debra alfarone walks us through it. she's in northwest d.c.here paula broadwell was spotted a short time ago. >> reporter: derek and anita, she's the woman at the center of this high-powered scandal. until now paula broadwell has remained largely out of sight. that is until tonight. she's in northwest d.c. take a look at this video shot earlier. she's basically captures her in her brother's apartment. d.c. attorney in his mount pleasant home. she's in the kitchen, apparently preparing dinner. if you're finding it tough to keep up with the twists and turns of this drama, here's a rundown. was it really just friday when we found out the affair between the very much married, now former cia director david petraeus and this woman, the also very much married biographer paula broadwell. >> you may ow the affair came to light after this woman, 37- year-old jill kelley complained to a friend, an fbi agent. that would be this person here, that she was receiving threatening e-mails, reportedly from broadwell launching an investigation, and that put the l

debra alfarone is in baltimore tonight. she's got a group there hoping this ballot issue passes, and i can hear in the background that they're in a good mood right now. >> yeah, they're having a good time right now, absolutely, derek. really, the state of maryland is hurdling towards possibly a historic moment tonight. people are very excited, big, big crowd here. [ cheers ] >> reporter: again, you can hear they're very excited. i don't know if you're going to hear me. [ cheers ] >> reporter: let me let them have some fun here. they could be joining connecticut, iowa, new hampshire, vermont. [ cheers ] >> reporter: the party is on here. look at these people. very excited. again, we are possibly gunning for a break-through. i've been checking the numbers every moment, refreshing my screen on my ipad. 51% for. 49% against at this point. let me take a look right now. it looks like at this point, again, 51%. now 48.8% against. really, if i can do quick math here, 40,000 votes actually. 40,000 votes right there. that's the diffe

the children's defense fund honored ten teenagers debra alfarone sat down with one of them and spokeut the horrifying event she used to empower her life rather than defeat it. >> eva maria let me tell you about the girl. >> the police would be at our house constantly. basically i was forced to grow up. i couldn't be a kid anymore. >> reporter: it's not often video exists the most terrifying night of your life. >> probably -- >> reporter: but for 17-year- old eva maria. >>> this was a turning point. >> that completely changed my life because my dad wasn't there anymore. >> reporter: she's already had a rough childhood. >> my dad was an alcoholic. and that affected the family because he lost his job and he was abusive. >> reporter: then this -- it was 2006. police say her dad brutally attacked two friends with a machete. he went on the run. her mom had to support four kids alone. >> not having enough to eat. not having a place to live. >> reporter: she was 11 and she practically raised her brothers and sisters and she went to school, she worked. she maintained a 3.8 gpa. the children's

debra alfarone took to the streets tonight to find out. >> can i ask you guys a question? >> reporter: on the eve of the day when most will cast their ballot, tonight the question is. >> do you think your vote counts? >> i don't know. with like the bush/gore election, like the electoral college. >> reporter: ah, the electoral college. you can google it but when it gets 270, you're the president. >> does your vote count? >> yes, it does. i'm from northern virginia. >> we're from new hampshire, so i think it does. >> reporter: location, location, location. where you are equals how much your vote really moves the meter. california has the most electoral votes at 55. d.c., one of the spots that share the least, 3. >> we wish we can vote so we can vote for obama. >> so where are you guys from? >> from the middle east. >> reporter: the farther down the ballot you go, the more impact. in 1994 the vote for maryland's governor was decided by 5,993 votes. in 2010, montana republican tom burnett beat his rival for the house by 71 votes. after recount in 2010, the minnesota house seat

any of these causes would be greatly appreciated own debra alfarone is going to the staten island this weekend and taking donations. >> holiday gifts already. >> that's a good idea andrea. a blustery day today. but sunshine increases as the day goes on. 54. tomorrow, 60 look at the weekend. mid 60s saturday and 72 sunday. awesome. monika? >> just on the phone with maryland state police, good news, northbound 95 north of route 32 the accident has been cleared and delays remain. jess? >>> wall street is looking flat after that big selloff yesterday. >> of course "cbs this morning" is next, more on the nor'easter. >> see you tomorrow. starting at 4:25. have a great day everybody. >> bye bye. [ captions by: caption colorado, llc 800-775-7838 email: comments@captioncolorado.com ]

in northwest d.c., debra alfarone, 9news now. >> what's more? right now 6:06. >>> jessica doyle is watching your money. she has another report for us. >> are you hot? >> i don't know. >> because you have the hottest deals going for christmas. >> check this out. look at that transition. all right. we're going to start this way. check him out. what do you get the person who has everything? a gift card of course. gift cards have yet again topped the list of the most wanted gifts this year by the biggest margin ever if you can believe that. americans are expected to ring up billions in gift card purchases the next few weeks but buyer beware. the fees attached to the cards have gotten a little trickier. with so many types of gift cards to choose from, it pays to read the fine print. despite new protections on fees and terms from the card act of 2009, a new survey shows consumers still need to be aware of what they're buying. bank rate looked at 63 gift cards, eight issued by banks and credit card companies, 55 from retailers and restaurants. cards yo