good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. it is thursday, february 9, 2012. an alexandria paramedic remains in the hospital today after falling -- from 395 in a freak accident yesterday. joshua weizman fell 20 feet on to a creek. he remains in washington hospital center with serious injuries. news4's tracee wilkins is in alexandria now with the latest. >> reporter: we are standing underneath 395 where paramedic weizman fell. we are right in between the hov

lanes and northbound lanes. he fell in between that crack. 20-foot drop into the creekbed. this morning, his supervisors say he was transported in critical condition and right now he remains in critical condition they are sayinging the fact his condition not gotten any worse is a good thing. what happens when in a rescue situation, paramedics are trying to save one of their own. >> it is one of our own. we are trying to take our minds off of that. so we can do our jobs. afterwards, to her, that's another matter. that's where we have to deal with those feelings. >> reporter: 395 is wet and slick last night when alexandria fire and ems responded to a car fire in the northbound lanes of 395. 35-year-old 7-year veteran joshua weizman was on the call when something went wrong. he fell. 20 feet into a creek good it became a technical rescue where we had firefighters down in the creek as well as paramedics treating mr. weizman and he was extricated from the creek.

brought back up in what we call stokes basket operation. >> reporter: weizman was transported to the washington hospital center. he is considered one of the best paramedics in the department. in addition to being a seasoned veteran, he serves on the department's planning committee. and trains and assesses new recruits in the field. >> just a very, very good person, you know, in the department. always p willing to help anybody. >> reporter: the virginia police department is heading up the investigation to find out exactly what went wrong on that bridge yesterday. and in the meantime the alexandria fire and e.ms department, they are offering counseling for firefighters and also support for paramedic weizman faemsly. i'm tracee wilkins, news4. and new today, we are expecting a major announcement that concern it is no child left behind act. ten states will be granted waiver prosecutors the law's strict benchmarks in reading and math. back in september, president obama announced that waivers would be granted to states that offered viable plans for

improving students' preparation and performance. new mexico is the only state that applied for the flexibility and did not receive it. the ten states approved for wafers are colorado, florida, georgia, and indiana, kentucky, massachusetts, minnesota, and new jersey and oklahoma and tennessee. education officials in the district have signaled they plan to apply for a waiver as well. and right now d.c. mayor gray is among leaders unveiling a new ad campaign aimed at improving school attendance. the district formed a truancy task force to look into major contributing factors that keep students from going to school regularly. the group developed strategies to prevent chronic attendance problems. for much more on the campaign coming up in the next hour. turning to our weather now. cold start to the day out there. sunshine right now. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first forecast. good morning. >> you can tell it is cold by looking at that view from our city camera. the flags flapping in a cold

breeze. we have the bright sun, though. right now just after 11:00 and morning temperatures are near 40 degrees in montgomery county, though, mid 30s and most of fairfax county, arlington now near 40. it is near 40 in washington and prince george's county. and off to our west and north where that snow fell and still on the ground, it is in the mid 30s much of that region there. but it is -- gradually melting now. over the last 12 hours we have had our sky clearing out. we have had plenty of sunshine all morning. and for the rest of the afternoon, it is going to be sunny but chill y. the breezes should settle down. breeze write enough to make it field colder than the high of reaching low to mid 40s. that wind is going to feel like the 30s, though, as we get into the rest of the afternoon hours. looks like a cold tonight tonight. we will talk about that and maybe more snow in the near future. we will sort all of that out as we head towards a cold weekend. >> all right. thank you, tom.

check in on the midday traffic. here is danella. >> good morning. we have a couple of serious accidents. the first one, chopper shot this earlier this morning. 301 northbound, tractor trailer crashed into a car and up against the median here. right now all of your northbound lanes are still blocked. this is right before you reach the beltway. also, if you are traveling on gw parkway this morning we have another accident and all of your lanes are blocked as well. right near marina drive. you are jammed in both directions. very serious accident going to keep watching this one for you. if you are traveling i-66, construction continues as you make your way eastbound at gallows road. approaching the beltway, left lane blocked by the road work there. barbara, back to you. >> thanks, danella. today is the second day of testimony in the george hughley trial. he is the university of virginia lacrosse player accused in the beating death of his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. during the opening statements, the defense lawyers told the jury their client was too drunk to plot her death. they say that there's month

evidence that hughley killed yeardley love slamming her head into a wall. they say love was drunk and died of asphyxiation. prosecutors say that hughley killed love in a generalo ojeal. they say he wrote an e-mail saying "i should have killed you" a few days before she died. it was an emotional day of testimony. the trial is expected to last two weeks. if convicted hughley faces life in prison. a man is charged with sexually assaulting a child in a southeast washington elementary school. police arrested devon wood. accused of inappropriately touching an 11-year-old girl. the student was escorteding wood who had just entered the building to a classroom last wednesday afternoon when the attack allegedly occurred. we are working to learn the identity of a man killed in front of his prince george's county home. officers were called to the 61st place a riverdale address. 10:15 last night.

police say two men walked up to the man as he was sitting on his porch and one of them shot him. the victim died at the hospital. police have not released a possible motive for this shooting or said whether they know the identity of the suspects. it is seven minutes after 11:00. coming up, the pentagon is proposing a change in the role of women serving near the frontlines. plus, more problems for former d.c. councilman harry thomas jr. what he has failed to do.

we are following a developing story out of the middle east. the u.s. may be considering military action against syria. the daily telegraph is reporting the pentagon is beginning a preliminary review of military capabilities in that region. this comes days after russia and china blocked a u.n. resolution condemning syria. the white house says it is thinking of holding a friends of syria meeting with its allies as well as delivering humanitarian aid to the syrian people. for the past decade women in the military have served, out in and died in iraq and afghanistan. today the pentagon will recommend that congress allow

them to formally serve in roles closer to the frontlines. aaron gilchrist joins from us the super screen with more details now. >> reporter: the necessities of war forced women to the frontlines for years now often as medics or intelligence officers. now the pentagon wants to make that official. since 1994, women have only been allowed to serve in brigades. roughly 3500 troops. well, this new recommendation would change that. it would allow women to be signed to a battalion. roughly 800 service members. the army and the marine corps would likely feel this -- impact the most here. they ban women from more jobs than the air force and the navy. and special forces units like navy s.e.a.l.s would still be off-limits for women. this long standing opposition for women's roles stem from questions over strength and stamina and whether women could hurt cohesion.

officials also fear that public reaction to too many women being killed in combat may be a problem. the thousands of women have served in iraq and afghanistan. and more than 150 of them have died. barbara. >> thank you, aaron. the military is getting healthier today first lady michelle obama and pentagon officials will announce a change in the food served on military bases. troops will get more fruits and vegetables in an effort to keep them trim. pentagon officials say obesity is turning into a national security issue. about a quarter of entry level candidates are too overweight to enter the military or make it through their first enlistment. this week's primary wins are translating into big bucks for rick santorum. he says that he's raised about $400,000 in the past few days, including a quarter million dollars since his wins in colorado and minnesota and missouri on tuesday. santorum is now in second place in the race for delegates trailing only mitt romney. newt gingrich is now third and

ron paul remains a distant fourth. today virginia governor bob mcdonnell will attend an event here in d.c. with romney. both men are expected to attend a reception at the jw marriott downtown. he endorsed romney for president last month. another local marriott is holding one of the biggest republican conventions of the year. the conservative political action conference is going on at the marriott wardman hotel. senator jim demint told convention goers this morning that there is nothing the president has done that makes this economy better. it will be more than just conservatives at the convention this weekend. occupy d.c. is planning protests tomorrow and saturday at that hotel. occupy d.c. protesters apparently aren't the only ones upset with congress right now. 70% of americans rate congress' job performance as poor. according to the report. that's just a point lower than the highest level ever measured. just 5% of people surveyed rate

the job congress is doing as good or excellent. d.c. attorney general said harry thomas jr. has defaulted on his settlement agreement. irvin natds an told wtop that thomas has not paid back the majority of the $300,000 he admitted stealing from taxpayers. thomas agreed to make six payments of $50,000 but has only made one of those payments. the agreement says if he doesn't pay d.c. can do whatever it takes to recover the money and including place liens on thomas' property. if you have been outside we have sunshine out there now. has it warmed up very much? >> not much. it has been a cold morning in the wake of the little snow we had yesterday. we had a cold wind come in this morning and we have been below freezing until a couple of hours ago. now temperatures are beginning to warm into the upper 30s and here is a live view from our city camera showing the flags still blowing in that combed wind coming from the north. there is the kennedy center for the performing arts off in the distance and georgetown up on

the hill, 40 degrees at reagan national down river to the right. that wind, though, feels like freezing. and other temperatures right now are getting above freezing across most of virginia, cup upper is at 43. hagerstown above freezing at 33. elsewhere montgomery, arlington, prince george's counties now generally right into the mid and upper 30s. blue ridge, shenandoah valley, into the mountains as well. those locations and mid and upper 30s. much of southern maryland, bright sunshine there. temperatures are also around 40 degrees. we will have the sun with us here through the afternoon hours as we go forward over the next 48 hours and mostly clear night maybe a few clouds coming in this evening. and then by dawn on friday, we will have our temperatures plummeting down below freezing once again. during the day we will have increasing clouds ahead after weak area of low pressure coming our way that may bring snow and coming in our way late friday night. this whole zone here in lavender is a potential snow zone. area in green is potential rain and this will be by late evening perhaps before midnight friday night. that may continue into saturday.

for rest of the thursday, chill whyy, light breezes. temperatures climb into the low and mid 40s this afternoon. clear and cold tonight. back down to the mid 30s by midnight. we will have a lighter wind as we do get towards late evening. and then by dawn tomorrow, we will be down into the mid 20s. then we will have those increasing clouds on friday with afternoon highs climbing to around 50 degrees. and then it is -- friday night and into saturday morning mainly we might have in light accumulation of snow and then we will get cold. cold wind coming in on saturday. we will drop from the 30s in the morning all if way down to the teens by dawn sunday. we will still have those gusty winds saturday night and looks like into sunday, too. sunday will struggle even make it back above freezing. coldest day of the winter so far. and we will have sunshine, though, first part of next week, gradual warming trend. we ought to be into the low 40s monday. tuesday and wednesday. highs reaching near 50 once again. now last week i traveled to fairfax counties, lake anne

elementary school in reston, virginia. and talked to the students there about whether it is the program the after-school program, and they loved hearing all how snowstorms form and severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, how to stay safe. that was the big message. i said to the students there at the lake anne elementary school in fairfax county, reston. i want to thank teacher sarah almond for the invitation to talk to those stluntudents. another visit i had yesterday. i will be showing you those photos next week. >> thank you, tom. let's head out to the roads with danella sealock. any problems? >> yes. we are still seeing 301 shut down. earlier chopper shot. this video 301 northbound just before route 50 right around governor bridge. you are going to see a tractor trailer all over your northbound lanes are blocked at this time. i'm going to keep watching this accident for you. also if you take gw parkway now, shut down completely.

this is just as you approach mariner drive. you can see there is no traffic flowing in this area because these cars are jammed. serious accident blocking both sides of gw parkway. however, if you are crossing over the american legion bridge, barbara, no issues here. nice and clear on the outer loop. as well as the inner loop. back to you. >> all right, danella. than thanks. 11:18. some of the world's best oyster shuckers join us this morning. they are going to show us the kwiks way to schuck an oyster and talk about about their favorite toppings. steve hayes goes to new heights today to bring us some of the area's best workouts. first, here is a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. 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! 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.

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. d.c. is celebrating mardi gras this week at the washington hilton. with the help of some louisiana friends. among them master oyster shuckers, storman norman connelly and yule smith, louisiana seafood promotion. welcome to all of. >> did you thank you. >> great to have you here. have you great looking oysters here. tell us, is the louisiana seafood industry recovered now from the oil spill? >> the biggest challenge we still have is perception issues away from the coast. people from the gulf coast understand the amount of testing and seafood, it is safe across the entire gulf of mexico. at that mess -- message around

the country, that's why we are doing shows like this, working with our chefs and shuckers spreading the good news about the -- our louisiana and gulf seafood. the challenge is the same, perception issues are the same whether you are a shrimper or crawfisher, oysterman, crabber, fisherman. we are here to help get that message out. >> okay. that's all safe. >> absolutely. it is the most tested seafood in the world. >> okay. we want now -- storman norman. hollywood down there? >> yes. >> broadway. let's watch you do a little of your work. >> okay. >> okay. >> schucking oysters is very easy. pop, slide, cut. slide it to the wide side. cut it. >> you are fast at that. i have never seen anybody do it that fast. how can you tell if they are fresh? >> water color and texture. first thing look for when you open the oysters must be wet.

water. color. dark cream color. h . >> okay. storman norman, what do you like to serve them with? >> horseradish, ketchup, tabasco. >> slurp them in. >> chew it up these guys are the best, too. between these two, probably in their lifetime, 33 years, 37 years, they shucked probably over 35 million oysters. >> oh, my goodness. >> you have the best schuckners the world here. >> i see that. they sure know how to do it. this is part of the whole mardi gras scene in new or zbleens without a question. seafood is oysters are -- quintessential part of louisiana and our culture. seafood is -- that's what our chefs have -- become famous for, cooking seafood. oysters certainly major part of it. >> that's what's the best way to eat them now? show me how to slurp them down? i'm going to watch you do it.

>> let's see how you all do it. i want to see. get a nice close-up shot. polite way to eat an oyster. is there a polite way? >> as long as you get it done. >> okay. get it down. do you chew it? >> yes. >> you do chew it. there we go. you chew it. you don't just let it slide. >> let it slide, you never taste it. >> oh. that's true. >> you have to xhu ichew it. that way you know if you like. >> it every year we are here to meet with our delegation and talk about oysters and seafood communities across the gulf coast and louisiana. and -- this is a way for us to showcase to those people making decisions on what impacts thousands and thousands of jobs along the gulf coast. and we have an event tonight called louisiana live. our shuckers here and some of our best restauranteur prosecutors the fwufl coast and new orleans will be up there showcasing. and louisiana oysters.

>> brought a bunch of them with you. folks will be standing there waiting to eat oysters. >> absolutely. >> you go for it. >> ladies first. >> what? >> in new orleans, take it and just -- >> i will try it after the show. all right. so good to have you here. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> hollywood, broadway. great to have you with us. >> california hollywood. >> already. thank you. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. >> it is now 11:25. coming up in the next half hour, d.c. leaders join forces to keep children in school. how they hope to persuade students and parents. plus, the vow to strike down a controversial new requirement from the white house. get ready for another ride on the weather roller coaster we have been on. tom kierein lets us know when you can expect to switch from mild to cold again.

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! 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 in alexandria paramedic remains in critical condition a day after falling from i-395 during a rescue. joshua weizman fell about 20 feet into a creekbed below the highway last night. he was rushed to washington hospital center. weizman is considered one of the department's top paramedics. he serves on its planning committee and trains and assesses recruits in the field. today the d.c.'s leaders are unveiling a new ad campaign aimed at keeping kids in school. the truancy task force ads will highlight those that made changes, started going to school and are now succeeding. news4's megan mcgrath is at the announcement at anacostia high school. megan, tell us about the ads. good morning. >> well, good morning, about a are a. they are just unveiling them inside the gym at anacostia high school. d.c. public schools have a real problem with truancy. the chronic truancy rate is 12%. that's for students who have

missed 15 or more days of school without an excuse. and many of those kids, of course are not going to reach graduation. so they are trying to reverse this trend. that's why they have come out with this new ad campaign. the theme, more you learn, the more you earn. and what better way to reach children is -- than through children. children children who have experienced difficulties of going to school and students who have struggled with truancy issues. these are some of the kids that are in this ad campaign and they are talking to their fellow students and encouraging them to stay in class so that they can succeed. among them sasha. ballou high school. she had a real truancy i shall knew ninth grade. she turned it around and is now doing very well in school. >> ninth grade, i was cutting class and hanging around the wrong crowd. and i -- stuff that i -- i knew i -- i can do better and stuff.

>> reporter: how did you turn it around? >> i stopped hanging around that crowd. i wanted to be a successful person. >> you are hurting yourself. come to school, get an edge sxags do what you have to do to get out of school. once you get that diploma, what you are going to do. >> reporter: the ad campaign consists of print ads like this one. here you see sasha will. she posed for this one. here is deandre and another one. also, there will be radio ads that are played on local radio stations. you can expect to see the print ads on sides of busses and a number of publications. they will be distributing them to different schools. again, the hope here is that fellow students who have struggled and have turned things you a round and succeeded they will be able to reach fellow classmates who perhaps are skipping class. and convince them that it is worth staying in school, worth getting that diploma. live from anacostia high school, megan mcgrath, news4. >> thanks, megan. republican leaders vow to get congress involved in the

fight over birth control mandate. if the obama administration does not change its course. house speaker john boehner calls the requirement an attack on religion. he says that the government is overstepping its constitutional boundaries by requiring church affiliated organizations to cover birth control in health insurance plans opinion boehner said if the administration does not reverse that policy congress will. the white house suggested a compromise if possible. today a new york man is expected to plead guilty to operating a website that threatened the creators of the tv show "south park." jessie morton will appear in federal court in alexandria. last year a judge sentenced zachary chesser to 25 years in prison. the fairfax county man admitted he threatened to kill the cartoon creators for mocking the muslim prophet mohammuhammad ha we will talk about changes coming to our forecast. >> we could get more snow tomorrow night into the first part of the weekend. but the rest of the day today, a beautiful blue sky.

that's the live view from the sky watcher camera looking into fairfax county in the distance, foreground is northwest washington. and later today, we will climb into the low to mid 40s. right now temperatures are in the 30s to near 40 degrees. montgomery county mid 30s. much of fairfax county and prince george's county, arlington county near 40 as is the district of columbia, southern maryland near the bay. and northern neck. farther west and north, the temperatures there are in the mid 30s. shenandoah valley, blue ridge, western maryland, and we have quite a bit of sunshine here now. and overnight tonight mostly clear. down in the 20s to near 30 by dawn on friday. increasing clouds tomorrow with highs around 50. with a southwesterly breeze. cold air surges in friday night into saturday morning. that may trigger snow showers, maybe light snow as a weak area of low pressure forms along a cold front that does move just to our south on friday night perhaps into saturday morning. only light accumulations if any, is the way it looks now. then the rest of saturday turning blustery and cold. frigid start to sunday in the

teens. sunday, afternoon, briefly above freezing. little bit milder as we get into next week. that's the way it looks now. barbara. >> tom, thank you. the dupont circle metro station is back to normal today after having to shut down for a short time last night during rush hour. all of the stations escalators stopped working. metro shut the station down and only let customers exit. riders had to walk up steep flights of stairs during the outage which lasted about 30 minutes. the south entrance is already closed, a project that will take months. trance transit experts believe the increase in cracked rails in metro is causing -- some of the problems that metro has been suffering. experts tell "the washington post" metro is running more cars now than ever before. which is causing more and more strain on the rails. they believe age, water leaks, simply poor nine nance are to blame for the cracked rails. there are six reports of cracked -- cracks in the rails last month.

three of the incidents happened on days when temperatures changed dra mat include from warm to cold. metro's spokesman also tells "the post" there is no one specific reason for the recent increase in cracked rails. would have a heads-up from montgomery county. about to sit in traffic a lot longer. next month construction is set to begin on rockville pike and connecticut avenue. and crews will be adding turn lanes to help move traffic along especially with the expanded walter reed national medical center. crews will also be forced to close lanes at times, turning six lanes into four or just two lanes. the construction on rockville pike is expected to begin early next month with connecticut avenue construction set to start at the end of march. officials say despite delays all lanes will stay open in the peak directions during rush hours. if montgomery county lawmakers get their way you will be able to drive faster on the intercounty connector. according to "the washington post" state senator s asked let

tour to raise street speed limit to 65 miles per hour on the new toll road. current 55 miles per hour limit is one of the most common topics brought up by constituents. senator king even admitted hard for her to obey the current speed limit. transportation officials are studying a higher speed limit but say the road was built in a residential area. a check on the midday traffic again now with danella. >> good morning, barbara. this was the scene from chopper earlier this morning. 301 northbound just as you make your way to route 50, tractor trailer accident still has all of your northbound lanes blocked at moment. you can see very serious accident. also, if you are traveling gw parkway an update. just the northbound lanes are blocked between reagan national airport and route 50 arlington boulevard. just be aware of that as you make your commute. 66 eastbound still slow as well

as your left lane is blocked by the road work as you make your way to the beltway. >> all right. thanks, danella. this morning, pit bull is being nursed back to health for injuries from being used as a bait dogging to train other animals to fight. the dog was rescued in anne arundel county last week. investigators are trying to figure out how he got in such bad shape and who is responsible. the dog nicknamed rocky road underwent surgery and is being treated by the chapel animal hospital. he is expected to go up for adoption once his condition i am proves. well, it is time to get adventurous with your workouts. steve hayes has been checking outfitness classes across our area. today he is here to tell us about rock climbing. good morning. >> good morning, barbara. >> i guess you brought your coach with you. >> yes. ali. >> nice to have you with us. tell us why this is actually a good exercise to stay in shape, is that right? >> incredible. upper body strength.

cardiovascular, you name it. >> it does it all. i'm going to ask you to rate all of these. >> okay. >> talk to us about the open climb and something at your facility offers. >> our mission is to share our passion with climbing, with anyone and everyone that has an interest in rock climbing. and the open climb program is basically for people without any experience in rock climbing and can come into our facility. they can climb up to the top of our walls and get three climbs. harness is provided. there is an instructor as well. >> there's steve hayes working on his -- working his way up. >> this is the warmup. >> warmup? >> this is called traversing, sports specific warmup we use in rock climbing to loosen our tendons and create muscle memory. getting us ready for climbing. >> how far up the wall is he at that point? >> i'm right at the bottom. >> oh, yes, i can see. is this your first time doing

this? >> my first time. as you can see, they had me going up to the top. 60-some feet up pretty scary. >> here we go. >> oh, my goodness. tell us about your experience. >> it was fantastic. again, i have never done rock climbing. i have gone through rock creek park, something like that and done a little -- but this -- this is incredible because when you go in the building, it is sitting about six stories up. 60 feet. it was a lot of upper-body strength. it is -- it is exhilarating. it is. it is a great aerobic workout. >> it is safe? >> very safe. they have harnesses, as a matter of fact. she has a harness that we -- i was locked in on. and -- you have someone -- watching you every moment. >> and -- so -- what -- age levels, fitness level, what experience level do you have to have to take classes like that? >> we have something to offer any -- and every age level from kids to adults. somebody who has never rock climbed before to people that have been climbing 20 years.

>> people really get into it, zone they. tell us, for those of us that care about this, how -- how can this work to change your figure and your body? if you want to lose weight or get in shape. >> it uses pretty much every muscle in your body. it is really fun. so you want to do it. you get into it. then you just get into shape. >> okay. do d we see him coming back down? he got down all right. we know he did. he's here. you wanted to show us some of your things. have you some experienced climbers, too. let's take a look at the people -- >> my goodness. >> yes. this is what experienced climbers do. >> she is parallel to the ground. she's up about -- >> is that you, ali? >> this is another worker. that's ashley. >> but if she were to fall she would be caught by the -- >> she has a harness hooked on. >> she would be caught by the rope and last place she clipped in. this is the type of climbing called sport lead. it is an advanced level climbing. you basically bring the rope up

with you as you go. she is clipping in as she goes. >> it is fun. >> show me just a little bit of -- the equipment you need. >> yes. you need a harness. >> stand up and show us. >> harness. >> goes over the legs and around the waist. >> this is what holds new tight. rope ties into these two points here. and then the -- rope is managed with this device. the person holding the rope and keeping you safe as you climb up. that person also lowers you. >> that's all provided by the facility. you have to bring your own shoes? >> you don't have to bring anything. we have shoes. this is an example of rental shoes we have for you. super awesome rubber helps you grip to the walls. >> gripped to the wall. >> lot of places opening up. i know they are popular. we thank you so much, ali. you have a nutrition tip for us. >> both you and i have red on. national heart month. and try red. because, again, we should tell each of our loved onetion to get their heart checked. high blood pressure is the number one killer.

>> we know. absolutely. good advice. thanks for coming in. >> thank you so much. >> good to see you. good to see you. 11:41. still ahead, settlement between u.s. states and the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses. plus, growing jackpot. why stores across our area will be busy leading up to the saturday drawing. we will tell you about that.

[ male announcer ] for some reason those five food groups sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. fantastic! pro-gresso ] they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less.

you may want to go out and buy a on powerball ticket. no one matched last night's powerball numbers. so the jackpot grows to $310 million. the next drawing is saturday night. tickets are $2 and you can buy them in the district, maryland, virginia, and west virginia. some of the country's biggest mortgage lendlers have to pay big bucks for deceptive foreclosure practices. bank of america, wells fargo, citibank and others will agree to pay $25 million to lower mortgage principals and

refinance loans. >> it will not only hold institutions that wronged families, neighborhoods, and contributed to the collapse not just the american economy but international economy. not just hold them accountable. but it will also provide immediate relief to homeowners. >> maryland will receive about $960 million as part of the settlement. a spokesman important maryland attorney general doug gansler says the money will help provide immediate relief to homeowners. unemployment benefit applications dropped to the second lowest level in nearly four years. we are going to check in with courtney reagan. she joins us live with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. >> good morning to you. what's a really busy market day shaping up to be that way. still many hours to go. glance over and see the dow and s&p have now dip mood the negative territory. dow is down to about 17 points after being higher this morning. and also this morning, greek

prime minister stister announce deal to secure another round of bailout funding. all this greek drama is not over yet and it is at least a step in the right direction. meantime like you mentioned another positive report for the labor market. number of americans filing for jobless benefits fell 15,000 last week to 358,000. that marksing the second lowest level in four years. eastman kodak decided to stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras, and digital picture frames. as it cuts costs after filing for bankruptcy last month. the iconic company anticipates the move will save more than $100 million a year. the first kodak camera went on sale in 1888. google reportedly close to launching its own cloud storage service called drive. "wall street journal" says it will let people store photos, documents, and video on remote servers so they can be accessed

and shared on any kwekted device. that means pcs, laptops, smart phones, and tablets. google is expected to launch drive in the next few weeks or months. it will be free for most consumers and businesses. barbara, back to you. >> have a great day. >> thank you, you, too. in this week's "wednesday's child," we meet a 14-year-old boy who has a lot of aspirations for the future. tyrale loves karate. that sport helped him gain the confidence to pursue many of his dreams, including finding an adoptive forever family. >> he says when he discovered martial arts, it changed his life. >> nice to meet you. i'm master smith. this is master woodson. >> the team at on the map in bethesda welcomed tyrale for his first advice and it invited him to share what he learned and started with the student pledge,

the tenants of tae kwon do. >> courtesy. >> integrity. >> self control. >> perseverance. >> perseverance. >> these are the qualities tyrale tried to incorporate in his daily life. he has been in foster care almost his entire life. and he says the practice of karate and tae kwon do got his life going in a positive direction. the discipline he learned in his first classes got him interested in doing well and everything he does. >> loves to do chores. he loves school. and he's also very shy in the beginning. the day he walks up to you and talks. >> give me one more. let's reset what's your favorite subject at school? >> math. >> are you good at math? >> yes. >> what kind of grades are you making? >> making as. >> not all as, he says but is hoping to one day be on the honor roll. a goal inspired by his first teacher who introduced him to the art of karate. >> two and one.

open. >> how are you? what's going on? how's everything? >> were you surprised to see him? >> yes. >> how long has it been? >> a year. >> did you see a lot of changes over the period you were working with mihm? >> yes. head up, buddy. accountability. receptive to structure. very receptive to discipline and setting goals. right? >> yes, sir. >> he showed off some of his skills to master andrew who rewarded him with a black stripe on his gold belt. >> congratulations, sir. >> the team from on the map has gifts, too, for tyrale. congratulations. if you have room in your home and heart for tyrale or another child waiting for a home, call the adoption hotline. 1- - 8-to-adopt-me or log on to

our web page, nbcwashington.com. making plans for valentine's day. meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check of the cold weather moving in forring the weekend. stay with news4 all afternoon. at 3:00 the return of sophia and ros rosie.

we have a few days left before valentine's day. but probably still time to plan a romantic outing. and here with ideas from "the washington post," livona. let's start on the water with a romantic getaway at roosevelt island you can tell us about. >> it might be a little bit cold to head thought weekend. but come spring, there probably is no place more romantic in the area than roosevelt island. just look at it. it is gorgeous and it is separate prosecuted the rest of the city by this bridge. it is a little 88-acre island right in the middle here of washington. you can access it from the gw parkway in virginia. it is so secluded and a great place to take a picnic and go as soon as we start to get warm weather. >> yeah. but some people don't mind the cold. bundle up and make that hike out there. ride your bike, too. >> they say it is a great time to see animals and kind of see birds and things like that out there. >> yeah. not such a bad idea for valentine's day. let's move inside for those who

do care about the cold. and people who want to spend relatively less -- valentine's day, you have something to check out called shake shack. >> burger joint that comes to from us new york. this is a place that has been really embraced by foodies. our own tom loves this place. cheap eat spot. and now that the lines have been v thinned out it is not as crazy as it was when it first opened. a great place in the evening to catch a fun dinner with a first date or second date. lot of fun for foodies. >> where is it? >> right on connecticut avenue. downtown washington. dupont circle. >> and is it shake because they serve shakes? >> shakes, old-style fries, crinkle cut fries. burgers. >> sounds great. okay. let's head to baltimore and visit to woodbury kitchen. >> woodbury kitchen is what we are calling our most romantic restaurants in the area. this is a place that's housed in an old mill and looks dishevelled from the outside. inside it is gorgeous. food locally sourced. really rich.

amazing comfort. if you can get a rerervation there, it is a place to check out. >> that's in baltimore. have you plans for valentine's day? >> i don't yet. waiting for someone to ask me. >> got to be something special. thanks. >> thanks. >> for more ideas for your weekend, you can logs do to nbcwashington.com. or the going out guide on washingtonpost.com. we are going to take a look at the stories we are following for news4 this afternoon. jim handly joins us in the newsroom with a preview of things to come. >> hi, barbara. you got me thinking woodbury kitchen, what a restaurant in baltimore. one of my favorites. coming up, busy afternoon at 4:00 and 5:00. kate middleton venturing out on her own and continues to wow the crowds. plus, friends, family, strangers are giving their is port to a local cancer survivor. the online phenomenon now known as zacking. tonight at 5:00, homemade sweets for your sweetheart. make a date with liz crenshaw for her valentine's tricks of the trade and barbara, if you like chocolate you are going to

love this piece. remember, your first news. only source at 4:00. starts right here. we will see you then. >> you know i'm a choc-a-holic. >> cold weather moving in on theked with -- this weekend. fairfax county, the left. off to the right on the horizon is southern loudoun county. in the foreground montgomery county. yets as we take a look at temperatures now as we approach the noon hour, 42 at reagan nation national. above freezing above the region. north and west where the snow is on the ground. it is in the mid 30s but south and east and through much of virginia, lower part of the eastern shore. and -- southern maryland, it is now into the low to mid 40s. we will hold steady for the rest of the afternoon and mid 40s. sunshine and then tonight getting cold again. down to the 20s near 30 by dawn tomorrow. then increasing clouds friday. highs near 50. then friday evening, into saturday morning we might get light snow and i don't see a lot

of accumulation the way it looks now. stay tuned. big story for the weekend, though, blustery and cold. coldest day of the winter so far on sunday. bit warmer as we get into next week. and remaining dry and no big snowstorms. that's the way it looks. have a good day. >> wow. sounds good. thank you, tom. if you don't mind being too cold. that's "news4 midday." tune in for more news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 11:00. we will be back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. with "news4 midday." hope you plan to join us for that. we have a jam-packed show for tomorrow. have a terrific day and we will