>> former district councilmember harry thomas jr. talks about what he has done. i'm barbara harrison in for pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. thomas began steal iing the mon a few months after he took office back b in '07. he faces three to four years in prison. tom sherwood has been breaking news on this story all week and was inside the courtroom when it all unfolded. he joins us live from the district court in northwest. tom? >> reporter: just before court, thomas resigned as ward 5 council seat. now, he's a convicted felon. harry thomas jr. walked out of federal court friday a convicted felon. he pled guilty to stealing $350,000 in city funds intended

for youth sports and spending it on his lavish lifestyle and filing three years of false income tax returns. >> i want to apologize to those i let down including my constituents, the mayor, councilmembers and others who serve the city tirelessly. >> reporter: his friends and lawyers ushered him to a waiting car. he could get prison time up to three or four years. in court at high noon, thomas firmly said guilty as charged in the plea agreement reached. >> to my family, who is with me today, i deeply regret the pain this has caused each of you. >> reporter: now the board of elections is expected to meet next wednesday and declare the seat vacant in ward 5. i'm tom sherwood live at the

district court, back to you, jim. >> what was said in terms of getting some of the money, the taxpayers money back to d.c.? prosecutors are trying to sell off some of that seized property, is that right? >> reporter: you know, the hundreds of thousands of dollars, one year, 2008, took $278,000. there are cars that have been confisca confiscated. he's due to pay fines. there's a lot of money. getting it back, there's not going to be much. he spent it. there's only with few things to show for it. am i still there? >> you are. >> reporter: okay, i wanted to say one thing, pat collins will have more coming up at the 5:00 show. the u.s. attorney's office said in a press conference thomas used city government funds like a piggy bank. >> his own personal piggy bank they said. see you at 5:00 and 6:00 as

well. we'll follow this throughout news 4. coming up at 5:00, we'll hear from the u.s. attorney's office and the irs who spoke about the case and for the first time, the latest, anytime, visit our home page at www.nbcwashington.com. there's good news on the economic front today. a report says the 200,000 jobs created, the unemployment rate fell to 8.5%. it's the lowest it's been in three years. the president says the economy is moving in the right direction. many say we are not getting it fast enough. brian mooar has the story. >> reporter: the u.s. economy picked up 200,000 jobs last month. unemployment is the lowest in three years. >> we have added 3.2 million new private sector jobs. nearly 2 million new jobs last

year alone. >> reporter: it's good news for president obama in this election year. he's crediting the middle class tax cut. >> the economy is moving in the right direction. we are creating jobs on a consistent basis. we are not going to let up. >> unemployment is down from 9.6% in 2010. four years after the recession, the nation has 6 million fewer jobs. >> 200,000 good, but not good enough. >> reporter: unemployment is 8.5%. those giving up on finding a job or stuck in part time jobs, the underemployment rate is above 15%. labor statistics show a corelation between education and unemployment. for college graduates, the rate is 4.1%. 13.8% for workers with less than a high school diploma.

the unemployment rate is the lowest level since february, 2009. on capitol hill, brian mooar, news 4. choosing the right degree is key to landing a job out of college. georgetown university came up with the best majors for college grads. researchers found graduates with fields in health and education faired better than those with degrees in arts or architecture. you will find a job quickly, if you are on a specific career path and there's a strong demand for engineering, math and computer science graduates. stocks closed today. the strong jobs report was not enough to offset worries over the european crisis. the dow was down 55 points. the s&p 500 was down three and nasdaq up four. despite slips, all three major

indexes are ending with strong gains. barbara? >> the up tick in the employment rate became an issue in the race for the white house. steve handelsman has the latest for us. how did they greet that news? not such good news for the candidates, huh? >> reporter: not with wide open arms, that's for sure. good evening from new hampshire. none of the candidates in this race gave credit for the economic news to the democrat they are competing to run against. as the better jobs numbers came out, mitt romney was campaigning in south carolina claiming 1.7 million jobs had been lost under president obama. >> we wondered what would happen if we elected a president with no experience. he failed to put americans back to work. >> reporter: in new hampshire, newt gingrich slammed the president. >> today's numbers are a good

indicator we are a long way away from being a healthy economy. >> reporter: ron paul is second at 17%. rick santorum up to third, 11%. the former massachusetts governor, down to 40%. >> it's still a dominant lead for romney, but santorum has the buzz. he brought it here today to keen, new hampshire. santorum said u.s. employment may be up because of the gop presidential campaign. >> i think there might be optimism that maybe republicans are going to take the white house and maybe that is spurring people to take risks. i'll take that as a reason. >> reporter: later, pressed, he backed off. are you really taking credit or partial credit for the new jobs? >> oh, i was just joking. i was taking tongue and cheek. >> reporter: he's coming across serious and likable to many

people in new hampshire. >> pretty impressive. i hadn't heard a lot from him before. >> go home and make my decision later. i was impressed. >> reporter: santorum got new support from christian conservatives. southern baptist leader richard land said he and others are pressuring gingrich and perry to drop out and throw their support to santorum and stop romney. i'm steve handelsman, back to you. >> thank you, steve. if you liked today's weather, you are in for a real treat tomorrow, folks. >> veronica johnson is in the weather center with the forecast. >> that's right. the winter continues, right? what's not to love about today? temperatures were some 20 degrees above average. 15 to 20 degrees above where we were yesterday at the same time. in the 50s, upper 50s and low

60s. 58 degrees currently. the south and southwest flow. the mild air sitting to the west and sout area. look at the temperatures now 58 degrees. adams morgan, falls church coming in at 64 degrees. kensington currently. 66 degrees down in culpeper, virginia. charlottesville, virginia, 66 degrees. not too bad as far as sky conditions. we are going to see those passing by. a mostly clear night. so, mostly clear, nice light wind and very comfortable conditions. so, what an evening we are going to have. as far as temperatures go, we are going to see them fall off late. we drop to 50 degrees by 11:00 p.m. on your fast forecast after all the gorgeous weather, we'll have wow weather tomorrow. we'll talk about how high it's going to get.

this january thaw, how long can it hang on? i'll have the answer. giffords will be in tuson a year after she was shot. she and her husband mark kelly will participate along with several community leaders from the area. giffords was shot at point-blank range. she's spent the last year in rehi billation and recovery. the suspected gunman pleaded not guilty in the rampage. active members of the military will be able to get through airport screening faster than the rest of us. tuesday, president obama signed a new law directing the tsa to speed screen military personnel in uniform and those traveling with military orders. the white house says the law is intended to expedite screening,

but not reduce screening. tsa says it will allow them to focus on higher risk travelers. it must be in place by early july. when we come back on news 4 at 4:00, we are just getting started. ricky gervais will not have a filter on the golden globes. matt lauer goes one-on-one with the host. one star is pregnant and one just had a baby. >> joran van der sloot says something to get his

ricky gervais is gearing up to host the golden globes for a third time. matt lauer sat down with the funny fan to talk about the criticism he faced after last year's show. >> the thing with me, there's two people in my head. one is saying go ahead, say it. the other is saying don't. it might be funny. but you might be living in a car. this one usually wins. >> you promised you were never going to do it again. >> i did. no one believes me now. this will be the last time, i think. or last time for awhile. what tipped it is all the people saying i would never be invited back. >> exactly. tear me. >> exactly. people should know the reverse psychology works better. i don't like it when he does

that. here is more. >> here are some of the comments. robert downey jr. called your jokes sinister. time magazine there's a fine line between playful and he bulldozed over the nuance. the front-runner by the worst p performance. >> i don't know what i did wrong. what did i say that was untrue? i made a joke suggesting that charlie sheen might like a night out. >> it's going to be a night of partying and heavy drinking or as sheen calls it breakfast. los angeles county jail. please welcome robert downey jr. i said he spent time in, you know -- he did. i'm not judging him by that. it's a joke. >> i don't want to make anyone think there weren't rave reviews. jon stewart, a lot of people have respect for him.

>> i was offended that a comedian could be that funny at an awards show. ricky was hilarious. >> i do it my way. i get it on everything. >> you are free to do whatever you want, no matter the consequences. >> they don't know what i'm going to say. they won't know until i say it. >> when you are on stage am i watching ricky gervais or a character that you have create thad happens to share the same name? >> the guy on stage is a lot brasher, more arrogant, more confident than me. i take a deep breath and go out with swagger. >> he's got that going on. all next week, we'll have behind the scenes of the golden globes, including what outfits the celebrities might be wearing and who is behind the dinner menu. don't miss the golden globes sunday here on nbc 4. british actress sienna

miller is pregnant. us weekly reports she and her boyfriend do not have immediate plans to marry. they have been together for a year now. her stormy relationship with actor jude law ended for the second time last year. they first split in '06 after law said he cheated on miller with the nanny. miller was in the news in november when she testified about the british tabloid hacking scandal. >> kerry russell gave birth to a baby girl. she was born late last year on december 27th in new york. this is the second child for the 35-year-old actress and her husband. they also have a 4-year-old boy named river. russell is widely known for her starring role on the tv show, "felicity." she'll appear in "austinland"

out later this year. there are more announcements of celebrity proposals. drew barrymoore is engaged. her diamond ring, front and center. he popped the question during a romantic trip in idaho around the holidays. this is barrymore's third trip down the aisle. who's counting, right? we are talking love over here, too. love again with ellen mccarthy of the washington post. let's talk about our wedding couple this week. they were brought together by baseball? >> yes. kind of.

baseball play ed an interesting role in their relationship. this is a cute couple, sam and marina. he liked her immediately. they set a date to go to a restaurant. she showed up 40 minutes late. the next date, three hours late. he said i guess i'm going to have to get used to this. she thought oh my gosh, not i'm angry or you have to change. he realized that she was the one for him when he found himself offering her tickets to the orrials-yankees game. he was saying i wouldn't do this for anyone else in the world. here they are a couple years later. >> beautiful. the wedding looked gorgeous. now "the washington post" sets up two single people you hope will have a love connection. this is mark.

he's 31. he's an online analyst. he's an all-american guy. he said i always end up being the other guy. the one the girls don't pick. >> ahh. >> yeah, i know. so we set him up with amanda, she's 28, a special education teacher. he wanted a teach er that looke like kate becken sail. it's our best pick. she wanted a mature guy, creative with a big heart and social. she was so nervous. she gets stuck in a terrible d.c. traffic accident or jam which just, you know, increased her nervousness. he was in the same traffic jam so they were both a little late. they immediately thought the other was attractive. there was a comfort level. they both root for the red sox. >> that's good. >> they went to watch a patriots game. they went on to a bar.

they both said they thought we did a good job match making. we feel good about this one. you have to read on sunday if they went out again. >> chemistry or no chemistry? >> you have to read. to read more of our dating and love and everything, go to washingtonpost.com/love. you can find more on www.nbcwashington.com. thanks so much. >> when we come back on news 4 at 4:00, one expensive and dangerous snack for a dog and what a perfect afternoon weather wise to wind up

♪

♪ [ male announcer ] combine a pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a pnc performance select checking account and get up to 1.75% cash back for just about every purchase. learn more and apply today at pnc.com/cashbuilder. pnc bank. for the achiever in you. when you first find out you have breast cancer, you feel like you're in a nightmare. terrified. horrified with the news. when i was diagnosed, i felt very out of control and very helpless and a victim of the disease. i was just so overwhelmed, and, um, my heart just started to race. helpless but never hopeless. (woman) and i can actually do something to help. (woman) and this is something we can do. (man) we can walk. (woman) we can walk. (man) if our wives and daughters, our sisters and mothers can go through breast cancer... we can walk 60 miles.

60 miles. we can erase breast cancer. (woman) 60 miles in 3 days. i can do that, and even 60 miles isn't enough. i believe that we can rid the world of this terrible disease. we can do this. we can all do this together. we can do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee, because everyone deserves a lifetime. like the crocuses and daffodils, we are all thinking it's spring out there. >> people are acting crazy. when you mix warm weather, nice weather in january with a friday, it's like woo-hoo. i passed two people on my way to work today with the top down, driving their convertible. >> oh, my goodness. >> okay, i guess you're going to

work but don't feel like you are going to work. 58 degrees right now. neighborhoods just down to the south, some of the counties south of d.c. right now, low to mid-60s. we have a nice south-southwest wi wind. it's at 9 miles per hour. all that sunshine across the area this afternoon. where do we go from here? a nice evening. the temperature is going to drop down to the low 60s where we are now to 53 degrees by 9:00. 50 degrees at 11:00 and into the upper 30s to low 40s by tomorrow morning. so, it's of course chilling. a few clouds around. sunset at 5:00. sets at 7:27. to the north of us, you can see a line of it. green bay, wisconsin, south of alpena and around toronto, few showers there. it's part of a weather front coming through our area in the middle of the weekend. we'll see the warmth saturday

and cooler for sunday. terrific evening, lack of clouds. here comes that front. it's not going to move through until late saturday. a nice westerly or southwesterly ahead of it. our temperatures still topping out probably on the other side of 60 degrees. for sunday, we're still nice with a partly sunny sky across the area. on sunday, we are going to start focusing our eyes down south. low pressure developing around texas. it's going to make its way north-northeastward. monday, wet weather around here. there could be counties of western virginia that could be looking at mixed presip on monday. that's the way it's looking right now. for us, just rain. evening forecast, mostly clear. nice and mild. beautiful evening. 52 to 56 degrees with the light wind out of the southwest. 30 to 40 degrees saturday. what a great start. now, saturday, don't waste any time. saturday is not the day to sleep

late. get out and make the most of the day. 58 to 63. another nice one coming our way for saturday. then highs on sunday right shy of 50 degrees. right now, again, monday we have a slight chance for some rainshowers in the forecast. we are at 52 on tuesday. big changes coming our way ahead. we'll talk about that in a couple minutes. it's big anniversary today. >> oh yeah? >> who is that? >> you have to wait. i will tell you. >> are you getting roses? >> no, but you could give some to me, if you want to. >> thanks a lot. >> all right. still to come, joran van der sloot's murder trial was supposed to start today. why it was suspended. what a sight to

welcome back to news 4 at 4:00. i'm barbara harrison in for pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. here's what's making news at 4:30. harry thomas jr. pleaded guilty to two federal crimes today. he admitted to stealing more than $350,000 in government money and filing false tax returns. he apologized to his family and constituents. he's face 36 to 46 months in prison when sentenced in may. we'll have the reaction coming up on news 4 at 5:00. the latest polls on the the republican race for the white house. romney is in the lead in new hampshire and south carolina. analysts say if he wins both states, it will be close to impossible for any other candidate to overtake him given his previous victory in iowa. the economy added 200,000

new jobs. unemployment fell to 8.5%, the lowest in three years. president obama is using the news to push for a payroll tax cut extension. gop presidential hopefuls said today the economy isn't improving fast enough. >> stocks closed mixed at the end of the day. the dow was down 55 points. nasdaq up four points and s&p 500 down three points. joran van der sloot went on trial today. after a short while, a three-panel judge said the trial would be delayed until next week. >> he's the prime suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway. she vanished during a trip to aruba in 2005. we have the report. >> reporter: joran van der sloot delayed his plea asking for more

time to consider the pleas against him. he admitted to killing a student he met in lima. he may fight additional charges that prosecutors are imposing. if convicted, would lengthen the prison sentence. he looked healthy and strong drawing attention to himself by yawning and rolling his eyes with an attitude many described as arrogant. the judge ordered him to stand-up straight and respect the court. while the prosecutors were presented the evidence the night stephanie died, he kept shaking his head saying he did not agree with the charges. he was in constant contact with his attorney who trusts his client will follow his advice. he could spend as little as eight years in prison. only we'll know when that moment comes on wednesday. back to you. for the first time in 46 years, a new coach is in charge

of the penn state football team. bill o'brien, the offensive coordinator for the new england patriots will succeed joe paterno in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal. he's been with the patriots since '07. he coached in the college ranks as maryland's running back coach. he's never been a head coach at any level. during last month's patriots game, he got into a huge scuffle with quarterback tom brady. some alumni are criticizing the choice of an outsider to take the place of paterno. widely quoted as saying he's done with penn state and will put his college football awards in storage. penn state is expected to announce the new coach at a news conference tomorrow. a truck driver for target is having a very bad day to say the

least. this semitruck got stuck in the middle of a frozen creek in minnesota. the driver lost control, crossed two lanes of a freeway and landed in the creek. the driver was able to escape and was not hurt. crews are working to get the truck out of the water, which could take awhile. a family dog in albuquerque new mexico is blamed for eating a woman's wedding ring. she usually takes her ring off when she goes to bed and puts it on the night stand. she quickly suspected her basset hound. after ten days, the ring did not come out naturally. they took her to the vet. she under went surgery to get it out. >> she's a good dog. she's a wonderful addition to the family. we'll never forget this. the ring and her have gotten more expensive. >> the vet told the family that

basset hounds have a tendency to eat rocks. who knew. she just has expensive taste going for diamonds instead of rocks. she now keeps her wedding ring hidden at night. >> it's like my dog, he's a canine vacuum cleaner. he will suck down anything. a peach pit. i won't tell you how much that cost to get out. rocks, you name it. it doesn't always come out the natural way, that's true. i did find a $20 bill once. there's more to come on news 4 at 4:00. casey anthony's attorney says she is did not post her video diary online. the creative way a driver thought he could us i just had it with cable. it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best.

move up to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing! i was just in a trance watching it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ male announcer ] and here's a special bonus: sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed, you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now. move up to fios for our best price online -- $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years and get $300 back with a two-year contract. or ask us about the option of no annual contract. is change good? in this case, change is very good. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead.

hey, maybe not today, but if you are thinking about hitting the slopes this season, have we got an app for you. it's called liftopia. it plans for deals on ski equipment, rentals. it's in the palm of your hand. it's fast and easy. it checks out the best prices for you. we set it up for nearby throughout the region in different resorts and parks. you can find out about snow and weather conditions, what kind of snow you might find. not this weekend, again. then using your gps, discover new resorts and parks. it will give you driving directions. again, it is called liftopia.

happy trails. if you have a cool new app, tweet me. back to you. >> when we return, new details on the video diary of casey anthony posted on youtube. how do you get a fair deal selling your old gold jewelry. that's the question. coming up at 9:00 tonight on nbc washington nonstop, authentic italian cuisine. hold on to those beehive wigs. we are going to go behind the scenes of the hottest musical, "hairspray" is what it is. learn more about the costumes, music and social hi

so you gonna tell me what anniversary it is this time? >> it happened 16 years ago. there's your clue. >> 16 years ago? >> it was big around here. had us all buried in. >> had to be snow. >> blizzard. >> ding, ding, ding. >> it started on the 6th of january. we picked up just over two inches of snow. on the 7th, we got 13 inches of snow and 40-mile-per-hour wind gusts. >> wow. >> you can see the totals all the way north in philadelphia.

31 inches. it continued on the eighth and ninth of january, 21 inches in new york. 19 inches in boston. that's what we were doing 16 years ago. we were shoveling. the only thing we are doing now is going woo, sunshine, warmth. what am i going to do tonight. a light wind out of the south. in the low 60s currently. we are talking act the weather going through more changes. still on this winter. 41 degrees by tomorrow morning. a very nice start indeed. mild temperatures across the area. we'll have them another day. monday, we drop to the 40s for high temperatures. by next friday this time, you'll want to enjoy the weekend. next friday, that cold heads all the way down to the deep south. there's the pattern change. the reason for the jet stream. it's going to head down to the south by next friday. so, here we go again. it's more up and down.

tomorrow, we hit a high temperature of 62 degrees. not quite as strong of a southwest flow. 60 up in frederick. 63 in fredericksburg. 63 degrees over in culpeper with lots of sunshine across the area. saturday, really the nicest day out of the weekend. 49 degrees on sunday. again, that's the weather system moving through that i talked about, barbara. 40 degree tomorrow and freezing sunday. we start on the cold side for sunday. monday, the rainshowers coming through. 46 is the high. 52 degrees expected on tuesday with clearing skies. your wednesday, thursday and friday, highs starting out. we'll have highs on wednesday in the low 50s on thursday in the mid-40s and again next week, next week this time, 35 degrees for a high temperature. here we go from about 65 in some neighborhoods to 35 next friday. talk to somebody today they said

it's no wonder we are not all sick. itis done this all winter long. >> a little bit of sickness from all the different changes in the weather. not a snow flake in sight. >> not a snow flake in sight. have a great weekend. >> you, too. jim? so, how do you get a fair deal when selling your old gold jewelry? how should you choose what type of pedometer when counting your steps? we have great questions for ask liz. >> it's like you don't want to talk about the flu. if you talk about it, it will happen. let's talk about gold. >> that's fun. you got any? the first question comes through e-mail. suzanne wants to know, can she sell some of her old gold and how is the best way to get a fair deal when selling her old jewelry. >> we turned to martin fuller

for the answer to the question. he says knowledge is as good as gold when it comes to selling your old gold pieces. he recommends taking your jewelry, your gold jewelry to a local jewelry store where they will help you find out the karat and weight of your gold at no charge. when selling the gold, be aware of offers, in-home gold parties. be sure they are licensed to deal in the area where you live. it's important, if you know how much the gold, the karat and how much it weighs, you have a sense of whether they are giving you the value of what's there. >> do your homework. the next is from a viewer trying to get into shape. she wants to use a pedometer to count her footsteps. which one? >> consumer reports magazine gave us the answer. they just tested 16 different

pedometers. of the ten regular pedometers tested, all scored well on step count accuracy. prices range from five bucks to $30 for a go smart. consumer reports got great step results testing gps watches that range from $200 to $300. they track the distance and speed. they are better suited for those who want to monitor progress more quickly. inexpensive pedometers do a great job. >> the next question, how soon will you get sick if you're exposed to the flu virus and how long is the flu contagious. >> we went to the center for disease control to help us.

after a person is exposed to the flu virus, they normally start showing symptoms after one but up to four days. on average, they will show symptoms around two days t. period where they are contagious depends on the age and health factors. most adults can infect others from up to a day before symptoms to up to five days after. young children can be contagious for longer than a week. stay home if you are sick. send your questions to askliz@nbcwashington.com. you can search for me on twitter and facebook. coming up, what is the difference between a primary and a caucus? how about that one? is a glass of tap water safe to drink the next day. what stores are affected by the montgomery county bag tax. ask liz at 5:00, we'll answer

those questions. good people writing in, i love it. >> thank you. see you at 5:00. back to you, barbara. coming up, some people will do just about anything to drive in an hov lane. plus, a woman's collection of chucks could go down in the record books. coming up at 5:00, the latest on a guilty plea from harry thomas jr. we'll have live team coverage on how the em bezelment scheme worked. workers can stand the cold. why some are heading indoors. a small dog buried in an a small dog buried in an avalanche defies the

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause

that you just keep going. (man) that you have all these people coming together for one common goal. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. (woman) and it has to end, but it starts with us. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. we can do this. you can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime.

a driver in washington state tried to use this plastic skeltin to get ahead of traffic. he was using it as a passenger to use the high occupancy lane. he may have gotten away with it but police pulled him over for speeding. he now has to pay $450 in fines. penny gold has been wearing converses chuck taylor's since she was a little girl. she has 731 pairs in various colors and styles. she counted all of them at a school in florida yesterday.

it was the first step toward getting into the guinness book of world records. she will appear in the 2013 edition if it's certified. still ahead on news 4 at still ahead on news 4 at 4:00, hear we're gonna erase breast cancer once and for all. walking 60 miles... in three days. (woman) we're united. (woman) a family. (woman) a coming together of thousands. so that one has to suffer the agony of a loss. the agony of my loss. we're going to erase breast cancer once and for all. (woman) walking 60 miles. (woman) in three days. join us. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime.

now to new details on casey anthony's video diary that popped up on the web.

anthony's attorneys are claiming it was stolen. jerry sanders has the latest from orlando. >> and i'm just starting to figure out my new computer. >> reporter: the casey anthony video diary was examined by florida state officials. >> now, i have someone to talk to when i'm by myself so i'm not bothering the poor dog that i have adopted and i love. >> reporter: the legions who closely followed the story searched the video for clues. does the setting reveal where in florida she's hiding? why was it in black and white? was it flipped in a mirror image. if so, why. casey once wrote in a jailhouse letter, should i go red or blond? it appears the long-haired brunette now has a blond bob. casey wearing glasses also once wrote she admired the librarian look.

>> i'm extremely excited. >> reporter: in the diary, she talks about herself more than 40 times. >> it's nice being able to say i have belongings that are mine that i will be able to take with me. it's obviously a different ball game for me. i have never used this before. i don't know whether to look directly at myself or up or -- >> reporter: she never once mentions her daughter caylee. her lawyer says he believes the video was stolen from casey's hard drive. >> we'll find out who did it, how they did it, then they are going to be, i hope answering to state and federal law enforcement agencies. >> reporter: casey's parents fear for their daughter's security. >> they are worried for her safety and hope this video doesn't cause her problems. now people know what she looks like again. >> reporter: who posted it on youtube?

john david bri lee, an ohio man titled boycott casey anthony found the links asking for $3 to $5 to view the video. then found a link that was free. >> it's free for anybody who wants to see it. >> it's scary. i hate being on camera. >> reporter: if it was stolen as lawyers believe, it would be a sophisticated hack or just as likely, simple operator error. >> i'm excited i'll be able to skype and obviously keep a video log. >> skype, the new versions of it link directly into facebook. there's a button you click one time. it's shared with friends on facebook. >> that's news 4 at 4:00. news 4 at 5:00 starts right now.

tonight at 5:00, a guilty plea. harry thomas jr. admits he stole hundreds of thousands of city money and lied on his taxes. >> i offer my sincerest apologi apologies. >> tonight, he's given up his seat. it's the first time a councilmember resigned under a legal cloud. his lavish lifestyle came to an e end. >> rather than facing a four-year term, mr. thomas will face the prospect of serving three or four years in prison. >> good evening. welcome to news 4 at 5:00, i'm jim handly. >> i'm doreen gentzler in for wendy rieger. harry thomas jr. says his plea is the first step toward making things right. >> pat collins has more details on how the scheme worked. we begin with tom sherwood live at the courthouse with more on thomas' admission today. tom? >> reporter: jim, the