new developments right now in three major stories. we're getting our first look inside the columbia mall where a gunman opened fire saturday killing two people and himself. a look at how the victims are being remembered. on capitol hill, a florida congressman is resigning months after pleading guilty to buying cocaine from an undercover federal agent in the district. and over the next few hours, expect these mild temperatures to take a nosedive. the deep freeze returns. tom kierein lets us know how cold and how long it's going to haft. good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 midday," i'm

barbara harrison. it's monday, january 27th, 2014. and right now, the columbia mall in maryland is getting ready to open its doors again after a shooting that left three people dead. the mall will reopen this afternoon at 1:00. on saturday, howard county police say 19-year-old darion aguilar shot and killed brianna benlolo and tyler johnson at a zumiez store and then took his own life. investigators say they're still not sure of the motive or if aguilar knew either of the victims. we're also getting our first look inside the mall this morning. news4's megan mcgrath is live with more on that. megan, good morning. >> reporter: well, barbara, the mall is set to open to the general public at 1:00 this afternoon, but a short time ago, the press was allowed in. they gave us a tour of the mall, the area wherest shooting occurred, as well as the two memorials that are now here at the mall. take a look at the video here. zumiez, the store where the shooting happened, is boarded up. the names of the two employees

who were gunned down -- brianna benlolo and tyler johnson -- are written on the white plywood. customers in the message there, they're encouraged to write messages of hope and encouragement and condolences book in the mall's center court. now, nearby, stores still seem in a bit of disaay. clara's, for example, a couple of doors down from zumiez, has merchandise on the floor that hasn't been picked up. there's also a salon nearby where you can still see hair on the floor, because when the shooting went down, people just ran for cover. they got to safety, some cases they left the mallen tirely, they were not worried about picking up after themselves or what they may have knocked down inside the stores, and that's -- we're still seeing evidence of that even this morning. there are two memorials to the victims. we have videos of that. one is at the center court. that's inside the mall. that's where the book of condolences is. they will passed along to benlolo and the johnson families when they're filled up here at the mall.

there are now flowers and peopln float blossoms in the fountain. there's also another memorial outside of the mall. it's by the starbucks entrance. they're white orchids and candles and also a sign that reads, "forever in our heart." the mall's general manager says that they also plan a candlelight vigil here at the mall for thursday evening. they don't have the specific details yet, but they are going to be releasing those soon. but they do plan to hold that vigil. the mall is opening at 1:00, and we are now starting to see some of the employees beginning to arrive here at columbia mall. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, megan. and we now know more about the two people killed in the shooting. one of the victims is 21-year-old brianna benlolo. she worked as a manager at the zumiez skater store. her grandfather tells the associated press she had a 2-year-old son. he also says brianna came from a military family, who moved from colorado to maryland.

we discovered she lived in college park just blocks away from the suspected gunman. brianna's co-worker, 25-year-old tyler johnson, was also shot and killed. his family is trying to figure out how his connection -- or what his connection might have been to the shooting. >> tyler didn't have anything beyond a working relationship with this girl. and, you know, he would have mentioned it if he did. he never did. >> -- see any reason why anybody would want to hurt him. just can't understand it. i think that's half the grief is just not understanding, you know, you'd like closure won't happen until you can understand that. >> johnson's family says he was a caring young man who helped others deal with their drug problems. johnson graduated from centennial high school in elle cot city. he recently moved to mount airy. he was taking classes at montgomery college. investigators are trying to figure out why darion aguilar opened fire at mall.

they spent the weekend searching his home where he lived with his mother, and they were looking for answers there. news4's melissa malay is live outside his home in college park. melissa, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara, to you, as well. at this point, very quiet in darion aguilar's home in college park. he lived in this home here behind me with his mother. a different scene from over the weekend. over the weekend, very active here. police shutting down the road, searched the home, took computers and journals, and some of the entries showed a depressed teen. we know he graduated last year and the principal put out this letter saying, many of us have known this young man and, therefore, may be upset or concerned. on monday, we will have counselors on hand to speak to students who wish to talk with someone. now, here's what else we know about aguilar. police say the 19-year-old legally purchase add 12-gauge shotgun last month. he had no criminal history. police say they still have no motive in shooting, no

connection between aguilar and the two victims that were killed. a woman who says she is aguilar's mother spoke with reporters through the phone of a family friend. take a listen. >> there's never -- never had a gun before. never been interested in guns. never been interested in anything like that. i don't know what happened. i just don't know what happened. i don't know what happened. i feel for those other parents, too. i do. >> reporter: now, aguilar's mother did file a missing person's report for her son on the day of the shooting. prince george's county police came to his home, found his journal and said some of the entries were worrisome and tracked his cell phone to columbia mall, which at that point, when they showed up, it was a crime scene. live in college park, maryland,

melissa malay, news4, back to you. >> thanks. as we learn more details, stay with news44 and nbcwashington.com, and you can download the nbcwashington.com app and get updates anytime on your smartphone. now to the return of that frigid weather out there. temperatures are in the 40s right now. but we're in store for another major drop. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first forecast. tom? >> barbara, good morning. starting off this morning, we had temperatures around freezing, got into the 40s last few hours. and now, it's near 50 degrees. the warmest it's been in a week. there's the sky over washington. a few clouds floating through. that's the live view from the storm team4 sky watcher camera on this monday morning. now, temperatures around the metro area in the upper 40s, near 50 in washington, nearby suburbs, prince george's county, and in fairfax county. much of montgomery county, some of the chillier air beginning to arrive in gaitherburg, now down to 39, dulles at 39. and farther west and north, it's colder.

it's near freezing in hagers town and martinsburg, winchester, some of the colder air coming into the shenandoah valley. south, 55 in culpeper. southern maryland in the upper 40s. and this cold air is going to really begin to move in. have the heavy coats ready, because you'll be needing them by later this afternoon, as the cold air does quickly push on in. the temperatures will be dropping all the way down into the teens by late tonight, and highs only in the teens on tuesday. your hour-by-hour forecast, exactly when the cold air arrives and what it leaves, that's coming up in a few mines. barbara? >> thank you, tom. angie goff is following breaking news. >> trey radel is resigning from congress. the florida republican is giving up his house seat following a cocaine conviction. his formal announcement is expected sometime today. in november, radel pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and was sentenced to one-year probation. he made a public apology and then checked into rehab, and

just a few weeks ago, radel's office said he had plans to return to congress despite many calls from many republicans to step down. i'm angie goff at the live desk. back to you. >> thanks. this could be another tough day for the d.c. police department. later today, lawyers will file three lawsuits against the department and some of its officers. the suits accuse police of wrongful death, excessive force, and violating citizens' constitutional rights. last week, chief kathy lanier testified before the d.c. council about some of her officers' misconduct. and right now, fire investigators are looking into what caused a massive fire at an alexandria town home early this morning. it happened on town manor court in the mount vernon area. police and fire crews arrived on the scene shortly after 3:00 this morning. officials believe the fire started in the garage and quickly spread to the home. one of the two homeowners had to be rescued when he was trapped on an upper level. the other barely escaped.

>> he had dogs, so he was up there trying to get them. and unfortunately, he got stuck up on the third floor, i had to run back down, and went out the back door. >> that injured man was rushed to the hospital and is being treated for severe lung damage. four of the five dogs he went in to rescue survived. one of them did not. and new today, we just got word of a local teacher will be sitting next to the first lady during the state of the union address. coming up, more on that teacher and who else will get the honor of sitting next to the first lady. and the suffering has already started in the midwest where schools are closed right now in chicago because of the deep freeze. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is back with how low the temperatures will fall here tonight. stay with us

edward snowden is making new allegations against the u.s. government. he says the government wants to kill him. snowden says he's received death threats, buzzfeed also reported that someone at the pentagon would love to kill him. an analyst at the nsa told buzzfeed the same then. d.c. delegate elinore holmes norton will respond today to what she calls republicans' war on women. she'll try to remove a provision from the bill that bans the district using local tax dollars on abortions for low-income women. it bans federal subsidies for health insurance plans that cover abortion. congress gets back to work today, the house in session less than an hour from now. the senate convenes at 2:00. lawmakers from both chambers will be back on capitol hill tomorrow night for president obama's state of the union address. nbc's tracie potts has more on what's on everyone's agendas.

>> reporter: next week, america hits the debt ceiling again and won't be able to pay its bills. some republicans insist to raise the ceiling, democrats must give up something. >> of course, we should do something. we shouldn't just write a blank check. >> i do not believe that republican leaders will follow ted cruz over the cliff once again. >> reporter: it sounds like lawmakers may actually compromise on unemployment. >> surely, in a $3 billion -- $ 3 trillion expenditure, we can find a place to pay for unemployment insurance. >> reporter: but raising the minimum wage? that may be a tougher fight. >> it's about debating not who wants to cure poverty. republicans want to help people who are unemployed, we want to help people get jobs, but about what policies work. >> we should not play russian roulette with america's economy. we should not kill off jobs because of another political squabble. >> reporter: president obama lays out his vision in the state of the union address tomorrow night. >> the republican congress is not going to rubber stamp the

president's agenda. the president will not sign the republican congress' agenda. we have to find areas where we can work together. >> reporter: tracie potts, nbc news, washington. d.c.'s teacher of the year will be sitting with the first lady during tomorrow night's state of the union address. two survivors of the boston marathon bombing and former nba player jason collins will also be there. collins, you'll remember, became the first active male professional athlete playing in a major sporting league to announce he is gay. and with more on the state of the union, we're joined by domenico, and good morning. >> good morning to you. >> well, now we know who -- at least some of those who will be sitting next to the first lady. the big then is, do we know what the president will talk about? >> some of the folks might hint at what the president may want to talk about. talk about education, economic opportunity and expect to hear that word quite a bit tomorrow night. opportunity. inconequality.

the subtext is, of course, the midterm elections. president obama wants to do two things. he wants to avoid looking like a lame duck president, because most historians give presidents six to eight months to get their agenda done. and we're past that time. and he wants to mitigate the damage done by the health care rollout. and republicans really want him to use that in the midterms while democrats want to use something they feel, 60%, two-thirds of the country agree on, income inequality, the gap has widened, and increase that minimum wage for one thing. >> you've mentioned all domestic issues. what about foreign policy? >> foreign policy is really going to shift to the back burner here. not surprisingly, americans really wary of getting into any more wars. you may hear him talk about afghanistan, because troops are supposed to be pulling out there this summer from afghanistan. and we may hear him talk a little bit about iran and trying to get that iran deal in place. >> okay. let's move ahead to the announcement, or expected announcement from trey radel from his spokesperson. >> yeah. >> saying he's going to now step

down, which is not what he had said -- >> he just released a letter that he sent to speaker boehner and to governor charlie crist in florida, saying he acknowledges personal struggles, that he has dealt with those personally but doesn't feel that he can adequately and fully represent south florida to the best of his ability now. that resignation is effective 6:30 tonight. >> that follows his arrest after being -- illegal drugs from -- >> right. he is the first member of congress to plead guilty on cocaine charges. >> all right. well, thanks so much, domenico. >> thank you. >> for nor from domenico, check out first read on nbcnews.com. we're bracing for it, because we've been warned. storm team4 meteorologist tom kierein is here to tell you what you can look forward to later today. hey, tom. >> cold air is coming in as we speak. >> it is? >> when we went on the air, it was 51 degrees, and now, on your screen, it's down to 45. we have dropped six degrees here just about the last 15 minutes.

it's going to continue to go down, and here's what's coming. as we get into the afternoon, the temperatures will continue to drop, and we'll have some cold blustery winds gusting to around 40 miles an hour, and then, we will have a frigid tuesday. that super cold air arriving late tonight. right now, though, sunshine in washington. that's a live view. 51 at reagan national. balmy there. and temperatures are beginning to drop, north and west of us. southwesterly breeze there, it's going to shift into the northwest this hour. in fact, look, hagerstown down to just 33. martinsburg 35. winchester 36. what a contrast of where we are, right near 50 around the metro area. and that's the cold air really beginning to come in, and actually the winds are shifting here in northwest washington into the north and west. so the cold air is beginning to arrive. and the view from space showing we've had quite a bit of cloudiness this morning. breaks in the clouds, a little sunshine in prince george's county, charles, and stafford, spotsylvania, southern falkier,

and farther north and west, quite a bit of cloudiness. storm team4 radar not picking up rain or snow. and we have temperatures getting into the afternoon, as of 4:30 this afternoon, look at the temperatures. it will be near freezing in washington. we'll be in the 20s north and west of the metro area. south and east, though, still above freezing by late afternoon. then, as we get into the evening hours, as of 10:30, temperatures down into the teens to just near 20 degrees. much of the region, right around the metro area, mid-20s. and mid-20s in southern maryland. in the low to mid teens out in the mountains, getting in the dawn hours on tuesday, and look at these temperatures, without the wind. it will be down to 13 in washington, just in single digits north and west. temperatures down to near zero in the mountains by dawn tomorrow, southern maryland, northern neck, eastern shore, starting off in the low to midteens. here are the wind chills, as of 10:00 tonight.

wind chills near 10 degrees. then the wind chills by dawn on tuesday, 0 to 15 degrees below zero, wind chills. starting off tomorrow morning. so the much colder air beginning to move in, and during the morning, air temperatures will be down single digits starting off tomorrow morning at dawn. then during the afternoon on tuesday, i think we'll be in the upper teens. quite a bit of cloudiness around during the day. maybe a few flurries in southern maryland, northern neck, eastern shore. sun back on wednesday. still cold. a bit warmer. ought to be getting above freezing on thursday. then friday, saturday, sunday each day, we'll have temperatures into the 40s. it will feel like spring again. but right now, it is the warmest it has been since last -- about a week ago. >> yeah. it actually felt like summer this morning when i walked out. that's all over. >> grab your heavy coat. you're going to need it this afternoon. >> thank you, tom. >> okay. the national zoo is sharing some good news today. we'll have that announcement, plus an effort to avoid waste,

or could it be harmful to sell out-of-date food? emotional moment last night at the grammy awards that has a lot of people talking this morning. first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

if you're feeling a little down today, you're not alone. this morning, many of us are in the recovery phase after dealing with the sunday night blues. that's when many working adults apparently begin to dread going back to the office on monday. a new survey from monster.com says 78% of adults experience the sunday night blues. so how do you fight it? the cleveland clinic says you should start having some sort of sunday night activity like maybe making a big family dinner. well, music's biggest night

is still buzzing online this morning, and many of you are talking about how the grammys substituted shock value for something more sentimental. >> by the power vested in me by the state of california, i now pronounce you a married couple! >> 33 couples, many of them same-sex couples, got married during the awards show as macklemore and ryan lewis performed "same love." madonna joined the performance and queen latifah presided over the event. macklemore was one of the big winners taking home four grammys. that tied the haul of daft punk. they won best record and album of the year. in less than an hour, the library of congress will make a major musical announcement. at noon, the library will confirm the acquisition of music and records from one of the creators of jazz, max roache. the newly acquired collection spans several decades and includes some collaborative pieces with roache and other

legends like dizzy gillespie, and roache's family will be present at the announcement in southeast d.c. and right now, there is a call for unity in our area after the tragedy at the columbia mall over the weekend. coming up, how people are being asked to show their support, and the cruise ship headed back to florida after hundreds on board got sick, how a ten-day vacation turned bad quickly, plus storm team4 meteorologist tom kierein is back with your hour-by-hour look at today's changing weather. we're coming back in a minute. st

well, it's been a little more than 48 hours since the deadly maryland mall shooting, and this morning we're getting our first look inside the mall. the mall in columbia let our cameras take a look just a little while ago. there's a memorial to the victims of the shooting. in about 90 minutes, the mall will reopen to customers. it's been a busy crime scene

since saturday morning when a shooting left three people dead, including the gunman. news4s angie goff joins us with how this story is unfolding on social media. angie? >> reporter: this is a story we've watched unfold online, and new this hour, you talked about it, but the photos of the memorial set up for the victims inside the mall, tweeting them out. also the howard county police department sharing this photo. it shows a memorial wall replaces the front of where the zumiez store is. they tweeted for people to come to the reopening at the mall at 1:00, so about an hour and a half, and notice th the #hocounited, and we're seeing a lot of that after the county executive tweeted out this. even if you aren't a howard county resident, show your support by using the hashtag, and he said thank you for joining us in the healing process, and those who knew the suspected gunman, darion aguilar, took to twitter.

this student, wrote, he was literally the nicest, most chill person at blake, and he had so much potential to do good. aguilar graduated from blake high school last year. barbara? >> all right, thanks so much for that report. right now, investigators are trying to figure out why darion aguilar opened fire at the mall. howard county police say he lived with his mother in college park. over the weekend, officers searched their home and took computers and aguilar's journal. investigators say some of the entries show a depressed teenager. they also haven't found a connection between aguilar and two victims that were killed. egaguilar had no criminal histo. police say he bought the 12-gauge shotgun legally last month. a family friend says aguilar was recently promoted to manager at a local dunkin' donuts store. this morning, the ceo of zumiez store chain says he's following the investigation very closely. he says the police briefings, quote, pain all of us in the zumiez family who are grieving

the loss of brianna and tyler. counselors have met with the store team. the emotions are very raw and real as co-workers and friends, we are pulling together, he went on to say. in fairfax county right now, a yelp lawsuit that challenges freedom of speech is gettingnd way. according to the "washington post," d.c. contractor christopher dietz is accusing a former customer of a yelp review. perez says she stands by the review. first amendment advocates say companies are trying to stifle negative but important consumer reviews with lawsuits. however, business owners say they are forced to take aggressive action because false claims can live online forever. well, the deep freeze is plunging back into our area today, but believe it or not, we're not getting the worst of it. the latest round of winter chill

is hitting other places harder than us. schools are closed today in chicago because of extreme wind chills that could reach 30 below zero. went y wendy is braving the cold and has more on the arctic temperatures. >> oh, man, this is terrible. >> reporter: much of the nation hasn't thawed from the first arctic freeze, and now we're bracing for another. >> it's a complete and utter mess. the roads are just completely covered in snow. >> reporter: from ohio to new york, snow and ice have blanketed the region, causing treacherous conditions and accidents on roadways. in buffalo, the wind even overpowered this 18-wheeler and challenged crews trying to help. >> the wind chill is terrible, and the wind is bad. so we've got to watch the empty trailer, doesn't get blown over, too. >> reporter: whether people choose to brave the elements or they have to to get the job done, time outdoors in these frigid temperatures must be

limited. >> it's really safer to stay inside. >> reporter: but warmth indoors is also being threatened by this relentless weather pattern. a shortage of propane across the midwest has some looking for alternatives. >> i have a high-efficiency woodburning fireplace in the living room. >> reporter: okay. >> and you go there three cords of wood a year, but we're going through it pretty quick. >> reporter: and the end of winter is nowhere in sight. >> just got to tough it out, you know, and wait until things get better. >> reporter: but we'll have to wait on mother nature a little longer. temperatures are supposed to stay below zero here for the next two and a half days, and the wintry mix will reach the deep south tomorrow. brutal even by winter standards. in chicago, wendy woffolk, nbc news. >> more on when we'll feel the change. tom kierein is outside with the latest on our forecast. do you feel the temperature change already, tom? >> yeah, it really has. it's dropped about seven, eight

degrees in the last half hour or so here in northwest where the winds are beginning to pick up. we've got a blue sky here now, and lotting of sunshine. i think clouds will be rolling back in as the super cold air arrive later. now, as we look at temperatures, 52 at reagan national, while it's only near freezing in hagerstown and out in the mountains. the cold air really beginning to push in now. the temperatures will continue to drop into the afternoon. here's the hour-by-hour forecast. look at that temperature. it looks like a slide all the way down into the teens by late this evening. in fact, by 4:00, i think we'll be near freezing. wind chills in the teens. the winds gusting 30 to 40 miles an hour, diminish by late tonight. and then, by dawn tomorrow, i think we'll be down to the single digits much of the region, wind chills subzero. afternoon highs on tuesday, a lot of clouds tomorrow into the upper teens, but a lighter wind, maybe a few flurries in far southern maryland sand a dusting

of snow on the eastern shore, tomorrow night into early wednesday morning. elsewhere, though, should be dry. sunshine back wednesday, thursday. but still near freezing for highs and morning lows teens. but warming, finally, friday into the weekend, looking much better, highs in the 40s, friday, saturday, and sunday. barbara? >> all right, tom, thanks. environmentalists will be in richmond today to ask terry mcauliffe to draw more attention to climate change in the commonwealth. the virginia marchers for climate will march around capital square. today is virginia's conservation network lobby day. creigh deeds says he's confident his personal tragedy will help change the virginia mental health system. he said he hopes the support he's received will translate into votes for legislation he's pushing. >> legislators are at this point still talking the talk. now, we've got -- we've got hard work to do. there's powerful interest groups opposed to the legislation. the sheriff's association of

virginia, different law enforcement groups, the aclu, you know, they're coming up with all kinds of reasons why we can't have more time. but i'm confident that we're going to work through this and we're going to get the votes to get this done. >> deeds' son, gus, stabbed him before taking his own life back in november. he was only home that day, because an emergency custody order against him had exred. deeds wants to extend how long emergency custody orders can last. don buyer wants to return to politics. the former lieutenant governor plans to enter the race for congress. he has his eyes on jim moran's seat. moran is retiring, as he announced recently. bier, a democrat, was lieutenant governor for two terms. he lost the 1997 race for governor. bier must collect 1,000 signatures from residents in virginia's 8th congressional district. he'll then face several other democrats in the primary. they include delegate mark sickels. and this will be a busy week

for maryland's house of delegates. we expect the house to vote on a bill to help marylanders with issues with the state health exchange website. it will give them coverage in the maryland health insurance plan. the house will also likely deal with an expansion of grace's law. this law, as it stands now, punishes anyone who bullies kids through social media. lawmakers will discuss expanding that to include adults. most washtonians do not favor building a new soccer stadium. a "washinon post" poll shows 6 out of 10 d.c. residents don't want a new stadium for the city's mls team d.c. united. one of the biggest factors for people, costs. the stadium would take at least $150 million in possible funds from the city. those against the proposed bill say there are better ways to spend that kind of money. currently d.c. united plays at rfk stadium in southeast washington. now, preparations are under way for this weekend's super

bowl near new york's times square. a mile-long stretch of broadway has been renamed super bowl boulevard for the week. concerts, games, and family activities are all set for this week ahead. the game is happening at metlife stadium across the river in new jersey. it'll be the first time the super bowl is played in the outdoors, in cold weather. well, all of the excitement over the super bowl could mean some savings and d.c.'s chris clackum explains why it may not be a bad idea to change the way you watch this weekend's game. >> reporter: a survey shows 30% of us are planning to buy a new television this year, and of that, a third are buying right now. in the days leading up to the super bowl. but getting a bigger, better view of the game is only one reason for the surge in sales. >> i think the main reason why you're going to see deals on televisions around this time of year is that most of the new models are coming out in march. >> reporter: that means the 2013 models have been discounted to

make room, and just in time to help buyers make an educated choice, consumer reports says just come out with its list of the best performers. >> we looked at primarily 60 inch, because a lot of people buying a tv for the super bowl are looking for a big tv. >> reporter: senior editor jim wilcox says it'll cost you at least $1,500 to get one of the best-performing tvs, or up to $3,500 for one from flagship manufacturers, like lg, panasonic, samsung, or sony. but he's also high on lower-priced models like the vizio e-series that walmart is offering for $800. >> the thing is, it has great picture quality and a lot of features. it has a smart tv platform, and so, you're really not giving up any features for this tv, and it's only $800. >> reporter: that price also plays into what fatwallet found in its survey, that nearly half the buyers say they'll be look mostly at the cost of a new tv.

chris clackum, nbc news. 11:41 is the time. the national zoo welcomes three new bundles of joy. coming up, we'll also tell you about a store that's opening and only selling out-of-date food. [ male announcer ] when your small business has the power and reliability of verizon fios, you're not just ready, you're "downloading huge files during the busiest part of the day" ready. you're "early morning conference call with a dozen participants" ready. you're "checking inventory and juggling online orders" ready. you're small business ready. so switch to verizon fios to get small business ready, with 100% fiber optic fast internet and reliable phone with 99.9% network reliability. call now to get a firm price quote of your total monthly charges for two years from verizon.

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just in. move over, bao bao, there's a new baby in town. in fact, there's two. the national zoo announced the birth of two new african lion cubs. take a look at this youtube video we have that they posted. but right now, they're actually working on getting a live lion cam up, so that you can see mama naba and her new babies born on friday. it's mom's first litter in four years. both babies, as you can tell, they appear to be healthy, moving, nursing. but we're told that three were actually born. one was stillborn, which experts say is not uncommon in a litter. as for when you can see them up

close and personal, the zoo says probably late spring. they need to give naba time to bond with her babies, but that lion cam, the live cam, should be up, they say, by 4:00 p.m. today. no word yet, barbara, on any names, but i feel another contest coming on. >> oh, it's exciting news, thanks a lot. >> i know. well, you can thank last week's winter weather for some lower gas prices. aaa says demand for gas dropped, which means less pain at the pump. it might not last long, though, with february around the corner. prices could rise as manufacturers get ready to start making summer blend gas. in the district right now, aaa says a gallon of regular will cost about $3.54 a gallon. in maryland, the average is $3.36 a gallon, across virginia, the average is $3.17. and in west virginia, $3.36 on average for a gallon of regular. right now, in northeast d.c., dozens of people are trying to land a job working with the new d.c. streetcars.

the department of employment services on minnesota avenue is hosting a job fair for the open positions. it started almost two hours ago at 10:00 this morning and recruiters will be taking resumes until around 2:00 this afternoon. they're looking for people with good mechanical skills to fill the maintenance tech and material handler positions, and friendly workers to take the service attendant and operator slots. if you can't make it today, you can still apply through the midtown employment group. how much money would it take for to you volunteer to have the flu? well, right now, the national institute of health is looking for willing patients, and the hospital is paying $3,000 for your time. first, doctors will squirt the live virus into your nose, then you'll spend nine days quarantined inside a specialize isolation ward in nih. it may sound bizarre, but the research aims to show how the body flights off influenza. scientists hope to use the research to improve flu

vaccines. and this morning, u.s. health officials are investigating how a dangerous stomach bug infected nearly 300 people aboard a cruise ship. according to the soecenter dise control and prevention, passengers became sick from the noro virus aboard the ship. it left cape liberty, new jersey, last tuesday bound for the caribbean. the fast-moving stomach bug left many passengers quarantined to their rooms. >> it was a terrible experience. i've been on this boat before. we had an amazing time when we were here. this time, it's just been awful. >> the ship made a stop in puerto rico to be sanitized, and is now heading back to the states two days early. once back in port, royal caribbean says the ship will undergo another thorough cleaning. royal caribbean also says they will compensate passengers. our country throws out an estimated 165 billion dollars worth of food every year, much of it still perfectly good.

that's the idea behind a new grocery store that will open in june. it's called the daily table, and it will sell deeply discounted foods that had recently expired. nbc's miguel almaguer reports. >> reporter: shopping for a healthy meal, single mom davine is at the food bank looking for affordable groceries past their prime. >> so what if it's a day or two old, or three days past due, it's still very much edible. >> reporter: she is exactly the customer doug is looking for. this summer, the former president of trader joe's will open a new grocery store that sells expired food for pennys on the dollar. >> there's a lot of food out there that is wholesome and healthy, that is just being disposed. >> reporter: row says he'll offer fresh produce. >> use as ingredients or to be able to sell. >> reporter: perfectly good dairy. >> a fat-free milk.

>> reporter: and most other grocery store products at deep, deep discounts. >> grocers receive a lot of product that is perfectly sound, but has a sell-by date, oer a best-buy date. they pull that off the shelf right at the day, some do it several days before, and it's being tossed, and that's a crime. >> reporter: according to a recent study, 40% of food produced in this country is dumped in the trash every year. $165 billion worth of edible food tossed out. >> those date labels you see on foods, sell by, used by, they are actually not federally regulated, and they're not meant to indicate safety. >> reporter: with that in mind, on this lot outside boston, he will open the daily

meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check of the very cold conditions heading in our direction. stay with us.

we are less than two weeks now until the start of the winter olympic games. that means the olympic torch is inching its way to sochi. [ applause ] take a look at this. it's video from yesterday's relay in russia's caspian coast area. today, the olympic flame is in the dagestan region. there have been several deadly attacks there recently. for safety reasons, olympic

organizers cut the number of torch bearers from 270 down to 67. well, safety concerns may be keeping americans away from sochi. this morning u.s. tour operators say fewer americans are going to these games than for the last 20 years. some say it's because of last month's deadly double-suicide bombing and online threats promising an attack. a member of the international olympic committee stopped by the "today" show this morning. she says security is top priority at the winter games. >> are you confident in the russians' ability to pull this off and to secure the olympics? >> yes, because it's not only the russians. it's the whole world that secures the games. the u.s. is involved in making sure our team and the other athletes are secure. it's something that belongs to the world, and they've been working on this for seven years. >> president putin says all of the concern is just an attempt by the west to discredit russia. well, we're following several big stories here on nbc4. the first time since the weekend

deadly shooting in maryland, the mall will open its doors. the mall let us inside the building a little while ago. a gunman opened fire at a skate shop saturday morning, killing two people before killing himself. right now, investigators are trying to figure out if the gunman knew the victims. a man is recovering in the hospital right now after suffering severe lung damage during a massive townhouse fire. the homeowner was rescued from the third floor of his home after attempting to save his dogs earlier this morning. fire investigators haven't disclosed a cause of that fire. well, take a look at our current temperatures. you can see the big difference between hagerstown -- that's in the 30s -- and fredericksburg, in the 50s, but tom is saying everyone will feel the drop. and, tom? >> seems like every minute we're losing another degree. we've lost about nine degrees here in northwest washington just in the last 45 minutes. and it's going to continue to drop into the afternoon.

there's the temperature scale. and that red line, the temperature dropping from the 40s now all the way down to near freezing by around 4:00. and then, after sunset, the 20s. and then down to the teens by midnight. wind chills will be in the teens from late afternoon into this evening, and then subzero wind chills tomorrow morning. winds will be blowing around 30 to 40 miles an hour. already people are tweeting in about the cold winds blustering, coming in from the north and west. and it'll be near 8 degrees tomorrow morning, afternoon highs in the teens, but subzero wind chills in the morning. a lot of clouds around on tuesday. might get light snow far southern maryland, northern neck eastern shore, tuesday night, wednesday morning. elsewhere dry. seven-day forecast, warming trend for the weekend. 40s, friday, saturday, sunday. >> a warming trend. thanks, tom. >> okay. later today, you'll have a chance to catch a free preview of one of d.c.'s top parades. 18 local singers are auditioning for the chance to perform at the

national cherry blossom festival parade. up to four solo or group vocalists will be selected to perform in the parade. tonight's live audition at the hard rock cafe along e street northwest is free and open to the public. it starts at 7:00 this evening. you can catch the winners in the national cherry blossom festival parade which comes up on april 12th. and that's "news4 midday" for today. we thank you for being with us and invite you to tune in for more news at 4:00, 5 be cloo, 6:00 and 11:00. we hope you'l for "news4 midday." ♪ to one another and to a

life shared together with the music of love. i now pronounce you. >> history last night. at the grammy. 33 straight and gay couple married by queen latifa latifah. serenaded by madonna and last tonight grammy welcome to "access hollywood live". >> and what did you think last night? of beyonce's