gingrich was in new york to meet with donald trump, brian moore has the story. >> he spent the day in new york getting the support of donald trump. >> one of the differences in my party and the other party is we go to people who know how to create jobs. >> it was great to have newt up here. it's amazing what he's doing. >> reporter: it grew stronger when herman cain dropped out. gingrich has an eight point lead in iowa. in new hampshire, he's gained 20 points since october. that spells trouble for mitt romney. >> this translates into being out of step. if you are a conservative, you are looking for a conservative and you don't think mitt romney is. gingrich echoes ronald reagan.

>> working together, i know we can rebuild america. >> ron paul is taking a different tone. >> lots of bark. when it's show time, whimpering. >> they predict nothing but the unpredictable. >> two-thirds of iowa caucus goers could be persuaded. it's going to be a wild ride. >> 29 days left and the gop candidates are cramming for their test. he is going to endorse a presidential candidate but not in the immediate future. on capitol hill, brian mooar, news 4. west texas got a rare dusting of snow over night. this was the scene in abilene. a mix started falling. temperatures weren't cold enough for it to stick. it was a mild, but cloudy

afternoon for most of us. get out the umbrellas. storm 4 meteorologist veronica johnson joins us to tell us when we are going to get wet. veronica? >> on the other side of midnight, the showers are going to move in. for the evening, we have dry conditions. not much sunshine as we look out the window there. we have a mostly cloudy sky. throughout the day today, we have seen a little bit of thinning of the cloud deck across the area. 60 degrees for the temperature. for the evening, we could see a few sprinkles around the area. the bigger part of the rains are going wait until tomorrow. we have a stretch of weather that is going to be headed our way. the snow in texas is part of the same system. as we look around our area, not cold enough for snow by any means and not a shortage of mild air either. we are at 60 degrees. manassas and gaithersburg, 57. 61 in prince george's county.

here is a look at the loop over the last couple hours showing the cloud cover moving through. right there from fredericksburg or through western charles county, south of d.c., a little bit of thinning. no rain to report right now. we open it up and show the bigger rains to the west and give you the good night forecast. 55 degrees by 7:00. 53 by 11:00. it's not going to be a cold night. the next couple days looking wet. we'll talk about how much rainfall is coming our way. back to you. >> thanks. occupy d.c. protesters remain after a stand off with police yesterday. police made 31 arrests on sunday after demonstrators began building a 15 foot tall wooden shelter in the middle of the square. the police ordered them to take it down because it wasn't safe.

they refused to move. police brought in a cherry picker to remove it. they respect the demonstrators first amendment rights but it's a safety hazard. they vow to rebuild it for a winter shelter. stocks closed up. the s&p will put all 17 euro zone nations on watch. the dow up 79 points. there are big changes on the horizon for mail delivery. facing a staggering drop in business and potential bankruptcy, they are scaling back service so severely, it's dropping the overnight delivery promise. we have the report. >> reporter: most americans will see changes in the way their mail is handled only when mailing first class. >> we are going to modify the overnight first class mail

standard. mail that is dropped in a blue collection box will no longer receive overnight service standard. such a move could hurt businesses that promise next day delivery. they say eliminating the overnight guarantee will trim $2 billion from operating costs. >> we can't sit back and wait for another five, six, ten years before we make these changes. >> reporter: changes that include closing half the mail processing centers, eliminating 28,000 jobs and slowing down first class delivery and periodicals like magazines that may take up to nine days to deliver. all because more americans are turning to the internet. >> they are choosing electronic bill payment and electronic communication. >> reporter: they scoff that this is the beginning of the end. >> a person paying the bill in

the mail, that's going away. we know that. personal letters, people love that. you still want to send a card to your mother or grandmother. we'll be here for that. >> reporter: stopping saturday delivery is not among the changes they want to implement by next spring but could be included if the cuts aren't enough. honda and subaru are recalling thousands of vehicles because of break problems. for honda, 126,000 gl 1800 motorcycles from 2001 to 2012. brakes may not fully release. two fires reported so far. subaru is recalling 32,000, 2002 models. drivers may misjudge pressure to stop quickly.

no accidents or injuries linked to that recall. if you are taking the inner county connector home from work today, you have to pay. the toll road started charging drivers today. the newest section opened two weeks ago and connects i-370 in gaithersburg to lawyer. during peak hours, $4 for easy track users. tolls will drop to 3.20 on off-peak hours and 1.50 at night. drivers without an easy pass will be charged a higher rate. day laborers have a better and more efficient way of finding work. megan mcgrath reports from the labor resource center in centerville, virginia. >> they were normally have to wait outside on the fringe of the parking lot to find work. today, he's inside the labor resources center, a store front operation at the centerville

shopping center. he signed in, listed his skills and waited to be matched for an employer. >> it's a lot easier and a better system. it's difficult when there's a group of people runs. you know, very confusing when that happens. >> reporter: the old system was chaotic. they would gather on a grassy strip. cars drive up and immediately be surrounded by men looking for work. >> what we see on the streets now is a car that comes up, many cars behind it honking their horns because somebody is stopping in the middle of the street and causing a security concern. then, a number of guys desperate for work rushing to the car. this is going to get the negotiations off the street corner into the scepter. >> it was crazy. people running at you. they didn't know what to think. >> they are better organized.

it will work out better. >> they are open monday through saturday, 6:00 a.m. to noon. there's plenty of parking, a bathroom and seating. this opening day, things were slow. by 9:30, two dozen workers checked in. employers were hard to come by. there were two and both affiliated with the center. ed dugan hired two painters this morning. >> they are painting my house. i have previously had them do landscaping, yard work. they work hard. >> reporter: volunteers were out in the community handing out these flyers to spread the work. their hope is more workers and employers will come here. in centerville, megan mcgrath, news 4. gold is seen as a safe investment in uncertain economic times.

it's often a first choice. throughout africa, the poorest of the poor are rushing to gold pits. critics say the biggest price is paid by the children of the region. richard engel went to west africa to see for himself. >> today is this boy's first day at work. his supervisor says they are not going to pay him cash. he will get a bag of dirt, a bag of this ore pulled out of the ground. maybe it has gold in it, maybe it doesn't. that's his wages for the day. >> not only are they exploited for cheap labor, they are being poisoned by the mercury used to refine the gold. you can see the full report on "rock center" with brian williams tonight. we are just getting started here. this time, it's charlie sheen's

ex in trouble. the drug bust coming up. >> to be honest. at the end, all it came down to was choosing to live. >> maryland native reveals new information about her battle with breast cancer.

a host made a major health care decision in her battle with breast cancer. >> she said she will under go a double mastectomy followed by reconstructive surgery. >> she chose that after her cancer was not erat kated. >> to me, it was to get the cancer out. just get it out. >> what do doctors tell you about never getting it back. >> i have less than a 1% chance of getting it back. with another lumpectomy, i could have seen 20% to 30% to 40% chance in my lifetime. for me, it's not worth it. >> a mastectomy will improve her

chances of conceiving. the surgery is scheduled to take place next week. this is

like anything over four grams pushes you in a new area. this is two to six years in jail, facing that. also up to a year for the

misdemeanor assault. it's more problems for this girl. you know that term hot mess, that's what this is. she's an attractive, beautiful woman who can't get off the crack cocaine. >> sad. >> let's move on. super bowl talk. not a big sur prize to a lot of people. madonna is doing the halftime show. also, cirque du soleil, too. >> yeah, madonna is putting on a show. her creative director is going to put it together. it was black eyed peas last year. the year before, the who. we have known it was going to be madonna for awhile. she's got a new album coming out, the timing is great. nbc carries the super bowl. maybe they give a second chance to the voice judge, christina aguilera on the national anthem. i would like to see her nail it. >> a big redo. >> remember all the words this

time. tell us about the exclusive you have coming up on the show, billy. >> we have the kids of michael jackson. michael jackson, the immortal show, cirque du soleil is in vegas. we did an interview with paris, prince and blanket. paris and prince talk. they are eloquent. tonight, blanket, little blanket, you never hear from blanket, you are going to hear from him. even if you just tune in to hear what he sounds like, it's worth it. >> you got our attention. big night. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> thanks, billy. coming up, teenagers sexting may not be as common as parents think. >> plus grab a paddle. taking ping-pong to the next level. an incredible dance performance. >> you can follow us on

are we going to do a little bit of a winter dance this week? >> a little bit. today, it's been cloudy, but

relatively mild. we are early december with the temperature around 60 degrees. for this week, yeah, we are talking the return of winter, just not maybe with temperatures but maybe with a little bit of presip, guys in the form of wintry weather. let's head over to the weather wall. the clouds out there. a good deck throughout the area. the temperature sits at 60 degrees. p reagan national. as you see on the radar, we could see a few stray sprinkles around the area. overcast skies and more humidity. the dew point is at 49 degrees. let me get you through the evening and through tomorrow morning. we drop to 54 degrees by 9:00. 53 at 11:00, sprinkles and scattered light showers for tomorrow morning. 51 to 50 degrees. we are not going to drop all that much tonight. a mild start to the day tomorrow. early tomorrow, patchy fog around the area. this morning the eastern most counties.

calvert, prince george's county. look at temperatures now, 57 degrees in frederick, maryland to 63 degrees in fredericksburg. there's a location down south that's had more breaks in cloud cover around the area. on the radar, we are quiet right now. we open it up and head out west. you can see a whole lot of rain and heavy rain by the shadings of yellow, orange and red. heavy east of cincinnati and central tennessee. there were locations there that had anywhere from 4.5 to five inches of rain over the last 24 hours because of this weather system here. it's a cold front and a slow moving cold front. waves of low pressure moving along the front. we are going to see one come into the area tomorrow. it will come in the afternoon. out of the system as a whole, the best batch of moderate and heavy rain on wednesday. the system is coming over us and low pressure riding along.

soggy and turning colder when the system moves out by early thursday morning. looking at a few light snow showers around here. nice and mild. possible sprinkle, 50 to 55. tomorrow, 46 to 50 degrees. it's going to be wet in the morning but i don't think it will slow traffic in a big way. that will happen in the afternoon. 56 to 62 degrees. the winds pick up out of the southwest. easy to see the temperatures spike just over 60. cooler on wednesday then for thursday, again, it's morning showers, maybe some snow showers for western most counties. talking spots or areas like fauquier county. we are looking at the system closely over the next 24 and 48 hours. >> all right. for those who want winter weather, it's coming. >> getting a taes of it. the controversial practice

of teens sexting has gotten attention as of late. it may not be quite as widespread as people think. kids 10 to 17 years old. 1% of them say they sent or shared sexually charged images of themselves or others in the past. of the youngsters who did, they did not forward them to someone else. it was much more common among older teens than younger kids. >> still to come, former penn state coach jerry sandusky admits he's attracted to youngsters. the interview is coming up next.

welcome back to news 4 at 4:00. i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. here's what's happening at 4:30. republican presidential candidate newt gingrich met with donald trump. he's the only one that said he would appear at a debate moderate moderated by trump. he's gaining numbers in iowa and new hampshire. >> a 15 foot tall shelter that

occupy d.c. protesters put up has been taken down. demonstrators resulted in 31 arrests. police respect the first amendment, but the structure was a safety hazard. snail mail is about to become slower. the u.s. postal service announced huge service scale cut backs today including getting rid of next day delivery. officials tell us the cuts are necessary as more and more people turn to e-mail and the internet to take care of business. if the cuts are not enough, saturday mail delivery could be the next thing on the chopping block. stocks made modest gains on monday. the dow was up, nasdaq and s&p 500 closed higher. the gains came following news that france and germany completed a new treaty to help with the euro zone debt crisis.

>> there are new tactics in the child sex abuse case against jerry sandusky. >> the lawyer says this is so the public can learn about the positive aspects of his life. some are questioning whether the interviews are hurting his case. >> reporter: it seems an unusual legal strategy, giving public interviews while facing criminal charges. >> the allegations are false. i didn't do those things. i don't know what else to say. >> reporter: accused child mo les tor, jerry sandusky wants the world to hear his story. >> are you sexually attracted to young boys? >> reporter: he stumbled when asked if he was attracted to young children. he was given a second chance to

explain. he wound up needing help from his lawyer. >> if i say i'm not attracted to boys, it's not the truth. i'm attracted to young people, boys, girls -- >> reporter: sandusky's lawyer interrupts and speaks with him off camera. >> i enjoy, that's what i was trying to say, i enjoy spending time with young people, i enjoy spending time with people. >> reporter: his attempts to explain himself in public while facing 40 counts of child sex abuse is an unusual strategy. sandusky said he stayed in touch with some of his victims, inlittiinlit ing one of them to dinner. >> i had dinner with one of, you know, the past summer, his father and he were in my home

the previous fall. >> the lawyer for that victim, known as victim six tells nbc news when he got sandusky's dinner invitation, he was so nervous, he went straight to the police. >> was this an effort to tamper with witnesses? was it or wasn't it? >> reporter: the police encouraged victim six to attend the dinner. >> they went so far as to inquire if he would be willing to wear a wire. >> reporter: the alleged victim balked for fear something would go wrong. sandusky's lawyer told nbc news two of the victims were actually at that dinner, but nothing improper took place. it was totally social in nation and pleasant. >> victim number six is prepared to testify along with other witnesses at a crucial hearing in sandusky's case next week. a connecticut man is in hot water today after day care

workers found pot in his toddler's lunchbox. his name is john. he's 33. police say while making his son's lunch the night before, he accidentally dropped a marijuana cigarette in a food container. the father was arrested and is due in court to face drug possession and child endangerment. the case of the missing kris kringle has been solved. his inflatable santa has been returned. he was stolen from the front of his yard last wednesday. he went public asking for the thief to bring him back. yesterday, he found it in a bag on his front yard along with an apology note and $100. he says there are no hard feelings and he's happy to have st. nick back where he belongs. >> tough to hide that. that's a big santa. coming up, new details on

the prime suspect in the case of missing florida mother michelle parker. and the top items [ 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.

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just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta the car. get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. get in the car! [ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. from spending time together, to spending your lives together, chevy runs deep.

hey, we're going green for the app of the day. >> and it can tell you all the social impacts of a product, whether they are good impacts or bad. wendy rieger has details. >> this is called the good guy. it's for your mobile device because you might want to scan stuff. it's depending on how conscious you want to be as a consumer. these days, we all want to be more conscious. it's the good guy. hit the scan button and you can scan it. it will tell you how ethically it was produced in terms of environmental impact and the chemicals. i love this, it's called my preferences. you can look at nutrition, organic, scientifically proven hazards, controversial ingredients, energy efficiency,

climate change. all the impacts it might have. then you click on it and decide how important it is. you load it up and then search a product. i put in bar soap. there are very few things that didn't fail all of my filters. anyway, this one, the almond organic bar soap gets a 7.9. it's the highest of all the products here. you hit on that. it will come up and tell you what is good about this soap and how it does meet your criteria. there you go. my filters did everything that i'm looking for. this is great year round. i don't think we really know what's in our stuff and this is a great guide, not only when you are shopping for the holidays but year round to understand truly what it is you are putting in and on your body and especially for your little kids. it's all important. this way, you become conscious and ethical and make decisions as a consumer.

vote with your dollars. back to you. >> this makes us smarter. >> indeed. >> thank you. when we come back, dance video you have to see, folks. it's dedicated to ping-pong. >> plus as you hit the malls this holiday season, versace has a new affordable line for a retailer. we'll show it to you. >> tune in for an all new foodies. he tells vj about his favorite things to eat in the area. >> where nixon read the paper and jfk proposed to jackie. the d

got my rain hat and boots, do i need anything else? umbrella. >> keep it handy and patience, too. that always happens around here when it gets wet, especially during the morning rush. that's what we could be looking at that wednesday morning. wet weather around the area, several days of it. behind the system, real cold winter type air will be moving in. we haven't dropped to freezing at reagan national. we will do that coming up midweek, too. high clouds, overcast sty. overcast throughout the area.

temperatures upper 50s to low 60s. you know what? by the time we get to tomorrow morning, temperatures are not going to be dropping that fast, either. or really that much. we are going to start out around 50 to 51 degrees inside the beltway with rainshowers around the area for the morning. sprinkles here for the evening and for much of theover night. the white are the clouds. the green is rain. rain is moving through. here we are, 7:30 tomorrow morning with scattered light showers around the area. the heavier rain is to the west. cumberland outside petersburg. by the time we get to the afternoon, remember earlier, i mentioned the area of low pressure up the front. we are looking at moderate and heavy rain for tomorrow afternoon. i think also throughout much of the day, on wednesday, you saw some of the shading there with yellow, orange and red go by in

areas of southern maryland, eastern virginia. plenty wet. then cold air starts moving in behind the system. we could be looking at light snow showers or flurries. 62 degrees tomorrow. let's look at your four day forecast. 52. ten degrees cooler for wednesday. chilly with the wet weather in the area. 47 for thursday with mostly morning showers. your upcoming weekend, yes, it is going to be cold. 42 to 45 degrees for a high temperature. we have been looking at those kind of numbers for overnight lous. >> bundle up and hunker down. h & m is teaming up with versace for an affordable clothing line. people lined up outside clothes waiting to get their hands on a few of these new rags, threads. >> it's a great name. we have the report from new york. >> reporter: that time of year again. no, not time to put up the tree

or deck the halls, just yet. but it is time to go shopping. that's because h & m is at it again. teaming up with a designer fashion house to bring couture to the masses. >> we are working with versace. >> reporter: accessories for both and for the first time, a home collection, too. >> really fun. this collection. i.'s vibrant. it's all about color and print. >> reporter: how did this collaboration come about? >> we called her up and she immediately said yep. >> reporter: for the design process? >> we give them free reign to do whatever they want. she went back and chose pieces that were her favorite. we changed sketches back and forth. it was her vision. >> that vision is versace full of fun prints, bright colors and

a little rock and roll. >> leather, lots of color, great cuts, studs. it reflects what versace is about. >> reporter: shet owl 20 bucks to 400. a little different from what they are used to. >> $69.94. $149. the most expensive piece, this is $399. >> reporter: since the retailer is known for a customer base that spans many sizes, there are pieces to flatter any figure. >> this is for all body types. there's something for everybody. there's a large variety. >> those look interesting. >> they did. get in line, huh? >> yes, indeed. coming up on news 4, a dance performance inspired by ping-pong. >> wow. plus, the top item shoplifters are targeting this

holiday season. > tonight on news 4 at 5:00, a new generation of birth control pills getting a closer look with doctors. a common threat you will face when shopping online. holiday hackers. a dog wanders away from a home in virginia. fast forward eight years. wait until you hear where she was found. was it's about building cars in america. it's all about jobs.

it's all about respect. security. the american dream. [ jamaul ] good jobs in tough times. a chance to move up and do better. [ delaunta ] excellent healthcare. [ caletha ] beautiful benefits. what they used to call the american way. it still works here. [ jennifer ] not a single layoff of a u.s. manufacturing worker. [ glen ] not one. not one. doing things the right way. quality. [ jimmeka ] building cars that americans want. [ jamaul ] right here in america. hyundai is an all-american success story. ♪ 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.

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all right, check out the latest dance craze. a director combined table tennis or ping-pong as we play it here on nbc 4 and art using paddles and exaggerated moves. they bripg alive a sport that is hard to keep up with in life. bam! strong grip. he did something similar in '98. it was a dance tribute to the art of football or soccer as we call it over here. i don't know where the ping-pong balls -- i don't think they exist. it looks like river dance ping-pong. >> hold on tight to your iphone 4 this holiday season. it is one of the most frequently shoplifted items. let's rock elmo makes the list with a five finger discount.

shoplifting is up 6% and three quarters of shoplifters are adults with jobs. >> hmm. coming up, a prime suspect in the case of a missing woman is

there are new details about the man identified as the prime suspect in the disappearance of

a florida mother. michelle parker was reported missing 18 days ago. we are learning more about the man police call the only suspect. we have more on the case. >> reporter: 33-year-old michelle parker disappeared on the day she was seen on "people's court" fighting over an engagement ring. >> i feld somebody grab me and turn me around. >> reporter: police have found no trace of the missing of tele. >> reporter: over 500 miles away in north carolina, a collins mystery reopened a new wound. >> the link, dale smith, michelle's ex. >> he is linked. umptly, he's linked our families through crisis. >> he was married to april collin's sister-in-law, shannon.

she died of an ecstasy overdose in 2001 after a night of partying. he was in jail serving time for a different incident involving shannon. shannon was partying with his closest friends and have questions surrounding her death. she was living in orlando. they met in 1999 when dale was a u.s. marine in north carolina. they married soon after. shannon's family said smith became violent. >> one of the physical and meantal abuse he gave to her. she was pretty upset. she had never been treated like that by anyone. >> reporter: on september 15th of 2000 she was treated in a south carolina hospital for head injuries and smith was arrested for criminal battery. >> there was a cut on her head. her feet were cut up. it was through, i think it was

through concrete where she had been i don't know if she was dragged or what but her feet were bloody. >> smith was convicted of battery and drug possession and was dishonorably released from the marines. that was not the first time he had run-ins with the law. in 1992, no contest to aggravated battery after a fight in orlando. two years probation. in 1997, he pleaded guilty to battery charges and served jail time. michelle filed a restraining order which a judge dissolved. >> our hearts go out to michelle's family. >> with shannon, we knew where she was, she was brain dead on life support. she was in a hospital bed and we could go to her. i can't imagine what they are going through. that's news 4 at 4:00. news 4 at 5:00 starts right now.

tonight at 5:00, occupy d.c. protesters try to regroup tonight following a face-off with d.c. police over a makeshift shelter. >> federal regulators put a new generation of birth control pills under new scrutiny. >> the report on the dangers you'll face shopping online and how you can protect yourself. >> good evening. welcome to news 4 at 5:00. i'm wendy rieger. >> i'm jim handly. the top story tonight at 5:00, the head of the faa arrested on drunk-driving charges over the weekend. it happened saturday night in fairfax, virginia. derrick ward is live at the police station with the latest. derrick? >> reporter: babbitt was alone at the time of the traffic stop and fortunately, no other vehicle involved. it happened on saturday, here in

the 3900 block of old lehighway in fairfax. >> a vehicle on the wrong side of the road on the highway. a traffic stop. >> reporter: the wrong way driver was the administer of the federal aviation admission, babbitt. >> the driver was intoxicated, placed him under arrest. >> reporter: he took the helm of the agency in 2009. before that, he was with the faas management advisory council that requires guidance. he had previously been a pilot. the incident occurred two blocks from the police station on a stretch of road with curves, hills, cross traffic and blind spots. fortunately, no collision with oncoming traffic. as the holiday season approaches, more parties, get togethers and alcohol and more opportunities for this to turn tragic.