>> final appeal. the d.c. sniper asked the u.s. supreme court to prevent his execution. why his attorneys say this convicted murderer does not deserve death. >> good morning, everyone. welcome. we're glad you're with us this morning. i'm barbara harrison. >> and i'm jim handly in this morning for joe krebs. it is tuesday, november 3rd, election day 2009. >> looking outside, looks like we've got a pretty nice day out there. we'll found out if we've got clouds and if they will bring rain. here's tom kierein with his forecast. >> good weather for election day. should have good turnout wit beautiful autumn weather under way. this morning, though, we've gone from cool to downright cold in many locations. culpepper down to 34. only 33 in martinsburg. montgomery, fairfax,arlington, prince george's counties are only in the upper 30s to near 40. mid-40s in washington and right near the bay, low 40s eastern shore. frosty cold parts of the shenandoah valley and in the mountains this morning. we do have a mostly clear start with that bright, full moon getting low in the western sky. lots of sunshine today. by 9:00, near 50. by noon, near 60. by mid-afternoon, the low to mid-60s with a few clouds coming through. sunrise 6:38. sunset will be at 5:05. then overnight tonight, we'll have that just past full moon up in a clear sky. we'll have temperatures frosty cold tomorrow morning. should of some widespread watch patchy frost in the rural areas. during the day on wednesday after a sunny start, clouds move in during the afternoon, highs mid-50s. then on thursday, mostly cloudy, morning lows upper 30s, afternoon highs mid-50s. a slight chance of a sprinkle early thursday morning. then drying out on friday. a look at the weekend coming up this half hour. my next report st 5:11. >> we'll see you then. thank you. let's hit the roads with jerry edwards. he's in the traffic center with details on the morning commute. jerry? >> good morning. we're doing pretty well. live pictures of i-95, the camera based between springfield, newington, northbound traffic. left side of your screen, southbound the far right side. both directions off to an uneventful start and the travel lanes appear to be open. elsewhere at this hour, the trip on the beltway north of town, greenbelt to silver spring, incident free. all the southeast corridors, the bridges moving along nicely. barbara, jim, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> wem, it's election day finally. in less than one hour, people can begin voting in virginia. polling places will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. after today we will finally know who will become the next governor of the commonwealth. news 4's megan mcgrath is at a polling place in falls church. she joins us now with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we're here at marshall high school in falls church, one of many polling places in northern virginia and actually all is pretty quiet right now. we've got about an hour to go before the polls actually open, so nothing -- a whole lot of activity yet. of course, we're expecting that to change as the morning wears on. we've been talking about this race for months, but it all comes down today. today the voters of virginia are going to choose their next governor. both candidates took their message across the state yesterday tryg to reach out to all of those undecided voters and get their final push out there. now, democrat creigh deeds began his day in roanoke. he also attended a rally with governor tim kaine in alexandria. now, the polls show that deeds is lagging behind his republican challenger by double digits. but deeds is not deterred. he told his supporters that they need to continue to work hard to get their message out there and, more importantly, to get the voters to the polls today. now republican bob mcdonnell had a similar message. while he may be leading in the polls, he told his supporters that they can't put too much stock in that, that they still have work to do. they have to continue with their momentum and get people to the polls today. now, mcdonnell will vote at 8:00 this morning in glen allen, virginia. he'll hit the road, going to mt. vernon as well as virginia beach and richmond. creigh deeds votes in mills borrow at 6:30 this morning. he'll spend time in charlottesville. he will head to richmond. the polls open at 6:00 this morning and will stay open until 7:00 tonight. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, megan. of course, the governor's seat is not the only position up for grabs today. virginians will be choosing a new lieutenant governor. and a new attorney general. all 100 seats in the house of delegates also up for grabs today. and stay with news 4 throughout the day for continuing election coverage. we'll have all of the information you need to know before you head out to vote. then tonight on news 4 at 11:00 we'll have complete coverage and candidate reaction as the results come in. you can also watch those numbers as they come in on our website, nbcwashington.com. >> members of the taliban could soon once again be part of the government in afghanistan. president hamid karzai says he wants people from all parts of the country in his government. that includes members of the taliban who are willing to work for the good of the country. karzai was declared the winner of afghanistan's election yesterday after challenger abdullah abdullah dropped out of the race. scheduled for saturday. the taliban is taking credit for the runoff's cancellation, claiming its threats and attacks caused it. meanwhile, in north korea this morning the country is claiming to have enough plutonium to build at least one atomic bomb. the communist country says it's finished reprocessing about 8,000 spent fuel rods to extract weapons gray plutonium. north korea has been trying to pressure the u.s. into direct talks and has even threatened to expand its weapons arsenal if those talks don't happen. >> shock this morning in prince william county. two high school students are dead after an apparent murder/suicide. the bodies were found last night in the 3900 block of oak dale circle in triangle. the girl's father found his 17-year-old daughter and a man who is believed to be her 18-year-old boyfriend upstairs. right now police aren't saying who pulled the trigger or what the motive may have been. >> they seemed like a very normal family. we've had lemonade stands. their kids come and buy lemonade from us. that sort of thing. so a very nice family. >> police have not yet released the names of the victims but we understand both attended forest park high school in woodbridge. >> new today, the search for a cause in an overnight fire. flames broke out at a home in the 1300 block of ailsbury court here in upper marlboro. the fire completely gutted the home, leaving behind nothing more than the frame. we don't know if anything was hurt. a similar scene overnight in rockville, maryland. flames tore through this house on man a key street. investigators tell us the blaze appears to have begun in the basement. the good news -- the family of five who lives here was able to get out without injury. damage is estimated at $300,000. time now is 5:06 on a tuesday morning. we've got some good news for speed demons in maryland. why they're about to get a little mercy. >> some news metro riders won't want to hear. why it looks like they might be in for a rate hike. ♪ father jesus >> the boss rocks the house here in washington. 5:09 is the time right now as we look at a live picture of the lincoln memorial coming into view in the darkness of this tuesday morning. our temperature right now 46 degrees. welcome back. >> well, the holiday travel season is almost upon us, and no surprise, it will cost you more to get you where you want to go. most u.s. airlines have increased a surcharge for travel on the busiest travel days from $10 to $20. that surcharge applies to a large number of flights and more than a dozen peak travel days, including thanksgiving, christmas and new year's. industry analysts say the increases are part of a clear trend in airline pricing, giving downsizing, increased fuel costs and financial losses. >> have someone else buy you dinner with this news 4 bargain blast. >> yep. sign up for the thin club and get a $25 gift card to black fin restaurant and saloon. go to nbcwashington.com and search bargain blast. a little early for me to start thinking about that, but it's 5:00, right? >> dinner doesn't sound too bad, does it? >> not at all. >> some are coming home from the saloon. we're starting off this election day, we've got a bright, full moon now just beginning to set in the western sky. off to a cold start. it's only in the low and mid-30s areas just about 20 miles west and north of washington. in fact, some scattered frost around the shenandoah valley and the blue ridge. closer to washington, montgomery, fairfax, upper 30s. it's frosty cold out in the mountains, temperatures there upper 20s to near 30. lots of sunshine today, a few clouds midday. highs reaching mid-60s. chillier weather moves in wednesday and thursday. friday should be sunny, into the mid-50s. a look at the weekend, that will be coming up at 5:21. >> thank you, tom. >> see you then. >> let's check on the traffic, see how things are moving out there this early morning. jerry? >> good morning. take a little sampling around northern virginia, 95 here at the springfield interchange, so far looks like things are moving nicely. road work on the northbound side. now there had been an accident involving a tractor-trailer on the southbound side of i-95, southbound of route 17 headed on down to fredericksburg so be aware of that. wilson bridge we're okay. northeast, new york avenue, kenilworth avenue, very quiet commute so far. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> it's 12 minutes after 5:00 on this tuesday morning. the d.c. sniper throws himself at the mercy of the high court. why his lawyers say his act of terror is not worth the death penalty. >> texting while driving. it's illegal in our area, but does it deserve jail time? we'll tell you what americans said in a new survey. >> talk about a hands-free device. how to drive a car using an iphone? good morning, everyone. i'm kimberly suiters live in the newsroom. these are the stories our news team is working on at this hour. in virginia, virginia yabs go to the polls to elect a new governor today. democrat creigh deeds plans to cast his vote at 6:30 a.m. bob mcdonnell 8:00 a.m. in richmond. mcdonnell and deeds will travel to three cities apiece today, gathering last-minute votes. in prince william county, tragedy there. two forest park high school students are dead after an apparent murder-suicide. police say father found his 17-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old believed to be a boyfriend dead inside their home in triangle. and over in afghanistan one day after the runoff election was called off because challenger abdullah abdullah backed out fearing fraud, the taliban is taking credit for the cancellation, claiming threats and attacks disrupted the election process. now newly elected president hamid karzai says he's open to giving the taliban a voice in his administration. north korea getting so insistent about landing talks with the u.s. today, north korea said it had successfully reprocessed thousands of spent nuclear fuel rods to extract plutonium, enough for at least one atomic bomb. i'm kimberly suiters reporting live in the newsroom. now i'll accepted it back to you. >> thank you, kimberly. this morning parents of a missing virginia tech student have set up a donation fund to aid in the search for their daughter. 20-year-old morgan dana harrington went missing two weeks ago after she was separated from her friends at a metallica concert in charlottesville. her parents are using donations to print and distribute tens of thousands of flyers. they say they think of their missing daughter every minute of every day. >> dan made a point of showing me last night on the microwave the clock. he said, this is the time two weeks ago, the last time morgan was seen. >> the harringtons recently hired a cni firm out of d.c. that helps with crises, and they say any unused donations will be given to charities that help families with missing persons and charities their daughters has been involved with. this morning a similar story in southwesterned inned in. that's where police are searching for three dickinson state university students. it started after a friend received late night telephone calls that mentioned water and indicated the men needed help. police are using three airplanes and officers on the ground to search within a 30-mile radius of the cell phone tower. >> today's your chance to sound off on a proposed metro fare hike. the transit agency has already factored in a fare hike into its budget that begins with next july. even with the increase, metro still faces a $144 million budget shortfall for that year. if you have something to say about it, metro's holding a public forum at kennedy high school in silver spring at 7:00. john catoe will be there. another forum is set for later this month in largo. if you take metro during the evening hours, you could be in store for a month's worth of delays. crews will be making repairs on several tracks from 9:30 in the evening until midnight sunday through thursday. riders can expect delays up to a half hour. those delays will happen on the red line between the medical center and grov nor strathmore stragss, on the orange line between cheverly and carrollton stations. on the yellow line, between huntington and braddock road. >> you'll probably see someone on your way to work this morning, someone texting and driving, but could you imagine that person going to jail for doing that? a new poll by "the new york times" finds that 97% of people say there should be a ban on texting while driving. about half of the people surveyed say the punishment for a texting driver should be as harsh as that for a drunk driver. it's already against the law to text and drive in our area. if you get caught speeding past one of these cameras near a work ze in maryland you have two more weeks before you actually will get a ticket. the state began using automated speed cameras in highway work nes last month. according t"the washington post," the warning phase is being extended. more than 900 drivers have received warnings since the cameras were installed. after another two weeks, though, the fine will be $40 per ticket. >> all right. how would you like to jump into your car this morning and drive with no hands? there's an app for that. german scientists have developed an iphone app that lets them drive a specially adapted car. signals from the iphone are sent wireless to the car. the person using the control can steer, brake and accelerate the car using their iphone. i do not want to be a passenger in that car. >> no. under what circumstances would somebody want to do that? >> i don't know. just pushing it. one new ing. >> if you can do it -- >> yeah. >> the redskins are back at practice. >> they are, indeed, preparing to face off against the falcons this sunday. >> the phillies keep their world series hopes alive by defeating the yankees last night. lindsay czarniak has your sports minute. >> hey there. good morning, everybody. your sports minute on this tuesday begins with the redskins and the redskins return to the practice field yesterday, getting ready after their bye week for sunday's game against the falcons. the players say that they're ready to be coming off the bye, get back to work and certainly looking to turn things around in the second half of the season. speaking of the falcons, they were in new orleans last night taking on the undefeated saints. the new orleans offense just too much for the falcons' "d" and the saints defense scored a touchdown on its fifth interception returned for a touchdown this season. the saints beat the falcons to remain undefeated at 7-0. to baseball, the phillies held off elimination last night in the world series. chase utley hit two more home runs. that tied the world series record of most home runs in a series with five. he joins reggie jackson as the only other player to do so. the phillies force another game with an 8-6 win over the yankees. game six tomorrow in the bronx. that's your sports minute. i'm lindsay czarniak. have a great day. >> all right. it's about 5:21. time now for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> we're going to check in with meteorologist tom kierein right now to find out what's going on with the weather. tom? it's a cold morning. many areas just to our west and north have some scattered frost on this tuesday morning. we're starting off this election day with temperatures under a clear sky just in the upper 30s in fairfax and arlington as well as throughout much of virginia this morning, starting off the election day morning there with temperatures, yeah, only a couple of degrees above freezing in culpepper as well as the shenandoah valley. but closer to washington and maryland, upper 30s. we're in the low to mid-40s on the eastern shore. out in the mountains it's frosty cold this morning. we have a clear start to this day. we'll have rlots of sunshine as temperatures climb into the mid-60s by the afternoon. partly cloudy by wednesday afternoon after a sunny and frost cold start tomorrow morning, highs mid-50s tomorrow afternoon. another chilly day on thursday, slight chance of a sprinkle in the morning. sunshine back for friday and over the weekend. boy, do we deserve it. last three weekends in a row we've had rain. jerry, how's the traffic? >> clear, dry road surfaces this morning but authorities are dealing with an accident headed down to fredericksburg in the southbound lanes of 95 near route 17. and be careful as a tractor-trailer accident that occurred in the early morning hours. let's head north and see how we're doing in fairfax county, along 395 as you head up through alexandria, left side of your screen there, en route to the 14th street bridge doing fine. out on the rails, got to love it. off to a very fine start. metrorail, vre and marc, no delays. barbara and jim, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> time now 5:22. a bank robber strikes in our area. just wait until you see his disguise. >> plus, a dubious distinction for the district. the problems with its school lunch program. >> and holiday shopping season is almost here, folks. how to find out about the deals before everybody else does. ♪ a vision of his own death >> the boss was back in our area last night. bruce springsteen and the e street band took the stage at the verizon center. they played their entire 1975 album "born to run." the boss got up close and personal with fans when he went off the stage for a little bit of crowd surfing. last night's show was dedicated to the band's assistant road manager, leonard sullivan, who died last week. >> this morning police in chevy chase are looking for the person who robbed a bank at gunpoint while wearing a halloween mask. take a look at this. it's a surveillance picture from the suntrust bank on connecticut avenue. police tell us the man wearing the skeleton mk pulled out a semiautomatic gun and demanded cash. no one was hurt. police believe a getaway driver was waiting in a black 2004 or 2005 mercedes parked nearby. >> 5:26 is the time right now. overnight developments in afghanistan. why president hamid karzai is wooing members of the taliban to his government. >> plus, north korea raises the stakes. the new announcement that some might call a threat. >> and feeling stressed out. well, so are your kids, and you might not even know it. a new study about how our hectic lives are putting our children at risk. decision day. voters in our area head to the polls. the local race that could change one party's national momentum.