tv News 4 Today NBC September 16, 2009 5:00am-7:00am EDT
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the new evidence police hope to find after searching the home of a man who could be the prime suspect. the first dose, a major step forward in the fight against the swine flu. what the federal government is saying about a vaccine and when it will be available. urged to splurge. americans are buying leading many to believe the recession is over. what the nation's top money man is saying about the state of the economy. good morning everyone. we're glad you're up with us this morning. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm craig mel sin sitting in for joe krebs this morning. it's wednesday, september 16, 2009. a live look over the capitol city. just as joe krebs mentioned a few moments ago, if you look closely there you can see a slight hayes over downtown d.c. a little foggy this morning. >> i know they look a lot alike. >> you know what? it's 5:00. with the number of times i've been confused with keith garvin, it's a matter of time. >> all is forgiven my son. all is forgiven
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good to see you. we do have a little light fog in the air this morning. on radar we have a little light shower activity on the eastern shore near cambridge. otherwise we're rain-free except northeastern maryland. the temperatures under this cloud cover are in the 60s in the suburbs and rural areas. near 70 in washington and near the bay. we're going to have quite a bit of cloudiness around today. maybe a little sun. by noontime mid 70s. holding steady in the mid 70s through the afternoon and a small chance of light rain. sunrise at 651. sunset at 7:14 slight chance of sprinkles this evening. a likelihood of showers as we get going on thursday. tomorrow looks like a wet day, especially in the morning. by the afternoon we ought to begin to dry out a bit. for friday and into saturday looking partly cloudy with highs in the mid 70s. maybe more showers moving in late on sunday and first part of next week. that's the way it works on this wednesday morning. back with frequent updates throughout the morning. >> all right, thank you.
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folks confuse me with jerry edwards. >> does that happen regularly? >> that's what happens when you work together -- >> the resemblance is not striking at all. >> like being married, right, jerry? >> usually only on the weekends with me. that's another story. the wilson bridge was up earlier this morning. it is back down now. to residual delays. that is very good news. looks like the pavement for the moment is relatively dry. the trip in on i-95 -- northbound and southbound between baltimore and washington is okay. bw parkway and 50 okay. no hang-ups at the american legion bridge is okay. we start with the case of annie le, the yale student found dead in a university lab. this is our first look at 24-year-old raymond clark. there he is. he's the man police are calling a person of interest. clark has been served a warrant and is now in custody for
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questioning. however, he has not been officially arrested this morning. investigators are hoping to figure out within days whether clark is involved in the killing of annie le. police searched his apartment. they plan to collect dna samples as well possibly linking him to the murder. clark works at the lab where le's body was found crammed in a cable shaft. sources say he failed a lie detector test. the family and her fiancee released a statement last night. >> our families want to thank everyone in the local communities and around the country for the thoughts and prayers expressed by so many. >> the results on the autopsy have not been released. a source told the hart fort current that she was asphyxiated. her body was found on sunday after an intensive search. a reward is being offered in the shooting death of a silver
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spring woman. simmon white was killed last week on castle boulevard in silver spring. she was originally from jay maim ka. her sister came all the way to maryland looking for help in solving the case. >> she really didn't deserve this. she did nothing. everybody who you will ever speak to will have nothing but good things to say. it's just too sad. >> right now police don't have any suspects or a motive in the murder. according to her sister, white married two years ago hoping to become a u.s. citizen. police say her husband is cooperating with the investigation. with flu season quickly approaching, there continues to be growing concern about the swine flu. the good news this morning is that a vaccine is on the way. >> it was just approved by the fda and should be ready in a few weeks. news4's megan mcgrath joins us from the department of health and human service ins southwest
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washington with the details this morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. the swine flu vaccine was approved by the fda yesterday. that's a week earlier than expected. doses will be offered to high-risk groups including pregnant women and children beginning in the first week of october, and then 45 million doses will be available for a large scale vaccination effort by mid october. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius says the vaccine will be available at up to 90,000 sites around the country including schools and clinics. preliminary study results show that adults need just one dose of the vaccine to get immunity. >> o single dose of the vaccine rapidly introduces a strong immune response in healthy adults. we are assured by the scientists that lots of steps have been taken along the way to make sure that this will be a safe procedure. >> reporter: preliminary studies
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show that adults get immunity within eight to ten days. that's in stet of 21 days as they initially had thought might be the case. they're still studying the dosages that would be needed for young children. health experts also want to emphasize that getting a swine flu shot is not enough to protect you this flu season. you still need to get the regular flu shot to protect yourself against seasonal flu. back to you. >> megan mcgrath, thanks. metro is taking action to help protect riders anworkers against the swine flu. disinfectant is being used. every train and bus is being cleaned on a weekly basis. metro officials are asking all passengers to do their part as well by covering their nose and mouths while sneezing and coughing. these are the latest numbers that are expected to show that the economy is on the rebound.
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meanwhile, the nation's top money man has his own assessment of the economic crisis. >> we are in a recovery that we will see growth in the third quarter continuing. and the growth will continue into 2010. but the general view of most forecasters is that that pace of growth in 2010 will be moderate. >> ben bernanke made those comments yesterday at the brook kings institution here in washington. he did caution, however, that despite some growth, unemployment will be slow to come down. thousands of new jobs a coming to fairfax county. some people are worried that will mean more traffic, too. it's all part of brac, the defense department's plan for rearrangeing military bases. transportation officials are trying to get ready, their road projects include work on the interchange at the fairfax county parkway and franconia-springfield parkway. it means drivers will have to use a detour around fairfax
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today you'll get a free regular side kicker with any purchase of a sandwich, only at participating locations. for more deals, stop by nbcwashington.com and search "bargain blast." like those side kickers? >> i've never had one. >> i haven't either. >> if you pick one up, i'll eat one. tom kierein is here with weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning. starting off with a cloudy sky. we have a little patchy fog around. temperatures in the 60s to near 70 degrees. radar showing one light shower near cambridge on the eastern shore northeast of baltimore. these are heading to the east. elsewhere, don't have any precipitation as we look at the view from space we have quite a bit of cloudiness around this morning. might have a few breaks in the cloud cover this morning. sunshine in and out. a cloudy afternoon. a small chance of a passing light shower, maybe a little drizzle this afternoon. highs in the mid 70s. by dawn tomorrow, looks like a likelihood of passing light showers, maybe drizzle as well. that may linger all the way
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through midday tomorrow. drying out thursday afternoon with highs near 70. looks like a couple of dry days to follow. friday and saturday, only a slight chance of a light sprinkle friday and saturday. dry pattern on saturday and most of sunday. late sunday afternoon and sunday evening, chance of more rain around. jerry, how's the wednesday morning commute? >> could be tough in silver spring. northbound route 29, this is at dale drive, but northbound 29 at franklin avenue, the northbound lanes are blocked. accident hit a power pole. you want to stick with university boulevard or georgia avenue. southbound lanes should be open. out at the bay bridge, 270 is quiet, as it is at the wilson bridge. barbara and craig, back to you. >> i'm googling it, but i haven't found it yet. >> we cannot tell a lie. we don't know what an arby's
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side kicker is. >> maybe curly fries or something like that? >> i think it's a smaller version of win of their sandwiches. >> we'll figure it out and tell you. a case that involves the washington, d.c. has now reached the nation's highest court. the fallout following joe wilson's outburst during that joint session of congress continues. up next at 5:15, a former president is now
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today the top tell krat on the senate finance committee will introduce his reform bill. it's been seen as the best hope for bipartisan agreement. so far no republicans have signed on. brooke hart has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: finance committee chairman max baucus is still confident gop backing will come. today he releases his health care reform measure without it. >> i expect by the end of the day, that is, by the time we finally vote in committee on final passage that there will be republican support. >> reporter: gop senators have helped shape the reform plan. it would require americans to buy health insurance or be fined. tax insurers on high-end plans and rely on co-ops to bring costs down, no public option. >> are you fired up? are you ready to go?
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>> reporter: in pittsburgh, president obama rallied union members for reform. >> it's the fault of a broken health care system that's sucking up all the money. when aree going to stop it? >> reporter: the president says he still prefers the public option. >> the as are 240, nays are 179. >> reporter: late yet after rebuicking joe wilson for his outburst last week. >> those who are here illegal? >> you lie! >> reporter: former president jimmy carter says race explains it and anger shown this summer. >> i think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity towards president barack obama is based on the fact that he is a black man. >> reporter: wilson dismissed that claim. >> that's totally a distraction. >> reporter: and earlier brushed off the punishment, too. >> when we are done here today,
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we will not have taken in i steps closer to helping more american families afford health insurance. >> reporter: a step one senator hopes to take today. senator baucus expects his committee will take up the measure next week. iowa's chuck grassley says republicans have been pushed asid there's no guarantee gop input will survive the wrangling still ahead. in washington, brooke hart,bc news. >> some democrats are complaining the measure doesn't make insurance affordable enough for americans who don't have it. more u.s. troops could be headed to afghanistan. the top military adviser says there needs to be an increase because the situation in afghanistan is deteriorating. admiral mike mullins says he doesn't know how many will be requested. some have spoken out against sending more troops. this morning we're learning new details about a metro bus driver who hit a jogger near dupont circle. it was apparently her third accident while on the b jo. that's the word from "the washington post." the patient says carla procter
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stepped off her bus in 2003 when it rolled down a hill causing a chain reaction crash that damaged seven other vehicles. the next year she reportedly crashed a bus into the back of a park car. she got remedial training on both cases. she's on paid administrative lead. the woman she hit this month is still in intensive care. school bus drivers in spotsylvania county are speaking out against a new policy requiring them to get their physicals from the same school nurse practitioner. many argue this robs them of their freedom to choose their own doctor. some said they were subject to inappropriate behavior during their exam. >> there were specific stories that came out as far as some of the things, extensive questions that were asked about your personal life that have nothing to do with a department of
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transportation physical. >> a school board member said the new policy was enacted in an effort to bring consistency to the exam process. the school district superintendent also released a statement in support of the nurse practitioner saysing the statements provided were either a misunderstanding or a misrepresentation. the supreme court has been asked to take up the case that involves the name of d.c.'s football team. seven native americans have been working through the court system since 1992 to have the redskins trademar declared invalid. they say the name is offensive. the national football league won a lower court decision on a technicality. now the supreme court is being asked to e decide whether the team name defames native americans. the nationals were shutout by the phillies 5-0. >> the or woels win in come back fashion 10-5. lindsay czarniak has our sports minute. hey there, good morning. everybody. your sports minute begins with
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the nationals. last night in philadelphia, phillies pitcher cliff lee shut down the washington bats. he pitched a complete game striking out nine nationals as the phillies blanked d.c. 5-0. in baltimore the orioles turned to rookie catcher matt wieters to bail them out. he went 3 for 4 at the plate including a home run and career high five rbis as the or yells come back from a five-run deficit to beat the rays 10-5. a last night at the national building museum, the greater washington sports alliance hosted the annual sneaker ball. it was a star-studded affair. alex ovechkin was there. he won an award as well as caron butler just back from his trip to china. finally, the redskins are back on the practice field later today preparing for sunday's home opener against the rams at fedex field. kickoff is at 1:00. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. take a look at this. the national phillies game last night. philadelphia fan seated in the second deck makes a fantastic
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catch, a foul ball hit by jayson werth. the fan gives it to the little girl. look what she did? she throws it back to them. we'll show it again later if you missed that. 5:21. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> let's check with tom kierein standing by in storm center 4. i love that. that's what a ball is for, for throwing. >> this morning we're getting rain thrown at us on the eastern shore. not here around washington and most of virginia. a few sprinkles and light rain near cambridge to the northeast of baltimore. elsewhere around the region, quite a bit of cloudiness, a few breaks in the clouds at this time. we'll have a mostly cloudy day with highs reaching the mid 70s. there's a small chance that a little light rain and drzle. this evening cloudy and will be in the low 60s. by this time tomorrow morning, it looks like rain likely, some light rain. maybe a little drizzle and
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patchy fog and passing showers as well possible through midday thursday. drying out thursday afternoon and evening. part cli sunny friday, mid 70s. partly cloudy and 70 on saturday. might be wet for the skins and rams. that may linger into monday and tuesday. jerry, how is the wednesday traffic? >> pop over to the capitol beltway. the outer loop and inner loop ne river road. the overnight road work pretty much wrapped up. the crews are beginning to shut the equipment down. right now okay. still dealing with the uneven vent for a while yet. we'll check your speeds. west on 66 from the t.r. bridge towards the beltway, 17 minutes. 15 minutes from the beltway to centreville. the overnight road work out there in vienna has been wrapped up. 10 minutes between route 29 centreville and route 29 gains vim. barbara and craig, back to you. >> thanks jerry. time 5:22. temporary toy stores popping up
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a police chase in southern california ends with a dramatic crash. lots angles police chase this stolen honda for more than an hour otuesday night before finally crashing into it with several patrol cars. officials say the chase topped 80 miles an hour, for the last part of the chase the driver was running on his rims. no word on what charges the driver will face. a camera catching a school bus beating in illinois. a 17-year-old student is attacked on the high school bus monday, not once but twice. it apparently starts when he sits down where he's not wanted. the boy next to him starts exchanging words, then throwing punches. that attack stopts. then another student takes it up. the 14 and 15-year-old attackers have been suspended. they may also face criminal charges. the victim is okay. >> wow. i hate to see that.
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building their case. police raid the home of a person of interest linked to the murder of a yale student. what investigators hope to find that could lead to an arrest. shutdown, why drivers may want to think twice about stopping in certain places along interstate 66. good morning everyone and welcome to "news4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >>'m craig melvin sitting in for joe krebs. it's wednesday, september 16, 2009. a live look over the capitol city. you can see the washington monument off in the distance. what is that? 69 degrees, tom kierein? >> you got it. >> it must have rained overnight. >> we had a little bit. our summer weather is gone. time to put away the floral moo moo. we have a little sprinkle activity on the northeastern
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shore northeast of maryland. no rain around. it is rather damp this morning. we have cloud cover beginning to break up a little bit. we may have a little sun in and out this morning and through midday. temperatures only reaching the mid 70s. we're in the 60s to near 70. a small chance there may be a little sprinkle or light rain activity this afternoon and cloudy this evening. a likelihood of showers by this time tomorw morning and off and on perhaps through midday on thursday and drying out thursday afternoon. highs tomorrow only near 70. friday a saturdayrying out a bit. a look at sunday into next week. that will be coming up in ten minutes at 5:41. >> i bet a lot of people don't even know what a moo moo is anymore. >> i do know thato one should be wearing it over a floral moo moo. >> if you're wearing it over a by kinney. >> jerry edwards, you don't wear one, do you. >> no, but director superior
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does. let's head to new york avenue. looking good at the parkway. back around bladensburg road, one lane blocked inbound and outbound on new york avenue. doing okay on theilson bridge, 95 at 198 in laurel, still continuing construction. may find delays in both directions. >> thank you, jerry. we begin this half hour with the case of annie le, the yale student found dead in the university lab. we're getting a first look at 24-year-old raymond clark, the man police are calling a person of interest. clark has been served a warrant and is in custody for questioning. however, he has not been officially arrested. investigators are hopingo figure out within days whether clark is involved in the killing of annie le. police searched his apartment and plan to collect dna samples. clark works at the lab where le's body was found crammed in a small cable shaft. sources say clark failed a lie detector test when questioned by
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investigators. meanwhile the families of annie le and her friends released a statement last night. >> our families want to thank everyone in the local communities and around the country for the thoughts and prayers expressed by so many. >> the results of an autopsy on le's body has not been released. a source told the hartford current that she was asphyxia asphyxiated. her body was found on sunday after an intensive search. no charges have been filed after a college student killed a burglary suspect with a samurai sword. the student lives just off the campus of john hopkins university in baltimore. police say he left his bedroom armed with a sword and called police. but before police officers arrived, there was a confrontation. >> confronted the suspect, asked him what he was doing. said he called for police. that's when the suspect lunged at him. backed him up against the wall,
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in a panic motion he retaliated with the samurai sword. >> there's a suspected burglar identified as donald rice, slashed across the upper body during the fight. his hand was also cut off. he died a short sometime later. police say the same student's apartment was broken into twice in two days. a man was shot to dea in prince george's county. officers were called to the 1700 block of olive street in capital heights before 6:00 last night. when they arrived they found 30-year-old seed rick holmes suffering from a gunshot wound. he was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead a short time later. investigators don't have any suspects or a motive at this time. anyone with information is asked to call police. good news in the fight against the swine flu. a new vaccine is ready and should be available in just a few weeks. the fda approved the vaccine yesterday. the federal government is buying it and distributing it based on state's populations. at-risk patients will be given
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top priority like childr, caregivers and pregnant women. experts say at first even those folks may have trouble getting it. >> we're going to have to keep working at making sure that those of us who want the vaccine can get it. they may have to make two or three phone calls initially if they want it right away because not every provider will have it on the very first day that the vaccine is available. >> nearly 200 million doses have been ordered by the federal government. officials say they will order more if needed. happening today, a last refuge for smokers in the halls of congress is going away. the last two designated smoking rooms in the cannon and long worth house office buildings will be closed after today. "the hill" newspaper notes the rooms are being closed to make room for more cafeteria space. the race for governor is tightening in the commonwealth. why temporary toy stores will be popping up in maryland
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closed, huh? >> oh, man. celebrate your birthday in style with the news4 bargain blast. get a free lip gloss trio from sapora on my day. >> go there and sign up to be a beauty insider and get a coupon for the lip gloss on your birthday. for more deals go to nbcwashington.com and search key words "bargain blast." let's find out what the clouds portend out there above us. it does look a bit on the ominous side. >> yeah. but no rain aroundur region except on the eastern shore just to the south and east of cambridge right now on radar. we are getting a few little light sprinkles there as well as just northeast of baltimore. these are moving to the east and pulling away from the metro area and elsewhere right around town we have just a little bit of patchy fog. at the minimum visibilities are about 1/2 mile. temperatures are in the 60s to near 70. from adams morgan to near suit
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land, oakland and ulney, we have quite a bit of cloudiness this morning. the cloud cover should be breaking up to our west. in fact, they're seeing a little bit of the late summer and early autumn constellations showing through some breaks inhe clouds over the shenandoah valley and parts of loudoun county and into washington county, panhandle of west virginia. we're going to stay mostly cloudy. by mid morning near 70. by noontime mid 70s. then during the afternoon cloudy with a small chance of some sprinkles, maybe a little light drizzle, highs in the mid 70s. we'll be in the 60s through the evening. sunset at 7:14. sunrise :51. by tomorrow, maybe sprinkles, drizzle and patchy fog. maybe a passing shower through midday on thursday, through early afternoon. then beginning to dry out by late thursday into friday. highs tomorrow, cooler near 70. friday partly sunny, highs mid 70s.
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the average high this time of year is in the upper 70s. looks like we'll stay cooler than average into the weekend. saturday, partly cloudy, highs mid 70s. clouding up on sunday. maybe sun in the morning, then a chance of showers in the afternoon for the skins and rams at fedex field and into monday and tuesday, too. maybe passing showers. highs in the 70s. now jerry, how is the wednesday traffic? >> time to take a live look along 395 northbound, getting busy north from et sell road towards landmark and shirlington. no accidents or incidents to impede the flow. southbound 395 looks pretty good at this hour. in southeast washington, traffic lights are out pennsylvania avenue at kenilworth avenue. late clearing construction between bladensburg road and west virginia and montana avenue. headed for downtown? 395 northbound and southbound, if you're heading out of town, still looking pretty good. no issues to report right now.
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the travel lanes are open there. authorities wrapping up the accident silver spring 29 northbound at franklin avenue, northbound lanes have been closed. car into a power pole over there. we'll keep you updated. barbara and craig, back to you. our time is 5:42. some maryland speed cameras are getting an upgrade. why you may want to think twice before putting the pedal to the metal. cost cutting measures. up next, what drivers will no longer have access to alo
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lead was 10 points. deeds has been targeting a thee tus paper which talked about the harmful societal impact of working women, feminists and nontraditional families. mcdonnell says his views have changed since then. that's one side of the economic times. here is another. toys are us is thinking ahead to the holiday season opening 80 stores across the u.s. next month. they will be temporary locations, sort of like the seasonal halloween stores. shoppers will find the express stores at various malls. there will be a location in columbia. toys are us says it will open holiday toys centers at babies are us stores, including locations in maryland and virginia. some say there's no rest for the weary on another stretch of highway in northern virginia. that's because yet another rest stop is closing. this one on i- 66 in manassas,
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part of the commonwealth's plan to save money. kimberly suiters joins us more from manassas with what's happening. >> reporter: we're here at mile marker 48 on eastbound 66. you can see the rest stop behind me. the lights are on, but it's blocked off. it is closed starting today indefinitely. thes rest stops cost a staggering half a million dollars. and so you can understand why the state is lookingt closing the rest stops, to save money, when you're looking at a $2.6 billion shortfall here in virginia. closing 19 rest stops is expected to save the state up to $9 million. there were 42 rest stops in virginia, but like we said, now 19 closed. the 19th one closing today. most of the rest stops were closed over the summertime. this one, a welcome center right here outside manassas kept open
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through the summer travel season. and then closing it now in september as we head into fall. there is a rest center in fredricksburg, virginia, welcome center that still remains open. however, there are drivers concerned if they're drowsy or need a place to stretch or even for just comfort, that they won't be able to pull over here anymore. some reports i read -- one said even though governor kaine can't afford to keep a rest stop open for you, at least ronald mcdonald still can. that might be the silver lining in all this, that area businesses off of these exits will see more business. but the safety issue remains to be seen. right now budget concerns are the priority. reporting live in manassas, kimberly suiters, news4. craig, back to you. >> kimberly, thank you so much. do appreciate it. there are encouraging new signs that our local economy is recovering. home sales are up dramatically throughout the region. the biggest increase is in prince george's county maryland where the price of homes has
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dropped so much that opportunistic buyers are snapping them up. also helping sales there, a county program that offers down payment help to first-time home buyers who purchase foreclosed homes. >> you can get up to $20,000 to buy a foreclosure. there are different funding scenarios. basically we're going to help you to realize your dream. we know when it's time to buy a house, coming up with the cash is probably the most important reason why most people don't get into one. >> in prince george's county, home sales jumped 48% in august compared to a year ago. home sales in montgomery county were also up nearly 23%. meanwhile in the district, sales increased 20%. sales in northern virginia were up 10%. d.c. superior court judge has blocked the city's effort to evict a popular tennis program from southeast washington. the southeast tennis and learning center is run by cora masters barry. the non-profit organization
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allows hundreds of kids to take part in sports and educational programs. city officials want to evict the group claiming it is not legally incorporal corp rated. yesterday the judge said nor legal proceedings are needed before any eviction can be carried out. >> i've been living in terror of not being able to touch these children and not see them on a day-to-day basis and be able to sew into their lives. i'm not fighting against anybody. i'm fighting for the children and the dmin that i've lived in for over 15 years now. >> the group says it has now filed the proper incorporation papers. it is a dream come true for d.c. tourism boosters. dan brown ice new novel is set right here in the nation's capitol. the lost symbols flying off book sdoer shelves. robert lang den's role as a code breaking hero. his search takes him into the washington monument, the botanical garden, capitol and library of congre.
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local officials say they hope the popularity will result in a spike of visitors to the d.c. area, much like "the davinci code" sent people to roam and paris. >> at the end of the day feex want together come do washington, d.c. and experience some of the things they saw or read in the book. >> the d.c. tourism office has set up a website to help visitors find sites that are mentioned in the novel. tom kierein, i know you mentioned earlier that it's obviously a work of fiction because. >> there's a section of the book because where the streets are empty because the redskins are in the play-offs. >> send your e-mails to tom kierein. >> you brought it up. they have a good chance of making it this year. i truly believe that. as we look outside, we have a chance of passing light showers perhaps this afternoon. but right now it is cloudy and there's the washington monument pointing to the cloud cover, a
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little light fog in the air, patchy fog in the rural areas, now 69 degrees in washington. it is a rather damp morning and our summer-like weather we had the last couple days is gone for the foreseeable future. right now on radar, we're seeing a few light showers far south and east of washington, just now passing southeast of cam bridge. that's heading over towards southern maryland on the eastern shore. there's another light shower up here in northeastern maryland. ha is also heading across the northern part of the bay. elsewhere, no precipitation around the region. temperatures are reported by weather watchers, in the 60s around the blue ridge and shen valley, low to mid 60s there. upper 60s in montgomery, fairfax, prince george's county and here in washington. near the bay temperatures in the upper 60s. now let's take a look at the view from space over the last six hours. we had a few of those overnight showers passing across maryland. one came right through washington. those are moving across the eastern shore. behind that the cloud cover breaking up a little bit. we may see sunshine for a time.
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sunshine from the carolinas and southern virginia, passing to the south of washington. meanwhile, this is the height of hurricane season. thankfully we don't have any hurricanes. these are just a couple of areas of low pressure. this is what was hurricane fred. that's all broken down now. this is a tropical wave, a trough of low pressure with scattered clusters of thundershowers to the north and east of the bahamas towards bermuda. nothing looking like it's going to develop. there's washington, there's florida. here is the tropical atlantic. this is the zone where we normally see hurricanes forming this time of year, especially in mid september. this year, due to el nino and perhaps some upper level winds that are stronger than usual for this time of year, we thankfully don't have any tropical systems forming and none in the foreseeable future. if you're traveling today, we may have rain around the midatlantic states, up towards new york city.
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maybe flight delays in the west coast of florida, gulf coast and up through the tennessee valley as well as oklahoma, down to texas and parts of utah and as well, new mexico and arizona. for us, we've got this area of high pressure that's now moved off the coast. another area of high pressure building from new england pushing this front through us. we have this moist flow to the south and east of us. the front will be pushing to the south as the day progresses. here is the forecast for the bus stop for today. temperatures liming out of the 60s to the 70s. that's not going the happen until late morning. for the bus stop this morning, partly sunny. little patchy fog. a rather cool and dammal morning. maybe a little sun through noontime. during the afternoon cloudy, might have a few sprinkles, perhaps light rain this afternoon. a small chance of that. highs in the mid 70s. sunrise is 6:51. sunset at 7:14. a cloudy night tonight.
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by this time tomorrow morning, a likelihood of showers around. looks like a wet start to the day on thursday. and maybe a little light rain, passing showers all the way through midday tomorrow. then looks like we'll dry out on thursday afternoon. highs near 70, and warmer on friday and saturday, partly kun any to partly cloudy at times. sunday, increasing clouds, might get showers in the afternoon for the skins and rams at fedex field. go skins. that's the way it looks. >> go skins. all right. let's check on the traffic. >> hey, jerry. >> hello there. unfortunately we've gone south very quickly on the beltway in montgomery county. this is the inner loop of the capitol beltway just above the american legn bridge. montgomery county is adjusting the camera. right side of the roadway block, left side block. the initial call is a car that smacked into the jersey call.
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but now another vehicle involved. there's also a bunch of emergency equipment coming on the outer loop headed to the inner loop. we'll keep you updated on that. on the rails doing much better an on the roads right now. metro rail, vre and marc, all three looking good so far as we get under way. one of craig's favorite edition toss the landscape out there, several speed cameras are getting an upgrade according to "the washington post." the cameras along connecticut avenue along chevy chase are being replaced with laser cameras that will make it easier to tell which vehicle is speeding. with the current cameras, if it's too hard to tell which vehicle triggered the camera, all e vehicles are left off the hook. they could be up and running by friday. news4 your health, a new high-tech way to find out if you're at risk for cardiovascular disease. caroline land has that story this morning. >> reporter: beth patterson is 46. she says she feels 46. beth wants to know how old her
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veins are. cardiovascular disease runs in her family. >> all of my aunts and uncle have had premature deaths. so it's something that always in the back of my mind o. >> reporter: a noninvasive painless test will determine that test, it's called a cimt. it's been modified and is now used in doctor's offices to measure the thickness of the walls of the arteries using doppler ultrasound technology. >> her qimt measurement is 569, right about where it should be. >> reporter: translation, dr. mark mcquaed says beth's vascular age is 46, too. >> if somebody learns their vascular age is ten years older than their chronologic age, that's quite powerful information to get them to change their lifestyle. >> reporter: so will this change what's on the lunch menu? >> still a salad because it's paying off.
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>> that was actually meredith land reporting. news4 is helping to find jobs for you. the marine corps systems command is looking for a few good men and women. the facility is located at quauchbt co-. if you're interested in learning more about the opportunities available, go to nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you. news4 is always connected to you on facebook and twitter. you can go there for up to the nute breaking news, weather, traffic alerts. you can find us on either site by searching news4today. that's one word. still to come at 6:00 a.m. jimmy carter's controversial statement about congressman joe wilson and many other americans. the brac alignment expected to make the commute in northern virginia more of a mess. meteorologist tom kierein will let us know if we'll see sun or rain today. perhaps a little of both. weather and traffic together on
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quantico. person of interest. this morning we're getting a look at the man police are questioning in the murder of a yale university graduate student. and the evidence police have against this person of interest. also this morning, a shot in the arm. a major development in the fight against swine flu. a vaccine is now approved. this morning, find out when you'll be able to get your dose. thanks for waking up with us this morning for "news4 today." welcome. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm craig melvin sitting in for joe krebs this morning. it's wednesday, september 16th. a first look outside for many of you. you can see the sun, it's
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trying. the sun is trying to rise there in the background. 69 degrees. what time is the sun coming up this morning? >> not until 6:51. >> almost an hour. >> it's very trying this morning as we head off to work and school as we have cloud cover and a little patchy fog around. no rain. we do still have a little wet pavement from overnight showers that have moved far to the east of washington. they're on the eastern shore to the east of cambridge now near salisbury, getting light rain there as well as northeastern maryland. here is our forecast for today. right now near upper 60s near 70. may have a little sun in and out through moon time and a cloudy afternoon. a small chance of a passing shower this afternoon as you're heading back home from work and school. we'll be in the mid 70s. our sunset is at 7:14. looks like a cloudy evening to follow. by this time tomorrow morning, a wet start to thursday, looks like it will be a wet morning tomorrow with light rain, maybe patchy drizzle and fog. should taper off and end by
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early afternoon. a look at sunday and next week in ten minutes. >> all right. thanks, tom. we were doing so well in terms of traffic up until about 15 or 20 minutes ago. >> let's talk to jerry edwards about that. >> you're right. we were doing okay. not so much anymore. here is the capital beltway in maryland. this is the inner loop from the american legion bridge trying to get toward river road. on the inner loop, car smashed into the jersey wall. left side is blocked. also equipment tieing up the right side of the roadway. right now one lane generally gets by right up the middle leaving the american legion bridge headed on the inner loop toward river road or continuing on over toward connecticut avenue. that's the inner loop story. this is the outer lp coming off the 270 spur, that's low with a piece of emergency equipment on the left shoulder. outer loop, the travel lanes are open. inner loop coming up from the american legion bridge, that's the big problem right now. looks like it will be for a
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while. elsewhere, we'll let you know there's an accident in the beltway at prince george's county, outer loop at landover road, fire equipment on the scene, car spun out and smacked into the jersey wall along the left side. >> we'll check back with you in a few minutes. we begin with the case of a yale student found dead in a university lab. now getting a first look at 24-year-old raymond clark, the man police are calling a person of interest. clark works in the lab where annie le's body was found crammed into a small cable shaft. last night investigators executed a search warrant. police say they took him into custody to collect dna samples and other evidence and would later release them. sources say he failed a lie detector test. the families of annie le and her fiancee released a statement. >> our families want to thank everyone in the local commu
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communities and around the country for the thoughts and prayers expressed by so many. >> the results of an autopsy on le's body have not been released. but a source told the hard fort current that she was asphyxiated. a shot that will protect you from the swine flu is almost here. the vaccine was given the final stamp of approval by the fda. it should arrive in doctor's offices in just a few weeks. news4's megan mcgrath joins us live fro the department of health and human services with more on how you can get your shot. hey, megan. >> good morning, craig. with cases of swine flu popping up in our area and around the country, there's a big push to get people protected. with the approval of the swine flu vaccine, it's closer to happening. >> reporter: another 45 million doses will come two weeks later. >> we plan to initiate our h1n1 vaccination program in october. mid october is still the target for the large-scale campaign to
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get under way. but we anticipate having limited amounts of vaccine available a week or ten days earlier. >> the h1n1 flu shot was approved by the fda on tuesday, about a week earlier than expected. preliminary results from the studies in adults indica one dose can general enough immunity in eight to ten days. health experts originally estimated immunity within 21 days. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius say the kathleen will be available at up to 90,000 sites including schools and clinics across the country. as additional shipmentals come in, health officials say everyone who wants a swine flu shot will be able to get one. now it's important to remember that the swine flu vaccine only guards against swine flu. you still need to get a regular flu shot to guard against the seasonal flu. they want to remind people you're goi to have to get two flu shots this year.
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craig, back to you. >> megan mcgrath in southwest d.c. this morning. thank you. the recession may finally be over. today the labor department will release data on august consumer prices. these are just the latest numbers that are expected to show the economy is on the rebound. meanwhile, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke says we're experiencing moderate growth which in a technical sense means the recession is over. although that growth is expected to roll over into 2010, bernanke says unemployment numbers will still be slow to come down. today we expect to eleven more about a major drug bust in st. mary's county. the sheriff's office tells us that a dwoz dozen people are facing charges this morning, expecting a briefing about 10:00 on that case this morning. thousands of new jobs are coming to fairfax county. some people are worried that could mean more traffic, too. it's all part of brac, an acronym for base realignment and closures. the defense department's plan
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for rearranging military bases oovps. 24,000 people will move to st. belvoir by 2011. transportation officials including work on the parkways. it means drivers will have to use a detour around the fairfax county parkway and fullerton road for an entire year. some school bus drivers in spotsylvania county are very upset this morning about a new policy requiring them to get their physicals from the same school nurse practitioner. the policy just took effect last month. many drivers argue that the decision robs tm of their freedom to choose their own doctor. this week, about 50 bus drivers went to the school board meeting to protest. in addition, some said they were subjected to inappropriate behavior during their exam. >> there were specific stories that came out as far as some of the things, extensive questions that were asked about your personal life that have nothing
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to do with a department of transportation physical. >> a school board member said a new policy was enacted in an effort to bring consistency to the exam process. the school district superintendent released a statement supporting the nurse practitioner saying the statements provided were either a misunderstanding or a misrepresentation. one of the last places to light up inside the district is about to snuff out cigarettes. the. the punishment for south carolina congressman j wilson for heckling the president. the nation's highest court will be asked to determine whether the redskins can keep its name. breaking news on the beltway, an accident on the inner loop. you can see it right there. it's caused traffic to come to just about a standstill. we'll have your
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out into friday and saturday. highs mid 70s, clouds in and out. sunday afternoon and evening, maybe more rain. how is the wednesday commute right now? >> not good. good morning. here is the inner loop of the capital beltway off the american legion bridge. the bridge is right down here. r into the jersey wall. right now looks like one lane getting by as there is activity over here on the shoulder. police, fire and a ton of it on the scene right now. the backup begins back in virginia already on the inner loop coming up from the gw parkway trying to get over the bridge. here is the outer loop of the beltway. all lanes are open on the outer loop. as is typical, the folks are looking at the inner loop accident. be forewarned. other things going on, accident outer loop 202 cleared. vears mere road word of a pedestrian accident near randolph road. authorities are headed over there. right now at the wilson bridge, thankfully it's quiet at this hour. barbara and craig, back to you.
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more u.s. troops could soon be headed to afghanistan. president obama's top military adviser says there needs to be an increase in troop strength because the situation in afghanistan continues to deteriorate. admiral mike mullins said yesterday he does not know how many more troops will be requested. he argued the 21,000 there right now are not enough. meanwhile some powerful democratic lawmakers have spoken out against sending more troops. today the top democrat on the senate finance committee will release his long awaited health care reform bill. it's been seen as the best hope for bipartisan agreement. so far no republicans have signed on. brooke hart has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: some democrats are complaining that it doesn't make insurance affordable enough. for now it's opposition crossing
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party lines. >> reporter: finance committee chairman max baucus is still confident gop backing will come. today he releases his health care reform measure without it. >> i expect by the end of the day, that is, by the time we finally vote in committee on final passage that there will be republican support. >> reporter: gop senators have helped shape the reform plan. it would require americans to buy health insurance or be fined. tax insurers on high-end plans and rely on co-ops to bring costs down, no public option. >> are you fired up? are you ready to go? >> reporter: in pittsburgh, president obama rallied union members for reform. >> it's the fault of a broken health care system that's sucking up all the money. when are we going to stop it? >> reporter: the president says he still prefers the public option. >> the as are 240, nays are 179. >> reporter: late yet after rebuking joe wilson for his outburst last week.
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>> those who are here illegal? >> you lie! >> reporter: former president jimmy carter says race explains it and anger shown this summer. >> i think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity towards president barack obama is based on the fact that he is a black man. >> reporter: wilson dismissed that claim. >> that's totally a distraction. >> reporter: and earlier brushed off the punishment, too. >> when we are done here today, we will not have taken any steps closer to helping more american families afford health insurance. >> reporter: a step one senator pes to take today. senator baucus expects his committee will take up the measure next week. iowa's chuck grassley says republicans have been pushed aside, there's no guarantee gop input will survive the wrangling still ahead. live on capitol hill. brooke hart, back to you.
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>> brooke, thank you. a last refuge for smokers in the halls of congress is going away. the last two designated smoking rooms in will be closed after today. "the hill" newspaper reports the rooms are being closed to make way for more cafeteria space and promote healthier living. a d.c. superior court judge has blocked an effort to evict a popular tennis program. the southeast tennis and learning center is run by cora masters barry. the non-profit organization allows hundreds of kids to take part in sports and educational programs. city officials want to evict the group saying it is not legally incorporated. but yesterday the judge said more legal proceedings are needed before any eviction can be carried out. >> i've been living in terror, really, of not being able to touch these children and not being able to see them on a day-to-day basis and be able to sew into their lives. i'm not fighting against anybody. i'm fighting for the children and for the community that i live in and have lived in for
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over 15 years now. >> cora masters barry added that the group has now filed all proper paperwork. the battle over washington redskins name could be headed to the supreme court now. seven native americans are worked since 1992 to have the redskins trademarks declared invalid. lower courts have sided with the nfl on a legal techcality. a lawyer for the native americans has appealed to the highest court to determine whether the redskins name is defamatory. the nat season is all but over. major league baseball has released part of the nats schedule already. they'll start the season at home playing against the phillies on april 5th. here is lindsay czarniak with our sports minute. hey there, good morning, everybody. your sports minute begins with the nationals. last night in philadelphia, phillies pitcher cliff lee shut down the washington bats. he pitched a complete game striking out nine nationals as the phillies blanked d.c. 5-0.
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in baltimore the orioles turned to rookie catcher matt wieters to bail them out. he went 3 for 4 at the plate including a home run and career high five rbis as the or yells come back from a five-run deficit to beat the rays 10-5. a last night at the national building museum, the greater washington sports alliance hosted the annual sneaker ball. it was a star-studded affair. alex ovechkin was there. won an award as well as caron butler just back from his trip to china. finally, the redskins are back on the practice field later today preparing for sunday's home opener against the rams at fedex field. kickoff is at 1:00. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. we promised to show this to you again. during the nationals-phillies game, a fan in stekd deck makes a nice catch on that foul ball hit by a phillies player. look what happens. the fan gives the ball to his daughter. the little girl throws it back.
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she does, however, give daddy a big hug. >> she knows what the ball is for. >> she didn't want that ball. that's not her team. tom kierein standing by fro storm center 4. hey, tom. >> as we start this morning, we're starting off with a cloudy sky. at this hour our temperatures are in the 60s. weather watchers reporting patchy fog in the rural areas. right now radar showing light rain in the eastern shore and north of baltimore. that's not affecting the metro area or most of the region at this hour. the view from space showing breaks in the clouds to our west from foggy bottom, to lanham, herndon and pooleslle. a small chance of an afternoon light shower, highs reaching mid 70s. cloudy tonight. a likelihood of morning rain tomorrow and off and on perhaps winterly afternoon. then drying out thursday afternoon. highs tomorrow just near 70. but warmer, partly sunny to
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partly cloudy friday and saturday. highs the mid 70s. looks like sunday morning will be dry. but sunday afternoon and evening looking wet for the skins and rams. highs just near 70. might have passing showers a bit milder monday and tuesday. jerry, how is the traffic doing now? >> a little bit of an improvement, not great. we'll take anything we can get this morningment inner loop of the beltway just above the american legion bridge, everything consodated out of the far left lane. still police and fire activity from the accident. looks like generally all the lanes are open with the exception of that far left lane. activity continues on the shoulder. the backup on the inner loop will begin all the way back at least at the dulles toll road, beginning to reach back towards tyson's corner on the inner loop. outer loop, all lanes remain open. packed in very tightly as you come off the i-270 spur. let's check your speeds and see how you're doing south of town on the beltway. from springfield across the wilson bridge, only seven minutes. a couple extra minutes because of the outer loop accident at
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landover. 19 minutes between the wilson bridge and route 50. eight minutes from route 50 towards college park. craig, back to you. >> thank you so much. we've been hearing from kanye west since monday's debacle. now taylor swift will be talking about kanye stealing her spotlight. what happened when a med student in maryland gra
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kanye west is here, cool haircut. what are you doing? i'm not going to say i wasn't rattled by it. >> what are you doing? >> that was taylor swift describing her confusion as kanye west ruined her moment on the video music awards. she appeared on "the view" yesterday and said she'd be willing to talk it out with him. west later called to personally apologize for his antics. a security camera catches a student beaten up on a bus, not once but twice. a 17-year-old student is attacked on a bus in illinois. it apparently starts when he sits down where he's not wanted. the boy next to him starts exchanging words and then throwing punches. that attack stops. then another student takes up the fight. the 14 and 15-year-old attackers have both been suspended. they may also face criminal charges as well.
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fortunately the victim is okay. 6:26 is the time. find out if charges will be filed against the student in maryland who attacked a burglar with a samurai sword. we have aa look at the personal of interest in the case of a yale student murdered. what a new poll in the virginia governor's race say about what voters
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person of interest. this morning we're getting a look at the man police are questioning in the murder of a yale university graduate student and the evidence police have. is it over? we have quite possibly the biggest endorsement yet that the recession is behind us. but just how long will it be until you see the effects? good morning everyone.
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thanks for waking up with us this morning. for "news4 today," i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm craig melvin. it is wednesday, september 16th. it is 6:29ment there's a look outside. the sun looks like it's almost up there, tom kierein. >> got to compete with the clouds though, right? >> it does. sunrise is about 20 minutes away. off to a cloudy start this morning here. clouds have broken up a bit to our west. one of the best places to see washington skyline is from the iwo jima memorial in arlington, a beautiful place. a great place for watching the fireworks, too, on the 4th of july. there's the live picture now at this hour. you can see it's a gray sky as we start off on this wednesday morning. temperatures around the region reported by weather watchers are generally in the mid and upper 60s now. where you see the areas of blue on the eastern shore, getting light rain east of cambridge and near salisbury moving through southern delaware heading off to the east. elsewhere, no rain. as we look at the view from space, you can see the clouds
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are breaking up a little bit off to our west. partly sunny start there. other showers farther to the south. here is the bus stop forecast this morning as the children are waiting for the bus. there may be patchy fog around. maybe a little sun in and out, too. temperatures should stay in the 60s for the next few hours. by mid morning we should make it into the low to mid 70s. mid 70s holding steady. quite a bit of cloudiness around. a small chance of a light shower and early this evening. tomorrow a likelihood of morning light rain or maybe patchy fog, drizzle, maybe a passing shower through early afternoon. then drying out just in time for friday and getting into the first half of the weekend. highs mid 70s, friday and saturday. a look at sunday and next week in ten minutes. >> thanks. want to update folks on the breaking news we have been following throughout the morning involving traffic and your morning commute. >> let's go to jerry edwards who can tell us how it's looking out there. good morning, not looking so great. the inner loop of the beltway,
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this is as you come up from i-66 through tyson past the dulles toll road en route to the american legion bridge. it's a parking lot. the improving news is the accident above the american legion bridge, single left lane remains closed off. all the other travel lanes are open for you. we're left for this to deal with. the outer loop of the beltway, all your lanes are open this morning. silver spring we have continuing issues with northbound route 29 being closed at franklin avenue. car ran into a power pole earlier this morning. there's a detour there. outer loob at 202 to the shoulder. brandywine, look for delays coming up route 5 to brandywine road. earlier accident there. should be out of the roadway. we peer told there's a hefty backup coming out of waldorf toward the capital beltway this morning. we begin this morning with the case of the yale student found dead in a university lab. now getting a first look at 24-year-old raymond clark, the
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man police are calling a person of interest. clark works at the lab where annie le's body was found crammed in a small cable shaft. last night investigators executed a search warrant on clark's apartment. police say they took him into custody to collect dna samples and other evidence and would later release him. sources say clark failed a lie detector test and had scratches on his body. >> she would have yelled and screamed for help. i'm not surprised this person has scratches on his body. >> the results of an autopsy have not been released. a source told the "hartford courant" that she was as physician eighted. the families of annie le and her fiancee released a statement last night. >> our families want to thank everyone in the local communities and around the country for the thoughts and prayers expressed by so many as we have experienced grief and personal loss during the past week. and on behalf of annie marie le.
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>> so far no details have been released about funeral arrangements. no charges have been filed after a college student killed a burglary suspect with a samurai sword. the student lived just off the campus of john hopkins university in baltimore. police say the student heard a commotion inside his apartment justfter 1:00 yesterday morning. so he left his bedroom armed with a sword. he also called police at the same time. before officers could arrive, there was a confrontation. >> confronted the suspect, asked him what he was doing, said he called for police. and that's when the suspect lunged at him, kind of backed him up against the wall. in a panic motion, he retaliated with the samurai sword. >> there's a suspected burglar, identified as donald rice. he was slashed across the upper body during the fight. his hand was also cut off. he died a short time thereafter. police say the same student's apartment was broken into twice in two days.
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police in prince george's county are looking for suspects after a man was shot to death there. it happened before 6:00 last night on the 1700 block of olive street and capitol heights. when officers arrived at the scene, they found 30-year-old sedric holmes suffering from a gunshot wound. he was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead a short time later. investigators don' have any suspects or motive at this time. anyone with information is asked to call police. we're learning new details about a metro bus driver who hit a jogger near dupont circle, apparently her third accident while on the job. that's the word from "the washington post." the paper says carla proctor stepped off her bus in 2003 when it rolled down the hill that caused a crash that damaged seven vehicles. the next year she reportedly crashed a bus into the back of a parked car. metro says proctor got retraining. she's on paid administrative leave. the woman she hit this month is still in intensive care. a new poll suggests the race
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for governor is tighning. bob mcdonnell leads creigh teeds by five points, giving 42% to deeds' 37%. meanwhile 20% say they are still undecided. earlier this month mcdonnell's average lead was ten points. deeds has been targeting a thesis paper mcdonnell wrote back in the 80s which talked about the harmful role of working women. mcdonnell says his views have since changed. fed chairman ben bernanke says the ression is over. we'll talk to cnbc about when. and we'll talk about when your wallet will feel the effects. another rest stop in northern virginia closes today. a major development this morning in the fight against
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against the swine flu this morning. a new vaccine is ready and should be available in just a few weeks. the fda approved the vaccine yesterday. the federal government is now buying it and distributing it to states based on population. at-risk patient like children, caregivers and pregnant women will be given top priority. nearly 200 million doses have been ordered. government officials say they will order more if needed. children's national medical center is about to receive a major donation that could dramatically change that hospital. the hospital will receive a $150 million gift from the government of abu dhabi. the money will enable to hospital to hire more than 100 new surgeons, researchers and staff members, one of the largest donations ever made to a u.s. pediatric hospital. more information will be made public at a press conference later this morning. turning to theeather now. tom kierein standing by in storm center 4. sun starting to peek, having to compete with clouds this morning. hey, tom. >> hey barbara and craig. a view out my video window.
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the's capitol hill in the distance. no precipitation here now. looking at radar, we have a little light rain here drifting into southern ph.d. near cambridge as well as northeast of baltimore, a few sprinkles in northern baltimore county. another shower where charles county meets the tidal potomac, that's head together the east as well. elsewhere, don't have any precipitation. the temperatures around the region here in washington, now 69 degrees. dew point is 64. rather humid. monthly rain about an inch and a half. we could use more. some breaks in the cloud to our west. we may have a little sun in and out this morning. a cloudy afternoon with highs mid 70s. small chance of a little light rain. maybe sprinkles this afternoon. a likelihood of morning showers perhaps through early afternoon. a passing light shower tomorrow and highs near 70. then partly sunny, partly cloudy
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saturday mid 70s. much of sunday should be dry. late sunday afternoon into evening may turn wet again. jerry, good morning. how is the traffic? >> head up to 70here southbound below montgomery village, checking reports of an accident, reportedly still in the travel portion of the roadway. we're jammed from at least germantown to that point. more delays through rockville. now the lower end is jammed trying to get to the outer loop because of the rubber necking from the inner loop accident. the inner loop at the american legion bridge, earlier accident there has been cleared to the shoulder. volume on 66 close in, 395 headed for downtown, there the travel lanes are open. barbara and craig, back to you. >> thanks, jerry. thank you, jerry. the new and more accurate technology local police districts are using to catch speeders. >> i think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity towards president barack obama is -- >> again, former president jimmy
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after a month of negotiation es on a health care overhaul bill, it looks like the so-called gang of six failed to reach an agreement. max baucus says he'll unveil a bill later today though he has no republican backers for it, expected to disappoint liberals leaving out a government-run insurance option. republican joe wilson is speaking out after being formally rebuked by the house of representatives. he yelled "you lie" during president obama's speech last week. wilson says measures aren't what congress should be focused on right now. >> when we are done here today, we will not have taken any steps closer to helping more american families afford health insurance. >> former president jimmy carter called wilson's outburst an act, quote, based on racism. >> i think an over helming
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portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward president barack obama is based on the fact that he is a black man. >> that was a taped interview with nbc news. carter said the heightened climate of hate speech seen since president obama's election is based on a widespread belief among some whites that african-americans aren't qualified to lead the country. major economic news to report this morning. fed chairman ben bernanke says the recession may finally bb over. cnbc's courtney reagan joins us live to exain why. >> reporter: federal reserve chairman ben bernanke gave a cautiously optimistic outlook saying technically the recession is over, but it will take some time to feel that way. it was actually bernanke's most direct endorsement yet that we've reached a bottom. while unemployment rates are dropping, it's going to be a while until we're add the pre-recession levels again.
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but on a higher note, facebook finally seeing profits. the company announced it's cash flow positive, bringing in enough revenue to pick up the capital expenses and expenditures. the facebook increased its leads as the biggest social network by reaching 300 million users. 70% of its users is outside the u.s., a sign of its huge international growth. blockbuster, however, is still feeling the pain from the recession and will be shutting its doors to 960 stores. it's tried to compete with rivals netflix and red box by offering similar online services, but failed to see services. cuts represent 22% of the company's stores. back to you in d.c. there are 300 million facebook users. >> pretty amazing. >> that's the entire population of marp ka. courtney, thank you so much. as courtney mentioned, blockbuster is closing its doors, lots of them.
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toys r us opening 80 holiday express stores across the country next month. they'll be temporary locations, like the seasonal halloween stores that you see around. shoppers will find the express stores at springfield mall, fair oaks mall, tyson's corner and manassas. also a location in columbia, maryla. it will also open holiday toy centers in 260 babies r us stores, including locations in maryland and virginia. some say there's no rest for the weary on another stretch of highway in northern virginia. that's because yet another rest stop is closing, this one on i-66 in manassas. it's part of the commonwealth's plan to save money in the tough economy. kimberly suiters joins us live be more on what this means for drivers. good morning, kimberly. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. virginia once had 42 rest stops. about half of them have been closed, most during the summer driving season. this one just today. they waited to close this welcome center in manassas until
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the fall. the state saying they just can't afford to keep them open. these are the last truck drivers to rest here at the welcome center off 66 in manassas. they likely settled in before midnight, before the exit closed indefinitely. there are no specific announcements here regarding the shutdown. just street markings of a 32-foot gate to come. inside the center, the pamphlets to help you find scenic routes are gone. the furniture looks like it's next. and in the suggestion box, a few choice words that can't be shown on television, expressing displeasure at the decision to close. but a "keep virginia green" sign still stands with perhaps new meaning. get the state budget in the green and out of the red. >> i pulled over this morning because i needed to tie my straps down. they were loose. it's a big dot violation. >> what you find out about the rest stop? >> i found it closed. now i have to park on the side
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of the road where it's quite dangerous. >> when we looked at closing these rest areas. we saw some of the rest areas are as close as 20 miles apart. what we did is try to keep them at least 120 miles apart. about a two-hour gap in between. >> it's really sad; especially if you're traveling with a family. it will make it more of a challenge and more difficult for travelers. >> reporter: so the arguments range from danger to discomfort. if the money isn't there, there's not much virginia can do. each of these rest stops cost half a million dollars to operate. closing the ones they've chosen will save $9 million. virginia is still looking at over a $2 billion shortfall. i'm kimberly suiters, news4, back to you. >> okay kimberly. thank you. folks, if you speed through the chevy chase section of montgomery county, watch out. that's because according to "the washington post", the old speed cameras along connecticut avenue
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are being replaced with laser cameras. these cameras will make it easier to tell exactly which vehicle is speeding. with the current cameras, if it is too difficult to tell which car triggered the camera, all the vehicles are left off the hook. two of the laser cameras could be up and running by friday. >> tom kierein better watch out. >> there's 30-mile-an-hour speed limits on connecticut avenue. it's three lanes. a lot of people coming off chevy chase circle going north want to hit the accelerator. i did can get caught. only seven miles over. but they got me. watch out for that. watch out for patchy fog this morning. there's the view of o skyline from our citi camera. you can see there's light fog in the air on this cloudy wednesday morning. although there are breaks in the cloud here in northwest and looking west. on radar no precipitation here. but farther away on the eastern shore just to the south of salisbury now and southern delaware there's a shower there
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heading off toward the beaches. and there's a few areas of sprinkles in northern baltimore county heading off to the east as well. one little shore in western st. mary's county slowly track together the east. elsewhere we don't have any precipitation. here in washington, temperature at 69. dew point 64. that's rather humid. a northeasterly breeze. that will be with us throughout the rest of the afternoon. we have a front that's just now passing just to our south. and that's allowing somewhat drier air to move in behind it. that's why we're getting a few breaks in the clouds here. showers on the eastern shore through central virginia. if you're traveling today, could have flight delays. west coast of florida, gulf coast into texas, atlanta, maybe flight delays in denver and albuquerque and perhaps salt lake city. locally we have the front that will begin drifting to our south with the moisture coming in off the atlantic. we have an increased chance for passing showers later on today. here is the bus stop forecast
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for this morning. it's going to be rather cool and damp, maybe a little patchy fog around. temperatures in the 60s. a little sun breaking out from time to time as well. that will be the story through mid morning and into the early afternoon hours. then cloudy this afternoon. small chance of a light shower perhaps a little drizzle in the mid 70s. otherwise, most of the day should be dry as well as this evening. by this time tomorrow morning, though, pretty good chance, a likelihood of light showers. maybe patchy fog and drizzle tomorrow morning and maybe a light shower during the late morning and winterly afternoon on thursday with highs near 70. then cloudy thursday afternoon. partly sunny on friday. mid 70s. partly cloudy saturday mid 70s. that's good news for our odoor recreation plans. looks like it will cloud up sunday afternoon. a chance for showers for the skins and rams at fedex field sunday evening. monday and tuesday, maybe showers as well frmts that's the way it looks on this wednesday morning. you may need the umbrella, certainly by this time tomorrow morning. >> appreciate it tom.
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>> thank you, tom. we have been following a bit of a traffic nightmare all morning. what's the latest on that? >> it's tough out ther good morning. let's start, i-66 inbound. delays will begin in vienna to the capital beltway. then the inner loop delays begin before i-66 all the way to the american legion bridge, the earlier accident there completely over to the shoulder if not completely gone. through lanes are open. add to that the delays between springfield and i-66 and you get the picture. heads up for that. elsewhere, had an accident on the beltway, outer loop at 202. that's to the shoulder. on the rails, marc pen line trane 405, seven minutes late. that's the only worry on marc rail. voe and metro saying everything looking good this morning. back to you. quick check on morning headlines right now. police in connecticut have executed search warrants on a person of interest in the death of that yale student, annie le. that person of interest is 24-year-old lab technician.
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his name is raymond clark. police say clark worked in the same building where le's body was found. today the top democrat on the senate finance committee will release his long-awaited health care reform bill, seen as the best hope for biptisan agreement. so far no republicans have signed on. it's also expected to disappoint liberals by leaving out a government-run insurance option. a swine flu vaccine is ready and should be available in just faw weeks now. the fda approved the vaccine yesterday. the federal government is buying it and distributing it to states based on population, at-risk patients like children, caregivers and pregnant women will be given top priority. we're looking for people who make the day sperl in the early morning hours, maybe a teacher, bus driver, crossing guard. tell us how they help start your day off right. ex-mail the story with a picture to morningperson@nbcwashington.com. a lucky australian cat has finally made it back home after wandering away three years ago.
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there he is. that's clyde. found in northern queensland this week. no one knows just how he got there from his home in tasmania, nearly 2300 miles away. apparently a vet found him. they identified him using one of the i.d. chips under his skin. clyde was flown back to his hometown and reunited with his owners. as for the epic journey, that's somethg he denieded to keep to himself. perhaps because cats can't talk. tom, you can tell us. tell us what's going on out there. >> doesn't clyde own a restaurant in georgetown? >> that's what he was doing for three years. >> we've got a little fog in the air. there's the national cathedral, live picture from the citi camera. maybe a little sun this morning, cloudy this afternoon. highs mid 70s. small chance of a passing light shower as well as perhaps late tonight. then a greater chance of maybe some rain tomorrow morning. a little light rain perhaps early afternoon on thursday, then a drying trend just in time
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for at least the first half of the weekend, friday and saturday, maybe rain late on sunday. >> my favorite part of being here for a couple days, i had no idea that tom kierein was so funny. for the last two days, he's had me in stitches. i've enjoyed it. how about traffic? >> not so funny unfortunately. the inner loop jammed from basically springfield to the american legion bridge. outer loop from andrews up to landover, be careful out there this morning. >> that's all we've got time for this morning. "the today show" is up next. have a great day. we'll see you tomorrow morning, 4:55.
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