"news 4 today" continues at 5:00 a.m. uniting nations. president obama challenges world leaders to take charge. this morning the commander in chief takes that same message to the g-20 summit. >> future tests. the troubled past of metro's general manager takes center stage. why the head of our transit agency could be out of a job before long. >> survivor. a local boy struck by lightning on a baseball field in virginia. the child's terrifying ordeal and how he managed to live to tell the tale. >> good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's thursday, september 24th, 2009. and we want to talk about what kind of day it's going to be. looking out, feels pretty nice, at least so far. 74 degrees the current

temperature. here's tom with more. good morning. >> yeah, it's still rather humid. we did have a few overnight showers that have passed to our north. those are gone now. in the wake of that, we still have wet pavement. but precipitation not showing up on the radar. radar rain-free now. temperatures around the region in the low to mid-70s, now 74 at reagan national. and on the eastern shore it's near 70. in the mountains n the mid 0660 this hour. over the last six hours, we've had quite a bit of cloudiness but those showers are pushing east. throughout the rest of the day, a little sunshine in and out but quite a bit of cloudiness as well. another warm day but turning less humid this afternoon and maybe a shower predawn tomorrow, then partly cloudy friday and much cooler tomorrow. saturday much cooler, afternoon and evening showers likely. then sunday partly cloudy, highs in the upper 70s. a look into next week coming up in ten minutes. that will be at 5:11. >> okay, tom, thank you.

>> thanks very much. let's go back to ashley linder now and the news 4 traffic network. any early problems, ashley? >> hey, joe. actually off to a relatively quiet start. no big tie-ups right now. as far as construction, the overnight construction a thing of the past. 270 headed southbound here at father hurley, you see a couple cars trickling by. northbound has more volume than southbound. no issues to either. traveling out of springfield you'll find that the volume is starting to increase on the 95 corridor but still moving at speed from fredericksburg to and across the 14th. >> happening today. president obama visits the united nation once again. yesterday the president addressed the general assembly for the first time. he spoke on the issues of peace and security, climate change and poverty. he was not shy about asking world leaders to take more responsibility. >> this cannot solely be america's endeavor. those who used to chastise america for acting alone in the

world cannot now stand by and wait for america to solve the world's problems alone. >> later, iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad said iran is committed to peace but he defended his country's so-called legal right, a likely reference to its nuclear program. he also railed against israel and capitalism, prompting the u.s. and canadian delegations to walk out. >> new charges could be filed today against one of the three men arrested in a recent terror investigation. a shuttle bus driver from denver, his father and a man from new york were all arrested last weekend. so far, they've only been charged with lying to investigators, but nbc news has learned that more charges could be filed this morning. the fbi is also denying a report that new york city city police may have blown the surveillance of one of the suspects and compromised the investigation. a criminal complaint says police were working independently of the fbi when officers talked to a religious leader to gain

information about a suspect. >> happening today. metro's board will meet today to discuss the future of its general manager, john catoe. >> the transit agency has been plagued by problems in recent months, from june's deadly accident to various safety concerns. and now some want to know if catoe will remain in charge. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from metro headquarters in northwest washington. she has more for us now. good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. certainly metro has had a very, very difficult time. of course, there was the deadly crash back in june. also they have had several deadly accidents where metro workers have been killed in recent months. and then, of course, riders have been frustrated by delays because of the ongoing investigation into the june crash as well as station closures here that have occurred lately. now, all of this is coming down range as metro's general manager john catoe's contract is set to expire. his three-year contract expires in january. according to "the washington post," metro's board will begin discussing a new contract during the regularly scheduled meeting

which will be held later on this morning. now, catoe has -- john catoe has the strong support of those on the metro board, but there is growing discontent among riders. some say that there needs to be accountability for metro's problems and that that should go all the way to the top. some riders believe he should not be gich a new contract. there's even a no confidence petition that is circulating out there. again, this is a decision that will be left to the metro board. they have a regularly scheduled meeting. this was not a special meeting that was called to discuss this. they will take it up, though, later this morning and begin discussing the possibility of a new contract. now, again, john catoe has strong support among board members. back to you all in the studio. >> thanks, megan. >> megan, thanks a lot. new today, police need your help in finding a missing girl from silver spring this morning. dah kwon thompson disappeared. she is 5'6" tall. she weighs 140 pounds and has a

butterfly tattoo on her arm. she's known to hang around langley park, land joer and oxon hill. police say if you see her to call the police. >> well, it's been nearly a year since a trail of blood led police to the body of erika yancey. now police have arrested two men in her murder. one of them was her roommate. yancey disappeared last november from dulles airport where she worked. two days later, police found her body. it was in the trunk of her car not far from her apartment in fs fairfax. now police of arrested michael thomas and marcus williams. relatives say yancey lived with williams, his girlfriend and their two children. >> she enjoyed every minute of her life. shlived life to the full less so she did do that. but to have someone taken away from you in that manner, that was the hardest part. >> police have not released many details about the murder. they also haven't given a possible motive. >> our time right now is 5:08,

74 degrees. crime alert. the warning from police about thieving targeting vehicles. >> plus, the daring raid on a bank that seemed more like a scene out of a hollywood movie. >> and how much it's going to cost you to use the intercounty connector once that multi-million dollar project is complete.

free ice cream today in

today's news 4 bargain blast. today is customer appreciation day at carvel ice cream stores. >> everyone who stops in carvel between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. gets a free or ee oh little rounder. that's an ice cream sandwich. that's today only. free ice cream sandwich. >> hmm. little rounder. sounds pretty good. let's get a look at our traffic and weather. let's start with tom. >> i bet lil wayne would like one of those little rounders. we'll need some ice cream this afternoon. another summer-like september day. rather humid under a cloudy sky. now 74 in washington. and as we look at what's been happening over the last six hours, we did have a few showers passing to our north, in our over northern delaware, continuing to pull to the east. later on today, a little sunshine breaking out, highs in the mid-80s. predawn tomorrow, though, we might have a -- perhaps a passing shower. otherwise, partly cloudy and on friday, much cooler.

highs only in the low 70s tomorrow with low humidity and even cooler saturday. a little sun in the morning, then clouding up. could have some saf noon and evening showers. it will be a bit blustery, too. highs only in the upper 60s on saturday. sunday looking partly cloudy. afternoon highs into the upper 70s. and as we get into the first part of next week, it looks like a monday will be partly cloudy, just a slight chance of a shower with highs in the 70s. cooler, certainly feeling like autumn on tuesday and wednesday with bright sunshine in a blue sky. morning lows in the 50s on tuesday afternoon. highs upper 60s. may only be in the 40s to near 50 on wednesday morning. afternoon highs in the mid and upper 60s with bright sunshine. so some real autumn cool weather coming in mid-week next week. now let's check traffic on this thursday morning. ashley linder, how's it looking? >> still pretty quiet, but definitely the time to head in to work or school or wherever you're headed this early morning is now. 95 leaving fredericksburg through woodbridge, toward

springfield as we're looking here, volume not a big factor. we are starting to see some more volume on the roadway but everything seems to be doing fine. traveling 66 in the eastbound direction, no early morning problems. you're moving at speed from gainesville toward the theodore roosevelt. 270 was also a quiet commute out of frederick toward the capital beltway. back to you. >> thanks very much. >> all right, ashley. our time now 5:12. construction on the intercounty connector has begun, but wait until you see how much it's going to cost you to use it. >> plus, a remarkable recovery. after a tragic lightning strike in virginia. next at 5:15, a child talks about that terrifying experience on that terrible day.

it's a recovery that some might call a miracle. two little league players hit by lightning in splvl county. it took the live life of a 12-year-old. in a story we brought you first on 4, john ton coleston has returned home and he's swinging for the fences again. >> reporter: his legs still bear the scars where the electrical charge from the lightning left his body after striking him in the head. jonathan doesn't remember much about that incident, just the moments before.

>> playing baseball with rl. >> reporter: his mother heard the thunder and she remembers saying a prayer, not knowing that her son was one of two young ball players struck and that her son would be the only survivor. teammate khalil matos died on that fateful day at le hill park. jonathan began his journey to recovery. there have been milestones. two weeks after the incident, he spoke again. just rently, he swung a bat again. it was a plastic bat and a whiffle ball but it was a home run. >> i take it very seriously. if we lose, i'm happy. if we win, i'm happy. >> it's been a journey, you know, from the time it happened until now, just watching jonathan, you know, just get stronger and, you know, just work hard at getting stronger. >> reporter: there's been help from his community and from all over, but mark coleson says his son has been his biggest

inspiration. >> maintaining a very good attitude, joking, even at times when he didn't feel well, just, you know, making me laugh and cheering us up. just, you know, being himself. >> reporter: the family says it may be another two years before jonathan is fully recovered, but according to the doctors, there's already been a miracle. >> the main doctor at mcv came in when jonathan was being discharged, and he said i wish i could take credit for this one. god saved -- god did this. >> reporter: and jonathan has his future plans mapped out long-term. >> to move to australia, have 14 kids and have a house that's in a bubble so no burglars can get in. >> reporter: derrick ward, news 4. >> sounds like a great idea. a website has been set up to help jonathan and his family. you can find it at help jonathan.com. joe?

>> got some good plans. construction is well under way on the intercounty connector now. now the maryland transportation authority is letting drivers know how much it will cost to use that roadway. it will be 25 to 35 cents per mile during rush hour. the rest of the tile it will be 20 to 30 cents per mile. here's a catch. if you don't have an e-z pass, you'll pay more. the tolls are going to be electronic and drivers who don't have an e-z pass will get a bill in the mail for the toll plus a $3 service fee. the i.c.c. will run 18 miles from montgomery county to prince george's county, but most drivers are not expected to use the whole thing from start to finish. >> we expect it to be used predominantly for many local trips. i believe we expect the average trip to be about six miles, not ten tire length of the freeway. the charges will be based upon the mileage, to some extent, but there will be, you know, a minimum for a minimum travel. >> now if you open pose this

payment plan, now is the time to speak up. there will be public hearings before a final vote takes place. to get more information on those hearings, head to the i.c.c. project website, that's iccproject.com. >> some preservationists upset about plans to build a walmart near a virginia battlefield are taking their fight to court. last month the orange county board of supervisors approved plans to build a walmart super center in locust grove, less than a half mile from the wilderness battlefield. now some preservationists and residents have filed a legal challenge, saying the decision was flawed. walmart has said the store wil be out of view of the battlefield. >> in sports this morning, the washington redskins are starting to feel the heat and the pressure from the fans. >> and the nationals avoid reaching an unwelcome milestone. dan hellie wraps it all up in your sports minute. >> good morning, everybody. your sports minutetarts with the nationals who for one night at least avoided their 100th loss of the season.

with the game tied at 4 in the bottom of the ninth, how about pinch-hitter pete orr stepping up to the plate and delivering. just deep enough for justin maxwell to score the game-winning run. the nationals come back to beat the dodgers 5-4 in dramatic fashion. dodgers and nats back in action later tonight. some interesting happenings. at redskins park yesterday. jason campbell said everyone on the team putting too much pressure on themselves. clinton portis says everyone in the organization is on the hot seat, including the owner, who's on the brink of losing fans. all of this as the redskins prepare for the detroit lions, a team that has not won a game since 2007. preseason hockey at verizon last night, caps hosting the blackhawks. new capital mike knuble scored two goals. they downed the blackhawks 6-2. that's your sports minute. i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great thursday. >> well, the nation's capitol

could it be the next fashion capital? last night, the district's fashionistas walked the "vogue" runway. michelle fenty guest hosted. the party offered an advance look at this season's hottest looks. >> let's see how hot it's going to get today. we'll go to tom kierein. he's up in storm center 4 telling us about the temperature to cop. >> dress with your best hot look for today. another summer like look in september but this will be the end of it for the foreseeable future. as we look at radar now, no precipitation but overnight we did have some showers passing north of washington. in their wake, still the roads are still wet up in northern montgomery, frederick, loudoun county and howard county, northern anne arundel. watch out. there could be some slick spots from wet roads. elsewhere, dry pavement as we have temperatures now in the low and mid-70s, off to a rather mild and muggy start.

it's still rather humid from the main avenue waterfront to morning side, tysons corner and potomac. we're in the low 70s. 74 in washington. here is what has been happening over the last six hours. you can see these showers that did pass to our north are over southern new jersey and heading out to sea. behind that, the cloud cover beginning to break up a little bit over west virginia, but still quite cloudy shenandoah valley over washington and the eastern shore as we get going on this thursday morning. so for the rest of the day, may see some breaks in the clouds, sunshine breaking out. another summer like day, highs mid-80s but turning less humid by this afternoon and overnight tonight. predawn tomorrow w might have a passing shower and then partly cloudy on friday. tomorrow much cooler, highs only the low 70s. and then on saturday, some sun in the morning, in the mid-50s but then clouding up in the afternoon. a front moving through, likely triggering someassing showers during the afternoon and evening on saturday. a bit blustery, too, saturday. then partly cloudy sunday, highs upper 70s. should stay dry monday into

tuesday and wednesday, much cooler. certainly feeling like autumn by mid-week next week. ashley, good morning. how's our traffic? >> we have our first substantial accident. on the outer loop of the beltway before 355, that's rockville pick. traffic getting by to the left due to that accident activity along the right side. that's going to be the worst of it around the beltway, though. right now you're in great shape headed toward the wilson. springfield through tysons is also a quiet trip right now. back to you. >> that's good news. thank you very much, ashley. >> thank you, ashley. >> 5:22, 74 degrees. it was a scene -- like a scene out of a hollywood movie. a daring bank heist involving fake bombs and a helicopter. >> also, the tragic ending when the driver of a car goes on a collision course with a school bus. >> and a reminder. news 4 is always connected to you on facebook and twitter for up to the minute breaking news, weather and traffic alerts. you can find us on either site by searching news4toda

incredible video from arizona. a car screaming out of control slams head-on into a school bus. a camera on the highway captured the crash. the bus driver tried to get to the shoulder to avoid the car, but could not do that. you can see the bus actually lifted off the ground from the impact. the three people inside the car died.

on the bus, four special needs students as well as the driver and another adult, they are all okay. police are investigating. it is unclr why the driver of the car crossed the center line. >> well, it sounds like the plot of a typical action movie but it was very much reality when a couple of robbers pulled off an amazing movie-worthy highs not europe. the thieves swooped in yesterday moing just before dawn in sweden's capital of stockholm. two masked robbersropped down onto the roof of a cash depot and used explosives to break in. they helped themselves to bags of money before escaping in their helicopter. get this. the robbers even planted a fake bomb at the stockholm police helicopter hangar just to keep authorities from getting in their way. the whole thing took 20 minutes. >> our time is 5:26. new today, a series of break-ins along the c & o canal. this morning, police are urging residents to be on alert. >> what president obama is

expected to address when he goes before leaders at the g-20 summit. >> advice to parents about how many flu shots they and their children will need.

the hot topics on the agenda as president obama gathers with world leaders today. >> breaking and entering. the warning from police about a spike in crime along one of our region's most popular trails. >> decision day. one of the final wishes of the late senator ted knedy will be

granted in massachusetts. good morning to you and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. it's thursday, september 24th, 2009. and there it is, washington, d.c., the nation's capital on a thursday morning. a fairly nice thursday morning. 74 degrees the temperature. tom, can we expect any changes in the weather today? >> big changes tomorrow but today another day of feeling like summertime. push the woolly sweaters to the back of the drawer. you'll need again just cool type of clothing tot keep you cool throughout the day. it's rather muggy. no precipitation on radar. but it is in the low and mid-70s so a very mild start. get away with shorts and t-shirts today unless you're a supreme court justice. out in the mountains in the mid-60s. near 70 on the eastern shore. i bet you they wear that under

the robes. >> i was going to say that, too. >> dew point's near 70. it's rather humid now. it will turn less humid as the day progresses. and as we look at what's been happening over the last six hours, we did have a few overnight showers pass to the north of washington. those are overier see and heading out to sea. much cooler friday and saturday. maybe some showers saturday afternoon and evening and partly cloudy sunday. >> one of my favorite photographs was sandra day o'connor with her robe and flip-flops. >> she was going to the beach. >> yeah, right. >> let's go to ashley linder now, see what the roads look like. >> we are starting off with an accident. outer loop of the beltway just before you meet up with 355. as you can see here out of bethesda, traffic is getting by to the left. we have delays now that are sitting steady around connecticut avenue. not that bad. but it's also 5:30 in the morning so volume not a big factor on that top side of the beltway. else where around town, pretty quiet, no big issues, 66, 395. 95 out of virginia are all

quiet. out of maryland, the b-w parkway, also moving without issue. back to you. >> thanks, ashley. the treasury department is asking the district to restrict traffic on one downtown street for the sake of security. treasury wants to make f street northwest one-way east at 15th street. officials are concerned that a vehicle heading westbound could pick up speed, hop security barriers and plow into the treasury building. >> well, today president obama returns to the united nations to preside over talks about nuclear weapons. it's the first time a u.s. president has chaired a summit-level meeting of the u.n. security council. >> this comes one day after his first address to the general assembly. brooke hart joins us and has more for us. >> reporter: good morning. that's right. in his leading role this morning, president obama is expected to call for and get u in an mass approval of a new u.n. resolution. it would call for stepped-up efforts to stop the spread of

nuclear weapons. >> we are responsibly ending a war. >> reporter: after his debut speech at the u.n. with iran's ahmadinejad watching, president obama today tries to turn his warning into u.n. action. >> the governments of iran and north korea choose to ignore international standards then they must be held accountable. >> reporter: in meetings last night, president obama won new support from russia to back sanctions for iran if nuclear talks fail next month. the shift comes a week after the u.s. scrapped plans for missile defense in europe. in all, six nations agreed to the tougher line on iran. >> we have consistently said that iran is entitled to peaceful nuclear power. they are not entitled to a nuclear weapons program. >> reporter: on the sidelines of today's security council

session, u.s. diplomats for the first time in a decade will join talks to strengthen a global ban on nuclear testing. it's a stark change from george bush, a skeptic of world treaties. outside the u.n., thousands demonstrat against ahmadinejad who, inside, defended his election victory. glorious, he called it. >> do you solemnly swear. >> reporter: later today in pittsburgh, police expect protests, too, ahead of the g-20 summit. shop owners boarded up stores, officers ramped up patrols in case of trouble. antonight president obama and first lady michelle obama will host g-20 leaders for a working dinner. it is the third g-20 summit since the start of the global down turn almost a year ago. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you, brooke. >> thanks very much. >> now to a crime alert along the c & o canal. police are warning about a rash of break-ins.

the thief strikes during weekends on macarthur boulevard in potomac and the way he goes about his crimes is a bit unusual. kimberly suiters joins us live from potomac with a story that is new today. kimberly? >> reporter: good morning, barbara. there are a lots of things about this crime that make it unusual. first of all, only happening on weekends, only targeting one car a day. and in this location, the 10800 block of macarthur boulevard. it's across the street from the old anglers inn. we understand that people who use the restaurant parking lot are not being targeted. again, people using the restaurant not being targeted. it's across the street, the people who are parking there to use the c & o canal and are going for long walks, jogs, bike rides, et cetera. another unusual aspect about these break-ins is that the thief targets these cars between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., just on saturdaysnd

sundays. montgomery county police have released photographs of the man they believe is responsible for the crimes. the first shot is from a surveillance camera from a giant. the thief basically smashes a window, steals wallets and then he uses your credit cards in stores in maryland and virginia. the second surveillance shot is from a cvs. these crimes have been ongoing since reports started coming in back in march. again, striking on saturdays and sundays between 8:00 and 4:00, just in this area along the c & o canal. so, montgomery county police want you to be on the lookout. they want you to leave your belongings at home. they want you to lock up your vehicles. again, if you park in the old angler inn parking lot to use the restauranteur ae not being targeted. it's just people who are using the canal. finally, if you recognize the man in those surveillance pictures, call montgomery county police right away. reporting live in potomac, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. back to you. >> thank you, kimberly. >> right now the floodwaters in

georgia are receding but the massive cleanup effort is just beginning. the president has assured state lieders there that federal money is on the way. ten deaths in georgia and alabama are blamed on the floods. officials say there are dangers lurking in the water including debris and bacteria. out in southern california, they're in desperate need of rain. windy, dry conditions have helped fan the flame of another wildfire. 's grown to 25 square miles now. this fire's burning about 40 miles north of los angeles. firefighters are trying to protect rural homes and ranches there. the cause of the fire remains under investigation. >> there are some troubling claims about airline safety as congress looks into a deadly plane crash. continental connection flight 3407 crashed in buffalo, new york, in february. the crash prompted criticism of the training, pay and working conditions of flight crews at regional carriers. yesterday, a union official told

congress those problems continue. the official said that some regional airlines are pressuring pilots to fly even if they're too sick or too tired. the airline cited includes manassas-based colgan air which operated flight 3407. they're denying the allegations. >> our time is 5:37, 74 degrees out there. promising news about the battle against aids. >> also, d.c. police make a major bust in the war on gang violence. >> plus, what a new study says is the best defense for fighting the seasonal flu.

in today's news 4 bargain blast, you can get free ice cream and help a good cause. sounds good, hp? cold stone creamery is hosting the worls largest ice cream social tonight. >> i'll be one of the world's largest ice cream socialists, i guess. everyone gets a free creation when you make a donation to the make a wish foundation. that's happening today from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. >> will you be a socialite, too, tom, get out there and get some ice cream? >> it will be dripping off my elbows. we want to have some ice cream by this afternoon, though. summer like september day under way. we have humidity in the air this morning. it's in the low and mid-70s all around the region, weather watchers are reporting from the shenandoah valley to the northern neck to arlington. the view from space showing a

lot of cloudiness. over the next several days, we'll have clouds in and out. for today, partly sunny, highs again mid-80s and turning less humid this afternoon. predawn tomorrow might have a shower, then partly cloudy and much cooler on friday with a northeast breeze, highs reaching the low 70s. going to be a bit blustery with a southeast wind on saturday. sunny in the morning, only in the 50s. but afternoon highs only the upper 60s with increasing clouds. another front coming through may trigger some passing afternoon and evening showers on saturday. but they should be leaving by sunday morning. then partly cloudy on sunday with highs in the upper 70s. here's a look into next week. certainly turning autumn like. you can get the woolly sweaters back to the front of the drawer by tuesday, into wednesday. it will be cool in the mornings, only in the 40s and 50s. afternoon highs only the 60s with bright sunshine. i'm back with the national travel forecast and the bus stop forecast iten minutes. ashley linder, how's the traffic? >> moving toward progress on the outer loop of the beltway. as you can see here, just before

355 the accident activity is along the right side of the roadway, now just blocking a single right lane. but as you see volume still a factor. it will be slow from georgia avenue now to get beyond connecticut avenue. if you're traveling along66 this early morning, no big surprises for you. wide-open. no issues inside the belt away as you make your way from that point to and across the roosevelt bridge. back to you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. our time right now 5:43. the new developments in the fight against a deadly disease. >> plus, one of the final wishes of senator ted kennedy has been grand. next at 5:45, the big announcement

happening today, a long-time friend and former staffer of ted kennedy's expected to be chosen toeplace him in the senate. deval patrick will announce his choice at a news conference today. tuesday, the massachusetts state senate gave him the power to

appoint a successor to kennedy. the boston globe reports that kennedy's sons are supporting former democratic national committee chair paul kirk as the likely choice. michael dukakis has also been mentioned. the governor, though, isn't giving anything up at this point. >> well, i don't want to get into any particular names but those are good people, and there are other good people. >> are you going to have your appointee promise that he or she will not run in the special election? >> absolutely. absolutely. i think that's just a matter of fairness for the competitors in the special election. >> that special election for a permanent replacement will take place in january. patrick will announce kennedy's replacement this morning at 11:00, so te in to "news 4 midday" at 11:00 for full coverage of the developing story. an emotional john travolta told a jury about his efforts to save his son's life. travolta testified against two people accused of blackmailing him for $25 million. the actor and his wife walked

into a courtroom in the bahamas yesterday. travolta described the moments before his son's death there while on vacation. he said he performed cpr on his autistic son after a nanny alerted him that jet was not responding. jet later died from a seizure. the defendants in the blackmail trial are accused of trying to get money in exchange for pictures of travolta's dying son. >> officials in the district have just made a major strike in the war on gang violence after arresting four men they say terrorized the city. a grand jury handed up a 92-count indictment against the men yesterday. according to that indictment, all four were members of a gang called the todd place crew. it also says they were involved in a deadly wave of violence that began in april of 2008 and terrorized residents alongorth capitol street in northeast washington. >> they happened day after day after day. sometimes there wasn't even 24 hours between the retaliation to the original incident.

>> investigators say there were more than a dozen victims. some simply caught in the cross you fire. prosecutors hope these indictments and new laws will help keep the streets safe. >> a teen has been arrested for dealing drugs to students at a bethesda high school. 18-year-old former wall tour johnson student was arrested on tuesday. investigators say he used text messages to set up deals outside the school. police had put him under surveillance after getting a call from a school skourt off e security officer who found his activities suspicious. officers say they found mir with an a, ecstasy and about $1,200 in cash in his suv. >> a guilty plea from a bethesda teen who prosecutors say had a bedroom bomb factory. in july of last year, police found weapons and bomb-makg ingredients at 19-year-old collin mckenzie-gude's home. they say he had a fake cia i.d. card and a map.

>> when you're in possession of something, you're in possession of something. it's not a matter of who they belonged to, who purchased them. this was an event that he participated in by the mere fact that he possessed them. they were in his house. >> mckenzie-gude will be back in court for sentencing early next year. he faces up to ten years in prison. >> enough is enough. that's the word from d.c. delegate eleanor holmes norton. she is fed up with what she's calling excessive security in the district. d.c. is used to having a heavy police presence. there are also security barriers designed to deter terrorists, but norton says those measures are also keeping the public out. she's calling for measures to make them more accessible to taxpayers. >> time for weather. it is 5:49. here's tom. >> good morning. we did have a few passing showers overnight so some of the roads are a little bit damp just to the north and west of

washington this morning. so you might want to allow yourself a little extra time, take it easier. fender-bender kind of road conditions up that way. generally dry pavement around washington and points south and east. there is the washington skyline. it's all cloudy on this thursday morning. a rather muggy, almost summer like morning here early fall. now 74 in washington. as we look at the radar, we don't have any precipitation around although we did have those overnight showers exiting over the northern part of the eastern shore over the last hour and those are continuing to move away and heading off to the east. now as we look at the other temperatures weather watchers checking in from the shenandoah valley to the northern neck to the washington suburbs. we're right near 70 degrees. in washington, mid-70s. right near the bay it's in the mid-70s as well. bay water temperatures are still around the low 70s and around the shenandoah valley, it's still a muggy morning there but we do have some drier air beginning to move into the mountains at this time, where the temperatures are down into

the mid-60s. and it's generally in the 70s, though, from the shenandoah valley to the atlantic beaches. these are the current dew points. a steamy 70. thos sort of like mid-summer like humidity, as well as on the eastern shore and southeastern virginia. we have some drier air. dew points in the low 60s in western pennsylvania, into west virginia. that will be swly filtering in as the day progresses. it will be turning less humid as we get into the rest of the afternoon. now let's take a look at the view from space over the last six hours. we do have a few breaks in the clouds here just to our west. as we look at the national forecast across the country, you shouldn't have any travel problems along the west coast, from the pacific northwest down to the deserts. however, there is a storm system spreading some rain through the central plains and the upp midwest and some storms again may unload unneeded rain through georgia, alabama and through florida. could have flight delays there, as well as from new orleans to houston th some hv i downpours and storms.

maybe some showers in the carolinas. elsewhere, the northeast corridor's looking dry. shouldn't have any travel problems between here and boston. our part of the world, we've got this frontal system here out in the midwest that is just now coming in to the mountains with the drier air. it will be slowly filtering in today. it will push this humidity farther to our south so things should improve comfort wise as we get into the afternoon. as we go forward over the next 48 hours, where you city color is where we could get a few passing showers. we may have some predawn tomorrow morning to the south of washington. the rest of the day on friday we'll have a northeast wind bringing in some cooler weather and that is going to keep things comfortable for tomorrow. much cooler. then as we get into saturday morning we may have some clouds returning. here's a front in the midwest. looks like this rain may be mong in by saturday afternoon, into saturday evening but should be gone in time for sunday morning. so here's how we're looking. the bus stop forecast. we will have our temperatures

holding steady in the low and mid-70s over the next several hours. it will be mostly cloudy and rather humid. dress accordingly off to work and school this morning. for the rest of the day, upper 70s by 9:00. a little sunshine in and out. should have some sun in and out through mid-afternoon as well. highs reaching the mid-80s. turning less humid by this afternoon and then cloudy from late afternoon all the way into this evening. our sunrise this morning is 6:58. the sunset at 7:02. as we get into the late evening hours, the clouds should thicken and lower a bit. we may he a few showers predawn tomorrow, as i mentioned, perhaps to the south of washington and moving away and drying out on friday. much cooler. highs tomorrow only the low 70s. then even down right chilly by saturday morning. should be mostly clear but in the mid-50s. clouding up during the day. and a likelihood of afternoon and evening showers on saturday. highs only the upper 60s. then warming back up on sunday, partly cloudy, into the upper

70s. should buy good weather around the region and feeling autumn like as we get into mid-week next week with highs only in the 60s. morning lows in the 40s and 50s by mideek next week. i'm back with frequent updates throughout the morning. >> okay. we'll be looking forward to seeing you again soon. >> let's go to ashley linder and save my voice, ashley, please. help. >> here i come to save the day. >> thank you. >> well, on the outer loop of the beltway, the accident activity or the earlier car fire actually before 355 is still along the right side of the roadway. they're in the cleaning stages. only one right lane blocked. it will be slow from georgia avenue to make it beyond 5 but beyond that you're in great shape. out of springfield, a little bit more volume in the northbound direction. those continuing toward 395. still no major slowing occurring yet. as you travel down the 270 corridor, we do have a little bit of volume around 109 so add a couple minutes to your commute. as you can see, it's not too bad

headed toward the beltway right now. back to you. >> thanks, ashley. >> thank you, savior. thanks very much. news for your health, could it be an aids vaccine? researchers are optimistic after groundbreaking results of a new trial for the first time. an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with hiv. it slashed the risk by more than 30%. the results are part of the world's largest aids vaccine trial. it was sponsored in part by the united states army. it involved more than 16,000 volunteers in thailand. researchers say there's more work to do but these are promising results. >> a new study out examines the effectiveness of shots compared to nasal spray when it comes to battling various strains of the flu. a new study suggests in the future, your age might determine how you get the vaccine. >> reporter: adults can best prevent themselves against the regular seasonal flu by getting shots instead of a nal spray.

that is the finding of a new study just published in the new england journal of medicine. >> they both prevent influenza, but in our studies, in healthy adults, the injected vaccine worked better than the nasal spray vaccine. >> reporter: the university of michigan study found nasal spray was about half as effective as the shots for adults. 68% effectiveness for the shot. 36% for the nasal spray. but in children -- >> the nasal spray vaccine may actually work better than the injected vaccine. >> reporter: nasal spray maker met i mun says other studies have shown its product to be just as effective for adults and children. >> for adults, the jury is out. in children, however, we have consistently seen that flu mist recipients or children receiving flu mist get less influenza than those receiving the flu shot. >> reporter: the michigan study done during the flu season two years ago suggests might not get the same kind of protection from

live virus nasal sprays because they've been exposed to different flu strains befo. because most young children have not been exposed, their immune system has a stronger response. because the h1n1 swine flu virus is completely new to all age groups, the head of the study believes adults and children could be protected by either a shot or a nasal spray. >> i would take the one that's available first. >> reporter: encouraging news with the first h1n1 vaccines just weeks away. brian moore, nbc news. >> that was brian moore reporting. in all, the u.s. government has ordered more than 250 million doses of h1n1 vaccine. >> news 4 is always looking for jobs for you. right now the smithsonian is looking to hire security guards. applicants should have one year of relevant experience. the deadline to apply is next wednday. for more details, visit 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. >> coming up, all new at 6:00 a.m., tylenol issues a voluntary recall for some of its children products.

global appeal. president obama will again be on the world stage today focusing on nuclear issues. then he heads to pittsburgh for the g-20 summit. good morning, everyone. 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 thursday, it's the 24th of september, 2009. looking outside we see the capitol dome all lit up and some clouds above us. still feels like a summer day out there, though. humid. 74 degrees. >> tom's here to tell us what we

can expect for the rest of the day and a look ahead to the rest of the week. >> still cloudy. we did have some overnight showers. if you live to the north of washington your street and sidewalk may be wet from some of the overnight showers. no precipitaon now. here's the forecast for today. by 9:00 we should see some sunshine. it will be in the upper 70s. sunrise is at 6:58. then by noon, the low 80s and feeling like summertime in september again today. but this is the last of it. i don't think we're going to see the 80s at least for the foreseeable future after today. highs reaching mid-80s. then by 6:00 should be cloudy, in the low 80s and cloudy tonight, in the mid-70s by midnight. in fact, it will be turning less humid by this afternoon. a little disturbance passing to our south may trigger a shower predawn tomorrow. much cooler tomorrow. highs only low 70s. and cool on saturday, too. could get some afternoon and evening showers and drying out on sunday. a look into in ex week coming up in ten minutes at 6:11. stay tuned. >> thank you, tom. >> let's go to ashley linder now

and the news 4 traffic network. got problems out there? >> we do. on the outer loop of the beltway, this car fire issue we had just before 355 is still along the right side of the roadway and that's why we've still got delays as you make your way from the silver spring area headed toward 355. anything after that point, doing just fine. out of virginia, we're in relatively good shape. 95 northbound between 610 and quantico, disabled vehicle crowding the left lane. a new problem on 66 eastbound. before 29 in centreville, accident activity blocking the two lanes. back to you. >> that is an ooh. >> back to you in ten minutes. president obama will visit the united nations again today where he'll preside over talks about nuclear wep opposite and he'll be making history as the first u.s. president to chair a summit-level meeting of the u.n. serity council. yesterday the president addressed the genal assembly for the first time.

he spoke on the issues of peace and security, climate change and poverty. he also wasn't shy in asking world leaders to take more responsibility. >> this cannot solely be america's endeavor. those who used to chastise america for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for america to solve the world's problems alone. >> after today's talks, president obama will travel to pittsburgh to attend the g-20 summit. actually goes there today. police there are already out in foe, bracing for dozens of planned protests. >> well, one leader who stole the spotlight from president obama was libyan leader moammar gadhafi who accused the united nations of committing terrorism. he made the allegations in a long, rambling speech yesterday. for an hour and a half, he railed against the u.n. he said the security council should be called the terror council. using handwritten notes from

paper, looked like it was torn out of a notebook, he said smaller countries are treated as second class nations and even ripped up a copy of the united nations charter to make his point. inside, half the delegates walked out. outside, angry protesters should gadhafi should not have been allowed to speak at all. >> he's not only dangerous against us, he's dangerous in this world. look, he killed innocent people inhe airplane and he paid them money. and they -- and they let him go. >> go back to square one. >> many people are angry that ka gaffe i held a homecoming celebration for the lockerbie bomber who was released from prison because he's dying of cancer. >> the fight over plans to build a walmart near a virginia battlefield is heating up again. last month, the orange county board of supervisors approved planto build a walmart super center in locust grove, less than a half mile from the wilderness battlefield. now some preservationists and residents have filed a legal challenge saying the decision was flawed.

walmart has said the store will be out of view of the battlefield. >> a thief has been bus any potomac. one man suspected in a rash of car break-ins. he strikes during the weekends on macarthur boulevard in potomac. police think they have caught him on camera and kimberly suiters is live this morning in potomac with more. >> reporter: good morning, joe. there's a 10800 block of macarthur boulevard ring a bell for you? if you're not sure where that is, this is where the thief has been targeting cars. across the street from the old anglers inn. there is a parking lot there. we're told by montgomery county police the thief is not targeting people who are going to the restaurant. he's going after the cars across the street for people who are exercising along the c & o canal. a couple unusual aspects about these crimes. they're happening to weekends only, on saturdays and sundays. they're happening between, oh, about the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. now, montgomery county police

released two photographs of the man they believe is responsible for these crimes. this first shot is from a surveillance camera from a giant food store. the thief basically smashes windows, steals wallets and then uses the stolen credit cards in stores in maryland and virginia. the second surveillance shot comes from a cvs. now, these crimes have been ongoing since march. that's when reports started coming on, all the way through september. again, happening on saturdays and sundays between 8:00 and 4:00 and usually the thief just hits one car a day, perhaps not to arouse suspicion. smash, grab, run, then go spend your money. so police want you to be on the lookout. they want you to not bring your belongings to this parking lot here at the c & o canal. they want you to lock up. if you recognize the man, of course call montgomery county poli. reporting live in potomac, i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. back to you. >> kimberly, thanks very much. >> we are kenconnected to your commut soon there will be a new option

for drivers. construction is well under way on the intercounty connector. now we know what it will cost you to drive on that road. it will be 25 to 35 cents per mile during rush hour. the rest of the time it will be 20 to 30 cents per mile. the tolls will be electronic and drivers who don't have e-z pass will get a bill in the mail for the toll, plus a $3 service fee. the icc will run 18 miles from montgomery county to prince george's county. and now to a developing story in silver spring. that's where police are searching for a teenage girl who disappeared from her foster home. daquon thompson is 14 years old. she was last seen more than a month ago at her home on bell preroad. thompson is 5'6", she weighs 140 pounds and has a butterfly tattoo on her arm. she's known to hang around langley park and oxon hill. if you see her, police please call police. >> a 40-year-old woman has been charged with punching a student at a maryland high school.

this happened at a high school in frederick. police say the woman was at the school's office after learning that her teenage daughter had been in a fight. while there, she allegedly punched a 16-year-old boy whose gi girlfriend was involved in the fight. >> our time is now eight minutes after 6:00. redskin players talk about the pressure they under to beat the winless lions. using machine guns and helicopters, thieves pull off one of the world's biggest bank heists. >> ladies, listen up. the dirty secret found in and on your purse that can be making you sick.

how about some free ice cream? that's in today's news 4 bargain blast. today is customer appreciation at carvel ice cream stores. everyone who stops in between 3:00 p.m. this afternoon and 7:00 p.m. tonight will get a free oreo little rounder ice cream sandwich. that's today only. >> if you get one, you'll be a little rounder at the end of the day. let's go to tom kierein now at 6:11. >> hey, tom. >> and you may want to scream for ice cream by mid-afternoon. it's going to feel like summertime again later on today. right now it's cloudy and humid and around the region we have temperatures in the low and mid-70s. does feel more like a mid-summer morning than early autumn. now 73 in washington, from tenleytown to capitol heights,

arlington and wheaton, a lot of cloudiness. it's going to stay mostly cloudy for the effects couple of hours. a little sunshine should be breaking out by late morning and into the afternoon as highs reaching mid-80s. turning less humid later on today, maybe a predawn shower tomorrow. partly cloudy friday, highs only low 70s. much cooler saturday, likelihood of afternoon and evening showers and partly cloudy sunday. a look into next week in ten minutes. ashley, how's the traffic? >> out of virginia, we have a problem. not here. 95 is in relatively good shape. but everybody's movg just fine continuing toward 395. no issues in your way. 66 headed eastbound, however, before 29 in centreville, accident activity blocking the two left lanes. you will be on the brakes from about business 234 until after the accident. and then after that point, it's going to be slow off and on from 50 to 123 and also we have 66 eastbound slowing at the beltway. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you very much. new today, tylenol issues a

voluntary recall for some of its children's products. >> and the emotional testimony from john travolta in a trial centering around his son's death in the bahamas.

metro's board will meet today and one topic up for discussion is the future of its general manager. the transit agency has been plagued by problems in recent months, from june's deadly accident to various other safety concerns. now some want to know if john catoe will remain in charge. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from metro headquarters in northwest washington this morning. she has more on this for us. megan? >> reporter: well, barbara, it's been a very difficult time for metro. of course, there was the deadly crash back in june. there have also been several deadly accidents in the last few months in which metro workers have been killed. riders have been frustrated by delays, and station closures. there's even talk of a possible fare increase. now, all of this is coming down range as metro's general manager john catoe's contract is set to

expire. that three-year contract is up in january. and according to "the washington post," metro's board willegin discussing a new contract during their regularly scheduled meeting that takes place later today. now, catoe has strong support from those on the metro board, but there is growing discontent among riders. some say that there needs to be accountability with all the problems that have been seen with metro over the last several months, that somebody needs to be held accountable. many believe john catoe is that person. there's even a no con iffidence petition that's circulating. john catoe has more than 30 years of experience in public transportation. again, he has strong support among board members here. they're going to begin to discuss this contract later today. i should mention this is a normally scheduled metro board meeting. this is not a special meeting that has been called to discuss this matter. but they will begin to take up john catoe's future later today.

back to you, barbara. >> thanks, megan. >> new today, could it be an aids vaccine? researchers are optimistic after groundbreaking results of a new trial. for the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with hiv. it slashed the risk by more than 30%. the results are part of the world's largest aids vaccine trial. it was sponsored in spapart by united states army. it involved more than 16,000 volunteers in thailand. researchers say there is still more work to do but they say these are promising results. well, an important recall for parents to know about. the makers of tie len ol are voluntari voluntary recalling some batches of tylenol infant drops. the company has not said whether any children have actually gotten sick. if you did purchase one of these products or have any questions about this recall there is an 800 number to call. here it is. 1-800-962-5357. actor john travolta is

expected to stake the stand in a bahamas courtroom again today. the actor and his wife kelly preston arrived yesterday to begin testifying against two people accruused of blackmailin them for $25 million. it's the first time they've been back since their son jett died of a seizure. in the courtroom, travolta described the moments before his son's death. he said he performed cpr after a nanny alerted him he wasn't responding. the defendants are accused of trying to get money in exchange for pictures of travolta's dying son. >> where you go, it goes. purse are are a must-have for most women but you may be carrying around a lot more than you think, more than just your wallet and makeup. dirty purses, a problem most of us never even think about. kimberly suiters shows us what exactly may be lurking in your purse. >> reporter: when a purse is not in your hands it's in a shopping cart where a child in diapers

likely sat, or the sticky floor of a movie theater. even worse, the tile of a public rest room. so what exactly is on the bottom of a purse? could it make you sick? >> i don't know and i don't think i want to know. >> reporter: a few brave women agreed to have their purses tested at a lab, admitting they've never thoughtuch about where they put their purses. do you set it places where you have food later? >> yes. >> unfortunately, yes o the kitchen counter, on the stove, sometimes on the table. >> reporter: each purse was swabbed for bacteria, the samples put on petrie dishes and left to grow. >> these are the incubators. they warm to 37 degrees, which is body temperature. that's what the bacteria likes for a growing environment. >> reporter: four days later, back to the lab for the ugly truth. >> we had different amounts of bacteria on the three different purses. as you can see. >> reporter: is that jessica's? >> yes. >> reporter: jessica's purse had the most bacteria, possibly

because hers is canvas and absorbs more than leather. >> i came in here expecting it to be bad but i didn't expect it to be that much worse than everyone else's. >> reporter: it looks worse than it is. none of the bacteria is the kind that can make you sick in small amounts. >> no e. coli. >> reporter: mostly staph, commonly found on skin and soil. even if they touched food, the doctor says the only risk would be to people with a weakened immune system. >> we hear so much about things that can make you sick but people don't realize that bacteria is all around you. most of them don't make you sick. >> reporter: kimberly suiters, "news 4 today." >> and kimberly tells us that researchers say think of your purse like you would a pair of shoes. if you wouldn't put your shoes on the table or the stove as one person says she does, don't put your purse there either. joe? >> yuck. some dramatic ninth inning heroics have helped the nationals avoid reefg an unwelcome milestone, at least

for now. dan hellie has more in your sports minute. >> good morning, everybody. your sports minute starts with the nationals who for one night at least avoided their 100th loss of the season. with the game tied at 4 in the bottom of the ninth, how about pinch-hitter pete orr stepping up to the plate and delivering. just deep enough for justin maxwell to score the game-winning run. the nationals come back to beat the dodger5-4 in dramatic fashion. dodgers and nats back in action later tonight. some interesting happenings at redskins park yesterday. jason campbell said everyone on the team is putting too much pressure on themselves. clinton portis says everyone in the organization is on the hot seat, including the owner, who's on the brink of losing fans. all of this as the redskins prepare for the detroit lions, a team that has not won a game since 2007. preseason hockey at verizon last night, caps hosting the blackhawks. new capital mike knuble scored two goals.

the capital downed the blackhawks 6-2. they also got a pair of goals from alex ovechkin. on the road tonight taking on the rangers. that's your sports minut i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great thursday. >> 6:21. >> it is. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> let's go to meteologist tom kierein. hey, tom. >> here's a look at the sky, the eastern horizon, the live view from our city camera showing a few breaks in the clouds. we're now about 35 minutes away from sunrise. it's now a muggy 73 in washington. sewhere, low 70s in montgomery, arlington and prince george's counties. from adams morgan to seat pleasant, vienna and clarksburg it's quite humid still this morning. we've had a few passing overnight showers in the last number of hours, heading out to sea and pulling away. the clouds are beginning to break up across parts of virginia, west virginia and maryland. a partly sunny day. feeling like summer in september, highs mid-80s but lower humidity moving in this afternoon and overnight tonight. still a chance of a predawn

shower tomorrow morning. then partly cloudy friday, much cooler tomorrow. saturday, increasing clouds, afternoon and evening showers likely and highs only in the 60s. then warmer on sunday, partly cloudy and dry for first part of next week, into mid-week. cooler, too. ashley linder, good morning. how's our traffic? >> we've got some beltway slowing. on the outer loop slow as you make your way from -- off and on from silver spring headed toward -- actually college park now headed toward bethesda. we had an earlier issue before 355. that's been cleared over to the shoulder but as you can sigh, volume still a prevalent issue through the area. elsewhere, of 6, got some problems this morning. as you travel in the eastbound direction before hacentreville, slow from business 234. back to you. >> thank you very much. how a group of thieves pulled off one of the world's biggest and most elaborate bank heists.

a new look for one of the world's most famous

the hope diamond is back on display at the national mu seem of natural history. and its brilliance is more apparent than ever. the giant gem went on display

naked, without a setting, for the first time in its 50 years at the smithsonian. a 45-carat diamond, that's what the hope is. it's the world's largest blue diamond. it will be on display for the next couple of months while a new setting is fabricated by jeweler harry winston. >> well, sounds like the plot of an action movie but it was very much reality when a couple of robbers pulled off an amazing screen play-worthy heist in europe. the thieves swooped in yesterday morning just before dawn in sweden's capital of stockhol two masked robbers dropped down from a helicopter onto the roof of a cash depot and used explosives to break in. they helped themselves to bags of money before escaping in their helicopter. and they even planted a fake bomb at the stockholm police helicopter hangar just to keep the authorities from taking off and getting in their way. the whole thing took about 20 minutes. >> a young boy in virginia talks about what it was like to survive a lightning strike that

killed his friend. in just a few hours, the governor of massachusetts will announce who will replace ted kennedy in the senate. and the drug bust right outside montgomery county high school.

global appeal. president obama will once again

take center stage at the united nations this morning. the president says he is committed to a world without nuclear weapons. the historic way he'll make that push today. good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. it is thursday, september 24th, 2009. looking outside it's brightening out there. looks like some blue in the sky. lots of clouds, but no daylight yet. still got about a half hour to go for that. let's go to tom kierein who is here with us in the studio to tell us what we can expect from the weather. >> gray and humid on this thursday morning. dress for another summer like september day as it will be into the 80s by mid-afternoon. right now on radar, no precipitation. temperatures are in the low and mid-70s. now 73n washington. from the shenandoah valley to the atlantic beaches we still have humidity in the air but out in the mountains and farther to our west and north it's in the 60s. some drier air is beginning to move in. it will slowly filter in throughout the day, turning less humid this afternoon as we see

the cloud cover beginning to break up. we have to get some sunshine breaking out over the next few hours. sunrise is at 6:58. and later on today, highs mid-80s, lower humidity and partly sunny. predawn tomorrow maybe a passing shower south of washington. partly cloudy, much cooler friday with a northeast breeze. saturday, likely afternoon and evening showers. highs only in the 60s. drying out on sunday. a lookntnext week in ten minutes. >> okay. see you at 6:41. >> let's go to ashley linder now and the news 4 traffic network. >> let's start off with a look at the capital beltway. chopper 4 has got a view as you make your way traveling from college park on the outer loop today toward silver spring. volume very slow through that area. this got kicked off early. we had a vehicle fire before 3:55. that's all gone, but as you can see, volume remains a big issue. elwhere around the area, as you travel down 66 you're going to encounter some problems this

morning. 66 headed eastbound, accident activity reported before 29 centreville. good news, it's been moved to the left shoulder. bad news is delays remain from business 234 to 29 in centreville and from 50 to 123 in the beltway you'll find more volume. 66 is just fine. back to you. >> thanks, ashley. >> president obama will spend another day at the united nations today, this time he'll preside over talks about nuclear w weapons. this is the first time a university president has chaired a summit level meeting of the u.n. security council. later today the president will head to pittsburgh for the g-20 summit. brooke hart has more on the president's busy day. >> we are responsibly ending a war. >> reporter: after his debut speech at the u.n. with iran's ahmadinejad watching, president obama today tries to turn his warning into u.n. action. >> the governments of iran and north korea choose to ignore international standards then they must be held accountable. >> reporter: in meetings last night, president obama won new support from russia to back

sanctions for iran if nuclear talks fail next month. >> translator: sanctions are inevitable. >> reporter: the shift comes a week after the u.s. scrapped plans for missile defense in europe. in all, six nations agreed to the tougher line on iran. >> we have consistently said that iran is entitled to peaceful nuclear power. they are not entitled to a nuclear weapons program. >> reporter: on the sidelines of today's security council session, u.s. diplomats for the first time in a decade will join talks to strengthen a global ban on nuclear testing. it's a stark change from george bush, a skeptic of world treaties. outside the u.n., thousands demonstrated against ahmadinejad who, inside, defended his election victory. glorious, he called it.

>> do you solemnly swear -- >> reporter: later today in pittsburgh, police expect protests, too, ahead of the g-20 summit. shop owners boarded up stores, office ramped up patrols in case of trouble. the president and first lady will host g-20 leaders for dinner. it's the third start of the g-20 summit since the global downturn almost a year ago. brooke hart, nbc news. >> there was also unusual political theater. moammar gadhafi rambled on for about an hour and a half and accused the nations of terrorism. it's the first visit to the u.s. since ka gaffe i seized power 40 years ago. he's had a hard time finding a place to stay. a tent was set up on some of donald trump's property in bedford, new york, but the town there ordered t tent to be taken down. ka gaffe i is apparently afraid to ride in elevators so wherever he goes he brings along a tent.

>> today massachusetts governor deval patrick will announce his choice to fill senator ted kennedy's vacant senate seat. the state senate voed this week to allow him to appoint a temporary replacement until a special election in january. the choice is expected to be former aide paul kirk. he's received the support of kennedy's sons. former governor michael dukakis had also been mentioned as a possible choice. >> the community group called a.c.o.r.n. is now fighting back. they have filed a lawsuit against the makers of a hidden camera video that launched an investigation. in the video, a man and woman present themselves as a pimp and a prostitute at a.c.o.r.n.'s baltimore office. employees on the tape appear to advise the couple on how to launder their money. a.c.o.r.n. says the tape was obtained illegally because maryland law requires the consent of both parties. since the tape became public, a.c.o.r.n. has essentially been

shut off from receiving federal money. >> a teen has been arrested for dealing drugs to students outside a school he used to attend. the 18-year-old man was arrested tuesday in bethesda. investigators say he used text messages to set up deals at walter johnson high school. police had put him under surveillance after getting a call from a school security guard who found his activities suspicious. officers say they found marin with marijuana and cash in his suv. two arrests in the murder of a woman from fairfax county, one of them was her roommate. erika yancey disappeared last november from dulles airport where she worked. police later found her body in the trunk of her call. now police have arrested 27-year-old michael thomas and 28-year-old marcus williams. relatives say yancey lived with williams, his girlfriend and the couple's two children. police have not released a possible motive. >> getting back into the swing of things now. a boy has made a remarkable recovery after being hit by

lightning not a baseball field in spotsylvania. a 12-year-old was killed at the time, but john han colson survived. after months in the hospital, he finally swung a bat again. >> it's my favorite sport so i take it very seriously. if we lose, i'm happy. if we win, i'm happy. >> it could take two years before jonathan fully recovers, but he's already making plans for the future. he says he wants to move to australia and he wants to have 14 children. a website has been set up to help jonathan and his family. you can find it at helpjonathan.com. >> our time is 6:38. we're connected to your commute. the request to change the flow of traffic on a busy street in downtown d.c. and take a look at this. the rare orange glow in one major city that left many wondering if the city was on fire. >> nintendo is reducing the price of the wii.

so find out how much the

time for weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning. now at 6:41, we have a cloudy sky and it's rather mild and

humid. temperatures low and mid-70s around the region. 73 in washington. highs today feeling like summertime in september, into the mid-80s. partly sunny and terng less humid. maybe a predawn shower on friday, then partly cloudy tomorrow and much cooler with a northeast breeze. highs only the low 70s. 50s saturday morning. increasing clouds saturday. chance of showers with a blustery southeast wind and highs upper 60s. warming up again on sunday, partly cloudy, into the mid and upper 70s. should stay dry into mid-week next week. cooler tuesday and wednesday. back in ten minute was the national travel forecast. how's the travel locally, ashley? >> well, things are pretty slow locally. the outer loop of the beltway got jammed up early. we had an earlierssue before 355 but this is the look of the outer loop as you make your way headed toward 270. again, volume definitely very much a factor. the outer loop is going to be slow through college park into silver spring. as you can see here, pass by 270 you're going to pick up that same volume as well. we've got problems elsewhere, though, out of virginia as you

make your way eastbound ong 66. the issue was an accident before 29 in centreville. that's on the shoulder now, but debris reported in the left lane. and big delays slow from business 234. back to you. >> ashley, thanks very much. one of the nation's biggest banks is changing the way it does business in the metro area. >> and d.c. mayor adrian fenty is here. welcome, mr. mayor. >> hi. >> we will be connecting with the mayor coming up. we have a lot to talk about today, including a teachers protest that's planned for later today. >> okay. >> a few other good questions. >> a

i am here this morning, like every thursday morning, with d.c. mayor adrian fenty for "connecting with the mayor." again, welco. >> how are you? >> good to have you with us. d.c. schoolteachers will be hold ago rally today to protest upcoming layoffs. one of the teachers' biggest concerns we're hearing is the possible reduction ofeteran teachers. >> sure, yes. >> do you know yet how michelle rhee, chancellor rhee will make the decision on who she will fire? >> a lot of it will be based on performance. it won't be based on how long

you've nb the system or anything like that. i think most people say that's how it should be based. >> some african-american teachers fear they will be unfairly targeted for dismissal, perhaps because many have been here longer and they are thinking the veterans will go first. >> i haven't heard that one. obviously, no truth to it whatsoever. >> okay. moving on, the city council and the superior court judge have ruled in favor of correspond a masters-barry to keep the southeast tennis center. what's going to happen next with the tennis center? >> the same thing that's been happening since 2001. the tennis center has always been run by the department of parks and recreation. they've always tried to involve outside groups. but the lion's share of the staff were resources programs, all done by parks and recreation, at least seven employees worked there. that's about how much will continue. we'll build on it, if necessary. it's a great program, make it even greater. >> the nats are wrapping up their second season at nationals park. the development in and around the area seems to have slowed

down. when do you think we're going to see some progress there? >> there are things happening. i was just there with the great residential developer, fantastic new buildings. actually, very mixed use. they're for sale. people who want them can go down there. new office buildings as well. we're doing a new park, $42 million park with forest city development that's going to be fantastic. so, probably just like gallery place and the area around verizon center, still five to ten-year window. >> do you think if the nats were doing better there would be more interest in building and bringing restaurants and other things to that area? >> well, the nats are still a young team so they still have to build. i think they're going to be fantastic. i think, you know, if anything, development has slowed down everywhere in the country, not as much in d.c. and not as much in at that area. so i'm optimistic.

i think gallery place took a long time to come around and look at it now. fantastic. the same is true with that waterfront area. things are happening. so, we'll have the ribbon cutting of the park and people will love to go down there. >> they did get one in the win column, the nats did. >> the nats. i thought you meant the develors. great new pitcher. it will be fantastic. >> speaking of the win column, the redskins got one in the win column, but a big controversy this week about the booing of the fans. even though the team won, some say they shouldn't have been booing. what do you say to that? would you have boo'd? were you there? >> i personally wouldn't have booed. i'm not a booer. i think you encourage your home team. what can you say? people pay for their tickets. it's a tradition, not just in d.c. you can't disparage people. if that's how they want to do it, it's their right. >> clinton portis says you spend $700 to take your family to see

the game and there's entertainment when they're not playing well. >> well, clearly you cannot play games like you played sunday and expect to make it to the playoffs. they're going to have to put points on the board. i think they will. i think still -- what, second year of new coach, third, fourth year new quarterback. we'll get it turned around. >> okay. i think a lot of folks are hoping for that. >> yes. >> you have if a question or comment for the mayor, e-mail it to fenty@nbcwashington.com. we're going to pass it along to him and may use it when he joins us here next week. you also answer those e-mails to folks personally. >> absolutely. keep them coming. >> thanks a lot, mayor fenty. joe? >> thank you very much, mr. mayor. good to see you. well, the treasury department's asking the district now to change the flow of traffic on one downtown street for the sake of security. the treasury wants to make f street northwest into a two-way -- rather, from a two-way street into a one-way street heading east at 15th street. officials are concerned that a vehicle heading westbound could pick up some speed, hop security

barriers and plow into the rere building. citigroup is changing the way it does business in a number of metro areas, including here in d.c. courtney reagan joins us live this morning with more on the changes at citigroup. good morning. >> reporter: hi. good morning, joe. citigroup is reportedly considering plans to dramatically scale backts retail banking presence in the u.s. "the wall street journal" says that management wants to focus on six major metro areas, new york, l.a., san francisco, chicago, miami and washington, d.c. citi could also reduce its consumer lending offerings to mainly credit cards and jumbo mortgages. citigroup only has about 1,000 retail branches in the u.s. that's far fewer than rivals bank of america and chase. wells fwarg oh is joining bank of america and chase in capping overdraft fees. the bank will eliminate fees for consumers at both wells fargo and wachovia branches who overdraw their accounts by $5 or less. wells will also charge no more

than four overdraft fees per day. nintendo has confirmed reports it will cut the price on its wii video game consoles starting on sunday. the price gets slashed to 20% of its original price to just $199. the move follows recent price cuts by sony on the ps 3 and microsoft on the xbox. i'm sure that make a lot of gamers or potential gamers very happy. back to you in d.c. >> those are addictive. thanks very much, courtney. >> reporter: thank you. >> people in sydney, australia, are cleaning up after the country's worst dust storms in 70 years. a film of outback dirt, coating anything and everything, blanketing the people, too. it reached underground, leaving a mark on subway stations and it was enviesible from space. now australians have begun, the long, dusty process of getting rid of dirt. >> i heard some guy on the bbc talking about it. he said the worst part was it

gets in your teeth. it's gritty everywhere. >> wow. dust storms. at least that's not something we have had to worry about. >> no. we haven't had any tropical storms either. here we at the height of hurricane season and we've had a very calm pattern here over the last couple of weeks. still no tropical storms around. we do have tropical humidity, though, in place here this morning. look at the sky. it's still mostly cloudy. live picture from the city camera, a steamy 73 at reagan national. one more summer like day in september, then much cooler air moving in tomorrow, into the weekend. a look at radar. no precipitation now. we did have a few showers passing to our north predawn but those are long gone now. in the low and mid-70s, shenandoah valley all the way to the atlantic beaches weather watchers are reporting this morning. montgomery, fairfax, prince george's county and arlington, low 70s. and on the eastern shore, low 70s but some cooler air is beginning to move in to the mountains at this hour. some of this drier air will begin to move our way. slowly filtering in as the day

progresses. it will become more comfortable. over the last six hours, showers passing east of cape may. traveling today, might have some travel delays along the gulf coast from new orleans over to houston with some heavy rain. maybe some unwanted more rain, moderate to heavy with some thunder and lightning across georgia and alabama as well as florida. maybe some rain for the carolinas, ohio valley, into the upper midwest. and parts of the central plains. but elsewhere no travel problems weatherwise. for us, our part of the world, we've got a front that is off to our west. this front will begin to drift down over us and bring in some cooler air and some drier air as well, pushing this humidity away as we do get into the afternoon hours. here's the bus stop forecast for the rest of the morning. partly to mostly cloudy and remaining humid through the morning, temperatures in the low and mid-70s so dress accordingly for a summer like day. in fact, by later on this afternoon coming back from work and school we'll be in the mid-80s and partly sunny. turning less humid.

cloudy tonight and should be cloudy for the nats and dodgers at nationals park. it will be in the upper 70s by first pitch time at 7:05. the rest of the evening, cloudy. tomorrow morning around this time mig have a few passing showers to our south and partly cloudy and cooler friday, low 70s. cooler saturday, too, in the upper 60s and a likelihood of afternoon and evening showers. drying outnd warming up on sunday, upper 70s. drying and cooling down mid-week next week, certainly feeling like autumn. that's the way it looks this morning. >> okay. >> the nats of lost 99 games. can they avoid losing 100? >> i think they can. >> 12 games to go. >> they can do it. >> okay. >> they won last night. let's check on traffic now. hello there. are you there, ashley? >> i am. traveling on the outer loop of the beltway this morning very heavy through college park in through silver spring and continuing toward college park. we're looking at the outer loop

around old georgetown road. the pace doesn't improve after bethesda. just a matter of time before that begins to slow. elsewhere, we do have a problem on 270 southbound. in addition to volume we've now got accident activity. that's along the right side of the roadway, as you can see. it is causing drives to slow down there. traveling along of 66 this moing, keep in mind eastbound before 29, there was an accident. debris on the shoulder. slow from the 234 bypass to where the accident was. back to you. >> thanks, ashley. let's take a look at some of the top stories we're following. president obama will preside over talks at the united nations this morning. he'll focus on nuclear weapons and iran. after that he's off to pittsburgh to attend the g-20 summit. this morning we'll know who will temporarily fill senator ted kennedy's senate seat. the governor of massachusetts will announce his choice at 11:00 this morning. it appears long time kennedy friend and former aide paul kirk is the likely choice. tune in to "news 4 midday" to find out who the governor has selected. >> nominate a news 4 morning

person today. we want to know who makes your day special in the early morning hours. maybe it's a teacher, a bus driver, a crossing guard, a paper delivery guy. e-mail their story along with a clear, close-up picture or video to morningperson@nbcwashington.com. we'll recognize that person on the air. now for a story you need to see to believe, maybe you won't believe it after you see it. a group of college students in texas are being praised for making what they say is the longest basketball shot ever. check it out. >> yes! >> that shot was made from the third deck of the football stadium at texas a&m. here's a look from a different angle. a group of six students got together and set this up. some people, as you might imagine -- here it is in slow mo. are questioning the video's authenticity.

but computer experts have reportedly examineit and the found no edits in the film, apparently. the video's already been viewed more than 1 million times online. and -- i don't believe it. >> you don't believe it. >> i don't believe it. >> you have to go down there and try it yourself. >> i can try it myself and prove to you you can't do that. >> head on down to college station, texas. that's "news 4 today." >> thanks for starting your day with us. >> have a great day. we'll see you in the morning. >> hope you join us tomorrow because we'll introduce you to the newest diet fad, the cookie diet. it not only tastes good but suppresses hunger. bye.