street journal poll say that 42% think it's the worst. 33% say below average. 21% say average. 2% say above average. and only 1% calls it one of the best ever. it has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points. >> let's take a look at our weather. >> let's take a look at joe krebs. he's back. good to have you back, joe. not as cold as it's been the last couple of minutes. we'll take everything we can get this time of year. good morning. i'm meteorologist tom kierein. as we take a look across the city, we have a few clouds drifting over. right now at reagan national airport, just to the right down river on the potomac, it's at 40 degrees. the humidity is a little bit higher this morning than it has been the last couple of mornings, not quite as dry as it has been the last few days, and

we have a calm wind. let's take a look at the area temperatures. it is above freezing from the mountains all the way to the atlantic beaches right now, unlike yesterday. although manassas down to 32. that's one of the colder spots at the airport there in manassas. elsewhere, mid-30s montgomery, arlington, fairfax, and prince george's counties. and the view from space showing clouds closing in on the midwest. and they're associated with a warm front coming to us later today. we'll just have clouds coming through. sunrise at 7:18. a cloudy afternoon with highs reaching the low to maybe mid-50s briefly by midafternoon. we'll look at the evening planner in 15 minutes. here's a look at traffic. good morning, danella. >> good morning. so far checking for volume in our area, and the volume is very light. the camera starting with i-270 at father hurley, i'm not seeing any issues as you make your way south on i-270.

if you're traveling on 395 in virginia, here's the view at duke street. again, volume is very light in this area. i'm not seeing anything major for you that's slowing you down as you make your commute and continue on to the 14th street bridge. you're clear as you make your way in. if you're traveling southbound on 395 as well, no issues to report at this time. now back to you both. >> danella, thanks so much. right now loudoun county commuters have a new and faster way to get to route 7. the final section of atlantic boulevard is open. the road connects sterling road to route 7 in sterling and should eliminate traffic on 28. the new segment from magnolia to church road opens today. and the clarendon metro station is reopened this morning. it shut down during the tail end of rush hour last night due to loose floor tiles found on the mezzanine level near the fare gates. they wanted to make sure the situation was structurally sound. shuttle buses were called in for about an hour before the station

was deemed to be safe. later today, president obama and first lady michelle obama will travel to ft. bragg, north carolina. the president will deliver a speech marking the near end of the war in iraq. all u.s. troops should be back in the u.s. by the end of the month. right now about 6,000 soldiers remain in iraq down from about 170,000 at the worst peak in 2007. meanwhile in iraq, an explosion killed two policemen in baghdad. the bombing targeted officers on patrol near a hotel. this is the second bombing in baghdad in about a week believed to be by sunni extremists. a local veterans group is organize a memorial for the mishandled remains of fallen service members at dover air force base. records show that cremated partial remains in dumped in a landfi landfill. the families of those service members had asked not to be notified of partial remains. they set up an account for a

memorial ceremony to remember those service members much the group also wants to create a permanent memorial. the two men likely to compete for the gop nomination in decision 2012 face very different challenges on their road to the white house. newt gingrich has a strong hold on republican voters, with 40% saying he is their first choice. mitt romney trails him by 17% in the same category. and nearly two-thirds of republicans classify him as too moderate or liberal. on the other hand, romney faces off better than president obama, trailing him by only 2%. gingrich trails the president by 11%, primarily because independents and women view him in a more negative light. donald trump has decided not to moderate a republican debate scheduled just days before the iowa caucuses because he's still considering a run for the white house himself. trump announces he may become an independent candidate in june. because of equal time provision,

he can't become an official candidate until the spring season of his show "the apprentice" ends. trump says that's because the republican party is upset with him. >> they want me to announce that i won't run as an independent candidate, and i won't do that because, if the republicans pick the wrong person, i will, in fact, seriously consider running. >> the next gop debate is scheduled for tomorrow night. this morning presidential hopeful and former utah governor jon huntsman will visit virginia for a fund-raiser according to the "the washington post." huntsman has trailed in the polls and ranks 6 out of 7 for gop candidates. governor bob mcdonnell is scheduled to stop by the breakfast fund-raiser in virginia and speak privately with huntsman. mcdonnell and his men have spoken to all the presidential candidates and has been eyed as

a potential vice president on the ticket. a vienna father is facing charges in his 2-month-old daughter's death. they arrested and charged 21-year-old francis reed with murder. his daughter was taken to the hospital and treated for injuries on saturday. she died on monday. they would not discuss the nature of the alleged abuse. amber's mother has not been charged in the case. a dupont circle restaurant is reopening after a deadly incident right outside its doors. heritage india close the last month after a fight at a late night party spilled outside onto connecticut avenue. three people were shot. 23-year-old jhonte coleman died from his injuries and two others were stabbed. heritage india can reopen under conditions that it closes at midnight and installs extra security cameras. the restaurant can resume alcohol sales on december 21st. 4:36 is the time. ahead on "news 4 today," a slip-up for jerry sandusky's

attorney. the phone number he gave out that has him backtracking this morning. ♪ [ male announcer ] little owen wanted to play, but his nose was raw and sore. achoo! [ male announcer ] and common tissue made it burn even more. ♪ puffs plus lotion is more soothing than common tissue, and it delivers our most soothing lotion

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and welcome back.

it is 4:39. a little bit warmer than we had yesterday at 44 degrees yesterday. but today, i should say. it is still a chilly morning. pretty out there. let's check with meteorologist tom kierein to see what the weather is going to be like today. tom, good morning to you. >> good morning, eun. that 44 is here in northwest washington. that temperature gauge is right outside the window where someone is using a blow dryer, i think. it's a little bit colder elsewhere. around our region, temperatures are generally in the mid-30s from the mountains all the way to the atlantic beaches. right now in prince george's, arlington, fairfax, and montgomery counties, we're down in the mid-30s to low 30s. gaithersburg at 32. manassas at 30. these are some of the colder spots. reagan national at 40. right near 40 on the waters. out of the mountains, most of the locations are at freezing. a little sunshine this morning but then a cloudy afternoon. there is rain way out in the ohio valley.

that should stay to our north and west as the day progresses. highs climbing into the 50s by midafternoon. by noontime, ought to be in the upper 40s. midafternoon, we should be in the low and mid-50s. by 5:00, we'll be down in the 40s again. sunset at 4:47. this evening down into the low 40s by midnight under a partly to mostly cloudy sky. a look at a chance for rain tomorrow. we'll look at that and the rest of the weekend in ten minutes. danella, good morning. how's traffic? >> good morning. if you're traveling around the beltway, checking travel speeds for you. let's start at the outer loop at georgia avenue, you're at 59 miles per hour. if you're taking the inner loop, this time as you pass 50, you're at 64 miles per hour. continuing on the inner loop, if your commute takes you past branch avenue, 61 miles per hour, not so bad. if you're crossing over the wilson bridge, i'll give you a live shot of that because you're clear in both directions. not seeing anything really slowing you down and no major issues to report at this time. i'm back in ten with another

look at your traffic. joe and eun, back to you. >> thank you very much, danella. still to come, feeling left out. the proposed changes in the district that could leave college students with nowhere to park. ♪ [ female announcer ] light up your season with a brighter, whiter smile. with crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. it penetrates below the enamel surface to whiten as well as a $500 dentist treatment. the secret's in the strip. for a smile that's sure to stand out. crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. use these products together for a whiter smile in 1 day. life opens up when you do.

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good morning. welcome back. two former ball boys for syracuse men's basketball team will be suing coach jim boeheim. they say they were lying. the two stepbrothers are suing for defamation. his wife was heard in a taped telephone call suggesting she knew about the alleged abuse. the u.s. attorney's office is investigating the claims of a third accuser as well.

prosecutors said they could not move forward with allegations from the step brothers because the statute of limitations had expired. bernie fine has denied all the accusations. and the attorney for the former penn state assistant football coach accused of molesting boys says he did not mean to refer to a gay sex phone line. during a news conference, joseph amendola said that anyone who believes that his client raped a young boy and didn't tell anyone about it should call 1-800-reality. he's used that to mean get a life, but the phone number is actually a sex number for men. amendola said he did not know the number was real and vowed not to use it again. this came after sandusky waived his hearing on 53 sexual abuse charges. a prostitution bust inside an arlington hotel. this exclusive video shows

police taking four women into custody on a days inn on columbia pike. officers say they received a tip monday night about a prostitution ring going on in the hotel. they said they found an suv that had been reported stolen in the hotel parking lot. when people got into the vehicle, police made their move. >> well, this time we have to determine their relationship with the stolen vehicle, how they got it, and to see what crimes have actually been committed here of the >> police have not said what charges the six people taken into custody face at this point. an 85-year-old woman is still shaken this morning after being am bushed and robbed while trying to leave her home for church. this happened friday morning on shepherd street in the brookland neighborhood northeast. the woman who does not want to be named said she is scraping ice off her windshield when a man reached inside her car and grabbed her purse. she tried to use the ice scraper to defend herself but was knocked to the ground. while he was distracted with a

first robber, a second jumped in the car from the passenger side and sped off. investigators are still looking for clues into last week's deadly shooting at virginia tech. despite nonstop efforts since thursday, state police cannot find a link between ross ashley and the campus police officer he killed. police say ashley bought the gun he used in the shooting at a licensed virginia gun dealer. there are also no known connections to virginia tech. surveillance video first puts ashley in blacksburg on wednesday afternoon. he's not seen again until the shooting that killed officer derek crouse. ashley went to high school in spotsylvania. today the federal government will start the first auction of offshore 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 jackson's death saying he could not pay for one himself. murray is currently serving a four-year sentence for the death of michael jackson in 2009. murray would like to appeal both his conviction and his sentence. so far no papers have been filed with a california appeals court. imagine being told you just won $57 million, only to be told, oops, what we meant was you won $100. it happened to a man from switzerland, and now he's suing over the whole ordeal. he played a slot machine at an austrian casino. he only got four of the slot's five required matches, but a winning bell went off with a flashing screen that told him he had won the big jackpot. he went to claim that prize, but the casino told him a software glitch accidentally declared him a winner. he has since filed a lawsuit claiming he's entitled to that $57 million. software glitch has been the story of my life. just when you think you got it,

software glitch. >> every time you play the lottery ticket, they don't come up with the right numbers, software glitch. any glitches in the weather, tom? snow lovers just waiting patiently. >> keep waiting. >> we haven't had much to speak of so far this winter and don't see really any in the foreseeable future, looking into next week. and right now it's raerther col but as not as cold as it's been. we're going to get a bit more humid over the next couple of days. right now around the region, temperatures under a partly cloudy sky are down to near freezing in parts of northern virginia and in maryland. but most locations are above freezing, low to mid-30s in prince george's, montgomery, fairfax, and arlington counties and points west into the mountains, they've got quite a bit of cloudiness there. it's in the mid-30s there. right around 40 on the

chesapeake bay. the view from space showing clouds on the increase coming in from the west. sprinkles coming in along the blue ridge. those have since dissipated. those are showers in ohio. those should be moving up to western pennsylvania throughout the day. we'll have quite a bit of cloudiness, and temperatures with a southerly flow should warm into the 40s by noontime and the low to mid-50s briefly during the afternoon with quite a bit of cloudiness around. sunrise at 7:18. sunset 4:47. back down into the 40s tonight. by midnight the low 40s under a mostly cloudy sky. might have a few breaks in the clouds. tomorrow morning, upper 30s and cloudy. cloudy day tomorrow. looks like afternoon and evening showers are possible with highs reaching the upper 50s. mid-50s friday and partly sunny. saturday partly cloudy by the late morning hours after a cloudy start. and then some sun in the afternoon with highs in the mid-40s. cooler weather moving in. subfreezing saturday and sunday morning. quite a bit of sun, into the mid-40s.

mild on monday. could get rain and chilly next week. danella, good morning. how's traffic? >> good morning. checking i-66. volume is still pretty light. seeing a lot of green in both directions, if you're traveling east or west on i-66. looking at live cameras now. 66 at waples mill, as you travel around route 50, if you're heading east or west, your volume is light in both directions. if you're continuing east and heading inside the beltway, here's the view at glebe road. again, traffic is very light in this area. i'll give you a travel speed. if you're making your way from the beltway to gw parkway, you're at 62 miles per hour. that trip will take you only 11 minutes. sxwroe a joe and eun, back to you. >> danella, thanks very much. d.c. mayor vincent gray will hold a press conference to discuss the snow and winter emergency plan. they have reviewed last year's emergency plan and have made changes to better ensure the public safety this winter.

they'll also show up better equipment to show off for the snow removal. hopefully, we won't need a whole lot. the nation's leading transportation investigators are now calling for an all out ban of cell phone and mobile device use by drivers even if it is hands free. the national transportation safety board made the sweeping recommendation yesterday even though it has no regulatory authority. they say the only exception should be gps devices and the use of mobile device ins an emergency. the ntsb is also hoping the car and cell phone manufacturers will develop ways to disable cell phones while a user is driving. a proposed new traffic law could make it harder for college students to park their cars in d.c. legislation before the d.c. council would eliminate a program for out of state students. it allows them to pay $338 for a local parking permit. d.c.'s transportation department says in some cases it's nearly

impossible for those sitting outside on the streets. taking away their right to park long term is unfair. >> discriminating against students and taking it away from them and not other nonresidents. >> it would need to pass the full d.c. council. if that happens, it would not become law until late next year. check out the black bear that gave people in downtown vancouver an unexpected encounter with the wild. it hitched a ride on a garbage truck. probably looking for lunch. drivers came to a complete stop as they watched what was happening. conservation officials believe the bear's journey started in a dumpster. wildlife officers eventually tranquilized the bear and released it into the woods far north of the city. he doesn't look like he's trying to hurt anybody. he's just looking for food. >> he looks confused.

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thousands of post offices nationwide slated to be closed will remain open at least for now. the u.s. postal service has agreed to delay closing of 3,700 post offices until may. they were supposed to close as early as april. the postal service is giving congress more time to pass legislation that would give it more authority to stave off bankruptcy. the agency is expected to lose more than $14 billion next year. if you're refreshing your resume or looking for a new job, you may want to take another look at your resume and make some changes. social network linked in has releaseded the top ten words that job seekers overuse. here are some of them -- creative, organizational, effective, motivated, and innovative. linked in looked at millions of

profiles to find out which words professionals used the most in 2011. in just a few hours we'll find out who "time" magazine's most interesting person of the year is. the big reveal will be on the "today" show. facebook founder mark zuckerberg took the title last year. this year's candidates include secretary of state hillary clinton, the occupy protesters, kate middleton, gabrielle giffords, and steve jobs. don't forget, you can watch the "today" show right here on nbc 4. all of those candidates sound very interesting. i think aun san suu aun san suue interesting. i'd like to see a woman this year. another down to the wire