good morning, everybody. welcome to news4 midday. i am barbara harrison. it's wednesday, december 14th, 2011. we begin with a deadly pedestrian accident in germantown this morning that caused major traffic headaches. the road was closed for more than four hours. police are trying to figure out what the pedestrian was doing on the busy roadway. tracee wilkins has more from germantown.

>> reporter: this fatal pedestrian accident happened before 6:00 a.m., but the affects of it lasted well into the morning rush. a man was running across i-270 in the southbound lanes this morning when he was struck by a tractor trailer in the third lane and killed. the man seen here is the driver of the truck and said he did not wanted to talk on camera since an investigation was pending, and he told us the pedestrian was running from the shoulder of the southbound lanes heading towards the northbound direction. before he could stop, he hit him. the truck driver stayed on the scene. police are not identifying the pedestrian at this time, but they say they know he was coming from his residents located a few miles away on 355, but they don't know why he was attempting to cross an eight-lane highway in the dark. the man who struck the man will not face charges. they say the accident was unavoidab

unavoidab unavoidable. the investigation to the crash had a major impact in traffic. the exit ramp for 118 was closed and police blocked exits from father hurley boulevard in an effort to divert traffic away from 270. >> it's backed up all the way to frederick. >> reporter: the investigation is still on going. in montgomery county, i am tracee wilkins, news4. and tom, a little warmer today, isn't it? >> yeah, a nice break here for mid-december. temperatures were ten or 15 degrees warmer than yesterday morning and most areas did not get any frost, and right now around the region temperatures are climbing through the 40s as we look at temperatures just past 11:00 this morning. 46 at reagan national. and a bit of upper 40s from the mountains to the atlantic beaches, and they will continue to climb into the mid and low .

we will have a light wind coming out of the southeast at 5 miles per hour. and the temperatures will get back into the 40s after sunset. sunset is at 4:47. we may have a few breaks in the clouds in the evening hours. the wind will shift into the south, but the flow will keep things mild tonight. we will be in the mid-40s after sunset. and by midnight, we will be down in the low 40s. and it looks like a possibility of rain on thursday and then a chillier weekend to follow. we will look at that and into next week coming up in just a couple minutes. let's head out to the roads now and see how things are moving. hi, danella. >> it was a tough commute all morning long. and the problem i am seeing now is on i-66 inside the beltway. if you are traveling i-66 this is the view at glebe road, and

travel speeds in that area, 17 miles per hour. to get from the beltway to gw parkway heading east on 66, that trip will take you 35 minutes. and now earlier today this outer loop was jammed, but you can see nice and clear as you make your way on the outer loop and traveling on the inner loop as well, and no problems at this time. back to you. >> thanks, danella. new york avenue in northwest washington is back open after a fire at a strip club. it was around 7:20 this morning. firefighters are investigating how that fire may have started. well the man that turned the district rootbeer stand into a global empire is stepping down as ceo. moments ago he announced a new head of his hotel chain. melissa is live where a press

conference just wrapped up. >> i have to say this press conference is a bit more emotional than anybody here had expected, and very emotional by employees. they call him mr. marriott. now, when i talked to him after today's press conference, he says, you know, he is stepping aside and not retiring, and he addressed hundreds of employees on wednesday. it start as a family rootbeer stand here in washington and opened their first hotel near the 14th street bridge, and turned that into a hotel empire with 120,000 employees. arnie soreson will takeover. >> i have will be 80 years old in march and have been in the

company for 60 years in june and ceo 40 years in november, and this is a good time to move on. arnie has been with us for 50 years, and i could not have a better man to take his place. >> i don't think i will try to fill his shoes in that sense. i will try to do the best i can to run this company as a ceo, but with a good leadership team. it will be a lot of work but it's exciting work. >> he will be the third ceo in the company's 80 year history. he will step up, and mr. marriott will step aside at the end of march. back to you. >> thanks, melissa. congress is once again working to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week because lawmakers cannot agree on how to extend the payroll tax cut for millions of americans. bipartisan lawmakers reached an agreement on a $1 trillion

measure to keep the government operating through next september. temporary funding expires this weekend. the two parties need to broker a deal on the payroll tax cut. the house voted to extend them through 2012 but senate democrats say they won't approve it because the bill has a requirement for construction of an oil pipeline. president obama has threatened to veto the payroll tax measure if it includes the oil pipeline provision. meanwhile, congress is on track to ramp up the role of the military in the capture of suspected terrorists. there's a bill that authorize rises funds for military personnel and weapons and the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the bill will require custody

for suspected links to al qaeda. the senate could vote on this measure tomorrow. well, today president obama will mark the near end of the american military presence in iraq with address to troops who served there. the president is on his way to ft. bragg, north carolina. he will give a speech to service members and their families. special troops were among the first soldiers in iraq in 2003. more than 200 troops from that base have died in iraq since then. president obama has pledged that all u.s. troops will leave iraq by the end of this month. now, to divisiecision 2012. they face different challenges in their road to the white house. a new nbc news wall street journal poll shows newt gingrich

has 40% saying he's their first choice, and romney follows him, and many classify him as too moderate or too liberal. and newt gingrich trail obama because independents and women view him in a more negative light. and then donald trump is still considering a run for the white house himself. he announced he may become an independent candidate in june because of an equal time provision, he cannot become a candidate until the spring season of his show "the apprentice" ends. >> they want me to announce that i won't run as an independent candidate, and i won't do that. because if the republicans pick the wrong person, i would in fact seriously consider running. >> the next gop debate is

scheduled for tomorrow night. and right now, national's park is the scene of a mock terrorists attack. d.c. officials along with local marines and sailors are preparing what to do if there is a disaster in the area. it's the back drop for the four-hour simulated drill. many personnel in the drill is trained to drill in large scale incidents. it's only a drill today at the national's park. you can make a difference in the lives of dogs and cats getting older. it's part of our 12 days of giving. house for the heart senior pet sanctuary is a organization run by volunteers. it's not a rescue center, but a sanctuary that 30 dogs and cats call home. the animals will live the rest of their lives at that sanctuary. we have volunteers standing by to take your phone calls if you

can help the sanctuary continue to make a difference. we will hear more about what you can do to help them in just a few minutes. still ahead, dr. conrad murray plans to appeal his conviction in the death of michael jackson, but he doesn't want to pay for it. who is he asking to pay the bill? [ terri ] my husband, hank, was always fun. never took life too seriously. 'til our son was born... that day, he bought life insurance. now, there's no way i could send our boy to college without it. if there was one thing i could say to hank, it'd be "thank you." you're welcome. hey, hank. [ male announcer ] life insurance you can use while you're still living.

you are one lucky lady. mm-hmm. [ male announcer ] learn more from your state farm agent today. 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.

today the federal government will start the first auction of offshore operations since the disaster. critics of the auction note that the 11 people died in the explosion in april of 2010, and it led to the worst oil spill in the history of the u.s. sparking the interior department to reorganize how it regulates offshore oil industry. and dr. murray is asking for a publicly funded lawyer to handle the appeal in the conviction in the death of michael jackson, but he cannot afford it. murray says he would like to appeal both his conviction and his sentence. so far no formal papers have been filed with the california appeals court. lindsay lohan will be back

in court today. the 25-year-old actress will give a judge her first progress report under her new probation requirements. lohan has been reporting regularly for her work at the los angeles county morgue since being threatened with a long jail sentence at her last hearing, and she has also been attending court ordered counseling sessions. we have a little warmup out there. tom, feels comfortable, but cloudy skies. >> a good day to walk the dog down the path along the canal. >> nice idea. >> yeah, good day to get out and get a little exercise. we don't have much wind around and we will take it for mid-december. and temperatures above average as we get in the afternoon. right now cloudy over washington and we have a temperature at reagan national at 46 degrees, and it's not quite as dry as the last couple days. we have a calm wind. and other temperatures now, it's

in the 40s from the mountains all the way to the atlantic beaches, and between there and the beaches, we are in the mid-40s in washington and prince georges and montgomery and arlington and fairfax counties, and most areas have high clouds coming in but around the bay and eastern shore they have sunshine now. and temperatures are near 50 degrees now as well as through central virginia. now here is what has been happening over the last 12 hours. high pressure over us, and it's beginning to recede off to the east, and the return flow around this high is shifting our winds into the south and southeast, and that's been warming us up a little bit. we have the upper atmosphere coming out of the north and west and tapping moisture and bringing in sprinkles to the shenandoah panhandle. this is along a warm front. and it's just near front royal

and along the blue ridge south of there in warren county down towards where it meets the blue ridge and then across the blue ridge in shenandoah valley, a couple sprinkles there now. and overnight tonight, we'll begin to see the clouds breaking up a little bit, but overall cloudiness around. and then we may have a few sprinkles around this time tomorrow as well as during the afternoon hours, and then as we get into tomorrow evening, we will begin to have chillier air move into the mountains, and when that happens we will get snow showers far western maryland, and then as we get into friday, still a bit of cloudiness around. not much cold air riding until friday night. so for the rest of this wednesday, we'll have a lot of clouds around and still with the southerly flow, we should be in the 50s this afternoon. and then we will have

temperatures in the mid-40s just after sunset, and then by midnight should be down into the low 40s. we will have a light breeze out of the south through the evening. by dawn tomorrow, we will be bottoming out in the upper 30s. during the day on thursday, a lot of clouds but a bit milder. may make it into the upper 50s and maybe near 60 by early afternoon. then a few of the sprinkles may be coming through. don't anticipate much rain tomorrow at all, but perhaps a few passing light showers, especially during the afternoon and early evening on thursday. friday morning, the mid-40s and then chillier as we get into the evening and then by dawn on saturday down to near 30 degrees and chilly air in here for the weekend. saturday afternoon, highs in the mid-40s. sunday morning, maybe down into the 20s throughout much of the region. afternoon highs, the mid-40s. lots of sunshine. and then we may get some rain on tuesday with temperatures in the mid-40s. throughout the day, you can

follow me on twitter and get all the latest weather, science, technology and nature news. that's the way it looks, barbara. >> thank you, and we'll see you again if that. let's head out to the roads once again and see what danella is looking at. >> good morning, barbara. still seeing very slow trip, 66 east inside of the beltway. from the beltway to gw parkway, you are at 18 miles per hour and that trip will take you 33 minutes. and i-270, here is the view at shady grove. looks good. no issues i-270 north or south, and making your way on to the beltway from the spur, 62 miles per hour and pleasant on the road right now. back to you, barbara. >> thank you, and we will see you again, too, shortly. today we continue our 12 days of giving. during the 12 days we will introduce you to different nonprofit groups in our area making a difference but need help and support from you to continue their good work.

and pat lawson tells us about house for the heart. >> good morning. taking care of a family pet getting older may be hard at times. senior dogs and cats are in danger of being euthanized because nobody wants to adopt them. but house for the heart provides a safe place for the animals to live out the rest of their lives. 202-885-4949. and here is the director, and lisa browning, and she can tell us how the program helped her dad. and they brought along two little guys, and this is shag, and the other dog is tiny tim. >> these two babies have been with us for about a month. >> how did you get them? >> they came to us from a shelter on the eastern shore in caroline county. we got an e-mail telling us about these guys, that their owners had given them up and

they needed a home and they did not think anybody was going to adopt them, and tiny tim has no teeth and only one eye and his tongue hangs out, and so we agreed we would take them and their director drove them from the eastern shore to the sanctua sanctuary. >> it's a home for older pets, right? >> yes. >> you take pets that owners give up and shelters refer to you. explain that. >> we will get a call from the shelter if they have a senior dog or cat or somebody that is ill in the shelter, or they may be euthanized or what yefr their issues are, medical, whatever they need, we take care of it. >> you turn to the sanctuary when your dad got sick. what happened? >> he had a heart condition and was living alone since my mom died and he got pneumonia and had to go to the hospital, and

ended up in a rehab facility, and he had a 13-year-old blind dog which -- i don't know if you can see this picture of my dad and his dog -- >> hold it right there and maybe we can get a close-up. >> we did not know what we were going to do with the dog, and it was not an option for me to take my dad and my dog, and i sent 100 e-mails trying to find to take the dog, and when my dad decided it might be best to put his dog down, we got a reply from share. it was like a guardian angle. and we took max to cher's, and we went to visit, and my dad said the comfort that it gave him to see he was taken care of because he had a special bond.

>> how many dogs and cats can you care for, and do you take other animals? >> we currently have 32 dogs in the sanctuary and four cats, but it depends on what their needs are. sometimes residents need more care than at other times, and we could not have as many. only cats and dogs. >> what do you need? >> we need money. our vet bill four weeks ago was $10,000. so monetary donations really help. our biggest expense is the vet bill, because everybody needs what they need medically, and the food bill because we give them the best food possible, and grooming because we have all the dogs that need proper grooming by the specialists. >> we will have more about them, but if you can help them and these little guys, call our volunteers. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, pat. the time is 11:23. still ahead, while living single

may be the latest trend. who is "time" magazine's person of the year. find out who mattered the most in 2011.

new research out this morning gives a striking picture about marriage this morning. according to the census data,

only 51% of american adults are married now. that's down 5% from last year and down 20% from 1960. half of all women are 26 years old or older when they first mar marry, and half of all men are at least 29 when they marry for the first time. part of the reasons is cohabitation and single parenthood are more acceptable than in the past. and elizabeth taylor said diamonds were the love of her life. her diamonds and jewels sold for $115 million. part of the proceeds will go to the foundation taylor created to help people living with aids. 11:27 is our time.

coming up in the next half hour, our mental health expert will be answering your questions. and then why jerry sandusky's lawyer is apologizing. we hear his plan for the case. plus, [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait. it's only available for a limited time.

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right nowon news4 midday, congress is working to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this week. all because lawmakers cannot agree on how to extend a payroll

tax cut for millions of americans. that's fueling another fight on the temporary spending package to keep the government open and working through next september. temporary funding expires this friday. right now national's park is the scene of a mock terrorists attack. the four-hour drill includes simulated conditions that first responders might face in a real large scale incident such as an explosion. this morning "time" magazine announced the highly anticipated person of the year. "time" magazine's editor made the announcement on the "today" show this year. >> it's the protester. the men and women around the world and particularly in the middle east who toppled governments and brought democracy and dignity to people who had not had before, and speaking of the year ahead they are changing history already and

they are changing history in the future. >> the occupy d.c. movement is the focus of an investigation on capitol hill. a house committee is investigating why the national park service is allowing the demonstrators to remain in mcpherson square. republican congressman esa blames the protesters for damaging public safe. and he accuses the park service of breaking its own rules by allowing the protesters to remain in macpherson's square. and occupy the dream is a new movement, and it will be comprised of african-american clergy members. organizers will layout their plans and demands today here in washington. well, the man who is accused of firing shots at the white house was in court this morning. it's an unusual move.

federal prosecutors argue that oscauoscar hernandez he is not competent to stand trial. the attorney for hernandez says his client has no problem comprehending what is happening and is competent. the 21-year-old is accused of trying to assassinate the president. prosecutors say he fired a simi automatic rifle at the white house last month. despite nonstop efforts since thursday, police cannot find a link between the shooter, ross ashley, and the officer shot, deriek crouse. and surveillance video first puts ashley in blacksburg on wednesday afternoon, but he is not seen again until the

shooting that killed deriek crouse. jerry sandusky's lawyer is apologizing while referring to the gay and sex phone line after the former coach waived his rights. am the phone number is actually a sex line for gay men. amendola said he did not know the number he quoted was real and vows not to use it again. and jerry sandusky is accused of abusing ten boys over a ten year span. a plea deal could be in the works. >> any sort of plea bargain that might be in the works that would involve a life sentence for jerry sandusky, and jerry sandusky has maintained his

innocence from the allegations brought by accuser number one three years ago and he maintains his innocence in regard to all the allegations since then. >> amendola says there's no reason for his client to consider a plea deal and he does not anticipate he will consider one in the future. do you think rain might be moving in? >> looks like tomorrow. right now a few sprinkles in the shenandoah valley. here just a cloud cover. this is a live view from the skywatcher camera looking off into the west northwest and we have cloud cover after a little morning sun. there's sunshine, and the temperatures are now around 50 degrees, and also under the clouds they're in the mid-40s to low 40s out in western maryland, and as the day progresses, a few sprinkles drifting in on a northwesterly flow aloft, and they just now moved to near

front royal and right around the northern blue ridge but break up north of the blue ridge. and they have sprinkles in the panhandle of west virginia, and a lot of clouds this afternoon with highs reaching the low to mid-50s. the higher temperatures just to the south of washington. and then during the night tonight, mostly cloudy and down to the upper 30s by dawn tomorrow. a cloudy day, and afternoon highs in the mid and upper 50s. we don't anticipate rain tomorrow, and just light showers, probably a quarter inch of rain or less around. and then on friday, partly sunny and still on the mild side. afternoon highs in the mid-50s. there's a small chance of a sprinkle south of the metro on friday night. on saturday, we ought to get sun back after a cold start in the mid-40s, and a cold day on sunday, too. a bit milder on monday and we

could get rain on tuesday. that's the way it looks right now. >> thank you, tom. and here is danella sealock. >> still seeing delays on 66 eastbound inside the beltway. you are very slow from the beltway as you head towards gw parkway. traveling around the beltway inner loop at branch avenue, you are at 54 miles per hour. and traveling on the inner loop heading towards university boulevard, you are at 58 miles per hour. we will give you a live look right now if you are taking the beltway at route 1, no issues as you head towards greenbelt, you are in the clear. and again on the outer loop heading towards montgomery county, no issues there. back to you. >> thank you, danella. it's only preliminary now, but be prepared because you could be paying more when you hail a cab in the district. the per mile rate will jump from $1.50 to $2.16 a mile. and the wait time will jump from

$15 an hour to $25. and several fees will be ae l b eliminated. there is is a commission's meeting on january 11th. and the differences will not take place until february. we are glad you are here today. we missed you last week. we have a lot of questions from folks that want answers. let's get started right away. the first question. i am a single parent and i have one son, a senior in high school and about to go off to college. she did all the applications and she is depressed already before he even leaves. >> i say you are not alone and there are a lot who experience

this when their kids go off to school, particularly if you are somebody that doesn't have a spouse, and particularly if you don't feel like you have a good support system. my advice to this bureau would be number one, i think it's really important that she doesn't let her son know that she is really maybe going to struggle a little bit when he goes off to school. you don't want him to go off to college and worrying about his mom being depressed and he then will not be able to focus on his studying and school. she needs to focus her attention over the next six months in trying to develop a good social network and reaching out to friends and finding activities she is interested in so she has things to fill her time that she enjoys doing when he is away. >> a viewer writes i just lost my aunt, and she was an amazing lady and would do anything. why is it god takes these people from our lives and allows murderers and etc. to live and make our lives miserable.

can you explain that? i know that's not going to be an easy one for you. >> i don't think it's appropriate for me to answer that one. that's really a question left to somebody in the religious community, but i do think this person is experiencing a stage of grief and anger and they are frustrated with why my aunt who was a wonderful person when all these other people are still around. this is a typical emotion for people to have, and with time it should dissipate. >> the next question comes from a viewer who is scared that she is about to lose her husband. he told her after 12 years of marriage he was thinking of leaving her, but he says he loves their two children with all of his heart. she says her husband she only feels two emotions, happiness and anger, and when he tries to address issues with her she gets defensive. >> the e-mail goes on to say that he is refusing to get into

any kind of counseling. that's a difficult situation. but the one thing i would recommend to her is that i think there are some good marriage books out there. there is one author that i really like. considered the foremost expert, and his name is gottman, john. the books are helpful because there are work books you can do with your partner. i think she needs to focus on a couple things. i think she should write a letter to her husband so he has a chance to absorb things in their own time. and in particular, she should focus her attention on the things that she feels bad about doing over the course of their marriage and what she is committed to working on changing. don't put things in there unless you are committed to working on it. and practice don't being so defensive when having

conversations. she might disagree with everything he has to say, but she needs to focus her attention on understanding how he thinks and feels about things, and try not to respond in the moment, say, okay, do i get this right? this is what i think you are saying. let me think about this and talk to you about this later after i had a chance to absorb it all. >> and one more question. i am a 52-year-old woman with bipolar disorder, and on lithium and other meds, and i have been interested in trying other treatment or home ae yo pathic treatments. >> there's evidence to suggest that owe mega-3 fatty as identifies are good for mood disorders. everybody in my practice, unless they have a bleeding disorder, if they have a mood disorder,

they are on omega 3 fatty as identifies. 1,000 milligrams of epa. that's one of the omega 3s. if they try to decrease their medications, you have to be very careful and slow in doing this, but make sure that person is absolutely maintaining a regular sleep schedule, because if they go without sleep or if their sleep gets out of wack it can destabilize their moods. once they have any clue that they are not sleeping well, i will medicate them and make sure they are sleeping okay for that time and take them off the meds again. omega 3 is the only other thing. >> everybody in your house takes them. >> yes, my wife and kids -- not even for the mood. it's just good for you. >> yes, it's almost ridiculous how many good things they are good for. >> my mother used to say that about cod liver oil.

>> yes. >> thank you so much. >> my pleasure. >> you can ask the doctor other questions again, just send e-mails to news4 midday, or go to the facebook page and send us a question by twitter at nbc washington. and coming up, why a plan to close post offices across the country is on hold. plus, the phone bank is open, and call if you want to learn about the house with a heart is what it'

thousands of post offices nationwide slated to close will remain open at least for now. the postal service agrees to delay closing 3,700 post offices and 250 mail processing centers until the middle of may. they were supposed to close as early as april, and the postal service is giving congress more time to pass legislation to give it more authority to stave off bankruptcy. the agency is expected to lose more than $14 billion next year. the world markets are affecting wall street. let's check in with cnbc's hampton pearson. >> well, it's the same old song today for u.s. markets, and it's not a christmas carol. renewed worries about europe sending american markets lower. the dow down and the nasdaqdown

39, and the s&p down 13. the euro dollar slid below the u.s. dollar for the first time since january today. italy had to pay higher borrowing rates to finance its debt. italy paid a record 6.4% on the new five-year bound compared to the previous record of 6.3%. and the federal reserve ended the policy meeting, and no real changes. among the market highs and lows today, solar plunging 19%. the biggest drop in the s&p 500 after the largest solar company slashed earning estimates for the year. on the flip side, avon jumped 8.7% after the company announced

late yesterday that its ceo, andrea young, will step down. barbara, i guess you would call that a different kind of makeover. >> i guess you would. hampton, thanks. >> have a great day. >> you, too. we have more now on our 12 days of giving. here is pat lawson. >> thanks, barbara. taking care of an older pet can get tough, but house for the heart makes it easier for the pets. we have a sanctuary for older animals. and cher runs the center. >> it seems at the end of the rescue center, they had people saying i had a dog since it waswas 8 years old, and now it's 13, and i can't take care of it

anymore. and i rescued just seniors. >> once you walk into this place, you don't want to leave. you just want to go back. the dogs touch your heart. cher's energy and love for the dogs touch your heart, and it's a good way to get a good feeling. you know you are doing something to help something that needs it, and they don't ask for anything in return. >> and tell us about your care for the dogs, includes taking care of their needs as they age, and then you give them a dignified end of life. >> absolutely. usually we let our dogs go with the vets assistants, and when their bodies are put in the container to go for kraemation. the people who touch them, the

last time they are on this earth, they know they were loved until the very last second. >> these two, tiny tim and shag are loved. do you have a wish list? >> yes, you can go to the website to see the list. amazon gift cards because we get supplies there. kirkland signature baby wipes. there's pop, pee and what not to cleanup. and a lot of the dogs need diapers. we need a wheelchair for a dog that we just took in, and it will cost $400 to $500. >> we know you need donations to help care for these little dumps of love. all right, thank you so much. house with a heart, and if can

you help them call the phone bank at 202-885-4949. the time is 11:51. still ahead, a special turns to winter and brings in the cold. because of our economy, millions more will feel that chill than ever before. they're the forgotten ones. the big boys have abused the system to enrich only themselves, while workers are still hurting. it could be a layoff after 22 years of working

for the same company. or choosing between food and heat for a sick child. or after working your whole life, you don't have what you need to stay warm. you played by the rules, but who changed them? even though oil prices are soaring to record levels, in washington, fuel aid for the poor was cut in half. citizens energy asked big oil companies and oil producing nations to help. they all said 'no,' expect for citgo and the people of venezuela. for the last 7 years, citgo has helped struggling families in the united states in good times and in bad. so if you need help staying warm this winter, give me a call. because no one should be left out in the cold.

i want to send best wishes

and a happy christmas to my family in maryland, my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and all my siblings. love you guys and see you soon. a northern virginia family has lost -- has gotten their lost dog back. somehow their dog from fredericksburg wound up in california near sacramento. a woman who was walking her own dogs in that area found her in a wildlife area earlier in the month and took her to an animal shelter. workers there found a microchip that traced her back to virginia. the clinic identified the pruitt's in fredericksburg as the owners. at this point the family has no idea how their dog ended up against the country. >> i thought somebody was playing a joke on me, that knew me from years past. and two or three hours later, we

found it was not a joke. >> it's the best christmas present ever. >> they got their dog back. at this point they say they have no idea how the dog ended up on the other side of the country but are glad she's back. pat, what is a preview of things to come. >> well, reaction from ft. bragg as president obama talks to soldiers about troop withdrawal. and a new study is released on the number of teens in high school that are using drugs. and then the battle of the ages. the experiment with weight loss has come to an end. which age group dropped the most pounds. our volunteers are weighing in today at news4 at 5:00. we will see you at 4:00 and 5:00 this afternoon, barbara. let's look at our forecast

one more time. >> the afternoon will be rather mild. we are generally in the 40s to around 50 degrees. reagan national is at 40 degrees. we will continue to climb with the cloud cover in place in the low to mid-50s. a few sprinkles over the panhandle of virginia right now. tonight cloudy and in the upper 30s. tomorrow, cloudy and in the mid-and upper 50s, and might get showers midday and into the afternoon, and then over the weekend, saturday and sunday, sun back but turning chilly. cold in the morning, and afternoon highs are mid-40s. we will see you tomorrow morning. have a good afternoon. >> thank you, tom. ♪ >> recognize me? i wanted to prove that i could do more than just the news. i didn't have to dance, but i

had the honor of performing in the production of "the nutcracker." this version of the show has a washington twist to it. it is set in d.c. george washington plays the nutcracker or the nutcracker is supposed to be george washington. king george the iii is the rat king. check me out there. [ 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.