kristen dahlgren, nbc news, venice, louisiana. >> 66 degrees on tv hill. we're >> happy purple friday. it is 68 degrees downtown. we will be less timid by this afternoon things to a brisk northwest wind. we did see some showers yesterday, but nothing as severe as they saw in new york city. severe weather actually killed a person. for us, things were not too bad last night. we will be dry today with sunshine. brisk winds at of the northwest. more on your weekend and seven- day forecast coming up. >> the dash diet may also help prevent kidney stones. urine had higher concentration of citrates. dieters also urinated more often, which helped prevent kidney stones. keith mills will join us live with the latest in the sports world. >> it is purple friday. this is a live look over the downtown area. update we will update traffic ♪ ♪ i like your messy hair ♪ i like the clothes you wear ♪ i like the way you sing ♪ and when you dance with me ♪ you always make me smile ♪ don't know why i love you [ male announcer ] we believe you're at your best when yo

kristen dahlgren has details. >> if you worry about the hours your little one spends on the computer, playing games and actually be productive. >> they are learning how to use it and to get information and to develop strategies. >> the study looked at preteens and late hours at the computer with an increase in test scores. african american boys saw the biggest jump with access to computers. >> it is striking. >> reading scores were up four points. girls' schoores also increase. the only group that did not see improvement was white boys, with a slight decrease in test scores. >> as they get older, there is more concerned about the more aggressive games. that is more on the video consoles. >> not all games are created equal. there can be too much of a good thing. >> i think parents need to look at what exactly in terms of the media diet their kids are doing. >> in the right combination, child's plate may help kids win in the classroom. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, washington put my kids are going to say, "see, the report,--" much more to come in our next half-hour. >> the primary was on

kristen dahlgren has the recovery efforts fom venice, louisiana. >> reporter: 150 days after oil first flowed into the gulf the flow of cement started in what has been a month's long effort to finally seal the well from the bottom up. the cement was pumped in through the relief well and at some point today officials are expected toeclare success and a permanent end to the well that brought millions of barrels of oil and heartache to an entire region. buthile the well that first exploded april 20th may soon be killed, many here say they have been dying a slow death for months. what was once a vibrant fishing community now getting by on a clean up effort and that oil still washes ashoreore than 25,000 gallons of it colcted just this week in louisiana. >> just beginning for us. they may have the well capped but for us we hve a long road ahead of us. we see oil come up every day. >> reporter: then this. a second mass of fish kill found. >> in my whole life i've never seen fish wash up on the beach. >> reporter: leaving folks here calling for more tests making sure the oxygen depletion that

in venice, louisiana, kristen dahlgren, "news4 today." >>> it's 9:38. you've seen her dine out with some of the area's top hletes and coaches. now lindsay czarniak has lunch with a basketball star some place a bit more familiar to her, hermom's kitchen. >> some call it washington's best deli. now historic lo >>> you got pretty fxible plans this evening? check out some performs that will make your ham strings hurt. >> get it. >> the golden dragon acrobats will be performing at wolf trap this evening. the popular troupe of traditional chinese acrobats will be performing an array of stunts. the show starts at 7:00 p.m. >>> flexible plans, flexible acrobats. we've ot some grea writers. >>> loeb's deli has been part of the d.c. downtown landscape for 15 years. >> regulars will have to walk further to bite into a chopped liver sandwich. yesterday loeb's closeled its doors at its current location on 15th street because the building its in is ndergoing renovation. they will eopen at the corner of 17th and i. but it brings a close to an era that called home for

kristen dahlgren has the latest. >> reporter: at the time when there's so much talk about the dangers of texting, a new report from the institute shows states that ban texting and driving may not be any safer. in some states, it had the opposite affect. >> when we come bare what's going on in the states, we see collision claim frequencies going up after the ban. >> reporter: not what the laws were intended too. what's going on? catching someone in the act may make it too hard to enforce or drivers are getting better at it. but transportation officials say that's report is flawed. pointing out the bans are still new and require solid law, good advertising and police enforcement to build success. >> the study didn't take that into account and picked states that didn't have those zones. >> reporter: in fact, he says they've had great reduction in phone use in hartford, connecticut and new york. it isn't the dangers of texting and driving, just what to do about it. there is also a fear among some that saul the talk about texting is faking away from other distractions like eating or turnin

kristen dahlgren is in washingt with the latest. >> at a time when there's so ch talk about 9 dangers of texting -- >> i barely look at the road at all. >> a new report for the highway loss data institute shows states that ban texting and driving may not be any safer. in three out of four states, the ban had the opposite effect. >> when we compare what's going on in the four study states that ban texting to their surrounding neighbor states, we do see collision claim frequencies going up after the ban. >> clearly not what the laws were intended to do. so what's going on? somethingcatching someone in the act may make it too hard to enforce. or perhaps drivers are getting dangerously good at hiding it. >> they may, in fact, be texting, which means they're putting the device lower in the cabin, which makes it even more difficult to see. >> transportation officials say that report is flawed. pointing out the bans are still new and require solid laws, good advertising, and police enforcement to build success. >> the institute study didn't take that into account. they pick states that don't

kristen dahlgren, nbc news, washington. >>> finally, an atm worth its weight in gold. >>> and the "sesame street" dress code. no, not a bikini top and daisy dukes, but the outfit did get katie perry kicked off the program. >>> evening temperatures in the 80s. daytime highs into the 90s. the details coming up. >>> go to nbc bay area.comoor i why some residents don't want the hamburger haven as a new neighbor. greed. the wealthiest corporations. billions in profits and bonuses. and the sacramento politicians just gave these same corporations a new billion dollar handout... paid for by cuts to education and public safety with no guarantee of creating one new job. but we can change this by voting yes on proposition 24. prop 24 repeals the billion dollar giveaway and protects our schools and communities. yes on prop 24. it's time to give us a break... not the big corporations. >>> in afghanistan, widespread allegations of fraud. officials releasing numbers of five of the nation's 34 provinces. they say the process is slow because there have been so many complaints. afghanistan officials say th

kristen dahlgren is live in venice, louisiana, with a good saturday morning to you. when are the crews expected to be finished with the permanent seal so it is a done deal? >> reporter: hey, good morning, alex. well, it is likely based on the timeline we have been given, at this point they would be waiting for it to cure, but bp has said it does expect later today to make the announcement that the well is permanently killed meaning it will never leak oil into the gulf of mexico again. we are talking about that relief well that they started drilling shortly after the disaster began. they drilled down about 2 1/2 miles beneath the floor of the gulf and intersected the well that had been leaking and they michigan to pump in the cement. that's the final bottom kill. after they permanent he seal this well, it is important to note there's a long recovery ahead for people in the area. i don't if you can hear it, but we have boats started up. crews are headed out on the water now to continue to look for oil. here in louisiana they were able to collect more than 25,000 gallon

kristen dahlgren is live with us in venice, louisiana. are we given any timeframe before we know if the well has been permanently sealed up? >> reporter: good morning, alex. we know that bp thinks it will be today. we could be just hours away from that word that everyone is waiting for that this well will never again leak into the gulf of mexico. it's an announcement that's 151 days into this disaster now. but here in these louisiana communities, it is still far from the finish line. 150 days after oil first flowed into the gulf, the flow of cement started. in what has been a months-long effort to finally seal the well from the bottom up. the cement was pumped in through the relief well. and at some point today officials are expected to declare success and a permanent end to the well that brought millions of barrel of oil and endless heartache to an entire region. but while the well that first exploded april 20th may soon be killed, many here say they have been dying a slow death for months. what was once a vibrant fishing community now g

. >> kristen dahlgren in venice, louisiana, thank you. >>> a powerful storm that rocked the new york city area last night has left at least one person dead. a woman was killed as a tree fell on to her car. winds up to 100 miles an hour knocked down trees, power lines and tore roofs off of buildings. at least 30,000 people were left without power. there were also lightning strikes around the statue of liberty, and a funnel cloud in brooklyn. a suspected tornado that has yet to be confirmed. >>> it was a horrific scene at johns hopkins hospital as gunfire erupted yesterday. police say a man, who was being briefed on the condition of his 84-year-old mother became overwhelmed by the news and then shot her doctor. the gunman, identified as paul warren partis, barricaded himself in her room for more than two hours. when officers entered, both partis and his mother were found shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide. fortunately, the wounded doctor is expected to survive. >>> a washington state woman who gained sympathy across the country after claiming a random stranger threw acid on he

kristen dahlgren, thanks so much. we'll check again. >>> well, to washington now and the president is working to fire up his base, a base that is largely drained of its excitement about politics according to recent polls. and a congressional black caucus foundation fundraiser last night, the president told the crowd the last election was a changing of the guard and now it's time to guard the change. >> i need everybody to go back to your neighborhoods, go back to your workplaces, go to churches and go to the barbershops and beauty shops and tell them, we've got more work to do. >> nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house for us. good sunday morning, mike. >> good morning, alex. >> this is pretty good. a changing of the guard and now time to guard the change. what else is the president saying? >> a political call to arms. it really is at least a call to political arms because the chips are down for democrats. we're 45 days from the november 2nd election, alex, and things are looking very grim. many experts now favorin

nbc's kristen dahlgren has the latest from north carolina's outer banks. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. well, there's been so much talk about where earl and its eye is going to track, and the bottom line this morning is it may not make that much difference because the hurricane-force winds extend out 90 miles from the center. tropical storm force winds out 200 miles from the center. so, along much of the coastline, things about to get much worse. as darkness fell on the carolina coast, earl strengthened, bringing with it powerful waves but also uncertainty. >> earl's a big unknown. if it stays out to sea, we probably would have been okay and gotten rain. >> reporter: do you board up? >> i haven't yet to this point, but this might be the first. >> reporter: but officials warn that the slightest change could bring a direct hit and that either way, hurricane or tropical storm-force winds are now less than a day away. and so, on parts of the outer banks, mandatory evacuations are under way and watches and warnings in effect from north carolina all the way to new england. a huge stretch of

and for more on that, we go to nbc's kristen dahlgren in venice, louisiana. good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, lynn. day 150 and that relief well they started drilling shortly after this all started has finally intersected with the well some 2 1/2 miles beneath the floor of the gulf. in a statement late last night, the incident commander said the two wells were now connected and that the next step is to pump mud and cement down into that well to permanently seal it off. obviously, good news for people in this area. really just one step in their recovery. oil here continues to wash ashore. this week, evidence of a massive fish kill here. thousands of dead fish. take a look at these pictures. almost looks like a gravel road there. scientists say it's not uncommon at this time of year and it was caused by lack of oxygen. people here continue to ask for proof that the oil and dispersent didn't play into that. tony hayward, who inflamed so many tempers here, defend bp's safety record this week as he testified in britain. he said there's no need to rethi

nbc's kristen dahlgren is live in venice, louisiana. with another good day to you, what are the details on this final test? are you hearing anything in terms of a time update for getting done and finally decided? >> reporter: yeah, hey, alex. we had hoped by now to be able to bring you that official announcement that this well was dead, that it would no longer ever leak into the gulf of mexico. but we're still awaiting any word from out at the well site. we do know that they had planned to do this last pressure test overnight. they had hoped to have it finished around midnight. and what that entails is they've cemented the bottom of the well, they put in 74 barrels of cement, they created this 1,000-foog plfoot plug, and thi test was exerting pressure on to the plug for a half-hour, steady pressure. and they needed to that plug holding. so now we're just waiting to make sure that they've done that test. and to hear the results of that test. we do expect that final announcement come from the national incident commander, admiral thad alle

kristen dahlgren, nbcnews. >>> aoung green par summit candidate from our area hit by a car over the weekend has died. maryland state police say natas natasha pedigrew died from her injues. she was riding her bike when an suv struck her. the driver told police she didn't realize she hit a person until she gotome and still found the bike lodged beneath the vehicle. at this point the driver has not been charged in the case. >>> in manassas, rginia, police are looking for a teenager they say stabbed a man outside a strip mall early this morning. an appraiser was taking pictures of the canterbury shopping center when two teens approached himp the teens asaulted and stabbed the man repeatedly before robbing him. nearby witnesses were able to scare the attackers off by blaring their horns. police arrested one of the suspects, a 15-year-old boy. he other suspect is still at large this afternoon, the victim is in stable condition? >>> nine americans wre killed in a helicopter crash in afghanistan today. the crash happened in southern afghanistan, in a region where nato forcesre ramping up pressure o

but as kristen dahlgren reports, the farm's owners were short on answers. >> reporter: it w a hearing that brought high emotion. disrupted by a protest against the entire egg industry. >> your wholeody head to toe is in agony. i was in fetal position for i don't know how long. >> reporter: while victims had plenty to say, theowner of one of the farms at the center of the salmonella outbreak refused to answer questions. >> i respectfully decline to answer the question. >> reporter: the investigation targets iowa's hillendale farms and wright county gs. these pictures are enough to make anyone sick. they claim salmonella was detected 426 times before this outbreak. >> it is blowing out of your buildings. you have cracks, dead mice, dead chickens, maggots. that stuff didn't just happen. >> the building is designed to have these manure pits. >> reporter: he claimed an ingredient sold to them by an outside supplier but they were apologetic for the outbreak that sickened as many as 1,600 people. >> i have prayed several tes each day for all of these people, for improved health. >> reporter:

kristen dahlgren has details. >> reporter: it wasn't an illegal drug that took timmy strain's life but a prescription painkiller. he was already taken prescription percocet after a buraccident when his girl's mother also gave him one of her pills for the pain. >> we took him to the hospital. a parent's worst nightmare. then timmy was de. >> reporter: so much like a gun amnesty program, the government is now asking -- >> if you have unneeded or expired medicaons, now is the time to get rid of them. >> reporter: unused or unwanted prescriptions can be dropped off at 3,400 sites nationwide saturday where they'll be disposed of, no questions asked. lastier a similar program in new jersey netted more than 3.5 million pill. prescription drugs, now the fast he was growing drug problem. with an estimated 7 million nonmedical users in 09. the d.ea is still going after dealers. this recent okay code own bust. >> we have kids in allhonesty, perceive prescription drugs as much safer than illegal drugs. >> reporter: but they're not just getting drug from dealers. and so saturday the focus will be a

kristen dahlgren has the latest. >> it was not an illegal drug that took this 18-year-old's life, but a prescription painkiller. his girlfriend's mother gave him one of her pills. >> we took him to the hospital. worst nightmare -- they said he was dead. >> much like a gun amnesty program, the government is asking -- >> if you have an needed or expired medication, now is the time to dispose of them. >> unwanted prescriptions can be dropped off at 3400 sites nationwide on saturday. it will be disposed of, no questions asked. it was a program in new jersey last year. it netted more than 3.5 million pills. prescription drugs are the fastest-growing drug problem with an estimated 7 million non- medical users in 2009. the dea is still going after dealers. this recent proxy cogon bust just outside of virginia school -- oxycodone bust happened just outside of the virginia school. they're not just getting drugs from dealers. saturday's focus will be a lot closer to home. >> it might be one of your child's friends coming into your house, asking to use the bathroom, rifling through your medicine

kristen dahlgren has detail. >> reporter: in a sterling, virginia hardware store, republican leaders unveil their newest tool. >> the new agenda embodies america's notion that we can simply tax, borrow, and spend our way to prsperity. >> reporter: their pledge to america t slash spending, repeal president obama's health care plan, vote weekly on spending plans and extend the bush tax cuts for everyone. >> all we're saying no tax cuts. that's the first thing first. let get america back into amode of growth. >> reporter: it is similar to 1994's contract with america. that handed night gingrich and republans a congressional takeover. this year 21-page promise doesn't include many details or any mention of afghanistan or social security and medicare. >> for reblicans who say they want to cut government spending, it a little ironic they didn't mention either of those with program. >> reporter: and this afternoon democrats push back against the pledge. >> their plan would take us back to the bush years, to a stagnant economyto staggering deficits. >> reporter: while former president clinto

. >> kristen dahlgren has the results of a study from the university of maryland. it shows those hours on the computer may actually have a positive effect on kids. >> reporter: if you've ever worried about the hours your little one spends doing this, a new udy says computer time, even playing game, may actually be productive. >> they're learning how to use it. they're learning to get information, answer questions and develop strategies. >> reporr: the study by the university of maryland looked at preteens. in many cases, link told hours at the computer with an increase in test scores. african-american boys saw the biggest jump with more access to home computers than ever before. >> it is really striking. >> reporter: their reading scores were up four points. girls' scores also increased and the study found white girl saw beer social interaction the more they played on the computer. the only group who didn't see improvement was white boys. th a slight decrease in test scores and increase in violent tendencies. >> as they get older, there is more concern about the mo

first kristen dahlgren drew the short straw and is in the thick of it this morning. getting a little break right now? >> a little bit of a break. seeing some of those bands come through. but we were pummelled overnight by the wind and the rain here. look at what is still going on. the waves just crashing for as far as we can see. really some angry seas here. we are expecting to see some beach erosion from this. that will likely be earl's biggest legacy as it heads up the coast from north carolina, is that beach erosion and really the high and dangerous waves. and riptides. officials out now in this area trying to see if there's other damage. so far reports of damage have been minimal. minimal power outages. that's good. the governor saying north carolina dodged the bullet with the center of earl staying off shore. but it has been a long morning here as earl now heads north. for more on where the storm is going to go as it heads towards the northeast, let's go to rob. >> is actually, as you mentioned, moving away from the outer banks of north carolina. you can see the

in washington, kristen dahlgren, news4. >> while both iowa farm tested positive for the salmonella strains that have made so many people sick, the fda is looking into theexact cause of the outbreak. >>> president obama was in northern virginia today. he went there to showcase the benefits of the health care act he signed into law six months ago. a discussion was held in the backyard of a resident's home in fall church. about 20 people were there. the president announce that had more provisions of the new health law kick in tomorrow. one of those provisions lets children stay on their parents' insurance until the kid turns 26. another one requires insurers to cover children with preexisting conditions. many the people at today's event describe how ty have personally benefited from the health care change. >>> even as the president was sending thousands of troops to afghanistan some time ago, he was determined to find a way out. that is just one of the disclosures in a new book about the white house, written by one of the nation's most prominent investigative journalists. >> repoer: an exit s

nbc's kristen dahlgren has that story. >> reporter: the latest study comes from sweden where researchers found women in their 40s who had mammograms also had a 26% lower risk of dyingrom breast cancer. those results published less than a year after the u.s. preventive services ta force issued recommendations suggesting women in their 40s did not need routine mammograms. and just a week after a nor rejan researchers concluded mammograms had only a modest benefit of mortality rates? what's a woman to do? even cancer researchers admit it can be confusing. >> i don't think we should make any drastic changes based on any e one study rig now. >> reporter: instead experts recommend talking with your doctor and practicing breast self-awareness, different than the monthly exams that were once recommended. >> it's not trying to diagnose every luch and bump in your breast because most women have fibrosis tick changes but we're looking for things that are changing, something getting bigger and not going away with menstrual periods. >> reporter: doctors say women can also findope in newer and better

. >> kristen dahlgren, thank you. >>> we have business headlines this afternoon now. in separate meetings today in houston and chicago, shareholders approved the company's $3.2 million merger. that clears the way for if creation of the world's largest airline. they expect to close the merger by october 1st. this is the last day of a two-day job fair for soon to be laid off workers at nasa's kennedy space center. about 9,000 workers will lose their jobs when the space shuttle program ends next year. nasa is trying to help them fine other jobs. >>> the recession is keeping inflation in check for now. the labor department says consumer prices edged up 3/10 of a percent in august. >>> so, if you are feeling poor these days, like me, you are not hay loan. the federal reserve says the net worth of americans shrank 2.7% in the second quarter of the year due mostly to the falling stock market. that translated to a loss of 1 $.5 trilli1 1 $1.5 billion. a big honor for prince william. he's now known as a flight lieutenant. his first tour will begin at an r.a.f. base will he'll

kristen dahlgren just back from a well-deserved vacation and is life in kill devils, north carolina. are people paying attention to the evacuation orders? >> reporter: well, it really depends. we're just learning this morning about new evacuation orders for visitors here along north carolina's outer banks. but as you can see there are still people out here checking things out this morning. but they are running out of time to get out of here and to get their last-minute preparations because earl expected to be at its worst here along the outer banks sometime overnight tonight into tomorrow morning. we have talked a lot about the track of this storm. as you said, a few degrees would make a difference. maximum sustained winds 145 miles per hour. so a direct hit could be devastating. but think about this -- either way those hurricane force winds extend out 90 miles from the center of the storm. tropical storms for winds extend out 200 miles. it's a huge area that will be feeling the effects of this storm. there are watches and warnings now in effect from north carolina all the way up to

we want to check in with kristen dahlgren this morning in kill devil hills where you can see that rain and wind coming down already. >> reporter: yeah, this is actually much better than it has been during the overnight hours. we were getting pummelled by the wind and rain. the center of earl did stay off the coast of north carolina, about 90 miles or so. so much better than yesterday when they were anticipating it could come within 30 miles or so. take a look. this will be earl's legacy. that ocean just pounding the beach here, expected to see beach erosion. this is what most of the east coast can expect now as earl does continue to head up to the north. looks like it is going to continue to stay off-shore. even with the center of the storm staying off-shore, this is a very big hurricane, still a cat 2. so it could still cause problems for the mid-atlantic states. then up into new england. here in north carolina, officials are getting out now trying to do damage assessment. so far there is just minimal damage, so that's good news. the governor saying she believes the date dodged a bull

kristen dahlgren is live for us in venice, louisiana. so another good morning. how is it going at this point? >> reporter: hey, good morning, alex. we're still waiting for any word to come from about 50 miles off the coast here where that operation is under way. the last we heard from bp was some time yesterday afternoon that they had started the cementing process. that started at about 1:30 local time. it was expected to take a few hours. then they needed to let that cement cure. after that they were going to do their pressure test. then at that point they would be able to declare this well killed, that it would never again leak any oil into the gulf of mexico. they did expect to make that announcement at some point today. so we are still waiting. this comes after a long summer of waiting for this bottom kill. the relief well took several months to saúÑ1!xúan"jdrill. dr beneath the floor of the gulf. they met up with that original well and then began this cementing process. so kind of an exclamation point on top of this static kill that they already did that

kristen, good morning. >>> good morning, lynn. things have really been picking up along the outer banks. take a look. can you see the wind and rain continuing to wsh apounding. rain was sideways as mountains of surf piled up and took their chances riding out the storm could only hope they made the right decision. while the center of earl has so far stayed offshore, the glancing blow was enough to send many packing earlier in the day. cars and roads filled with hundreds threading off the thin strip of land off carolina's coast. as officials ordered mandatory evacuations for all visitors. >> they have asked us to leave. so we're going to have to cut our vacation short this year. >> to the north of new england, many were making that same decision. ferries filled with vacationers headed out or emergency vehicles headed onto vulnerable islands as last-minute preparations kicked into high gear. >> once it starts, you could sit here and watch and the boats are bouncing and breaking loose. you can't get at them. >> reporter: knowing that