good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. monday, october 10, 2011. despite their permit expiring today, protesters are planning a state park right where they are. there are would separate protest groups now, one in mcpherson square and larger group camped out at freedom plaza. that's where news4's megan mcgrath is now. does it look like they are there to stay there for a while? >> reporter: just take a look at

freedom plaza. you can see we have all kinds of tents, all kinds of booths. people milling around. showing really no signs of leaving here. today is the deadline. supposed to be packing up and leaving freedom plaza. but many say they are not going do that. they are committed to the cause and say they are going to stay here even if that means being arrested. >> see what it was. >> reporter: james came to d.c. from indiana. if police attempt to move him from freedom plaza, he says they will have to take him in handcuffs. >> i'm not leaving. i will go to jail. i will get out, and i will come back. there's people here that will pay my bail and i will be right back. >> reporter: he is not alone. many of the demonstrators are prepared to be arrested. they have written the phone number of the group's legal counsel on their arms so they can place their phone call from lockup even if their belong rings taken away from them. >> we decided there are a good number of us who were willing to

take that risk and others who supported that and the reason that we are taking this stand and staying here in the plaza is that what's going on in the country right now is unacceptable. it is important for us to be out in public space to be visible about that. >> reporter: the group's permit to protest expired sunday night. they have today to pack up and leave. if they don't, the u.s. park police have the authority to arrest them. while many here plan to take it all the way, some say that they will support the cause in other ways and avoid confrontation with police. >> some people are trying to be bold in making a statement by being incredibly defiant but i believe it is more prudent to maintain cohesion with the group and not be so defiant and we are going to attempt, my wife and i, we are going to attempt to follow as many orders as possible while still making as big of a statement as possible. >> reporter: what happens here today? that remains to be seen. we are not seeing much of a

police presence. just the same sort of thing we have seen for the last several days. no escalation in any of that. and certainly no police have been ordering anybody out of freedom plaza. should mention that over on the other side on pennsylvania avenue, the last day of taste of d.c. is under way. we are seeing two groups kind of starting to merge together here. some are here for the 'fessty ral a -- festival and protesters. some taking interest in the protests and the information and literature here. will there be any arrests? we will have to wait and see. it is very early in the day. we are just going to have to wait and see how it plays out. >> megan, thank you. in new york city, where it is all -- this all started, day 24 of the occupy wall street movement. the protests are against corporate greed there. they demand a change in the way government works. they formed their own volunteer cleaning crews. they have volunteered to clean the public restrooms there. the group also reportedly

contemplating how to manage the protests as the unseasonably warm weather gives way to fall and winter. another protest is turning heads in downtown d.c. members of peta are dressed up like monkeys outside the washington convention center. this is a protest against the army. news4's tracee wilkins explains why. >> reporter: at first glance you see it is like any other convention at the convention center. folks are carrying their bags and badges and making their way in. but on the way in, the passing a little something unusual. they were silent, masked and have signs. >> we are here to urge the military and in particular the army to stop poisoning monkeys. >> reporter: army video posted on the website shows what peta describes as the monkeys being injected with a drug in order to re-create the effects of a nerve agent attack. the demonstration provided as part of a training exercise. according to peta army labs

around the world use sophisticated human simulators to use the experiment. the only labs still using live monkeys is in the aberdeen proving glound maryland. >> it is this very crude show and the electioner size where they inject the monkey with an overdose and watch them have seizures and convulse and retch and then they give them anecdote. this is something if they think it is very important to watch, even though no other military think it is important, they can videotape it once. >> reporter: today some members of peta took their protests outside of the convention center in downtown d.c. the association of the united states army is holding its annual meeting this week and thousands of army officials, supporters and military personnel are gathering. peta's work to save the monkeys has already garnered some military sympathy. >> we have the former commander of the naval medical center in portsmouth, virginias, we have people very high up, former military, people that came onboard to that have come to us

and said how can we help stop this crude laboratory. >> reporter: we spoke with the spokesperson of the convention that said he had no comment on peta being out here and protesting today. he said that the army fights to defend the freedom of and if this is what they choose to do they have every right. in northwest, i'm tracee wilkins, news4. new today, two more americans have been honored with a nobel prize. thomas sergeant and christopher sims won the nobel prize for economics. the royal swedish economy of sciences recognizings the men for research how economic growth and inflation are affected by pollties with testimony rarin creases and increases for tax cuts t cuts. they did their research in the '70s and '80s. the economics prize is the last nobel prize to be announced this year. turning to the weather. another warm afternoon ahead. tom kierein joins us with the forecast. hey, tom. >> why. one more day.

enjoy. for many of you, you have the day off. congratulations. as we have had another wonderful morning under way. we have had our temperatures continue to climb. there's been quite a bit of fog out in the mountains and as far east as parts of the blue ridge and shenandoah valley but that's dissipating now and we have just high clouds coming over. right now 67 at reagan national. it is now into the low 70s. much of southern maryland. northern neck and the eastern shore. and farther northwest, 50s to 60s. but that fog continuing to burn off. the view from space showing over the last 12 hours, these clouds cruising up from the south coming from an area of low pressure and it is not tropical low pressure sitting over florida now. that will be changing our weather as we get into tomorrow. but for the rest of the afternoon, enjoy. wonderful mild and dry afternoon with sunshine through high clouds as temperatures climb to the 70s to near 80 for a high over the next couple of hours. light southeasterly breeze.

look at tonight, the changes on the way important the rest of the week. as well as a look at the weekend. that will be in just a couple of minutes. barbara? >> thank you, tom. hundreds of families in virginia are still recovering from the torrential rains of tropical storm lee and now the state is asking for federal help. governor mcdonald request a disaster declaration to receive funding from fema to help the recovery efforts. more 00 holmes and business necessary the state were destroyed and about 500 people were displaced from their holmes in prince william county alone. more than 100 of them lived in the holly acres community where more than 60 mobile holmes were destroyed by flooding. autopsy results should help montgomery county police with a murder-suicide investigation. a relative found two bodies in an apartment on west bard avenue in bethesda. a family member of martin o'toole hadn't heard from the 38 year old in a few days and went to check on him and discovered him along with 35-year-old honk

trang tracy bru. she lived in silver spring. the detectives say they found a letter and two guns in o'toole's apartment but have not yet released details of the note. police in culpeper, virginia, are looking for answers after the town's first murder in five years. patricia adams was shot and killed in on willis lane saturday afternoon. two men were injured in the shooting. no word on their conditions. police believe that one of the men is the gunman in this case and they are not looking for another suspect. a decade after letters containing anthrax killed five people and sickened 17 others, a group of scientists is still questioning who was responsible. that according to "the new york times." one week after the 911 attacks two handwritten letters containing anthrax were sent to tom brokaw and two others sent october 9, two u.s. senators. three scientists written a new pain their will be published in an upcoming bio on defense journal. they claim the suspect army bio

defense expert, bruce i don't have answer, had help in obtains the anthrax. they say the evidence in the case someone with more of a manufacturing background had to be involved. ivans killed himself in 2008 by overdosing on tylenol. if you plan using metro today for the holiday, you want to give yourself extra time, five stations are closed for a major repair project that should be finishing up today. shaw, u street, columbia street stations, yellow and green lines closed. shuttle buses available between mt. vernon square and georgia avenue stations. the stations will reopen in time for the morning rush tomorrow, we are told. and on the orange line the east falls church and west falls church stations are closed today. buses will operate between those two stations as well. both stations will reopponent tomorrow morning. and today is your last day to take part in one of our most popular street festivals. the taste of d.c., which is making a return after an

eight-year hiatus, teaches more than 60 restaurants offering their best dish essay long with more than 80 vineyards and brewers. all proceeds go to great local charities. including d.c. central kitchen and bread for the city and the american red cross. taste of d.c. runs from 10:00 this morning until 6:00 this evening. our time now is 11:11. deadly clash necessary egypt. the worst violence since the uprising of ousted hosni mubarak in february. we will look at what sparked the new rioting. hank williams jr. wants the last word. what he says in a new song about being taken off monday night football.

at least a 25 people are dead and hundreds more injured in riots sparked by christians in egypt who are protesting an attack on one of their churches. as jim mass did a repor-- macedt is getting uglier. >> reporter: protesting a recent spate of attacks on churches in southern egypt. but then more protesters outside of the state tv building joined in and krugs, muslim tensions soon snapped. battle lines quickly formed between police and those angry the slow pace of change and that turned to chaos. armed men described as thugs beat protesters, christians and

muslims fought back burning military vehicles and attacking each other. the violence spreading to tahrir square. at least one armored vehicle plow flood a crowd sending man -- mangled bodies flying. what started as clash between christians and muslims morphed into an explosion of anger. today that government blamed the riots on those that want to see egypt torn apart. i call on the egyptian people, muslims and christians, men and women, young and old to unite against the foul conspiracy. >> that was nbc's jim m kra eda reporting. the next potential outburst could take place outside cairo cathedral where funerals are being held for those that died in the riots. japan's recoverings today after a 5.5 earthquake hit there

this morning. the quake hit the northeastern region, same location that was devastated by a quake and tsunami seven months ago. the japan meteorological agency says there are no reports of damage or injuries and tsunami is not expected to officials of tepco say there are no new problems at that time fukushima nuclear plant which was damaged by the quake. we turn to decision 2012 fow hampshire. one of the topics discussed most likely will be religion as over the weekend, a texas pastor makes an controversial comment aimed admit romney and his faith. nbc's tracie potts explains. >> reporter: the dallas pastor that said mitt romney is part after cult is defending his comments about mormons. >> they had their own, joseph smith, their own religious book outside of the bible, book of

mormon. that makes them a theological ult cult by definition. >> reporter: he also said mormons are not christians and it is a false religion. >> we don't have a test for people when they go into the white house. we do believe in tolerance and in liberty for all americans. >> it is not going to have us boost this economy and you know that's the number one priority. >> reporter: he calls eight ridiculous side show. >> i have no idea why people are wasting and spending so much on this issue. >> reporter: rick santorum told fox romney is -- >> consistent in the values i share and the things i want to see happen to this country and that's what he should be judged on. >> reporter: he said sunday voters are smart enough to separate his beliefs from the candidate he endorses. as for romney some think questions about his faith will come up again. >> i don't think he can get the nomination without a confrontation on this issue. >> reporter: mitt romney didn't address this directly but in response to another speaker over the weekend who spoke out

against gays and muslims, romney said this type of poisonous language and those are his words don't help with the cause. >> president obama says sends his jobs act to the senate this week for a vote. it can help create millions of jobs. republicans counter that it is merely recycled programs that didn't work the first first time. even if the jobs act does pass the senate it faces almost certain failure within the house. today president obama will visit wounded service members in montgomery county. scheduled to leave the white house in an hour to head to the new walter reed national military medical center in bethesda. this is the president's first visit since the facility finished six years of renovations. the bethesda location took over operations for the old walter reed hospital in d.c. back in august. today's columbus day. the national park service

commemorating the holiday with the annual wreath laying at the columbus statue in front of union station. columbus day became a national holiday back in 1971. and as a reminder the post office is closed today. no mail will be delivered. all federal and state government build rings closed. also in d.c., there will be no trash or recycling collections today. the d.c. public library is also closed today. d.c. department of public works is suspending enforcement of parking meters. and the dmv will be closed in maryland, virginia, and the district. tom is here to tell us what kind of day we will have out there for this holiday. not quite as nice as i was yesterday. >> the potomac is open for kayaking and -- >> are you going to take that in today? >> i did yesterday. it was gorgeous. the tow path is open for biking and hiking. it is a terrific day that's under way. and one more day of warmer than average temperatures as we get into the afternoon. we will be flirting with 80 degrees. right now, though, it is still

generally in the 60s. here is a live picture from the city camera. showing the potomac river which is finally -- where all the rain we had a couple of weeks ago is down to reasonable and safe levels and there is capitol hill in the distance. right now reagan national is at 67. we have high clouds drifting over and we have -- east-northeasterly wind. 5 to 10 miles per hour. and the temperatures elsewhere have hit the low 70s. much of southern maryland, central virginia, to the northern neck. and as well as on much of the eastern shore. west and north, just generally in the low 60s in frederick county, maryland, washington county, western maryland, fifth, few spaces there. someplace has fog around and dissipating as did the shenandoah valley earlier this morning. and they are in the low 60s there but it is well into the 70s now. look at easton. 77. they had more sun in southern maryland, northern neck, eastern shore this morning than we have had here. we will likely get more sun as

we get into the afternoon. we should easily climb into the 07s. we look over the last 12 hours the flow from the south bringing in these high clouds. and that's coming from an area of low pressure that's now spinning over florida and bringing rain into the carolinas and there are moderate rain in southern -- south carolina. it will head to washington by late in the day tomorrow. as we go forward here over the next 12 hours, just a few high clouds from time to time. and into the afternoon and into the evening. we will have quite a bit of cloudiness overnight tonight and during the day on tuesday. i don't think we will have any rain arriving perhaps until tuesday evening is the way it looks now. so between now and then, expect dry weather and a beautiful afternoon coming up. we will have just a few high clouds coming through. mild afternoon. it will stay dry. we will have highs reaching the 70s to 80 degrees in many locations. then overnight tonight we will have still these high clouds coming through. nearly full moon rise at 5:40 and then the sunset will be an

hour after that. low 70s early evening and dropping into the upper 60s by midnight and n that light southeasterly breeze. then by dawn tomorrow, we should be near 60 degrees. during the day tuesday, cloudy. and small chance of an afternoon shower and cooler tomorrow, too. highs reaching the low 70s. a bit milder as we get into wednesday. also as that system approaches us, increased chance and likelihood of rain on wednesday. p passing showers. they may be moderate at times. and that may continue into wednesday evening and then on thursday, still cloudy. another area of low pressure coming in from the midwest. passing just to our north thursday. and close enough, though, to give us perhaps a few passing showers thursday, too. another fairly mild day into the mid 70s. average high is 70. then just in time for the end of the week and the weekend, we should have both of those systems out of here and high pressure coming in and that should bring us sunshine back on friday.

lingering morning shower friday. otherwise increasing sunshine. friday's high near 70. over the weekend looking delightful with sunshine back saturday and again sunday. sunday morning, chilly, 40s. afternoon high, 60s. sunday, morning 50 and afternoon mid 70 zblz we don't want to get into another rut with the rain. it is now 11:23. still ahead, junk mail. a waste of paper or important to the economy? paul mccartney is officially off the market. we will have his wedding details for you. first a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. ♪

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paul mccartney is officially off the market, in case you were worried about that. he married nancy shavelle in a civil ceremony at the town howl in london yesterday. they were showered with flower petals after they tied the knot. shavelle wore an above-the-knee gown. this is mccartney's third marriage and shavelle's second.

he may be thousands of miles from home but prince harry still knows where to find a party. the 27-year-old royal kicked back with 20 friends at a rooftop bar in san diego. this is video of his arrival in california thursday. he's here for military training. the prince will be in the states for two months for what's described as rigorous training. part of it will take place in california and the rest will be in arizona. harry is reportedly trying to squeeze in a trip to las vegas during a break. it is now 11:27. coming up in the next half hour, new questions in the case after missing missouri baby. neighbors say investigators are asking about a local handyman. plus, hank williams jr. says he's moving on from monday night football. he will tell you about his new song. tom kierein says enjoy the next couple of days, rain is on the way. stay with us.

it is 11:30. here is a look at what's going on now. at least 25 people are dead and hundreds more wounded as christians have been rioting against military police. they began protesting last week after a church was allegedly attacked by muslim radicals. the country's cabinet is calling an emergency meeting to try to stop the riots. and today permit for occupy

d.c. protests expires. many of the demonstrators say they are not leaving any time soon. many are preparing to be arrested while others say they will still support the cause but avoid confrontation with police. no let up the desperate search for 10-month-old lisa irwin. police spoke with her parents once again this weekend and investigators scoured the family's home for more clues. peter alexander has the latest. >> reporter: one week later and still no answers in the case of baby lisa irwin. sunday night, a candlelight vigil for the 10-month-old called pumpkin pie. at the irwin home this weekend investigators tried to re-create how an abductor may have gotten inside it is a parents have suggested. crawling through a window over and over. recording the entire thing. sunday investigators also went door to door here and asking about a local handyman who hasn't been seen since before

lisa disappeared. police haven't declared him or anyone else a suspect but the detective's questions have neighbors speculating. >> thinking that somebody that works next door may have had something to do with it, that played with your kids and seen your kids, has talked to them, you know. they know him. you know. it is scary. >> meanwhile, detectives scanned the irwin's front and backyard with metal detectors. once again searched a nearby landfill. >> bring her home. we need her. we are not family without her. she is everything to us. >> reporter: after several desperate pleas last week, lisa's parents did not speak publicly this weekend. last week police said that they stopped cooperating but this weekend, the parents met again with the investigators. >> we are all at the same table right now and that's the best thing for the investigation, no doubt about it. >> reporter: lease's parents reported her missing last week after jeremy returned from working his first overnight

shift as an electrician. on a night deborah says she can't remember locking the front door. friday on "today," matt asked them if they had any reason to suspect one another. >> when you look at debbie, do you have any suspicions that there is anything she is not telling you relating to disappearance of lisa? >> none whatsoever. >> any doubt in your mind that he hasn't told you something? >> no. because he's -- he is a good father. and he's good to me and he loves her. and everybody loves her. >> handing out flyers for baby lisa. >> lease's heartbroken relatives stepped up their own efforts. handing out hundreds of fliers sunday to nascar fans at the kansas speedway. >> she was kidnapped out of her home monday night and the cops base you cannily don't have any tips, don't know where she is. >> peter alexander reporting.

nbc news learned that deborah bradley, baby's mother, is married to another man that's not the baby's father, jeremy irwin. that man is not a suspect. he is away now serving in the army. manslaughter case against michael jackson's personal physician will enter the third week tomorrow. before court ended friday, the jury heard aude owe tapes of detectives questioning dr. conrad murray. a physician is accused of giving jackson the last dose of proehl follow that killed him. in the recordings, murray told detectives murray wanted to inject himself with the anesthetic. murray said he gave him a small amount of propofol, not enough to kill him. ♪ sunshine ♪ good times >> 50,000 people attend the show saturday night.

members of the jackson 5 performed. his mother who watched the show from her seat in the stands, michael jackson's children also attended and made a rare appearance on stage. it was their first time in front of a crowd that size since jackson's memorial. >> thank you for this special night. >> we are very happy to be here on this special night to honor our father. >> other stars that attended including christina aguilera, jamie foxx, and c. low green. tomorrow another high-profile trial is scheduled to begin. abulmutallab, the underwear bomber will represent himself in this case. he is accused of hiding a bomb in his underwear, planning to detonate on it in a plane in december of 2009. the authorities say he was working with al qaeda. abulmutallab has a court appointed attorney on stand-by. again, we are going to check on our forecast and talk to tom

about how soon we will see sunshine out there. still overzblast yes. sun is shining through the overcast. and we have a luminous sky. there is a live picture from the sky watcher camera looking into virginia here from upper northwest washington. and that sun coming through. high clouds. and warming us up. our temperatures are now into the upper 60s, near 70 in washington as well as in fairfax and arlington, prince george's and montgomery counties. southern maryland, around the bay, eastern shore, and throughout much of virginia. it is into the low 70s now and elsewhere farther west and north, fog around this morning. it is a bit cooler. there generally in the upper 50s and low 60s there. but the clouds are drifting in from the south and with us from time to time into the afternoon. as temperatures climb into the 70s and hit near 80s. certainly southern maryland, eastern shore, hit 80 there. elsewhere in the 70s and then clouding up later tonight. tomorrow a cloudy day. just a small chance of an evening shower is the way it looks now. highs reaching low 70s before then. then on wednesday, likelihood of

passing showers. some of it could be moderate at times. area of low pressure drifts up our way from florida and passes to our north. another area of low area passing showers. after that we will cool down and dry up. sunshine back on friday, saturday and sunday. that's the way it looks. barbara? >> okay, thank you, tom. the montgomery county fire department came to the rescue of a horse stuck in the mud. leroy, the horse, and his rider were enjoying a trail ride yesterday when they got stuck near great seneca park in poolesville, maryland. they used shrinks to get leroy out of the mud. a vet checked him out and said he was not seriously hurt. just really scared. leroy's rider is also okay. she jumped off when he got stuck in the mud. seven people are in the hospital after a dramatic rescue at sea. the u.s. coast guard says that they spent 20 hours treading

water, those people did, without life vests off florida's southern coast. their boat capsized saturday afternoon. another boater found the group and managed to save three people and called for help. the coast guard found the other four still treading water. among those rescued was a 4-year-old girl. one woman from the group did not survive, however. as for the group that did, officials have not released an update on their conditions yet. listen to that sound. that's a killer whale. mimicking the noise of a motor boat. can you believe it? that killer whale is going to be the focus of a new movie. this video was taken off vancouver island in july of twun. 2001. it showed luna swim up to the boat. he got him making the noises, mimicking the sound of a motor boat. sadly, though, luna was killed in a collision with a tugboat in

2007. he's the subject after documentary called "saving luna." the whale will now become the subject after new documentary called "the whale." today the nba commissioner david stern is expected to follow through on his threat to cancel the first two weeks of the regular season. the players and owners have not been able to agree on the new collective bargaining agreement. the two sides remain far apart in revenue sharing and in salary cap. the season was set to start november 1. meanwhile, country singer hank williams jr., looks like he my have the last word in a new feud with espn and fox and friends. the network pulled the monday night football theme after he made an analogy that compared president obama to adolf hitler. now williams cut a new song called "i'll keep my" calling out the two networks. in one verse says, quote, so fox and friends want to put me down, ask for my opinion, twist it all

around. he also says that country becoming the socialist state of america. williams's "monday night football" theme first debuted in 1989. ♪ the redskins with a big win this weekend without even having to suit up. they are now in sole possession of the top spot in the division thanks to losses from big-time rivals. eagles and giants lost their games yesterday. giants looked to have the momentum in the fourth quarter, though, after an amazing catch by victor cruz but blew it. would fourth quarter leads, 36-25 is their loss to the lowly seahawks. the giants now have three wins and two losses. and michael vick threw a career high four interceptions in a 31-24 loss to the buffalo bills. their worst start in 12 years. the redskins will face the eagles this coming sunday at fedexfield. it has been a rough year for

tiger woods. at the open over the weekend, woods had something to laugh about. tiger was the target of a hot dog attack. afterwards he explained exactly what happened. >> some guy just came running on the green and he had a hot dog. i don't know how he tried to throw it but i was focusing on my putt when he started yelling. next thing know, he was laying on the ground. it looked like he wanted to be arrested. >> tyiiger is smiling about it. the man was quickly escorted off the property. woods, on the other hand, finished the tournament at seven under par. ten shots off the lead. 11:41 is our time. still ahead, how much is a lack of parking adding to traffic problems in our area? what can be done about that. plus, why junk mail will not be going away any time soon. stay with us.

we have those stories

you are probably not going to hit much traffic today because of the holiday but important those of you that are used to sitting in hours of congestion every other day, we have good news for you. some of the smartest minds in america are working on ways to ease that commute. and one of the best solutions right on your smartphone. nbc's chris clackum has details.

>> the annual commuter pain various 41% of respondents say traffic has gotten worse. and nearly 70% said that because of it, so has their health. if you want your blood to boil listen to what ibil ibm says is contribute. >> 30% of congestion in most cities is caused by people looking fork parking spots. >> right. parking spots. but that's why somebody's already sending smartphones to the rescue. >> you now have the ability to put sensors in parking spots and create smartphone apps that actually tell you where parking is available in the blocks that you are interested in. >> in san francisco, cell phone gps is being used to track commuting habits of volunteers with the ibm soon having improved traffic alert apps. >> this is almost the equivalent of telling you that it is going to rain and you need to take annan umbrella a for traffic and

sophisticated. >> reporter: technology is not the only way to unclog a highway, though. traffic snarls are now rare in stockholm, sweden. what the swedewas simply turn roads into rush hour into toll roads. experts say it is something u.s. cities should consider. chris clackum, nbc news. netflix is now abandoning the decision to split its dvd by mail and streaming video services into two companies. they now say that subscribers will be able to use both as much as under one account and one password. less an month ago netflix said without it split off the dvd rental on to a new website called quickstir. subscribers objected saying they saw it as a destination to movies in general. despite the holiday wall street is open for business. stock prices are on the rise. let's check in with cnbc's jackie deangelis.

>> hi. good morning to you. yes, we are looking at an up-equity market at the moment. dow hovering 280 points. some of the other stories we are watching for you this morning, chrysler and united auto workers will meet today to begin hammering out final details of a new contract. the deal could go to union members for a vote by the end of the week. ford reached a tentative contract last week and gm rat tide one last month. chrysler's controlling partner fiat is reportedly seeking a contract that includes smaller signing bonuses and higher out-of-pocket costs for union members. and a new study finds household income dropped more in the two years since the recession than during the downturn itself. the report by two former census bureau officials shows income adjusted for inflation has fallen nearly 7% since june of 2009. versus a drop of about 3% during the recession from december '07 to june '09. this comes after an official

census report last month showed a sharp rise in the popperty rate last year to 15%. that's the highest since 1993. some good news. if it is time to plan your next vacation japan is reportedly set to offer 10,000 foreigners, free airfare to visit the country next year. this is in a bid to boost tourism which has been hit hard by the ongoing nuclear disaster. now you have to cover other costs like accommodations yourself. but would be travelers have to submit the online application, japan's tourism agency, and winners are going to be asked to write a report about their trip and that will be published online. that's what we are watching here on cnbc. now back to you. >> thank you so much. it is no secret. the u.s. postal service is deep in debt and desperate to stay afloat. first class mail volume is way down. last year postal workers moved 82 billion pieces of what we think of junk mail through the system. in dire need revenue the postal service is hoping to slip even more of that junk mail into your

mailbox. nbc's tom costello is in chantilly, virginia, with a look at junk mail. >> reporter: it is one of the rituals of daily life that people either love or hate. >> junk mail has to go. the purpose of getting a p.o. box was to eliminate all of. >> it i don't like it. it goes from the mailbox to the trash or to the recycling bin. >> reporter: the first thing you need to know about junk mail is it is not junk to the postal service. it is serious money. at a time usps is running $8.5 billion shortpaul. while the volume of first class mail, letters to bills, dropped several percent last year and whopping 26% over the last four years, advertising mail increased 3% last year and now making up nearly half of all mail. and the postal service is running a series of the ads urging businesses to send even more with a reminder that mail rarely gets hacked. >> refrigerator has never been

hacked. online virus has never attacked a cork board. >> reporter: why in a digital world are advertisers even turning to the mail? because it turns out a catalog is a lot harder to delete than e-mail and chances are you will sit at home and flip through it. >> the critical thing is to do two things. generate new revenues through direct advertising mail and have a big share of that package market that follows up when you buy something online. >> reporter: while only 1.4% of household buys after receiving a mail ad, even fewer, half percent, buy after getting an e-mail ad. that's hard to ignore as a financially strapped postal service desperate for revenue prepares to cut saturday delivery and 220,000 jobs. >> the sobering reality is first class mail volume lost will not return. >> reporter: expect it to drop another 50% over the next ten years. >> i don't really have any mail that comes to my house. it is all online. >> reporter: so while you may no longer get your bills or

handwritten birthday cards, postal service is hoping to keep your box full. tom costello, nbc news, chantilly, virginia. >> i still like the handwritten birthday cards. time now is 11:50. coming up, teachers save a student's life with an important piece of medical equipment. tom kierein will be back with another check on our warm [ male announcer ] at the safeway pharmacy you can get a flu shot with no hassle at all. i don't even need an appointment. [ male announcer ] it's about as easy as flu shots get. get your groceries and a flu shot, all in one trip. at safeway.

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we are hoping you are hungry. today's facebook fandemonium prize is a $100 gift card to outback. it is free. all you have to do is log on to facebook. go to the nbc washington page and like us. we will pick a winner tonight and announce the winner during the 11:00 p.m. newscast tonight. 12-year-old girl can thank two teachers for saving her life. they rushed to help the girl after she collapsed in the hallway of her middle school. >> reporter: until september 26, she seemed to be perfectly healthy 7th grader. but as she walked the halls of the middle school in a dallas suburb she suddenly felt short of breath. >> i sat down and i fell over. then i don't remember anything from that. >> reporter: kiley collapsed to

the ground and pass eed out. her frightened classmates alerted gym teacher kristin who rushed to find kiley wasn't breathing and turning blue. her heart stop. >> i knew hi to get health. >> reporter: i knew hi to get help. brent arrived and started cpr. she rushed to grab an external defibrillator. in the video both teachers are seen desperately trying to save young kiley. >> it is amazing the panic and you see the situation, this emergency. >> reporter: with the help of the defibrillator the teachers stabilized kileyful she was airlifted to children's medical center. >> if it was than for this machine and for what they did, our daughter still may be with her today but wouldn't be the kiley we know. >> reporter: doctors determined kiley had an undetected heart condition and implanted her with a pacemaker. they say her survival is nothing short of a miracle. >> somebody that collapses outside of a hospital, the

survival is 3% for a child. >> reporter: in kiley's case two heroic teachers and machine required in texas public schools made all the difference. >> they had hand in a miracle and i want to say thank you. >> thank you. >> if kiley had gone another 30 seconds without the defibrillator she probably wouldn't have survived. a look at the stories we are following this afternoon. pat lawson muse joins news the newsroom with a preview of things to come. >> hi shall barbara. coming up this afternoon on "news4 at 4:00," we are going to be following developments in the occupy d.c. protest still going on here in the washington area. plus, a medical mystery solved. story of a young couple that couldn't have a baby until they trusted their instincts and asked doctors for a second opinion. then on "news4 at 5:00," it

claims to a hard boiled egg without the shell. liz crenshaw puts the eggy to the test to answer the question -- does it really do that? that story coming up on "news4 at 5:00." see you at 4:00. >> that certainly does look interesting. thank you, pat. time now for a final check on the forecast. tom is here with that. >> got sun through high clouds now. and temperatures are beginning to climb. we are around 07. later today, into the upper 70s, 80 at many locations, cloudy and cooler tomorrow. low 70s. small chance of an afternoon or evening shower. likelihood of passing showers wednesday and highs mid 70s. mid 70s again on thursday. still a possibility of a passing shower. then friday into the weekend looks like we will dry out. small chance of a shower friday morning. saturday and sunday sunny and 60. see you tomorrow morning. >> all right, tom.

thanks. >> this brings new meaning to traffic jam. it is dubbed the karaoke cab. a hit on the streets of d.c. joel the man behind the wheel, came up with the idea three years ago to honor his love of music and help with the boredom he gets while waiting for customers. now he has one of the most popular cabs in the district. even if you can't carry a tune you may want to get in that cab and do a little singing. that's "news4 midday." thank you for joining us and we invite you for joining us at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. i will be back tomorrow morning at 11:00. have a great day.