the region tonight. we begin with julie carey in mclean, virginia. julie? >> reporter: i can tell you, still a steady stream of voters coming to this polling place in this final hour. this mclean precinct is in the tenth congressional district here and in the eighth district there is an open congressional seat. so voters will elect a new representative this evening. that's been driving turnout across northern virginia. virginia voters also faced a first at the polls today, the first time they had to present photo i.d. to cast a ballot. it's the marquis race on the virginia ballot. democratic senator mark warner cast his ballot in oldtown this morning. the poll showing him ahead in his bid for a second term. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: warner's challenger, ed gillespie, voted in person absentee last month, so today he was working the polls. >> if there's any questions i can answer to help you decide, i'm here. >> reporter: this voter said his

decision was a clear one. >> i don't know much about gillespie, but i know much about warner. >> reporter: does that mean you've been happy with mark warner as senator? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: but republican voters are hoping their party seizes control of the senate, and this gop voter says she wants anyone but an incumbent. >> to be honest, i'd love to see everybody gone and everybody new. and we start from scratch. so just to kind of clean the slate and start over and fresh and hope we do better next time around. >> reporter: these loudoun county voters are also in the tenth congressional district, where for the first time in more than 30 years, the name of long-time republican congressman frank wolf is not on the ballot. the race to succeed him between democrat john foust and republican barbara comstock is expected to be the closest in the commonwealth. that's one reason turnout was steady at many northern virginia pre sinks. virginia voters also faced a first today, a requirement to present an approved type of

photo i.d. there were fears seniors in particular might come empty-handed. but my check with registrars in fairf fairfax, loudoun and prince william county showed very few voters came unaware. now most of those -- not all, but most of those who did not have the required photo i.d. were allowed to cast a provisional ballot and in fairfax county, they tell me between six and eight voters came in today, just to have that photo i.d. created so they could vote. julie carey, news4. republican larry hogan has closed a big gap with democrat anthony brown, the lieutenant governor. but will it be enough? turnout could tell the tale in this one, and both candidates pushed for every last vote today. at 6:30, the one thing besides turnout that could determine the outcome. in the district, all eyes on the mayor's race. it is the closest november general election in 20 years.

our tom sherwood visited several polling places today. tom, how is it looking there? >> reporter: and now, jim, we're outside precinct 24 here in adams morgan. it's been steady all day and a little noisy. voters are picking a candidate who will be the city's third new mayor in eight years. democratic nominee muriel bowser voted early, hoping a well-financesed get out the vote operation would carry her to victory over david catania. catania, an independent focusing on school and government reform, has run a stronger than expected campaign against bowser in this overwhelmingly democratic city. three out of four voters are registered democrats. and while voting turnout was steady around the city today but not spectacular, whoever wins the mayor's office will face more demanding voters in a fast-changing city. both mayors vincent gray last

spring and adrian fenty in 2010 were defeated in their re-election bids. what's the challenge for the mayor to represent all of the people? >> building a coalition that involves, you know, all of d.c. as well as the new d.c. i think that's the challenge for this mayor or for any mayor. >> reporter: carol schwartz making her fifth run for mayor came out of retirement and switched from republican to independent in just the past three months for this contest. she consistently has trailed a distant third in the opinion polling. also on the ballot are the city's first-ever elected attorney generals, spots on the d.c. council, and asosorted othr neighborhood offices and school posts. in the district, tom sherwood, news4. there have been some challenges for people at the polls today. the news4 i-team has been tracking down your complaints and working to get some answers. tisha thompson at the live desk with new reports of problems.

>> reporter: doreen, in just the last half hour, we've been getting more calls from across the region about vote-slipping, one of two big issues you've been calling and tweeting to us about all day. the other is virginia's new voter i.d. law. this is the first major election where voters are required to brianna proved photo i.d. to vote in virginia. here's a long list of what's accepted, including passports, and employee i.d.s. so viewers today told us when they tried to use those two types of i.d.s, they were asked for second i.d.s with their home addresses on it. fairfax county office of elections says you do not need to provide a second i.d. with an address on it, and this should not have happened. also, in virginia, chris tells us he shot this video when he tried to pick a republican candidate for the virginia second district house seat. instead, he says the machine selected the democrat candidate. he tells me he was told it was a calibration issue, and he needed to touch above the box to make

his selection. in a statement to the news4 i-team, the virginia department of elections say the issues appear related to the touch-screen calibrations and any machines with issues are immediately taken out of supervise. the voters should notify an officer of elections prior to casting their ballot. maryland has a different type of machine and blames voter error for reports of flipping today. maryland says as of now, they believe there has been no votes cast anywhere for the wrong person. that's because voters notified election judges when they had an issue. you need to keep telling us about what you see by calling our tip line at 202-885-4444, or e-mailing tips@news4iteam.com. jim and doreen, back to you. >> thanks, tisha. on a national level, it might be a close call in congress. republicans are expected to keep the majority in the house. some say they might win the senate, as well. wendy rieger has more on the

battle for congress. >> reporter: there are 36 seats in 33 states up for grabs right now. and here's,000 how things could shake out. in order for the democrats to colorado the senate, they need to hold off republicans in ten battle ground states you see here in purple. if it's close, the democrats have a built-in advantage. the two independents in congress currently caucus with them, and that could tip the balance. and if republicans gain just five seats, the senate is tied with vice president joe biden providing the tie-breaker. now, there are two states that could give an early indication of how the midterms might break. new hampshire and north carolina. every scenario of democrats holding on to the senate assumes they win both new hampshire and north carolina. if republicans win one or both, they could get the advantage. there's another caveat here.

regardless of what happens tonight, it could be months before we hear from some states. if no candidate wins 50% of the vote in louisiana and georgia, those states could go for runoff elections. louisiana's in december and georgia's not until january of next year. for coverage and analysis of all, we invite you to tune into a special hour-long edition of news4 at 11:00. between now and then, you can use the nbc washington app for breaking election results as they come in. other news now. a virginia man says his family is devastated after his daughter and granddaughter died in a fast-moving house fire. mary barkes and her 7-year-old daughter emily were trapped inside their arlington home by the flames and smoke. it happened early this morning. two other family members were able to escape. mary's father says this tragedy comes just six months after the death of his own wife. he says it's an extremely

difficult time for the family. >> i don't know why i'm still here. it took my granddaughter and my daughter. it's horrible. i don't know why we have to go through this. >> coming up in our next half hour, pat collins will have more reaction from the victim's family and a look at what may have contributed to the cause of that deadly fire. new details tonight about a woman charged with vandalizing the washington national cathedral last summer. a judge ruled that she is not competent to stand trial, and said she probably will not make an improvement any time soon. police arrested her back in july of 2013 for damaging two chapels with a can of green paint. she is also connected to a string of other vandalism cases, including an incident at the

lincoln memorial. she is currently being held at a psychiatric hospital. turns out the man who escaped from a d.c. psychiatric center off wisconsin avenue in northwest yesterday simply walked out a back door. the news4 i-team has learned that kenneth clayton was under psychiatric evaluation after allegedly attacking a police officer. he was put in a room where privacy rules keep staff out. clayton went out a back door of that room, down a stairwell and out the door. d.c. police are actively searching for him now. a crucial new clue after a woman is snatched from a sidewalk in philadelphia. >> give her back. just give her back, please. give her back. >> tonight we report the passionate plea from her parents as police shift their focus to a spot in maryland. here's a d.c. story for you. mysterious road work in front of the vice president's residence. we found out what it is and how long it's going to be here. the story coming up next. we've been telling you about the deadline for weeks. new at 6:00, the penalty for

parents who don't have their children vaccinated by tomorrow. got some rain making its way our way. i'll show when that rain moves in and what it brings, next in my forecast.

you're watching news4 at 6:00. a centers for disease control security guard fired for carrying a gun on an elevator

with president obama is speaking out tonight. kenneth tate told the "new york times" he was never told he couldn't carry his cdc-issued gun while escorting the president last month. he claims other security guards were armed, as well. tate was also reprimanded by the secret service for taking pictures of the president during the ebola-related trip. he says it went from being one of the best days of his life to being a nightmare. a russian member of the taliban is in richmond, virginia, now, where he'll stand trial on terror charges. his name is irek. he defected after the soviet war in afghanistan several years ago. he was captured in 2009 after an attack on u.s. forces. he's been held in a facility at bagram air base since then. he was transferred to virginia because the u.s. has agreed that all the prisons in afghanistan will be turned over to the afghan government by 2015. his arraignment is set for

friday. road work around here is nothing new but the pavement is being turn up along one of our busiest commuter routes and nobody is willing to explain why or when it will be complete. transportation reporter adam tuss got some answers about all the work on massachusetts avenue in northwest right in front of the vice president's home. adam, it's a mess over there. >> reporter: the good news, we've learned that this is expected to be gone by the end of the week. but just what exactly this is, still remains a mystery. is it a gas project? nope. water? nope. power project? no. >> nobody knows what's going on here. >> i believe them. >> reporter: after doing some digging, we found out this is a project to bury 1,900 feet of fiber oppo fiberoptic cable deep under the road. crews dug using a directional drill from wisconsin avenue all the way down to the vice president's residence. it's been about a month since this all started. and it's left a lot of open sections of the road and plenty of busted hub caps.

take a look at how much traffic is here. keep in mind, this is video is sped up significantly, and the traffic still crawls. >> i think it's a nightmare, as always. washington, d.c. is a nightmare and this construction owe do it at night. >> reporter: the reach the impact is being felt now, paving has to happen during warm, daytime hours. it's too cold at night to lay asphalt. still, no agency has come forward. she says she'll be more than happy to see it all go. >> yeah, so when is it going to be done. >> reporter: supposed to be this week. >> okay, good. >> reporter: one of the other things we learned today, crews had to open up so much of the pavement here, because they didn't want to hit other utility. in northwest, adam tuss, news4. not a bad night to be standing out, even with the traffic going by next to you. it's unseasonably warm out there. >> we will take it, for sure.

because our average high temperature falling very, very quickly, now 62 degrees. and that's exactly where we are at this moment in time. don't know why i said that. 62 degrees. -- that was a movie. remember that? christopher reaves. >> you're getting in deeper, doug. >> i don't know where we're going with this. 62 degrees with the temperature around the rest of the region, 59 in gaithersburg. 59 in manassas. 58 towards the huntingtown area. so starting to cool fairly quickly here as it does this time of year. but we're still in the '60s in many locations and a rather nice night. storm team 4 radar on the dry side, it will stay dry i think over the next 24 hours or so. but there are some clouds moving in. a lot of cloud cover. that's ahead of our next storm system, and you would think this is the storm system here. well, the storm itself is way up into canada. there is another one, a pretty potent one, coming through the dall dallas, texas, area, and vance -- it is hurricane vance coming toward mexico. that moisture coming into our region the next few days, too.

you made hurricane -- 100-mile-an-hour status, my friend. congratulations on that. this rain, however, is going to be drying as it makes our way. as it does so, that means tomorrow on the dry side. so wednesday, 7:00 a.m. here comes that rain, and notice most of it is gone now, just a cloud cover remains on your wednesday. during the afternoon, we're still on the dry side. maybe a few hours towards luray and harrisonburg and stanton, but that is it. mild day tomorrow, but with cloud cover temperatures getting on the cooler side. but still quite nice. thursday morning, the rain really moves in. and i think thursday you will need the umbrella throughout mo of the day. especially the early portion of the day right on through around 1:00, 2:00. some areas could pick up upwards of a tenth, maybe quarter inch. some locations a half inch. but behind this, it gets rather breezy. thursday still mild. but then the colder air starts to move in. so don't get used to these 60s and 70s like today, and tomorrow. 67 in leesburg. 68 in d.c. 70 towards fredericksburg region

tomorrow. once again, though, plenty of cloud cover. then on thursday, 67 degrees with a 70% chance of rain. notice what happens next, though. 53 on friday. and it will be a very cool 53. as winds will be gusting at maybe 20, 25 miles per hour. 54 on saturday. 55 on sunday. and even cooler on monday after another chance for showers on sunday. colder air moves in. a high on monday, only 52 degrees. next tuesday, a high of around 60. so looks like we've got a little extended stretch of cooler weather. and once again, impacts the weekend. >> thank you, doug. new questions and concerns tonight after a sex assault at a local middle school. we'll report the reason officials waited weeks before alerteding parents about the attack. new details about the final moments on board and why the sole survivor isn't talking days after the shuttle broke into

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♪ [ male announcer ] follow your joy to a celebration like no other. start your new orleans holiday at followyournola.com. debris from that virgin galactic spacecraft disaster has now been found 35 miles away from the crash site. jim handly is here now with new details about that investigation. jim? >> reporter: vance, investigators returned to the original crash site in the mojave desert today to collect more evidence. and we're learning now more details about what happened in the seconds right before the disaster. the ntsb released a detailed time line of the failed test flight that killed one pilot and injured another in california's mojave desert friday.

at 10:07:00 a.m., at 45,000 feet, virgin galactic space ship 2 separated from its carrier and its the rocket motor ignited, propelling the plane toward the edge of the atmosphere. nine seconds later, the ntsb says cockpit video shows co pilot mike he alsbury, unlocking the plane's feathers or brakes, something usually done only when the plane is ready to glide back to earth. the ntsb says when the co pilot unlockeded the feathers prematurely, they appeared to have deployed by themselves. seconds later, the aircraft broke apart. >> hearing reports of parts as far away from the original site as far as 35 miles northeast of that section. >> reporter: the surviving pilot, peter seabold, landed a mile east from the largest piece of debris. former nasa astronaut and international space station commander, leroy chow, is among those fascinated by seabold's

survival. >> both pilots i assume had oxygen bottles and were wearing helmets, so he would have been able to maintain enough consciousness, i think, to get out of the vehicle. >> now, that pilot is still recovering tonight, and unable to tell investigators what he remembers about the accident. after the ntsb wraps up the onscene investigation, it could take up to a year to release a report on the crash. back to you. >> thank you. a frightening few minutes for passengers on a transatlantic flight after an encounter of severe turbulence and had tourn around. air france flight 006 was headed from paris to new york today. it had just reached northern england when things got very bumpy. the turbulence was so strong, three crew members suffered concussions. the pilot turned the plane around and went back to paris. there were 484 passengers on board. but none of them was injured. a new device could make getting liquids through it tsa

at the airport easier. some airports in europe and australia are already testing a new device. it uses the laser to determine what's inside liquid containers. it's supposed to be able to tell the difference between lotion and a liquid explosive. the company is reportedly in talks with the u.s. right now. you're only allowed to bring three ounces of liquids in your carry-on bag. a terrifying abduction caught on tape. the victim's local ties to maryland, and the clue that led police to this nearby bank. >> i'm having a hard time getting through this. why does this have to happen? tonight, a grandfather opens up to news4 about losing both his granddaughter, trapped in a devastating fire, and his daughter who desperately tried to save her from the flames. and the clock ticks on school immunization deadlines. new at 6:00, the tough penalty for parents and students

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a mother and daughter trapped as fierce flames engulf their home. >> it's horrible. i don't know why we have to go through this. >> tonight, new reaction from the family as we learn new details about what may be to blame. it's a race against the clock for hundreds of students. we'll tell you about the punishment parents could face if they don't get their kids vaccinated. a woman abducted on a philadelphia street. the crime captured on surveillance video. >> just give her back, please. give her back. >> tonight, the victim's ties to maryland and what police found that led them back here.

first at 6:30 tonight, a house fire so furious, 70 firefighters were required to put it out. >> you can imagine what it must have looked like to the parents of two girls trapped inside that burning house. the father raced to save one of the daughters. the mother, mary barkes, tried to reach their other child, emily. neither mary nor emily got out. tonight, the neighborhood in article arlington where it happened is still in shock. here is pat collins. >> reporter: the siding dripped down like candle wax. the halloween pumpkin on the front step, charred. beyond the front door, layers and layers of soot. it looked like the inside of a gigantic fireplace. salvador santos, he lives next door. he saw the smoke. he saw the flames. he tried to help. >> it's impossible to help, because in the front of the door, you can see the flames coming out. i mean, it's -- it's unbelievable. >> reporter: there were four people in the house when the fire broke out. bill barkes, his wife mary, and

their two children, 11-year-old sarah and 7-year-old emily. bill barkes managed to get out and save sarah. mary called 911, and then tried to rescue emily. but there was too much smoke. too much fire. >> one of the allowsiest things in my life to have to go through this. >> reporter: that's james white, mary's dad and emily's grandfather. here's a picture of all three of them. >> i don't know why i'm still here. it took my granddaughter. and my daughter. it's horrible. i don't know why we have to go through this. >> reporter: there were 70 firefighters deployed on the scene. it took them 15 minutes to bring this under control. did you find any working smoke detectors in the house? >> we didn't find any working smoke detectors in the house. >> so what's the cause of this fire? that could take some time to

determine. they're boarding up the place tonight. the fire marshal will continue his investigation tomorrow. in arlington, pat collins, news4. a search tonight in d.c. for a driver who hit a person and took off. a cab driver. the victim was hit trying to cross new york avenue at bladensburg in northeast. it happened this afternoon. he has serious injuries, but is expected to recover. and in montgomery county tonight, we know the name of the 77-year-old man who was hit and killed crossing the street in silver spring. police say he was hit before 5:00 a.m. while crossing new hampshire avenue at randolph road. the driver stayed at the scene. it's not clear if he was in a crosswalk. montgomery county school officials will hold a meeting tomorrow. they want to talk about an alleged sex assault on campus. the police arrested a contractor after that contractor was accused of inappropriately touching a student at baker

middle school in damascus. the incident happened on october 6th, but a letter wasn't sent home until yesterday. the principal says parents were not notified right away in order to protect the privacy of the student involved. a plea deal today in a case involving nfl star running back adrian peterson. peterson was suspended after being charged with felony child abuse for beating his 4-year-old child with a switch. today's deal reduced the charge to misdemeanor recklesses assault. peterson pled no contest. he will have to pay a fine and perform community service. he will also be placed on probation. no word on what the nfl plans to do next. commissioner roger goodel would have to reinstate peterson. these midterm elections are the most expensive in history. all 435 seats are up for grabs in the house, along with 36 in the senate.

candidates in those races, more than 1600 in all, have spent $3.7 billion to get their messages out. a lot of that has gone toward courting women showing up on the ballot like never before. 160 women are candidates in house races and five african-american women are favored to win. there are 15 women on the ballot for the u.s. senate. the race for maryland's next governor could be a toss-up tonight. many voters are still undecided as they headed to the polls today. even at one of the state's most active precincts. chris gordon is in prince george's county tonight with more on that. chris? >> reporter: good evening from largo high school, where as you see things have slowed down during the dinner hour. you can get in and out in about ten minutes. however, the voterer turnout today was much heavier than the primary election held earlier this year. we begin tonight in neighboring montgomery county, which both candidates feel may hold the keys to victory.

leisure world in silver spring is one of maryland's democratic strongholds. republican candidate for governor, larry hogan, is counting on democrats and independents to vote for him because registered democrats outnumber republicans by two to one, statewide. >> i'm a democrat. >> reporter: who are you voting for? >> hogan. >> reporter: why? >> because i'm -- i'm tired of democrats in maryland, giving away all the money and doing all kinds of things that are unnecessary. >> reporter: debby is a lifelong democrat. she decorated her dogs with democratic stickers, but how did she vote? >> well, i did something i've never done before. i voted republican, because i wasn't happy with brown. so i voted for hogan. >> reporter: some voters made up their minds as they walked into the polling place. by and large, are you a democrat? >> by and large, i am. >> reporter: but are you wavering now? >> yes. >> reporter: why? >> because i'm just not sure, because i don't know enough about anthony brown. >> reporter: in prince george's

county, republican larry hogan campaigned heavily. but lieutenant governor anthony brown liv in prince george's county, and has represented it in annapolis for 16 years. some voters here feel he deserves a promotion to governor. >> i think he has more experience. and i think he has a heart for maryland, for prince george's county. >> reporter: well, the polls here in maryland remain open until 8:00 p.m. and you can come and vote very quickly, and then it's all over, but the counting and for some, the celebrating. that's the latest live at largo high school. chris gordon, news4. thank you. and, of course, we'll be watching the races all evening long. look for updates on nbcwashington.com and live team coverage with the results on news4 at 11:00. more than half a million people just days away from being all over the mall. tonight, final preps for the biggest show in town. plus, only a few hours left before parents can get their children vaccinated for school.

what happens if they don't meet the deadline? we're talking about nice, mild weather today and tomorrow. but then guess what? just in time for the weekend, we get more chilly air. we're talking about another cool weekend, coming up next. ♪ good morning, usher! hey! did you know bees communicate through dance? me too... we're practically twins!

time has run out for the hundreds of prince george's county school children who are not up to date on their immunizations. if they don't have all they're required shots by the deadline tomorrow, they won't be able to go to class. as news4's darcy spencer reports now, it's their parents who could really be in trouble. >> reporter: schools in prince george's county are closed today, election day. but come tomorrow, more than 400 students could be barred from the classroom if they haven't gotten their vaccinations. this little girl who recently moved to the u.s. is getting a vaccine at the mary's center. if she didn't do this today, she couldn't go to school tomorrow.

>> good job! >> reporter: her mom spoke to us through an interpreter. >> translator: she was told if she didn't have them, she wouldn't be able to go to school. now that she got them today, she'll be able to go to school tomorrow. >> reporter: school officials say students will be given five law of absences and truancy proceedings could start which could result in action against parents. >> i think if they're getting that information, then, yes, they are. and that's why they're coming in and bringing their children. >> reporter: as of friday, 155 kindergarten and 259 seventh grade students received these exclusion letters, letting parents know, no shots, no school. these vaccinations are meant to protect children from meningitis, from whooping cough and other diseases. they are required by the state. so what happens if a student who hasn't gotten the immunization or proof they got it shows up? school system officials say their parents will be called to

pick them up. they won't be allowed in the classroom. >> it's very important. it prevents multitude of diseases. in addition, it makes sure kids are caught up on vaccines they need for school to protect against common diseases that are contagious. >> reporter: darcy spencer, news4. this has been a hot topic on our facebook page today and we asked your opinion, should parents be punished if their children are not vaccinated. the majority of people who responded to our survey, 73%, say yes. parents should face punishment. the governor of virginia got a firsthand update on the ebola screening process today at one of the commonwealth's busiest airports. governor mcauliffive toured dulles international today and was briefed on screening procedures there. dulles is one of five u.s. airports where the majority of people traveling from liberia, sierra leone and guinea enter the u.s. enhanced screenings began about two weeks ago.

one week from tonight, tens of thousands will be watching music superstars performing on the national mall. today work got under way for what's called the concert for valor. it honors the courage and sacrifice of america's veterans. jennifer hudson, metallica, carey underwood and bruce springsteen will perform. the free concert is expected to draw a quarter million people to the mall. that concert begins at 7:00 next tuesday. tonight, a local connection to a philadelphia woman who was kidnapped on a city street as her parents make a plea to the suspect. also, a bomb plot at a maryland school was foiled. we'll report what we're learning about the boy in custody.

right now, the fbi and maryland state police have joined the search for this guy. surveillance pictures show him using the debit card of a woman snatched off the street in philadelphia. these pictures are from an atm in aberdeen, maryland. carlesha gaither hasn't been seen since sunday night. her abduction has been caught on surveillance video and has been seen on news websites across the country. along with the fbi joining the search, we've learned reward money in the case has now topped $40,000. freeland-gaither grew up in st. mary's county and as we mentioned, her debit card was used just hours after her abduction in aberdeen.

nbc's chris pallone has more on the new developments. >> please let her go. >> reporter: as a mother pleas for her 22-year-old daughter's safe return -- >> please give her back, just give her back. >> reporter: police in philadelphia are looking at a new clue in the apparent kidnapping of carlesha freeland-gaither. someone used her debit card early monday morning. police show the family the picture of a male suspect whom they say they don't recognize. >> we have an unknown black male, appears to be in his 20s. >> reporter: the attack happened just before 10:00 sunday night in the city's germantown section. much caught on surveillance video. a heavyset man is seen dragging freeland-gaither down the street and putting her in the pack of a ford daughttaurus. police found her phone and glasses at the scene, and investigators aren't sure whether the woman knew her attacker. family members say freeland-gaither did live in

maryland for a time and still has ties to the area. they desperately want her captors to let her go. >> all we want back is our daughter. that's all we're asking for. >> reporter: several groups are offering more than $40,000 in rewards for information leading to an arrest. the fbi and maryland state police are assisting in the investigation. chris pallone, nbc news. a teenager from maryland charged in a high school bomb plot. police say he showed them a gun and explosives that he planned to use to kill people. he's 16-year-old. his name is sash nemphos. he planned to attack carver center for the arts in baltimore county. investigators say he took a gun to school in his backpack on friday but decided to put off plans until monday. police say they uncovered the plot while investigating car break-ins in his neighborhood north of baltimore. a neighbor describes the boy as a gifted artist. >> sweet young man, and very kind-hearted, and that's why

this is difficult. >> he claims he got the gun at his father's auto repair shop. he's been charged as an adult. doug is back with a look at our weather. one more nice day to look forward to? >> one more nice day tomorrow and then we get the rain on thursday. but the cold air doesn't move until friday. so we've got a little bit of everything the next couple days. this evening, a very nice evening. but the sun, wow, goes down at 5:04 now. temperatures still in the 60s. 62 degrees in the d.c. area. at the airport right now, we're looking at 60 degrees at 7:00. 58 by 9:00. 56 degrees, a little chilly around 11:00. 54 now in bowie, into the college park area. 54 in ft. belvoir. we start to cool a lot quicker as the sun goes down around the 5:00 hour. so by 6:00, 7:00, most of you will be in the 50s and next couple days, you'll be in the low 40s. that's the cool air moving on in here. storm team 4 radar is dry. going to stay that way through the night tonight, and most of tomorrow, i think. no problem at all.

mostly cloudy, still mild. temperatures 61 in the coolest to 69 degrees, maybe pushing 70 in we're able to get any sunshine at all. most of us should stay under mostly cloudy skies during the afternoon. so take a look at skycast 4 as we move through tomorrow. no problems downtown. if you're going to head down pennsylvania avenue towards lincoln memorial looking good with cloud cover. thursday morning we have a problem. and this is thursday morning at 7:00 a.m. and notice what's coming in here. that's going to be the rain. and i think we'll see a lot of rain during the rush hour. so rush hour morning commute could be a little problem around 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 on thursday. i think the bulk of the rain will fall in the first part of the afternoon. and then by late in the evening, we should begin to clear out. 67 degrees or for a high thursday. 70% what happens of rain early in the day. and breezy conditions and cold. 53 for a high temperature, but with a 10 to 20-mile-an-hour wind, will feel like temperatures in the 40s friday. saturday a high of 54 degrees.

and sunday, well, sunday we have another system that moves in. temperatures go up to about 55. but then behind that system, which will give us a shower or two, we get chilly again with a high of only 52 degrees on monday, and yeah, rather breezy again. so after a little bit of a warmup here, we go right back down as far as the temperatures go. saturday morning, the coldest morning, a low of 49. that puts most of but he low freezing. guys? >> thank you, doug. new exit poll numbers just in, which could set the tone for tonight's election. here's jim handly at the live desk. jim? hi, doreen. nbc news has just released its first round of exit polls and gives us a pretty bleak picture of the mind-set of voters today. 44% of voters say they approve of president obama while 54% disapprove. now that's comparable to the approval rating of george w. bush that he received back in the 2006 mid terms. the opinion of congress even lower today. 71% disprove and 65% say they

think the nation is on the wrong track. we'll have much more on these exit poll numbers throughout the night, and, of course, you can watch the results come in on news4 at 11:00 tonight and throughout the night on nbcwashington.com. at the live desk, i'm jim handly. carol is in with our sports report tonight. what's up? >> busy night. alex ovechkin knocking on the door as the caps try to end their skid. plus -- >> this is my team and i'm going to lead it. >> election day, griffin trying to convince us he is the leader of the future. that's all when news 4 at 6:00 continues. coming up tonight, we're all about election night. high republican expectations. we even heard from the president on that score late today. so many races too close to call heading into this evening. our team is fanned out and in place. we hope you can join us for nbc nightly news and our special

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[ male announcer ] follow your joy to a celebration like no other. start your new orleans holiday at followyournola.com. this is the xfinity sports desk, brought to you by xfinity, your home for the most live sports. i knew it, and you and all your colleagues hate this. i have the notion the best thing robert grich griffin iii could do from now on is not talk anymore and just play. >> huh. >> just play. >> if it bleeds, it leads with us. if it's the quarterback controversy. >> i know. >> right? >> what have you got? >> this isn't your

run-of-the-mill quarterback controversy. this is about the long-term future of the program of the franchise. this is probably not the way the skins wanted to enter the bye week with questions swirling. not just about the season, but the uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of the quarterback, the most important position on the team. coach gruden candidly admitted the jury is still out on robert griffin. today he didn't listen to jim vance and had a chance to meet with the media and completely disagreed. >> when it comes to being the franchise guy, that is what it is. i believe i am -- i believe this organization knows i am and all those guys in the locker room believe i am. and there's no doubt there. so i don't ever step on to the field trying to make a claim saying i'm the guy. it's not like that. this is my team, and i'm going to lead it. >> all right. speaking of franchise quarterbacks, andrew luck drafted one spot ahead of rg3 in the 2012 last, number one overall. continues to show why he is a franchise qb. luck carved up the giants'

defense on monday night football. four touchdowns last night, 354 yards. he leads all quarterbacks this season with over 3,000 yards passing. and 26 touchdowns. which got us thinking, how do griffin and luck, those names forever linked, stack up. well, ten games separates the two. luck has played in 31, griffin 41. luck has two times as many pass passes griffin's number slightly number thanks to the remarkable rookie season. looking at these numbers side by side and try not to think every time you watch andrew luck play. i think they're a nightmare side by side, but really a win -- i didn't put that in there. 29 wins for andrew luck. for griffin, not counting jacksonville, since he only played a little bit, 12. >> which takes away everything that everybody has to say, by the way, if they just win. he wins, all this stuff about locker room crap and all the other things people talk -- all goes away.

>> i just want to say thanks, because i love when i'm reporting and you're just shaking your head the whole time. i'm like, thanks. that helps. meantime big night at verizon center as the caps host the flames. tonight, it's a big night, because alex ovechkin has a shot at history. his net point a goal or assist will make him all-time points leader. right now o.v. is tied with peter vondra with 829 points. certainly a good chance to do it tonight. he has registered 15 points in 9 career games against calgary. randy whitman and which wizards in new york tonight, taking on the knicks. wizards continue the hot start, the third overall pick in 2013 is averaging almost 13 points a game. and scored a career-high 21 points this saturday against the bucs. everybody taking notice, especially his teammates. >> those extra three pounds he

gained, he's doing a great job. he's eating more and more breakfast every day, and he's lifting more. he switched from 10 pounds to 12 pounds dumbbells. and, you know -- so he's doing better job. and obviously on the court he's super skilled. >> 10 pounds to 12 pounds dumbbells. that's doreen weight right there. that's pretty good stuff! right? i mean, you can tell he's bulking up. that's cute. >> he's got a great sense of humor. >> he lights everything up. >> so good to see porter coming out. we knew last year he was so skinny. everyone worried how he would play. >> and has a great mentor, telling him what to do, what to eat. >> can i say one more thing about that football thing? >> go ahead. >> you notice some andrew luck yards and that other thing? we look at this quarterback and wonder what's going on? he didn't have the offensive line. >> that's tomorrow's story.

>> we've got more to say about that. >> "nightly news" is next and stay tuned for tonight's election coverage at 11:00 and at our

good evening, 7:00 p.m. here in the eastern time zone. we have the first results for you on this decision 2014. we begin with kentucky senate. this is the minority leader in the senate, senator mitch mcconnell, the incumbent, we project will be heading back. georgia senate, a big race. nunn vers perdue, too early to call. a race to watch tonight. as is the virginia senate race perhaps closer than some people thought. south carolina senate we have two incumbents returning starting with lindsey graham including the appointed senator tim scott standing for re-election tonight. he'll stand once again in two years time. we're watching all of it tonight. we have a number o