right now, police are stepping up patrols at a popular walking trail after two attempted attacks on women. what people who use the northern virginia trail should be on the lookout for. good morning, everybody, i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm erika gonzalez. strong aftershocks in italy today threaten to stop recovery work. the mayor of quake-devastated amatrice said crucial access roads could be blocked. we'll have an update from our live desk. and we've got plenty of sunshine out there right now. temperatures heating up. wait until you see how hot we're going to get today, but could we cool off for the weekend? details on that straight ahead.

police are keeping a close eye on a popular spot for joggers in loudoun county. two women have reported attempted assaults and now police have released a sketch of one of the men they're looking for. megan mcgrath is in leesburg with the warning. >> reporter: well, the trail in virginia is very popular with people who exercise. cyclists, joggers, walkers and the like. but there have been two attempted attacks here in the last week. now, the last victim yesterday, she was able to give a good description of the suspect so police were able to come up with this composite sketch. the victim was an off-duty sheriff's deputy taking her daily jog around 6:30 yesterday morning along the path in leesburg. a man approached her with a box cutter. she recognized the weapon and was able to turn around in time and run away. she was not hurt. i spoke to a cyclist who saw the police response. he said that itas

impressive. >> i saw a police car coming down the trail with its lights on, which is really unusual to see a car on the trail is unusual. he stopped, he described the person they're looking for. he asked if i saw anybody, i said no. went up a little farther and another cop car came down the trail. went up a little farther and there's a cop sitting there. came back down, there was -- go out to dry mill, come back down. when i'm coming down dry mill, there is another cop waiting and then when i come into town, there is cops at every intersection. the response was amazing. >> reporter: and it was another cyclist that disrupted another attack that happened last week along the trail. that was in sterling. two men came out of the woods and grabbed at a woman who was walking along the path. they grabbed at her clothing. they were startled and ran away when a cyclist came through the area. now, police do not believe that these two incidents are related. they are looking for a total of three suspec

the wond trail to be very careful, use the path in groups if possible and they have also increased patrols in the area. megan mcgrath, news4. will you please join us in this moment of silence as we remember the lives of adam and allison. >> at around 6:45 this morning, roanoke tv station wdbj paused to honor alison parker and aaron ward. a year ago the reporter and photographer were gunned down during a live interview while co-workers and viewers watched in horror. a former cowork killed them and later turned the gun on themself. the person they were interviewing was seriously injured but survived. three minutes after the hour now. get ready for a long, hot stretch of weather. temperatures right now are in the 80s if you're lucky. 90s for some

storm team 4 meteorologist lauryn ricketts is here. that heat index isn't helping things either. >> not at all. we've got the temperature moving on up, as you said. you're lucky if you're in the 80s. we're not finding a lot of 80s, and it's just a little bit after 11:00. what is going on. well, summer is not done with us yet. 90 in manassas, 91 in dulles. 80s out in the shenandoah valley and frederick county, maryland. you factor in that humidity. you know it's hot out there. once you step outside, that humidity hits you like a ton of bricks and this is the number we get. once we get that temperature and really the humidity, this is the feel-like factor. my goodness, already up to 98 here in d.c. that just updated. you can see it feels like mid-90s across the region. we're headed into the mid to upper 90s so that heat index going up into the triple digits. could it relax as we get into the weekend and do we have any rain chances? we've got that forecast coming up in ju

here at the live desk we're following the latest developments in italy where the death toll from that deadly earthquake has now risen to 267 people. right now crews are searching for survivors, but between the aftershocks and the intense heat, that effort is even more difficult than they imagined. those aftershocks have also damaged two crucial roads, and that could cut off the town of amatrice. that is one of the towns devastated in that quake. today was the funeral for one of the victims. italy is planning a state funeral for all of the victims of the earthquake tomorrow. right now police are looking for a man who groped a student at georgetown university. the young woman said she was walking to her residence hall wednesday night when a man came up from behind and grabbed her back side. police want to remind students to walk in groups or use

georgetown's shuttle program. today is sentencing day for a man responsible for torturing a couple inside their home. he was found guilty of holding them captive for hours back in 2013. fisher had recently hired the man's wife from his law firm. the jury recommended two liechl terms plus 98 years. the judge will accept or decrease that sentence this afternoon. his wife goes on trial in september. metro riders will have to make alternate plans this weekend. there is no rail service between franconia on saturday and sunday. during the week trains will single track between the two stations. the work runs the first couple of weeks of september. a water main break has closed a prince george's county school for the day. this is video from chopper 4 that spotted workers out there trying to repair that break.

is expected to take. new calls for members of the prince george's county board of education to step down. this all comes after the district's headstart program lost millions in federal funding, which came after major allegations of abuse. news4's meagan fitzgerald is live outside overlook elementary in suitland to break down this story. >> reporter: yeah, aaron, the mother of a 4-year-old who used to go to this school said her son managed to wander away from the playground about a mile away before he was found. the mother reported it to school officials but nothing was done about it so a lot of parents attended last night's school board meeting where they sounded off, calling the actions of some board members reckless. heading back to school is supposed to be an exciting time of the year. >> she loves it. she looks forward to it. >> reporter: and so do a lot of kids. but for many prince george's county parents, that's not entirely the case.

have a baby here. >> reporter: the concern is around the safety of students, after some school board officials were accused of not reporting alleged cases of child abuse in the county's federally funded headstart program. >> he went through the woods and probably got about a good eighth of a mile maybe away from the school. >> reporter: this woman says her 4-year-old son wandered away from overlook elementary school and down branch avenue, but said nothing was done about the situation. but her story isn't unique. >> you broke the law. >> reporter: so parents didn't mince words when they addressed school board members on thursday night. >> that the chair and the vice chair resign. >> reporter: many calling their actions criminal, after the federal government pulled a nearly $6.5 million grant for the county's headstart program. officials say part of the reason is because alleged incidents were never reported to their agency. a lot of parents worry about the safety of their

changes. i don't know, it's scary. >> reporter: while hoping changes come after the tone of last night's board meeting. now, county officials say they will continue to fund the headstart program, despite losing federal funding, but at this point they have not said where those dollars will come from. back to you. >> thanks, meagan. montgomery county students also head back to class on monday and there's a big effort under way to keep them safe on school buses. cameras are being installed that will record drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus. that is a $125 fine if you are caught. it is nearly $600 and three points on your license if you are caught by a police officer. all 1200 buses in the county will have the cameras within three years. new this morning, a decision on a case we told you about at this time yesterday. france's highest court overturned a ban on burkinis in a

precedent there. a burkini is a full-body bathing suit with a muslim hijab. critics call it anti-muslim and discriminatory. the french authorities said it was a symbol of the enslavement of women. more ugly accusations on the campaign trail. what tim kaine had to say about donald trump's immigration plans. plus a major security breach at a nebraska airport. how a man wearing just boxer shorts was able to crash a pickup truck into a plane. and the world health organization has an update on zika cas during the olympicses

police say he jumped a fence, hopped into a running pickup truck and then drove into a plane. i want to show you some dramatic pictures coming in from the international airport in omaha, nebraska. the airport authority says the man was screaming that people were trying to kill him last night. officers chased him into a parking garage and that's when he jumped that security fence, stripped down to his boxers. they caught him after he crashed that truck. southwest airlines says a few crew members and one customer were hurt, but not seriously. the man was taken to the hospital and will face charges. an off-duty maryland state trooper being credited with saving a woman from this burning house. it exploded, then got fire yesterday in rural western maryland. the trooper lives in the neighborhood and rushed to help the woman

to get the flames under control. investigators have not said why the house blew up. it was your generosity that will now help the families who lost everything in the silver spring apartment explosion. the montgomery housing partnership will distribute more than $400,000 that was donated. all of the money will go to help the people whose lives were uprooted by the natural gas explosion at the flower branch apartments. in all, seven people died and more than 30 were injured in the blast and fire. happening today, vice president joe biden will help federal officials announce new funding to improve infrastructure along amtrak's busy northeast corridor. biden will make a scheduled stop at an amtrak station in wilmington, delaware, to make that announcement. last week the federal railroad administration awarded $25 million for 11 projects. that includes $2.6 million for the northeast corridor. the money will help implement positive train control and advanced technology aimed at preventing train collisions and derailments.

>> i don't buy it because -- [ speaking spanish ] >> that is democratic vice presidential candidate and virginia senator tim kaine using his appearance last night on late night tv to ridicule opponent donald trump. kaine spoke about his running ma mate, hillary clinton's health. trump claimed hillary clinton is a bigot and you heard his response in spanish. the war of words on the campaign trail seems to be heating up. tracie potts has the latest in decision 2016 from capitol hill. >> they're out, they're out. >> reporter: donald trump on cnn overnight softening his immigration policy, promising to deport drug dealers first and work with law-abiding undocumented immigrants. but it's what he said about mexicans, muslims, women and

clinton tying trump to hate groups. >> these are racist ideas, race-baiting ideas, anti-muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-women, all key tenets making up the ideology known as the alt-right. >> reporter: trump's response. >> when democratic policies fail, they are left with only this one tired argument. you're racist, you're racist, you're racist. >> reporter: clinton dogged by more e-mails and official meetings with donors to her foundation. >> hillary clinton's actions constitute all of the elements of a major criminal enterprise. you know it, the government knows it, and she knows it. >> reporter: clinton's arguing trump's strategy and his team have changed, but his ideas haven't. >> we know who trump is. a few words on a teleprompter won't change that. >> reporter: neither campaign has public events today. donald trump has some p

tracie potts, nbc news, washington. president obama is paying a visit to wounded veterans at walter reed medical center today. he'll also be celebrating the centennial of the national park service by creating the world's largest protected marine area. the white house says he will expand a national monument off the coast of his home state of hawaii. so the marine national monument will be quadrupled in size to more than twice the size of texas. more than 7,000 species who live there will be protected. commercial fishing and mining aren't allowed in national parks. this weekend you can get a preview of the new smithsonian national museum of african-american history and culture. we are already starting to see the unique history starting to take shape. it's not open to the public until september 24th, but news4's barbara harrison has your all access pass. tune in

exhibits, sunday morning at 11:0030 right here on nbc4. ryan lochte has a major choice to make. he's been summoned to brazil to face charges for the scandal during the olympics. lochte said he and fellow teammates from usa swimming were robbed at gunpoint at a gas station. he later admitted that story was not true. brazilian police charged him with filing a false robbery report. they also asked american authorities to cooperate with the case. lochte can choose not to appear before a brazilian judge, but the case will proceed without him. there is some good news about the zika virus. the world health organization says that so far there are no confirmed cases of the illness from the olympics. that includes spectators, athletes and anyone associated with the games. the virus has a one-week incubation period, so officials say a few cases could still pop up. the fight against zika is heading on its way to capitol hill. as soon as congress returns from its summer recess, florida governor rick scott says he will

fight the virus. more than 600 zika cases have been reported in florida. 43 were contracted locally. the rest were travel-related. if you watched the nationals last night, you know max scherzer pitched a great game, but it was his fielding ability that you'll want to stick around to see. and you want to stick around to hear from lauryn ricketts. she is looking ahead to the weekend and will let usknow if my son has meningitis b. but how did we end up here? his mom thought he had the flu and that he was covered by the meningococcal meningitis vaccine he had received. until 2014 there were no vaccines for meningitis b in the u.s. now there are.

lead to death within 24 hours. trumenba is a vaccine for 10 through 25 year olds to help prevent group b meningococcal disease. trumenba should not be given if you had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose. most common side effects were injection-site pain, fatigue... headache, muscle pain, and chills. ask your doctor or pharmacist about all the risks and benefits of trumenba and tell them if you've received any other meningitis b vaccines. meningitis b can be spread by typical sharing like... a drink... a spoon... a kiss. it all started here... it might have been prevented with trumenba. ask your doctor or pharmacist about trumenba.

now it's our labor day sale. where you can create the perfect home. from now until september 5th, you'll find huge savings on stylish pieces. get free delivery, plus an extra hundred-dollars off every thousand-dollars you spend. with havertys, your home can be perfect, even when life isn't. mom? have you see my iguana? the labor day sale is on now, at havertys. life looks good.

only about 20 minutes to go before a giant piece of space equipment will splash down in the pacific ocean. a cargo spacecraft detached from the international space station this morning. spacex says it has 3,000 pounds of nasa science onboard. when that spacecraft launched, it was carrying 5,000 pounds of supplies to the international space station, including a new so-called parking space where crafts can dock in the future. the regular season is just a few weeks away and the redskins are getting another tune-up tonight. they are playing the buffalo bills in their third preseason game. yesterday the team held a special practice right here in our area. carol maloney caught up with the team at joint base andrews. >> reporter: the redskins reaching out, right in the middle of joint base andrews. a moment for the military. a salute to their fans in uniform. >> we're honored to be here with them. them putting their lives on t

out and protect our country, man, i'm thankful just to be in their presence. >> any chance we can to do anything like this and let them check us out, we can get some autographs and meet them. everybody thinks they want to meet us, it's the other way around, we want to meet them and thank them for all the service they give us. >> reporter: all ages drinking it in, amid the clicks of camera and the buzz of the base, the sounds of football, the delight of the crowd in camo. >> what's your strategy to get them to come over here? are you going to order them, master sergeant? >> they're quite bigger than i am, so i don't think so. but i think this sergeant has a few elbows -- >> i'll bully my way in there. >> reporter: no bullying needed, just a special request. >> if you could, whose jersey would you have to be wearing? >> i'd have to go with breeland, he's

>> for them to feel a certain type of way is good, i enjoy it. >> reporter: you just gave sergeant julian a moment she'll never forget. >> she gave me a moment i'll never forget either. >> thank you. >> tonight's preseason game is in new york, but you can watch it right here on nbc4 followed by postgame coverage right after the game. the last preseason game is at fedex field and that will be next week. >> it's going to be a big day for football fans who want to see the redskins play and it's a big day. >> here for storm team 4 meteorologist lauryn ricketts. happy birthday! >> thank you! >> lauryn is like where is this going. >> is it a big day for everybody because it's so hot outside? >> happy day, girlfriend. >> i was having trouble

>> there's no creeping in for me. >> you were the one that came in saying you were a year older today. >> it was so funny. i was trying to give myself a little bit of cool weather today, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. in fact this heat will continue all the way through the weekend and all the way through early next week. you know, we've got 90s actually continuing. i think upper 80s friday, saturday and sunday of next week, so a week away. oh, man. so got to get used to this heat. get used to the beautiful view because we're going to have plenty of sunshine. look at our live city camera, a gorgeous view out there. we have a heat index already at 100 degrees right now so you know it's going to be hot this afternoon. now, this evening, muggy, but we're going to remain dry. we were just talking about the skins, we've got the nats playing. it's just going to be a humidity evening out there but no rain chances. so hot and humid as we continue through the weekend, although i do believe today will be the hottest day. tomorrow not quite as humid and sunday not quite as

0s oer here in the shenandoah valley and loudoun county. factor in the humidity and this is the number you get, already in the upper 90s in some spots. we're headed to the mid to upper 90s today, so you know with that humidity factored in, that heat index will continue to move on up so let's time it out for you. by 3:00, when the kids get off the bus stop, feeling like 104 degrees. 11:00 tonight it's going to feel like 90 so, yeah, it is going to be a little warm. we've got nothing to show you on the radar. even if you're traveling, a little stuff off to the midwest but that's about it. i want to show you what's going on with the bills tonight. temperatures will be dropping through the 80s eventually, we'll end up in the 80s and 70s overnight and back in the 90s tomorrow. we'll let you know how hot it's going to get for the weekend in just a few minutes. guys. >> thanks, lauryn. for all you baseball lovers, you have to watch this. perfect timing considering it's max scherzer's bobblehead night tonight. the

legs grab. >> it's just amazing. he's got eyes in the back of his head. >> he made it look pretty easy. scherzer basically dominated the whole game and the nats won for the first time this week. >> awesome. very cool. the fda just out with new recommendations to keep the blood supply safe from the zika virus. what the information means for blood donations. and a murder case leaving a whole community grieving. women known for their faith and their extreme dedication to helping the poor murdered in their home. what poli ce

i'm chris lawrence back at the live desk where we just learned the federal government wants all blood banks in the u.s. to start screening for the zika virus. the food and drug administration issued the new guidance just this morning. the areas with active zika transmission like puerto rico and south florida have already been screening but this expands that order to every blood bank in the country. the fda admits there's a lot they don't know about how zika is passed on and they want to ensure the blood supply is safe. we know zika is mostly transmitted by our particular mosquito but can also spread through sexual contact and it's been proven to cause serious birth defects in babies. >> all right, thank you so much. there is now a

two catholic nuns. the nuns were found dead inside their mississippi home yesterday. janet shamlian shows us how it is shocking the small town where they lived. >> reporter: this morning a community in shock at the deaths of two nuns described as the kindest people on earth. nurse practitioner sister paula merril and sister margaret held. police found them brutally murdered after a supervisor at their clinic about 20 miles away reported the pair didn't show up for work. >> it is extremely odd for a small town. >> reporter: the local archdiocese telling nbc news there were signs of a break-in and their blue toyota corolla was missing. the car was found abandoned late last night less that a mile from their home. father plotta knew the sisters well. >> they came here to outreach to the poor.

i'm sure their faith is what caught them through this tragedy and it's going to get us through our tragedy of mourning them. >> reporter: according to the sisters of charity of nazareth website, sister margaret was focused on eliminating racism and poverty in the region. >> this is one of the poorest counties in all of mississippi. >> we make a difference in people's lives and never know what that difference is. >> reporter: sister paula, friends say, has been helping mississippi's less fortunate for more than 30 years. >> we just see patients and do what needs to be done. >> reporter: two women driven to help others, victims in their own home. >> that was janet shamlian reporting. the nuns' car was found a short distance from their home. police believe that means the killer could be local. police are offering a bigger reward to find the person who killed a 7-eleven clerk. he was shot to death saturday morning in clinton. police say the suspect intended to rob the 7-eleven but killed

information that leads to the suspect's indictment. police have a new clue in a deadly hit-and-run. police say the driver of this dark sedan hit a man friday about 2:40 in the morning. the car may have a yellow rear license plate. call d.c. police if you recognize it. police need your help to track down a jewelry thief. there have been seven burglaries in less than two months in silver spring and all of them have happened within five blocks of one another near university boulevard and piney branch road. homeowners have lost rings, diamonds, family heirlooms and plenty of sleep. >> i was angry the moment i walked in and i looked and i could see things awry in different places. >> detectives have collected evidence and are working some leads. they are warning homeowners to keep their windows and their doors locked. montgomery county police are also tryin

credit card thief. detectives say 31-year-old dwayne keymist has been stealing credit cards in cars. this surveillance video was taken at a gaithersburg target after he allegedly used a stolen card. the epipen price hike controversy is far from over. kristen welker has more on what's next for that life-saving drug. >> reporter: with the firestorm middle this morning over mylan pharmaceuticals and the price of its life-saving epipen, ceo heather bresch answering tough questions on cnbc. >> no one is more frustrated than me. >> reporter: the price of the product skyrocketing over the past ten years from $90 to more than $600. she is blaming what she calls a broken health care system. >> the patient is paying twice. they're paying full retail price at the counter and they're paying higher premium on their

company lobbied to make them widespread on planes and in schools across the country, she's now on defense about her own compensation jumping from $2.4 million she made eight years ago. >> you're making $18 million a year. you understand how that looks. >> brian, look, i understand better than anyone that facts are inconvenient to headlines. >> reporter: with calls mounting for a congressional investigation, the controversy is putting her father, west virginia senator joe manchin, in an awkward position. on thursday, manch in saying ina statement i look forward to working with my colleagues to lower the price of prescription drugs. others accused the company of price gouging. >> i think one of the reasons mylan had the guts to move this price up so rapidly is because they do have a monopoly. >> reporter: now a big name in hollywood is weighing in. >> we learned about my son's peanut allergy when he was very, very young. >> reporter: sarah jessica parker, whose son needed the product for his peanut allergy,

thursday the actress cut ties, lashing out on instagram. i'm left disappointed, saddened and deeply concerned by mylan's actions. it's just the latest drug company to come under fire for high drug costs. seven months ago, mar stin shkreli testified before congress after his company hiked up a drug 5,000%. >> last year with martin shkreli and now the epipen focus it's really snow bald. every drug maker wants to avoid being in that position. we have an update on problems you may have noticed with washington gas's redesigned website. plus lawsuits in response to smoothies linked to hepatitis a. we've got an update o

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developing now, you don't have to look too far to see the damage an

kokomo roofs are torn and in many cases walls are gone. despite the damage, nobody died in wednesday's storm, only minor injuries were reported. it's just really incredible, if you look at just the amount of buildings that were absolutely toppled as if they were a deck of cards, lauryn. >> i was reading an interview with the starbucks, you see the starbucks that had flattened and one of the people, patrons there said something so permanent and now gone in a matter of minutes. craziness. we haven't seen anything like that here, thank goodness, all spring, all summer and we do want have any rain in the forecast pretty much all day and all through next week. now maybe wednesday and thursday we might have some chances of rain. so make sure you're watering those plants and watering that lawn. temperatures are going to be warm today, mid and upper 90s for daytime highs. again, hot and humid. that heat index is going to be n

as we continue through the remainder of the day, we've got a little bit of a breeze, so that's helping to relieve things a little bit coming out of the northwest, so it's not that stifling really hot, muggy breeze, considering the direction it's coming from, but we have no rain anywhere around the region. if you're getting out of town, one of the best days to do it. we're headed into the mid to upper 90s, some areas in the shenandoah valley in the upper 80s. it's already feeling like 98 here in washington. so it is going to be a little warm. by this afternoon, 3:00, it's going to feel like 104 degrees. now, this is under criteria for any heat advisories so take it easy if you're headed outside. tomorrow and sunday not going to be quite as warm, but we'll still have a little bit of that humidity. but i do believe that heat index will stay below 100 degrees. beautiful, though, for the weekend. just a little on the hot side. then as we continue through

across the board. as i said, today is probably going to be the hottest. hazy, hot and humid and so the heat index to 100, possibly 110 in some spots. low 90s tomorrow with plenty of sunshine as well as sunday and monday. again, our next chance of rain doesn't look to be until tuesday afternoon. temperatures on tuesday will still be in the 90s, but even better chances come wednesday and thursday. next weekend, labor day weekend, sunshine. >> thank you, lauryn. a maryland olympian has another souvenir this morning, not quite the gold medal, but it's pretty cool. the nationals -- go for it. >> we're both just so excited about this story. the nationals honored rockville's helen maroulis last night. the nats gave

she also got a chance to meet petty, the racing president. >> she picked him up. very strong that wrestler. >> yes, she is. probably the way teddy could win. >> she carried him around the field. we'll tell you how to avoid food waste. it starts with knowing how to read a food label. plus the security of your iphone, it may be at risk. the steps y

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welcome back. researchers at ohio state university say food waste is a serious problem in this country. the study they released reveals that americans waste about 80 billion pounds of food every year. some of the problems may be with people not understanding food labels. here to help us out with that is joy debow, a ph.d. and registered dietitian. thanks for coming in today. >> thanks for having me. >> why do you think there is so much food waste? >> first off, i think there's a lot of confusion from shoppers what's the appropriate means to follow, use by, sell by, best by. 30% of the food produced in this country is wasted. it's actually the number one source of waste in our landfills. >> you mention those things. let's run through what those things mean to help people understand. use by, you see that on the packaging of whatever food you're buying. what does that mean? >> basically what it means is f

date could be compromised in flavor or quality. so it starts to deteriorate. it's not necessarily a safety issue, it's more of a quality issue. >> and best by is? >> the same thing. you think best. okay, quality of the food again, so they're very interchangeable those two terms. >> and sometimes you see sell by. >> and that's more for the retailer. so when they're swapping out their shelves and putting things back in, first in, first out, that's more for them to understand where they need to place the product on the shelves. >> can they still sell it after that sell by date? >> unfortunately they can. that's why i would encourage everybody to make sure that before you purchase it, look at the label and say what does it specifically say. >> but why all these different labelings? why not just say best by is what people need to put on their labels? >> absolutely, it would clear up a lot of confusion and also drive down food waste. that's actually been proposed with the food labeling act in may that coss

take back up later this fall. >> i always wonder about things like -- i'm a single guy. there's food that lives in my apartment for a very long time. i always figure as long as there's nothing growing on it, i can still eat it. is there an eat by after you've prepared food or have pizza? >> you've got to use common sense. clearly keep things refrigerated that need to be refrigerated or in the freezer. make sure the temperatures are proper for what that product is. look at it, smell it. you may even have to taste it. it's going to tend to be more of a quality issue than a safety issue. but if you see something that doesn't look good like from a slime perspective and doesn't smell right, when in doubt, play it safe. >> let's say you freeze something before you get to that use by or sell by date, how long can you keep something in the freezer before it's no longer okay to use it? >> again, it's more of a quality issue. what freezers do is reduce the moisture and so the product is going

microbes or anything that could make us sick don't tend to grow. so you can tend to get that freezer burn after taste that goes on and it's more of a quality that you may just have to chip out. there's no rule of thumb, just monitor it. >> okay, thank you. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thanks, aaron. right now a smoothie chain linked to 28 cases of hepatitis a is facing at least two lawsuits. the infections are connected to tropical smoothie cafes across virginia, and they could be linked to frozen strawberries from egypt. the chain has removed them from all of its stores. one man who was infected is suing for $100,000. a class action lawsuit was also filed yesterday. nbc4 responds is hearing more complaints from washington gas customers after months of ongoing problems with its online billing system. the utility's senior vice president agreed to sit down with consumer reporter susan hogan to answer questions about what went wrong and whether the problemsav

>> the simple answer from washington gas is, yes, the i.t. issues have now been resolved, but that doesn't mean the complaints have stopped. in december, washington gas launched changes to its website to make it more user friendly. but unfortunately, a slew of technical issues with the website created a firestorm for its 1.1 million customers. >> right now i just can't say i have enough confidence in their service to continue their e-service. >> reporter: shortly after the utility's program launched, the complaints to nbc4 responds started rolling in. this one in february. >> just three days ago i got a notice from washington gas saying that my service was going to be discontinued. >> this one three months later. >> i wouldn't think it was delinquent. they have never sent me a bill. >> and then this one. >> i went to turn on my stove and i have no power, no gas coming through. >> each story we ai

i.t. problems were fixed and credited any discrepancies in the customers' bills. but we continued to hear from customers who either weren't getting bills or getting bills for hundreds of dollars more than they expected and some who even received cut-off notices. >> on behalf of washington gas, i would like to apologize to the customers who have been impacted. >> reporter: a senior vice president for washington gas tells news4 although the technical glitches have been resolved, residual effects continue for many customers. >> subsequently, a smaller group of customers were impacted by issues with our electronic notification process as well as the automated payment process. >> reporter: customers who use online bill pay weren't getting their automatic reminder to pay their bills, therefore, many didn't. others who set a monetary limit on their accounts weren't getting notices their bills exceeded that amount.

caught up, late fees with large bills and sometimes even those cut-off notices were automatically sent out. >> so is it safe to say that all of those i.t. software issues are over? >> we believe that we have addressed the system issues. what remains are the account-specific issues, and we know that some of those will continue over a period of time. >> reporter: washington gas encourages customers to monitor their account and get in touch with them if you see any irregularities. washington gas said it has waived all late fees for its customers associated with the computer glitch and has also been putting customers on payment plans when they get those large bills they didn't expect. we just got word the federal government is looking to impose a national speed limit and make it so certain vehicles could not exceed it. the national highway traffic safety administration has proposed putting an electron

other large vehicles to limit how fast they can go. they are considering a limit at 60 to 68 miles per hour in the hopes it will cut down on fatal crashes. i'm chris lawrence, now back to you. a big warning for iphone users. apple has issued a global security update after the discovery of powerful spyware. the spyware is rare, but it can take complete control of an iphone. apple says it has fixed the vulnerabilities in the mobile operating system. you need to download the ios 9.3.5 to make sure your phone is protected. we are celebrating national dog day. >> take a look at a puppy that is becoming famous thanks to a

it's a great day for an adventure. surprises are hiding around each corner. come chase thrills that lead in every direction. yet somehow bring us all back together. busch gardens williamsburg and water country usa. vacation packages start at $50 per person. a whole other world awaits.

so the survey says men with more hair appear more attractive and youthful to women. researchers found that balding men who opted for hair transplants also look more successful and approachable after the procedure. participants in the survey thought the men who had had hair transplants looked about four years younger in their after photos. this is a study -- >> do not bait me. >> i'm not. >> keep it moving. >> when the time comes, i will be on the hair plant list. >> you would? >> listen, i'm already thinning a little bit back here. i can't han

>> really? why? but you look good. >> as long as i keep my head tilted up. >> i didn't say anything. >> the regular season just a few weeks away and the redskins are getting another tune-up tonight at fedex field. >> they're playing the bills in their third preseason game. you can watch tonight's preseason game right here on nbc4 followed by postgame coverage right after the game ends. but how's the weather looking for the game tonight, lauryn? >> it's going to be hot. it's going to be hot out there. go, skins. temperatures are going to be dropping through the 80s, but it's going to be muggy so it's probably going to feel like 90 for much of the game. the good thing is we don't have any rain for tonight, but we don't have any rain for the weekend as well. the next chance of rain will be late on tuesday and just a small chance. then we have some rain and thunderstorms possible on win wednesday and thursday. watch the heat index today, up to 100 or 110 in some spots. we'll be dealing with the 90s

guys. it is national dog day. the day honors family dogs and dogs that work selflessly to save lives. you might have noticed charlie on the "today" show. the puppy is a new addition to the morning show team and has 16 months of training ahead of him. >> he's had such an awesome week. he's acclimating to the city and getting used with everything that's involved on being on tv and we're doing that by associating it with lots of snuggling and playing and treats and toys. the more comfortable he is, the better he's going to work in the future. >> look at that face. and the future for charlie is becoming a service dog for a veteran. >> and you like charlie? >> i do. i'm a fan of charlie. i thought wrangler was super cute. but i really like charlie. i really like charlie, yeah. all right. that's it for news4 midday. thanks for joining us. we're back on the air first at 4:00 this afternoon. >> of course you can get news and weather updates any time

we hope you have a great friday and a great weekend.

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