must obey when you get behind the wheel. >> twin disasters. earthquakes rock parts of the indian and atlantic oceans. this morning the search for survivors as the death toll continues to rise. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs this thursday, the first day of october 2009. take a live look outside. we have chilly temperatures out there, 52 degrees right now. but a nice sky, almost a full moon overnight. it was lovely when we got out there early this morning. let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein now to see what kind of a day we're going to have. >> i missed the moon. are we waxing or waning at the moment? >> it's waxing and setting. pretty much gone now, but we have a clear sky and you need to layer up even if you're lady gaga this morning. >> she didn't. >> yeah, yeah. because we do have a chill in the air. no precipitation on radar. it is down into the 40s in the suburbs and many rural areas and around the shenandoah valley. down near waynesboro it's in the

upper 30s there. mid-50s near the bay. near 40s eastern shore. a few isolated locations out in the valleys in western maryland and in west virginia have some scattered frost. this frost advisory in effect until 9:00 this morning, extends up into ohio. over the last six hours, we've had a partly cloudy to clearing sky around the region. still a few clouds over the shenandoah valley and mountains and that's why there's no widespread frost. for today, lots of sun, highs near 70. increasing clouds tomorrow. might get some showers late tomorrow night and into saturday morning but the rest of the weekend is looking dry, with highs in the 70s saturday afternoon, into sunday. that's the way it looks this morning. a look into next week at 5:11. >> thank you. out to the roads now. ashley, what's going on out there? ashley linder with us this morning. >> good morning, barbara. still very quiet. no big problems here. looking at the 95 corridor out of spring feed, those headlights continuing toward 395. no problems from fredericksburg to and across the 14th street bridge this morning. capital beltway, a quiet

commute, leaving springfield, toward bethesda, no problems from the greenbelt to wilson. all your travel lanes open on 270. the trip here very quiet. no big problems this early morning. back to you. >> all right. thank you very much, ashley. >> thanks, ashley. >> and we begin with a developing story this morning. a second powerful earthquake has rocked indonesia this morning. this as the death toll continues to rise from wednesday's monster quake. today 6.8 magnitude quake damaged dozens of buildings on sumatra island. that's the side of yesterday's temblor which has so far claimed the lives of 467 people. hundreds more are listed as seriously injured or missing. officials say at least 500 buildings collapsed or were badly damaged in the coastal city of padang. rescue crews are still ser searching for survivors. 30 people were killed in the

territory of u.s. american somoa. officials expect the death toll to rise. whole villages were washed away in seconds as towering waves crashed into the collection of small islds in the south pacific. >> today the united stat and five other nations are sitting down with iran to demand that it suspend its nuclear program. diplomats are meeting face to face today in geneva, switzerland. this comes after last week's revelation that iran has been secretly building a new uranium enrichment plant, leading the united states and its allies to consider additional sanctions against that country. a state department smokspokesmat obama will take a few months before deciding what to do. president obama may take several weeks before deciding to adjust the strategy in afghanistan. he met for three hours with his top security team and is expected to meet with those advisers at least three more times before making a decision. the president's military

commander's mostly support a call for increasing the number of american troops in afanistan, but national security adviser james jones and white house chief of staff rahm emanuel seem less supportive of that strategy. >> don't be alarmed if you thought you heard military jets flying overhead in the middle of the night last night. it was probably part of a norad training operation. exercise falcon vergo helped defense officials hone their operations. it involved planes and helicopters and took place between midnight and 2:00 this morning. >> happening today, as many of you drive through maryland, you'll want to pay close attention to some new laws in effect. >> new speed cameras are going up and you're no longer allowed to text behind the wheel in maryland. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from laurel with more. >> good morning. >> reporter: good morning. speeding in work zones, it puts the lives of highway construction workers at risk and in maryland they are cracking down. a new pilot program takes effect

today. it allows for speed cameras in construction zones in the state of maryland, and one of those speed cameras is going to be going in in the area where i am this morning. i-95 at the construction zone where the icc is cutting through. they're going to have one of those cameras. now, drivers who are caught doing 12 miles or more over the speed limit will get a $40 ticket. there is a one-month grace period soou do get a little bit of slack here in the beginning of this program, but starting in november it's the real thing. a $40 ticket if you're caught speeding in a construction zone. now, lori mowser knows the dangers all too well. her husband was struck and killed while in a work zone. >> it shouldn't take the death or injury of a highway worker to change unsafe driving behaviors. everyone should be slowing down and paying attention all the time while driving, but particularly in work zes.

>> reporter: also taking effect in maryland today is a texting and driving ban. drivers face up to a $500 fine if they're caught sending off a message while they're behind the wheel. now, this is going to be tough to enforce, however, because under the law it is still okay to read a text while driving. so it's going to be a little difficult to enforce because obviously some people are going to say, i was reading. i wasn't texting. a little bit of a difficulty there. but lawmakers say it's important, though, to still get a law about texting on the books. again, that law takes effect today as well as the speed camera law. so, two laws designed to make the roads safer in maryland. we'll have more coming up in the next half hour. back to you, barbara, joe. >> all right, megan, thank you. >> thanks, megan. there are a number of other laws also taking effect in maryland today. one makes it a crime to interfere with any metro operation or metro operator. under new drunk driving laws, those convicted twice will have their license automatically suspended for a year.

and a new environmental law will require homeowners who live near waterways to upgrade their septic systems. and another new law forces new drivers to hold a lerner's permit for nine months before they can get a permanent license. >> new today, shots ring out in prince george's county. one person was killed and another one was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. it happened around midnight in the 5300 block of 56th avenue. that's in riverdale. police haven't released any information on suspects or a motive. >> an ethanol spill sparked concern near an alexandria neighborhood but officials are really outraged about what happened afterwards. this began on tuesday. there was a 50 gallon spill at norfolk southern's ethanol transfer tags. the railroad did not contact the fire department and some public safety officials are furious about that. they point out the station is near the cameron station development and an elementary school. >> just outrageous that we would have to hear about it from a

third party, from a state department of emergency management, no less. >> norfolk southern says the spill did not meet its criteria for notifying emergency services but it says it will now call 911 about any spill. our time now is 5:07, 52 degrees. a warning to parents in prince george's county after the attempted abduction of three children. >> plus, what's now being demanded from d.c. councilman jim graham following a recent bribery scandal involving a member of his staff. >> and he severed ties during his dogfighting tr

free entertainment with this news 4 bargain blast. >> the national free night of theater initiative begins today. at noon, free tickets will become available to shows across the washington region. now to learn more, go to nbcwashington.com and search bargain blast. >> it's 5:11, time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> here's tom kierein. he's in storm center 4. tom? >> time to look for your sweater. it is a chilly morning. good morning, under a clearing sky, we have temperatures down into the 40s in the suburbs and rural areas, now 52 in washington and from washington's trinidad neighborhood to bladensburg, sandy spring, certainly an autumn chill in the air. mid-40s to low 40s out of the mountains.

few isolated valleys have scattered frost where you see these areas of blue. that frost advisory in effect until 9:00 this morning. we have a mostly clear sky now, a few clouds over the shenandoah valley and mountains and southern virginia. we'll have lots of sun today with highs reaching the upper 60s. then tomorrow a little sun in the morning, clouding up in the afternoon with a high near 70. could get some showers late friday evening into saturday morning but then clearing out saturday afternoon with highs in the upper 70s. should be delightful sunday with lots of sun, in the mid-70s and sunny monday. could get some showers tuesday and wednesday into next week. ashley linder, good morning. how's the traffic? >> good morning. this is a pretty tight shot of the american legion bridge, but those headlights are traveling on the inner loop of the capital beltway coming up out of tysons, headed toward bethesda. as you can see, they are doing so with a lot of extra room, no big problems around the area. traveling 66 this early morning, no big issues. you're moving at speed from gainesville through centreville and then from centreville to the beltway, no big surprises for drivers. same goes for 270. traveling down -- excuse me,

taking the toward route 50, all your lanes open, no problems across the wilson. back to you. >> thank you. >> thanks very much. >> 12 minutes after 5:00 is the time right now. a former vice presidential candidate is now a best selling author. >> team usa is hitting the road in copenhagen. next at 5:15, tell obamas'

president obama is back on the campaign trail, this time however, he's campaigning for his hometown of chicago. the windy city is hoping to ld the 2016 summer a him picks and the president is leading a delegation to win that bid. the winning city will be announced tomorrow. kristen dahlgren is live in chicago where they hope to be celebrating good news tomorrow. is that right? >> reporr: they sure do. the international olympic committee is meeting in cope hen ragen this week. the first lady is already there, the president leaves tonight, both hoping to bring back a big surprise, olympics in their hometown of chicago. in the city of copenhagen, it is the sprint to the finish. chicago is rolling out a dream team to try to win the summer olympics in 2016. first lady michelle obama has been there for the past day, selling her hometown hard.

>> this is an opportunity for the united states to connect to the world in a really important way, at a very critical time. >> reporter: she's joined by the queen of talk, oprah. >> for us to be able to host the 2016 olympics and paraolympic games would be what my grandmother used to call a crowning glory. >> reporter: a slough of olympia royalty, an all-out effort to put chicago atop the other finalist cities, tokyo, madrid and rio de janeiro, trying to win south america's first olympics ever. but chicago hopes its golden ticket is in a presidential pitch. >> i'll sleep on the plane, i'll land, i'll speak, and then fly right back. >> reporter: but experts say he could make all the difference. >> chicago's chances are significantly -- and i mean significantly enhanced by the fact that the president of the united states is going to be on hand here. >> reporter: not everyone agrees

with the presidential participati participation. >> he's the president of the united states. not the mayor of chicago. >> reporter: some in chicago say they don't want the games, even staging protests over the past few days. but for those who hope the second city is the ioc's first choice, excitement is building as the who's who of chicag get ready to put oa full-court press. so this next day will be filled with those final presentations to the ioc. a decision expected sometime between 11:30 and about noon central time tomorrow. that's when thousands will gather in chicago's daley plaza to watch that decision live. barbara? >> any hints on how it might go, kristen? >> reporter: you know, for the past couple of weeks they've been talking about rio being the favorite, south america has never had an olympics, but experts really say that the president showing up himself is a big deal and that could put chicago over the edge.

>> okay. we'll all be holding our breath to see what happens on saturday. thanks a lot, kristen. >> reporter: you bet. >> happening today, the d.c. council will be discussing plans to shut down the southeast tennis and learning center. that center is run by cora masters-barry and the recreation wish list committee. the mayor ordered the center to be shut down because it did not file the proper legal paperwork. the district council approved emergency legislation allowing the center to stay open until further legal proceedings. residents will be able to voice their views at the meeting today which begins at 4:00 p.m. >> more fallout in a bribery scandal involving a d.c. council staffer. now there are calls for council member jim graham to take a leave of absence. fbi agents arrested his chief of staff ted loza last week. loza's accused of taking cash and other gifts in exchae for promoting taxi legislation. loza was released after his indictment. he's been pced on administrative leave. now the d.c. republican committee wants the city

councilman -- council chairman to make graham himself take leave. though he isn't accused of any wrongdoing at this time. >> it is an appearance of corruption going on in the wilson building that we're hoping that the council will show that it's serious with its new ethics law and ask council member graham to step aside during the investigation. >> chairman gray's office responded to the request in a letter, saying that council member graham has not been charged with anything. he added that any actions concerning graham will be taken if there's an appropriate occasion to do so. >> well, the washington nationals played their final home game of 2009 last night. >> for the hometown fans, it was a memorable finish to a season the nats would probably like to forget. dan heie has that and more in your sports minute. >> good morning, everybody. your sports minute begins with the nationals' final home game and what a game it was. bottom nine, nationals down one. only maryland native justin

maxwell up with the bases loaded and he is getting big! driving one to left. that's the ball game. how about a walk-off grand slam for maxwell, his second career grand slam. the nationals win it 7-4 in dramatic fashion. they wrap up their season with a four-game set in atlanta. orioles on the road in tampa. rays starter james shields was solid. he went eight innings while striking out eight. meanwhile, ben zobrist provided the offense with this three-run home run. the rays down the o's 5-3. at redskins park yesterday, clinton portis and albert haynesworth both sat out practice. that's about $160 million sitting on the sideline, but both are expected to play on sunday. portis says the redskins are far from crisis mode and things will get better soon. don't forget, later tonight the capitals open up their season on the road at boston. that's your sports minute. i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great day. >> well, michael vick is reun e

reuniting with a former sponsor. nike has announced a fresh endorsement deal with the nfl quarterback. more than two years ago, nike parted ways with vick because of his involvement with the dogfighting ring. since getting out of prison earlier this year, you'll recall that vick signed with the fafl eagles. he took his first snaps as an eagle over the weekend. >> sarah palin is now a best selling author and her memoir, "going rogue" doesn't even come out until the middle of november. based on pre-orders her book is being called an overnight success. it soared to number one on barnes and mobile.com and number two on amazon.com. she worked with a collaborator to finish the book in four months. >> 100 pages a month. that's quick writing. time for traff and weather on the 1s. >> going to check in with meteorologist tom kierein in storm center 4 now. good morning. >> it's the coolest morning of the autumn season. only 52 in washington, in the 40s in montgomery, fairfax,

arlington counties as well as many of the rural counties. in west virginia a little bit of scattered frost this morning. temperatures at the higher elevations are in the mid-40s. these count this blue do have a little scattered frost in west virginia, up into ohio valley. we have mostly clear sky this morning. lots of sun today with highs reaching upper 60s and increasingly cloudy tomorrow with a high near 70. chance of a shower late friday night into early saturday morning and clearing out saturday afternoon, into sunday and turning warmer. a look into next week in ten minutes. ashley, good morning. how's the traffic? >> here we are looking at the capital beltway right around colesville and no big problems to report this morning. the brake lights headed away from us are continuing on the outer loop toward 270. wilson bridge, american legion both looking wide-open right now. out of springfield, the 95 corridor, volume is on the increase but everyone still moving at speed as you make your way from fredericks -- or fredericksburg through the woodbridge area toward lorton, into springfield. barbara and joe, back to you. >> all right. thank you very much.

>> thanks very much. our time is now 5:22, 52 degrees. the u.s. supreme court is once again taking up the controversial issue involving state gun laws. >> also, he made history with the miracle landing on the hudson. this morning captain sullenberger returns to the cockpit with a familiar route on his flight plan. >> and a reminder, news 4 is always connected to you on facebook and twitter. for up to the minute breaking news, weather and traffic alerts, you can find us on either site by searching news4today. one word.

the pilot behind the miracle on the hudson is back in the cockpit. captain chesley sul len begger are or sully will fly his first commercial flight since he safely landed a plane on the hudson river in new york back in january. he is credited with saving 5 ople on board. the 58-year-old will reunite with his co-pilot jeffrey skiles for a flight from new york to charlotte, the same exact route he was supposed to take that january day when geese were sucked into the plane's engines. >> well, what started with a challenge to d.c.'s handgun ban is now spreading to chicago. the u.s. supreme court has agreed to take up a challenge by chicago residents who oppose their city's ban on handguns. a year ago, the court struck down a similar ban here in washington, but the ruling was limited, declaring the second

amendment was a protection against federal gun restrictions. that applied here because the district is a federal city. now gun rights advocates are hoping for a broader ruling. >> well, i have every confidence that the supreme court is going to say that this is a freedom to be enjoyed by the entire american people, not just those in federal enclaves. >> gun control supporters say a ruling in favor of handgun ownership in chicago would not necessarily jeopardize other gun laws, like restrictions on carrying concealed weapons. >> our time is now 5:27. release efforts, the race against time in the search for survivors following that killer tsunami in american samoa. >> it is the first day of the month and that means that there are new laws going into effect today for drivers in maryland. >> also, a reunion ten years in the making after a local dog was found 1,300 miles away from home.

rules ofhe road. the new laws drivers in maryland have to obey when they get behind the wheel. >> the negotiators, tough talk between the u.s. and iran over that country's nuclear ambitions. >> and disaster zones. assessing the damage after powerful earthquakes rock the indian and pacific oceans.

good morning to you. welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. it's thursday, october 1st, 2009. looking outside, we see some clouds up there, reflecting the lights of the city. we will have sunrise coming up -- i guess an hour and a half from now. tom kierein is here in the studio to talk about what we will see when the sun comes up. >> sun doesn't come up until after 7:00 now. a few clouds overhead. otherwise, a clearing skies think morning, no precipitation on radar and it's certainly a chill in the air. in fact, it's the coolest morning of the autumn season so far. manassas down to a chilly 41. springfield now down to 46. it's just 43 at dulles, frederick at 45, so's leesburg and much of the shenandoah valley weather watchers reporting temperatures in the 40s. southern maryland weather watchers checking in with temperatures near 50. eastern shore mid-40s. a few isolated valleys in the mountains have some scattered frost this morning but there's a cloud cover there so there's no widespread frost. a little bit of cloudiness over the shenandoah valley this morning. we'll have lots of sun today

with highs upper 60s. could get showers late friday night into early saturday morning. otherwise, the weekend's looking dry and milder. first part of next week should be dry, maybe late on tuesday, into wednesday, more showers moving through. that's the way it looks this morning. i'm back in ten minute was another update. >> see you in ten minutes. >> now let's go to ashley linder. she she's taking a look at the roadways on this thursday morning. >> good morning. starting off the day before friday, no big problems for people. traveling up the 95 corridor, volume is starting to increase out of springfield but everybody's still moving at speed from fredericksburg up until that point. no problems on 395, 66 is still in the clear, no volume issues this early morning. traveling elsewhere around town maybe out of maryland, no big issues on 270 and the capital beltway here, the outer loop at colesville with the headlights, no big problems toward 270. back to you. >> thank you very much. >> thanks, ashley. >> happening today, drivers in maryland will want to put those blackberries away and pay some extra special attention to their speed.

>> new cameras are going up and you're no longer allowed to text behind the wheel. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from laurel with more on the changes coming. good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. speeding and highway construction zones and texting while behind the wheel, both are very dangerous behaviors. beginning today, they're illegal in maryland. go 12 miles or more over the speed limit in a maryland work zone and you could be slapped with a $40 ticket. a new pilot program designed to protect highway workers by slowing drivers down takes effect today. lori moser knows all too well the dangers of speeding in construction zones. her husband was struck and killed. >> rick was killed upon impact when he was struck from behind by a chevrolet 3500 pickup truck as he worked along a highway ramp in frederick county in a marked work zone. as a result of one negligent

driver's actions, our lives have been changed forever. >> reporter: you better think twice before texting and driving in maryland. under another new law taking effect today, drivers could be fined up to $500 for writing messages behind the wheel. the law will be tough to enforce, though, because it is still legal to read a message while driving. some are critical of the maryland texting law because they say that reading a message is just as distracting while behind the wheel as actually sending a message, but again, this law does not make it illegal to read, only texting. so, officers that pull you over are going to have to prove you were actually sending a message at the time that you were driving. back to you all, barbara, joe. >> okay, megan. thank you. >> if they catch you mid sentence that will be some evidence at least. thanks very much. >> thank you. new today, the search for the person who shot a man in d.c. shots rang out around 9:15 last night in the 600 block of

mississippi avenue in southeast washington. police arrived and found the man had been shot in the upper bo. he was conscious and breathing when he was taken to the hospital. police were looking for a black ford explorer in connection with the shooting. it has maryland tags, 46218 m 7. and police in laurel are searching for two men after an incident they're describing as a possible attempted an duck. it happened around 6:45 yesterday evening on thomas drive. police say three children, aged 7, 8 and 9, were playing in a field near their homes. they say two men in a truck waved the children over. police say the men pulled away when one of the children's mother walked outside and saw what was happening. she got a look at the truck's license plate. 41641w, though it's unclear what state those tags were from. >> they and representatives from five other nations are meeting with iran for talks about its nuclear program. brooke hart is live on capitol hill now this morning with more

on this. good morning, brooke. >> reporter: good morning to you. the talks are under way in geneva. they are seen as a double test of iran and whether it offers any new sign of cooperation and of president obama's contention that talking to iran could make a difference today's talks have teams of nuclear negotiators from six nations face-to-face with iranian officials outside geneva. where last week's exposure of this long secret nuclear project south of tehran give the u.s. and allies new leverage? >> the expectation is now they have to show there will be some transparency, that the disclosed site in qom is gng to be accessib accessible. >> reporter: nick burns is the top negotiator, now encouraged under president obama to talk to iran. >> he's played a very smart strategic game of putting the iranians into a position where they have to change. >> reporter: in has not looked like a country ready to bargain,

with weekend missile tests and president ahmadinejad's claims its nuclear rights, as he calls them, are offlimits in the talks. as president obama met with his security team on afghanistan, iran's negotiator said he was prepared to offer to let u.n. inspectors in. some in the u.s. smell a ruse. >> they're taking multiple paths, they're being deceptive. they intend to end up with 30 nuclear weapons inside of a decade. >> reporter: unless teams from six nations can convince iran it will be better off without them. even chief u.s. negotiator burns expects iran will not fully come clean today and the question will be back to sanctions. the betting is iran offers just enough to divide the u.s. and europe from russia and china who have protected tehran in the past. live on capitol hill, imbrooke hart. back to you. >> thank you very much. >> we have a developing story out of indesia this morning as a second powerful earthquake has

caused even more damage on the island of sumatra. today's 6.8 magnitude quake damaged dozens of buildings. meanwhile, the death toll from yesterday's 7.6 magnitude temblor has risen to 529. hundreds more are listed as seriously injured or missing. officials say at least 500 buildings collapsed or were badly damaged in the coastal city of padang. rescue crews are still putting out fires and searching the rubble for survivors. meanwhile, the death toll from the samoan tsunami reached 149 this morning. at least 30 people were killed in the u.s. territory of american somoa. officials expect the death toll to rise as more areas are searched. whole villages were washed away in seconds as towering waves crashed onto the collection of small islands in the south pacific. >> our time is now 5:38, 52 degrees. a local father accused of using his own daughter to recruit gang members. >> also the mazing story, how a

local dog was reunited with his family after ten years away from home. >> plus, why some parents think it is a good idea to expose their children to the swine flu.

weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning at 5:41. it's a chilly 52 in washington. it is the coolest morning of the autumn season so far. only in the 40s in montgomery, fairfax, arlington, prince george's counties as well as much of southern maryland and the northern neck and the eastern shore.

40s across the rural areas of maryland and virginia west and north of washington, even a few areas where it's down into the upper 30s parts of the shenandoah valley. out in the mountains, a few of the deeper valleys have scattered frost this morning. from adams morgan to suit land, arlington, and kensington we've got a mostly clear sky. just a few clouds around today, highs reaching near 70. increasingly cloudy friday and a chance of a shower late friday night into early saturday morning. then the weekend's looking dry, saturday and sunday afternoon, highs in the 70s. a look into next week along with the national travel forecast in ten mines. how's the traffic? >> here we're taking a look at 270 southbound at falls road. everyone's doing just fine headed toward the beltway. the b-w parkway and 95 in maryland are also in the clear. capital beltway, no signs of early volume to no problems leaving greenbelt, headed past andrews, to and across the wilson. the 95 corridor doing fine. leaving the fredericksburg area through woodbridge, no early volume, at least for now.

back to you. >> thank you very much, ashley. our time is 5:42. gm shuts down the production of another once popular car brond. >> big changes for commuters who ride the rails. the new service amtrak has launched that has extended the meaning of the northeast corridor.

amtrak's northeast extension is headed south. today kicks off its new service that starts in lynchburg and makes five stops before arriving at union station. those stops include charlottesville, culpepper, manassas, burke and alexandria. after it leaves, it will continue north to philadelphia, new york and boston. the pilot program is scheduled to last three years. >> listen to this story. a dog that wandered away from his home in northern virginia more than a decade ago may finally be coming home. brindle was found two weeks ago 1,300 miles away from home.

his owner owes it all to an 8-year-old girl. news 4's craig melvin has the story. >> reporter: today, chelsea keeps her company, but long before her kitchen stunts, there was brindle. >> he was smart. he learned tricks really well. like i said, he learned how to open that door by himself. he would hook his toenails into the side of the door, and he opened it. >> reporter: on super bowl sunday in 1999, the door-opening dog got out and never came back. then, about two weeks ago, rolly got a facebook message. >> it wasn't your normal someone i don't know adding me as a friend. they just said, did you have a dog named brindle? i'm like, oh, geez, yeah. >> reporter: somehow, some way, the lab-boxer mix made his way more than 1,300 miles to lawton, oklahoma. that's where amy roady found it, even at 8 years old, she knew she had to do something.

when the roady family e-mailed rolly, all the news wasn't good, though. brindle was in bad shape. gary rolly is excited about the reunion more than ten years in the making and he's connced brindle and chelsea will get along, but he's got a question for his old friend. >> i'm not mad at the dog, but all i want to ask him is why did you run off ten years ago? >> reporter: craig melvin, "news 4 today." >> couldn't he have written? just a note, a phone call, something. brindle has another appointment with the vet in oklahoma tomorrow. if the doctor says it's okay for him to travel, he could return home sometime next week. i think brindle just wanted to be a cowboy. >> maybe brindle didn't run away. maybe somebody helped him. anyway, he's coming home and that's the good thing. a virginia man is in custody this morning accused of using his own teenage daughter to recruit gang members. police say 43-year-old theodore oles used his daughter, who's just 17 years old, to try to lure students from fairfax high

school into the dangerous gang the bloods. they say the gang promised recruits protection, use of cars and even bail money. oles' daughter was also arrested and is being held at the fairfax county juvenile detention center. >> also in fairfax county, a warning to parents about a rash of sexting cases. that refers to teens sending nude photos of themselves to other teens. the school year is not even a month old but there had been four cases of sexting at one high school. police are treating it as a child porn investigation. >> ultimately the problem is that teens do not know what they're doing is wrong. they don't know it's illegal and there are long term consequences for their actions. hopefully through education we can change that. >> no charges have been filed in any of the recent sexting cases. >> public safety officials say they're outraged about what happened after an ethanol spill near an alexandria neighborhood. it happened on tuesday. there was a 50 gallon spill at

norfolk southern's ethanol transfer station. the railroad didn't call firefighters and some public safety officials are furious. the point out the transfer station is near the cameron station development and an elementary school. norfolk southern says the spill didn't meet its criteria for notifying emergency services but says it will call 911 about any spill from now on. >> our time is now -- approaching 5:51. getting there eventually. >> how do you think brindle got away the country? don't you think he probably got a ride? >> i would imagine. maybe there was a strong tailwind. >> we can expect that from a dog, i suppose. >> well, we've had the cool air descend upon us this morning. we have the autumn colors are beginning to show up, too, especially out in the mountai and there's the smell of wood smoke in the air. certainly it's an autumn morning this morning. the dogs are howling at the full moon. we do have a few clouds passing

over washington. right now a cool 52 here in washington. it is the coolest morning of the autumn season so far. now as we look around the region, no precipitation on radar and temperatures are down into the 40s in montgomery, fairfax, arlington, prince george's counties, throughout much of virginia, shenandoah valley, maryland, the eastern shore. temperatures are only in the 40s this morning. out in the mountains, a few isolated valleys are -- having a little bit of frost but generally because of the cloud cover there it's above freezing this morning. over the last six hours we have had this cloud cover linger over the shenandoah valley and the mountains as well as up into pennsylvania, but from the mountains to the eastern shore we do have a mostly clear sky, although there are a few clouds floating through now. quite cloudy over the northern neck, through southern virginia and into into the carolinas. we have high pressure that's building through the midwest. that will be building and giving us plenty of sunshine. cool weather for early october, first day of october starting off across the country.

well, if you are traveling today, there may be some isolated thunderstorms that may cause some flight delays perhaps around miami as well as from the houston up to dallas, oklahoma city and perhaps st. louis and chicago. there may be a few isolated october thundershowers. that's unusual. and that may cause some flight delays from chicago all the way down to texas and north of there, there may be some minor flight delays from rain in the twin cities up through the dakotas. but look at this. even maybe some more snow. they've had some snow in the higher elevations of colorado, into wyoming and the mountains just east of salt lake have had several inches of snow the last couple of days. and out in the pacific northwest there may be some rain around portland up to seattle. but elsewhere should not have any travel problems around the country. here is the bus stop forecast for this morning. you want to dress your child for a cool morning and down right chilly, actually. dress warmly and layer up. the sunrise is not until 7:04.

we'll still be in the 40s to near 50 degrees as the morning progresses. ess accordingly. it's going to be a chilly morning. in fact, even by 9:00 we'll still be in the low and mid-50s. then by noontime we should make it into the low 60s with bright sunshine and a blue sky and then by mid-afternoon we ought to peak in the upper 60s. sunset today is at 6:51. by then, we should be right back down to near 60 degrees under a clear sky and a nearly full moon. the moon won't be full until tomorrow night. we'll have temperatures by 9:00 near 60 degrees. by midnight should be back down into the mid-50s. then by dawn tomorrow, with more clouds around probably not going to be as chilly as this morning. it ought to be down to near 50 degrees as we start off friday morning. sunrise tomorrow morning is 7:05. during the day on friday, we'll have a frontal system beginning to approach us from the west and bring in some clouds and temperatures, though, ahead of that should climb to near 70 degrees. but as that front comes through

late friday night, looks like perhaps after midnight now, so all of the high school games friday night should stay dry. but there may be some showers as you wake up on saturday morning. it will be near 60 degrees. then good news, ought to be clearing out by noontime saturday, into the afternoon hours so good weather for all the high school and college games around the region on saturday. highs reaching mid and upper 70s by saturday afternoon. then for sunday, should be mostly sunny, 50s in the morning, afternoon highs mid-70s. should be good weather for the skins and bucs at fedex field on sunday afternoon. good football weather. we better see some good football. on monday it will be sunny with highs in the 70s. there's a chance of some rain perhaps on tuesday into wednesday. highs in the 70s as we get into the first full week of october, next week. i'll be back in ten minute was another update. >> we better see some good football or else. >> yeah. >> you can take care of them, right? >> pitchforks and torches. >> thank you, tom. >> there's a first time for

everything. let's go to ashley linder now, take a look at the roadways. >> good news this early morning. it is a quiet drive. traveling the capital beltway, the headlights are traveling the inner loop coming out of tysons toward 270, noroblems around the beltway right now. woodrow wilson bridge, you're in the clear. no early signs of volume. elsewhere around the area, traveling 95, volume is starting to increase as you make your way northbound. pretty much from the dumfries area off and on through woodbridge, in lorton but nothing too serious. nothing reported in the roadway. 395 is in the clear. 66 still running construction, volume and accident free at is early hour. back to you. >> okay. thank you, ashley. >> thanks very much. well, general motors announced it is closing its saturn division after efforts to sell that brand failed. gm tried to sell saturn to the penske automotive group, but penske couldn't guarantee it has enough new products to keep the car on the assembly line through 2011. there are about 350 saturn dealerships nationwide. more than 13,000 saturn employees are expected to lose their jobs because of this.

saturn owners will need to find other gm dealers for service and maintenance. >> the smithsonian is offering buyouts to all of its 6,200 employees. the offer's being extended to federal employees and workers who are paid from private trust funds. it's part of the institution's new strategic plan. the buyouts are completely voluntary and employees have until november 6th to request them. and the head of the bank of america is stepping down. ken lewis will retire as its chief executive by the end of the year. he'll also be leaving its board of directors. lewis and bank of america have come under fire for its acquisition of merrill lynch. new york state attorney general andrew cuomo is looking into that deal and says lewis' announcement won't impact the investigation. >> well, this morning there's an inresting debate regarding the swine flu. some parents are intentionally exposing their children to that virus. they're arguing that it builds a

natural immunity to the sickness, but many officials are warning against that. brady smith reports. >> reporter: doug beardsley says intentionally putting children in an environment where they have a good chance of catching h1n1 is risky at best. >> most people completely recover but there is a danger for severe consequens so why would anybody even want to go through that when, one, it's not inevitable. and, two there is a gamble to it. >> reporter: many parents still try to expose their kids to chicken pox at an early age to get it out of the way and build up a natural immunity, even though a chicken pox vaccine is available. but beardsley says using that philosophy with h1n1 strain doesn't work. >> parents we spoke with are surprised that some people are taking that approach. >> i understand it my be around people and might happen but i wouldn't put them in a situation that would expose them to it. >> reporter: brandon stoker feels the same way. he's taking steps to protect his

daughter as is the congregation at his church. >> if anyone has any enough-like symptoms we keep them home. >> reporter: beardsley echoed that advice, along with the basics of promoting hand pf washing to kids. >> if somebody gets sick, keep them home. try to isolate them. >> beardsley says some parents may think the h1n1 strain may be milder in the flu season. he says it is safer to stay away from it and get the vaccine as soon as it becomes available. on a separate note, virginia holt officials expect to get the rst doses by early next week. >> news 4 is helping to find jobs for you. this morning, meda sur rat is looking for a business analyst. go to nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you. >> reminder for you, news 4 is always connected to you on

facebook and twitter for up to the minute breaking news, weather and traffic alerts. you can find us on either site by going there and searching news4today, one word. >> coming up next on 6:00 a.m., news for you. mayor add ran fenty will join us live.

good morning. welcome back. we have breaking news to tell you about. a water main break in prince george's county that has shut down a popular commuter route in the area making the commute a royal, wet mess. >> road rules. new laws start today in maryland. before you head out the door this morning, why you'll need to slow down and pay attention when you're behind the wheel. good morning. thanks for waking up with us this morning for "news 4 today." i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs on this thursday,

the very first day of october, 2009. live look outside this morning. kind of chilly. 52degrees. it is a fall day and feels like a fall day. let's see what the rest of it's going to be like. >> here's tom kierein with his forecast for you. tm? >> it is the coolest fall morning so far this season. we're down into the 40s in many locations. only around 50 in washington. don't have any precipitation on radar. mostly clear now and for the rest of the day we'll gradually warm up. by 9:00 in the chilly mid-50s. lots of sun, though, today. should warm us up into the upper s by mid-afternoon. by sunset we'll down near 60. by midnight, the near 50s under a big, bright moonlit sky. then by dawn tomorrow, near 50. during the day on friday, increasing clouds tomorrow, highs near 70. and there is a small chance of a passing shower, looks like late friday night after midnight and that may linger into saturday morning. when you wake up saturday morning there may still be some clouds and a passing shower but

then drying out saturday afternoon with highs in the 70s. a look into next week, that will be in ten minutes. >> thanks, tom. >> thanks very much, tom. >> let's go to ashley linder now to find out what's going on with the traffic. >> things are moving at a nice rate of speed on 95 northbound. we do have some volume, slow from the prince william parkway toward route 1. out of hyattsville, queens chapel road northbound between queens bury road and 410, that's where the water main work is going on. it has all northbound lanes blocked. traffic forced to take a left on bell crest road. there was still no delay in the area. we'll keep an eye on that for you though. 270 southbound, volume around 109 but nothing in the roadway. back to you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> we have breaking news in prince george's county right now, that's where crews are trying to fix a nasty water main break. it's causing problems in the morning commute. it's happening at queens bury

road and queens chapel road in hyattsville. that's where tracee wilkins joins us live with a road closure. >> reporter: this is a popular roadway for the morning commute so folks are going to want to pay attention to how this will impact them, especially people traveling on queens chapel road heading toward d.c. let me show you where this started. you look over there, you can see that the sidewalk is actually buckling right underneath that fire hydrant. they're saying that's where the water main break began. this is a 16 inch water main break. joining us live to give us more information is len riggins. thank you for joining us this morning. what can you tell us about the water main break? >> 16 inch break along queens chapel road. there's a "t" that connects the main to the fire hayed rant. we believe that blew and that's what caused the break. >> reporter: this break impacted one house severely and flooded the house out to the point that you l have condemned the home. they had to leave that house

now. >> we haven't condemned the home but fire and police officials take care of that. for the safety of the residents there is unfortunately a couple feet of water in the basement of one home on queens bury road so those folks are out for their safety. police are working with them to get them out. then there is another home next door that has a couple inches of water in the basement there. >> reporter: so what is the plan for the day then? >> we're going to figure out exactly what happened. the main dates back to 1933 so it's about 76 years old. a very old water main on queens chapel road. we will figure out what happened and work as quickly as we can to get that repaired so that hopefully we can get this road open and not affect too many commuters. >> reporter: fantastic. thank you, lynn. so, again, a home on queens bury road completely flooded. we will trite to figure out how many customers are impacted on this. for people chatraveling on quee bury road in hyattsville, you will definitely be impacted. more coming up on that in just a minute as well. back to you in the studio.

>> thanks. >> happening today, several new laws take effect that every driver in maryland will need to know about. speed cameras will be turned on along highway work zones. in our immediate area there will be one along i-95 between 198 and 216 in the icc work zone in prince george's county. drivers caught going more than 12 miles over the speed limit will face a $40 fine. it is also now illegal to write or send text messages behind the wheel. violators of this law face a $500 fine. the death toll continues to increase in indonesia where a powerful second earthquake has rocked that island of sumatra. today's 6.8 magnitude quake hit about 150 miles south of the coastal city of padang, which was heavily damaged by yesterday's 7.6 magnitude temblor. the death toll from yesterday's quake has reached 529 now, a number that is expected to increase as more victims are found in the rubble of collapsed buildings.

so far, no deaths have been reported from this morning's quake although damage reports are still coming in. meanwhile, another tragedy is playing out along the so-called ring of fire in the south pacific. more deaths have been confirmed. 150 people are now reported dead. at least 31 people were killed in the u.s. territory of american samoa. officials expect those numbers to go up as more searches are completed. whole villages were washed away in seconds on tuesday as 15 to 20-foot waves reached up to a mile inland. residents had only ten minutes warning after the huge waves were spawned by an underwater earthquake. >> today the u.s. and five other nations will meet with iran to discuss its nuclear program. the meeting is taking place in geneva, switzerland, nearly a week after officials revealed that iran is building a secret nuclear facility. iran did not seem phased by that announcement and test fired missiles this past weekend.

if president ahmadinejad is also defending his country's nuclear rights. meanwhile, chief u.s. negotiator today says he's encouraged by president obama's strategy with iran. >> he's played a very smart strategic game of putting the iranians into a position where they have to change. >> the state department says that president obama plans to take a few months to assess the situation before decidina strategy with iran. >> a separate u.s. delegation is in copenhagen, denmark, today, with a very different goal in mind. that goal is bringing the 2016 summer olympics to chicago. president obama is joining that lobbying effort and kristen dahlgren is live in chicago this morning, a city that is holding its breath the day before the international olympic committee awards someone those 2016 games. good morning, kristen. >> reporter: good morning, joe. yeah, just over one day to go. it's already afternoon in copenhagen so the final push is

on. the first lady already there. the president leaves from the u.s. tonight. both hoping to bring home the big prize, an olympics in their hometown here in chicago. in the city of copenhagen it is the sprint to the finish so chicago is rolling out a dream team to try to win the olympics in 2016. first lady michelle obama has been there for the past day, selling her hometown hard. >> this is an opportunity for the united states to connect to the world in a really important way, at a very critical time. >> reporter: she's joined by the queen of talk, oprah. >> for us to be able to host the 2016 olympics and paraolympic games would be what my grandmother used to call a crowning glory. >> reporter: a slew of olympic royalty like nadia comaneci, an all-out effort to put chicago atop the other finalist cities,

tokyo, madrid and rio de janeiro, trying to win south america's first olympics ever. but chicago hopes its golden ticket is in a presidential pitch. >> i'll sleep on the plane, i'll land, i'll speak, and then fly right back. >> reporter: but experts say he could make all the difference. >> chicago's chances are significantly -- and i mean significantly enhanced by the fact that the president of the united states is going to be on hand here. >> reporter: not everyone agrees with the presidential participation. >> he's the president of the united states, not the mayor of chicago. >> reporter: some in chicago say they don't want the games, even staging protests over the past few days. but for those who hope the second city is the ioc's first choice, excitement is building as the who's who of chicago get ready to put on a full-court press. so, this final day will be filled with those final presentations to the ioc. a decision expected sometime tomorrow around 11:30 or noon

central time. that's when thousands plan to gather in chicago's daley plaza to watch that announcement live. we'll be keeping an eye on everything for you from here, joe. >> okay. we'll be watching. thanks very much, kristen. >> reporter: you bet. >> the pilot behind the miracle on the hudson gets back into the cockpit today. wait until you hear where he's headed. a father and daughter in fairfax county under arrest. police say they worked together to pull off crimes. what they tried to get teens in the area to do. >> the controversial statement from one congressman that could get him the same punishment congressman joe wilson just received. >> if you do get sick

good morning. time for weather and traffic. a chilly 51 in washington. montgomery, fairfax, prince george's, arlington counties only in the 40s this morning. a few isolated locations across virginia in the upper 30s. mid-40s eastern shore. a few isolated deep valleys out in the mountains have some scattered frost this morning. we have a partly cloudy to mostly clear sky. for today lots of sun with highs into the upper 60s, increasingly cloudy friday, high near 70. could get a shower late friday night, into early saturday morning. otherwise, the weekend looks dry and milder saturday afternoon and sunday afternoon with sunshine, into the 70s as well as on monday, maybe some rain tuesday and wednesday. ashley, how's the traffic? >> a problem out of hyattsville, queens chapel road new york between queens bury road and 410. we've got water main work ongoing due to the water issue through that area.

chopper 4 live over the scene. northbound lanes are going to be blocked and traffic is going to be forced to take a left onto bell crest road. no major delay right now but it would be in your best interests to avoid this area altogether. elsewhere around the area, no major problems. b-w parkway southbound after 410, police activity's on right shoulder but just a brief delay. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thanks, ashley. >> police have launched a sexting investigation at one local high school. and all aboard. starting today, amtrak's northeast corridor will now extend farther south into virginia. where you can catch the train,

amtrak's northeast extension is headed south. today kicks off its new service that begins in lynchburg and makes five stops before arriving in union station.

after the train leaves union station, it continues north to philadelph, new york and boston. amtrak sponsored a whistle stop tour yesterday to welcome the new service. one of the stops was in burke. >> what this pilot program does is it brings a transportation -- a new transportation option to us here in fairfax. whether it's to go into the central part of the state, which right now we don't have a rail option at all, or to get the midday downtown d.c. rail option, which we haven't had. >> this pilot program is scheduled to last for three years. a warning to parents about a rash of sexting cases in fairfax county. that refers to teens sending nude photos of themselves to other teens. the school year isn't even a month old but there have been at least four cases of sexting at one high school. nearly a dozen teens were involved. police say kids don't know that texting cases are treated as child pornography investigations. no charges have been filed in these recent cases.

also in fairfax county, a father is accused of using his teenage daughter to recruit gang members. police say 43-year-old theodore olds used his daughter, who's just 17 years old, to try to lure students from fairfax high school into the dangerous gang the bloods. investigators say the recruitment occurred on and off campus. they say they promised the teens, protection, use of cars and bail money. olds' daughter is also arrested and is being held. >> it starteded as a challenge to d.c.'s handgun ban. now the united states supreme court has agreed to hear a similar ban in chicago. the supreme court will decide whether the second amendment right applies to state and city laws. the decision that struck down d.c.'s handgun law was limited. gun rights advocates are hoping for a much broader ruling. >> the debate over health care

is getting even more heated this morning. house rpgs are now looking for an apology from florida democrat alan grayson. he outwardly criticized what he deemed the gop health care plan on the floor. >> do you want the democratic plan, or do you want the republican plan? remember, the republican plan, don't get sick. if you do get sick, die quickly. >> grayson says he'd rather apologize to americans who have died without health insurance. one republican lawmaker has already drafted a resolution of disapproval similar to the one drafted after joe wilson's outburst. urgency to pass health care reform will mean no columbus day break for the u.s. senate. harry reid canceled the week-long recess. the move comes after the white house pressed lawmakers to pass a final health care reform bill by thanksgiving. congressional leaders had planned on an end of year deadline. >> get ready to rock the red. the caps begin their quest for lord stanley's cup tonight when they face off against boston.

dan hellie has that story and more in your sports minute. >> goomorning, everybody. your sports minute begins with the nationals' final home game and what a game it was. bottom nine, nationals down one. only maryland native justin maxwell up with the bases loaded and he is getting big! driving one to left. that's the ball game. how about a walk-off grand slam for maxwell, his second career grand slam. the nationals win it 7-4 in dramatic fashion. they wrap up their season with a four-game set in atlanta. orioles on the road in tampa. rays starter james shields was solid. he went eight innings while striking out eight. meanwhile, ben zobrist provided the offense with this three-run home run. the rays down the o's 5-3. at redskins park yesterday, clinton portis and albert haynesworth both sat out practice. that's about $160 million sitting on the sideline, but both are expected to plaon sunday.

portis says the redskins are far from crisis mode and things will get better soon. don't forget, later tonight the capitals open up their season on the road at boston. that's your sports minute. i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great day. >> well, the nba has banned the use of social networking websites during games. the new rules apply to players, coaches and team employees. the league sent a memo to all 30 teams yesterday, saying the use of sites like twitter and facebook during games is now prohibited, but there's been no ruling on whether gilbert arenas will still be allowed to play internet poker during halftime. >> let's take a look at our forecast now, see what kind of day we're going to have. saw a wonderful moon out there. it wasn't too cloudy. >> very dramatic with some clouds overnight. it was lovely. >> hey, tom, what can we expect when the sun comes up? >> the moon has set and the sun will be up in 45 minutes in a mostly clear sky. looking to the east, live picture from the city camera.

there's venus, a brilliant spot in the deep blue sky. our sunrise is at 7:04. right now it's a chilly 51 in washington. that's the coolest it's been since last spring. it's just near 50 in prince george's county. in the 40s now in montgomery, arlington and fairfax counties, and many locations across virginia. only near 40 degrees and out in the mountains there's some scattered frost in some of the deeper valleys. highs today with sun. near 70 tomorrow with increasing clouds. might get a shower late saturday night, early sunday morning. highs saturday and sunday afternoons both days in the 70s. monday, sunny, highs again in the 70s. might get some showers on tuesday and wednesday as we get into the first full week of october. now the traffic. ashley linder, how's it looking at this hour? >> good morning. well, as we travel around hyattsville, we have a problem. queens chapel road headed northbound between queensbury road and 410, we have all lanes blocked. as you can see here, chopper 4 live over the scene of the water issue. traffic is going to be forced in

the northbound direction to turn left onto bellcrest road. no major delay around the area, but very heavy police presence. it would be in your best interests to avoid that area altogether. traveling the 270 corridor, we do have volume on the increase from 109 towards clarksburg. it will be slow, but no problems here at germantown. traffic flowing down to the beltway at speed. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thanks. >> thank you very much. time right now 6:23. the financial crisis has hit the richest americans, too. find out just how much money over the last year. >> the pilot behind the miracle on the hudson gets back in the cockpit today. why he may experience a little deja vu.

the forbes magazine listf the richest americans is out and again this year microsoft founder bill gates tops the list with a fortune at $50 billion. that's actually down $7 billion from last year. number two on the list, warren buffett at $40 billion. others on the top ten include oracle founder, four descendants of the walmart founder and michael bloomberg. the top 400 on the list lost $300 billion last year. >> the pilot behind the miracle on the hudson will be back in

the cockpit today. captain chesley sullenberger will fly his first commercial flight since he safely landed a plane on the hudson river in new york back in january. he is credited with saving all 155 people on board. the 58-year-old pilot will reunite with his co-pilot, jeffrey skiles, for a flight from new york's laguardia airport to charlotte, north carolina. that is the same exact route he was supposed to takehat january day when geese were sucked into the plane's engines. >> 6:27. breaking news, we're live on the scene of a water main break that has shut down a commuter route in prince george's county. it's so bad homes are now starting to flood. a developing story overseas. a powerful earthquake hits indonesia as this is the day after a tsunami stormed ashore in the samoan islands.

breaking news. a water main break is causing a real mess in prince george's unty. roads are flooded, homes are flooded. we're live on the scene as crews are trying to control this wet problem. good morning. welcome back to news4today. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. we're glad you're with us today. it is thursday, october 1st, 2009. let's take a look outside.

well, sun's coming up. got some blue sky out there right now. some clouds, but tom says we're going to have a pretty nice day today. good morning. >> after the chilliest start of the autumn season it will be warming up to near the comfort zone by this afternoon, but this morning you want to dress like a lumberjack. dress like man versus wild. it is a chilly morning. there is radar, no precipitation but it's only 51 in washington. we're in the 40s now in montgomery, fairfax, prince george's and arlington counties. upper 30s in manassas. look at culpepper. they've dipped down near the freezing mark this morning. a few isolated valleys in west virginia as well are near freezing. all around the region we have a mostly clear sky, except out in the mountains, a few clouds. highs in the upper 60s to near 70. tomorrow near 70 with increasing clouds. might have some showers after sunset, perhaps even as late as midnight on friday would be the first time we might have a shower, into early saturday morning. otherwise it looks dry into the

weekend. a look into next week in ten minutes at 6:41. >> that's quite a name, isn't it, bear? is that his first name? >> it is. aptly named, by the way. >> his mother must have known he would want to go out into the wild. >> let's go to ashley linder. >> we are starting to slow down around the area. taking a look at 270 southbound, the lineup begins before father hurley. the lineup begins closer to 109, then off and on the brakes as you make your way into germantown. nothing reported in the roadway, just heavy volume. as you travel on the dulles toll road, green way and route 28's got a little bit of volume on the bottom side of your screen but nothing in the roadway. on the 7 bypass northbound at route 7, new accident reported out of leesburg. the right turn lane for eastbound 7 is blocked right now. back to you. >> okay. thanks, ashley. >> thanks very much. >> we have breaking news in prince george's county crews are trying to fix a nasty water main break that's causing problems in the morning commute.

it's happening at queensbury road and queens chapel road in hyattsville. that's where tracee wilkins joins us live with a road closure you will need to know about this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. folks will have to detour if they're heading northbound on queens chapel road at queensbury road. you're going to have to actually make a left turn and get off queens chapel road. let me show you why. over here, they are working on the water main break that happened earlier this morning. a 16-inch water main break, just broke and this is what happened when it did. completely flooded queensbury road. when it did that, it actually put about three feet of water in the basement of one home. that was a huge mess for that homeowner. they've actually decided that her home is not safe for her to live in. wanted to get the family out as soon as possible so they can shut the electricity off and start to get the water out of the house. just a huge mess. 17 homes without water here, including one church and a fire station as well.

now an investigation is under way into what happened. but officials say they probably know. >> the main dates back to 1933 so it's about a 76-year-old pipe. and, unfortunately, you know, like everything, when it gets old, it wears thin and things happen. with water mains, they break. >> reporter: as you can see, wffc officials are working on the scene, trying to take care of the issue. it will affect your commute. new york lanes on queens chapel road are shut down. heading into d.c., you should be okay. heading from maryland further into maryland toward east/west highway you will have a detour coming your way. you may want to avoid this way altogether. we know this is a popular commuter route but it's going to be a mess this morning, most likely in both directions. i'm tracee wilkins. back to you. >> could be a real mess this morning. >> right now a large u.s. delegation, including some a-list celebrities is in

copenhagen, trying to win the 2016 summer olympics for chicago. first lady michelle obama and oprah wirey are part of that contingent. and the president barack obama will leave tonight. he'll join them there. the first lady says the athletes may be the ones competing in the on hlympics but the whole count could be a big winner if the windy city hosts the big games. rio dah ja narrow, tokyo and madrid are the other cities competing for the games. the winner will be announced tomorrow. >> a senior u.s. official says washington would did are one-on-one talks with iran. diplomats from the u.s. and five other nations are meeting with iran right now in geneva, switzerland, to discuss its nuclear program. the anonymous u.s. official was optimistic heading into today's talks. this comes nearly a week after it was revealed that iran was building a secret uranium enrichment facility.

>> now to a developing story out of indonesia where a second powerful earthquake has struck the island of sumatra. today's 6.8 magnitude temblor hit about 150 miles south of padang where the death toll is rising after yesterday's 7.6 magnitude quake. the toll has reached 529. that's the number that's expected to rise as more victims are found in the rubble of collapsed buildings. so far, no deaths have been reported from this morning's quake, though, althoughore than 1,000 buildings are said to have been damaged. meanwhile, 150 people are now reported dead after the tsunami that swept through the samoan islands. 100 people were killed in american samoa. officials say theyxpect to find more victims as the search for survivors continues. whole villages were washed away in seconds on tuesday as 15 to 20-foot waves reached up to a mile inland.

>> police in laurel are searching for two men after an incident they're describing as a possible attempted abduction. it happened around 6:45 yesterday evening on thomas drive. police say three children, aged 7, 8 and 9 were playing in a field near their homes. they say two men in a truck waved the children over. police say the men pulled away when one of the children's mother walked outside and saw what was happening. she got a look at the truck's license plate. 41641w, though it's unclear what state those tags were from. >> well, several new laws take effect in maryland today that drivers will want to take notice of. speed cameras will be turned on along highway work zones, and you are no longer allowed to text behind the wheel. news 4's megan mcgrath as more on what's happening today. >> reporter: speeding in a highway construction zone and texting while driving. both are very dangerous behaviors. and starting today, they're illegal in maryland. go 12 miles or more over the

speed limit in a maryland work zone and you could be slapped with a $40 ticket. a new pilot program designed to protect highway workers by slowing drivers down takes effect today. lori moser knows all too well the dangers of speeding in construction zones. her husband was struck and killed. >> rick was killed upon impact when he was struck from behind by a chevrolet 3500 pickup truck as he worked along a highway ramp in frederick county in a marked work zone. as a result of one negligent driver's actions, our lives have been changed forever. >> reporter: you better think twice before texting and driving in maryland. under another new law taking effect today, drivers could be fined up to $500 for writing messages behind the wheel. the law will be tough to enforce, though, because it is still legal to read a message while driving. some are critical of the maryland texting law because

they say that reading a text is just as distracting as sending one. but as of today, reading a message is still okay. back to you. >> thank you. well, it's the end of the road. gm announces it will stop manufacturing one of its name brands. and he's back on the field and also in the money. the new endorsement deal quarterback michael vick just signed. >> a dog from northern virginia missing for ten years is found hundreds of miles away in oklahoma.

time for weather and traffic. here's a live view from our city camera showing a clear sky over washington and the potomac river. sun will be up in about 25 minutes. dress for a chilly autumn morning. in fact, it is the chilliest morning of the autumn season so far. only near 50 in washington and prince george's counties, montgomery, fairfax, arlington counties only in the 40s. many locations just near 40 degrees this morning. afternoon highs in the upper 60s, lots of sun. near 70 torrow with increasing clouds. we could get a shower after midnight friday night through perhaps mid-morning on saturday. then drying out saturday afternoon, highs in the 70s. sunny sunday, mid-70s. again on monday into the 70s and sunny, maybe rain tuesday and

wednesday. back in ten minute was the national travel forecast. ashley, how's the traffic this morning? >> starting off with chopper 4 live over the top of the scene, queens chapel road northbound between queensbury road and 410 is shut down due to the water main issue. you are forced to take a left on bellcrest road. no major delay but it would definitely be an area that you want to avoid this early morning. elsewhere around town, we are starting to see some slowing occurring on the capital beltway. outer loop is slow through college park into silver spring. nothing reported in the roadway. here's new hampshire avenue. traveling elsewhere on the b-w parkway southbound after 410, expect to find some delays due to police activity on the right shoulder. joe, back to you. >> thanks very much, ashley. coming up, how an 8-year-old girl in oklahoma found a dog from virginia. the dog had been missing for ten years. >> and look who we found. mayor adrian fenty who's always here on thursday morning, almost always. we'll ask him about calls for a councilman to take a leave of

absence. got a lot more questions. >>

good morning between,

everyone. i'm here this morning like every thursday with d.c. mayor adrian fenty for "connecting with the mayor." welcome again. >> good morning, barbara. how are. >> i'm good, thank you. there are calls for jim graham to take a leave of absence following a bribery scandal for someone in his office, chief of staff ted loza, who's accused of promoting city taxi legislation in promotion for cash. what do you think? should councilman graham have to take a leave of absence while this is being investigated? >> this is an ongoing federal investigation, and our attorney general has asked all executive branch employees, including the mayor, not to make any comment on anything having to do with any part of this investigation. >> you can't say anything about this at all to us? >> no. it would be going against the advice of the attorney general. but you can -- you can call their office and they will get you a statement depending on

which question is asked. >> we won't stay on this -- >> i appreciate it. >> reports say d.c. schools chancellor michelle rhee will start laying off teachers. you've you will heard that. supposed to close a $40 million budget gap. she's supposed to start laying off teachers as early as today. is that true? >> it's soon. i can't remember if it's going to be today or not. again, this is all part of a process that started in august wh the cuts came through the city council. we said then that we could absorb them without impacting education. we will. there are some teachers who you keep on at the beginning of the year because you have some excess that sometimes you can pay anyway, keep them through the school year. can't do that this year with the tightening budget. >> do you have any idea of the number of teachers that are going to be laid off? >> it will be a number of -- it will be a number of some significance. it won't be one or two. but the chancellor has gone over

this a million different ways. >> 100, 200, 500? >> we'll find out when the chancellor makes the announcement. most of these teachers are not in the classroom at all. given the way the chancellor has structed the says system for the upcoming school year, i have every confidence that test scores, everything else will go up and get better. >> these teachers who will be laid off, are you offering them any assistance in finding anything else? some -- we got a letter from one man who had left private industry to come and teach and he thinks he's going to be one of those who's going to get a pink slip. >> i don't know who's going to be let go. we can't talk about personnel matters. i will say the chancellor is working with the principal and what they have done is gone painstakingly through the performance of the teachers and just like here at nbc or anywhere else, the people who are let go this time will be people who haven't met -- >> underperforming? >> exactly.

>> let's move on to an e-mail we got from a concerned commuter who asked, whose bright idea was it to put bushes and shrubs in the middle of 16th street? this person goes on to say when you attempt to make a turn, one can't see what's coming at them. maybe it was your idea. was it? >> i was a ward 4 council member when we did this project. the community pretty much, i think, was hand in hand with the department of transportation deciding what would go in the boxes. this e-mailer probably has a very valid point that there probably needs to be trimming. i think we've done a lot of trimming since we got this e-mail. maybe what we'll do next week is bring in some of the pictures. so, community decided what would go in there. i'm sure we didn't do as well as we should have trimming but we've gotten to it since the e-mail. >> i'm sure some people have liked the planting, too. >> see you next thursday. >> we have lots of questions for you that are still to come. if you have a question or comment for the mayor, just

e-mail us. fenty@nbcwashington.com. we're going to pass them along to him and we may use them on the air when he joins us. even if we don't, he answers those e-mails. so thanks again for being here. >> all right. thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. mayor. good to see you. thanks very much. this morning there are reports of a major media merger in the works. cnbc's mike huckman joins us live with details. >> reporter: good morning. here at cnbc this morning we're discussing whether we will be working for a new employer perhaps in the not too distant future but for the moment comcast is denying a website report that it has struck a deal to buy nbc universal for 35 billion bucks. the cable company says it doesn't comment on market rumors and the report is que-unquote inaccurate. not true, just inaccurate. they have been considering its options. bank of america ceo ken lewis is stepping down at the end of this year. that is worthy of a banner headline at the top of the front page of today's "wall street

journal." no successor has been named yet but the board says several internal candidates are in the running now. lewis leaves as congress and the new york attorney general andrew cuomo pressured them over its takeover of merrill lynch and why they didn't tell about the big bonuses they had paid to the top employees. general motors will shut down saturn after a deal to sell that struggling brand to auto racing legend roger penske collapsed late yesterday. penske had been negotiating with renault to buy new vehicles once saturn's products agreement with gm expired. gm says it will close saturn's 350 dealerships by next october and, unfortunately, joe, that move is going to cost another 13,000 jobs. back to you. >> oh, man. that is tough to hear. thanks very much, mike. >> reporter: yeah. >> nike and michael vick are working together again. the cosigned the nfl quarterback to a new endorsement deal. more than two years ago, nike

parted ways with vick because of his involvement in the dogfighting ring. since getting out of prison earlier this year, vick, of course, has signed with the philadelphia eagles. in fact, he played his first regular season game as an eagle over the weekend. >> a dog that wandered away from a house in northern virginia more than a decade ago may finally be reunited with its owner after it was found 1,300 miles away. gary rowley of fredericksburg says his first dog, brindle, went outside one day in 1999 and never came home. he thought he was gone forever, but two weeks ago an 8-year-old girl found brindle all the way in lawton, oklahoma. the girl and her mother took brindle to a veterinarian who found a microchip with tracking information under his skin. they then used facebook to get in touch with brindle's owner. >> if i didn't, then he would just be sitting there right now. with no family, no friends, no nothing.

>> i'm not mad at the dog but all i want to ask him is why did you run off ten years ago? >> when amy found brindle, he was malnourished and sick. brindle has an appointment with a vet in oklahoma on friday. if he's given the okay to travel, he could return home sometime next week, and i'm sure there will be quite a welcome home celebration. >> i hope they don't make the poor guy walk home. >> oh, look. my goodness. wow. >> hope he does well. >> we will try to report to you what happens next. tom, what's going on with the weather? >> it's the chilliest morning of the autumn season so far. dress accordingly as we head out the door, off to work and school on this thursday morning. looking at the sky, off to a mostly clear start here in washington. elsewhere, we have a few scattered clouds. only 51 degrees here now. it's the coolest morning since last spring. as we look at radar, no precipitation around the region. down into the 40s now in fairfax, arlington, montgomery and parts of prince george's county. closer to the bay a bit warmer.

weather watchers around the blue ridge, shenandoah valley reporting upper 30s this morning to near 40 degrees. out in the mountains, a few areas where some of the valleys, the deeper valleys have a little scattered frost but most locations don't have a frost this morning. all these counties in blue here in west virginia up into the ohio valley may have scattered frost this morning. over the last six hours we've seen some clouds there in the mountains lingering this morning. that's why they did not get the widespread freeze. traveling today, could have some thundershowers causing some travel delays in south florida as well as from texas all the way up to chicago. some rain for the upper midwest into the northern plains could have some snow in the central rockies. a little rain in far northern new england as well as the pacific northwest. for our part of the world, we've got an area of high pressure just to our west that will be moving our way, keeping us dry and cool today. the western flow around that high bringing in some moisture perhaps by friday night. the bus stop forecast, a chilly morning. should be mostly sunny, though. we'll be in the 40s to near 50 for the next couple of hours. sunrise is at 7:04.

by 9:00, mid-50s. by noon, mid-60s. upper 60s by mid-afternoon with lots of sun. we'll have that bright, nearly full moon tonight, near 50 tomorrow morning with increasing clouds. becoming cloudy friday afternoon, highs near 70. could get showers after midnight friday night through the morning on saturday. then looks like we'll dry out saturday afternoon, into sunday with highs in the 70s each day as well as on monday. maybe some rainuesday and wednesday as we get into next week. that's the way it looks this morning. i'm back with frequent updates throughout the "today" show. >> okay, tom, thanks. >> let's go back to ashley linder now and the news 4 traffic network. ashley? >> good morning. well, out of hyattsville, chopper 4 live on the scene of queens chapel road northbound between queensbury road and 410. the water main issue is the problem through that area. northbound lanes are currently blocked. traffic forced to take a left onto bellcrest road. no big traffic delay right now, but just avoid that area if you can. elsewhere around town, traveling 270, we already had volume as a factor between 109 headed through clarksburg toward father hurley.

now we have a new accident to report. 270 southbound falls road to montrose, along the left side. here are the delays we've got as a result. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thanks very much. >> thank you, ashley. breaking news in prince george's county now. a nasty water main break at queensbury road and queens chapel road in hyattsville. news 4's tracee wilkins joins us live with an update on the problem that's causing real problems with the commute. good morning. >> reporter: good news. they opened up one of the northbound lanes here on queens chapel road. coming from d.c. into maryland, they've opened up one of the lanes for now. but you still could have a problem later on. taking a look over there at where the break happened, that 16-inch water main break caused a major problem. take a look at what it did to the house. completely flooded the back yard. this is the yard of the home that was evacuated. 17 other homes without water, including a church and fire station. still working to try to figure out what caused this break, most likely age. i'm tracee wilkins, live in hyattsville. it will be messy on queens

chapel road and queensbury. back to you. >> thank you vy much. >> 30 ballparks and a baby. sounds like the title of a movie. but it's a cross country mission set up bay family in right mehe in washington. is this baby sophia. when her parents lost their jobs last year they decided to use their free time to take her to every major league ballpark. they took these pictures along the way. on tuesday, the family stayed at stadium not 29 in philadelphia. look at those feet. and tomorrow they'll make their final stop at camden yards in baltimore. afterwards they plan to raise money for charity by auctioning off baseball memorabilia they picked up around the cotry. you can hear all about their journey later today. she and her parents will be in our studio for the daily connecti