nbc bay area steve handelsman is live in cincinnati, ohio, a state both candidates desperately want to win. steve? >> reporter: janelle, thanks. good evening from cincinnati. it's a pivotal part of this pivotal state. ohio is so important that it's the only battleground where both of these presidential candidates campaigned on this final day. governor mitt romney began his last day push in florida. >> we can begin a better tomorrow, tomorrow, and with the help of the people in florida, that's exactly what is going to happen. >> reporter: a few hours later he was in virginia. >> if you're tired of being tired, then i ask you to vote for change. help us win this. >> reporter: with bruce springsteen, president obama started today in wisconsin. >> you know that i'll fight for you and your families every single day as hard as i know how. >> reporter: last night colorado a huge rally. after a shimmy with stevie wonder in cincinnati, ohio, the president urged his backers to vote today. the lines to early voting in ohio had been long, but republicans won a fight to shorten voting hours. mary j

live from cincinnati, i'm steve handelsman, nbc bay area news. >> okay, thank you very much, steve. >>> now proposition 30 could be the biggest issue for california voters tomorrow. coming up in five minutes, what you haven't heard in ads about that proposition, and what will happen if prop 30 passes. and of course we invite you to stay with nbc bay area news for complete election coverage. we will have live coverage all day beginning tomorrow morning at 4:30 today on the bay. and of course, you can always go to nbcbayarea.com for the latest election results and updates. >>> it was a highly anticipated verdict in the south bay, a verdict that one attorney says makes children safer from molestation. today a jury found a principal guilty of failing to report accusations that an 8-year-old girl had been sexual abused by a teacher. lyn vijayendran, who used to work at o.b. whaley elementary in san jose wiped away tears as the judge announced the verdict. the accused teacher, craig chandler is currently awaiting trial for molesting five children. >> when you have the responsibility of hund

steve handelsman is live in washington, d.c. with the latest on the race with 95 hours to go until the first polls close. good evening. >> reporter: 95, well that. >> can't spin that number. but both sides are spinning the unemployment number of 7.9, disagreeing about the significance of it. but agreeing oddly, they don't agree on much, especially this close to the end, on the importance of the number 18, the electoral votes of ohio that both candidates badly need. so close to the end, you know they're in ohio. mitt romney in etna. >> i'm counting on you. >> president obama in hilliard, caking credit for the auto bailout. >> in toledo, where chrysler is add mortgage than a thousand new jobs on a second shift, not in china, right here in ohio. >> reporter: it paid off for him, a two-point lead in ohio polls. >> this morning we learned the companies hired more workers in october than at any time in the last eight months. >> reporter: it's the last jobs report before the vote. 7.9% unemployment, slightly worse. 171,000 new jobs, be

. >> steve handelsman has the report. >> reporter: lines of voters waiting to cast ballots. hours after the polls closed in battleground states. this was lee county, florida. prince william county, virginia. >> i've been here three hours. it's worth it. >> reporter: officials said v voting might last until 11:00 p.m. long lines meant results delayed. key states impossible to call. president obama, today -- >> we got to round up some votes. >> called to another swing state, wisconsin. >> tonight, he's the projected winner there and in a cluster of northeastern states. mitt romney went to pittsburgh but pennsylvania tonight is projected an obama win. romney did win traditionally-republican southern and western states. >> until ohio, virginia, florida get tallied, this election remaining up in the air. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news at obama election night headquarters in chicago. >> our team is also in place covering the bigelow cal issues from the virginia senate race to the same-sex marriage and expanded gambling in maryland. we have reporters all over the place. we begin wi

steve handelsman is on capitol hill this afternoon. steve, what did they learn? >> reporter: pat, thanks, good evening. according to one democrat, who attended one of those two closed-door sessions here up on the hill, the cia threw a politically important lifeline to obama, u.n. ambassador dr. susan rice. but the overall issue remains highly political, highly partisan. even personal. libya's become a battle between president obama and republican senator john mccain, who insisted again today the administration knew quickly that al qaeda had attacked. >> and for the president of the united states, for two weeks afterwards, to deny that that was the case, is either a cover-up or it is incompetence. >> reporter: susan rice denied it, infuriating republicans. acting cia director mike morerel on the hill today briefed some lawmakers on libya. one, a democrat said the account backed rice, that u.s. intelligence did give her the incorrect account that she passed on. >> that this was a spontaneous protest that involved something militant. that was the best information. t

steve handelsman, at wbal tv 11 news. quite significant changes on the way in maryland with the referendums passing on the ballot. the most controversial, in favor of same-sex marriage. 52% of maryland voters in check yes. the news brought some emotional victory chance after a hard- fought battle. kim has more on what is next. >> last night, maryland was one of four states to legalize same- sex marriage. it is the first time it has passed in an election as a valid question. this was such a heated issue, what happens now? the headquarters of marriage quality is buzzing with congratulation and energy after question 6 past, legalizing same-sex marriage. >> we are really excited. january 1, 2013, gay and lesbian couples are going to get a state-issued a marriage license. we won one of the largest coalition efforts the state has ever had. >> tuesday's election was the first time the bill has ever passed as the ballot item. the credit months of running a grass-roots campaign. >> i believe because of the diversity of the coaliti

our 11 news reporter steve handelsman is live in washington with more of mr. obama's plans moving forward. >> good evening from capitol hill. if the president wanted to talk today about the fiscal cliff and taxes, he should have talked last week before the words from the cia. president obama wanted to show off the power of the second election, with a tax call on the rich, but that message had a distraction, the situation with david petraeus. >> that classified information was disclosed, that it in any way had any impact on our national security -- >> but the president is withholding judgment on the fbi holding secret. he praised the former cia chief. >> we are safer because of the work that david petraeus is has done. >> issue number two was the fiscal cliff and taxes. >> what i am not going to do is extend further a tax cut for folks who do not need it. >> republicans demand no rate hikes. can there be a deal finally to cut deductions? >> i recognize that we're going to have to compromise, and as i said on election night, compromise is hard. >> four americans

i'm steve handelsman, news4, capitol hill. >>> thanks, steve. how prepared was mitt romney to win the presidency on tuesday? his campaign team had already designed this. a website for his transition. the site was taken down. but it did go live long enough for the role call website political wire to get screen shots. the site refers to president-elect romney. and it talks about his transition team, selecting cabinet members and getting ready for inauguration day. >>> next month, a federal garage jury will take up the case of a man charged with stealing a truck that had white house equipment inside it. 48-year-old eric brown faces up to ten years in prison if convicted. prosecutors say he stole that truck containing president obama's podium, teleprompter and other equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars. it happened over a year ago in virginia. they claim brown sold the department of defense laptop and had presidential seals in his possession. >>> when news4 at 4:00 continues, a bus driver learned his fate after a crash that killed four peopl

steve handelsman as the big picture and the new job numbers from washington. >> 7.9% unemployment, bothes today are debating the significance of that. but nobody is disputing the importance of the no. 8 team. that is how many el toro votes there are for the state of ohio. -- a lot tour all -- electoral votes there are for the state of ohio. >> taking credit for the auto bailout. >> chrysler is adding more than a thousand new jobs. not in china. right here in ohio. >> it paid off for him. >> this morning we learned, the company has hired more workers in october than any time the last eight months. >> it is the last report before the vote. 7.9% unemployment. 171,000 new jobs. >> 300,000 is where we want to be. relative to last year, and this is much better. >> kicking off more than he says is better. >> housing is on the rise. we are less dependent on foreign oil than any time the last 20 years. >> romney stopped in wisconsin where he is five points behind. >> obama promised to do so much that he has fallen short. >> he says the president said it would be down to 5%. >> it is actually 7.9

steve handelsman is on capitol hill with more on that. steve? >> you got it right. this is a restart of a high-stakes negotiation between those two men. the president and the speaker. the problem is beginning today where they left off, which is far apart. in a speech at the white house, president obama claimed the election proved most americans agree with his plan. that he calls balanced. cutting spending and hiking taxes to avoid the fiscal cliff. he said he's flexible -- >> but i refuse to accept any approach that isn't balanced. i am not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me making over $250,000 aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes. >> reporter: he's calling in members of congress for fiscal cliff meetings next week. but the main republican negotiator, again, will be speaker john boehner. >> and the problem with raising tax rates on the wealthiest americans is that more than half of them are small business owners. we know 700,000 jobs will be destroyed. >> reporter: boehner insists the

news4's steve handelsman is on capitol hill with the latest on this final stretch. >> reporter: jim, good evening. both sides now, this close to next tuesday, have their eyes a little bit on some other states that they either hope or fear might alter the election calculation. it's that close. but the nine swing states still matter most. mitt romney went to virginia, a swing state where the polls show the race tied, and made his closing argument. >> if the president were to be reelected, you're going to see high levels of unemployment continue, and stalled wage growth. if any wage growth at all, just like we've seefr over the last four years. >> reporter: his new ad is positive. >> mitt romney understands business, knows how to create jobs and get our economy moving. >> reporter: but the former governor's path to a win looks difficult. in today's nbc news marist poll, romney's down by 6% in ohio, closer in new hampshire and wisconsin. that's where air force one went today, green bay. president obama back on the trail after suspending campaigning for hurricane sandy. he made his closin

i'm steve handelsman, news4, capitol hill. >>> nancy pelosi has put rumors about her future to rest. she raised more money than any other member of congress to put democrats back in power. but her party fell far short of the 25 seats needed to win the majority last week. still pelosi succeeded in electing the most diverse caucus in the country's history. >> as you look forward, understand that you are looking into the future. the future of empowerment of women in america. and i have made a decision to submit my name to my colleagues, to once again serve as the house democratic leader. >> the only woman ever elected speaker of the house, she served in that post from 2007 to 2011, when democrats lost their house majority. she is 72 years old. >>> a developing story now. a grand jury in new york has indicted a suspect in the murder of 6-year-old aton pace. the boy disappeared from a new york city street 33 years ago. the mystery about what happened to him has gripped new yorkers for decades. pedro hernandez was a clerk at a store in aton's neighborhood. police say hernandez has admitted

steve handelsman joins us now live from capitol hill with the special treatment congress gave to the retired general today. >> reporter: this is the big set of hearings, hi, jim, from the hill tonight. republicans are still charging that somebody played politics with what the public was told about benghazi. but petraeus testified that langly didn't do that. former cia director david petraeus kept out of sight until he got home. lawmakers had cleared the way for him to get to the closed-door hearing without walking through halls. a favorite of the general who apologized to lawmakers for his affair. petraeus testified the cia figured immediately it was al qaeda that attacked the sufficient consulate in benghazi, killing the u.s. ambassador and three others. how the cia with an eye on libya missed the threat is still under investigation. but petraeus' testimony helped. >> it added to our ability to make judgments about what is clearly a failure of intelligence. >> reporter: it did not end the fight over u.n. ambassador susan rice, who, five days after the attack, denied it was al qaeda.

i'm steve handelsman, news4, cincinnati. >>> both campaigns made a last-minute push in virginia today, and the commonwealth used it as a chance to make the final rounds. democratic hopeful tim kaine was on the road with vice president joe biden. he spoke at a rally in sterling earlier today. republican candidate george allen was campaigning with mitt romney, who made stops in lynchburg, and in fairfax. like the presidential race, the senate race is extremely close heading into election day. >>> you've heard of question 6 and 7, but what about the other number? some of maryland's ballot questions have gotten a lot of attention of late. you've seen them in the commercials like same-sex marriage and expanded gambling. megan mcgrath breaks down what else is at stake. >> reporter: a flurry of activity at the prince george's county board of elections as voters turn in their ab sen teen ballots looking to avoid the crowds tomorrow. when marylanders head to the polls on tuesday, they will not only cast their votes for the presidential race, they will also have their say on a number of ballot

nbc steve handelsman is live in chicago with how the president got there. steve? >> reporter: jim, thanks. good evening. so president obama gets four more years. but what else does it mean. how about all the problems up on capitol hill. well, from here in chicago today, president obama telephoned congressional leaders, urging more bipartisan cooperation. hoping yesterday's vote was the kind of jolt needed to get things done. reelected, with more than 300 electoral votes and the majority of the popular vote. president obama headed back to the white house, hoping his victory can break washington's gridlock. putting aside florida, where the votes were still being counted, the president dominated the election map. victory across the battleground states except north carolina. obama backers celebrated his win in swing state virginia. harry reid whose senate majority got bigger, demanded republicans cut deals now on taxes and spending. >> american people want us to work together. republicans want us to work together, democrats want us to work together. >> reporter: conce

we begin with steve handelsman. he's on capitol hill. steve? >> doreen, thanks. it's a numbers game. four days to go. 7.9%. that's the new unemployment number. in the race for the white house both sides tonight are disagreeing about the meaning of that. but they agree about the importance of the number 18. the electoral votes of the state of ohio. and both sides badly want them. so close to the end you know they're in ohio. mitt romney in aetna. >> i'm counting on you. >> reporter: president obama in hilliard taking credit for the auto bailout. >> it paid off in toledo. where chrysler's adding more than 1,000 new jobs on a second shift. not in china. right here in ohio. >> reporter: it paid off for him. a two-point lead in ohio polls. >> compaes hired more workers in october than at any time in the last eight months. >> reporter: it's the last jobs report before the vote. 7.9% unemployment, slightly worse. 171,000 new jobs, better than expected but not great. >> 700,000 is really where we want to be. relative to where we were last spring this is much better. >> r

and as steve handelsman reports. that's where both candidates are campaigning today. >> reporter: so close to the end, you know they're in ohio. mitt romney in aetna. >> i'm counting on you. >> president obama in hilliard taking credit for the auto bailout. >> it paid off in toledo, where chrysler's adding more than 1,000 new jobs on a second shift. not in china. right here in ohio. >> reporter: it paid off for him in in ohio polls. >> this morning we learned -- than at any time in the last eight months. >> reporter: it's the last jobless report before the vote. 7.9% unemployment. slightly worse. >> the president went to springfield, ohio. >> reporter: romney stopped in wisconsin where he's polling five points behind. >> candidate obama promised to do so very much. but he's fallen so very short. >> reporter: he said the president pledged unemployment down to 5% by now. >> today we learned that it's actually 7.9%. and that's 9 million jobs short of what he promised. unemployment is higher today than when barack obama

steve handelsman is on capitol hill now with a special treatment that congress gave to the retired general. steve? >> reporter: hi, jim. it wasn't a hot seat, it was more a warm welcome up here on capitol hill tonight. some republicans are still charging that somebody played politics with what the public was told about benghazi. petraeus testified that if that happened, it wasn't the fault of the cia. former cia director david petraeus kept out of sight until he got home. lawmakers had cleared the way for him to get to the closed-door hearing without walking through halls. a favor to the general, who apologized to lawmakers for his affair. petraeus testified the cia figured immediately it was al qaeda that attacked the u.s. consulate in benghazi. killing the u.s. ambassador and three others. how the cia with an eye on libya missed the threat is still under investigation. but petraeus' testimony helped. >> it added to our ability to make judgments about what is clearly a failure of intelligence. >> reporter: it did not end the fight over u.n. ambassador susan rice, who five days after the a

steve handelsman, news4. >>> on to another developing story. now the teenager arrested for the murder of a d.c. taxi driver is now connected to the murder of a waldorf woman. this is joshua mebane's mug shot. the husband and wife were both shot last month. shomari stone joins us with new information tonight. shomari? >> reporter: this was the break that charles county sheriff's investigators have waited two and a half weeks for. detectives say the 17-year-old joshua mebane killed teresa bass. the teen is also suspected in the fatal shooting of a d.c. cab driver last week. now, d.c. police got a tip in the cab driver murder case from someone claiming joshua mebane lamingly shot and killed her while she was walking her dog on a trail with her husband in the hampshire neighborhood october 26th. her husband was also shot multiple time and survived with serious injuries. mebane lives in the same neighborhood with his parents. crime scene investigators searched the home this weekend and found a gun that was alongly used to kill teresa bass. >> it was

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. >>> after more than a week of long lines, drivers in new york say the newly implemented gas rationing program appears to be working. it is similar to the program in new jersey. vehicles with odd numbered license plates fill up on monday and vehicles with even numbered plates do the same the next day. only quarter of new york city gas stags are open as that city still recovers from superstorm sandy. wi widespread destruction from that storm will make it the largest relief effort from the red cross since hurricane katrina. >> a long time before things get back to normal. >>> for us, the prospect of a glitch this weekend ahead, huh? >> delicious, yes. i seldom use that term in weather, but, yes, quite that. delicious. very nice weather with plenty of sunshine over the next couple of days. i do think we'll see some clouds from time to time, but i also think sunday is going to be one delicious day. let's take a look and show you how it was earlier today. this is out towards frying pan park and the horses enjoying a little bit of sunshine, althou

steve handelsman has covered every step of this presidential caaign. he joins us live in chicago to wrap it all up. it is all over except the voting and the countdown. >> reporter: you would think so. would not you? thanks. you would think they would take a rest today. they've debated, they've gone all over the place. they've gone between those seven, eight, nine, battleground states, most notably around virginia again and again and again. and they did it again today. you had mitt romney and paul ryan. joe biden in ohio. but not president obama. he was here in chicago taking it a little bit easy. went by the election headquarters. did the thing they do that looks so great on tv and has to be great if you're the one that called. president obama picked up the phone and called supporters in wisconsin. high, this is barack obama. yeah, that barack obama. thanks a lot for your help. and then got a little bit serious. this is his last day of his last campaign. he talked about himself, the american people and his opponent. take listen. >> i want to say how gr

steve handelsman on capitol hill now with the latest on this. >> reporter: besides virginia, and the other battlegrounds, both sides now have their eyes on a few other states that they either hope or fear might alter the election calculation. it's that close. the nine swing states still matter most. mitt romney went to virginia, a swing state where the polls show the race tied, and made his closing argument. >> if the president were to be reelected, you'll see high levels of unemployment continue, and stalled wage growth. if any wage growth at all, like we've seen over the last few years. >> reporter: his new ad is positive. >> mitt romney understands business. knows how to create jobs. and get our economy moving. >> reporter: but the former governor's path to a win looks difficult. in today's nbc news marist poll, romney's down by 6% in iowa, closer in new hampshire and wisconsin. that's where air force one went today, green bay. president obama back on the trail after suspending campaigning for hurricane sandy. he made his closing argument. >> we know what change looks like. and wh

steve handelsman, wbal-tv 11 news. >> so far, no major issues at the polls, although there were some complaints about long lines. that is a very positive sign for a large voter turnout. mr. robinson is live in northeast baltimore with more on that story. >> it certainly is a good sign -- lisa robinson is live in northeast baltimore. >> right now we don't have any lines here at northwood elementary school, but inside this school, for different precincts votes. thousands of people are voting here at this particular location. i did just check inside and the lines are growing as people are getting off work. even though the lines are long, the voters are eager. >> it is a good thing. last time we voted, it was not like that at all, but this time there has been a steady flow all day long. but everywhere there are long lines. for the most part, the orders are patients -- voters are patient. >> if you want to vote, you put up with it. >> a close presidential race and some huge questions on the ballot brought so many out. >> there has been a lot of controversy about question 7 and question si

nbc steve handelsman joins us now with all the details. evening, steve. >> reporter: good evening to you. a lot of yelling in that open hearing. but there were also closed hearings up here on capitol hill today. the cia, classified briefings. and after them, house democrats came out to report the agency threw a lifeline, if you will, to embattled obama u.n. ambassador susan rice, corroborating ambassador rice's account of what she knew and when she knew it, even though we know now that what she was told and what she repeated was wrong about benghazi. libya remains highly political, partisan and even personal. libya's become a battle between president obama and republican senator ginnie mae who insisted again today the administration knew quickly that al qaeda had attacked. >> and for the president of the united states for two weeks afterwards to deny that that was the case is either a cover-up or it is incompetence. >> reporter: obama u.n. ambassador susan rice denied it, infuriating republicans. mike morrell on the hill today briefed some

steve handelsman there in washington.hanks very much. >> a lot of questions with answers unfilled. thank you very much. >>> ding dongs, no more. twinkies are toast. >> did you ever have a twinkie? >> i had my first one this week. >> i thought so. you had that whole closet there. >> i did not grow up with those iconic brands in australia. well, hostess brands is going out of business because one-third of its 18,000 workers failed to reach a deal with management. why did the union give up lower paying jobs for no jobs at all? we'll have that debate next. >> looking forward to that. >>> also ahead, did you camp out to see the last "twilight" movie? as the final film hits the series, lionsgate is hoping for another wave of popular receipts. we'll have the lionsgate trade coming up. >>> also, how do you profit from poverty and feel good about it? meet the man doing just that. we'll explain. what makes the sleep number store different? you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. we have so much techn

from cincinnati, ohio, ooem steve handelsman, news 4. >> volunteers are ready. eric gonzalez with last minute prop rations across the area and what you can do to avoid spending hours in line. >> well, one of the things that people are urging voters to do is especially if you have to go out to places like maryland where the ballots or the sample ballots look like this and the questions are lengthy, go over them, revise them. know how you're going to vote tomorrow. >> i'm excited. i can't wait. i can't wait. yeah! >> millions will eagerly take to the pollsn what could likely be a frenzy. but tonight it's quiet. it's about the prep work. seals ready to be broken at just the right time. >> we anticipate a heavy turnout tomorrow. >> virginia polling places will set up its machines tomorrow morning. >> a lot of folks have sacrificed a lot. just a few days ago about 70,000 people showed up to show up early. >> this is our first time with early voting. >> but only five polling sites. tomorrow there will be more than 200. still pack that patience. >> it's going to be as

live from chicago, i'm steve handelsman, nbc bay area news. >> okay, steve, thank you, from a very chilly chicago. >>> it is very common on the day for the markets to slide, but on this day after, it was a tumble on wall street, and it involves one of the bay area's most notable companies. like steve mentioned, we're going to be hearing a lot of that fiscal cliff term. scott budman joins us. where are we headed here? >> reporter: a lot of direction, raj. some local, some overseas. you mentioned apple. here is what a lot of people all over the country are talk about tonight. wall street worried what politicians are indeed calling the fiscal cliff. which comes from a previous budget deal. basically, what this means is by the end of the year, unless there is a new deal to decrease the country's deficit, two things will happen. one, massive government spending cuts kick in. literally hundreds of billions of dollars worth of cuts. and two, a tax increase. many analysts say this could plunge our economy back into a recession and lead to a sell-off in the stock market because of investors losing

larry, back to you. >> many thanks, steve handelsman, appreciate it.general petraeus done a 180 on benghazi? this is a very serious issue. first he blames the attack on a video. now he's saying it was a terrorist attack and the briefing notes were changed. something doesn't add up. here now is michael rubin, resident scholar at the american enterprise institute, and alexis levinson, reporter at the daily quarter. michael, i'll go to you first. peter king himself today, i guess i'll quote this, he said that the testimony petraeus gave today, that they knew immediately it was a terrorist attack, differed with his own briefing to lawmakers on september 14th. sources say that petraeus somehow has chaud hnged his position. now, i don't get this. before i even get to the talking points, michael, how can petraeus say one thing on september 14th and then come back today and say no, no, no, here's what really happened, we knew about it all the time? >> you know, larry, that's an excellent question. but this is what really gets me. president obama, when he was a

live from capitol hill, steve handelsman, news4. >>> steve, thank you. now, for more on the scandal involving the former cia director, nbc's pete williams joins us now. there's so many developments in so many different directions in this story. what's happened today? >> well, today we learned general petraeus will in fact testify before the senate about what happened in benghazi. it will be in a closed session. we're told actually he volunteered to do it. the senate said they wanted to hear from him, but his friends say he called the cia, called his associates there and said i do want to testify. today the director of the fbi and his deputy director went up and talked to some members of congress about why the fbi did not inform them or the white house, while this investigation was still going on. the fbi insisted from the beginning that there are clear rules about when you tell other people what you're finding out in the middle of an investigation. they said that involves only intelligence activities, and that they were satisfied from their investigation

steve handelsman begins our team coverage. >> the end of a grueling campaign, with high hopes for a key state. he headed off to cleveland for one last effort. obama, who voted two weeks ago, drops by volunteer office near his home in chicago. he called swing state wisconsin. >> my name is barack obama. i am calling to say thank

steve handelsman, news4. >>> thanks, steve. not much changed on thrill as a result of the election. republicans kept a lock on the house of representatives. 233 to 193. democrats maintain control of the senate, 53-45. maryland democrats picked up a seat in the house. in the sixth district. john delaney beat incumbent roscoe bartlett. the lines in that district were recently redrawn to include a large part of montgomery county. democrats also celebrating a big win up in massachusetts. elizabeth warren beat scott brown for the u.s. senate seat there. the democrats regained the seat that was held by the late ted kennedy for 47 years. warren will be the first woman to represent massachusetts in the senate. >>> democrats are holding on to a u.s. senate seat in missouri, thanks to controversy created by a republican challenger. todd akin lost to incumbent mccaskill. akin came under fire for comments he made he called legitimate rape. he said abortion should not be allowed in conception by rape. republicans called for him to drop out of that race. >>> tim kaine said he's determined to work

i'm steve handelsman, news4. >> all right. stay tuned. thank you. >>> coming up at 4:30, we'll have more on the women involved in the petraeus scandal. pat? >>> right now, a former student is on trial accused of killing her roommate at bowie state university. alexis simpson is accused of stabbing dominique frazier to death. the two got into an argument over the volume of an ipod. simpson's lawyers say she was acting in self-defense. coming up at 5:00, prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins will have more on that. >>> 20 public schools could soon be closed in the district. d.c. public schools' chancellor kaya henderson announced the plan this morning. the schools will be closed in every ward except wards 1 and 3. most of the schools closings are in wards 5 and 7. the name of the schools are being announced at a news conference right now. chris gordon will have a full report with all the details coming up at 5:00. >>> take a i halive look outsid. we are about to get our coldest weather in nearly a week. >> dig sweaters and the c

steve handelsman has our report from there. >> reporter: mitt and ann romney voted in belmont, massachusetts. the end of a grueling campaign with high hopes for a key state. >> i feel great about ohio. thank you. >> reporter: he headed off to cleveland for one laugh effort. president obama who voted

steve handelsman joins us from chicago with more on how the president won his second term, and what's ahead for him. steve? >> reporter: doreen, thanks, good evening. not just what's ahead for him, but what's ahead for us because of yesterday. here in chicago today, president obama called capitol hill, talked to congressional leaders, urged more bipartisanship, hoping yesterday's vote was the kind of jolt needed to get things done. reelected, with more than 300 electoral votes and the majority of the popular vote. president obama headed back to the white house. hoping his victory can break

i'm steve handelsman, news4, cincinnati. >> vice president joe biden was in virginia today campaigning. he spoke this morning at heritage farms in sterling. the vice president told the crowd that president obama would ensure a better future for all generations of americans. democratic senate candidate tim kaine also spoke at that rally today. we'll have more on governor romney's big push for voters in fairfax in the next half hour. >>> there is a last-minute show of support tonight for the ballot measure question 6 in maryland. that measure would allow same-sex marriage in that state, and today supporters, including maryland's governor martin o'malley, held a rally at the university of maryland. but it comes after some protests from the pulpit over the weekend. chris gordon in college park, maryland, now with more on this. chris? >> reporter: good evening. maryland is one of four states where voters will go to the polls tomorrow and cast ballots for or against same-sex marriage. here at the university of maryland today, they held the final rally of supporters. >> every person should be

we begin with the presidential race, steve handelsman is in

steve handelsman joins us from capitol hill with more. >> reporter: hi, doreen. it's washington, timing is everything.

steve handelsman is on the hill to report the cia may have thrown ambassador rice

steve handelsman is on capitol hill with more on this. >> reporter: thanks, doreen. this fight is still all about taxes. here on capitol hill there are

from capitol hill, i'm steve handelsman, news4. >>> attorney general eric holder talked about the petraeus issue for the first time today. and why the justice department did not notify the white house or anyone on capitol hill about the investigation sooner. president obama didn't find out about it until after election day. >> we do not share outside the justice department, outside the fbi, the facts of ongoing investigations. we made the determination as we were going through the matter, that there was not a threat to national security. >> holder says it was an impartial investigation and it was not treated any differently because of the people involved. again, general petraeus is not facing any criminal charges. >>> a murder trial involving a former bowie state university student is now in the hands of a jury. within the past hour, both sides in the 'licalexis simpson trial wrapped up. prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins tells us what simpson said on the stand today. >> reporter: two girls who did not like each other. they had a number of arguments throughout the school ye

handelsman, reporting. now back to you. >> steve, thank you. virginia, florida and ohio. very crucial states. voter turnout now in new york is heavy despite widespread devastation left by superstorm sandy. many people left their homes, still without power, to cast their ballots. tents operating on generators were put up to replace storm damaged polling locations. long lines in new york but also there was a pay off. voters got to charge their cell phones as cell phone charging stations and some received hot meals. >> back here in the bay area, voting got under way. half of california voters have already voted by mail. nbcabduro santiago joins us. >> we are at a tiny place on nop hill. only about eight voting booths and this place was packed for the first couple of hours open and then the number of voters slowed down significantly to barely a trickle. and it's been that way at a lot of polling places earlier when we were at san francisco city hall poll workers manned the front steps to collect ballot dropped off there. there is a bit of a line downstairs at the polling station where a few dozen