metro is gearing up to put sandbags around the system where high water is possible. workers are already checking drainage pumping systems. additional personnel are scheduled to work throughout the storm. >> it is 4:30 right now. let you you sneeze if you need to. tom kierein is here for everything you need to know for what could be a really rough end the weekend. unfortunately, the trend is sandy is going to be getting closer to us than it's been looking the last couple of days. right now it's a weak hurricane, passing the bahamas, swinging north into florida. here is the latest track. right now is has winds of 85 miles per hour. the concern for us, as it tracks north, maintaining a hurricane 1 category strength, passing to the west of bermuda and staying off the coast throughout the day and much of tomorrow. then, unfortunately, taking a turn inland and coming up our way. this is the position monday at 8:00 p.m., just off of ocean city the hundred miles. then as we get into monday

evening into tuesday, it's when it's going to come right over us. however, it can track anywhere within this zone, and it's a wide zone of possibility here to boston, all the way down to southern virginia. right now the greatest chance would be it's going to be passing to the north of the washington metro area by during the day on tuesday. the thing is even when it's right out here, by monday afternoon, it's still going to have big effects on us as we do get into the rest of monday and then on tuesday. for us this morning, we've got low clouds around, a little patchy drizzle, a little patchy fog. temperatures around the region are in the low 60s to around 60 degrees. and for the rest of the day, hour by hour, we'll be climbing to the upper 60 to near 70 this afternoon with clouds remaining, a little drizzle this morning. we're back in ten minutes. a look at your traffic. here's danella. good morning. >> thanks, tom. what we're dealing with is

overnight road work. if you're traveling in the district, traveling 50 outbound, passing south dakota, making your way just prior to landover road, a work zone blocking the left lane. that should be in the final stages. here only the right lane will get you by the work zone here. let's head over to 395 southbound at king. had a work zone that would allow just the left lane to get by. looks like that work zone is just about wrapped up. i'm coming back in exactly ten minutes. we'll continue your traffic coverage then. eun, over to you. news 4's melissa mollet is at the live desk with breaking news. >> good morning. we're continuing to get information into the news room on this story. at least 40 people are dead and 50 hurt after a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in northern afghanistan. the attack comes on the first day of the muslim holiday.

today the virginia man accused of shooting a security guard at the family research council will be in court. floyd lee corkins was charged with terrorism for the august attack. it's the first time anyone's been charged with committing an act of terror under d.c.'s anti-terrorism act. corkins has already pleaded not guilty to the first set of charges he faced. today family and friends will say good-bye to a prince george's county police officer killed in a car crash. kevin bowden died after an suv collided with his cruiser in clinton. he was off duty at the time. the first viewing is at lee's funeral home in clinton. this morning police want to know who's behind a costly crime spree in prince george's county. nine cars were set on fire over a 24-hour period in the kettering, largo, bowie, and upper marlboro areas. investigators believe it's the

work of a serial artist. they're not sure if they're burning them to cover up break-ins, but several people say they heard their car alarms going off moments before the fire. >> my wife woke me up. she said, your car, the alarm is going off. look, it looks like there's fire. >> so far, no one has been hurt in these fires. police say report any suspicious activity immediately. president obama returned from a marathon campaigning spree in eight states. one of those states includes illinois, where he voted. richmond, virginia, was one of president obama's stops yesterday. about 15,000 supporters gathered in bird park to get a glimpse of the commander in chief. it was one of the largest

campaign events in the commonwealth this year. the president told supporters he needs their help to win virginia and the election. >> if you're willing to roll up your sleeves with me, work with me, knock on some doors with me, make some phone calls with me, we'll rian riwin richmond. we'll win the commonwealth of virginia. we'll win this election. >> president obama will return to virginia on monday. he has a rally planned. former president bill clinton will be by his side. romney's wife will be in virginia as well. ann romney will campaign across the commonwealth. her husband will campaign for a second straight day in ohio before heading to iowa. he took a bus tour across ohio yesterday. in this event in defiance near toledo, he vowed to work with democrats if he's elected. >> i'll do something that's not been done in washington for a long time. i'll reach across this aisle. their good democrats who love this country and good republicans who love this country. i'm going to meet with both. i'm going to meet regularly with

democrats and republicans and work together to solve our problems. >> romney will campaign in florida tomorrow. he'll head to virginia on sunday. no one ever said running for president was cheap, and it looks like this election could be the most expensive in american history. donations for both president obama and his republican challenger mitt romney have passed the $2 billion mark. that number is from mostly private donations but also includes funds from political committees that have come to be known as super pacs that have flooded the airways with political ads. if you could put a price on your vote, how much would it cost? according to the federal election commission, the candidates and their campaign spend nearly $2.3 million every day this election season. when you tally up the number of registered voters, it means the obama campaign spends about $5.33 for each voter while the romney campaign spends about $4.81. your pc or laptop could be due for an upgrade.

microsoft's new windows 8 goes on sale today. the operating system runs more like a tablet. perhaps the most noticeable change, there's no more start button. microsoft will release another version of windows 8 for smartphones next week. microsoft's new tablet hits stores today. its display will be a little larger than the ipads. today if you see snow plows on your street, no need for alarm. prince george's county conducting its annual snow and ice control dry run. more than 200 snow and emergency vehicles went out at 4:00 this morning to do a run-through of sorts before winter actually gets here. more than 400 personnel will be participating today. >> i'm glad they're prepared, but i'm not ready to see any snowflakes yet. >> hold that off for a while. ahead on "news 4 today," why homeowners say a d.c. neighborhood is an easy target for thieves. and speaking out, virginia

congressman jim moran speaking of allegations that forced his son to resign from the campaign.

right now hurricane sandy is heading our way. if you have any questions about the storm, what it could mean for the d.c. area, you could

join storm team 4 meteorologist doug kammerer and veronica johnson for 5:00 this evening. the most severe weather will happen monday into early tuesday, the flooding, strong winds, likely power outages we could say at this point. they'll be answering your questions in particular this afternoon. >> and our storm team 4 meteorologist, especially tom kierein this morning, closely watching sandy to see how it's going to impact our area. tom, what's going on now? is >> unfortunately, the latest trend is that sandy is going to be getting closer to us than it's been looking the last couple of days. right now it's a minimal hurricane, category 1, with 85 mile an hour winds north of the bahamas. maintaining that strength today passing north, east of florida. but they'll get heavy surf and some rain. taking a bit of a turn northeast by saturday. by saturday evening, it's going to begin to take a turn to the north, and then unfortunately, northwest, coming inland and

passing perhaps right near the metro area during the day on monday and into tuesday. with strong winds as well as perhaps some very heavy rain. right now we're around 60 degrees. temperatures around the region will hold steady near 60 through 6:00 a.m. by noon, upper 60s. a lot of clouds around today. drizzle reaching near 70 by midafternoon. i will get a brand new update on sandy's track coming up in ten minutes. we'll show you that in the seven-day outlook as well. danella is here with traffic. good morning. >> good morning, tom. your first 4 traffic report. let's start in montgomery county. passing connecticut avenue in both directions. taking the outer loop as well as the inner loop, nice and clear. traveling in prince george's county as well. checking cameras there. live look as you make your way past branch avenue. also looking good, i-95 in virginia between the occoquan and the beltway in both directions. no issues to report. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> danella, thank you. it is 4:42. still to come, the push

happening today to get a new casino built in maryland.

i'm melissa mollet at the live desk. breaking news. right now police in leesburg are investigating a suspicious death. a woman in her 20s was found inside an apartment in the 800 block of edwards ferry road. relatives had not been able to contact her for a couple of days. police say there is no threat to the community. we'll have more information for you at we get it. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. 15 before the hour now. it is a disturbing trend in one d.c. neighborhood. somebody is swiping packages, letters, even gift cards from front steps and even mailboxes. now one homeowner has caught that thief red handed. take a look at this hidden camera video you saw first on news 4 at 11:00.

you can see a person drop off the package at a home in cleveland park. then a short time later, a man arrives, opens the box, steals what is inside, and then leaves the empty package behind. some say the area is an easy target for this sort of crime. >> we're adjacent to rock creek park. it's easy access. it's a quick grab and a quick take and a quick run. >> police are stepping up patrols in the area, and some neighbors say they may start going to a store instead of ordering things through the mail. a prominent swimming coach is facing 15 years in prison. police say he had a sexual relationship with a young swimmer during the '80s. rick curl turned himself in to police. the former swimmer says curl abused her for years starting when she was 13. she also says he paid her and her family to keep quiet about the relationship. congressman jim moran is speaking out about the scandal

that forced his son to retire from his campaign. hidden camera video shows 23-year-old patrick moran discussing how someone could vote illegally in virginia. officials are investigating possible voter fraud after the release of this video. in a statement, moran says in part, "i know that my son's intention was to deflect the line of questioning by this trained political operative bent on goading him into a specific response. i know patrick will come out of this situation a better man for it." people against gambling in maryland will rally today. yesterday a group opposing the plan held a rally in forest heights. they say question 7 won't deliver on promises to generate more money for jobs or schools. supporters say it's misleading. >> i think it's necessary for our jobs to bolster our tax base. this is a very easy decision. >> this referendum is not going

to produce jobs or revenue or education money for prince george's county. those are the facts. i know that. i'm the money man. >> in the meantime, the likely operator of a new casino, mgm, says it did not put a hidden message in its job fair, saying applicants must vote in favor of question 7. that starts this morning at fedex field. more than 100 proponents of the maryland d.r.e.a.m. act gathered on college campuses throughout the state yesterday. the law would allow all maryland residents to pay instate tuition regardless of their immigration status. supporters say it would generate millions of dollars for the state. opponents say it would cost the state money. >> the further and higher they go in their education, the higher the jobs they'll receive, and the more they'll pay in taxes. they'll be a benefit to society. >> the prince george's schools have been rated, in terms of

maintenance for the schools, the worst in the state. they have no funds to renovate those schools. so to turn around and spend tens of millions, potentially hundreds of millions for instate tuition for illegal immigrants is just criminal. >> if the d.r.e.a.m. act passes, lower tuition could kick in as soon as next semester. today family and friends will remember -- will pay their final respects to former senator george mcgovern. funeral services for the longtime south dakota senator and one-time presidential candidate will be held this afternoon in sioux falls. yesterday joe biden attended the viewing which was followed by a prayer service. mcgovern died on sunday at the age of 90. louis farrakhan will be in our area today. the longtime leader of the nation of islam is set to speak. organizers say they want to challenge students' self-ideology. it's part of bowie's i am lecture series. right now there are hundreds of snow plows casing local

streets. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live this morning from prince george's county with more on why you might see those plows. megan? >> reporter: that's right, aaron. a lot of people are talking about hurricanes and sandy. here in prince george's county, they are actually talking snow and preparing for snow. take a look at the snow plows here. they've got their equipment all lined up. they have actually been leaving the public works depot here and hitting the streets, making sure that everything is in line for their crews should they have real snow. this is a dry line. vanessa gordon watson, you have been doing this for 25 years. talk about what this dry run is all about, what you'll be doing. >> we'll be going around looking for manholes, debris in the road, and now that there's a tropical storm coming up, make sure the storm drains are opened up and pot holes and stuff like that. >> reporter: so basically, when you have your plow down, any kind of a man hole cover, any

kind of a pothole, that's not good for the plow. so you'll be reporting that? >> yes, ma'am. we'll be reporting it to wssc, and we'll report the potholes to our operator. that way we can get the potholes filled as soon as possible. >> you mentioned sandy. you're looking for storm drains that are clogged and the like. what are the trouble spots out there? what do you have to keep your eyes open for? >> the low spots and the bridges and stuff like that. that way make sure the water is flowing so we won't have another terrible storm like we did before. >> all right. and you're going to be hitting the road pretty soon here? >> yes, ma'am. >> good luck to you. thanks for joining us here this morning. they actually have started to leave the depot even at this early hour. they want to kind of get out there into the neighborhoods and get a lot of their work done before the rush hour gets too bad. you can see they've been up early already doing a lot of their work. they've got the plows on, going over their equipment and the

like, just to make sure everything is ready to go when we do eventually get snow. reporting live from the depot here in forestville, megan mcgrath, news 4. back to you. >> even though they're working on preparations for snow, she mentioned sandy is coming as well. meteorologist tom kierein with weather and traffic on the ones. what's going on with sandy? >> it is a category 1 hurricane passing north of the ba many ha. also getting strong surf along the florida coast. right now it has winds of 85 miles an hour. here's the latest track of sandy still maintaining category 1 strength today, tonight, and tomorrow. taking a turn toward the northeast. then the latest track, right now just in, is showing it coming inland, unfortunately for us coming in perhaps right across from right near the delaware bay. the red line is the likeliest track. however, it could come in anywhere in this zone. we're well into the center of this zone.

unfortunately, this means bad news for us in the form of heavy rain and perhaps some strong enough winds that may cause some wind damage to trees and bring down power lines. and this is the timing. sunday morning this area in red is where they may begin to see the wind and the rain move in. but then sunday afternoon and evening is when it's going to begin to move our way, then in place on monday and into monday night and tuesday with the strong wind and the rain giving us some coastal flooding, some inland flooding perhaps. i think the greater problem is going to be very strong winds causing power outages. be prepared. prepare for maybe extended power outages. power may be out for several days or longer from this storm beginning monday and into much of next week. right now some low clouds passing over the region, a little patchy drizzle around. temperatures are generally in the low 60s from the bay all the way into the mountains, except some locations there are in the upper 40s and low 50s. for the morning commute, a

little cloudy, patchy drizzle. then for the noontime, still cloudy and cool in the mid and upper 60s. during the afternoon peaking near 70. saturday cloudy, highs in the upper 60s. then things go downhill on sunday. showers in the morning and looks like afternoon, evening, and through monday, monday night, and tuesday. powerful winds, maybe gusts over 60 miles an hour. bringing down tree limbs, causing power outages. and finally winding down by the end of the week. we could have an extended period of strong winds through midweek. i'm back with frequent updates. the next one is in ten minutes. good morning. >> good morning, tom. first 4 traffic report, we're going to start on i-66 in virginia as you make your way eastbound heading towards the beltway. have a disabled vehicle. difficult to see, but it's right here in the road. as you're traveling eastbound at 50 in the right shoulder lane. that's where your disabled vehicle is. travel lanes are open heading east and westbound outside the beltway. inside the beltway, very light volume. no incidents to report.

right now you're getting by without issue. heading towards the capital beltway, both directions with very light volumes. no incidents to report in this area. i'm back in ten. we'll check rails. aaron and eun, over to you. you'll soon be able to see the new york city skyline from the top of the statue liberty for the first time in a year. after renovations, lady liberty's crown will be open again starting sunday. the newly reopened area gives people better views and is also safer. if you want to see it, it's only open thursdays through sundays, and you need to make a reservation. probably not going to happen. actually, it's thursday through sunday. >> my kids are dying to go up in the crown. >> early es ereservations. and the impact president obama and mitt romney are making

in battleground states as they crisscross the country. result

rapper pitbull showed up on wednesday after he cancelled another bolivian show and ignited protests. pitbull tweeted he could not perform in santa cruz this week because the stage was not safe

to perform on. angry fans demanded a refund. pitbull has since rescheduled that show. pip pa middleton is launchig her new cookbook. in london, her book is called "celebrate, a year of festivities for family and friends." it includes recipes, crafts and games. middleton says it's based on her experience in family party business and her work at an events company. the book will hit store shelves here in the u.s. on tuesday. nbc has a halloween treat for you. >> i didn't mean for me to be a surprise. >> i meant for you to be a surprise. >> and the munsters are back in mocki mockingbird lane. it's a remake of the classic 1960s sitcom. the 2012 version does not feature a laugh track but features plenty of special effects. it stars jerry o'connell, portia