now 33 years later a major milestone in the etan patz investigation. >> keith russell joins us live in the newsroom to tell us about the man now charged with the boy's murder. keith? >> pat and jim, etam patz was 6 years old. today a 51-year-old new jersey man, pedro hernandez, was formally charged with kidnapping and murder in the case. hernandez was arrested back in may and admitted to killing patz. but his attorney said he's mentally ill and his testimony can't be trusted. his family remained dedicated to the case never moving from their new york city home. hernandez was a teenager when patz disappeared. in his confession, he claimed he lured the boy into a basement, strangled him, and put his body in a trash bag. hernandez only had a short appearance in court today. he won't get to enter a plea until next month. but his attorney said he's been diagnosed as schizophrenic. for now, hernandez will be held without bail. live in the newsroom, keith russell, news4. >>> we want to turn to the weather now. a lot of clouds today. will we see some sun by week's end? >> how about that, veroni

. >> keith russell joins us live from the newsroom for the emotionalinute when they came face to face today. >> chances are we'll never know where he killed the victims. it's a chance for them to close the door on the ugly chapter. loughnau seven life terms, one for each of the six people he killed. outside that safeway in tucson, arizona. one for the attempted assassination of former congresswoman gabrielle giffords. giffords was among the victims who had a chance to see loughner face to face. he did not speak in court today. she didn't speak. but her husband, mark kelly, did. telling loughner, you tried to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as your own. but know this, and remember it always, you failed. arizona congressman ron barber, who won giffords' seat in congress after that shooting, also had a message for loughner at a press conference just moments ago. >> i hope that these long years of incarceration that you face will give you the time to think about what you have done. and to seek forgiveness from those whose to which whose lives you brought so am tears and sadn

keith russell is tracking the president's travel today. keith? >> hey, wendy. president obama and the first family are running a little bit behind schedule. they were supposed to be landing back our way in the next few minutes. but after a late-night celebrating of reelection victory, they just boarded air force one in chicago. 2 million votes separated the president from mitt romney last night. president obama acknowledged there's a lot of hard work ahead. if there's no spending compromise by december 31st, taxes will go up for every american new year's today. he called the top lawmakers from both parties. harry reid said, he's not kicking the can down the road. and says, any solution should include higher taxes on the richest of the rich. at his victory rally this morning, the president told supporters the best is yet to come. >> i believe we can seize this future together. because we are not as divided as our politics suggest. we're not as cynical as the pundits believe. we are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions. and we remain more than a colle

keith russell joins us from the live desk with more. keith? >> thanks, pat. the power is still out for some and dozens of polling sites are unusable. the voters said the devastation brought on by the storm would not stop them from exercising their civic duty. it wasn't without its challenges though. some new yorkers reported long lines and confusion when they showed up at polling spots to cast their ballots. voting machines were set up in the hard hit far rockaway neighborhood of queens but voting was briefly delayed while poll workers struggled with generators. in new jersey, displaced voters were allowed to cast provisional ballots at any voting location. however, as easy as officials tried to make it, there was some major frustration. >> i've been here three time. they finally got the machines in. now it is jammed up. it is total chaos. >> i'm sure it will be because of sandy, a little chaos here and there. that's just natural. you have a big event with a disaster like sandy. but you can make your voice heard. >> still not known tonight whetr these problem

live in the newsroom, keith russell, news4. >>> general petraeus' mistress may be hiding out here in washington. she was spotted at her brother's home last night. he lives in the mount pleasant neighborhood of northwest d.c. camera crews were stationed outside the home this afternoon, but no sign of her today. broadwell lives in charlotte, north carolina. she's kept a low profile and has not spoken publiclybout her affair with petraeus when that was first made public last friday. >>> today, house minority leader nancy pelosi put rumors about her future to rest. there's been speculation she might step down from her leadership post or retire altogether. she raised more money than any other member of congress to put democrats back in power but her party regained only about half the seats needed. >> i have made a decision to submit my name to my colleagues to once again serve as the house democratic leader. >> nancy pelosi is the only woman ever elected as speaker of the house. she served in that capacity from 2007 to 2011, when the democrats lost their majority. her decision to remain i

keith russell is at the live desk in our newsroom. >> his name is reswan. he has the next 17 years in prison to think about his actions. sentence today in a massachusetts federal court, he was arrested last year after federal employees ruined his plot to use those remote-controlled planes packed with explosives to blow up the pentagon and the capitol. the 27-year-old pleaded guilty in july, and today after learning he'll spend the next 17 years in jail, he addressed the court saying he knows he'll experience his ups and downs and now his life feels colorless. his family continues to proclaim his innocence. the lead prosecutor said it's a good thing he was stopped before he could carry out his plan. live in the newsroom, keith russell, news4. >>> right now at 6:00, the storm up in new york and new jersey, struggling to get back on their feet after hurricane sandy. >>> presidential campaigning kicked into high gear. again, the fight to win battleground states. means more visits to virginia. >>> a young woman moved to d.c. to achieve her dreams. she's in a hos

keith russell is following the sentencing for jared loughner. keith? >> wendy, jared lee loughner will spend the rest of his life in prison for last year's tragedy in tucson. survivors this afternoon acknowledged loughner suffers from mental illness. just about everyone concluded that does not excuse him from killing six people and injuring 13 others. loughner today received seven life terms. one for each of the six he killed outside a safeway in tucson, arizona, and one for the attempted assassination of former congresswoman gabrielle giffords. she had a chance to address loughner in court but she did not speak. her husband mark kelly said he failed in creating a world as dark as his. one staffer shot twice in the attack had this to say. >> i told him that it is my hope that his parents can eventually find some peace perhaps in changing or helping the lives of others, and i also hope that in the confined and very limited life that he will be leading, that he will find some small meaning in life each day. >> loughner diagnosed with schizophrenia after

keith russell is in our newsroom with more on this high-stakes battle. keith? >> wendy, president obama's first remarks since being re-elected that he and congress have no choice. reach an agreement before the end of the year or taxes will go up for everyone, which could mean another recession. that's a deadline that's looming and the so-called fiscal cliff. in a speech at the white house today, the president said he's open toioids, as long as the wealthiest realize they have to do their part. >> i am not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me making over $250,000 aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes. i'm not going to do that. >> reporter: just about two h r hours before president obama spoke, speaker of the house john boehner had his own news conference saying raising the highest rates will only hurt the economy more and proposed extending tax cuts from t bush era until 2013. >> everyone wants to get our economy moving, again. everyone wants to get more americans back to work, again.

keith russell is live with details on how the fbi stumbled into paula broadwell and their alleged affair in the first place. >> senior lawmakers are asking why the fbi knew about david petraeus' extramarital affair for so long before they were informed. now at least we know, as you said, how that alleged affair was uncovered. nbc news has learned that petraeus family friend joe kelley began receiving anonymous e-mails she viewed as menacing, from a source close to kelley who reviewed the e-mails. the first referred to kelley socializing with other generals in the tampa area and suggested her behavior was inappropriate and should stop. the fbi reportedly traced the e-mails back to paula broadwell and revealed the affair between the two. there were concerns that some of those e-mails contained information about the schedules of several high-level generals. that sparked concern that someone with access to sensitive or classified information was stalking kelly. senate intelligence committee woman said the information should have been shared. >> so it is very puzzling, and i think was a mista

keith russell joins us from our live news desk with our first look at the evidence the jurors considered during their deliberations. >> yes, pat, we have that evidence. you'll hear it here first. evidence that helped convince a jury that alexis simpson was not guilty of any of the seven charges from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. simpson was accused of stabbing dominique phrase tore to death in september of last year. they got into a fight in their dormitory over loud music. defense attorneys said simpson was bullied and fighting back when that stabbing happened. here's a portion of one of the 911 calls from the bowie state form after frazier was stabbed. take a listen. >> the caller you heard wasn't the only one to call 911 that night. tracee wilkins has the 911 call from alexis simpson herself following her deadly fight with her roommate. it's coming up on news4 at 5:00. >>> a 1-year-old girl at the center of an amber alert is now safe in protective custody today. police say she was kidnapped by her parents. officers say eric black and jennifer carlwile took their dau

. >> i'm keith russell. it's tuesday, november 6th, 2012. it all comes down to one day, today. after months of nonstop campaigning and nonstop commercials, election day is here. millions of voters cast their ballots. manies more are waiting in long lines as we speak to have their voices heard. melissa mollet joins us with more on how the presidential candidates are spending their election day. good morning. with hours to go until the results start rolling in, a day of waiting in line for voters and a waiting game for the candidates before we will all know who will be the next president of the united states. president obama has radio and tv interviews scheduled throughout the day. it's done with the rope. he traveled more than 1,000 miles in wisconsin, and ohio. he made personal phone calls urging people to vote. >> hey, karen. barack obama. >> reporter: he and the first lady arrived in chicago to await the results. the president plans to spend part of the day playing a basketball game with advisers and friends. mrs. obama voted early as did the president. his final campaign eve

keith russell, news 4. >>> now to our other big story this afternoon, gunfire near the white house. and now police are warning the public about what the victims did. the commotion started on the 1800 block of jefferson place and ended near the white house this morning. as the victims rolled up to secret service officers with a bullet hole in their windshield and asked for help. jackie benson is live at the scene. >> jackie, what can you tell us about this brazen robbery and just how it unfolded. >> i can tell you, when you see one of the bulletholes in this vehicle, you realize this was a close call. now, what we're told is that a group of men said they were part of five leaving a popular late night club on 18th street northwest around 6:00 a.m. and they were approached by three men, two wearing ski masks and all three had guns. the suspects robbed the victims and then fled to a waiting car. at that point, two of the victims jumped in an suv and tried to follow until the suspects fired on them. the victims asked that we not show their faces. >> had the gun behind me. i looked at him

. >> news4's keith russell is at the live desk with more on where this is all happening. >> guys, the crash happened around 2:45 this afternoon. prince george's county fire and rescue say an suv smashed into the bus from behind on route 301 near marlboro. 15 students had minor bumps and bruises. none of them are being taken to the hospital. right now, it's still unclear what school the students were coming from. we'll stay on top of this story and bring you the latest information as we get it. right here on news4, and also, on nbcwashington.com. pat and jim, back to you. >> all right. >>> the fiscal cliff and the petraeus scandal were on the top of the agenda during president obama's first news conference since winning the election. steve handelsman has the report. >> reporter: president obama tried to show off the power, claiming voters backed his call for tax hikes on the rich. but that message had a distraction. the petraeus problem. >> i have no evidence at this point, from what i've seen, that classified information was disclosed, that in any way would have had a negative impact

. >> i'm keith russell. itis wednesday, november 14th, 2012. right now, police are trying to figure out what led to a shooting in the a walmart in laurel. it happened at the walmart near route 198 and the bw parkway. tony tull is live on the scene now. any word on the manager who got shot? >> yeah, keith, good news. he will be okay. he was shot in the upper body a few hours ago. corporate officials from walmart said he was going to be okay. when we arrived, chaotic. police putting up crime scene tape, going inside looking for clues of what happened here this morning. the call went out at 4:17. shots fired, one man down at this walmart in laurel. one person was wounded, a manager hit in the chest. >> it's early in the investigation. we are treating it at a commercial alone robbery. this adult male entered the business. >> reporter: it started inside as a robbery. the suspect, described as a white male talked to this employee seconds before the altercation. >> came in. he asked -- >> reporter: police believe the suspect attempted to rob one of th

. >> i'm keith russell. it's friday, november 9th, 2012. we begin this morning with gunfire steps from the white house. four men robbed five others along jefferson ace. the victims chased after the robbers in their car until shots were fired near la fayette square. megan mcgrath joins us live where she talked to one of the victims. >> reporter: good morning. those shots were fired on 19th street, we are told. we spoke to one of the victims. it was a wild morning, it happened around 6:00 a.m. as people were headed out to work in the heart of downtown. we are less than a block off connecticut avenue in the heart of downtown. it started with a robbery, tu turned into a shooting when a car made its way to manson place at the corner of la fayette. he and his friends walked out of his business near jefferson place, a lounge in the area. it's his business. as they walked around the sidewalk, they were approached by three men, two of them wearing masks, all of them armed with guns. >> he came behind me. i told the girl in the car looking behind me

. >> i'm keith russell. right now, the campaign for the president is heating up with time running out. mitt romney is campaigning in virginia just five days ahead of election day. the republican nominee was joined by george allen this morning in roanoke. romney will visit richmond and virginia beach. he told supporters this country cannot afford four more years of president obama's policies. >> do you want four more years when earnings are going down? >> no! >> how about four more years of gridlock in waington? >> no! >> there's no question in my view that we really can't have four more years like the last four. i know that the obama folks are chanting four more years, four more years. our chant is this, five more days. five more days. >> five more days until election day. romney was supposed to campaign in virginia sunday. he canceled the events ahead of sandy. president obama will campaign alongside president clinton and dave matthews. the president is back on the campaign trail today. he's on his way to w

i'm keith russell. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's friday, november 2nd, 2012. we begin with two developing stories. police shot and killed two suspects one in d.c. and the other in stafford. we begin with a man stabbed an officer. megan mcgrath is live on the scene from the latest from washington's brookland section. >> reporter: when police repond to 911 calls they are not sure what they are going encounter, what is going to be happening on the scene when they arrive. that was certainly the case this morning. a veteran police officer and his partner were in harm's way responding to a domestic assault call here. the officers were attacked by the suspect. one fired in self-defense. police chief kathy lanier hugged one of her officers on the scene. investigators pick up a hoels ere and place t in the trunk of an unmarked call. it was a close call responding to a 911 dispatch. a d.c. police officer became the victim when he was attacked by a man with a knife. >> officers received the call about 6:45 for domestic assault. when they arrived on the scene and approach

live in the newsroom, keith russell, news4. >>> developing story out of frederick county. one person has died in a crash between a tractor-trailer and an suv or small truck. five people were hurt when the vehicles collided near the intersection of ed mclean route and route 75 earlier this afternoon. the tractor-trailer flipped over. maryland state police flew at least one of the victims to the hospital. investigators have not yet released the cause of the crash. >>> it can be a frustrating ride home on metro today. thousands of riders were met with delays, because metro rail is operating on a saturday schedule for veterans day. it's also single tracking some trains in order to complete repairs. metro had said riders to anticipate ten-minute delays, but passengers tl news4 that the delays were much longer. jackie bensen will have their stories on news4 at 5:00 tonight. >>> the gas crunch that developed after hurricane sandy is easing in new jersey. starting tomorrow morning, at 6:00, the state's gas rationing plan will be lifted. governor chris christie said gas supplies ar

. >> i'm keith russell. it's monday, november 12th, 2012. we honor those who served our country. right now, a d.c. group is preparing a luncheon for veterans who are homeless, in need of help. a place with an unbelievable history. >> reporter: this place has been around since 184. more on that in a minute. these guys cater towards vets. they're doing what they do best every day, and that's help out those who have helped us live the life that we lead every single day. the mission today keynote speaker retired u.s. army general pete fuller. he's in to, as we say, trade war stories. the mission, $5 million worth of food a year. it's not just vets. they also help out other men and women as well as young children. they also have extended care, 18 months, and also help out with counseling. this place was the original number one soulful service in washington, d.c. 1884. the executive director, a retired u.s. army general, gave us an idea how this started. >> so much heritage goes back to those alcoholics from the civil war on pennsylvania avenue. a young man with the heart for them and

i'm keith russell. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's tuesday, november 13th, 2012. we have breaking news. unusual scene in court. just now, it ended with no plea deal were suspected east coast rapist. prosecutors believe aaron thomas was going to plead guilty for the 2009 attack on three teenagers. there was confusion as he hesitated to enter a plea. he said i don't know what way is right and which way is wrong. after a short recess, he backed out of the plea deal. julie carey is in court and will bring the latest. >>> kwame brown is being sentenced on a federal bank charge. he resigned from the d.c. council. brown admitted to lying on applications to obtain bank loans. he faces up to six months in prison. prosecution is asking for six days followed by supervised release. we'll bring you the sentence when it's handed down. >>> right now, the trial of a bowie state. the two got into an argument over the volume of an ipod. simpson's attorney says she was acting in lf-defense. >> we are following a story right now. the top military leader in afghanistan. the pentagon s

. >> keith russell is at our news4 live desk about a case that has stunned folks in waldorf. >> reporter: guys, a 17-year-old young man is in custody for the murder of teresa bass. they were shot while working their dorg in waldorf last month. the person arrested is joshua memb mebane. he will be charged as an adult. it is not clearhat his motive for shooting the waldorf couple was. police are scheduled to hold a news conference at 4:30. we'll have the update on this breaking news from charles county on news4 at 5:00. pat and jim, back to you. >> all right. >>> to our other big breaking news story we're following this afternoon. former d.c. council chairman kwame brown learns his fate for a federal bank fraud charge. >> his sentence includes two years probation, half a year of home detention. hundreds of hours of community service and a day in police custody. brown also got his sentence for a misdemeanor campaign finance charge at d.c. superior court today and that's where we find tom sherwood live with the latest on brown's long day of legal proceedings. tom? >> just a short time ago, b

. >> i'm keith russell. it's thursday, november 8th, 2012. in the northeast, people are shoveling themselves out. a new snowstorm hampered the region dumping more than four inches of snow in new york and new jersey adding to the misery for people who have not had power and gas. the storm is responsible for more power outages in the region. some are wondering if power will be back on by thanksgiving. >> it's unbelievable to go from a hurricane to a norrest ear and driving in the snow in the same week or same ten days. it's unbelievable. >> utility companies are working to try to get the power on and to get the heat turned on as quickly as possible. >> north of noonlg noonlg and new york, connecticut, drivers are dealing with treacherous driving conditions. a car collided with a jackknifed club. in lebanon, another car overturned. the coastal storm could dump as much as a foot of snow in new england. >>> here in washington, we missed the brunt of the storm. it affected travel. at reagan international, some people had to spend the night. megan m

news4's keith russell joins us live now with results from some of the more unexpected initiatives this year. keith? >> pat, around the country, there were ballot issues affecting marijuana, adult films, even the food you eat. colorado and the state of washington are now the first to approve recreational marijuana use. colorado's governor last night issued a statement warning people not to break out the cheetos and goldfish just yet. the new laws allow anyone over 21 to have a small amount for any purpose. but keep in mind marijuana possession is still a federal offense. now let's switch to los angeles. known as the capital of the movie industry, but voters in l.a. county want certain movies to be safer. a measure has been passed requiring adult film actors to wear condoms. it will include random inspections on movie sets from the board of health. the measure is meant to help prevent the spread of hiv and aids. critics argue adult film actors already get tested once a month. california, a hot state. voters rejected another effort that would require a label for genetically modified foods

i'm keith russell. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's wednesday, november 7th, 2012. we begin with morning with the latest post election headlines. fresh off the big win, president obama celebrating his victory. the president and the rest of the first family head back to d.c. this afternoon. tim kaine defeated george allen in the senate race. he will discuss the win in richmond at noon. maryland voters passed all three ballot measures allowing the expansion of gamble, same-sex marriage and undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition. we'll have more on the election results. first, the latest on a storm headed in our direction. >> at this hour, rain has not started to fall in the metro area. that will change. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is here with the forecast. >> a lot of clouds. there's capitol hill. looking at storm team 4 radar, we don't have anything falling. there's heavy snowfalling across southern new jersey. that is moving toward the west coming from a coastal area of low pressure that's been deepening this morning off the maryland and delawar

live in the newsroom, keith russell, news4. >>> the white house said president obama had a constructive meeting with congressional leaders on the looming fiscal cliff. the president met with top house and senate leaders for more than an hour this morning. they began talks into ways they can avert the cliff of automatic tax increases, and spending cuts that are set to take effect on january 1st. >> our challenge is to make sure that, you know, we are able to cooperate together, work together, find some common ground, make some tough compromises, build some consensus to do the people's business. and what folks are looking for, and i think all of us agree on this, is action. they want to see that we are focused on them, not focused on our politics here in washington. >> congressional leaders expressed confidence they can reach a deal that would cut the deficit before christmas. >>> turning to the weather, is there any warm-up in sight for our weekend? chief meteorologist doug kammerer is here. how about it, doug? >> maybe a little warm-up. we're talking a very small one. today, a high of 5