at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> 15 before the hour now. dozens of american airlines flights are cancelled today as the carrier makes more repairs to seats that could come loose in midflight. the airline announced yesterday it would again ground 48 planes to make more repairs. that caused 50 flights to be cancelled yesterday and another 44 to be cancelled today. initially, a faulty clamp was blamed for the problems, but now american says a combination of wear, poor design, and possibly even spilled soda caused pins to come loose on those seats. all planes should be back in service by tomorrow. >>> federal authorities have arrested two men suspected of killing a u.s. border patrol agent. investigators say there is also a possibility that the agent was killed by friendly fire. agent nicholas ivy was killed and another agent was injured earlier this week along the mexico-u.s. border. officials still aren't sure what sparked the dent. the agents were responding to an alarm going off near the border when he was attacked. >>> and a member of the

at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> 5:46 your time right now. a shark attack killed a 39-year-old surfer off the southern california coast. the man was surfing in santa barbara when the shark bit him. a friend was able to drag him out of the water, but he died before paramedics got there. there were no shark warnings posted in the area, about you police say shark sightings are not rare. >>> there's a new effort calling for a later start time for montgomery county high school. so far more than 5,000 people have signed mandy mader's online petition to push back the start time in high schools to 8:15 or later so students can get more sleep. county high schools now start at 7:25 a.m. sleeping in the classroom is a study nationally. critics say the logistics are just too hard to work out. >> one hour could make a huge difference in terms of their immune system, car crashes. attendance. >> then is becomes do we hire bus drivers, or do we hire teachers? where do you want to spend the money? >> mader says she plans to formally introduce the petition to

at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> 15 before the hour now. it is a disturbing trend in one d.c. neighborhood. somebody is swiping packages, letters, even gift cards from front steps and even mailboxes. now one homeowner has caught that thief red handed. take a look at this hidden camera video you saw first on news 4 at 11:00. you can see a person drop off the package at a home in cleveland park. then a short time later, a man arrives, opens the box, steals what is inside, and then leaves the empty package behind. some say the area is an easy target for this sort of crime. >> we're adjacent to rock creek park. it's easy access. it's a quick grab and a quick take and a quick run. >> police are stepping up patrols in the area, and some neighbors say they may start going to a store instead of ordering things through the mail. >>> a prominent swimming coach is facing 15 years in prison. police say he had a sexual relationship with a young swimmer during the '80s. rick curl turned himself in to police. the former swimmer says curl abused her for ye

at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> 5:46 now.ss than an hour, thousands of people will kick off this weekend with the susan g. komen three-day walk. the 60 mile walk is designed to raise awareness and money for a cure. megan mcgrath is live on the scene. >> reporter: good morning, eun. you can see behind me we have a sea of pink as thousands of people are showing up this morning to either participate in the walk or to help out in this huge effort. 60 miles over the course of three days. everybody here raised at least $2,300 in order to participate. the money, of course, going toward the fight against breast cancer. there are all kinds of stories here. there are people who have lost loved ones, family members, and friends. there are also many, many survivors who are walking as well, including susan. you were diagnosed a year ago. talk about how difficult it was to get that diagnosis. >> it was very difficult. i have three children. they're 7, 5, and 2 now. obviously, 6, 5, and 1 when he was diagnosed. i found the lump myself. my s

news 4's melissa mollet is live at the news desk with information about breaking news in israel. melissa, good morning to you. >> good morning. >>> we do have new information from the past couple of minutes. israeli media says the american tourist that shot and killed a man in the hotel there was part of an exchange program, and that program is based abroad but also has officed in new york city. this is outside the red sea resort. israeli media saying this is a personal dispute, and the man in his 20s was recently fired from the hotel. the altercation started in the kitchen. the man reportedly snatched a female security guard's gun and shot a 50-year-old worker. the suspect later fired at police and was killed. we have called abroad to confirm that connection. once we hear, we'll let you know. >>> there is anticipation ahead of september's jobs report. analysts predicting the economy added 115,000 to 125,000 jobs last month. that's better than the disappointing 96,000 jobs added last month in august. >>> jobs will be likely be a hot topic on the campaign trail as both candidates s

melissa mollet at the live desk with breaking news. >> breaking news out of afghanistan. several hospitals in the northern part of the country overwhelmed after the suicide bombing we've been telling you about this morning. an update, we now at least 45 people have died, including 5 children. dozens are critically hurt after an attack on the mosque on the first day of the muslim holiday eid. we now know a commander and two local police chiefs were also killed in this bombing. just amazing video coming out of afghanistan this morning. at live desk, melissa mollet news 4. >> you may see one of these when you head out the door. those are snow plows. the goos news is they're not anticipating any snow. megan mcgrath joins us with a live look at what crews are up to. megan, what are they doing up there? >> reporter: they're making sure they're ready for the snow season. a lot of people scratching their heads saying why is there a snow plow in my neighborhood when all of those are talking about hurricanes. this is the dry run. you might see one of these know plows in our neighbo

news 4's melissa mollet live in alexandria. melissa, we're hearing one tree left a whole neighborhood dark. >> not exactly sure which tree took down the power line. not one house has any power. take a look over this way. this is one tree that came down. take a look at all the debris, a lot of it here still in the roadway. you can tell that somebody came through, cut things, and sort of moved them around out of the way. let's take a look across here. we're at commonwealth and myrtle. look at this tree. i know this is really hard to see in the dark, but this tree is just massive. take a look at this. i'm going to stand next to it. you can see just how high it is. lots of trees. i'm going to be keeping an eye on things like this for you all day. this area that is still under a coastal flood warning could get worse before it gets better. live in alexandria, melissa mollet, news 4. back to you. >> melissa, thank you. >>> it is 4:09 right now. several reports on trees down in houses this morning. >> coming up, crews out surveying the

at the news 4 live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> 6:44. the political spotlight is back from virginia. mitt romney is bringing his campaign back to the commonwealth. he'll speak at the mobility center in richmond this morning. then later romney will join his running mate paul ryan in lancast lancaster, ohio. president obama will host a dinner for winners of a campaign contest in the d.c. area. he does not have campaign stops on his schedule during the day. >>> feisty and aggressive. this morning those are some of the words analysts and viewers are using to describe last night's vice presidential debate. the two took jabs at each other over the economy. the crisis in syria, health care, and abortion. vice president joe biden criticized paul ryan and mitt romney for launching critical attacks about the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya before they knew the facts. congressman ryan said the attack is projecting weakness abroad. the two are both snarky when referring to controversial comments made in the past. >> i think the vice president

melissa mollet at the news 4 live desk. >>> good morning.istani girl shot in the head by the taliban last week has stood for the first time since the attack. this is according to doctors at birmingham's queen elizabeth hospital where the 15-year-old is being treated. she is still not able to talk. while there was some damage to her brain, doctors say there seem to be no long-term effects. she was on her way home from school when she was shot. she's a teen activist fighting for female rights. at the live desk, melissa mollet news 4. >>> time right now is 6:37. breaking news this morning. for now about two hours, the inner loop of the beltway is shut down. [ obama ] i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. [ female announcer ] seen this from mitt romney? then take a look at this. [ anderson cooper ] if roe v. wade was overturned, congress passed a federal ban on all abortions, and it came to your desk -- would you sign it? "yes" or "no"? let me say it -- i'd be delighted to sign that bill. [ female announcer ] banning all abortions? i'd b

. >> news 4's melissa mollet continues our live team coverage from alexandria. melissa, good morning to you. what are you seeing out there? >> reporter: good morning to both of you. right now we're getting a light drizzle like the rest of the area. i can tell you, of course, we're always worried about area here in old town alexandria, up against the potomac because, as water rises, it pushes water up into the streets. not necessarily flooding here, but pushing water into the streets. you just feel so bad for the homes and the businesses here. high tide expected around four hours from now, around 8:30 this morning. take a look at the video we took for you as we were walking down the streets of old town alexandria. there are lots of sand bags. of course, this is something we always see as we get heavy rain, a hurricane coming through or quick melting snow. you can also see plastic that people have put on their storefronts just to kind of prevent that water from getting into the windows. of course, very, very important. we even saw some of the parking kiosk guys com

at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> we're keeping a look at the beltway.ic still isn't moving on the inner loop. two tractor-trailers crashed between old georgetown road and 355. the crash caused a fuel spill, which is complicated things. stay away from the inner loop of the beltway in that area, if you can. we'll bring you more information in just a few mips in the first 4 traffic report. >> 5:47. >>> today we expect closing arguments in the trial of two prince george's county police officers accused of beating a maryland university student. closing arguments were delayed yesterday. sources tell news 4 it was after revelations that the judge revealed she was married to someone once convicted of an earlier crime. the jury expected to begin deliberations at some point today. >>> more than 100 are under arrest following a series of raids in fairfax and prince william counties. yesterday police announced results from a month's long undercover effort to seize drugs, weapons, money, and stolen property. police picked up 23 guns, dozens of pounds of drugs, and m

the relief drivers could soon see if they're caught. >>> i'm melissa mollet at the live desk. breaking news overseas. 5 people have been killed, 15 wounded in attacks across baghdad. a roadside bomb hit a patrol earlier today in the western part of baghdad, killing two policemen. and another bomb went off killing two civilians and wounding seven. >>> a colorado community is mourning the loss of a 10-year-old girl killed in denver. more than 2,000 people showed up for a vigil to remember jessica ridgeway. many wore her purple, the girl's favorite color. the girl disappeared earlier this month after leaving her house to walk to school. after an intense search, police found the girl's dismembered body but have yet to name a suspected killer. >>> police are trying to figure out what led to a deadly shooting along the u.s.-canada border in washington state. a man driving a van shot and wounded a canadian border officer yesterday afternoon. police say the man then turned the gun on himself and died. the driver was on his way from the u.s. to canada. that shooting temporarily crossed

i'm melissa mollet at the live desk. news 4. >>> police say the man accused of opening fire at a wisconsin day spa slashed his wife's tires two weeks ago. >> investigators say 45-year-old radcliffe hauton's wife had a restraining order against him. yesterday he walked into the spa where she worked and started shooting. three women in killed. >> and four others were hurt. at this point, it's not clear if haughton's wife was among the victims, but witnesses say they saw gunfire and saw smoke after he walked in. >> the milwaukee area has seen mass shootings before. just two months ago a former army veteran and white supremacist killed four people and wounded more. and a gunman shot 11 people, killing seven at a church service inside a hotel. >>> an al qaeda plot to kill people in yemen. the men planned on using weapons they smuggled in from neighboring syria. jordan says al qaeda operatives in iraq had also been helping the militants make explosives. >>> the white house is denying reports that the u.s. and iran have agreed

live in old town, alexandria, melissa mollet, news 4. back to you. >>> the atf is confirming that a stafford county home raided by fbi agents is connected to pipe bomb attacks in northern virginia. investigators say they're searching for a man who they believe threw pipe bombs at three homes in stafford and fredericksburg yesterday. the houses belong to a stafford county sheriff's deputy, the suspect's girlfriend and another law enforcement officer. nobody was hurt in any of the attacks. federal agents are not saying who they believe is responsible. >> 6:37. 43 degrees. the deal that means another star wars trilogy is not too far, far away. >>> plus another video you'll be talking about. dramatic rescues between hurricane sandy and a tie for the first responders of 9/11. >>> take a look at the live pictures on the beltway. the backup is for miles now. [ minto ] you know, those ads saying mitt romney would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all.

live from old town, alexandria, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> coming up, the efforts to get air travel back on schedule after days of cancelled flights. >>> and time to dry out from our deluge of rain. anncr: which do you believe? what mitt romney's tv ads say about women? or what mitt romney himself says? mitt romney: do i believe the supreme court... should overturn roe v. wade? yes. and it would be my preference that they, that they... reverse roe v. wade. hopefully reverse roe v. wade. overturn roe v. wade. planned parenthood, we're going to get rid of that. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. anncr: no matter what mitt romney's ads say. we know what he'll do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we

. >>> melissa mollet with new information on breaking news out of israel. >> good morning. new reports that an american tourist who shot and killed a worker at a hotel there was recently fired from that hotel. it started, they say, with an argument in the kitchen of the leonardo club hotel. the man snatched the security guard's gun and shot one person, a man in his 50s. the man barricaded himself inside and was killed by an anti-terrorism unit. police say evidehe was in his 2d possibly on an intern ship there. >>> what bee keepers are blaming for this unusual color bees are producg. [ male announcer ] for the dreamers... and those well grounded. for what's around this corner... and the next. there's cash flow options from pnc. solutions to help businesses like yours accelerate receivables, manage payments, and help ensure access to credit. because we know how important cash flow is to reaching your goals. pnc bank. for the achiever in you. e. pnc bank. the middle class, who move our country forward. work hard. raise families. and keep america strong. but mitt romney's budge

. >>> i'm melissa mollet at the live desk. fighting between gaza and israel has killed four palestinians in the last two days. crossings between gaza and israel also shut down following the attacks there. take a look. dozens of rockets and mortars from the gaza strip pummeled israel this morning, some slamming into this neighborhood. nine people were hurt. the entire region on alert with the fear that more rockets could be launched. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> the popular tropical storm sandy is expected to strengthen into a category 1 hurricane today. satellite shows a storm right now approaching the coast of jamaica. already sandy is drenching parts of jamaica with steady rain. people are boarding homes and stocking up on supplies. the country shut down schools and offices as well. international airports could close this morning. now to tom kierein with a look at where this storm is expected to go next. tom? >> good morning. >>> right now it has 70 mile an hour winds, and it is a strong tropical storm headi

at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> now at 6:50, a new study says d.c.list of the most affordable cities for middle class families. that's according to housing policy and labor technology. the capital region places the lowest housing and transportation burden on its residents. philadelphia took the second spot. that's followed by baltimore and minneapolis. boston rounded out the top five. >> i don't know that everybody is going to agree with that study. >> probably not. >> washington is an expensive place to live. >> they've done research. let's go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt. >> let's talk about the skyline behind us. it's gorgeous and beautiful. we really can't complain since it's nice and dry, but cool start to the morning. >> i think it's the reflection off pumpkin. >> or your tie. >> that's ue. it's a pumpkin colored sunrise. >>> right now predawn, 50 chilly degrees at reagan national. that's right there on the warmer waters of the potomac. see the runway of reagan national on the right. thankfully, a nearly calm wind. it is wintry

news 4s melissa mollet is live outside nats park. melissa, i imagine the difference between the feeling yesterday and today is oh, boy. please don't let it end. >> reporter: i know. i know. everybody is keeping their fingers crossed saying come on, we can do this. things are more calm right now. yesterday was a game starting at 1:07. today at 4:00. we don't have as many folks here. a gut wrenching loss, the nats need this one. it's hard for fans coming out of this roller coaster. >> i think we're doing fantastic. rmp the cold morning air couldn't keep fans away. how long have you been out here? >> since 6:30 this morning. >> some in massive blankets. others sporting shorts. there were fans waiting in vans and those hopping in cars for warm air. >> egg mcmuffin and coffee. >> reporter: with hours until the crowd grows, the nationals get a chance to prove they are the team to beat. washington fans are ready for a rally. >> i want a close game and pull it out at the end. that would be exciting. >> reporter: from the camera on our truck m

melissa mollet is live from the nats parks. fans said we can win this thing. tonight, they can back those words up. >> reporter: absolutely. everybody says no doubt the nats are going to win. take a look at the line behind me. it opened at 10:00. 400 people, by our account. they will not say how many tickets are left, but there are no standing room only tickets. no standing room only tickets left. the cheapest at $315 each. they are sure they will all be gone before the game. as the sunrises over nats stadium, the start of a perfect day. it's too bad. these nats fans are sick. >> my head hurts so much. >> my stomach hurts. i have been sweating. >> reporter: let me diagnose you, nats fever. feel what the nats are doing for our city right now, they are energizing, invigorating. playing hard, making us proud. >> it's been amazing. the energy here in d.c. is electric. people with nats hats on everywhere. it's great to be part of something as exciting as this. >>reporter: these die hards spent the night camped out in chairs staying warm in their cars or bundled up

news 4's melissa mollet is live in one part of alexandria where an entire neighborhood is in the dark. melissa? >> reporter: if you take a look behind me, you're not going to see any lights besides from the ones on top of your camera and one we have set up by our live truck just inn front of me this morning. this is exactly what you get when you have heavy winds and really, really soaked, saturated ground. look at this massive tree. it's probably about 4 1/2 feet high right here. the people that live in the house over there, so, so lucky that this tree did not fall the other way. a crew has been through here and set up cones along the road. if you're heading down the street, especially a dark one like this, you could run into a situation like this. let's safely cross the street here. if we can, you can see another tree here that came down. this one was chopped up as well. this is just what we're seeing all over the d.c., maryland, virginia area. very similar to this. neighborhoods like this out of power. we still see a lot of people out of power. hopefully, it will be turned on soon f

in silver spring, maryland, melissa mollet. >> folks driving this afternoon should keep an eye out for the kids walking. >> yes, they should. danella sealock has the latest on the traffic. >> good morning. it was a tough commute. now, things are looking a lot better. a lot of fender benders because of fog earlier. the road looks clear. i want to show you the american legion bridge. road work is blocking the left lane here. volume is still very low. stick to the right and you'll get by without issues. looking good on the beltway. both inner loop and outer loop clear. no accidents to report. when i return, i'm going to look at i-95 and the beltway in virginia. back to you. >> thanks. >>> right now, d.c. councilmembers are discussing lowering fines for people caught speeding. most firth time offenders see a fine of $150. they have gone up 500% in four years. it has many drivers complaining the program is there to raise revenue, not encourage safer driving. >> martin o'malley plans to introduce a surcharge that would let utility companies charge you more for much needed improvement. it all

news 4s melissa mollet is live. what is it looking like out there now? >> reporter: good morning, barbara. high tide came and went at 10:06. take a look at this, completely dry here. we have a couple patches of water. nothing like what we were dealing with yesterday. let's take a look at that. 24 hours ago, you can see what a big difference it is. yesterday, i was standing in six or seven inches of water. today, standing on the ground, this road technically opened, but not much traffic. still, restaurants, bunesses, homeowners in the area bracing for potential problems tomorrow. predictions are the flooding here in old town alexandria will get worse before better peaking on thursday. this store, at the corner of union and king was a message for sandy as everyone here watches and waits for the rising water. >> i feel sorry for the store owners. i looked through a window and it looks like they cleared the merchandise off the shelves. >> reporter: they are worried about the rising potomac and many are without power, worried about this mess. some on this car

melissa mollet, news 4. >> it was well worth the weight.he key is to come happy and leave happier today. >> oh, yes. >> you should know that several streets around nationals park are already closed. if you are heading to the game, metro is running extra trains to get you to the ballpark. traffic control officers are making sure fans get in out of the ballpark safely. bikely may be the easiest way to get there. nationals park offers a free bicycle valet service. we'll have complete coverage of the game. we want to hear from you. send your photos to natspics.com. you can find information on www.nbcwashington.com. >>> double the pleasure of double the fun. the nats will take a 2-1 series lead tonight and the os tonight. the team split the first two games in baltimore. the rest of the series will be play in new york. first pitch just after 7:30 tonight. >> what kind of weather will it be? >> is it a nice day for a national attraction in storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson in for tom kierein with the first 4 forecast. >> it's a great day

news 4s melissa mollet is light along the potomac. how are you hanging and how are the folks out there hanging? >> reporter: i'm doing fine. it's cold right now. i think people are doing okay. people in alexandria are used to this. yes, this is a street, believe it or not. i'm at the conger of king and union. you can see the potomac behind me. awhile ago, we had a couple feet of water in here. maybe six to eight inches right now at the edge of the street. lots of folks saying this is not as bad as it's been, at least not yet. after the worst of sandy ripped through, roads here look more like lakes. they are shut down and the water expected to rise a bit tonight. windows in old town covered with tape and tarps. doorways stacked with sandbags. residents coming down for a look at what sandy did. >> it's not as bad as i thought it would be. a few feet of water. >> reporter: before the storm hit, folks were nervous. they dressed in matching yellow slickers. they are keeping an eye on the potomac. she's lived here 40 years and no stronger t

in the news room, melissa mollet, news 4, back to you. >>> health investigators in massachusetts sayhey found unsanitary conditions inside the pharmacy linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak. that includes black specks of fungus in the steroids. 23 people have died. the governor of massachusetts is ordering surprise inspections of the compounding pharmacies at least once a year to try to stop something like this from happening again. >>> meantime, the number of suspected meningitis cases in virginia is rising. the virginia department of health says 41 cases have been reported. that includes three cases of west virginia residents treated at virginia hospitals. they are working to contact the 700 people who received a shot that could be tainted. >>> the prince george's county school board is erases all votes from a woman living outside her district. he was living outside the district for four months. that violates maryland law. she moved to care for her ill mother. yesterday, the board decided to erase all of her votes. several members recognized her for her service. >> i wish to exp

i want to bring back melissa mollet with our station wrc in washington, d.c.nd she is in alexander, virginia. we got cut off from you the last time you were reporting but give us a sense of how things are looking there right now. >> well, good morning, chris. you can see, let me first show you this tree behind me. look how massive this thing is. we are in alexandria, virginia. you can see how large it is as i stand next to it. this is a neighborhood that lost power last night. who knows who they'll get it back on. they are just some of the hundreds of thousands of people in this region without power. if we kind of pan around, you can see it is completely dark. let's walk across the street and see another tree that is down. our numbers right now and the d.c., maryland, virginia area are 200,000 people out of power. i've got to tell you the winds were whipping through like crazy last night. this is no surprise and, of course, this is something that we're seeing all along the east coast. now, this area, in particular, supposed to get more wind and perhaps more ra

. >> news 4's melissa mollet at the live desk with breaking news. >>> we're keeping an eye on a verying overseas. in baghdad, 5 people have been killed and 15 wounded after a series of bombings there. two police officers among the dead. >>> in afghanistan, 45 soldiers have been hurt and one person is dead after a suicide car bombing near the date of a u.s.-afghan combat outpost. the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack which happened in the eastern part of the country and shook houses nearly two miles away. most of the soldiers were injured by falling debris. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> today president obama and mitt romney will go from debating to campaigning. both candidates will return to the ba lground states a day after their second debate. romney will make two stops in virginia. he'll begin the day in chesapeake to travel to our area. he'll hold a rally in leesburg. the president will campaign in ohio and iowa before returning to washington. >> you also have es through a caymans trust. >> we're way off here, governor romney. >> bewe're a little of

melissa mollet was at the meeting and has more. >> reporter: the purple line would run from here in new carrollton to bethesda. it's a critical point. a critical point in the process of planning and finding funding. this meeting was maryland's lieutenant governor and an update on the plan so far. an effort to make the strongest case possible and win approval and funding for the light rail line. >> this will help not only alleviate trash and pollution, but the region that will help everyone. >> reporter: it's a summit to help opportunities the purple line will bring to the area like new development and 4,000 plus jobs with 21 planned stations at a stop in college park. those in favor saying more than 50,000 riders would use the line each day. now, they are trying to line up state, federal and private dollars. >> the state invested $120 million in the planning and design of the purple line. we have 50 million for this year. we are going to look to the federal government to work with us to fund a large and expensive project. >> reporter: opponents look at the impact. possible demolition of

. >> news 4's melissa mollet joins us live from alexandria where the water is expected to rise there. melissa, good morning to you. >> this is one of those low lying areas we always keep an eye on, whether it's a quick snow melt or heavy rain or a hurricane like this coming through. it's an area that always sees lots of trouble. i can tell you in the past hour, things have changed a little bit. it feels a little bit cooler because things are getting wet out here. the rain seems to be coming down a little harder than it was. and the wind has picked up just a bit. i know it's difficult to see the potomac behind me. the water is a little more choppy than it was. we took a stroll through old town alexandria this morning. take a look at that video. you can see a lot of store fronts have put plastic tarps in front of their windows. waters from getting in. a lot of restaurants have sandbags stacked up. we see that a lot in situations like this. some roads blocked off and shut down because of the water that's expected to rise. we saw one big electronic parking meter kiosk wrapped in plastic t

at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> 5:38 is our time right now. our big story today, of course, hurricane sandy. brand new models this morning bring it closer to us. tom is can traitracking the tim this system. what makes the sleep number store different? we have so much technology in our store to really show the customers what's going on with their bodies. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh, wow. that feels really good. during our sleep number innovation event, now save up to $700 on our most innovative bed sets plus special financing on selected beds. final days! ends saturday. exclusively at a sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. "and what do you do?" "oh, i sell insurance like no one else." "oh, that's nice." "thank you." now, that's progressive. call or click today. >>> good morning. time for weather and traffic. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein with the latest on sandy. it's a category 1 hurricane now moving north of the

live in alexandria, virginia, melissa mollet, news 4. >> the worst of the storm came after it got dark last night. people are going to wake up and go outside and see pretty rough stuff out there. >> that's why we're telling people to stay off the roads. it's so dark. trees could be down, power lines. itted can be dangerous. >> we do have reportered all over the area this morning. cupping up, a look at the hardest hit parts of d.c. teacher: this is west virginia, pennsylvania, delaware. and. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million gaming at casinos in these other states. question seven will build a new casino and bring table games to baltimore... generating hundreds of millions for schools. and that money has to go to education. it's the law. so vote for question seven. so we can stop spending all that money here, and keep maryland money in classrooms like mine. [monotone] she says, "switch to progressive and you could save hundreds." call or click today. >>> these are pictures of the old guard at they stood watch at arlington national cemetery. members of the infant

melissa mollet is at the live desk with breaking news. >>> militants in the gaza strip fired dozens of rockets into southern israel. take a look at the video we just got into the news room. it shows damage to one house. air raid siren sounded this morning after more than 30 rockets and mortars landed. israeli military says the aircraft struck gaza twice in retaliation. one palestinian militant was killed. >>> we are now less than two weeks away from election day, and the candidates are in an all out sprint to the finish line. president obama and mitt romney flying across the country today. they've got campaign stops in the states that could determine the election. today the president will make stops in iowa's quad cities area and denver. he will later fly to l.a. for an appearance on "the tonight show" before heading to vegas. mitt romney will campaign in reno. the republican presidential nominee making stops in cedar rapids, iowa, and end the day in cincinnati. he'll make three stops in ohio. both candidates kicked off the final stretch with their running mates. president obama kicked

at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> now to the race to the white house, president obama heads to battleground virginia today after a stop in new hampshire yesterday. the president will speak to a crowd at george mason university in fairfax county. this is the second trip to that campus in as many weeks. after his rally, the president will head to camp david to prepare for the final presidential debate. that will be held monday in boca raton, florida. another event will be happening near the george mason campus. if you're headed that way, expect a lot of congestion and a lot of detours in that area. starting at 10:00, vehicles that are bigger than suvs will not be able to drive down route 123 ox road. details include braddocks and roberts road as well. >>> the people holding a rally in daytona beach on the same day as biketoberfest. they joked to a local paper that romney is going for a biker vote. >>> just 48 hours after their contentious debate, president obama and mitt romney traded jokes with each other over dinner. the two shared the stage at the alfred e. smith memorial d

news 4's melissa mollet live in old town alexandria, where the water levels seem to be creeping up a bit. melissa? >> reporter: good morning, aaron. we are standing out here at 11:00 in the morning. we are out here again news 4, 11:00 last night. it looks very different from where it does now because we were just after a high tide. you can look as i'm walking at king and union. this whole area was still -- we had a couple feet of water, went down to about six inches. now the water has receded as expected, and high tide expected again at 10:00 this morning, 10:06 to be exact. you can see all of these roads completely shut down for safety. take a look over here. even a lot of the businesses still worried about this water coming through. and, of course, have sandbags there just in case we have another issue, which is expected within the next 24 hours or so, i would say. take a look at how things looked out here last night. the water stretching to restaurants and businesses here. not the worst they have seen. that worst was in 2003 back with isabel. right now we're at flood stage. tomorro

news 4 melissa mollet continues our coverage from old town alexandria. high tide within minutes. >> reporter: just a couple of minutes, 8:31 is high tide. it is much higher than it has been of course, which of course is expected. at this point, not coming on to this walkway where i'm standing. sometimes when the river gets very high like this, when we have a lot of rain or even a quick snow amount, it can still go into sewers and such and get on to the roadways. that is something people will have to deal with. we've been talking with a lot of folks this morning. some people taking a look at things this morning. we spoke with one woman who says she has lived here in old town for 40 years and so far isabel has been the worst but she's very nervous about this storm. take a listen. >> i saw the water go over the fire hydrant, i thought, uh-oh, that's a problem. and the next day there was a boat down in the park. i've seen some pretty bad things. lots of canoes, that type of thing. >> how do you think that will compare? >> from everything i've heard, it's goi

here is a photo tweeted by melissa mollet.he has to pull over because the rain was coming down so hard. this was in gaithersburg. when the rain is coming down hard, just pull over and wait. these are passing heavy downpours. thanks for posting that. send your photos to www.nbcwashington.com. look at that scene. you can barely make out the jefferson memorial in the moderate showers coming through. behind that, we have fog as well. reagan national cloudy. rain is temporarily ended there. it's rather humid, of course. we have the wind out of the north briefly. this is what's been happening over the last couple hours. these areas in yellow and orange. we have had several of those coming through. now it's tapering off to a few scattered showers from southern maryland to northern virginia. there's one moderate shower here. it's about to move into fairfax county. the heaviest rains are coming in north of montgomery county. it's tracking north across interstate 70 and head to the pennsylvania border. you can see the areas in green. th

melissa mollet joins us with some of the highlights. >> reporter: good morning. in an hour, president obama will speak at a park in denver, then fly fo wisconsin this afternoon. meantime, romney is headed to virginia for a ral lee tonight. they might be moving on, but many are rehashing last night's debate. the debate was make or break for mitt romney who appeared confident, commanding and in control. at times, it seemed a subdued president obama was less prepared allowing romney to steer the direction of the debate. many, including "meet the press" host, david gregory calling romney the clear winner. >> his proposal calls for a tax cut on top of $2 trillion of spending. >> everything he said about my tax plan is inaccurate. if the tax plan he described were a tax plan i was asked to support, i would say absolutely not. >> reporter: there's no time for rest. the senior advisers on the "today" show, early this morning. >> governor romney put more preparation into it than they did into the invasion of normandy. i expected a strong performance and got it. >> many we

melissa mollet is live with more on that. >> good morning. if you like the presidential debates, two forecasts and verbal sparring. last night's face-off was the one for you. millions watched to see if president obama could bounce back. >> you want me to answer. i'm happy to answer the question. >> and it is? >> it was a testy change at hofster university. the gloves came off. it looked like the candidates were going start boxing. >> i had a question. >> president obama more aggressive than in the first go round. he appeared more comfortable with the town hall style format. romney didn't back down, standing his ground on an evening that will be remembers giving the impression they are starting to like each other less and less. >> how much did you cut licenses? >> here is what we did. there were a bunch of oil companies. >> i had a question and the question was how much did you cut? >> joe biden and paul ryan reacted on the "today" show this morning. >> i think president obama was absolutely at the top of his game last night and i think he was

live in old town alexandria, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> let's join dan stessel on the phone from metro. dan, good morning to you. are you there? first, let me ask you a forward looking question. we know that metro also was shut down today. what about tomorrow? when will you make the final decision? >> i wouldn't expect any decision on that until sometime this evening. probably the 6:00 or 7:00 hour. probably the same decision-making process we went through yesterday. that means in cooperation with the region as well as the federal government and with a briefing by the national weather service as to what to expect. once we have all of that information, we'll let our customers know what to expect for tomorrow's service and beyond. >> dan, during snowmageddon, 24 inches of snow on the ground, metro ran. how did you determine that metro would be shut down completely, especially when so many people are relying on public transportation and the experts are saying get off the roads? >> absolutely. the safest place to be is home in shelter and don't want to be out in this. we want the public to

melissa mollet is standing by. what are conditions like where you are? >> reporter: we had to come over from alexandria, it was just getting way too windy. so we came over here. we're at this higher point here in arlington. you can see, it has gotten really windy here. it is so much colder than it was just a little while ago. you can see the pentagon there in the distance. folks traveling both ways on 395. traffic not bad at all. we're hoping lots of people are staying home. it is only going to get worse over the next couple of hours. unless you absolutely have to be out for some reason, for work perhaps like us, definitely want to stay home. i can tell you the experience in old town was interesting this morning. the potomac river always flooding. that was kind of starting as we were leaving about an hour or so ago. lots folks putting sandbags out because of that low-lying area. lts of folks putting plastic tarps out over windows with tape, to make sure that if it shatters, that that is secure. so we're keeping an eye on things for you. we'll be back out

. >>> i'm melissa mollet at the live desk.qaeda's number two operative in yemen claims in an audio recording that he is alive. there were reports that said al shahiri was killed in a ground attack last night. the tape's authenticity could not be concerned. >>> good news for riders who use the dupont circle metro station. the south entrance is now open. >> news 4's megan mcgrath is live with the good news. >> reporter: hey, good morning. we've got our portable live gear up and running. we're going to take you on a road. these are the brand new escalators at the dupont circle south exit here, and you can see they are up and running. the station opened a little while ago. we've seen folks using it already. kneadle kne needless to say, they are excited. these are where the old ones were among the most unreliable in the system. they were breaking down all the time. the manufacturer had gone out of business. so when they did break down, it was impossible to get replacement parts. they made the decision to shut down this entrance. it