good morning, everyone. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm angie goff. >> and i'm chris worton. it is sunday, january 15th. the man suspected of a series of home invasions in maryland is behind bars this morning. >> local police tracked him down to kitty hawk, north carolina. he didn't go down without a fight, though. darcy spencer explains. >> reporter: this is the booking photo of 33-year-old kevin ray. police say he was injured while allegedly resisting arrest. he's being charged in three home

invasion robberies and two sex assaults in montgomery in prince george's countys. he lives on gable lane in ft. washington but was apprehended in kitty hawk, north carolina, on the outer banks, nearly 300 miles away. concern that the person accused of these sex crimes was right next door? >> there's a concern, definitely. you know, but i prefer to not judge people until we find out exactly what happens and it's proven. >> reporter: according to online court documents, ray has an extensive arrest record. they show he pleaded guilty to third-degree sex offense in 2005 and was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison. he's listed on maryland's sex offender registry. we got reaction on ray's arrest from walker rowe, whose wife and son were tied up in the bethesda home invasion. >> i'm glad that they're arrested now and cannot bother my family or any other families. >> reporter: police say tuesday morning, ray robbed a woman at gunpoint on mcmahon road in

wheaton and later used her debit card to get cash. wednesday evening, police say he forced his way inside a home in bethesda, tying up three victims and sexually assaulting the housekeeper. police say the suspect also used the victim's credit card in the d.c. metro area. >> we know residents in those specific communities as well as throughout the county were certainly concerned at his brazenness and his boldness. so, we're very excited tonight to let the public know that he's in custody. >> reporter: late saturday, prince george's county police issued a warrant charging him with robbing and sexually assaulting a woman on berkeley street in temple hills on friday morning. authorities say ray was captured at a walmart in north carolina. he's now at a detention center waiting to be brought back here to maryland to face some very serious charges. in bethesda, darcy spencer, "news 4 today." a warning now about two men who posed as cops to rob a man in the district. investigators say the imposters had a flashing light and pulled over the victim on texas avenue in southeast early yesterday

morning. both had handguns and ordered the man out of his car, made him put his hands on the hood an then went through his pockets and stole his cash. police have not released a description of the two men they're looking for. prince george's county police have identified a body wrapped in plastic in capitol heights. he was 31-year-old perry earl hunt. investigators say a maintenance worker found him behind an apartment complex dumpster early friday morning. detectives are trying to figure out who killed him and why. if you know anything about this crime, call prince george's county police. chris? well, right now, rescuers are trying to save a person inside that cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of italy yesterday. officials say divers located the survivor but have not removed that person. rescuers found a south korean couple on their honeymoon yesterday. they responded to passengers

banging for help. this happened after hitting a reef off the tuscan coast. people were left trying to get off the boat as it slowly overturned. >> then we had a blackout and everybody was just screaming, all the passengers were running up and down. and then we went to our cabins to get to know what's going on. >> in the very end, before we jumped off, one of the crew members was actually telling us we need to stay on. >> reporter: the ship was carrying 4,200 people. many swam to shore. others managed to get in the lifeboats before the ship capsized. about 40 people remain unaccounted for now. authorities are looking into the possibility that the captain deliberately steered the ship into shallow waters, then abandoned his cruise line. for the first time since the sex scandal broke out at penn state university, we're hearing from former head football coach joe paterno. paterno was fired two months ago after former defensive coordinator jerry sandusky was

charged with saexually abusing t least 15 boys over a period of 15 years. now in an interview with t"the washington post", he says he wishes he had done more. according to court documents, in 2002, assistant coach mike mcqueary said he saw sandusky abusing a boy in the locker room. paterno says he was confused about how to handle the situation. >> then i called my superiors, and i said, hey, we've got a problem, i think, but you guys look into it, because i didn't know -- you know, i had never had to deal with something like that and i didn't feel about it. >> sources close to paterno say he was furious when he was fired, but in an interview, he insists he's not bitter. penn state will continue to pay out paterno's contract as well as his legal fees. south carolina's now the new

focus of "decision 2012." the state's primary is next saturday. that's less than a week away. republican presidential candidates headed to charleston this weekend for a forum there. undecided voters were invited to ask most of the questions. newt gingrich zeroed in on his rival's tenure at bane capital. he says republicans need to scrutinize mitt romney's role with that private equity firm. meanwhile, romney focused on the economy. he said he wants government out of the housing business so that the free market can work. ron paul was the only gop candidate who did not attend the forum. instead, he was home in texas. well, a new reuters/ipsos south carolina poll gives romney a wide lead over his rivals ahead of next week's primary. 37% of republican voters backed the former massachusetts governor's race. ron paul and rick santorum tied for second place with 16% support. newt gingrich fell back after holding a strong lead in south

carolina back in december. he finished fourth with 12% in that poll. rick santorum, meanwhile, picked up a key endorsement ahead of the south carolina primary. a group of national family and religious leaders are now backing him. the endorsement comes on the last sunday of worship before next week's race. well, it isn't too late to check out the "nbc 4 health and fitness expo." the event is going on all weekend at the washington convention center. >> yourself, chuck and i were there yesterday to meet some of you and see some of the amazing exhibits. you can get several health screenings, learn some fun and impactful workouts and even learn how to cook a healthy meal. >> the expo opens this morning at 9:00 a.m. and runs until 5:00 this evening. you can find out all the details on our website. join on us on nbcwashington.com

to find those details. >> so much fun! and i got to hang out with you. and there was someone really excited to see you, that little girl that came. she was almost crying, i'm not kidding. >> did you hear she said many. many people. >> he's a popular one. and you might actually head out again today. you're a trooper. >> might be there around 3:00 this afternoon. >> wonderful. >> so, if you're deciding when to come, always come earlier because sometimes the lines get awfully long. but nonetheless, it will be another day you're going to need to bundle up if you're coming to the convention center. we'll talk about you

♪ ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place.

that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. ♪ [ 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.

a russian satellite once headed to mars is expected to plunge back to earth as early as today. officials say they do not know when or where it will hit. the 14-ton spacecraft was

launched in november but got stuck in the earth's orbit. scientists have worried about this spacecraft because it still has all of its fuel on board. but russian scientists say they expect that all of the 11 tons of fuel on board will burn up upon re-entry. >> i don't know about that. >> gosh. >> the top of the atmosphere is a very tough place to get back in. >> it's always scary to think of something coming in, crashing down like that. >> my guess is whoever is underneath it at the time will get one heck of a light show across the sky. a nice fireball there. and like is usually the case with these satellites, probably 95% or more of it is just going to come down in tiny, tiny fragments. but nonetheless, that will be quite a show to see, no doubt about it. >> yes, yes, yes. >> cold. did you notice it turned like winter yesterday? >> my gosh, it's in the 20s! i ran into the building this morning. >> many, many folks yesterday coming to the health and fitness expo were all bundled up in their parkas. >> oh, they were. >> yeah, no doubt. i was walking down there yesterday and on my way back

home it was like, ooh, better put the zipper all the way to the top of the winter coat or you'll really be cold. same story coming sunday. we hope to see you all come down to the convention center again, even if you were there yesterday. come on back down! we'll sign your book again, no problem at all. beautiful morning outside. temperatures, though, have been on the chilly side compared to average for the last couple of days. so again, we're going to be cold today with chilly, january-like sunshine coming our way. and it's going to stay much colder than average around here for most, if not all of today and tomorrow as well. so, be ready for plenty of cold air coming our way. whoops. there it is. sorry about that. a little computer problem there. mostly clear skies. right here in washington. there are a few more clouds further down to the south. temperatures, though, are on the cold side. 27 now in washington. that northwest wind, which was supposed to be here yesterday afternoon, took a little while getting here. it stayed up for most of the overnight hours tonight. and temperatures now are in the mid-20s across most of the

close-in suburbs, near 30 alongside the chesapeake bay. as you get out into parts of central virginia, mid-20s out there. low 20s in northern maryland, and some of the few sheltered spots might even be into the upper teens this morning. so, your "sunday planner," temperatures barely getting above the freezing mark today, even with all the sunshine out there. nothing's showing up on doppler around here. a couple of light snowflakes and a few cold rain drops down there near virginia beach and norfolk, virginia, and a few other snow showers way out across southern parts of west virginia. all of this is going t leave us high and dry for today as high pressure's building in. so, a crisp, winter feel to your sunday, no doubt about it. plenty of sunshine today. another cold night coming tonight, lows back into the teens and 20s. and then tomorrow, milder air comes in with some extra cloud cover, which will probably lead to rain on tuesday, but that may start with just a little bit of a mixed bag of precip. we'll keep you posted on that for late monday night. so, for today, sun and clouds, plenty chilly out there, so bundle up, everybody. temperatures staying in the

mid-30s for highs today. and then for tomorrow, a lot of folks have the day off. increasing clouds, especially in the afternoon. a touch milder with highs closer to 40 degrees tomorrow. the big concern, if we're going to have a concern, is going to be late monday night into early tuesday. temperatures probably from washington southbound above the freezing mark, but we might, especially folks in the shenandoah valley, might be able to start out with a little bit of a mixed bag early tuesday morning. it will all change to rain as temperatures will surge into the 50s. >> all right, thank you. >> thank you. up next, "reporter's notebook," a look at stories affecting our community. >> we will be back in 15 minutes with the morning's top stories and your sunday forecast. but for now, here's pat lawson muse. >> good morning, welcome to "reporter's notebook." i'm pat lawson muse. it's back to business in annapolis and richmond. both the maryland and virginia assemblies were back in session this week. in virginia, the now evenly divided senate opened with a power grab by republicans and complaints by democrats that

power should be shared. my panel this morning, i put to you this first question -- how much power-sharing is there likely to be during this session of virginia's general assembly? michael? >> none. the truth of the matter is -- >> you get the feeling, huh? >> yeah. >> yeah, i mean, just -- listen, political power, unused atrophies. and the republicans worked very hard to get this 20-20 split in the senate. they have the tie-breaking vote, and i believe they're going to use it each and every time they can, unless there is significant and furious pushback by the democrats. and i'm just not certain there's enough power to do it. >> we saw pushback, jerry and dave. >> well, dave, you go first. >> okay. well, he's got it right. i mean, power, political power is finally with the republicans, they think, although it's very, very close, obviously, in the seasonali senate. much better off they are in the house. but the fact remains, you may not always have the republicans totally unified.

there may be splits, there may be compromises on some issues. it may behoove them in this politically sensitive year to try to cooperate. the democrats did not like the idea of lieutenant governor -- >> bowling. >> trying to use his vote to break a 20-20 tie. they wanted to have a 20-20 existence. how that would work, a lot of the people tell me they wondered about. so, i think it's issue by issue. they'll cooperate on some things, they'll fight like heck on others. >> but to answer your question directly, i think, no. i agree with mike, the fact that is the republicans are not going to give an inch. they're not going to give up a darn thing. because number one, virginia. was it a purple state? virginia. now that the republicans have got their strong hold, they want to make virginia an example nationally, especially during this very sensitive political year for the presidency nationally. so, virginia's going to be a barometer as to republican issues and how they vote. >> and what about those issues?

>> i just want to say quickly, i really do think that the virginia sort of political existence in the larger context of this presidential campaign is something that cannot go sort of underplayed. the reality is, the republicans in the virginia state -- in the virginia general assembly are desperately important to republican hopes for regaining the presidency, and they can't do that if they are cooperating, coddling and compromising. >> exactly. >> i think their plan is to put their foot on the pedal and go as fast as they can. >> but there is one, very quickly, caveat that people, political scientists that i've talked to tell me, if the social agenda roars ahead lickety-split on the republican side, they say, forcing so-called -- in critics' eyes -- moderate governor macdonald to kind of go, force a tough vote, will i go along with my republican majority and the social issue i really cool it on, and will that be part of the political record?

will the record be one of a very angry general assembly that just has 20-20 votes, broken by one person, not really a consensus issue? will that play to the republicans' hands for good or ill? and there is concern about that. >> all right. and in terms of issues, we know transportation and higher education are high on the list there, on their agenda. in maryland, jobs are at the top of governor o'malley's agenda. and the fur's already flying over talk about possible sales tax hike, from 6% to 7%. is that just talk? >> it's very serious. >> yeah. >> go ahead. >> i think it's talk, but i think it's very serious from the standpoint that he has to present this before the general assemb assembly, but it has a very, very big deficit. they've still been holding on to it for the last two years. so governor o'malley has to do something to move that deficit. i think, pat, in the end, yes, there may be some blocks and some barriers in the general

assembly as to whether he's going to get this sales tax fully into operation. i think it will be a compromise. >> it's amazing, republicans constantly charge democrats as being tax-raisers, big spenders. here are the maryland democrats raising taxes. and yet, the maryland republican party is perceived as so weak and not really thoroughly able to flex its muscles enough that, in maryland, the thinking is they'll probably get their sales tax. and the question is, how much criticism might there be from independents who aren't democrats or republicans but who are fiscal conservatives? that's going to be the interesting thing to watch. >> now, the governor said he would like to have a sales tax increase. >> right. >> he hasn't put that on the table yet. there are tax hikes in the wings. >> no, i didn't mean to suggest -- >> gas tax and flush tax we expect to be put on the table. >> and listen, there's something else we have to consider here, and that is, to dave's point, with regard to tax increases, the fact of the matter is, continuing to do the same thing is untenable. something has to be done. >> yeah.

>> there have already been a tremendous number of cuts. there's going to have to be some mixture of revenue enhancements and cuts going forward. otherwise, any of the improvements that we hope to see in terms of the state of the economy could be threatened. >> yeah, i don't want to confuse the sales tax with the other tax, the flush tax, so-called, but they are talking about taxes. >> all right. iv is out. former prince george's county glenn ivey says he will not be seeking the 4th congressional district race seat. rather, ivey has decided not to challenge incumbent don edwards for that seat. he said it's all about money. >> it is. he can't raise enough money, he says, and there was some frowning about him getting into the race against dawn edwards because she's been changeled, her district has been changed. it isn't the majority african-american or the majority minority district that it used to be, and people thought that was not fair, the maryland general assembly shouldn't have done that. at the same time, here is another minority person getting in against don edwards, who's in

the minority. so, there was a lot of unhappiness about that. and one of the reasons that they're concerned about donna edwards is that she will be able to raise money from the usual people and it would be harder for her. and here's somebody coming in making it even harder. >> but then, she's an incumbent, and not only incumbency, but donna edwards has been very popular in the papers over the last year. >> right. >> and she's a big wall to run up against. i mean, when he announced that he was going to run for this seat, remember, right on this program, we said glenn ivey, you'd better think the second time, because you're going up against a big brick wall. >> michael? >> the power of incumbency should never be underplayed. during the history of the last 20 or so years, more than 90% of incumbents who sought re-election had won re-election. you have in this case an incumbent who's been popular enough to be not just a statewide cash fund-raiser, but somebody who's been able to raise money all over the country. and when you're running against someone like that, you have to be able to match dollar for

dollar, unless there's some significant issue. and neither a significant issue nor the ability to raise money has been at play here, and that means, i mean, i just think he made the right decision. >> he made the right decision. >> there was really no other decision to make. >> what's next in ward 5? there will be a special election on replace harry thomas jr., who stepped down after pleading guilty to charges of embezzlement and filing false tax returns. last week, activists and leaders got together in ward 5 to determine how to fill the void. how do you think they'll be able to do that? his shoes won't be easy to fill. >> well, this is my home ward. this is something a little personal for me. the reality is, there are at-large council members who are just as responsible to citizens and are there ward representatives. association it's my hope that all of the at-large members of the council will do just little more in terms of their constituent service work to help meet the needs of the residents of ward 5. the reality is, they're elected

by ward 5 voters as well, and they need to step up and do the right thing. >> well -- >> there's another issue here, though. eleanor norton wants to shorten the time from next may to make it a lot sooner when they replace the fella who left. and the fact is that the congress has raised up, and some senator does not like the bill and has put a hold on it. and eliot norton's trying to figure out why it is, but there's an example. people complain greatly in these times about representation and the fact that it takes a while to fill in a congressional seat. other states have tried to move to have elections more quickly. delegate norton wants to do it for the district but she's having a tough time. >> well, vincent orange has stepped up. he already has held a special ward 5 town meeting. in decision, brown said this past week, the chair of the council said he's going to make sure that the citizens of ward 5 will not suffer behind the problems that have happened. but you have eight candidates,

eight of ten candidates running for the seat in ward 5. this is typical old d.c. politics -- >> that's a low number. >> that's a low number! >> all right. >> but it's typical of d.c. politics. i would say that, yes, there are at-large members like vincent orange, are stepping up. >> we've got to take a break. we'll be right back. stay with us. thanks, mom. who are you calling "mom"? dunkin' sausage pancake bites, delicious like mom's, only easier to carry -- get three for $1.59.

welcome back. so, what's next for the alexandria waterfront? there is debate over how to redevelop it. the city put forth a plan three years ago, but there is controversy over whether it should be more park land or more commercial retail development, hotels versus park space. what do you think about the waterfront and what's wrong with it now? i mean, it's old, it's quaint. many people say it's sort of disjointed? >> it's not so much what's wrong with it. but i can remember, this has

been smoldering for some time. i've been there several times on radio and he always had this vision that because of -- what is it, national harbor across the river? now they've got a taxicab that goes to alexandria. they even have a shuttle that will pick up the passengers and take them to places. his whole vision is that downtown alexandria and the waterfront has to be remodeled, has to be new. and this is the whole thing. the pressures are coming from developers as well as those who see the waterfront as a better dream than what it is. it's a nice waterfront now, but there's room for improvement. >> right, and people -- critics say the developers are getting the upper hand, there's going to be too much development. the city says, no, we're giving room to private interests, the parkland, as it were, and open space. but they can't agree on how much open space and how much development. they're still continuing to negotiate. they're hopeful that they'll come out with a deal, but it looks like there's going to be a lot of long faces on one side or the other when it's over.

>> yeah. i think ultimately, the developers will win. there's too much money on the table not to. >> right. >> but i will raise the question of concern -- raise a concern about traffic. you know, we talk about traffic in this region, and we're one of the most congested regions in the area. do we really want to do the kind of, the broad scope of development that we're talking about in xoond alexandria, and what impact will have on traffic? i think those questions need to be answered. >> the streets get pretty congested down there. >> not even any development. >> the proposal is actually coming from seven council members along with the mayor, so it's a likelihood. but the point is, what you're saying, mike, is so true. it's congested already on the waterfront in alexandria. >> buses gone wild. have you seen the wtop radio drive cam video showing some pretty scary close calls on metro buses all over the city? dave, you work for wtop.

>> kudos to our reporter, he did excellent. he pounded the agencies, got the freedom of information act to get these tapes released. and by golly. if one picture is 1,000 words, this is 2,000 words or more. it shows near misses, just reckless driving. people, you want to go like this when you're even listening to it! i was listening to it the other day, driving around, to the initial reports, and it was astounding what adam has found and what they've got on these videos and audios. >> what's metro saying about this, jerry? >> metro, of course, is playing the good pr game. when companies get in trouble like this or if something comes to light, they come out with a famous pr statement -- our drivers were doing the best they can for the safety of the passengers. let me tell you, let's go back to where we found drivers without license, driver's license, metro? we find drivers that are very rude on the roads with people. so, when i saw this videotape, i

said, well, this is living reality. >> let me take ten seconds to defend some bus drivers, because i've seen people drive pretty crazy around these buses. >> people walk out in front of buses all the time. >> i can imagine that's a pretty stressful job trying to deal with that. >> it is, it is. >> so, i want to put that on the table. jerry's right that some of this stuff is outrageous, but you know, they have a pretty tough job. >> yeah, and thousands and thousands of bus drivers and routes, there's going to be some people who aren't going to drive well and shouldn't have the job and should be admonished. >> and it is tough out there when you've got people walking around on cell phones and people who are in the cars on cell phones and they pull out in front of buses. >> metro officials say -- >> or text messages, you know. >> reading, yes. >> metro officials say compared to other large cities that we're not that bad, so. >> all right. >> what else would they say? >> but you've got to see the video. >> but the reality is on the video. >> got to see the video for yourself. >> yes. >> thanks, guys. thank you for being with us for "reporter's notebook." i'm pat lawson muse.

stay with us for "news 4 today." good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm chris gordon. >> and i'm angie goff. it is 6:31. we're halfway through the 6:00 hour. here's a look at our top stories this morning. the man suspected in a series of home invasions in maryland is behind bars this morning. kevin ray was arrested in kitty hawk, north carolina. he's wanted in a string of home invasions last week in bethesda, wheaton and temple hills. ray remains in custody pending an extradition hearing. well, according to italian state tv this morning, the captain of a luxury cruise liner is being investigated for suspected manslaughter. the costa concordia hit a reef and capsized friday night, killing three people.

40 others remain missing. authorities suspect that the captain deliberately steered the ship to shallow waters and then abandoned the cruise liner. for the first time since the sex scandal broke out at penn state university, we're hearing from former head football coach joe paterno in an interview with "the washington post." paterno says he wishes he had done more. according to court documents, in 2002, assistant coach mike mcqueary told him he saw jerry sandusky abusing a boy in a locker room. well, frederick county sheriff's deputies are trying to figure out why a teen apparently attempted to commit suicide after his friend was struck and killed by a car. the crash happened along black road near eylers valley flint road. that's close to the pennsylvania border. derrick ward has the latest. >> reporter: a group of young people gather at the scene of a crash where a friend died as word spread through social media, so did the grief and disbelief. >> i saw it over facebook. people were posting stuff on his

wall, and they were saying brandon. and i was like, yeah, i didn't know how to take it. >> reporter: 18-year-old brandon herbert's body was found on this twisting stretch of black road in frederick county. authorities learned about it after a resident in the area reported coming upon his body in the roadway just before 2:00 a.m. there was skid marks and debris, broken glass, the signs of a crash at the scene, but no vehicle was located. >> he was one of those kids that if something were to go wrong, he'd always make the best out of it. >> reporter: investigators learned that herbert had been seen with a close friend. they went to the home of that friend, 18-year-old seth fisher. they saw a toyota truck with front end damage in the driveway. inside the home, they found fisher critically wounded, suffering from what authorities described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. making it all harder to understand and to bear. >> no one's taking it well at all. >> reporter: this is a winding, unforgiving stretch of road, even for folks who know it and even under daylight conditions.

you can just imagine what it was like before dawn when the crash occurred. >> when we were coming down the road there was about three different vehicles driving about 50-plus-mile-an-hour. and on these roads, you can see, that's not safe. >> reporter: the investigation has yet to determine if speed was a factor in the crash. at this point, only grief is assured, and that is the loss of 18-year-old brandon herbert. >> he was a sweet guy and i can't believe he's gone. >> reporter: derrick ward news 4. >> seth fisher, the man suffering from the gunshot wound, was flown to crowley shock trauma in baltimore. his condition isn't being released at this time. >> just a tragic story. >> certainly is. for us, we have plenty of cold air outside early this morning, and it looks like the cold is here to stay for at least one more day, you know? >> okay. >> in our winter, which only lasts a few hours at a time on any given month around here, looks like today will be the coldest of the next seven days and a little hint of a moderating trend coming our way. >> that's good for everyone doing the mlk celebrations.

>> that's true. >> this week. >> yes, indeed. those of us hoping for a little bit more of snow, this is what i was asked a thousand times yesterday -- tucker, is it going to snow this winter, ever? i said, well, you know, my hopes are now resting on what we call february, because january does not look like it's going to produce the kind of snow that it would be capable of producing. 27 here in washington this morning, 21 in leesburg and ashburn. get into beautiful fairfax county, from falls church to vienna, temperatures in the mid-20s. over into prince george's county, from brandywine to buoy down to rosariville, mid-to-upper 20s. association your "sunday planner," it's going to be a nice looking day today, plenty of sunshine around, but the temperatures are just going to struggle outside, courtesy of a north breeze today. we'll barely get back up into the mid-30s with plenty of sunshine around, so expect a very cold day today. a lot of folks do have tomorrow off for the mlk holiday. an increasing number of clouds tomorrow, highs back up near 40 degrees and we're keeping a close eye on tuesday morning, monday night into tuesday

morning. most of tuesday's going to be rain with temperatures in the mid-50s, but at the early onset of this little precipitation event, we might have a little frozen precip to worry about. doesn't look like much, and it will all end as rain. >> so, this afternoon, being cold, if people want a place to go, do you have any suggestions? >> i mean, i would go to the convention center. lots of warm, friendly people. >> health and fitness expo. >> yes. >> and coffee there, too. hot coffee. all right, thank you, chuck. well, today and tomorrow, thousands of people will celebrate and honor martin luther king jr. today marks dr. king's 83rd birthday. the national park service will hold a wreath-laying ceremony at the new mlk memorial at noon today. tomorrow, the national cathedral will hold a special service to celebrate king's legacy with a concert and a day of service. king delivered his last sunday sermon at the cathedral before his assassination in 1968. and after eight years, the mlk day parade is returning to

southeast washington. festivities kick off tomorrow at the friendship public charter school and end at lechy elementary school. boxing champion lamont peterson will serve as one of the grand marshals. it is 6:37 right now. up next, david gregory, moderator of "meet the press," will join us live to preview the south carolina primary and break down where the race for the white house stands at this time. also ahead, airfares on most carriers may be about to go up without costion you an extra

welcome back. we are less than a week away from the south carolina primary. and with just two contests decided, iowa and new hampshire,

mitt romney has already established himself as the gop front-runner at this point. >> big question, can anyone or anything keep him from getting the nomination at this point? joining us now to break down the race is the moderator of "meet the press," david gregory. good morning, david. >> good morning, all. good to see you. >> you, too. you've been a busy man! >> yeah, absolutely. >> we saw the new poll numbers out and it looks like he has a substantial lead, romney, over his rivals. can anything stop him? we know gingrich is going hard. >> well, and we don't know whether those numbers are something that we can rely on at this point. we'll probably get some better figures as we get into this week. but everybody recognizes that romney has a great deal of momentum. down even in south carolina, you know, there's a thought, well, this is going to be the most challenging primary state for him, and that's probably true up until now, but he's still a very commanding presence, having gone 2-0 thus far. a group of evangelicals have thrown their support behind santorum, but they're not calling on anybody else to get out. so, the field remains what it is. and as long as it's that big,

romney has an opportunity to win, with even a relatively low percentage. four years ago, john mccain had 33%. romney could do that and win with a field this big. >> you just mentioned the field. and there were reports this week that laura bush and george w. bush maybe pushing for jeb bush, or there's still some talk about governor christie. do you see anybody else getting into this? >> i don't see anybody getting in at this point. i think it's difficult to come in at this stage, particularly when you have a front-runner like romney, who's in a position to really consolidate everything within five or six days now. so, i don't see that happening. i think there is a certain amount of lack of excitement about the field. but you know, once you do have a nominee and the party coalesces around that person, things tend to change. and for romney, whatever his drawback is in the reminds of republican voters, he's somebody who can argue the case on the economy against president obama in what everybody believes would be a close election. >> we want to turn our eyes to

today's show. you have newt gingrich on the show, and he's definitely changed his tone when it comes to at tack ads, really going hard at romney, as i mentioned before. is this something that's turning voters off? because we're watching him drop in the polls. he was so close in september. >> it's hard to imagine. he hasn't been on the program since may and has had a lot of ups and downs since then. and i think that's right, i think talking about his strategy, going after romney, whether he really thinks there's an opening there for him, and whether south carolina is it will be interesting to discuss with him. we should also point out, we have harry reid as well, the majority leader of the senate, to talk about what's going on back here in d.c., whether anything can actually be accomplished between the president and republicans on capitol hill. there's a lot at stake here, and we'll be getting back into session, state of the union coming up soon as well. >> then after "meet the press," you have "press pass." what's going on there? >> we're talking to suze orman. she's so interesting to discuss the economy and politics with. one thing she talks about is the disappearance of any middle class and how government can try

to do something about that. so, i encourage people to stay tuned for that as well. >> david, thank you. >> you bet! >> we'll be watching. >> thanks. have a good day. >> you, too. >> okay, thank you very much. well, in other news, if you missed the nfl playoffs yesterday, you missed one of the great games in playoff history. akeem dirmish has the highlights in this morning's "sports minute." >> good morning, everyone. your "sports minute" begins with the nfl play-offs. starting in san francisco, 49ers hosting the saints, and what a game it was. less than two minutes to play, new orleans down by five. drew brees throws it up to his big tight end jimmy graham. he makes the catch, 66-yard scoring strike. it's graham's second td of the game. saints on top 32-29. still time left. 14 seconds to go. 49ers drive down the field for this. alex smith to vernon davis for the game-winner. the former terrapin, dunbar high standout, finished with 180 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

alex smith had four touchdowns, three passing, one rushing. 49ers defeat the saints 36-32, advancing to the nfc championship. in the afc, denver against new england. it was all tom brady and the patriots. brady throws for six touchdowns, tying a postseason record. the patriots crush the broncos 45-10. they'll play the winner of today's ravens/texans game in the conference championship. nba, wizards playing the second of back-to-back games against the 76ers, and it was more of the same. second quarter, john wall's pass stolen by andre iguodala. wall had eight turnovers. iguodala, five steals, 23 points. wizards lose 103-90, dropping their record to 1-11. college hoops. george mason on the road at james madison. the patriots had five players in double figures, including freshman vaughn gray, who finished with 19 points. george mason beats jmu 89-83, improving to 13-5. that's your "sports minute." i'm hakem dermish.

have a great day. >> you watched some of those games. >> i did, yes. >> yeah. >> and i don't really have a dog in any of those nfl fights, but i was sort of rooting for the patriots because i was born in massachusetts. >> okay, and how about vernon davis? terp for maryland, university of maryland. >> oh, yeah. >> absolutely. >> we've got a dog in the fight. >> it is true. >> and the ravens. >> and the ravens, that's true. apparently, i've got a lot of dogs in this fight. who knew? the question is, do i have a dog in the weather fight? we'll talk about that next. ♪

♪ [ 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.

big changes are coming to airlines that could change how you buy a ticket online. starting january 26th, all airline ticket prices must include any government taxes and fees when the ticket price is

made public. once it is added up, that can raise a ticket price by 20%. and all airlines will also have to tell you the cost up front of checking your luggage. >> all of the fees that the airlines will charge you will be listed, whether it's a baggage fee, the taxes that you might pay. >> southwest, spirit and allegiant airlines are suing to block the rules. meanwhile, a few other customer-friendly rules take effect this month. airlines must promptly notify passengers of cancellations, diversions or delays of more than 30 minutes, and customers will have 24 hours after making a reservation to change or cancel without a penalty. >> i wish that they would just include the baggage fee, because that's always a stinger, when you have to go back and check -- >> that's the trick. >> but when you buy your ticket, you choose, yeah, i'm going to be checking a bag, for frequent travelers. >> one of the things, as a consumer of airline tickets myself, i'll tell you that one of the smarter things i did, i got my little delta american

express card, and when you buy your delta ticket with your card, you don't have to pay for the first bag. >> oh, wow. >> that's a game-changer in my cheap world, because i don't like paying for anything! >> and bags fly free on southwest. >> but southwest doesn't fly everywhere. >> this is true, not into the national airport, which is my home base. so, you have to balance all these things when you're picking your tickets, no doubt about it. >> well, for flying today? >> if you're flying today, my advice is fly south, because it's going to be a whole lot nicer down in miami beach this afternoon than it is right here in the beautiful nation's capitol. nonetheless, they don't have the washington monument to look at, do they? no, they don't. they have sunshine, sand and palm trees, and we've got this view right here. beautiful way to get your sunday morning started. sun's up at 7:25 this morning, so we're still waiting on the sunrise, but it's going to be a beauty of a day outside. mostly clear skies overhead right now. it is cold, noticeably colder here than if you're flying south. 27 at national airport with a northwest wind at 12 miles per hour. so, that has windchills back down into the low 20s this

morning. so, a real bundle-up factor, for sure. 21 now in gaithersburg and lateensville, 27 dale city, springfield and does not freeze, all in the mid-to-upper 20s oopsi. low 20s western maryland, panhandle of west virginia, all low 20s this morning. a cold day coming today. we'll have plenty of sunshine. you can see on the sky camera this morning, mostly clear skies out there, but even with the sunshine, that north wind will keep temperatures in the mid-30s for high temperatures this afternoon. not much going on around our area. there were a few lonesome rain drops and snowflakes down across tidewater, virginia, early this morning, and some fading snow showers across the new river valley in southwestern virginia. we will not have anything in the way of a precipitation threat for today. and tomorrow for your martin luther king holiday, that day is looking generally dry as well. so, crisp, feeling very winterlike outside for today. and with clear skies tonight, another cold start coming on

your monday morning. then tomorrow, as this area of high pressure starts to move offshore, we'll get a return of a south breeze. that will increase the cloud cover, bring the temperatures up a bit. and right at the early onset, early morning hours of tuesday morning, before the sun even comes up, we'll have to watch out, especially in the northern and western spots, maybe a little bit of frozen precipitation. it will all become rain by tuesday sunrise time frame. so, for today, sun and clouds, plenty chilly, highs today only in the low and mid-30s. then tomorrow, a milder day, but clouds will be on the increase, so it won't look quite as pretty as it will today. highs tomorrow upper 30s to low 40s. then again, the time frame to watch out for is after midnight monday night before sunrise on tuesday morning. doesn't look like there will be that much moisture in place just yet. i just want to be talking about it last monday's little surprise. we're not getting caught two weeks in a row with that one from mother nature, so just be on the lookout. it will end up as all rain tuesday afternoon. >> all right. thank you, chuck. >> okay. now for a preview of what is

coming up in this week's "kids post," here is eun yang. >> this week on "kid's post" on tv, what would you do as president that would be quite nice, dr. king's noble sacrifice and some local kids who can dance on ice. joining us is tracy grant of "washington post" "kids post." nancy, nice to see you as always. >> great to be with you. >> first of all, you ask kids what they would do if they were president. >> this is an amazing survey done by 5,000 kids, done by child fund. >> yes. >> 5,000 kids done by child fund international, kids all over the world and in the united states. and it's really interesting. we highlighted in today's "kids post" around the world, kids -- oh, this is what kids in america would do. they wanted to provide shelter. and the homeless issue, the issues of the economy have clearly resonated with kids in

the united states. around the world, education. provide education was the most popular answer. and we think that's because kids in america sort of take education for granted in a way that kids around the world don't necessarily do. >> right. >> so, we have these, and we talk to some local kids. it's a really lovely story about ways kids are similar around the world and ways that they're different. >> i always love those comparisons. up next, a book that offers some insight into dr. martin luther king jr.'s struggles and successes. of course, an iconic figure. >> right. >> and a trail blazer in civil rights. >> and today is his actual birthday. tomorrow kids are off for the holiday. this is a new book from "national geographic." it's called "marching to the mountaintop." it's for kids probably 10 to 14, who know the basics of dr. king's life. this focuses on the memphis trash haulers strike that led

him to tennessee in the days before his death. and what it talks about are the realities of the sacrifice of the civil rights movement, the conditions that these trash workers worked in and how the civil rights movement and dr. king's dream really changed the world. and so, for older kids, it's a really great read. the other thing is, in today's "kids post," we have some family-friendly activities to mark dr. martin luther king's birthday tomorrow. >> always a great time to open up dialogue about this on the issues. >> exactly. great time to talk. and i think kids will really be surprised at what the world was like just 50 years ago. >> excellent. finally, lots of kids can dance, but you're going to talk about a couple of kids who can dance on ice. i can barely walk on ice. >> oh, these kids, they're brother and sister, michael and rachel parsons from rockville. michael's 16, rachel is 14. they will be competing next week at the u.s. national figure skating championships. >> wow! >> as juniors.

and we talk to them in wednesday's "kids post." they practice 35 hours a week on ice. >> oh, dedication! >> in addition to maintaining their school schedule. so, it's really, really nice to highlight and give a pat on the back and good luck to some local kids who are really working hard and doing great. >> requires so much hard work and dedication. all right, tracy, thank you so much. good luck to them. for some fun family activities, visit nbcwashington.com or washingtonpost.com and click on "kids post." i'm eun yang. there's still more news for today after the break. >> and also, news 4's "viewpoints." stay with us.

thanks, mom. who are you calling "mom"? dunkin' sausage pancake bites, delicious like mom's, only easier to carry -- get three for $1.59.

good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm angie goff. >> and i'm chris gordon. it is sunday, january 15th. right now, 7:00. here's a look at our top stories this morning. the man suspected in a series of home invasions in maryland is behind bars this morning. kevin ray was arrested in kitty hawk, north carolina. he's wanted in a string of home invasions last week in bethesda, wheaton and temple hills. ray remains in custody pending an extradition hearing. according to italian state tv this morning, the captain of a luxury cruise liner is being

investigated for suspected manslaughter. the costa concordia hit a reef and capsized friday night, killing three people. 40 others remain missing. authorities suspect the captain deliberately steered the ship to shallow waters and then abandoned the cruise liner. well, for the first time since the sex scandal broke out at penn state university, we're hearing from former head football coach joe paterno in an interview with "the washington post." paterno says he wished he had done more. according to court documents, in 2002, assistant coach mike mcqueary told him he saw jerry sandusky abusing a boy in a locker room. well, if you thought it was cold yesterday -- >> yeah, it's actually going to be colder today, no doubt about that. we're off to a chillier start this morning than we were off to yesterday, and the north wind just keeps blowing more and more cold air down into the area, so expect a very chilly day today. temperatures to get you out the door on your sunday morning are mostly in the 20s this morning.

>> yes. >> and high temperatures today, low and mid-30s, even with some sunshine out there. so, there you go. there's our live picture outside this morning over washington. not much of a breeze blowing. what wind we do have is out of the north and northwest at the 5 to 10-mile-per-hour range. generally clear sky that's allowed temperatures to plummet this morning. upper montgomery county in the teens this morning. 21 hagerstown and frederick, maryland, 21 at leesburg and winchester, 25 in culpeper and manassas, 27 right here in town. as you make your plans to get outside and enjoy your sunday, find somewhere warm to be. might need something warmer than just the sunny side of the street today because of the cold air that we have out there. temperatures will climb only into the mid-30s this afternoon. tomorrow a lot of people have the day off. clouds will be on the increase and highs back up near 40 degrees tomorrow. and what looks like mostly a rain event coming up on tuesday with highs back into the 50s. the early part of that late monday night into early tuesday, we're going to be on the lookout for a little wintry

precipitation. doesn't look like we have much to worry about, but after last monday, we're paying very close attention. closer attention, i should say. >> all right, thank you, chuck. >> you're welcome. next is nbc 4's "viewpoints." >> and then we'll be back in a few minutes with an update. good morning, everybody. and welcome to "viewpoint." i'm jim handly. today we're talking about a program that's helping thousands of d.c. high school students to enroll in and graduate from college. it's called d.c. college access program. and with us today, tiffany ballard, d.c. high school adviser at cardoza high school. ms. rodriguez, president and ceo of the program and l.d. ross, vice president for programs at d.c. cap. welcome to "viewpoint" to you all. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> i want to go back to the beginning, because this is such a tremendous success story. back to '99. how did it all begin? >> really, it started with a group of businesses in d.c.

mobile, lockheed martin, "washington post." the leaders of those companies came together and decided we need to do something big for the city. our kids aren't going to college, what can we do about that? so they mobilized their efforts and decided to concentrate on this. we started in 1999, in september. we opened centers in six public high schools, and those centers serve kids running from 9th grade to 12, where they get counseling, advice on how to prepare for college, career choices. and then the following year, we opened in all the dcps high schools, the following 20. and about four years ago, we opened in all the charter schools. so, now we're serving all the charters and all the public schools in this. and really have over the years been able to mobilize private funding just from around the country as well as locally here to support our students. once they graduate in senior year, they roll into our college retention division where we stay with them for five years to help

get them out. because as you know, it's much harder to get them out than get them in. >> sure. >> then we give away approximately $2.7 million in scholarships each year as well. >> incredible. i want to talk more about the financial piece later on in the half hour, mr. ross, but tell us about how many students you're working with currently and over the years how many you've helped. >> we're actually working with 18,000 students in both the public and the public charter schools now. in addition to that, we have 6,500 students that we're working with in college. >> incredible. and tiffany, you are one of the success stories, shall we say. >> yeah. >> back in 2004, you graduated from d.c. public school and then went on to st. mary's college to graduate from there in 2008. >> yes. and one of the most important things is that the d.c. cap program was there for me from the very beginning in helping me to enroll into st. mary's in 2008. so -- >> how did they encourage you?

was it a mentor, a counselor? did they talk to your parents? how did the whole process work? and were you thinking about college at that point or was that kind of a dream for you? >> i was raised by my grandparents, so it was always instilled in me to go to college. it wasn't an option of was i going to go, but where was i going to go. so, my d.c. cap adviser was really that counselor and that mentor and that friend that helped me to make the right selection to choose that college of my choice. >> and now you're back, giving back -- >> giving back, yes. >> helping others. >> absolutely. >> i want to talk more about that, but is that one of the goals, too, that students will come back to our region and help strengthen the economy? >> you know, absolutely. the corporations or the foundations have supported this, particularly local ones. their hope is really to enable the population in d.c. to get employment. and so, we're hopeful that our college students come back and contribute not just to the economy but to the community as

well. so, folks like tiffany and many of our other -- actually, we have several d.c. cap students who are now advisers. and folks who are out in the community with jobs who are giving back in different ways. it's really one of the -- it's the icing on the cake. it's the icing on the cake. >> l.d., let's talk about that financial picture and what a huge struggle it is for families, much more so than when it was founded back in '99. >> right, absolutely. >> how big of a challenge is it these days? >> well, with the poor economy that we have today as well as the escalating cost of going to college, many of our families are really struggling with that financial piece of going to e of the big things is the unmet need. we're seeing the average unmet need around $12,000 per family. and let me define unmet need. unmet need is the difference between a family's financial resources, you subtract that from the cost of attendance and that gives you unmet need. when we started 12 years ago, the majority of students had no

unmet need. now we're seeing students with $10,000 to $12,000 in unmet need, and that's a big detriment in terms of going to college. >> so, how do you come in and make of that difference, per family, per student? >> well, d.c. cap has a very comprehensive counseling program as well as outreach program. we start from the very basics. we start with the fasa form, the free education for student aid form first, and that allows families to have access to federal funding, be it grants, loans and work study. but in addition to that, we introduce every child that's in our program into the tuition assistance program or the t.a.g. program. that's a very instrumental program because it allows students to get grant monies up to $10,000 up to five years to go to any public institution in america. in addition to that, students who go to private, historically black colleges and local

colleges, private colleges in the local area, can get up to $2,500. and students who go to two-year community colleges will actually receive up to $2,500 for five years, too. >> wow. what a difference. >> and then we've taken it a step further, because we also go after private scholarships. each year we work with students with the trainingenberg scholarships, the kwannis club and a host of scholarships. almost every d.c. cap student will apply for two to three additional scholarship, and each with that, it's still not enough. we're beginning to -- we work very closely with the families in terms of trying to get them to save. this year, we're working with the college savings plan with the district government in order to introduce all our families to this particular program so they can start putting money away for their students. we actually are going to start with the younger students, the ninth graders. we're going to have a contest this year for students where they can win scholarship money.

they can win -- each ward will get two scholarships. one is for $2,500 and one is for $1,500. and the kids are going to write us an essay about how they are now preparing for college. and we will select two winners from each ward. so, we want to encourage all our parents and all the listening audience to, please, encourage your kids to get involved with this program. >> start them early. we're going to take a quick break and you have a contest coming up. we want to flash up a web address and phone number, too. there is a voting contest going on. a big cap-off at the kennedy center with a gala march 5th. and you can take part. learn more about the d.c. cap program by calling this number or going on their website. we'll be right back. ♪

♪ [ 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. and welcome back to "viewpoint" again. we're talking about getting d.c. students into and graduated from college. and our panel includes a success

story, we mentioned. i want to ask you, tiffany, take us back to, again, back in 2004. this was something that you knew you always wanted to do, is go to college. >> right. >> and now you're sharing that with other students so they can reach their goals, too. >> right. so, a lot of the things that my d.c. cap adviser did was, you know, help me to choose that right college. so, i took a lot of what she did to help the students now, and it's really phenomenal, that whole base, that foundation that i can actually take from her to help the students. so, a lot of what i do is relate to their stories. a lot of the students, they go through a lot of, you know, personal struggles as well as academic struggles. and for myself, you know, living in a household raised by my grandparents, they didn't have that foundation of college, so a lot of students i see now actually fit that whole

descripti description, in not having parents at home to help them with that process. so, i serve as that foundation for them, in actually helping them. and the parents that are actually in the households with the students, i work with them as well. i work with the students from 9th to 12th grade, and just basically do college planning, just financial planning. and mr. ross mentioned earlier about the college savings plan, working with ninth graders. and they're so excited. and so many of the parents are really excited. and i've already gotten a couple of the essays already and i've read through them and they're phenomenal essays. so, it's that whole piece of starting early, you know, to actually make college a success for students, because financially, you know, it is really difficult. so, it's important that we as d.c. cap advisers find that money for them so that they can achieve their goals. >> and who better to advise and counsel? let's talk about, i've been

hearing a lot about ninth grade. and she points out, the earlier, the better. that makes a big difference. >> well, yes. i mean, really, the earlier students and families are focused on post secondary education, the better, not just for financial reasons, which are very, very important, but really, for emotional and psychological reasons. a lot of what tiffany does, it's not just helping to find money and educating on planning and financial planning. it's to instill a confidence in the student, that you can go to college. >> absolutely. >> you can do this. this is important. regardless of where you're starting, we can help get you there. and so, it's the relationship that we start with the ninth graders, and it goes on for nine years, through the five years of college, is critical. and the relationship that we have with the parents is critical, too, because we are now, we have families where three and four children in that same family have gone on to college from a family where no one had ever been. >> wow. >> and so, for us, by doing that more sort of holistic investment in the family, we feel that we've broken the cycle of

undereducation. we know, from now on, in that family, those generations to come will more than likely go on to college. so, it's very, very important. >> mr. ross, i want to talk a little bit about keeping the students in college once they're accepted and once they enroll. and i think back in 1999, before you folks even started up, what was it, about 15%, no more than, actually graduated from college. are you improving upon that number? and how tough is that? because a lot of -- in the past two or three years, a lot of people all over the country are having a tough time affording to stay in college after that freshman or sophomore year. >> yeah, as you indicated, it is a very tough job. but one of the things that our leaders at d.c. cap had the foresight to do was to add a retention division to the program. we have retention counselors who are following our students in colleges, and we use -- we start with them in high school. we develop a risk matrix that allows us to determine who may get in trouble during their

early college years. and we're able to focus on those young people, and we help them with developing what courses they're going to take, how to access their financial aid office, their registrar's office, and just picking roommates, how to navigate through that process, and -- >> college reps. >> yeah, college reps. we actually pay upper class students additional scholarship monies to work with the younger students at our higher attending colleges. and they do a wonderful job for us in keeping us abreast of what some of the problems or the trends may be that those particular colleges or universities. so, we invest a lot of time in those students. and additionally, we have a lot of walk-in traffic. parents come to see us about their kids. because oftentimes, we have more information than the student has shared with mom or dad because we -- >> sure. >> we get the grades from the students in college. we know everything about them, per se, because they've shared

this information. we have a very intrusive process going on here. >> that's great. knowledge is a good thing. get it out there. >> yeah, get it out there. this actually allows us to be over the national average. we're seeing, we're graduating about 38% of those students. >> fantastic. >> but we're not going to rest on that. we want to get to the national average with our students. and when we first started it was less than half that amount that was actually graduating. >> right. >> so, we've more than doubled the amount of students we're graduating and we've tripled the number who actually go to college. because in fact, this is a little-known fact. about 92% of all the students in the public and the public charter schools actually do college applications and are accepted into college, and 63% of them actually go on to college in the fall. >> well, if you'd like to learn more about the program, we're going to put up the address once again for d.c. cap, and we're going to take another quick break and pick up the conversation from here. again, learning more about their big program when w

good morning. i'm angie goff. here are some of the stories we're following right now. the man suspected in a series of home invasions in maryland is behind bars. kevin ray was arrested in kitty hawk, north carolina. he's wanted in a string of home invasions last week in bethesda, wheaton and temple hills. according to italian state tv this morning, the captain of a luxury cruise liner is being investigated for suspected manslaughter. the "costa concordia" hit a reef and capsized friday night, killing at least three people. authorities suspect the captain deliberately steered the ship to shallow waters, then abandoned the cruise liner. for the first time since the sex scandal broke out at penn state university, we're hearing from former head football coach joe paterno. he tells "the washington post" he wished he had done more. according to court documents, in 2002, an assistant coach told him he saw jerry sandusky abusing a boy. we'll have more news and weather in 15.

and welcome back to "viewpoint." again, we're talking about d.c. cap, and there is a big event coming up march 5th at the kennedy center. >> we're very excited about it. >> but there's this talent contest leading up to this, and everybody at home can go online and vote, is that right? >> yes. >> tell us about this. >> it's the d.c. capitol starts at the kennedy center march 5th. we've held auditions throughout the city. and students can come, they can either sing, it's instrumental or dance. and in front of a group of professional judges, choreographers, producers, we whittled the field down to 41 finalists who are now at the c dccap.com website. the top ten vote-getters will perform at the kennedy center on march 5th in front of a group of celebrity judges. and the audience has handheld devices to -- >> really? oh, this is great! >> it's a hoot. it's a hoot. and so, the winners -- it's all about scholarship money. >> yeah. >> it's all about helping them go on to college. but really, we highlight just --

there's so much talent throughout the city. and a lot of times, you don't hear the good stories about kids. you hear the bad stories. but we have such incredible set of students in the city. so, this is just an opportunity to bring them forward and have the world see. >> what a great way to showcase the program. this has been a non-profit from the beginning. privately funded. >> privately funded. >> talk about the need and who you'd like to hear from. not just individuals, but companies out there, too. >> yeah. we are completely privately funded and our support is based on corporations and foundations who care about education. we would love the support of really, all the kornsicorporati d.c., because this is a d.c. issue and these are d.c. students we're educating with the goal of helping the economy. so, we are always soliciting funds, volunteers from corporations and foundations in the area as well as individuals. you don't have to give $1,000 or $10,000, you know.

you can become a regular giver. giver $100. that can make a difference. i mean, you know, just buying books in school now is a crazy amount, so you can give a book fund, you can -- >> oh, that's a good way to do it. >> you can help fund a kid to go to a college tour. so, any level, you know, is more than helpful. and so, we encourage people to give because we honestly believe that investing in education is probably the single most important investment that you can make, whether it's in an individual, the family, the communi community, the city. because it's long-term, it's exponential. >> mr. ross, you were talking during the break, you've got students in all 50 states, mainly in colleges around our region, though, too. and some are going to junior colleges first, then transferring. there's so many options out there for them. >> yeah, there are many options out there for young people. and again, with the economy being so sour now, a lot of families are choosing to go the two-year route first because it's cheaper, and then transfer to a four-year school. but we do, in fact, have

students at over 500 colleges and universities across america, not just the mainland, but we also have students at the university of the virgin islands also, so -- >> wow. >> which we should go visit. >> i know. in february. >> yes. >> in february. >> there are more than 7,000, i believe, colleges and universities in america. and when a student comes to us, it's our job to make sure that we find a college or a university that's suitable for that particular child. so, we have a lot to choose from, and we love doing what we do. >> this is where tiffany comes in, too. >> yeah. >> because you're hands on with this application process with the students. >> right. >> you were talking about having backups and backups to backups, because it's a very stressful time for students anywhere applying to college these days. >> yes. >> as a d.c. cap adviser, we require our students to apply to at least three colleges, which one of them is a safety school. and i always, in my school, i take it a little step further and i have them do six.

i have them do two safety schools, one of which has a college campus where they can stay with oncampus housing, because a lot of times, the students might not necessarily have the best grades or they're not as academically prepared. so, going away to a two-year school that will give them that foundation and give them that educational support that they really need, but also giving them the opportunity to go away to college is really important, because a lot of times they want to get out of their neighborhood and go into a dorm and have that dorm activity and that dorm life. and just, you know, working with the students and identifying a college that fits them and just, you know, having them not work to fit the college but to have the college fit them. and you know, you don't want to send a student away, far away, who is, you know, afraid to, you know, that whole comfort zone. >> sure. >> so, that's that whole thing. and it's working with students individually. you know, you're not going to select a college for all of the

students, but you're going to select the one that's individually going to fit that student for their individual needs. >> a perfect fit. >> yeah, a perfect fit. >> and actually, at d.c. cap overall, last year we did over 22,000 college apps, and that came out to 6.3 applications per student, so our students have really exceeded our expectations. >> right, it is about choice, which a lot has to do with the d.c. tech legislation. and we're very grateful to our congressional partners who pushed this, because it's allowed students to have a choice. which makes a big difference. >> we'll take a quick break and flash up the web address one ♪ [ male announcer ] from our nation's networks... ♪ ...to our city streets... ♪ ...to skies around the world... ♪ ...northrop grumman's security solutions are invisibly at work, protecting people's lives... [ soldier ] move out!

[ male announcer ] ...without their even knowing it. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

building toward a big event coming up at the kennedy center involving d.c. cap. this is a huge fund-raiser, and it has a contest going on, as we mentioned, the d.c. stars talent competition. tell us about how big this is for you in terms of raising money and how important it is to raising money.

>> it is. it is critical. this is our main fund-raiser of the year. and for us, it's critical. i mean, we're getting ready to send approximately 2,000 kids to college this coming fall. and so, every penny, every dollar helps. and so, we hope that the gala helps inspire people to give, corporations to sponsor, and folks just to come out and support the kids and to support d.c. cap and the work we try to do for the city. >> mr. ross, tell us a little bit about the money end of all of this, too. and do you see people who, they could not go to college without this program, certainly. >> yeah, many of our students are first-generation college students. i believe the average income is around $35,000, $40,000. and with the cost of colleges now rising, and some of your private colleges in the $60,000-a-year range, it's become more increasingly important for us to be able to tap in to financial resources across the city as well as to

extend our collaborations with other non-profits, governmental agencies, et cetera, in trying to get our young people to go to college. >> and tiffany, you stay in touch with some of the students that you get into college? >> yeah, i do. this is my second year as an adviser, so a lot of my students from last year came back to see me on their break, and i'm so proud of them and so excited to see them. and so, i'm always a phone call away and they text me, so they're very tech-savvy. >> stay in touch. >> they're like, i need help with my fasa. twlaz that retention piece comes in. so i talk to them and then send them to their retention adviser where they can get additional help, and that's just, like, one of the greatest pieces that d.c. cap follows them. so, i'm always here for them, but they do have another adviser as well. >> how wonderful that you came back to give back. we want to thank you all. >> we want to thank you. thank you so much. >> wish you the best march 5th at the kennedy center. >> well, we hope you can join us. >> the work you've done over the years is tremendous. >> thank you. >> it's all giving back in the community, so we want to thank

you. >> thank you. >> again, we want to put up that address, too. if you'd like to help learn more about the resources or how you might be able to volunteer, too, all you have to do is go to the web address, dccap.org or call. that's it for "viewpoint" this sunday morning. enjoy the rest of your weekend, everybody. now back to "news 4 today." welcome to "news 4 today." i'm angie goff. >> and i'm chris gordon. well, the man suspected in a series of home invasions in maryland is behind bars this morning. >> local police tracked him down to kitty hawk, north carolina. he didn't go down without a fight, though. darcy spencer explains. >> reporter: a string of assaults in montgomery and

prince georges counties. he lives on gable lane in washington but was apprehended in kitty hawk, north carolina, on the outer banks, nearly 300 miles away. concern that this person accused of these sex crimes was right next door? >> there's a concern, definitely, you know, but i prefer to not judge people until we find out exactly what happens and it's proven. >> reporter: according to online court documents, ray has an extensive arrest record. they show he pleaded guilty to third-degree sex offense in 2005 and was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison. he's listed on maryland's sex offender registry. police say on tuesday morning, ray robbed a woman at gunpoint on mcmahon road in wheaton and later used her debit card to get cash. on wednesday morning, police say ray forced his way into a home on bardon road in bethesda, tying up three victims and sexually assaulting the housekeeper. police say the suspect also used the victim's credit card in the d.c. metro area. >> we know that residents in

those specific communities as well as residents throughout the county were certainly concerned at his brazenness and his boldness. so, we're very excited tonight to let the public know that he's in custody. >> reporter: late saturday, prince george's county police issued a warrant charging him with robbing and sexually assaulting a woman on berkeley street in temple hills on friday morning. authorities say ray was captured at a walmart in north carolina. he's now at a detention center waiting to be brought back here to maryland to face some very serious charges. in bethesda, darcy spencer, "news 4 today." d.c. police are looking for two men who pretended to be cops and robbed a man. investigators say the imposters pulled him over in southeast early yesterday morning by putting a flashlight in their dashboard. they even had guns and jackets that read "police." detectives say the men then ordered the driver out of his car, went through his pockets and stole his cash. police have not released a description of the two men that they're looking for.

win prince george's county discovered a body wrapped in plastic. he was perry earl hunt. police say maintenance workers found him wrapped behind a dumpster on doewood lane early friday morning. investigators are trying to figure out who killed hunt and why. if you know anything about this case, you're asked to call prince george's county police. new this morning, rescuers found a third person alive on a cruise liner that capsized near italy. it comes as authorities investigate the captain for possible misconduct. the "costa concordia" hit a reef off the tuscan coast friday night. three people died. nearly 40 others are still missing. rescuers found a south korean couple alive on the ship yesterday. they had taken the cruise for their honeymoon. just moments ago, the bbc reported rescuers pulled a crew member off the ship with a broken leg. meanwhile, others who survived say the capsizing seems straight out of the movie "titanic."

>> then we had a blackout and everybody was just screaming. all the passengers were running up and down. then we went to our cabins to get to know what's going on. and then they said that we should stay calm, it's nothing. but the ship was already tilt, so you can imagine the ship already like this. >> according to italian state tv, the captain could face manslaughter charges. authorities say he possibly deliberately steered the ship to shallow waters, then abandoned the cruise liner, leaving 4,200 people on board. well, it is cold out there. is it going to, the sun going to help at all today? >> it will help some, yes, but not enough, i'm afraid. a lot of people are going to be outside trying to enjoy a little bit of their weekend activities. maybe you're coming downtown washington to the convention center for our health and fitness expo today. my first piece of health and fitness advice, walk quickly and wear a heavy jacket. >> after being there yesterday, we want to let you know, we have

a coat check. so don't worry about carrying your big coat on metro. you check it at the door. >> nice to know of the a lot of customers were wearing their coats coming through the line to see us, so good to know. good stuff. we'll need it today. temperatures early on a sunday morning teens and 20s in many spots this morning. places like frederick, maryland, are down into the low 20s. gaithersburg, up towards damascus, maryland, into the upper teens this morning. upper 20s right in washington, as we look live with our city camera view here. there's a bit of a breeze coming down the river this morning, coming from the north and west. it's going to keep things on the cold side today as more cold air just keeps slipping and sliding ever southbound. 30 right now in annapolis. that's one of the warm spots. cambridge, maryland, out on the eastern shore, is at 32. but everybody across northern virginia now well below freezing, and back down into the low and mid-20s from winchester. culpeper, amosville, manassas 25 degrees. cold stuff all day, pretty much

start to finish odd. just a couple fair-weather clouds around early this morning. we'll be left with an abundant amount of sunshine today. highs, though, only climbing into the low and mid-30s. so, this will be the third day this month with a high below 40 degrees. and it will be the third time this winter that we've had a high below 40 degrees in this mild winter of ours. >> you call that climbing? >> well, it's warmer than 27. >> all right, we'll take it. >> it's great. it's not creepy, it's creeping. >> fair enough. >> all right, thanks. well, for the first time since the sex scandal broke out at penn state university, we're hearing from former head football coach joe paterno. paterno was fired two months ago after former defensive coordinator jerry sandusky was charged with sexually abusing at least ten boys over a 15-year period. now, in an interview with "the washington post," paterno says, in hindsight, he wishes he had done more. according to court documents, in 2002, assistant coach mike mcqueary told him he saw

sandusky abusing a boy in a locker room. paterno says he was confused about how to handle the situation. >> and then i called my superiors, and i said, "hey, we've got a problem, i think. would you guys look into it?" because i didn't know, you know. i had never had to deal with something like that, and i didn't feel adequate. >> sources close to paterno say he was furious when he was fired. but in the interview, he insists he's not bitter. penn state will continue to pay out paterno's contract as well as his legal fees. south carolina is now the new focus of "decision 2012." the state's primary is next saturday, less than a week away. republican presidential candidates headed to charleston this weekend for a forum. undecided voters were invited to ask most of the questions. newt gingrich zeroed in on his rival's time at bane capital. he says republicans need to scrutinize mitt romney's role

with the private equity firm. meanwhile, romney focused on the economy. he said he wants government out of the housing business so the free market can work. ron paul was the only gop candidate who did not attend the forum. instead, he was at home in texas. a new reuters/ipsos south carolina poll gives romney a wide lead over his rivals ahead of next week's primary. 37% of republican voters back the former massachusetts governor's race. ron paul and rick santorum tied for second place with 16% support. gingrich fell back after holding a strong lead in south carolina in december. he finished fourth with 12% in the poll. well, rick santorum gained a key endorsement this weekend ahead of that south carolina primary. a group of national family and religious leaders are now backing him. the endorsement comes on the last sunday of worship before next week's race. earlier this morning, we had "meet the press" moderator david gregory with us here in the studio. we asked him about romney's commanding lead and if he thinks anyone can catch up.

>> but everybody recognizes that romney has a great deal of momentum, down even in south carolina. you know, there's a thought, well, this is going to be the most challenging primary state for him, and that's probably true up until now, but he's still a very commanding presence, having gone 2-0 thus far. a group of evangelicals have thrown their support behind santorum, but they're not calling on anybody else to get out. so, the field remains what it is. and as long as it's that big, romney has an opportunity to win with even a relatively low percentage. if you go back four years ago, john mccain had 33%. romney could do that and win with a field this big. >> gop candidate newt gingrich will be a guest on "meet the press" this morning. david gregory will also interview senate majority leader harry reid on whether he believes anything can be accomplished on capitol hill this election year. you can catch "meet the press" right here on nbc 4 at 10:30 this morning. >> and we will. right now, just 20 minutes

away from the start of the 8:00 hour. still ahead, a look at some of the great exhibits you'll find at this year's nbc 4's health and fitness expo. also ahead, airfares on most carriers may be about to go up without costing you an extra dime. we'll explain why when we return.

thanks, mom. who are you calling "mom"? dunkin' sausage pancake bites, delicious like mom's, only easier to carry -- get three for $1.59. well, the "today" show is next on nbc 4. it starts at 8:00. >> let's get a preview. lester holt joins us live from new york city. good morning, lester. >> chris and angie, good

morning. coming up on "today," we'll get the latest on that overturned cruise ship off the coast of italy. a third survivor was rescued from inside the ship this morning as crews continue their search and recovery. at least 17 people are unaccounted for. we'll talk with a pair of americans who were on that ship. then, former penn state football coach joe paterno is speaking out. he tells "the washington post" he "didn't know which way to go" when he learned of allegations of child sex abuse by an assistant coach. we're joined by the reporter who interviewed paterno. then, oh, no, tebow! the new england patriots pounded tim tebow's denver broncos yesterday. so, is this the end of tebow mania? we'll talk about it. and it's a golden night in hollywood. i'll have the glitz and glamour as celebrities gather for one of hollywood's biggest nights. those stories and more when jen and i see you later on "today." right now, chris and angie, we'll send it back to you. >> thank you, lester. iran says that it has evidence that the u.s. was behind the killing of one of its nuclear scientists.

mustafa roshan was killed wednesday when a magnetic bomb was placed on his car by two people on a motorcycle. iran immediately blamed the u.s. and israel for the attack. well, now iran's state tv reported that the iranian foreign minister has reliable documents and evidence that the bombing was somehow connected to the cia. the white house and state department officials say the u.s. had absolutely nothing to do with the attack. new numbers out this morning show 2011 capped off a big year for alcohol sales in virginia the. the state's beverage control stores and restaurants made more than $21 million in 2011, which is a record. that translate to nearly 10 million gallons of wine, spirits and non-alcoholic mixers sold. sunday store sales jumped almost 10%. the profits come during discussions over possibly privatizing state liquor stores. today and tomorrow, thousands of people will celebrate and honor martin

luther king jr. today marks dr. king's 83rd birthday. the national park service will hold a wreath-laying ceremony at the new mlk memorial at noon today. tomorrow, the national cathedral will hold a special service to celebrate king's legacy with a concert and day of service. king delivered his last sunday sermon at the cathedral before his assassination in 1968. and after eight years, the mlk day parade is returning to southeast washington. festivities will kick off tomorrow at the friendship public charter school and end at leckie elementary school. boxing champion lamont peterson will serve as one of the grand marshals. you may be in for a surprise the next time you book a flight. the government is ordering airlines to make their fares more transparent. that means those hidden fees that always seem to find their way into your fare won't be so hidden anymore. nbc news' tom costello has more

on the changes. >> reporter: if you bought an airline ticket online, chances are, it's happened to you. you think you found a great deal, you click "buy," and then -- >> i get really upset because i don't think it's fair. you're all excited, you have a budget, you think it's the one price and then they add all these other prices, and it just stinks. >> they don't show that online. they give you one price, but by the time you go click to your ticket, you see another price. >> reporter: all that is about to change as truth in advertising comes to the airline industry. >> total tax, title license, all airfares. any time you do an advertisement, any time you display any type of fare. >> reporter: beginning january 26th, all airline ticket prices must include any government taxes and fees when the ticket price is made public. once added up, that can raise a ticket price by 20%, and the airlines will also have to tell you the cost up front of checking your luggage. >> all of the fees that the airlines will charge you will be listed, whether it's a baggage fee, the taxes that you might

pay. >> reporter: but the airlines complain they're being treated unfairly, pointing out that when you shop at a store, taxes and fees aren't included in the list price until you go pay at the register. and that's what happens when you buy a ticket online. in a statement to nbc news, the airline industry says all members airlines provide details on ticket prices and other charges prior to purchase today, before you click "buy." southwest, spirit and aleejt airlines are suing to block the rules, though a decision isn't expected soon. meanwhile, a few more customer-friendly rules take effect this month. airlines must promptly notify passengers of cancellations, diversions or delays of more than 30 minutes. and customers will have 24 hours after making a reservation to change or cancel the reservation without a penalty. >> i just bought one yesterday that was $100 in taxes. >> reporter: at least now, all those taxes and fees will be clearly stated before you click. tom costello, nbc news, washington.

now, with the weather we're having, any problems anywhere in the country for people flying out? >> very easy flying, really. for most of the winter, we haven't had a lot high-impact weather storms to worry about, so that's been welcome news for everyone here -- >> knock on wood. >> -- coming or going from the washington area. and today looks like a nice day for traveling. it's also a nice day to stay in around washington. we'll talk about our forecast coming up next. dad, a big giant bee! get it! hang on, pumpkin. aw! bad call, dad! hey, sweetie. guess what, the bees came back and i broke the phone... no, no that was unrelated. you know what, why don't you call it to see if it works?

pretty sure it's broken. probably right. looks like we're in new phone territory. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay.

cold, cold, cold. >> yes. >> it is back. and as you mentioned, winter is here. >> yeah, well, but this is what you sort of expect in january. a couple of cold days where you're like, oh, i hate winter! >> i know. >> it makes you appreciate the spring. >> you're right. >> you know, got like 24 inches

of snow -- >> who did? >> for skiing, snow. >> oh, okay. >> and i hope our local areas at least can make some. >> well, welcome news for them, whether you're going out to roundtop or whisper or any of the local resorts. it's at least cold enough to make the snow. the problem we've been having all winter is even when it's cold enough to make it, it warms back up and they can't keep the snow they make. and that's an expensive process for the ski resorts as well. so, with any luck, we'll try to get a little more cold air to actually stick around, of all things, for a couple of days. snow-making conditions will be maxed out for today and tonight across most of the local resorts. out again, it's been a snow-challenged winter, not just here, but out west. utah and colorado all have way low snow counts for the winter. outside, though, it's at least cold, cold enough for snow, should we actually get enough moisture around here to turn it into anything. but alas, our sky camera picture here tells the story of what will be another cold but dry day in washington. a blue sky overhead, really,

this morning, the first rays of sunshine now bouncing off the south-facing buildings there in downtown washington. temperatures have been slow to move. we're still holding, in fact, at 27 degrees here in town. winds out of the northwest at 9 miles per hour. so, there's a hint of a windchill out there for you this morning. and as you get out into the northern and western suburbs, noticeably colder. 19 now in gaithersburg, rockville, bethesda, chevy chase all in the low 20s. out into fairfax county, from the west side of arlington through falls church, dulles, restin town center, low 20s in all those locations this morning. and the cold air has moved well down to our south as well. fredericksburg is at 28, charlottesville, virginia, 24 degrees this morning. so, a beautiful blue sky out there means it's going to be a mostly sunny day, but even with the sunshine, temperatures will hold today for high temperatures in the mid-30s. so, there's a big bundle-up factor for your sunday afternoon plans. nothing showing up on doppler in the immediate vicinity. there were a few lonely snowflakes and rain drops down

across tidewater, virginia, very early this morning. that's all gone now and we'll be left with a mostly sunny day today. you can see on the satellite, look at the clouds, clearing out. so, we'll be left with a beautiful-looking day today. walk on the sunny side of the street. that's my best free advice tomorrow you today. cold weather, crisp and feeling oh, so winterlike around here for today. once the sun goes down tonight, temperatures will plummet once again. we're headed for upper teens to low 20s again for your monday morning. so, a cold start tomorrow. high pressure gradually heading for the eastern seaboard. we'll turn our winds back around to the south by tomorrow afternoon. that will allow the cloud cover to come back and a chance for some moisture to get here before the temperatures get above freezing. so, there may be a little chance of some snow or ice. this is in the early morning hours of tuesday morning. association after midnight monday night and before the sun comes up on tuesday. there might be a little wintry precipitation before it all becomes rain. so, for today, a mix of sun and clouds, a lot more sun than clouds, though, so i'm optimistic you'll at least like

the way the day looks. highs today low 30s. tomorrow upper 30s to near 40, but clouds on the increase tomorrow, which will lead to rain on tuesday. a blustery and cold day showing up on wednesday, leaving us with a chilly finish to the upcoming weekend. next weekend looks milder but maybe a little sun. >> all right. >> okay. >> thank you, chuck. >> you're welcome. investigators have interviewed an advertising executive whose three daughters and parents died in a christmas morning fire at her connecticut home. ladonna badger escaped the fire along with a male friend who happened to be doing renovations on the five-bedroom house. officials say they're trying to determine if the house had working smoke detectors. they say the fire was started by embers in a bag of discarded fireplace ashes. the fire killed badger's 7-year-old twin girls as well as her 9-year-old daughter and their grandparents. four years after he served in afghanistan, prince harry is preparing to return to the

country. the 27-year-old is on track to complete his training to fly apache helicopters in war zones this week. pilots can be sent to the front line three months after completing the course. royal air force officials say prince harry will likely be heading back to afghanistan before the end of the year. a massachusetts man has volunteered to give up all of his precious pets, all 94 of them, to be exact. he asked a shelter to take his pet hamsters because he was running out of room at his apartment. a shelter employee said the man was overwhelmed with emotion when workers took the hamsters away in cages. he wanted to keep a few but changed his mind. the shelter says the animals will be very well cared for and will make nice pets for new owners. >> that's good news. well, this is a party with a purpose going on. >> this weekend is the 19th annual nbc 4 health and fitness expo. chris, chuck and i, we were all there yesterday. here are some highlights from day one at the washington convention center.

♪ >> reporter: shaking our way into shape at the nbc 4 health and fitness expo. >> it's just a great way, in my opinion, to get the knowledge out there to people who might not have health care. >> reporter: from high-energy aerobics to hooping it up, there's something for everyone. >> whoo! >> reporter: kids got a whole new take on the game "operation," while others worked their own heart. >> how do you feel? >> good! >> reporter: in addition, hundreds of booths offered free tests and screenings. >> get my eyes checked, my ears, you know, my blood sugar. >> reporter: james coleman's mission goes beyond the booth. >> i want to live a long life. and i want to be around for my kids for later on, maybe my grandchildren. >> reporter: also around, "the biggest loser's" an tone and ramone. it's a place where no matter your pace, everyone wins. >> ah, those babies, the diaper race was so adorable. the expo opens again at 9:00 this morning and runs until 5:00

this evening. and we also have a nice little picture, i believe, from yesterday, give you evidence that we were there. >> all there. >> it's so funny, we're all sitting next to each other. funny how that all -- >> 15 minutes there, we were all as a group. it was fun. >> i know, and we hope everybody can come down again. chuck will be there around 3:00. tom kierein tweeted he will be there after 2:00. >> it was your first time. did you have fun? >> it was my first time. i was blown away. i truly was. i thought it was just a health fair, to be honest. >> oh, my gosh! it's just a shocking number of people. >> well, you walk in, and i mean, it's just -- you're so distracted because you don't know where to go. i never even made it over to one side of the expo. >> well, that's what's so amazing about it. i think they average about 100 to 120,000 people combined for both days over the weekend. so, it's just very well received by the community. we love doing it. everybody loves coming out to see it, and it's just a fun chance for everybody. >> we meet the people we work for, the viewers. >> exactly. no kidding. >> yeah, yeah. and they're all so nice and there's so many kids and it's so

high-energy, you know? there's so many great demos out there. >> good stuff. >> good times, good times. well, moving on to the news, we've got some good news for you. a 23-year-old opera singer is crowned the new miss america. >> miss wisconsin! >> laura keppler from kenosha, wisconsin. her platform during the competition was supporting and mentoring children of incarcerated parents. not only does she win the crown, but also a $50,000 scholarship. keppler will reign for one year, making personal appearances all around the country. and that's it for "news 4 today." we'll be back in 25 minutes with a local news update. >> and please join us again for a full hour