it's the third time they are facing the possibility of losing their paycheck. >> get your act together. these folks have families. >> reporter: that's the reaction from many local workers learning of the threat of another government shutdown as politics turn nasty. >> this is something that continuously is playing itself out. it's clearly partisan. >> democrats are refusing to sign off on a funding bill to keep agencies running beyond friday. >> this bill is terrible. it is terrible. >> reporter: republicans accuse democrats of blocking the critical year end funding bill to use it as leverage in the payroll tax cut negotiations. >> they would rather shut down the government than allow the job creating legislation to become law. >> caught in the middle, 800,000 employees and contractors who would face furloughs as the christmas holidays are approaching. for faa workers, the second time

they go without a paycheck. she is keeping a close watch. >> the government workers, we all work hard, government and nongovernment. give us a chance to do our jobs without the political debate. finances are tough. this isn't helping the economy one bit. >> most of us don't have savings. we have some, but not enough to carry us. >> many workers aren't spending much, too worried the confusing stand off on capitol hill will hit them hard in the pocketbook. the employee's union is warning them to be prudent. >> continue to watch how you spend your money, what you do in terms of how they speak and it's just the same thing because after this one, there's going to be another one. >> some large agencies including ing k agriculture, commerce, and nasa would not be affected because

they have secure 2012 funding. the rest of the government agencies are covered by that continuing resolution that expires on friday. doreen? >> jane watrel, thank you. some members of congress want to know why the national park service is allowing occupy d.c. protesters to stay in mcpherson square. they are accusing the protesters of damaging the square after funds were used to improve the area. he's questioning whether the park service is making exceptions to their own rules by allowing the protesters to camp out there. there's an investigation under way. in the meantime, a prominent group of african-american pastors teamed up with occupy wall street protesters to fight what they call a war on inequality. pastor bryant from baltimore along with other church leaders announced a movement at the national press club. they call it occupy the dream.

the movement hopes to strengthen the fight against corporate greed. >> the question has been asked, what does occupy want? we want what the constitution promised. a constitution promised there is the ability to pursue life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. >> it will mobilize on january 16th to coincide with martin luther king day. police were warned that a gunman would be in the area hours before a deadly shooting on the virginia tech campus. the time line has been released. authorities in the nearby city of radford, virginia notified police at virginia tech a white suv was stolen and the suspect could be armed and dangerous. it went out after noon on wednesday. that was the day before the shooting. investigators say the suspect, ross ashley shot a virginia tech police officer during a traffic stop and then killed himself.

there's no word about a possible motive. a deadly police shooting. officers say they were forced to open fire after a man refused to drop his gun. the confrontation happened this afternoon. a nearby elementary school was put on lockdown. derrick ward is at the crime scene with more on this. >> reporter: lots of questions as the investigation continues. first and foremost, why. the man who made the call brought police here. he indicated he was suicidal. within 30 minutes of their arrival he was dead. shell casings fell in a drive way on valley park drive. it was an incident that started with a troubling call around noon. >> he was threatening suicide and complaining of workplace issues. >> reporter: sources tell us, the initial call was placed to

maryland park police. the county police responded and things escalated. >> they surrounded the street that the citizen lived on. at that point, the armed man came outside the home. he was armed with a handgun and he waved that gun in a threatening manner and several officers shot that man. >> reporter: a neighbor who lives nearby saw police on the block and wondered why. then it became clear. >> i heard gunshots. the police cars were still out there. then that makes me nervous. then, i saw the police running to his car with the gun in his hand. >> reporter: a nearby elementary school was locked down as the police searched his home for

other occupants. police escorted younger children by the scene. >> internal affairs is on the scene at this point conducting the routine investigation. those officers will be placed on routine administrative leave. >> reporter: one of the things the investigation is looking at is whether the man who died fired his weapon. the other questions to be answered is what was it that drove him to this state? back to you. >> derrick ward, thanks. in prince george's county, they have charged a bus driver with assault. she crashed her bus into an office building on purpose. the woman's name is teresa douglass. she was arrested this morning after the crash at the bus parking lot. school officials say douglass and another woman had an ongoing dispute. the judge refused to grant a restraining order. she drove his bus into the

building. three people suffered minor injuries. it's unknown whether the other driver she has a dispute with was among those injured. newt gingrich surged ahead to his biggest lead so far. the first primary is weeks away. mitt romney is not backing down. a third candidate may be poised to pull off a surprise in iowa. steve handelsman is on capitol hill with details. >> reporter: thanks, good evening. mitt romney, ideology versus electability. romney claimed in the end it will be electability that triump triumphs. romney focused on his good news. >> people come to the conclusion i'm the person with the experience, temperment and

capacity to lead america and defeat president obama. >> reporter: it's true. newt gingrich surged to his biggest lead among republican primary voters who tend to focus on ideology. 40% to romney's 23%. ron paul at 9% in the nbc wall street journal poll. in the match up against president obama, romney is two points behind the president. gingrich, 11 points back. it's an opportunity for ron paul, who is close to newt in iowa to take the lead. >> reporter: ron paul, he's one point behind gingrich in a survey, three behind in a new hampshire poll. paul was in new hampshire today. >> we are peaking at the right time. >> reporter: a time a shrinked government rings right to voters and paul is stealing ingrich support. romney shows newt teamed with nancy pelosi to fight climate

change and called gingrich zany. >> zany is not what we need in a president. >> his main afternoon speech today is about, ready for this? brain science. quintessential newt gingrich. he proposed an initiative to delay the on set of alzheimers for five years. it would help millions of families and save trillions of dollars and asked to comment on romney's comment. the gallup poll is no brainer bad news for newt. a drop, a steep drop from 37% of approval to 31% since the former speaker became the front-runner. jim and doreen, back to you. >> steve handelsman, thank you. coming up in the broadcast, president obama brought the end of u.s. involvement in iraq to

troops just back from the battlefield. emotions stirred up for family members of fallen marines. >> reporter: online shopping on the rise here in virginia. and, why virginians are spending at least $1,000 in shopping season. we'll have more on this story, coming up. a baby jesus stolen from a nativity scene. veronica, what's ahead in the weather? >> we haven't had rain all week long. now, it's going to turn to the area. milder air first before the rain. dan, what's coming up in sports? >> we are talking maryland hoops. guess what's visiting the comcast center? isaiah thomas. another loss, roy got game. what coach has to say about his [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

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investigators have discovered a fifth victim from that attack yesterday on holiday shoppers. in that attack, a man lobbed hand grenades and ended with an assault rifle. those killed was aed ed ttoddla

woman. officials in belgium ruled out terrorism. the suspect who is 33 years old had been in jail on weapon and drug charges. president obama traveled to ft. bragg, north carolina today to welcome home troops from iraq. he marked the end of the nearly nine year conflict by honoring the military's extraordinary achievement in that country. we have the report. >> reporter: the gold at the end of the rainbow over ft. bliss, texas was the return of soldiers who were in iraq and now back in the arms of loved ones. >> it's good. it's about time. >> reporter: over the next few weeks at military insulations, scenes like this play out repeatedly. the drawdown of u.s. troops from iraq is just in time for the holidays. >> i'm very happy that he's

going to be here for christmas. we were not expecting him. >> reporter: it's also just what president obama ordered. he went to ft. bragg in north carolina wednesday to cheer those returning himself. >> on behalf of a grateful nation, i'm proud to finally say these two words and i know your families agree, welcome home. [ cheers and applause ] >> welcome home. >> reporter: mostly, the president praised those who went to fight the war since march, 2003. >> we are ending a war, not with a final battle, but a final march toward home. this is an extraordinary achievement. nearly nine years in the making, the war in iraq will soon belong to history. your service belongs to the ages. >> reporter: as he spoke, other troops in iraq prepared for their return.

in a homecoming like this. nbc news. more than a million and a half americans served in iraq since the war there began in 2003. nearly 4500 soldiers lost their lives, including more than 200 from ft. bragg. the marine corps is apologizing for a mistake that caused considerable pain to grieve i grieving families. the marine corps wounded regimen recently sent out more than 9,000 holiday greetings. they contained purple heart o ornaments. it was meant to thank wounded marines for their service. more than 1,000 were addressed to marines killed rather than wounded. letters of apology were sent out. commanders called to express their regret about the mailing. "time" magazine revealed the person of the year for 2011.

the magazine decided to recognize protesters because they are redefining people power around the world. the magazine gave a nod to protesters in the middle east whose demonstrations toppled governments this year. the runner up was the commander of the raid who killed osama bin laden. it goes to the thing or person who makes news for better or worse. veronica is here for the scoop on the weather. we have changes headed our way, huh? >> not bad changes. for the next 24 to 36 hours, the weather is going to be on our side. >> we'll enjoy it while we can. >> that's right. normally, when we talk rain, we think travel is a big thing. first, i want to take you down south. a look back last year on this date, 28 degrees and an inch of snow after that. no snow this year.

areas south have. this is arizona. mt. lemon, arizona where snow measured in feet. it started falling hard last night. flagstaff, over a foot. a lot of folks here wishing they could do that. southern arizona, even southern arizona had a mixture of rain and snow. around here, well, we are still waiting. it doesn't look like we are going to have any snow. well, in all the days leading up to christmas, today 50 degrees. it's going to get milder for tomorrow. 38 degrees was the start temperature, early morning temperature. 38, that was better than 30 yesterday. last year, on this date, 28 degree high temperature with wind. we had windchills, too, last year on this date in the low 20s. 48 degrees now. the average high, 47. still here at this late hour, we are still above the average high. 48 in leesburg. 38 in culpeper.

50 in annapolis, maryland. for so late in the day, again, relatively mild. as far as the radar goes, today, light showers to the west of our area. not much else going on there right now. we are going to see the possibility of more rain as we move through the day tomorrow. tomorrow, with cloud cover over the area, tomorrow we are going to start out partly cloudy. we get a bit of a break overnight. look at the temperature, 40 to 39 degrees early tomorrow morning. a little chilled. i'm calling it damp with the additional moisture in the air. you can see the rain north of pittsburgh, pennsylvania and around columbus, ohio. look at chicago and grand rapids, michigan. chicago, illinois, delays, airport delays, chicago, o'hare, midway airport and down south of the front, to texas, you have had thunderstorms in texas and arkansas. here we are. there's the warm front as it

moves to the north and east. again, we get a break in the cloud cover. partly cloudy sky after midnight. more moisture drives to the north. by the time we get to the mid part of the day, after noontime and around 2:00 tomorrow, a chance for showers from 2:00 to 6:00. quickly moving through the area. again, not going to get a lot. a tenth of an inch of rain for some neighborhoods. not everybody is wet with the weather system. the front moves through. as it does, we go from a mild temperature to temperatures falling throughout the day. along with that, we are going to get wind, too. breezy, cloudy and overcast. clearing and more clearing as we get into the backside of your friday. 46 degrees. just wapted to take you through the temperatures for early tomorrow morning. mild in the upper 50s to 60 degrees. i wanted to show you early friday morning at 47 degrees. again, temperatures falling off.

that's important for friday. 42 to 45 degrees. a light wind for us. again, no rain for the evening. itis a nice evening. coat required tomorrow between 34 and 39 degrees. sun is up at 7:19. tomorrow, 54 to 57 degrees. that is some of the warmest air that we have had around here in over a week. just a little bit of rain, too. not a bad day at all tomorrow. from 57 tomorrow to 10 degrees colder, if not more by the weekend, 46 on saturday. 47 on sunday. i think sunday is going to be the best day, the prettiest day of the weekend with more sunshine. rain tuesday and wednesday. that system is one we have to watch closer because tuesday night, if the rain continues and it gets cold enough, no snow. it might get icier out here. >> all right. kids would like to move that up. >> i know. >> some of them will be out of school. >> that's true.

thanks, veronica. coming up on news 4, a surprise winter storm created gridlock last year. now, local officials are rolling out new equipment to show how they will prevent a similar scene this time. jerry sandusky's lawyer is backtracking after promoting a phone sex hot line. hello, i'm major pat. i'm serving in kabul, afghanistan. i would like to say happy i wou[ male announcer ]py this...is the network --

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the man accused of firing shots at the white house was in court this morning. in an unusual move, prosecutors argue that he needs a comprehensive mental evaluation. last month, he passed an exam that suggested he was competent to stand trial. prosecutors don't believe that examination gave a full picture of his mental state. the lawyer frr hernandez says his client has no problem comprehending what is happening and he is competent. both sides will be back in front

of the judge friday morning. the suspect is accused of trying to assassinate the president. he fired a semiautomatic rueful at the white house last month. a lawyer for former penn state coach jerry sandusky is apologizing. he said at the news conference, anyone who believes university officials thought his client raped a 10-year-old bay and did nothing about it should call 1-800-reality. he's used the phrase to mean get a life. he didn't know the number was real and vows never to use it again. sandusky is accused of molesting boys. a baby jesus snatched from a local nativity scene, again. this time, management took serious steps to keep it from

happening. his parents turned a root beer stand into a global hotel empire. bill marriott is stepping down as ceo. >> how severely traffic is having an impact on how people shop. coming up in sports, the redskins recognizing a rookie. the terps getting ready for

once again, federal workers facing the threat of another partial shutdown by friday. democrats and republicans are at odds over a part of the budget that -- police shooting in prince george's county today. a man was shot and killed by police in valley park road after the man refused to put down his weapon. the police were called to the scene after the man complained about workplace issues. officers shot him after he waved his gun at them in a threatening manner. newt gingrich surged to the biggest lead yet.

for him, it's not all good news. he's favored by republican voters, surveys show voters, independent voters think mitt romney has a better chance of defeating president obama in the general election. a nativity scene in virginia is without the most important element tonight. >> somebody stole the baby jesus out of the manger. it's not the first time he's disappeared. pat collins has the report. >> reporter: the central park shopping center, fredericksburg, virginia. every holiday season, the same displays. it's a tradition here. the christmas tree. the menorah and this. joseph, mary and the three wisemen. but take a closer look. there's no baby jesus. they say that last night someone came here and stole baby jesus. >> what is this worldcoming to?

>> it's a shame. >> it's horrible. >> i think it's a disgrace. >> reporter: he was that wide and that long and he weighed 80 pounds. you see, this happened once before. to prevent someone from stealing him, again, they filled the statue with concrete. 80 pounds of concrete. >> it's an insult and injury to everybody when this kind of thing happens. it's not just personal. it affects a lot of people. >> reporter: investigators checked the security cameras at fridays even the ones over there at the outback. so far, nothing. only one clue here, tell tail tire tracks across the grass, leading up to the cresh. a vehicle was used in this theft. because baby jesus weighed 80

pounds, it's likely more than one person was involved. what kind of person would do something like that? >> cruel, insensitive. heartless. >> a person that didn't have anything else to do. a person with a criminal mind. >> cold hearted. >> reporter: police say what happened here is a crime. when there is a crime, there are consequences. not only in the courts but in this case, maybe in other places as well. i'm pat collins, news 4, fredericksburg. police say they hope the theft of baby jesus was intended as a prank. it is a crime. it's considered grand larceny. in maryland, police are puzzled over what led to a deadly pedestrian accident on i-270. it shut down exit 15 in germantown and backed up traffic for several hours. a man, for unknown reasons was running across several lanes of

traffic when he was hit and killed. the driver of the truck stayed on the scene and does not face charges. the victim's name hasn't been released yet. a maryland man was found guilty of killing his boss at suburban hospital in bethesda. 50-year-old keith little stabbed roosevelt more than 70 times on new year's day. little was upset his work hours had been changed, forcing him to lose his second job. little was given a bad performance review, making him ineligible for a race. little will be sentenced in february. he faces life in prison. for nearly 40 years, bill marriott, jr., ran the company founded by his father. he's now decided to step aside as ceo. he made the announcement before hundreds of employees at the headquarters in bethesda. he says he is not retiring.

he will serve as the executive chairman of the company a. >> i'll be 80 years old in march. i have been with the company 60 years in june. ceo 40 years in november. this is a good time to move on. >> will take over the role of ceo in march. he is currently the chief operating officer and will be the first nonmarriott to lead the firm. the family business started as a root beer stand here in washington years ago. they opened the first hotel near the 14th street bridge and turned it into a worldwide hotel empire. the slow commute to the mall is driving many in the reengiono shop on the web rather than in the store. we have more on the trend of the one-click shopping. >> reporter: a traffic crawl or a standstill all together. that's what d.c. area residents are trying to avoid this year by shopping online instead of heading out to the stores.

>> it's easier to do. >> reporter: a poll conducted finds 44% of maryland residents and 35% of d.c. residents will shop online this year to avoid the hassels. virginia residents are likely to do more online shopping with 40% saying they would rather stay in the comfort of their own home and use laptops to purchase from ebay and amazon. richard parker does all his shopping online. why did we find him at tyson's corner? >> i like the atmosphere. i like the people that run things. i like it at christmas time. >> reporter: the same goes for this man here. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: he tells me he would rather get out of the house and enjoy the malls

regardless of traffic. virginians will shell out the greatest amount of money this year. how much? $1,005 to be exact compared to $959 for folks in maryland and $530 for d.c. residents. kendall says she'll spend less this year than last. >> we have kids now. it's no what it's about. it's not about presents. >> reporter: she does make up the 47% of virginians buying online this year. she says she only comes to the mall to exercise. at tyson's corner, erika gonzalez, news 4. the district rolled out new equipment to show how the city plans to deal with the threat of a snowstorm.

not a bad evening. welcome back, veronica johnson here. we are at 48 degrees right now after getting up to 50 degrees. the temperatures throughout the area are currentry running two to seven degrees up from where they were yesterday at this time. by tomorrow morning, right in d.c., 39 degrees. the start for the temperature,

41 over in annapolis. a couple locations that will dip down around freezing in frederick county. areas around 270 will dip down. elsewhere, above the freezing mark. 38 to 39 degrees to the south and east. tomorrow, mild. 55 to 58 degrees. fredericksburg 60 degrees. the southwest wind is going to pick up throughout the day. it's going to pick up with the advance of a cold front. a little bit of rain after 2:00 tomorrow. not much we are going to get out of the system. a quick dose of it. i's in and out. you would think we would clear out but we're not. a high of 50. wind hanging on. 46 for saturday. 47 expected on sunday. by next week this time, we are back to a colder rain coming our way tuesday and wednesday. back to you.

>> thanks. real men wear pink and it's all for a good cause for the entire month of october. members of the firefighters association wore pink t-shirts. it looks good. they designed and sold the shirts for two local breast cancer survivors. they presented a $5,000 check to the susan g.koman foundation. there's new research out that offers an interesting pi picture about marriage in america. according to the census, only 51% of american adults are married. it's down 5% from last year. down 21% from 1960. people that are getting married are doing it later. half of all women are 26 or older when they first marry. more than half of all men are at least 29 years old.

the decline in marriage is attributed to a number of things including cohabitation and single parenthood, both are which are more acceptable now than in the past. a look now at what we are working on. what's coming up? >> talking hoops. isaiah thomas is taking on the terps. roy helu is a bright spot this season.

i asked dan what he's leaving with. it was the most appropriate thing. that dude is awesome. he's coming into his own. >> the most amazing thing about helu is he didn't play much the first half of the season. shanahan kept him on ice. it's been working out lately. roy helu has become the most dominant addition. helu has three straight 100 yard rushing games. he must be doing something right. he is the first rookie running back to have three straight 100 yard games for the redskins. over the last three weeks, he's touched the ball nearly 30 times per game. it makes him one of the busiest running backs of the nfl. he's still learning but reenergized the the redskins ground game that was dead last

in the nfl a few weeks ago. >> giving them more of an opportunity. he's earned it. he's more comfortable with the system. we talked about why with protections, first down, second down, third down, defenses. more comfortable with what he needs to do. it gives him opportunity to become successful. he gets stronger as the game goes on. it's a big plus for him. >> more touches and get the ball moving down the field, keeping the ball possession wise but other than that, still lots to improve on. >> he is so humble, but i love when he gets out there and puts that one foot in the ground and goes off the field. >> what's his name? 49ers years ago -- >> roger craig? yeah. i'd love if he could be roger craig. >> wouldn't that be nice? >> a lot of redskins fans would

like that. 22nd in the nfl. it could be another big day for helu. talking hockey now. no magic formula this time around. bruce boudreaux was hired, the team turned around almost immediately. the caps 3-4 under dale hunter. goaltending has not been helping the cause. he gave up four goals in two periods before he got pulled. first period is where we are going to start. doing work for the flyers. he's been scoring at will lately and continued last night. take another look at this thing. dennis trying to get there. couldn't do it. six straight games with a goal. that was the beginning of what would be an ugly game. talbot fires. he tries to soften to no avail. caps blasted by the flyers, 5-1.

it's proven to be the difference. he struggled all night long. >> it's a tough job. everybody knows it. it could be three mistakes in front of a goalie. they are not mentioned. the goalie let them in at the end. it's a tough job. he's got to be strong minded. it can be up and down. >> go in just like they are going to miss from time to time. you know, missing for the mistakes are going to happen. we put thomas in his position. sometimes those go in. you know, i think he'll tell you, it wasn't his best game. he's been a professional for a long time. he's going to bounce back. >> the capitals taking on the jets next on the road. things not good for the maryland football team. two more players, blue and

coxson announced they were leaving the school since the terps 2-10 season. eight players left the program with eligibility remaining. the other person leaving, gary croton. he won a national championship. offense not effective in college park. they are working out a deal to buy him out as we speak. staying with the maryland theme, on a positive note, the basketball team on national team looking for their third straight win under new head coach for the first time. the terps beat notre dame back-to-back. tonight, hosting florida international. this should be the last game without injured point guard howard. he plans to return from a broken foot next week. >> we definitely need him back as quick as possible. he's a great point guard. it will help us as a team. i like it.

>> that's what the kids decided. it's probably when he'll be back. you know, it's -- my deal is, if it's your body and you are healthy and want to play, you play. if you have things made up in your mind, so, i just got, hey, i'm just going. i don't know what coach you have. i'll coach them. we are going to have nine different teams this year. do i look tired? >> do i look tired? is he the most indifferent coach in america? oh, i don't know. maybe he'll come back. maybe he won't. >> that's what he says to us. we know better. >> isn't that isaiah's team? >> yes. isaiah is the head coach there. that's what they are famous for. they are not very good. >> they will probably be mean. >> if they play like him, yeah. he was tough.

all right. one final nba note staying with the basketball theme for a moment. howard not going anywhere. orlando pulled him off the block in the middle of talks hoping to keep him in orlando. he is the best center in the nba. his contract is coming up. they are trying to convince him to stay there. they could bring peace to him. >> does he want to go? >> he vacillates and changes his mind every other day. he likes the nice weather, but the big city, too. yeah. >> thank you, dan. coming up, a hollywood icon's jewelry collection hits the auction block and hits a record breaking profit. easier to get your news on your iphone. our app gives you the top stories and weather information is a click away.

if you had the old iphone app, get rid of it. you'll be prompted to get a new one. check us out on the itunes store. it's free.

there was an emergency disaster drill at nationals park today. the drill simulated conditions first responders would face when trying to rescue victims during

a chemical attack. members of the d.c. fire department and the chemical biological force were there. it took four hours. the first big snow of the season could hit us anytime. d.c. officials say they are ready for it with a new and improved snow emergency plan. tom sherwood has that story. >> reporter: with millions of dollars spent on snow equipment and plan ining, district officis say they are ready for the fast approaching snow season after a tough 2011. >> the snowstorm on january 26th that left traffic across the region snarled for, in some cases, hours. we got the vehicles, the people and contracts in place to help. >> reporter: he cited several new plans including announcing

school closures by 11:00 p.m. three, to work with federal officials for an orderly release, or provide shelter in place options. one of the big problems we experienced, as you may remember is -- intersections for a half hour. >> reporter: the district government has 750 city workers cross trained for snow removal operations. there are no budget problems this year. >> we certainly see that a heavy snowfall can shut our city down. i think we have to reassure everyone in the city, including the federal government, which has an impact on the nation. when washington doesn't work, a lot of the country doesn't work. >> reporter: tom sherwood, news 4, washington. despite the planning officials admit if thousands of workers rush to their cars before or during a snowstorm,

there's not much the city can do to avoid a traffic jam. coming up tonight at 11:00, police raise the profile of one of the most wanted criminals. we'll have details on the potomac river rapist. also, vandals smash and trash a yard full of christmas decorations not realizing the homeowner had a surveillance camera. they got busted. >> we'll find out what the first family watches on television. you might be surprised at the president's favorite shows. that's at 11:00. i hear they don't let the kids watch tv during the week. impressive. >> one more check on the weather. veronica? >> it's not bad now. it's not going to be bad tomorrow morning. we are only going to drop ten degrees overnight. we stay above freezing. mild tomorrow at 57. the warmest temperatures we have had in more than a week.

it's cloud cover and rain. for the weekend, sunshine. >> all right. sounds good. thanks. tmz and around the clock 24/7 coverage of everything, everybody in hollywood does. we have the glamour and passion of liz taylor and burton. they married twice and divorced twice. that ain't easy to do. a 33 ct diamond sold at auction in new york for nearly $9 million. it's three times what it was expected to fetch. then there was the 55 ct pearl. burton paid $37,000 for that back in 1969. imagine what $37,000 was back then. taylor later fashioned it into