the signs in d.c. telling you where you can andk? cannot p you're not alone. this morning, the news 4 i-team investigates why a lot of signs are causing trouble. th> taking a bite out of your bill. morning we'll show you in less than 90 seconds how you can save hundred of dollars at the grocery store each year. good morning to you. it's 4:00 a.m. i'm eun yang. >> a l i'm chrisrence in for aaron this morning. we may be looking at more rain today. >> cannot get a break. it's been the rainiest year. chuck bell and sheena parveen are here with your forecast. i guess it's the same old, same old. >> even though we have rain in the forecast, we don't have rain now.e radar right heavy rain is on the way. >> another soaker. if it's any consolation, it's only been the third rainiest year on record. >> oh, okay.

see, eun, it's not that bad. >> the real issue has been it started raining in mid-july and it's been a super soaker for about the last 1/2 months. it was really dry earlier this year, but that's all a distanto memory four things you need to know. another cloudy day coming our way today. no heavy rain yet, but rainier weather comes in for this evening. flash flood watches overnight tonight. i've got real good news about the weekend forecast, which we'll share with you in a bit. for now, it's hit and miss rain drops and sprinkles early morning. flood watches for overnight tonight into early tomorrow. we'll keep you posted ont. t temperaturewise, this is about as warm as it's going to be all day. we're in the upper 60s to around 70 temperatures will hold steady for the morning and then drop later on today as thead sr main moves in this afternoon and this evening. more about that and the talk about that weekendg up in a few. good morning, melissa. >> good morning, mr. bell. taking a look at the roads here.

tysons corner, inner loop of the beltway, two lanes getting by. inbound 14th street brides, two left let by. that issue a work zone. another work zone in arlington, northbound 110 before i-66, one lane is getting by. >> melissa, thank you. hours before what could be a contentious and historic hearing on capitol nohill,er woman has come forward accusing supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh oct sexual miscon this makes four women all making allegations that jud kavanaugh has denied. dr. christinelay ford says kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and tried to take off her clothes during a party in high school. deborah ramirez says while in college, kavanaugh exposed himself to her. the third accuser, julie swetnick, says in the early '80s, she observed kavanaugh and others at a house party wherech the pas spiked in order to take advantage of girls. the fourth woman, who came out less than 24 hours ago, claims

that in 1998, she saw kavanaugh gressively shove a woman against a wall. the only woman who will testify today is dr. ford, the first accuser. images of her taking a polygraph testify to verif her accusations have been released. she did pass that test. during today's hearing, we expect dr. ford to detail thousand assault allegations for lawmakers. kavanaugh is expected to repeat his denial of those claims and those made by others. rachel mitchell, an arizona prosecutor who runs a maricopa county special victims division, llcross-examine both kavanaugh and ford. you can watch this morning's hearing on nbc and on the app. we'll have a special nbc news report. ecthe hearing is ed to begin at 9:30. along with the rest of the president trump will also be paying close attention to today's hearing. despite all thellegations so far, he's standing by his supreme court pick. he admitted at a news conferenca yesterday christine blasey ford's testimony could change his mind.

>> people want fame, they want money, they want whatever. so when iee it, i view it differently than somebody sitting home watching television where they y, oh, judge kavanaugh this or that. it's happened to me many times. i've had many false charges. i'm going to be watching. believe it or not, i'm going to see what's said. it's possible that they will be convincing. >> now, since the president plans to watch today's hearing, he is expecd to push back his meeting with deputy attorney general rodst rosn. that meeting is to discuss a "new york times" report that claims rosenstein suggested secretly recording the president, but he has died that report. > virginia incumbent senator tim kaine pushed for ain full stigation during a live debate here on nbc 4. >> let's hear from erybody. dohe fbi investigation that should be done and do it in a

that's what a body like the senate should do. >> if the senate treated eacher other and oembers the way that they're treating judge kavanaugh, they'd all be in j l jail. >> the senator and his cory ican challenger stewart also pressed one another on those congested commutes in northern virginia. >> we're still stuck in gridlock in norther virginia and in hampton roads and across the state because he didn't get the job done in his ten years as governor and in the united states senate. >> we had the silver line construction to wheelie avenue. as a senator, i've worked to get funding to dulles and beyond. we did hot lanes on the beltway. you can also seef those you walk right out of this building. >> the candidates it also tackled immigration reform. we posted the entire debate on the nbc 4n washing app.

congress has passed a bill averti another government shutdown. it was feared that the sunday deadline would be missed, but yesterday predent trump agreed to sign the bill. a funds the pentagon and key domestic agencie will keep the rest of the government open through december 7th.th bill does not address the president's border wall with mexico. all right. another accident has shut down route 210 in prince george's county. some people are calling this one the worth they've ever seen. this latest crash involved this cement truck and two other vehicles. the cement truck was in the neighborhood lanes but swerved into the southbound lanes, trying to avoid a car. two people had to be cut from c one before they were air lifted to the hospital. one of those victims has life-threatening injuries. a woman and two children in another car were cheed out at the scene. the highway had to be closed in both directions for hours last night. neighbors tell news 4 although speed cameras have been put along somesp s, it's obviously

not enough. >> the streets areoong. drivers get a sense that they can go fast. by the timehey get to the corners, the light changes. that's when the problems happen. >> a this poinolice are trying to determine whether speed or alcohol m have attributed to this crash. your time is 4:07. today friends and family of a scooter rider will gather for a vigil. emas hit and killed last friday. gency crews spent nearly 15 minutes trying to free him. the driver remainedunn the scene l help arrived. sanchez-martin died athe hospital. yesterday friends of the victim held a memorial bike ride in his honor near the spot where he was struck and kild. also happening today, city leaders will hear concerns about bike safety in t.e distr this after the deaths of several bikers this summer. most recently, tom hollowell, a museum worker biking to work on constitution avenue. police say the driver who hit

the 64-year-old ran a red light and left the scene. a meeting is happening at 1:30 this afternoon in the wilson building. the public is welcome and encouraged tod. att well, we're getting new details on a few shooting investigations i.c neighbors tell us the area around benning road northeast feels like a war zone. >> now we're seeing the faces of two men police s b areind the bloodshed. anthony farmer is wanted for friday's quadruple shooting outside of a o liquor store benning road. one man is already under arrest. police sayme fwas also involved. surveillance cameras show a clear image of the man wanted for killing someone on benning road monday nesht. detectiv are asking the public to tell them who this person is and where they can find him. >> law enforcement doesno not who this person is, but somebody in this community does. >> two people were also shot on benning road tuesday night. they were attacked in a restaurant parking lot. police have n shared information about the shooter in

that case. continuing coverage now for the search for a missing child. it's been four days since a 6-year-old boy wen missing in north carolina. maddox ritch is autistic and was at a park this weekend with his. fath we're told maddox chased after a runner in the park and resappeared. hu of officers have searched that park, but no sign of maddox. >> giving him just a little leeway, freedom. he likes playing outside. heenjoys theoutdoors. i just wanted him to have fun. >> i want my bab back in my arms. >> maddox is nonverbal. police are usingec rordings of his parents' voices to get his attention if he's lost in the woods. the fbi says maddox's father is cooperating and retraced steps where maddox was last seen. happening today in pennsylvania, a fternity member from penn state will be sentenced for charges relating to a hazing death.

joseph ennis pleaded guilt to hazing and two alcohol-related charges after a student was hurt at a fraternity event i01 timothy piazza, a fraternity pledge, fell down the anstairs, fraternity members failed to call 911 for nearly 12 hours. he died in the hospital almost two days later. nbc's premier week continues tonight with a two-hour season premiere for "law & order: svu." >> with the start of this new, season"svu" joins an historic company. it wl officially become the longest prime time drama ever. ea seasons later they're talking about what it to have such a historic run. >> the honest answer is am so proud ofhat we've all created.

>> they also say they're to be part of a show that matters and tackles tough issues. the all new "law & order:svu" airs tonight at 9:00. after that, keep it here for news 4 a. 11: >> they look so young in that first clip. >> 20 seasons. i'll b a honest, it's great show, but it's so disturbing, some of the issues they deal with. theyit right off the headlines. i can't watch. it's too much. >> it's tou s. >>ll ahead, grocery bills can cost a fortune. can you imagine how many groes groceries between the two of us? we have six kids between us. >> hope has arrived. we're showing you the place to shop to save money. plus, district parking drama. the i-team looks into signs causing confusion amongst drivers and in some cases costing them a lot of cash. sheena? >> i stare at tho signs for like five minutes sometimes.

i don't know what they say. we have sprinkles acrosshe area. we're watching heavy rain for later on want to. have the umbrella before you leave the house. back in a few mutes to show you the timing of that and a look ahead to the we

finding a parking spot in the district can , well, pretty frustrating. sometimes it's hard to tell ifc the ss even legal. >> a review by news 4's investigative reporreveals hundreds of conflicting signs in the district. i've seen these. i know y have too. they're confusing and often costly for manyrivers. >> reporter: the more people who live or work in d.c., the more difficult it is toind a parking space. often when you see a space open up, you just want to pounce on t

it, it's often difficult to know if that space is legal,al espe when there are poles filled with multiple parking signs tha seem to give conflicting information. internal reports produced by the d.c. department of transportation show they have fixed of adjusted hundreds of signs since 2016, signs that were either conflicting or confusing. some with arrows pointing the wrong direction, others t drivers indicated said it was both okay and illegal to park in a space during certain hours. a series of drivers told the i-team these signs cost them big money. it was still unclear how the signs. >> this is 7:00 to 6:30 p.m. we figured we were between that time. it's okay to park. >> you see the lower sign, you think that's the one to read. >> exactly. but lo and behold, the one above it says no parking 10:30 to 2:30. why don't they just make this 7:00 a.m. to 10:30? ls>> reporter: d.c. offic are making fixes. they say when it cs,es to si the rule for drivers is to read from the top down. >> even though it seems rather

confusing, you might need a law degree, what we're doing is trying to give you a clear diction on when you can utilize that time. >> reporter: tonight, why thegn are changing so frequently in d.c., and the one thing district transportation officials say you need to know about reading the color on the signin signs on those poles. >> let me tellyou, i have paid my share in tickets because i stand there look at these signs and think it's okay. i come back and there's a ticket o my windshield. >> you have to g of your car to even read it. >> and he's right, you need a w degree or a meteorology degree or something. >> no, n youd more than a meteorology degree. but it's been a while since i've gotten m last ticket. i'm pleased with that. >> look at you, professor bell. >> a rush hour icket at4:01. what, were you waiting by my car? lymething else we can complain

about univers is the weather pattern we've been stuck in. i don't know which is worse, another rainy day or another parking ticket. that's a tough one. >> i'll take rain. >> i'll keep the money. you can gripe about the weaer for free. it is another cloudy morning a outsid another day today with rain expected. keep the umbrella handy. nothing all that heavy out there this rain chances go up and rainfall rates will increase later in the day. the amount of rain coming, 8.83 an inchnother quarter o yesterday with that fast moving line of thunderstorms. it was sidewaysain aty house last night. woke me up at 7:00 p.m. i had already fallen asleep. boy, another round ofs thunderstormate yesterday evening. now we're dealing with cloudy skies. ain, no heavy rain here early this morning. take the umbrella with you ncough. it is a high c for rain later today. be heaviest and steadiest of this nextch of rain comes from sun down tonight until about sunrise tomorrow morning.

so flood watches are up across the region once again. here's fure weather. again, really all about the clouds this morning. here's lunchtime. tokets of moderate rain out the shenandoah valley. that will gradually be encroaching on the i-95 corridor as well. here's 5:00, just in time for the afternoon rush home from work and school. eaviest rain, here's 10:00 tonight. likely to be rain, maybe with some embedded thunderstorms. not any real severe weather threin because it's c during the overnight. 2:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, well, most of you are asleep. the rn will be coming down pretty hard. here's 6:00 tomorrow morning. rain coming to an end. we may actually get back to sunshine tomorrow afternoon. lo and sbehold,shine on a friday. and checout that weekend forecast. really nice weather. so we haven't been below 60 degrees y o for the mon september. our best chance will be on the 30th itself, sunday morning likely to get below 60 degrees. open window sleeping weather for

the weekend. all right. the weather is a mess. how about traffic? >> not looking so bad right now. inner loop after the dullesl tol road, two left lanes getting by. taking a look at 270, not bad. going 69 miles per hour. going to m take you 26utes as you head southbound. northbound, not affected at all. had some earlier roadwork that has cleared. 66, 95 in virginia, nice a green there. northbound 14th street bridge, two left lanes getting by that work zone. >> thank you, melissa. still kiead, we're w for you, helping you cut down on those grocery bills. and keeping you safe on the roads, we'll break down the changes to tractor trailers. and later today on "ellen" -- >> what do you sleep in at night? >> nothing. >> me too.

>> grammy winner and star of the new movie "a star is born" lady gaga is stopping by. not only talking about the new movie but a whole lot of other thinst apparently. with us.

welcome back. mcdonald's is making some bi anges with classic burgers. the company announced the burgers are nowe preservativ free. this means nortificial flavors ill be added to classics like the big mac or quarter pounder with cheese. pickles on the sandwich still contain an artificial preservative, but customers can request burgersut withem if they prefer. >> all these chains are under a lot of pressure to get healthier. our grocery bill takes a big bite of your budget, i think

that's the majority of the money i spend, it may have to do with where you shop. >> consumer reporters are working for you to find out which stores in our area offer the best prices. >> we recently sent shoppers to ten area grocery stores with a list of about 150 common items to buy,nd they als surveyed customers about quality. let's check out the results. >> reporter: wagmans isvo the f te. 94% rated it superior overall. they were on average 7% lower than giant, 14% lower than safeway, 19% lower than whole food over pl, price riteces came in substantially lower than all of the grocery sres. in ter of quality, though, giant, safeway, shoppers, target, and walmart received low marks from their customers. and that whole foods/amazon

impact, well, the survey found produce prices have lowered a bit, but it's still the area's most expensive grocery chain. >> you have amazon and walmart and target and all these different companies really spending a lot of money, investing a lot of money to be in this business. and the reason isn't so much that they think they're going to make tons of profit selling groceries. what they want to do is say, okay, they want to get you used to buying everything from thaty comp >> we're continuing to work for you. coming up tomorrow, we are compari comparing grocery delivery services. how much extrali are you wil to pay to skip the store? see you then. >> time is money though, right? it's now 4:25. new this morning, parents caught on camera shoving their son into the trunk of a car. you say it's not what think. hear what they claim is really going on coming up. plus a contract extension dd a raise for the h of metro. we take a closer look at his track record.

well, this morning we might have a couplekl spr out there, but have the umbrella because later today heavy rai moves in, and part of the area is under a flood watch because of it. i'll show you who con expect it ng up. > and good-bye bryce harper. last night his final one as our hometown baseball hero. h what head to say about his final home game of the season.

right now at 4:29, all eyes on our city today for a hearing that has much of the country divided. supreme court nomineett kavanaugh and one of the women who has accused him of assault will take the stand to testify. this is all set to get started in about five hours. we are filling you in on everything you should know before it starts, including a fourth accusation against this judge.

t all right. fore we turn to capitol hill, let's take a live look outside on this thursday morning. it's going to be mostly cloudy today, but you'll definitely want to keep your umbrella handy. good morning, i'm chris lawrence in for aaron this morning. >> and i'm eun yang. s here t of the gang working for you. melissa is keeping an eye on your commute. first, chuck bell and sheen parveen here with your forecast. more rainok again. record. >> if you can't find your umbrella at this point, then you own forve been out of the last two months. >> maybe it broke. maybe the umbrella has had ali le too much work lately. >> but you can still find it. >> fpefully you can stilld it. hopefully you have more than one. i think i have about three or four. you're going to need it later today. this morning we don't really have rain around the area except for a few sprinkles here and there. what we're looking ator lat today is heavy rain. we're under a flood watch as we ough the later evening ours and into the overnight hour that is going to be most of the area here. we have a couple sprines