dozens of people still missing this morning where a tsunami left streets with ocean debris, and mud and overturned cars and boats. >> the president is in bethesda right now making an announcement that could mean added jobs for our area. and swine flu agenda, metro

changes the way it cleans trains and buses. good morning and well can come to "news4 midday." i joe krebs. >> and i am barbara harrison. and it's wednesday, september 30th, 2009. now to a story where the death toll keeps rising. at the moment, 100 people are dead and many more feared dead. a earthquake spawned a tsunami that slammed into the samoan islands. america samoa is a u.s. territory. to the west is the independent state of samoa. 15 to 20-foot tsunami waves smashed into the continent. >> reporter: whole villages and vessels and vehicles were swept away by the tsunami, as were more than 90 people. witnesses describe a series of waves stretching inland as far as a mile. >> when i got down to the village, the wave had gone back

out. but it was devastating. it w a da shock. this was the first time we experienced this. >> that was alex, the chief of staff for the american samoa's representative in congress. >> we do have fatalities, and severe damage especially to the main town. >> and electricity and water services were wiped out by the tsunami, triggered by an under water quake, magnitude 8 to 8.3. >> it's really happening. everybody is panicking. we did drills before, and i

guess we followed it, and when the real thing happened we forgot about the drills. >> reporter: alarms rang out and people sought higher ground, but not everybody escaped. and in the tightly knitted communities, that means everybody is affected directly by the loss of life. >> president obama has declared a major disaster in american samoa, pledging the full support of the u.s. coast guard and offering thoughts and prayers for the people that lost so much. a powerful earthquake also hit indonesia today. 75 people at least have been killed, and thousands trapped under flattened buildings there. breaking news we have been following this morning. students are returning to class at the corkrin middle school. the school was evacuated after 8:00 this morning. the evacuation was due to fumes in the building. fire officials discovered workers on the roof of the school were applying a roofing

adhesive and an aluminum roof coating, when the ventilation was turned on some of the chemicals were in the building and made some sick. now the president is announcing $5 billion in grants. these are live pictures from bough thebethesda. the money will create thousands of jobs for researchers and educators and people in the medical supplies business. flu season is just around the corner, and this year is the e added concern of the swine flu. experts are warning everybody to take precautions and metro is taking action to make sure its

passengers stay healthy. we have more on this. megan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. keeping things clean. wiping off hard surfaces that can harbor the flu virus. they are going to wart off the spread of the flu virus, the swine flu and the seasonal flu in the metro system. it's an unwritten rule of riding metro, keep to yourself and respect the space of others. unfortunately, germs don't have the same code of conduct. the flu virus can invade your space without warning. unlike an unsavory passenger, you won't see it coming? >> i was just traveling. it's something that i definitely thought about while i was on the plane or on the metro. you never know what you are touching or who has been there. >> of course, i don't think there is any question there are a lot of people in a small area

and then you could have a problem. >> reporter: to help protect riders from seasonal flu and swine flu, crews will disinfect the cars and buses every week. station cleaning where hard surfaces are sprayed and wiped down will continue to happen every day as they do now. >> the machines and railings and escalate eor railings, and that type of thing. we cannot complete the people completely, but we are making an effort for the riders and employees. >> reporter: there were announcements reminding passengers to cover their cough and wash their hands. attention surrounding last year's outbreak of the swine flu raised the awareness of just about everybody. riders say they are glad metro is taking precautions and are being proactive, too. >> we are doing some things differently. they are like you go home and if

you feel sick, some people are not shaking hands as much, or you see a lot of hand sanitizer around. >> i will be washing my hands and constantly making sure i don't get sick. >> and metro will continue with the stepped up cleaning schedule through flu season, which is expected to be sometime in march. back to you, barbara. >> all right, megan, thank you. and northern virginia officials are investigating a house fire in annan dale. firefighters were unable to get inside the home because the damage made t structure unstable. and there were conflicting reports as to whether anybody was inside at the time but nobody was found. >> there is conflicting reports in the neighbor as far as people understanding who lives there, and from somebody tha lives there to it being a vacant home, so we are really not sure what

the real story is. >> again, the real story apparently is that nobody was inside the house at the time according to firefighters. the house is a total loss. still not clear what sparked the fire. let's take a look outside. still cloudy here on the nation's capital. if you look, you can see a little strip of ue. but this will stay with us most of the day, right? >> yeah, some sunshine in and out, but cloudiness off to the west. we do see blue off towards the west. the camera jumping up and down with a blustery wind. right now we are in the mid-60s. 66 in washington. we will gradually climb a few more degrees to 70 for a high. cool up in the mountains, and still only 50 there. the eastern shore the mid-60s. and over the last six hours, we had the morning clouds breaking up a bitn parts of the virginia and maryland they have sunshine there and there are a few sprinkles up in pennsylvania. and for the afternoon, we might

have a passing sprinkle with temperatures rising to 70 degrees. and winds out of the northwest, gusting around 20 to 25. and then we should have a clearing by tonight and by dawn tomorrow the 40s around the metro area, and we may have scattered frost out in the mountains tomorrow morning. and then sunny on thursday, with highs on 70. warmer on friday. and we might have showers around on saturday. a look at sunday and into next week will be coming up in a few minutes along with an expanded report on where all the cool air is coming from. back to you, barbara and joe. >> thanks, tom. steve has the latest on the midday traffic right now. good morning, steve. >> good morning barbara and joe. we have midday roadwork again on the beltway and it's on the outer loop. the cones are blocking the lanes, and it's slow there through. the work zone extends around to the american legion bridge from

river road. and over in springfield, they are moving well in both directstions, northbound and southbound on i-95. e roadwork is back between knewing ton and lorden. it's blocked northbound and southbound on 95. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you. hundreds of experts are meeting in washington to discuss the growing problems associated with distracted driving. distracted drivers are now thought to be responsible for a quarter of all traffic accidents. more than a half million people were injured in accidents involving some form of distracted driving. the under 20 and 20-29 years old were the most involved in fatal accidents, and that's why the governor's highway association held a seminar yesterday. teens were put behind the wheel to see how well they could deal with distraction. >> theres no way to be safe while you are texting.

none! it's too big of a distraction. >> it makes you aware of what is going on. drive something something serious, and it's not everything day joe, it's le or death. >> and even hands free devices can put drivers at risk because it takes their attention off the road. and that's the reason for a new law that takes affect tomorrow in maryland. drivers will be banned from texting while behind the wheel. they will face a $500 fine. and drivers cannot write or send text messages but are allowed to read them. and 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 be facing a $40 fine. and a rally for school vouchers in the district. organizers expect 2,000 families at the safe school choice rally today. they will be there in the support of the d.c. opportunity

scholarship program. it gives students up to $7,500 per year to attend a school of their choice. it could be phased out by 2010 unless congress renews the plan. it is set to kickoff in 20 minutes in northwest washington. 11:11 is the time. the space tourists blasted off on a journey to the international space station. why there could be clowning around out there in space? >> and the first lady is in denmark this morning beginning her campaign to get the 2016 olympics in 60. stay with us.

a russian spacecraft launched off today. he joins a russian cosmonaut to the international space station. the founder of circus so lay paid $35 million to become the seventh space tourists. he plans to stage a performance which will be broadcast over the internet while there. it was voted down in committee but the public option

is not dead, and they are still pushing for government insurance choice in the battle over health care reform. the option would put private insurers out of business. meanwhile, senate finance chair max baucus hopes to push his middle of the road measure through the committee by the week's end. mad as hell group made up of doctors will march to lafayette park this afternoon. and the first lady touched down in denmark to lobby for chicago's bid for 2016. she is part of a star-studded delegation lobbying before the committee in copenhagen. and president obama will make a personal pitch himself on friday. this is the first time the u.s. president lob yaed the ioc this

way. chicago needs to beat rio desau narrow and china. we had the cool autumn weather encouraging the foilage change. and we look at the sky this morning, this is what has been happening over the last number of hours. we have been watching the clouds coming through from the rthwest heading to the south, and then as the morning progressed, this is the last hour and a half squeezed down to 30 seconds. we did see a few patches of blue showing up from time to time, but still cloudiness winning out and the overall flow coming from in the northwest is bringing in moisture from a storm system

circulating. it's a large storm and affecting weather up and down the atlantic seaboard all the way into the atlantic states. now a live view from the sky watcher camera which is jumping around a bit in the gusty wind beginning to pick up strength. now, the sailboat picking up winds and taking advantage. and then what a lovely picture. and right now at reagan national down river it's a cool 66, where the september rainfall was 3 1/4 inches, which is below half inch of normal. and then radar around the region at this hour. no precipitation of the clouds. look at the lows this morning. the cloud cover kept the temperatures in the 50s. and the sky cleared up, but it bottomed up at 43.

and we are hitting the mid-60s as the sunshine is breaking out. and these are the latest wind gusts we have had. we had a gust of 21 at reagan national. temperatures now on the eastern shore in the mid-60s, and out of the mountains still only near 50 degrees on this cool final day of september. getting a few showers coming in from the north, from this area of low pressure over southeastern canada, and that's also going to be swinging in much cooler air where you see the counties in blue. there is a frost advisory. and it's all the way into ohio as ll. and here is the wider view over the last 12 hours. the circulation around the low, which is now up over quebec is continuing to give us the flow out of the north and west. we do have high pressure that will move over us as we get into tomorrow and bring us a chill. and some of the cool air will be moving in as we go forward over the next 48 hours.

we will have a trying trend and lots of sunshine tomorrow and then on friday we will see the approach of a frontal system coming in from the midwest that may give us showers, and that's friday night into saturday. and then clouds in and out, and a blustery wind, and highs reaching 70 degrees. overnight tonight we will clear out after midnight. and then we have scattered frost in the mountains. and then friday, low 70s. maybe a shower late friday night. ex then on saturday, showers likely now. it ought to dry out just in time for sunday. should be a good day for the game on sunday. we will start the week, highs in the 70s by tuesday. that's how it looks this wednesday morning. let's go back to steve and the news4 traffic network. >> there was an accident reported inbound on new york avenue near the railroad overpass blocking a lane.

watch for delays inbound on new york avenue. and then 270 southbound, the roadwork is still near 118 in germantown. and so much better news there because it's lighter traffic. and then springfield heading down toward knewington, they are working northbound as well. back to you. >> thank you. a reprieve for a popular golf course in montgomery council. the council approved spending to keep the golf course in silver spring opened through june of next year. without the money the golf course was scheduled to close today. the task force is being formed to find a long-term solution to kaept course open. still ahead, "mad men" actress january jones is using

her star power to help save sharks. plus, a d.c. audience heard about vick's dogfighting. another change in the show, "jon and kate plus eight "and what the future holds for that family. >> first a look at what is hot on nbcwashington.com.

get a load of this. that's what a 507 carat diamond looks like. the same mind produced the largest diamond ever found. it's currently set in britain's imperial septer. "kate plus eight" will highlight kate's journey as a single mother. the divorcing couple has 5-year-old sextuplets and

8-year-old twins. and then coming up, the latest on the president's trip to bethesda's health. and toyota, what car owners need to know this morning. >> and maryland's football coach sits down to talk about the battle to lose more than 100 pounds. tom kierein will be back to look at today's cool forecast. it's really cool. stay with us.

here is a look now at some of the top stories we are following now. at least 100 people lost their lives after a powerful earthquake generated a tsunami on the coast of samoa and american samoa. villages were flooded and flattened and authorities say dozens are still missing. and the white house declared a daser in american samoa, which is a u.s. territory. and the president announced $5 billion in grants in bethesda. that will help to research cancer and other diseases. it will create thousands of jobs of researchers and educators and people in the medical supply business. and metro is getting a good, hard scrub down. the agency is cleaning trains and buses more often to prevent the spread of the flu. station cleaning will continue to happen every da

now to a major recall. toyo toyota's biggest ever. there is a big problem with the floor mats. the mats can snag the gas pedal causing the car to go out of control. 4 million car owners have been put on notice. tracee wilkins reports. >> reporter: toyota is calling it the largest recall ever. there is a problem with a removable floor mat could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash. there have already been more than 100 search 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 under the pedals and stay there. >> an entire family was killed when a runaway car hit a sport

utility vehicle and flew off an embankment. the driver complained of a stuck accelerator to 911 before the crash. toyota is trying to protect a strong brand. >> they don't want to create panic or draw excess attention where it could impact attitudes. >> reporter: these are the cars impacted by the recall. the '07 to 2010 camry and the '05 tacoma, and the 07 to 2010 tundra. and the lexus and the '06 to 2010 is-250 and 350 lexuss.

what you can do is remove the mat from the driver's side of the vehicle and do not replace it until they come up with a solution for this problem. if you are worried about excellently hting your accelerating and locking, and go to toyota.com or call your dealer with instructions on what to do to stop it with your particular model. >> you can see a complete list of the vehicles at our website, nbcwashington.com, and search toyota. and a officer-involved shooting happened last night. police receive add call after somebody spotted two men sitting inside an suv and said they appeared to be suspicious. when the officers arrived at the scene, the driver tried to ram into one of the officers. a second officer then fired his weapon hitting one of the men in the arm. and the suspects drove off and tried to bail out, but were caught a short time later.

we are learning new details about a murder that shook an upscale neighborhood in buoy. a father killed inside his own home was targeted. tyrone richardson was shot to death on sunday. inside his house on majerle drive. he was killed by intruders who tied up his wife and children. many believe the murder was tied up in a recent string of burglaries, but police say that was not the case. >> this crime was not a burglary gone bad. the descendant was targeted for an unknown reason. >> police think the three suspects apparently knew richardson some now. they recovered his stolen mercedes in the district. and they found several items the intruders threw out of the car as they drove away. and the sniper's hopes for a stay of exsclugs is looking dim.

the execution is scheduled for november 10th. he knows of know procedural error in the case. and they will ask the governor for clemency but have not formerly done that. he was convicted for the killing spree that left 10 people dead. in other news this morning, a university of maryland researcher who studies the affects of the drugs on the brain died of an overdose. she injected herself, a drug to treat heroin adecktion. her boyfriend did similar research and is now facing drug charges. he got the drug from an online pharmacy in the philippines. >> we learned these were two

farmi fa pharmacists. >> they ran a marijuana growing operation out of their home. mccracken is free on bail. and obama said he does not want the kids in washington to make the same mistakes he did. vick served a year and a half in prison after being convicted for his role in a dogfighting ring. now he is working with the humane society, mr. michael vick. >> i am trying to get people to be involved. i want to reach every demographic. reach people all across the world to help contribute and eradicate dogfighting. >> michael vick is with the philadelphia eagles on the past sunday. he played for the first time since his release from prison. we have a nice day out there, cloudy but a pleasant

fall temperature. good day to pick apples, huh? >> yeah, invigorating, good day for outdoor exercise. we had little patches of blue as well. and one deck of clouds are passing over washington as now and sunshine to the west. right now radar off to the west in warren county, one shower popped up near front royal, and then across the shenandoah valley. elsewhere a few clouds coming through and temperatures in the low to mid-60s around the region. and these are the latest wind gusts. we had wind gusts around 20 miles per hour. they will likely get a frost there tonight. some passing showers further to the north as well as up in pennsylvania. frost advisories in the blue,

including maryland. as well as many locations in west virginia into the ohio valley. for the rest of the afternoon, partly sunny and a slight chance of aspir sprinkle. we will be down in the 40s in the metro area tomorrow morning, but 30s in the morning with the first frost of the season possible tomorrow morning. and then highs near 70 tomorrow. and then friday, clouding up and the low 70s. and then you clear out on sunday, and into monday and tuesday as we start off the full first week of october will be nice. steve, let's look at traffic. >> good morning, joe and barbara. on the eastbound freeway heading towards pennsylvania avenue there was an accident after south capital street blocking two lanes. slow on northbound 395 or the

freeway heading through the center of town. back to the beltway at river road, the construction is still there in the left lane. you can see the cones on the left side of the roadway, and traffic heading towards the american league bridges, and it's slow thereafter you pass the american legion bridge. the pace does pick up. over to springfield, it's good southbound even though the camera shot showst blocking the right lane. >> thank you, steve. u 2 rocked fedex field last night. a leg of the rock group's north america tour. the fans could see the performers from all sides. the fans rocked along with bono.

known for a terrific motivator and dad, and for years everybody says he took care of everybody but himself, and now he tackled a new diet that says changed everything. we hear about his knew lease on life. >> for nine years, fridge, as he is called, as been a familiar fixture on the maryland sideline. once 401 pounds, he looks different. since october, he lost more than 105 pounds on the medifast diet. >> when i looked at a doctor, he said you are 60 years old and when things look bad, things will go bad. it's a lifestyle change that i had to make. so there is a lot of benefits

from, you know, losing weight. i told medifast, i can 10 things publicly that i do better now, and 10 things privately that i could do better now. >> this has been the perfect answer for his busy lifestyle. >> i have oatmeal, and i take a packet and i put this in four ounces of water, and i microwave it for 1:30, and then i am good to know for three hours. >> reporter: if he needs a snack, he has options. pretzels to protein bars. >> for dinner i have what they colleall lean and mean. i have a green vegetable. my favorite is broccoli. last night i had spinach. and then some type of dressing.

>> and fridge is getting attention. philadelphia eagles head coach caught wind of the weight loss and so he called to get information. the coaches feel so good they actually joke about the things they can do when they hit their goal. >> andy is talking about seeing if he can do a swimsuit calendar together. >> reporter: what do you think? >> i told him i have the speed y o, and he has the thong. >> what month would you want? >> december. >> he is loong for a cover. >> i request see that calendar. and he did so well on the diet that medifast made him the

spokesperson for the diet, and his daughter tried it and she lost 40 pounds. >> i wonder what he had for lunch with lindsay. >> not much. looks like he had a couple packets. a bad day to the start on wall street. we will look at what has investors concerned. and keeping an eye on your (announcer) claritin introduces claritin eye.

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well, it's a promotion made for the recession. one supermarket chain in northern italy is runng a lottery in which shoppers can win one of 10 jobs for a year. if the winners already have jobs they have transfer that offer to a relative who is unemployed. so far tens of thousands of people have taken part in the competition. the winners wl be picked in october and start work in december. italy's unemployment rate is expected to rise to 8.5% this year. the dow dropped more than 100 points today. >> that's not good news. let's check in with scott. >> it's because of some weakness in the economy, and at least one gauge of the economy, the chicago purchasing manager' index. it's something you watch. it came in weaker than expected.

it sparked a selloff. the markets were head into a head wind of economic news, and anything bad was spooking them a bit. the other thing that we have going in the positive side is the gauge of economic growth, the gross domestic product. that came in stronger than expected. the current read on it, anyway. the economy in the last quarter shrank less than 1%. the feeling is in the current quarter, the third quarter, it will have grown. that's a suggestion that the economy seems to be turning the corner. but the economic growth is a little bit more old news as far as the markets are concerned. >> for those of us unfamiliar with the term, what is the purchasing managers index? >> these are people buying goods at the wholesale level.

it's buyers for different types of businesses. it's a measure of manufacturing activity. that's contracting at this point. if it's above 50 on the index, then we are expanding and below 50 is contracting. we are in the mid-40s and economists were not expecting that. that particular sector or that one way of looking at that manufacturing sector in the economy is weaker than expected. and whether the recovery is for real, that's suggesting that it's not. >> is that a monthly index, scott. >> yeah, it is. it's a monthly index, and again, it's something that you look at. it's something that you look at. we knew going into this week, as i said, it's the head wind of the markets. the big unemployment number comes out on friday and that caps it off. anything on the negative is going to send us back a little bit on stocks.

>> one of the keys, if people is not buying things the recession will not turn around anytime soon. and if people don't have jobs they can't buy things. >> yeah, that's right. >> scott, thank you so much. we will see you again soon. there is a new tnd for dog owners who drop off their pets at doggie day care. checking up on them is a click away. r roseanne coletty reports. >> reporter: his baby has four feet and goes woof. and if there is any doubt this human misses that little guy when he drops him off, just look at what he looks up on his laptop. >> this is an image of the web cam. >> yeah, we are sitting on a park bench looking at bruno play with his dog mates.

>> it makes me feel comfortable, especially if i am gone for nine hours a day or on a trip. >> there are two cameras in each of their two play rooms. one is right above the tv in this room and then again across the way. dog owners can log in at home or at the officers and keep an eye on their best friend. sometimes the dogs are out of camera range under a cage or in a corner, and the folks at the paw stop says they will hear about it from their clients. >> some people come in and say i can't see my dog, but both web cams try to show the most amount of space. >> pet owners are lapping this up. >> i only allow myself during lunch to view it. it could be very addictive. i don't want to become an obsessive person that cyber stalks my dog. 11:49 now and 66 degrees.

a race like you have never seen before. plus, meteorologist tom

sam waterston is involved in the group ocaona because he loved the ocean all of his life.

>> it was there forever and inexhaustible. so it was a shock to discover that in my own backyard the situation had been deteriorating alarmingly and that i, a reader of the newspaper, keeper up with the times, and a concerned citizen did not know it. >> other members of the ocean council include kelsey grammer and pierce brassin. >> also, january jones, she was going to be with us today. she is involved with an effort to save the sharks. she was going to be with us to talk about the efforts, but we understand that she got involved in one of our other big washington stories all the time, and that's traffic. she could not get here on time. we are sorry that she wasn't, but we want you to know why she

was not here. ladies, this is something you want to know about? >> do you have cold weather gear to keep you warm and looking good this year. >> if you don't have much cash but need to add spice to your wardrobe, we talk about pieces none of us should go without. >> five pieces you could add to your wardrobe that will transition into things that go with your existing wardrobe. celebrity stylists in town for an eventt loft to help women get more mileage out of the wardrobe. she calls the five pieces modern classics. >> they are things you can keep in your wardrobe as foundational staples, but they will see you through lots of trends and make you look not trendy, but relevant. first essential, a great pair of trowsers. you want something that will get

a new wider fit that fits well in the hips and the thigh. >> the second essential, the perfect dress. >> it has the ribbing at the waist, and tights and boots and done, and you are dressed. get it. you are dressed, because it's a dress. >> and then the cardigan or jacket? >> especially with a trouzer, it's a men's wear, and the cardigan softens it. ruffles big this season. >> reporter: number four, a perfectly pretty blouse. and number five, go for a statement piece. >> plaid is still everywhere. >> that was leann trotter reporting. let's find out about some of the stories in the works for new

4 this afternoon. >> jim is here with a preview of that that. we have a busy afternoon starting at 4:00 and 5:00 today. an american arrested in japan for trying to take his own children back to the united states. it's an emotional custody battle and attorneys say they are seei many cases just like this. and then at 5:00 tonight, from pots to pans, and mugs to measuring cups, where do you stop if you are looking for ways to look if not cook like a chef. for all of the day's news we begin at 4:00, and we hope to see you then. barbara and joe, back to you then. >> i am curious why you want to look like a cook and not cook. >> fake it. >> yeah, just put something in the microwave. >> yeah, i have done that. >> a final check of today's forecast now. >> hey, tom kierein. >> hey, barbara and joe. the sky is looking gray.

and there is the city camera showing cloudiness still in washington. on radar we have a few sprinkles in the west virginia and hampshire county. and they are getting a few sprinkles at this hour. and over the last six hours we have seen the clouds cruising through. we have frost advisories in effect in the mountains and the ohio valley for tomorrow morning. and partly sunny, and a slight chance of a sprinkle with highs near 70. tonight we should be clearing out after midnight and down in the 40s in the metro area. and then sunny tomorrow, highs reaching near 70. and then the low 70s with increasing clouds. it looks like the front will be coming in, and slowly moving through late friday night and on saturday, triggering showers. after that, drying out. we will have pleasant weather as we start off the first full week of october next week. that's the way it looks now. we'll see you tomorrow morning, bar prau abara and joe. >> here is an underestimate of

the year. out houses don't seem like a fun place to hangout. try telling that to folks in louisiana. one town hosted it's annual outhouse race this week. it's a soap box derby. it's homemade commode has its own name. and not since potty training has there been this much excitement over a toilet. >> yeah, not since kindergarten, as you uttered so many potty words. >> yeah. >> see you in the morning. >> bye.