romney knows he has to stop him here. tampa, florida. day one of a former front-runner's comeback bid. polling second in this state after losing south carolina, mitt romney is going after newt gingrich on personality and stability. >> he's gone from pillar to post almost like a pinball machine from item to item in a way which is highly erratic. >> reporter: romney, who is under fire about his finances and says he'll release some tax returns tomorrow stepped up his attack on gingrich's business links to the mortgage crisis. >> well, speaker made $1.7 million in his enterprises from providing services to freddie mac. he ought to give it back. >> reporter: romney's new tv ad in florida targets his rival. >> gingrich resigned from congress in disgrace and then cashed in as a d.c. insider. if newt wins this guy would be very happy. >> reporter: back in florida

this afternoon gingrich fired back. >> it's such bologna. now it used to be pious bologna but now it's just desperate. >> reporter: a preview of tonight's face-off on nbc. the debate at south florida university in tampa. tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. on the stage will be rick santorum polling a weak third in florida and ron paul focused on other states. but one candidate's campaign may be on the line. >> florida is make it or break it for mitt romney. >> reporter: a big, diverse state where a win by newt gingrich could prove his electability. you remember before the last debate in south carolina the second of two and romney was pressed hard to release his tax returns that incidentally he says he is going to do tomorrow? gingrich asked about his returns, says he released them five minutes before. tonight we've just learned gingrich will release his company's contract with freddie

mac. no telling what it will reveal but it shows gingrich is nimble. we learned in south carolina debates can be pivotal. this one, here, tonight could be the most important one of the whole campaign. live from university of south florida in tampa i'm steve handelsman news 4. back to you. >> all right. see you at 11:00. thanks. tonight's debate does take place during a special edition of nbc's "rock center" and brian williams is the moderator. we invite you to watch it with us here tonight at 9:00 and join me for a live web chat during the debate. just logon to nbc washington.com and look for the link at the top of the page. at least two people are dead more than a hundred injured after a string of violent storms struck in the middle of the night. they pounded the southern part of the u.s. knocking down trees, flattening homes, tearing roofs off buildings. the governor of alabama has declared a state of emergency there. the national weather service investigating to see if this damage was caused by some rare,

january tornadoes. >> it was over in about five minutes and we started -- we could feel wind blowing on us and looked in the bathroom. the ceiling is all mashed in with limbs sinking in. >> we lost our house baut we go our family and that's all that matters right now. >> the storms also caused damage in arkansas, mississippi, and tennessee. let's check in with our meteorologist veronica johnson up in storm center 4. what is that storm doing today? >> thanks a lot. yeah. well, right now it's down to the south. just about ready to move through the rest of the panhandle of florida. but they were rare and there were a lot. 22 reports yesterday of tornadoes most of which were in alabama and arkansas. today just two in areas of southeastern arkansas. that is exactly where the line of thunderstorms is associated with the same front making its way southeastward. today's tornadoes west clanton, alabama and just northwest of greenville, alabama.

all part of the same system that will be moving through here. but for us on that northern part of the front, just some showers and you can see radar showing most of the rain well off to the east. so just some spotty dampness across the area and some dense fog. we've got visibility that's been low, close to a quarter mile now in baltimore. mild visibility in gaithersburg. that will be the big story for us during the overnight period and early tomorrow morning as temperatures stay above freezing. we're at 39 degrees right now. might dip down a little bit but temperatures will be back on the rise. we'll talk about tomorrow's forecast, aaron, in just a couple minutes. >> thank you. no class today but a lot of action in a prince george's county elementary school after a woman was hit and killed by a van in the school parking lot. it happened late this morning at samuel chase elementary on fisher road in temple hills. pat collins joins us live with the latest on this. aaron, a woman struck by a school maintenance man here in a parking lot and here in this

parking lot is where she died. neighbors troubled by what happened here. >> it's tragic, really is tragic. going for a walk and then this happens to you. i was just finishing praying for her family. >> how unfortunate. what a sad accident. you know, here is a lady and now she is laying on the sidewalk over there deceased. >> reporter: a fatality here in the parking loft the samuel chase elementary school in temple hills. police say the prince george's county school utility van backed into a woman. they say she was pronounced dead at the scene. police are trying to determine what brought the woman to the parking lot of the school this morning. the school was closed. they say she's not a school employee. here's one possibility. behind the school is an apartment complex and there is a cut that takes you from there

all the way back here. jolanda jones uses that shortcut every day when she goes for a walk. >> i believe it was just a tragic accident, unfortunately. >> driver didn't see her? >> and she didn't see him. >> a lot of people use that cut when they walk. >> definitely. >> reporter: prince george's county school superintendent william hyde today expressed sincere, heart felt sympathy for the family of the victim. he said school officials are working closely with police to help determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. sources say police believe the victim is from the neighborhood. they say the woman was using a cane when she was struck by that van. aaron, back to you. >> pat collins in temple hills, thank you. a former cia officer is facing some serious criminal charges that he was arrested today and charged with repeatedly leaking classified

secrets to journalists. john keriaku was a cia intelligence officer from 1990 to 2004 and was featured in several news articles after he told reporters he took part in the interrogation of terror suspect abu subaida. he is charged with passing classified information to journalists. prosecutors say the information included the identity of a covert cia officer. and the name of a cia plea who also interrogated zubaida. he was released today on $250,000 bond. both public and private memorials will be held this week to say good-bye to joe paterno. the long-time penn state coach died yesterday as jane watrel reports a lot of people on campus today felt the scandal involving the football program should not over shadow his legacy. >> reporter: the memorial to joe paterno continues to grow around a bronze statue of the former penn state football coach. 84-year-old naomi brought roses.

>> the family is wonderful. our youngest son and their oldest son, dave, went to school together. >> reporter: despite his long association with the university, paterno also had strong ties to the local community. many businesses showed their respect for the coaching legend who lived here for 61 years. tina hay is editor of the alumni magazine. >> he was a humble guy. this is a guy who lived in a ranch house on mckee street whose phone number was in the book. >> reporter: local bus driver william bishop says it was that humbleness that won his admiration and respect. >> what he has done for this area and the people that play for him, the young men that played for him, the library and everybody that that's touched, that's not going to go away. >> reporter: the 85-year-old died sunday less than three months after being fired. paterno was heavily criticized for his response to alleged

child sexual abuse by former assistant coach jerry sandusky. >> i think to, quote-unquote outsiders they have a hard time getting past the scandal. which he may or may not have played a role in. that's yet to be determined. but for penn staters, they see a much bigger picture. >> paterno and his wife gave $4 million to the university for the library and a spiritual center. and for fans a lifetime of memories. many who drove for hours to pay their respects. >> i just felt it was something we needed to do as alumni to be here for him to support his family. >> reporter: pennsylvania's governor has ordered the flags at all state facilities to be flown at half staff to honor joe paterno. until the legendary coach is laid to rest on wednesday. in state college, pennsylvania jane watrel, news 4. >> there is a public viewing for paterno tomorrow and wednesday followed by private funeral, a public memorial service will be held on thursday. a secret service agent says

he got goose bumps after watching john hinckley jr. during one of his recent trips to williamsburg. in court today the agent testified hinckley became momentarily fixated on a book about ronald reagan while in a williamsburg book store. hinckley you recall shot reagan back in 1981. he's been in a psychiatric hospital but is seeking freedom to move into his mother's home in williamsberg. prosecutors are fighting that and say he is still a threat to others. still ahead on news 4 at 6:00 before stepping down this week congresswoman gabrielle giffords holds her final event today with arizona constituents. dozens of road closures today as thousands of people descend on downtown washington for the march for life. >> a major ruling from the supreme court impacting gps technology. and disney lets its own workers do something

gabrielle giffords had a full day of events today one of her last days as a member of the house of representatives. giffords visited a food bank today built in her honor with more than 200,000 dollars in donations that poured in after the shooting last january. giffords announced yesterday that she is stepping down from her seat in congress to focus on her recovery. she made the announcement in a video where she also thanked her

constituents. >> i don't remember much from that horrible day. but i will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. thank you for your prayers. >> and we just got confirmation this evening that representative giffords will attend tomorrow's state of the union address before handing in her resignation. illinois senator mark kirk is recovering after he underwent surgery for a stroke. the 51-year-old republican checked himself into a hospital this weekend in his home state and underwent surgery this morning to relieve swelling around his brain. a statement from his office says the surgery was a success. it says doctors are confident in his recovery based on his age and his health. kirk was elected in 2010 winning the seat that was formerly held by president obama. privacy advocates want a key ruling from the u.s. supreme court today. the justices ruled unanimously

that police cannot attach a secret tracking device to a suspect's car without a search warrant. jay gray explains. >> reporter: it's the way many of us get to where we're going these days but gps technology has hit a road block when it comes to police mapping out surveillance strategies. in a decision some call one of the most important of the computer age the supreme court has ruled investigators must get a search warrant before secretly attaching a gps tracking device to a suspect vehicle. justices announced the unanimous decision today after hearing an appeal in november from anton jones who was convicted of conspiracy to deliver cocaine after police installed a gps device on his cheap grand cherokee. >> the-0 in a fourth amendment case is remarkable and the long-range implications will be very simple. that the police have to be a little more respectful of people's rights, property rights.

>> reporter: some experts say the decision could have far-reaching effects when it comes to technology and the law. >> the court is probably always going to be playing catch up but i think the important point here is that the court is trying. it is saying we are going to try to maintain some protections for privacy. >> reporter: a tough goal as tech and the tactics to use it continue to race forward. jay gray, nbc news. veronica? >> just look behind us here. we had an interesting, spooky, ghostly day today. >> yes. kind of a downer day though in a way. >> it was a day you wanted to cook or sit by a fire. >> stay in bed even. >> read a book. >> drink cognac. >> anything but go to work. >> yeah. it was spooky outside. >> yes. and definitely chilly. almost like an october day. we got that fog because the ground is cold. nice and icy on friday where we talk about keeping a safe distance because of the ice and baufs the snow. today it's because of the fog. so you get that milder air over

the cold ground. fog. we'll have it overnight especially with temperatures rising slightly. we'll have even more fog. widespread and dense throughout the area. that is the situation right now as we deal with the latter part of our evening rush. take a look at this. this is the foggy day from earlier. this is route 29 this morning. route 29 southbound, same thing up in laytonsville, maryland earlier today. this one sent in from tom. you can see the fog in the distance only down to about a half mile visibility even earlier today. 37 the high. 32 the low. the average high 43 degrees. so today the chilly side. tomorrow we're going to go the other way and temperatures will be about ten degrees above average. a little bit of light wind out of the south giving us a wind chill reading of 34 degrees what it feels like. overnight, temperatures hold steady. 9:00. 11:00 p.m. there is your 38 degrees. early tomorrow morning a little bit of a rise up to 39 and 40

degrees. still some fog around at 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. but once the front's through i think we'll start to see clearing and pretty rapidly, too. going from partly sunny skies to mostly sunny skies by late morning tomorrow. the rain out of here. this is storm 4 doppler. you can see the last of the showers there at the beginning of our loop about 5:10, 5:15. we're left with, again, just a lot of moisture left in the air. certainly down to the south they've gotten moisture. they've got thunderstorms down around atlanta, georgia and coming through the panhandle of florida right now all part of the same weather system. but that front has yet to move through here. look at charleston, west virginia right now. 63 degrees. 57 degrees in bristol. 57 in pittsburgh. a little bit of warming there. and that's what we're going to have tomorrow, too. just a little bit of a warm'ing place or temperatures go into the low and mid 50s tomorrow. we'll track the weather front through the area. fog again in just a few, lingering showers mainly up to the north in pennsylvania.

breezy sun is back tomorrow. partly sunny to mostly sunny day. our winds will be out of the west and northwest about 5 to 15 miles per hour. and then as we get into wednesday, late. and thursday. clouds return to the area so morning sunshine on wednesday. then pretty cloudy there for the latter part of the day and evening. we're talking about the next weather system that will start to bring some rain probably about late morning on thursday. but as far as your evening forecast goes, it's going to stay cold. dense fog around the area. that will be the big thing even for tomorrow morning. 35 to 40 degrees. may lead to more delays on area roads. we had delays at airports earlier today. wet roads for the morning. but not icy again. just the fog to deal with. 36 to 42. your range in temperatures and then your high tomorrow 51 to 56 degrees. so it is going to be much milder air moving in for tomorrow. and as a matter of fact i think tomorrow is going to be probably the best day out of the work week. we had four cloudy gray days

around here so finally some sunshine. now sunshine is going to stick around for wednesday but the high on wednesday just shy of 50 degrees. we've got some rain to talk about for thursday. back to those gray skies around here. mid 40s. seasonal temperatures and then 51 degrees for friday. looking ahead to next weekend right now we've got 48 for saturday the high and 40 for sunday. looks as though we'll have light rain showers around on sunday that may switch over, change to flurries or light snow for sunday evening. so still more up and down taking place. >> interesting. thank you. still to come on news 4 at 6:00, the offer that costa concordia is making passengers at the cruise ship wreck off the coast of italy. >> and the active

"access hollywood" test. "access hollywood" test. "access hollywood" test. "access hollywood" get a load of this. this is africa's most active volcano. it's located in the democratic republic of congo and it has been spewing lava in what may be one of the largest eruptions yet. local and international organizations are teaming up to create an evacuation plan for the nearby communities should these eruptions become more violent. no casualties so far but the lava flows are threatening wildlife in a nearby national park. in italy today rescuers pulled two more bodies from the ship wrecked cruise liner. it comes as the careful and

important task of removing the fuel from that massive vessel is about to get under way. duncan golistani has the latest from giglio, italy. >> reporter: we now know 15 people died onboard the costa concordia when it crashed here off the island of giglio. it does seem divers are getting much better access having blasted holes yesterday and this morning. today bringing off two more bodies from deck four near an internet cafe. but at the same time it remains a tough, tough job. have a look at the pictures of what these guys are having to wade through. lots of furniture, lots of luggage, and we're told the air on there is almost unbreathable because of the rotting stench of food. as the search continues, the civil protection agency here says the operation to bring off the half a million gallons of fuel oil can now begin possibly within 24 hours. >> so basically we are ready to go and we are ready to start

working. >> tomorrow? >> if possible tomorrow. >> reporter: it is going to abcomplex operation involving clamping on machinery, taking off the fuel over several weeks, and replacing it with sea water so the bouncy remains the same. unsurprise ligue they're taking extra measures around here just in case there as spill. more booms in the water and an italian navy vessel on stand by. duncan golistani, nbc news, giglio, italy. carnival's costa cruises will refun everyone and offer 30% off any future cruises with the company. at the same time passengers are already filing class action lawsuits. here at home senator rand paul had a frustrating day trying to get back to d.c. from nashville. the kentucky republican was stopped by tsa after scanner found something unusual at the airport. from there the tsa says paul was escorted out of the screening area because he refused to

undergo a patdown. this caused him to miss his flight. he was able to get rebooked. a little later officials say the security scanner identified an issue with the senator's knee. senator rand paul is the son of presidential candidate ron paul. coming up later in this half hour why some local leaders are not supporting the effort under way to rededicate the d.c. war memorial. >> and dozens of road closures today as thousands of people descend on downtown d.c. for the annual march for life. i'm darcy spencer in southwest washington. federal offices opened two hours late today because roadways were expected to be slippery. we're going to have reaction coming up on news 4 at 6:00. coming up in sports the ravens are devastated. tom brady is still not satisfied. and on the ice, alex ovechkin getting physical. but what will it cost the caps captain as news 4 at 6:0 i want a baby.

a baby? but we were gonna see the northern lights in alaska. and go spelunking with the guys. yeah, i said it-- spelunking. [ whirring ] and i still haven't built one of those fighting robots. come on. it's pretty awesome. okay. just a few things we need to do first. [ laughs ] [ announcer ] before you make your leap, make a list. then get going in the completely redesigned cr-v. all new, from honda.

there could be fireworks when the republican presidential candidates meet for a debate in florida tonight with momentum on newt gingrich's side. the florida primary may be a make or break contest for mitt romney. both candidates spent the day trading sharp jabs and analysts predict we will see more of the same tonight. >> a woman was struck and killed

by a utility van in the parking lot of samuel chase elementary school in temple hills this morning. police say the van backed nah the woman. there was no school today. they're not sure why the woman was there but neighbors say she may have been using the parking lot as a short cut. >> a makeshift memorial is growing around the statue of joe paterno around the penn state football stadium. the legendary coach died sunday morning. there is a public viewing tomorrow and wednesday followed by a private funeral on wednesday and public memorial service on thursday. paterno's death comes just weeks after he was fired from his coaching job at the height of a child sexual abuse scandal linked to a former assistant coach. >> the 39th annual march for life drew a huge crowd to downtown washington today. they're protesting the supreme court decision roe vs. wade that legalized abortion 39 years ago. tom sherwood has our report. >> reporter: it was the 39th annual march on the nation's capitol to oppose abortion. there was prayer.

the national anthem. ♪ >> reporter: and there was marching by the tens of thousand marchers from around the country marched up to capitol hill and to the supreme court. the message? the same as it was for the first march 39 years ago. overturned roe vs. wade and outlawed abortion. >> our precept this morning that when you're going to defend life it's like david going up to the giant goliath. >> i'm here because i believe in the sanctity of human life and i believe that children, that unborn children have a right to life. >> reporter: despite the cold, wet weather the marchers say the annual march will continue every year until america hears their call. >> i feel like it's a duty we

have to live up to, to do something that's right. and that means going out and showing your faith. that's one of the things we're all doing right now. takes a lot of courage to come out here and do it but it's something we have to do because someone did it before us and it is only right we pass on the tradition. >> i really believe that people who are for abortion don't really, really understand what they're doing because it's not visible. >> reporter: tom sherwood, news 4, washington. >> firefighters in the district battled a huge town house fire this morning. that blaze broke out about 10:00 in the 5000 block of 4th street northwest. when firefighters got there they found flames shooting out of three floors. they called a second alarm. they took firefighters about two hours to get everything under control. luckily no one inside that house was hurt although one firefighter did go to the hospital with minor injuries. no word on what started the fire. the federal government and a lot of school officials opted for a late start this morning

after the forecast called for icy and potentially treacherous conditions on the roads. fears of massive gridlock like we had during last january's snowstorm prompted this move. darcy spencer spoke to some commuters on whether this was an over reaction or a good call. >> reporter: it was a year ago when snowy road conditions turned the evening drive home into a nightmare. some called it carmageddon. >> i just wasn't sure what to do so i turned the car off and saved the gas. >> reporter: drivers were trapped in their cars for hours. some abandoned their rides on slippery roads. then there was a criticism. federal workers should have been allowed to leave earlier before the roads were so bad. >> i ended up leaving the car and came back the next day to see if it was there and it had already been gone rnch the feds listened and recently put a new policy in place to make weather decisions earlier. last nate the office of personnel management announced government offices in d.c. would

open two hours late. because road conditions were expected to be icy this morning. >> that's really what i think we're going for is how to make sure people have a safe commute and don't put themselves at risk or their family. i would rather go on that side than the other. >> reporter: federal workers were given the chance to take unscheduled leave or telecommute and we didn't hear any complaints. >> i think it was a good -- commuting in the morning is crazy when we have ice so i think it's a good call they made. >> reporter: many workers told us they did not experience any problems on the roads but they're still glad they were given the option to come in later. >> everybody was saying as far as the weather people we were going to have this ice and it was going to be freezing overnight and no one expected everything to be thawed out before the sun up. so i thought it was a pretty good move. >> reporter: several of the commuters told us they hope officials will make the same decision next time even though those icy road conditions didn't

materialize this time. in southwest washington, darcy spencer, news 4. the d.c. war memorial is the only memorial on the national mall dedicated to d.c. residents. now there's a controversial effort under way to -- on capitol hill -- to rededicate it to all americans. that memorial sits on independence avenue just west of 17th street near the tidal basin. it was dedicated in 1931 to salute the 26,000 washingtonians who fought in world war i. representative ted poe of texas is sponsoring a bill to turn it into a national monument to the great war. delegate eleanor holmes norton, mayor gray, and other city leaders plan to fight that. >> we will not tolerate dishonoring those who gave their lives for our country and paid the very highest price. the district of columbia memorial belongs to the people of the district of columbia. >> reporter: congress allocated

$7.3 million in stimulus money to restore the monument. those renovations were completed in november. there is a change in leadership at the smithsonian institution. purdue university president france cordoba was installed today as chairwoman of the governing board. she is an astro physicist and previously served as chief scientist at nasa. she plans to maintain her post at purdue as she oversees the largest museum and research complex in the world. >> i think she can do it. with all those credentials. >> yes. still to come on news 4 at 6:00 -- >> reporter: i'm julie carey in richmond, virginia. last year's tragic suicide of a fairfax county student following a discipline probe could lead to statewide reform. i'll tell you what the general assembly is proposing coming up. people around the

welcome back. meteorologist veronica johnson here in storm center 4. you aren't going to need your umbrellas this evening but you will need your coat because it is going to be plenty chilly out there and as far as the visibility goes maybe some extra patience, a little extra time to get from point a to point b because these visibilities will be dropping right now aspen hill, damascus and kensington at 2 1/2 mile visibility dropping

to two miles there in prince george's county around mitchelville and seat pleasant. meanwhile up around baltimore i-95 just north down to one-third mile visibility. i expect to see more fog throughout the area. it's going to thicken up. dense fog by tomorrow morning. we're at 39 degrees currently with a little bit of a chill, too, in the air from a little bit of a light wind giving us readings now in the low 30s throughout the area. so from columbia heights to foggy bottom 39 but feeling a bit chillier. we've got 37 just up to the north of montgomery county around poolesville and wheaton and 43 the current temperature in hunting town. so over night temperatures will hold steady and rise slightly by tomorrow morning. expect fog for the overnight, first thing tomorrow morning at 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. 39 to 40 degrees with the fog probably burning off around 7:00 a.m. i think we'll see a little sunshine in here. we have the front looming through. a west wind. and breezy for tomorrow. take a look at some of the high temperatures throughout the area.

frederick and mount airy up to 51. 55 the high in fredericksburg, virginia. so tomorrow the best day out of the work week. take a look at the next four days. from tomorrow 55. very mild. to just under 50 for wednesday. probably the second best day out of the work week. clouds to deal with thursday and friday. most of those clouds will be around the area on thursday giving us some rain on thursday. probably from late morning through the afternoon and early evening. then lingering clouds for friday the high 51 degrees. right now a dry day for the upcoming weekend on saturday. high temperature just under 50 and then much cooler for sunday with maybe a few passing flurries late in the day. back to you guys in the studio. >> all right. thanks, veronica. people across asia welcoming in the year of the dragon. today is lunar new year in asia, a day celebrated with prayers and special ceremonies. the lunar new year is the most important festival for a lot of people in china. chinese living overseas also mark the day with festivities in

indonesia and malaysia, even north korea. the celebrations marking the year of the dragon will last for 15 days. >> the walt disney company is loosening the rules on an almost 60-year-old policy. since 1955, male workers at disney theme parks have been prohibited from growing a beard or a goatee. yeah. next month that is going to change. disney began informing its 60,000 theme park employees today that facial hair is okay. there are still some guidelines. disney says beards have to be neatly trimmed and no longer than a quarter inch and soul patches are not allowed and hear hear. >> you got all those doors running around with beards. why not? >> those are fake beards and those are dwarfs. >> just a little patch. annoying. >> you know what else is annoying? the wizards. >> yes. >> they just cannot get a break or a win. they learn a lesson but the

result not so good. plus, two terps come up big on championship weekend and he couldn't beat the redskins but eli proves he's elite and tough as the giants get ready for a super bowl rematch.

so many of us thought -- we wanted the ravens to be --

>> oh, man. not just the ravens but the 49ers as well. and i got killed on twitter last night for saying i'm really disappointed in the super bowl somebody said this is the two best teams. how can you be disappointed? i look at it from the standpoint of somebody who is going to be there all week covering it. >> right. >> so many great local stories on the 49ers. you had carlos rogers who played for the redskins, vernon davis. >> yeah. >> jim har buck. obviously the ravens not necessarily local but regional. >> sure. >> so let's talk about what is going to happen in super bowl xlv, a rematch of super bowl xlii the giants and the patriots squaring off in indianapolis and for the pats it wasn't tom brady leading the charge but their defense. brady had his worst game of the season in the afc championship game while the pats' defense which ranked near dead last in the nfl 31st to be exact did just enough to get the patriots to the super bowl for the fifth time in 11 years. ray lewis of the ravens, oh, so close to getting back to the super bowl they could be running

out of time. third quarter ravens down 16-10. joe flacko swings it out to tory smith and the former terp takes care of the rest by taking it to the house. what a great individual effort here by smith to stay inbounds. they had to review it. yes, it would be a touchdown for the rookie out of maryland. you think he's pumped up. all right. fourth quarter new england now 20-16. tom brady up and over. you don't see this very often from brady. good look here though. definitely a touchdown. patriots take a three-point lead. so with 28 seconds to go the ravens still down by three and in the red zone. flacko to lee evans. this should have been ball game but the ball in and out of his hands. here is why. sterling monroe knocks it loose. great play by monroe here. no touchdown. ravens still had a chance to tie, though. billy for the 32-yard field goal. this is a chip shot. but oh oh. wide left.

the patriots hang on to win it, 23-20. their ticket to super bowl xlv in indianapolis. here are the winners and the losers. >> it's kick i've kicked probably a thousand times in my career and went out there and just didn't convert. that's the way things go. when you're at this level you know if you're going to be a professional and it's your job you do have to take it personally. it's one of those things that i get paid to make field goals. i don't get paid to miss field goals. >> some ways you always beat yourself up. i've been doing this for quite a while and i'm glad we won. i'm glad we're moving on. and, you know, hopefully i can go out there and do better in a few weeks. i think offensively we, you know, can do better. and that's what it's going to take. >> two players disappointed in their performances but at least tom brady has a chance to make amends. so a missed field goal dashed

the ravens' super bowl hopes and a couple special teams fumbles ends the 49ers' season. the giants back to the super bowl for the second time in five years. eli manning and the giants lost to alex smith and the 49ers during the regular season and for a while it looked like it could happen again. first quarter alex smith to who else? vernon davis down the sideline. 73 yards for the touchdown. >> wow. >> davis goes pretty fast for a tight end. tom coughlin not happy. vernon davis strikes a pose. three catches, 112 yards, and two touchdowns. fourth quarter giants down, 14-10. eli manning to mario manningham. his first catch of the game. 17-yard touch. 17-14 the 49ers would tie it, though. and we would go to overtime. in o.t. giants punting away. kyle williams back to receive. it was a rough game for kyle. after botching a punt he loses another. kyle's father kenny who is the general manager of the chicago white socks says kyle has been receiving death threats today. devon thomas the former redskin

recovers his second fumble for the giants and he is pretty jacked up, too. so lawrence tines off of the 31 yard game-winner and that is pure. the giants win it, 20-17. after that fumble advancing to their second super bowl in the last five seasons. tough to take if you're vernon davis. >> we played as hard as we possibly could. i'm proud of those guys because they work their tails off out there tonight. and we still got to look on the bright side. we always have next time. next year. >> this thing about this team and this opportunity and how proud i am of the guys and what we've overcome this year. what we've been through. there's never having any doubts. keep believing. kept believing in our team that we could get hot and start playing our best football. we did that at the end of the season and hopefully we can continue this momentum and keep getting better. >> what a party.

don't look at the prompter and cheat. the only team to beat the new york giants twice this year is who? >> redskins. >> the redskins. can you believe that? can you believe that? 33, what is it, 33, 40%? isn't that crazy? so mike shanahan and his staff down in mobil, alabama coaching one of the teams in the bowl and his staff has a new look. the former giant ike hilliard is on staff and moving on to hockey capitals have lost more than just a game in pittsburgh. the nhl handed out a stiff three-game suspension for alex ovechkin for his bone rattling hit on pens defenseman mikalek. they've struggled the entire season and continued in pittsburgh yesterday. ovechkin just smashes michalek. the penalty from the laeg so harsh they are saying because ovie left his feet so the

capitals host the stanley cup champs tomorrow night without alex ovechkin, nick backstrom, and mike green. the three-game suspension will keep ovy off the ice until february 4. so this is the last time you'll see ovy in january. maybe a blessing in disguise and he'll get a little rest. who knows? >> thank you, dan. still to come on news 4 at 6:00 new rules go into effect this week to make "access hollywood" test. "access hollywood" test. "access hollywood" test. "access hollywood"

a northern virginia man says parents should be involved when it comes to school discipline. in the wake of his son's suicide he is pushing for change as state lawmakers consider legislation that would do just that. news 4's julie carey has our report. >> reporter: friday marked the one-year anniversary of woodson high school sophomore nick steuben's suicide. a suicide his parents blame in part on the disciplinary practices of the fairfax county public schools. today nick's dad came to richmond seeking a state law forcing schools to notify parents quickly when a student faces serious trouble. steuben didn't learn his son was being investigated for buying legal synthetic marijuana until a week after administrators confronted nick. >> we don't find about it until they've already done questioning, multiple times, over a week-long period and

they've already reached their conclusion of what the outcome should be. i think you need to involve parents at the earliest opportunity. >> reporter: the fairfax county school board revised its policy in response to the outcry over nick's case and others. but a bipartisan group of northern virginia lawmakers says a statewide parental notification mandate is now needed. their bills make sure students accused of serious school violations aren't questioned by administrators until after parents are notified. >> these are minors. and oftentimes they're questioned about what could be criminal conduct, their statements are used against them. no miranda warning or nothing. this is a situation where i think there needs to be a state law mandating notification. >> fairfax county school officials say they will monitor the legislation and they point out the 2011 school board is on record opposing statewide mandates. new school board member elizabeth schultz favors the notification mandate and says it wouldn't stop administrators from dealing with discipline issues that threaten student safety. >> i don't expect a principal or administrator of a school to wait to call a parent, to say,

hey, your kid's walking around the school with, you know, a loaded weapon. i mean, again, it's common sense. >> similar legislation was proposed in last year's general assembly. it passed the house unanimously but failed in the senate. bill sponsors hope this year's bipartisan push will pay off with passage in both chambers. >> our hope is that we can make something good come out of this. as soon as possible. >> in richmond, julie carey, news 4. transportation officials are hoping a new set of rules that take effect this week will make it a little less confusing when you fly. among the changes airlines now have to post the total ticket cost so that includes baggage fees. no more fine print or hidden fees. airlines also have to let passengers know when the flights are canceled, diverted, delayed, more than half an hour. and travelers will have a 24-hour window to hold or cancel reservations at no cost. >> by now having a little

laundry list of rules that should make air fare buying a little more transparent, a little safer and just a little easier. we'll get a better gauge as to how to budget for air fare, vacation planning, by knowing exactly what our out of the door price is going to be. >> the new rules become law this thursday. coming up tonight at 11:00 we are live in tampa as the final four presidential hopefuls square off for what is sure to be a heated republican debate. i'm also hosting a web chat starting at 9:00 on nbc washington.com. we hope you'll join us. plus a player from the boston bruins snubs president obama refusing his inhave i education education -- invitation at the white house. >> let's check on the forecast. >> hoping for a cup of tea a little later. i think we all could use a cup of tea. >> it's been chilly. overnight we're going to hold steady around 38 or 39 degrees. if you're out driving be prepared for the pockets of fog, patchy fog. so you might be driving along, visibility is just fine and you hit that patch and boom.

you'll have to reduce your speed. 38 degrees. 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. 39 and 40 for tomorrow morning. tomorrow is going to be probably the best day of the work week getting into the mid 50s. it's going to be gorgeous. a little breezy early in the morning and then the rest of the week look for rain to develop on thursday. we've got some showers that are going to start moving in late morning thursday. 51 the high for friday. still a little bit of sunshine left around as well as on saturday but look for showers, maybe even some flurries on sunday. >> okay. thank you. well, london's weather is very much like this. in fact, this is typical for london. but today an orange juice company listed some artists to dispel some of the gloom over there. they call it the trefalger sun lit up on the square an hour before dawn. the ball of light 30 times larger than a soccer ball and built with the equivalent of 60,000 light bulbs got people's attention. it gives off a lot of light. the project was put togethery