own. right now, following two big stories, first, a fire in the city of baltimore leave six dead, some of the victims are children. the other big ory, our weather. get used to it. there is no relief in sight. "news4 midday" begins now. good morning, welcome to "news4 midday," i am barra harrison. tuesday, december 14th, 2010. we begin with breaking news out of baltimore, six people,

including children have died after a fire broke out on the 2300 block of homewood avenue. fire fighters said they started to attack the fire from inside, but had toback out, after wind gusts intensified the fire. it spread to three other nearby homes, firefighters discovered the bodies of six people inside. the victims' names have not been released. the cause of the fire is under investigation. >> some of you woke up to a bit of a surprise on your front lawn this morning, a coating of snow. as many studen experienced their first school delay, many hoped to have that delay today. they didn't have that luck. >> some of the things to consider in deciding whether or not to close a school. are the sidewalks passable.

can the children walk to school? it turned slushy, parents had mixed reviewed. >> as the snow fell early this morning, it seemed almost certain that conditions could be too much for school to start on time. >> mornlgs do we have a delay? >> there would be no late start and no school cancellation. conditions were slushy and slick, but passable. sidewalks with a light covering of snow. students walked without issues. some parents would have liked a later start. >> reporter: do you think they should have delayed school today? >> yes, maybe two hours. i think it is amazing they can get it togetr as cold as it is. something to say about the county. >> school opened on time. a good thing. >> four wheel drive that helps. >> reporter: this morning,

officials asked parents to help out by letting them know if they came across any icy spots in the roadway. parents continue to do that, because these kids need to make it home this evening. in montgomery county. tracy wilkens, news 4. slick surfaces for walkers. ddo the had to deal with some spots. >> you experienced some of those slippe spots yourself? >> yes, i put my suv into four wheel drive for the first time. around in the live truck, we did slip at the bottom of a hill. a light dusting of snow. not major snow, enough to cause oblems out there. it wasn't everywhere. it was hit or miss, depending on where you were. it was a bit tough getting into

work. >> reporter: a slippery surprise for many. a dusting ofnow froze to the asphalt, making things slick in northwest washington. >> a little slippery. if you drive relatively slow, they are fine. >> have you slid at all? >> a bit. >> d-do the had to call crews to treat the roads. >> slower than usual, but not bad. >> there is no such fix for the cold wlmpt a wicked windchill made walking the dog i comfortable this morning. at least she is moving around. these folks were standing in the cold. some of them for hours. all to ch in on a promotion at city sports. >> my toes and hands. >> reporter: the store did pass out hand warmers to try to keep everyone warm, it was a long,

cold wait. >> i ran to the bathroom to get hot water running on the fingers. hopefully, it will be all right. >> reporter: the good news, the roads are in pretty good condition at this point. however, we still have very, ve cold tuemperatures, that will st with us for a while. >> at least you get your ears covered? >> yes, my silly ear muffs. >> how much the winds that are so evil out there today. >> it is a cold, painful wind. if you are not layered up, it can quickly lead to frostbite exposture. this is februaryn december

weather. it is only waed up since predawn, due to the cold winds, giving us passing snowshowers. not picking up any precipitation, no snow now it is only in the mid to low 20s, it is the coldest weather we ever get in winter time, right now, it is 25 degrees at initi airport, out in virginia, 2 degrees. and the windchill feels like 7 degrees. there, a 12 degree windchill in washington. the latest wind gusts, near 40 miles an hour. that brutal wind will be with us, tapping the cold air to the west. west virginia, the temperatures in the single digits right now. it has not warmed up there. they could get up to ten inches of snow, western maryland, parts

of the highlan of west virginia. very windy, and a high only 30 grees this afternoon. windsusting to 40 miles an hour. how much longer will it last? what will happen on the weend? we will look at the next several days, coming up. passing on a school clong for you, closing at 11:30, because of a water issue at the elementary school there. >> we will take a look at the beltway, silver springs, moving away, outer loop of university boulevard, out ahead of this cram ashot, inspecting the bridge in the right lane, the back up begins before georgia avenue on the outer rim, heading from silver springs toward new

hampshire, toward college park. in the other direction, everybody is open. >> springfield, not too bad to get through that on the george washington parkway, traffic moving nicely. barb remarks back to you. >> we will talk to you again shortly. >> one of the united states' most admired diplomats has died. richa richard holbrooke has died. his career started in 1962, and he served under every president since john f. kennedy. he negotiated the peace accords. he collapsed and went under 20 hours of surgery for a torn aort a. family and friends are gathering to say good bye to a

local im execute designer. her body was found in the hotel room. her boyfriend has been charge wide her murder. she graduate friday marrymount university in arlington. visitation from 11:00 to 1:00, and three to 5:00 at the money king funeral home in vienna. good news for wikileaks founder, julian assange. and the tax packa could be sent to the house today. we are waiting to hear from you as part of our 12 days of giving series. if you a able to help an organization so others might eat. we will explain what the group does. stay with us.

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we continue our 12 days of giving series today. on "ne4 midday," and news 4 at 4:00, we will introduce you to a group that needs volunteers and donations. so others might eat. >> this is a dmunt-based program in the district, for the extremely poor in the city. volunteersre taking your

calls. joining us now, tracy munson, with so others might eat. this organization has been around for 40 yearse have known of your work for 40 years, tell us about your holistic approach. what makes it e, unique. >> started as a small soup kitchen. over the years we added services thatre needed in the community. now, in addition to serving a thousand meals, we provide medical car dental care, and services people need to rebuild their lives, addiction treatment, mental health, job training, and affordable hoing. >> 34 programs. >> throughout the city. >> tell us about your staff. are they all volunteers? >> we have 16,000 volunteers that serve over the course of thyear. we have over 200 staff members,

many of those staff members are foer clients who have since regained independence and now working for us. >> you estimated there are approximately 6500 homeless residents in the city now. >> yes. >> how difficult is it being home nlts city today, compared to what it w like years ago? >> well, i think it is extremely difficult for people today. because of the economy. the district is facing cutbacks for others like ours. >> where does most of your funding come from? >> 60% of ourunding comes from private donations, from individual doors who send in a check each year and have been doing so for a long time. >> you need individuals to call you now? >> yes, we absolutely do. >> we are going to talk more

about the wonderfulork are you doing. you canelp this organization help the homeless and the poor, by giving a call. >> jul jan assange was granted bail, brought to a london court house quickly surrounded by paparazzi. he was arrested after his website released thousands of secret documents. a laer for assange called him honorable and courageous. he is wanted in sweden where he is wanted for sex cris against two women. his mother said her son is committed to publishing more secret government information. >> president barack obama

doesn the judge ruled it is unconstitutional to mandate all need to have health insurance. the law is set to start in 2013. the senate convined an hour ago, after yesterday's test vote. lawmakers voted 83-15 in favor of extending aax break for all americans for the next two years. present barack obama praised both sides. now, he is hoping the house finds a way to compromise. >> i have been talking with several members of that body. i recogze that folks on both sides are unhappy with certain

parts of the package. i understa those concerns. i share some of them. that is the nature of compromise. >> if the senate passes the legislation, and the house makes a major change, the bill must go back to the senate for more debate and another vote. it is so cold out there, what is the mperature with the windchill factored in? >> feels like 10 degrees outside. >> this is so wrong. feels like february, doesn't it? >> this is the coldest we ever get in washington in the coldest part of winter. we are just into mid december, and looking at our sky now, we do have clouds racing through. right now, te sky is filled back in with clouds. they may produce more light snow, perhaps as we get into the next few hour some of that predawn this

morning. 25 at ronald reagan internationa incredibly dry, you need the skin lotion. gusting to 35 miles an hour. lookinat the radar right now, we do not have any snow showing up right now. the clouds coming over may pruce passing flurries over the next several hours. the moisture coming off the great lakes. look at the lows this morning. it bottomed out in the upper teens, near 20. now, the curnt temperatures, hasn't warmed up much at all. prince george's county, fairfax, and herndon, virginia, 22 degree we have the windchills wn into the single digits. prince george'county, the winds are blowing, and the windchills there are just in the upper single digits.

look at the wind gsts, 40 miles an hour. winchester. lo udoun county. prince george's county. we are not alone. taps cold air west and north of us. much of western virginia, in the single digits. the coldest weather of the season so far. over the last 12 hours,we have seen this flow from theeep area of low pressure. you can see the streaks off the great lakes. snowshowers passing through. moisture off the bay, delaware bay snows taking place as well. this is really unusual for this time of year. look how cold it is, atlanta, 24 degrees. minneapolis, minnesota, at zero. below zero in the upper midwest. huge, cold air mass.

now, forward over the next 48 hours. that will settle the winds down, and south andest of that a developing area of low pressure. high pressure weakens, there may be snow, fredricks burg to richmond and south. to the rest of the tuesday, windchill, in the single digits, around 10 degrees. maybe a passing flurrio snowshower, windy, cold, into the teens tomorrow. sunrise, tomorrow, wind and cold on wednesday. we will staybelow freezing, all the way into thursday morning. clouds here, gain, maybe light snow, 50 miles south of washington. friday, partly cloudy, a bit milder. cold into the weekend there.

is a indication that we uld get snow late saturday into sunday. >> now, we will want to check on the traffic. steve? >> y canee the cones, and the symbol for an accident. southbound 95 in college park. an accident just reported by the inner loop of the beltway. watch out for that activity as you get down toward college park fr points north. over to the belay. better on the inner loop. traffic toward university boulevard. the bridge inspection, blking the right lane. and in springfield, southbound on i-95, two separate work zones, blocking the right lane close to each other.

not too bad. frugal finds today, gift ideas keeping u within your budget. today, dr. burgess runs down the precautions you should take. and hollywood was up early to hear who was in the running for guilden globe. here is a look at what is hot on nbcwashington.com. 3q

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now the yoplait you love in a new four pack. try it today. today, we continue our week long series to help those still searching for the perfect holiday gift. today, our gift ideas come from wake up little suzy, in the district show and tell, and welcome. when i calledou on the phone, i was trying to find places people maybe didn't know about. i have passed your store, but i have never seen it. you have come with a few of your favorites. >> we have erything from really fun things like this to handmade objects, thing for kids and grown ups, fun things for people of all ages.

>> and good prices? >> that's right. >> your four favorites, what do you like best? >> right now, well, this yea one thing i like this is a dog toy, it is called star bark, it looks like coffee. >> it is cute. >> that is $10.95. >> for a dog. >> yes. >> we had a story yesterday, 85% of dog owners will have something for their dog. >> absolutely. it is unbelievable. >> this is a very good thing, $5.95, a head massager. i will demonstrate it. you put it on your head. >> it is unique. >> i may get it for tom. >> this is a cool office gift. $5.95. people need sweaters and stuff all the time. things we haven't seen. >> this is a sock monkey for a

wine bottle f you are going to a party, people love sock monkeys, it slips on top of the bottle. >> people love sock monkeys. >> what do you do with it afterwards? >> that is when you become creativityive. or leave it out like that, if you ar a sock monkey is $9.95. >> the hats are made in peru. i am allerge toik wool it is one of many character that is we have. >> that is $34. >> very cute. they come with all different kinds? >> we have 10 or 12 different images. >> the last of your favorites? >> the i-plunge.

plug into your smart phone, if you want to watch a video or movie, you don't have to use your hands t stands up. connecticut avenue, across from the up town movie theater. >> shower caps. >> this is fantastic. how much is that? >> $7.50. >> interesting ideas, and i want to come take a look. >> i will give you a tour. >> thank you very muc >> little suzys. >> coming up on "ews4 midday," we will have the latest on the forecast and a look at other areas hard hit. a missing virginia girl is found days after her mother's murder.

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right now, on "news4 midday" fire fighters areinvestigating a fire that killed three adults and three children. the fire fighters originally attacked the fire from the inside, high winds forced them to retreat. the names of the victims have not been released. >> the sun meltedmany icy roads. a few slick roads. the same storm causing the cold here is causing problems on the east coast. john yang reports. >> reporter: it is a winter whiteout. covering roads as fast as tey could be clear.

in indiana. >> they told us to try to keep it that way. >> reporter: drivers able to move found that the hard part was stopping. >> this is lake michigan. waves, 25eet high, wind gusts to 35 miles an hour. great lake to florida are in the deep freeze. >> all chicagoans should avoid making unnecessary trips outside. >> it is part of the massive winter storm tat stranded travellers at chicago's o'hare airport, and damaged the metrodome stadium. a woman's van was spotted in an icing pond. taken to the hospital in series

condition. a man returned from a trip, and found that his house was surrounded in ice. >> to georgia. >> fun and cold. >> all theay to florida. in the midwest, some try to look. >> there is a lot to get rough. >> tom grew up in indiana. >> did you get many school days off? >> we did. we didn't have snow blowers, we had to use shovels that was100 yards long. it candangerous.

>> a brief light coats, and a live view. 300 feet. we have clouds can cruising that may produce a passing snowshower. n not -- it feels like single digits. these are the latest wind gusts, up to 40 miles an hour, frostbite danger, don't expose yourselfo the cold.

and we will have a 48-hour period of below freezing temperatures, the light snow. clouds here. friday, partly cloudy, into the weekend, partly cloudy a preliminary outlook to we will keep you posted. >> out to the roads. did the weather affect traffic? >> it wasn't as bad as we thought it a report of an accident on the outer loop. then t as you kroefr into virginia over to the belt way,

marry marry -- no delays into both workzones. >> a woman and child are recovering after being hit in rockville, before 7:30, last night it happened. no word if the deliver the have

charge. >> a woman spotted the girl at a grocery store in san francisco, and told the store employee to call police. >> it was mainly her. the hair on my arms stood up. she -- we never took our eyes ofeach other. i couldn't. i the situation didn't look right it. may be the girl from virginia. >> he is expected in court today. >> montgomery county is hoping to build the first hospital in years. they want to build it in clarks burg off 270.

trinity health has proposed building it in germantown. a meanwhile, the food and dr drus -- dg administration -- >> the sill virfillings has been usedfor woon 50 years in the u.s. and elsewear. it started as a soup kitchen. now, joining me is jackie chandler, a form er client.

>> what is your job? >> donation aid. >> what does a donate aid do nnchlths what we do, food, clothing or furniture, we go out and retrieve those items and bring it back to our. >> it has always been a safety net for me. when i first game to the united states, after work, a young man by the name of seth asked me, there is an opening, why don't you check it out. i was hired the same day.

>> what has it done for you? >> love on display. every department is to fig homelessness. >> tell me about the special project? >> thanksgiving, i made a thanksgivi baskets for all our clients, in addition, they got a turkey, too. i am going to be making christmas baskets for our clients. >> it is tough when the weather is like this, to be out in the cold, isn't it? >> yes, some want to bring the elements, that is dangerous. what we call a transitional

home. >> they need dollars, and your time, donated. if you can tp give us a call. ill ahead, we will chromosometo see if positive [ fema announcer ] pillsbury holiday cookies. in just three ingredients.

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a security breach at the golden arches may have your personal information at risk. mcdonalds said that a subcontractor mishandled a database with birthdays, and no financial information was involved. they are investigating the security breach. holiday shopping off to a solid start. checking in with courtney, who joins us live with that and the busine headlines.

>> the first hours of trade, we have been trading two hours, .s, the dow is up 17 points. energy prices are spiking. inflation remains subduded. asian markets are mixed. europe, flat with some gain. retail sales numbers released today for the month of november. up 0.if 8%. best buy did their earnings, disappointing the and they are

recalling 200011 minivans, no injuries have been reported. honda checki crc's due to a possible oil leak. >> travellers get three days for $5 or a week for $9, to decide whether or not to buy the ticket. you have an expensive ticket, thatay be a deal. >> 24% of americans between 18

and 50re tattooed of the precautions, and what to do if you are th will be their holiday gift to themselves. what should they know. >> chose a reputible place. the stumts must be -- >> do tattoos increase cancer risk? >> they don't, but they could

increase scars, d the red dyes, most are black, which contain iron oie. >> in some of the sports fields, they are with tattoos. i don't know what raised the interest, because a friend has one. >> bodguard has been around for many, many years. this is what is being down, t the -- if you are going do tt go with dark black. if you ever describe design to get it removed, black is easier

to remove. other than the color tattoos with green, yellow and. >> actually, the best tattoo to reve is someone who decided on get one and remorseful, that is -- the harder to remove than one wh just got one.

>> her tattoos are black. you can use cosmet ic coverage. with the airlines, their public, is no visible tattoo. get it in an area not easily seen. if you are tying to get a job at a law firm, and tinker bell is on your back -- >> happy holidays. a look at the golden globes. 3q

copd makes it hard for me to breathe. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now, i can join the fun and games with my grandchildren. great news! for people with copd including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is diffent from most other copd medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilat, working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. i had fun today, grandpa. you and me both. if copd is still making it hard to breathe,

ask your doctor if including advair will help improve yo lung function for better breathing. get your first full prescription free and save on refills. >> the hollywood award season kicked off with the nominations for the golden globes, one movie in particular, with a chance to win big. >> reporter: a film about a

battle to orcome a speech impediment. "the kings speech" best actor for colin firth, who plays the reluctant king. >> 127 hours," the "blue valentine" and "the fighter." with firth gosling's co-star. nicole kidman for "rabbit hole." and natalie portman for "black swan." it brought johnny depp, jolie is

nominated, as was depp. the awards will be handed out january 16th. the tv canandaiguas, nbc's "30 rok." the competition. you can see the "glolden globes." on january 16th. >> we are suffering through the coldest air of the season. it could be days before we get out of the day.

>> a what a high tech tool is doing to try to keep people safe. >> keeping energy costs low, but still keeping warm. >> it is cold. temperatures are still in the mid 20s, cloudy business. some of the clouds may produce a passing snowshower. right now, 25 inwashington. windchills, only in the single digits. to near ten degrees, with the latest wind gusting to 40 miles an hour. gusts to near 50.

wind adsory until tonight. drawing in the cold. all the way down here. it will stay cold through the end of the week. it looks like over the weekend, preliminary outlook. >> we could go sit in a warm movie theater. >> we invite you [ female announcer ] safeway talks gift ideas.

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