a woman murdered just steps from her front door in silver spring. now a search for her killer and anyone who may have seen it happen. good afternoon, i'm craig melvin in for jim handly. i'm p lawsonmu se. we begin within bakresgew n out of mico city where a coalmmcier airline jet has beeni hijacked. the air mexico plane was flown to mexico city where it landed moments ago. police stormed that plane. it appears that some passengers are being led away from the plane, as well as some man who police have handcuffed there. >> details are coming in on this. there were reports of a bomb on board the plane. there were also reports the hijackers were talking to negotiators and they wanted to speak to mexican president felipe calderon and were threatening to blow up the plane if they could not. we'll continue to follow this story and bring you the latest developments as they unfold. police found a woman

overnight shot to death outside her apartment building in the brgs aa of cre aa o afilve s r spring. thean w aoms olea-yned olsisimone white.mo ou r around12:30 a.a., neighbors ts tell uss. renid tell us . they hrdit,, police need to find someone who may have seen something. megan mcgrath has more. >> investigators don't have a whole lot to go on. just a 911 call about shots being fired. police brought in a dog to try to pick up a trail on the gunman. at this point, it's not known if the shooter ran away or had a car. >> i just heard shots. i was doing homework. i was on the computer and i told everybody to shut the blinds and stuff because i heard shots. i told mom there were shots. >> it happened at the ashforward at woodlake apartments on castle boulevard in the briggs chaney area of silver spring.

just before 12:30, shots rang out. >> i heard three gun shots. then that was it. i didn't hear anything else. then i heard the police after that. i didn't think anything of it because people shoot-around here all the time. we went back to sleep. >> when police arrived, they found the body of a 37-year-old resident lying on the sidewalk leading to the front door of her apartment ilding. police are not sure if it was a random murder or if the woman knew the gunman. because of the location of the building, it may be hard to find witnesses. >> although this is a densely populated area, this apartment building she was found outside of is an end unit directly adjacent to a wooded area this may limit the number of witnesses that may have heard or seen something. we are asking anyone who saw something suspicious to give us a call. >> a number of people who live in the area reported hearing gun shots. police are really looking for eyewitness accounts. anyone with any information, anyone who saw anything

suspicious here early this morning, you are asked to contact montgomery county police. in silver spring, megan mcgrath, news4. pat collins is following the investigation today. he'll have the latest developments coming up on news4 at 5:00. a youth minister in stafford county is accused of having sex with a teenager she knew through the church. a grand jury indicted ia picture from a fan ennan mr page set up for her on facebook. she worked with the st. methias ch in stafford. ch h her on administrative leave after they told authorities they were d ncneerabout her relationship gith a 15ear-oldy. tbo sex withboex with bee boy during what should have elnsg sessions.el of ntoungta of taking indecent liberties with a child. she ao a faces ten counts of contributing to the dling went si of a minor. >> right now thousands of police

are roaming the rails, patrolling amtrak trains, testing their ability to keep you safe from a terrorist attack. the tsa along with amtrak and local law enforcement are teaming up on this. the organizations want to test their ability to work together in the event of an attack. they did it during the morning rush and they are back out for the evening rush. amtrak officials say they are well aware terrorists might see the rail systems as a target. clearly it's an area of terrorist interests. most attacks around the world have been focused on mass transit, whether it's a subway type system or rail system, the commuter system in spain, for example. we think it's definitely an item of concern for us. >> amtrak says remember train security is not always as visible as it is in other places like airports, but it is always there. to the latest in the health care debate. in roughly four hours, president barack obama will give perhaps the most important speech of his

presidency to this point. obama is going to address a joint session of cgress and the american people live tonight at 8:00. the white house says the president's goal is to make opponents more comfortable with his plan to overhaul the system. steve handelsman now with more on what we can expect tonight. >> reporter: aides say president obama was still working on tonight's speeches a went to new york to honor walter cronkite. the president speaking to a joint session of congress in a nonstate of the union address is rare. bill clinton did it in '93 to sell health care reform, but he failed. the obama plan tonight, not just talk to law makers. >> i think the president will talk directly to the american people about the substance that's in health care, not all the process and the kabuki dance around it. >> reporter: obama will say major reform is needed now and push the public option, government insurance. a leading house liberal says that's the number one issue.

>> health care reform without a robust public option is not health care reform. >> reporter: but the key senate democrat negotiating health care, finance committee chairman max baucus of montana said today impossible. >> a public option cannot pass the senate. >> reporter: republicans are demanding president obama reboot, start over. >> i would hope he would come to the house tonight and hit the reset button. stop. back up. start over and get it right. >> reporter: but some republicans say if democrats drop the public option and downsize the whole plan, they might vote yes. >> i think we could come up with something the president could declare victory over. >> reporter: baucus says they will proceed.

mostly the president's speech will be aimed at making ordinary americans more comfortable with the kind of changes democrats propose. and more eager to see reforms succeed now. i'm steve elndhasman, nbc news, capitol hill. yo > an>>nd cu catch president c address here ime tonight on nbc 4. it starts at 8:00. we would also love to hear from you. what would you like to hear the president say in tonight's .chee send your thtch and e-mail. nbc4 connected at nbcwashington.com. ethel's new product unveiling turned out to be what's back. apple upgraded ipod touch with new features and a new price. it will start at $199. the real show stopper, the return of steve jobs. jobs has been on medical leave nearly six months now after undergoing a liver transplant. he received a standing ovation. before he began pushing new

products, he made a heartfelt flee. >> i now have the liver of a mid 20s person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs. i wouldn't be here without such generosity. i hope all of us can be as generous and elect to become organ donors. >> meanwhile, as for the rest of the company's gadgets, apple added a video camera to its ipod nano as well as fm radio. the company has given its itunes software a makeover. >> looks like we are done with the rain for now, or are we? veronica johnson standing by with that forecast. >> hey, craig. armontmeily. take a look at the break in the cloud cover we've beenng gnttie this afternoon. that pushed our temperatures up.

clouds across north eastern maryland. clouds to the west just there through areas of culpeper county and rappahannock county. there's the split and where the rain is lingering up around frederick. areas south and west getting a few showers and thunderstorms. it just won't go away. still dealing with today and we'll still have it around tomorrow and yet one more day now. the forecast changed a little bit with rain in our forecast. expect a few showers to be still coming back into the area around 9:00 and 11:00, as that low moves closer. same thing for. bigger threat for rain across the area evening showers, that extra day of rain. we'll talk about it in the forecast. could get an addition al half t inch of rain with that storm system. we'll look at details more in just a few. >> thanks. a six-story grand opening of doctors community hospital. >> d.c. children prepare for disaster. here is a look at some other

stories making headlines in our area today. >> we saw a brief scare at reagan national today. a jet tire blew. no one was hurt. the runway was closed for about a half hour while crews worked to clean up some of the debris. air track was diverted to a different runway. the change did not affect airport operations. >> it will be the future home of the department of homeland security. federal and local leaders were on hand this morning for ground-breaking ceremony at s elizabeth campus in southeast. the department is currently housed in different locations across the city, but when construction is complete, the department will be all under one roof. more medical options for prince george's county residents, a larger emergency room and new patient tower opened today at doctors community hospital. lieutenant governor anthony brown and jack jackson were on hand for that announcement. 17 more beds for emergency care

and 90 additional private rooms in the new patient tower. d.c. school children are doing their part to be prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster. the district kicked off its commander ready program at thomas elementary school in northeast today. the program teaches children safety planning and how to handle emergencies, gangs and other activities, to help reenforce the preparedness message. students can implement what they learned at home and at school. when news4 at 4:00 continues, should boys and young men be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease? a common practice in france becomes a taboo because of concerns about the flu. >> we've got incredible new imagesti taken by the hubble telescope.te

we want to update you on that breaking news we told you op of our newscast tomabou c arcrlmeai jl ine cet hijacked in mexico city. the latest there is it appears the situation may be over. the jet was overtaken at the cancun airport. it was flown to mexico city where it landed. police stormed the plane. at that point it appeared as if

passengers were being led away from the plane. msnbc reporting many of the passengers were actually allowed to get their luggage off the plane. there were reports of a bomb being on the plane, also reports that the hijackers were talking to negotiators at one point and were demanding to speak to the president of mexico felipe calderon and threatened to blow up the plane if they did not speak to the president. this is the latest on that breaking news in mexico city, where it looks right now as if the situation has been defused. we'll continue to follow the story should there be new developments. should boys and young men be vaccinated against the hpv virus? the fda is taking up this issue. the hpv vaccine has gotten fda approval for girls. a second vaccine may be available to compete with gardisil that is available.

cerverix is as effective. they say it works 93% of the time and protects against two strains of the virus, strains that account for most cases of cervical cancer. as the swine flu spreads in france, new guidelines have been established. the french ministry of health strongly suggested that the traditional french greeting be stopped. they want the light kiss on the cheek stopped. they fear the practice could further spread the h1n1 virus. some french citizens don't like the suggestion. >> yes, we are concerned about it. i don't think kissing our friend can make us afraid more than that. >> the french ministry suggested people keep a buffer zone of at least three feet all around them. >> just to be safe. a few months ago it looked like the hubble telescope might be

headed for the intergalactic scrap pile. today nasa released hubble's new photos and they are spectacular. inchst chdahlgren reports. >> reporter: they are our sharpest view of stunning star clusters, and beauties like this butterfly nebula. incredible images crystal clear, that even show the birth of stars blions of right years away. what may be most astonishing is we have the pictures at all. they are the work of the new improved hubble space telescope, nasa's comeback kid. hubble is back in action. the new pictures, new evidence that last may's servicing mission to the iconic space telescope worked perfectly. >> thank god we didn't break it. >> reporter: today astronauts joked, but it was the most compx space repair ever.

the mission, once almost scrapped for good because it was so dangerous. its five complicated space walks had plenty of curables, including a bolt that didn't want to budge. >> i think it's safe to say never have so many scientists owed so much to two guys who fixed a stuck bolt. >> reporter: the new pictus are just the beginning for the 19-year-old telescope now expected to live another ten years. looking back into the universes past and building toward a future that may find light on other planets. >> in this century we are going to have the capability of finding a planet we can say has life on it. >> reporr:tecientists say r: hubble's new lease on life is a first step toward that, a journey promising to capture more breath-taking finds along the way. >> one of the astronauts who was on the original mission in '90 to gethe hubble out of space

was here today. we'll catch up with him later. coming up next, a motorist who went through a lot of trouble to avoid speeding tickets, how the masked man avoided police. >> inside the life of disgraced billionaire bernie madoff. the mansions, custom yachts, fancy clothes. an upclose look where he spent his lareedom.

>>. >> before the break we were talking about the hubble telescope. we were talking about an astronaut who was on the original mission. they cued up the video. we'll have the full story at 5:00. the kids there asked a number of interesting questions. >> such as? >> what do you eat in space? how do you dress in space? what's the coolest part about being an astronaut? that's him there. he was in town. >> how do they stay in one spot? >> he talked a little bit about zero gravity. full story at 5:00. the forecast now, i guess. >> back here on earth. veronica is here in the studio with the latest.

the rain's gone away. we have a little sunshine. >> just a little bit of sunshine in a lot of neighborhoods today. that's takinthe temperature up. a lot of green across the area with all that rain we've been getting. especially down south. green here, but let me take you somewhere where maybe the season is a little confused. look at that. fall showing up in vibrant color. this is in minnesota, duluth, minnesota, an early show of those collages of reds and bright yellows and vibrant oranges. that in part thanks to cool temperatures they got up there early on already. around here, some of our first color will start showing up early october. let's talk temperatures across the area now. again, we warmed up. 77 degrees. dew point 66. winds out of the east-northeast at 21 miles per hour. the biggest issue for us, a weather system that just does not want to go away. it's still hugging the coast south of us.

that is the set-up. low pressure south, easterly wind. that is the speed of moisture coming over us, high pressure blocking that storm system before moving any. right now we are getting a little bit of a break. not much rain tonight, but some spots getting a little bit of a drenching. northern loudoun county, this cell moving down through brunswick and around the south, even thunderstorms. i-81, around stanton area. that is moving to the south and southwest away from our area. not much going on on the radar right now. a few isolated cells here and there that's what we can expect the next couple of hours. isolated showers. look at the clearing skies of loudoun county. 78 degrees. rain possibly dropping in to that area. mclean at 77 degrees. no rain today. boonsburg picked up .12 inch of rain today. that was early today.

77 the temperature. right now here 81 in raleigh, 82 in cincinnati, ohio. with that easterly wind, so many locations near the water today. even ocean city, a refction of what that water temperature is, 73 degrees right now off the coast. where the water is warmer out in the eastern atlantic, we now have a hurricane thanks to that warm water. it is hurricane fred. we will watch it. not. of a change in the track. still expected to move northward and slightly to the northwest. by monday it poses no big threat to land. here we go 48 hours. showers around for the overnight period and early tomorrow morning. that low moves north then moves to the west. as it gets closer, our rain chances increase for tomorrow. heavier rain coming in for late tomorrow. we'll talk about the forecast. seven-day a little bit later for this evening though, isolated showers ound. craig, pat? >> thanks, veronica. still to come on news4 at 4:00,

the latest on the plane hijacking in mexico. >> a daring but deadly overseas raid frees an american journalist. >> a once-disgraced member of congress with a new gig. >> good news at the checkout counter.

welcome back to news4 at 4:30 now. i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm craig melvin. we want to update you in the breaking news we have been following here in news4. it appears as if everything is okay in mexico. you see a commercial airline jet that had been hijacked, you see the passengers and the crew members all got off the plane there. >> there were 104 people onboard that aeromexico flight that was overtaken at the cancun airport, flown to mexico city where it landed and passengers got off. earlier there were reports there might have been a bomb onboard. apparently there was no bomb but there was a suspicious

package. there were reports some of the hijackers were threatening to detonate something, some kind of explosive if they personate allowed to talk with the mexican president felipe calderon >> thats with new video we had just gotten in. there was a woman aboard that plane who said they didn't realize the pane was being hijacked until police began to run out on the tarmac there. again, it looks like everything is, we don't want to say okay, but everyone is okay in mexico city. moments ago, video we just got in of folks get offing that plane, all passengers, all 104 are said to be okay. we'll continue to follow this breaking stor if something should happen, we'll pass it along to you. bernie madoff stole billions of thousands to fund his lavish lifestyle. >> the governor is putting his former homes up for sale to hope to recover millions for his victims. mary thompson shows us the inside story from his manhattan penthouse.

>> reporter: videotape released by u.s. marshals so this is a gilded cage. the governmen is putting the 4,070 foot apartment, expected to be between $8 million and $10 million. as with madoff's other properties, the two-story apartment has fantastic views, 360 doe grow look at manhattan. inside, there are lots of bulls. custom-made closet reveal the scam artist was more of a clothes horse. >> he had a fondness for shoes, a liking for shoes and suits. he had over 50 or 60 suits lined up here. dark suits with however many number of shoes here. >> reporter: madoff kept over 40 pairs of shoes in his palm beach house. the five-bedroom,

seven-bathrooms, 80 view dock and views of the intercoastal waterway in downtown palm beach on the block. the government is hoping the sales of these two properties along with madoff's former home on montauk, long island, will fetch a total of at least $21 million. proceeds from these sales along with separate sales of madoff's clothing, furniture and art, all will go to victims of madoff's $65 billion ponzi scheme. mary thompson for news4. bernie madoffas sentenced to 150 years in prison he is serving time in a north carolina jail. a "new york times" reporter held captist hashafganst h be f been freed by british anmmcoydo. his kidnapping had not been reported to protect his safety. militants abducted jerrell saturday. he was freed today in an early-morning raid. military officials said a british commando.

feral l was not hurt. family, friends and dignitaries honored walter conkrite today during a memorial in new york. con cite died in july at the age of 92. president obama attended the memorial today and sat next to former president clinton. president obama called cronkite "a voice of certainty in a world growing more and more uncertain." it was a packed house at the lincoln center honoring the late news anchorman. he anchored the evening news from 1962 to 1981. he left in disgrace from capitol hill, but former florida congressman mark foley is about to start a new career as a radio talk show host. foley resigned his seat in 2006 after he sent lurid e-mails to congressional pages. he advocated for tougher

penalties for child sex predators. his show will be called "inside the mind of mark foley." it will air september 22nd in north palm beach. still ahead on news4, days of torntial rain and rising flood waters leave some folks clinging for their lives. also a local retailer pays therice for knowingly selling dangerous clothing.

welcome back. veronica johnson here at storm center 4. we've got a little bit of sunshine on our skycam. a little bit of sunshine, but it's the cool temperatures we had a lot of this summer that's helping to keep the ragweed count down. moderate range at 12 grains per cubic meter. this september versus average for september, those are the two bars in the middle. the red 2009 average is the blue. this september we are finding lower levels of rweed than in years past. good news for us. a lot of folks still sneezing and coughing. 77 the temperature right now in d.c. 76 quantico. 73 cooler near the water. annapolis 71. there is that easterly wind and temperatures by tomorrow morning

will start out in the upper 50s to low 60s with drizzle and light showers around. let's take a look at your seven-day forecast. high temperature tomorrow and for friday. only around 70 degrees. yes, we have extended the rain right through friday now. 60% chance tomorrow. 40% chance for friday. at least with high pressure building back in the weekend is looking okay with some sunshine and highs anywhere from 80 to about 83 degrees. back to you. >> thanks, veronica. more than 30 people are dead after a terrible flash flooding in turkey. the suburbs of istanbul are under water after two days of torrential rains. the water rose more than three feet on a main expressway that leads to the city's airport. some drivers had to climb up on to the roofs of their vehicle and wait to be rescued. homes and farms and nearby villages are flooded and roads are washed out. at least two bridges have collapsed. coming up here, good news at the grocery store checkout. we are going to find out what's

behind the modest drop in food prices. >> a reunion of sorts for the beatles. some fans say the music is better than ever.

the very latest on that breaking news we've been following this hour out of mexico city, where a commercial plane was hijacked this afternoon. police stormed the plane and some passengers were seen being led away in handcuffs. the aeromexico plane was overtaken at the cancun airport. it was flown to mexico city where it landed. officials say all the passengers and crew were released and no one was injured. there is no official word on a motive, there were earlier reports the hijackers claimed to have a bomb onboard the plane and were demanding to speak to mexico's president. there was no bomb found. some psengers did say one of

the hijackers held a package that resembled an explosive device. you see the passengers being led off the plane. we'll continue to bring you the latest on news4 at 5:00. in other plans. lsoh lans $40025,025,000fines.,0 fines. the department store chain sold children's sweatshirts with draw strings in the neck. they were sold after the importer called them because of the draw strings which cause a strangulation hazard to children. according to the terms of the settlement, the company denied they knowingly violated the law. grocery shoppers are getting relief at the checkout. after a huge run-up last year, the labor department said the cost of food fell for the seventh month in a row. prices dropped on dairy, grains, meats, even organic foods. the savings might only equal a few dollars a month, but shpers say they arhappy to save any amount.

>> i would say it does help in the long run if you are paying attention. >> every little bit helps. >> analysts say things like weather and oil prices can affect how much you pay for your groceries. in this case, lower fuel costs and frugal customers help prices go down. beatles fans are rejoicing. a newly remaster edition of their music and interactive video game are hitting store shelves on the same day. the remastered catalog is the first overhaul of their music in 20 years. here's jim mecedo. ♪ i say go go go >> reporter: the beatles rock band was launched from the cavern club in liverpool and will be distributed in the united states.

the game which offers up dozens of beatles' tunes allows you to live the dream and become a beatle. all you need to do is strum a plastic guitar to time and technology does the rest. the game could sell up to 2 million units in the first month alone. if you are not into video games, there is another new way to enjoy the iconic pop music. 16 albums in all have been digitally remastered making hits like "help" and "all you need is love" sound better. >> they said the best way to live to "sergeant pepper" is through mono. >> reporter: many songs are expected to dominate the pop chart decades later as the timeless fab 4 get back to where they once longed. a tribute to michael jackson headlined by the king of pop himself. that is what organizers are promising in a concert planned in vienna, austria later this

month. jackson's brother jermaine followed yesterday's announcement with another press conference this morning. he promised the tribute will be a star-studded event with performers like mary jay blige. organizers alluded to a virtual performance, a doout between michael jackn and his brother jermaine. >> and what we are planning is to bring michael forth one last time on stage again. it will be the surprise of the evening. michael will reappear on stage for one time and will sing a song together with his brother jermaine jackson. >> the purpose of this event, i wanted to do this for the fans. >> jermaine jackson would not confirm whether any other members of his family would perform during the tribute. >> that sounds like it will be interesting. still ahead here, the daring way twin brothers got together to celebrate their 70th

birthday. and a speeding driver caught on camera says it wasn't him. find out why he thinks he'll get

> the reward for information leading to the arsonist in southern california is going up. the arsonist set the station fire that killed two firefighters and consumed about 250 square miles. the reward is in addition to the $100,000 reward that the state is also offering. investigators have ruled the fire an arson, but they have not released any details yet. let's get some details about our weather which is brightening, improving a little bit. veronica johnson is in storm center. >> certainly for this afternoon. brhtening with a parting of the clouds. we lost one yesterday. the washington nationals, maybe

we can blame that on the cloud cover we had yesterday. today from sunshine we take on the phyllis. maybe we'll play better. temperature at the start 74 degrees. we could see an isolated shower. i think by the tail end of the game. where those showers are right now is just north of the area or northern parts of loudoun county. these are heading dn to the south. we can zoom in a little tighter. around hillsborough area. these will be heading south to blumonte. temperature in loudoun about 78, 79. a little higher. we've seen thunderstorms in southwestern virginia. we'll get back to the drizzle and light rain tomorrow morning. the high tomorrow around 70. more clouds that coastal storm gets closer to us tomorrow. we've got rain for thursday and rain for friday. the weekend looking okay with temperatures getting into the

low to mid 80s across the area. craig? >> thanks, veronica. some twin brothers decided to add a little thrill to their 70th birday celebration. check this out. they jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. the two went skydiving for the first time ever in hammond, wisconsin. hammond could be considered the skydiving capital of america. about 100 people every day jump from 13,000 feet to feel the exhilaration. keith and ken were also jumping for another reason. they are honoring their cousin's son whoec ry tlendied of leukemia. the young man was supposed to get married on the twins' birthday. for the brothers, their jump created a special memory in more ways than one. up ne, a rescue on the water when a pleasure boat bursts into flames. and on this special day, how some are celebrating 9/9/09. tl

two people were rescued after their boat exploded off the coast of oregon. this video released by the coast guard. you can see the flames shooting into the air from a 21-foot boat. two people were rescued and taken to local hospital with minor injuries. investigators are trying to figure out why that boat exploded. police in arizona have charged a driver with speeding 37 times, but the man says there is no way to prove it's him. speed cameras snapped these pics near phoenix. they show someone driving his car wearing different animal masks. he says it wasn't him. he is going to fight the tickets in court. police say they have evidence he was driving, including some surveillance of him putting on the masks as he approached the

cameras. and did you notice today is 9/9/09? many consider it a lucky day. couples around the world are getting married today. in israel, leading clothing designers got together to create disposable dresses for entire wedding party. check that out. those dresses are made from toilet paper. the designer said they liked the challenge of working with such delicate material. of course, they are calling it the flushing bride collection. seriously. >> oh. >> pat, please. >> okay. weddings aren't the only way people are marking this day. around the country and around the world today, people are celebrate i celebrating the 9/9/09. >> reporter: from california to china, brides and grooms are saying "i do" on 9/9/09, a day

deemed lucky by the numbers. at a 99 cents only store in hollywood, california, nine couples shopped for 99 cent flowers and other items before tying the knot at a nearby church. in beijing and shanghai, thousands of couples chose this day to marry. the number 9 holds the promise of good fortune in chinese culture. the day of 9 is not considered as lucky as 7/7/07, or 8/8/08, but hasn't stopped couples from cashing in. casinos in las vegas rolled out deals for $99. >> you get to our age the memory starts to go, you know? we thought might just about stand a chance of remembering that day to the years time. >> reporter: in the windy city, one couple stepped out on the glass ledge at the top of willis

tower to exchange vows. in west palm beach, florida, marriage fees dropped to $99 for the day. >> just the numbers lining up like that. that doesn't happen but once a century. >> reporter: she is right, but planning is already in the works for a double dateith destiny. next year's 10/10. michelle franzen, news4. that's news4 at 4:00. news4 at 5:00 starts now. tonight on news4 at 5:00, a tribute to cal ripken stolen. the memorial to one of maryland's sports hero was violated. >> a step by step guide to dodge the swine flu. >> code blue. health care reform is struggling to survive. in just hours president obama will try to deliver a lifeline. good evening, i'm wendy rieger. >> i'm craig melvin in