breaking news from redskins park. jim zorn is fired early this morning after returning from san diego. >> the investigation into gilbert arenas having a gun in the verizon center will take a new twist today. and bitter cold. the windchill is expected to hover around 10 degrees today. "news 4 midday" begins right now. well, good morning to you and welcome to "news 4 midday." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang for barbara harrison for monday, january 4th, 2010. >> we begin with breaking news out of redskins park, where jim zorn has been fired as the head well, "avatar" has now gone skins' head coach.

>> the team fired him early this where only four other movies are morning, hours after the end to gone before. after just 17 days in the a very tough season. dan hellie is live at redskins' theaters, this sci-fi epic has park in ashburn with the latest made more than $1 billion now. worldwide. dan, good morning. it was number one again this >> reporter: eun, this was weekend for the third week in a absolutely expected. jim zorn and the redskins have row. another milestone was reached as lost 18 of their last 24 games. well. director james cameron became the way this went down, jim zorn the only filmmaker ever to have and the team arrived at dulles two movies top $1 billion. airport early in the morning. he was picked up by a car, like his first, "titanic," made $1.8 he always is. bruce allen, the general manager billion, worldwide. of the redskins and another team in recent years, college official in the car, they students have embraced online chatted about football, chatted education, sometimes taking about the sson. entire courses over the once he arrived at redskins internet. now this long-distance learning park, jim zorn was informed he is spreading to high schools. would be relieved of his duties nbc's ron allen reports on how as the redskins head coach with one of the hottest trends in one year remaining on his education is helping some students get to the next level. contract. still no word exactly what would be happening to the staff. there's going to be a press conference today with redskins' general manager, bruce allen. they did release a statement, >> reporter: revere high in allen did, saying the status quo massachusetts has just about just not acceptable. everything for its students. the word is, right now, that >> good afternoon, everybody. tomorrow is spirit day. mike shanahan is going to be, or wear your school colors. likely to be, the next head >> hi. >> reporter: however, senior

lucy slals, who's determined to coach. the redskins have been negotiating with the former be a chemical engineer, wanted broncos' head coach for months something more. now. they are working on a deal that >> there weren really electives here that i wanted to will likely make him the highest take that were specific for what i want to do later in life. paid head coach in the nfl. >> reporter: so for each day for shanahan, the minute that he one period, lucy leaves revere returns to the league, he was the head coach of the broncos high's traditional classrooms to for 14 seasons before being let take a course called chemicals go and replaced there by young of civilization. the teacher is in vermont. josh maniel, a former students log in from several assistant with the patriots. states. the class is completely online. >> i get to do it when i want shanahan, 14 seasons with the denver broncos. and where i want. once he comes back, he will be >> reporter: cyberschool or virtual learning is one of the the second most decorated head hottest trends in education. coach in the league. more than 2 million pre-k to bill belichick, the only coach 12th graders are involved and who has won more super bowls. that number is expected to grow shanahan did very well with the to 10 million within the next broncos when he had john elway. four years. >> we're looking forward to the however, after elway left, mike day where we don't talk about shanahan won exactly one playoff online classes versus face to game. if he were to be hired here by face classes. the redskins, he would likely be when we just think about them as courses students get to select the primary decision maker, have from. >> reporter: here at revere a role very similar to what joe high, online courses are gibbs had when he was here. limited, used only to sulement the curriculum. so i would say that it's safe to school administrators used the expect, in the next day or two, program as something as an experiment that seem to help

some students, but there may be assuming there is not a snag in the negotiations, shanahan could a potential downside as well. be here and could be announced >> 100% online learning would be as the next redskins' head coach. difficult t at an adolescent guys? >> so they're having a news conference at 12:30 today. you do not expect that they will age. >> there's something more than to the academic day than just announce the new coach at that the books. learning how to talk, time? >> reporter: as far as we know communicate, socialize. right now, a deal has not been rorter: do you think you could do all your schooling signed. they're still hammering out the online? >> i like having the balance, details. i do not expect mike shanahan to because i do want the independent study, doing things be here for that 12:25 press when i want, but you need that conference, no, joe. rigor in the classroom. >> reporter: lucy just learned >> all right. she won a four-year scholarship dan hellie at redskins park. dan, thank you. >> big day. thanks very much. today's firing does not come to bucknail university, a top engineering school, her first as much of a surprise for many choice. and she believes those cyberclasses are a big reason redskins families, some of whom for her success. have been calling for zorn's ron alle nbc news, revere. termination since early in the season. it is the beginning of a new kimberly suiters spoke to some fans about how they're taking year for traders on wall street. the news and she joins us live let's check in with cnbc's from redskins park. courtney reagan now. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, eun she joins us live with more on and joe. that and the rest of the day's black monday came awfully early business headlines. for former redskins' head coach, >> good morning to you both, where things are looking way up jim zorn, here at redskins park. on the first trading day of 2010. and really, the news doesn't come as a shock to anyone. the dow is up almost 162 points. really starting the year on the

right foot for the bulls. monday morning at redskins park, angst markets also posted some modest gains overnight. players trickled into the europe, positive too. building for a team meeting, it's going to be a big week knowing it won't be led by their ahead for economic data reports former head coach, jim zo, on manufacturing home sales and friday's jobs report. that's the big one, as usual, whose hours earlier said he had not been told he was out of a job just yet. and this time it could show the >> i have had no indication of that. first rise in payrolls in more and i would not even comment on that. >> reporter: but in the than a year. post-game interviews, the stocks did close out 2009 on a down note, at least last players were already talking past tense. >> i kind of feel bad for zorn. thursday, despite news that weekly jobless claims fell to he's a good dude, a real, good their lowest level in 17 months. christian dude and i've always but we've really turned around liked him. you know what i'm saying? today. in 2009 overall, the dow rose i've always liked him. >> this league, you don't get 19%. the the nasdaq rose a whopping any time to kind of prove yourself. 44% last year. let's see if we can do it again. you've got to win and win now. that's the way the nfl is. only a few teams will stick by fed chairman ben bernanke says lax regulation was more to their coaches if they have blame for the housing market bubble and the financial crisis losing seasons. >> it is the end of a, you know, than low interest rates. critics blame the fed for an era here. i wish him the best, wherever he feeding the speculative housing goes, and him and his family. boom by holding rates too low after the 2001 recession, but >> reporter: after the loss to san diego sunday night, the bernanke says extra-low rates skins touched down in virginia were needed to jump start the economy and job market after 9/11 and the accounting scandals around 2:00 a.m. some time between then and 4:00 and worldcom both really rocked a.m., a source told news 4's wall street.

and americans spent more money lindsay zarniac, zorn was fired. going to the movies last year than watching dvds at home. we turned to the fans. it's the first time it's happened since 2002. >> i am sorry that he got fired, hollywood earned a record $10.6 but i think it was time. billion last year, and that's and it just was meant to be. thanks to blockbusters like >> i think he didn't really get "avatar," which has just become a good chance to kind of be the only the fifth movie to top $1 coach, because the players, we billion worldwide. really didn't develop as a team and they did it pretty quickly. i guess if i want to see it, i yet. better get in line. >> i don't think so, to be back to you both in d.c. honest with you. >> i'm with you, courtney. he had three years and we didn't got to go see that one. see any improvement. >> thanks very much, courtney. >> if they keep losing, then i have a great day. >> thank you, you too. guess he deserves it. >> reporter: you don't feel badly for him? >> thanks. >> no. >> reporter: why not? 11:48 right now. >> because i want the redskins coming up, we'll have some advice on the fashions to keep to win. i want them to be good. and the ones to toss. plus, meteorologist tom >> reporter: jennifer costello kierein will be back with another check on your forecast. stay with us. was the anti-skins family, but surprisingly, she's not gloating. >>nfortunately, i think he's probably maybe been in the wrong place during this time, you know, with -- i think it has more to do with upper management. >> i like football, but i wouldn'tike to be a coach. >> reporter: you know, even a 12-year-old knows how thankless a head coaching job can be in

the not-for-long business. and i talked to one of the guys headed out of here this morning off-camera, i said, good day, bad day? and he said, you know wh, it's a new day. i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. eun, back to you. >> kimberly, thank you. stay right here with news 4 for continuing coverage of this and other major changes in the redskins' front office. we were first to report jim zorn's firing and we'll bring you live coverage of bruce allen's press conference at 5:30 this morning. jim zorn's firing is not only big local sports story today. wizard's standard gilbert arenas says he plans to meet today with police about his decision to bring guns into team's locker room at the verizon center. he says he used, "bad judgment" when he brought tun loaded weapons into the arena. arenas has not commented on the report that he and javaris crittenton drew guns on each

other in the locker room after an argument. and the story affecting all of us this morning is the bitter cold. let's get our first forecast from tom kierein, he's in news storm 4. >> you sound bitter? >> just a little, just a little. >> well, we have yet to reach the freezing mark. it's been subfreezing since yesterday afternoon, all the way overnight, and now it's just 29 in washington. upper 20s in prince george's, arlington, fairfax, montgomery counties, and all around the region, just below freezing. it's right near the freezing mark right now at quantico. they're at 32. elsewhere, we're under 30 degrees. these are the windchills they're down in the teens to near 10 degrees in a few locations. windchill in washington, now 17. that's with a wind gust of 29 miles per hour. the winds have increased a little bit from earlier this morning. we've had gusts 25 to 30 miles per hour. out of the mountains, temperatures only in the teens right now. their windchills are down to near zero. and the snow showers that we have seen crossing the

appalachians and move into west virginia have begano reach parts of the shenandoah valley and the panhandle of west virginia, a few passing snow showers there. the rest of the day, partly sunny, maybe a flurry or passing snow shower. highs only reaching the freezing mark. and this cold weather is going to be around for the rest of the week and into next weekend. details coming up in a few minutes, joe. good morning and welcome >> all right, tom, thanks very much. as tom mentioned, it is very back. it's not just perception, it cold out there, and that was not does really cost more to be a welcome news for many people who woman. women pay in excess of 50% more had to return to wk and to school today. news 4's megan mcgrath talked than men for items like shaving with some of those who were out cream and by wash. there braving the cold. that's according to the january issue of consumer reports. >> reporter: well, it's an some companies say it costs absolutely frigid one out here more, for example, to make today. we're here at the branch avenue shaving cream bottles rust resistant for women to use in metro station. you can see old my shoulder the shower. but most of the time, the items here, all the folks at the bus stops who were bundled up. you don't have to be outside are exactly the same, they just very long today before that cold cost more. just saks up and grabs you. is the new year and maybe one of your resolutions is to there were lots of folks out and get organized. about this morning. a big trouble spot is the it was a pretty rude awakening. closet. is it filled with favorites from >> reporter: waiting and freezing at the bus stop. computers who dressed in layers the decade past? jennifer barger joins us now held their own.

those who didn't were very cold. with some advice on what to keep >> it's so cold, i can't stand and what to trash. the beginning of the year is a the cold. good time to purge and get rid it's too cold. >> i got on a thermal, a fleece, of all that stuff you haven't worn in a while. what are the key points in terms another shirt, and i've got of what to keep and what to trash? shorts under these pants and >> there is that old rule, if you haven't worn it in two or three years, it's time to get i've got the boats on. rid of it. and also, if something doesn't it's no joke. >> reporter: are you toasty or fit. if you are, you know, if you're a six 6 and dreaming of being a pretty cold? >> i'm pretty good. >> reporter: an arctic blast has size 2, it's probably not going to happen. and having things in your closet hit our area. from when you were a smaller factor in the windchill and it size is just going to make you felt like 10 degrees in some feel bad. areas. >> should you just go through anything wet froze solid, including lanes of outbound things one by one? >> go through things one by one and maybe even have a friend birch at branchville road. cars had to veer to the right to come over, a friend whose taste miss a big patch of ice. you trust, and maybe she or he >> it is for about, i would say, can tell you, hey, you should oh, maybe a quarter of a mile. get rid of those bell bottom >> reporter: that's kind of dangerous. >> it is. jeans from 1978, they're not it is. if they haven't closed it off, it would have been very dangerous. "in" anymore. >> and looking ahead to the >> reporter: days like these are best spent indoors, but that's fashion trends, what are some of not an option for many folks. the things that are good items to keep that might last you it's tough going of construction sites around the area. through the next couple of seasons? at roy's car wash in clinton,

>> i think that menswear kenny mccoy is working with continues to be big, i think that boyfriend blazer is going water. the cuffs on his pants are to last you. and i think things that are a literally frozen. little bit softer than we've >> it's really cold. as you can see, my pants are seen in the last few seasons. i think anything that's soft and frozen and it's bad. a little feminine is a good thing to hold on to. >> reporter: you're trying to >> anything you should get rid avoid that water at all costs? >> oh, yeah, yeah. of for sure? but most of the time, you can't. >> it's funny, one of these >> reporter: and this kind of things in this article is that cold can also be very dangerous. it's okay to keep a few things prolonged exposure to for either sentimental purposes temperatures like this can cause hypothermia. or just because they're really back to you all in the studio. special and wonderful. and sometimes you'll be able to >> megan mcgrath reporting out wear them again, particularly if there. and a reminder, a risk of it's an accessory like a hypothermia, if you're exposed beautiful bag can last for to the cold for too long, be decades. and sometimes they're just sure to bundle up, and as soon honestly the vintage you'll on as you can, try to get back to for your children. indoors. >> let's check in with jerry >> any other trends in terms of edwards to get an update on the fashion, looking ahead, that you midday traffic. can talk about? >> i think that fashion for jerry, good morning. >> good morning. spring will be a lot more fun another casualty of the weather, than we've seen it, maybe, for potholes. and we've had a couple. fall. i think that like the economy, fortunately, one that was really causing some issues earlier in fashion is picking up for the the day has been repaired. it was the outer loop of the new season. so i think look for color and beltway over near eisenhower look for prints. and as soon as it's not so darn avenue. at one point, traffic was backed cold outside, then we can start up towards springfield. they filled it and for the time wearing some of these fun trenches and softly ruffled being, traffic moving look

blouses. >> and with the economy, it's nicely from springfield all the been tough for people. way to the wilson bridge. good news there. elsewhere, headed for downtown, they want to hang on to those clothes, right? what hush hour we had this >> i think they do, but i really morning, already pretty much think, you have to watch out. over and done with. because if you walk into your closet and everything looks like 395 northbound across the 14th street bridge, moving along very nicely, as is the southbound 1992, then i think you're going side. to put it on and you're not both ways, lanes are open. going to feel good about joe, eun, back to you. yourself. >> thanks very much, jerry. so i think you really have to -- you have to clean out your well, new today, five local closet and just hold on to a few men held in pakistan for favorites. allegedly plotting terrorist >> is this something you should do once a year, twice a year? attacks say they did nothing >> i usually do it twice a year, wrong. they appeared in court today because i think if you're nearly a month after they were swapping your clothes out, you arrested in eastern pakistan. know -- do it twice a year. the men deny that they have ties and really be brutal and honest. if you're putting something back with al qaeda or other militant into the cedar closet for the groups. their attorney says the men were second year in a row, then planning to travel to that's a sign it's time to ditch afghanistan to help fellow muslims who he claims are being victimized by western forces. it. >> that's right. and you can always donate those the court ordered the men to items. >> you can always -- you can prison for 14 days to give donate. and one of the things this poli time to prepare their article talks about is if you case. have a couple really beautiful a roadside bomb has claimed pieces and you'll never wear them again, keep them and the lives of four u.s. service they'll be tomorrow's vintage. maybe not for you, but for members in southern afghanistan. somebody else. these are the first american >> you can keep it for your combat deaths of the year in friend or -- >> keep it for your young that country. one service member has die from friend. >> jennifer barger, thanks so

noncombat causes. much for joining us. a british soldier on foot patrol time to get organized. was with also killed yesterday >> happy new year. in southern afghanistan. washington's largest >> joe, you probably don't have a thing you don't wear in your nightclub, love, remains shut closet. probably organized and ready to down after a new year's day stabbing there. go. >> oh, no. i could spend the week shoveling d.c. police chief kathy lanier things out. i'm sure. let's take a look now at some of the stories we are ordered the club closed for 96 following on new 4 for this hours after the stabbing and two other violent incidents in the afternoon. jim handly joins us live in the studio with a preview of things club. she says club owners are to come. >> this is first on new year's. responsible for providing security. i have three microphones on. the closure will give the police i don't know what stereo is. and the alcoholic beverage regulation administration time we're working on several news to review complaints about the stories on this first monday of the year. club and check for any violations. a hearing to decide when the first at 4, keeping that new club can be reopened will be year's resolution of shedding held today. those extra pounds. same-sex marriage opponents we'll tell you about a simple are taking another step today formula for weight loss to help towards banning gay marriage in the district. you reach your goal this year. the hearing has been scheduled then tonight at 5:00, it's time in a lawsuit they filed. to recycle that christmas tree. opponents want a referendum on we'll show you how to go green the ballot that would allow when you get rid of that district residents to vote on evergreen. those stories and all the day's whether same-sex marriages news and your frigid forecast when we start with you right should be allow ordinary banned. here, first at 4:00. they filed the suit after the eun and joe, back to you for d.c. board of elections and now. >> thanks, jim, very much. >> thanks, jim. let's get a final check on the

ethics first turned down their forecast. meteorologist tom kierein is in right to vote. th storm center with the frigid d.c. mayor fenty signed the bill forecast. and it will become law assuming >> how cold is it? cold enough for the potomac the congress does not object. it's 28 degrees. river to freeze over. it's frozen over for the first airline passengers headed to the u.s. are facing new security time this year. right now, 29 degrees in measures. coming up, what visible changes washington. still below freezing all around can be seen at airports in the region. mid-20s around t blue ridge europe right now. and shenandoah valley. plus, security issues at and in southern maryland, right near the bay, northern next of newark airport. what caused some major delays virginia, it's near the freezing overnight. and the world's tallest mark. for the most part, most of the building. region, still sub-freezing. the official opening taking these are the latest windchills. place right now. they're in the mid-teens, feels like mid-teens with that wind whipping in out of the west-northwest. these are the latest wind gusts. we've had gusts near 30 miles an hour. and they're going to stay 25 to near 30 miles per hour gusts all the way into the noon hours. then it should diminish a bit overnight, but still a bit blustery. out in the mountains, in the mid-teens. a few passing snow showers there. eastern shore, now in the upper 20s. and we have some steadier sno falling up in western pennsylvania. it's coming down off of lake erie as the cold air passes over

the open waters of lake erie, brings in that moisture and turns it into snow. it is snowing in parts of west virginia now. a few flurries off to our west. might ha a passing flurry around the metro areaator on today. otherwise, partly sunny with a blustery northwest wind. highs briefly touching the low 30s. then, quickly, right back down below freezing after sunset. and by 9:00, in the mid-20s. then just near 20 by dawn tomorrow. should be partly cloudy through the evening tomorrow. and a blustery wind as well on tuesday, gusting to around 25 miles an hour. so with highs reaching the mid-30s. on thursday, around 20 degrees, the winds still blustery. highs mid-30s. increasing clouds on thursday. late thursday night into friday, maybe a little light snow and blustery and cold for next weekend again, maybe not above freezing saturday and sunday. we'll see you tomorrow morning, eun and joe. >> thanks very much, tom. see you then. >> thank you, tom. you won't find the finish to a college basketball game much more exciting than this one. the florida gators beat the north carolina state on this miraculous shot inovertime.

unbelievable. florida actually trailed by two points when chandler parson just eved the ball from about 70 feet away. look at this again. the gators, amazingly, celebrated nc state players and fans are probably still asking, at hpened? what an amazing shot. you don't see that often in college. sometimes in little kids game, people just fling things and they go in. >> all right. we'll see you later. have a great day. >> bye.

right now president obama and his family are making their way back to the white house. the first family, who has been vacationing in hawaii, are due back later this hour. the failed terror attack on christmas day refocused much of the president's trip from r&r on the island of oahu to a series of briefings and press conferences. that failed attack is also causing changes at airports. travelers who fly into the united states face the possibility of more aggressive security screenings. the tsa announced the new policy that went into effect at midnight. passengers flying in from 14 nations, mostly in the middle east and africa, will be patted down and have their luggage hand searched. former c and nsa chief, michael hayden, says it's time for ordinary americans to make some tough choices. >> what's the balance the american people want between their privacy and their security? >> so far today, there aren't many visible security changes at airports in europe.

british and swiss officials are set to be still studying the new rules. well, the u.s. and british embassies in yemen will remain closed for another day after threats of an al qaeda attack. the embassies were locked up yesterday after the new intelligence surfaced. white house officials are calling the threats, quote, active and ongoing. security has been beefed up around the embas and employees have all been evacuated. a u.s. security tm is expected to meet today to discuss when the american embassy will reopen. security lines out at newark international airport are moving one again, one day after a security breach that shut everything down for nearly six hours. authorities say that a man walked through a checkpoint exit into the secure side of a terminal last night and then disappeared into the crowd. flights were grounded and hundreds of passengers had to be rescreened. that man was not found, but the tsa says the terminal was searched and nothing dangerous was discovered. >> i stepped outside for just a few minutes, tom, and the wind was whipping and it's so cold

out there. painful to be outside. >> even now. and i was watching some of the buffalo/colts game yesterday. there were guys in the stands with no shirts on. i guess they're drinking some anti-freeze or something, maybe. >> don't want to think about it. >> wow. well, here, you do need to layer up to protect yourself, especially the extremities, because frostbite can quickly set in, just with a little exposure out there, we have our windchills down into the teens this morning. and as we take a look at the sky this morning going back over the last several hours, we can put the sky into motion for you and show you how it moves from about oh, an hour and a half ago, up until just a few minutes ago, we can see the cloud cover slowly moving off to the east from the west. we're looking toward virginia here in this vantage point. there's american university in the foreground. you can see the cloud cover sort of breaks up a little bit. we do get a little bit of a blue sky that's coming through. so a little sunshine is trying to make it through from time to time. there's the live picture now,

still just a few breaks in the clouds at this hour. and the radar, not showing any precipitation here. however, we do have some areas of precipitation, now showing up just to our west and north. look at the ice you can see on the potomac river right now. first time the potomac has iced over. right now it's 29 in washington where the average snow for january is 6.2 inches. we haven't had any snow so far this january and we are seeing a few flurries out here in the panhandle of west virginia, northern parts of the shenandoah valley and out in the mountains. they had one little snow shower go through charlottesville. it had got down to 23 this morning in washington. just near 20 degrees elsewhere. the windchills were single digits this morning. now with temperatures in the upper 20s to near 30 degrees. the winds are gusting, oh, around 25 to 30 miles an hour. so the windchills are just down into the teens right now. that's what it feels like when you step outside. these are the latest gusts. just had a gust at reagan

national at 29 miles an hour. elsewhere, gusts are around 20 to 25. gusts on the eastern shore around 30. only out in the mid-teens around the mountains. we're below freezing all around our region. we have a few clouds coming in on those upper level northwest winds that are tapping moisture off of lake erie, spreading lake-eect snows all the way into central pennsylvania, parts of west virginia, out of eastern ohio. here's the wider view. we have this persistent wind machine. it's a combination of low pressure over the canadian maritimes with high pressure in the midwest. both of these systems kind of like fighting with each other and creating this tremendous pressure gradient that -- where you see these lines of equal pressure close together. that's when you get strong winds. that's what's happening. it's windy from new england all the way back into kentucky. and as a result, we're tapping cold air from the upper midwest where, this morning, it was 35 below zero up in frostbite falls, minnesota, up in northern parts of minnesota. it was down to 30 below zero there. and we're tapping some of that cold air and it's going to be in place here for the next several

days. so get used to it. keep the warmest winter gear you have handy. we'll have highs today only briefly getting a little above freezing, and maybe a few flurries passing through the air. overnight tonight, should be partly cloudy, down into the 20s, mid-20s b midnight and just near 20 degrees by dawn tomorrow. then on the day on tuesday, should be partly cloudy, afternoon highs in the mid-30s, maybe a tad warmer. and still a bit blustery too. we could have afternoon gusts 20 to 25 tomorrow as well as into wednesday. highs on wednesday, the mid-30s. and mid-30s again on thursday. looks like late thursday night now, maybe predawn on friday, we might get a few flurries and then quickly ending by friday noontime. if it does happen, doesn't look like a major storm at all. and co again next weekend. this is not giving it up. it's only going to be up near 30 for saturday and sunday's highs. morning lows near 20. so, yes, indeed, it is settling in the pit of winter. >> seriously. thank you. >> i was going to say, there's a season around here that thinks

it's winter. let's go to jerry edwards and see what the traffic looks like. >> good morning. we'll head over to new york avenue at this hour. that long-term construction project that we've been talking about, just getting under way now. inbound and outbound new york avenue near florida avenue, find the left lane closed during the middle of the day, they'll pull those construction barrels out of there come rush hour. right now, a little bit of a backup coming through the area. elsewhere, the trip to theed wo woodrow wilson bridge. look out for the ice, outbound on route 5 near earnshaw drive. authorities are telling us that left lane will be closed off for much of the day. accident northbound around 355 at chestnut street in gaithersbu gaithersburg. joe, eun, back to you. 11:22 is your time now, 28 degrees. still ahead, a top u.s. snowboarder is fighting for his life after suffering a severe brain injury. we'll have the latest. plus,et ready for some metro delays over the next

month. we'll tell you when and where. and acai berry, what are the health benefits. >> but first, here's what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

olympic hopeful kevin pierce is in critical condition in a

utah hospital after suffering a severe brain injury. it happened in a training accident thursday as he prepared for next week's olympic qualifying events. according to a spokeswoman, the 22-year-old had been completing a twisting double backflip when he caught his toeside edge and landed on his head. she said he was wearing a helmet at the time. pierce remains in the intensive care unit at the university of utah hospital. typically you have to get into an airplane or helicopter to be a half mile off the ground, but in one city, all you have to do now is h on an elevator. the burj dubai tower opens today in dubai. it's now the world's tallest building. the tower is at least 160 stories high, cost $1.5 billion to build. these are live pictures from dubai right now. it is being called a vertical city of apartments and offices. i ao includes four swimming pools, a private library, and a hotel designed by giorgio armani. the opening ceremonies are taking place right now.

once again, these are live pictures of that opening ceremony from dubai. >> very fancy. >> it is fancy, to say the least, indeed. well, coming up in the next half hour of "news 4 midday," we'll have more on our top story. jim zorn fired as head coach of the washington redskins. plus, a month after he disappeared, a new push by family and friends to find a missing utah mother. and some of the severe weather conditions facing parts of the country this morning. >> tom kierein is back with more on our extreme cold. stay with us.

right now on "news 4 midday," the season is over for the washington redins and so is the career of jim zorn as the skins' head coach. the team fired him early this morning, hours after their season-ending loss to the san diego chargers. the redskins went 4-12 this season and 12-20 in the two years under jim zorn. the redskins will make a formal statement later today, but many fans are already talking about zorn's firing. but for many, this could not come soon enough. as for the owner, dan snyder, he released a statement just minutes ago. it reads in part, no one in the organization is satisfied with our record over the last two years and i'm sure that jim would concur with that statement. it has been painful for him too. i certainly accept responsibility for mistakes that i have made. i am hopeful that our fans will affect our commitment and pledge to deliver a franchise that can

compete in the nfc east every season. and stay right here with news 4 for continuing coverage of this and other major changes in the redskins' front office. we were the first to report zorn's firing and we will report live coverage of bruce allen's press conference at 12:30 this afternoon. we're not alone in dealing with this frigid weather. the new year is bringing a new round of winter weather, ice, snow, and bone-chilling temperatures are making their mark from the midwest to the southeast. nbc's francis coe reports. >> reporter: winter's grip just won't let up. >> my earrings are freezing my ears off. >> reporter: frigid temperatures froze the detroit river, where a boat got stuck, stranng three teens. visibility was virtually nil in grand rapids, michigan. locals battled the snow on all sides, from the residents to city snowplowers to the independent contractors. >> busy since 5:00, 4:30 this morning. >> reporter: lake-effect snow

hammered south bend, indiana, with whiteout conditions that made maneuvering tricky for drivers and pedestrians. >> sort of slippery out here. i'm telling people to be cautious. >> reporter: meantime, philly's big chill forced many into a big bundle. in parts of new england. snow settled into a stubborn layer. >> i bushed the driveway with a broom the first time and now i'm going over it again. if you keep up with it, it's not so bad. >> reporter: but in maine, 8 inches of fresh powder has fears flying high. >> it's like a winter wonderland. >> reporter: frances coe, nbc news. >> no snow, but it is cold. >> too cold. let's go to tom kierein. >> these temperatures are way below the averages for this time of year. our average high for this time of year is 43. we're probably getting within maybe ten degrees of that on the low side. it's now 29 in washington. probably only going to make it near freezing here over the next couple of hours. elsewhere, in the mid- to upper 20s, around 30 degrees around

the bay. windchills are in the teens now, mid-teen windchills with winds that have been gusting to up around 30 miles per hour. we had a gust here in washington to 29 miles an hour. so that is a cutting cold wind that continues tolow out of the northwest. out of the mountains, temperatures only in the mid-teens now. eastern shore, in the upper 20s. and they're getting a few snow showers out of the mountains and we've had a few flurries flying through the air, parts of the shenandoah valley and near charlottesville. elsewhere, just partly sunny today. breezy, temperatures only briefly touching the freezing mark by perhaps the next couple of hours. and the northwest winds still gusting to around 25. might have a few flurries later on this afternoon, early this evening. then by late evening, down into the mid-20s, then near 20 degrees by dawn tomorrow. and then during the day on tuesday, partly cloudy, afternoon highs only reaching the low to mid-s with still a bit of a blustery wind. and that's going to continue, perhaps, into wednesday as well. but not as certainly as crazy as it was yesterday with those gusts at 45 miles an hour yesterday afternoon. well, as we get into thursday,

winds will greatly diminish. we'll have increasing clouds with highs mid-30s. late thursday night, predawn friday, and perhaps into midday friday, a few flurries, maybe a passing snow shower, and that should be followed by another blast of arctic air into the weekend. that's the way it looks right now. eun and joe? >> thank you, tom. >> thanks very much. let's go to some really cool pictures from dubai. look at that. >> wow. >> these are firerks celebrating the opens of the world's tallest building, the burj dubai. those are some fairly extraordinary fireworks. >> this building is a half-mile tall, 160 floors. it has a hotel designed by geor giorgio armani, four swimming pools, you name it. >> that is a very tall building. beautiful building, too. but, dubai, of course, is suffering someerious economic problems. it's going to be interesting to see how well this build does financially, this new building, in such a troubled country.

>> and it cost like $1.6 billion, i think, to build. something like $9 million per floor. >> pretty amazing fireworks. let's go to jerry and take a look at the traffic. can you beat that? >> no. and i ain't going to tr kind of anticlimatic after that. let's head out and see how we're doing. i-270 northbound and southbound, no worries whatsoever between the beltway and frederick. travel lanes are open and just hang on tight. we're still dealing with some of those gusty winds and possibly a couple of spots where the ice may be a little bit of an issue for you. elsewhere along 95 northbound and southbound bellway, can't find any road work. must be too doggone cold to go out there and do any construction at this hour. right now we'reoving along well with travel lanes open. >> thanks very much, jerry. a man died after his car overturned in rock creek. a passerby spotted the car yesterday morning and called police. the driver was sll inside. one wheel of 22-year-old joshua coolman's car was sticking out

of the frozen creek. fire officials say the car was submerged in about five or six feet of water just south of pea street on rock creek parkway. >> an unwitnessed event, as far as we know. so there's no telling how long this person was ithe water. of course, the longer you're in, the more potential for a fatal outcome. but, again, we don't have any time lines there. >> investigators are now trying to figure out why the vehicle did leave the road and whether another car was involved. u.s. park police want anyone who saw the accident to give them a call. well, a prince george's county family is relieved this morning after two missing sisters are now safely back home. 14-year-old roxane owen and 11-year-old deja owen disappeared last tuesday in suitland. the family and police confirmed this morning that the two are back home. no other details are being released. friends and family of a missing utah mother have launched a social media blitz in hopes of finding her. susan powell disappeared exactly four weeks ago today. police are now offering a

$100,000 reward for information on her whereabouts. starting today, for three days, her friends are using facebook, twitter, and youtube to spread pictures and information about her over the internet. >> i would like them to download fliers, take them around where they live, just to keep their eyes open and really be familiar with susan's face and her story so if they see anything or remember something unusual maybe they saw a couple of weeks ago, they can call the police and we can find her. >> police say there are no major leads in this case, but they consider her husband, josh powell, a person of interest. he has taken their two sons to an unknown location away from the media and investigators. if you're driving to prince george's county today, keep a close eye on your speed. 50 speed cameras are now up near school zones throughout the county. drivers who get caught can expect a $40 ticket. you will not, however, get any points on your license. and you'll need to bring some extra change with you this morning if you take the dulles toll rd to work. tolls shot up a quarter this

year. you'll now have to pay $1 at the main plaza, 75 cents at the ramp. the increase will help pay for metro's extension out to dulles airport. the new rates went into effect on new year's day. for many people, though, this is the first work day that they'll have to pay these new tolls. an alert for metro riders. tracker work is expected to cause some big delays this month. the agency is telling some riders to add up to 30 minutes for their trip. for the month of january, metro will be performing work every monday night through thursday. they'll be on the blue line between stadium armory and addison road from 9:30 until midnight. today, annise parker has been sworn in as the mayor of houston. she is the first openly gay person to hold that office. parker took part in a private ceremony at city hall on saturday, two days before today's public inauguration. the charter in the nation's fourth largest city required a

mayoral transfer of power to take place on saturday. the nfl is searching for safer helmets and considering off-season rule changes to provide more protection from concussions. congress is also getting involved. the house judiciary committee has scheduled a hearing at detroit's wayne state school of medicine. an nfl spokesman says most players are still wearing helmets that were designed back in the '90s and that the league wants more research done. however, one researcher who recently conducted crash dummy tests on five manufacturers' helmets for the nfl worries about how the data is being used. he's concerned the study will be construed by high schools or youth leagues as recommending a particular kind of helmet. did you make a new year's resolution to get healthy? there's a little berry that's piqued the interest of many and created a whole lot of buzz. sharon lawson has the lowdown on acai berry supplements. >> reporter: this coveted rain forest berry grows in the eastern amazon. it's an antioxidant rich fruit

that's apparently all the rave with celebrities desperate to shed pounds fast, but does it work? >> you'll get some benefits. >> reporter: the acai berry is chock-full of anteioxidants and essential fatties a sits. >> it will give you lots of energy. >> reporter: he adds that natural form of energy will help stimulate your rate to burn rat a little better. sales of acai supplements from liquids, pills, and even powders have increased. but for weight loss, he says you'll need some help. a lot of exercise and -- >> you need to have a combination of food. you need to have a dietary change in lifestyle. >> reporter: gutierrez says health and true lifestyle starts in the produce aisle. >> you want to choose adequate amount of greens. you want to have a good variety of certain fruits. >> reporter: and while acai has numerous health benefits, gutierrez cautions, when you watch those stars strut their stuff, remember,

magic potion for weight loss. >> we're looking for the magic bullet, that famous pill that will take you 10 or 20 pounds. it's not going to happen. >> that's sharon lawson reporting. other studies have also shown that acai berries can also help prevent cancer and heart disease. 29 degrees out there. still ahead on "news 4 midday," stocks ended 2009 lower. and coming up, we'll check on how they are beginning this new year. and the movie "avatar" is breaking records. we'll explain.