good morning, everyone, and welcome to "news 4 midday," i'm barbara harrison. it's friday, january 27th, 2012. right now, police cadets are searching the area where a body was found in a well in prince george's county. this happening in the 11900 block of old fort road in ft. washington. news 4's tracee wilkins is live on the scene. tracee? >> reporter: good morning, barbara. we've been here all morning. let me show you what's going on behind me right now. as you can see, they've got a long line of vehicles there, and we're expecting more vehicles down there, equipment to come down there in place and help out

with this survey, to find out exactly how they're going to be able to get into this well and remove the body that was found there. so, for most of the day, that's what they're going to be doing, and they're also looking for evidence. let me give you a closer look here. this morning, investigators were back in the 11900 block of old fort road along with police cadets, who were doing a thorough search of the property surrounding the well. yesterday afternoon, police received an anonymous call from someone, saying there was a body in a well next to an unoccupied home. police arrived and discovered that body and what is described as a 20-feet-deep well. there is now a tent in place covering the well. alexandria police detectives are also on the scene. they're investigating the september disappearance of community activist lenny harris. it's important to note that the body found in the well has not been positively identified. harris's wallet was found on the woodrow wilson bridge shortly after his disappearance, and his stolen credit card was used in

prince george's county. police say that the focus for today is, however, figuring out how to safely remove the body in that well while preserving evidence. >> to give you an idea of how long it's going to take, simply to get a piece of construction equipment that we need at the scene, we've got to go through a permening process to allow it to get on the road. so that gives you a sense how long this is going to take. it's possible the excavation doesn't even begin today. it's the preparation for the excavation that will likely take most of the day. >> reporter: now, in order to do that preparing, they're going to need a surveyor to look at the property and determine a couple of things. first of all, will this well collapse? what can they do to remove the body without the well collapsing? they're also concerned about nearby utilities and also making sure they have all the proper permits to do this. so, this is going to be a lot of work and a long process before

they're even able to get the body out of the well and then identify it. now, because of all of this, prince george's county police are only calling this a death investigation at this point, not even a homicide. they can't go that far until they're able to absolutely do an autopsy report. i'm tracee wilkins live this morning in ft. washington. barbara, back to you in the studio. >> thank you, tracee. one person is in the hospital after a carbon monoxide leak in georgetown. investigators tell news 4 a faulty water heater is to blame for the second carbon monoxide leak at that same building this week. this is along 33rd street. we're told about a dozen people were evacuated from the building. one person was taken to the hospital. they're expected, however, to be okay. we're glad to hear that. and in other news, we've got some changing weather out there. looks like the sky is clearing little bit. here's tom. >> yeah, boy, we had some really heavy rain earlier this morning with some thunder and lightning, and it felt like a spring morning, temperatures in the 60s. but now big changes have occurred since then.

you can see on the radar, that moving color, that's all rain, and those areas in yellow and orange and red, those are the areas getting the heavier rains right now, and it's continuing to rapidly pull away. and as it does move away, we've had some sunshine breaking out. right now, temperatures are still hovering in the low 60s to upper 50s right near washington and points north and west it's in the mid-50s, but look to the south. fredericksburg 68 degrees, culpeper's at 66, charlottesville 64, but there is some chillier air far to our north and west. we'll have some sunshine in and out during the afternoon. the winds will begin to pick up, too. they'll start to gust to around 30 to 35 miles an hour later this afternoon. we'll drop from near 60 around noontime to just near 50 degrees by sunset, and then all the way down to freezing by dawn on saturday. so, a big change on the way. we'll talk about the weekend and next week. that will be coming in a couple of minutes, just a few minutes when i join you, barbara. >> all right, come on in here,

tom. see you in a minute. thanks a lot. we're going to check on the midday traffic now. danelle is here. she's been keeping an eye on things. how's it looking? >> well, westbound route 32 prepping b.w. parkway, an accident blocking two left lanes. you'll notice flashing lights, ambulance as well as police are both on the scene. just be aware of that and on our roadways, travel speeds looks really good. traveling 50 making your way from the beltway out to annapolis, you're at 67 miles per hour. and traveling on the dulles toll road from hunter mill road to the beltway 47 miles per hour, not bad. barbara, back to you. >> thanks, daniella. new from overnight, u.s. park police arrested a few protesters at mcpherson square. occupy d.c. organizers tell news 4 u.s. park police were checking tents to make sure no one was sleeping when a few protesters apparently became unruly. three protesters were taken into custody. so far, there is no word on what charges they face. earlier this week, the national park service said it would begin enforcing the no camping rule.

demonstrators have been camping out since october. and this afternoon, a woman convicted of killing a co-worker at the lululemon store in bethesda will learn her punishment. in november, brittany norwood was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of jayna murray last march. the prosecution said murray suffered wounds from five different weapons, including a hammer and a wrench. norwood's conviction already carries a life sentence, but her family and friends are fighting for her to have a chance for parole. news 4 obtained more than a dozen letters asking the judge for leniency. jayna murray's family and friends, however, are asking that the judge not to allow the parole, in fact, to deny parole. if norwood is given life with a chance for parole, she would serve 25 years before having a parole review. well, today, a new transit center in falls church opens its doors. the seven corners transit center

is now open for travelers at the seven corners shopping center. it features bus shelters with route times and updated maps. metro officials say this revamped transit center will help relieve traffic around the parking areas of the shopping center. car fanatics, that's time of year again, the 2012 washington auto show is here and once again features the new and hottest cars out there. news 4's megan mcgrath is having a good time, i think, out there at the washington convention center. are you liking those cars you're seeing, megan? >> reporter: there are some pretty hot rides here. in fact, every car on the market is represented here at the show, and they also have a number of concept cars, those funky cars they're experimenting with, including this one off in the background here. that's by ford, that orange hotrod up there. now, there are more than 700 vehicles here this year by 43 different manufacturers. they've really expanded. they've gone from five days to ten days, so you have even longer to come down here to the convention center and check out all of the cars. they have 750,000 square feet of

vehicles and new technology. big this year, all that onboard technology we've been seeing. they have elaborate navigation systems, computerized dashboards and a lot of green technology. vehicles today definitely much more sophisticated than they used to be. >> it's really the place in the world for cars today. and the important thing is the things that used to be options, now you're finding them as standard equipment, particularly in some of your more reasonably priced models. >> reporter: and take a look at this. this is one of the safety innovations out there, inflatable seatbelts in the back seat. they act like little airbags. when you get into a crash, it inflates and gives some protection to people in the back seat. that's one of the things they have on display. all kinds of different interactive displays. you even have an opportunity by fiat to drive one of their cars around a little track that's here inside the convention center. lots of things to do. now, you can see i'm alone here in the convention center.

they have not yet opened their doors. they open at noon today and they'll stay open for the next ten days, but a lot going on. a lot of really cool cars to check out. one thing to keep in mind, though, you cannot actually purchase a car here. that's the rule. if you do find your dream car, what they will do is hook you up with a dealer so that you can go to that dealer and then make your purchase. back to you, barbara. >> good, i'm glad you're not going to be spending too much money down there today, then. >> reporter: no, no. i'm wondering what that one costs. >> yeah. i like that red truck i saw behind you. all right, thanks a lot, megan. >> reporter: sure. >> and tomorrow, be sure to join veronica johnson and trevor pryce as they check out the hottest cars inside the washington auto show. that's tomorrow night at 7:30 right here on nbc 4 and nbc nonstop. our time right now, nine minutes after 11:00. coming up, the passengers who survived that cruise ship accident off the coast of tuscany are now being offered compensation for the nightmare vacation. we began digging in after monday night, because frankly, i had had about enough of this. >> yeah, another feisty debate.

this time, immigration reform was one of the att i just had it with cable. it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. move up to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing!

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some dramatic security video shows people running away as three buildings come down behind them in rio de janeiro, brazil. six people are dead, sixteen more missing.

brazilian officials suspect illegal construction work damaged one building, causing it to crumble and bring down two others as well. two weeks ago, the "costa concordia" luxury cruise liner hit a reef off the coast of italy. this morning, rescue crews are looking for more than a dozen still missing. they're now offering a compensation package for survivors, and this weekend, they'll make their first big move to prevent an environmental disaster. news 4's melissa mollet is here with more. >> reporter: we have new pictures of what divers are facing inside the ship as they field their way through the wreckage, searching for any additional victims. take a look. so far, 16 people are confirmed dead, 16 others still missing. those divers also looking for documents, hard drives, anything that would help them reconstruct the events that led up to this crash. take a look at this as well. the cruise line making an offer to passengers, $14,500 each for lost baggage and trauma, travel costs and medical expenses. that offer could cost the line

$46 million in all. this weekend, crews will begin draining fuel from the ship. there's a total of 2,400 tons on board. that's 600,000 gallons. just to put that in perspective, that amount of fuel would fill 25 backyard pools. the work could take several weeks. no word yet on how many passengers are planning to take that offer from the cruise line. of course, they can sue if they don't like the deal. back to you. >> all right, thank you very much. in the race for the white house, mitt romney is taking a much more aggressive tone in his attacks on newt gingrich less than a week before the crucial florida primary. the candidates squared off in the final debate before the sunshine state's primary on tuesday. all four white house hopefuls took part, but the focus was primarily on romney and gingrich. romney was particularly animated when gingrich called him the most anti-immigrant gop candida candidate. >> i just want to make sure i understand, is he still the most anti-immigrant candidate? >> i think of the four of us, yes. >> go ahead.

>> that's simply inexcusable. that's inexcusable. and actually, senator marco rubio came to my defense and said that ad was inexcusable and inflammatory and inappropriate. mr. speaker, i'm not anti-immigrant. my father was born in mexico, my wife's father was born in wales. they came to this country. the idea that i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. don't use a term like that. >> romney also blasted gingrich over his vow to build a colony on the moon during his presidency. he accused gingrich of just telling florida voters what they want to hear in order to win their support. well, gingrich seems to be emerging as the front-runner. he leads romney by nine points among republicans likely to vote in the primaries, according to the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. rick santorum is in a distant third followed by ron paul. that may not be the best of news, though, for republicans. gingrich is the worst of all candidates tested against president obama in the general election. the former house speaker would lose by 18 points, according to the poll.

romney would fair best against the president, trailing now by just six points. well, while much of the attention lately has been on the race for the white house, many members of congress may be concerned about holding on to their jobs this election year. according to a new poll, the majority of registered voters say they would vote out every member of congress, if they could. 56% of voters say they'd prefer a whole new congress. and the anger appears to be bipartisan. 55% of liberals, 55% of moderates and 58% of conservatives say they'd vote out congress, all of them, if they could do that. and we have our weather now. we're going to talk to tom kierein about what to expect the rest of this day, and let's look at the weekend. i'm ready for that. >> all right, we will do that. but first, we went through quite a morning this morning, quite a variety of weather. we started off with temperatures in the 60s. it kind of felt like springtime, and then we had some storms come through. these are scenes in ft. washington in prince george's county, where they got a heavy

deluge there. that was around 9:00, 9:30 this morning when that storm came through. there was some thunder and lightning and the sky just opened up with a tremendous downpour there. the visibility was very low. the water ponded up, and it's now draining off. now, after it cleared, here was another view. this is of the key bridge from georgetown, looking at the potomac river. there's a little bit of fog right over the river there and we had some sunshine breaking out. by contrast, take a look. this is a photo i took from our front lawn. this is the stormy sky about 8:00 this morning. it was almost as dark as night. in fact, you can see the street lights came on when those really dark clouds came through. this is before the storm. this is after. it cleared out beautifully. this is by 10:00. we got some sunshine breaking out, the breezes picked up, and as the afternoon is progressing, we continue to see the sunshine in and out as we go into the afternoon as we'll get some gusty winds, too, coming in from the north and west. but right now, clouds have closed back in at reagan national. it's at 60 degrees. a few little breaks in the clouds there. we've got a south-southwesterly

breeze right now. as we look at the radar, over the last hour, much of the rain is now exiting southern maryland. it's on the eastern shore now, right along the atlantic beaches. the heaviest rain on now heading over the atlantic ocean and we're getting a clearing sky off to our west. sunshine in the shenandoah valley. it's in the 50s there now, but some colder air beginning to move into western maryland. it's only in the 40s there. and right around washington, in fairfax, prince george's, arlington, montgomery counties, right near 60 degrees now. and over the last 12 hours, here was that one line of heavy rain that came through. there are the breaks in the clouds off to our west. as the afternoon progresses, we'll get some of that sunshine. and going forward over the next 48 hours, we'll get the sun this afternoon but also some snow showers out of the mountains of western maryland and into northern west virginia as the cold air surges in from the north and west, and it's going to feel like winter again after it felt like spring, and it still feels like spring outside. rather humid and rather balmy. but as we get into saturday night and sunday morning, that's when some much colder air is going to begin to move in.

so, very cold end to the weekend after this balmy friday. so, for the rest of the afternoon, we'll get some sunshine breaking out, temperatures right now near 60. we'll fall to around 50 degrees by sunset. and the winds will pick up, too, out of the north and west, gusting around 35 miles an hour. and then overnight tonight, we'll have a clear sky. sun sets at 5:23. and we'll have the winds settling down. we'll fall from near 50 around sunset to near 40 degrees by midnight, and it will keep on dropping all the way down to near freezing by dawn on saturday. near 30 degrees tomorrow morning. and then afternoon highs, though, should come back into the low and mid-50s saturday afternoon, but lots of sun tomorrow, great day for recreation and activities going on around town. and sunday is when the cold air really starts to come in. 20s in the morning and a lot of cloudiness around on sunday. afternoon highs only in the mid-40s. and even colder on monday. clear, sunshine, but near 20 in the morning. afternoon highs only near 40 on

monday. then warming up a bit tuesday and wednesday. could get some rain the end of next week. snow lovers, keep the crying towels handy. >> we're not going to get it. >> doesn't look like it. >> doing your snow dance? >> i've already done that. i'm worn out. >> it's not working. >> i have no other options left. we're working on it. >> we'll see what happens next month, maybe. thanks a lot. let's check on the midday traffic. danella tells us she's not looking for snow. >> you know me, barbara, and you know i'm celebrating the sun all year round, and i'm also celebrating, because right now if you're traveling around the beltway, your commute looks really good. i'm not seeing any issues for you. we'll look live, starting in montgomery county. i can tell you, the outer loop today was jammed all morning long, but no problems for you right now at colesville road. travel speed on the outer loop looks good at 58 miles per hour. the inner loop and outer loop in virginia, gw parkway, no issues at all. a travel speed also on the outer loop, you're at 56 miles per hour. barbara, back to you. >> all right, thank you. still ahead on "news 4

midday," a local fitness club is offering paula deen a little help. plus, a preview of this weekend's chinese new year parade and festival. that's coming up. but first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

monday was the start of the chinese lunar new year, the year of the dragon this year. and this weekend, a big celebration is taking place in our area to celebrate. debbie gasper and rita lee join us this morning with details. good morning, both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> and you brought along a friend, a familiar face that we've seen in all the parades here in washington. and most lunar new year parades around the world -- >> yes. >> -- feature the lion head. tell us a little about the parade this year. >> okay, this year is going to be the biggest event, we do believe, as the chinese consolidation. the reason is, this is the year of the dragon. you know, the dragon symbolizing the andril, the power, the sexes, the leadership. so, that's why the dragon will bring lots of lots of luck and success to the people to join, to see and have fun with it. >> well, that sounds fantastic. now, there will be a dragon there as well, but this is the

lion, the lion's head, a very special one, because you say that the lion is in every parade, leads off the parade, is that right? >> yes, yes, because the lion is going to be starting all the event wait, then the dragon come out. that's why we bring the lion head, because the dragon's too big, too long. >> tell us a little bit about last year's parade. we're seeing some pictures from last year. >> actually, this is the first time we've been involved and the first time in over 38 years they hired an ad agency to help promote the event. so, that's the big news for me this year. >> i see, so lots of people always turn out, but you're hoping for even bigger turnout this year? >> yes. >> and you're also looking for sponsors, is that right? >> yes. >> we are very happy because this year we have the ad agency was involved with us, and debbie gasper and we work together, so we do have the wizard, we have -- >> the wizards are going to be in the parade. we're so excited. >> oh, the basketball wizards!

>> yes. >> we broadcasted from the wizards halftime show with the lion dance, went to 150 million viewers. so we're bringing in people, verizon, that have never been part of it before, and building up the excitement. >> now, one person will be the head. one real person will be under here. >> yes. >> how many people behind him with this trail of beautiful cloth that we can see behind him? >> it's actually, it's two, because one is holding the head. the other one is on the back in the tail. but doing there's so many shows, the head people will always be in the position, but the tail person, you know, it's harder to bend yourself, so we always change the people in the back. so, the lion dance, always two people to do it. >> and do you refurbish this head for each year? is it always the same? can it be different colors for each year? >> actually, the chinese association, ccba, we have six lions. so, this is just one we bring. but we have even bigger, the huge one. this is our smaller one we bring.

so, if everybody goes to see the parade, you can see, we have six lion there, plus we have the other groups, the lion team there. so, in total, three lion team. and this year, we also have a monk. >> when does it start, sunday, right? >> sixth and h? >> it's h street. going to start -- the parade's starting at 2:00. >> okay. >> and the parade is going to start on "h" street, i street all the way around. >> okay. debbie gasper and rita lee and the lion's head. thanks for being here today. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i hope a lot of people turn out on saturday. it's now 11:27. coming up next hour, after a tough workweek for metro riders, more delays are expected this weekend. we're going to tell you what part of the rail system to avoid. plus, medical breakthrough. how doctors are selecting stem cells from your fat and how those stem cells can be used. and after a stormy morning, what can we expect for this weekend?

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a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. move up to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing! i was just in a trance watching it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ male announcer ] and here's a special bonus: sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed, you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now. move up to fios for our best price online -- $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years and get $300 back with a two-year contract. or ask us about the option of no annual contract. is change good? in this case, change is very good. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead.

right now, police cadets are searching the area where a body was found in a well in prince george's county. at the same time, officials are working on a plan to get the body out of the well. it's happening in the 11900 block of old fort road. that's in ft. washington. a tipster called police yesterday afternoon and told them where to find the body. police say removing the body from the 20-feet-deep well is a very complicated process. after major delays during both rush hours yesterday, metro riders are probably ready for a break from the commuting headaches they experienced, but this weekend, expect some more problems getting around town. danella see lock has a look at the closures and delays on the system this weekend. >> metro will be doing track work on four of the system's five lines, and it could affect travel around the city. the red line looks like it may be the biggest problem this weekend as buses replace trains

between dupont circle so crews can shut down the woodley park station for work as well as the cleveland park metro station. in addition, trains will be single-tracking on the blue and orange line between mcpherson square and smithsonian. green line trains will single-trail between naylor road and branch avenue, and yel betw huntington and mt. vernon square. all of that work starts tonight at 10:00, and everything should be back to normal just in time for your monday morning commute. have a great weekend. >> all right, danella, thank you. a former prince george's county corrections officer is charged in connection with the death of an inmate. ronnie white died in custody at the county detention center back in 2008. he was a suspect in the death of an officer. yesterday, fbi agents arrested anthony mcintosh in connection with white's death. prosecutors say mcintosh found white unconscious in his cell and didn't alert anyone. they say mcintosh also tried to

cover up his involvement. if convicted, he could face life in prison. prosecutors reduced the charges against a florida doctor who was subjected to racial slurs. virginia state troopers arrested dr. maria ferer after a minor accident near the pentagon back in july. >> work in chicago now, so -- >> burrito doctor. >> burrito doctor? yeah. >> a dash cam from the trooper's cruiser showed that he used racial slurs and ethnic jokes before arresting the hispanic doctor. ferer says troopers arrested her because she questioned why they were asking her to sign a ticket. she also says it took her a long time to recover from the ordeal. >> it is very difficult to trust people now, especially the police, you know. i have nightmares almost every night. >> prosecutors reduced ferer's

charges to a $50 fine. now the doctor is considering a civil suit against virginia state police. the trooper involved would not comment outside court. he remains on regular patrol duty. well, the secret service is investigating an arizona police officer because of a photo the officer posted on facebook. the picture showed seven men, some of them armed, holding up an obama t-shirt riddled with bullet holes. officials in peoria, arizona, police department there, are also investigating the photo. one of the subjects in the photo was identified as a high school student. the secret service says individuals have a right to free speech but they're still looking into the photo anyway. arizona governor jan brewer has released the letter she gave to president obama earlier this week. the two shared a tense exchange on the tarmac when he arrived in phoenix on wednesday with the republican governor pointing a finger at the president. the letter says in part, "we both love this great country, but we fundamentally disagree on how to best make america grow

and prosper once again. i'd love an opportunity to share with you how we've been able to turn arizona around with hard choices that turned out to be the right ones." we're going to check in now again with tom kierein for the latest on our forecast. tom? >> well, good morning. now after the morning rain has pushed on through, we're beginning to dry out. we've had some sunshine over the last couple of hours, but the sky has filled back in with clouds again, but a few breaks in the clouds. looking west, live view from the skywatcher camera. winds are gusting to around 20 miles an hour now, but they'll increase as the afternoon progresses. 60 degrees in washington. it's also around 60 in arlington, fairfax, montgomery and prince george's counties. fredericksburg is at 68, while to the north, out in cumberland, it's 48. some of the colder air now beginning to move into the mountains. over the last 12 hours, we've had some of these heavy downpours with thunder and lightning coming through this morning. now the cloud cover breaking up off to our west will allow some more sunshine into the afternoon and winds will be gusting over 30 miles an hour from time to time. they'll diminish tonight as

temperatures continue to drop near 40 by midnight, then near 30 by dawn on saturday. and sunny tomorrow with highs low and mid-50s. then mostly cloudy and partly sunny at times on sunday. 20s in the morning, afternoon highs mid-40s. then even colder on monday but lots of sun. then warming up midweek next week. could get some rain thursday into friday. that's the way it looks right now. barbara? >> all right, thank you, tom. well, today the loudoun county sheriff's office is investigating reports that students brought pot brownies to school. the sheriff tells news 4 his deputies will spend the day at farmwell station middle school in ashburn looking into this claim. the school district is not releasing any information except to say that it's also investigating. today is your last chance to pay your old, outstanding tickets in the district without a penalty. the district is ending its ticket amnesty program. it allows you to pay outstanding tickets issued before january 1st, 2010, without any penalties. so far, the district collected more than $3.5 million in

revenue through this ticket amnesty program. environmental activist erin brockovich is starting her own investigation into that mysterious illness that's affecting teens in upstate new york. 15 students, including 1 boy, have suffered from uncontrollable ticks similar to tourette's. neurologists initially said the teens have conversion disorder, formerly known as mass hysteria. according to "usa today," brockovich is starting her own investigion because of a toxic spill 40 years ago that caused water and ground contamination nearby. she gained notoriety by her efforts to expose a toxic chemical cover-up in california, and that story was made into a movie. clean out your closets. a new study suggests women who consistently wear high heels risk permanent damage to their bodies. the study was released in the journal of applied physiology.

it says women who wear high heels all the time risk damaging their knees, hips, backs and tendons. that's because high heels apparently force all the body weight on to the ball of your foot and compromise stability. and you don't have to be wearing heels for long, either. damage can be seen in women as early as 25 years old. and now, we continue our series on the top plastic surgery advances in the 21st century. this week, we're taking a look at fractional laser resurfacing technology and stem cell harvesting from fat. dr. steven hopping is here to explain the advancements. good morning and welcome back. >> good morning, barbara. >> all right, this is our fourth day of looking at the advances in technology. >> yes. >> and let's begin with fractional laser resurfacing technology. tell us what that is. >> you may remember in the old days, when laser was done, it took literally months to heal and it was a very, very aggressive procedure.

well, fractional -- >> red faces. >> red face for months. fractional resurfacing means that only actually 13% of the skin is being resurfaced so that the healing comes from the sides and the bottom. so, it's much more rapid, much safer procedure, less traumatic. and aesthetically, very good results. >> okay, we're looking at a before-and-after. >> here's some before-and-afters, yeah. >> this is one of, or more -- >> this is probably, now, you can see how just a portion of the skin, as opposed to all the skin he's treating. that makes a big difference in terms of the healing and minimizing the complications. so, it's a fabulous procedure for scars, wrinkles, pigmentation, age spots, and just blotchy skin. >> and how expensive is this process? >> again, it could be a series of things. some laser treatments, you could be back to work in three days. those run around $1,000. the more aggressive ones, which take ten days to two weeks, can be upwards of $3,500, $5,000.

>> i guess that depends on how much damage there is to the skin? >> right, and what kind of laser. there are a number of different lasers. but it's advanced. it's basically changed the mindset of everybody who's having laser resurfacing these days. >> tell us now about stem cell harvesting from fat. what is that? >> this is kind of like the face transplant. this is a really big one. stem cells from fat. you may have read -- there were two women treated for blindness with stem cell injections into their eyes just recently. those stem cells came from embryos, human embryos. well, in the past decade, we've found, scientists have found, we can isolate our own stem cells from our own fat. so, with liposuction, we can use that fat, isolate stem cells, and these stem cells can be used for many, many things. and they're not controversial like the embryos. >> but does that mean we could possibly grow new organs for people from their own stem cells? >> it's very possible. here's how we're using them now. we're adding stem cells back to

the body, adding it to the breasts to faces, face-lifts, injecting it into scalps, it is helping to grow hair. we're injecting it into wounds, radiation burns, traumatic wounds, and then speeding the healing. so, these stem cells have these very valuable properties to help things heal and to regenerate. now, are we going to be able to take fat cells and turn it into knee cartilage and things like that remains to be seen. i think this is on the horizon. we are at the same place, where we are with stem cell therapy in research at this point, the same place they were with computers when they first came out a few decades ago. >> so we have a few more years before we know how far this is going to go. >> the future is very promising, very exciting. >> wow. well, it's been great to hear about these. more coming? >> that's going to be the end of the series. we finished the ten top plastic surgery advances in the 21st century. something new next time. >> we look forward to seeing what's coming up next, then. see you in a couple weeks.

thank you. it is 11:41. still ahead on "news 4 midday," a car that drives itself? plus, the tong the word is swapportunity. can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sentence? mmm. swapping a 300 calorie donut for this 110 calorie strawberry shortcake is a good swapportunity. that's not a real word. oh haha it's real. [ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today.

forget cruise control, how about hands-free driving? bmw released a new video that shows the technology being used on germany's famed audubon. the car uses radar, cameras, laser scanners and ultrasounding technology to drive itself safely. it also obeys all the traffic laws, we understand, including sticking to the speed limit and only passing on the left. the bmw won't be driving you any time soon, though. this one the carmaker likely won't release its hands-free technology for another 10 to 15 years. well, from now on, all full and part-time federal employees will have a chance to take part in the annual federal employee viewpoint survey. that, according to "the

washington post." in years past, only a "highly representative sampling" of federal employees took part in that survey. job satisfaction, though, among federal workers dropped last year for the first time in four years. the next survey for everybody is scheduled to begin in april. the u.s. economy grew at a modest pace in the final three months of last year. we're going to check in with cnbc's kayla touche, joining us with more and the business headlines, too. >> markets are ending the week mixed as no deal has emerged out of europe and those u.s. growth estimates dampened what was a strong earnings season for a lot of companies. today we have the dow down 95 points and going lower, the s&p down about 6 points and the tech-heavy nasdaq up nearly 2 points. as you mentioned, the commerce department did say the economy grew at a modest 2.8% in the final three months of 2011. that was a bit lower than economists expected, and not to mention, a strong rebuilding of stocks by businesses and weak

spending on capital goods may mean slower growth ahead. we also saw ford motors reporting a profit fall in the final quarter of 2011 as costs for materials like steel rose, which made production more expensive. ford executives also said economies outside the u.s. remained "challenging." finally, carnival cruise line says it will pay 11,000 euros or $14,500 to each of the more than 3,000 passengers of the "costa concordia" that capsized off the coast of italy two weeks ago. carnival hopes the payment will stem legal fallout of the tragic accident. barbara, just the latest in that story. >> we're continuing to follow that. that's making news here today. thanks so much, kayla. have a great weekend. ♪ >> nobody's going to find us out here, unless you want to freeze to death. because that's the one thing that will comfort you. >> liam neeson gives a chilling

performance in "the gray." he plays a leader of a group of rough necks who are stranded in the alaskan wilderness after a plane crash. not only do they have to deal with subfreezing temperatures, but a pack of wolves have found the men and begin picking them off one by one as they try to find help. "the grays" is rated "r." sam worthington and elizabeth banks star in the thriller "man on a ledge." worthington plays an ex-con who climbs to the 25th floor of a skyscrap skyscraper, claiming he's nvent crime that he supposedly committed. but as his stunt captures the hearts of new yorkers, his brother is behind the scene trying to pull off what could prove to be an even more dangerous stunt. "man on a ledge" is rated pg-13. and katherine heigl is the star of "one for the money." she's unemployed and desperate for cash, so she gets a job as a recovery agent. one of her first jobs is following a man who broke her heart back in high school. so, what will she do when she finally catches him?

that's the story here. "one for the money" is rated pg-13 as well. it's now 11:48. coming up in our next segment, party time at "the wheel of fortune." what host pat sajak says was happening behind the scenes during the tapings. plus, meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check on the forecast coming up for the weekend. and stay with nbc 4 all afternoon. at 3:00, "ellen" has cheeseburger macaroni?

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authorities are set to release the 911 call made from demi moore's home earlier this week. a friend called 911 after moore reportedly appeared to have a seizure. "the los angeles times" says the city's attorney's office has recommended certain portions of that call be deleted to comply with federal privacy laws. a spokeswoman for moore says the actress is seeking professional help to cope with stress and improve her overall health. moore filed for divorce from her husband of six years, ashton kutcher, back in november following reports of his alleged infidelity. well, drunk at the wheel tops tonight's "mcfly report." joining us with more is tommy mcfly from 94.7 fresh fm.

>> yes, drunk at "the wheel of fortune." >> yeah, what about that? what's going on there? >> it was wild! pat sajak comes on, it was espn2, i believe, and he was talking about how, sometimes, they had long dinner breaks. and -- >> what time were they taping? >> well, he would -- you know, with "wheel of fortune," they tape an entire kind of week at one time, and there was a big break between the last two. so, they would go and knock back what he said was 3 or 6 or 12 margaritas. >> huh, so they were pretty loaded by the time -- >> well, absolutely! so, facebook and twitter exploded. but then today on a morning radio show, he goes, well, it was more like a half a dozen times and maybe we had one margarita. so he kind of back-pedaled a bit this morning. >> i see. so everybody wants to go back and look at those to see if they can tell? >> i am searching youtube like crazy. i would love to see a drunk pat sajak or vanna white, pressing the wrong button. >> music and abba. having a single coming up?

>> they haven't had a brand-new release since 1981, but abba, the swedish band, someone uncovered a never-before-released single, called "twinkling stars to a passing angel," and it becomes available in april. >> well, so it's not new, it's old, but they're bringing it out now. >> exactly. someone found it in their attic and was, like, wow, we should put this out. >> can anything compete with "mamma mia!"? >> i don't know, but they're going to repackage it with an album and a dvd and that sort of stuff. >> and it may be a broadway show. >> could be, "the lost abba." >> sounds good. a lot of folks love that music, "dancing queen" specifically. >> absolutely. >> a local sports club appears to be targeting celebrity southern cook paula deen. >> yes. >> so, what are necessary sthey? >> paula deen's been in the pressure cooker lately. she's been everywhere. >> she's your buddy. >> i met her before. we didn't have anything fried, but she was the sweetest, nicest woman, like a grandmother. hugged her, everything. she was so great. >> did she throw a turkey at

you? >> she's got a lot of flack because coming out as having diabetes and then endorsing one of the drugs she's on. but you know, she has cooked with fat in all kinds of foods. so in "the examiner" today, a health club said you've made a ton of money off fat. you should be around to enjoy it. call us if you want to be around to enjoy it. >> so, they're offering to have her come in and work out? >> exactly. >> there she is. she's a little bit maybe overweight, but not that much. >> absolutely. and they're saying it's because of her entire life eating fried foods and things like that. then she shoots back and says she always preaches moderation. >> it will be something we're talking about for a while. >> and we're all talking about the sports club. >> you think it's already spring. >> absolutely! it's so nice outside. tom will tellyou, it's football weather. >> you brought two different ones? >> i wore one set today, but in the summertime, i had a green one and a blue one on. >> by mistake. >> i was rushing here to not miss you. >> okay, enjoy the weekend.

>> you, too. >> all right. and we are going to see you next week. >> sounds great. >> thanks a lot. going to look now at some of the stories we're following for news 4 this afternoon. here's pat. hi, barbara. good afternoon. coming up today on "news 4 at 4:00," we'll have a live report from the sentencing in the lululemon murder case. plus this. >> don't move her! >> 911, what's the address of your emergency? >> somebody just tried to jump on the train and severed her leg. >> the story of a woman's incredible survival after falling under a train as she was trying to jump on to it. then at 5:00 this afternoon, a popular alexandria restaurant has just undergone a face-lift and has a brand-new chef. "washington post" food critic tom seats ma checks out the new evening star cafe. bon appetit. barbara. >> boy -- that look delicious. thank you, pat. okay, time for a final check on our forecast. we look ahead to the weekend now. tom? >> well, the rain is gone and a blue sky off to our west. here's a live view from the

skywatcher camera looking toward the northwest. we're getting some breaks in the clouds now and we'll have increasing sunshine as the afternoon goes on. but look at culpeper. it is 70 degrees there, while up in cumberland, maryland, it's 48. and that cold air out in western maryland's going to begin to filter in. there's the view over the last 12 hours. we had some of the heavier storms coming through, now breaks in our clouds to the west and we'll get the sunshine now. the winds are picking up, gusting around 20 to 25 mp miles an hour now. they may get gusting higher than that during the rest of the afternoon, but then they'll diminish overnight tonight as we clear out and temperatures plummet down to near 40 by midnight. and then by dawn on saturday, just near 30 degrees tomorrow morning. yes, it is still january. afternoon highs on saturday, though shor though, should climb back into the low to mid-50s, quite a bit of sunshine. then colder air moves in saturday night. sunday morning in the 20s and nice in the afternoon with mid-40s. then just near 20 degrees on monday morning. monday afternoon sunshine but highs only around 40.

and still chilly on tuesday but getting a little milder again on wednesday. might get some rain by the end of the week. that's the way it looks right now. have a great weekend. we'll see you monday morning. >> all right, tom, thank you. you have a good weekend, too. and that's "news 4 midday" for today and for this week. thanks for joining us. be sure to tune in for more news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and tonight at 11:00. we have news throughout the weekend, lots coming up. we'll be back monday morning at 11:00 a.m. with "news 4 midday." hope you'll plan to join us for that. until then, have a terrific weekend and we'll see you monday morning at 11:00. 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. this way, if you change your mind once you get home you can adjust it.

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