brace yourself. that stormy day was the beginning of rainy days ahead of us. a new poll gives insight to the impact of conventions on the race for the presidency. plus, paul ryan clears the air on questions about his physical fitness. a gas station clerk fights back after getting shot on the job. now, police launch a find the gunman. >> good morning. welcome to news4 today. i'm erica gonzalez. >> i'm angie goff. you want to keep an umbrella

with you. >> we had quite a lighten showing last night. lots of noise and thunder. woke me up. >> i slept right through it. >> how can you miss it? it's good that you you were sleeping that well. thank goodness, it didn't last that long. let's go to meteorologist. >> i went to bed when my toddler went to bed. woke me up. we're in for that, we need the rain, 75 degrees is our number. we have calm winds but that humidity is 90%. more numbers show 70s around the map. the exception is martinsburg and frederick, you guys are at 68. the first batch is moving towards the northern neck of virginia, and the next batch of rain off to the west. you folks out in deep creek lake, unfortunately it will be a

very wet morning and afternoon. so heads up especially for you. the rest of us will wait on the rain probably until after 10:00. in the middle 80's with showers increasing and storms likely this afternoon. easing us back to 80 degrees. i'll tell you how long the stretch of rainy weather is expected to last andhat song is stuck in my lead when i see you in a bit. >> back to you. i'm anxious to know to what it is. as the remnants of isaac push our way, it's spawning several tornadoes. one apparent twister caused extension damage in kansas yesterday. strong winds tore off roofs and hangars. isaac has produced 39 twisters since making landfall. the tropical system usually averages about 18 tornadoes. this morning more than 300,000 people in arkansas, louisiana and mississippi are still without power after isaac. thousands of utility crews are

working at this hour to restore service in the gulf coast. the slow-moving hurricane knocked out power to almost a million homes. louisiana's main power company energy says crews from around the country working as fast as possible, but relief cannot come soon enough. family owned grocery store just got electricity yesterday, by they lost about half a million dollars worth of inventory. >> we didn't see any trucks, i don't know where they were. i don't know where the phantom electricians were, but they weren't out here working trying to get the people back up. >> in new orleans, at one point, more than two-thirds of the city was without power. the power company says the outage could last another week. summer might almost be over, but the heat is still causing problems in our area. more than two dozen people got sick during the university of maryland football game yesterday. police say all of them were suffering from dehydration or other heat-related problems.

seven people went to the hospital. but they are all expected to be okay. the new era of penn state football did not start on the right note. the nittany lions fell to ohio university 24-14 yesterday under new head coach bill o'brien. it's the first time in more than 60 years joe paterno was not on the coaching staff. he was fired last season in the wake of the jerry sandusky scandal. then passed away a few months later. fans say it didn't even matter that the nittany lions lost. all that matters is they were able to start a new chapter in the team's history. this morning police are looking for the man who shot a clerk at a gas station in prince georges county. the shooting happened last night at the tighter mart gas station. police say a man tried to rob the cashier, but the cashier fought back with a chair. the robber pulled out a gun and shot the cashier. the victim was shot in the upper arm and was subsequently taken to the hospital. people living in georgetown

hope that a new security camera is going to stop crime. the citizens association of georgetown installed a new camera outside martin's tavern on wisconsin avenue in northwest. they hope to make it harder for thieves to break into cars and hoping to stop them from saling cell phones on the street. they'll turn the video over to police after a crime is reported. two more cameras are expected to be installed as well. now to decision 2012 where a new poll shows mitt romney leading president obama nationally. the rasmussen reports survey shows the gop presidential contender ahead of president obama 47 to 44%. and just five days ago, the two were tied in this poll. a similar shift happened in battleground states. rasmussen polled voters in 11 swing states and show romney and president obama are tied. the same poll showed the president leading by four points five days ago. the republican national convention could explain the

bump which is pretty typical when the event wraps up. mitt romney plans to take a break from campaigning and prepare for the upcoming presidential debates. he and his vice presidential pick, paul ryan, visited the battleground states of florida and ohio yesterday. ryan went to the ohio state football game against his alma mater, miami university of ohio. they told the crowds that president obama is to blame for those without jobs. romney likened it to football saying if the team is not winning, then it's time to get a new coach. so ryan is facing just a little bit of controversy and it has nothing to do with his policies or even voting record, but with his workout history. ryan told a radio host last month that he once ran a 2:50 marathon. an extraordinarily fast pace for a marathon. but okay, runners world magazine did a little bit of digging. they discovered ryan had only

run -- only one run -- only one run official marathon in 1990 and finished it in a little over four hours. ryan responded to the claims saying he accidentally said two hours when he meant to say three. well, this morning president obama is back on the campaign trail building momentum for the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina. the president is waking up in denver this morning. he'll speak at the university of colorado, boulder. the president will head to toledo, ohio. he campaigned yesterday in sioux city, iowa. the convention starts on tuesday. delegatess are already arriving and extra police and southern k-9s are patrolling every inch. it will last through the week for the dnc convention. stay with news4 for complete coverage of the democratic national convention in

charlotte. jim vance and tom sherwood will report live, beginning tonight at 11:00. you better keep a closer eye on your speed because the grace period is over for 11 newly installed speed cameras installed in d.c. police officers say that while the fines might be steep, traffic fatalities have gone down get this by 76% in the past decade. the new camera locations include k-street northwest and texas avenue southeast. out with the old to make room for the new. coming up how the d.c. community is welcoming a major change. and the white house goes public with its homemade recipe for the president's beer. and how much rain exactly are we talking as you head back to work and school next week, kim has the extended forecast

coming up. what are your fun plans this labor day this weekend? we are on facebook all morning. we'll be back in a moment.

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okay, so erica said she awoke to some thunderstorms last night. i she want straight through them. what's the deal? >> i'm sleeping right by the window and i mean, there's this huge show of lightning going on. tons of thunder. i'm like go to bed, erica. >> you start counting down, okay, if i fall asleep in the next hour i'll get how many hours of sleep and you play that game? >> i saw chuck's tweet and it said 20 to 30 minutes. it didn't last that long. >> we got an inch and a half of

rain at reagan national and this helps and we'll get a couple inches over the next few days. of we have a rainfall deficit of six inches and we'll be putting a dent in that. the theme song is like the weather by 10,000 maniacs. with rain coming in, that's what we'll have. and no sunday sun, so no living up to its name very much. 75 is the magic number. we have cloudy skies and we have rain showers developing. all around the radar, especially south of us and west. some metro numbers show college park is 71. good morning, rockville. that's your number and hunting town. annapolis is waking up to 75. west of us we have upper 60s into the martinsburg area. berkeley springs, west virginia, had some major flash flooding yesterday. i mean, the downtown literally has flooding waters in it and unfortunately you have more rain coming at you from the west. first stop though, just down here as we look towards the northern neck of virginia, montross. these showers will be passing

south of you and off to the west anybody that was going to go out there to do some hiking or some swimming especially deep creek lake, these showers and storms will be with you most of the day sprg -- especially this morning. not a good day to be out there and taking advantage of what was left of a good holiday weekend. this front is going to be stall around the region allowing isaac's showers to stay nearby tomorrow and today and right through wednesday. we will have some rous of heavier rain. so if you have a party planned and you thought you'd go outside today, brendon, bad idea. pack everybody into the house and have the pabackup plan, please. because it will be rainy today. gnats are playing the cardinals, and probably some rain delays there too. showers likely at any point. 80 to 85. looking ahead to this evening it will be damp with storms around.

and planning ahead, look at all the rain on my seven day. yuck. all right. when do we shake free of the showers? well, i'm giving us the official all clear by friday. not that thursday is a washout. i still think we'll have a leftover shower or two on thursday. temperatures trapped in the middle 80s which is right about normal, ladies. don't leave the umbrella in the car when you come in work. bring it with you if it's not raining. you're going to need it this afternoon. >> looks pretty bad. we have to mention because you look so cute. so baby martucci is due in a few days. >> yeah. >> we're so excited. >> we'll see. >> how are you feeling? >> good enough. >> be honest. you can't breathe. >> i know. i just want to do this and lean back and do the weather from my chair. >> you look great. >> thank you. yes. >> i know -- >> holding everything up right now. >> thanks, kim. you look awesome. well, next up is reporters notebook. a look at stories affecting the

community. >> we'll be back in 15 minut with the top stories and your sunday forecast. good morning, everyone. welcome to reporters note book. we'll start off with a topic front of mind to many -- traffic and a new survey and annual insurance survey has come out calling d.c. drivers the worst in the nation. particularly in terms of safety we are dead last. surprised? >> no. we say -- i bet we say that all morning. these are the worst drivers. look at those people. we have more accidents sooner, more often. but, you know the way we drive, the way we have to drive, the way everything converges into the district of columbia from the virginia and maryland, there's a lot of reasons i have talked to traffic experts over the years, done this story. and it's the way the city is laid out is part of the problem. the way the traffic congestion is handled is another problem. and the fact that maybe a lot of the people come to washington

really don't know how to drive. maybe they're more interested in other things, running the government or something, but they don't seem to have courtesy or intelligence or knowing what they're doing. >> i think you're right. d.c. is like -- i've thought of it as a transient melting pot from virginia and maryland, pennsylvania, new york. i mean, you go down any part of pennsylvania avenue or even in the neighborhoods you find tags from all over the country. you know? but i think one of the problems -- and they have always had this whole thing about the layout of the city as being the problem that causes -- but the whole thing here i think, jim, and my colleagues, we need an educational program to teach people how to drive today. see, when i was coming through high school, they taught us how to drive. we had to take driver's education. kids get a license just like that. people get a license like that. people wanted to come up with a plan as to teach people as to how a parallel park. well, that was a part of our

training. i see people in my neighborhood in columbia heights when they parallel park, it's not parallel parking, it's parking in the middle of the street. so -- >> sloppy. >> so the police department along with the d.c. government and local media, they really need to have a good training program not only to teach people the correct way of driving and parking, but also for safety. >> i think he's showing his age. kids -- kids -- >> we drove better back then. we didn't get surveys -- we didn't get all these surveys saying how bad we drove. >> hey, we walked in my day. >> now you have bicycles and everything else. cop-outs. >> you had bicycles in your day. >> no, we didn't. we had tricycles. >> with all kidding aside, i think you're right. this hodgepodge of people who come from all over, the circles don't help, you know? >> right. right. >> round abouts. >> i can tell you when we leave this studio, i go up near

american university, i don't know to get in the far right -- >> you have been living here. >> that's right. how many times have i hit that circle? i think it is a matter that -- matter of that. and they don't teach driver ed in too many schools anymore. it used to be where you would get your license. and, you know, now unfortunately people drive and they go out to rock creek park and that's where you go out there in the morning and that's where you see parents teaching their kids how to drive. >> but we're so scrunched. there are so many people, like rats in a maze. pardon me drivers, but, you know, we are crowded in. when you're crowded in, you do things -- you drive more aggressively and probably recklessly and you're angry. >> like jurisdictions and like you guys pointed out, so many different jurisdictions they're coming from and different rules in all of these. >> but one point that's important, i think the district government must take the helm and start doing something about

driving. they have sort of put drivers on the back seat because they're more concerned about bicyclists and using public transportation. everybody can't do that. i think that the city government needs to do more. >> well, speaking of that, here's something you may like or may detest. we have carmeras everywhere, fo speed and for red lights and the district is on track to put them at stop signs. cameras everywhere. i think this is for pedestrian safety and another reason is for the -- don't block the box. >> they just slow down and go through. now they'll put cameras there. i suppose people worry about big brother and creeping totalitarianism and getting more money out of the drivers with the lights and the other things, but i would suspect without giving an opinion that a lot of people will not object to this. >> well, you know, this is a

digital age and you're going to find cameras. personally myself, i drive in the district, i have no problems with cameras. i just know that too many people rather than stopping at stop signs what -- people go through red lights nowadays. you know, they had a big campaign last year. people stopping behind school busses because they'll go past the school bus. it's unfortunate, but until we are better drivers we do need big brother. >> you have the potential of $80 million. that certainly is a motivation. >> enticement. >> enticement, number one. two, policemen can't be everywhere. people know that. so you're absolutely right. and then, three, i would add one thing. i wish these stop sign cameras would give pedestrians tickets because that's part of our problem too. >> a good point. >> there are some cities if you jay walk you get a ticket, but

this -- so it's a combination of both. >> and bicyclists too. >> oh, yeah. >> talk about rules of the road. >> so i'm -- you know, i'm not opposed to this. they say they'll try to put i think at least one in each ward initially and find those places where they have the most violati violations. >> start off in school zones. >> in new york you don't do those things. >> you don't do what? >> you don't walk out in the middle of the traffic. you'll get run over. >> mayor gray proposing new restrictions on campaign donation requirements. what about this? is this a matter of timing, pr, how much credibility does he have on that issue? >> it's probably everything. the mayor is under fire because of his continuing investigation about the alleged corruption in his administration and the role of various people including himself have played. there's been a cry for this pay to play criticism that's been driving a lot of the stories we

have been doing. and how do you get beyond that? and his answer is, well, we limit contributions. we have more disclosure and that way the lobbyists will not be able to pay a lot of money and get the kind of laws they want pa i think the mayor -- you can say it's pr. you can say it's kind of pulling his boot straps up after this investigation or whatever is going on, but the fact is he's in a position to make some changes and i think that he's doing the right thing. >> i agree. he's doing the right thing. the motivation we can all put our input in. yeah, it's certainly pr. it's certainly as you say pulling the ladder up -- the horses out of the barn, all that type of thing. but is it needed? that's the real question, is it needed? and he -- it won't keep him from a federal investigation. it won't help if that's a trial,

it won't help the trial, but it helps us citizens in the future. >> to have more confidence in the political system. >> that's right. that's right. >> here you have these guys, i hope we never get the pac system in d.c. here you have some control and building confidence right now. >> we have to take a break. we'll come back to maryland and virginia right after this. stay

welcome back to reporters notebook. all eyes have been on the rnc along with the hurricane and horrible timing there with isaac coming ashore in new orleans. but let's keep it local here and in the commonwealth of virginia. governor bob mcdonnell gave a -- what some would say a red meat speech to a hungry crowd there. that's what wtop called it. this is a governor who's been working tirelessly for mitt romney. >> i was probably the one who called it on wtop now that i recall, and indeed, he did.

he compared virginia's great economic progress, great economic wealth to the nation as a whole. and he blamed president obama for the problems outside of virginia and to a certain extent in virginia which is the republican mantra this week. this previous week. and -- but he's really -- he's really got a lot of -- he's a multitasker, got a lot of things going for him. the governor's conference cochair. he is the -- he had the platform committee, had to work through that on some touchy issues and he's a governor of a battleground state. there's a lot of thing goes on and the inevitable question what does mcdonnell do with all of this after he can't be governor anymore and that's some talk there may be a cabinet post in the offing or a run for

president. >> one one thing he did pull out, the jobs. he is talking about virginia as dave alluded to. one of the issues, doing better than the nation. he said in virginia there's a 5.9 unemployment rate where there's 8.3 unemployment rate nationally. so, you know, he's hitting a very, very strong tone there that the republicans have been trying to carry. and that's the jobs issue. >> well, he can get back all that federal money he gets in norfolk, northern virginia. the federal contracts that they get along with the dulles -- along the dulles corridor. all this really -- that's what i mean, defense. that's not to say there isn't a lot of private industry. automotive firms have moved to virginia. no question about that. this is what he didn't say. how do you blame the administration that in essence has provided you with a tremendous amount of federal funding, highway funds,

infrastructure funds to make it possible for these jobs and and these companies to make -- that come to virginia that make it attractive. and by the way he didn't say a word about this fight he had with women and the whole abortion issue. so, you know, i mean -- >> typical. >> exactly. >> typical republican platform. >> i kind of -- >> i kind of see him on network tv at 10:00 on, he didn't get his prominent time slot as some others did. >> you'd have to ask the republicans that. >> well, they would argue there's a star studded cast. you have a new latino governor of new mexico. you have -- you had condoleezza rice. you had -- he had a lot of people who might be there in the future. obviously he had chris christie. you had a lot of other people that they felt would be helping the party in the future besides perhaps bob mcdonnell. it was a question of how much time. >> i want to move to maryland

now real quickly if we can and the issue of extended gaming and the november ballot. the owner of the first maryland casino to open is opposing the ballot measure in november. >> well, everybody is opposing it. >> not everyone. >> remember, anne arundel they were opposing it in the beginning and then they changed their minds. i'm not surprised the particular gaming organization wanting to oppose it. >> i think he's opposed to it, i'll be honest, because he knows that there's tremendous opposition out there. >> exactly. >> and he -- you know, well, he's in the gambling business. the odds are in his favor. >> a juggling thing between rose kroft and national harbor anyway. we have said -- i have always said even in my blogs that national harbor is going to win out because of its location. >> i think -- now, let's bet, not 10,000 that you usually bet me. >> that's illegal on the air.

>> okay. but -- maybe on sunday too. i would wager that these churches are putting up a big fight. >> yeah. >> and he knows that this is why he doesn't want to see this happening. >> interesting we have seen some commercials this week in support of it too. so there's a lot of money thrown at this. >> but the fact remains we have another chance to see how much opposition there really is. i mean, does gambling provide enough money, the answer is no, it doesn't. does it create the right kind of people and the right kind of mix? no, it doesn't. is it a tax on the poor, you'll hear that again. >> let the people decide. leave it up to them. >> we're going to haveo leave it right there. gentlemen, thank you. see you next week. enjoy the rest of your weekend. have a great holiday tomorrow.

good morning, everyone. welcome to news4 today. i'm angie goff. >> i'm erica gonzalez. the stormy, long labor day weekend rolls on. >> the rain will continue. meteorologist kim martucci is standing by saying don't forget that umbrella. >> you've got that right. showers and storms will be incoming and these will be super soakers because they have that isaac connection. this morning it is a humid start. 75 here. and culpepper, 73. 68 up in fred rick. i'm watching these showers both south and west of us. along 301, almost to the route 17 line, moving to the northern neck of virginia. off to the west, mountain lake park, 219, it's going to be a stormy start for you and a wet day ahead as well as for the rest of us. as for the numbers, middle 80s,

it will feel humid with lots of showers and storms around. these will put down some heavy downpours. i'll tell you about the labor day and how we're looking into next week when i join you in a bit. >> see you here with baby martucci. >> all right. one of the top officials at the immigration and customs enforcement or i.c.e. has resigned amid charges of inappropriate sexual behavior. she is accused of inappropriate behavior toward three separate employees. barr denies the allegations but said she's stepping down to end distraction within the agency. the investigation will be on going. a new development is under construction in the petworth neighborhood. derrick ward reports. >> reporter: it's the latest in a series of high profile changes

in the petworth section northwest. this safeway, the last of the city with the old arched roof design will be closing next week to make way for a new residential building to be completed in 2014. there will be a bigger safeway on the ground floor and apartments above. >> i think that the diversity coming into the area makes it a little bit safer. >> the reason we moved here was because of the diversity. >> reporter: diversity, a lot of the other parts of the city under similar circumstances is called general trifcation. ward 4 council member muriel bowser talks about the inclusive process. >> the community and government all working together to make sure we have the type of development we want. >> reporter: while the starbucks planned may not that welcome by some merchants there's a certain

stability that people hope will be preserved. >> i like the seniors are still represented in the neighborhoods, in their homes. >> this community is coming together and it's really nice. the senior citizens. >> reporter: whatever the attraction there's one factor that largely determines whether families stay or go in petworth or any other part of the town. ask a transplant from northern virginia. >> i think the thing will keep us here is if the schools improve. this morning police are trying to solve a murder mystery in prince georges county. 22-year-old lizet martinez-alvarez was found dead and she was identifd after pictures of her tattoos were released. still no suspects or motive in this case. the faa is investigating a deadly crash during an air show in iowa. three jets were flying in formation when when veered off and crashed. the pilot was killed

immediately. no one on the ground was hurt by the crash, but investigators believe high speeds and worn down aircraft parts contributed to the accident. tonight kicks off the 46th annual muscular dystrophy telethon, but fans will be surprised to see plenty of changes. jerry lewis will once again not host the event. it will feature carrie underwood and gavin degraw. it was also cut down from six hours to three and renamed mda, show our strength. the event's location is different as well. instead of being held in las vegas, it was taped in los angeles, new york and nashville. over the years the telethon raised more than $1.6 billion for muscular dystrophy relief. ♪ ♪ rain drops are falling on my head ♪ >> legendary songwriter hal david has died. he was one of the writers behind

"rain drops keep falling on my head." last year he told news4 he wanted to be a journalist but instead became a songwriter. he died yesterday in los angeles from complications related to the stroke. he was 91 years old. an event today will help mark an important date in american and world history. today is the 67th anniversary of vj day. it marks the ally's victory over japan in world war ii. the national park service has planned a ceremony at the world war ii memorial on the national mall. the u.s. marine corps brass quintet will perform and there will be a wreath laying ceremony. you have a new brew to try out, courtesy of the white house. president obama unveiled the secret recipes of two homemade beers. he's talked about the beers for weeks but refused to reveal the ingredients until yesterday.

the honey ale and honey porter include honey, amber crystal malt and corn sugar. it is believed to be the first beer brewed on white house grounds and you can get the complete recipe and instructions on how to make it yourself on the white house website. but unless you have an in with secret service you won't be totally able to replicate this because they tapped the bee hive on the white house lawn. >> an added benefit when you're president, you get your own beer. >> they titled the blog post ale to the chief. >> i like that. coming up the city that transformed the streets for drivers with a lead foot. and david gregory joins

president clinton: this election to me is about which... candidate is more likely to return us to full employment. this is a clear choice. the republican plan is to cut more taxes on upper-income... people and go back to deregulation. that's what got us in trouble in the first place. president obama has a plan to rebuild america from... the ground up, investing in innovation, education... and job training. it only works if there is a strong middle class. that's what happened when i was president. we need to keep going with his plan. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance.

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no rest during this political halftime in between the conventions. the candidates are using this time to make a run through key swing states. >> that's right. joining us with his take on the current race for the president is "meet the press" moderator david gregory. good to have you. >> thank you. >> another big week ahead of you. before we talk about the democratic national convention, what kind -- with it, i should say, i mean, what are they thinking? are they saying as long as we don't say anything bizarre, ie eastwood, we'll be okay or pull out all the stops? >> talking to the president's advisers they want to be more specific. i think where they'll attack governor romney is, you know, that he went on the offensive against president obama but didn't give the american people a road map for how he'll usher in a better economy. i think they'll work the gender

issue very, very hard and try to increase support among women. that was a big focus for the republicans as well. it is game on in that respect. i think we'll see day after day of a lot of shots taken about the eastwood moment. >> we are seeing new numbers out, the polls placed romney ahead 47 to 44%. this is typical? >> you expect to get some reaction or a bump from a convention. but because the democrats follow the republicans right away there's not much time for that to be absorbed in the race. so you'll see both conventions, both sort of had the big moment. i suspect the race gets back to even. and then you get to later in september when you have had the effect of sustained campaigning, sustained negative advertising. you know, this unleashes a lot of general election campaign funds so they can go after each other as well as the outside groups. by the end of september, then you get a better sense of where the race is. then you go into those critical presidential debates. >> they had a lot of, you know,

hard-hitting players with them, actors and political who's who. we are looking at coming into the dnc? >> it's a little different in that romney's big goal was to try to connect with undecided voters or voters who had voted for president obama, but might be on the fence now. that was his real job and he was still largely unknown to a lot of voters. that's not the case with the president or president's team. here you have michelle obama, the mayor of san antonio, texas, the keynoter. hispanic, to try to reaffirm the support he has among hispanics. the vice president and president. i think this is a little bit more about messaging. it's more about some of the core attacks that they'll make against governor romney. >> what does president obama have to do this convention? >> his own records leaves a lot of americans wanting. the reason this is a dead even race, the reason that governor

romney is in this thing is because the economy is in the state it is. people feel like after four years things are as bad or worse than they were when president obama came into office. that not the fulfillment of the promise that he had when he ascended to the presidency. he has to deal with that disappointment out there. >> but you talked on something when you talked about the latino vote. it was obvious watching the republican national convention you had suzanne martinez, who spoke in both english and spanish, who is such a diamond in the rough and then you had romney's son who gave his entire speech in spanish. will that be so highlighted if you will in the democratic national convention? >> i think so. >> speaking solely in spanish and they're going after the latino vote. >> well, they've got it for now and they'll try to build on it and there's a talk about identity politics in the democratic party. you will see it from the keynote speaker. you'll see it in the way they talk about immigration principally even though the

president has failed to achieve immigration reform. and women too. you know, in our area you talk about virginia, i was talking to an adviser to the president who said again, this is an area particularly in northern virginia where the women's vote is going to matter so much. so i think you'll see a focus on abortion, on women's health, on where they can try to exploit some of the weaknesses on the republican side. >> we heard tom davis come out earlier and say, hey, northern virginia, is very, very crucial. >> no question. >> coming up today on the show. >> rahm emanuel, mayor of chicago, architect of the first term. he'll join me exclusively to talk about what the president will do and what romney did or did not accomplish for the republicans. >> and press pass, you have that coming up? >> we'll do a highlight from some of the conversations we had down at the republican convention. our political roundtable i should point out is an all-star cast. we have tom brokaw, doris kearns

good win, newt gingrich. so a real great group. >> good television. all right. thanks, david. david was asking us earlier what's the weather going to be like, how much longer the rain will stick around. >> yeah. is. >> take a look, david, it's coming our way. yes, the nats game is in jeopardy with possible rain delays this afternoon. i have got the full scoop coming up with the

okay, so there's going to be some rain drops. but it's a three-day weekend. we have that to be excited about. >> but if you're going to be headed out to church or planning to be poolside that's out of the question. you need to take the umbrella with you.

>> you need a contingency plan if you're hosting a party today because i do think rain showers will be chasing you inside. you know, the nats game is at 1:35 playing the cardinals. i think there's a good bet there will be some sort of rain delay during that time period. otherwise, it's dry for the time being. just cloudy. get out and walk the dog early. 75 is our number. winds are calm, but the humidity is 90%. so the sky is ripe. if you look at it the wrong way or shout too loud, you will get a shower on you so be quiet. we say inside voice to my son. that's what we're telling you to do today. 68 up the road in gaithersburg. good morning. and fredericksburg, a pair of sevens at this early hour. just south of you is where we had some rain this morning. very light and some showers are just off to your west. but most of the stuff headed to the northern neck of virginia, raining over bowling green now. a lot of you head out here to the mountains for a three-day weekend whether you're

vacationing at deep creek lake or taking advantage of hiking in the shenandoah or beautiful west virginia, these are the heavy tropical-style rain showers moving your way. berkeley springs yesterday had some flash flooding and had some pictures on my twitter feed of that at weather kim. bad news there. more of the heavier rain is moving your way out here, especially along 50 and mountain lake park, one area getting hit hard with the tropical-style rain showers. yes this is leftovers from isaac. it will be in and around our area at no just today and not just labor day, but heading through the next several days. the way the atmosphere is set up, that's kind of a big road block in place and nothing is moving too fast. so what you see is what you get. we really don't kick this whole system off to the east until about thursday. that's thursday later in the week so every day we have a shot of rain. good for the gardens but not so great for plans and trying to get things done.

another round of rain coming your way for the labor day monday as well. if you're beach side, more showers. more later in the afternoon. squeeze in the beach plans early. looks like monday is a washout for ocean city and tuesday, still showers around with temperatures at 80 degrees. let's get it squared away for you. lots of clouds. showers likely at any given point this afternoon. 80 to 85. later this evening it will still be damp with the storms around 74 to 77. winds out of the southwest five to ten. here's your extended weather forecast. rain for your labor day, 83. 85, cloudy and rainy. that's a 70% chance on tuesday. now, the shower chances kind of get a little better and lower that is as we head through the rest of the week. but we're not really rain free until friday i'd say. mostly sunny, 84. saturday looks dry for now. one computer brings rain, the one i prefer doesn't.

so i'm going with partly cloudy for saturday. >> all right. thank you, ma'am. >> you're welcome. >> see you in a bit. well, the return of college football means the return of tailgating. maryland fans got their party on at home ahead of their season opener against william & mary. swarms showed up to college park to cheer on the terps. how did they do? highlights coming up. 37-17 against wyoming, hook 'em baby. tailgaters came out in full force for howard university. fans of the bison gathered outside rfk to celebrate the new season as they took on morehouse college. at&t teamed up to show the dangers of texting and driving. they had a simulator for students to see how distracting texting while driving can be. >> i like that guy on stilts. i always wanted to be on one of those. >> on stilts? >> yes. today thousands will fulfill their need for speed in

baltimore. some of the best drivers in the world will hit the streets for the second annual grand prix of baltimore. this from last yeis from last y. this great new race was almost cancelled as last year's promoters left the city with millions of dollars in unpaid bills. but a sports marketing firm took over the event and ensured this race will be even better than last year. and the time right now, 6:54. more on sports. a wild game for the nationals and navy plays football across the pond. >> that's right. carol maloney has all the highlights in today's sports minute. >> good morning, everyone. i'm carol maloney. we start with baseball. cardinals/nationals, game 3 of their set. this goes into the ninth tied at nine until david freese of st. louis hits an rbi single and that wins it the cards. stephen strasburg takes the mound for the final game today.

to college football, ed sell and the terps playing post to william & mary. tribe led 6-0 for most of the quarter. a six-yard touchdown for justice picket and that was all it would take as maryland picks up the victory. 7-6. navy traveling across the pond to dublin, ireland, to take on the fighting irish of notre dame. a big day for notre dame. team rushed 293 yards against navy. they cruised to beat the midshipmen, 50-10. and in other football news, the virginia cavaliers howard bison and west virginia mountaine mountaineers, they pick up victories on saturday. thanks. you may want to go north to the zoo to see the newest exhibit. it's part of a system of trails at the zoo that allows the

animals to venture across the park in an environment that more closely resembles the wild. >> on any given day they might see a different animal out there and they might see the animals doing very different things. >> it is very fun to see these animals swing around. >> i like the baby and they're so cute. >> yes, they are. the philly zoo plans to spend another $2 million to expand the trail. no need to go for a big drive up north. you can visit the national zoo for a new family fun exhibit if you want to stay around town. the american trails exhibit is now open and it allows visitors to take a trip to the pacific northwest where they can come face to face with sea lions and it's also home to pelicans, beavers, otters, ravens and even a bald eagle. the exhibit took more than five years to complete and cost more than $42 million. i don't think anything gets cuter than a seal or a sea lion. >> the one time i went, i don't

know if it was too close to closing, but everybody was asleep. i mean -- >> there's always the case. >> where is it? you know? i have yet to see a polar bear at a zoo in all my years of living because they're always sleeping saw one elephant. but everything else was hunkered down for the night. i'm like it's 6:00 p.m., what's the deal, wake up. >> if you're going to the national zoo, take the umbrella. that'll well on the trail, panda trail or beyond. the same for the nats game, ladies. >> there's still more news4 today after the break. >> and also, news4 view point. stay with us for that.

good morning. welcome to news4 today. i'm angie goff. >> i'm erica gonzalez. thanks for joining us. >> and if you are headed out the door this morning, you're going to want to grab that umbrella. we have been talking about it all weekend long, in fact. no surprise. >> maybe you woke up from your slumber last night if you were in bed early like some of us. because it was really stormy out there. >> yeah. another inch and a half added to the rainfall tipping bucket at reagan national and probably add some more. not just today, but the next five days we have a shot at some rain. it is a muggy 76 in d.c.

with 70s in leesburg. annapolis, 75. rain showers are abundant. they'll be pushing through today. south of fredericksburg, over towards winchester and out to deep creek lake. as for today, widespread showers and storms. 84 will be your high. limited sunshine, a good bet for rain. don't head out unless you have your umbrella. you'll be glad you brought it with you. >> all right. thanks. i was checking some tweets. you're tweeting the weather. >> all morning. >> catch it online. all right, here's a look at the top stories this morning. people in louisiana and arkansas and new orleans are without power. thousands of utility crews are working to restore service in the gulf coast. energy says crews from arrange the country working as fast as possible. police are looking for the man who shot a clerk at a gas

station in prince georges county. it happened last night at the tiger mart exxon gas station on sandy spring road in laurel. the victim was shot in the upper arm. he was taken to the hospital. and drivers in d.c., your grace period is up starting tomorrow. 11 newly installed speed cameras will start handing out tickets. some of the new locations include make note 17th street northeast and massachusetts avenue southeast. well, those are some of the stories making news4 today. next is nbc4's viewpoint sfl. good morning. i'm jim hanley. this morning we're talking about the important role that parents play in students' lives as they head back to school and the programs that are working and the successes that they're seeing in alexandria public schools. joining me is the president and ceo of the public center.

and dr. henson from alexandria public school. why the late start in alexandria and other jurisdictions? >> not all jurisdictions in virginia, but most are under the law of kings dominion laws which says the wonderful tourist attraction, this great family place to visit, is some place that contribute toss a lot of taxes. that does a lot for the economy of virginia. a long time ago, maybe 20 years ago, there's this law established that school districts could not start until after labor day. and in order to get that change, we have to go through the state school board or to the legislature and say may we start before labor day? so maryland and lots of other places in fact of all the states only four are controlled by the state government. so if we wanted to start in the middle of august which i think we should be doing, we've got to get special approval. so we'll be starting school on tuesday.

we'rexcited about that. >> yeah. >> we prefer to start earlier and give our kids more time in school. >> and it's late out of school. >> we're lucky that all of the schools are air conditioned. the second and third weekend in june, 95 degrees out there. >> let's start with some of the goals if we can for this school year. and in alexandria specifically. what are the broader goals a challenges for the system? >> so i'll start and then i'll pitch it over to you, the superintendent. i think we have a number of goals. the first and foremost is for equity and excellence in education for all of our students. we have over 13,000 students that will be starting this year. it is the largest enrollment in years in alexandria. we're one of the fastest growing school divisions in the state of virginia and we're looking at the increased enrollment, the diversity of the students coming in. ensuring each has what they need to be successful in schools. and so that takes a lot of work

with a lot of educators and others to make that happen. >> you know, for most of us in education, not just alexandria, student achievement and closing the achievement gap has to be a top priority. across our country, we are seeing our african-american children, latino children falling behind and staying behind. achievement of our asian and white kids. with alexandria, across this region, we are going to focus on closing that achievement gap. i'd like to think of not just closing it, but potentially eliminating it. i think that's the civil rights of this century. it is so important to us. so in alexandria, we have focused tremendous resources on that goal. as we talk about eliminating the achievement gap, we want to raise the bar for all kids. so it's a twin set of goals. closing the achievement and making sure all kids get to high levels. for us, we have the smallest class sizes in the metropolitan area.

>> i was amazed at some of the numbers. what's the average size? depending on grade. >> it's around 20 to 22 at the elementary schools and 24 in the high schools. we appreciate stun port of the -- the support of the mayor and the city council to support that it's giving the teachers a fighting chance, and class size doesn't make a difference, but great teachers with smaller classes make a tremendous difference. >> and community support, dr. mann, has certainly helped close the gap and will help close the gap. tell our viewers a little bit about your center and you have been around for a long time doing some pretty amazing work. >> that's right. we have been around for almost 70 years now. i think the really terrific thing about being here this morning is clearly we have had a partnership with the city and the schools to provide early childhood education. that was the beginning of our relationship and early childhood

education is a very important piece of what i think gets. something that the superintendent has commented on about wanting to see the achievement gap close because there's an incredible science that talks about when we make investments we can help the children get ready for school sooner and we have been providing head start services since the early '60s. we began with preschool. and we're now providing services to low income families with children under 3 to really begin to provide support to parents, and that's an important part of our work. >> do you see the numbers changing and demand for your resources and people who are doing the good work, do you find that demand increasing? >> there's an extraordinary demand in the schools and both dr. sherman and dr. hencing can tell you families are wanting to have access to preschool

education in much greater numbers. we held a spring enrollment fair and it brought out over 500 families in the city. we have far fewer slots through programs like head start and the state-based preschool education program that the schools are responsible for providing. so there's a great need and we need to see greater investments being given to help support providing for families at this age. >> because those parents know what a difference it makes at this young age. we want to pick it up right here. when we come back we have to take a quick break. we have a lot mo to get to. stay with us on viewpoint. president clinton: this election to me is about which...

candidate is more likely to return us to full employment. this is a clear choice. the republican plan is to cut more taxes on upper-income... people and go back to deregulation. that's what got us in trouble in the first place. president obama has a plan to rebuild america from... the ground up, investing in innovation, education... and job training. it only works if there is a strong middle class. that's what happened when i was president. we need to keep going with his plan. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

welcome back to viewpoint. again, we are talking about school -- back to school and we're here with our friends from the alexandria public school system. let's talk about, dr. sherman, the changes in demographics in

alexandria city. you're truly one of the most diverse in the entire commonwealth. >> well, in northern virginia, at least. i think we're the most diverse in the state. one of the most rapidly growing. just four years ago when i started there as superintendent, we had 10,600 students, we're at over 13,000 this year, compared to loudoun and fairfax and montgomery county. for us it's a huge increase, a small city which we love. as we go through these changes, we're increasing very rapidly in our rate of poverty. when i started there, it was 50%. now it's over 58% of all the children we serve. on free and reduced lunch. we think that's the low numbers. dr. henson points out it's self-reporting so some families don't tell us they're in need of support. we think we'll be well over 60% of families needing free and reduced lunch and other kind of support. we're changing a little bit demographically.

35% african-american and it's very different from our neighbors. for us, we think of it as the face of america. we are what america will look like in 15 years from now. we're just getting a head start on the rest of the country. >> which is a great thing that you're getting this early start. talk about the challenges when we talk about the number of poor children who are -- or new to the system. >> exactly. you know, the diversity of those students, i mean, in addition to the numbers we do have schools that one of our schools has over 87% of the students that are eligible for free and reduced lunch and another at 83%. we have got students that are from 128 different countries speaking 80 different languages. >> wow. >> in alexandria. when you talk about what does it take to really educate all those children and meet those needs, it takes a lot in that. you talk about the levels of poverty. for many of the families, many are new immigrants.

we have one of the schools that the majority of the student, 55%, comes from families that don't speak english as a first language at all. and so when we look at those, we have to look at what are those needs, so you deal with the socioeconomic challenges and you have the ability if people are coming in and out of the school system because we have many families both coming in because they're new immigrants to the community, but also a number of military families are also in that community. it does put another different layer on our educators to really actually bring to that level of excellence. so when we talk about disproportionately and making sure we have excellence in equity for all, it's not a homogeneous school division, we are as urban as we are. >> it will be eye opening the numbers you share with us. dr. mann we were talking about

head start and a big part of your focus is after school as well. >> that's right. we serve about 1,200 kids in after-school programs both in the elementary schools and as well as in the high schools. a lot of the diversity at the high school particularly, we have been involved in a program called building better futures which really works with a lot of young people that are coming here as immigrants and trying to learn the system. building relationships with their parents, partnering with the administrators and the staff at the schools to make sure those families begin to understand where they can tap into the resources that they need to help their young people really ease into the high school environment and succeed as students. and that program has been around for eight, nine years. really strong results in terms of kids that participate, what tri -- matriculating and doing well on sol tests and great

improvement and so forth. we are not at the beginning of the continuum, but also doing work in the elementary school, after school and high school. >> i want to talk more in a bit, dr. sherman, about the positive results you are seeing in so a lot of the testing, but you raised parents and talk about the critical role and how important it is for parents to be working side by side with the teachers in the schools in this and be really involved. >> it's integral. i mean, you don't get results with kids without finding ways to build relationships with parents. while many parents may be involved in working multiple jobs and are challenged with issues around employment, housing and so forth, it really is critical that schools as well as the services we're providing are finding creative ways to connect with those families so that they're able to really tap into and support their young people. it's not -- it's not an easy process, but having the staff capacity to really reach out this week as a matter of fact, many of our staff are involved in providing home visits to families. they're actually going out to

visit with parents that are going to be enrolling in our early childhood education programs because it's critical that at this early stage those families understand you're not just coming to drop your child off at a center that's located at one of the schools, but we're working together to help support getting kids ready for schools. so reaching out and participating in home visits is one of the ways in which we try to do that. >> interesting.

i'm angie goff. here are some of the stories we are following this morning. more than 300,000 people in arkansas, louisiana are without power this morning. thousands are working to restore service in the gulf coast. louisiana's main power company energy says -- energy company says crews from around the country working as fast as possible.

police are looking for the man who shot a clerk at a gas station in prince georges county. the shooting happened last night at the tiger mart exxon gas station in laurel. the man was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the arm. and tonight the national symphony orchestra is performing its annual labor day concert. they'll play patriotic classics. it begins at 8:00. we'll have more news in 15 minutes. now back to viewpoint. >> welcome back to viewpoint. we have been talking about back to school, and dr. sherman, let's begin this segment with results and you guys have seen some pretty amazing results particularly in reading and a.p. testing. >> let's start with the a.p. results. it's the culminating tests at the high school and we set a goal to increase the scores and we monitor that very closely. this past senior class that just

graduated, 39% of all the students took an a.p. test, took an a.p. course. that's remarkable. it is double over what it was in 2005. in fact, when we look across the whole high school last year we are getting close to 40% of the students taking a.p. exams and you will think, oh, more kids are participating, scores must be going down. the opposite is true. our kids are succeeding and they're doing well. and part of this national argument, if you put more kids -- are they prepared for the sorts of exams we are finding they're prepared. they're doing well. and breaking down some of the traditional barriers. it's not just our black kids taking these courses. we're get act lot of latino kids and kids who are succeeding. our reading scores have gone down for a couple of years. overall, the school division, we wish the scores were higher. but of the six grade levels, we saw good results in four of them. seventh grade reading we monitor real closely because that's

middle school and this he's the gateway to success in high school. we think we've turned the corner. math scores across virginia went down. there's articles in "the washington post," articles all over the place about how virginia is setting the bar or not setting the bar in an equal way for all of the students on math tests. so the state came up with a brand new assessment. and we as with many of the school distributions have not fared nearly as well as we had hoped. however, within that statement there are schools that are doing exceedingly well. one of our poorest elementary schools that dr. henson talked about before had a 95% pass rate in fifth grade math. >> wow. >> with over 80% poverty, with very few whites in the school we are seeing results across the school division. still in pockets where we put our attention and put our great teachers. so we are very optimistic as we start this school year.

not all of the results are where they should be, when we compare it to arlington and fairfax. we have lagged behind for 20 years or more, but we'll catch up. this is the year to watch -- >> and it's moving in the right direction. >> it's moving in the right direction. >> outside of school, particularly with respect to reading, how does your organization help improve those scores? what can parents and others do in terms of tutoring to help children learn to read? >> sure. as a part of our after school program in the elementary schools, we contract with paid tutors that come in and work in groups and one-on-one with children in the areas of both reading and math. so our after school program is designing enrichment opportunities and helping them to develop socially. academics are certainly important, but we're making sure where help is needed on the academic front that students can have access to tutors to support

them. >> a lot of exciting things going on at tc williams. tell us about the satellite campus that you're launching. >> we're really excited about it. these are just new opportunities to look at how do you meet the needs of our students? what we know is that one size does not fit all. we are launching this september, this start of school year a new satellite campus. tc satellite, nontraditional. it is in landmark mall. it is hybrid in that the course work and the curriculum is online with certified teachers that are there to support the student. it is learner directed, learner paced. it's a 21st century classroom completely flipped when you look at the fact that the students are directing the needs of where they are and they're moving at the pace. so are there because they want to accelerate faster. and move through high school. others because of when we talk about the demographics of our students. many of our students have jobs, need to work. they have the opportunity to

schedule when they are there. the school is open, the satellite campus is open from 8:00 to 8:00 in the evening, 9:00 to 12:00 on saturdays. students are scheduled to get it done so we are looking at what does it take to help meet those needs, to get out of the way of students getting their high school diploma. much of what we saw was the constraints we had put in place were impacting why students were having to drop out of school were not complete. so we're looking forward to that. that is one of the innovative things that we will be launching this year. in addition to the fact that we actually launched what are called face centers. family community engagement centers. how do we keep our family and community engaged with us? there are six centers across the city. some are school-based. some are partner based. and those are ways that families have workshops for families. those are after school

programming for students. we have a great partnership, and we have a host of other great partners within the community that are also working with us on tutoring and after school programming like brent place and community lodgings and atc and higher achievement. it's a way of organizing and thinking about how do you support these families that need additional support? parents who say i want to better understand how i can help my child. that's no book. nobody was born with a book on how to do that. our face centers are a way to support that students have that opportunity to extend their day and to get additional support if they need it to be really successive. we are looking at creative ways to get ahead of the curve as dr. sherman talked about to ensure we are moving away and creating an equitable opportunity for our students to succeed. >> so many opportunities and options. >> yes. >> online how many doors does it

open? >> a lot of doors. >> we want to share our web address when we come back. we'll share the web address for alexandria city public schools on viewpoint. stick around.

welcome back to viewpoint. we're again talking about the school system and the city of alexandria. and i want to get to the uniqueness of the city and the system, but first, if we can, dr. sherman, talk about this concept of transformation. with respect to tc williams and actually in a couple of other schools as well. >> couple of years ago, tc williams was listed as a persistently lowest achieving school, the department of public education picked out some schools that were not doing well.

tc williams was one of the schools and i'm pleased to tell you we've turned it around. it was not only a structural piece, but how they believe and love the students they teach and about the goals that we have established. in fact, last year in jay matthews challenge index, tc williams was listed among the top 4% of all schools in high school. it builds on the great traditions. it's not that we did it quickly by ourselves, but with many general r generations of folks. so we've used that same model. and the elementary school they opened august 31 and they had special approval to open before labor day. students and teachers are responsible for their own learning. >> you had talked about the uniqueness of alexandria. its population makeup, a number of children in school and a number of people who don't have children in the school in the city. talk about that relationship if you would, between the community

and the school system. >> sure. i mean, i think the fact i'm here this morning speaks to the commitment that lives in the city, around having schools work together with the community based organizations along with the city of alexandria. there's a very tight web of support and resources that live in the city that are motivated to want to get together and focus on how we can improve things for children. we recently created a new commission or city council has approved a new commission, the collaborative commission on children, youth and families. i have been privileged to serve as the first chair of the commission an a big piece of the work this year is going to work on establishing a youth master plan that's going to articulate what the city wishes to see happen for all children. not just children being served in the alexandria city public schools, but all children because the community is committed to really being a place where families and

children can come, grow, live and thrive. >> dr. henson, the last word on this uniqueness. >> yes. alexandria is a very unique, urban community in the suburban environment in that in alexandria only 12% of the families actually have school-age children. and within that though, we talk about acps, we actually education 92% of all school-age children. so when you're talking about children and youth in alexandria, really the schools are vital, very real role. there are not a lot of other options that most families are choosing with that and that gives us the really versety and really some of our challenges, and some of our great opportunities. this is a great place to work and learn, but it's a daunting place many days as well. >> congratulations on your successful programs and we wish you a successful school year. >> thank you. >> thanks so much for coming in. >> thank you. >> thank you for joining us on

viewpoint this sunday morning. enjoy the rest of your weekend, everybody. hi, good morning. welcome to news4 today. i'm angie goff. >> i'm erica gonzalez. it's september 2, 2012. if your labor day weekend plans involve driving, be sure to take it easy on the roads because we have a lot of rain in the forecast. which means dangerous driving conditions, not just for today, but next couple of days. >> you want to factor in some extra minutes and factor in that umbrella somewhere in your plans if you plan on heading out or perhaps even to the nationals game. storm 4 meteorologist kim m martucci has the forecast. >> i think the best time of day

is now until about 11:00 or noon. after that, quickly going down hill. let's look at the numbers first. 73 in college park. it's 72 at dulles and 76 inside the beltway, d.c. there are a couple of rounds of showers. light stuff down towards fredericksburg at the moment. oh, right south of route 17 and pushing over spotsylvania. if we expand the view, tropical rains coming in from west virginia. that'll be moving our way today. so again, between now and about 11:00 i think we're good. we're climbing to 84 by 1:00. rain and storms likely this afternoon. more to come about the labor day forecast when i see you guys in a bit. >> thanks, kim. as the remnants of isaac move our way, the system is spawning several tornadoes. one apparent twister caused extensive damage at a small

airport in arkansas yesterday. strong winds tore off roofs. look at that. walls of several hangars and pushed planes around like they were toys. isaac has produced 39 twisters since making landfall. but a tropical storm system only averages 18. you can see the difference there. many in the gulf coast are complaining about how long it's taking to get the lights back on after isaac. more than 300,000 people in louisiana, arkansas, they're still without power. utility crews are work, to restore the service. the crews from around the country are working as fast as possible. the slow-moving hurricane knocked out power to almost a million homes. now to decision 2012. a special election is on tap for virginia. voters will vote to replace 45th

district representative david i think lin. he resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair. the polls are open tuesday from 6:00 in the morning to 7:00 p.m. new polls show that mitt romney has a slight edge over president obama. e rasmussen reports survey shows the gop presidential contender ahead of president obama 47-44%. just five days ago the two were tied in this poll. a similar shift happened in battle ground states. the poll voters show romney and president obama are tied. the same poll showed the president leading by four points five days ago. the republican national convention could explain the h is typical when the event wraps up. and with the democrats ready to take the stage in charlotte, will the president see the polls shift back in his favor? "meet the press" moderator david gregory joined us earlier today and he said the conventions won't give either candidate an

advantage. >> you expect to get some reaction or a bump from a convention, but because the democrats follow the republicans right away there's not much time for that to be absorbed in the race. so you'll see both conventions, both of had the big moment. then the race gets back to even. by the end of september, then you get a better sense of where the race is and then you go into those critical presidential debates. >> and it is a very busy day on "meet the press." david welcomes former obama chief of staff and current chicago mayor rahm emanuel. it's a packed roundtable including newt gingrich and nbc news' tom brokaw. you can catch "meet the press" right here on nbc4 at 10:30. today as the democratic delegates arrive in charlotte for the dnc, protesters plan to march. they're drawing attention to unemployment. the demonstration will focus on economic inquality, social

injustice and other issues. remember, stay with news4 for complete coverage of the democratic national convention in charlotte. jim vance and tom sherwood will report live from the convention beginning tonight at news4 at 11:00. in the week ahead, a former campaign aide to d.c. mayor vincent gray will be back in court. thomas gore is due in court tuesday. a judge could set his sentencing date at that time. he faces 12 to 18 months in prison. he pleaded guilty to felony lying and destruction of evidence. he pleaded guilty as part of an on going federal investigation into gray's 2010 election campaign. the mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing. drivers in d.c., your grace period is over. starting tomorrow, 11 newly installed speed cameras will start handing out tickets. fines range from $75 to $250. some of the new camera locations

include 17th street northeast and massachusetts avenue southeast. and guess what? summer is over. expect delays on terrible traffic tuesday when millions of drivers return to work and school, clogging the roads. aaa reports roughly 3 million workers will commute in the metro area. 750,000 students will hit the road. with more than 5,600 buses driving them. drivers in arlington county are seeing green on the roads. it has nothing to to with money. five bike lanes in the county are getting a makeover. they're being painted green to keep the cyclists safe. the green lanes will get a rumble strip to alert drivers to the cyclists. county officials say this is to make sure drivers are aware of the bikers and to prevent accidents. they have added that more bike lanes might be going green next year. and today you can expect delays on metro because of track work.

red line trains will single track between rhode island avenue and fort tauten. on the orange line, sharing traffic between the armory and then on the blue line, single tracking between arlington and foggy bottom. tomorrow, service is not going to return to normal until tuesday morning. watch out for that. today marks an important day in u.s. and world history. today is the anniversary of vj day. japan officially surrendered to the allies in world war ii. the national park services planned a ceremony at the world war ii memorial on the national mall. the u.s. marine corps brass quintet will perform. all right, coming up the labor day tradition changing for the first time in decades. plus, linen, appliances, cars, just when is the best time to get the best deals? liz crenshaw has the answers next.

what are your fun plans this labor day weekend? i hope the rain didn't stop them too much. we're on twitter and facebook throughout the morning. just search news4 today and just search news4 today and we're he's made his choice.

but what choices will women be left with? just like mitt romney, paul ryan would get rid of planned parenthood funding. in congress, ryan voted to ban all federal funding for planned parenthood and allow employers to deny women access to cancer screenings and birth control. and both romney and ryan backed proposals to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest. for women... for president... the choice is ours. i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.

bargain shopper, you can get some great deals on this labor day weekend. retailers will offer end of the season deals on the merchandise. if you're in the market for a grill, patio furniture or gardening supplies you should see plenty of markdowns. going after a good sale, it's a no-brainer, but what if you knew in advance the best time to buy? there's substantial savings when you know the different times of the year to buy different things. news4's liz crenshaw reports. >> if they want to clear out the old before they bring in the new. >> it's the reason that he says that you can get deep discounts on just about everything. but you have to know what to buy when. >> for most products there's a cycle that's, you know, once a

year, sometimes twice a year. >> let's start with appliances. the best bets are labor day weekend. >> the new models come out in the fall. september and october. so labor day is a great time to shop for a major appliance. >> looking for the best deal on a gym membership? don't wait for the new year. consider joining in june or july. >> about june, if you go to the gym regularly, you notice the traffic has died down considerably. so they do promotions. >> in the market for a new car? the best time to buy? >> late summerall the way through christmas. >> start car shopping in august and you'll find deals through december. >> i once bought a car on christmas eve and got a fantastic deal. and they wanted me out of that dealership. >> when it comes to finding deals on furniture, try two times a year -- january and july. >> because new furniture comes out in february and also in

august. again, they're moving the economy. they're producing new things, so they want to clear out these, you know, pieces of furniture before the new shipment arrives. >> want to get away? cruise lines have a waive season. >> january and march. if you book then you'll be offered discounts of 25% or more. >> book january through march and set out to sea in the summer. when it comes to airfare, it depends on the day of the week. research shows tuesday afternoons at 3:00 is the best time to book. the cheapest day to fly is wednesday. >> it's middle of the week. business travelers have travelled early in the week, later in the week. vacationers are going out for the weekend. >> want a new tv? the top time to buy is february right after the super bowl. >> new tvs come out generally in march. so february following the super

bowl is a good time to buy. time is money, so put in a little bit of time and you can get a pretty big payoff. >> and that was liz crenshaw reporting. you can find more deals on nbcwashington.com. search when to buy because that was a lot to take in. >> i was surprised that even a lot of the shopping centers were having huge sales during the week. so you were getting labor day sales and advantages on a tuesday, so you can avoid the crowds on the weekend which is a good thing. >> ladies, all the summer dresses are going on sale too. >> i know. >> it's still hot so you can still wear them. >> you can buy them and maintain your size, they're good for next year. >> through all that turkey and stuffing. >> well, erica, what's coming up? >> talking about food. let's talk about school. because students are gearing up to head back to school tuesday if they haven't already. and some families are taking advantage of online gift

registries. these websites let students make a list of what they need for schools so friends and family can help them out. like a baby registry. but for school supplies. myregistry.com takes the guessing out of gift giving. that helps to assure that the student gets something they really need. i mean -- >> it makes sense. >> yeah. i don't know. >> so many teachers now are forced to buy their own supplies and they can't accommodate everybody that needs an extra tool or two. >> aunts and uncles giving the kids a few bucks. >> i wonder if you can register for cash. register for cash. >> i think you can do that at a bank. we'll see. >> well, the "today" show is coming up at 8:00. >> let's get a preview from jenna wolfe. >> hey, guys. i was wondering the same thing about registering for cash. coming up on a sunday morning

new details are out on the raid that killed osama bin laden. excerpts from a former navy s.e.a.l. involved in the mission have bn leaked and we're learning how close the mission came to failing. we'll have much more on that. also ahead, why are so many celebrities willing to gain or lose significant amounts of weight for a movie role? matthew mcconaughey the latest to put his health at risk for an upcoming film. plus, prince harry is ready to make his first public appearance since those nude photos emerged. a woman who claims she partied with him speaks out. we'll live to london. then have you wondered what it's like to be a mermaid? we'll take the plunge? i spent some time at a mermaid camp to learn how to be a siren of the sea. it looks like fun and games, but it was very challenging. not that graceful.

we'll have much more when lester and get it started. have you ever thought of that? >> i went to the underwater show. texas used to have an underwater show like that. i imagine when you get out of the walk, how do you walk with those things? >> you don't do any walking. imagine swimming with your legs bound. it's a lot harder than you think. i'm a swimmer. it was very hard. they come off immediately. you don't go shopping or through your daily errands. i learned the hard way. >> yes, i'm trying to imagine the scene of a mermaid. looking for star exist. >> you'll need your fins for today, because we have a soaker. today, because we have a soaker. >> i've got

anncr: it'll start out as concrete and steel... but it'll become so much more. a new world-class resort casino in prince george's county. two thousand construction jobs to build it. four thousand permanent, good-paying jobs when it's done. hundreds of millions for maryland schools... real oversight to make sure the money goes... where it's supposed to. but none of it will happen unless we vote for... question seven this november. vote for question seven. and help build a better future for maryland.

welcome back, everybody. so a lot of events going on around the area today. >> yes. like the national symphony -- my goodness, orchestra playing on the west lawn. the concert is at 8:00, but the backup plan this is what you need know. should the bad weather happen, it will be the kennedy center's eisenhower theater. >> you said that's a walk. >> yeah. have your poncho ready to go and the umbrella and all that stuff. and mapquest the two. so you know how to get from point a to point b. i think we'll be having some rain. and thanks to cheryl for the follow on twitter. nice to have you watching from frederick. good morning. we have cloudy skies and we are going to have some rain today for sure. right now, it is 76 and that humidity is 87%. and the rain is going to be in

and around the area, oh, my. there are those 70s out there. 69 in martinsburg. 77 at fredericksburg. as for the nats game, playing the cardinals at 1:35. i do think some rain delays are going to be possible for the folks there. so rain ponchos also needed if you're headed out to the nats game this afternoon. go nats if you get the game in. here are the showers. abundant, especially off to the west. a few down to the south, over fredericksburg at the moment. they're very light. but this batch off to the west is heavier. we have some tropical downpours associated with these moving in from west virginia. right now over kaiser. and right along route 50, caper bridge, a really good mexican restaurant. a hole in the wall, but totally yum. you'll get wet in the next 15 minutes. looks like for the folks over in front royal, also in line for

the showers. yes, this is part of the remnants. tropical downpours embedded in these. because we have a stationery front on top, it will live up to its name. so because it's parked nearby over the next four days-plus, we'll have a way to ring out the atmosphere of the tropical showers. that's why every day for the next four or five has some wet weather attached to them. to recap it, at any given point we'll have the rain especially this afternoon. later this evening there will be some storms around, 74 to 77. easing into the next several days looks like a rainy go of things, everybody. i think your labor day is pretty much going to be a washout. then scattered showers as we head through the rest of the week. thursday is better. not completely dry. friday is mostly sunny and my pick of the week. so yeah, if you keep your umbrella nearby you should be all right for next couple of days. that's the moral of the story.

>> we do want to mention that the change of plans for the symphony if it does get rained out is at the eisenhower theater. not the kennedy. >> it says we'll move to the kennedy center in the eisenhower theater. >> okay. >> look it up. >> thanks, kim. >> you bet. well, today, thousands will fulfill their need for speed in baltimore. some of the best drivers in the world will hit the streets for the second annual grand prix of baltimore. this the from last year's event. drivers will race around a two-mile track hoping to capture the big title. this great new race was almost cancelled as last year's promoters left the city with millions of dollars in unpaid bills. but a sports marketing firm ensured this race will be even better than last year's. something to look forward to. >> big bucks there. >> well, in sports as well, a wild finish between the gnats and the cardinals.

>> the terps hit the field for the start of college football. carol maloney has sports in a minute. >> good morning, everyone. i'm carol maloney. we start with baseball. cardinals/nationals, game three of the set. this one goes into the ninth, tied at nine until david freese hits an rbi single off drew storen and that wins it for the cards. stephen strasburg takes the mound today at 1:35. to college football, randy ed sell and the terps playing host to william & mary. tribe led 6-0 until the terps find the end zone. a six-yard touchdown for justice picket. and that was all it would take as maryland picks up the victory 7-6. navy traveling across the pond to dublin, ireland, to take on who else the fighting irish of notre dame. a big day for notre dame. team rushed 293 yards against navy. they cruised to beat the

midshipm midshipmen, 50-10. in other football news, the virginia cavaliers howard bison and the west virginia mountaineers they all picked up victories. lightning delayed the start of the dc united game by an hour last night but the united probably wished there was no game at all, they felt to salt lake city 1-0. tonight kicks off the muscular dystrophy telethon and it will be very different than fund-raisers in the past. for the second straight year, jerry lewis will not host the event. it was cut down from six hours to three and renamed mda show our strength. the event's location is different as well. instead of being held out in las vegas, it was taped in los angeles, new york and nashville. over the years the telethon raised more than $1.6 billion

for muscular dystrophy relief. and that's going to wrap it up for news4 today. we'll be back in 25 minutes with the local news update. join us at 9:00 for a full hour of news. until then, have a great day. grab the umbrella, right, kim? >> don't leave home without it. >> connect us with online. you can follow us on twitter and facebook. search nbc washington. make it a good one, everyone.