i'm jim banks. >> i'm doreen gentzler. the clinic is open to student whose attended that school only. eun yang is here with more on the story. >> reporter: dodge park elementary school in landover has been selected as the first school to hold a swine flu vaccine clinic. students there will receive vaccinations even before health workers in prince george's county. tomorrow morning, kathleen sebelius and education secretary arne duncan and governor martin o'malley will be on hand to stress the importance of vags naxs for school-aged children. school-aged children have been at the top of the priority list for vaccinations since the first cases of swine flu started popping up throughout the region. prince george's county students will be the first in maryland to receive the vaccine. the county plans to holdlinics at every school as more doses come in. parents in every jurisdiction are anxious to get their children vaccinated. >> i do have great concerns about the swine flu and i'm intending to get my children vaccinated as soon as it's available.

>> reporter: montgomery county will have its first clinic tomorrow morning as well. vaccine will be available to everyone eligible for the nasal spray vaccine. that's healthy people ages 2 to 49. pregnant women, people with chronic illnesses and those who receive the seasonal flu mist cannot get the nasal spray. fairfax county will open up clinics at school after hours and on the weekends starting october 24th. d.c. expects to roll out clinics the week of october 19th. >> vaccine quantity is currently limited but as vaccine quantity increases, our ability to provide a wider net, if you will, improves. >> reporter: health officials across the region expect vaccine shipments to increase exponentially but skwaunts aren't guaranteed. there's a shortage of seasonal flu vaccine for adults in the month of october and montgomery county had to cancel its in-school vaccination program for the seasonal flu this week because it ran out of the vaccine. >> the shipments of the seasonal flu vaccine were not coming in on time. we had a couple of shipments

that did not come in at the right temperature and had to be isn't back. >> reporter: since health officials say 99% of f cases are h1n1, h1n1 vaccine is what's being made and the public should concentrate on swine flu as well. >> if they haven't gotten their seasonal flu vaccine, focus on getting the h1n1 now because that's what the manufacturers are sending out. >> health officials say they won't know exactly how much of the h1n1 vaccine will be available for distribution until it actually arrives. the first doses came in nasal spray form but fairfax county has already received some in the injectable form which is approved for wider use. doreen? >> okay, eun yang reporting. thanks. students returned to st. vincent pallotti high school in laurel, maryland, today. the school was closed yesterday because of swine flu concerns. at least five students had confirmed cases of the h1n1 virus. another 20% of the student body was out sick on tuesday. >> students and teachers took to

the streets of the district late this afternoon to protest a firing of more than 200 city schoolteachers. more than 1,000 people turned out for the protest at freedom plaza in northwest d.c. tom sherwood is there now with more on this story. tom? >> reporter: jim, this rally is the biggest public event that the teachers union has ever held in its fight with the school system. teachers hope to rally public opinion to their side. >> teachers, we impact the lives of children and expand horizons every single day. >> reporter: teachers, students, staff and their supporters gathered here to send a simple message -- they want respect and inclusion as d.c. schools are reformed and staffs are cut. >> number one, we want respect for our teachers, but we also want to put public back into public education. it's time for parents, teachers and other educational stakeholders to have a voice in the decisions the chancellor and

mayor are making. >> reporter: the protest rally denounced michelle rhee for the layoffs last week of 400 schoolworkers, half of them teachers who were let go. >> we work hard and we deserve to be treated fairly and equally. >> they're claiming this is good for students, but right now our school has a lot of students that are getting schedules moved around. >> the message is that the effects of her recent policy moves amount to disrespect for serious men and women dedicated to educating children. this isn't to judge her intentions. >> i think that she should rethink what she's done. i think that she's put education in a very poor light. >> reporter: the washington teachers uon has been locked in contract negotiations over job security and worker rights for two years. the american federation of teachers, the national parent of the d.c. union, is directly involved in this battle. aft president randy wine garden on news 4 at 5.

>> it makes no sense. i've seenchool systems across the nation try to plan for being in this great depression/recession we're in. here you have six weeks in the school year this major disruption to kids services, major disruption in the lives of those who teach kids. >> reporter: chancellor michelle rhee told news 4 today the layoffs were fair, well thought out and necessary. jim, back to you. >> tom sherwood. thank you, tom. senate majority leader harry reid today announced that the finance committee will vote on a final version of its health care bill on tuesday. that announcement comes as democrats celebrate a report that suggests the bill wouldñr reduce the federal deficit. the congressional budget office report was issued yesterday. it estimate that's the ten-ye cost of the senate finance committee's plan would be $829 billion. some people had feared that the bi would cost more than a trillion dollars. senate republican leader

mitch mcconnell called the report irrelevant. he says democrats would pump up the finance committee bill as it makes its way through congress. >> today there was a plea for help from u.s. servicemen who say the biggest threat to their lives didn't come on the battlefield but on their home base. marines from camp lejeunen north carolina testified on capitol hill today before a senate committee on veterans affairs. that committee is looking into claims that the marines were exposed to toxic tap water on the base for more than 30 years. the contaminated water was allegedly caused by dry cleaning chemicals that seeped into the groundwater, allegedly causing birth defects, kidney disease and different types of cancer. some say the military took too long to take action.xd >> these families supported their marines in bodyñi and spirit, and now they have been left behind to suffer and die bó the veryñi organization they trusted and served faithfully. >> unfortunately, the studies completed today have not determined whether or not there is an association between the

past contamination and adverse health effects. we would like nothingñi more th to have those hard questions answered. >> the committee also looked into claims of contaminated air causing health problems at u.s. army bases overseas. >> today in afghanistan a suicide bomber killed 17 people outside the indian embassy there. it happened in the city of kabul.xd the taliban is claiming responsibility for the attack but they're not saying why they did it. adrian mong has our report. >> reporter: the bomb went off in the center of kabul nearly flattening the build ogs the street which houses both the indian embassy and the interior ministry. >> i believe that the suicide bomb was directed against the embassy because the suicide bomber came up to the outside perimeter wall of the embassy, in a carloaded with explosives, obviously with the aim of targeting the embassy. >> reporter: the blast took place just after 8:30 in the

morning when most people were arriving for work, shattering glass andxd jolting buildings nely a mile away. the taliban have claimed responsibility, saying that the suicide bomber was a young man named halid who came from an area west of kabul. reports say that the man was driving a police car or an suv following two united nations vehicles, both of which were badly damaged in the blast. it's not the first time that insurgents have tried to attack the indian embassy here. a similar blast took place last year in the summer in july, killing about 60 people. afghanistan is one of the top two recipients of aid from india. it's worth about $1.2 billion. road work. adrian mong, nbc news, kabul. >> senior defense official in afghanistan says the suv used in that attack today was stolen fromñr afghan military forces. afghan's foreign ministry thinks

pakistan's government may have had a hand in the bombing. pakistani officials deny any involvement. another series of earthquakes in the south pacific prompted some tsunami warnings and some panic today. there were four big earthquakes in the last 24 hours. all of them between 7 and 7.8 in magnitude. the tsunami warnings were quickly canceled, but residents on the islands of samoa and vanuatu didn't wan to take any chances. many were sent scrambling for higher ground. there were no immediate reports of any major damage or injuries today. these earthquakes came about a week after a quake triggered a huge tsunami that killed 178 people in the samoas and on the island of tonga. >> coming up on "news 4 at 6," nasa is set to fire a rocket at the moon tomorrow assign advertises search for water. >> tell you about a new report claiming an economic turnaround could lead to more airline delays. >> police in maryland today announce an arrest in the 2005 murder of a 17-year-old girl. >> the high school in virginia

put on lockdown today after an armed robbery at a nearby bank. >> bob, what's ahead in weather? >> we've had another sunny day and that will be the story, i think, tomorrow, too, especially tomorrow. i'll tell you all the details. weekend foliage, too. dan, what you got? >> another strange day at redskins park. we'll hear from the players about being underdogs to a winless team. and the capitals weigh in on facing former teammate donald brashear tonight at verizon. news 4 at 6 continues.

traffic along wisconsin avenue in northwest d.c. is a mess about now because of a report of a suspicious package. police say there was a laptop left inside a bag near domino's pizza in the 4500 block of wisconsin avenue. they have closed off the street in both directions around al about a mar oh street while they check it out. no word on how long that street will be closed. telescopes around the world will have their sights set on the moon tomorrow. nasa is planning to fire a rocket right into the lunar surface. scientists are hoping it will reveal some information that could help lead to a manned base on the moon. jay gray has our report. >> four, three. >> reporter: it's part rocket science -- >> liftoff of the atlas 5 rocket, america's first step in a lasting return to the moon.

>> reporter: and part demolition derby. >> we are going to whack the moon in a controlled experiment to try to really understand what's in the lunar soil. >> reporter: early tomorrow morning, nasa will fire an unmanned rocket into a crater near the south pole of the moon. >> 30 seconds to end. >> repter: could it actually contain some of the most important stuff for human exploration and for science. >> reporter: the stuff they're looking for is water. this nasa animation details the el cross mission plan. as a rocket slams into a lunar crater, it will send up a huge plume of dust, rocks and possibly ice. four minutes later, a separate satellite will fly through the plume, feeding back live video images and critical data readings before it crashes into the moon. the information could unravel an age-old mystery and provide the foundation for the next phase of space exploration, including a

possible lunar base. >> substantial water on the moon would not only serve astronauts' thirst, it would give them oxygen to breathe and hydrogen fuel for their space ships. >> reporter: a presence on the moon that will only be possible after tomorrow's crash landing. jay gray, nbc news. >> once again, that moon strike is set for 7:30 tomorrow morning. the debris plumes should be visible from earth for people who have telescopes that are at least 10 to 12 inches wide. >> a new study finds that airline delays are twice as common as they were 20 years ago and things are only expected to get worse. researchers at the brookings institute found that 10% of all flights now arrive at least two hours late. that's up from 4% back in 1990. also, the average delay is now nearly an hour long, up from 41 minutes. the study also found that new yo's metro area had the most delays. experts say that's because airlines have cut flights during the recession and things could

get even worse if the economy should pick up. >> we do expect that once the economy recovers that air travel will pick back up again and congestion will return to where it was before, if not be worse. >> researchers blame the delays on the heavy concentrations of short trips between big cities and an outdated air traffic control system. >> some signs of economic life today. the number of workers who are newly laid off and who are filing first time claims for unemployment benefits, those workers last week, that number fell to the lowest level since early in january. retail sales are also seeing some inprovement. last month, retail sales saw an uptick, fueling hopes for the upcoming holiday shopping season. those reports put investors on wall street in a buying mood today. stocks are up. the dow gained 61 points today. the nasdaq picked up 13 points. the new york stock exchange closed 75 points higher.

>> a new report finds that nearly 1 in 4 people in the world practice islam, the pew forum on religion report is base named the most comprehensive of its kind. it shows the global muslim population is now more than 1.5 billion. islam is the world's second largest xdreligion, behind christianity. the survey also found that germanhas more muslims than lebanon and ethiopia has as many muslims as afghanistan. this contradicts the notion that muslims are arabs and arabs are muslims. this year's nobel prize in literature goes to a german woman whose work was often censored by the government. at a news conference in berlin today, mueller said she didn't expect to win and said she was expect to win and said she was the nobel committee said it picked mueller because of the frankness of her books and poetry, which often criticized life behind the iron curtn. the award includes a

$1.4 million prize and will be handed out on december 10th. >> the national library of australia has discovered a rare photographxd showing the arriva you a mund sen at the south pole in 1911. that photograph is the only print in the world taken from the original negatives of the one thing that makes the photograph even more remarkable than the time and place at which it was taken is the fact that he did not like havingçó photographers accompany him on his expeditions.ñi >> coming up on our broadcast this evening, newly released audiotapes are giving us an idea of what it was like inside the cockpit of a plane just before it collided with a helicopter above the hudson river. e that caused a high school inñi virginia to go into lockdown today. >> bob will have a check on our weather forecast.

some scary moments at hot air balloon festival in albuquerque, new mexico, today. a sudden gust of wind send some balloons on an unexpected journey. one of the balloons crashed into a chimney. nobody was hurt in that incident. earlier in the day, it was a much more serene atmosphere. whoa. balloons were lifting off. that's in albuquerque, new mexico. pretty beautiful when everything is nice and calm, but that shows you just how quickly and easily something can actually go wrong. >> that's ectacular, though, isn't it? >> yeah, yeah. >> really is remarkable. >> quite spectacular. >> there's not much that can compare to seeing a whole flock of hot air balloons up in a beautiful sky. >> you don't want to be in the basket going into the chimney.

>> no, i think -- i think that would be a pretty bad feeling. >> compared to yesterday and the wild weather and winds, outside right now it's just about sunset time. still have a nice sky out there. our temperature, our high temperature today about average, 71 degrees is our average high. two years ago, remember we had a little bit of a heat wave in october. 91 degrees. outside now, here's how things look from our sky watcher and our city cam. our temperature outside right now, 67 degrees. southerly wind, not those howling winds we had yesterday. humidity's not bad at all. the pollen count, here we are 60s here. 50s to our north. 80s and even 90s to the south. miami was a record 92 degrees today. this is the dew point. look at -- friends in new orleans. it's like the middle of summer there. dew point is 77, 74, right along that boundary. look at the contrast in the atmosphere. that's where the latest storm is forming and really causing

problems again today and overnight tonight as it brings out more moisture, more heavy rain through parts of the saturated midwest. missouri, oklahoma, they have not only flood watches but there are flood warnings, flash flood warnings out tonight all the way from parts of western illinois, but especially through southwestern missouri, to southeastern kansas. so, some nasty, nasty weather out there while we've been rather dry. ok at southern parts of missouri. i'll zoom in. there's another line of torrential rain. some spots have been getting 2 to 3 inches an hour, and it's that training effect that will be causing, unfortunately, more flooding through missouri. those rains extend all the way up into ohio, but you can also get an idea that once again that train of moisture, if you will, in the atmosphere will be moving to our north and not really coming for us other than maybe some showers by the time we get into late tomorrow night and saturday. even with that storminess, the delays are around chicago. look at joplin, missouri.

so far today, over 5 inches of rain with a temperature 59 degrees. earlier it was in the 80s and then that weather front came through. lawrence, kansas, over an inch of rain. temperature there right now 48 degrees. at the same time, early this morning, it was cool in great falls but look at this month so far. many spots only a few hundredths of an inch of rain. this is a great weekend to take in all the great foliage around the poconos, especially in the sc catskills, the adirondacks, into the lakes area, up in new hampshire. we're get something color starting in our own neck of the woods but still a couple weeks away. overnight tonight, that area of storminess, during the day tomorrow moves well to our north. we will see some moisture in the form of clouds but a lot of that moisture lifts to our north. i think we'll see a warm day tomorrow. the trailing cold front will be through us late tomorrow night and during the day on saturday so that's when we may see some showers. then as we get later into saturday, high pressure comes in. so i think sunday right now

looks fine. tomorrow, 82 degrees here. at the same time, chicago will be in the 50s and minneapolis in the 40s with rain out there. so for this evening it's still -- we're losing that sunshine. clear to some high clouds. with the light southerly wind, although we'll see it partly cloudy in the morning, temperatures will only drop to around 58 degrees with a light southerly wind. and because of all the clouds to our north and the rain up into pa about a and new york, we will be on the warm side of any storminess. so i think we'll have southerly winds and temperatures approaching 80 degrees. some clouds coming in tomorrow evening. there's that chance of some showers. showers that we neednot necessarily on the weekend but we do. the soil is really dry. 70s on saturday. sunday and monday, i think we'll see sunshine, although some clouds may linger to our south. next week a little bit of an october chill in on us. >> all right. >> still overall a pretty good holiday weekend coming up, especially sunday and monday. >> all right. good to hear it. thank you, bob. >> coming up tonight, there's a

new poll out that shows which way advance advanvirginians are the race for governor. police in maryland today announced an ar rest in the murder of a 17-year-old girl. >> the pitfalls of using a debit card. >> coming up in sports alex ovechkin looking toñr keep his scoring streak a$a+e. theñi redskins make another interesting coaching decision.ñi plus, theñi redskins underdogs a team with zero wins. we will discuss as news 4 at 6 continues.

now we look at some of the stories making headlines tonight. >> students, teachers and union leaders rallied in freedom plaza in downtown washington this afternoon. they were there to protest the teacher layoffs announced in the district last week citing budget cuts, d.c. school officials laid off nearly 400 employees, including more than 200 teachers. it happened last friday. the teachers union has filed a lawsuit to contest those layoffs. >> tomorrow, health officials in the district, maryland and virginia will distribute the first round of the swine flu vaccine. the first batch will be the nasal spray form. only healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49 are eligible to receive it. >> there will be a lunar blast tomorrow morning when nasa fires a rocket right into the moon surface. it's supposed to happen at about 7:30 tomorrow morning.

a satellite will follow the rock ert moments after impact to collect debris and send back information. nasa is hoping to find ice, which could help sustain a manned lunar base some day. coming up in this half hour of news 4 at 6 we'll tell about you a new poll regarding virginia's race for governor. the faa has released the tapes from the tower of that deadly midair collision between a small plane and a sight-seeing helicopter. and we'll report on the passing of the founder of d.c. landmark ben's chili bowl. >> tonight, though, there's a break in case of a pregnant teenage girl killed in prince george's county four years ago. 17-year-old stacey seaton was shot in the back of the head near her bowie home in 2005. now police have a suspect in custody and a possible motive in her murder. pat collins has our report. >> reporter: you know the guy who was charged? >> i've met him. >> reporter: what's he like? >> i don't know him personally. i just met him. >> reporter: what do you have to

say to him? >> i hope he rots in hell and doesn't get out of prison. >> reporter: the mother of stacey seaton reacting to the arrest of a suspect in the murder of her 17-year-old pregnant daughter. june 1st, 2005, in the middle of the afternoon, stacey seaton shot in the back of the head as she was walking on a path near her home in bowie, maryland. now more than four years later, police charge 25-year-old mcdonald abraham with first degree murder in connection with that shooting death. according to court documents, the suspect had illegal drugs and money stolen from his apartment. he claims stacey had been involved in the theft. he told a witness he got to her to get back at her boyfriends. according to those documents, cell phone records put suspect abraham near the scene at the time of the murder.

publicly, police are playing this very close to the vest. >> this case will be tried in court. we're not prepared to have this case tried at this press conference. however, i will tell you that our investigation will continue until the point of trial. we still have additional leads to pursue but we're very confident that this individual that we have arrested is part of the murder of stacey seaton. >> reporter: for stacey's mom, this has been a four-year crusade for justice. you made this a crusade, didn't you? >> you bet you. you don't take the life of somebody, leave them laying there, and everything else we've been through, it's wrong. nobody has the right to do that. nobody. >> reporter: murder suspect abraham held in jail without bond tonight. the investigation, it continues on. there could be more arrests in this case. i'm pat collins, news 4, prince george's county.

>> and police believe there are still people in the bowie area with information on this case. they're asking those witnesses to come forward. >> a csx train hit and killed a man on a bicycle today in hyattsville. it happened just after 1:00 this afternoon on the tracks near rhode island avenue and crittenton street. fire officials say the cyclist was in his 30s. there's no word yet on his identity or how it happened. >> a bank robbery in alexandria forced a nearby school to go on lockdown this morning. police say a man held up the wachovia branch in the 3600 block of king street. the ensuing police search put t.c. williams high school on lockdown for about an hour. police questioned someone they're calling a person of interest in the robbery. >> there's a new "washington post" poll out that shows republican candate bob mcdonnell is widening his lead over creigh deeds in the race for governor in virginia. according to the poll, mcdonnell now leads deeds 53% to 44% among

people who are likely to vote. mcdonnell has also widened the gap among independent voters where he now has a 21% advantage. the people in the poll said that they believe mcdonnell would better handle major issues facing virginia, including transportation, taxes and education. many believe the selection will forecast next year's midterm congressional elections. the faa has released the tapes from the tower from that midair collision between a small plane and a sight-seeing helicopter above the hudson river. the crash happened in august and it left nine people dead. chris clackum has our report. >> reporter: right after takeoff from new jersey's teterboro airport, the single-engine piper lance was over the hudson river and being told of a helicopter nearby. >> traffic 11:00 and two miles northwest bound 1,000 helicopter. >> i'll be looking. >> reporter: it was also after

takeoff that teterboro tower gave the small plane pilot a new frequency to talto the tower at newark. whether the pilot got the info correct is unclear because his response was gashled. the plane's pilot was never heard from again. three minutes later is when the plane's collision with a sight-seeing helicopter is first reported. a collision captured b a passenger on a tour boat and confirmed by other pilots in the area. >> be advised there was an airplane crashed into a helicopter south of lincoln a minute ago. >> reporter: both aircraft plunged into the hudson river below, leaving nine people dead, including five italian tourists on board the helicopter. chris clackum, nbc news. >> those tapes also record air traffic controllers shortly after the small plane took off. they were joking about a cookout just two minutes before that midair collision.

>> coming up on our broadcast this evening, a lot of people are trying to consolidate their debts and control spending by switching from credit to debit cards.

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. good evening. bob ryan, storm center 4. pretty time of the year. this is how it looks out in the appalachians, 4,000 feet. paul sent me these pictures a couple days ago. that's where the color is this weekend. heading out to extreme westernx maryland and a very high elevations of west virginia, this is a weekend for peak color there. in the lower elevations, some good color coming out on skyline drive, spots like that. still a week or two away right in our own neck of the woods. color's just beginning. so overnight tonight we're going to be seeing temperatures here into only the 50s and tomorrow the high temperature about 80 degrees. the storminess, the rains primarily to our northxd but th the trailing cool front late tomorrow night and intoñr now saturday morning, maybe giving us some rain showers. after that, though, i think sunday and monday look pretty

nice. next week a little bit chilly. back to you. >> thank you, bob. americans are paying off their credit cards and many are switching from credit credit cards to debit cards but consumers may not realize that debit credit cards may not offer the same protections offered by credit card companies. michelle franzen reports.ñr >> reporter: the pinch. the recess has changed how americans pay for purchases. debit card transactions now top credit cards. >> over 70% of the transactions in the visa system are actually done on visa debit cards as opposed to credit. over half now of the dollars that are spent on visa cards are actually visa debit cards as well. >> reporter: it is a shift from a charge it to a pay as you go mentity along with the convenience of not having to carry cash. >> i do use my debit card more, but i don't like running up the credit card anymore. >> reporter: but experts say many consumers do not know there are huge differences in

protection for debit cards versus credit cards. credit card companies are bound by the fair credit law. >> for example, if it's lost or stolen, someone uses the wrong way, you have to settle a dispute, the law's on your side. with a debit card, you're not backed by any laws, just policies. >> reporter: policies banks set, not the company emblem like mastercard or visa on the card. visa says it works with banks to offer the same dispute protections to consumers.xd but banks have come under fire for the soaring overdraft fees that apply to debit transactions, as high as $39 per overdraft. recently, some ban adjusted that pocy, allowing customers to opt out of overdraft protection. >> so, make sure that you opt o out. if you don't opt out, sign upñr for text or e-mail alerts that come to your phone or e-mail that say your account has dropped to a certain amount so you don't overdraw it and you don't use your debit card. >> reporter: experts say when it comes to big purchases like electronics or holiday gifts,

use a credit card and budget to pay the bill off within a month. michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. >> a proposed bill in congress would require banks to give customers the option of having overdraft protection and getting an alert of any pending overdraft. >> a smoking ban will go into effect in virginia on december 1st. governor tim kaine today began a he visited several restaurants, including el pueblo restaurant in burke, virginia, which has already gone smoke-free. >> there will be a concentration in restaurants five to six times greater than in the house or other business where smoking is allowed, so if smoking is allowed in restaurants it concentrates. that elevates lung cancer risk so that a worker in a restaurant where smoking is allowed has a double the risk of getting lung cancer of the average american. >> virginia will join 27 states and the districtñi who already have smoking bans in effect.

what you got, dan?ñi >> capitals hockey, put everybody in a good mood. we'll also talk redskins and ask the question how canñr they be underdogs to a winless team? and why did defensive coordinato

racing fans in australia love themselves a good tailgate. now authoritying at one track over there want to put a limit on how much those guys drink. but get this. the limit they apply is one case of beer per day. that's per person.

>> oh, my goodness. >> 24 beers. about 500 cops were on duty today to enforce the cutoff point. there's no word on why they choseñi two dozen beers as a reasonable number except maybe they just got higher, greater capacities over in australia. >> they were into their -- the second case when they made that decision. >> that's good point. probably what it was. >> touche. >> what's up, dan? >> talking redskins, man. things are just getting crazier over there by the day. >> sounds like a dysfunctional family. >> we really can't try to figure it out because there are no answers for some of these things. tuesday the redskins hired sherm lewis as an offensive consultant. today, greg blache, the redskins' defensive coordinator started his media boott. very fortunate considering blache is not only one of the best inn views on the team but the entire league. never afraid to tell it like it is. but maybe th's the problem.

blache and the organization didn't give a reason for the defensive coordinator's media silence. blache's defense has struggled at times this season, but still remains by far the strength of the team. just as it was when greg williams was in town. blache did make a short statement today beforeñi clammi up for good, but he never said his media obligations. >> all in all, i think the guys will be ready to compete. they'll be ready to play. and, you know frshgs there we'll get ready to ñigo. like to thank you and that's it. thank you. >> he's really needed a break, and so from his standpoint, we talked about it. i actually have talked to the league about a break for him and they'vexd agreed. so i would personal reasons. it's not because he didn't love talking to you. >> something personal? >> i don't want to go into that of what the reasons are because

greg -- greg's just wishing it would be -- just said and done. >> so here's the deal. jerry gray is going to speak on (sp(rqrj -- on -- in his place. the question is who made the decision? was it blache himself, was it the redskins? this already has everybody's wheels turning in their head because blache is friends with sherm lewis and you think if zorn, blache would be the next guy in line. maybe he just doesn't want to answer those questions. >> read the column today. you might get some ideas of what's going on. >> we will be talking to him a lot about that. >> that's -- >> troubling. >> yes. thank you. troubling. >> things anything but normal at redskins park these days. how about this for abnormal? this is the fifth straight game against a winless team. this time the redskins, we've talked about this all week, underdogs to the 0-3 panthers. not huge underdogs, but underdogs nonetheless.

so, obviously, the 2-2 skins not held in high regard around the league. the panthers certainly are better than their record but they've been putrid so far this season. jake delhomme has been taking it on the chin. this quarterback rating of 54 is bottom, near the bottom of the league, 31st overall. he has two touchdown passes in three gapes to go ñialong with seven intersections. he's only part of the problem. that begs the question. are the redskins players surprised they're underdogs? >> nope. just just what it is. we have a lot of 0 fors.ñi but that's just -- just part of it. andxdçó you can market it as ñi underdogs. great. keep marketing us as underdogs. we'll come out, again, focus on us, worry about us, go down and take care of business. >> you guys are anywhere from a 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 point underdog this weekend to the 0-3 carolina

panthe panthers. does that shock you? >> not for real, man. ever since we lost to detroit, the public is looking at us as not a good football team. we know we're a good football team. we look at it as us against the÷ world. that's our motto this year. as long as we got each other, we'll be okay. >> sunday football will be played. when the ball's kicked off, nobody's going to be thinking about we're such and such a point. doesn't matter. when i was in st. louis we were a çó14-point favorite to win th super bowl. you like those odds, don't you? we lost. so, take that.xd >> good point. >> that's right. they did lose. that was the start of the patriots' run there. all right. you talk about michael wise's column. he'll be on our show, along with doc walker, lindsay czarniak and myself, new night just for this week, friday night at 7:30. that's geico redskins showtime. i know it's only three games into the season but the capitals are by farxd the hottest offense

team in the nhl. if you don't believe me, just listen to the scoring leaders. i'm going to tick off the top four, okay? ovechkin,xd back strom, semin andliand like. things are bound to slow down but they're hoping not tonight against the rangers who are at the verizon center. donald brashear will be wearing the blue rangers sweater. bra sleer is doing the same thing in new york that he did in washington. he's an enforcer. already mixed it up, with the caps during the preseason. he will likely do it again brasher pretty popular guy in the locker room but he will be wearing those enemy colors. during brashear's three years in washington, he scored a total of 15 goals so you'r probably not going to see many things like this happening. because the caps are going to be worried about his fist. that's what's keeping them on their toes. >> we'll see if the flippers come off. i don't know. no, we know what arnold's going to do.ñr

he's going to play physical, going to work. we've seen that for three years here in washington. we know what to expect. >> it should be interesting to see what kind of response he gets from thexd fans. as players, we enjoyed him a lot when he was here. be quite a homecoming for him, i think. >> sure know there's a physical element on the other side. we know how physical he can be. so it's something to be aware of, but we're not going to change the way we play. >> i'd be looking over my shoulder a little bit for donald brashears. those guys know him well. >> sounds like a good idea. >> look out for donald. it's not going to be a sweep for the phillies. the rockies win game two xd5-4 even things up. thexd phillies stillñi have ple of work to do. let's head up to philadelphia, top of the first inning, no score, todd helton at the plate with a runnerñi on third, facin cole hamels. a little chopper here for helton up the third base line. here comes carlos gonzalez, home. he's in there to give the rockies a 1-0 lead and they will

take that off to a nice start. top four now, still 1-0, colonel ol on top. yorvitñi torrealba up with a ma on. yorvitx$$spu'ches this one. this is gone. a home run of the two-run variety. torrealbaxd finishes 2 for 3, wh two rbi. the rockies hang on to win it 5-4. they even the series at one game apiece. colorado. very interesting that the phillies, one of the best teams in baseball, have tolay two afternoon games, not in prime ñi time. not getting a lot of love there. >> that could be a loqpjt really good baseball this playoff ason, man. >> it's going to be fun. i'm looking forward to it. >> thank you, dan.

final check our weather, bob. >> doreen, we've got a few clouds coming in. you can see the area of rain, that big storm. unfortunately, more flooding out in missouri and kansas. that big storm but look how much of that moisture is heading to our north. there may be some sprinkles for folks up into pennsylvania or even in the northern maryland. temperatures right now into the 60s. heading out tomorrow morning to school, there will be some cloud ace round but i don't think any rain. temperatures into the mid-50s and tomorrow we're going to see our tomorrowxd up toñr near 80,n into the low 80s for you folks in warrenton, spotsylvania,ñi fredericksburg with a southerly wind. weather front will bring in at least the risk of a few showers to start out the big holiday weekend. after we get more into saturday and sunday, i think the drier

air will be coming in. right now the holiday on monday looks pretty nice with temperatures in the 60s. next week a touch of fall with temperatures into the 40s in the mornings, i think. back to you. >> thanks, bob. the man who with his ,ufe virginia founded one of washington, d.c.,ñi landmark places, ç1gn's chili bowl has died. that u street institution is famous for its half smokes and more and also its celebrity clientele. but the atmosphere that keeps folks going back all began with the founder, ben ali. julie carey has our report. >> he was like the real mayor of this city. let's be honest. >> he created something great, something greater than just a restaurant. >> reporter: remembrances of ben ali, a man who opened a hot dog restaurant on u street a half century ago and turned it io a landmark. maintaining that hard earned reputation is one reason his staff came to work today, even though their hearts were heavy with his passing. >> we know the type of person ben was, that he would want it

business as usual. >> reporter: ben ali's wife of 50 years, virginia, was at his side from the beginning in august of 1958 when they opened the restaurant on u street and she was at his side at home last night when he died. >> this was her love as well, and --xnbut he was a greater love. and she was with him last night. >> reporter: the couple's restaurant endured shardships that would have shuttered most i places. during the 1968 riots, ben's chili bowl was allowed to stay open. the employees know the stories of overcoming adversity as well. >> the assassination of martin luther king, tore u street down, overcame the drug wars. >> he was always thinking, always planning.ñr he just had an incredible business mind. >> reporter: it's been about 25 years since ben was here on a daily basis. his influence, his presence is still very much at work. this manager calls ali his mentor and remembers how he gavó him a job in 1977 when he was a

struggling howard university student. ten years ago, he returned to work. >> well, the love of the place. i feel the love. i feel loved over here.xd i don't feel -- i don't have no pressure. i feel i'm with my family. >> reporter: it's that family atmosphere that has drawn countless celebrities and regulars alike. >> the legacy is that he provided a service and the quality was always the same. you always knew what you were getting. it was his special touch. you know, that made people feel like homeñr when you came here. >> reporter: in northwest washington, julie carey, news 4. >> arrangements for a memorial service for ben ali are pending. he and his wife, virginia, would have celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary on saturday. he will be missed. >> he was one of a kindnr >> that's our broadcast for now. "nightly ne.oñ coming up next. >> we hope you'll join us for

news 4 at 11.