good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. it is thursday, february 2, 2012. right now, d.c. police are introducing a rewards program that can mean big bucks for those who turn in crooks. tracee wilkins is live in northwest washington with more on this program. >> good morning, barbara. this is a very interesting program. can't wait to tell what you 2 chief is thinking and how to cut down on some of the property crime issues that they have seen here in d.c. you take a look here over my shoulder. outside the studios we are expecting chief tap dan lanier to only out and make a

statement -- captain cathy lanier to come out. she is expecting the people to be robbers to turn in people. the city is dealing with a major property crime trend centered around robbers taking cell phones, ipods, aipads. specifically a program in wards 2 and 4. these itemses are stol e e e es sometimes stolen from cars. they are not working that hard. they steal the item as they walk down the street. it is called a snatch and grab. the reward ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 for people that turn in robbers and those that are reselling the stolen goods. this is such a big problem that in the first 23 days of january, they arrested 108 people. but robe robbers can make up so much money doing this on the street. the chief is working the way

service providers provide service for smartphones. chief lanier talked to everyone from the fcc to scheef and other cities asking they support making a cell phone unusable. once it is stolen. therefore, taking the money out of the crime. they have also done this in united kingdom and it is called bricking and helped to take care of the issue of people stealing smartphones over there. now, if you would like to provide a tip, you can call. 202-727-9099. text 50411. if you make a tip or provide a tip through any of those resources it can be done anonymously. i'm tracee wilkins, live in northwest. news4. >> thanks for that report. northbound lanes of i-270 are back open after two major accidents. the accidents shut down all northbound lanes for a large part of the morning's rush hour. the first accident involved a jackknifed tractor trailer luckily no one was injured in that accident. the second was a would-car

accident, four people were hurt. but there's no word of their conditions at this time. and we are keeping an eye on the roads out there right now to see how things are going. and looking after we had rain on the roadways this morning with slow traffic down and, of course, we had those accidents. let's economic in with danella sealock to see how things are look. >> let's start with the rails. if you take the red line scheduled track work slowing you down as metro is single tracking on the red line between medical center and friendship heights. you can expect del nays both directions. traveling on i-270 like you mentioned, barbara, it was very tough this morning. now it is looking a lot better. as you are making your way towards clarksburg. southbound i-270, 60 miles per hour as you head into germantown and gaithersburg, 64 miles per hour. the trip in rockville clear in both directions. live look right now west montgomery county and no issues as you travel southbound, northbound lanes are clear, too. barbara, back to you. >> thanks, danella. past couple of days may have

felt like an early spring but punxsutawney phil has other things in mind. >> as i look at the crowd on gobbler's knob, many shadows do i see. six more weeks of winter. >> that's right. the word's famous groundhog says what has been a mild winter so far will last another six weeks. he made the annual prediction in front of nearly 20,000 people and in his home on gobbler's knob. phil has seen his shadow 99 times since 1886. we presume there has been another phil -- the earliest one. dupont circle is home to a new groundhog day tradition. the only difference, d.c.'s newest weatherman is not quite as lively. potomac phil. stuffed groundhog predicted the weather this morning in the city's first annual groundhog day celebration here. just like punxsutawney phil, potomac phil predicted there

will be six more weeks of win r winter. political twist, saying there would also be nine months of political gridlock. organizers say they hope next year potomac phil won't be so stiff. >> we looked around really quick and couldn't find a live -- all of them are reserved on this day for other events. you know. they all have their schedules. start earlier next year. >> d.c. council also made potomac phil's prediction to be the official celebration much groundhog day here in the nation's capital. and turning to the weather now, rainy but mild morning. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first 4 forecast. that looks more like a pilgrim's hat than a top hat he was wearing, didn't it? >> anything to help the chamber of commerce. this morning, we have had clouds and rain around but now the cloud cover beginning to break up. we are getting sunshine breaking out. you see your shadow now. as we take a look at the radar, the moving color is light rain and most of it now is east of

washington. right near the western shores of the bay. will have been heavier downpours in northern neck of virginia. that's moving off to the east heading towards southern maryland. farther to the west and north have a few sprinkles in montgomery county, western fairfax. and that pretty much is the end of it. and temperatures right now are chilly. we are in the 40s to near 50 degrees. reagan national now is at 51 degrees. but warming up a bit out of the mountains it is into the low to mid 50s there. culpeper now up to 55. fredericksburg, 52. while montgomery county still in the 40s. and it is near 50 in prince george's, fairfax, arlington counties. a view from space. getting nice breaks in the clouds there and darker areas to our west and north. quite a bit of sunshine now in the panhandle of west virginia, shenandoah valley, around the central blue ridge. that clearing should move in later this afternoon. partly cloudy and rather cool, though, bit after blustery wind developing later this afternoon. highs reaching the mid and upper 50s, and colder weather moving in tonight and look at that friday and the weekend coming right up, barbara. >> thank you, tom. all is quiet this midday at

mcpherson square, occupy d.c. protesters are still lingering. police walked through 2 square earlier this morning without incident. a judge has warned protesters that they could be evicted from mcpherson square by u.s. park police but they must receive two days' warning. d.c. police are searching for the man that walked into an elementary school and inappropriately touched a student. the incident happened at an elementary school in southeast washington yesterday. the victim immediately told a teacher. police and school officials swept the building but didn't find the suspect. the victim and all other students are safe. the school says it notified parents about what happened and parents we spoke with are outraged. >> it makes me feel bad, terrible, as a parent because -- i have to protect my child. so it makes me feel bad. >> d.c. public schools issued a statement saying, quote, d.c. ps is treating the matter very seriously and we are working

with mpd and reviewing our security mesh ooasures to secure have the best protocols in place to prechbt further breach of our school building by unauthorized individuals. police hope newly released evidence will help them determine who abandoned baby girl in northeast washington. last night police released this picture of a towel with multicolored stripes. they say the infant was only wrapped in that towel and no clothing. a man found the baby unconscious outside after home on channing street last month. at the time the temperature was below freezing. the baby was taken to children's medical center where she died. the medical examiner is still determining the cause of death. if you recognize that towel, call d.c. police. 11:08 is our time. donald trump prepares to make a big announcement in the gop race for president. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. the comment mitt romney is

getting a lot of flack for this

new today. attorney general eric holder has testified before a congressional committee about the failed efforts to stop gun smuggling and operation called fast and furious. today's testimony comes a day after the justice department rejected a request by the republican chairman of that committee to release key

documents about the scandal. holder deep fended the fact no one has been fired or prosecuted in connection with the controversial operation. >> i have made personnel changes with regard to leadership positions we have moved people around and institute ad series of policies now that i think are designed to make sure that that does not happen again. >> agent was merged and -- your actions to move people around. that seems to me to simply inconvenience people not to rid them of federal employment. >> holder says people who broke the law in connection with fast and furious will be prosecuted. although he couldn't say exactly when those charges would be filed. a u.s. counter terrorism official says the government's list of suspected terrorists banned from flying doubled last year. there were more than 21,000 names on the no-fly list in 2011. most of the people on the list

are from other countries, only about 15 5 00 are americans. the official who wants to remain anonymous says that the increase is because the government lowered the standard for putting people on the list in 2009. the u.s. combat mission in afghanistan could be ending by the end of next year. defense secretary leon panetta said he hopes to shift to training and advising afghan forces. that role would continue through 2014. panetta said u.s. and nato forces intend to start the transition by mid 2013. at the same time t reports out of london say the taliban backed by pakistan is planning to retake control of afghanistan after nato forces leave. newt gingrich's white house bid will get a bit of a boost today. donald trump is expected to endorse the republican candidate. he will reportedly announce his support in las vegas. gingrich is campaigning there ahead of saturday's nevada caucuses. trump's endorsement could help the former house speaker p

rebound from tuesday's defeat to mitt romney in the practice primary. and mitt romney is backtracking from a comment he made about the poor. . >> i'm in this race because i care about americans. i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs reperil fix it. >> romney later clarified that he men he's focusing his campaign on the middle class but still cares about the poor. that didn't stop democrats and republicans from criticizing the former massachusetts governor. newt gingrich told is your importanters he's fed up with politicians in either party dividing americans against each other. president obama's re-election campaign also chimed in and his campaign manager tweeted so much for we are all in this together. president obama will make his second trip to the swing state of virginia this week. tomorrow he will discuss the economy in arlington as a new jobs report comes out. and he will speak at -- fire station number 5 near pentagon city. just yesterday he announce ad

new mortgage refinancing plan in fairfax county. today the president began his day at the national prayer breakfast. >> i wake up each morning and i say a brief prayer. i spend a little time in scripture and devotion. i would be remiss if i stopped there. if my values were limited to personal moments of prayer or private conversations with pastors, or friends, instead i must try, imperfectly, but i must try to make sure those values motivate me as one leader of this great nation. >> president obama noted some of his recent policies and said that they are rooted in part in his faith and personal beliefs. and we are still getting a little bit of rain, i guess, out there this morning. showers some n some areas. >> yes, for our viewers east of washington so getting a little bit of light rain but much of the area now beginning to dry out after we have had morning

showers coming through and generally around the metro area we had about a tenth to .2 of an inch of rain. sky breaking up and still clogged with a lot of clouds. that's the live view from our city camera. overlooking the mall in the distance. right now reagan national, a few peeks of sun coming through. it is -- 51 degrees there now. we have a calm wind now. that wind will be increasing as we get into the afternoon. as we look at the radar, yes, this area of color, this is light rain. still raining right near annapolis along the western shores of the bay. calvert county, st. mary's county, heavier downpours and there has been over a quarter of an inch in parts of fredericksburg and towards the northern neck. that's hitting up off to the east and dry out. we still have a little bit after sprinkle here in montgomery county. between gaithersburg and where 270 meets the beltway. that's about to move right into north west washington, slow moving into fairfax county and from wright here oakton up towards mclean and that's -- into reston, too, heading off to the east. maybe moving intoing the district over the next few

minutes, just a brief sprinkle. that will be the end of and it looks like we will get sunshine quite a bit after that. right now temperatures, though, chilly and we are in the mid and upper 40s. in montgomery, fairfax,al ton county, points west and north. near 50 in washington, points south and east where the rain is still falling. farther to the west it is generally in the low to mid 50s. quite a bit of sunshine in west virginia. here's the view from space over the last 12 hours. couple of waves of the rain coming on through. now getting nice breaks in the clouds just to our west. closeup view showing those areas of sunshine and here now in northern west virginia. of the shenandoah valley, breaks in the clouds across northern virginia as well. still mostly cloudy in maryland. going forward over the next 48 hours, we will have a clearing sky this afternoon. clear tonight. turning much colder and by dawn tomorrow, we will be down near freezing starting off friday morning. during the day friday, we will be clear and we will have quite a bit of sunshine throughout the day tomorrow. then into friday night, too, remaining clear and another cold night starting off salt day morning, cold but then during

the day saturday, after a little sun in the morning, quite a bit of cloudiness rolling on in during the afternoon. for the rest of the thursday, partly cloudy and cool and rather breezy. we will have temperatures once that sun breaks out and climbing into the mid and upper 50s. northwest winds increasing, though, by later this afternoon, gusting to 20 miles an hour. and then overnight tonight clear, chilly, breezy. it will be near 50 early evening down to near 40 by midnight. winds gusting to around 10 to 15 miles an hour and diminish after midnight and then by dawn tomorrow, as we look at the four-day forecast we will be down to near 30 degrees and afternoon highs around 50 on friday. and that is certainly going to -- even though it is above average, certainly going to feel much more wintry than it has the last couple of days. and we will have it cold again friday night and near freezing on saturday morning. saturday increasing clouds with highs near 50. area of low pressure passing to the south of the metro area over the weekend. giving us clouds but areas south of washington, might get light rain late saturday night and

into sunday midday. otherwise, the rest of the area will probably just have clouds and another chilly day sunday. cold start to next week but a bit milder tuesday. another chill setting in mid week next week. i don't see 70s again for a while. >> do you agree with punxsutawney phil? >> seeing his shadow? six more weeks of winter? >> how about that? >> i don't know if i can stand six more weeks of this winter. >> this weather, we can keep this around a while. we will collect in on traffic and see if things look better than they did earlier this morning. >> good morning. much better. if you are taking the beltway in prince george's county, not seeing any problems for you, very light volume on the inner loop and outer loop. this is a live look right now at branch avenue. travel speeds for you, traveling on the outer loop from pennsylvania avenue all the way to b.w. parkway, 62 miles per hour. that trip will take you ten minutes. and if you are traveling around the beltway in virginia, i'm not seeing any issues for you today. and inner loop and outer loop, outer loop speed is also very good. 50 miles per hour. barbara, back to you.

>> all right. thanks, danella. 19 minutes after 11:00. still ahead on "news4 midday, world trade center one-on-one interview with clint eastwood. his opinion on politics and football. plus, steve hayes shows us how swimming can be a great workout option. first, here is a look morning, sunshine, it's time to bring it. [ gargling ] oo-ay-ow. savings. savings. savings? progressive was the first to offer online quoting. you can do better. first to show comparison rates. ding! the "name your price" tool. oh! gosh, don't mind if i do. who was the first to offer pet injury coverage? we were. and when did you know you wanted to sell insurance? i said i wouldn't cry. um... whee! it's flo time. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

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we are diving in today for our fitness segment. steve hayes has been searching our area for the best fitness options. today he brings us the lowdown on a swimming class. good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning to both of you. introduce our swimming instructor. >> cindy. >> hi. nice to meet you. very nice to have you. you went swim thing time. >> it was water exercise. it was awesome. >> yes. tell us about it. >> let's see, they -- started off the instructor had me doing different exercises and that allows me to move in the water and move the body. move the joints. >> we see there. >> yes. >> yes. >> this is an aqua fit and tone class. spring hill rec center. >> tell us about flex test. >> it comes in increments of 10, 20, 30 passes. you -- it is good for four months at all nine of the pair

fax county indoor pools. >> i see. and -- that gives you 20 lessons, you get to go how often do you suggest people go? ten? >> did you get ten, 10, 20, 30 passes. >> i see. >> for a class. >> i see. how long is the class n. >> normally a 55-minute classes. tell us about what you will actually work on when you are in the pool like that, both upper and lower body? >> i yes. >> yes. >> when you saw me moving across the pool like that, i was crossing feet over. but the resistance of the water allows to you work the tendons and everything. it was really a hard workout. >> you have been doing a lot of different workouts. how did this rate to follow the others 1234. >> right up there with the top. >> as i said before you know that -- if you fall, you are not going injure yourself. have you the confidence to keep going which allows you to fulfill the exercise even more. >> so -- what -- what levels are there? should people start with beginners and move up? >> classes all the way from water walking, that's for people who are new to exercise and all the way to power fitting class.

aqua zumba will be starting this sum perfect. >> that will bring in -- talking a lot about. >> we have a wounded warrior program at spring hill. >> i see. you have music going, too. >> yes. >> all -- sounds like a lot of fun. >> yes. >> this is at fairfax? >> yes. >> you can find classes like this all throughout the area, right? >> yes, you can. >> ymca and other recreation centers. would you recommend this for people who are -- of all age snst? all ages, cross training. if you are a seasoned athlete, it is great to get in the pool as steve learned and use muscles you may not have used before. if you are a runner it is great to cross train in the water. >> what about some of the -- our older listeners, can they just start no matter when? >> yes. >> all right. >> judgment right in. >> flex pass. >> all right. steve, you have an inning tip for us today? >> dealing with travel, barbara. we are traveling and we are on the buses, planes, and trains, a crowded situation, where you -- the air is limited. before you do that, make sure you eat a nice healthy meal, drink a lot of water and tea before you go on to eliminate

the germs that are in the air. >> all right. that's a good tip. cindy, great to see. >> did you thank you. >> good luck. i'm sure you are going to get lots of folks signing up now. steven do steve endorsed it. 11:26. coming up in next half hour of "news4 midday, a head-on crash, exclusive video showing what a metro drus driver saw right before a violent wreck. plus, tom kierein is back. are the 60s and 70s a thing of the past? a sneak preview of some super bowl ads that are coming up this weekend. you will want to see these. you will see some familiar faces, too.

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. right now, you can now make some big bucks turning in crooks. d.c. police chief cathy lanier is proposing a program that hands out rewards for information resulting in arrests. the program comes as property thefts are on the rise and

especially cell phones, ipods, ipads. good samaritans will be able to earn anywhere between $1 thousand how and $10,000 for their information. nbc news can now confirm donald trump will endorse mitt romney for president. previous reports said trump would endorse newt gingrich today. but now two sources close to the campaign confirmed trump will in fact, endorse romney in las vegas this afternoon. and news4 exclusive now. we have got video of the moment of truck crossed the immediate wr median and slammed into a bus full of people. the accident happened back in december along rockville pike near cedar lane. the pickup driver, 49-year-old encon idor of silver spring did not survive the crash. at least ten people onboard the bus were hurt. the bus driver, 41-year-old

bryant, suffered serious injuries. metro says if it was than for bryant's quick thinking, things could have been a lot worse. >> obviously she was alert and made every attempt possible which is -- with very little time to do anything. we are very fortunate that the injuries are serious but fixable. and she's in recovery. and she's recovering now at home. and going lou rehab and we look forward to her coming back and providing that service again. >> montgomery county police say that they still have not determined what caused the pickup to jump the median. today lawyers for the army psychiatrist charged with multiple murders for shooting rampage in ft. hood will be in court. they are asking for a delay in major hassan's court-martial. he is charged with 14 counts of premeditated murder in 2009. shooting at the military base in texas. he could face the death penalty if convicted. he's not enter ad plea. his court-martial is scheduled to start march 5.

vaurnlg familiar sa virgini preparing to say good-bye to a family member found in a well. an anonymous 911 called the discovery of the man. he was last seen at a community center in september. police arrested lynwood johnson for the death. they say harris hired him to sell t-shirts for him. harris' family says faith has helped them get through this difficult time. >> with the arrest, does that bring you any closure? >> a little comfort. i want more. ing the detectives and the prayers and anybody that did such a great job, we are just thankful. >> a funeral service for harris will be held on monday at greater mt. calvary holy church in much northeast washington. limit on gun purchase necessary virginia may soon be a thing of the past. today the virginia senate will vote on legislation repealing a 1994 law that limited handgun purchases to one per month.

it was designed to curb gun crimes, gun trafficking and gun movement into high crime areas of the northeast. the house already approved a repeal of the law. those in favor of a repeal say that a national system of background checks on gun buyers makes that limit unnecessary. let's move again to tom kierein who can tell us more about what is going to happen with our weather today and the rest of the week. tom? >> good morning. most of the rain is gone. there is a live view from our sky watcher camera looking towards downtown washington from upper northwest. you can see there's some sun there gleaming off the waters of the potomac in the distance near washington and down the potomac near alexandria. we have quite a bit of cloudiness and getting a few sprinkles of rain in southern maryland, northern neck of the eastern shore and one area of light rain now coming out of the southern montgomery county into fairf fairfax. near the beltway near montgomery and fairfax counties stripping off to the east. that's the last of it. temperatures in the low to mid 50s just south of washington to

north of us in the 40s. and as the day progresses, though, we should rebound back into the 50s. and as we get some sunshine breaking out throughout the region and then overnight tonight, clear and cold. it will be down near freezing louout much of the region starting off tomorrow morning. sunny friday. with a high around 50. then on saturday and sunday, both days quite a bit of cloudiness. morning lows near freezing, afternoon highs near 50. and sunday morning, perhaps through midday, there could be some rain south of the metro areas. looking right now. then drying out monday and into next week. that's the way it looks right now. barbara. >> all right, tom. thank you. are you looking for a puppy or dog? well, there are -- nearly a dozen dogs that could be in need of holmes. last night the nonprofit rescue group forever home in chantilly picked up 21 dogs, including 14 puppies from a small animal shelter in cumberland. dogs were left on the doorstep with a note that says the owner suffers from dementia and couldn't take care of the animals. right now the dogs are in foster

care and will see the vet today. those healthy enough will be put up for adoption. we are going to check the midday traffic now. >> how could you put me after that dog? who wants to look at traffic if you look at cute puppies? terrible, barbara. let's talk about metro delays. red line, metro still single tracking due to schedule track work. they are single tracking between medicalstenter and friendship heights. that means you are going to see del ace on the red line in both directions. and on the roadways, you are traveling along 395 are very nice trip for you. as you make your way from the beltway and head into the city traveling northbound, no issues and in fact as you cross over the 14th street bridge you are in the clear as you make your way to the city. a live look at 14th street bridge volume very light here and travel times on 395 look really good. and 54 miles per hour heading northbound. southbound no issues. >> thanks, danella. today the washington highlands library in southwest washington will reopen for business.

you may remember a deer crashed through a library window on tuesday. officials closed the library yesterday to clean up the mess and repair the window. the deer had to be put down. the library will reopen at 1:00 this afternoon, regular time. hollywood can soon be coming to d.c. more than a dozen film industry executives toured the former home of atlantic video at mt. vernon square yesterday. they are considering using the building for films that risch sound stage and edit sweeps. filmmakers say they usually avoid shooting in d.c. because not having a nearby sound stage can cost the film lots of money. filming of the tv show "the firm" from last september. mayor gray is also considering a 5% tax on movie theater concessions to help boost d.c.'s film incentive fund. more test sing under way in upstate new york where 15 students are suffering from a mystery illness that causes uncontrollable ticks. similar to those with tourette's

disease. environmental specialists are te testing a super fun cleanup site from the outskirts of leroy. a train derailed in 1970 dumping toxic chemicals causing water and ground contamination. the site is four miles from where the students go to school. officials are trying to determine if there is any connection to the mystery illness. neurologists initially said the teens have conversion disorder, formerly known as mass hysteria. another busy day today in indianapolis with just three days until the super bowl. super bowl xlvi. today there are multiple concerts in and around super bowl village and including performances by edwin mccain and snoop dog and darius rucker. jimmy fallon will consider his super bowl week where he is taping his shows from downtown indy. the super bowl commercials are sometime just as memorable as the super bowl itself. this year advertisers have released handful of spots online early to help create a buzz

around their products. one of the most a anticipated commercials is from volkswagen. it is called the bark side. [ barking ] this is technically a tease for another ad that will air during the game. this morning, we are also getting a look at honda's new commercial for their acura brand featuring some nbc favorites. take a look at this. >> i'm so sorry, mr. seinfeld, but you are number two on the list. >> who is number one? >> that guy. >> okay. >> so you are number one. >> yes. >> how would you like to be number 20? >> i will throw in the soup nauts. >> i -- nazi. >> i know all the characters. >> the two-minute commercial has already been viewed more than 5 million times on youtube. news4 is your official

station for super bowl xlvi. we are counting down just three days away now to the big game. our jim vance and dan hellie are both there at indianapolis. and you can watch for their live reports all this week. 11:39 is the time. still ahead, you will soon be able to buy lottery tickets online. plus, how one woman's gripe over gas mileage could end up costing one of the world's largest automakers billions of

rising gas prices have us all looking for cars with great gas mileage. now one hybrid owner says some gas claims are too good to be true. honda is paying not because of civic hybrid owners sued when the gas mileage didn't live up to what was advertised. mel >> heather peters was upset because she says her 2006 honda civic hybrid was than getting the gas mileage the car maker promised so she took her

frustration to court. honda advertised that peters' car was supposed to get up to 50 miles per hour gallon in the city and she is only got 30 miles per gammon. other honda owners started a class action lawsuit over the mileage but peters, former lawyer, decided to try her luck in small claims court. she sued for $10,000 for money lost on gas and damages and awarded $9800. in all 200,000 civic hybrid owners around the world decided to do the same thing, then it could cost honda upwards to $2 billion. a honda spokesperson said the company disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal. the news of peters' success has lots of other owners quite interested. peter started a website -- don't settle with honda.org to encourage civic owners to drop out of the class action suit and go after more money in the small claims court. >> thanks, melissa. mayor brae is trying to boost the district's bond rating.

he and other city leaders head to new york tonight to meet with the three major credit rating agencies. they told the mayor last year that the dick needs to beef up its reserve fund to improve its bond rating. mayor gray has since pumped more than $200 million back into that fund. it now has more than $1 billion in it. well, the district could fold on its online gambling programs as early as next week. a council committee decided to repeal online gambling. it was the first jurisdiction in the county to legalize it. in the country that is. allegations of secrecy and no public hearings led to calls to scrap the program. the full count sill is expected to vote for repeal next tuesday. soon you will be able to buy a lottery ticket online in maryland. the state lottery is planning to introduce the online tickets within a year. officials say the different games and drawings could increase the lottery's revenue by more than $2 million. it will make buying tickets

easier for consumers but gas stations and convenience store owners say it will drive much needed business away from them. the online system will cost about $500,000 to set up. this morning, ben bernanke is on capitol hill urging lawmakers to look for a balance between cutting the budget and finding ways to boost the economy. we will check in with cnbc's courtney reagan and joins us live with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. courtney, good morning. >> good morning to you. markets are listening to what ben bernanke is saying on capitol hill. remember, we just heard from them last week when he and the federal reserve pledged to keep interest rates low until at least 2014. nothing he is saying now is particularly surprising or moving markets so the dow is down about 20 points at this moment. first time claims were jobless benefits fell more than expected last week. down by 12,000 to -- 367,000. claims have been below 400,000 for eight of the last ten weeks. very good sign that layoffs have

at least stabilized. other reports have shown that hiring is, in fact, picking up. amr, parent of american airlines, is seeking to cut 13,000 jobs. that doesn't apply to everyone clearly or about 15% of the work force as it works through bankruptcy. the company also wants to cut $2 billion in annual costs. measures including terminating four underfunded pension plans which would amount to the largest pension default in the u.s. history. amr which filed for chapter 11 in november lost $12.5 billion since 2001. facebook's ipo will turn lots of the company's employees including founder mark zuckerberg in to billionaires. if you are also hoping to profit, you are going to be a little does appointed. very few shares will be available for the general public to buy at the offering price. most will be sold to privileged investors like mutual pension funds. the investment banks running the ipo will offer some to their

best high customers. some discount brokers, like fidelity have given customers broader access to ipos like groupon last year. bash remarks back to you. >> all right. thank you so much, courtney. >> thank you. >> have a great day. it seems boys never outgrow their excitement over big trucks. our wednesday's child this week is a 15-year-old who got a chance to get up close and personal with some monster trucks the other day. you met him before, actually. he is a wonderful, bright youngster who continues to wait for a forever family. >> pretty cool. pretty noisy, huh? >> yeah. >> the monster truck took center stage at the verizon center. and j.d. joined me ringside to have a look. >> which one do you like best? >> digger. >> it has been more an year since we first featured ed j.d. he assisted his talents with a magician at six flags amusement park. we learned at 14, he was hoping

to be adopted. he's still waiting and hoping. and as he's now looking forward to turning 16. >> do you have a bucket list of things you want to happen? >> yes. >> tell me about them. >> a whole bucket. learner's for driving a car. you know, a family. >> driving one of the monster trucks for fun is on that bucket list, too. j.d. was thrilled to meet professional driver ron schmidt. he will be 16 in may. >> wow. >> will he be able to ride one of these? >> eventually. eventually. >> reporter: rod gave j.d. a close-up look at the big mean green machine. >> how long have you been driving? >> i have been a driver for 15 years. i love every minute of it. >> what j.d. would really like to do is design computer games that includes things like monster trucks. he says he wants to go to college to major in graphic and game designs. his social worker says j.d. is doing very well in school.

>> he does excellent in school. as, bs. >> he says j.d. likes school and some day will make the family very proud of him. >> he has a big heart. he has a lot of love to give. and -- he just needs someone to wrap around -- their arms around him and take him in. >> computer game j.d. said he would most like to invent would allow people to created their own virtual world. and what would his world be like? >> everything would be in peace and not going to be at war. and -- i will have a family in that house. >> perhaps that virtual world would include a drive in a big monster truck. right now that's just a dream. like his dream of a family to embrace him as their own. if you have room in your home and your heart for j.d. or another child who is waiting, please call our special adoption hotline. 1-88-to-adopt-me. or you can log on to our homepage at nbcwashington.com. >> our time is now 11:49.

coming up, family friendly productions on stage in our a now. plus, meteorologist tom kierein will be back with the latest on when we will dry out. stay with news4 all afternoon. ellen welcomes first lady michelle obama. find out who will win a pushup

actor, director, former politician decline eastwood was in town last night to receive a big honor. the smithsonian presented him with the james smithson bicentennial medal and awarded for his contributions to the american film industry during his career spanning more than six decades. eastwood is the former mayor o caramel, california. i personally got to ask him about possible future plans in politics. a lot of people have said over the years that with your tough stance, you would make a great president. would you like to come to washington and do that and what do you think we need to do here to make a big change in our society? >> i may look crazy but i'm not totally crazy. >> i asked him about the tough question everyone will be asking this weekend, will it the giants or patriots winning the super bowl? >> oh, that's going to be a tough one. that's a tough call. i don't know. i was rooting naturally for the 49ers being from oakland, san francisco area.

but now that the giants are in there, we have to look at manning and crowd and see how they do. i think it is going to be a good game. >> he went on to cut the ribbon to open the new warner brothers theater at the museum of american history. > local theaters not generally known for putting on family friendly shows are changing their focus. and joining us to talk about a few of them, levonia of "the washington post." this is good nueces especially for families looking for things for their kids to do. let's start with the first one you want to tell us about. i think it is peter pan at the h street theater. >> that's right. it is a -- found real serious fare recently. but this month they are going light with the show called peter pan, the boy who hated mothers. this is an adaptation of the result of so many of us know and really are going back to some of the darker source material. they are calling it along the lines of harry potter. this is a show juan to see with

maybe kids 10 and older. should be a lot of fun and not reading the -- won't be flying from the rafters. but should be a really image imaginative and fun show. it is $25. >> for adults and children? >> there are student rates available of $is a. >> all right. next prince george's county that you mentioned to us is the studio theater. you see it is more for high schoolers. >> this is such a different show and it is really different for studio theater because it is a show that incorporates video and comic drawings, on stage, and live acting and audio. it is going to be really interesting and it is a show that's really going to be not just for kids, 14 and up but for fans who are adults and just love comics books. that show will kick off next thursday. >> astroboy. okay. finally, the classic storey of "the three bears." >> that's going to be at first stage in mclean. that's a company that has also done a lot of adult shows and have had a lot of success with

children theater. the show for ages 5 and up. and what's really interesting about is it it is an acapello m. >> we look forward to hearing more things about this. i know there are a lot of parents that would love to have shows in the theater they can take their children to. for more ideas for your weekend logon to the nbcwashington.com or going out guide of washingtonpost.com. we are going to take a look at some of the stories we are followinging on news4 this afternoon. pat lawson muse joins news the newsroom with a preview of things to come. hey, pat. >> hi, barbara. good morning p.m. coppi. reaction as donald trump plans to endorse mitt romney. also at 4:00 this afternoon, why a 48-year-old florida billionaire adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend. then on "news4 at 5:00," winning recipes, liz crenshaw has tips on how to make party food that's

worthy of the super bowl. you will want to taste that. those stories and all the day's latest news starting at 4:00. barbara? >> i want to their that. must be tax implications of that. >> i will bet. >> thank you, pat. let's get a final check on your forecast now and here is tom kierein. >> good morning. as we approach the noon hour now the cloud cover broken up a little bit. still mostly cloudy over washington. that's a live view from the sky watcher camera and looking at the radar, getting us still a few sprinkles in washington. and areas in southern maryland and then the northern neck and eastern shore getting steadier rain but that's moving east. getting just a few sprinkles now, northeast washington, moving into prince george's county, that's the last of the rain. temperatures right now and -- as we approach noon, climbing into the mid 50s throughout much of the of the region and later today, upper 50s as we get the sunshine back. and we will have wind picking up overnight, too. bringing in colder air and it is going to be a cold start to tomorrow morning. near 30 and then sunny on friday. tomorrow afternoon's highs just near 50. and chilly weekend to follow.

lot of clouds around friday and sunday. we may have rain south of the metro area looks like now on sunday. and then drying out first part of next week. remaining rather chilly. another surge of chilly air coming in mid week next week. have a great afternoon and we will see you tomorrow morning. >> all right, tom. thank you. and that's "news4 midday." we thank you for being with us and invite to you tune in for news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 11:00. we will be back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. for more "news4 midday." until then have a terrific day and we will see you in 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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