virginia voters kicks into high gear. in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> and comment controversy remark during a u.s. senate debate that could be a major headache this morning for mitt romney. good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. turn back the clock. it says wednesday, october 24th right now, but it's not going to feel like fall today. already temperatures in the 60s for some of us. by later today, the temperatures really going to sky rocket. >> we're going to enjoy it while it lasts. tom kierein is here with our forecast. tom, good morning. >> this time of year we don't have as much daylight as we do in august, so any spike in the temperature is not going to last as long, but it may briefly feel like summer by midafternoon. right now it is off to a balmy start around the metro area, else where, where you see the moving green on storm team 4 satellite image, that's a light

rain. just a very few sprinkles trying to reach the ground in loudoun county and farther west in eastern west virginia and western maryland, it is tracking east. you might briefly need an umbrella from the shenandoah valley and blue ridge east here and around the metro area over another couple of hours. right now temperatures where they are getting a few of those sprinkles are generally mid-50s. closer to washington, it's in the mid-50s to low 50s parts of northern virginia, montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's. near 60 in the district, and right near the chesapeake bay, much of southern maryland and northern neck. storm team 4 hour by hour today, forecast by 7:00 a.m. a lot of cloudiness around, a slight chance of sprinkles in the 50s. the noon hour rather cloudy. the mid-70s, though. ought to get a little sun breaking out during the afternoon with a high near 80. briefly for an hour or two midafternoon. i'm back in ten minutes with a hometown forecast. another look at storm team 4 radar. a look at traffic trouble on this wednesday morning with danella. >> that's right, tom. i-95 northbound in stafford

a mess. tom talks about this most mornings how you have to look out foreer. this is the case traveling northbound. a deer was running across the interstate there. a driver tried to avoid it and actually hit a tractor-trailer gas tank instead. all of the northbound lanes were shut down. now just the left lane is shut down. this is at centreport parkway. the left lane is blocked. delays northbound 95 are solid at about three miles. let's head over to i-66, still check notiing on the multivehic accident eastbound. it's now moved to the left shoulder lane. it was blocking two of your lanes in this area. approaching the bypass, you're absolutely jammed as you try to make your way by the accident. luckily, it's in the shoulder lane. if you're taking the rails, i'm checking them. no reported delays on the metro, marc, or vre. eun, over to you. >> thank you, danella. new this morning, the border between israel and the gaza strip is closed after an early morning barrage of rocket and

mortar attacks. more than 40 rockets slammed a neighborhood in southern israel as air raid sirens sounded. this is the damage to one me. at least one person was killed and nine others were hurt. the israeli military says its aircraft and tanks struck gaza twice in retaliation. the entire region is now under alert amid fears of more attacks. new details about the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. the white house learned an islamic militant group claimed responsibility shortly after the attack. the white house and state department received e-mails just two hours after the deadly attack. president obama did not specifically blame any terrorist group close to three weeks after that incident. the u.s. intelligence analysts say information was mixed following the attack that killed the u.s. ambassador to libya and three others. president obama and mitt romney are focusing almost completely on battleground states with election day less than two weeks away. the candidates will visit five of those crucial states today alone. president obama will make stops

in iowa's quad cities and in denver. he'll later fly to los angeles for an appearance on "the tonight show" before heading to las vegas. romney will visit nevada l as well. he'll campaign in reno. and the republican presidential nominee will stop in cedar rapids, iowa, and then cincinnati. he'll make three stops in ohio tomorrow. virginia will get a lot of attention from the campaigns this week as well. mitt romney will visit battlefield high school in haymarket on sunday. this is part of a three-city tour that will take him to richmond and virginia beach as well. the president visits the commonwealth tomorrow with a stop in richmond. both running mates will make two stops each in the state over the next four days. the presidential debates are proving to be even more popular than the nfl. 59.2 million people watched president obama and mitt romney square off monday night in boca raton. just 10.7 million people watched monday night football. only 8.1 million watched the san francisco giants beat the st. louis signals in game seven of

the national league championship series. democrat tim kaine will campaign in northern virginia today. the senate candidate will try to appeal to jewish voters when he has lunch at the jewish community center in fairfax. his republican rival george allen had breakfast at the jcc on monday. a major twist in indiana's hotly contested senate race. the republican candidate trying to explain what he meant when he said this about rape during a debate yesterday. >> you struggled with it for a long time, but i came to realize that life is a gift from god. even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> richard mordoch says he meant to say that god does not intend for rape to happen, but god is the only one who can create life. mitt romney distancing himself from the remark. the gop presidential nominee appears in a new ad for mordoch, but his campaign says the comment does not reflect mitt romney's views. the federal government is

looking into problems of d.c.'s office of the chief financial officer. chief financial officer matt nargandi heads that office. the d.c. council recently cited a tax office for a number of issues, including poor tax payment tracking and lack of oversight. it also criticized gandhi for not releasing audits to reflect the problems. gandhi's office says it's cooperating with the request. this morning fairfax county police looking for a serial groper possibly linked to a string of sexual assaults. the latest assault happened on south maple avenue in gibson street in falls church. police say men approached a woman walking a baby stroller, forcefully grabbed her, and then ran away when she screamed. the woman's description helped police create a composite sketch. you see that here. five similar assaults happened in the springfield area last month. a woman is still in the hospital this morning after leading virginia and maryland

police on a wild high speed chase. police say 27-year-old angela cobbold was driving at least 90 miles per hour on interstate 66 yesterday morning. officers tried to stop her but cobbold kept going all the way to the naval support facility in bethesda. security officers there say cobbold was chewing on a bar of soap while driving. there she and a security officer opened fire on each other. she then crashed her car into a security zone and was taken into custody. the major breach. credit cards stolen. while the company waited months to notify customers. president obama: there's just no quit in america... and you're seeing that right now. over five million new jobs. exports up forty one percent. home values... rising. our auto industry... back. and our heroes are coming home.

we're not there yet, but we've made real progress and the... last thing we should do is turn back now. here's my plan for the next four years: making education and training a national priority; building on our manufacturing boom; boosting american-made energy; reducing the deficits responsibly by cutting where... we can, and asking the wealthy to pay a little more. and ending the war in afghanistan, so we can... do some nation-building here at home. that's the right path. so read my plan, compare it to governor romney's... and decide which is better for you. it's an honor to be your president... and i'm asking for your vote... so together, we can keep moving america forward. i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

sonchts if you're planning to fly this thanksgiving and you haven't bought your ticket yet, get ready to pay more than you did last year. travelocity reviewed fares for flights between november 17th and the 27th. the average domestic round trip will cost $386 including taxes. that is 9% more than the same period last year. travel experts blame the hike on fewer seats along with fluctuating fuel prices. >> you think i could get my kids on board with a hiking vacation. get your shoes on. get your backpacks on. >> sure. i think the kids would go along for that. i don't know about getting them back home. >> or me for that matter. >> 6:11 is our time. time for weather and traffic on the ones. we start with tom kierein. >> good morning. storm team 4 radar showing sprinkles out of the mountains of northern virginia and maryland this morning. you might need an umbrella over the next couple of hours. hometown forecast, great falls, virginia, we may make it there into the mid-70s by midday.

a lot of clouds this morning. again, maybe a few sprinkles this morning. here is the hour by hour forecast storm team 4 look at the afternoon, up around 80 deg deg degrees for a brief time, and we'll have sunshine breaking out by then. the latest on tropical storm sandy. will it affect us? i'll have that in a few minutes. back to you. now let's check on traffic. still tracking breaking news on i-95. the situation is northbound at centreport parkway. only the left lane gets by the crash there. earlier this morning, all of the lanes were blocked. this is a view from chopper 4. the left lane is blocked as well as the left shoulder lane. right lane, center lane gets by. let's talk about delays. on i-95, you're at four miles. as the chopper pans out, if you're thinking of jumping on route 1 instead, your backup is two miles. solid delays in this area. if you're traveling i-95, another accident northbound at back lick roadblo blocking the t

side of the roadway. you're jammed at 23 miles per hour northbound. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> 6:12. almost 6:13. who's been told to eat a daily dose of beans? as governor, i cut five billion dollars in spending

and balanced the budget every year. and tim kaine and i both cut our own pay as governors, to lead by example. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done. we were a great team in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility, grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announcer ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

"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. i'm melissa mollet at the live desk. fighting between gaza and israel has killed four palestinians in

the last two days. crossings between gaza and israel also shut down following the attacks there. take a look. dozens of rockets and mortars from the gaza strip pummeled israel this morning, some slamming into this neighborhood. nine people were hurt. the entire region on alert with the fear that more rockets could be launched. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. the popular tropical storm sandy is expected to strengthen into a category 1 hurricane today. satellite shows a storm right now approaching the coast of jamaica. already sandy is drenching parts of jamaica with steady rain. people are boarding homes and stocking up on supplies. the country shut down schools and offices as well. international airports could close this morning. now to tom kierein with a look at where this storm is expected to go next. tom? >> good morning. right now it has 70 mile an hour winds, and it is a strong tropical storm heading north at 15 miles an hour. right now about 130 miles to the south of jamaica, passing over there later today. and the latest track takes it over eastern cuba as a category

1 hurricane. then back down to a tropical storm moving east of florida during the day on friday and saturday and sunday taking a right turn heading up west of bermuda. after that, it may track along the atlantic seaboard perhaps later on sunday and into monday and tuesday next week. that will affect our weather. the latest coming up in just a few minutes. eun? >> many to, thank ytom, thank y. a fast moving wildfire in colorado. firefighters say the fire started yesterday in one home and quickly spread to nearby brush. winds up to 80 miles an hour helped fan the flames. lower winds today could help firefighters gain control of this fire. two teenage brothers are facing charges in connection with the death of a 12-year-old girl in clayton, new jersey. autumn pasquale was last seen alive on sunday riding a bmx bike to a friend's house. her body was found late monday

night in a recycling container. the moatist tive is not clear, e police believe the brothers may have wanted the girl's bike. michael skakel was convicted in 2002 for killing a woman with a golf club back in 1975. supporters say he's been a model inmate, but the victim's relatives say skakel was properly convicted and should not be released. if skakel is deemed eligible for parole, he could go free as soon as april. 6:15 right now. jerry sandusky will soon be moved to a pennsylvania state prison to serve out his sentence. sandusky being evaluated at a correctional institute, and he'll then be moved to another prison there in the state. the 68-year-old was sentenced to earlier this month to between 30 and 60 years behind bars for sexually abusing multiple young boys. the former penn state assistant football coach is appealing that conviction. a security breach has led barnes and noble to unplug all

of its credit card swipe devices at checkout counters. the company says someone tampered with the devices at 63 stores in nine states. barnes and noble did not find evidence of hacking at its d.c., maryland, and virginia stores. the company warns customers to check for unauthorized transactions and change your pin number as a precaution. this all happened last month, but investigators asked the store to wait to make it public. a high school student in oregon has his bus driver to thank for saving his life. last week nico deutsche was joking around with his friends in the back of the bus when he accidentally swallowed a plastic ice cube. his airway was completely blocked. you can see him there on the right of your screen. he motioned for help, but at first the other kids thought he was joking. >> no, that's something you don't joke about. it's not funny. like i had this blurriness, like i'm covering my eyes like starting through my peripherals and like i couldn't see anything

but like a blink light. >> that's when the bus driver came to his aid and did the heimlich maneuver dislodging that plastic ice cube. he then lectured all the kids on why they should never eat or drink on the bus. eating beans can decrease heart disease risk with people with type ii diabetes. a study from the university of toronto found that consuming one cup of legumes like beans, chick peas or lentils allows the body to process sugar more effectively. beans also known to lower blood pressure, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. we all like to eat. we're happy to announce today is food day. it was created by the center for science and the public interest to celebrate healthy food. thousands of events taking place across the country to promote healthy options, sustainable agriculture, and animal welfare. there are hundreds of events here in the d.c. area as well. we put a link on the "news 4

today" facebook page with more information. >> all right. celebrating healthy foods. love it. >> all food. it's worth celebrating. >> healthy food maybe a little bit more. and chocolate, of course. >> a lot of pork chops. 6:21. time for weather and traffic on the ones. storm team 4 meteorologist with a summer-like forecast. >> sprinkles of light rain showing up on storm team 4 radar. coming out of the mountains, holding together a little bit northern shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia. it's generally trending dry as it heads east. we might have a few passing sprinkles over the metro area the next couple of hours. right now off to a cool start. low to mid-50s most of maryland and virginia. near 60 in washington along the chesapeake bay, tidal potomac, northern neck. temperatures hovering in the low 50s right now. here's the storm team 4 four-day forecast. after a few of these morning sprinkles, little sun is coming back this afternoon up around 80 degrees. by midafternoon. then a beautiful day tomorrow but cooler.

then clouds around friday. small chance of sprinkles and cooler, increasing clouds on saturday. yes, maybe sandy affecting our weather here. sunday, monday, tuesday, with rain and gusty wind. we'll keep you posted and much cooler as well. i'm back in ten minutes. now the latest on our traffic trublds. here's danella. >> thanks, tom. still tracking breaking news along 95 northbound. two accidents. first in stafford at centreport parkway. the left lane is blocked. a look from chopper 4 and delays on i-95 in stafford. you're looking at a three-mile backup. if you're thinking of jumping on route 1 instead, there you're facing a two-mile backup. 95 northbound, the crash here now blocking the right lane and right center lane. two of the left lanes will get you by as you make your way northbound at back lick road. delays average 15 miles per hour from prince william parkway to get to the beltway, it will take you over 50 minutes to make that drive. over to i-66, still seeing accident activity as you approach 28.

it's in the left shoulder lane. this was blocking the left lane. as you travel 66 eastbound, jammed from the bypass, very slow trip as you make your way to centerville. aaron and eun, back over to you. ahead, a highway that pushes the limit is open for business. how fast you'd have to go to speed. plus a beloved character in the middle of a controversy. ike leggett: gaming generated one hundred and eighty...

million dollars for maryland schools. question seven will double it. rushern baker: question seven will add table games and... a new casino, generating millions of dollars... every year, without raising taxes. leggett: and audits will ensure the money goes... where it's supposed to. more jobs, and millions for schools. baker: question seven will be good for our kids... our teachers, and our schools. leggett: keep maryland money in maryland. baker: please vote for question seven. leggett: vote for question seven.

[monotone] she says, "switch to progressive and you could save hundreds." call or click today.

welcome back at 6:26. a shark attack killed a 39-year-old surfer off a southern california coast. the man was surfing in santa barbara when the shark bit him. a friend was able to drag him out of the water, but he died before paramedics arrived. there were no shark warning signs posted in the area, but police say shark sightings are not rare. everything is bigger in texas, they say, and that includes the speed limit. today a new toll road with an 85-mile-per-hour speed limit opens in the lone star state. supporters say it offers an

alternative to congested roads and is safe as long as drivers follow the rules. those against the high speed limit say that 85 miles an hour simply is not safe for any driver. police say the speed limit does not worry them, but the highway runs through a rural area, causing the potential for accidents with wildlife. >> my car can't even get up to 85. >> i'm sure it kid. even with the lower speed, the wildlife, if you live in a place where there are deer and other animals that run out. >> you're not going to see it at 85 miles an hour. it is now 6:27. what metro is going to be adding to its ads. as governor, i cut five billion dollars in spending

and balanced the budget every year. and tim kaine and i both cut our own pay as governors, to lead by example. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done.

we were a great team in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility, grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announcer ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

marywe invest in them.umber one in america because 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. breaking news, chopper 4, over a crash that is really messing up the morning commute for a lot of people because a

deer. late start this morning. a cause thousands of students can get behind. what one mother is pushing for and why she's doing it. and surprise inspections. this morning new efforts to prevent another nationwide outbreak. good morning, everyone. welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. we are going to be chasing a record today. we may not quite get there, though. >> it's going to be hot, at least for late october it will be. meteorologist tom kierein live on the news 4 weather deck now. quite a bit of cloudiness now beginning to move in from the west. the air is cool, not really quite chilly. it's off to certainly a warmer than average start here for late october. we have a calm wind now. on the storm team 4 satellite radar image, you see that area moving in green. those are a few sprinkles coming into the mountains and heading into the shenandoah valley, eastern panhandle of west virginia. they're generally driving as they're moving east, but there's a slight chance by the time that

disturbance gets closer to the metro area, that we might have a few sprinkles coming your way over the next couple of hours. otherwise, expect a few clouds in and out by midday. here's the hour by hour forecast by 8:00 a.m., the mid-50s. maybe a few sprinkles, small chance. then by noontime, cloudy, low chances. then sunshine breaking out midafternoon. for a brief time, maybe for just an hour or two, maybe between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m., we'll hover near 80 degrees. that's going to be the last of it because big changes on the way. details on sandy coming up this half hour. right now the latest on traffic with danella. >> thanks, tom. tracking breaking news on i-95. two accidents, this one on stafford that happened hours ago. i-95 at centreport parkway, a crash there. i'll give you a live look from chopper 4. this is all due to a driver trying to avoid hitting a deer on the roadway. the driver missed the deer and hit a gas tank of a

tractor-trailer, spilling fuel onto the roadways, taking time to clean up. your delays are about four miles i-95 northbound in stafford. the second accident at back lick road, blocking the right lane. for some time just the left lane getting by, now two left lanes getting by. northbound 95 at back lick road, we're going to talk delays again, they're even slower. 11 miles per hour. from prince william parkway to the beltway, over an hour. if i could avoid i-95 today, i would just do it, maybe travel a little later today. massachusetts health investigators say they found unsanitary conditions inside the pharmacy linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak. that includes visible black specks of fungus in the steroids. 23 people have died and more than 300 others nationwide have be been infected. the governor of massachusetts is ordering inspections of all of the pharmacies at least once a year to try to stop this from happening again.

meantime, the number of suspected meningitis cases in virginia is rising. the virginia department of health says 41 cases have been reported. that includes three cases of west virginia residents being treated at virginia hospitals. state clinics are still working to contact the nearly 700 people who received the potentially tainted shot. 6:34. a former university of virginia lacrosse player convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend will serve his prison sentence in a rural part of south western virginia. george huguely was assigned to the keane mountain correctional center in buck hammond county, virginia. the 24-year-old was convicted in the beating death of yeardley love in 2010. the prison lists huguely's release date as may of 2030. his attorneys are appealing his conviction. the prince george's county school board is erasing all votes by a former member who lived outside her district. rosalyn johnson had been living outside her district for four months. that violates maryland law. she moved from laurel to new carrollton to care for her ill mother.

yesterday the board decided to erase all her votes since she joined the board in 2006, but several members recognized her for her service. >> i wish to express and hope the board as a whole expresses its deep admiration and appreciation for miss johnson and the work she's done, the dedication she has done because she has truly dedicated her life to the equity and performance of our students. >> johnson had already planned to resign this fall, and two others are already vying for her seat in november's election. there is new effort this morning, a push to start school later at montgomery county high schools. so far more than 5,000 people have signed mandy mader's online petition to start classes at 8:15 or later so students can get more sleep. county high schools start at 7:25 a.m. sleeping in the classroom is a problem studied nationwide and hits closer to home. mader says a later start time

would mean students are more alert in class. critics say the logistics are too hard to work out. >> one hour could make a huge difference in terms of immune system, car crashes, attendance. >> then it becomes do we hire bus drivers or do we hire teachers? where do you want to spend the money? >> mader says she plans to formally introduce the petition to the school board next month. we want to know what you think about the later start times. you can let us know by going to our "news 4 today" facebook page. for more information, pick up this week's issue of the gazette. right now the water is back on for people in kensington after a water main break. crews spent the night on a broken six-inch line along glen ridge street. at least 20 homes without power and water. the cause is still under investigation, but it could be an old pipe that burst. the barney's department store is under fire for a new ad that makes minnie skinny.

take a look here. this is part of a holiday display launching next month. it includes a short film where minnie mouse fantasizes that she is in a fashion show. instead of showing minnie the way we know her, she is taller, less curvy. in the interview, the barney's creative director says the old minnie would not look so good in the designer dress. now more than 135,000 people have signed a petition on change.org asking barney's to leave minnie alone. on its blog, barney's said the ad was intended to be a piece of concept art and it was taken out of context. >> concept art. i think minnie would look good in that designer dress in her regular form. just saying. >> okay. i'm not going to touch it. not this time. 6:37 is our time right now. new numbers just out. they say that the pay gap between men and women starts as soon as they get out of school. plus some great news for those who prefer to get around on two wheels.

kids who spend a lot of time using tv and electronics in their bedrooms are more likely to be obese. that's according to findings from the university of alberta. researchers find that children who have a tv, computer, or even a smartphone in their bedroom could be at risk for poor lifestyle habits, including not getting enough sleep. they recommend getting technology out of the bedroom. they estimate that more than half of kids have technology in the bedroom, and more than half

admitted to much watching tv wh they were supposed to be asleep. keep it all out of the bedroom. >> we tell a lot of adults the same thing. bedrooms are for sleeping. 6:41 is our time. let's take a live look outside. >> let's. >> or we can go to time, and he can do it. >> good morning. weather and traffic on the ones right now just past 6:41 this wednesday morning. we have increasing clouds moving in from the west, and storm team 4 radar showing those clouds are producing sprinkles heading west to east out of the mountains and into northern virginia. they may hold together over the metro area another hour or two. hometown forecast, district heights in prince george's county by 8:00 a.m., ought to be around 60 there. by lunch hour, the mid-70s. here's the hour by hour forecast our entire region. we'll have quite a bit of cloudiness this morning, just a slight chance of sprinkles. but a touch of summer in the air. midafternoon around 80 degrees. the latest on tropical storm sandy. will it affect us? we'll look at that, the rest of

the week and the weekend, in ten minutes. still a mess on i-95 northbound in virginia, but the good news is the accident at centreport parkway is now clear. travel lanes are open, but you're facing at least a four-mile backup in stafford. continuing northbound, approaching back lick road, a crash approaching the right lane. two left lanes get by. from quantico to the beltway, you're at 14 miles per hour. 94 minutes to make that drive. 95 in maryland, a crash at powder mill road, accident blocks the left lane. this is in maryland. stay to the right to get by. good morning. a surprise announcement. pope benedict xvi has just named six new cardinals, one from the u.s., others from lebanon, the philippines, nigeria, colombia, and india. the nominations help even things out. many of his current cardinals are from italy. the appointed cardinal from the

u.s. is james harvey. he's from wisconsin. he was named archbishop by john paul ii. melissa mollet, news 4. the border between israel and the gaza strip is closed after an early morning barrage of rockets and mortar attacks. more than 40 rockets slammed southern israel as air raid sirens sounded. at least one woman was killed and nine others hurt. the israeli military says its aircraft and tanks struck gaza twice in retaliation. the entire region is under alert amid fears of new attacks. new details emerge about the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya last month. the u.s. received information that an islamic militant group claimed responsibility shortly after the incident. president obama did not specifically blame any terrorist group close to three weeks after the incident. u.s. intelligence analysts say information was mixed following the attack that killed the u.s.

ambassador to libya and three others. president obama is preparing for the busiest day of his re-election campaign today. he'll travel more than 5,000 miles with stops in all four time zones in the continental united states. he'll leave washington from iowa's quad cities. he'll leave denver and then l.a. for a taping of "the tonight show." the president heads to las vegas for a rally. mitt romney will campaign in reno and cedar rapids, iowa, and end the day in cincinnati, ohio. he has three events scheduled tomorrow in the buckeye state. virginia is going to be a major focus for both campaigns in the final two weeks here. if there was any doubt about how important the commonwealth is, just the next four days should prove its weight in this election. the president, mitt romney, and both running mates will make a total of eight stops in that state the next four days. this all gets started tomorrow in richmond. that is where the president will hold a rally tomorrow.

it's going to be happening at bird park, and the doors will open around 9:00. richmond will also host mitt romney on sunday. it's the third stop of a three-city tour for the republican. he'll visit haymarket, virginia, for a valley and then wrap up the day at the farm bureau amphitheater in virginia beach. romney's running mate paul ryan in virginia tomorrow. he'll have stops in bristol and in the charlottesville area. while vice president joe biden makes stops in virginia beach and lynchburg on saturday. 6:46 now. this will tell you how closely americans are following this election. 59.2 million people watched monday's third and final debate. that was the smallest audience for any of this year's debates. it is still more than five times the number of people who watched monday night football and seven times the number of viewers for game seven of baseball's national league championship series. lynn university is hoping it impressed some of those 59.2

million viewers. the host for that third debate spent $5 million getting ready for the event and even added 80 debate related courses to its curriculum. palm beach county, where lynn is located, is also looking for a boost. it counted on making $5 million to $6 million from the debate. 6:47 now. there are already some major problems with absentee ballots in maryland. the news 4 i-team heard from a voter who said he was missing a whole page of referendum questions. it included some of the most talked about ballot issues like question 6 on gay marriage and question 7 on gambling. the state board of elections does confirm there are a small number of balance the 0s missing pages in montgomery and prince george's county. if you haven't voted yet, you can call your local election board for a new ballot. head to nbcwashington.com and search "ballot" for more information. some of those campaign signs you see along roadways every day on your way to work may soon be gone. road crews are removing hundreds of signs from medians,

shoulders, and intersections on state roads in maryland. the state road administration says many of those signs were placed there illegally. the administration says it will also remove any illegal commercial signs. today tim kaine will try to win over jewish voters in northern virginia. the former governor and democratic senate candidate will have lunch at the jewish community center in fairfax. his opponent, republican george allen, had breakfast at the jcc on monday. recent polls show the race coming down to the wire for virginia. it's also shaping up to be one of the most expensive senate races this year. 6:48 now. mitt romney is distancing himself from a candidate in another closely watched senate race. >> i struggled with it myself for a long time, but i've come to realize that life is a gift from god. and even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god indianaed to happen. >> that is indiana republican richard mordoch discussing his pro life views in a debate

yesterday. mitt romney's campaign says they do not reflect his views. mordoch said he meant to say that god does not intend for rape to happen, but god is the only one who can create life. a probe launched into d.c.'s tax office. the securities and exchange commission is calling for audits dating back to january of 2010. the d.c. council recently cited the tax office on a number of issues, including poor tax payment tracking and a lack of oversight. it also criticized gandhi for not releasing awed tudits that apparently document the problems. the council passed emergency legislation to get a report on the s.e.c. audits. gandhi's office says it is cooperating with the request. this morning people in fairfax county are on alert after a string of sexual assaults. the latest assault happened on south maple avenue and gibson street in falls church. a man approached a woman walking a baby stroller, forcefully grabbed her, and ran away when

she screamed. the woman's description helped police create a composite sketch. five similar assaults happened in the springfield area last month. police have not filed charges against a woman who led them on a high speed chase through two states. officers clocked 27-year-old angela cobbold driving at least 96 miles per hour on interstate 66 yesterday morning. they tried to stop her, but cob cobbold kept going and ended up at the naval support facility in bethesda. cobbold was chewing on a bar of soap when she was driving. she crashed her car into a construction zeeone, and police caught up with her. >> cnbc's hampton pearson is live with the surge behind facebook. keep an eye on facebook stock today. shares rose more than 14% in after hours trading last night on the back of the company's positive earnings report. facebook revenue rising 32%, slightly better than analysts pd examine. the social networking giant may

have figured out how to make money from people shifting from pcs to mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets. facebook made $153 million from the sales of mobile ads, a category that didn't even exist to the company just seven months ago. ceo mark zuckerberg says facebook could eventually make more money from mobile versus desktop pads. meanwhile, the cost of higher education continues to rise. the college board says instate tuition for a four-year public school rose $400 this fall, or about 5%, to an average of $8,655 annually. if you include room and board, the total cost averages $17,860. the price tag for a private school, $39,518. however, only a third of students pay full price if you factor in student aid, tax credits, and scholarships.

>> ham spton pearson, thank you. despite gans in education and employment, women face a significant pay gap when compared to men. a study released by the american association of university women finds that among recent college graduates, women earn 82% of what their male peers earn. studies of all women in the workplace find that same gap persists throughout women's careers. experts say some of the factors women earn less include college majors and women entering lower paid fields like education. but a gap also exists among men and women in the same field where women earn about 7% less than their male counterparts. >> let's check the forecast right now. it's been feeling a lot more like august or september. what's going on, tom, with this weather? not that i'm complaining. i love it. >> seasonal confusion. i saw convertibles driving around yesterday afternoon. it feels like summer but looking like autumn, like this

picture sent into weather@nbcwashington.com. thanks so much, amy. we've got a lot of those coming in. we'll be sharing those. send your glorious autumn color photos to weather@nbcwashington.com, and you can also like me on facebook and follow on twitter, and check out our latest storm team 4 mobile app. well, how's the color doing now? we have peak color just west of washington into the mountains. some of the areas of the mountains, some of the colors dropping off well past peak in pennsylvania. it is near peak around the metro area. we are going to be your peak here and at peak for the weekend and the first part of next week. then a lot of these leaves get knocked down from winds. yes, sandy may be affecting us. getting a few sprinkles from our west heading east. we might have thoeld hold together in the afternoon hours. temperatures in the 50s most of the region. off to a milder start this morning. here is the latest on sandy. it's south of jamaica now. crossing this afternoon into

cuba. latest track has it about a 70 mile an hour wind through much of the day today. and then turning maybe briefly into a hurricane tomorrow as it crosses cuba, then becomes a tropical storm after that. heading up towards west of bermuda. by the first part of next week, it may be taking a turn to the north and affecting our weather. hour by hour, a wonderful warmup. maybe a few sprinkles this morning, near 80 this afternoon. tomorrow mid-70s. delightful and sunny. and then clouds in here on friday. a small chance of sprinkles, near 70. then the effects of perhaps sandy here. sunday, monday, tuesday, we'll keep you posted. now traffic. what's going on with that, danella? >> tom, it's still just a mess. i-95 in virginia. chopper 4 showing red. you're seeing red as you travel northbound. to get to stafford, you're looking at a five-mile backup. let's continue northbound. from quantico, you're heavy on the brakes again because of this accident. luckily, the accident at back lick road has been moved to the right shoulder lane.

aaron, you're just jammed 14 miles per hour from quantico. back over to you. >> thank you, danella. metro adding a new disclaimer to advertisements after it was forced to post controversial pro-israel ads. these ads equate muslim radicals with savages. metro's disclaimer says that advertising space is a designated public forum and that metro does not necessarily endorse the views of the ads. 6:55 now. a proposal for new bike lanes in d.c. is causing a longtime debate between drivers and cyclists to flare up once again. the latest proposal would add bike lanes on 12th street northwest between 12th and 25th streets. 40% of bicyclists are disobeying traffic signals with many running red lights. there's 56 miles of bike lanes in d.c. already in place. this new proposal could make drivers even more upset as the "l" street lanes would remove parking spots along the roadway.

robert griffin iii often compared to superman, but in a new interview with "usa today," he reveals his newest super hero. people have called me superman, model life. in various sports, that seems to be the common theme. but my favorite super hero is actually the incredible hulk. he's the only super hero that can't die. people might not know that. you want to feel like you're super out there. >> you can read more about that in "usa today." that's "news 4 today." thank you for

president obama: i'm barack obama and i approve... this message. anncr: victims. dependent. that's what mitt romney called forty-seven percent... of americans. including people on medicare. but what about his plan for you? romney would replace guaranteed benefits with a voucher system. seniors could pay six thousand dollars more a year. a plan aarp says would undermine medicare. you're no victim...you earned your benefits. don't let mitt romney take them away.

we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed

and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.