i'm erika gonzalez. joining me this morning three ceos of local nonprofits that really have their finger on the pulse in this community with family and children that need help getting back to school and starting off successful. i want to thank you for joining us again. donna fortier with mobile home, wendy gradison with, ceo of trs and piper phillips, phillips programs for children and families. in this area there is something pretty different. i thought what is this? there's an actual bus in loudoun county that really helps service the needs of children that are homeless or at risk youth. donna tell me about this. >> it stemmed from a need, a transportation difficulty that many of our families have. so mobile hope services are for children and young adults 24 years of age and younger who struggle with every day food, clothes, hygiene, school supplies, prom dresses. while we have a location in leesburg that allow kids and their families to come in and shop a lot of families were struggling with transport

. >> that's right, news4's consumer reporter erika gonzalez shows us how families are spending less on supplies. >> reporter: it is time to start tossing pens and pencils into your shopping cart. kids are going back to school. lexi keeling is headed to high school. >> i got some spiral notebooks. >> reporter: at this target in rockville, grandma judy is buying supplies for five grandkids so she has to be smart about it. >> everything is more expensive and i have noticed a big difference between store to store. >> reporter: there are signs that consumers are spending less this year than last. the national retail federation says 2014 was a record year for back to school spending. now, it's estimated consumers will spend about $630 on back to school shopping compared to $670 last year. >> back to school is all about inventory. parents are asking their children to look under the bed and dig through the drawers to see what they have. >> reporter: these young ladies have their eyes set on new backpacks. that's all right with mom. rose justin said she bought more than the family needed last y

. >> erika gonzalez hit the stores, bravely, to show how people are make saving money on supplies while getting everything marked off their list. >> reporter: it's time to toss pens and pencils into your shopping cart. kids are going back-to-school. parents try to contain the joy. lexy is heading to high school. at this target in rockville, grandma judy is buying supplies for five grandkids, so has to be smart about it. >> everything is more expensive. i have noticed there's a big difference in going store-to-store. >> reporter: there are signs consumers are spending less this year than last. the national retail federation says 2014 was a record year for back-to-school spending. now, it's estimated they will spend $630 compared to $670 last year. back-to-school this year is all about inventory, meaning parents are asking their children to take a look under their bed, dig through the drawers to find what they may have. >> reporter: these young ladies have their eyes set on new backpac backpacks. that's all right with mom. rose said she bought more than her family needed last year, so she

erika gonzalez, news4. >> try them all. erika reached out to all those companies mentioned in the consumer reports test. bug band says it has sold thousands of diffusers and years of research and testing have shown them to be highly effective and nontoxic. "consumer reports" says another good way to reduce the number of bites is to rid your yard of those water-filled containers where are often where mosquitos breed. also make sure that you clear away any ivy and decaying leaves where they can hide. >>> the newest law aimed to protect you from getting your car towed was signed this week but it isn't protecting you just yet and might not protect you for quite a while. our scott mcfarland and the news4 i-team went under cover and found tow truck operators making an 11th hour push for cars before the ink of that new law is dry. >> reporter: near the court, the shops or a local hot spot like rockville town square, you know how difficult it is to find parking, making this half-empty parking lot down the street tempting. very temp

consumer reporter erika gonzalez reports on an issue creating heated debate at campuses nationwide. >> reporter: it's back to school for college students. for many, financial aid is a lifeline to education, and it pays for more than tuition. >> the books, transportation, maybe lunch. because stuff is expensive here. >> reporter: after tuition is paid, students can choose how to get the rest of their money. some colleges like prince george's community college pay a third party company to make sure students get the remaining balance. higher one is a company that dominates the market. it offers different options. students can ask for a check, have the money deposited into an account, or have the money put on a higher one debit card. >> it's more convenient to keep it on the higher one debit card so you won't get your personal money confused with your school money. >> reporter: plus student can use higher one atms for free. but we found some students like jadette didn't know that debit card can come with a cost. >> every time you use it, they charge you 50 cents. so i saw it on my stateme

. >> i'm erika gonzalez in for eun yang. and we turn to the weather. >> tom kierein is talking about some showers. >> yeah, came through the metro area, getting some moderate rain right here in the area in orange in prince george's county. this stretches all the way from where 301 meets route 5 and all the way up to near bowie, laurel, that's tracking right into anne arundel county. also this one area of some downpours now near laytonsville and that's moving away. later today, late afternoon and this evening some heavy downpours in this area. in green. could give us some flash flooding, including the immediate metro area. prince george's county, the district, anne arundel, parts of howard county. watch out for high water tonight. so hour by hour forecast for the next six hours will just begin to dry out a bit. the pavement still wet. some sun breaks out later this morning. low 80s by then. next weather and traffic on the 1s, a look at your bus stop forecast for this thursday. now melissa is looking at traffic problems early

. >> erika gonzalez is working for you. she hit the stores to see how people are saving money on supplies while still getting everything marked off their list. >> reporter: it's time to start tossing pens and pencils into your shopping cart. kids are going back-to-school. parents try to contain the joy. lexi is heading to high school. >> i got notebooks, blue and yellow ones. >> reporter: grandma judy is buying supplies for five kids. >> i think everything is more expensive. i noticed there's a big difference going from store-to-store. >> reporter: there are signs consumers are spending less this year. 2014 was a record year for back-to-school spending, now it's estimated they will spend $630 on back-to-school shopping, compared to $670 last year. >> back-to-school this year is about inventory. parents are asking their children to look under the bed, through the closets and dig through the drawers to find what they may already have. >> reporter: they have their eye set on new backpacks. that's all right with mom. she bought

i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm erika gonzalez. it is going to be a picturesque start to the weekend. let's send it on over to storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. >> good morning. there is the capitol glowing under a mostly clear sky on this friday morning. we're starting off with a clearing sky, lower humidity moving in. western northern suburbs in the 60s now. afternoon highs in the metro area, should be mid to upper 80s. farther north and west, in the 80s. panhandle of west virginia, washington county into allegany. only near 80 right in central west virginia. and much of northern virginia will be in the mid 80s. right near the chesapeake bay, low 80s. lots of sunshine throughout the day. as the lower humidity does move in. coming up next weather and traffic on the 1s, we'll have your bus stop forecast as we have students back to school feeling finally like back to school weather. not hot and humid this morning. a little touch of fall in the air. what's going on on the roads? >> we have a problem in warrenton. this is outbou

at the live desk, i'm erika gonzalez. >> thanks, erika. >>> a 5,000-pound truck fell on top of a teenagersee, but he was rescued thanks to siri. that, of course, the voice recognition service on iphones. sam ray was fixing his truck last month went jack slipped. he said, as he was trying to wiggle free, he heard siri activate, so he yelled, "call 911" and it did. within minutes, emergency crews arrived to save him. >>> and we here at nbc4 want to thank you for helping us clear the shelters. more than 1200 animals were adopted locally this past saturday. nationwide, nearly 20,000 pets found new homes. along with dogs and cats, people took home rabbits, turtles, a dove, an iguana, even some chickens. that's what we love about america. you can find more information about adopting a pet on our website, just search clear the shelters and next year, we are going to do it again. mark your calendars, july 16th, but of course, there are animals filling up those shelters every day. so, don't wait till next july if you want to add to your family. please visit a shelter. >> have you guys seen the sel

still take advantage of maryland's tax free week through to >> erika gonzalez hit the stores to show us how people are saving money on school supplies while still getting everything marked off their list. >> reporter: it's time to started tossing pence and pencils into your shopping cart. kids are going back to school. parents, try to contain the joy. lexie is heading to high school. >> i got some spiral notebooks, a blue and yellow one. >> reporter: at this target in rockville, grandma, judy, is buying supplies for her five grandkids, got to be smart about t. >> i think every sag little more expensive so i'm looking for the sale items, if i can and i notice a big difference going from store to store. >> reporter: while the ayes, ma'ams maybe full of shopper, there are signs that consumers are spending less this year than last. the national retail federation says 2014 was a record year for back-to-school spending. now, it's estimated consumers will spend about $630 on back-to-school shopping compared to $670 last year. >> back to school this year is all about inventory, meaning paren

news4's consumer reporter erika gonzalez shows us how you can end up paying for it. >> reporter: free wi-fi is as popular as the internet itself and those who use it do so cautiously. >> i'd rather be more safe tan sorry. >> reporter: but in a recent survey by aarp, 27% admitted to handling personal business using public wi-fi. >> i guess i never thought about it before. i don't know how anybody could get anything off of my computer from public internet. >> reporter: but they do. hackers and scammers have ramped up stealing from public wi-fi users, even massacre aqueradini wi-fi. this is the director of the fraud watch network and said they're trolling the neighborhoods and businesses looking for poorly or unsecured wi-fi accounts. >> even logging on the social media accounts you need to be careful because you're putting in your user name and >>> good morning. warning signs? french authorities say the man who attacked a train wielding an ak 47 was a known radical with possible ties to a terror group. a wounded american hero who helped attack the man leaves the hospital preparing to be

. >> i'm erika gonzalez in for eun yang.the weather. >> tom kierein is talking about some showers. >> yeah, came through the metro area, getting some moderate rain right here in the area in orange in prince george's county. this stretches all the way from where 301 meets route 5 and all the way up to near bowie, laurel, that's tracking right into anne arundel county. also this one area of some downpours now near laytonsville and that's moving away. later today, late afternoon and this evening some heavy downpours in this area. in green. could give us some flash flooding, including the immediate metro

. >> erika gonzalez, thanks, erika. >>> the former face of subway sandwiches strikes a plea dmeea in a child sex case. what jared's wife and his attorney had to say about the sentence. >>> should movie theaters start >>> should movie theaters start checking people's what's the most important thing your parents do for you? they buy me food. >>> should movie theaters start checking people's they make sure i'm never lost. well... they pay my allowance. encourage me. ♪ they sing us a lullaby at night... a lullaby at night. ♪ oh! now i remember... why does it matter that cigna covers preventive care? because the next most important thing you can do for them is take care of yourself. cigna. together, all the way. >>> a couple of showers out there right now, no real thunderstorm activity and we don't really expect much. could you see a rumble of thunder, a bolt of lightning? yeah, sure. the only area seeing it, not maryland, the showers down toward the south around fredericksburg, warrenton, the area that i think we will continue to see the best chance of showers in. if you live in northern

consumer reporter erika gonzalez reports on an issue creating a heated debate on campuses nationwide. >> reporter: it's back to school for college students, for many financial aid is a life line to education. and it pays for more than tuition. >> the books, transportation. maybe lunch. because that's expensive here. >> reporter: after tuition is paid, students can choose how to get the rest of their money. some colleges like prince george's counties pay to make sure that they get more. students can ask for a check, have the money deposited into the account or have the moe knew put on the higher one debit card. >> it's more convenient to keep it on the higher one debit card so you won't get your personal money confused with the school money. >> reporter: plus students can use higher one atms for free, but we found some students like jada didn't know that the debit card can come at a cost. >> you enter your p.i.n. number. they charge you 50 cents every time you use i. i saw it on the statement. and it seems like a little bit but it adds up. >> reporter: this fee has surprised students o

now, new regulations may change that, consumer reporter erika gonzalez has both sides of a heated debate reporter: one feature, the option for students to put money left over after tuition is paid on to a debit card, but there's a controversial cost associated with it. >> i don't think you should be charged to be using school money. >> reporter: every time she used her debit card with her pin to make a purchase, she was charged 50 cents. >> i didn't know at first. >> reporter: for that reason, the u.s. department of education wants tougher standards and greater transparency. >> what we want to avoid is any surprises to the student they don't discover until way down the road all this times, they have been occurring fees. >> they have been taking out 50 cents and been doing this for years. >> reporter: this student in michigan says she recently noticed the charges on her statement and she has been using the higher one debit card for the last six years. >> i didn't question anything about the card because i trust my school. >> reporter: this fall, the department of education mr.s to finaliz

. >> i'm erika gonzalez. let's get straight to tom with your answers in your weather headlines. >> oh, that beneficial rain we had yesterday in some of the heavy downpours that caused the flooding that is now long gone. it's now crossing out of delaware bay. heading out over the open waters of the atlantic and behind that to our west. we have a clearing sky, all dry now on the storm team 4 radar on this friday morning. and the temperatures right now around the region are hovering in the 60s. low to mid 60s with the lower humidity. near 70 in washington. low humidity now pushing into prince george's county and around the chesapeake bay. that's capitol hill now under this partly cloudy sky and temperatures will stay mild through the morning. turning less humid even during the afternoon. even lower humidity moving in and then the dry pattern is setting up here. it will be in place for the next seven days. a look at your drive time forecast at 6:11. melissa, chopper 4 up over the beltway. >> up over the top of th

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here to explain what is going on. >> this is the time, back to school, a lot of students waiting for their refunds, baiting for the money to kick in in order to be able to go to class, money that they will use to buy textbooks, supplies, house and food. but it's the way that students access their money that could come with a cost. >> shouldn't have to be a required fee to use that money that you're receiving for school. >> reporter: students like jada boroughs, a student at prince george's county community college recently realized she was being charged a fee when she used her college debit card, fees taken out of a financial aid refunds awarded to students. some students say that it came as a total surprise when they looked at their account statements. the issue has ended up in court and led to the government to take action against third-party companies that partner with colleges and universities. tonight at 11:00, college card fees, what your student needs to know before swiping. fees will get you if you don't really know your way around them and some

erika has weakened somewhat and is on track. for more of that here's lissette gonzalez for wfor-tv. ting and is struggling to survive and it's headed toward cuba as we head throughout the day today. it may fall apart alltogether. as we look at the track it's expected to continue north or off the west coast of florida as we head throughout the weekend and early next week. could be making landfall as a depression as we head into the panhandle and the southeast. now, regardless of whether erika dissipates or becomes a depression, all the moisture associated would bring torrential downpours and hundreds of people in hundreds of boats gathered in lafayette, louisiana, to rescue thousands trapped by floodwaters. here's their story. >> reporter: these are some of the starkest scenes from the floodwaters that overwhelm new orleans. thousands of people on rooftops, without food or water, begging for help. as many as 60,000 people tried to ride out the storm. so many could only wave and wait for rescue. watching it all on television in lafayette was former state senator nick gotro who got a ve

gonzalez of wfor is tracking the system right now. good morning. >> good morning. although tropical storm erikaemains organized, still posing a threat to florida and drenching puerto rico and a threat for flash floods and mudslides, moving to the west-northwest, will have to overcome the wind shear. it is moving towards the turks and caicos tonight. tropical storm now forecast to move into south florida late sunday, early monday morning. a lot of uncertainty. the models packed together for the next 24 hours. we start to seed the models diverse carrying erika across florida. now some of those models moving erika across cuba and westward into the gulf of mexico. that's the reason up and down the southeast coast and gulf coast states we'll have to closely monitor tropical storm erika as we could see a potential threat in florida or along the gulf coast. >>> it's another day of mourning in roanoke, virginia, for two young journalists shot dead on live television. more trib uutes are pouring in r alison parker and adam ward. >> the shopping center where parker and ward were killed reopens to the pub