good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. tuesday, january 24, 2012. right now on capitol hill, lawmakers listening to d.c. leaders about why occupy d.c. protesters have been allowed to camp out in mcpherson square for months now. the house oversight and government reform committee is holding a hearing at this hour. news4's erika gonzalez has been listening in and joins us live on capitol hill. erica, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. the hearing is called mcpherson square. who made the decision to allow indefinite camping in the park?

and is ongoing at this time. the subcommittee hearing began at 9:30 this morning in the rayburn house office build. subcommittee chairman republican of south carolina says the focus of the meet sing to determine and why city officials allowed protesters to continue camping at both mcpherson square and freedom plaza when according to him federal regulations prohibit this. paul kwander jr., deputy mayor for justice in d.c. spoke on the dangers and unlawful tactics protesters used since the start of their protest last october. >> on one incident at the convention center blocking ex-its to the convention center and entrances, using children as tools, as well as physically challenging attend he attendees political views. >> reporter: mcpherson square and freedom plaza are public forums and, therefore, free

speech must be respect. >> it is not simply as chairman issa said an opportunity to be heard, it is also an opportunity to be seen. >> reporter: director of the national park service jonathan jarvis says its job will be to ensure safety for all. >> as long as the demonstration continues, however, the nps will take an enforcement approach that seeks to protect public health and safety while respecting their first amendment rights. >> reporter: barbara, also this morning, director of the district of columbia's department of health gave testimony and he reported finding a dangerous threat at mcpherson encampment or potential for communicable diseases and hypothermia and food-borne illness. p much more on the story as it develops later on. we are live at the capitol. back to you. >> rats getting too close to the capitol out there.

thanks a lot. to the weather now, foggy morning. will the sun break through? we hope so. i thought i saw some out there earlier. good morning again. >> it has. over the last hour we have had some sunshine breaking out. good morning. as we got going on this tuesday morning we had quite a big of fog. live view from the sky watcher camera looking into fairfax county and there is -- some blue showing through sunshine breaking through. and as we look at the temperatures now as a result, it is beginning to warm up to near 50 degrees. right now 47 at reagan national. near 50 in southern maryland, eastern shore. fredericksburg up to 54. so charlottesville. many locations are now climbing into the low 50s there. and then frederick, maryland, up to 50 degrees and loudoun county, frederick county, they have quite a bit of fog earlier this morning. we are just getting a few clouds drifting through but those should drift away and we will give way to quite a bit of shine for the rest of the afternoon. it will be rather cool, though, highs in the low and mid 50s. this would be the 11th day this january getting over 50 degrees.

a few light breezes coming in out of the west-northwest at 5 to 15 miles an hour. a look at some rain possibilities by the end of the week. we will look at the weekend in just a couple of minutes. brash? >> tom, thank you. i think dan allege is ready for spring. aren't you? looks great. >> i am ready for spring. i can tell you you were talking about the fogg earlier and saw it along 270, still a little foggy out. it is so much better and no more delays. big delays earlier this morning because of the fog there. but right now you are clear as you continue to the spur. travel speeds in our area looking good. 250 traveling route 50 from 301 though the beltway. 63 miles per hour. this time from i-95, prince william parkway, capital beltway, 59 miles per hour. and i-66 eastbound good as well at 59 miles per hour. barbara, back to you. >> thank you. after weeks of pressure from fellow candidates, mitt romney's finances are public display. they are on public display this morning. he released the 2010 tax returns just after midnight last night.

they show he made more than $21 million in income last year and paid just over $3 million in taxes. that's a tax rate of about 14% less than half of what challenger newt gingrich said he paid. romney says his taxes became a distraction in south carolina. and it was a mistake not to release them earlier. just two days after his 12-point loss to newt gingrich in the south's first primary he took a much more combative tone at the first debate at florida and came out swinging at gingrich attacking him for what he called a lack of leadership and as speaker of the house. and called him a, quote, influenced peddler. that was in reference to gingrich's time as a consultant for mortgage giant freddie mac. you said i were paid $300,000 as an historian by freddie mac. they don't pay $25,000 a month for six years as historian. >> a point in this process where it gets unnecessarily personal and nasty and that's sad. i have never, ever gone and done

any lobbying -- >> before the debate, the gingrich campaign released some documents showing his relationship with freddie mac. it shows gingrich was paid $300,000 for consulting services starting in 2006. and again in 2007. the former house speaker has been accused of lobbying for the agency but maintains he was only an historian for freddie mac's top lobbyist. gingrich's firm started consulting for freddie mac in 1999 at a rate of $25,000 a month. but they say that they can no longer find those contracts. tonight president obama will address congress and the nation with his third state of the union address. tracee wilkins is live now with a preview of the president's speech. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. the state of the union address will kick off mr. obama's presidential campaign. so what will his message be? jobs in the economy are expected to be the focus. this picture is from the white house today. the president with his speechwriter. the president's annual speech to

congress sense expected to have a heavy focus on economic and inequality. sources say he will lay out the blueprint for an economy that's, quote, built to last. and offers a more even playing field. there will be a lot of talk about in-sourcing bringing more jobs back to america and so he will discuss manufacturing and in -- energy and education and strengthening the middle class. there will also be proposals included in this speech for tax reform. and the president is expected to discuss simplifying the american tax code and increasing taxes for wealthy. he will also offer a plan for more refinancing for homeowners and trouble and additional tax breaks for companies that bring back jobs to the u.s. and more initiatives for clean energy. >> the president tonight is going to offer something very different. it is a blueprint for how we built an america that will be lasting and that rewards work and that makes sure everybody does their fair share and holds everyone accountable. or dough we want to go back to a an economy that says wall street ought to write its own rules and

make it's easier for polluters to pollute. that that will trickle down. we know that doesn't work. that's the reason we lost tall jobs and the reason that some people had to go on food stamps and that's the fundamental question facing the country. >> this speach is eec this is gw what he will be focusing on the campaign trail. as one of her last duties in congress, gabrielle giffords and her husband, mark kelly, will watch the speech from the first lady's box. she is expected to submit her letter of resignation later this week. giffords is stepping down to focus on her recovery. you can watch the state of the union address tonight at 1999 right here on news4. all roads near the capitol will be closed during the state of the union this evening. parts of constitution avenue and independence avenue and pennsylvania avenue, among others, will close down at 7:00 tonight. police expect the roads to be open shortly after the address

is finished. family and friends are mourning the loss of a loved one who was struck and killed in a parking lot at an elementary school. a driver and maintenance man backed over 48-year-old tucker mae yesterday morning. her family tells news4 she was walking to the bus stop to visit her father. her daughter, tamika butler is devastated. >> heartbroken. i lost my best friend. breaks my heart. that somebody -- my mother had to die like that. >> no students were on campus at the time because it was a student holiday. the driver is cooperating with police and no charges have been filed in this case. new today. firefighters evacuated people living above a popular mexican restaurant in georgetown. high levels of carbon monoxide. it happened this morning near 33rd and m street northwest. firefighters tell news4 a faulty

stove triggered the carbon monoxide alarms upstairs. two pilot lights on the stove were left on. no one was hurt and everyone was able to get back into their homes. relief is on the way for metro riders tired of walking up and down broken escalators at the dupont central metro station. you need your walking shoes a few more months. metro's closing the south entrance of the dupont circle metro station on 19th street north west. february 1 is when it will close. it will be closed for up to 8 1/2 months while crews tear out the old escalators and install three new ones. during that time, riders will to enter and exit using the north entrance on q street. our time is 11:10. what impact with the solar storm have on us the movie "leading the way" with the most oscar nominations.

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new today. a series of car bombs exploded killing at least 14 people and injuring more than 70 others in iraq. the bombings happened in shiite neighborhoods. first bombing happened where day laborers were gathering. then minutes later, another bomb went off near a pastry shop in the same district. later in the morning, two more bombs exploded. violence surged since the u.s. military with drew from that

country. more than 170 people have been killed in iraq since the beginning of the year. crews are starting preparations to remove a half million gallons of fuel from capsiz capsized cruise ship in italy. a barge carrying a crane and other equipment is hitch eed to the costa concordia. the ship's captain is accused of steering the ship into shallow waters before it hit a reef on january 13. today a dive team found another body in the wreckage bringing the number of those dead to 16. at least 16 others are still missing. the smithsonian's national air and space museum is preparing to welcome the space shuttle discovery into its collection. take a look at a video of "discovery" at the last liftoff. smithsonian says the shuttle will be flown to dulles international airport on the back of a boeing 747. this coming april. before arriving at the final home at the museum's massive hangar in northern virginia, "discovery" will fly over d.c.

that flyover is planned for april 17, formal welcome ceremony will be held on april 19th. a solar storm is sending charged particles towards earth and could disrupt the gps device today. this is new video of that storm. scientists are predicting the radiation will enter the earth's atmosphere beginning -- that began at 6:00 this morning. and it is going to last through the day, they think. they say the charged plasma will make it sway to the earth in about a 34-hour period. the storm started on sunday. it is the biggest solar storm in 6 years but scientists say it should not cause any other problems. tom can tell us if he is noting any changes in the atmosphere out there because of that storm. >> no, don't have any reports yet. but what we saw there in that video with the very, very bright spots on the surface of the sun, that's where there was giant solar flares. very bright spot there. sends out tremendous amounts of energy. normally the sun is sending out energy and we see the energy in

the form of visible -- today. sun breaking out now. occasionally we bet a big blast like what occurred there. that surge is out into space and it is traveling at hundreds of thousands of miles an hour and getting here quickly and as it does interact with the earth's upper atmosphere it will create beautiful auroras. they were seen as far south as london last night when it first started hitting the did side of the earth. then tonight we might have an aurora here in our sky. we will keep a look at it. there's another view of that huge blast of energy coming off of the sun. you can see that radiating out into space. that's what happens. >> gps systems the only thing that can be affected by this? >> satellites that are in earth orbits. sometimes they can cause the compute others the satellites to reboot. so far we haven't heard of any reports of anything going on. if you do have an interpretation in your communication that's probably the reason. 47 at reagan national and some

of the solar energy showing up in visible light. we are seeing it now pouring down on capitol hill. 47 at reagan national now. and temperatures around the region are into the upper 40s now and near 50 degrees. much of the area, farther to our south hitting the low and mid 50s. fredericksburg up to 54. charlottesville, mid 50s. they may be near 60 degrees later this afternoon. closer to washington, we will probably hit the mid 50s and right now it is in the upper 40s and in montgomery, prince george's, fairfax, arlington county drishgts of columbia. a view from space. we are getting breaks in the cloud cover. it has been coming through from time to time. nice sunshine now. northern neck. southern maryland. most of the eastern shore and some breaks in the clouds farther to our west. as the day goes on, we will get increasing sunshine, going forward over the next 48 hours, we will have mostly clear skies tonight. we will get cold probably near the freezing mark by dawn tomorrow. and then during the day on wednesday, we will have plenty of sunshine in the morning. but then during the afternoon we will have clouds on the increase. clouds will sweep in and go all

cloudy on wednesday night and ahead of a front that will bring in some warmer scare some rain. it looks like all this area in color is rain. and by 11:00 thursday morning, it may begin to move into the panhandle of west virginia, northern shenandoah valley, sweep through the metro area, through the afternoon on thursday. for the rest of this tuesday afternoon, we will have increasing sunshine and temperatures climbing into the low and mid 50s around the metro area. again, just to our south we could get up to 60 degree this afternoon. then clearer skies tonight and look towards the north. you may actually see a faint aurora in the form of maybe a faint red glow in the sky. and that will be after sunset. be looking for that tonight. in the upper 40s early evening. low 40s by midnight and by dawn tomorrow, we should be down to near 30 degrees starting off wednesday morning. and then tomorrow, after some sunshine in the morning, clouds begin to close in, afternoon highs climbing into the mid 40s, a cooler day tomorrow. and then cloudy on wednesday night. and by dawn on thursday, it will be just cloudy and should be

above freezing in the upper 30s. and during the day on thursday, we will have the clouds thickening and from the west as that throb approaches some -- showers moving in. looks like middle of the day. during the afternoon and into the evening on thursday, those rain showers. take a while for the front to make its way through. we might have some rain on friday morning, too. but then friday afternoon, we should be begin to dry out and sun coming back. morning lows friday near 40. and afternoon highs near 50. then as we get into the weekend, after that front goes by, it will usher in some colder weather for saturday and should be down into the upper 20s on saturday morning. should be quite a bit of sunshine around on saturday with highs reaching the upper 40s. then looks like we will cloud up on saturday night into sunday. weak disturbance coming through may bring clouds in on sunday. and also some colder weather. it will be near 30 in the morning. highs on sunday. near 40. small chance of a sprinkle on sunday. then monday, you have been colder weather -- colder weather

moves in. afternoon highs in the 30s. feels like january again early part of next week. >> i'm enjoying it where it is now. >> no complaints yet. not too many anyway. >> dan allege is dressed for spring today. it makes us all ready. right, danella? >> almost. this is my fall/spring animal prints. fall/spring blended together. on the baelt way in virginia, inner loop, you will see construction as you make your way past i-66 and also again at gw parkway. you can see your right lane will be blocked as you make your commute. you can expect delays as you pass 50 in virginia. outer loop in maryland as well as the inner loop, no issues in montgomery county. i will give you the travel speed if you are on the outer loop. looks really nice. a cool 61. barbara, back to you. >> all right. thank you. it is 11:20. still ahead, how to look great without makeup. plus, the style end film, artists that did great at golden globes. will success continue at the

oscars? the nominations are out. we will take a look at that. first, here is a look at what's hot on

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i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. actor tracy morgan is out of the hospital and back at work after collapsing at a film festival. sources say the "30 rock star" just stepped offstage at an awards ceremony at the sundance film festival. he was acting dizzy and confused just before he collapsed sunday. a spokesperson said morgan was overcome by exhaustion and altitude. he was released from the hospital yesterday. on twitter the actor said he will be back at work today. this morning, the nominations were handed out for the 84th annual academy awards. 3-d family film set in pair nice

the 1930s is topping the list. >> the race to the oscars is officially on and this year there are nine nominees, four best pictures. here is a look at the front-runners. we begin with martin scorsese's "hugo." this picked up the most. 11 nominations and including best picture and best director. "hugo" has tough competition because this is the one we have all been hearing about. the artist which was a big winner at the golden globes. silent film has ten nominations, biggest surprises, though, september 11th drama starring tom hanks and sandra bulk on. this fill silver medal called extremely loud and incredibly close. brad pitt's t"the tree of life" got a nod. he told the "today" show he thought everyone had important forgotten about the film. "war horse" is in the mix. "the help" and "midnight in paris" scored nods. golden globe winner for best

drama a descendants and money ball are also taking nods in the category. george clooney and brad pitt are up against each other in the best actor category, up against damion bashir for his role in "a better life." gary oldman "tinker taylor soldier spy." meryl streep in "the iron lady." nominated glenn close for "albert nobbs." rooney mara in "the girl with the dragon tattoo." for now, bash remarks back to you. >> all right. thank you, angie. it is now 11:26. coming up in the next- hour, the legal rights of passengers who survived that cruise ship accident off the coast of tuscany. plus, will the clouds make way

for a little sunshine out there today? we are hoping so. tom kierein will be back to tell us if he thinks so. and packing tips for the family, the one item that will make sure your trip is a what makes the sleep number store different? the sleep number bed. with the sleep number bed, it's not about soft or firm. it's about support where you find it most comfortable. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. on a traditional mattress, there is no adjustment. you get what you're buying that day. with our bed, you change the setting to something you like.

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right now on "news4 midday," congressional hearing is wrapping up on capitol hill. regarding the occupy d.c. camp set up at mcpherson square and freedom plaza. d.c. police chief cathy lanier is among city leaders testifying before house subcommittee about why protesters have been allowed to stay camped out for so long. later today, president obama will address congress and the nation with his third state of the union address. with his re-election campaign already under way the president's speech will focus on the economy. you can watch the state of the union address tonight at 9:00 right here on news4. crews are start preparations to pump a half million gallons of fuel from the wreckage of an italian cruise ship. the costa concordia capsized january 13th. today divers found another body in the wreckage. 16 have been recovered so far. survivor of the cruise ship disaster are learning pursuing a legal fight may be long and

complicated. experts say boarding passes for the passengers on the costa concordia likely served as legal contracts and liability issues probably buried in fine print. in fact, american passengers who wanted to pursue a legal claim will have to take their case to italy. >> jurisdictions are going to be absolutely 100% in italy. there is a form selection clause contained in every passenger ticket that obligates them to go to italy to try or to even make a claim. that means an italian lawyer, that also means a noncontingency fear lawyer. you have to pay a lawyer in italy to bring a claim. >> teams of u.s. lawyers plan to file arguments in miami saying that this case is so unusual that it should be heard and in an american courtroom. the ship's parent company has offered to give passengers a full refund and reimburse all travel and medical expenses. did it not offer compensation for any type of long-term mental anguish. three days of public memorials begin today for

legendary penn state football coach joe paterno. a viewing is taking place right now at pass can a role's spiritual center on the campus. paterno will be buried tomorrow and the public ceremony will take place thursday afternoon. paterno died sunday, less than three months after doctors diagnosed the 85-year-old with lupg cancer. penn state fired paterno last move when his former defensive coordinator, jerry sandusky, was accused of sexually abusing several young boys. president obama has offered his condolences to the paterno family saying he and the first lady would keep them in their prayers. later today the man accused of trying to kill president obama will be formally charged. last week a brand jury indicted oscar ramiro or take owe hernandez on an attempted assassination charge. he also faces charges of asalting federal officers and damaging federal property. hernandez was arrested last november after authorities said he fired several rounds off at

the white house. he will be rained at 1:30 this afternoon. former cia officer is accused of repeatedly leaking classified secrets to reporters. authorities arrested the man. prosecutors charged him with violating the espionage act bypassing classified information to journalists. he told reporters he took part in the interrogation of terror suspect zubeda. the information included the identity of a covert cia officer. the name after cia employee who interrogated him. he's out of jail after posting a $250,000 bond. a seek remember service agent testified the man who shot president ronald reagan became fixate order a row of books about presidential assassinations and about president ronald reagan. the agent says he got goosebumps after watching this and john hinckley jr. was on a trip to williamsburg, virginia.

the agent was assigned to secretly watch hinckley. he shot reagan in 1918 but a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. he has been hospitalized at st. elizabeth's in the district ever since. hinckley is seeking more unsupervised time to visited his mother in williamsburg. prosecutors are fighting that request. today people in the deep south are cleaning up after a deadly storm moved through that region. right now the governor of alabama is surveying the damage after at least two tornadoes killed two people and injured more than 100 people. the twisters also destroyed more than 200 holmes across the heart of alabama. the system moved through arkansas, tennessee, mississippi yesterday. moving or leaving a path of destruction in all of those states. some people found their holmes in pieces. >> we made it just in the nick of time. good lord blessed us and we are glad we are here. we lost our house but at least

we have -- i'm sorry. we've got our family. >> many say they were not prepared for tornadoes this time of year. they thought the storm would be bringing sleet and rain instead. we are going to check in with tom kierein on the latest on our forecast. tom, sunshine coming today. >> yeah, it is breaking out now. here is a live view from the sky watcher camera looking in the middle distance at the national cathedral in north west washington. off on the horizon, southeast washington and prince george's county, plenty of shine now. there is a deck of clouds right over downtown. and elsewhere. we are getting just a few clouds coming through. temperature at reagan national now 47 degrees. it is in the upper 40s in prince george's county. montgomery county. and right now in the mid ask upper 40s in arlington and fairfax counties as well. and to our south it is actually into the mid 50s now from fredericksburg to charlottesville to the central shenandoah valley and a few locations in west virginia. and it is hitting the mid 50s. southern maryland around the bay and eastern shore, near 50 now. there is a view from space. few clouds drifting through. as the afternoon progresses we will get increasing sunshine.

highs reaching low and mid 50s around the metro area. maybe even near 60 down to our south. and then during the day tomorrow increasing clouds and does look like we will have cooler weather moving in and on thursday, cloudy and some rain moving in middle of the day. perhaps during the afternoon and evening. some passing showers and highs in the 40s on thursday. then on friday, some clouds in the morning and maybe lingering showers and then sun back on friday afternoon. morning lows near 40. afternoon highs around 50 degrees. saturday, rather friday afternoon, then saturday, sunshine returns. turning colder, saturday morning in the 20s. afternoon highs in the upper 40s. highs 30s to near 40 degrees. that's the way it looks now. barbara. >> tom, thank you. disaster aid information coming to virginia areas hit hard by last year's east coast earthquake. the 5.8 earthquake shook much of the region back in august. so far the federal government has approved more than $25 million in disaster aid for

virginia. the state and federal officials will hold town hall meetings in culpeper over the next two weeks. the first is tonight at culpeper high school at 7:00. we are going to check on the midday traffic. dan allege sealock has the latest what's going on the roads. >> we are looking good if you are about to head out of the house and get on to the roadways. i'm not seeing a lot of issues for you. traveling 395 this is the view at duke street northbound. looks really good. there beltway to the 14th stage bridge, 58 miles per hour. i-66 in both directions east and west, nice and clear as well. eastbound for fairfax county parkway to the beltway, you are at 54 miles per hour. bash remarks back to you. >> all right. thank you, danella. planning and packing for a trip is even tougher when you are traveling with children. i'm sure you know that if you have them. we can help you. elizabeth thorpe joins us with a must-pack list if you are traveling with kids. good morning. >> hi. thank you for having me. >> thanks for joining us.

a lot of people are thinking of going. we have holidays coming up. some kids get winter break. >> absolutely. >> let's talk about how you do it. >> right. couple of things i think that every family should know is you can't expect there to be entertainment or food on a plane. >> not anymore. >> not anymore. number one rule i think is snack, snack, snacks. hungry kid is a cranky kid. if you are delayed and the -- you know, snack part does not come down your way, that's a problem. we always pack, you know, little snacks in everybody's bag. >> any particular thing you think is best? >> i just usually do these, you know, granola bars individually wrapped so it does not explode. >> observation. >> healthy snacks. usually. >> all right. here's some of the things you say ought to be in the kids carry-ones. some -- extra change of clothes. >> always. >> even if -- you know, you have an older child, there will be spills. gosh, hopefully they don't get sick on the plane. always extra change of clothes. >> you also suggest diapers. i guess you got a little one. >> yes, definitely diapers.

sometimes airlines have extras. just a few -- you know that's the one thing. wipes, no only for the diaper duty but sticky hands and faces. daddy sometimes. so wipes are important. you say they should bring books and games. >> we let them pack their own bags, get excited for the trip. our 4-year-old penelope packed her bag last night. let's pretend we are going on a trip. she put in books she likes and cute sticker activities that are very small. they don't take up a lot of room. they know they have to pack them and they are responsible. carry them. another thing we like the do, go into the bottom of the bins, forgotten toy area. i will take a toy that they have or forgotten about and wrap it.

if they need an incentiving to act particularly nicely or -- a reward, i will give them this and get very excited. you can open that, barbara, if you want. >> i'm also interested in knowing -- what about boys? they can be more rambunctious sometimes than girls. what do you do to keep them under control? >> i think -- some of these coloring activities can keep them occupied for a long time. these are great imagination books. they come with these doodle sticks. you just wipe them off. and reuse them ask reuse them. i mean, parents, if this is the time to bring your ipad or ipod, it is now. >> this is wrapped very well. >> sorry. >> that's all right. >> a book -- >> that's very cute. that's what she picked up. >> she will doodle. yeah. that will keep her occupied for a half hour. some of these, ipad and ipods have these cool games. angry birds. >> you say kids even as young as 2 years old play with these. >> absolutely. this is the time for parents to charge them and bring them. >> i notice a lot of people these days are not using the --

checked bag anymore. they are bringing everything on. >> right. >> traveling with children. >> you can. we usually -- these are pottery barn. one of our kids has these. they pack them with our supervision, of course. and they fit very nicely above, you know, not one of these giant ones and can also handle them. and that way we save $75 each kid has their own bag. they check it on. >> you can get enough for a child for, what, a -- not a whole week. >> not a whole week but definitely long weekends can fit in there. you know. if you are a family of 5 and spending $4,000 to travel, then you are hit with $100 a bag fees, it can get frustrate. >> more for your information. here are things you say should have to go in checked bags. remembering the pajamas. >> yes. >> lot of times folks don't remember that. >> i say long-sleeved pajamas because even if you are going to the beach, hotels are always really cold and air conditioned. same with airplanes and if you are going on an overnight flight.

or trains. i say dshlong-sleeved jammies. pack your own sunscreen. if you guy buy tonight the hotel lobby lit cost a fortune. the kids' medicine. you don't want a pooefr and have to run out in the middle of the night in place you don't know. so i always pack their medicines and -- earplugs. and then sometimes eye shades. we have girls that are divas but you don't know how good those blockout shades will be. if you are going to sleep through the night. >> quickly, you said there is one thing you cannot be without. waiting to hear what that. >> people ask me what piece of travel gear could you not live without. you can tell this is a well-loved -- it has been through a couple of kids. it is a sit and stroll. so what it is, it is one piece. it is a -- approved car seat for cars and planes. and strollers. what you do is you have your child in here up to 50 pounds. you can roll it to the airplane. it is a stroller. the wheels come out. >> that's great. >> when you get to the airplane, instead of checking it, it fits

into the seats. even some of the regional airplanes. it straps in and so you don't have a lot of extra stuff. >> right. >> you will having to remember that and you can hang some of these bags on the back of that. >> we do. >> so great to have you with us. >> thank you so much. >> great suggestions for folks that are traveling with little kids. >> yes. absolutely. >> we will see you again sometime. thanks a lot. it is now 11:43. still ahead on "news4 midday," how to look great without makeup. potentially groundbreaking find for does your cable company keep charging you more... and more... and more? stop paying so much for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online: just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. you save $600. go to verizon.com/greatprice to sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers superior picture quality, more hd, plus america's fastest, most consistent

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stock prices are sliding right now. let's check in with cnbc's bertha coombs. shes that rest of the day's headlines for us, too. >> stocks flat today. markets are, again, worried about greece. investors holding its bonds taking a big cut in the payouts and european leaders are pressing for more reforms before they will approve new bailout money for athens in order to

avoid a big default. they have a big debt payment due in march. earnings not really helping the mood all that much. although coach reported profits that rose more than expected on strong holiday sales. driven in part by its growing mail customer bas-- driven by t male customer base. mcdonald's saw earnings top on stronger sales in the u.s. and overseas. even after the fast food giant raised prices over the last year. overall hires in washington, d.c., grew in 2011 according the the latest statistics from the labor department. the district is one of the regions in the country unemployment remained well above the national average last year. as governor jobs have been shed. new figures from the labor department show that d.c. is tied with mississippi for the fourth highest unemployment rate in the country. 10.4%. but if you are an engineer, you can pretty much write your own ticket. certainly in silicon valley. tech website dice.com says that the average annual salary for

workers in the area now tops $100,000 within the last we are. that compares to 81,000-k in the nation as a whole. salaries are rising as companies like facebook, zinga and twitter are expanding. spurring big competition for software engineers and other high-skilled tech employees. and the companies can't find enough qualified people to fill those spots. so they are offering them more and more money to sign on. barbara, if have you kids, engineering is the way to go. >> yeah. i would imagine that would be true. okay. thanks so much. and creating those video games, too. that seems like a big thing these day. >> exactly. everything involved with tech engineering software, you can write your own ticket. those jobs are like three, four jobs for every person. >> yeah. a few years now. thanks so much. have a great day. >> you, too. we are hearing from the experts that the hot pest beauty trend for 2012 is imperfection. the new look for the new year is less makeup. the natural look according to a

leading hair and makeup artist. dr. cheryl burgess joins us this morning to talk about the -- how to look your best without makeup and a lot of folks are scared about that. >> we are back to the '70s now. the more pure and natural and, you know the more natural look. not a lot of makeup. in order to have that appearance, you have to have nice skin underneath. >> you do. lot of folks use the makeup to cover up the imperfections. >> exactly. i mean, so you really when they say imperfections are in, they don't really mean that, right? >> no. they don't really mean that. you want to get your skin in the healthiest state it can be. so the first thing is someone, say, around their midlife '50s didn't have the opportunity to use sunscreen when they were

younger. we are probably the population that are actually doing more things to our skin to even the color. sunscreen is -- it is not ever too late to use sunscreen. that's the first thing. then the other issue other than discoloration can be fine lines and, again, usually just with aging and elasticity with the skin, sun caused it as well. just refining and resurfacing the skin and it doesn't have to be anything very expensive. that is -- i know we have been talking a few seconds about -- >> micro dek microdermabrasion. >> that's a light sanding of the skin. it is almost like buffing a car. when you put the wax on it and it always looks better when you put that layer of wax on the car. >> i see those for sale now in some stores. even -- some of the -- >> yes. >> -- inexpensive drug stores

have them. >> at the level like knnutragin. have y doesn't have to get to that degree. you can put sugar in your cold cream and rub it and get the same effect. so that exfoliation actually stimulates that lower level of skin to push everything up and off. >> exfoliation is a good thing then. >> it is a good thing. >> rub your face with something -- >> not overexfoliate. >> i see. >> people can damage their skin and cause discoloration by overexfolia overexfoliating. yes. the gentle, mild exfoliation once or twice a week is what most people require. >> moisturizers. >> moisturers with a skin screen. why not? if you are going to buy one, why not have a sunscreen in it. it is okay to put a sunscreen on at night. buy onite them that can be your moisturizer. >> once again you are telling us the sunscreen is the most important thing. >> most important thing. then we have chemical peels had

is a light acid and we -- speak of acid as the ph level. and it is -- applied to the skin and over the course of a few days you lightly peel, very lightly. that's refreshing to the skin as well. all of these are very, very cost-effective procedures that you can do. >> all right. we want to look natural but not imperfect. >> no. >> all right. thank you so much. always great to see. >> did you you're welcome. >> it is 11:52. coming up, how to get president obama to sing to you. plus meteorologist tom kierein will be back with a look at how long today's mild conditions are going to last. stay with news4 all afternoon. at 3:00 ellen welcomes sam worthington

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for the first time a clinical trial of human embryonic stem cells is showing some success. the cells were used on two patients who suffer from the degeneration. that's leading cause of blindness in the elderly. researchers at ucla say it helps partially restore sight to both of the patients. one no longer needs a magnifying glass to read and the other can go shopping on her own. scientists say they are revealing with near perfect

conditions when they did the surgery. that's as a result of -- results are preliminary. but right now looks good. you may hear president obama's voice singing during a quiet office meeting one of these days. ♪ i ♪ i'm so in love with you ♪ >> wow. the obama re-election campaign turned that moment into a cell phone ring tone. the president is saying a f ini singing a few lines from al green's "let's stay together." his campaign is seizing on the publicity. ring tone is available for download on president obama's re-election website. we are going to take a look at the stories we are following for news4 this afternoon. 7-year-old piano prodigy that will have you mazed. coming up. also ahead at 4:00, fashion week in pair its. the stars are out as chanel shows off its new fashion line.

then at 5:00, understanding the true health value of vitamins. there are so many. which ones are worth taking? try to break that down for you. a doctor weighs in on why multivitamins may not be the right thing for you. and we have breaking news from sports. wizards have fired head coach flip saunders. that will be one of our major stories this afternoon at 4:00 and 5:00. we will have more on the firing of head coach flip saunders at the wizards. time for a final check on the forecast. here is tom. >> talking about the solar storm earlier. now some of the latest instruments that have been measuring the intensity of it showing it is stronger than they thought and actually the strongest solar storm since 2003. might disrupt communication this afternoon. right now we are seeing sunshine breaking through. and temperatures are beginning to climb. we are into the 40s to near 50 degrees and it will hit the mid 50s and hold steady around the metro area during the afternoon with a few clouds coming through from time to time.

and then tonight we should clear out and be down to near 30 by dawn tomorrow. and increasing clouds wednesday into the mid 40s. and looks like rain moving in on thursday and maybe around thursday night through midday friday and the weekend drying out and getting cold sunday and monday. that's the way it looks now. we will see you tomorrow. have a good afternoon. >> looking forward to see you tomorrow. that's "news4 midday" for today. thank you for being with us and invite to you tune in for more news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. we will be back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. with "news4 midday." i hope you