the national hurricane center released their latest forecast for hurricane sandy a few minutes ago. >> sandy is already causing big problems for jamaica and cuba. we are tracking the storm to what is being done in our area just in case. news 4 midday starts right now. announcer: now, from the leading news station, this is news 4 midday. good morning. welcome to news 4 midday. i'm keith russell. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's thursday, october 25th, 2012.

police arrested rick curl, a prominent d.c. area swimming coach for sexually abusing a minor. a girl came forward because he abused her in the '80s. they banned him last year because of the allegations. he founded the curl burke swim club with 11 sights around the d.c. area. >> all eyes are on sandy. at least two people have died. the hurricane is gaining strength over cuba. it made ld fall overnight with wind gusts over 114 miles per hour. the tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of florida. the question is, what kind of impact will sandy make here? for that, we bring in tom kierein. >> tom, you have the latest track, the very latest. >> this just came out a couple minutes ago. it's really broken up and lost a lot of organization, but regaining strength. right now, it's over open

waters, south of the bahamas. here are the latest conditions. itis maintained strength as a category 2 storm. it's tracking north at 15 to 20 miles per hour. it's moving quickly. the latest track continues on this northerly track taking it east of florida during the rest of the day today, moving rather quickly. decreasing in strength down to a category one hurricane. as it tracks farther northeast, by friday and saturday, to the west of bermuda, but off the atlantic sea board. saturday and sunday, the latest track is taking it up toward the new york city area, unfortunately. this is a monday position as of 8:00 a.m. it looks like it's out to sea. this is good news for us. here is washington. it could track anywhere within this zone of possible. you can take this western track. of course, we'll be worse off here. there's indication it is trying to switch farther and farther to

the west. stay tuned. things could go downhill for us. the latest track is going to the north. i'll have the sandy impact that it might produce for us if it takes the western track for us in a couple minutes along with the seven day outlook. keith? >> see you in a few. with the possibility that sandy will have an impact this way, local power companies are beginning their preparations to keep the power on. tony tull is live in maryland with more on what the companies are doing to get ready. hey, tony. >> reporter: it's about the preparation. pepco telling us they put out a request for mutual aid asking power companies to the south and west of us, if sandy should make land fall, they will send extra crews to the area to help with repairs. itis not just the power companies that are preparing, it's many local residents.

people are hitting the grocery stores as well as home depot and lowe's. it's an early morning rollout for pepco crews as the threat of hurricane sandy makes its way closer to the d.c., maryland and virginia region. crews stocking up on supplies and heading out for inspections on problematic areas that would be most affected if sandy hits. >> the preparation going on is with management. management is watching sandy closely. everybody up and down the coast. everyone wants to know which way is the storm going to turn. is it going to go left or right? >> reporter: hurricane sandy, if it makes land fall is expected to have a severe impact. pepco put 400 contractors on stand by to deal with power problems quickly. also included in the management plan, request for mutual aid and assistance from other power companies. >> they come together and

wherever a storm hits and it does the greatest damage, utilities try to rally and release crews. >> reporter: no matter how fast pepco and other power companies work, there's the possibility you may be without power for an extended amount of time. with sandy possibly making land fall by sunday, many residents are hitting stores today to make sure they don't get stuck in the dark. >> i have a kerosene lamp and extra storage stuff. a flashlight and i have food that will last for about a year. >> if it comes, we make it through, say thank god. >> reporter: keith, pepco is taking this threat very seriously. a lot of crews they sent out will check transformers, power poles, connections and making sure they do everything they can in case the storm does hit, it will minimize the damage. we are live in oxen hill, tony tull, news 4. >> thanks for the update. new this morning, police

charged a man with dui and with leaving the scene of an accident for a series of events that caused an international incident at the russian embassy. this video started with a man who flipped his suv at massachusetts avenue and garfield street shortly after midnight. as police approached him, he ran. he jumped the fence on wisconsi avenue. the secret service had to negotiate with russian security forces for 90 minutes before they turned him over to american authorities. >> three men are dead in a violent accident in maryland. it happened around 6:00 this morning on route 1. police say the men were riding on route 1 when it hit a tractor trailer when it made a left hand turn. the driver of the tractor trailer was not hurt. no word on if charges will be filed. we are going check on midday traffic. >> what's going on out there? >> now, we have a problem on

i-66. eastbound 66, expect delays because of a car fire just as you approach nutley. the fire department was on the scene. the fire truck is gone. v-dot is still there as well as the vehicle. it was blocking the right lane. let's talk about delays as you make your way eastbound. heavy on the brakes at 123. not too bad in fairfax county parkway. to the beltway, the drive is going to take 20 minutes. over to you. >> thank you. see you in a few. the maryland transit administration talked about progress on the $1.5 billion purple line. the purple line business summit to discuss the economic impact that goes through prince george's county. melissa mollet was at the meeting and has more. >> reporter: the purple line would run from here in new carrollton to bethesda. it's a critical point. a critical point in the process

of planning and finding funding. this meeting was maryland's lieutenant governor and an update on the plan so far. an effort to make the strongest case possible and win approval and funding for the light rail line. >> this will help not only alleviate trash and pollution, but the region that will help everyone. >> reporter: it's a summit to help opportunities the purple line will bring to the area like new development and 4,000 plus jobs with 21 planned stations at a stop in college park. those in favor saying more than 50,000 riders would use the line each day. now, they are trying to line up state, federal and private dollars. >> the state invested $120 million in the planning and design of the purple line. we have 50 million for this year. we are going to look to the

federal government to work with us to fund a large and expensive project. >> reporter: opponents look at the impact. possible demolition of homes along the route. it would connection to the lines marked amtrak. >> all of these transit projects are looked at from the federal level. the purple line would have more transit ridership than any other project proposed at the federal level right now. >> reporter: still, a lot of steps ahead, steps they have to go through before the purple line becomes a reality. the final design is in the last stage of the project. it's when final plans cost estimates and bids r prepared. >> it is very exciting time. someone who serves on the legislature when this is coming about to be in a position to push it as county executive is an exciting time for us. >> reporter: if it goes as planned, construction starts in

2015 and the line operational by 2020. in maryland, melissa mollet, news 4. the trial begins today for two people accused of giving alcohol to minors killed in a crash. they say debbie and her son joshua gave alcohol to three teenagers before a january 28th crash in krofton. britney was walking the wrong way when she slammed into a car. they died in the crash. the lawyer said his clients are innocent. our time right now, ten minutes after 11:00. coming up, packing mecca in saudi arabia today. what's bringing crowds of millions to that city. we are following the candidates as they crisscros

anncr: seven-hundred-thousand jobs. that's what the plan george allen supports... would cost our economy. newspapers called it "economically destructive." like allen's votes to give tax breaks to companies... that ship jobs overseas, his economic plan would... help big corporations, devastating the middle class. allen even voted against tax breaks for small businesses. virginia can't afford to go back to george allen. the democratic senatorial campaign committee... is responsible for the content of this advertising.

right now, mitt romney is campaigning in cincinnati. this is senator rob corcoran at the event. it's the first of three stops romney will make in mo ho. later, he goes to worthington. it's quite a contrast from yesterday. the republican presidential candidate touched down in all four time zones in the continental time zone. rallies 234 nevada, colorado and ohio before ending in cincinnati. just to give you a sense of how important ohio is to romney, no republican has ever lost there and won the white house. president obama is on his way to virginia. he left for richmond a short time ago. a busy day of campaigning. in addition to tampa, he lost a vote in chicago and attended a rally in cleveland before returning to washington. a mitt romney presidency would be a step back for this country. >> we have a long way to go.

but, florida, we have come too far to turn back now. we can't afford to go back to the same policies that got us into the mess. we have to stick with the policies getting us out of the mess. that's why i'm running for a second term at president of the united states. >> president obama received another key endorsement today. former secretary of state, colin powell threw his support behind the president. he endorsed him four years ago when he ran against john mccain. the romney campaign will be represented today in virginia. his running mate paul ryan will go to bristol and charlottesville. news 4 learned president obama will return to the commonwealth on monday. he'll campaign alongside former president, bill clinton, in prince william county. today, hundreds of thousands of muslims are gathered in saudi arabia to mecca. today is the day of -- the

climax of the high. they will spend today praying at the spot where muhammad is believed to have delivered his last sermon. every able bodied muslim who is able to travel to mecca must do so once in their lifetime. >> 14 months after the east coast earthquake, lee wee sa county is moving forward to build a new elementary school. teachers and parents will be on scene for the ground breaking. last august, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake destroyed the elementary school and the high school as well. since the earthquake, classes have been held in mobile units. school administrators say the new elementary school should be finished for the 2014-2015 school year. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us now. look at sandy.

what is it up to now? >> the latest track, i'll show you in a couple minutes. we are dealing with low clouds. the stubborn low clouds. here's the live view. you can see the beautiful autumn color there in the foreground. the low clouds are beginning to brighten a bit. the clouds are breaking up. right now, 64 at reagan national. we have the wind that brought in the cloud cover and it's bunched up against the mountains now. meanwhile, the latest with hurricane sandy. lost organization over eastern cuba. now, it's regaining organization and strength heading toward the bahamas. here are the latest statistics. 105 is a category 2 hurricane moving north at 15 miles per hour. it looks like it will decrease a bit in strength, become a category 1 hurricane later today tracking well east of florida. they could still get rain and heavy surf from that. take a look at the northeast on

friday and saturday. this is by saturdays morning. then begin to take a turn to the north and west. this is the position monday, 8:00 a.m. here is the position tuesday, 8:00 a.m. here is washington. it could track anywhere within this zone. it's a wide zone here of really uncertainty. if it tracks much farther east, we might get sun and nothing much going to happen. if it takes it farther, the wers track inland and coming more toward us. the impact would be quite strong. if that happens, sunday we would have the rain moving in. then maybe the worst effects of it during the day on monday here in the form of strong winds and rain that may cause flooding as well as coastal flooding and scattered power outages, too. widespread if it comes close to us. thankfully, now, the trend is that it's coming inland to the

north. it may not happen. however, there's certainly a lot of uncertainty. there's the easterly flow. you can barely make out the clouds. they are bunched up against the blue ridge here. most locations are nice and sunny. east of there, low clouds and fog. i have hope the cloud cover is going to break up this afternoon. we are in the low to mid-60s in much of the region now. as we go forward, the weather is showing the cloud cover breaking up by later this afternoon. tonight, more clouds moving in. a lot of cloudiness moving in. may get sun breaking out. saturday, clouds increase ahead of sandy, coming off the atlantic sea board. leading rains of sandy by saturday evening may begin to move in to the lower part of the eastern shore. here is the four-day forecast. hopefully sun breaking out this afternoon. if that happens, mid-70s. there's a good chance of that. tomorrow, partly sunny and near 70. if it does come closer to us on

sunday monday and tuesday, we could get the wind and rain and especially into points north of us into new england. stay in touch with all the latest on that as well as the weather, science technology and nature news. go to facebook and search tom kierein and like. i'll do posts throughout the afternoon. we'll be here with the latest updates. storm team 4 is on it. >> thanks so much. let's check the traffic again. >> what is the latest out there, danella? >> red on i-66 because of the earlier car fire. it was blocking the right lane. a live look right now what the scene is. v-dot is just leaving the scene. it's as you approach nutley. let's talk about delays at 66 and 123. a slow trip to the beltway. you are 29 miles per hour. the drive to the beltway, it will take about 21 minutes.

back to you. >> thanks, danella. it's 11:20. bringing a 12th century fable to life on stage. plus, how to use foam p[ male announcer ]am if barack obama is re-elected,

what will the next four years be like? one: the debt will grow

from $16 trillion to $20 trillion. two: 20 million americans could lose their employer-based health care. three: taxes on the middle class will go up by $4,000. four: energy prices will continue to go up. and five: $716 billion in medicare cuts that hurt current seniors. five reasons we can't afford four more years of barack obama. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

playing now at the theater, the conference of the birds. it's a theatrical adventure based on a fable. joining us is a star from the production and the man responsible for making it a musical. welcome to both of you. >> thank you. >> thanks for coming. what is the play about? 12th century.

does it mean anything to us today? >> it does. peter brook turned it into a play in the 1970s. it's a journey of the heart sort of. it's about birds, but it's really about man and the flaws we have. >> do you actually play a bird? >> i play a couple of them. i play the peacock and that is very, very fun to play. i also play a cockatoo. we all play numerous, you know, characters in the play. >> you speak in your regular voice? >> i do. we don't have baeks. we don't have feathers. it really is a metaphore of what the bird is to you and your human form. you will see a little bit of bird in the body, but not flapping of arms. >> how are the audiences reacting to this? >> they are loving it. last night, a bunch of young people were in the audience. it was nice to see the smiling young facesen joying it.

>> a lot of people know your music. you play a lot of different stumts. will you give us an example 1234. >> sure. i'll play 15 instruments. it's a cultural envoy to the state department to the middle east. this is a frame drum used throughout the world. i'm going from italy to india. >> wow. ♪ ♪ >> beautiful. wow. can we hear another one? you may notice -- >> i can't help but move. >> she's moving to some of this. let's hear some more. >> this is a hang drum.

one side is like south indian and the other like a steel pan. ♪ sfrend ♪ >> beautiful. these are all from the middle east, these instruments, is that right? >> the hang drum, actually, is not. it's a new invention that replicates a few different instruments. >> i'm sure a lot of people are going to want to see this. see the conference of the birds running through november 25th at the folger theater. tickets are still available. thank you for coming. happy to have you. beautiful. >> coming up in the next half hour of news 4 midday, we are hearing from d.c. area sniper lee malvo what he told matt

lauer about sexual abuse. plus, more on the hurricane coming our way and when it might reach the u.s. should we be concerned? and it's time to take action if you want [ 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. imillion dollars for maryland one hundred schools.ty...on 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. prand you're seeing that rightno quit in amnow.a...

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; 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.

right now, president obama is on his way to virginia. he'll be at a rally in richmond this afternoon. he left tampa where he campaigned early this morn. he will vote in chicago today and stop at a campaign event. romney will spend the day in ohio. he trails president obama in this state in recent polls. no republican has ever lost in ohio and won the white house. >> right now, all eyes on sandy. the category 2 storm made land fall in cuba overnight. at least two people have died. the tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of florida.

forecasters along the east coast are watching sandy closely, real closely. >> we are going to check in with tom kierein on the forecast. he's outside on the storm 4 weather deck. hi. >> hi, barbara and keith. we have low clouds that are beginning to break up a little bit. we have a possibility of sunshine breaking out by later this afternoon. meanwhile, yes, this is what it looks like in washington. light fog around. the cloud cover is brightening, at least. as we take a look at what has been happening in the caribbean an over cuba this morning, we had sandy passing over eastern cuba. it's better organized now. the latest statistics, winds, 105 miles per hour. later today, it may decrease a bit in strength and become a category one her honor as well as tracking east of florida, taking a bit of a turn to the northeast then curving back north and then northwest by the time we get into monday and tuesday. right now, the latest track,

that red line in the middle there in the zone of possibility is the most likely track as of now. this is what we know now. however, if it takes farther of a westerly track and comes closer to washington, we are in the zone of possibility. we could have more wind and rain. the low cloud cover is with us. it's beginning 20 break up a little bit. temperatures are climbing into the mid-60s and by later this afternoon, we'll see it with sunshine breaking out into the 70s. then we go, yes, into the weekend. that possibility of sandy affecting us sunday, monday and tuesday with the wind. stay tuned. we'll keep you posted. barbara? >> thank you. wherever you are, you can track hurricane sandy with a storm team 4 weather app. if you don't have it, search washington weather in the itunes store or the android market. doug kammerer will have a chat

about sandy at 5:00 p.m. today on www.nbcwashington.com. this morning, we are hearing from d.c. area sniper lee malvo. he told matt lauer that muhammad sexually abused him for years and he forgave himself for the murders they committed. >> have you forgiven yourself? >> yes. >> for all the crimes, all the innocent lives that were lost, you have forgiven yourself? >> yes. that's the only way i can live with myself. >> based on the grief and horror you inflicted, do you think it's the life you deserve? >> i wouldn't wish this on anyone. i wouldn't wish this on anyone. this is -- well, it was intended to punish. that is -- that is -- it is effective. it's -- i mean, it is complete

dep revacation. >> a victim's brother has not forgiven him, but got a better understanding of what was going through his mind a decade ago. >> he was probably a good word would be brainwashed. since that time, he's gotten, as we understand it, some mentoring, some help and has had some years to recognize what he did and our understanding is that he, given the chance, would not have chosen to take the same course again. but he can't alter that. >> malvo says there are still victims that have not been identify. he's tried to reach out to some of the families, but hasn't felt ready psychologically. >> jim is giving his side of the story. he resigned from his father's campaign following the accusation of trying to commit voter fraud.

undercover video surfaced recently. it shows what looks like him talking to a man claiming to be a field director who is concerned about the election. he talks to him about trying to skirt virginia voter id laws to cast multiple ballots. he suggests forging utility bills to get around the laws. >> it has, you know -- >> pat released a statement following his resignation. he thought the man was joking. in hindsight, he should have walked away immediately. >> they said pat had a clear error in judgment. >> cuccinelli is stepping into possible voter fraud. the state's republican controlled board of elections authorized the investigation

yesterday and asked cuccinelli to get involved. it centers around a contractor hired to register voters who faces criminal charges for destroying registration forms. the contractors parent company is being investigated in florida for more than 200 allegations of voter fraud. more ballot problems in maryland. uncovered by the news 4 i team, thousands of voters may have received more than one copy of their voter ballot. some bar codes may have been wrong. voters reported their absentee ballots were missing a page. if you received two ballots, you can vote. if you submit both, only the one with the later date will be counted. right now, you can enter your name to win free tickets to the national christmas tree lighting. 3,000 seated tickets. 14,000 standing room tickets available.

the musical performance will be announced next month. if you want a ticket, enter online at thenationaltree.org. we have a link on www.nbcwashington.com. the lottery will run through monday. the 90th ceremony will be held december 6. let's check on the traffic to see how things are moving. here is danella. >> thanks. i'm watching the situation on i-66. the good news, as you head eastbound the accident involving a car fire is cleared. it's still slow. the drive is about 39 miles per hour and it will take at least 15 minutes right now. over to the dulles toll road, travel speeds there, eastbound nice and clear from hudson road to the beltway. i-270 smooth sailing in both directions. over to you. >> all right. a new report shows there was a chance eight years ago to shut down the company linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak.

in 2004, massachusetts regulators forced a reprimand for the compounding center for problems with the same steroid that's connected to the outbreak. they never proceeded after the company complained it would hurt business. 24 people died and over 300 nationwide have been infect ld. aspirin may hold hopes for cancer patients. the drug might help colon cancer patients. about a sixth of all colon cancer patients have the mutated genes. scientists have to do more research before they can recommend aspirin as a treatment. >> if you don't watch the sunday redskins game and are watching the new york jets play the dolphins, you may notice something different when the refs call a penalty. they are using pink flags rather than the yellow ones in support of breast cancer awareness month. an 11-year-old boy from new

jersey wrote a letter to the nfl commissioner, roger goodell. they are going to get to present the pink flags on the field before kick off. wouldn't it be great to have a deep tissue massage every week especially after long work outs? joining us with more on the massage and options, steve hayes and dr. raymond. i'm gointo say one thing. you are the workout guy and you are the guy i see after a bad workout. i don't want to see either of you. >> what are friends for? we are all friends today. >> steve, tell us about the inexpensive option for the foam roller. >> it's great. doctors can verify, it helps you to strengthen the muscles, the injuries you have. it feels so great just rubbing up and down the body. plus, it's very inexpensive. >> that's the keyword for me.

inexpensi inexpensive. your thoughts, doctor? >> the benefits are amazing. they break up the muscle knots and increases blood flow and makes muscles more elastic. it's how you are going to prevent injury. >> you are going to demonstrate stretches for us? >> absolutely. >> steve is going to do the demonstration because you have on the white coat. >> you are going to have a seat there. go ahead and lift up and cross your right leg over the left leg. there you go. then just go ahead and slightly lean and go ahead and roll back and forth. what you want to do here is roll up 60 seconds over that muscle. it's going to break up the adhesions and make the muscle more elastic. take time with us. >> you can feel it in the glute and the hip. i had an injury in the hip a long time ago.

you can actually feel it smoothing the knots out in the hip. >> each interval should be 60 seconds. how many times? >> on average, once or twice a day. in some cases, patients in the office, i have them do it two and three times a day for an injury. the next is for the hamstring. you are going to roll back off the roller and bring it toward your knees like that. what do you feel there? >> right in the hamstring. as i said, the knots in the hamstring, the stretching of it feels incredible. >> what should you do if the roller doesn't work? >> if it doesn't work, stop using it. don't use the roller over a boney area. don't roll over the joints. we are off the knee joint. you don't want to produce severe pain or generation inflammation. >> i'm going to give you a hand up. i might get pulled down by giving you a hand up. give me the wellness tip of the week.

>> this is national eat together month. statistics show a family that eats together stays healthy. with kids, if they eat with their family, they stop eating the crazy foods that are unhealthy for you. >> let's go. i'm just joking. thanks for coming by. dr. raymond, thank you so much. it's 11:43 here on news 4 midday. is that booster seat keeping your child safe? we have the latest test results. plus, a horror film classic playing this

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.

what mitt romney's tv ads say about women? or what mitt romney himself says? mitt romney: do i believe the supreme court... should overturn roe v. wade? yes. and it would be my preference that they, that they... reverse roe v. wade. hopefully reverse roe v. wade. overturn roe v. wade. planned parenthood, we're going to get rid of that. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. anncr: no matter what mitt romney's ads say. we know what he'll do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

more booster seats are making the grade for keeping kids safe in a car crash. new test results released by the insurance institute of highway safety show more booster seats are doing their job. nearly 50 models got a best bet rating up from ten seats in 2008. there's several seat that is received a not recommended rating. boosters r recommended for kids

up to 8 years old. we set up a link on facebook for you to check out your child's seat and how it ranks. weekly applications for u.s. unemployment fell last week. let's check in with kelly. she joins us live with more on that and the rest of the headlines. hello. >> hi. the labor department says newly filed claims for unemployment fell last week. it was a better sign for the market. at the same time, reports that capital equipment declined more than expected as well. plus, weakness in the current month. at the same time, the housing market showed pick-up as pending contracts for sales of existing homes showed a small increase. generally speaking, stocks are struggling to hold their gains today. stocks posted some of their biggest losses since last november. apple will be in focus today. they report third quarter

earnings after the closing bell. revenue and profit is expected to rise 24%. what may be a good sign for the current quarter, gazelle.com says a number of ipads listed on the site jumped 700% after apple unveiled the new product earlier this week. apparently, there is no such thing as bad publicity. chick-fil-a gained. this despite the fact the president offended someone. it spurred boycotts and protest. it's not hurt the firm's share of the restaurant industry. back to you. >> thanks so much. >> thank you, kelly. our wednesday's child today has really had to move around more than most folks do in a lifetime. she's moved from one caretaker to another since she was 5 years old. now, at 17, she needs the love

and commitment of a family. ♪ every now and then ♪ life will give us back -- >> this 17-year-old wants the love of a family, a mom, a dad, something that's e luted her most of her life. >> actually born in nigeria. her mother brought her to usa when she was 5 years old and returned back to nigeria and left her with family members and never had a stable placement. >> she loves to sing and was excited to have a special session here at the international school of music with a voice teacher and guitarist. >> what would you like to do with your singing? >> i don't know. i just think probably just a hobby. >> she is really hoping to become a doctor some day. >> i took biology last year. >> how did you do?

>> i did good. they were my favorite subjects. >> she feels she needs a family. >> i would like to be adopted to be with a family. to get love. to have the money to go back. >> ten months ago, she gave birth to a baby girl. someone to love her, she says. she is determined to be a devoted mom. ♪ >> whoa! >> if you have room in your home and your heart for her or another child who is waiting, please call our special adoption hot line. the number is 888-to adopt me. or log on to www.nbcwashington.com. >> we wish her well. >> she needs a family. our time is 11:50. coming up, zombies, ghosts and more.

in today's weekend scene, how to celebrate halloween. we have "the washington post" here with highlights. hi. >> hi, barbara. >> you have ideas about zombies

happening in silver spring, when? >> this saturday, actually. they are so hot. you are dying to try it. saturday night it's the place to be. head to silver spring. i's the silver spring zombie night. you can walk with zombies and attend a movie screening. they are showing a double feature for folks in costume. >> it's what time? >> 8:00 p.m. get there by 8:00. >> show up in costume? >> show up as a zombie. >> moving on to the horror film that you think a lot of folks might want to see this weekend. >> that's right. friday night, a cool screening of -- it's a tradition in silver spring. they show the silent film. it's 1920s film. they bring in live accompanim t accompaniment. it's always a sell out. get your tickets today or tomorrow. >> all right.

finally, you have fun for the kids, too, for halloween? >> for the pint sized zombies, a lot happening friday and saturday. you are going to see the boo at the zoo at the national zoo. it's a fun event. tickets $30. kids under 2, $2. saturday at the center, there's air and scare. it's a fun event. you can see right with the planes and make-up artists. trick or treating within the zoo. really fun event. it's from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. it's free. >> trick or treating there, too. >> yeah. you can bring your kids there to trick or treat. >> lots of great things going on this weekend for halloween. thanks so much. what are you wearing? >> i think i'm a little old. i'm going to hand out candy. >> everybody seems to get into the mood. thanks so much. for more ideas for the weekend, log on to www.nbcwashington.com.

the going out guide on washingtonpost.com. >> let's take a look at the stories we are following on news 4 this afternoon. pat lawson muse joins us in the news room with a preview of things to come. coming up, murder in a house of worship. we now know the man accused of opening fire inside one of the biggest megachurches. he was committed to a psychiatric hospital here in maryla maryland. ax a rescue caught on tape. a guest passes out at a gas station. two strangers helped out. coming up on news 4 at 5:00, storm team 4 is monitoring hurricane sandy and its potential to hit the washington region. liz crenshaw says there are a few do-it-yourself tips to help save you big bucks next week. we'll have the latest on that at 4:00. >> thank you. we have time for a final check of the forecast.

>> we have had these low clouds and the skies begin to brighten a little bit. we'll see sun breaking out later. right now, all eyes on sandy. it's passed over cuba and the baham bahamas. it's a category 2 hurricane. it will diminish to a 1. it turns to the north and east. sunday, begin to take a turn to the northwest. that is the zone of possibility. the red line is the most likely track the way it looks right now. that brings it near new york city sometime tuesday. it looks like noontime. we are in that zone of possibility. it tracks farther west, serious problems with power outages and wind. as we look at the view from space, the low clouds hanging in the district and much of maryland. temperatures approaching the noon hour. in the 60s where the cloud cover is. in the mountains, it's already in the 70s there. we are going to see some sun here, increasing clouds

tomorrow. saturday cloudy. highs near 70. if sandy tracks close to us, we would get rain and wind and cooler weather, and wind, even if it tracks farther north of us. it's monday, tuesday and into wednesday. >> okay. thanks. good work, tom. that's news 4 midday. be sure to tune in at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 for the latest news. >> we'll be back tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. for news 4

♪ just put a little bit of yourself ♪ ♪ in everything you do [ female announcer ] add your own ingredients to hamburger helper for a fresh take on a quick, delicious meal. it's one box with hundreds of possibilities. of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪