the newest track doesn't move a whole lot from the previous track. but one thing it does, it moves toward florida, back out into the atlantic and then here's the curve. we've been talking about this curve for days here. and i do think we do stand to see that curve. it could be even a little bit farther south. i think new jersey, i think delmarva, our area, we're all going to see huge impacts on that. we'll be holding a web chat right now, live web chat for sandy, whether it's travel or rainfall, go to nbcwashington.com. veronica johnson and i will be answering your questions. of course, we want to keep you ahead of this storm. one great way to do that is with our iphone app or android app, search nbc washington weather, and there you can download our storm team 4 weather app to get all the latest news and warnings right to your phone. we'll continue to keep you updated right from this storm center. >> doug, thanks. stay with news4 as we track sandy onli nbcwashington.com, twitter and facebook, and right

here on news4. a well-known swimming coach who taught local athletes for decades was arrested today for child abuse. that accusation against rick curl, it dates back 30 years. news4's pat collins spoke to his accuser and was there when curl turned himself in. pat? >> reporter: at the montgomery county jail, a swim coach charged in a child sex case. it goes back to the '80s. the victim? one of his best swimmers. 63-year-old rick curl, a well-known washington area swim coach, leaving the montgomery county jail after he was officially charged in a child abuse sex case. a case that goes back 30 years. curl released on a $50,000 money bond. the victim, kelly davies kearn.

i talked to her by phone about curl's arrest. >> i don't know whether to laugh or cry. i'm thankful. i'm sad. i just feel confirmation that what i did was the right thing to do. >> reporter: according to court documents, curl sexually abused the victim from the time she was 13 until she was 18. while he was her swim coach. she was one of his star swimmers. the acts happened at various places, including georgetown prep high school, one of the many venues leased by curl for his competitive swimming lessons. do you want to see rick curl go to jail? >> yeah. that's what he deserves. absolutely. for as long as the justice system -- i want the justice system to do its job. >> reporter: back in 1989, kelley said curl paid her family $150,000 if they agreed not to

press charges and agreed not to speak publicly about these matters. she said she went public last summer, because she was afraid there would be a cover-up. >> i felt like i could not be silent anymore because i knew that usa swimming was going to do nothing. >> reporter: rick curl once ran the curl birk swim club. he coached scores of swimmers, many who went on to win national and international medals. now, the curl birk swim club is no more. they call it now the nation's capitol swim club, and they say rick curl is not associated with it anymore. live in montgomery county, pat collins, news4. to breaking news tonight involving the campaign of virginia congressman jim moran. police tell us they've launched a criminal investigation into a potential case of voter fraud involving the congressman's son. an undercover video by a

conservative group appears to show patrick moran discussing how someone could vote illeg illegally. he has since resigned as field director of his dad's campaign. as tom sherwood reports now, there is now reaction to the controversy today, but so far, the congressman has no comment. >> it's going to be with the new voter i.d. law as well. >> reporter: the undercover video shows 23-year-old patrick moran, the congressman's son, engaging in an october 8th conversation with a fake volunteer. the volunteer wanted to cast ballots of infrequent voters. >> and their 'dress on it. >> reporter: patrick moran who resigned as soon as the video was disclosed wednesday was telling how to get fake identifications. patrick did not answer knocks at his alexandria apartment where a filing cabinet sitting outside had all sorts of campaign materials. patrick murray making a second

uphill campaign against the veteran moran denounced the flirtation with voter fraud. >> for me here as a constituent, as an american, an army veteran who spent 24 years in uniform, i'm concerned about the integrity of our elections. i cand tell you, as the candidate running against him, i'm sure as hell concerned about the specter of there being voter fraud. >> reporter: news4 also went to several democratic party offices in search of congressman moran. his office insisted he would have no comment for the media. but voters outside for lunch in northern virginia had strong reaction. >> shameful even that someone who is the son of a prominent politician would openly discuss how to commit voter fraud. >> politicians aren't above the law. some of the politicians aren't above the law. that will be what happens. they're going to do it. >> reporter: virginia democratic party chairman brian moran, brother of the congressman, opposed any voter misconduct and said patrick is a good kid who

in this instance made a mistake. we're still waiting for comment from congressman moran on this now criminal investigation of his campaign. jim? >> thank you, tom. the search is under way in the district for a toyota camry that was seen leaving a deadly daytime shooting. investigators say someone shot a man near the corner of 36th street and benning road in northeast. they're not calling it a drive-by, but police are telling us they're looking for a black camry with tinted windows and pennsylvania license plates. they believe two people were in the car. the victim has not been identified. the "washington post" made it official, the newspaper is endorsing president obama in the presidential race. and they also endorsed obama in 2008. former secretary of state colin powell said he is still a republican, but he plans to vote for barack obama a second time. powell told cbs this morning he respects mitt romney, but thinks he has been vague on many issues. the retired general and former diplomat also noted that

president obama got the u.s. out of iraq, and in powell's words, didn't get us into any new wars. president obama is wrapping up a campaign swing in the battleground state of virginia. speaking to a large crowd of supporters in richmond, he asked them to help him win a second term. northern virginia bureau chief julie carey asked voters who they think will win the commonwealth. >> i'm sorry, are you fired up? are you ready to go? >> reporter: the nonstop fly around the six battleground states was already taking a toll on president barack obama's voice as he made a stop in richmond's bird park. >> you may notice my voice sounds a little hoarse. we are right in the middle of our 48-hour fly-around campaign extravaganza. >> reporter: the crowd of 15,000 was one of the biggest in virginia this campaign season. along with his campaign blitz,

mr. obama will become the first president to cast an early bal lort later today in chicago. >> i can't tell you who i'm voting for because it's a secret ballot. but the good news is, michelle said she voted for me. >> reporter: but with 12 days to go, this rally was all about asking supporters for their votes and asking them to redouble their efforts to get others to thepolls. with virginia now considered a tossup, election day turnout is key. this supporter who goes door to door for the president every saturday left confident. >> i have absolute faith in my president. all we can do is continue to canvas and help him to get those votes come 12 days from now. >> i know we have enough people who support barack obama to take the state of virginia. we're just working the hardest we can to get them out to make sure they vote. >> reporter: but republicans insist they're edging ahead in virginia, say it's not the size of the crowd that counts, it's the electoral math. >> our electoral math continues

to expand, where barack obama continues to contract. same is true in virginia. >> reporter: the president returns to virginia again in just four days. and next time he will have former president bill clinton at his side. and winning that area is key to winning the commonwealth. julie carey, news4. mitt romney's running mate is also in virginia right now. paul ryan will attend a rally in charlottesville tonight. earlier today he was in bristol, virginia. ryan visited a company called universal fibers and for the first time mentioned a 20-page pamphlet president obama's campaign recently released. >> president obama really hasn't given us a vision for a second term agenda. just a couple of days ago he came up with a slick new brochure. you know, with less than two weeks left to say, oh, i do actually have an agenda. to me a slick repackaging of more of the same. >> as for today's venue,

universal fibers makes fiber for commercial carpeting and other applications. a couple of months ago the employees posed for a picture outside the plant and sent it to the romney campaign with an invitation to visit. on monday they got word ryan was coming today. the man at the top of the republican ticket is in another battleground state. mitt romney is campaigning today in ohio. his schedule includes stops in cincinnati, columbus and defiance, ohio. still ahead on news4 at 5:00, how much caffeine is actually in those energy drinks. a new study may give you a jolt. a driver jumps out of his car, leaps over the fence at the russian embassy. that leads to a diplomatic fight right out of a movie. please do not allow my actions and the actions of mohammed to hold you hostage and continue to victimize you for the rest of your life.

>> d.c. sniper lee malvo opens up for the last time in a rare jail house interview. don't miss this story. it's coming up at 5:30. and then at 5:45 -- >> i'm liz crenshaw. hurricane sandy could send hard rain our way. how to prevent wet and flooded basements without getting soaked by overpriced contractors coming up.

teacher: this is west virginia, pennsylvania, delaware. and this is maryland. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million gaming at casinos in these other states. question seven will build a new casino and bring table games to baltimore... generating hundreds of millions for schools. and that money has to go to education. it's the law. so vote for question seven. so we can stop spending all that money here, and keep maryland money in classrooms like mine.

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.

the label on those energy drinks may not be telling you the whole story. a new report out has uncovered some inaccuracies. >> it's important to know that, because the fda started investigating one energy drink that has been associated with five deaths. >> the fda requires producers to tell when there's caffeine in their drinks, but not how much caffeine. a new study checked out 27 top selling energy drinks to see how much buzz is really in those bottles. "consumer reports" tested three lots of the 27 drinks purchased from stores in connecticut, new jersey and new york. they found that caffeine levels ranged from 16 milligrams to 242 milligrams. keep in mind some containers have more than one serving. of the 16 products that list a

specific amount of caffeine, five of them had more than 20% above the labeled amount on average in the samples that were tested, more than 20% than what's printed on the label. one sample had 70% less caffeine than what was printed on the label. >> i think most consumers believe what they read on the label as being the right thing. they probably would be surprised to know that some of these products had more caffeine than is listed. a lot of people are very careful about reading labels to find out more about what's inside the bottle or can. you kind of expect it to tell you the truth. >> for most of us, caffeine is relatively safe. it can boost your mental and physical performance and make you feel more awake temporarily. but that's when you drink it in moderation. too much can cause that abnormal heart rhythms, can raise your blood pressure, and for those with certain underlying heart conditions, too much caffeine can be fatal. this comes after the death of a

maryland teenager who drank two large monster energy drinks in a 24-hour period. the medical examiner who did her autopsy found her death tob caffeine toxicity. that death is the subject of a lawsuit right now. >> all right. doreen gentzler, thanks. storm team 4 meteorologist doug kammerer has the latest on hurricane sandy. where is she now, doug? >> right now that storm continues to be over the bahamas and impacting portions of florida. you can see where the rain is right now. the storm right over the central bahamas right here. our radar only going out about 100 miles off the coast of portions of florida. we'll zoom into this area right around miami, over to west palm beach, ft. lauderdale, and right up the coast toward melbourne, they are seeing the outer bands here, you can see them coming through. with these bands, they are seeing wind gusts over tropical storm force. where does sandy go from there. winds are now 105 miles an hour.

tas moves to the north it will make its way towards florida and back away out to sea. and then as we have been talking about for days here, making that turn back towards the northeast. we've been mentioning this to you. right now the latest track has it coming very close towards new york city, philadelphia, maybe even our area. once again, this is the cone of uncertainty. don't look at this line here. anywhere in this area is the best chance to see this. now we are in that cone. i do think this storm will be a little bit stronger than what the hurricane center has and i think it will be farther down to the south. delmarva, southern portions of new jersey, that's where i think this will hit. maybe not a direct impact for us, but still a huge impact as far as wind and rain go. on saturday, the largest impact along the carolina coastline. low impact already down to florida, or down toward southern portions of virginia. as the storm moves to the north, high impact from wind and rain and storm surge potentially down around the beaches, delaware

beaches, maryland beaches, along the delmarva, inside the washington, d.c., area, like the marine corps marathon, expect rain and wind. sunday, not too bad of a day, just rainy conditions. but then on monday, high impact from washington right on through baltimore, philadelphia, up through new york, even if this comes up and hits philadelphia or atlantic city directly, we still get strong winds, and we still get very heavy rain. this is what we're going to be watching for, strong winds, lots of trees down potentially, heavy rain and power outages. there could be millions without power from washington up through the boston area. this is going to be a high impact storm just because it's hitting the northeast. maybe not the strongest storm as far as hurricanes go, but a strong storm nonetheless. live web chat going on right now. questions about sandy, go to nbcwashington.com, click on our web chat. veronica johnson and i will be answering questions throughout the afternoon. how about our weather now, nice afternoon. partly cloudy. nice and mild.

tomorrow morning, starting off with some fog again, some of that could be dense. watch out for that. temperatures 51 to about 59 degrees. as we move on through the next couple of days, we see a high of 70 tomorrow, under mostly cloudy skies. mostly cloudy again on saturday with a high of 69. could be some drizzle early friday and saturday morning. and then here comes the rain and the wind on sunday into the day on monday. and it could stick around tuesday and wednesday. wednesday, of course, being halloween. some of the computer models take it a little bit farther north, and if that happens, we get cold air on the back side and could be talking about snow in the western viewing area. we're talking about higher elevations, not around the d.c. area. a lot of people asking that question, too. you talk about a storm that's got a little bit of everything, this is it. that's why we want you to stay right here for that. >> exactly. >> sunday late in the day we're looking at? >> sunday starting early with the rain. >> with the rain. thank you, doug. straight ahead at 5:00 tonight -- >> actually, we're going to be riding this storm up the coast, so it's important you check with us during the coming days.

keep up with us on facebook and twitter and nbcwashington.com. why there were dueling protests at gallaudet university in the district. booster seats put to the crash test. so which ones received the best rating. we'll rewind tonight to a classic redskins steelers matchup as they prepare for the big battle in pittsburgh sunday. at 6:00 tonight, the shocking video on metro bus accidents that the transit agency doipt want you to see. 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're going back to the way back machine. and look at the steelers and the redskins back in the '80s. it was a saucy matchup, wasn't it, dan. >> we like the way back machine. anytime the redskins play the steelers, it is not a game they take lightly. that's been the case for decades. back in the late '80s, the redskins fell behind early but never gave up.

the result, a comeback win during a season when wins were hard to come by. september 11th, 1988. stealing one from the steelers. super bowl mvp doug williams, and the defending champion redskins hosting the pittsburgh steelers in a game muddled by mistakes. the champs seemed to pick up right where they left off at rfk. williams to ricky sanders. 55 of the 145 yards, sanders would haul in on the day. skins lead 7-3. >> going in and make my plays. that's what you've got to do nowadays. if you're behind, make the plays and get the team fired up. >> reporter: bobby brister with time to consider all of his options. he selects louis all by himself.

an 80-yard touchdown that left darrell green devastated. >> i just had a sense from him and the crowd that the play was over. and i looked back and just a count of two or three, and wham, the ball comes out. he catches it like a punt return and runs in for the touchdown. that really shook me up. a mistake i can't afford to make anymore. >> reporter: fourth quarter, buby wasn't done. the short connection turns into a 50-yard foot race. and the black and gold would win. steelers up by 9. cue the comeback. williams to calvin bryant from seven yards out, cutting the steelers' lead to 29-27. just 12 seconds left now. chip miller called upon for the 19-yard game-winner. earlier in the game, the rookie kicker bonked the 35-yard attempt off the right post. this one is good.

skins win ugly 30-29. >> i tried to be calm and positive and just relaxed is the main thing. if you get too up for it, you might be offstep. >> just a game where, you know, we made enough to kill ourselves, shoot ourselves in the foot five times. somehow, i think the redeeming factor was just our heart. you know, we probably had eight guys that were hurt. missing coleman and mann and branch, all the guys, and somebody else jumped in and did the job for us. and somehow we managed to win it. >> 1988, a rare losing season during joe gibbs' first tenure with the skins thesmt went 7-9, perhaps had a little bit of a super bowl hangover. remember, they crushed denver in super bowl xxii the year prior. you're allowed to have a down season if you win a super bowl. >> it's been a while. >> thank you, dan. still ahead as we continue to track hurricane sandy.

>> also d.c. sniper lee boyd malvo opens up on an interview on the "today" show. there's a lot going on with question 7. the comptroller said don't vote for it. and then mgm holding a career fair.

fast forward through the headlines. right now, well-known swimming coach rick curl is out of jail on bond. he turned himself in to police today. a former student of his now 43 said curl abused her when she was just 13. a driver in a toyota camry with pennsylvania plates was seen leaving a deadly shooting during lunchtime today near the corner of 36th street and benning road northeast.

hurricane sandy pummeling cuba, and right now the bahamas. doug? >> out there, this is what we want you to know. just to make sure about, we know we'll see power outages here, problems from this storm. the northeast is going to be especially hard hit from washington all the way up towards new york and boston. so one thing to remember from this storm, these are the travel impacts. notice how this expands here, red area, green area up to boston, buffalo, even back towards columbus, ohio, and raleigh. expect delays on the roadways, expect delays out there flying around this weekend and into early next week. make sure to call ahead. you can always get the latest at nbcwashington.com/weather. we'll continue to keep it updated right here from storm team 4. lee boyd malvo is talking about the killings. the convicted sniper who terrorized our area ten years ago is explaining himself from his prison cell. where he is serving a life sentence for killing ten people in cold blood.

his partner, john mohammed, was put to death. so, are malvo's thoughts enlightening? you be the judge. lee boyd malvo was 17 years old when he and john mohammed went on their killing spree. he's now 27, and he considers himself a monster. >> when someone cannot go beyond themself and begin to consider how their actions affect others and are solely motivated by their own self-interests, we call them psychopaths. >> he says mohamed who indoctrinated him into the world of killing knew how to manipulate him. >> i couldn't say no. i had wanted that level of love and acceptance and consistency for all of my life. and couldn't find it. and even if unconsciously, or even in moments of short

reflection, i knew that it was wrong, i did not have the will power to say no. >> malvo will be in prison for the rest of his life. and he described his existence. >> i mean, it was intended to punish. it is effective. i mean, it is complete deprivation. i mean, i don't see outside. i have no contact with animals, plants, people. >> to the families of his victims, he hopes the pain and suffering that he and muhammad caused can be abated. >> please, do not allow my actions and the actions of muhammad to hold you hostage and continue to victimize you for the rest of your life. if you give those images and thoughts that power, it will

continue to inflict that suffering over and over and over and over and over again. do not give me or him that much power. >> malvo says he has forgiven himself. he said it was the only way he could live with himself. he said this interview with matt lauer which was done on the "today" show will be his last. a d.c. man climbed the fence at one of the most secure embassy compounds in our area. he was running away from a drunk driving crash but got into more hot water. jackie bensen joins us live outside the russian embassy with a look at what it took to get him out of that secure area. jackie? >> reporter: jim, he climbed the fence thinking he was getting away, instead he ended up in russia. 34-year-old michael worley of northwest d.c. has a lot of explaining to do.

this video shows d.c. police and secret service officers standing in front of the russian embassy early this morning trying to find out how to get worley back in the u.s. the incident began just after midnight when worley's silver toyota highlander crashed. a bearded man managed to climb out but took off running. in the 2600 block of wisconsin avenue, almost a half mile away from the crash scene, he hopped a fence. investigators do not believe worley knew he was jumping into the heavily guarded russian embassy compound onto what is essentially russian soil. residents of that area say they find that hard to believe. >> somebody who knows the area cannot even think about frying to do something with the russian people. >> you know that's the russian embassy? >> yes, i do. >> do you think most of the people in this neighborhood know? >> i would think so. >> reporter: after about 90 minutes of negotiations, which

appeared cordial but a little tense, worley was released by the russians and taken to a waiting ambulance to be treated for his injuries. police say worley is facing charges of dwi and leaving the scene of an accident. coming up on news4 at 6:00, we'll talk to the good samaritan who stopped to help and got a lot more than he bargained for. jackie bensen, news4. still ahead on news4 at 5:00, both sides battling it out over question 7 and bringing another casino to maryland. we're going to hear what mgm already plans to do tomorrow. plus, as we track hurricane sandy tonight, liz crenshaw joins us to show you do-it-yourself projects around the house that can keep you from pa

the gay marriage debate came to gallaudet university today. they have at least one bit of common ground, both sides

calling for administrators to reinstate the chief diversity officer, put on leave after she signed a petition that was circulated by opponents of gay marriage in maryland. mccaskill said she thinks voters should decide that issue, and the group in favor of same-sex unions say they support her right to free speech. >> those opposed to expanding gaming said it won't generate jobs and won't bring money to schools. it comes ahead of the job fair of the company wanting to build a new casino. prince george's county bureau chief tracee has both sides of the question 7 debate. >> reporter: people opposed to expanding gambling in maryland and putting a new casino in prince george's gathered for a press conference today. >> this whole issue is not what it seems. >> reporter: the key speaker for the event, maryland's comptroller. >> this referendum is not going to produce jobs or revenue or

education money for the state of maryland or for prince george's county. those are the facts. we know that. i'm the money man. >> reporter: speakers also criticize leaders from surrounding counties for supporting question 7. >> this is so good for us. then why don't you open up a casino in montgomery county. >> i suggest that for our economy to create jobs, to bolster our tax base, this is a very easy decision. >> reporter: wayne curry, former prince george's county executive, said he completely supports question 7, believing it will mean economic growth for the county, despite what the opposition says. >> i knew that i just couldn't sit by anymore and see this thing pillared and miscast, and frankly, lies and deceit. >> reporter: the likely operator of a new casino, mgm, is gearing up for a career fair. this has a hidden message, encouraging would-be workers to vote for question 7.

they said someone must have bugged their ad. >> that's the first time i've seen that. but we, again, we're going to talk about what careers we have to offer. it is absolutely not contingent upon the way that you vote on it. we just want to give information about our company, and talk about who we are as an employer. >> reporter: mgm's career fair begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. at fedex field. tracee wilkins, news4. when we come back, child booster seats are put to the crash test. hurricane sandy could bring lots of flooding. liz crenshaw shows you some do-it-yourself projects around the house before the storm strikes. we're not seeing the storm just yet. it will affect us over the next couple of days. heavy rain, a lot of wind.

[ 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. let's get the latest on sandy now. >> it's going to be a doozy, whether it hits our area directly, or whether it's up toward the philadelphia area, this storm, once it makes its way up towards our coastline is

going to become extra tropical. what that means is the winds are going to be spreading out across the much bigger area. we're talking about the winds, even making their way down here. i think we're going to be seeing at least tropical storm force winds here. it all depends on the path. storm. you can see where hurricane sandy is, strong category 2 storm in the central portion of the bahamas, in through miami and ft. lauderdale. the outer rain bands are making their way onshore. they're seeing wind gusts upwards of 40, 50 miles an hour today. the one i saw today was 60 miles an hour around homestead earlier. the core of the system around 105 miles an hour, making this a strong category 2 storm. it's moving to the north about 20 miles an hour. it's going to drift out to the north and east, out to sea. but what we've been telling you for the past few days is that it will move back towards the coast. where exactly, still way too early to tell. and that's why you really need to pay attention. could it hit us directly, yes,

it could. that's why we're really worried here. even if it hits philadelphia or goes up to new york, we're still going to see a rather large impact from this storm. you don't want to look at this cone and say, it's going to hit philadelphia and think we're not going to be dealing with it here. we'll still have big-time winds and a lot of rain from this storm. the farther north it goes, the colder the air is that comes behind it. so we could see pretty good snows in portions of the mountains. let me say that again, for the mountains. a lot of you asking about snow in the metro area for halloween, i don't see that happening as of right now. for us, i know the impacts will be rain and wind. high impact area, i think 80% chance that we're going to see a high impact from this storm, being strong winds and heavy rain. is there a chance we see less of an impact? now i go about a 20% chance for low impact, that still means stronger winds and lighter rain amounts. but still areas of heavy rain. so this scenario would bring very strong winds, flooding, the

power outages around our region. the low impacts, we can deal with the low impact. that's about a 20% chance. this high impact continues to be on the lookout here. we're holding a live web chat right now at nbcwashington.com. we'll tell you what to expect. ask us just about any questions. we're going to go through 6:00, may extend this through 7:00 if we can continue to keep our fingers going. veronica johnson and myself hoping to answer your questions. 70 degrees right now in washington. 66 in frederick. 72 in culpepper. very nice evening. and we'll still see a couple of really nice days. tomorrow's looking pretty good, even though we see mostly cloudy skies. saturday looking okay with a high of 69. mostly cloudy. watch out for the fog both days early friday and saturday morning. of course, sandy coming in sunday, monday, tuesday, and it will stick around with a chance of rain even through halloween. guys, we've got a lot to talk about over the next few days. this is right here is where you want to stay. >> with the potential for hurricane sandy dumping rain in our region, the threat of a wet or flooded basement is real.

but as liz crenshaw reports tonight, trying to fix a wet basement can leave a homeowner's wallet dry. >> if you have a wet basement you'll do almost anything to fix it. but it means big bucks for contractors promising a fix. there are things you can do and rules you should know so you don't get soaked. >> it got to the point if it raped hard, you would get a mini river of water. >> reporter: kevin has been battling an ongoing wet basement problem. the house is 70 years old and the garage basement sits below ground. >> it's hard to dry out a garage basement. >> reporter: he's not only a homeowner, he works for washington consumers checkbook. he called six companies. >> i had each of them come out and send an estimator, to look at the problem and suggest possible solutions. >> reporter: suggested solutions, everything from regrading the outside area,

excava excavating, sump pumps, to installing an interior pressure release system, removing the concrete floor and digging a trench inside the garage. the costs were all over the map ranging from $2,500 to more than $15,000. >> there were two companies specifically that clearly wanted to sell me more work than i needed. >> this is a real example of a situation where a lot of homeowners get ripped off for a lot of money. >> reporter: robert is president of washington consumers checkbook. he warrants against basement waterproofing contractors out to make big bucks. >> if you look outside, they shouldn't be in this business. >> reporter: that's because he says most basements get wet when rainwater runs toward the foundation walls of the house. so before hiring help, first try to force the water away from your home. repair gutters, and extend down

spouts. >> most people do not need the sump pump or the tiles around the perimeter of their house. >> reporter: he said when he didn't find a contract, the more expensive companies followed up with high-pressure sales. >> basically over the course of months, i got call after call after call about this. every time i got a call, it was our chief inspector wants to come see the work. they want to sell for as much as they can. >> reporter: in the end, only three of the six companies offered to correct the problem from the outside. >> we went with the company that wanted to do the work from the outside. it's been about $3,600 and we are completely dry finally. >> finally. one more thing. those expensive inside fixes like the french drains and pumps will in many cases dry out the basement, but experts saying keeping water out in the first place is a much better fix. for more and to read subscriber reviews of the companies, simply go to nbcwashington.com, and

search wet basement. good timing for that one. >> i'll say. >> thank you, liz. for the latest on hurricane sandy and what your family needs to know to prepare, download our weather app, search nbc washington weather and also follow us on twitter and facebook. new crash tests on booster seats. they can provide some peace of mind for you parents now. this time the insurance institute for highway safety found nearly 50 seats worthy of its best rating. many newer seats are being made so that the lap belt fits tightly over the size of the child instead of the stomach, which is prone to injury in a crash. only two seats were not recommended this time. and you can go to nbcwashington.com, and you can search booster seats to find out all the results. tonight on "rock center" with brian williams, a former friend of lance armstrong says she found out he was doping 16 years ago. and she was cut loose when she

refused to keep quiet. >> you see this fraud being perpetuated, and it was just getting worse and worse and worse and worse. so should i sit back? i wasn't quiet from the very beginning. so i'm not going to lie for him. hell, i wouldn't even lie for my own husband. i'm not going to lie for lance armstrong. >> you can see the full report on "rock center" tonight at 10:00 here on nbc 4. when we come right back on news4 at 5:00 tonight, a 10-year-old girl murdered. >> coming up, what we learned about the suspect when he made his first court appearance. this university of maryland rally is in support of the maryland dream act. they want lower in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants. but opponents of maryland question 4 say it's a bad investment. this is chris gordon. i'll have the latest on both sides ahead on news4 at

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the colorado teenager aristd for the kidnapping and killing of a 10-year-old girl has reportedly confessed. >> 17-year-old austin sigg made his first court appearance today with the girl's family closely watching. nbc's chris clackum has more on the teenager. >> reporter: when 17-year-old sigg entered juvenile court emotions flowed. his family was there and so was the family of jessica ridgeway. kusa reporter bolten was inside. >> i don't know if it was his mother, but definitely when he came in the courtroom, he looked at the courtroom just a little bit. and his parents, the loved ones, just sort of crying. >> reporter: for now, sigg is being held as a juvenile, but that's expected to change when prosecutors formally charge him next tuesday. >> based upon my experience, and what i think the charges will

be, i think that's the appropriate thing to could, is to charge him as an adult. >> reporter: they are expected to kidnapping and killing jessica on october 5th. her dismembered body was discovered several miles away from where she disappeared while walking to school in the denver suburb of westminster and not far from where sigg lived. where a search by authorities this week turned up human remains. >> it was so close to home. and he was just right over there. this is really scary. >> reporter: sigg's mother told news organizations she was the one who called police. and other sources say he turned himself in after telling authorities where to find the remains. sigg was enrolled in community college where he was said to be fascinated in mortuary sciences. with a particular interest in crime scene investigations. chris clackum, nbc news.

right now, six new poll numbers out tonight show a possible shift in a very tight presidential race. also, why metro refuses to release video of bus accidents and close calls to the public. we're tracking hurricane sandy today. parts of florida are already feeling the impact of the storm. a storm that could wreak considerable damage on the east coast. we begin tonight with a look at the latest damage caused by this massive storm. and where it's headed next. hurricane sandy swept across cuba today. many towns are without power now. winds snapped trees in half and ripped the roofs off of homes there. in the bahamas, driving rain caused major flooding. doug kammerer has a look at the storm's track. >> we're watching this storm right now, once again, right down off the coast of florida, in through the central portions of the bahamas, miami, places in south florida are getting pummeled with upwards of 50,