we're following several breaking stories right now on news 4 midday. first, six schools on lock down in sterling and police are searching for as many as three people who may have shot a ta l teenager in a nearby participant complex. >> police in loudoun county say they found a teen with gunshot wounds and witnesses say two or three possible suspects ran from that area on foot. >> the school is replaced on look out or lock down while police search the area for the gunmen. julie is there and we'll go to her live as soon as we can. >> i'm molette green at the live

desk. just learned more about the marine killed during a training exercise. northeast a native of virginia. he was inside the helicopter when it made a hard landing wednesday night in eastern north carolina. at a news conference that ended a short while ago, the base gave new details about what it's calling a mishap and said the investigation into what went wrong is expected to last weeks, possibly months. >> we will cast a wide net. we will start at the beginning and we will go through to the end. we will accept or reject cause zal factors based upon the lines of evidence. >> two of the 11 injured in this incident remain in the hospital in stable condition. about 20 marines in all took part in suspended rope courses considered valuable in combat and extremely high risk.

thank you. more breaking news. d.c. police telling us that the body of a male victim has been found in southeast d.c. that was this morning. the body was found in a park near martin luther king avenue and malcolm x avenue. they are not releasing the names. u.s. park police are taking the lead in the investigation. >> labor day weekend is kicking off right about now. a lot of you are just hours away from facing some pretty sears traffic out there as we get ready to bid summer good-bye. more than 850,000 people in the metro area are expected to travel more than 50 miles from home this weekend and many will be driving this year. that's because gas prices are expected to be the lowest since 2004. coming up in a few minutes, megan mcgrath will have a look at the best times to hit the road if you want to avoid the gridlock. >> the best time to go is as

soon as you can get out of work. outside right now, sun shine coming through the area. our heat wave is coming to an end. rain showers on the way for later this morning and this evening. don't stray too far from your umbrella later. there's the view right now from our tower camera. hazy sun shine for now. storm team radar, nothing yet. a couple of showers across parts of ohio but cloud cover. starting to see building clouds along the western shore of the chesapeake bay eventually turning into rain-making clouds. temperatures now in the mid 80s. up near 90 for a time today. we'll talk about the weekend forecast in a few mites. >> thank you. a live look for you here at the capital hill right now. at this hour, a member hillary clinton's inner circle is testifying. jake sullivan was her department chief of staff. they are looking into the attack in benghazi, libya.

there are also questions about how clinton handled e-mail. yesterday her chief of staff spent nine and a half hours before that panel. clinton taped an interview with nbc news andrea mitchel. we expect to hear more about the use of private e-mail, and we also expect questions about clinton's challengers heading into the primaries. the interview will air next year and on nbc nightly news. >> the unemployment rate has fallen again. it fell to about.2 of a percentage point. about 173,000 jobs were added. it puts extra focus on the federal reserve, the group will decide later this month whether

to raise interest rates. >> reporter: police are searching far gunmen who shot people. the man hunt started last night after an argument in a parking lot. one person is dead. at least two of the victims are students. police say this is an isolated incident. they have not found the shooter. in an hour, a sheriff's department will be laid to rest. he was gunned down a week ago at a gas station in what police called an ambush. shannon miles who place say got the officer 16 times has been charged with capital murder the clerk's county office in kentucky issued its first same sex marriage license. love has won, that's what a crowd of people were chanting as the couple headed to the clerk's

office to get the license. a federal judge in kentucky sent the county clerk to jail for contempt of court. she refused to issue licenses. she said her conscious wouldn't allow her to issue licenses to gay couples. >> tough decisions lay ahead. the team has to cut its roster to 53 men by tomorrow. they got their last chance to prove themselves last night. it was a 17-16 loss. but the head coach says players like the wide receiver who caught his fourth touch down to the preseason are making his job pretty tough. >> a teacher caused a big disruption and he's in trouble. and we're staying on top of the breaking news in sterling, virginia. several schools in a lockout mode as police investigate a shooting in a nearby apartment

complex. police say the three suspects could be armed. we're gathering details for you. .

cornell.york city teacher is inr trying to get a bird's eye view of the u.s. open. police say the drone crashed in the stadium last night, in the middle of a match. both players heard the crash and play was stopped as police investigated one player said after j she feared an attack was happening when she saw the drone. no fans were in the area where the drone came down. the man is charged with reckless endangerment. a louisiana national guards men killed will be laid to rest. staff sergeant thomas florch was

killed in march. the army initially denied the request to bury him in arlington because he wasn't killed in duty. but they made an exception. the man hunt for a lieutenant's killers could have an effect on the holiday weekend. tourists are steering clear of the area. there are fears the suspects could be hiding somewhere in that area. the lieutenant was shot and killed as he chased after three suspects. labor day weekend is getting underway, but there is a chance for rain and storms in your

>> welcome back to news 4 midday. sun shine streaming into northwest washington for now. we will see a chance for showers

and thunderstorms developing later on this afternoon. not expecting anything in the way of organized severe weather you but any individual thunderstorm could produce a gusty wind and brief downpour of rain. handling our chances of rain going forward. by 12:30, a lot of moisture in the atmosphere. just the right amount of daytime heating, by 3:00, showers along the bay and traveling west along the blue ridge. a north easterly flow is coming back in the region. into the evening today and into tomorrow, hopefully the showers and the clouds will start to move out. today's highs, upper 80s and 90s. more about the weekend coming up. virginia lawmakers up against a deadline that affects every voter in the state. "the washington post" reports democrats and republicans have until today to suggest names for an expert to help redraw congressional districts. they found the existing

boundaries concentrated black voters in one district. lawmakers have not been able to redraw a map both parties agree on. >> a portrait has been taken down from a courtroom in a virginia town. a judge decided to take it down because he says the courtroom should be a neutral place and can't be a symbol of the con fed ras ra si. >> and a labor day get away and a king comes to washington, and wait until you hear what one hotel is doing to accommodate him.

at i-95 as drivers head out of town for labor day weekend. this is near 123 in fairfax county. it's pretty heavy already. look at that, aaron. >> yeah. busy for sure. >> this is a huge weekend for travel. we know a lot of you are dreading the gridlock on the road. we're here with some ideas on how to beat the rush. >> let's go to megan mcgrath who is live from the bay bridge in maryland. >> reporter: good morning. there are a few things that you can do to beat the main brunt of the traffic, but right now it's not looking too bad. take a look behind me.

we're at the toll booth, at the base of the bay bridge, these folks are heading east, going over the bridge. minor delays. the folks in the easy pass lane on the far right are basically going right through. if you have the easy pass, it's worth it. while this is the situation now and things are looking good now, we are expecting big delays beginning in just a couple of hours. >> it's all in the timing. get across the bay bridge early and it's a breeze. this couple went through the toll booth after 7:30 this morning with no problem. >> piece of cake. we went through ten minutes ago. and we didn't have our easy pass. >> reporter: and you still didn't wait? >> no. >> reporter: holiday travel is expected to be up by 2%. gas prices are cheap. and the bridge toll is cheaper

too. 4 instead of $6. this family from hagueerstown w all smiles after crossing over to the eastern shore. they left hikers town before the sun came up. we have our luggage and pillows and blankets, tents, and our seats for camping. >> reporter: if you want to avoid delays at the bay bridge, here's advice from the experts. if you haven't left yet, wait until after 10:00 tonight. on saturday, cross before 7:00 a.m., or after 5:00 p.m. and you'll be in good company. 354,000 vehicles are expected to use the bridge this long holiday weekend. and just a little bit before 11:00, they started two-way operations on thewestbound span. that means that traffic officials now have three lanes headed east toward the beach. while that helps out, you still

have two-way traffic on the westbound span. people need to be alert for that. that's not the normal situation, only when it's really crowded out there, and also keep in mind, even with more lanes headed toward the beach, it is still going to be con vested. live at the way bridge, megan mcgrath, news 4. >> and i'm chuck bell. sun shine still streaming down into the area for now. temperatures are well up into the mid 80s across the region. 86 in washington. highs today of 92. downtown, 90 in baltimore. if you are planning to go to the baseball game, the nationals put a hurt on the braves last night. 15-1 the score. let's hope for that tonight. showers possible tonight. could be a brief delay. rain should be tapering off. they should be able to get the game in. first pitch temp in the low 80s. the rest of the game in the 70s. the rest of today hot and humid.

temperatures hovering near 90. but there's the rain chances with the dropping temperatures and the falling rain drops this evening. don't leave home without your umbrella. >> right now let's take a live look at the white house where president obama will soon sit down with the king of saudi arabia. the two are expected to discuss the controversial nuclear agreement with iran, saudi leaders have expressed serious concerns about checks and balances. if four seasons in georgetown has rolled out the red carpet. they are occupying the entire hotel and we're joined by kate bennett who is following the royal visit. kate, welcome. good to see you again. walk us through this visit. they are taking up the entire hotel? >> that's what i hear. the hotel won't confirm. two days ago people started seeing carts of gold furniture being wheeled in. end tables and hat racks, so the

entire hotel has been sort of redecorated, especially the royal suite, which is the 4,000 square foot suite at the top of the hotel, in order to accommodate the king and his entrauj. etourage can go up to 1,000 people, and there were fleets of high-end cars at the andrews air force base. >> where do they store all this gold furniture and velvets? >> it's take an couple of days in making the shift and replacing guests who had been staying there, booking them at other luxury holtels. there are red carpets everywhere, including the downstairs private garage. if he comes in underneath, never has to set foot on the asphalt. >> the four seasons is able to adom date this in. >> they're a popular destination for royals mainly because they

have six presidential suites each on a different floor. if you're from warring countri s countries, you can stay with your etourage on one floor and never have to see the other guy. also the windows are bullet proof glass. the trump hotel is going to have bullet proof glass as well but for right now, dignitaries feel safe there. >> you don't know how many people he's traveling with? >> from looking at the cars alone, there are hundreds of vehicles. it could be several hundred people with the king. >> we will know a little bit later what the king and the president talk about today, because they're just about to sit down. we thank you, kate. >> avoid georgetown, though. >> i can imagine. that long line of cars in the motorcade. >> thank you for coming. >> thank you. >> and right now on news 4 midday, mother nature meets alcohol and the whole thing is caught on camera. we'll show you the video in 60 seconds.

>> we're following the stories you are clicking on this morning. what co-ydo you get with f you lightning, water, went and bourbon. fire nay doe. this happened a few years ago. a lake near a jim beam facility caught fire after lightning struck the white house and caused this. according to the weather channel, the lightning strike caused about 800,000 gallons of bourbon to flow to the lake. apparently the conditions to cause this are rare and don't require bourbon. >> are you looking for sum tore explore this holiday weekend in travel and leisure releasing the friendliest city. ireland has the friendliest city. number two is charleston, south

carolina. savannah, georgia is the only other one to make the top ten list in the u.s. style is important. a prosurfer took style to the limit wearing a black dress and heels.

there's something you don't see every day, a series of dust devils rolled through the annual burning man festival. more of them could crop up at the art and music des value. how about that? >> i like it. greatvideo. had to do a little video buzz burning man isn't all that viewer friendly. the last of the hot days for us

for now. the weather is coming back on tuesday. rain developing over the next couple of hours and a shower-filled evening across the region. temperatures going to continue to climb into the upper 80s to around 90 degrees before the rain showers move in. then temperatures dropping back down into the 70s by 10:00 tonight. a lot of people, myself included, driving over the bridge and down to the beaches for the weekend. ocean city, plenty of clouds around tomorrow, the weather getting better with each passing day at the beach. that's the way you expect it to be. >> thank you, chuck. pope francis will be in the u.s. in less than three weeks. you may have a shot to snag tickets to see him. they're set aside an additional 10,000 tickets for each of the events. he arrives in d.c. on september 22nd before traveling to new york and philadelphia. when the pope arrives in the just, he'll be sporting a new

pair of glasses. thousands gathered as the pope was fitted for his new specks. he spent an hour inside the shop and insisted on paying for the glasses himself. you can spend more time enjoying the boardwalk in ocean city this year. the boardwalk tram is extending the season. usually labor day signals the end of the tram rides. however, this year the trams will run for an extra week. they will end on september 13th. right now on news 4 midday, for years many of you called it the most dangerous intersections in the nation's capital. >> plus we're staying on top of our breaking news, a shooting in loudoun county leaves schools in loudoun county leaves schools in lock

what did iran's supreme leader get in the nuclear deal? to start with, $100 billion. they keep their nuclear facilities and ballistic missiles. there won't be surprise anytime-anywhere inspections. and after ten years, restrictions are lifted and iran could build a nuclear weapon in two months. congress should reject a bad deal. we need a better deal.

>> we want to take you wback to breaking news. a shooting in sterling affecting a hand full of schools this morning. julie kerry just arrived. what's happening out there? >> well, the townhouse complex is just off sterling boulevard. you can see a lot of departments and investigators on a scene. the teenager taken to the hospital with gunshot wound and departments are looking for two to three possible suspects. the call came at about 8:26 this

morning for multiple gunshots when authorities arrived, they found one male teenager with gunshot wounds. witnesses told them that they saw two to three other suspects flee the area on foot. now virginia state police are on the scene to help with the investigation. but the sheriff says with the suspects still at large, residents need to be on alert. >> people in this area need to be concerned right now? >> i would say so. i would say it's important that they know this happened. that they, as well, help us in looking for any possible suspects, report any activity that they think might be related to this, and actually help with being our eyes and ears out there. >> as the search for suspects continues, several schools in the area are on lockout, and at least one park view high school, on lock down as a precaution. reporting live, julie kerry.

>> following a developing story overseas at the live desk, another lifeline for the migrants risking it all to leave syria. ireland announced it's takinin 1800 ref knew gees. this games after britain gave the nod to 4,000 more this morning, and it's a small dent in this worsening humanitarian crisis. we're now hearing frustrated migrants waiting at the main strain station in hung gair to raid to germany are giving up hope and walking the rest of the way. that's about a 300-mile trek on foot. and people who packed the one train that did leave the station but stopped near budapest refused to get off and register at camps set up there. that is latest. back to you. >> new today, serious talk about major changes to one of d.c.'s most dangerous intersections. >> city and traffic leaders visited that intersection today. we're talking about n street.

they wanted to see some of the problems first-hand. derek ward was there and joins us live with what they saw. derek? >> reporter: well, as dangerous intersections in the city go, this is number seven. it's not a lucky number for folks who have to walk across here or drive or bike across here. but some changes are in place and more help is on the way. as we hear from city officials, it's a step by step process. it gets busy early. pedestrians and drivers who traverse these roads rely on courtesy and common sense to do it safely. there are planned improvements but you can only too so much to address the problems on a 19th century layout. a councilmember says it's not easy but not impossible. >> we have to commit to doing it. >> reporter: part of fixing the problem is identifying it. it's one of the ten most dangerous intersections in the

city. >> sideswipes are typical of a high volume intersection. >> people just walk across when it's a red light all the time. >> last time we were here, someone got hit by a car. >> reporter: years back, a volunteer officer was killed while trying to police the corner. more help is on the way but not necessarily what people want, like red light cameras. >> people respect red light cameras. they stop for them. >> reporter: even encouraging pedestrian traffic to point south are suggestions but the last big project was a decade ago and planners and residents and the statistics say it's time for another. now, since we've been standing here, there's been one psych toll allow pedestrians to walk across the street. that's one of the things they're going to address. another challenge, while rush hour is maybe three to five or six or seven, for the rest of the city, the folks here with

the georgetown say rush hour is saturday between 1:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon. live in georgetown, derek ward, news 4. >> your first 4 traffic for the labor day weekend. red line trains every 10 to 20 minutes on metro. orange and silver line, blue line as well, those trains running every 26 minutes this week. we're talking about this different schedule for the weekend from 10:00 friday night until monday to the end of monday. yellow and green line trains will not be affected this weekend, but on monday trains operating on a sunday schedule. hope you have a great holiday weekend. >> a check of the radar. sun shine coming down in northwest washington, but the first of the rain showers bubbling up south of luray.

here's madison. these are right along the crest of the blue ridge mountains. south and west with brief periods of rain. more of that developing over the next hour to two. as a result, u should have your umbrella handy. 50% chance of showers today. clearing out tomorrow and back into the sun shine for your sunday. back to you. >> i hope you got some win dex for that weather wall. somebody is going to have to clean that. >> it's coming off beautifully. >> a 20-year-old who police say tweeted that he would purge all the white people in the maryland is getting ready to face a judge. he's in court for a bond hearing today. the account that posted the message looked to have been deleted. police say some people didn't go out shopping at the threat spread online. >> hitting if water is a labor day tradition for a lot of you,

but we'll tell you why this may be the last year to set after from one place in town.

around 60 boat owners will need to find new docks. they say it would cost too much to try to modernize the buzz saturday point marina. the park will stay open for now. boater owners have until the end of the year to move. >> right now the international space station has the most number of people on it in two years. three new crew members arrived this morning. that brings the total on board to nine. the space station won't stay packed long. they are set to return to earth with three crew members in a week. scott kelly will remain on board. he's been tweeting out phenomenal images of the earth

the entire time he's been up there. at least 44,000 people have tried out apple music. it combines your music with live streaming. it costs $10 a month. many people are getting it for free until the end of the month. the question now is how many people will keep using apple music after the free trial in. >> it may not be black friday but there's a shopping blitz this weeken

>> disney says may the force be with you. it's unveiling new "star wars" stories. it's calling it force friday. >> now, your storm team 4 forecast. >> this time around, sneeze

free. we hope. outside, thunderstorms are helping here along the crest of the blue ridge. there's rout 33 all toward the atten area. this is area of the shenandoah area. here's metro area. the showers and thundershowers will develop over the high country over the next bit and eventually i think there will be plenty of showers to fill in the gaps around the metro area. temperatures are in the mid to upper 80s across the region. the forecast for the next couple of days, temperatures around the 90s. tomorrow, clouds, maybe a little sprinkle early tomorrow morning, particularly near the blue ridge. saturday afternoon, saturday night, sunday and monday, dry. >> all right, chuck. if you have tickets to the game tomorrow afternoon, you might note a big first. the university of maryland is starting a one-year pilot program that allows beer sales at the stadium. anyone who looks like they're under the age of 40, will be asked for i.d. and you can only buy one at a

time. if everything goes well, fans could see wine sales down the road. back in the district, the second alley pa loo za is underway. they kicked off the effort in the last hour. the campaign focuses on making repairs to 64 alleys throughout the district. the work will last through november 6th. it's finally here. labor day weekend is upon us. >> we will hear some of the best ways to avoid the

just in, we now know the him of the hit and run victim killed in alexandria. she was 60-year-old deborah bow guard. a commercial truck hitter a hen kept going. this happened at braddock road and commonwealth avenue thursday morning. police eventually found that truck on allentown road in prince george's county, but so far in charges filed against the driver. right now on news 4 midday, we're working for you as many of you get ready to hit the road for labor day weekend. a live look at the traffic over the chesapeake bay bridge. thousands and thousands of drivers are going to hit the roads with friends and family.

so we're working for you to make your holiday travel safe and sensible. today you can find out where the safest places to hit tfill up a. according to triplel a, right now the average price in the district is around $2.68 a gallon. in virginia, $2 a gallon, and $2.50 a gallon in west virginia. >> a little advice for this labor day weekend and all the travel. lots of you will be doing. leave at off peak times. a good reminder. friday before 10:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. saturday before 7:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m. sunday and monday before 10:00 a.m. and after 15 p.m. are the times to leave then. here is a littled advice here. something you don't always think of when you're headed out of

time. if you plan on taking 95 to virginia, you can take route 1 or 301 south and connect to 95. might be a little easier and a lot less volume for you. if you're taking 95 in maryland, remember bw markwparkway. and 270, if you're not going very far, you can always hop on 355 to make the commute a little less painful. have a great holiday weekend and safe travels. and give ourself extra time if you're flying this weekend. more than 62,000 washington area residents are expected to fly. lines at the airports are likely going to be long, as tighter security measures have been put in place. it's after a report earlier this year revealing hundreds of security breeches at airports. triple a says get there early and be patient. what everybody wants to know. what about the weather?

chuck is here with an update. we'll be facing a area chance for today but the weekend, college football season. great local games. richard at the university of maryland. kick off at 3:30 tomorrow. temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s. no chance for rain in college park tomorrow. west virginia, mount nears playing. saturday night, kick off temperatures in the low 80s. game temperatures in the low 70s. and penn state on the road in philadelphia playing the temple owls. dropping into the upper 70s by the end of the game and the most important game of the weekend, the akron zips taking on the sooners. nearby 90 degrees. back into the low 80s by the end of the weekend. >> thank you. right now the marine corps launching an investigation into a helicopter crash that killed a virginia native.

jonathan lewis was part on an anti-terrorism security team and was taking part in a course when the chopper went down. 11 other marines were injured in the crash and two are still in the hospital. republican party leaders are breathing a sigh of relief now that donald trump has promised party loyalty. tracie potts as a look at trump's pledge and hillary clinton's new troubles. >> i have signed the pledge. >> reporter: donald trump is doing exactly what the republican wanted, promising not to run as a third party candidate. >> i will be pledging my allegiance to the conservative party. >> this guy is not a conservative. >> reporter: his favorite target these days, jeb bush flipped to third in the latest poll. ben carson is now a solid second

behind trump. fiorina is expected to debate the front runners this month is taking aim at hillary clinton. >> hillary clinton clearly does not understand accountability. the former chief of staff spent nine and a half hours answering lawmakers questions about bin gauze zi. >> he answered every single question. she was very thorough and transparent. >> the tragedy that happened in benghazi was about more than what's happening in this room. it's about the loss of individuals who were dear to the state department and deer to the country. >> reporter: the staffer who set up the private e-mail server took the fifth. today the committee hears from the former chief of staff and hillary clinton herself in an interview with andrea mitchel. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. a small town in the national spotlight because of an escaped

pet. plus how to take what some call the ultimate selfie.

>> here are just some of the stories you are clicking on this morning. an eight-foot cobra on the loose in florida. the king cobra escaped from a home. officials say the one bite, just one bite from the snake can be deadly. animal control officers are warning people not to approach the green and yellow snake. i would not. ♪ joel bergl does one amazing voice, or should i say 23 amazing voices. he has the incredible ability to impersonate any singer. it is amazing. you have to listen to him. you name the male singer and he can convince even the toughest of critics that he is the real

deal. he convinced me and i was watching him a minute ago. if you love to take a selfie, here is the ultimate selfie gadget. you stand on a gig ga selfie platform. you trigger it and create your masterpiece selfie, and it's e-mailed for you. for now you have to head to the gold coast. back to you. >> how do you do it? >> i didn't quite get that. it's through an app. thanks for listening. we'll be talking to you about that. an eye-opening look at what people think about the junger generation. >> and thousands of kids back in the classroom for a new year.

>> it turns out millennials don't have the best view of themselves. they asked adults between 18 and

34 what they thought of their generations. 59% said millennials are self-absorbed and waistful, and 39% said greedy. the baby boomers say they are hard working, responsible, and patriotic. >> it is almost that time in the first school bell will ring a little later this year in fairfax county. it's back to school september 8th. fairfax high schools will start at 8:10. middle schools start at 8:00 a.m. when your child heads out the door, they'll have newly trained crossing guards. they listened to parents who were worried about safety and brought in certified guards to control traffic flow, and remember that nbc four is your back to school station. watch our special coverage starting tuesday as thousands of local students head back to class until we'll cover

everything from what's new and to traffic impacts. and one quick little correction. i said the maryland game starts at 3:30. it starts at noon. don't go late. get there in the morning and do your tailgating and then go to the game. radar, thundershowers and showers developing over parts of shenandoah valley. not much around town. i expect more showers later this morning. headed down to the beaches this weekend, kind of cloudy skies around there for tomorrow. each day is better than the one before it. sunday better than saturday and monday, best of all with full sun shine. showers likely this afternoon. temperatures near 90. clearing out and drying out near saturday, sunday and monday and back in the nie90s for next wee. >> that is it for us. we appreciate you joining us. >> you can get news and weather updates any time all through the weekend with the nbc washington

app. have a great labor day weekend. we'

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ makes you feel real good. (applause) >> meredith: all right, everyone and welcome. nigel mastermind behin american idol is here with us and sharing his thoughts on american idol coming to an end and what went wrong when he put neki minaj and miriah carryy. >> and first time it is time to break do you know what