very sparsely populated part of spotsylvania county, virginia, where ross ashley grew up. neighbors and one educator confirmed that the young man accused of gunning down a virginia tech police officer attended post oak middle school here and played football at spotsylvania high school. one classmate from his school says she barely remembered the young man, in part, because he was so quiet. billy joe worked in the middle school cafeteria when ross ash lee was a student there. >> you could tell that he was not outgoing and a group of them hung around and they got in a little bit of mischief. stuff like that. but not anything that would indicate this would take place. >> what kind of mischief? >> in trouble with the law. taking things. >> as an adult, ross ashley had no published criminal history, other than a speeding ticket in radford, virginia. he served in the student government and made the dean's list according to the collegiate times at virginia tech. ap quotes a neighbor of ashley's as saying, the young man recently shaved his head. police say he stole a mercedes suv

in spotsylvania i'm shomari stone. back to you. >>> metro will continue to inspect 5,000 series rail cars through the end of this week. yesterday a friction ring came off a blue line train and it stranded passengers up to two hours underground. metro officials say why it came off is under investigation. but so far it could be a possible failure of the husband that holds the ring in place. 16 other cars have been pulled from service. >>> a hit and run caught on tape has police looking for a minivan driver. it happened in sterling, virginia near south cottage and fox roads. the van hit a man on a motorcycle and drove off. they believe it was a burgundy toyota sienna. the motorcyclist is expected to be okay. there is a $1,000 reward in this case. >>> newt gingrich trying to rally support this virginia during an event in roslyn tonight as he rushes to get on the ballot in the commonwealth. a poll out today has him ahead in virginia. he has 30% of republican support compared to mitt romney's 25% but it's gingrich does not f

county virginia and attended spotsylvania high school. he played football there. his coach remembers him well and is shocked and saddened by the tragedy. >> he has family and it's sad it ended this way. >> reporter: the shooting brings back memories of april 2007 when a virginia tech student to oned 33 people. now many are waiting for -- who killed 33 people. now many are waiting for a reason why it happened again. >> we're learning funeral services will be monday on the virginia tech campus. >> maureen umeh tonight. thousands of people gathered at the drill field on virginia tech catch us tonight for a candle light -- campus tonight for a candlelight vigil there to remember officer crouse and his family. students said they appreciated his sacrifice. >>> the hunt is on in baltimore for the person who shot and killed a 22-year-old morgan state university student. brandon hudson is originally from clinton, maryland, and was found dead in his apartment in the charles village section of baltimore last night. he was a senior at morgan state ma

he is 22-year-old ross ashley of spotsylvania, virginia. ross spent the day on the virginia tech campus. joins us live from blacksburg. i know we just got the name. you haven't been able to do digging, but what's the mood on campus and any new details? >> well, they are trying to learn what the motive was. we have a name now, hopefully we'll learn more. that's what people are asking over and over. this is a campus in mourning tonight, trying to figure out how and why this all happened. there are flags flying at half staff. that was a veteran patrol officer, deriek crouse who is a husband and a father of five children. now at the coliseum parking lot, a small memorial is taking shape, honoring him for his service as a veteran and a campus police officer. there's a big thank you. after one of the worst mass murders, students are wondering how this could have happened again. >> it's not like you ever think about something like this is going to happen. when it does, you never think it's going to happen again. i mean, to say shocked is an under

the suspect is from spotsylvania county. we went to the place where he attended high school and learned more about the shooter. >> reporter: at spots videotape yeah high school where ross ashley graduated in 2007 he was a strong student with a promising future. but tonight this community is coming to grips with news that he is the young man who killed a virginia tech police officer. not far from the high school in a rural area called partlow, the large home where ross ashley once lived with his parents was dark. the family kept to themselves and she said ashley was standoffish. >> they stay off to themselves. like i said we live on this road. and the people on that end are a little outgoing and visiting and stuff like that. so it's sad. >> reporter: but during high school ross ashley made a name for himself on the football field as this newspaper account shows and he won scholarships to a half dozen colleges. most recently he was a part-time student at radford university. it was in radford a day before the shooting that ashl

area of yellow and orange is moderate to heavy rain coming out of fauquier county, stafford, and spotsylvania and orange county farther to the south and west. that's advancing to the metro area. it should be moving on into the immediate metro area the next 24 hours. it's balmy around most of the region. from the blue ridge west, shenandoah valley into the mountains, low to mid-50s. all these areas in green under a flood watch. this is the first part of the storm. the one-two punch. punch one is rain. could get enough rain to cause flooding in northern virginia and much of the area. we also have a winter storm watch now out in parts of western maryland and a winter warning out in the far western part of western maryland and northern west virginia. they could get over six inches of rain in some of the high ridges. here's your day planner. we'll have occasional showers. temperatures falling down in the afternoon. a look at the evening planner and our chances for snow tonight. that will be coming up in about ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? >> good morning. >>> the rain is really going to be

a school that is close to fox 5's john hanrahan spent most of the day in spotsylvania, virginia, where that shooter grew up. >> it is a very sparsely populated part of spotsylvania county, virginia, where ross ashley grew up. neighbors and one educator confirmed that the young man accused of gunning down a virginia tech police officer attended post oak middle school here and played football at spotsylvania high school. one classmate from his school says she barely remembered the young man, in part, because he was so quiet. billy joe worked in the middle school cafeteria was ross ash lee was ashley was a student there. >> he was not outgoing and a group of them hung around and they got in a little bit of mischief, stuff like that. but not anything that would indicate this would take place. >> what kind of mischief? >> in trouble with the law. taking things. >> as an adult, ross apparently had no published criminal history other than a speeding violation in radford, virginia, where he was attending college part-time. ross ashley served in the student government at radford university and

. >> first, an amazing tale from spotsylvania.og missing eight years turns up the california. >>> contest featured criticized for banning interracial couples has reversed course. it voted last week to ban mixed- race couples. the pastor said the code was declared null and void after it was determined that laws cannot go against local state, or national laws. >> it is incredible but such an action could be taken in 2011. >> i tried to resolve the matter before it got to where it did. >> church members voted unanimously to allow people of all places to worship at their church. . >>> mega church leader bishop eddie long announced that is taking some days off after his wife filed for divorce. >> i am not hiding anything. i will take a little time off or with my family. >> it's not known all along the sabbatical will last. this pending divorce is the latest issue for him. the earlier this year he settled a lawsuit filed by four young men and accusing him of pressuring them into sexual relationships. he has denied the allegation. califo

farther south, southern culpeper and a few sprinkles in spotsylvania and stafford counties. the suburbs and rural areas low to mid-40s. in washington near 50. near 50 by the bay. out of the mountains, low 40s now. we will have maybe a few scattered sprinkles off and on through noontime. a bit of light rain from time to time. we'll be up near 60 degrees by early afternoon. by mid to late afternoon, we'll have more moderate, maybe even briefly heavy downpours coming in. that may continue into this evening with thunder and lightning. and all the rain activity should be ending by midnight. by then down into the low 50s. chance for some more rain coming in tomorrow night into friday as well as perhaps over the holiday weekend. details on that in ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? >> some good news on i-270 northbound, approaching montrose road. had an earlier accident blocking the left lane, right about here. it's now in your shoulder lane. i'm not sure if you can see the hazard lights on. regardless, as you're traveling, all your lanes are open on i-270 northbound. southbound

these are the numbers around the region. 43 in spotsylvania. 46 in college park. highs into the 50's today. 52 and 30. 47 and 33 are the average. we dropped to 39 in gaithersburg. temperatures near the water and south a little bit mild but everyone will bottom out. comfortable conditions through the carolina's. the appellations, temperatures were they should be. nothing more than a few high clouds. here the coming in from the west. featuring a cold front that will bring in some showers on thursday. a quiet night with some high clouds. maybe some sunshine through the clouds. this high-pressure center is giving us several beautiful days in a row. more in the way of warmer temperatures. the lower 50's tomorrow. the upper 50's on thursday. we will see some cloudy skies friday. a change to breezy and colder weather and the week and looks good. off and on during the weekend. one computer model suggests a disturbance could come by late friday night. we will see what happens. we will stay south of the metro area. the weekend looks fine. increasing cloudiness. highs near 5

the precocious spitball went from a spotsylvania county farm. was last seen saturday after thanksgiving 2003. she did not come back. not know what happened. >> last thursday outside sacramento -- down, tail wagging. >> she was on a remote road, home.miles from >> she was thirsty and hungry. i am glad she came to me. >> animal control officers microchip to a clinic in fredericksburg. i said, "where has she been found?" you are dumbfounded. i am excited. >> this a-year-old was just five when petunia disappeared. she was in get tonia -- how did she california? she had to of been withported out there somebody. i cannot believe she would have across the mississippi to grand canyon to get own.ornia on her >> petunia is a resourceful dog. >> i bet she has stories to tell. >> the family is nervous about reuniting. years is a long time. if you are watching the website, in goodars to be health. making travel backgements to bring her to virginia. they hope to see her by friday. abc 7 news. >> thank you so much. petunia will have nice weather to come home t

they say she lives in spotsylvania county.a picture of the little baby jesus on her facebook page. someone asked her, is that baby jesus stolen? she replied it cea's so stolen. >> we have no idea how many people saw that picture on facebook. a great number of them made comments indicating they knew it was a stolen item and they were talking about it. out of all those people, only one individual came forward and contacted us. we are glad he did. >> reporter: tonight, the nativity scene is complete. the case is far from closed. the commonwealth attorney studying the evidence to determine what, if any charges will be brought here. i'm pat collins, news 4, fredericksburg. >>> because the little baby jesus weighed 80 pounds when it was taken, investigators believe a second person helped haul it away. we don't understand how they can carry an 80 pound -- >> that's a strong cop. >> he wasn't even leaning over. >> we want to double check that weight. we want to double check the weekend weather. there's a lot going on. >> it's going to

spotsylvania was approved for aid. for more information go to www.nbcwashington.com and search earthquake. >>> in northern virginia, a lot of people reported feeling their houses shake this afternoon. we checked on that and found there were no earthquakes recorded in virginia today. what people probably felt was explosive training at the quantico marine base. the training happened several days this month however the overcast conditions made the noise and vibrations stronger today. >>> when it comes to school discipline, the differences are black and white. analysis reported in the washington post show black students are expelled or suspended two to five times more often than white students. the post survey found of the 35,000 students suspended or expelled, more than half of them were black. experts say reasons for the disparity could be poverty, unintended bias, access to the best teachers and differences in school leadership styles. >>> one guy called up about a broken toilet. a woman called mad that she was not able

the suspected thief in spotsylvania county put a picture of of the stalin statues honor facebook page. someone spotted the picture and sent it to police. there may be more than one suspect involved. >>> still to come, detecting cervical cancer. one test may be better than others at detecting the disease early. >> a big change in voter attitudes toward the president and whether he should be reelected. the results are ahead. >> virginia officials said they found a way to ease traffic, but have they created new >>> breaking news from the key bridge. traffic is shut down in both directions because a man tried to jump off the bridge. all lanes are expected to reopen shortly. >>> a major announcement about the new defense facility. by the middle of next year, more than 6000 workers will be commuting to this center in a alexandria. >> john gonzaleses live with the details. >> when the army built the offices in alexandria, there were 4000 parking spaces. tonight, they're told they can only use about half of them come a major victory for virginia lawmakers who say it will ease traffic, but the

la sospechosa es una mujer de 25 aÑos que reside en spotsylvania y que habia puesto la foto en su paginaa la vivienda de la mujer y lo recuperaron... la policia indica que puede haber otro complice de este robo.... @@@inmigrantes combaten el flagelo de la violencia domestica... ...escuelas del condado de fairfax instalaran camaras de vigilancia... detalles mas adelante... camaras de vigilancia seran instaladas en escuelas secundarias en el condado de fairfax.. la junta escolar aprobo permitir a directores colocar camaras en lugares donde usualmente se congregan estudiantes como cafeterias y pasillos... pero no sera permitido en las aulas, camerinos o baÑos... esta medida fue aprobada despues de un extenso debate sobre la privacidad de los estudiantes... la instalaciones tendria un costo de 880-mil dolares... otros sistemas escolares, excepto arlington tienen camaras de vigilancia en sus planteles... cifras exactas sobre la incidencia de violencia domestica son dificil de estimar porque muchos casos no son reportados y entre inmigrantes indocumentadas, muchas victimas callan incluso por t

a little sleet probably mix is in north of colonial beach around the spotsylvania area and this is allg to move east. while this picture also looks impressive nothing really is hitting the ground up here. it's all drying up aloft and we see a back edge, too. so a couple more hours. maybe it lingers a little longer for some of you in southern maryland over to the eastern shore, but this thing will be out of here, a weak disturbance moving by. it will keep us in the chill for the weekend. tomorrow you'll definitely notice that chill, no warm start like today where temperatures were in the 60s. this area of low pressure will be player for the weekend as it rides along the front that came through earlier today. it will help pull in colder air and also help to increase the lake effect snow and flurries are possible tomorrow evening here and say between 6:00, 7:00 to about 11:00 tomorrow night and maybe just lingering for a couple of you in the early morning. here's your weekend snapshot, 45 degrees tomorrow, feeling colder because of a little breeze that kicks up as our departing area of lo

esta vez en nacimientos en el centro comercial southpoint en spotsylvania y la otra cerca a la ruta tresmujer tomo la estatuilla del niÑo jesus del nacimiento de central park en frederickburg...esta estatuilla fue recuperada despues que fue publicada en su pagina de facebook... el congreso rechaza la propuesta sobre el recorte de presupuesto del senado.. fernando pizarro nos dice que paso en el pleno de la camara de representantes.. por 229 votos contra 193, la camara de representantes rechazo 1 recorte de impuestos y extension de beneficios de desempleo por 2 meses que ya habia aprobado el senado. los republicanos insisten en que nunca hubo 1 acuerdo. y el senado viene no mas con 2 meses de recortes de impuestos a la nomina, que es imposible manejar, en 1 lugar de 1 ano para hacerlo y eso va a tener repercusiones muy serias si no lo completamos antes de fin de ano. asi es que no estoy satisfecho con lo que hizo el senado, mas bien 1 insulto al pueblo americano. los lideres republicanos aprobaron 1 propuesta para exigirle al senado a negociar para extender los recortes mas de 2 meses. ex

she lives in spotsylvania county. she posted pictures on facebook. someone asked her is that baby jesus stolen? she replied it's so stolen. >> we have no idea how many people saw the picture on facebook but a great number of them knew it was a stolen item and they were talking about it. out of all those people, only one individual came forward and contacted us. we are glad he did. >> reporter: i'm pat collins news 4, fredericksburg. >> she was charged with grand larceny for her involvement. because it weighed 80 pounds when taken, investigators say a second person may have helped haul it away. >>> still ahead on "news4 this week," we dive into a dance workout that helped one man drop 60 pounds. >>> the the giant donation that could help the national zoo's laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special

reporter: room too tomove, that is what three-year-old petunia head at the pruett family home in spotsylvanianing back in 2003. >> she made a b line for the alpaka barns down there. >> reporter: in the hours after petunia disappeared, the family thought she would be back here in no time running around the yard. >> we thought for sure we would have her by the end of the day. >> reporter: as days turned to weeks and then months, they lost hope. >> you start accepting that she is not coming back. >> reporter: or so they thought. fast forward eight years. this past thursday when they got a call from the vet. >> she said, well, she has been located by a local animal control and i asked where is she? and she said she started laughing. she said in california. and i was just dumb founded. >> reporter: her husband john was about to celebrate a birthday. he thought maybe an old army buddy was playing a trick. >> what kind of idiot is playing this kind of a joke? you had to have known me years ago. >> reporter: and then came the e-mail from yuba county animal care services in california. >> looks like h

esta vez en nacimientos en el centro comercial southpoint en spotsylvania y la otra cerca a la ruta trestomo la estatuilla del niÑo jesus del nacimiento de central park en frederickburg...esta estatuilla fue recuperada despues que fue publicada en su pagina de facebook... el congreso rechaza la propuesta sobre el recorte de presupuesto del senado.. fernando pizarro nos dice que paso en el pleno de la camara de representantes.. por 229 votos contra 193, la camara de representantes rechazo 1 recorte de impuestos y extension de beneficios de desempleo por 2 meses que ya habia aprobado el senado. los republicanos insisten en que nunca hubo 1 acuerdo. y el senado viene e no mas con 2 meses de recortes de impuestos a la nomina, que es imposible manejar, en 1 lugar de 1 ano para hacerlo y eso va a tener repercusiones muy serias si no lo completamos antes de fin de ano. asi es que no estoy satisfecho con lo que hizo el senado, mas bien 1 insulto al pueblo americano. los lideres republicanos aprobaron 1 propuesta para exigirle al senado a negociar para extender los recoeses mas de 2 meses. extend

./// áátheáá dog ...left their spotsylvania county home ../ and...t..../ ááelaineááá pruitt... was only.../ ááshe'sáá nearly... &p 9... now....//// ááaaá few days... go.../ áápetuniaáá as found... wanderingg...ii a california... wildlifeerefuge. 3 & 3 well petunia will be returniig to weether a llt pifferent than califfrnia. california. lee's look at - the snow and ur extended foreccst with vytas. 3 ....the terps get a scare from unheralded mount st mary's... bruce cunningham has full details next in ports 3 the late editonn.../ áábutáá./.. a... big weekend ...as the ravens.../ 3& colts... to come to town. town. bruce cunningham 3 with a look at how ray rice s working to extend indy's zero win season. seeson. 3 3 as tte ravens got back to work today, they got someeneww that pleassd hemm but by no eans surprised them...afterrrrnning wild last sunday,, heir & pint-sized dynamo of a running -3 back was nnmed afc offensivv player of the week.. week.. 3 ray rice had his bbggest day ps pro last sunday in clevelann, ushhng for a career high 204 yards and a

new at 6:00, spotsylvania county suspended a commonwealth attorney after she was charged with a dui. amy harper crashed her suv into the back of another car on salem church road friday night. that led to a three-car pileup. officers charged harper with driving under the influence of alcohol after investigating the accident. now she is off the job until her trial. >> a crime spree that has several residents on edge could soon be coming to an end. police have a hot lead that could potentially bring down a group of burglars targeting houses. ken is live with more. ken, good evening. >> good evening, anita. that lead came in earlier today. we're talking about this woman right here. police say this is 30-year-old patrice joseph. this bull ten went out yesterday. she was wanted for questioning in burglaries. she wasn't charged, but she was questioned all day by police. >> the burglars have struck about half a dozen times. this home surveillance video shows the first of the string of robberies that began in november. just like in this video, police say the suspects break into houses when no

police say the prime suspect is a 25-year-old spotsylvania county woman. they say she had uploaded a picture of the stolen figure on the facebook page. a citizen turned it over to police. >>> big brother will soon be watching over high school students in fairfax county. late last night, the county school board approved the jus of indoor sur -- the use of indoor surveillance cameras in high schools. the vote was 8-4. in order to get the cameras high school principals must show community support. cameras can go in cafeterias, hallways and other gathering places. they cannot go in locker rooms, bathrooms or classrooms. cameras will not be mandated in every schools. the cameras will cost $880,000 to install. >>> lawmakers are close to a deal on one major piece of business but still struggling with another. leading lawmakers say they are about to close a deal on $1 trillion bill that funds the government for another year. the lawmakers do not pass the -- if lawmaker don't pass the full plan or another extension by friday night, most agencies would shut down lea

./// áátheáá dog ...left their spotsylvania county home ../ and... ááelaineááá pruitt... was only.../ ááshe'sáá nearly... &p 9... now....//// ááaaá few days... go.../ áápetuniaáá as found... wanderingg...ii a california... wildlifeerefuge. 3 & 3 well petunia will be returniig to weether a llt pifferent than califfrnia. california. lee's look at - the snow and ur extended foreccst with vytas. 3 ....the terps get a scare from unheralded mount st mary's... bruce cunningham has full details next in ports [ female announcer ] at verizonfios.com you can choose your channel package. ♪ ♪ you can choose your own internet speeds. ♪ ♪ you can even choose to chat with a live person. ♪ ♪ now you can choose to save $35 a month for fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month plus get a $300 verizon visa prepaid card with a 2 year agreement. but hurry, offer ends soon only at verizonfios.com. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. 3 the late editonn.../ áábutáá./.. a... big weekend ...as the ravens.../ 3& colts... t

south and west of spotsylvania toward louisa. this is all lifting off toward the northeast. fredericksburg, more rain coming your way. again, that rain extends back toward west virginia. that's going to take several hours before we clear out. that's why it looks like much of the afternoon will be wet. got a little bit of cool air holding on from hagerstown to cumberland down to northern loudoun county. 61 in fredericksburg. locally, lovettsville, holding on for a few more minutes. leesburg is in the mid-50s. 57 springfield. 59 also in crofton. a very warm december day. the last full day of autumn as winter begins officially tonight at 12:30. light rain. south-southwest wind at 15. gusts up to 25, 28 miles per hour. the moisture continues to stream in from the gulf of mexico all the way up toward new england. a little bit of snow possible on the northern edge of this. way too warm. much of the season so far. this will clear up later today. tomorrow night, another rain system heads this way. that should be out of here sometime friday morning. then again on sunday, another chan

they include culpeper, fluvana, goo goochland, and spotsylvania counties. louisa county was already approved for aid. for more information on how to apply for help, visit our website nbcwashington.com and search "earthquake." >>> some people in northern virginia were having flashbacks of that quake after they felt their houses shake yesterday. the rumbling came from explosives training at the marine corps base in quantico. that training has been going on the whole month, but yesterday it was different. people heard a loud boom, and for many the shaking was so strong it revived the memories of the rare quake that shook our whole area four months ago. >> all of a sudden, i just like -- it just was like huge rumble. it was so loud. and i just remember getting up off the couch. >> experts think that the explosion was felt yesterday because of the overcast conditions. the last earthquake recorded in virginia was very early on christmas eve. it was a 2.0 quake near mineral. >>> the new year gives you a chance to say good riddance to some of your vocabulary. lake

ashley was a 2007 graduate at spotsylvania high school. he played football and his head coach said he was well known. i talked to that head coach tonight. he said the tragedy is a shock to them all. >> everyone that knew ross ashley was definitely shocked and saddened that this happened. >> that incident prompted a lookdown in the campus and revived memories of the gunman rampage in 2007 that left 33 people dead. officer deriek crouse joined the police department in october 2007. he was married with five kids and funeral services are set for monday on campus. as for ashley, not much is known about his state of mind. someone who knew him says he had recently shaved his head and other than running down the hallways he was quiet and normal. >> did miss have any contact with ross -- police have any contact with ross prior to this? >> state police tonight tell me he had no criminal record in virginia and that further adds to the mystery of why he snapped the way he did. >>> thousands gathered on the virginia tech campus this evening to remember

burke, virginia, and western fairfax county down through prince william county, stafford, and spotsylvania, southern fauquier and eastern culpeper getting a few sprinkles there. this is heading off to the east. so the metro area, immediate area around the beltway is going to be getting a little bit wet over the next hour or so. may be a little dampness on some of the roads. allow yourself extra time and slow down if the road looks wet. just take it easy. right now near 40 in the shenandoah valley and around the blue ridge, farther east it's in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees. sunrise at 7:23 today. we'll have light rain off and on this morning through the middle of the day. highs reaching near 60 by midafternoon. the rain may pick up in intensity later this afternoon. actually this evening maybe a little thunder and lightning with downpours by mid to late evening. tomorrow, cloudy in the morning, might get rain after sunset thursday night into friday morning. a little sun back friday afternoon. still mild. saturday turning chilly, partly sunny. and for christmas eve it's looking still lik

she is now -- spotsylvania. she is now charged with grand larceny. been keeping the stolen figure in her father's garage apparently. no word yet why she took it. >>> car dealers know most of us envy the latest technology on new models. blue tooth, on star, gps, satellite traffic and radio, of course. >> what they don't tell you, the more connected your car is, the more vulnerable it can be to hackers. bruce leshan reports on the frightening new world of car hacking. >> reporter: this is now gone way beyond theoretical. >> how can someone do this. >> reporter: a maryland family is convinced hackers got the electronics of their son's dodge charge er and stole it from the driveway while he was deployed in afghanistan. >> nathan loved that car. >> reporter: frightening to me the idea you can rolling at highway speeds and someone can remotely slam on the brakes. >> the potential exists. >> it's not like you have to worry that somebody is going to point the phone at your car. we're not there yet. but it's definitely something to keep an eye on. >> unlock.

ashley went to high school in spotsylvania. >>> today the federal government will start the first auction petroleum leases in the gulf of mexico since the deep water horizon disaster. attorney general ken salazar will sell gas and oil leases selli filling 21 million acres in the gulf of mexico. the explosion in 2010 led to the worst oil spill in the history of the u.s., sparking the interior department to change how it regulates the offshore industry. >>> the united states military is trying to recover a drone that crashed off the east coast of -- rather off the coast of east africa. the u.s. embassy in mauritia said the u.s. used an unmanned aircraft to monitor piracy. the drone had engine problems and went down near the airport on the island nation of seychelles. no one was injured. this comes after iran claims it seized another drone identified as the rq sentinel. the u.s. asked for its return on monday, but iran refused that request and said the u.s. should apologize for funding. >>> conrad murray asked for a publicly funded lawyer to appeal a manslaughter conviction for michael jacks

that is what three-year-old petunia had at the pruitt family home in spotsylvania county. morning in 2003. >> she made a beeline for the alpaca barns right down there and that is the last time you saw her. >> reporter: in the hours after petunia disappeared, the family thought she would be back here in no time returning around the yard. >> we thought for sure, we would have her by the end of the day. >> reporter: as days turned to weeks and months, they lost hope. >> you start accepting that she is not coming back. >> reporter: or so she thought. fast forward eight years to this past thursday when they got a call from their vet. >> she said well, she has been located by a local animal control and i asked, well, where is she? she started laughing, she said out in california. i was just dumb founded. >> reporter: her husband, john, was about to celebrate a birthday. he thought maybe an old army buddy was playing a trick. >> what kind of idiot is playing this kind of joke. because you is had to have known me years ago. >> reporter: and then an e-mail from the yuba county anim

he is being identified as 22- year-old ross truit ashley in spotsylvania, county. that walked up to officer deriek crouse who was on a routine traffic spot, shot and killed him. 30 minutes later, ashley would go

light to moderate rain headed towards spotsylvania.to keep the corridor on the wet side. there's a line of embedded thunderstorms. southwestern parts of pennsylvania. it's part of the front itself. we will clear out late tonight. there's so much more moisture coming our way. sunshine is going to be at a premium. there's tonight's rain here. most of the rain ending around midnight. it won't stay dry for long. we'll start out dry tomorrow. enjoy the dry start while you can. tomorrow, late in the day, the warm front comes into the area. as a result, rain chances return with it. the rainshowers could be on the heavy side late thursday night to friday before the colder air settles in. for overnight tonight, cloudy and mild. rainy for a couple hours. wake-up temperatures upper 40s to 50. that's mild. tomorrow, breaks of sun early in the day. turning cloudy. mild tomorrow with temperatures into the upper 50s to near 60. oh, the rains are back for late tomorrow night into early friday. then as we head into the all important christmas weekend,

. >> the recovered it from my home in spotsylvania county. they believe the suspect, a 25- year-old woman, took the figure tuesday night and posted a picture of the stolen items on facebook. >> when you close that up on facebook, that is a worldwide thing. they got what they deserved. >> the person took a picture of the web pages and contacted police. >> a person came forward and wants to remain anonymous. they gave us this very important piece of evidence. that facebook image and lead us to suspect. >> the suspect led them to a relative's home where the missing piece of the nativity was finally found. it is a relief for residents and shoppers to say it is bad that something like this could happen this time of year. >> it takes away the spirit of what the holidays are supposed to be. >> the management company also very pleased saying that they are thrilled that the baby jesus is now back. this nativity scene will stage for the rest of the holiday season. for the charges, they are still pending against the suspect and authorities say they do n

we still have rain across the area, raining heavily down around fredericksburg and spotsylvania county. that will move into southern maryland. as we widen out here here's the rain that everybody will see. look it the trail down to atlanta and the rain that you see just to the south of memphis that is the second storm that is forming. that's the one that's going to give us the heavy rain, the colder air, and the possibility for some snow. we'll talk all about it coming up. >>> and just a few hours ago the d.c. council gave approval to a sweeping new ethics bill to force disclosure of political spending and create a toughest ethics board. the full council voted just days after the fbi raided the home of ward five council member harry thomas, jr. tom sherwood has more. >> reporter: this bill makes major changes in the ethics laws but some complain it doesn't go far enough. >> aaye? all opposed? ayes have it. >> reporter: after hours of debate, the d.c. council passed the tougher ethics bill on a voice vote. >> the issue of the public thinks the council members are corrupt or not serious e

. >> spreading the word of christ in spotsylvania county, furious someone would steal jesus at a time when christians celebrate his birth. >> i became a christian and now i can't hate. >> whoever came had to have come and cut the string itself. >> a few miles up i-95, another jesus missing. the life sized baby has been displayed for years and workers say it is expensive and irreplaceable. >> we know it was a prank, but we are all disgusted. now we haven't heard from anyone and we would like to have it returned as soon as possible. >> hoping for a christmas miracle. >> hoping for a christmas miracle. >> i certainly hope so. >> police were able to recover a third baby jesus after the alleged thief posted a picture of it on her facebook page. >> it's a felony. so we are investigating it as we would any other active felony case. >> no matter what the authorities say or do to her at some point, she'll need judgment. >> police do have leads, the same 25-year-old woman may be responsible for taking all three statues. but so far, no arrests and still two empty mangers. near fredericksburg, br

.  >>> happy reunion today for a spotsylvania county couple and their dog that raneight years ago. petunia had quite a journey. she was found in california. traced back to the pruitt family through a microchip. they reunited with their dog. >> you remember us? >> hi sweety. >> she is wagging her tail. hey baby girl. she's on california time right now. the woman who found her says pee says petunia ran up to her hungry and thirsty, but in good shape. [ baby crying ] >>> seems to work. forget the bottles and pacefiers. the video of the baby went viral after it was recently posted. important to point out doctors warn you should never insert cotton swabs into your ears. certainly worked for that child. and in survival mode, whatever works. >> still scared from the crying days. i am not out of the crying days yet. speaking of crying, take a look at this. quite the made for tv drama. that x factor contestant broke out on stage. tonight, talks about being eliminated from the show. >>> in sports, i'll tell you why there is hope for the redskins despite their underdog status.

family and classmates mourning the death of a 17-year-old high school student in spotsylvania. salina gomez rear ended someone. when she got out of the car, another car hit her and pinned her. >>> tonight, there's a vigil planned for a 14-year-old girl who was run over by two vehicles a year ago. family and friends will come together from 7:00 until 9:00. she tried to cross the road when she was hit. one driver stayed on the scene. the other drove off and has not been caught. >>> still ahead on the broadcast, a new push to make sure pilots are wide awake in the cockpit. >>> fighting words between romney and gingrich. >>> president obama does last minute holiday shopping in alexandria. >>> a fedex driver tossing a computer monitor over a fence. >> dan, what is up in sports? >> redskins. they are trying to win a game at home. they have not done much of that this season. >> capitals secure a win. >>> the federal aviation administration is posing new rules to prevent airline pilots from flying while fatigued. they limit the amount of flights they can fly. it limits the amount of ho

fema announced individuals and small businesses including culpeper, spotsylvania and fredericksburg can apply for aid. now, to the weather. >> we are seeing aftershocks of that quake that happened four months ago. 39 in manassas. 36 in leesburg. that's where the temperatures are going to remain for the next couple hours. we will start to cool down. looking at a cool start for tomorrow. not a cold start. what does it look like for new year's eve? i have the forecast coming up for you in a couple minutes. >> all right, thank you, doug. >>> as 2011 draws to a close, your time is running out to make donations for the year. julie carey joins us live with the last minute rush. julie? >> reporter: it turns out holiday giving is still going strong. now, it's holiday giving away. this is one of the lulls we have seen here at the arlington good will as folks come in to make their donations. this articlelington good will s is the sixth busiest in the nation. at this time of year, it's clear to see as one vehicle after another rolls up to make a donation. >> the last week of the year is busiest for

they say she lives in spotsylvania county that show posted a picture of the baby jesus on her facebooky jesus stolen. she replied it's so stolen. >> we have no idea how many people actually saw that picture on facebook, but a great number of them made comments indicating that they knew that that was a stolen item and these people were talking about it. out of all those people only one individual came forward and contacted us. we're certainly glad that he did. >> reporter: the nativity scene is complete. but this case is far from closed. the common we'll attorney studying the evidence to determine what if any charges will be brought here. i'm pat collins news 4, fredericksburg. >> pat tells us investigators believe because the statue weighed 80 pounds a second person may have helped steal it. the ta chew was filled with that concrete after being stolen once before in 2005. >>> apple fans get your wallets ready for the next possible creation, the mini ipad. there are rumors that apple is developing an eight inch ipad. the normal sized tablet is ten inches, it also costs $500. apple is ho

and to prince william county and spotsylvania county and that is some good rain and that is going tonue to be wet and back out, southern secs of charles county and -- in is saint charles here and to port royal, montrose, southern maryland getting heavy, heavy rain, too and can you follow this into southern section of virginia. the heaviest of the rain up and down i-81 and as we bring this out a bit more, we will colorize it for you and that is snowing. you jump the front and that is all snow there and into west virginia. and that is comings our direction and let me take to you north carolina. you see the swirl here and that is the storm system and that is coming up here and as that travels to the north and east, as it gets here later on this evening, it will quickly draw in the colder air and that is when we think we're going to get a changeover to snow. not old now, though, 52 degrees in the city and that is getting colder for frederick, 46; dulles, 48 and again, along i- 81, the temperatures are dropping off. companyber lap right now is 37 degrees -- cumberland is 37 degrees and fr

. >> the suspect is a 25-year- old woman from spotsylvania. she had help and looking for an accomplice. >> two people are arrested after they robbed a bagel shop. just before 1:00 this afternoon. it all went down on brighten dam road. that's near the howard county line. the suspects are accused of robbing the only bagel bakery a short time earlier. >> one of the most influential and controversial writers of our time has died. he was 62 years old and he died from pneumonia. he lives right here in washington and a contributing editor of vanity fair. after finding out he had cancer, he wrote, and i quote, in whatever kind of race life may be, i have very abruptly became a finalist. he wrote in the edition of thomas payne. among the targets of his sometimes writing style, henry kissinger, and mother teresa. >> the fairfax county school board okayed the use of surveillance cameras in high schools. under the plan, cameras can be put in place in cafeterias and hallways. cameras will not be allowed in locker rooms or restaurants. the move comes after

also in spotsylvania county, police are looking for two more missing jesus statues. last week police in fredericksburg recovered one of the statues stolen from central park shopping center. now officers are trying to track down stolen figures in the south point shopping center and a furniture store off of route 3. >>> the search is on this morning for thieves who ripped open hundreds of letters and holiday packages meant for families in our area. police say the thieves rummaged through mailboxes in the century wood subdivision and surrounding areas of waldorf. they stole mail and packages looking for cash, gift cards, and other valuable items. anything they didn't want was thrown out on the street or dumped at a nearby park. so unfortunate. >>> the time right now is 6:26. the big change in the polls [ screaming ] [ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state.

upper 40s in the high spots to near 50 around town and then along i-95, towards fredericksburg and spotsylvania stafford. 51 today, 56 tomorrow and 100% dry for your weekend, clouds thicken up on monday, rain is in the forecast for tuesday, and wednesday, before breezy, chilly weather returns late next week. so georgia and lsu kicking off in the georgia dome, no real weather problems there, the big game of the day, oklahoma and oklahoma state. >> hey, hey, hey now. >>? stillwater, taking it on, going to be a big one and going to be crazy bad weather out there, rain and cold and wind. won't end as snow but i saw the man earlier this week, in addition to asking for a snowstorm, i asked for maybe just one more point than the cowboys today. one more point, only need to win by one. >> i hope he's 1 for 2 on that one and gives you the point. i don't want the snow. >> i'll take the point. >> thank you, chuck, good luck. >>> it's 9:50 right now. from y. >>> the redskins, they're going to go for two wins in a row, when the new york jets come to town. >> the last time the redskins played the jets was in

george's county, anne arundel, calvert, charles, fairfax, prince william, fauquier, stafford and spotsylvaniang north into the metro area. temperatures are mild. most locations in the mid and upper 50s. 59 at reagan national. later today, we'll have a gradually cooling trend, then back down into the 40s getting colder quickly by late afternoon. occasional showers through the day may cause flooding as well. then this evening, the rain changing over to sleet and wet snow by around 7:00 or 8:00 this evening in the metro area. that would be earlier in the day farther west and north. i'll show you my snow accumulation map coming up in ten minutes. danella, good morning. how's traffic? >> good morning. >>> if you're traveling 395 southbound, have an accident on the left side of the roadway. also seeing delays on 395, this time traveling northbound at duke. having an accident on the right side of the roadway. at least it's kind of on the right side. your delays continue on the 14th street bridge. 18 miles per hour, not good at all. if you're traveling i-270 south at father hurley, very slow bumper t

. >> room to move, that's what three-year-old petunia had at the family home in spotsylvania county.de a b line for the barn. and that is the last time i saw her. >> in the hours after petunia disappeared, the family thought for sure she would be back in no time running around the yard. >> we thought for sure we would have her by the end of the day. >> as days turned to weeks and then months, they lost hope. >> you start accepting that she is not coming back. >> or so they thought. fast forward eight years to this past thursday when they got a call from their vet. >> they said well, she has been located by a local animal control and i asked, well where is she? she started laughing. she said california. >> and i was dumbfounded. >> her husband was about to celebrate a birthday, he thought maybe an old army buddy was playing a trick. >> what kind of idiot is playing a joke. you had to have known me years ago. >> then came the e-mail. >> that looks like her? >> oh yeah. >> it's amazing to me. i kept saying, you're in virginia? because we are in california. >> the dog had been found wand

this is the first time ashley's family from spotsylvania county said anything at all. police are still trying to find a motive for thursday's shooting. investigationo investigators say ashley shot and killed crouse during a routine traffic stop. ashley killed himself a short time later. officer crouse's funeral service will be held at 2:00 this afternoon at virginia's capital coliseum. governor bob mcdonnell is expected to speak. >>> today at the white house, president obama will meet with iraqi prime minister nouri al maliki. the two are scheduled to discuss how the relationship between two countries will move forward. all u.s. troops are supposed to leave iraq at the end of the month, marking the end of a nearly nine-year war. president obama and al maliki have pledged to maintain strong ties. the leaders are scheduled to discuss a number of issues today, including security, energy, commerce, and education. >>> house and senate appropriators will unveil a new spending bill today to avoid a government shutdown. according to "the washington post," negotiators have been

. >>> the spotsylvania man who shot and killed a police officer at virginia tech legally purchased the gun that he used. despite nonstop efforts since thursday, state police say they still cannot find a link between the shooter ross ashley and the victim derek crouse. ashley also has no known connections to the school. surveillance video first puts ashley in blacksburg on wednesday afternoon, but he's not seen again until the shooting that killed derek crouse. >>> new information from a cell phone could lead to a breakthrough in the case of a missing mother in orlando. investigators recovered michelle parker's iphone in the bottom of a lake last week of the the phone was found in remarkably good shape, and they're now following up on leads possibly from that phone. but they won't say what those new leads are. michelle parker disappeared last month after appearing on the tv show "people's court" with her ex-fiance david smith. police reasserted smith is the prime suspect in parker's disappearance, and they have new information to back that up. >>> dr. conrad murray is asking for a publi