>> that's absolutely right. >> stay with us. "news 4 today" continues at 5:00 a.m. health care prescription. a new overhaul plan emerges but critics are reluctant to support it. this as president obama prepares a rally for reform at a local college. >> the great debate in virginia's gubernatorial candidates prepare to face off. what a new poll says about who will take up residence in the governor's manon. >> cause of death. a medical exercise reveals how a yale graduate student was killed. the key evidence police are now waiting for. good morning, everyone, and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> and i'm keith garvin sitting in for joe krebs. it is thursday, september 17th, 2009. let's give you a live look outside right now. boy, lots of clouds out there.

pretty damp as we had some overnight showers. >> we're going to find out if that will be the case today as we face a thursday on the horizon out there right now. >> yeah, sun will be coming up in about two hours, but we have quite a bit of rain that's going to be a wet morning commute in virginia. early morning start, wet across most of northern virginia, the shenandoah valley and this is just about to move into maryland w just now crossing the potomac river, coming into montgomery county, that area of rain will continue moving off to the north and east over the next couple of hours. in washington, 65 degrees with an east breeze around 5 to 15. throughout the morning we'll stay in the 60s and probability -- a high probability of some light showers through mid-morning. then a small chance of a few sprinkles this afternoon. otherwise, cloudy with highs near 70. cloudy tonight, we'll be in the 60s through the evening. by this time tomorrow morning, still cloudy but we have to get some sun back by tomorrow afternoon with highs in the upper 70s. a delightful weekend to follow saturday and sunday. should be dry with afternoon highs mid-70s and mostly sunny

saturday. partly cloudy sunday. so improving news for the skins and rams. good football weather. hopefully we'll see is in good football. >> got our fingers crossed. >> yes, sir. >> out to the roads we go. >> jerry edwards, drivers are starting their engines. jerry, you have the checkered flag ready to go. >> i do, indeed. been dropped for about an hour now. watch out for the road spray. this is i-66 outside the beltway around centreville. looks like wet pavement. that's something we have to deal with during the morning commute. no major incidents reported in to us on the interstates thus far. northeast washington, kenilworth avenue, new york avenue doing fine. southeast very quiet. should find the lanes open for any overnight road work at the american legion bridge. barbara and keith, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. we begin with new details concerning health care reform. after weeks of heated debate on the hill, lawmakers have put a new health care plan on the table. >> this new plan does not include the public option. it also is cheaper than some of the others, costing $856

billion. under the plan, people who don't buy insurance would be fined and insurance companies would be banned from overcharging people with serious health problems. >> however, president obama is keeping the pressure on for his health care overhaul plan with another big rally today. news 4's kimberly suiters joins us live from the university of maryland with me on what's happening today. kimberly, good morning. >> hi, kimberly. >> reporter: good morning, keith and barbara. this is barack obama's third visit to college park, his first as president. the health care rally happening today at 11:00. doors open at 9:00. it's open to the public. no ticket required. now, this comes on the heels of a compromise bill, an attempt at a bipartisan health care bill led by finance chair max baucus. let's take a look at some of the details of that bill thatas announced yesterday and we'll be debating much today. everyone must buy health insurance. there's fines for violators.

there will be subsidies for low-income people. no income tax hikes. there will be fees on drug and insurance companies. employers who don't cover their employees will have to reimburse the government. no exclusions for pre-existing conditions. no lifetime benefit limits. and no public option. it's a compromise that neither side seems very happy about. >> didn't want public option. it's not in this package. they didn't want an employer mandate. it's not in this package. >> while getting rid of the government plan would be a good start, the democratic bills we've seen would still grant the government far, far too much control over the health care system. >> reporter: the white house says it is not discouraged at this point. it calls the bill an important building block that will be refined by the legislative process. now, if you have something to say about health care and you're in the area, come on out to college park. again, no ticket required here at the comcast center. doors open at 9:00 a.m.

reporting live in college park, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. back to you. >> thank you, kimberly. >> thanks. now to a developing story we are following. new details in the case of the murdered yale graduate student annie le. police in new haven, connecticut, will hold a news conference this morning to announce the latest details surrounding her death. the 24-year-old's body was found hidden inside the basement wall of a yale laboratory building. the medical examiner now says le was strangled to death. yesterday, police questioned, then released yale lab technician raymond clark who they are calling a person of interest. investigators say they are comparing dna samples from clark with evidence from the scene. >> we have approximately 250 seized items now, large number of those were eventually have to go through the lab. we're prioritizing those issues and they are up at the lab now and doing dna as we speak. >> officials say they hope to have the test results back in the next couple of days. >> an execution date has been set now for the d.c. sniper.

john al lien muhammad will be put to death november 10th in virginia. in 2002, he masterminded a shooting spree that killed ten people, injured four more and terrorized our entire area. one of the survivors was shot five times outside his restaurant in clinton. >> if you could say one thing to muhammad before he died? >> probably say god bless you. i hope in the next life -- >> this has been hard for you coming back? >> sure. sure. >> muhammad's lawyer says he will appeal to the u.s. supreme court and ask virginia governor tim kaine for clemency. >> it may take longer than expected to determine the results of afghanistan's presidential elections. ballots from about 10% of the

country's polling stations will be recounted after evidence surfaced that suggested voter fraud. that can force current president hamid karzai to face another round of voting. he has 54% of the vote with more than 90% of the ballots counted, but the recount could push his total below 50%. that would trigger another vote in which he faces closes challenger, abdullah abdullah. president obama says he will need some time before deciding whether to send additional troops to afghanistan. he says he wants to be sure the strategy in that country is correct. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said earlier this week that a troop surge in afghanistan is probably necessary. yesterday, the obama administration laid out to congress new ways it plans to measure success in the region. >> mary travers of peter, paul and mary fame has died. ♪ puff the magic dragon lived by the sea ♪ >> travers passed away yesterday after a long bout with leukemia,

according to her publicist. band mate peter yarrow says travel erz dealt with her illness with honesty. they came to fame with songs such as "puff the magic dragon" and "leaving on a jet plane." she was 72 years old. >> it is 65 degrees outside. big budget cuts planned for a local school district and hundreds of teachers' jobs could be on the line. >> plus, how community-based groups like a.c.o.r.n. or a.c.o.r.n. specifically is making amends following the fallout from that hidden camera scandal. >> and how would you feel if you had to pay extra for food and drinks that are believed to make you unhealthy?

try this on for size as you're getting dressed. free underwear with this news 4 bargain blast. today and every thursday in september, aerie is giving away your choice of a boy brief or thong. barbara, stop by the store to get yours. >> i haven't yet, but i sure ought to run out there and do it. for more deals, visit nbcwashington.com and search bargain blast. the question is, did you run out and get yours? >> i'm a boxer, boxer-brief kind of guy. i'll save the thong for someone else. >> let's check on the weather and traffic. we begin with weather. >> can i listen now? >> this is family programming, isn't it? >> it is safe. okay. well, let's take a look at the radar. where you see the moving color, we have rain, light to moderate rain. where you see the green it's coming down harder now, just coming into montgomery county. as we take a look at the radar here locally, we do have light rain just now coming into washington, but light to moderate rain continues moving

across the region here this morning. southwest heading off to the northeast, so a wet morning commute. allow yourself extra time. it's cool as well, only in the low and mid-60s around the region. it's 65 in washington. highs today reaching only near 70 by mid-afternoon and morning showers likely. then just a small chance this afternoon and this evening. then friday, saturday and sunday, sunsne returns with highs in the 70s, morning lows in the 50s and low 60s. then by the time we get into next week, a chance of some showers perhaps late on monday, into tuesday and wednesday. now let's check traffic. jerry, how's it looking at this hour? >> looking pretty good. good morning, everyone. the drive south along 270, overnight road work wrapped up but the road's getting wet there. be forewarned, but right now from frederick down to rockville, uneventful, just the way we like it. 66 headed in, no early hang-ups. wilson bridge traffic's okay. the southeast corridors, right now a light volume of traffic.

back to you. >> okay. thank you very much. >> thanks. >> it's 12 minutes after 5:00 a.m. on this thursday morning. why you could soon have to pay a tax if you have a sweet tooth. >> plus, candidates for governor go face to face for a heated debate. what a new poll is saying about who is leading the race.

we're just hours away from a big debate in virginia's race for governor is heating up. republican bob mcdonnell now leads democrat creigh deeds by just five pots. that's according to a new poll. it gives mcdonnell the lead with 20% undecided. earlier this month, mcdonnell's lead was about ten minutes. megan mcgrath is in mclean. she joins us live with more on how both candidates are vying for votes in northern virginia. good morning, megan. >> reporter: well, good morning, barbara. this is certainly an important debate for both of the campaigns here with less than two months to go. there are a lot of undecided voters out there, a you just mentioned. 20% of virginia voters say they don't know who they want to be the next governor. certainly that's a large number out there. some of those voters may be swayed by what they hear later today in this debate. democrat creigh deeds has been behind in the polls for some time. the latest numbers do show him narrowing the gap but he's still trailing northern virginia

democrats are essential to his campaign so he will attempt to solidify support among voters here in this debate later on this morning. republican bob mcdonnell is expected to use the debate to clarify his stand on social issues like working women and homosexuality. mcdonnell will also undoubtedly remind voters of his boyhood roots here in northern virginia. david gregory is the moderator of this debate. he is expecting health care reform and transportation to also be big issues in this dete later today. with so many people undecided, and so little time left, he says that this could be very important. >> that number's striking. 20% undecided. the reason that i think this debate is so important tomorrow and i'm so pleased to be part of it is this is a time for undecideds to really lock in. it's the fall. really zero in on the issues that virginians care about, try to make a decision. >> reporter: and the debate is happening here in mclean.

gets under way at 11:00 this morning, will last one hour. barbara, back to you. >> all right. thank you, megan. >> a.c.o.r.n., a community-based antipoverty group is making some reforms this morning after losing millions in government funding because of a hidden camera scandal. a.c.o.r.n. has been given $50 million in housing funds over the past ten years but it has also been the target of conservatives wholaim it engauges in shady practices. now akon has fired several workers because of a series of videos posted on youtube. the latest shows an independent filmmaker and a friend posing as a pimp and a prostitute. they are told by an a.c.o.r.n. worker how to evade the irs. in addition to the firings, it will begin an internal investigation, something the white house says is necessary. >> the conduct that you see on those tapes is completely unacceptable. i think everyone would agree with that. the administration takes

accountability extremely seriously. >> a.c.o.r.n.'s ceo says the videos are a smear campaign and that some of them have been doctored. she says she will sue the filmmaker and conservative media, which has extensively aired the videos. >> former president jimmy carter is maintaining his stance that racism is making it tough for president obama to do hijob. mr. carter hosted a town hall at emory university in atlanta last night. he feeded questions from students on a wide range of topics, including the health care debate and why some people still condemn mr. obama as the president. >> it's a racist attitude, and my hope is and my expectation is that in the future both democratic leaders and republican leaders will take the initiative in condemning that kind of unprecedented attack on the president of the united states. >> mr. carter also said that president obama is courageous enough to withstand any kind of condemnation that might come to him.

>> health officials are hoping that state of the art technology will help them battle a potential swine flu outbreak. tools like google's flu trends are helping to track entries from flu around the world. it has been very consistent with the cdc's reporting of cases here in the u.s. doctors at one hospital in boston have even created an iphone application. it works in two ways. >> the system sends back to the phone alerts about h1n1 in your vicinity or neighborhood or wherever you might be. the second way is in the fact that people can report about illness into the system. >> doctors say technology may help stop the spread of swine flu, but the best way to reduce your risk of contracting the virus may be as simple as washing your hands and getting the the vaccine when it becomes available. >> you've heard of a cigarette tax. well, we could hear of a sugar tax soon if supporters get their way. according to a new study, taxing

sodas and juices by penny an ounce could raise billions of dollars. it could cut sugar products by 8%. the tax would be levied on manufacturers as an incentive to cut the sugar in their products. supporters of the idea say it would help curve obesity. >> redskins gearing up for sunday. >> that's right. the nats are still struggling. dan hellie wraps it all up now in your sports minute. >> good morning, everybody. the redskins back on the practice field getting ready for the rams on sunday. one player was a bit giddy. fullback mike sellers rewarded with a two-year contract extension after his pro bowl season last year. sellers receives a $600,000 signing bonus as part of the new deal. baseball time. nationals now 3-14 against the phillies this season. last night, jason wirth blasted a grand slam in the bottom of

the seventh to secure an easy win for the phillies. they are now 11 wins away from locking up their third straight division titles. the o's hose tipping the rays, bottom of the ninth, the game is tied at 2. not anymore. the rookie matt wieters is the hero, a walk-off two hundred home run, his seventh homer of the year. the o's win in dramatic fashion. 4-2 is t final. sad sports note. ncaa president myles brand has died after his battle with pancreatic cancer. brand was 67 years old. that's your sports minute. i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great day. >> it is now 5:21, 65 degrees outside. time now for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> let's talk to tom kierein about the weather out there. tom? >> hey, barbara and keith, good morning. well, leave early off to work and school because we have rain now moving across the region, southwest to northeast this morning. this rain is now into montgomery county, loudoun county. we see the green's coming down harder there as well as in prince william and southern fauquier coming down harder.

some light rain now in the district as well as in fairfax county that's heading to the east. should be moving into charles and prince george's county shortly. temperatures are cool, low and mid-60s. now 65 in washington. highs today near 70 and likely hint of morning showers. a small chance this afternoon and cloudy. then tonight, cloudy, low near 60 tomorrow morning. cloudy start to the day friday but we ought to get some sunshine back by the aernoon with highs in the upper 70s. mostly sunny on saturday. morning lows 50s. looks dry now for sunday. partly cloudy, highs mid-70s. good weather for the skins and rams. i'll have a look at next week coming up in ten minutes. how's the traffic? >> the rain comes and the traffic is -- going to have to deal with it this morning. this is down in dale city, 95 northbound as you head from dumfries toward dale city, clearly the weather's going to be an issue. but the good news is there are no accidents all the way to the capital beltway or to the 14th street bridge on 395. wilson bridge traffic still doing okay through northeast. new york avenue kenilworth avenue okay.

headed for downtown, 395 inbound and outbound at the 14th street bridges looking good. bark ra and keith, back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> it is now 5:22, 65 degrees outside. what a high school student had some students do, then paid them with drugs to do it. >> also, r & b singer chris brown does some hard labor as punish pt for his violent cobb front tags with rihanna.

police say a high school teacher in illinois gave students drugs in exchange for them cleaning her home. a math teacher at grant high school near chicago was charged tuesday with two counts of contributing to the criminal delinquency of juveniles. after police say she paid two teenage girls with marijuana, alcohol and zoloft for doing work around her home. she denies the charges. she has been suspended with pay. >> r & b singer chris brown is performing on a different stage this morning. he has begun his community service hauling in debris. the 20-year-old singer w caught clearing brush in richmond yesterday, a los angeles judge sentenced brown to

180 days of community labor and 5 years probation for attacking his ex-girlfriend rihanna. brown must also complete a domestic violence counseling program. the judge allowed brown to perform his community labor in virginia, his home state. >> incidentally, that teacher who was paying kids with drugs was suspended from her job without pay. >> doesn't seem like a smart thing for a teacher or anybody else to do that for ma matter. >> certainly doesn't. president obama prepares for a rally at a local college. >> a prominent washingtonians home is destroyed by fire. what district lawmakers are saying what could have been done to prevent the fire. >> also we're always looking for savings for you. the new online shopping trend that can benefit both you and your friends. >> a reminder, news 4 is always connected to you on facebook and twitter for up to the minute breaking news, weather and traffic alerts. you can find us on either site by searching news4today.

rally to reform. a high ranking senator unveils a new health care plan. how president obama plans to seek support from marylanders at a local college. >> key evidence, what police are hoping will help lead to an arrest in the case of a murdered yale student. >> good morning, everyone, and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison.

>> and i'm keith garvin sitting in for joe krebs. it is thursday, september 17th, 2009. giving you a live look outside. looks like ross behind. if you haven't stepped outside yet, a little cloudy and damp from overnight showers. >> i guess that is rosslyn. only place around here that looks like a big, huge city, at all lights. meteorologist tom kierein probably can pinpoint that location. >> it is northern virginia. it's wet there now this morning. we do have some rain that is falling across much of virginia and it's just now beginning to move into maryland. as we take a look at the radar, i can show you where that rain is at this time. the radar, where you see the moving color is rain, light to moderate. the area of green is more moderate rain, northern montgomery county into loudoun county this morning. another area of some moderate rain, prince william county, into southern fauquier county and northern stafford. that's heading to the east, just about to cross the potomac, move into charles as well as the district and prince george's county. it's a cool morning as well. only in the low and mid-60s from the shenandoah valley to the

atlantic beaches. now 65 in washington. low 60s in montgomery, fairfax, prince george's and arlington counties. for the rest of the day, cloudy and morning showers likely. temperatures near 70 by this afternoon. a small chance of an additional sprinkle this afternoon. drying out in time for the weekend. friday, saturday, sunday, sunshine returns with warmer temperatures. as we look into next week, maybe a passing shower late on monday, early into tuesday and wednesday. >> thanks, tom. >> let's check in with jerry edwards to get a look at the roadways at 5:32. >> hi, jerry. >> good morning. with the rain comes the accidents. authorities on the scene of a couple of accidents, new york avenue at south dakota avenue in northeast. also over in rockville, folks over in montgomery county are adjusting the traffic camera. montrose road and east jefferson street, accident, authorities are on the scene dealing with that. ip in from the north, i-270 just below i-70 word of an accident. police, fire-rescue crews are headed there. obviously it will be a bit

difficult this morning with the weather. back to you. >> okay, jerry, thank you. it's been a big debate for weeks on capitol hill and this morning lawmakers finally have a health care plan they're laying out on the table. this new plan does not include the public option. it is also cheaper than some of the others, costing $856 billion. under the plan, people who don't buy insurance would be fined, and insurance companies would be banned from overcharging people with serious health problems. >> however, president obama will continue to pressure for his health care overhaul plan with another big rally today. news 4's kimberly suiters joins us live from the university of maryland where that rally is taking place. kimberly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. first minneapolis, then pittsburgh, now college park. this is a three-state campaign to push the president's health insurance reform effort. if you plan on coming out, it is raining a little bit right now. you won't be allowed to bring umbrellas in or bags or anything sharp or liquids. you can bring a camera, but you'll be going through

airport-like security. the doors open here at the comcast center on the campus of the university of maryland at 9:00 a.m. the speech begins at 11:00. there is no ticket requed. it's open to the public. on the campus of the university of maryland, get out the grassroots efforts are well under way. >> i'm volunteering because, obviously, i support the health care reform, and at howard university we have students for health care reform organization. >> reporter: she'll be there for the president's speech at the comcast center. a health care rally open to the public. >> definitely crazy. >> reporter: a few campus republicans plan to show up and show respect. >> i follow the actual procedures that are going on within the government very closely, so i understand exactly what's going on, and i'm not just listening to the news reporters or different talk show hosts. >> reporter: the president comes to college park on the heels of the senate finance committee chairman's announcement that he has a health care bill, if not

republican support. democrats say it wasn't for lack of effort. >> they didn't want public option. it's not in this package. they didn't want an employer mandate. it's not in this package. >> reporter: what is there? an $850 billion bill, a requirement to carry insurance, no income tax hike. rather, drug company fees. and no exclusions for pre-existing conditions. and no public option. >> while getting rid of the government plan would be a good start, the democratic bills we've seen would still grant the government far, far too much control over the health care system. >> reporter: on thursday, it's the president's turn to talk directly to the american public by way of college park. a friendly venue for a president grappling with a controversial issue. and the white house says it is not discouraged by the digreement over this new proposed bill. they say that it is an important building block and that the legislative process could refine it.

the white house also confident that the president is the best messenger to rally the troops. he'll do that here today on the campus of the university of maryland. live in college park, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. keith, barbara, back to you. >> thanks, kimberly. >> thanks. a former d.c. police officer is one of 12 suspects facing charges this morning after police broke up a major drug ring that operated out of southern maryland. federal and local drug agents say the operation moved large amounts of powder and crack cocaine through prince george's, charles, st. mary's and calvert counties. search warrants on the suspects yielded guns, cash, cars and jewelry. the feds also seized a home. now they say they'll go after any proceeds that may be hidden amongst friends, family, properties or businesses. >> catch one drug dealer and you send them to jail, he can be replaced very easily. the organization can go on. but if you prosecute the entire organization, if you uproot that from the community, you take the money and capital, you rlly can make a big impact on drug dealing. >> police say the dealers operated from november of 2006

to september of this year. >> could that massive fire that destroyed a prominent washingtoni washingtonian's home this past summer been put out before it destroyed the home? that's what d.c. council members want to know. they held a hearing yesterday to discuss the upkeep of fire hydrants in the district. fire destroyed the northwest d.c. home of peggy cooper kaf rits back in july. firefighters arrived just five minutes after they were called but the nearest working hydrants were, although on the same street of the home, they couldn't provide the water that was needed. >> the topping on raefy, narrow street streets and the lack of cross street that's would have provided easier access for vehicles to reach additional hydrants seem to have contributed to this unique situation. >> plans have since been put into place to deal with the areas where low pressure is an issue. >> fewer teachers and bigger classes. that's what you can expect at d.c. public schools because of budget cuts. school chancellor michelle rhee says up to $40 million may have

to be cut from the school system. the cuts come as the d.c. council works to close a projected $666 million shortfall over the next three years. there are about 3,800 teachers in the school system. that includes about 900 new teachers that were just hired over the summer. rhee says it isn't clear how many of them will be laid off. mayor fenty will be joining us live in our studio next hour to discuss that and other issues. he'll also be answering some of your questions. you can connect with the mayor by e-mailing those questions to fenty@nbcwashington.com. >> our time is now 5:38. recall alert. a warping for toyota and lexus that could be putting drivers at ris okay the roads. >> also new details in the unsolved murder of a local teen reveal the death could be linked to a religious ritual. >> plus, a local soldiers who served his country is in a heated battle with the u.s. army over his pursuit of high

hey, how about some free dog food with this news 4 bargain blast. fazar is giving away coupons for bistro entrees. they're available every saturday. just visit their website. >> you can register for coupons starting at 9:00 a.m. get ready because only the first 1,500 people will get one. >> free dog food. >> that's right. >> okay. let's take a look at the weather out there.

5:41 is the time. >> people are growling about the weather this morning. we've got temperatures around the region only in the low and mid-60s. we have some rain that continues to move southwest to northeast out of virginia, into maryland, the district of klcolumbia this morning. it will be with us for the next several hours. only in the low and mid-60s now at 65 in washington. highs today near 70. by this afternoon we'll have a small chance of an additional sprinkle. then tomorrow sunshine returns by the afternoon with highs in the upper 7s, mid-70s on saturday and mostly sunny. partly cloudy sunday, into the mid-70s. looks like as we get into the first part of next week the chance of rain moving in monday afternoon and evening, perhaps off and on tuesday and wednesday. i'll have your national travel forecast that will be coming up as well as your bus stop forecast in ten minutes. jerry, how's the traffic? >> take a look along 395 northbound and southbound at the 14th street bridges. not too much to worry about at this point. let me update you. authorities dealing with an accident new york avenue a sd sd avenue in northeast.

trip to the wilson bridge is okay. loading up very quickly, heavy rain on 95 in several spots now, i can see. an accident in north bethesda, montrose road and east jefferson just west of rockville pike. be careful. roads getting slick. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. 5:42 is our time right now. toyota and lexus issues a warning for drivers. why some floor mats could be putting your life in danger. >> plus, a medical examiner reveals how a yale graduate student was killed. next at 5:45 a.m., the key evidence police are now waiting for and they hope will lead them to an arrest.

new details surrounding the murder investigation of yale graduate student. later this morning, police are expected to hold a news conference to announce those details. chris clackum has more on this developing story. >> reporter: at a late afternoon news conference, new haven

police said by the end of the week, 24-year-old raymond clark will either be charged or cleared in the murder of yale graduate student annie le. >> doing dna as we speak. i could get the results in 30 minutes or it could be hours. >> reporter: le's body was found sunday stuffed inside a wall in the basement lab of a research building on the yale campus where both she and clark worked. connecticut's medical examiner now says she died of traumatic asphyxiation. last night, calling him only a person of interest, clark's apartment was also searched, and his karim pounded. before being released very early wednesday morning, hair, saliva and fingernail samples were taken from him. >> he is the only person that we have gotten any type of search warrant on at this time. that doesn't mean we're not still looking at additional people, but he is the only one we have went to the judges to get any type of warrant.

>> reporter: police say they have over 150 pieces of evidence, questioned 150 people and previewed 700 hours of security video, to include video of le last tuesday, the day she disappeared outside the building where her body was discovered on the day she was to be married. chris clackum, nbc news. >> this morning in connecticut, a newspaper reports police have obtained a dna match that links raymond clark to the death of annie le. according to a source, police are obtaining an arrest warrant for clark, but as of right now, clark remains a free man. barbara? >> fbi antiterrorism raids in new york city on monday led to the search of a colorado man's home again. agents say the man has a possible link to al qaeda. they searched his home near denver yesterday. he denies he's the central figure in a terrorism investigation, focused on a possible bomb plot. the raids in new york came after authorities said he visited manhattan last weekend. police say they found a bone

fragment on the property of phillip and nancy garrido. they're the california couple charged with kidnapping a little girl and hiding her in their back yard for 18 years. investigators say the bone fragment is likely human. it was found as authorities scoured the property for evidence that could link the garridos to two other child abductions in the 1980s. >> we have new details in the unsolved murder of a fairfax county teenager more than a year after her death. 18-year-old ray young kim died in july of last year, two days after she was found unresponsive at a home in centreville. new court documents indicate that the medic examiner did not rule kim's death a homicide until december of last year, about five months after she died. >> as soon as they developed sufficient probable cause to do so, they obtained yet another search warrant which i believe was filed late in august. that allowed them to use, as a tool, to continue the investigation. >> the new documents indicate police may be focusing their attention on kim's own family. a juvenile told investigators

that kim became unresponsive while he, kim's mother, and two other people were performing a religious ritual on her. police have gathered dna samples from the juvenile and the victim's mother to see if it matches unidentified dna found at the scene. they say kim's mother insists she had nothing to do with her daughter's death. >> amtrak passengers may be able to pack heat the next time they pack their bags. the senate has passed legislation that would allow passengers to carry handguns in their checked bags. the guns must be unloaded and locked. supporters say it will give amtrak riders the same gun rights as airline passengers. opponents say it will be too expensive for april track to make sure the guns aren't stolen or misused. well, keep an eye on your personal belongings the next time you ride metro, especially in montgomery county. transit-related crime in the county shot up from 2006 to 2008 and that's mostly due to a 40% spike in reports of theft. three montgomery county stations, shady grove, silver

spring and wheaton, account for more than half the transit-related crime. authorities caution, though, that crime on metro accounts for just a tiny portion of crime in the county. >> anmerican university student who has fought abroad is back to hitting the books after turbulent start to his semester. instead of worrying about studying, senior adam la piscopo faced a deployment back to iraq. he already spent four years in the army, 15 months in combat in iraq. it was during that time in iraq he appliedo attend a.u., but on the first day of classes this year he got a letter from the army calling him back to duty. >> for the next two to three weeks, i worked on getting letters from faculty members, from the group that i work with, student veterans of america, from my senator. >> la piscopo's contract with the army allowed them to call him back to duty. last week, though, he learned his exemption he had been seeking had been granted but he does not know how long the exemption will last and says, if

needed, he will return to iraq. >> we are moving up on 5:51. tom is here with his forecast. >> it's a wet and cool morning this morning. we've had rain moving in southwest heading northeast now out of virginia, into maryland at this hour. we do have a lot of clouds around as well, and it is certainly a cool morning so dress accordingly. you want to leave early, too, because the roads are wet and as we look at the sky, the clouds are lit up not by the sun but by the city lights this morning. we're still an hour away from sunrise. there's washington with some light rain now right there at the washington monument. it's now 65 just down river at reagan national. looking at the radar, where you see the area of moving color is light rain. where you see the green it's coming down a little bit harder now. this is just now crossing the potomac, heading into western charles county, a little bit harder rain down interstate 95 from springfield all the way down toward fredericksburg. sort of tapers off there. there's no more rain farther to the south and east. however, it is wet across loudoun county, fairfax and

fauquier and prince william. there's moderate rain around leesburg, over toward poolsville, across the potomac into northern montgomery county. that's heading toward damascus and rockville, laytonsville over the next half hour or so. just a little bit of light rain right now in washington at this hour where the temperature's at 65. we're in the low 60s in prince george's county, montgomery, fairfax and arlington counties. farther south and east in southern maryland, near the bay weather watchers reporting mid and upper 60s there to near 70 near the bay. but it's only near 60 now in the shenandoah valley. out of the mountains, a cool morning, just in the low 50s there. eastern shore in the low 60s. if you're traveling today, could have some flight delays because of the rain from new york city down to washington and maybe a few storms as well farther to the south, from floda up through the carolinas and tennessee valley, through texas, oklahoma and arkansas, out in the pacific northwest. looks like we'll have settled weather there. for us, we'll have just some clouds around this morning for the morning bus stop.

light rain is possible. temperatures low and mid-60s. then as we get into the afternoon hours wll have just a small chance of an additional sprinkle with highs near 70. then cloudy tonight, near 60 by dawn tomorrow. then se sunshine breaking out friday afternoon and into saturday and sunday with highs in the 70s each of those days into next week. chance of some rain perhaps late on monday, into tuesday and wednesday. that's the way it looks on this thursday morning. >> okay, tom. thank you. >> thanks, tom. time now for a look at traffic. >> hello there. head out, let you know things are a bit slow in many locations already. accident new york avenue as you make the trip toward south dakota avenue in northeast. look out for that. wilson bridge, no hang-ups. 95 northbound headed up to the beltway and 395 headed for downtown heavy and slow. had an accident montrose road west of rockville pike. let's check out on the rails and so far, so good. metrorail, vre and marc telling us everything is a-okay so far. that's how we're doing now.

back to you. >> thank you, jerry. toyota dealers nationwide are being told to inspect how floor mats are installed, this after a california highway patrol officers and three family members died in an accident. investigators think that might have been caused by the mat in the car jamming into the accelerator. the officer was driving a 2009 lexus es-350. lexus is owned by toyota. officials sayt appears the floor mat in his car was from a different lexus model which could have interfered with the accelerator pedal. >> we are finding the savings for you on the web this morning. there's a new online shopping site that can benefit both you and your friends. >> it's called collective buying. as kimberly suiters reports, you can get a great deal at local merchants or from the lol m merchants with just one little catch. >> right here is where we do our outdoor classes. >> reporter: peter has just signed up for some fitness classes at body smith training gym in northwest washington but

instead of paying 60 bucks for three classes, he's only paying 20. >> i'm always looking for a deal. i know my wife wants me to look for a deal. >> reporter: peter' dl came through a website called buywithme.com. it's one of a number of new websites offering bargains with one catch -- the deal only comes through if a certain number of people sign up for it. >> we're going to go to merchants and we'll guarantee they have a minimum number of buyers included so that allows us to leverage those numbers into reduced prices. >> reporter: the minimum number in body smith's deal was ten. what if only nine signed up? >> nothing happens at that point. there's no deal that goes through, no risk is taken on anybody's part. the merchant walks away with free marketing. >> reporter: see this shirt from upscale? >> retails for $80, but with the deal i got on buy with me.com i got it for $40. i thought it really fit well with what we're trying to do and that's boost class usage. we got a lot of new faces in the

door and people are having a good time trying things that they got through the buywithme webse. >> reporter: it's not just consumers who win with this new trend of collective buying. retailers are also loving it. >> merchants are extremely excited about the new customer base in a down economy. it's great for them to be able to promote themselves without having to put any money out of pocket. the traditional advertising would normally cost them. >> reporter: there's also a social networking component that comes with these websites. if time is running out and your deal hasn't hit the minimum, jump on facebook or twitter to encourage your friends to sign up. peter hasn't had to do that. he's gotten all the bargains he's looked for, and now, guys, listen up, he's looking at something for his wife. >> before i came over, i checked the site. they have something for some spa treatments. so that makes me look good for my wife. i get her that. >> we can bring business to merchants. we hope we're doing our part on some level to bring up the economy. >> reporter: kimberly suiters, news 4. >> for more tips on where to

find great deals around town, check out nbcwashington.com. >> news 4 is helping to find jobs for you this morning. the department of treasury is looking for a machinist. if interested in learning more, go to nbcwashington.co search jobs 4 you. >> a reminder, news 4 is connected to you on facebook and twitter. you can find us on either site by searching news4today, one word. >> all right. well, we knew she had smarts and the legal chops but does she have the moves? the new video that shows supreme court justice sonia sotomayor. she was ju sworn in a few months ago. she's doing the mambo. >> not at the same time. >> happened at different moments, yes. >> d.c. mayor adrian fenty will join us live for "connecting with the mayor." we'll ask him about the cuts coming to d.c. schools and donation to his re-election campaign that piqued your interest. >> you're waking up to light rain across the area.

meteorologist tom kierein, as we get a look at the washington monument, a little cloudy out there. we'll have more on what it will look like throughout the day.

health lecture. president obama goes to the university of maryland this morning to renew his push for health care reform one day after the senate introduced a bill. >> new evidence this morning. we learn information about the case of a murdered yale student. police have called a 7:00 a.m. news conference. what they will likely announce. >> good morning, everyone. thanks for waking up with us this morning for "news 4 today." >> i'm keith garvin sitting in for joe krebs. it is thursday, september 17th, 2009. want to give you a live look outside. lincoln memorial there in the middle of your screen. when you step outside, get

ready. it will be a little damp. >> and we have tom kierein here to talk about the weather and we have jerry, of course, waiting to tell us about the traffic. we're going to start with you. >> well, it's going to be snarled traffic probably in the next couple of hours because of the rain that's been moving through over the last hour, coming in out of virginia, now crossing the potomac, into maryland and the district of columbia. the area of green is where it's coming down a little bit harder as well as a little area of yellow there just to the southeast of leesburg right near herndon now coming down pretty hard there. that's heading across the potomac into northern montgomery county, into southern frederick over the next half hour. elsewhere, we do have some light rain in washington now and down interstate 95 and out route 66. across much of northern virginia it's wet and that rain now just moving into charles and prince george's counties as well. here's the forecast for the rest of the morning. a likelihood of morning showers and a small chance o an additional sprinkle this afternoon with highs near 70. should be cloudy tonight. near 60 by this time tomorrow morning. then a cloudy start to friday but sun back in the afternoon.

looks like a terrific weekend to follow. sunshine back, highs mid-70s. a look into next week in ten minutes. that's the way it looks right now. >> great, tom. thank you. >> thanks, tom. we want to check in with jerry edwards. unfortunately, the accidents have already started to pop up? >> they have, indeed. go over to the map here and show you inner loop of the beltway before river road, accident. authorities are dealing with that. earlier accident new york avenue at south dakota avenue has been cleared but we're still dealing with the milled pavement. wilson bridge, no incidents. so far, so good along i-270. back to you. >> okay. thank you, jerry. president obama will continue his push for health care reform at another rally today, this time at the university of maryland. meanwhile, the senate has put gether a plan of its own. it does not include the public option. it's cheaper than some of the others, costing $856 billion. under the plan, people who don't buy insurance would be fined and insurance companies would be banned from overcharging people with serious health problems. today, though, president obama will focus on his plan -- his

own plan and why he wants it passed now. news 4's kimberly suiters joins us now from college park and has more on this. good morning, kimberly. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. is is barack obama's third visit to this campus, his first as president. the public will be invited to line up here at the comcast center in college park at 9:00 a.m. the speech begins at 11:00 a.m. there is no ticket required for entry. you mentioned this attempt at a bipartisan bill. let's take a look at some of the details. itas headed up by finance chair max baucus. he says all must buy health insurance. there will be fines for violators. there will also be subsidies for low-income folks. there will not be income tax hikes. there will be fees on drug companies. employers who don't cover their employees would have to reimburse the government. there will be no exclusion for pre-existing conditions, no lifetime benefit limits and no

public option. it's a compromise that neither side seems particularly happy about. >> they didn't want public option. it's not in this package. they didn't want an employer mandate. it's not in this package. >> while getting rid of the government plan would be a good start, the democrat bills we've seen would still grant the government far, far too much corol over the health care system. >> reporter: even with this apparent disagreement, the white house says it is not discouraged, that they call the bill an important building block that can be refined by the legislative process. now, later today if you plan on coming out -- later this morning, i should say, you can't bring in umbrella even though it is raining. you're going to go through airport-tight security. but this speech is open to the public. no tickets required. first come, first served. reporting live in college park, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. back to you. >> thank you, kimberly.

>> we're following a developing story out of afghanistan. a large suicide car bomb shook a road near the u.s. embassy this morning and killed at least ten people. dozens of others have been wounded. this new video shows smoke rising over the city of kabul. an american military base also sits nearby. the suicide bomber reportedly rammed his explosives-filled car into the back of two nato vehicles. the explosion was the fourth major attack in the capital in five weeks. an execution date has been set for the d.c. sniper. john allen muhammad will be put to death november 10th in virginia. in 2002, he masterminded a shooting spree that killed ten people and injured four more and terrorized our entire area. muhammad's lyer says he will appeal to the u.s. supreme court and asks virginia governor tim kaine for clemency. aormer d.c. police officer is one of 12 suspects facing charges after a major drug ring bust in southern maryland. agents say the operation moved large amounts of powder cocaine

and crack cocaine through prince george's, charles, st. mary's and calvert counties between november 2006 and september of this year. search warrants on the suspects yielded guns, cash, cars and jewelry. theeds also seized a home. now they say they will go after any proceeds that may be hidden amongst friends, family, properties or businesses. p police in new hafen, connecticut, say they expect to make an arrest shortly in the murder of yale student annie le. le's body was found sunday inside a yale laboratory building. police have obtained a dna match that implicates yale lab technician raymond clark in the murder. police questioned, then released clark yesterday. last night police executed a search warrant on clark's car. police are surrounding the hotel where he is staying. authorities say they'll take him into custody momentarily. police are planning on holding a news conference in just under an hour from now. >> mary travers from peter, paul

and mary has died. ♪ puff the magic dragon lives by the sea ♪ >> travers passed away after a long bout with leukemia. band mate noel stuckey said he was heart sick to consider life without mary travers. she was 72 years old. >> our time seven minutes after 6:00 now. we're connected to your commute. why parts of the beltway will be shut down later this week. the candidates in the virginia governor's race will face off this morning. why today's debate is so important. >> supreme court justice sonia sotomayor lets down her robe and hits the dance floor.

how about this? free underwear with the news 4 wb. today and every thursday in september, aeri is giving away your choice of a boy brief or a thong. stop by the store to get yours. for more deals, visit nbcwashington.com and search bargain blast. >> we are connected to your commute. drivers in virginia will want to avoid the beltway near tysons corner this friday night. overnight construction will intermittently close that section of the beltway for five hours starting at midnight on friday evening. all lanes near the chain bridge road interchange will be shut down for up to 30 minutes.

the closures will also include the exit ramps to and from chain bridge road. these closures are taking place so that power crews c relocate overhead power lines. >> our time now 6:11. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> meteorologist tom kierein joins us from storl center 4. hey, tom. >> we have a wet commute on this thursday morning. good morning at 6:11, looking at the radar, where you see the blue, we have light rain in fairfax, the district, prince george's and prince william and loudoun counties, but it's coming down harder northern montgomery county and into southern frederick county. elsewhere, the rain is scattered across northern virginia, around the blue ridge as well as into charles county and that's now moving off into calvert and anne arundel shortly. temperatures low and mid-60s around the region. now 65 in washington. highs only near 70 today. likelihood of morning showers but just a small chance this afternoon, cloudy. then sunshine back by tomorrow afternoon with highs in the upper 70s. the weekend looks nice now, mostly sunny saturday, partly

cloudy sunday. highs both days mid-70s. could get some more showers late monday into tuesday and wednesday of next week. how's the traffic now? >> it's going to be a wet and potentially miserable commute. don't want to be negative about it, but realistic. 95 out of dale city, clearly the weather is an issue. no accidents reported yet fredericksburg all the way up. so these we have that going for us. wilson bridge, off to a quiet start. switch gears, no worries there. 270, haven't had any accidents there, but again as the rain moves in, looks like we could have a particularly tough commute. bay bridge going that way we're okay so far this morning. barbara and keith, back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. >> the new farmers market, first lady michelle obama has talked about's going to open in downtown d.c. today. a terror investigation that started in new york now spreads all th way to colorado. find out what federal agents are looking for.

former president jimmy carter is continuing his defense of president obama against what he calls unfair attacks. the former president answered students' questions during his annual town hall meeting last night at emory university in

atlanta. he told nbc ws' brian williams earlier this week that much of the animosity toward president obama is based on racism. the white house has tried to avoid the race issues, but carter echoed his earlier sentiment last night. >> i thi people that are guilty of that kind of personal attack against obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be african-american. it's a racist attitude. >> the president does not believe that, that the criticism comes based on the color of his skin. >> as for health care reform, former president carter says he supports having a government program to compete with private insurance companies. keith? >> now to virginia's race for governor and today's big face-off. deeds/mcdonnell. both candidates will be debating in northern virginia today. it's an event that's been

particularly important in previous statewide races. megan mcgrath joins us with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the fairfax county chamber of commerce has been sponsoring debates in gubernatorial and senate races for two decades and there have been some very memorable moments. back in 2005, governor tim kaine was given a boost when it was percved that his opponent donged a question about abortion. in 2006, senator george allen was running for re-election. he g into hot water when answering auestion about his mother's jewish ancestry. now with less than two months to go in the governor's race, the margin between bob mcdonnell and creigh deeds is narrowing. both men will be reaching out to undecided voters and there are ite a few of them out there. for democrat creigh deeds it's a chance to appeal to a base essential to victory, the northern virginia democrat. for republican bob mcdonnell, the debate is an opportunity to clarify his stand on social issues like working women and

homosexuality. health care reform and transportation are also exempped to take center stage as the two candidates face off in a debate. after enjoying a double-digit lead in the polls, mcdonnell appears to have lost some ground. a survey released this week shows him with a 5% lead over eds. earlier this month, mcdonnell was ahead by ten points. with 20% of virginia voters undecided, debate moderator david gregory says this morning's event is important to both campaigns. >> this is a time for undecided to really lock in. it's the fall. really zero in on the issues that virginians care about and try to make a decision. >> reporter: and the debate gets under way at 11:00 this morning. it will last one hour. keith, back to you. >> megan mcgrath live in mclean. thank you. barbara? >> fbi a littles have executed a search warrant at a suburban denver home as part of a terrorism investigation. the home belongs to najibullah

zazi who is expected of having links to al qaeda. yesterday's search follows fbi antiterrorism raids in new york on monday. those raids came after zazi visited manhattan. he insists he has done nothing wrong. he says he's baffled about why he's the central figure in the fbi's investigation into a possible bomb plot. and police say they found a bone fragment on the property of phillip and nancy garrido. they're the california couple charged with kidnapping a little girl and holding her captive for 18 years. investigators say the bone fragment is likely human. it was found as authorities scoured the property for evidence that could link the garridos to two other child abductions back in the 1980s. >> having a sweet tooth could become more expensive if supporters of a sugar tax have their way. according to a new study in the new england journal of medicine, taxing sodas and juices by a penny per ounce could raise billions of dollars. it could also cut sugar consumption by 8%. the tax would be leveed on

manufacturers as an incentive to cut the sugar in their procts. supporters of the idea say it will help curve the obesity epidemic, but drink makers say soda sales have been falling for years, while the obesity rate is climbing. >> well, today people who live and work in downtown washington can take advantage of a new farmers market. the request to open the farmers mark was made by first lady michelle obama. local residents and federal employees will be able to buy fresh vegetables, cheese, as well as milk and baked goods. it will be open for business every thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on vermont avenue. today's grand opening is at 3:00 this afternoon. >> redskins are hungry to pick up their first win after a home opener on sunday and one key player is getting ready to cash a pretty big paycheck. dan hellie has your sports minute. >> good morning, everybody. the redskins back on the practice field getting ready for the rams on sunday. one player was a bit giddy.

fullback mike sellers rewarded with a two-year contract extension after his pro bowl season last year. sellers receives a $600,000 signing bonus as part of the new deal. baseball time. nationals now 3-14 against the phillies this season. last night, jason wirth blasted a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to secure an easy win for the phillies. they are now 11 wins away from locking up their third straight division title. the o's hosting the rays, bottom of the ninth, the game is tied at 2. not anymore. the rookie matt wieters is the hero, a walk-off two-run home run, his seventh homer of the year. the o's win in dramatic fashion. 4-2 is the final. sad sports note. ncaa president myles brand has died after his battle with pancreatic cancer. brand was 67 years old. that's your sports minute. i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great day. >> we hope to. let's find out what kind of day it's going to be.

>> coming up on 6:21, time for weather and traffic on the 1s. we go to tom kierein in storm center 4. hey, tom? >> good morning. >> off to work and school on this thursday morning as we have rain falling across much of northern virginia, now int maryland. where sty green it's coming down harder. here's the intensity scale. more moderate rain. we are getting moderate rain in northern montgomery county, into southern frederick county. that's about to move into howard county. elsewhere, a few sprinkles in southern montgomery county and fairfax and loudoun county getting a little light rain. but there's pockets of some more moderate rain moving into prince george's county out of southern fairfax and into charles county. elsewhere scattered across northern virginia, around the blue ridge, getting some passing light to moderate showers there. the temperatures are in the low and mid-60s from cheverly to mitchellville, mclean and kensington at this hour. and the buses will be rolling and by later on when you're waiting for the bus, chance of some light rain in the low and mid-60s so you'll likely need an

umbrella. sunrise at 6:51. later on today, cloudy with a high near 70. small chance of an additional sprinkle this afternoon. increasing sunshine on friday, highs upper 70s. looks like a delightful weekend to follow, saturday and sunday sunshine. highs in the mid-70s. jerry, how's the traffic? >> let's check out the approach to the wilson bridge as the rain continues to move in. right now we seem to be moving pretty well both directions between alexandria and oxon hill so that is a good sign. again, be forewarned of that. let's check your speeds and see how we're doing on that side of town. traveling the beltway inner loop, college parto route 50, 8 minutes. calling it about 20 minutes from route 50 headed down to the wilson bridge. no incidents, just the weather. off the wilson bridge to the springfield interchange, 7 minutes. all lanes are open. keith? >> thank you, jerry. so you think she can dance? a new video that shows supreme court justice sonia sotomayor doing the mambo. you've probably never en chris brown like this before.

♪ >> you go, girl. even a supreme court justice needs to get loose every now and then. justice sonia sotomayor hung up her robe for the night and put on her dancing shoes. sotomayor and esai morales, the actor, danced the mambo at the national hispanic arts foundation annual gala last night. she was sworn in as the first hispanic supreme court justice last month. >> it's chris brown like you've never seen him. the singer has started his community labor after beating up then-girlfriend rihanna. he was caught clearing brush in richmond yesterday as part of his 180 days of labor he received for the attack. brown is from virginia so an l.a. judge allowed him to work off his sentence in the commonwealth. brown also received five years probation and must complete a domestic violence coseling program.

>> all aboard and armed. why you soon may be able to carry a gun on amtrak trains. >> breaking news this morning in the case of the murdered yale graduate student. police are getting ready to make an arrest. >> and what's on the chopping block as d.c. schools get ready to make $40 million in bumg it cuts.

rallying for reform. president obama goes to the university of maryland this morning to continue to his push for health care, one day after the senate introduced the bill. >> a hard lesson. d.c. schools announced $40 million in budget cuts. find out what's on the chopping block. we'll ask d.c. mayor adrian fenty why these cuts are happening now, just a few weeks into the school year.

>> good morning. thanks for waking up with us this morning for "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> and i'm keith garvin in for joe krebs. today is thursday, september 17th, 2009. >> let's take a live look outside. it's a nice looking morning but a lot of clouds out there. we had some rain overnight and maybe some more coming. let's talk to tom who's here to tell us what he's forecasting. >> we have rain falling right now across much of the viewing area as we look at the radar, where you see the moving color, that is rain. now raining moderately in northern montgomery county, southern frederick county, that little batch of green. elsewhere gting pockets of moderate rain in prince george's and charles, calvert and st. mary's counties, northern part of st. mary's, anne arundel. elsewhere scattered across northern virginia, pockets of light to moderate rain continuing southwest to the northeast. it is -- not much rain has florida fallen. only about 0.2. the temperatures are certainly cool, mid-60s in washington. it's only the low 60s in the

nearby suburbs, near 60 around the blue ridge and out in the mountains it's even cooler, just near 50. for the rest of the day, cloudy. this morning's rain should taper off. a small chance of an additional sprinkle this afternoon. it will be a cool day, highs only near 70. that's more like mid-october rather than mid-september. then as we get into tomorrow, a cloudy start, near low 60s in the morning. afternoon highs upper 70s with increasing sunshine. looks like a nice weekend to follow saturday and sunday. sunshine back, highs in the mid-70s. a look into next week, that will be in ten minutes. >> okay, tom. thanks. >> already a few accidents on the roadways. let's check in with jerry edwards to see how we're looking now. good morning. >> good morning. they're coming in fast and furious. 270 fortunately n accidents but in montgomery county, authorities headed for an accident georgia avenue at aspen hill road inside the beltway, georgia avenue at spring street. had an accident with a pedestrian reportedly hit on 410 just off colesville road, silver

spring. do be very, very cautious, please. elsewhere the southeast corridor still very quiet. 295, south capitol street, pennsylvania avenue all doing fine. out of southern maryland, don't have any hang-ups to report on 301 or route 4. wilson bridge doing okay so far. barbara and keith, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. breaking news now out of new haven, connecticut. police say they expect to make an arrest momentarily in the murder of a yale student annie le. le's body was found on sunday inside a yale laboratory building. a newspaper is reporting that police have obtained a dna match that implicates yale lab technician raymond clark in the murder. police questioned, then released clark yesterday. last night police executed a search warrant on clark's car. police are surrounding the hotel where clark is staying and authorities say they'll take him into custody shortly. police are planning on holding a news conference at 7:00 this morning. well, as the health care debate continues to heat up on capitol hill, president obama will take his agenda on the road again, this time to the university of maryland.

the senate has put together a plan of their own. it does not include the public option. it's cheaper than some of the others, costing $856 billion. under the plan, people who don't buy insurance would be fined. and insurance companies would be banned from overcharging people with serious health problems. today, though, president obama will focus on his plan and why he wants it passed now. news 4's kimberly suiters joins us from college park with more. good morning, kimberly. >> reporter: good morning. i'm curious to hear what the president is going to say about that comomise bill or what was supposed to be a compromise bill brought forth by the finance committee chairman, but in the meantime the president is on this three-state campaign. first minneapolis, in minnesota and then to pittsburgh, pennsylvania, and now to college park, maryland, today to promote his health insurance reform plan. the doors open here at the comcast center at 9:00 a.m. the speech happens at 11:00. it's wide open to the public.

on the many ka pus of the university of maryland, get out the grassroots efforts are well under way. >> i'm volunteering because, obviously, i support the health care reform and at howard university we have students for health care reform organization. >> reporter: she'll be there for the president's speech, a rally open to the public. >> definitely crazy. >> reporter: a few campus republicans plan to show up and show respect. >> i follow the actual procedures that are going on within the government very closely, so i understand exactly what's going on and i'm not just listening to the news -- the news reporters or different talk show hosts. >> reporter: the president comes to college park on the heels of the senate finance committee chairman's announcement that he has a health care bill, if not republican support, though democrats say it wasn't for lack of effort. >> they didn't want public option. it's not in this package. they didn't want an employer mandate. it's not in this package. >> reporter: what is there?

an $850 billion bill, a requirement to carry insurance, no income tax hike. rather, drug company fees. and no exclusions for pre-existing conditions. and no public option. >> while getting rid of the government plan would be a good start, the democratic bills we've seen would still grant the government far, far too much control over the health care system. >> reporter: on thursday, it's the president's turn to talk directly to the american public by way of college park, a friendly venue for a president grappling with a controversial issue. the white house says baucus' bill is an important building block and that the legislative process will eventually refine it. mr. obama has come to this campus three times. this will be the first time he comes as president. the white house confident that he can rally the public here today. reporting live at college park, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. barbara, back to you. >> thanks, kimberly. >> it's been nearly seven years

since the sniper attacks terrorized our area. now we know when the man behind them will be put to death. john allen muhammad is set to be executed november 10th in virginia. in 2002, he masterminded a shooting spree that killed ten people and injured four more. paul laruffa was one of the survivors. he was shot five times outside his restaurant in clinton. >> if you could say one thing to muhammad before he died? >> i'd probably say god bless you. i hope in the next life -- >> this has been a hard struggle for you coming back? >> sure. sure. >> muhammad's lawyer says he will appeal to the u.s. supreme court and ask virginia governor tim kaine for clemency. >> budget cuts may soon leave some d.c. public schoolteachers out of a job.

school chancellor michelle rhee says up to $40 million may be cut from the school system. that would likely lead to layoffs and bigger class sizes. rhee hasn't said how many of e system's 3,800 teachers would have to be let go. 900 of them were just hired over the summer. the washington teachers union president says cuts could be devastateding. i'll ask mayor adrian fenty about these cuts and why they're coming now, just weeks into the start of the school year. >> you ma i be able to pack a gun in your bag the next team you use amak. the senate voted to allow amtrak passengers to carry handguns in their checked bags. the weapons must be unloaded and locked. you are allowed to carry a gun in your bag before september 11th. it must still be reconciled with a house bill that doesn't contain the gun rights provision. in montgomery county, transit-related crime is on the rise. that's mostly due to thefts

which were up 40% from 2006 to 2008. officials say the most common crime is thefts from vehicles parked at the stations. police are encouraging people not to leave items like gps devices, stereos and laptops visible in their cars. >> a warning this morning for toyota and lexus drivers. the investigation toyota has now launched following a deadly crash. the candidates in virginia's governor's race will face off this morning. the moderator, nbc news' david gregory talks about why the debate is so important. d.c. tops a new list for the young an

weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning. a cool 65 in washington. on the radar, we are getting some scattered areas of light to moderate rain across northern virginia, intomaryland. some heavier rain northern montgomery county into loudoun county and as well as frederick. it's heading to the north and east. other pockets of more moderate to light rain just to the south and east of washington, southern prince george's and charles. all around the region, low and mid-60s. highs today near 70. cloudy this afternoon. just a small chance of an additional sprinkle. sunshine returns friday, saturday and sunday, highs in the 70s.

get into next week, maybe more rain monday, tuesday, wednesday. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. how's the traffic? >> getting a lot of accidents around the area. good morning, everyone. over to silver spring where authorities have block westbound, east-west highway at the intersection of 16th street. downtown silver spring. pedestrian accident there. authorities are just holding everybody up. if you look careful ri, you can see folks are turning around. 16th street is open from what we understand. east-west highway approaching 16th is blocked. elsewhere, 28 and gudy drive, an accident. wilson bridge is okay. the earlier wreck on new york avenue at south dakota's gone, but bumpy pavement from the milling process through northeast. >> thanks. now 65 degrees outside. a warning from toyota and election thaws could be putting drivers at risk on the roads. >> and d.c. mayor adrian fenty is here. welcome, mr. mayor. >> hello. how are you? >> always good to see you on thursday morning. i'm going to ask you about d.c. schools cutting the budget, a donation on your re-election

campaign, talk about that. a lot to talk about.

i'm here this morning, like every thursday morning, with d.c. mayor adrian fenty for "connecting with the mayor." let's get right to it, sir. >> yes. >> michelle rhee is announcing that $40 million in budget cuts are coming to close a budget gap that you must have known was there. you couldn't have just discovered that right at the beginning of the school year. >> no, no. in fact, your news story has -- your news channel has run this story. half of the cuts the council made in august so that's already been reported. the other half is actually pretty standard ocedure. been explained to me what happens every year is the difference between the enrollment and the number of teachers you have to hire creates some gap. in some school years, the teachers are just kind of left in the system. they're not assigned to any particular classroom. i think what's going to happen this year is because of more austere times, those teachers will -- will have to be let go. but it won't affect the education in the classroom.

reforms are going to continue. >> do you know how many teachers will be cut at this point? how will you decide who you'll let go? >> answer to the first question, no, but we will have that information soon. i think the chancellor is going to do what everyone else will do. make sure that the decisions made about personnel are the best for the running of the school system. so she'll make her decision based on, i'm sure, who can continue to do a fantastic job. >> so, you did not know before school started? >> no, the council voted on this in august. they voted on about $21 million in cuts. it was reported in the post, channel 4 and everywhere else. there's an additional $20 million or so which is the gap between, you know, some kind of enrollment and what you have to beef up to and, again, that happens every year. sometimes the system absorbs it and just keeps it. you can dnot do that in austere times. >> some teachers are going to

get their pink slips? >> that was accurately reported in the press conference yesterday, but the chancellor and i absolutely, like every organization, will make sure that we not only keep performance the same but we're going to improve performance. >> going to be a big shock to a lot of teachers, i'm sure, when they get those -- >> i think net, though, we actually hired about 1,000 teachers. >> let's talk about your campaign war chest. >> yes. >> you've collected a lot of money, we understand. how much money? >> raised 2.7. probably over 2 left. >> now part of that came from former new york governor eliot spitzer, $1,000, anyway. how did he happen to contribute to your campaign? he's a republican, isn't he? >>o, he's a democrat. we had a big fund-raiser in new york by some -- there's a lot of developers and the developer who had this one does some business down here. and they do business up there. we had that fund-raiser there. spitzer, if i'm not mistaken, also is working in the development community, both in

new york and d.c. there are a number of people who contributed. >> his father's company actually purchased a downtown office building. >> right. >> did that have anything to do with -- >> absolutely. he has a vested interest in the district of columbia. i knew he had some connection. you're right. he purchased a building, invested in the city. i think that's why he wanted to support the campaign. >> the city council held a hearing this week in response to a massive fire that destroyed the northwest home of community activist peggy cooper cafritz. firefighters said the water pressure in the hydrants was not there. that's why they -- five minutes after the fire was called in, they couldn't save that house. now we're hearing that the district is going to try to make sure that this doesn't happen again. what do you say to that? >> again, there's three things you need to know about this fire. first, when the fire -- the firefighters arrived at the scene, the first floor was 80% burned and consumed with flames. the second thing is that the

hydrants in the area were all working to maximum capacity. now, the problem is it's a very old infrastructure. there's corroded pipes that have been there for 80 years. not any kind of corrosion besides wear and tear. they're eight-inch pipes. they sit very high up on a hill and it's a -- if you've ever been to chain bridge, it has no cross streets. the situation here was as much in relation to a very aggressive fire, aged infrastructure, which, you know, you could say -- >> which could be all over the city. you can have unique situations all over the city, of course, but to not have water pressure -- >> no, you're reporting this wrong. th water pressure was pushing through as much water as humanly possible. that's what hasn't been reported correctly. the only way to push more water is either to have bigger pipes, which has a lot of issues that need to be discussed or to maybe have newer pipes. that can be a legitimate

concern, given that these pipes are 85 years old. but there are 85-year-old pipes all over the city. the bigger issue is both the topography and the cross streets. there was another fire within 24 hours of this one, exact same intensity, which was put out almost -- down on rhode island avenue because the infrastructure is different down there. those are the issues that need to be addressed, stop the finger pointing, figure out some real solutions. >> i'm sure we will continue this discussion in days to come. >> that would be great. >> thank you. >> absolutely. >> if you have a question or comment that you would like for the mayor to address, e-mail us. fenty@nbcwashington.com. we're going to pass it along to the mayor. we may use that question on the air. so thank you again for coming in. >> thank you very much. see you next thursday. >> all right. keith? >> thank you, barbara. thank you, mr. mayor. now to virginia's race for governor and today's big face-off. the two candidates are set to debate in mclean today. on one side, republican bob mcdonnell. on the other, democrat creigh

deeds. a new poll says it's an increasingly tight race. about 20% of voters are undecided. both candidates will be working hard to woo those independents in a contest moderated by nbc's own david gregory. >> this is a time for undecideds to really lock in. it's the fall. really zero in on the issues that virginians care about and try to make a decision. >> both candidates will be facing off on issues like jobs, the economy, health care and energy. mcdonnell will also face questions about a college thesis he wrote critizing working women, feminists, gays and unmarried couples who live together. this morning, toyota is ordering an inspection of its floor mats which may have contributed to a deadly crash. cnbc's courtney reagan joins us live this morning with this important consumer alert. good morning. >> reporter: hi. good morning. toyota is investigati whether floor mats installed in cars are

posing a safety issue. it comes after a california patrol officer and three family members died when a mat may have jammed the accelerator. initial information indicates that the all-weather floor mat was from a different lexus model than the one he was driving and may have interfered with the pedal. also in auto news, chrysler is back in the leasing business, starting today. the u.s. automaker will make all of its 2010 models available for lease. as you remember, chrysler stopped leasing its cars more than a year ago after credit dried up and vehicle prices plunged, but now it plans to offer special low rate dea on six of its vehicles, in fact. those include mini vance and dodge ram pickup trucks. chrysler is looking to reverse its 39% drop in sales since the beginning of this year. back to you in d.c. >> okay. courtney reagan, thank you. >> tourists. >> the only ones who flock to washington. the region is home to the greatest percente of young and wealthy americans. we're home to 1 of the countries's 50 counties with the

most 25 to 34-year-olds who earn more than $100,000. that's according to the nielsen company. loudoun county has the highest percentage in the country, even more than new york or san francisco. arlington county is second on the list at more than 8%. nielsen says the region's job market, schools and hospitals make us so attractive. and the weather, too, probably has something to do with it, hmm, tom? folks coming because they like the way we have seasons, for one thing. >> if you don't like snow, this is the place to be, too. we don't have much snow the last few winters. we have rain this morning. good morning as we get off to work and school. you want to leave early. multiple accidents. road, streets and sidewalks are wet. a gray dawn in washington. sun just came up a couple of minutes ago in a gray sky. live picture from the city camera. as we look at the radar, where you see the blue on the screen, that is rain that continues to fall across much of northern virginia, just to the west of washington as well as northern montgomery county. this patch of green is where it's coming down a little bit harder, from poolsville to

gathers burg to near damascudam. farther to the west and north, mt. airy, southern frederick county coming down hardthere. another pocket of moderate rain in southwestern prince george's county, northern charles county and scattered across right along the blue rid farther to the south and the west of washington. now as we take a look at the rainfall totals, we've had about a quarter of an inch in frederick as well as in parts of loudoun county. that's the most we've had anywhere. around 0.1 is common throughout the metro area. temperatures are cool. in the low and mid-60s. out in the mountains only in the low 50s. here's the bus stop forecast. prepare your child for a wet morning and we may have some more of this light rain in and out for the next couple of hours. we'll be in the 60s. then later on today, near 70, cloudy, a small chance of a few more sprinkles and cloudy tonight. we'll be near 60 tomorrow morning. then tomorrow after a cloudy start, sun back in the afternoon, highs upper 70s. a nice weekend to follow, mostly

sunny saturday, mid-70s. partly cloudy sunday, mid-70s. good weather for the skins and rams. then monday into tuesday and wednesday, chance of rain. that's the way it looks. i'm back with frequent updates throughout the "today" show. we'll see you for "news 4 midday" at 11:00. >> messy traffic situation out there. let's get to jerry edwards for a look at how we're looking now. >> good morning. over to i-66, couple of miles before you get to the beltway and it is heavy and slow. haven't had any accidents. the weather not too much of a factor at the moment over here. but other things to consider. we do have an accident georgia avenue at spring street. route 28 at goody drive in rockville. be careful. heading to the rails this morning, nothing to worry about there. metrorail, marc and vre doing okay this morning. that's a good option for you if you can use it. ba thank you very much, jerry. >> thanks. >> president obama will take his push for health care reform to maryland today. the stage is being set at the university of maryland where a rally will take place in just a few hours.

news 4's kimberly suiters is there and has more for us. >> reporter: good morning again. rack obama has been to college park three times. this will be his first visit as president for the health care rally at 11:00 today. the doors open at 9:00 to the public. we're told that people who are coming here need to expect airport-like security. no umbrellas, no big bags, no liquids allowed. we are also told that campus activists from both sides of the aisle will be here to listen to the president. the campus republicans saying they don't plan any protests, but they do plan to listen. this all comes on the heels of an attempt at a bipartisan bill, an effort led by finance committee chairman max baucus that does not appear to have republican support right now. the white house saying it does believe this bill is an important building block, and they believe that the president will rally the public support he needs today here in college

park. reporting live i'm, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. back to you. >> thank you very much. >> nominate a news 4 morning person. e-mail their story, along with a clear, close-up picture or video to morningperson@nbcwashington.com. we will recognize them on the air. that's the "news 4 today." thanks for starting your day with us. >> have a great day. we hope you'll join us tomorrow morning. wake up with us at 4:55 a.m. see you tomorrow.