arriving. the washington teachers union has been locked in contract negotiations for over two years. the firing last week of 400 employees raised the emotional stakes. the union has gone to court to contest the dismissals, alleging older workers with seniority were targeted. today on wamu radio, michelle rhee rejected that charge but said seniority should not be the main reason to keep someone. >> no one wants cuts to happen, period, but just to sort of blindly say it's the last people who came in who should be the first to go, it's not good management. it's not looking out for the best interests of the schools. >> reporter: joining me now is randy wineguarden. she is the president of the american federation of teachers, a national parent organization of the washington teachers union. i know you've got to get up on the stage in a few minutes and speak. what are you going to say? >> look, i'm going to talk directly to the people of my new home city, washington, d.c., because this makes no sense. i've seen school systems across the nation try to plan for being in this great depression/recession that we're in. but here you have six weeks into the school year this major disruption to kids services, this major disruption to the lives of those who teach kids, after millions of dollars was added to the school budget and after michelle rhee and mayor fenty hired 900 new teachers in august. so,hat happened between august and six, eight weeks later that we need 400 people fired in the middle of october? >> reporter: this crowd is still growing out here. do you think the mayor who said i support rhee 100%, do you think the mayor is going to hear you? >> look, that's why we have to fight this fight in the court of public opinion. the mayor and the chancellor has great power. they can do virtually anything they want with no accountability and no transparency. we need to see the truth here. what is the real budget in this city schools after the council gave $15 million, after the present and the congress gave millions and millions of dollars in stimulus aid? why is there a budget crisis and what made them do this in the middle of the school year? so, we need to know what is really going on. the numbers don't add up. >> reporter: thank you very much. thank you for joining us. i know you have to get on the stage. i'm tom sherwood live in downtown where the washington teachers union is trying to get the public on its side. back to you in the studio. >> all right, tom, thank you. >> in prince george's county, they're looking into the deadly accident on some train tracks in hyattsville after a csx train struck and killed a man on his bi just after 1:00 this afternoon on the tracks near rhode island avenue and crittenton street. fire officials say the cyclist was in his 30s. no word on his identity or how the train ended up hitting him. in alexandria, a bank robbery forced nearby tc williams high school to go into lockdown this morning. police say a man held up the wachovia branch in the 3600 block of king street. he reportedly had a gun and he fled the bank with some cash. tc williams was on lockdown for an hour, along with francis hammond middle school and the tc williams mini howard campus. while police had to search the area, police questioned someone they're calling a person of interest in this robbery. >> tonight a break in the case of a pregnant teenage girl killed in prince george's county four years ago. police now have a suspect in custody and a possible motive in the murder of 17-year-old stacey seaton. pat collins is live in prince george's county at the police headquarters with the latest. pat? >> reporter: jim, this is a picture of stacey seton days before she was killed. stacey seaton, 17 years old. she was pregnant. she was shot in the back of the head. now after more than four years an arrest in this gh-profile murder case and some powerful words from stacey's mom. you know the guy who was charged? >> i've met him. >> reporter: what's he like? >> i don't know him personally. i just met him. >> reporter: what do you have to say to him? >> i hope he rots in hell and doesn't get out of prison. >> reporter: the mother of stacey seton reacting to the arrest of the suspect in the murder of her 17-year-old pregnant daughter. june 1st, 2005, in the middle of the afternoon, stacey seaton shot in the back of the head as she was walking on a path near her home in bowie, maryland. now, more than four years later, police charged 25-year-old mcdonald abraham with first degree murder in connection with that shooting death. according to court documents, the suspect had illegal drugs and money stolen from his apartment. he claimed stacey had been involved in the theft. he told a witness he got to her to get back at her boyfriend. according to those documents, cell phone records put suspect abraham near the scene at the time of the murder. publicly, police are playing this very close to the vest. >> this case will be tried in court. we're not, at this point, prepared to have this tried in this press conference. however, i will tell you that our investigation will continue until the point of trial. we still of additional leads to pursue but we're very confident that this individual that we have arrested is part of the murder of stacey seaton. >> reporter: for stacey's mom, this has been a four-year crusade for justice. you made this a crusade, didn't you? >> oh, you bet you. you don't take the life of somebody, leave them laying there, and everything else we've been through. it's wrong. nobody has the right to do that. nobody. >> reporter: murder suspect abraham held without bond in jail. tonight the investigation continues on. there could be more arrests in this case. jim, back to you. >> all right. pat collins. pat, thank you. >> despite an ongoing legal battle, d.c. police chief cathy nier says she's planning for another all hands on deck. >> the majority of the officers working patrol anyway, work on fridays and saturdays anyway and are unaffected by all hands on deck. >> lanier defended the controversial program today on wtop radio's "ask the chief" segment. last month an arbitrator ruled that the program violatedity law and the department's union contract. the department has appealed. lanier says the program that puts all sworn officers on the streets to combat crime is a success. she's planning another one in the middle of next month. >> now to our swine flu coverage. tonight we'll break down some unanswered questions. the nasal mist versus the shots. who should get which vaccination? and how do local health departments plan on getting it out to the people? we begin with news of vaccination shortages. while health officials have been focusing on the swine flu h1n1 vaccine, some counties have been running out of the seasonal flu vaccine, and eun yang is her with more on this part of the story. >> health experts have been stressing all along that people should get both the seasonal flu vaccine and the swine flu vaccine. they are two different strains and most people have no immunity from the h1n1 virus. but the focus of flu vaccinations and the production of vaccines has shifted to swine flu and health departments aren't receiving enough seasonal flu vaccines but health officials say there is no reason to panic. the h1n1 vaccine is a moving target, daily orders are made and each county and jurisdiction has to wait until shipment arrives before it knows exactly how much will be available for distribution. virginia received an initial 43,500 doses a week ago. as of yesterday, that number more than doubled to 88,200. parents are especially anxious to get their children vaccinated. >> i do have great concerns about the swine flu and i'm intending to get my children vaccinated as soon as it's available. >> reporter: health officials across the region expect vaccine shipments to increase exponentially, but quantities aren't guaranteed. there's a shortage of the seasonal flu vaccine for adults 18 and older in fairfax county for the month of october. and montgomery county had to cancel its in-school vaccination program for the seasonal fluff this week because it ran out of the vaccine. >> the shipments of the seasonal flu vaccine were not coming in on time. we had a couple of shipments that did not come in at the right temperature and had to be sent back. >> reporter: but since health officials say 99% of flu cases are h1n1, h1n1 vaccine is what's being made and the public should concentrate on swine flu as well. >> if they haven't gotten their seasonal flu vaccine, focus on getting the h1n1 now because that's what the manufacturers are sending out. >> reporter: local jurisdictions are rolling out plans for the first mass distribution chin, and many parents say they'll be first in line to protect their children from the swine flu. >> two of my children have already been vaccinated with the regular flu mist. however, i did see that they're opening some clinics for the h1n1 vaccine. we're going to go to those clinics as well. >> some prince george's county students will be the first in maryland to get the h1n1 vaccine. the county's first clinic will be held at dodge park elementary school in landover tomorrow morning. it is only for students who attend that school. secretary of health and human services kathleen sebelius, education secretary arne duncan and governor martin o'malley will be there to stress the importance of vaccinations for school-aged children. wendy, back to you. >> tha you, eun. well, now that the first wave of these vaccines is in our area, a new poll shows that some parents don't want to have their kids vaccinated. that's according to an associated press and a gfk poll. it found that 38% of parents said they were not likely to give permission for their kids to be vaccinated at school. 72% of those surveyed say they're worried about the side effects. another reason that some rejected the vaccine is that about half of the parents said they do not consider swine flu to be any worse than the seasonal flu. now that those vaccines are being disbursed, a lot of people have questions about what should be getting it. >> there is quite a bit of confusion about all that, wey, partly because there are two forms of the swine flu vaccine. there's the inhaled mist form and that's the one that has been shipped already, as well as an intravenous or injectable version. these two forms of the vaccine are very different and they're not -- there are some differences in who should take which up with. after six months of research, testing and clinical trials, the h1n1 vaccine have been distributed. most health departments and hospitals have gotten the flu mist version of the vaccine. that's the one you inn haul through the nose. it uses a live virus. manufacturers will start shipping the injectable form of the vaccine in the next week or so. that version uses an inactive virus. right now the centers for disease control is targeting certain groups of people who should get the h1n1 vaccine. that includes pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months, health care and emergency personnel so they can take care of the rest of us, those between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old, and those who are between 25 and 64 years old who have chronic diseases or compromised immune systems. they could be especially vulnerable. not everyone should get the mist vaccine, though, because it uses the live virus. health officials are telling us that only healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49 should get the vaccine in the mist form. and pregnant women should not get the vaccine in the mist form. they should wait another week for the intravenous vaccine to be available. most people will get this vaccine in just one dose but cdc is telling parents that children under the age of 9 -- age 9 and younger who have never gotten a flu shot before need to get two doses of h1n1 vaccine. those should be given three to four weeks art. also, if you get the mist version of the h1n1 vaccine, you cannot get the seasonal flu vaccine at the same time. however, if it's the shot then you can get both seasonal and h1n1 in the same visit. that is a lot of information to cover. >> we need a flow chart. >> i know. i know. basically, most ofs can get the h1n1 vaccine and the regular seasonal flu shot all at the same time. but if you're pregnant, if your child -- a very young child or child 9 years old or younger, there are some special rules. >> the mist is always used a bit of the active. >> yes. >> that's the difference. that's what people -- even the carries a little bit more. >> the mist is preferable if you don't like to get shots but there are some special circumstances. >> we will plow through this. >> there's a lot more information about this online, too, i think, on our website. >> yes. just go to nbcwashington.com and search for the word fl it really is that simple. >> good evening. bob ryan, storm center 4. noñi mist out there, not fallin from the sky around us. some high clouds. look at how chilly it w(y boy, our friends out there in this morning. right now we're near 70 degrees. we will be seeing some clouds coming in, but the moisture and the rain and we've been very dry. we'll beñi staying to our west. a cool evening, we're having that right now. clouds thickest to the north. there are some rain showers out in west virginia, but for us overall it's a dry pattern. anything but dry other parts of the country. tell you about that, show you the outlook for the weekend. couple minutes, back to you. >> thank you, bob. still to come on news 4 at 5, it's just getting started for you. going down. why this car took a nose dive into a lake. >> plus the deadly midair collision. we're going to hear the newly released tower tapes from when the two planes crashed over the hudson. >> losing a legend. the founder of ben's chili bowl has died. tonight we hear from the community he touched. >> everybody loved him. everybody respected what he did, where he came from. the legacy is that he provided a service and the quality was always the same. you always knew what you were getting. it was his special touch. some not badews in the economy. the number of newly laid off workers filing for unemployment benefits has fallen to the lowest level it has been since january. this is the fourth drop in new claims in the last five weeks. but employers continue to be reluctant in hiring new workers. for the latest on today's business news we turn to cnbc's hampton pearson once again. good to see you. does this mean we are getting close maybe in the unemployment rate to heading toward the u-turn? >> reporter: well, first of all, great to see you. but that's really a tough call. i remember just last friday we got all that bad news about losing 273,000 jobs in september. the unemployment rate went to 9.8%, the highest it's been in 25 years. now there's still a lot of economists out there predicting that unemployment will top 10% by the end of the year, but today a ray of hope. as you mentioned, weekly jobless claims actually dropping by 33,000 to 521,000. best week of performance in nine months. the four-week moving average, which is something economists pay attention to, has also fallen for the fifth straight week. >> we're hearing from the nation's retailers that they are starting to -- people are starting to shop again. they've had some gains. are people getting more confident and going back and spending? >> reporter: well, let's all hope so. that really was a real surprise. the first increase in 13 months, up .6% in same store sales. analysts were looking for a drop of 1.1%. retailers across the board beat those analysts' forecasts. chain stores got a big boost from clothing demand, back-to-school market helped. american eagle, for example, saw its sales up 8% just last month. >> all right. either credit or debit, doesn't matter. as long as they're out there spending. >> reporter: yes. >> thanks, hampton. hampton pearson, thank you. >> good to join you. >> a final committee vote on health care reform will take place next week. senate majority leader harry reid says the finance committee will vote tuesday on a ten-year, $829 billion proposal. that measure would expand coverage to 94% ofligible americans. republican leaders warn that democrats would pump up the costs as it mangs its way through congress. >> well, and what's going to be happening now that the weekend is oh, so close? >> a little bit of color beginning to show. >> looking autumnal. >> we've been very, very dry. tomorrow if you're taking off to make it a four-day weekend i think will be quite a warm day. >> are you going to do that? >> maybe we should. outside now, we have some clouds streaming in but they are high clouds and really no raindrops in them. our temperature 69 degrees since way back in middle part of june, folks, our rainfall -- remember how wet we had, what a wet spring, day after day we had those rains, it seemed? five inches now below average for our rainfall. look at the temperatures around the east right now. miami, 90 degrees. they set a record, 92 degrees in naples, florida, was 93. it's warm and humid again today through so much of the southeast with temperatures above average. look at the changes, though, out in the northern plains. denver has seen their temperature drop 34 degrees. that's where the next storm is. here's the big wave in the atmosphere. as so many storms that we've seen will be passing to our west but, boy, it's been a nasty day with more rains, flood warnings all the way now. these are flash flood warnings all the way from parts of illinois through especially missouri and on into kansas where they've been saturated. the soil has been so saturated. so far, kansas city and st. louis over an inch of rain and much more on the way. look at this stream of moisture coming in from the southwest in springfield, illinois. springfield, missouri, on into st. louis. it's all day after day. they see more of the same. in and around us, about all we're seeing are a few scattered showers, up to the north, up around parts of -- parts of pennsylvania. that's about it. look at roley, missouri. over seven inches of rain so far this month. that's the reason they're having flooding out there. medicine lodge, kansas. wild day with the winds gusting to 48 miles an hour. temperatures into the 40s now. so overnight tonight we're going to continue to see the clouds in and around us. you folks in the southern pennsylvania, up in lancaster and spots like that, you may see a few sprinkles but the main storm track again will be to our north. so about all we'll be seeing will be some clouds by late tomorrow night, trailing cool front may give us a few light rain showers. then as we get later into saturday, high pressure builds in once again. so i think by late saturday we'll be seeing some sunshine. temperatures tomorrow into the 80s because of south to southwesterly winds. a mild evening, a cool evening with some high clouds out there. that will be the story overnight tonight. tomorrow when you get up and head out because of southerly winds, not as cool and chilly as it has been, into the low to mid-50s. then we'll see some of those high clouds but i think all of the moisture will be staying well to our north. and so as a result we're going to be seeing temperatures here tomorrow near 80 degrees. 80 degrees tomorrow. there's that chance of some morning rain showers on saturday. the clouds may hang around a bit for saturday, in the low 70s. sunday looks like the better of the two days with partly sunny skies. temperatures in the 60s. a little bit chilly by the time we get into monday for the holiday on monday. >> taking monday off? >> no. >> and friday? >> no, no. >> if we only knew, bob. >> maybe i am. >> you never know. >> thank you, bob. >> coming up, a star-studded grand opening renewed washington hot spot is officially open for business. we're going to go inside. >> oh, they've got the view in town. and fighting the flu with your wardrobe? how some are cashing in on swine flu fears. suicide bombers strike again as president obama debates what course to take in afghanistan. the attacker blew up a car outside the indian embassy here in kabul. 15 civilians and 2 police officers were killed. at least 76 people were wounded. the taliban are claiming responsibility. they say the embassy was the target. it's the second major attack in the city in less than a month. there is new help available tonight for employees of the walter reed army medical center who will be out of work when it closes. today mayor adrian fenty was on hand to help unveil a new transition center. it will help government workers find new jobs before walter reed closes in two years.ñi that's when the center realigns with other military facilities in bethesda and ft. belvoir. a new transition center helps workers look for jobs, work on their resumes and take part in workshops for interview skills.i >> a japanese clothing company developed a suit that it claims fights viruses, including the swine flu. how convenient. the manufacturer saysñi the sui is coated with a chemical called titanium dioxide. when exposed to florescent or sunlight, the company says a chemical reaction happens that breaks down 40% of virusucñ bacteria andñi mold onxd your s. ch suit is selling for nearly $600. if you go to the tokyo store right now, it is on sale for $215. >> let's hurry. but it still looks like a cheap suit. >> if only you could get that stuff on your hands. >> coming up, bombing the moon? we're going to tell you about a unique mission in space. >> and we're digging up the roots of the first lady, michelle obama. we'll tell you how her family went from slavery to the white house in just five generations. >> and the man who left a big mark in washington. we're going to take a look back at the life of ben ali sr. welcome back to our second half hour. i'm wendy rieger. >> i'm jim handly. coming up this half hour, raw or cooked? the most nutritional way to get the most from your veggies. red carpet event. the stars are coming out in washington today. and tower transmission. what happened during that deadly midair collision over the hudson. >> but we begin with the first lady's path to the white house. it's a remarkable one. now there is new research that's vee veelg more about her family history, her ancestors whose journey paved the way. norah o'donnell takes a look. >> welcome to the white house. >> reporter: today, new details about the five generation journey that took michelle obama's family from slavery to the white house. a building originally built by slaves. >> it was a real treasure hunt, not your usual political story. >> reporter: it is a story brought to light by "the new york times" and it starts with this 18th century will drawn up by a south carolina slave owner. in it, the name of michelle obama's great-great-great maternal grandmother, a 6-year-old slave girl named melvinia who was left to her owner's heirs and valued at just $475. >> she was treated like a piece of property. we know so little about her, and yet the details we do know say so much. >> reporter: she was sent to a new farm in georgia. there, she met a white man who fathered her first child. her son was named dolphus shields. michelle obama's great-great-grandfather. he moved to birmingham and by 1900 lived in this house. by 1911, he had his own carpentry and tool sharpening business. >> even though he was a black man in birmingham, he moved easily across the color line. he founded a business in the white section of town which was pretty unusual.xd >> reporter: one of his sons was robert lee shields, mrs. obama's great-grand fother. he and his wife annie had a son named purnell shields who moved the family to chicago. purnell and his wife, rebecca, a nurse, had several children. one of them was marior lois shields, mrs. obama's mother, who now lives in the white house. >> if she looks at the shoulders of the people who she stands on and who paved the way for her, she has so much to be proud of. >> reporter: even though the first family paid an emotional visit this summer to a departure point for african slaves, mrs. obama has said little publicly about her family's history. one of the only references the president's historic speech on race during the campaign. >> i am married to a black american who carries within her the blood of sves and slave owners. >> reporter: >> that was norah o'donnell. according to "the new york times" report, michelle obama's background also includes indian ancestry. students throughout the district hooked up with kids from around the world in jump start d.c.'s read for the record. kwame brown read to this class at harriet tubman elementary scho. the book "the very hungry caterpillar" was simultaneously read by local officials at lots of d.c. schools. at the same time it was read to kids around the world. the goal, to reach 1 million students worldwide to promote early childhood reading. >> about an hour from now, the new "w" hotel in downtown washington will host its grand opening celebration. the former hotel washington here on5th street northwest officially re-opened as the "w" hotel over the summer. number of local and national celebrities are expected to attend today's event, including actress emmy rossum and grammy award winning artist john legend. there's a new arrival down at the national zoo. on friday, a female gazelle was born to one of the zoo's 2-year-old fwa zells. you can't see her yet, though. she's currently off exhibit with her mother and soon to be 1-year-old sister. zoo officials called the birth very significant for the gazelle population. they estimate there are fewer than 500 remaining in the wild. >> the founder of the washington, d.c. landmark ben's chili bowl has died. famous for its half smokes and celebrity clientele, ben's chili bowl is a washington institution but there is a lot more to this business and it all began with the founder ben ali. julie carey is here to tell us about him. >> reporter: they say ben ali welcomed presidents, celebrities and regulars as equals. now those who knew him will miss that special touch. last night ben ali passed away but the spirit he created at ben's chili bowl was still on full display today. the staff at ben's chili bowl came to work with heavy hearts after learning the restaurant's beloved patriarch had just passed away. passed away. day. >> we know theçó typex#jt perso ben was, thatçó he would want i business as usual. >> reporter: it was ben ali's fierceñi determination as businessman and a dedicationñi a family man that helpedñiñi hi build a restaurant that's become both a washington institution and a national landmark, a tourist destination. sonia ali is ben's daughter-in-law. >> he was a character, t say the least, but a brilliant man. an incredible business mind. >> reporter: ben ali's wife of 50 years, virginia, was at his side from the beginning in august of 1958 when they opened the restaurant on u reet. and she was at his side at home last night when he died. >> this was her love as well, and -- but he was a greater love. and she was with him last night. >> reporter: during the 1968 riots, only ben's chili bowl remained open. >> stoakley carmichael petitioned the city to allow us to remain open, and we did. refed people during that time, the firemen, the national guard, the police officers. >> reporter: the restaurant survived drug dealers in the '70s, but emerged to host many famous entertainers, chief among them bill cosby. then in 1987, metro construction brought business to a near stand still. still, ben's chili bowl endured. over all these years, maintained the atmosphere that's created so many regulars. >> his family and him welcoming each worker as part of their family helps us welcome each and every customer as family also, so i believe that's what keeps everyone coming back. >> reporter: kenneth anderson has been eating here for 30 years, since he was a boy of 11. >> the old-school feel, like the '70s, making you feel comfortable, making you feel like family, it doesn't matter if you're a celebrity or not, he treated everybody the same. that's what we like about the place. and it's never going to change. never. >> arrangements for memorial service is still pending. remarkably, ben ali and his wife just returned from a cruise last weekend. they would have celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary on saturday. coming up, you'll hear from a man who calls ben ali the father he never had. >> it won't change down there because his sons are doing a tremendous job to keep that legacy going. thank you, julie. >> still to come, bad parking spot. how this car ended up in appraise -- in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> plus, crash tapes. the tower recordings from a the faa reased air traffic control tower tapes from the dair collision over the hudson river in august. the crash between the single engine plane and a sight-seeing helicopter killed nine people. these newly released tapes reveal that right after takeoff, the airplane was over the river and was told about the nearby helicopter. >> also shortly after the takeoff, the teterboro tower gave the small plane's pilot a new frequency to talk to the tower at newark. whether or not the pilot got that information still not clear. >> a florida camera crew was out shooting video of boats yesterday but wound up videotaping something that's not designed to float, a car. watch the left side of your screen as the car crashes into the water. this happened on the intracoastal waterway near sarasota. the car floated for about 30 yards before water got under the hood. then it sank to the bottom. luckily, no one was inside the vehicle at the time. >> someone still saying, someone stole my car. right there. >> yeah. >> bob? >> yes, and it's airtight, too. well, was for a while. outside we have some beautiful sunshine today, and that will be the story. there is some clouds and some scattered showers to our north. folks up around chambersburg and lancaster, harrisburg, you can see a bit of that moisture to our north. but overnight tonight for us i think we'll miss that. our temperatures here into the 60s and 70s. there you can see that area of rain spreading out of ohio but once again much of it moves to our north. here's how the weekend shapes up. some great color upn the poconos and also in the very high elevations of west virginia. good color beginning across western maryland and right in our own back yard, the color is beginning. good color in just about peak also toward the catskills and spots like that this weekend. heading out to school tomorrow morning, temperatures in the 50s, not as chilly as it has been. about 80 degrees tomorrow. get some chillier air coming in as we get to monday. right now the big holiday weekend looks pretty good. maybe a few showers to start out on saturday. back to you. >> all right. >> thank you, bob. coming up on "news 4 at 5," bombs away. we'll tell you about an explosive mission on the moon. >> coming up next in sports, rewinding back to a memorable game between the redskins and the panthers. >> i'm liz crenshaw. raw or cooked. what's the most nutrition way to eat your veggies? my story is comi yesterday, we were told how to get the most from our medicines. >> now it's on to meals. i have been waiting all day for this one. liz crenshaw's here to dispel some common myths when it comes to getting the most from your fruits and vegetables. >> a lot to learn on this one. diced, sliced, steamed and stir fried. there's no end to how we like to eat our fruits and veggies. we know how important it is to get plenty of produce in our diet, but just because ur eating healthy doesn't mean you're getting the most nutrition. take a look. >> because we eat a lot of meals that are all vegetable. >> all kinds of eggplant and zucchini. onions. >> reporter: it's not news that a diet full of fruits and vegetables is key to good health. >> we eat a lot of green vegetables, salad every night. >> reporter: even though you're getting your five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, depending upon how you're preparing them you may not be getting the most nutrition out of them. university of maryland food science professor mark cantor says making slight changes in how you prepare your favorite vegetables could actually inease the amount of minerals and nutrients that the body absorbs. take tomatoes, for example. >> there's some nutrients in tomatoes that are fat soluble, which means they can dissolve very readily in fat. >> reporter: translation, drizzle a bit of olive oil and the body can absorb more of the tomatoes' valuable antioxidants like lycopene, which has been linked to reduced rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease. >> if you cook them, you're cooking out nutrients. so i think it's better to eat them raw. >> reporter: some people think raw is always better. true or false? >> it's false. there's nothing magical about eating raw. mild or moderate cooking does not destroy vitamins and minerals. it can actually make them more available. >> reporter: translation, slightly cooking veggies disrupts the cells containing the nutrients, making them easier for the body to take in. >> like steamed, that's even better. >> on the other hand, i would caution that consumers should not cook to a large extent vegetables, especially in large amounts of water. >> reporter: cantor says overcooking destroys the cells. and when you're cooking with water, all the good stuff actually leaches into the liquid, which typically goes down the drain instead of in your mouth. but it's not just cooking that impacts health. garlic is full of antioxidants but mincing it maximizes the effect. >> what happens when you slice them is you also release some of the enzymes that are naturally present, and then these enzymes can help release the nutrients and make them more available. >> reporter: so getting the most from their veggies is a matter of health and, for some, even money. >> it costs more so you definitely have to get your value for the money. >> we want to live longer, so the better nutrition, the longer life, the healthier life. >>ind of interesting. these recommendations are coming out of brand-new research where they actually test blood levels for certain nutrients like antiidants. researchers are finding that people who eat produce prepared these ways end up with more of the good stuff in their blood. so mincing it, cooking it lightly, adding olive oil helps. >> thank you. we learned a lot. nasa's calling it the most exciting mission to the moon in four decades. when they send a rocket crashing into the lunar surface tomorrow at 7:30 in the morning, a rocket will slam into a crater on the lunar south pole. that will send a plume of dust, rocks and hopefully ice just a few minutes later, a satellite will fly through the plume, collecting data and sending it back to earth before it crashes, too. nasa wants to find out if any water, ice or vapor is revealed in the cloud of debris. if it's there, they could provide supplies for a future man moon base. >> the coordination to make it happen. >> a lot of pressure. what have you got coming up? >> we are continuing to follow the news out of the district where teachers and students have been demonstrating at freedom plaza. as you may already know, they're upset about the firing of more than 200 teachers last week. a new study out claims that an economic rebound could actually lead to increased flight delays. we'll tell about you that and why that could happen. and we'll have the story behind a recently discovered photo that shows a 1911 exploration of the south pole. very unusual finding. those stories and a lot more coming up tonight on "news 4 at 6." >> the south pole of earth, not the south pole of the moon. >> that's right. >> thank you, doreen. >> easier to get to the south of the moon than it is to our south pole. well, it is time for something memorable from the redskins so we have to rewind, right, dan? >> man, just something memorable sometime soon, please. the redskins headed down to charlotte this weekend for another game against the winless team. the carolina panthers are 0-3, but they have talent and, over the years, these games have been very close. like back in 2001, the short-lived marty schottenheimer era, when the skins hosted the panthers and pulled one out in ovtime. ♪ >> october 21st, 2001the defense delivers a spark to the season. an 0-5 start under marty schottenheimer had one glimmer of hope in the person of darrell green. the hall of famer made his first start of the year against the panthers and delivered an inspirational performance of seven solo tackles. the inspiration did not spread to the other side ofhe ball right away. the skins' qb tony banks was having an awful day, prompting fans to make sonny come out of the broadcast booth and rescue their team. tim and the panthers rolled to a 14-0 lead early in the fourth quarter that had the less than faithful fleeing from their seats. >> marco told me before i went out on the field that series, he said, hey, man, you all got to score on defense. he said, no, no, go tell them. really, i wanted him to see me like he was my dad. each guy, marco said, score. >> the "d" heard loud and clear. on the next defensive series, third and seven fm the skins' 28, chris winky's pass to heth ring ton bounces off the pass and into the arms of harrington. he hits the jets and 67 yards later the skins are down just seven with ten minutes to go. >> about time to make a play. i just had a feeling he was going to get it today. i just thought to myself, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. i just thank god we got it. >> now it was the offense's turn to get it. on their next play, banks off the play action, a bomb to the wide-open rookie rod gardener. 85 yards tying the game at 14. the two td comeback had take jen just 14 minutes. the naex offsive series drove to the carolina 13. the 41 seconds left, the field goal is no good. we're headed to overtime. on the third play of the extra session, banks hits rod gardner again. 52 yards for the apparent touchdown and dramatic victory. but replay revealed he was down at the 4. conway's shot at redemption from 23 yards away is good. the redskins' first win of 2001, 17-14. >> i think i was the only redskins fan that was rooting for them to be down. sorry, guys. sorry, rod. yeah, i -- i haven't missed a kick in i i don't know how long. marty can vouch for that. >> this is my boy. he grew up today. yes, he did. yes, sir. he grew up today. >> oh, yeah. i mean, it was something. coming in as a rookie, to come out and get it done is a joyous feeling. >> you couldn't write a story like this. it's only our first win, but you know what? these sound like familiar songs to me. boy, i've been theiirsty to hea them. >> it seems like darrell green shows up in just about every one of these redskins reloads. he didn't play for 20 years. >> i know. but he was an important part of that team. he was part of the foundation for a long time. and i think we're all thirsty for that sound now. >> oh, can't wait. they started 0-5 that year. they came back to finish 8-8. of course, it was the only year that marty schottenheimer was with the redskins. but maybe a little rebound action for the redskins this season. >> that would be nice. >> something. >> all right, guys. >> coming up -- >> we're going to the pumpkin patch after the break so stick around. with this autumn weather we have been having has been inspiring a lot of us to start thinking about halloween. >> for many, the most important part is finding the perfect pumpkin. chris gordon visited one of the many area parfarms today where can pick your own. >> reporter: it begins with a hay ride. the children are taken through a haunted forest, but no one seems too scared. then back into the sunshine where they unload into a pumpkin patch. montgomery county sends some of its elementary school students here to butler's orchard in germantown, maryland, where there are plenty of pumpkins to choose from. why do you like that one? >> because it's orange. >> reporter: some of the students load their pumpkins into wheelbarrows. others carry theirs. we asked one young expert, how do you know when you've found the right one? >> my teacher says that if i can carry it, then you can take it. but if it's too big, then no. if it's too small, okay. but i would pick a just right pumpkin. >> reporter: there's plenty to do besides picking pumpkins. thrills like three slides. butler's is expecting 14,000 visitors this fall. it costs $6 during the week and $10 apiece on weekends. wade butler and his brother todd operate the farm, open to the public by their parents nearly 60 years ago. he says this year's pumpkin crop is about 20% bigger than last year's. >> it's been erall a pretty decent year for rainfall. as far as pumpkin sizes go, you can see right here, there are plenty of nice, large pumpkins this year. this variety happens to run 15 to 20 pounds. they did very well. >> reporter: there's farm machinery to climb and farm animals to visit. bales of hay make mazes that are amazing. for adults, the hay ride is nostalgic. it brought out the country in me. do you like t farmer's hat? good look for me? this is probably as close as i'll ever get to actually driving a tractor. butler's orchard is one of many pumpkin patches throughout our area. if you'd like a list to find the one closest to you, simply go to our website, nbcwashington.com. this is chris gordon, news 4, with life on the farm. >> he could be a farmer. he looked good in that hat. again, as chris said, it's nbcwashington.com, but search pumpkin farms and you'll get there. >> beautiful scene out there, hmm? >> it is. lovely. a good day for that. good weekend coming up. >> up next on news 4 at 6, a rally for fired teachers. the controversy over d.c. school cuts heats up today. >> jim advance and doreen ginz her arnext. prince george's county will begin vaccinating students against the swine flu tomoow. >> nasa will fire an unmanned rocket at the moon tomorrow, but scientists search for water there. >> and ben ali, the founder of ben's chili bowl, has passed away. as just noted, some students at a prince george's county school will receive the swine flu vaccine tomorrow.