stepping up security. a new warning is being sent out to mass transit agencies. why you may see more cops and be subject to search the next time you raide the rails. >> busd with booze. a local teacher arrested and charged with crimes against a student. what the woman was caught doing with a teenage boy that has her off the job this morning. >> commuter nightmare. no matter when you leave, it seems traffic only gets worse. why so much of the region is in gridlock and it's not getting better any time soon. good morning, everyone. welcome. we're glad you're up with us. i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs on this tuesday, september 22nd, 2009. let's take a live look outside. we do have some clouds above us right now, 67 degrees.

let's see whether we have any rain on the way today. >> tom can tell us. good morning, tom. >> good morning. these are the last few hours of astronomical summer. equinox arrives this afternoon. we do have the clouds but no precipitation. a dry start. you shouldn't have any travel problems weatherwise. we're in the mild to cool mid and upper 60s from the shenandoah valley all the way to the atlantic beaches, and in the mountains this morning we're in the 60s as well. over the last six hours, quite a bit of cloudiness moving in. we've got a persistent east/southeasterly flow that will bring in moisture. there are some showers in the carolinas this morning that may migrate our way by later on this afternoon. a bit warmer tomorrow, smaller chance of a passing afternoon shower. more of the same on thursday. then friday, sunny, highs near 80. should be partly cloudy on saturday. saturday night through midday sunday, a chance of passing showers. that's way it looks. i'm back in another ten minute was another update.

>> see you then, tom. thanks. >> let's go back to ashley linder now and the news 4 traffic network. good morning. >> good morning, barbara and joe. off to a very quiet start. this is the 95 corridor out of springfield. those headlights are coming out of lorton and they are moving at speed. 395's in great shape. 66 toward the beltway and inside it, you'll find traffic moving as it should. no big beltway problems now. starting off pretty quiet. back to you. >> thank you, ashley. >> thanks very much. >> this morning there's a reminder from federal officials that rail and transit systems can be vulnerable to terrorist attacks. >> the reminder's being sent out to law enforcement agencies around the country this morning. the fbi and the department of homeland security warning improvised explosive devices are the most common methods used to blow up mass transit and rail systems. officials are recommending transit system security officials conduct random sweeps at terminals and stations. it's a concern certainly on the mind of commuters this morning and news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live from union

station. she has more. tracee, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. that's exactly what officials are saying. they're saying that mass transit systems need toe on alert. they're saying they should not only sweep some of their terminals and trains and buses but that they should actually board some of these trains as well. this follows the arrest of three suspected terrorists who, sources say, may have been planning an attack using backpack bombs. fbi officials say while three suspects are in custody, there could be other possible terrorists connected to this group. some unidentified official sources have linked concerns that if there are other suspects out there with backpack bombs, trains would be a likely target as well as other forms of mass transit. fbi officials say several individuals in the u.s. and pakistan are being investigated in connection with the case. now, according to the associated press, federal officials are recommending transit systems do random sweeps at terminals and stations and patrol and also board some trains and buses. homeland security officials say

improvised explosives like a backpack bomb are the most common used tactic by terrorists overseas to cause problems, specifically on railways. so this is why they're really concerned about what's going on the rails in places like here at union station. back to you in the studio. >> thank you very much. >> tha you very much. a fairfax county high school teacher has been arrested. police say she was drunk and alone in a car with a 15-year-old boy. 27-year-old valerie roesler teaches at hayfield secondary school. she's charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. police say the victim is not a student there. roesler has been suspended. early sunday morning, an officer found them alone in a car in the lorton area. police say they do not think she gave the teenager alcohol. they are investigating their relationship, though, and more charges could follow. take a look at this sketch now of a man who carjacked a woman and led police on a wild

chase. investigators in prince william county say he stole a woman's suv at gunpoint last thursday. he then drove her all the way into maryland while police chased him. that chase ended with a crash in prince george's county. the suspect then took off running and has not been caught. >> a man suspected of killing a pastor and three others at a home in farmville, virginia, will remain behind bars. 20-year-old richard mccroskey made his first court appearance yesterday. he was assigned to a public defender and ordered to stay in jail until a preliminary hearing in january. mccroskey is charged in the murder of mark niederbrock, a presbyterian pastor. authorities also suspect that he killed three other people, although he's not yet been charged in those deaths. their bodies were found friday in the home of a college professor near longwood university. >> well, the powerful senate finance committee will take up its version of the health care reform bill today. it has more than 500 proposed

amendments to pore over and that process could ke a few days. the president, meanwhile, took his push to late night television, appearing on "the late show" with david letterman last night. among some light hearted moments, president obama talked about the issues including the economy, iraq and the uproar over health care reform. >> the overwhelming majority of people, republican or democrat, i think they just want to see some common sense. they want to see some honesty and integrity in, in washington. i think they're turned off by the shouting and the yelling and they expect more from their public elected officials. >> today, president obama is taking up another cause. he'll talk about climate change with several foreign leaders at the united nations. >> today a public meeting will be held in howard county to discuss a possible tanning bed ban for young people. the proposal put forth by county leaders would prohibit teens under 18 from using tanning

beds. tanning beds are widely suspected of causing melanoma, a deadly type of skin cancer. today's meeting will be held at 1:30 this afternoon at the howard county health department. >> our time right now 5:06, 67 degrees. how soon the senate seat of the late ted kennedy could be filled. >> plus, a group of cops take playing on the job to a whole new level and it's all caught on tape. >> and the rising concern in the southwest that is only going to get worse in the coming days.

good morning. welcome back. free coffee with this news 4 bargain blast for you. >> participating starbucks want to give you a free cup of coffee on your birthday. all you have to do is register on starbucks.com. that's free coffee on your birthday at participating starbucks. this is your half birthday. >> my half birthday. wonder if they'd give me half a cup of coffee. >> who knows? you should try it. >> doesn't hurt to k. let's find out about our weather for today. >> let's talk to tom. tom, good morning. >> good morning. it's equinox day, too. the equinox arrives at 5:18 this afternoon, the final fleeting hours of summer this morning. off to a mild start on radar. no precipitation around the region and temperatures are in the 60s from the shenandoah valley to the atlantic beaches, montgomery, fairfax, prince george's, arlington and washington. right now in the mid and upper 60s.

we've got a lot of cloudiness around coming from persistent southeasterly flow that's bringing in some moderate showers now into eastern north carolina. those may make their way up our way later on this afternoon. otherwise, mostly cloudy, humid with highs reaching upper 70s and a bit warmer tomorr. partly cloudy, low 80s, chance of an afternoon shower, maybe a little bit of thunder. on thursday, a small chance of a passing shower as well with highs in the low to mid-80s. on friday, should be cooler with sunshine, highs near 80. saturday, patly cloudy, highs in the low to mid-70s. chance of some showers moving in saturday night through midday sunday. now let's check the traffic. ashley linder, good morning. how's it looking? >> tom, we are off and rolling. 270, here's what we're looking at right now. this will be the exit at germantown road. volume not a factor. those headlights continuing southbound. it's wide-open as you make your way past montgomery village toward the beltway. either way you choose, whether you're going toward college park or tysons, you'll find your lanes open and at speed.

no problems along 395, 66, dulles toll road, green way or route 7 right now. back to you. >> all right, ashley, thank you very much. >>hank you. our time right now 5:11. the rising floodwaters taking a deadly toll on parts of the southeast. >> plus, traffic troubles are only getting worse across our region. >> reporter: that's right. you think your commute has gotten worse lately? it is not your imagination. i'm megan mcgrath. i'll explain in a live report.

we all know tha traffic is horrible in our region, but it turns out it's actually getting worse. that's why today has been named car-free day. it's a nationwide initiative urging people to ditch their wheels for public transportation. but will it be enough to keep commuters out of their cars today? news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from tysons corner this morning with more on that. what do you think? folks going to leave the cars at home? >> reporter: i know, i know. wouldn't that be a nice thought? we seem to be particularly attached to our cars. if you feel like your commute has been particularly bad lately, it is not your imagination. traffic congestion in our area is actually getting worse. now, there's a study out there that sws that congestion is actually down in a number of major urban areas, but that is no the case in washington, d.c. we actually have increased the

congestion lately in our area and we're now ranked fourth worst for traffic congestion in the country if you can imagine that. now, there are a number of things that are contributing to this. we have all kinds of construction going on in our area, cheap gas, other things. but as you know, it's just really getting lousy out there. oh, the joys of rush hour. think your cop mute has gotten worse recently? you're not alone. >> it's been horrible. five times worse than it was this time last year. i have no explanation for it. >> you leave earlier and earlier, and everybody's leaving earlier and earlier. everybody's just moved things u a couple of hours. >> reporter: so what is going on? how about several major construction projects, a drop in metro ridership, an upturn in the economy and lower gas prices. it's the perfect storm that translates into terrible traffic. >> there's a direct correlation between the price of gas and driving. there's a direct correlation

between whether the economy is improving or not and the confidence that people have about their economic where with all and that will make them drive more. and then number three, the gridlock is more noticeable because of all the construction that's going on. >> reporter: according to federal highway administration, in the month of june, traffic increased by 6.6% in the district, 2% in maryland and 2.3% in virginia. and those extra drivers are hitting the roads at a time whe fewer people are taking metro. year to year figures for the first part of september show that ridership is down. on some days as much as 40, even 60,000 people compared to last year. is it fallout from the crash, the economy? perhaps the time of year? metro officials say they don't know. >> it could be a number of things that we're looking at right now. we just simply don't know. we'll have to take a look at the ridership trends to figure out

what could be going on. >> reporter: and metro says that it also could be cyclical, that they generally see a reduction in ridership this time of year so they're going to be keeping an eye on that. now, in terms of construction out there, with all of the stimulus dollars, can't expect the construction situation to get any better. and we're also seeing some new traffic patterns. 66 and the beltway, for example, they've got a new traffic pattern going on there so that's become a particularly back choke point. unfortunately, there really isn't any improvement in sight. barbara, back to you. >> that's not very good news. thanks very much, megan. >> reporter: sorry. >> i know. if you use the dulles toll road you could experience delays this week. starting today the eastbound right lane between beulah and trap roads will be closed from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. crews will be performing work for the dulles corridor metrorail project. the work should last four to five days.

>> well, today an ethics crackdown could be in the works for the d.c. council. council chairman vincent gray is set to introduce emergency legislation to establish a code of official conduct. this measure would require council members to uphold, quote, unusually high standards of honesty, integrity and impartiality. this comes as council memr marion barry faces scrutiny for awarding a city contract to this then girlfriend. he's also accused of funneling money to nonprofits controlled by his staff. >> maryland's attorney general will investigate the controversial community activist group a.c.o.r.n. governor martin o'malley says they will investigate any wrongdoing after a hidden camera video surfaced showing two a.c.o.r.n. employees in baltimore giving tax advice to a man posing as a pimp and a woman posing as a prostitute. that p that pimp and prostitute were

a.c.o.r.n. activists. the house and senate voted last week to deny federal funds to that organization. >> 5:18's the time. the redskins got a win on sunday but suffered a major loss on the offensive line. >> lindsay czarniak has this morning's sports minute. >> hey there. good morning, everybody. your sports minute begins with the redskins. yesterday the team did get confirmation that they will be without starting right guard randy thomas for the rest of the season. thomas tore his right tricep in the second quarter of sunday's win over the rams. it is likely the redskins will decide their starter later today. backup chad rinehart and william montgomery are two possibilities to fill that roll. the colts were up for monday night football. they beat the dolphins 27-23. manning completed a 48-yard touchdown pass to propel the colts to a victory.

on the ice, the capitals taking on the buffalo sabers in the verizon center. they gave up two second period goals within 11 seconds of each other. the sabers win 2-1. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. >> well, plaxico burres will be formally sentenced today. the former new york giants wide receiver has agreed to spend two years in prison after shooting himself in the leg at a new york nightclub last november. burres had faced at least three and a half yrs in prison if he had been convicted at trial of weapons possession. >> flooding in the southeast is blamed for killing six people, including a toddler. rescue workers haveeen helping those stranded by the rising waters. the atlanta area has received about 20 inches of rain since friday. more storms are expected today. >> well, we're approaching 5:21 now. time again for another look at traffic and weather on the 1s. >> i don't think we're going to see that kind of rain in our

area, tom kierein, what's it looking like as far as precipitation? >> they have had half a year's worth of rain in a few days down there. there is more on the way there. here, we just have a cloudy start. no precipitation on radar this morning. temperatures are mild. we're in the mid and upper 60s. it's rather humid this morning. there's dew around. temperatures in the upper 60s in washington and montgomery, fairfax, prince george's county and arlington counties. as we look at what's been happening over the last six mours, some showers coming into eastern north carolina. those are about to cross into virginia in the next few minutes and head our way perhaps later on this afternoon. a few breaks in the clouds possible this morning. otherwise, mostly cloudy. highs upper 70s today. a 40% chance of a passing afternoon shower. sunrise at 6:56. sunset at 7:05. cloudy this evening, perhaps a lingering shower through mid-evening. partly cloudy wednesday. highs low 80s, rather humid, chance of an afternoon shower or thundershower. more of the same on thursday but drying out friday into saturday. a look at sunday into next week

in ten minutes. ashley linder, how's the traffic? >> taking a peek at the dulles toll road. those are the headlights headed toward the right of your screen. toward the left is 28. volume not a big factor traveling through that area. we're in good shape. 95, starting to see some more volume but everybody's moving at speed. no problems as you leave lorton headed toward 395. 395 to and across the 14th street bridge is wide-open. back to you. >> thanks, ashley. >> thank you, ashley. 5:22, 67 degrees. what we're now learning about how soon the late senator ted kennedy's seat might be filled. >> also, well know that all work and no play isn't a good thing, but wait until you see this group of officers that went a little bit too far, some would say. and 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.

one former miss virginia is proving that butte si more than skin deep. tara wheeler is now a reporter for comcast sports net. she used to have long hair. well, she did just a minute before this picture was taken. last night in arlington she decided to mark childhood cancer awareness month by shaving her

head. she's been raising money for pediatric cancer. she says she's been blessed. one way she can give back is by raising awareness for those who have faced life-threatening diseases. i say she looks pretty good just like that. >> still looks like miss virginia. good for her. >> yes. >> drug bust in florida has landed an alleged drug dealer in jail and the officers who won deducted the raid in some pretty hot water themselves. the officers also found a anyone ten at the wii system and they had plenty of time on the hands so the video shows the officers playing wii bowling for nine hours. they might have gotten some high scores on the video game but they certainly didn't score any points with the community. >> my deputies know that they shouldn't have been playing wii while they were involved in that search warrant. >> citizens are thinking, wait a minute, we're paying these people to go out there and

protect us and here they are playing bowling on our time. >> there is a certain duh aspect to this whole thing. records show the detectives spent nine hours at the drug suspect's home, costing taxpayers $4,000. the county sheriff, though, insist there's always down time during searches and that no tax dollars were actually wasted but he has launched an internal investigation into the incident. >> 5:27 is our time right now. president obama takes a break from health care to tackle a new challenge. >> and why you may notice increased security the next time you ride the rails. >> also, construction projects that brings traffic to a standstill along one of our region's bus

federal officials are worried about a possible terror attack on the railways. what do you see here outside union station? stepped-up security. i'm tracee wilkins. we'll have more on the report coming up. >> dlelinquency of a minor. what a local teacher is accused of doing. >> global gathering. president obama prepares to sit down with world leaders to tackle climate change. well, good morning to you. welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. it's tuesday, september 22nd, 2009. we have -- i was going to say

spring. we have fall on the way today, tom. looking outside, you can't tell but it is out there on the horizon. >> fall is about to spring on us today. we're in the last few moments, i guess, of astronomical summer. let's find out from tom kierein when does the -- when does fall actually roll in? >> when does the equinox appear? >> 5:18 this afternoon. i'll be ready with par hat and noise makers as we get going on this tuesday morning. quite a bit of cloudiness around. mereaks in the clouds to the east. you can see venus. things are rather damp this morning. increased in the humidity overnight. a dew that has formed on many surfaces. temperatures are in the mid and upper 60s around the area. now 67 in washington. low 60s eastern shore, mid-60s in the mountains and over the last six hours, a lot of cloudiness. in fact, we have some showers now coming into southern virginia out of the carolinas. those may arrive here later on this afternoon.

highs reaching upper 70s. mostly cloudy, mostly cloudy tonight and maybe a passing afternoon shower, maybe a little thunder on wednesday. otherwise, partly cloudy and warmer, into the low 80s. mid-80s on thursday. could have a passing shower. friday looks like we'll be mostly sunny, near 80 and increasing clouds saturday. maybe some showers saturday night through midday sunday. that's the way it looks. i'm back in ten minutes with another update at 5:41. >> we don't normally get our first freeze until the end of october, do we? >> not until november or december here around the metro area. >> oh, wow. >> yeah, comes that late. >> how quickly one forgets. seems like -- anyway. we'll wait for november then. >> i always tell her, if she wore socks, her toes would not freeze, either in october or november or december. let's go to ashley linder now and the news 4 traffic network. good morning. >> as we travel around the roadways we're in pretty good shape now. thiss 270 at falls road. we are starting to see the volume increase but everybody's doing just fine toward the capital beltway. moving at speed. again, those headlights are headed southbound.

we do have a new accident to report on the iter loop of the beltway between ten knell worth avenue and route 1 in college park. out of springfield, we do have volume starting to increase but it is not a problem. people are moving just fine, continuing toward 395. back to you. >> thanks, ashley. >> thank you, ashley. this morning there's a reminder from federal officials that rail and transit syste can be vulnerable to terrorist attacks. >> this reminder is being sent out to law enforcement agencies around the country. the fbi and the department of homeland security warn that improvised explosive devices are the most common method used to blow up mass transit and rail systems. officials recommend that transit system security officials conduct random sweeps at terminals and stations. this is, of course, a concern certainly on the minds of commuters this morning. news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live from union station. she has more. >> reporter: this is on the mind of commuters but most importantly on the mind of security officials. take a look here outside union

station. definitely stepped-up security. amtrak police are outside and inside as well. in addition to random searches, the federal government is also saying actually board these trains and buses. this follows the three arrests of suspected terrorists who, sources say, may have been planning an attack using backpack bombs. the fbi officials say while the three suspects are in custody, there could be other possible terrorists connected to the group. some unidentified official sources have leaked concerns that if there are other sources out there with backpack bombs, trains would be the likely target. fbi officials say several individuals in the u.s. and pakistan are being investigated in connection with this case. according to the associated press, federal officials are recommending trance it systems do random sweeps at terminals and stations and patrol and also actually board and ride some trains and buses. now, back out here live again at union station, as you can see, steppedup security here outside

of union station with amtrak police here on guard, also inside of union station as well. coming up, we talked with commuters boarding trains this morning and asked them what do they think about all this? we'll have their reaction. i'm tracee wilkins, live. back to you in the studio. >> thank you, tracee. >> thanks, tracee, very much. navigating interstate 95 in virginia could be a nightmare tonight as well. all lanes of the interstate will be closed in half hour intervals between exits 161 and 163 so that crews can start taking down old overhead signs. two of the three lanes will close at 10:30 tonight. all lanes will then be closed for a half hour after midnight. additional half hour closures will occur between 1:00 and 2:30 in the morning. vdot warns that you could face delays as long as 45 minutes. >> today massachusetts lawmakers are expected to change the law so that the governor can appoint the state's next senator. the state senate will vote on a bill that would allow governor

deval patrick to name an interim successor to the late senator ted kennedy. the house gave the bill initial approval last week. if passed, replacement could be named by the end of this week. >> well, the president is a pretty busy agenda today, including a trip to the united nations to talk about climate change, but back on capitol hill here in washington, all of the attention remains focused on health care. and that's where brooke hart is live this morning. good morning, brooke. >> reporter: good morning to you, joe. that's right. it a long slog starting today for members of the senate finance committee. they'll vote on scores of amendments to the leading measure on health care reform. the president's agenda could depend on whether democrats here can deliver. >> barack obama, ladies and gentlemen. >> reporter: stretching his media blitz into late night, president obama joked on david letterman, showing a lighter side even on weighty charges that race is fueling the outrage over his health care plan. >> first of all, i think it's

important to realize that i was actually black before the election. so -- >> reporter: will all the exposure drive home results for the obama agenda jshg there's climate change. the president at the u.n. today will stress commitment. >> to addressing the challenge of climate change and discuss solution was a truly diverse global audience at the highest levels. >> reporter: but the president's credibility could be at stake. his plan to cap emissions, trade pollution credits and promote clean energy is stalled in the senate. this was troy, new york, yesterday. >> we have to lead on energy. we can't be lagging behind. >> reporter: critics say democrats would stay behind other countries going nuclear for power. >> while we're stuck with a bunch of windmills and solar farms producing expensive, unreliable energy. >> reporter: today, democrats' leading plan to reform health care meets 500 amendments.

>> we've come a long way. we've come a long, long way to satisfying the affordability concern. >> reporter: making coverage more affordable to americans who would be required to buy it also makes the measure more expensive. bound to trade new support for reforms for new opposition. other amendments deal with malpractice reform. those, of course, proposed by republicans. some democrats want to revive the public option in the senate plan. chairman max baucus says it would take about a week to vote on a final bill in this committee. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. back to you. >> okay, brooke, thanks very much. >> the top commander in afghanistan wants more troops but the white house says not so fast. the pentagon has told general stanley mcchrystal to delay submitting his request for additional troops. just yesterday, a confidential assessment he wrote was leaked to the media. it said without more troops in the next year, the mission will, quote, likely result in failure, but the president isn't sure. >> until i'm satisfied that

we've got the right strategy, i'm not going to be sending some young man or woman over there beyond what we already have. >> president obama is pushing for another strategy review before mcchrystal makes his request for more troops. the general is expected to ask for 30,000 new combat troops and trainers within the coming weeks. >> our time right now is 5:39, 67 degrees. a busy metro station in northern virginia is losing hundreds of parking spots. >> also, a troubling trend in the increase of traffic accidents happening across our region. >> plus,he new guidelines about swine flu and how many shots some children will need.

time for weather and traffic on the 1s. it's now 5:41. good morning. 67 in washington. as we look across the potomac river to the east we can see venus showing up in a few breaks in the clouds. we do have some low clouds moving in as well. live picture from the city camera. we're in the 60s aroundhe region now. 67 in washington. quite a bit of cloudiness, too. some showers now moving out of the eastern north carolina region into southern virginia. those may arrive her later on today. we'll have highs in the 70s. it will be rather humid. a bit warmer tomorrow, a smaller chance of a passing afternoon shower, maybe a little thunder. more of the same on thursday. friday, mostly sunny, near 80. a look at the weekend, along with the national travel forecast in ten minutes. ashley, how's the traffic? >> off to a quiet start.

95 corridor in great shape. you'll find all of your travel lanes open. this is the view out of springfield. the headlights continuing toward 395, no problems. taking the beltway, you'll find your travel lanes open on the virginia side of things. no problems between the wilson bridge and the american legion. on the maryland side, we have an accident on the outer loop between kenilworth and route 1 in college park. that's been moved to the right shoulder so right now it's out of your hair, no longer causing delays. back to you. >> all right, ashley, thanks very much. >> thank you, ashley. our time right now 5:43. the new expansion plans that will make traveling overseas a little bit easier at dulles airport. >> plus, a teenager in fairfax county arrested and taken off the job. next at 5:45, what she is accused of doing with a student off of school grounds.

good morning. welcome back. a teacher in fairfax county is in trouble this morning. police say they found her in a car with a teenager drunk.

valerie roesler is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but the investigation will not stop there. police want to know why she was with the student in the first place. jackie bensen reports. >> reporter: this is the police mug shot of 27-year-old high school teacher valerie roesler taken not long after she was arrested and charged with being drk in public and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. fairfax county police say about 1:30 sunday morning, a po troll officer noticed a car in the otherwise empty parking lot of a community center at a townhouse development on gunston hill road in the lorton area. in the vehicle, they say, the officer found a visibly intoxicated roesler and a 15-year-old boy. roesler was arrested. officers learned the boy had left home to meet her without telling his parents. they do not believe she gave him any alcohol. fairfax county public school officials say roesler has been suspended without pay from her job as a teacher at hayfield

secondary school. they say the young man she was found with is not a student there. roesler was released on bond. no one answered the door at her home in the alexandria section of fairfax county. jackie bensen, "news 4 today." >> police say roesler and the 15-year-old met during the spring semester of last year. officials say he does not attend fairfax county public school barbara? >> it looks like hit-and-run accidents are on the rise and aaa calls it a troubling trend. the auto club says police departments in d.c., mded in and virginia are all reporting a spike in hit and run crashes. most of them involve pedestrians, including this one from september 10th when a 36-year-old man was killed in prince george's county. >> you look at the numbers. 19,000 hit and runs in maryland last year. about 8,000 reported in virginia. for that driver not to call 911 but to flee the scene, i mean, what kind of person can do that?

>> analysts say most deadly hit and run crashes happen at night and during the weekends when alcohol and weather often are a major factor in those crashes. >> more than two years after a mass shooting on the campus, virginia tech will test its new emergency alert system, a full-scale test will take place on october the 1st. the test will include messages sent to the school's home web page, sirens and loud speakers, phone calls and text message alerts. virginia tech expanded its system following the mass shootings in april of 2007 when 33 people died. >> today the fight against swine flu comes to george mason university. that's where the obama administration is holding a town hall meeting about how to get ready for the flu season. it will be lows ted by the education secretary and the secretary of health and human services. this comes amid some good news about the vaccine. most of us will only need one dose to protect us from the virus. that includes adults, along with kids 10 and older.

younger children will probably need two doses of the vaccine 21 days apart due to their weaker immune systems, but doctors are also optimistic that the virus doesn't appear to be taking a turn for the worse. >> number one, whether it has become a more virulent, by then it will cause more severe cases and more deaths. we are not seeing that situation now. the second point, we are monitoring the virus and see whether it has developed resistance. >> they say the infection is generally mild and most people recover without treatment. the swine flu vaccine will be available in the u.s. next month. >> new research touting the health benefits of smoking bans. researchers at the american college of cardiology reviewed more than a dozen different studies. they found a common thread after communities banned smoking, the number of heart attacks reported dropped significantly by 36%

within three years. maryland passed a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars in 2007. virginia did the same earlier this year. >> we are moving up on 5:51. actually, got about a minute and a half to go to that time, which is about 12 hours away from the equinox qui equinox? >> that's right. arrives later this afternoon. feeling kind of summery humid this morng. as a result, we've got a lot of dew that has formed. many of the streets, roads and sidewalks are mp. even though we haven't had any overnight rain, we do have that moisture that's forming on many of those cooler surfaces. as we look outside at this hour, there's venus. the eastern sky, a few breaks in the clouds. elsewhere it is mostly cloudy. right now a rather balmy 67 at reagan national. we've had a southeasterly flow over the last number of hours that has increased our humidity overnight. as we look at radar, there is no precipitation on radar around the region but there is a little

patchy fog showing up in parts of prince george's county, perhaps southern maryland near the bay. may be some light fog there, but elsewhere we don't have any fog around. we just have, for the most part, a cloud cover that has moved in. right now the low 60s with some fog around andrews air force base. look at annapolis. they're near 70. the bay water taremperatures ar around 70. a southeast flow across the bay is keeping it milder. farther inland, in charles county, prince george's, low 60s. near 60 around springfield and throughout central fairfax county and arlington, into central and southern montgomery county it's in the upper 60s. but a little farther west and north, in frederick county, how ton, it's in the mid-60s. weather watchers reporting from rappahanno county, madison, green and the blue ridge reporting temperatures in the low 60s. on the eastern shore also in the low 60s. there may be a little patchy fog there as well. out in the mountains it's in the mid-60s this morning where there's some thicker clouds. they've had a few passing

overnight light showers there over the last six hours. here's a cluster of some showers, a little bit of thunder this morning in eastern north carolina. these are heading off to the north and maybe moving up our way toward the metro area by mid-afternoon. a few showers out in western north -- northern parts of west virginia and western pennsylvania. those are continuing to move off to the north and passing west of the metro area. now here's the wider view of what's been happening around the nation over the last 12 hours. more heavy rain now moving into arkansas and eastern texas. later on today, more heavy rain there could cause flight delays from houston to dallas and little rock, as well as around new orleans. maybe an isolated thundershower in florida but some moderate rain here perhaps around the carolinas and up through the tennessee valley. some scattered showers around the great lakes may cause some minor flight delays from chicago and detroit as well as perhaps new york city and up toward boston. and they had some snow yesterday in the colorado rockies around breckenridge. they had up to several inches of snow in the higher elevations there. they could get a little wet snow around denver later on today.

for our region, though, high pressure that's anchored just off the atlantic seaboard. that high is giving us this moist southeasterly flow that's going to keep the clouds in as well as a chance of rain. and off to our west we've got a front that's just now coming through the midwest. that will begin to approach us but not until it looks like thursday. so for today as we go forward over the next 48 hours, where you see the dollar's where we could get a few passing showers. later on this afternoon, overnight, into tomorrow morning just cloudy. during the day on wednesday, perhaps an isolated shower popping up. by thursday morning we still have that front o to our west. looks like that will sweep on through and still give us a possibility of a passing shower. so, for the bus stop forecast here's how we are looking for today. our temperatures are rising into the mid to upper 60s by mid-morning, where they are in the low 60s now. a light breeze. it should be partly to mostly cloudy. but probably no rain this morning. and sunrise is at 6:56. then through the rest of the

day, by noontime we still may have a little sunshine but overall quite a bit of clo cloudiness in the mid-70s. afternoon, highs in the upper 70s. the chance of showers begins to increase until early this evening. sunset at 7:05. our daylight hours and nighttime hours are just about equal. hence, equinox. and maybe a lingering shower through mid-evening. by dawn tomorrow, partly sunny, temperatures in the upper 60s. during the day wednesday, warm and rather humid, into the low 80s. partly cloudy. might get a passing afternoon shower or thundershower. small chance of that. more of the same on thursday although may be a little bit warmer. then drying out thursday afternoon and evening as we have some drier, cooler air moving in. highs on friday with lots of sun, in the 70s to near 80. partly cloudy saturday, highs into the 70s. we may get some showers saturday night and up through midday sunday, it appears now. then drying out sunday afternoon, into monday. that's the way it looks this morning. i'm off to the heather hills

elementary school in bowie later on today. should be a lot of fun. any advice for the students? >> sure. always have some advice. >> pay attention to the skies. yes. >> study hard not your life won't be ruined? >> an equinox does not mean -- >> equal day and night, i guess. have a good day. we'll see you again before that. thank you, tom. >> okay. let's go to ashley linder and take a look at the roadways out there. >> well, good morning. things are in pretty good shape. this is the look at the capital beltway. those headlights -- this is south of route 50 are continuing toward the wilson bridge. fog is a little bit of a factor. the outer loop travelers moving at speed toward college park. we had an earlier accident between kenilworth and rte 1. that's cleared. no longer in the roadway. out of springfield, still moving at speed as you continue toward 395. a little slow out of shirlington but headed to and across the 14th, you'll find your travel lanes open. back to you. >> thank you. >> it is soon going to become

harder to find a parking place at the franconia-springfield metro station. beginning on the 1st of october, more than 200 spaces will be eliminated. this move is part of a garage renovation project that will last at least 18 months. metro encourages drivers who can't find a spot to park for free at the macy's at springfield mall or at other park and ride lots throughout the area. and today international travelers will notice some changes at dulles international airport because the airport authority has finished the first phase of a major expansion project for international arrivals. that new addition adds more than 200,000 square feet to the existing international arrivals building. it also allows customs and border patrol to serve about 2,400 passengers per hour. that is nearly double their current capacity. >> to the money crisis now and a check on how the foreign markets are doing. asian stocks were mixed today. hong kong's hang sang gained 1.06%.

china's shanghai lost 2.34%. japan's nikkei was closed for a holiday. now to wall street where the dow futures are pointing to a positive opening. yesterday the dow lost 41 points closing at 9786 points. the nasdaq gained five points, closing at 2138. >> we're finding jobs for you. the smithsonian is looking for a security guard. this position will pay 33,000 to $43,000 per year. candidates must be u.s. citizens and forore information you can visit nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you. p a reminder, news 4 is always connected to you on facebook and twitter. you can find us on either site by searching news 4 today, one word. >> well, coming up next, at 6:00 a.m., what one redskins player tweeted that has angered many fans this morning. and we all know the metro area is notorious for terrible traffic. well, now it's only getting

worse, and before you head out and hop in your car, find out the reasons behind your congested commute. >> also meteorologist tom kierein says you might want to think about grabbing that umbrella today. we'll have your weather and traffic together on the 1s.

terror warning. this morning, federal leaders are urging mass transit systems across the country to step up security. >> traffic troubles. it's not just your imagination. we have the facts and the figures to prove that your commute is getting worse. and we'll tell did you reasons behind that. >> good morning. thanks for waking up with us this morning for "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs on this tuesday, this 2-2 day, september the 22nd in 2009.

and we have a lot of glow from the city lights out there, but we have clouds with us. 67 degrees. welcome to "news 4 today." >> let's talk to tom kierein. fall starts, of course, today, this afternoon and he can tell us if we're going to have a fall-like day. >> these are the final few fleeting hours of summer. feels summery humid this morning. temperatures are in the 60s. we, as a result, have some fog that has formed. watch out for that. a lot of dew as well so many of the area pavements are wet this morning from just the dew and the fog this formed. no precipitation, though, on radar. as we te a look at the forecast for today we'll have our temperatures climbing into the upper 70s with quite a bit of cloudiness around and a chance of a passing shower this afternoon, into early evening. rather humid into tomorrow as well and a bit warmer. partly cloudy, chance of a passing afternoon shower or thundershower on wednesday. more of the same on thursday but a bit warmer. friday should be sunny with highs near 80. a look at the weekend, that will be in ten minutes coming up at 6:11. watch out for that fog. sort of getting thicker here

over the next couple hours. >> we noticed that on the traffic cameras which we're going to look at right now. >> we will, indeed. here's ashley linder and the news 4 traffic network. >> hey, traffic -- traffic. >> hey, traffic lady. >> i'll take that. getting foggy out there. >> how are you doing? good to have you. >> great to be here. if we're traveling down 270, here you can see there is very little in the way of heavy traffic right now. roads are a little slick, more or less just damp. we also do have fog, as we can see out of springfield, not really impeding those drivers who are continuing toward 395 southbound headed away from us. no problems on the wilson bridge. we had an earlier beltway crash. that's off to the side of the roadway. not causing a distraction at all. back to you. >> now everybody knows our affectionate name we refer to you when we -- >> gosh, i'm blushing here. >> thanks, ashley. see you in about ten minutes. this morning a warning to

commuters that the nation's transit systems are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. this comes after three men were arrested in denver, accused of plotting one of the most serious attacks since 9/11. the fbi is looking into whether it might have involved backpack bombs or trains in new york city. now investigators are urging all transit systems to be alert. news 4's tracee wilkins joins you live from union station with more on what commuters can expect. good morning, tracee. >> reporter: good morning. commuters can stepped some stepped-up security. that's what we're seeing here outside union station. we've been seeing amtrak police officers patrolling out here and their vehicles obviously parked in front of union station. federal government officials are saying that in addition to being on alert and these random searches, they also want officials to actually board these trains and these buses to make sure that there aren't any attacks or any -- or anything for folks to be concerned about. fbi officials say that while the three possible terror suspects are in custody, there could be other possible terrorists connected to this group.

some unidentified official sources have leaked concerns that if there are other suspects out there, they may have backpack bombs and may be targeting trains. fbi officials say several individuals in the u.s. and also pakistan are being iestigated in connection with this case. now, according to the associated press, federal officials are recommending transit systems do random sweeps at terminals and stations and patrol and also board some trains and buses. passengers we talked to this morning say if you have to search, do it. >> i think everybody should be checked, definitely. i mean, yeah. everybody. >> i think there's no alternative, honestly. trains are a pretty vulnerable place compared to when i fly. so it's -- you don't have the same sort of security checkpoints on a train that you do, you know, on airplanes. >> reporter: now, at this point, federal officials aren't saying anything about any specific threat location. they don't know of any. but they are saying that all

mass transit systems need to be on alert. i'm tracee wilkins live this morning outside union station. barbara, back to you in the studio. >> thank you, tracee. and the senate has just passed a new transportation funding bill that includes $150 million for metro. according to "the washington post," metro will receive that money during the first year of federal funding. the bill still needs to be run through the house before being signed by president obama. last year, congress passed legislation authorizing $1.5 billion in federal funds over the next ten years to help metro buy new railcars and make othe improvements. >> well, the president's agenda today jam packed and it has nothing to do with health care. mr. obama will travel to the united nations where he'll meet with foreign leaders to talk about climate change. the president is also trying to broker new mideast peace talks, sitting down with israeli and palestinian leaders. the visit comes -- the visit to the u.n. comes one day after president obama went on "the

late show with david letterman" to push his health care plan. mr. obama told letterman he thinks americans are ready to pull aup of the uproar over reform behin them. >> the overwhelming majority of people, republican or democrat, i think they just want to see some common sense. they want to see some honesty and integrity in, in washington. i think they're turned off by the shouting and the yelling. and they expect more from their public elected officials. >> also today, the president will address leaders from subsaharan africa, talking with them about how to improve opportunities for young people there. >> a man suspected of killing a virginia pastor and three others at a home in farmville will remain behind bars. 20-year-old richard mccroskey made his first court appearance yesterday. he was assigned to a public defender and ordered to stay in jail until a preliminary hearing in january. mccroskey is charged in the murder of mark niederbrock, a presbyterian pastor.

authorities also suspect he killed three other people, although he's not been charged in those deaths. their bodies were found friday in the home of a college professor near longwood university, southwest of richmond. >> more than 100 prince george's county employees will soon be out of a job. they say the county will have to lay off as many as 125 employees. he says he's got to give some workers pink slips because of the recent $22.7 million budget gap caused by reduced aid from the state. the employees will be laid off on november 1st but they will be notified on october the 2nd and then will be placed on administrative leave so they can start looking for a new job. >> well, you may be able to play slot machines in maryland during your summer vacation down the shore next summer. "the washington post" is reporting that maryland officials will award the state's first slot machine gambling license to the ocean's downs racetrack. that's about five miles from ocean city. the track's owner says slots could be up and running by next memorial day weekend.

other bidders are facing a number of issues that could force them to delay plans to open until at least 2011. >> today in howard county, maryland, a public meeting will be held to talk about a possible ban on tanning beds for young people. the proposal put forth by county leaders would prohibit teenagers under the age of 18 from using tanning beds. tanning beds are widely suspected of causing melanoma, a deadly type of skin cancer. today's meeting will be held at 1:30 this afternoon at the howard county health department. >> we're connected to your comme. the lays you can expect this week on the dulles toll road. and a new senator could be named any day now to replace massachusetts senator ted kennedy. >> what one redskin has to say now after calling the fans who booed during sunday's game.

weather and traffic on the 1s. now 6:11. good morning. here's a view of our eastern horizon. live picture from our city camera showing a few breaks in the clouds. you can see venus there predawn glow. sunrise about an hour away. on radar, getting maybe a few sprinkles showing up near front royal and western fauquier county. elsewhere, a little bit of fog that's forming, especially prince george's county and around fairfax county. highs today into the 70s. a pa chance of passing showers this

afternoon and evening. friday, sunny, near 80 and should be mostly dry over the weekend, except maybe some showers late saturday night, into sunday. how's the traffic? >> starting to see a little bit of volume. 270 in the southbound direction, as per the usual, starting to slow around 109 as you make your way toward father hurley. beyond that you're in the clear toward the capital beltway. traveling on the 95 corridor making your way northbound, woodbridge to lorton picking up some volume but closer to springfield, volume not as big of an issue. 395 still in the clear at last check. back to you. >> thanks, ashley. >> the redskins rookie who hasn't even played yet makes a big mistake. he has some tweet words that weren't sweet words for unhappy fans. well, we all know the metro area is no totorious for its terribl traffic. before you head out and hop in your car, find out the reasons for your congested commute.

good morning. welcome back. if you're dreading that long commute to work, you are not alon traffic in our region has actually gotten worse. that's why today has been named car-free day.

this is a national initiative encouraging people to ditch their wheels for public transportation. but if the recent numbers are any indication, that is not what people seem to be doing. news 4's man mcgrath joins us live from tysons corner this morning with more on that. good morning, megan. >> reporter: well, good morning, joe. wouldn't that be nice if people would leave their cars at home for a day and improve things on the roadways, cut down on the congestion? that doesn't seem to be the trend in our area. in fact, quite the opposite. at a time when many urban areas are seeing an improvement in traffic congestion, we in the washington area have actually seen things get worse. oh, the joys of rush hour. think your commute has gotten worse recently? well, you're not alone. >> it's been horrible. five times worse than it was this time last year. i have no explanation for it. >> you leave earlier and earlier, and everybody's leaving earlier and earlier. everybody's just moved things up a couple of hours. >> reporter: so what is going on? how about several major

construction projects, a drop in metro ridership, an upturn in the economy and lower gas prices. it's the perfect storm that translates into terrible traffic. >> there's a direct correlation between the price of gas and driving. there's a direct correlation between whether the economy is improving or not and the confidence that people have about their economic wherewithal and that will make them drive more. and then number three, the gridlock is more noticeable because of all the construction that's going on. >> reporter: according to federal highway administration, in the month of june, traffic increased by 6.6% in the district, 2% in maryland and 2.3% in virginia. and those extra drivers are hitting the roads at a time when fewer people are taking metro. year-to-year figures for the first part of september show that ridership is down, on some

days as much as 40, even 60,000 people compared to last year. is it fallout from the crash, the economy? perhaps the time of year? metro officials say they don't know. >> it could be a number of things that we're looking at right now. we jt simply don't know. we'll have to take a look at the ridership trends to figure out what could be going on. >> reporter: and metro officials say that they do traditionally see a decrease in ridership at this time of year, so that might have something to do with it as well. we also have a new traffic pattern out there at 66 not the beltway. that's become a choke point for a lot of people. gotten very bad in the last week or stwo. and then again with all the stimulus money that's out there, don't expect the construction projects to go away any time soon. joe, back to you. >> megan, thanks very much. speaking of one such project, listen to this. drivers who use the dulles toll road can expect delays this week. beginning today the eastbound right lane between beulah and trap roads will be closed from

9:30 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon. crews will be performing work for the dulles corridor metrorail project there and that work should last four to five days. it will be easier to get through customs. it's twice the size of the old facility and will allow customs agents to process 1,000 more passengers an hour. airport officials hope it will attract more international flights to dulles. it's part of a program that's added more than $3 million of improvements to the airport. maryland's attorney general will investigate whether a.c.o.r.n. broke any laws. the governor says he's given doug gansher permission to investigate the group and prosecute if he found any wrongdoing. this comes after activists shot undercover video of themselves posing as a pimp and a

prostitute. a.c.o.r.n. says those workers have been fired now. congress voted last week to deny any federal funding to that organization. today massachusetts lawmakers are expected to change the law allowing the governor to appoint the state's next senator. the state senate will vote on a bill that would allow governor deval patrick to name an interim successor toed kennedy. if passed, a replacement could be named by the end of this week. >> well, a rookie mistake from a redskins linebacker who is catching heat for a tweet. rookie robert henson posted some controversial comments about booing fans at sunday's home opener. on his twitter page, he wrote, quote, all you fake half hearted skins fan can -- i won't go there -- but i dislike you very strongly. don't come to fedex to boo, dimwits. you notice he didn't put a comma after the word boo so it

actually looks like he's calling his teammates dimwits. the fans came out to boo the dimwits. then he went on to write, the question is, who are you to say you know what's best for the team and you work 9 to 5 at mcdonald's? well, henson has since apologized. meanwhile, on the field, the redskins suffered a tough loss. lindsay czarniak has more on that in this morning's sports minute. >> hey there. good morning, everybody. your sports minute begins with the redskins. yesterday the team did get confirmation that they will be without starting right guard randy thomas for the rest of the season. thomas tore his right tricep in the second quarter of sunday's win over the rams. it is likely the redskins will decide their starter later today. backup chad rinehart and william montgomery are two possibilities to fill that role. on the field last nigh the colts were in miami for monday night football and peyton manning led the colts on a

fourth quarter drive with less than 4 minutes to go to beat the dolphins 27-23. manning completed a 48-yard touchdown pass to pierre garcon to paroropel them to victory. in the third preseason game, theodore gave up two second period goals within 11 seconds of each other. keith aucoin added a goal for the caps but it wasn't enough. the sabers win 2-1. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. >> it will soon be the first day of fall, the 22nd this year. sometimes the 21st, isn't it? >> may even be sometimes the 20th. let's go to tom kierein. he knows all about that. >> it can be on the 23rd as well. >> really? >> this is the 22nd. it arrives this afternoon. right now some low, gray clouds racing over the potomac river. live picture from our city camera this morning. right now on radar, no precipitation locally but way off here to our west out in western fauquier county, east of

front royal getting a few sprinkles there. elsewhere, we also have a little bit of fog that has formed in parts of prince george's county and in frfax county this morning. right now it's 64 in washington. temperatures dropped a little bit. it's in the 60s around the region, weather watchers reporting low to mid-60s. highs today into the 70s. a lot of cloudiness around from ledroit park to new carrollton. might have a passing shower this afternoon, as well as into the early evening hours this evening. then tomorrow partly cloudy, in the low 80s, rather humid. perhaps a passing afternoon or evening shower or thundershower. more of the same on thursday but a bit milder. friday, mostly sunny, highs near 80. here's a look at the weekend. saturday, partly cloudy, into the 70s. might get some showers saturday night through midday sunday. then drying out sunday afternoon, into the first part of next week. ashley linder's here filling in for jerry this morning, checking on the traffic. how's it looking? >> starting to get pretty slow. 270 southbound, the delays right now are between i-70 and truck scales off and on as you can see here at father hurley.

definitely on the brakes. out of springfield we've got problems on 95 headed northbound. slow out of dale city toward lorton. 395 northbound will be slow from duke street headed toward seminary. out of virginia, 66 in good shape as far as accidents are concerned but it will be slow from business 234 in manassas toward 28 in centreville. more delays coming at you from 7100 to 123. then for about the last mile headed up toward the beltway. also as you can see in the springfield camera, fog is a factor so be careful this morning. back to you. >> all right. thank you. >> it is out there. thank you, ashley. our time is 6:23 now. the new cdc recommendations for children getting the swine flu vaccine. and historic late night appearan appearance. president obama's visit to david letterman includes some politics and humor. >> how long have you been a black man?

well, president obama on late night. he paid a visit to "the late show with david letterman". before he arrived on stage, the comedian had already given his top ten reasons for why mr. obama agreed to go through with it. >> that was unexpected, seeing that appear on the schedule. yeah.

i was -- >> well -- >> that's one of those where, you know you ask your advisers, who's responsible for this? >> president obama also talked politics while he was there. just ahead at 6:35 we'll tell you what he had to say when he was asked whether racism is behind some of the opposition to his haet care plan. >> early trials of the swine flu vaccine are going well. we understand and researchers say some children may only need to receive one shot. kids under 10 will probably need two doses, though, those under 10. scientists won't know for sure all the tests are completed. the vaccine is expected to be available sometime next month. >> why the d.c. council is thinking about taking away some of mayor adrian fenty's tort. and a local teacher is arrested. police say she was drunk in a car with a student.

>> the construction project forcing parts of i-95 to close over the next few days.

a local teacher is arrested when she is found drunk in her car. a 15-year-old was with her at

the time, and a police investigation is not over yet. >> terror warning. this morning, federal leaders are urging mass transit systems all across the country to step up security. >> well, good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. it is tuesday, september 22nd, 2009. let's take a look outside. some clouds above us, but some blue sky getting through out there right now. don't think we've come to sunrise yet. another half hour, i believe, before that. but we've seen fog and tom is here to tell us how long that is going to be with us today. >> we have some fog around also because it turned more humid. dew has formed. many of the area roads are damp just from th dew that has formed so watch out. there could be some traction issues on this tuesday morning. on radar we have a few sprinkles just to the east of front royal there in the east side of the blue ridge and western fauquier and southwestern loudoun county, but elsewhere no precipitation at this hour. it's a rather mild morning. we're in the mid and upper 60s around the region. now 64 in washington. by 9:00 should be near 70.

a few breaks in the clouds this morning but a cloudy afternoon and an increased chance of a passing shower this afternoon as highs reach the upper 70s. might have a passing shower through mid-evening as well. by dawn tomorrow, partly sunny, in the upper 60s. partly cloudy on wednesday, highs low 80s. a chance of an afternoon shower or perhaps a passing shower tomorrow afternoon. more of the same on thursday. drying out for friday and into the weekend, although there may be some showers saturday night into sunday. details at 6:41. >> thank you. >> thanks very much. let's go to ashley linder now. she's keeping an eye on traffic this morning. been pretty heavy. any major problems? >> no major problems as far as accidents are concerned but we are starting to see volume rear its head which is almost worse than accident activity because it's just slow and there's no rhyme or reason to it. as you can see here, outer loop of the beltway starting slow out of college park toward silver spring. pace gets better out of bethesda toward tyson. elsewhere around the capital beltway, tho major problems on the inner loop to report now. still clear from braddock road headed toward 66.

out of springfield, as you can see fog is definitely a factor. 95 is going to b slow, dale city through lorton. back to you. >> thank you very much, ashley. >> thank you, ashley. >> build an extra 45 minutes into your commute if you plan to take i-95 in the lorton area overnight. vdot will be closing all lanes of the interstate between exits 161 and 163 for 30-minute periods. two of the three lanes will close at 10:30 tonight. then all lanes will be closed for up to a half hour after midnight. they'll be closed again for 30 minutes between 1:00 and 2:30 in the morning. v drot crews will be taking down overhead signs during that time as part of the i-95 expansion project. >> a fairfax county high school teacher arrested. police say she was drunk, alone in a car with a 15-year-old boy. 27-year-old valerie roesler teaches at hayfield secondary school. she's charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. police say the victim is not a student there, though.

roesler has been suspended. early sunday morning an officer found the two in a car in an empty parking lot of a community center in the lorton area. police say they don't think she gave the teen alcohol. they're investigating the relationship and more charges could follow. a carjacking suspect remains on the run this morning, police hoping a new sketch will help them find him. this is the sketch of the guy who carjacked a woman at gunpoint, then led police on a wild chase last thursday night. the man pulled a gun on a woman in prince william county. he drove her all the way into maryland while police were chasing him. that chase ended with a crash in prince george's county. before police could grab him, the suspect took off running and he remains on the run. >> well, a busy day aheador president barack obama. the president travels to the united nations where he will discuss climate change with foreign leaders. mr. obama will also sit down to talk about peace in the middle east. then the president will address

leaders in sub15 hair tan africa to talk about improving life there. also all of this going on the day after the president went to where no sitting president has ever gone before -- that is, the "the late show with david letterman." brooke hart has the story. >> barack obama, ladies and gentlemen. >> reporter: stretching his media blitz into late night, president obama joked on david letterman, showing a lighter side even on weighty charges that race is fueling the outrage over his health care plan. >> first of all, i think it's important to realize that i was actually black before the election. so -- >> reporter: will all the exposure drive home results for the obama agenda? there's climate change. e president at the u.n. today will stress the u.s. commitment. >> to addressing the challenge of climate change and discuss solutions with a truly diverse global audience at the highest levels. >> reporter: but the president's credibility could be at stake.

his plan to cap emissions, trade pollution credits and promote clean energy is stalled in the senate. this was troy, new york, yesterda >> we have to lead on energy. we can't be lagging behind. >> reporter: critics say democrats would stay behind other countries going nuclear for power. >> while we're stuck with a bunch of windmills and solar farms producing expensive, unreliable energy. >> reporter: today, democrats' leading plan to reform health care meets 500 amendments. >> we've come a long way. we've come a long, long way to satisfying the affordability concern. >> reporter: making coverage more affordable to americans who would be required to buy it also makes the measure more expensive, bound to trade new support for reforms for new opposition. some gop amendments deal with malpractice reform. some democrats want to revive the public option in a senate plan. the challenge for backers of this measure is to prevent a

death by a thousand cuts. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news. >> the top commander in afghanistan wants more troops but the white house says not so fast. the pentagon has told general stanley mcchrystal to delay submitting his request for additional troops. just yesterday a confidential assessment he wrote was leaked to the media. it said without more troops in the next year, the mission will, quote, likely result in failure. the president, however, is pushing for another strategy review before mcchrystal makes his formal request for more troops. the general is expected to ask for 30,000 new troops within the coming weeks. >> well, the d.c. council returns from its summer recess today. the council is expected to vote not to strip mayor fenty of some of its authority -- of his authority over schools. the mayor got that authority two years ago when the council voted to give him five years of control to reform the city schools. some critics have complained about the pace of the mayor's reform plan, though. but most council members appear ready toupport him. mayor fenty credits school

chancellor michelle rhee for making a number of improvements, but he says even she concedes there's more work to be done. also today, the council could take up an ethics crackdown. that's the report from "the washington post." the measure would require council members to uphold unusually high standards of honesty, integrity and impartiality. this comes as council member marion barry faces scrutiny for awarding a city contract to his then girlfriend. he's also accused of funneling money to nonprofits that were controlled by his staff. >> 6:38 is the time. it will soon be tougher to find parking at one of metro's busiest garages. and a developing story in the southeast. deadly floods are covering everybody tire tns and it's only getting worse. >> plus, the new addition you'll soon see on your facebook

time for your weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning. now at 6:41, a live view of the lincoln memorial with a little bit of light fog in the air. it's a rather humid morning, some low, gray clouds are racing through our sky coming in out of the southeast this morning. and right now on radar getting a

few perhaps a little bit of mist, some sprinkles here in western loudoun as well as western fauquier county and up here in southern frederick county, maryland. elsewhere, no precipitation except a shower in garrett county. temperatures in the 60s all around the region. highs today into the 70s with a chance of a passing afternoon shower as well as tomorrow and thursday and a little bit warmer, too, tomorrow and thursday. then friday, sunshine, highs near 80. over the weekend, partly cloudy saturday. may get showers saturday night through midday sunday. i'm back in ten minutes with the national travel forecast. how's the traffic? >> things are starting to slow down around the area. we have an accident 270 headed southbound, was already slow from i-70 off and down toward clarksburg, father hurley. now we have substantial delays approaching shady grove. the accident has the two left lanes blocked. elsewhere around the area, we've got problems. traveling along 95 northbound out of virginia, you're going to pick up some pretty substantial delays as you make your way leaving the lorton area and then

continuing up through woodbridge. pace doesn't get better out of springfield. after that point pretty much the beltway headed toward duke street. back to you. >> all right. thanks. >> thank you, ashley. it is 6:42, 67 degrees. the health care debate heads to the full senate today. the changes it's making to the health care reform bill. and the terror warning for mass transit agencies. why the federal government wants more security for trains and

one of the most serious terror attacks since 9/11. that's what some say three men were plotting when they were arrested in denver. the fbi is looking into whether the plot might have involved backpack bombs on trains in new york city. it's a serious allegation, and federal officials say it deserves a serious response. news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live from union station with more on what commuters can expect. >> reporter: good morning. they want them to be on alert. they want random seahes of mass transit. and they also want to see some security officials actually board trains and also buses. now, of course, this all stems from the arrest of those

possible terrorists and fbi officials say while they're under arrest, there's also the possible threat of other terrorists connected with that group as well. some unidentified official sources have leaked concerns that if there are other suspects out there with backpack bombs, trains would be a likely target. fbi officials sayeveral individuals in the u.s. and also pakistan are being investigated in connection with this case. now, according to associated press, federal officials are recommending transit systems do random sweeps at terminals and stations and patrol and also board some trains and buses. now, folks who we talked to this morning are saying that if they have to be searched, so be it. >> my thing is i have no problem with safety, so if it takes an extra half an hour to be safe, it's cool. >> definitely safe rather than sorry. i would rather be inconvenienced than go through what those people went through on 9/11.

>> reporter: that's basically how everyone felt this morning. they're saying that whatever they need to do to make sure folks are safe, do it. now, a reminder. we have no information from the federal government concerning any specific threat. they just want all mass transit, specifically railways, to be on alert. i'm tracee wilkins live this morning outside union station. back to you in the studio. >> thank you, tracee. and it will soon become harder to find a parking space at the franconia-springfield metro station. starting october 1st, more than 200 spaces will be eliminated. the move is part of a garage renovation project that will last at least 18 months. meo's encouraging drivers who can't find parking to park for free at the macy's at springfield mall or at other park and rides throuout the area. >> happening today. the senate finance committee continues to debate health care. this is the final committee to go over the bill before it goes to the full senate for debate. the committee is more than 500 proposed amendments to consider. the majority of them dealing with cutting spending.

as it stands, the senate's version of the bill would cost about $850 billion over ten years. well, people out of a job will soon be able to hold onto their benefits longer. the house is expected to approve a 13-week extension of the unemployment benefits. that would apply to people living in states where the unemployment rate is at least 8.5%. in this area, that would only apply only to the district of columbia. the unemployment in the district in august was 11.1%. supporters of the extension say 3/4 of workers who will exhaust their benefits this month live in those high unemployment states. the national jobless rate across the country is 9.7% right now. well, the fdic wants more money to protect your money in the bank. cnbc's courtney reagan joins us live with the fdic's options. >> reporter: this one is interesting. the fdic will ask healthy banks to lend it $8 billion to help

safeguard its deposits. "the new york times" says this could be a more attractive alternative than tapping a line of kred witness the treasury department. the fdic is a little reluctant to do it because it may be seen as another government bailout and then create political backlash. and new census data shows that housing is getting less affordable despite the big drop in home prices we've seen over the past year. more than 40 million americans, in fact, spent 30% or more of their household income on housing costs last year. about 600,000 more people than in 2007. and this includes homeowners with and without mortgages as well as renters. as for those renters, their numbers increased last year while the number of homeowners actually declined. and facebook is expected to announce a deal today to share information with nielsen about online ads. facebook will start polling users about display ads that it runs on its sites such as banners promoting new movies. kneel sell will then package

that for advertisers. facebook is second only to yahoo in advertising. facebook is taking names from lots of different industries. back to you. >> thank you very much. >> devastating flooding in the southeast is blamed for killing six people, including a toddler. five of those killed are from the atlanta area and in one case the water swept away a 2-year-old boy, pulling him right on you of his father's arms. rescue workers have been helping those stranded by the rising waters, but they're stretched thin and others have been jumping in to help. >> hollering and screaming. i carried a few people out of my back. >> there are older people in their homes still. >> the atlanta area has received about 20 inches of rain since friday. more storms are expected today. >> boy, they are really getting it down there. no chance of that kind of rain moving this way. >> no, no.

they actually have had a drought in georgia for the last number of years so here now it's unfortunate the drought's being cured by flooding. here, we've had some fog around this morning and a little bit of moisture in the air, but as we count down the final hours of summer here, yes, the equinox arrives later on thi afternoon. look at the snow they got in castle rock, californolorado, yesterday. some of the higher elevations around breckenridge, aspen, toward the rocky mountain national park had several inches of snow. here it is september, the 21st. this happened yesterday. now here on the 22nd, the equinox arrives at 5:18 this afrnoon so, yes, still technically astronomically summer. let's take a look now locally. as we look at our radar around the region now we don't have any precipitation here but we do have a shower way out here in garrett county that's passing to our west. we did have a few sprinkles last hour around the blue ridge but those have since dissipated. we do have a little bit of fog that has formed in parts of prince george's county. the fog is down to about 1/2 a mile around there where temperatures are in the low 60s

as well as down interstate 95 through fairfax, into prince william county. farther to the west, weather watchers reporting temperatures in the low 60s to near 60 shbd shenandoah and around the blue ridge. it's in the mid and upper 6 in prince george's, montgomery counties as well as arlington and out in the eastern shore, the low 60s. mid-60s out in the mountains. we've had a lot of clouds rolling in on a southeasterly flow at the surface, upper level flows coming in out of the southwest. we have some showers, some moderate showers now pulling out of eastern north carolina just now coming into southern virginia. if you're traveling today, well, there could be some flight delays perhaps to a small degree in florida but to a greater degree, heavy rain perhaps from new orleans to houston and dallas. and around little rock. then just some scattered light rain farther to the north with some minor flight delays up and down the northeast corridor as well as parts of the midwest. yes, maybe even a little more snow out in denver later on this afternoon. that may cause some minor flight delays. for us, we've got high pressure anchored off the atlantic seaboard giving us this moist

southeasterly flow. as a result, we'll have an increased chance of showers. here's the bus stop forecast for the morning. mostly cloudy, rather damp. temperatures holding steady in the low and mid-60s with a light breeze. sunrise just a couple of minutes i way, 6:56. for the rest of the day maybe a little sun in and out. overall, cloudy. during the afternoon an increased chance of a passing shower, highs in the mid and upper 70s. sunset at 7:05. this evening, cloudy, maybe a lingering shower until mid-evening. by dawn tomorrow, the upper 60s and partly sunny. partly cloudy on wednesday. a bit warmer tomorrow and rather humid, into the low 80s. might get a passing afternoon shower, maybe a thundershower. and more of the same on thursday but a bit milder. friday, sunny, near 80. here's a look at the weekend. saturday, partly cloudy, highs in the 70s. might get a shower saturday night through midday sunday. otherwise, weekend looks dry. that's way it looks this morning. >> okay. so we can expect perhaps some rain later? >>ater on this afternoon, yes. >> take that umbrella with us.

>> the beginning of fall, but when do we do the fall back thing for the clocks? not until november, right? >> november 1st, i believe this year. >> smack dab in the middle of fall. >> we will definitely find out and let you all know exactly what day that is. tom, thank you. >> let's go to ashley linder. she's looking at the roadways out there. big problems on 270, right? >> yeah, an accident, joe. 270 southbound just after shady grove road. ha accident still holding on tight blocking the two lanes. it will be very slow to get to the accident. also a problem if you're planning on taking 395 into the city today, maybe think again. we have a big problem on the southeast/southwest freeway after south capitol street. we're getting reports that traffic is diverted onto south capitol street. already have delays on northbound 395 that begin after the pentagon. before that point, 395 is slow from the beltway up toward duke street. so pretty slow go around the area right now. also let's take a look out of springfield. look at that.

fog is definitely a factor for drivers. barbara and joe, back to you. >> barely see that. thanks, ashley. >> thanks. november 1st, fall back. turn the clocks back. checking the morning's top stories. a fairfax county high school teacher arrested after an officer found her alone in a car with a 15-year-old. the officer says 27-year-old valerie roesler was very bli drunk. she teaches at hayfield secondary school and has been suspended. she's charged with contributing to the dlib kwent si of a minor. >> president obama will be at the united nations today tot talk about climate change with foreign leaders. the president's agenda also includes a sitdown the leaders from israel and palestine in an effort to kick off new peace talks. >> just days after fbi agents arrested three men in an ongoing terror investigation, federal officials are reminding rail and transit systems that they are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. officials are now recommending that security officials conduct random sweeps at terminals and stations around the country. >> well, today's news 4 morning

person is always commended on her professional attitude. lakira sharp is with the office of tax and revenue. co-workers say she promotes a friendly, helpful, cooperative attitude because she believes you never get a second chance to make a first impression. if you know someone like lakila, e-mail that person's story along with a clear, close-up picture or video of the person to nbcwashington.com. >> some people in nebraska marked the end of summer with some hot dogs but no cookout, this one. it was a ninth annual running of the weaners. the tradition attracts dachshunds and their families from all over the midwest. the dogs are put in several categories, depending on their age. there's the little smokies, the frankfurters and the senior sausages. more than 100 dogs took part in this year's event. >> little legs can motor.

>> the ears are moving just as fast as the legs. >> out the door forecast? >> unfortunately we're not moving too fast on the roads because of some fog around. the roads are sort of damp from overnight dew. it will be rather humid today and tomorrow and a chance of a passing shower both this afternoon and again tomorrow afternoon and perhaps on thursday. but friday sunshine returns with highs near 80. then over the weekend, should be mostly dry except sunday night through midday sunday, a passing shower. i'm off to heather hills elementary in bowie. >> that is "news 4 today." thanks for starting your day with us. >> join us tomorrow morning. we begin at 4:55 a.m. >> bye.