recommend more community service, probation and mental health treatment. hurricane sandy made landfall in southern cuba last night with wind gusts up to 114 miles per hour. the haitian news agency ahp says a woman died trying to cross a flooded ravine. one person in jamaica was also killed when he was struck by a boulder. more than 70% of the island is without power this morning. sandy is expected to remain a hurricane as it moves through the bahamas. a tropical storm warning is now in effect for palm beach county and the treasure coast, although it's unlikely sandy will make landfall in florida, this storm will likely generate close enough to generate some unfavorable conditions iffer the weekend. >> let's turn right to meteorologist tom kierein. >> here locally, don't have any problems off to work and school. this morning, we are starting off the view from space.

the radar showing a clear sky here now, and absolutely balmy afternoon yesterday kept some of that warmth in overnight, although it has cooled down. much of the region down into the 50s across most of maryland, virginia, and into west virginia, right at reagan national near the bay waters, it's in the low 60s this morning, but it has dipped down to just near 50, upper 40, parts of maryland and west virginia. now the latest with sandy, it is passing over eastern cuba now with torrential rain and winds of over 100 miles an hour. it is going to continue to track off to the north. the latest track -- and it is now at 110 miles an hour, a category two hurricane over eastern cuba. latest track taking you due north today, diminishing down to a category 1 storm. friday, looks like it will be due east of daytona beach. taking a r sunday at 8:00

p.m. there's a wide area of uncertainty. it could be tracking as close as right off of ocean city. this would be by monday afternoon. or as far east as 200 miles out. if that happens, we'll get nothing from it. so stay tuned, we'll keep you posted. that's the important thing. stay informed. i'll be back in ten minutes with another update. now a look at your first 4 traffic this morning with danella. >> checking early morning accidents. here we go. if you're traveling backlick road, it's closed both directions. looks like you can get off on to johnmarr drive and connect to little river turnpike if that's the way you'd like to go, or go the other way and take ravensworth. let's head over to the beltway. outer loop at 66 had construction, was blocking that right lane. still seeing some delays, but it looks like it may be in its

final stages, and heading over to i-270 if you're traveling there, north and south. had a work zone setup at 80, but that looks to be gone. your travel lanes are open as you make your way from father hurley boulevard, heading southbound and northbound all the way between rockville. nice and clear. decision 2012 now. president obama gearing up for another exhausting day on the campaign trail. this morning he heads to tampa for a rally. from there, he heads back north to richmond for another campaign event. in the afternoon, the president will fly to chicago to cast his ballot. in illinois, early voting. his next stop, cleveland for a rally at the airport. and eventually he'll fly back to washington. that should happen sometime tonight. president obama may be crossing the country to reach out to voters in these final days before election day, but he is also hoping to win support through the airwaves. >> please welcome the 44th president of the united states, barack obama.

>> the president sat down with jay leno last night on "the tonight show." he used that appearance to explain his lackluster performance in his first debate. >> did you feel in the middle, why am i not connecting? or do you wait until it's over? >> the truth is you don't have a full sense of it until afterwards, partly because it plays different on tv than when you're on the stage. but clearly, i had a bad night because the whole point of these debates is to make sure that the american people understand the space, and everything i was saying was true, but if you don't have the energy and the presentation that makes people kind of snap up and say all right, i get it, then you're not doing your job. >> this was president obama's fourth appearance on "the tonight show" since taking office. the president will be on nbc 4 again tonight, this time on rock center. you can see his exclusive interview with brian williams at 10:00. mitt romney also spending the day campaigning in ohio.

he'll take a bus tour across the buckeye state. yesterday, the republican presidential nominee covered four time zones with stops in nevada, colorado, and iowa before ending the day in cincinnati. he told supporters in cedar rapids, iowa, that the obama campaign is getting desperate. >> they have been unable to lay out an agenda for what they're going to do to help america. they have been unable to defend and describe what they'd do to get our economy going again. that's why with a president that's out of ideas and excuse, why on november 6th you'll make sure to put him out of office. >> romney's running mate paul ryan campaigned in ohio yesterday. he talked about creating jobs at cleveland state university. the son of virginia congressman jim moran is giving his side of the story. patrick moran resigned from his father's campaign following an accusation of trying to commit voter fraud. undercover video shows what looks like moran talking to

moran talking to a field director who is concerned about the election. he talks about trying to skirt voter i.d. laws. moran suggests forging utility bills to try and get around those laws. >> patrick moran released a statement following his resignation that said that he thought the man was joking, and in hindsight, he should have walked away immediately. jim moran's campaign released a statement saying that pat had a clear error in judgment. the colorado teen accused of murdering a ten-year-old girl will make his first court appearance today. austin sigg turned himself into police. jessica ridgeway's body was found in a nearby field. sigg will also face charges for trying to abduct a woman back in may while she was jogging.

the man who opened fire on a california family is still on the run. overnight, a third family member died from injuries. two others are still recovering. police say someone who does not appear to be related started shooting inside the family's business in suburban l.a. yesterday, then went to their nearby home and continued firing. police also don't think the man ever worked for the family. the gunman is believed to have taken off in that family's car. we've learned new details about a shooting, this one at a megachurch in georgia. the man was committed to a mental health facility in maryland. police arrested 51-year-old floyd palmer. in 2001, he was charged with attempted murder, assault and handgun charges in baltimore but was released in 2005. palmer was also once a church employee. the church is run by a well-known televangelist and pastor. today we'll get an update on

the purple line. prince george's county hosting a purple line business summit in green belt to discuss the economic impact of that proposed line, that 16-mile light rail line will extend from carolton to bethesda. those in favor say more than 60,000 daily riders ride the rail every day. it would connect to metro's red, green, and orange lines. starting today, you'll get a chance to win free tickets to the national christmas tree lighting ceremony. there are 3,000 seated tickets and 14,000 standing room tickets available. the musical performances at this year's ceremony will be announced in the next month. if you want a ticket, you can enter online at thenationaltree.org. we also have a link on our website. the lottery will run through monday. the 90th national christmas tree lighting ceremony will be held december 6th at the ellipse. it's beautiful. >> always a great time. incredible to see so many people gathered, just enjoying the holiday season. >> and it's cold. it's always cold. >> bet on it.

ahead on news4 today, caught on camera. the crime captured on surveillance camera that police say leads to another illegal activity. and the d.c. sniper reveals new information about his crime spree in an exclusive interview. tom kierein keeping a close watch on hurricane 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. imillion dollars for maryland one hundred schools.ty... 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.

good morning. time for your weather and traffic. at 4:41 on this thursday morning. i'm tom kierein. right now we've got a clear sky throughout the region. no travel problems weather-wise. and the temperatures around the area, well, they've certainly cooled down from yesterday. in fact, we dropped about 30 degrees, back down into the low to mid 50s. parts of the shenandoah valley have dipped into the upper 40s. haymarket may reach the mid 70s by the afternoon. hour by hour for the entire region, it is going to be a spectacular autumn day. by noontime, should be around 70. not as warm as yesterday. highs reaching mid 70s by mid afternoon with a light breeze. just a few clouds popping up. i'll have the latest on hurricane sandy and the effects that it may bring our way. that will be coming up in ten minutes. the seven-day outlook at 4:51. danella, how is traffic?

>> checking two accidents. backlick road shut down in two directions between johnmarr drive and little river turnpike. let's head over to westbound 66. a crash there is blocking the right lane. also on 66, had road work, this is eastbound at the beltway. it's nice and clear and your travel lanes are open in this area. i'm back in ten. over to you. still to come, the milestone happening today more than a year after that east coast earthquake. and the major test for microsoft as it launches its

[ earnest ] out of the blue one day, 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. a new troubling report shows there was a chance years ago to

shut down the company linked to the recent deadly meningitis outbreak. the new england compounding center was supposed to be reprimanded bag in 2004 for problems with the same steroid linked to the outbreak. massachusetts regulators never proceeded after the company complained it would hurt business. at this point, the outbreak has killed 24 people, hundreds are still sick. at the live desk, melissa malloy, news4. d.c. sniper lee boyd malvo says there are still victims of his shooting spree that haven't been identified. malvo told the "today" show's matt lauer that he's tried to reach out to some of those victims' families but hasn't felt ready psychologically. >> yes. it is something i want to do and will do. and i tried it. but at that point in time, i know i couldn't handle it. i tyook care of some and didn't finish the rest. i cannot afford to break down

psychologically because there will be no help. no one cares. >> you can see matt lauer's entire phone interview with lee boyd malvo this morning on the "today" show right after "news4 today." >> this morning, montgomery police are asking for your help to find four burglary suspects. police say the men used a stolen credit card at a fast-food restaurant in silver spring. the card was taken from a house along richie avenue earlier this month. if you recognize any of these men, call police immediately. police need your help finding a man suspected of murdering a woman this weekend. the shooting happened early sunday morning along hamlin street. that's in prince george's county. police believe 24-year-old michael d'angelo brisco of landover killed sherryann mccutchen. a cyclist still in the hospital this morning after being hit by a montgomery county school bus. this happened yesterday afternoon around 4:00. several students were onboard at

the time of that crash. no one was hurt, though. it is still not clear what led to that collision. the cyclist was last listed in critical condition. a search this morning for two pit bulls after the second dog attack in a month in northeast washington. the woman was walking her dogs near 15th and d streets tuesday when the pit bulls cornered her. the owner of a nearby barbershop heard her cries for help and kr chased the dogs away. just two weeks ago, dogs of a similar description cornered this man and one of them bit him. >> bite marks from his upper jaw and his lower jaw and there's black and blue bruises over a five-inch area. >> in both cases, the victims say the dogs were not on leashes and did not have tags. funeral arrangements are in place for a prince george's county police officer killed in a car crash. kevin bodden died last thursday after an suv collided with his cruiser in clinton. he was off duty at the time. the first viewing is friday

night at lee's funeral home in clinton. today, south dakota residents will get to say goodbye to one of their most beloved leaders. a public viewing is planned in sioux falls for george mcgovern. the former senator and presidential nominee passed away sunday at the age of 90. vice president joe biden will attend a prayer service later this evening. mcgovern's funeral will take place tomorrow. he'll eventually be laid to rest in washington. today the campus of gallaudet university will be the cite of two groups of protesters. supporters and opponents of gay marriage will be there to call for the reinstatement of the chief diversity officer angela mccaskill. she was placed on paid leave for signing a petition. the national black church initiative, which opposes same-sex unions, signed on as well. mccaskill says she signed the petition to leave the decision up to voters. if you're a teacher in

prince george's county, listen up, you've got a pay raise and a new contract coming your way. "the washington post" says last night the school board unanimously approved a three-year contract with the teachers union. part of it includes a 2% pay hike. that is the first pay raise many have gotten in three years. the new deal also addresses paid leave, teachers' rights, and working from home. today some alexandria residents will tell city leaders where they believe a flood wall should be built to protect their homes. there will be a public meeting to hear the results of a flood reduction study. the army corps of engineers conducted the study to come up with the best way to protect the bell haven water shed. hurricane isabel damaged more than 200 homes there in 2003. tonight's meeting is scheduled for 7:00 at the south county government center. 14 months after the east coast earthquake, and louisa county virginia is moving forward with new plans to build an elementary school.

last august's 5.8 magnitude earthquake destroyed the elementary school and the high school. since then, classes have been held in mobile units on other county school sites. school administrators say the new elementary school should be finished for the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year. >> looking at some of that video from the flooding, from isabel, reminds me that people who were bracing for sandy are getting a little fer vonervous. what's it looking like now? >> it's diminished a little bit in strength overnight, but still tracking our way, unfortunately, maybe as early as sunday we may begin to feel the effects from it. i want to stress the word "may." there's still a lot of uncertainty with the storm. the important thing for all of us is to just pay close attention to the forecast. right now, don't have any travel problems weather-wise around the region. we do have just a few clouds north and east of the metro area. elsewhere, it is clear, and temperatures around the region where you see the light green in

the 60s. that's right around the bay and the eastern shore. dark green areas in the 50s. that's most of maryland and virginia. out of the mountains of western maryland and into west virginia. few locations have dipped down into the 40s. here's the latest, now with hurricane sandy. it passed over jamaica, causing quite a bit of damage there with a lot of rain and wind. now it's over eastern cuba. moving to the north at about 15, 20 miles an hour. so it's off to a pretty rapid pace here. this is the very latest, this just came out two minutes ago. winds are now at 105 miles an hour. and the latest track, this is the most updated track here, and the intensity does look like it will decrease as it gets toward the bahamas, but still as a category 1 hurricane off the florida coast. the latest track has it coming to the northeast and then taking a northerly turn. this is not good news for us, because it could track anywhere within this zone. this is as of tuesday, the position 2:00 a.m. next week. so beginning sunday into tuesday, it could be as close to

us as on the western fringe of this zone, or as far east as this fringe of the zone. if it goes that far east, we'll get nothing out of it. if it comes that far west, we'll get a lot of rain and wind. clear, cool, 6:00 a.m. temperatures, 55 to 60 or so. for the rest of the afternoon, we'll be peaking in the mid 70s. and then, increasing clouds tomorrow into saturday, but no rain yet. it does look like if sandy does come close to us, we'll get rain and wind on sunday, monday, tuesday. stay tuned, we'll keep you fully informed. danella, good morning, how's our traffic? >> not so good in virginia along backlick road. still seeing the crash there blocking all your lanes in both directions really. this is between johnmarr drive and little river turnpike. it looks like you can turn off on to johnmarr drive. things look a lot nicer here. no word work, nice and clear. i'll give you a live look as you make your way past connecticut avenue in both directions.

if you're taking the beltway, checking cameras there as well, no issues. taking a live look right now on central avenue, very light volume and that's good news. i'm coming back in ten minutes and we'll check the rails. it is 4:54 right now. coming up, the event that will draw thousands to d.c. today ahead of the marine corps marathon. claims of voter registration appl

welcome back. if you're looking for a dinner idea, grab a box of your favorite pasta and celebrate world pasta day. you can also make a reservation, aaron. an entire day dedicated to all things noodle. the celebration actually started in rome back in 1995. this year, pasta maker barilla is trying to use the occasion to end hunger. they will donate four meals to feeding america's foundation, their role is to donate 200,000 meals. very cool. >> i can make some pasta. some of it. thousands of runners will be downing plenty of pasta over the next couple of days to prepare for the 37th annual marine corps marathon and the festivities kick off today with a three-day-long health and fitness expo. it serves as the check-in for the nearly 44,000 runners taking part, but more than 200 exhibits will also be on display at the d.c. armory, including fitness

products, health screens and give waist. it runs today through saturday and is free and open to the public. the marathon takes place sunday at 7:55 a.m. >> now you've got me thinking about a big z. microsoft hoping eight is its lucky number with the limited release of its newest operating system. it will feature elements usually seen in smart phones and tablets. an effort here maybe to compete with apple's popular ios system. the new operating system will come standard on new surface tablets as well as all-new pcs going forward. >> with the holidays right around the corner, it appear there's a lot of good news for people looking for seasonal work. career builder reports that more companies will hire seasonal employees. also will pay these people higher wages and even offer more permanent positions to them at the end of the season.

career builder says an increase in consumer confidence is driving the surge in seasonal hires. a 104-year-old woman may be the oldest person on facebook. maria just celebrated her 105th birthday with friends including her 85 facebook friends. she's been on facebook for about three months now. her family thinks she's the oldest member based on recent articles of facebook celebrating the oldest member, who is 101. her grandson says the company may not recognize maria as the oldest member because he wasn't able to put in her real birth date whe setting up her account. her birthday is october 23rd, 1907. >> facebook has a problem. they would only go back to the 101st birthday. every time i tried to put that she was 104, it kept coming up with an invalid date. >> so far, facebook has yet to confirm if she is, in fact, the oldest facebook user.