good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 midday." tuesday, january 31, 2012. we begin with decision 2012. right now the polls are open for the florida primary. and by day's end we will find out who will lead the republican presidential race. mitt romney is ahead by double digits in four different polls but that's not causing fell opponent front-runner newt gingrich to back down. nbc's tracie potts has more on this race from tampa. >> reporter: voting under way in florida this morning. hillsboro county. mitt romney lost this one four

years ago. >> get out there and vote! >> reporter: he's got reason to feel confident. take a look at the polls. romney ahead by 16 points. nbc and reuters, 15%. quinnipiac, 14%. suffolk university gives him a 20-point lead. here is why. >> newt has a ton of baggage. >> reporter: romney and his super pac are bomb pardoning the ads. they outspent gingrich 4-1. it is part of romney's new game plan. >> he has been flailing around trying to go after me for one thing tore other. just watch and it shake your head. it is -- it has been kind of painfully revealing to watch. >> we are going to be money power with people power. we are going to go all the way to the convention. >> reporter: gingrich may be closing the gap in two weekend polls he is down by just 5-7 points with your help we are going to win a decisive victory tomorrow. >> gingrich is going after

conservatives crisscrossing the state with ronald reagan's son and former rival herman cain. >> my only expectation is to help him win the nomination in the white house. that's all. >> reporter: republicans seem worried about electability not just who wins florida today but who can win in november. that could be mitt romney. gallup has his tied with president obama in key battleground states in the same poll gingrich trails the president by 14 points. tracie potts, nbc news, tampa. >> news4's doreen againstler -- doreen genzler will be hosting. park police stop bid mcpherson square to talk to occupy protesters and the police told the protesters they must take down their tents hanging over the statue on the square. the move comes after u.s. park police said that they will start

enforcing the no-camping rule almost that 24 hours ago. news4's tracee wilkins is following these developments and joins us live now from mcpherson square. what's the mood out there now? >> reporter: well, good morning. we have been here all morning long. of course expectation is u.s. park police entered the cam and would be doing so to tell the protesters they had to leave. but that wasn't the message they came with. as u.s. park police entered the mcpherson square occupy camp, occupiers checked tents to make sure no one was sleeping. the u.s. park police started enforcing the no camping rules at the sites monday and are threatening to ray rest anyone found sleeping. occupiers have been waiting for the park police to try to evict the en masse but when police entered the camp this morning, they weren't coming to kick them out. >> we can't allow stuff like this. >> okay, we would like to work with you and not going to mess with your tents today. you know. we are hoping you will come to

compliance and we are requesting that you take the tarp down off the statue. >> reporter: police wanted the protesters to take down what they call the tarp of dreams. a tent-like structure they put up yesterday afternoon over the park's statue. what does the tarp represent? >> to us it is -- you know, the idea we can't sleep here. it causes us a lot of grievance because, you know, sleep is our time to recuperate and re-energize and get ready for the next day's actions. >> reporter: they were meet and discuss whether the tarp will come down. meanwhile, a group of occupiers are at the federal courthouse in d.c. supporting a suit that's been filed against the department of ink tearer. it is sinking -- seeking a temporary restraining order. >> we had a petition with about 19 thousand suggests on it gathered in -- i think two days, day and a half. and so the -- the cordesition today is whether or not we will be able to camp in the park. and sleep in the park.

>> reporter: so occupiers say that they are now waiting for two things. first of all, they want to see how things are going to go in court and if they will be able to stay here and camp. after that, they are going to have a general assembly meeting and get everyone together ask decide whether the group opposes that tarp being taken off the statue. tracee wilkins live in northwest. back to you in the studio. >> thank you. turning to the weather now. and this springlike conditions we have out there. storm four meteorologist tom kierein joins us with our first forecast for midday. >> good morning, barbara. that's a live view from the city camera. we have sunshine coming through, high clouds now. there's the kennedy center for the performing arts on the banks of the potomac river. right now temperatures are beginning to hit the 50s throughout much of the region. and it is into the upper 50s, near 60, already in fredericksburg and southern maryland, over towards charlottesville. stanton, virginia, 61, petersburg, west virginia, 63 and that mild air should be sweeping north.

right now around washington, we are in the mid 50s and in montgomery, fairfax,al ton, prince george's counties, 51 is rather cool with a bit of a breeze coming off of the cold waters of the potomac. reagan national airport. elsewhere, we are into the mid 50s and do have some high clouds drifting over us coming in from the west-southwest. they will be with us off and on during the afternoon. otherwise quite a bit of sun through the high cloudiness and light breezes out of the southwest around 5 to 15. record high for the day is 71 set this date 1916. not quite that warm at reagan national with any breeze off the river. lit keep it colder there. elsewhere we should be making it into the mid and upper 60s. especially upper 60s just to the south of washington. those areas around culpeper they could get near 70 degree this afternoon. i will show you the forecast. big changes on the way important the end of the week coming up. >> we are going to put our coats away probably not a good idea, though. >> temporarily. >> thank you, tom. and let's check in on the midday traffic and see how things are moving.

sheer danella sealock. >> if you are taking the rails today, metro has scheduled track work and right now they are single tracking on the green and yellow line between prince george's county plaza and fort totten. expect delays on green and yellow in both directions. northbound 295 at malcolm x avenue, police are responding to three disabled vehicles all with flat tires. possibly debris in the roadway approached with caution. and i-66 outside and inside the beltway, barbara, no problems at all. back over to you. >> all right. thanks, danella. this morning, police are searching a wooded area in silver spring for some men who ran from police. montgomery county police on the maryland state police helicopter searched an area near the 12,100 block of tech road. they say they were called to the area for a report of a suspicious -- for suspicious men looking into cars. when they arrived the men arrived in a fenced-off areas.

police are still searching for those men. a reminder from metro riders starting tomorrow, metro is closing the south entrance of the dupont circle station on 19th street. it will be closed through october while crews tear out the old escalators and install three new ones. during that time riders will have to enter and exit using the north entrance on q street. this morning, followers at a mosque in fairfax county are preparing to rebuild even before their new house of worship even is finished. leaders found the mubarak mosque, sometime under construction in chantilly, had been vandalized. news4's megan mcgrath joins us from chantilly with more. >> the mubarak blessed months section a beautiful, architectcally mr. distinctive building. it is slated to open in a couple of weeks. you can see by the damage here the vandals caused a very big setback. sometime between 5:00 sunday night and 6:00 monday morning,

the building was pelted with rocks. >> picked up some of these rocks and just -- >> reporter: beautiful arched paynes of glass shattered. nearly every custom made window on the first floor has been ruined. >> just picked up rocks on the outside, some masonry stones and threw them at the windows. >> reporter: under construction for a year, it was scheduled to open at the end of february. but with so much damage, that celebration will have to be pushed back. >> it is -- very sad but at the same time, our community is very resilient. we have asked our community members to fervently pray we are able to overcome this hurdle. >> reporter: police believe young people may be behind the damage. beer and liquor bottles found in the woods behind the mosque

point to a party gone bad. >> immature people that had more time on their hands and did something destrucktive instead of construct. >> as the investigation moves forward, the mosque is receiving well-wishes and support from other members of the faith community. gerald with the wells spring united church of christ heard what happened this morning. and he stopped by to see if he could help. >> as a pastor in the united church of christ in centreville, been here 15 years, insult to the whole establishment. whether it is a church or mosque or synagogue. we all -- certainly deeply feel the hurt. >> reporter: investigators say that there is no indication that this was a hate crime. nothing taken from inside the mosque and no graffiti left behind. however, this is a felony and this crime has very serious consequences for those responsible. barbara, back to you. >> thank you very much, megan. former prince george's county executive jack johnson will remain out of prison for two more weeks.

johnson was scheduled to turn himself in to authorities this friday. according to "the washington post," the federal bureau of prison says it has not completed an evaluation or finalized plans on where they will send him. the 62-year-old is expected to go to butner federal prison in north carolina. that's where bernie madoff currently resides. he pleaded guilty in may to receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from developers. johnson was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison. he's now expected to turn himself in on february 18. this morning, a marine nominated for the silver star is in the hospital after he was beaten with a club in crystal city. the beating happened nine days ago but just now coming to light in this news4 exclusive. police say that jake aaron hill was beaten outside of a 7-eleven store. surveillance video shows hill talking with anita cook. sources also say that hill made

a racial comment towards cook. she then told her friend dawkins who then went to his car, grabbed a club, and hit hill on his head, knocking him down. police arrested cook and dawkins for malicious assault. dawkins remains in custody. our time right now is 12:11. prince harry shares insight on his grandmother the queen, and why she continues

at least 11 al qaeda militants were killed in an overnight air strike in yemen. witnesses say that a drone targeted a caravan just east of the city of lowdor. month civilians were hurt. al qaeda is attempting to use political unrest in yemen to gain influence among the people and the government there. today secretary of state hill hi hillary clinton will meet with the united nations security council. clinton says she will support a plan that condemns a t syrian president's regime and implements an arab league peace plan. the measure calls for the syrian president to transfer his power to his vice president and allow

elections. the u.n. says the regime has killed more than 5400 people since the uprising began back in march. d.c. mayor gray is calling for an investigation into why the city poured more than $5 million into a failed plan to renovate vacant apartment buildings. the peace-aholics was given city money to purchase three apartment complexes they plan to renovate in order to house at-risk young men. but they no longer own those complexes and only one has been renovated. tenants complain of poor maintenance and rodent issues. they are questioning whether peace-aholics was given the money in the first place. mayor gray is commenting on the petition to recall him from office. he says it is ill-advised. gray says his administration is making progress in several critical areas. he also says that a

district-wide special election to recall him would be expensive. political activist frederick butler filed a notice to recall gray and d.c. council chairman kwame brown. 45,000 signatures are needed to trigger a recall election. and the virginia senate apparently doesn't agree with a fairfax county lawmaker's gender equality debate. senator janet how el is against legislation that requires ultrasounds before abortions. she said if that's the case, men should have to get additional testing for erectile function prescriptions. howell called it an unnecessary medical procedure. the senate rejected her amendment, though. the abortion bill is expected to pass the general assembly. prince harry is opening up about his grandmother, the queen, queen elizabeth of england. many wonder how she keeps up with her busy schedule. 2 prince says his grandmother's secret to success is prince if i am.

harry says the fact his grandmother or grandfather is just there for the queen makes a difference. the prince does not think his grandmother could do it without his grandfather, her husband. the queen of 85 is 85 now and prince philip, 90. this summer the queen will celebrate 60 years on the throne. it is her diamond jubilee. storm center 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us now with a look at our very pleasant weather we have out there. >> it really is. a lot of e-mails i have been sending and getting out of office auto replies. i think a lot of people are enjoying this delightful day. they were paying attention to the forecast earlier this morning. indeed, we have been warming up quickly with the high clouds coming over. that's not stopped the temperatures from jumping. we are getting some of that sunshine through the high cloud cover now. as we take a look at this live view from our city camera, there is the washington monument illuminated by the sun coming through the high cloud cover. right now reagan national is at 51 degrees.

we have a southerly breeze right off of the potomac there at reagan national. as a result the cold waters of the potomac keeping that spot cool because elsewhere it is well into the 50s. and already now near 60 degrees from culpeper to fredericksburg and southern maryland. all across much of west central northern parts of virginia, west central virginia, into the shenandoah valley, and even in the mountains of west virginia, it is already now climbing into the low 60s there. and montgomery county mid 50s. mid 50s now at prince george's, fairfax, arlington, much of southern maryland, eastern shore and breeze off the bay, though, is certainly chilly. an april slis at 49. as we look at what has been happening over the last 24 hours we had high clouds drifting up. upper level winds are zipping along and having these clouds pass over the region now. as we -- approach our noon hour, though, we will have the clouds thinning and as we get into the afternoon we ought to get more sunshine. overnight tonight as we look at if future weather, a few clouds in and out. and then starting off wednesday morning, there is a small chance

of a few sprinkles as we start off the morning hours. but then during the afternoon we will get sunshine back. and then overnight on wednesday night, should be partly cloudy to clear at times. there get into thursday, increasing clouds and rain beginning to move our way coming in from the southwest and head up our way by later in the afternoon as an area of low pressure approaches. for the rest of the afternoon, mostly sunny and mild, light breezes, highs reaching mid and upper 60s. away from the waters. record high at reagan national 71. in washington, actually, in -- way back then in 1916, the weather office was along m street and it got to 71 on that date. that's the record. i don't think we will get to the record because after cool breeze off the potomac at reagan nation national. dropping from the upper 50s after sunset to the upper 40s midnight. by dawn tomorrow near 40 and during the day wednesday, again, might have a few sprinkles in the morning but then sun coming back and temperatures into the

60s again. and then on thursday in the morning near 40 and cloudy and then cloudy the rest of the day on thursday, looks like rain developing midday and during the afternoon perhaps into thursday evening. highs only reaching near 50 degrees on thursday. then as we get into friday, looks like we will have cooler weather moving in and it is going to be in place a while. we will have our temperatures climbing just to near 50 degrees. and as we get into friday, and sunshine. then over the weekend, saturday and sunday, there is still some uncertainty about whether or not we get any rain right now. stay tuned. will is a possibility of that. and otherwise this is going to be chilly on the weekend. and feeling like february, into the 40s for highs morning lows around freezing. looks like the chilly weather is going to last into monday. today and tomorrow is our springtime in winter. it is only going to last for about 48 hours and then we are back to more normal temperatures. >> happy to have it however long it lasts. >> that's right.

>> let's head out to the roads now for midday practice, danella sealock. >> good morning. and if you are taking the beltway, look a lot of people are off of the roads. hey, maybe if you stayed home because of the great weather you should get out and enjoy it because i'm not seeing any issues on the beltway. inner loop and outer loop in montgomery county very clear. outer loop speed, 58 miles per hour. taking the belt way in prince george's county fair as well. in virginia a look at gw parkway. no problems on the inner loop and outer loop in this area. inner loop speed is 59 miles per hour. great day to be on the road. barbara, back to you. >> sure is. thanks a lot. it is now 11:22. still ahead, we are cooking pasta later. boy, does it smell good in the studio. no painkillers, no problem for a mom who gave birth to

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take a look at this big baby. a woman from iowa gave birth to a baby boy that weighed nearly 14 pounds. meet asher, that's his name. measures 23 inches and weighs 13 pounds 13shgs ounces. his mother, kendall sewardson, chose to deliver him with natural childbirth so she had no pain medication and no surgery. and that's the way she and her husband wanted it. she was in labor for six hours. her other responsible weighed 12 pounds when he was born. the washington auto show is home to some of the hottest new cars and coolest concepts since 2012 or for 2012. and it is going on today. if you go there today you might catch a glimpse of the president. president obama is expected to stop by the convention center

today. he will talk about the successful bailout of gm and chrysler as well as new efforts to boost fuel efficiency and renewed focus on manufacturing. the white house plans to use the auto industry bailout as a point of contrast with gop front-runner mitt romney who opposed the move to rescue the car makers. also today, the washington auto show will hold a military tribute or not -- announce vehicle discounts and job opportunities for members of the military. also, all active duty military and veterans will get into the show for free today. and the first lady is heading to late night. michelle obama will be a guest on "the tonight show with jay leno" this evening. she is expected to talk about life in the white house as well as her let's move campaign. that's her fitness initiative for children. this will be her third appearance on "the tonight

show." it is 11:27. coming up in the next- hour, what could be a controversial decision by rescue crews working at the site of the cruise ship accident off the coast of tuscany. plus, we will break down governor martin o'malley's gas tax. how much will it cost drivers? newt gingrich is told to stop the music. why he may have to stop

right now on "news4 midday," protesters are saying they are considering an order from police to take down their tent of dreams at the mcpherson square encampment. the move comes after authorities issued a no camping rule almost 24 hours ago. so far there have been no arrests and demonstrators say they are not leaving. republican officials expect to -- record turnout in today's florida primary, gop presidential candidate mitt romney is the favorite to win. he holds double digit leads in four different florida poles. his name rival newt gingrich is

coming off a primary win in south carolina. and former presidential candidate herman cain endorsed newt gingrich this morning on the "today" show kaine told ann curry how he made his decision. >> i talked with speaker gingrich and compared where he stood on the issues i-stand and believe we should replace tax codes and so do i. he believes in independentens and less regulatory with a better regulatory environment, sound money. when i look at those and saw how close his tax plan came to mind, 9-9-9 plan, we talked and then i decided that i would go see -- >> kaine says he will support the republican nominee for president and even if it is not gingrich. he says he will put the bitter politics aside and go with the party. the presidential race comes down to a sign-off, mitt romney may have to start taking some singing lessons. snow for purple mountains

majesty ♪ ♪ above the fruited >> tried bursting into song at rally last night. romney urged supporters to join him in a rendition of "america the beautiful." for weeks on the campaign trail the former massachusetts governor has been reciting verses from what he calls his favori favorite patriotic hymn. this isn't the first sing-along this mop. president obama sang a few lines of al green's "let's stay together" at the apollo theater. newt gingrich is facing a lawsuit for using theme music from the movie "rocky 3." ♪ the eye of the tiger ♪ the it there of the fight >> "eye of the tiger." the composer is suing gingrich for using his campaign slogwing campaign song at events. the lawsuit says the former house speaker did not get permission to use the song. this afternoon maryland law

makers will hear arguments on legalizing gay marriage. governor o'malley introduced legislation earlier this month to allow civil marriage between same-sex couples. last year the same-sex marriage bill passed the senate but failed in the house there. a proposal to raise maryland's gas tax is getting a new twist. governor martin o'malley wants to charge sales tax every time you head to the pump. news4's angie goff joins us with details. >> good morning. maryland lawmakers looking for a way to bring in more money and higher gas tax is at the top of the list. but this new proposal by governor o'malley is likely to cause some controversy. the governor wants to charge the state's 6% sales tax on every gallon of gas on top of the current gas tax. right now gas is exempt from sales tax and that plan would be phased in you about 2% increments over the next three years. this means you would end up paying 18 cents a gallon more in taxes by the end of those three years. now to help you understand this better, we are going to break it

down for new dollars and cents. say you have a 15-gallon tank and fill up weekly, right now the average for regular gas in this state is $3.48 a gallon. with a 6% sales tax, you would pay about $3 more for every pill-up or over the course of a year if you were to break it down. that comes out to $156 more in taxes. now if regular goes to $4 a gallon, as many experts expect it will by the spring, you could be paying nearly $4 a gallon in sales tax or $200 a year more for gas because of the tax. barbara, back to you. >> all right. thank you, angie. florida's governor is ordering an investigation into a deadly 20-car pileup in that state. he wants to know why authorities reopened the highway early sunday morning. heavy smoke from a nearby wildfire along with fog was blinding drivers on i-75. the chain remember action crash

killed ten people. troopers reopened the interstate about 15 minutes before the pileup happened. the florida highway patrol deep fended its decision saying visibility deteriorated quickly. emergency crews had to rush to the aid of a small jet that overshot a runway at bwi thurgood marshall airport. the plane came to rest in some grass and it happened last night around 7:00. two people were onboard and they are okay this morning. the plane comes from the -- came from the poconos in pennsylvania and incident did not affect air traffic. new today, italian emergency officials say that they are ending the search for missing people after that cruise ship disaster. the costa concordia hit a reef and partially submerged near italy more than two weeks ago. divers now say the wreckage and water conditions are just too dangerous to continue search efforts. 16 people were still missing. meanwhile carnival cruise lines which owns the ship says the crash led to major drop in reservations on future trips.

it estimates losing nearly $175 million in profits. we are going check again on our weather and find out if any changes are on the way. here's tom kierein. >> warmup under way. good morning. as we are approaching the noon hour, temperatures are approaching. 60 degrees just south of washington. there is a cold breeze off the potomac. so reagan national is one of the cool spots. so the annapolis. nip wind off of those cold waters of the bay, just 49 in annapolis and 51 at reagan national. away from the waters well into the 60s. culpeper now 63. fredericksburg up to 61. and in montgomery, fairfax, arlington, prince george's counties, mid and upper 50s. we should hit maybe even near 70 in line from southern maryland to fredericksburg to culpeper later this afternoon and farther north, probably not quite as warm but it certainly will feel like springtime in january or june-uary.

highs reaching highs and upper 60s. morning sprinkles. sun back on wednesday. rain likely on thursday and cooler than some chilly weather after that as we get into the weekend. that's the way it looks right now. barbara? >> tom, thank you. and again, we go out to the roads and see how things are moving on this beautiful day. here is danella. >> good morning. couple of issues for you. metro still seeing single tracking on the green and yellow line expect delays in both directions. on 295, couple of issues first. northbound 295 as you approach pennsylvania avenue, all of your lanes are blocked right now traffic is being diverted on to the 11th street bridge p public aware of that. also 295 northbound, this time approaching we have a mattress in the roadway. please approach with caution as you are making your commute northbound on 295. and traveling along i-270, much nicer commute. not seeing issues for you. clear from shady grove as you connect to the spur. >> you better stick around. we will be cooking pasta in a few minutes. >> i can smell it.

>> i know you are hungry. thanks, danella. today virginia transportation officials want to you get involved in the future planning of i-66. developers want public input on problems on the highway from route 15 in prince william county to the beltway in fairfax county. the first of two meetings will be held tonight starting at 5:00 at the four-point share tan on vander lane in manassas. another meeting held tomorrow at vdot offices in fairfax. there is a chance virginia students could be headed back to school before labor day next year. the virginia house education committee overwhelmingly passed a bill repealing what's been dubbed the king's dominion law that requires schools to start after labor day. the new bill would let school districts decide if they want the school calender to start before the holiday. the vote comes a week after the senate killed a similar bill and now heads to the full house of delegates if the bill passes there, they can set the stage for a showdown with the senate. time right now is 11:39.

still ahead on "news4 midday," blood pressure, could your doctor's office be taking your blood pressure wrong? we will look at that. we are cooking up pasta for you today. it

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getting your blood pressure checked. if you only had one arm tested the last time you went to the doctor's office you may want to have the other checked. a second look could just be alarming. here's nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> let's get this on in the right place. >> reporter: doctors who measure blood pressure in only one arm may be missing critical information about their patients' heart health. a new study published in the journal the lansit shows the differences in blood pressure readings between both arms could point on underlying health risks. if the systolic pressure, top number in a reading which

measures the pressure in the artery was the heartbeats, differs by 15 points in each arm, this study shows that a person is at 2 1/2 times higher risk of peripheral vascular disease, blood pressure in hands and feet are more likely to become blocked and lead to severe measures like amputation. risk of stroke is 1.6 times higher and risk of death from heart attack is 70% higher. some of the risk factors for hypertension are age, genetics, race, and obesity. >> dr. snyderman says it is important to repeat blood pressure checks if one arm shows high apprecia high measurements. even though the tough economic times federal workers are on -- on average still make more than those in the private sector. a new study of the government shows the average federal employee makes 2% more than a

private sector work errata similar position. tack on the government's generous benefits and pension package and that number jumps to 16%. please with advanced degrees don't fare as well making 23% less if they work for the government. the study may be a factor in the debate over whether a two-year pay freeze for federal workers is lifted. stock prices are falling this morning. let's check in now with cnbc's bertha coombs and joins us more on that and the rest of today's business headlines, too. hi. >> hi. how are you? we have stocks that started off a little bit higher strong earnings from exxon, ups and data showing soften when it comes to manufacturing activity and slight dip in consumer sentiment has stocks retreating just fractionally this morning. meantime, one big reason consumers are likely still anxious as home prices continue to fall. latest s&p case-schiller index shows prices are at the lowest level since 2003.

nationally prices fell 1.3% in novembering from october and they were down more than 3.5% from a year earlier. but the washington, d.c., metro area was just one of two big city areas that actually saw prices rise year over year in the case of d.c. by about half a percent. and as we close out the month of january, there are a couple of market indicators that folks on wall street like to watch. right now the s&p 500, which is the broader market index is flirting with a 4% gain for the month. now for -- if it reach it is 4% level, the stats show that stocks wind up with a double digit gain, 17 of the last 18 times this has happened. meantime, there is also the super bowl indicator. super bowl, of course, this sunday on nbc. and it is an original nfl team wins, then the market is usually up for the year about 80% of the time. of course, there is one big exception to this predictor. in 2008 when the giants stole a

perfect season from the pats which was an old afl team, stocks saw their biggest drop since the depression. we all know just how bad things got for the economy. i am just saying, in case you are not sure who to root for on sunday for the sake of the economy, out really hub the pats. >> do you think i can tell who you are for in this matchup? >> i'm just presenting the fangts. 1 facts. when the giants beat the patriots the economy goes into the gutter. >> let's see what happen this time around. thanks for that. something that's interesting to watch for. we will see you later and have a great day. bye-bye. we are cooking italian this morning. chef amy joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> thanks for joining us. boy, does it smell good. it has been smelling good all morning. it has been kind of stewing here. >> it has been stug which is a secre -- it is fresh pasta that's torn by hand or cut with a

knife. >> okay. so that everybody can make this at home if they want let's have a look at what we need for this dish. you need 20 pounds of pasta dough, onion, two carrots, three celery, 25 ounces of beef short rib, eight ounces of red wine, 16 ounces of chicken stock, two ounces of olive oil, eight ounces of tomato sauce, two ounces of parsley chopped. let's get started, amy. how do we begin. >> first we will start off with the fresh pasta dough. es -- we will take one pound of pasta flour, combined with five whole eggs. you get a nice dough like this. cut it into segments and then we are going to feed it through pasta machine. i have done the work already. so we have nice pasta like this. we are going to feed it through our whole -- our hand crank here. >>in if we can see that. i think we have some of your

stock in the way over there. try it. >> all right. let's see. we are having difficulties with this. >> there is the pasta machine. they are available just about anywhere. >> they are. in any case, you want to have your pasta stretched out very thinly. then you can just take your knife and then literally just cut it with your knife into squares. is what i have done. okay. >> okay. >> essentially this is squares of pasta. and then the finished product looks like this. >> october. put it out there where we can see it. those go right into the water. >> right into the water. >> do you have to make those at the very last minimum? can you make those ahead of time? >> no. you can make it ahead of time and just as long as it is wrapped very well you want to keep the air out so that it doesn't get dry. >> okay. quickly, show us how to make the sauce. >> i have some braised beef here. then time just going add a little bit of carrot and celery. a little bit of fresh parsley. >> okay. this is all the -- amounts we just given everyone. >> yes. >> but have you done the beef in

here already. >> yes. >> short ribs. put tonight and -- olive zbloyl olive oil with a little bit of garlic and onion. touch of red wine. then chicken sxwroth tom broth. secret to a good pasta sauce is just a tad bit of butter. we are going to add a little bit of fresh butter. and -- i do like to add a little bit of chicken broth or pasta water to get it nice and soft. little bit of tomato sauce. and we are going to let that simmer for a second there. >> are the onions already in there? >> the onions, i added onions when i braised the beef, yes. >> garlic, guy guess, went in early, too. >> the whole possibles takes approximately three hours. you know, you want to -- this is one of those things you start in

the morning and then you eat at night. >> that looks fantastic. >> thank you. >> then we have our pasta. we want to use water that tastes like sea salt. >> i see you have a special thing so you can lift it out and test. >> it yeah. i use tongs in a pasta basket. if you are at home you can use a pot with water and tong. >> that looks fantastic. let me put it down so everybody can have a look. gorgeous. looks beautiful. so -- that's -- you just -- finished the pasta and put the sauce on top. you put it into the pot. stirred. >> it secret to this is to take the pasta right from the pot and from the water right into the sauce so it gets nice and incorporated and simmer it for about 30 seconds or go folks can make this at home or they can see you at the restaurant. >> absolutely.

>> georgetown. >> dupont circle. located at 1250 connecticut avenue. corner of connecticut and m. thank you. >> great lesson. i want to try this at home myself. >> thank you. >> thanks. and for more of this food visit the restaurant in dupont circle. and coming up, why local fans of "the boss" are new mexico thing morning. tom kierein will be back with another check on today's springlike weather. stay with news4 all afternoon. 3:00, ellen welcomes simon baker. he talks about his life, hit show "the mentalist." what he can foresee happening in th

the super bowl is just five day ace way but before the new england patriots and new york giants face each other on the field, they have to face the media. today players and coach less talk to report bers the big game and for the first time in super bowl history, fans will be allowed to sit in the stands and watch the media day events. jim vance and dan hellie are in indianapolis. tune in tonight for their favorite moments have from what is sure to be an entertaining media day. in other news, bruce springsteen and his e street band are coming to d.c. april 1. this morning, a lot of fans are hoping -- who have been hoping to see the boss at the verizon

center are outraged. ♪ tickets went on sale saturday morning and sold out within minutes. if you are still determined to go, be ready to pay up. on craigslist tickets originally started at $71 now range from $220 to $900 a pop. on stub hub some particular receipts showing up for more than $1800. ticketmaster issued a statement saying, quote, scalpers con to violate rules meant to provide fair access to tickets only to exploit them by reselling tickets at many times at face value. it goes on to say we will continue to diligently work on behalf of aists and fans to fight against scalpers. we are going take a look at stories that we will be following on news4 this afternoon. coming up this afternoon on news4 at 4:00, inside jcpenney's new deals that eliminate sales. also, at 4:00, why hair stylists will now warn their clients about giving brazilian blowouts.

then at 5:00, lifesaver for those at risk for heart problems. doctors say a new device can actually deexpect a heart attack before it happens. plus, kaine joins us at 4:15. so we hope you will plan to join thus afternoon. we have time for a final check on the forecast. here is tom. >> we have been warming up all morning quickly after a cold start now with those high clouds drifting over. we will get increasing sunshine during the afternoon. temperatures approaching the noon hour and now 57 at reagan national. already now into the low signatures. fredericksburg, culpeper, charlottesville, mild air coming up the shenandoah valley, too. near 60 degrees. just a few of these whip pit high clouds passing over now. give away quite a bit of sunshine the rest of the afternoon. highs upper 60s. maybe even near 70. across north central virginia. and another mild day tomorrow. might have a few sprinkles in the morning otherwise partly sunny. then rain likely on thursday. chillier with highs in the low 50s. and then a chilly pattern sets up and it is february after all.

and getting into friday, saturday, sunday and monday, turning more february-like. still some uncertainty about whether or not we get rain over the weekend. otherwise it certain sly looking chilly with highs on the 40s saturday and sunday. that's the way it looks now. have a great afternoon and see you tomorrow. >> you can't go take a nap now this beautiful morning. >> no. i'm going to a school advice. >> it good. have a great afternoon. >> fairfax county. >> and that's "news4 midday." thanks for joining us and we invite to you tune in for more news, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 11:00. we luc back tomorrow morning at 11:00 and we hope you will join us for