he can eke out an historic win tuesday night. he's got a shot. mitt romney suddenly sees an opening. he's come to iowa to try to take advantage. mitt romney outside des moines with his wife ann and rising gop star, new jersey governor, chris christie. the poll confirms romney is the new front-runner here, in part because more iowa republicans believe romney can beat president obama in november. >> the governor electability a big factor? >> hi, how are you? winning is a big factor. >> reporter: iowa seemed out of reach. romney mostly stayed away. >> i like rick perry. it's really between gingrich and romney. >> reporter: romney is back, going for the win. >> i need your help. >> reporter: romney is at 23. paul at 21. santorum up to 15. perry up to 14. gingrich down to 13.

the former speaker was iowa's front-runner a few weeks ago. he's been hammered by negative ads from paul and romney backers. >> ever notice how some people make a lot of mistakes? >> reporter: the ads worked. newt is furious. >> i wouldn't vote for the person they are describing. >> reporter: soon after came tears. >> from dealing with, you know, the real problems of real people in my family. >> reporter: newt was remembering his late mother and dealing with disappointment in iowa. rick santorum is upbeat enjoying his minisurge. rick perry, too. >> i'll be the joudser who goes to washington with a sense of purpose. >> reporter: the tea party vote is split. romney moderates are pleased. >> he's the only candidate that can beat obama. >> reporter: polling expert pointed out with six

front-runners in the past six months and with mitt romney tied with ron paul in today's nbc news poll, tuesday night could still be a photo finish. live from des moines, i'm steve handelsman, news 4. back to you. >> get your cameras ready. thank you, steve. attorney and tea party activist from reston filed a lawsuit to get gingrich on the ballot in iowa. they say he had the 10,000 signatures but some were improperly excluded. he's acting independently and gingrich has not joined the suit. they are still debating their next move in virginia. >> we continue to follow breaking news near the chesapeake bay bridge in maryland. season 18 wheeler is leaking some type of substance. the road has been shut down since 4:00 this afternoon. traffic is backed up for about

12 miles. the eastbound lanes near the big bridge are not expected to open anytime soon. a mother abducted in the heart of chinatown and sexually assaulted. it happened about 7:30 last night. the woman's toddler was in the backseat of the car during the whole time. derrick ward with more on the story. derrick? >> reporter: this is always a busy intersection here at the intersection of 7th and f northwest. tonight, there's a hockey game going on. last night, a world wrestling event. the crowds had to be comparable. that's what makes the crime disturbing. it was about 7:30, the victim was leaving a garage. as she stopped, the assailant came up to the car. >> the location we have, like you say is the 700 block of f street where the suspect entered the vehicle. he ordered her to drive elsewhere at some point, he

stopped and they sexually assaulted her. she had a child in the car. the child was not injured in the car at all. >> reporter: now, the woman contacted police in the area of 4th northwest. it's several miles north of here. they don't have much of a description. they are trying to review security cameras in the area and also canvas the area to see if anybody happened to see anything. we understand the toddler was not hurt. if you remember back in 2009, not far from here at the intersection of 7th and d, a senator's daughter was carjacked. she rolled down her window, he pulled her from the car and drove off. they are hoping with clues and with all the foot traffic in this area all the time these days they could make an arrest in this case as well. we are live in northwest. back to you. derrick ward, thank you. the attack in chinatown comes as d.c. police announce strides in crime fighting.

the murder rate in the district hasn't been as low as it is right now in nearly half a century. there have been 108 homicides this year. that's the lowest since the early 1960s. compare it to 1991 when there were 479 homicides. despite the encouraging news, some crimes are up. darcy spencer is live at d.c. headquarters. darcy? >> reporter: as you know, the chief says it's hard to say why exactly the homicide rate is down so much. her detectives have done so much in getting homicide suspects off the streets before there's retaliation. i also spoke to the head of the fop who said violent crimes have been up recently. he says occupy d.c. is trading resources. the district of columbia was known as the murder capital. hundreds of people lost their lives to violence every year. many of the cases were not

solved. this year, it's different. so far, 108 killings, the smallest number in decades. >> our detectives have done an amazing job in turning those around. >> police say murders are down 18%, that's the lowest in 48 years. of the 108 killings, 62 have been solved the overall hamm said rate is 94%. it's one of the best in the country. >> we are a city that is growing. i think it's because people are feeling safer. they are safer. >> reporter: the head of the d.c. police say violent crime recently spiked. they blame it in part on occupy d.c. >> the manpower is drawn downtown, crime is going to increase. it's one of the things we have faced since october 1 when occupy d.c. started. >> reporter: the chief's response? >> it's ludicrous, if you ask me. whether it be your iphone, ipad,

ipod, your small laptop, your android, whatever it is, if it's small, mobile, electronic device, it's the hottest commodity on the market. >> reporter: the shooting death of damon ward remains open. he was gunned down after leaving a u street restaurant. >> the investigation of my son, there wasn't an investigation. i have given up hope, yes. >> reporter: the chief has this message for families waiting for justice. >> we never give up. we never give up. >> reporter: as we mentioned, the closure rate is 94%. if these two murder suspects can be taken into custody by january 1st, the rate jumps to 96%. darcy spencer, news 4. back to you. >> thank you. a community in northern virginia is on pace for a record

year when it comes to crime there. if arlington can go the next 31 hours without a homicide, it will have recorded zero for the entire year. that would be the first time since the 1950s that that's happened. other jurisdictions have seen a drop in murders this year. fairfax county, 11 so far, down from 16 last year. decreases in montgomery county and prince william county in virginia. prince george county was the only county to see an increase. 94 murders there this year up from 90 last year. as we look outside, we talk about the weather. this winter has been one of the warmest on record. but, for how much longer? doug kammerer is here with a look at the end of the year forecast. doug? >> i would say a day and a half longer then big changes out there. 48 degrees. a mild evening. it is really going to be nice tonight. i really think over the next day and a half or so until we see the changes move on in here.

45 in manassas. 52 in culpeper. the eastern shore coming in at 46. easton 43 degrees. that number just changing. we are clear right now. a couple light showers overnight and early tomorrow with a frontal boundary that's moving through the region. it's going to continue to keep temperatures on the mild side. temperatures when you wake up tomorrow, 43 degrees. many areas into the upper 30s. sprinkles early tomorrow morning. it's not the system that's going to make the changes. the next system moves in on new year's day as we enter 2012. i'll show you what that system is going to bring. >> see you then. thanks. you are going to pay more at the grocery store and here. a five cent bag tax takes effect on new year's day. it's modelled after the tax implemented in d.c. two years ago. the tax applies to paper and

plastic bags. you can take your own canvas bags to avoid the charges. tolls at the dulles toll plaza is going up a quarter. it will cost $1.50 for most vehicles. however, tolls at the on and off ramp remain the same at 75 cents. it will help pay for the dulles rail project. a d.c. keown tillman calling for a bar to be shut down. a man died a week after getting hit by a car. his family is concerned about his treatment at a hospital. the countdown to 2012 is on. a live report. up to 1 million people get ready to pack into time square. >> i'm jane watrel. it's an unexpected windfall inside donated clothing in a maryland thrift shop. who left it? did they do it on purpose?

i'll have the story, coming up. the capitals looking for revenge against the buffalo sabres. mike shanahan finding the silver lining despite a tough season. plus, remember the alamo? alamo bowl, that

it is the street party of the year. hundreds of thousands of people expected to pack into new york's times square tomorrow night to ring in 2012. security will be tight, too. wendy joins us from the middle of it all. wendy? >> reporter: yeah, first of all, it is absolutely gorgeous out here. we are going to get the same weather tomorrow night, about 50 degrees. that is going to bring out more people. they are expecting a crowd of 1 million people. contrast that with last year when we were hammered by the blizzard that hit a few days before new years. that required all the snow removal from here in time square. we don't have to worry about that. it's good. just the normal preparations to make sure it runs smoothly tomorrow night.

>> two, one, happy new year. >> reporter: it was dress rehearsal time in time square for the all important ball drop. earlier this week, workers trucked in a seven foot tall numeral two. the 2012 will light up ushering the new year. >> out with the old and in with the two. >> reporter: it's a spectacle worthy enough to bring in a million people. >> we are going to be here as early as everybody else to be close enough to see it draw. >> reporter: they come from all over the world. >> canada. >> spain. >> new mexico. >> she sold cookies to raise enough money to buy plane tickets for her and her dad to be here. they were big sellers? >> i sold them for a dollar each.

it worked. >> reporter: patrolling streets and checking the backs of trucks. >> we do this well. we have a lot of experience doing it. >> reporter: this street vendor knows it all too well. he alerted police to a bomb inside a car. >> you never know, the enemy is still out there. >> reporter: today he's consumed with selling his 2012 souvenirs. >> get here before 3:00. get you a good seat. make sure you go to the bathroom before you get here. once you are here, you are here. >> reporter: that is good advice there. barricades are set up in time square for the massive crowd that is will show up mid afternoon tomorrow. this party is so big, it will extend seven city blocks. back to you. >> thank you. new year's eve will be

quieter this year in alexandria, virginia. the first night celebration there will not have fireworks. the change comes after a series of accidents. there's a new state law that requires more space between the fireworks and the spectators. organizers say there will be plenty of entertainment for the whole family. >> we are going to have lasers and lights. it's going to be great. timed to music. projected on to the memorial. >> they will host 100 performances at a dozen venues. it lasts until midnight. it will cost you $20. >> doug is here now. you have to keep the coat and the jacket together. >> right now, the jacket, obviously. i think by next week, it's not just the coat, it's everything you have. the hat, gloves, scarves. you will need to pull out things you haven't needed.

you are going to layer up big time next week. not tonight or into the day tomorrow. i think a spectacular new year's holiday coming up in the next 24 hours or so. out there now, a nice night. temperatures reached 54 degrees. it's ten degrees above average. once again, above average. so far, the month of december has been 4.8 degrees above average. that tells you something. it's one of the top warmest decembers we have had. last year, we were 4.9 below average. we have really shifted our temperatures from well below last year to well above this year. we are going to switch back for 2012. 48 degrees is the current temperature now with winds at 6 miles per hour. temperatures around the region, 45 in winchester. 48 in martinsburg. 37 toward cumberland. 52 degrees to the south, fredericksburg and culpeper coming in at 52. storm 4 doppler radar, nothing

to show in our area. we are looking at a storm system around chicago bringing them a lot of rain and snow. this storm system is going to make its way toward the east. i think it will have enough moisture especially early tomorrow morning to give us a chance for a shower or sprinkle early tomorrow morning. we'll take you through the area of low pressure moves to the north and east. it's not going to be a big rainmaker for us. it's not going to have a lot of an impact for us. partly sunny skies. mild temperatures. maybe that sprinkle or shower tomorrow morning. that's it. still a nice saturday. this is the storm on sunday. the cold front that will move through 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon. it's really going to give us that shift. to the east of that front, partly mild. to the west of that front, cold and very windy conditions. winds gusting 30, 40, even 50 miles per hour to the west on sunday. those winds will eventually move

into our region with winds upwards of 30 to 40 miles per hour late monday into tuesday and maybe into wednesday. we have cold air moving in. we have been very, very warm. the trough has been well to the west. it will move in for the next couple days. we have the coldest air of the season thus far moving in just in time for 2012. the forecast this evening, a few clouds. a great evening. 47 to 52 degrees. tomorrow, starting off on a mild note. watch out, maybe a stray shower or sprinkle. you may need the umbrella. most of us stay on the dry side. 37 to 43 degrees. after an early shower tomorrow afternoon, we warm up nicely. 54 to 59 degrees under partly cloudy skies. on the breezy side. winds 15 to 20 miles per hour. a mild breeze. not too much of a problem there. if you are ringing in the new year around the the d.c. area, how about 45 degrees under partly cloudy skies. a great night to get out and about. it's looking fantastic.

the four-day forecast, high of 57 on sunday. that will be early in the day. we see falling temperatures late in the afternoon. 43 on monday. 35 for a high on tuesday. 30 to 40 miles an hour winds. we are talking windchills in the upper teens to lower 20s most of the day tuesday and wednesday. the winds are going to be something we are talking about, too. not only is it going to be cold, the wind will make the cold air go right through you. >> thanks for the warning. coming up, a police officer pulled a man from a burning car then arrested him.

a really dramatic rescue up in grand rapids, michigan. a police officer called to a scene early thursday morning. he found a man asleep inside a burning car. the officer was able to pull him out. he walked him across the street for safety, then busted him. the car caught fire because he fell asleep with his foot on the gas pedal. after the officer saved his life, he arrested him for operating a vehicle while very intoxicated. a nuclear submarine caught fire. crews worked through the night to get the flames under control.

we have the latest on the intense 24 hours. >> reporter: russian officials are confirming after a full day and night ablaze, a massive fire on board the nuclear powered submarine which normally carries nuclear missiles has been extinguished by firefighters. the submarine was dry docked near the port of myrrh mask when wood and scaffolding caught fire on thursday and ignited the rubber coating around the submarine. it's used to make them more stealth like. firefighters worked around the clock to cool down the sub and douse the flames, which at times shot into the sky. russian officials insist there was no radiation leak. it's been verified by a number of neighboring countries. seven crewmen were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning. a number of them stayed inside

during the fire. it's unclear if they were ordered to do so or if they were trapped inside. this brings bad memories back to russians. the if you recall in august of 2000, a nuclear powers boat sank to the bottom of the sea killing all 118 on board. lucky, it appears this fire was extinguished without loss of life and russian officials are saying the nuclear missiles were not on board. nbc news, reporting from london. back to you. in syria now, one of the largest antigovernment protests in months. hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets shouting for an end to the regime. observers were brought in this week to monitor that government's crackdown on opponents. despite their presence, there's word syrian forces shot and

killed at least 19 protesters today. at least 130 people have been killed since the observers began their mission on tuesday. 5,000 people in all have been killed since march. when news 4 at 6:00 continues, a fairfax man rushes to the hospital after he was hit by a car. he's discharged a few hours later. he's dead and his family wants answers. mounds of dirt. constant construction. tonight, good news for people trying to navigate through the mess of d.c. a surprise. workers wondering if someone meant to drop it off. coming up in sports, this year's hiz man winner gets up staged. trying to put the buffalo deep down in the

three days to go before the iowa caucuses. mitt romney is now the front-runner. romney spent the day campaigning with new jersey's governor, chris christie. there's a new poll showing romney on top, ron paul close behind. former front-runner, newt gingrich fell to fifth place. a woman abducted at gunpoint in chinatown. it happened about 7:30 last nikt. she was pulling out of a parking garage when a man entered her vehicle and sexually assaulted her while her toddler was in the backseat. no arrests. the murder rate in the

district fell to the lowest level in nearly 50 years. there have been 108 homicides in the district. it's not been that low since the early '60s. the homicide closure rate is now 94%. one of the best in the country. a family in fairfax, virginia is searching for answers after a father of eight died. it happened almost a week after he was hit by a car. relatives want to know why the hospital released that man so soon after the crash. julie carey spoke with the victim's family and has our report. >> reporter: a grieving widow surrounded by family. candles flicker around the picture of the 66-year-old. >> we are still in shock. he's not here no more. >> reporter: the father of eight died wednesday morning, five days after he was struck by a car. five days after he was initially treated for his injuries and

released from nova fairfax hospital. he just finished a day's work. he took the bus back here to fairfax. he was preparing to cross the street. he had the go signal. a car turning left struck him, threw him to the ground. he was taken to nova fairfax. >> he's most complained about his head and back pain. it was very, very painful. >> reporter: he was treated in the e.r. and released. relatives say he rested over the holiday weekend. tuesday night, his condition worsened. the family called 911 and he was rushed back to the hospital. seven hours later, he was dead. a medical examiner ruled internal injuries from the crash were the cause of death. now the family wonders if things would have been different if he was kept overnight at the hospital. >> i think the doctor should

have protected his life first. i don't know if it was an insurance issue, they didn't think he would pay them. i don't know. i think, i mean, that type of hit, you know, and not seeing any injuries outside. i mean, i think they should have said, you know, maybe it's inside. >> reporter: when we contacted the hospital about the family's concerns, they issued a statement reading due to patient privacy issues we cannot release information. the family is consulting with an attorney to figure out if different care could have saved their loved one. >> the driver that hit him has been charged with failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. just into the news room, d.c. police chief using emergency powers to shut down a nightclub. mood lounge will be closed for 96 hours.

it follows the stabbing of two people outside the club overnight. jack evans wants to take it a step further. he wants it closed permanently. it's too noisy, violent and generates too much trash. >> i have called the police more times in the past two months than ten years of living in the district. it's been awful. >> we left several messages with mood lounge throughout the day and just made another attempt. our calls have not been answered or returned. the men wounded in the stabbing are expected to recover. two doctors who performed late term abortions are facing murder charges. they both have practices out of state. they are accused of bringing women to a clinic in maryland to perform late term abortions. after a 16 month investigation, officers raided their clinic and

discovered 35 late term fetuses in a freezer. the two doctors were charged under the viable fetus law. so far, it's only been used for those accused of killing pregnant women. if you walk along 18th street in adams morgan, you probably walked in the street. construction and utility crews closed down both sidewalks. they say it was a mistake. somehow the crews ended up working at the same spot at the same time. the problem is now fixed. d-dot says they try to have the opposite side open or an alternate path for pedestrians. construction is scheduled to be done by the end of january. east west highway is opened after a water main break closed it. it was east of connecticut avenue in chevy chase. crews worked to repair the main. fixed the broken pipe.

drivers should be able to get through that area with no problem. volunteers at a thrift store in maryland have a mystery on their hands. they want to know if a hidden stash of money found in some clothing that had been donated was a gift or mistake. jane watrel reports employees are trying to reach the donor in an effort to figure it out. >> that would be good for this. >> reporter: it's one of the busiest places in frederick county. volunteer sorters were unprepared for what they found in a large donation of clothes earlier this week. >> we reached in a bag like this. we pulled the garments out so we could look at them. what happened, we found in the pocket of one of the garments, money. a large sum of money. >> reporter: how large a sum? volunteers are staying vague. it's in the hundreds of dollars. it's been deposited in a bank. >> if it's an intended donation, we will gratefully accept that. if not, we want to get it back

to the owner. >> reporter: they believe the hidden cash may be overlooked. >> it can happen. relatives of ours almost threw away old jewelry in a suitcase. >> in these tough economic times, i hope they, everybody needs extra money. >> reporter: finding the mystery donor has not been easy. he or shee is not a regular. the clothes donated were from a family member who passed away. whoever claims it money will have to answer specific questions. >> they will have to identify when they came in, the number of bags they brought in. how they were packaged. >> reporter: the thrift shop has been around for 40 years. they can't remember finding such a large amount of cash hidden in donated clothing. they hope the rightful owner will call them and clear up the mystery. jane watrel, news 4.

coming up, the people who run verizon decided well, maybe not. not. forget about pass you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up!

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hello and welcome back. i'm meteorologist doug kammerer here in storm center 4 taking a look at what we are seeing out there now. a beautiful evening, 48 degrees. winds out of the southeast at 6 miles per hour. this is what you can expect for the rest of the night tonight. partly cloudy skies. look at the storm to the west. it's a potent storm system. it's going to move to the north and east. it's not going to affect us directly. what we will see is a chance for shower activity or a sprinkle early tomorrow morning. that's it.

don't expect a change in temperatures tomorrow. we are looking at another nice day. tomorrow night, ring in the new year on a nice note. 45 degrees at midnight. partly cloudy. looking good. fireworks around national harbor. alexandria, no fireworks there. a nice light display. annapolis, let's ring in the new year there. a light display and fireworks. 44 degrees, partly cloudy. not too cold. another area hosting fireworks, fredericksburg. partly cloudy, seasonably mild. a temperature around midnight of about 46 degrees. unseasonably mild is what it should say there. it's going to be a fantastic night. the colder air moves in here. by sunday night and into the day monday you will feel the difference. windchills on tuesday could stay

around 20 degrees all day long. >> thanks, doug. >> yep. folks at verizon decided to cancel the convenience fee because of backlash. 24 hours after announcing they were going to charge customer 2s a month to pay bills online or by phone, verizon changed their plans. the nation's largest service provider made the decision because of customer feedback. a petition on change.org gathered more than 57,000 signatures by this afternoon. from outraged customers who are against those fees. you know, you try to have a password for everything and forget them? apple is trying to make your life easier. there's word tonight that apple is looking at the possibility of using facial recognition to unlock the iphone. some critics worry cons could break into them using still

pictures. it would do things like track skin tones and facial features to enhance security. hakeem, down at verizon center where the caps try to get on a roll down there, right? >> yes, sir. the caps trying to get on a roll. we are going to talk hockey and football. why the season wasn't a total loss for burgundy and gold. the heisman winner in the center of it all. the caps looking f

hakeem is at the verizon cent

center. aren't they playing a team that beat the stuffing out of them the last time they played? >> you are exactly light. they lost 4-2. the sabers have been anything but kind to the capitals this season. 31 saves in a victory on wednesday against the rangers. as you said, the team from new york, the sabers have been anything but kind. they have been bad news for the capitals. in two games, they outscored the caps, 9-3. ouch is right. in their last meeting, the sabers jumped on the caps from the get go scoring four goals in the first 15 minutes. washington never recovered. tonight, a chance to earn redemption. the caps won four in a row against buffalo. the players know they have to attack the sabers early and often. >> you know, we have had a couple bad games against buffalo now. they had a lot of speed.

they come to the neutral zone well. they got big, strong fast forwards that come. we need effort to beat them. >> we were loose in the beginning there. we are spreading the puck too much. you can't do that against a good team like buffalo. they will take their chances. they are very good on the rushes, too. we have to make sure we don't turn the puck over. work their "d." >> the last game, we got behind right away. we got the penalty kill right away. their "d" is the key. they are good on transition. make their "d" work and make it tough for them. >> reporter: tonight's capitals/sabers game at 7:00. mike shanahan sounds like he's committed to finding a quarterback in the draft. he's put himself through the workout. he watches video every day for

30 minutes. sometimes the first thing in the morning, it's what he's done. he's evaluated at least 15 or about 15 quarterbacks so far this season. look for their chance to make a move there. shanahan and the redskins playing their final game against the eagles on sunday. here is dan hellie with the coach. >> i know it's difficult with the way the season has gone thus far. if you had to pick out a positive or one area you have been most pleased with, what would it be? >> i have been pleased with a lot of areas. we made improvements on defense. the front eight is always the hardest to do when you come on to a new football team. we made strides in that area. i thought the last six games we were able to reestablish the running game. we missed it for four or five games. six or seven starters.

you know, we went from 55 yards a game to 130 yards a game. it's a big difference. we average the first four games in the season. running the football better. we are going to have to have, as we talked about, an excellent draft and excellent off season. we have to make strides. the record doesn't point it out, but we made progress with the football team. really overcoming some injuries and getting experience in different positions. let's go bowling. heisman winner, robert griffin iii taking on washington. he would look good in burgundy and gold. keeping it himself. check this out. two more. he's so good. takes it 24 yards for the touchdown. baylor leads 24-7. the winner breaking out of all these tackles.

griffin, 24 of 33, 295 yards, one touchdown through the air. one on the ground. washington's quarterback. he's good, too. price made baylor pay the price. a pass to jermaine. seven husky's tds. this is a barn burner. washington in front, 42-24. but, baylor comes back late fourth quarter. seals it. scoots 43 yards with the score. 200 yards rushing and five touchdowns. baylor defeats washington. the highest scoring regulation game in bowl history. also the teams combine for 1,397 yards of total offense setting another bowl record. as for robert griffin iii, he's expected to make his decision of whether or not to leave early

for the nfl. orlando, receiver feeling the luck of the irish. third quarter up to floyd. check out the catch. bobbles it about one, two, three, four, five, six times, makes the grab. that's impressive. irish up 14-0. they can't hang on to the lead. fourth quarter we go. fsu on offense. manual with a ton of time. green. he makes a catch. that's a nice one. 15-yard touchdown. they beat the fighting irish, 18-14 is the final. turning now to college basketba basketball. the wizards -- excuse me, the nba, the wizards try for their first win of the season against the milwaukee bucs. they are losing eight of the last 11 games. you can see the game at 8:30 on csn plus. college hoops now. last night, fifth ranked maryland women taking on 19

delaware. at comcast center, the terps looking sharp. the first happen, they are good. picked up by bareette. a bucket plus the foul. went for a career high 25 points. she's pumped. second half, maryland with the ball. shot, no good. the putback. the terps clean it up at home defeating delaware, 85-76. maryland remains perfect. the terps conference play against florida state. here is a little bit of good news for virginia coach mike london. a two year contract. his annual salary, $2.1 million. uva plays auburn in the chick-fil-a bowl saturday. at 11:00, the wizards and capitals. they lost two in a row to

buffalo this season. the good news is they have won four in a row at home at verizon center. nice to have a couple wins. yes, sir. a soldier's family reunited with his prize possessions three years after he died in

staying on top of the breaking news near the

chesapeake bay in maryland. eastbound lanes just reopened. they were closed for a couple hours after an 18-wheeler began leaking an unknown black liquid. crews cleaned it up. traffic is backed up for several miles in that area. the first family took time out from their holiday vacation in hawaii to honor those killed in the attack on pearl harbor. the president laid a wreath yesterday at a memorial for the victims. this year marks the 70th anniversary of the japanese attack in 1941. nearly 2400 american service members were killed. that attack launched the u.s. into world war ii. after a moment of silence, the president and first lady dropped the flower pedals into the water below. joshua died after a tour of duty in iraq. his belongers were to be sent to

his family. they got lost until now. how an alert police officer found the soldier's belongings. >> it was important when i found it to make sure it got back to the family. it became a personal quest. >> sko ki police officer stumbled upon something unusual. when called to investigate the theft of copper piping, she spotted a pile of stuff including a bullet proof helmet. she took notice. the gear got left behind by a moving company, a one-time tenant at the warehouse. this is stuff that shouldn't be here. >> reporter: after an inspection of the gear, they found personal things including love letters and pictures. a name. a veteran of the iraq war. the trouble was he died suddenly of a brain aneurysm three years

ago. they had difficulty tracking down his family. with the help of the internet, they found his widow and informed her of their discovery. >> this has been lost for three years. she had no idea where it was. nobody knew where it was. it was so nice when we finally told her some of the stuff we had. i think she was in tears. >> that was jeff reporting. the officer considers the find a holiday miracle. the warehouse is being prepped for demolition. donations are pouring in at habitat for humanity. the store was robbed december 11th. somebody took $3500 worth of money and supplies. since then, people came forward with generous cash donations. the manager of the store says one person donated a new

high-tech security system with video surveillance. he says it reaffirms his belief that people really do care. final check, doug. >> nice over the next couple days. 2011 ending on a nice note. 2012, ushering the first real cold air of the season. 57 degrees for your day on saturday. starting off cloudy, a few showers. 30% chance of a.m. shower or sprinkle out there. sunday, 57 degrees early. most of the day will be nice including new year's eve should be nice. temperatures will be falling late sunday into the day on monday. a high temperature of 43 degrees. temperatures and windchill down into the 30s. 35 on tuesday. very cold air on tuesday. waking up to temperatures on wednesday morning, most areas between 10 and 15 degrees on wednesday morning with a little bit of a windchill. we could see single digit windchills on wednesday morning. you know thatd