you're watching nbc 4, washington's news leader. now live in hk, this is news 4 today. nchd good morning, everyone. thanks for starting your weekend with us. >> welcome to news 4 today on this saturday, january 7th. we begin with the next steps for d.c. government. former councilmember henry thomas junior now faces jail time for stealing city funds to pay for his lavish lifestyle. >> meanwhile, federal officials are working on two other investigations. >> reporter: guilty as charged. that was harry thomas junior's

response to federal judge john bates who recited the thomas crimes. thomas will be sentenced may 3rd and could get four years in prison. then at the u.s. attorney's office and after months of silent investigation, it was prosecutors' turn to display thomas' greed and characterize how he stole money intended for still children's programs. >> the victim is the whole of the district of columbia, including its youth. >> almost immediately -- almost immediately upon taking office, he made a decision that he was going to systemically steal funds. >> reporter: thomas also signed a letter resigning from the d.c. council. a special election will likely be held in may to fill the vacant ward five seat. with the probe over, attention turns to the other two high profile criminal investigations. one into mayor vin vent gray's 2010 campaign and possible illegal use of campaign funds. and a separate criminal probe

into brown's spending and fundraising. >> i think people are really concerned. now we're look at two other elected officials. >> mayor gray and chairman brown have each denied wrong doing. so far prosecutors are not commenting on their cases. prosecutors say that thomas started stealing city money just months after taking office. they say he funneled grant money for youth sports and bought himself a number of things including a $58,000 audi suv. prosecutors say thomas also used city funds to buy a motorcycle, clothes and take expensive golf trips. a man who ran against thomas in 2010 brought the entire scandal to light. tim day believes there is much more corruption in d.c. government to come. >> with the clout of ethical cancer over our current administration this is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

i think that if we were to have an independent audit, a true detailed independent audit, we would find millions of dollars misappropriated. >> reporter: you think those millions of dollars ended up in the pockets of some of our political leads? >> and their colleagues. yes. >> again, thomas is scheduled to be sentenced may 3rd, sentencing guidelines call for a prison sentence between three and four years. >> be sure to stay with news 4 for any developments on this scandal involving harry thomas junior. for the latest any time of the day head to our website, nbcwashington.com. now let's go to wondserful news. >> uplifting news. >> man, oh, man, this is january. are you kidding me? >> first it's happy new year to you. missed you last week. missed you as well. this the strange. spectacular but strange. >> after finishing up the sixth warmest december on record, we are now well on our way to what

looks to be another extremely mild winter month in washington. temperatures are going to be once again way above average. some 20 degrees above average before your saturday is done. everyone is enjoying the sunshine on saturday afternoon. no doubt about that. temperatures are seasonably cool. much, much, much warmer air just down to our west and southwest. that will be riding that southwesterly breeze in today. not much going on on doppler. there are a few light rainshowers central west virginia far southwestern virginia. they're not going to make it into the washington area. still a few extra clouds for you folks in the high terrain west and north of town. on the whole, mostly sunny, 20 degrees above average today means highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s around the area for

today. not quite as mild tomorrow. if you want to try laying out in the january sunshine, today will be the day to do it. but i'd stay on the sunny side of the street, that's where the warmth is going to be most noticeable. feeling like spring already. >> some golf courses are opening at 8:00, some at 9:00 this morning. >> you know this because? >> what are you doing after the show? >> due diligence. >> i like it. >> thank you, chuck. today metro officials will begin inspections on more than 400 rail cars. the inspections are in response to another mechanical incident on one of the cars. yesterday a brake part became detached from an orange line train near the stadium armory station. luckily no passengers were hurt and normal service was restored in a short period of time. this comes a few days after a friction ring fell off a train. despite metro's quick response,

riders say incidents like this shouldn't be happening in the first place. >> i think the service could be better. i think the safety record stands for itself. pieces falling off of trains and trains crashing into each other is pretty self-evident. >> to me it's poor performance. i'm not trying to put the rail down. maintenance is maintenance. it should be done. >> the inspections will continue through this weekend and into early next week. >> those inspections won't be the only thing keeping metro crews busy this weekend. workers will be fixing the tracks on four of the five metro lines. on the red line, trains will single track between dupont circle and friendship heights as well as between tacoma and forest glen. on the blue and orange line trains will single track between the smithsonian and eastern market. on the green line, trains will single line between georgia avenue.

crews are preparing to open the second phase to have 11th street bridge project. but 10:00 tonight drivers will have direct access to 295 from the southeast freeway. at this moment the freeway ramp to the existing outbound bridge is closed while workers shift traffic to a new bridge. the southbound ramp to 295 is also closed. the 11th street bridge project is the largest project v dot has undertaken costing about $11 million. christmas has passed, but the christmas spirit is alive and well in one maryland community. thursday night a brandywine woman and her 6-year-old daughter barely escaped a massive house fire on ash box road. it was caused by a dry christmas tree. danielle the principal at an elementary school heard about this tragedy and jumped into action. the best part the little girl didn't even go to baden. the family has received multiple gift cards and cash to help

rebuild their lives. >> i sent out one simple email asking my parents to see if they could help with a few extra dollars afs the holiday. within minutes i had enormous emails. i just wanted to present them with something at their time and discretion and when they're ready they could use to purchase it is whatever they need. >> prince george's county firefighters urge anyone who still has a live christmas tree in their home to get rid of it immediately to avoid tragedies like this. if you want to help this family, you can bring gift cards or cash to baden elementary school on westwood road. the humane society of the united states is now offering $2500 to help find the person who shot and killed a puppy in maryland. earlier this week lin et kauffman found her 7-month-old golden retriever dead behind her miltton home. anyone with any information on this crime should call frederick county animal control. the number is 301-600-1546.

police in prince george's county they're taking a proactive approach to fighting crime. an extra 150 officers are patrolling the streets each night this month especially overnight and in high crime areas. last january crime spiked in the county and police want to make sure that doesn't happen again. >> what we want to do is get those individuals who are prone to commit acts of violence in our communities off the streets. and these officers are going to be out there patrolling these areas, making stops, making contact with individuals and if it results in an arrest, then we're going to take that as far as we can. >> the increased patrols include officers in uniform and undercover detectives. police in prince george's county are also searching for the driver who hit two people crossing oxen hill road. it happened yesterday morning. investigators say the victims were not in a crosswalk.

one is now in critical condition. the other was not as seriously hurt. police are look for a gray compact car with front end damage. new numbers show more drivers in fairfax county got behind the wheel after drinking this past holiday season. in december the in your opinions of duis in fairfax county ent with up by 12%. police arrested 358 people in their safe december initiative. fairfax county police say there were 546 alcohol-related crashes from january to october of last year. during that same time period almost 200 people were krietd for drunk driving they were under the age of 21. i live in fairfax county and i did see an influx of police. >> that's deterrent. others they gave a stern warning and some got citations. it is 6:10 in the morning. still ahead this saturday, the first lady seen in a new light. the important role that michelle

obama plays in the white house according to a new book. off the street. occupy d.c. protesters ditch their tents for houses. their bold new strategy for spreading their message across the country. and following a legend, penn state hires a new football coach to replace joe paterno. what the legendary coa

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now to decision 2012 where the candidates are turning their attention to new hampshire. just a few days until the new hampshire primary and the republican hopefuls for president are preparing for two debates in two days. a debate at st. anne's college, a tradition every four years. and then a debate moderated by "meet the press" host david gregory tomorrow. despite winning iowa by eight votes, it appears mitt romney will run away with the new hampshire primary. a new poll shows the former massachusetts governor at 42% amongst granite state republicans. ron paul is a distant second with 22%.

and rick santorum is in third with 13%. romney is enjoying a big league in south carolina as the poll shows he's leading santorum and former front runner newt gingrich by double digits. new hampshire's primary is set for this tuesday while south carolina is two weeks from today. meanwhile, as rick santorum is enjoying his newfound support he has also figured out that lots of criticism comes with the territory. opponents of santorum have pointed out that the former pennsylvania senator used his connections to make a fortune as a consultant. he denied any wrong doing. >> i don't profit off of k street. i wasn't involved at all in any kind of work on k street. >> santorum has sparred with gay rights' advocates who booed him off the stage earlier this week during an event when he compared

gay marriage to polygamy. a positive jobs report is helping president obama this election year. the labor department announced that the economy added 200,000 new jobs in december and capped off a year of modest job growth. but the american workforce is still fighting to regain ground that was lost in the recession. the unemployment rate averaged 8.9% in 2001. it's the lowest level since february of 2009. the president says a middle class tax cut has helped. >> so the economy's moving in the right direction. we're creating jobs on a consistent basis. we're not going to let up. >> statistics show a correlation between education and employment. for college graduates the unemployment rate averages 4.1%. the rate averages 13.8% for those with less than a high school diploma. a new book portrays first

lady michelle obama as a behind the scenes force in the white house. the book is written by "the new york times" reporter jodi cantor. in one account cantor wrote that mrs. obama was annoyed at the white house strategy when the president's health care agenda seemed in danger of collapsing in early 2010. cantor described the obamas as down to earth and committed parents. the book is based on interviews with 30 current and former aides. president obama and the first lady declined to be interviewed. we are looking at a nice, dry, mild day. we can't complain. >> you both owe me a little bit of money. i paid the overbaggage fee from florida to stuff all this nice weather into my bag. wouldn't fit in the car on. >> well done. >> i'll invoice you two during the commercial break and i'll be back to tell you how wonderful your wee

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you're watching news 4 today. welcome back. as many of you get ready to do your taxes, a new report shows $450 billion went unpaid. that's from 17% of people in businesses. the scuddy covered 2006. the internal revenue service says that the most recent year available. that $450 billion unpaid far exceeded the entire federal

deficit at the time. the irs says most of that money came from people who underreported their income. part of occupy d.c. is now indoors. some demonstrators at fredom plaza are in the process of moving into a pair of houses where they say they will continue their protest. organizers say the move has nothing do do with avoiding eviction or tn winter temperatures, it's simply what they call the next step in the protest. demonstrators plan to raise money to start a public access television show to spread the message. protesters at mcfearson square say they have no plans to head indoors. taking a look at the weather, you bundled this up in florida and cut it loose here. >> brought it back. today for people like myself that have old convertibles this is the day in the month of january. >> roll it down. roll it down. >> classic convertible. >> it's a great old car.

i've had it almost 18 years now. these are the days you live for. if you've got a convertible today you need to put the roof down. if i see that roof up own your car, that's trouble for you my friends. it's going to be a beauty out there today. if you need it nicer than this in january, your standards are too high or you need to move further south. outside we go on a clear sky a beautiful start to your weekend. no doubt about that. seasonably cool temperatures. dry air is in place and a southwesterly breeze. it's going to be a beauty of an afternoon. outside current temperature at national airport chilly 36 degrees. southwest wind at 8 miles per hour right now. nice, dry air in place. dew points in the 20s and 30s. that dry will warm up quickly. 29 in springfield right now.

40 in annapolis. even 45 at dulles airport. there's an awful lot of mild air in place. in the high spots out north and west of town, temperatures are in the low and mid 50s right now. that warmer air higher up into the atmosphere is going to be mixed down to the surface here east of the mountains later on today. that spells a gorgeous saturday afternoon. temperatures near 50 by 10:00 a.m. around town. low 60s for most of the afternoon today with highs probably touching the mid 60s for a few spots and back into the mid 50s by 6:00 p.m. nothing showing up on storm 4 doppler in our immediate vicinity. there are a few dying sprinkles across parts of central west virginia. they're not going to make it over the mountains today. it will mean for you folks along the valley and the high spots of western maryland a few extra clouds today. very light rain across parts of tennessee, alabama and northern georgia. none of that's's coming our way anywhere in the near future. clear skies to get your weekend started. a few extra clouds south and

west. as this weather front is coming our way, that's a reality check for our sunday. feeling like march today with temperatures up into the 60s. but a little cooling trend comes back late tonight. winds will switch back to the northwest as high pressure moves back in. that will put temperatures back down to 40s and 50 tomorrow. that's still warmer than average. today sunny and delightful. some 20 degrees above average today with highs in the upper 50s in the high spots to mid 60s down across central virginia. for tomorrow a little more cloud cover. much clearer than today. still warmer than average for sure. tomorrow's high 49 degrees. that's still plus six. 46 monday with a lot of clouds around. tuesday looks good and then some rain chances late wednesday into early thursday. in what has become a snow challenged winter for many, it's going to be rain, not snow for that wednesday, thursday event. and then the cold air comes in late next week.

still not like record cold just seasonably cold stuff. >> to your dismay. >> i like a little cold weather and i would like a little snow. i know i may be alone on that. >> you're in the minority. >> two out of three anchors prefer warmer weather. well today penn state will introduce bill o'brien as it's new football coach. he's been the offensive coordinator of the new england patriots. he succeeds legendary coach joe paterno who was fired two months angelina in the wake of the jerry sandusky sex abuse scandal. despite being terminated the 85-year-old paterno is offering praise to o'brien. he released a statement that says, i don't know bill, but i respect his coaching record and i'm particularly pleased. he share a connection to brown. they are both brown university graduates. the washington wizards went into last night as the only team in the nba without a win. so the question was, could they

finally nail down their first victory? >> hakim has the highlights in this morning's sports minute. good morning, everyone. your sports minute begins withes with the wizards. last night washington at home taking on the knicks. less than a minute to go, wizards down one, blatche grabs the big rebound ahead to john wall. he drives strong to the bucket and gets it to go. wizards take the lead. 20 seconds left, carmelo anthony off the screen. knocks down a huge three pointer. he pumped in a game high 37 points. last chance for the wizards now. down three on the inbounds. nick young for the tie. off the rim and no good. the wizards lose 99-96. dropping to 0-7. college hoops last night, the fifth ranked and unbeaten maryland women hosting georgia tech. this game was epic down by 20 points, the terps rally. final seconds maryland trails by one.

alissa thomas hits the jumper plus she's fouled. the sophomore went for a game high 24 points. the terps finished the game on a 16 to six run and come back to beat the yellow jackets 77-74. maryland remains perfect with a 15-0 record. that's your sports minute. have a great day. >> thanks, hakim. maryland lottery officials announce that a pennsylvania couple were the lucky winners of a $128 million power ball jackpot. the couple who chose to remain anonymous claim the prize yesterday at lottery headquarters in baltimore. the winning numbers were drawn christmas eve and the couple bought their tickets at leslie's a restaurant in el kin, maryland. leslies gets a $25,000 reward for selling that ticket. the winning couple say they'll pay off debts and donate to charity with their winnings. >> that's really nice. i bought a lottery ticket yesterday one of the ones inside the machine. $2. i won $2. >> you're ahead. quit now.

>> nothing compared to that. >> i say to my wife all the time. did you buy a ticket? no. >> three minutes away from the half-hour. still ahead, a teenage girl from the united states is accidentally deported to colombia. we're going to tell you how this all happened and show you her emotional reunion with her family. also ahead -- >> feels like it's been 100 years and feels like it's been yesterday. >> remembering the victims of last year's deadly shooting in tucson. how arizona and the rest of the country will mark the one-year anniversary of one of the worst shooting sprees in this nation's

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you're watching nbc 4 washington's news leader. now live in hd, this is news 4 today. welcome to news 4 today, i'm chris gordon. >> and i'm angie goff. if you're just waking up with us, here's a look at the top stories. former d.c. councilmember harry thomas junior is facing four years in prison after pleading g lt to two federal crimes. thomas admitted to stealing more than $350,000 in government money and filing falls tax returns. he will be sentenced in may. metro officials are investigating and surveying more than 400 rail cars following another mechanical incident yesterday. a brake part became detached from an orange line stain near

the stadium armory station. no passengers were hurt and normal service was restored a short time later. the republican presidential candidates fresh off the iowa caucuses are right back at it this weekend with two debates in two days. the first is a debate at a college tonight. and then with "meet the press" host david gregory. he's going to moderate a debate tomorrow morning. this leads up to new hampshire's primary on tuesday. right now congresswoman gabrielle giffords tucson, arizona. she arrived to commemorate the shooting that nearly took her life and took the lives of six other people. tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of that tragedy in tucson. congresswoman giffords will be one of thousands of people to gather on the university of arizona campus to honor the victims of the shooting. nbc's gina kim has more.

>> reporter: it has been a year of mourning, remembrance and recovery. one year ago sunday congresswoman gabrielle giffords was shot point-blank in the head at a community event in a tucson supermarket parking lot allegedly by 22-year-old jared lee layoff ner. witnesses say he then turned the gun on the crowd killing six including a federal judge, a giffords' staff member and the youngest victim, 9-year-old christina taylor green shot as she held the hand of a neighbor who brought her to see her congresswoman. >> i call her my beautiful little angel. every day i talk to her. >> reporter: the anguish her family still feels is tempered by loving memories and a great sense of pride. >> our young daughter in the short nine years she achieved more things than most adults do in their lifetime. >> reporter: 13 people survived the shooting including giffords after months of recovery and rehabilitation she returned to the floor of the house of

representatives in august and even served thanksgiving dinner to troops in tucson. for those who lost loved ones in the rampage, the pain of that morning one year ago remains an open wound. >> feels like it's been 100 years and it feels like it was yesterday. >> reporter: since the shooting honors have been bestoued on the victims including a courthouse named after the federal judge and a meeting room at the u.s. capitol named after the giffords staffer gabe zimmerman. >> tucson is not dwelling in what happened, but looking to say how can we be better. >> reporter: on sunday thousands are expected to attend a candlelight vigil to remember those killed. among those dending congresswoman gabry giffords whose remarkable recovery gives hope to a community still struggling to understand why. >> the suspect has been diagnosed with skrits friend

yao. he has pleaded not guilty to the charges. a fairfax county woman could spend the rest of her life in prison for killing her 2-year-old granddaughter. the 51-year-old was sentenced to 35 years in prison yesterday. she was found guilty of tossing the her young granddaughter off a walkway at tyson's corner center. after the sentencing, her attorney talked about her client's reaction in the courtroom. >> she absolutely was crying. she was saying that she's sorry to cat and james and to her husband. she listed some family members and said she's sorry that this happened. >> her attorneys tried to use the insanity defense, but in a taped police statement she revealed she was angry at her son-in-law for getting her daughter pregnant out of wedlock. iran has yet to comment on the american military rescue of an iranian fishing boat. pirates held the fishing vessel captive for more than 40 days. video from the u.s. navy shows

the uss dennis answering a distress call from the iranian boat. sailors freed the 13 iranian boaters. the rescue happened just south of a strait. iran has threatened to close the passage way in response to sanctions against its country. japan says last year's earthquake and tsunami will lead it to shut down three atomic reactors. the units at the fukushima plant has been used for 40 years. safety has been concerned since the plant went into meltdown after last year's quake and tsunami. the government plans to introduce legislation soon to require reactors to stop running after 40e years. in of japan 54 rekt ors will reach the 40-year mark in coming years. a marine navigation tower near ocean city is standing again. this video shows a u.s. coast guard chopper picking up the tower and delivering it to its location. the tower was knocked over from last year's hurricane.

it is used to help boats navigate around the inlet. a 15-year-old girl is now back with her family after being accidentally deported to colombia. the girl arrived at the dallas/fort worth international airport last night. she spent the last eight months in bogota after running away from home last year. she was arrested in houston and claimed to be a 22-year-old colombian woman. so she was mistakenly deported for being here illegally. >> the family's ecstatic. we're happy to have their daughter home. we are planning to get some rest, planning to do what we can to make sure that she's able to get back to living a normal life. >> while turner's family the thrilled she's back home. they're curious as to how she could have been deported to a country where she's not a citizen.

it's 6:37 right now. yet another new video of casey anthony surface. what the florida woman is doing on that tape that has so many people furious. also ahead, it's one of the most common tests given to men to help detect prostate cancer. do psa tests actually help men liver longer? the results of a controversial

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you're watching news 4 today. each year millions of men get psa tests hoping to detect prostate cancer. >> but new research suggests that there's no evidence that the blood test actually help men live longer. nbc news erica edwards has more on this controversy. >> reporter: andrew cox felt strongly that he wanted to rid his body of prostate cancer when he was diagnosed more than a year ago. >> i didn't want to let it grow and get worse. >> reporter: he was successfully treated at m.d. anderson cancer center in his hometown of houston giving much of the credit to the psa blood test that first spotted his cancer. >> i had no symptoms. so the psa test i think saved my life. >> reporter: while that may be

true, new research from washington university in st. louis goes against many patients' gut reactions. early detection for prostate cancer does not always translate into longer lives. >> after screening these men for up to 13 years, we can find no reduction in their chance of dying of prostate cancer. >> reporter: psa blood tests detect cancerous prostate cells, but those cells grow so slowly that most men will go on to live long otherwise healthy lives ultimately dying of something other than prostate cancer. going forth with surgery can leave men with sexual and you are their problems forrer the rest of their lives. doctors say only certain subsets of men that may benefit from early detection. >> african-american men and other men who have a strong family history of prostate cancer. >> reporter: andrew is one of a small percentage of men that the testing was necessary. >> i'm cancer free. i wouldn't have known about it

without having the psa screening. >> reporter: it appears better off if the cells are never discovered. >> although a government agency recommended against routine psa blood testing for most men last year, men are still able to get the test if they choose to. a california lawmaker says her brain tumor led her to steal more than $2,000 worth of clothes. she represents the bay area for california state assembly. surveillance cameras caught her walking out after a neiman marcus with $257b 00 worth of clothes. she pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor grant theft charge and said she was distracted. attorneys say that her recently diagnosed brain tumor played a part in the shoplifting. it was found to be benign and she's getting treatment for it. an up coming movie about the raid that killed osama bin laden is under investigation.

new york congressman peter king told "the new york times" that the pentagon was investigating just how the movie's directors gathered material for the movie. he says the pentagon is looking into whether catherine big low had improper access to informs about the raid. he and other lawmakers have also raised questions as to whether the movie about last year's raid showed explicit details -- classified details to help president obama. white house spokesperson jay carney shot back calling the claims ridiculous. the "today" show is up next on nbc 4. >> amy robach joins us live from new york city. good morning, amy. happy new year to you. >> good morning. coming up on "today", we will head to new hampshire where the republican candidates are make that final push three days before the primary. former utah governor jon huntsman join us live from the campaign trail.

police in maine continue to search for the 20-month-old that disappeared. also ahead casey anthony she's been out of the public eye since a florida jury found her not guilty of the death of her 2-year-old daughter in july. now for the second time this week a new video of casey anthony has surfaced. was this video stolen from her computer or did she want it to get out? we'll have the latest. plus take a cute baby and some famous movie scenes and what does it make? a new kind of movie star, his name is arthur. a little later on, we will meet the pawn stars who have struck gold on and off the screen. we'll have all of that and more coming up right here on "today." back to you. >> "the pawn stars", very addictive television. >> you can keep watching over and over. it's interesting. >> we'll be tuning in. with 2011 officially in the books you probably saw a lot of those best of lists. >> how about a worst of list? like the five worst selling cars

of last year. auto blog reports the worst selling car of 2011 was was the acura rl selling only 1,096. acura had two cars on the list. rounding out the list was the hundred-day azera. the mitsubishi mitsubishi lancer sports back at number three, the $68,000 toyota land cruiser that came in fifth place. according to chuck bell, any car's okay as long as it's a convertible. >> if you have a sunroof or window, whatever it takes. whatever it takes to get a little of this beautiful air into the car push all the dust back out. it settles many the car after a while. open the windows it's going to be one of those great midwinter days in washington. we'll talk about how nice it

you're watching news 4 today. another video of casey anthony has surfaced on the web. this clip shows the 25-year-old with red hair and a nose piercing. meanwhile, the man who posted the videos revealed himself. john brielly from ohio hosts a facebook page titles boycott casey anthony's future earnings. anthony's lawyers and parents fear for her safety they believe he hacked into her computer to get the videos, a claim he denies. anthony is living in florida serving a year of probation on an unrelated charge. weatherwise what a week. we went from 27 degrees to mid 60s. >> it was sure cold.

it did turn cold in florida the last day that we were there. it was below freezing that wednesday morning. so we had a little hint that it was going to be cold when we got back here. >> we had a cold one this week. tuesday. >> glad i wasn't here for that. >> look, it's paid off. it looks like we've been able to -- >> so pretty outside. yesterday 63 degrees here in washington. that was plus 20 above average. and today i think we might be able to get a degree or two warmer than that. still not anywhere near the record. record highs in the mid 70s today. so no danger of breaking the record. but nonetheless, short of breaking the record it's as nice as it could possibly be in january here in washington. a little bit of early morning light now coming up in our eastern skies. sunrise is still a little ways away. doesn't come up until 7:27 this morning. more than 30 minutes away. already a little early morning brightening in our eastern sky. a couple of fair weather clouds

as well. they're not going to bring anything in the way of unsettled weather today. a clear sky for now. 36 here in washington at national airport. the winds are out of the southwest at 8 miles per hour. and that indicates to me that it's going to be an awfully nice day outside today. 4 in gaithersburg. 39 rockville. 38 at dell louse airport. 30 in leesburg. mana sas one of the cold spots. one of the few places below freezing. look at the mild air at elevation now. 52 in cumberland. 59 in petersburg, west virginia. that warmer air will mix down east of the mountains providing us with a wonderful afternoon. temperatures will be near 50 degrees by 10:00 a.m. low to mid 60s for highs today. even a fairly mild early saturday evening. there is a weather front coming our way that will bring cooler temperatures back into the area for tomorrow. as you can see here on live doppler zip to worry about around our area. a couple of light rainshowers

here across central west virginia. they're dying as they come over the mountains. other than a few extra clouds many the high spots today that's about it. steady or light rainshowers across the deep south. for us high pressure is moving on in. it will push a very weak cool front here tonight through early tomorrow. the front for now is back across northwestern parts of ohio. it's going to feel like march outside for today. once the front comes through here late tonight into tomorrow it will shift the wind back around to the northwest and allow some cooler air back into the area. still warmer than average for january standards. for today mostly sunny. absolutely spectacular january weather. highs today upper 50s to mid 60s. then for tomorrow a few more clouds and the return of that northerly wind means it will be cooler than today by a bit. back closer to average, but still technically well above. our average high now is 43. today 65. tomorrow 49.

back to work and school on monday. 46. next chance of what will be rain and not snow shows up wednesday night into early thursday. >> i know that you're sad about that, but, i don't know. i could take rain over snow. thank you, chuck. 6:53 move over mitt romney and rick santorum, there's a new face in the race for the white house. the candidate who's come out of nowhere and why he's taking president obama to court to try to get him out of office. and they've sacrificed so much supporting their spouses and their country. yet milliontary spouses have often been left out in the cold when looking for a job. what's being done to reverse

you're watching news 4 today. president obama has a new and unusual opponent in the upcoming election. montgomery sibly on the left is the former attorney for d.c. may dam deborah gene palfri. he announced he's running for president and he's suing the president saying he is not a natural born citizen of the u.s. he represented pal fri in 2008 who was dieted for running an escort service. she is prohibited from practicing law after being sanctioned by 13 federal courts including the supreme court. well "the wall street journal" ranked the top airlines for customer service.

topping the list, alaska airlines. it is the smallest of the seven major u.s. carriers surveyed. second place went to delta. a combined southwest and airtran came in third. then u.s. airways, jetblue, united continental and american airlines. the report factored in things like flight delays, cancellations, lost bags andher complaints. life is already difficult for military spouses, but new job information reveals a bigger struggle. one in four is unemployed another 75% they're underemployed. >> next friday nbc 4 is helping sponsor a military spouse job fair. we report on why some believe this is a matter of national security. >> reporter: cleaning up after his two children is a never ending chore for jeremy hilton. he's an air force spouse who gave up his career many the navy to belong to a select group,

less than 5% of military spouses are male. >> the squadron my wife is at right now there's one other guy, he's brand new. we're both brand new. it is nice talking to another guy. but we're few and far between. >> reporter: jeremy shares something that many other military spouses have had to deal with as global conflicts wind down, unemployment. the military lifestyle is almost impossible for two careers. and often it is the spouse's career that has to go. >> we moved approximately over the last nine years about six times. and those six times every time you have to restart looking at different jobs. >> i personally moved nine times in the last 14 years. >> reporter: jeremy has an advocate to laura dempsey. the lawyer and army wife has held down five different jobs. her mission now is to help military spouses get jobs. >> military spouse employment stands about 26%. there is i think a 42% wage gap

between military spouses and the civilian population in general. the more educated the spouse the higher that wage gap becomes. >> reporter: under a new initiative started by the u.s. chamber of commerce, military spouses are now starting to be linked to major employers. the advocates say will benefit both. >> it's not just the right thing to do, it's right for business. military spouses and veterans alike make great employees. they're strong. they're resilient. they're adaptive. >> reporter: jeremy hilton is still adapting getting his master's degree in legislative affairs from george washington university to hopefully return to the workforce when the time allows. >> our ability to focus, our ability to get things accomplished. i think most of the military spouses i know are pretty amazing people. >> reporter: amazing people say advocates who can provide stability to the troops and to the nation's workforce.