>> your primary vote put me on the path to win the republican nomination. and tomorrow your votes and your work right here in new hampshire will help me become the next president of the united states. >> polls in the commonwealth open an hour and a half from now at 6:00 a.m. in virginia, polls open an hour later at 7:00 a.m. news 4 is working for you as you had to the polls. any questions, check out the voting guide on nbcwashington.com. >> as we check out the weather, the question isn't do you need to bundle up to vote today?

it's how bundled up do you need to be? thankfully, no wind. but we have freezing temperatures as we head out early under a partly cloudy to mostly clear sky. we have temperatures that have plummeted well below freezing. most of the region down in the 20s. good morning. now it's down in the upper 20s across most of maryland, most of virginia. right around the metro area. as we take a look at the forecast for today, we have high pressure under a mostly clear sky. you do need a coat to vote by 6:00 a.m. 40s by noon time.

just a light wind but lots of sunshine. great weather for getting out to the polls. i'll be back in ten minutes with the hometown forecast. danella here with a look at traffic. good morning. >> good morning. let's talk about road work in the area. not seeing any accidents. very light volume. you are dealing with a couple of cones set up. 50s outbound. you're going to see the right lane blocked by road work in that area. over this time to connecticut avenue southbound as you approach the beltway. right lane is blocked by the work zone there. speaking of the beltway, outer loop of the beltway towards university boulevard we'll see work zones set up. you can see the right lanes are blocked as you make your commute along the inner loop of the beltway. outer loop looks good, though. for the work zone at university boulevard. those right lanes are blocked as you make your way through new hampshire avenue. around the beltway. no major delays at all. one person is dead after a train accident in woodbridge.

the vre commuter train hit the victim around 7:00 last night near cherry hill road. police are not releasing any details about the accident or the victim. a vre spokesperson says the 250 passengers on that train were put on buses to finish their commute. there are no delays expected this morning. anne arundel county firefighters trying to figure out what started this apartment fire in crownsville. this is along generals highway. we're told the fire started in the basement of that building. a 75-year-old man was taken to the hospital. at last check he was listed in critical condition. a silver spring man is now facing charges after his 4-year-old fell from a high rise apartment window. police charged christopher

more than 200 people showed up to honor christina morris ward. friends and family members are helping her through this tragedy. >> everyone had a lot to say. she was a goofy individual and trustworthy. it was good to know as a parent that i was able to instill those values into her. >> the driver who hit christina remained on the scene. he is not facing charges at this point. christina's mother says she hopes this accident serves as a painful reminder of how important it is to help out pedestrians when behind the wheel. a man accused of attacking two women because he left his cell phone number at one of the locations. after 19-year-old demarco myles raped a howard university on friday, he wrote down his name and phone number.

myles scratched out the information. the police were able to decipher it and arrest him later that day. police are still trying to figure out how he got into the dorm room because it requires electronic key. one student is moving out because of the incident. >> no matter how much money we're paying, it doesn't matter where we go to school because this is a horrible neighborhood. we shouldn't worry about who's walking in the building and out. i shouldn't pay this kind of money for this to happen. >> myles also faces charges for attacking another woman last month at the rhode island row apartment complex. he admitted to stabbing a woman 25 times. she is still in the hospital recovering from that attack. eight days after sandy devastated seaside communities in new jersey, one is asking residents to leave their home again because of the coming nor'easter. brick, new jersey, issued an evacuation order for residences in low lying areas.

they'll get more than an inch of rain and wind gusts at 65 miles per hour. about 75,000 people lived there. as of last night, utility companies are still working to restore electricity to 12,000 residents who lost power from sandy in new jersey. more than 1 million people remain without power. most places in new york and new jersey. so far sandy claimed at least 106 lives. right now more than 10,000 people are living in shelters across seven states. the gas shortage is still a problem. there are some signs of progress. the staten island ferry and 80% of the new york city subway system are up and running, and the u.s. department of agriculture is sending more than 1 million pounds of food to new york. the world trade center memorial is reopening today. parts of the world trade center and a private entrance room for victims' families were ge damag by a four foot wall of water from sandy. a memorial spokesperson says the water has been pumped out and the damage has been fixed.

it is not going to be an easy day for voters, and election officials in new york city with so many areas without power, but officials are doing what they can. in at least one new jersey county, ballots were delivered to emergency shelters. governor cuomo signed an executive order that allows voters to cast emergency ballots at any open polling location. voting rights advocates say robocalls are incorrectly telling voters they can cast ballots over the phone. and live callers making calls primarily to black ovoters. if you see a problem at the polls, we want to hear from you. call the tip line at 202-885-4444 or e-mai$202-885-4 tips@news4 iteam.com. >> there's no change in how we

vote. you either do it in person or do it by mail. anything else doesn't cut it unless you hear from a state official. just about 4:38. ahead on "news 4 today," it is election day. what you need to know before you hear from your polling places.

power is coming back on for garrett county residents. many have been without power since sandy last week. the polling sites all have power. shouldn't be an issue for today. >> cold on this tuesday morning. tom kierein is keeping an eye on temperatures and the snow in the not so distant future. we have a freeze all over the region. all these areas in dark blue at our below freezing except right near the tidal potomac or right near the bay waters. reagan national at 35. elsewhere, we are down into the 20s most of maryland, virginia, west virginia, the eastern shore. hometown forecast, quantico, prince william county by 6:00 a.m. at the freezing mark and mostly clear. we'll have sunshine for the rest of the day. why the noon hour should be in

the mid-40s. here's the hour by hour forecast for the entire region today. great weather for getting out and voting. you'll just need a coat. thankfully, we don't have a lot of win, only around 5 to 10 miles an hour. we'll have a lot of sunshine. by midafternoon, we ought to climb into the upper 40s. by late afternoon, low 40s by 6:00 p.m. clouds increasing tonight ahead of a coastal area of low pressure. i'll have the latest on that and the paegets on our region along with the seven day outlook. that will come up in ten minutes at 4:51. danella, how's traffic? >> good morning. still quiet in our area. work zones set up. not bad because the volume is light. you have to pass a work zone. use caution. no major delays at all. let's start with the outer loop of the beltway at 66. you cannot get on 66 east or west while construction is happening. should wrap up about 5:00 a.m.

want to show you i-95. good news is construction set up, and the hov lanes shut down on 95 and 395, but they're open. making the trip on i-95, you're accident free. and on 395 no issues there. it is now 4:43. 36 degrees out there. heads up. a student pilot runs into trouble on his first landing, and it's caught on video. plus we're following one of key senate

charlie rose: will you endorse president obama? colin powell: yes. when he took over we were in one of the... worst recessions we had seen in recent times... close to a depression. and i saw, over the next several years, stabilization... come back in the financial community. housing is starting to pick up. the president saved the auto industry. and the actions he's taken with respect to... protecting us from terrorism have been very, very solid. and so, i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

a suicide bomber killed nine people and injured another 24 in baghdad. police say he detonated his explosives outside an army base there. we'll pass along more information as we get it. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. there are big senate races

today, including the slowdown between tim kaine and george allen in virginia. but claire mcaskill against republican congressmanned ed t akin. akin has made some controversial comments about legitimate race. despite that firestorm, akin says he is encouraged. >> we're seeing it go very well because of the high level of enthusiasm all over the state. we see it to some degree in the number of yard signs in what we go through in the sense of urgency, the volunteers. actually, that's what gives me the most hope for having a very good day. voters in virginia and some first time voters in maryland

will be required to show some form of identification. there are at least 30 forms of valid i.d., including an i.d. card from your employer. it does not have to be a photo i.d. election officials in d.c., maryland, and virginia agree the best time of day to avoid long lines at the polls is between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. >> we anticipate that there will be a large volume of people as we start the day off in voting, but we definitely think that will calm down by noon. >> polls opening and closing times vary from state to state. virginia open at 6:00 a.m. if you're not sure about the questions on your ballot, make sure you check out our voting guide on nbcwashington.com. >> i read the guide. it's actually, very, very good if you need help on what you're voting on. you may vote before or after work, but there's a good chance you won't talk about who you voted for with your co-workers.

workers say they don't share their political affiliation at the office. and more than a quarter workers say they need to keep their political views a secret around their colleagues. >> jet blue is giving away 2012 seats to customers who support the losing presidential candidate. that's 1,006 round trip flights. not a bad cancellation flight. you can enter on the airline's website. take a look at this unbelievable video from north texas. a single engine plane clips the top of an suv as it's about to land. look right there. a flight instructor who works out of the airport says both the driver and the pilot are to blame. he says the driver did not follow a stop sign, and the pilot was coming in too low. >> it probably should be marked, but, obviously, they knew they were going to the airport. that was the attraction for them to come out here. so they should have looked

before they crossed the runway. he was looking down the runway a little too low on his approach. i think he should have been a little higher on the approach. >> everyone involved is okay. the owner of the airport is working with the faa and the national transportation safety board on possible recommendations. an animal trainer is dead after being mauled by a bear in montana. 24-year-old benjamin clottier was working at a facility that trains bears. he was working with the bear in an enclosure when one of the animals attacked him on sunday. police say there were no defensive wounds on his hands or arms, and he did not use the bear spray he was carrying during that attack. he might have fallen and hit his head before being called. an autopsy did confirm that clotier died of bite wounds. a surprising discovery inside a home. they found a 3 foot alligator in maryland.

they raided the home on glen eagle drive in jessup and found the alligator with up to a half pound of marijuana with a street value of $3,100. they arrested michael golden and charged him with intent to distribute illegal drugs. police in alexandria hope a video helps them find a group of burglars. you can see two men and a woman trying to break into a business on eisenhower avenue early in the morning. they did not get in, but police believe they did successfully break into two other businesses. the police got away with cash, cigars, and a humidor. >> 4:51. if you're heading to the polls, you need to bundle up, especially to wait in long lines. we don't have much wind thankfully, but it is cold. we're starting off with a mostly clear sky. got a little moon showing through. clouds passing through. temperatures are down to the upper 20s just about all of virginia, west virginia. many locations there as well as

shenandoah valley. the mid-20s. right around the metro area it's down near 30 degrees in montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties. right near the bay waters and potomac, it's generally above freezing. just a few clouds drifting through, but we'll have the clouds increasing as we get into tonight. ahead of a cloud of low pressure. this is the disturbance in the atmosphere producing rain in georgia, alabama, and parts of south carolina, and florida. does look like it's going to track off the coast. latest trend now is farther east off the coast, which is really great news for us. we're probably not going to get a lot of precipitation out of it. let's break it down for you and look at the time line. tuesday, 3:00 p.m., no problems. just some clouds around. then by wednesday at 5:00 in the morning, might have chilly rain along the atlantic seaboard. as we get into the early afternoon hours, maybe 1:00, 2:00, might have a little wet snow in this lavender zone here east of i-95 mixing in with some

of the rain, and that tracks farther east as we get into the evening hours at 6:00 p.m. on wednesday. much of the area west of us, no precipitation as well as much of the d.c. metro area. i-95 east, that mix of rain and snow. probably no snow accumulation. just a mix of dusting in grassy areas. does look like a lot of it is going to be missing in jersey and new york and could be impacting new england. for the morning commute, cold, dress warmly. get out your warm winter coat. upper 20s and low 30s for the next couple of hours. by the lunch hour, low to mid-40s, sunny and chilly with a light breeze. and the four-day forecast, we'll have that storm system exiting. some sun back on thursday and friday with highs in the 50s. looking pleasant into the weekend. sunshine, may even get up around 60 on saturday. low to mid-60s sunday as well as on monday. so a pleasant pattern coming in thursday into the weekend first part of next week. i'll be back in ten minutes. danella here with your first 4 traffic. good morning. >> good morning, tom.

just into the first 4 traffic office, an accident that has prince william parkway shut down at ball ford road. if you're making that trip, please be aware of that, you cannot pass that intersection. still checking on road work. if you're traveling along i-270 at 124, prince orchard road, you see a work zone set up in the southbound lanes. i'm going to show you what 118 looks like as you make your way southbound past germantown road, nice and clear. if you're getting around that construction there, it's not going to be difficult because your volume is still very light. i-95 in maryland looks good as you make your way north and southbound between the baltimore beltway and capitol beltway. not seeing anything there. metro is apologizing to riders this morning for closing its doors early over the weekend. trains stopped running about an hour earlier than they were supposed to because of the time change for daylight savings. that left many out in the cold late at night without a way to get home.

metro issued a statement last night apologizing to customers for the inconvenience. d.c. leaders say new lower speed camera fines that went into effect yesterday aren't going far enough. council member tommy wells says police believe the program is about raising money for the budget. the fine for going up to 15 miles per hour over the limit, which is now $100, is quite a bit more than the $40 fine in maryland. aaa mid-atlantic has also called the fines unfair. police say the cameras have reduced traffic deaths. 5:54 is our time. coming up this morning, extreme prevention. what one celebrity did to prevent -- to avoid getting breast cancer even though she doesn't have symptoms.

tv host sharon osborne revealed she had a mastectomy despite never getting a diagnosis. she found out she has a gene that increases her risk of developing breast cancer. osborne has already battled colon cancer. she calls the decision to

undergo a mastectomy a no brainer and is happy to be enjoying life as a grandparent. many have already completed their civic duty. more than 31 people took advantage of early voting in 34 states and the district. maryland believes the demographics of their early voters, 65% of voters registered as democrats while 22% were registered as republicans. virginia and d.c. did not release their demographics. election day can't come soon enough for a lot of people. sure, they're excited to vote, but they're also more excited they won't have to see these anymore. >> out of the blue one day, we were told to build a 30-foot stage. turns out that, when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin. >> that is one of many. if you noticed an election commercial or two lately, that is not your situation. more than 30 million ads have

aired since june according to researchers. that is 39% more than four years ago and 31% more than in 2004. and that's not including all the ballot questions and the senate races and house races. >> overriding theme. we want it to be over. >> i don't know what's going to be on tv tomorrow. what are we going to do for commercials? today is election day. go out and vote. 36 degrees. we're talking about winter weather out there. bundle up. >> there's some places in the 20s right now. >> there's an old russian saying. it's never too cold. you're just