that country is now dangerously close to a ground war with gaza. hamas missiles hit jerusalem today. it was the first time the holy city's been fired on in more than 40 years. palestinians are bracing for another round of israeli air strikes, as nbc's ayman reports last-minute efforts for peace have failed. >> reporter: egypt's prime minister has wrapped up a visit to the gaza strip that many people had hoped would bring a lull to the violence that has plagued the gaza strip since wednesday. there were people here and in israel perhaps that were hoping the president would broker a troop. that did not happen. shortly after he left there was an intensification of rocket fire, followed by rket fire from the israeli air force. and that certainly has exacerbated the situation here on the ground. meanwhile, palestinians are bracing themselves for yet another night of what is expected to be severe israeli bombardme bombardment.

one thing we've been seeing time and time again is gaza is densely populated. even when israel tries to carry out precision strikes as it claims, it ends up affecting the civilian population who bears a bankrupt of the air strikes. so people are very much concerned that in the coming days, the situation could worsen. they say that the fact that israel has amass eed thousands soldiers on this territory is an ominous sign a ground invasion is imminent. supplies are dwindling for the population as gaza is still a territory very much under siege. it's difficult to get basic supplies in and out. nbc news, gaza. "nbc nightly news" with brian williams will have more on the escalating violence. team coverage is coming up at 7:00 tonight right after this broadcast. today, former cia director david petraeus told lawmakers what he knows about the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. he said the intelligence

committee chose not to disclose the al qaeda connection to the attack, in order to avoid tipping off the terrorists. steve handelsman is on capitol hill now with a special treatment that congress gave to the retired general. steve? >> reporter: hi, jim. it wasn't a hot seat, it was more a warm welcome up here on capitol hill tonight. some republicans are still charging that somebody played politics with what the public was told about benghazi. petraeus testified that if that happened, it wasn't the fault of the cia. former cia director david petraeus kept out of sight until he got home. lawmakers had cleared the way for him to get to the closed-door hearing without walking through halls. a favor to the general, who apologized to lawmakers for his affair. petraeus testified the cia figured immediately it was al qaeda that attacked the u.s. consulate in benghazi. killing the u.s. ambassador and three others. how the cia with an eye on libya

missed the threat is still under investigation. but petraeus' testimony helped. >> it added to our ability to make judgments about what is clearly a failure of intelligence. >> reporter: it did not end the fight over u.n. ambassador susan rice, who five days after the attack denies it was al qaeda. using cia public talking points that dropped the al qaeda reference. >> and she did entirely the responsible thing in answering questions based on what was unclassified. >> reporter: but rice had a motive to spin the story on "meet the press." barack obama running for reelection, he might name her secretary of state. >> this is an administration led by a president who said when he ran for office that he would take the fight to al qaeda. we have decimated al qaeda. >> reporter: republicans still charge rice with distortion. >> she knew at that point in time that al qaeda was very

likely responsible in part or in whole for the death of ambassador stevens. >> reporter: petraeus knew it was al qaeda. he agreed to put out the different account. but not, he said, for political reasons. petraeus told lawmakers up here today, u.s. intelligence wanted to keep secret what it knew, and how it knew it. but republicans up here are not buying that that was rice's motive. steve handelsman, news4, capitol hill. there is news tonight about the high-level connections of joe kelley, the woman who helped launch the petraeus scandal. joe kelley and her sister visited the white house complex three times this year. twice they ate in the white house cafeteria. they were guests of a mid-level worker at the white house, who met the kelley family on a visit to mcdill air force base in florida. developing news now, a fire on an oil platform in the gulf of mexico is not expected to become an environmental emergency. the fire is out now. but rescue teams are still

searching for two missing crew members. the coast guard officials say workers were using a torch to cut an oil line this morning when there was an explosion. four members of the crew were critically injured. authorities say the well was not producing oil at the time of the fire, and any oil that went into the water was probably in the pipe the crew was working on. the platform is owned by a company called black elk energy. a man teaching in the d.c. area for more than 45 years is in jail tonight. he's accused of molesting students. christopher kloman is 73 years old now. he was arrested today in mclean, virginia. a woman told police kloman molested her back in 1968 when she was 12 years old. she says it happened when he was her teacher at the potomac elementary school. investigators say they sofrd kloman also molested three other students at that time. kloman's accuser today said she decided to go to the police after running into him at the washington episcopal school in

bethesda. a principal in the d.c. schools is out of jail tonight after she pleaded not guilty to a charge of simple assault. derrick ward is at the d.c. superior court now with details about a brawl that led to the arrest of the principal. >> well, she's the principal with 19 years experience in the d.c. public school system. today here she was in court pleading guilty to that simple assault charge, pleading not guilty, that is. and this all stems from an incident that happened at homecoming on november 2nd. coolidge senior high school, all of the action was not on the gridiron. a former staff member, two current staffers and the principal were all involved in a dust-up in the high school parking lot. accounts of just what happened vary, but thelma jarrett turned herself in yesterday on simple assault charges. >> this has been a terrible ordeal for principal jarrett. the facts on this case just seem

to be incredible. >> rorter: according to the police report, the victim, former school employee rasheeda king hicks said she had been talking to others at the game including principal jarrett when donna pixley started calling her names. a crowd gathered and pixley soon came up and struck her, after she said principal jarrett yelled to get her followed by an expletive. soon hicks said she was on the ground and besieged by kicks and punches. the victim's husband said his wife doesn't know why she was attacked. >> she don't know why she was attacked. she was punched blindsided. you know? kicked after that. >> reporter: but attorneys for principal jarrett say their client was not the aggressor nor even a combatant. they say she was trying to break it up. >> principal jarrett was doing her job in maintaining the security and safety of the stadium. she is, after all, the principal. >> reporter: she and the other two school employees, donna pixley and bridget stevens are

all now on administrative leave. >> we're very confident that once the facts are at least stated at trial, which we intend to do, that principal jarrett will be fully exonerated. >> now, no court date has been set. but jarrett is expected back in court on the 29th for a status hearing. live in d.c. superior court, derrick ward, news4. in just a few more hours, the new i-495 express lane will open in virginia. it runs between the dulles toll road and springfield interchange. transportation reporter adam tuss explains the new rules of the road. >> reporter: if you're going to use these new express lanes here on the virginia side of the beltway, you're being told to do your homework. it's time to study up. >> this is going to be a significant change out there on the beltway. it's the biggest traffic shift we've seen in this region since i-66 opened more than 30 years ago. >> reporter: and this isn't just a normal highway.

there are plenty of rules. we took one last test drive today to get a feel for the road. two new express lanes in each direction, now in place between just north of the dulles toll road and the springfield interchange. if you want to use the all-electronic lanes, and do not have a car pool of three or more people, you'll have to pay an ez-pass toll rising and falling on the amount of traffic in the lanes. your promise is a commute of at least 45 miles per hour even during rush hours. if you have a car pool of three people, you can ride in the lanes for free but you must have the new ez-pass flex. that allows you to switch to car pool mode. you can get that flex in both virginia and maryland. so how will project leaders make sure drivers are hov 3? >> when they enter the lane, if they have their ez-pass flex in car pool mode, that will indicate to us that they have three people in the car. we'll have alerts on the toll entries and other means to be able to notify the virginia state police that will be out

there enforcing that hov 3, so they can visually check and ensure they're following the rules. >> reporter: the fines for violations can range from $50 to $1,000. 18-wheelers will not be allowed in the new express lanes. if you thought about cutting around the regular beltway traffic and weaving through the protective posts, think again. that can carry up to a $2,500 fine, and a reckless driving charge. remember, this road will be monitored constantly. now, project leaders do expect some initial confusion with these lanes. your best bet, plan your trip now. along the beltway, in tysons corner, adam tuss, news4. we've created a set of questions and answers about the 495 express lanes on our website, nbcwashington.com. when you get there, search express lanes. a little chilly out there today. but all in all, with the sun shining, a pretty nice november day. doug? >> that's exactly right, jim. i think that's exactly what we're going to see during the

day tomorrow, too. we just saw the capitol building from one vantage point, talking about the temperatures that are falling down today. we saw a high temperature of 55 degrees out at the airport. so a little bit warmer than it has been the last few days with a low of 42. yes, continued chilly. we saw some sunshine today. how much more will we see over the weekend? and what about your thanksgiving? all in the forecast in just a minute. coming up, a parade float is hit by a freight train. we'll tell you about the final acts of heroism for some veterans. there are signs of compromise as congressional leaders meet with the president to try to avoid the fiscal cliff. a very calm 4-year-old in virginia makes a phone call that saved her mother's life. and steven colbert is seeing double in the district.

stories of heroism are now emerging from that disaster of a train crash down in texas. four american veterans were killed when a freight train plowed into their parade float. it happened down in midland, texas, yesterday. investigators from the ntsb are on the scene there now. one of the soldiers on that float pushed his wife off the trailer just before impact. he saved her life. but he was killed in the accident. >> it was a chaotic scene.

it was loud. it was noisy. people were panicking. >> that was the doctor we just heard from, he was volunteering at the event and rushed to help. he served both in iraq and afghanistan. investigators will look at whether stop lights on the road had backed up traffic which left a float unable to get all the way across the tracks in time. there's new optimism regarding the deficit deal today. president obama and top congressional leaders said they're ready to compromise on a budget and avoid the looming fiscal cliff, as danielle lee reports now. they face growing pressure from the voters to get it done. >> reporter: president obama and leaders of congress sat across the table for the first time since the election to take on america's growing debt. >> my hope is that this is going to be the beginning of a fruitful process. >> reporter: without a deficit cutting deal, the americans will get a one-two punch to their bank account in about six weeks.

>> to show our seriousness, we put revenue on the table. as long as it's accompanied by significant spending cuts. >> reporter: republicans who have been adamantly against tax hikes are willing to talk about increasing revenue. and democrats who have opposed cuts to programs like social security are recognizing they'll have to give a little, too. >> we're both going to have to give up some of the things that we know are a problem. >> reporter: meanwhile, there's a new voice outside the capital. >> how are you doing today? >> reporter: while it may sound odd coming from a guy dressed in a can, this campaign led by young people is pressuring lawmakers to answer the very question on just about every american's mind. >> do you have a plan to address this country's debt? >> reporter: ryan is the founder of the campaign, the can kicks back. >> the congress kicks the can down the road. the can is our generation, so starting now we're kicking back. >> reporter: lawmakers seem to be listening with just one meeting down, they say a deal may be in sight, a deal that

just won't kick the problem down the road. both sides will meet again after thanksgiving. here's some hope. they say they won't wait until the very end of december to find a solution. on capitol hill, danielle lee, news4. at the start of that meeting, the president took a moment to wish house speaker john boehner a happy birthday. he turned 63 tomorrow. the president congratulated boehner and joked that the white house staff didn't get them a cake because they didn't know how many candles they might need. the president gave boehner a bottle of italian wine as a birthday gift. at least they're talking. >> yes. >> for a birthday, you can talk. >> nice sunshine out there today. >> yeah, we needed to see that sunshine. i think we're going to see a similar day tomorrow. if you liked today, you're going to see another one tomorrow. that comes on an all-important weekend. look outside right now. what you're seeing out there is a pretty nice night. yes, it's on the cool side. you'll need the jacket as you step outside, but other than

that, not bad at all. you can deal with the chill. it's going to be a nice evening. 47 degrees the current temperature at the airport. winds out of the north about 7 miles per hour. that breeze, we'll call it a breeze instead of a wind, but that breeze will make things feel a little bit cooler. 37 down towards culpepper. 39 in gaithersburg. temperatures are going to fall fairly quickly now as the sun has gone down. expect to see chilly numbers when you wake up tomorrow morning. no rain on the radar. not rain down to the south, just ground clutter is what we call that. the storm system passed us by early this morning, that's why we saw the cloud cover early yesterday, and showers early this morning toward portions of southern maryland. now we're just seeing the clear skies moving in. we'll continue to see clear skies. sunshine today with high pressure. watch what happens tomorrow. this high goes over here, the cool weather comes down here and the sunshine sticks around. so not a whole lot of changes during the day tomorrow. the high pressure area on sunday

will start to shift off to the east, though, on sunday. that will bring more of a northeasterly wind. still on the cool side. we may still have sunshine. i think the clouds will be on the increase on sunday. and on monday, northeast winds really start to kick in. and that comes right off the ocean. we are going to see rather cool and cloudy conditions potentially on monday. monday does not look like the best day. there could also be coastal flooding, even along the potomac, especially out towards the jersey shore, delmarva, could see some. the coastal storm is going to be out to sea. we'll still have a little bit of impact due to the high pressure to the north. mostly clear, chilly this evening. but nice. temperatures 39 to about 45 degrees over the next few hours. overnight tonight, thinking about heading out to watch the leonid meteor showers? which will peak after midnight tonight. temperatures will be cool. 27 in frederick, maybe 31 in fredericksburg, 37 in washington. this will be on the overnight hours. if you're thinking about getting out there, could be a pretty good show. this is normally one of the

better meteor shower events of the year. this one taking place between the hours of midnight and dawn. face east and you want to look straight up for this one. on average, could be ten meteors per hour. as far as tomorrow morning goes, clear skies, a chilly start. temperatures 26 in the coldest temperatures to about 37 in the city. through the day tomorrow, we will see the sunshine tomorrow. another nice day. another nice afternoon. still cool. temperatures about five degrees below average for the most part. winds out of the northeast at about 5 to 10 miles per hour. something else going on, the finnish christmas bazaar between the hours of 11:00 and 3:00, right there, at the unitarian church. 50 degrees, temperatures in the low 50s for the most part. plenty of sunshine. get out and enjoy that one. next couple of days, here you go. 53 on sunday. a lot of clouds potentially on monday. at least early. a high of only 52. then we start to get our temperatures going back in the right direction. highs in the 50s on tuesday. mid to upper 50s on wednesday. and possibly near 60 just in

time for thanksgiving. of course, that's when everyone wants to see partly sunny skies. looks like next week will be a little warmer than what we saw over the past couple of details. finnish christmas bazaar, they always bring us cookies every year. they made us this beautiful, beautiful gingerbread house. >> it smells delicious. it's fresh gingerbread. >> you're our chief suspect, doug. >> they donated $500 in our name for nbc 4 to the children's hospital. >> fantastic. wonderful. we hope people will follow your google map and head on out there. >> there's that tree. see? >> thanks, doug. coming up tonight, some people getting nostalgic after learning they're not going to have their twinkies anymore. a student is murdered by another student at bowie state university. hear the 911 calls in the case after the accused killer was set free.

coming up in sports, don't stop believing. the wizards looking for their first win tomorrow versus the jazz. and a tough test for maryland football on their final home game of the season. plus, the redskins get back a few missing parts as they look to make a run in the nfc east.

hostess, the maker of the twinkie, ding dong, snowball and countless other treats, is closing its doors for good. the company's workers have been striking over a labor contract dispute. they failed to meet a adline to return to work today. the company is going to shut down 33 bakeries, more than 500 distribution centers, and 570 outlet stores nationwide. >> people said, hey, you're threatening with a liquidation, i've said all along, this is a consequence. it's not a threat, it's a consequence of the strike. but this is -- the economy is where it is. i think it's a very tough time for those families, and for those employees to be out of work. >> hostess will lay off more than 18,000 people. the company has a long history here in the washington region with several stores, and a bakery. pat collins now with more on what could be the end of an era for people who grew up eating the cream-filled cakes.

>> reporter: i remember as a boy, the old wonder bread bakery. it was nearby griffith stadium when the senators played. and when you could smell that bread baking, you knew it was time to play ball. and after the game, if you were really, really good, maybe a twinkie. >> they taste good. they're really yummy inside. a lot of good yumminess inside. >> reporter: so now, we hear because of a labor dispute, wonder bread, hostess, and the iconic twinkie may be going the way of the studebaker. >> what's a studebaker? >> reporter: see what i mean? that's joe. he's been delivering twinkies for 28 years. are you going to miss those twinkies? >> yeah. my father did it for 25 years. >> reporter: show me your twinkies. how many boxes? >> i have ten. six here and four in the front.

>> reporter: your husband sent you? your husband made you do it? yes. >> reporter: at the hostess outlet store in rockville, people stocking up on twinkies for all sorts of ren. the twinkie collector. >> souvenir. >> reporter: he got one for a souvenir. >> i don't like them. a souvenir. >> reporter: the twinkie historian. >> my children have never had a twinkie before. >> reporter: you don't want them to go through life without that experience. >> they have to have that cultural experience. >> reporter: twinkie connoisseurs. show me your twinkie. >> i've got the chocolates, and i've got the traditional. >> reporter: you were 6 years old when you had your first twinkie? >> that's correct. >> reporter: and you've been eating them ever since? >> ever since. can't you tell? >> it's one of those nostalgic things. they've been around for a good while. so you buy them. >> reporter: if you stock up on twimpgies, you don't have to eat them all at once.

there may be a sell-by date but we all know twinkies never get old. i'm pat collins, news4, washington. some people are already trying to capitalize on hostess closing its doors on ane bay website. some people are trying to sell boxes of twinkies and other snacks for thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars. somebody even listed a 24-pack box at $1 million. there are no bids on that one yet. violence is intensifying in the middle east. israel is preparing for a ground invasion of the gaza strip. last-minute efforts for peace with hamas failed tonight. israeli rockets have been firing at hamas targets over the last few hours. earlier today missiles fired from gaza hit jerusalem. >> david petraeus apologized to lawmakers today for the scandal that ended his career at the agency. he met with members of the house

and senate intelligence committees to tell them what he knows about the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. a d.c. school principal is home tonight after being released from jail. thelma jarrett pleaded not guilty to simple assault today. she was released on her own recognizance. a former employee claimed jarrett and three other women attacked her at a football game early career this month. jarrett remains on administrative leave. we're hearing the 911 calls made after a student at bowie state university was murdered. a feud between roommates ended in the death of dominique frazier. the jury found her roommate not guilty last night. prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins with more on the tragedy on the campus. >> reporter: the voice you hear on this 911 call is that of

alexis simpson. simpson walked out of the prince george's county courthouse last night a free woman, after a jury cleared her of all seven charges related to the stabbing death of her former bowie state university roommate, dominique frazier. on these 911 calls, you can hear simpson explaining herself, to people who are standing by. >> reporter: frazier and simpson had an argument in their on-campus apartment over loud music coming from an ipod that resulted in a fist fight and ended th simpson stabbing frazier. she said she grabbed her knife to scare her roommate and her friends away. she said she did not mean to kill frazier and jurors believed her. many of the students we spoke with on campus said they disagreed. >> i was surprised.

because that's somebody's child. she's dead. i don't think it's fair -- i understand they dropped some charges, but all of them? i don't think that's right. >> i don't necessarily agree with it. because dominique was murdered. and regardless of, you know, the circumstances, she was still murdered. someone should have to pay for that. >> both families lost. it's not goingo even if she did go to jail. >> reporter: jurors had a number of options for convicting simpson. they could have given her anything from first-degree murder down to involuntary manslaughter. but at the end of the day they decided she was innocent of all charges. tracee wilkins, news4. the gas tax in virginia could be going up for the first time in 25 years. virginia state senator john watkins says it would eliminate the need for more toll roads. watkins is proposing a 14 cents increase in the tax, that would bring the total gas tax to more than 31 cents a gallon.

he told the richmond times dispatch that the tax would pay for $730 million in road construction projects. the plan will formerly be introduced as legislation in january. tonight some parents in loudoun county are unhappy about a potential school shuffle for their children. julie carey tells us more about the proposed changes. >> reporter: this is one of two new elementary schools that will open in loudoun county next fall. that's the good news. the bad news for some, in this rapidly growing school district that adds 2,500 kids each year, it's also time to adjust elementary school attendance boundaries. >> we have seven elementary schools, over 1,000 schools built for 800 students. eventually that puts a strain on the building, a strain on staff and resources. and what you can do in the building curriculumwise. >> reporter: the starting point was this map drawn up by school

administrators. the school board members added their own version, so now there are seven plans. and in five of them, this broadland neighborhood is one that gets split. right now, all the kids in this neighborhood go to the same elementary school. mill run. but under some of the boundary change proposals, they would be divided up. the dividing line right down the middle of the street. everybody there would stay at mill run, everybody over here would go to a different elementary. on the map it's called dn-32. melissa is fighting to keep it together. >> we have put so much in. there's so many volunteers on the street. i can't tell you how many girl scout leaders all tied to that school. we've invested a lot in the school. it's hard to leave that investment. >> reporter: a few miles away, the parents of dn-29 are doing battle, too. signs, petitions, and social media. right now, about 135 kids from their town home and condo community go to sanders corner.

several of the proposals move them to cedar lane, a school the same group was moved out of four years ago. >> both schools are very good schools. i think it's more the principle of the back-and-forth, back-and-forth. >> reporter: those moms and dozens of other parents are expected to turn out on december 3rd for a public hearing, with the school board vote on the final boundary plan december 11th. >> the final plan will mean new school assignments for about 1,200 elementary students. the neighborhood around nationals park in southeast d.c. is one of the fastest changing areas in the city. today, another new defendavelop was unveiled called canal park. many people think the best part is the ice skating rink that also opened for business today. canal park is located at 2nd and m near the navy yard metro station. a restaurant with outdoor seating will open there in the next few weeks. looks pretty nice.

>> it does. coming up, a little girl in virginia did something very grown- that saved a life. how about our weather? >> cool temperatures out there right now. sitting at 47 here in the district. but notice we're not the only ones on the cool side. 42 in boston. 54 in jacksonville, florida. how about that.

911 operators say they are amazed by a 4-year-old girl from virginia who saved her mother's life. jayla driver's mom has a history of seizures. the most recent one happened while she was home with her daughter back in september. her husband was at work. with her mother unconscious, it was up to jayla to call 911. >> my mom's having a seizure. so i thought i can call you guys. and i'm 4. i call people. i need you to help me. >> she was calm as a cucumber. she did so good. she was very polite. she listened to directions very well. >> jayla knew what to do, because her parents had gone over with it her before. the one thing and only thing she

struggled with is unlocking the front door for the paramedics. eventually she got that, too. her mom is doing fine. >> wow. >> what a girl. maybe one stephen colbert isn't enough for you. well, now there are two. the comedy channel political humorist was in town today. tom sherwood caught up with colbert who now sits among presidents in washington. >> reporter: stephen colbert walked into madame tussauds and put the occasion into perspective, his political perspective. >> ladies and gentlemen, there comes a time in every great man's life when he must be cast in wax. if only to remove unwanted body hair. being cast in wax is true immortality, as long as the earth is not in any way getting warmer. one, two, me! >> woo! >> i'm so beautiful. >> reporter: colbert, of course,

began fooling around with himself. >> this is what it's like to be with me. i would so want to be a guest on my show. >> reporter: colbert joins a whole host of other contemporary wax figures at the commercial downtown museum. but these people were real people, lined up by the hundreds on connecticut avenue friday afternoon for a colbert book signing at politics and prose. >> it's intelligent humor. he tries harder than others. >> why is he funny? >> well, he's a very, very smart guy. and he's very cynical about our political system. and i'm a bit cynical about that myself. >> reporter: cameras weren't allowed inside so here's our in-depth interview with colbert as he arrived. >> hi. >> reporter: that's right, one word, three seconds and a window rollup. it would have been easier with a wax figure. in the district, tom sherwood,

news4. >> i'm surprised he didn't try to interview the wax figure. hi, carol. >> we're talking about burgundy and gold getting some help. call me maybe. coming up in sports, the redskins are looking to make a push for the play-offs. the wizards are searching for a w. plus the terps get ready for a senior day battle with the top defense in all of college football. news4 at 6:00 continues.

welcome back, everyone. taking a look, a nice shot this evening. look at this, a beautiful shot. there's still sunshine. of course, clear skies. 47 degrees, winds out of the north at 7 miles an hour. gives us a little bit of a cooling factor. 37 already in gaithersburg. 41 at camp spring. 39 down towards huntingtown. cool overnight, and especially when you wake up tomorrow morning. some may call it cold. no rain. we're not going to see any rain this weekend. we'll see more clear skies overnight. down to 28 in frederick, 27 in martinsburg, and about 37 inside the district. 38 in annapolis. warming up tomorrow, though,

into the low to mid-50s with plenty of sunshine. your saturday looking very, very nice. sounds good. thank you, doug. so what we were all hoping in the beginning is that rg3 and pierre garcon would be the dynamic duo. you know, without the capes and stuff. >> for one game they seemed like it, right? >> one play. they didn't finish the game. tore a ligament in his foot. the plantar plate tear. he's been hurt, expected to come back now. the redskins with welcome news, pierre garson and brandon meriwether are getting the green light against the eagles. both are listed as questionable on the official injury report. mike shanahan said barring a setback they both should play this weekend. great time to get a boost like that, as the skins are coming down the stretch of the season. as unbelievable as it sounds, they are not out of that division race. >> we're in a good position.

not a great position, not a position we want to be in at the end of the zone, but, you know, all things aside, being 3-6 like we are, we're in a pretty good position to be 3-6 right now. we'll just take it one game at a time. >> we do have an outside chance of making the play-offs, especially playing five of our last seven games in the division. if we can step up to the plate, we have a shot. >> fortunately we're 3-6 and we still have a shot at the division. you know that going into it, so you know it's not all for nothing. so we're going to go out there and prepare as though we are rivals. we know we have to start winning football games around here to stay relevant and stay in that divisional hunt. >> all right. finger licking good. first quarter, dolphins punting. back for the return. he does what some folks around here vice president seen for a while. calling mr. brandon banks all the way down the sidelines. yep, he smokes it.

79 yards. the punt return for a td. he's a running man. it's 10-0. the kickoff here. he's going to find a hole. >> there he goes. >> a stutter step. blowing by everybody. 96 yards on the return. miami pulls to within three. now, two minutes left in the game. the dolphins are trailing by 5. we're going to skip to it right here. ryan tannehill trying to bring them back. take another look. buffalo's jarrett diving. >> good stuff. >> bills win it 19-14. the redskins kick off at 1:00 p.m. on sunday at fedex feel. the terrapins are tomorrow. as lopsided on paper as it gets. terps dead last in total offense. tenth ranked florida state, top ranked in total defense. those are not the stats for the acc, we're talking about the entire country.

it's not going to be easy, but they're going to give themselves the best chance that they can hold on to the ball. >> you can't turn a ball over. that's for sure. they're very talented. their defense, you just take a look at it and see what they've done, you know, against people. but the biggest thing is, we can't make mistakes. we've got to play a perfect game. if we want a chance to win, we've got to play a perfect game. we've got to make sure we get turnovers against them. that's what we're going to have to do. the band last night was jumping. in charlottesville for one of the south's oldest rivalries. simms pressured by the heels. third and goal here. going to go out of bounds? no, he's going to find darius jennings. how did he do that? a nine-yard touchdown. later in the second, uva rotates quarterback michael rocco now under center. but the defense, all over

rocco's pass. picked off by trey boston. he takes a look ahead. look at the blocks. he's going to go all the way. returns it 36 yards for the touchdown. carolina wins 37-13. college hoops, george mason a winner today over mercer in the paradise jam. that's in the virgin islands. how nice. the terps hit the home hardwood tonight hosting long island university. meantime, the wizards, oh, those wizards. they're in action tomorrow hosting the jazz. they're 0-7. and hey, it's not as bad as last year's start. in 2011, they were 0-8. so they got that going for them. still better than last year. >> it's never fun to lose. but we've competed every -- pretty much every game. i don't know, i'm not into comparisons. i'm worried about this team. and us going out and doing the things that we're capable of doing to win games.

and i still have great belief in these guys, that we can do that. >> he said nene, we're arguing about that here. nene did practice today. did you believe it? first time on the court since the olympics. no timetable for his return. but a hopeful sign. redskins recently named mid-season captains. we would like to nominate another player, dor rel young, captain of dealing with rookie reporters. here's dy and how he embraced brandon during yesterday's media session. >> come on. >> no pressure. >> don't be nervous. >> oh, he's shy. >> come on, brendon. >> talk a little bit about what it's like to have a rookie captain, and kind of what the leadership style he uses to motivate you. >> that's a good question. congrats, man. i like that. you know what, he's the quarterback of this team.

he stepped up from day one when he came in, accepted the challenge with the coaches, you know, in terms of the scheme and said this is your team, this is your offense. you direct us. >> you didn't get to see his face. he was a little nervous asking the questions. we've got to give him some props. all the cameras, reporters looking at him, like your turn, ask something. >> props to the players for that. >> a go-to guy for the interns now. >> thanks, carol. coming up, window shopping and spreading holiday cheer. we hope to spread a bit of holiday cheer ourselves with this year's food for families donations. we'll be collecting nonperishable food items, along with cash and check donations on monday, down at the verizon center. donations will be collected from 6:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. you can also search food for families on our website nbcwashington.com.

it's a sign of the season and an annual holiday tradition. macy's unveiled their scene last night, the theme the magic of

christmas. crowds lined the department store for the big unveiling. it won't be long before the thanksgiving day parade. >> no. >> that is a really cool thing to do up there. >> a lot of cool stuff to do in new york during the holidays. and here, too. >> and this week, of course, you mentioned on saturday we've got maryland playing. and of course, the redskins playing. yesterday, dan hellie said it was a can't-lose game. so hopefully we have it against the eagles. low in the 50s. about 52 at gametime. clouds, some sun mixing in. cool, but nice out there the next couple of days. 53 on sunday. 52 on monday. 56 on tuesday. and speaking of thanksgiving, looking pretty good. wednesday and thursday looking all right. 60 degrees coming up on thursday. so thanksgiving looking pretty good. >> all right. we like it. thank you, doug. i have recently been made aware of a man in a situation

that had a di cot mouse effect on me. on the one hand it laid heavy on my heart. i felt sorry for this guy. but at the same time it opened up a window of opportunity. this came to me as an eyewitness account of one moment in time at a drugstore. it was a story about a man i never met, knew nothing about, except now i think i know far too much. he was at line at a pharmacy in a coastal town in new jersey. he was trying to pick up a prescription. the pharmacist asked for his address. the guy said, i don't have one. the pharmacist said, excuse me? the guy says, my house is gone, man. wiped away by sandy. i don't have an address. i don't know what if anything else was said after that. i suppose, though, that if he wanted to, that man could have said, i don't have anything left except for this little bit of dignity i'm struggling to maintain. now, in six days, most of us are going to pull our chairs up to a familiar table, in a familiar place, with familiar people. and we're going to chow down.

and we're going to say we're grateful, while in truth, many of us will take it all for granted. like that guy up in jersey might once have done. but now for him, and god knows how many thousands of others, there is likely to be nothing familiar on thanksgiving day. and nothing that they can or ever will again take for granted. now, there can be a bright story to a story like this, it is the perspective it provides. and perspective invites opportunity. for me, the story of that man up in jersey provides an opportunity to be even more prayerful and more generous. i will pray for him, and all the others who share his plight. and i will be more generous to the red cross and other relief efforts. and i will not wait until thanksgiving day to begin, nor will i quit the day after. that's our news for now. "nbc nightly news" is next.