thomas for allegedly taking $300,000 in city grant money for youth sports and spending the money lavishly on himself. thomas has denied wrongdoing, but after a separate investigation by the d.c. attorney general this summer, thomas agreed to repay the entire $300,000. he did not admit wrongdoing. the agreement got the attention of federal authorities and u.s. attorney ronald machin, who is trying to determine if thomas broke federal law in spending all that city money on himself. as it was getting dark about 5:00 p.m., lawyers for thomas came out and spoke only a few seconds with reporters. they said they're confident that thomas would be cleared of any wrongdoing. after the long day, agents began pouring out of the house, and police removed the yellow tape. >> i just want to know what you said so i can -- >> reporter: just moments ago, thomas' lawyer fred cook greeted

nbc 4 at the door but declined to open it. so a long and dramatic someday is co-- day is coming to a clos here. it is a sign this investigation has entered a new and more serious stage. i'm tom sherwood live in northeast washington. dorene, back to you. >> all right, tom. thank you. we continue our coverage now with the i-team's tisha thompson who has reaction on all of this. have we heard from the mayor? >> we have. he has started it to put statements out. he's been in new york all day today. we've been in touch with his spokesperson, who gave us this statement. he says, i continue to support the investigation into these allegations so that justice can run its course for the sake of the district. i hope the investigation is concluded quickly. meanwhile, word spread quickly through the wilson building today, where thomas and his fellow councilmembers work. some councilmembers didn't want to talk, but those who did say we need to wait and see what

comes out of today's events before making any decisions. >> clearly, it's a serious situation. i think there's been a lot of angst in this building that the u.s. attorney proceeded with the investigation. i'm hopeful we'll get to a closure very quickly. >> the presumption of innocence is something very, very precious. even in this situation where he's paying back an amount of money. even in this situation, that presumption of innocence is so central to our constitutional protections. >> there's a lot swirling around the wilson building because there are other ongoing investigations that include one with mayor vincent gray and another with chairman kwame brown. the u.s. attorney's office investigation with gray started after a candidate accused the mayor and his campaign of paying him to make disparaging remarks about the then-mayor in exchange for a job. there's also an investigation by

the u.s. attorney's office about hundreds of thousands of dollars raised and spent by chairman brown's 2008 campaign when he was running for an at-large seat. both have denied any wrongdoing. so there is a lot going on in the wilson building. >> also, what's going on is not necessarily in the wilson building, but outside. a number of calls for harry thomas to resign right away. >> we've been doing a lot of stories lately about medical marijuana, which has been focused predominantly in harry thomas' district, which is ward 5. folks there are really unhappy with him. they feel like they can't get business done because this seems to hang over the balance of everything. so, you know, i can see where those calls are coming from. we've been feeling it in the community. >> no indication from him he intends to do that yet. >> to, he's acting like business as usual. today, of course, is a really big day. >> thank you. we invite you to stay with news 4 and nbcwashington.com for continuing coverage and updates on the raid at the home of d.c.

councilman harry thomas jr. there's new information tonight about the kidnapping in pakistan of a man from rockville. warren weinstein was kidnapped in pakistan back in august. there was no claim of responsibility for that kidnapping until yesterday. al qaeda leader al zawahiri released an internet message claiming weinstein was kidnapped by al qaeda. al zawahiri gave a lengthy list of demands for weinstein's release. sources say al zawahiri is responsible for negotiations for weinstein's release. an electrician from wood bridge, virginia, pleaded guilty to terror charges today. he was arrested after a government crackdown on people who use the internet to promote terrorism. jane is outside the u.s. district court in alexandria with the details on that.

jane. >> reporter: well, 24-year-old jubair ahmad did plead guilty, and he is facing 15 years in jail, $250,000 fine, and possible deportation back to pakistan. the 24-year-old wood bridge man admitted he created and posted a recruiting video for a radical terrorist group. it was his five-minute youtube video advocating violent jihad against enemies of islam that led to the arrest of jubair ahmad. the pakistani native lived in wood bridge. he pled guilty to aiding a terrorist group. >> the defendant admitted he knew that this video would go viral once it was posted on youtube and that it would be very popular in pakistan and that thousands and thousands of people would view it. >> reporter: in an alexandria courtroom, jubair admitted he conspired with l.e.t. in the video.

>> he's trying to show the army of western countries. >> reporter: this terrorism expert says it's a call to arms for muslim youth against the west. >> in my view, it's not something that you have doubt if it will incite hatred or not. it certainly can make a young muslim feel a lot of anger and some of them can go further and do violent acts against america. >> reporter: this is the fifth case the justice department has brought in alexandria going after those who use the internet to recruit and radicalize young people worldwide. >> the impact of it is devastating. the reach of the internet is what's concerning to us because the message of a terrorist organization through the internet has broad range. so we see that often. that's why we take these types of activities extremely seriously. >> reporter: l.e.t. is a radical group that claimed responsibility for the 2008 bombing in mumbai, india. that killing 100 people,

including six americans. the defendant will be sentenced on april 13th. reporting live in alexandria, i'm jane wattrell. back to you. >> jane, thank you. the unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in two and a half years. according to the labor department, more than 100,000 jobs were added last month. many of them in the small business community. steve handlesman has our report. >> reporter: gearing up for dinner at boundary stone in d.c. it's a new place. 24 new jobs for cooks and waiters. the boss is excited. >> obviously, a good, healthy national economy is beneficial for big business, small business, any business. so that definitely adds to our optimism. >> reporter: this restaurant is part of a trend. because of hiring by startups and smaller firms, our nation added 120,000 jobs last month. >> it feels like we're starting to get small businesses kicking

in. that is so vital to getting the job market moving forward. >> reporter: the unemployment rate, stuck around 9, dropped to 8.6%. president obama celebrated. >> the american economy has now created, in the private sector, jobs for the past 21 months in a row. that's nearly 3 million new jobs in all. >> reporter: but people have given up looking for work and were not counted. republicans still say the president has failed. >> the american people want action on jobs. they want it now. >> reporter: presidents obama and clinton argued today for middle-class tax cuts and a stimulus paid for by a tax hike on the rich. competing visions of how to get the nation hiring more workers, like boundary stone restaurant is. up here in congress, that competition between democrats and republicans on jobs and taxes has stalled action on the payroll tax cut. i'm steve handlesman, news 4,

capitol hill. the stock market tried to rally on the good unemployment numbers, but the markets closed mostly flat today. still, for the week, all three posted an impressive 7-point game. today, the dow closed down less than a point. the nasdaq closed slightly up. the s&p fell less than a point. coming up on news 4 at 6:00, wild weather out west. hurricane-speed winds finally settle down. the damage has already been done. somebody poisoned some family dogs, and it may be linked to other disturbing attacks in the neighborhood. drug raids in virginia. we'll tell you about the counterfeit prescription drugs some people were willing to buy on the cheap. honda expanding its air bag recall on some of its most popular cars. veronica, how about our weekend weather? >> our weekend weather, well, it starts today. gorgeous day. a lot of people excited about that today. a chilly evening. and a very busy weekend.

and coming up in sports, mike shanahan tells us if there really is a revis island. why skittles were a key ingredient in a seahawks victory. plus,

news -- thousands of people are waiting for their power to be turned back on after strong santa ana winds blew through the west coast. gina kim has the latest. >> reporter: thousands are still without power. many streets, schools, and businesses remain closed in southern california today. >> this is one of the worst wind storms in a generation. >> reporter: the worst in at least a decade, according to the national weather service, which reported hurricane-grade gusts

of 97 miles an hour blasting through the los angeles area at the height of the storm. >> i ask for a continued patience on the part of angelenos as we recover from what has been an incredible display of the power of mother nature. >> reporter: the result is this, a dozen homes red tagged in pasadena. millions of dollars of property destroyed. griffith park, home to the hollywood sign, shut down. the same storm slammed new mexico. in northern california, blew down chunks of the bay area. >> it sounded almost like a hurricane. i've lived here all my life. i was amazed from all the stuff that was flying last night. >> reporter: today brought calm but temporarily. weather casters predict another fierce wind storm to sweep through southern california this weekend. gina kim, nbc news, los angeles. >> that's a mess. >> it is a mess. one thing we don't have to worry about around here. we have our share, but -- >> that's right.

we have been lucky. we have been lucky going into this latter part of november, early part of december. things are going to start to turn before long. >> is that so? >> uh-huh. >> we should knock on wood. >> we should knock on wood and really take advantage of this upcoming weekend. my list is getting longer and longer. i cannot stress enough you should put together a list of things to do jououtdoors for th weekend. next weekend, not looking as nice. >> you're saying we need to take advantage of this weekend. chores is not what comes to mind. >> putting up the holiday lights. is that a chore? it's not a chore if you have a cup of cocoa with you, if you have music playing. >> and the one little light in the string doesn't work. takes the whole string out. >> darn it. >> right. >> we get the idea. >> exactly. there will be good conditions. >> very nice conditions. >> a pretty good evening too. what's better than some nice weather on a friday evening? that's a great way to start the

weekend. we've got clear skies out there right now. a starry sky. temperatures throughout the area today, we got up into the mid 50s. started out in the low 30s right inside the beltway. that's a little higher than the average for this time of year. speaking of averages, take a look at the average rain. it's just over 3 inches. the average snow, about 1.5 inches. i don't think we're going to have any snow any time soon. one thing is for sure, this time next week it's going to get much colder around the area. let's look at where we are right now. we're at 54 degrees. the dew point temperature at 28 degrees. we've got a calm wind around the area. the 54 not hurting us too much. you can get by making that short trip from the car to the building without a coat. later tonight and tomorrow morning, you're going to need a coat to get started. we'll be starting out at 35 to 36 degrees. sun's up tomorrow at 7:09.

outlying suburbs starting out in the 20s tomorrow morning. once again, we're going to see a big range in temperatures, folks. around leesburg, 24 to 25 degrees. you can see the clear sky. temperatures are going to be allowed to drop with that light wind. notice the clouds to the north and west around pittsburgh. that's a weather front, where today it has been delivering some precipitation in the form of some light snow in northeastern pennsylvania and up around areas of upstate new york. even maine. you can see there just north still light snow coming down. temperatures for the weekend, not quite as high at 55. still, pretty nice and pretty close to that. all right. there you can see rain showers around omaha. showers just south of wichita. big area of low pressure here. that's the reason for those strong santa ana winds.

high pressure to the north. low pressure to the south. those winds offshore, they just drive on down through the canyons from the highest of elevations down the lowest of elevations. those winds, easing off now as that low starts to make its way eastward. that whole weather system will start driving eastward. for us, what you're going to like a lot, is after this nice weekend, temperatures go up at the beginning of next week. then they start to go down. nice for december. when we get the rain, it's going to be a mild rain at the beginning of next week. for the weekend, we stay dry the entire weekend. saturday is the day with all the sunshine. sunday, we get some clouds. warmer conditions around here. your forecast for the evening, pretty nice one. 40 to 47. a starry sky for us. a cold start to the day tomorrow. you're going to need the coat. 24 to 37 degrees. tomorrow afternoon, your high about 51 degrees. another gorgeous winter day around the air yap. four-day forecast, there's your

rain coming in for tuesday. again, temperatures will really start to drop off. we'll look at that extended forecast in a couple minutes. doug was out yesterday for the lighting of the national christmas tree. if you want him to come to your house and check out your decorations, you got to get busy this weekend and hang those lights and put up the decorations. send in your photo to nbcwashington.com. we'll pick and choose. it's one big contest. next thursday, he'll be there. >> that's why you were trying to get us to hurry up. >> that's right. >> it helps if you feed him too. >> oh, yes. >> thanks, veronica. coming up tonight, not everybody is buying flat screen tvs and tablets on black friday. people were buying guns as well. [ 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.

tapes from an emergency dispatcher have been released from that day the stage collapsed at the indiana state fair. that was back in august. seven people died on that day when the grand stand gave way before a concert. those tapes found that the response to the disaster was quick, but there were problems with how patients were treated

by the first responders on the scene. apomong other things, emergency crews did not have clear routes to and from the grand stands to get the patients to a hospital quickly. patients with minor injuries were sometimes treated before patients with more severe injuries. also, muddy conditions kept ambulances away from the areas where the most severely injured patients were located. >> we need to rethink o our strategy. it's not working. we need to get the trucks down here. we need to get patients out of here. do what we have to do. have state police open up the line. we need to get the trucks down here. we can't keep having the patients dragged across the pavement up to you. >> the city blacked out much of the findings on the report because of a pending lawsuit. city officials say they hope they can use the tape to be better prepared for another mass casualty situation. honda is expanding a recall to address problems with vehicle air bag inflators. the latest recall involves cars

made in 2001 through 2003. the vehicles affected include the accord, civic, pilot, and crv. honda says air bags in these modelsing inflate with too much pressure in a crash and send metal and plastic pieces flying at the driver. the original recall started in 2008. now it involves about 2 million vehicles around the globe. there were a lot of guns sold during the holiday shopping day known as black friday. the fbi is being flooded for background checks on prospective buyers. some analysts in the gun industry say the surge can be attributed to more women interested in sports shooting. also, there are more people seeking protection with firearms. coming up, somebody may be poisoning family dogs, and it's

not the first time it's happened in one virginia neighborhood. gop presidential candidate herman cain says he's ready to talk about the future of that campaign. one drug raid after another has uncovered illegal prescription drug smuggling in our own backyard. coming up in sports, georgetown parties on in alabama. meantime, west virginia gets its kicks in south florida. plus, the capitals still fighting for their first win under new head coach dale hu

agents from the fbi and internal revenue service raided the home of d.c. councilmember thomas this morning. the agents impounded an suv, a motorcycle, and other items. harry thomas is accused of spending about $300,000 in grant money for charities and a youth program to buy luxury items for himself. thomas says he's innocent. an electrician from wood bridge, virginia, has pleaded guilty to supplying videos to terrorist organizations. 24-year-old jubair ahmad was arrested in september. prosecutors say he admitted creating a five-minute youtube video that advocates violent jihad against enemies of islam. he faces 15 years behind bars. the latest jobs report shows

unemployment was down in november to its lowest level since march of 2009. the unemployment rate fell from 9% to 8.6 according to the labor department. more than 100,000 jobs were added. many of them in the small business community. however, some of the drop is also attributed to a smaller labor force with fewer people -- that is with more people who are unemployed dropping out of the labor force and not trying to find a job anymore. police in fairfax county have seized thousands of prescription drugs that were smuggled into the country and sold illegally. >> those drugs are being sold? the back rooms of local businesses. julie carey has our report. >> you feel sorry for the people. >> reporter: that's how this convenience store owner described his practice of occasionally selling a few antibiotic pills to customers.

his store was one of at least 13 raided by fairfax county police. these photos show investigators examining the inventory at one store. these are just some of the thousands of doses of drugs fairfax county police seized in the raids. birth control, antibiotics, and painkillers. all smuggled in from central america, and all being sold from underneath the counter or in the back rooms of shops like this one. shops that cater cheaply to latino customers. police began their undercover operation about a year ago when they learned of a woman who became severely ill after buying drugs from one of the shops. >> without a pharmacist dispensing this, it's extremely dangerous. >> reporter: the back room drugs were being sold to people who couldn't afford a regular doctor. in one case, a clerk showed an undercover officer how to use this needle. >> the clerks were instructing

the officer to inject the medication into her stomach as a birth control measure after she had had her child. >> reporter: this store owner says he purchased the smuggled antibiotics for his personal use because he can't afford a doctor's prescription. when he does very rarely sell them at cost to customers, it's only when they're suffering from illness. >> i know it's against the law, but sometimes the law is not necessarily just or justice. you know, you have to sometimes look at your conscious and the morality. so you give it to them just to help them. not really to make money out of the damn thing. >> because they are poor. >> because they are poor. >> reporter: so far, far fax county police have not made any arrests in this case, but it is an ongoing investigation, and they ultimately hope to find out the source of the drugs, whomever smuggled them into the country. >> some of the store owners and clerks could face fell felony charges.

detectives believe the same person or people could be behind four armed robberies. a cvs was hit twice, most recently on wednesday. this is video from a 711 store robbery on october 12th. investigators believe the three holdups may be linked to another 711 robbery also in october. investigators in louden county are trying to figure out who poisoned two dogs in leesburg. the animal services says these two dogs had to be put down today. the pets got very sick on saturday. officials believe that food coated with anti-freeze was dropped in the backyard. the owner says she's worried whoever did this to her pets has done it to others in the neighborhood. an incident similar to this one happened in july of last year. that case also involved food laced with anti-freeze. police are asking anyone with information to call them or the louden county animal control. a man is behind bars after

allegedly taking advantage of several people with physical and mental disabilities. police say they fear there could be more victims. erica gonzalez spoke to one of those victims. >> i think it was a human shark looking for easy prey. >> reporter: edward jones has had to learn the hard way. if it's too good to be true, it probably is. jones is disabled and relies on social security to make ends meet. desean terry johnson met jones last may. he promised to get jones a job as a janitor but said he would need to shell out money for things like equipment and a uniform. jones gave up $700, but got no job. he says he thought johnson was his friend. >> for him to take that money from him, it did have a little bit of an emotional impact on me. >> reporter: now he knows what a real friend looks like. >> well, i actually call him more of a guardian angel. >> oh, gosh.

stop. i'm going to get embarrassed. >> reporter: this officer says a concerned citizen told him residents at the inwood house, a residential community for mentally and physically disabled adults, may have been exploited. that's where he met jones. montgomery county police believe there could be more victims and encouraged them to come forward. desean terry johnson is now in police custody. in montgomery county, erica gonzalez, news 4. >> johnson is charged with obtaining property from a vulnerable adult and various counts of theft. metro is bringing in more safety patrols to protect parking areas. beginning next week, you might see a metro transit employee on an enclosed golf cart called a gator. those pevehicles are part of a w program to increase security. both employees and transit police will patrol different stations and rotate their shifts. they'll be monitoring parking

areas for suspicious or illegal behavior. still ahead on news 4, as the debates heat up for republican presidential candidates, donald trump's now taking on a new role. and veroni

welcome back. storm 4 meteorologist here, veronica johnson. terrific day today. just got an e-mail from a viewer named mickey. she says, can you keep the sunshine coming? we are going to keep the sunshine around for part of the weekend. 54 degrees right now. a clear sky. a very nice evening because the wind is just so still. don't have any windchill temperatures to talk about. down tonight to 40 degrees. tomorrow morning, on the cold side. anywhere between 25 and 35 degrees in d.c. sun's up tomorrow at 7:09. a cold start to the day, but then we bounce back. we'll hit a high tomorrow of about 50 to 51 degrees. 48 for you folks up north. great for saturday. some clouds will start rolling in on sunday. right now it looks as though it

will be partly cloudy for the big game. 1:00 kickoff. 50 to 53 degrees. again, partly cloudy with a light wind around the area. most of us can hang around in our sweats, right? great weekend. early part of next week, warmth again. 58 on monday. 60 on tuesday. there's that rain for tuesday. it sticks around yet another day on wednesday. once that front moves out, believe me, that mild air is going to get pushed on out. we're going to be dealing with some cold air. first of the season with consecutive days in the 40s since going back to last march. back to you. >> all right. thanks, veronica. herman cain sent mixed signals today about whether he'll remain in the republican race for the presidency. at a town hall meeting today, he said he would make a major announcement tomorrow. he plans to reveal his plans at the grand opening of a new headquarters in georgia. he returned home tonight for the first time face-to-face meeting

with his wife. yesterday, he acknowledged white sent him text messages, but said they contained nothing inappropriate. >> her messages to me were relating to, you know, needing money for her rent or whatever the case may be. i don't remember all the specifics. >> it wasn't a love affair. it was a sexual affair. as hard as that is for me to say and as hard as it is for people to hear it, you know, it pretty much is what it is. >> nbc news is now reporting that there are strong indications that herman cain will withdraw from the race tomorrow due to family considerations. david gregory will have the latest on nbc "lightly news" after this broadcast. this comes as a new poll from the des moines register. support for herman cain in iowa has fallen from 23% in late october to just 8% now. donald trump is going to

moderate a gop presidential debate. it'll take place in des moines on december 27th. trump called in to the tameron hall show. >> i rate them very differently. they're very, very different personaliti personalities. you have mitt romney, who's steady as she goes, and has done a good job in one sense. i'm surprised every time somebody crashes and burns he doesn't pick up more. he has been very steady, done a really good job in the debates. then you have newt a, who's been a rocketship the last couple weeks. the reason is that he does have some very interesting ideas and some very good ideas. but he's done really well in the debates. they probably have done the best in the debates. >> the trump debate will be sponsored by the conservative magazine "news max." no word yet on which candidates, if any, have agreed to participate. this week on "press pass,"

david gregory will take a look inside the gop race with politicos' mike allen. he revealed one of the reasons new jersey's chris christie stayed out of the race. and now, we got a game coming up on sunday. a whole bunch of other stuff as well. >> we have a good game coming up. a good game last night at verizon center. unfortunately, it didn't work out. how mike shanahan plans to use his ground game to ground the new york jets. plus, a redskins division rival caught sleeping in s

didn't i hear rex ryan or members of the jets or media talking a whole bunch of smack earlier in the year about this super bowl team they got up in new york? >> you're exactly right. >> i thought i remembered that. >> they talk a lot of smack. well, they're 6-5. they still have a chance. >> nothing else needs to be said. >> well, it's rex ryan. >> but 6-5 doesn't get you -- >> no, they have a lot of work to do, as do the redskins. the redskins, unfortunately, will not have safety laron landry on sunday. he's out because of a groin injury. he'll not play against the jets. landry will miss his second game in the next three weeks. meanwhile, rex grossman remains optimistic about playoffs. he said, we have a three, four, five percent chance of going on

a run. so you're telling me there's a chance. it starts this week against a stingy jets defense. >> this team is doing a great jock against the run. when you get a guy like helu, who's been averaging 4.8 yards per carry, he's starting to feel more comfortable. it gives us big play capability. >> how good is revis? is there such a thing as revis island? >> he is pretty good. you know, last week when you took a look at johnson, johnson put a lot of balls on revis. you don't see that happen very often. they actually attacked them and did a pretty good job. johnson dropped a couple passes there at the end. took a lot away from the game. he's probably played against revis as well as i've seen anybody play. >> thursday night football, seahawks hosting the eagles. seattle's marshawn lynch in beast mode. on first and goal, lynch gets the handoff. looks like he's down. but not so fast.

breaks through for a 15--yard touchdown here. take another look at this play. lynch keeps his feet moving. the eagles just don't see him. so where does lynch get his super powers from? skittles? in high school, his pom always give him a pack of skittles. works for him, i guess. ball goes to lynch again in the second quarter. lynch says taste the rainbow. eagles, this time a 40-yard touchdown. lynch finished with 148 yards rushing, two touchdowns. seahawks up 14-0. eagles trying to make a comeback. young looking for lesean mccoy in the flat. it's intercepted by david hawthorne. hawthorne's thinking pick six. takes it back 77 yards for the touchdown. young had four interceptions in the game. this season, the eagles have turned the ball over a league high 29 times. seattle beats philadelphia

31-14. down a level. coach dayna holgorsen of west virginia on the road against south florida. the bulls kicking to the mountaineers. taken to the outside. turns the corner. this kid has some speed. big-time speed. he's not going to be tackled. goes 90 yards for the touchdown. late fourth quarter. on first and goal, handoff goes to dustin garrison. game tied at 27. here we go. still knotted at 27. three seconds left. west springfield standout tyler bittencurt on for the game-winning field goal. it's up and it's good. west virginia wins it 30-27 clinching a share of the big east title. wow. holgorsen with a little gatorade bath. love that. congrats to west virginia last night. that was a huge victory. nba news. the wizards will play two

pre-season games against the 76ers. the first game is two weeks from today at verizon center. college hoops now. last night, georgetown in tuscaloosa where the hoyas crashed the crimson tide's party. georgetown snaps alabama's 24-game home winning streak. jason clark wide open at the top of the key. knocks down the three pointer. hoyas up seven. clark went for a game high 22 points. later, back come the crimson tide. tony mitchell, top of your screen for three. he scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half. alabama down two. less than ten seconds to play. hoyas down by one. clark hands it off to hollis-thompson. needs to make a shot, and he does. buries it. check out the bench. calm down, guys. last chance for alabama. levi randolph from half court. good if it goes.

off the rim, and georgetown upsets number 12 alabama 57-55. the hoyas have two wins over top 15 teams this season. georgetown improves to 6-1. hometown hockey. after the penguins outshot the capitals 5-17 last night, alex ovechkin told us that it wasn't frustrating, but shouldn't it be? consider this not so fun fact. while bruce boudreau was head coach, the caps failed to record 20 shots on goal in the regular season just four times. under dale hunter, the caps have had less than 20 shots in back-to-back games. sidney crosby and alex ovechkin facing off for the first time since the winter classic. unfortunately, they didn't factor in last night. first period, john erskine gets into it. second period. jason chimera goes backhand.

scores. nifty move. game tied at one. third period now. same score. loose puck here. erskine falls down. good look on net. oh, man. bounces off and if. see it again. he said he really should have made that save. the penguins win it 2-1. the caps have lost four in a row. tomorrow night, maybe they'll get a win for their head coach dale hunter. they host the ottowa senators. >> they'll come back. >> get them some skittles. the redskins too. >> that's a key ingredient. >> thanks, hakeem. coming up, a d.c. neighborhood once known for crime and prostitution has been transformed into one of the city's hottest neighborhoods. and for all your news, follow news 4 online. search nbc washington on facebook[ baby coughing ]

[ coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] more pollution from power plants means more childhood asthma attacks. [ labored breathing ] there's technology that makes the air cleaner, but too many plants don't use it. we can't wait. epa must update power plant standards to protect our kids. [ baby coughing ]

one of the city's old victorian neighborhoods is about to throw open its doors and let you look inside. as wendy rieger tells us, it's a chance to see how this neighborhood has riz frighten a shady past. >> reporter: if this house could talk, it would tell you it was built in the 1860s and spent a portion of our recent times harboring an unsavory element. >> well, it has a long history

as a crack house. >> reporter: brian ortiz got ahold of this house last year and has transformed it in 1909 12th street is just one of the jewels in logan circle's crown that will be open to the public on sunday. it's got a modern, open floor plan and a side yard that gives this city dwelling a mediterranean feel. the theme for this year's logan circle holiday house tour is restoration and renewal, a celebration of the vie bran si that's returned to this neighborhood once known for its hookers and homeless. >> no, it isn't the logan circle we all remember. >> reporter: alan recently moved to the neighborhood with his wife and has been lovingly restoring this victorian. his home is filled with art and victorian touches that blend well with the modern world. that's the beauty of these neighbors opening their homes, the chance to see what

creativity has unfolded inside. >> there's really something for everyone on this tour. if you enjoy history, if you enjoy architecture, if you enjoe interior design. >> reporter: what is most obviously on display is pride. the logan circle community has evolved in the last decade from sketchy to robust. with real estate price tags that can reach well over $1 million. while the neighborhood has blossomed into a little slice of urban americana. >> it's a village within the city. you can't walk down the street without meeting lots of people you foe. >> reporter: see for yourself on sunday. wendy rieger, news 4. >> the tour costs $25 online, $30 the day of the tour. you can find a link and more information at nbcwashington.com. some local veterans are getting some home makeovers just in time for the holidays. the second annual decorate a vet kicked off today in falls church. it's the brain child of a local

businessman who owns a landscaping company and has family members who have served. volunteers are donating their time. businesses are giving supplies to help makeover homes of five veterans. tomorrow, dozens of volunteers are are coming to help put up christmas decorations for some very appreciative vets. >> i want this place to look like santa's workshop. i want to see it from space. >> i appreciate all the companies doing what their do and their time. i've enjoyed having them. >> the work is being coordinated through the american legion post 130. for more information about how you can help, log on to our website, nbcwashington.com. >> just what you were talking about. >> get out and do something. >> some wonderful weather for that. >> right. i'm still smiling about this weekend's forecast. nothing to complain about. it's going to be reasonable. that means we have seasonable temperatures. you can take a look.

tonight, we drop down to 40 degreeses. that's it by 11:00. tomorrow morning, colder, but it is early december. the whole weekend, really, really nice. 53 the high on sunday with clouds. here's your rain this week, folks. tuesday and wednesday. from soggy to cold at the end of next week. >> all right. thanks. countless hours of study have been devoted to the work of art known as the mona lisa. a graphic artist in rochester, new york, says the masterpiece may still hold some secrets. that artist's name is ron. he was doing some research for a project and decided to look at the work from a different perspective. he noticed an ape's face and a lion's head and a crocodile in that picture. he says he pored over the writings in da vinci's notebook

and found passages referring to animals. he says his own art history education included only a passing reference to the mona lisa. he cannot explain why he found something in a painting that has been exhaustively studied for 500 years. what he did not do is explain that enigmatic smile. we still want to know what was going on there. nightly news is on the broadcast tonight, american jobs. tonight, mixed signals but a big headline overall. the news looks good for the economy, but is it? we'll go inside the numbers. the next step for herman cain and tonight we have strong indications of what he'll announce tomorrow. wild west. trees uprooted, trucks blown over. tonight, new destruction from those hurricane-force winds. at one point, close to 150 miles an hour. get smart. there's more tonight on the burning question. is your smartphone spying on you