strong quakes in the days to come. >> real tough situation there. we'll be monitoring developments there throughout the morning but first the forecast here for this saturday. let's check in with chuck bell. >> good morning. >> welcome back. >> good morning to both of you and good morning to everybody. mostly clear sky for now. a few fair weather clouds around. you'll like the way your weekend forecast is shaping up. right now temperatures are in the cool 50s in most of the suburbs to low and mid 60s inside the urban centers. 55 toward leesburg and 54 in montgomery county. so your saturday planner, a nice enough way to get your weekend started. we're 61 downtown today. 60s this morning. low to mid 70s today. perfect weather for college football. oklahoma state on the road at

west virginia today. i'm cheering for the mountaineers. see you in a few. thanks. new this morning, a search for a killer. someone shot and killed a man on 30th street southeast. this happened not far from southern and alabama avenues. when officers got to the scene they found the man unconscious. he was shot several times. rescuers tried to save him but he died at the hospital. police have not released a description of the gunman. >> it maybe the weekend but we could see progress in the shutdown showdown. house republicans could vote on a budget bill as early as this afternoon and this comes a day after the senate passed a bill that would keep the government running into november. it does not defund the new healthcare law which republicans in the house are trying to do. time is of the essence here. if lawmakers can't pass a budget by the end of the day monday the federal government will shut down. tuesday is the day people can start to apply for healthcare

under the care act. dramatic day in the northeast. mpd officers need your help identifying these two masked men. here you saw them entering the market on benning road. they are masked and also armed. the robbery happened around 9:30 on august 31st. they held up the store, someone that appeared to be a customer went to the ground. police are offering $10,000 to anyone that can provide information to their arrest. d.c. police are using more footage to try to find this man. the man in the pink hat and the officer were at the mcdonald's outside the verizon center when the man became combative toward the officer. the officer grew a night stick but the man didn't retreat. they are offering a reward for who this man in the pink hat is. >> it's an emotional day for victim of the navy yard

shooting. he was a security guard when aaron alexis came in with the intent to kill. he was a former maryland state trooper and popular softball coach. his funeral will be later this morning. friends and family will also remember sylvia frazier today. she managed network security at the navy yard and worked the night shift atw walmart. she was an active giver at her church. she was 53 years old. happening today, nearly 400 world ward ii veterans and their guardians will visit their memorial through the help of the honor flight network. they will board three privately chartered planes from new england and new york and they transport america's veterans to the nation's capitol at no cost to visit their memorials. colin powell will greet them this afternoon. jesse jackson is in talk

with religion leaders and hoped to meet with a man sentenced to 15 years in prison. he was a government subcontractor when he was arrested in 2009. cuban leaders say he illegally brought communication equipment into the country. jackson says the island's religious leaders will talk about many topics. >> they're concerned about peaceful relations and concerned about state and government having good relationships and hooking up relationships between cuba, the u.s., and the rest of the caribbean. now in the past reverend jackson has been able to free u.s. citizens in syria, iraq, and yugoslavia. >> a gun show could draw more people than usual from outside the common wealth. we found out why some people are crossing state lines to attend. >> a little bit overwhelmed because it's such a cross.

>> he is rushing doing last minute shopping before the new maryland gun law goes into effect next tuesday. he lives there. >> the ban is going to wipe out a lot of guns and this particular style of gun that i had is going to be banned. >> reporter: he bought an ar-10 assault weapon like this one. he is at the expo center in virginia to buy magazines. >> because i wanted to make sure that i had something that i probably won't have the opportunity to have again. >> reporter: maryland lawmakers passed one of the strictest gun control laws this year banning 45 types of assault weapons. people that own are grandfathered in. it also requires fingerprints to buy handguns. also in maryland you can't buy 20 round magazines like this one right here but you can buy ten rounds or less. >> i think that they're hurting the wrong person by changing the laws. >> reporter: tonight the maryland governor released a

statement saying the vast majority of marylanders support these common sense efforts to reduce gun violence. the new law will take effect on tuesday and make families safer. >> my freedom to purchase what i need. >> reporter: news 4. tuesday the new gun laws will take effect in maryland but a federal judge will hear challenges to the new measures. opponents say the new law is a flagrant disregard of second amendment gun rights. maryland's attorney general issued a review of the law this year calling it constitutional and legally defensible. why you could see hundreds of people running around d.c. with hardly any clothes on today. and the last weekend for d.c.'s national aquarium. the unique experience you may get with a visit today. plus metro's warning to riders in the event of a government shut down next week. you can join us online this morning on twitter and facebook. we're going to be back in a moment. stay with us.

today marks the 25th anniversary of union stations grand reopening. this is a live look at the station this morning. since 1988 it has seen a steady growth with more retail stores and several restaurants. about 32 million people commute through union station every year. this is your last weekend to see the national aquarium in downtown washington. >> it's hard to believe but the aquarium is closing monday after 81 years. it's in the basement of the commerce building on 14th street between pennsylvania avenue and constitution northwest. the building is undergoing a major renovation that is forcing the aquarium out.

jay bradley has been with the aquarium 15 years and he says it offers something unique for visitors. >> we feel that we're an intimate experience for people and you can get up close to the exhibits. >> the owners are still looking for a new location. after monday, the staff will pack up the fish and animals, most of which will go to the national aquarium in baltimore. also happening today, hundreds of people will take to the streets of d.c. in their underwear. abt two hours from now runners will take it off for the fourth annual colon cancer undie 5000 5-k run walk. they are raising money for colon cancer research and probably raising eyebrows too. once they finish the 5-k instead of a the shirt participants will get a pair of boxers. if you're heading to the clarendon area several streets

will be closed for clarendon day. you should be on the look out for new parking signs. the new details about a building collapse. plus the shutdown showdown on capitol hill. here's chuck. >> sunshine is on tap for a large part of your weekend. i'll let you know whether today or tomorrow will be the better outdoor weather day and of outdoor weather day and of course we're

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?

the death toll from a building collapse in mumbai keeps climbing. officials are reporting 24 deaths. rescuers are trying to free several people from the rubble but time is quickly escaping. the apartment building gave way friday but due to the on going rescue efforts and dangerous conditions there rescuers haven't been able to identify what caused that collapse. >> this morning, a major turning point in the on going crisis in syria. the u.n. will destroy syria's chemical weapon supply. member of the security counsel passed it last night. it comes after a deadly attack that killed more than 1400 people. secretary of state john kerry says the deal say big step but only if syria holds up it's end

of the deal. >> we are here because actions have consequences and now, should the regime fail to act, there will be consequences. president obama had been preparing for possible military action until russia and u.s. diplomats started talking about a more peaceful way. secretary kerry says the military option is not necessarily off the table. and we're hearing reaction this morning to president obama's call with iranian president row h h rouhani. he is concerned the president didn't talk about things like human rights or iran's support for the syrian government. the white house calls the 10 to 15 minute phone call a sign of possibly moving forward. >> more on the impact of a possible government shutdown.

one of many things on the chopping block is a service for family of fallen firefighters. they're planning to attend the national firefighters memorial service next weekend in maryland but that may not happen. the service is at a federal facility that will close if the government shuts down. >> how do i tell those 81 families that their nation cares for their loved one but you can't go to the memorial. >> if the government shuts down i can assure you that if you call 911 and call for help, those firefighters are still going to show up. they don't shut down. >> if the government does shut down the memorial would move to a different location. that would cost $100,000. metro is trying to talk about what would happen to the transit agency. it would remain open because metro is not a federal agency. however if it lasts for several days and costs a big dip in ridership they may have to run trains with fewer cars than

normal. >> sounds like a nice day. >> yeah, it is. no complaints at all. unfortunately we really do need the rainfall around here. it's been a really dry month of september so far. so no rain on the weekend. that's always welcome news. nobody wants to catch up on the rainfall shortage on a saturday or sunday and you won't need to worry about rain drops today or tomorrow. it's going to be hard to decide which is a nicer day because they're going to be almost identical. outside for now, your saturday morning off to a pleasant enough start. still waiting on the sunrise. sun is up just after 7:00 a.m. this morning and down before 7:00 p.m. as we now officially have less than 12 hours of daylight at this time of the year. lfr turning the lights out on the washington monument first thing this morning. a mostly clear sky for now. as you can see here on our city camera view there's a few fair weather clouds to be found. current temperature now 63 at national airport. humidity at 72 degrees. winds are light from the

northeast averaging 6 miles per hour. you should expect a north to north easterly wind for much of the day in the 5 to 10 miles per hour range. a nice breeze to keep things stirred up. we are at 55 degrees in maryland. 61 in shady side and annapolis. 59 toward solomon's island and 58 degrees in leonardtown this morning. 54 degrees in upperville. a nice morning outside. clear skies allowed for patchy fog first thing this morning. current visibility a quarter of a mile. no visibility problems in and around the metro but there's little patches of fog. no rain on storm team 4 radar. in fact, you have to widen way out just to even find rain drops. a few off the outer banks in north carolina. there's a weather front moving through the middle of the country. if you're flying across the country you may have bumps as you're going through the middle of the country.

that's aid and abbout it. temperatures today generally up into the low and mid 70s. overnight tonight clearing out a touch by early tomorrow morning. tomorrow if you had to pick between which day is better tomorrow maybe sunnier and one or two degrees warmer than today. nonetheless, i think you're going to like all of your weekend weather. so no weather concerns at all. lots of stuff going on outside this weekend. the calvert county fair is taking place in prince frederick, maryland today and tomorrow as well. great weather for the fair, temperatures 62 as they get everything started. about 70 degrees for a high today with the little bit of an on shore breeze so a nice day there. otherwise, just a fix mix of clouds and sunshine today. one or two degrees cooler than average. that's not too bad. generally in the low to mid 70s today. the university of virginia, the cavaliers are on the road in pittsburgh today taking on the pitt panthers. kick off temperature which is at

12:30 today. 68 at kick off and no chance for rain. if you want to see your game featured on the show, send me an e-mail tell me who is playing, when they're playing and where they're playing and i'll get as many games on as i can. here's your seven-day forecast. a great weekend coming. partly to mostly sunny both days. today's high 74 and tomorrow's high 76. as you go on down there notice there's not even the mention of a chance of rain anywhere for the next week. temperatures trending warmer and warmer as we get toward the middle of the week. our average high now 74 degrees. 80, 81, 83 tuesday, wednesday, thursday. that's on the warmer side of average. >> it seems like a problem that other part of the country are facing too. i saw a story on pumpkin crop. >> if you're growing a gourd you need a lot of water. >> thanks chuck. caps fans, just a few days away from the start of the season.

the power play zbgiving us hopef a championship. >> time to clean out the pile of mail you have.

good saturday morning everyone. if you find yourself flipping through the channels later today to try to catch the maryland football game i'm going to save you trouble. put the remote down. they're on a bye this week.

they have a huge match up in tallahassee a week from now when maryland takes on the 8th ranked florida state seminoles. some time off for terp's head coach last night so he checked out the biggest high school game in the area. two of the top teams but this one was all dematha. he is headed to wisconsin next year and well he's the real deal. 95 yard touchdown run. gets a big hug from his head coach, brooks. they win big 21-0. to the ice, one preseason game left for the capitals before they start the regular season. the head coach has to love what he is seeing from his team and 19-year-old tom wilson. he had a great game against the flyers. he won a fight in the first period and in the second period, the puck here and he gets it over to wilson who finished it off for the third goal of the preseason. big game for the captain, third period, gets the rebound and

buries that. check it out again, this shot takes out the net camera. the caps double up the flyers 6-3. that was a look at your morning sports. hope your saturday is a good one. today is the nbc 4 allstate community shred. bring your old bank statements and other personal documents and shred them all for free. you can head over to prince george's community college in largo. we're going to be in the parking lot b near prince place and campus way south. you can bring up to five boxes of personal documents but don't bring those batteries, dvds, binders or electronic equip it. it runs until 11:00 this morning. visit nbc washington.com and click on community shred. >> we do this so often we have it down to a science. you can be in and out. >> you don't have to get out of the car. just hand off the boxes. >> just leave the batteries at home. disaster can strike at any

time. how leaders are trying to prepare people in one community just in case. >> the creepy man that's breaking into apartments and keeping one community on edge. >> plus a fire department's controversial way of raising money that has leaders in prince george's county

we're back at 6:29 with a traffic alert to pass along.

this is m street near south capitol. roads will be shut down for two races this morning. all roads should preopen around noon. >> if you are headed out for one of the races or just to runner rands. let's get a check of your forecast now. >> chuck bell is back and with good news. hey chuck. >> good morning you two and good morning everybody. anything you want to do today, if you're heading down to run one of the morning races, no real complaints. start off temperatures are in the 50s but nowhere near as chilly as we have been. right now it's 55 degrees in bristow, virginia. 57 degrees in washington virginia. 55 in martinsburg, west virginia. 57 in hagerstown and 63 downtown washington. we're off to a cooler start, temperatures mostly in the 50s.

low 60s by 9:00 a.m. and mid 60s by 10:00. highs this afternoon into the low 70s. great weather for your saturday. we'll see you in a few more minutes with another clege football forecast. in the day ahead, the volunteer fire department will raffle sporting guns to raise money. that money will be used to improve outdated facilities and equipments. tracy wilkins explains the fund-raiser will go on despite disapproval from the county. >> reporter: without question the volunteer fire department is committed to saving lives. that message is clear. but prince george's county fire officials worried the entire department's imagine would be tarnished if the volunteers raffled guns to raise money. >> we were just very uncomfortable with the gun show being held at one of our fire stations, a public safety agency, and we felt it was sending the wrong message. >> reporter: last year they moved the gun raffle to charles county and they're doing it again this year except this time

they're teaming up with the volunteer fire department just over the line in charles county. the fund-raiser will be held eight their firehouse. i spoke with the chief for the volunteer fire department here and he didn't want to go on camera but explained to me that part of the reason for the fund-raiser is that facility right there. he says it's dated and talked about the truck that's more than 15 years old meaning it's way beyond it's expiration date. >> not trying to deny anybody their constitutional rights. things worked out in our favor that they were able to conduct their fund-raiser in a neighboring jurisdiction. >> tickets are $45 and there will be beer at the event along with a long list of shotguns and rifles they'll be raffling off. i spoke with the spokesperson for charles county government and this is perfectly legal because they have all of the permits necessary. that is going to mean no live ammunition when the weapons are

being raffled. i'm tracy wilkins, news 4. the sportsman bonanza is happening at the brians road volunteer fire department. arlington's courthouse neighborhood, police got several reports of a man getting into apartments at the courthouse meridian and watching women as they speak. one woman woke up and saw the intruder standing by her bed. she said he just stood there staring at her. she started to scream and he kept watching her for about a minute and then left. how creepy is that. another victim woke up to him stroking her arm. they all live in the same building. >> according to the most recent numbers crime is down overall but serious offenses are on the rise. there more four more homicides this year compared to 2012 and kidnappings and abduction cases

went up. so did sex offenses. >> this morning, a new twist in the investigation of the navy yard shooting. the news 4 iteam learned the navy was seeking security upgrades at the navy yard. they cancelled the plans due to the shooting that killed 12 workers. we obtained a copy of the contract dated september 2013. it included a panic alarm system for building 197 which was the site of the shooting. there's new ordered renovations. they call the earlier measures part of the routine changes. later today, people in prince george's county can hear from county leaders and homeland security and red cross leaders about how to be ready in case of an emergency. residents will hear a wide range of things and scenarios and experts will talk about how to prepare and volunteer. it's happening from 9:00 this morning until 3:00 in the afternoon at the first baptist

church. expect metro delays this weekend. crews are doing track work on the blue and orange lines. training running every 16 minutes. the work is between the smithsonian metro stations. they're installing ceiling tiles and fixing leaks. next weekend metro will close five stations on the red line. that's next weekend. the news leaders at howard university want to make public despite the hard financial hit this week. >> plus a couple's warning to everyone about the dangers of

all stations come over to mission a for a final go. this is for real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it. siemens. answers. in a news 4 exclusive a maryland family is sharing their story about the dangers of synthetic marijuana. they say drugs like k-2 put their son in a downward spiral leading to his death. >> starting monday those drugs will be banned in maryland.

darcy spencer sat down with the family. i firmly believe that my son would still be here today if he hadn't started using k-2. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview the family talks about the tragic loss oif their 22-year-old son charlie. a loss they blame on synthetic marijuana. >> it was terrible to watch, you know someone that you love and care about go through this. it was torment. >> reporter: charlie was an actor, singer, performer but last july the silver spring man that struggled with addiction took his own life. >> he decided to try k-2 in an effort to get off of methadone. >> reporter: his parents say smoking k-2, a synthetic marijuana sold legally in maryland lead to the downward spiral, the loss of hope and their son's suicide. >> he started to lose hope. we could tell he had a lot of difficulty coping with life.

>> reporter: but come tuesday k-2 and other synthetic drugs like spice will be banned when a new law takes effect in maryland. >> i don't want anybody to go through what our family has gone through. >> he was my best friend. >> reporter: charlie's little brother steven is on a heart monitor. paramedics were called to the house after he smoked k-2. his heart was racing 220 beats a minute. >> i want to go around to the schools and start a campaign in order to save some kid's lives. >> come monday morning they'll join county and state leaders right here on the steps of the council office building to announce the new law. they know it won't bring their son back but they believe this ban will save lives. darcy spencer, news 4 today. how something so simple is drawing a massive crowd to the water of one town. and the impact of the

affordable health care act. news 4 looked into how the new healthcare rules will impact small businesses in our region. >> how is it looking chuck? >> a mostly clear sky ahead. we're waiting on sunrise to get your weekend morning going. your weekend morning going. you'll like the way your

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.

the "today" show is up next here on nbc 4. let's find out what they're

working on. >> erica hill and lester holt join us live from new york. happy saturday everyone. >> you too. that's a beautiful sunrise behind you. lovely. coming up on a saturday morning we're following a couple of big stories. where you are in washington the house taking up the issue of a government shut down in a rare weekend session. the president making that historic phone conversation with iran's president. we'll discuss whether there could be breaks in the ice on both fronts this morning. also ahead, in the wake of the death of the united pilot that suffered a heart attack in flight we'll take a look and see how safe you are when you get on the plane and shut your life in their hands. >> a lot of americans can't afford to retire and are delaying retirement. we have what you can do to try to pad your nest egg for your golden years. >> i'm going to say you two would probably have a couple of things to say about the next story. there's a new tradition when it comes to the whole engagement process. some couples really mixing things up when it comes to the ring, specifically, a move which has some people saying it could

take the element of surprise out of the whole process. lester and i have a lot to say too. >> let's not wait. >> let's tell them right now. this is about whether the groom and bride should go in dutch on the ring. >> on the ring. >> lester had a very. >> i said should the size of the diamond be proportionate to your love? >> i think it all depends on what answer you want. if you want an a yes i think maybe you have to pay for the whole ring and go big. >> i think we're too focused on that. it's not about the ring. >> maybe not. >> radio silence. >> well, i think that if your future husband gives you a budget and you want to go over that maybe you can pay the rest of it. >> that's a way to do it. >> all right guys. we'll be looking for that one later. >> we'll talk about it more. >> thanks. enrollment at howard university is up 3%.

the washington post reports they have more than 1500 new students this year making it the second largest class in 15 years. total enrollment stands at more than 10,300 students. earlier this week, rereported moody's investor service downgraded the school's credit rating. that means the school may have to pay a higher interest rate on debt. >> president obama's affordable care act will effect individuals as well as companies. small business owners are scrambling to figure out how the law will impact them. zachary spoke to business owners and employees trying to figure it out. >> it was going to be $100 per month which doesn't sound bad. >> she is the office manager at agape health. a small business with 44 employees in fort washington. she was hired to a full time position about a year ago she was offered insurance but she turned it down. >> we don't have that many full time employees but we wanted to

remain competitive and offered what we could afford but even when we offered it our employees couldn't afford to purchase the insurance. >> under the new law they won't have to offer insurance because they're under 50 employees. under the new mandate, insurance is no longer an option but it could mean better rates and more options. >> but up the voting greenbelt it's a different story. a company with 140 employees will be required to offer employees insurance and they have already seen a drastic increase in premium costs. >> with the affordable care act we have seen significant increases in our rates. we like many other companies received a 29% rate increase. >> in order to navigate this new terrain and keep costs down many companies are getting creative in using insurance brokers to find the best options out there. >> faced with major increases and that's because there's fees and taxes now built into the premiums that were not there before. >> as october 1st gets closer, both the president and employers

have become educators about the new law requiring insurance and what the options are for people that will get it on their own at the healthcare exchange. >> same way you shop for a tv on amazon. you just go on and you start looking. reporting in prince george's county, news 4. people have until december 15th to sign up for coverage which goes active january 1st. there's a grace period until march 31st and after that fines start at $95 and then escalate each year. a big shout out this morning to operation home front and the national association of catering and events. they hosted the star spangeled baby shower showering 50 moms to be in virginia. a marine cutting the cake with his saber. what was really neat is that three of the moms were actually wounded abroad, three of the expecting moms were wounded abroad and not only did we surprise them with a bunch of

gifts, at the end, total ellen, oprah moment, whatever you call it, gave each of them -- >> a new car? >> close, a car for the baby. a stroller. >> that's good. >> their heads almost popped off. it was so cool. >> that is awesome. >> yeah. it was great and just a great organization. really honoring the people that make sacrifices in our military families locally. so really happy to see that. they're expanding the military family. more military brats all around. >> excellent. >> nothing wrong with that. >> and for new moms, expecting moms or just anybody that's going to plan on getting outside and enjoying a little bit of saturday sunshine, i think you're going to like the way both today and tomorrow are shaping up. i'm filled with optimism that you're going to like your weekend forecast. for now, though, this picture tells the story of what will be a very nice day to be in the great outdoors here in the washington area and that story will be repeated from northern maryland all the way down to southern virginia today. a nice day to get outside. if you're planning on heading

out and doing outdoor activities, bay water temperatures around 70 degrees. great day for sailing on the chesapeake bay. if you're making your trip over to the beaches, 68 degree surf temperature. get in the water and enjoy it. right now 63 degrees for an air temperature at reagan international airport. humidity down into the 72% range. nice dry air in place. winds today will be north to northeast and the 5 to 10 miles per hour range. temperatures now 56 at the inner harbor in baltimore. 55 degrees in columbia maryland this morning. 63 in district heights. 55 for western fairfax. low 50s in parts of northern loudin county early this morning. not much of a visibility problem in and around town but a little patchy fog has visibility down to zero now and if you're living or traveling there be on the look out for low visibility this

morning. put your low beams on. once we get the fog burnt off we'll be left with a gorgeous afternoon. highs today 74 in frederick maryland and 70 degrees out toward the blue ridge. no chance for rain around here today and no chance coming everybody. all of this rain off the eastern seaboard will stay there. unsettled weather across much of the middle of the country today. if you're flying from here to the west coast you'll run into bumps about halfway across. temperatures this afternoon, climbing up into the low 70s. so a great day to be outside today. hopefully you get out and enjoy it. our cool start will be replaced by a mild afternoon today. mid to upper 70s coming our way for tomorrow. the midshipmen are navy are on the road taking on western kentucky today. the hilltopers. 2:00 kick off. 80 degrees at kick off time. no chance for rain today. if you want your game featured you need to send me an e-mail

chuck.bell and tell me who is playing and when they're playing and when they're playing and i'll get on as many as i can during the 9:00 to 10:30 show. you would never guess this is the last of september and the first part of october everybody. temperatures, low 70s today but we'll be back up around 80 degrees starting on tuesday and stay there for the rest of the coming week. a very warm start to october coming. >> all right. >> great. >> sounds good. >> okay. it is something you just don't see every day. this might just be the world's biggest rubber duckie in one of the world's biggest bathtubs. it's making it's pittsburgh stop. a lot of fun. hundreds of thousands lined the city's river last night to catch a glimpse as it floated by so casually. the 40 foot tall duck appeared in other cities around the world. this is the first time it paddled it's way to north american waters. it's on display as part of a festival that runs through

october 20th in pittsburgh. this is a phenomenon. did you see when it arrives in china? they had dancers dressed up luke ducks. >> to welcome it? >> yeah. >> saturday night live is back with a new season. >> a for all those who sleep too hot or too cool, and struggle to sleep comfortably together, now there's a solution. sleep number dual temp, the revolutionary temperature-balancing layer with active air technology

that works on any mattress brand, including yours. whether you sleep hot or cool, sleep number dual temp allows each of you to select your ideal temperature. and it's only at one of our 425 sleep number stores nationwide. sleep number. comfort individualized.

saturday night live kicks off it's season tonight. >> going to be awesome. former head writer and all around funny girl tina fey will be hosting and bringing along a whole new group of players. mark got to sit down with two of snl's veterans to see what this season has in store. >> it's saturday night live. >> reporter: for every saturday night live cast member ever, there's always been a first show. >> it's like 10,000 middle school plays i remember just being so unbelievably nervous for that. >> reporter: this week snl has six new performers all preparing for they debut in studio 8 h. >> it's fun to watch them being terrified because we're not crazy people. >> it's kind of fun. >> the newcomers are a product of a talent search brought about by the departures.

>> he's had to replace everybody from tina fey to will ferrell. he's had to replace stars and he has an extraordinary eye for talent. >> among the rookies is beck bennett who stars in at&t ads. >> he doesn't get it. >> it shows in those commercials how funny he is now people get to know him on the show and they'll -- eventually he won't be the at&t guy anymore. he'll be the snl guy. >> bill carter says those ads probably weren't even a factor. >> he says that doesn't tell me at all whether they can stand on the stage in front of a live national audience and perform. that's a totally separate skill. >> and finding unknowns who have it has been a key to snl's long running success. nbc news. you can catch the premiere tonight at 11:30 right here on nbc 4. >> big shoes to fill for these newcomers. >> but hopefully this will

create a whole new crop of characters that we'll fall in love with and i saw kenan thompson talking about how his 11 years on the show he is finally a senior member. >> his al roker is so funny. >> he does a very good al roker. >> that's going to do it for news 4 today. we're back in 25 minutes with a local news update. >> we hope you'll join us for another 90 minutes of news. we get started with news 4 today again at 8:30. >> see you then.

preparing for a showdown. the house going into a rare weekend session. today urging with president obama urging them to act with time running out. but will anything happen by that monday night deadline? we are live on capitol hill. from soldier to hitman? a former army sergeant accused of being behind a massive plot to take down a dea officer. officers say a scene that reads straight out of a novel. this man has faced death before. we will tell you about his next attempt "today" this saturday, september 28th, 2013.