pause to recognize the men and women fighting for freedom. how the washington region is paying tribute to those who served and continue to serve overseas. >> good afternoon, everybody, i'm jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse. we'll have more on that story in a moment. first this afternoon, we take a live look outside where it's been a dreary and wet day. >> get used to it. there is talk this rainy stuff will stick around a couple more days. veronica johnson has more on what we can expect. veronica? >> that's right. outside we had the steady rain and pockets of modern rain throughout the area dark and dreary conditions off this storm system right here. this is what's left of ida. what was once a hurricane, then a tropical storm as it made landfall around alabama, is now a strengthening coastal system and will act like a nor'easter as it moves up the coast. there you can see the rain. we are sti on the northern-most fringe of all this. a system that will meander the next couple of days along the coast. ocean city seeing winds gusting to nearly 40 miles per hour and over 1/2 inch of rain. the worst is at the coast and south where there will be flooding in area of southern maryland down through the northern neck and south eastern, virginia. that potential is quite high. with that strengthening northeasterly flow, there is a coastal flood watch. strmt mary's county could see gusts up to 40 miles per hour. a wet one coming up. quick look at your forecast here. your storm headlines, rain continues through friday. the winds really picking up. we'll talk about how much rain right here in d.c. we could get in a few minutes. >> as you know, we are not the only ones getting a dose of this rainy weather. remnants of hurricane ida are pounding north carolina and georgia. rough rain appeared in nags head in the outer banks. there are flood watches and warnings for most of the tarheel state tonight. some areas could get up to five inches of rain tomorrow. now to the war in afghanistan. president obama is huddling with his national security team today discussing options for the u.s. strategy. on this veterans day, we are learning startling statistics abt the number of wounded men and women in that war-torn country. >> at least 1,800 troops were wounded during the first ten months of this year. nearly 1,000 of those injuries came during the last three months. those injuries include amputations, burns and brain injuries due to increasingly potent bombs targeting american forces. military officials say president obama is considering adding thousands of troops in the coming weeks. more on that from steve handelsman who is live on capitol hill. >> reporter: thanks. good afternoon. even the new so-called middle ground plan will still send a lot more young americans to the ever-more deadly fight in afghanistan. that is clearly weighing on the commander in chief. in an unscheduled veterans day visit, president obama spent time among the graves at arlington national cemetery, specifically in a section set aside from the fallen from iraq and afghanistan where mr. obama is considering sending more u.s. troops. a wrenching decision. >> as long as i am commander in chief, americans will do right by them. >> what is important he make a decision and make it reasonably soon. you've got young men and women out there carrying the battle who are at great risk. >> reporter: again today, the commander in chief met with advisers. he is getting more options. besides afghan commanding general stand mccrystal's call and biden's plan to send as fews 12,000, there are middle ground plan for 30,000 or more backed by defense secretary gates, secretary of state clinton, and by chairman of the joint chiefs mullen. that's almost as many new forces as mccrystal is requesting. president obama is looking to the troops' revamped mission. >> go back to focusing on al qaeda. back to pushing back taliban to the extent we can stabilize karzai's government enough so we can begin withdrawal from the region. >> reporter: short term, more u.s. forces would be at risk. the commander in chief is still working on the plan. and the new best guess on when president obama will reveal his new afghan strategy and how many troops he'll send is around thanksgiving. i'm steve handelsman, news4. back to you. >> thank you, steve. americans are saying thank you to the men and women who have risked their lives to protect our country. thousands of veterans have come here to washington to observe this day. many came to the world war ii memorial which is holding its first official veterans day ceremony. news4's megan mcgrath has our report.xd >> reporter: they are the veterans of world war ii. they sacrifice much, in many cases everything to protect the innocent and defeat those who sought to crush freedom and democracy. at the world war ii memorial, a special veterans day wreath-laying ceremony was held, the first since the memorial was dedicated five years ago. theseñr veterans are from rhode island and count themselves lucky to be here, but on this day, they're not thinking of themselves, but of those who did not come back. >> they gave everything. i think it's a good idea to honor them. i had a brother-in-law who was lost in the battle of the bulgei i'm here to honor him. i appreciate it. >> reporter: they have been called the greatest generation, younger veterans like those who served in korea came to honor the critical role they played in history. >> i am watching these guys here from world war ii and they had it on the line. they were the first line of defense at a very important time. i honor these guys of world war ii. >> reporter: at the war memorials around washington, people braced the rain and chills to pay respect to america's veterans, with so many men and women in harms way in iraq and afghanistan, day is all the more important. >> i pray for them every day. >> they are our brothers. >> they're a little bit younger than we are, but they're our brothers. >> reporter: megan mcgrath, news4. >> there were several other veterans day ceremonies that took place today across maryland, d.c. and virginia.çó family members of victims say they are relieved today following the execution last night of sniper master mind john allen muhammad. muhammad was put to death by lethal injection at a correctional facility in virginia last night for the shooting death of dean myers. myers was one of ten people shot and killed by muhammad, and accomplice lee boyd malvo over a period of three weeks back in october 2002. witnesses to muhammad's execution say he was unrepentant to the end and refused to utter any final words. they say his death was a contrast to that of his victims'. >> he was clean-shaven, he was calm, they laid him down, he didn't resist. they asked him after that, mr. muhammad, do you have any last words? didn't say anything. >> i think what you will see in the final moments is the death of a dignified man who maintained his innocence to the very end. >> lee boyd malvo is serving a life sentence for his role in the shootings. there are new questions and conflicting stories about how much was known about the alleged gunman in the ft. hood shootings. pete williams ins us with the latest on the investigation. i understand there was a news conference earlier today. what came out of that? >> reporter: i don't know about a news conference. i can tell you this. we have a better idea about one of the big questions all along here, which has been what did the army know about major hasan? the big question has been, were army officials aware that for several months starting late last year and continuing into eay this year, that he was exchanging about 2 dozen e-mails with an outspoken imam in yammen, someone an advocate jihad against the west. the allegation we have been told the past couple of days is the army was aware of this. now there is a consensus in the government the army did not know. there was a joint terrorism task fof a secon task force here looked into hasan's past. each task force had investigators on them from the defense department criminal investigation services. they could have told the defense department had they sought permission from the fbi too so. both task forces thought the e-mailings were innocent. >> so there's been a lot of finger-pointing in the past couple of days about who knew what, when and yes this didn't act sooner? >> reporter: this is something congress will look into. the fact is that all the members of this task force thought the e-mails were easily explained. he was doing research for his masters degree. he was working on issues about muslim soldiers and combat. they thought nothing further needed to be done. now we know that nothing included not telling the army about it because they thought he hadn't done anything wrong. >> are we closer to determining what a motive might have been for the shooting? >> reporter: no. i don't think so. i don't think the overall view of the people who looked at this has changed in the last several days, which is that it was a combination of factors. he was upset about his pending deployment. he was troubled by his own counseling with these soldiers who were returning. he felt abused and upset as a muslim in the military and didn't like the war in afghanistan. >> it makes a lot of people question and makes them very uncomfortable to know he had contact at all with these extremists who have been very outspoken. >> reporter: i think that's the point that's going to be looked into. no matter what the content of the e-mail was, no matter how innocent the content, the fact he was reaching out to someone who had been known to inspire other home grown terrorists say that should have raised red flags, but didn't. >> thank you, pete. right now d.c. police are investigating a deadly shooting at a northeast washington bus stop. a man waiting to board a bus was shot just before noon today in the 1300 block of h street northeast. the victim died a short time later. police believed the shooter may have been at the same bus stop as the victim. no arrests have been made. to prince george's county where a pedestrian was struck and killed by two secret service vehicles. it happened near the intersection of suitland paray in temple hills before 3:00 a.m. the secret service vehicles were heading to the district from andrews air force base. the investigation is ongoing. independent safety monitors are now allowed to walk along metro's tracks. metro agreed last night to grant inspectors access to walk along the tracks. the independent group tried for months to get access to live subway tracks to make sure metro is following safety rules after employees were killed on the tracks. news4 at 4:00 is just getting started. giving back. >> the story of one man's ultimate goal to pay tribute to every single soldier who fought in iraq or afghanistan. then at 4:30, the fallout continues as we learn new details about the david letterman blackmail bombshell. some simple steps you can take to save money. on this veterans day we bring you the story of a man named scott krieger. he made it his personal mission to recognize the service of every american who returns from war. norah o'donnell has our insider report. >> reporter: these stickers are both memories of summer, but this veterans day, two new sets of initials send a very different message. >> my ultimate goal is to have every single person that served in iraq or afghanistan be able to get a sticker. >> reporter: these are stickers for soldiers. krieger has sent out 180,000 stickers so far, and has received orders on his website from all over the world. >> we've gotten requests from th coalition troops from russia to canada to the u.k. >> reporter: he has a son in the marines fighting in afghanistan. >> we hope that people will be driving down the street and simply see a sticker that says "afg, i serve" and come up at a traffic light and give them a thumbs up and a god bless you. >> reporter: some vets consider it a badge of honor. >> my company took some pretty bad casualties. >> reporter: army specialist peter shoemaker who served in iraq wears it on his motorcycle helmet. >> it's a positive thing to remind people, through my people and myself, of the sacrifices that have been given for this country. >> reporter: one colonel who was wounded in iraq likes the simplicity of the sticker. >> for all of us in the army, navy, air force, marine, coast guard, brothers and sisters. >> reporter: as we pause to honor the service of our veterans, a small reminder of a major contribution. norah o'donnell, nbc news, washington. and we invite you to stay tuned for more on nbc nightly news with brian williams right after news4 at 6:00. howard county is fighting to become the first county in the country to ban minors from using tanning beds. the measure would prevent indoor tanning bed use by anybody under the age of 18. it passed unanimously at a council hearing last night. council members say they want to protect kids from cancer, especially since many doctors call tanning beds cancer machines. >> anybody before the age of 30 increases their lifetime risk of melanoma by 75%. >> howard county faces stiff opposition from the tanning bed lobby which claims only the food and drug administration and the state have the authority to regulate tanning bed use. montgomery county is reconsidering a new regulation aimed at anti-abortion centers. those centers often bill themselves aslaces to get information aboutxd abortion. then try to steer women away from the procedure. under the proposed legislation, centers in montgomery county would have to give women a disclaimer soñi theyxd don't ma the medical clinics that provide abortions mistake those for centers. backers of the regulation say it's about consumer protection. evans abortion groups say they are being unfairly singled out. a hearing is scheduled for december 1st. ahead on news4 at 4:00, too drunk to fly? a pilot about to take control of an international flight is arrested for flying under the influence. plus, the big changes millions of holiday shoppers can expect on black friday. and how much money was forked over to bury the king of pop? it's a sign of the times. take a look. a 76-foot norway spruce from connecticut is on its way to rockefeller center in the big apple. crews choeped down the free this morning.ñrñi the spruce was spotted through aerial searches. it will be put up at rockefeller center this thursday. the lighting ceremony happens december 2nd. after christmas, the tree will be donated to habitat for humanity to use as wood for a home in connecticut. that is a lot of wood. >> and to spot that perfect tree from the air. >> i didn't know that's how they scoped it out. >> we are showing you video with this coastal storm system. n%;át(q where the beaches are taking a battering.xd some very high waves coming in. nags head. we are seeing winds around ocean ñ put on the currents for you. it has been a dreary day out there with steady rain throughout the area. 48 degrees, the temperature. we picked up 0.3 inch right now at reagan national airport. northeasterly wind 17 miles per hour. just so persistent. let's look at the radar right now. while we've got lighter showers around the area, dale city and areas south, it's moderate andñ heavy rain falling from orange east to stafford and around fredericksburg. that's what we have to contend with for the next couple of xd days. steady rain withçó embedded moderate and heavy rain at times. the northernmost edge of xdthis and where not much has been going on today, cumberland, hagerstown areas off to the west. rainfall amounts to over an inch in pax river. winchester, just over 0.3 inch.r over 1.5 inches in spring lake, north carolina. 52 degrees in raleigh, north carolina. 48 degrees here. yesterday we were in the mid 60s. we are crashing into the 50s. temperatures aren't going to drop much tonight. the fact is even tomorrow we stay cool in the 50s with that persistent northeasterly wind. there is most of the rain, north carolina and south carolina. we had two or three inches down there they'll have to deal with ooding the next couple of days. around here, south eastern virginia, areas of southwestern virginia seeing flooding, as well. high wind advisory in effect for those areas across the south. futurecast for the next two days. we'll keep rain around here with that low pressure system spinning. one to two inches of rain. that through saturday. breezy and chilly with temperatures dropping out of the upper 40s to the mid 40s. we'll have your seven-day forecast in a few minutes. some are calling his comments out of line. hall of famer john riggins isn't backing down from his criticism of washington's football team. derrick ward is in the newsroom working on the story. you got a preview, we'll say, of riggins verbal rampage. >>ñi indeed. this stemsñi from comments wher he characterized dan schneider having a dark heart. he didn't back down much today. they did cause a rift between riggins and joe theismann. he did have a conciliatory form for joe theismann, but not dan schneider. he called snyder a bully. >> no love lost there. >> not at all. >> derek, we'll get the rest on news4 at 5:00. >> indeed. >> derrick ward. and a reminder that news4 at 4:00 is connected to you on twitter and on facebook. for up to the minute breaking news, weather and traffic, we want you to follow us and become a fan. you can find us on both social networking sites by searching news4 at 4:00, one word. >> on the air here at 4:30, much more ahead. the fallout continues today. lawyers of both sides of that letterman blackmail case are facing off in a heated debate. >> plus the amazing survival story of a teenage boy stranded on a chunk of ice for days. >> then helpful tips to put a bit mo money in your bank account. hello and welcome back to news4 at 4:00, i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. some of the big stories in the news right now. thousands of veterans have come to washington to observe veterans day. many came to the world war ii memorial which is holding its first official veterans day ceremony. wreaths were placed to honor those men and women who risked their lives to protect this country. an organization that represents thousandof black churches across the country declared the swine flu a health emergency. the national black church initiative based here in washington is urging all families in america, especiay minority families to get vaccinated. the group says it's now working with health officials at the federal, state and local levels to make sure the vaccine is there and that it happens. metro gave the green light today for an independent group to walk along the tracks during regular hours. the tri-state oversight committee says they haven't been able to see if metro made enough safety changes to prevent accidents. metro says inspectors can look at the tracks as long as they get safety training and are with a safety escort. now to our top story at 4:30. the man accused of blackmailing david letterman was back in a new york courtroom. joe halderman's attorney asked the judge to throw out the case saying his client's actions were nothing more than a typical business transaction. >> attorneys for letterman have a different view. peter alexander has the latest. >> reporter: david letterman was cracking jokes on the late show tuesday night. but no one was laughing hours earlier outside a new york state court. >> we argued that mr. halderm halderman's conduct did not violate the law. >> reporter: in his first court appearance since his release from jail, letterman's accused extortionist claimed prosecutors had it all wrong. he was simply trying to sell letterman a tell-all screen play about the late night star's past sexual relationships for $2 >> this was a commercial