death toll rising. this morning the race against time in the search for survivors. cellular interference, the dangers of talking and texting while driving. lawmakers are stepping up their efforts to keep you safe behind the wheel. dangerous defect. one of the nation's largest automakers recalls millions of vehicles, why the floor mat of your car could be putting your life at risk. good morning everyone and welcome to "news4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's wednesday, september 30th, 2009. looking outside, you can't tell, but it is chilly. 57 fall-like degrees. we are in fall. so this is the way it's supposed to feel. and this is one of those days where you'll need your lumberjack shirt. is that right, tom? >> yes indeed, plaid.

if you're really brave, maybe a kilt. that's plaid, too this morning we have the clouds that have rolled in overnight, part of the north but not producing any prec precipitation. it's brought in the continual chill, blustery northwest wind. in the 50s from the shen valley and atlantic beaches. arlington, fairfax and prince george's county, out of the mountain ins the 40s right there. there are a few sprinkles in southwestern pennsylvania now. a lot of cloudiness as we get going this morning. by this time tomorrow morning, frost, all these counties in blue, much of west virginia, frost advisories for tomorrow morning as well as western maryland. first time this season. for the rest of the day quite a bit of cloudiness, maybe a sprinkle during the afternoon, small chance with highs in the upper 60s. low 0s friday, might get showers on saturday. a look at sunday and next week

in ten minutes. >> so they might have frost in frost burg. >> could be. let's go to ashley linder for a look at traffic. >> traveling down 270, no big issues as you make the southbound commute. had some accident activity reported, but it's minor. no big issues around the capitol beltway. no issues through college park and the woodrow wilson. no problems on the bw parkway or out of maryland this early morning. barbara and joe, back to you. dozens of people are dead, dozenses more feared dead after a deadly tsunami. >> a series of islands in the south pacific. american samoa is the u.s. territory. together they have a population of about 300,000 people. 15 to 20-foot waves crashed into

the islands after a powerful underwater earthquake. for more on the devastation, we're joined in the studio by kimberly suiters. >> that powerful earthquake in the soith pacific hurld a massive wave flattening villages and sweeping cars and people out to sea leaving at least 82 dead and dozens missing. let's take a look at the our studio. four tsunami waves roar ed onto show reaching up to a mile inland. survive vors fled the fast-turning water for higher ground and remained there for hours. the signs of devastation had giants boats washed ashore and floodwaters swallowing up cars, homes, even buildings. the quake with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3 struck around dawn about 125 miles from

samoa, an island nation of 180,000 people located halfway betweenew zealand and hawaii. warnings have gone ought to hawaii swimmers, too. it was also about 120 miles from neighboring american samoa, home to 65,000 people. we understand it came fast. >> the main harbor which is pongo pongo which is only about two or three feet above sea level was completely damaged. the earthquake was so powerful it hit samoa in a matter of 30 minutes. that's really what was shocking to me. >> hampered by power and communication outages, officials are struggling to determine damage and casualties. hundreds of injured people are being treated by health workers and unfortunately the death toll is expected to rise. joe, back to you. >> thanks very much, kimberly. new today in prince george's county police officers are investigating after another

officer shot a suspect. this started near the corner of white pearl place and pepper mill drive. police received a call after seeing two men sitting in the suv. when officers arrived, the driver tried to ram into one of the officers. the suspects drove off and tried to bail out but they were caught a short time later. police say it appears a father killed inside his own home was targeted. tyrone richardson was shot to death on sunday inside his house on marley drive. police say he was killed by intruders who also tied up his wife and two children. many had believed the murder was connected to a recent series of burglaries, but police say that is not the case. >> this crime was not a burglary gone bad. the decedent in this case, mr. richardson, was targeted for an unknown reason. >> police think the three

suspects apparently knew richardsonsomehow. officers later recovered his stolen mercedes in the district. police say they also found several items the intruders discarded as they ran away. but police aren't saying what they are. today hundreds will gather to talk about distracted driving. distracted driving is thought to be responsible for a fourth of all traffic accidents. more than half of those involve teenagers. that's why ford motor company and the governor's highway safety association held a seminar at rfk stadium yesterday. teenagers were put behind the wheel to see how well they could deal with distractions. >> it makes you aware of what's going on. driving is something serious. it's not an everyday thing and a joke. it's life or death. >> there's no way to be safe while you're texting, none. it's too big a distraction. >> it's also not just texting. experts say even hands-free

devices can put drivers at risk because they take the attention of the driver off the road. toyota the's largest recall ever. the carmaker is recalling nearly four million vehicles because the floor mats could jam the accelerator. the recall follows a horrific crash in san diego last month. investigators think a floor mat caught the gas peddle on a run-away lexus. a family of four was killed. it affects 2007 through 2010 camry, 2005 through 2010 avalon, 2004 through 2009 prius, 2005 through 2010 tacoma, tundra, 2007 through 2010 lexus es 350 and 2006 through 2010 lexus is 250 and is 350. owners should take out the floor mats on the driver's side and not replace them. our time is 5:07. 57 degrees. a district school bus bursts

into flames with people on board. plus the new e details we're learning in the extortion trial involving hollywood actor john trav vol that. a group of local students takes to the streets standing united behind their cause.

treat your sweet tooth with this news4 bargain blast. tomorrow is free cookie day. >> from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

you can get your free cookie at all mrs. field's stores. >> that's one i might go for. let's check out the weather as we approach 5:11. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> we've got cloud cover here around the region this morning. temperatures are certainly feeling like autumn. it's down into the 50s from the shenandoah valley to the atlantic beaches. in the washington now 57. nearby suburbs in the mid 50s. a few sprinkles out in western pennsylvania. they may make their way into the mountains later today. otherwise, clouds this morning. a little sunshine early to mid afternoon. a plus centerry wind out of the northwest. afternoon, slight chance of a sprinkle. and then clearing out late tonight. should be a sunny start tomorrow morning. frosty in the mountains. mid 40s around the metro area tomorrow morning. increasing clouds friday, highs low 70s. chance of showers late friday night, off and on on saturday with highs low 70s. then sunday sunshine returns and

should last into the first part of next week as well as warming up by tuesday. now ashley linder, good morning. how is our traffic? >> good morning. i'm the barer of good news. traveling the capitol beltway, this is the view at colesville road. those headlines are traveling on the outer loop continuing towards 270, doing so at speed. traveling along 66. you'll find all the travel lanes open. overnight construction a thing of the past. no early volume and no major accidents to report. travel lanes down to 70. much of the same, a very quiet commute. nothing going to distract you or slow you down as you leave clarksburg headed towards the capitol beltway. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thanks, ashley. our time is 12 minutes after 5 a:00. why michael vick paid a visit to the nation's capital. distracted drivers and the dangers they

president obama will tour a laboratory at the national institutes of health today to make what the white house is calling a major announcement on federal stimulus money concerning the swine flu. he may also be asked questions about the nation's red dints. mass vaccinations are expected to start next week. but some schools and families

are already feeling the brunt of it. brooke hart joins us from capitol hill with more this morning. hey, brooke. >> reporter: good morning. health officials told lawmakers that 250 million doses of the vaccine will be available next week, enough to cover everyone who wants it. those doses will be available overtime, not actually starting on monday when the program begins. and while some parents don't want another vaccine for their children, others wish only that it came sooner. her mom says cloe see was a healthy 14-year-old old. she went home from school sick wednesday, diagnosed with swine flu friday, hospitalized by sunday. >> she was just gasping for air. and i asked her, i said, baby, y are you breathing like that? she said, mamma, it hurts. >> reporter: her mom said it didn't seem possible. >> it killedy baby. >> reporter: the first doses of the h1n1 vaccine become available next week.

the military is requiring the shots. health care workers in new york, too. some resisted. >> today we take action. tomorrow we stop the mandates! >> reporter: only four in ten parents plan to vaccinate their children according to one survey. marty griffin says she's not sure it will help. >> i'm just not willing to do it. i'm hoping that the problem doesn't become a massive outbreak. if it does, i may regret this decision. >> reporter: health officials reassured congress the vaccine is safe. >> we have safety data from decades of experience with seasonal vaccines which are made in the same manner. >> reporter: will the doses arrive in time? the whole school district in huntsville, texas, shut down, too many kids sent home sick. >> coughing, headache, just they're really tired, their body aches. >> reporter: two hospitals in charlotte, north carolina, have barred children from visiting patients, too risky they say.

other hospitals have set up special tents to handle flu overload in a flu season that officially starts sunday. >> reporter: health officials say h1n1 never really went away this summer. they say that helped them track the virus and give confidence this mack scene is a good match. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, brook. hundreds of students in the district are making a plea to keep their teachers in the classrooms. about 200 students of the duke ellington school for the arts in northwest washington walked out during lunch to protest expected budget cuts. d.c. school chancellor michelle rhee announced she's being forced the to cut $40 mill bun from the budget and that includes teacher and staff positions city-wide. >> we need our teachers here and we need our education. no teachers, no education. >> the thought of losing any of those teachers? >> yes, it hurts me very much. >> the spokesperson in

chancellor ree's office says they still don't know the exact number of teachers who need to be let go. an announcement will be made on thursday at the very earliest. philly quarterback michael vick paid a visit to the nation's capital warning others not to make his mistakes. he visited coveted baptist church in southwest washington. vick was there to speak out against dogfighting. he served a year and a half behind bars after being convicted for his role in running a dogfighting ring. now he's working with the humane society. >> trying to get more people involved in becoming animal rights advocates and help eradicate dogfighting. i'm honored to be here. our goal is to reach every demographic, reach people all across the world to help contribute and eradicate dogfighting. >> vick used to play for the atlanta falcons. but he's now with the philadelphia eagles. he played for the first time

sunday since his release from prison. the washington nationals continue to cause some problems for the new york mets. >> the redskins gear up to face an opponent having some problems of their own. lindsay czarniak wraps it all up for you in sports minute. hey there, good morning, everybody. your sports minutes begins with the nationals. last night' on desmin sparked a rally in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run home run, the second of his career. the nationals came from behind to beat the mets 4-3. the nationals go for the sweep later today at 4:30. to the ice, the capitols held their media day yesterday at verizon center. the buzz around the team is they're ready to make a strong run for the stanley cup. the puck drops on a new season for the caps tomorrow night in boston against the bruins. finally, in football, the redskins are back on the field this afternoon getting ready for sunday's game against the bucks. jim zorn and the team are looking to put the lions loss

behind them. the bucks are 0-3 on the season and will starting a brand new quarterback josh johnson. on monday they benched leftwich in the favor of johnson. game time, 1:00 sunday. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. a reprieve for a popular golf course in montgomery county. the county council approved spending $150,000 to keep sligo golf course in silver spring open through june of next year. without the money, the golf course was scheduled to close on thursday. a task force is being formed to find a long-term solution to keep the course open. our time is just about 5:21 now. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> we'll check in with meteorology tom kierein in storm center 4 with the forecast. cloudy and cool on this wednesday morning. in the mid and upper 50s in washington and the nearby suburbs. farther to the west we're in the mid 50s as we look around southern maryland, eastern shore. out of the mountains in the 40s

this morning. cloudiness around the renal on coming from an area of low pressure about 600 miles to our north. by dawn tomorrow, that low will swing in chilly air thursday morning through much of the midwest. for us a cloudy morning, sun back early afternoon. clouding up late afternoon with a slight chance of a sprinkle with highs in the upper 60s. sun returns tomorrow after a chilly start. highs near 70. fld increasing clouds, know 70s. might get showers friday night into saturday and drying out sunday into the first part of next week. ashley linder, how is the fk tra now? >> good morning. we're off to a quiet start. no big problems if you're traveling the 95 corridor, no issues from woodbridge into springfield. the headlights continuing towards 395 northbound. taking a swing around the beltway you will find all the travel lanes open. this is a view at university boulevard, the headlights are the outer loop continuing towards 270. no prig problems early this

morning. off to a quiet start. barbara and joe, back to the you. thanks very much. 57 degrees. what governor tim kaine is saying about the execution of the d.c. sniper. also fans get excited as the sounds of u2 take center stage at fedex field. remember, news4 is always connected to you on facebook and twitter for up-to-the-minute breaking news and weather. you can search for us by se

♪ that's u2, they rocked fedex field to an estimated 80,000 fans. a leg of the rock group's north american 360 tour. a gigantic spaceship stage allowed fans to see the performance from all sides. fans enjoyed a great night of u2 hits. concert goers found the traffic to be a non-issue. happening today, john travolta is expected to take the stand in a bahamas courtroom for the trial of two men accused of trying to blackmail the actor after his son jet's death. this comes one day after a bahamian police officer testified on three different

occasions he secretly recorded the two defendants talking to travolta's attorney. the men, a paramedic and former bahamian senator are accused of trying to extort $ million from travolta in exchange for medical documents related to his son's death. our time is 5:25. breaking news. we're live on the scene of a house fire in virginia right now. killer tsunami. the latest on the death toll and the destruction left behind after a powerful earthquake in the pacific. also a fiery crash, the dramatic images of a school bus in the district after it burst in

deadly disaster, the wave of destruction left behind by a powerful tsunami in american samoa. lawmakers combating distracted drivers are bringing their fight to capitol hill. recall alert, why toyota says the floor mats in millions of cars could be putting your life at risk. good morning everyone. welcome to "news4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. on this wednesday, this 30th and final day of september, 2009. take a live look outside. beautiful picture. some glow reflected off the clouds that are above us right now. chilly temperatures, too, 57 degrees. certainly feels like fall. >> sure does. tom is here to tell us what it'

going to be like the rest of this day. cool out there right now. what about midday? >> it's going to warm up a bit into the mid 60s. still cooler than average for late september. the final hours of september starting off with a cloud cover but no precipitation as we look at the radar, we're rain free at this hour. we have temperatures in the 50s all around the region from the shenandoah valley all the way to the atlantic beaches. 57 in washington. in the 40s out in the mountains. a lot of cloudiness around this morning circulating around low pressure way up in southeastern canada. for the rest of the day, we'll have quite a bit of cloudiness, maybe a few breaks in the clouds, a little sun coming up by early afternoon. a blustery northwest winds. small chance of a sprinkle late afternoon and tomorrow morning, frosty cold in the mountains, 40s in the metro area, lots of sun with highs near 70. increasing clouds friday, may get showers friday night and saturday. we'll look at sunday and the first part of next week in ten minutes at 5:41. let's go to ashley linder

looking at the traffic out there. >> hey barbara and joe. good morning. traveling down 270, reports of a medical emergency on the ramp to southbound 270 from father hurley boulevard. here we're looking at 270. as you can see, not directly affecting traffic. volume is on the increase in the southbound direction. that's per the usual. beyond this point towards the beltway, all travel lanes are open. out of springfield, we're starting toick up the pace as you make your way towards 395 -- not pick up the pace, starting to pick up the volume. the headlights continuing towards 395. no problems on that corridor to and across the 14th. all lanes are open. back to you. >> thanks, ashley. now to the latest details on a developing story this morning. the death toll continues to rise after a tsunami slammed into the samoan islands. at least 19 people are dead on the u.s. territory of american samoa, 73 dead in tind dent nation of samoa.

dozens are still missing. survivors had to flee to higher ground as waves crashed into the islands. a quake with an magnitude of 8.0 to 8.3 struck about 125 miles from samoa. federal emergency workers are on their way to american samoa now to assist with rescue operations. we have breaking news out of virginia right now. a house in annan dale has been destroyed by fire. >> the fire department has conflicted reports as to whether anyone was inside. megan mcgrath joins us live from the scene with more. what have we learned? >> reporter: good morning. they're still trying to figure this out. getting conflicting reports on the scene as to whether or not there was somee who lived in this house, whether or not it was vi can't. they just have not been able to get inside because of the nature of this fire. it involved the natural gas connection to this one-story ranch. because it was a gas-fed fire, firefighters have not been able

to get inside the structure. they had a collapse of the floor area. it's too dangerous. they have not been able to get inside and search. they're asking the owner of the home to contact them so they can get a better handle on exactly what's going on. i'm joined by dan schmidt with the fairfax county fire department. kind of give us the lowdown on what happened? this was a gas-fed fire. that's a different situation for you. >> firefighters arrived on scene with a fully involved house fire, ames coming from everywhere. it was pretty obvious very quickly that it was a gas-fed fire coming from the basement. it eventually burned through the first floor creating a pretty unsafe situation for firefighters. and then on top of that, the actual gas -- the fire went out from the gas-fed area which creates an even more dangerous situation. so we had to pull back and eventually was lit back, which is where we want it to be until the gas is turned off. right now we've really not

gotten into the structure because of the unsafe conditions and still putting hot spots out. so we're not sure if there was anybody inside the home right now. >> talk about you're getting conflicting reports. >> some of the neighbors have said it's a vacant home. some have said there are people that live there. we're not sure yet. we've got in contact or are on tacting the homeowner right now. hopefully we'll get more information. and we're cutting holes in the roof right now and making sure that we can get in there and do a primary search. >> the gas has been cut and the bulk of the fire is out. >> washington gas has cut off the gas. that portion is out. the fire is out. still hot spots and still trying to get in there. >> thanks for joining us this morning. >> reporter: again, if anyone has information on this home and whether or not there were occupants inside, people who lived here on bristo drive, the 5000 block. they're trying to figure out whether anyone was inside or where the structure was vacant

because it has been destroyed. back to you all in the studio. >> thank you, megan. in other news, friends and family gathered in southeast washington to remember a young man who lost his life. 20-year-old reggie cook was shot and killed last friday. last night members of the barry farms community gathered to hold a candlelight vigil in his honor. police have still not made any arrests in his death. there are strange new details in the murder of a man found in a school parking lot in prince george's county. police found the victim outside the ascension lutheran school on monday morning. sources tell news4 that the man was missing most of his clothes and his feet had been burned in an apparent act of torture. investigators haven't been able to identify the victim. a school bus driver and an aide are recovering after their bus burst into flames. witness susie bradford captured this video of the fire on her cell phone.

officials say the bus was on its way back to the bus company when the fire broke out around 4:30. two women on the bus, the driver and the aide were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. no children were on the bus at the time. a big meeting is scheduled to be held in the situation room of the white house today. the topic will be afghanistan. president obama will meet with his national security team on the situation in afghanistan. he's trying to decide between two basic courses of action. that is, sending 40,000 more troops to combat rising violence there. that's what the top commanders have asked for. or trying to come up with a new strategy that does not put so many americans in harm's way. that's what vice president biden has been advocating. meanwhile the administration is trying to send a tough message to iran after the discovery of a secret underground nuclear facility. >> we are about to confront face to face on behalf of the world the intention of the iranians and their nuclear program.

>> iran's new missiles which could carry nuclear warheads are the targets of the new obama missile defense plan. it won praise yesterday from the head of nato who said the plan will offer better protection. a defeat for president obama in the battle for health care reform. the senate finance committee voted down the so-called public option. however -- >> it was so popular, why are there so many democrats that have a problem with it? why is it causing your side so much consternation of not being able to get the bill through? i think the reason is because it's not popular. >> those who support a government-hundr government-run insurance option are undeterred. senate finance chair max baucus hopes to push his middle of the road measure through committee by week's end. today hundreds of experts will gather in washington to talk about distracted driving and what should be done about it. diract driving is thought to be responsible for a fourth of

all traffic accidents. more than half of those involve teenagers. that's why the ford motor company and the governor's highway safety association held a seminar at rfk stadium yesterday. teenagers were put behind the wheel to see how well they could deal with those distractions. >> it makes you aware of what's going on. driving is -- it's something serious. it's not an everyday thing and a joke. it's life or death. >> there's no way to be safe while you're texting, none. it's too big a distraction. >> not just texting. experts say that even hands-free telephone devices can put drivers at risk because they take attention off the road. our time is 5:38. why toyota is recalling millions of its cars. >> also a local student dies of an overdose and now her boyfriend is charged in the investigation. what every parent wants to know about how to ensure their child makes the grade.

time for weather and traffic on the 1s. 5:41, a cool 57 in washington. farther to our west in montgomery, arlington, fairfax counties in the mid 50 gs this morning. also in the mid 50s in prince george's county d many locations. elsewhere we've got a lot of crowd dins around this morning. from shefer lee to reston and oxon hill and damascus, it will be a cool day, highs reaching

just the 60s. a few breaks in the clouds. a slight changes of a sprinkle late afternoon and early this evening. clearing out after midnight. frosty in the mountains tomorrow morning. mid 40s around washington. a bit warmer o friday with increasing clouds. could get showers friday night and off and on on saturday. drying out on sunday and the first part of next week i'll be back in ten minutes with the national travel forecast. ashley, how is the traffic? >> starting with good news as we can see here, no problems on 28, 28 headed to the far left of your screen there along the bottom. no problems on the dulles toll road or green way as well. elsewhere around town we have problems, starting to increase the volume 270 southund. in addition to the fact that we've got normal delays through this area, we've also had a pedestrian walking alongside of the road. police are there. traffic does slow to look at that you can see the flashing lights towards the top of your screen. beyond that the pace is fine towards the beltway. barbara and joe, back to you. >> our time now is 5:42.

governor tim kaine speaks out about the execution of the d.c. sniper. police one of the nation's largest automakers recalls millions of vehicles. next at 5:45, why the floor mat of your car could be putting your life at risk.

good morning and welcome back. toy toe that's biggest recall ever. the carmaker is recalling millions of vehicles over a deadly problem with floor malts, 3.8 million involved in call. the camry, the prius and some lexus models. toyota says the mats could snag the gas peddle. tracy will coins joins us from marlo heights with details. good morning, tracee. >> reporter: good morning. you hear that, a possible deadly crash. then you also hear prius, lexus and camry and you understand why

this is such a big deal. it's every other car you see on the roadway. toyota is saying they've got a serious problem. >> toyota is calling it its largest recall ever, 3.8 million vehicles. the carmaker says problems with removable floor mats could cause accelerators can get stuck and lead to a crash. according to the national highway traffic safety administration, there have already been more than 100 such incidents. >> they don't fit perfect. they usually don't have anything to hold them into place where they have a tendency to slide forward and can get up underneath the pedals and cause problems there. >> in august a lexus crashed killing an entire family. the run-away car was traveling more than 120 miles per hour when it hit a sport utility vehicle flew off an embankment. the driver complained of a stuck accelerator to a 911 operator

before the crash. toyota is trying to take a step to protect what's always been a strong brand. >> they don't want to create panic or draw excess attention where it could impact consumer's attitudeand purchase intentions towards their bran. >> reporter: here the vehicles involved. it affects 2007 through 2010 toyota camry, 2005 through 2010 toyota avalon, 2004 through 2009 toyota prius, 2005 through 2010 toyota tacoma, 2005 through 2010 toyota tundra, 2007 through 2010 lexus es-350 and 2006 through 2010 lexus is-250 and is-350. toyota is saying if you have these mats in your car, you should remove them and don't replace them yet. give toyota an opportunity to take care of this issue. just drive with your bare floor on your car until you're able to come up with replacement. if you're worried about how to stop your car if your peddle

gets stuck, go to toyota.com. i'm tracee wilkins. back to you in the studio. >> very serious problem. thank you very much. tomorrow two big changes are coming to the roads in maryland. the first turns on speed cameras on highway work zone. those caught going more than 12 miles per hour over the speed limit, will face a $40 fine. the speed cameras are already snapping away in montgomery county. the second, drivers will be banned from texting while behind the wheel in maryland. i think this law is going to go a long way, and the real challenge is going to be in enforcement. but that we've got the law in the books and take these blackberries and cell phones out of folks' hands while they're driving, that's a good thing. >> the law might be hard to enforce. drivers can't write or send text messages, but they are allowed to read them. the penalty for texting is a $500 fine. the district has now put the brakes on its plan to cancel a popular circulator bus route. last week the city announced that the wisconsin avenue route

near georgetown would have to be li eliminated beginning this sunday. they blamed it on budget cuts. but mayor adrian fenty said after further review and an outpouring of demand, the wisconsin avenue stops will continue. last week city officials announced the installation of a new stop on columbia road after receiving nearly a hundred requests from residents of adams morgan. virginia governor tim kaine says he sees no reason to stop the scheduled execution of john alan mohammed. on his monthly show on wtlp radio, kaine says he knows of no credible claim of innocence or procedural error in the case. the lawyer says they'll ask the governor to stop the execution. he's scheduled to be executed october 10th for the spree that left ten dead. a rchler who stid deed the effects of drugs on the brain died of an apparent overdose.

29-year-old carrie johns died after injecting herself with a drug used to treat heroin a addiction. her live-in boyfriend clinton mccrack en did similar research. police say he got the drug from an online pharmacy in the philippines. >> throughout the investigation we learned that these were two pharmacists that work at the university of maryland. they had been involved in some type of drug operation inside their home. >> charging documents say the couple also rain a marijuana growing operation out of that baltimore home. mccrack en is now free on bail. let's check on the weather and traffic now. we begin with weather with tom. >> a lot of cloudiness around this morning. another chilly autumn morning under way. tell tires around the region are around the 50s, from the shenandoah valley to the atlantic beaches. dress accordingly. there are the clouds. that is not the sunrise. we're still an hour and ten minutes from sunrise.

that's the lights of the city reflecked on the overcast we have all around the area on this wednesday morning. that's the picture from our citi camera as we look at radar. no precipitation around the region under these clouds. looking at the temperatures, mid and upper 50s, weather watchers are reporting in the shenandoah valley. in the southern part it's dipped into the 40s from stanton, virginia and waynesboro and farther south. here we're under the blanket of clouds, keeping it a bit warmer in the 50s from the northern shenandoah valley all the way to the eastern shore, in frornlg county, montgomery, fairfax, arlington and the district, in the mid 50s at this hour. in the moin tans a bit chillier, in the 40s there. they may have a frost by tomorrow morning. all these clouds coming from an area of low pressure sitting way up over southern cada. we do have a few sprinkles up in pennsylvania this morning. where you see the counties in blue, this is a frost advisory for western maryland, includes garrett and allegheny counties.

much of west virginia and into the ohio valley under a frost advisory for tomorrow morning, the first one of the season. as we look across the nation, if you're traveling today, there may be travel problems with snow out in the colorado rockies as well as perhaps parts of wyoming and utah and farther to the north there some of the lower elevations may see some rain as well as parts of new mexico. maybe thunderstorms in south texas and south florida. elsewhere, shouldn't have any travel problems. blustery winds may delay flights through new england with scattered passing showers there. for our part of the world, we've got this area of low pressure spinning way over soith earn canada and continuing to give us this flow out of the northwest. it will keep it chilly today. we've got dry high pressure building in the midwest. that's going to be sliding over us during the day tomorrow and clearing us out. the northern part of the high pressure is dipping temperatures in northern wisconsin down into the 20s this morning. that's the coldest morning of the season so far. as we go forward over the next 36 hours, the high pressure

moves in. we dry out. lots of sun tomorrow. should be a bit warmer. the winds should diminish as well. as we get into friday, a front developing in the midwest and by friday afternoon that will begin to cloud us up quite a bit and maybe bring some rain for friday night into saturday. here is the bus stop forecast for this the morning. we'll have our temperatures in the 50s through the morning. and it will stay cloudy and rather chilly for the next several hours. sunrises at 7:03. by noontime a little sun will break out. in the mid and upper 60s by mid afternoon. a little sunshine. clouding up again late afternoon. maybe a passing sprinkle late afternoon, early this evening. otherwise quite a bit of cloudiness and the winds will diminish tonight and will clear out. by drawn tomorrow it will certainly be chilly around the metro area and much of virginia and maryland, lit be in the 40s tomorrow morning and out of the mountain ins the 30s. the rest of the day with that bright sun we should warm up to around 70. on friday, increasing clouds, 50s in the morning, afternoon highs low 70s and maybe showers

friday evening for all the high school games as well as on saturday for all the college and high school games. maybe some passing showers and in the low 70s, and then for sunday should be partly cloudy with highs reaching the 60s. on monday and tuesday a warming trend. we ought to make it back in the 7 os and first part of next week and the first full week of october. that's the way it looks on this final day of september. >> wow, this month went by fast. thanks a lot, tom. let's go to ashley lipider in the news4 traffic network. >> good morning, ashley. >> good morning, barbara and joe. starting off relatively quietly. no problems on the capital beltway as we can see at coals ville. the outer look is the headlights continuing towards bethesda. in prince george's county, the intersection of lotsford vista road at forbes boulevard will be shut down, that's north of 50. out of springfield, all travel lanes are open. no big problems along 395.

barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you, ashleigh. with college application season about to get into full swing, many students and parents are faced with the big decision of what to consider as a possible major. the author of the book "50 best college majors for a secure future" has a few to consider. he says nursing or registered nurse training degrees have the greatest number of annual job openings. and that's followed by secondary education, business education and early childhood education. early to bed, early to rise. it's been well over 200 years since ben franklin's advice on wisdom, health and wealth. it holds true today especially for students. we have the story of one student who struggled with school before getting into a new routine, a lesson parents might want to study for use in their own home. >> reporter: 13-year-old tessa alvarez knows how to get off to a smart start. this 8th grader has to-do list

and tackles it as soon as she walks through the door from school. >> i'm actually happy about that, to be organized and independent. >> reporter: it wasn't always this way. >> they were very hectic, very nervous. >> reporter: her mom once dread touchdown days leading up to the new school year. this year she deced to do things differently and establish a routine both she and tessa could live with. >> so i had to step back and start doing things differently. definitely doing it before time is the best. >> reporter: tessa starts by making her lunch for the next school day. some peanut butter and jelly, a drink and yogurt and she's good to go. next she irons her school uniform so it's nice and crisp for the next morning. >> i always want to leave early. i never want to be late or anything. i like to be the first person there. >> reporter: she does a couple hours of homework, gets her books and supplies together. then it's an early bedtime. >> it's better to go to

sleeperly so you'll be able to get up energized and stuff like that for the next morning, for school and stuff like that. i go to sleep at 9:00. usually i'm knocked out by that time. >> reporter: by morning, tessa is ready to start her day and her mother likes what she sees. >> i'm expecting a very goodyear from her this year. >> that was denise nicano reporting. news4 is helping to find jobs for you. med as shurnt is looking for a business analyst. for more information or to apply go to nbcwashington.com and search "jobs 4 you." a reminder news4 is always connected to you on facebook and twitter for up-to-the-minute breaking news, weath and traffic alerts. you can find us by searching news4today. that's one word. coming up at 6:00 a.m., he signed a $100 million contract in the off season. what albert haynesworth's wife says the star is not spending that money on. ow a good deed can get you

free admission into disney world. it's getting cooler outside. meteorologist tom kierein is even talking about frost. we'll have your weather and traffic together on the 1s coming up. a full hour of news on the way. stay with us. we'll be right back.

jintd wave. dozens are dead and many more missing when an earthquake and tsunami hit the sam mow want islands. this morning a better look at the damage. unsafe at any speed. it's being called an epidemic. what the obama administration hopes to accomplish today when it hosts a summit on the dangers of distracted driving. the swine flu vaccine is shipping out ahead of schedule. find out when you'll be able to

get your shot. welcome everyone. thanks for waking up with us this morning for n"news4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm joe krebs on this wednesday, the 30th day of september, 2009. take a live look outside. you can see the lights of the district of columbia reflected off the clouds above us right now. 57 kind of cool degrees. let's find out what the rest of the day is going to be like. >> tom is with us. he says we won't see the sun for an hour or so. >> we won't see a thing because it's cloudy. sunrises at 7:03 this morning. about an hour away. a lot of cloudiness around. no precipitation on radar at this hour as we take a look at the forecast for today. a cloudy morning and temperatures holding steady in the 50s. by noon we have a little suhine coming out as well as through mid afternoon. the winds will be picking up, gusting out of the northwest, perhaps up to 25 miles an hour from time to time. highs reach the upper 60s. late aernoon clouding back up again and maybe a few sprinkles

winterly evening and clearing out after midnight and getting chilly tomorrow morning, down into the mid 40s around the metro area and, yes, frosty 30s out in the mountains likely tomorrow morning. that warm sun with lots of sun tomorrow and a blue sky should get us up to 70. low 70s on friday. maybe showers friday night and off and on on saturday. a look at sunday and next week, that will be ten minutes at 6:11. >> let's go to ashley linder keeping an eye on the traffic. any problems now? >> we have problems in prince george's county. serious accident has an intersection shut down for the time being, north of route 50. as far as the capital beltway is concerned, we're in good shape. volume is on the increase. no major issues towards the beltway. traveling along 66, we have volume. it's going to be sw as you leave manassas headed into torts centreville. now to a breaking news we're following out of northern virginia, an early morning fire has destroyed a home in annan dale.

that home is in the 5000 block of bristow drive. megan, good morning. >> reporter: goo morning, barbara. i'm going to step out of the way so you can take a live look at the house here. this home is at the intersection of royston street and bristow drive in annan dale. they have lights on inside the home. you can see it has basically been gutted. the fire broke out early this morning. it was fed by a natural gas line to the home. that made for a very difficult situation for firefighters. they had a gas-fed fire. the home was completely engulfed in flames. really it was just too dangerous for them to go inside. it is unclear at this point, because they haven't been able to get inside, whether or not there were any occupants inside the home. they don't believe that there were, but they are not absolutely sure because they have gotten some conflicting reports from residents as to whether or not this home was occupied.

>> we were able to get inside for a little while. the floor burned through so we had to pull people back out again. we don't know if there was anybody inside the home. the fire is under control now. we're putting out hot spots. fire investigators are here canvassing the neighborhood talking to people. >> reporter: they're talking to people trying to get more information about the status of the house, whether, indeed, there was someone living there, whether it was vak can't. again, they've gotten conflicting reports about thatment because they haven't been able to get inside, they can't be sure one way or the other. they're asking anyone with information about this home, again it's at the intersection of royston and bristow to please give them a call. they're waiting for the light of day here and to stabilize the house and the situation a little bit before they can go inside. again, there are no floors left on the interior. so it's making for a tough situation in terms of going in and checking things out. they have cut the gas and the bulk of the fire has been knocked down. barbara, back to you.

>> we'll continue to follow this, megan. thank you. now to our developing story and the death toll that continues to increase. a powerful earthquake spawned a tsunami that slammed into the samoan islands, a series of islands in the south pacific. american samoa is a u.s. territory. to the west is the independent state of samoa. 15 to 20-foot tsunami waves crashed into the islands killing dozens. for more on the devastation, we're joined by kimberly suiters. good morning. >> good morning. we just received a statement from president obama. more on that in a moment. that powerful earthquake hurled a massive tsunami at t shores of samoa and american samoa, flattening villages and sweeping cars and people out to sea, leaving at least 82 people dead and dozens more missing. those numbers are changing as the hours passed. now, four tsunami waves 15 to 20-feet high roared ashore on american samoa reaching up to a

mile in length. survive ors fled the fast-churning water for higher ground and remained huddled there hours after the quake struck on tuesday. the signs of devastation were everywhere. giant boats washed ashore lying on the edge of the highway. floodwaters swallowing up cars, homes and buildings. this quag with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3 struck around dawn, about 125 miles from samoa, an island nation of 180,000 people located aut halfway between new zealand and hawaii. it hit about 120 miles from neighboring american samoa, a u.s. territo homto 65,000 people. according to the congressional delegate from that island, it came fast. >> the main harbor which is pongo pongo which is only about two or three feet above sea level was completely damaged. the earthquake was so powerful it hit samoa in a matter of 30 minutes. that'seally what was shocking

me. >> now to that message from president obama. he says that he and michelle send their deepest condolences, that he has declared a major disaster for american samoa and the u.s. coast guard is fully supporting the deployment of resources to the region to respond properly to this catastrophe. joe, back to you. >> kimberly, thanks very much. police in prince george's county are investigatinghis morning after an officer shot a suspect this morning. it all started last night near the corner of white pearl place and pepper mill drive. police received a call after someone spotted two men sitting inside an suv. those men were described as suspicious looking. when officers arrived at the scene, the driver tried to ram one of them with his car. a second officer fired his weapon, hitting one of the men in the arm. the suspects drove off and tried to bail, but were caught a short

time later. meanwhile, we're learning new details about a murder that shook an upscale neighborhood in buoy. police say it appears a father killed inside his own home was targeted. tyrone richardson was shot to death sunday inside his house on marley drive. police say he was killed by intruders who also tied up his wife and two children. many had believed the murder was connected to a recent series of burglaries in that area. but police say that's not the case. >> this crime was not a burglary gone bad. the decedent in this case, mr. richardson, was targeted for an unknown reason. >> police think the three suspects partly knew richardson somehow. officers later recovered his stolen mercedes in the district. police say they also found several items the intrude ers discarded as they drove away. officers aren't saying what those items are. happening today here in washington, hundreds of experts will gather to talk about distracted driving and what should be done about it. distracted driving is now thought to be responsible for a fourth of all traffic accidents.

more than half of those involve teenagers. that's why the ford motor company and the governor's highway safety association held a seminar at rfk stadium yesterday. teenagers were put behind the wheel to see how well they could deal with distracts distractions. >> driving is something serious. it's not an everyday thing and a joke. it's life or death. >> there's no way to be safe while you're texting, none. it's too big a distraction. >> it's also not just texting. experts say even hands-free devices can put drivers at risk because they take attention off of the road. new today an olympian effort to win the summer games. minutes ago the first lady touched down in denmark to lobby for chicago's bid for 2016, part of a star-studded delegation lobbying before the olympic committee in copenhagen.

president obama will make a peonal pitch on friday, the first time a president has lobbied the ioc this way. 6:09 is the time. 57 degrees. it's been a rough week for redskins star albert haynesworth. he gets injured, the team loses to the lions, now hear what his wife is demanding from the $100 million man. nfl quarterback michael vick makes the trip down 95. the message he has for young kids in our

vrnlths good morning. time for weather an traffic. at this hour only in the 50s. 40s in the mountains. later today a little sunshine breaking out. the forecast for the next few days, temperatures reaching upper 60s with a blustery wind and a small chance of a sprinkle later this evening. 40s tomorrow morning around the metro area. 30s, frost in the mountains. a bit warmer on friday with increasing clouds. late friday night, off and on on saturday, maybe passing showers. then on sunday drying out and should be getting mild with dry conditions monday and tuesday next week. ashley linder, how is the traffic? >> as we travel up the 95 corridor leaving fredricksburg, we're in good shape but are starting to see volume activity as you leave woodbridge headed toward lorton per the usual. no big beltway problems right now. if you're traveling along 66, we had issues as you made your way

in the eastbound direction, it was starting to get pretty congested. as you travel in the eastbound direction, delays through manassas through centreville. last mile to the beltway was also pretty congested. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thanks very much. through ashley. our time right now is 6:. virginia governor tim kaine says whether he'll stop the execution of john alan mohammed and

>> reporter: only four in ten parents plan to vaccinate their children according to one survey. marty griffin says she's not sure it will help. >> i'm not willing to do it. i'm hoping that the problem doesn't become a massive outbreak. if it does, i may regret this decision. health officials reassured congress the vaccine is safe. >> we have safety data from decades of experience with

seasonal vaccines which are made in the same manner. >> reporter: will the doses arrive in time? the whole school district in huntsville, texas, shut down. too many kids sent home sick. >> coughing, headache, just they're really tired, their body aches. >> reporter: two hospitals in charlotte, north carolina, have barred children from visiting patients. too risky, they say. other hospitals have set up special tents to handle flu overload. in a flu season that officially starts saturday. >> health officials say h1n1 never really went away this summer. but they say that's helped them track the virus and give them confidence the vaccine is a good match. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news. the centers for disease control is reminding people that swine flu deaths are rare. most cases right now are moderate or even mild. it was voted down in committee, but supporters say the public option isn't dead. they're still pushing for a government insurance choice in the battle over health care reform. critics say the option would put

private insurers out of business. liberal democrats hope for better lo better luck before the full senate. max baucus hopes to push his middle of the road measure through committee by week's end. governor tim kaine says he sees no reason to stop the scheduled execution. >> he sees no reason to stop the scheduled execution of convicted d.c. sniper john allen mohammed. kaine said he knows of no credible claim of innocence or pro cerebral error in the case. muhammad's attorneys say that will ask the governor to stop the execution but have yet to formally do so. muhammad is scheduled to be excused on november 10th for the october 20 o 02 killing industry that left ten people dead. a man suspected of plotting a terrorist attack has pleaded not guilty in a new york courtroom. this was naj gentlemen beulah zazi's first court appearance

since his arrest earlier in tngt mo. prosecutors say he was involved in a conspiracy to bomb new york's transit system. zazi had three accomplices. new york police say the suspects currently poes no threat to the sisity. michael vick says he doesn't want kids in washington to make the same mistakes he did. he visited covenant baptist church in southwest d.c. yesterday. vick was there to speak out against dogfighting, urging inner city kids not to get involved. he served a year and a half behind bars after being convicted in his role in running a dogfighting ring. now he's working with the humane society. >> trying to get more people involved in becoming animal rights advocates and helping eradicate dogfighting. i'm honored to be here. i our goal is to reach every demographic, reach people all across the world, to help contribute and eradicate dogfighting. >> vick used to play for the

atlanta falcons. he's now with the philadelphia eagles. he played for the first time sunday since his release from prison. for more on the skins and other news around the local sports world, here is lindsay czarniak with your sports minute. hey there, good morning, everybody. your sports minutes begins with the nationals. last night ian desmond sparked a nationals rally in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run home run, the second of his career. the nationals came from behind to beat the mets 4-3. the nationals go for the sweep later today at 4:30. to the ice, the capitols held their media day yesterday at verizon center. the buzz around the team is they're ready to make a strong run for the stanley cup. the puck drops on a new season for the caps tomorrow night in boston against the bruins. finally, in football, the redskins are back on the field this afternoon getting ready for sunday's game against the bucs. jim zorn and the team are

looking to put the lions loss behind them. the bucs are 0-3 on the season and will starting a brand new quarterback josh johnson. on monday they benched leftwich in the favor of johnson. game time, 1:00 sunday. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. 6:21 is the time. >> let's goeteorologist tom kierein in storm center 4. good morning capitol hill under a cloud cover, live picture from our citi camera on this wednesday morning. final day of september. and temperatures are cool. we're in the 50s. weather watchers reporting around the shenandoah valley to the atlantic beaches. 57 in washington. from barry farm to again belt, burke and ulney, a lot of crowd dins this morning. it will stay mostly cloudy this morning. we ought to get a few in the clouds by midday. late afternoon clouding up again with a slight chance of a sprinkle. a blustery wind will develop gusting to 25. high temperatures in the upper 60s. maybe frost sought of the mountains, afternoon highs with

sunshine near 70. increasingly cloudy friday. showers late friday night off and on on saturday. then drying out for sunday and the first part of next week and warming up into the 70s by tuesday. ashley, how is the wednesday commute this. >> 95 northbound is seeing slowing, on the brakes from the prince william parkway up towards woodbridge. 395 is very slow leaving the beltway towards duke and seminary road. here we eke looking at springfield where the volume isn't too bad. you're moving, but it's starting to get congested. 270 headed in the southbound direction, no problems here as you make your way towards old georgetown road. we do have problems if you're headed southbound, father hurley to 118 is slow and congested. barbara and joe, back to you. if you like big rocks, u'll want to see this. one of the bigst diamonds in the world is found, 507

a 507 karat diamond has been discovered in south africa. the company that found the diamond is showing off their massive gemstone. petra uncovered the diamond at the mine in south africa.

experts estimate the diamond is among the top 20 gems ever found. the same mine produced the 3100 karat stone currently part of britain's crown jewels. >> almost gaudy, you'd have to stay. albert hates worth is facing off the field distractions this week. his wife is asking a tennessee judge for a restraining order against him as part of their divorce proceedings. she also wants the judge to force haynesworth to pay debts dating back to april of 2008. the motion alleges that haynesworth told their daughter's preschool that he would not be paying her monthly tuition and refused to pay a $4,000 veterinarian's bill for the family dog. so there you have it. the latest for albert haynesworth. not good news. our time is 6:27. ne nearly four million vehicles. the reason why tie oh that

issued its largest recall yet in the u.s. we're following a developing story overseas, an earthquake and tsunami hit the samoan is

wave of terror. the death toll is climbing as a massive earthquak and tsunami

hits the american samoan islands. hear from survivors as we get a better look at all the damage. off the road toyot issues its largest ever u.s. recall. nearly four million of its most popular vehicles. how floor mats can become an instant hazard. good morning and welcome back to "news4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's wednesday, september 30th, last day of the month, 2009. looking outside, looks like a little bit of break-up in the clouds. we understand from tom we're looking at lights from the city reflecting on the clouds above us. we still about a half hour before sunrise. tom, what do you say? >> breaking up is hard to do. >> especially for those. >> it will take a while before we see much sun. sunrises at 7:03. at this hour it is quite cool under these clouds, looking at radar. no precipitation now around the region. only in the 50s. a wide area all the way from the shenandoah valley to the atlantic beaches including

montgomery, fairfax, prince george's, arlington counties and the district of columbia. the view from space showing a lot of cloudiness around. but the clouds should be breaking up a little bit by midday. and then during the afternoon, late afternoon, clouding right back up again with a slight chance of a sprinkle. a blustery northwest wind. highs reaching upper 60s. frosty cold in the mountain ins the morning. 40s around the metro area. afternoon highs near with sunshine. increasing clouds friday. a look at sunday and into next week in ten minutes at 6:41. >> thanks, tom. a lot of us have been fans of frosty cold ones, in the mountains or anywhere. >> let's check traffic now. ashley, good morning. traveling on the outer loop of the beltway at new hampshire avenue we can start to see the volume becoming a real issue as you make your way toward silver spring. this is per the usual, no accidents to report. college park to silver spring is going to be pretty congested.

elsewhere, out of maryland as you travel down 270, volume is a factor from farther hurley towards germantown. 95 headed northbound from the prince william parkway to route 1 in ridgewood, on the brakes, more delays from 395 north to the beltway out of springfield. headlights continuing towards 395. barbara and joe, back to you. now to the latest details on a developing story. the death toll continues to rise after a tsunami swept through the samoan islands in the south pacific. at least 99 people are dead in the u.s. territory of american samoa and a neighboring island nation. dozens are still missing. 15 to 20-foot tsunami waves crashed into the islands. the waves were spawned after a quake with a magnitude of 8.0 and 8.3 struck about 125 miles from samoa. survivors said it was a chaotic

scene. >> it's really happening. everyone is panicking because we did drills before. when the real things happened, we forgot about the drills. >> federal officials are on their way to assist with rescue operations. president obama has declared a major disaster there. he's promising full, swift and aggressive response to the sue ma'am any. now to a major recall. toyota's biggest ever. the carmaker is warning owners about a dangerous problem with floor mats. the mats can snag the gas peddle causing a car to accelerate out of control. the problem might be linked to a deadly crash in california. nearly four million car owners have been put on notice. tracy will coins joins us live from marlo heights with who is affected by this. >> good morning, barbara. models like camry, lexus and prius are all a part of this recall. and this is something that doesn't just affect toyota

owners. it affects every single vehicle on the road. toyota is calling it its largest equal ever, 3.8 million vehicles. the carmaker says problems with the removable floor mat could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash. according to the national hi highway traffic safety administration there have already been more than 100 such incidents. >> they don't fit perfect. they usually don't have anything to hold them into place or they have a tendency to slide forward and can get up underneath the ped dals and cause problems there. >> in august a lexus es-350 crashed in california killing an en tour family. the run-away car was traveling more than 120 miles per hour when it hit a sport utility vehicle and flew off an embankment. the driver complained of a stuck accelerator to 911 before the crash. toyota is now taking a proactive step to try and protect what's

always been a strong brand. >> they don't want to create too much panic in the market. they don't want to draw excess attention to this whole issue ere it could impact consumers attitudes and purchase intentions towards their brand. >> these are the cars that toyota is rekalg, 2007 to 2010 camry, the '05 to 2010 avalon, the 04 to '09 pre yus, '05 t 2010 tacoma, the '07 to 2010 es-350 lexus, '06 to 20150 is-250 and is-350 lexus. if you have those vehicles, for now remove the mat on the driver's side and don't replace it until they come up with some kind of solution to this problem. if you're worried about your car accelerating and not being able to stop it, go to toyota.com or call your dealership for instructions on what to do with your particular vehicle.

i'm tracee wilkins, live, back in the studio. in other news this morning, a school bus driver and an aide are recovering this morning after their bus burst into flames in northeast washingt. witness susie bradford captured this video of the fire near 20th and evidence verts streets. officials say the bus was on the way back to the bus company when the fire broke o around 4:30 yesterday. two women on the bus, the driver and e aide were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. there were no children on the bus at the time. >> strange new details are coming out this morning about a man found murdered in a school parking lot in prince george's county. police found the victim on monday outside the ascension lutheran school on buchanan street in landover hills. sources tell news4 the man was missing most of his clothes and his feet had been burned in an apparent act of torture. officials have still not been able to identify the victim. today president obama is getting ready to talk strategy.

he'll be focusing on afghanistan with a meeting on his top advisors. on the and dane, general stanley mcchrystal says he needs more forces or the u.s. will likely lose the war. president obama will also hear from the secretaries of state achd defense. any decision on troop levels would probably take weeks, though. president obama says he won't send more troops into harm's way until he has absolute clarity about the strategy. meanwhile, tomorrow president obama will be tackling another foreign policy challenge, iran. six-nation talks will begin in geneva and focus on iran's nuclear ambitions. tensions are high after several long range missile tests and revelations of a secret nuclear facility. iran says the u.n. will be able to inspect the facility. it's only enriching uranium energy. iran says that it built this for

good times. we'll take a break and come back in

time for weather and traffic.

good morning, 6:41, a cool 57 in washington. there's capitol hill under the cloud cover. live picture from our city camera this morning. we have gentle winds now, but the winds should increase later on today. we're in the 50s around the region from washington's shaw neighborhood to new carrollton, mclane and wheaton. a few breaks in the clouds, a little sun coming out into mid afternoon. wind gusting out of the northwest around 25 miles an hour. then clouding up again late afternoon winterly evening with a slight chance of a sprinkle. 0s out of the mountains tomorrow morning with scattered frost. 40s around the metro area. highs near 70 with lots of sun. saturday maybe showers as we dry out saturday night. should have a pleasant day on sunday. good weather for the skins and bucs at fedex field. warming up into the first part of next week. ashley, how is the traffic? >> we have slowing occurring around town. outer loop leaving college park towards silver spring. 270 headed in the southbound

direction was slow afar they are hurley boulevard towards middle brook. by montgomery village you're back up to speed headed towards the beltway. if you're planning a trip along 66 this early morning, in teb direction we have volume as a factor as you make your way through manassas. heavy volume headed towards the beltway. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you, ashley. i'd like to correct something that we just reported on iran's secret military facility. iran says it built that facility near a military base for its protection in case of an attack. at 6:43, coming up the swine flu vaccine is shipping out ahead of schedule. find out when you'll be able to get your shot. the meeting in town today to discuss how to put an end to an epidemic of driving

now to tt breaking news we've been following out of northern virginia. an early morning fire has destroyed a home in annandale in the 5000 block of bristow drive. megan mcgrath joins us from the

scene with the very latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. you can see behind me they've thrown more light on the house and starting to get in there just a little bit. it's still a very dangerous situation for them. it was a gas-fed fire. so they had a huge volume of flames inside the home. that caused the floor to collapse down into the basement. so firefighters have not been able to really get inside this home at all. it's too unstable, too dangerous. they have cut the gas. they have knocked down the bulk of the fire. but they're going to have to stabilize it a little more and wait for daylight to really get in there and do a proper search. they have conflicting information from neighbors as to whether or not anyone lives in this home. apparently some folks say yes, there is a resident here. other people say no, the home is vacant. they're really not sure whether anyone was inside at the time this fire broke out. >> there's conflicting reports in the neighborhood as far as people understanding who lives

there, from someone that lives there to it being a vacant home. we're really not sure what the real story is. but once we talk to more neighbors and able to get inside the home, we'll have more information. >> reporter: now, this house is at the corner of royston and bristow drive in annandale. the fire was fed by a natural gas line connected to this home. it caused a huge fire inside. you can see looking here at the scene that basically everything inside is a loss. this house was completely gutted by the fire, not sure exactly what started the blaze. the gas has been cut off. the bulk of the fire has been knocked down. they have a few hot spots here and there. and you can see we still have some smoke coming from the home. but by and large, the bulk of the fire is out. now they're just trying to figure out exactly what the situation is with residents. anyone who has information or

perhaps owns a home or something along those lines, you are asked to contact the fire department because, again, they really are trying to figure out whether possibly somebody was in there or not. they hope not. but they want to be sure. until they get in tlnd a dig down into the ash now in the basement, they're not going to know. back to you, barbara. >> thank you, megan. joe? with more and more drives texting behind the wheel, the transportation secretary is calling distracted driving an epidem epidemic, thought tbe responsible for a fourth of all traffic accidents. more than half of those involve teenagers. that's why the ford motor company and the governor's highway safety association held a seminar at rfk stadium yesterday. teenagers were put behind the wheel to see how well they could deal with the distractions. >>here no way to be safe while you're texting. none. it's too big a distraction. >> it makes you aware of what's going on. driving is something serious. it's not an everyday thing and a joke. it's life or death. >> it's also not just texting.

experts say that even hands-free devices can put drivers at risk because they take attention off the roadway. that's the reason for a new w that takes effect tomorrow in maryland. drivers will be band from texting behind the wheel. if they're caught, they'll face a $500 fine. now the problem is this law might be fairly hard to enforce because drivers can't write or send text messages, but they are allowed to read text messages. also starting tomorrow there's another reason to slow down. speed cameras will be turned on along highway work zones. those caught going more than 12 miles per hour over the speed limit will face a $40 fine. barbara? a university of maryland researcher who studied the effects of drugs on the brain has died of an apparent overdose. 29-year-old carrie johns died sunday shortly after infecting herself with a drug used to treat heroin addiction. her live-in boyfriend dr.

clinton mccracken did similar research and is facing drug charges. police say he got the drug from an online pharmacy in the philippines. >> throughout the investigation we learned these are two pharmacists that work in the university of maryland. they had been involved in some type of drug operation inside their home. >> charging documents say the couple ran a marijuana-growing operation out of their baltimore home. mccracken is now free on bail. the first batch of the swine flu vaccine has now been shipped out. those vaccines are on the way to doctor's offices and clinics around the country and should be available next week. that's two weeks ahead of schedule. federal health officials say 250 million doses of the vaccine will be available, enough to cover everyone who wants it. at-risk groups like pregnant women and care givers will be given first priority. not even october and one major retailer is already getting ready for the holidays. cnbc's mary thompson joins us live with more on the story. good morning to you. >> good morning to you.

it doesn't seem possible, but walmart is soup sizing its holiday toy program. last october they sold $10 dollar for ten popular toys. this year walmart will offer more than 100 toys indluding transformers action figures and fa hey playdough burger set. about two-thirds of americans don't want their movements tracked online by advertisers. a new survey from the university of pennsylvania and cal berkeley show those numbers rise once people find out how marketers follow them on the web. privacy advocates say tracking has gone too far. marketers argue advertising helps to support free online content. back to you. >> mary, thanks very much. news4 is helping to find jobs for you. this morning med assurant is looking for a business analyst. for more information or to apply go to nbcwashington.com and

search "jobs 4 you." disney is offering a free day's admission to one million guests for those who volunteer one day next year. the program is called give a day, get a disney day. disney is partner iing with hands-on network to certify volunteers' work. with that they get a one-day ticket to any park at disney land in anaheim, california, or walt disney world near orlando, florida, in the year 2010. would-be volunteers must register online with disney and must be residents of the u.s., canada or puerto rico to be eligible. let's get a check on our weather. tom joins us here in the studio. >> it certainly is another cool morning as we say good-bye to september and hello to october. we certainly have the autumn weather in place under the cloud cover this morning, in the 50s all around the region. dress accordingly. you're not going to have to peel off too many layers. look at this wonderful live picture, title basin with the

jefferson memorial and you can see a few breaks in the clouds on the eastern horizon behind the jefferson memorial. sunrise is about ten minutes away. as we look at radar, those clouds are not producing any precipitation aroundhe region. we have temperatures on the cool side under the clouds. but where the clouds have broken up, the central shenandoah valley, temperatures there are down into the 40s. the clouds are acting like a blanket and keeping us in the mid and upper 50s from the blue ridge all the way to the atlantic seaboard. out in the mountains, it's cooler there, just near 50 degrees. a lot of cloudiness circulating around low pressure way up here in southern canada. for tomorrow morning we already have frost advisories out. these are the first of the season for west virginia and into the ohio valley. could have frost around tomorrow morning. here is the wide view across the nation. if you're traveling, could be flight delays from snow in the central rockies. maybe a few storms in south texas and south florida. and rain from new england down to pennsylvania.

shouldn't really cause any flight delays, just some passing moderate showers. for us we have low pressure sitting over southern canada. the circulation around that is giving us this cool flow. there's dry high pressure building in the midwest. that will be drifting over us during the day tomorrow and giving us plenty of sunshine. here is the bus stop forecast for this morning. you want to dress warmly. it's going to stay in the 50s for the morning. it will remain cloudy. sunrise 7:03. then by noon and through the afternoon we have a little sunshine breaking out. by then we'll be in the upper 60s and the winds gusting out of the northwest around 25 miles an hour. slight chance of sprinkles late afternoon and early evening. clearing out after midnight. 40s around the metro area tomorrow morning. 30s in the mountains. highs near 70, lots of sun. increasing clouds on friday. drying out on sunday and into monday and tuesday. a bit of a warming trend as we get into the first full week of october. that's the way it looks on this last day of september. >> okay, tom. thank you. let's take a look at the roads and see what's going on

out there. ashley linder, good morning again. >> good morning, barbara. traveling on the bw parkway this early morning we had a problem at 197. an accident temporarily blocked the two southbound lanes. we did have enough time to formulate some delays. best bet, stick with 95 today. avoid the bw parkway. here is 270. we have delays as you make your way in that southbound direction. it's going to be volume as you make your way south to father hurley headed towards montgomery village. no big problems to report around the capital beltway. we will be slow on the outer loop towards springfield. 66 very slow as you leave manassas through centreville. the last mile to the beltway is very slow. barbara and joe, back to you. >> updating the top story ins the news for today, 99 people are confirmed dead. dozens still missing after a massive tsunami struck the samoan islands. president obama has declared a major disaster for american

samoa. fema and other resources are on their way to that area. toyota is recalling nearly four million vehicles because of a problem with the floor mats. the mats can snag the gas pedal and cause a dangerous acceleration. the recall affects the camry, avalon, prius and tundra along with several lexus models. for a complete li, visit nbcwashington.com and search toyota. first lady michelle obama touched down in copenhagen, denmark a short time ago, lobbying the international olympic committee for chicago's bid for the 2016 olympic host. hanging out in an out house might not sound like a good time to you, but some folks in louisiana actually make a whole day of it. i don't know if i want to know this. the town hosted its annual out house race this week. essentially a soap box derby in

an out house. each home made commode has its own bells and whistles and wheels. they also have raether unusual names like "got to go," "poot and scoot" and "eat more prunes." looks like a lot of fun. that's "news4 today." thanks for starting your day with us. >> have a great day. we hope you join us for midday. tomorrow morning get up with us, we start at 4:55. we leave you with u2 performance from last night at fedex field. ♪ you don't know how beautiful