welcome to ne"news4 today" on ts saturd saturday, january 14th. we begin with a developing story in italy, being referred to as a modern day titanic. at least six people believed dead and 30 injured and nearly 70 still unaccounted for after a luxury cruise ship ran aground on the mediterranean. the coast of concordia. it had set out for an eight day cruise when the accident happened. >> let's set the scene for this global map. this is europe, here's italy. you will see the ship went aground just off the coast of corsica and the western coast of italy, around where rome is, near the small island of giglio, passengers couldn't get off of the ship because it was listing at that point. the crew could not deploy lifeboat, so some passengers jumped in the water, tried to swim to shore. others were picked up at that

point. they were wearing their vest, picked up by lifeboat, ferries and helicopters that took them to shore. emergency vehicles were deployed. 4,000 passengers were on the ship at this time. now, as we show you a daylight photo, investigators say there's a 160 foot long garb in the hull and it took on water so fast, more than listing, it has capsized. that's the situation with the costa concordia at this hour. back to you. >> thank you. we are also following news out of peru where the fairfax butt slasher was arrested. he was arrested in peru yesterday. he was wanted in a string of slashes. nine attacks were reported between last february and july. fairfax police say it could be days or weeks before he can be

expedite. a crime alert in maryland. police are investigating similar home invasion cases in wheaton, bethesda and temple hills. it started tuesday when someone broke into the dwarge garage of townhouse and a man terrorized a woman and teenaged son and sexually assaulted a housekeeper. they got a surveillance picture of a man when he got a credit card from the home and a man broke into a house on berkeley street, sexually assaulted a woman and stole her car. officers recovered her honda civic hours later. give yourself extra time on metro today. the transit agency is using the long holiday weekend to do major track work and could mean 20-30 d delays. they are using the blue and orange line metro stations. the two in between there, federal, center, southwest and

capital south are closed until tuesday. on the redline, trains are single tracking between dupont circle and friendship heights and takoma and forest glen. trains should be back on schedule by tuesday morning. and track work comes on the heels of a safety meeting by virginia, d.c. and maryland. joining us live from the southwest station, derek, it appears crews are doing federally millifederal ly mandated work right now? >> reporter: they are. this is outside the ambulance center station, one of the stop stations. we don't think it's too serious. this highlights the issues that do on as workers do this work, safety oriented work and put theirselves at peril, the type of work they have to be careful, sometimes things happen. metro is taking advantage of

this three-day weekend and you will see some of effect on blue and orange line and redline as well. and they're installing new switches per national safety board recommendations, doing a lott of track and circuit work, dealing with automatic train control system. it was cited as part of the fatal crash in 2009 signaling system. they will replace trains. buses will be stopping at federal center and capital south. they are both closed due to the work. you will see some adjustment infrequency of trains. on the redline, single tracking between friendship heights and takoma and forest glen stations. running every 20 minutes on the redline. leaders from virginia and

maryland did get together this week to advance the regional approach to the system and safety was at the much to their agend agenda. >> i'd much rather pay a few nickels more per ride than have to worry about my wife or my daughter being one of the fatality fatalities in an avoidable accident. >> the good news is over this last year, no fatalities. injuries are down significantly. violent prime in and around the metro area is down 19%. >> reporter: a new vigilance here on safety and maintenance and you see results of that this weekend. pack back to you. >> thank you very much. we also see a lot of derrick ward's breath in the air. >> cold start to the weekend. it's been a very mild winter for most of the season. now, it's time for a little bit

of winter payback, we'll call it. temperatures below freezing in many spots. looking live at the jefferson memorial. bat bathed in winter sunshine. 31 at national airport, 31 in n annapolis. mid to upper 20s, fairfax county, leesburg to ashburn, upper 20s. just a couple snow squaws along the great lakes. that's not coming our way! result, it's a dry but cold weekend. your saturday planner, mix of clouds and sunshine. actual air temperatures in the mid-30s. west wind at 10-20 miles an hour will keep windchills in the 20s. another cold day tomorrow. perfect weather today and tomorrow to go to the nbc4 health and fitness expo, at the convention center. we'll all be there.

zumba enthuse yachls or mania. doreen will be here in just a second. >> thank you. we'll check it out. one of our favorites at nbc4. >> our annual nbc expo getting started as we speak at the washington convention center. right now, we'll give you a glimpse of what you're in for. you'll see it and hear it. >> it's very loud out there. roaming the floor of the convention center, but first, we'll check in with doreen. great to see you on a saturday. this is the day we've all been waiting for. >> it is angie, chris, good morning. it's kind of loud in here. a very high energy start to the health and fitness expo. we are starting this morning with a ginormous zumba class. check it out. we have at least 100 people in

here. quite a diverse group in the zumba class this morning. men, women, people of all ages, all sizes, demographics are trying out zumba and we hope you will join us for zumba. jackie bradford is my boss, the president and general manager of nbc4. this is 19th expo and bigger and better. >> it's awesome. this is better than the ribbon cutting, amazing. we have 200 exhibitors coming this morning and a ton of free tests. the rock-climbing wall, a baby crawl contest to see if your baby is fast. a lot of fun things. >> reporter: there are a lot of people helping put this together? >> absolutely. washington hospital center, john hopkins, fannie mae and the hospital, they come together and make it happen for all of us. we're grateful for their partnership. >> reporter: are you going to try the zumba class? >> somebody owes me a lot of

money for doing this. we have erica gonzalez who's a teacher. we'll let her do that. >> reporter: i don't want to try it out next to jackie either. >> the hips just don't make it that way. >> reporter: if you can't make it to this class, we have classes going on all day. i'll talk to erica. >> good morning! >> who knew our new reporter, erica gonzalez is a zumba instructor in her spare time. >> the latin in washington d.c. i love this stuff. i started zumba a year and a half ago. it is a combination of all kinds of latin rhythms, you put it all together, you get a great cardio workout. >> reporter: a great workout and looks like a lot of fun. >> it is. the best part about zumba, you don't have to be the greatest athlete or dancer, you have to

love zumba, that's it. >> reporter: back to class. thank you, erica. that's one of many activities you can check out this weekend at the nbc4 health and fitness expo. on the other side of the convention center, checking out something over there. donnell donnella. >> reporter: good morning. i'm racing stacy up the stairs of this lincoln memorial. there's so much fun to do. talking children's yoga. you can see antoine davis is here. come meet him and other biggest loser faves. and the championsh is working i, amazing. i tell you, i'm about to kill myself over here. i have to race to the top and i can't spend a better way to spend your weekend than coming here with the whole family and getting ready for the new year. back over to you, because i've got to win this. you're in trouble, emily!

>> all right, donnella. you did a great job talking about things to do here. there are free medical tests available, lots of good information. you have a question about a medicine you're taking or hole checked out, you can take care of a lot of issues for free. get here as early as possible. the lines get longer throughout the day. right now is the time to head out. we'll be here 9:00 to 5:00. take metro so you don't have to hassle with trying to park a car. i'll be back in a few minutes, i think we'll be talking to some of those biggest losers you heard mentioned. >> looking forward to it. we see i already put the nbc peacock to work out there. >> reporter: that's right. we have all sorts of interesting

people you can meet and say hello to. you guys will be down here later today and you should let people know when you will be here this weekend. >> right after the show. we waste no time. >> see you there. >> reporter: i'll look forward to it. >> it is 9:12 right now. >> yes. coming up -- >> it's a mess. >> president obama proposes sweeping changes to the federal government. the move he is calling for and impact it could have on federal workers. he's been attacked in past

we're now one week away from the next round of decision 2012. south carolina's primary is next saturday.

the latest polls show the top spot in the republican presidential race, practically is up for grabs. newt gingrich asked groups supporting his campaign to correct a film about rival, mitt romney or stop running it. the political action committee, winning our future says, it will only remove the ad if romney himself helps clarify it. it talks about his business time at bain capital. >> he's still a massachusetts moderate. >> that's the newest ad release by newt gingrich, titled "the french connection." he compared romney to other massachusetts politicians including governor michael dukakis and senator john kerry, both democrats who also ran for president. romney spent time in france in college as a mormon missionary. >> president obama is asking congress to give him powers not

used since the reagan era in an effort to consolidate agencies. the white house says too many agencies overlap wasting resources and money and the president wants to start by merging the commerce department with five similar agency. he needs approval by congress to do that, which may be hard to come by in an election year. >> i will only use this authority for reforms that result in more efficiency, better service, and a leaner government. >> this is a way of saying, if romney this is nominee and he's mr. efficiency, we can be efficient, too. >> if you give presidents more power to reorganize government, you're giving presidents more power. >> even if congress grants the president the power to fast track his consolidation proposal, lawmakers will have the final say. a look at our weekend weather. for all of those heading to the health expo -- >> you need your scarf, your new gloves, new winter hat, new winter coat. whatever you have, bundle up.

it will b

welcome back. the nbc4 health and fitness expo is officially under way. the free event is going on right now at the washington convention center. our own doreen gensler is there, having a lot of fun looking at some of the live events going on. hi, doreen. >> reporter: hi. this is the time to get down here. we're just opening the doors and people just arriving to join us for all the things at the health and fitness expo. take a look. we already have people getting screened for kidney disease. they're getting blood pressure tests and that kind of thing.

just next to them, the redskins have some kids practicing their football passes i want to make sure to mention there are a lot of active things for kids and people to do at the convention center, a rock-climbing wall, kick a soccer ball, work with a tennis pro. lots and lots of active things for kids to do. also, a lot of interesting people to talk to, including the gentleman i'm about to introduce you to. if you watch ed "the biggest loser" show, you would know antoine davis who lost more than 200 pounds? >> absolutely. 202 pounds. >> reporter: wow. you're an ex nfl player? >> that's correct. played for philadelphia in atlanta and wound up finding my way to 476 pounds at one time and realized i needed to do something and the same came

along at just the right time. >> reporter: we're excited for this. people will meet you and get your autograph and ask you how you did it. >> absolutely. i will be here all day and get down on the floor with people and interact, and tell them how it was. >> reporter: quite an adventure. you're half the size -- >> half the man i used to be and it feels great. >> reporter: i know there are a lot of people who want to come down and meet you. he is here with his wife, i will mention that little detail. we're excited he's here and a lot of other interesting people who you can talk with. we will be back in a little while with more about what you can find here at the nbc4 health expo. we're here from 9:00 to 5:00 today and tomorrow. angie and chris, hope a lot of people will come and join us. it's a wild time over here.

>> yeah, it is. already getting started over there. a long day and fun day but the best part is it is free. >> reporter: it's all free. sure. >> just a reminder the nbc health and fitness expo will be going on all week long at the washington convention center, you can hear the hustle and bustle. as we mentioned, it's free! >> you're there to meet with our viewers to sign autographs. chuck has ben there before. he can attest to this. i stood next to jim vans last year. the line slows down when it comes to jim. i don't know if he is watching this. when he wanted to leave, he walked through the entire line of people waiting, talking to people and signing autographs so nobody was left off. >> they wasn't that long for my autograph. >> i will ask him for his autograph. >> jim is such a good sport and

you feel energized. wouldn't your hand get tired after signing three or four hours, no, not really because it's fun. say hello to your folks from nbc4. we're looking forward to seeing everybody. dress warmly on your way out the door. winter has finally arrived, a little behind schedule. no less, the cold air is here and temperatures still below freezing but a ton of sunshine on this early saturday morning. a clear sky overhead, 31 degrees at the national airport. winds are calm but i suspect they will pick up again. 10-20 miles an hour, keep windchills in the 20s. 29 at rest stin town center. rockdale and bethesda, 30 degrees early this morning. towards the blue ridge and shenandoah valley, temperatures below the freezing mark.

plenty of sunshine. temperatures struggling to get back to the high 30s. no precipitation anywhere near us. dry today, tomorrow and monday. great weather in the mid-atlantic, welcome news albeit on the cold side. clearing skies and cloud cover for you folks in the higher terrain. breezy and bit of windchill saturday afternoon. cold conditions stick around with clearing sky and light breeze, temperatures in the teens tonight and high only in the 30s even with the sunshine. today, we'll call it a mix of clouds and sun. further north and west, more cloud cover. highs generally in the mid-30s and temperatures in the low 20s, don't forget your new scarf and hat. less cold tomorrow. that's improvement and bathroomer abathroowarmer

air comes in for the martin lu th luther king junir. holiday. doesn't look like much rain. we'll keep an eye on that. >> still ahead. he's been criticized for the convicted criminals he's just pardoned. why some people are furious over why some people are furious over who he did nat

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welcome to news for today. i'm angie goff. >> i'm chris gordon. here are some top stories we're following this morning. at least six people believed to be dead after a cruise ship ran

aground on a mediterranean. investigators say the costa concordia hit something and ripping a 165 foot hole in the ship off the resort island. it quickly took on water and started listing heavily, hampering coast guard efforts and nearly 70 unaccounted for. >> the butt slasher was arrested. he was arrested yesterday in peru, wanted for slashes in fairfax county mall and shopping centers. it may be days or weeks before he can be extradited. police are investigating a string of home invasions in maryland. they started tuesday at an armed robbery in wheaton and sexual assault in best let thesda and hills. they got a surveillance picture when he used a credit card. we're following breaking news out of iraq where at least

30 shiite pilgrims have been killed at an explosion in basra. it occurred as the pilgrims were making their way to a shiite shrine. this is the latest in a series of attacks of shiite observances. the bombs raise clashes between shiites and sunnis and could destabilize iraq now that the u.s. troops are gone. former mississippi governor haley barbour is facing backlash for 200 pardons and did not support the lease of two sisters released. jamie and gladys scott served 16 years for armed robbery. last january, barbour freed both on the condition one donate a kidney. but barbour said the women did not deserve a full reprieve. his pardons caused an uproar and

anger. >> have absolute confidence, so much confidence i've let my grand children play with these five men. i've let them ride their tricycle out on the driveway with them watching out for them. i have no question in my mind that these five guys are not a threat to society. >> and after news of the pardons, gladys scott said she was innocent. a third person is expected to plead guilty next week in connection with an embezzlement scheme with former d.c. councilman, harry thomas. james garvin will plead guilty for failing to report thomas' theft. garvin worked with marshall banks who pleaded guilty yesterday. banks is the president and founder of a non-profit group prosecutors say helped filter more than three $50,000 in government -- $350,000 in government funds to thomas. he pleaded guilty last week and could face nearly four years in

prison. the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards is being delayed because he's reportedly suffering from a life-threatening heart condition. during a hearing yesterday, the judge said she received two letters from a cardiologist stating edwards needs surgery next month. the trial tentatively scheduled this month is now delay until march. edwards is accused of using more than $1 million in campaign donations to cover up an affair and child he fathered out of wedlock. new from overnight, a deadly shooting in southeast washington. a man was shot and killed around 11:15 last night around benting road southeast, a few blocks from capitol street. they declined to say more this week. petsmart is apologizing after two dogs were attacked inside a local store. one of the dogs died.

that attack happened at the petsmart in potomac yard in alexandra on the 27th. the owner of the two dachshunds dropped them up at the pet hotel. a german shepherd got out of its cage and attacked the dachshunds. one needed stitches and animal control had to euthanize the other. >> president obama took his dog, bo, just daying earlier in virginia. petsmart said procedures were not followed. we take policy violations seriously and consequently, several of the associates at this location are no longer with petsmart. this morning, a virginia man is behind bars in connection with a string of burglary charges. bryan stevens was arrested for

breaking into ebenezer church and ramoth church and north stafford church. they received a tip and he was found living in a shed in a vacant home. you may think you're doing better with a smartphone but nuresults of an eye opening study when we return. a prison break thwarted when a tunnel is found leading to the outside world and

welcome back. using your smartphone pay not be the smartest thing for your hale. a new study out of great britain shows that the more you use your smartphone, the more stressed you may become.

the most stressed smartphone users were not those who use theed vice for work but rather those who used the devices to keep up with their social life. it led to more compulsive phone use. experts say the results don't prove cause and effect but more stressed people are likely to check for social updates. what are you doing! put that down. >> the nbc health and fitness expo is officially under way. it's at the washington convention center. doreen gentzler is there live with special athletes. we have great guests all over the place, doreen. >> reporter: we do. one thing really good about the nbc4 health and fitness expo is the opportunity to try some things you might not otherwise have an opportunity to try. this is the booth for the national rehab hospital. our friends from rehab have made it possible for people to come

down here and try out wheelchair basketball, whether you're able-bodied or not. you can see, it's a bit of a challenge. these are folks who work for national rehab hospital, who are giving us a demonstration. but you can come down and try it yourself. you can also check out something called the zero gravity treadmill. this is amy davis. you're with national rehab hospital. tell me what people can do if they come and visit you. >> sure. right now, we're showing people wheelchair basketball. you can get in the chair yourself and try it out. we also have a demonstration with the quad rugby team coming down at 1:00. it's a contact sport they're in wheelchairs and crashing into each other. we also have wheelchair tennis. you can come down and get in a chair and be part of that as well. we're excited about the things we show. these are sports we have in the

community. adaptive sports and we fund-raise through different events we put on throughout the year. one is a triathlon in columbia. june 24th. >> i think nbc4 is partnering with you on that. >> that's right. you guys are a sponsor. we're excited about it. it's for challenged athletes and able-bodied participants, getting together to do bike run and swim and fund-raise with those events. >> people can come here and learn more about that event and sign up as well. >> that's right. you can register with us. you have triathlon tips and tell you more about nutrition and training. >> good stuff. your co-workers, they need some work. >> they're having fun. >> reporter: they are having fun. we think you will have fun if you come down and join us. i want to make sure i let people know how many free medical deses and screenings are available. you can be screened for strokes,

diabetes, skin cancer, kidney disease, a free test for blood pressure, cholesterol, hiv, your vision and hearing checked out, all this for free. it is a great opportunity to get any kind of medical question you may have answered and have a lot of fun at the same time. i want to thank our good friends at fitness first. they're running the zumba classes all weekend long. in addition to zumba, we'll have all kinds of fitness classes going, every hour on the hour, fitness classes from the area. bring the kids and grandparents, something for everybody to be found. we'll be here until 5:00 today and 9:00 to 5:00 tomorrow. angie, chris, hope a lot of people will join us. i'll see you down here in a little while. >> thanks. we saw live pictures and we saw a sign that said aisle 400. 400 aisle! that is my first time, doreen.

i'm blown away by the magnitude of this event. excited about it. >> reporter: wear your walking shoes, angie. >> i'm changing after the show. >> reporter: comfortable shoes. >> we will be joining you shortly and the whole news4 team will make it over the next two d days. >> reporter: randy rieger, pat lawson, eun yang doing cooking demonstrations. you want to check that out. >> we won't eat breakfast. >> a reminder the nbc4 health and fitness expo will, going on today and tomorrow and the whol. stop by. >> my first health and fitness expo in 2005, i got onto the national bone marrow registry donor group. they are there every year. so much in advancement in science of bone marrow has moved ahead, very important get as many people on the national bone

marrow registry program. a good one. definitely something to do. you never know when something

prison officials in mexico have discovered a 40 yard tunnel chis soelled by inmates in an apparent escape attempt. it was 16 feet away from reaching the desert outside the walls. as many as 250 of the 1800 in m inmate s could have escaped if it was completed. an ak-47 assault rifle was also found in the tunnel. they estimate it took between two to three years to carve the tunnel with chisels and a sledgehammer. >> how does that gun get there in? >> you don't want to know. better they found it before it was completed.

>> 16 feet. not much but fascinating. for us, can you believe it finally turned a little winter-like outside. >> you warned us that it would be time to pay the piper and here we go. >> it was about five to seven days away before a pattern change meant cold air. looks like the cold air will stick around at least for a little while. the real intense arctic outbreaks, i still don't see one coming. this is cold air but nothing compared to record levels. a record low, what would a record low temperature feel like this time of the year? our record today is 13 below zero and the 31 degrees and sunshine doesn't feel bad by comparison. i still think a west wind at 10-20 miles an hour is coming in later this afternoon and keep the windchills down a bit. 28 in gathersburg, rockville,

27. all in the upper 20s this morning. closer to 30 degrees in the freezing mark towards chesapeake bay. 34 in fredericksburg and 34 in culpepper. make your plans to get outside, plan your saturday, plenty of sunshine. little more in cloud cover north and west of town and fredericks, maryland, martinsburg, virginia, a few extra clouds for you. no precipitation. clouds are mostly clear now and east of the mountain next to the ridges, a little more in the way of cloud cover. breezy and it will be cold temperatures for sure tonight and off to another cold start tomorrow morning. most intown locations bottoming out in the 20s. i wouldn't be surprised to see a few spots in rural locations back in the teens. plenty of sunshine, still cold

but not as breezy as today. partly sunny, breezy and cold, and windchills in to the 20s. tomorrow, still a bit of a bundle up factor but the wind won't be blowing as hard, plenty of sunshine and it may be colder tomorrow than today thanks to the windy start. 34 for tomorrow and 42 for martin lu ther ki martin luther king jr. holiday and we might have a few spots of snow tuesday. >> conversational snow. >> yes. >> 9:51 right now. a major announcement from one of television's most famous cooks, the medical condition paula has to live with. seems like everything we had this year was three-dimensional except the characters in "the

tourist." >> ricky gervais is back as host of thejñes but will henlq of thejñes but will henlq bemcis act?

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a celebrity chef widely criticized for her hearty high calorie southern meals could be suffering from type 2 diabetes. paula deen has been silent about rumors that she's been diagnosed with diabetes. according to published reports, she has kept it a secret but reportedly going public about the diagnosis soon and scheduled to speak exclusively with al roker on the "today" show this coming tuesday. the 69th golden globeses will be right here on nbc. >> that's right. it's partly unpredictable

because of those of ricky gervais. it's his third year as host and something they thought would not happen because he ruffled so many feathers last year. gervais says he isn't afraid. >> i can say anything. i think that's what makes it exciting for me and hopefully makes it entertaining for the people watching at home. i don't want to ruin these people's night. i'm friends with many of them and admire most of them. i think as a comedian, you've got to be able to say what you think. >> you can catch the golden globeses tomorrow night. the red carpet arrivals starting