from the national zoo, megan mcgrath, news 4. >>> coming up, a look inside the d.c.ool where students are living out their dreams on stage and on point. >>> the workout that takes zumba there's no place on earth like st. jude children's research hospital. st. jude's research has changed how the world treats brain tumors, leukemia and sickle cell. and no family is turned away because they can't pay. the halls of st. jude are filled with courage and grace. my name's not grace. you must be courage? give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not. go to st. jude.org or shop wherever you see our magnifying glass. >>> d.c. mayor vincent gray has new plans for the historic lincoln theater. was once the place to perform for artists like duke ellington. it fell into disrepair after the riots. today, it's kept open with cash infusion. the d.c. commission will take over management of the theater to secure its financial future. >> the goal is to be able to preserve this theater. this is a 90-year-old theater. it's made an enormous contribution of this

from the national zoo, megan mcgrath, news 4. >>> coming up, a look inside the d.c. school where students are living out their dreams on stage and on point. >>> the workout that takes zumba ♪ okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? >>> d.c. mayor vincent gray has new plans for the historic lincoln theater. was once the place to perform for artists like duke ellington. it fell into disrepair after the riots. today, it's kept open with cash infusion. the d.c. commission will take over management of the theater to secure its financial future. >> the goal is to be able to preserve this theater. this is a 90-year-old theater. it's made an enormous contribution of this city, the history of

joe, back to you. >> megan mcgrath reporting live. thanks very much, megan. >>> it is political gridlock on capitol hill as republicans and democrats refused to compromise on a payroll tax extension. many house lawmakers left for holiday vacation last night after they voted to send a bill that would extend payroll taxes breaks for two months. the house said they only want a full year extension and sent the bill back to the senate. some are calling it a high stakes poker game. >> it's not a game for those who don't have a thousand bucks to lose. >> i need the president to help out. >> senate majority leader harry reid says he will not bargain until the house reaches a tw two-month extension. here's what's at stake. starting january 1st, the payroll tax cut will return to 6.2% from its current 4.2%. that means paychecks will be $40 smaller on average. long term unemployment benefits for some 2 million people will expire, and doctors will face a 20% cut in their medicare payments. >>> nato says that five service members were killed by a r

megan mcgrath, good luck out there. >> go easy on dennis, will you?reporter: dennis is going to get sick again for a whole new reason. >> we hope he feels better soon. >> thanks, megan. >> reporter: sure. >> tom, are you done with your shopping? >> yes, i did. i wrote all the checks a couple of days ago. >> that's too easy. >> money never disappoints. >>> this morning we're drying out after the overnight rain. partly sunny today. highs low to mid-50s. a blustery wind. colder weather does move in for the holiday weekend. looking better for christmas day. danella, how's traffic? >>> outer loop of the beltway still a mess at colesville road. your travel speed in that area, 32 miles an hour.

megan mcgrath is live on the phone with details. megan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, eun. they were trying to get southbound lanes of route 3 open by 5:00 a.m. they're not quite there yet. they've got sand trucks on the scene. right now they're trying to mop up the fuel that spilled from that tanker onto the roadway. they can't open the lanes until they get a better handle on that. they certainly don't want anyone getting into trouble driving through the area. that's where we stand. route 3 still closed in both directions in the area of 450. of course, this is going to impact people who leave the house early on their way into work. if you are heading north on route 3, they are going to detour you. they're going to force you off onto route 50. that's as far as you can go. you can go either toward washington or toward the annapolis area. you have to exit at route 50. if you're heading south, they're going to have you take a left on 424. it's still early in the rush hour, but if this continues on much longer, we're going to

megan mcgrath was one of the first on the scene and is live with more on what happened. megan?> reporter: barbara, it's fair to say we're seeing a winding down of the situation here at l'enfant plaza station. all of the fire trucks have left the scene. we're seeing the lunch trucks starting to move in and people waiting in line to get their lunch. now, we still have orange and blue, those lines closed here. they're not able to come into the l'enfant plaza station but other lines are operating at this point. they are still down in the tunnel here. metro officials trying to assess the situation and figure out when they will be able to open the orange and blue lines. there was a situation earlier this morning. let's take a look at the video from when it was in full swing here. a train was down in the tunnel when what they believe was a friction ring, which is part of the brake assembly, fell off the train and it made impact with the third rail if you're familiar with the metro system. that third rail is the electrified rail. when that ring fell off and made impact, we saw folks on

megan mcgrath, news 4. >> that's news 4 at 4:00.4 at 5:00 starts right now. ♪ >>> the virginia tech community comes together to mourn. this time, they say good-bye to a police officer killed on campus. >> lawmakers take aim at flash mobs. many consider it a prank. a new bill makes it a felony with serious consequences. >> what is the next new business to open on h street? the developer is not sure. they are relying on neighbors to help make the decision. hello and welcome to news 4 at 5:00, i'm pat lawson muse. jim handly is off tonight. >> i'm wendy rieger. police are searching for a suspect involved in a shooting in the 1500 block of cameron crescent drive. >> a man was shot in the head a half hour ago. they were seen leaving the area in a truck. the victim is gravely injured. we'll have more information on this as it becomes available. >>> now to a memorial for officer deriek crouse. he was shot and killed in a traffic stop, then the shooter taking his life. julie carey is live with more on the officer who was remembered as a fam

megan mcgrath, news 4. >>> coming up on news 4 at 5:00, chris gordon reports on the apology she made today in court and reaction to supporters of a sentence to a year and a day in federal prison. >>> a school administrator who received child pornography was sentenced today. he'll spend five years in prison along with five years of supervised release. that was the mandatory minimum sentence. he was a principal in virginia. he was caught in june in an undercover operation. during a search of his home, he was sharing files that contained child pornography. >>> a woman accused of attacking shoppers inside a walmart on black friday will not face charges. this was the scene. there's no evidence the woman committed a felony. this case was referred to the city attorney's office. she could face misdemeanor charges if they find she used it to grab video games from other shoppers. 20 people including children suffered nose and throat irritation during the attack. >>> jerry sandusky spent a full day under house arrest. the legal team is hearing of more abuse. sandusky's wife knew of at least one

megan mcgrath reports from the labor resource center in centerville, virginia. >> they were normally have to wait outside on the fringe of the parking lot to find work. today, he's inside the labor resources center, a store front operation at the centerville shopping center. he signed in, listed his skills and waited to be matched for an employer. >> it's a lot easier and a better system. it's difficult when there's a group of people runs. you know, very confusing when that happens. >> reporter: the old system was chaotic. they would gather on a grassy strip. cars drive up and immediately be surrounded by men looking for work. >> what we see on the streets now is a car that comes up, many cars behind it honking their horns because somebody is stopping in the middle of the street and causing a security concern. then, a number of guys desperate for work rushing to the car. this is going to get the negotiations off the street corner into the scepter. >> it was crazy. people running at you. they didn't know what to think. >> they are better organized. it will work out better. >> they are

megan mcgrath, news4. >>> as far as former county executive jack johnson. he is home tonight. he will be ordered to turn himself into a federal prison, one that has a hospital to treat his parkinsons and the judge ordered him to undergo alcoholism treatment. that's the latest from the federal courthouse. >>> our coverage of the sentencing continues throughout news4 this afternoon. we'll have live team coverage and reaction at 5:00 and for the latest any time visit our website at www.nbcwashington.com. >>> we begin with the cold facts about our weather now. will our rain end in a flash of white as temperatures fall? >> it's gloomy right now. that's safe to say. veronica johnson has the first word on the weather. >> it is gloomy right now for most of the afternoon we have been looking at the forecast. some of the latest guidance and seeing what the chances are of getting snow here. it's looking good for late wednesday night and thursday morning in some neighborhoods. today no cold for us. 57 degrees. in fact this 57-degree temperature we have been fluctuating near there since 2:

megan mcgrath, news 4. >>> there's traffic relief for virginia commuters who take i-66. starting this weekend, you take a flyover ramp to get to 495. that should make it easier to merge on to oncoming traffic. they will close all exits overnight so crews can prepare for the new traffic configuration. >>> the federal government will not shut down at midnight. house lawmakers passed a $1 trillion budget bill that will keep the government running through next fall. there's a lot of work to do. as steve handelsman reports, there is a deal and just in the nick of time. >> on this vote, the yeahs are 296. >> reporter: the house vote came ten hours before the deadline. >> it is essential we not see the government shut down. >> reporter: now it won't, even if the senate waits to vote tomorrow. >> time is extended for 24 hours. everyone doesn't have to worry about the government closing tonight. >> reporter: the nine month spending plan hikes pentagon spending 1%, health research 1%. cuts homeland security programs 5%. $1 trillion bill nicknamed the megabust. >> it's going to be

news 4's megan mcgrath is live this morning at the macy's in tysons corner. megan, is it a madhouse right now? >> reporter: it is actually the perfect time to shop because it's very quiet. tons of parking, no lines at the checkouts, and i've got to tell you, great deals to be had. take a look at the necklace that i'm wearing. this is a $6,000 necklace. yes, a bit pricey, but it's 40% off, and if you get the wow coupon in the paper today, it's another 15% off. these right here, fresh water pearls. $1,000 is what they normally go for. today $299. a terrific deal. i'll tell you, if you come today, you're going to see all kinds of these signs here. 50% off for the ear muffs and the scarfs and the hats. we're seeing 50% off with the coats, sweaters, good deals. and you also have the coupons in the paper. so before you leave, definitely check the newspaper. john here just arrived. john, what's your mission? what are you coming for? >> here to buy something for my girlfriend. >> reporter: why so early? >> because i knew it was open. i saw the ad in the paper, and why

megan mcgrath is live with more on metro's big budget problems. and it looks like, megan, there's a lot of tough decisions ahead. >> well, yeah. there's a lot of discussion ahead. a lot of people are unhappy about the prospect of paying more after seeing a record increase in 2010. metro riders could see fares go up again in 2012. ridership is down and analysts expect the local economy to remain sluggish with high unemployment. so they're expecting ridership to continue to decline. metro says that maintenance costs are up. pension, health and salary costs are up. they say all of this adds up to a $124 million budget shortfall. now, to help close that gap, metro could raise fares. that's one of the things they're looking at. we're talking about an increase nearly 6%. we've been talking to riders this morning and needless to say, we haven't found many folks who are all that thrilled about the prospects of paying more. >> the deficit is in the millions or something like that. i think they need to find a way to budget that out or try to get more funding

eun, back to you. >> megan mcgrath. hanks so much. >>> there is also relief on the way for virginia commuters who take eastbound i-66 to the inner loop of the beltway. starting this weekend, they'll take a new flyover ramp that will put you on the right side of 495. that should make it much easier to merge into oncoming traffic. vdot will close all exits from eastbound 66 onto the outer loop overnight tonight. so crews can prepare for the new traffic configuration. >>> metro riders, you can expect delays on 4 of the 5 lines this weekend on the red line. every other train from shady grove will end at dupont circle, and every other train from glen mont will end at union station. orange line trains will share a track between east and west falls church stations. the blue line trains will share one track between the stadium armory and addison road stations as well as reagan national airport and braddock road. on the yellow line, trains will go only between huntington and mt. vernon square. you can then transfer to the green l

eun, back to you. >> megan mcgrath live in rockville for us this morning. thank you. >>> several maryland lawmakers are pushing for the release of a potomac man held in cuba for the last two years. senator barbara mikulski along with chris van holland sent a letter to the chief of cuban interest section here in washington asking for the release of alan gross. gross was released in 2009 and convicted earlier this year for crimes against the state of cuba. gross says he was a contractor working for the government to help cuba's small jewish community improve internet access. cuba claims he is the a spy. >>> police are offering a big reward for information that helps track down a robber that held up a postal worker and locked him in the back of his own truck. they robbed a worker at the "t" street postal station last evening. a robber approached the postal worker as he was closing up and putting mail in the day's cash receipts into a truck parked out front. police say there have been a rash of robberies of postal employees in the d.c. area in the past months.

megan mcgrath has reaction from people that live nearby. >> reporter: the intersection of stewart and april lane. police tape blocks off the street. just down the hill in front of the metro bus stop lies the body of the victim. many neighbors were asleep when the gunfire started. they awoke to the sound of rapid shots. >> i was sleeping. when i woke up, i heard rapid fire of six shots. it sounded very close so i didn't know -- i didn't go outside. i looked outside my window. >> evidence technicians cordoned off a section of the parking lot across the street from where the victim was found. several shell casings could be found on the ground. a specially trained dog sniffed around the crime scene. >> i can't confirm where this may have initiated but we do not believe that the bus stop is in any way related. >> reporter: not waiting for a bus? >> we don't believe so, no. >> reporter: as investigators did their work, residents looked on hopeful that the gunman would be found soon. >> it's kind of nervous because you're surprised. you wake up in the morning and you're ready to go to work a

megan mcgrath, news 4. >>> chinese wildlife officials wanted to give it one more try before they switch out the pandas with new ones. >> that's harsh. no pressure. >> he's got to prove himself. >> maybe the wine and roses would help. >> you are doing better than bamboo for us, doug. >> my friends just sent this over. i am excited about what's in here. as soon as i came in, you were like that smells good. >> i can smell the macaroons there. >> i'm going to get one of those guys here. >> there's only four. >> i can have another. my mom said it was okay. let's take a look and show you what's happening weather wise. we have changes coming up. we had a chilly weekend. today, nice and mild. now, get ready for at least some rain to move in here. i think you'll need the umbrellas, at least some parts of each day between now and friday. hey, put those back, what are you doing? well above average high temperature this time, which is 46 degrees. well above average once again today. we saw a couple cool days, we have seen a warm december. it's just going to continue to warm up over the next few day

news 4's megan mcgrath is at the mall at prince george's with more. megan?'s a big day for sneaker fans. look at this line outside the mall at prince george's here. it's been growing steadily through the night. why? why are these folks waiting in it line? nike is releasing their new christmas sneakers. we've got a footlocker inside the mall. we're not sure how many pairs they have, but the folks at the front of the line, they came here last night to make sure they were among those to get a pair. what time did you get here? >> about 10:00. >> reporter: talk about these sneakers. why would you wait in line all night long to get them? >> the next greatest thing. my man lebron james, the next jordan, you know. he's not as good of a scorer, but he's a better overall player. he had them on today while i was watching the christmas special on tv. kobe had on his christmas sneakers. a lot of people out here for those. he lost the game when he got rejected by my man. >> reporter: you're looking for a couple of different pairs? >> i'm trying to get one of each. i've go

megan mcgrath is at the mall in prince george's county. megan, i know you are a great bargain shopper. you always get great things at a great price. what are you seeing out there? >> reporter: when the mall opens, we're expecting to see really good deals with retailers trying to lure people in with post christmas sales. for a lot of folks, this is sort of like christmas today. nike is releasing their new line of christmas shoes. supplies are low. demand is high. as you can see, people are literally camping out here outside the mall, waiting for the footlocker to open at 7:00 this morning so they can get their hands on these shoes. talk to me. what time did you get here? >> i got here at 12:00. >> reporter: talk about these shows. why are you willing to sleep outside for them? >> lebron james is my favorite player. it's the best shoe, straight like that. i'm out here trying to get them. >> reporter: what was it like out here? you said you missed christmas dinner. what was it like? why miss christmas dinner? >> i don't like my family very muc

news 4's megan mcgrath is live with details. morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, joe. the 11th street bridge has been a disaster, a real mess for a very long time. starting this weekend, we're going to start to see some progress along that corridor. they're going to be opening one of the three new spans on sunday. that means that monday morning, in time for the morning rush hour, drivers using 295 can go inbound across the 11th street bridge into the downtown area. they're going to be using that very new, brand new span beginning monday morning. the new span is going to eliminate that tricky crossover merging with the folks coming off of firth sterling. but the full impact of this project isn't going to be felt until the other two spans open. the second span is going to open later on next week. that's going to carry the traffic outbound on to 295. when that happens, there is a little bit of a wrinkle. folks are no longer going to be able to go east on the freeway and have access to mlk or good hope road. those roads are us

and that's where news 4's megan mcgrath is live with more information. good morning. >> good morning, eun. police are still here on the scene. they're talking to family members trying to figure out exactly what may have happened, where this 10-year-old boy may be. now, this is a critical missing child alert. it was an alert that was put out by metropolitan police overnight. they're not releasing a lot of information here. for example, they have not released the name of the 10-year-old who is missing. this is, however, what we do know. he's 10 years old. he's described as a dark complexed african-american child, four feet tall, somewhere between 90 and 108 pounds. he was last seen wearing blue pants and a blue sweater and he was in the 5500 block of b street in southeast washington. it was 7:30 last night when he was last accounted for. police still here on the scene interviewing the family members, trying to figure out what happened and where this child may be. eun, back to you. >> megan mcgrath live in the southeast for us, thank you. >>> 6:03 is the ti

joe, back to you. >> megan mcgrath reporting live.nks very much, megan. >>> prince george's county police are asking for your help to find a missing child this morning. 12-year-old rico edward singleton was last seen at walkerville middle school yesterday afternoon. he never went home after learning of a discipline matter at the school. singleton is described as 4'9" and weighs about 85 pounds. he w last seen wearing a black and royal blue sweater, khaki pants, and black tennis shoes. >>> this morning police are looking for a runaway couple after what could be called a cab jacking and a hit and run accident in montgomery county. it started at the bethesda medical center wednesday night, where, police say, a barwood cab picked up the couple. shortly after entering the cab, the man got out, opened the driver's door, and pushed the cabbie into the passenger seat. he then started driving up rockville pike, hit a car near old georgetown road, and continued on to a target store in rockville. police say the couple got out, walked into the ta

in rockville, megan mcgrath, news 4. >> sources tell news 4 that warren weinstein was kidnapped by the pakistani taliban. however, al zawahiri is responsible for any negotiations for his release. >>> some local veterans are getting home makeovers just in time for the holidays. the second annual decorate a vet kicked off today in falls church. it's the brain child of a local businessman who owns a landscaping company and has family members who have served. volunteers are donating their time, and businesses are giving up supplies to help transform five homes. >> i want this place to look like santa's workshop. i want to see it from space. >> i appreciate all the companies doing what they do and their time. i've enjoyed having them. >> the work is being coordinated through the american legion post 130. for more information on the program and how you can help, logn to our website, nbcwashington.com. what a wonderful program. >> so sweet. that's lovely. >> and they had some nice weather working out in the yard today. >> yes, they did. i'm tstarting to stress about this weekend's weather. >>

that's where megan mcgrath is right now. what do you see? >> reporter: joe, things are improving quite a bit here. i'll step out of the way so you can see. the trucks that we had in the far right lane, most of them have left. the final truck has lowered its arrow sign, giving me the impression that they may be pulling out of here pretty soon. it looks like the water has pretty much pulled out of that right-hand lane. there's a little bit on the edge, but it's no longer the deep water that we saw earlier. we're expecting them to open all of the lanes here shortly. we have two-way traffic here on route 1 at this point. take a look at this individual crow. we had more rushing water going across all lanes of route 1. so it was shut down in both directions. they had to have a rescue. a person got trapped in their car as the water rushed into the roadway. again, we are seeing a great improvement here. the water has pulled away from the roadway and as i speak here, perhaps you can see there's going to be a truck going right by me now. that is our f

megan mcgrath reporting live. thanks very much, megan. >>> new from overnight, a driver is in the hospital after his taxicab was carjacked. it happened last night in the 2300 block of benning road northeast. "the washington post" reports the driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. police found the cab abandoned a few blocks away. no arrests have been made. meanwhile, police are trying to figure out who stabbed a transgender person in the district. it happened in the 1500 block of gale street northeast last night. when emergency crews got to the scene, the person was conscious and breathing. >>> this morning a local man is in custody, accused of leaving his own 2-year-old daughter alone in a prince george's county apartment for 24 hours. police say they discovered the little girl cold and hungry yesterday afternoon. she is expected to be okay, though. an apartment manager tells news 4 that the girl's mother had been in a hospital since last friday and the girl's father was supposed to be watching her

megan mcgrath is live outside the courthouse for what we can expect today. good morning, megan. >> reporter: good morning, joe. leslie johnson is due in court this morning. she pleaded guilty to evidence tampering, and under sentencing guidelines, she could get anywhere from one year to 18 months behind bars. it remains to be seen whether her attorneys asked to an exemption to those guidelines, something less than the minimum, just as her husband's attorneys did earlier this week. leslie johnson was arrested along with her husband jack johnson on november the 12th. a few weeks later on december the 6th, despite the charges against her, leslie johnson took the oath of office and began serving on the county council. as evidence mounted against her, leslie johnson pleaded guilty to destroying evidence and eventually resigned from the county council. key to the government's case against her was an audiotaped conversation with her husband. as fbi agents pounded on the door of their mitchellville home, jack johnson could be heard telling his wife to rip up a $100,0

joe, back to you. >> megan mcgrath reporting live. very much, megan. >>> this morning the search continues for a wssc worker who disappeared in the philadelphia reservoir. chuck duckett was last seen friday afternoon at the lake in sandy spring, maryland. he was working for the wssc's managed hunt department. he was on his way to recover a deer using a boat. his boat was found 300 yards from where he lost it. authorities have been searching the woods around the reservoir. so far no signs of duckett. duckett's family is not giving up hope he will be found. >> we are not giving up. please help us find him and keep him in your prayers until we do. >> police, dive teams, and sonar specialists will continue the search for duckett at 7:30 this morning. >>> today attorneys will make their closing arguments in the trial involving allegations of election fraud during last year's maryland governor's race. paul shurlich is accuseded of voter repression. he sent out robotic calls saying the elections were already decided so no need to vote. it wa

megan mcgrath is live outside the man's home now with the latest. megan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, eun. there's a tremendous amount of concern for the safety and well-being of warren weinstein, and we're getting some new and rather disturbing information on this case. we're here live in front of his house in rockville. you can see that neighbors have placed a yellow ribbon around the tree in his front yard. warren weinstein has been missing since he was kidnapped in his home in pakistan back in august. who took him and why, that has been unclear until now. in a video that was just released, al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri says they have weinstein and will release him only if the u.s. stops air strikes in afghanistan, pakistan, somalia, and yemen. weinstein is a former u.s. aid worker. he's in pakistan working for the u.s. firm j.e. austin and associates. that firm has been very involved in developing emerging economies. nbc news has gathered information that strongly suggests that weinstein is being held by an extreme faction of the

let's go to megan mcgrath, who's on the phone now with the latest. megan, good morning.ou there? >> reporter: they are making some progress. so that's the good news here. they will soon be able to offload the fuel from this tanker truck. they have that all scared away. they do have the tow trucks on the scene. what they're trying to do is upright this tanker truck and get it out of the way and get the southbound lanes of route 3 open for at least the biggest part of the rush hour. they've got a ways to go. we're not there yet. route 3 is closed in both directions still. if you're traveling from bowie to the crosston area, they're going to force you off onto route 50. that's as far as you'll be able to go. if you're heading from crofton toward bowie, going southbound on route 3 and get on route 50, you're not going to be able to do it. the closest you can get is to 450. they'll force you off to the right at ford racetrack road or take a right on route 54 and try to make your way around that juncture. a tough commute for folks who live in this area. the good news is when t

megan mcgrath is live at the zoo now. good morning. tell us about what is going on out there. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. caring for and studying giant pandas is an expensive business. but thanks to a generous donation of $4.5 million from a local family, they are going to have funds for the next five years. now, some of the money is going to go towards the panda breeding program. and the pressure is on, particularly for the female panda. if she doesn't get pregnant this mating season, it is possible that she will be swapped out with another panda. she pent the morning eating bamboo but experts say he's doing the power walk. it is a sign that the giant male panda has started to feel frisky. >> strutting around, showing all the women in the area he's big, tough panda. he is scent marking. he is leaving a trail to scent to advertise to any other pandas he's ready for love. >> reporter: but this year's mating season won't be all wine and roses. it may be the panda's last. she gave birth to a cub in 2005 and has not conceived since

from tysons corner, megan mcgrath, news4. >> if you are one of the thousand of shoppers returning gifts soon here are some helpful tips. hopefully you received a gift receipt which makes things a lot easier. if not, that's okay. be sure to keep everything in the box with all of the tags on. otherwise the store does not have to accept the return. most stores have a 90-day return policy but beware of what's called slicing and dicing. stores might have different return policies online versus brick and mortar stores. bring your i.d. stores are now scanning those to make sure that you are not a chronic returner. >>> 11:10. 47 degrees. the conflicting reasons why yemen's president would want to visit the u.s. two dhur church essay taxed christmas day. the group taking responsibility for the bombings. your last chance to improve your tags return in this last >>> welcome back. 7 people, including 5 police officers, are dead this morning after yet another car bombing in iraq. officials say that the explosion happened at the checkpoint to tin tearer ministry in baghdad during the morning rush. at

news4's megan mcgrath is live at the labor resource center in centreville, virginia. a lot of workers applied there today? >> reporter: barbara, this was the first day. so it was pretty slow. i think they are disappointed about the numbers and realize they have a lot of outreach they have to do today. and they are due -- do in the future. they had two dozen day laborers come and sign in. p big problem was employers. they had two folks who came in and hired people for the day but i have to tell you those people are affiliated in some way with the center. one on the board of corrector o- directors and one is a volunteer. they need to reach out to the contractors. the hope is this center will streamline the hiring of day laborers and cut down on some of the safety concerns as well as the traffic issues. lino would normally have to wait outside on the fringe of the parking lot when trying to find work. today he's inside the new labor resources center. a storefront operation at the center bills square shopping center. cardona signed in, listed his skills, then waited to be

megan mcgrath, news4. >>> a family in fredericksburg is celebrating a miracle homecoming. still ahead, how this pooch was finally found after wandering thousands of miles away. but first, when we return, why not everyone is happy about a no[ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. >>> plans to redevelop the waterfront near old town in alexandria is getting big resistance. some people are worried about the impact of more hotels and housing along the potomac. julie carey has more on the push to preserve old town. >> reporter: where this old warehouse stands along alexandria's waterfront, city planners see a boutique hotel. this citizens group would tear it down for parkland instead. op

. >> megan mcgrath, thanks so much for that update. we'll check in in just a bit. >> let's go to danella sealock, checking it out on the roadways. >> good morning. i think the best bet, if you're making your commute is jump on 324 and avoid route 3 all together. if you're traveling on i-270 in maryland, have an accident there as well at montrose road, traveling 270 northbound. this steaccident is taking up te of your left lanes. if you're traveling on the beltway, beltway is faring much better. not seeing any problems if you're traveling on the beltway in maryland or virginia. virginia avenue, outer loop and inner loop, you're clear in both directions. ten minutes as you make your way from i-95 to i-270. >> danella, thanks. >> tom kierein is here to tell us about our forecast. we had a wet and rainy start so far, tom. >> you know what that means, fender bender weather. we could have more accidents as the morning commute continues. >>> right now at reagan national under a cloudy sky. there's light rain now. 57 degrees there. we've got a

megan mcgrath is live with more on the emotional homecoming. megan. >> reporter: we still have a few families lingering here, still playing with young children. there were quite a few kids here just absolutely thrilled to see their parents arrive early this morning. it really was the perfect gift. the loved ones, the d.c. air guards 113th wing just wanted their soldiers home from afghanistan for the holiday. what a homecoming this was. they got their wish this morning. an emotional homecoming at andrew's air force base after a two month tour in afghanistan. many were hopeful they would make it home for the holiday, but you know in the military plans can always change and change at the last minute, but you can see the joy and the relief as family members watched that door and they caught that first glimpse of their loved one, and then hugs and tears followed. >> i am sorry, not a whole lot to say, and i am obviously quite happy to be home. >> and home for the holidays. >> cutting it close, but definitely happy to be home. >> merry christmas. >> m

megan mcgrath, news 4. >>> military officials say there are 90,000 troops in afghanistan.wn. >> from the peak of 101,000 in june. >> right. >> being stranded in the wrong state is not what you want for christmas. chloe wanted to spend the holidays with her grandmother in connecticut. she listened closely to the instructions, don't get off until you get to laguardia airport. bad weather detoured the flight to baltimore and she was stranded. >> the people going to laguardia have to get off in baltimore and go to customer service for another ticket. i was like what do i do? she said you'll be coming with me. i said i'm not supposed to get off the airplane. >> she was booked on another flight but didn't get there for a few hours leaving the waiting family worried. they refunded her ticket and gave her a travel voucher. she will get a ride in the car back home to tennessee. >>> the utility worker that discovered the remains of caylee anthony is suing casey anthony. casey anthony's defense team made multiple false statements accusing him of killing her. zenaida gonzalez as a pos

i know someone who is very upset about this weather and winter being behind is our own megan mcgrath who is an aindividual skier and looks forward to that team. >> my daughter loves snowboarding. we need some snow. we need snow to help out some of the winter businesses, right? >> i don't need snow. >> there's one person that does it. 3 is our dur. talking about a cold morning. it's not going to be a bad afternoon at all. we have a calm wind certainly like that compared to where we were yesterday. dry air. the temperatures have plummeted overnight. 25 in gaithersburg, 23 the degrees in monasi is i. 25 in leplata and around waldorf. by the time we get to 9:00 and 10:00 a.m., we'll be talking about high 30s. partly sunny, mostly cloudy type of day. your future weather, there it is. by 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 p.m., sprinkles will be coming to the area. a lot of neighborhoods will be dry. but some brief sprinkles during the overnight period. tomorrow, we're partly sunny. by the time we get to saturday, partly sunny, too. the next one, these weak systems coming through will be drying up. but the

. >> megan mcgrath reporting live. very much, megan. >>> this morning the search continues for a wssc worker who disappeared in the tri adelphia reservoir. chuck duckett was last seen friday afternoon in the sandy spring reservoir. he was working for the hunt recovery department. he was trying to recover a deer from a boat. the boat was found 300 yards from where he launched it. authorities have been searching the woods around the reservoir. so far they've seen no signs of duckett. duckett's family is not giving up hope that he'll be found. >> we are not giving up. please help us find him and keep him in your prayers. until we do. >> police, dive teams, and sonar specialists will continue the search for duckett at 7:30 this morning. >>> right now asian and european stock markets are up. investors are hopeful that a summit of european leaders later this week will yield a breakthrough for fixing the ongoing debt crisis. the french president and german chancellor will meet in paris today to prepare for friday's sum. this

megan mcgrath is live on the bridge and can tell us if drivers are excited about having this. >> reporter: they are definitely excited. they are hopeful this will make the whole traffic mess a whole lot better. it has been a mess for a couple years now. this is the old span. you can see traffic traveling into the city and downtown area from 295. this bridge is going to go away over the weekend. we are standing on the brand-new span which is set to open on sunday. it's pretty much done. they have the signs up and they are hoping that once the span opens, things will start to improve. now the whole project is not done, but we should see things get better. >> i cannot wait. >> reporter: she drives the freeway every day and construction on the 11th street bridge has been a real plan and is hopeful the span will make things better. >> i live in hillcrest and have my whole life and the transportation between there and the city is a true nightmare. >> reporter: the span will not carry traffic until sunday. when opened the bridge will carry 295 traffic inbound into the downtown area. >> it gets b

and megan mcgrath joins us outside his home with more on the claim. good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, barbara. that's right. nearly four months have passed since warren winestein was taken at gun point in pakistan and all that time it was unclear who did it and for what purpose, but now al qaeda is claiming to have him and they say in order to release winestein, the u.s. will have to meet several demands. a yellow ribbon is tied around the tree in the yard of his rockville home, a symbol of hope for his safe release. now, an alarming development in the case. in a newly released case, a al qaeda leader, zawahri said they have winestein. he was taken at gun point from his home in pakistan in august, but nobody claimed responsibility. he was in pakistan for a u.s. firm that does work in countries with a merging and developing economy. his next door neighbor just doesn't understand why he would be a target. >> to us, you know, he is just an ordinary person, you know, and all he did was just do good works in having people develop things in pak

and megan mcgrath is live on capitol hill. what is the general feeling about the potential shutdown? >> reporter: barbara, as you would imagine, federal employees are not happy about the prospect of being furloughed, especially right around the holidays. they are hoping that some sort of an agreement, either a long term or short term measure will be agreed upon by lawmakers so a partial shutdown of the government can be averted, but right now all of that is unclear so agencies are making plans and identifying the people that would be impacted if this did happen, and the people that would have to be furloughed, they would have to stay home and lose pay. on capitol hill the clock is ticking. lawmakers have until midnight friday to pass either a long or short term spending plan. if they don't, thousands of federal workers face furloughs. the prospect of losing a paycheck especially around the holidays is not going over well with employees. >> i mean, we would have some cash on hand, but we would have to make some changes, put som

megan mcgrath is live with what people are saying. >> reporter: another day and another budget empass here at capitol hill. the two houses are not even negotiating at this point. if they don't come up with some kind of a deal, this new year could get off to a down right ugly start. christmas are days away. millions of americans may get coal in the stockings in the  form of a tax increase, and don't blame the grinch, it's lawmakers on capitol hill. >> we're tired of it. we send them to represent our interests, and it seems like they are representing themselves. >> i think it's kind of shameful, i really do. >> reporter: if legislation is not passed by new year's day, payroll taxes for americans making $50,000 will go up. how much? by almost $20 a week, and that's about 40 bucks a paycheck and $1,000 a year. >> i think the working people, they need a break, you know. it's hard times right now, and christmas here, people need money. >> i am planning a wedding and need that $40. >> and millions of people could loosen employment benefits. >> it's just not right. you know, people are unem

megan mcgrath is live in beltsville with a look at the roads there. good morning to you. >> good morning, eun yang. traffic is now traveling in a normal rain. they're no longer having to use the center turn lane. take a look behind me. you can see the crews wv on the scene. we have high standing water in the far lane in the southbound direct on route 1. so north and southbound traffic has been reestablished. take a look, though, at what the situation was overnight. we had water crossing the entire roadway at one point. there was actually a rescue, someone in a car got trapped by the water as it rushed across the roadway. . though, the rain has stopped and the water has begun to recede. so we have seen an improvement. just through this small area here in the 11,000 block. that's where we're seeing the water in the far right lane. they're here, watching it. we're not seeing much in the way of delays here. volume is still light. >> megan, thanks so much. >>> always a reminder, when we have heavy rains, it's inevitable. someone always drives through or tr

megan mcgrath is live in the northwest with more on today's agenda. >>> after seeing a report increase in 2010, metro rail riders could see fares go up again in 2011. now, ridership is down. analysts expect the local economy to remain sluggish in 2012 with high unemployment. so they're expecting ridership to continue to decrease. metro also says that maintenance costs are up, pension, health and salary costs are up, and they say all of this adds up to 124 million dollar budget shortfall. now, to help close the gap, metro could raise fares. that's something that's on the table. we could see an increase, nearly 6%. they're cloog at cost savings measures as well as budget cuts to close the gap. keep in mind, this is very early in the process. there's a lot of discussion, a lot of input needs to be gathered. there would have to be public hearing before the fare hikes could take effect. that peak of the peak surcharge that was implemented a couple of years ago, they're looking at whether or not to get rid of that. a lot of tough decisions need to be made. they're going to have to do somethi

let's get an update from news 4's megan mcgrath on the scene. >> reporter: good morning, joe.outhbound lanes of route 3 at 450 have reopened. we've hit another snag with the effort to get the northbound lanes reopened. take a look behind me. you can see the detour is still in place. northbound route 3, you're going to be detoured off onto route 50. that's as far as you'll be able to go. the problem, the accident that happened last night, there were three vehicles involved. take a look at this video. there was a car, a box truck, and a gasoline tanker that went on its side and began to leak fuel. that tanker is now completely gone. they were beginning the cleanup, making some progress, and then the sand truck they were using to mop up the fuel that spilled onto the roadway, that blew a hose. there was some sort of hose on the underneath of that truck that ruptured. that truck is no good. they're bringing in another sand truck so they can continue with the cleanup effort. they've also got hoses across the northbound lanes as well that they need to get up. until they can do all o

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 information for drivers looking to avoid traffic. no need to bail out and take an alternate route today. the sign predicts smooth sailing. >> i think it is really going to be helpful. it will help to, you know, help you be able to maneuver around some of the traffic that's out there. and give you a chance to get off the road and take