welcome to "news4 midday." i am barbara harrison. it's wednesday, november 23rd, 2011. we begin with a holiday rush on one of the busiest getaway days of the year, and mother nature is causing problems for the millions of people traveling today. this morning's rain is moving north now and flights have been canceled. the rain has stopped here in d.c., but still could be a problem out there. storm center 4, meteorologist, tom kierein, begins with his coverage this morning of the getaway with the forecast. >> we have had winds increasing in the wake of showers that just came through over the last hour of the metro area. the winds are gusting to 30 miles per hour. right now the major problem is between new york city and boston and northern new england. northern new england, they are getting snow right now in maine, north new hampshire and upstate new york, and south of there it's rain around southeastern massachusetts and the islands of nantucket and martha's vineyard

are getting rain now and there's more rain about to move into the new york city area as well. closer to home we have the showers that came through and are now extend across the potomac into virginia. boston is looking okay now. check with your airline. right now the temperatures are mild, upper 50s to around 60. mid-and upper 60s to the south of washington. some of the dhchilly air will b coming our way. and winds will be gusting up to 50 miles per hour in the higher ridges to the west. i will have details later. aaa expect more than 42

million people heading out of town for thanksgiving this year. megan mcgrath is out there with the flyers at reagan national. how are things moving? >> reporter: things look good now. we had a rush this morning. the early birds are getting out of dodge, but behind me things are quiet. we are simply waiting for the next wave to come. it usually comes around 3:30 in the afternoon, whps we will see things pick up again. we saw cancelations up on the board, a couple flights to new york, and right now we are just seeing delays. there are six delays listed up on the board. as you can imagine, it's going to be a businey and hectic day. security lines build as the morning weighs on. but now kids 12 and under no longer have to take off their shoes at the security check

point. >> you are trying to take things off and often things get left behind which causes stress. >> reporter: despite higher fares, air travel is up, and the key is to get there early and give yourself plenty of breathing room. >> reporter: what is the key? >> to leave early in the morning. >> i booked an early flight to try to avoid all of the -- >> reporter: with pretty much every flight booked, finding another seat is difficult. >> i am trying to get home to massachusetts and my flight yesterday was cancelled and all the other flights were booked solid, and so they booked me to laguardia, and i get up at 3:00, and then i was notified that flight was cancelled. >> reporter: all major construction projects around the region have been suspended, and

even though traffic is expected to be heavy. those driving to grandma's house for turkey can expect to pay more this year. gas prices are up. >> gas prices are quite a bit higher than last year, between 50 and 55 cents a gallon last year and yet we are seeing a 4% increase in motorists on the highways. >> reporter: if you are driving today we are expecting things to get ugly on the roadways later this afternoon. a lot of folks work a half day today and head off and go to grandma's house. the worse day to travel on the return trip is on sunday. folks try to make it back in town to make it back to work by monday, if you can play outside the parameters there, leave early or late, and that will help you avoid.

>> grandma for you lives close to you. >> reporter: yeah, down the street from me, but we are going to my aunt's house, so it's a little bit of a drive, but not bad. let's see how traffic is moving right now as those of you thinking of going somewhere right now. >> before we get to travel out of town, we have to talk to you about powder mill road being closed. this is along high point high school for police activity. be aware of that as you make your commute. i-95, i was seeing a lot of crowding heading south at fairfax county parkway, and still seeing delays southbound passing the occoquan. i-95 southbound from the beltway to the occoquan bridge, 26 miles per hour and it will take you 24 minutes to make that commute. now back to you. >> looks busy out there still. thank you, danella. police say a suspected drunk driver is responsible for a

three-car crash involving a school bus last night at the intersection of buds creek road and mechanicsville road in maryland. we're told the bus was carrying the girls' basketball team from the high school. 15 students, one adult and the bus driver were all taken to the hospital. two people inside the car were also hospitalized. all the victims were treated and released. school officials say things could have been a lot worst. the bus driver's quick thinking helped to keep the students safe. >> our bus driver was heroic. he navigated the situation. we were thankful the bus did not tip over. once he -- the bus was settled, he responded to make sure every student was safe. >> police say the driver of the pickup truck was arrested and charged with dui. it was an emotional

homecoming at bwi for lucky troops. dozens returned home for thanksgiving. family members and friends cheered as 350 service members, mostly air force arrived at the airport last night. the group was flown in from iraq and afghanistan. they were not scheduled to come home until christmas. everybody that we spoke to said they are thankful for their loved ones coming home this holiday. president obama has excused a turkey from the tanl. he pardoned a bird name liberty. their names came from schoolchildren in minneapolis, who studied the importance of agriculture to the world food supply. the turkeys bought to spend the night in the w hotel, and the

birds are heading into retirement in the livestock facility. coming up, what newt gingrich said that has other presidential candidates

[ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait. it's only available for a limited time. so go to verizon.com/superoffer to sign up. act now and we'll add a special bonus -- $300 back. fios delivers the best picture quality, plus america's fastest, most consistent most reliable internet. spend the holidays saving money. switch to fios and get our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement when you order online. save $840 in your first two years.

and don't forget your special bonus -- $300 back. hurry, offer ends soon. go to verizon.com/superoffer. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/superoffer. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. we have a developing story

out of egypt. police fired tear-gas at tahrir square. the military has been in control since mubarak was overthrown by an up rising in february. this morning, a georgetown university and two other americans remain in an egyptian jail. all three have been studying at the university of cairo. they were arrested during monday's protest. they were accused of throwing cocktails at security forces. a u.s. official was present when they were questioned, but the case was not resolved. national security was the topic of the presidential debate. the gop hopefuls squared off last night. tracie potts breaks it down for us now from capitol hill. >> reporter: this debate covered

everything from the patriot act -- >> they want to kill all of us, so we should use every means possible to kill them first or identify them first. >> reporter: to profiling, to immigration where newt gingrich went out on a limb. >> if you have been here 35 years and paying taxes and obeying the law, and belong to the local church, i don't think we will separate you. >> reporter: it's like two nuclear to fail. >> reporter: they talked about the impacts of the cuts. >> they are not cutting anything out of anything. all this talk is just talk. >> if leon pennetta is an honorable man he should resign and protest. >> reporter: analysts said the

cuts will not shrink the pentagon's budget. >> i come back and say, no, no, i can only give you 80, that's not a 20% cut. >> reporter: those cuts are in the air and so are the candidates. newt gingrich is up on top in five different polls this month. during the debate, president obama was in the crucial state of new hampshire to push for his re-election and an extension to the payroll tax cuts. that averages out to 1500 more a year for most households. to pay for it, the president is calling for hikes on income taxes for the rich, an issue that left the super committee in the deadlock. and we are getting the inside scoop on what it's like to work for president obama from the personal assistant.

the former duke basketball player said, and mr. obama can ride around without air-conditioning in the summer. he said he would only turn the air-conditioning on when love was sweating. the president has described the 30-year-old as his little brother and the person that keeps him on schedule. tom joins us right now to tell us what we can expect from the weather. >> i would like to have a personal assistant carry my barometers and rain gauges. we are using our wind gauge as we have had a lot of wind begin to move in. that has been happening in the last couple hours. the wined has really picked up. still cloudy right now at reagan national where it's at 60 degrees. winds are occasionally gusting up to 30 miles per hour. as we take a look at the other

view of the sky, there's nice breaks in the clouds and blue showing through. we had a few shafts the sunlight, and as we look at the view from space, there are a few sprinkles in prince georges and charles county as well as into northern calvert and southern an run dull. and the temperatures are around 70 degrees, while out in the mountains it's in the 40s. quite a dramatic change in temperature across the viewing area. right now it's 60 at reagan national and mid-60s in prince georges county, and montgomery county, mid-50s, and fairfax county, near 60. if you are traveling there may be flight delays around new york city and the newark airport as well as perhaps the boston

airports. they had one wave of rain coming through there. and now another area of rain moving into the new york city metro area, and north of boston, there is snow. upstate new york, vermont, new hampshire and maine, they are getting a snowstorm. here are the latest airport delays where you see the airplane shapes in orange, those are flight delays, and we are getting some delays in chicago with flights. now, in the next 48 hours we may have an additional passing shower later, but then after that we will clear out and have lots of clearing tonight with a gusty wind, and that will bring in colder weather that will be place in tomorrow morning, and for thanksgiving day, lots of sunshine without the day and into the evening hours. we will be clear and should be another chilly start to friday morning, but maybe a bit milder on friday morning, as the wind shifts into the south, but we will have lots of sun. for the rest of the afternoon, we will have breaks in the

clouds. higher gusts maybe to 50 miles per hour up on the western ridges, and we will fallout in the 60s down to the low to mid-50s throughout the metro area, and then this evening, sunset at 4:50, and still a blustery wind. temperatures will drop, and we will have the winds gusting up to 35 miles per hour throughout the evening, and then when we get to sunrise tomorrow, temperatures will diminish down into the mid-30s. what a dramatic drop from this morning to the 30s by dawn on thanksgiving morning. and then a delightful day on friday, milder, a chilly start, though. friday afternoon, around 60 degrees. saturday, near 40 in the morning. lots of sunshine. mostly sunny on saturday and a pleasant day, highs reaching below 60s. maybe even a bit milder on sunday. morning lows in the mid-40s, and morning highs, mid-60s. we have another chance of rain

as we get back to work and school on monday and tuesday, and getting chilly, again, midweek next week after a warm up on the weekend. and that's the way it looks. >> what happened to the gobbling turkey you had yesterday? >> finally caught him. >> did you warden him? i hope you finally pardoned him? >> yes, we did, in the weather office. let's check on the traffic again, danella sealock. >> traveling the inner loop of the beltway we're seeing an accident near the 270 spur. checking travel speeds in the area, if you are taking the inner loop at georgia avenue, you are at 59 miles per hour. that's not so bad. i am seeing delays 95 south as you make your way past beltsville. and then pennsylvania avenue, 61 miles per hour, and still delays on i-95. they start as you make your way towards route 1 and travel southbound at the occoquan, right now 28 miles per hour, and

from the beltway to the aqua kwan, it will take you 28 minutes. do you find yourself telling your child the same thing over and over again? we talk about changing that behavior, especially during the stressful holiday season. wine ideas for thanksgiving. what goes best with turkey? we have some creative recipes to make the day very festive for the family. first, here is

[ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait. it's only available for a limited time. so go to verizon.com/superoffer to sign up. act now and we'll add a special bonus -- $300 back. fios delivers the best picture quality, plus america's fastest, most consistent most reliable internet. spend the holidays saving money. switch to fios and get our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement when you order online. save $840 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus -- $300 back. hurry, offer ends soon. go to verizon.com/superoffer. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/superoffer. at 800-974-6006 tty/v.

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well, you probably have your menu set for tomorrow, but do you know what you are planning to serve to drink? we are joined this morning with ideas. good morning and welcome. this looks great. ready for a party already. start by telling us which wines, what types of wines go best with turkey. >> what you want to do is make sure the meal is the focus of your dinner, and you want to have wines that will compliment it. the best way to do that is to remember the word peno. it's a great red wine, light, easy to drink and will not over

power any dishes that you are serving. >> well, a pinot is light. there are hints of cherry and raspberry and spice, so it will compliment the turkey well. >> do you suggest other red wines or white wines? >> well, you want a pinot grigio. it will go good with side dishes, like a green bean casserole. >> should you change them in the middle of the meal? >> you can. you want to go with the white first, since it will be lighter, and red is typically heavier. if you like something sweeter,

we recommend the ripsling. >> you say it's sweet? >> yes. >> is that okay with the dinner? >> yes, it's a preference. if you like sweet, drink sweet. >> you brought along with you some ideas for fun things. >> what you want to do is make the dinner your own, and you can do that with a signature cocktail, so you never want to have -- you don't want to forget about the bubbly during your thanksgiving dinner. and the best thing about all of these wines is that you don't have to spend $20 to $30 on a good bottle of wine. these wines won't cost you an arm and a leg. >> that's what barefoot wine says. you can go into a liquor store,

and i know it's floundering for those that don't know what to reach for. >> yeah, you can find a good wine at any price range. these barefoot wines are great for any day wine, especially for thanksgiving. so we have a traditional brute, and we will make a bubbly with this. you had just a sflash. it will be sweeter than an orange juice, so it's a different flavor. you take an open beach and add it as a garnish. >> smells like peaches. >> absolutely.

we have one more called the pink poinsettia. it's a sweet champagne that is going to be great as a dessert all on its own. you pour in the pink, and then you add cranberry juice. the ma scott yo. you add a couple cranberries in there as a gaurnish. >> thank you so much. great to have you with us. >> happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving. coming on, taking out the doubters. and then the space station's

close call with junk. and then are [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online --

just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait. it's only available for a limited time. so go to verizon.com/superoffer to sign up. act now and we'll add a special bonus -- $300 back. fios delivers the best picture quality, plus america's fastest, most consistent most reliable internet. spend the holidays saving money. switch to fios and get our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement when you order online. save $840 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus -- $300 back. hurry, offer ends soon. go to verizon.com/superoffer. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/superoffer. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead.

right now on news4 midday, millions of americans are heading out of town for thanksgiving. aaa expect more than 40 million people to travel for the holiday, and most of them will hit the road. most travelers will pay a pretty penny this year.

gas prices are up 20%, and train fares and air fares are also up from last year. >> you are here by pardoned. give him a round of applause. >> that's right. president obama has pardoned the official thanksgiving turkey at the white house. the bird named liberty is now headed to the livestock facility and not the kitchen. it's the highlight of a holiday display there through january 6th. seems like an innocent moment, two toddlers caught empty-handed with a bag of flour. the video showed a mom covered in flower in the living room, and it was destroyed. cynical users of youtube say the parents are look for profit. they said the flower ended up on picture frames too high up for

the kids to reach. they were on the "today" show to dispel the rumors. >> i left the child safety lock off the cabinet door and went to the booth room too long, and i was in there under five minutes -- >> they did all this in under five minutes? >> how long did it take you to clean up? >> on and off for seven hours. it was 3:00 p.m. until 11:00, but we took time for dinner. >> this video has nearly 2 million hits so far. the parents say they just wanted to share the crazy scene with their family. let's check in with tom kierein now once more for the forecast. changes are out there? >> south of washington, it's sunny and around 70 degrees. we still have clouds over the metro area. there's blue showing through and sunshine there.

over the last 12 hours, we have had waves of rain coming over us, and we still had a few sprinkles come through a couple hours ago in the metro area, and now it's down in charles county, and southern prince george, and across the potomac and stafford. that's advancing off to the south and to the west, it is partly cloudy now. and way out in the mountains, though, still some lingering showers. we will have an upper level disturbance coming over that may trigger additional shower. fredericksburg is at 70, while cumberland is at 46. incredible span of temperatures here around our viewing area. and it's not going to stay near 70 much longer, because the winds are beginning to pick up. they are gusting to 30 miles per hour. they will get even higher bringing in some of the chilly air out of the mountains. and down in the 30s tomorrow morning. sunny and chilly thanksgiving day. sunshine for the wakd and

warming up again. that's the way it looks right now. >> your turkey there is smoking and ready. >> we will check on the midday traffic again. big problems on the beltway, the outer loop at 495, an accident there taking three of the right lanes. you can see, you are jammed at georgetown pike as you make your way towards it. your delays start at the american legion bridge. you are bumper to bumper. i-95, if you are traveling i-95 in virginia, slow at the occoquan. your delays begin at the beltway and from the beltway to the occoquan, you are at 28 miles per hour and it will take you 22 minutes to make the trip. >> back to you, barbara. remember that wildfire burning in virginia? well, it's finally out. the swamp burned for more than three months. officials surveyed the area and

found no evidence that smoke out there now. the fire was discovered back in august. it consumed more than 6,500 acres, and authorities believe lightning started the fire. astronauts onboard the international space station are breathing a sigh of relief after dodging space junk out there. a debris from a weather satellite would pass dangerously close to the space station, and around 5:00 this morning the junk did pass by with no problem. it was traveling at 17,000 miles per hour, so it could have caused a lot of damage. and you can call this a christmas miracle. a helicopter was using a cable to install a christmas tree in new zealand this morning, when the rutters clipped the support

there. the chopper went plummeting to the ground and fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt, including a pilot. a lighting for the christmas tree was scheduled for next week. and a woman is begging her daughter to turn herself in. stephanie swabb pretended to run out of gas to car jack another one. she robbed two banks since last friday, and her mother pleaded for her to end the crime spree. >> i love you, and please turn yourself in and no matter what happens, i will stand by your side, and please, think about the kids, and me, and yourself. >> she was last seen driving the stol stolen accra. authorities have released

damaging video in the corruption case against jack johnson. the u.s. attorneys office says it shows him accepting a bribe. it was taken shortly after his wife had been elected to the county council, the same day the two were arrested. federal prosecutors say jack johnson routinely took bribes. authorities say he deserves a lengthy prison sentenced for one of the notorious corruption schemes in history. there is word of yet another child abuse investigation against jerry sandusky.

this investigation focused on alleged victims that are still children. pennsylvania's children and youth services are launching an investigation on cases reported less than 60 days ago. they will be the first to be reported since sandusky's arrests. and other alleged victims, who have come forward, are now adults. two people connected to the natalie wood case are now speaking out. the actress died some three decades ago. the two stories come this week after investigators re-opened the case. nbc's miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: thr30 years after drowned, some witnesses were interviewed for the first time after the accident. one woman spoke to cbs news.

>> i heard a woman calling for help. help me, somebody. please help me, i'm drowning. >> she tells nbc news she never seen her in the water, but she should have been interviewed 30 years ago. >> and the retired paramedic helped to retrieve woods' body off catalina island. she clung to life for hours as she held on for life. >> she must have held on to it. >> a three-time oscar nominated actress, wood had a well-documented phobia of the ocean. >> i have always been terrified. still am, aof water, dark water. >> but that doesn't stop her

from the boat trip she took. >> the captain of the boat has said repeatedly that as soon as robert wagner saw chris walkin calm aboard the boat, there was an intense and jealous feeling in the air. they say wagner is not a suspect. but in an ironic twist tuesday night, the 81-year-old actor played a murder suspect in primetime tv. wagner's publicist says the actor's family welcomes the new investigation. natalie wood is one of hollywood's biggest stars, her life celebrated and her death remains a mystery. >> experts say because the case is so old, investigators could only file a charge of murder. any other charge could not be filed under the statute of

limitations. 11:40 is our time now. and still ahead, making sure your child behaves at the family gathering to [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait. it's only available for a limited time. so go to verizon.com/superoffer to sign up. act now and we'll add a special bonus -- $300 back. fios delivers the best picture quality, plus america's fastest, most consistent most reliable internet. spend the holidays saving money. switch to fios and get our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement when you order online. save $840 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus -- $300 back. hurry, offer ends soon. go to verizon.com/superoffer. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities

that's verizon.com/superoffer. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. [ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state.

the walk pie organizer are urging those

to occupy some places. the group says the goal is to impact the profits of major corporations this holiday season. this year, you don't have to wait until the day after thanksgiving to score the best shopping deals, and we have a cheat sheet on where to find the best bargains in town. >> black friday starts early and many stores are already putting deals online and are planning to open thanksgiving night. we're online mapping out all of the major players. best buy opens at midnight. one good deal we're looking at is the big screen tv by sony, and it's $800. you are looking at a 1,900 to

$1,100. and macy's offering shoes up to 50% off on friday. and then target is selling their e-readers at various prices. if you are a fashion seeker, we want to encourage you to shop local. fashion blog listed some of the great deals from small eer boutiques, up to 80% off wedding gowns. visit alexandriava.com. and you can go to twitter, and visit black friday, and we will have a list of these on our own site at nbcwashington.com. know your budget, and do research before you hit the web or the pavement. >> great ideas. big losses this morning on

wall street. let's check in with cnbc, and we have more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. >> we're down about 190 points of the dow jones industrial average. we saw jobless claims pick up a little bit. and we saw consumer sentiments straight even with expectations. the data in the u.s. was not so bad, but overnight we found out that chinese manufacturing was at a three-year low. and then the weakest they have had since the euro started, and some calling it a disaster and that led to the selloff. i did want to point out, we do a lot of these thanksgiving stories, and they basically say

the average cost of a thanksgiving for ten went up 20%. it's $49.20. that's pretty unbelievable to me, because i can't imagine spending that little for ten, and of course that doesn't include the wine bill for dealing with the in-laws. have a happy thanksgiving. >> i was thinking the same thing. it sounded a whole lot less than what i spend when i go to the grocery store. >> yeah, i know. must be private label stuff. i don't know. >> have a happy thanksgiving if i don't see you. >> thank you. behavior problems are common in children, but this time of children can be especially stressful for parents. family gets together and moms and dads put pressure on the children to behave themselves. and we have the doctor with advice. you cannot get a better subject for today, because a lot of parents are worried, especially if they are going to grandma's house. >> yeah, they don't want to

embarrass themselves and they want to look like they are competent parents. parents need to recognize that to expect your 6 or 7-year-old to sit at the dinner table for a prolonged period of time listening to adult conversation, not realistic. have realistic expectations. you should sit down with your kids ahead of time and tell them what is important for you that night. whatever that may be, you want them to know what kind of behavior you are looking for from them for the evening. i am not above giving the kids incentive or reward if they follow-through with good behavior. doesn't have to be something monetary, or something like i will let you stay up later, something that will motivate the child to behave better for that family event. the one thing i want parents to

recognize, i think it's essential every family has a clearly defined plan dealing with problem behavior for your kids. >> you mentioned that. >> there's book out there. i think every family should do it from a young age. every family needs to have organized consistent approach to dealing with behavior problems. that's going to help the parents feel more in control and decrease the likelihood of parents losing their temper and shooting from the hip. your kid is not listening, and you say i will take away your tv for the next week, but you want to be realistic, and have what is a reasonable consequence. so for instance, if your child is having difficulty getting dressed in the morning, the consequence shouldn't be that they lose tv for the night, it

should be that they go to school with their pajamas on. >> i see what you mean. >> it happened in my family. they are embarrassed and it never happens again. >> is this something the parents discuss? >> no, i think it's something that you have to sit down and talk to kids about. i suggest that parents read a book or come in and talk to a professional and get an organized system and explain it and let them know what the expect tags are and then you implement the plan. sometimes things get worst before they get better. >> i have to ask about corporal punishment. what do you say about that? >> i am against spankings. it's going to be an effective tool for controlling behavior, but there's are down sides. studies show that kids are more likely to miss behave at school and be aggressive at school, and there are the consequences as

the kids get older in the terms of what relationship impact it has on the parents. you don't want the message to be you misbehave so you get hit. if you feel like you have no option to control your child besides turning to spanking, that's a problem. or if your child is behaving poorly at home and at school and the school is expressing concerns, those are some indications that you really should seek out extra help. you need to have extra tools in the toolbox to try and manage the problems. if you don't catch this stuff early, it's really hard to manage behavior once your child hits the teen or tween years. >> before heading to grandma's house, you get together and say this is what we expect of you. >> this is what we expect, and this is the reward.

a look at what is at the movies, and stay at nbc 4 all afternoon. at 3:00, ellen takes a look

today workers will start

inflating those iconic giant balloons for the macy's thanksgiving day parade. they should have a smooth flight, we hear. earlier concerns about high winds died down as high winds move through the area faster than expected. and macy's will include appearances by neil diamond, cee lo green, and of course, santa clause will be there. you can see it here on nbc 4 tomorrow morning beginning at 9:00. i am going to shoot straight. you guys are not famous anymore. >> let's check out what is happening at the movies in the box office. kermit, miss piggy and the whole gang are back.

and they help the newest pumpets. it's rated pg. now does santa deliver all the presents in the night? in "arthur christmas," there's an army of ninja elves, and when the technology fails they pull out the old school sleigh and the reindeer. it's rated pg. and then "hugo," an orphan who lives in a paris train station.

why is the station there? he learns more about his father and discovers more than he could have dreamed of finding. "hugo" is rated pg. and then let's look at some of the stories we're following this afternoon. here is a preview of things to come. >> we will hit the roads as well as the airports and railways to give you the latest on the travel conditions out there this day before thanksgiving. and a vodka billboard ad is causing controversy. we will hear from both sides about that at 4:00. at 5:00, we will check in two women engaged in a weight loss battle to see if age really matters when it comes to shedding those extra pounds. those stories and more coming up tonight on news4 starting at 4:00. barbara? >> thank you, pat. time for a final check on the forecast. >> we had gusty winds increasing. we still have a few sprinkles south of washington now, but the

sunshine is breaking out now and temperatures joining a wide variety, right now it's near 60 near washington and getting chillier as the afternoon goes on. chilly and sun for thanksgiving day, and sunshine is returning. have a great thanksgiving. >> thank you. and then bieber fever spread to every one. >> i just have one thing to say! >> that was matt lauer poking fun at the new commercial. the 17-year-old did not disappoint his thousands of fans. thousands of people have spent days camped out for today's concert. there's no word if today's concert broke the record for the largest crowd at a "today" show concert. right now that concert goes to chris brown, when the crowd was estimated to be at least 18,000

people. there were a lot of people out there today. that's new"news4 midday" for to. be [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait. it's only available for a limited time. so go to verizon.com/superoffer to sign up. act now and we'll add a special bonus -- $300 back. fios delivers the best picture quality, plus america's fastest, most consistent most reliable internet. spend the holidays saving money. switch to fios and get our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement when you order online. save $840 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus -- $300 back. hurry, offer ends soon. go to verizon.com/superoffer. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities

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