police presence by late morning. some employees were afraid to come to work, others say they felt it was important to do so. >> it's terrible. a lot of people don't want to be to work today. still got to run the business, you know. that's how it is. >> reporter: investigators would not say how much the robber got away with. >> entered the business, accosted this employee inside, demanded money, ultimately retrieved an undisclosed amount of money from the business. it appears there was an incident in the parking lot with this individual being the store employee where the suspect shot the store employee in the upper body. >> reporter: the store manager is expected to survive his injuries. we understand he was shot in the shoulder. a maroon minivan believed tob the getaway vehicle was found burned a short distance away from here minutes after the shooting. jackie bensen, news4. developing story now in prince george's county tonight. an suv rear ended a school bus this afternoon here in upper

marlboro. it happened just before 3:00 this afternoon here on route 301 near marlboro pike. 32 students were aboard the bus at the time. 15 had some very minor injuries. but none went to the hospital. no word yet on the condition of the suv driver. d.c. police need help in finding four men who were responsible for a sexual assault in a series of robberies in northeast. police say in each of the cases these men targeted women and are wanted in at least four incidents including a sexual assault and abduction this past friday and saturday night between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. the men are described in their late teens, early 20s, driving an older red box style nissan max i ma. if you asked to call the d.c. police. president obama answered questions from reporters on a range of issues today at the white house. holding his first news conference since his reelection. keith russell is in the newsroom

with two of the more popular topics that came up. >> we know what they were, wendy. the president spoke about david petraeus and focused on the fiscal cliff. he said he's open to compromise but doesn't want an extension of the bush tax cuts. he maintains the best way to get it done is higher taxes for the rich, not the middle class. >> if we right away say 98% of americans will not see their taxes go up, 97% of small businesses are not going to see their taxes go up, if we get that in place, we are actually removing half of the fiscal cliff. half of the danger to our economy is removed by that single step. >> the president unexpectedly did not express displeasure with how long it took to be notified of the scandal involving general david petraeus. >> we're not supposed to meddle in, you know, criminal

investigations. and that's been our practice. and i think that there are certain procedures that what the fbi follow or doj follow when they're involved in these investigations. that's traditionally been how we do things, in part because people are innocent until proven guilty. >> the president also said his hope is that it ends up being just a side note in the extraordinary military career of david petraeus. live in the newsroom, keith russell, news4. general petraeus' mistress may be hiding out here in washington. she was spotted at her brother's home last night. he lives in the mount pleasant neighborhood of northwest d.c. camera crews were stationed outside the home this afternoon, but no sign of her today. broadwell lives in charlotte, north carolina. she's kept a low profile and has not spoken publiclybout her affair with petraeus when that was first made public last friday. today, house minority leader nancy pelosi put rumors about her future to rest. there's been speculation she

might step down from her leadership post or retire altogether. she raised more money than any other member of congress to put democrats back in power but her party regained only about half the seats needed. >> i have made a decision to submit my name to my colleagues to once again serve as the house democratic leader. >> nancy pelosi is the only woman ever elected as speaker of the house. she served in that capacity from 2007 to 2011, when the democrats lost their majority. her decision to remain in place means the democratic leadership is likely to remain as it is right now with maryland congressman steny hoyer as her deputy chief. another cool day across our area. we're not goi to get a break anytime soon now. chief meteorologist doug kammerer has more on this chilly week. >> normally this time of year we have a little bit of ups and

downs. mostly this month we've been well below average. that just continued during the day today. high temperatures today did not make it out of the 40s. right now, some of you are already in the 30s at 5:00 at night. 45 degrees is the number at the airport. winds out of the northeast at eight miles an hour. that gives us a windchill of 41. it is a very chilly night tonight. take a look at these numbers. gaithersburg, already down to 39 there. 39 as well toward winchester, back towards leesburg and manassas. the current temperature at 43. talking a very cool night tonight. and one thing that is going to help us, we could really get cold tonight. but with cloud cover moving in, you can see clouds beginning to make their way in. that should help temperatures stay up a little bit. but it's still going to be a very chilly night tonight. i'll let you know how cold things will be when you wake up tomorrow. and what we think now as far as the weekend and your holiday week next week coming up in the full forecast. d.c. mayor vincent gray announced a plan to create

100,000 new jobs for the city in the next five years. gray said the city is doing well economically. he wants a diversified work force not dependent on federal jobs. tom sherwood is here with details on his plan. >> the mayor wants high-tech jobs, more medical jobs, jobs in hospitality, more retail, the city's booming economy is helping provide them. with a major construction project just outside the window behind him, mayor vincent gray offered an upbeat vision of the city's economic future. >> yet another effort to keep our dollars right here in the district of columbia. >> reporter: surrounded by developers, neighborhood activists and university officials, the mayor said his five-year plan would add 100,000 jobs and $1 billion of new revenue to the district in five years. including long struggling wards 7 and 8. >> when you talk about microsoft locating in ward 8 of the district of columbia, that probably would have been occurred heresy not so long

agent. >> reporter: the old convention center long vacant is now rapidly being transformed into a multi-billion-dollar development. tenth street closed since the early 1980s reopens next year. jack evans said the city aggressively has been pushing serious developments for two decades. >> that's why washington, d.c., is the fastest growing city in america today, and why we're not detroit. >> reporter: reporters asked gray whose 2010 election campaign has been under federal investigation for more than a year whether he would be around to see the development and run for reelection in 2014. >> whether i'm here or not, i think we are -- we have carved out a direction. we have made it clear that we want to be eight wards, not anything less. >> d.c. also has a bad reputation for being too bureaucratic, too business unfriendly. the mayor said he will change that, too. >> thanks, tom. there's a new push under way

across our area to encourage drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists to share the road safely. the street smart program is urging everyone to pay attention to the street signs, the traffic laws. approach those intersections with caution. don't blow through them. the street smart campaign began 2002. it's now an annual event. officials say with less daylight out there, there is increased risk for accidents. >> everybody needs to do their part because we need the government to support having sound infrastructure, and facilities that allow cyclists and pedestrians to go about their way in a way that i safe for other road users. but we also need motorists to follow the rules. we need motorists to pay attention and not be distracted while driving. >> as part of the campaign, police in all three jurisdictions are going to be out in full force this weekend. this week, rather. they're looking for people who are not obeying the laws. george washington university

has lost its coveted high ranking as one of the top universities in the nation. u.s. news and world report claims gw inflated the high school standings of its incoming students by 20 percentage points the magazine removed the school from its 51st place on the list. the university will have an unranked status until the 2014 best colleges publication is out. the gw president regrets the air and says he's making measures to make sure it doesn't happen again. still ahead, we're hearing from the neighbors of that teenager who was arrested for two high-profile murders in one week. also ahead, the fidelity spray that could help men stay, not stray. local doctors put the rigorous biggest loser plan to the test to see if it will help you drop weight in rec

drinking even a moderate amount of alcohol while pregnant could impact your child's intelligence. researchers at the university of bristol stud idea the alcohol metabolizing genes of more than 4,000 children. if their mother drank even amounts considered harmless they

had a lower iq by age 8. couples who are exposed to high levels of environmental pollutants may have trouble conceiving. pesticides are found in our soil, our water, our food supply. a recent study found women with higher chemical concentrations in their bodies were less likely to get pregnant. fertility also decreased if a man had a high chemical exposure as well. speaking of, can love hormone keep men from straying? german researchers gave a group of men oxytocin in the form of a nasal spray. those who got the hormone and already in committed relationships kept a greater distance when approached by attractive women. the men in this study had an average age of about 25. want to lose some weight like "the biggest loser"? >> who doesn't.

a new study is looking at whether people can achieve the same weight loss on their own. doreen gentzler is here with the story. >> scientists at the national institutes of health said they were watching the new york stock exchange program "the biggest loser" and saw a ready-made group of test subjects who were trying to lose a lot of weight who would be closely monitored from start to finish. they were able to see whether "the biggest loser" lifestyle could really be achieved off the show and in real life. when you're a contestant on "the biggest loser" the world is watching. and for many that's the motivation they need to shed major pounds. and you're going to need that desire if you're going to make it. that's because contestants on the program cut about 65% of their calories, and do vigorous exercise for three hours every day. >> we were really interested in, this is realistic, could they actually sustain this. >> kevin hall is a senior

investigator with the national institute of diabetes and die jess tick and kidney diseases. they examined contestants from season eight of the reality show. he says obviously it would be tough to sustain such a dramatic lifestyle change, especially if people were to do it on their own. but it is possible to get the same dramatic results. it might just take a little longer. well, a lot longer. >> elbows up! >> it would actually only take about 20 minutes of daily vigorous exercise along with a 20% calorieic cut to sustain the weight loss. if you just started that way and didn't undergo "the biggest loser" competition to start, you're looking at about four years to get there. >> hold it up there, vinnie! >> reporter: and if you can be that disciplined for that long, hall says it definitely pays

off. people wouldn't only lose weight, but they're also burning fat and maintaining muscle needed to stay healthy. four years, that's what he said. scientists at nih say they're planning to continue their biggest loser study. next they want to see how contestants maintain their weight loss after they leave the program. four years. that's the real world. >> maintaining is the tough part for a lot of people. >> it will be interesting to see as they follow some of those biggest loser folks over a period of time, how long they're able to maintain that huge weight loss. >> there's no easy part of weight loss. >> there never is. you had a pretty easy day today. the weather's doing nothing out there. >> you know what, veronica and i were just talking, after everything we've been through the last couple of weeks, we were looking at the next possible coastal storm coming up and it looks like it's out of here. so we can sit back in the weather center. we had our feet up today. >> thank you, doug. >> i got a massage.

you paid for that. let's show you what we're dealing with outside today. the weather is calm. but it's on the cool side. temperatures this time of the year should be close to 60 degrees, and we barely got into the upper 40s today. our temperature of 45 degrees out at the airport. winds out of the north-northeast at 8 miles per hour. that gives us a windchill of 41 right now. it is very cool. it's going to stay quite chilly as we make our way through the night tonight and over the next couple of days. kind of get used to this weather. we're coming up on winter, not quite there yet. we've still got a month and a half before winter is officially here. but it's feeling like winter. 45 in washington. 43 in manassas. 46 in fredericksburg. at least we saw a lot of sunshine today. that was the nice portion of the afternoon. without any cloud cover, we're not dealing with any rain and we're not going to see any chances of rain for the next couple of days. so you're not going to need the umbrella. we didn't see much cloud cover during the day but seeing increase from the south.

i do expect to see more high clouds overnight tonight and into the day tomorrow and probably into the day friday, too. they may act as a little bit of a blanket tonight, so temperatures don't get quite as cold as they could. upper 20s and lower 30s for most of you when you wake up. the cold air is here. the high pressure over us earlier continues to sag off towards the north and east. sunshine today. watch what happens tomorrow. that cool weather remains here. we get mostly cloudy tomorrow, i think. i think we're going to see a lot of cloud cover tomorrow. that's not going to make us feel any warmer 689 today the sun at least helped. tomorrow you may not have much sunshine to deal with. on friday i expect a little more sunshine. a better day friday. temperatures that could move into the low to mid-50s. and that with some sunshine is not a bad afternoon at all. it's going to stay quite cool. temperatures about five degrees below average, but once again, not too bad. another coastal storm, we were talking about this one. this is the one that has the cold air in place right now. it's the southern branch this time that is going to bring

together a coastal area of low pressure. now, it's going to make its way down to the south. it's already forming in parts of the area. notice the rain touching on our region. but this will mostly stay out to sea. and that is a very good -- that's very good news for places like boston, new york, and philadelphia, that were really hard hit by the last two storms. this one should not be as big of an influence there. with all the cold air trapped in canada, it will move back up in canada. we're not talking about any snow on the back side either. we can all kind of relax. and as i mentioned, get your feed up. nice, but cool, 37 to 44 degrees this evening. you'll need the coats again tomorrow morning. 27 to 36 degrees. and again, we will see more cloud cover tomorrow. so it will feel cooler. even though i'm going to to make it a degree warmer than today. next couple of days, temperatures staying in the 50s. 54 on friday. saturday looking pretty nice. i think mostly sunny with a high

of 56. and then back down a little bit on sunday, 52 degrees. 52 on monday with a chance of showers as that coastal storm will be just off the coast, hopefully it will not have that big of impact now. i think the redskins game is looking good. yesterday i was a little worried about it, but it should be fine. a must-win game. >> it is. coming up next on news4 at 5:00, expect to pay more when you use the dulles toll road in just a few weeks. a major recall impacting millions of vehicles around the world. in sports tonight, we'll introduce you to a local heavyweight boxer who will put his undefeated record on the line this weekend. up in atlantic city. hey, look! a shooting star!

make a wish! i wish we could lie here forever. i wish this test drive was over, so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. test drive! but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today. wanted to be here for your fist christmas?

you see grandma lives waaaay down here, and you live way up here. brian, your cousin, he's a little bit older than you, he lives here, in chicago. and your aunt lisa lives here, in baltimore. uncle earnie? waaay out in hawaii. but don't you worry, we will always be together for christmas. [ male announcer ] being together is the best part of the holidays and cheerios is happy to be part of the family. you just ate dallas!

a little boxing tonight. >> this is a guy who has to be one of my favorite local athletes in the area. a really fun story. seth mitchell has a huge weekend coming up. fighting saturday night trying to keep his perfect record intact and get one step closer to a major heavyweight title. zachary has more. >> there's nothing about seth,

not his college degrees or infectious personality outside of the ring. >> if i acted outside of the ring like i acted in the ring, i would be locked up somewhere. it's just my nature. as a competitor, i love to compete. >> what is typical are days like these. chasing the heavyweight title of the world belt. showcasing a work ethic that first surfaced on the football field. >> that's what he's about. he's going to put the time in. so he can be ready for whatever comes his way. >> reporter: and the story goes, it all started when mitchell caught tom in the ring. former opponent of his from his former football days at michigan state. >> that just sparked my interest. i said, this is what i want to do, this is what i'm going to do, and i just started training for it and visualizing it in mind and the rest is history. >> at the same time he had that wonderful and tangible that you

can't really teach. in the boxing world we call it pop. he has incredible pop. he can hit hard. >> in the world of professional boxing it's common for fighters to leave town in order to focus on upcoming bouts. but not seth mitchell. he's done it from right here at his home gym in clinton, maryland. and those around him say it's the unique ability to block outside distractions and focus on the task at hand that has him poised for a big victory on saturday night. >> he's special. he has a very strong constitution. he puts his mind to something and he has a wonderful tendency to block out things. >> reporter: six years in, mitchell has the boxing world on fire. the heavyweight is 25-0-1 with 19 knockouts as a professional. >> boxing is a lonely sport. it's a rough, tough sport to make a living in. and i'm just one of the fortunate ones. >> we're on a roll, okay?

and we've been on a roll. he's undefeated. not a lot of heavyweights out there that are undefeated. he's really into a wonderful zone right now. we don't want that to end. >> when i get in that ring, i call myself a gentle giant. >> zachary kiesch. >> you can watch mitchell's fight saturday night on hbo. and tune in for the results right here on nbc 4. >> all-around guy. he does it all. >> that he does. coming up in the next half hour tonight. >> his name joshua mebane. he's the centerpiece suspect in two murders in just 12 days. he's 17 years old. i'm pat collins. the story coming up, news4.

an employee fighting the store's plan to start black friday sales on thanksgiving. a popular band holding a benefit for recovery efforts after hurricane sandy.

a fast forward through the

headlines now. anne arundel police hoping the surveillance photos lead them to the arrest of a man who shot a manager at walmart this morning. it happened during a robbery at the 24-hour store in laurel. the manager expected to be okay. the store reopened later this morning. president obama tonight says he's withholding judgment on the timing of when he learned about the scandal involving cia director david petraeus. in a news conference today, he said he's confident in the fbi, which is conducting the investigation. the president also said there's no evidence classified information disclosed could pose a threat to national security. 15 elementary school kids had minor bumps and bruises after a school bus crash in upper moral marlboro. the weather is cold across the entire mid-atlantic, across the entire northeast and the great lakes, too. take a look at the numbers. 45 right now in washington, d.c.

but look back to the west. 37 in pittsburgh, the high in pittsburgh today only 38 degrees. that is well below their average high temperature for this time of year, we should be around 59. we were 11 degrees below average with a high today of only 48 degrees. we've got very chilly air that's continuing to stickaround. and it will stick around right on through the next couple of details. we'll talk much more about the weekend coming up in just a few minute we're hearing tonight from those who know the teenager who was accused in two separate murders in our region. 17-year-old accused of killing a woman and then wounding her husband in waldorf before traveling to washington to allegedly kill again. news4's pat collins joins us live in charles county with more on the timeline of these cases and reaction from neighbors. pat? >> reporter: wendy, two murders in 12 days, investigators have a suspect, but now they want to know why.

his name, joshua mebane. he's 17 years old. charged as an adult. the centerpiece suspect in two murders, 12 days apart. victim number one, teresa bass, she was the mother of four children. she was just married for the second time last year. october 26th, around 7:00 p.m., teresa bass and her husband are walking their dog on this trail in the hampshire community. they encounter a young man coming from the other direction. they acknowledge each other and keep on going. but then that young man turns around, opens fire. teresa bass is shot and killed. her husband shot and killed. no apparent motive at all. charged in the case, joshua mebane. 17 years old. he lives just a few blocks away.

>> i think it's appalling that, you know, somebody went out for a walk with their dog and their husband and they died. >> reporter: on the night of the walking trail murder, they say mebane gets on a social networking site and befriends a 17-year-old teenage girl in baltimore county. the two travel to washington and check into a motel on new york avenue. victim number two. according to court documents, they go to rob a cab driver. mebane shoots the cab driver in the head. the cab crashes and catches fire. they never got any money from that cab driver. they never gave him a chance. they say that teenage girl tells people about the murder. those people dial 911. case closed. investigators search mebane's home in charles county. there, they say they found a gun. but there's a lot more police work to be done.

>> we want to know about his background, where he's been, could he be involved in other crimes, and most importantly, why he did this. >> reporter: they say joshua mebane, who didn't go to school, a neighbor says he doesn't remember seeing him hang around his house. so what was he up to. police want to know. live in charles county, pat collins, news4. the search is on for a motive and the suspect who shot and killed a man early this morning in mount ranier. it happened just before dawn near the intersection of rhode island avenue here at 37th street. that's not far from the maryland/d.c. line. a man in his mid-20s was found in the roadway. he died later at the hospital. in just a few weeks you'll pay more to use the dulles toll road. a vote today hiked the cost of using the road. drivers aren't happy. and some want to see the cost passed on to other commuters instead. adam tuss looks at what's

forcing these higher tolls. >> reporter: like it or not, tolls are going up, and soon, on the dulles toll road. the reason for the increase, the metro rail silver line expansion coming here to dulles international airport. a controversial decision, you bet. but necessary says the metropolitan washington airport authority. today the authority board voting to raise tolls for the next two years, starting in january. a large portion of the revenue from the dulles toll road is going straight gotoward the silr line expansion. starting in january, a one-way trip will cost 50 cents more. 25 cents more at the main toll plaza. 25 cents more at an on or off ramp. in january 2014, it goes up. 75 cents increase will be at the main toll plaza only. >> we've done everything we can to find alternative funding,

vehicles and mechanisms, to diminish the burden on those toll road riders. >> reporter: but drivers don't necessarily see it that way. some wonder why they're helping pay for a metro rail line they'll never use. >> perhaps paid for the folks using the rail line as opposed to the drivers using the toll roads. >> reporter: with tolls continuing to go up, some say they'll avoid the toll road all together. >> i'm going to try it. i don't know. i get on there, and it's a different price. and i don't even realize it. >> reporter: now, that's the fear, that too many drivers will get pushed off the toll road and onto local roads which are already clogged. still, other drivers say once the silver line comes online, they'll hop out of the car and onboard. at dulles international airport, adam tuss, news4. when news4 at 5:00 continues, it's beginning to feel a lot like christmas. the annual holiday tradition that attracts millions each year rolls in. and a big surprise at a madonna concert that has the whole crowd doing, yep, you

guessed it, gangnam style.

enrollment in charter schools is on the rise according to the national alliance for public charter schools. there are now more than 2 million students in the alternative programs. enrollment jumped by 200,000 students in the last year alone. los angeles has the most charter school students with 98,000 enrolled. charter schools receive public funding, but they are considered

an independent alternative to traditional public schools. it's been about a year and a half since we first introduced to a sister and brother. tonight we want you to have a chance to get to know them again. barbara harrison tells us these two wonderful, bright youngsters are still waiting for a permanent loving family. >> good to see you. i'm so glad to see you guys. i'm barbara. their visit to our nbc studios was a last-minute change after a planned visit with a skateboard designer fell through. >> i wanted to see a skateboard professional, because i love skateboarding. >> tell me, what do skateboard professionals do? >> well, they compete against each other for trophies. >> what do you think you'd like to be when you grow up? >> probably like a judge. >> you and your sister are pretty close, huh? >> yeah. >> that's great. who takes care of who? >> well, we both take care of each other.

>> is he a friend? >> well, sometimes he's mean. >> really? >> and bossy. >> do you fight? >> yeah, sometimes. >> but rain or shine, they've always had each other. but they'd also like to find a pem permanent loving family. >> i would like to have a mom and dad along with my sister. >> i want them to be nice, and i want them to love me. >> being on tv wasn't the fun they had been expecting today. but then came some surprise helmets. and skate boards. and as they say, all will be well that ends well for darrell and raynell. we hope that will be with a family that likes, or at least tolerates skate boards. barbara harrison, news4 for "wednesday's child." >> if you have room in your heart and home for raynell and darrell, or another child, call or visit nbcwashington.com. when we come right back on

news4 at 5:00 tonight, the new tools being used in northern virginia to keep us moving in the snowy weather this winter. and doug, we haven't got any snowy weather this week, eh? >> no, we don't, but tuesday, the winter forecast, going to be more snow than last year.

day two of the bowie state murder trial brought new revelations about exactly what happened one night a student stabbed one of her roommates to death. tracee wilkins is live outside the courthouse with more on what was said in court today as the state continued to present its case. tracee? >> reporter: well, jim, we just watched alexis simpson leave a few minutes ago. she left wa friend to go home for the evening. she'll have to be back in court tomorrow morning as the defense presents its side of this trial. yes, we heard a lot of graphic testimony. we also heard testimony from the medical examiner who was explaining how violent that cut was. we also heard from roommates. today in the murder trial of a former bowie state university

student, there were new revelations that the state continued presenting its case. 20-year-old alexi simpson is facing murder charges in the stabbing and killing of her suite mate dominic frazier. the state's first witness, kiera johnson, described what she saw when the stabbing happened. she said i didn't even see the knife. but when dominique hit her, the girl had the knife in her hand. i don't think she meant to cut dominique, but it just happened. the defense is saying the stabbing accidently happened in self-defense. simpson and frazier were suite mates who stopped getting along soon after the beginning of the school year. according to court testimony, the two girls had a few run-ins on campus that ranged from verbal to minor physical altercations. in yesterday's opening statements, the attorney for the defense said simpson told dorm management they are threatening me and i'm afraid they're going to jump me. i just want to change rooms. but that request was denied.

according to court testimony, a week later dominique frazier and a few of her friends were in their suite listening to music, drinking alcohol and getting ready for an on campus comedy show when simpson entered the suite and turned down the music. it ended with frazier slamming her suite door closed in simpson's face. johnson testified that's when dominique grabbed her own dmif. she said after dominique closed the door she went and grabbed the knife. alexis was on the other side of the door. i took the knife out of her hand and put it in the drawer. i said no, you are not going to do that. you are not going to stab her. johnson did not tell anyone about that incident with the knife until this week, when asked why she said, i didn't want anyone to think she, dominique, had did it to herself, like had the knife out or anything. that that was the reason it happened. that it was her knife that she stabbed herself. now, after all of that, that's when the ladies began to have two fights.

the second one ending in that stabbing that killed dominique frazier. now, the state wrapped up its case today. the defense started its case today and is expected to continue tomorrow. the trial is expected to wrap up tomorrow, and then we'll know alexis simpson's fate, whether or not she will spend the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of par roll. tracee wilkins, news4. a major recall by toyota. the automaker voluntarily calling back 2.8 million cars worldwide. most of them prius hybrids. in the u.s., the recall covers the model years 2004 to 2009. the cars will be checked for a steering shaft that could wear out over time. some could also have problems with a water pump in the hybrid system. these problems have not caused any crashes or any injuries. and affected owners will be notified by mail starting next month. transportation officials in virginia say they're ready when old man winter blasts through. today they shut off their winter storm arsenal, which is bigger

and better this year they say. nearly 4,000 trucks and plows will be in northern virginia. a weather station will allow vdot to monitor the road surfaces to avoid under or overapplying chemicals. >> the citizens will have access to our snow plowing information. they'll have access to the same information that we have, where they can track how the neighborhood is being plowed. is it in the process of being plowed or already completed? >> a portable snow melter will be used in the park-and-ride lots and more roads are on the list for pretreatment this year. they're ready. i don't know whether we are. doug's always ready. a tight corner here, though. look at this. all the maneuvering and careful driving was well worth it. the rockefeller center christmas tree arrived this morning on a truck from mount olive, new jersey. a crane hoisted the

20,000-pound, 80-foot spruce into place. it will be adorned with five miles of l.e.d. lights for a lighting ceremony. mark your calendars november 28th. always on nbc. let's get a final check on our forecast here at 5:00 with storm team 4 meteorologist doug kammerer. >> hi, guys. what would you like this winter? just taking a pole. >> two-inch snow. conversational. >> a couple of little dustings. but that's it. >> okay. we took that poll a little bit earlier today. we'll have the winter forecast next tuesday. you're not far off from what i heard from a lot of people said a little earlier. there are a few of you out there that really want to see some snow. so we'll talk much more about that in a week. 45 degrees the temperature right now. winds north-northeast at about eight miles an hour. no wind gusts, that's the good news. the windchill around 41 right now. 39 in gaithersburg, 41 in

college park, 39 in huntingtown and 43 near fort belvoir. no rain to talk about on the radar. we're not going to see any chances of rain until the weekend. that's late in the weekend on sunday. and into monday. 27 degrees overnight tonight in martinsburg. we'll see mostly cloudy skies overnight tonight. 36 in washington. tomorrow, i think mostly cloudy once again. a few breaks of sun. 50 in washington, 49 in martinsburg and 50 down toward culpepper. continuing on the cool side. that trend will continue right on through the weekend. we're talking about 56, nice weather on saturday, with some sun. i think the redskins game is aok. a few clouds, breezy on sunday. but the rain will hold off until late sunday into the day on monday. highs only around 52 to 53, which is still about five degrees below average. average high is 59. we'll stay well below that throughout the period. jackets and coats, you're going to need them. jim and wendy, with my, you know, winter forecast coming

out, you will need the shovels this year. that's all i'm saying. a little bit of a hint. >> okay. save this tape. we're going to hold you to it. >> pick up the leaves is what he means. all right. thank you, doug. the dave matthews band said it will donate $1 million to help those affected by hurricane sandy. the money will go to storm recovery efforts. the band also announced their november 30th show in new jersey will be a benefit concert. all tickets and merchandise sales will go to a new jersey relief fund. tickets are still available, again, for that november 30th tour date. we have a new sexiest man alive. and he isn't in this building. half of a hollywood super couple comes to washington. here's some of the stories trending online today. jada pinkett smith, actress and wife of will smith was up on capitol hill today. she's a founding member of the new human trafficking caucus fighting the sale of young women across the country. she was joined by two survivors of human trafficking who are now trying to help other women.

pinkett smith called this an issue that goes beyond partisan politics. psy joined madonna in new york city this week, and of course, they danced the gangnam style. performing with madonna in new york he said was at the top of his list. during the concert, madonna collected money for people affected by the superstorm. actor channing tatum said he didn't believe the news he got today. "people" magazine announced he's 2012's sexiest man alive. he's 32 years old and follows last year's winner, bradley cooper. tatum starred in magic mike this summer. he's been married for three years now. and his wife says she couldn't agree more with "people's" choice. >> how about you, wendy? >> he's fabulous. >> there you go. coming up next, target responds to the employee who started a petition to keep black friday shopping on, black friday.

plus, coming up tonight on news4 at 6:00, more than 1,000 jobs are coming to the region, as maryland lot hits the

a petition by a target employee to save thanksgiving is

gaining a lot of traction. >> this all started with an employee who felt that changing the store hours to start black friday on thanksgiving was not fair. but as nbc's diana aguilera reports, retailers say they're simply meeting customer demand. >> will you join me and ask target to give thanksgiving back to the families and not open thanksgiving even? >> reporter: when casey wrote her petition to target, the sales associate had a simple demand. >> target can take the high road and save thanksgiving for employees like me and our families by saying no to thanksgiving. >> reporter: she was talking about the news that this year, target, walmart, toys "r" us and other big retailers would kick off black friday with thursday evening, with two jobs to make ends meet, casey had planned to spend her one day off, thanksgiving, with her family. instead she was scheduled to work. so casey took action, writing a petition to target's ceo. >> i have no problem with the black friday. i just want it to stay on

friday. >> reporter: to her surprise, her petition went viral. gathering nearly 200,000 signatures in just a few days. and generating similar petitions by staff at other stores. one supporter said, let employees have their holidays, too. another wrote, i've never heard anyone say, i sure wish stores opened earlier for black friday. however, retailers say that's exactly what they've heard -- >> customers said we want to come in early and go to bed early, to shop early. eating the thanksgiving dinner, do the dishes and get some exercise at walmart. >> reporter: walmart and target offer their workers holiday pay. an attractive incentive. target telling nbc news, we've heard from many stores that they had more team members volunteer to work than they had available shifts. and that team member preferences were considered in creating our stor staffing schedules. with 10% of holiday sales at stake during the thanksgiving weekend alone in what's been a tough economic year, opening

early is one way for retailers to get consumers in the door. >> since her petition did go viral, casey has been told she doesn't have to work thanksgiving if she doesn't want to. >> she refused saying it wouldn't be fair to the rest of her co-workers who don't have that option. gunfire outside a 24-hour walmart store. one employee shot. police released the picture of the suspect. president obama gets peppered with a wide range of questions in his first news conference since his reelection. the scandal that just won't quit. i'm jim vance. >> i'm doreen gentzler. we begin tonight with president obama's first news conference since his reelection. he said he wants to work with republicans but intends to raise taxes on the wealthiest americans. steve handelsman joins us from capitol hill with more. >> reporter: hi, doreen. it's washington, timing is everything.