debate for a second time. what the two men hope to accomplish. and two men lost in the m t montana mont wilderness will hop a flight back to our area. good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. as we take a look over the nation's capital, we do have a few clouds hanging tough, but at least the rain is gone. >> tom kierein with the forecast. good morning. > >> it sounded like it was raining, but it was the leaves rustling around. the winds are gusting 15, 20 miles an hour. this is what it looked like 24 hours ago when we had the heavy downpours, and they quickly exited as the front came on through. behind that front, we had chilly winds move on in, and a few clouds racing through. these areas in dark blue. it's in the 30s. parts of west virginia into the ohio valley. the areas in light blue, parts of virginia, and in the green areas, low 50s, that includes montgomery county, parts of prince george's, fairfax.

southern maryland is in the 40s this morning with wind gusting around 15, 20 miles an hour. a bit of a chilly morning here. in fact, by 8:00 a.m., still only around 50 degrees. by noontime, the low 60s. hour by hour into the afternoon, the winds will gradually diminish. sunrise at 7:19. sunset at 6:28. by then, we'll be right back down to the low 60s after we peak and mid-60s midafternoon as the winds diminish. i'm back with a hometown forecast in ten minutes. a look at your first 4 traffic this tuesday morning with danella. good morning. >> good morning. tom, we're going to take a closer look at i-95 in virginia. heading north from stafford towards triangle, heavy on the brakes in that area. continuing northbound towards prince william parkway, have an accident here. two vehicles involved. it is blocking the left shoulder lane, and you are seeing some volume in the area. actually, police have just arrived on the scene. and now the left lane is blocked as well. so your shoulder lane and left lane blocked in this area. continuing northbound on i-95, you're going to hit the brakes

again right around lorton. delays are in this area. for now your travel lanes are open as you head to 395. i'm back in ten. eun, over to you. >> danella, thank you. 6:02. president obama and mitt romney will spend today on final preparations for tonight's second presidential debate. the candidates will square off at hofstra university on long island. it will be a town hall style debate with voters asking most of the questions. the debate will focus on domestic and foreign policy. stay tuned to news 4 at 11:00 afterward. angie goff will be monitoring the web and getting feedback from viewers. you can weigh in with your comments on facebook, twitter, or nbcwashington.com. first lady michelle obama said she will be at tonight's debate. she told nbc's ryan seacrest she's not sure whether the president will even notice she's there, but she's sending him positive vibes just in case. >> you know, i can never tell, but i'm always primed just in

case he is. i'm perched. i'm looking at him. i'm smiling. i'm giving a thumbs up if he can see it. with the lights, you just never can tell. does he know exactly where i'm sitting? can he see me? so i just prepare myself. i assume that he can, so i make sure that i'm always giving him that positive love. >> the first presidential debate took place on the couple's 20th anniversary. you can catch ryan seacrest's entire interview with the first lady later this morning on "today." a police officer and an ohio state trooper are both recovering this morning after their motorcycles collided while escorting michelle obama. the two motorcycles somehow sideswiped each other yesterday afternoon as the first lady was heading to the airport from a campaign event. the first lady was not hurt in that crash. paul ryan will be campaigning in virginia today. the republican vice presidential nominee will visit fredericksburg and lynchburg today. mitt romney will be in virginia tomorrow. he has rallies scheduled in leesburg and in chesapeake. both virginia senate candidates will be campaigning in our area today as well.

george allen will be in arlington. the republican nominee will speak at a nova defense round table event in rosslyn. democrat tim kaine will try to appeal to women voters today. he's holding a town hall meeting with northern virginia women near dulles. kaine just picked up a key endorsement. "the washington post" came out today it's supporting the former virginia governor and dnc chairman. two hikers after being stranded for days in the snow will return home today. neal pickens of herndon and jason hiser of richmond went hiking in glacier national park last week. family reported them missing when they didn't catch a flight home on friday. neal's mother reports the two hiked into the back country and fell into a ravine. they were stranded in cold temperatures and more than a foot of snow. park rangers found the pair safe around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. >> when i found out that he was found, i just let go and just sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. >> peckens and hiser were taken to a hospital and given a clean

bill of health. it's not clear what time they'll be arifling home today. government sources say the white house is prepared to launch a strike against al qaeda in retaliation to the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in libya, but there are a few things stopping the attack. the government is still looking for the exact group responsible for the aattack. plus sources say the white house is worried about the potential political fallout. this comes as secretary of state hillary clinton says she takes partial responsibility for the attack. she says she consults with security officials about protecting state department employees. the obama administration has been criticized for not providing enough protection to officials in the consulate. one of the victims in the deadly attack, chris stevens, will be remembered today at a public memorial service today in san francisco. stevens was the u.s. ambassador to libya. he grew up and went to college in california. senator dianne feinstein and libya's ambassador to the u.s. are expected to attend today's service at san francisco city hall. also today, a funeral for former pennsylvania senator

arlen specter. specter died on sunday at the age of 82 with a lengthy patbat with non-hodgkins lymphoma. the moderate democrat was 82 years old. vice president joe biden is set to attend a memorial and burial outside philadelphia. president obama ordered the flags at the white house to be flown at half staff. family members of one-time presidential candidate george mcgovern say the 90-year-old is now in hospice. mcgovern represented south dakota in the u.s. senate for 18 years and unsuccessfully ran for the white house against presidenrichard nixon in 1972. his family did not give details on his condition. it is 6:06 right now. ahead, the small town scandal that's grabbing international headlines. plus say it ain't so. we are already talking about snow. [ female announcer ] as you're making your decision...

maybe you're wondering what to believe about mitt romney. well, when it comes to protecting your access to birth control... and the basic women's health care services planned parenthood provides... one thing we must remember, is this: i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. [ female announcer ] he'll cut it off. cut us off. planned parenthood. we're going to get rid of that. [ female announcer ] women need to know the real mitt romney. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

wildlife experts believe they have solved the mystery of this giant eyeball that washed up on shore. the softball sized eye most likely belonged to a swordfish. experts say a fisherman removed it and tossed it overboard, and i guess it floated. the eye was found 30 miles north of miami on wednesday. some people suspected maybe it came from a giant squid or a whale. it's now being tested for dna to confirm it is indeed from the swordfish. >> if you can get over the ickey part of it, it's quite beautiful. >> pretty blue eyes. >> 6:11. time for weather and traffic on the ones. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein with you. >> a breezy chill blew in overnight. northern montgomery county in

poolesville. 8:00 a.m., still in the 40s. that's where we are now through much of the region and quite a the by of cloudiness. toward the noon hour, partly cloudy and upper 50s in poolesville. for the whole region today, we'll have our temperatures reaching the mid-60s by midafternoon, and winds gusting maybe 15, 20 miles an hour later this morning. and into the afternoon, will diminish by sunset today, which is at 6:28. sunrise this morning, 7:19. i'm back in ten minutes with a look at the rest of the week and the weekend. weekend traffic with danella. good morning. still keeping an eye on the accident, i-95 northbound at prince william parkway. accident still in the left shoulder lane. police blocking the left lane. you are seeing blaze. they're looking the left lane and left shoulder lane as you make your way towards prince william parkway. delays as you jam past rest area, heavy on the brakes. to get to quantico to the beltway, you're under speed. that drive will take at least 33 minutes. i'm back in ten.

aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thanks, danella. what one man uncovered that parents need to know about before halloween. plus a daredevil gets a thrill he was not expecting.

welcome back at 6:14. take a look at this surveillance

video showing an explosion that left one person dead and at least ten others injured. this morning searchers are looking for three people unaccounted for in eastern china. investigators are trying to figure out what caused the deadly gas explosion. authorities say liquidified gas exploded, blowing out the side of the apartment building. and fbi investigators looking into possible misuse of campaign funds by jesse jack soson jr. officials are trying to figure out if he illegally used campaign funds for renovations on his home. a spokesman for jackson declined to comment. jackson currently on leave from congress, being treated for bipolar disorder. hearings for five men charged in the september 11th terror attacks continued today, but the defendants can skip them. the judge ruled they do not need to attend these pretrial sessions. today's hearing is expected to deal with security rules for the trial. prosecutors want a protective order to prevent the suspects from revealing what happened to

them in overseas cia prisons. the government already acknowledged, quote, enhanced interrogation techniques before they arrived at guantanamo bay. this morning british dtors treating a pakistani girl shot by the taliban say she has a chance of making a good recovery. malala yousufzai arrived at a hospital in england yesterday. it specializes in treating soldiers with gunshot wounds and serious head injuries. the taliban shot the 14-year-old in the head and neck last week for her activism promoting the education of girls. the taliban had been threatening to target her again for promoting, quote, western thinking. prosecutors have been slow to turn over evidence in the trayvon martin shooting case. they filed a motion yesterday requesting monthly hearings to better manage the turnover. charged with second degree murder against trayvon martin. he's pled not guilty under the florida stand your ground law.

men accused of paying a fitness instructor for sex have their names public. she ran it out of her zumba studio in maine. yesterday the first 21 names of alleged clients were released. a couple of them went to court to prevent the names' release, only heightening speculation that lawyers and law enforcement officers are among the clients. apparently, not everyone in new york is a football fan. some giants players had their cars burglarized, and one was even stolen while the team was playing in san francisco last weekend. the players usually leave their cars in a secure parking lot in the stadium before leaving on road trips. police say the car doors were unlocked and the thieves broke the lock on the security gate to get inside. the giants play at home this weekend against the redskins. with halloween two weeks away now, you may be looking for a costume for yourself and the

kids. police are hard at work to keep dangerous costumes off store shelves. they seized and destroyed a shipment of children's pirate costumes from china. they were going to a distributor in seattle, washington. federal agents found high levels of lead in the costumes and eye patches. there may be no way to assure the costumes you buy are toxin free, but you can check the consumer product safety commission website for warnings and recalls. and a heads up for pet owners as well. nature's recipe launching a nationwide recall of some of its dog treats because of possible salmonella. they are voluntarily recalling their oven baked biscuits with real chicken. the treats were sold nationwide mostly through special ti pet supply stores. the companies says, if you have these treats, throw them away. an australian base jumper is lucky to be alive after a terrifying accident caught on video. richard harrison was set to perform a stunt for a norwegian

tv show. he was spinning around a bar, about to jump off a 4,000-foot cliff when the bar suddenly collapsed sending him over the edge. henderson survived. after quick thinking, he immediately opened his parachute and landed safely. >> just amazing that didn't turn out a lot worse. >> he must be an experienced base jumper to know to quickly release the parachute. the fact he survived the whole thing. >> it's a cliff. so it's rocky and lots of edges, and he's okay. >> these daredevils. new this morning, the cuban government is making it easier for its residents to travel abroad. >> starting next year, cuban residents will no longer need to apply for an exit visa. they still need to show their passport from the country they'll visit. right now cubans lose residency and other rights once they've been gone from the country past 11 months. it's been changed to 24 months. this policy change takes effect january 13th. top officials from the nhl and players union are expected to meet today. they'll try to bridge the gap in

economic issues for a new collective bargaining agreement which would end the league's lockout. the league already cancelled games through october 24th. it's expected to cancel even more games by the end of this week. it is just mid-october, but d.c. leaders already talking about snow plans. the city has a new fleet of equipment to deal with snowfall. this includes new high tech trucks that remember which streets have already been treated, and the plows on those trucks are also a rubber-ceramic mixture. they're supposed to push more snow out of the way while making less noise. in the end, city officials say it all depends on how much snow actually falls. >> up to about 18 to 20 inches of snow, i feel very comfortable about what we can do. it's when you get above that when it becomes a little shaky. >> the d.c. region typically gets about 14.5 inches of snow each year. >> i'm a little shaky when we're coming to 18 inches plus now. i'm not ready for this. i don't even want to think about it now. >> it's still a little ways

away, but it could happen. just putting it out there. tom kierein is in for a look at what we can expect today. this morning we're dealing with chilly temperatures. that's the big story. we've dried out in the wake of showers that came through yesterday afternoon. now just a few clouds are coming through, and we'll have them off and on this morning. we'll have the temperatures hold steady in the upper 40s and low 50s for the next couple of hours. this is true for the whole region now. a chill in the air. winds are gusting around 10 miles an hour now. the winds ought to increase as we get into the afternoon and hit the mid-60s and gust to around 20, 25 miles an hour will diminish by late afternoon and this evening. a lot of sun this afternoon. we'll have clouds tomorrow, milder, around 70. on thursday, increasing clouds, a front coming in. right now the timing from any rain may be late wednesday afternoon into thursday evening, predawn friday and drying out on friday. here's a look at the weekend, your seven-day outlook. it's going to be beautiful saturday, sunday, and into monday. cool mornings, afternoon highs 60s saturday, near 70 on sunday

and monday. i'll be out on the storm team weather deck in ten minutes. danella is here with our latest traffic. good morning. >> many go. definitely seeing delays in the area. inbound suitland parkway, an earlier crash at stanton road, it's clear, but you still may be experiencing delays. jammed as you head toward prince william parkway out of stafford. here's a live look from chopper 4. accident in the left shoulder lane. police are blocking the left lane here. a tow truck is on the scene as well. also in the right shoulder lane, police are there. delays pretty significant on i-95. you are slow. another accident on i-95, hov lanes at fairfax county parkway blocks the left lane. aaron and eun? >> thank you, danella. it's now 6:22. ahead, the fight taking place in one local county over the right to bring an unusual object to work.

"and what's your name?" "oh, it's flo." "and what do you do?" "oh, i sell insurance like no one else." "oh, that's nice." "thank you." now, that's progressive. call or click today.

take a good look at this mugshot. this is how an ohio woman looked after police arrested her for driving the wrong way on the highway outside cleveland saturday morning. they tried to stop her, but she kept speeding off. eventually, they did catch her. police say she was also drunk at the time. a driver in canada apparently missed the construction sign. he was trying to drive through a construction zone when he ended up in a six-foot hole in the road. the man wasn't hurt, saying he was more mad and embarrassed than anything else. you've got to read the signs. stay alert. >> you see those metal plates on the road sometimes, and i always worry about, if i drive over the wrong point on that plate, i'm going in. >> boom. all right. >> 6:26 is our time right now. a million bucks for martian food. some of the more unusual things the government is spending money on. plus two very different stories in court. what both sides claim happen in the moments before this video was taken. maryland schools are number one in america because

we invest in them. but we can do even more. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million dollars at casinos in other states. question 7 keeps that maryland money in maryland through expansion of gaming in maryland.

it will mean hundreds of millions of dollars for our schools. as governor, i can promise you, that money will go to education. that's the law and that's what we'll do. vote for question seven.

two very different accounts accused in local police officers accused of beating a local college student. and we know one question that will not be asked during tonight's presidential debate and maybe the only issue the candidates both agree on. good morning, everybody. welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. a chill in the air but a welcome change on the way. >> meteorologist tom kierein on the weather deck. a live view. you can see venus gleaming brilliantly just to the right there. we've got a mostly clear sky. do not dress like me. i'm only wearing a sport coat here this morning. i'm only going to be out here for five minutes, but it's still not enough. we've got a bit of a breeze here. it's down into the low 40s much of the region, out in the mountains and right around the metro area after we cleared out from the showers yesterday. we've had the chilly winds coming in. winds only around 10 miles an

hour, but it feels like 30 degrees. all those areas in the light blue are in the 40s. that includes most of maryland, most of virginia, and those areas in dark blue, the 30s. yes, it's dipped on into the 30s, parts of western maryland, the highlands of eastern west virginia. we will hold steady here in the 40s and low 50s for the next couple of hours. as we get into the afternoon hours, we'll get more sunshine and a diminished wind and temperatures reaching mid-60s by midafternoon. sunrise 6:19. sunset 6:28. i'm back in ten minutes with another hometown forecast. here's a look at first 4 traffic with danella. i-95, first we'll start in the hov lanes of fairfax county parkway. the crash there is blocking the left lane. you are getting by single file to the right. further down i-95 as you make your way northbound at prince william parkway, still cleaning up the accident there can bbloc the left lane. glass in the roadway being swept

as we speak. you get this view from chopper 4, at least four miles the backup to get to prince william parkway. travel speed from quantico, it will take you at least 44 minutes to get to the beltway. let's head to the beltway in montgomery county. outer loop, heavy on the brakes i-95 slow past new hampshire avenue. delays continue to georgia avenue. no accidents in this area. 6:32. breaking news just in. tony tull at the live desk. >> we're just getting word at the uk hospital for the 14-year-old girl is being treated after being shot by the taliban, we're getting word that several people are showing up at the hospital claiming to be family members. they have been arrested. now, the medical director has come out and said that the situation is under control, but no word on whether those folks are, in fact, relatives of the girl. we're going to continue to follow this story and make sure you stay tuned to news 4. i'm tony tull at the live desk. guys, back to you. >> tony, thank you. new this morning, police at the university of maryland are warning students about an armed

robbery near campus. the robbery happened at 9:30 last night near the intersection of calvert road and princeton avenue. prince george's county police say several students were running when they were approached by a man with a gun. police say that's when another man joined the suspect and the pair demanded the students' property. it's not clear what they got away with. cell phone video may be the best evidence in the trial of two police officers accused of beating a former college student. the trial began yesterday for prince george's county police officers reginald baker and james harrison. they're charged with assaulting former university of maryland student john mckenna back in 2010. this happened as students celebrated in the streets after the school's basketball team beat duke. the defense says mckenna tried to throw a punch at police during a riot. that's a claim one witness disputes. >> he was skipping. he was singing. there was clearly nothing in his hands. and even though they tried to say he was doing this and that could be a threatening manner, i think that's -- any reasonable person could tell that's

absolutely ridiculous. >> mckenna also took the stand yesterday and said he didn't remember much after being shoved against a wall. the officers each face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of assault. this morning a high school students faces charges for stabbing a classmate at a montgomery county school. the stabbing happened yesterday morning near the cafeteria at northwood high school in silver spring. officers arrested 18-year-old shadat tarawali. he's accused of stabbing a 15-year-old student in the leg. the victim was taken to the hospital and is expected to be okay. the two had been reportedly in an argument last week. tarawali is charged with second degree assault and possessing a weapon school property. today an official from gallaudet university plans to discuss the controversy surrounding her stance on same-sex marriage. angela mccaskill will hold a press conference this afternoon in annapolis. the university recently placed her on leave after learning she signed a petition to put maryland's same-sex marriage law on the november ballot. an attorney for mccaskill says

she is not anti-gay. she just wants maryland voters to decide on the issue. her attorney also said she's exploring legal options to get her reinstated to the university. and voters in washington state will vote on a similar measure in november, and the supporters now include the retail giant nordstrom based in seattle. the company ceo recently sent an e-mail to all 56,000 employees about his stance on the issue. it says in part that gay and lesbian employees should have the same rights and protections under the law as heterosexual employees. 6:35 now. fairfax government employees will soon be able to keep a gun in the car in the employee parking lot, but it's not clear if they can keep hunting equipment like cross bows and other epps wa. virginia residents have long been able to visit a state or local government facility with a gun in their vehicle. up until now fairfax county employees were forbidden to do so by county employment policies. the new state legislation is part of a recent push for gun rights group for broader

acknowledgement of virginia's existing gun laws. some government employees also want to keep hunting equipment in their cars while at work. not everyone agrees. >> many of us commute. 50, 50% of the employee population commute. it's difficult to commute, then go home and pick up your equipment. >> women were concerned about carrying mace. mace is not considered a weapon. >> penny gross chairs the committee that will revise the policy. the new law applies only to guns and ammunition. a public hearing is scheduled for december. 6:36. 51 degrees. ahead, the one question you will not hear during tonight's presidential debate.

a florida pee wee assistant football coach could face assault charges after he hit a referee during a game. police say the coach was upset after an unsportsman like conduct penalty and confronted the controversy. because of a trofrss, the ref decided to call the game early, and the assistant coach attacked the ref. so far the assistant coach has not been arrested but could face charges. coming up on 6:41 on this tuesday morning. you can see the sun starting to come up over the horizon now. tom kierein has a full forecast for us. tom? >> sunrise in about 40 minutes. it's at 7:19 this morning. of course, they're getting later and later this time of year. the nights are getting longer

and longer. we've got a chilly morning in the wake of yesterday's rain. we're in the upper 40s much of the region. that includes springfield, hometown forecast for springfield and fairfax county. by 8:30 still in the 40s there. and partly cloudy. then by the noon hour, ought to be around 60 degrees with lots of sunshine, and winds still a bit blustery through into the afternoon hours. in fact, we could have winds gusting up to 20 miles an hour from time to time all the way into the afternoon hour by hour today. by noontime, right around the metro area and right around 60 degrees, ought to hit mid-60s by midafternoon and then lighter breezes by late afternoon. by then, back down to the low 60s. our sunset today is at 6:28. i'll be back in ten minutes with a look at a scary cloud that many of us saw yesterday afternoon. a pick of that along with your seven-day outlook at 6:51. a look at traffic now with danella. good morning. >> good morning. thanks, tom. here's a live look at chopper 4 over the crash. this is in the hov lanes. i-95 at fairfax county parkway.

left lanes are blocked at this time. the accident does look to be involving a motorcycle. now, let's talk about delays on i-95. had an earlier crash at prince william parkway. was blocking the left lane, it's gone. still dealing with steady delays. here's a live look at lorton. hov lanes jammed because of the hov accident and just to the beltway. it's slow. from quantico, it will take you at least 50 minutes to get to the beltway. let's head over to i-270. sluggish southbound from germantown, steady delays, stop and go for you as you head towards rockville. good news. not seeing any accidents as you make your way 270 southbound or northbound at this time. aaron, over to you. >> thank you, danella. two virginia hikers found safe in montana after being stranded for days in the snow. they will return home today. neal peckens of herndon and jason hiser of richmond went hiking in glacier national park last week. family reported them missing when they didn't catch the flight home on monday.

neal's mother says the pair hiked into the back country and fell into the ravine. park rangers found the men safe around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. >> i never felt that this was going to end catastrophically. i never felt that something happened to him. >> peckens and hiser were taken to a hospital and given a clean bill of health. it is not clear what time they'll be arriving home today. this morning police are trying to figure out who killed a man in prince george's county. officers found the victim yesterday while responding to a report of a shooting at a house in on 25th avenue in temple hills. investigators aren't saying whether the victim had been shot, only saying he suffered trauma to the upper body. we're told he died after being taken to an area hospital. police have not identified the man. police need your help catching a man who robbed a shell gas station with a shotgun in prince george's county. take a look at these surveillance photos. over the weekend, police say the man walked into a store on annapolis road on bowie, pointed a shotgun at the clerk, and dend

maed cash. no one was hurt. if you recognize the man, contact prince george's county police. two more drugs from a specialty pharmacy linked to a meningitis outbreak are now being investigated. that outbreak is linked to steroid shots used for back pain made by the new england compounding center in massachusetts. now the food and drug administration trying to figure out if drugs given to patients after eye or heart surgery could also be a part of the outbreak. so far, 215 people are sick. 15 others have died, including a patient in both maryland and virginia. a police officer and an ohio state trooper are both recovering this morning after their motorcycles collided while they were escorting michelle obama. the two motorcycles somehow sideswiped each other yesterday afternoons athe first lady was heading to the airport from a campaign event. tonight could be one of the most crucial nights of the election for president obama and mitt romney. they'll square off in the second debate and answer voter questions in a town hall style debate at hofstra university. the president is looking to be

more aggressive than he was in the first debate two weeks ago, but political analysts say he doesn't want to be too aggressive. they also have advice for his republican rival. >> he needs to show he's tougher. yes, he needs to attack. yes, he needs to push back more, but he doesn't want to come across as a bully. for mitt romney, the number one piece of advice he's getting is to engage with these questioners. in town halls, he has a tendency, when he gets a tough question, to back away. >> president obama's lead in virginia has disappeared. that's according to recent polls. narrowed in battleground states as well. >> both presidential candidates are already upset with the moderator of tonight's debate. the sides submitted complaints about cnn's candy crowley. they're worried she may play an active role in tonight's debate even though it's supposed to be a town hall format. crowley says she intends to follow up on questions asked by people in the audience. one topic that won't come up

tonight, pizza. pizza hut is backing off its offer of a free pizza for life for anyone who asks the candidates if they prefer sausage or pepperoni on their pizza pie. the publicity stunt failed, and many people blasted the company for its over. now customers with vote for their favorite top can on the website. one person will be picked at random and be rewarded. they're not saying whether it's free pizza for life. tonight's debate is at 11:00. we'll have more following the debate. paul ryan visiting a soup kitchen in ohio may have done more harm than good for the charity. the head of the soup kitchen said the republican vice presidential nominee and his family were not authorized to be there on saturday. he said they didn't do anything on the trip. it looks like they're washing dishes, but look closely, you'll see those pots and pans appear to already be clean. the head of a charity also says he runs a political organization which isn't allowed to host

political candidates. he claims donors may even stop contributing to his charity. the campaign, the romney campaign says the trip was supposed to highlight the work of soup kitchen volunteers. today paul ryan will be in our area, he'll visit fredericksburg and lynchburg, virginia. mitt romney will campaign in the commonwealth tomorrow. i'll be in leesburg and chesapeake. and kaine just picked up a major endorsement in his bid to become the next u.s. senator from virginia. "the washington post" is supporting the former governor and dnc chairman. kaine and his political rival george allen will be in northern virginia today. kaine is holding a town hall meeting with northern virginia women near dulles. and allen will speak near rosslyn. sources say the white house is prepared to launch a strike against al qaeda in retaliation for the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in libya. the government is still looking for the group responsible for the attack, and there are concerns for the potential

political fallout. this comes as secretary of state hillary clinton says she takes partial responsibility for the attack. she consults with security officials about protecting state department employees. the obama administration has been criticized for not providing enough protection to officials in the consulate. one of the victims in that attack, christopher stevens will be remembered today as a public memorial in san francisco. stevens was the u.s. ambassador to libya. he grew up and went to college in california. funeral services are set today for a former pennsylvania senator arlen specter. specter died sunday at the age of 82 after a lengthy battle with non-hodgkins lymphoma. the moderate republican who switched to a democrat in 2009 was 82 years old. vice president joe biden is set to attend the memorial and burial outside philadelphia. president obama has ordered flags at the white house be flown at half staff. and a one-time presidential candidate is now in hospice care. family members of senate

candidate george mcgovern says he's in declining health. he served in the senate for 18 years and unsuccessfully lost his bid for the white house against richard nixon in 1972. how frustrating it can be to deal with student loans. cnbc's bertha coombs explains. we all remember dealing with the office, those who had the things you had to pay. after graduation, it's getting a lot tougher for graduates with loans. the consumer financial watchdog has received thousands of complaints from people struggling to repay their student loans. the consumer financial protection bureau says the complaints are very similar to what they heard about from homeowners who fell behind on their mortgages. they're being charged extra fees, can't figure out who owns their loans, and can't get a representative on the phone. the agency has been compiling complaints since march now and is urging congress to help borrowers modify or refinance their student loan payments.

meantime, starbucks is going to start selling its new single cup at home brewing system at its stores today. the barrisimo costs $199 for a basic model or $399 for a souped up one, depending on the side and features. it's already sold online and at retailers like macy's. starbucks is trying to grab market share from the green mountain roasters which makes the keurig coffee machine. i've got to tell you, i like jasmine. she's at the corner starbucks around from my house. i would miss her. i'd rather go see her in the morning. >> or you can buy a coffee machine, a coffee pot. that's like $40. >> and invite her over for breakfast. >> i like it. skoens, muffins. bertha, thanks so much. take care. coming up on 6:51 is right now. you may need a cup of coffee to warm you up this morning if you're heading out any time soon. >> wrap your hands around a warm beverage this morning. it's quite chilly the in wake of yesterday afternoon. around 70 degrees. we had some scary looking clouds

this morning. maybe you saw this cloud. this is a photo taken near sterling, virginia, yesterday afternoon. it's called a shelf cloud because it sticks out from the cloud like a shelf from a wall. that's right before the heavy downpours came in. send your picks to weather@nbcwashington.com. in europe, they've got a major snowstorm that hit the austrian alps and parts of the swiss and the italian alps yesterday afternoon. one of my facebook photos. tangerine dawn under way over the potomac river on tuesday morning. 54 at reagan national. dewpoint comfortably dry at 42. out of the west, around 10 to 15, occasionally gusting to 20 miles an hour. it feels even chillier than that. temperatures around much of the region are in the 40s to just near 50 degrees. northern virginia, much of maryland, out into west virginia, many locations there. a few spots in the highlands

have reached the 30s. we will stay chilly for the next few hours. by 8:00 a.m., still upper 40s and low 50s, a bit breezy. by noontime, a bit warmer temperatures. still on the cool side. it will be in the low 60s much of the metro area to the upper 50s in the rural areas noontime. and the winds will diminish during the afternoon as we reach the mid-60s. overnight tonight, the winds go calm, back down into the 40s. partly cloudy on wednesday, a bit milder tomorrow afternoon. ought to be around 70 degrees. on thursday, here comes another front. may give us more scary clouds like monday on thursday n into , some passing downpours are possible as the front sweeps through. around 70. back to the 40s to near 50 by dawn on friday as we dry out through the day. highs mid-50s. here's a look at the storm team 4 seven day outlook. saturday, sunday, looking great. chilly mornings, cool afternoons. partly cloudy. great for outdoor activities. danella's here now with a look at traffic. good morning.

>> many go, tom. another accident. i-95 northbound in virginia. this one chopper 4 is over as you make your way toward fairfax county parkway, you're going to see the left lanes blocked by the crash there. also, the ramp to get onto the 467 hov lanes also blocked at this time. second accident in the hov lanes as you continue northbound, you're going to see the left lane blocked by an accident involving a motorcycle. it's slow on i-95. i would make an alternate plan. take you about an hour to get from quantico to the beltway. continuing along 395, you're jammed at edsall. steady delays to seminary road. slow all the way to the 14th street bridge. >> danella, thank you. 6:53. today metro officials will testify to congress about why a project to install cell phone service to all of its underground stations won't be completed until 2015. metro released a memo saying the three years will also include major track shutdowns in order to install service. officials have not said why there's such a lengthy delay.

the first deadline to install service at the 20 busiest stations was met back in 2009. today social security recipients will learn how much extra they'll receive each month. the cost of living adjustment figures come out today. analysts expect the increase will be between 1% and 2%, the smallest in almost 40 years. last year the increase was 3.6%. retired workers average about $1,200 a month in social security. $17.9 billion. that's how much money one senator says the government is wasting on projects he calls the most egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars. oklahoma senator tom coburn is releasing his annual waste book. coburn is going after the nfl this year. it classifies itself as a nonprofit organization to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes even though it brings in more than $9 billion a year. coburn also mentions a $395,000 robotic squirrel that's designed to look real enough to trick a rattlesnake.

he also blasts nasa for spending nearly $1 million on researching food for astronauts to eat on mars. >> okay. ricky gervais is out. instead, two women will join forces to cohost the golden globe awards. 30 rock's tina fey and parks and recreation star amy poehler will share hosting duties in january. the two are used to sharing the spotlight. they co-anchored "weekend update" on "saturday night live." and starred in several movies together. the golden globes set to air january 13th here on nbc 4. >> two very talented ladies. >> can i mention yesterday i spoke about pumpkin patches and the fact i had never been to one. our friends at 94.7 fresh fm sent me a pumpkin. >> that's pretty heavy. >> as, i guess, an enticement to hit a pumpkin patch before the season is over. there it is. appreciate it, kelly coss. i know she's the one behind this one. >> go to a pumpkin patch with

me. i'm taking you. >> and you will bundle me and your three kids up. >> got it. peanut butter and gjelly for al. out the door forecast. it's certainly feeling octobery. down in the 40s near 50. 60s in the afternoon with a diminishing wind. back to you. >> that is "news 4 today." thank you for starting your day with us. >> the "today" show is next. ♪

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