good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. it is monday, november 7, 2011. this woman, 23-year-old is heading to court on accusations she killed her classmate at frostburg state university. students and staff are returning to campus today trying to understand what happened. this is the second murder on campus this year. news4's tracee wilkins has more from the school. >> reporter: behind me is the campus of frostburg state university. right over here to my left, is the house where that party happened just over the weekend. right in front of this house is where that 19 year old student lost her life. here in the trash can of the house you can see that they still have the crime tape here and some of the remnants of the party that happened here.

and now this morning, there is a memorial forming right up the street there at the stop sign. students started to place a teddy bear there along with flowers and most unusual sight. the second time in less than two years, a student has been violently attacked and killed. a memorial service was held yesterday after 19-year-old courtney mccoy of baltimore was found stabbed to death outside of an off-campus house. she was a sophomore, physics major. residential assistant and she also sang in the choir. police have arrested and charged another frostburg state student with this stabbing. 23-year-old seanee liggen. police say the stabbing happened after a fight inside of the home spilled out on to the street. the suspect also lived inside of the home where the fight began according to police. students who knew the victim are

struggling to understand how this all could have happened. >> the violence needs to stop. >> reporter: no words. >> no words. >> very surprising and very sad. she was a good person, too. i didn't hear anything bad about her. she was always nice. >> it is scary. it is like an eerie feeling because everybody is like tense. >> reporter: we knock order the door of the house and asked to speak to the room mates. they said through the door they had no comment. she is expected to appear in court today. in frostburg, tracee wilkins, news4. >> and right now repair crews are working on a gas leak in northwest washington. leak is along massachusetts avenue near q street. multiple roads were closed from the leak but are now open again to traffic. news4's megan mcgrath is live at the scene with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. things are starting to return to normal here as you mentioned massachusetts avenue and mccross streets shut down for a couple of hours.

they have all reopened. that's a good thing here. we were starting to see real traffic tie-ups here through the area. lot of frustrated people because they could not get down massachusetts avenue. the problem was a natural gas leak in the area of the cosmo club on massachusetts avenue. some rather hairy moments important some of the folks staying there early this morning. we talked to one couple who said they were upstairs in their room and got a call from the folks down the lobby saying you need to evacuate immediately. that's exactly what they did. there was a smell of mnatural gs in the area and outside the street. they had to stand outside for quite some time while the situation was made safe. >> by the time we hit the lobby we knew it was serious because the policemen were in there and they all said you need to leave immediately and so we came out on the porch and said get across the street. one p a man ran in and told them to get out immediately.

>> reporter: the smell of the natural gas could be, you could pick it up for several loblocksn the area. it was intense norah while. things back to normal and streets open. cosmo allowing their guests in today. some decided they would go for a walk and let it air out a little while longer. no injuries and no explosions, nothing like that. just a situation that needed to be remediy eiey eied quickly. >> thank you. what a gorgeous day it is out there right now. let's see if will are other traffic problems developing. >> hi shall barbara. good morning to you. i-66 inside the beltway as you head west. barbara, back to you. >> all right. thank you. we will talk to you again shortly. we couldn't hear you too well. traffic is moving again on route 50 in prince george's county after a box truck overturned. maryland state police responded to a three-vehicle crash on the

eastbound lanes just before 4:00 this morning. the crash caused delays during the morning but crews reopened the lanes just before 7:00 this morning. all three drivers were taken to the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries. there right now in the beautiful day we were talking about. tom kierein joins us with our first forecast for midday. hey, tom. >> we have gorgeous color there along the potomac river. looks like we have peak color. the last area locally that turns and gets the peak autumn color. there along the potomac. we have it now. under a clear sky over the last 12 hours. few showers out in indiana and ohio. those are -- going to be passing well to our west. we have a clear sky from new england all the way down to florida. we are right in the middle of high pressure over us now. look at that view. that's a view from our sky watcher camera looking towards the west-northwest. and you can see the autumn color here locally, too. nearby suburbs of northwest of washington are just in -- now peak color.

absolutely gorgeous. and for the rest of the afternoon, bright sunshine and blue sky. it will be rather cool, though. temperatures right now are climbing into the low 50s and we should make it into the upper 50s to low 60s by early to mid afternoon. we will have that early sunset that will be hard to get used to. that's at 5:02. i will show you the forecast. pleasant pattern here for much of the week ahead. a look at that as well as the weekend. that will be coming up in just a couple of minutes. barbara? >> okay, tom. thank you. right now in charlottesville, virginia, a key court hearing in the case of a former university of virginia lacrosse player. accused of killing his ex-gill friend. george hughley's lawyers are making another attempt to get yeardley love's medical records released. police say he killed love last year when he slammed her head against a wall. a medical examiner said she died of blunt trauma to the head. his attorneys say love may have died from an irregular heartbeat. partially caused by prescription drugs and alcohol.

hughley's trial is scheduled to begin in february. in about an hour, occupy d.c. protests will take on a different focus instead of economic issues the group is calling out d.c. police after a car accident on friday night. a driver hit three protesters near the intersection of 7th and k streets. the group says the driver hit the gas and intentionally hit the protesters. police say that the protesters possibly ran into the street when the driver had a green light. investigators charged the three protesters with jaywalking and obstructing traffic. occupy protesters are calling for an investigation into the crash. there has been another attempted abduction in spotsylvania county that makes four in the past month. the latest incident happened saturday afternoon in the 6700 block of satterfield court near fredericksburg. and 8-year-old girl told police that men in a van yelled at her and asked her to come closer. she says she ran away. the girl told police four men were in a black ford econo line

van with a logo in red that said malroy. she said they were wearing gray big puffy coats and necklaces with crosses. investigators do not think that this attempted abduction is connected to others that have happened in the county. this morning, 8-year-old autistic boy lost for nearly a week is back home with his family. robert wood jr. was released from the hospital over the weekend. he disappeared for five nights while hiking with his family in north anna battlefield park in hanover county. robby, as he is called, doesn't speak. which made it harder to find him. he eventually was found in a fetal position near a rock quarry close to the park. the redskins appear to be in freefall mode now. a week after being shut out they actually put points on the board but too many mental mistakes doom them against the 49ers. the skins have three turnovers including two fumbles. quarterback john beck continued his hot and coldplay.

throwing for 250 yards, touchdown and interception. they jumped out to an early lead and held on to that 19-11. tins t skins fourth loss in a row. >> i want to put my foot down and have the stuff. we are -- have too many good players on the team. we have good character and guys believe, you know, losing like this shouldn't happen and i don't want it to happen any longer. i believe the team feels like we are going to win. that's n i'm doing everything i can to end this and get us winning again. >> the loss sends the redskins to 3-5 and last place in the nfc east. next week, the redskins will play at miami. the dolphins. just won their first game of the season yesterday so we will cross our fingers that the redskins will break their losing streak. time right now is 11:09. there could be new problems for herman cain. gloria allred schedule ad con

fence with a woman that says she has information about the presidential hopeful. new fallout of allegations against a former coach at

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this afternoon president obama will highlight tax credits included in his plan to create jobs. this address is also expected to include new executive actions to help get veterans back to work. the president will make remarks

from the rose garden at noon today. new developments could once again shake up decision 2012. another woman is expected to come forward this afternoon with sexual harassment accusations against herman cain. the woman will hold a news conference with her attorney gloria allred. this will be the first woman to give her name and to speak out about what she alleges occurred between her and kaine when he was head of the national restaurant association. three other women said he sexually harassed them in the 1990s and this controversy is now having an impact on kaine's polling numbers. the reuters poll shows that he finished with a favorable rating at 57%. that compared to 66% last week. this weekend kaine refused to take any questions about the allegations. >> don't even go there. >> can i ask my question? >> no. we are getting back on message. back on message. >> kaine's campaign raised $2

million despite the allegations. the gop rival newt ring give is taking cain's side. this morning he said news organizations care more about scandal than ordinary citizens struggling to make ends meet. ron paul's campaign got a boost this weekend. he was the big winner in the illinois straw poll over the weekend. the texas congressman won the illinois straw poll with 52% of the vote. next step for paul and the rest of the candidates debate wednesday in michigan. tomorrow's election day. republicans in virginia are looking to take control of both chambers of the general assembly for only the second time since the civil war. they currently control the house but democrats have a four-seat majority in the senate in virginia. experts say they expect a voter turnout of about 30%. today the official capitol christmas tree starts its trip

to d.c. officials chose a 65-foot sierra white fir for the official tree. now the tree will make a cross-country trip from california to d.c. and it will make several stops along the way. it will then be -- i don't think it is going to be planted. i think it will be erected if they already cut it down. it will be put in front of the u.s. capitol building for all of us to see. tom, we are getting near the holiday season out there. >> already. yes indeed. it is starting to feel that way, too. in fact, sunday morning was very cold. we were down into the 20s in many locations. this morning another cold start. we have the gorgeous sunshine pouring down now. here is the live view from the city camera and you can see that there is gorgeous autumn color right there on the potomac river. west potomac park and right there around the washington monument. east potomac park and just absolutely gorgeous now. we have a temperature of 53 at reagan national and we have a gentle wind coming in out of the south and the sunshine conning to warm things up thankfully

after that code start. this is what it looked like sunday morning right at dawn. this is in northern montgomery county. frosty grass there. this is in maryland. if you have a beautiful autumn photo to send us, send it to weather@nbcwashington.com and include it in part of our slide show on our website and we will show some of these on tv, too. sheer another view of our sky. looking at the sun through, of course, filter and telescope. look at those sun spots. they are now coming and rotating around and facing earth which means if we do get any solar storms erupting from those and they could, we could have auroras here over the next several days. we will have to keep an eye that. and here is the view from space. we have plenty of sunshine over our region, the eastern shore, all across virginia. absolutely gorgeous autumn day under way.

right now we are in the low to mid 50s around much of the region. except near the chesapeake bay, in upper 50s to near 60 there. farther to our west mid 50s rinds the blue ridge and shenandoah valley. many locations in the 40s. now as we go forward over the next 48 hours, we will have lots of sun here. green and maybe a few sprinkles late tonight and early tomorrow morning around the bay and eastern shore that other places will likely stay dry. and then during the day tuesday, lots of sun again. late tuesday night into wednesday morning we could have a few more sprinkles around the bay and the eastern shore. elsewhere we will stay dry wednesday. so here is how things are looking for the rest of the monday afternoon. enjoy a gorgeous blue sky and cool and gentle wind. highs reaching the low 60s by early afternoon. and then this evening, under a clear sky, we will have that early sunset at 5:02. it will be getting dark early and we will have a clear chilly sky and in the mid 50s early evening and by midnight to near 50 degrees. calm wind. by dawn tomorrow, most locations

we will not have a freeze and it will be down near 40 degrees tomorrow morning and then tomorrow afternoon, gorgeous, we should climb into the upper sects throughout much of the wear lots of sunshine. then on wednesday, maybe a little sun in the morning and then clouding up in the afternoon and high temperatures reaching the low 60s. looks like now for wednesday because of the cloud cover. and then as we get into thursday, clouds and a chance of passing shower, thursday afternoon temperatures around 60 degrees. as we head into the weekend, we will get sunshine back and chilly. >> okay, tom. thank you. we are going to head out to roads to see how traffic is moving. >> still seeing volume heading westbound i-66. very slow at glebe road. i will give you a live look now and you can see these cars are bumper to bumper as they make their way towards sycamore street. no accidents on 66 inside the beltway. just a lot of congestion. other parts of the area, not so

bad. lets head to i-270 where i'm seeing a lot of green. if you are making your commute now in both directions no accidents to report. here is a view of west montgomery avenue and travel time as you make your way towards the spur. you are traveling at 55 miles per hour. not so bad. >> not bad. okay. thanks. 19 minutes after 11:00. still ahead, we will take a look at some of the hottest toys of the holiday shopping season. plus, a christmas carol is coming to the ford's theater. meet the young cast and how they ended newspaper this holiday classic. first here is a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

you can join the ghosts of christmas past, present and future starting next week at the ford's theater. a christmas carol opens november 18 and joining us now is some of the cast. rachel boyd, noah chayat. and we also have cheyenne couplings and james gardner here. good morning to all of. >> did you good morning. >> i will let you identify your self-s in a minimum. i didn't sayer name right, did i? how do you say your last name? >> we are so glad you got here. we have been trying to get you here for quite a while. james, maybe you can tell us. i know you are the assistant director inform this production. and tell us about it. what's different this year? >> well, this year it is the same production that we have

been doing the past two years but we get every year a new group of kids. and we have one returning kid. the other two are brand-new to the production. it is a fun show. and it has been a lot of fun working with these guy. >> how many years have you all been doing it at the ford's theater now? >> the production for "christmas carol" has been going on a long time. this particular production we have been doing the past three years. this will be the third year of this program. >> we are excited about it and did hear when you were all trying out. and we wanted to get you here before that but we -- let's wait and see who the winners are. maybe you can tell us. rachel, we will start with you. this is your second year? >> yes. >> what's it like performing at the ford's theater? >> it feels really good. i feel really cool. >> yeah. >> have you ever done anything like this before? >> yeah. i have done things that -- different theaters. >> you are an actress? experienced actress. certainly one that's experienced at the ford's theater. no yeah, wh

noah, what about you? >> i was in a liberty smith last season at ford's. >> i see. >> so -- i got to know james through it. actually got asked to be in it. >> fantastic. is it pretty cool? >> it is a blast yeah. >> what do you do about school when you are performing? >> well, i go to school in silver school, performing arts school. they are cooperative with me missing school cheyenne, how about you, this is your first year? >> sort of. i did the original "christmas carol." this is my first year with this company. >> was it scary to try to -- try out? and know you were going up against other kids for the part? >> yeah. it was. it was very nerve-racking. >> pretty nerve-racking. >> cheyenne when she did the show, she did the show four years ago. she played tiny tim when she was younger. yeah. now she is playing our belinda. >> i see. tell us what it is like working with the kids. is it -- they have to come for

rehearsals? >> absolutely. they come every day at 4:00 during the weekday. they don't have to miss that much school and we rehearse from 4:00 to 8:00. on wbds ten cloak to 6:00. it has been -- it has been great with these guy because they are just -- they are so smart and they are great listeners and we have been working on a lot of different things with them. >> the tryouts include not just speaking but you had to sing, too. >> absolutely. >> because it is a musical. will you give us a taste of one of the songs that you sing on the show? >> sure. >> i would like to hear it. ♪ looked out on the feast of steven ♪ ♪ when the snow lay round about ♪ ♪ crisp and even ♪ greatly shown the moon at night ♪ ♪ when a poor man came inside ♪ gathering >> beautiful. you are getting us into the season a little early. that's great. we will be able to hear this.

shoung the r . >> we go from november 18 to december 31. fords.org for information. >> do you have wonderful costumes you wear? >> yes this p >> yes. they have dresses and i have -- >> we probably won't recognize you at the show. good luck with the run and congratulation us to for winning those parts. james, thanks for bringing the kids in. >> thank you for having us. absolute. >> i thank you. >> it is now 11:26. coming up in the next half hour, two high ranking penn state administrators face arraignment today of charges they lied to a grand jury about suspected child abuse. we will look at who knew what and when. when an out-of-in-world encounter is supposed to take place. tom kierein will be back with the long beautiful stint of weather we are having. is it going toned? we will

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that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. right now on "news4 midday" a memorial is growing in front of the house where frostburg state university student was stabbed to death over the weekend. police say 19-year-old mccoy got in a fight with shawnee liggins and liggins killed mccoy. liggins is in court for a bond hearing. top officials from penn state university are expected in court today for their part in a sexual abuse scandal. former assistant coach jerry sandusky is accused of abusing

eight children over the past 17 years. the school officials reportedly knew about the incidents but didn't go to police. nbc's kristen dahlgren has the story. >> reporter: overnight word came that school's athletic direct sxwror vice president are stepping down after being indicted this weekend in an alleged coverup involving former defensive coordinator jerry sandusky who is charged with child sex abuse. sandusky was an assistant coach under paterno for decades. in his statement paterno said he's troubled that someone he thought he knew may have harmed young people. sandusky was well known for his work with at risk youth and nbc profiled his charity the second mile in 1987. but now is an does ski charged with sexually abusing eight boys between 1994 and 2009. one of the alleged encounters

happened in 2002 on the penn state campus and witnessed by a grad school student who reported it to paterno. attorneys for sandusky and and the school officials vowed to fight the charges. prosecutors den d not accuse paterno of wrongdoing. in a statement paterno said i understand that people are upset and angry but lets be fair and let the legal process unfold. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> legally it doesn't appear paterno will be held accountable with state law putting the responsibility of reporting abuse on the school officials. still sexual abuse advocates are now questioning why paterno did not do more. right now a maryland jury is deliberating with bribery case against state senator curry. he is a ki used of using his political power to do favors for shoppers food warehouse. he stepped when he was indicted

last september. curry represented dwikt 25 in prince george's county since 1986. well, it is a device that helps you get to where you want to go. or gets you out of -- lost if you are there. some say police can easily abuse gps tracking systems and may want the supreme court to do something about that. the case which involves a d.c. nightclub owner will be heard tomorrow. federal agents secretly put a tracking device a jones' car back in 2005 to help reinstate a drug conspiracy conviction. opponents say police should have gotten a warrant before attaching a gps device to anybody's car. and right now jurors are deliberating the fate of dr. conrad murray. he is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of michael jackson. seven men and five women are deciding whether murray was criminally negligent while treating jackson for insomnia with the surgical anesthetic appropriate poll.

deliberations are scheduled to start at 11:30. this will be the second full day of deliberations. if convicted murray face up to four years in prison and the loss of his medical license. she came and she went. lindsay lohan is a free woman again but just 4 1/2 hours after turning herself in to jail she was free again. lohan was sentenced to 30 days behind bars for violating her probation on a necklace theft conviction. she was released only after a few hours because of overcrowding issues at the jail. lohan will still have to finish her community service at at the time l.a. morgue. justin bieber says he will take a dna test to prove he is not the father of a california woman's 3-month-old son. the pop star with take the test in two weeks when he is back in the u.s. bieber's lawyers say once the test is back proving his client's innocence they will sue yader. yader claims she had sex with bieber at the los angeles

staples center last october when bieber was 16 years old. nasa says we are in for a close encounter this week. a 1300-foot wide asteroid is headed towards earth. there is no real danger, we are told. nasa says lit miss the earth by 200,000 miles and to give you perspective of that, that's closer than the moon's orbit. the space agency is taking the opportunity do a little reer is off the asteroid's surface, shape, dimension, this will be the closest an asteroid has come to earth in the last 200 years. i bet tom is looking forward to hearing more about that. tom, good morning. >> yeah. graphic we just showed, circle was the moon's orr bit and you saw that line of the dash asteroid's track came within that circle. yeah, it is a close call. that thing is the size of an aircraft carrier. we are happy it is missing us. another view, actually, very interesting shots of it. we are get something of the very first pictures of it. it is a very small object compared -- there you go. you can see the track inside that circle there.

and again, asteroid about the size of an aircraft carrier. there is a live peck tour showing the wonderful autumn foliage under a blue sky right now. and temperatures are still chilly, though. we are in the 50s. most areas right now 53 at reagan national. we should climb into the low 60s here by early afternoon. and then get chilly again tonight. not as cold as this morning. by dawn tomorrow, it will be near 40 degrees and tomorrow with bright sun we should climb into the upper 60s. delightful day. wednesday, increasing clouds, highs low 60s. and cloudy thursday. front coming through. might trigger an isolated shower. then friday, sunny and chilly again. a bit milder over the weekend. saturday and sunday afternoon highs near 60. pleasant pattern. that's the wait looks now. >> thank you. danella had a very busy day. even that extra hour you got to sleep didn't help, did it? >> no. it didn't even feel like an extra hour when you are waking up way before the sun. i'm still seeing issues if you

are traveling westbound on 66. you are jammed at glebe and delays continue as you head towards sycamore street. i will give you a look now and you can see the cars bumper to bumper. no accidents. just congestion. and checking travel times in the area if you are driving on the beltway prince george's county at 59 miles per hour. outer loop in montgomery county at university about 43 miles per hour. if you continue on the outer loop crossing american legion bridge, barbara, no problems in this area. back to you. >> thanks, danella. this morning, northern virginia drivers may have noticed a new lane shift on the beltway. overnight crews wrapped up their weekend project that shifted all four lanes of the inner loop of the beltway to a new bridge over route 19 1 23 in tysons corner. that's not all. the route 123 north on ram top the beltway is also open. it was all part of the h.o.t. lanes construction project. today is going to the dogs as the veteran affairs committee will honor pooches who saved lives here and overseas.

it is part of capitol hill's tribute to war heroes at both end of the leash celebration. some of the honorees include sage that served in iraq. you may remember him being in the news and roselle who is a guide dog that led her owner down the stairs at the world trade center on 9/11. waging a legal battle. 2600 golf balls from top golf driving range have ended up on their property. according to "the washington post" a grand jury found enough evidence to pursue with a public nuisance misdemeanor charge. the golf range could end up with a $25,000 fine if the case goes to trial in january. still ahead on "news4 midday," international stock markets fell sharply today. the will the u.s. markets follow? we will tell you about some of the hottest toys for holiday shopping center. 11:37 the time. hey!

you want that? you want a warm, super-delicious strawberry toaster strudel yeah but now i have nothing to eat sure you do. hey! you can have the pop tart! pillsbury toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat pillsbury crescent bacon cheddar pinwheels just unroll, add ingredients, roll and bake. and the crowd goes wild. crescent bacon cheddar pinwheels. game day ideas made easy.

now is the time to get a holiday shopping list together. if toys are on that list we have help for you this morning. lori shaft, toy insider mom and contributing editor to women's day joins us this morning. good morning. good to have you with us tell me, what determines what are going to be the hot toys? kids or moms? >> it is a little bit of everything. our team looks at thousands of toys all year long. we narrow it down to 120 in

total. what we are looking at today are some from the hot 20 list. the ones we think are going to fly off the shelves the quickest. >> who made that decision? did you let kids -- >> we have a team that works with it and have kids that also get involved. yes. it is a whole -- a whole year of work until we narrow it down to the very best. >> but -- but the -- it is really in the long wind children playing with these. >> toys that are engaging and that's going to keep them interested and we look for value in the toys, too. >> okay. all right. let's start with what you see. >> this is polka swigle track. poke yo came to the starts a year and a half ago. it is about learning from laughter. the swiggle track is adorable. great for eye-hand coordination. >> what age group is this for? >> 18 months and up. and i'm going shut it since it is noisy. kids can take this track apart and put it together any witch way they want. 9 months and up, it is ellen. a busy ball popper. where you are doing this with

your kids and put tonight and you -- you can turn this and so this is really something that just keeps everyone active and running. great for little kids. >> this is big enough not to be a health hazard. >> not at all. lots and lots of fun. okay. this is the leap pad in now, kids are always looking at their parents, playing with tablets and this one is made just for little kids. >> this is 4 and up. you know, 4 to 10 years old. they are going to love this. >> you are seeing kids at 2 years old. >> playing with that. here is one that you can give to them. you don't have to worry about them breaking it. advertise made for hands. it has a full touch screen. you can download tons of apps. i love the books. lit assess the kids as they go. so -- if they can -- challenged more we will challenge them more. if it needs to come back it does. really great. parents can get updates by e-mail. >> 4 years old and up. >> 4 years old and up. lala loopsy. it hit the scene last year as a doll. kids love her. now she has her own play set

tree house. that the first boy that they ever came out with. >> i see. >> she is down here. she is in her tire swing. all kinds of activities. great little tree house, two sided play. just lots and lots of fun. >> what age is that for? >> this -- you have little parts here. you know, it is not under 3 but i would say as long as your children aren't putting things in their mouth you are looking at 4 and 5 and up. that's what i'm comfortable with. >> do you want to trade place was me? >> i'm good. this is rediki. this is a new trading card game. first time we are actually seeing 3-d animation in training cards for kids. for the first time kids actually stack to play. stack to block. really, really cool. kids are excited about this. kids and dads. go crazy. >> are they sporting events? >> well, they are -- they are -- no, no, no. all the different characters and powers. right, right, right. over here, we have -- this is

sky lander. this is really cool technology for the very first time, you are looking at toys with brains. we put it on the portal of power. whatever platform -- it is a toy and it is a video game. if you put it on the portal your character goes into that portal and suddenly playing in the game. thrown you take it to your friend's house and it remembers all the rewards and everything that it earned and it brings everything and the whole experience to your friends. >> this somehow connects to your tell zbligs wireless. wireless. >> wireless. >> just awesome. very, very cool. >> okay. this is the first year for that. >> this is brand-new. and brand-new technology. right here, justin beeber and rocking to in in in in ing -- je rocking tour bus. you can plug in your mp3 player. it is definitely a girl heartthrob. they can plug it in and play. in the front he can sing and lounge and play his video games. also has a mirror and brush in

there. he can do his hair. this one doesn't. there is a singing one. the hair is very important to justin bieber here. >> yes. >> now i'm going to switch with you. i just want to show you this. laser stunt chasers, one car over there. this is a laser car. it will follow the laser beam. you might be -- hopefully you can either catch this or i'm going to turn this on. it chase it is laser and really fast. it is going to come right in here and if i do this well let's see. there you go. it is now -- >> it is really just -- yes. lots of distance. really fast. really, really fun. really cool. >> this is for what age? >> this is for kids that are going to enjoy this from 5 and up. >> i can see this would be a big winner. >> yes, yes. >> lot of things -- something over there. >> that's the laser sun chaser. >> i see. this is quite a -- is there anything that parents better get out and get right now because it is going -- >> you know what it is? retailers do not stock up the way they used to. you are going to see a lot of toys. if you see something on your wish list, you should get right

now for your kids. it probably won't be there closer to the holidays. and in terms of the hot toy you have to know your kids' passions. look for the things they like. >> lot has do with advertising, too. thanks so much. insider mom contributing editor at "women's day" magazine. it is 11:46. we are seeing stock prices fall on wall street to start this week. check in with cnbc's kayla and joins us live with more on that ands that rest of the day's business headlines, too. >> reporter: hi, barbara. all eyes are on europe as italian prime minister berlusconi dismisses rumors he is resigning and the country's borrowing rates spiked to the highest levels since adapt sting euro. today the dow is down 48 points. s&p is off just about 6 points. nasdaq is off about 2 24 as we head into the midday trading session. that's based on the uncertainty over the debt crisis. that sent gold futures higher and investors are piling into the safe haven and prices for

the hot commodity prizing to the highest level in six week. we hear the wealth gap between older and younger americans. americans 35 and under are saddled with debt and have limited job opportunities. e-reader war is heating up. apple has a new version of the nook. the tablet offers a more powerful processor and twice the storage capacity of amazon's kindle. nook is available for preorder starting today for $249. it doesn't hit the store shelves until november 17. guys will have a long way to go to make up the market share lost to apple and amazon. see how it does but no telling as of yet. >> we will be watching. thank you. 11:47 now. coming up meet jan brent. children's book author and illustrator. meteorologist tom kierein will be back with a mild forecast for the week ahead. and stay with news4. at 3:00, ellen surprise as

special family and sits down with kate walsh. today at 3:00 on

our next guest is one of america's most popular children's book authors and illustrators. her new book "home for christmas" hit book shelves earlier this month. welcome. good to have you with us thank you so much. >> your books are very, very popular.

and if you look at the -- this is a few. how many have you written actually and illustrated. >> i don't keep count. i know i got two in the works. in the future, yeah. >> you are always thinking about what's coming up next. you have two that are -- just out. we are going to talk about those a little bit. "home for christmas" is the one we are -- >> runaway troll. >> runaway troll. tell us about the story. >> i guess when i was a little girl i sometimes felt like a troll. you are not always knowing the right thing to do at the right time. when you are little. >> the books are -- are just beautifully illustrated. can we see inside? let's see if we can open it up. >> i will show you my favorite page. >> there is the front cover. and -- there is a -- moose on top. let's have a look inside this one. here's the troll who gets lost. it is -- they are so beautifully glossy. all of the pages are so gorgeous. what happens to the troll in this story? >> he runs away and he -- doesn't want to do his chores.

and so -- off he goes and lives with different animals. there is an -- owl and a linkn . when it is getting cold he thinks about home. the snow gets deep and then he really misses home. finally, he is riding on amoo moose's antler. it falls off in the fall and it backs giant to being a an and has been wandering up the mountain. >> there he is. >> down he goes. >> and -- he somehow finds his way -- >> back home. when we were in sweden during the research, i found this beautiful antler. and the man who was with us is a hunter and he said that once -- a moose loses one antler, they are weighted down. you need to make a circle around the antler, you circle the area

to find the other one. >> it is so beautiful when he gets back and everybody in the house is so happy to see him. >> in their p.j.s. >> it is a beautiful holiday story. but this is not as we said the first of your children's books and certainly not the first of your christmas books either. but you started with goldilocks. tell us about that. >> well, goldilocks and the three bears is a story about curiosity. and that's the one thing i loved about being a child. was being cure yos and had a sense of wonder. that's the kind of thing i like to evoke when i'm painting, what it was like to be a child and i think if there is anything that -- talent i may have it would be that i can remember being 6. >> now, you didn't call it goldilocks and the three bears. >> there are two box. "the three snow bears." that's antarctic version of the three snow bears. it was amazing. are was not a tree for a

thousand miles. all ice and snow. >> what have you done with some of your books is pick up on the old stories and re-created them with new characters. i think you have the "three tassies." >> that's like the three little pigs. it is the -- name that they say in africa. >> that was one of my favorite of the three of your books. yes, i thought it was beautiful book. it was the three little -- pigs. >> three little pigs. they build their houses. >> and -- it is just wonderful. >> thank you. >> you are on a bus tour. tell us about that. >> 2 1/2 weeks. we go across the country. we go to sleep on the bus and wake up on the bus. and then in between there are book signings and i'm able to meet the children from all over the country. they are reading books. you know, everyone wants to know are they still reading books? >> they are. nothing like a book for a child. holiday or any time. >> i agree. >> tonight between 5:00 and 7:00 you are going to be at wegmans

on columbia place in sterling. you are inviting folks to come out and meet you. >> i do my presentation. give an art less son and show how to draw a choose and can make night a holiday card. >> great. >> show them how to do an antler by tracing their hands. >> jan, we are so glad you came and put us on your tour to stop by with your beautiful books. thanks for come. >> you're welcome. >> thank you so much. it is 11:55. a look at some of the stories we are following for news4 this afternoon. here is jim handly in the newsroom. >> busy afternoon coming up at 4rk. if there is a verdict in the conrad murray trial we will bring it to you live. we will have the first word at 4:00 and 5:00 tonight. also ahead at 4:00, gloria allred, who represents another woman coming forward against herman cain, we will have her story at 4:00. the hot color this fall is orange. we will hit the fashion line for this year's look. at 5:00 tonight, have you booked your holiday travel yet? it is not too late, folks. liz crenshaw shows you where to

look before you book. those stories and all the day's news and your forecast right here first at 4:00. we will be looking for you. >> thank you. time for a final check on the forecast. here is tom. >> well, good morning. we are warming up now as we approach the noon hour. it is 58 at reagan national. and it is climbing into the 50s. just about everywhere else low 60s in southern maryland. later today, we will be hovering in the low 60s throughout the rest of the afternoon with bright sun. overnight tonight clear and down near 40. by dawn tomorrow, during the day on tuesday. and bright and sunny with afternoon highs in the upper 60s. a wonderful day tomorrow. then on wednesday, partly sunny and morning lows mid 40s, afternoon highs into the low 60s. then on thursday, cloudy and front coming through. might trigger an isolated shower. mainly during the afternoon. after that we will clear out. thursday night. looks like a sunny chilly day for friday. morning lows mid 30s, afternoon highs into the low 50s. a bit milder over the weekend. sunny, saturday and sunny. highs near 60 each day. that's the way it looks.

have a good afternoon. we will see you tomorrow morning. ♪ where in the world is matt lauer ♪ popular weeklong adventure kicked off this morning. matt lauer skied down the sandy dunes. 2.1 million people live there even though he was across the world he talked with a woman from washington, d.c., who lives and works in namibia. >> the head of namibia wildlife resort. pleasure to see you. how are you? >> i'm fine. how are you? >> i'm fine. let's reveal the secret. you are from washington zblooeshgs that's my secret. born and raise. >> how did you find your way here? what made you fall in love with namibia? >> i fell in love with my husband first. i always tell the whole story about the princess going off on the white charger, cue the mike. sunrise, castle. my man took me on the back of a zebra. we went over the top of sand dune into a hut. >> you like living here? >> i love it. i really do. >> she says tourists should be prepared for the rugged weather and exotic animals.

this is the tenth anniversary of "where in the world is matt lauer." that's "news4 midday for today." we thank you for being with us and invite to you tune in for more news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and tonight at 11:00. we will all be back tomorrow morning at 11 cloak a.m. hope you plan to join us. until that have a terrific day and enjoy the beautiful weather we have out there. and have a great monday. we will see you tomorrow. yeah, i'm married. does it matter? you'd do that for me? really? yeah, i'd like that. who are you talking to? uh, it's jake from state farm. sounds like a really good deal. jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm. what are you wearing, jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous. well she's a guy, so... [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. ♪