john yang, nbc news, st. louis. >>> still to come on news 4 tonight, why somebody is forfeiting a $14 million lottery prize. and a local chef puts his plan into action. how he's fighting against a speed camera that nabbed him several times. springsteen fans upset tonight. what happened when they tried to buy tickets to his show at the verizon center. ♪ i'll be your shelter in the rain ♪ >> and a star-studded goodbye for etta james. >> we had an awful lot of wind outside today. we may have more wind to cope with as we go through our sunday as well. and there's even the mention of milder air >>> police in fairfax county trying to track down a pair of bank robbers. they said two men head up the m&t bank on maple avenue east. one of the men handed a teller demanding money. a weapon was implied, not displayed, though. the pair got away with an us disclosed amount of cash and a dye pack. tomorrow, the lunar festival continues in fairfax. it's dpexpected to attract 100,0 people by the end of the weekend. this is the

here's nbc's john yang. >> reporter: today america's heartland answered the call. st.ouis held the nation's first parade to mark the end of the nine-year u.s. military mission in iraq. new york city said there won't be a parade any time soon like the one after the first gulf war in 1991. pentagon officials say it would be premature with troops still in afghanistan. but in st. louis, friends tom appelbaum and craig schneider disagreed. >> there was this like national conversation in the media about should we or shouldn't we have a parade for the iraq vets, and that was like the first thing, like, well, that's silly. of course they deserve a parade. >> that was less than a month ago. they started a facebook page and harnessed the power of social media. >> we didn't do this. we had an idea and we put up a call for help. as soon as we planted a flag, it wasn't -- at first the city rallied and then the country rallied. >> reporter: tens of thousands lined the main thoroughfare to cheer and salute several hundred troops from across the country. it had a home spun feel. from

nbc's john yang has that story. >> reporter: today america's heartland answered the call. st. louis held the nation's first parade to mark the end of the nine-year u.s. military mission in iraq. new york city says there won't be a parade anytime soon like the one after the first gulf war in 1991. pentagon officials say it would be premature with troops still in afghanistan. but in st. louis friends tom apple bon and craig schneider disash greed. >> like this national conversation in the media about should we or shouldn't we have a parade for the iraq vets? and that was like the first thing is like, well that's silly, of course they deserve a parade. >> reporter: that was less than a month ago. they started a facebook page and harnessed the power of social media. >> we didn't do there. we had an idea and we put up a call for help and as soon as we planted a flag, it wasn't -- at first the city rallied and then the country rallied. >> reporter: tens of thousands people lined downtown's main thoroughfare to cheer and sallude several hundreds of troops and vets across the country.

nbc's john yang takes a look at some of the extreme steps cities there are taking to stay afloat. >> reporter: in pontiac, michigan, city hall can be bought, literally. so can the library, the police station, even the two city-owned cemeteries. what else is on the list? >> everything. all of the city on real estate is on that list. >> reporter: this detroit suburb was once home of the nfl's detroit lions, and big gm car and truck plants. the last of them is now being torn down. here in pontiac, the decline of the auto industry has meant a decline in tax revenues and staggering city budget deficits. so now the city government is downsizing. the police and fire departments have been contracted out to other community ies. at city hall, a whole floor has been mothballed. >> the whole building is 30% too big. >> reporter: there are no asking prices. anyone interested should just make them an offer. the mayor says the point isn't so much raising cash as it is cutting costs. >> the value comes in no longer having to maintain and heat and cool the buildings. >> reporter: so far, developers e

nbc's john yang takes a look. >> for baby boomers, these spongy, golden, cream-filled cakes are the kingasure for the ho hos and the twinkies. >> i think of being a kid again. >> the future of these guilty pleasures may be crumbling. hostess brands has filed for bankruptcy protection, to try take a bite out of rising costs for labor and ingreed yeths. while they reorganize, they say they'll keep store shelves stocked with the product. >> the twinkie as an icon is too big to fail. we all want to hold on to those memories, we saw so many commercials that that nostalgia becomes real. >> you get a big delight in every bite of hostess twinkies. >> those ads were a staple of kids' tv for generations. >> yahoo! >> it's twinkie the kid. >> despite the push for healthier foods, the twinkies' long list of ingredients hasn't changed much. steve eplinger is the author of "foods deconstructed." >> recently, twinkies sales have sagged, but overall, big snacks have held steady even in these health-conscious times. >> if i had a dong-dong on or twinkie right now, i'd have to visit the gym. i feel guilty

nbc's john yang is in chicago to explain. eporter: well, matt, you know, generations of american school kids have taken twinkies to school in their lunch boxes or in brown paper bags. and now the maker of twinkies and ho hoe hos and wonder bread file ford bankruptcy protection. for baby boomers these spongy cakes are the king of snacks. >> i used to be a pastry chef for 14 years and i do have it say i have a guilty pleasure for the ho-hos and the twinkies. >> i think of being a kid again. >> reporter: the future of his guilty pleasures may be crumbling. hostess brand has filed for bankruptcy protection to try to take a bite out of rising costs for labor and ingredients. while they reorganize, they say they'll keep store shelves stocked with the 82-year-old product and its cousins, hostess cupcakes, ho-hos and wonder bread. >> the twinky as an icon is too big to fail. we saw so many commercials that it becomes real. >> reporter: the ads were a staple of kids tv for generations. >> yahoo, it's twinkie the kid! >> reporter: despi

nbc's john yang has the details. ♪ >> reporter: when conan angus filed for divorce from his wife in 15 custody of their children, aged 10 and 6. conan argued they'd be better off in his rural home. >> it's a natural area, when they first moved out here, dad, we live on animal planet. >> reporter: he also provides the children with a healthier diet. >> without trying to hurt anyone's feelings, i didn't think they were getting what they were supposed to before. >> reporter: the children's mother denied her husband's claim that he'd provide a healthy environment. she declined to be interviewed. a judge ordered a temporary arrangement, children live with their father during the school week and with their mother on weekends. angus's attorney says it's impossible to know what role nutrition played in the decision but said the issue is being raised more often. >> it will be becoming more and more involved in custody disputes. >> reporter: reflection of the growing concern over childhood obesity and diet. according to the centers for disease control, about 17% of children aged 19 and younger a

john yang is there. >> reporter: they are just four days from making the decision.for the recall election are a series of events involving the mayor who is an acknowledged alcoholic that residents say has held up the city to national ridicule. mayor bob lyon said he wants to be known for his efforts to r revitalize the city. instead he's gained notoriety for a series of alcohol-related incidents dating back to this cell phone video months after taking office. last july he admits he went on a three-day bender, once pass out in a tavern. he makes no e excuses and acknowledges his problem. >> i'm a binge drinker. i can go for a week or two without a drink. when i was drinking, i was drinking. >> reporter: he said he's been sober for six months and his drinking never interfered with his officially duties but he's a national punch line. >> here's another one of those stupid men behaving badly stories. >> the mayor of sheboygan, wisconsin, has apologized. >> reporter: last summer council members began efforts to throw him out of office a. a citizens group worked for a rec

john harwood, jeanne cummings, and fred yang. all right. resident, john harwood, take on wall street, take on congress. let me ask you about the wall street portion. how upset will wall street react to some of what the president proposed last night, in particular that criminal justice subbureau if you will he wants to create in the justice department. >> the real problem wall street has with this president is psychological. that is to say, they think the president is condemning them publicly, making them look like villains, making them look like criminals, trying to make them feel gilley for the money they make, and that's caused a big estrangement from a lot of people who supported him in 2008, but in the election environment of 2012 he'll take that estrangement and wear it as a badge of honor with independents. >> jeanne, hitting congress, daring them to do reform bills. i thought it was funny he mentioned this insider trading bill, which is this ability to take congress and wall street and lump them together. >> clearly he's going to run

but jerry yang still well respected in silicon valley despite what many people would call strategic blunders. >> finally, john, do we know what's ahead for him? he's stepping down to take more time for himself, et cetera. but do we have an incling of what's ahead for jerry yang? >> i have not heard. he has not said. philanthropy is usually the trend. and he and his wife have been already involved in that respect. >> good information there. thank you, scott. >>> a winter chill is settling all over the bay area. >> break out the ear muffs, scarves, all that good stuff. people wake iing up with frost their car windows, compliments of jack frost in san jose. meteorologist christina loren is here with a look at that cold, chilly, frigid forecast. >> good news about the approaching storm system is we aren't going to see frigid continues. the reason why is because the clouds are rolling in right now. they'll trap in whatever warmth we do accumulate today and lock it in for the bay area. we need that rain. probably just to clear this camera off. golden gate bridge, you can see it has not been cleaned for a while and

john thanks very much. >> silicon valley bomb shell this afternoon. surprise news of yang resignation fromia hoochlt he co-founded yahoo 17 years ago and under incredible pressure from share hold investigators proof the company still matters in the era of facebook and google. two week ago former pay pal president thompson named ceo ofia hoochlt company asked him to complete a strategic review of yahoo board and one expert says we will likely see more board members following yang out the door under the reign of scott thompson. >> we probably have fantastic golden parachute. good deal coming in and wanted to bake sure had he zero connection to legacy employees meaning founder yang at the company who could block him from doing the kinds of things he wanted to do that's probably who it took to yank him out of pay pal and into yahoo and my guess is is that the door won't stop swinging until it ritz roy on the behind on the way out the door as well. >>reporter: roy is the chair of yahoo. yang has released a statement saying my time at yahoo from its founding to the present has e

yang no longer with the company but a shake-up possibly a good thing. business and tech reporter scott mcgrew is in the newsroom to help explain this one. good morning, scott. >> good morning, john, it's strange to think that the starter of yahoo! stepping down would be good. lots of people bitter. yang resisted selling yahoo! to microsoft several years ago. that's a deal that would have lest investors a lot richer than they are now. now, yang may not be the last board member out. several others may be planning an exit or having an exit pl planned for them. yahoo! has a new ceo, scott thompson. he's not the board's boss. the board is his boss, but thompson has a lot of influence as do major stockholders who have been hinting at a proxy fight to kick some mored by members out, so we continue to watch big shake-ups happening over at yahoo!, laura. >>> it's 5:33 right now. 5-year-old hasanni campbell disappeared in oakland three years ago, a new cable tv docudrama hopes to bring them home. a veteran reporter with the "oakland tribune" is featured in the clip promoting the show "finding our missing" a special on hasanni campbell. she covered the case from the very beginning. >> whil