with a terrifying crash in maryland. the violent abduction of a woman and the search for a suspect on the run. >> motive for murder. police charge a lab tech in the brutal slaying of a grad student. what investigators are now learning about their prime suspect, raymond clark. >> man on a mission. president obama wrestling with a plan to overhaul health care. this morning, the commander in chief is putting a new face on the push for reform. good morning. welcome, everyone. we're glad you're up with us this morning. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm keith garvin sitting in for joe krebs. it is friday, september 18th, 2009. giving you a live look outside, even with all the clouds washington looking beautiful with the monument on the left-hand side of your screen. >> tom is here to talk about the weather. will the clouds bring more rain? >> does not appear. we had some overnight drizzle. some of the roads west of washington may be damp this morning. elsewhere, just cloudy at this time. no precipitation. it's in the low and mid-60s, another cool morning. we never did get out of the 60s

yesterday. it's now 64 in washington. low, mid-60s montgomery, fairfax, arlington, prince george's counties. low 50s out in the eastern shore. upper 50s in the mountains. for the morning, remaining cloudy. we ought to be near 70 by noon, peaking in the mid-70s by noon with sunshine breaking out. a partly cloud evening to follow. we'll be in the upper 50s as we start off saturday morning. now the weekend. saturday looking mostly sunny. upper 70s on sunday and partly cloudy, but here we go back to work and school with maybe some more rain on monday, into the first part of next week. take a look at that. that will be in ten minutes coming up at 5:11. >> we're ready to start the party. >> let the weekend begin. >> absolutely. hey, jey, are you ready? >> i've been ready since monday. always ready for a good party. well, good morning. as friday morning gets under way we're doing all right. take a drive down 270, out of fed rick, headed down to hyattstown, beyond no worries whatsoever. everything moving along nicely. lanes are open. northbound also looks good.

elsewhere, wilson bridge, no hang-ups to report out of southern maryland. routes 301, 4, 5, all doing okay. barbara and keith, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks. we are following breaking news out of pakistan. overnight a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a hotel, killing 25 people. it happened in the city of kohat in the northern part of the country. it is the second bombing in just two days. the town, which sits near the afghan border, has a history of violence between the shiite and sunni muslim sects. >> now to a developing story we've been following overnight. police are searching for an armed man who carjacked a woman and led officers on a chase through two states. it all started last night in gainesville, virginia, where a woman was carjacked at gunpoint. she was then driven all the way across the river into prince george's county. news 4's megancgrath is in temple hills where the chase came to a drat mat i can end. >> come down in the middle.

hit like four or five cars. right now they still in the process of looking for him. >> and the search continues at this hour for that suspect. the woman who was inside the car is okay. >> we are learning more about a man arrested and accused of killing a yale grad student. raymond clark is charged with murdering annie le. clark was a technician in the lab where le also worked. police say he killed her and stuffed her body inside a wall in the building. authorities still are not saying why, but alluded to an i shall uf workplace violence. co-workers reportedly described clark as a control freak who clashed with researchers over the mice cages in the lab. yale's president says there was nothing in clark's work history that race raised red flags. >> it says more about the dark side of the human soul than it does about anything else. >> we are also learning that police first began following clark on saturday, a day before they found le's body.

the police chief told a new haven newspaper that clark was always the prime suspect. >> police say a college student with a samurai sword did not try to kill an intruder earlier this week. it happened in baltimore on tuesda at the home of a john hopkins student. investigators say the student heard an intruder and picked up the sword. according to police, the intruder lunged at him. donald rice died at the scene. police called him a suspected burglar. the student has not been charged. >> white house is looking to put a new face on health care reform. first lady michelle obama, who was out at a northwest d.c. farmers market yesterday, will deliver remarks today to an event featuring women and families affected by the health care system. mrs. obama will stroll next door to the eisenhower executive office building to deliver her remarks around 11:00 this morning. she will be reinforcing the message the president sent to students at the university of  maryland yesterday, that health care is a moral issue. >> health care's about more than the details of a policy.

it's about what kind of country you want to be. young people, it's about what kind of country you want to be. we are the only nation on ear that leaves millions of people without health insurance. >> the president emphasized that a public option is an essential component of his plan because it will pressure insurance companies to make their policies affordable. >> the u.s. is scrapping plans for a missile defense system in eastern europe. the plan was developed under the bush administration. it called for the system to have been built in poland and the czech republic. the idea became a major sticking point in america's relations with russia. yesterday, president obama said the pricey new shield wouldn't be necessary. he said iran isn't focusing on developing the long-range missiles the defense was intended to strike. defense secretary says he supports the about-face, but republicans say the move makes

america look weak. >> lawmakers are makingrogress in fulfilling the final wish of the late senator ted kennedy. >> plus, why police believe human remains are buried in the back yard of a couple accused of kidnapping a young girl 18 years ago. >> and the special delivery inside a home and how a 6-year-old girl managed to lend a helping hand.

our time now 6:25. we're looking at a live look of the u.s. capitol, with clouds above us there. tom says it doesn't look like we'll get any rain today. that was his last forecast. we will check in with him shortly. our time now 5 :09. >> that's right. time for a news 4 bargain blast. redskins fans, don't listen. you can watch the cowboys take on the giants this friday night and it will score you free food at tgi friday's. if a punt hits the video scoreboard you will be in luck. >> you will win chris'y green be fries. 600 participating restaurants nationwide are going to give you those fried green beans. how about that? >> i've had them once. they're pretty tasty as long as they're seasoned correctly. >> something good to dip them in. okay. we're going to talk about weather now. let's go to tom kierein.

>> hey, barbara and keith, good morning. happy friday. starting off this morning with a cloud cover that's still with us, but thankfully not producing anymore rain. did, though, just a few hours ago produce some drizzle just to the west and north of washington so some of the roads are still wet up that way. elsewhere, no precipitation around this morning. the temperatures are certainly cool again, just in the low 60s to mid-60s. 64 in washington. near 60 in prince george's county. low 60s in arlington and fairfax and montgomery counties. near the bay, i's in the low and mid-60s. out in the mountains in the mid-50s. low and mid-50s on the eastern shore. quite a cool start to this mid-september morning. now throughout the rt of the morning we'll have cloud cover with us. by 9:00 we should be in the mid-60s. sunrise this morning is at 6:52. then by noontime, still cloudy, highs by then should be reaching the low 70s. and during the afternoon peaking in the mid-70s. finally a little sunshine breaking out, it appears, by mid-afternoon and late

afternoon. and by then we'll be in the low 70s. sunset today's at 7:11. overnight tonight should be partly to mostly cloudy at times. and temperatures in the 60s through the evening. by dawn on saturday, partly cloudy, we'll be in the upper 50s. a cool start to saturday morning. saturday's sunrise 6:53. it does appear on saturday we'll have lots of sunshine. afternoon highs should make it into the mid-70s by mid-afternoon. so a delightful day coming up tomorrow with low humidity and a light breeze. saturday night should be mostly clear and starting off with some sunshine sunday morning, no the mid-50s. a cool start sunday morning. sunday afternoon a few clouds building but she be dry for the skins and rams at fedex field. highs in the mid and upper 70s on sunday. monday, increasing clouds, a front approaching from the west will likely bring us some showers once again perhaps by late morning, into the afternoon, into the mid-70s for highs. and then the front sort of stalls out for a couple of days,

tuesday and wednesday with a chance of passing showers both days, highs in the 70s. then we ought to dry out again by the end of next week. that's the way it looks with the weather on this friday morning. how's our traffic? >> nice and quiet this morning. going to ease into the friday commute and hope things go smoothly. thus far, looking good. 95 as you head out of dale city on up toward the occoquan river through lohr done newington and springfield, everything is moving well. any overnight road work on 95 should be out of the roadway. we haven't seen any disruptions. good news there. elsewhere, making the trip on 395 to the 14th street bridge, you're okay. quiet o66. the american legion bridge, 50, the b-w parkway as well as i-95 between baltimore and washington,everything's moving well so far. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. our time is 5:12. want to go one-on-one with sarah palin? how you can do just that but you'll have to pay for it. >> plus, a car dangling off the edge of a cliff. next at 5:15 a.m., the dramatic

rescue attempt and how the driver made it out alive.

take a look at this amazing video of a rescue in maryland. a man is trapped inside that van that's dangling o the ravine.

he called for help, thinking he only had seconds to live. but, fortunately, rescuers were called to the scene. at first they didn't know where to find the guy. news 4's jackie bensen has the rest of the story. >> i'm dead. i'm dead. i'm dead. i'm dead. >> reporter: this is how chris' minivan ended up, after he lost control on a rain-soaked ramp from 202 to central avenue in largo this afternoon. he was trapped inside. >> the passenger side was halfway into the water. >> reporter: no one witnessed the accident and since the van had plunged 40 feet down into the ravine, it could not be seen from the road. luckily, he was wearing a hands-free cell phone earpiece, talking to a friend in new jersey. >> i told my friend to call 911 for me. >> reporter: the friend also called grace at her howard county home. >> i called 911. i just grabbed where it was,

where he was, and then she said, so call him and try to figure out exactly where he was. >> reporter: the prince george's county fire department responded. they had a challenge. any movement could have sent the van plunging into an unknown depth of water. >> what we did was send a system to go down and secure the vehicle with a winch and a specialty squad, made access to the patient to see how he was doing. he was in good spirits, happy to see us. >> reporter: he says he is grateful to his rescuers and to something he puts on every time he drives his car. >> i'm glad i had my seat belt on. without my seat belt, i don't know what would have happened. >> reporter: jackie bensen, "news 4 today." >> after it was all said and done, he only suffered a minor injury to his leg. keith? >> barbara, a soldier has posthumously received the nation's highest military honor in the first such ceremony since president obama took office. sergeant first class jarrod

monte's parents accepted the medal of honor on their son's behalf. nine soldiers who were beside him were also on hand. sergeant monte was on his second tour in afghanistan when his unit was set upon by enemy fighters. three times he left the safety of his position to try to reach a wounded comrade. on the third time, he was mortally wounded. i couldn't have expected him to do anything else because that's the way he lived in life. he wasn't a g.i. joe. he wasn't a rambo. he was a great human being, a tremendous humanitarian. that's the way i want my son remembered. >> president obama praised monte's galant ri and selflessness during yesterday's white house ceremony. >> the vietnam veterans memorial fund is calling for pictures of your loved ones who served in the war. the organization wants to showcase pictures of fallen vets at the vietnam memorial's education center which will be built soon. the pictures will go on display on the veterans' birthday.

organizers say this will help put a face on those who served their country. >> the center will use the photographs and the power of the lincoln and vietnam veterans memorial and the mall to teach a really important lesson to americans and especially america's youth. >> the pictures will be collected on a website until the underground center is built. more than 58,000 names are sted on the vietnam memorial wall. >> howard university gets burned by florida a&m's punt wizardry. >> the nats have a golden glove moment. dan hellie wraps it up for you in your sports minute. >> good morning, everybody. your sports minute start was the nationals. once again the phillies, their pitcher own the nats batters. last night it was cole hamels who took a perfect game into the sixth inning. hamels struck out ten before his

perfect game was broken up. ryan zimmerman made the catch of the week on a foul ball. sacrificing his body, going over the tarp for the out. certainly gold glove worthy. but in the end, it wasn't enough. the nationals lose to the phillies 4-2. howard down in tallahassee taking on florida a&m. it was not pretty for the bison. howard punting, and how about this for a lucky bounce? leroy van, fumbles it, gets it right back, races to far sideline and the little dude can fly. 5'9" and he's gone. a 66-yard punt return, his second punt return for a touchdown in the game. a&m downs horde 48-10. on the hardwood, mystics at comcast center last night, starting their first round playoff series indiana. in tend, too much tamika catchings. that's your sports minute. i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great weekend.

>> another sign of the economic times. d.c. libraries will be cutting back their hours and services. it's because of deep budget cuts. the library system will have to trim $4.8 million byext year. that's 11% of its budget. on the chopping block, bookmobile service, city schools. in addition, the libraries will be changing their hours. right now martin luther king library is closed on sundays, while neiborhood libraries are open. but starting october 5th it will be the other way around. all public libraries will be closed on monday holidays. >> coming up on 5:21, 64 degrees outside. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. >> we go to tom kierein to start us off. tom? >> hey, barbara and keith, good morning. as we start off this friday morning again we have the clouds that linger and we'll see them lingering throughout the rest of the morning. they did produce a few sprinkles and a little light drizzle west and north of washington a couple of hours ago but that has since dissipated. just a cloud cover around right now. nothing on radar.

temperatures in the low and mid-60s from columbia heights to ft. washington, bailey's crossroads and silver spring. farther to the west it's near 60 around the blue ridge and shenandoah valley weather watchers reporting this morning. weather watchers from southern maryland, northern neck and the eastern shore reporting low and mid-60s except out in salisbury. down to the low 50s there. in the mid-50s in the mountains. we'll have a cloudy morning. by noon should be near 70. sunrise at 6:52. during the afternoon finally some sunshine breaking out, highs mid-70s. overnight tonight should be partly cloudy, 60s through the evening. then the upper 50s by dawn on saturd. looks like a nice weekend and we deserve it. on saturday, we'll have some sunshine and highs in the mid-70s with low humidity. upper 70s on sunday and partly cloudy. good for the skins and rams. monday, maybe some rain moving in late morning into the afternoon and evening. a look at the rest of next week coming up in just a few minutes. jerry, how's the traffic? >> a live look along wisconsin avenue very close to the

maryland district line. water main break northbound, couple of travel lanes are blocked as you come up out of tenleytown headed toward western avenue northbound. a couple of lanes are closed off. i think southbound's okay. think your lanes will be open. just watch that here for the next couple of hours. keep you updated along wisconsin avenue, barbara's favorite shopping row. let's check your -- >> if i had some money. >> check your speeds this morning. on 270 we're looking good. 13 minutes between frederick and clarksburg. 2 minutes between 121 and 27. just 17 little old minutes between route 27 and the capital beltway. back to you. >> jerry, she's being modest. i think she owns all of that property on wisconsin. >> used to be called the barbara gallery i a. >> called monopoly. that's the game. >> all right. 5:22, 64 degrees outside. traffic alert. why parts of the capital beltway will be shut down for hours. >> also, how you can land yourself a private sitdown and go one-on-one with former vice

presidential candidate sarah palin. >> a reminder, news 4 is connected to you on facebook and twitter. you can find us on either site by searching news4today, that's one word.

today authorities will be back at the home of a california couple accused of kidnapping a girl and keeping her in their back yard for 18 years.

investigators say cadaver dogs have indicated that there may be remains buried in the back yard of phillip and nancy garrido. police have also found a bone fragment that they believe may be human. the couple is charged with kidnapping jaycee dugard in 1991. investigators are trying to figure out if they may be linked to other abduction cases as well. >> a 6-year-old girl is now a big sister thanks in part to her quick action. it happened wednesday morning. brianna johnson went into labor four weeks early. she didn't have time to get to the hospital so she called 911. that is when johnson's older daughter stepped in. little diona opened the front door so paramedics wouldn't have to waste time breaking in. soon little madison entered the world at 5 pounds, 5 ounces. her big sister had a few questions. >> she was like, what did it feel like? i was like, it was unexplainable. she said okay. she left it at that. >> diona was also born in a

hurry. she came into the world in a bathroom in the hospital's lobby. boy, mom does not -- she's not boring when it comes to labor and delivery. >> i guess pretty nice in some ways, hmm? >> get it over with quick. >> next time she -- well, maybe there won't be a next me. if there is, go in a couple weeks early. >> hopefully she'll make it to the hospital in time. >> our time right now is 5:27. the final wishes of senator ted kennedy are one step closer to being carried out. >> plus, a group of men target a local home by posing as members of the fbi. >> also, the secrets to success for new mothers who want that perfect body back. >> on the run, the search for a suspect after a viole

on the run. a search for a suspect after a violent abduction and police chase across state lines. >> first lady luck. president obama's new plan to rally skeptics behind his plan for health care reform. >> home opener jitters. tro planning big changes along the rails as the redskins prepare for their first home game. >> happy friday and good morning and welcome, everyone. i'm barbara harrison. >> and i'm keith garvin sitting in for joe krebs. it is friday, september 18th, 2009. giving you a live look outside. see all those clouds there. we're told you don't have to worry about them too much.

>> a little glow. i guess we see that every morning, above the dark level. tom, what is that? just city lights? >> city lights, reflected off the bottoms of those clouds. still way too early for us to see any of the sunrise. still about an hour and a half away from sunrise. and right now at this hour under those clouds it's another cool morning. temperatures in the low and mid-60s and radar not showing any precipitation, although we did have a little drizzle just west and north of washington overnight so some of the roads may still be wet out that way. and we're in the low and mid-60s around the area. now 64 in washington. montgomery county's in the low 60s, so is arlington and fairfax. just near 60 in parts of prince george's county, southern maryland near the bay. but right near the bay waters it's in the mid-60s and away from the waters in the 50s in many locations on the eastern shore. upper 50s to mid-50s out in the mountains. highs today with increasing sunshine by this afternoon into the mid-70s. then a partly cloudy night to follow. looks like a nice weekend coming up for saturday and sunday. good weather for the game.

then monday and into wednesday we have a chance of passing showers. end of the week should be dry. i'll be back in ten minutes with another update at 5:41. >> thank you, tom. >> thanks, tom. now an update on roadways. jerry edwards is in the news 4 traffic network. good morning. >> good morning. happy friday and for the most part we're okay, at let on the interstates. i-66 eastbound headed out of centreville toward fair oaks and vienna looking good. a little slow at the beltway with the new lane configuration but the lanes are open. we do have a serious crash, though, coming out of waldorf this morning on route 228, berry road. just above route 301. authorities are on the scene dealing with that at western parkway. there's a medevac helicopter headed over there. the westbound lanes of berry road, route 228 are blocked at western parkway. so if you normally travel berry road, heads-up for that. cut up 301 and watch for authorities on the scene. keep you updated. back to you. >> okay. thanks, jerry. >> thanks. another quick traffic note. drives in virginia will want to

avoid the beltway near tysons corner tonight. overnight construction will intermittently close that section of the beltway. all lanes near the chain bridge road interchange will be shut down for 30 minutes. the closures will include the exit ramps to and from chain bridge road. these closures are taking place so power crews can relocate overhead power lines. >> now at that time developing story. police are searching for a man who carjacked a woman and then led officers on a chase through two states. >> it started last night in gainesville, virginia, where a woman was carjacked at gunpoint. she was then driven all the way across the river into prince george's county. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live from temple hills where the chase came to an end. megan, good morning. >> good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this was quite a wild chase. it actually ended up here in temple hills with a multicar pileup. they're still looking for this carjacker who took a woman late last night. now, this all began to unfold in the parking lot of a target in gainesville, virginia.

police say that a man armed with a gun carjacked a woman in that parking lot. they then took off in her suv. now, a witness saw exactly what happened, began to follow the stolen suv and called 911. that good samaritan then directed police to the stolen vehicle. police caught up with the suv around telegraph road and began to give chase. now, this ends up in temple hills on st. barnabas road. the stolen suv hit several cars near virginia lane, near that intersection. the whole thing came to an end when a virginia state trooper rammed the suv. now, we spoke to one of the drivers who was struck in this whole situation. he describes exactly what happened. >> i was approaching the traffic light, and i heard a loud sound. i saw that suv riding the median, is bouncing. it came back in the traffic. all i heard is bang, bang, boom, boom.

shortly after, the police car did the same thing, ride the median, came back on the road. hit my car and kept on going. >> reporter: now, some of the people who were struck in this incident, some of the folks in the cars as well as the virginia state trooper, they had minor injuries and were treated. nothing serious. as for the carjacker, he bailed out of the stolen suv and ran away. police are still looking for that individual. anyone with information, you're asked to call police. back to you, barbara, keith. >> thank you, megan. >> thanks, megan. >> police in fairfax county need your help feeinding a group of n who broke into an annandale home and beat a man up inside. they say four or five men wearing utility uniforms and masks broke into a home claiming they were with the fbi. inside a home were a woman, her son and his baby. the woman says the intruders tied the three of them up and demanded money. she says they also beat up her son.

neighbors in this quiet community say they are shocked. >> well, it's scary. you know, people don't normally just do that without a reason, so kind of makes you wonder what, what the underlying reason is for this to occur. >> i've never seen anyone, any television crews out here or this many police. >> police say the suspects took off in a tan or beige cadillac escalade. the woman and baby were not hurt. >> today first lady michelle obama will wade into the naon's health care debate. she will speak at an event in northeast washington featuring women and families affected by the health care system. in the meantime, more senators are speaking up about the newest reform plan out this week. nbc's brooke hart has more. >> yea for vegetables. >> reporter: it's mom's old advice and michelle obama got behind it. the first lady helped launch a farmers market near the white house. she said her back yard garden has inspired her to pitch homegrown good health.

>> to look for opportunities to put the topic of healthy eating right on the table and at the forefront of health care discussion. >> reporter: can the u.s. afford major health care change? backers of the baucus plan in the senate at $856 billion, the lowest cost option yet, say yes. >> it's more than budget neutral. that is, it is $49 billion in the black by the year 2019. >> reporter: republicans don't buy that. >> when washington says it's only going to cost $5, you can count on it costing $10. >> reporter: senate democrats are hopeful they have numbers. massachusetts lawmakers move toward having the democratic governor name an interim replacement for ted kennedy, a certain "yes" vote. republican olympia snowe could be on board, though she wants to make sure new required coverage is affordable. >> i have some, you know, deep reservations about requiring people to pay aeavy penalty during this economic climate. >> reporter: senate backers are upbeat. >> i'm encouraged. i think people ought to feel

positive about what's happening here. we're going to get a bill done. >> reporter: in maryland, president obama appealed to young adults, the chunk of the nation's uninsured, to keep up the heat on congress. >> fired up, ready to go! let's go change the world. thank you, everybody. >> reporter: he'll apply the pressure himself this weekend. president obama will appear on five sunday news shows, a presidential record. and the latest sign of his investment in getting a reform bill passed. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news. >> the first lady's health carey vent starts at 11:00 this morning at the old executive office building. >> the massachusetts legislature is one step closer to carrying out one of ted kennedy's final wishes. the state house of representatives passed a bill lals night that would allow the governor to name an interim appointment to fill kennedy's empty seat. the bill goes to the state senate. kennedy said the governor should be given the power to appoint an interim successor so the state

can be fully represented during the debate over health care. >> if you're ridg met this weekend you may want to plan ahead. >> that's right. also, why a drunk driver police say caused a deadly crash was once again arrested for being behind the wheel. >> plus, tense moments along the potomac river and a park police officer puts his lifesaving skills to the test.

weather and traffic on the

1s. good morning now at 5:41, we have the clouds that linger over us, but no precipitation on radar from washington's trinidad neighborhood to landover, burke and damascus. we have temperatures in the low 60s to mid-60s right in downtown washington and right near the bay. but elsewhere just near 60 around the blue ridge and shenandoah valley weather watchers are reporting. the rest of the day, cloudy this morning, a little sun breaking out this afternoon. highs reaching the mid-60s. partly cloudy tonight, upper 50s. by dawn saturday, mostly sunny tomorrow, low humidity and light breeze. highs reaching the mid-70s. for sunday, sunny in the morning, a few clouds in the afternoon, highs reaching the upper 70s after a cool start in the mid-50s. good weather for the skins/rams game. then on monday, increasing clouds and a chance of some rain perhaps late morning into the afternoon. passing showers possible tuesday and wednesday as well. bus stop forecast coming up in ten minutes. jerry, good morning. how's the friday traffic? >> doing pretty well out there. good morning, everyone. happy friday. we made it. over the key bridge looking good

so far. rosslyn's up there, georgetown's here. no worries either direction. elsewhere, wilson bridge, good to go both ways out of southern maryland, 301's okay but a reminder, westbound lanes of berry road closed at western parkway. serious crash. there's a medevac helicopter over there now. a little police activity, sewell an parkway, nailer road. should be out of the roadway. >> our time now 5:43, temperature in washington 64 degrees. what new moms are doing after childbirth to make them feel more like their old selves again. >> plus, metro is planning big changes for the metro's home opener. >> reporter: if you're planning on going to the big game on sunday, but you dread getting there, metro does have changes that should make your game day commute a little easier. i'm kimberly suiters live in landover with a report coming up.

saturday night we'll be talking redskins football. the good, the bad, and the ugly. it's "redskins showtime."

metro riders can expect more delays this weekend. track maintenance will take place on the red and orange line starting at 9:30 tonight. on the red line trains will be single tracking between the medical center and grove sn grovesnor-strathmore stations. on the orange lines, trains will be single tracking between the east falls church and ballston-mu stations. >> thousands of fans will be crowding fedex field. the skins say they're ready for the game and metro says it is, too. news 4's kimberly suiters joins us live from the morgan boulevard metro station with more on how the agency will be helping fans get around. good morning, kimberly. >> reporter: good morning, keith. you heard barbara mention all the stations that are going to have limited travel. the blue line, metro says, is wide-open. that's where we are right here. morgan boulevard, the blue line, the second to last stop. it's a clear shot to fedex field, less than a mile. you do have to walk from here. metro says it's going to make

changes this weekend to make it easier for you to get to the game. so these are the changes they're talking about. having more staff on hand to make sure you have enough mon on your card to actually get home. also, they're going to increase the number of trains so that when the game is over, you have plenty of time to get out of here, plenty of ways to get out of here. also if you don't want to take the metro, take the blue line all the way in, you want to drive and park here, there are 635 parking spaces here at morgan boulevard metro station. there are 2,20 parking spaces at the largo town center. the only catch, if you want to park at either of these lots is that you have to pay 25 bucks and you have to have a smart trip card to do that. it's the only way you'll be able to pay. you have to decide the bt way to get here. again, if you do take the blue line, you come here to the morgan boulevard station closest stop to the stadium.

theris no shuttle so you do have to walk. but it's not a far walk. at least you can feel not so guilty about having another hot dog or something. >> we're hoping the redskins make the walk worth the wait. >> reporter: they will. they will. >> all right. thank you, kimberly. >> a 15-year-old b is dead after being hit by a metro train. investigators think he might have put himself in the train's path on purpose. it happened yesterday afternoon at the columbia heights station in northwest washington. the teen was found underneath the train. rescuers had to cut power to the third rail before they could get to him. paramedics worked to save him, but he eventually died of his injuries. investigators say the teen was a sophomore at bell-lincoln multicultural school. >> a maryland family is out outd this morning after learning that the person who killed their mother was arrested after being behind the wheel. ryan reffitt killed yvonne

hutchinson in an accident. r family thought the sentence was too lenient. now they're shocked to learn that reffitt was arrested two other times this past april and faces charges of driving without a license. >> once he gets out, he reoffends again. it seems like there's no rehabilitation at all and that he completely disregards the law apparently if he's going back to re-offending and driving without a license again. apparently doesn't care. >> reffitt's lawyer called his client remorseful and he said he is currently in alcohol treatment and is trying to turn his life around. >> now to virginia's race for governor. republican bob mcdonnell will be in an an dal in prince william county today, one day after facing tough questions from his rival for the executive mansion. he debated democrat creigh deeds in fairfax county yesterday. deeds criticized mcdonnell for his 1989 master's thesis which said working women undermined the family. mcdonnell says his views have

changed since then. both candidates alsoparred over transportation. deeds promised new money for roads in his first year in office. mcdonnell wants to sell off state-owned liquor stores to generate cash. he criticized deeds for not saying how he'll fund his plan. >> in fact, i've handed out my transportation plan, 19 pages, single-spaced. here's my opponent's plan. not a thing on it. look at his website. there's nothing there. >> i've been in the legislature 18 years. i've got a long record of getting things done, whether i'm in the minority majority. i'm confident i can bring people together and get transportation fixed next year. >> the candidates will debate twice more before november's election. >> an elderly woman is expected to be all right after falling into the potomac river and she has a park police officer to thank for that. the officer and his partner had just finished in voluntary training yesterday and were passing by the river near the kennedy center when they saw a d.c. police officer trying to rescue a woman who had fallen in. the park police officer sprung

into action right away. >> elderly female was in the water with just her head out. she was holding onto a vine. she was in distress. i jumped into the water, made sure she kept her head out of the water. fire and rescue got here with a ladder. >> by the way, yesterday was the officer's day off. the coast guard says the woman is very luc because there's a 30-foot drop in the river just feet from where she was rescued. >> wow. 5:51 the time right now. we're talking about the weekend. what kind of weather are we going to have? >> improving news. good for her, too, that the water temperature in the potomac is about 70 degrees. if you plan on getting out on the potomac, doing some kayaking or just maybe some boating on the tidal potomac, looks like great weather for weekend outdoor activities. here we are again with a cloud cover on this friday morning. we don't have any precipitation around, but live picture from our city camera showing the clouds still hanging over

capitol hill and the temperature just down river at reagan national is at 64 degrees. now as we take a look at the radawe don't have any precipitation around at this hour. we did, though, oh, just a couple hours ago have a little drizzle north and west of washington so some of the roads may still be wet up that way. but no precipitation now. and weather watchers checking in this morning from arlington to the blue ridge and shenandoah valley. only in the low 60s. low 60s in montgomery and fairfax as well as prince george's county. and right near the bay in annapolis toward pax river, temperatures there in the mid-60s. the bay water temperatures are in the low 70s, by the way. elsewhere we have it in the upper 50s in a couple locations. culpepper now at 57. around the neighborhood network, andrews air force base in prince george's county at a cool 61 there. the dew point 59. almost 100% humidity. kind of a dampness in the air. had about 1.8 inches of rain so far this month in september. there's a gentle breeze there coming in out of the southeast.

as we look at the other temperatures, eastern shore is certainly cool this morning, in the low 50s. it's in the mid-50s in the mountains at this hour. elsewhere around the nation, well, it's very cool up in maine, only near 40 there. in the 50s around the great lakes this morning. near 70 farther to our south. as we go forward over the next 48 hours, there may be a few minor flight delays perhaps down in florida through parts of the south land, but for us we'll have high pressure building from the north, clearin things out a bit. in fact, by late afternoon ought to get some sunshine. during the day on saturday, all the way into sunday morning, looks like dry weather. a front here from the midwest will begin to arrive here. looks like by monday giving us a chance for some more rain. the timing is perfect for a nice weekend coming up. here'she bus stop forecast. we'll have our temperatures through the morning just in the low and mid-60s with the cloud cover and a light breeze. sunrise is 6:52. then by noon, near 70. finally this afternoon, we'll get some sunshine breaking out.

upper 50s by dawn on saturday. saturday mostly sunny. great for outdoor work and recreation, highs mid-70s. good weather for the skins/rams game at fedex field sunday afternoon. partly cloudy, mid and upper 70s, low humidity. monday, increasing clouds, could get some rain moving in late morning into the afternoon. highs mid-70s. more showers possible tuesday and wednesday as we get into next week. i'm back with frequent updates throughout the morning. that's the way it looks. got pns? >> i do. >> good. we'll have to hear about them. thanks a lot. >> okay. >> how are we looking on the re roadways? >> looking good on the roads. no big deals to report along new york avenue headed down to florida avenue, continuing to the 3rd street tunnel all the way through northwest, looking good so far this morning. out on the rails we do have an issue, metrorail moments ago informed us of disruption delays on the green and yellow lines. there's a problem at the college park station. that had been take ken care of expect delays both directions on

the green and yellow lines getting to and through the college park station. other than that, vre, no delays. marc rail looking good. back to you. >> all right. thanks, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. planes, trains and now rental cars. starting october 1st, avis and budget will ban smoking in all their rental cars. they say the move is in response customer demands. it is also an effort to cut down on costs since smokers' cars take longer to clean while other car rental companies vary, avis and budget are the first to implement a complete ban on smoking. >> the number of plastic surgeries performed in the u.s. is down last year but the number of so-called mommy makeovers was up. mothers are taking advantage of lower surgery costs to feel like themselves again after childbirth. lindsey wilcox has more. >> it takes such a toll on your body. >> reporter: after having her three girls, yvette put on a lot of weight. >> i got heavy, up to 215. >> reporter: she lost 70 pounds but pregnancy left its mark on

her body. >> my breasts got bigger. they never went back to the size they were before. your hips, just everything. it takes a toll on everything. >> reporter: to address those areas most affected by pregnancy, plastic surgeons are performing more mommy make joefrs, a surgery combining both a breast and abdominal procedure. >> as anesthetic techniques have become safer, we can do more procedures in one setting as opposed to splitting them out over time. >> reporter: last year, plastic surgeries were down 9%, but these types of combination procedures were up the same amount for two reasons. >> it lets you take off less time from work and family duties and it also helps to rejuvenate a whole unit. good morning. how are you? >> reporter: yvette close a breast reduction and a tummy tuck. >> any tenderness? >> reporter: she says the recovery was painful. >> painful. i cried a lot.

it was hard. >> but you've done so well. >> i feel really good. >> reporter: three weeks poet op, she is down a size and feeling like herself again. >> in was lindsey wilcox reporting. >> news 4 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 quantico. if interested in learning more about the opportunities available, go to nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you. >> a reminder, news 4's 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, one word. >> ahead on "news 4 today" at 6:00, a burglary suspect busted because of facebook. >> plus, it's no value meal. how much dinner with sarah palin is selling for on the auction block. >> and a check of the morning's weather and traffic straight ahead.

a violent carjacking ends with a crash. this morning police need help finding the suspect who led them on a two-state chase. >> plus, a control freak. that's how his co-workers are describing a man charged with killing a yale grad student. what more we're learning about him this morning. >> and michelle's message. the first lady joining in the crusade for a health care reform. good morning, everyone. 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 friday, september 18th. giving you a live look outside. beautiful lights in the washington, d.c., area.

don't let any cuds intimidate you. we are expecting a pretty decent weekend. >> tom says we're about an hour away now from sunrise. still another bit of darkness to contend with. >> yeah, going to take awhile for the sunlight to really come through with the thick cloud cover still with us again on this friday morning. thankfully, no more rain on tap for today. we deserve it. it has been a damp, cool, cloudy week. this morning still cloudy but no precipitation on radar. here's the forecast for today. right now we're in the low and mid-60s but by 9:00 our temperatures as we look at the forecast should be making it into the mid-60s by 9:00. then by noon, low 70s. finally is afternoon some welcome sunshine should break out. highs reaching the mid-70s. sunrise is not until 6:52. sunset at 7:11. then a partly cloudy evening. we should be in the 60s tonight if you're going to be out having fun on friday night. then on saturday morning it will be in the upper 50s and most mostly -- partly to mostly

cloudy. but then clouds should break up, lotsf sunshine on saturday with highs mid-70s, low humidity. good weather on sunday. maybe a few clouds in the afternoon, highs mid and upper 70s. should be good tour the skins and rams game at fedex field. as we start off next week back to work and school, maybe some rain moving back on monday. a look into next week in ten minutes. >> okay, tom. we'll be talking to you in ten minutes. >> thanks, tom. we'll see how the end of the woweek is going on the roadways. for that, we go to jerry edwards and the traffic 4 network. >> south of town doing just fine. 210 to 295, just light volume of traffic. wrapping up the accident, berry road, western parkway, waldorf, watch out for that. metrorail tells us there was a problem just outside the dupont circle station on the red line. they've taken care of that. minor disruptions for the next couple of minutes. if anything else develops, we'll

let you know. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> now to a developing story we've been following overnight. police are searching for an armed man who carjacked a woman, then led officers on a chase through two states. >> it started last night in gainesville, virginia, where a woman was carjacked at gunpoint. she was then driven all the way to prince george's county. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from temple hills where the chase came to an end. >> reporter: a very scary situation for this woman who was kidnapped at gunpoint by a carjacker who forced her into the car and drove off in her suv. now, that suv, the stolen suv became the center of a police chase that crossed through several jurisdictions and two different states before it came to an end. now, this all began in the parking lot of a target in gainesville, virginia. that's where this gunman carjacked this woman. now, all of this was seen by someone who was also in the parking lot, a witness saw it all go down. that individual began to follow the stolen suv.

they called 911 and, according to police, that person was critical in police tracking down the stolen car and ultimately freeing the woman who had been kidnapped. >> individual witnessed that carjacking and started following the vehicle that was carjacked, which is the green car over there. he got on cellular 911 to our dispatcher and waseeping us posted as to where he was. >> reporter: and police encountered the car, tracked down the car at telegraph road. that's when the chase began. ended up here in prince george's county on st. barnabas road. virginia staterooper got the driver -- the carjacker to pull over at a nearby fast food restaurant. as that trooper tried to then approach the car, the carjacker then sped off again, turned around, was headed toward the beltway. that's when they lost control of th stolen vehicle. they slammed into a number of cars here on st. barnabas road.

ultimately, a police officer rammed the car. that brought the stolen vehicle to a stop. the carjacker then bailed out, began to run. virginia state trooper actually chased that invidual. they got away, though, apparently scaled a chain link fence. the trooper was actually injured trying to pursue over that fence and the suspect did get away. so anyone with information, they're still trying to track down this person. anyone with information is asked to call police. there were some minor injuries involved in some of the bang-ups involving the other cars. the virginia state trooper also had minor injuries trying to scale that fence. but nothing, nothing serious. we're told that the woman who was kidnapped is okay. back to you. >> all right. megan live in temple hills. thank you. >> thanks, megan. the search continues this morning for a group of men who broke into a fairfax county house posing as fbi agents. police say the men burst into the house in the 3400 block of

charleston street in annandale yesterday afternoon. a man, his mother and baby boy were inside. police say the masked mean beat up the man after tying up all the victims. >> breaking news out of pakistan this morning. 25 people are dead after a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a hotel. it happened in the northern part of the country. it is the second bombing there in just two days. the town, which sits near the afghan border, has a history of violence between the shiite and sunni muslim sects. >> we're learning more about a man arrested and accused of killing a yale grad student. he apparently had a history of controlling behavior. raymond clark is charged with murdering annie le. clark was a technician in the lab where le also worked. police say he killed her and stuffed her body inside a wall. authorities still aren't saying why, but alluded to an issue of workplace violence. co-workers reportedly described clark as a control freak. he clashed with researchers over the mice cages in the lab.

yale's president says there was nothing in clark's work history that raised red flags. >> it says more about the dark side of the hhuman soul than it about anything else. >> we're also learning that police first began following clark on saturday, a day before they found le's body. the police chief told a new haven newspaper that clark was always the prime suspect. >> the white house is looking to put a new face on health care reform. first lady michelle obama will deliver remarks here in washington today. they will come at an event featuring women and families affected by the health care system. mrs. obama will be reinfcing the message the president sent to students at the university of maryland yesterday, that health care is a moral issue. >> health care's about more than the details of a policy. it's about what kind of country you want to be. young people, it's about what kind of country you want to be. we are the only nation on earth that leaves millions of people

without health insurance. >> the president emphasized that a public option is an essenal component of his plan because it will pressure insurance companies to make their policies affordable. >> police say a college student with a samurai sword did not try to kill an intruder earlier this week. it happened in baltimore on tuesday at the home of a johns hopkins student. investigators say the student heard an intruder and picked up the sword. according to police, the intruder lunged at him. donald rice died at the scene. police call him a suspected burglar. the student has not bee charged. >> time now 6:08, 64 degrees outside. talk politics with a polarizing former vice presidential candidate. >> how much people are willing to spend for dinner with sarah palin. >> i'm really happy for you. i'm going to let you finish, but beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. >> well, by now most of you have seen the awards show interruption but have you seen what cyberspace has done with it? we'll show you next.

saturday night we'll be talking redskins football. the good, the bad, and the ugly. it's "redskins showtime." 6:11 is the time. time for traffic and weather. >> let's start off with tom kierein in storm center 4. >> again, dress this morning for an unusually cool september morning. we're right down into the low 60s now around the region, weather watchers are reporting, exce in washington. it's at 65. in cleveland park to greenbelt, centreville and germantown, we have the clouds lingering. but by this afternoon we oug

to get some sunshine out with highs in the mid-70s. then tomorrow mostly sunny, highs mid-70s, morning lows upper 50s. mid-50s sunday morning and sunny. then some clouds buildg in the afternoon with highs mid and upper 70s. good weather for the skins/rams game. on monday, increasing clouds, highs mid-70s. could have some rain developing late morning into the afternoon, maybe some passing showers on tuesday and wednesday as well with highs in the 70s. and then drying out end of the week. now, jerry, how's the friday traffic? >> picking up a lot of volume out there along interstate 66 eastbound as you head between 50 and 123. travel lanes are open westbound, continues the itself move along nicely. the trip through southern maryland wrapping up the accident, 228 which is berry road, at western parkway should find the travel lanes open. outer loop of the beltway between van dorn street and eisenhower avenue, an accident now. i think one of the people involved calling for an ambulance so they may tie up some additional lanes there. if you're headed toward the american legion bridge, you're all right. new information on another

diuption now, metrorail just telling us at the rhode island station headed toward glenmont on the red line, expect delays duto a track circuit malfunction just outside the rhode island avenue station. that just in. get more information and pass it on as quickly as we can. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. >> thanks. >> well, everyone's been talking about kanye west since his outburst at the mtv music video awards. >> the online world is also getting a laugh. >> i'm going to let you finish, but beyonce had the one of the best videos of all time. >> not true. >> yes, it's not taylor swift he's interrupting this time. it's president obama. kanye has since a pol jazzed to swift but doesn't look like he'll do it live any time this soon. >> that's kind of funny, isn't it? >> the president h a few choice words about kanye west,

though, we couldn't repeat on this broadcast. not a lot of happy happy with what he he did a couple days ago. at least someone can laugh at some point. >> 13 minutes after 6:00 is our time now. just ahead on "news 4 today," a 6-year-old girl helps welcome her baby sister into the world. >> how she helped when she realized her mother wasn't going to make it to the hospital in time. >> and next, a fallen soldier earns the highest honor. what he did when faced with enemy fire that made him a true hero.

welcome back. a soldier has posthumously received the nation's highest military honor, the ceremony took place in the east room of the white house. >> it was the first such ceremony since president obama took office. nbc's jim miklaszewski has the story. >> i'll be there in ten minutes. >> reporter: june 2006, sergeant first chase jared monti on his second tour in afghanistan. he was both a soldier and diplomat. two weeks after he's seen here, monti was killed in combat. >> i was devastated. i couldn't believe it. not my child. >> reporter: his parents, janet and paul, say jared was a natural born leader who cared

deeply about others so they weren't surprised he gave his life to save another. >> i couldn't have expected him to do anything else because that's the way he lived in life. >> reporter: monti's unit was on a surveillance mission when they were suddenly ambushed. staff sergeant chris cunningham was there. >> it was very, very, very intense. >> reporter: outnumbered 3-1, monti and his men took cover from an avalanche of enemy fire. one soldier was quickly killed, but one of the wounded was out in the open and exposed to the enemy. without hesitation, monti left the safety of his position to try to reach his wounded soldier. not once, but twice he was driven back by iense enemy fire. >> when he went back out there again, he was -- like i said, determined to go get his soldier. >> reporter: the third time, monti was hit by a rocket propelled grenade. mortally wounded, he asked his fellow soldiers to tell his parent these loved them. today in a white house ceremony,

president obama posthumously presented monti the nation's highest award for valor, the medal of honor. to those who knew him, jared was already a hero. >> he wasn't a g.i. joe. he wasn't a rambo. he was a great human being, a tremendous humanitarian. that's the way i want my son mi nbc news, the pentagon. >> sergeant monti would have turned 34 years old this sunday. yesterday's ceremony was only the sixth time the medal of honor has been awarded since the start of the wars in afghanistan and iraq. >> a 6-year-old girl is a big sister thanks in part to some quick action on her part. it happened wednesday morning. brianna johnson went into labor four weeks early. she didn't have time to get to the hospital so she called 911. that's when johnson's older daughter, the 6-year-old, stepped in. little diona opened the front door so the paramedics wouldn't have to waste time breaking in. soon, madison entered the world at 5 pounds, 5 ounces.

>> all right. well, howard university gets burned by florida a&m's punt return wizardry. the nats have a golden glove moment courtesy of ryan zimmerman. dan hellie wraps it up in your sports minute. >> good morning, everybody. your sports minute starts with the nationals. once again the phillies, their pitcher oentd the nats batters. last night it was cole hamels who took a perfect game into the sixth inning. hamels struck out ten before his perfect game was broken up. ryan zimmerman made the catch of the week on a foul ball. sacrificing his body, going over the tarp for the out. certainly gold glove worthy. but in the end, it wasn't enough. the nationals lose to the phillies 4-2. howard down in tallahassee taking on florida a&m. it was not pretty for the bison. howard punting, and how about this for a lucky bounce? leroy van, fumbles it, gets it right back, races to the far sideline and the little dude can fly.

5'9" and he's gone. a 66-yard punt return, his second punt return for a touchdown in the game. a&m downs howard 48-10. on the hardwood, mystics at comcast center last night, tipping off their first round playoff series with indiana. in the end, too much tamika catchings. indiana beats the mystics 88-79. game two of the best of three series is saturday night. that's your sports minute. i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great weekend. >> there's a lot of long hair out of helmets these days. you notice? >> yeah, yeah. players are different these days. yeah. no military-style coaches anymore. >> let's check on the weather now. let's go to tom kierein up in storm center 4. tom? >> might have been a woman. >> you never know. you never know. >> hey, here's the forecast for the skins game for sunday. they take on the rams at fedex field and game time 1:00. and during the game it should be good football weather. we better see some good football. partly cloudy.

temperatures should peak in the upper 70s during the game on sunday at fedex field. now here this morning we don't have any precipitation around on radar. earlier we did have a few sprinkles, a little bit of drizzle west and north of washington. temperatures around the region low and mid-60s right now. it's at 65 in washington. highs today with some sunshine finally back this afternoon reaching the mid-70s. tomorrow mostly sunny, highs mid-70s, morning lows upper 50s. sunday morning quite cool, mid-60s and sunny. clouds in the afternoon and upper 70s. monday, increasing clouds, could get some showers moving through, as well as on tuesday and wednesday, drying out in the week. how's the frida commute now? >> one of the busiest intersections of the district, pennsylvania avenue, branch avenue southeast where it's quiet. everything seems to be functioning operly. traffic lights are a-okay. nothing going on there so that is very good news. elsewhere, the drive south along i-270 looking pretty good. coming in from the eastern shore this morning westbound on route 50 from 301 queenstown to the

bay bridge, 16 minutes. bay bridge headed on over toward i-97, 13 minutes. and just a little bit of volume now between bowie and the beltway, tack on another 9 minutes at this hour. barbara and keith, back to you. >> all right. thanks, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. now 6:22, 65 degrees outside. busted by facebook. >> why a suspected burglar's addiction to the popular site led police right to him. >> and a bidding war in its final hours. how much a dinner date with sarah palin is selling for, next.

so, how much would you pay to have dinner with sarah palin? how about 53,000 bucks? someone has bid a little more than that on ebay for a private dinner with sarah palin. the former vice presidential candidate has offered the meal to raise money for a ride to recovery, a charity that helps wounded soldiers. there's some ground rules for this, though. the meal can't last more than four hours and palin gets to choose not to dine with the winner if she wants to. in that case, though, the winner's bid will be returned. if you're interested, you have a little more than 12 hours left to enter your bid. >> wow. $53,000. i want to see what's on the menu. how do you know when you're

addicted to facebook? probably when you stop to check your account while ire ae breaking into in someone else especially house. a pennsylvania man was arrested after police say he logged onto facebook on his victim's computer. the problem is he forgot to log off before fleeing the house with two diamond rings he allegedly stole. oops. he faces burglary charges and could face up to ten years in prison. if you are of the many folks addicted to facebook or twitr, stay connected with us. you can find us on either site by searching news 4today. don't forget to log off when you break into somebody else's house. >> that's one thing you could forget not to do. >> not a very smart thing. >> now 6:26. on "news 4 today," weather and traffic on the 1s. >> plus, a rough ride. a driver in maryland goes flying off the road into a ravine and no one was around to see it. how he made it to safety. >> dick cheney waking up this morning in a hospital bed. why the former vice president

had to undergo surgery.

horror on the highway. a woman carjacked and taken for a wild ride. the suspect still on the loose. >> an incredible escape. a maryland man plunges in a ravine. how he made it off that hillside with the help of a friend who lives hours away. >> and a family affair. president brl enhis tipping some help as he continues his full-court press for health care reform. thanks for waking up with us

this morning on "news 4 today." i'm keith garvin in for joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's friday, september the 18th, 2009. let's take a look outside. still dark. think we've got another just -- almost a half hour before sunrise as tom's been telling us. a glow out there kind of on the hazy, foggy looking side, tom. >> yeah, just a little light fog in the air. we had a little drizzle overnight just west and north of washington so some of the roads may still be a little bit damp there. but we do have the cloud cover in place here at this hour. and not producing any precipitation, thankfully, around the region as we take a look at the radar. no precipitation now. and as we look at the temperatures, it's certainly a cool morning. low and mid-60s. now back down to 64. did peak up to 65 for a few minutes in the last half hour. near 60 around the blue ridge and shenandoah valley weather watchers are reportingthere. weather watchers south of us reporting low 60s to mid-60s southern maryland, northern neck and the eastern shore where you get away from the waters, it's in the mid-50s in many locations there. just in the mid-50s in the mountains.

a cloudy morning. by noon, near 70. during the afternoon, ought to get some sunshine out, in the mid 0s. a partly cloudy evening to follow. 50s tomorrow morning. a great weekend coming up saturday and sunday, we should have sunshine both days with highs in the 70s. back to work and school with more rain on monday. a look into next week. that will be coming up in ten minutes. >> sounds like a great weekend. >> yeah. enjoy. >> okay. thanks a lot, tom. >> thanks. it's friday. everybody in a hurry to get to work so they can hurry up and get home at the end of the day, jerry. how's it going? >> a few folks on 66 going to be a little late, i'm sorry to say. eastbound i-66 between route 28 and route 7100, there is an accident, obviously you can see the flashing lights. left side of the roadway is blocked. police, fire rescue crews or the scene. delays begin about route 29 centreville. not a huge backup yet but another coupleinutes will really have a mess unless they can get everything out of the roadway. heads-up east on 66. the westbound lanes, you're doing fine headed on out. elsewhere, the drive along 270

very quiet this morning. hopefully we'll keep it that way. dulles toll road's been uncomplicated. very quiet for the most part through northeast and southeast washington this hour. back to you. >> okay, jerry. >> thanks. now to a developing story we've been following all morning long. police are searching for a man who carjacked a woman and then led officers on a high speed chase through two states. it started last night in gainesville, virginia, where a woman was carjacked at gunpoint. she was then driven all the way into prince george'sounty. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from temple hills where the chase came to an end. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. pretty frightening situation for this woman who was carjacked and then abducted at gunpoint. drove her all around the area. began in virginia, ended up in maryland with a crash actually here in the temple hills area. now, this all began in a parking lot of a target in gainesville, virginia. that's where the woman was approached by a man with a gun. he then forced her back into her car and drove off with her.

now, at one point as this was all unfolding in the parking lot, there was someone there who was watching, saw what happened, called 911, began to follow the stolen car. that good samaritan actually led police ultimately to this stole vehicle. they intercepted it at telegraph road. the carjacker, though, kept going, would not stop for police. drove into maryland, ended up on st. barnabas road at a fast food restaurant here. that's where a police officer actually finally got the carjacker to pull over. as that officer approached the vehicle, though, the carjacker took off again, drove down the road a piece, lost control, hit a number of cars near the intersection with virginia lane. a police officer finally rams that stolen vehicle with his cruiser and that's when the suspect actually bailed out and ran away. now, we spoke to one of the drivers who was hit in this crash. >> i was approaching the traffic light. i heard a loud sound.

i saw that susu riding there in the median. bouncing. and it came back into traffic. all i heard is bang, bang, boom, boom. shortly after that, the police car did the same thing, ride the median, but came back on the road. hit my car and kept on going. >> reporter: and the carjacker ran away. they are still looking for that individual. there were some minor injuries to some of the folks in the cars. they're going to be okay. a trooper injured as well, just minor injuries. we're told the woman who was ab dupgted, she's just fine. >> live in temple hills, thank you. >> the u.s. is scrapping plans for a missile defense system in eastern europe. the plan was developed under the bush administration. it called for the system to have been built in poland and the czech republic. the idea became a major sticking point in america's relations with russia, though. yesterday, president obama said the pricey new shield would be unnecessary. he said iran is not focused on

developing the long-range missiles that the system was intended to fight. defense secretary robert gates says he supports the about-face, but republicans say the move makes america look weak. >> former vice president dick cheney is recovering from back surgery this morning. mr. cheney underwent elective surgery yesterday at george washington university hospital for a condition known as lumbar spinal stenosis which is a narrowing of the spinal canal. his office says the operation was successful. cheney has had a number of medical problems over the years, including four heart attacks. >> the massachusetts legislature is one step closer to carrying out one of the late senator ted kennedy's final wishes. the state house of representatives passed a bill last night that would allow governor deval patrick to name an interim appointment to fill kennedy's empty seat. the bill now goes to the state senate. kennedy should the governor should be given the power to appoint an interim successor so the state can be fully represent evidence in the key bait over

health care. >> republican bob mcdonnell will be in annandale and prince william county today. he debated democrat creigh deeds in fairfax county yesterday. deeds criticized mcdonnell for his 1989 masters thesis which said working women undermined the family. mcdonnell says his views have since changed. both candidates also sparred over transportation. deeds promised new money for roads in his first year in office. mcdonnell wants to sell off state-owned liquor stores to generate cash. he criticized deeds for not saying how he'll fund his plan. >> in fact, i've handed out my transportation plan, 19 pages, single spaced. here's my opponent's plan. not a thing on it. look at his website. there's nothing there. >> i've been in the legislature 18 years. i've got a long record of getting things done whether i'm in the minority or majority. i'm confident i can bring people together and get transportation fixed next year. >> the candidates will debate twice more before november's

election. >> today first lady michelle obama will wade into the nation's health care debate. she'll speak at an event in northwest washington featuring women and families affected by the health care system. in the meantime, more senators are speaking up about the newest reform plan out this week. brooke hart is live on capitol hill with more. brooke, good morning. >> good morning. senators are poring over the details of that so-called baucus plan in the senate. many of them, republican and democrat, say it needs changes. and today they'll hear first lady michelle obama say in effect get it right and get it done. >> yea for vegetables. >> reporter: it's mom's old advice and michelle obama got behind it. the first dy helped launch a farmers market near the white house. she said her back yard garden has inspired her to pitch homegrown good health. >> to look for opportunities to put the topic of healthy eating right on the table and at the forefront of health care discussion. >> reporter: can the u.s. afford major health care change? backers of the baucus plan in

the senate at $856 billion, the lowest cost option yet, say yes. >> it's more than budget neutral. that is, it is $49 billion in the black by the year 2019. >> reporter: republicans don't buy that. >> when washington says it's only going to cost $5, you can count on it costing $10. >> reporter: senate democrats are hopeful they have numbers. massachusetts lawmakers move toward having the democratic governor name an interim replacement for ted kennedy, a certain "yes" vote. republican olympia snowe could be on board, though she wants to make sure new required coverage is affordable. >> i have some, you know, deep reservations about requiring people to pay a heavy penalty during this economic climate. reporter: senate backers are upbeat. >> i'm encouraged. i think people ought to feel positive about what's happening here. we're going to get a bill done. >> reporter: in maryland, president obama appealed to young adults, the chunk of the nation's uninsured, to keep up the heat on congress. >> fired up, ready to go! let's go change the world.

thank you, everybody. >> reporter: and he will apply the pressure himself this weekend. president obama will appear on five sunday news shows. that's a presidential record. and the latest sign of his investment in getting a reform bill passed. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. backo yo >> thank you, brooke. >> it is now 6:39, 65 degrees outside. the excitement is building. the redskins hoim opme opener t days away. metro is ready for a crush of football fans. what they're doing to get everyone to the stadium. >> plus, having some fun at fashion week. models take the catwalk in snuggies.

let's talk with the weather a little bit and traffic, too. but we begin with weather. >> hey, tom. >> hey, bagood morning. a view down pennsylvania avenue. you can see we have a cloud cover there. it is cloudy from dupont circle to clinton, reston and colesville this morning. on radar as we look, we don't have any precipitation at this hour around the region, although a few hours ago we did have some drizzle passing west and north of washington so some of the roads may still be wet there as the morning progresses, though.

a gradual drying trend and gradually warming, too. right now low and mid-60s around the region. highs reaching the mid-70s. finally some sunshine coming back by this afternoon, partly sunny. mostly sunny saturday. a terrific day tomorrow. morning lows upper 50s, afternoon highs mid-70s. upper 70s on sunday and partly cloudy. should be good weather for the skins and rams. morning quite cool in the 50s sunday morning. monday, increasing clouds, back and work and school. could have some rain developing during the day and perhaps on tuesday and wednesday as well. ending the week dry. i'll be back with the bus stop ca how's the traffic? >> tom, still jammed up because of the accident on 66. this is eastbound i-66 between 28 and 7100. left lane is still blocked. plenty of lanes getting by to the right. however, pretty good sized backup beginning just east of manassas now for you folks who formally come in on 66. be forewarned of that. elsewhere the earlier accident outer loop between eisenhower and telegraph road is gone as is the accident on berry road just

above route 301. that's been wrapped up, taken care of lanes on 228 re-opened. back to you. >> okay. thanks, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. >> this week the biggest names inhe world of fashion are gathered in new york but fashion week is not just about clothes that you can wear out. how about something meant for staying in? the snuggie, of course. motd else are donning the snuggies on the runway. in case you have not seen the infomercials, it's a blanket with sleeves that has been the subject of many spoofs on the runways. some new jsnuggie looks include camouflage and leopard print. how do you think that would work here? >> i never heard of snuggies before, but they look a lot more comfortable than the high heels. >> you must be meant to sit down in it because it doesn't have a back. >> yeah. hopefully -- yeah. well, we won't go there. yeah, yeah. they look comfortable. >> i'm not going to ask you what you were thinking. >> please don't. please don't. now 6:44, 65 degrees outside. smokers being told to hit

the road. >> a major rental car chain banning butts in their cars. why they say they're doing it, coming up. >> a maryland man left dangling when he plunged into a ravine. hoa friend several state ace way helped get him rescued.

well, take a look at this amazing video of a rescue in maryland. a man is trapped inside that van that's dangling off a ravine. he lost control while driving in largo yesterday and when this van went plunging over the cliff, no one witnessed the accident. the van could not be seen from the road. fortunatel he was wearing a hands-free cell phone talking to a friend. he asked his friend to call 911 and his wife. >> i told my friend to call 911 for me. >> i called 911. i just grabbed where it was, where he was, and then she said she will call him and try to figure out exactly where he was. >> the prince george's county fire department got there a short time later. they had to carefully secure the vehicle and slowly pull it back

up. after it was all said and done, he only suffered a minor injury to his leg. >> well, it's what football fans have been waiting for. this weekend the skins will have their first home opener against the rams at fedex field, home opener for this year. the redskins say they're ready. metro says it's ready. news 4's kimberly suiters is ready. she's at the morgan boulevard metro station, actually there to tell you how the transit agency will help you get around. >> reporter: the home opener headache is getting to the game. metro wants you to put this station on your map. morgan boulevard. a lot of people don't know it's the second to last stop on the blue line. it's the closest to fedex field. metro's implements changes for the home opener this sunday in order to get you here faster. the first thing they're going to do is have more staff on hand to give people directions, help them on their way, make sure they have enough money on their passes so they can get out of here as well.

the second, more important thing is they're going to have more trains on sunday after the game so you can get out of here more quickly. people had complained about the log jam here. they said that should not be a problem. if you plan to drive here and use the parking spaces at the morgan boulevard metro or at the largo town center, it will cost you 25 bucks to do that, and you have to have a smart trip card to pay for it. you might discover that that's not worth it and the small fee you pay to ride in here and walk a little bit might be better. again, there's no shuttle from this metro to fedex field. now, we talked to people early this morning about what their plans are for game day. >> be no hurry. take your time. >> it's crazy. off the hook. it's crazy. but that is good if they're going to expand, i think, because i think it's not right for us to have to suffer. >> until the redskins start to

think smart, that's when they'll become a competitive team. but i love metro. >> reporter: will you be taking metro to see the redskins' game this weekend? >> no, i'm not going to the game. i'm going to watch it from home. it's too crowded. >> reporter: that wouldn't happen to be because you're a cowboys fan? >> no. that's why. i'm a cowboys fan. ♪ >> reporter: are the red skwins going to have a blessed day on sunday? >> oh, i don't know. i don't know. i hope so. i really hope so. hope they do. >> reporter: barbara, we don't know what's wrong with the drinking water in landover, but we could only find one redskins fan. that was at 4:00 in the morning. reporting live in landover, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. back to you. >> she certainly wasn't willing to go out on a limb with a prediction. going to the game? >> reporter: i'm not going to the game. i wish i were.

do you have tickets, barbara? i'll go with you. >> no, i'll watch it on tv. all right, kimberly. thank you. in business news, asian markets have dipped slightly this morning after setting new highs for the year. yesterday. meanwhile, ts.e.c. is taking steps to prevent another mortgage meltdown. mike huckman joins us live with more. >> reporter: good morning. the futures are trading ever so slightly higher right now after bellwether companies like fedex and oracle reported losses for their first fiscal quarters. the dow and nasdaq closed modestly lower yesterday, down less than 1%. the dow finishing at 9782. the nasdaq at 2126. you mentioned this but the securities and exchange commission has adopted new rules for credit agencies in an effort to end conflicts of interest and provide more transparency. the industry has come under tremendous criticism for its role in financial crisis. the regulator is now demanding that agencies disclose their

ratings history so investors can compare their relative performance. this would apply regardless of whether agencies are paid by issuers or investors, also creators of financial products must now share data with all credit rating agencies. then finally, barbara, with stocks and home prices slowly gaining value, although stocks gaining value pretty quickly of late, americans' wealth has also grown. this is the first time in two years that americans are creating wealth instead of losing it. the federal reserve says that u.s. net worth reached $53.1 trillion in the second quarter. that's a 4% gain from the previous quarter. still, america's wealth is down almost 19% since its peak in 2007 when it was a whopping $65.3 trillion. so, barbara, that figure alone shows you just what a huge impact the decline in the stock market and, of course, the housing market has had on people's net worth. back to you. >> indeed. all right, mike. thank you.

>> planes, trains and now rental cars. starting october 1st, avis and budget are banning smoking in their their rental vehicles. they say the move is in response to customer demands. it is also an effort to cut down on costs since smokers' cars take longer to clean. while the policies at other car rental companies vary, avis and budget are the first to have a complete ban on smoking. >> news 4's helping find jobs for you. the marine corps system command is looking for a few good men and women. the facility's located at qu quanti quantico. interested in learning more about the opportunities available, go to nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you. >> 6:53 fou. it's the weekend. everyone wants to know about the weekend forecast. >> yeah, thinking about football but a little loan secret is the beach is skill great. >> water temperature you mentioned earlier. >> water temperatures at the beaches are still swimmable. as we head into the weekend, finally so improving news but we still have a cloud cover this

morning. there is the live picture from our city camera. great waters of the potomac reflecting that overcast sky, but looking at the radar we don't have any precipitation right now. so we're off to a dry start but we did have some predawn drizzle far to our west and north. maybe some of the roads still wet that way where weather watchers are reporting temperatures around 60 degrees. shenandoah valley and around the blue ridge. closer to washington, low 60s now in prince george's county, in montgomery, arlington and fairfax. and right near the bay it's in the low 60s. bay water temperatures, by the way, are in the low 70s now. around the neighborhood network, chantilly's at a cool 62. the dew point 61, almost 100% humidity. maybe a little light fog around there. look at their monthly rain. only had about 0.4 of an inch of rain this september. as we look into the mountains, it's in the mid-50s there. cool start in the eastern shore. it's in the mid-50s as well. as we go forward over the next 48 hours, looks like we'll still of quite a bit of cloudiness around today but breaks in the clouds this afternoon.

overnight tonight we should be partly cloudy. during the day on saturday, high pressure building from the north should push the clouds away, give us increasing sunshine. we should stay dry into sunday. now here's the forecast for the bus stop this morning. we'll have our temperatures in the low and mid-60s for the next couple of houranyway. and just a light breeze under a cloudy sky. and sunrise is 6:52. right now actually we're having our sunrise. by noon should be in the low 70s. then finally some sunshine should begin to break out by this afternn, highs mid-70s. sunset's at 7:11. overnight tonight, partly cloudy, in the 60s. by dawn on saturday we should be in the upper 5 tomorrow morning. during the day saturday, bright and sunny, afternoon highs mid-70s. and sunny sunday morning, mid-50s in the morning. afternoon highs in upper 70s. back t work and school on monday, could have some rain. here's the forecast for the game at fedex field sunday afternoon. great football weather. temperatures climbing into the mid to upper 0s during the game. should be partly cloudy. then as we get into next week,

tuesday and wednesday, might have some more showers as well. highs in the 70s. then drying out end of the week. that's the way it looks at this hour. >> tom, thank you. >> okay. >> looks good for the weekend. >> jerry, how are things looking on the roadways? >> good news to report. the accident on 66 we've been talking about this morning now over to the shoulder so the lanes are open. so that's a hopeful sign. haven't had in i hang-ups here, just volume on the beltway between college park and silver spring by way of the outer loop. inner loop looks okay. on the rails this morning, metro tells us they're still dealing with red line delays because of the disruption at dupont circle, also at rhode island avenue but those hopefully now will begin to lessen up a little bit. other than that, looking pretty good. marc rail and rve. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. today's news 4 morning person loves brewing up a hot cup of joe. robert williams is the manager of the starbucks store in tenleytown. one of his customers says there's nothing like waking up and looking forward to a tender coffee latte. that customer went on to say

williams is always on the floor talking to customers, teaching his new crew members and working in the bar. if you know someone like robert williams, e-mail their story along with a clear, close-up picture or video to morningperson@nbcwasngton.com. >> a tender latte, hmm? >> yeah. that must be real nice. >> tender pie crust. anyway, something new. >> that's "news 4 today." thanks for starting your day with us. joe's back on monday. >> have a great day and we hope you'll join us tomorrow morning and then monday morning we'll all be back here, 4:55. have a great weekend.