80s. aid mrc mid afternoon, lower part of the bay, eastern shore. otherwise, partly cloudy and low humidity moving in. a blustery wind as we clear out by 6:00 p.m. low humidity. delightful back down to the mid 80s. i'll be back in ten minutes with another update. danella is here now with your first 4 traffic. checking out our area, not seeing any accidents to warn you about. road work is happening and also we have an incident. debris in the roadway. this is along eastbound 193. green belt road and rhode island avenue. blocking two lanes in that area. keep an eye out if you're traveling 295. d.c. 295 making your way towards pennsylvania avenue. northbound lanes are blocked there. there is an electronic detour in place to make your way around. hopefully this should be clearing around 5:00 a.m. let's head over to utility work here. crossing over the key bridge at m street utility work is

blocking the outbound lanes. you are able to get around but you have to work and like this tractor trailer just did. as we speak, gulf coast residents are brace for isaac's arrival. thousands of people from alabama to louisiana have already fled their homes ahead of the storm which could strengthen into a hurricane later this morning. nbc's danielle lee is live for us in new orleans with the preparations there. danielle? >> reporter: good morning, jim. you know it's starting off as a relatively calm morning here in new orleans but people have not let that fool them. if you look around canal street, business ves laid out sandbags and precautions ahead of this storm. we could begin feeling isaac in the next several hours. i'm going to show you video as it headed down florida. heavy rains and winds. that left thousands of people without power. as isaac is strengthening and heading through the gulf towards new orleans we're expecting the impact to be more significant here. and very many people have been taking that seriously, getting prepared, getting food and other

supplies ahead of this storm so they won't be caught off guard. one of the bing things here is flooding, without being worried about the winds. the heavy rain coming down on new orleans can lead to flooding on these streets. that's the main concern people are worried about. as you know, this is hitting around the 7th anniversary of hurricane katrina and this is going the first test of the $14 billion this city has spent repairing the levee system. that's something some people are laying their trust in. others are saying we're moving out of the city. we don't want to risk it. several parishes have evacuated ahead of this storm as a precaution. we're going to be following this and giving you the latest developments. for now, reporting live in new orleans, i'm danielle lee. back to you. >> stay safe. dominion power is sending more crews. about 50 crews and 32 bucket trucks will help with relief efforts. dominion already sent about 80 crews to the region over the weekend. and stay with news4 for the latest on tropical storm isaac. chief meteorologist doug calmer

is in new orleans and will have a live report later today. you can track the storm and get the latest information on nbcwashington.com. breaking news now. right now police are on the scene of a possible meth lab inside an arlington apartment building. this is just one block away from the virginia square metro station along north monroe street. tracee wilkins is live there with the latest. tracee, what have we learned? >> let me show you what's going on behind me here and bring you up to date on where we are. hazmat crews are beginning to pack up here. that's the good news. so it looks like they've been able to take care of everything inside of that apartment. it was a threat here to this apartment building and the surrounding area. they still have the street taped off here at monroe but it does look like they're wrapping up. let me show you what it looked like earlier this morning. just after 10:00 p.m. police were called to the third floor of the apartment here in the 800

block for the domestic distu disturban disturbance. while in the apartment police noticed something that seemed like a hazmat situation. they got out of there. fire department officials tells news4 when they entered the apartment they found what looked like a working meth lab and called for the hazmat units and also the bomb squad to come to the scene. they set up a command around 10:54 p.m. and evacuated the second, third, and fourth floors of this apartment building. now, a little after 1:00 a.m., the second and fourth floor were able to return. the others were able to stand outside a little bit. we're told everyone has been allowed back in. a couple of residents were not allowed yet when we pulled up on the scene. now, two people are being questioned by police. i'm told by one person on the scene that at least one of those people, they were brought out in handcuffs here. so here again, it looks like the hazmat crews are beginning to wrap up their operation completely here. and expecting them to move off of monroe street shortly. police at this time are not confirming whether these folks

are facing charges but we do know they do have two people in custody. reporting live in arlington, tracee wilkins, news4. >> thanks, tracee. turning to decision 2012 now. and first full day of action at the republican national convention in tampa. today is packed with events that will run late into the night. the highlights start with the official roll call to nominate mitt romney for president. he is expected to accept that nomination on thursday. later in the night romney's wife ann will take the stage, as will new jersey governor chris chrisst christi for the key note address. bob mcdonnell will also get a prime time speaking time tonight. daughter will also have the honor of addressing the rnc crowd. the 31-year-old who served in iraq as an army platoon leader will introduce senator john mccain around 8:00 tomorrow night. a fellow veteran who was wounded in combat will join her on the

stage. jenen mcdonnell has been in the spotlight before campaigning for her dad and singing the "national anthem" at his 2010 inauguration. the mcdonnell speeches are two examples of the pivotal rolled played at this year's convention. delegates will also be essential to the nomination. barbara comstock is the chairman. she will be on the big stage for a short speech and then second romney's nomination to set the roll call vote in motion. >> i'm really looking forward to that because i've been work for him since t. th2006 and i'm exc about the campaign and having the next president of the united states be mitt romney. >> the delegation got star treatment yesterday. they were visited by actor jon voight and romney's oldest son tag. a programming note about rnc coverage for you. tomorrow "nbc nightly news" will air half hour early at 6:30 p.m. so we can bring you the redskins

preseason game against the tampa bay buccaneers. that's going to be at 7:00. then nbc news coverage of the republican national convention, including congressman paul ryan's speech will, air immediately following the game. today president obama is hoping to get a group to help carry him to the white house back in '08 to vote for him again. he starts a three-day college tour today. first stop is iowa state university in ames, iowa. he will address students around 1:00 this afternoon. then he will head for ft. collins, colorado, to speak to students at colorado state university. the president will finish up his tour with a visit to charlottesville tomorrow. although he won't be speaking on the university of virginia campus. today we will lay to rest a prince george's police officer killed in the line of duty. funeral service for adrian morris will be this morning at 9:00 at the wood stream church in mitchellville, maryland. last night hundreds of people attended the wake for morris.

the 23-year-old officer was born in jamaica but raised in prince george's county and graduated from eleanor roosevelt high school. he became a u.s. citizen in 2009. morris was engaged. his fiance's grandmother says the family is devastated. >> i feel very sad. i feel very sad. i didn't know him know him, but i heard a lot of good things about him. >> morris lost control of his police cruiser on i-95 last monday and died in a crash. he was chasing two men suspected of stealing purses from cars at gas stations. also in the day ahead today, d.c. councilman tommy wells will be holding a hearing into the high priced tickets from those d.c. traffic cameras. wells is not against the cameras themselves but he tells news4 the fines that go up to $250 are just too high. by comparison, violations in montgomery county are just $40. last year cameras in the district generated more than $50

million. wells plans to propose new legislation to lower the fines after meeting with community and transportation. >> a lot of people will be going to the that meeting. >> you know. >> they've got something to say. all right. the time is 4:39. ahead on "news4 today," we are learning more about a shooting at a maryland high school. what may have driven the teen to open fire. plus, forget a few months why nasa's astronauts could soon be spending a lot more time in space. plus, storm team4 meteorologist tom kierein is tracking changes that could mean a break from the humidity next with w

time for weather and traffic. i'm storm team meteorologist tom kierein. light showers are moving in from the west. those will be into the metro area perhaps around 7:00 a.m. noontime, a few showers north and east of washington. elsewhere, partly sunny, mid 80s. upper 80s mid afternoon. blustery northwest wind. seven-day outlook in ten minutes. how's traffic? still watching out for road work in our area. first, traveling d.c. to 95 on pennsylvania avenue, northbound lanes are blocked at this time. let's head over to the outer loop. a couple of work zones set up there. outer loop at georgetown pike. only the left lane will get you by as you make your way in this area. you can see they're still

working. outer loop, you can't get to westbound 66 or the dell husband toll road. time is 4:42. a lot more still to come this morning on "news4 today." more legal troubles this morning at the virginia home once used by michael vick for dogfighting. plus, the unusual encounter with a wild

president clinton: this election to me is about which... candidate is more likely to return us to full employment. this is a clear choice. the republican plan is to cut more taxes on upper-income... people and go back to deregulation. that's what got us in trouble in the first place. president obama has a plan to rebuild america from... the ground up, investing in innovation, education... and job training. it only works if there is a strong middle class. that's what happened when i was president. we need to keep going with his plan. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

. extra police will be on hand this morning at one of marylandize largest high schools after a shooting on the first day of class. the shooting happened yesterday morning inside perry hall high school in baltimore county. the 15-year-old gunman is in custody. police say he fired a shotgun in the cafeteria hitting a special needs student. a guidance counselor stopped the teen before he could do further damage. >> it hit the ceiling. i don't know what it was. we heard it.

as soon as we heard it, i got up. i grabbed my stuff and i ran out. i didn't know what it was. >> at last check, the 17-year-old victim is listed in critical condition in the hospital. he was the only one hit but not the intended target. a baby taken from a hospital in la plata is back at the hospital this morning. police say the mother of the week-old-baby took the child from civista medical center without permission. the mom does not have custody of the child. the baby is now in custody of child protective services. it's not clear yet whether the mother was able to get the baby out of the hospital on her own or had help. today families of the 12 people killed in a mass shooting at a colorado movie theater last month will hold a news conference in aurora. it is the first time that the families will have appeared in public together. the group is expected to read a statement and will take questions from the media. james holmes, a former ph.d. student, is accused of bursting into the theater a opening

fire, killing 12 and injuring another 58 people. this morning we're learning new details of astronaut neil armstrong's funeral. the first man to walk on the moon will be laid to rest friday near his home in cincinnati. it will be a private service. the white house though has ordered flags to fly at half staff on friday. there have been talks of a national memorial service but nothing has been confirmed yet. neil armstrong died saturday of complications from heart surgery. he was 82. this morning we are hearing from a bethesda mother who survived a hit and run crash while riding her bike. a warning, her injuries are so bad she is reluctant to even show her friends. j.d. grant rode her bike friday morning when a driver struck her on massachusetts avenue and left her bleeding and unconscious on the road. she suffered facial fractures and her teeth had to be realigned. she doesn't remember much. >> it's really sad and hard to explain to my friends, to my two little girls, how someone could

leave their mom bleeding, unconscious, in the street. >> montgomery county police are looking for a dark blue late model minivan with damage to the driver's side. anyone with information should call police. a new twist today inside the home that michael vick once used for dogfighting. the new owner of that house is facing animal cruelty charges now. tamera opened a dog sanctuary in virginia. she says she's shocked to learn about the charges and hasn't been contacted by authorities or serve with warrants. animal control officials dispute the claims. nfl quarterback michael vick spent 18 months in federal prison for dogfighting. a run-in with a rabid fox ended with one woman hurt and a police officer in the hospital. police tell us a woman in ft. washington reported the animal had been bitten here. that officer shot and killed the fox when it charged him. but also accidentally shot

himself in the leg. we're told his injuries are serious but not life threatening. the district can continue installing new smart meters in taxicabs while a lawsuit to stop installation makes its way through legal system. a judge ruled the d.c. taxicab commission can proceed with its verifone system installation. the new device comes with a credit card reader, gps technology and small tv monitor. the d.c. council approved a $35 million contract with the verifone company. companies that did not win the contract are suing, citing the bidding process was flawed. if everyone goes as planned all 6500 cabs will have the new smart meters by the end of the year. gambling giant mgm is betting big money on bringing a sixth casino to maryland. the company is contributing $2.4 million to four maryland jobs and schools. a committee supporting maryland's expanded gambling package. it is just the start of what is expected to be a multimillion

dollar campaign on both sides. four maryland jobs and schools have already started running radio ads and a tv campaign will begin this week. s voters will make the final decision on expanded gambling come november. the martin luther king jr. memorial is celebrating the first anniversary today. that memorial opened last august and organizers are celebrating the occasion with a special program tonight. it will include several speeches and a screening of the movie "the long walk home." a program begins at 7:00 and is free. i can't believe it's already been a year. >> i know. >> so much hype leading up to it. seen a lot of visitor ace long the way. tom joins us once again. you guys have a busy weather week. first, close to home, is it pretty humid out there this morning like yesterday? >> yeah, it still is steamy. it didn't go away overnight. we have a front that's going to rescue us from a high humidity. as it does push in, triggering rain. green there on storm team4 radar. light train now.

shenandoah valley valley. it's just now crossing month go gory county's line and beginning to move in towards poolsville and near damascus. it's heading off to the north and east. and farther south and west, just now coming in to loudoun county near here'sburg and it's just some light rain, maybe a little bit of moderate rain here in leesburg where you see the dark green. it's going to continue to track off to the east and southeast and head over toward the eastern shore by later this afternoon. between now and then, well, it's going to be wet on 270 from frederick down towards near germantown and farther to the west from fred tick along 340 and charles town, it's wet there. it's also wet on 50 and the beginning to get wet on 66, too, right near front royal. here's a wider view. behind this front it is clearing out. low humidity is moving in. that will push in by later this afternoon. and it is looking much nicer for the next few days. in fact, out ahead of this front it is mild and muggy. all these areas in yellow are in

the low to mid 70s. that's most of virginia, most of maryland, and the eastern shore. over to our west with a low humidity is moving in. temperatures are only in the 50s in parts of indiana and michigan. that's going to continue to move our way here. it's not going to be that cool but that lower humidity will be pushing in by later this afternoon. for the morning commute, have an umbrella handy. showers north and west of washington by 6:00 a.m. low to mid 70s. then by noontime for your lunch hour, beginning to clear west and east. still east and south of washington. might have a few passing showers. by noontime, the upper 70s and low 80s. my mid afternoon, lower humidity moving in by late afternoon. back down to the mid 80s. by dawn tomorrow under a clearing sky, low 60s. beautiful weather thursday, wednesday. highs in the 80s. morning low, low 60s. getting hotter, more humid friday and saturday. right now perhaps some of the remnants of isaac moving our way late saturday night, perhaps into early sunday morning. looks like the timing on that

right now. i'll have the very latest on isaac just getting new information right now, i'll have that coming up in just a few minutes. danella has a look at traffic now. good morning. >> good morning. right now in your first4 traffic report, we're going to start in virginia, head down and check out an accident. this is in the triangle area northbound i-95. this is right near joplin road. have an accident here in your shoulder lane, as well as police are blocking the right lane here. it's your right shoulder lane and right lane is blocked. you will have to stick to the left to get by this didn't. heads up though. further north of this there was a work zone in place overnight. it was blocking the left side of the roadway. it should be in its final stages but if you're just about to head out on this road you may need to veer to the left and come right back over to the right as you make your way towards the road work in that area. speaking of road work, outer loop, georgetown pike in virginia, you're slow in georgetown pike to 267 because only the left lane gets by the work zone in that area. still happening along the right side again. should be clearing shortly. right now is still happening.

jim and angie, back over to you both. >> thanks. >> thanks so much. imagine spending the whole year in space. some astronauts may be to do just about that. nbc news learns that nasa plans on doubling the time from six months to a full year. the longer missions could be implemented as early as 2015. some doctors worry about the toll of spending a whole year in orbit and what it may take on that astronaut's body. kind of like waking up at 2:00 to do the morning news. >> i can't imagine. this morning, we are getting a clearer picture of who will be on the redskins roster when the regular season starts. the team trimmed its roster to 75 players yesterday. the skins cut several players including kicker neil rackers. that greens graham will start the team as kicker. kevin barnes, in exchanges for a draft pick. they'll have to finalize their

53-man roster by this weekend. and remember, you can catch the redskins final preseason game tomorrow night right here on nbc4. they take on the buccaneers. it all starts at 7:00. and kirk cousins is going to be making his in fact starting debut. >> a lot of eyes on him. and it's here close to home and right on nbc4. coming up next at 4:55 on "news4 today," new concerns this morning about teens who smoke marijuana. coming up in the next 30 minutes the impact the drug could have on how they think as adults. but first, why it may soon be harder to find some of samsung's popular phones and tablets. staying connected even at 30,000 feet. why you soon may be more access to your phones in flight.

airlines are not the only company making money on extra fees. hotels are said to rake in nearly $2 billion in surcharges and fees this year alone. many hotels charge forfeitness centers and in-room internet access. a rothotel trade group reports quarter of the members charge guests for wi-fi access. one bright spot, hour. industry analysts say hotels are running out of new things to charge extra for. apple has submited a list of eight samsung products it wants pulled from store shelves. it comes just days after apple

was awarded $1 billion in damages for patent samsung infringed on. the products include the galaxy s and s-2, the destroyed charge and galaxy prevail. all of them are smart phones. apple wants the products banned from the u.s. market. a judge will decide the issue at a later date. well, it's going to be a while before you can use your ipad or smart phone during an entire flight. the faa is starting to study it and will release the recommendation in march. right now passengers have to shut off all smart phones and computers when a plane is below $10,000 feet. that's because of worries that signature falls from the devices might interfere with electronics in the cockpit. faa says allows cellphone use during flights is not under consideration. >> they're talking about voice communication because we don't want to hear people's conversations. >> no, we don't. no. >> keep the phone off. this is more to keep the ipad and kindle on while