here are the top stories we're following for you on this saturday morning. family and friends preparing to say good bye to josh hardy. the 10-year-old boy died last month after years of battling his cancer. his morning at fredericksburg baptist church. a group is claiming responsibility for a massive the claim has not been verified. you have a chance to get rid of prescription drugs in your house. it's national prescription drug take back day. we have a list of drop off locations in our nbc washington app. news 4 today starts now. at 9:00 on this saturday, hope you're having a good one so far. >> so glad you could join us. >> you're choked up about it. >> i am.

now where we have a ton of people joining in about our halloween party. we want to talk about the weather today because it's windy. we sent tom outside to check on it. >> we've got the wind pretty gusty here whipping through the trees. we can hear it howling here. you can check the weather with dress like me. you'll need a windbreaker and sunglasses later as we get the sunshine breaking out of the metro area. already getting sun off to our west. put away the shorts. summer in october is gone. you won't need the umbrella today. there's the cloud cover passing over the area and the winds will continue to whip on through. the last of the rain pulling south and east of the metro area and moving away. a look at the cool pattern here

up this half hour. >> thank you very much. two metro train operators are not allowed to work after an incident thursday near reagan national airport. a speeding train forced federal track inspectors to jump out of the way of the train according to the fta. there were speed restrictions in place at the time there, but the fta says the train did not stop or slow down. there were repeated problems with train operators running red hitting other trains or track workers. the fta has temporary oversight of metro safety right now. its chief safety officer is investigating this latest incident. no a developing story, u.s. defense secretary is in iraq this morning assessing progress in mosul. the pentagon is naming the american service member who was called in iraq on thursday. u.s. naval chief petty officer

attack north of mosul. the california native was part of a team advising and assisting iraqi kurd advisors. he's the first u.s. service member to die in combat since the launch of an operation to retake the city of mosul earlier this week. this morning a father is facing child any glekt charges. the child's mother brought the girl to t the baby wasn't breathing. the hospital was doing reteen blood work in the child's system. a mother's demanding answers this morning after her son was shot by d.c. police. this happened more than a week ago in southeast. the 23-year-old man was shot multiple times.

incident but officers were not wearing cameras because most of the police were undercover. george's family does not believe he the a gun when he was shot. you can call it a hair raising moment in virginia. someone thought they saw a child trapped inside a car so they called police. officers rushed to shatter her window in an effort to save a child, but turner doesn't have

of blankets. turner is upset and she wants the police to pay for a new window, i i think she's going to get. a big show down on the football field at howard's homecoming. a lot of people have been waiting for this weekend. as news 4 reporter and howard alum meagan fitzgerald reports, it's one of the highlights at

howard has hosted some of the most recognizable names. but with a large crowd comes a large security presence as well. >> we try to have a secure environment. we have a pretty robust security plan that's set up for today's activities. >> reporter: the university president says the campus is always safe, but this year they revised their security plans to uniformed officers are >> no party like a howard party and i think that's a fact, but at the same time we win in the classroom. >> reporter: while alumni come home to party, police officers will be on duty making sure everyone is safe. >> i'm ready to have fun. >> reporter: news 4. all right. check this one out.

trying to poison her coworkers and what they discovered in the coffee machine. >> scarey. have you picked out your halloween custom yet? >> no. >> tell us what you're going to be. if you do want to be original, we'll reveal this year's five

a smoke advisory is in effect for san bernardino after a fire sent a massive column of black smoke in the air that could be seen for miles. the cause of the fire is unknown. an unusual visitor caught on

this is how everything played out. this is the beginning. you can see the deer right there to the left of your screen. he hit that bus. poor thing. he runs into the inside and that's where he's in the lobby and they just waxed the floors so he can't get a grip. you can tell he was so scared. it was about five minutes or so before he was able to find the door back out and the last they saw of him, he was in the woods. >> i'm sure he's fortablely now. everything you need to know if you want to go for a bike ride, get outside today. tom is updating his fitness forecast with the most comfortable times to get outside. if you have kids, this is a common debate. how long should they be glued to their tablets, phones and tvs. new health guidelines that may change your mind. early voting begins in the district.

overnight tonight. a chilly start to sunday and a cooler pattern for the next ten days in a few minutes. a lot of us get to work and head straight for the coffee pot, but you don't expect the coffee to make you sick. a woman is behind bars after police say she poisoned her coworkers. investigators say the woman put window cleaner inside the office coffee pot over the course of a few weeks. deputies several employees drank that coffee and got sick. >> it's crazy. we share a coffee pot here and i can't tell you how many times i've brewed a pot of coffee for my people here. >> she is still in jail charged with felony assault. moving on to decision 2016, voters have a chance to start voting early. voting started about an hour

more. >> reporter: good morning again. as you see folks are lining up to vote early and they have been lining up since about 830 this morning. always a good turnout on this first day of early voting. it lasts until november 4th. you can do it here until friday. friday they will open up eight location in each of the city's wards. you will be able to vote on weekends and register the same day as you vote. voting goes from 8:30 a.m. ballot this year. obviously there's the presidential election, but there's seats for the city council and the d.c. delegate to congress and an referendum on the d.c. statehood and some a and c races and state board of education as well. there will other kinds of voting

of paper or computer and also what they call no excuse absentee voting is a feature of this year's election. this is the only place to do it until 7:00 p.m. as of friday eight more locations open up around the city. news 4. >> thank you very much. if you have kids or grandkids, there's brand new research on how much they should be exposed to cell phones, >> this is a story that every parent probably wants to watch. the american academy of pediatrics that have guidelines that relax some of those previous guidelines to give families a little more flexibility while setting limits. nbc takes a look. >> reporter: in virginia this afternoon this 3-year-old and 18-month-old were face timing

everything in moderation. you want a well rounded kid and you can't keep them from technology. >> reporter: for nearly 20 years pediatricians have recommended no screen time for kid under 2 but in a world of cell phones, tablets, commuters and tvs, the academy is adjusting guidelines. for children under 18 months video chatting is fine, but no other screen time. >> if you want to introduce media as you that's fine, but share it with your child and use good media. >> reporter: researchers have found that starting at 17 months children can recognize faces and learning over video chats. >> children learn from meaningful interaction with people in social relationships with them. >> reporter: for 2 to 5-year-olds the academy recommends no more than an hour a day of screen time.

exercise, families should set media free zones. >> when kids consume media late into the hours of the day, they have a later sleep onset and fewer hours of sleep per night. >> reporter: used widely it can bring families together. nbc, virginia. if you're trying to decide at >> google is a transpowered map that reveals the customs trending nationally. jokers, superheroes trick or treating. those customs rank in the top five here in the d.c. with wonder woman and a witch. >> i thought pokemon would be

>> you were saying people could dress up like a thunderstorm, right? >> i have seen a kid last year lined up at a school and one was a thunderstorm. i thought it was awesome. he had lightening bolts shooting out. it was cool. here today no lightening or thunder. we had rain this morning, but we have a thundering wind roaring through the trees this morning. as we look at our temperatures, it's only near the mountains and locally we're close to 50 degrees. it feels more like the low 40s with that wind. still some clouds over the potomac and by 10:00 we'll be in the mid 50s. we'll make it into the 60s this afternoon. those wind gusting to 40 miles an hour into the afternoon and overnight the winds will diminish and temperatures will

clear and generally calm. right now radar showing some lingering light sprinkles here. all of that tracking off to the south and east pulling away, but still getting some light to moderate showers on the eastern shore and some nice autumn color. this red zone is peak autumn color in the mountains of west virginia and getting some nice color locally here, but we don't get peak until around the last week of october into that's the view from skyline drive a couple of days ago. shenandoah national park, still some light colors there. their peak colors about ten days away. tomorrow lighter wind with sunshine. the better day for outdoor activities. next chance of rain maybe thursday and friday. >> thank you. well, you may see them every day, but few are ever recognized.

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i think there's going to be a big future in glass. >> bill murray crashing yesterday's white house press briefing. the actor dressed up in full chicago cubs gear and fielded

world series since 1945 later today. >> we saw them escorting him out. >> time to go. now to a true story about tearing down the invisible barriers that too often divide us.

big dreams. >> my dream was to open a restaurant and i love cooking and i explained that to him. he supported it. he said, man, i'm going to do everything i can to help you. >> reporter: he did. he started a facebook page called unsung heros telling the stories of the workers who keep the university running. >> i know there's kind of like a wall between the students and the workers sometimes. i wanted to use this opportunity to kind of other students to see they're human beings like us, the only difference is the color of their uniform. >> reporter: students responded immediately welcoming the chance to make friends and make an impact. they helped raise $2,500 for o'neal to start his catering business. he had to over the moon with that. >> he was on the cloud. >> reporter: so far unsung heros has profiled 20 campus workers

students raised more than $5,000 so he can visit family he hasn't seen in 45 years. now, he hopes the idea spreads beyond campus. >> imagine how much more can happen if we interact more on a day to day basis. >> reporter: unsung heros are everywhere and so are people who care. nbc news, washington. you might remember news 4 profiled the cafeteria rk you saw in that piece. she did that story last week. search unsung heros in the nbc washington app. family and friends preparing to say good bye to the 10-year-old virginia boy who battled cancer for years. his funeral is this morning at fredericksburg baptist church. donald trump and hillary clinton are headed to key battleground states today.

you can vote today in the old council chambers. eight additional locations will open on october 28th. it's national prescription drug take back day. you can get rid of those unwanted or unneeded prescription drugs. you can find a drop off location near you. find a good coat for today. >> a windbreaker. highs here 60s. we'll get increasing sun and lighter winds and tomorrow wll

fios is not cable. we're wired differently. we guarantee to make switching easier. we'll show up on time. you're right on time. as promised, to install fios and set up the wi-fi that janet, jamie, jenny, jemma and jasmine need on their birthday. ank you. for all their new devices. you can't break me. you want a piece of cake? switching to fios is easier than ever. this is your last chance to get 100meg internet, plus tv and phone for just $69.99 per month online. hurry, our best offer ever ends soon.

. hi everybody. welcome to "inside the redskins" on nbc4. i'm rick doc walker at redskins park. the redskins are just that much closer to being in first place to the motor city to take on the lions tomorrow. they're hungrier than ever to get the um number one spot. head coach jay gruden knows it's a big task. the head coach with the keys to tomorrow's game. brought to you by long and foster, a proud partner of the washington redskins. >> jay, a lot of folks credit the talent you have on offense. this sunday, detroit has a lot as well.