. >> a public memorial is scheduled for tomorrow at the bryce jordan center.000 tickets available but they have all been claimed. >>> president obama wasted no time hitting the road spreading the emergency from last night's state of the union address which could end up being his lavements the president told the joint session of congress he has a plan to restoart american dream but it want only be achieved with congressional approval. he highlighted his accomplishments like the death of osama bin laden and for the first time in nine years there are no americans fighting in iraq but the theme that kept coming up is the gap between the haves and have notes. >> a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle class households. right now warren buffett pay has lower class rate than his secretary. >> the republican party delivered its official response. the tea party delivered its rebutle. they selected former presidential candidate herman cain to deliver that. although he brought energy to the podium his speech sounded like that of the gop.

. >> reporter: a memorial service is scheduled for thursday on bryce jordan center on the penn state campus. >>> the man known as east coast rapist will not appear in court today. his lawyer ordered a court ordered mental evaluation for his client. they believe that he is responsible for the rapes and attacks of 17 women from virginia to connecticut during the span of ten years. a hearing had been scheduled for today on the most recent attack halloween 2009 involving the ab dusks three teens in -- abduction of three teens in woodbridge. >>> if you buy lottery tickets this summer, could you do it from home. on line lottery sales could be up and running by july 1st. and the sales will be a scratch offand power ball games. it could help bring in revenue and keep the revenue competitive with washington d.c. >>> the first of the abused baltimore county dogs known as the pit six are ready for adoption from the baltimore humane society. take a look. this is michelle. and she went up for adoption yesterday. larry austin was sentenced to three years in jail for animal cruelty he was arrested

his public memorial is today at the bryce jordan center and more than 15,000 people are expected to be in attendance. there will be a speaker from each decade of his career at penn state with his son jay being the final speaker. paterno's 61-year career abruptly ended in november when he was let go over his handling of child abuse claims involving former assistant coach jerry sandusky. >>> the frederick news post says it will resume publishing a monday edition after nearly three years of going without it. the paper said in a story on its web site that the monday edition would return february 6th, the day after the super bowl. the emphasis will be on general interest, business and sports news. >>> this year's college freshmen are more studios than their counter parts of the facet few years -- past few years. according to an annual survey of high school students. they took more commanding coursework and did more homework as high school seniors, fewer said they drank alcohol or showed up late for class. >>> bwi airport passengers looking for a quite bite to eat will soon have more options

it's at the bryce jordan center on penn state's campus. >>> virginia state police say it will take another couple of hours in order to clean up the situation in springfield. a dump truck struck an overhead sign on the inner loop of the beltway near the exit to i-395. the sign is damaged and there are pieces of it hanging down near the roadway. the left lanes are closed, but traffic is still squeezing through on the right side of the inner loop. >>> at this hour first lady michelle obama is wrapping up an event in alexandria, virginia. the first lady and agricultural secretary tom vilsack visited park long elementary school along with celebrity chef rachael ray. they spoke with parents about the usda's new nutrition standards for school lunches. most school meals will now feature less sodium, more whole grains and more fruits and vegetables. the pizza is staying on the menu. it will be made, however, with healthier ingredients. >>> a groundbreaking crime- fighting app for the university of maryland campus goes live today. it is called m urgency. students will be able to send video and other

. >> the public memorial will be at the bryce jordan center, 15,000 people are expected. >>> four convicted murderers pardoned by mississippi governor haley bar bower will stay free at least until february 3rd. one pardoned is unaccounted for at this time. that's not the only trouble. pardon files are missing for four convicts and man who worked as a trustee at the governor's mansion. the attorney general says some 20 files are missing. he also indicated he wants the murderers back behind bars as soon as possible. barboru gave a total of 203 full pardons. >>> the town council of loma linda, california approved the town's first mcdonald's. you wouldn't think it's a big deal but think again. it has the community divided because many town members are 7th day adventist and they believe it's a blow to their town's teaching of holistic wellness. and the area has been tobacco-free for 30 years. >>> one 19-year-old took his love for sweets a bit far. zach is accused of swiping a doughnut from a wyoming shop. he has both agreed to pay a $200 fine, $10 in court courts and 79 cents to cover the cost o

a public memorial service will be held at bryce jordan center on thursday. thousands lined up on wednesday to pay their respects to the public viewing followed by a private funeral service. paterno's funeral procession passed beaver stadium and went by downtown college station before the service. paterno coached at penn state for 46 years and celebrated 409 wins, a record for college football. >>> republicans and democrats put their disagreements aside wednesday to bid an emotional farewell to representative gabrielle giffords. the arizona democrat stepped down to focus on her recovery. one year after being shot in the head. at a political event near tucson. before leaving congress, her final act was voting on legislation she had introduced imposing tougher penalties on smugglers flying drugs across the mexican border. the bill passed unanimously. >>> the time now is 4:35. at 4:40, shoppers get ready. a major department store announces permanent price reductions. >>> at 4:49, virginia lawmakers announce plans to crack down on every kind of distracted driver.

meanwhile, last-minute preparations are under way for tomorrow's public memorial here at the bryce jordan centerganizers say the 10,000 free tickets made available online were gone within a matter of minutes. in university park, pennsylvania, michelle franzen, nbc news. >>> a texas woman turned to candy to survive a car crash. police say the woman crashed her car into a pond in idaho last week. the 61-year-old was afraid to leave the vehicle so she sat there for five days, eating nothing but peanut butter and m & m's, she also drank bottled water. the woman finally decided to walk to a farmhouse for help when the bond started to fill. she was treated for dehydration and she was released. >>> six dogs will make history next month as the first of their breeds to compete at the westminster dog show. >> can't wait for the announcer to try to say these names. the six new breeds are -- total of 185 breeds will compete in the annual contest on february 13th and 14th at madison square garden. >>> facebook users, listen up, if you haven't transitioned to the new timeline format, soon you won't have a cho

it is at the bryce jordan center basketball arena on the penn state campus. jess? >>> d.c.olice are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of robbers. they've been terrorizing people in the tinley town area since the start of this year. police chief cathy lanier spoke at a community meeting. she thinks a reward will help police capture the people behind nine armed robberies in the last three weeks. >> i can tell you there is no honor among thieves. when i offer the reward program, people will call. they will tell us, they will turn each other in, if nor nothing else to eliminate the competition. >> two weeks ago, three of the nine armed rob robberies happened on the same night within 30 minutes of each other. all less than three miles apart. police believe the majority if not all of the crimes are related. they believe two or three men are behind it all. >>> a health alert now for virginia parents about their children's vaccinations. a state house committee has approved a bill to end required vaccinations for girls against the human papilloma virus

then on thursday a public memorial will be held at the bryce jordan center. the university is preparing for an even larger turnout than at sunday's vigil where more than 7,000 people gathered on campus. beyond this week's services the university says it is also planning more tributes to highlight paterno's contributions both on and off the field. jim, pat? >> michelle, have we heard any more from the paterno family? >> we have not. not publicly anyway, pat. we've heard a few communications that joe paterno's son jay has relayed through a twitter messages but beyond the initial statement of his death and funeral arrangements no one is speaking at this time and they are asking for privacy. >> okay. michelle franzen. thank you. >>> right now thousands are gathered here in washington for the annual walk for life protesting the u.s. supreme court decision row v. wade which legalized abortion 39 years ago. tracee wilkins has more from the verizon center where a prayer service was held earlier today. >> reporter: today thousands of teens from around the country have

a memorial is planned for today at the bryce jordan center. paterno coached at penn state for 46 years and celebrated 409 wins. it was a record for major college football. >>> democrats and republicans put their disagreements on hold wednesday to bid an emotional farewell to gabrielle giffords. the arizona democrat stepped down to focus on her recovery one year after being shot in the head at a political event near tucson. before leaving congress, her final act was voting on legislation she had introduced, imposing tougher penaltiens on smugglers who were flying drugs across the mexican border. the bill passed unanimously. >> the d.c. auto show begins tomorrow at the convention center. we'll bring. >> preview when we return. >> howard has your weather first. we're back in less than three minutes. the 2-4-6-8 value menu's got the everyday value slam, classic burger, build your own chicken wrap, cheese quesadilla, chicken parmesan, all you can eat pancakes, cordon bleu melt, the new cookie skillet a la mode. whew. so many choices, so little airt