today, grief counselors at a principles george's high school this morning. a student struck by a car two weeks ago has died. it was so importan if you were caught without one you may have a hefty fine. we will have details on that story. news4 at "news4 midday" starts now.

good morning, everybody. welcome to "news4 midday." i am barbara harrison. >> and i am keith sitting in for joe krebs. and we start with a tragedy in prince georges county. >> a classmate that was struck by a car while walking to the bus stop has died today. we have more on that. >> reporter: classes at crossland high school started the week before. and ashley davis, a freshman was walking across brinkley road. she was walking across in the sidewalk where she was struck by a car. for the last two weeks she was fighting for her live, and lost that battle early moay morning. >> elvau forman walks her

daughter to school. >> i walk her to school and i will be walking her to school, and when my car is down i will be walking my daughter to school. >> reporter: the freshman was struck by a car while walking to her bus stop on brinkley road. hospitalized for nearly two weeks, she died early monday morning. >> it's, like, everything is sad. >> i remember her smile. she had a fantastic smile. a very loving girl. >> do you miss her? >> yes, very much. >> reporter: davis just started her second week of classes at crossland high school when she was struck by the car. the sedan also hit a young person that pushed others to safety.

the principal says it was tough losing davis in high school, and the thought of never seeing her again is very difficult. the week before school opened ashley came running in my office and sat on my lap and said i am not ready to go, i am not ready to go, i want to stay here with you. i will definitely remember that moment. but she was willing to assist the week before school opened, no matter what i needed her to do. >> reporter: chang will be made to brinkley road as a result of the accident. there will be no street parking on brinkley road. the cars that you see here, that will not be allowed any more. the change will come sometime next week. and also transportation officials in the county say they will post warnings signs about the curve. and they are also going to restripe the section of roadway and widen the shoulder.

now there has been talk about the fact that there is no crosswalk in the area. now, still they are studying the issue, but they are concerned because there are blind spots in the area as well as an issue with sun glare. they feel if they put a sidewalk in it will give them a false sense of security. the conditions in the stretch may not be conducive for that sidewalk, but they will sti look at it. and the investigation continues. no charges have been placed against the driver. back to you in the studio. >> thank you, megan. a metro worker hit by a train last week also died. 44-year-old john moore of arlington died yesterday. a train hit him in a tunnel in alexandr alexandria. rescue workers used an escape hatch to get down into the tunnel to help him. metro is investigating that accident. traffic is moving on new york avenue after an early-morning accident.

police put out an alert for a vehicle in the area, and officers spotted the car and followed it. a short time later the driver lost control and hit a jersey wall. at one point new york avenue was shut down in two directions. two juveniles were inside the vehicle and they were injured but expected to be okay. looking outside right now, there are a few clouds. no a whole lot. it's expected to be one of the -- if not the warmest day of the week. let's talk to tom kierein about the weather. >> we hid the mid-80s yesterday and will likely do it again today. we are already at 80 degrees here at 11:00. feeling like summertime in mid september. all around the region, mid 70s. eastern shore upper 70s. upper mountains in the cool 60s now. and then clouds are building along a front in pennsylvania. as the front approaches us later

today we should see the sky go partly cloudy with low humidity, still pleasant, and a light breeze coming out of the northwest and shift into the southwest later in the afternoon. the highs will reach the mid-80s. and overnight we will cloud up and a big change moving in for tomorrow. i will show you the details on that, and we will look at the forecast for the rest of the week, and a look at the weekend as well. changes on the way. you will want to know all about it. i will have the details in just a few minutes. back to you. >> thanks, tom. and here is your traffic right now. good morning, jerry. >> good morning. rush hour will not let go in northern virginia this morning. heavy from vienna most of the way to the beltway. all lanes are open, though. westbound doing fine. elsewhere, we will let you know

we are pretty good at the wilson bridge, but a construction span just off there in the local lanes, 270 between rockville right now is moving along nicely. injuthank you. president obama is in ohio preparing to talk to the economy. he will address workers at a gm plant and expected to tell the workers about a sign of an economic rebound. that plant recently retired 1,000 workers. today's speech comes one day after the president delivers a stern delivery to wall street workers. mr. obama pushed for tougher financial regulation incorporations that have not learned their lessons. >> we will not go back to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess that was at the heart of this crisis. too many were motivated only for the appetite for quick kills and

bloated bonuses. >> the government has not taken the necessary steps to prevent another economic meltdown is what some still feel. the reforms i am proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> and the democrats are planning to take up a resolution for wilson. wilson called the white house to apologize but said he will not say he is sorry on the house floor. according to wilson, one apology is enough. and joe biden, trying to show the white house is still focused on the war on iraq despite the troop pull backs there. he will also be meeting with u.n. officials as well.

meanwhile, also new this morning, the iraqi journalists that threw his shoes at former president george w. bush, has been released. he had a stunning account of protest. he said that he was tortured with beatings and electric shocks during his first days in custody. after the incident he became a hero to many in the arab world. there is a penalty for drivers that don't do this. but now the d.c. government says safety inspections for cars are no longer necessary. the city calls it a cost-saving measure. this was trathis is tracee wilk. >> reporter: on october 1st, the director of the dmv told me 20

other jurisdictions in the country that require this. it's proof that it's not necessary, but some opponents are saying while they understand cost-cutting measures, this is the wrong thing to cut. >> the safety inspection safety could be a long and drawn out wait. >> the safety part i have no problems with. >> reporter: but coming in october, only commercial vehicles, limos and cabs will face the safety inspection. >> we are starting to question why are we doing some of the things we are doing? >> reporter: cutting the inspections will save the city $400,000 with the budget. >> i can certainly understand that people believe they do, they believe that they serve some purpose, but without hard evidence saying that they do,

the government needs to question why are we doing some things in which there is no evidence that shows us it really has a definitive impact. >> unfortunately for government, and d.c., sacrificing safety in the name of saving money is nothing new. that's what is happening here. >> aaa spokesman says in hard economic times some drivers are not going to take care of their car until there is a real reason to. >> it's easy to have a set of bald tires and say, you know, a couple months from now i will replace the tires. if you have an inspection coming and you know you will have to replace the tires or get a ticket and replace the tires, you will replace the tires. >> drivers we talked to at the inspection safety had mixed reactions of cutting safety inspections. >> i don't like that at all. what is the reason behind it? >> they wan to balance the budget. >> please, the budget will never be balanced in d.c. why take away the inspection of

the car. >> every six months you go and get your oil changed, and i don't think you should have to do that. have you to take responsibility for your car. >> reporter: the director of the dmv says the $400,000 in savings will come from empty positions here at the dmv that they won't have to feel and additional jobs cut as well. but for drivers, no savings for you. you will still pay $35 for the emissions inspection. back to you in the studio, barbara. >> tracee, thank you. of course, you have been humming and singing this all morning. >> yeah, i liked the movie. you think it's a chick flick. >> yes, but i still enjoyed the movie. he made a name for himself in movies like "dirty dancing" and "ghost." we will talk about patrick

swayze who died yesterday. and we will talk about the murder of a yale student. police may have a suspect. and a thriller, and set right here in

he was a dancing and a tough guy. patrick swayze played a lot of roles. he died last night at age 57. in hollywood, fans are setting

up a small memorial on his star there on the walk of fame. some left candles and some left flowers as well. we have a look back at patrick swayze's on-screen legacy. >> whether it was a chick flick or action-packed movie, swayze was a popular in the '80s and '90s. his first major film came in the "outsiders" alongside some soon-to-be stars, including tom cruise. but his career exploded with "dirty dancing." >> i really love you. >> ditto. >> three years later, he struck box office gold once again, and

starred with demi moore with a love story in "ghost." he was dubbed the sexiest man alive. >> it makes people coming to my movies. >> swayze was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. while his cancer battle may be fans' final memory of patrick swayze, the lasting ones are likely to be of the dance instructor. >> the costar from "dirty dancing," jennifer gray called

him masculinity and amazing grace. >> wow, i think some people were hoping he could survive this. >> yeah, and he kept working, too. tom is here to talk about something nice out there, the weather, and it's beautiful today. >> feel k like summertime one more time he in september. and then clouds will move in after a sunny morning. live picture from the camera. there is the american university in the foreground and the vw from the city camera is showing some recreational boating going on the potomac river right now. nobody is water skiing. the water is warm enough. right now at reagan national airport it's at 80 degrees. and the rainfall there is 1 1/3, and that's half an inch below average. and looking at radar now, we

don't have precipitation around the region. and shenandoah around 80 degrees. and virginia and maryland and the district all the way to the eastern shore, it's certainly going to be feeling like summertime today. temperatures there at the beach, a great day at the behes. lots of sunshine there. out of the mountains, a bit cooler, down near 50 there this morning. and as we take a look at the view from space over the last six hours we had just a few clouds building. here is a look at the summer and the number of 90-degree days we had here. july only 7. in august, we had 12. the total is 22. an average summer we get 38. so that is way below the average for 90-degree days. and certainly a cooler than average summer. here is what has been happening over the last 12 hours. rain developing here. and the lower mississippi valley, that's not going to be effecting us. the weather system affecting us is a front approaching

pennsylvania pushing down our way. this high pressure will exit stage right and move over the atlantic. behind that the flow will tap moisture coming out of the atlantic. and it's going to cloud us up by later tonight. so the combination of the front moving in and the flow around the high adding moisture to the combination will give us an increased chance of rain. as we go forward over the next 48 hours, we will see the area of blue where we might get sprinkles and drizzle by dawn on wednesday morning. and then as we go forward on the wednesday, perhaps showers and an easterly wind. and wednesday this will persist and continue with more showers around. for the rest of the afternoon, enjoy the dry weather while you can. if you have outdoor plans for work or recreation, i would say to go ahead because the next several days are looking damp. afternoon highs and lows in the mid-80s. and then tonight we will be in

the 70s through the evening with increasing clouds. and going all cloudy by dawn tomorrow. maybe a few sprinkles and drizzle tomorrow morning in the mid-60s as we start off our wednesday, and wednesday looks like a big difference from today. cloudy and cooler. highs only in the low and mid-70s. perhaps a few sprinkles in the morning. and maybe light showers passing in the afternoon. cooler on thursday. highs near 70. a likelihood of a passing light shower. friday, mid-70s. perhaps showers. improving news for the weekend. sat could be dry and most of sunday could be dry. and by the end of the game sunday afternoon, there could be showers as well as monday. that's how it looks, on tuesday, a summer-like day here in september. >> can't wait to get out and enjoy it. i will do that soon. >> good for you. let's check with jerry. >> i have been back here trying to find bad traffic to talk

about. i can't come up with much. that's good and unusual. but it's good. the topside of the capital beltway. around connecticut avenue, looking good. one incident quickly moved out of the way. and then obviously no residual delays. if you are headed for downtown, that's looking good. 395, northbound. outbound side of 395 at the moment looks good. sooner or later it will go south real quick. back to you. >> and yeah, we will move on into the afternoon. >> yes. and hot lanes are already under construction on the beltway and i-66 in virginia could be next. they run into congestion for eight hours any given day. hot lanes are toll lanes that would allow drivers to pay for a faster trip. >> we are talking about a

seemless interstate system. we are looking at hot lanes on 395 and 95. we have to be working on 66 for the future. >> it would be great. right now i just try to stay away from 66 because it's always so backed up. >> i still believe public transportation is the solution. >> if they get approved and funded hot lanes on i-66 would be years away. and an area is now available to keep passengers safe and to get them through security faster. plus, taking a shower could leave you dirtier than when you got in the shower in the first we will explain that. what left kanye west speechless during last night's "jay leno" show. first a look at what is

the mystery of the davinci code. it's a race against the killer and the search to unlock a hidden code for endless knowledge and power. the national archives and the washingt

washington monument are featured. prince harry will be able to access the money left to him by his late mother, princess diana. coming up in in the next half hour of "news4 midday," police are trying to determine whether to charge a maryland college student that used a sword to kill a suspected intruder. and then we will tell you more about the suspect that police narrowe their search on in the murder of the yale student. and then a puppy thrown from the second-floor window.

how the animal is doing now. and

right now at 11:30 on

"news4 midday," one day after speaking to the white collar wall street crowd the president is delivering a speech to the blue collar workers this hour. he is talking to the employees at a gm plant in ohio. the plant recently re-hired 1,000 workers. that's live pictures from ohio. actor patrick swayze is dead at the age of 57. doctors diagnosed him with p cancer, but he continued to work and fight. and then classmates are mourning the loss of a classmate that was struck by a car two weeks ago. she was walking across the road to the bus stop when it happened. she had been in the hospital every since. and police in baltimore say

a university student killed an intruder he found in his garage, and killed him with a samurai sword. police say the student told the man to leave and then the man attacked him. and the student defended himself by cutting off the man's hand and causing a severe cut to the upper part of the man's body. the man died at the scene. the student is talking to police and they are deciding whether or not to press charges. and police sources say detectives have a suspect on their radar, and police said there would be no arrest today. kimberly has been following the story. at this point do we know what happened to the suspect? >> all we know is a spokesperson said they did not know what the delay is. le was an intern here what wh she was an undergraduate at the

university of rochester. the school is flying flags at half staff for annie today. she wanted to be an investigator. she was a brilliant student by all accounts. her life was cut short at 24 years old. today police close in on the suspected killer. the yale university lab where annie le was last seen is now a crime scene. after a week of searching police found her body inside the wall of the campus lab. a surveillance camera captured le going into the building and never coming out. no the murder appears to be an inside job. >> a lot of physical evidence was recovered. the law enforcement agencies are going through that. >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell nbc news police are honing in on a subject. a lab tech that failed a lie detector test and has defensive wounds, scratch marks on his chest. the motive remains unclear.

>> it's extremely likely the suspect was from yale and from that particular building because he had to get in and knew what he was doing in the building. >> news that the suspect is part of the yale community and not yet under arrest is unsettled to those on campus. >> it could be somebody that we have had classes with that i passed in the halls and libraries. >> annie le was earning her md. they got the call that her body was found on what would have been their wedding day. thousands of yale students and faculty held a vigil monday night. >> that this horrible tragedy happened at all is incomprehensible, but thatt happened to her, i think, is infau nuttily more so. >> a hum across the crowd became

the hymn, amazing grace, followed by a violin. and to shed light and truth, this time, on a murder. >> the medical examiner will release the cause of le's death today. for reasons we do not yet know, they say le was targeted and other students on campus are not at risk. >> thank you. no arrest after a high-profile terror raid in new york city. they were looking for clues for a tie to al qaeda. >> they asked me about him. the guy who stayed in my apartment for one thursday night. he came to the mosque and he says that i would like to stay in your apartment. >> search warrants show investigators found a document about making exsplplosives duri

the raid. new york senator, chuck schumer, says no attacks were imminent. and there is a new screening area designed to keep passenger safe and get them through security faster. the new mezzanine is 22,000 square feet. it will house two security area the tsa hopes the new digs will help calm the passengers and screeners so they can all focus on security. >> what do you think so far? just come into the new wing? >> looks nice and modern and a sleek design. hopefully we'll get through faster. >> crews are still working on the rest of the $3.4 billion project. it will include an underground train system expected to be finished by next year.

now to a stunning act of cruelty. a puppy tossed from a window in fairfax county. the fog fell two stories, but is you live thanks to quick action by police and veterinarians. >> reporter: the emergency vet on call, when the 6-month-old puppy was rushed in by police. authorities say it had been thrown from a second story window during a domestic dispute. >> it was painful when it first came in. it was crying with any movement that we did with it. we gave it pain medication to make it more comfortable from the start. >> two were charged with animal cruelty. the fairfax county police believe it was merit that tossed the dog out the window early saturday morning. it happened in the alexandria section of fairfax county. neighbors are stunned. >> if you know that anytime you don' have enough time to take

care of a dog, you don't take it. >> x-rays show the puppy had a fractured paw and four broken bones. but he is expected to make a full recovery. >> his bones are growing raply any way. he will heal fine from his injuries. and i imagine he had pretty severe bruising over his muscles as well. >> the puppy remains at the fafax county animal shelter and the dog will stay there until the case against the owners is resolved. time to take another look at the forecast. and tom kierein standing by. >> just a few clouds popping up in the blue sky. lots of sunshine. and it's certainly warming up beautifully now with low humidity. now 80 degrees in washington.

upper 70s to near 80 all around the region. out in the mountains, still cool in the upper 60s to near 70. over the last six hours we have seen a few clouds beginning to approach us from the north. we have a front come into pennsylvania. it's triggering a few sprinkles up near state college. as the afternoon progresses we will have clouds building, and highs reaching mid 80s. and then going cloudy by midnight. and sunset today is at 7:16. by dawn on wednesday, we might have a few sprinkles. maybe a drizzle around. otherwise a cloudy start to the day. a likelihood of passing afternoon shors and evening showers. a bit cooler, and maybe showers on thursday and friday. but the weekend looks better, looks like most of the weekend will be dry saturday and sunday. except late on sunday there may be more rain moving in. that's how it looks on this

morning. >> jerry is ready to go home. he packed his bags. give us the traffic, first. >> i will keep the car keys off camera here so you don't know. improved. it looks like it's over here at 11:40 in the morning. the lane configuration in the beltway seems to catch everybody by surprise. and elsewhere, wilson bridge doing okay, but on the inner loop off the wilson bridge, a construction project. and then they are working on pavement. they will have everything reopened around 2:00, just in time for the commute. now for your health. already this year, we are hearing about many reported cases of the swine flu. people in high risk groups will get priority when it comes to getting medication, meanwhile

the rest of us are bei told to stay at home and rest. nbc's chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman has more on this. >> you clean the bathtub and the shower curtain, but should you clean your shower head. researchers analyzed the water from 45 shower heads in nine cities across the u.nited state, and they found bacteria that could cause lung infections. and the doctors found that the dark wet and warm environment inside shower heads provides a good place for bacteria to grow. it's mainly a concern for people with compromised immune systems, but it's a good idea to disinfect your shower head or change it completely every few years. with students back in school and swine flu in the news, your family can take simple steps to

prevent the spread of the h1n1 virus. use common sense. wash your hands throughout the day, and cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. two, stay home when you feel sick. according to the centers for disease control and prevention, antiviral medication will be prioritized to groups that have a high risk of getting complications from the flu. one of the government's top neurologist explains. >> if you are among the group of people infected and have influenza, and people that have underlying conditions and individuals who are 65 years of age and over, you should treat them. but somebody that has uncomplicated systems, and otherwise is a well person should not be treated. what we are seeing, unfortunately, nancy, is people who have influenza, they say i have been exposed and i will get my doctor to write a

prescription. that's the wrong thing to do. >> go to flu.gov, which is a site for more flu information. and now there are experiments with plants. all rather are popular indoor plants. here is what was found. those house plants significantly cut-in door ozone, which is a breath of fresh air for those of us stuck inside for the most of the day. with your daily dose of health news, i am dr. nancy snyderman on news4. >> this afternoon, mini health clinics are opening up at grocery stores and malls and other businesses as well. they are convenient, but should they take the place of a good old-fashioned doctor's visit.

lots of other folks join us every day at 3:00 every day as well. if people are talking about it, we are talking about it at 3:00 every day. still ahead, we will take a look at how the market is and kanye talking about

topping business news, retail sales show a big

increase. >> let's check in with courtney reag. she joins us with the headlines. >> good morning to you both, craig and barbara. looking at the markets right now, they are flat. around the world, though, we saw a mixed picture with asian markets closing mixed and europe trading mixed. we got the august retail sales this morning. they were up more than expected. in fact, with the 2.7% jump. that's the biggest increase in 3 1/2 years. the main reason? those auto sales. because of that cash for clunkers program, but if you exclude the autos, retail sales were up 1%, and either way it's a green arrow. and then the core increase was up also. and home depot will develop a

martha stewart brand. and it has not been noted whether it will have an impact on her deal with k-mart. and macy's will remain available. and products in the outdoor living will not be available until 2010 in home depot. i know it's warm outside, but if you do this stuff early it could save you money in the long run, because according to the department of energy 20% of homes built before 1980 have enough insulation to keep the heat in. and 10-year-old homes may have the minimum, and so it could drive up heating costs by as much as 30%. experts recommend that you have an energy audit and a blower door test that you can fix and find the leaks. the tests are expensive. it could cost you around $300, but ultimately in the long run

it could save you much more for years to come. back to you. >> thank you. >> thank you, courtney. we will see you tomorrow. >> see you then. there are 270 million cell phones in use this country. that's one for every man, woman and child. we a use them and keep them handy and worry about they are safe. and it was that concern that led to questioning on capitol hill yesterday. >> reporter: senator arlen specter, who survived two bouts of cancer requested a hearing asking whether cell phones may cause cancer. the hearing included a scientist from the cell phone cities says a huge amount of studies found no link between cell phone u and cancer. and one said one study showed there may be some risk after 10 years of use. but dr. debra davis, an

environmental special, he started a long explanation when specter began examining her. >> my question is what is the strongest evidence you have that exposure to a cell phone causes cancer? >> she cited laboratory studies and added -- >> if we tied that with the experiences of those that looked at people who have ten years of exposure or more, we put that together and then we have testified. >> the doctor testified that you see something after ten years, but she says that there are so few involved that she can't drew a scientific conclusion. is that a accurate statement? >> regarding the ten years, yes. >> the inspector turned to the industry science.

>> a fair statement of your testimony is that the evidence does not demonstrate that the is no connection between the use of a cell phone and cancer. >> the scientific evidence could never demonstrate a total no connection. >> sounds like we might be able to continue to use our cell phones for a while, at least. time now, 11:51. tom kierein will join us on the other side of the breakith a final look of the forecast. and we are looking for somebody that makes the day special in the eay-morning hours. if you know somebody like

jokes, music and big-name guests. it's of course what you come to expect from a jay leno show. the only difference is the time. jay made his primetime debut last night. we have a look at the highlights. >> this is not another promo. this is the actual show. >> i sent my tivo to tape "the biggest loser," and i got the tigers. have you ever got that? >> there was a serious side to

the opening night. leno pressing singer, kanye west about an incident at the mtv awards. he seemed remorseful for taking the mike for swift. >> i knew immediately in the situation that it was wrong. >> reporter: but he fell silent when he asked about the artist's late mother. >> what do you think she would have said about this? >> reporter: after the interview, west performed as promised with rapper jay-z and rihanna. and seinfeld was his first guest, and there was appearances from obama and oprah. and they introduced the first of many correspondents. and he ended with the popular

segment headline, and so of course on opening night, leno himself was the headline in hollywood. jay gray, nbc news, burbank. >> early numbers were in. a ton of people were watching last night. >> yeah, and i am sure they will come back for more tonight. and let's go to news4 here in the afternoon. >> hey, pat. how are you doing? >> so far so good. >> we are busy working on news4 at 4:00 this afternoon. coming up, dan brown's book is on the shelves in stores. we are will look at the places around town that are mentioned. and then at 5:00, the delicious juicy fruits of summer may be drying up because summer is gone. but you can save the seasonal treats. however it's not easy to save them on your own. you will get a step by step guide, and that's at 5:00.

wendy rieger will have that story. i will give you a hint. peaches. >> it's quite a process. >> canning is a lot of work. >> have you done it for this year? >> they are still in the refrigerator. >> you can? >> you don't can, and i can't believe you put her on the spot. >> he can, tom. >> no, i just pick the apples. as we look at the forecast today, feeling like summertime, and it's going to be cool and damp beginning tomorrow and all the way into friday. a chance of a light shower each day, and cooler temperatures. although much of the weekend should be dry except showers late sunday and monday. >> they may look like normal vacation photos, but they are

anything but that. a florida woman is traveling everywhere with her cardboard boyfriend. how about that? it's a cut out of her real life boyfriend. patrick thomas is stationed in iraq. two months into his tour of duty. his girlfriend made it her own mission called perk up patrick. her boyfriend looks forward to seeing what he is wearing and who is he meeting, kind of like flat who. >> flat matt. we will see you in the morning. 4:55. have a great day.