police are reminding residents of serious safety concerns. and prepare f a transformation. the hollywood blockbuster is about to begin filming and it will create major headaches this week.

>> good morning, everyone, i'm barbara harrison. news 4's megan mcgrath is in rockville with more. >> reporter: good morning, barba. in less than a week, we've had several high-profile pedestrian accidents, two of them happened in montgomery county, the most recent occurred early sunday moing and left two men dead. investigators say the driver of that striking vehicle had been drinking. now with all the that's happened in the last few days, police wa to remind both pedestrians and drivers of their shared responsibility out there on the roadways. a deadly weekend in montgomery county. two men struck and killed early sunday morning as they tried to cross rockville pike. it was 3:20 in th morning. police say ada and rory had left the metro stag and stepped into the stres when they were hit by a passing car.

police belve the driver, a-year-old alejandro roman, had been drinking. investigators say roman initially stopped and then left the scene but did rurn a short time later. it's unclear who was at fault, and it could be weeks before a decision is made about criminal charges. >> the investition is still evolving, and there won't be a conclusion to this investigation for weeks. this is a significant and serious death investigation. and the collision reconstruction unit usually takes a good amount of time get all the material and evidence together. >> reporter: last friday, a woman and her baby were hit by a car in wheaton. they survived, but others have not been so lucky. 12 pedestrianshave been killed in montgomery county so far this year. that's compared to 14 deaths for all of 2009. while it's unclear who was at fault in this weekend's accident, eight of the previous nine deaths were due to pedestrian error. police want to remind people to stick to the crosswalks and follow the signals at all times.

>> this could be anything from not being in the crosswalk or crsing midblock and alsoot obeying the pedestrian indicator, telling you not to walk or stretching the time when it is -- when you are supposed to walk but not gting across in that amount of time. >> reporter: now, in the wheaton incident, investigators say that the mother and child were walking against the light when ey were struck, so they were at fault. again, it is unclear what the situation was in sunday's deadly accident whether or not the two victims were in a crosswalk, what the light situation was, all of that is still under investigation. but several very serious accidents here in ju a few days. barbara, back to you. >> all right. thank you, megan, for that report. two women are in critical condition this midday after a horrific accident in riverdale. the crash happened around 3:00 this morning at the intersection of route 1 at east/west highway. news 4's tracee wilkins has more from rivdale on what led to

the serious crash. >> reporter: traffic signs have been rolled over and are now lying in this yard next to a fire hydrt. it was a violent scene left over from an accident that happened this morning in riverdale. police say it all started at a nearby rtaurant and then ended here. riverdale police s their officers were pursuing a woman on foot in connection to some kind of a theft involving a cell phone. they say the wan borrowed someone's phone and wouldn't give it back. what started as something petty turned much more serious. police say the woman made it into a car with another woman inside. the two took off from kennel worth avenue to east/west highway. a riverdale police spokesman say by the time the police officers were able to get in the own cruiser and catch up to the two women, they had crashed here at the intersection of east/west highway and route 1. both women had been ejected from the car, according to police. both were transported to the hospital in critical condition. prince george's county police are now in charge of this investigation, andhat investigation is continuing. in riverdal i'm tracee

wilkins, news 4. if you're planning on enjoying this beautiful holiday in the district this morning, expect some delays if you take metro. both the farragut west and mcpherson square stations are closed all day for track work. there will also be no blue or orange line service at the metro center station. free bus service will be provided at several stations to help commuters get between the closed stops. normal service is expected to resume by 5:00 tomorrow morning. and if you plan on using metro bus in the city suburbs, you may need to find another dayway to get around. 27 routesn maryland and virginia that usually operate on the weekdays are not in service due to the columbus day holiday today. other routes will be operating on an enhanced saturday schedule. and commuters should get used to reduced bus service on holidays. the changes will be in effect for other holidays as well, such as veterans day, martin luther king jr. day, presidents' day and the day after thanksgiving. let's take a look at our traffic now, at's going on out

there on the roadways. here's jerry edwards. good morning. >> barbara, good morning. good morning, everyone. we have a busy midday going on on the capital beltway. this is the inner loop of the beltway near the route 1 interchange just down the road, just out of camera sh. unfortunately, an accident involving a truck on the inner loop of the beltway near telegraph road. right now, we are told only the shoulder of the roadway on the inner loop is getting by. the delays are substantial. we'll pull back here and show you what it looks like coming over from the maryland side. here's the inner loop coming over from oxon hill, trying to t across the wilson bridge and traffic running very slowly. authorities are working to get that accident out of the roadway. we'll keepnye on it and keep you updated. other than that, relatively calm. a couple construction zones we'll keep you updated on. >>ll right, jerry. see you again in a few minutes. starting today, some washington-area roads are transforming into a hollywood set for the movie "transformers 3." filming will shut down columbia pike in arlington from south joy

street to washington boulevard from 5:00 until 9:00 tonight. moviemakers are using sites around the air force memorial. tomorrow through thursday, drivers in the district can expect periodic closures on third and fourth streets ong with pennsylvania and maryland avenues. word of the local filming encouraged one man to scout a spot for his souped-up 1979 camaro. >> when i heard that they were ming to town, you know, just -- it's very good that they come here, you know, you always hear about they're going to different places. coming to the nation's capital wonderful. >> you want your car in that movie. >> i want my car somewhere around that movie. >> moviemakers already have their sets cast or the extras they'll need. local police advise pederians to avoidilming areas because of the heavy security out there for the movie. let's take a look outside. nice day to film a movie in washington. not too cold, not too hot. actually, summer is on the way back at least for a day. tom is here to tell us about

that. >> good day for cruising in a cool ride like that guy has. we've got wonderful weather, and if you have a conrtible, you'll want to put the top down. weather for biking, hiking, kayaking if you have a chance, if you have the day off, congratulations. we have many students back in school today. many had to go back to work this morning. for this columbus day, those who have the opportunity for outdoor recreation and fun, it is certainly perfect for that. right now we're in the upper 70s throughout much of the region to near 80 degrees. it should climb into the mid, perhaps upper 80s in a few locatis by midafternoon. out of the mountains, it's cooler, the mid-60s there, mid-70s on the eastern shore. richmond is in the upper 70s right now and upper 70s into the carolinas, and those locations may get into the upper 80s by later this afternoon. now, as we look at what's been happening over the lt 12 hours, there's a little disturbance in the atmosphere. it's going to be passing to our north this evening but perhaps close enougho trigger an isolated thunderstorm tonight. but between now and then we'll have a few clouds in d out overall, quite a bit of

sunshine, a warm afternoon with a light wind out of the southwest, highs reaching mid and upper 80s for a brief time by midafternoon. a look at our chance for some storms tonight. we'll look into the rest of the weekend and the weekend. that'll be coming up in just a couple minutes. stay tuned. >> all right, tom. thanks. and in decision 2010, maryland voters are getting a chance to hear from two gubernatorial candidates. governor martin o'malley and the former governor bob ehrlich started their first gubernatorial debate about an hour ago. it's taking place at a baltimore tv station. with less than a mon until election day, recent polls show o'malley leading ehrlich. the two have three scheduled debatebefore election day. our time right now, 11:09. right now, president obama is speaking in the rose garden. he's pitching more support for education and infrastructure improvements. that's a live picture there. let's take a listen. >> and, indeed, this untry's great history proves that this is something for which there has

traditionally been broad bipartisan support. so sam and norm have been leading a bipartisan group of more than 80 experts who just last week released a call to action, demanding aundamental overhaul of how america approachesunding and building our infrastructure. and today my treasury department and my council of economic advisers have released our own study. and these reports confirm what any american can already tell you -- our infrastruure is woefully inefficient and it is outdated. for years we have deferred tough decisions, and today our aging system of highways and byways, air routes and rail lines hinder our economic growth. today the average american household is forced to spend re on transportation each year than food. our roads clogged with traffic cost of goods sold us $80 billion a year in lost productivity and wasted fuel.

our airports choked with passengers cost nearly $10 billion a year in productivity losses from flight delays. and in some cases, our crumbling infrastructure costs american lives. it should notake another collapsing bridge or failing levee to shock us into action. so we're already payi for our failure to act. and what's more, the longer our infrastructure erodes, the deeper our competitive edge erodes. other nations understand this. they are going all in. today, as percentage of gdp, we invest less than half of what russia does in their infrastructure, less than one-third of what western europe does. right now, china's building hundredsf thousands of miles of new roads. over the next ten years it plans to build dozens of new airports. over the next 20 it could build as many as 170 new mass transit

systems. >> we're listening to the president speaking from the rose garden right now, asking for more support for infrastructure improvements here in this country, and he will also be pushing for education reform. our time right now 11:12. wednesday could be a big day in chile. coming up, the rescue of 33 trapped miners. today's breakthrough and a look ahead to when the first miner is expected to be pulled to the surface. plus bad news this morning for the 58 million social security recipients, and good news if you're a redskins fan. another ugly win keeps the team at the top of division.

new today, chile's mining minister says it will take about two days toring all 33 trapped miners to the surface. and apparently they are fighting over who will be the last one out. officials say the minershave built an enormous bond during their two months underground and want to honor each other by being the last out. craws are perfoing mock rescues until wednesday, when they plan on pulling the first miners out. we'll have more on the rest of the preparations coming up in the next halhour of "news 4 midday." the u.s. military is investigating if a kidnapped british woman was killed by her american rescuers rather an the taliban as they first thout. linda norgrove died friday as

nato forces tried to free her. the 36-year-old died in an explosion triggered by her talin captors, but surveillance video and interviews with u.s. special forces may suggest otherwi. the u.s. military is working with the british government in this investigation. meanwhile, afghan president hamid karzai says he is in peace talks with the taliban right now. in an interview with cnn's larry king, karzai said so far discussions have been unofficial and on a personal level. afghanistan recently formed a 70-member peace council to negotiate peace talks with insurgent groups. if you rely on social security for your benefits to live on, some disappointing news for you this morning. the government is expected to announce later this week that the $58 million social security -- 58 milln social security recipients will not get an increase in monthly benefits next year. it marks the second straight year without an increase since adjustments for inflation were adopted back in 1975.

the averagsocial security benefit is about $1,070 a month. another week, another second win by the nfl's new cardiac kids, the washington redskins. the skins erased a ten-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win the game in overtime but not without a little bit of luck. news 4's dn hell has the story from fedex field. >> reporter: i'm starting to think the only way they know how to win is ugly because it certainly is never easy. for the fourth time this season the game was decided on the final play. graham gets the game-winner but it was anthony armsong who started the charge. >> that was just one of those plays you had to go up and catch it with your hands and pull it from the db and not let it rip it from you. >> reporter: celebration impromptu or been workinon that for a while? >> that is years in the making. i did it before but i had to be prepared to do t. that was the perfect situation and got everyone going crazy out there, catchdown, celebration

and it all worked together. >> reporter: if armstrong was the offensive spark plug, laron landry was te defensive glue, 13 tackles, one forced fumble and a ga-changing interception. >> this defense,ou know, fits me wl. you know, it enables me to be close to the line of scrimmage and to play physical. i don't have too many reads, and that's my ste of play. i just fly around and make tackles. break on the ball and be instinctive. >> laron is having a pro bowl year. he zefshs it. he works hard, studies hard. >> reporter: on paper it doesn't seemo make sense, but in the standings, this team is in fir place at 3-2 without having played a complete game all season. >> we need to play for 60 minutes. you know, we can't aow ourselves to get in these situations week in and week out and expect the same outcome. i know coach shanah wants stick with it. >> we'll see what we can do if

we put four quarters together. we haven't done that yet and we beat three premiere teams around this league. like i said, it's a huge motivational boost for us and we just have to learn from this game, looking for mistakes and then go from there and get ready for next season. >> reporter: this game a tale of two halves, much like this season, has been a tale of two teams and it does not get any easier nt sunday. it's the indianapolis colts coming to town for a sunday night football spectacular. from fedex field, dan hellie, news 4 sports. well, it made for a really go game, though, because you were on the edge of your seat through the whole thing. right? >> i think a lot of us are emotionally drained after yesterday's game up and down and away we went. >> it looks great. >> looks like the weather will be good for next sunday night's game here. things will clearing out and feeling a lot cooler than yesterday's game in many locations around there as well around the entire region got us to 80 degrees. today we may get warmer than that. right now here's a live view of

our sky. we've got the live view from our skywatcher camera looking at nortest washington in the foreground, american university park and in the middle distance the montgomery county, way off in the horizon, fairfax county. a few high clouds coming in. 75 atnational airport where the record high on this date was set back in 1919. it got to 90 degrees. yes, it can get this hot in october. and we probably won't get to that rord today at national airport, but there may be a few olated locations up in the upper 80s to near 90. and right now the temperatures are into the mid-70s in washington a right near the bay waters where it's a lile bit of a cooler wind there coming off the waters. but the southwesterly flow generally is warming things up in many locations in virginia, up around 80 degrees from manassas,culpepper, charlottesville, as well as parts of shenandoah valley near 80 degrees and farther to our north and west, temperatures in upper s to near 80. out of the mountains, cooler weather. this morning it was up in the

40s, predawn. western maryland, west virgin, many locations there in the mid-60s, eastern sre now into the mid-70s and upper 70s in southern virginia and around the carolinas. in the last 12 hours we've had a settled pattern but there is an upper-level disturbance that will be scooting across pennsylvania tonight, perhaps close enough to us coming down out of the great lakes where it's been triggering some showers. perhaps this may be a trigger for an isolated shower or thunderstorm mainly to our north. we can't rule that o locally around washington, maryland, perhaps northern virginia later this evening. as we go forward over the next 48 hours, the futurecast showing an approximatio of what might happen. we could get a passing thundershower perhaps this evening then during the day tomorrow, small chance of a shower, as well, as we get a weak front coming in. then on into wednesday morning we'll have that front sort of drifting to our south. there may be a passing shower to our south on wednesday morning but otherwise we'll settle down a bit on wednesday, but then a developing storm over our region could give us some soaking rains

thursday is the way it's looking right now. so far this columbus day, enjoy the sunshine, the warm temperatures, up into the mid-80s, by midafternoon in many locations, a few isolated areas may make it into the upper 80s and we'll have that light breeze out of the southwest. then this eveninghere is a slight chance of a passing thunderstorm. there is some instability of the atmosphere that may be increasing a bit into the evening. highs from this afternoon will drop intohe mid-70s by midevening and then by midnight upper 60s. by dawn tomorrow, upper 50s to near 60. during the day on tuesday, partly cloudy,fternoon highs tomorrow should be a bit cooler with a northwesterly breeze and just a small chance of a passing shower or maybe a thundershower tomorrow. and then on wednesdaysmall chance of a shower to our south. otherwise, partly sunny with highs upper 60s, morning lows near 50, then cooler on thursday with a developing low-pressure cent right over the region, likely rain, then as it intensifies and moves north of us on friday, we may get some

blustery winds on friday. that will bring in cooler, autumn nal weather which will be cooler weather for the weekend's activities. right now looking like good weather sunday night for the skins and colts at fedex field. that's the way it looks. >> looking for good football next sunday. >> got the weather to go along with it. >> tom, thank u. we'll check the midday traffic with jerry. hey, barbara. let's head up and take a look. things are beginning to improve, which is very good news, as the wilson bridge inner loop traveling from oxon hill across the bridge span helded toward alexandria still unusually slow for this time of day. the problem had been an cident involving a truck on the inner loop at telegraph road. the accident has cleared so it's still running swly from about 210 across the bridge given a little more time barring additional issues, that backup should thin out hopefully very quickly. let's head over and see if there's anything to worry about. georgia avenue and kansas avenue west washington, a lot of

utility work going along today. if you're making that trip into town, be aware you might find a little clogged up as crews are tearing up the roadway at this hour. back to you. our time is 11:23. still ahead on "news 4 midday," a look at a new study that examines the relationship between autism and jauice. plus, the self-driving car. google is working on this concept right now. but first here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

veterinarians are closely monitoring a killer whale and her new calf at seaworld orlando. the 34-year-old mother gave birth on saturday night. vets say it will be sometime before they know the sex of the calf. the birth comes as good news for the central florida theme park after another whale died suddenly last week. the new calf's father is that whale involved in the drowning of the seaworld trainer back in february. well, it could be the dawn of a new driving era. google confirms that it's testing a self-driving car and that it's already gone 140,000 miles on the streets and highways of california. tech blogger robert skoev caught the car on video eight months ago. for now there's a backup driver to monitor things andake sure

nothing goes wrong. this car has a rotating sensor on its roof that scans in all directions and makes a map of the car's surroundings. a video camera detechs traffic lights. other internal gadgets help the car recognize obstacles that might be in the way. no word on when or if the car will be ailable to the public. our time is now 11:28. coming up in the next half hour of "news 4 midday," a breakthrough in chile this morning. steetubing is now in at the top of the shaft that will be used to bring 33 trapped miners to the surface this week. plus, new york republican gubernatorial candidate carl paladino says he does not discriminate against gays despite controversial remarks he made. and another case of summer today. tom kierein is back let us know how long the warm weather will last.

right now on "news 4 midday," two women are in critical condition after a serious accident in riverdale, maryland. police say the women were fleeing police after stealing a cell phone at a nearby restaunt when they crashed the car. both women were ejected from the car, and that investigation is under way. we're still awaiting word on if charges will be filed against the driver who hit and killed two men in rockville over the weekend. police say around 3:00 a.m. sunday morning adamand rory

were on their way to a friend's house when the car hit them. witnesses say the driver tried to drive off after hitting the two men. police say the driver, 25-year-old alejandro roman of rockville, was taken into custody but later released. and parts of arlington will be used as a movie set today, the filming of "transformers 3" shutting down columbia pike from south joy street to washington boulevard from 5:00 until 9:00 tonight. and today crews in chile are in the final stage of preparing a rescue shaf for 33 trapped miners. and the anticipation of building in the small mining town a crews look forward to a wednesday rescue. nbc's natalie morales has more from chile. >> reporter: it was the drill watched around the world. on day 66, finally breakthrough. above ground, the bellall had

been waiting for here finally rang, launching a weekend of celebrations for the families, tears of joy flowing as the engineers and drillers were doused in chpagne. it has been an all-around global effort. american drillers brandon fisher and richard stoppy were onhe team that broke through first. >> we saw the nose piece of our lp hole operate. that's the moment i knew that we made it. >> underneath you realize are 33 guys that are counting on you. >> reporter: their job is done here, but already the next phase of the rescue is well underway. the first couple hundred feet of the shaft are being reinforced with steel tubes. next, installing the mechanism which will lower the rescue capsule. and still to be determined, the order the miners will be rescued in. >> the kind of solidarity they veloped is amazing. >> reporter: they're fighting for who will be the last, a testament to the bond they have forged. meanwhile, more family members

arrive at the now very crowded camp hope in anticipation of a happy reunion. lily gomez is already imagining the moment she will see her father, mario goz, again. >> i just want to hug and kiss him and tell him how much i love him. >> reporter: by byron is also counting down the days until he'll see his dad. >> big hugs. >> reporter: as little boys do, he's even digging his own mine resc rescue. back in the miners' hometown, prays for a safe return, a sentiment shared around the world. >> each miner will take a 2,0-foot 20-minute long journey to reach the surface. police in new york are still searching for a ninth suspect in what's being called some of the worst beatings in recent memory. gang members savagely beat and tortured three gay men in new york city. eight members of the gang called

the latin king goonies have been charged with sexual abuse and unlaul imprisonment, all as hate crimes. the attacks started after gang members suspected one of their new recruits was gay. state and local leaders have spoken out against thettacks and mayor michael bloomberg warnednyone caught committing a hate crime would be punished to the full extent of the law. meanwhe, nework gubernatorial candidate carl paladino is under fire this morning after making some controversial comments regarding gay marriage. while addressing the state's jewish leaders yesterday, the conservative businessman fro buffalo said he doesn't consider home sexuality a valid option for children. >> don't misquote m as wanting to hurt homosexual people in any way. that would be a ds tardily lie. my approach is livend let live. i just think my children and your children will be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family. and i don't want them to be

brainwashed into thinking that home sexuality is an equally valid or successful option. >> paladino's speechlso originally include adeleine about homosexuals being dysfunctional which he removed. paladino appeared on the "today" show with matt lauer and matt asked him if he regretted his remarks. >> no, i don't regret the remarks. thremarks i made is i believe in. the remark deleted is nobody else's business. it was put in there by somebody and i'm not responsible for that. i'm only responsible for what i say,nd i've always stood behind everything that i said. >> the democratic candidate for governor, andrew cuomo, said paladino's comments display, quote, a stunning home phobia and a glaring disregard for basic equality. esident obama is kicking off a week of campaigning for fellow democrats today. meanwhile, thehite house is questioning who's spending big money to influence your vote.

nbc's tracie potts has more on the rhetoric from capitol hill. >> harry reid says no one can do more than he can. really, harry? >> reporter: dozens of new political ads are popping up on tv screens across america, many of them not from democrats or republicans. the white house claims ty're coming from special interests fueled by foreign money. >> don't let them hijack your agenda. the american people deserve to know w's trying to sway their ections. >> reporter: some groups have refused to say where their advertising dollars are coming from. >> why not simply disclose where this money is coming from and then all of these questions will be answered? >> reporter: major newspapers reputed claims that foreign money is influencing our elections. republicans say democrats desperate to win are trying to scare voters. >> $400 million was spent in 2008 to help elect barack obama. he didn't hear mr. axelrod or others klaining about much of that money was undisclosed. >> reporter: today predent obama heads to florida for more

campai campaigning. with just weeks to go, who wins may be determined by who votes. the republicans are champg at the bit to get to the polls. >> miami, d.c., delaware, boston, even mtv all on the president's campaign agenda this week as he tries to get out the vote. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. and before president obama heads to florida, he'll host some special guests at the white house today. five students from the movie "waiting for superman" get to visit t office. filmmaker davis guggenheim will be there in attendance as well. you may recall "waiting for superman" is that film on education that features michelle rhee. the kids will get a chance to see marine one depart from the south lawn nice day on the south lawn. good day to fly arnold, for traveling down with your convertible top down or out enjoying this wonderful weather if you're lucky enough to have the y off. we have a little touch of summer

in october under way. now the live view from our skywatcher cam, some of those trees showing some color in northwest waington. actually, individual red maples are showing peak color around the region. i see a few here and there. temperatures around the region into the low 80s throughout parts of virginia, but elsewhere upper 70s to near 80 degrees. national airport at 75. and the afternoon highs should climb into the mid-80s, except out of the mountains, now in the 60s. they should make it into the 70s there. and this is all thanks to a southwesterly flow at the low levels, an upper-level flow coming out of the west-northwest, bringing in a disturbance this evening that may give us a passing thundershower, small chance of that as well as a small chance of a shower tomorrow as a weak front comes in, perhaps a little thunder as well. just a small chance. highs mid-80s or so and tomorrow cooler a northwesterly wind, cooler wednesday and thursday and a chance of some rain, in fact a likelihood on thursday into thursday night. then we should dry off into the day on friday with blustery

wind setting the stage for an atumnal weekend. saturday and sunday a lot of sun los like right now. >> sounds good. thank you, tom. have you asked recently what's that smell? well, stink bugs have invaded the d.c. area. you may know that already. as fall sets in, the little insects are supposed to go away. but they appear to be making a comeback now. news 4's darcy spencer reports some local residents are getting fed up. >> reporter: it feels like an invasion, the creepy stink bugs are seemingly everywhere. they're trying to get in our homes, in our cars, in our offices, even in our clothes. and if you're out anywhere this weekend, chances are you'll have an encounter with one. tell us your worst stink bug story. >> well, we were at dinner last night eating outside because of the beautiful weather, and one flew right at my daughter's mouth. she was able to spit it out quickly and good thing she recovered really well. >> reporter: what happened when you were on the slide? did you have -- washere a stink bug on the slide?

>> yeah. it was in my ear, and -- >> reporter: was that scary or just kind of gross? >> gross. >> reporter: ent moomologists s the bugs have nothing but people. do they really stink? you betcha. >> if this was smell avision insteld of television, you'd know why pretty quickly they're lled stink bugs. >> reporter: as a matter of fact, bug expertsay they release a defensive chemical not only when you kill them but when you're abto kill them. they say the best defense is to weatherize your home so there are no tiny openings for them to crawl into. >> eliminate them as best you can and then once they get indoors, get out that vac or the shop vac and vacuum asmany as you can and then annihilate them. >> reporter: experts say the bugs are trying to get inside to find a cozy place to spend the winter, and that happens to be your home. shouldn't these pests be gone by now? apparently this warm wther has

them confused. they think it's spring. darcy spencer, news 4 today. we'll check again on our midday traffic. jerry? i know, that story. >> chuckling over the stink bugs. my dog loves to get a hold of a stink bug and toss it in the air and play with it. me, not so much. >> i can't imagine you'd like that. >> not at all. anyhoo, 395 northbound, landmark shirlington to the 14th street bridge moving along nicely. all the travel lanes are open, this being a holiday. not too much traffic to worry about. the jououtbound4th stet bridge looking good. tyson's corner around the bend toward rockville pike. no worries right now on the outer loop toward i-66. i hope folks weren't having lunch. sorry about that. >> thank you, jerry. well, watch your step if you have to walk throug dupont circle.

flding has been plaguing the landmark fountain there. and the pluming is to blame apparently. for st of sunday, water flowed down the steps, sidewalks and even into the streets. people say it's the second time in a week the fountains have flooded. a national park service spokesman says maintenance workers are trying to find the source of what's causing the problem there. farmers say they plan to rebuild faulkier livestock exchan after a fire demolished the complex last month. the fire started on september 27th in a barn where cattle were kept. more than 200 animals were inside at the time. crews were able to free most of them, but 16 of those cows died. the livestock exchange had be a fixture in marshall, virginia, for a half-century. its board voted to rebuild, although the cost could top $1 million. 11:43 is our time right now. still ahead on "news 4 midday," can the dow stay above 11,000 today? we'll look at the latest numbers. plus, the new windows 7

phone hits the market today. stay with us for information on that. i'm bob ehrlich.

i'm not the kind of guy who likes to hang on the sidelines. today maryland's in trouble. we're worse off than we were four years ago: dangerous debt, higher taxes, not enough jobs.

e need real leadership to turn this state around. fix the budget -- honestly. grow small businesses -- really. excellent schools -- everywhere. protect the bay -- finally. it's why i'm running -- to make the state we love not just good, but great. now let's get down to wk. a new book with decades of private papers by nelson mandela will be released tomorrow. 's a selection of personal writings and letters that aims to show that private man behind the global icon. the book was put together by the lson mandela foundation and will be released around the world in 20 different languages. it also includes a forward by president barack obama. a pair of americans and a

british citizen are sharing the 2010 nobel economics prize. their names are peter diamond, dale mortensen and christopher siserades. they won theward by developing theorys that help explain how economic policies can affect unemployment. among other things, their research shows why a lot of peop remain unemployed even at times when there are large numbers of job openings. well, the dow sits above 11,000 for the first time since may. let's check in with cnbc'sry thompson, joining us live with more on that and the rest of the business headlines. good morning. >> good morning, barbara. we are seeing modest gains on wall street on thi columbus day. keep in mind, the bond market has slowed but the stock market is open for trading, right now the dow holding above at 11,000 level. the blue chip index extendi ini gains from friday. stocks getting a lift from investors' expectationshat the federal reserve will buy large amounts of u. treasuries to

provide a short-term boost to the u.s. economy. among the stocks in the news toy, gymboree is up over 20%. theetailer children's clothing accepting a takeover bid from a private equity arm. microsoft is fractionally higher, bidding to increase its share of the smartphone market now dominated by the blackberry. microsoft ha nine new handsets will go on sale this holiday season. calls from state and federal lawmakers about a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures, they're growing louder. this as 40 state attorneys general are forming probes to investigate irregularities. while problems could exist, legitimate foreclosures should exce. it would have an impact, a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures on the housing market. back to you. >> all right, mary. thank you very much for your report. have a great day. more now on that new phone

from microsoft. everyone is familiar with their computer operating systems but they have been noticeably absent when it comes to e smartphone world. today that's going to change as microsoft attempts to break into the hand-held world with their newest smartphone. nbc's mark barger has a preview for us. >> reporter: and to help you do things right away. >> it was almost a year ago that microsoft stirred things up with the launch of its windows 7 operating system. today, they're aiming for similar buzz and sales in e smartphone wars with the launch of windows phone large tile displays and clusters of functions and content are just part what microsoft hopes will separateheir offering from the competition. microsoft's current mobile operating system has trailed the recent smartphone pack in years. the likes of the iphone and android power devices have grabbed increasingly larger shares of the market. but a morning news conference in new york today is expected to revealultiple manufacturers set to bld windows phone 7

devices with at&t among the carriers selling them. microsoft's new smartphone foray is expected to hit store shelves inurope first, possibly within two weeks with u.s. availability by thanksgiving. mark barger, nbc news. our time now 11:49. ming up, a new study looking at the relationship between autism and jaundice. plus, meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check ofhe forecast. and today at 3:00 on "e elle" ellen tries to pry a secret out of comediandavid spade. and the situation shows off his dance moves. today at 3:00 followed byews 4 at 4:00.

well, a little extra love was in the air yesterday as many happy couples used the unique date, 10/10/10, to get married. chapel owners in ls vegas say they were busier than usual. and according to national chain david's bridal, more than 39,000 couples chose 10/10/10 as their speciaday. that's a tenfold increase over the number of weddings performed on the same day last year. and topngews for your health today, a possible link between jaundice and autism. researchers in denmark say they und full-term infants who had jaundice were more likely to develop autism.

the risk was higher if a mother had other children or if she gave birth between october and march. although jaundice affects 60% of babies, it usually clears up within the first week of life. researchers say parents shouldn't be alarmed, though, because there's no direct evidence that jaundice causes autism. well, it's no secret that too much time in front of the television or computer is not> time

habits. err. >> reporter: regardless of how physically active they are otherwise. even if they were doing more sedentary activities like reading or home work, they scored better on mental tests. child psychologists suggest aggressive content on the internet may be part of the problem. >> also kind of getting into some of these addictive type of behaviors on the internet so that the really can't pull themselves away. >> reporter: the study does not prove increased screen time leads to psychological problems in kids. in fact, it may be the other way around. >> we don't know if, you know, watching them the computer or watching tv is causing kids to have these problems or if kids who ve problems are drawn to haing out and watching tv and being on the computer. >> reporter: but whether screen time is replaced by play time, story time, or even bedtime, experts recommend making sure kids' brains are otherwise engaged. erica edwards, nbc news. and les take a look now at some of the stories we're following for you this afternoon

on news 4. starting at 4:00, a teacher suffers a melown and goes crazy in the classroom. the incident is actually caught on tape. we'll have that for you. then tonig at 5:00, the foreclosure crisis leaving many locals in limbo. seeing how one family is navigating through the red tape. those stories plus your beautiful fall forecast starting tonight on news 4 at4:00. but you don't have to wt until 4:00 to get the final forecast from midday. tom is here right now to tell us what to pect from the rest of the day. fall is taking a break today. it will feel like summer in october. in fact, already our temperatures have climbed, right now a few clouds floating throh a live view from our skywatcher camera. fall color showing up with the foliage. right now it's climbing into the low 80s throughout the region, but for us at national at 75 degrees, a little bit of breeze off the cooler water of the potomac there. cooler in the mountains, as well. they're in the 60s right n, many locations to near 70 degrees. as we go through the afternoon, we'll have high clouds drifting

in ahead of a disturbance in the midwest that might trigger an isolated thundershower this evening. otherwise, some clouds passing through, highs in the mid and upper 80s this afternoon, a small chance of a thunderstorm tonight and perhaps tomorrow, a passing shower, maybe a thundershower, small chance of that. and a northwesterly breeze should bring us down into the 70s for highs tomorrow, and then on wednesday a northeasterly breeze should me highs only in the 60s and partly sunny. on thursday, it looks like a likelihood of some needed rain as a low-pressure system develops over the region. pulls away on friday, dries out for the weekend, highs in the 60s. that's the way it looks. see you tomorrow morning. >> all right, tom. thank you very much. well, it was a tug of war of epic proportions in okinawa, japan. thousands of people split into two teams and tried to ll a 656-foot-long, 42-ton rope. the tradition is believed to have started some 400 years ago. and despite each team having thousands of people, the rope

hardly moved and it ended up a draw. well, that's "news 4 midday" for today. we thank you for joining us and invite you to tune in for more news today at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. tomorrow we have dermatologist dr. cheryl burgess with us today to talk about some skin breakouts for kids from 8 months to 80-year-olds in the later parts of tir lives, things that might surprise you and things you can do to stop that. that's tomorrow "news 4 midday." we hope you'll plan to join us for that. until then, enjoy this wonderful weather we're having and see you at 11:00 in the morning for mid-dey. hi there, i'm ian wright

and i'm investigating what makes aruba so happy. my word, that's fantastic. ♪ row your boat gently down the stream... ♪ i'll tell you what; it's nota. it's happiness.