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tv   News 4 Today  NBC  April 19, 2010 4:30am-7:00am EDT

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meteorologist tom kierein in the storm center. tom, welcome back. >> welcome back and good morning. >> thank very much. we are off to a frosty cold start in many locations around the region at this hour. through central virginia and into the central shenandoah valley, temperatures a couple degrees above freezing. lower valleys may have patchy frost. right around washington no frost. mid 40s in prince george's county, montgomery, fairfax counties now in the low 40s. low 40s northern shenandoah valley and around the panhandle of west virginia and eastern shore. view from space shows a clear skies here and we'll have lots of sunshine this morning and by later on this afternoon we should be warming up into the mid 60s with a diminishing wind. it's been blustery over the weekend. likely we'll make it into the mid 40s by dawn tomorrow. should be clear. and then a mostly sunny day on tuesday. again, highs reaching mid 60s and then on wednesday, we'll have morning lows in the upper 40s. afternoon highs mid 60s. quite a bit of cloudiness on wednesday. a small chance of a few
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sprinkles and partly sunny. highs mid 60s. let's check on traffic for this monday morning. how is it looking? >> welcome back, tom. let's look at the inner loop from the american legion bridge to i-270 overnight road work along the right side of the roadway. crews should pull up the barrels. we'll keep a watch on that. 395 northbound looks good to the moment. getting to and across 14th street bridge right now lanes appear to be open. >> good to see you. >> welcome back. >> go ahead to be here. thank you. the skies over europe are starting to clear somewhat. volcanic ash from iceland has grounded many flights over the last couple days. austria reopened its airspace and european union says air traffic over europe could return to 50% of normal levels. that's welcome news to hundreds of thousands of travelers who
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have been stranded for days. many of them are here in washington. they came to town for a conference of the american association of geografhers. >> if anyone would know where the volcano is, it would be here. some find their stays here much longer than they planned thanks to the eruption. the conference winds down and many are doing the best to rebook flights and change itineraries. >> i was to fly to dublin. i'm going to rebook a flight for friday but i don't know if flights will go on friday. i've been able to get in touch with the airline and be able to rebook. many people aren't. >> so far we did not get any response. >> reporter: some hope to make the best of it. >> i've been working overtime so i have time to go see the city and enjoy the sights. >> some who are stranded hope to
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make the best of it. >> a group decided to have their own party tonight in the lobby. >> reporter: meanwhile at dulles international airport -- >> i want to be in vienna. >> reporter: ticket agents did what they do while passengers languished in lines and planes languished on the tarmacs. >> we're thinking it will be nice to go across the atlantic on the ship. >> reporter: international travelers plans are up in the air as long as these planes aren't. at dulles international airport, derrick ward, news4. >> the forecast is grim for travelers in germany, britain and the netherlands. students will return to one d.c. middle school today for the first time since their principal was murdered. his suv was missing at the time. police found it on saturday about 14 miles away in southeast
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washington. best was the principle of shaw middle school in northwest. he was handpicked by d.c. schools chancellor and was described by students as someone who changed their lives. there was no sign of forced entry into his home so police do not believe this was a random killing. a deadly shooting just blocks from the frostburg state university campus early sunday morning. police say 20-year-old brandon carroll was gunned down by a fellow student. carroll grew up in waldorf with his friends, family and fellow coaches held a memorial. darcy spencer has details. >> i want everyone to pray for the family at this time. it's kind of hard. i just don't have that much to say right now. i'm sorry. >> reporter: a tear filled vigil in waldorf where 20-year-old brandon carroll was remembered as a great athlete and friend. the graduate was shot and killed during a dispute near frostburg state university where he was a sophomore early sunday morning.
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>> he was such a sweetheart. he always smiled. he had nothing bad to say about anybody. and he just made everybody laugh. >> he would play around with me. just everything. of all people, this shouldn't happen to him. he's too good for this. >> reporter: carroll was shot in the stomach with a 12-gauge shotgun at 4:00 in the morning by a fellow student. carroll's friend from southeast d.c. was also shot and wounded. carroll was captain of the boys' basketball team where he made friends on and off the court. he graduated in 2008. >> great kid. going to school. doing the right thing. just sad and tragic. >> brandon didn't have an evil bone in his body. if you were mad at him, you couldn't stay mad at him long. >> reporter: his parents are now
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dealing with the loss of a second child. >> this is the second child they lost. one at a fire at a young age and brandon. this is their second child. >> reporter: police did recover the shotgun that was allegedly used in the shootings. the second student who was wounded is expected to survive. the suspect being held without bond. in waldorf, darcy spencer, "news4 today." an 18-year-old was also killed this weekend near texas southern university in houston. he was a freshman there he was hit in the back while standing with a group of students at a party. police are still looking for the shooter. today gun advocates will pack a national park while packing heat. they'll hold a rally for the first time inside a national park in our area. the so-called restore the constitution rally will happen at ft. hunt park while others will demonstrate in the district without their guns.
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tracy potts has the story from the national mall. >> reporter: supporters say just because they're armed, doesn't mean they're dangerous. >> don't put us in a category with bullies and thugs. we are not. we're every day citizens protecting our rights, protecting our families. >> we're not coming here with guns. >> reporter: the organizers say this rally will be peaceful but promoting their constitutional right to bear arms. >> the second amendment has nothing to do with guns. nothing to do with guns. it has to do with freedom. >> reporter: one constitutional expert says the wrong group is bending washington's ear. >> it should be gun control advocates who have not gotten a lot of movement from this administration or congress. >> reporter: the obama administration allowed guns in national park and on trains. the supreme court will rule whether states and cities have to follow the second amendment but in d.c. where guns just led to the city's biggest mass
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shooting in nearly two decades, there's concern about fewer restrictions. >> a child barely weighed 100 pounds shot in her temple with an ax-47. blew her neck wide open. bullets all in her body. it's senseless. >> reporter: today is the anniversary of waco and oklahoma city bombing but organizers say that's not why they picked this day. it's also the 235th anniversary of the start of the revolutionary war. from the national mall in washington, i'm tracy potts, nbc news. 4:38 is your time. 47 degrees. still ahead, a former mortgage giant now the focus of a criminal investigation. plus, deadline day for toyota. will the company pay up on that record government fine? toss out the calendar. it doesn't feel like an april morning out there a check of weather and traffic next.
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weather and traffic on the 1s. it's 4:41. chilly 47 degrees in washington. and it's in the mid 40s in prince george's county. arlington, fairfax, montgomery county now in the low 40s. quite a chilly start this morning. we have it down into the 30s in prince william, culpeper. this zone here may be getting scattered frost so if do you have any tender plants, any
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house plants you set outside early this season, bring them in. and southern maryland now in the 40s as well as northern neck and eastern shore. now over the last 12 hours we've got high pressure over us with clear sky and we'll have lot of sunshine today. afternoon highs should climb into the mid 60s and overnight tonight another clear night. mid 40s tomorrow morning and by tomorrow afternoon into the mid 60s again with lots of sunshine. then we'll have a southeasterly flow that may bring in clouds on wednesday. perhaps a sprinkle with highs in the mid 60s. mid 60s again on thursday. and we'll take a look at the weekend coming up in ten minutes. jerry, how is traffic this morning? >> tom, nice and quiet so far. heading in from maryland on new york avenue toward northwest, no early issues to report. good news there. head over to see if good news continues south of town to the wilson bridge. no hang-ups.
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i-95 looking good as does i-70 and overnight road work should be wrapped up as we approach 5:00 a.m. >> we're slowly doing that. thank you. 18 minutes away and ahead it could be a sign of things to come in november. how many americans say they simply do not trust the federal government. payday for toyota. what the company is expected to do in the face of a record fine. spectacular show. the shuttle "discovery" could provide today for much of the country.
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>> bidding farewell to six members of the expedition 23 crew. >> the space shuttle "discovery" astronauts wearing blue shirts gave their final good-byes at the international space station. their departure broke up the largest group of women on one spacecraft with four people on board. the "discovery" crew delivered more than seven tons of equipment including a new crew sleeping quarters. "discovery" is scheduled to land this morning at kennedy space center. it's slated to take a rare trip across the continental u.s. providing an early morning show for much of the country. >> toyota is expected to agree to a fine of more than $16 million stemming from the gas pedal problems with its vehicles. toyota knew about the sticking gas pedals last september but did not issue a recall until january.
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the law requires the defect to be reported in five days. transportation officials say toyota plans to pay the fine and avoid contesting it in court. today is the deadline for the automaker to make a decision. thousands of people are expected to gather in oklahoma city for a public memorial parking the 15th anniversary of the bombing of the federal building. 168 people died in the attack. more than 680 others were hurt in the deadliest terrorist attack on u.s. soil until 9/11. timothy mcveigh was convicted the plotting and detonating the bomb. he was later executed. today also marks the 17th anniversary of the fiery end to the standoff at the branch davidian compound in waco, texas. the compound was burned to the ground. the government claims members of the cult started the fire. four atf agents and 80 branch
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dav difficu davidians were killed. the first couple of poland was put to rest yesterday. the president and his wife were among 96 people killed last weekend in a plane crash. president obama had planned to attend the funeral but his plane was grounded because of iceland's volcanic eruption. the child sex abuse scandal facing the church is overshadowing the occasion. pope benedict expressed sorrow yesterday. the pope met with eight men in malta. they say they were molested by priests when they were children living in the orphanage. there's been a wave of accusations in recent months that the church failed to take action against pedophile priests and covered up their abuse. one of the men said the pope had tears in his eyes.
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>> this will change my life. i can go to my daughter. >> pope benedict met with abuse victims in year's past but yesterday's meeting was the first time he addressed the scandal since it broke. he issued a guide to tell bishops how to handle abuse cases. "the wall street journal" reports that a federal investigation is well under way now. the paper says a grand jury began hearing testimony about countrywide last year. no charges have been filed at this point but three countrywide executives face a civil lawsuit filed by the s.e.c. last year. with all of the economic trouble this country has seen, fewer and fewer people trust the government according to a survey. nearly 80% of people say they cannot trust the government and have little faith that it can solve our nation's problems. only 22% said they felt they could trust washington almost
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always or most of the time. nearly half said the government negatively affects their daily lives. majority of those surveyed called washington too big and too powerful saying it interf e interferes too much in state and local matters. our time just about 4:51. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> a touch of summer and now it feel likes we're back to winter. >> in the 80s on friday. then yesterday we were in the 50s. quite a chilly day on sunday and now this morning we're talking about frost. we have scattered frost now reports coming in some isolated areas in prince well county and madison county and down toward charlottesville, central shenandoah valley. this region here scattered frost but closer to washington no frost. low 40s in montgomery county. arlington, fairfax counties low 40s. mid 40s in prince george's county. also mid 40s in st. mary's and on the eastern shore.
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northern shenandoah valley low to mid 40s. and the wider view showing temperatures in the mountains in the mid 30s. scattered frost there in a few valleys and on the eastern shore right now the mid 40s central and southeastern virginia now mid 40s to near 50. over the last six hours we've had a clear sky. we'll have lots of sunshine. high pressure over the region over the entire eastern half of the country for the most part giving us a settled weather pattern although there's a bit of wind still blustery here in new england. there may be minor flight delays in boston this morning but elsewhere just a bit of light rain in arkansas down to louisiana. that's an area of low pressure that may move up during the day on wednesday and may have just a bit of moisture with it perhaps to give us a few sprinkles then. for today, lots of sunshine. by 9:00 near 50. sunrise this morning at 6:26. by noon we should be near 60. mostly sunny this afternoon. we'll peak in the mid 60s by mid
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afternoon. by midnight the low 50s and by dawn tomorrow the mid 40s. under a clear sky and probably no frost around tomorrow morning. sunrise on tuesday 6:25. during the day tomorrow, another beautiful day. late april temperatures into the mid 60s. that's about average for this time of year. and then on wednesday morning the upper 40s to near 50. quite a bit of cloudiness around on wednesday and it appears there's a slight chance of a few sprinkles during the day. highs low to mid 60s. and then on thursday partly sunny. again, morning lows mid 40s. afternoon highs in the mid 60s. now, here's a look at the weekend. friday looks to be partly cloudy. afternoon highs in the 60s. mid to upper 60s perhaps. we'll have another front and area of low pressure coming through on saturday and sunday. both days maybe a little sunshine but quite a bit of cloudiness and chance of a
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passing shower saturday. morning lows near 50. afternoon highs upper 60s. maybe a bit milder on sunday but still a chance of a shower and near 70. now, let's check the monday morning traffic. jerry, how are we doing? >> doing well as monday morning gets under way. not a lot to worry about. interstate 270 southbound uneventful from frederick down to the split. we'll head over to see if good news continues. volume inbound along interstate 66 getting past fair oaks. no accidents or incidents all of the way into the roosevelt bridge. good news there. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. are you tired of sitting in gridlock on i-66 hour after hour? tonight is your chance to find out what vdot is doing to make that commute easier. it will be held tonight from 7:00 to 9:00. you can hear more about a number of topics including the hov use
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and bus ramps. it is now 5:53. the odds of it happening again are 1 in 17 million. >> it happened. two cousins accomplished something that may never be matched again. the promise to passengers. major airlines delivering welcome news. and a chance for kids to take a trip out of this world without really leaving d.c.
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if you're down at the national mall in the coming week, you're invited to check in at the nasa village. the nasa village consists of tents to show kids and grown-ups how nasa uses science and technology to help all of us learn more about our home planet. you may say us airlines never met a fee they didn't like until now. you can still bring on carry-on bags for free. five major airlines have agreed not to charge carry-on fees including american, delta, jetblue, united and us airways. the idea of charging for carry-ones became a hot top wic when spirit airlines charged a $45 fee. >> the ceos said it was a bad idea and wouldn't mimic spirit.
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>> schumer plans to meet with spirit airlines this week. the maryland governor will begin his re-election campaign next week in baltimore. the governor will kick off a three-day tour of the state a week from tomorrow. he'll visit 11 locations including columbia, annapolis, and waldorf and this year's election will facehe same candidates as the 2006 race although their roles will be reversed. o'malley will face former governor robert ehrlich in november. o'malley beat ehrlich four years ago. a golf game into a celebration for two cousins in ohio. what they accomplished on a golf course defied the odds. >> average day on the green ended at the par 3 fifth hole. william hit a 6 ir6 iro5-iron a a hole in one. >> i pulled 6.
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i hit it. i strike it to the middle of the green like i was trying. next thing we hear it hit the flagstick. they were actually sitting just like that. >> this is nothing we'll never forget. remember that day we was out at number 5. >> we always considered each other as brothers. >> they ought to be brothers. the evidence you can see where the ball actually nicked the flagstick and chipped the cup and four witnesses shared in the celebration. the odds of an average golfer making a hole in one is 1 in 12,000 but for consecutive holes in one the odds are 1 in 17 million. >> and it was done by cousins. >> think of that. >> a day they'll never forget. very cool. >> congratulations to both of them. >> stay tuned. the news at 5:00 starts right now.
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a difficult day. a well liked d.c. school principal murdered in his home now grieving students return to school for the first time since this shocking crime. >> for now i'm going to sleep on a friend's couch and hope the friendship lasts. >> more of the same. hundreds of thousands of travelers in limbo hoping that iceland volcano begins to slow down. welcome to "news4 today." i'm eun yang. >> good morning. i'm joe krebs. it's monday, the 19th of april, 2010. let's take a live look outside. 47 degrees in the nation's capital. chillier than we're used to recently. let's get a check on our forecast now. >> here's meteorologist tom kierein with the latest. good morning to you, tom. welcome back. welcome back, joe. nice to see you both. >> good to be back. >> thank you very much. good morning. starting off this monday morning a big change from friday's 80s. it's down into the 30s in a few locations. even scattered frost around
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central virginia into the shenandoah valley. elsewhere generally temperatures are well above freezing in the low 40s. now 47 in washington. mid 40s prince george's county. arlington, fairfax, montgomery counties now in the low 40s. low to mid 40s on the eastern shore and southern maryland, northern neck in the 30s and many locations central shenandoah valley into the mountains this morning under a clear sky. lots of sunshine today with highs climbing into the mid 60s. that's about average for this time of year. mid 60s again tomorrow afternoon with lots of sun. mid 40s in the morning. probably no frost tomorrow morning. clouds on wednesday and maybe a little sprinkle activity in the mid 60s. mid 60s thursday and partly sunny. settled pattern throughout the workweek ahead. how is the monday morning traffic, jerry? >> doing well. clear, dry road surfaces. coming up from american legion bridge toward river road all of the construction barrels should be out of the roadway just about any time.
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outer loop right side of your screen moving nicely. no worries there. head over to take a gander along i-95 northbound. all lanes open and still pretty quiet. good news continues on a monday. joe, back to you. >> thanks so much. a murder mystery that has stunned washington. a popular middle school principal in the district found shot and killed inside his own home. this morning his students and colleagues will return to class for the first time since his tragic death. norah o'donnell has the latest. >> let's start to move in please. >> reporter: he was a principal who changed children's lives. 42-year-old brian betts once a physical ed teacher was handp k handpicked by michelle rhee for what seemed like an impossible mission. the goal to transform the underperforming shaw middle school at garnet-patterson as part of an overhaul of d.c.
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public schools. be betts' message to kids was simple. >> if you come to this school and do what you're instructed to do, you can pick whatever path you want in your life. >> reporter: betts love and respect for his students was mutual. >> i used to get in fights and be very negative. >> reporter: what changed that? >> mr. betts. he's a very positive person. he has a good attitude. being around people with positive attitude helps brings up your spirits. >> reporter: here where betts taught, his students are devastated and mourning the loss of their beloved principal. >> i don't know why anybody would want to kill him or to harm him. he was a good person. he was a good man. >> senseless tragedy that is just a tremendous loss. >> reporter: betts was found murdered inside his silver spring, maryland, home thursday night shot to death. >> no sign of forced entry into
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the house. >> reporter: that's why police don't believe it's a random killing. his suv was found yesterday in d.c. 14 miles from his maryland home. a murder mystery that left a community without its hero. >> he believed in every kid that walked through the door. he really treated each one like they were the most important kid in the world and they felt it from him. >> reporter: and now brian betts' intense devotion to his students will be his legacy. norah o'donnell, nbc news, washington. >> investigators took betts' suv and are now examining it for any evidence. a deadly shooting just blocks from the frostburg state university campus early sunday morning. police say 20-year-old brandon carroll was gunned down by a fellow student. carroll grew up in waldorf where his friends, family and former coaches held a memorial. news4's darcy spencer reports. >> i want everyone to pray for the family at this time. it's kind of hard.
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i just don't have too much to say right now. i'm sorry. >> reporter: it was a tear filled vigil at thomas stone high school in waldorf where 20-year-old brandon carroll was remembered as a great athlete and friend. the graduate was shot and killed during a dispute near frostburg state university where he was a sophomore early sunday morning. >> he was just a sweetheart. he always smiled. he had nothing bad to say about anybody. we had spanish class together. he made everybody laugh. >> he would play around with me. just everything. he meant a lot to me. of all people, this shouldn't happen to him. he's too good for this. >> reporter: police say carroll was shot in the stomach with a 12-gauge shotgun about 4:00 in the morning by fellow student tyrone hall. his friend was also shot and wounded. carroll was captain of the boys'
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basketball team at thomas stone where he made friends on and off the court. he graduated in 2008. >> great kid. going to school. doing the right thing. just sad and tragic. >> brandon didn't have an evil bone in his body. if you were mad at him, you couldn't stay mad at him long. >> reporter: his parents are in frostburg dealing with the loss of another son. >> this is the second child they lost. one was in a fire at a very young age and brandon. this is their second child. >> reporter: police did recover the shotgun that was allegedly used in the shootings. the second student who was wounded is expected to survive. the suspect being held without bond. in waldorf, darcy spencer, "news4 today." >> family and friends mourn the loss of a college student from our area killed over the weekend. an 18 year old was shot and killed near texas university in houston. he was a freshman there. he was hit in a back while standing with a group of students at a party.
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police are still looking for the shooter. today a big pro gun rally will occur in the district even though guns are not allowed in the district but another rally will take place across the river in virginia where guns are legal. people will gather with guns at ft. hunt national park near alexandria. today's rallies follow pro gun rallies across the country. supporters picked this days but it marks the 235th anniversary of the revolutionary war. they also say just because they're armed, does not mean that they are dangerous. >> don't put us in a category with bullies and thugs. we are not. we're every day citizens protecting our rights, protecting our families. >> we're not coming here with guns. >> the organizers say the rally at national mall will respect d.c.'s ban on handguns. the obama administration has allowed guns in national parks. the space shuttle "discovery" may have to remain in space just a bit longer. mission control and crew members
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are preparing for a scheduled landing this morning at 8:48. but bad weather at the kennedy space center may force a delay. the "discovery" had two opportunities to land before nasa gives up for today. the "discovery" crew delivered more than 7 tons of supplies and equipment to the international space station during their two-week trip. only four shuttle flight remain before the program ends. our time is now 5:08. 47 degrees. good news this morning for travelers waiting out that volcano eruption in iceland. >> next, some people may actually see frost when they step outside this morning. tom will let us know when it will feel like spring again.
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time for weather and traffic on the 1s. now at 5:11. a chilly 46 degrees in washington. at this hour we're in the low 40s in montgomery county. articli articling tennesse articlingto arlington, fairfax, low 40s. mid 30s in prince william and madison, kculpeper. patchy frost there. southern maryland around the bay temperatures in the 40s. clear skies and lots of sunshine today with afternoon highs climbing into the mid 60s and more of the same on tuesday. although probably no frost tomorrow morning. wednesday quite a bit of cloudiness around into the mid 60s. slight chance of a sprinkle.
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and partly sunny thursday. highs mid 60s. now jerry, how is monday morning traffic? >> sampling of the capital beltway in virginia where so far so good. both directions between springfield and i-66 moving along well. let's see if that good news continues for us downtown. very light volume here on 395. no early accidents and overnight road work around town should be picked up by this hour. back to you. >> 5:12 is your time. 46 degrees. still ahead on "news4 today," a startling survey. how many americans say they do not trust the government. what toyota plans to do about that record fine it received. the latest on the ash cloud grounding thousands of flights worldwide. why travelers may get some good news today.
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5:14. a check of the top stories we're following today. students will return to a d.c. school for the first time since their principal was murdered. brian betts was found murdered inside his home. betts was the principal at shaw middle school at garnet-patterson since 2008. a community is in mourning after a college student from waldorf was shot and killed. the gunman was a fellow student.
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tyrone hall shot brandon carroll after an off-campus party early yesterday morning. hall is accused of shooting ellis heartridge as well. police have now arrested hall. today gun right supporters will hold rallies on the national mall and across the river in a national park. the obama administration lifted a ban on firearms at national parks last year. supporters say they picked this day because it marks the 235th anniversary of the revolutionary war. the space shuttle "discovery" is scheduled to planned this morning at 8:48 but bad weather might force a delay. "discovery" has two opportunities to land before nasa gives up for the day. the space shuttle crew delivered tons of equipment to the international space station during their two-week trip. the skies over europe are finally beginning to clear of the volcanic ash that brought the continent's air travel to a
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standstill. some airports are opening to limited traffic but the airspace over britain, germany and the netherlands remains closed for now. the improving forecast is the news thousands of stranded travelers have been waiting to hear. many have been stuck in washington for days waiting for the chance to return home to europe. kimberly suiters is live at d l dulles with the latest. >> reporter: the eu says half of flights could return to normal today. that's great news for passengers who have been stranded all across the wld because of the flight ban over europe. taking a look at video locally here of our passengers, we do have passengers stranded who are trying to leave out of dulles international airport and we talked to some of those passengers. some were frustrated. some slightly concerned. but really taking it in stride. >> yeah. obviously i have concerns but i'm kind of resigned to it now. i was resigned to it two or
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three days ago. i'm chilled out about it really. book the hotel for a few more days. the longer it goes on, you get more concerned and want to get home. >> i was supposed to fly to dublin today. i've been able to rebook a flight for friday. i'm not sure if flights will go on friday as well. but i'm in a lucky position of having been able to get in touch with the airline and be able to rebook. there are many people who aren't. >> reporter: several major airlines safely tested the skies with weekend flights that did not carry passengers. several airlines said they were able to fly through windows and dust clouds and others say there were clear skies over europe and would like to resume flights. this is costing $200 million a day for the airline industry and then there's fed ex and u.p.s. and mail that's being stalled as well. there's a big business push to get flights moving again but of course the safety is number one concern here.
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something of interest, we're hearing the ash cloud may make it to the east coast of north america by this evening. it remains to be seen whether there will be even a greater impact of flights along the northeastern coast line. i'm kimberly suiters. now back to you. >> thank you. travelers who are stranded in florida will at least have some fun. sea world in orlando is opening its doors for travelers whose flights are grounded because of the volcanic ash. tourists get a one-day ticket. the offer makes their situation a whole lot more enjoyable. >> this has been a highlight. i think it's fantastic. we watched tv last night and we found the address so we came over today. >> in case you're wondering how sea world can prevent phony travelers, visitors have to show a valid return flight ticket dated april 14th through the 21st to get in. >> toyota is expected to agree to a fine of more than $16
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million stemming from that gas pedal problem with its vehicles. the government says the toyota knew about the sticking gas pedals last september but didn't issue a recall until january. the law requires any defect to be reported in five days. the transportation official says toyota plans to pay the record fine and avoid contesting it in court. today is the deadline for the automaker to make a final decision. could some of the executives from former mortgage giant countywide financial soon face criminal charges? "the wall street journal" is reporting a federal investigation is well under way. a grand jury began hearing testimony about countrywide last year. no charges have been filed to this point but three countywide executives face a civil lawsuit filed by the s.e.c. last year. fewer and fewer people put their trust in washington these days according to a pew research center survey. 80% of the people said they cannot trust the federal government and have little faith that it can solve our nation's problems. only 22% said they felt they
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could trust washington almost always or most of the time. nearly half said the government negatively affects their daily lives. the majority of those surveyed called washington too big and too powerful saying it interferes too much in state and local matters. the washington capitals hope to regain control of their opening round playoff series today taking on montreal. what a game. capitals have been the most dominant team in the nhl all season long. the coach hasn't said whether a switch is permanent. donovan mcnabb is finished with his first mini camp as a redskin. the camp wrapped up yesterday afternoon. mcnabb has been in town for two weeks now since the skins acquired him after a trade with
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the eagles. he says he's feeling comfortable here in washington. >> no b-ball game with the prez. >> excited about the redskins. >> let's get a check on weather. now 5:21. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> good morning. we're starting off monday morning quite chilly. scattered frost through central virginia into the central shenandoah valley this morning where we're down into the low to mid 30s. closer to washington, near 40 in fairfax and montgomery counties. arlington county in the low 40s. mid 40s in washington and in prince george's county. st. mary's mid 40s as well. northern shenandoah valley panhandle of west virginia now into western maryland around 40 degrees. the view from space over the last six hours showing a clear sky here. lots of sunshine today with highs reaching the mid 60s. then overnight tonight should be be mostly clear. mid 40s by dawn tomorrow. tuesday looks like a mostly sunny day. highs mid 60s again.
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and then upper 40s by wednesday morning. quite a bit of cloudiness around on wednesday. slight chance of a sprinkle with highs in the mid 60s. mid 60s again with partly sunny sky on thursday. here's a look at friday and the weekend. partly sunny friday. highs into the 60s. maybe upper 60s to near 70 on saturday and again sunday chance of showers both days with morning lows in the low 50s. let's check on the monday morning commute. how are we doing? >> good morning to you. we're certainly picking up a bit of volume now. good morning, everyone. prince george's county on pap c capital roadway, few folks out and about. let's see how we're doing along 395. word of an accident on 395 northbound at duke street. that should be over to the shoulder by looking at the flow it looks like we're okay getting past that. all of the way to and across the 14th street bridge. on back to you. >> thank you. >> thanks a lot. time is now 5:22. ahead, your chance to go under
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the hood with jay leno. the late-night host opening up his famed garage. >> what new research says about how useful vitamins
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a new study finds vitamin supplements and to a lesser extent calcium supplement may reduce the long-term risk for breast cancer. they looked at data on more than
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700 women and those that had taken vitamin supplements over the years were 30% less likely to develop breast cancer. doctors say this does not make it okay to take megadoses of vitamins or calcium supplements. as with most anything, moderation is key. a visit to jay leno's garage is now up for grabs to the highest bidder. charity buzz.com is offering a visit to the garage. leno's garage is 17,000 square feet. cars in the garage span about 100 years from the 1906 stanley steamer to a 2006 corvette. love to see that. >> very cool. how many cars does he have? >> a bunch. more than you can drive in a week. >> 17,000 just for the garage. can you imagine? must be nice. 5:26. ahead at 5:00, two local college students killed in shootings.
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and d.c. students return for the first time since a d.c. principal was murdered. some people are waking up to
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a well loved d.c. principal murdered. today his students will return to the classroom for the first time this senseless crime. rally cry.
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several events are planned in our area today for gun right activists. eruption disruption. who is coming to the aid of some of the stranded travelers. good morning. welcome to "news4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. it is monday, april 19, 2010. 46 degrees. it feels like winter once again. some places in our area seeing frost even. >> we had a nice weekend. cooler yesterday. a lot cooler than saturday. we definitely -- spring seems to be going toward the back part of the stage right now as we look at the kennedy center. thinking about what today's presentation will be. let's see if spring will return any time soon. tom kierein has the latest on our forecast. >> it felt like summertime on friday. we hit the 80s and then saturday the 60s and sunday the 50s and this morning it's down into the 30s in central virginia, prince
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william and culpeper. this whole area including the central shenandoah valley scattered frost. close to washington low to mid 40s. now 46 in washington. mid 40s eastern shore 30s in the mountains at this hour. scattered frost there. clear sky as we start off this monday morning and we'll have lots of sunshine with highs reachi ining mid 60s. 40s by dawn tomorrow under a clear sky and probably no frost tomorrow morning. another mild day into the mid 60s tomorrow. maybe sun back on thursday. how's the morning commute? >> a fender-bender on 395 northbound at duke street. activity well out of the roadway. that shouldn't be much of a factor. good news there. let's see how we're doing if you're making the trip in through southeast or northeast for that matter. light traffic in all of the district. can't find hang-ups to report so far. on the rails, doing fine. metro, vre and marc reporting no early delays. back to you.
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>> thank you very much. this morning students and teachers at one d.c. middle school are still trying to come to terms with the terrible tragedy. >> brian betts, the principal at shaw middle school at garn garnet-patterson was found murdered inside his home on thursday. he was described as an educator that changed lives. today the school will open for the first time since his death. megan mcgrath joins from us that school in northwest washington with more. good morning, megan. >> reporter: good morning. this promises to be a very difficult day for students here. it's their first time back to class since their beloved principal was found murdered. now, a student used color chalk to draw a picture of a broken heart on the door of shaw middle at garnet-patterson. you can see the cork board on the railing beside the door so students can leave notes and there are many of them. principal brian betts was very well liked. one student writes "because of you we make a family. there will never be another you. you will forever be in my
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heart." another student writes "missing you and your amazingness." principal betts failed to show up. a colleague went to his home in silver spring to check on him and that's when the discovery was made. betts was found dead from a gunshot wound. no signs of forced entry into his home. his vehicle was missing from his home but it was found over the weekend in the district of columbia on fourth street in southeast. at this point no arrest have been made. no suspects have been identified in this murder. now it counselors will be here at the school today. they'll be talking to students and anyone who is having difficulty dealing with their emotions, dealing with the situation at hand here. again, a beloved principal at this school found murdered and no one has been arrested. back to you. >> megan mcgrath in northwest washington. thank you. >> megan, thank you.
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a student shot and killed yesterday morning. tyrone hall shot and killed 20-year-old brandon carroll during a dispute near frostburg state university where both are students. carroll's friend ellis hartridge was also shot and wounded. carroll's friends, family and former coaches remembered the high school basketball captain last night. >> great kid. going to school doing the right thing. >> brandon didn't have an evil bone in his body. if you were mad at him, you couldn't stay mad at him long. >> police arrested hall, the alleged shooter and he's being held without bond. officers recovered the shotgun that was allegedly used in the shootis. the second student who was wounded is expected to survive. family and friends mourn the loss of a another college student killed over the weekend.
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he was hit in the back while sitting with a group of students at a party. police are still looking for the shooter. today gun advocates will pack a national park while packing heat. they'll hold a rally for the first time inside a national park in our area. the so-called restore the constitution rally will happen in the park while others will demonstrate in the district without their guns. tracy potts has the story. >> reporter: today's march follows gun support rallies all over the country. >> don't put us in a category with bullies and thugs. we are not. we're every day citizens protecting our rights, protecting our families. >> we're not coming here with guns. >> reporter: the organizer says this rally will be peaceful respecting d.c.'s ban on handguns but promoting their constitutional right to bear arms. >> the second amendment has
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nothing to do with guns. it has to do with freedom. >> reporter: one constitutional expert says the wrong group is bending washington's ear. >> it should be the gun control advocates who have not really gotten a lot of movement from this administration or congress. >> reporter: the obama administration allowed guns in national parks and on trains. the supreme court is expected to rule on whether states and cities have to follow the second amendment but in d.c. where gun led to the city's biggest mass shooting in nearly two decades, there's concern about fewer restrictions. >> a child barely weighed 100 pounds shot in her temple with an ak-47. her neck wide open. bullet all in her body. it's senseless. >> reporter: today is the anniversary of waco and the oklahoma city bombing but organizers say it's not why they picked this day. it's the 235th anniversary of
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the start of the revolutionary war. from the national mall in washington, i'm tracy potts, nbc news. >> the march will happen at the washington monument from 10:00 to 4:00 today. supporters will defend their rights to keep and bear arms. smaller marches will take place at state capitols around the country. today marks the anniversary of the federal building in oklahoma city. more than 680 were injured in the deadliest terror attack on u.s. soil until 9/11. timothy mcveigh was convicted of plotting and the bomb and was later executed. bells tolled as a couple was buried yesterday. the crypt serves as a final resting place for many polish kings and statemen.
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the president and his wife were among 96 people who were killed last weekend in a plane crash. president obama planned to attend the funeral but his plane was grounded due to iceland's volcanic eruption. 5:38. 46 degrees. coming up, that volcanic ash that stranded travelers around the world may now be changing direction and heading toward north america. toyota's record fine. will the company pay up? a check of the morning's weather and traffic coming up. duct system as the lungs of the house. expulsion of air. dust and dirt that helping the house to breathe. say i'm a doctor. not a doctor either. suction. ♪ call 1-800-steemer
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good morning. time for weather and traffic on this monday morning. a chilly 46 in washington. clear sky and a bit of a breeze out of the northwest gusting to 15 miles an hour. mid 40s in prince george's county. right now montgomery, arlington, fairfax, only near 40 degrees. it's in the low 30s in many locations in prince william, culpeper and right along the blueridge into the central shenandoah valley. this zone here scattered frost this morning but elsewhere no frost reports. mid 40s on the eastern shore. and it's in the 30s out in the mountains and scattered frost there. near 50 around norfolk and southeastern virginia and the view from space showing a clear sky. lots of sunshine today with high pressure over the region. highs should make it into the mid 60s. and then tonight clear, cool in the evening in the 50s and by dawn tomorrow the mid 40s. sunny on tuesday. the mid 60s. and mid 60s again wednesday and thursday with some clouds
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around. slight chance of a sprinkle wednesday. we'll look at friday and the weekend in ten minutes. how's the traffic? >> check things out along i-95. heavy traffic making the trip north through prince william parkway closer to triangle it looks like toward prince william parkway. don't see anything in the roadway yet but we'll look close. seems heavy for this time of the morning. elsewhere, prince george's county on the beltway, route 4 up to 214 and down to wilson bridge moving without delay. back to you. >> thanks very much. 5:42 is your time. 46 degrees. still ahead, the mishap involving the president's motorcade. >> plus, a promise to passengers. what some of the major airlines are vowing not to do. also a spectacular show in the skies courtesy of the shuttle "discovery." why the journey home could be something special. and that giant ash cloud is is it changing direction?
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a live report next.
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there's some good news this morning for travelers hoping to get to or from europe. the volcanic ash that grounded most of the flights in europe appears to be lifting. some airports have already reopened. however, the cloud is now projected to move in a different direction. possibly heading toward us. towards the north american coast. that cloud has stranded thousands of travelers in washington among other airports around the country and the world. >> they've been stuck here for days and many are still unsure when they will get to return home to europe. news4's kimberly suiters is live at dulles airport with more. good morning, kimberly. >> reporter: good morning. expectation is that half of normal flights could resume today although big airports in
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germany, britain and netherlands still remain closed. take a look at video that we got yesterday. sunday was the worst day for travelers especially here at dulles airport. these travelers are likely waking up to some relief this morning that some european airports are opening. thousands of passengers grounded or stranded across the globe. at dulles on sunday, planes and passengers languished in lines that were not moving anywhere fast. we talked to some travelers who had been trying to get back to europe and they really appeared to be taking the delays in stride. >> yeah. obviously i have concerns but i'm resigned to it now. i was resigned to it two or three days ago. i'm chilled out about it really. staying at the hotel for a few more days. the longer it goes on you get concerned and want to get home.
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>> i was supposed to fly to dublin today. i rebooked a flight for friday. i'm not sure if flight will go on friday. i'm in a lucky position of having been able to get in touch with the airlines and be able to rebook. many people aren't. >> reporter: many airlines in europe ran test flights through windows in volcanic ash. there's tremendous economic pressure to open up air travel. the airline industry says these delays are costing them $200 million a day. and at least one of the passengers we talked to yesterday said they're not even going try to rebook their flights and think a cruise across the atlantic is much more appealing about now. reporting live at dulles airport, i'm kimberly suiters, news4. back to you. >> thank you very much. >> good plan. a team of doctors and support staff from howard university hospital will leave today for nigeria. the team was supposed to leave friday but their flight was postponed because of the volcanic ash. the group plans to spend two weeks in nigeria providing free
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health care to thousands of people. that trip may have to be shortened because of the delay. it seems that us airlines never met a fee they didn't like until now. you will bring a carry-on bag for free on u.s. major airlines. senator charles schumer says five major airlines agreed to the to charge carry-on fees. the issue began earlier this month when spirit airlines announced a $45 carry-on fee. >> the five ceos told me that they had no intention of doing this. they thought it was a bad idea. and they were not going to mimic spirit. >> schumer plans to meet with spirit airlines this week. today pope benedict marks the fifth anniversary of his selection but the child abuse scandal is overshadowing the occasion. pope benedict met with a group
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of sexual abuse victims yesterday. they said they were molested by priests when they were children living in an orphanage. a wave of accusations in the recent months that the church failed to take action against pedophile priests. >> this experience is going to change my life. i can now go to my daughter and say i believe, you know. >> pope benedict has met with abuse victims in years past but yesterday's meeting was the first time he personally addressed the recent scandal since it broke. last week the vatican published a guide to tell bishops how to handle abuse cases. toyota is expected to agree to a fine of more than $16 million stemming from that gasoline pedal problem with its vehicles. toyota knew about the sticking gas pedals last september but didn't issue a recall until january four months later. the law requires any defect to be reported in five days.
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a transportation official says toyota plans to pay the record fine and avoid contesting it in court. today is the deadline for the auto maker to make a decision. two lawmakers want the s.e.c. to investigate goldman sachs over its mortgage related deals. a maryland congressman and an oregon congressman want to see if goldman sachs broke laws during its dealings at the height of the subprime mortgage boom. many of those transactions were insured by aig which is being bailed out by taxpayers. the congressmen wants the s.e.c. to recoup funds from goldman if anything happened. a mishap with a motorcade ended with just a few dirt looks. a motor bike slid into the last police car in the motorcade. the rider dusted himself off and then glared at the police
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officer. the officer then glared back. and the man on the motor bike drove away. maryland governor will begin his re-election campaign next week in baltimore. hi campaign manager says the governor will kick off a thee-day tour of the state a week from tomorrow visiting 11 locations. this year's election will likely face the same candidates as the 2006 race although their roles will be reversed. o'malley expected to face former governor bob ehrlich in november. o'malley beat ehrlich four years ago. a golf game that turned to celebration for two cousins. >> the cousins average day on the green ended at the par 3 fifth hole. after the celebration of the hole in one, cody was nervous about how to follow that.
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>> i pulled 6. i hit it. i strike it to the middle of the green. >> next thing we know we hear it hit the flagstick. >> i was hoping it was in the hole. they were sitting just like this. >> nothing we'll never forget. 50 years down the road. >> we all considered each other as brothers. >> pretty close now. the evidence you can see where cody's ball nicked the flagpole and chipped the cup plus five witnesses apparently shared in the celebration. the odds of an average golfer making a hole in one are 1 in 12,000. golf digest said for consecutive holes in one the odds are 1 in 17 million. do you believe it? >> i believe it. good for them. congratulations. >> let's go to tom kierein to see if we believe the weather for today i'm sure we will.
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here's tom >> fresh and cool under a school sky. frosty cold through central virginia and parts of prince william and along the central blueridge valley. frosty conditions in the 30s. elsewhere we're in the low to mid 40s and prince george's county, montgomery, arlington and fairfax and district of columbia and eastern shore. out in the mountains upper 30s to mid 30s and scattered frost there. high pressure over the region giving us a clear sky. lots of sunshine today. and there is some rain through the central mississippi valley now. that is a weak area of low pressure that's going to be sort of coming up our way by wednesday. we may get sprinkle out of that midweek. for today bright sunshine. sunrise about half an hour away. by noontime near 60. middle afternoon mid 60s and by 6:00 the low 60s. sunset at 7:49. 50s by then. clear night tonight. by dawn tomorrow mid 40s and probably no frost around. during the day on tuesday lots
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of sunshine. highs should make it into mid 60s again tomorrow. and then on wednesday the mid 60s and that weak area of low pressure to our south giving us clouds and sprinkles. thursday, highs mid 60s. friday, partly cloudy with highs mid to upper 60s. upper 60s with a chance of a shower on saturday and sunday. both days a chance of passing showers. and milder. and now how is the monday morning traffic? >> problem now in silver spring with an accident possibly overturned. don't have a lot of details. look at the flashing lights. this is university boulevard. i think it will affect 29 more than anything else right now. we'll call it near university boulevard possibly overturned. looks like traffic being held up right now. we'll get more details and get back to you. probably be a good idea to stay away from four corners in montgomery county until we get more information for you.
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let's head over to 95 northbound couldn't find anything in the travel portion of the roadway all of the way up out of fredericksburg looks like volume and that's it. on the rails, metrorail, looking okay. back to you. >> thank very much. are you tired of sitting in gridlock on i-66 for hour after hour each morning? tonight is your chance to find out what vdot is doing to make that commute easier. head to fairfax county government center for a town hall meeting on solutions for easing traffic on 66. it's being held from 7:00 to 9:00. you can hear more about a number of options including hov use and bus ramps. space shuttle "discovery" is scheduled to land this morning at kennedy space center. >> discovery seven member crew here bidding farewell to six members of the expedition 23 crew. >> "discovery" astronaut gave their final good-byes at the international space station. their departure broke up the largest group of women on one
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spacecraft with four on board. the "discovery" crew delivered more than 7 tons of supplies and equipment during its two-week mission. the shuttle will take a rare pass across the united states. if the weather does not cooperate, it may mean "discovery" will have to wait one more day to come home. now we have the latest from krist krist kristen. >> reporter: space shuttle "discovery" making a return across america's heartland. >> folks will get a good opportunity hopefully to see the orbiter as had goes overhead. >> reporter: with four shuttle landings left, it could be a once in a lifetime sight for some. before "discovery" can go anywhere, rain clouds over florida have to go away. >> if there are rain showers too close to the runway, no go for a
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landing there. >> reporter: so "discovery's" crew must now wait on the weather. over the past two weeks they delivered eight tons of supplies. >> good job. we have the ammonia tank in the bay. >> reporter: despite a minor problem with a cooling valve, "discovery" left the station more complete as the shuttle program speeds toward the end later this year. >> we hate to see it go. as programs age and as vehicles age, it comes time to say good-bye to those and look forward to others. >> reporter: with all of the mi mars, there may be plenty for astronaut to look forward to but for now that are focus is just getting "discovery" back on the ground. kristen dahlgren, kennedy space center. >> you're invited to check in at nasa village on national mall to see how nasa uses science and
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technology to help all of us learn more about our home planet. >>
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a school in mourning. students in the district go back to school for the first time since learning about the death of their beloved principal. the travel mignightmare cou soon be over for thousands stranded around the world. there's reports the volucanic ah could hit the east coast of north america. good morning. let's take a live look outside right now. beautiful sky. lot of blue in the sky. sunrise on the way. 46 degrees on this 19th day of april, 2010. >> chilly start to our morning. let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein to get the latest on the forecast. good morning to you.
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>> good morning. under that peach and turquoise sky temperatures near the freezing mark in central virginia through the central shenandoah valley from prince welcome county into fauquier and parts of culpeper along the blueridge central shenandoah valley with patchy frost. closer to washington, low to mid 40s. we are off to a clear start with lots of sunshine. highs today should climb into the mid 60s with a northwest breeze. that will be much more settled than it was over the weekend. then overnight tonight, clear and not as chilly. mid 40s tomorrow morning. during the day tomorrow, mid 60s. may have a sprinkle on wednesday. otherwise clouds and mid 60s. partly sunny thursday. now, how's the commute? >> we'll update folks on the accident in silver spring at university boulevard. looks like traffic moving in all directions under police assistance. as a report of an overturned
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vehicle. can't confirm that as of yet. looks like you will get by under police direction at 29 and 193. we'll keep you updated on that. let's head over to the west along interstate 66 right at the capital beltway. very quiet commute so far this morning. all travel lanes reported open to and across the roosevelt bridge. back to you. >> thank you. a murder stunned washington. a popular mid school principal in the district found shot and killed inside his own home. this morning brian betts students and colleagues will return to class for the first time since his tragic death. news4's megan mcgrath joins us from shaw middle school in northwest. she has more. good morning, megan. >> reporter: good morning, joe. those who new brian betts are just absolutely stunned by what's happened. and this promises to be a very difficult day for students here. it's their first time back to class since learning of the murder of their beloved principal. using colored chalk, a student
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drew a picture of a broken heart on the front door of the school. cork boards line the stair rail. on them handwritten note. one reads "because of you we became a family. there will never be another you. you will forever be in high hea heart." this is the first day back to class for the students of shaw middle at garnet patterson since their principal was murdered. >> i don't know why anybody would want to kill him or to harm him. he was a good person. a good man. >> he believed in every kid that walked through the door. he really treated each one like they were the most important kid in the world and they felt it from him. >> reporter: concerns were raised when principal betts failed to show up from work last thursday. the grim discovery was made by a colleague who went to a silver spring home to check on him. police say there were no signs of forced entry.
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betts' nissan missing from the crime scene was found over the weekend on fourth street in southeast. students will be assisted today by grief counselors who will be here at the school helping the students cope with their feelings and kind of deal with this entire situation here. a very, very difficult day ahead for everyone here at this school. in terms of the investigation, it is ongoing and the murder remains a mystery here. no suspects have been identified. no arrests have been made. back to you in the studio. >> megan mcgrath reporting live. thank you very much. a charles county community is in mourning after a college student from waldorf was shot and killed. the shooting happened at an off-campus party across the street from frostburg university yesterday morning. tyrone hall shot and killed 20-year-old brandon carroll during a dispute. both are students at the university. carroll's friend ellis hartridge was also shot and wounded. carroll grew up in waldorf and
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attended high school at thomas stone where his friends, family and former coaches remembered the student last night. >> doing the right thing. going to school. sad and tragic. >> brandon didn't have an evil bone in his body. if you were mad at him, you couldn't stay mad at him long. >> police have arrested hall and he's being held without bond. officers recovered the shotgun that was allegedly used in the shootings. the second student who was wounded is expected to survive. family and friends mourn the loss of a college student from our area killed over the weekend. 18-year-old joshua mcmacle of front royal, virginia, was shot and killed in houston. police say he was hit in the back while standing with a group of students at a party. police are still looking for the shooter. his father flew from virginia yesterday. his mother is on her way from japan. good news for travelers today that volcanic ash cloud may clear up in europe.
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bad news the cloud could be headed our way. officials in great britain say it could reach north america sometime today. britain says its airspace will remain closed until at least tomorrow. some europeans are still here in washington even though they were supposed to go back home days ago. they're among the millions of travelers stranded because of that ash cloud. news4's kimberly suiters is live at dulles airport with more on their stories. good morning, kimberly. >> reporter: good morning, joe. those europeans and americans trying to leave from dulles international airport. some are told they won't be able to get out until friday. even though air travel could resume to 50% of normal today it still remains to be seen how difficult travel will be.
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some flight have not resumed in major airports and destinations. a partial reopening is good news to passengers grounded around the globe. at dulles airport on sunday which was by far the worst travel day, planes and passengers languished in lines that were not moving very fast. we talked to some travelers trying to get to europe and they appear to be taking these delays in stride. >> yeah. obviously i have concerns but i'm kind of resigned to it now. i was resigned to it two or three days ago. i'm chilled out about it. book the hotel for a few more days. the longer it goes on you get more concerned and want to get home and things like that. >> thinking it would be nice to go across the atlantic on a ship. >> reporter: giving up on the airlines all together. many airlines in europe ran test flights through windows in volcanic ash over the weekend. they say they did not have trouble flying. they did this without passengers on board. of course there's huge economic pressure to reopen air travel.
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this is costing the airline industry $200 million a day. something that's interesting about this volcanic ash usually volcanoes are strong enough to spew the stuff into the stratosphere and not impact travel and also it starts as ash but turns to lava. in this case, the volcano is weak. also attached to a glacier and so that's what's causing the ash to hover in the area where we like to fly and it's not safe to do so. reporting live at dulles international airport, i'm kimberly suiters. back to you. >> it's a mess. thank you very much. britain is relying on military to rescue stranded travelers and announced today it will send royal navy warships to rescue those stranded across the english channel. gun rights activists getting ready to hold rallies all around town. why one in northern virginia could feature something never done before. why pope benedict xvi was
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reduced to tears over the weekend. >> 46 degrees at 6:08. weather
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good morning. time for traffic and weather on the 1s at 6:11. a clear sky. live view from sky watcher camera and temperatures around the region are chilly this morning down into the 40s in washington and the nearby
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suburbs. montgomery and fairfax counties now dipped into the upper 30s. arlington county low 40s. some scattered frost through central virginia and parts of the shenandoah valley and out of the mountains eastern shore low to mid 40s. lots of sun today and tomorrow. afternoon highs into the mid 60s. clouds around wednesday might have a sprinkle thursday partly sunny. a look at the weekend in ten minutes. how's traffic jerry? >> chopper 4 over the scene of the accident we've been telling you about now. route 29 at university boulevard up in silver spring four corners area. right now looks like traffic getting by under police control. don't see huge backups associated with it. right now authorities waiting on the tow trucks and they'll get everything reopened. if you're headed in that direction in the next couple minutes, might be minor disruption. 29 and university. here's a look at it from the ground level. right now again everybody seems to be moving along very nicely. back to you. >> thank you.
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>> the number of gun rights rallies will be held today. we'll tell you why guns will be missing at one of those marches. >> the rare sight a large part of the country will see this morning when the space shuttle comes in for landing. >> when fans find out the answer to the question they've asked
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here's a check of f the top stories we're following this morning. students will return to a d.c. middle school today for the first time since their principal was murdered. brian betts was found shot to death inside his silver spring home thursday night. police still have no suspects. betts had been the principal since 2008. a charles county community is in mourning after a college student from waldorf was shot and killed. police say the gunman was a fellow student. they say that tyrone hall shot brandon carroll at an off-campus party at frostburg state university early yesterday morning. hall is accused of shooting ellis hartridge as well.
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hall is being held without bond. police are searching for the two shooters who killed a college student from our area over the weekend. 18-year-old joshua mcmackle was shot and killed near texas southern university in houston early saturday morning. he was a freshman there. police say mcmackle was hit in the back while standing with a group of students at a party. good news if you or someone you know is planning to fly to europe in the coming days. the eu says the skies are clearing from the volcanic ash that grounded air traffic across the country for the last couple days. air traffic could return to 50% of normal levels today. gun advocates will pack a national park will packing eat holding a rally for the first time inside a national park in our area. the so-called restore the constitution rally happen at ft. hunt park in alexandria. >> reporter: good morning. don't expect to see any guns
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here on the national mall because organizers told all supporters leave your guns at home because they are illegal here in the district and that's actually why they're here. today's march follows pro gun rallies all over the country. supporters say just because they're armed doesn't mean they're dangerous. >> don't put us in a category with bullies and thugs. we are not. we're every day citizens protecting our rights, protecting our families. >> we're not coming here with guns. >> reporter: organizers say this rally will be peaceful respecting d.c.'s ban on handguns with you protecting their constitutional rights to bear arms. >> the second amendment has nothing to do with guns. it has to do with freedom. >> reporter: one constitutional expert says the wrong group is bending washington's ear. >> it should be gun control advocates who have not really got an lot of movement from this administration or congress. >> reporter: the obama administration allowed guns in
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national parks and on trains. the supreme court is expected to rule soon on whether states and cities have to follow the second amendment but in d.c. where guns just led to the city's biggest mass shooting in nearly two decades, there's concern about fewer restrictions. >> a child barely weighed 100 pounds shot in her temple with an ak-47. blew her neck wide open. bullet all in her body. it's senseless. >> reporter: now, today is actually the anniversary of some of the more violent events in our recent history. waco, the oklahoma city bombing, you might wonder why they scheduled a gun rally on this particular day. organizers say it had nothing to do with that at all. they denounce those events but today is also patriots day and they commemorate the start of the roughevolutionary war. >> thank you. today the space shuttle
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"discovery" is scheduled to come home taking a rare path across the united states. places like british columbia, sioux city, birmingham, jacksonville are along the flight path. d.c. area is not under that flight path but rain at the kennedy space center may mean "discovery" has to wait one more day to come home. the shuttle is scheduled to land at 8:48. mission control needs to decide an hour in advance whether to shoot for a second attempt at 10:23. after that nasa will give up for the day. the "discovery" crew delivered tons of equipment to the international space station during its two-week trip. only four shuttle flights remain before the program ends in the fall. >> we all hate to see it go but as programs age and as vehicles age, it comes time to say good-bye to those and look forward to others. >> if "discovery" doesn't land today, the weather forecast does improve at kennedy space center
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for tomorrow but landing sites in california and new mexico could be chosen as well. thousand s of people are expected to gather marking the anniversary of the alfred p. murrah federal building. 168 people died in the attack. it was the deadliest terrorist attack on u.s. soil before 9/11. timothy mcveigh was convicted of plotting and detonating the bomb and was later executed. today marks the anniversary to the end of the standoff at the branch davidian compound. the compound was burned to the ground. the government claims members of the cult started a fire. four atf agents were killed during the ordeal. the cult's leader was among those killed. with all of the economic troubles the country has seen recently, fewer and fewer people
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put their frutrust in the feder government. public confidence in the federal government is at one of its lowest points in half a century. nearly 80% of those surveyed said they cannot trust the government and have little faith that it can solve our nation's problems. only 22% thought they could trust washington almost always or half of the time and half said the government negatively affects their daily lives. washington capitals hope to regain control of the opening round series tonight. they take on the montreal canadians with series tied at one. they won game two with a thrilling 6-5 comeback in overtime. capitals have been the most dominant team in the nhl all season long but it's still not clear who will be in goal for them tonight. semyon varlamov relieved theodore in the middle of saturday's game and has not said whether that switch is permanent.
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donovan mcnabb has been in town now for two weeks since the skins acquired him in a trade withal eagles trying to get his new teammates and his new plays. he says he's starting to feel comfortable here in washington. >> looking good indeed. let's get a check on traffic and weather now. we'll start with tom kierein in storm center 4. >> april living up to its reputation as a spring month acting rather frosty cold this morning. in fact, it is in the 30s in western fairfax county. parts of montgomery and frederick county in maryland. frederick county, virginia, near 40 there. prince william, fauquier along the blueridge, this whole zone scattered frost this morning. mid 40s in washington and nearby suburbs around the beltway with a clear sky and lots of sun today. afternoon highs mid 60s. sunny again tomorrow. mid 60s. may have clouds and sprinkles wednesday in the mid 60s. and then partly sunny on thursday. again, into the 60s. friday, saturday and sunday high 60s to near 70.
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showers over the weekend. jerry, how is traffic now? >> prince george's county northbound exit to outer loop of the beltway right side of your screen there blocked for emergency road work. it's not affecting beltway traffic but northbound exit ramp to outer loop temporarily tied up. university boulevard and colesville road, just about done with the earlier accident. looks like police may get ready to pull out of the intersection. minimal delays at worst. back to you. >> all right. thank you very much. >> 6:23 is your time. 46 degrees. mishap involving president obama's motorcade which led to a stare down between drives. >> what caused the pope to cry over the weekend. >> you can get news weather and traffic starting at 4:30.
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thousands of people gathered in poland as the president and first lady of that country were laid to rest. after an elaborate funeral, the first couple was buried yesterday in a crypt below a 1,000-year-old cathedral that serves as a final resting place for many kings and statesmen. the president and his wife were among the 96 people killed last
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weekend in a plane crash. president obama had planned to attend the funeral but his plane was grounded due to iceland's volcanic eruption. today pope benedict marks the fifth anniversary of his selection but the child sex abuse scandal facing the church overshadows the occasion. men said they were molested by priest when they were children living in an orphanage. one of the men the pope met with said he had tears in his eyes. >> this experience will change my life. i can look to my daughter and say i believe, you know. >> pope benedict has met with abuse victims in the past but yesterday was the first time he addressed the recent scandal since it broke. a pair of college students killed over the weekend. we'll tell you what happened. good news this morning for airline passengers stuck all around the world from that volcano in iceland.
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find out how long these cooler than normal temperatures will stick around. beautiful sunrise. >> live picture happening now. 6:28. 46 degrees. do you know what's in your spread ? in land o' lakes spreadable butter with canola oil, there are just three natural ingredients. delicious sweet cream, canola oil and salt. nothing hidden, nothing artificial. spread pure, natural goodness straight from the fridge. discover land o' lakes spreadable butter with canola oil. land o' lakes, where simple goodness begins.
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heavy hearts. a difficult day ahead for students and teachers at a d.c. middle school. they return to class today
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without their beloved principal. a volcanic skies air clearing from volcanic eruption in iceland which forced flight cancellations all around the world. we have new information for air travelers this morning. good morning. welcome back to "news4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang on this monday morning. let's take a live look outside. it's 6:31. 46 degrees. gorgeous sunrise over the nation's capital. >> happened just moments ago. let's go to tom kierein. >> sunrise was five minutes ago. sun rises getting earlier and earlier this time of year. at this hour under this clear sky it's frosty cold over parts of virginia. closer to washington low to mid 40s. west and north upper 30s. counties in blue do have some scattered frost including culpeper, madison, central shenandoah valley this morning. for the rest of the day lots of sun. we should climb to mid 60s and
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tonight probably no frost around under a clear sky mid 40s by dawn tomorrow. during the day on tuesday, another sunny day with highs into the mid 60s. clouds around on wednesday. might have a sprinkle. highs low to mid 60s. and then partly sunny on thursday. highs again mid 60s. now how is the monday morning chu commute? >> i-270 southbound traffic left side of your screen increasing in volume at montgomery village. frederick to rockville, all lanes reported open. 95 northbound starting to find slowdowns particularly at the interchanges for merging traffic. lanes open. even on 395 but it won't be long and we'll see those sunshine days. on the rails, still doing fine. metrorail reporting no delays. back to you. >> thanks, jerry. students at one d.c. middle school will return to class for the first time since the tragic death of their beloved
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principal. brian betts was shot to death inside his silver spring home last thursday. police do not have suspects and those who knew him are wondering who would have wanted him dead. news4's megan mcgrath joins us now from shaw middle school at garnet-patterson with more on this story. megan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. those who knew brian betts are in a state of shock trying to figure out who would want to harm him. this is going to be a very difficult day for the students here. it's their first time back to class since learning of the murder of their beloved principal. using colored chalk, a student drew a picture of a broken heart on the front door of the school. cork boards line the stair rail. on them handwritten notes. one reads "because of you we became a family. there will never be another you. you will forever be in my heart." another reads "missing you and your amazingness." this is the first day back to class for the students at shaw
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middle at garnet-patterson since their principal was murdered. >> i don't know why anybody would want to kill him or to harm him in any way. he was a good person. a good man. >> he believed in every kid that walked through the door. he really treated each one like they were the most important kid in the world and they felt it from him. >> reporter: concerns were first raised when principal betts failed to show up for work last thursday. the grim skrodiscovery was madea colleague who went to the silver spring home to check on him. there was no sign of forced entry and his nissan missing from the crime secreen was foun over the weekend in southeast. counselors will here to talk to students and help them process what's happened. as for the investigation, still very mysterious. no word on possible motive. no suspects. no arrests. back to you. >> megan mcgrath in northwest
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washington. thank you. a charles county community is in mourning after a college student from waldorf was shot and killed. the shooting happened at an off campus party across the street from frostburg state university yesterday morning. tyrone hall shot and killed brandon carroll during a dispute. both are students at the university. carroll's friend ellis hartridge was also shot and wounded. friends, family and former colleges remembered the basketball captain last night. >> great kid. going to school. doing the right thing. sad and tragic. >> brandon didn't have an evil bone in his body. if you were mad at him, you couldn't stay mad at him long. >> police arrested hall, the alleged shooter, being held without bond. officers recovered the shot guns allegedly used in the shootings. the second student who was wounded is expected to survive. family and friends mourn the
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loss of another teenager from our killed over the weekend. joshua mcmackal was shot in houston over the weekend. police are still looking for the shooter. his father flew from virginia yesterday. his mother is on her way from japan. maryland governor martin o'malley will begin his re-election campaign next week in baltimore. hi campaign manager says the governor will kick off a three-day tour of the state a week from tomorrow. he'll visit 11 locations including hagerstown, columbia, annapolis and waldorf and this year's election will face the same candidates as the 2006 race. o'malley is expected to face former governor robert ehrlich in november. a presidential motorcade mishap. president obama was headed to his daughter's soccer game in northwest washington this weekend when a motor bike slid
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into the last police car in the motorcade. the rider of that bike dusted himself off and then glared at the police officer. according to the report, the officer then glared back and the man on the motor bike rode away. the "today" show is next at the top of the hour. let's go to matt lauer to see what they're working on for today. >> coming up on "today," we're live with the latest on this major disruption to global air travel caused by that volcanic ash cloud right there. some airlines conducted test flights over the weekend. when might things get back to normal? we'll talk about it. are police closer to charging a reality tv produce we are his wife's brutal murder in cancun? this morning her family speaks out in a live interview. jenna bush's candid conversation with former president bill clinton about his work in haiti with jenna's
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father, george w. bush. and jennifer lopez will be live in our studio talking about her brand new movie when we get started on a monday here on "today." back to you. >> looks good. we'll see you soon, matt. thank you. 22 minutes until 7:00 this morning. 46 degrees. the promise from the nation's biggest airlines. what they say they will never charge you for. the battle over gun rights is coming to d.c. and northern virginia today. >> we have 46 degrees right now at 6:38. meteorologist tom kierein will let you know when the weather might start to warm up again. your weather and traffic together on the 1s next. i stand before you today... to apologize. the system has failed you. i have failed you. i have failed to help you share your talent with the world when the world needs talent more than ever. yet, it's being wasted every day...
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by an educational system steeped in tradition and old ideas. well, it's time for a new tradition. it's time to realize talent isn't just in schools like this one, it's everywhere. it's time to use technology to rewrite the rules of education, to learn how you learn so we can teach you better. it's time the university adapted to you, rather than you adapting to it. it's time--time--time for a different--different kind of university. it's your time.
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time for weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning. i'm tom kierein in storm center 4. live view from storm watcher showing the light of dawn across washington. mid 40s. we do have some scattered frost across central virginia and into the shenandoah valley especially counties in blue including culpeper, madison and green down in through the central shenandoah valley. lots of sun around the region with mice reaching mid 60s and more of the same tomorrow with morning lows mid 40s.
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highs mid 60s in the afternoon. on wednesday we may get sprinkles. otherwise cloudiness and highs low to mid 60s. partly sunny on thursday. highs mid 60s. morning lows mid 40s. i'll show you the forecast for friday, saturday and sunday for the weekend that will be coming up in just about ten minutes and now let's check on traffic. jerry, how is it looking? >> let's look along interstate 66. we're loaded up. two issues at play here. first, sunshine keeping everybody slow east out of fair oaks and an accident on 66 at 123 moved to the shoulder. it will be tough going and we'll keep you updated on that. let's head over to see how we're doing volume only along interstate 270 as you head south out of frederick at montgomery village. all travel lanes are open. that's how we're doing right now. that's how we're rolling. >> that's how you roll. >> you are rocking. >> thank you. >> travel nightmare could soon be over for tens of thousand of
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airline passengers stranded around the world. there's reports that the volcano ash could hit the east coast of north america. the rare route the space shuttle will take when it is scheduled to land later [ sneezes ]
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some flights are beginning to take off in europe as volcanic ash that reeked havoc there begins to lift. smaller airports have reopened but the airspace remains closed over britain, france, germany and the netherlands. that ash could be headed our way. it will make its way across the atlantic and get to north america later this afternoon. thousands hope to head from the u.s. to their homes after being stranded because of this ash cloud. many of them right here in washington. news4's kimberly suiters is live with more on their stories. i'm sure they are losing their patience. >> reporter: they run the spectrum of emotions on this one. the good news is that half of normal flights are expected to resume today. the bad news is there's a backlog of thousands of
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passengers whose flights have been canceled or delayed since wednesday so delays in departure do continue today. >> i want to be in vienna. >> reporter: not the vienna in virginia. >> i was supposed to fly to dublin today. i've been able to rebook a flight for friday but i'm not sure if flights will go on friday as well. >> reporter: this was the scene at dulles international airport on sunday. stranded passengers uncertain about when and how they'll get to europe. >> we were supposed to leave very soon but now we know that the flight is canceled. >> reporter: over the weekend this british airlines test flight gathered data on air safety as pressure mounts to get the airways reopened. italy and austria plan to restart flights today. officials in britain, germany and netherlands say it's not safe to fly there. >> the advice is based on safety standards and that it would not be safe for flights across most
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of northern europe to take place. >> reporter: the disruption caused by ash from the icelandic volume an cano is leading to de measures. some getting rides by boat paying hundreds of dollars to get home. >> i'm relieved after the anxiety and frustration. >> reporter: many passengers are told they won't get flights out for more than a week. >> you will get through eventually. >> reporter: passengers stranded stateside are considering taking the slow cruise home. >> we think it may be nice to go across the atlantic on a ship. >> reporter: it sounds nice but i'm not sure how easy it is to book those cruises right now as well. now, as far as this ash cloud that's expected to make its way to north america by 1:00 this afternoon, it remains to be seen whether that will impact flights coming to and out of canada and
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the northern part of the united states. i did just check departure board at dulles international airport and there's one canceled flight and it is an air canada flight. reporting live at dulles, i'm kimberly suiters, news4. back to you. >> us airlines never met a fee they didn't like until now. they'll still be able to bring on carry-on bags for free on major u.s. airlines. senator charles schumer says five major airlines won't charge carry-on fees. the issue began earlier this month when spirit airlines announced a $45 carry-on fee. schumer plans to meet with spirit this week. today the space shuttle "discovery" is scheduled to come home taking a rare path across the country. places like british columbia, sioux city, birmingham and jacksonville are along the flight path. the d.c. area is not under that flight path but rain may mean "discovery" has to wait one more
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day to come home. the shuttle is scheduled to land at 8:48. mission control will need to decide at least an hour in advance, an hour from now wlr, whether to shoot for a second attempt at 10:25. the "discovery" crew clideliver tons of equipment to the space station. a big pro gun rally will happen in the district even though guns will not allow. another rally will happen in virginia where guns are legal. people will gather with guns at ft. hunt national park. today's rally follow pro gun rallies across the country. supporters say they picked this day because it marks the 235th anniversary of the roughly usevy war and just because they are armed, does not mean they are dangerous. >> don't put news a category with bullies and thugs. we are not. we're every day citizens protecting our rights,
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protecting our families. >> we're not coming here with guns. >> one rally today will be held on the national mall. the rally on the mall will respect d.c.'s ban on handguns. the obama administration allowed guns in national parks. there are reports of some executives of former mortgage giant countrywide financial may soon face charges. the investigation is under way and a grand jury began hearing testimony about countrywide last year. no charges have been filed but three executives face a civil lawsuit filed by the s.e.c. last year. this morning some members of congress want the s.e.c. to expand the fraud case against goldman sachs. courtney reagan joins us live with more on that story. >> the fallout from s.e.c. filings civil fraud charges against goldman sachs on friday still being felt today. the s.e.c. says that goldman worked with a hedge fund to sell
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subprime mortgage securities knowing the value of the investments would drop. the s.e.c. says that goldman failed to disclose its relationship with the hedge fund. "the new york times" reports congress is urging s.e.c. to investigate all of goldman's deals because aig insured $6 billion of them and has taken $2 billion in losses. aig is of course also on the hook to u.s. taxpayers for billions of dollars in bailout money. toyota is expected today to accept the record $16.4 million fine imposed by the u.s. government for not reporting the gas pedal defects quick enough. toyota could have appealed the fine. the automaker reportedly says while it is accepting the penalty, it won't have to admit responsibility. regulators insist toyota still broke the law. need a new cell phone? head to best buy. financial times says the electronics retailer will open 1,000 of those smaller mobile stores. other reports say best buy is in
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talks to possibly sell electric cars. the chain already sells electric scooters. i would argue that's a pretty big step up. back to you, joe. >> thank you very much. you have a great day. >> you too. >> this week visit the popular parks for free. the national park service is waving fees including those in the washington region. there's fun for kids too. it's junior ranger day. you can earn a patch or certificate for a list of activities. >> i would like to be a junior ranger. let's go to tom kierein at storm center 4 to find out about our forecast on this monday morning. >> a great day to go to great falls. free admission at great falls national park in maryland. there's the washington monument. dawn on this monday morning and we're off to a clear start this morning and we have a chilly start to this day on the mall. only mid 40s.
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prince george's county in the distance are now in the mid 40s. right now in montgomery and fairfax counties have dipped into the upper 30s. arlington county low 40s and farther to the west in parts of the prince william it's in the 30s. scattered frost especially counties in blue. central shenandoah valley including the east side of the blueridge and madison and green and culpeper. out in the mountains now in the 30s. maybe scattered frost there eastern shore now the low 40s and we're off to a clear start with lots of sunshine on tap for today. now, the bus stop forecast for this morning, chilly morning. dress your child accordingly. we'll be warming up by 9:00. it should be near 50 degrees. and then by noon near 60. by mid afternoon the mid 60s. sun sets at 7:49. we'll be around 60 degrees. by midnight mid 50s. by dawn, mid 40s off to a clear start. lots of sun on tuesday. highs into the mid 60s. maybe a few sprinkles on
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wednesday. otherwise some clouds around in the low to mid 60s. highs mid 60s on thursday and friday and over the weekend a bit milder upper 60s to near 70. could have passing showers both days saturday and sunday. how is the monday commute now? >> really slow going. this is interstate 66 east through fair oaks. the earlier accident near 123 is gone. delays started early and that combined with sunshine keeping everybody well below the speed limit. chopper 4 check out new york avenue. bw parkway at new york avenue split. not bad inside the beltway. new york avenue picking up a little volume but looks like all of the lanes are open heading in from capital beltway. to american legion bridge, outer loop and inner loop smooth sailing at this point. metrorails are still fine. marc rail 892 seven minutes behind schedule. joe? >> all right.
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thank you very much. counselors will visit one school to help students deal with the death of their beloved principal. news4's megan mcgrath joins us from shaw middle school at garnet-patterson in northwest where betts worked. >> reporter: good morning. this is going to be a very difficult day for students. it's their first time back in class since learning of the murder of their principal brian betts. if you take a look behind me here, you can see the memorial that's been set up here at the front door of this school. you can see that somebody has used colored chalk to draw a picture of a broken heart on the door. it says your spirit lives on. there are cork boards that line both of the railings here on the front steps. the students have been leaving handwritten notes there on those cork boards. one reads because of you we became a family. there will never be another you. you will forever be in my heart. now principal betts failed to show up for work last thursday. that was highly unusual for him.
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and raised concerns. a colleague went to his home in silver spring to check on him and that's when the discovery was made. betts was found dead from a gunshot wound. police say there were no signs of forced entry into his home. his nissan which was missing from the scene that day was found over the weekend. it was actually found on saturday in washington, d.c. in the 3900 block of fourth street in southeast washington. now, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding this murder. police have not released information about a possible motive. no arrests have been made. no suspects have been identified. again, counselors will be here at the school helping students later on this morning. back to you in the studio. >> i know personally how important he was. he taught my daughter in middle school at redland middle school. a wonderful teacher. >> reporter: highly regarded. very highly regarded. handpicked for this assignment here. >> he'll definitely be missed. a wonderful person. wonderful teacher.
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that's "news4 today." thank you for starting your day with us. >> we hope you have a great day. join us tomorrow morning. we start here at 4:30 in the morning. we'll see you then. resilience. elasticity.
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