welcome to your weekend. after a beautiful day yesterday, the clouds have snuck in overnight. we're going to see a little rain here today. even though we're off to a dry start. still, 78 degrees already in washington. and tons of humidity in the air as well. dew points are in the low 70s. extra humid this morning. no rain locally. rain drops in central maryland and west virginia in elkins and morgantown right now. these showers are about four hours away. that puts it in here at noon or 1:00. thickening clouds this morning showers and thunderstorms arriving around noon time. some of those will be severe. we'll keep an eye on that. tomorrow noticeably better, clearer, drier. cavaliers taking on penn state. a noon kickoff. you need to get on the road soon

if you're going to make the game. 80% chance of rain before the game is done. they have to worry about thunderstorms in wahooville. demath ta catholic high school is trying to move on from a scandal. they defeated cal vert hall 23-14, but they did so without five of their players. five students withdrew after accusations they hired prostitutes. the students reportedly hired the prostitutes from a website and snuck them in after team chaperones completed final room checks. >> i think that's something that clearly is illegal should not be accepted. >> almost mind boggling for them to do it knowing chaperones, coaches, whatever, are nearby. it's kind of crazy and just maybe a little out of control.

>> the students were set to be expelled from the school yesterday, but they decided to voluntarily withdraw instead. a d.c. police captain is facing assault charges accused of attacking his wife. court reports show captain lamar west and his wife were arguing in the back seat of a moving car around 3:00 in the morning on monday in upper marlboro. the documents say he started to choke her and the driver and another passenger had to hold him down until police arrived. west is charged with second degree assault. police have not commented on his status with the department. d.c. police are asking your help to find a man who sexually assaulted a woman in northeast. take a look at this come posit sketch of what the man may look like. he is described as a black man between the ages of 15 and 22 and he was last seen wearing a

white polo shirt with green and blue stripes and tan pants. the husband of a former falls church mayor convicted of sexually abusing two young girls who spend the next two decades behind bars. michael gardner was sentenced to prison for touching girls at a slumber party last year. gardner maintained his innocence in court saying he's been falsely accused and wrongfully convicted. parents of the victims who we are not identifying because of the nature of the crime say they're disappointed that gardner isn't accepting responsibility. >> i don't think he has the ability within himself to admit what he truly is. >> gardner's wife, former falls church mayor robin gardner, says she believes her husband is innocent and will stand by him. gardner is planning to appeal. mexican federal police have arrested a man they believe was involved in the killing of aus border patrol agent. police charge jesus mesa for kill brian terry in 2010 during

the botched gun smuggling probe known as operation fast and furious. officers found guns at the scene connected to the operation fast and furious, a plan to bust high level traffickers. terry was killed during a shoot-out in arizona. a major traffic alert this morning for metro riders getting through the city could be a nightmare. seven stations are without red line service all weekend long. derek ward is live at the dupont station this morning where passengers will be catching buses instead of trains. good morning. >> reporter: indeed they will. gorm. we're here on 20th street. this second that runs through dupont circle. the 1500 block is usually the scene of a farmer's market this weekend but it has given over to shuttle service as metro works around these closings. here's what's going on. this is as far south as you can get on the red line strictly going by rail. it's suspended between dupont circle and the noma gallaudet

stations. shuttle buss will be waiting to help you continue on. from here north rail service will continue with trains running at ten-minute intervals between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. and the regular weekend schedule on the other hours. some of these shuttle buses will replicate rail service stopping at each of the stations. that ride will take you 50 minutes longer. others will continue to key points within the work zone like dupont circle, gallaudet. the key thing to remember is there will be no red line service through metro central or gallery. >> contractors are coming in to install cable that's basically very thick co-ax cable through the tunnel walls to provide seamless coverage in the months

ahead. >> reporter: so technology marches on and marches right through the tunnels. on the orange line, for instance, there will be single tracking through west falls church stations and yellow line will be terminating at the mount vernon station not going on towards ft. totten as it usually does. so the key thing to remember is if you're taking public transportation today, add some time. we talked to one gentleman who is heading to the airport. of course he's going to add time because you don't want to miss a plane. reasons to come into town, the nats came. just remember there's disruption this weekend. it will be over when service resumes on monday morning. we're live at dupont circle, derek ward, news 4. drivers in virginia will find much needed relief on the roads today. two new ramps open today connecting the eastbound dulles access road to the beltway's inner and outer loops. this is a look from chopper 4. drivers on the access road used

to have to cross several lanes to exit on to the beltway causing major traffic headaches. the ramps were built as part of the beltway express lanes project. with decision 2012's tickets set, the candidate are back on the campaign trail this morning. president obama is taking a bus tour through florida this weekend. he'll start in st. petersburg before traveling to kissimmee later today. he will also make stops in melbourne and west palm beach tomorrow before heading back to the white house. meanwhile, republican nominee mitt romney will be in our backyard again today. he plans to hold a rally this afternoon at the military aviation museum in virginia beach. then tonight, he will make a pit stop in richmond. that's where he will help start tonight's federated auto parts 400 nascar race at the richmond international raceway. his wife ann just made a stop in virginia yesterday to speak to women in leesburg. mitt romney will be on "meet the press" with david gregory.

good news for a member of congress this morning. jesse jackson jr. will soon return to work after being treated for bipolar disorder. jackson left the district in june after collapsing at his home here. his doctors revealed he went to the mayo clinic in minnesota for treatment. one of jackson's aides says he could be back to work as early as monday. he's up for re-election this november. this is the type of story every garage sale or flea market fan dreams of, paying pennies for an item, then finding out it's worth major bucks. that's what happened to a virginia woman. the anonymous owner bought this painting at a flea market in the shenandoah valley more than a year ago. she said she liked the frame and plunked down $7 for it. the painting is an authentic renoir worth $100,000. the woman said she was just going to take the picture out of the frame and replace it. >> the lady brought it in in a plastic bag. but when i told her it was

right, she actually was taken to the side by a colleague because she nearly passed out. >> can you blame her? art historians believe renoir painted this piece in 1879. it will be auctioned off at the potomac company in alexandria later this month. >> good for the person who bought it but what about the person who sold it for seven bucks. >> but the anonymous owner said i'm not going to keep my hands on this because i'm too scared. >> i couldn't agree with her more. still ahead on news 4 today -- >> now is your chance to proteblt your identity and get rid of some of that clutter all for free. parents traveling with kids may want to take note of what one mom did when she took her twins on a packed flight. [ male announcer ] the magic of nature appears every day,

within each strand of an oat's ythmical sway. when an apple's vibrant red temptation, and honey's sweet touch of golden sensation, join together with a pecan crunch you'll savor, creating the most perfect lesson in flavor. ♪ nature's best-written recipe is ready for you to enjoy.

nature valley, nature at its most delicious. now try our new crunchy dark chocolate peanut butter bar. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? yes, ma'am. 100 calories. yea...i'm gonna need some proof. we get that a lot... let me put you on webcan... see? hearty vegetables... lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth that tastes indulgent -- but isn't...

so feel free to enjoy a bowl anytime. mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. this president can tell us it was someone else's fault. but this president cannot tell us that you're better off today than when he took office. [ female announcer ] here in virginia, we're not better off under president obama. his defense cuts threaten over one hundred thirty thousand jobs, lowering home values, putting families at risk. the romney plan? tax cuts for middle class families. north american energy independence. create over three hundred forty thousand new jobs for virginia. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approved this message.

you're watching news 4 today. welcome back. if you've got a pile of junk mail or old bills you want to get rid of, today is the day. >> that's right. today you can get rid of all that clutter for free with the nbcwashington pnc bank community shred in largo. it goes until 11:00 this morning. right now let's head out to largo. we've got richard bynum, vice president of pnc bank, joining us this morning along with sam weinkoop. >> good morning, we're doing fine. >> tell us about the crowds so far. you started just over an hour ago. how many people are showing up. >> we've got a nice crowd but lines are moving well and people are coming in and out at a pretty good clip. if you get in line by 11:30, you should be in good shape. >> we've done this a few times already. any advice for people headed out there for the first time ready

to shred it? >> no real advice. we want to make sure folks get so many papers today with their identity on them and there's a safeguarding issue obviously with that information. so just want to make sure you put it in five boxes, you put it in your car, you know, be ready for a little bit of a line because we've got a lot of people that have that situation and come on out and relax and move you through the line as quickly as possible. >> we know you guys sometimes find unusual things, some people bring more than just five boxes at times. anything out of the ordinary so far? >> you know, i haven't heard about anything today. certainly we've got stories over the history of the time we've been doing this. but right now things are moving pretty smoothly. people are happy to be here. i'm getting a lot of waves on camera right now. i think things are going well. >> do we have any idea how much fraud is avoided by shredding h these documents. >> i'm sorry, i couldn't understand you. >> do we have any idea how much fraud is avoided by taking the time to do something like this

today? >> i'm sorry, aapologize. >> it's really windy out there. no worries. >> we're wondering the impact that shredding really caused, if you guys have been able to estimate just how many people have avoided identity theft because they shred their paperwork. >> i can respond. >> sure, that would be great. >> we have -- we'll probably have 2,000 cars that will show up here. we had it as high as 6,000 a couple of years ago, so just the cardboard alone we'll get over 60 tons. there's a lot that's diverted out of the normal waste stream and into the recycles. >> that's sam weinkoop and richard bynum out there. that will be going on till 11:00. >> got a little bit of a weather report in there, you could hear the wind blowing and you see

people in long sleeves. >> hold on to those papers, they'll be flying out of your hands before you know it. >> bring a paperweight. here is a story the internet can't get enough of. a couple flew across the country with newborn twins. they were disturbed that the kids might disturb other flyerses. the mom handed out goodie bags, candy, earplugs and a note from the twins apologizing. one passenger posted the picture of the goodie bag online. this story has gone global. we're talking millions of views here. today is the return flight home. the mom says more goodie bags could be in store. and this is just lighting up online. >> giving you any ideas? >> yeah, i don't know why i didn't think of this. i might buy a round of drinks for everybody on the plane. but this is heighting up our washington facebook page. norman copeland says they do still live! i had heard this type of consideration for others was extinct. awesome, mom.

>> maggie morrison says today i will try and be more considerate of others. pay it forward. start the trend toward being nice to others on a daily basis. such a simple concept that escapes us all too often. >> karen says she's tried something before. i've bought a round of drinks for people around me when my squirmy son was 17 months. here i thought i was being creative. >> once the crying gets going. >> i'm that parent that even though she's yelling because we have to put the ipad away on the descent. your poor ears, baby, so people think she's just having the ear situation. >> she's just trying to trick everybody. now you know for the next time. >> i feel terrible. >> the time right now is 9:17. coming up stephen strasburg pitched his last home game of the season. chuck bell will tell us when

[ fingers tapping ] [ rain pattering ] [ heels clicking ] [ female announcer ] yoplait light tastes great now... ♪ ...and feels great later

20 delicious flavors of yoplait light, now at 90 calories each. yoplait, it is so good!

check out the weather now. >> yeah. unfortunately, just in time for the weekend. >> rainfall. >> the rain is coming when we don't really want it all that much. still behind in rainfall for the year and rain is in the forecast. of course it's coming on your saturday. no one is really all that happy about that. >> a lot of events today. >> a lot of events. hopefully your events that you have planned to do today have some sort of indoor backup plan ready to go. if you're heading down to the nats game, that may be a little tricky down there. a struggle to get the game all the way through nine innings without any rain delays. be ready for that. >> you should go cheer on the home team. at least there are places to seek some shelter down there at nats ballpark. for us in washington, we have a mostly cloudy sky. there are plenty of blue patches starting to become more and more visible now. those blue patches will allow a lot more sunshine through and as a result temperatures which are near 80 now with dew points in

the low 70s. highs today well into the low and upper 80s. fredericksburg might touch 90 degrees. winds out of the south. that southerly breeze will keep the warm, humid air streaming into the area. clouding thickening this morning. storms arriving early this afternoon, especially for you folks out to i-81. storms all the way through 6:00 this evening. the yellow shading here, that's a slight risk for severe weather. and the orange shading here, eastern pennsylvania, new jersey, that's aed moderate rick for severe weather today. traveling northbound, airport delays possible today, philadelphia, new york city and boston later on in the day. there it is on radar for now. these rain showers are moving eastbound. they're not moving all that quickly just yet, but it's already raining in morgantown, west virginia, and elkins, west virginia. this is all going to be long i-81, so if you're going to charlottesville for the uva game or blacksburg for the tech game,

you will need the rain gear just the play it safe today. i wouldn't be surprised to see some thunderstorm delays at some of these outdoor events later on today. so a stormy day, breaks of sunshine late morning will destabilize things very quickly today. out ahead of a weather front which should be crossing through the area long before sundown this evening. ahead of that will be the chances for strong to severe thunderstorms. good news is once the front's out of here beautiful september weather coming our way for tomorrow and it goes all the way through the upcoming week. for today, mostly cloudy, showers and thunderstorms likely. some could be strng to severe. keep a weather eye to the sky. the first round of thunder, that's your key to get inside and stay safe. tomorrow no need to wore be the weather. some clouds around then turning gorgeous. that's the beginning of a very nice stretch of weather that will take us all the way through the upcoming week. in fact, there might even be a few 40s in the mountains of west virginia a couple of mornings, special monday/tuesday time

frame. college football forecast alabama taking on the feared hilltopper of western kentucky down in tuscaloosa today. a 70% chance of rain during the game. and michigan. they're back. the request for the michigan game. one of the regular ones. air force academy in ann arbor today. only a 30% chance of passing showers there today but breezy and perfect michigan-like football weather up there. we'll have more of your college football games coming up next half hour and apparently between 10 and 10:30 as well. >> excellent. also with sports stephen strasburg's last home start is a short one. >> carol ma money has your morning sports minute. stephen strasburg on the mound for the nats in what's to be his last home start. things did not go well for

strauss. his arm might mott have been on, but bryce harper's was. throwing a laser from center. greg dobbs out at the plate. to baltimore, orioles coming off a win against the yankees but couldn't get done in game two of the series. yankees belt three home runs. birds fall 8-5. now a game back in the a.l. east. to football, redskins kicking things off against the saints tomorrow. and new orleans will get a couple players back. an appeals panel overturned the suspensions for four players involved in the bounty-gate scandal. two are still with the team. jonathan vilma won't play sunday because of a knee injury but the saint best pass rusher will smith expected to see the field against the skins. yet another element robert griffin iii will have to prepare for in his regular season debut. and that's your sports minute. i'm carol maloney, have a great day. carol, thanks. bieber fever is coming to the nation's capital.

♪ baby, baby, baby, oh >> that will get you moving this morning. he's getting ready to rock november 5th. and we have tickets, four seats up to see the biebs. watch news 4 at 4:00 on monday and all next week to get the secret word. then enter our justin bieber ticket sweepstakes. go to the nbcwashington facebook page, like us and enter the secret word to register for a chance to win those tickets. that's all next week on news 4 at 4:00. >> oh, boy. >> employees can't ener, richard. >> that's okay. i'm not a teenaged girl. i'll be fine. a quick programming note. later today there will be no news 4 at 6:00 tonight so we can bring you coverage of the third round of the bmw championship starting at noon. then at 3:30, a college football

matchup between notre dame and the purdue boilermakers. then redskins showtime. again no news 4 at 6:00 tonight. time right now, 9:26 coming up. don't be late. metro shut down several metro stations this weekend. so many components of his life experience that have prepared him for this moment. >> news 4 sits down with ann romney, the wife of mitt romney.

good morning, everyone. welcome to news 4 today. i'm angie goff. >> i'm richard jordan. it is saturday, september 8th, 2012. time right now to check on our day's forecast. we knew it was coming, the rain, we've been talking about it all morning long.

>> you might want to run outside before it's too late. chuck bell is on the storm 4 weather deck. >> good morning to you guys once again. good morning, everybody. what a beautiful day it is outside. sort of reminds me of that old neil diamond song "september morn." outside overhead a lot of blue sky do i see first thing this morning. this is not going to help things for later on today. the more sunshine we get, the warmer we'll get and as a result of the higher temperatures later this afternoon strong to severe thunderstorms are definitely in the offing for later today. keep a weather eye to the sky. current temperatures upper 70s pushing 80 already in downtown washington. there's storm 4 radar. nearest raindrops to us are now in western maryland heading towards west virginia. that's a whole lot of rain coming our way. three to four hours away from the western sides of the d.c. metro. any time after noontime, that's when showers and thunderstorms will start to bubble up. thanks to the sunshine we'll be

in the mid to upper 80s for today. if you don't like the humid thunderstormer chances for today, tomorrow clearing out fast turning clear and fresh. if you're headed out for the game in piscataway, new jersey. howard university on the road at the state university in new jersey in piscataway. 84 degrees with a chance of rain storms. christopher in newport is heading down to hampton city, virginia, taking them on this afternoon. a 1:00 kickoff. 70% chance of rain showers before that game is done. more of your college football forecasts, we'll even talk about the nats, too, i'm worried about that game as well. >> chuck, thanks. in the news, dematha catholic high school is still dealing with a prosecution scandal involving five now former students. for one night the school and its fans could focus on nothing but football. the stags played their first game since this scandal. they defeat eed calvert.

they're accused of hiring prostitutes after a road game in north carolina last weekend. school officials say the students snuck the prostitutes in to the hotel after chaperones performed their last room checks of the night. a teen who pleaded guilty to killing his neighbor will spend nearly his entire adult life behind bars. 16-year-old william fitts was sentenced to the maximum 60 years in prison. he pleaded guilty to second degree murder and first degree burglary and theft charges. police say fitts admitted to stabbing thelma steele several times after they argued. he told police he returned to her home later that day and stole her purse. a d.c. pastor is vowing to continue her church's mission in spite of a brazen robbery last weekend. this happened at st. steven of the incarnation church in northwest. the video shows a thief following the man in to the church. he forced the victim to the

ground at donepoint then robbed him. the pastor says their work will not change. >> our doors will remain open. and that is our mission, and if we were ever to have to close our doors for fear, we might as well just close them forever. >> the robber made off about the victim's iphone and wallet. police are still looking for that robber. we have two major traffic alerts for you this weekend. one good, one bad. let's start off with the bad news. get it out of the way. metro could be a mess. seven stations are affected by track work on the system's busiest line and three stations are closed completely. news 4's megan mcgrath has more on the potential headaches. >> reporter: planning to ride the red line this weekend? well, think again. major track work is closing a large section of the line. instead of hopping a train, you'll be boarding a bus. >> it will impact me, it will impact me getting to work, but i

guess they have a good reason for doing so, i hope. >> reporter: no red line service between dupont circle and the noma gall audette stations through sunday. only trains to and from shady grove can use that station. the gallaudet station only open to glenmont traffic. three stations closed entirely. farragut north, judiciary square and union station. and it's only blue and orange lines for metro center at gallery place green and yellow are the only options. for those who ride the red on the weekend, it's going to be a tough one. >> probably not going to be doing anything coming this way. i was really relying on metro, and you know, weekend traffic is pretty bad so -- >> reporter: you're going to stick close to home. >> yep. kind of have to. >> a big inconvenience. we're putting a lot of money into the system. i mean, there's got to be other options. >> reporter: while inconvenient, metro says the pain will produce positive results.

newly installed fiber-optic cable will boost cell phone coverage and workers will perform needed track maintenance and third rail upgrades. now, you can hop a bus to get around the closure, but buses aren't as fast as the train, so you're advised to build some extra time into your trips this weekend. from the dupont metro station, megan mcgrath, news 4 today. there is good news on the roads. drivers in northern virginia will finally find some relief at one of the area's most congested interchanges. two new ramps open today connecting the eastbound dulles access road to the beltway's inner and outer loops. this is a look from chopper 4. drivers on the access road used to have to cross several lanes of traffic to get on to the beltway causing major traffic headaches. the ramps were built as part of the beltway express lanes project. today hillary clinton is in russia. secretary clinton will meet with russian president vladimir putin and other pacific rim leader. they're discussing russia's role in the asia-pacific region. america is considering lifting a

1974 amendment that restricted certain trade privileges for russia. it's all part of president oba' ties with russia. it's back to the campaign trail this weekend for both decision 2012 candidates. this weekend president obama will be taking a bus tour through florida. he'll start in st. petersburg before traveling to kissimmee later today. he will also make stops in melbourne and west palm beach tomorrow before heading back to the white house. >> meanwhile, mitt romney will be back in virginia today. first at virginia beach, then a nascar race in richmond. it comes a day after his wife ann made a stop in the state. the goal is to try to draw more female voters to the gop ticket. afterward she sat down for a rare interview with our own julie carey and talked about why americans should give her husband a chance to take the nation's top job. >> i really hope that americans and virginians in particular have a really serious thought and saying this guy is very

competent, he's a good person, he's done a lot of turnarounds in his life, let's give him the keys to this car and see whether he can't get this engine going. >> mrs. romney is in new hampshire this weekend campaigning for her husband. and republican presidential nominee mitt romney will be on "meet the press" with david gregory tomorrow at 10:30 right here on nbc 4. paul ryan said the government shouldn't interfere with states who want to legalize marijuana. the wisconsin congressman said that he personally doesn't approve of medical marijuana laws but he says states should have the right to legalize the drug for medical purpose. colorado is one of 17 states including the district that have legalized medical marijuana. the state department is hoping the power of food can help in diplomatic endeavors. last night the department launched a program employing famous chefs as resources for diplomacy. they're going to help prepare meals for foreign dignitaries and also take part in programs abroad. and there are some pretty big

local names you'll recognize like chefs jose andress, rock harper, and ace of cakes star duff goldman. >> good lineup there. >> the time right now 9:38. still to come on news 4 today -- >> i'm liz crenshaw. deciphering diaper deals. find out why and how to shop for the best savings. my story is coming up. plus news 4 and pnc bank are teaming up to help you protect your [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i need your help... i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. well...everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe well...i'm not at liberty to give that out, but we do use tender chunks of white meat chicken in an herb & spice broth. come on that's it? i need the recipe. you gotta help me out! [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? like a ninja! [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

who are these guys? oh, that's just my buds. bacon, donuts. -my taste buds. -[ taste buds ] waffles. how about we try this new kind of fiber one cereal? you think you're going to slip some fiber by us? rookie. okay. ♪ nutty clusters and almonds, ♪ ♪ almonds. ♪ fiber one is gonna make you smile. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing new fiber one nutty clusters and almonds. with 43% daily value of fiber for you. crunchy nutty clusters and real almond slices for your taste buds.

everyone knows it costs a lot of money to raise a child. around $300 hads this. and when you're a new parent, a lot of that money seems to go to diapers. but liz crenshaw says there are ways parents can save big bucks with some great diaper deals. >> i stash them everywhere for emergencies. i'm like a squirrel. >> reporter: jessica stubbs,

mother of three small children, is talking about diapers. a desperate hourly need. she was one of a group of moms who gathered in arlington, virginia, to talk to us about the high cost of diapers. >> $70 to $80 a month. he goes through a lot of them, about 10, 11 a day. it's $45 a container usually. i get the biggest one i can buy. probably about $107 a month. >> reporter: deals on diapers are a must for moms and dads too. >> diapers are a significant expense. >> reporter: kevin is not only a dad who buys diapers, he's executive editor for washington's consumers' checkbook. >> depends on where you shop and how you shop. >> reporter: for first time ever washington's consumers' checkbook conducted a diaper price survey. it shopped for diapers at local grocery stores, warehouse club stores, drugstores, discounters and online. >> we found that depending on where you shop, you can spend $500 to $900 a year diapering just one kid. >> reporter: that's a difference of $400 per child each year.

consumers' checkbook found there are deals on diapers moms and dads won't want to miss. it found some of the best prices at target, costco, sam's club and bj's. >> you save a lot by buying in bulk. >> reporter: no surprise checkbook found the more diapers per package, the lower the per union it price. buying a box of diapers with more than 120, you'll likely save 15 to 20%. but this may surprise you -- checkbook found rock bottom prices for brand name diapers online with amazon. it's called amazon mom. part of its $79 annual prime membership parents get two-day free shipping along with other perks. >> the prices there were far lower than any of the local stores we shopped, any of the online stores we shopped. $400 in savings, the fee doesn't look so bad. >> reporter: these amazon moms love the price and diapers to their door. >> it's cheaper to buy online, then get free shipping. >> every mom knows what an

ordeal it is to have to drive your children to the grocery store. i'd rather gnaw my own arm off than have to do that. >> reporter: checkbook says cloth diapers have made a comeback. while it's more eco friendly, it is the most cost efficient, too, if you wash them yourself. these moms all use cloth diapers. >> it feels like the gift that keeps on giving. >> reporter: either way cloth or disposable, you can save hundreds of dollars on diapers ever year if you know where to buy. >> that's a pretty big deal for most parents. >> reporter: liz crenshaw, news 4 today. >> experts also say not to rule out generic brands as they're extremely cost efficient, but they warn to try out a small package first to make sure they work well for you and your child. you can see checkbooks' diaper price survey on nbcwashington.com, search diaper deals. today you can get rid of some of your clutter if your home and protect your identity all at the same time and it's all for free. the nbcwashington pnc community

shred is going on at prince george's community college in largo. here is a live look at one of the trucks at the event. people from all over the d.c. area come out to make sure they can get rid of all those personal documents and do it in a safe way. prince george's county executive baker says it makes getting rid of your personal documents even more important. >> i think it's very important. as we know, it's identity theft is becoming more prevalent with the internet and the ability to make documents. so being able to shred those documents with any information is very important and not just tearing them up like we used to do, putting them in our trash can bau people can put them back together. make sure you're great. >> you can bring up to five boxes of personal documents for shredding, but you should leave certain things at home. don't bring batteries, electronic equipment, dvds, c dst, binders or those hanging files. >> we saw earlier it was pretty

windy out there. >> it was windy and there was quite a few people out there, but the good news is they get through that line really, really fast. >> that's true. it's humid outside, too. nice breeze out there. that southerly wind pushing all that 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. want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. and it tastes good? sure does! right... ♪ wow. delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy.

today residents of d.c.'s bloomingdale neighborhood can learn tips on how to prevent flooding in their area. the devices will help ease the stress on the neighborhood sewers during heavy rain. the neighborhood has flooded several times this summer including last weekend. the work shop goes from 2:00 to 4:00 at the bryant street pumping station. looks like they'll have to brace

for more water. >> last weekend they were busy cleaning out, hopefully they don't have to spend another weekend like that. >> these will be heavy rain producer, but they'll be moving along. they tend to sit and stay over one place like we've had over the past couple of weeks. that's when you get those extreme flash flooding events. today's thunderstorms which may very well be severe at times are going to be racing on through here fairly quickly, so that on average i think most places will get a half inch to maybe three-quarters of an inch of rain. you can still get more under these heavier soaker, but nonetheless, a progressive weather pattern and that means by tomorrow this will all be nothing more than a memory as well as the heat and humidity of summer which sort of snuck back. we had a couple more 90-degree days this past week. i don't see any more 90s anywhere close to us at all. we might even be done with 90 for the year. but we've been at 90 as late as

october. 79 degrees and oh so humid outside. our dew point is in the low 70s now. as you make your plans to get outside today, clouds thickening up by mid to late morning. temperatures will easily climb into the mid and upper s today. showers and thunderstorms will roll in after 12:00, 1:00 time frame. keep that in mind. it may be severe. the yellow shaded here that's a slight risk for severe weather and the orange shaded traveling to philadelphia, new jersey, new york city, this orange area is a moderate risk coming up later this afternoon. if you have flights going up the northeastern corridor by late afternoon, there could be some major airport impacts from all this rain. for now, though, the leading edge of the raindrops just about ready to get into maryland. a few showers down to i-81. headed out to charlottesville or blacksburg for the big college football games have the rain gear ready to go and be ready for the opportunity of some stronger thunderstorms as well. this whole line is marching in our direction ahead of a weather

front. it will promise a stormy saturday afternoon and saturday evening. again we're watching out for the chance for some severe weather as well, but on our futurecast here, by 7:30 this evening, that weather front just on our northwestern door steps. that will be the leading edge of the end of the rain. that will be welcome news. once that blows on through here late tonight and tomorrow, beautiful september weather is coming our way. it arrives tomorrow and lasts for most of the upcoming week. today, though, mostly cloudy and very warm, extremely humid leading to showers and thunderstorms, again some likely to be strong to severe. keep an eye to the sky. when you hear thunder roar, that's the time to go indoorses right away. plenty of sunshine by tomorrow afternoon. noticeably cooler. you'll notice also the humidity vacation. in fact, this humidity may be going on vacation for quite a while. here's the all-important seven-day forecast. 87 and stormy today. 79 with a clearing day tomorrow.

and gorgeous weather all tl way through the early parts of the week, highs in the 7, lows in the 50s, tons of sun. college football oregon. they don't get a lot of sunshine in oregon. they're taking on the bulldog, euge eugene, oregon, a 3:30 kick out there but 6:30 here. if you're going to the game, you're probably not watching us right now. and the missouri tiger are taking on the bulldogs out there in columbia, missouri, 67 degrees, clear skies and cool. perfect weather for college football. welcome to the s.e.c., missouri. >> hopefully won't be tauf initiation out there. >> those dogs have a little bite. i'd be careful. get a look at what's inside the page of this week's kids post. >> this morning on kids post, a story of survival and a tragic situation plus children participate in a cultural situation. nice to see you. >> great to be with you.

>> first, let's talk about a book about a tree that was nearly destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. >> with tuesday being the 11th anniversary and we know that parents sometimes want to talk about the issue with kids but have a hard time. the "survivor tree" is a book we talked about in sunday's kids post. this was a tree that was found at ground zero, nursed back to health, and then transplanted back at ground zero, and it is thriving there now. this wonderful story of a pear tree. written by a local author, illustrated by a local illustrator. and it discusses the tragedy but also in a very helpful way. a really nice thing to do to remember the impact of september 11th. >> i'm sure will resonate with a lot of people. we're getting ready to kick off a celebration of culture and tradition. >> that's right. from september 15th to october

15th, the nation celebrates hispanic heritage month. and in sunday's kids post, we have a special section that's in english and in spanish. that way kids who speak spanish can work on their english, kids who speak english can work on their spanish. and the focus of the story is all sorts of fun thing us can do to celebrate hispanic heritage month, puppet company theater has its first bilingual event. >> for fun family activities visit nbcwashington.com or washingtonpost.com. well, the time right now, 9:56. coming up here on news 4 today, we'll hear from davey johnson on why he thinks stephen strasburg struggled last night against the marlins. then a longtime grocery store in the district is closing [ romney ] this president can ask us to be patient.

this president can tell us it was someone else's fault. but this president cannot tell us that you're better off today than when he took office. [ female announcer ] here in virginia, we're not better off under president obama. his defense cuts threaten over one hundred thirty thousand jobs, lowering home values, putting families at risk. the romney plan? tax cuts for middle class families. north american energy independence. create over three hundred forty thousand new jobs for virginia. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approved this message.

and these are the ones you'll love on a school night. pillsbury crescent dogs with just a few ingredients you have an easy dinner... pillsbury crescent dogs... school night ideas made easy. that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then given a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun.

this morning, five high school football players are off the team and have left the school all together follow a prostitution scandal. getting around the washington area on metro will be tough this weekend. we break down the metro closures. factor in extra travel time today. good morning. i'm richard jordan. >> i'm angie goff. today is saturday, september 8th, 2012. we're all getting ready for the rain rchl that's right. here it comes. let's get meteorologist chuck bell. >> good morning to both of you. and welcome to your weekend rkt everybody. the sun is starting to break through, but this isn't necessarily the good news you want on your saturday. extra sunshine means extra heating which will lead to stronger thunderstorms by later

on today. so keep a weather eye to the sky as you make your plans to get outside. not a bad morning to mow the lawn. it's dry out ahead of the next chance for rain showers. temperature are already in the upper 70s, pushing 80 degrees in southern maryland. 80 in fredericksburg. still 75 in hagerstown. you can see the leading edge of the rain moving into western maryland. it will reach petersburg, west virginia, and the next hour or two arriving along the i-81 corridor. still looking out for the stronger showers and thunderstorms, they're three hours away from us. clouding thickening through this morning. shower and thunderstorm chances ramping up about lunchtime today. if you're headed down to nationals ballpark, cloudy sky, 85 degrees, warm and humid at first pitch time. but showers and thunderstorms may well delay the second part of that game. be careful traveling down to

blacksburg. 70% chance of rain on the hokies. more in the football forecast coming up. >> chuck, thanks. despite the controversy surrounding dematha catholic high school, for at least one night the stags were able to focus on football. dematha defeated cal vert hall last night, but they did so without five of their players. five students withdrew from the school yesterday after accusations they hired prostitutes following a road game in north carolina last weekend. the students reportedly hired the prostitutes from a website and then snuck them in after team chaperones completed final room checks. >> the school stands his our coach, elijah brooks, the school staff who monitored the trip and our students. the school community is saddened by the actions of these few who do not reflect the character of the community. >> the students were set to be expelled from the school yesterday, but they decided to voluntarily withdraw instead. a d.c. police captain is facing assault charges accused of attacking his wife.

court records show captain lamar west and his wife were arguing in the backseat of a moving car around 3:00 a.m. monday morning in upper marlboro. the documents state he started to choke her and the driver and another passenger had to hold him down until police arrived. west was charged with second degree assault. police have not commented on his status with the department. and we want to issue a correction on an earlier version of this story that you may have seen during the 6:00 a.m. edition of news 4 today. we mistakencally aired a graphic saying d.c. police chief arrested. we apologize for the mistake and to our viewers for any confuse this may have caused. the husband of a former falls church mayor was sentenced to 22 year in prison for inappropriately touching girls at a slumber party at his home last year. he says he's been wrongfully convicted. parents of the victims say

they're kiss pointed that gardner is not accepting responsibility. we don't get to say this often, but major traffic alert in the district this morning -- actually we'll get to that in a moment, but pack your patience if you plan on riding metro. seven stations on the red line are affected by track work. derek ward joins us live from dupont circle where riders hop on buses this morning. >> reporter: indeed they are. this is sort of the end of the line. what metro is actually doing is they're taking away the heart of the red line so they can perform infrastructure work on the tunnels. if you are traveling on the red line, these free shuttle bus are how you will roll. what is happening here is that rail service is continuing on beyond this station. the trains are running at ten-minute intervals between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. and regular intervals during the regular hours. thoos will replicate rail

service and stop at the stions, this will add 50 minutes to your trip. which ones will do that and which ones will two to key points, dupont circle, metro center and gallery place and gallaudet stations. you can resume your ride on the other end. if you go through metro center, the is no red line service there nor is there red line service at gallery place. this again is so metro can install fiber-optic cables to allow better cell phone service. we talked to one rider who says, if they're only going to do it this one time, he doesn't mind the inconvenience that much. >> well, it makes it a little more inconvenient to get off the rail and on to the bus and back on to the rail again. i had to leave extra time this morning to make sure i got where i'm going. presumably a one-time inconvenience for improvement that will last for decades. as long as they don't have to keep replacing it every year it's fine. >> now, he was good to the airport, so obviously a good idea for him to leave a lot

earlier. a leisurely ride despite the conditions. the orange line will be single tracking between east falls church and west falls church, that is for scheduled track maintenance and the yellow line will be terminating at the mount vernon station, not going on to ft. totten as it normally would and they'll be single tracking at the braddock stations. no reason not to come into town but lots of reasons to give yourself a little extra time if you are indeed riding the red line. live at dupont circle, derek ward, news 4. >> a lot of good information there, derek, thanks. there is good news -- this is what i was talking about earlier -- happy to diver this to drivers. two new ramps open up connecting the dulles access road to the beltway's inner and outer loops. drivers on the access road used to have to cross several lichbs traffic to exit on to the beltway. this caused major traffic

headaches. the ramps were part of the lanes project. today a longtime d.c. grocery store will close its doors. the safeway in petworth will close today as it prepares for a major makeover. the new store will be three times bigger and be part of a mixed use development along georgia avenue with apartment buildings. safeway there keep their pharmacy open in a temporary location near the construction site. the store opened in 1963 and is expected to reopen some time in 2014. stephen strasburg has one more start before he's shut down for the season. he hopes it will go better than his last start in front of the d.c. faithful. he struggled last night in front of the marlins. he only pitched three innings and gave imfive runs. the marlins squeaked past the nats. and after the game davey johnson had a harsh critique of strasbu strasburg. >> he wasn't focused as much on the game as he was on the impending shutdown.

i can understand where he's at. he was having trouble sleeping thinking about, you know, letting the guys down. >> the nats and marlins are right back at it this afternoon first pitch at 1:05. his final start is expected to be on wednesday on the road against the mets. the time right now 10:08. coming up -- >> we're helping you protect your identity and declutter your home at the same time. you can throw away your you can throw away your sensitive 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.

within each strand of an oat's rhythmical sway. when an apple's vibrant red temptation, and honey's sweet touch of golden sensation, join together with a pecan crunch you'll savor, creating the most perfect lesson in flavor. ♪ nature's best-written recipe is ready for you to enjoy. nature valley, nature at its most delicious. now try our new crunchy dark chocolate peanut butter bar.

you're watching news 4 today. if you've got those old bank statements or personal documents you want to get rid of, today is your lucky day. >> you can get rid of it all for free. the nbcwashington pnc bank community shred. seth lemon joining us live from the community shred with more.

>> reporter: good morning, richard and angie. we're at prince george's community college here in largo, maryland, where you can hear the hum, the roar of the shredders behind us. they're busy ripping away and tearing up documents. the line here has been long and relentless. we've seen over 2,000 cars come through and it doesn't seem to be giving up any time soon. i'm standing here with two of the people who have made this event a success. first one is sean from shred it. why is it so important? >> it provides an opportunity for people to keep their confidential information secure. identity theft is something that the rampant. so in terms of security, it allows anyone to kind of move through that process quickly. >> reporter: how long should people hold on to their documents before shredding? i hear a lot of people say they stock up and wait for this event. is that the safe thing to do? >> you have the spring cleaning, so you think annually we should kind of go through and look what you have, then make some

decisions about what confidential information you want to get rid of. then we have these annual culling events, and we have our facility that's in rockville, maryland, and we can take care of those documents there. >> we have the president of prince george's community college. dr. charlene dukes. >> it's our pleasure really to partner with nbc 4, pnc bank and shred-it. it's our commitment to the community. all about service. so in addition to education, it's about service. >> reporter: does the school have a recycling program on campus? >> we do. our students are really environmentally friendly, and they want us to be. as a matter of fact, we have 50 students who are here today making sure these documents are shredded in a safe manner. >> reporter: thank you for having us. we really appreciate it. the event will last until 11:00 a.m. if you want to get your documents shredded, you have to make sure your car is in line by 11:00. we want the thank all of our

volunteers and our partners for helping to make this a success. reporting live in largo, maryland, seth lemon, news 4. >> just about 45 minute to make it out there, seth. thanks so much. >> the time right now 10:13. from earth to outer space, new images from mars. >> if you planning on taking photos strap on the rain gear. >> i'm optimistic you'll like tomorrow. you're watching news 4 today the weekend addition. connect with us online on when we switched to fios, we got better tv, better phone, better internet. it was like somebody like took our computer, shook all the junk out of it. we're actually getting more for our money with fios. [ male announcer ] it's time to get more for your money. upgrade to verizon fios internet, tv and phone

with our best price online. just $84.99 a month, guaranteed for one year with no annual contract. there's at least three computers. [ girl 1 ] a tablet. couple of gaming systems. we could all be running at the same time. we do not notice any dips. [ male announcer ] get tv rated #1 in customer satisfaction. and get the school year off to a great start with america's fastest, most consistent and most reliable internet. internet is absolutely imperative for school nowadays. look up this, write an essay on that. my life is greatly improved because of fios. [ male announcer ] move up to fios today for just $84.99 a month for a year. with no annual contract, there's no reason to wait. you should totally get fios. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/hotprice. that's verizon.com/hotprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. welcome to the value you deserve. welcome to life on fios. ♪

want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. and it tastes good? sure does! right...

♪ wow. delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. the new mars rover landed on the red planet a little more

than a month ago. and new images show it's been very biz pep satellite images show curiosity rolling along the martian surface leaving tracks along the way. the satellite shows the rover's landing spot and scorch marks from the rockets that helped the rover land. curiosity will spend the next two years on mars to determine if the planet once supported life. >> but nothing yet. nothing yet. >> very chilly on mars, i can tell you that, even in the sun, it's still fairly chilly but on the dark side, don't go on the dark side. >> it was chilly walking in this morning. >> but you have no sleeves on. this i think is the root of your chilliness. >> you saw on the community shred people were wearing long sleeves. you could hear the wind. >> no doubt it's breezy outside. i personally find it to be very warm and very humid outside, but that's just me. i have sleeves on. so in all fairness, that might be the difference. outside we go on your saturday morning. breaks of sunshine are becoming

more and more numerous across the area. while it makes the morn iing beautiful mother nature plans rain before your saturday is through. 79 degrees in washington. winds out of the south averaging 16 miles per hour. that's what we were talking about at the community shred, definitely a breeze out there. south-southwest winds. really surge the temperatures and the moisture level around the area for this afternoon. a lot of spots will be in the mid to upper 80s. one or two spots could touch 90. gaithersburg, leesburg, culpepper all in the low 80s. fredericksburg 82. pawtuxet naval air station and moderate risk for severe weather. this little ribbon right here, that is the actual cold front itself as it moves east of the mountains this afternoon, it will generate thunderstorms and some of them will likely be strong to severe.

so keep a weather eye to the sky today. no rain close to us, still on the west side of i-81. dry now in charlottesville and blacksburg and richmond. headed on down to the beaches? kind of a stormy night tonight and a maybe a little bit of a cloudy start tomorrow, then beach weather improves dramatically. but of course now that it's after labor day, the crowds are gone, too. he here's the weather front. stormy out ahead of it. beautiful september weather on the back side of it. be ready for that tomorrow. today cloudy, warm, humid, strong to severe thunderstorms a real likelihood. today's highs upper 80s to near 90. but that's the last of your weather worries for the rest of the week. the ter are prapin are up in philadelphia take on temple. 85 degrees, a chance for shower, but they'll probably have the game done before the rain starts. the gamecobbs of carolina, they're playing host to the east

carolina pirates. 87 degrees. boomers/sooner, baby, my beloved sooners are playing. 78 degrees. perfectly clear skies. a nice north breeze. after the summer they've had, sooner fans are breathing easy. >> the sooners just snuck into the forecast there. >> they've got the inside lead. >> all right. thanks a lot, chuck. time right now 10:21. >> coming up next -- it was my turn. >> i took your line, sorry. >> a northern virginia couple south of their home while they face charges this morning. >> these little guys survived hurricane isaac, now they need a new home. good morning! wow.

want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. and it tastes good? sure does! right... ♪ wow. delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy.

you're watching news 4 today. >> an alexandria couple is out of their home this morning after it was declared unsafe because of an animal hoarding situation. fairfax police say they were called to the home on eighth circle yesterday and found structural issues. animal control officers caught six cats and they are setting up traps to catch more that are still inside. 68-year-old john bedwell is charged with misdemeanor cruelty to animals. 70-year-old

madeline bedwell is charged with being an unfit owner. hurricane isaac pounded the gulf. but it wasn't just people who were affected, so were their pets. this morning nine dogs including some adorable puppy are now in washington and they're all looking for good homes. they come from a shelter in mississippi that suffered some flood damage. the washington animal rescue league says they are happy to help. >> when we have a disaster, you know, there's always the people response first, and i understand that. but secondly, there are those animals that get hurt and displaced too. >> the dogs will be medically examined and ready for adoption in two weeks. if you are ready to get rid of some of your paper clut are in your home you can get rid of it and protect your identity all for tree. it's going on in prince george's community college in largo. we'll take you out live to the

event. it actually ends in about a half hour or so. so you only have about 30 minutes to get in line. you can bring up to five boxes of personal documents for shredding. >> a lot of people already lined up there. we have a programming note for you today, no news 4 at 6:00 tonight so we can bring you live coverage of the third round of the bmw championship that starts at noon. college football matchup between notre dame and the purdue boiler maeshs. and the redskins regular season game. no news 4 at 6:00 this evening but you can stay in touch and informed on nbcwashington. >> you know what that means? someone gets an extra nap today. >> not true. no napping today. even though we don't have a 6:00 news, i'll be here all afternoon, run severe weather crawls as needed. and you want the like the storm 4 page on facebook because a lot of times i upload pictures on to the facebook and follow me on

twitter @chuckbell4. stay tuned to moi for the rest of the day. we'll be back at 11:00. there's the seven-day forecast. tomorrow looks great. and man, is it going to be nice around here sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, you get the picture here. >> yeah. >> perfect september weather coming our way. >> we have to eat this one up today. >> we have to take this one on the chin. >> one out of two ain't bad. >> behind the rain, it will be good. >> looking forward to it. anncr: this casino's in west virginia. but it makes millions off marylanders every year. now they're running dishonest ads. why? because voting for question seven is a vote to build a... world-class resort casino in maryland. creating thousands of jobs and... ...according to the official department of legislative... services, hundreds of millions for our schools.

while saving taxpayer money by cutting casino subsidies. question seven. good jobs and better schools in maryland. not west virginia. in deep red apples and in each golden bead. it blends into a perfect crunch you'll savor, giving us the most perfect lesson in flavor. nature valley, nature at its most delicious. 100% natural ingredients like roasted peanuts, creamy peanut butter, and a rich dark chocolate flavor. plus, 10 grams of protein. so it's energy straight from nature to you. nature valley protein bars. better phone, better internet. it was like somebody like took our computer, shook all the junk out of it. we're actually getting more for our money with fios. [ male announcer ] it's time to get more for your money. upgrade to verizon fios internet, tv and phone with our best price online. just $84.99 a month, guaranteed for one year with no annual contract.

there's at least three computers. [ girl 1 ] a tablet. couple of gaming systems. we could all be running at the same time. we do not notice any dips. [ male announcer ] get tv rated #1 in customer satisfaction. and get the school year off to a great start with america's fastest, most consistent and most reliable internet. internet is absolutely imperative for school nowadays. look up this, write an essay on that. my life is greatly improved because of fios. [ male announcer ] move up to fios today for just $84.99 a month for a year. with no annual contract, there's no reason to wait. you should totally get fios. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/hotprice. that's verizon.com/hotprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. welcome to the value you deserve. welcome to life on fios. ♪ this president can tell us it was someone else's fault. but this president cannot tell us that you're better off today than when he took office. [ female announcer ] here in virginia, we're not better off under president obama. his defense cuts threaten over one hundred thirty thousand jobs, lowering home values, putting families at risk. the romney plan?