Skip to main content

tv   News 4 at 6  NBC  January 19, 2012 6:00pm-7:00pm EST

6:00 pm
before the republican presidential primary in south carolina. texas governor rick perry quits the race and immediately endorses newt gingrich. it was another blow for mitt romney in a day that did not start well. steve handelsman is live in columbia, south carolina, with tonight's top story. >> reporter: just kept coming today. we have the revenge of a wife, the recon of a caucus, and the resurgence of the candidate named gingrich. this columbia, south carolina that is the state capitol building, a state where rick perry getting out today does not make the front-runner in the state, mitt romney happy. he wants conservative voters in the state to split their votes. now there's one fewer candidate. romney is concerned many votes will coalesce around the candidate who perry endorsed today as he quit. rick perry said the republican mission is to beat barack obama and to replace him with a true conservative. >> i am suspending my campaign and endorsing newt gingrich for
6:01 pm
president of the united states. i believe newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country. >> reporter: gingrich is surging in south carolina. ten points behind mitt romney in today's nbc news marist poll. ron paul at 16. rick santorum at 14. but in polling since monday's debate, gingrich trails romney by just five. >> the only effective conservative vote on saturday is for newt gingrich. >> reporter: romney praised perry. >> a terrific guy. terrific conservative. been a great governor. was great in the race. >> reporter: but he slammed gingrich. the speaker was talking about all the jobs that he helped create in the reagan years. he had been in congress two years when reagan came to office. >> reporter: romney got more bad news. from iowa where he claimed his first 2012 win. officials there say today a new count puts santorum ahead and there's more potentially damaging financial news about romney. he sent some of his millions to the cayman islands.
6:02 pm
but aides deny romney used the secretive banks there to dodge u.s. taxes. gingrich got bad news in this religious state. a reminder of his three marriages and infidelity from his second wife on abc. >> he was asking to have an open marriage and i refused. no. no. that is not a marriage. >> campaigning with his current wife calista gingrich said turning to 10-year-old family matters is wrong. along with the mary ann gingrich interview tonight the four remaining candidates debate again here in south carolina. it's shaping up as a romney/gingrich slugfest. live from columbia, steve handelsman, news 4. wendy, doreen, back to you. >> all right. thank you, steve. two veteran metro employees have been accused of stealing thousands of dollars in coins from fare machines. investigators say they then took the money and tried their luck with lottery tickets.
6:03 pm
we're near the metro yard in alexandria with details on what led to their arrest. >> reporter: we're at the yard where you might say this is the other end of the coin slot. when you put your money in the machine eventually it will end up in a facility like this to be counted and deposited. what got the investigation going was a merchant who became suspicious what he regular customer showed up buying lottery tickets with bags of coins. while sochlt peopme of the peop center of the scheme hit the lottery several times with each winning it turns out the luck was running out. it was december 13th according to court documents and metro revenue techniques horace mcdade and police officer john hale made a call on the fare card machines here at the do yupont station and collected money. they were being watched by detectives. court documents say the machines at do you ponchartrain weren't scheduled for service and the money only got as far as this underpass not far from the revenue facility.
6:04 pm
>> i am thoroughly disgusted and dismayed by the events alleged to have taken place by these two employees. >> reporter: mcdade and hale were arrested this week accused of stealing thousands of dollars in change from metro fare card machines and spending most of it on virginia state lottery tickets. >> sometimes there's bad apples. it hams. but, i mean, this has never, ever happened before. i'm sure it probably won't happen again. >> reporter: prosecutors say the two have devised a scheme. money, mostly coins, would be collected from machines by mcdade with hale keeping guard. they drop off bags of money on the way back to the revenue facility and then pick it up after their shifts end. as a result i've ordered that a forensic accountant from deloitte tususche join the investigation to look at existing control systems to determine what more improvements have to be made. >> reporter: authorities say the pair netted more than $28,000 this way between october and december of last year. metro is not sure how much is alleged to have been taken all
6:05 pm
together. if the allegations do prove true metro's gm says some of the costs of the crimes can be measured in dollars and cents. >> it's a betrayal of the trust of our customers, of washington metro itself, and of the thousands of honest employees here. >> reporter: now the lottery board apparently tells the court that there's been about $64,000 in payoffs to mr. haley over the past four years and they also note, the courts do at least, the prosecutors note there's about $150,000 questionable account deposits made in hailey's account. whether it stems from this remains to be seen. both men are due back in court on monday. if convicted could get up to five years in jail. we are live here in alexandria. back to you. >> thanks, derrick. there were raids here in washington and across the world today connected to a massive online piracy operation. the u.s. justice department and fbi are conducting the raids at server sites for the website megaupload.
6:06 pm
the founder of the website, somebody named kim dot com was arrested in new zealand today. dot com and six others are accused of illegally reproducing and distributing everything from movies to software. investigators say the operation generated $175 million and cost companies $500 million in lost revenue. a warning for parents about a suspicious man who has been lingering near a northern virginia elementary school. police say the man drives a red, dented pickup truck. he has been seen waving and calling to students outside of clairmont elementary in the alexandria area of fairfax county. students reported seeing him on three occasions in late december and then he was spotted again, twice last thursday, and again on tuesday, forcing police to step up their patrols. i think it's a threat but i think you have to, like any threat, be cautious and just have to keep doing what you do every day and make your children aware of it.
6:07 pm
>> so far there have been no reports of children being touched or injured. there is going to be a public safety meeting with fairfax county police, school officials, and parents tonight. 7:30 at clairmont elementary. in potomac investigators are trying to figure out what caused flames to rip through the family home last night causing $750,000 in damage. a woman inside told investigators she saw a spark come from a light switch when she flipped it on. no one was injured. tonight new images from the washington monument as crews repair cracks and other damage caused by last august's earthquake. the popular tourist attraction has been shut down since the quake but tonight a local businessman is stepping in to help change that. he made a sizable donation today to ensure that the monument is repaired and able to be open for the public once again. tom sherwood joins us from the national mall where the big announcement was made this morning. tom? >> reporter: doreen, david rubenstein is not a very well known name to the public.
6:08 pm
but today he stepped up to help fix one of the public's favorite monuments. at this point we cannot give a hard estimate on when we will have it reopened. >> reporter: a rare earthquake here last august cracked the historic stone structure. inspection teams inside and out documented $50 million in damages, millions more than the u.s. park service could afford. >> please join me in giving him thanks for his generosity. >> reporter: now stepping to the rescue thursday was local billionaire businessman david rubenstein donating $7.5 million to pay half the restoration costs. >> as soon as i heard about the earthquake i thought because it's an important symbol of our country if i could help in some modest way i would like to do so. that's what i wanted to do. the original monument cost about a million dollars to build it. it was made with $1 contributions. that just shows thaw the cost of things go up. but today, i don't know what it would cost to rebuild this
6:09 pm
entire monument if you started from scratch but considerably higher than a million dollars. >> the quiet billionaire has made other significant local donations to the nation's capital including $25 million to the kennedy center, $4.5 million to the national zoo to spur better panda research and procreation. and $21 million for a rare copy of the magna carta for the national archives. but thursday was a day to focus on george washington and his monument. my parents took me there when i was 8 or 9 years old and those days you could walk down i don't know if in recent years you'd be able to walk down or not but i walked down and it was a long walk down and when i walked down recently a week or so ago it seemed longer. it has some fissures and cracks but when you think about how it was built, you know, it was pretty well built. >> the private trust for the national mall welcomed the rubenstein gift. >> david, thank you so very much for your generosity. this is an extraordinary gift to the nation and we believe that
6:10 pm
you are a true patriot in our campaign to restore the national mall. >> the washington monument is very pretty at night but the only time you'll be able to see it is during the day and at night outside it's going to be more than a year. 2013 before it reopens inside. doreen, back to you. >> it's a big project. thank you, tom sherwood. it as state, there is a state of emergency declared in washington state after a monster snowstorm brought things to a standstill knocking out power to tens of thousands and causing hundreds of cars to slide off the icy roadways there. two deaths blamed on the storm. the airport in seattle forced to shut down for several hours after icy conditions there made it impossible for flights to take off or land. the emergency declaration allows the use of national guard troops to help deal with the aftermath of the storm. president obama went to disney world today pledging to make america the top travel
6:11 pm
destination in the world. he announced an executive order to speed up visa processing in china and brazil. the president says it could create more than 1 million american jobs over the next decade. >> this is what this is all about. telling the world that america is open for business. making it a safe and simple as possible to visit. helping our businesses all across the country grow and create jobs. >> president obama also added business executives to a tourism advisory board. they include elliot ferguson the president of destination d.c. it's the first time that d.c. has had a seat on the board. coming up next, a surprise witness in the cruise ship disaster. a woman is now coming to the captain's defense saying his actions saved countless lives. >> a young boy allegedly sexually assaulted during a sleepover in the district. police say it happened as the suspect's children tried to intervene. a new tell all about john f.
6:12 pm
kennedy jr.'s troubled marriage and the ill fated trip to cape cod. chances are you thought about driving on the shoulder to get around traffic but now there is talk about making that a reality on a local interstate. >> veronica is starting to feel like january out there. >> that's right. we're talking flurries tonight. no individualss for the flurries but a bigger storm that follows will bring everything from ice to snow and rain. i'll have the details, coming up. ahead a showdown with tom brady. there is a rift in the ravens' locker room plus the capitals bounce back from a shutout in convincing fashion. and how the wizards prevailed in a battle of first versus worst.
6:13 pm
♪ ♪ [ 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.
6:14 pm
6:15 pm
police have identified a woman who forced an elderly woman to take thousands of dollars out of her bank account last week. they issued an arrest warrant for 48-year-old linda mccorkle of chillam maryland. police say she first approached the victim at a store asking the 84-year-old to help her cash a check so she could feed her hungry children. when the victim agreed to help the suspect forced her to drive to her bank in langley park and withdraw cash. investigators were able to identify mccorkle through an anonymous tip and surveillance video that was provided by the bank. some new developments in the deadly cruise ship crash off the coast of italy. crews resumed the search for
6:16 pm
passengers today. 21 people are still missing. a new audio recording raises questions about the captain's actions shortly after that ship ran aground but tonight a ship employee is being questioned after defending the way the captain handled the disaster. duncan golistani has more from italy. >> reporter: today there has been much more activity on the costa concordia with divers able to go back on. they have been trying to access parts of decking 80 millimeters below water. and that's important because it was a meeting point so potentially passengers might have gone there during an emergency. unfortunately, the divers didn't find anything. we've also seen helicopters dropping off more sonar equipment to see if the vessel moves at all. that will be important in the coming days because we're expecting strong winds to hit the island. >> we don't know how the boat will react with the bigger waves. so that's the reason why we have
6:17 pm
sophisticated and different types of systems. >> reporter: also new evidence from a potentially important new witness. a 25-year-old hostess who works for costa cruises but was actually on holiday onboard the concordia at the time says she heard a coded emergency call and went up to the bridge to help and was up there with officers and the captain. she has defended his actions saying he did a great thing and he saved 3,000 lives. of course, that is not how prosecutors here in italy see it. they say he caused this crash. for nbc, duncan golistani in italy. rupert murdoch's media empire has apologized and agreed to pay $1 million to people hacked and harassed by his tabloid reporters. the settlements include a payment of about $200,000 to actor jude law. murdoch's company acknowledges that 16 articles about law were obtained by hacking and the actor was placed under repeated
6:18 pm
and sustained physical surveillance. a top british politician and a soccer player are among the 37 others who have settled. >> veronica is here with a look at our weather forecast. it is very cold out there tonight. >> very cold. and then when we finally get a chance to snow, warm air is going to come in and kill our chances. >> mess it up. >> that's how the winter has been. like ah. i was reading a tweet before where some folks, i said, hey, who has given up on winter? a lot of folks chiming in. i'm giving up. that's it. >> october. halloween. that was about it for snow around here. >> exactly. we had some snow in october. remember that? we had, you know, some trace amounts around d.c. but up to the north it's ban little bit more measurable snow. let's take a look at today. we hit a high of 40 degrees. the low 25. we average around 43 degrees so a cold one for us today. as far as the measurable snowfall goes, january 9th was when we picked up just over a
6:19 pm
half inch of snowfall. and for the season now we're down almost 5 1/2 inches of snowfall because we normally average about 6. 39 your temperature still. still some wind out there at 13 miles per hour. coming out of the south the wind chill reading now 31 degrees. we've got some clouds and we'll see more clouds move in to the area. right now 34 at hagerstown. 35 degrees in martinsburg, west virginia. 39 in culpepper. some of the milder air hanging down to the south including around pax river and st. mary's. for your overnight we'll fall to 30 degrees most neighborhoods. this is 34 inside the beltway. we've got a chance to see flurries, 9, 10:00, 11:00 p.m., even 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. the possibility of flurries before clearing out. it's all from a fast moving system. there is the white on storm 4 doppler. a little bit in the way of light snow right now coming into frostburg right into areas of eastern west virginia. heavier snow williamsport, pennsylvania. pittsburgh, pennsylvania.
6:20 pm
all this sliding very quickly to the south and east so by the time it gets to us, the system will fall apart a little bit. scattered flurries and very brief. they're going to be in and out of here. here is your future weather then. watch it. there it goes. the chance for some snow. and a chance for a little bit of sunshine early tomorrow, too. so early sun. your clouds increasing. here is the thing. we have a southerly wind coming into the area tomorrow. that will start to warm us up. as the warmer air continues for the overnight period, it's going to allow us to start with some snow because it is going to be cold enough especially aloft but then will give us a changeover to freezing rain and eventually all rain by the time we get to sunrise on saturday. this event i'm expecting for it to start about 11:00 p.m. tomorrow to around midnight. we'll stick around with the rain until 2:00 on saturday. there it is. 6:00 p.m. some flurries to the north and by sunday we could see a few more showers, rain showers moving into the area late on
6:21 pm
sunday. but because of the possibility of icy conditions winter storm watch for friday night, saturday morning, look how close it is to frederick, maryland. and loudoun county also very close. could see up to a quarter of an inch of ice. hagerstown, martinsburg, cumberland. here's what i'm thinking is that we could see areas here with acg over to freezing rain. so we may get a coating. areas further north, westminster, hagerstown maybe an inch of snow so rather area roads early saturday morning. 37 to 34 for your evening tomorrow morning. we're definitely cold. a little bit of clearing. 24 to 29 degrees. then your afternoon, 35 to 39. that's it for tomorrow. again, it's after midnight when things could get a little dicey around here early saturday morning. so get an early start if you have to head out saturday morning. >> i'll be sleeping in. >> same here. >> that makes three of us. >> thanks, veronica. coming up apple changes the
6:22 pm
way we listen to music. now the company is setting its sights on the classroom hoping to revolutionize the way students learn. >> i'm jane watrel. virginia lawmakers are considering a bag tax fee that would be four tim
6:23 pm
6:24 pm
d.c. officials are reminding residents about their safe haven law after the tragic death of the abandoned little baby infant
6:25 pm
two weeks old or younger can be left at hospitals and fire stations and other places designated as safe havens. the parents will not, will not face criminal charges. the reminder comes just days after a man found a little girl on the steps of a home on channing street in northeast washington. the infant was wrapped only in a thin towel and died a short time later. >> it was a tragedy that a mother or father who clearly was in great distress was not aware that there are safe havens designated throughout the city. >> city officials say there are also services available before a child is born for expectant mothers who feel they are not equipped to care for a baby. a bethesda mother is charged with leaving her child alone in an apartment while she went grocery shopping and attended a kick boxing class. montgomery county police were alerted to the situation last night after the 6-year-old girl set off fire alarms while trying
6:26 pm
to make toast. a neighbor found the girl alone and called 911. police say she was home alone for about an hour. the mother has been charged with leaving her child unattended. if convicted she could be fined or go to jail for 30 days. maryland law requires the children younger than 8 be supervised by an adult. when we come back disturbing details about a teenage boy who police say was sexually assaulted at a sleepover. and your next trip to the grocery store could cost you more if lawmakers in virginia get their way. coming up in sports a change in net. giants fans breathing easier now that their quarterback is back. and the ravens try to quell a
6:27 pm
6:28 pm
6:29 pm
and then there were four. texas governor rick perry suspending his presidential campaign today and endorsing newt gingrich. mitt romney, rick santorum, and ron paul also still in the race. two metro employees are facing charges for allegedly stealing from fare card machines. prosecutors say the pair would drop off bags of money on the way to the revenue facility and pick them up after their shifts. they say the two spent most of the money on lottery tickets. authorities were tipped off after one of the employees was buying tickets with bags full of
6:30 pm
coins. >> bethesda billionaire david rubenstein has donated $7.5 million to make repairs to the washington monument closed since august after suffering damage from that earthquake. repairs are expected to begin late this summer. a mother of three is under arrest tonight. d.c. police say she sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy who was having a sleepover with her sons. prosecutors say it happened over the weekend in the woman's home and there is word her own children may have tried to stop it. pat collins has our report. >> reporter: the scene, this apartment complex on first street southwest. the crime, sex assault. the suspect a woman, the mother of three. the victim, a teenage boy. today we talked to the victim's grandmother. for obvious reasons we shielded her identity. but when you heard about this, i mean, what went through your
6:31 pm
head? >> i was enraged. i was enraged. i was upset that a grown woman would do this to a 13-year-old child. >> reporter: the victim a 13-year-old boy. he lives in this apartment building. the suspect a 32-year-old woman. she lives in the same building. the victim says saturday he was invited over for a sleepover so he could play with the suspect's 9-year-old son charged with first-degree sexual abuse sakya gastins. according to court papers the woman made the victim touch her private parts but the woman told police the victim voluntarily touched her. >> i am upset. i'm disappointed. but i am happy that my grandson was smart enough to know that what she was doing was not right. >> reporter: in the neighborhood, a lot of talk about what happened inside that
6:32 pm
apartment. >> she's 32. he's 13. just can't imagine, you know, there are no words for it really. >> i don't know. i don't know. that's just crazy. >> i have kids myself and that makes me feel uncomfortable. >> reporter: she's been held without bond pending further court action in this case. i'm pat collins, news 4 washington. the death investigation of a teenager from northern virginia took a new turn today. the parents of 16-year-old annie mccann publicly voiced their frustration about the course of the investigation. the mccanns are from fairfax county. the victim's body found in baltimore in 2008. maryland's medical examiner ruled the teenager died from lidocain intoxication and the cause of death is undetermined. police say there is no evidence to suggest murder. but the mccann family is attacking the effort of investigators. >> baltimore police never
6:33 pm
honestly investigated annie's death. claims of a 1200-hour investigation are preposterous and completely undermined by the fact that four months after annie's death the lead detective didn't even have a photograph of annie. >> baltimore police say they're keeping the case open and looking for any credible information that could prompt the medical examiner to change those findings. >> some shoppers may be paying a lot more at the grocery store for those plastic bags in the checkout line a lawmaker from northern virginia wants to impiece 20 cent per bag fee but critics say that is too much. we have both sides of the debate. >> reporter: they're an eye sore along virginia's streets and highways. plastic bags littering the landscape. >> it blows all over the street when the garbage people come on a windy day. >> reporter: but some virginia lawmakers want to change that, proposing a 20-cent plastic bag tax four times that of the
6:34 pm
district and montgomery county. supporters say it's not about raising money. >> we need to do something about litter. i feel it's really out of control especially in my district which has a ton of convenience stores and fast food restaurants which are destroying my waterways in my district. >> reporter: under the plan, a nickel of the fee would go to retailers. 15 cents would go to a state fund ear marked for the chesapeake bay cleanup. shoppers say it is unfair to those who can least afford it. >> i think in the poorer neighborhoods it is really going to hurt people. i think the idea behind it is good but i don't think it's a good idea to charge people 20 cents right now. >> it is just one of those other things that just like the banks and everything else they try to stick more on you and see what they can get out of you until people go enough. >> other shoppers say it would do what proponents are pushing for, change their behavior. >> i guess i would be carrying a small paper bag around with me. >> i don't want to pay at all.
6:35 pm
it's already -- times are hard. i don't want to pay at all. >> reporter: the 20 cent bag tax is going to be very difficult for lawmakers to pull off. over the past two sessions a nickel bag tax was rejected soundly. in alexandria, jane watrel, news 4. lawmakers will be reviewing the bag tax in committee meetings tomorrow. >> if you commute through northern virginia, boy, that car pool is looking better and better. the express lanes under construction on i-95, 395, and 495 are expected to be completed and opened later this year. 14 miles of express lanes under construction on the beltway between the toll road and the springfield interchange and they will provide seamless travel. vehicles with three or more people can travel on those express lanes at no charge. >> plenty of time to figure out that car pool before the end of the year. >> start gathering your friends. >> apple is taking aim at traditional school textbooks and producing a new way for students to study. >> new details about john f. kennedy jr.'s rocky relationship
6:36 pm
in the days before his death. a chance for snow flurries
6:37 pm
6:38 pm
flurries are in the forecast for tonight. just enough to get us talking but it's snowing right now out
6:39 pm
west. take a look at storm 4 doppler right now. i-68 in western maryland getting light snow. mount savage, frostburg, maryland. oakland, maryland all getting light snow all the way into morgantown, west virginia and down to elkins. that snow will be moving eastward. so flurries for us from about 9:00 p.m. up until about 2:00 a.m. in the morning. we'll clear out behind this fast moving little weak system kind of anemic, too, and a stronger system will come our way for friday night and saturday morning. here's a look at 3:00 a.m. friday. a little clearing for us. some of the flurries up to the north. morgantown, westminster still. a little sunshine by 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. clouds will roll back quickly. 6:00 p.m. friday and here come the big blobs. white and even pink. that means snow and it means freezing rain starting about midnight to 1:00 a.m. on saturday. that's going to keep moving through the area for the early morning hours on saturday right before the sun comes up. so if you're going to be heading out on area roads especially north and west of d.c. early saturday morning, maybe a little
6:40 pm
slick in some sections. they've already got the winter storm watch up for western maryland. could be extended. a high tomorrow of 38 degrees after a cold one tonight. we'll start out between 25 and 27 degrees. your high on saturday 40 but starting out below freezing and that means it could be again a little problematic on area roads. back to you. >> thanks, veronica. there is a new book out making claims about the final days of john f. kennedy jr. and his wife claiming that the marriage was troubled in the final days of their lives. the book is called "fairy tale interrupted" and was written by kennedy's assistant. she says the couple's marriage was showing signs of strain in the summer of 1999. the author says carolyn initially refused to go on the ill-fated flight but kennedy's assistant convinced her to go that morning saying it was a family wedding. hours later, the plane that kennedy was piloting went down in a fog as they were headed to
6:41 pm
cape cod. the couple along with carolyn's sister lauren were killed in that plane crash. up next on news 4 at 6:00 a new plan to ease congestion where drivers could soon be allowed to drive on the shoulder to avoid traffic. high pay and happy workers. find out which city ranks number one for employees. and dan is here with a look at what's coming up in sports. >> hey, ladies. it's a skateboard getting a key member of the ravens in trouble and the wizards turn their defense to quiet the thunder as
6:42 pm
6:43 pm
6:44 pm
traffic on the i-270 corridor is notoriously bad but now there is a proposal to try to ease the gridlock by allowing commuters to drive on the shoulder. the plan would apply to a 13-mile stretch of 270 between frederick and clarksburg. news 4's erika gonzalez reports now from gaithersburg. >> reporter: what is being proposed as something similar to a high occupancy vehicle or hov lane. the less expensive route than spending nearly $4 billion to reconstruct i-270. >> it's a proposal, an alternative. >> reporter: this frederick alderman spoke with news 4 over the phone. she is suggesting the 13-mile, two-lane stretch between frederick and clarksburg be converted into a third lane for drivers to help with congestion. she calls it a green lane. >> the only type of vehicle
6:45 pm
permitted would be include ride sharing. >> commuters say anything to keep from sitting hours on end in traffic helps. >> i do think it would be good. it's needed. i've thought of that when i was driving before thinking that should be done. >> on a good day an hour and a half. >> others like angela say the idea is nothing to get excited about. >> it's only a short amount of time. miles. so it's not really going to do much when the lane ends and you're going to still have that gridlock, that back-up. it is going to be a pain. >> reporter: northern virginia started a similar project back in 1993 on i-66 between 495 and route 50. here the seven-mile stretch of shoulder lane was rebuilt and made stronger for traffic during rush hour. meanwhile, the maryland department of transportation says it reviews key priorities for its counties like this idea
6:46 pm
and says, quote, a project like this would have to be included in the ctp or consolidated transportation program and then studied to determine if it's feasible. crim says 73% of commuters in the region are single passengers in their vehicles and according to her, her proposal is probably one of the least expensive ways to improve congestion on i-270. in gaithersburg, erika gonzalez, news 4. well if you have trouble wondering if it's okay to root for the ravens, no problem. >> no! >> redskins, ravens, they both start with an "r." >> there was an article today about this very subject in the metro section. i put the question on my facebook page. everybody really seems split. hard core redskins fans. now i could never root for anybody else. other fans, it's okay. our team is not in it. they're out of it. let's move on. they're a good team. let's enjoy it. redskins fans in case you're wondering, with the ravens players think about jumping
6:47 pm
onboard? they say come on. plenty of room on the bus. baltimore also squashing a little controversy as they prepare to head to new england for the afc championship game involving ravens quarterback joe flacko who has done nothing but win since in baltimore but he is still trying to win over fans and teammates. safety ed reed said during an interview that flacko may have been rattled a little bit against houston last week. he also said that it didn't look like flacko had a hold on the offense. it created quite a stir today. the ten-year veteran had this to stay. >> man, we're focused on playing new england, you know, the comments that were made earlier in the week on a monday and tuesday after we played the game, that's what the comments are about. the last game. we moved on. we're thinking about this game, this game is the only one that matters. we all made corrections from last week's game. that's what it's about. that's what the comments are about. you know, it's nothing big. >> when i first saw it, i was probably like, you know, what's
6:48 pm
going on? like i said, we talk about it. we're a team around here. it's not that big an issue. i don't really take things that bad. it is what it is. >> i understand where his heart is at in all of our guys when they say things. that's what -- we're together all the time. i think we all take a very critical approach and very humble heart to our job and to the challenges ahead and we try to make each other better the best way we can and move on. >> here is the good thing. fans really looking out for flacko, too. you see during the season a neighbor saw flacko riding a skateboard and he called the team about it. the neighbor left a message for general manager ozzy newsom saying, hey, man, you got to let flacko know we're trying to win a super bowl around here. he's at home riding his skateboard. somebody has got to let him know what the deal is. that's a serious fan. >> that is. >> isn't it crazy? >> those things are -- exactly. >> flacko said he was riding it in his driveway for about ten feet just to see if he could
6:49 pm
stay on the board for a little while. >> just a few more weeks and he can go ahead and ride it. >> a good point. i wonder if he found out who the fan is yet. can you imagine? that's really funny. up in new jersey another quarterback back on the field getting ready for his championship game. eli manning back at practice after a one-day stomach bug. manning playing the best football of his career right now. 29 touchdown passes. and nearly 5,000 yards to the season. six of the nine wins for the giants during the regular season were after eli engineered fourth quarter comebacks. now eli is back and hoping to take the giants to the super bowl once again. the second time in five years. >> big games like this, any little thing that pops up people are making a big deal about so try to be smart and just say hopefully, you know, this would be a little 24-hour bug and, you know, came back in and got some fluids and just tried to, you know, make sure it didn't make
6:50 pm
it worse and just fortunate it was on a wednesday not later in the week. i'm glad we can put it behind us now and just focus on the game. >> it was a first last night when the wizards beat oklahoma city. according to the sports bureau it is the first time in nba history a team with at least 12 losses beat a team with at least 12 wins just 15 games into the season. a feel good win at verizon center last night. the worst team in the nba beats the best team in the nba by not only outplaying them but outworking them. the first time all season the wizards have outworked anybody not just on offense where john wahl and nick young led the way but on defense where even wahl was taking charges and nick young was d'ing up kevin durant. so this is a fun game to talk about and you only have to hope that continues for the wizards who are now 2-12 on the season. all right. things have not gone well on the road for the capitals this year.
6:51 pm
in order to become a serious contender that has to change. the capitals started a stretch last night where they played 6 of 7 games on the road and things did start off well in montreal. michael noiver started in net for the first time this year as in 2012 talking about not this season. although the capitals didn't get a lot of shots on goal the shots they did get were good ones. alex ovechkin got his 19th goal of the season and that one gives a 3-0 lead to the capitals. no tomas vokoun in net, the youngster, stellar. 31 saves giving the capitals their second shutout in the past seven games so 3-0 the final. capitals at carolina on friday. i heard somebody say that they thought unless they added a couple pieces, this was a so-called nhl expert, they didn't think the capitals could even make the playoffs this year but right now they're sitting in good position. it's just really clumped up in
6:52 pm
the standings. two losses and they could be right back to where they were. >> a kind of rollercoaster ride with them this season. >> thanks. do you love your job? if not, you may want to consider moving south. find out which city ranks number one for the happiest workers next. for all your news follow news 4 online and search nbc washington on facebook and washington on facebook and twitter. il, any luck finding a?
6:53 pm
6:54 pm
not yet. i want to buy used but how do you know what you're really getting. check out carmax. all their used cars are guaranteed. that's where henderson found the one for him. way to go, henderson. finding the perfect car is easy at carmax because each car is carefully selected, inspected, thoroughly reconditioned and backed with a five-day money back guarantee so come find the one for you today, at carmax. way to go, neil.
6:55 pm
parents of students in prince william county now have permission to go through their kids' school lockers. last night the school board voted unanimously to pass a regulation which gives parents access to the lockers. the vote was prompted by parents who realized that there was no policy on the books addressing the issue. it only applies to students younger than 18 and parents can only access the lockers at, quote, reasonable times. the superintendent plans to put the policy into effect at all of the schools in prince william county. paper textbooks. are they ancient history? not quite but today technology giant apple launched a new way for students to study digital textbooks. >> reporter: a backpack loaded down with heavy textbooks could give way to an ipad filled with
6:56 pm
their digital counterparts. that is if apple's electronic textbook service unveiled today catches on. >> reinventing the textbook. >> reporter: i-books 2 teams apple with a trio of publishers responsible for 90% of the textbooks sold in the united states. >> imagine i'm a high school student and i'm studying biology. >> reporter: the group plans to sell interactive electronic versions of textbooks for $15 or less starting with high school math and science. >> it becomes a revolution in the textbook business. it also might take some pressure off school budgets because the cost of books will be going down. >> are you to use these digital textbooks students also need $500 ipads. apple says 1.5 million ipads are now in use in education but the company did not reveal any new plans to increase that number or somehow defray the cost of ipads for students. >> these are beautiful books. >> reporter: the souped up textbooks will simply try to add to the ipad's appeal. >> they have embedded video.
6:57 pm
they have 3-d modeling. they can make your own graphic cards. they can make note cards, flash cards. >> reporter: hurdles facing digital textbooks however are more than just financial. there's also ingrained behavior. >> i like being able to turn the page. >> what i read online it is easy to jump around. >> personally i need a textbook. >> reporter: publishers are hoping a new generation will find students feeling the same way. it's not disney world but washington, d.c. is one of the happiest cities in the country when it comes to work. a new survey done by career bliss.com puts washington as 12th on the list of cities where workers like their jobs. the survey measures what employees say about the work they do, money they make, people they work with, and chances for growth in their field. by the way, the average salary in washington is more than $70,000 a year. the most happy work city is miami according to the survey.
6:58 pm
>> of course. >> no surprise there, followed by worcester, massachusetts, oklahoma city, san jose, and oxnard, california. at the bottom of the list, akron, ohio. boston, trenton, sacramento, and seattle. survey bliss interviewed -- career bliss interviewed 43,000 employees for the survey. >> i might argue against that. last time i was in seattle everywhere i went folks were happy. >> what? >> maybe the coffee. >> i now know where oxnard, california is. it's near palm springs. >> yeah. >> that's probably why they're happy. i was there and had to drive by. >> nice. >> you could be happy working there. >> i'm saying, you know, it's in a lovely little corner of california. >> paradise. we should check on the weather. >> does it matter what the weather is like to make you happy, right? even a little snow and flurries which we're going to have tonight. just be happy.
6:59 pm
okay? a flurry of flurries coming our way tonight. storm 4 doppler, you can see all the white advancing eastward still on the other side of hagerstown so probably not until about 9:00 we'll see a few flakes maybe starting on very light drops first before switching over to the snowflakes. probably until about 2:00 a.m. a cold start, though, guys, for the day tomorrow. 25 to 30 degrees. maybe a little wind, too. then we've got a better, bigger chance to see some wintry precip early saturday morning. freezing rain and sleet early saturday morning. the high on friday 38. then around 40 this weekend for a high. so i think after late morning on saturday we're out of the woods. >> okay. >> all right. >> not too bad. >> thanks, veronica. a lot of people in washington feel their jobs are meaningful. they're making a difference. >> exactly. here for a purpose. >> has a lot to do with it. and we would like to cheerfully tell you good night. thanks for joining us. "nightly

209 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on