of a potential terror attack. just days after getting out of the hospital, former presidenjimmy carter is in d.c. this morning swinging a hammer. and the redskins' nation rejoi rejoices. "news 4 midday" begins right now. good midday. i'm barbara harrison. it's monday, october 4th, 2010. if your family and friends are planning to ache a trip to europe oon, be aware. the is a travel alt in place for all americans living and traveling there. the u.s. state department issued a rare advisory for american travers to be on notice there are potential terrorist threats in europe. news 4's megan mcgrath has reaction from some travelers headed for europe from dulles. >> reporter: the travel warning is rather general. it des not mention specific

targets or even countries. but americans traveling to europe are being asked to use caution, especially when visiting spots known to attract foreign tourists. at dulles intnational airport, everything appears normal. travelers board planes. nothing unusual in the terminals. passengers flying out of dulles, though, are aware ofthe warning but are not concerned enough to change their itinerary. >> what are the changes that's going to happen? minor. so, hey, i'm not going to let them rule me. >> i figure my faith will come upon me as a grand surprise, but it's not going to interfere with my amusement >> i don't worry about those things. i don't think we should be in a fear-based society. >> alerts come and go. i live over there, so i have to go back. >> reporter: the state department is warning americans livering or traveling over in europe to be cautious. u.s. officials say they have evidence that al qaeda is trying to hit transportation systems and popular tourist attractions

overseas. osama bin laden is said to be behind the plot. the strategy could be similar to the mumbai hotel attacks that happened back in 2008. suspects could be hiding in pakistan. officials there say they're working with the cia to track them down. >> we've picked up chatter which was shared with the pakistani side and the pakistani side is acting on following the needs that have been given to pakistan. >> reporter: u.s. officials stressed they are merely telling people to be careful when traveling abroad. they are not encouragingeople to cancel their plans. from dulles airport, megan mcgrath, news 4. >> and megan tells us the ste department reminds those visiting europe to register with that agency. and new today, the rain soaked ground could be to blame for several doed trees our area. river road in bethesda is back open right now after a tree fell and shut it down. it happened near ridgefield road. crews worked through morning, clearing that tree and opening up the road to traffic.

taking a look outside right now, sti dark and dreary out there, and it's chilly this morning. the rainy weather is causing some visibility problems at some airports. anyone flying this morning should call ahead and make sure their flight is leaving on time. veronica johnson is here to tell us what we can expect the rest of this day. good morning. first of all, it's jacket ather for sure today, and while we have been getting some moderate rain around the area, now we're seeing things slow down a little bit. the reason for that is our coastal system is starting to head t the north. it was parked around southern delaware early part of the day but now again it's making its way northward and so is the rain. take a look at things on radar here in baltimore, that's where most of it is. you can see how that area has really diminished in size. still i think we're going to have some lingering dampness through the rest of the day, through the rest of the afternoon, and some with more of a northeasterly wind throughout the ternoon. i think we will still see some drizzly conditions, especially if you head toward the east,

east around i-95. current temperature anacostia, the park, 53 degrees. 50 in montgomery county, 52 around manassas. there you can see our winds generally out of the north and northwest. there's a stubborn storm system off the coast. airport delays, philadelphia up around new york right now. as you said, you'll want to call ahead. the high temperature for today, i've actuay dropped it a couple of degrees. i'm thinking more like 56 degrees for a high temperature today. it will be breezy at tes, too, so there's a look at your wake-up forecast, too, in the 40s overnight. stuck for a while with this stem. >> we'll see you again shortly. thank you. after spending a couple of days in the hospital due to viral infection, former president jimmy carter is back on his feet and he's working hard to provide homes for low-income families right here in our area. he and his wife, rosalynn, are in ivy cy building and rehabbing homes for habitat for humanity. news 4's derrick ward is at one

of those sites right now and can tell us what the 86-year-old is doing. how does he look, derrick? >> reporter: he looks as good as ever. he sounds strong. he looed at that hospital stay as a two-day vacation, he said jokingly. he's either at this siter one of the other sites around here swinging a hammer, as you said. you want to take a look behind me. this is work going on from a group called habitat for humanity, which has pretty much become sonymous with jimmy carter since he leftthe presidency. the work they're doing is not just about building buildings and structures. it's also about building the american dream. it's been a while since there's been so much building at once here in ivy city section of nortast d.c. no one can remember a president, current or former visiting. but for the past couple of months, habitat for humanity has been putting up homes here and foer president jimmy carter and first lady rosalynn carter are here hands on to commemorate

world habitat day. it's about more than building and rehabbing structures. they're also building and rehabbing a commune. >> in total there are three nonprofit developer who is will be building 58 homes in a five-block radiu here. these are the first 12 that we're doing going up. habitat will have about 27 or 28 homes in t next 24 months here. >> it's one of our oldest workforce development communities that has required a lot of attention of late. so now we're bringing it back and this igoing to be huge, especially at the level of home ownership. this is affordable housing at its best. just to see a global place in the nation's capil mes us happy. >> reporter: hundreds of volunteers are taking part today, and while this is all about elbow grease and saw st, as these homes are being built, the families that will occupy them are going through home oenler education programs. >> so for the next six months they're going to learn w to be home owners, how to budt their money, how to take care of maintenance issues.

most of these folks have been in public housing all their lives. this is a way we can educate them, prepare them, and beyond them say how do you take care of your community. because it's your community once you move there. >> reporter: now, once these houses are finished, they won't be given away. people will have to buythem. they, first of all, have to meet income requirents and put a $500 down payment and pay up to $2,200 in closing costs and have equity. that means the owners or would-be owners are probably out there working among them. as for the former president, after he leaves here, he'll be here for most of today, tomorrow he'll be doing the same anything in baltimore and annapolis. looking down the line, they'll start some projects like this in north korea. very busy man, but tis is a very good effort for this neighborhood. we're live in ivy city in northeast. back to you. >> thank you, derrick. redskins' quarterback donovan mcnabb is a homecoming king. the former eagles quarterback

was triumphant over his old team since being trade todd waington as the redskins won the game 17-12. the skins are now atop the nfc east at 2-2. next up, the home matchup against the 3-1 green bay packers. and in the next half hour, we'll get reaction from players and fans. but before that, we'll check on our midday traffic. let's say good morning to jerry edwards, who joins was the latest. good morning, barbara. good morning, everyone. look at this. going to get the windshield wipers working on the camera up here. capital beltway, montgomery county side, conditions are not so favorable, but the good news is we don't have any accidents to report. give you a perspective here. this is the outer loop, this is the inner loop, and it's been a tough commute. still looking at a few slowdowns around the area but generally speaking much better than it was an hour or so ago. let's head over and see. we did have an accident in virginia on 95 southbound in springfield. it's cometely cleared now. good news there. all the travel lanes are open. southbound looking pretty good.

don't see too much in the way o midday roadwork. but we'll keepatching and get a break in the weather, i'm sure crews will jump out there. pretty smooth sailing northbound and southbound. we'll keep you updated. barbara? >> thank you, jerry. crews are racing against the clock to finish paving the intercounty connector. it could beoisy for neighbors in the next couple ays. work is happening overnight i 370 in gaithersburg. crews need to finish before the temperatures fall below 50 degrees. the section is expected to open later this year or early next year. the paving should finish by this thursday. police are on the hunt for the gunman who shot and killed a 22-year-old silver spring man. d.c. police say the gunman shot two people just before 1:00 sunday morning along harvard street near howard uversity in northwest d.c. one of the victims survived and has since been released from the hospital. but the other, 22-year-old michael manuel moss-cornish, died. so far no arrests and police have not said whether it is a

motive. family and friends are saying a final farewell to a local navy s.e.a.l. killed in afghanistan. the funeral mass for lieutenant brendan looney is taking place at the basila of the national rine of the i mack lmmaculate reception in northeast washington. he'll be buried next to his best friend who died in iraq two years ago. the 29-year-old went to high school in hyattville. he was killed on cemeseptember when his helicopter went down in southern afghanistan. our time right now, 11:10. and coming up, the supreme court's new term is under way. coming up, we'll look at what is unusual abou this term and some of the cases on the schedule. we'll also have an update on the miners trapped in chile. the men have now been undergone for almost two months. and final arguments are set to begin in the anna nicole smith drug conspiracy trial. we veal details. stay wit

back to work today and for the first time it will feature three women serving at the same time. elena kagan, the newest justice, joins the court today after being confirmed earlier this year. nbc's francis co. has a preview of some of the cases the justices will be looking at this term. >> reporter: the u.s. supreme court aditionally starts its term on the first monday in october, but there's nothing typical about the court this time around. >> so help me god.

>> congratulations. >> reporter: elena kagan, handpicked by president obama, is its newest member. kagan becomes the third woman on this court, the fourth in its history. but she'll likely sit out about a third of the cases to avoid any conflict stemming from her former stint at the justice department. >> with only eht members of the court deciding these cases, there's the chance of a tie. if that happens, the supreme court's not actually going to be able to decide the issue and wi have to come back again in probably another case in another year. >> reporter: kagan and the other eight justices will have a full caseload, one of the biggest, that military funerals are protected under freedom of speech. protesters say it's god's way of punishing the gays. >> god is punishing these soldier, their parent, really. >> reporter: he was one of several protesters at the funeral of mathieu schneider.

his father said their presence forever ruined the mory of that day. >> they turned it into a circus. >> reporter: one of the many pivotal decisionsacing the nw supreme court still closely divided between a majority of five conservatives and four liberals. francis coe, nbc news. >> the justices will also hear the debate over an arizona law that punishes employers who knowgly hire illegal immigrants as well as the argument of whether a fedel law protects vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits. obama chief of staff ram emmanuel is now officially chicago mayoral candidate rahm emanuel. the chicago native announced yesterday he's running for mayor of the windy city. the 50-year-ol was named white house chief of staff days after the president's victory in the 2008 elections. in a video posted on his campaign website, emmanuel focused on questions about violence and deficit spending. >> to be the city we want to be, we can no longer accept business as usual.

in attacking our budget deficit, there st be no sacred cows. we should be guided only by the need to protect our neighbors and ensure taxpayer dollars aren't wasted. >> rahm emanuel resigned as white house chief of staff on friday. the president named white house senior adviser pete russs the interim replacement. well, there may be another setback for the 33 trapped miners in chile. officials say some technical problems with the drilling equipment has stalled the rescue. crews are trying to drill a tunnel to the men. right now they're 587 meters. that's where they are right now. but they have to reach 703 meters. >> ts is perezingvery day, of course, of course. we are dealing with problems every day. they know that. >> it may take at least another 30 days before the men are finally pulled tosafety. it's been almost two months since the mine caved in, leaving the men more than 2,000 feet under ground.

a minor earthquake hit virginia over the weekd. theepicenter was about 20 miles north of richmond, about five miles west of i-95. the u.s. ological survey says the 3.0 magnitudeuake hit saturday afternoon. it wasn't all that powerful, but the quake was felt in richmond and in crlottesville and ev 339 miles away in canton, north carolina. no injuries or damage reported. as usual, i didn't feel that one either. >> is there a ult line that runs from -- >> there are several leading all the way up to pennsylvania, but just like, you know, the last couple of ones. there was one a couple months ago that we talked about right here. one before that in pennsylvania. so, yes, a lot of folks -- >> mother nature is doing a little shaking. >> exactly. a little shaking to make sure we were paying attention. and we certainly are today. looking up at the drops falling. but those drops are starting to slow down a littlebit, barbara. we're seeing our weather system or low-pressure system right around the coast. it's moving north and sos that

little swirl of rain that we've been wating all morning long. let's take a look outside right now because the other thing we're looking at until the wind picks up is fog. it has started to develop in a couple of locations. we'll keep you updated on that with a map in just a momen right now your temperature is at 53 degrees at reagan national airport. humidity at 89%. so the air is saturated all right. awfully damp out there. we've got a north to northwest wind blowing at 15 miles an hour right now. now we've got the low off the coast coming more out of e north. look at the areas, the kind of sheltered locations, baltimore city where the visibility is just over mile, at two mis in annapolis, three miles in leonardtown, three in d.c. around reagan national. they improve. just offo the west. so here's what's going on. take a look at digital doppler xt. that was the coverage early part of the day.

shers throughout the area. but now we're seeing this whole area shrink. our low-pressure system right where there isn't any rain around delaware, and it, again, moving to the north. so up and out of here at least far while, but we're going to be left still with some dampness around the area. side of the beltway, some occasional light showers, chantilly you're a little wet right now, same thing around waldorf. everyone, i think we'll see the rain slide on out of here. ill left with some dampness around the ara. very cool temperatures. 53 right now at petworth in tinley town. 50 degrees in fairfax and you phones around franconia and mclane, 50 degrees. around columbia, 52 in howard county. again, all with a north to northwesterly wind. so there's our low-pressure system around the coast. there's the upper-level low. we'll talk more about that in just a moment. salisbury over an inch rain, springfield, virginia, and well over e three-quarters of an inch in arlington, virginia, where your temperature is now 50.

cooler weather up across the midwest. that's going to be sliding this way. we're going to be dipping down to the 40s again tonight. then we're going to get high pressurebut for a while we're going to be stuck with this weatherystem through tomorrow and through wednesday. now here's the reason. we've got this upper-level low. here's our upper-level inds. mainwinds, the jet stream and the storm system is cut off from it so it's going the spin out here as that surface low that talked about makes its way out of here. for today, some occasional showers. it will be breezy at times during the afternoon so, that will help with the fog, the visibilities that will be going off. 53, so 56 degrees your high temperature for today. we'll eventually t wind of about 20 miles an hour. by the time we get to 9:00, we'll be at 50 degrees. it is going to be chilly at night, 48 degrees by 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. 49 for 7:00 a.m. still cloudy skies. and i don't think we're going to have much in the way of any rain

tomorrow. just kind of drizzly, e high 63. then when the rest of that system comes through, barbara, on wednesday, i think we have a shot getting more showers through here. 70 for thursday, friday, saturday, sunday back to sunshine. >> so is it time to really pack up the summer cthes? >> oh, i think so. pack them up and get the sweaters ready. >> thank you. we'll see you again shortly. now we'll say hi again to jerry edwards who's been watching the traffic all morning. jerry? >> barbara, good morng once again. very, very quiet out there. the weather has canceled a lot of the midday cstruction, at least up until this point. so things are moving along relatively well, surprisingly, and enjoy it while yocan. 395 to the 14th street bridge, no worries. all travel lanes are open. let's head over and see if the same is holding true at the american legion bridge. outer loop, always a little slow midspan there as we hit the dip and start back up into virginia. same thing on the outer loop, but rit now both directions

between tyson's corner and i-270 moving along very well. barbara? >> thank you, jerry. 11:22 our time now. a new warning about traveling in mexico today. we'll take a look at what led to the concerns. and the warning signs of high blood pssure. why many people do not know they have a problem untilit it's too late. first here's what's hot on nbcwashington.com. hi there. i'm ian wright and i'm investigating what makes aruba so happy. oh my word, that's fantastic.

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bedbugsave started their assault on d.c. the u.s. agency for international development discovered bedbugs in one of their offices. a single ofce, though. there were no signs of the bugs anywhere nels the building. officials say a pest control service came in and treated t infected area over the weekend anwill continue to be proakive to prevent any future bedbug activity there. and happening today in los angeles, lawyers will make their final arguments in the anna nicole smith drug conspiracy trial. two doctors and smith's boyfriend are charged with giving her excessive drugs while knowing she was an addict. the defense says she was a woman in pain seeking relief, not an addict. prosecutors will present their fil arguments first followed by defense attorneys. the jury should have the case by the end of the week. later today friends, family,

and fans will say their final good-byes to actor tony curtis in los angeles. he was best known for "some like it hot" with marilyn monroe and being the father of actress jamie lee curtis. he suffered cardiac arrest. he was5 years old. our time is 11:26. coming up in the next half hour of "news 4 midday," more rain in your midweek forecast. verronica johnson with a look a how much. and what redskins are saying about the win in philly and what it m to donovan mcnabb. and police invtigating the death of child beauty queen jonbenet ramsey are conducting a new round of interviews in the case. we'll have the latest details. ♪

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right now on "news 4 midday," the u.s. state department issued a rare advisory for americans visiting or living in europe due to a terror threat. it usuals them to be vigilant in public places, especially tourist places or mass transit stations. and former president jmmy carter is fully recovered from his viral infection and is ready to get to work with a local group to give some luy d.c. residents a place to call home. he along with his wife, rosalyn carter, are in the district this morning to build and refurbish homes in the ivy city neighborhood of northeast

washington. overall the group looks to repair or construct 86 homes in d.c., baltimore, annapolis, st. paul, minnesota, and birmingham, alabama. well, it was the game everyone's been talking about and looking forward to. new skins' quarterback donovan mcnabb returning to philadehia for the first time since he was trade ed d t ed td to washingto. and it was a success has the redskins beat the eagles 17-12. lindsay czarniak filed this repo from lincoln financial field in iladelphia. >> reporter: chris cooley told me tonight that all week long he just wanted donovan mcnabb to admit that he was upset that philly had traded him. but donovan wouldn't even hint that to his new teammates until tonight after the redskins beat the eagles. donovan was presented with the game ball inthe team locker room after the game. his teammates were screaming at him to give a speech, and that's when he admitted philly had made

a mistake. tonight this may have bonded this redins team more than we may ever know. >> we had a little extra motivation. 30 teammates, number 5, felt good to come here and help him get a victory agast a team th basically said you're not worthy, this is what we think of you, we'll trade you within the division. i think today he got the best out of it. >> reporter: it's a mistake in their eyes. >> i told bruce allen if he ever traded mto the division, he'd have two games of hel l on his hands. >> iried to go through the same reg m, the guys saw me in the locker room, laughing and joking, practice field, doing the right thing. i thought today we were truly a focused bunch. now we can sit down and kind of focus in on our next opponent and hopefully feel like this next week.

>> he kind of expressed that it was just another game not only to the media but to the locker room. and when you know that and you prepe for it like it is -- i mean, it is another game but it's a huge game, i like it. i mean, i didn't want to wrap it all up and i didn't think he did e either. >> it was important for us to get a win regardless. just to get the win here, his first game back, it's very -- you know, i don't know the words for it right now. it's a nice feeling, you know what i mean, just to know you can go back and say his first game back his hold home, he got victory. >> we won for donovan. >> why was it important for you to win for donovan? >> it's very important. he's ourbrother. they got rid of him. open arms. >> he was cheered when he walked onto this field tonight and even cheered by some eagles fans when he walked off of it. this team knows they have to get cracking because next week they face the green bay packers. as for clinton portis, he said that groin injury he doesn't

think will keep him from playing next week, but they have to re-evaluate tomorrow. from philadelphia, lindsay czarniakback to you. >> and this morning redskins fans are still in hog heaven after the team's win over the eagles. we talked to someans yesterday in bethesda. they said even though mcnabb's homecoming game made them nervous, they certainly know why the team traded to get him. >> we love the redskins. we love mcnabb. he let the eaes down for the past ten years but not us! >> the redskins are now 2-2 on the season. they are tied at the top of the nfc east with philadelphia. in otherports news this morning, this morning europe reclaimed that ryder cup. the win came down to the final singles mah. the americans actually rallied from a three-point deficit to tie the score, but in the e it wasn't quite enough. and we are looking outt rain

here in washington today. it's been coming down all morning through the night last night. it's kind of nasty out there. we'll check in again now with veronica johnson, who has the latest on our forecast for us. what are you going to say? >> well, the rain is actually going to really start to taper off and we're going to be left with that, you kw, where it just feels damp everywhere you go. kind of drizzly. let's take a look at things on the radar and i'll show you what's going on. there's where we were this morning, early on, 8:00 a.m. here's where we are right now with the showers coming on through. the whole area kind of shrinking in coverage. you can see kind of quiet where there's not really anything falling om the sky but again damp out there. ashburn, some rain showers. same thing around brandywine, off to the east at belvedere heights, down through annapolis, shady side, chesapeake beach, you're still wet. same thing around frederick and ashburn. still some generally light showers fallg across the area. we're in the 50s right now, 52

degrees around mclean, 54 in the district, 53 at quantico. we've got a northerly wind right no so that should help with the fog, es pshl wli the winds picking up. high temperature today going anywhere from 53 to 56 derees. again, showers drizzly. it's going totay cool today. in fact, early tomorrow morning we'll start out at 48, 49 degrees. tomorrow's high just 63. still kind of like november. l the way till wednesday. we're stuck with this weather system for a while, sunshine starting on thsday and going right through. >> these aren't typical temperatures we're having? >> no. no. very cool. almost like sweater weather. >> certainly is today. thank you. we'll see you again. we'll check on the forecast now. or no. what are you forecasting for the traffic out there this afternoon, jerry? hey, trying to change my job? can't do that. can do this. kind of. let's head out and take a look and see how we are doing. over on the capital beltway, northern virginia, here's the

outer loop, headed toward i-95, doing okay. inner loop towards 66 we' all right. however, we have word of an accident inner loop between i-66, route 7. police are headed over there right now. a little sluggish in that stretch. one more stop. let'pop over to maryland. south of town to the wilson bridge. here's the inner loop from the maryland shoreline. inner loop moving nicely asis the outer loop and right now down here, it looks like the pavement is beginning to dry out. if you're heed there, good to go. >> looks like the rain stopped in that area. thanks, jerry. have a great day. >> you, too. there is a serious travel rning for americans in mexico. authorities are warning visitors to only visit tourist areas in mexico and to only do that during daylight hours. well, just a week ago, gunmen attacked atexas couple in the reservoir area around the rio grand in texas. the wife and t couple

survived. her husband, unfortunately, didn't. net shanley reports. >> reporter: it was a perfect day on falcon lake, or so thought tiffany and david hartley, one moment zipping along on jet ss. the next they were under attack as by a barrage of bullets as tiffany described in this frantic call to 911. >> are you sure your husband got shot? >> yes. >> was he on the jet ski? >> he was thrown off the jet ski and i went out to get him on mine. >> reporter: tiffany hartley was forced to leave her husband's body behind as gunmen on three boats w targeted her. >> the bullets came close to hitting her. she was not hit. >> reporter: the falcon lake reservoir is a unique body of water. the u./mexico border runs right through the middle of it. tiffany admits they were on the olence-plagued mexican side. >> it's divided by the markers we see up here.

that's what signifies to sportsmen they're on the u.s. side or the mexico side. >> reporter: there was a surge in attacks by mexican pirates linked to the drug cartel. including the attempted robber of a san antonio doctor, richard drake, out for a day of fishing. >> two of the people stood up and started waving machine guns at, you know, kind of pointing them at me,going, hey, hey, pull over, pull over. >> drake escaped, but the sheriff pdicted it was only a matter of time befe someone didn't. >> getting worse and worse and worse as we go along. you know, we used to have people running away from us, now they're shooting at us. >> for the husband and wife caught in the cross fire and the border war clos to home. >> authorities have not been able to recover the body because it's on the mexican side of the water. investigators arted a new

round of interviews in the death of jonbenet ramsey. the 6-year-old beautyqueen was found strangled in her boulder, colorado, home back in 1996. a lawyer for the ramsey family said that investigators contacted the little girl's older brother, burke. police, however, have not confirmed that. burke was 9 years old at the time of his sister's murder. meanwhile, search crews continue their search for a missing boy in oregon. more than 150 officials and volunteers searched northwest portland island looking for k e kyron horman. investigators say they haven't missed any leads that brought them to northwest portland. th're just trying to be as thorough as possible. and police at the university of maryland have issued yet another crime alert this semester after another student was attacked. unlike other recent robberies, this latest one happened on campus. detectives say around 4:30 sunday morning three men jumped a student who was walking i between two dorms.

umv police warned students to avoibeing out between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., the so-called prime times when most of the robberies have happened. they've also stepped up patrols and are trying to crack down on strangers coming on campus. >> police in takoma park, maryland, say three men face charges of robbing a restaurant and leading o ining officers on. police say officers chased them about a half-mile to lincoln street. the driver hit several parked cars and stripped a burgundy dodge intrepid. our time now is 11:40. still ahead on "news 4 midday," stocks are off to a positive start for october. we're going to see if the trend continues today. plus the hidden dangers on your countertop. stayith us. we're going to come right back. feeding in the fall. y i always feed in the fall. but, it's the best time. feed your lawn in the fall. the fall feeding makes all the difference in the world. what the fall feeding does is buildhe roots..

that's when the root sorta want nutrition. i give my lawn scotts winterguard. it's like a root building machine. it builds your lawn from the roots up. next year you get this! the stronger the roots, the stronger the lawn. l year long. the bestime to feed is whent will do the most good. there's no substitute for the fall feeding, trust me. it is the best thing you can do for your lawn. i use scotts winterguard. and a lot of people, when they get a denture, they think the best way to clean it is by brushing it with toothpaste. toothpaste contains abrasives, leaving microscopic crevices where bacteria can grow, and bacteria c cause bad breath. the best way to go to soak them in polident. only polident is proven to clean without scratching and kills 99.9% of odor-causing bacteria. i recommend using polident and soak every day. it's the right way to go.

this is the beginning of national fire preventn week, and this morning the the "today" show highlighted one of the most important things you can do before the threat of an emergency. and that's to come up with a plan. >> there's an acronym that people need to keep in mind, edith. >> exit drills in the home. this nds to be practiced twice a year. the fire departments recommend every time you change your smoke detector's batteries, practice the drill. >> simple things. you get up, hear a smoke alarm going off. you do not stop at that point to find your blackberry, your

phone, your wallet, anything like that. >> other thin to keep in mind, close the doors in you home when you're sleeping. so before you go to bed, close all the doors. this can prevent smoke and flames from spreading throughout the house. also drew dra not one but two floor plans in your house just in case a fire blocks one exit roof. also inspect windows and doors regularly anddesignate a meeting place in case your family has to escape that house. parents who have toddlers who might want to put -- you, if you've got aoddler, put your cup of coffee or soup out of the reach of your little one. a new study says most toddlers caneach at least some distance onto the counter. and that's much further than researchers had anticipated. signed contracts to buy homes rose in august. let's check in with cnbc's

courtney reagan who join s us with more on that and theest of the business news. >> good morning, barbara. stocks trading slightly higher but we are lower, the dow down by about 57 points or higher after we saw stocks close higher across the board on friday. european stocks lower, too. asia markets mixed in overnight trading. everyone on wall street is eerily awaiting the job report. accordinto the national association of realtors, pending home sales rose 3 4.3% for august. and the era of the acronym on sunday was the end of the troubled asset relief program, better known as t.a.r.p. the $700 billion fund became a political hot potato after passing through congre in the fall of 2008. however, treasury secretary tim geithner said in the end the

true cost was around $50 billion. andf your cell phone bill has been looking heftier than usual lately, you might have a small check coming your way. verizon wireless announced sunday it will be issuing refunds to 15 million dollars to customers for dat fees that were never used. some customers will receive a little more. back to you, barbara. >> all right,courtney. thank you. see you tomorrow. >> see you then. well, everyone knows about the apple ipad, but some consumers will have pen plenty of other options. nbc's mark barger takes a look at the other tablets aiming for apple's throne. and we call it the i-pass. >> reporter: apple has sold more than 3 million ipads so far this year. >> ice going to take time, if anybody can catch up to it. >> reporter: but a vast array of tablet computer competitors is

ready to give chase. >> eveone needs a great playbook. >> last week blackberry introduced its playbook tablet computer. it won't be out until early next year and the price has not been announced. it's lighter and thinner than the ipad withual hd cameras and flash videos. >> i think blackberry is building the playbook as a business tool and a business tool at the same time. >> samsung expected to get a jump on the playbook with its galaxy tablet, possibly by halloween. no price yet, but it's the same size as the playbook, with flat capabilities as well as dual caras. ice based on google's android opering system that's increasingly popular with smartphone. >> google says it's not ideal for tablets but people are forcing it in there anyway and i have no ubt google is working seriously on a tablet-ready version of android. >> reporter: dell uses android and it on market for about $300. it's four inches smaller than the nine-inch ipad but offers

cameras and phone service exclusively through at&t. >> oh, it's a phone? >> phone, too. >> sold. >> reporter: mystery surrounds hewlett-packard's slate. it's a windows 7-powered tablet that was previewed back in nuary. it's expected to be released in time for christmas shopping. but with a major head start in sales, apple's tablet competitors have a lot of ground to make up. mark barger, nbc news. our time right now 11:48. coming up, the winner of the nobeprize for medicine is announced today. plus, meteorologist veronica johnson will have another check of the forecast. and a local family gets a dramatic home makeover courtesy of nateberkus. but this one has a twist. tune in today at 2:00 on nbc 4 to see that. and it's magic week on ellen. she's got a surprise from one of her ges. tune in at 3:00 on nbc 4 for that.

a man who helped invent in vitro fertilization is the newest nobel prize winner for medicine. his name, robert edwards. celebrating the birthd of louise brown, the first baby born through groundbreaking in vitro fertilization. edwards worked with another scientist to create the procedure which involved fertilizing an egg then implanting it inside a woman's

body. steptoe died in 1988. their breakthrough helped millions of infertile couples have children. well you know what an acceptable blood pressure reading is? and more importantly, what do the numbers mean for your health? here's dr. allison brucker to break it down. >> called the silent killer. >> reporter: he's talking about an incredibly common disease, high blood pressure. >> just going to check your blood pressure, okay? >> reporter: aleading cau of stroke, heart attack and kidney failure. >> i should know it but i don't. >> you know who what you're supposed to do. >> most people who have elevated blood pressure don't feel anything until it's really high or it starts to cause bad complications. >> sin it doesn't hurt, i guess i'm like everybody else, you don't do anything about it until it gets really serious. >> a blood pressure reading appears in two numbers. the first number is the stolic pressure, the pressure when the heart beats and fills them with blood. the seco number, diastolic

pressure, is the pressure in arteries when the heart rests. a pressure of less than 120 over less than 80 is considered normal. >> if you get it under control early, we can reduce or stop complications. >> because most people with high blood pressure have no symptoms and leaving it untreated can leaf lede to devastating complication, it's so important to come out to free screening events like this one at mercy hop. >> once people know they have elevated blood pressure or hypertension, they can get into their doctor and get it taken care of. >> that wadr. allison rucker reporting. going take a look at some of the stories we'll be following for you on news 4 this afternoon. coming up this afternoon on news 4 at 4:00, you won't believe the crazy 911 calls call in with. one center says half the calls are bogus. we'll have the countdown to election day tonight on news 4

at 5:00. what will be the deciding factor forhe race for governor in maryland. those stories and your forecast tonight. time to take a final check on our forecastnow. veronica has been with us all morning, and she's watching the skies out there for us. >> yeah. i'm thinking after that package, i should be watching my blood pressure, too. we should all go and exercise at the very least. >> you do. >> i try to and i'm thinking even with the fact that we have some dampness across the area, no reason why we can't get outside today. >> good day for a walk. i's certaly cool. we'll need the sweat jacket, the sweat pants and leave the the umbrella at home now because wh's going on is a lot of those showers have moved on out of here. i want to show you how much we've receiv in the last 24 hours. frederick down through sterling, thenbout a third of an inch of rain, if not a little more from the areas from d.c. up into baltimore, around clinton and la

plat our storm system, that coastal lo it's moving on to the north. heading up north throughthrough delaware, but we are stuck with that upper-level low back to the west of us. that will stick around as well as some very cool temperatures. you can see the showers, how they really have diminished in size across the area. things are starting to not dry out but at least calm down a little t. silver spring towards alexandria, the rain is outf here, and still over you folks around shady side, annapolis, as well aup around frederick. i-70, 270 at around the rock hall area all moving to the north. so here we go with temperatures, 54 degrees,apital hills at 54, just to the north, 52. now in montgomery county. kensington, mon gomry village, and 52 in fairfax. your forecast for today, 53 to 56, going to be a little breezy

at times during the afternn. that will help with the fog. still, though, as the wind settles down tonight, we might have a little patchy fog early tomorrow morning, 48 to 49 degrees. on the cool side, 56 today, tomorrow with mostly clouds and a few showers midweek at 65 thursday. thursday is the day for everyone i think th sunshine returns and we should be looking at lots of sunshine and a chance to dry out not just for friday but for weekend. >> we should also remind people there have been visible problems at airports throughout the northeast so if you're planning on heading out and heading to the airport to go someplace, you might want to call ahead to see if your flight is leaving on time. thanks, veronica. see you later. two women, friends for 63 years, finally got to meet each other face to face. dorothea and vivian have been pen pals since 1947. dorothea lived in germany as a child and later married an american soldier and moved to his farm in minnesota. vivian lived in washington

state. at 75 years old, she recently decided he she's going to fly and meet her pen pal instead of sending another letter. >> oh! >> good to see you. >> i can't believe it. >> i know, i know. >> dorothea first wrote to v vivian when she was just 13 years old. it was part of an english assignment. they've been friends a ng time via e mail. that's "news 4 midday." thanks for being with us. tune in at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, and tonight at 11:00. isle be back hre tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. for "news 4 midday." we've got some great things for you tomorrow. be sure to join us. until then, have a terrific day. see you in the morning. duct system as the lungs of the house expulsion of air. dust andirt that helping the house to breathe. say i'm a doctor. not a doctor either. suction. ♪ call 1-800-steemer

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