons. back to you in the studio. >> thanks very much. another midair collision, this time involving two fighter jets. >> plus, a city mayor hospalized after being attacked with a metal pipe. >> and the deep cutsoming to

well, good morning.

sorry. don't hear you. now i do. thank you. now 73 in washington and now in the upper 60s to near 70 in the suburbs. here's a look at what's been going on around our region. just a few high clouds this morning. don't have any problems here. out in the tropics we do. this is hurricane bill. it is the first hurricane of the season. you see an eye is already forming there. bill has winds of 75 with gusts to 92. it's continuing on a track west/northwest here r the next few days. will remain probably a weak to moderate hurricane as it heads, looks like, north of the leeward islands. and then maybe heading toward bermuda, which is right here by the time we get toward the end of the week. looks like it may be somewhere in here so we'll have to keep an eye on it by the end of the week. bill will be approaching our region. for the rest of the day we'll have afternoon highs reaching the mid-90s. a hot day. as well as tomorrow. near 90 wednesday and thursday with a chance of thundershowers. jerry, good morning. how's our traffic at this hour? >> good morning to you. good morning, everyone. top side of the capital beltway,

we told you authorities were looking for an accident on the outer loop between georgia and connecticut. we've yet to find it. police are looking for it. from 29 on the outer loop headed to points west looks like we're doing okay. hopeful sign there. inner loop, no worries. elsewhere along i-270 southbound from frederick to rockville, any overnight road work should be wrapped up. southeast corridors and northeast looking good. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thank you, jerry. our time now is 5:13, 73 degrees. a city mayor answers a woman's cry for help and ends up in the hospital. >> plus, myspace, twitter and facebook are all the rage nowadays. how these popular social networking sites could help you nd alaobn ithn h

here 15 look at some of the stories we are following this morning. tropical storm claudette, the first named storm of 2009 to make landfall in the united states, it came ashore early this morning on the florida panhandle. and we have just learned that we have our first hurricane of the season. hurricane bill has now formed in the atlantic ocean. crews fighting wildfires in california have lifted an evacuation for santa cruz -- a santa cruz mountain town. hot and dry winds have fanned nearly a dozen fires across the state since wednesday. at least ten square miles have been been burned. and police in the district

are still looking for suspects after seven people were shot at a bus stop in northeast washington. this happened near the minnesota avenue metro station on saturday. investigators say at least one gunman walked up and opened fire on a large crowd. all seven victims are expected to recover. barbara? >> well, times are tough but news 4's helping to find jobs for you. it's no secret a lot of companies are going high tech, so do you know how to tweet, blog, create your own website? as kimberly suiters shows us, they are skills that could help you jump start your job search. >> reporter: if you read her first morning tweet, you knew amy web had arrived before we did. >> in many ways that a newsroom would cover breaking news events, we follow the changes in technology and the trends and we provide people with hands-on learning immediately. >> reporter: that's how fast technology is evolving. blink at your own peril. >> everybody who is trying to get digital skills to either further or save, as the case has become, their careers.

>> reporter: for 129 bucks month, web's media consulting company helps you keep pace with webinars, seminars on topics like how to blog, setting up a exploiting twitter, which a ceo recently confessed to her -- >> i was sitting in a meeting with my managers, and everybody decided that we needed to have a twitter trat describe. i shook my head yes, we need to have a twitter strategy. i have no idea what twitter is. >> reporter: web tweet as lot. everything from where she's working to what she's drinking. >> hankering for some coffee, dark roast, noncommercial. treat social media as if you're on a constant first date so never -- definitely let it know what you like to eat. not all the time. >> reporter: be honest but not too honest. you are your own brand, manager of your digital identity. it could be the reason you land or lose your next job, according to an h.r. director web knows. >> one of their current resume requirements is listing how many twitter followers that you have.

>> reporter: tha might seem silly, but not to these students back in the classroom to master it . no neyitrkcialwoeting is changing business communications. this perp follows come kals t cable for convenience. >> comcast is down convenient. where's my internet? and they'll respond, say, oh, yeah, there's a service outage in your area. >> reporter: julie parsons tweets on the job. >> we're a member-driven organization so anywhere wer we can create meaningful conversation with our members is valuable to us. >> reporter: if you're still a twitter-phone, web says you don't have to use it. >> you better sure understand what twitter is, why it works and why we're all talking about it. >> reporter: kimberly suiters, news 4. >> for more information on how to take a course and even get 35% off your next webina go to nbcwashington.com d search jobs 4 you. joe? >> well, major budget cuts are coming to maryland and this

morning top officials are warning they could affect police departments, local colleges and area roadways. maryland governor martin o'malley broke the news to officials at a conference this weekend. the cuts are expected to add up to about $250 million in an effort to close a huge budget gap. state officials have not offered specific details about the cuts but they say they will be painful. >> it's where you may see cuts to community colleges, to local health departments, aid for law enforcement. these are tough times not unique to maryland. it's part of this national recession that we're in, a global recession. >> the governor's expected to make his recommendations for cuts to the state board of public works later this month. >> a 14-year-old from college park didn't spend his summer vacation like most teens. instead, he walked the entire way from florida back to washington, d.c. david ashby wanted to draw attention to the nation's

1.5 million homeless children so he decided to walk 1,100 miles from orlando to the white house. on the way, he stopped at dozens of shelters, slept on a roadside and met with hundreds of children. his journey finally came to an end yesterday. it took him about a month and a half to do it. ashby is hopg to meet with president obama, but there's no word yet from the white house. >> an amazing effort by a young man. >> really. >> congratulations. tiger woods, well, it turns out is in human. for the fst time in his entire career, he lost a major when leading after 54 holes. hakem dermish has your sports minute. >> good morning, everyone. your sports minute begins with a monumental upset at the pga championship. tiger woods had been 14-0 with a lead in major tournaments but yesterday he didn't play like vin tablg tiger. so the 110th golfer in the world, y.e. yang, upset tiger woods winning the pga championship by three strokes. yang is the first asian-born

player to win a major. josh willingham had a stellar game. he hit his 19th home run of the ye to help the nats rally to a 5-4 victory. the nats have won three in a row. orioles hosting the angels, extra innings in baltimore. and it was all l.a. the angels scored nine runs in the 13th inning en route to a 17-8 victory. in nascar, jimmie johnson led 165 laps at michigan but with three to go he ran out of fuel and had to pit. johnson finished 33rd. brian vickers was the beneficiary. it's the second victory of his career. that's your sports minute. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. >> we will try. >> we're going to do our best. let's get a check on our traffic and weather right now, see if we'll have a nice day. >> some breaking news in the weather department. the first hurricane of the season. meteorologist tom kierein is in storm center 4 to tell us what that is and where it is right now. good morning. >> as of 5:00 this moing, bill now a hurricane. was a tropical storm yesterday, and there it is.

it's over 2,000 miles away from washington. here's washington on the map just to give you an idea. way out here in the atlantic. these are the latest statistics. winds of 75 with gusts to 92. bill continuing on a westerly track here, and over the next couple of days will continue that way heading up toward bermuda perhaps by the end of the week. for us, hot weather here for today today and tomorrow. mid-90s. could get some showers and thunderstorms wednesday, thursday, friday and saturday, but sunday drying out. cooler, too, friday into the weekend. how's the traffic? wo 39 northboun no worries.bo light volume of traffic headed for downtown. check your speeds quickly. on the capital beltway, not bad at all from springfield to 66 to the american legion bridge to college park, all is well. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks very much, jerry. 5:23, 73 degrees. a popular computer program used by just about everyone could soon be a thing of the past. >> ps, a fiery and tragic end when an air show rehearsal goes terribly wrong. >> then, a city mayor trying to

lend a helping hand is attacked with a lead pipe.

two russian fhter jets collided in midair. the pilots were practicing maneuvers for the country's largest air show. a russian air force spokesman saysll three pilots involved did ect. two survived. the third died, though. one of the jets crashed into some vacation homes. five people on the ground were injured, none -- rather, one of them seriously. the pilots were members of t elite flying group known as the russian knights. >> the mayor of milwaukee is still in the hospital this morning after a man attacked him with a pipe. police say it happened as mayor tom barrett left the state fair saturday night. that's when he heard a woman screaming for help. police say it wa a domestic dispute. they say barrett was hit on the head with a metal pipe as he called 911.

the 20-year-old suspect ran away, but was later arrested. the mayor is recovering from head and hand injuries this morning. >> our time is 5:27, 73 degrees. a local teacher accused of sexually assaulting a teenage student. >> also breaking news in the tropics. the first named hurricane has formed and is churning out there in the atlantic this morning. >> then we're connected to your commute with a major traffic detour and what you'll need to know to navigate your way around

breaking news. the first hurricane of the season has formed and is churning in the atlantic. this as tropical storm claudette oalandll off the coast of florida. >> changing lanes. the major shift for a major commuter artery and how it will affect the morning rush hour. >> doggy dilemma. the serious health concern in fairfax county that could be putting man's best friend at risk.

good morning, everyone, and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs on this monday. it is the 17th day of august 2009. let's take a look outside. we can see the spotlights on the capitol dome here in the nation's capital. 5:32 is our time, 73 degrees. nice day right now. >> let's talk to tom kierein about what we can expect with all that going on down there in the tropics. what are we looking like here? any rain? >> no, not today or tomorrow. the big story for us is going to be big heat building by later on this afternoon. we'll have our temperatures reaching near mid-90s. look at hurricane bill out here. you can see an eye is beginning to form there. here's the atlantic seaboard. here's washington. it's over 2,000 miles away from us. these are the latest statistics. sustained winds at 75 with gusts over 90. first hurricane of the season. looks like bill will take a westerly track, remain probably

a weak hurricane next couple of days, then become a moderate hurricane as it passes just north of the leeward islands by wednesday. and into thursday and friday taking a turn a bit toward the north. here's bermuda. may be affecting bermuda by the end of the week, by saturday or sunday, by the first part of next week along our atlantic seaboard. for today and tomorrow the big story is heat. lots of sun, highs mid-90s. more humid wednesday and ursday. highs reaching near 90, maybe some passing thunderstorms. look at the weekend in ten minutes. that's the way it looks around our region. let's check traffic. how's it looking? >> good morning, everyone. head out and give you a sampl g sampling. oxon hill picking up volume on the inner loop as you come down to 295 from 210 toward 295 en route to the wilson bridge span. right now as you c see all lanes are open. good news there. elsewhere take a look and let you know route 50 both directions at the bay bridge, no worries. i-95 between walt more and washington looking good. 270 no early hang-ups.

barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you very much, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. >> we're entering the busiest part of hurricane season and the tropics are starting to look like an assembly line out there. in hwithin days of each other. hurricane bill and tropical deession ana are both swirling in the atlantic. there's tropical storm claudette in the gulf right now. claudette became the first named storm of the season to come ashore while you were sleeping. claudette made landfall in florida, in the panhandle there. kristen dahlgren has more from panama city. >> reporter: claudette came ashore on florida's panhandle with lashing winds. >> we had 55, 60, 65-mile-an-hour gusts. >> reporter: and pounding surf, while to the south near ft. myers a tornado spawned by the system ripped into more than 20 homes, all hallmarks of a tropical system. but for many, a bit of a surprise. claudette seemed to come out of

nowhere, growing quickly to a tropical storm on the same weekend the season's first two storms, ana and bill, also formed. >> why has it been such a slow start? a couple of reasons. high pressure over the gulf of mexico, nothing has formed there. then very few storms coming off the coast of africa. >> reporter: as well as el nino or warm water in the pacific which tends to suppress storms in the atlantic. but that comes with a warning. 1992's hurricane andrew formed during an el nino year, and was the first named storm of that season on august 17th. >> we're just now getng into the time frame where we, on average, see our first storm reach hurricane intensity. >> reporter: indeed, bill is now strengthening in the atlantic, and while what's left of ana struggles, the three systems that formed this weekend have those in the strike zones starting to pay attention. relieved that this season's first landfalling storm wasn't stronger. >> it passed us by. >> reporter: but well aware

hurricane season still has 14 weeks to go. and claudette'sowerful surf may have proved deadly here in panama city. a man was pulled from the water yesterday. it's still unclear exactly what he died from and if the storm had a direct fect, but either way, officials are warning people to stay out of the water. even this morning, they say it could still be very dangerous. in panama city, florida, kristen dahlgren, nbc news. >> as we've been telling you, there e two other named storms out there in the atlantic, including the first 2009 hurricane. hurricane bill could become a major storm by mid-week. >> well, firefighters in california would love to see rain in their forecast. they're doing their best to get the upper hand on some 11 wildfires there. dry, windy conditions have helped spread the flames, spread them yesterday. however, crews are finally getting the upper hand on the biggest fire out there, the wildfire burning near santa cruz scorched ten square les. it is now 50% contained. firefighters evacuated hundreds

of homes over the weekend, and those people are now being allowed to return. >> we are connected to your commute, and this morning we have a traffic alert for drivers in tysons corner. yoofll notice theajor mff ticra aj chrgegefos the next few wes.fo news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live in tysons corner with details on a new detour you may need to take. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. just hearing this is a little frightening for commuters, but, yes, some exits off of the beltway will be closed for the next 45 days. this is all about preparation for hot lanes overe her off e12 exit er outoo lp out loop route 123 norerth route 123 north tdowarcl ea mn c illlose forwi days. lrip drsv. and then get45 and then get onto the dulles access road. then take exit 19-b to route 23 north, toward mclean. or exit 19-a toward tysons. drivers already on the dulles

access road who normally get onto the outer loop to route 123 north should instead continue east on the access road and exit onto 19-a or 19-b to 123. these ramp closures are all about again preparations for the hot lanes. they will be building construction bridge piers for m wtlanes park ark p this is going to be oris is going to be going onoiof the next 45 days. there will be signs to help direct you in which direction you need to go. i'm tracee wilkins, live this morning in tysons corner. back to you in the studio. >> thank you. >> a high school teacher from maryland is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student at his alexandria home. mark jackson is an rotc instructor at charles herbert flowers high school in prince george's county. according to court documents, jackson befriended the female student in september of 2008 when she was in one of his classes. the papers indicate the girl's mother suspected something was going on and placed a recorded telephone call to jackson from a

police station. that's when he allegedly admitted to having sex with the girl one time. >> why a computer program used by just about everyone could soon be a thing of the past. >> and the american man released from a myanmar prison thanks to the efforts of one local u.s. senator. >> plus, a race for governor is months away and a new poll shows one candidate holding the lead. time right now 5:39.

good morning. it's mostly clear this morning, just a few clouds drifting off to our east. temperature now 73 in washington, near 70 prince george's county, upper 60s montgomery and fairfax county. cooler farther to our west. around the bay temperatures in the low and mid-70s. a few high clouds passing over our region. meanwhile, big headline, hurricane bill. first atlantic hurricane of the season, over 2,000 miles away from the atlantic seaboard. continuing on a westerly track and has winds of about 75 miles

an hour with gusts to 92. keep an eye on it for you. then sunshine, heat today and tomorrow. highs mid-90s. getting more humid wednesday and thursday, chance of storms. could get some showers and storms friday and saturday as well and drying out on sunday. i'll show you some photos from my hike up hawksville mountain over the weekend. that's coming up iten minutes. now let's check traffic. >> start on the beltway north of town, the outer loop from college park to silver spring, lanes are open. inner loop, same story, a bit of volume. no worries at the wilson bridge at this hour. looking good. southeast very quiet. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. >> it is 5:43 now. more fallout in montgomery county from the food stand flap. >> plus, the flu outbreak spreading across parts of our region. a warning for pet owners that could put man's best friend at risk.

tropical storm claudette has

roared ashore along the florida panhandle. it'sow the first named storm to hit the u.s. mainland this year. meteorologist tom kierein says claudette could bring three to six inches of rain in florida. meanwhile, within the past hour, tropical storm bill turned into the first hurricane of the season. a major health reform compromise could be in the works. the white house appears ready to abandon the idea of a government-run insurance option. the administration could satisfy republicans by embracing health insurance cooperatives instead. drivers are finding anoer way to get around tysons corner this morning. the southbound beltway exit for chain bridge road is closed. for the next six weeks, crews will be recoiguring the ramp and work on providing hot lanes access to that area? >> the fall flu season is approaching but this year the concern is not just about us humans. it's also about man's best friend. news i spreading fast about a dog flu outbreak that shut down a local animal shelter.

news 4's darcy spencer has more. >> that's it. good boy. >> reporter: at the mason district dog park in annandale, there are lots of animals playing and getting some exercise. >> go. >> reporter: but what's on the minds of owners is dog flu, an outbreak of the illness has caused a dog section of the fairfax animal shelter to close. >> i think it's a good thing, if it's something that's goingn right now it's important they take the right safety precautions. >> we're a little concerned. i started thinking whether i should bring the dog to the dog park or not. maybe it's not good. but decided the dogs needed energy so they needed to get that energy out. >> reporter: caninelu is not deadly and cannot be spread to humans but it can cause dogs to become severely ill. >> come up to the dog park all the time, and i throw the ball, they get different balls. so, i -- i just want to make sure that they're -- if there's a vaccination, then i'll get the vaccination for the dog.

>> it is a concern but not really. he loves it here, so it outweighs any concern we have for him. >> reporter: the shelter has confirmed two cases of dog flu, another 25 are showing symptoms. >> each day, the number was compounded to the point that we had to take our main kenl and make it the isolation kennel. >> reporter: one local animal clinic already had a dog die fromhe canine flu. veterinarians say infected dogs don't always show symptoms. >> you know, you can have doggy walking down the street and sniff a fire hydrant or something. another dog can come by and sniff the same one, and he can get the virus. >> reporter: darcy spencer, "news 4 today." >> public health officials in our area are making swine flu preparations for the upcoming school year, and they include adnistering vaccinations to students. school administrators say they're waiting on guidance from the centers for disease control and prevention. they want to know when the vaccines will be available, where they should be distributed and who should get them. federal health officials are expected to begin shipments in

mid-october. d.c. health officials say they have not finalized vaccination plans, but they say school-aged children are among theriority groups to receive them. >> well, the race for virginia governor is less than three months away, and a new poll shows the republican bob mcdonnell is holding a lead. "the washington post" poll of more than 1,000 voters found that 47% would vote for mcdonnell, a former state attorney general. 40% said they would back the democrat creigh deeds. he is a former state senator. >> the american man released from a myanmar prison thanks to the efforts of virginia senat jim webb is in the hospital this morning. john yettaw's family says he is undergoing medical tests in thailand. they say he is not in good health. the missouri man had been jailed for visiting aung sun suu kyi. senator webb has also moved on to thailand. he addressed those who

criticized his trip to myanmar, saying it's time to think about relations differently with the country. >> the question came up, is the united states and the e.u., should they put more sanctions on myanmar after the situation with awning sun suu kyi's conviction and my view is that we don't have any more sanctions to put on myanmar. think we need a new approach. >> webb will push for a different approach when he returns home. he says he plans to meat with secretary of state hillary clinton. >> more fallout from the fruit stand flap. people are pushing for a law to allow fruit vendors to operate on state road sides just like seafood stands. this stems from a battle to protect a popular fruit established in bethesda. it stood on river road for ten years, but now state highway officials want it to close, calling it a traffic safety hazard. >> if you're looking for some good, inexpensive fun you may want to head out to the

montgomery county fair. today is kids day. that means everyone under 12 will get in for free until 4:00 p.m. thousands of people have already visited the fair since it began on friday. organizers say it's a great way for families to enjoy a day out without spending a lot of cash. >> well, we are trying to cut back. this is a fabulous opportunity to spend some time with the family at a reasonable cost. >> we come out here, spend 20 bucks the whole day. animals, rides, free crafts, all that great stuff. >> the price of admission is $8 for adults and $3 for children. rides, games and food do cost extra. the fair ends this saturday. >> i do understand out in gaithersburg this weekend there some some sights of funnel cake clouds. >> i can imagine. that's joe's favorite thing. do you go out to the fair for the funnel cakes? >> take my pet, the corn dog. >> there you go. >> he's corny. we know that. >> the montgomery county fair is one of t best county fairs around. enjoy. it's on now. it will be hot at the fair

today. a pleasant start. live picture from our city camera. sunrise is coming up here in about 25 minutes. it's now 73 in washington. partly cloudyo mostly clear at is hour. as we tak aud look at radar, no iopratouitarhen nd tec region. it's near 70 in prince george's county, fairfax, arlington and montgomery counties in the upper 60s now. a little bit cooler to our west, in the low and mid-60s there weather watchers reporting. these are the current dew points. not too bad. dew points are in the 60s all around the region so not sweltering humidity. temperatures on the eastern shore away from the waters in the mid-60s. out in the mountains just in the low 60s right now. we have just a few of these high clouds drifting over our region now. if you're traveling today, could be some storms from claudette causing flight delays in florida, across the south ld from storms along a front, too, through the mississippi valley, into the upper midwest. could cause flight delays there. the big headline is here's hurricane bill, the first hurricane of the season. ana now just a depression. claudette is a tropical storm. likely it will be difficuminisd.

became a hurricane 5:00 this morning. still about 2,600 miles away from ocean city so it's way off to our west and north. when claudette came ashore, it produced quite a bit of rain. came ashore near ft. walton beach, florida. about three or four hours ago. torrential rains came in. that's the main threat now from claudette. here's the view of the satellite view of claudette. just now coming ashore. the peak winds are at 40 miles our.an here's hawksville mountain up on skyline drive. i hiked up there on saturday. here's the trail head. it was a terrific hike and it was a wonderful day. looking north along blue ridge. stoney man mntnnai i the distance. 4,000 feet up on hawksville, there's old rag looking east. for us today, lots of sunshine, highs reaching the mid-90s. we'll have not too much humidity around, but really hot day. it's bowing to be hot again

tomorrow, highs in the mid-90s, morning lows near 70. lots of sun again. edneun block if you will be out for a length of time at the beaches or pools. you'll get a quick burn withoutd otection. on wednesday and thursday, turning more humid, more clouds around. lolis ulkehe bkek of claudette's rains will pass to our west. we may have some thundsshheerow as the front comes through on wednesday, maybe a morning sher or afternoon thundersho wrshitit highs near 0 as well as on thursday. mostly cloudy both of those days. it does look like it will be raarhs werm w and humid and ap ompe sais rerhn around on friday and into friday night and again on saturday, too. remperatur sbehod leuloo c with highs in the mid-80s. then sunday we will get the sunshine back. ik l wlle'ik dry out, too, with lower humidity. morning lows 60s, afternoon highs into the 80s. and that's the way it looks. boy, the hurricane season sure was calm and serene for most of the summer. but we are getting to e peak season, peak hurricane time is

actually early september. so, this is sort of catching up. but hurricane bill, first hurricane of the season, peak winds up to 92 miles an hour. we'll keep an eye on it. >> is it tracking toward ocean city? >> it could be east of there as the main concern now. it will be east for bermuda, that's the main concern. >> remember when they used to name hurricanes aft women's names? >> that's right. that's right. now they alternate male and female. thank you, tom. let's head out to the roads. >> hello there. head out, give you a sampling. so far the capital beltway, here's the outer loop, here's the inner loop right at university boulevard. both directions uneventful. a little bit of volume, that's about it. there is a potential issue to deal with. b-w parkway southbound just north of route 450, an accident. police are on the scene dealing with that. if you're going to come in on the parkway, be careful. coming in on route 50 on the parkway, is fine. no early concerns through

southeast. wilson bridge, looking good. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. it's a court ruling that could change the way people do business around the world. a u.s. district court has given microsoft less than 60 days to stop selling copies of word. it's the fallout from a copy right infringement lawsuit. a small canadian company filed suit in 2007 and microsoft lost. now the court has ordered the software giant to pay $290 million and to stop selling word altogether. hundreds of millions of people use the program. microsoft says it will appeal. >> now to the money crisis and a look at how foreign markets are doing today. asian stocks plummeted today. the nikkei lost 3.1%. the hang seng lost 3.62%. and china's shanghai lost 5.79%. this plummeting was because of weak consumer confidence in the united states. it's the same data that sent

american stocks falling on friday. the dow's at 9321 after falling 76 points. the nasdaq is at 1985 after falling 24 points. futures are also down today. >>

> tlcapi tropical outrone.ermto one storm just made landfall and two more storms are lurking behind it, one of them a hurricane. tropical storm claudette is right now pounding the florida panhandle with wind and rain as the hurricane season is beginning to heat up. >> roadblock. a major commuter route in northern virginia is shut down. why you'll need to change your route to work for a while. good morning,everyone. thanks for waking up with us this morning for "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. this monday morning, the 17th

day of august, 2009. let's take a look outside. beautiful sky here in nation's capital. a little pink and red and blue from the sun just about ready to come up. good morning. welcome back to "news 4 today." >> and we're going to find out what kind of weather we can expect for this monday. let's go to tom kierein now. he's here in studio with us. >> good morning. the big weather headline is we have our first hurricane of the atlantic hurricane season 2009. it is hurricane bill. here it is. over the last couple of hours it has really gained strength and actually gained much more organization. you actually see an eye right there. so bill is the big storm. this is tropical depression ana. really diminishing. tropical storm claudette along the gulf coast. here is washington. here are the latest statistics. bill's winds are sustained at 75 so it's just a minimal hurricane with gusts to 90 miles an hour. over 2,500 miles southeast of ocean city. it will continue on a westerly track here today and tomorrow. maybe become a moderate hurricane by wednesday.

into thursday and friday it will begin to approach bermuda, which is right here. now it could be anywhere in this yellow zone. so, as you get farther out, of course, the accuracy not as good. however, if it's on the left side of this track, here's the outer banks, here's ocean city, here's washington. we'll certainly have to keep an eye on it by saturday. it does appear that it will begin to approach -- it does look like bermuda. our forecast is calling for claudette to pass just to our west. that will continue on that track and maybe bring some showers and heavy rains through the central appalachians farther to our st . sunshine today, highs mid-90s as rrmo.rrwto then hot and humid on wednesday with a chance of showers and thundershowers as well as on thursday with highs near 90. barbara and joe? >> thanks very much. >> thank you, tom. let's find out about the traffic out there. getting started on a monday morning. still kind of vacation season on the roads, jerry? >> yes, for the most part it is. one issue. first head over and show you

looking pretty good so far. stwait 66, haymarket, manassas all the way to the exits for the capital beltway, no problems to report. the overnight road work west on 66 at 123 has been cleared. now, the accident i alluded to inbound b-w parkway just north of the 450 interchange. police or the scene dealing with that. going to be a littl bit of a delay both inbound as well as rubber necking delay outbound on the b-w parkway. 50 may be a better alternate at thhankpoou, jerry. . av>>ou, nkrry. hwey.e b we have binregak nerews prince george's cof a deadly th ab.rk pagegerk. po heayceouy tnd f t mpowo men on ou wsndou wnndsn 00th b89 d e 8900 blockande r i en d iavmos tg.rn heic vaterie later died atstill now.on contihtig now. th a e wvefti haig we ve right r heading to llng to a h e scenend we'll bring you more details when we learn them.

>> well, as tropical storm claudette makes landfall in the gulf, hurricane bill has formed in the atlantic this morning. then there's tropical depression ana which still is posing a threat, although that's diminishing quite a bit, as tom indicated. the three storms did form quickly, a remind thaer the busiest part of the hurricane season has now arrived. tropical storm claudette is the first to make landfall in the united states this year. that storm formed quickly, but packed a bit of a punch. it dumped a lot of rain and brought some strong winds when it came onshore in the florida panhandle overnight. it also spawned one tornado which damaged about 20 homes. so far, the conditions have helped slow the formation -- the conditions have helped slow the formation of storms, but experts say that could change quickly. >> we're just now getting into the time frame where we, on average, see our first storm reach hurricane intensity. >> claudette may be to blame for

one death as well. a man died after being pulled from the surf in panama city yesterday. people there, especially surfers, are being told to stay out of the water. >> all of the rain in the panhandle of florida, wow, california could use some of that right now. firefighters are doing their best out there to contain 11 wildfires. dry, windy conditions helped spread flames yestday. however, crews are finally getting the upper hand on the biggest fire, the wildfire burning near santa cruz scorched ten square miles. it's now 50% contained. firefighters evacuated hundreds of homes over the weekend. those people are now being allowed to return. >> well, president obama may finally be able to make some headway with his health care reform plan, but it is going to require a major compromise for him. the white house, though, has signaled that it is ready to abandon the idea of a government-run insurance option. that's something the president has pushed for for months. instead, the administration could embrace health insurance cooperatives. the move may be enough to

satisfy republicans who have been skeptical of the plan all along. >> we're connected to your commute. today a hea-u styn tysons corner. there's a new ramp closur exit 46-b and it will last the next few weeks. tracee wilkins joins us live in tysons corner with more on how you can get around it. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. yes, a lane is going to be closed coming off the beltway. take a look over here. you can see what the construction i ok.from on high. these preparation are all about preparations for h.o.t. lanes. 46-b to 123 north toward mclean ll close nhe45 tset ex days.t outer loop drivers etoref b e your usual exit,et g off at 45 g. get on the dulles access ro.ad take exit -b19 to route 123 rtarno19 towd mrtclean. or exi19-aowartysonsd now, for drivers who are already on the dulles access road who normally get onto the outer loop to 123 north you should instead

continue east on the access road exit onto 19-a or 19-b to 123. this ramp closure will allow the construction of bridge piersor h.o.t. lanes accessed from west park drive to the beltway. there are going to be signs telling you about all of this but know this is going to be what happens for at least the next 45 days so be prepared for that as you commute this morning. some big changes, but just think about how great it's going to be when you have that h.o.t. lane up and running for you. i'm tracee wilkins live this morning in tysons corner. back to you. >> thank you, tracee. >> thanks. >> our time right now seven minutes after 6:00. a redskins player responds to reports that he is dating jessica simpson. michael vick gives his first one-on-one interview since being released from prison. what made him cry while he was behind bars and how he says he is a changed man. >> a big city mayor is in the hospital this morning. he was the victim of a pip.

ar b t.inasbls i this ga gato blast. to is iedaun monday at & & rrjejerrs. rry'je asre jerry's on sundaes. stop by and cool off. >> sounds like something we could use today. it will be a hot one out there. tom kierein, good morning again. >> sunrise under way. the sky is streaked with pink and gold and turquoise. live view from our city camera. now 72 in washington. not too humid. temperatures upper 60s in montgomery and fairfax and prince george's counties and arlington county. cooler west and north. a few of the high clouds around giving us the spectacular sunrise. hurricane bill, first hurricane of the atlantic season. and tropical depression ana is going to remain a depression. tropical storm claudette came ashore about six hours ago. bill tracking off to the west

now sustained winds at 75, gusts to 92. keep an eye on it over the next few days. looks like it will miss the islands. anday ant d y toho tomorrow.d a bit cooler friday into the weekend. how's the traffic? >> good morning, everyone. picking up volume this morning but that's about it all the interstates in uneventful, just the way we like it. check your speeds this morning. everything seems to be moving along pretty well. making the drive on the b-w parkway, had an earlier accident inside the beltway at 450. police are still on the scene. barbara and joe, backo you. >> thanks very much. >> thank you. virginia senator jim webb helped secure the release of an american prisoner overseas. how social networking sites are changing the way we do business and how you can u

here's a look at the morning's top stories. tropical storm claudette makes landfall on the florida panhandle. the storm is dumping rain and whipping up winds. it also spawned a tornado which dabblinged about 20 homes. claudette is now weakening. two other storms are gaining strength, including hurricane bill in the atlantic. a major health reform compromise could be in the works. the white house appears ready to abandon the idea of a government-run insurance option. the administration may be able to satisfy republicans by embracing health insurance cooperatives instead. drivers are finding another way to get around tysons corner this morning. the southbound beltway exit for chain bridge road is closed. for the next six weeks, crews will be reconfiguring the ramp and working on providing h.o.t. lane access in that area. >> well, it's no secret a lot of companies are going high tech. so, do you know how to tweet, to blog, how about logon to facebook? if you want to get a job or even keep the one you have, you might

want to consider learning how to do all those things right now. news 4's kimberly suiters explains why in this jobs 4 you report. >> reporter: if you read her first morning tweet, you knew amy web had arrived before we did. >> in many ways that a newsroom would cover breaking news events, we follow the changes in technology and the trends and we provide people with hands-on learning immediately. >> reporter: that's how fast technology is evolving. blink at your own peril. >> everybody who is trying to get digital skills to either further or save, as the case has become, their careers. >> reporter: for 129 bucks a month, web's media consulting company helps you keep pace with webinars, seminars otopics like how to blog, setting up a home office, exploiting twitter, which a ceo recently confessed to her -- >> i was sitting in a meeting with my managers, and everybody decided that we needed to have a twitter strategy. i shook my head yes, we need to have a twitter strategy. i have no idea what twitter is.

>> reporter: web tweets a lot. everything from where she's working to what she's drinking. >> hankering for some coffee, dark roast, noncommercial. you should always treat social media as if you're on a constant first date. so never -- level let it know what you want to eat. >> reporter: be honest but not too honest. you are your own brand, manager of your digital identity. it could be the reason you land or lose your next job, according to an h.r. director web knows. >> one of their current resume requirements is listing how many twitter followers that you have. >> reporter: that might seem silly, but not to these students back in the classroom to master it. they know social networking is changing business communications. ted follows comcast cable for convenience. >> comcast is down again. where's my internet? and th'll respond, say, oh, yeah, there's a service outage in your area. >> reporter: julie parsons tweets on the job. >> we're a member-driven

organization so anywhere where we can create meaningful conversation with our members is very valuable to us. >> reporter: if you're still a twitter-phobe, web says you don't have to use it. >> you better sure understand at twitter is, why it works and why we're all talking about it. >> reporter: kimberly suiters, news 4. >> for more information with how to take a course and get 35% off your next webinar, go to nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you. barbara? >> for the first time, michael vick talks about his time in prison. in a cbs news interview that aired last night on "60 minutes," the former football star at mitd he derailed his own life. >> the first day i walked into prison and they slammed that door, i knew, you know, the magnitude of the decisions that i made. and the poor judgment and what i, you know, allowed to happen to the animals.

and, you know, it's nowhere explaining, you know, the hurt and guilt that i felt. that was the reason i cried so many nights. that put it all into perspectiv >> vick signed with the eagles last week. he'll make less than $2 million this season. before his conviction, he had a $135 million contract. and last night's interview he said he deserved to lose that money for what he did. >> well, tiger woods, it turns out, is indeed human. for the first time his entire career he lost a major tournament when leading after 54 holes. hakem dermish has your sports minute. >> good morning, everyone. your sports minute begins with a monumental upset at the pga championship. tiger woods had been 14-0 with a lead in major tournaments but yesterday he didn't play like vintage tige so the 110th golfer in the world, y.e. yang, upset tiger woods winning the pga championship by three strokes. yang is the first asian-born

player to win a major. in baseball, nats on the road in cincinnati. josh willing hamg had a stellar game. he hit his 19th home run of the year and made a heads-up play in the eighth inning to help the nats rally to a 5-4 victory. the nats have won three in a row. orioles hosting the angels, extra innings in baltimore. and it was all l.a. the angels scored nine runs in the 13th inning en route to a 17-8 victory. in nascar, jimmie johnson led 165 laps at michigan but with three to go he ran out of fuel and had to pit. johnson finished 33rd. brian vickers was the beneficiary. winning for the first time in three years, it's just the second victory of his career. that's your sports minute. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. >> well, time's running out nor the nationals. they have until the end of this day, monday, to sign top pick stephen strasburg. the team has reportedly offered him a record contract deal. tonight at midnight is the signing deadline for draft picks. if the two sides cannot come to some agreement, he could go back

to the draft next year. >> we are moving up on 6:21. time for traffic and weather on the 1s, and there's tom kierein. >> hey, tom. >> hi. the eastern sky is painted with color this morning. sunrise is just about three minutes away. it's a comfortable 72 degrees in washington. that's a live picture from our city camera. got a crescent moon up there as well in the southeastern sky. in the upper 60s in prince george's, montgomery county, in the mid-60s. around the bay, weather watchers reporting temperatures there in the upper 60s, low 70s. the big headline, hurricane bill, the first of the atlantic season. what's left of tropical depression ana will become a remnant low and track to the north and west. tropical storm claudette came ashore overnight. bill has sustained winds of 75, gusts to 92. it's still over 2,500 miles northeast of ocean city. may become a moderat hurricane in the next couple of days. looks like it's going to miss the islands here, though, and

head up toward bermuda which is right here. it could be anywhere in this yellow zone. if it's on the southern side of this track unfortunately it may be threatening our atlantic seaboard here perhaps by the end of this coming weekend. sunny and hot today and tomorrow. highs mid-90s. not too humid. sweltering humidity, though, for wednesday and thursday. could get some showers and thundershowers with highs near 90. maybe some more rain off and on friday into saturday. highs in the 80s. drying out sunday. jerry, good morning. how's the monday commute? >> tom, good morning to you. let's head through northeast, see how we're doing. new york avenue inbound headed for the 3rd street tunnel, everything's looking good so far this morning. nothing toorry w about. new york avenue and kenilworth avenue. b-w parkway, police are still wrapping up the accident as you make the trip in. checking your speeds this morning, 270 from i-70 to clarksburg, 16 minutes. from clarksburg to germantown, 2 minutes. beginning to fill in a bit between route 27 and the capital beltway, another 21 minutes.

all with no accidents, broken down cars reported. back to you. >> okay. thank you. from the cowboys to the redskins, the player rumored to be dating jessica simpson. and a big city mayor the victim of a pipe attack.or

well, florida washington redskins fans are hoping to see jessica simpson at fedex field they're in for another disappointing season. turns out the sger is not dating backup quarterback colt brennan. rumors were swirling that he sent simpson his jersey and tickets to regular season opener against the giants but brennan says those stories simply are not true. simpson, of course, recently broke up with cowboys quarterback tony romo. >> police in walk have arrested

a man for allegedly attacking the mayor of milwaukee with a pipe. police it happened as mayor tom barrett left the state fair last night. that's when he heard a woman screaming for help. barrett was hit on the head with a metal pipe as he called 911. the 20-year-old suspect ran away after the attack but police arrested him later. the mayor is recovering at the hospital from head and hand injuries. >> our time is now 6:27, 72 degrees. the dog flu is spreading in our area. what you can do to protect your pet and how virginia senator jim webb secured the release of a political prisoner. >> hurricane season got off to a slow start, but has now kicked into high gear. one storm made landfall this mornin ihuo a anrrice.ne jt turned into a hurricane.

triple threat. a number of storms formed over the weekend. one just made landfall over florida and two more storms, including one hurricane, are lurking out there in the atlantic. good morning and welcome

back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. we're glad you're with us this morning, this monday, august 17th, 2009. look at the sun. it's up from our vantage out in tysons corner. tom here to tell us what we can expect. going to warm things up quite a bit today, hmm? >> yeah, you can just tell. it's not too humid thankfullys we start off this morning. there's the other view of our sunrise from our city camera overlooking the potomac river. sun came up at 6:24. it's coming up later and later now t i let72 a pleasant 72 as we look at the. p weask at the otherhen tatures n inarlington, fairfax a montgomery cnt 60 mid-60s now.mi t mid-60s farthe. in the mountains, a cool morning there, degrees. just a few of tse high clouds coming through as a weak tu disturbance is passing to our east. the big story is the big heat.

ought to hit the mid-90s to a. f humidity. clear and warm tonigh 80s through the evening. near 70 tomorrow morning. up into the mid0s as l we get into tuesday and lots of sun again tomorrow. looks like it will be warm and humid on wednesday and thursday, maybe some showers and thundershowers with highs near 90. could get seor me showern oor friday and saturday. mostly cloudy and humid through that period but turning cooler, maybe drying out on sunday. that's the way it looks. a look at the tropics cing up. >> tom, thank you. >> from the tropics to the traffic. let's go to jerry edwards now and the news 4 traffic network. jerry? >> hello there. we'll start over a i-66 near the interchange at nutley street. had a report of an accident, quickly moved to the shoulder but it won't be long. start seeing the inevitable sunshine delays so bear that in mind. does appear from what we can see, 66 from manassas all the way in, all lanes are open. elsewhere, wrapping up the accident on the b-w parkway inbound at 450, the backup now extends back to greenbelt road so that's getting a little more nasty here as time marches on. route 50 through cheverly is

fine. no worries at the wilson bridge in either direction. back to you. >> okay, thank you, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. let's take a look now tt a thre named storms, including our rst hurricane this year. tt'sdeatvitheats l ing l claudette that's leaving its mark. e thto s meto landfall early fri he t floda panhandle. >> right now kristen cal green is live in panama ty, florida, where some heavy rain has fallen already this morning overnight. good morning, kristen. >> reporter: good morning, barbara and joe. yeah, you picked a quiet time to come to me. not too windy right now. the rain has stopped but that's not how it's been all morning. we've gotten already 2 1/2 inches of rain. that's really the signature of this storm. not so much the wind, but the rain. some places could get upwards of six inches. but really the biggest effect of claudette is going to be reminding us how quickly a hurricane season can change. claudette came ashore on

florida's panhandle with lashing winds. >> we had 55, 60, 65-mile-an-hour gusts. >> reporter: and pounding surf, while to the sth near ft. myers a tornado spawned by the system ripped into more than 20 homes, all hallmarks of a tropical system. but for many, a bit of surprise. claudette seemed to come out of nowhere, growing quickly to a tropical storm on the same weekend the season's first two storms, ana and bill, also formed. >> why has it been such a slow start? a couple of reasons. high pressure over the gulf of mexico, nothing has formed there. then very few storms coming off the coast of africa. >> reporter: as well as el nino or warm water in the pacific which tends to suppress storms in the atlantic. but that comes with a warning. 1992's hurricane andrew formed during an el nino year and was the first named storm of that season on august 17th. >> we're just now getting into the time frame where we, on average, see our first storm reach hurricane intensity.

>> reporter: indeed, bill is now strengthening in the atlantic, and whilwhat's left of ana struggles, the three systems that formed this weekend have those in the strike zones starting to pay attention, relieved that this season's first landfalling storm wasn't stronger. >> it passed us by. >> reporter: but well aware hurricane season still has4 weeks to go. and claudette may have claimed its first life. a man pulled out of the water in panama city beach. it's still unclear exactly what he died from, but officials are warning everybody to stay out of the water day, saying it could still be very dangerous out there. that's the latest, live in panama city, i'm kristen dahlgren. back to you. >> thank you. >> thanks. >> for more on where these storms are headed let's go to meteorologist tom kierein. good morning, tom. >> good morning. here's a look at the tropics. here's the atlantic seaboard. here's washington. the big story, this is hurricane bill, the first hurricane of the atlantic season. bill became a hurricane just a

couple of hours ago. you can see it's well formed now, and it even has an eye beginning to form. remnants of tropical depression ana southeast of puerto ri, remain a remnant low. what's left of tropical storm claudette is just now coming ashore. so the big story is bill. it has winds of 75 with gusts to 92. these are the latest coordinates. it's over 2500 miles southeast of ocean city. it's going to continue on a west/northwesterly track at about 20 miles an hour. moving quickly, but it may slow down a bit as it gets to the north of puerto rico and the do minimum cane republic and haiti over the next few days. it could track anywhere in this yellow zone. here is bermuda. may be near bermuda by the end of this week. if it's on theeft side of the track and it could be, it may begin to threaten our atlantic seaboard and the outer banks perhaps by the weekend. so we'll certainly keep you posted on that. what's left of tropical storm claudette, it came ashore about

five, six hours ago near ft. walton beach florida, in the panhandle there. spreading lots of rain now farther to the north. looks like claudette will continue on this northerly track and then turn a bit northeast and pass well west of us. however, as this midwestern front comes our way, it could bring a little bit of that tropical shower activity in here on wednesd and thursday. barbara and joe? >> thank you, tom. >> thanks very much, tom.wi ces eopre'rgcounty police cee on t st n'bi i in sliheayceouy twond f m tneno scehe tou fnd two men on the ground wh abst wounds in the 8900 block of rhode island avenue this morning. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from the scene with more now. megan? >> reporter: well, barbara, police say that this was some sort of a domestic dispute that ended in a stabbing. two men were stabbed. one of the victims has died at an area hospital. i'll step out of the way here and you can see the scene behind me here. we are at the 7-eleven at the intersection of rhode island avenue and greenbelt road. this is where the two victims were found. they came here in a car, stumbled out of the car, we're

told by police, and fell to the ground. police were called to the scene and things went from there. apparently, though, this all began a little bit before 4:00 this morning at a home that's near this 7-eleven. there was some sort of a domestic dispute. it took a violent turn. two men were stabbed. they got into a car, a sedan. they made their way here to this location, this 7-eleven. again, that's where they got out of the car. one of the men fell to the pavement. police were called. both of them were transported to area hospitals, and one of them was pronounced dead at the hospital. so an ongoing investigation here. they are continuing to collect evidence here on this scene, but one person is dead. we're told the other person who was injured looks like they're going to make it. back to you, barbara. >> thank you, megan. >> the american man released from myanmar prison thanks to the efforts of virginia senator jim webb is in the hospital this morning. john yettaw's family says he's undergoing medical tests in thailand. they say he is not in good health. the missouri man had been jailed

for visiting aung sun suu kyi, a woman under house arrest for supporting democracy. senator webb has also moved on to thailand. he addressed those who criticized his trip to myanmar saying it is time to think differently about diplomatic relations with the antidemocratic country. >> the question came up, is the united states and the e.u., should they put more sanctions on myanmar after the situation with aung sun suu kyi's conviction? and my view is that we don't have anymore sanctions to put on myanmar. i think we need a new approach. >> and webb will push for a different approach when he returns home. he says he plans to meet with secretary of state hillary clinton. >> parents, listen up. one restaurant will announce today that kids' meals will be free for the next month. and a major commuter route in northern virginia shut do. why you'll need to change your route to work for a while. >> and why one local teenager spent his summers wal walking fo florida to the white house.ki

as we look at this view from our city camera, we can see the sunrise. 72 in washington. 60s farther to our west and north. for today it's going to be hot with sunshine, highs reaching the mid-90s. and more of the same tomorrow. not too humid today or tomorrow, but quite humid on wednesday and

thursday there's a greater chance of maybe a passing shower or thundershower but only about 30% otherwise. partly sunny both of those days. then friday and saturday looks like an increased chance of showers, maybe a little thunder, highs in the 80s and remaining rather humid. then drying out on sunday. a look at the tropics and the latest with mu hurricane bill. that will be in ten minutes. now, jerry, how's the traffic? >> head over to the american legion bridge where i have good news four. both the inner loop and outer loop now moving along pretty well under a fairly light volume of traffic. that is good news, between tysons corner and the i-270 spur, nothing to worry about right now. lanes are open. elsewhere headed for downtown we're beginning to load up just a bit now. 395 northbound to the inbound 14th treat bridges but all lanes available for you. joe, back to you. >> jerry, thanks very much. the white house appears ready to drop a major part of president obama's health care reform plan. and a major traffic alert this morning. .hy it will be difficult to exit the beltway for thousan ds of drivers.

>> ommute anctod gin ars u getting used tgong cnha t .ysonsrn erco th rn na n ramp clo exit exit 46ne wew. fksee wsne weeksewne news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live in tysons corner with more on how to get around that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. let me show you live what we're talking about here. if you take a look at that exit, you can see they have a closed sign on it. that's the exit that folks used to take from the beltway, 495 south onto 123. come around this way and you can see the new ramp that they want you to take to get onto 123 from 495.

now, in order to get on this ramp you're going to have to exit a little earlier. this is all about changes for th h.o.t. lanes. all in preparatior atth . th rom the outer lp46o t route 123 nthd tarowea mcln will be closedor m f the next 4a r .teouys d outer loop driversalxi. itex uural .it of t ge ogehenof. on the road.cc road. then 1919-b toou r rotete 123 northow tard mclean. orou tan c exit at 19-a towdan tysons s dr erivalready on the dulles access rd oorwh nyerllma get onto the outer lpooll to 123 noh should instead continue east on eth access road to exit on 19- or 19-b to 123. this ramp closure will allow the construction of bridge piers for h.o.t. lanes access from west park drive to the beltway. you're going to see signs exaining all of this, especially for drivers who are on the beltwa of course, you know if you miss your exit, don't back up. go ahead up to the next exit and

turn around that way, come back down. but hopefully the signs will help you to avoid any confusion as they continue their work to prepare h.o.t. lanes in this area. folks have had a lot of patience with construction. you're going to have to have a little bit more as they continue this process. i'm tracee wilkins, live this morning in tysons corner. back to you. >> going to have to have a whole lot more patience. thanks very much. >> it's time to start preparing for the fall flu sean but it's not just people being affected. an outbreak of dog flu has caused a section of the fairfax animal shelter to close. two dogs have confirmed cases, while 25 others are showing symptoms. canine flu is not deadly and cannot be spread to humans, but it can cause dogs to become severely ill. if your pet a shows signs of feeling ill, health experts advise you to take it to your veterinarian. >> well, there can finally be a breakthrough in the debate over health care reforp. the white house is signaling it may be ready to a bandana

controversial provision of its plan. brooke hart reports from capitol hill. >> you have no -- >> we'll have more on that health care debate as we go through the y. the consumer -- the co-op that the president is -- looked like he might be willing to support will be -- fleshed out later on in the day. right now we go back to barbara. >> well, it's shaping up to be another rough day on wall street. courtney reagan joins us live with more on that. >> reporter: good morning. futures are sharply lower this morning on wall street. that dark cloud that kind of overshadowed us on friday is still lingering today. a report showing a surprise drop in consumer sentiment is quite worrying investors that americans aren't ready to open up their wallets and spend just yet. and that could derail the

economic recovery as consumer spending does account for about 2/3 of gdp. asian markets fell overnight and europe is also in the red at this hour. we'll get economic reports on wholesale inflation and housing this week. home improvement chain lowe's reports earning before the opening bell sounds today. the dow fell 76 points on friday. the nasdaq lost 23 points to 1985. well, i hop says kids eat free. the restaurant chain will announce that kids eat free for the next month. restauranters pulling out all the promotional stops to bring in customers. the national restaurant associatn says chains posted 22 straight months of declines in traffic. got to be tough for those servers. i know. i was one in colonlege and it i hard when that traffic gets so low. back to you. >> i can imagine. thank you. we'll see you a little bit later today. >> a 14-year-old from college park did not spend his summer vacation like most teenagers.

instead, he walked the entire way from florida to d.c. david ashby wanted to draw attention to the nation's 1.5 million homeless children so he decided to walk 1,100 miles from orlando to the white house. along the way, he stopped at dozens of shelters, slept on a roadside and met with hundreds of children. his journey finally came to an end yesterday. it took him about a month and a half to make that trek. ashby is hoping to meet with president obama but there's no word yet from the white house. >> child labor laws. they can't work, they can't help themselves. most shelters, even when you go to a shelter, you have to have a guardian to sign you in. basically thrown out there and they have to survive on their own. they can't do it. that's really rough. i decided to work on helping them because they can't help themselves. >> ashby is hoping to meet with the president but there's no word yet from the white house

for that hope hd-for meeting. >> time for traffic and weather on the 1s. tom is here with that. >> the heat will be turned up today. we got up into the low 90s on sunday. looks like we'll hit the mid-90s today but off to a pleasant start now. not too humid. there's the washington yline. at sunrise now nngastohin. i wns as e would take a look at tor,ra no precipitationar tou hend tons morning. if to a dry srt. t n the upper 60s in prince george's county. weather watchers, arlington, fairfax and montgomery counties reporting mid-60s now. farther to our west, wet watchers reporting a nice, cool morning there. in the mid-60s to low 60s there. weather watchers in southern maryland reporting mid and upper 60s with temperatures into the -- dew point temperatures mid-60s so not too humid. whenever the dew point gets over 70 that's when we notice the swelter. that may be the case by mid-week. on the eastern shore, upper 60s. certainly is a fresh and cool morning out in the mountains. temperatures there are only in the upper 50s to near 60.

a little weak disturbance mid-levels of the atmosphere passing to our north and east. giving us a few clouds this morning. out in the tropics it's getting active. here's washington, the atlantic seaboard, florida. we've got hurricane bill. this is the big story, the first hurricane of the atlantic season. bill became a hurricane a couple hours ago. what's left of ana is a tropical depression, passing south of puerto rico,itpr seangdieaeom showers there. it wilpaarssow tedhe t dominican republic and haiti and cuba in the next couple of days. tropical storm claudette just coming ashore on the gulf coast, the florida panhandle. well, bill's winds are at 75 with gusts to 92. here's its location. it's over 2,500 miles southeast of ocean city, continuing on a westerly track today and may become a moderate hurricane. right now it's a weak hurricane but it could track anywhere in this yellow zone over the next several days. by the weekend, in fact. here's bermuda. could be approaching bermuda. however, it's on the western side of this track, could be threatening the outer banks and maybe even our atlantic

seaboard. claudette now still a tropical storm. peak winds at 40 miles an hour. the big threat is rain, three to six inches possible here in parts of georgia, alabama, tracking to our west over the next couple of days. so for us for today lots ofhe s, highs acidhi mng-90s. not too humid. more of the same tomorrow. then wednesday and thursday a chance of some showers and thundershowers both days. isrwarhe p e, mytlsunny, high near .y more humid. then a greater chance of rain, maybe some thunder friday and saturday as we get into the weekend. highs in the 80s. drying out and cooling down on sunday. that's the way it looks on this monday morning. >> all right, tom, looks like summer. >> now let's go to jerry edwards and take another look at the roadways out there, jerry, on this monday morning. >> good morning. hazy sunshine slowing folks down now a little bit along 395 northbound. right here at the lane drop headed north out of landmark toward shirlington, sun's up there somewhere. all the travel lanes are open. southbound here doing just fine. no worries. elsewhere, b-w parkway still taking it on the chin because of the earlier accident at 450

which remains on the shoulder but we're still jammed coming in from greenbelt. 50 delays inside the beltway now as an alternate, will begin at 410 to northeast. back to you. >> thank you. >> here's a look at the morning's top stories. pouring rain and whipping winds in the florida panhandle. tropical storm claudette came ashore overnight. the storm spawned a tornado which damaged about 20 homes. while claudette is now weakening, hurricane bill has formed in the atlantic. >> president obama looks ready to a about an dan done his demand for a government-run shoorngs option. the white house could support insurance cooperatives instead. this could help woo some republicans who have opposed mr. obama's health care reform plan. >> drivers are finding another way to get around tysons corner this morning. the southbound beltway exit for chain bridge road is closed. for the next six weeks crews will be reconfiguring the ramp and work on providing h.o.t. lane access in that area.

.e time to takero a look ngonns iss"da kor mpewn rsrs. she is known cople hot th a hot cup of coffee.mr h mrs. cecelima is the oerwn, ma o is the owner oe f shop in northwest washonof cinet shop in northwest washington. tr ofonpas her patrons of her wsno o kll afopay ma knows all o b mend ahe ss name anddeheinsegrv of deservin seau tyhe definitely is a h definitely i and a smile of gold. well,u iyof know anyone like mrs. cecelia, send usyo a clear close-up picture to morningperson@nbcwashington.com. >> a critter who loves the camera apparently. one couple's vacation photo has become an internet hit. take a look. melissa and her husband, jackson, were hiking ina. they thoughtesnna. tnece- s - sce -- scenic backdrop w bldoue s the perfect place for them toeak p nice picture, but this little niy had other eas. they say hand came running, posy bland me running, possibly thinking t camasa w some the the ptoirhost fn oir

facebookth .eographic st tr ontoy " shey"daw.ho th r story on the "today" show. >> wonder if the chipmunk will be there for an exclusive interview. first time. >> looking for a job. >> that's "news 4 today." thank you for starting your day with us. >> have a great day. we hope you'll join us tomorrow. we start at 4:55 a.m. have a terrific day. >> bye.