warm warmer than yesterday. >> storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein has your weather headlines. good morning. we have a few wispy, high clouds passing over. that's a live view from our high definition city camera overlooking washington on this wednesday morning. where the temperatures right now are generally in the low to mid-50s but just outside the beltway the suburbs are down into the 40s and that includes most of prince george's county, fairfax and montgomery county. away from the waters many locations in the 40s, the eastern shore, northern neck, shenandoah valley, into the mountains 40s this morning. chilly through 8:00 but then by 10:00 we ought to be in the mid-60s. then partly sunny by noontime. right around 70 degrees. hometown forecast martinsburg, should be into the mid-60s by

noontime and partly sunny. a look at traffic now with danella. we'll start with the rails. metro, vre running on time, marc train 401 dealing with an electrical problem there. expect your delays between 10 and 15 minutes. the delay is 14 minutes. over to the roadway if you're just joining us, i'm still tracking an accident in southeast d.c. along branch avenue. br branch is shut down between camden street and erie street. we do have tony tull en route. aaron and eun, back over tu. >> to angie goff now at the live desk. republican senator ted cruz has spent more than 14 hours in a talk-a-thon.

he is against the efforts to remove part of an emergency spending bill that would defund the so-called obama care. it would avoid a government shutdown as well. not able to delay proceedings with a formal filibuster. cruz began speaking out against obama's health care reforms. they are meant to grab attention and to delay sending the measure back to the house. he's gotten creative answering a series of riddles with his colleague senator mike lee. >> do you know how long the 100 years war lasted? where do chinese gooseberries come from? there's something called a panama hat. can you tell me where the panama hat comes from? >> well, the tea party backed republican actually supports the bill he's holding up. it would keep the government running while defunding obama care. democrats in charge plan to change the bill and keep the health care funding. you saw cruz is still talking.

he vows to keep talking until he can no longer stand. that's the latest from the live desk, angie goff, news 4. as republicans continue their fate, the obama administration is trying to educate the public about it. today president obama will advise state level leaders in a conference call and kathleen sebelius is out with the market exchanges which lawn of next week. the report outlines the 53 premiums available. she estimates that 95% of americans should qualify for two or more options depending on their situation. under the new law everyone must carry health insurance by january 1 or face a fine. a busy day for president obama, he'll meet with treasury secretary jack lew at the white house late this afternoon. lew is out with new federal estimates. he says the u.s. could have less than $50 billion on hand to pay its bills when the country hits the debt ceiling next month. that is less than previously

thought. he is calling on congress to raise the nation's borrowing limit. d.c. leaders plan to take action to avoid a local shutdown even if the federal government can't reach a deal. the council wants to classify all 33,000 district workers as essential personnel allowing them to continue to work since congress oversees d.c.'s budget. the d.c. council is expected to pass that emergency legislation on monday which is the deadline for congress to reach a deal. a shutdown would force the district to suspend things including dmv services, trash collection and close libraries. there is debate d.c.'s attorney general says the move could be illegal and subject d.c. to fines. 5:05 right now. the race for governor of virginia runs through mclean tonig tonight. ken cuccinelli and terry mcauliffe will square off for a live debate. tonight's debate will focus on the economy and other issues facing virginians. you can see it live here on nbc 4 and on nbcwashington.com starting at the 7:00 tonight. our northern virginia bureau

chief julie kerry and i will be on the panel for that debate. and tonight's debate won't be the only political debate today. a private fund-raiser for ken cuccinelli. terry mcauliffe has been well ahead in raising money in this race. democrat ralph nor it tham and e.w. jackson squared off during a debate in arlington. >> i'm not running to be preacher, bishop, pass but lieutenant governor and i will seek to serve all regardless of their background. >> it's what i do in church carries with me to what i do in every day life. >> northam holds a three-point lead over jackson among likely voters. that's in our latest nbc 4/nbc 4 marist poll.

mgm resorts will show off its plans and give an update on its bid to develop what is called an $800 million facility. the resort's ceo has said before that he envisions an elegant building featuring glass, brick, and stone. mgm is competing with penn national and greenwood racing to build that gaming center in prince george's county. >> having trouble sleeping through the night? why all those gadgets you have around the house could be to blame. plus, new criticism for asiana airlines. why they could could be hit with a hefty fine. the unusual display of generosity that had some unknowing folks cashing in. 5: 5:07. a chilly wednesday morning. good morning. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. down into the 40s much of the region. some patchy, dense fog in the shenandoah valley and into the mountains this morning. watch out for

♪ for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/dcmetro. i'm terry mcauliffe, candidate for governor, and i sponsored this ad. for 30 years i've worked as an obgyn, my job is to protect the health of women. so i'm particularly offended by ken cuccinelli. cuccinelli wants to make all abortion illegal ... ... even in cases of rape and incest. ... even to protect a woman's health. i want a governor who's focused on schools and creating jobs, not someone who wants to do my job. who's ken cuccinelli to interfere in the lives of women across virginia? today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper.

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for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/dcmetro. welcome back. in news for your health now, a new study says antidepressants are linked to a higher risk of diabetes. researchers from south hampton university says this all aplace

to all antidepressants not just a specific one. researchers say those on antidepressants are more likely to be overweight which is a factor of type 2 diabetes. the effects of antidepressants also cause weight gain. do you get enough sleep? if the answer is no, whiches is for myself and aaron and a lot of folks on the morning team, your technology might be part of the problem. according to the ui health sleep lab, nighttime exposure can disrupt your sleep. if you want a good night's sleep turn off your phone, tablet and tv at least an hour before you go to bed -- >> what? >> an hour. do you do this? >> no. i play solitaire on my phone. that's the last thing i do before i go to sleep at night which i know is bad because it's brain stimulation. >> at least play candy crush. come on. angry birds, something. good morning. now at 5:11, there is some

patchy, dense fog around the shenandoah valley in the foothills around the blue ring. watch out for that, watch out for deer, watch out for pedestrians. and later today with a few high clouds in and out, 40s much of the region. by 8:00 should be around 50 but by noon near 70. by midafternoon into the mid-to upper 70s. our sun is rise 7:00. sunset 7:00. i'm back in ten minutes with your seven-day outlook. a look at the rest of your week and weekend coming up. danella, how is traffic? good morning, tom. in southeast d.c. along branch avenue still shut down between camden street and erie street. we do have tony tull on scene. he says the accident scene is in the process of being wrapped up. meantime, folks can take 32nd street to work their way around and traveling out from fredericksburg still very clear. not the seeing any delays or construction to warn you with. an easy trip to the beltway. i'm back in ten minutes. we are tracking breaking news out of bangladesh where

police and protesters are clark. a look at what sparked the violence. a deadly mall siege, the ne

i'm angie goff with breaking news out of bangladesh. police are using batons, rubber bullets, and tear gas to stop protests by garment workers that have turned violent. workers are demanding better pay and working conditions and have taken to setting plants that are still open on fire. they provide clothing for western retailers. owners worry they will miss shipments. since the protests began five days ago, the worst paid in the industry in the world. accusations the carian asiana failed to properly help.

three people died, dozens injured there when flight 214 crashed in july. u.s. law requires all airlines to have a familiy assistance pln in place for accidents and it has to provide things like transportation and lodging and a toll-free number for families to get information. the ntsb has found asiana failed to provide emergency contact numbers, set up a proper hotline or even contact passengers' families for days after the crash. asiana could face fines of nearly $30,000 for each part of the law violated. also new this morning, things are back to normal at police headquarters in columbus, ohio, after an explosion was reported inside the building. firefighters and the bomb squad searched the building floor by floor. a police spokesman says an industrial battery blew up as it was charging. no one was hurt. right now police in hunting ton, west virginia, searching for the person who shot six people at a

housing complex late last night. some of the victims managed to walk to a nearby gas station to search for help. all of the victims are expected to make full recoveries. police have not released a motive for the shooting. 5:18 now and search crews are combing through debris of a massive earthquake in pakistan looking for survivors. that quake measured 7.7 and killed an estimated 238 people. thousands of others are hurt as well. that quake leveled houses and buildings and made rescue efforts very difficult. pakistan is sending in its military and helicopters to help the search efforts. doctors there describe the scene as are horrific. pakistani leaders say the quake moved land with enough force to create a small island. the death toll from flooding and mud slides rising to 130 in mexico. eight more bodies were found in a small town on the pacific coast. soldiers and emergency workers still looking for more bodies as well. the area was devastated by a hurricane and a tropical storm last week.

news 4's angie goff is following breaking news from the live desk. angie? eun, we have new information out of nairobi. the a.p. reporting that mall attackers claim 137 hostages were buried in rubble when kenyan forces demolished that building. this news as we've heard more gunfire this morning around the mall. so far 67 people are confirmed dead. officials expect that number to rise as they continue to sweep and search the building for survivors. today marks the beginning of three days of national mourning and kenya's president said security forces have killed five terrorists and arrested 11 others. al shabaab has claimed responsibility for this attack. at the live desk, angie goff, news 4. the army may be about to change its grooming policy. the military publication "stars and stripes" is reporting new army recruits will not be allowed to have tattoos below their elbows or knees or above their neck lines. the new rules won't apply to current soldiers. this policy could take effect in

a month or two. the white house wants a lawsuit filed by one of the women at the heart of the david petraeus case thrown out. the florida woman who complained about threatening e-mails revealed petraeus' affair with his biographer. kelly wants to know who leaked her name and e-mails to reporters. she says the leaks violated the privacy act which prevents federal agencies from invading people's privacy. the justice department says she presented no evidence the fbi or pentagon knowingly violated her privacy. the man who rushed to help a british tourist hit by a taxicab in new york city was fired days after the incident. he used his plummer's belt as a tourniquet after it severed her foot. he told "the new york daily news" he was fired for attracting too much media attention. justina was the foreman. the company says he and two other plumbers were laid off

because there wasn't enough work at the job site. let's check in with storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein to get a look at how the day is shaping up. tom? beautiful morning under way. there's the washington monument. a few high clouds drifting over and now coming in from the west getting reports of some patchy, dense fog that's been forming around the blue ridge, the central foothills and into the shenandoah valley. so watch out for that. watch out for deer. they are getting active. this is deer collision season. as we look at temperatures, it is chilly down into the 40s. fairfax county and northern virginia, arlington, alexandria, the district, generally in the low to mid-50s there. bus stop forecast this morning for students at the bus stop, yes, you'll need your jacket again this morning. we'll be in the 40s to low 50s between now all the way until about 8:30 or so this morning. so grab your jacket before you head out the door. just a few high clouds around and then by noon it will warm up

another steep climb in our temperature grab here by noontime to be near 70 and during the afternoon partly sunny. 60s through the evening and 50s by dawn on thursday. tomorrow looks like another awesome autumn day, afternoon highs reaching the mid to upper 70s and partly sunny. then mostly sunny friday. friday morning reaching the upper 50s. afternoon highs upper 70s and then over the weekend here is your storm team 4 seven-day outlook. highs reaching the mid-70s. another gorgeous day. more clouds moving in on monday into tuesday. a slight chance of a shower. i'm back in ten minutes with a hometown forecast. now a look at traffic with danella. actually, i'll take it. tony tull on the scene of a serious accident. tony, bring us up to speed. >> reporter: hey there. good morning. the good news is both drivers will be okay. we are being told by d.c. police

it was a passenger carvers us a tow truck. take a look down the street. 2500 block of branch avenue southeast. you can see they're starting to tow the vehicles away. take a look at the video we shot a couple minutes ago when we arrived on the scene. the passenger car has pretty serious damage. i want to reiterate both people are going to be okay. d.c. police tell me they're not quite sure what caused the accident. they think the driver may have fallen asleep but that's still under investigation. as of right now no one is facing any charges. as of right now the street is closed but d.c. police tell me that it will be open here in about the next two to five minutes. so if you're heading out this morning, don't worry. this will not cause any bit of a traffic jam for you. that's the latest from the southeast. back to you guys. that's right. that's good news, tony. thank you for that. for folks taking the rails, metro, vre, no delays. watching marc, 401, they're dealing with an electrical

problem there and now your delays are 12 minute. let's also talk about the brunswick east, minor five-minute delay on train 870. over to the roadways folks traveling this morning out from the bay bridge heading to the beltway, travel lanes appear to be open. not seeing any accidents to report. easy commute. i'll be back in ten minutes with another update. thank you. there is a the lot of interest in virginia to participate in an upcoming earthquake drill. the department of emergency management says more than 694,000 residents signed up for the great southeast shakeout. it is an opportunity to practice what to do in an earthquake. organizers say you should drop to the floor, take cover, and hold on. the drill will happen on october 17. more than two years ago a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit virginia sending shock waves up and down the seaboard. the hagerstown sons are a step closer to moving to virginia. the fredericksburg city council approved a preliminary agreement

for a new ballpark to house the minor league baseball team. they need to submit that agreement to major league baseball if they want to move from maryland to fredericksburg. the obama administration says drug testers need to do a better job testing for sin is nett synthetic marijuana. they release add study conducted in our area. res researchers who tested d.c. men on parole or probation found that more than a third of them tested positive for synthetic marijuana but still passed a traditional drug test. this could mean noncrippminals o take drug tests like hospital workers may be using synthetic marijuana. today the human rights campaign and d.c. public schools will team up to prevent bullying. the lesbian and gay civil rights group will premiere a new short film at 4:00 at cleveland elementary school. it is called what can we do? some maryland residents who

attended state and local fairs this summer walked away with more than cotton candy. they found money they didn't know they were owed by the state. officials have returned almost $330,000 to more than 275 residents. all those people discovered the money with the help of unclaimed property units set up at fairs. well, it may only be september but in salem, oregon, somebody is already giving in to the spirit -- is getting in the spirit in a big, unexpected way. >> someone is putting $100 bills in a random grocery store item and people are finding the sweet surprise in everything from cookies to chocolate bars. >> opened it up and $100 bill fell out just like that. >> when we got home they were getting their ice cream and lo and behold they came running out, we found $100. and i'm like, what? this cannot be real. >> hmm, so far grocery store owners say they've counted almost $2,000 worth of lucky

$100s. store managers don't know where the money is coming from. but the bills are authentic and they're real money. and so far they're saying ice cream, cookies, chocolate bars, all things i've purchased. i'm hoping this might happen to me. >> just don't eat the money before you get a chance to see it. >> good call. some members of congress are pulling an all-nate eall-nighte capitol hill. ted cruz and supporters have been talking more than 14 hours straight. the crime involving several local atms that may have put your financial information at risk. and waking up to temperatures in the 40s around the region. this afternoon is shaping up to be ideal. your forecast next with weather and traffic on the 1s. and don't forget to stay connected with us when you're online or on your smartphone on facebook and twitter.

looking at stories making headlines, the race for governor is in the spotlight as ken cuccinelli and terry mcauliffe face off in a debate in mclean. ted cruz and supporters still speaking at this hour in their effort to derail the president's health care law. and the death toll in pakistan has climbed above 200 as rescue teams search for survivors after a powerful earthquake.

we'll have much more on those stories throughout the morning. first, good morning to you. i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. welcome to "news 4 today" on this wednesday, september 25. 54 degrees outside our studios. still chilly around much of the region this morning. let's get an update on the forecast. here is tom kierein. a calm wind, a few high clouds from the west and also some patchy, dense fog forming rapidly over the last half hour or so in parts of the shenandoah valley, around the blue ridge. watch out for that fog. watch out for deer, watch out for pedestrians. temperatures right now are generally in the 40s across most of virginia, wf of wf and maryland that includes our nearby suburbs but closer to washington right around 50 degrees, mid-50s near the waters as well as the tidal potomac. we'll have high clouds with us here through the morning hours, by 8:00 should be around 50 degrees. by 10:00 the low to mid-60s. by noontime 70 degrees and partly sunny. a partly sunny noontime, too,

for lanham. temperatures by noon in the upper 60s. a look at the rest of your wednesday, that's in ten minutes. here is a look at traffic with danella. good morning. good morning, tom. traveling around the beltway, heads-up, just getting word of a report of an accident. folks traveling the outer loop of the beltway to gallows road. they're en route to see what's going on there and if it is actually an accident so heads-up in case you're about to leave the house. b.w. parkway travel between greenbelt and all the way to oxon hill, no construction, no accidents. let's head over to 95. folks traveling southbound it's clear. northbound as well an easy trip to the 14th street bridge. in fact, that drive is just taking 12 minutes. i'm back in ten. aaron and eun, over to you. >> thank you. happening today we could see someone at the senate podium for many more hours. this is senator ted cruz live

vowing to talk as long as he can. and this is more of a protest against the new health care law. cruz hopes his efforts can impact today's senate the vote and possible government shutdown. nbc's tracie potts joins us live with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. shortly after the senate comes into session today about an hour or so after that they're supposed to be voting on a bill that links paying for health care to avoid a government shutdown. democrats don't want to do it that way. they plan to take out the defunding of obama care portion as republicans have called it. now here is the thing. the cruz, who has been talking all night long, actually supports that, but he knows the democrats are going to try to change it. he wants to delay this whole thing to avoid that. therefore he has been pulling an all-nighter. is this going to work? are they going to delay it? they will probably vote at some point. if delayed too long, there won't be enough time to coordinate and

get something done, some sort of budget in place before the deadline for a government shutdown before october 1. so we wait to see how long senator cruz will be allowed to be on the floor. he started after 2:30 yesterday. he's now been going almost 15 hours. eun? >> tracie potts, we'll see how long this lasts. thanks. learning of new claims of spying by the usa against u.s. allies. a report the nsa bugged the indian embassy in d.c. and the u.n. office in new york with sophisticated equipment. the report cites documents obtained by edward snowden. they also list india on a list of countries chosen for intensive spying. india defended nsa spying programs in the past saying they prevented terrorist attacks. we are following a developing story in syria as well. a team of u.n. chemical weapons inspectors is heading back to syria. the team will look for more

evidence that chemical weapons used in syria's civil war. a report after the inspectors' last visit claim that troops there used sarin gas in an attack near damascus. secretary of state john kerry will discuss the crisis in syria with foreign diplomats. he met with russia's foreign minister yesterday in knock. the white house says they discussed a possible u.n. security council resolution that would demand syria destroy its chemical weapons. kerry will meet with france's foreign minister. in the day ahead, a judge will sentence a hair mayor man convicted of murder. that sentencing hearing for 24-year-old kevin walker will happen at about 10:30 at the prince george's county courthouse in upper marlboro. he faces life plus 20 years this prison for the murder of justin isaacs. walker was convicted of robbing and killing a 17-year-old as he walked home from the library in 2011. montgomery county police want to know if you recognize these two men. take a look at your screen.

detectives say they are using atm skimmers to rip off people in maryland and d.c. those devices can read your account and p.i.n.s. over the last month police found skimmers attached to atms in chevy chase and bethesda. police urge you not to use an atm if you notice odd markings on scratches on it. two more families will honor the lives of those gupd down at the navy yard. ken proc it tor's family will have a funeral mass at 10:00. a viewing for arthur daniels at 9:30 at the community of hope ame church. his funeral at 11:00. you can help raise money to support victims' families and survivors of the shooting. of the nationals are auctioning signed jerseys they wore the day after aaron alexis killed 12 people at the navy yard. so far more than $32,000 has been bid on. steven strasburg has the most

bids but bryce harper has the highest at nearly $4,000. bidding runs through tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. all proceeds will go to the navy yard tragedy family support fund. president lincoln making headlines again. the new fphoto that is sparking debate 150 years after his gettysburg address. plus, the changes made in maryland because of a backlog in background checks. also ahead, why now is the time to buy if you want to save on holiday airfare. good morning. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. we're down into the 40s this morning. much of the region, you'll need a jacket before you head out. also, watch out for patchy fog, shenandoah val

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[monotone] she says, "switch to progressive and you could save hundreds." call or click today. if if you're leaving town for the holidays, right now is the best time to book your flight. accord i according to the travel website kayak.com you generally find the cheapest airfares now through the middle of october. after that all bets are off. you'll score the best thanksgiving deals by flying the monday or tuesday before. the closer to christmas you fly, the more you'll save. >> i learned that. >> you book early.

>> i've floep on christmas, too. >> that's a smart move. that's because you can't get the heck out of dodge. >> that's right. >> time for weather and traffic. >> maybe we'll tell you later why we're laughing. we'll tweet about it maybe. nothing you did. let's go to tom and check the forecast. we're giggling with delight, too, over the weather the last couple of days. right now off to a chilly start, the nearby neighborhoods are in the 40s hmuch of maryland and virginia. patchy, dense fog around the blue ridge. by noon should be near 70 degrees and an awesome autumn day highs reaching the mid to upper 70s. in the first alert traffic center, an early report of an accident confirmed traveling the outer loop of the beltway taking the ramp to gallows road off to

your right shauld lane. out to i-66 from haymarket, an easy commute. 66 outside the beltway, inside clear as well. i'm back in ten minutes. a health scare this morning at one of our region's universities after a student tests positive for tuberculosis. also ahead, remember the days when gas cost less than $3 a gallon? why prices like that may be making a comeback soon. plus, a boat built to look like the delorean from "back to the future." the mishap it had in the water the mishap it had in the water afte

i was honored to serve as governor of virginia. we brought folks together in richmond to focus on creating jobs and getting results. that's the virginia way. and that's why i'm backing terry mcauliffe for governor. terry won't let ideological battles get in the way of making progress. terry will work with democrats, republicans, and independents to create jobs and move virginia forward.

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welcome back at 5:45. six people charged in connection with the stabbing death of a woodbridge high school football

player. prince william county police arrested four women and two men in the murder case of 18-year-old kenny diaz. the youngest suspect is 19-year-old tiandra samuels. diaz was found stabbed to death saturday in the marumsco acre lake. the husband of williams says his wife is innocent. >> my wife says it and i believe it. >> police say everyone involved in the case knew one another. they say the suspects were also involved in drugs. this morning police are trying to determine how a 46-year-old woman died. the body of tonda camp found saturday decomposing inside an apartment. the victim's family did not want to talk. neighbors say they smelled a foul odor for more than two months. nearly 50,000 gun buyers in maryland won't have to meet the requirements of the state's new gun law according to the baltimore sun. that law, which takes effect on

tuesday, requires handgun buyers to be fingerprinted and buy a $50 license. that does not apply to those who apply before october 1. the agency is bringing in two dozen more people to help work through a backlog of checks. more are than 100,000 gun purchase applications have been submitted so far this year. that is twice the number received in all of 2011. an elderly man in d.c. who lost his home over a $134 tax bill is taking his case to court challenging the district's tax lien program that allows the city to impose liens for unpaid property taxes and sell to private investors. t "the washington post" found some of those investors demanded thousands of dollars in fees interest home opfrom homeowners. they say it is an abuse of government power and calls it unconstitutional. virginia governor bob mcdonnell's approval rating has hit a new low. 49% approve of the job he's

doing. that number was 64% back in may. the growing scandal over gifts he received appear to be driving his approval rating down. they say he has high personal moral and ethical standards. a proposed casino at national harbor today. mgn resorts will show off the plans and give an update on its bid to develop what is called an $800 million facility. the company's ceo had had said before that he envisioned an elegant building. mgm is competing with penn national and greenwood racing to build a gaming center. this morning a lack of of activity at the hospital is hurting the financial status of howard university. moody's downgraded the school's credit rating, cited a drop in revenue and patient volume at its hospital.

moody's also said fund-raising is weak. howard is a private university but relies heavily on government support. moody's says federal cuts will impact the school in the next year. happening today, mayrriott executives will join d.c. city leaders in celebrating a milestone in the construction of the largest hotel in the district. this morning at 10:00 a.m. they will hold a topping off ceremony at the site of the marriott marquee in northwest. a crane will lift a ceremonial beam on top of the 14-story building. it will signify construction has reached its full height. the hotel is set to open in the spring. virginia's commonwealth university will notify about 300 students they may have been exposed to tuberculosis. a spokeswoman says a student tested positive for tb. she says the extent of the exposure is considered insignificant but screening will be offered to people as a precaution. a construction worker recovering in the hospital this morning after being trapped in a trench in maryland for more than three hours. the woker was up to his waist in cold mud and water.

take a look at the video from chopper 4. this happened in frederick county. the rescue crews had to secure the trench with boards before they could dig the man out. he's from pennsylvania. hot air had to be pumped in to keep him warm in the water. we're still working to find out what cause this hedd this tr fire. fortunately no one was hurt. pepco says no customers lost power either. >> there are new safety concerns this morning after a man was hit and killed by a commuter train in prince george's county. that accident happened on monday along route are 1 at decatur street. neighbors say there aren't enough places to safely cross the tracks so they created a pathway of their own. >> in order to address that problem a bridge -- when it was originally set up we didn't say what it was going to be. it needed to be a crossing.

fairfax county school board has some new suggestions on how to save money. a consulting group presented the board with the results of an audit it finished. cutting the number of office assistants at elementary schools and adding more assistants in high schools. the report also says the county could save millions of dollars by getting rid of more than 150 custodians. 5:51 is our time now. we turn to storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. we've had these chilly starts in the morning but the days have been gorgeous. >> absolutely gorgeous afternoons and now we've got some dense fog that has formed rapidly around the shenandoah valley, the blue ridge. watch out for pedestrians. watch out for deer this morning around the shenandoah valley and around the blue ridge. speaking of fog and other types of weather, i talked about all that have when i visited this school on monday. st. elizabeth's catholic school in rockville in montgomery county had a terrific time. students there getting used to the new school year and had a

lot of fun. talked to the preschoolers in front, in the back were the older students. had a terrific time. about 600 students there at the st. elizabeth catholic school in montgomery county in rockville there on montrose road. we want to thank the librarian in the back for the invitation to advi to visit this great school. fog is around in the shenandoah valley and around the blue ridge. we will have a chilly morning. so wear your jacket. we'll have temperatures in the 40s to low to mid-50s between now and about 8:30 this morning. then it will quickly warm up. in fact, by noontime we should be near 70 degrees, steep temperature climb on our graph and then hitting the mid to upper 70s by midafternoon. our daylight hours are shorter and shorter, too. chuck bell and i have been talking about how much daylight we're losing each day.

chu chuck? i know what you mean. each day we lose two and a half minutes of daylight as we are now in the early parts of the new autumn season. and, boy, it's just going to keep on dwindling from here. the dwindling daylight. back on the summer solstice 14 moints. today we have exactly 12. the equinox was on sunday but we don't get to our exact 12 hours until a couple of days after that. as you know the world is not perfectly round and by the time we get down to the winter solstice in december we'll have lost another 2:35 of daylight. >> the earth is an oval spheroid, isn't that right, chuck? >> indeed. >> and then tomorrow into the upper 70s and partly cloudy. another gorgeous youautumn day. on friday another beautiful day, if you can stand it. it's going to keep on going right into the weekend. for your weekend plans, your storm team 4 seven-day outlook on saturday and sunday lots of sunshine, afternoon highs.

a great weekend a. few clouds around starting next week. i'm back in ten minutes. danella, good morning. >> oh, you sicientists. first alert traffic not only trying to understand chuck and tom -- that's what i try to do. news for folks traveling in southeast d.c. the earlier crash along branch avenue is clear. your travel lanes are open. at erie street again, getting by both directions. that's good news. up to i-270, some volume here. you guys are used to it if you travel i-270 from frederick. the normal delays. now sluggish out of frederick passing 109. this is what it looks like for you. good news in germantown, still pretty clear. drive time here from germantown road heading to the beltway, an easy 16 minutes. folks traveling northbound i-270 clear for them as well. back over to the rails, metro, vre, marc, you're looking at just a minor six-minute delay.

do you remember when gas was less than $3 a gallon? >> no. >> think back. those days might be returning, actually. the national average for regular is $3.46 this morning. the lowest since january. but analysts say prices could drop at least 20, 25 cents more in the coming weeks. shrinking demand, lower crude oil prices and a cheaper winter blend are contributing to the dip. that's welcome news since prices have been over $3 for a record 1,000 days. average unleaded $3.60 in d.c. $3.39 in maryland. $3.21 in virginia. it may be weeks or even months before some drivers in the district can get the their licenses. there are only two examiners in d.c. who are able to administer the road test. for the past two months they've had help from virginia which supplies nine more inspectors. the state had to pull them back. the director of the dmv says hiring has been an issue.

>> we had almost 200 applicants so we had to weed through those applicants. so all of those things, unfortunately, take more than a week or two. >> we are working to learn how much the backlog is costing the district. the price tag will include reimbursing the inspectors borrowed from havevirginia as w as paying for their travel and hotel stays. this morning we're getting a look at something you may see on some of your friends and families' wish lists this coming holiday season. amazon will unveil its new ki kindle l fire. the hdx will come in two sizes and be about $100 cheaper than an ipad. you'll be able to preorder the tablet today, start shipping in the middle of next month. there may be another picture of president lincoln at the gettysburg address. here is a picture taken on the day of the president's speech in 1863. six years ago amateur historian richter took a new look at the very old picture at the library of congress. he says the tall man on

horseback wearing a stove pipe hat and saluting the troops is president lincoln. you sort of see him there. however, a disney animator enhanced the picture and d disagrees. only one other picture is known to exist of that day. >> interesting. >> cool stuff. the torch run for the olympic games is with to go to new heights. >> it will take a trip to outer spa space. the are torch will arrive at the international space station onboard a soyuz space ship in november. it will spend part of the month there and will be taken on its first ever space walk by two russian cosmonauts. it won't be lit for safety reasons while in space, but it will be used to light the caldron to mark the start of the games in sochi in february. right now a 15-hour speech in protest of the affordable care act unfolding at the u.s. capitol. ted cruz speaking. the latest coming up at 6:00.

more than 15 hours on the senate the floor, ted cruz's stance against the affordable care act. how he's filling his time. plus, the biggest planned low wage protest we've seen in

washington so far. the demand workers will make of the white house in just hours that they hope will impact employees in d.c. plus, nbc has exclusive video showing you the rescue efforts to save lives inside the kenyan mall. but first, storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is here to show us what you can expect had wednesday morning. tom, good morning to you. good morning. dense fog obscuring deer and pedestrians around the shenandoah valley and the blue ridge this morning. some locations visibility is down to near zero. so watch out for that. the closer to washington don't have any fog around. our nearby neighborhoods down into the 40s. it's a chilly morning in the mid-40s in prince george's county as well as fairfax county and montgomery county and closer in to washington, arlington, alexandr alexandria, falls church. low 50s right around the bay. chilly through the morning through about 8:00, 9:00. then by 10:00, the mid-60s. and partly sunny. a little sunshine in and out as we get by noontime.