right now on "news4 midday," president obama is set to speak to students at a virginia high school in an hour from now despite controversy, excitement surrounds the school this morning. up and early and out the door. it's the first day of school for many students in our area. and virginia is facing big budget cuts. and the rear doors of an armored truck opened out on to a local highway.

good morning to you. welcome to "news4 midday." i am joe krebs. >> i am eun yang in for barbara harrison. >> and breaking news. talk about loose change. it was a rough start to the morning for armors truck drivers. the back doors of the armored truck swung open spilling money all over the road. and police will have the video for you coming up. police had their hands full using broomso clean the money off the roadway. in other news. an hour from now, president obama will deliver a message to america's studts. >> critics are going as far as calling it indoctrination. there is a buzz at the school where the president is speaking. kimberly is live at the high school with more. >> reporter: good morning. the president is scheduled to meet with a small panel of

students to have an exexchange in a group discussion before he gives his address to the entire nation for those that choose to hear him. it's a first school day to remember. the freshman arrived first. theoretically to get help finding their way to class. a few of them appeared overwhelmed, and not just bite first day, but by the media attention, and the presentation of a special guest. >> he has to tell us, you know, we need to stay in school and stuff. this is important, more important than anything else. >> reporter: she had not heard about the controversy. but this father of a freshman had. >> i heard comments that they were going to get brain washed. i think it's hard to brainwash somebody with a hour-long speech. i think it takes longer.

>> i think it's outrageous. whatever he has to say, it could only be positive. it's not like he will give orchids a negleo our kids a negative message, you know. >> kind of happy that he is coming to our school. because a lot of stuff doesn't happen to our scho. >> a lot happened on this day. and the president bringing out a handful of supporters. >> it's a power grab. he is trying to educate our youth to serve the government. >> would rather the president not say anything about staying in school or taking personal responsibility? >> that's not the main issue here. that's definitely okay for him to say. but he will definitely say more than that. >> have you read his speech? >> i have not read his speech. >> and the brothers will not step foot in in the high school

for a few years, but their mother trotted them out in the rain. >> there was a mother that tried to register her son at the high school today and they said we're sorry you cannot do that today because of the special visit to the high school. back to you. >> i can imagine the security y.ere da kimberly, thanks a lot. >> you can read thede psi re'snt speech right now. toi on see what he is ng tho te children. o we postedt onwe it on nbcwashington.com. go there and searc .ch ee >> speech. if drive drive yo avl wol he a you will hav e getting around. among other among other s re saret huetwndo yo teo thchtnoet soo to the sch using other roads, but they will

reopen after the president leaves the school. reality set in for thousus of kids in our ar,ea because t myan m local schools. tong county, manassasit cy manac andsa maran pksar city today, and prince william and stanford, and megan mcgrath joins us with more. good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. no more sleeping in for kids in virginia. summer vacation has officially ended today. we are here at one of fairfax county's new schools. it's one of two schools that open today. students are excited about being here. they love their new school. this year, though, it promises to be challenges in the county because they are facing deep budget cuts. an exciting day for this elementary school. not only the first day of class,

but the first day in the brand new school, one of two opening in fairfax county this year. what do you think of the new school? >> it's brand new. it's exciting. i like that it's cool. i went to mcnear, so i have friends here. >> reporter: good, they came here, too. they hope it will help keep up with pace in the county. some students are entering kindergarten. >> i want to do math! >> reporter: already? >> reporter: it's a sign of stuff economic times, and tough they are, fairfax county had to cut $150 million from this year's budget. >> we tried to avoid the classroom if possible, but we had to increase class size throughout the system, whether it be regular education or

second language, gifted and talented. on average it's about a half student. but at the high school level, people will see a fewer elective offerings. >> reporter: the school system cut 97 bus routes this year and had to layoff custodial and secretarial staff. at west field high in chanlly, students and the faculty are excited to be back. >> it's a brand new year. my last one here and i am looking forward to it. >> you get to see your friends and teachers. happy and you learn a lot. >> every time the students come in it increases the energy level and enthusiasm, and so the first day of school is always exciting for us. >> reporter: they still have things to work out. some kids could be seen in the office working out scheduling and the like. we did mention 97 bus routes

were cancelled and they are consolidating bus stops, and the parents are concerned that the students are going to stops that are on roads that are too busy. and the situation with this, and we have been saying this for a while, contact the school. they are somewhat flexible. they will look at your individual situation. take a look at your bus stop. in some cases, they have made changes. not in all cases. if you are concerned, contact school officials. >> megan, thank you. the new superintendent of alexandria public schools was out early this morning. he plans to visit all the schools in the first two weeks of class. let's get our first check on what it looks like outside at this hour at midday. still a lot of clouds above us. >> the clouds have been

producing scattered light showers throughout the morning throughout washington, and heavier rain to the south. right now, where you see the area of blue, we are getting light sprinkles from prince georges county, and then on to mt. vernon, and down interstate 95 as well. all the way down prince william county. these are heading off to the north and west and intending to break up as time goes by. right now the wider view of the radar showing steadier rain further to the south. that area of rain is sort of moving in from the east, and is going to be passing up, perhaps near fredericksburg in the next half hour or so. it will remain south and east of washington. temperatures right now around the region are in the upper 60s generally. it's now 67 in washington. near 70 on the eastern shore. upper 60s out of the mountains. and overt last six hours, we see the system giving us this moist

flow that will keephe t clouds. a look at the rest of the week and the weekend, that will be in a few minutes. >> thank you, tom. the rain made for a messy morning commute. let's see how things are shaping up with jerry edwards. >> despite the fact we have dry pavement, we have issued to deal with. the stretch is basically from the robson terminal running slowly by the way of the enter loop. and elsewhere, heading for downtown. are looking good at this hour. along 395. to and across the 14th street bridge. no issues here headed into downtown. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. three metro stations are back open this morning. the pentagon and the crystal city and the reagan national

airport stations have been closed since friday night. crews were doing track work over the weekend. metro says there are fewer riders over the labor day weekend and it was all worth it. the agency says the closures eliminated 150 days of single tracking trains. now, here are news that metro riders will not want to hear. the agency is mulling over another fare hike. they are trying to close a nearly $100 million budget gap. it's also trying to pay for safety upgrades in the wake of the deadly crash in june. metro's last fare hike was in 2008. the agency's general manager will present a presentation to the board in december, and the next fare hike nob next july, almost a year away. we are connecting you to ri you arehe d you are driving0,i-27oui-270 ew crewil a phaseha p ase of

ngfa-sci re-surfacing ecojpe the ft a laerghneso ill close overnight.v l it's part of a $10 million safety and resurfacing project. police in wisconsin say dna linked a milwaukee man to the murders of nine woman. they you rested ellis on saturday. police believe he is connected to the crimes that date back to 1986. i more charges are expected. investigators believe that eight of egll aed alleged victims wer runaway. ol runaway. >> police in the district are looking ss ususctpein a triplect oo tishng that happened this inrnggn i i rtt.hwnoes me two n and a juvenile weretw shot. all three were taken to the hospital and last listed in stable condition. 11:12 in your time.

67 degrees. new developments on the elections in afghanistan. coming up, why some are claiming fraud and calling for a re-count. and we will hear from the teenager that has taken the m..

election officials in afghanistan say about 200,000 votes have been thrownout after widespread allegations of aud. the chief electoral officer says the ballots are suspicious. the commission has received hundreds of complaints including accusations of ballot box stuffing in last month's election. with 74% of the polling released so far, karzai leads the top challenging man abdullah.

and congress is coming back from the recess in which the health care debate continued to rage in town halls across the country. many lawmakers say they are returning to the capitol with renewed hope. they are want to go come up with a bipartisan bill that would pass reform costs on to the insurance companies. >> are you fired up? ready to go? >> as you can see, the president is in full campaign mode. mr. obama was in ohio yesterday pushing the health care plan to a crowd of union workers. he stressed the importance of having a public option. >> i continue to believe that a public option within that basket of insurance choices will help to help bring down costs.

>> tonight he will speak to congress and in an addressed to a joint session during primetime. a former congressman and late nephew of the late senator kennedy, says he will not vie for the seat. the 56-year-old says he will continue to work for a nonprofit that provides free oil to the poor. he said those urging him to take the candidacy were his two sons among others. we start off with with a rainy school start, and we want to know when it's going away? >> we had rain drops to go along dreathops r you are dropping off kin students for

the first time. just off to the south and east, about 10 miles outside of washington, we are getting light rain at this time. there is the view from the city camera showing the gray waters of the potomac reflecting the overcast sky. 10 of an inch.e had less than an let's look at radar now. no precipitation in washington. right now along the beltway in prince georges county and across the potomac and down i-95, getting a few sprinkles. but further west and north we don't have rain. there is another batch of more moderate rain coming out of the east and move into southern st. mary's county. and our temperatures around the region, clouds holding steady in the 60s all morning. it's in the mid-60s.

eastern shore, low 70s now. upper 60s out in the mountains at this hour. over the last six hours, low pressure that has been lurking off the outer banks for the last couple days is not showing any signs of movement. way out here in the atlantic, we have tropical storm fred.yver o atlantic and not affect the eastern seaboard. let's look at the closer view. our region showing this is the main weather feature in the eastern half of the country, and it's beginning to show signs that it's trying to lift a bit to the north. it will be doing this ever so slowly. as a result, we will have the continued east mosterly flow that will keep in the clouds as well as showers. we will see this color going forward over the next 48 hours. there is a chance all the way into tomorrow morning, mainly south and east of washington, a few passing showers that will tomorrow morning, all around the region, we get a wet start to the day and during the day on wednesday, and perhaps a few ssing showers. and on into thursday as well. for the afternoon, remaining

cloudy. a chance of a few showers passing east and south of washington. west and north should stay dry, but cloudy. highs reaching low to mid-70s. overnight tonight, remaining cloudy, but still a few showers, maybe 25, 35 miles south t of washington. around dawn, around the metro area and across the rnioeg we could have light rainorio t w morning. and maybe a passing shower as we on wednesday. otherwise, cloudy, hsldsheou should make it to the mid and m upper 70s. cool again on thursday as the low pressure finally begins to pull away. il have, perhaps, 40% chance ofl showers then in with ie highs in e low 70s. d it should be mostly sunny sunday, monday and into the week. that's the way it looks on this tuesday morning. thank you, tom. let's go to injujerry.

>> the rain is coming down. be careful traveling the beltway south of town. no major accidents at this point weather related. we had the 395 southbound, an accident there. and then the accident on the inner loop at 236. wilson bridge, lanes are open there. the bay bridge, we are in fair shape in both directions. 270 appears to be moving along in light traffic. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. still ahead, why some republicans are now going out of their way to show support for the president's school speech now less than an hour away. and then the bay bridge in california did not open as scheduled this morning. and barker shows o fightingil sk fighting kiloot l ast ahakoot a

nbcwashington.com. we'll be right back.

bob barker showing how to fight. he offered up fabulous prizes. and he was the celebrity guest host on monday night "raw." he can still strike a deal and throw a punch. he belted a wrestler that talked back to him. greatest tennis players in the world are gathered in new york this week. everybody is talking about a teen tennis player that stole the show at the u.s. open.

>> it's a great feeling. when i had my first match point and on the second set a standing ovation. it's crazy how many people are cheering for me and supporting me. >> that was 17-year-old melanie oudin. she decided she wanted to go pro at the age of 9. >> amazing run right now. >> why met is now considering another rate hike, and when we might get a decision on that. >> and governor kean making a decision in the budget. and what businesses are offering you on the special occasion. >> and tom kierein is back witha look at the great forecast.

right now at 11:30, the back doors of an armored vehicle swung open this morng spilling money all over the road. chopper 4 was above the scene. police have their hands full using brooms and trying to clean up money off the roadway. thousands of local students

back in the classroom today. and students in fairfax and arlington and alexandria are among those that opened the doors this morning. the school system eliminated nearly 100 bus stops, saving some $4.5 million. congress is also getting back to work today. the summer break is over. lawmakers are getting ready to tackle a long to-do list. the house and senate still have not agreed on the annual spending bills that are supposed to be passed by the end of the month. we are now about a half hour away from president obama's speech to students. he will deliver a message of encouragement that will be televised to schools across the country. conservative critics spoke out against the speech, some saying the president was using it to indoctrinate children. in an effort to quiet the criticism,he eeleased the enteir released the entire speech. you can read it on as cwashington.com. it part, quote, "we

ne einve s oryegl oe you t en t anletein, ifou yte don't do yoot nu ar, jottus quitting yo t ururself, you are quitting o lfn y ountry." stodamesopoke up to support the president. newt gingrich gave his views on the "toda show. >> it's a good speech. i would love to have every child read it and think about it and know they should stay in school and study. >> and laura bush says parents need to reinforce the message he is sending. it has been a rough summer for metro, and now there is speculation that metro may raise fares to deal with the huge budget hole. they are expecting a budget shortfall next year and will need additional revenue to close the gap. tracee wilkins joins us with details. good morning.

>> it's already time for the officials to think about the fiscal budget. when it comes to balancing the budget, they have a number of options to consider, and a fare increase is one of them. they are forecasting the expenses to grow to $100 million, and this while revenue is expected to drop by $40me ion. the gloomy forecast is expected to be presented to board members this thursday. the gap is one of the metro's largest ever. now is the time to make sure that the budget will be balanced and that gaps are closed. some metro board members are reporting that a decrease in advertising revenue and higher cost for access programs are adding to the deficit. last year the agency took steps to avoid a fare hike by consolidating bus routes and laying off hundreds of employees. when fare increases have been debated before, passengers

overwhelmingly said they prefer to pay more rather than to have cuts in service. >> i understand they probably need that money to be able to operate. i understand. but nobody likes to see fares go up. >> i don't know if it will improve or make their image worse. i will keep on riding. >> any proposed fare increases would have to go up for public debate. the budget gets a final vote in july of 2010. we can expect plenty of ideas and changes before now and then. now, virginia employees could be losing a day of pay. governor kaine told the newspaper he may require workers to take a short furlough.

governor tim kaine is trying to close a $1.5 billion budget gap. let's get another check on the weather right now. meteorologist, tom kierein, is up in storm center 4 with a look at the forecast. how much more rain? >> not much here, but south and east of washington is where the rain teat will continue in the afternoon hours. we are getting light rain along the beltway and across the potomac, from alexandria to mt. vernon there is rain. far down to the south, interstate 95, the radar showing steadier rain. and some heavier rain is falling across the northern neck as well as down towards williamsburg, just to the east of richmond. elsewhere, the sky is just cloudy with temperatures in the upper 60s to near 70 degrees. it's going to continue this way all the way into the afternoon hours. a threat of rain is mainly south and east of washington, as the

coastal low pressure system will advance right along the coast slowly over the next 48 hours. highs climbing in the low to mid-70s. and cloudy tonight. maybe a shower tomorrow morning as we get going on wednesday. in the 60s tomorrow morning. cloudy tomorrow. maybe a passing shower. highs in the 70s. a bit cooler on thursday. still a chance of rain, but drying out friday into the weekend. sunshine returns and it should be warmer. that's how it looks right now. let's get a final check of the midday traffic now with jerry edwards. >> it looks like a morning commute out there at this hour. we showed you the accident inner loop at 236. these are the delays because of the accident, just above the springfield interchange. it's jammed and crawling all the way up where the right lane is still blocked on the inner loop. outer loop, you are okay. and new york avenue, new jersey avenue, police are wrapping that

up. the topside of th beltway right now between i-95 and 355, looking good. back to you. >> thank you very much. > it's another day of major traffic trouble in san francisco where a busy bridge remains shut down for another day. the san francisco oakland bay bridge was undergoing a planned upgrade over the holiday weekend when a large crack was discovered in the steel link. crews began to repair the crack and hoped to have it finish by this morning, however the repairs are taking longer than expected. the officials hope to reopen the bridge by tomorrow. more than a quarter million vehicles travel over the bridge every day. now to the swine flu and the fears about a major outbreak as students head back to school. now schools across the country are trying to keep the virus from causing havoc during the fall semester. kevin tibbles reports. >> reporter: on college campuses across the country, the students

are moving in. and the is an uninvited guest. the swine flu. >> swine flu or not, i lived at home with my family, so it's different living in a place with this many people. >> reporter: college web sites now counsel students on what they need to do should they feel ill. >> avoiding shaking hands, and freak washing of hands, and covering your mouth when you snaed and cough. >> reporter: the outbreak first started in the southeast where classes opened the earliest, but spread quickly. >> witschool starting we will see an up particular in cases. we also know that we are likely to see the up particular before the vaccine is available. >> reporter: fall past times like college football took a hit like washington state university where 2,200 students may have come down with h1n1. a vacant dorm build something

being used to house infected students. they nicked name it swine u. >> they are planning to offer the common through vaccine to all 26,000 students. and the h1n1 vaccine as soon as it's on the market. the new vaccine will not be available until sometime next month. crowded campuses are perfect places for the viruses to spread. and students are being advised to wash with soap or hand sanitizer regularly, and if they feel sick, see a doctor. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. >> how do you protect yourself during the flu season. dr. nancy snyderman said hygene

is the key. >> do not go to the emergency room for two reasons. one you will make other people vulnerable sick and you will clog up the system, and the other thing not to do is go to class. plan ahead. >> she says you should plan ahead and if you are sick, e-mail your professors, they should know how to get the information to you. beware of sleepy drivers tired from working two jobs because of the economy. they are one of the greatest risks to the safety on the roadway. the study was done that shows the biggest reason for loss of sleep is financial strain. a walmart shopper got more th he bargained for. the man was bitten by a

copperhead snake in the lawn center. emergency crews say only one of the snake's fangs pierced the man. now a pup in boston is being credited with saving a man's life. john healy was aeep when his house got fire. his dog was poking him until he got his attention. >> i said, major, knock it off. and finally i opened my eyes and saw the smoke in my bedroom. i think he safed my life, you know. major, you saved my life, yep. >> the house was a total loss. firefighters are still trying to determine the cause of the fire. >> it's 11:40. 67 degrees. still ahead, we will have the latest on wall street on the first day of trading this week. big name stars plan to joina

mcdonald's suffered a mcloss in malaysia today when a crt allowed a malaysia restaurant chain to use the prefix mc. the ruling ends an eight-year court battle between the fast-food giant and the restaurant. stocks started the day higher. >> let's check in to see where things stand at this moment. >> we have stocks modestly higher. the dow is up 26 points. had been up as high as 50 or so. one of the things that has started on the positive, gold is trading above $1,000. pretty much all session. normally is that not something that people really cheer. it has commodity stocks moving

to the outside. oil is above $71 a barrel at this hour because the dollar is so weak today. the u.n. panel became the latest of many on the international scene saying maybe it's time to diversify awa from the greenback. and then the up side is that we have energy and stocks are moving to the outside. kraft is lower today. and they made a bid for cadbury. and that was denied and then hershey can now take a crack at that bid. and then there is losses in the pork decision. it was hit hard after swine flu prompted import bans. the flu is not related to

animals. small business owners are feeling better aut the economy according to one group. the group's optimism index rose, not great and not that high. other parts of the survey showed businesses are seeing earnings under pressure, and that leads to cutting prices. a big day tomorrow if you are in technology and music. we have the beatles' rock band debuting. you can do that tomorrow. and then steve jobs will be coming back to the public. he will unveil a new bunch of ipods in san francisco. we'll have more on that during tomorrow's update. >> we know he will be there? >> that's what we are hearin we are hearing he will be there. he took a six-month leave of

absence. this will be his first public appearance. he has been back at work since the beginning of the summer. i think he is coming out now in a sense to show that he is really very much back in charge, although over the summer they really tried to develop the bench, if you will, and make sure -- we knew there were other people moving things forward. a lot of people looking forward to seeing him tomorrow. >> for his health, that's great news. thank you. birthdays are meant to be celebrated. did you know there are a bunch of bargains and freebies you can see. >> i have my internet search, the local paper, and a couple koupons sent to me today. first stop, breakfast. all i need to do is fill this out and sign up for the rewards club and i get a free breakfast on my birthday. and these days, the freebies are

turning into big business. >> yeah, they are coming in and getting a free meal, and they are buying one with a friend or loved one. >> even mega companies like disney bought into the birthday bonanza, offering free admission on your special day. at buschardens -- >> we are honoring our guest with a saw farry. >> a safari that costs $33, no charge, and feeding the giraffes? priceless. we found the possibilities are almost endless. >> happy birthday. free coffee. >> thanks. i like that one. >> i will make your personal one. >>. ♪ happy birthday

>> reporter: there are even things you might not imagine. >> for your birthday for one of the patients, they can get their teeth cleaned. we do that to make them feel special. patient appreciation. >> how about a little organization? >> do you really wear all the shoes. ther organinengue q gives you ee trdhi tr hou free for your birthday. and there are web sites popping up with the best birthday deals. and vendors -- >> buy one get one free on your birthday. >> reporter: are just waiting to celebrate with you. what more could i possibly wish for? >> i missed a lot of good deals over my life. i will have to do that. the time is 11:56. 70 degrees. we have a fried butter update

hteplme,ogolor ismeteorologis ki wert,n,eiill be back with another check of the n,forecast. >> we are always looking for a mtpeha tt makes the day ak special in the early morning hours. if y know somebody like that

a tribute to michael jackson from his little sister, janet jackson, is set to perform at the mtv music rewards. she is set to be in practice for a show that has 20 backup dancers. that's not the only tribute in the works. organizers will celebrate the king of pop with a star-studded concert this month. 25 performers will grace the

stage. among them, sister sledge. they call it the main global tribute to michael jackson. >> michael has been an unbelievable humanitarian and unbelievable human being. >> organizers say michael jackson's family will be in austria for the concert along with 65,000 fans. and let's find out what is in the works this afternoon. >> with all the ks back in school now, can the holiday season be far behind? many people are planning ahead. an old favorite of the department store, the layaway is playing a big role this year. >> and then the new food movement. how one market is going all local and bringing it to you right in your own backyard. for those stories and all the day's news, join us for news4 beginning at 4:00 this

afternoon. let's check in with tom kierein. >> as we approach the noon hour, still getting rain in alexandria, and down i-95 and near stafford county. and just along the beltway in prince georges county, southeast washington getting light rain as well as north west washington, and further to the south on the radar we are picking op few studier showers moving into southern maryland in the northern neck of virginia. temperatures should rise from the low to mid-70s where the rain does not penetrate. it looks like it will stay cooler where the rain falls south and east of washington perhaps this afternoon with a northeast win around 5 to 15. tonight for the nationals and phillies at the national' park, it should be cloudy. temperatures should be near 70 by the first pitch time at 7:05. for the rest of the evening,

cloudy and temperatures in the 60s. tomorrow morning, we may have showers around as we get rolling on wednesday. the low to mid-60s. sunrise tomorrow, 6:44. and then maybe a passing shower with highs in the 70. cloudy again on thursday, and cooler. may have a passing shower. drying out for friday and into the weekend. highs near 80 friday. a slight chance of shower on friday night. and sunshine returns with lower temperatures. we may have abnormally high tides on the western side of the bay and the potomac for tonight. last week, you recall we told you about the fried butter at the texas state fair. now the maker won the award for the most creative dish. he whips the butter, sweetens it

and wraps it in dough and then drops it into bubbling grease. he flavors it with sweet cream, cherries and garlic. >> and cardiologist are on duty. >> make sure you tune in for news4 at 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00 for all the day's news. >> we'll be back tomorrow morning. hope you join us then. until then, have a wonderful day. bye.