market madness of the how investors are react to go wall street's worst week in two years. now free, two american hikers speak freely about their time in an iranian prison. good morning. thanks for joining us for "news 4 today." i'm eun yang. >> and i'm joe krebs, live on this 26th day of september. let's take a live look outside. clouds in the nation's capital. 70 degrees. kind of humid out there at this hour. >> surprise, surprise. >> the clouds, the humidity, possibility of rain. >> it just keeps on coming. >> yeah, what's going on? this weather pattern is stuck in place. it's been stuck in place for the past week. it does look like it's really going to break down a lot until perhaps another three days. right now it's near 70 in washington. rather humid under the clouds. we've had a few areas where we've had a little bit of mist

falling. watch out. some of the roadways are damp this morning. in the 60s shenandoah valley. near the bay, near 70. montgomery, fairfax, prince george's counties all cloudy and temperatures upper 60s. there's the cloud cover over us streaming in from the south over the last 12 hours. sunrise at 6:59. we might have a little sun in and out this morning through midday. otherwise, quite a bit of cloudiness too. during the afternoon, temperatures climbing into the upper 70s. going to be a rather mild and muggy day. a small chance of an isolated shower this afternoon. looks like late afternoon, perhaps early this evening. we'll look at the evening planner at 6:11. here's a look at the monday morning commute. good morni, danella. >> good morning. couple problems for you this morning. southbound georgia avenue at route 108, only the right lane will get you by that accident in olney. and traveling 66 east, seeing a lot of delays due to the accident at the exit ramp to get onto the inner loop of the

beltway. that's where you're going to see the accident, and it's actually shut down. i am seeing significant delays as you make your way on 66 east and try to get on the inner loop of the beltway. here's what waples mill road looks like, big delays. i'll be updating this accident for you in ten minutes. now back to you both. >> thanks very much, danella. this morning trains are running back on schedule after a fire forced the evacuation of union station. the fire broke out in an electrical room next to the metro escalators last night. the cause has been traced back to water getting into an electrical panel, causing sparks and smoke. no one was hurt, but it did cause train delays last night. this morning friends and family of a missing virginia man will renew their search in the hopes of solving his mysterious disappearance. lenny harris, a longtime alexandria community activist, disappeared after leaving the recreation center on wednesday night. friends said he took a call from someone and then said he was going to meet someone.

it's not known whether it was the caller, but he's not been seen or heard from since. his cell phone was found near the wilson bridge on thursday, but his car is still missing. alexandria mayor bill yule has known harris for decades. >> he's given of his time to make a difference in this community, particularly working for the underprivileged and the youth and young aduts. >> i think he's one of those guys with, if it ain't right, he'll make it right. he'll do whatever he can to touch his hands on it. >> police say they consider harris to be endangered, and they are investigating a possible threat against him. today the trial for a fairfax woman accused of killing her granddaughter at tyson's corner will begin. carmela dela rosa is accused of killing angela last november by throwing her from a bridge that connects the mall with the parking garage. attorneys have questioned dela rosa's mental health. attorneys for her are expected to use the insanity defense. breaking news out of afghanistan. one american is dead and another

wounded in an attack at a cia building in kabul. the u.s. embassy says an afghan employee opened fire last night, shooting two americans before being killed. the man worked for the u.s. government, and it's unclear what his motivation was or how he got into a security government. it's the third high profile attack in kabul the last two weeks. this morning two americans once held in iran are waking up on u.s. soil for the first time in more than two years. >> they do not deserve undue credit for ending what they had no right and no justification to start in the first place. >> josh fattal and shane bauer spoke out at their first news conference in the united states. iran arrested them along the iraq/iran border, convicted them of spying, and sentenced them to eight years in prison. both deny the charges. >> we do not know if we crossed the border. we will probably never know. but even if we did enter iran, that has never been the reason

why the iranian authorities kept us in prison for so long. this was never about crossing the unmarked border between iran and iraq. we were held because of our nationality. >> the two 29-year-olds were freed last week after a $1 million bail was paid on their behalf. sarah shourd was also arrested with them in 2009, but she was released last year after posting bail. right now u.s. futures are up, and european markets are starting to rebound. that's not the case for the asian markets, where investors are growing increasingly convinced that greece will default on its debts, sparking a global downturn. right now the ftse is up more than .5%. japan's nikkei ended the day down more than 2%, and hong kong's hang seng also ended down about 1.5%. the senate will vote on a short term spending bill it reflected last week in the hopes

of ending a government shutdown on friday. they were supposed to be off this week but stayed in d.c. to get the bill passed. the house passed it last week. the plan would fund the federal government through mid-november much the proposal also includes extra disaster aid for fema. that fund could run dry as early as tomorrow. today we expect to learn how extensive the damage is to the washington monument. the 555-foot structure has been closed since last month's earthquake. this afternoon the national park service will talk about what damage engineers found and how long repairs will take. the park service already plans to winterize the monument to prevent further damage during the colder months. the redskins are hoping for a monday night party as they head to dallas to take on the rival cowboys tonight on the national stage. the redskins nucome in with a 2 record for the first time since 2007. they are facing a pretty beat up dallas team. tony romo is expected to play despite a broken rib, and running back felix jones is expected to play with a

dislocated shoulder. even redskins new comers know this is a huge game. >> it's a storied rivalry, and it's one that the fans are passionate about. that tells me everything i need to know. when i first got here, people come to me and say, you've got toette ba the cowboys. you've got to beat the cowboys. that means a lot to me right there. i'm just trying to fit in. it's a division rival. it's on the road. it's monday night football. it's already a lot of excitement. >> dallas has at least one thing going for them, history. the cowboys have won the last four out of five games against the redskins. the skins are 5 1/2 point underdogs. how about that? i hope we show them. >> i hope we do too. 3-0 has a nice ring to it. >> that's right. it is now 6:07. 70 degrees. the local service that's always been free you'll now be paying for.

american swimmer diana nyad ended her attempt to swim from cuba to florida.

the 62-year-old swimmer ended her swim when she was stung twice by a portuguese man 'o war jelly fish type things. she had to be pulled from the water as her face and body were badly swollen. the crew following her was concerned she could die if she were stung again. nyad said not being able to finish was a huge disappointment. this was her third attempt to make this swim. i've been following her career for probably 35 or more years. >> you said you interviewed her. >> i did back when i worked in baltimore. i remember interviewing her before her first swim in 1978, i think, when she first attempted this in a big shark cage. >> good for her for keep trying. she's 62, trying it again. >> she's an amazing swimmer. >> she's not said whether she's going to try again. i bet you she does. >> i wouldn't be at all surprised. >> it's now 6:11. time for weather and traffic on the ones. here's tom. still cloudy. not a lot of fog thankfully. we've had mist overnight. some of the pavement is rather

damp around the region. we're near 70 throughout much of the area. blue ridge west, shenandoah valley, in the 60s now. sunrise at 6:59. a little sun may break through from time to time later this morning and perhaps into the afternoon. then a small chance of a passing shower perhaps mid to late afternoon. highs reaching the upper 70s. here's your evening planner for this monday evening. sunset at 6:59. we'll have temperatures in the 70s through the evening. there's a small chance of an isolated shower early evening. otherwise, cloudy. we'll look at a chance of rain again for tomorrow. we'll look at that and improving news for the end of the week and weekend at 6:21. danella, how's the monday commute? >> good morning. a couple of problems this morning starting at new hampshire avenue at randolph road. a pedestrian struck there. also have another accident to report. this one southbound georgia avenue at route 108. only the right lane is going to get you by the accident there traveling in olney. and then traveling 66 east, seeing a lot of delays on 66

east outside of the beltway as you make your way towards the beltway, you will not be able to get onto the inner loop of the beltway here because of the accident that's blocking you. here's another look at waples mill road. you can see that we are jammed as we make our way towards the beltway. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. for now back to you both. >> danella, thank you. 6:13 is the time. the mystery even nasa can't seem to solve.

at progressive, you can bundle your home and auto policies and save. don't worry, tiny people. flo is a gentle giant. bundle home and auto at progressive.com. welcome back. 6:15. to decision 2012. this morning republicans can claim victory after coming out on top in two separate straw polls. ex-massachusetts governor mitt romney won by a wide margin there. governor rick perry came in a distant second with just under 17%. even more surprising, businessman her man cain won the florida straw poll with 37% of the vote. perry came in second with 15%. romney was a close third. there is a new push to get republican new jersey governor chris christie to enter the race for the white house. aides to governor christie say

he will not enter the race, even after the, quote, relentless stream of calls over the past week. the latest drive comes from what some critics say is the lingering discontent with the current candidates vying for the republican nomination. >> president obama is in the middle of a three-day west coast campaign tour. last night he attended a fund-raiser at the home of facebook's chief operating officer cheryl sandberg. lady gaga was among those who attended the event. she asked him to do more to stop bullying. president obama called for democrats to support him now more than ever during a fund-raiser in seattle. >> i come because i need you to help finish what we started in 2008. back then we started this campaign not because we thought it would be a cake walk. after all, you supported a

candidate named barack hussein obama. >> the president attended two fund-raisers in seattle. tickets range from 100 there's apiece to $35,800 per couple. before traveling to two more campaign events in san diego and los angeles today, president obama will hold a town hall meeting online. news 4's angie goff is live in the news room with details. angie, good morning. >> good morning, eun. today president obama is leading that town hall meeting on job creation, and he's doing it all online. social networking site linked in, which is a go too site for professionals and businesses is hosting the interactive event from california. you can watch the town hall starting at 2:00 p.m. through linked in's website or white house.gov. you can still post questions for the president right now. also, we've learned the house republicans will host an online town hall meeting of their own. majority leader eric cantor and congressman paul ryan are among the group who will answer questions from facebook users

starting at 6:00 tonight. now where that facebook forum is going to be more of a conversation through postings between people and politicians, president obama plans to answer questions through a live broadcast. eun, back to you. >> angie goff live in our news room this morning. angie, thank you. today six men are due in court accused of planning suicide bombing attacks in the united kingdom. the men were charged late last night after being arrested in birmingham, england. four of them are accused of planning the attacks while the other two are charged with failing to alert authorities. it's unclear where and when the men planned to carry out those attacks. the attorneys for amanda knox are making their closing arguments right now in italy as they try to free the american student. they're trying to overturn the 24-year-old's murder conviction for the death of her roommate back in 2007. prosecutors have urged the court to actually increase knox's punishment and sentence her to life in prison. knox is expected to address the

court later this week in a final plea for her freedom. police in indiana are still investigating a gruesome scene as they discovered five people shot to death in their homes. state police say they were called to a neighborhood after a toddler was found wandering the streets yesterday. the child led officers to the homes where they found the bodies. investigators aren't sure if one person is responsible for the shootings or if the suspect or suspects are among the dead. it was as big as a bus, but nasa says trying to find pieces of its massive satellite are more like trying to find needles in a bunch of haystacks. the space agency believes most of the 20-year-old satellite plunged safely in the ocean. however, it's possible some landed in the state of washington, oregon, or even in canada. it's the largest spacecraft to crash back to earth uncontrolled since the sky lab space station back in 1979. reading "the baltimore sun"

online will no longer be free. the newspaper will begin charging readers for its online content starting next month. digital subscribers will pay $2.49 a week or $49.99 for six months for unlimited access. principal subscribers will get better rates. do you like us on facebook? news 4's fandemonium got under way. which means great prizes every day. >> we have ipads, tickets, gift cards. all you have to do is like us on facebook, and then click on the left side of the screen for fandemonium and win. today's prize is tickets to les miserables. >> such a great show. it's a classic. it is just about 6:21. time for weather and traffic on the ones. meteorologist tom kierein to tell us more about this gloomy forecast. at least you're cheerful, tom.

>> despite that, please like us. don't hate me. we have around our region again another morning with low clouds, a little bit of mist. so some of the roadways are a little damp. right now near 70 in montgomery. arlington, fairfax, prince george's county, the district of columbia ya, right near the bay. a few isolated spots have dipped into the upper 60s. much of the shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia. much of western maryland and into west virginia's mountains. we have it in the low 60s this morning. look at the cloud cover continuing this flow out of the south. this persistent weather pattern locked in place, giving us more clouds today. sunrise at 6:59. we might get a little mood enhancing sunshine breaking up by midmorning perhaps into early afternoon. then middle to late afternoon hours, we may get an isolated shower passing by. there's only a small chance of that. highs reaching upper 70s. and then cloudy tonight. by dawn tomorrow upper 60s. tomorrow a bit milder, up around 80 degrees. still humid and still cloudy.

and a greater chance of a shower maybe during the afternoon. that's the greater chance is the afternoon hours. we might have a small chance tomorrow morning. then wednesday and thursday partly sunny. highs near 80 both days. a small chance of an isolated shower both of those days. finally, as we get into the weekend, thanks to canadian high pressure coming down, bringing us cool autumnal weather. it's really going to be quite chilly. in the morning saturday and sunday, only in the 40s. in the 30s in the mountains. highs in the low 60s on saturday and sunday. mountains may make it into the 50s for a high. we'll have lots of sunshine. now let's check on traffic. good morning, danella. >> we have good news in olney. the earlier accident southbound georgia avenue at route 108 is now clear. that's out of your way. i'm still seeing a situation in silver spring. new hampshire avenue at randolph road. still have a pedestrian struck there. i'm going to keep tracking that accident for you. and then also traveling east on the 66, trying to get on that inner loop of the beltway, that

ramp is shut down. seeing a lot of delays. i would just suggest that you take nutley street to chain bridge road, and you can continue onto the inner loop of the beltway there. let's take a look at the beltway in maryland. starting to see congestion build here at new hampshire avenue. as you make your way to 270, you're traveling at 44 miles an hour. now back to you both. 6:23. 70 degrees. what prince william wants to do before he settles down to be a full-time royal. [ rock playing ]

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after several years of delay, the first boeing 787 dreamliner has been delivered. boeing sold it to all nippon airlines or ana. the dreamliner described as one of the most advanced, fuel efficient, and most comfortable passenger jets ever created. it's made largely of plastic composite materials instead of aluminum. the 2009 aisle jetliner featured 30% larger windows than comparably sized planes as well as larger luggage storage, electronic dimming on the windows, and improved air pressure and humidity levels. the dreamliner is set to make its first passenger flight this coming november. prince william has

reportedly told the queen he wants to remain in the royal air force for as long as possible before he becomes a full-time royal. that's according to the daily mail. the 29-year-old future king is a search and rescue pilot. he was scheduled to leave after a three-year tour of duty in 2013. his decision to stay in the raf reportedly has the full support of both his grandmother and his father prince charles are. good for him. >> absolutely. >> continuing to serve his country. >> a job is a job too. >> that's right. next at 6:30, what two american hikers are saying about their time behind bars in an iranian prison, and they aren't holding back.

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good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> it's september 26th, 2011. beautiful sky out there. 71 degrees out there. what a way to wake up. what will the rest of the day look like? >> will we have this wonderful weather? >> wonderful, bright and upbeat attitudes. sky is gloomy and gray. here we go again, another day with a lot of clouds. good morning. i'm meteorologist tom kierein. i was looking back at the calendar of our weather for the

month of september. we only had one day this month of september that was mostly sunny. >> one day? >> one day that was mostly sunny. >> that is not good. >> we're solar deprived. >> we are. >> and we could use some sun. unfortunately, look at all the clouds that continue to stream in from the south. they'll be with us here through much of the day although we may get a few breaks. a little bit of sunshine to brighten your mood should be breaking out later this morning. sunrise at 6:59. by 9:00 the low 70s and mid-70s. we'll be in the upper 70s perhaps to near 80 by midafternoon. by then we'll probably have a lot of clouds again back. also, a small chance of an isolated shower, perhaps a thunder shower, but only a very small chance of that, it appears, for mid to late afternoon. a look at your evening planner coming up at 6:41. good morning, danella. >> good morning. traveling 66 east, the inner loop shut down.

i'm seeing significant delays on 66. those delays start at sudley road and continue inside of the beltway. if you're trying to get on the inner loop, nutley street to chain bridge road and access the inner loop of the beltway from there. silver spring, maryland, an accident at southbound new hampshire avenue at randolph road. and then congestion in our area increasing. traveling 270 very slow as you make your way from urbanna and head towards clarksburg. you're going to see a lot of delays. then you get a little bit of relief. look at falls road. that's when the congestion builds once again. the good news, you're not so bad making your way on the beltway to the spur traveling at 55 miles per hour. eun, back to you. >> danella, thanks so much. breaking news out of afghanistan where an attack has left one american dead and another wounded. the u.s. embassy says an afghan employee opened fire last night in a cia building in kabul. two americans were hit before the gunman was killed. the embassy says the man worked

for the u.s. government, but it's unclear what his motivation was or how he got a gun into the secure compound. right now u.s. futures are up as european markets are rebounding. that is not the case for asian markets where investors are growing increasingly convinced that greek will default on its debts, sparking a global downturn. the ftse is up half a percent. japan's nikkei ended the day down more than 2%. a hong kong's hang seng also ended the day down about 1.5%. congress was supposed to be off this week but stayed in d.c. to get this bill passed. the house passed a bill last week, but the senate did not approve it. the plan would fund the federal government through mid-november. the proposal also includes extra disaster aid for fema. that fund could run dry as early as tomorrow. the imf may need billions of dollars in extra funding.

that's according to managing director christine lagarde who made the comments while in new delhi, india. she says the imf may have to tap its members for extra funding. lagarde says the global economic kr crisis is to blame, and the funding would go to countries in need like greece, italy, and spain. two american hikers held in an iranian prison are on u.s. soil for the first time in two years. josh fattal and shane bauer spoke out in their first news conference. iran arrested them along the iraq/iran border, held them in jail for two years for spying. fattal talked about how they were treated as hostages. >> many times, too many times, we heard the screams of other prisoners being beaten, and there was nothing we could do to help them. the solitary confinement was the worst experience of all of our

lives. >> sarah, josh, and i can now finally leave prison behind us. we want more than anything to begin our lives anew and with a new appreciation for the sweet taste of freedom. >> fattal, bauer, and sarah shourd were all arrested in 2009. they were released on $500,000 bail each. shourd was released last year. 6:35 now. today jury is expected to begin in the case of a maryland state law maker accused of using his influence to benefit a grocery store chain. ulysses curry asked to be put on the board of the warehouse to use his office to help the stores. attorneys for him say he was being treated for cancer and was taking medication that made him, quote, fuzzy. the trial is being held in federal court in baltimore. this morning trains are running back on schedule after a fire forced the evacuation of

union station. the fire broke out in an electrical room next to the metro escalators last night. the cause has been traced back to water getting into an electrical panel causing sparks and smoke. no one was hurt, but it did cause train delays last night. two local college students are recovering this morning from serious injuries. they fell when a balcony at a fraternity house collapsed. this happened early saturday morning at the pi kappa alpha fraternity house at the university of virginia in charlottesville. police say several people were leaning on the balcony railing when it gave way. cory milner and joseph garbo of ashburn were injured. milner, who is a uva student. is in stable condition. who is seeing gas prices drop under $3 a gallon? one of the newest redskins talks about what it's like to be part of the dallas/washington rivalry.

6:39 is our time.

the "today" show comes up at 7:00, of course. let's check in with ann curry right now to see what they're working on this morning. ann, good morning to you. >> hey, joe. good morning. coming up on a monday morning on "today," the renewed calls for new jersey governor chris christie to enter the republican presidential race. this on the heels of herman cain's rather surprising victory in a florida straw poll. mr. cain will be joining us in a live interview. also, amanda knox expected to take the stand in her appeals trial coming up. is that such a good move? plus never before seen photographs from marilyn monroe's very first professional photo shoot. we'll be showing them to you. also, prince william is opening up in a new interview about his grandmother, the queen, planning the royal wedding, and life in the spotlig spotlight. that's when we get started on a monday morning here on "today." back to you. >> thank you very much, ann. look forward to it. it is a shopper's dream. the mid-atlantic's largest charity shopping event, the

district sample sale, is tonight. the event features over 20 top designer clothing and shoe boutiques. the sale will be held along "m" street northwest. the vip hour starts at 5:30. general admission from 6:30 to 9:00. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to washington empowered against violence. or weave. they provide free counseling and legal services. 6:41 is our time right now. let's take a live look outside to see what kind of a day we have on this monday morning. we have some clouds above us. as you can see. brightening out there at least. >> that's a live picture from the city camera right there at the end of the runway at the reagan national airport on the potomac river. we do have an overcast sky. and a few locations getting a few sprinkles of light rain in frederick county, maryland, carol county, up near the pennsylvania border. we've had mist falling. some of the roadways are damp and temperatures near 70. there's a live picture showing

capitol hill off in the distance. on the horizon is prince george's county. sunrise 6:59. we might have a little sun breaking through that overcast from time to time through the morning and perhaps midday hours. then during the rest of the afternoon, looks rather cloudy. there is a small chance of an isolated shower this afternoon or early this evening. here's your evening planner. sunset at 6:59. low 70s by midnight under a cloudy sky. a look at changes on the way, though, for the week ahead. we'll look at that and the weekend in ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? traveling 66 east, still have the inner loop to the beltway exit ramp still shut down and big delays on 66 east. i would suggest, if you want to get on the beltway, what you need to do is take nutley street to chain bridge road. let's see some delays. here's sudley road. those delays continue as you head east inside of the beltway. and have an accident in silver spring, maryland. this one southbound new hampshire avenue at randolph road as well. you'll see the accident there. and big delays on the outer loop of the beltway. now back to you both. >> thank you, danella.

6:42. now 70 degrees. the renewed talks today for another metro extension.

the washington monument has been closed to the public since the 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit on august the 23rd. this morning friends and family of a missing virginia man will renew their search in the hopes of solving his mysterious disappearance. lenny harris, a longtime alexandria community activist went missing after leaving the recreation center around 9:00 last wednesday night. friends say he took a call from an unknown caller and then said he was going to meet someone, but he hasn't been seen or heard from since. his cell phone was found near the wilson bridge thursday, but his car is still missing. alexandria mayor bill yule has known harris for decades. >> he has given up his time to make a difference in this community, particularly working for the underprivileged and the youth and young adults. >> lenny is one of those guys where, if it ain't right, he'll make it right. he'll do whatever he can to touch his hands on it. >> police say they consider

harris to be in danger, and they are investigating a possible threat against him. today the trial for a fairfax woman accused of killing her 2-year-old granddaughter at tyson's corner will begin. carmela dela rosa is charged with murdering angela last november by throwing her from a bridge that connects the mall with the parking garage. attorneys on both sides have questioned dela rosa's mental health. attorneys are expected to use the insanity defense. should metro expand rail service to woodbridge? tonight lawmakers will meet to talk about that possibility. the meeting will begin at 6:30 on harbour view on the 13000 block of marina way in woodbridge. it will feature a panel conversation as well as question and answer time with residents. congressman jerry connelly has been pushing for a feasibility study for some time on the cost and impact of bringing a line to the eastern end of prince william county. if you filled up your gas tank lately, you've probably seen much lower prices than even

a week ago. it appears they're going to fall even more. news 4's tracee wilkins is live in capitol heights, maryland, with more on this. tracee, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, eun. lots of good news at the pump, but one may wonder why. it appears a poor financial outlook has caused the price of crude to drop 9%, the lowest it's been in six months. it appears gas prices have stopped soaring, at least for the time being. for the first time in months, retail gasoline prices have fallen below $3 a gallon in places, including parts of michigan, missouri, and texas. unfortunately, it's not fallen to below $3 a gallon here in the d.c. area. the relief is likely due to a sharp decline in crude oil prices. the national average for regular unleaded gasoline is $3.49 per gallon, down from a high of $3.98 in early may. the national average again is the lowest it's been in some time. the d.c. average is right around $3.62 a gallon, down from $3.73,

and our area, virginia has the cheapest gas prices now. a gallon costs $3.35. that's down from 9 cents higher than it was a week ago. maryland is down 9 cents from $3.53 to $3.43, and in west virginia right now, they're paying $3.57 for a gallon of regular. there is more good news because some analysts are predicting that in november we may be paying $3.25 for a gallon of regular. i'm tracee wilkins live this morning in capitol heights. back to you all in the studio. >> we'd like to see that. tracee, thank you. mortgage rates are dropping fast as well. cnbc's bertha coombs joins us live with more on that story. good morning. >> good morning, joe. it's this tantalizing thing out there. mortgage rates dipping below 4%. that could trigger a refinancing boom, or at least a desire for people who can. according to credit suisse, as of thursday, lenders were

offering an average of 3.91% on 30-year fixed loans to borrowers who were willing to pay points or fees on about 1% of the balance. but some homeowners, even if they had to pay points, have been finding it harder to refinance because of stricter lending standards. those who could use it the most, if they're under water or don't have enough equity in their homes, are generally shut out of refis as well. amazon may be the next big contender to take on the ipad. the company expected to unveil its own tablet this week at a press event here in new york on wednesday. the kindle tablet will reportedly run on google's android system making it easier to run android apps on google's amazon store. it may have anywhere from a 7 to 9-inch screen, and the real appeal is the price. $250. that's half the cost of the cheapest ipad. and if you're a gamer and hate being away from halo or gears of war, you'll soon be able to play it on your

smartphone. microsoft plans to make games for the xbox available on your phone as it tries to capitalize on the rise of gaming on social networking sites and mobile devices. the service could debut as early as next year. microsoft will create the tie-ins with xbox, such as letting users pick up games on their phones they started playing at home or using their phones as controller. i don't know if i want somebody playing warfare next to me on the subway. it's a little disconcerting. >> exactly. might make them not so friendly. >> if you've been on the new york city subway, they're not necessarily friendly to begin with. >> well, that's true. i hope we can stop the not only texting while driving, but gaming while driving. that would not be a good thing. >> yeah. >> thanks very much, bertha. you have a great day. >> you too. >> thanks. now to education nation. the nbc news initiative is a week long conversation about the state of the country's economics education system. today we'll focus on why early childhood education matters, and we'll get an inside look at

classrooms in action. hundreds of teachers kicked off the event yesterday with a town hall in new york city. early on, teachers balked at a poll question that showed 41% think students are unprepared for college because they lacked academic preparation. then the conversation shifted to what the community can to to help teachers succeed and really reach their students. >> a lot of our students in their 82% free and reduced lunch don't have internet access, and it's hard to get to a place where there's free internet access. >> other hot topics included teacher pay and evaluations, the role of teachers unions, and the challenges of shrinking budgets and growing class sizes. important conversation to have. >> huge, huge topics to take on. let's find out what the weather is going to be like for today. with the power vested in me by the state of my own mind, i would like to hereby dub this the month of gray-tember.

gray-tember continues this morning. another gray day over capitol hill. there's a live picture from the city camera. it's 71 at reagan national. we've only had one day this month of september where we had a mostly sunny, blue sky. that was way back on september 13th. yet another gray day under way. we have temperatures right near 70 in washington and in montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties, upper 60s most locations there. and mid and upper 60s shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, much of western maryland, much of west virginia in the low 60s now. right around the chesapeake bay, eastern shore, upper 60s to near 70. there are all these gray clouds continuing to roll in from the south. however, there are a few breaks, a little brightening sky out in the mountains. there is the overcast now. sunrise in just a few minutes at 6:59. we'll have perhaps a little sun trying to break through the overcast this morning through midday. then during the rest of the afternoon, cloudy. maybe a passing shower, a small chance of that this afternoon.

right now getting a few sprinkles up in frederick county, maryland, up near the pennsylvania border. later this evening, might have a passing shower early evening. cloudy after that. low 70s by midnight. and another cloudy day tomorrow. what else is knew? up around 80 degrees. and there is a greater chance of some showers, mainly in the afternoon tomorrow. wednesday and thursday, partly sunny. highs around 80 or so. then much cooler weather coming in thanks to canadian, cool dry pressure. 40s in the mondays saturdays and sundays. lots of mood enhancing sunshine. now let's check traffic. danella, how's it looking? >> that accident is clear there. still seeing big delays on 66 east. here's what waples mill road looks like. here's delays continuing inside

the beltway. and 270 very slow at shady grove. those delays continue as you make your way towards the spur. and a look at 395. this is at edsall, seeing delays here. they continue as you head north towards seminary road. now back to you both. >> danella, thank you. the redskins are looking to continue their undefeated start to the new season in a big monday night primetime matchup against the archrival dallas cowboys. redskins come in with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2007, and they're facing a pretty beat up dallas team. quarterback tony romo is expected to play despite a broken rib and a puvg toured lung. felix jones is expected to play despite an injured shoulder. >> it will be different. played there the last five years. it will be different, but we have one goal, and that's to come out with a win. i'm real excited to get down there and prove a point.

>> dallas has at least one thing going for it, that is, history. the cowboys have won the last 4 out of 5 games against the skins. skins are a 5 1/2 point underdog for this game. >> go, skins. it is 6:55. here are the morning's top stories. one american is dead and another wounded after a gunman opens fire at a cia building in kabul. the u.s. embassy says the afghan man worked for the u.s. government. today president obama will hold a town hall meeting hosted by the social networking site linked in. he will answer questions about creating jobs in the economy before an audience made up of linked in members and employees. later today the senate will meet on the short term spending bill. the proposal also includes extra disaster aid for fema. that fund could run dry as early as tomorrow. a news 4's facebook fandemonium is now under way.

that means you could win great prizes every single day. >> we have ipads, show tickets, gift cards. all you have to do is log on to facebook and like nbc washington. then on the left side of the screen, click on fandemonium to win. today's price, les miserables playing at the kennedy center. we'll choose a winner at the 6:00 p.m. news cast and announce a winner tonight at 11:hou00. that is "news 4 today." thank you for starting our day with us. >> the "today" show is next. [ cow mooing ] ♪ [ female announcer ] there's no need to produce foods yourself to be sure they're 100% natural. ♪ now there's open nature foods from safeway. no preservatives, no artificial anything.

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