had a surf like this. >> it's really scary. i don't want to get hurt on vacation. i'm staying awith a. >> reporter: delgado's loves ones won't leave without him. >> until we find him. >> >> reporter: derrick ward, news 4. >> the dangerous current presented by hurricane danielle could be replaced by a new threat, hurricane earl. it is barreling towards several islands in the eastern caribbean with winds of 100 miles per hour, it is expected to hit the british virgin islands later today. there is another storm that looks like it could become the next tropical depression if it becomes a named storm, it will be become fiona. >> dangerous surf, right, tom? >> it's going to be dangerous today too. they have the strong rip current from danielle. but now we have earl to be concerned with but that won't be until later in the week for us. and right now, here we've got another beautiful morning with a clear sky, 74 at national airport. 60s in the suburbs in rural areas. 50s on this monday morning. we've got this huge area of high pressure still holding forth and will be in place throughout much of this week as this week progresses, it may just get a tad more humid but not that humid, just hot in the afternoons, each day in the mid-90s, today and tomorrow and wednesday with sunshine. morning lows in the 60s. we may see a few high clouds on thursday from earl that passes east of the atlantic beaches. jerry, how's it looking? >> good morning, looking pretty good along interstate 66, a bunch of overnight road work on the approach to the capitol beltway. all lanes to the new configuration have taken effect. south of town to the wilson bridge, no early earninconcerns. 270 southbound, the construction continues around falls road. eun, welcome back. joe, good morning. >> thanks so much, jerry. today metro riders need to make sure they have a little extra money for the morning commute. this morning the peak of the peak surcharge takes effect. commuters traveling between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. will pay an extra 20 cents. there's a new change for smart trip card users, he can no longer go into the red. the entire fare must be paid before you leave the station. you will be able to boost your balance at the exit fair machines though. thousands of maryland residents are furious with pepco and this week they get their chance to speak out. nearly half a million pepco customers have lost power over the past month. pepco officials blame the summer storms and falling trees but admit to having communication issues. prince george's county residents can attend a meeting thursday in larg go at 6:00 p.m. starting today, voters in washington, d.c. can go on record for this year's primary elections, early voting begins, two weeks ahead the election day. for first week voters can cast their ballots only at one judiciary square. that office will be open until 7:00 p.m. each day except for sundays. then, this coming saturday, september the 4th, four more voting locations will open. they will be the chevy chase community center, turkey thick et recreation center and hin junior high school and tenson learning center. a poll shows vincent gray has a strong advantage over fenty, 49 to 36%. gray spent his sunday with women voters, a group fenty has been accused of slighting. >> when i ran for chair, we had a group that came together, women for gray. we paid attention to the issues they were concerned about and will continue to do that. mayor fenty has to look beyond his low poll numbers and concentrate on the issues. >> there's been lots of polls. what we're more focused on. we have an uphill battle, but that uphill battle is one that comes with the type of tough decision-making, the type of challenging of the status quo that we have undergone. the "washington post" endorsed fenty for this race for mayor. former pitcher roger clemens will appear before a district court judge in d.c., accused of lying to congress about the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. last month he is indicted on six months. he denies using steroids and said he did not lie before congress. just hours ago, television wrapped up a night of highest honors during the 62nd prime time emmy award. here's nbc's stephanie stanton with highlights. ♪ born to run >> reporter: the emmys began by taking inspiration from one hit, "glee" anden honored another rookie sensation. the series about an extended hos angeles family won best comedy, beating "glee" and "30 rock." >> we're so happy you have let us into your families. thank you very much. >> reporter: it took best writing and best supporting actor for eric stonestreet. >> this is incredible. >> reporter: best supporting actress went to jane lynch. another first time comedy winner was jim parsons for best actor. after three best actress wins in a drama for the sopranos. edie falco took honors. the advertising saga, "madmen" won best series for the third straight year. kran ton's co-star one his first emmy as supporting actor. best supporting actress, kiyra sedgwick said this proved to be the charm for "the closer." the amazing race's run at best reality show ended as seven as top chef took honors. stephanie stanton, nbc news, los angeles. >> a lot of tv to watch. >> ahead on "news 4 today," it is much more than than steele, they supported this beam to forever seal the bond with firefighters. >> the emotional video recorded deep underground in the chilean time for weather and traffic on the ones. at 4:41, we have a clear sky and the big moon in the western sky now and it's in the mid-70s in washington, right near 70 near the bay. elsewhere we're in the 60s this morning. there's a little bit of fog in southern maryland and we'll have plenty of sunshine today and a blue sky, not very humid, highs reaching the mid-90s. thursday we may have some high clouds as earl passes east of cape hatteras and should be east in ocean city on friday. we'll look at friday and the weekend coming up in ten minutes. how's the traffic? >> we're doing pretty well along interstate 270 coming down from i-70 towards 109 down to the capitol beltway. no hang-ups and travel lanes are open. elsewhe elsewhere, over the bay bridge, route 50 westbound and eastbound for that matter, no worries. southern maryland, you're doing just fine. greenbelt to silver spring to the american legion bridge looking good so far. >> it is now 4:42. 73 degrees. still to come, how people of new orleans are marking the anniversary of hurricane katrina and a promise from president obama. also, a fiery flight, a dramatic look at the plane landing at reagan airport with flames shooting from its engine. a terrifying crime puts the it's not back-to-school, it's forward to what's next with a blackberry curve, samsung reality, or lg cosmos for under $20 after rebate. tens of thousands of children in maryland will be getting up soon to go back to school. it's the first day of classes in montgomery and charles county and an important year for montgomery county. it will be searching for a new superintendent to replace jerry weast who is retiring at the end of the school year. metro just got more expensive, the peak of the peak surcharge takes effect today. commuters between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. will pay an extra 20 cents. nearly half a million pepco customers lost power in the last month, the first hearing is tonight in rockville. voters can start to cast their ballots in the primary race for d.c. mayor today. early voting starts today and a new "washington post" poll shows vincent gray is ahead of mayor fenty, 49 to 36%. job seekers in montgomery and prince george's counties can receive help in a job fair today. the fair is being hosted by congresswoman donna edwards, held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in landover. close to 70 employers will be represented at the fair. it is himmed to residents in montgomery and prince george's counties. designers of a september 11th memorial will be honored. a beam is presented from the fallen world trade centers building. a tribute included a parade and bag pipes and a middle school choir. the ceremony was at fire station number 5 to present the gift. >> it would have been far more lives lost had it not been for the skill and the courage of our first responders. >> firefighters from arlington's fair station number five were first to respond when the pentagon withas attacked on september 11th. family and friends are remembering a teenager f electrocuted near his home. 100 people attended a vigil last night. he died last week when he was trimming a tree. he is about 20 feet up in the tree which a branch fell on an electrical wire. family members wore and passed out tie dye t-shirts in honor of him. >> always wearing his tie dye shirts and pink floyd. every event. we got used to it. it didn't matter if it was a special event, he would sneak the tie dye on under a jacket. >> his funeral will be held tomorrow. a new video reveals very personal messages from the 33 miners trapped in a collapsed mine in chile. it shows them sending heart felt messages to family and loved ones. most appear to be in good spirits. they have received food and special clothing to help them cope with the high heat down there. crews were also trying to lower a phone line so they could be in direct contact with family and mine officials. mine operators began to begin drilling the escape hole today but it could take up to four months, so it could be christmas before these men are rescued. in the gulf of mexico, engineers will begin removing a temporary cap from the bp well. this will allow crews to raise the blowout repretenter from the floor. once this happens, crews will replace a new blowout preventer on top. president obama discussed his administration's response to the oil disaster compared to the response to hurricane katrina. >> the only thing we had in common with the katrina response was that's allen who helped to organize rescue efforts and under katrina he did so for us. if you look, we had immediately, thousands of vessels, tens of thousands of people who are here. and what we're seeing now is that we've got a lot more work to do. the fact is because of the sturdiness and swiftness of the response, there's a lot also oil hitting the shores in the beaches than anybody would have anticipated. >> engineers hope to drill the final 50 feet of a relief well by next week. president obama spent part of his weekend in new orleans commemorating the fifth anniversary of hurricane katrina. it is a solemn and painful weekend from those still recovering from the storm, but the president promised he'll stay focus on the gulf and continue to provide help for the recovery which at times seems like it has no end. jay gray reports from new orleans. >> reporter: as he traveled to new orleans, marking the fifth anniversary of katrina, president obama made a promise. >> my administration will stand with you and fight alongside you until the job is done. >> reporter: and five years later, so many are still fighting to finish that work. >> just another day. we just got to come back here and finish cleaning up the mess. >> reporter: others struggled to deal with the scars that just don't seem to heal. new orleans mayor mitch landrieu laid a wreath to the 100 still unidentified victims of katrina. while in the ninth ward, mostly still ravaged, a traditional second line procession marched across the bridge where hundreds were stranded. today survivors returned. >> john holly. >> reporter: to remember those lost. >> lawrence sapders. >> reporter: and to honor their memories by continuing the long struggle to come back. >> where we are today, we're a whole lot better. >> reporter: most agree there's still a long way to go. jay gray, nbc news, new orleans. our time is 4:51. time for traffic and weather on the ones. tom is here. >> we want to know about the forecast for the back to school week and workweek as well. >> the heat wave is back. we got to 92 yesterday at reagan national. we'll probably exceed that today but thankfully, not a lot of humidity. there's the washington monument under this clear sky on this monday morning. right now it's 7 4 at national airport. we have the bright moon and bright spot in the southwestern sky is jupiter. it's not too humid this morning. right now it's in the 60s in prince george's, arlington and fairfax and montgomery county. light fog in southern maryland and lower eastern shore but elsewhere a clear sky and lower humidity to the west. 50s only in western maryland earn and west virginia. this huge area of high pressure is giving us a clear sky. it's going to be in place for the day today and it should be a good morning for the bus stop forecast, sunny, we'll be in the 60s in the suburbs to low 70s in the city. we'll have highs reaching mid-90s by mid afternoon. it will be near 90 by noontime and we'll have the sunrise at 6:35. by dawn tomorrow mid and upper 60s starting off tuesday. another day like today on tuesday and again on wednesday. highs both days mid-90s but not too humid. and a few clouds around on friday and cooler in the 80s. highs only near 80 on saturday and sunday. pretty quiet. clear, dry road surfaces this morning. south of town to the wilson bridge, inner loop and outer loop moving well. travel lanes are open there. the top side of the capitol beltway under 495, right now from i-95 to the american legion bridge, both directions, everything moving nicely. smooth sailing thus far. >> thank you, jerry. 73 degrees, coming up, two ni t frightening attacks near college campuses. >> an outage tieing up work at the dmv, now they are predicting work in the some frightening moments for passengers aboard a u.s. airways flight. an engine caught fire and flames can be scene shooting from the wing. the flight that started in charlotte made an emergency landing yesterday. the flames were out by the time the plane arrived at the gate. u.s. airways is now investigating to see what caused the problem. police are on the lookout near georgetown university for a person they say is a dangerous sex offender who breaks into women's bedrooms while sleeping. he struck this weekend and there are similarities to other sexual assaults in the area for the past two years. >> reporter: the quiet 3800 block of s street northwest was the scene of a disturbing incident. around 7:30 a.m. a woman o woke to find a man in her bedroom trying to touch her. she screamed he fled. police responded and determined the man forced his way into the home through a locked door or window. could this be the same elusive suspect who has been plaguing student rented houses in the georgetown area. >> i think the university does a good job of sending us alerts and making sure we're aware of everything that goes on. i think it's a case by case basis, taking precautions. >> reporter: students call the suspect the cuddler because he climbs into a bed or couch where a woman is sleeping. police don't like that name, they say it underplays the seriousness of the situation. most of the crimes have occurred while georgetown university is in session. two happened within days of each other at the start of the 2009 school year. >> we all got keys made so we can make sure we can lock our houses, even during the day. >> whenever we're out, whether on wisconsin or m street, we make sure we're not working back alone. we'll call safe rides as georgetown as set up. even when we're heading out for the night, they'll pick us up and bring us wherever we're going. >> as classes resume today, the university of maryland community is also on edge after several students were robbed and beaten just off campus early yesterday morning. the students were waiting for a campus bus at the time. police say three men approached the students and robbed them. then the men beat the students, two of the students escaped to a fire station. the third was able to get away but was badly beaten. the robbers made off with some money. >> stay with us now. "news 4 today" continues now at 5:00 a.m. back to the grind, more students are waking up early, ready for first time of the school year. metro riders will have to shell out more this morning. hope stretch with a number of key races up for grabs, d.c voters can cast their ballots today. >> welcome to "news 4 today" for this monday, august 30th, 2010. we're taking a live look at 5:00 a.m. it is 73 degrees. we had a nice weekend by august standards and now we want to know if the weather is going to last. >> it is going to stay summery all throughout much of this week and in fact, we've got a little bit of a heat wave returning but without a lot of humidity. good morning, back to work and school on this monday morning. i'm tom kierein. right now it's 75 at national airport. and in washington it's in the low to mid 70s at the bay. prince george's county in the mid-60s. and in fairfax county upper 60s in arlington and mountains of west virginia and western maryland, 50s in many locations. we've got an ee mormous area of high pressure bringing us this dry and hot weather that's going to be in place here today, tomorrow and wednesday and into thursday. highs each day should exceed 90 degrees. but again, not very humid. let's check traffic on this monday morning. how are we doing? >> we're doing pretty well. you can see the sign that flashes new traffic pattern ahead. stay alert and that is chutely true. the traffic pattern change took effect over the weekend. not monumental change but enough to draw your attention. take it easy you you may the trip in and watch out for changes approaching the beltway. those heading into the southeast, 295, parkway looking good so far. freeway is okay, northeast, kenilworth avenue, new york avenue, nothing out of the ordinary so far. eun? >> it is back to school for many more children in our area today. the first day of classes begin in montgomery county. this year is especially important for the school system because it's going to have to find a new leader. tracee wilkins joins us live in bethesda with more. >> reporter: 140,000 students head back to school here in montgomery county, the largest in our area second to fairfax county. there will be less portable classrooms here. they'll have four new buildings and two new elementary schools. a lot of good stuff going on here but of course, the big story is the retirement of dr. jerry weast, the superintendent for 11 years. dr. weast's announcement to retire has gotten a lot of attention in montgomery county, credited with leading the schools to become one of most successful school systems in the nation. he has significantly narrowed the learning achievement gap between white and minority students and credited with doing this work while the population has significantly changed. montgomery county students represent 153 counties. he's won nationwide superintendent of the year twice. last year weast's efforts were published in a book. now, he's calling it quits. >> i'm eager to maybe take a break and think about things for a while. then see if i can, you know, have as much passion as i've had for education in some other area. hopefully i'll get to see my family a little bit more. >> reporter: dr. weast has worked here for 11 years, worked in education for 35 years. he's considered a mentor for a number of superintendents here in this area. now, he is leaving at a very bad time for montgomery county schools. they are dealing with severe budget cuts and now they are going to have to start a search for superintendent. back to you in the studio. >> it's going to be a big job trying to find his replacement. thank you. students in howard and charles counties also head back to school today. many morning metro riders are going to have to pay a little more. the morning peak of the peak surcharge takes effect today. commuters traveling from 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. will have to pay an extra 20 cents. a peak of the peak afternoon surcharge has been in place since august. thousands of maryland residents are furious with pepco and this week they are getting their chance to speak out. two public hearings will be held for residents to comment on the utility company's reliability and service. half a million customers have lost power over the past month. they blame the summer storms and falling trees but admit to having communication issues. first hearing will be at rockville's council office tonight at 6:00 p.m. prince george's county residents can attend a hearing thursday at prince george's community college in largo at 6:00 p.m. voters in d.c. can start casting votes. early voting begins this morning at 7:30. for first week voters can cast ballots early, only at 41 fourth street northwest. that office will be open until 7:00 p.m. every day except for sundays. this coming saturday, cemesepte the 4th, four more voting centers will open up. it will be the turkey thick et recreation center and hine jr. high school. the new "washington post" poll shows vincent gray appears to have a strong advantage in the upcoming race for d.c. mayor. he leads current mayor adrian fenty, 49 to 36% among democrats surveyed. gray spent his sunday with women voters, a group that fenty has been accused of slighting. >> been listening to them for years when we had a chair. we certainly paid attention to the issues they were concerned about then and we will continue to do that. meanwhile, fenty says he has to look beyond his low poll numbers and concentrate on the issues. >> there's been lots of polls so what we're kind of more focused on is we now we have an uphill battle, but that that uphill battle is won that comes with the type of tough decision-making, the type of challenging of the status quo that we have undergone over the past four years. the "washington post" endorsed fenty in this primary race for mayor. a former big league all-star and potential hall of famer is set to be arraigned on criminal perjury charges today. roger clemens will appear before a district judge in d.c., accused of lying to congress about the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. clemens denies using steroids and says he did not lie to congress. expect to wait if you have to go to the dmv in virginia. a computer glitch may hold up the line. the issue wouldn't let officials process driver's license transactions. technicians could not say when the issue would be completely fixed. when it is fixed, even longer waits are expected because of the backup. dmz set up an ought mated phone line to keep customers up to date and that number is 1-888-337-4782. 5:08 is your time now. is it strategy or should redskins fans really be worried. what the coach is saying about donovan mcnabb. earl is gaining strength and posing a threat this morning. posing a threat this morning. here at home it's the heat so i told the guy i wanted yeah. a convertible. and this is what he had in my budget. aw! well, the top is down. the top is gone! lots of head room... tons of head room! --careful! that's sharp. jeez! yeah...sorry. narrator: settling for less is not smart. what is smart is getting more car for your money at carmax. guaranteed-quality used cars can cost a lot less than new cars. so you can get more car for less money by shopping at carmax. now more than ever, the smart choice is carmax. the way car buying should be. time for weather and traffic. good morning, i'm tom keer reen. we have a clear sky and pleasant temperatures back to work and school in the 60s throughout much of the region. near 70 near the bay and at the atlantic beaches. lots of sunshine and heat thought much of this week. not a lot of humidity. highs in the mid-90s tomorrow and wednesday. a tropical update coming up and also at 5:21, a look at friday and the weekend. jerry, how's the traffic? >> we'll start in northeast along new york avenue, smooth sailing getting through the interchange, bladensburg road, lanes are open. let's head over and see what's happening along the 270 corridor. smooth sailing so far along i-270 down to the capitol beltway, looks like we're moving nicely. all travel lanes are open. >> 5:12 is your time now. 73 degrees. new trouble in the tropics, the latest on the strengthening storm named earl. a beach turns tragic for one local family, the end of a dangerous weekend at the shore. still to come, a fiery here's a check on the top stories this morning. it is back to school for many children in maryland today. the first day of classes begin in montgomery and charles and howard counties. this is the last year for superintendent jerry weast who announced he is retiring at the end of the school year. the morning peak of the peak surcharge takes effect today if you travel between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. on weekdays you'll have to pay an extra 20 cents. pepco customers get a chance to voice their frustration during two public hearings. a half million customers have lost power in the last month. pepco blames the summer storms and downed trees but admits to having communication problems. voters can start to cast their ballot today. early voting begins this morning at 8:30 at one judiciary square. a poll shows vincent gray ahead of mayor fenty, 49-36%. parts of the caribbean are under a hurricane warning, a new named storm, hurricane earl is gaining strength. tom kierein joins us now with a look at the trouble in the tropics. good morning. >> good morning, eun. this is the time of year we see the tropics beginning to get active and they have been over the last seven or eight days. here's the way it looked yesterday afternoon. this is hurricane danielle kicking up the heavy surf but it has quickly raced off to the north and east. earl has gained strength, a category two hurricane nearing puerto rico right now. this could become tropical storm fiona, but all of the concern is on earl, tracking closer to the atlantic seaboard than danielle did however it still appears it will stay out to sea. it will be near bermuda on thursday on friday, it should be 100 miles, 200 miles or so east of cape hatteras. it could track west as this part, this is the zone it could be tracking. it has winds of about 105 miles an hour, moving west-north west at 13. we'll keep you informed as earl approaches the atlantic seaboard. backo you. as tom mentioned, those rough current caused big problems in ocean city this weekend. a district man visiting the beach went into the water and disappeared and his family and desperately waiting to find out his fate. that was not the only case rescue crews had. on sunday the beach patrol rescued 227 swimmers in ocean city. the day before that they rescued 200 others. derrick ward has more on their efforts. >> reporter: a weekend at the beach in ocean city, now a sad time for a local family. a loved one is missing. >> we love you. >> please come back home. you have a daughter. >> reporter: 23-year-old malcus delgado hasn't been seen since saturday evening. he was among a group of friends out swimming, they encountered a rip current. >> two on the mobile unit saw three victims in trouble in the ocean. one was being held up by a surfer. the other two were in closer. the guards grabbed the first two, made an effected rescue and brought them back on the beach. >> reporter: it was then they realized delgado was still out in the surf. >> i'm trying to figure out what really happened, not the type of person that goes into the water. >> reporter: storms in the atlantic have made for high waves and rough rip current along the coast. they can pull experienced swimmers further out than they intend. >> it moves you from one place to the other. if you're being moved from shore, if you're a nonswimmer and plan to stay in wait deep water, you're in water over your head and you're in a drowning situation. >> reporter: the ocean city beach patrol performed 200 rescues this weekend. >> it's been a while since they had a surf like this. >> it's really scary. i don't want to get hurt on vacation. i'm staying away. >> reporter: delgado's loves ones won't leave without him. >> until we find him. >> reporter: derrick ward, news 4. the high number of rescues this weekend is unusual but it's not the highest number they've had and no reason to stay away from the beach as long as you are careful. dozens of employers will be looking to hire people in montgomery and prince george's counties today. a job fair hosted by donna edwards is being held today from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. in land over. close to 70 employers will be represented at the fair. jobs and the economy will be some of the president's top priorities as he returns from vacation today. in addition, he'll mark the end of military operations in iraq tomorrow with a prime time address to the nation. and later this week, he'll hold middle east peace talks. tracie potts reports. >> reporter: president obama admits there's no magic bullet to jump start the economy. >> if you don't have a job right now it's a tough situation. >> reporter: the economy is growing slower than the government thought. home sales are down and one in ten americans remain without jobs. the president says congress needs to act. >> we should be passing legislation that helps small businesses get credit. >> reporter: that's on hold as lawmakers try to keep their jobs. democrats up for re-election are being hammered on the economy and spending. >> we don't need to stop spending so much, need to stop spending irrationally. president obama marks the end of combat operations in iraq in a prime time speech from the oval office. >> we're going home! >> reporter: that too becomes an economic issue with fewer soldiers there, there's pressure to cut the defense budget that's doubled since 2001. the white house says tomorrow night president obama will talk about the new mission am iraq and gave no indication as to whether he would support cuts at the pentagon. he asked for a 2% increase. nbc news, washington. a big oh, no from redskins nation, the coach is questioning whether donovan mcnabb will be ready for the season opener. he's unsure if mcnabb will be healthy enough for the opening against the cowboys. he sat out friday's game against the jets and injured his ankle in the second preseason game against the ravens. shanahan wasn't planning on letting mcnabb or any of the starters play the last preseason game against the cardinals this thursday. >> it could be a long season without mcnabb. >> turning now to the weather, how is it looking today? >> another heat wave is commencing, but not a lot of humidity. we should make it into the mid-90s. here's a look at the temperatures around the region. we're in the 60s in the suburbs and rural areas and mid-70s in washington near the bay. 50s in the mountains. highs today with sunshine and mid-90s. mid-90s again tuesday and wednesday. certainly hot near 90 on thursday. friday, temperatures in the 80s wen we could have rip currents over the weekend as hurricane earl passes east the atlantic seaboard but should be cooler. we'll have temperatures only in the 70s to near 80 on saturday and sunday. how's the traffic? >> very quiet morning as we head down along i-95. you can see it increase in volume and folks getting out and about and heading to points north. the good news is lanes are open to the capitol beltway. let's see how we're doing elsewhere. 395 to the 14th street bridge, looks like the same configuration as last week, stay to the left for single lane for 14th street. gw. parkway is very quiet. out to the rails we go. fine start, metro, vre and marc reporting no early issues. our time is 5:22. 74 degrees. after the break, it's the mystery of the missing fire flames seen shooting from a plane heading to reagan airport. what crews found once it landed. a bond forged in steel. a touching tribute to firefighters. a new study hmm, do i wear hats? i could wear hats, if i partook in hat type things (birds chirping) like strolling in an orchard ♪ is this my husband? awesome cool hat, mom oh my perfect kids alright fourteen ninety nine i totally wear hats ♪ a new study out shows e.r. visits for concussions in school age athletes are on the rise. they found that e.r. visits for 14 to 19-year-olds more than tripled from 1997 to 2007. visits doubled in the 8 to 13 year range. doctors attribute the rise to increased intensity and increased awareness in head injuries. passengers on board a u.s. airways flight received a scare moments before landing at reagan airport. flames could be seen shooting from under the wing. let's take a closer look at the picture. the flight that started in charlotte saturday evening, the pilot saw the flames and declared it an emergency before landing. the flames were out by the time the plane got to the gate. to one was injured and u.s. air ways now investigating to see what caused the problem. it is now 5:26. 74 degrees. coming up, a chance to vent. when pepco customers can deliver their service complaints in person. plus, it's time to dig deeper, morning metro riders are no longer spared from the new fare. school is back in session, what students and parents in montgomery ♪ [ male announcer ] new inventory. ♪ new equipment. new trucks. new hires. ♪ new space. ♪ new markets. achievement seizes new opportunity. go to pnc.com/businessloans to see how we can help your cash flow situation. pnc. for the achiever in us all. new hot streak, the 90s return and they are sticking around for a few days. hitting the books, tens of thousands of students get the school year started this morning. it's pay day, morning metro riders are no longer exempt from a new fee. good morning, i'm eun yang. >> good morning, i'm joe krebs, welcome back to "news 4 today," it's monday, the 30th day of august 2010. 74 degrees and hello summer, welcome back. ouch. >> it is still august, we have to remember. >> it's hard to go to school when it's going to get into the 90s. thankfully not a lot of humidity. good morning, i'm tom kierein on this monday morning. we have a clear sky, temperatures are now in the mid-70s in washington, low 70s near the beaches. in the waters it's in the 60s now in prince george's county, mid-60s in arlington and fairfax counties. low 60s throughout much of montgomery county. we've got an ee mormous area of high pressure that's bringing us the clear sky and we'll have plenty of sunshine with highs reaching the mid-90s. each day not a lot of humidity but certainly uncomfortableably hot. on thursday, a bit cooler and high clouds near 90. let's check traffic for monday morning. >> we're picking up volume and there is a change so heads-up for you i-66 commuters. a little bit of a lane shift right as you approach the capitol beltway. pay attention and the far left lane of 66 eastbound is an hov, reverts back only effective 5:30. it's hov along 66 in the far left lane. a little bit of a change, as the sign says, do stay alert. the trip at the american legion bridge, right side of the outer loop across the bridge to tysons doing fine. travel lanes are open. out to the rails we go. metro and vre and marc all doing fine. well, summer is officially over for many kids in maryland today. this is the first day of school in montgomery county. this is also the final year that superintendent jerry weast will be in charge. tracee wilkins joins us with more. >> reporter: 140,000 students head back to montgomery county schools. they have two new elementary schools and less portable classrooms, but of course, what most folks are focused on, jerry weast is calling this his last year in the county. what is significant about all of this, what dr. weast has offered for the montgomery county school system is stability, the average tenure for superintendents ten years. since dr. weast arrived in 1999, he's been the only superintendent here in montgomery county and in the district of columbia, six. dr. weast's announcement has garned attention, he's credited with leading montgomery county to become one of the most successful school systems in the nation. he has narrowed the learning achievement gap between white and minority students and doing this while the population has significantly changed. they represent 164 countries, speaking 130 languages. he's won superintendent of the year nationwide twice. last year dr. weast's reform efforts were published in the a book. harvard university conducted a study and now he's calling it quits. >> i'm eager to maybe take a break and think about things for a while. and then see if i can you know, have as much passion as i've had for education in some other area. hopefully i'll get to see my family a little bit more. >> he certainly led our school system in the right direction and had a strategy and mission in mind and we'll miss that. there's always looking forward to change. >> reporter: in june, that's when he is going to actually start retirement. it will be 12 years in june that he has worked here in montgomery coun county. we'll be speaking with him coming up at 6:00 a.m. live. back to you in the studio. >> been quite a career. thanks very much. students in mont good morning montgomery county are also heading back to school today. the morning peak of peak surcharge takes effect this morning and that means commuters traveling on weekdays between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. will have to pay an extra cents, a peak of peak surcharge for afternoon trips has been in place since august 3rd. the fee is based on the time you enter the gate at any rail station. voters in d.c. in the primary election, early voting begins at 8:30 this morning. they hope this can cut down on the long lines on september 14th. voters can cast their votes early only at one judiciary square. the office will be open until 7:00 p.m. every day except on sundays. then this coming saturday, september the 4th, four more voting locations open up, chevy chase community center and turkey thickette and hine junior high school. it appears mayor fenty has more work to do. a new poll shows he has fallen behind in his race to keep his job. gray leads current mayor fenty 49 to 36% among democrats surveyed about the race for d.c. mayor. the advantage is larger among those who say they are very likely to vote in the primary. 780 d.c. democrats participated in the poll. pepco has angry customers on its hands and this week those customers get a chance to speak out. the company is holding two public hearings, giving customers an opportunity to comment on the utility company's reliability and service. nearly half a million pepco customers have lost power over the past month. pepco officials blame the summer storms and falling trees but admit they also have communication issues. the first hearing will be for montgomery county residents tonight. prince george's residents can attend on thursday at 6:00 p.m. as well. designers of a september 11th memorial in virginia can incorporate a special gift from new york into their project. hundreds of firefighters traveled south to arlington to present a beam from the fallen world trade center building. a tribute included a parade, bag pipes and a middle school choir from georgia. first responders from as far away as california attended at arlington fair station five. >> there would have been far more lives lost had it not been for the skill and the courage of our first responders. >> firefighters from arlington fire station number five were first to respond when the pentagon was attacked on september 11th. family and friends are remembering a teenager electrocuted near his fairfax home. about 100 people attended a vigil for 17-year-old gregory malsom. he was about 20 feet up in the tree when a branch fell on to an electrical wire, family members wore and passed out tie dyed t-shirts in honor of malsom. >> always wearing his tie dye shirts and pink floyd. every event, we got used to it. didn't matter if you were going to a special event, he would sneak that tie dye on under a jacket -- >> malsom's funeral will be held tomorrow. 74 degrees. the president making a promise five years after katrina. how the people of new orleans mark the solemn anniversary. plus, the georgetown community and campus were put on alert after a terrifying attack. the return of the heat, a new hot streak begins today. weather and traffic are next. time for weather and traffic, i'm tom kierein, off to a clear start and it's comfortable in most areas in the 60s. near 70 and mountains in the 50s. getting uncomfortably hot, into the mid-90's but bright sunshine. morning lows should be comfortable each day. a look at friday and the weekend coming up in ten minutes around 5:51. let's check traffic. how's it looking now? >> we're loading up but not slowing down quite yet. this is just above the springfield interchange interloop this side from i-95 up towards 236 and towards 66 and beyond, a little volume that's it. the outer loop towards springfield moving along well. east capitol street at 55th in the district very close to the metro station or capitol heights metro. accident there. authorities are detouring traffic. other than that, southeast corridors all a-okay. >> 5:42 is the time. still to come, new comers dominate the emmy awards. roger clemens returns to washington, this time not heading to congress but a federal courtroom. a dangerous weekend at the beach ends with a d.c. man missing in the surf. how the president marked the anniversar five years ago today the country woke up to learn parts of the gulf coast were underwater. the broken barriers cause the extensive flooding in a city that sits below sea level. it left new orleans uninhabitable for weeks. now the federal government is once again promising continued support. president obama traveled to new orleans and made the pledge himself. here's jay gray. >> reporter: as he traveled to new orleans, marking the fifth anniversary of katrina, president obama made a promise to the gulf coast. >> my administration will stand with you and fight alongside you until the job is done. >> reporter: and five years later, so many are still fighting to finish that work. >> just another day. we just got to come back here and finish cleaning up the mess. >> reporter: others struggled to deal with the scars that just don't seem to heal. new orleans mayor mitch landrieu laid a wreath at the memorial to 100 still unidentified victims of katrina. while in the ninth ward, mostly still ravaged, a traditional second line procession marched across the bridge where hundreds were stranded after the storm. katrina began the violent attack across the mississippi coast and today survivors returned. >> john holly. >> reporter: to remember those lost. >> lawrence sanders. >> reporter: and to honor their memories by continuing the long struggle to come back. >> where we are today, we're a whole lot better. >> reporter: most agree there's still a long way to go. jay gray, nbc news, new orleans. president obama promised that work on a fortified levee system will be finished by next year. hurricane earl is barreling towards several islands in the caribbean. a hurricane warning was issued for the u.s. virgin islands, winds of 100 miles per hour and expected to hit the british virgin islands later today. hurricane danielle is weakening but bringing dangerous rip current to the east coast. there is another storm forming that looks like it could become the next tropical depression. if it does become a named storm, it will be fiona. those rip current caused by hurricane danielle are making for dangerous waters in ocean city, maryland. this morning a swimmer from our area is still missing at sea. 23-year-old malcus delgado was swimming late saturday when they were pulled under water. all of his friends were rescued but delgado has not been found. >> we miss you, we love you. >> if you're being moved away from shore, the problem is if you're a nonswimmer and intend to stay in waist deep water, you're in water over your head and you have a drowning situation. ocean city beach patrol members made over 400 rescues this weekend. while that number is unusually high, it is not the highest number they've had. it is also no reason to stay away from the beach as long as you're careful. police are on the lookout near georgetown for a person they say is a dangerous sex offender who breaks into women's bedrooms while they are sleeping. police say there are similarities to other sexual assaults in the area over the past two years. jackie ben sen reports. >> reporter: the quiet 3800 block of s street northwest was the scene of a disturbing incident. around 7:30 a woman awoke to find a man in her bedroom trying to touch her. she screamed he fled. police responded and determined the man forced his way into the home through a locked door or window. could this be the same elusive suspect who has been plaguing student rented houses in the georgetown area for the past two years now? >> i think the university does a good job of sending us alerts and making sure we're aware of everything that goes on. i think it's a case by case basis, taking precautions. >> reporter: students call the suspect the cuddler because he climbs into a bed or couch where a woman is sleeping. police don't like that name, they say it underplays the seriousness of a dangerous situation. most of the crimes have occurred while georgetown university is in session. two happened within days of each other at the start of the 2009 school year. >> we all got keys made so we can make sure we can lock our houses, every single time, even during the day. >> whenever we're out, whether on wisconsin or m street, we make sure we're not working back alone. we'll call safe rides as georgetown as set up. you call and they come pick you up. even when we're heading out for the night, they'll pick us up and bring us wherever we're going. >> jackie bensen, news 4 today. the robbing of several students has the university of maryland on edge today as classes resume. it happened early yesterday morning. the students were waiting for a campus bus at the time and police say three men preechd the students and robbed them. then the men started beating the students. two of them escaped to a fire station. at tackers made off with money. a new video out this morning reveals very personal messages from 33 miners trapped in a collapsed mine in chile. the video shows them sending heart felt messages to loved ones. they received food and special clothing to help them cope with the high heat down there. crews also lowered a telephone line so they can speak directly with family members and mine officials. mine operators plan to begin drilling the escape hole today but that process could take up to four months so it could be after thanksgiving around christmas before these men are rescued. unbelievable. >> trapped in a mine. >> they are in some sort of shelter, looks like they have some equipment down there. but you have to worry about sanitation and disease i would think would be the biggest thing. >> and the psychological aspect of it. here we've got another heat wave that's going to be commencing. i'm tom kierein, starting off with a clear sky. live view from the city camera, and it's not too humid. we do have a little fog that has formed in southern maryland and near the bay. lower eastern shore, temperatures now in prince george's county in the mid-60s to low 60s. as well as throughout most of the region we're in the 60s this weekend. in western maryland and west virginia only in the 50s in many locations there. and the surf is still up at the atlantic beaches the rip current still up from hurricane danielle that is way out to sea. it had wide effects up and down the atlantic seaboard. this pressure will bring us plenty of sunshine today for the bus stop this morning. watch out for more children waiting for buses. they'll be out there in the next hour or two. and temperatures should stay in the 60s to low 70s throughout the next several hours. by 9:00, near 80. by noon near 90. mid afternoon the mid-90s, it's going to be a hot day but not too humid. overnight tonight should be clear. we'll have the about half moon up in the western sky after 10:00 and jupiter will be gleaming brilliantly like it has tonight and this morning and temperatures will be down into the 60s by dawn on tuesday. tomorrow another day like today. as well as on wednesday. and morning lows in the 60s. near 90 on thursday, depending on how close to the coast earl comes we could get clouds. it does appear hurricane earl will stay off the atlantic seaboard. turning cooler and highs near 80 both days with sunshine. you can check the weather any time weather channel on cable. off we go, live pictures along the 95 corridor, and it appears a significantly more volume this morning than the past week or two. northbound volume increasing but no accidents all the way up to the 14th street bridge. let's head over and see how we're doing elsewhere. the trip along 270 not bad, quiet in accident department. frederick to rockville, all travel lanes are open. looks like the overnight road work northbound 270 has wrapped up. let's check the rails. metro rail and vre and marc, everything is looking good. well, today a former major league all-star and potential hall of famer will be arraigned on criminal perjury charges. roger clemens will appear before a federal district court judge in d.c., accused of lying to congress about the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. last week he was indicted on six counts of making false statements and perjury and on strupgs of justice. he denies using steroids and says he did not lie to congress. if convicted on all charges, he could face up to 30 years in prison but would likely face no more than 15 to 21 months if convicted. two legislators in new york now want to require farmers to vaccinated their chickens against salmonella. this comes after a nationwide recall of hundreds of millions of eggs that have already made more than 1300 people sick. the bacteria was traced back to chickens at a farm in iowa. lawmakers argue that vaccinateding chickens would cost a penny per dozen eggs and could eliminate more than 10,000 salmonella cases every year. legislation is expected to be introduced this week. a new batch of prime time tv shows can now call themselves emmy award winning of the many of them have not been on the air for long. tv gave out the highest honors during the 62nd emmy awards last night. stephanie stanton has the highlights from los angeles. >> reporter: the emmys began by taking inspiration from one hit, "glee" and ended with another rocky sensation. >> "modern family." the series about an extended hos angeles family won best comedy, beating "glee" and "30 rock." >> we're so happy you have let us into your families. thank you very much. >> reporter: it took best writing and best supporting actor for eric stonestreet. >> this is incredible. >> reporter: best supporting actress went to jane lynch. >> this is youtd outlandish. >> reporter: another first time comedy winner was jim parsons for best actor. after three best actress wins in a drama for the sopranos. edie falco took honors. >> i'm not funny. >> reporter: some things did remain the same, the advertising saga "mad men" won best series for the third year. cranston's co-star won for his as supporting actor. best supporting actress, kyra for sedgwick said this proved to be the charm for "the closer." the amazing race's run at best reality show ended as seven as top chef took honors. e.r. coast star julianna margulies presented clooney with the bob hope award, he urged everyone to continue to help those in need. in los angeles, stephanie stanton, nbc news. for the first time in more than 30 years, everyone in america had a chance to see the emmys at the same time. the awards were aired live in all u.s. time zones. 5:57 is the time. the new traffic pattern drivers will see this morning. coming up next, the first day of school for three more local counties, we'll be talking live with montgomery county school superintendent jerry weast about the upcoming school year. >> plus weather and traffic when we come back. stay with us. back to the books, it is back to school for three more counties in the area. in just a few minutes, we'll talk live with montgomery county superintendent jerry weast about what parents and students and teach ares should expect. your ride on metro will cost you more now than ever before. >> primary battle, all eyes are on the d.c. mayor's race this morning as early voting starts today, the first time anyone can cast a vote before election day in the history of the district. good morning, thanks for joining us for "news 4 today," i'm eun yang. >> i'm joe krebs on this monday, the 30th day of august, 2010. let's take a live look outside. beginning to see a little daylight, 73 degrees right now but it looks kind of cloudy. is that right, tom? >> no. it's clear. and we welcome back eun yang, good to have you back. >> it's nice to be back. >> joe and i were both rocking in the feetal position in the corner weeping uncontrollably. >> i'm glad to know you noticed. >> this morning we have clear sky and temperatures around the region are in the low-70s in washington near the bay and in the 60s in the suburbs and many in the rural areas. in the mountains in the 50s in western maryland and west virginia. right near the bay and at the atlantic beaches it's around 70. we have a huge area ever high pressure controlling our weather. by mid afternoon, we'll be in the mid-90s but no too humid. more of the same wednesday and thursday. how's the traffic now? >> so far so good for the most part, however, heads up. there's a new traffic pattern, a little bit of an alignment along interstate 66 at the exit for the capitol beltway. this is how it's shaping up right now. there's a little bit of alignment to the right and now the far left lane, 66 eastbound is hov only. hov 2 beginning at 5:30 a.m. so heads-up if you're not a motorcycle, if you're not on a motorcycle or hov 2 you cannot use that lane any longer during peak times. do stay alert at 9:30 this morning, vdot will close the far left lane completely to do additional work. the tail end of the rush hour should get real ugly. let's see how we're doing, 270 a little volume only but pretty significant volume through the interchanges down through rockville. on the rails, we're doing fine and dandy. reporting no early issues. today many of you who take metro are going to be paying a little more. two dimes now in fact. the morning peak of the peak surcharge is now in effect. that means the commuters traveling weekdays between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. will have to pay an extra 20 cents. a peak of the peak surcharge for the afternoon trips has already been in place since the third of august. that fee is based on the time you entered the fair gate at any one of the metro rail stations. summer is over for many kids in maryland today. this morning they are waking up early for school. the first day of classes begins in howard and charles county today. in montgomery this is a particularly important year because it is the last for school superintendent jerry weast. tracee wilkins joins us live from bethesda with more. >> reporter: good morning, we are here live with dr. weast. we want to get right into it. we want to discuss your retirement but let's begin with what's new nor students this year. >> right here at walter johnson, it's been here but it's brand-new all over the place. we have several new buildings, 2200 new children, 1100 buses out today. be careful. they are going around the world four times today. 100,000 miles. we hope we have some of the best teachers you can find anywhere in america. i believe that, i think our scores and all of our statistics points to that. >> reporter: let's talk about the announcement that this is going to be your final year wrapping it up in june. >> 42 years in the field of education, i love showing up to the first day of school. you have the abcs to ap and ib in this one place. i'm going to miss it, 35 years as superintendent. but let's get on with this year. >> let's talk about 35 years as a superintendent. here in montgomery county you have been here 11 years, it will be 12 years. what folks have said, what you offer for this county, making it one of the most successful in the nation is stability. since you've been here since 1999 and prince george's county there have been five superintendents in the district of columbia, six superintendents, what do you think the key is? what has it been that has kept you there for so long and offered so much stability? >> i love it here. this county really does care about education. so any time you find a county that cares about education, cares about closing the achievement gap and is brave enough to put race and socioeconomics on the table and pushing to get the number one graduation rate in the country, the highest ap rate and get all of the racial groups over the ap where they go on to college, and they are successful, that's the kind of place you want to work. >> reporter: the county has been a great partner. this year you had major cuts, the first you ever dealt with. would you say that played some part in your decision to leave now or -- >> no, i had always figured in 35 years being enough. but we've been up and down on the economic scale regardless of how anybody thinks, it's still a great county. you're always going to have to push. you've always got to get yourself to the front of the line. kids deserve it. if we can get through college, half of the rate of unemployment that is down. >> dr. weast joining us live, i'm tracee wilkins live in montgomery county. back to you in the studio. thousands of maryland residents are furious with pepco and this week they are getting their chance to speak out. they will hold two public hearings to allow customers to comment on the utility company's reliability and service. half a million pepco customers have lost power over the past month. pep co-officials blame the summer storms and falling trees but admit the company does have communication issues. the first hearing will be for montgomery county tonight and prince george's county residents can attend a meeting on thursday at 6:30 p.m. expect a longer wait if you have to go to dmv in virginia and don't count on renewing your driver's license in person. a computer glitch is causing problems. workers can't process driver's license transactions and technicians could not say when the issue would be completely fixed. election officials hope they can shorten voting lines with early voting which begins today. d.v. voters can cast their ballot from 8:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. every day september sundays. then this coming saturday, four more voting locations will open up, the chevy chase community center, turkey thicket recreation center and southeast tennis and learnering center. voters like the way that adrian fenty brought change to d.c. but do not necessarily want him to be mayor again. the d.c. council chair leads fenty. the mayor says he has to look beyond his low poll numbers and concentrate on the issues. >> there's been lots of polls so what we're kind of more focused on is how we know we have an uphill battle but that uphill battle is one that comes with the type of tough decision-making, the type of challenging of the status quo that we have undergone over the past four years. gray spent -- vincent gray, council chair has spent yesterday with women voters, a group fenty has been accused of slighting. >> when i ran for chair, we had a group that came together, women for gray. and we certainly paid attention to the issues they were concerned about then. and we will continue to do that. >> "washington post" by the way endorsed fenty in this primary race for mayor. president obama is waking in the white house this morning following his vacation. what tops his list of priorities as he gets back to work today. >> the search for a missing d.c. man. what turned out to be a very dangerous weekend at the beach. 6:09 is your time. 75 degrees. your weather and traffic together on the ones are next. good morning, clear and comfortable on this monday morning. highs in the mid-90s today and tomorrow and wednesday, not a lot of humidity and cooler on thursday. a look at friday and the weekend in about ten minutes. let's check the monday commute. how is it looking? >> we'll take a look here and the rush hour picking up volume through the southeast. branch avenue through pennsylvania avenue, one of busier intersections in the district. a little volume. elsewhere we have an accident east capitol street making your trip to the 55th street southeast. authorities are on the scene, the inbound side is blocked off. other than that, wilson bridge, we're okay, top side college park to silver spring a-okay. joe and eun? >> 6:13 is your time now. hurricane earl is gaining strength and could make for a rough labor day weekend for many on the east coast. redskins quarterback, donovan mcnabb is out and injured for the first game of the season the coach predicts. one final trip to the beach but dangerous surf made it nearly impossible to go into the water. two hurricane in in the atlantic made a busy weekend for beach patrol members. on sundaturday, they rescued mo than 200 others. one man is missing, 23-year-old malcus delgado was swimming when a rip current swept him away. his other friends were rescued but delgado is still missing. >> i'm trying to figure out what really happened. >> it's a current, moves you from one place to the other. if you're being moved from shore, if you're a nonswimmer and intended to stay in waist deep water, now you're in over your head. >> you can swim in the water at ocean city, as long as you are careful in the water. hurricane earl is strengthening. let's check in with tom kierein to see where the storm may be headed. >> at this hour earl is right near puerto rico and also to the east of earl we have another developing storm. this could become fiona later today. here is danielle. that's going to continue to track off to the north and east. but earl will be on a similar path to danielle. it may be closer to the atlantic seaboard. right now earl is a category two hurricane with winds of about 105 miles an hour. moving west-northwest at 13. right now it's about 1500 miles south of cape hatteras, about 1600 miles from new jersey. here's the latest track. it does appear it could stay out to sea. but it could track along the western side too. it still does appear it's going to be off our atlantic seaboard but may be threatening bermuda on thursday. as it does sweep on by, there could be more rip current for again next weekend. that's the way it looks. back to you. president obama marks the anniversary of hurricane katrina with a promise. five years ago today hurricane katrina left parts of the gulf coast under water. the powerful storm overpowered the levees causing extensive flooding in a city that sits below sea level. president obama promised continued support. five years later, the cleanup process has not stopped. many hope they can rebuild their homes the hurricane destroyed. and president obama promised that work on the fort feed levee system would be finished by next year. the president is returning from vacation with a busy agenda, he'll mark the end of u.s. military operations in iraq tomorrow with a prime time address to the nation. later this week he'll hold middle east peace talks and continue to focus on jump starting the stumbling economy. tracie potts has more. >> reporter: president obama admits there's no magic bullet to jump start the economy. >> if you don't have a job right now it's a tough situation. >> reporter: the economy is growing slower than the government thought. home sales are down and one in ten americans remain without jobs. the president says congress needs to act. >> we should be passing legislation that helps small businesses get credit. >> reporter: that's on hold as lawmakers try to keep their jobs. democrats up for re-election are being hammered on the economy and spending. >> we don't need to stop spending so much, need to stop spending irrationally. >> reporter: tomorrow after saluting troops in texas, president obama marks the end of combat operations in iraq in a prime time speech from the oval office. >> we're going home! >> reporter: that too becomes an economic issue with fewer soldiers there, there's pressure to cut the defense budget that's doubled since 2001. the white house says tomorrow night president obama will talk about the new mission am iraq and gave no indication as to whether he would support cuts at the pentagon. he's asked for nearly 2% increase. tras y potts, nbc news, washington. a potential hall of famer will be arraigned on criminal perjury charges today roger clemens is accused of lying to congress about the use of steroids and perform aebs-enhancing drugs. he was indicted on six counts on making false statements, perjury and obstruction of congress. clemens denies using steroids and says he did not lie to congress. a big oh, no from red skins nation. the coach is questioning whether donovan mcnabb will be ready for the first game of the season. shanahan says he is unsure whether mcnabb will be healthy enough for the skins opener against the cowboys. mcnabb sat out friday's game and injured his ankle in the second preseason game against the ravens and has not even practiced since. >> ank sl a little bit sore, getting treatment each day, same thing with clinton. >> do you know if this could potentially -- >> he was not planning on letting mcnabb or other starters play the preseason game this thursday anyway. >> that would be a gigantic bummer. >> bad way to start. >> it's going to be be hot to play football any way on thursday. we have a heat wave coming back as we say hello to september. right now it's comfortable, off to work and school on this monday morning, right now it's 73 in washington, near 70 by the bay. at the atlantic beaches, elsewhere in the 60s. also fairfax, arlington and prince george's county, now the mid-60s around the rest of virginia and maryland in the 60s. highs today mid-90s. not too humid, lots of sunshine and more of the same on tuesday and wednesday. thursday some high clouds perhaps from earl as it passes off the atlantic seaboard. should be cooler on friday but much cooler for the weekend. saturday and sunday, sunny and highs near 80. how's the traffic? >> a sight many parents like to see, the twingeling lights heading up to pick up the youngsters. they'll be heading out here momentarily on 270 southbound as chopper 4 on the job for us this morning, shows the increase in volume but no accidents or broken down cars reported in from frederick down to mont rose road and down the spur. from the west, a new traffic pattern approaching the capitol beltway. as the sign says, stay alert, far left lane, hov 2 beginning at 5:30 a.m. we're doing fine on the rails, we're looking pretty good. 6:22 is your time now. 72 degrees. an important alert for parents, a serious injury is on the rise for kids who play teen sports. >> a woman wakes up to finding a man trying to sexually assault her blocks away from a college campus. flames shoot from a plane as it you're looking at new video of 23 trapped miners as crews begin to start drilling the escape hole. sending messages to family and loved ones, most appear to be in good spirits. the miners received some food and special clothing to help them cope with the high heat down there. crews lowered a phone line so they could speak directly with mine official and family members. they say drilling will begin today to get the miners out but that process could take up to four months. so it could be after thanksgiving, around christmas before the men are rescued. a new study out this morning shows that emergency room visits for concussions in school age athletes are skyrocketing. the study looked at concussions in kids ages 8 to 19. they found e.r. visits for 14 to 19-year-olds tripled from 1997 to 2007 and doubled in the 8 to 13 range. doctors attribute the rise to increased intensity in kids sports and awareness of head injuries. the change metro will see this morning, we'll tell you what to expect so you aren't caught by surprise. a woman wakes up to find a man trying to sexually assault her just blocks away from one local college campus. >> it's back to school for tens of thousands of more students in maryland today. fair warning, metro riders will see another price hike this morning. class acts, it's back to school for tens of thousands of students in the area. what's new this year for parents and teachers and students. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang, it is monday, august 30th, 2010. let's take a live look outside in maryland. 6:29 is your time now. 71 degrees, clear skies and a touch of sun. we think it will come up soon. >> 6:36. >> six more minutes. >> and it's up in the clear sky and we'll have a pleasant start back to school for many students for first time and back to work and temperatures around the region are comfortable now under this cheer sky. we're in the 60s in the suburbs and rural areas. low 70s in washington near the bay. in the mountains of western maryland and west virginia it's only in the 50s in many locations there. eastern shore near the atlantic beaches 0's to around 70 degrees. a little bit of patchy fog around southern maryland and parts of the shore. we have this enormous area of high pressure that's going to give us another sunny day. it may be hotter. highs reaching the mid-90s today and more of the same on tuesday and again on wednesday. not too humid, morning lows in the 60s. jerry, how does it look now? >> chopper over interstate 270 at the point where the lanes divide, travel lanes are open and moving along smoothly. we do have the initial reports of an accident near route 85. should be over to the shoulder. you can see the buses there lined up and they are ready to head on out and pick up those youngsters for first day of school. elsewhere the trip 95 northbound, checking reports of an accident around the bend between lorton and newington an accident reported to be in the left lane. not evident in the camera at the moment. we'll keep you updated on that. out to the rails, we're still doing fine, metro rail and vre and marc reporting no delays. metro riders will be digging a little deeper into their pockets to take a morning train. the morning peak of peak surcharge starts in less than an hour. commuters traveling on weekdays between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. will have to pay an extra 20 cents. an afternoon surcharge has been in place since august 3rd. that is based on the time you enter the fare gate at any metro station. say good-bye to summer and sleeping in for many kids in maryland. this is the first day of school in montgomery, and howard and charles counties today. in montgomery county, this is an important year because it's also the final year for school superintendent jerry weast. tracee wilkins just talked with him and joins us live from walter johnson high school in bethesda with more. >> reporter: good morning, we just wrapped up a live conversation with him where we discuss what's new for students this year as well as his retirement. students heading back to montgomery county can expect to find new renovations, including two new elementary schools here. what everyone is talking about is the fact that their superintendent, who has been here for 11 years has said he will now retire. his announcement to retire has gotten a lot of tension. he's credited with with having one of the most successful schools in the nation. he is credited doing this with the county's population significantly changed. his work has been studied and published in a book now being read by school systems nationwide. we asked him, what advice do you have for your successor? >> it's not been you. it's about the children. don't take everything personally. very activist community. don't take everything professionally wrong. you're going to make mistakes and take risks. these children are worth it. do not back off of putting race on the table, do not back off of being bashful about asking for what you need. do what's right for the kids. this community will do what's right for you. >> reporter: when he leaves in june, he would have served in montgomery county for 12 years, the second longest serving in history and that is the advice he has for his successor. they are intending the search for a new superintendent to take from three to six months. back to you in the studio. thousands of maryland residents are furious with pepco and this week they are getting their chance to speak out. the company will hold two hearings to allow customers to comment on the utility company's reliability and service. nearly half a million customers have lost power over the past month. officials blame the summer storms and failing trees but admit to having communication issues. the first hearing will be tonight at 6:00 p.m. prince george's county residents can attend a meeting thursday at prince george's community college at 6:00 p.m. expect a longer wait if you have to go to the dmv in virginia today. a computer glitch is causing a backup. workers can't process driver's license transactions in person. technicians could not say when the issue would be completely fixed. police are on the lookout near georgetown for a person they say is a dangerous sex offender who breaks into women's bedrooms while they are sleeping. police say there are similarities to other sexual assaults in the area from the past two years. some students call the predator the georgetown cuddler but police don't use that phrase because they believe it down plays the seriousness of his crimes. students say the university has done a good job of informing them about the assaults. >> i think people are definitely aware of it and i think the university does a good job of sending us alerts and making us aware of everything that goes on. it's a case by case basis taking precautions. >> most of the assaults have happened while the university is in session. although the attacks have similarities they are not concern they have been committed by the same man. the robbing and beating of several students has the university of maryland community on edge as classes room there. it happened just off campus on better win house road yesterday morning. the students were waiting for a campus bus at the time. three men approached the students and robbed them then the men started beating the students. two escaped to a fire station. the third was able to get away but was badly beaten. 6:36 is your time now. the "today" show is coming up next at 7:00. let's check in with matt lauer to see what they are working on for today. >> good morning to you. coming up on a monday on "today" al is tracking the two hurricanes swirling dangerously close to our shores. he'll have his forecast. why do millions of americans believe that president obama is muslim? the president reacts in an nbc news interview. the tragic death of an incoming college freshman in new york city after a night of binge drinking. on a much lighter note, we'll have a complete wrap-up of last night's emmy awards, the glitz and glamour and all of the fashion on a monday morning right here on "today." back to you. >> that's why i watch. we'll see you soon, thank you. >> take care. >> the primary push in the district mayor's race, why it will get off to a historic start today. flames seen shooting from a plane heading to reagan national airport. what crews found once the plane landed. 76 degrees and clear skies but hot, hot, hot. your forecast is next. our time is 6:40. 20 minutes until 7:00. beautiful picture of the rising sun out there this morning. 77 degrees. it's going to get hot though, ugly hot once again. the heat wave returns. >> way to welcome the students back to school, tom. >> that's right. fortunately it's not going to be too humid. it's going to be moderately humid today and again tomorrow but it's comfortable now for students waiting for school buses over the next couple of hours. shouldn't be uncomfortable at all. low to mid-60s in arlington and fairfax. in the low 70s in washington and near the bay. elsewhere generally in the 60s. highs today though, mid-90s by mid afternoon uncomfortably hot, more of the same on tuesday and wednesday. thursday up around 90. a look coming up at the tropics as well as friday and into the weekend in ten minutes. how's the traffic? >> taking a live look chopper 4 to the capitol beltway, to give you a bird's eye view of the new traffic pattern. the bottom line is the far left lane reverts back to an hov only lane and there's a little bit of he a reali aligalignment to the. everybody seems to be dealing with it okay. heads-up for late commuters. at 9:30, vdot will close the right lane. it could get ugly because of that additional lane closure. that's what it looks like and thank you, chopper. let's see how we're doing the chip into town, east capitol street at 55 street southeast, the accident is out of the roadway. south of town and north of town right now with the travel lanes open. on the rails we're still doing pretty well. metro rail and vre and marc, everything is looking mighty fine. 6:42 is your time. all eyes are on the d.c. mayor's race as early voting starts today. this time it's for all voters. the search for a missing d.c. man in what turned out to be a very dangerous weekend at the beach. if you could not stay up, we have all of big yeah, but... what.. happened to the back there? well, here's the thing: this was the only "sporty two-seater" they had on my budget. uh-huh. and the seats go all the way back. (announcer) settling for less is not smart. what is smart is getting more car for your money at carmax. for the money you'd spend on a stripped down new car, you could get a fully loaded, guaranteed-quality used car at carmax. now more than ever, the smart choice is carmax. the way car buying should be. hurricane danielle is churning up dangerous waters in ocean city, maryland. beach patrol life guards rescued 227 swimmers from the water. on saturday more than 200 more. this morning one man is still missing, 23-year-old malic delgado was swimming with friends and he was swept away. his family is holding out hope for a miracle. >> we miss you and love you, please come back home. you have a daughter. >> it's a current, moves you from one place to another. the problem is if you're a nonswimmer and intended to stay in waist deep water, you're in water over your head and you have a drowning situation. >> life guards say you can still swim in the water in ocean city as long as you are careful. hurricane earl is barreling towards several islands in the caribbean. now a category 2 hurricane, overnight a hurricane warning was issued for the u.s. virgin islands and expected to hit the british virgin islanded later today. there is another storm forming that could become the next tropical depression if it becomes a named storm, it will be fiona. passengers aboard one u.s. airways flight received a scare. the plane's engine caught fire and flames could be seen shooting from under the wing. let's take a closer look at this picture. the flight was on its way into d.c. on saturday evening. the pilot saw the flames and declared an emergency before landing. the plane was coming from charlotte but the flames were out by the time firefighters got to the plane to check it out. u.s. airways is now investigating to see what did cause that problem. starting today, voters in the district can cast their ballots before next month's primary election. early voting begins at 8:30 this morning. that offin fourth street will b open each day except for sundays. four more voting locations, chevy chase center, hine junior high school and southeast tennis and learning center. if the election results turn out to be anything like a new weapon weap "washington post" poll, the council chair has a 49 to 39% lead. fenty says he cannot let the results be a distraction. gray spent his sunday with women voters, a group that fenty has been accused of slighting. the poll did show -- >> for years when i ran for chair, we had a group that came together, women for gray. we certainly paid attention to the issues they were concerned about then. and we will continue to do that. >> the poll did show voters favored fenty's efforts to bring needed change to d.c. job seekers in montgomery and prince jornl's counties will be getting help. donna edwards is hosting a job fair from 8:30 to 4:00 p.m. close to 70 employers will be represented at the fair. it is limited to residents in montgomery and prince george's county. >> it looks as if stock prices are off to a promising start. courtney reagan joins us live today with what to expect. >> it was a really nice vacation, but nice to come back to old friends, right. >> great to have you back. >> reporter: futures are a little bit higher this morning as we kick off the trading week. stocks did rise despite a report that showed the economy grew less than expected but it wasn't as bad as feared and ben bernanke says the central bank is ready to step in if the economy shows further signs of weakness. asian markets rose overnight. europe is slightly positive. we'll get reports on home prices and consumer confidence and manufacturing and the big one, the monthly jobs report due out on friday morning. the dow starts trading at 10,150 and nasdaq was up to 2153. just in time for the battle over what goes in the back to school lunches. they are rolling out the industry's first ever marketing campaign this week setting their sights on a big spending rival, junk food. new packages that looks like dor reet toes bags. junk food generates about $18 billion a year. we'll see if we can fool the kids for a little while at least. >> that would be -- any way to get vegetables, right? >> exactly, whatever it takes. here's some good news before your morning commute, the cost of topping off your tank continue to fall. the national average is now 270 for a gallon of regular. here's how we compare an the area. drivers in the district are paying slightly more, average of $2.72. in maryland it is $2.63 and and in virginia $2.61. many of you watched prime time's best get emmy awards. the acceptance speeches continued once the stars got off stage. here's some comments you didn't see during the live presentation. >> thank you so much. this is outlandish. >> reporter: emmy made lots of new friends sunday night. >> "mad men". >> reporter: but also hung out with old friends, making three straight wins as best drama. >> this season more than any other has been phenomenal. to be singled out in that particular group of shows is -- continues to be amazing. >> reporter: there was plenty of room for newbie smt, including "modern family". >> we have an amazing staff and writing staff and incredible crew. this show has embraced emotion. and i think that emotion and comedy have sort of gone out of vogue. >> reporter: jim parsons was part of the first time winner parade for about the "the big bang theory". >> is this really happening? i don't understand. i keep waiting for somebody to wake me up a little bit but it's getting better by the second. >> thank you so much. i'm not funny. >> reporter: but emmy voters felt otherwise edie falco. >> the women i was up against are funny comedians, i'm shocked. i'm not playing coy, i'm dumbfounded. kyra sedgwick won for "the closer". >> you don't think you have a chance in hell for winning after five times. >> reporter: but the emmys proved sunday night, times do change. mark barger. >> a show we'll never see. >> we get to watch tv at night? no. you've got to tivo those shows. >> we'll do a repeat of what we've had this summer. another heat wave underway. this time around, it's coming with not as quite as much humidity. there's the sun up in a lemon yellow sky. there's northeast washington in the distance. right now 73 at national airport. not too humid this morning. we have a calm wind and it's comfortable in the suburbs where the students are getting back to school again. temperatures are in the mid-60s near 70 near the bay and in the mountains of western maryland, west virginia around 50s. we have a large area of high pressure moving in giving us a clear sky. it will be with us today. for the morning bus stop it should be good weather. watch out for the students. it will be in the 60s and 70s for another couple of hours. by 9:00, it should be beginning to climb into the upper 70s to near 80. a clear sky, we'll have the moon up after 10:00 this evening. and this morning in the 60s. and another repeat of today tuesday and again wednesday, not too humid but uncomfortably hot both afternoons. a look at friday and saturday and sunday, should be cooler with temperatures around 80 over the weekend. how's the traffic? >> along interstate 66, chopper 4 showing ugs the new lane configurations, a little bit of an alignment on the approach to the capitol beltway. hov is the far left lane, far left lane hov only now and the far left lane will be closed for additional work at 9:30 this morning. those who come in on 66 around that time, look out. we'll keep you updated. 270 southbound, be very careful, looks like we have an accident in the main lane right there near falls road. the fire department in the local lanes blocking the left lane of the local, i suspect they'll try to get over and deal with these folks here. we'll keep you updated on that. southbound 270 around 85, word of a serious crash. folks in frederick may want to think about 355 as an alternate. look at that, moving along nicely, metro vre and marc all doing fine. eun? >> thank you, jerry. hundreds of school buses are getting ready to pick kids up for first day of school. monts gomry and howard and charles county. tracee wilkins joins us live from bethesda with more on what to expect today. it's a big day, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it is a big day. 140,000 students heading back to montgomery county schools this year. thousands of those students are new. they'll enjoy refurbished buildings but they've also got new news to deal with, the fact that superintendent jerry weast will be retiring at the end of the year. this is a big deal, he is credited to leading montgomery county to become the most successful in the nation. his work has been studied nationwide and put into a book for other school systems to follow. this news of him leaving in june has been big news in montgomery county, something a lot of parents and students will have to deal with. back to you. >> the other top stories, metro's morning peak of the peak surcharge takes ekt today. commuters traveling between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. will have to pay an extra 20 cents. pepco customers get a chance to voice their frustrations during two public hearings. first will be tonight at rock vil's council office at 6:00 p.m. president obama is back from vacation and has a really busy week ahead. tomorrow he makes a prime time address marking the official end to combat operations in iraq. later in the week he holds middle east peace talks. all week long the white house will continue to focus on down economy. >> roger clemens will be in the district to be arraigned on criminal perjury charges. he's accused of lying to congress about the use of steroids. clemens denies using performance-enhancing drugs and says he did not lie during congressional testimony. thank you for starting your monday with us. >> the "today" show is nextle we'll be back here tomorrow morning at 4:30. hope you'll join us then. until nthen, have a great day. we'll see you tomorrow. >> bye. not that long ago, many families were priced out of an overheated housing market. but the times have changed. get the facts at remax.com. it's a great place to see all the listings in thousands of cities and towns. with lots of houses to chose from and down-to-earth prices the dream of owning a home seems more attainable than ever. find out what an experienced re/max agent can do for you. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. with the most locations in the dc area, we figured they could use our help. ♪ down a bit. too much. 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