sheena just said that is a bullseye in this storm right now. >> they're going to take the brunt of it. folks there starting to see and feel the effects of florence. this category 2 storm is expected to make landfall by this time tomorrow. we're tracking each upte as it comes in. >> good morning, everyone. i'm eu yang. >> and i'm chris lawrence. we're looki at the local forecast and your commute first. >> chuck and sheena a here to start us off. what can we expect today? >> yes, chuck will have a closer look at he afternoon forecas coming up. this morning, take a look at where florence is. it's getting t closer to carolina coast. wilmington is right in the center of this track. we'll talk about that coming up. rain bands approaching parts of the outer banks of norht carolina r now. locally, we're not dealing with any of that. we're looking at mostly cloudy skies, showers up and around ha hagerstown this morning. this afternoon, still some showers in the forecast.

pa littlechy fog as you're driving around. nothing too dense this morning. there. careful out temperatures in the mid to low 70s. 75 in washington. 74 degrees in as you wake up and walk outside, just grab that rumncoat or small ella for later today. we won't see a washout of a day. we won't see any heavys. downpo this morning we're starting out iez fo dry for most of the area. mostly cloudy with temperatures inly in the 70s. coming up, we'll talk about those increasing rain chances for tomorrow and of course when hurricane florence would eventually be impacting our weather. let's head over to melissa with roads. of the >> taking a look right now at the beltway. inner loop, outer loop,hi ever has just cleared. no further issues as far as any roadwork or anything. that is looking quite good. in montgomery village southbound at lost knife, right lane is b what's getting the work zone there. northbound, southbound you can see on 270 tg.s morn then over here, right side of

your screen, everything green northbound and southboundhen you're talking about roads like 95 there in maryland. inbound key bridge before m street, a little work zone hanging around. that's supposed to wrap up pretty soon. and to virginia now, leesburg eastbound 7 diverted at river creek parkway. lots of work zones this morning. we'll keep you updated i a couple minutes. >> see youhe tn, melissa. thank you. f>> news 4's jim handly is leading our team reporters covering hurricane florence. he's starting his day in north carolina's outer banks.re >> thereeople who plan to ride out the storm, but as jim saw firsthand, a lot of folks have already boarded up and left town. >> reporter: outer banks where the winds and the waves are starting to amp up. flortill hours and hours away, but anxiety is running high. the big concern here is the flooding that may follow. will there be power outages? sll the hundrf residents who evacuated be able to get back in, and how long will that take? some people have decided to ride

it out, but for businesses, they are all but a handful shu down. they have boarded up. boats have moved to higher ground. some have been boarded. we'll be following along in the hours to come and have live coverage this evening and tomorrow too onews 4. in nags head, jim handly, news 4. >> and be sure to count on jim and his photographer to bring you updates from north carolina for the rest of the week.u n find their continuing coverage right here on news 4. storo team 4 is a tracking the hurricane around the clock. you can find updated tracks both on the air and in the nbc washington app. now to a developing story that willake any m or dad cringe. the director after day care in loudon county is accused of assaulting a child in her care. heather whi heather whitfield is charged with assault and battery. family services launched an investigation and that led to theriminal charges.

whitfield is out on bond now. the state is stivi ing her license. another tragic story now involving the death of a 6-month-old girl. the baby's name was brooklyn hill davis. we don't know how, but d.c. police say she suffered serious burns last week on vallete ace and southeast. she died in the hospital on monday. the medical examiner said it was a homicide. so far no arrests. violent attack on a commissioner right on her own property. she participated in aal crime with d.c. police last week in the ivy city neighborhood. after the confrontation tuesday, she has bruises and swelling after she says two women and a man refused to get off her property. the suspects told police they were looking for a lost dog, and the attack was self-defense. officers say since there are conflicting stories, the suspects have not been arrested. well, t morning we're mom ng from a heartbroken in d.c. after her 18-year-old

son was murdered. he just graduated from high school in may. then on sunday afternoon, someone shot and killed him ona n road in southeast d.c. his mom tells our darcy spencer he left to get a drink and never came home. >> no parent should feel like that. that's a hurt to the core. >> reporter: it's a feeling only the loss of a chi can bring. >> it's so sad because look at who got caught up, the innocent. >> reporter: her son taquan pinkney left home to get a soda and never came back. >> it's a big hole. they broke us. like, we are never going to be the same. >> reporter: he had gone to this corner store to get that sodd was walking home when his mom says gunfire erupted. she says he was running away.

he was shot in th back, an unintended target. taquan had graduated hh school and was getting ready to start college. >> they robbed us of him. they stole him from us. >> reporter: taquan had a big family and many, many friends. >> he was my best friend. he was my everything. we talked about everything. we did everything together. and they just took my everything away from me. >> reporter: taquan was also a big part of horton's kids. it's a nonprofit in the community that provides homework help andutoring. his siblings are also part of the center. they're all tryingd to understan the loss and how someone could be so reckless with a gun. >> they took an angel from us. and it's not going to be okay until justice is. served >> reporter: in the district, darcy spencer, news 4.

>> such a loss. it's now4:36 we continue to track hurricane florence on this weather alert warning. the latest track expected to be released in a few minutes. ine winds already sta to pick up in wilmington, norna caro right now. our team coverage in storm team 4 continuenext. s

i put crimheals in prison duringay i'm jennifer wexton, and as a prosecutor, and changed diapers at night. w later, when i had a actice, i volunteered to help moms collect child support. then, as state senator, i worked across party lines to target sexual offenders and take guns away from domestic abusers. in congress, i'll stand up to president trump. i approve this mrysage because, like eorking mom, what's ahead is as important as what's in the rearview mirror.

well, it was amazing while it lasted. >> >> the washington mystics' historic run is over. >> they lost last night's game against the seattle storm for thwn championship title. so theseason, the mystics set the franchise record for most wins and made their first appearance in the championships. so that's amazing in itself. they fell short, and the storm swept the series in three games. even though last night's game did not turn out the way they wanted, the mystics are already looking ahead. >> i think the great thing is,

ise can still improve. we don't feel like we peaked and this is it for us. obviously this isn't how we wanted it to end, but it's an experience we can grow from. >> we got to keep things in perspective. everybody else in the teague wishy were playing tonight. so we're very aware of that and thankful we were here. we know we can improve,o we will. >> the mvp award went to bre ona stewart. >> we want to congratulate t mystics on such a great run. >> if they can do it now, they can do it again. >> that's right. and good morning, everybody. 4:41 now. your forecast for your thursday going to be anoth cloudy day today. peeks of sunshine are a possibility. but take the umbrella. rain chances, already a few showers out there, more later today. rain chances continuing on for the next couple days as well. alsong wai on the 5:00 a.m. advisory from the national hurricane center. cancer is smart.

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we have new sdeta in a double murder-suicide involving a herndon family. fairfax county police responded to the home earlier this month and found threeeople dead. detectives believe a mother shot her two children before turning the gun on herself. news 4 uncovered a police search warrant. it says thechildren's father arrived home and made the terrible discovery. officers started cpr of the children, but they cod not be saved. the warrant says investigators seized items from the home, including a revolver, paperwork showing where the gun was bought, a a journal. now to the trial of the man charged in the d.c. mansion murders case. >> it was a pretty emotional dau in yesterday. the father of one of the four victims spoke. news 4's megan fitzgerald has more on what he had to say.r: >> reporames martin remembered his daughter,

son-in-law, a 10-year-old grandson. he talked about the close relationship with his family and said he learned that their house was on fire after getting a call from a reporter. notable testimony came from a woman who wked for a pet resort company that the family would use to board their dog. this woman testified that they tried to confirm an appointment wi a at 3:14 p.m. on the day the family was held hostage, but the phone was disconnect. she said by 5:35 that evening, amy called herro back her cell phone. the former employee says amy was alwa a bubbly pleasant, but this time, she said, she sounded, quote, sleepy like she was rushing. this time she was different. prosecutors say when amy made that phone call, she was alrea being held hostage inside her home. now, we are expecting to hear from several more witnesses today when the trial begins at :00 a.m. reporting in nortest, meg

fitzgerald, news 4. all eyes are on hurricane florence all ears are on president trump's recentomments on the incoming storm and hurricanes in the past. >> the president continues to bring up the, quote, underappreciated great job that his administration did in puerto rico after hurricane maria hit y lastr. tracie potts is live with reactiot. >> well,verybody agrees they did a great job in puerto rico with 3,000 dead there. the president now fighting that and queions about whether his administration is ready given a big chunk of money recently taken out of fema's budget. >> reporter: it's a mad rush to safety in the carolinas. i feel kind of scared. >> reporter: supplies are moving in and so is this storm. the outer bands of hurricane florence set to hitna north carooday. >> my message is clear. disaster is at the doorstep, and it's coming in. >> reporter: despite criticism of his response to hurricane maria last year, president trump

is dending the federal government's reaness then and now. >> protection of life is the absolute highest priority. >> reporter: but can he pay for it? coirmed, $10 million shifted from emergency management to immigration enforcement just before hurricane season. >> significant amounts out ofns its res and recovery account and another significant amount out of preparedness and protection. >> that money has nothing to do with what you see behind us. >> reporter: this response p complicated bple deciding to ride it out. >> there are so many people who are offering free places to live, but you have money to get there. >> reporter: the president's message -- >> get out of its way. >> this is a mandatory evacuation. >> rorter: so far, nearly 2 million people have. and this morning, fema says that it is a rumor that they've lost money for disaster recovery. the money shifted was for

training and travel. >> tracie potts live on capitol hill, thank you. yourhild won't have to worry about certain unexcused absences in montgomery count the school board says walking out of school to protest will be nsidered excused. this week board leaders unanimously passed a resolution. it would excuse students up to three times per year. back in thespring, students from montgomery county and the d.c. area walked outf class. it was over gun violence following the mass shooting at a florida high school. there were also walkout prstests ear over president trump. well, d.c.'s own brian king joseph is officially in the finals of "america's got talent." bravo. >> i know. this electric violinist, it's already been taking the show to new heights. take a look at this. even judge simonwell, who's known to be pretty tough on contestants, said the finals are excitingbe a lot more

because of brian. we checked out his personal website, and believe it or not, he's self-taught. >> tt is incredible. >> i want to be self-taught. >> i know. >> the king of violin. you can watch him next week as he competes against four others for that million-dollar prize right here on nbc 4. >> that would be so cool if he could win the whole thing. from d.c. he's such an incredible talent. he really is unique. >> , m goodness. violinists are amazing to me, especially when they can play like that. now that he's self-taught, i feel le there's hope. >> about the only way we'd have any chance of reaching thosehe hts. >> pretty much. we're talking about a hurricane too. >> right. and it's going to come to the carolinas this week. >> i would say about 24 hours orfrom now, tw morning at this time we'll be watching the eye of the hurricane getting cl tero land. the models are going to slow it down a little bit. for us a lot p ofple are asking what does that mean? we're not going to be seeing the

impacts until next week. take a look at the radar. we're looking at the storm approaching north carolina with the outer bands. there you see it. you're only seeing a little piece of the radar because that's as far out as the radar can reach. it doesn't goer any far than that. that's why we're finally starting to see the first signs of this thing approaching the carolinas. there are the outer banks and some of the outer bands moving on to the outer banks currently. in about 24 hours, really pacting the carolina coastline. now a category i2, downgraded a little bit. could be making landfall as a 1 or potentially a weak 2. there you seeti that sary front. that's going to slow it down a bit as we go into that's saturday 8:00 p.m. as the tropical storm continuing to we sen. there y monday it's going to take this north turn, get caught up in a cold front. it going to eventually swi through our area. is late chance of rain monday into tuesday. over the weekend, we have a

small shower chance. it's really late monday into tuesy that we're watching for our heaviest rain. wednesday we'll start to dry out. if y're wondering whe most of the rain will be, down in the carolinas. that's what we've been really expecting this whole time. that could be cata inland flooding with the storm slowing down and stalling. i'll show you the ten day in a second. right now we're seeing not too bad of v tibility butre is patchy fog to the north and west. temperatures in the mid to low 70s this morning. still pretty mild. we have some showers right hagerstow those are continuing to move north into parts of pennsylvania. the rest of the area looking dry with mostly cloudy skies. back to schoo today. at the bus stop, expect a little bit of patchy fog. nothing very dense. temperatures in the 70s. by recess, we'll be mostly cloudy with a chance for maybe a couple showers moving through. nothing too heavy. not a washout.e by the t you pick the kids up, we're looking still at a chance for a couple showers. here's future weather. we'll continue,

to be stuck in this very unsettled weather pattern. there you see passing showers around. tomorrow the rain chances are going to be a little higher in the afternoon. y ther see a little bit of an increase of moisture coming in as that storm stays down to our south. over the weekend, rain chances a little lower here. saturday, sunday looking mostly cloudy, slight chance of showers. monday night and into all day tuesday as of now, that's when it looks like we coied see the he rain from florence. so far it looks like parts of the area could see a couple inches. then we clear out to sunshine by wednesday. let's spend it ovend it over to. >> good morning. white's ferry closed again today. high water on the potomac river is the's problem. thur fourth day in a row. probably won't be reopening maybe until the end of nextso wk time or after that. montgomery village southbound, montgomet village avenue lost knife, right lane gets by that road work. 270 at middlebrook road, nd, southbound no problems here.

and the beltway is nice and clear. chris? >> all right. thank you very much, melissa. "hamilton" is obviously the most sought-after ticket in town. for two days4,000 students in d.c. are getting into the room where it all happens. >> lucky them. news 4 caught the special student showcase at a "hamilton" matinee. you to ong did it take put this together? >> it took me a day. as soon as i got it, i went into it. i put everything into it. >> who's the perorn you perfd it for? you're like, i just did this, you got to check it out, what do you think? >> i did it for myself b mostly for my father because i look up to him. >> reporter: the unfiltered voices of district students rang

out from schools showcasing their work on the same stage as "hamilton." after they brought down the house, we caught up with thepe ormers from e.l. haines high school. >> i was feeling really nervous, but when you get there and feel the energy, you feel like you ca your best. >> as soon as you step on stage, that nervousness just disappears because you're in the moment. we're looking back and forth at each other. >> i felt the same way, but i was also excited. it's my first. time on sta i wanted my voice to get out there. we've been r workinglly hard, so i wanted to make it count. >>le and a lot of pere asking how you get to see "hamilton" before it leaves town on sunday. th kennedy center says there are three ways. standing room only may be available on a performance-by-performance basis beginning two hours prior to curtain they're $49 with a limit of two, and you have to go to the box office to check. then there are always last-minute cancellations, but

you'll also have to visit the box office. >> bet so many people had no idea about the standing room only tickets. >> that's. sma >> a great way and not very expensive either. also, 40 $10 orchestra seats are offered for all performances rough a lottery on the app. >> that is a good deal. >> yeah, ten>> bucks. coming up, while the future of embattled d.c. c wdinal donarl lies in the hands of pope francis. plus, hurricane florence is comi the carolinas are scrambling to get ready. continuing coverage next.

justrs away now, hurricane florence continues its push toward the east coast. this as nearly 2 million people make a finalffort to getut of harm's way. they're running out of time. good morning, everyone. i'm eun yang. >> i'm chris lawrence in for aaron this morning. we're just hours away at this point, and we are going to see some effects from this storm. news 4 tracking hurricane florence very closely. take a look at this live picture. i know it can be a bit hard to make out with all that rain, but this is wilmington, north carolina. >> you can see the flag there whipping in the breeze. the wind is starting to pick up. the seas are churning, and the rain is falli. orm team 4 meteorologist sheena parveen is keeping an eye on the storm's path, but we begin with a check on the current conditions and your commute with melissa and your forecast withhuck bell. >> any serious impacts from florence won't come until

probably the mondayti tuesday frame of next week. four things to know about florence. it's a serious threat still for the ncarolina, south carolina, and parts of potentially the georgia coast. although, mor of an inland georgia threat at this point. landfall likely about this te tomorrow, maybe a little earlier than this. impacts around here mony and tuesday. our main threat will of course be flooding. severalai inches of likely here as the remnants of what will then be left of florence come through. the outer most bands, wilmington, north carolina, is right there. the outer most bands haven't made it there just yet. it won't beuchonger. for us, a couple rain drops here near hagerstown first thing this morning. mainly cloudy around town. a few sprinkles around there arno around dulles airport. we're in the mid-70s rht now. 68 right now in leesburg. your forecast for today, lot of clouds around. a 40% chance for