police have made an arrest in the abductions and carjackings. >> reporter: good morning. barbara. we are waiting for montgomery county police to start a press conference. it should be happening in a few minutes. they do say that now they have their suspect in custody. the suspect was picked up yesterday in prince georges county. police arrested 53-year-old sanders in maryland yesterday. montgomery county police issued a warrant yesterday. they are charging him with multiple counts of kidnapping and robbery. he is being held in connection to the warrant. this all stems from a series of aub ducktions that started last week in the parking lot of the shopping mall in silver springs. last saturday and sunday, three different men in their 60s and 70s were abducted by knifepoint and forced into their own

vehicles and made to drive their attacker to atms to with draw cash. the last victim, a 77-year-old man, was badly beaten and cut after his abduction. police say one man is responsible for all the attacks and released this surveillance video inside of the wheaton market on monday. sanders has an extensive criminal record. first and second degree assault. use of a handgun in commission of a crime, and theft. we are waiting for the police to begin a press conference where they explain more of how they found him and why he is their suspect. that should be happening in a little bit. back to you in the studio, barbara. >> thank you, tracee.

right now, the gaitersburg man jailed in aruba is on his way back to the u.s. he entered the airport this morning. right now it's not clear where exactly giordano is going. the 50-year-old was being held in connection with robin gardener's disappearance. he told police she never came back from a snorkeling trip. they say they believe giordano -- or gardener was murdered. prosecutors will inbound court to appeal his release. if they win their case prosecutors will try to get his extradited back to the island as soon as possible, and even that could take months. gardener's cousin issued a statement saying the family is disappointed but we trust the aruban authorities and fbi will continue their efforts to investigate her disappearance. the man suspected of being

the east coast rape is rapist i news. >> reporter: he was arrested in connecticut back in march and now the man known as the east coast rapist is back in prince william county where he faces a handful of felonies. thomas, he made a brief appearance via video in the court today after his extradition from connecticut. at one point during the short procedure, the judge asked thomas if he understood the charges against him. he looked down and nearly a minute passed and then he asked for a lawyer. >> i am hoping justice will be done. >> his charges stem from a rape

on halloween night in 2009. >> it's hard to believe a scenario could be worse with young girls trick-or-treating and allegedly abducted and raped and a very serious charge. >> thomas faces a maximum of 50 years for an alleged 2007 assault on a connecticut woman, but the virginia charges carry the possibility of several life terms. a massive campaign featuring billboards with a sketch of thomas was launched up and down the east coast, and it was a tip here in virginia that led them to thomas in connecticut, and then they had a discarted cigarettes. >> really amazing what they did. >> reporter: some of the victims may be called to testify.

derrick ward, news4. today the man who nearly assassinated president ronald reagan will attempt to gain more freedom from a psychiatric hospital where he has called home for the last three decades. a series of hearings are assessing the mental health of hinkly jr. now, his lawyers are seeking longer visits, up to 24 days in length and time is not monitored. he would like for it not to be monitored, all of his visits, by the secret service. the federal government says he is still dangerous. at six minutes after 11:00, we have cloudy skies out there in the nation's capital. let's check the weather. our first look at midday. >> now it's starting to look like a late autumn day. we had some sun earlier this morning, but the clouds closed in. as we take a look at what has been happening over the last 12 hours, the clouds moving in as

an upper level disturbance is passing over the area. it might trigger a sprinkle, otherwise we may have clouds. and then we ought to get sunshine back before sunset. temperatures under the clouds are chilly. it's just in the 40s throughout much of the region. 50 now at reagan national. prince georges and montgomery county in the mid-40s and near the bay it's near 50, and in the shenandoah mountains it's in the 40s, and for the afternoon, maybe some breaks in the clouds and maybe chilly with the blustery wipd that will begin to increase in the afternoon to around 25 miles per hour, and may briefly get into the mid-50s by the metro area and by the way but elsewhere in the mid-40s and around 50 by midafternoon. a cold night coming tonight. and then thursday, friday, and the weekend, and a peek at next week will be coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you so much, tom. we will go out to the roads

now and check the midday traffic with danella sealock. >> things are looking much better on i-66 heading westbound at sully road. now it's just in the shoulder lane, and your lanes are open. a lot of relief. you had all but one lane blocked as you tried to make your way westbound, but it's better now. the american legion bridge, slow as you make your way across. the delays start around i-270. and robinson terminal, camera is a little blurry, but no problems there. >> thank you. a pedestrian is in critical condition after being dragged by a cab. it happened after midnight along connecticut avenue along dupont circle. the man was hailing a cab with a group of friends when he held on to the door handle as the cab pulled away.

the man suffered a major head injury. the cabdriver did nothing wrong and they are no longer looking for him, and while the investigation is on going drivers cannot access dupont circle from northbound connecticut avenue. the last of three new escalators is officially open this morning at the foggy bottom metro station. they are the first in a decade. melissa malay is live at the station. glad to see that back open again, huh? >> reporter: yeah, they are coming up smiling instead of huffing and puffing. and the official announcement just wrapped up, and many commuters are used to hiking up that, but today is a celebration of sorts. >> if they can keep the

escalators working, happier for all. >> i have seen the escalator project begin and i have seen it to where it is now. >> reporter: one of chuck's customers, denise fillkins has a two hour daily commute from maryland and a bad knee, so seeing escalators that are moving starts her day off right. >> i am glad they are finally getting them fixed and working and stuff and i will be glad when they get the stairs done for those that like to climb the stairs. >> reporter: and seven refurbished escalators had been delayed but started in january. the first of the three escalators were unveiled in july. the cost was just over $8 million. >> it's better for the traffic flow. that makes the most difference.

you don't have to stand inline, and then come out and wait five minutes in the rain trying to get into the cold train, so it's worth it. >> reporter: new escalators have been installed at an existing station, but a spokesman says the new escalators here are not that different from those that have been refurbished. all of them have new parts, but the entire substructure under the escalators here at the foggy stop was replaced. >> it's part of the $150 million program, and it will take a few years but we are making progress. >> reporter: many hoped today's opening was part of a new era. one of the escalators buckled causing one woman to fall. four people were taken to the hospital after an escalator there failed to function.

>> it's a very busy station and it has been needed for a long time, so i am glad to see it happen. >> come february, we will also begin to work on the green area right there where a staircase will be built and then they will construct a canopy over the top of the stairs and the three new escalate krurz to protect passengers from the elements and of course protect those escalators from the elements as well, and after that they will tackle the dupont circle station. back to you. >> just in time for all the holiday shoppers and all the packages that don't want to face having to walk those stairs. thank you, melissa. our time is 12 minutes after 11:00. coming up, big gains on wall street. the dow is up more than 400 reports. what the fed is doing that has investors buying. plus, what cain told senior campaign workers. and as

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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. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm.

this morning an atlanta woman stands by her claim that she had a 13 year affair with the republican presidential candidate, herman cain, despite his finals. she called the relationship on tv an on and off affair, and she said cain did help her financially, but was not a

matter of sex for cash. cain is assessing whether it's too much for his campaign to go forward. an nbc news crew asked him if he was dropping out of the race, and here is what he had to say. >> that 9-9-9 doing fine. >> he said it would have to be seen if he can go on. and president obama will visit with families and speak at a high school. he wants congress to extend the u.s. tax cut. if no action is taken, a 6.2% pay tax would be taken from american paychecks. right now, vice president joe biden is in iraq in a surprise

visit to mark the last month of u.s. presence in that country. he met with nuri al maliki this morning and reiterated the promise to remove all troops by this year. he talked about the future military incorporation. he is expected to speak with u.s. troops later today. right now, u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, is in mia march for a three-day visit. clinton is the most senior u.s. official to visit that country since 1962 when they largely closed off the country to the outside world. the country's new civilian government pledged greater openness. she will meet with the senior myanmar officials and the trip comes two weeks after obama announced the change in policy. we are enjoying a nice day out there today. we have clouds but not too cold and not windy. >> not yet.

the wind is picking up as the day progresses as we had that big storm system that gave us that rain yesterday exiting. that's a live picture from the city camera, and temperatures right now under that cloud cover, reagan national at 50 degrees. we have a southwesterly wind, around 15 to 20 miles per hour. that's going to shift into the northwest and get higher. this is what it looked like in the shenandoah valley after the rain yesterday. this was sent in by one of the viewers. send your photos to weather@nbcwashington.com. the average high and low, tomorrow the first day of december, 52 and 36, and by the end of the month the average is 44 and average low is 29, and in an average december we get an inch and a half of snow. and a few snow showers trying to

get going up here in western pennsylvania. and for us, we have had the sunshine give way to a cloud cover that has moved back in, and a few sprinkles showing up now. we might have an isolated sprinkle come into the district over the next hour or so and right now it's chilly. we're in the 40s to 50 degrees throughout much of the region, and we will stay this chilly here throughout the rest of the day. as we go forward, over the next 48 hours, a few snow showers out in western maryland. and the rest of that area, most of the area should be dry other than a few sprinkles around here in the next couple of hours, thursday, lots of sunshine and clear and cold on friday night, or thursday night into friday morning, and as well on friday night into saturday morning, we will have an extended period of chilly weather. for the rest of the afternoon, partly sunny and breezy, and it may reach the 50s by the bay, and elsewhere highs around 50,

and the northwest wind gusting around to 25 miles per hour. and tonight clear sky, and the sun sets the 4:47. we will be down to near 40 by midnight and then by dawn tomorrow, near 30 degrees. so a cold start to thursday, and tomorrow, bright and sunny with highs near 50. and then on friday, another cold start to the morning, but afternoon highs in the mid-50s and partly cloudy. and then on saturday, another cold start of the morning, near 30. saturday afternoon, clear and sunny. chilly but dry on sunday after a clear night on saturday night. and then we will have a front approaching monday into tuesday that may bring rain. looks like maybe monday night into tuesday, and that's the way it looks right now. find your fleece, it's feeling chilly. >> thank you, tom. we will check again with danella sealock and find out about the traffic out there. good morning. >> if you are traveling in d.c.,

new york avenue at bladensburg, traffic lights are flashing. cameras in the area, and this is good, just happened. right now police are on the scene directing traffic, and i was watching this a minute ago and it was dangerous, and a lot of cars were taking turns, so if you are traveling in this area, just follow police direction, slow down and use caution. and still slow across american legion bridge as you make your way out outer loop towards the dallas toll road. how a lack of sleep is being used as an antidepressant. >> we have ideas of how t 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. ♪

well, it's that time of year. christmas trees, wreaths and garland arrived at garden centers all over the area. the question is how to pick the perfect one for your home. our garden expert joins us to talk a little dirt again. good to have you, as always. >> thank you. >> saw them on top of peoples' cars a week ago. what are the most common types of trees? >> at this point in this area, one of the most popular in this

area is a fraser fir. they are a perfect tree and they smell good, and they can hold ornaments and lights. >> are those ones with the really open branches? >> tend to be a little tighter, resemble a blue spruce, but they have a blewi ibluish color to t. >> this is a blue spruce. this looks a lot like the fraser? >> yeah, similar look to it. >> what is another? >> balsoms are popular. and here in d.c., people like long needle white pines. >> what are some of the things you say you should look for in a tree. >> look for a tree to be nice and fresh. when you bend it, it should be nice and flexible and plastic. trees should not have a strong,

strong fir or pine spell to them. if you really are smelling a lot of it once you get it inside, and it's probably in the water, it's drying out. >> brown needles around the bottom, is that okay? >> shake the tree really well and see how much falls off of it. it's normal for trees to shed. if you lose a lot of needles on it, i would say that tree is not fresh. >> and let's have a listen. >> if you are going to take it home and put it in water that day, it's a fresh cut, one to two inches off the bottom, and then get it in water at that point. make sure it will hold moisture throughout that season. >> and if you don't get it into the water, you need to put another fresh cut on it. what happens is the sap seals on

the base of the tree and then the tree won't draw water up. >> if you don't get that cut, draw water. >> when you get home, should you put anything into the water? >> sugar added to the water is good for the tree, and some people say alcohol is good for the water to open up the cells. >> any tricks? >> don't put it near a heat source in the house. especially with forced air heat, that will dry it out. unplug the lights when you are not looking at the tree or using it, because that electricity current running through the wires will dry the tree out. >> is it too early, by your station, to get your tree into the house? >> i love to look at the tree as long as you can. >> a lot of trees here in north carolina, they are cut fresh

before thanksgiving, so i say go out and pick it now because the best ones are out on the lot now. >> thank you as always for coming in. sure smells good in here. >> yeah, it does. >> thank you. coming up in the next half hour of "news4 midday," apple juice, healthy or not. and conrad murray, why he probably won't spend time in a california prison. the sun is out, but will it [ screaming ] [ 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. 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 onnews4 midday, montgomery county police arrested a man in connection with the string of kidnappings and carjackings. he attacked three men outside a shopping mall. just minutes ago police talked about arresting sanders outside his home and called him a repeat offender. right now the gaitersburg man arrested in aruba is now back on his way to the u.s. his lawyers say he will go to miami, new york, or his home in gaitersburg. he was being held in connection

with robin gardener's disappe disappearance and presumed death. and it's all part of a $150 million effort to improve the system's reliability. a new study might make you think twice before pouring your kid a glass of apple or grape juice this morning. consumer reports found high levels of arsenic in the amounts tested. it may scare some parents about the safety of apple juice. it's raising concern about arsenic in apple and grape juice. 10% had levels that exceeded the federal standards. >> it's the product that everybody feeds their children. infants. i don't understand why there could possibly be such a thing

in something so natural. >> if it's to the point where it's causing harm to her development, definitely, i would stop. >> this isn't the first time apple juice has been in the headlines. >> i am worried about it as a father of four. >> in september, dr. oz found findings about the arsenic. an independent lab found one third of the tested samples had arsenic levels higher than what the epa allowed. now consumer reports says its test do make a distinction saying the arsenic it found was

a known carson jun. >> it has such a small of arsenic it would be no concern whatsoever. >> it now says it is conducting more tests to determine if a guidance level can be established that will reduce consumer's exposure to arsenic in apple juice. meanwhile the juice products association says it's committed to following guidelines as it has for decades, adding comparing arsenic and apple juice to water is not appropriate. regulatory agencies have set lower standards for drinking water. >> consumer reports does not suggest you stop serving juice to your kids. the american academy of pediatrics suggests you dilute the juice with water. well, there could not be a

fourth accuser in the sex abuse scandal surrounding bernie fine. a man claims fine molested him when he was a teenager. three men and including two syracuse ball boys also accuse fine of molesting them. last night the basketball team played its first home game since fine was fired. and afterwards, the head coach, jim boeheim, addressed the allegations. >> i have absolute say of what they do in the basketball program. what people do outside the program, i have very little, if any, control over adults. >> syracuse fired fine when a third accuser came forward, and an audiotape also surfaced. one of the first accusers reportedly reported a phone call of fine's wife saying she knew about the abuse. this just in to our news

room. the first sex abuse lawsuit has been filed against jerry sandusky, and the man says sandusky abused him more than wupd times in school facilities and at the coach's home, from 1992 to 1996 starting when he was 10 years old. the man is not among the eight boys included in the grand jury report. and that comes as there's a town hall meeting planned today. the forum is the first of three meetings planned to gi students a chance to voice their concerns about the scandal. the physician convicted in the death of michael jackson may not spend his entire sentence behind bars. the judge ordered dr. conrad murray to serve four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, but he could serve half that time in jail because of overcrowding. some legal experts say murray could spend less than a year at the county jail instead of in a

prison, and confined to a cell by himself in that jail. and the judge made comments about murray's lack of remorse, and that it led to the maximum sentence. murray will be back in court in january. the prosecution is seeking more than $100 million in restitution. and the meeting started at 11:00. the bill would establish a ethics panel with the power to punish for violations. they could restrict how they use money. a formal vote is expected by the end of the year. marion barry wants to stay on the board of the d.c. council for a third term. he filed papers yesterday to run for re-election yesterday.

he represented ward 8 since 2005. political analysts expect the 75-year-old to keep his seat, and the democratic primary is this coming april. we will check in again with tom kierein for the latest on the forecast. >> we have had a blanket of clouds pulled over the region by an upper level disturbance. they are also producing a few sprinkles, the specs of green you see on the radar there in the montgomery county getting a few sprinkles near poolsville, and heading towards montgomery village and further to the west a. few sprinkles around the northern blue ridge. the cloud deck should break up later. we're in the upper 40s to 50 degrees around the metro area, and low 40s, out in the

mountains and the shenandoah valley, and there they could have some light snow in west virginia by later this afternoon. near 50 in the metro area, and maybe the low 50s in the next couple hours. and the winds gusting to 25 miles per hour later this afternoon. clearing tonight and cold. sunny, and near 50 tomorrow. the chilly dry weather remains friday, saturday and sunday, and could get showers. >> that's the way it looks, barbara. >> thank you, tom. again, we check on the traffic with danella sealock. >> if you are traveling in d.c., police are still on the scene directing traffic. this is new york avenue. the traffic lights are out so use caution. around the beltway, travel times look really good. here you are on the inner loop at georgia avenue and 57 miles per hour, not so bad. as you make your way on the

inner loop, 50 miles per hour. and if you continue making your way across the wilson bridge, you are clear in both directions and not seeing any problems for you right now. back to you. >> thank you, danella. the children are a missing florida mom have now been taken away from their father, who is also the lone suspect in the case. they were taken from dale smith last night. smith was named the primary suspect in the disappearance of his ex-fiance, michelle parker. this morning, his attorneys defended his decision not to take the polygraph test on the "today" show. >> they are not reliable. if they were, one court in the entire country would accept it. we watch so much tv thinking that polygraphs are the end-all and be all whether somebody is telling the truth or not.

>> is your client cooperate rin with police? >> not now. seems like his cooperation actually, you know, is working against him. >> an emergency custody hearing will be held later today to decide who will care for the children. a d.c. pair medic is on paid administrative lead pending the investigation of a death of an 87-year-old woman. it happened two weeks ago after they checked in on a woman experiencing abdominal pains. the paramedic that arrived decided the woman's condition was not serious enough for him to accompany her to the hospital. paramedics routinely stay with the patient. the woman died of an apparent heart attack, although the official cause of death is still being determined. new coach, same results for the caps that fell 2-1.

it was a promising start to the night as ovechkin made a nice pass to take the early 1-0 lead. but the same problems that have been plaguing the caps all season came back to haunt them. shaky goaltending led to two opportunities for the blues, and ultimately a 2-1 win for the visitors. and hunter says he still sees the potential of the team. >> i thought the guys worked hard tonight, and, you know, it was a tight game the whole game there. they were playing well, and they were good defensively. we had a couple breakdowns, and i let them get better and better in the game, after every practice, and by watching them live now, we have stuff to work on. >> former coach bruce bud row spoke this morning for the first time since his firing, and he says he doesn't blame his loss on ovechkins, and he said he was not surprised that he was

dismissed after the team's recent performance. d.c. sports fans may soon show your team spirit when you drive with a bumper sticker or without a pum per sticker, actually. the bill is to allow residents to get specialty license plates featuring the logo of one of the professional sports team in the city in the logo. how a lack of sleep is being used to an antidepressant. plus, which of the

well, the holiday season is officially on. retailers are expected to lose $119 billion to shoplifters. a new survey ranks what items are stolen the most and some may surprise you. according to ad week.com, choice cuts of meat, like filet minot are popular among shoplifters. laptops were in the fourth spot.

razor blades, especially gillet gillettemach four, they sell for $23. let's check in with the rest of the day's headlines. >> we were talking about one of the worst novembers in years, and now that is wiped out. the dow up 400 points. there have only been four other times when there has been gains of 400 or more, so it's a furious rally. and the central banks and the u.s. and europe and they are making it easy for banks in europe to borrow money, and they are making it cheaper and easier because they are worried about a freeze in the markets, and it's making people more optimistic about the backstopping of the financial world out there. we want to point out, the data here in the u.s., and we're leading into the labor week, adp, which does private sector

payrolls, they gained 204,000 last month, and pending home sales were up 10%. buyers are in the market, or people were bidding on it to go down have to come in and buy and that's why we are up 400 plus points in the dow. everything in the s&p 500 is in the green today, and everything can change in a day we know, but right now the bad november is slowly fading away. >> nice way to end the month, huh, brian? >> yes, absolutely. >> have a great day. >> you, too. we often associate a good night's sleep with a good mood, but now the opposite is being used as a fast-acting anti-depression treatment. explain how sleep deprivation can help a person who is depressed, their mood. >> it's very important that people have sleep. they should not take the message

away from the talk that sleep deprivation is good on a chronic basis, but used at times in a skilled way, they could have a powerful antidepressant affect. 60% of people will have an affect from one night of sleep deprivation. >> in general, not just people that have a particular cork. >> well, in general it has some beneficial affects, but it particularly benefits those people who feel like they have an abnormal tty. when you have jet lag, you are slow. using sleep deprivation could help to shift your biological clock and bring it into order and help the mood. >> how long will the good mood

last if you don't get sleep one night? >> any day from one day to up to three weeks, but there are certain protocols that establish and do enable you to have the affects last longer. and people will either go the whole night without sleep, or interestingly, what is most important is to go the second half of your night without sleep. so it's not sleeping that seconds half of the night that has the beneficial affects for treating depression. when you combine the sleep deprivation, plus using something called a light box for things like seasonal effective disorder, you sit with one of those first thing in the morning, and then use mel atonen at night to help regulate your sleep schedule, and that combination can help to sustain the anti-depressurant affects. when treating depression, one of the big problems with treating anti-d antidepressan

antidepressants, we're looking for something to give relief right away while they are waiting for medications to kick in. >> first of all, should a person try to figure out for themselves, i feel depressed and am not happy at the moment, let me see if i can stay up through the night and see if i feel better in the morning? >> well, there's something called mixed bipolar where they are up and down during the day, and no sleep could cause a whole new problem. you have to be caution. just staying up overnight one night, not used in conjunction with the mel atonin and the light box, it may not work. >> what do you do with the light box? turn it on and sit in front of

it? >> yes, exactly. i set it up, i have it about 12 inches from me, while i am preparing for my day, and you need to get a light box, 10,000 lux, and you sit next to that for 30 minutes, and you use it early in the morning, and that helps with energy and mood. very effective. >> that's better than sitting under a pyramid? >> i haven't heard that one. news to me. >> i will tell you about that one, never done it but have heard about it. i have to tell everybody, next wednesday, we will be answering your question. dr. winer is a psychiatrist and can answer questions from child problems to addiction problems as well. send your questions to news4

midday at n midday at nbcuandi nbcwashington.com. and we will be back with a look at whether the chilly temperatures will stick around. and stevie wonder joins ellen to talk about his [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices... in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom.

for everyone.

the kardashians are making headlines again, this time a baby is on the way. the eldest kardashian sibling, courtney kardashian is pregnant. and a woman got a surprise when she went to the emergency room this week, she thought her appendix bursts, but was having a baby instead. she has two other children and says doctors told her her medical condition would prevent her from getting pregnant again. so she thought her weight gain was for other reasons. >> working at dairy queen, you know, you don't have food. >> i thought she was gaining a little weight. whichlt i got to the hospital, they were like can you possibly be pregnant? no, not a clue. and they came back in and they

said, yeah, you are pregnant. >> four hours later, baby paige was born. 7 pounds and 12 ounces, and doctors say she is a healthy baby girl. happening today, a holiday tradition, the lighting of the famed rockefeller christmas tree. this is a live look at the norway spruce at 30 rock. it will be topped with a 550-pound crystal star. you can watch it live tonight at 8:00, right here on nbc 4. we will take a look at some of the stories we're following this afternoon coming at 4:00. dr. jacky joins us with information that makes it easier to pick a plan. and then at 5:00, why an under water treadmill is the next big thing in fitness, we are told. you have tried one, tom?

>> no, but a good brisk, walk is a good thing on a day like today. we are in the mid and upper 40s, and we may get into the low to mid-50s in a couple hours, and the wind will pick up as well. the wind is gusting up to 25 miles per hour this afternoon. and then we will get some clearing tonight, and much colder weather moving in. and sunny tomorrow, and highs near 50, and the chilly dry weather into the weekend, and maybe rain as we get into the week next week. that's news4 midday for today. we thank you for being with us and invite you to tune in for more news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and then at 11:00. we have great things coming up tomorrow you will want to be here for, and join us for that and until then have a terrific

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