anyone park on her property, no matter what they offer to pay. >> i think he needs the privacy. i'll do my part. i promised not to do it and i wouldn't do it. >> reporter: but while they respect the president's privacy, the islanders are still hoping to see them. >> of course i'd love to get a glimpse of hi i'd like to touch his hand. yes, i would. but you know what? just knowing he's here and i'm on the same ground he's walking on is enough for me. >> that was byron barnett reporting. the president has asked reporters and photographers to respect the privacy of his daughters when they venture outside without their high-profile parents. >> stay with us, everyone. "news 4 today" continues at 5:00 a.m.o end of summer. from maryland toirginia to the district, thousands of kids are heading back to class. we have live team coverage, and what parents need to know as the new school year gets under way.

good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang in for barbara harrison. today monday, august 24th, 2009. meteorologist tom kierein is in the studio with us to look at today's forecast on this lovely monday morning. pretty nice out there this morning, tom. >> in washington and points west and north. but in southern maryland, northern neck they're getting some thunder and lignihtng rig now. take a look at the radar at this hour. nd torerhum st r ndhuinerstorm warninhurcounty.ty coun. there is ay ponretttr sg tr thunderstorm now just crossing the tidal potomac heading to the coming d east, just now into southern st. mary's county with 60-mile-per-hour winds. very heavy rain, frequent lightning. maybe even some hail. we also have some rain just now nntobeg ein movgi in to c mhaes 'sy ty, and as wellrne hencgeric heov erutso t prntrince george's cou over the next few minutes. temperatures aro 6 t n0so t nea. it's 71 in washington, but in the cool 50s out in t tamos, mountains, near 70 on the eastern shore. these showers and perhaps a little bit of thunder this

morning coming through along a stalled front just sthnd a f ea ostus o so some morning showers are possible, especially south and east of washington as well as this afternoon, but west and rt h sh ld stay dry today, highinpp th uheer0 us. some delightful weather moving in for tomorrow, wednesday, into thursday with low humidity. and that's the way it looks. we'll take a look at the weekend in ten minutes. >> see you then. thank you, tom. >> now let's go back to jerry edwards and the news 4 traffic network. >> good morning once again. a little sampling out and about this morng along the interstates 395 northbound from the beltway toward edsel road and all the way to the 14th street bridge, quiet so far with no early hang-ups. erls where, check out the top side of the beltway, college park to silver spring is okay. soutast corridor is quiet so far. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. thousands of students in our area are in for a bit of a rude awakening this morning because it is good-bye summer and hello, school year. in maryland, kids are heading back to class, in prince george's, anne arundel, frederick counties. in virginia it's back to school

time for fauquier, culpepper and spotsylvania counties. d.c. students are also hitting the books today. news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live from the brandywine bus depot with more on this year's changes. good morning, tracee. >> reporter: good morning, joe. we're hanging out here because the superintendent will be joining us here shortly to wish the bus drivers a safe year. he's going to make a tour of all the schools here in prince george's county -- well, nearly all of the schools. they're going to be going everywhere today, saying hello to all of the students. this is the second largest school system in maryland. 18th largest in the nation, with 134,000 students. this is a diverse and also challenged school system. while the school system hnas se. some improvements in the last few years, prince george's county is still ranked among the lowest performing school districts in the nation. according to the most recent report, 63% of the county's seniors are graduating. that's below the national average. this year, the system s has a n superintendent, dr. william

height, and some changes are coming this way as well. there will be some kindergarten through eighth grade schools this year. there's also a new performing arts school in the southern end of the county. coming up we're going to be speaking with the superintendent live, also taking a look at some new bus technology that parents may be interested in. joe, back to you in the studio. >> okay, tracee. look forward to it. thanks very much. >> also waking up early this morning are students in the district. classes start back up today at schools across the city. news 4's keith garvin is outside h.d. cook elementary school in northwest washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. hard to believe we're a few hours away from the very first bell, but pnty of students and parents across the district probably are already up getting ready for that first day of class. as you mentioned, about 37,000 students in the district are expected to be in class today. despite an aggressive radio and bus sign ad campaign, that will be close to a 20% decline in student enrollment from last year. that's according to "the washington post."

that continues a steady decline in enrollment in d.c. schools since 1980. while a number of kids attending charter schools is actually jumped dramatically since they opened in the 1990s. mayor fenty and school chancellor michelle rheare remaining operatimistic as this the third school opening under the administration's education reform initiative. at 7:30 here, the mayor and chancellor rhee are expected to hold a press conference, along with secretary of education arne duncan and health and human services secretary kathleen said bill just. they'll talk about how schools will handle a potential outbreak of the h1n1 flu virus that, of course, so many schools across the country are worried about. we'll have more on that story coming up later on in this hour. but for now we're reporting live from northwest, now back to you. >> keith gargarvin, thank you. >> we are connected to your commute now with two traffic alerts for drivers. the first will affect people avho the travel the bexanayia. for the next two da ysdr,ia. for the next two daan thereana o

ceduneo tne lane betwndn ne:0..m ayivers should exptec drivers should expectelday ans ro ea tandytake an alternate route. a and sill also be takingovlocere p will also be taking iny wa beway in tysons corner for the next three weeks. lngeadio t leo bndgeoa chain bridgt a lo ct a 9:.m p-o. . red pe0 atre 5:0 a.m. crews will italling steel ns is inllbeg steel beams in the aaream for the new capital beltway bridge. >> today is your last chance to cash in on your clunker. it is just a matter of hours. the wildly popular incentive program comes to an end. drivers have until 8:00 tonight to trade in their old gas guzzlers for a newer car. the government is handing out rebates. nearly half a million cars have been sold under the program, but only about 7% of reimbursements to dealerships have been paid so far. >> our time is 5:08, 71 degrees

out there. new today, why some cia agents could soon face criminal charges. >> plus, the raging out of control inferno threatening one of the world's most historic cities. >> how the manhunt for the reality show contestant wanted for the murder of a model came to a deadly end.

it is time to get a cl treat in thisew ns 4 bargain as. ' tffreheger o binrruyda >> y'heff oering buy one, e,ere or ndopy bopnd a cool off with a little ben & jerry's. always fun to do. one for me, one for you. >> let's go do it in lieu of breakfast. 5:11 is almost our time. let's go to tom kierein. >> hey, eun and joe, good morning. we have a severe thunderstorm just now coming into st. mary's county this morning. st. mary's county is far south

of washington, but continuing to move off to the north and east. here it is. just now crossing the potomac, just now moving near lexington rk and moving up toward solomon's. another one that's not severe, but it is producing heavy downpour, thunder and lightning moving through the northern neck. these are all happening now over the next perhaps half hour or so, moving off to the north and east. and elsewhere, farther west and north we've got ay mostl clear sky this morning. temperatures around the region are near 70 degrees, around washington, mid-70s, southern maryland. it's in the cool 60s and 50s farther west and north. perhaps a morning passing shower this morning, mainly south and east of washington. and maybe as well this afternoon. but elsewhere, some sunshine. then tomorrow, wednesday and thursday we'll have some pleasant weather, highs in the 80s to near 90 with low humidity. getting more humid friday into the weekend with a ssi phongasrs of passing shors and highs near 80. jerry, good morning. how's the traffic? >> good morning, everyone. let's take a live look, go over into the district along new york avenue as you make the drive in

over the an costs tia, headed toward the 3rd street tunnel, no worries. watch out for the youngsters, back to school in many jurisdictions. wilson bridge, no concerns either way. out of southern maryland, as tom mentioned, watch out for the wet roads. no major accidents or incidents presently reported. back to you. >> thank you very much, jerry. >> 5:11 is your time now, 71 degrees. coming up, why tween popular nick jonas will be in washington today. >> plus, consumers are looking for any and every way they can save money. next at 5:15, the deep discounts being offered by several local restaurants.

our time right now is 5:14. some of the top stories we're following today. thousands of students in our area are heading back to school. this is the first day for students in the district and prince george's county. children in charles, anne arundel, frerick, fauquier, culpepper and spotsylvania counties are also heading back to class. time is running out to get cash for your clunker. the incentive program ends at 8:00 tonight. the government says almost 500,000 cars have been sold under the program. and a 7-year-old girl is dead after being swept out to sea in maine. authorities say she was overtaken by a huge wave caused by hurricane bill. the storm is also blamed for killing a swimmer off the coast of florida. >> happening today, please your palate without emptying your wallet. it's restaurant week in the district. this year, 180 restaurants are participating. darcy spencer tells us about many of them are bracing for a busy week. >> reporter: with the economy

down, fewer people have been eating out, or at least eating out less often. so restaurant owners in the district are hoping to get people back at the table as restaurant week starts on monday. >> it does bring new people. people that come to see us us for the first time during restaurant week have become repeat guests. >> reporter: nearly 180 of the district's finest restaurants will prepare multicourse meals for the event. a three-course lunch will cost $20. a three-course dinner, $35. >> we are one of the few restaurants in the area that actually offers the whole menu, and we offer the same portions that we do on the regular menu. >> reporter: restaurant owners say the event draws large lunch and dinner crowds and it offers an opportunity for people to try different types of foods. >> we usually try to go to different restaurants during restaurant week. we bring some friends and family out at different times, different parts of the restaurant week. we try to venture out to new places we haven't been to before, yeah. >> it's definitely worthwhile. i find that people are looking forward to restaurant week.

they actually start making reservations early because they book up quickly. that's been one of the biggest challenges. reporter:t georgia brown's restaurant, they've been preparing for restaurant week since friday. already, 225 guests have made reservations for monday. >> you can still come in and get a great meal and not have to worry about making your car payment next month. >> reporter: many see it as a chance to support local businesses during tough times. >> they're get ago great value r the dollar spent, and, you know, really truly a memorable experience. hopefully they do come back to georgia brown's when it's not restaurant week. >> reporter: darcy spencer, "news 4 today." >> restaurant week runs today through sunday, and as you can imagine, if you want to take part, you are encouraged to make reservations now. joe? >> like everything else, social security is taking a big hit from the economy. fothe first time in more than three decades, there will not be an increase in benefits next year. the reason is the social security increases are tied to the cost of living. the board, though, receives

benefits projects there will be no cost of living increase, and they say that's likely to happen again in 2011. even worse, people who have their medicare premiums taken directly from their social security checks may see a net loss in 2010. >> we're continuing to follow a developing story out of greece where vagss continue as massive wildfires are still spreading. thousands have been forced from homes, hospitals and we've just learned about a dozen nuns that had to be rescued from a con vent. strong winds are expected to stir back u today as the flames edge closer and closer to athens. 2,000 firefighters, soldiers and volunteers are fighting the fire on the ground and planes from three other countries have been called in to help drop water from the air. >> well, this morning we're getting a rare look at former cuban president fidel castro. it's a new picture published in a cuban newspaper. castro is meeting with the president of ecuador. castro has not been seen in public for three years, but the

picture appears to show the 82-year-old in good health. health concerns caused him to hand the presidency over to his younger brother, raul castro, last year. >> well, the nationals must really enjoy playing on sundays. the team won its fifth sunday game in a row. >> and they're hoping the luck carrs over into the -- this week. lindsay czarniak has more now in your sports minute. >> hey there. good morning, everybody. your sports minute on this machine morning begins with the nationals. adam dunn, ryan zimmerman and cristian guzman all homered agnst the brewers. the nationals pounded out ten hits, beating milwaukee 8-3. the nats snapped a five-game losing streak and of now won five straight games played on sundays. the brewers and nats finish off a four-game series this afternoon. to baltimore, the orioles finally won a series for the first time since the all-star break. on sunday, nolan reimold hit a two-run homer and they held on

to beat the chicago white sox 5-4. an unbelievable play in the phillies/mets game. an unassisted triple play to end the game. the feat is rare. just the 15th time in major league history that it's happened. the phillies won 9-7. the redskins will be back to work this afternoon as they get read for a very important preseason game. the third game usually when the starters play most. the skins host the new england patriots friday night. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsey czarniak. have a great monday. >> today a teen pop star talks about living with juvenile diabetes. to help raise awareness about the disease, nick jonas of the grammy nominated band the jonas brothers will be at the press club here in washington, d.c. this morning. in june he testified before congress to call for support. later today he'll share how he manages with the illness. he was diagnosed at 13 and says he has to test his blood sugar more than ten times a day.

>> just about 5:21 now. time again for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein up in storm center 4 for our forecast. tom, good morning. >> good morning. an unusual predawn thunderstorm is now moving into st. mary's county from the tidal potomac out of the southwest, heading northeast this morning. this is continuing to roll right through lexington park at this hour, near point lookout and pax river. that's continuing to pass to the north and east, just to the south of solomon's. another thundershower now rolling through the eastern part of the northern neck with some heavy downpours. each one of these could produce up to 60-mile-per-hour winds as well as some brief hail and maybe even some really strong lightning. but north of there, getting some rain now into charles county, and that is continuing to move off to the north and east as well. and temperatures around the region near 70. highs today into the 80s. a look at the rest of the week in just a few minutes. now, jerry, how's the traffic? >> tom, a live look on the beltway south of town. so far dry pavement approaching and crossing over the wilson bridge both directions between

alexandria and oxon hill, no hang-ups so good news there. check your speeds this morning. coming in from the west along interstate 66 between the 229 interchanges, gainesville and centreville, ten minutes there. from centreville to the beltway, 15 minutes. inside the beltway, still moving along quite nicely, 17 minutes to and across the roosevelt bridge. joe and eun, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks, jerry, very much. our time right now is 5:222, 71 degrees. a warning for parent bs the danger of some car seats and how your child's life could be at risk. >> also the scare in the air that prompted a pilot to make an emergency landing on a busy freeway. >> plus, how the international manhunt for a reality tv contestant came to a grisly end in a motel in canada.

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plane on a california y.frwaeewa the fapleorewe o oth plane forc an emergency landing during thep e pilot apparently told airn a traffic controller that he r he landed about a ml he landed about a mile fro the ai anort' d w then the cars crashed into the plane, and believe it or not, no one was hurt. >> a reality tv contestant wanted for the murder in the -- wanted for murder in the gruesome death of his former wife has now been found dead inside a canadian motel room. motel employees found the body of ryan jenkins inside his room last night. police say it appears that he hung himself in the closet. jenkins was wanted for first degree murder charges in the death of his ex-wife, model jasmine fiore. her mutilated body was discovered earlier this month in california, stuffed in a suitcase and thrown into a trash can. jenkins was a contestant on the vh 1 reality show "megan wants a millionaire." vh 1 has since pulled that show from the air.

our time now is 5:26, 71 degrees. wave watchers getoo close for comfort and hurricane bill proves deadly as it churns deeper out into the atlantic. >> we've got live team coverage of what parents need to know as students get ready to head back to school. >> we're also watching your weather and traffic on the 1s. nd a you can expect in theca fostca and0

hitting the books. what parents need to know as students across the region once again get ready to go back to school. >> vineyard vacation. the hot topics president obama will tackle while taking time off in massachusetts. >> swept away. the wild waves that turned deadly as hurricane bill churned farther out into the atlantic. good morning to you. welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang in for barbara

harrison today, monday, august 24th, 2009. we're going to take a live look outside right now at 5:30. 71 degrees out there. it was a nice morning after all the humidity we've had. feels a little bit cooler today. >> refreshing. >> relatively. >> that's why we call it relative humidity. >> there we go. >> it's relatively much better, much more comfortable this morning, but we do have some thundershowers just to our south. in fact, there is a severe thunderstorm warning in effect now for sryma'smary'schhi is lit ucoun wnhich is lit up in orange you see that big seu that big r bedlobhe t to the center of the t t e rierouth rinen s, re ghrithere in southern ry gh ithate that is the thunderstorry heavyd lexington park right now, with frequent lightning. pilnees60hoer m pes ho ur, may uren a little biof w hlaihit it. kiy.ba thonef al ourtor the next half hour ore rso. ths owersot not quite as strong that is mququwggnoininouovovhr t t tghj no moving tough tthern n neckf virgin, but farther to the north and west, we don't have any precipitation. we do have some clouds beginning to move in. we'll have a partly clout udyda.

highs reaching thes. 80 and there's a chance of a passing shower or thundershower south and east of washington this morning, maybe this ooaftern ,teto ut then we'll have dry weaerth for tuesday, wednesday and thursday with highs near upper 80s, nea 90 degrees and low humidity in place. a look at friday and the weekend. that will be coming up in ten minutes at 5:41. >> thank you, tom. >> thanks very much. let's go back to jerry edwards now and the news 4 traffic network. jerry? >> good morning. we'll start on the top side of the capital beltway where it's still very quiet. the outer loop from i-95 passing new hampshire avenue on over toward silver spring, a few brake lights but not a backup by any means. new hampshire avenue north of the beltway, crews had been working on a water main break so you may find some lanes closed there. checking reports of an accident on the b-w parkway just inside the beltway. right now looks pretty good at the wilson bridge. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks very much. well it is a day that students across the area, many at least, have been dreading. the day when summer comes to an end and it's time tod hea back to school. iacnry ,mandla kids are ba cltasnd prjs, jschs,lear

el.esarundndelde f a rireck fmeui uqfa er's backtior syme for fauquier, .tiaspancolves tiun spotsylvania counties. d.c. stunt as are lso hitting the books today. news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live from the brandywine bus depot with more on what's in store for school this year. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i'm sure they're not dreading it. kids love the first day of school. they get to wear their new clothes and hang out. of course, learn something new and interesting. we're here at the brandywine bus depot because this is where the superintendent of the prince george's county school system will be coming to kick off his day before he heads to a number of schools. the prince george's county school system is the second largest in maryland, 18th largest in the nation. they have more than 130,000 students enrolled this year. ais is a diverse, but also lenged school population here. prince george's county. while the school system has seen some improvements in the last few years, prince george's county is still ranked among the lowest performing school districts in the nation.

according to the mows reit sent diploma count report, 63% of the county's seniors are graduating. that's below the national average. this year the system has a knew superintendent, dr. william hite. he's bringing some changes. there will be eight new kindergarten through eighth grade schools this year, also a new performing arts school opening up in the southern end of the county, also some new bus technology as well. we'll have a live demonstration showing you more about that and also a conversation with the superintendent coming up a little later. i'm tracee wilkins, live in brandywine. joe, back to you in the studio. >> thanks very much. look forward to that. one big concern as students head back to school, of course, is the swine flu. the swine flu's already claimed six deaths in maryland, and the world health organization predicts there will be an outbreak of swine flu in the near future. a vaccine to treat the flu is currently in clinical trials, and one of the largest trials is under way right now at the university of maryland. that vaccine should be available sometime in october. maryland governor martin

o'malley will hold a news conference this morning to talk about swine flu preparations. our back to school coverage will continue at 5:45. we're live in the district, where the swine flu will also be a big topic later on this morning. >> the first named hurricane of the season did not make landfall, but it has been deadly. a large wave caused by hurricane bill is blamed for a little girl's death. this is home video from maine where thousands lined the shore to watch the crashing waves. one very large one hit, sweeping a group of people out to sea. up with of them a 7-year-old girl died. the coast guard rescued the rest of the wave watchers. bill's rough surf is also blamed for killing a swimmer off the coast of florida. >> president obama is on a family vacation, but the issues dominating his presidency are taking no break. america's attention is on health care but that is far from the only issue facing the president. brooke hart reports. >> reporter: in martha's vineyard with family, president obama this week takes a time-out

in a tough summer. his health care drive is under fire in new tv ads. >> mr. president, when you go back to d.c., drop your government-run public option plan. >> i think a public option is important. >> reporter: the president has said he still backs government insurance as part of reform. >> yes, we are considering alternativ alternatives. >> reporter: now liberal democrats who agree are weighing a special tactic in the senate. it would let them pass a health care bill with the simple majority, not the usual 60 votes. republicans are girding for battle. >> that would be an abuse of the process. >> reporter: on another front for the president, afghanistan. results of last week's election, incumbent hamid karzai versus challenger abdullah abdullah will be made public tuesday. there are growing claims of vote-rigging. that means new political trouble, on top of security threats as u.s. forces enter a ninth year of war. >> afghanistan is very vulnerable in terms of taliban

and extremists taking over again. i don't think that threat's going to go away. >> reporter: the deficit threat also gets attention tuesday, with reports out the ten-year deficit will jump from 7 to $9 trillion. it's bound to add steam to the already-hot health care fight. president obama says the deficit is proof of the urgent need to bring health care costs down and insists reform not add to it. some moderate republicans are calling for health care change to be shelved until next year or later. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news. >> the president is not entirely putting his work on hold during his time on martha's vineyard. mr. bm will receive an economic briefing and he has a secure line to the white house already established at the private estate where his family's staying. >> cia agents charged as criminals. a source tells "the new york times" it is possible. the source claims the justice department has recommended pursuing a nearly a dozen abuse cases involving terror suspects. according to report, the attorney general is now considering whether to appoint a

special criminal prosecutor to look into the interrogation tactics used during the bush administration. if an investigation is launched, cia employees could face charges for the alleged mistreatment of suspects. >> our time right now is 5:37, 71 degrees. the big story this morning, back to school in maryland, d.c. and virginia. we're going to have some tips and tricks for parents on tight budgets looking for school supplies. >> also, why airline passengers could soon be protected against being stranded on the runway for hours at a time. >> plus, why how long you keep your child in a car seat could risk your child's safety.

weather and traffic on the 1s, now 5:41. good morning. a strong thunderstorm in southern maryland and st. mary's county. those are heading off to the north and east, but producing some very heavy rain and some

frequent lightning. and maybe some damaging wind gusts. those are crossing the bay now heading over toward cambridge. temperatures around 70. a little bit warmer in southern and mtd, around the bay where it's more humid, but cooler and drier farther to our west and north. partly cloudy, highs in the 80s today, maybe a passing shower or thundershower, mainly south and east of washington. then dry weather for tuesday, wednesday and thursday with low humidity, highs in the 80s to near 90. partly to mostly cloudy, friday, saturday, sunday, highs near 80. slight chance of showers. i'll be back in ten minute was another update. how's the traffic? >> from the west along interstate 66, pretty quiet start to the early morning commute so far, getting past fair oaks headed toward the beltway. the immediate d.c. area, clear, dry road surfaces, but again as you travel soh and east of the area, be prepared for those wet roads. not to fear there. right now traveling b-w parkway, checking reports of an accident near good luck road just inside the beltway. so far, 270 is fine as is interstate 70. joe and eun, back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> it is now 5:42, 71 degrees.

the man wanted for the grisly murder of a model is found dead. >> plus, thousands of kids across our area are getting ready to hit the books. next at 5:45, we're live with what parents need to know as t tents h

it is now 5:46. updating the top stories of the morning. wild waves caused by hurricane bill are blamed for the death of a little girl. one large wave swept a group of people out to sea in maine. they had gathered along the shore to watch the surf. a 7-year-old girl died. the coast guard pulled the rest to safety. cash for clunkers is almost at the finish line. drivers have until 8:00 tonight to take advantage of the incentive program. the government is providing rebates of up to $4,500 so drivers can trade in their gas guzzlers for a newer, more fuel-efficient car. an end to the manhunt for a reality tv contestant accused of

murdering his ex-wife. ryan jenkins hanged himself in a motel room near vancouver. he appeared on the vh 1 show "megan wants a millionaire." he was accused of killing jasmine fiore. joe? >> for thousands of children in our area, summer vacation is officially over. many local schools will re-open their doors today. that includes those right here in the district. news 4's keith garvin joins us from the h.d. cooke elementary school in northwest washington. good morning, keith. >> reporter: good morning, joe. enrollment in district schools is expected to dip by about 20% from last year, but that projection is not putting a damper on the start of the year for the students and teachers who will be in class today. as a matter of fact, over the weekend, a few thousand volunteers, including many students, were out at all 114 schools in the district. they were there to spruce up their campuses before classes begin this morning. school chancellor michelle rhee believes improvements to a campus translates to

improvements inside a campus. immunizations are always an important topic this time of year. there were new requirements for all grade levels. all students are required to receive the chicken pox vaccine. female students enrolling in the sixth grade for the first time are required to have the hpv vaccine, just to name a few of those requirements. all public and private students in the district are required to have their vaccinations by september 8th. on another note, district students head back to school with all 114 principals and most teachers in place at all o those schools. in fact, just 18 teacher vacancies remain, down from about 800 just this past may. reporting live from northwest, keith garvin, news 4. back to you. >> keith, thanks very much. >> a quick arrest in a deadly ht and run. police say they foundheri dver who ran down a womn d o weray h -ylir-area mdery bceolni c oaps ear-old mary berniceol59boto he. t geto h church.er sasetny s a jpe jumped

cu ofumf.nd tk f. edrist dherve ar sted the drivered of that minivan. charges are png-year-old matthe 26 rwnooo norwood. in prince george's county ol pice need your help hitc gca anng p iuy i o f nkba of bank robberies. re a surveillance pto s he tifferenthe robobries. poli a a. ank, posin po ce think the samenkuy knocked over two bank ofca arime robberies in clinton and also a bbt bank in forestville. >> airline passengers could soon be protected against being stranded on the runway for hours at a time. new york senator chuck schumer is creating a passenger bill of rights. schumer's bill would force airlines to allow passengers off of a plane once it's been delayed for three hours. airlines will also have to provide food, water and adequate rest rooms for passengers who are stranded on the ground. that will come as a relief to passengers who have been stuck on grounded flights.

>> it was raining. we sat on the tarmac for four hours. >> where is the customer service? >> passengers ought to have some rights. they shouldn't just be treated as cattle going on that railroad car and whatever happens to you, tough luck. >> schumer expects the full senate to take up the bill this fall. >> tomorrow's launch of the shuttle is a go as long as er nature cooperates. forecasters anticipate good weather formo "discovery's" planned takeoff. however, there's a chance of thunderstorms today, and that could delay scheduled fueling. that, in turn, could delay launch time. nasa engineers say testing of the shuttle power controller replaced last week is looking good. "discovery" and its seven-member crew will be delivering supplies and equipment to the international space station. >> our time is just about 5:51 now. time again for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> meteorologist tom kierein is right here with us. he's got the all-important workweek forecast. >> yes, and off to school forecast, too. most students should not have

any difficulties getting off to school this morning. however, in southern maryland you did not need an alarm clock as you woke up this morning. we had thunder and lightning and a thunderstorm is just now exiting st. mary's county nand heading across the bay. let's take a look at our sky here in washington. there it is. there is the skyline and you can sethere are some clouds. we're still 40 minutes away from sunrise here in washington, but no rain here. but as we look at radar, there is some rain now in charles county a that stretches down into st. mary's county. where you see this big area of orange, this is that severe thunderstorm that rolled across southern st. mary's county. here is point lookout. here's lexington park. unloaded a lot of rain there in a short amount of time, quite a bit of lightning as well. now it's rolling across the bay. here's cambridge up here. it will be moving toward cambridge in about the next 20 minutes or so. another shower here that's right over the eastern part of the northern neck. that's near reedville, now heading off to the north and east. elsewhere getting rain in

southern charles county, as well as the western part of the northern neck. farther to the north we don't have any rain here falling in washington. temperatures around the region are near 70 in prince george's, arlington, fairfax, montgomery counties and washington. mid-70s in southern and north dakota across the bay. less humid farther north where temperatures are in the 60s on this monday morning. over the last six hours, we've seen this stalled front here that stretches from new england and right down through our area. the eastern side of that, it's very steamy and humid but the western northern part of it, low humidity in place. along this front, some scattered showers through southern virginia. then those thunderstorms in southern maryland. those will roll along this front and go across the eastern shore over the next half hour or so. elsewhere, should not have any precipitation. if you are traveling today, though, there could be some flight delays in florida as well as the carolinas. in far northern new england, the r perts of the midwest, as well as out perhaps in the central rockies and in the desert southwest. elsewhere, no flight delays. here's your bus stop forecast. by the time you're getting on

the bus this morning, sunrise 6:30, partly sunny to mostly cloudy at this time. a few showers south and east of washington. temperatures in the 60s to near 70 degrees. the rest of the day, maybe a passing shower or thundershor, mainly south and east of shhrgt tonough the rest of the morning and into early afternoon. ten tid mo late afternoon into the evening, clearing ouid highs reaching nr mid and upper 80s. tonight, partly cloudy to mostly clear at times and clear tomorrow morning into the mid-60s. sunny on tuesday andeswednday, low humidity, highs near 90 each y.da then partly cloudy thursday into 0-8s.id odating more humidy f0darint i the weekend. pa lyrt toly mostly cloudy each day, highs near 80 and maybe a passing shower just a small chance of that. that's the way it looks this morning. i'm back with frequent updates on this back to school morning. >> sounds good. thank you. >> let's go quickly now to jerry edwards and the news 4 traffic network. any problems? >> relatively quiet. one accident outer loop at central avenue. that's been moved to the shoulder. heading into or out of the district along pennsylvania avenue at this sousa bridge, we're okay.

pennsylvania avenue, look out for the accident just reported. making the trip from springfield to the wilson bridge by way of the outer loop, 7 minutes. from the wilson bridge up to route 50, 16 minutes. scooting up to colonel lemg park, only 8 minutes right now. all lanes open. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> a new warning forten ar tenr whose child still uses a car seat. a recent study has found that sitting upright in those safety seats can partially compress a child's chest wall. that redes the amount of oxygen the baby is able to breathe in. researchers found that in a crib, a child's oxygen saturation level is at nearly 98%. but in a car seat, that falls to 95.7%. researchers say this does not mean a child shouldn't use a car seat. it just should not be a substitute for a crib. >> while some students are getting ready to head back to school this morning, others still have another week or two. that means they still have some shopping to do.

so this morning, liz crenshaw shows us where you can find the best deals on supplies. >> notebooks, pencils, backpack. >> three-ring binder. >> pencil sharpesharp. >> reporter: every child has a list, but the return to class doesn't come cheap and finding the best prices can be a tough assignment. >> 12-inch ruler. >> reporter: nbc 4 producer lauren dunn and i did some of the homework for you. >> 12-inch ruler. >> reporter: done. >> crayons we got. >> reporter: we put together a list of 15 items for a typical grade schooler. everything from pens and glue to folders and filler paper. then we grabbed our shopping cart and hit a discount store. we chose target. an office supply store, staples and a drugstore. we picked walgreens. we were looking for bargains and so were the shoppers we met.

>> we find a lot of good sales as we're going around. hitting different places. >> reporter: at each store we shopped for similar supplies and similar sizes. in some cases, we even found the identical product. after checking out -- we're done with target. >> pencil sharpener. >> reporter: what did we pay? >> $1.99. >> reporter: take a look at some of the differences in prize with similar products. elmer's glue, same size, 99 cents at walgreens. 79 cents at staples. 25 cents at target. 24 crayola crayons. $1.99 at walgreens, 89 cents at staples, 25 cents at target. child scissors, $2.99 at walgreens. $1.99 at staples. 82 cents at target. elmer's glue sticks, $1.99 at walgreens, $1.49 at staples, 25

cents at target. overall, when we added up our 15-item basket, walgreens totaled $28.26. staples totaled $24.26. and target, $15.43. about half what we paid for the same market bchk at walgreens. so, comparison shop and don't forget to keep in mind what's on your child's mind. what's the best part about going back to school? >> meeting new people. >> reporter: what's the worst part about going back? >> homework. >> best part for me, you don't have to do homework for the first week. >> you get to meet your friends again. >> reporter: what's the worst part about going back to school, if there is one? >> you have to learn. >> reporter: liz crenshaw, news 4 today. >> yeah, you do have to learn. but the retail federation estimates back to school shopping will top $47 billion this year. well, coming up next at 6:00, we have live team coverage as thousands of students are heading back to school today.

>> what's on president obama's agenda this week as he and his family begin their vacation in martha's vineyard. >> showers and thunderstorms are moving through the area right now. meteorologist tom kierein is going to let us know how long the wet weather might stick around. traffic and weather together on the 1s. 0

quick. watch out. it's back. school starts today for tens of thousands of students throughout the area. we'll have live team coverage this morning so you can get your kids ready to go and ready to learn. good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang in for barbara harris today, monday, august 24th, 2009. we're going to take a live look outside. 6:00 this morning. 71 degrees. it's been a nice morning so far. lower humidity today. >> pretty skies but a lot of

clouds out there right now. let's see what that means. >> it means maybe some rain, and in fact it is raining for the students heading to sooln i southern maryland. you nen aed umbrella this morning as we take a look at tha radar. we are getti sne ne hunderstorm go through st. mary's county. i atstthjus ow n iatstju now exit mary's, crossing the bay, heading toward cambridge.jusomew some pretty strong winds w heav thorner n neck. stead . and east. yre see terade tten g sre moderatetenerlv ter county, to the rest of st. mary's county, into southern charles county. elsewhere, farther west and north, no precipitation at th ti here's the forecast. rt lycloudy, highs i upper 80s, not too humid. maybe a passing shower south a east of washington. tomorr , wednesday and thursday, each day lowmo humidi, quite a bit of sunshine. highs in the 80s toear 90. a look at friday and the weekend in ten minutes coming up at

6:11. >> thank you very much. let's go to jerry edwards and the news 4 traffic network. any monday problems? >> not so far, relatively calm of a couple of accidents quickly cleared so that is a hopeful sign. in from the west along interstate 66 at the exit for the capital beltway, lanes are open. no early issues to report. dry pavement. that's a bonus for you. the earlier accident we told you about outer loop at central avenue, quickly cleared to the shoulder. the accident route 4 at west failure road is already gone. travel lanes re-opened there. quiet up on 270. joe and eun, back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> well, it's the day a lot of children dread, but others love. it's the first day of school across many local school la kids are headingding ba tossbala c in prince la leorge's, chles,arune nn dear dco reun cktiunes.. in virgin t, ceruq anlvou cnties.ties. nt d.c. studes are al hitting the books today. news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live from the brandywine bus

depot with more on what's in store for school this year. good morning, tracee. >> reporter: good morning, joe. we're here in prince george's county. hanging out here with the soup tep dent who was saying hello to all the bus drivers as they began another successful school year. but this is the second largest school system in maryland, the 18th largest in the nation. it is extraordinarily diverse, with more than 130,000 students. but it's also a challenged school system and helping to face some of those challenges this year is their brand-new superintendent, dr. william hite. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for being here. we're very excited. >> reporter: les talk a little bit about what you want to do. the list of things that need to happen in prince george's county schools. there's a long list of acevements yet to be achieved business this school system, things that i know you would like to get started on. what's at the top of your list? >> top of our list is putting a high quality teacher, an effective teacher, in front of every one of our students, regardless of where those

students live, regardless of the school they attend, regardless of the course or grade level. first and foremost is getting the most effective teacher in front of all of our students. we also have some budget challenges this year and we want to make sure those challenges do not impact the classroom or our schools. >> reporter: now, senior graduation rates, this is something that's, of course, important for every school district. it was recorded by diplomas count report this year that prince george's county listed below the national average for seniors graduating from high school. how do you begin to tackle that issue? >> we begin to tackle that long before high school, and as a matter of fact, that cannot just be a high scho problem. a problem that we face when kids enter ninth grade. we have to start that or start addressing that when kids enter prekindergarten, kindergarten or whenever they ent our school system. >> reporter: some big changes coming for the school year. you have more k through 8 schools this year. what is it about that k through 8 situation? what do you think that does to

help improve education that you all want more? >> one of the things that we found is, first, we've already had four k through 8s that are extremely successful. and one of the things that we've noticed is that if you reduce the number of transitions when a child moves from one school to another, then you're more apt to address the needs of that young person. also, we have a lot of elementary classes where there are intimate relationships between the teacher and the students. and those relationships can expand when kids enter sixth, seventh and eighth grade so that we know the needs of those students and are able to address their needs specifically. >> reporter: all right. thank you, dr. william hite, soup tep dent, prince george's county schools, starting off an exciting new school year with lots of challenges. sounds like he's ready to deal with a lot of them. coming up next, we have keith garvin who's over there in northwest washington where they're kicking off the school year there for d.c. good morning, keith. >> reporter: good morning, tracee. that's right. hard to believe we're just over

an hour or so away from that very first bell, but thousands of students and teachers across the district undoubtedly are already starting to stir for this very first day of class. 37,000 students, in fact, are expected to be in classes starting today. despite an aggressive radio and bus sign ad campaign, that will be close to a 20% decline in student enrollment from last year, and that's according to "the washington post." that continues a steady decline in enrollment since 1980, while the number of kids attending charter schools has jumped dramatically since they opened. but mayor fenty and school chancellor michelle rhee are remaining optimistic. this is the third school opening under the administration's initiative. at 7:30, the mayor and chan legal sorry rhee, along with the education secretary arne duncan and the health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius are scheduled to hold a press conference here at h.d. cooke elementary school. they will discuss how schools will handle the possibility of an outbreak of the h 1 h 1 virus

that so many school systems across the country are worried about. reporting live from northwest, keith garvin, news 4. >> thanks very much, keith. >> new today, home video of a deadly tropical wave out in maine. check this out. it is incredibly rough surf caused by hurricane bill and blamed for the death of a little girl. the 7-year-old was among a group of about 20 people swept into the water by a large wave. the coast guard respondedcould i uld not save the girl. vethwae watchers were among thousands whowa gdatrehet ao aca eaf onal park in bar harbor. mit pa portland.f several had to go to the hospital. most had broken bones from slamming into the rocks. >> today's your last day -- last chance, that is, to cash in your clunker. in just a matter of hours, the wildly popular incentive program will come to an end. drivers have until 8:00 tonight to trade in their old gas guzzlers for a newer, more fuel-efficient car. the government is handing out rebates of up to $4,500.

almost 500,000 cars have been sold under the program, but only about 7% of reimbursements to dealerships have been paid out so far. >> a reality tv contestant wanted for the murder of a gruesome death of his ex-wife has been found dead. employees at a motel in canada found the body of ryan jenkins inside a room last night. police say it appears he hanged himself in the closet. jenkins was wanted on first degree murder charges in the death of his ex-wife, model jasmine fiore. her mutilated body was found earlier this month in california, stuffed in a suitcase. jenkins was a contestant on the vh 1 reality show "megan wants a millionaire." vh 1 has pulled the show from the air. presidenobama's vacation won't be all fun in the sun. find out what's on his agenda this week. what happened over the weekend that has congress renewing its calls for a passenger bill of rights. >> out of control wildfires are threatening to burn down one of the most historic places in the world.

weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning now at 6:11 as we look at our sky, it's mostly cloudy on this ckba-to-school monday. live view from our city camera overlooking the potomac river this morning. sunrise about 20 minutes away. on radar, we do have a thundershower crossing the lower part of the bay, heading into dorchester. elsewhere getting some light rain there in southern maryland. we don't have any other rain across much of the region. west and north of washington, lower humidity and cooler temperatures. near 70 in washington, montgomery, fairfax, prince george's county and arlington county. highs in the 80s, maybe a passing shower later on this morning into early afternoon. otherwise, partly cloudy. low humidity in place for tuesday, wednesday and thursday with highs in the 80s to near 90. more humid friday into the weekend with some clouds around, highs near 80. a small chance of a passing shower. jerry, how's the traffic? >> a live look, chopper 4 over one of the school bus parking lots in prince george's county.

they're warming them up, getting ready to head out. keep an eye out for the youngsters in jurisdictions that are going back to school today. college park, inner loop, outer loop at route 1, so far just a little outer loop volume. elsewhere at the wilson bridge, nothing to worry about. 95, 395 and 66 all incident-free so far. good news there. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks, jerry, very much. an out of control wildfire is burning dozens of homes and threatening some of the most historic places on the planet. president obama is in martha's vineyard this morning. it will have to be a working vacation for him. the presiden issuesba issues he needs to add

our top story this morning. it is back to school for thousands of students in the area. classes resume today stall at all schools.

kids kids are heading back to class. >> a family getaway for president obama, but he won't leave behind issues dominating his presidency. first and foremost, health care reform, buthat's not all. brooke hart is joining us live from capitol hill with the latest. brooke, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. we get important news this week on afghanistan and also on the government's increasing red ink. but what had republicans here aharmed is democrats' threat of using a strong arm tactic to force health care through. in martha's vineyard with family, president obama this week takes a time-out in a tough summer. his health care drive is under fire in new tv ads. >> mr. president, when you go back to d.c., drop your government-run public option plan. >> i think a public option is important. >> reporter: the president has said he still backs government insurance as part of reform. >> yes, we are considering alternatives. >> reporter: now liberal democrats who age are weighing

using a special tactic in the senate. it would let them pass a health care bill with the simple majority, not the usual 60 votes. republicans are girding for battle. >> that would be an abuse of the process. >> reporter: on another front for the president, afghanistan. results of last week's election, incumbent hamid karzai versus challenger abdullah abdullah will be made public tuesday. there are growing claims of vote-rigging. that means new political trouble, on top of security threats as u.s. forces enter a ninth year of war. >> afghanistan is very vulnerable in terms of taliban and extremists taking over again. i don't think that threat's going to go away. >> reporter: the deficit threat also gets attention tuesday, with rorts out the ten-year deficit will jump from 7 to $9 trillion. it's bound to add steam to the already-hot health care fight. president obama says the deficit is proof of the urgent need to bring health care costs down and insists reform not add to it. some moderate republicans are

already talking about the -- wanting to shelve health care change until next year or even later. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. back to you. >> thank you. >> well, we're continuing to follow a developing story out of greece right now. evacuations are happening as massive wildfires are still spreading there. thousands have been forced from their homes and hospitals and about a dozen nuns had to be rescued from a convent. strong winds are expected to stir back up today as the flames edge closer and closer to athens. 2,000 firefighters, soldiers and volunteers are fighting the fire on the ground and airplanes from three other countries have been called in to help drop water from the air. >>irline passengers could soon be protected from being strand odd the runway for hours at a time. new york senator chuck schumer is creating a passenger bill of rights. schumer's bill would force airlines to allow passengers off of a plane once it's been delayed for three hours. airlines will also have to provide food, water and adequate

bathrooms for passengers who are stranded on the ground. that will come as a relief to passengers who have been stuck on grounded flights. >> they didn't tell us it was canceled. it was raining. we sat on the tarmac for four hours. >> where's the customer service? >> passengers ought to have some rights. they shouldn't just be treated as cattle going on that railroad car and whatever happens to you, tough luck. >> schumer expects the full senate to take up the bill this fall. nasa says tomorrow's shuttle launch is a go as ng as mother nature cooperat. forecasters anticipate good weather for space ship "discove" ps planned take offearly tomorrow morning. on the flip side, there's a chance of thunderstorms later today whi could delay scheduled fueling. that could delay launch time. nasa engineers say testing of a shuttle power controller replaced last week is looking good. "discovery" will be delivering supplies and equipment to the international space station. >> well, in sports this morning, ryan zimmerman and adam dunn

power the nats to a win over the milwaukee brewers. lindsay czarniak has your sports minute. >> hey there. good morning, everybody. your sports minute on this monday morning begins with the nationals. adam dunn, ryan zimmerman and cristian guzman all homered against the brewers. the nationals pounded out ten hits, beating milwaukee 8-3. the nats snapped a five-game losing streak and have now won five straight games played on sundays. the brewers and nats finish off a four-game series this afternoon. to baltimore, the orioles finally won a series for the first time since the all-star break. on sunday, nolan reimold hit a two-run homer and they held on to beat the chicago white sox 5-4. an unbelievable play in the phillies/mets game. second baseman eric bruntlett recorded an unassisted triple play to end the game. the feat is rare, just the 15th time in major league history that it's happened. the phillies won 9-7. the redskins will be back to work this afternoon as they get

ready for a very important preseason game -- the third game usually when the starters play most. the skins host the new england patriots friday night. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsey czarniak. have a great mday. >> just about 6:21 now. time again for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein. he's up in storm center 4 with our forecast. good morning, tom. >> a cloudy start to this back-to-school monday. good morning. looking at radar, we've had a thunderstorm go through st. mary's county, now passing into chesapeake bay. getting some light rain in southern calvert countyt.ssac sa across st. mary's into southern charles county this morning. farther to our west and north, no precipitation. temperatures are near 70. some 60s farther to the west, weather watchers reporting this morning. highs today reaching the 80s. a chance of a passing shower, mainly this morning south and east of washington. and then tomorrow and wednesday and thursday, low humidity, lots of sunshine, highs in the 80s to near 90. friday into the weekend a little more humid. some clouds around.

highs near 80 degrees. and there's a small chance of passing showers each day. and i'll show you the forecast again coming up here, your back-to-school fornt frequent updates throughout the rest of the morning. now let's check traffic. jerry, how's it looking on this monday? >> unfortunately, we have the first major accident of the morning on an interstate. show you this. 95 southbound, southbound 95 in newington, accident, there's an overturned vehicle there. right now only the far right lane on the southbound side gets by. northbound and the hov lanes, both lanes are open but there's a lot of fire department activity there. likely find some rubber necking delays on the main lane of northbound. so again, the accident southbound 95 at newington with an overturned vehicle. the fire department's on the scene. elsewhere not to worry through northeast, looking good. southeast corridors, everything is moving well. look out for the youngsters out there. many jurisdictions going back to school today as you well know. back to you. >> 6:22. the safe driving campaign going

on right now in parts of maryland targeting teenage drivers. music sensation and teen heart throb nick jonas is in d.c. this morning speaking out about a very serious subject.

i believe that's the first time it's ever happened. >> miss usa did not fall this year, but she didn't win either. miss universe title belongs to miss venezuela for the second year in a row. stefania fernandez won the crown in the bahamas last night. her celebration was so gleeful that her tiara fell right off her head. not that she needed it anyway. >> well, today a teen pop star will be in d.c. to talk about living with juvenile diabetes,

hoping to raise awareness about that disease. nick jonas of the grammy-nominated band the jonas brothers will be at the national press club in northwest washington this morning. he'll share how he manages with the illness. in june he testified before congress to call for support of diabetes funding. jonas was diagnosed with type i diabetes at the age of 13 and says he has to test his blood sugar more than ten times every day. >> we're connected to your commute and it could be a rough one today. schools are back in session, and a couple of new construction projects are on the beltway. they're under way this morning. we have live team coverage as thousands of students head back to school today. what parents need to know beef e you head out to the bus stop. >> the international manhunt for a reality tv show contestant wanted for the murder of his ex-wife, a former model, the

making the grade. summer is over, and it's back to school for tens of thousands of students in our area. you can see the buses getting ready to go to work. we did our homework and have

live team coverage to make sure your student starts the year off right. good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang in for barbara harrison today, monday, august 24th, 29. i is hard to believe that kids are heading back to school already. where did our summer go? >> harder for us -- harder for them than for us, unfortunately, i imagine. >> 70 degrees right now. this morning it felt a lot less humid. >> kind of nice. >> nice. meteorogist tom kierein is with us now and he's going to give us the rest of the forecast. what does that mean? means we're going to have nice weather today? >> a touch of fall in the air as we get back to school, which is kind of unusual. usually the end of august we're still sweltering but not this morning. farther to our so iuth,n sohe ea e, lerheower eastern shore, it' s eaarf hraenge and yoel he ders s southern dorchester county. lingering rain in southern calvert county and st. mary's, charles counties this morning.

farther west and north, though, no precipitation, lower er ndpl te.uatar temperatures around theste e ie are lst0owju 6n the low 60s. ht arinrnt tees art in western rn asngmo eag,n70r w iou morning, near 70 in washington and the nearby suburbs. thok at the dew points. 'satfoouthrtabom dry, though, a still steam on tghhe eastern shore where temperatures are near 70. non ly i the 50s and 40s in the mountains now. we do have a stalled front to our south and east that may trigger a passing shower or thundershower later on today in that zone. wh elseere, dry, highs in the 80s. comfortably dry tuesday, wednesday and thursday, highs 80s to near 90. look at friday and the weekend coming up at 6:41, in ten minutes. >> all right. see you then. thank you, tom. >> let's go to jerry edwards and the news 4 traffic network. jerry? >> good morning. authorities still struggling with an accident on 95 southbound and virginia, an overturned car in the southbound lanes of 95 in newington. right now looks like one far right lane southbound gets by. there was some activity on the shoulder of the hov lanes northbound. that has moved on. but there are early rubber

necking delays in all lanes 95 northbound to a point opposite the southbound accident. so be forewarned. elsewhere, there had been an accident outer loop at central avenue tying up the right side. just moved on so the lanes coming up from andrews onto the outer loop have re-opened. joe and eun, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> for thousands of kids in our tto or are used to.arliert tory summer is over and it is the fifirst day of school. in myl kan adsidrsre heading nck to css in prince n'sgearore re fckde tre school time rundel foirrnibao toochquim t fe for fauquier,pe c appulnder nd lotpper spotsylvania count us. d.c., asde s antlsre students hitting the books today. news 4 tracee wilkins joins us live from the brandywine bus depot with more on what's in store for school this year. >> reporter: we're here in prince george's county where 130,000 students will be heading back. this is the second largest school system in maryland, the 18th largest in the nation, and we got to get these kids to school somehow. that's why we're hanging out

here on the bus. this is the first stop on the start of school. as you take a look here, you can see that what they've equipped buses with this year in prince george's county, cameras. all around the buses, three to four new cameras in each bus. and down here, this is a little area where kids will be able to swipe their i.d.s so that they know for sure that they're on the correct bus before they board. joining us live is mr. cox, who's a bus driver here with the prince george's county school system. so, to get onto your bus this year and see that you've got some cameras. how do you feel about that? >> i feel very, very good about that. i think the newer buses now is equipped with the cameras. also a camera there for the driver. and i like that. >> reporter: yes. it's important because you all have had issues in the past, and i know that a lot of bus drivers were wishing there were cameras there then with issues of students and sometimes safety issues that can affect the bus drivers as well. >> that's true. that's true. it also can, if the student is rowdy or doing damage to the

seats or something like that, then actually camera will be able to pick that up. >> reporter: absolutely. let's talk abou safety on the roadways. what is it you would like to say to drivers? you guys are back out there on the roads now. what would you like drivers to know when it comes to the school buses and the students who are boarding them? >> i think it's very important. safety is really one of the number one issue that we -- that we face, and as a driver, i think more drivers should be, you know -- take the time. be more courteous because a lot of the motorists out there will cut you off. you have to be very, very careful. really take your time. >> reporter: watch out for the students. >> especially when they are boarding the bus and getting off the bus. make sure that you also -- make sure that you know when you stop, make sure that the traffic is clear before they cross the street. >> reporter: absolutely. thank you so much, mr. cox. he knows what he's's talking about because he's been driving

the buses for years. back to you in the studio. >> tracee, thank you. right now chopper 4 is flying above thomas stone high school in charles county. sheriff deputies are greeting returning students there, making sure classes aren't the only thing on their minds. deputies are out at every high school in the county, passing out flyers about safe driving. they're being proactive this year after nine teens died in multiple crashes last year. the sheriff's department says it continues to hammering home this message throughout the school year by taking part in a number of safe driving assemblies. >> we are connected to your commute this mornis w titng woh jo rarmaicle t arts to tell you a o travel thel beltwayn he tst- ir -rfohe tex for the first -- for the next .urre w,lil beimghclettesos e rimttouclteosur . he outer loop of the beltway loop of the beltway nhower connector betenlanen dore weseeierow connector betenwe 10 :0ndp. am. 5:00 aa.m., beivers aould expect dela a be

nighnela overnight lanee tsuce pak t olan soaleel plaak tn bhe beltway.rnr ameper the ramp leadingo t geiddoa w aill close a en30 p.m. andl r 9:30 p.m. and re-open at30 5:00 m. cr nsl be beams for the newit cap al beltway bridge at that location. >> time is running out. only a few hours left to cash in your clunker. the program ends at 8:00 tonight, and so will the rebates for trading in gas guzzlers for newer, more fuel efficient cars. last-minute shoppers crowded into the dealerships this weekend. among them, the caputo family. they visited an auto mall i gaithersburg. they traded in their 10-year-old van for a camry. they cashed in with a $3,500 rebate. >> a great program. we were holding on, holding on. we said it's a good program, good incentive, buy the car. it made sense for us. >> it's been incredible. nothing but good news. we've had more business this

month than we did a year ago. we may have a record month in l of our company's history. >> the government says nearly 500,000 cars have been sold under cash for clunkers. now dealers are rushing to finish the paperwork. so far, only 7% of reimbursements for dealers have been paid out. >> well, after a week-long manhunt, a reality tv contestant wanted for murder in the gruesome death of his ex-wife has been found dead inside a canadian motel room. employees at the motel found the body of ryan jenkins inside a room last night. police say it appears he hanged himself in the closet. jenkins was wanted on first degree murder charges in the death of his ebbs wife, model jasmine fiore. her mutilated body was discovered earlier this month in california, stuffed into a suitcase and thrown into a trash can. jenkins was a contestant on the vh 1 reality show "megan wants a millionaire." vh 1 has since pulled the show off the air. >> a major airline is getting ready to install wi-fi on its

flights. don't feel like cooking dinner tonight? the sweet deals restaurants around town will be offering this week. we're getting a better look at the obama summer vacation t's cand just what's on the 28-

weather and traffic. good morning. at this hour, temperatures around the region, we're in the 40s and 50s out in the mountains, shenandoah valley, blue ridge in the 60s. western and northern suburbs, 60s to near 70. mid-70s around the bay, eastern shore where they have shh showers and thundershowers. getting some light rain in southern maryland. for the rest of the day, maybe a passing shower or maybe a thundershower, mainly south and east of washington. otherwise, partly cloudy with low humidity and highs in the upper 80s. near 90 tuesday and wednesday, mostly sunny with low humidity, mid-80s on thursday. partly cloudy, getting more humid friday, saturday and sunday, highs near 80.

a chance of a passing shower. very small chance. now, jerry, how's our traffic? >> tom, loaded up. back to virginia along 95 northbound, it is jammed. nothing blocking northbound, but the overturned car southbound in newington doing an awful lot of northbound attention. so heads-up for that. elsewhere, good news at the wilson bridge, still very, very quiet. 270 sporadic slowdowns now, but really all in all, not a bad commute from germantown down to the split. outer loop from college park to silver spring still looking pretty decent. joe, back to you. >> jerry, thanks very much. our time is 6:43, 70 degrees. what the residents of martha's vib yard are doing to welcome the first family in town this week. next at 6:45, we continue our back-to-school live team coverage. just how ready are d.c. schools foar

od> yegosummer. hello, homework. for thousands of kids in our area, it is back to school today. many schools will be re-opening their doors, including those in the district. news 4's keith garvin joins us now live from h.d. cooke elementary school. keith, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, eun. enrollment in the district is expected to dip by about 20% compared to last year but that projection is not putting a damper on the start of the year for the students and teachers who will be in class starting today. in fact, over the weekend, several thousand volunteers, many of them students, turned out at about 100 --ctually, all of the 114 schools that are in the district. they were there to spruce up their campuses before classes begin this morning. school's chancellor michelle rhee believes improvements to a campus translates to

improvements inside the campus. immunizations are always an important topic this time of year. there were new requirements for all grade levels for this school year. all students are required to receive the chicken pox vaccine this year and female students enrolling in the sixth grade for the very first time are required to have the hpv vaccine, to name just a few of those new requirements. and all public and private students in the district are required to have their vaccinations by september 8th. on another note, district students head back with all 114 principals and most teachers in place. in fact, there are only about 18 teacher vacant says that remain open compared to 800 from just this past may. reporting live from northwest, keith garvin, news 4. eun, back to you. >> keith, thank you. joe? >> a great offer when money is tight. it is restaurant week in the district, which means that meal deals will be around all week long. today through sunday, you can get three-course meals at a reduced price at some 180 d.c. restaurants. the offer is for both lunch and dinner.

restaurant owners expect to be busy. the executive chef at georgia brown's says the hope is some of those deal-seekers will become repeat customers. >> they're getting a great value for the dollar spent, and, you know, really truly a memorable experience. so hopefully they do come back to georgia brown's when it's not restaurant week. >> well, if you do want a table, you better make a reservation. at georgia brown's they say more than 200 people called ahead for reservations for tonight alone. wow. well, the dow jones begins the day above the 9500 mark. the last time that happened was nine months ago. cnbc's matt necessary her joins us live with today's business headlines. grn. >> reporter: i'll tell you what, the premarket indicators, the futures are pointing to another high open. we got a boost from a report that showed surge in existing home sales last month. also some comments from fed chairman ben berman key, suggesting that the u.s. economy

is nearing recovery. asian markets loved it. they closed up overnight for optimism on global economic recovery. it will be a busy economic week here. today we've got reports on home prices, new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods, personal income and spending, as well as a revised look at second quarter gdp. the dow, as you said, will be above 9500. 9505 is where we start off. this is an easy one. the nasdaq, crystal clear, 2020 is where we start off. joe, back to you. >> like to hear that. thanks very much, matt. have a great day. news 4 is helping to find jobs for you. the financial crimes enforcement network is looking for a facilindes a property gena mantspme aecialist. salary ranges are fm 86 to $113,0 pr.erea y 'rou yeea interested in learning e go to nbcsh.cinongt om and search jobs 4 you. >> the first family has arrived in martha's vineyard for what they hope to be a quiet

vacation, but there's no leaving behind the issues facing the president. the issue that continues to get the most attention, health care. timely television ad attacks the president's push for a public health care, urging him to change his mind when he's back from vacation. the results of afghanistan's recent presidential election have not been announced, but already there are allegations of vote-rigging. that could present a new political problem in the country, where security threats are a constant. >> afghanistan is very vulnerable in terms of taliban and extremists taking over again, and i don't think that threat's going to go away. >> tomorrow, the deficit could present a new problem. there are reports out that the ten-year deficit will jump from 7 to $9 trillion. all of those reasons the president will be offlimits this week. he is not taking questions and recommended reporters to go enjoy a walk on the beach. the family is staying at a private getaway and will have no reason to leave. it is a full-on home that includes a barn, a swimming

pool, as well as a basketball court. and it's appraise where, apparently, the secret service feels the family can be well secured and va safe. >> the first family will call this 28-acre private estate in martha's vineyard home for the next few days. they arrived yesterday for the week-long vacation, even brought the family dog bo. sibs leading to the estate have been taken down to protect the family's privacy. many fellow vacationers are still hoping to catch a glimpse of the president around town. this is president obama's first vacation since taking office. >> it is time again at 6:51 for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> here's tom. >> back to school, many are getting a lump in the throat, choking back tears. those are the teachers. but the students are thrilled. they can't wait to get back as we get going on this back-to-school monday. we have clouds around at this hour, the cloud cover is going to continue to be with us here throughout the morning. there's a live picture from our city camera.

and the sun did rise about 20 minutes ago. it's 70 degrees in washington at this hour. there is the jefferson memorial, ac. erof theomotent there on thr .v r as we take a look at radar, we've had some thundershors rolling across southern myldan this year. those showers are continuing to head off to the east. they have exited southern maryland and are now going across the bay and heading toward cambridge, dorchester counties. here comes a line of thunder and some heavy rain, frequent lightning. that will be moving on through over t next, oh, perhaps half hour or so. but elsewhere farther west and north we don't have any precipitation at this hour. and the temperatures around the region are certainly comfortable. weather watchers reporting around the blue ridge, shenandoah valley low and mid-60s now with low humidity. near 70 in prince george's, montgomery and fairfax county and the district of columbia. a little bit warmer and more humid around the bay. these are the current dew points. it is comfortably dry in washington, points west and north. dew points in the upper 50s to near 60. still steamy, a stey dew point

of 70 at pax river where they had the heavy shower go through. out in the mountains, 40s and 50s this morning, feeling like fall there. we have one area of cloudiness coming through. it will head out and we'll get some sunshine back. along the stalled front, may get some p siun ddeth lwers tatrs ser thundershowers later today south insh.ongtwa traveling, couldaveeom s ht igfl delays in florida and perhaps the carolinas and northern new england. the upper parts of the midwest as well as out in the mountains and perhaps in the desert region, some passing thunderstorms later on today. here the bus stop forecast for this morning. just a few showers possible south and east of washington. heherwise, mostly cloudy, teteatnures iur the 60s to nears 70. just a pachance of a passing shower this afternoon. clearing out this afternoon, into tonight. tomorrow morning down into the 60s. some terrific weather here for tuesday througthend end of the we.ek not too humid. afternoon highs with sunshine, upper 80s torea n.90. more huld friday,at sydaur and sunday. smcel an achf oda passing shower

ch day with highs near 80. as my father always told us, going back to school, remember, if you don't do well in school, your life will be ruined. >> that's all. >> he was right. >> and he was there to ruin it. if you didn't do well in school, personally. let's say hello to jerry edwards now and the news 4 traffic network. >> good morning. check out southeast washington. watching for the youngsters and make sure you do, too. so far, pennsylvania avenue, branch avenue moving along very nicely, just the usual traffic light delays. so that is a hopeful sign. headed for downtown, 395 northbound, headed for the inbound 14th street bridge, continuing to move along very, very nicely. southbound 395 all lanes remain open down to the beltway. back to you. >> thanks very much, jerry. >> thousands of students in our area are catching that big yellow bus this morning. they're kicking off a new school year. news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live from the brandywine bus depot with more on how prince george's county are getting

ready. >> reporter: good morning. let me tell you, when these kids get on the buses here in prince george's county they'll have a lot of eyes watching them. one of those eyes is here above me. this is the camera that's going to be watching them as they enter the bus. over here is a camera that's going to be watching drivers who run the bus's stop sign. those drivers will get citations later on from the prince george's county police department. up here, they will have cameras facing the back of the bus. look at this. this is a sensor red light. even if it's dark, like after school and activities and the rest of,hen it starts to get dark earlier, they will still be able to see what's going on in the back of the bus. down here, a swiper. when they come in, they'll have to take their student i.d. and swipe there so that they know that they're on the right bus. and just in case of any kind of accident, they can actually take a look at this log and know exactly who was on the bus when it happened. a lot of high security, a lot of stuff to help protect students and keep them safe and also bus drivers as well. i'm tracee wilkins, live in brandywine.

back to you. >> wow. very high tech school bus. tracee, thank you. >> well, we are looking for people who make the day special in the early morning hours, just if snoouneomwayeo if you know someone like th,at please e-mail their story on,al with a clear, close-upre ptuic or even aeo id v to inmornidgperson@nbcwashington.co >> well, you've probably never thought of hay in romantic terms. that's right, hay. but meet a german man who might shed a little romantic light on that barn yard staple. a farmer's son in germany decided to propose to his girlfriend using 150 bales of hay. he used the hay to spell out the words, will you marry me, in german. it took two tractors to stack the hay to form each letter. while his method might be a bit questionable, the man did receive results he wanted -- a "yes" from this girlfriend. that's what counts, doesn't it? >> wonder what she used to spell it out. >> he gets an "q" for effort.

we know what they'll do on the honeymoon. a little roll in the hay. >> ah! >> and that's the way it looks. >> okay. say good nye, gracie. okay. that was a quick look at the forecast. do we have any big traffic problems? >> 95 southbound still have the overturned truck. the overturned car, i should say. southbound 95 newington look for continuing delays there. >> okay. hay there. that is "news 4 today." thank you for starting your day with us. >> have a great day. >> bye.