there could be small hailstones. some of the gustier w ad could be 60 mile-per-hour gusts or more. we will be watching very, very carefully. the main threat for severe weather is east of the blue ridge. the i-95 corridor, the bay, to the eastern shore. do be weather heart for today. your nbc washington minneapolis will help keep you alert with push alerts. almbles of thunder down across parts of centr virginia this morning. these are coming up toward fauquier county, can't rule out a thunderstorm. that is not severe.bu still, this smurnd early in the day. let me put you on to the future weather and show you the cluerer of thundowers moving in and out between now and 7:00. a break in the action, mid to late morning, up to about early noontime. here's noon, but that line of storms coming through during the early and middlef the afternoon, that's the one that has the highest chance to produce severe weather. noon to about 5:00 or 6:00 even things should settle a little after about 7:00 or 8:00 tonight. more about the weekend coming up in a few.

now it is time for traffic. good morning, chuck. an update to the situation southbound 95 aftepacenterport way. the vehicle fire is on the shoulder. no worries here. we had the right side blocked. everything has reopened. manassas, yates ford near davis ford road, that accident isha ing around. beltway at branch avenue, outer loop, outer loop, everything rolling along fine. as you look at the rest of the beltway, no problems. you see the splotches. green. all the rain chuck's been talking about. eun? >> thank you. 4:31. new informationvernight in the investigation into the deadly sri lanka bombings. we were the suspected leader of the militant group that carried out the attacks is dead.ic sri lankan p announced the news overnight. >> it's believed he was killed in one of the blasts on easter side a hotel. that was one of six errlosions caied out that morning. authorities yesterday lowered the death toll to 253 people.

earlier this week they had said as many as 359 people had died. developing this morning, prince william county police are searching r a gunman who shot a 17-year-old in dale city. hopper 4 was over the scene as paramedics rushed the team to a waiting medevac helicopter. he word on his condsion. appearhe shooting happened in a parking lot outside of some town homes on bright leaf court. prince william county police collecte evidence from that scene and knocked on doors looking for witnesses. no word yet on a suspect or motive. we are working to learn more about a serious pedestrian cr on little river turnpike in annandale. chopper 4 was there last night. a pedestrian was taken to the hospg al with life threatenin injuries, the driver stayed on the scene. this was on the westbound side between evergreen lane and john olr drive. fairfax county pe had the area shut down for hours overnight while they at investig. and we have an update to tell you about at a local intersection.

16th and v stweetsea in sou washington has gone from a two-way stop intersection to a four-way stop in less than 24 hours. it a four new highly visible crosswalks. the changes could have helped in the case of 31-year-old abdul sekh. >> he was hit and killed by a driver w ran a stop sign on sunday. the chreaction crash was caught by nearby security cameras. peoplehe nearby tell news4 t have frequently complained about speeding the intersection and t others inhe neighborhood. new details about a horrific crash that killed five children. police say the mother behind the wheel was drunk and possibly hi . dominique taylor turned herself in earlier this week. she appeared in court yesterday to face a long list of charges. twof the five children killed in that crash in february in bowie were her own. in court, prosecutors revealed taylor had traces of marijuana in her system, and her blood alcohol conte was twice the legal limit. she is being held without bond. meanwhile, police are

searching for thieves in loudoun county. ,hey're accused of going from street to street targeting unlocked cars and stealing valuables inside including a gun. one of the victims was able to capture two men police believe are responsie. the sheriff's office says they headed from ashburn to maryland where some stolen credit cards were used. more than two doz vehicles were hit one night this week. some inom gated cnity of belmont country club. now residents are on high alert' and say there concerned. >> they had opened the middle console and taken everything out. you feel violated. they've gone thr gh your things, somebody's been in your car. it's concerning. it's almost scary to a int. >> car break-ins have been a persistent problem in loudoun county which is why the sheriff's office has launched a new online campaign reminding peopleck to che their car and home lockse befor going to bed. don't leave your valuables in plain sight. all those common sense rules we have to follow all the time.

some breaking news now. it's happened again. take a look -- someone attempted to take an atm from a 7-eleven store. this is video of the scene in the 5500 block of south dakota avenue in northeast washington. there have beenim silar atm thefts in d.c. and maryland in the past several months. we're working to learn details from d.c. police now. news4's mental health is headed the scene, as well. we'll update you as we learn more. the time is here's the other top stories this morning. a local coast guard officer accused of planning a terror attack could be released soon. lieutenant christopher hass just facing weapons charges right now. prosecutors say he made his illegal gun silencers and compiled a hit list that included members of the media, presidential candidates, and two supreme court justices. a judge told prosecutors they must provide more evidence to keep hasan in jail until his > trial. olice say they've arrested the man who violently attacked a 94-year-old woman in d.c. last week. 53-year-old jonathan little is accused of jumping the woman

while she walked to her car. this happened around 11:00 p.m. on connecticut avenue ind clevelan park. police say little grabbed her, snatched her purse, and stabbed her. the woman survived and says she's grateful tha a suspect has been arrested. baltimore mayor katherine pugh is facing pressure from her city council and maryland governor larry hogan to resign. pugh hasen been at the cter of a scandal involving the sale of her children's books to groups that do business with the city. and yesterday the fbi and irs raided her homes, a former aide's home, and city hall. pugh has been on leave of absence for self weeks now. >> with the 15th pick in the 2019 nfl draft, the washington redskins select dwayne haskins. >> there it is -- >> quarterback, ohio state. >> the redskins have their quarterback of the future now. ohio state's record-setting quarterback watched the draft from his own watch party in gaithersburg, maryland. fans werbo pretty excited a

this pick, too. >> yeah. [ cheers ] they went wild on the waterfront when the pick was announced. ok all the sea of burgundy and gold. there were plenty of fans in nashviee, too, who wer pumped for a new playollar in washington. >> huge for he wants to be here. we the him here. it's the perfect fit. >> he fits in as the franchise quarterback. doug williams j2.0t came to town. >> wow. >> that's a lot of pressure. >> wow. th he hasn't even started one game. is how desperate fans are to have a great quarterback who is going to carry this team, you know, farther than we've gone in the last several seasons. remember what haened to rg3? that's a lot. the team didn't have just one pick. they traded picks with the indianapolis colts to get into the first round and take mississippi state defensiven montez sweat with the 26th pick. he had 12 sacks for the bulldogs. this is thehird year in a row that the skins have drafted an sec defensive lineman in the first round.

and the excitement of the nfl draft is overs -- i not over yet. and a maryland boy is about to play a part in a historic draft pick. we'll tell you why his story is going viral this morning.pl , speeding up hitments. how amazon is improving for pri members and their fmere

i'm leon hairs -- harris.

tonight we'll introduce you to a man who started a nonprofit to help students of east african descent get into college. and three years later he has helped dozens of students get into the top storieschools in the country. >> became more and more aware that students who are absolutely capable of matriculating to highlyoo selective sch like harvard, mit,d stanfre settle for less because of the cultural disconnect. what we do is provide a deeply e concerted col access program that's culturally sensitive. >> the institute for east african councils o higher education is this week's "harris' heroes." see it on news4 at 4:00. new overnight, taylor swift fans will be excited as they wake up. the pop star released a new song while you were sleeping. fans have been waiting a long time for this. swift has been hinting that new music was coming all week.media if you follow her on instagram,

a t of pastels. song and video "me" featuring panic at the disco singer brandon yuri dropped at ht midnig he's good, too. as of a few minutes ago, the youtube clip already has more than 18 million views. and it's only 4:42 in the morning. she's very popular. icon status. i'm telling you. meanwhile, another big release inovie theaters. "avengers: end game" premiered, and tickets have been sold out for days. >> the sequel already debuted overseas. it made $169 million. >> wow. >> the release in the u.s. is sxpected to break single-day records and fanave been counting down the days. >> i'm seeing it this weekend. i'm going to find a way.

>>11 years, 22 movies. it's a big build-up. that's when i'm looking for. >> i don't want it to end. >> you never know. fans have same another big event to look forward to starting today. awesome con invades the d.c. convention center. this is video from last year. the event attracts tens of thousands ofdr people sed as their favorite characters and connected by comics, movies, games, tv shows. i went on this, what, two years ago? >> were you dressed in "star trek" garb? >> no, but i got my fill of "star trek" for sure. >> all right. keeping a close eye on the skies. thunderstorms across northern virginia, not ersevere. may be some early morning wake-up calls from mother nature toward warrton, nassas, chantilly, the plains, and near dulles airport the next little bit. bit. we'll talk about that and the

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4:46. today president trump and vice president mike pce will travel to indianapolis for the national rifle association's annual >> news4's tracie potts is live on capitol hill for us t

morning. good morning. >> reporter: gooemorning. th bighi question ts morning as president trump leaves in a few hours is will he go off script and do a free-wheeling sp dch like he before the for that n dallas, keeping in mind that this is a friendly crowd, a lot of conservatives. it's home base for mike pence. will he talk about the election? last night in a new interview with fox, theresident predicted that joe biden who's just announced or bernisanders could win the democrats' nomination. he weighed in on a lot of other democrats, too. >> all right. tracie potts for us on capitol hill. thank you. absentee vingegins today in virginia primaries for state and local offices. this is the final statewide primary where a reason will be required for all absentee voters. a new law will allow all voters to votely in the final 11 days of the election. primary day is scheduled for nune 11th. general electio is november 5th, and all 140irginia general assembly seats are on

the fall ballot. this moing we're hearing from a muslim woman whose viral photo in front of an anti-islam protest is inspiring thousands across the country. take a look. over the weekend, she attended the islamic c circlevention in d.c. once she arrived she spotted building. outside the she decided to pose in front of them by smiling and raising two fingers in a peace sign. she says that she wanted to combat their hatred with kindness, and that simply walking by wasn't enough. as of thursday night, the pictures received nearly 350,000 likes > instagram. ew video this morning showing a prince george's county home up in flames. a volunteer firefighter shot the footage as hero apphed a fire on mallard court in upper marlboro early yesterday morning. we told you about t fire yesterday morning once it was under control. we know it likel started in the attic and caused about $200,000 worth of damage.

theho people w live there were able to get out safely. don't n let thee kissing bug fool you. these blood-sucking insects are dangerous and are spreading. tell it like it is. th kissing bugs eshlly bite people's faces. >> goodness. >> the cdc says bites can spread an illness that may lead to potentially life-threatening conditions. kissing bugs are comn in warm climates and southern states, but now they're moving north. you'll need to be on the lookout because unlik some otherpests, kissing bugs can show up almost anywhere. p bed bugs are adapted to living whereple live, and in your bed or in your home. kissing bugs are bugs that live in the wild. >> kissing bugs carry a parasite that can cause agas disease, believe is how you say that, seich can be deadly and c infection -- >> these sound horrible. my goodness, gracious. >> the cdc says the best way to protect yourself is to remove

wood piles and brushia hour home -- wood piles and brush in your home and turn off the lights when you leave home because they're attcted to light -- and good luck. >> i think there needs to be a new name. kissing bugeems -- >> too nice. >> too friendly. montgomery county schools has named a new teacher othe year. >> the champions forhildren awards ceremony last night, i emceed. educators, volunteers, and community parers were honored for the dedication and inspired excellence in student every day. this is the teacher of the year. she's an english content specialist at hallie wells middle school. she was so emotional sharing that she came fromhe projects of new york, and that if she can make it, anyone can make it. she's ofrt po ricand descent spires other teachers. there were two finalists including a social studies teacher from clarksburg high school. there are so many educators and he volunteers behind the scenes. the principals, the

administrators, the people who work every del tirsly to make sure kids feel like they belong and have a voice in the system. >> absolutely. >> congratulations to her for sure. >> she's so awesome. >> teaching is a tough job. my mom did it -- >> one of the toughest. >> my mom did third to fifth grade for 35 years. >> god bler. he >> no kidding. and she raised me on top of all that. >> instant sainthood. we'll have active weather day on your friday. we've been tracking it all week long. even two, three days ago i had 100% chance for rain and thunderstorms. today that chance remains at 100%. r 60 degreesht now. a couple of raindrops already across the area. won't be a cold day at all. won't be a cold rain. temperatures 50s to around 60. we'll easily climb into the low 70s around lunchtime or shortly after about noon is when we should get to the high temperature. again, rain and thderstorms, tr0% chance some of the storms could be on the song to potentially severe side.

we'll keep you posted on that throughout the day. the main area of low pressure is to the west. a push of warm, moist, unstable air from the southwest. already some predawn thunderstorms in parts ofie northern faucounty, parts of loudoun county, they won't pass too far to west of dulles e airport, a. here you see the track that i drew for you. bull run, manassas, coming upon not l after the top of the hour. if it hangs around long enough, by sterling before 5:30 in the morning. we're under the risk for severe weather. a marginal chance for severe weather from the blue ridge to the bushenandoah. on and east of the i-95 corridor, a slightly higher chance for stronger storms. here's future weather to help you lan out yourday. there goes that first chance for rumbles here between now and 7:00 in the rning. there should be a break in the action late morning to around noontime. a peek or two of sun possible. that actually is not working in our favor.

sunshine will destabilize the atmosphere. here comes the highest chance r we're weatherill be this line here between about noon and that's probably going to be our primary chance for severe weather. could get it later than 5:00 acrossouthern maryland. have your storm team 4 and nbc 4 app we'll send push alerts for severe weather warningings to your phone. and there's your weekend foreca s. after army day today, breezy, chilly sunshine tomorrow. milder on sunday with only a little chance for a few showers sunday afternoon. nothing major. and then another shot of cool air formonday. then we warm back into the mid to upper 70s by later next week. it is time to hear from melissa mollet. good morning. good morning, chuck. inner loop, outer loop of the beltway, no problems. cleared outwork has of the way. that's good. 66 and 95 looking good. on 66, as you head bo manassas, if you're headed out soon, you're going to see the rainfa ing right now. it is pretty yucky out there in spots.

nd ort 5, no problems inb outbound right now. everything is flowing just fine. and as you look at 95 in maryland here, 32 to the beltway. 65 miles per hour this morning. that's going to take you 11 minutes. headed northbound on 95, ahat's nice clear, as well. 95 southbound again in virginia. that situation near falmouth with the vehicle thatas w on fire,hat's completely cleared. >> thank you. 4:54. good news for amazon prime members. those of you who subscribe know yolready get free two-day shipping. amazon says that free one-day shipping. it will shorten the default shipping time. it's not clear how long it will take forhe chain to take effect, but amazon is investing $800 million in order to make it happen, to make us zier. 100 million people are amazon prime members. it's a crutch. i order anything, it's going to come tomorrow want don't worry about it. >> just makeourself happy. by now many of you know the

tax deadline has come and gone. it turns out the average t refund wasn't much different from last year. according to the irs, the average refund was little more than $2,700, down 2% compared to last year. the tax season was -- this tax season was the first time americs filed under the new tax cuts act and jobs act. experts say if you are unhappy with your re lts, go ahead and start planning for next year. because there's nothing else you can do about it. >> i was going to y, oh, well. we've been talking about the excitement surroundi new draft pick, and the fun isn't over yet. >> the draft continues for the next few days. will ow a maryland boy make history as the first person to announce a draft pick off a card written in braille. mo gaba is 13 years old. he is a three-time cancer survivor who lost his vision when he was just 9 months old. he's also a huge ravens fan and a regular calle to maryland's sports radio stations. earlier this week, the ravens

head coach invited him to take part in the fun of the draft. >> announce our fourth round draft pick. >>what? really? >> really! yeah! >> i never done that before. i'm getting a little teary eyed just thinking about it. >> my gosh. how cute is he? mo will make the draft pick announcement tomorrowen at r draft fest. you know, good o the ravens for reaching out to mo. i think he's going to knock it out of the park, too,hen he announces the draft pick. >> sounds like he's ready. ahead, a frightening tituation under investiga in a chicago suburb. >> a chemical leak sent three dozen people and 11 first responders to the hospital. we're taking you to the scene. plus,ou do you think ye safer in the back seat in the event of a car crash? a new study says that's not the case. what one group is asking carmakers to do. "news4 today" will be right back.

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not aldi great, but regular great. over 400 awards for quality. aldi. shop differentli. te cooler mperatures, heavy rain, strong winds. friday is here, but it is coming in with a tar. geready. good morning, everyone, i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrest. we are in weather alert mode

this morning as we approach 5:00 a.m. let's get right to a check on the forecast and the commute. melissa mollet is tandsing by. we'll begin with storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell and what we need to know this morning. dy you should be rea for rumbles of thunder early this morning and a chance for some strong to severe storms coming up during the early and middle today.of the afternoon it is a storm team 4 weather alert day. most likely time window for severe weather willtart around noon to 1:00 and could linger up to 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 this evening. he rain at times underneath the stronger storms. small hail, and wind gusts will be one of the main concerns. gusts over 60 miles per hour will be possible. here's the outlook, marginal chance for severe weather at the valley but more into the d.cme o area. what does a slight risk mean? marginal is step one. slight risk for severe