bill, but democrats plan to remove any language calling to defund the president's health care law. and it's that move that is putting lawmakers at ends. >> it delays obama care for one year for all american families. >> you can huff, you can puff for 21 hours, but you cannot blow the affordable care act away. >> the president says "i'm not going to negotiate." well, i'm sorry, but it just doesn't work that way. >> the tea party put them in this hole and the tea party keeps them digging deeper and deeper. >> nbc's tracy potts is live in washington with the latest. tracy, good morning. the clock is undoubtedly ticking. >> reporter: it absolutely is. we've just got three days until midnight monday, which is the deadline for this possible government shutdown. lawmakers say they're working on it. but what the senate is expected to pass today is something that

the house will surely reject. democrats and republicans tried to early up today's budget vote to leave more time to negotiate, but two lawmakers objected. ted cruz, now famous for the 21-hour speech. and his colleague mike leigh. >> the american people are paying attention to this. the american people are watching this. a lot expected this might occur friday or saturday. >> this is an effort to stall and i don't know why. >> my two colleagues, who i respect, have sent out e-mails around the world and turned this into a show. >> reporter: across town, president obama urged congress to avoid a shutdown. >> scientists, janitors, people who process new veterans and survivors benefits claims, they don't like to stay home and not get paid. >> reporter: what's likely to come out of the senate today would keep the government running until mid november and not touch health care. house republicans say they won't accept that, but disagree on whether doors will actually

close next week. >> we are very confident we're not going to shut down the government. >> and we did discuss contingency plans in case of a shutdown. >> reporter: the house is planning to work through the weekend to avoid that. but dick durbin says even if they work through the weekend, even if they come up with something that the senate might consider, at that point, might be too late. veronica? >> tracie, thank you so much. there is significant movement on the united nations by syria, an agreement calling for the country to get rid of its chemical weapons. the five permanent members of the security council agreeing to impose binding obligation on damascus to eliminate its program. a vote on the plan could come as early as today. the deal does not include the threat of military force if syria doesn't comply, but it's being hailed as a major turning point. >> we believe that it is something which is working very pragmatically and strongly in

support of this effort of the elimination of chemical weapons in syria. >> this is very significant. this is the first time since the syria conflict began two and a half years ago that the security council has imposed binding obligations on syria. binding obligations of any kind. also thursday, secretary of state john kerry held talks with his iranian counterpart. it is the highest level meeting between the u.s. and iran since the carter administration. both sides voiced cautious optimism saying great obstacles remain. she may be the most wanted woman in the world. the so called white widow. interpol issues an international arrest warrant for the woman, not for the nairobi mall attacks, but she is wanted by kenya for charged relating to a 2011 plot to bomb reports. she's thought, though, to be a key member of al shabaab, but officials have not made public any evidence linking her to attack. she is a british-born muslim

convert, once married to one of the 2005 london subway suicide bombers. and now to a shocking admission from the nsa, what's informally known as love i.n.t., collecting intelligence on love interests. this letter by the nsa inspector reveals employees eavesdropped on their girlfriends, boyfriends, and spouses. the "intention abuse of authority" happened on 12 occasions since 2003. in one case, an employee tried to listen in on the calls of his foreign national girlfriend. the system blocked him, but he received data like time, date, and duration. the justice department declined to prosecute and the agency has two open investigations into alleged misuse of eavesdropping and is actually reviewing a third. police dash cam captured a horrific crash during a high-speed chase in central florida. authorities say 30-year-old james maddox was fleeing a dui

pullover when he drove across the median and crashed into an oncoming car. the suspect was hospitalized in critical condition, while a passenger in the other car was in serious condition. maddox, who was reportedly on probation, was driving on a suspended license, is facing a slew of felony charges. a massive dust storm made the daily commute even more miserable in southern arizona yesterday. yesterday's storm was so severe that it shut down a 14-mile stretch on route 347 during rush hour. the poor visibility is being blamed for multiple accidents. but thankfully no one was seriously injured. bill karin is joining us now with an update on today's forecast. happy friday. >> it is a happy friday. that dust storm was almost as bad as driving in fog for areas of the east, for people that haven't driven in something like that, plus it comes on you much kwiger than the fog. the storm that we're watching is still in the northern rockies, still producing snow out there in wyoming.

the high country is getting it good. areas like casper, an all-rain event for you. over the next 48 hours, this is a slow-moving rainstorm. we could get some strong storms today, though, along that front as it kicks out into the plains, especially areas from amarillo, out to rural sections of western kansas, the goodland area, also out there into western nebraska. may see storms in denver, too, but i don't think they'll be too severe. everywhere east of the mississippi is looking dry and beautiful. the only exception just a few showers leftover there in florida. as we go through your weekend forecast, that storm slowly pushes into the central plains. we'll see more storms along that cold front on saturday from texas all the way to minneapolis and chicago. and then by the time we get to sunday, there will still be some leftover showers and storms from dallas all the way to the ohio valley. but the concentration of rain will be diminishing as that storm begins to weaken. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. another beautiful day today. humidity levels continue to be

on the low side. alabama is looking great. our friends in st. louis no complaints. kind of summer-like, 84 and sunny, but without the humidity, it feels really nice. veronica, we're to that time of year we have to start talking about the leaves and where they're going to be peaking this upcoming weekend. i'll give you that report. >> i am so excited. thanks for the nice forecast, bill. coming up, an arrest in the miss teen usa sextortion case. plus, is one thrill seeker about to go too far with a real death defying challenge? "early today" is back in two minutes.

good morning. welcome back. some stories making news on this last friday of september. teacher and convicted rapest stacy ramble was released after serving his 30-day jail term. yes, 30 days. the judge who sentenced ramble is still facing heavy criticism and even petitions demanding his

removal from the bench. the fbi has made an arrest in the miss teen usa sextortion case. jared abraham admitted hacking into miss teen usa cassidy wolf's web cam and then taking nude photos and videos of her. he then threatened to release the material. abrahams faces two years in prison. the president of borilla italian foods is in hot water after saying he would not show gay families in ads for their pasta. he said while he respects gay marriages, he would "never make a spot with a homosexual family." he went on to say if people disagree with that, they can eat other pasta. night was turned to day in alberta, canada, when a meteor blazed by leavinge ing ing a vi trail. the officer who captured the video said he "freaked out" when he saw the meteor. and jeff corliss has announced his most daring stunt

yet. he's going to attempt to fly through a three to five-yard cleft in the middle of a rock formation in china. yikes. the s&p 500 and dow snap a five-day losing streak as the gdp confirms growth at a moderate pace and jobless claims drop. toyota recalling over 600,000 older sienna minivans to prevent rollaways. a transmission problem could cause them to shift out of the park position when the driver isn't pressing the brake pedal. mcdonald's announced the clinton global initiative that it will start giving customers the choice of salad, fruit, or vegetables as a substitute for frechblg fries in its value meals. speaking of fast-food, former miss alabama usa katherine webb, a.j. mccarron's girlfriend, is following in the footsteps of kate upton and kim kardashian. she is the latest spokesperson for carl's jr, where she is appearing in customers eating the saucy buffalo blue

cheeseburger. nike earnings flew past expectations. the new dow stock finished above $70 a share for the first time. and martha stewart stirred up a public relations hornet's nest when she began tweeting about her broken ipad. after a series of tweets asking for help, apple asked her to stop. stewart explained her frustrations adding that steve jobs himself gave her the ipad. "thursday night football" highlights and all your headlines with betty nguyen up next. but first, our trivia question. put on your thinking caps. with a threat of a government shutdown looming, how many times has the usa federal government shut down before? is it seven, ten, 13, or 17 times? the answer when "early today" returns.

all right, before the break, we asked how many times has the u.s. federal government shut down before? is it seven, ten, 13, or 17 times? the answer, since the modern congressional budgeting process took effect in 1976, there have been 17 different government shutdowns. 17. the longest one was in 1995 and in 1996 and it lasted 21 days.

now let's get the latest from betty nguyen on sports. good morning. >> yeah, we're all hoping that there's not another government shutdown. let's move to "thursday night football." 49ers versus the rams. niners quarterback colin kaepernick got things going in the second quarter with a touchdown pass to anquan boldin, who made the extra effort to score, and later, he connected with vernon davis for his second td. watch that. the niners over the rams 35-11. across the pond in the uk, the steelers and vikings play sunday at wembley stadium in london, so mark your calendars. electronic arts has reached a settlement in the legal battle over its ncaa college football video game, but no details were released of what players will be paid for the use of the likenesses. ea also cancelled next year's college football video game. a legend and a class act. yankees retiring closer mariano rivera made his last appearance

at home in a very emotional moment. with two outs in the ninth inning, yankee captain derek jeter and pitcher andy pettitte went out to the mound to take him out of the game. and with tears in his eyes, rivera was given a huge standing ovation that lasted four minutes. police in san francisco have actually arrested a suspect and will charge him with homicide in a stabbing of a dodgers fan just a few blocks away from at&t park on wednesday. 24-year-old jonathan denver died after a confrontation with giants fans. baseball commissioner bud selig says he will retire in january 2015. he will have served 22 years. that is the second-longest in history. "gq" magazine's list of the worst sports franchises, it awarded the top spot to cleveland. yes, this includes the browns, the indians, and the cavaliers. worst franchises in terms of losing and no titles all

combined, cleveland has had 152 seasons of futility. and the wnba playoffs. diana taurasi of phoenix and simona were in each other's faces as they fought for position. getting nasty. as the ref called fouls on both players, taurasi kissed the referee on the cheek and then seemed mystified, like what did i do? a fox is having a whole lot of fun on a golf course. except for the guy chasing him. not so much fun. the animal known as foxy loves to grab golf balls, and then runs off and hides them. >> today's sports is brought to you by just for men auto stop. gray is over. >> too cute. >> fun for the fox. not so much for the golfer. >> cutest video in the meantime. all right, betty, thanks. just ahead, your weekend movie round-up and a sneak peek

at britney's new music video. plus, supermodel kate moss takes her career in a whole new direction. we've got details next.

welcome back on this friday morning. it's getting that time to go check out those beautiful leaves and the fall foliage in the northern parts of the country. let me tell you where you typically see the fall foliage. late september, early october, the peak of the leaves are out there in the adirondacks,

especially northern new england, a little bit here in the northern great lakes, and then the beautiful aspen leaves through areas of colorado. about a week away from the peak, even in the northern country. the higher elevation of the adirondacks is probably one of the better places to see leaves. i think next weekend will be a little better there in new england. east of the mississippi, you've got like three more gorgeous days in a row. enjoy it. >> looking forward to that. thank you, bill. now for some entertainment news. four films will be competing to take the top spot in the box office. joseph gordon-levitt's "don jon" will be going up against "baggage claim", "cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2" and "rush." congratulations to caylee cuoco, who has gotten engaged to boyfriend of three months ryan sweeney. congratulations. teresa and joe will be on "watch what happens" live on sunday talking about their fraud charges.

here's a preview. >> my daughters, they mean the world to me. maybe out of all of this, i don't know, there's like -- >> you go through things in life. i don't know why. i mean, i think -- i'm asking like why? why is this happening to me? britney spears gave fans a sneak peek at her new music video on instagram. does look like britney is back in fighting shape. >> steamy. >> just in time for las vegas. it is pretty steamy. zach galifianakis felt honored to have justin bieber on his show. he taught bieber a lesson with a good old belt-whipping. and kate moss has taken on singing, it should be called speaking with music underneath.

breaking news right now in prince george's county where police are searching for two intruders are shot during a break-in. a response that helped save lives at the navy yard after the shooting. welcome to "news 4 today" for this friday, september 27, 2013. let's take a live look outside at 4:26. it is 61 degrees out there here in the nation's capital. we've had some wonderful weather. meteorologist tom kierein is here to get us ready for the day. starting off this morning with some clouds rolling over the metro area coming in from the northeast. the view from space showing this cloud cover coming in and it's mostly cloudy now the eastern shore, our eastern southern suburbs, northern western suburb. the rest of of northern havevira

is still clear but these clouds will roll right over much of northern virginia here this morning, just a slight chance of a little bit of a sprinkle l perhaps. that's going to be here over the next just couple of hours. otherwise some low clouds coming in. right now under that cloud cover our temperatures are in the generally low to mid-50s around the immediate metro area. we'll take a look at your friday morning in detail in a couple of minutes. how is the early traffic, danella? good morning, tom. very light. happy friday to you. if you're traveling in our area checking on a couple of earlier work zones, we'll look around the beltway first. inner loop for folks that traveled near new hampshire avenue had a work zone here from colesville road and that is clear, was on the right side of the roadway, so the weltway in montgomery county, no problems to report there. to prince george's county traveling the inner loop as well, making the commute up to arena drive. that construction is cleared, too. in fact, prince george's county and virginia beltway no problems. aaron and eun?

thank you. in the day ahead there will be a wake for popular softball coach and die hard ravens fan killed at the navy yard. a viewing is being held for him from 3:00 until 5:00 and 7:00 until 9:00 in glen burnie. he was the security guard that aaron alexis encountered. ridgell's funeral is tomorrow. the d.c. medical examiner says that an autopsy has been completed and his body has been released. they won't say who claimed the body or what they discovered in the autopsy. police say the 34-year-old government contractor who was shot to death while exchanging gunfire with officers, the fbi says alexis believed electromagnetic waves had been controlling him for months before the rampage. some of the first responders that worked to save the lives of alexis' victims will be honored

today. d.c. fire chief kenneth ellerbe will present the medal of excellence to more than 30 paramedics. the medal established to recognize firefighters and paramedics who displayed extraordinary courage. the paramedics will be honored at 9:00 this morning at d.c. fire's training academy. and we'll get an update on how the navy is working to help navy yard employees cope with the trage tragedy. they will hold a roundtable and give a tour of the emergency family assistance center at the navy yard and help us understand what kind of care and services they are providing. they have visited more than 4,700 times since the shooting. >> thanks for starting your day with us. great to have you with us. our viewers getting up early living out in the shenandoah valley and up in frederick county where temperatures there

are down into the upper 40s just near 50 degrees this morning. we do have some low clouds from the north and east, closer to washington, across fairfax county is around 50 degrees. it's in the low 50s in montgomery county. most of those locations are in the low 40s. parts of northern virginia where the sky is still clear but low clouds rolling in from the northeast will be rolling across much of the region here through the morning. cloudy through 9:00 and 10:00. by noontime into the upper 60s and partly sunny. our sun rise is at 7:01. hometown forecast frederick, maryland, there by noontime, should be in the upper 60s and partly