darcy spencer is live with t latest. >> good evening. krig. >> reporter: this is the same strip mall but a different section. the gas leak emanated from this marshall store behind me and fire officials are telling me, we were minutes away from another catastrophic explosion. the penn mar shopping center in forestville evacuated for the second time in four months because of a gas leak. >> a representative from washington gas alerted us to readings on his meeter the and we subsequently evacuated about ten stores in the strip here. we're now in the process of digging up the gas line in the rear to crimp it off and hopefully, we'll be able to isolate the gas leak there. >> the fire officials got the call around 1:00 in the afternoon. the leak originated from the marshall's department store and the america's best contacts and eyeglasses store next door. >> they smelled the gas next door and the fire department came and asked us to evacuate. so we just did that. >> back in may, a gas leak caused a massive explosion that flattened another secti

darcy spencer has more on this story. >> reporter: union leaders are citing several examples in this press release where they say the staffing changes have increased response times. they say that can endanger lives. >> we are right at the point that we are just basically getting by. >> reporter: union leaders are sounding the alarm over staffing shortages and budget cuts affecting fire service in prince george's county. they say in some cases it's taking longer for firefighters and paramedics to respond to emergencies. >> minutes and even seconds count when it comes to an emergency or a fire environment. we are not aware of any serious injury or loss of life directly related to these incidents. it's always a gamble you take. >> reporter: during a recent house fire in bowie, there was an 11-minute response time because the two career firefighters assigned to the closest station were on an ambulance call when the fire alarm sounded. units from further away had to fight the blaze. >> that is not acceptable. general national standards state that the first engine company should arrive fou

in mount airy, maryland, darcy spencer, news 4. >> crisis teams will be at the schools when they are back in session tuesday. >>> news 4 learned the probe into bribery charges into a district employee extends beyond the one man arrested so far. jim graham's chief of staff ted lohsa was arrested thursday. he is accused of accepting cash and other gifts for promotg taxi cab interests. investigators are looking at a pattern of payoffs and favors. the councilman has cancelled a public bill that impacts taxis even though he said lohsa's actions had no inflins on the bill. >>> tonight has been just about a complete washt. when is it going to stop, chuck? >> craig, tomorrow. i'm not going to promise you early or late, but tomorrow the rain will come to a tapering slowdown eventually probably in the relatively early morning hours. take a check of doppler, heavy rain across the metropolitan area. modete areas in prince george's county, charles county and the northern neck. here are locations, thurmont, maryland, .87 inches, front royal over an inch, washington county over and inch and leesbur

in southeast, darcy spencer, news4. >>> the swine flu vaccine supposed to be available soon. some experts are still raising questions this morning about how and where -- how quickly that would happen. robert bazell has the latest. >> reporter: centers for disease control is anticipating problems. when the first small amounts of swine flu vaccine become available in the next few weeks. >> it is going to be a little bumpy because in different states, there will be different levels of preparedness and readiness and planning. there will undoubtedly be places people to get vac innated. >> reporter: make that as more challenging and initial doses of vaccine will only be flu mists and nasal spray. recommended only for healthy people aged 2 through 49. not for pregnant women who are near the top of the list of those to be vaccinated. >> government anticipating intense demands of the vaccine and fears about its safety. the officials say they have every reason to believe that it will be safe and it will be monitoring it closely. but they expect reports of people having adverse reaction

reporting live from alexandria, darcy spencer. >> george here in the studio is sad to see this place close its doors. thank you. >>> nice today -- >> great weather. >> clouds tomorrow? >>> we've had a couple of beautiful days in a row. now it's time to pay back the piper. not going to be crazy. out door recess weather coming up for tomorrow. rain chance also hold off until late mompbd night or during the day on tuesday. outside, what a beauty of a day it turned out to be. plenty of sush with a few high, thin clouds drifting in. as you look over downtown, the high, 77 degrees after a nice, cool, 57 degree start this morning. right now, 72 with a southeast wind at 15 and a mostly sunny skies out there. beautiful weather. across the rest of the area, 68 at andrews air force base. 70 annapolis. 74 at dulles. 72 in ma that sass. and in northern west virginia and eastern kentucky. it will take a long time for them to encroach in the washington area. clouds on the increase tomorrow but i think the relatively dry air in place may very well keep the rain at bay at we get into tomorrow and bet

darcy spencer has our report. >> i knew that my situation was dangerous. >> reporter: this victim wasomestic violence who does not want to be identified received free legal and counseling services from weave, a district-based, nonprofit organization that's now facing closure. >> i do credit this organization with supporting me through a very tough decision and giving me the strength to value myself again. >> reporter: the woman and other victims are saddened by the prospect that weave, which stands for women empowered against violence is going away. interim executive director says much of the funding had been from the district office from victim's services. >> a few weeks ago they told us they would not be giving us any new grants for the year beginning october 1 so w really don't have the funds to pay our staff after september 30th. >> reporter: weave has had thousands of battered women over the last 12 years through some the most difficult times of their lives. w-e-a-v-e officials are hoping will pick up the slack once this organization goes away. >> sadly, tragicdy with the domesti

in southeast, darcy spencer, news4. >>> we have been telling you all morning today is our an ral news4 community shred taking place at the montgomery county fairgrounds in gaithersburg. you still have time to get there. the event isoing on until 11:00 a.m. joining us live the general manager for the company, shred it. thanks for joining us, gentlemen. >> good morning. >> we heard what to bring. tell us what not to bring. i'm sure you get a lot of people bringing a lot of stuff. >> sure. the main things we don't want to see is batteries, cds, things of that nature. what we are trying do is promote recycling and support securing people's identity with identity theft so strong today. >> and we know that a long line forms every time we have this event. what can you tell people to make sure that the transition goes smoothly and people aren't waiting to long and get through the lines quickly. >> limit the number of boxes they bring. and to be aware of the things that we cannot recycle. >> why do you think this is such a big deal for the community? >> well, number one, my colleague stated her

darcy spencer, news4, back to you. >> thank you. >>> still ahead, the missing yale grad student who wassed to get married today. what police have told nbc news and what -- what it could mean for the case. we'll talk about that. >>> and the iraqi reporter behind the infamous shoe-throwing incident is about to be a free man. what's ahead for him. >>> and the man that wants to be governor of virginia caught cursing on the radio, or was he? now it's dominated the blogosphere and airwaves. >>> chuck, tough day to come to work? >>> was it ever tough. luckily the roof goes down on the car of mine. it was a bu pi, how long it will last? a complete check of the forecast. a great day to play any is part you like, hakim? >> yes, it was the nationals go fishing in florida and chris turner is resilient. >>> plus the greatest time of the year. meckoff sunday nsng. with a bang. ng >>> the iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at former president, george bush, is being we released tonight. he spent nine months in jail. he threw his show shoes at mr. bush during a press conference last december. as he t

darcy spencer talked with firefighters about the teen. >> reporter: at the mt. airy volunteer station, firefighters spring into action after receiving a call, but here they're doing their jobs with heavy hearts. a junior firefighter, charlie dalton jr., was killed at the hands of his own father. it was a murder-suicide that left an entire family dead. >> i think he had been a junior member for about two years, a little bit less than two years. he was a likable kid. he was enthusiastic about his activities here at the mt. airy volunteer fire company. >> reporter: police say 38-year-old charles dalton sr. called his wife jennifer and hire two kids, 14-year-old charlie and 7-year-old emmaline. each was shot once. they were found in their beds, the bodies discovered inside their home on friday evening. police say dalton took his own life, his body found on the floor next to the bed in the master bedroom. >> people in the neighborhood just are trying to put the puzzle pieces together. we just haven't fured out how this could have happened. >> reporter: police say dal

darcy spencer live from fedex field with more on that's. >> reporter: hi, jim. last month, thousands of fans had troubled getting to the paul mccartney concert. there were major traffic and parking problems but tonight, there was not a repeat performance. things went very smoothly for u2. ♪ two things i need you to know ♪ >> reporter: thousands of fans packed into fedex field for the u2 concert, a leg of the rock group's north american 360 tour. a gigantic spaceship-like stage allowed fans to see the performers from all sides. >> pennsylvania avenue. >> you look at that structure and think that, you know, someone designed it and someone came up with it and created it. pretty unbelievable to see it live. >> first concert i ever saw was u2 in dublin so this is their first concert. >> reporter: fans were estimated at more than 80,000, comparable to a skins home game. fans came from as far away as ireland to see the band. >> we're from dublin, ireland, and we came over especially to see the u2 concert. we've seen, this is our fourth concert of the tour. >> reporter:

and darcy spencer has more. >> reporter: at the voluntary station, firefighters spring into action after receiving a call. here they are doing their jobs with heavy hearts. a jr. firefighter, charlie dalton jr. was killed at the hands of his own father. >> he had been a junior member for about years, a little less than two years. he was enthusistic about his duties here. >> reporter: the man killed his wife, jennifer, and two kids. each was shot once. they were found in their beds. the bodies discovered inside their home, police say dalton took his own life. his body found on the floor next to the bed in the master bedroom. >> people in the neighborhood try to figure out how this could have happened. >> police say dalton was a self-employed cabinet maker, and carpenter, and so far police have found no clear motive for the murder suicide. >> it's just a shock. the only reason my girl got to sleep last night was because she was exhausted from crying. >> reporter: charlie's fellow junior firefighters were told about his death at the firefighter station on friday night. >> we are going to mi

darcy spencer, news 4. >>> coming up tonight, it provided an update on the distribution of the swineflu vaccine. >>> a pro-democracy rally in west africa ended with dozens dead. >>> and an elephant rampage that left six people injured in india. >>> good evening, bob ryan, storm center 4, a nice evening out there. it's a cool one, our temperatures 67 degrees, there were some clouds around before. since early this afternoon, they have pretty much dissipated. right now outside it's a nice evening out there. if you're out a about, take a look toward the southeast sky, the moon is coming up now, but within a couple hours you'll be able to see it nice and bright, but today just below and to the right is the planet jupiter with four moons, too. heading out to school tomorrow morning, it will be a chilly morning, as low as the mid 40s in some of the cooler suburbs. next seven days i think we'll be seeing a mixture of clouds and sunshine, maybe some showers to start off the weekend. right now a 40% chance. sunday looks great, back to you. >> thanks, bob. >>> government troops in the west afte

darcy spencer will have more coming up on news4 at 5:00. >>> tragedy for students at crosslind high school, a 13-year-old classmate who was hit by a car two weeks ago died from her injuries. megan mcgrath has more. >> reporter: alva forman walks her daughter to ashley high. this is a scary reminder of what can happen when crossing the street. >> i will be walking her to school. >> reporter: 13-year-old ashley davis is being remembered as a friendly, outgoing teen. the freshman was struck by a car while walking to her bus stop on brinkley road. hospitalized for nearly two weeks, she died early monday morning. >> everyone's sad. everything is gone. >> i remember her smile. she had a fantastic smile. a very loving smile. >> miss her? >> very much. >> reporter: davis started her second week of classes when she was struck by the car. the sedan hit a good samaritan who pushed younger children to safety. grief counselors have been sent to crosslynn high. principal crystal fawcett said it was touf losing davis to high school. the thought of never seeing her again is very difficult. >> the week bef

in capitol heights, darcy spencer, news4. >>> tonight at 11:00, we are learning more about the fbi radon d.c. city hall today and charges filed against council member chief of staff. >>> and worry about children's safety at the bus stop and the worst place in america for a long and happy marriage tonight at 11:00. >>> a man in britain uncovered a holy grail for treasure hunters. it is the largest hoard of anglo-saxon gold. it was found inches below the surface. archaeologists shot videos of the site and calledt unparalleled and unprecedented. there are rings of gold and silver and highly-decorated pieces of swords and helmets dating back to the eighth century. who did it belong to? experts say given the quality of the craftsmanship and high value, it is likely the only someone with status of king could have owned this treasure. they believe he buried it for safe keeping andever got to retrieve his treasure.

in baltimore, darcy spencer, news4. >> that student was released after being questioned for several hours. police say they'll turn over their evidence to the state's attorney's office. the state attorney will decide whether that student will be charged. >>> it's been an an emotional day at crosland high school in prince george's county. they are dealing with the death of 13-year-old ashley davis. she was hurt two weeks ago when a car hit her walking to a school bus stop on brinkley road. davis died of her injuries yesterday. grief counselors were sent to thurgood marshall middle school. >>> john moore, 44, of arlington, died. he was hit by a train working in a tunnel. metro officials say moore is the third worker to die on the job this year. >>> in iraq today, mortars were fired toward the green zone in baghdad as vice president joe biden made an unannounced visit there. this is the vice president's second trip to iraq in three months. shortly after he arrived, militants fired four morters toward that heavily-fortified complex. nobody was injured. none of the mortars landed in the green z

darcy spencer is live and joins us with more on the story. so the parking lot starting to fill up yet? >> reporter: they certainly are, jim. it reminds me more of a weekend skins game than a tuesday afternoon. you could see a lot of people are out here tailgating in the parking lot. again it feels like a football night, but in about an hour and a half, some 80,000 people are expected to pack fedex field for the u2 concert. it starts around 7:00 tonight, but already people are arriving, many by car, traffic is heavy around the stadium already, not just because of the concert, but it's 5:30 in the afternoon, a lot of commuters are trying to get home from work. the people are getting here early. many i talked to, four hours in advance to try to beat the traffic. last month there was a traffic and parking fiasco for people trying to get to the paul mccartney concert. many people learned their lesson. >> i was supposed to get here for the paul mccartney show, i had tickets, i was stuck and didn't make it. it was 9:30, he was already on stage, i ha

darcy spencer has the rest of this story. >> reporter: police questioned that students for hours today before releasing him. no charges have been filed. the man he killed was not armed. that suspect got out of jail just two days ago and has a lengthy arrest record. witnesses say it was a gruesome scene. a johns hopkins university student confronts a burglar inside his garage. during a confrontation, the student killed the intruder with a samurai sword, slicing him across the upper body, chopping off his left hand. >> i talked to the suspect. asked what he was doing. said he called for police and that's when the suspect lunged at him. in a panic motion, he retaliated with the samurai sword. >> reporter: police were called to the home around 1:30 this morning. they received a report of a suspicious person in the area. they found the suspect, 48-year-old donald rice, dead in the garage. the student is claiming he acted in self-defense. rice was unarmed. >> absolutely. that plays into this. how the incident went down will play into this. again, people have a right to defend themselves, esp

. >> darcy spencer, news4. >>> prince george police had no comment. county sheriff mike jackson maintains his officers acted properly during that raid. >>> a man who was supposed to be caring for the disabled is now charged with locking three mentally challenged adults in a vehicle while he went to eat. frederick police have charged brian fleming with vulnerable adult negligent he locked the blind and deaf, low-functions adults in the vehicle while he went to lunch. after about an hour concerned diners called police. officers say the victims were very hot and in distress. fleming works for the program where the victims lived. fortunately the three were not hurt. >>> we continue to follow the developing story here in maryland tonight. a hyattsville police officer shot and wounded a suspect around 7:00 tonight. it happened near the mall at prince george on bellcrest road. the man was driving toward an officer when he was shot. the man's brother said he was shot in the arm and a bullet grazed his face. the brother says the shooting was unjustify and mean

karsay spencer is in fairfax now with their plans. darcy? >> reporter: jim, chances are if you have a friend or loved one staying at one of the affected hospitals, you could be asked to stay away, to stay home. this only affects in-patient care. the new rules start october 1st. the hospital system that will yous five hospitals took a major step in preventing the spread of swine flu. the system is limiting visiting hours and banning children from visiting impatient units starting on thursday. >> we always report first do no harm is to protect the people who come inside our boundaries first for care, for visitation, and for work environment. >> reporter: the restrictions affect alexandra, fair oakes, mt. vernon. >> if we allow a sick person to visit one of your family members and they became sick with h1n1, how would you feel? our first mission is safety. >> reporter: visiting hours will be restricted to two two-hour blocks. the number of visitors will be limited to two adults at a time. anyone showing flu-like symptoms will not be allowed. >>