go to nbc4.com and search for the word "meningitis." if you looked up at the sky, you saw the moon and saw jupiter up there. let's take a look. around the region, we have temperatures that are right in the mid-50s in the suburbs as we've cleared out. we do have a clear sky now with the moon and jupiter all joined together. all those areas in dark green are in the 50s. it's into the low to mid-60s right around washington and around the bay. as we look hour by hour for the rest of the day, lots of sun. a delightful day with low humidity, highs reaching low 80s by midafternoon. i'm back in ten minutes. danella has traffic now. >> good morning. checking the road. we have road work you're facing. taking the inner loop at the dulles toll road. the ramp shut down. shut down from the inner loop,

the ramp to little river turnpike. on 66, as you make your way eastbound at nutley, we had road work blocking the right lane. it's now gone. aaron and eun, over to you. >> thank you, danella. news 4's melissa mollet is at the live desk with breaking news. >> breaking news out of israel. an american tourist there has opened fire at a hotel, killing at least one person. the suspect is still inside the hotel. police now have it surrounded. israel radio says the gunman grabbed a gun from a security guard, shot an employee, and barricaded himself inside his room. we'll be following developments for you all morning. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. there is anticipation today ahead of today's jobs report. analysts are predicting the economy added 115,000 to $120,000 jobs last month. better than the disappointing 96,000 jobs last month. the 2012 presidential

candidates will be in our area today trying to grab critical swing votes in virginia. the president will speak at fairfax university before heading to another campus, cleveland state in ohio today. he's trying to get his campaign back on track after what both sides argue was a poor debate performance. yesterday he took aim at the change romney is promising at the rally in wisconsin. >> we can't afford to double down on the same top down economic policies that got us into this mess. that is not a jobs plan. it's not a plan for our economy. it's not a plan to strengthen the middle class. it is not change. it is a relapse. >> he also poked fun at romney's big bird comment while saying he'd get rid of regulations while cracking down on sesame street. mitt romney is visiting a machinery company in abbingdon.

yesterday he and his running mate paul ryan received an endorsement from the national rifle association. they also tried to build on the debate with more attacks on the president. >> what you didn't hear last night from the president is why the next four years are possibly going to be better than the last four years. he doesn't seem to be able to spl explain that because he has the same policies he had the last four years. >> later on, romney will head to another swing state, florida, for a rally in st. petersburg. if romney did gain an advantage from his debate performance, he had the biggest audience watching. the nielsen ratings company said an estimated 67.2 million people tuned in for the debate. it's the largest audience for a debate since bill clinton, george bush, and ross perot faced off in 1992. the biggest was for joe biden

and sarah palin that attracted 70 million viewers. democrat tim kaine is leading governor george allen in fund-raising. the former governor raised $4.5 million between july and september. that is over george allen, $3.5 million, who is also a former governor. this morning a prince william county woman is accused of operating an illegal daycare and cruelty to children. tara angeline ran growing minds daycare licensed out of her home on summer work drive in manassas. police say tuesday she left six children all under 2 years old in the care of her 16-year-old daughter. during the investigation, child protective services agency officials said angeline often made her teenager watch the children for long hours. this week marks ten years since the beltway sniper attacks. ten people were killed. three others were injured in

those three terrifying weeks. fami family members of some of the victims gathered for a prayer vigil. the children of wallaker spoke at the vigil. he was killed on the second day of the attacks. >> my father is looking down from the heavens. that time in life, people would just come up to us and send us condolences and help, the church, co-workers, friends, family, strangers. and that's how strong our community is. >> the victims' rights foundation cohosted the vigil. they've helped raise more than $500,000 for the families of those attacks. good news for metro riders. you won't have to deal with too much track work this holong holiday weekend. on the red line, trains will single track between judiciary

square and ft. totten. and on the orange, trains will share a track between stadium-armory and cheverly. and metro says by the end of the month they will reopen the station's south entrance, which has been closed for nearly eight months as crews replace all three of the escalators at the dupont station. in the past, dupont's escalators have been known to be among the least reliable in the system. this weekend, d.c. foodies can take part in two major food festivals. the taste of d.c. kicks off tomorrow. more than 50 restaurants taking part in the festival on pennsylvania avenue between the white house and the capitol. ben's chili bowl will host its second annual world chili eating championship. as a precaution, police will shut down several roads surrounding the event, starting at 7:00 tonight. that's because of the event, not because it's chili, which could also be dangerous.

$10 for that event. all restaurants have at least one taste menu item for $3 or less. and tomorrow marks the 23rd annual taste of bethesda. more than 60 restaurants taking place at the event in woodmont triangle. admission is free. tickets sold in four bundles for $5. >> go hungry and don't stop eating. then just barrel me out of there. >> if you do laps, it helps. just walk around. ahead on "news 4 today," the unwelcome guest on campus that have students living out of bags this morning. plus the good news for this little guy that will have panda lovers smiling.

look at this cutie. the san diego zoo's new resident is now able to hear and see more. the zoo's 9 week old giant panda cub had an exam yesterday morning, and veterinarians say his eyes and ears are fully open. the cub was born on july 29th. he now weighs 6.6 pounds. the cub has not been named yet. his name will be announced 100 days after birth, as dictated by chinese tradition. my second son was 6.6 pounds, 6 pounds, 6 ounces when he was born. >> like a small panda. >> yeah. how cute is he? >> they always are.

>> oh, my gosh. >> we'll take a live look outside for you this morning as we deal with temperatures that are in the 60s, at least here in the district. tom kierein's got an eye on the rest of the region. >> you can see excellent visibility this morning. the humidity has dropped. that's a live view from our hd city camera, washington monument, jefferson memorial. right in washington, temperatures in the low 60s. nearby suburbs, we're in the 50s. much of the region, the rural areas, down to the low 50s. it's only near 50s out of the mountains arounded bay. hometown forecast, manassas, prince william county. bright and sunny by the lunch hour. by then, upper 70s. and hour by hour today, you will enjoy the low humidity and a mild afternoon. we've got to reach the low 80s by midafternoon. by late afternoon with lots of sunshine back down to the upper 70s. look at tonight. a look at big changes for the weekend. that's coming up at 4:51.

danella, how's traffic? >> good morning. if you're traveling connecticut avenue in maryland southbound approaching the inner loop of the beltway. be careful, there's a struck deer in that intersection. approach with caution. let's head over to bw parkway and i-95 in maryland. nice and clear really between the baltimore beltway and the capitol beltway. not seeing any accidents or construction to warn you about. making your way past 100, nice and clear. as i said, connecting to the beltway, no issues. heading fm kenilworth avenue as you continue towards i-95 really in both directions, your travel lanes are open. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thank you. still to come, the animal invasion that has people in one virginia community asking for virginia community asking for help this morning.e.

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i'm melissa mollet at the news 4 live desk. that american tourist we told you about who opened fire in a hotel killing one has also been killed. there are reports the man might be an employee of the hotel, a former employee, i should say. the gunman reportedly grabbed a gun from the security guard, shot an employee earlier today, and then barricaded himself inside his room there. we'll pass along more information as we get it. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. 15 before the hour now. dozens of american airlines flights are cancelled today as the carrier makes more repairs to seats that could come loose in midflight. the airline announced yesterday it would again ground 48 planes to make more repairs. that caused 50 flights to be cancelled yesterday and another 44 to be cancelled today. initially, a faulty clamp was blamed for the problems, but now american says a combination of wear, poor design, and possibly even spilled soda caused pins to come loose on those seats.

all planes should be back in service by tomorrow. federal authorities have arrested two men suspected of killing a u.s. border patrol agent. investigators say there is also a possibility that the agent was killed by friendly fire. agent nicholas ivy was killed and another agent was injured earlier this week along the mexico-u.s. border. officials still aren't sure what sparked the dent. the agents were responding to an alarm going off near the border when he was attacked. and a member of the manson family could soon go free after 40 years in jail. a corrections board recommends parole for bruce davis. the 70-year-old was sentenced to life in prison for murdering two people in 1969. the board now has four months to review the recommendation. davis originally was granted parole in 2010, but then governor arnold schwarzenegger revoked the ruling. a truck driver is fighting allegations against him related to a crash that killed a gaithersburg family. joseph sleezak is charged with

vehicular homicide after last month's crash. his tractor-trailer crashed into the schmidt family. they were in two separate cars. the mother, joanne schmidt, was pregnant. police say sleezak drove for 14 hours without sleeping. inspectors are trying to figure out what caused the scaffolding to collapse leaving the construction worker dangling. take a look here. rescuers had to use tall ladder trucks to reach the man outside the commerce building on pennsylvania avenue. the worker was strapped in a harness and safety lines. no one was hurt. a federal judge will issue a ruling soon on whether metro will have to allow a controversial anti-jihad ads to be put on buses. a judge delayed it because of violent reactions to the innocent of muslims movie. this is a look at the ad.

the group says metro is violating the first amendment by not putting the ads on display. residents sounded off at the navy's first public hearing about how expansion plans at walter reed would affect traffic. that's according to "washington examiner." the navy plans to demolish five hospital buildings, replacing them with parking garages. the changes would only add 270 staff to the campus and 17 seconds to the commuters' drive time on rockville pike between grosvenor lane and wood mont avenue. 4:48 now. some students at the university of maryland say bed bugs are back and causing problems in their rooms. one student showed us bites and marks from the bugs. students who live in south campus commons number 7 say they've complained about the bed bugs. for now, the students say they have to deal with the bugs every night. >> nothing we can do.

i mean, they haven't offered for us to live anywhere else. we've got to live out of garbage bags and get bitten every night, which is unfortunate. >> what are you going to do now? >> i guess the only thing we can do is wait and hope. they haven't really given us any other option. >> students say the bed bugs have been a problem before at this building. campus officials say a private company owns the building and did bed bug inspections before the students started the semester. people who live in a northern virginia condo complex say a raccoon invasion is forcing them to stay indoors. one fed-up homeowner at arlington drive sent us these photos. they complained for months about people possibly feeding these animals. they say the animals no longer fear humans. it also put their pets in danger. >> we can't use the outdoors. we have a pet. we can't let him out. and you can't even have a barbecue. you can't do anything outside. once it gets dark, you've got to stay in.

>> neighbors claim the raccoon population started growing about two years ago. they're hoping someone can trap them and move them. tomorrow two men will square off in a debate that will help shape the direction of our country, and neither one of them are running for president. jon stewart and bill o'reilly will face off in a debate dubbed the rumble in an air conditioned auditorium. the debate is at george washington university tomorrow night. they hope to take an entertaining and comedic approach to the issues in our country. you can live stream the event online for $5. whatever issues they talk about, you're going to be laughing out loud. >> i'm a big fan of "the daily show." jon stewart is so quick witted and dry and incredibly intelligent, as it bill o'reilly. should be a good debate. >> looking forward to that. >> storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is here. everybody is looking forward to the weekend. no one debating whether or not we're going to have a

gorgeous day today at least. big changes on the way for the end of the weekend, i'm afraid. right now enjoy what we have. there's the washington monument pointing to a clear sky right over the metro area. we've got temperatures generally in the low 60s right around downtown and in the nearby neighborhoods in washington. but you get over toward the beltway and farther west and east, north and south, it's in the 50s now. the dewpoints have dropped back into the 50s. that's comfortably dry. we are in the 50s shenandoah valley all the way to the bay. right near the bay waters, it's upper 50s, near 60 or so. and inland near the waters on eastern shore, back in the 50s there. only near 50 in western maryland and much of west virginia. over the last 12 hours, we've had the cloud cover we had yesterday afternoon. that cleared out. overnight, it's been all clear, now under this clear sky. we've got the moon and jupiter in the southern sky. venus, bright venus, now rising in the eastern sky. morning commute, it's going to

be dry. sunrise at 7:08. clear sky. temperatures mid-50s to maybe hovering near 60 in the metro area by 6:00 a.m. then by noon, lots of sun, al fresco lunch. we'll have highs reaching the mid and upper 70s, just delightful for your lunch hour. then by midafternoon we ought to be peaking in the low 80s. but it will be comfortably dry. low humidity in place. by late afternoon heading back home, we'll be back down to the upper 70s. a wonderful day coming up. enjoy. then overnight tonight, do you have plans for this friday evening. it's going to be clear and 60s by midnight. then by dawn saturday, down to the 50s. we'll have sun saturday morning, then clouding up in the afternoon. here comes the change. saturday afternoon, much chi chillier air by dawn sunday. sunny, 50, light rain. occasional chilly rain all day

sunday. play scrabble, watch the redskins. then on monday we'll have the sun back. but in the morning only near 40 degrees. and afternoon highs on monday right around 60 with lots of sun. certainly going to be feeling like autumn and looking like it too. we'll see those leaves rapidly changing. wednesday might get a shower midweek as we warm up a little bit. i'm back in ten minutes. your first 4 traffic now this friday morning with danella. good morning. >> good morning. thanks, tom. checking the roadway, still seeing construction. if you're traveling the inner loop of the beltway, dulles toll road. this should be clearing soon. the ramp to the dulles toll road is shut down because of construction. also, the ramp to 236, little river turnpike, that's shut down as you travel the inner loop of the beltway. also, if you're traveling on 236, you can't access the inner loop of the beltway. braddock, cones blocking your way as you make your way up braddock road and towards the

interchange. the good news is your volume is still very light. dogs can do some pretty incredible things for their owners -- get the paper, open doors sometimes. apparently, at least one dog can dial a phone. >> this dog is in utah, and he is literally in the dog house for his latest trick. this is maya. i guess it's a she. a 4-year-old lab. a few days ago her owner bruce gardner got a call at work from his home phone. he heard scratching and other noises and thought he was being robbed. police went to his house and didn't see any burglars. turns out the culprit was maya. >> was chewing on it, happened to hit redial, called the man's cell phone, and then the dog buried the phone in the backyard in the garden. >> i could hear the ring. i started going towards the sound, and i found it out here in the garden. >> gardner says he's relieved that he wasn't robbed, but he's learned his lesson and won't be leaving anything out in the open

that maya could grab. might have just missed him and wanted to call and check on him and say, are you okay? >> all right. bye-bye. >> very smart dog. >> 4:54 is your time. jumping for their lives. coming up at 5:15, the dramatic video as a family tries to escape the flames destroying their home.

some changes could soon be coming to your local starbucks. the coffee shop is testing new items, including warm pastries like a blueberry yogurt muffin or ham and cheese krcroissant. it's part of the purchase of the french bakery la boulange. there is a new tool that helps you find the perfect fit when you're shopping for clothes. the fair oaks mall installed a free body scanners called the meatili. it uses radio frequency waves to size you up in 20 seconds. then shoppers print a printout of the most flattering sizes and cuts to buy at different stores throughout the mall. shoppers also receive an e-mail with more options.

most of the people we spoke to say the machine is helpful. >> i've been walking around this mall for like two hours trying to find pants for work. just go right to them and get what i need. >> the body scanners will eventually be added to the malls in bethesda and wheaton. would you get into one of these things? >> i think i would. if it makes it possible to get out of the mall faster. meality? i think it might be meality? >> i think it is meality. i'm a different size in every store. you're five different sizes. >> you're tiny. a company in australia came up with a way for relatives and friends to remember loved ones. >> interactive grave stones. the asbestos company says bar codes, or qr codes are etched into the grave stones. anybody with a smart phone can scan the code, and it will load stories, pictur e