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tv   News 4 Today at 6  NBC  December 7, 2011 6:00am-7:00am EST

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that area of yellow and orange. that's the moderate rain falling in fairfax, southern montgomery, the district, and across most of the prince george's county, charles, southern parts of anne arundel, northern calvert getting moderate rain. that's passing across the bay heading towards the eastern shore. that moderate line of rain stretches farther south and west from fredericksburg to charlottesville. we'll get pockets of rain off and on throughout much of the day. it's mild from the blue ridge to the bay. upper 50s to around 60 or so. blue ridge rest low to mid-50s. all these counties in green under a flood watch. there is the potential for creeks and streams to come out of their banks in the shenandoah valley, parts of west virginia. all these areas in lavender under a winter weather advisory for tonight for snow that may accumulate on grassy areas mainly just north and west of washington. i'll show you my forecast for that amount of snow we may get and the day and evening planner
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coming up in ten minutes. danella, how's traffic dealing with the rain? >> not very well. let's start with 395, a few problems. if you're traveling north at duke street, right side of the roadway. two of the lanes taken away by the accident there. also an accident if you're traveling across the 14th street bridge on the right side of the roadway. actually looks like it's starting to clear as we start to speak. actually the cars making their way across. it's a good sign. i'll be back in ten minutes as you cross the 14th street bridge. traveling 395, washington boulevard southbound, two of the left lanes plokd from tblocked crash there. first on dale drive at georgia avenue, the second at colesville road, we have a downed tree as well as downed wires. follow police direction as you're traveling in that area f you're traveling on i-270, starting to see congestion, the good news on i-270, no accidents in the roadway for you. joe and eun, back to you. new from overnight, firefighters are investigating a fire that sent a man to the hospital with severe injuries.
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this happened on hope place in takoma park around 2:00 this morning. firefighters say the flames were coming from the first floor when they arrived. when they got inside, they found a man inside. rescuers took him to a local burn facility to be treated. rescuers say the home was cluttered with stuff which made it difficult for firefighters to put out the flames. today occupy protesters from as far away as chicago will be here in d.c. for the national day of action. >> reporter: good morning, eun. right now people are slipping, but officials are suggesting you plan for today. it will include three important stops. occupy d.c. protesters and occupy chicago protesters will meet at mcpherson square at 10:30 a.m. then march to an undisclosed
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lobbying firm on "k" street for a demonstration. then back to mcpherson square and "t" strek" street for a pary say, will near the kind of parties that politicians and lobbyists have together. then they march to the white house and on to the supreme court for demonstrations there this evening. last month occupy d.c. organized a march across the key bridge that was expected to cause a traffic nightmare but did not. the peaceful demonstration across the bridge at rush hour that had little to no traffic impact, but last sunday a demonstration in mcpherson square resulted in 31 people being arrested as the occupiers built a wooden shed in the middle of a park. it was the most confrontational demonstration between police and occupy d.c. protesters today. it may be a peaceful demonstration with no impact, or it could make your afternoon or evening commute a nightmare. just plan for it, and if you can avoid these areas, then do it.
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tracee wilkins live this morning in northwest. former prince george's county executive jack johnson has one month to report to prison for coordinating a corruption scheme. johnson entered the courthouse using a cane yesterday. his attorneys say the former prince george's county executive now has parkinson's disease, and he asked for leniency. instead the judge went with the prosecutor's recommendations and sentenced him to more than seven years in prison. prosecutors had reduced their original request for a maximum of 14 years because they say johnson has cooperated with the investigation. johnson pled guilty in may of accepting bribes of up to $1 million. he apologized in court, saying his actions have haunted him and ruined his reputation. others in the county call what he did unforgivable. >> i think he really does feel terrible about what's happened and what he's done. at the same time, i know that justice had to be done. >> in addition to the seven-year
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prison sentence, the judge ordered johnson to pay $100,000 fine and forfeit a $78,000 antique mercedes benz. johnson asked to be sent to the federal prison in buckner, north carolina. that's the same prison where bernard madoff is serving 80 years for his ponzi scheme. johnson's wife leslie will be sentenced on friday for her role in the case. back in june, the former prince george's county council member pleaded guilty to conspiracy and evidence tampering. jack johnson was heard on a cell phone telling his wife to flush a developer's $100,000 check down the toilet and to stuff nearly $80,000 in her underwear. she faces up to 18 months in prison. for the first time since an fbi raid on his home, d.c. councilman harry thomas jr. returned to the wilson building in time for a preliminary vote on an ethics reform bill. thomas sat quietly for hours and
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refused to answer reporters' questions yesterday as the council debated and then passed a preliminary version of ethics reform. the measure aims to restrict political spending and requires more disclosure. it would also establish an ethics board to impose fines on violators. the full council will hold a final vote on the reform bill in two week. today a senate homeland security subcommittee will examine whether the district is ready for natural or man made disasters. it follows the gridlock that followed the 5.8 magnitude earthquake back in august. it damaged several buildings, including the national cathedral and the washington monument. subcommittee members are concerned about coordination between federal and local emergency managers. today is the 70th anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor. on the morning of december 7th, 1941, japanese war planes attacked the navy base in hawaii killing 2,400 americans. then president franklin d. roosevelt called december 7th a
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date which will live in infamy. ceremonies will be held across the country today, including right here in d.c. there will be wreath laying ceremonies at the national world war ii memorial and the national navy memorial. >> 6:07 is our time. ahead a very hot topic being discussed today. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices... in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy.
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and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone. [ coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] more pollution from power plants means more childhood asthma attacks. [ labored breathing ] there's technology that makes the air cleaner, but too many plants don't use it. we can't wait. epa must update power plant standards to protect our kids. [ baby coughing ]
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weather and traffic on the ones at 6:11 early on this wednesday morning. good morning, i'm meteorologist tom kierein. we've got moderate rain falling. areas of yellow and orange just south and east of washington moving across the bay and along
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the eastern shore up through easton and chestertown, getting moderate to heavy rain. frederickburg advancing north up 95 moving to prince william and southern fauquier counties. that will be moving to the metro area. another wave of moderate rain. right now it's mild with much of the region. low 60s just to the south of washington. here's the day planner. occasional showers through the day. maybe some flooding as well. we'll be down into the 40s by late afternoon. then this evening we could get some snow, sleet, rain changing to sleet and snow by 7:00, 8:00. then accumulating on wet snow and grassy areas this evening. i'll show you my accumulation map, what we may get and where coming up in ten minutes. danella, good morning. how's traffic? >> good morning. it's a tough commute already. in d.c., we have a report of flooding. this is northwest, 16th street at whittier street, please use caution in the area. also traveling in virginia at this time, several accidents. 66 eastbound as you approach the beltway, your left center lane is blocked by the accident there. if you're traveling across the 14th street bridge, you're
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jammed. the good news is had a disabled tractor-trailer blocking the right side of the roadway. it's out of the roadway, but the delays continue. also on 395, seeing an accident. this one is northbound at duke street, taking up the right side of the roadway. looks like only two lanes to the left will get you by the accident. use caution when traveling in the area. might be a better day to take the rails. no reported delays. joe and eun, back to you. >> thanks very much, danella. 6:13. 59 degrees. ahead all of the republican presidential hopefuls are attending a d.c. event today except one.
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campaign signs will no longer litter the streets of fairfax county before an election. officials approve legislation that lets authorities remove advertisements posted along vdot right of ways. last month, many of the 99 candidates along fairfax county blanketing roadsides with their signs. a virginia code allows authorities to take up signs in every other part of the state but fairfax. the county's vote gets rid of the exemption from that virginia code. today two of the most prominent candidates in virginia's senate race will square off. democrat tim kaine and republican george allen will debate for 90 minutes in richmond. kaine, who a former virginia governor, and allen, who a
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former virginia governor and a former u.s. senator, aren't the only candidates in the race, but they are the only candidates who have done well enough in polls and raised enough money to qualify for the debate. they're looking to succeed jim webb, who is not running for re-election. republican presidential candidate mitt romney has opted out from a debate moderated by donald trump. romney called trump personally and told him he just couldn't make it happen. trump was not happy about the decision. several prominent republicans have urged candidates to skip the so-called trump debate scheduled for later this month. they predict it will be a media circus and a distraction from important issues. so far nude gingrich and rick santorum are the only ones participating. newt gingrich is widening his lead in iowa. gingrich has the lead with 28% followed by romney at 18% and ron paul with 14%. two-thirds of those polled said they could change their minds before the iowa caucuses on
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january the 3rd. today the republican presidential candidates will be in town for a jewish forum. everyone is expected to be there except paul. the jewish republican coalition did not invite him because they say he has, quote, misguided and extreme views on israel. today disgraced former governor rod blagojevich will speak before he learns his fate in a statewide scandal. yesterday he admitted he is guilty of all charges. blagojevich was convicted on 18 counts of corruption for trying to sell president obama's former senate seat. prosecutors are asking for 15 to 20 years in prison, which would be the harshest punishment for corruption in state history. the federal government could decide today whether to lift the age restriction on who could buy the morning after pill. the fda is considering a request from the drug's manufacturer to allow teenagers under the age of 17 to buy the birth control pill without a prescription.
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the drug maker says the move would lower the rate of abortion. conservative groups oppose this proposal. they say the drug should not be available without a doctor's permission or without parental consent. the fda is also thinking of putting new warnings on the label of other birth control pills. the administration says medications, including yaz, should warn customers about the risk of blood clots. the fda says there's still conflicting evidence about how much of a risk the contraceptives pose. the information should still be available to doctors and patients. actor alec baldwin was kicked off an american airlines flight for not turning off his electronic device when told to do so. baldwin says he was playing a game when a flight attendant asked him to turn off his device. baldwin tweeted, "flight attendant on american reamed me out for playing words with friends while we sat at the gate, not moving." the "30 rock" star was asked to
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leave the plane. >> cost us about 45 minutes. >> they just said there was a difficult passenger they had to get off, and then we found out it was mr. baldwin. >> baldwin took a later flight from los angeles with the same airline. after landing in new york, he posted a picture on twitter of a fake words with friends game. it read "let alec play" with a score of baldwin 1, american airlines 0. wizards fans, get out your calendar. the schedule is out. the wizards will open their season on the day after christmas at home against the new jersey nets. lebron james and the rest of the miami heat come to town twice on friday, february 10th, and thursday, april 26th. you can see kobe bryant and the lakers at verizon center on wednesday, march 7th. unfortunately, you will not get to see the defending champion dallas mavericks this season. single tickets go on sale a week from today. notice we didn't mention of the wizards players. that's too bad. >> that is too bad. they were all dressed up and almost had no place to play.
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they've got brand new uniforms this year. they'll be starting the day after christmas. >> we're hoping for a better season for the wizards. >> who ain't? >> so we can mention some of the names. >> let's get the weather. can't hope for better weather today. we're going to get really hit with it. >> we've got a one-two punch type of storm. first punch is moderate to heavy rain. we're getting it right now. moderate to heavy rain in montgomery county. just to the south and east of washington in calvert and charles, southern prince george's and across the potomac into southern prince william, stafford, and now just to the west of there, southern fauquier getting moderate rain. also a couple other pockets of moderate rain. panhandle of west virginia into washington county and across the bay, around the eastern shore, from easton up towards chestertown. temperatures all around the region with in the 50s. for the most part, it's dipped down into the 40s. some of the cold air beginning to arrive in western maryland. closer to home, right around washington, it's near 60 degrees. sunrise around 7:13.
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we could have enough rain here, maybe up to two inches, could cause some flooding. as temperatures get colder, down into the 40s by late afternoon. after that, farther west. we could get that rain to change to sleet and snow. likely, that will happen by around 7:00 or 8:00 in the metro area. earlier in the day farther west, that snow coming from time to time may accumulate three to six inches in the highlands of west virginia, far western maryland. the higher amounts in the high ridges. closer to washington, one to three inches mainly on grassy areas, shenandoah valley, in the blue ridge, northern montgomery county and loudoun county. closer to washington, just a light dusting on grassy areas. that would be from 9:00 this evening to 2:00 tomorrow morning. sun returns. cold weather and breezy. tomorrow cold and dry with sunshine. friday, saturday, sunday, monday, and tuesday. danella, how's traffic? >> tough. a lot of accidents on the roadways. let's start with route 109 at i-270, having an accident there.
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if you're taking i-270, jammed from urbanna down towards clarksburg. it's slow. delays start again around father hurley. you're jammed as you approach father hurley. those delays continue all the way to the spur. > if you're traveling on 395, still have the accident. 395 at duke street on the right side of the roadway. fire department is on the scene. got to stick to the left. two of your left lanes will get you by that accident. good news on i-66 of the beltway. that accident is clear. the loophole that made hi, it's dave. [ robotic voice ] if you are satisfied with your message -- [ beep ] hi. dave here. [ male announcer ] for dave, using citibank's online bill pay is as easy as setting up voicemail. hi, it's dave. [ male announcer ] actually, it's easier. hi, it's dave. i'm out of the office. [ male announcer ] online bill pay. easier banking. standard at citibank. really? [ male announcer ] kate uses her citibank debit card because kate knows there are some things you shouldn't be charged for.
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here's something you don't see every day thankfully. a melon sized hole in a house. actually, it's a cannonball sized hole in a house. the tv show "mythbusters" on the discovery channel was filming at a bomb firing range in california when something went
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wrong. it misfired, and the cannonball went over yards, punched a hole in the house before smashing a window in a parked minivan. fortunately, no one was injured. the producers are assessing the situation and working with those whose property was damaged. i bet they are. >> it's going to be a while. even facebook ceo mark zuckerberg is having issues with the social network's privacy settings. zuckerberg's private photos were available online because of a flaw in the social network. zuckerberg's private photos, including one with him and the president, were available online. during the glitch, someone could gain access to private photos by manipulating facebook's block or report a member feature. it has since been fixed. you know when zuckerberg's own account is getting tinkered with. >> i imagine he can get it fixed.
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messy moerng morning. traffic is crawling this morning. wet roads and fender benders are making it a very difficult commute. a big storm system will make for a very wet day. by the time it moves out, there could even be some snow on the ground. good morning. welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. that big storm system that finally arrived has caused problems elsewhere. it started out as snow in west texas where some saw as much as two to four inches and temperatures in the teens. >> and the snow then turned to ice as the storm moved across the midwest the a light dusting along with super cold temperatures made for a very difficult commute yesterday in kansas city, missouri. >> the storm brought two days of heavy rain in ohio. storm drains clogged by leaves caused flooding in low-lying areas and on the streets of columbus. what are we going to get?
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that is the big question. >> all of the above. >> meteorologist tom kierein. >> just about. >> my head was spinning, and i got it straightened now. after watching the weather yesterday. a lot of things are going on all at once here and affecting a big part of the country. now it's our turn. here comes the rain. we've had passing moderate heavy rain off and on the last two or three hours. it's moved into the metro area. that area of yellow and orange where it's raining pretty hard in prince george's county, southern fairfax, into charles and farther south, prince william and stafford and southern fauquier as well as northern montgomery county into howard and across the bay, eastern shore. that is advancing to the north. it's a mild morning. it's another thing. we have whiplash. we'll plunge 30 degrees from where we are into tomorrow morning. we've also got a flood watch out through much of the region, including the suburbs throughout washington. for later this afternoon and evening, also a winter weather
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advisory is out just to our west and north. that's for accumulating snow later tonight. between now and then, we'll have occasional moderate to heavy rain throughout the day with temperatures getting colder, back down into the 40s by late afternoon. that changeover to snow and sleet tonight. we'll look at the evening planner in ten minutes. danella, good morning. how's traffic? >> good morning. lots of headaches this morning. taking the roadways, let's start with dale drive. a downed tree and also brought down some wires. you're seeing closures at georgia avenue and also at colesville road. following police direction. and taking the beltway, new hampshire avenue, delays continue as you head towards the spur. travel speed about 31 miles per hour. traveling across 395, have an accident here northbound at duke street. it's now on the right side of the roadway, and it looks like you have three lanes here to get by the accident. you're delayed all the way to the 14th street bridge. look at this as you make your way across here, slow. joe, travel speed in that area, 18 miles per hour. back to you. >> danella, thank you. a high school girl from
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montgomery county is recovering after she was stabbed in a school parking lot. police said that she was stabbed several times outside of northwood high school when she and about five or six other girls got into a fight. the girls had all attended a basketball game between northwood and kennedy high school. police are not saying what the victim's condition is, but they do expect her to survive, and they're also still looking for the person who did the stabbing. d.c. community leaders are discussing easing the tough handgun laws. phil mendelson introduced a bill that would allow residents to get a gun without undergoing a vision test and submitting the gun for ballistic identification. would be gun owners would still need to register their firearms with police, take a safety course, and pass a test on the district's gun laws. this morning michael huerta is serving as acting administrator of the faa. randy babbitt, who had led the administration for two years, resigned yesterday. babbitt stepped down after his drunk driving arrest over the weekend in fairfax city.
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he was pulled over driving on the wrong side of the road. huerta has spent the past several months leading the faa's efforts to transition to a more state of the art air traffic control system. this morning deputies in stafford county are on the look for a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman. take a look at this sketch of the suspect. the victim tells police the man with the gun approached her at shasta place in stafford and forced her into a wooded area nearby. this happened november 27th. she says the man punched and choked her and tried to sexually assault her. she was able to break free when the suspect's phone started to ring. if you recognize this man, call deputies. a virginia man who spent 23 years in prison for a string of sexual assaults he did not commit is now a free man. the virginia court of appeals exonerated thomas haynesworth of all charges. he was convicted of attacks of women in the richmond area that
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date back to 2004. but in 2005, dna acquitted him of one of the attacks and indicated another man was behind the crime. >> 27 years, i never gave up hope. kept pushing. kept going to the law library and working on my cases. i just didn't give up hope. i know i was innocent from day one. >> haynesworth's exoneration now means he will no longer have to register as a sex offender, and his record has been expunged. a fairfax, virginia, man accused of being on the payroll of the pakistani spy service is expected to plead guilty to federal charges today. sayed fai ran for the d.c.-based kashmiri council. he made thousands of dollars of political contributions without disclosing his ties to the pakistani government. he's expected to enter a plea on a broad conspiracy charge and a second count of impeding the internal revenue service. new today we learned an american is among those killed in a suicide attack in
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afghanistan. the u.s. embassy confirms that man died when a bomber attacked a shrine in kabul. 56 people were killed, and 160 others were injured. it was part of a coordinated attack targeting shiites yesterday. new from overnight, a man is in the hospital with severe burns after a house fire in montgomery county. firefighters were called to holt place in takoma park around 2:00 a.m. this morning. crews say that flames were coming from the first floor when they got there. once inside, firefighters found one man inside. rescuers took him to a local burn facility to be treated. firefighters say that the clutter of debris inside the homemade it difficult for them to put out the flames. and the cause of the fire is still under investigation. this morning teachers in montgomery county have something to look forward to. school superintendent joshua starr's first budget includes the first raise for teachers since 2009. that's according to "the washington post." the size of the proposed pay increase is not known. starr will unveil his full budget proposal later today at richard montgomery high school
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in rockville. good for those teachers in montgomery county. i know they're happy about that. well deserved, of course. it is now 6:37. ahead, the major online company
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time for weather and traffic on the ones. good morning at 6:41 on this wednesday morning. i'm meteorologist tom kierein in stormcenter 4. we've got areas of light to moderate to heavy rain around the region. heavier rain in yellow and orange in washington as well as prince george's county, anne arundel, calvert, charles, fairfax, prince william, fauquier, stafford and spotsylvania advancing 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
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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 to bumper as you make your way towards the spur. those delays continue. joe and eun, back to you. >> 6:42. 59 degrees. ahea[ baby coughing ]on
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welcome back at 6:45. several area police departments investigating a hate crime after several flyers found in a d.c. and northern virginia neighborhoods. they first turned up a week ago saturday when at least two neighbors on north 25th street in arlington found the hate filled sheets lying by their newspapers. over the past few days, more have been found in cleveland park and dupont circle in northwest washington. the flyers claim that jewish people rule the world and have altered the axis of the earth. >> i have been here since 1995. i have never seen anything that even approximates or even a hint of anything that comes off this flier. it was totally, thoroughly shocking. >> we hear of these sorts of anti-semitic ravings going on, but we don't think of it happening here. >> the flyers have been turned over to police in both d.c. and
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arlington. a viewer tells news 4 the flyers have showed up in takoma park, maryland. hopper is taking her flyer to the anti-defamation league. the display will stay up on the lawn. the loudoun county board of supervisors voted against the ban yesterday. one of the approved displays, a skeleton in a santa claus suit hanging on a cross was torn down by a woman who says she found it offensive of the board members reasoned they must allow all displays in order to preserve the traditional religious displays. former prince george's county executive jack johnson has one month to report to prison for orchestrating what prosecutors call one of the most notorious corruption cases in maryland history. a judge sentenced johnson to more than seven years in prison. prosecutors reduced their original recommendation from the maximum 14 years because they say johnson has cooperated with the investigation. we saw him use a cane for the first time. his lawyers say that the former
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prince george's county executive was recently diagnosed with mar kin sons disease. johnson pled guilty in may for accepting bribes up to $1 million. he apologized in court, saying his actions have haunted him and ruined his reputations. those in the county called johnson's actions inexcusable. >> certainly the economic aspect of it, i think, limited development, scared away legitimate developers who were interested in coming and building and helping with growth in prince george's county. >> in addition to the seven-year prison sentence, johnson must also pay a $100,000 fine and forfeit a $78,000 antique mercedes benz. his lawyers asked he be sent to the federal prison in buckner, north carolina, the same prison where bernard madoff is currently serving 150 years for his pron zi scheme. jack johnson's wife leslie will be sentenced for her role in the corruption case. the former prince george's county council member pled guilty to destroying evidence.
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johnson had his wife flush a $100,000 developers check down the toilet and stuff $80,000 in cash in her underwear. she faces up to 18 months in prison. for the first time since an fbi raid on his home, d.c. council member harry thomas returned to the wilson building in time for a preliminary vote on the ethics reform bill. thomas sat quietly for hours and then refused to answer reporters questions as the council debated and passed a preliminary version of ethics reform. it requires more disclosure. it would also establish an ethics board to impose fines on violators. the council will hold a final vote in two weeks. today a senate homeland subcommittee will examine whether the district is prepared for natural or manmade disasters. the hearing is prompted in part by the traffic gridlock that followed a 5.8 magnitude quake in august. it damaged several d.c. buildings, including the national cathedral and the
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washington monument. subcommittee members say they're concerned about coordination between federal and local emergency managers. some people in fairfax county are calling for an end to deer hunts. concerned neighbors spoke out at the board of supervisors meeting saying they're concerned they could be accidentally shot. the hunt is aimed at controlling the white tail population through controlled hunting. they argue that deer carry many risks. they can have road hazards and may carry diseases to humans. new information about the safety concerns for chevy volt drivers. chevy says the fix is almost in. cnbc's brian schactman has that story and more. here's the latest update. chevy reportedly close to a fix for the volt's battery pack, which catches on fire days after a crash test. it may prevent coolant from leaking in extreme crashes. reports say it would cost gm
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$1,000 for vehicles. chevy says the volt is safe but has offered owners loaner cars during the investigation. amazon will offer you cold hard cash if you walk out of the store empty handed. they'll give people up to $5 off of purchases if they use its price comparison app in stores. the move is causing retailers, to be honest, to freak out. they increasingly feel like showrooms these days. people check out the merchandise, go home, and buy it online. the battle between online and old traditional retail stores, guys, is very much on this holiday season. back to you. >> everyone wants the bargain, the lowest price they can find. right, brian? >> you got it. >> thanks so much. we'll see you soon. it was a bit of a glitch, not a grinch, in last night's christmas tree lighting. house speaker john boehner flipped on the flights. about a minute later, all those beautiful lights went out. and they stayed off for about 12 minutes. aides believe a bad circuit breaker was the problem.
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apparently, that's now i fixed. you can see the capitol christmas tree every night until new year's day. >> you mings ementioned it befo. the tree looks awfully skinny this year. >> nice and tall, though. >> 6:51. talk about big changes in the weather, tom. i don't know if i'm ready yet. we're kind of in a battle zone. autumn is a battle between summer and winter. it's feeling like a summery morning with temperatures around 63 degrees. by this time tomorrow morning, it will certainly feel like winter. right now we are getting moderate rain. that's the area of yellow and orange. that's falling in washington and our nearby suburbs as well as up into maryland and on the eastern shore. temperatures around the region are mild. we are in the 50s to near 60 degrees much of the area. right now reagan national is down to 55. low 60s southern maryland through central virginia, down now into the 40s in western maryland. some of the cold air beginning to arrive. counties in green, shenandoah valley, west virginia, maryland, they're on a flood watch for later this afternoon and
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evening. could have road closures due to high water. and we've got a winter weather advisory farther to our west for accumulating snow. for the day today, rain moderate to heavy, may cause flooding. cooling temperatures getting down into the 40s by late afternoon. then this evening, rain changing to a period of sleet, maybe around 7:00 or 8:00. then some snow after that, accumulating mainly on grassy areas. temperatures down into the mid-30s by midnight and near freezing this time tomorrow morning. three to six inches, way out in western maryland, highlands of west virginia. higher amounts on the ridges. shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, loudoun, northern and montgomery county, frederick county, virginia, we'll have one to three inches on grassy areas. just maybe a dusty in fairfax action prince william, and fauquier, as well as southern montgomery, northwest washington and howard county. tomorrow much colder, a blustery wind, sun back. it will be freezing in the
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morning, afternoon highs mid-40s. cold dry weather with sunshine each day. friday, saturday, sunday, monday, and tuesday. danella, how's traffic? >> good morning. if you're traveling southbound vw parkway at route 4 riverdale parkway. traveling on the outer loop, delays continue to connecticut avenue, 26 miles per hour. right now you're looking at i-395 at washington boulevard. this is southbound. the left side of the roadway still has the accident there. if you're traveling on i-95, it is a very slow commute. in fact, you are jammed. look at this travel speed. making your way from prince william parkway to the beltway will take you almost an hour. joe, we're talking 14 miles per hour. back to you. >> danella, thanks very much. new hot lanes may soon ease the commute on i-95 in northern virginia. governor bob mcdonald announced the state has reached a $100 billion deal with a private contractor to improve one of our region's most congested corridors.
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existing hov lanes on i-95 would extend south to garrisonville road in stafford county. a private company will foot 90% of this bill. in return, will be able to collect the tolls. construction could begin by the middle of next year. today could be extremely congested in downtown d.c. because of occupy d.c. this morning protesters will march to a lobbying firm on "k" street, the white house, and the supreme court, and police say expect some traffic problems. tracee wilkins is live in northwest now with more on today's so-called national day of action. tracee, good morning. >> good morning. we're starting to see a little movement here at the occupy d.c. camp. it's going to be a busy day for these folks. as you said, it could impact the commute of some of the folks who travel in the downtown area. here is the plan so far. as you mentioned, they're talking about going to an unnamed firm here on "k" street and lobbying firm on "k" street
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and also going on to the white house and to the supreme court. last month occupy d.c. organized a mariuccich across the key bri that was expected to orchestrate a traffic nightmare, but it had little to no traffic impact. last sunday a demonstration in mcpherson square resulted in 31 people being arrested after occupiers built a wooden shed in the middle of the park. it was the most confrontational demonstration to date between police and occupiers. because of that, there's no telling what we can expect today. folks are encouraged to avoid the area however possible. tracee wilkins live in northwest. back to you all in the studio. >> tracee, thanks so much. on the morning of september 7th, 1941, japanese war planes attacked the base in hawaii killing 2,400 americans.
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there will be wreath laying ceremonies at the national navy memorial. flags are also being flown at half staff. >> very important weather day for us. big changes we're'examinin expe tom. flooding rains in the daylight hours and snow tonight from 7:00 this evening until 2:00 tomorrow morning. one to three inches far west and north. [ female announcer ] at verizonfios.com,
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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. good morning. here it comes. a powerful storm takes aim at the east coast, from north carolina to maine, after pounding parts of texas. some areas could get close to a foot of snow. leader of the pack. a new nationwide poll shows newt gingrich with a double-digit lead in the republican presidential race. how does t white house feel about his surge? we'll talk to a top adviser to the president's re-election campaign. and bounced. alec baldwin returns to new york overnight after being kicked off an american airlines flight in los angeles. he says all because he failed to turn off his ipad.

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