. >> i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly. a congresswoman sent a formal apology to mrs. obama. he regrets his inappropriate comment. he was overheard at reagan national airport talking about a conversation he had with a woman about michelle obama. he said the first lady should practice what she preaches and referred to her large posterior. most thing the congressman crossed the line. >> i find it to be unbelievable. >> reporter: why? >> she looks to be extremely healthy and has he seen her arms on the first lady? >> i have no idea what the context, but it's unheard of to call her by nonsense. she's doing good work. >> so far, the first lady's office has not issued a reaction or response. >>> news 4 viewers are sounding off on facebook today. here are some of the comments they wrote. lauren wrote one never talks ability a woman's body. two, focus on fixing this country's problems instead of making insensitive unnecessary remarks. kathleen said i don't care for mrs. obama or her husband but insulting someone over their body makes no sense anywhere. an apology due to public outcre

. >> i'm barbara harrison. jim and pat are off this evening. those shoes in question, the nike retro air jordans are what they are. they hit store shelves today. >> police had to fight off rowdy shoppers. >> reporter: mad dashes turned to mayhem friday. the crush of the crowd in indianapolis so strong it knocked a door off its hinges and fellow shoppers to the floor. >> i tripped over a girl that fell. a few people were on the ground. i jumped over them and kept running. >> reporter: all the pandemonium for a pair of these, air jordan 11 basketball shoes. >> everybody was going to every store. >> reporter: scenes were similar at two other malls near indianapolis. near seattle, they used pepper spray when things got unruly. >> that's about it. everybody was trying to stop the fight. >> reporter: a real surprise given how docile others were. >> i'm going to get three pair for myself. i'm going to wear one pair and put the others up for a couple years. >> reporter: someone fired a gun into the air rattling a crowd of fellow shoppers. a crowd outsi

i am eun yang, in for barbara harrison today. two women are dead after a horrific crash overnight in silver spring. the car they were in lost control on university boulevard around 3:00 this morning and landed on top of a brick retaining wall. news4's melissa ma lay is at the scene. >> reporter: they were trying to determine exactly what happened here. 3:09, thursday morning, the suv was heading east on university coming around the curve on hairin when the driver lost control and shot up the hill of the front yard and scraping grass and slamming into a brick retaining wall, coming to rest five feet up. the 19-year-old johnson who was sitting in the backseat and the driver, 22-year-old richards were both killed. the woman in the front passenger seat, james, was seriously injured. >> my sister called me crying and said that i should come out here because tomara was in an accident. i jumped up and put my clothes on and came out here. >> reporter: the devastating news came after 5:00 a.m. investigators spent much of the morning tryin

. >> i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly. what a difference a day makes as pat said. it was in the 60s yesterday, today in the 40s. >> veronica johnson is in the weather center with details. veronica? >> a big drop from not only where we were yesterday at this time, but a big difference from where we were shortly after midnight. temperatures didn't start dropping until the early, early morning hours. in the 60s late last night, early this morning. 64 in manassas and culpeper. now, 15 to 20 degrees cooler. on top of that, we have cloud cover and light shower that is are falling across southern portions of the viewing area. 44 with 45% humidity. a lot of moisture in the air. if you are not getting the rain, it feels humid out there. fredericksburg getting the rain. most of the area is dry. quantico, virginia, richmond area, all that through the northern neck where the rain is making its way from southwest, east and northeastward sliding through. evening showers are going to be around for awhile. in the 40s now. 46 in fredericksburg. not much of a temperature range throu

. >> barbara harrison takes us to meet crystal. >> you love to dance? >> yes. >> i think you are going to enjoy today. >> hi. >> nice to meet you. >> you, too. >> welcome to the dance institute of washington. >> founder and artistic director was there to greet us at the dance institute of washington. down the hall in a brightly lit studio, dionne henderson wait waiting to give her a lesson in hip hop. >> hi, crystal. >> he's your hip hop instructor this morning. >> ready? >> great. >> she would love to be a dancer or actress some day. she's a foster child, hoping for a permanent family to support her dreams. >> she's been bounced around from placement to placement. >> she says that hasn't been easy. what is it like moving from one place to another. >> it didn't feel right. when i lost my mom, it was kind of challenging. i never used them as an excuse. >> never an excuse to be sad or angry. but she's felt both emotions. now she's hoping to find love from an adoptive family. >> stretch. back up tall. >> she hopes to some day make a new family proud of the

barbara harrison, news 4, for wednesday's child. >> if you have room in your home and your heart for them or another child waiting for a permanent loving family, call the special adoption hot line. the number is 888-2-adopt-me or log on to www.nbcwashington.com. >>> still to come, what happened to baby jesus. he's missing from an area church. he was outside in the nativity scene. it's not the first time he's disappeared. >>> a lot of local flavor to the >>> a nativity scene in fredericksburg is without the most important piece. somebody stole the baby jesus out of the manger. this isn't the first time he's disappeared. pat collins has the story from fredericksburg. >> reporter: the central park shopping center, fredericksburg, virginia. every holiday season, the same display. it's a tradition here. the christmas tree. the menorah and this, joseph, mary and the three wisemen. but take a closer look. there's no baby jesus. they say that last night someone came here and stole baby jesus. >> what is this worldcoming to? >> it's a shame. >> it's horrible. >> i think it's a disgrace. >> re

barbara harrison, news 4, washington. >> i hope those christmas concerts continue.ular. >> yeah. >> one more check on the weather, doug? >> it could not be better. a lot of people would enjoy cooler weather. we have that tonight and early tomorrow. starting off on a cool note on saturday. 46 degrees. winds out of the north-northwest. we are going to see a windchill this evening. if you are thinking of heading out to the redskins game, the redskins, if they win this game tomorrow, they could do absolutely nothing, right? hakeem, what's up? they could have a better record, yes. 45 degrees tomorrow at game time. partly sunny. it's going to be cool. most of the stadium this time of year is in the shade. you will be on the cool side as you head out tomorrow. then, of course, there's christmas on saturday. the redskins on saturday. christmas on sunday. >> there he goes. >> very fast. christmas 50 degrees for the temperature. i think a nice christmas afternoon with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. a nice afternoon for the next couple days. we talked about sunday. mond

barbara harrison takes us to meet justin. >> justin, hi, justin. very special young man. he has challenges, but he amazes those who know him with the things he knows. we came to best buy with its myriad of computers and electronic toys and gadgets because he loves the challenge of figuring out how to use them. while there are lots of things he was interested in here, he was particularly interested to get to the music section. >> do you want to sit down? justin doesn't speak but he seemed to want to tell us this isn't what he had in mind. he tested it out briefly, looked around and saw what he really wanted to play, the keyboard. mark duff in, who works at his group home, says he loves music and reading. >> he reads and writes? >> yeah. he can read and he can do math very well too actually. he reads books about on a 10th grade level. >> oh. >> but when he reads he can spell very well too. so once he reads a book he can usually write down the sentence and rewrite the sentence of what he understood. >> justin studied the keyboard and all the buttons a

. >> barbara harrison takes us to meet yvonne. >> at spoon and rotten spa, a salon for kids, it was anne. she got her nails done in pink, blue and some in sparkles. >> oh, that's pretty. >> she said while she likes pretty things she would rather use her hands to play basketball. >> can these hands handle a basketball? >> yes. >> she wants to do a lot of things. and i'm trying to find someone who will allow her to try all these different things that she wants to do. >> yvonne's social worker is looking for an adoptive family that will support all of her goals in life. she was invited to try out new wardrobe looks for school. >> this is leslie. she's going to tile you today. >> leslie arnell chose looks, who was a little shy about showing off her outfit. she warmed up to the idea of strutting her stuff with her second outfit. by the time we got to outfit number 3 she was getting a little more comfortable with the idea of being center stage. and we even got her to smile a bit with the idea of showing off. yvonne is not sure exactly what she wants to be some day. she said not a model. but

. >> i'm barbara harrison. say the man who shot and killed a virginia tech police officer on campus yesterday is not a student and has no connection to the school. but, they don't know why the suspect targeted officer deriek crouse. >>> leslie johnson was sentenced for her role in a federal corruption case. a judge ordered her to spend one year and one day in jail and two years probation. she has to serve community service and pay a 15, 000 fine. >>> jerry sandusky spent the first day of in-house arrest. he spent an hour preparing for his case on tuesday. there are ten accusers and could be more. >>> the week ended on a high note on wall street. the dow finished up 188 points ending at 12,841. nasdaq gained 50 points to end at 2646. the s&p up 20 points closing at 1255. >>> we have an update on lauren scruggs who walked into a moving propeller of a moving airplane. in an instant, she suffered life changing injuries. as janet reports, her parents say she has given them reason for hope. >> reporter: 30. that was

i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse. the funeral took place this afternoon for officer deriek crouse who was killed thursday after making a routine traffic stop at virginia tech. he was a man who loved his family and his job. the man who shot him, a 22-year-old killed himself a short time later. police released no motive in the killing. >>> as the u.s. withdrawal of troops in iraq winds down, president obama is meeting with iraqi prime minister. today, they went to arlington cemetery that marked the americans killed in the war. >>> this is the day delivery companies have been preparing a year for. today traditionally marks the busiest shipping day of the year with cyber shopping and spending up, forecasters predict it could be busiest today. >>> the dow jones closed in negative territory. >>> disgraced former penn state football coach jerry sandusky is preparing to face his accuser in court tomorrow. >> allegations he sexually ab e abused him when they were children. jay gray has the latest from state college, pennsylvan

i am eun yang in for barbara harrison today, december 30th, 2011. >>> we begin with a double stabbing investigation outside the district just after 1:00 this morning near the moon lounge. >> reporter: they have no suspect descriptions or motives and right now they are trying to piece together evidence. they are blocking off the sidewalk friday morning so the crime lab technicians could gather evidence in the daylight, when just hours before two men were walking outside the lounge when they were approached and stabbed. both men were taken to a hospital by a friend. the victims are expected to recover. neighbors have been complaining about the noise outside the long, but at this time they don't know if the victims or suspects had been inside the nightclub prior to the attack. >> i wish i could say that i was surprised, but i'm not. >> reporter: he moved into the neighborhood in 2009 and loves it here but says in recent months crowds outside the lounge and alongside his block have gotten louder. >> it's hard to get in and out of the crowd. i have called the police more times in the last

. >> welcome back, i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse.happening in the news this hour. a partial government shutdown is days away. they are confident they can make a deal. how to find an extension for the payroll tax cut is the hold back. >>> the war started in 2003, nearly 4,500 u.s. soldiers lost their lives since the war began. it was the longest military effort since vietnam. >>> the fbi is launching a campaign to catch the man known as the potomac river raper. he's known for at least a dozen attacks in the area between 1991 and 1998. federal agents will use the same social media blitz that eventually led to the capture of the east coast rapist. >>> after three days of losses, wall street had a rally. all posted gains. investors focused on better than expected jobless numbers. >>> today, the hollywood film fest. the silent movie, "the artist" led the way with six nods. >> george clooney was a big winner. rafael has the story. >> reporter: silence is golden for the hollywood press association. at this mornings nomination, "the artist"

i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse.hat's happening at this hour. president obama thanks u.s. troops for all their hard work in iraq. he made the remarks during a speech to soldiers in ft. bragg. all u.s. forces are due out of iraq by the end of the year. this was designed to pay tribute to those who fought and died in the country. >>> the latest polls suggest newt gingrich surged to the biggest lead, yet. it's not all good news. gingrich is favored by republican voters in the field, survey voters think mitt romney has a better chance of defeating president obama in the election. >>> a debate under way over why a pedestrian tried to cross i-270 in the dark this morning. he was hit and killed by a tractor trailer after running across several lanes of traffic. this is an accident. no charges will be filed. >>> stocks fell. the dow down 130 points to close at 11,823. nasdaq down to 2,539 and the s&p 500 was down to 1,212. >>> an annual study of teenage drug use is revealing good and bad news this year. >> the national insti

i am barbara harrison. it's tuesday, december 13th, 2011. right now a pennsylvania courthouse is clearing out after a surprise move from former penn state assistant coach, jerry sandusky, who this morning waiving his right for the hearing so he could present his side of the case at trial. >> we will have the opportunity to present our side. >> i don't want there to be any misunderstanding. we are not in any way conceding guilt. in fact, jerry is more adamant than ever in his innocence and expressing his innocence as trial. >> several victims and witsses were slated to testify about the abuse charges. >> reporter: in a surprise move just as the preliminary hearing was getting under way, jerry sandusky and his attorney asking the judge to waive his right to the preliminary hearing and change the course of today. we were supposed to hear from several alleged witnesses and victims. his alleged abusers now adults say sandusky abused them over the course of the past decade, and in several cases that occurred on penn state campus and off. in those

. >> barbara harrison, news 4 for wednesdays child. >> still waters run deep. if you have room in your home please call our adoption hot line, the number is 888-to-adopt me. >> still to come on news 4 at 5:00, an investigation into a stabbing after a high school basketball game. the baseball winter meetings to [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices... in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone. >>> police in montgomery county are investigating a stabbing that happened outside northwood high school in silver spring. it occurred after a basketball game against kennedy high school. we have the story. >> reporter: police say the victim, a 17-year-old blair student was at tuesday's game to watch her brother who plays on kennedy bas

barbara harrison, news 4 for wednesday's child. >>> if you have room in your home and your heart formanent, loving family call our special adoption hotline. the number is 1-88-to-adopt-me or log to to nbcwashington.com. great story. >> it would be a great holiday gift for these kids. >> wonderful. and i loved how he called ought shanahan. >> mike looked relaxed and very human. >> it's wonderful they did that. okay. well, in case santa gets sick this holiday season, you've got plenty of capable backups. >> that's thanks to there's enough christmas for everyone. santarchy. a nonprofit, nonpolitical and most importantly nonsensical celebration. they rode the carousel and participated in ho, ho, ho chants. they insist they are not protesters but they were complaining about some bad holiday parties. >> well, it worked. because everywhere they went people smiled and laughed. >> they did. >> mission accomplished. >> i like the darth vader and the dog that was dressed up. >> i've been on the hotline with santa. he wants to know about the forecast for christmas eve, as do you, i suspect. i wi

barbara harrison takes us to meet crystal. >> reporter: crystal you really love to dance. >> yes. >> reporter: i think you're going to enjoy today. hi fabian. >> hi crystal. so nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. >> reporter: founder and artistic director fabian barns was there to greet us at the dance institute of washington where down the hall in one of the brightly lit studios, they were waiting to give crystal a lesson in hip-hop dance. >> dion, let me introduce you to crystal. he's going to be your hip-hop instructor this morning. >> reporter: crystal says she would love to be a dancer or actor some day. she's a foster child hoping forrer a permanent family to support her dreams. >> she's been bounced around from placement to placement. >> crystal says that hasn't been easy. what is it like? >> i didn't feel right. when i lost my mom, it was a challenge. >> reporter: never an excuse to be sad or angry. but she's felt both emotions. now she's hoping to find love from an adopted family. crystal hopes to some day make a new family proud of the things she can do. >> i'm looking f

i am barbara harrison. turning to the weather, and the rain that is headed in our direction, tom kierein joins us now with the first forecast. >> if you plan on heading out shortly, grab an umbrella, we have rain coming into the metro area. and we're not alone. look at the extent of the rain, it stretches upstate new york all the way down to florida, and that's along a front and area of low pressure that will affect travel up and down the atlantic seaboard, from boston to atlanta later today. right now we're getting light rain, the areas of light green and blue, that's very light rain. the darker green in southern maryland and southern principles georges and parts of st. mary's, we're getting a little rain there. little pockets of moderate to heavy rain in green and madison counties north of charlottesville, and that's going to head towards the metro area, right now where temperatures are near 60 degrees on this 21st day of december. and further west and north, it's chillier. and then further to the south a

i am barbara harrison. it's thursday, december 22nd, 2011. and right now police in the district are involving an accident that involved a van carrying special needs children. three vehicles were involved in the crash this morning on blair road northwest not far from kansas avenue. authorities say six children on the van were taken to the hospital and there's no word on their condition at this point. >>> even though students are on winter break right now, it's the first day of school for one school. melissa joins us from the school for the reopening ceremony. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, barbara. an exciting day here on campus. it has been exactly one year and $26 million, but finally time for a happy homecoming here at the school. the school looks brand-new. large parts have been rebuilt. crews are now spending the day repacking, and they are going to be ready when the kids return from school break. and many here celebrating that reopening. >> a year ago, a year ago, this place was literally on fire. now we are here celebra

barbara harrison, news 4 for wednesday's child. >>> there are still many children waiting to be adopted. still to come, tis the season for ski trip. the recent warm weather means no one is hitting the slopes at the area ski resorts. that could change soon. >>> coming up in sports, we have local serious men in this house. home grown boxers. >>> if you'll forgive my excitement, i'm a huge boxing fan and especially excited because two super dudes in the boxing world are here in this studio tonight. one of them is already a champion. he won a couple weeks ago. seth mitchell. he did it. he earned it. it's his. the other one, mark my words, he is the soon-to-be heavyweight champion of the world. i'll let dan take it from there. >> vance, as you know, d.c. was a boxing town. just a few of the great fighters from the area we produced here in d.c. after a vacation from the spotlight, boxing is back because of these two gentlemen. lamont peterson, the junior champion. oscar day lajo jolla knows abou that. i'm going to start with seth. what was it like for you to fight and get a second round t.k.o

. >>> i'm barbara harrison. the fighting between the republicans and democrats seems to be over, for the moment. jennifer johnson joins us live from capitol hill with details on a new deal. >> reporter: just when you thought it was going to be a quiet ur

i am barbara harrison. it's wednesday, december 14th, 2011. we begin with a deadly pedestrian accident in germantown this morning that caused major traffic headaches. the road was closed for more than four hours. police are trying to figure out what the pedestrian was doing on the busy roadway. tracee wilkins has more from germantown. >> reporter: this fatal pedestrian accident happened before 6:00 a.m., but the affects of it lasted well into the morning rush. a man was running across i-270 in the southbound lanes this morning when he was struck by a tractor trailer in the third lane and killed. the man seen here is the driver of the truck and said he did not wanted to talk on camera since an investigation was pending, and he told us the pedestrian was running from the shoulder of the southbound lanes heading towards the northbound direction. before he could stop, he hit him. the truck driver stayed on the scene. police are not identifying the pedestrian at this time, but they say they know he was coming from his residents located a few miles

i'm barbara harrison. it is tuesday, december 20th, 2011. we begin with breaking news. we're in downtown orange and blue lines are shut down in both directions between federal triangle and federal center southwest. that after a piece of a train fell off onto the tracks near l'enfant plaza. megan mcgrath is there. tell us what you're learning so far? >> reporter: things are still closed down here at the l'enfant plaza station. look behind me. you can see the fire crews and police officers who are here on the scene. now they're assessing exactly what happened here. we're told that something fell off a metro train down on the tracks. the most likely culprit is what they call a friction ring. that's a part of the brake assembly. we're told that's a redundant part so the train was able to brake even though that ring apparently fell off that breaking mechanism. at no point was anyone in danger according to metro officials. when that ring fell off, it apparently made contact with the third rail. that's the energized rail. that created some smoking conditions down in the tunnel

i'm barbara harrison. we bring with breaking news. north korea fired a test missile off the east coast. the same day the north announced the death of longtime leader kim jong-il. an official with south korea's military says it was probably a routine drill. the south korean president already put its military on high alert. the country's top general visited a base near the country's boarder with north korea today. >>> right now the world is reacting to the death of kim jong-il. officials in north korea and embassies around the world lowered their flags in respect for the late leader. north cornian tv said the leader died of heart failure while on a train on saturday. but it did not announce his death until last night. kim's funeral is set for a week from wednesday, december 28. north korea will hold a national mourning period from now until december 29. nbc's bruce hall takes a look back at his life. >> reporter: north korean death, many of the details of kim jong-il's death are a secret. in 1946 kim graduated and was groomed to take ov

in for barbara harrison. we begin with a vigil for a maryland man detained in cuba. in just about an hour judy gross will hold a demonstration for her husband along with friends, family and other activists. it comes after he was passed over a mass prisoner release in cuba this weekend. erica, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it is since november the vigils have been held here at the cuban of northwest d.c. for alan gross every monday. today marks the 753rd day of gross' captivity in cuba. it was in 2009 that gross was in cuba on business as a contractor for the u.s. agency for international development. he was later arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to bring satellite phones and computer equipment to people without a legal permit. gross maintains he was only trying to take the internet to cuba's jewish community. after numerous failed attempts or pleas by the u.s. to try and regain the maryland man's freedom, a glimmer of hope last friday. the cuban president would give amnesty to 29 other prisoners. those 60 year of age or older or ill.

i'm barbara harrison. it is monday, december 12, 2011. starting today, drivers in virginia will have a better idea of how long their commutes will take. seven new electronic signs displaying travel times went live this morning. the signs are on i-95 wouldn't the pentagon and fredericksburg. megan mcgrath along i-95 with more on this. what's the consensus? folks like this or what? >> reporter: i think a lot of people like it. they want more information. especially along this corridor which can get so congested. 95 can be just horrible during rush hour. there are skeptics, however. the problem is that pokes who travel along 95 during the rush hour period, a lot of times you don't know how bad the traffic is until you are caught up in it and it is too late to jump off and go a different way. that's what these signs are all about. they will be giving real-time information about what the traffic situation is several miles ahead while you can still change your route. the sign says it all. route 234, 16 miles, 17 minutes. it is critical informat

i am barbara harrison, and we have breaking news for you.ls is a piece of the train fell on to the track, so right now they are focussing on getting the passengers off the train but the good news is there's no injuries reported. right now in both directions, the blue and orange lines on the screens, service will be suspended in both directions. >> the obstruction on the track is between the plaza and smithsonian station. people are being taken on the lines on the blue and orange lines, and nobody has been hurt. we will have more coming up on news4 at 11:00. >> you can follow this online and on our twitter feed as well. >> again, breaking news on the blue and orange lines. temporarily the road causing trouble in one of your cities. >> we put a call out on facebook asking fan was city we should visit. there was one city that was just a little sweeter than all the rest. hershey, pennsylvania. a chocaholic's paradise. >> i want candy. >> every holiday season from the ground up, a house is built, but there's one little catch. it's completely made

i am barbara harrison.

i am barbara harrison. it's friday, december 16th. tom, what's the forecast?d b[ male announcer ] citibank's new app for ipad makes it easy for anne to view her finances from anywhere. like gate d12 for the next three hours. citibank for ipad. easier banking. standard at citibank. really? [ male announcer ] kate uses her citibank debit card because kate knows there are some things you shouldn't be charged for. refill? i'm ok. [ male announcer ] so does that guy. the citibank debit card with no monthly fee. easier banking. standard at citibank. >>> good morning. if you are traveling on the inner loop of the beltway, there are some delays here. if you are heading towards bw parkway, there are delays but the road opens up for you. >>> more news, weather and >>> back now more of "today" on this friday morning, the 16th day of december, 2011, and we've got a great start for the weekend of sightseeing here in the big apple and we're glad that all of these lovely people decided to stop here on the plaza, say hello to us. m ann curry along with al roker and savannah g

i am barbara harrison. it's 9:57, thursday, december 15th.est, we're in the upper 40s to around 50 degrees, and then we have a lot of clouds coming in from the west ahead of a front bringing rain into western maryland, and the highlands and west virginia and later this afternoon into the metro area and through the evening. tomorrow, drier weather moves in and a saturday morning predawn might get a few wet snowflakes in virginia. >>> and the dulles toll road crash has been tying up traffic, and we're seeing delays across the american legion bridge and the delays start around the spur. a slow trip on the spur, and you are slow as you make your way as you continue [ screaming ] [ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. captions paid for by nbc-universal television nice landing. it was. >>> happy thirsty thursday, everybody. it's dec

i'm barbara harrison. it is monday, december 5, 2011.> reporter: you can take one look at the

i am barbara harrison. it's thursday, the first day of december, 2011. >> ♪ the holiday spirit

i'm barbara harrison. let's check on our weather.ining through the overcast. a little more sun as the afternoon progresses. right now near the freezing mark. later today low to mid 40s. upper 20s by dawn on tuesday. tomorrow into the low 50s. then increasing clouds on wednesday into the low 50s after a freezing start. then on thursday cloudy, could get a midday, afternoon or evening shower. then clearing out for friday. then much colder for the weekend, but sunny. danella, how is traffic? >> good morning. it's cold out there. the roads look really nice. volume is light. taking the beltway past route 1 making your way into greenbelt, no issues there. if you're taking the outer loop past route 1 towards georgia avenue, that whole stretch of roadway is clear. no accidents to report. also checking the beltway into virginia as well. inner loop and outer loop there, not seeing any johansson. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> hello, everybody. welcome to fun day monday, it's december 12th. it's also green monday. >> green fo

i have bare bra harrison some videos some of the reports we do. there's barbara. >> you get a little bit of everything. >> that's right. >> it's absolutely free. >> 9:27 coming up on 9:28 right now. still ahead this hour, the holidays can take a dangerous and tragic turn in a matter of seconds. what you can do to prevent this from happening at your home. >> you don't talk to people like that and say those kind of things to people. >> allegations of racism at a popular store. the racial slur one customer says was targeted towards her. >> and they say that good things come to those who wait. why procrastinating on your holiday shopping may actually save you big bucks. >>> i'm mark murray. this is first read's take on the week that was. this week started out with newt gingrich, the former house speaker surging in the polls. we saw it in florida. we saw it in south carolina. we even saw it in our own national nbc "the wall street journal" poll then a funny thing happened. >> it sure did. all of a sudden we found newt gingrich on the defensive in iowa. evidence showin