controlled by extremely low frequency lelectromagnetic wave. >> there are multiple indicators that alexis held a delusional belief that he was being controlled or influenced by extremely low frequency or elf, electromagnetic waves. >> reporter: this shotgun. alexis scratched a number of phrases on that gun. my elf weapon. better off this way. and on the barrel of that shotgun, end to the torment. now the fbi says the shooting spree went on for about an hour before police shot and killed alexis. the friday before the shooting the fbi says alexis had a work review, but they couldn't find any link between the work review and the shootings on monday.

the victims were random. more about that at 6:00. live at the navy yard, pat collins, news 4. 2 of the 12 victims were laid to rest today. proctor was a long time government employee and is survived by two teenage sons. >> and mourners gathered for the funeral of the lone victim from the district, arthur daniels was from southeast. daniels was working for a contractor when he was shot through a door at the navy yard. he is survived by a wife and four children. >> stay with us on air and online for more on the navy yard shootings. pete williams will join us with more from his sources. >> now to a deadly fire in a retirement community today. fire truck ladders stretched to the upper floors of this leisure world in montgomery county to try to rescue people from the

high-rise. darcy spencer has reaction from neighbors who rushed to their homes. >> frightened seniors escape a high-rise apartment building fire in silver spring this afternoon. some residents were in wheel chairs. others stood in the shade in disbelief. mary left the building with her cat amanda. >> they were telling us to go, go, go. we went all out the backside of the building. >> investigators believe the fire started at 12:30 in the afternoon in the ninth floor apartment. her body was located in a sun room or solarium. the seniors rushed out, many with mobility and health problems. >> everybody is older. and so the wheelchairs and people who live on oxygen,

electricity. it took 75 firefighters. >> it is a hell of a sight. and it's scary. if you're stuck up there you're stuck. the doors opened easy. you got all that stuck in the hallway. you're disoriented and don't nowhere you're going. a maryland man convicted in the murder of a teenager in upper marlboro is sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years. kelvin walker was convicted of shooting and robbing 17-year-old just tick isaacs in 2011. the victim was walking home from the library and walker later bragged about the killing. he will have to serve 35 years before he's eligible for parole. right now emergency crews are on the scene of this bus crash in fairfax county. the accident happened at spring

street and sunset park drive. the private bus was pulling into a parking lot when the driver hit it. the driver of the car was taken to a hospital with minor injuries to an arm. chopper 4 shot these pictures of the injured. the students were headed to north point high school this morning after the initial collision, the bus then crashed into a seafood truck sitting on the side of the road. this accident happened on davis road. that's near jermaine place. and the bus wound up in one woman's front yard. chris gordon has our story. tonight all 36 students aboard the school bus and the driver are okay. the 47-year-old driver is being treated for her injuries. investigators believe she was responsible for accident.

>> apparently she struck a curb, lost control of a vehicle and struck a school bus head on. the driver suffered serious but not life threatening injuries. the school bus came to rest against a seafood trailer. four students and a bus driver were taken by ambulance to the university of maryland emergency senter. i spoke with the school principal. >> once we left the hospital a few minutes ago, no one was seriously injured. had bumps and bruises on the students but everyone has been released to the parents. there are no serious injuries at this time. >> the bus was bringing students here teoday to north point high school. students for across kparls county take the bus to get here. the accident occurred here along davis road before 8:00. joseph saw the whole thing from

the porch of the house she's lived in for 68 jeers. and it didn't stop until it hit the little pump rail. >> the right front of the bus hit this crab trailer, which was not open for business at the time. as high school let out for the day. the school bus accident dominated their conversations. >> everybody is just talking about their friends and who is on the bus and making sure they're okay. the sheriff department says no charges have been filed, pending the results of the investigation into the crash. in waldorf, maryland, chris gordon, news 4. and let us turn to capitol hill where a bill to keep the budget running has cleared another hurdle in the senate. this follows that marathoner effort by senator cruz. he spent 21 hours and 19 minutes talking on the senate floor, and

he wasn't expected to succeed, but he did manage to stage the fourth longest filibuster style speech on record in the senate. scott, tell us about that. >> it was a marathon speech by the senator from texas, but it did not move the senate vote. the senate voted 100-0 to take up the house spending bill. a 100-0 vote would include the senator himself. the senate will now pick up a series of votes to approve their own version of the funding bill. they will pass a house spending bill and avoid a government shutdown. just a few days left. well, tonight is the night we are now fast approaching an important evening in the race

for governor in the commonwealth of virginia. >> the republican and the democratic candidates are preparing for a live debate. and it's sponsored by nbc 4 and the fairfax chamber of commerce. >> aaron gilchrist will be a panelist tonight. joining us live now. a lot is riding on this night. what can we expect to hear from both candidates? >> you are absolutely right. we're outside the capital one building. the candidates are doing their walk-through inside in a bit here before they have to make the case to virginians. they'll have to make the case to put dibs tans between themselves and so tonight before a statewide audience they have to try to widen that distance. julie is here and you've been covering the race for the entirety. there is a lot of at stake tonight. >> there is.

i'm hard pressed to find you a debate more important than this one tonight. but the other thing the poll showed is both these candidates have a high level of negatives. voters have been seeing all the ads. the candidates are both able to connect directly with voters. for terry mcauliffe, he wants to show his business background best enables him to be governor. ken cuccinelli needs to close the gender gap and start appealing to women. it could make for interesting exchanges. and it may be difficult for them to attack each other too fiercely. >> we've seen that in the other exchanges. do you anticipate the tone is less contentious between the tw >> that's what i'm interested to

find out. ken cuccinelli needs to do something to move the poll numbers. and we also will see that tonight. before the election comes in november. tonight will be an opportunity for that group to make decisions as well. >> and we have programming changes to accommodate the debate. nbc nightly news will air at 6:30, followed by the debate at 7:00, and it will be streamed live on nbcwashington.com. a plea deal for the man accused of murdering a mother and her daughter. how the prosecution made sure this man would never get out of jail. >> plus, the fbi presence is significant after a terror attack at a shopping mall. we have new exclusive video and a witness account of what it was like inside.

mgm reveals its plans for a new casino proposed for natural harbor. we'll have the story. the temperature tomorrow the temperature tomorrow morning.

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. it's important for virginia that we elect terry mcauliffe as our governor. i'm terry mcauliffe, candidate for governor, and i sponsored this ad.

morning. mgm has grand plans for a new casino at national harbor. that's if it wins the bid to build it there. it would be a sweeping $800 million plus games space that includes a luxury hotel. but they are not revealing all their ideas just yet. impressive pictures coming out. >> absolutely, jeff. let me explain to you where we are. if you're leaving, it's the space on the left hand side. that's where they be put the

casino if they win the bid. now the ceo for the company says when he got here and stood on the top of the hill, he was fascinated by the views. the whole point of the building is to show you this even higher. >> we're going to bring more to what the state has asked for all the applicants than anyone else could. >> there was a lot of boasting going on today at mgm's press conference. the ceo says their casino is the best, the best fit and the most luxurious. >> what makes since in las vegas does not make sense in your state. >> it was inspired by the look and feel of washington, d.c. >> you have landmarks all across the region. and they are monuments to this place, to this country. >> since the casino is proposed to go on a slant, it will sit on

the 1600-foot long pedestal, hoping to evoke the feeling of a grand monument. that includes the 18-story hotel tower, expected to have about 400 rooms. >> we know we have to have something that fits in your community. >> mgm is going up in front of two other casino companies to build and operate maryland's sixth casino. penn national gaming is proposing a site and parks is proposing a casino for indian head highway. they offer more land than mgm site. that translates to more gaming and lodging, which could mean more money for the state. a major factor in who gets the license. >> the idea of more slots and tables being better, if that's all you have to sell, that's not what the states should be buying. >> very competitive environment

here. i know a lot of folks are asking questions, like what stores or restaurants will be in there. mgm wants to remain competitive. now you mentioned that it looked impressive. we talked to folks at national harbor who didn't agree. coming up at 6:00 p.m., we'll hear from them. >> competition is a good thing. >> but everything looks good in this kind of weather, except our plants are starting to look crunchy. any rain anywhere out there? >> no. not so much. wait until you see the pattern over the next few days. this morning you know, we did have just a few clouds across the area. that's what made, along with the dry air, so gorgeous. this was captured by our city cam. you know, you can see the brilliant scarlets, oranges and

reds. this is what we get when the air is really dry. tomorrow morning we have clouds across the area. and as far as the rain goes, not going to be producing any rain from those clouds. so we'll continue to see cloud cover for the evening hours. late evening. 65 is where we will be by 11:00 p.m. so we'll drop ten degrees for the sunshine across the area right now. we won't cool a bunch because of a big extensive cloud cover. we have clouds all the the way out to the east. all the way to the east, again, not producing any rain. so a weak weather system coming on through. pretty quiet, too. we're not going to stay that way. we have sunshine for the afternoon. then for friday we're partly sunny and a little cooler by the

afternoon. damascus starting at 40 degrees. temple hill, your temperature starting at 52 degrees tomorrow. but we should hit a high between 74 and 77 degrees. last how we get there. close to 70 by 11:00 a.m. i dough yo will need a jacket out the door tomorrow morning. but this morning we could see areas of fog around. 76 to 77 degrees. so perfect weather to get out and do anything this weekend. seasonal sunshine. perfect for festivals. we'll look at the the weather for the early part of next week coming up in a few minutes. we are learning new details about the rescue mission that unfolded just 24 hours ago. >> how the crews were able to make a split-second decision that may have saved this work's leg. and how metro is working to protect riders for an attack. rg 3's

it has not been pretty for the redskins the start of the season, and that was not expected. now they're focused on the win column. >> the only thing that can solve this team's problem is a win. if they get that, everything will be okay. the red skins are winless. everyone is to blame for the team's lack of success. in football the finger is always pointed at the quarterback. now more on how rg3 is dealing with the criticism. >> i don't think the team lost its sense of confidence. we know how close we are. we know we can turn it around. we're built to get out of this hole, just like we were last

year. >> robert griffin has experience digging out of a hole. time to do it again. while there's questions about his game breaking ability, there's no doubt about his attitude. >> he's a competitor. when you don't have a great game you have to give yourself every chance you can. when we don't have success, there's going to be criticism. you have to stand tall, look the criticism in the face. look the adversity in the face and let it know that you're not going anywhere. that's what the team has to do. >> confidence isn't an issue for griffin. the guys who know him best on the field say his swagger is unchanged. and physically he's making great strides. >> still the same guy. still leads like a captain.

still practices this way. it's a matter of us together as a team putting up a "w." >> he is scrambling and making things happen with his legs. he's getting more and more comfortable. >> he'll be fine. whatever people are saying about him is ridiculous. he'll be fine. guaranteed he'll be fine. he's looked better every week since he's been out there. >> that chip on robert's shoulder got him on the field just eight months after his surgery. >> it is adversity. but you have to know where your faith is. >> at redskins park, carol maloney, news 4 sports. >> after the game on sunday t red skins will have a biweek kickoff between the skins and raiders at 4:25. >> thank you, jason. >> next, how to fight for your life. after witnessing a horrible

crime. he watched his mother murdered in cold blood. >> put the gun to her face. she yelled "no" as loud as she could yell and he shot her. >> how this local man survived and is giving others struggling with tragedy a lifeline. >> plus, we've seen the images outside the mall in kenya where shoppers were hunted down by terrorists. now an exclusive inside the mall reveals how families scrambled to hide. and more team coverage on

shotgun. fast forward through the headlines. a key senate vote to keep the government running could come as

soon as friday. the chamber moved the forward despite the filibuster style effort to delay it by ted cruz, trying to preserve a decision in the bill to defund the president's health care act. seniors tell news 4 about a scary scene as they escape a fire at the leisure world high-rise in silver spring. one woman died in the ninth floor apartment where the fire began. no one else was hurt. about three dozen kids resting at home after a school bus accident this morning. the female driver of a cadillac escalade lost control. >> more now on the new video released about the mass shooting at the navy yard. >> tonight we have a clearer picture about what could be a motive and a better

understanding of the cryptic messages that the gunman etched into his gun. i think we understand that elf may mean electro low frequency magnetics. what is that? >> that's a program used by the navy to communicate with submarines. it's extremely low frequency, very long waves. this is a picture of the shotgun that shorts say he sawed off, and he had all the expressions into the torment on the shotgun. he also said my elf weapon and better off this way. what the fbi says back to the issue of elf, he was a navy reservist. sew he would have known about the program, but it was stopped a decade ago. it's an obsession of conspiracy

thinkerists. so what investigators say is looking for an explanation of the voices he was here fastened on that. and the key thing is from the fbi saying when they searched his belongings, they found electronic media. this guy had written this recently. ultra low frequency attack is what i have been subject to for the past three months, and to be perfectly honest, that is what has driven me to this. going from floor-to-floor. investigators say he shot people on three hallways. ore people are rushing to get out of the way. he had come into the navy yard that morning, driving in his rental car just before 8:00. went into the building carrying a backpack. they assumed he had the shotgun in it. there's no indication that he had targeted anyone in the

building. there was a sort of performance-related issue, they say. but no indication that touched him off. his victims seem to be completely chosen at random. >> wow, a dramatic day. here we are nine days later. thanks so much, pete. stay with nbc 4 and nbc news for continuing coverage of the navy yard shooting. we'll have much more ahead at nbc 6 followed by nbc nightly news tonight. tonight there are two more people being held without bond in connection with the murder of kenny diaz in woodbridge. gabrial guled and ariel is among the other suspects. and another 19-year-old woman charged with murder. investigators say she stabbed diaz this past weekend after diaz confronted her about a friend who was robbed. >> the group of new bomb sniffing canines out and about

at the branch avenue and gallery play stations today. these pictures coming in. these dogs are helping metro as a part of the grant by the tsa. the federal government pays for the training, annual exams and other costs of caring for the dogs. after their trained, the dogs will respond to suspicious packages. we are learning new details about the trench rescue we watched unfold live yesterday. a construction worker was trapped for hours, up to his waist, in cold, mud and water that was hitting him at a high pressure. this was in frederick county. firehouse.com is reporting rescuers decided it would be better to dig a path to the victim rather than hoist him out. medical staff standing by, ready to amputate the victim's leg if necessary. the man who is trapped is from

pennsylvania. the name has not been released: first it was the iphone, now the ipad. we'll tell you how apple is shaking up the color palette shaking up the color palette tonight. ♪ for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/dcmetro.

♪ for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/dcmetro. to triumph of his mother and brother were murdered . we have exciting new panda pictures to show you right now. video is in from the panda cam at the zoo. the little cub seems to be squirming around. hopefully you get a good look at her now. there's a lot of questions about whether this panda cam will

continue if the government shuts down. the zoo will be closed if there's a government shutdown. but we'll see if the panda cam would go with it. the baby panda would still be taken care of. there's no word if the panda cam will survive. at the news 4 live desk. scott mcfarland. >> we can't shut down. we have to keep those coming. >> very cute. that's amazing. it's also amazing to see how some of our kids can progress when they're adopted. those who know isaiah say a family could make a big difference in his life. barbara harrison takes us to meet isaiah at his special school. spelling out his name, isaiah, may not seem like such a big accomplish. but a year ago he couldn't do this, or a lot of other things. isaiah is diagnosed with autism, and until he started being

taught how to communicate, no one knew how capable he really is. >> last year he wasn't really able to recognize all the letters in his name. with repetition and colors as well. inside the classroom he showed how he can move stars, separating them by color. his teacher had him show off his other skills he's learned since being at the special school. good job. the school also has an outdoor classroom. it's one of isaiah's favorite places to learn. >> look, isaiah. right here. pick it up. he picks tomatoes while his other teacher helps him collect him and makes him laugh when he

pulls the green ones by mistake. >> isaiah doesn't talk, but he does let you know how he's feeling. i think every child loves to be loved and loves to feel like they have a group of people rooting for them. isaiah has a cheering squad at school. it would be nice to have one to go home to. if you have room in your home for isaiah or another child that's waiting, please call our special adoption hot line. or search wednesday's child on or search wednesday's child on nbcwashington.com.

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. it's important for virginia that we elect terry mcauliffe as our governor. i'm terry mcauliffe, candidate for governor, and i sponsored this ad.

i'm jackie bensen in upper mo marlboro. investigators call him a skillf fuful serial killer. jason scott, now 30, will spend

the rest of his life in prison for the murder of a mother and daughter at their home back in 2009. as news 4's jack see bensen results, the two life sentences are a result of a plea deal that took place this afternoon. >> i think he's the worst we've ever seen. he's been characterized as highly intelligent. but he's flat. he's without emotion. no remorse whatsoever. he has, i imagine, every character you can imagine for a serial killer. >> the plea that ensures 30-year-old jason scott will remain behind bars for the 2009 murders of delores and her 29-year-old daughter eboni. but the man who holds two masters degrees who burned the dewitt's bodies to hide evidence cleaned up with with bleach and tracked victims through the computer at ups where he worked is guilty of other crimes. >> we have no doubt whatsoever

that we have the right person. that jason scott is responsible not only for the dewitt murder but the lofton and butter cases. >> karen and her daughter carissa, just 16, were found shot to death in hair largo home, two months before the dewitt murders. prosecutors say scott intentionally buried his method so an fbi profiler initially concluded the two sets of murders were not connected. scott is serving a 100-year federal sentence for dozens of burglaries at homes in the same area. >> when we started to plot where the houses were, the dewitt house stood out to us. that eliminates most of the rights scott would have to appeal the conviction. now new information about the deadly siege at the shopping mall in kenya and whether any americans played a role. minutes alabama the new jersey director said at this moment

there's no information that any americans were involved. fbi agents are on the scene in nairobi. they are helping the kenyan government sort out what transpired. and this video, obtained by nbc news shows some of the first moments inside the mall. this is a mother and her two children lying on the door, pretending to be dead, and a security officer crawls to the woman, tries to convince her, he's not one of the militants, and he can lead her to safety. it takes more than two full minutes to persuade her and move them out of the line of fire. a freelance journalist describes the horrific sights that he says he cannot forget. >> you can imagine seeing dead bodies and among them, in between we have people alive. it is something that i cannot forget. yeah. >> the kenyan government says security forces rescued more than 200 people. turning personal tragedy into triumph for others.

william saw his mother murdered in their maryland home nearly 30 years ago now. today he travels the country telling his story, hoping to inspire others to fight for their lives. news 4's aaron gilchrist has his story. this is the second time in almost 30 years that william has been to his childhood home in capital heights. his memories here are almost impossible to believe. >> i knew it was serious. but i had seen the beatings before. i just ignored it. william was 10 years old in 1984 when he watched his mother's boyfriend drag her from the home. >> he put the gun to her face. she turned around and yelled "no" as loud as he could. >> before killing himself, marshall williams also shot his 12-year-old brother tony and then turned on him.

>> he put the gun to my head. the first thing i did is beg for my life. i asked him please don't kill me. being spared didn't end williams's trauma. his family's strategy for coping with the law, don't think about it. >> somebody patted me on the back and said "you're just going to have to forget about it baby." >> three years became too much. drowning in saudness and guilt, william came to north capitol planning to jump. instead a moment of clarity saved his life. >> i looked over the bridge and decided to jump. i debated heaven or hell. i debated if i would see my mom again. >> william ended up in a hospital and got help. for years after he suffered with depression and drugs and alcohol and gangs. in his late 20s he started using his story and lessons he learned from the help he got to help others. >> so i travel the country with

a special focus on trauma. >> he encourages people to develop healthy coping strategies and to find an advocate, someone to latch onto who really cares about you. >> that person can inspire you like my first therapist ever did. she gave me hope. she connected with me. it gave me a lifeline. >> aaron gilchrist, news 4. tonight, an honor as a mental health and trauma and recovery addict. he's receiving a voice peer leadership award from the substance abuse and health services administration. the new owner of the "washington post" is starting to explain his vision for the future of the business. he told kate snow he doesn't see the printed paper industry completely going away any time soon. >> some day, i don't know how many years in the future, it

could be decades. but printed newspapers may be a luxury item. also, of course, the founder of amazon.com. he purchased the post for $250 million. you can see more of kate's interview with him on nbc nightly news. the latest on our weather now. another peck tack lur dspectacut there. >> that's right. we were feeling more warmth today. i'm not sure if you were able to tell. but today we had exactly 12 hours of daylight by december 21st. only 9 hours and 25 minutes. definitely moving through fall. our average high temperature is 76 degrees. by november, average temperature is just 52 degrees. we're at 75 degrees right now. the wind is rr light. the air is dry. that will help this ripple that will come through the area. it will help keep us dry.

i don't think we'll see any rain at all. temperature is not as low with the clouds. by tomorrow morning, northern montgomery county and so we have clouds to start the day, but it's not going to stay that way. you folks around culpeper, nice sunshine tomorrow and nice warmth, too. take a look, too. through weekend, your saturday and sunday on your storm team 4 forecast, 75 to 78 degrees and yes, i know, it's quiet. back to you. well, now let's check out what stories are trending online. >> apple's new color scheme could shake up the world. >> there's a megaburger. and a hollywood star gets personal on facebook. we're talking about jada pinkett-smith is using her page as a personal diary and advice column. she recently revealed having many addictions when she was younger and a friend's impending divorce prompted a post about her efforts to work on her

marriage to will smith. tonight apple fans are excited about the possibility of two new colors for the ipad. it doesn't take much, does it, people? these show the new back plates of the fifth generation tablet in silver and space gray. they were leaked by apple blogger sonny dixon. >> and loosen the belt. the fast food chain going beyond supersizing. jack in the box is selling a combo meal including two tacos, a drink, fries and a grilled cheese sandwich on top of a chee cheeseburger. another has a chicken sandwich stuffed with mozzarella cheese sticks. costco and sam's club are offering whiskey by the barrel. they sell for $10,000 each. and bathing suit weather is in the rearview mirror, so eat

up. and we'll show you where more bikes are hitting the road and why one commu plans to do ia

government shutdown. we're coming right back. >> when you're downtown, it's tough to miss the red light signals from bike share. >> they're everywhere. and the program that currently

includes d.c., arlington and alexandria is heading north. >> adam tuss explains tonight there's concern montgomery county isn't ready. in two days a new transportation option rolls into montgomery county. the wildly popular capital bike share program set to open the first stations the silver spring, rockwell and bethesda. but with the explosion of cycling in our area, a common theme emerging. some already talking about how they're going to share space with hundreds of extra bikes. >> yeah, sometimes it's annoying. i feel like i'm going to hit them. so i would rather be on the road. >> for cyclists like math parker, that's the exception and not the rule. >> i think it's fine. it's clearly not paying attention. >> montgomery county council member who pushed to get the bike share program in the county understands there will be growing pains.

we don't have the infrastructure in place that we need to make sure that pedestrians and bicyclists are safe on the road with cars. >> one of the things the council members are concerned about is a lack of infrastructure against the county. take ha look at the road here. not much space separated for the bikes like there are in d.c. she also says the rules for drivers might have to change. no turn on red in every downtown business district. yes, she's talking about that. >> we have to change the law, too. so we have a long way to go, still. we're in our infancy. >> every corner could have a no turn on red? >> it depends on where it is. in the business districts every corner should be a no turn on red. >> reporter: she says one thing is clear, there will be a learning curve. adam tuss, news 4. right now at 6:00, some haunting new video of navy yard gunman moments before an outburst of gunfire. we'll tell you how the etchings

on his gun may provide a motive for the violence. a new worldwide caution alert from the state department as fbi agents arrive in kenya to help determine what happened inside the shopping mall and who is really to blame. and our first look at mgm's proposal for a futuristic resort on the banks of the potomac. good evening. >> as we begin tw the new vid i don't have o the navy yard shooting, it's chilling to watch. even as the fbi cut it off. we see aaron alexis pull into the navy yard, walk into building 197 and then roam the halls with a shotgun. >> just some of the new evidence released in the case today. >> reporter: jim, some may find the pictures