woman attacked, the brutal broad daylight assault at a local parking lot that has commuters on alert. >> president obama gathers with congressional leaders to discuss u.s. efforts in afghanistan. >> first in line, how soon you can get your swineluhot now that vaccines are beginning to roll in. good morning. welcome back tos now 4 today. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm joe krebs. it is tuesday, 6th day of october, 2009. live look outside, still some we have 53 degrees out there. . >> weopen, inner loop of the beltway looks okay, just ahey're getting closer to finish that project. seems like it's been going on for years. eventually they will be done with it and that will be a good thing. he out to the rails this morning and see how we're doing so far. metro rail, vre and mark rail, reporting no delays as the trai head out for the day. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you very much. a warning to women this morning in northern virginia after the report of a woman raped at a park and ride lot. >> this happened during yesterday's evening rush hour at the herndon monroe park and ride lot in resten. michael flynn joins from resten and has more. >> reporter: good morning joe, barbara. already this morning i've seen multiple police cars out here patrolling this commuter bus lot. police are trying to catch the person who grabbed a teenager who was in this lot and then sexually assaulted her. the abducti happened in broad daylight at the herndon monroe park and ride. the 19-year-old victim was not here as the commuter police say. she told investigators someone grabbed here in the bus lot, forced her to a wooded area nearby and aault her. police say the attacker took her to a homeless encampment in the woods but say the man is most lick lie not homeless, just familiar with the area. the victim managed to escape, ran home and called police. the attack has shaken the nerves of commuters. >> in this area not really much g ongoin didn't really pay attention to at love things now that i know i will watch out. >> reporter: police say the attacker was last seen riding away on a bicycle. anyone who might have seen any of this yesterday to give them call. back to you. >> all right. >> thanks very much. metro transit police officers say they have a new vehicle to help them fight crime. take a look at this. the department is rolling out the new t-3 vehiclestoday. they're somewhat similar to a segway only they're larger. metro says they'll aid officer in patrolling their parking garages and lots. the first t-3 vehicles will be used by officers today at the new carlton station. happening today, a bill will be introduced that could put same-sex couples one step closer to being allowed to marry in the district. that bill will be introduced by the duk council today. it expected to pass with 10 to 13 council members approving it. mayor adrian fenty has pledged to sign it. the district would phase out t city's domestic partnership law and allow same-sex couples to apply for and receive a marriage license. president obama will meet with congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle to talk about the war in afghanistan. his administration is debating whether to support general stanley mcchrystal's request for more troops. brook hart is live on capitol hill with more. >> reporter: presidentbama will visit the nional counterterrorism center today. the white house says this visit is unrelated to his strategy review in afghanistan, but it does underscore his focus on al qaeda. . >> love you. >> reporter: overnight, a tearful good-bye in south carolina. >> right there. >> reporter: more than 200 airmen from the 79th fighter squadron left for afghanistan. what is their mission? this week, the war enters its ninth year. >> quite frankly,either the defense department nor the white house has actually decided what strategically it wants to do. >> mourn the dead. >> reporter: as war protesters masked outside the white house, a spokesman says what won't happen is pull out. >> that's not something that won't be entertained. >> reporter: president obama said crushing al qaeda is the goal, but it was the taliban claiming credit for sunday's attack that killed eight soldiers. the obama picked general mcchrystal publicly wants more troops to push back. defense secretary robert gates had this suggestion seemingly aimed at him. >> we provide our best advice to the president, candidly, but privately. >> reporter: central commander david petraeus claims surgical strikes against al qaeda leaders have been successful in afghanistan, pakistan, and elsewhere. >> there has actually been significant progress against top 20 level leaders. >> reporter: it's an anti-al qaeda strategy that president obama could see as an alternative to expanding the war with more troops. and as for general david petraeus, "the new york times" is reporting that the general learned this year he had prostate cancer, apparently two months of radiation treatment was reportedly successful. i'm brooke hart, back to you. >> thanks very much. today people living in one neighborhood will have a chance to ask questions about the munitions cleanup in their area. american university will host a town hall meeting this evening for spring valley residents. the army corps of engineers found traces of mustard gas in the affluent neighborhood in august during its cleanup of world war i era munitions. that cleanup eort has been under way for more than 15 years. the d.c. delegate hope tonight's meeting will improve relations between the residents and corps of engineers. the new controversy surrouing the race for governor in virginia. the unexpected wake-up call after the driver of a van lost control and collided into an apartment ilding. >> we're going to tell you about a new website helping put a little extra money in your bank account. a this tuesday morning, it's 53 degrees, 5:40 the time right now, good morning and welcome. free food with a news 4 bargain blast we have for you. >> buy a suband a regular fountain drink at quiznos and get the second sub for free, a sandwich, not a submarine. you can get the coupon at www.nbcwashington.com just search bargain blast. not a real submarine? >> what would you do with a submarine? >> i don't know. i could probably come up with something that i would like to do with it. >> hey, good morning, veronica. what would you do with a submarine 1234. >> go exploring. >> joe, you always -- >> i know. he wants us to hear these things and let them fly over our heads. sometimes i like to stop him and figure out exactly what he had in mind. >> in my tracks. >> let's talk temperatures across the area. 53 degrees right now in d.c., mcchain here at 52, prince georges county 48 degrees, up north, damascus and kensington 47 degrees. under mostly clear skies. the radar is quiet. clouds will be increasing today, though, by the afternoon we're partly sunny, showers probably not moving in until after midnight. dry at the bus stops this morning. 45 to 56. kids will need the jacket because it will be a chilly start. sun comes up at 7:09 and when it does lots of sunshine, by 3:00 we're still mostly sunny, so it t back end of the day that will get the clouds and not until again very late. showers will be moving in. showers first thing tomorrow morning. >> all right. let's head on out and see how we're doing as the commute gets under way. dale city, picking up volume, but all in all not bad. surprisingly quiet, got to love that, 59 northbound basically from fredericksburg towards dumfries, to the capital beltway with the travel lanes open. out at the wilson bridge, no surprises, northeast quarters are quiet incident free so far, 270 all the way on down. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you. a major player linked to that allege taxicab bribery scandal is breaking his silence. >> the first doses of the swine flu vaccine are shipping out. next at 5:, what health officials are saying about how soon you can get the shot. good morning. welcome back. just a matter of hours the swine flu vaccine could be here. we're expecting the first shipments to arrive in our area. health care workers will be at the top of the list to get it, but eventually it will be your turn. kimberly joins us from the prince george's health department with more on when that might happen. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, joe. we are on the lookout for the fedex and ups trucks. they will be making deliveries today to health departments in our area. as expected. they're hoping to see the nasal mist first with shots to follow. the nasal mist is supposed to arrive today in the maryland, d.c. and virginia areas and then the h1n1 shots to follow as early as friday, maybe even next week. taking a look around the county, the first to be inoculated will be health care workers and then children ages 6 to 24, as well as pregnant women, although the nose mist is not recommended for pregnant women. the pregnant women will have to wait for the shot. th initial availability of the vaccine will be limited. the district has ordered 36,000 doses initially. maryland, 35,400 doses. virginia, 43,000 doses. again, initially they'll be reserved for health care workers at high risk for exposure to the virus as more doses arrive in the coming weeks, state and local health agencies will begin offering it to populations that are at risk. loudon county parents and parents here in maryland, throughout northernirginia and the district, should expect to get consent forms in the next few days and weeks. let's listen in to what they're saying in fairfax county right now. >> we expect to start a school vaccination based clinic in the next couple of weeks when we have enough vaccine and this will be at day based clinics. >> i asked my pediatrician. he recommends them to get it. they're focusing on the kids. definitely get it for the kids. >> reporter: so the vaccine programs we understand in public schools will begin in the elementary schools first and then the middle and high schools. parents, letters should be coming home shortly and again, if you see those fedex or ups trucks pulling up to your health department this morning you know what they're carrying. reporting live, i'm kimberly suiters news 4. >> thanks very much. the d.c. official who helped bring down an alleged taxi briberscheme is breaking his silence. commissioner chairman leon swain spoke for first time publicly yesterday. swain has been working under cover with federal investigators for the last two years. pretending to accept bribes in exchange for licenses and other favors. his work helpe lead to the arrest of dozens of drivers and jim graham's chief ofstaff. the district attorney general calls swain a hero but he says he's an honest man from the poor ward 8. >> i've been in ward 8 since i was 16 years old. i'm 57 now. i'm a former ase commissioner. i sit on a couple of different boards. i attend my church, galloway baptist church. i'm in the choir or was in the choir until this started. i had it to slow down on that. >> swain can't speak about specifics of the case for legal reasons. he's receiving police protection as the case moves forward. sometimes the morning hits you like a ton of bricks. robert had just awakened yesterday when bam, a minivan blasted through the wall of his apartment in green belt. take a look at this. this is a photo of the minivan sticking out of the apartment which is ironically, if not downright sarcastically located on good luck road. the passenger of the minivan was giving the driver who did not have a license a driving license. even though his leg had cuts from flying debris he assisted his morning visitors out of the minivan. >> i'm blessed. god let me know it's not my time because it could have been at that point. so i'm blessed. i go on living life the way i do. >> witnesses say the minivan driver and his instructor were parked in the lot next to his when it took off. the driver is facing a charge of driving without a license and both the passenger that is to say the driving instructor and driver are charged with reckless endangerment. and now to virginia's race for governor and criticism for tim kaine that's impacting the men vying to be his successor. a fight over transportation from james oberstar. he says virginia is dead last in using its stimulus money. at the end of august 17% of the funds were committed. overstar says virginia should pick up the pace and since he's a democrat the criticism hits governor cane hard and impacts the democratic choice for governor who promised to follow cane's lead. >> here's the problem. it points out the weakness in our transportation system. we didn't have the ongoing projects we could just pour the money into. we had to analyze our entire system and project list to see where we could put the money to work as quickly as possible. the governor is doing the best he can to get the money out. >> kaine released a statement saying overstar's report was dated. while virginia appears to be behind in using its stimulus money the commonwealth is using the funds as they were intended. another controversy surrounding that race stirred up by b.e.t. co-founder sheila johnson. >> mcdonnell can communicate the other people i talk to and especially his owe o-po-ent in, caught on video mocking deeds at a fund-raiser for back mb donnell. deeds has trouble articulating his views and pretends to stutter mocking his speaking style. a mcdonnell rep says it was to illustrate has deeds has, quote, been unable to express any vision for virginia's future. a spokesperson for deeds calls it a cheap shot and says while he is not the smoothest speaker, deeds is authentic and means what he says. take a look at our forecast now. it sounds like the rain may not come today, is that right? going to wait until tomorrow? >> after midnight when a lot of us are sleeping, some of us may be heading to work tomorrow morning. but yeah, we're only looking for a few light passing showers during the overnight period, joe and barbara. for today, we're dry. plenty of sunshine to start things out. we're under mostly clear skies right now. that sun will be coming up today at 7:09. so some sunshine for the first start of the day and then we'll see an increase in cloud cover. hey, it's 53 degrees right now, reagan national airport. 48 degrees theew point temperature. northeast wind at 5 miles per hour. let's take a look at some of our other temperatures nearby, 47 our folks in hagerstown, 39 in el kins west virginia, potomac highlands, areas west pendleton county under a frost advisory this morning and they've got some fog there. skies are clear, so what happens is, you get those clear skies, the calm winds. you get radiational cooling where no cloud cover to hold in the warmth and radiates back out. a lot of cool starts f our neighbors off to the west. our wind is out of the east and northeast, buts that high shifts to the east, our winds will be veering around to more of a southeasterly direction today and as that high moves off it will allow for more clouds to move in today. elsewhere, across the nation, one big weather system the system has been moving fast, out of the northern rockies where it produced up to two feet of snow in montana as well as wyoming and over the nation's mid section, areas of minneapolis right now getting some showers. probably have some damaging storms down south around texas and ar kansas and more flooding. look at this, how the temperatures have dropped. 36 bismarck, 32 great falls, 33 denver and stronger weather system will be coming our way for the weekend. arctic front, some of the coolest air of the season. let's talk about what you can expect over the next 24 hours. we've got low pressure off the coast there near north carolina that will have no affect on us. for today, we are dry, but a weather front, again, that front off to the west, produ something showers in and around chicago area, for the morning and indianapolis, indiana, will be quickly moving to the east. by about 3:00, 40 a.m. tomorrow morning we'll see some of the first showers across our area in and around d.c. i-95, then it's really out of here by about 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. should be getting into some sunshine too for tomorrow afternoon with high pressure moving back in for thursday too. should be lking at a fair amount of sunshine. mostly sunny for today. we should see highsoday between 70 and 75 degrees. it will be dry again until very late. up to 71 degrees, 69 martins burg, more cloud cover down to the south, as the weather front starts to make its way in. a look at your four day forecast like yesterday, into the low 70s. but with more clouds by the afternoon. showers to start things off tomorrow morning, and then we're windy behind the front. the high should be about 72, 73. dry close to 80 o fray. friday will be awfly nice. maybe some rain showers for saturday and joe, i know both of us have been talking about the [ inaudible ] a little bit. wait and see what happens if it will be wet for the big bike ride. >> are you riding? >> i am not. i knowome people who are and a lot of friends who are and could be a rough ride if it's raining and it's always windy. >> windy and flat. >> never call that ride do they? >> no. >> for the weather. >> we'll see you in a little bit. >> thanks a lot. out to jerry w. >> hey, jerry. >> hello there. and so far the news around town not bad. not bad at all. heading in to southeast washington, along pennsylvania avenue, branch avenue, very quiet so far this morning. few folks out and about early but no worries. all the way up to pennsylvania avenue to the susan bridge looking good. branch avenue in moving well. elsewhere the trip through the northeast, rode island avenue, new york avenue, just a little bit of volume. quiet on to 70 as along 395. not too much to worry about from the beltway through land mark and shurlington. 66 manassas to the roosevelt bridge, moving well with no major accidents to report at this hour. back to you. >> all right. thank you, jerry. >> thank you. well, saving money can be hard, especially in this economy but there's no question it's very important for your future. that's why there's a new feature on-line helping people save in the most efficient way possible. scott budman has details. . >> searching through hundreds of savings accounts and cds. >> reporter: diana knows it's time to start saving money. >> it's important to think about tomorrow because you don't know if you're going to get laid off. >> reporter: a single mom, she has had about $1,000 set aside in a savings account for three years. now she wants to start a college fund for her son. >> honestly i wouldn't know where to start. >> reporter: how about here, redwood city based bill shrink.com launched a new tool to match you to the right savings account. >> first of all the key to getting a good recommendation. >> reporter: which is what the site does. it asks, how much you've saved, how much you plan to put away, and for how long? it looks at 300 different savings options, and finds the one that will give you the most cash. >> we allow consumers to tell us what are the set of features important given my lifestyle and my usage and we make sure we give users recommendations to take all those into account. >> reporter: things like whether or not you want atm access or paper statements. it also factors in terms and conditions and hidden fees. things that could take hours to research. >> it's a problem that's much more well suited to computers than for humans because there's so many things you have to take into account. >> reporter: with bill shrink.com it's free, something diana appreciates in this economy. >> especially with a small child, being a single parent. >> reporter: it took only a few minutes for bill shrink to find the best savings plan. >> the percentage is a lot higher. >> reporter: and matched her with the savings account that would boost her return by more than 50%. >> i'm going to sign up and use it. >> reporter: scott budman, nbc news. >> and for more tin tips on saving money visit www.nbcwashington.com and search savings for you. hoping to find jobs for you. med insurance is recruiting nurses. if you're interested in learning more or applying go to www.nbcwashington.com and search jobs for you. now coming up next, at 6:00 a.m., the terrifying attack at a local parking lot that has commuters on alert. >> a new study reveals wha it takes to become a billionaire. what common abducted and attacked, police are looking for a man they say grabbed a 19-year-old from a virginia park and ride lot. the swine flu fight begins. vaccines expected to arrive today. when they'll be given out. >> another metro rider run over by a metro bus. a woman is now fighting for her life. >> good morning. thanks for waking up with us. for "news 4 today" i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm joe krebs on this tuesday, the 6th day of october. taking a live look outse right now, looks nice. little cloudy above us, 53 degrees. nice fall day on the sth day of october. >> we have veronica johnson to tell us what we can expect today and the rest of the week. >> a little cloudy. not a lot cloud. we' we're doing okay. not a bad finish. partly sunny by the afternoon, but those showers that we talked about yesterday should hold off until after midnight. 48 in college park maryland with a light wind. 46 in mcchain, langley, mitchellville and prince george's county 47 degrees and silver spring at 48 degrees. we have dry conditions throughout the area again, showers not until after midnight, but 3:00 we're mostly sunny and then we're partly sunny to partly cloudy come late this evening here, so temperatures up to 71 and then falling off into the 60s. not dropping much with all the cloud cover that will be around tonight. 61, 62, showers probably 5:00, 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. so there you have it for today. t the 70s, should be dry. >> we'll see you in about ten minutes. >> let's go back to jerry and the news 4 traffic network. >> good morning. the big news is really there is no news to report and that is good news. outer loop of the beltway at the american legion bridge, lanes are open but uneven pavement, same situation on the inner loop, be aware of that. see what else is happening headed for downtown, northeast corridor, southeast doing fine. inside the beltway, 66, light volume of traffic to the roosevelt bridge, 395 from the beltway to downtown moving quite well. back to you. >> thank you. an alert for commuters headed out of the door. police on the hunt for a suspected rapist after a woman was attacked standing in a park and right. >> his happened at the herndon park and ride lot in resten. michael flynn joins us live. >> reporter: good morning. there are some concerned commuters as police look for the person who grabbed the teenager from this bus lot and assaulted her in a wooded area nearby. this happened in broad daylight around 4:00 in the herndon monroe park and ride. the 19-year-old victim was not here as a commuter police say. she told investigators that someone grabbed her here at the commut bus lot, forced her to a wooded area close by and then sexually assaulted her. fairfax county police say the attacker took her to a homeless encampment in the woods but say he is most likely not homeless, just familiar with that area. the victim managed to escape, ran home and called police. the attack has shaken the nerves of some commuters who use this park and right, including this woman. >> i normally feel very save because there are always like people waiting for the bus and most of them are like here. hearing about what happened what does that make you think? >> i think i shouldn't stand here alone. >> reporter: police say the attacker was last seen riding away from the area on a bicycle. they're asking anyone who might have seen any part of this attack yesterday, give them a call. >> back to you. >> thank you. >> thanks very much. to help control crime at parking lots and garages metro is giving officers new vehicles. the department will roll out several new so-called t-3 vehicl this morning. they're fairly similar to segways only they're tricycles and considerably larger. metro says they'll aid officers in patrolling the area around several stations. the first will be used by officers at the new carol rollton station. our time is 4 minutes after 6:00. a woman is in the hospital after she was hit by a metro bus. it happened just before 7:00 last night at the corner of mount olivet and montello in north washington. according to metro the woman was a passenger on another bus. she got off and walked in front of the bus to cross the street, when a second bus hit her. the driver of the b that hit her is on routine administrative leave this morning. police are trying to figure out who st a man overnight. this happened around 9:45 last flight in the block of benning road. police say the man was shot in the chest, semi conscious when officers arrived but later died at the hospital. police have not figured out a motive. the first shipments of the swine flu vaccine could arrive in our area today. more than 43,000 doses are on their way to virginia. 36,000 to d.c. and 35,000 to maryland. the vaccine will be administered through a nasal mist. health care workers will get it first and then children. >> we expect to start a school vaccination based clinic the next couple of weeks when we have enough vaccine and this will be at day based clinics. >> health officials say the nasal mist should not be given to pregnant women or people with chronic diseases. our time is 6:05. robert gates secretary of defense is warning military leaders about speaking out, a rebuke seen as aimed at the general in charge of the war in afghanistan. the secretary of defense is apparently upset that general mcchrystal has been so public in his call for adishditional troo. gas said mcchrystal should have offered his advice privately. the obama administration is still debating whether to grant mcchrystal its request as it form lates a new strategy in afghanistan a war about ready to enter its ninth year. >> neither the defense department nor the white house has actually decided what strategically it wants to do. >> mourn the dead. heal the wounded. >> war protesters gathered yesterday outside the white house. today president obama will meet with congressional leaders from both political parties to talk about afghanistan. letterman lays it out in late night. >> my wife regina, she has been horribly hurt by my behavior. >> this time, no one was laughing. hear his late show apology coming up. >> plus, changing your mood rough food. why researchers say what you eat could fend off depression. we're following breaking news in prince georges county. chopper 4 is flying over a business where there has been a fire. this is in the 7600 block of green belt road, that's jasper's restaurant. no word on what caused the fire. fire fighters say no one was hurt. and they do have the flames under control at this time. we'll continue to follow this and let you know when we get more information. in the mntime check on our weather and traffic together, we'll start with veronica johnson in for tom this morning up in storm center 4. >> thanks a lot, joe and barbara. no problems with our weather this morning. dry conditions through the day but we will be getting more cloud cover moving in. we've got some chilly pockets out there. look at the neighborhoods, martingsburg, west virginia 37, 39 frederick, potomac highlands frost advisories up. here clear skies, temperatures in the 50, fairfax at 52 degrees. the radar is currently quiet so showers really not expected until well after midnight. we'll see an increase in cloud today. by noontime, mostly sunny, 3:00 mostly sunny, partly sunny for 6:00. at the bus stop this morning temperatures will be starting out in the low to mid 50s, but the high today 71. we're dry throughout, showers after midnight and first thing tomorrow morning. 5:00 and 7:00 a.m. we're wet starting out in the 60s. up to the 70s, should be pretty nice. how about the roads? >> we are checking reports of an accident top side of the beltway reported to be on the outer loop of the beltway near rockville pike. don't see it in the traffic cameras yet but authorities are headed over to investigate. we'll let you know what they find should they find anything at all. the trip along 95 quite heavy and slow in the stretch of deal city. prince georges and river dale road work of an accident. believe the bulk of the accident will be on river dale off the bw parkway. couple extra minutes of travel time a good idea there. >> thanks, jerry. >> thanks very much. 11 minutes after 6:00. coming up on "news 4 today" a food fight for your health. what researchers say you should be eating to battle depression. >> police say they busted two clever crooks, burglars who received an open eninvitation io our time is 6:13. the state of the schools in prince georges county, we're going to learn more about that tonight when the superintendent gives his address. dr. william height started his first full year on the job and says the school system has its challenges with low achievement but there's also progress, for instance, there are at least eight ap classes offered in every high school. >> their exposure to that coursework prepares them for college better than if they sat in a regular english, math, science, social studies class and got an "a." >> the state of the school system address will happen tonight at 6:30 at dr. henry a. wise junior high school in upper marlboro. >> the anger continues over friday's firings of more than 200 d.c. public school teachers. hundreds of stents skipp class monday to voice their anger over the layoffs. the laid off staffers are on paid administrative leave until november 2nd. after that they're out of a job and paycheck. students also met with d.c. council leaders. >> has lied to you. lied to you. lied to you. >> say it again. >> i don't like liars. >> i was taking french. i am in french three, i'm going from french three to spanish one. >> because your french teacher was fired? >> yes. >> ever taken spanish? >> no. >> d.c. schools chancellor michelle rhee says the cuts are necessary to close a $44 million budget gap. you can hear more from her tomorrow morning right here on news 4 today when chancellor rhee will join us live in the studio. they're supposed to entice buyers to take a look at your home but police say open houses are also attractive targets and were one attractive target for a couple thieves in our area. police arrested john palmer jr. and 22-year-old samuel goldstein accused of posing as father and son and helping themselves to ousands of dollars in cash and jewelry. police say the thefts occurred in alexandria, fairfax, montgomery county and baltimore. they were tipped off two weeks ago at an open house in alexandria. >> they had purposely put me in a position where one of them could go upstairs and look for jewelry. my home opener a couple hours later found something missing, spent a lot of time looking and the next morning it was still gone and i said, calling the police right away. >> police nabbed the men after an alert realtor called police at another open house. officers say that the pair stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, but that some of that has been recovered. the man accused of secretly video taping espn reporter erin andrews is free on bond this morning. michael barrett made no comments as he was videotaped walking to a waiting car. barrett appeared in federal court in chicago earlier monday. prosecutors say barrett taped andrews through a peephole in the door of a hotel while she was in tennessee. they say he also posted videos of other women on-line. >> 6:16 our time. fret favre faces his former team and the redskins have another day off today, but the coaching staff has work to do. lindsey czarniak has your sports minute. >> reporter: hey there, good morning, everybody. your sports minute begins with monday night football. brett favre said he would treat last night's game like any other but there was no way he could. little less than two years since he wore his packers jersey he played his former team and made them pay. he threw three touchdowns as the vikings beat the green bay packers. the redskins are off today, but the coaching staff will be busy working out punters that could fill in for injured punter hunter smith. the redskins will also host former tennessee titan running back chris henry. and to baseball, it's been almost two months since pitching phenom steven stratsburg was signed to a $15 million contract with the nats. yesterday the nates got a first look at their new star while he made his pro debut in an instructional game in florida. the right-hander struck out two batters including the first one he faced. he is expected to pitch saturday before heading to the arizona fall league. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak have a great day. with that big border battle between the vikings and packers last night a news paper in duluth couldn't decide what color to use, vikings purple or packer green? fans on both sides of the bay, they printed half of the newspapers in green and other half in purple. subscribers who got a paper that does not represent their team of choice, they're encourage to exchange them wi a neighbor. happening today, a bill will be introduced that would put same-sex couples one step closer toward being allowed to marry in in the district. the bill will be introduced at the d.c. council this morning. it is expected to pass and mayor aadrian fenty has pledged to sign it. if it does pass the district would phase out the district's domestic partnership law and allow same-sex couples to apply for and receive a marriage license. we can take a look at our forecast. we have well, no rain, i don't think, in the forecast today. maybe tomorrow. here's veronica johnson. >> absolutely, barbara. no rain in the forecast at all, but it's a chilly morning so you're going to need the jacket enyou step outside. wanted to show you some of the spots with some of the coolest temperatures. frederick, maryland right now, 41 degrees. a low today, 39. so temperatures are just now starting to come up with a little bit of a wind shift that we're seeing in areas in a little bit of an increase too in wind. maryland, 41 the temperature. the low 39 degrees. the dew point temperature is at 39 degrees as well. so we've got right there in d.c. and around reagan national, 54 degrees. murrayfield in fairfax at 52 degrees and good morning, you folks at hillcrest heights are at 48 degrees. so coolest weather just north and west of the area. again potomac highlands under the frost advisory until 9:00 a.m. the radar is quiet so you can leave the umbrella at home today. showers probably not moving in until very, very late, after midnight. at the bus stops this morning, 45 to 56 degrees. itill be chilly. sun's up today at 7:09. cloud cover increasing by late today. 6:00 p.m., we should be partly cloudy, temperature from 71 to 69. and then even early tomorrow morning, still in the 60s with showers at 5:00 and 7:00 a.m., probably at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. then those showers will be ending, moving out of here, we're windy for tomorrow, the high about 72, 73. 70s all week long, jerry. >> good news, bad news. first the good news, south of town we're still moving along pretty well both ways, to across the wilson bridge. the interloop as you make the move out of oxon hill. light volume travel lanes are open. good news. the bad, 395 northbound jammed, here comes more police. there's an accident mid span, right in the middle of the roadway we're told inbound on the 14th street bridge. you can see police trying to make their way there. they've been out there for a couple minutes already. some fire and rescue equipment on the scene which obviously translates to 395 northbound getting jammed up early from just above the pentagon right now to the 14th street bridge. and i suspect that will continue to grow. and looks like some of the equipment may be movinging on. we'll watch it and keep you updated. northbound 395 on the inbound 14th street bridge. lot of flashing lights. back to u. >> looks tough. thanks very much. >> thanks. news for your health now. eat better food, and improve your mood. that's what researchers in spain are saying. their four-year study found that people who followed the m mediterranean diet are least likely to develop depression. that is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and fish. researchers think the combination of omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants and other xoeptsents are the key. >> our time is 6:21. 54 degrees. ahead on news 4 today, new nuclear concerns. this time it's north korea that's grabbing the world's attention. >> a public apology. david letterman opens up on the "late show" again. time 6:22. this is the morning buzz, america runs on dunkin'. >> the other thing is, my wife regina has been horribly hurt by my behavior. when something happens like that, you hurt a person then it's your responsibility, you try to fix it. and at that point there's only two things that can happen, either you're going to make some progress and get it fixed and you're going to fall short and perhaps not get it fixed. let me tell you folks i have my work cut out for me. >> david letterman was back at work monday night for the first time since breaking the the new -- the news last week of a $2 million extortion attempt. letterman used last night's taping to once again apologize to his staff and he personally apologized to his wife. the man accused of trying to blackmail letterman has pleaded not guilty. the drama surrounding jon and kate gosselin continues. this morning kate says jon took all her money and didn't leave her enough to pay the bills. jon reportedly withdrew $230,000 from the couple's joint account this week. during an exclusive interview with the "today" ow, kate says she now has only $1,000 left in the account, not nearly enough to pay all her bills and support their eight children. jon was recently dropped from the couple's popular tlc show "jon and kate plus 8." what do you think about all this latest jon and kate drama? you can send us your thoughts on facebook or twitter, find us by searching news 4 today, one word. 6:26 the time. a driving lesson disaster. a person learning the ropes behind the wheel, goes off the road and into an apartment. why the man who lives there says he is blessed. >> a disturbing crime in broad daylight. police are looking for a swhopts they say abducted and assaulted a manhunt. police searching for a suspect they say snatched a teenager from a virginia park and ride. >> plus, they're here. the long-awaited swine flu vaccines are expected to arrive today. we'll tell you when you will be able to get one. >> war of words. the future of the u.s. and afghanistan is being debated today. >> good morning. welcome back to "news 4 toy." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's october 6th, 2009. and look at that beautiful morning sky out there. a little orange, a little baby blue, and some darker blue as we awt sunrise, we have veronica johnson to tell us what we can expect today. >> those are the best kind of sunrises when you have a layer of clouds up there, just gorgeous. >> perfect fal sunrise. >> sun up at 7:09. leave the umbrella at home today, but a light jacket in order, first thing leaving out the house, damascus at 41 degrees, light winds across the area, leesburg 44 degrees. light wind, that light wind would be shifting around to southeast today and we'll see more clouds moving in. 54 in dx, in cleveland park, 54 as well, resten and vienna at 53 degrees. so starting out in the low 50s this morning. at the bus stops, chilly, outlying suburbs at 45 degrees. your high today 71, about 3:00 and more clouds, more showers or showers moving in after midnight today. >> okay. thank you, veronica, we'll see you a little bit later. >> to jerry edwards, we have breaking news from the news 4 traffic network. >> good morning, yes, indeed, looks like it's going to be a tough time for those of you headed for downtown. 395 northbound, jammed because of an accident. the inbound 14th street bridge. authorities out there for a while as we continue to move the city cam, looking to see if the accident has been cleared. we did see the fire department head up there a few minutes ago. so if you're headed for downtown, 395 northbound, be careful and we'll keep you updated on that. look at that, there's the flashing lights. the accident not gone by any stretch of the imagination. here's some more activity here, d.c. to the 14th street bridge, looks like we are really jammed from shurlington headed for downtown. chopper 4 on the job for us this morning along i-270 as you make the trip down toward the split. cool busses warming up for the youngin's. there's the 270 spur. here's the main line of 270. although it's slow, all the travel lanes are reported open and available. back to you. >> all right. thanks. >> thank you, jerry. right now, police are on the hunt for a suspected rapist after a woman was attacked while standing at a park and ride lot in northern virginia. it happened during the evening rush at the herndon monroe park and ride lot in resten. michael flynn joins us from resten with more. mike until. >> good morning, barbara. already i've seen multiple police cars patrolling this commuter bus lot. they're looking for the person who grabbed that teenager yesterday, abducted her from this lot and then sexually assaulted her. this was a daylight abduction. happened around 4:00 p.m. at the herndon monroe park and ride. the 19-year-old victim was not here as the commuter police say. she was just in the lot. she told investigators someone grabbed her here at the commuter bus lot, forced her to a wooded area close by and then assaulted her. fairfax county police say the attacker took her to a homeless encampment in the woods, close by here, but they say he is most likely not homeless, just familiar with that area. the victim did manage to escape, ran home, and called police. the attack has shaken the nerves of some commuters who use this park and ride who i talked with this morning, including this woman. >> pretty shocking because there are always people around here. >> how does it make you feel about your safety here? >> it's shocking and i'm scared now. >> does it surprise you that it happened? >> no. >> why not? >> because people are crazy these days. just pretty much do whatever they want to. >> reporter: police say the attacker was last seen riding away from this area on a bicycle. they're asking for the public's help in trying to track him down. back to you. >> michael, you said the victim was not a commuter. why was she at the park and ride, do you know? >> you know, it's not clear if she was just waiting on someone or cutting through here because, of course, this is a very residential area nearby here. not clear what she was doing here but police say not a commuter. >> all right. thank you very much, michael flynn reporting live. spring valley residents hope to get some answers this evening about the munitions cleanup going on in their neighborhood. a town hall meeting is scheduled this evening. traces of mustard gas were discovered there in august while crews continued their cleanup of world war i era munitions. that cleanup effort has been going on now for more than 15 years. president obama is keeping his attention on the war in afghanistan today. he'll be meeting with congressional leaders from both sides of the aisles at the white house, as he and his administration debate what, if any, new direction the u.s. should take in the war. brook hart has more from capitol hill. >> love you. >> reporter: overnight, a tearful good-bye in south carolina. >> first bus right there, fill it up. >> reporter: more than 200 airmen from the 79th fighter squadron left for afghanistan. what is their mission? this week, the war enters its ninth year. >> quite frankly, neither the defense department nor the white house has actually decided what strategically it wants to do. >> mourn the dead. >> reporter: as war protesters massed outside the white house, a spokesman says what won't happen is pull out. >> that's not something that has ever been entertained. >> reporter: president obama said crushing al qaeda is the goal, but it was the taliban claiming credit for sunday's attack that killed eight soldiers. the obama picked general mcchrystal publicly wants more troops to push back. defense secretary robert gates had this suggestion seemingly aimed at him. >> we provide our best advice to the president, candidly, but privately. >> reporter: central commander david petraeus claims surgical strikes against al qaeda leaders have been successful in afghanistan, pakistan, and elsewhere. >> there has actually been significant progress against top 20 level leaders. >> reporter: it's an anti-al qaeda strategy that president obama could see as an alternative to expanding the war with more troops. and as for general david petraeus, "the new york times" reports today the general learned this year he had early stage prostate cancer. two months of radiation treatment was reportedly successful. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news. some alarming news this morning out of north korea. a south korean newsgency is reporting that the communist country is almost finished restoring its nuclear facility. north korea began disabling the plant back in 2007 as part of a deal with other members of a multinational nuclear disarmament meeting, but it withdrew from those disarmament talks after the u.n. implemented new sanctions. north korean leader kim jong-il is offering to return to those talks, if it makes progress with the u.s. in one on one discussions. . to prince georges county where a minivan smashed into a man's apartment on monday morning. just minutes after robert scriber woke up the minivan crashed into his bedroom wall. he suffered injuries to his leg from flying debris. the passenger of the minivan was giving the driver who didn't have a license a driving license. the driver is facing a charge of driving without a license and both passenger and driver are charged with reckless endangerment. it is 6:37 now. and the wait is almost over. >> swine flu vaccines should be arriving today. who's getting the first doses and when they'll be available for you and your family. o-pon. ent. >> calling out a candidate who's apologizing for mocking one of the men running for govern in virginia. moving up on 6:41. time for traffic and weather. >> let's go to veronica johnson in storm center 4. >> jacket weather this morning compared to yesterday. temperatures are running a few degrees cooler, but when the sun comes up hopefully there will be a lot of sunshine and smiley faces. 54 degrees the temperature in prince georges county, green belt and new carlton at 54, waldorf and white plains, 47 degrees. good morning to you. so temperature range between 45 and 56 degrees at the bus stops. chilly conditions, but when the sun comes up 7:09, again, sunshine, the high today 71. jerry? >> veronica, good morning, good morning, everyone. following breaking news affecting your commute this morning. live pictures 395 northbound, right on the inbound 14th street bridge. authorities continue to deal with an accident. looks like we have at least a couple lanes blocked with fire department and police on the scene. now this accident's been out there for we're going to call it about six minutes now, but the backup doesn't take long. here's more flashing lights, authorities trying to get up there. delays begin as you head north from shurlington but that combined with the usual delays coming up from the beltway through landmark en route to shurling tonl, generally speaking we're slow from beltway to the 14th street bridge because of the accident. cut through old town alexandria that probably will save you some aggravation. chopper 4 on the job checking things out making the drive along interstate 66 at the exit for the beltway. here's the capitol beltway interloop towards tysons corner. although it is heavy, relatively steady coming in from fair oaks this morning. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. our time 6:42. still ahead on "news 4 today" praying with your pooch. >> the first doses being delivered, the fight against the swine flu is about to ramp up. we're live with what you need to know. >> a terrible accident caught on tape. target ordered to pay out millions over what happened in this take a look at this. the chicago woman you see in this video, security video it is, won a $7 million settlement from target. when 81-year-old claire putman entered the store she was knocked to the ground by the closing door and then hit for a seco time in the head by the door. according to her attorney, putman can speak now, but has trouble processing words and thoughts. a cook county judge approved the settlement from target and the door manufacturer, bessum usa. target had no comment. there's a new controversy surrounding the virginia governor's race. it involves b.e.t. co-founder sheila johnson taking what some are calling a cheap shotted a creigh deeds. >> bob mcdonnell can communicate. the other people that i talk to, and especially his op-po-nen -- >> caught on video mocking deeds for a fund-raiser. johnson says deeds has trouble articulating his views for the state. she then pretends to stutter, mocking deeds sometime stutter. a mcdonnell representative says it was simply to illustrate how deeds has, quote, been unable to express any vision for virginia's future. a spokesperson for deeds calls it a cheap shot and says while he isn't the smoothest speaker, he is authentic and means what he says. it might be our best weapon against the swine flu and in a matter of hours, the swine flu vaccine could be here. the first shipments are expected to arrive in our area today. but that does not mean that you can get vaccinated right away. news 4 kimberly suiters joins us live from the prince georges county health department on when it could be your turn. kimberly? >> good morning, joe. we've got our eyes on the lookout for the fedex and ups trucks. the first shipments of the h1n1 vaccine are expected today. as soon as today. how soon will you get them? it depends who you are and what you do. if you're a health care worker you could get the vaccination via flu mist through your nose today or through friday. it's expected this week that those should be distributed. if you're a pregnant woman, you can't take the mist. you'll have to get a shot. you could get that as soon as friday. and then schoolchildren will be seeing it as early as friday, but more likely in the coming weeks. health officials are saying it is without a doubt the best protection against t deadly virus. >> the first doses of the swine flu vaccine arrived in memphis and indianapolis. more than 100,000 doses are now headed to maryland, d.c. and virginia, today. health care workers at the highest risk get the nasal spray first. >> this vaccine, and i hold it in my hand here, it is safe, it is not an experimental vaccine. >> reporter: health officials say the h1n1 vaccine is not so different from the regular flu shot we're used to and people are lining up for that one. >> it's the largest drive-through flu clinic in the country. >> reporter: in columbia, maryland, demand outstripped the supply. people are getting flyby shots in airports and grocery stores. soon, the swine flu vaccine will be delivered publicly to schoolchildren. >> flooding in. >> start a school vaccination-based clinic in the next couple of weeks when we have enough vaccine and this will be saturday based clinics. >> reporter: many parents are looking to their pediatricians for advice on the h1n1 shot, and hearing this. >> i asked the pediaicn and he highly recommends him to get it. right now they're focusing on the kids, so he said definitely get it for the kids. >> reporter: now, very shortly, parents, you will be getting consent forms. we've heard from loudon county in particular that the consent forms are going out very soon asking your permission to have your child vaccinated for the swine flu virus right at school. it's not going to be something that's required. it is something that's highly remmended. reporting live in prince georges county, kimberly suters, news 4. >> thanks very much. the head of saudi arabia's central bank is denying reports that the bank is talking with other countries about dropping the use of the dollar for pricing oil. a british newspaper is standing by its story that gulf oil producers and other countries held secret talks about phasing out the dollar and moving toward a mix of currencies plus gold. the u.s. dollar stature as the world's main reserve currency has become tarnished in the wake of the global financial crisis. wall street is hoping to follow the lead of world markets which are up this morning and retailers are hoping that some predictions are not true. cnbc's courtney reagan is joining us with a look at business news. >> i know it's getting cold out there but it may not look a lot like christmas this year. the national retail federation projects holiday sales will fall about 1%, that's on top of last year's sales dropping 3%, despite heavy markdowns several retailers, most notably circuit city, called it quits right afterwards in fact. this year many stores have cut back on their inventory orders so they're not stuck with piles of unsold merchandise this time around. a housing slump led many americans to skip back the size of their homes. a new survey by the american institute of architects find exercise and media rooms, home workshops and three car garages are out. home offices are in with more people self-employed and an increase in telecommuting. they're asking architects to make sure their homes are energy efficient. united airlines is offering an all you can check baggage fee. passengers can pay $249 to check two bags every time they fly in the u.s. or overseas over a year. it covers under eight people flying under the same confirmation number. united charges people $50 to check two bags. i suppose if you fly a lot and have to check your bag that could be a good deal. >> so many trying to squeeze everything into a little carry-on bag. >> i'm one of those people. >> me too. thanks a lot. we will see you later. >> see you then. >> if you want to live the life of the rich and famous, we know what it takes. "forbes" magazine compiled the list of the common traits found in billionaires. they say many had great math skills. there goes that. 70% have mba degrees. there goes that. and this one is promising for moms who are expecting soon, the majority of billionaires are born in the fall. there went that. but very few are born in december. i guess no hope for those of us born in the spring. >> right. >> wow. probably all born in november i bet. news 4 is helping to find jobs for you. med insurance is recruiting clinical communication nurses. it you're interested in learning more or applying go to www.nbcwashington.com and search jobs 4 you. we are breaking news out on the roadways this morning. jerry edwardsas the latest for us. jerry? >> good morning. yeah, a tough commute for folks trying to get into downtown. authorities continue to deal with the accident, 395 northbound right on the 14th street bridge. another ambulance. we understand just trying to make its way up there. a lot of emergency equipment. we're told the two left lanes inbound on the 14th street bridge are closed and that backup is growing very quickly. we're already pretty much from the beltway across the 14th street bridge because of this accident, if you can get down and maybe come up through oldtown and stay with the gw parkway try using the memorial bridge and don't try to access the 14th street bridge, you might be better off. looks like they may be moving some of that equipment out of the way. good news there. let's check out your rails this morning and see how we're doing, metro rail and vre no problems, but mark brunswick train right now, 874 is up to 30 minutes late on mark rail this morning. barbara and joe, back to you. >> okay. thanks, jerry. >> now veronica has the forecast for us for today. >>t least the weather ways are looking a lot better. traffic -- >> yeah. >> no rain for today, not until after midnight, which for all intents and purposes, leave the umbrella at home. the jacket you'll need. beautiful sunrise out there with the amber glow mixed in with the blue. 54 degrees right now, the temperature. i've seen that temperature just scoot up a little bit over the last two hours from 52 early this morning at 5:00 a.m., to 54 right knew. the wind out of the northeast at 5 miles per hour. our low today, 52 degrees. we'll check out some of the temperatures elsewhere. hagerstown right now at 48 degrees, el kins, west virginia, at 39, 41 in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. up there, the clear skies just like here. excellent radiational cooling, allel warmth just radiating back out into space. showers, don't have to worry about them. those pushing off the coast of north carolina. low pressure system near cape fear. this whasz we're focused on today. high pressure. as it moves east our winds will start veering from the east to northeast to southeasterly direction, that's the high pressure that has given us the clear skies for the last 24, 36 hours. again it's moving away, so we're going to see some clouds slipping in. on the radar all is quiet, but take a look at points west. this is the weather system headed our way. it is producing some showers, green bay, milwaukee, right around chicago right now. the heavier rains, springville, illinois, down to kansas city, missouri, and snow still falling through the dakotas. that's the weather system headed this w bringing us some rain after midnight. so chilly start, but a mild afternoon for us in the east. damaging storms down to the south. up to two feet of snow northern rockies. they have temperatures in the 30s there. our big chill down doesn't come until halfway through the weekend. sunday morning, very cool start. airports doing okay, d.c., charlotte, atlanta all in the green. so here we go, what you can expect today. your future cast, front starts moving had east, charging through, partly sunny conditions, showers not until after midnight. should be ending about 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. wednesday morning. then we get the wind behind that system. so we're dry with a few clouds. temperature today getting up to about 61 degrees. then we're left with wind and showers for early tomorrow morning. still windy through the day on wednesday, 73. then close to 80 friday. we're dreifort remainder of the work week. chance for a few morning showers saturday and a chilly weekend coming up. >> we'll get ready for it then, thanks a lot. >> thanks very much. now here is a look at some of the top stories we are following today. police continue to look for the man who sexually assaulted a woman at a park and ride lot in fairfax joicounty. this happened during the evening hours at the herndon monroe lot for you folks who use the fairfax connecter commuter bus. the 19-year-old victim tells police the man grag grabbed her and dragged her into a wooded area nearby where he assaulted her. a woman is in critical condition after she was hit by a metrobus, it happened at the corner of montello avenue and mount olivet road. according to metro the woman was a passenger on another bus but was hit by a second bus while crossing the street. the driver of that bus has been put on routine administrative leave. and the swine flu vaccine could arrive in our area today. the first doses will be nasal mist. health care workers will get it first and then children. the nasal mist is not recommended for pregnant women or people with chronic diseases or people older than the age of 49. any traffic problems that we know there are, you want to let folks know about it, just joining us. >> indeed the 14th street bridge remains jammed, although it looks like the accident might be out of the roadway. we still see some flashing lights along the far right side, so extra time or alternate route is a good idea this morning. >> no rain today? >> noain today. >> okay. well, in conclusion, they say all dogs go to heaven and this may explain why these pooches prayed at a church in canada. congregants and their dogs were encouraged to come for a paws and praise service. there was even a special doggy communion which included treats for the animals. the church hopes to do this every month. >> good for them. >> have to take -- >> good doggy, stay. that's news 4 today. thank you for starting your day with us. >> have a great day. we hope you'll join us tomorrow. we're here at 4:55 a.m. we'll see you then. >> bye.