the developments overnight that show tensions may finally be easing. and the clock is ticking, preparations being made across virginia this morning as the state moves closer to allowing same sex marriages. and keep that umbrella handy. we're watching a line of showers to the west of us and the potential they could bring storms to our area in the hours ahead. >> chuck bell is in the "weather center" with the impact the system could have on your plans. >> good morning. it's 6:01. temperature now 74 in washington. 66 in montgomery county. 70 manassas. 64 winchester. we're off to a dry start. the morning commute will be dry. so that is welcome news. but these showers up here across western pennsylvania may make stay to our north, but the southern he said ever tend of t impact us. so mild and humid, no umbrella required this morning, but the smart kids will have the little

am brel la in t umbrella in the backpack. thunderstorms will arve from the west. highs today mid to upper 80s. so it will be a warm and humid day. pretty good weather for baseball. slight risk of a shower. melissa, tell people to slow down and take it easy. >> you'd think it was raining thousand. right now we're seeing a couple more crashes here. one outer loop between connecticut and wisconsin that just came in. and georgia avenue at connecticut, this is the one we've been talking about in front of the cemetery, both lef lanes here of georgia are closed right now. because of that police response. 95 in maryland, south at 32, no problems there. 270 at old hundred road running into town, no real issues. backed up a little. a wider look at things, we're looking good pretty much all across town. we do have, though, the delay on the blue line about ten minutes behind from an earlier problem at van dorn. i'm back with a look at 95 in

virginia. new developments out of missouri overnight. >> hands up, don't shoot! >> another night of protests in ferguson. but for the first time in more than a week, the protests were peaceful for the most part. >> police say they still made 47 arrests, mainly people who defied orders to disperse and leave the area. >> a st. louis grand jury could hear evidence in the michael brown case today. that grand jury would eventually determine whether officer darren wilson will face criminal charges for the august 9 shooting. it's possible that officer will so that will be invited to testify. investigators have already interviewed him. governor nixon says he will not take any action to remove sloougs county rogs cute tore bob mccullough from the investigation. mccullough's deep family connections to police have been cited by some black leaders who question his ability to be impartial. attorney general eric holder promising a thorough investigation in to the officer

involved shooting that killed michael brown. holder will travel to ferguson later today. he's meeting with fbi and other officials doing an independent federal investigation. in an op-ed piece, holder says, quote, we hope that the independence and authorize thor will bring a measure of calm to the tensions in ferguson. nbc news is on the ground in ferguson. you can look for a live report at 6:45. today independent candidate david catania will pick up a key enforcement in the d.c. race for mayor before the police union will endorse catania at 10:30. most unions already endorse democratic nominee muriel bowser. former council member carol schwartz says she's disappointed in the union's decision to endorse catania. like came tan yarks zwart is running as an independent. the election is tuesday novemer 4. well, today the supreme court could delay a ruling that allows same-sex couples to marry in virginia. as of no, couples will be able to begin picking up marriage

licenses as early as tomorrow morning. megan mcgrath is live at the supreme court helping us make sense of all this. a lot of confusion, megan. >> reporter: well, there is a lot of confusion and a lot of people are hoping that some clarity to will issue will come in the next several hours. it's a decision that would have a huge impact on the lives of same-sex couples in virginia. all eyes are on the supreme court and the clock is ticking. gay and lesbian couples will be able to legally marry in virginia beginning thursday morning unless an emergency stay is granted by the nation's highest court. chief justice john roberts can consider the request himself or he can send it to the full court. if no action is taken to delay it, couples could walk down the aisle as soon as tomorrow morning. and there are reports that clergy who support same-sex marriage are going to be standing by to marry couples if it questions forward. this of course is a story that we will be following very closely.

and we will be giving you the latest developments as they happen. megan mcgrath, news 4. coming up on five after the hour. we're waiting to see whether bob mcdonnell will take the stand today in his federal corruption trial. mcdonnell's sister gave the defense a potential boost yesterday. she gave us the closest look yet at a strained relationship between her brother and his wife, maureen. bob mcdonnell's sister also testified that she had plenty of money to bail out mobo, the shawl real estate company she and brother owned. prosecutors argue mcdonnell called on skron ajonnie william bail him out. two maryland school systems will be head back to class today. james smith will serve as interim superintendent.

michael egan is the new principal at the career and technology center. students in washington county also start today and reminder that hear land requires new vaccinations for students in kindergarten through the 7th grade. more on that at nbcwashington.com. we're watching a developing story right now involving the apparent execution of an american journalist. the new threat isis is making this morning as those who knew james foley reflect on his sudden death. and we're tracking the potential for rain. the chances you'll see showers in your neighborhood. but first, why the way your child draws could wind up paying off for you.

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expecting moms and new moms need to hear this. a new study says mothers who

choose not to nurse are at double the risk of suffering postnatal depression because mops miss out mop s moms miss out on the new boosting hormone. about one in seven suffer depression within 14 weeks of giving birth. also this morning your child's drawings could show how smart he or she will be. british researchers found children who drew the most accurate facial and body features scored higher on their intelligence tests. but don't worry if they don't draw between the lines. this is just one of many factors that affect how smart your child will be. >> that is chuck bell right there. my daughter drew this. belly button is too much on his forehead, but other than that -- >> a little bit. talking about the weather, chuck

approves of it, though. more of the same outside, more of those rain chances. >> yeah, i approve of adora, but into the her artwork. you can also make them smart he by teaching them to play a musical instrument. temperatures outside early this morning, upper 60s and low 70s. rain way out to our west right now. but those rain chances will be sneaking our way by later on today. so smart kids will have their umbrella just to play it safe. everyone has a chance for rain today, but higher rain chances as is usually the case now out to our north and west. highs today mid to upper 80s with a 30% chance for rain. and more new accidents in traffic? and of course we're expecting rain later today, so expecting accidents perhaps in the evening rush.

but right now, ft. washington indian head highway at old fort road, d georgia avenue at connecticut avenue, aspen hill, just spoke with montgomery county police, they say only property damage here. no major issues. that should be out of the way soon. outer loop between connecticut and which iss with also a crash there, wider look at things, looking pretty good. back in ten minutes. a frightening scene playing out on a busy highway. why what happened immediately after this motorcycle slammed in to a car left drivers stunned. and the latest accomplishment for this young phenom.

6:15. we're watching a developing story this morning. president obama is expected to speak later today about the beheading of an american journalist. islamic state militants released a video showing that execution. we will not be showing that to you. u.s. officials say they do believe the man in that video was journalist james foley.

foley was kidnapped while reporting in syria. neighbors in new hampshire were devastated. >> it is uncalled for. it's something that he is just an innocent person here. and it makes you wonder what this world is really, really like. >> isis says the execution was in retaliation for u.s. air strikes in iraq. foley's mother released a statement saying we have never been prouder of our son jim. he gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of syrian people. we implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. we're keeping a close eye on a tense situation this chicago where two men are holding two children and two adults hostage. police say the men were holding four other children hostage, but they released them last night. the hostage situation began when the two men broke into another

home, got into a hoshoot-out wi police and then ran in to this home. two police officers were hurt. governor rick perry set to be a arraigned friday after being booked on abuse of power charges. the governor says he will fight what he calls politically motivated charges. he publicly promised to veto funding for state public integrity unit if the leader did not resign because she had been convicted of drunk driving. perry is considering another presidential run in 2016. beware of a jury duty phone scam going around. police received several reports of a person impersonating an officer on the phone. the scammer calls himself greg allen and tells you that you missed jury duty. he then says you have to pay a fine or face a warrant for your arrest. police say do not give him any personal information no matter what he says. maryland candidates for governor are outlining their plans to improve education in the state. anthony brown and larry hogan

took questions last night during a forum. brown wants to increase school construction funding. hogan says he wants more charter schools in the state. hoe began also wants to cut taxes to make maryland more business friendly. turns out the name sullivan is pretty popular in alaska. voters elected two sullivans in their state's primary. dan sullivan will be vying to be elected next senator. you see him on the right.he will take on mark belligich in the f. maryland governor marty o'malley's administration says the rebuilt health care website will be ready for the time for the next enrollment period in november. the troubled maryland health connection website had to be rebuilt using some technology developed by connecticut. the fix comes with a price tag of about $40 million. parents of athletes you'll

want to hear this. the university of maryland will begin offering life time scholarships to awful its college athletes. athletes who leave maryland to pursue a career in pro sports can now come back to finish their degree. athletes who leave school because they have an injury or family emergency will also be able to return to finish up their work. students have to be in good academic standing when they leave. today excitement is building over a little league phenom. at only 13, mo'ne davis gracing the cover of "sports illustrated". matt deluca is live where the game will be. >> reporter: mo'ne davis and the taney dragons are getting much needed rest right now. they are getting ready for this big game later on tonight against las vegas.

and this team has really picked up energy from around the country. especially behind that itch per mo'ne davis. little league officials say they are expecting this game to be will in such high demand that they are issuing tickets on a first come first serve basis. we know bus loads of fans are coming up from philadelphia later this morning. so you would think the pressure is on. right? we saw the team practice yesterday, they appeared calm and just taking it all in. h davis says the big challenge isn't so much the game, it's keeping up with all of her new twitter and instragram followers. she's also on this week's cover of spor"sports illustrated". and here is something interesting, baseball is not even her favorite sport. her favorite sport she says is basketball. so she's hoping this won't be her first time on the cover of sports illustrated. she hopes the next time will be in a uconn jersey playing for their basketball team. so we look at the stadium, the sun just starting to come up.

they're expecting a little bit of rain, so we'll see what happens. but one hinge is for sure, this will be the game to watch. live in williamsport, i'm matt today lucia. back to you. >> and she's been so impressive to watch her go through this process. >> very well poised. so it's important that she surrounds herself with good people because her career looks like to be long. and we're bracing for more pop-up showers. >> let's go to chuck bell. >> good morning. off to a beautiful start this morning. no rain in your early more than exercise or commuting activities. headed out to the bus stops, nothing to worry about this morning. here is the live view outside from our city camera. early morning sun looit olight there. hopefully we can put a little more color in our sky and get a

pretty sun advise picture for you. 74 degrees right now downtown. most of the suburbs upper 60s to around 70 degrees. weather impact on your day, it will be a relatively low impact. better rain chances coming in this afternoon and better rain chances also north and west of town. so i-81, more likely to get rain than i-95. but everybody could get rained on today. so just sort of keep that in mind as you're planning your activities today. but here you go, in and around town, off to pleasantly drive start first thing this morning. so that should make the morning commute a little easier. 70 at dulles. 64 at joint base andrews. dry morning commute. again a risk of showers and thunderstorms for the commute home from work and school. most of the commute home from school should be dry. by 3:00 today, rain likeliest along i-81. by 6:00, rain in the western sides of the metro.

by 7 o:00, 8:00, the rain showe quickly falling apart. shouldn't be any washouts for the baseball game tonight. rain chances increasing from today it tomorrow into friday. and now rain chances lingering into the front half of the weekend. but no more 90s on the "7-day forecast". melissa, please tell me traffic is getting better. i'd like to tell you that. we have chopper 4 over the crash that we did have here at connecticut and georgia. it is now cleared out of the way. so i hope you feel better now. one accident down. wider look at things, tip i goly slow 295 just past 50. top of the beltway slow past 29. 66 in centerville, quite slow, but then as you get through centerville, it opens back up into town. so not really a major problem there. 95 in virginia at lorton road moving right along. and the blue line back on time at the largo town center.

coming up, i'll see you at 6:31 and we'll take a trip down 270. new this morning, we're getting a look at the devastation caused by landslides in japan. hillsides caved in in the outskirts of hiroshima. at least 18 people are dead and dozens of others are missing. the water is reseedsing this morning following heavy rain and flooding out in arizona. take a look at this video. crews rescuing at least a dozen people trapped in cars and homes. the rain caused flight delays into sky harbor international airport. other planes are were diverted to other airports, as well. later this morning, arlington county firefighters will take part in a wreath laying ceremony at arlington national cemetery. they will join mefbs joipts force headquarters and u.s. army

in d.c. at 9:00 this morning. a community is rallying behind a wounded warrior and his family after their home caught fire. captain klein and his wife lost their home in laytonsville last week. captain klein is a triple amputee. several groups are helping. chevy chase supermarket giving them free groceries for a year and trucking for troops helping them replace their car. captain klein describes how his wife saved his life. >> i tried to climb out of the basement on my hands and knees basically. she was able to pull me out on to the front porch. and this is it tthe really amaz part, there were neighbors porc waiting to help. >> and our bravest.org will take donations and anything before midnight friday will go to helping build a home for the kleins. search wounded warrior for more

information. so you have to get to the tv and watch this. incredible video showing a motorcycle crashing right there. that is unbelieverable. crashed right into the back of the car. the driver lands on the roof of the car. there he goes. perfect precision. he manages to keep his balance while the car is going, get this, 60 miles an hour. the whole thing captured on the car dash cam. nobody got hurt. you don't believe it. >> i don't know if i believe the video. you know the stuff that pops up these days. >> and if it is the real geel, glad nobody got hurt. >> exactly. >> making sure you and your loved ones are safe when you get behind the wheel. a new tool a that can help you keep better track of recalls involving your car. sgla and a line of showers moving toward the dooegs area. chances you could see severe weather in your neighborhood.

and we're tracking a story out of ferguson where police were busy again overnight. the common theme officers are finding when they make

protesters taking to the streets once again in ferguson. however, he's demonstrations had a different feel overnight and is creating hope that the violence may finally be coming to an end in that community. we'll go live to ferguson later in the half hour. we're keeping a close eye on this line of storms to the west of us that could bring rain our way. a good wednesday morning. it's hump day. the weekend is getting ever closer. yes indeed, rain chances going up the second half of the day. on the side we go on your early morning, temperatures low to

mid-60s shenandoah valley low 70s around town. no rain first thing this morning. rain showers back out to our west this batch in pittsburgh will stay north of us, but the trailing edge brings us a chance later on for some showers. so bus stop weather, no umbrella required for the morning ride in. mild and humid, though. highs today mid to upper 80s. and our severe weather parameters are all fairly low. the main thing we have on watch out for is under any of these slow moviing summer soerk akers could get some heavy rain. and now traffic with mielissa. 270 out of frederick, gaithersburg, no major issues. montrose road, take a live look there at this point, it's backing up just a little as you head to the spur, but nothing major. taking a look travel times

southbound 270, spur to 495 only taking you three minutes although it is a little slow right now. 95 authority about 40 minutes at this point. prince george's county side of things, looking pretty typical for this time of morning. a wired look at things, gain, pretty average top of the beltway here at colesville road. a little bit slow. and remember to always follow us at first 4 traffic for your shot at a $125 gas gift card. who doesn't like free stuff. one of my favorite things on earth. of course i'm not eligible, but you are. follow us @first4traffic. we're keeping a close eye on the protests in ferguson, but for the most part, overnight demonstrations were peaceful. no tear gas, no real chaos ere. 47 people were arrested, although most of those arrests were for failure on disperse. st. louis county police say more than 90% of the people arrested over the last few days are not even from ferguson.

of the 52 people arrested in the last three days, only four are from there. 14 there out of state including one person from washington, d.c.. funeral services for the man at the center of the attention will be held monday. exact time and location have not been finalized. al sharpton will deliver the eulogy. and we have a crew there on the ground. you can look for a live report this about 15 minutes. prince george's county police arrested a man in the murder of a young mother and police say the us pekt is tsusp worm woman's former boyfriend. shauntelle lewis has two young sons. police say tor campbell stabbed and slashed her throat during an argument and then took off in her mother's car. >> we quickly determined that our victim had been with mr. campbell several hours before

she was found tdeceased. >> lewis and campbell had recently broken up. darcy spencer says court records show the suspect has an extensive record of arrest for violent crimes. d.c. police are looking for a man in a sexual as suggest cas assault case on georgia avenue near randolph. detectives anyone who heard or saw something will come forward. results from the virginia special elections are in. gop canned sddidate ben chafin the seat left open by puckett. rip sullivan beat dave foster in the 48th district. new allegations as they vote for

new leadership. state party leaders demanded a new open vote after a secret ballot election in july. some local board members say it's an effort to control county politics. party officials say that's not the case. prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins attended last night's meeting and will have more tonight beginning at 5:00. disturbing details from a social services audit shows foster children were sent to live with relatives with a history of alleged abuse or neglect. 16 children were affected by the placements. the department of human resources is accused of not properly monitoring social service agencies. state officials say they followed proper procedure. so far a destructive beetle is spreading beiand killing a lf trees. they detected the emerald ash

bor borer insect. at one point officials had to ban items like fire wood and nursery stock from being transported out of the state. right now officials encourage campers to buy and burn fire wood at local campsites rather than bringing it in from another location. making it easier to track potential safety problems. the new tool to makes thit easi to find out if there is a rerecarecall on your arrest. and chances are you're overdue for a vacation. and we're tracking chances for rain. and why tomorrow may be even more of a washout.

retailers at tysons corners say a lot of you are taking the silver line to the mall to shop. but some shoppers say it's a challenge to walk from the metro

station to the mall. the pedestrian connection is still under correction there. fairfax county has identified 39 pedestrian and bike projects needed to improve access to the silver line. about one third ever the projects have been completed so far. new this morning, have you ever been confused about whether your car or car you might buy is on a recall list? there is a new search tool that will help you sort all that out. the department of transportation is making the tool free online. just enter your vehicle identification number and the site will show whether your car is directly impacted by the recall. you can find the length to the website on nbcwashington.com. i know it's there because aaron was looking for it. >> and i found it. i'm putting it up on facebook. and they will do a session at 3:00 this afternoon sort of a here's how to work it kind of thing. >> a great resource. so talking with the beth,

some of us could see some rain. >> your weather and traffic on the 1s now. we start with chuck bell. >> yes indeed, summer soakers most likely in the send dough shenandoah valley, but also this afternoon in the metro. out the door weather, 67 in rockville. 72 in manassas. 74 arlington. 68 in college park. 64 in bowie. running, biking this morning, the impact relatively low. muggy, but rain free early this morning. rain chances start to ramp up later today. showers out to our west for now. that is the rain coming our way this afternoon. highest rain chances out to the north and west. today's high temperatures will be mid to upper 80s. 87 today with a 30% chance for a shower. and then higher rain chance tomorrow and as a result just a touch cooler. in ten minutes, we'll talk about the "7-day forecast" and beach

weather. >> 66, looking pretty good. very slow near 197. northbound bw parkway. looking atop of the beltway there, colesville road, a little bit slow as you approach that. 270 moving just fine. 66 and 95 looking fairly typical. i'll check on the situation on bw parkway and be back in ten minutes. new hope after another night of protests. we will go live to ferguson, missouri next for the mood on the streets this morning and why some are optimistic the violence may be coming to an end. florida plus it's plus one of the most anticipated performances of the year, but the unusual request that could determine who takes that could determine who takes part in t

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what do we want? >> justice. >> protesters marching through the streets of ferguson for the another neaight. but the demonstrations had a different feel than other nights when the protesters clashed with police. >> it's one of several stories we're following this morning to get you up to the minute the meant you're up. we start with nbc news craig held vin jo melvin joining us live from ferguson. >> reporter: good morning.

47 arrests last night. as indicated, the feel was different. the crowd itself was smaller. no tear gas. no molotov cocktails were thrown. there was shaome pepper spray ud as police tried to push a pack of protesters out toward the end of the night. today the michael brown case should be moving into the courthouse. attorney general eric holder will be here in ferguson. he will be meeting with federal investigators. and at the same time or rough i will the same time, the start of the grand jury proceedings. darryn wilson, the soifr woffic been interviewed and offered the opportunity to speak before the grand jury. at this point, no indication on whether officer wilson will be going that.

but i spent time yesterday traveling with the head of the highway patrol here who indicated and again this would have been yesterday morning that he was hopeful that the night again would be largely peaceful. and they tried some new strategies. and it appears as if this morning the strategies worked. >> all right, craig melvin bringing us up to speed on the turmoil there in ferguson. thank you very much. and as craig mentioned, eric holder will travel to ferguson later today. he's promising a thorough investigation into this officer-involved shooting that killed michael brown. he's meeting with fbi and other officials doing an independent federal investigation there. in an op-ed piece, holder says, quote, we hope that the independence and thoroughness of our instatn will bring shall measu some measure of calm to the tensions. we'll have much more coming up on the "today" show. the nra is taking aim at new

york mayor hike and he will bloomberg. today in ad will run across the country. it paints bloomberg as an drought out of touch elitist. he wants to reduce gun violence. the nra says it will not let bloomberg use his money to impose his, quote, anti-freedom agenda, end quote. today david catania will receive a key endorsement from the d.c. police union. most unions already endorsed democratic nominee muriel bowser. carol schwartz says she's disappointed in the decision but she's not surprised because she said she would not take a pledge to keep d.c. police chief kathy la they' lanier. we're keeping an eye on the supreme court to see whether it will delay same sex marriages in

virginia. couples could pick up marriage licenses as early as tomorrow morning. megan mcgrath is live at the supreme court. >> reporter: it's a decision that would have a huge impact on the lives of same-sex couples. gay and lesbian couples will be able to legally marry in virginia beginning thursday morning unless an emergency stay is granted by the nation's highest court. chief justice john roberts can consider the request himself or can he send it to the full court. if no action is taken to delay same-sex marriages, couples could walk down the aisle as soon as tomorrow morning and there are reports that clergy will be standing by. should also mention that some including people who support gay marriage are asking the supreme court to delay things, that they want some sort of a decision by the high court, a broader

decision that would bring clarity to this issue and they would like to see a delay until the court has time to do that. exactly the supreme court will do remains to be seen. we'll bring you the latest developments when they happen. megan mcgrath, news 4. we are also waiting to see whether bob mcdonnell will take the stand in his federal corruption trial today. mcdonnell's sister maureen gave us the closest look yet at a strained relationship between her brother and his wife. bob mcdonnell's sister also testified she had plenty of money to bail out the small real estate company she owned with her brother. prosecutors argue mcdonnell was desperate and called on jonnie williams to bail help out. julie carey will be tweeting all latest developments. and a wrap-up at 4:00. we want to check in with melissa mollet. >> yeah, breaking news.

chopper 4 over the scene. this is bw parkway northbound at powder mill. you can see there is about a mile long backup at this point and that is glowing. again, bw parkway northbound at powder himill road because of t crash. you can see again reaching almost at this point two miles this morning. so a little nasty there. wider look at things, we look pretty typical. 295 past 50 a little slow. top of the beltway at colesville, a little slow, as well. expected for this time of morning. 66, slow into centerville. it opens back up again and then as you hit oakton, it slows down again. pretty normal as well. taking a look at travel times, 270 southbound germantown to the beltway, 17 minutes. and northbound prince william

parkway 95 to 495, about 23 minutes. so not so bad there. we're back with your last look at traffic and right now, chuck bell, how are things looking for you? >> looks great outside. there is a picture of our early morning sky. a mostly cloudy sky. a pretty shot. we'll have more breaks of sunshine here over the coming minutes and hours as our sun gets a little higher up in the sky. 74 degrees at national airport with 68% humidity. a noticeable amount of humidity in the air this morning. temperatures will rise quickly this to the upper 70s by 11:00. 80 by lunchtime. mid to upper 80s coming our way for later on this afternoon. as far as rain chances today, skies will go partly cloudy. hot and humid. shower and thunderstorm chances really start to ramp up after about 3:00 or 4:00. so nothing too crazy, but some of the slow moving summer soakers could drop more than an inch this an isolated location.

going out tonight, mostly dry for dining in d.c.. but there will be hit and miss shower chances. here's where the rain is for now. just moving in to western west virginia. most of that first batch will break up. but the wave of low pressure generating it will be riding over us as we get towards the mid and late part of the afternoon hours. so 4:00, 5:00, western suburbs and then falling apart this evening. seven day forecast time, looking good. rain chances for today go up. tomorrow and up even more on friday. maybe lingering into the front half of the weekend. but sunday, monday, tuesday, great summer weather returns. 6:53. former football coach mike ditka weighing in on the redskins name controversy and he is not holding back. ditka says the name controversy is being caused by, quote, all the political correct idiots in america. he went on to say the name was a sign of reverence to the indian

and completely respects everybody's right to protest, but he hopes dan snyder does not give into the pressure to change it. ruffling a lot of feathers. cold play, rihanna and katy perry are finalists to play the super bowl halftime show, but the nfl is asking them to pay to lay p they don't usually pay performers, but covers the production expenses. league reps asked the performers if they would be willing to make some type of financial con friday bhu contribution to the nfl and it got a little chilly reception. >> you would think so. the nfl sort of take what you're getting. you're getting big names, a lot of people tuning in just to watch halftime. >> and you made a good side comment. if you do this, we'll start getting like youtube stars. >> apparently almost half of us are not taking all of our paid time off.

a new survey says 40% of american workers will not use all of their paid vacation days. here are some of the reasons why we're leaving paid time off on the table. you dread returning to a massive backlog after vacation. you believe no one will step up and to yojob while you're gone d you're afraid of being replaced. you'll see more school buss in maryland this morning. some school systems start today. saint miles per hour t. mary's ise as the interim supe super in-f superintendent. students in washington county also start dag. maryland requiring new vaccinations for students in kinder garter and 7th grade. and thank you for making on you backpacks for kids cam been

a success. so many of you donating supplies and money. and a reminder, you can still help students in need. donate online at nbcwashington.com. search backpacks for kids. four things to know at 6:56. department of transportation unveiling a free online tool to help you figure out if your car is on a recall list. just speaker your vehicle identification number. a link at nbcwashington.com. later this morning, the d.c. police union will endorse david catania for can d.c. mayor. most unions also endorse you bowser. president obama expected to address the reported beheading of an american journalist james foley. isis has threatened to kill another if air strikes continue. big change in ferguson, missouri. for the first time in more than a week, police and protesters remain mostly calm overnight, and the grand jury expected to take on the case. and eric holder will visit ferguson.

another check of your "7-day forecast". expect pretty solid chance for rain over the coming days. today hit and miss chances, but rain chances go up for both thursday and friday and last in to early saturday. biggest rproblem bw parkway northbound. about two miles worth of backups. everything else looking pretty normal this morning. >> thank you. and we appreciate you waking up with us this morning. >> we'll see you back here tomorrow. the "today" show coming your way next.

good morning. gruesome act. reaction pouring in after the execution of an american journalist by isis militants. their parents releasing a statement remembering their son as that group vows to kill another american if the u.s. doesn't stop its air strikes. tense standoff. burglary suspects holding children and adults hostage right now. this after four others were released from that home. we're live at the scene. mounting misery. a new wave of storms in parts of arizona overnight after a deluge turns roads into rivers and triggers dramatic rescues. and