week. a south african coin called a kruggerand, which is a gold coin, was discovered outside a kettle in gettysburg. it's worth $1,700. officials don't know who donated the coin, but they're content it remaining an unsolved mystery. these have shown up in kettles in gettysburg over the years as well as florida and colorado. >> you found a what? just scraped it off his dresser by accident. >> thought it was supposed to be a quarter. >> that's good for them. they can certainly use it. >> exactly. especially this time of year. 5:00 a.m. stay with us. "news 4 today" continues at 5:00 a.m. new from overnight, the shooting inside a prince george's county home that sent one man to the hospital. >> and the details that still need to be worked out to keep the federal government fully

functioning. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. welcome back to "news 4 today" on this friday, the 16th of december. take a live look outside. welcome to hawaii. that's what it feels like out there. it is balmy right now. it is going to flat out change. it seems like we skipped over winter went right on to spring, and winter's over. that's it. >> some people wouldn't mind a 60 degree winter. >> that's what it is right now. we're around 60 degrees predawn on this friday morning, the 16th day of december. this is certainly unusually warm this time of year, this time of day. as we look outside at the view from the skywatcher camera and the city camera, we're seeing breaks in the clouds. there's the jefferson memorial on the banks of the potomac river. still a little dampness on the pavement from what did not evaporate yesterday with condensation overnight and the warm temperatures. down to 59 at reagan national. i say down because it was in the low 60s the last couple of

hours. winds picking up out of the northwest, gusting to 20 miles an hour. it's turning colder in western maryland, shenandoah valley. hagerstown down to a cold 43 degrees. it's about 20 degrees warmer around culpeper. it's 64 there. around the nearby suburbs, montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties, the mid and upper 50s. we have some breaks in the clouds. we'll have a little sunshine in and out throughout the day. here's your day planner. sunrise at 7:20. cloudy this afternoon, gradually turning colder through the day. colder than that farther west and north. a look at your evening planner. that will be in ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? >> good morning. we have breaking news. if you're traveling eastbound at route 50 at kenilworth avenue, all your lanes are blocked. tracee wilkins is on the scene of this accident with more. tracee? >> reporter: good morning, danella. good news for folks driving down. take a look down here.

police are begin to go pning to the eastbound lanes of route 50 after an amazing accident. let me give you a closer look. a vehicle traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes collided with another vehicle. police say that both folks are going to make it. they're at the hospital. both in serious condition after vehicles struck one another. there's a state trooper there standing by to get more information on exactly what happened and why that vehicle was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes. but the good news for commuters is that soon route 50 should be open in a matter of moments heading eastbound. tracee wilkins live this morning. back to you in the studio. >> other problems in our area, we have lower bowie road, route 197 closed at lower bowie road. accident has downed power lines on the roadways for you there. you're closed in both directions. i-66, not seeing any you shall use on i-66 outside of the beltway. if you continue inside the

beltway, this is the view at glebe road east and west on route 66 inside the beltway, not seeing any issues for you. as you make your way from the beltway to glebe road, you're at 61 miles per hour. joe and eun, back to you. >> danella, thanks so much. a prince george's county man is in the hospital this morning after being shot several times. the shooting happened inside his house near the intersection of annapolis road and 71st avenue in landover hills. police say the victim tried to drive himself to the hospital but pulled over about two blocks away from his home. police found him inside his car and took him to the hospital. at last check he is listed in critical condition. so far his name's not being released and no arrests have been made. we are following a developing story in charles county this morning. the coast guard's overnight search for a missing boater who fell into the potomac river turned up empty. the victim and another man were out boating when their boat capsized near indian head,

maryland. one of the men was pulled to safety. the crews will continue to search for the missing man throughout the morning. today the man accused of leaking classified information about the wars in afghanistan and iraq to the website wikileaks will be in court. the article 32 hearing at ft. mead will mark army private bradley manning's first military court appearance since his arrest in iraq 19 months ago. today's hearing is the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing in civilian court. that means it will determine whether manning should stand trial. the hearing should last about five days. manning faces life in prison if he is tried and found guilty. new from overnight the fairfax county school board approved plans to allow security cameras inside high schools. that's according to "the washington post." the issue of installing cameras in cafeterias came up after a series of disruptive food fights. each school's principal will ultimately have the final say. neighboring public school systems in prince william, loudoun, and fauquier counties already use in school cameras.

good news for federal workers, it appears congress will avoid a government shutdown after all. the house and senate are expected to vote today on a $1 trillion spending package that will keep the government running through the end of the year. negotiators finally reached agreement on the bill today a little more than a day from the deadline. among the packages, the d.c. government will now be banned from funding a, bos. the pentagon's budget will absorb a hit. president obama's education initiative, race to the top, will absorb a cut of more than 20%. and congressional negotiators will also resume talks today on a deal to try to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for another year. republicans and democrats agree the extension is important to sustaining economic recovery. the sides have disagreed, though, on how to pay for it. >> a government watchdog group says arlington national cemetery is being managed better a year

after reports surfaced of widespread problems at the military cemetery. the government accountability office reports that the army is taking positive steps toward addressing the problems, which included mismarked or misidentified grave sites. the gao says there are still improvements that need to be made. another progress report on the conditions at arlington is due next week. today current and former penn state university officials will appear in court. they'll testify at the preliminary hearing about what they knew and did in response to the sexual abuse allegations against jerry sandusky. current assistant coach mike mcqueary is at the center of the hearing. he accused sandusky of raping a 10-year-old boy inside the shower room. but the two men say that mcqueary gave them a less graphic account of what occurred. curley and schultz say this preliminary hearing will help clear their good names. we have two traffic alerts that will affect commuters.

first in the district, where mayor vincent gray will celebrate the completion of the new 11th street bridge complex today. it will allow drivers on the southeast/southwest freeway to get on northbound 295 without having to get off on pennsylvania avenue. the new inbound freeway bridge will open to traffic this weekend. the outbound bridge should be open next week. this is the largest project ddot has ever undertaken. there is also relief on the way for virginia commuters who take eastbound i-66 to the inner loop of the beltway. starting this weekend, you'll take a new flyover ramp that will put you on the right side of 495. that should make it much easier to merge into oncoming traffic. the new configuration will particularly be useful to drivers trying to get off at route 7 in tysons corner, who will no longer have to ventura cross all lanes of the beltway in order to make it to the route 7 exit. vdot will close all exits from eastbound 66 onto the outer loop overnight tonight so that crews can prepare for the new traffic

configuration. you got all that? you ready for this? >> i'm ready. it is now 5:08. 56 degrees. nfl player turned accused cocaine dealer. the sting operation that now has

state farm. this is jessica. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing?

fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. text save to 7-8836. right now it's milder in the metro area points south and east but turning colder west and north, down into the 40s. shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, much of western maryland. closer to washington, near 60 degrees. southern maryland near 60, as is much of central virginia and the eastern shore. a few breaks in the clouds after we had those showers yesterday.

we'll get sunshine in and out throughout the day. sunrise at 7:20. we'll be hovering in the 40s to near 50 around the metro area through noontime and then drop down into the 40s through the afternoon. by midnight tonight down to near 40 degrees. by mid to late evening, might even get a few sprinkles or a few flurries as some of the colder air comes in, weak disturbance coming by just to our south. a look at the rest of the weekend and into next week in ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? right now we have good news on the roadway. earlier accident eastbound route 50 that shut down the eastbound lanes at kenilworth avenue. that's now clear. you can continue heading eastbound on 50. however, traveling i-270 in maryland at germantown road, an accident there. police are on the scene. i'm told that it's a single vehicle crash. be aware of that as you travel southbound on i-270. traveling in virginia, not seeing any issues. i-95 at the rest area. i'll give you a travel speed northbound on i-95. from the occoquan river bridge

to the beltway, travel time only 11 minutes. travel speed in that area 63 miles per hour. i'm back in ten minutes with another look at traffic. now back to you both. 5:12. 56 degrees. ahead on "news 4 today," how local officials plan

good morning and welcome back. now to decision 2012. republican presidential candidate mitt romney is expected to pick up another key endorsement. nbc news confirms that south

carolina governor nicky haley plans to endorse romney today. she is a rising star within the republican party. many presidential contenders have asked for her endorsement. south carolina will hold its critical primary on january 21st. it is critical because it's the first primary in the south. last night congresswoman michele bachmann went after newt gingrich in the last debate before the iowa caucuses in january. she attacked him for taking money for consulting with freddie mac. and also not being pro life enough when he was speaker of the house. >> when the speaker had his hand out and was taking $1.6 million to influence senior republicans to keep the scam going in washington, d.c. >> let me state unequivocally for every person watching tonight, i have never once changed my positions because of

any kind of payment. >> they applauded gingrich when he attacked the judiciary and took a strong position on israel. home run king barry bonds will find out today whether he's headed to prison for obstruction of justice conviction. he's convicted of providing evasive testimony during a hearing against a lab for selling banned substances to athletes. probation officers are recommending bonds receive house arrest and community service. chicago police say they've arrested an nfl player who was also one of the city's biggest drug dealers, they say. police arrested bears wide receiver sam hurd for allegedly trying to buy a kilo of cocaine. authorities say hurd told the agent that he wanted to buy more than $100,000 of cocaine every week to distribute. the five-year veteran faces up to 40 years of prison if convicted.

to make matters worse, police report they have a list of hurd's clients, and some of them are nfl players. this morning police are looking for the king pin in an elaborate money laundering operation to fund a terrorist group. two local businesses have been caught up in the scheme, but agents acknowledge some of the businesses may not have known where the money was going. the court filing says cocaine and used cars were sold, and money was funneled to the terrorist group called hezbollah. investigators say the cars came from arz export in columbia, maryland, and ajazeed trading. they're more than 30 caught up in the scheme across the country. the cars were sold, and the money would go into the banking system in lebanon. federal agents are going after millions of dollars in assets. christopher hitchens, the author, essayist, and pundit has died after a lengthy public battle with cancer. hitchens died in houston of pneumonia, a complication of his

cancer. he is known for his essays in vanity fair magazine and his best selling manifesto for atheists entitled "god is not great." he was 62 years old. lack of evidenmotive and fa evidence led to the overturn of the conviction of amanda knox of her british roommate. in italy, courts have to release a document to explain their motivation for reaching a verdict. the court says forensic evidence used to support the original verdicts was unreliable and could not ultimately prove the couple was at the crime scene on the night of the murder. this morning one of the america's best known sheriffs is in trouble with the obama administration over his crackdown on illegal immigrants. the justice department accused sheriff joe arpaio of violating latinos' constitutional rights in his crackdowns.

latinos in the phoenix area are four to nine times more likely to be stopped by deputies than non-latinos. arpaio has 60 days to change his ways or face a federal lawsuit. >> mcso engages in racial profiling of latinos and stops, danes, and arrests latinos, all in violation of the 4th and 14th amendments. >> if they're not happy, i guess they can carry out their threat and go to federal court, and i'll be glad to see them in court. >> the justice department's actions came after a three-year investigation. a california man is nursing injuries to his ego after getting stuck in his own chimney. firefighters rescued the 20-year-old yesterday. they say he was stuck in there overnight. so what was he doing there? well, fire crews say it looks like he was trying to avoid getting caught breaking curfew. so instead of going in the front door, he tried the chimney. safe to say, he probably got in

trouble anyway for missing his kerr few. >> i think he's trying to explain his situation to the person who imposed the curfew right there in the picture. she didn't look very understanding. >> i don't know. aren't there better ways than climbing down the chimney? >> get home in time. probably better. >> lesson learned, i hope. meteorologist tom kierein is here to tell us about this -- can i say wacky weather, tom? >> you can say that repeatedly. it's been that way over and over this december. yes, another strange morning. there is capitol hill under a partly cloudy sky. we've got a blustery wind bringing in colder weather. predawn we've had our warmest temperatures of the day. in fact, it's been around 60 degrees since midnight. but now it's begin to go get colder. around the region, we have a

temperature at reagan national of 59 degrees. winds around the east at 10 miles an hour. down in the 40s western maryland, much of west virginia and shenandoah valley. gaithersburg down to 50 now. pax river, fredericksburg, over to culpeper, near 60 degrees. over the last 12 hours we've had sprinkles from yesterday exiting points east. we do have breaks in the clouds now. later today, sunrise at 7:20. a little sun this morning hovering near 50 in the metro area through the morning and midday. into the 40s this afternoon and clouding up. after sunset tonight could get sprinkles and flurries mid to late evening. we'll be down near 40 by midnight. by dawn saturday near freezing. afternoon highs tomorrow mid-40s. another cold day sunday blustery both saturday and sunday. wind should settle down first part of next week. chilly but mild as we get into tuesday and wednesday. maybe showers late tuesday. danella, good morning. how's traffic? >> good morning. if you're traveling i-270 southbound at germantown road, still seeing an accident there.

slow as you make your way towards germantown road. then you're good and clear heading southbound towards the spur. not seeing any issues at this time. checking the beltway, this is the view at connecticut avenue. not seeing any issues there on the outer loop, if that's your commute from i-95 to i-270, you're at 61 miles per hour. not so bad. taking the inner loop in virginia, inner and outer getting busy at this time. no major delays or accidents to report at this point. no problems. from the wilson bridge to van dorn street, you're at 63 miles per hour. that trip will only take you six minutes. and on the rails, speaking of six minutes, we have a minor six minute delay. this one on the marc penn south train number 403. no reported delays on the metro or vre. now back to you both. >> thank you, danella. 5:24. the hot lanes project in northern virginia will get a $50 million federal grant to help fund the project. the money will go to build high occupancy toll lanes on

garrisonville road in stafford county. earlier this month, virginia governor bob mcdonnell announced the deal with a private contractor to fund the project, but it was contingent upon the state raising part of the money. the federal grant comes at the perfect time. construction could start next year. and the federal services administration will push to locate federal agencies at metro rail stations. according to "the washington post," the gsa, and metro officials came to an agreement yesterday. under the deal, the gsa to lease the office space from metro for five years. four occupy d.c. protesters enter their second week of a hunger strike. they're demanding voting rights for d.c. they've lost 20 pounds. they've been walking the halls of congress, sometimes being pushed in wheelchairs to conserve energy. despite their hunger strike, it does not appear they will succeed in securing voting rights for the district. the end of the year is fast approaching, and there are a few things you can do now to help you when it comes time to file your 2011 taxes.

yes, it's that time to think about it already. in this season of giving, if you make a charitable donation, remember you qualify for a deduction only if you itemize your return. >> make sure that you get receipts or have a bank record because all contributions do require substantiation. you don't send it in with your tax return, but you keep it with your tax records. >> also save your receipts if you took classes to improve your job skills. there's a new deduction called the lifetime learning credit. you can get up to $2,000. if you refinanced your home this year, closing costs are also tax deductible. tax day is still four months away. >> i took classes, but i didn't improve. >> i was going to say. >> it didn't work. do i still get the deduction? >> sure. >> get something for trying. college students, this is the most stressful week of the year. finals week. >> remember that, joe? >> i do, yeah. >> for hundreds of university of

maryland students, they got a much needed and adorable distraction. check it out. oh, come on. they got to play with puppies. the campus called it puppy pa looza. they brought in 20 furry friends so students could destress. it definitely worked. >> i was exhausted and mentally out of it. i was tired from taking my 8:00 a.m., and now i'm just excited and literally dying to see all these puppies. >> oh, come on. too cute. a forever home says it's now getting calls from schools all over the country asking how they too can have a puppy palooza for students. i'm getting on the phone right now and calling our bosses. we need a puppy palooza here in the news room. >> any time you give care and >> an[ male announcer ]re and this...is the network --

a living, breathing intelligence that's helping people rethink how they live. ♪ in here, video games are not confined to screens. ♪ excuse me, hi. my grandfather lived in this village. [ woman speaking italian ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪

in here, cars call mechanics before you do. ♪ [ radio chatter, siren wails ] pass me to the patient, please. [ male announcer ] in here, doctors see you before you get to the hospital. no, we didn't pass it. yeah, pull up the map. [ male announcer ] in here, friends leave you messages written in the air. that's it right there. ♪ [ male announcer ] it's the at&t network... a network of possibilities... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. ♪

welcome to "news 4 today." let's take a live look outside. there it is. now let's go to tom kierein in the studio. >> tom, it's warm outside, very warm. >> you may be tempted to wear a t-shirt and shorts, but not so fast. it is winter. it will feel much more wintry by day's end. we're off to a balmy start. reagan national at 59 degrees. that northwesterly wind gusting to 30 miles an hour is bringing in colder air. it's only 43 in hagerstown and cumberland, western maryland. 40s panhandle of west virginia, much of the shenandoah valley.

farther to the east, it is in the 50s most locations to near 60 in southern maryland through central virginia. over the last 12 hours, those sprinkles we had yesterday are gone. we've got a partly cloudy start to friday morning. sunrise at 7:20. we'll have sun through midday. the winds will be blustery, and we'll have temperatures holding steady in the 40s to around 50 through noontime. all around the region, low to mid-40s by later this afternoon. a look at your evening planner in ten minutes. here's a look at the friday commute. good morning, danella. >> good morning. so far if you're taking bridges in our area, they're getting a little busy. no major delays just yet. this is a view of the wilson bridge. all your lanes are open, and you're clear in both directions. if you're taking the commute across the 14th street bridge heading into the city. you're not really slow at all. not seeing any accidents for you, and you're moving right alo along. bridges in southeast, checking those as well. looking really good. this is a view of the sousa bridge, not seeing any problems

in either direction. penn south train number 403, your delay is just seven minutes. not seeing any reported delays on the metro or vre. now back to you both. >> thanks very much, danella. crisis aert have veravertedr now. congress is set to vote on a spending package that will avoid a government shutdown. tracie potts reporting from capitol hill. >> reporter: first of all, it looks like congress has avoided the midnight shutdown, and your paycheck may be safe, at least for now. republicans came up with a $1 trillion spending plan. democrats have signed on to it, and the way they were able to do that, democrats agreed to delay energy efficiency rules. republicans dropped their restrictions on money and vitts going to cuba. a couple of issues that hung it up. we'll see votes on a package that will avoid the shutdown and extend the all important payroll cuts through two months.

so we may be revisiting this before march. and jobless benefits would be extended for two months as well. plus the medicare payments for doctors that were supposed to be cut 27% at the beginning of the year, looks like those will be preserved as well. at least temporarily for two months until congress can get back to this after the holidays. >> tracie potts reporting live from capitol hill. today the man accused of leaking classified information about the wars in afghanistan and iraq to the website wikileaks will be in court. the article 32 hearing at ft. mead will mark army private bradley manning's first court appearance since his arrest in iraq 19 months ago. today's hearing is the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing in civilian court. that means it will determine whether manning will stand trial. the hearing should last five days. manning faces life in prison if found guilty. today president obama is standing by his award of the medal of honor to a marine in the afghan war.

a newspaper reported the store yi of the man's actions were embellished. the president awarded marine corps sergeant dakota meyer back in september. mcclatchy newspaper reports many of the meyer's accomplishments in inaccurate. the initial report from his commander said he killed one taliban fighter and saved nine afghans. other accounts from the white house and the marines said that meyer killed several enemies and saved as many as 36 lives. the marine corps attributes the differing accounts to the "fog of war." the pentagon and the white house both stand by the award and say they have no plans to investigate the discrepancies. 5:35 now. new from overnight, a prince george's county man it in the hospital after being shot multiple times. the shooting happened inside his house near the intersection of annapolis road and 71st avenue in landover hills. police say the victim tried to drive himself to the hospital but pulled over about two blocks away from his home. police found him inside his car and took him to the hospital. at last check he is listed in

critical condition. his name is not being released, and so far no arrests have been made. this morning a man is in custody after he barricaded himself in an alexandria apartment complex for nearly six hours. the standoff ended late last night high above george mason drive and king street. it started when fairfax police got a call about a man with a gun threatening to kill himself. it ended when the suspect climbed down his eighth floor apartment from the balcony and broke into the apartment underneath where a s.w.a.t. team was waiting. he was taken into custody and sent to the hospital to be checked out. the back of the building faces northern virginia community college. the college is now back open this morning after it was locked down during the standoff. no one was injured. today a judge is expected to sentence a maryland man for his role in a triple murder. 35-year-old delonte cook admitted to the killings as part of a plea deal. he admitted to stabbing and killing three men during a robbery in springfield,

virginia, back in 2008. under the plea deal, both prosecutors and defense agreed to recommend a life sentence. today current and former penn state university officials will appear in court, and they're talking about what they knew and what they did not know about allegations of sexual abuse by former penn state coach jerry sandusky. current coach mike mcqueary is at the center of the hearing. he claims to have witnessed sandusky sexually molesting a child in the team's locker room showers. but former athletic director tim curley and former vice president gary shultz say mcqueary gave them a less graphic account of what happened. arlington national cemetery is being managed better one year after widespread problems surfaced at the cemetery. the army is taking positive steps towards addressing the problems, which included mismarked or misidentified grave sites. the gao says they are still -- there are still improvements that need to be made.

another progress report on the conditions at arlington is due next week. virginia governor bob mcdonnell is proposing a 3% bonus for state employees. the bonuses would be given out next december. mcdonnell made the proposal after announcing a $2 billion investment to virginia's retirement system. the bonus is similar to the one-time bonus workers received in 2010 after state agencies found savings. good time for a bonus, december. 5:38. >> any time is a good time for a bonus. 55 degrees. how the presidential candidates

debate. weather and traffic on the ones. good morning. it's storm center 4. it's turning colder after a balmy night. closer to washington, we're in the mid and upper 50s. southern maryland, around the bay, and through central virginia, it's near 60 degrees. culpeper, it's 63. but it's 20 degrees colder in hagerstown at 43.

we've got some breaks in the clouds and a little bit of that moon showing through. here's your day planner. sunrise at 7:20. sunshine in and out through midmorning and through midday. we'll be hovering near 50 around the metro area. then during the afternoon into the 40s all around the region. overnight tonight, we'll be down to near 40 by midnight. midevening until midnight, there's a possibility of sprinkles and flurries as well as the colder air comes in. a look at your cold weekend. i'll have details on that and a look into next week too in ten minutes. can danella, how's traffic? >> good news in laurel. an earlier accident is now clear. this is at bowie road. your lanes are blocked because the accident knocked down the power lines. those power lines are off of the roadway, and now the road is reopened. let's shoot over to i-270, still seeing the accident. this is at germantown roadblocking the left lane. police are on the scene. i'm starting to see some delays as you pass father hurley and make your way towards. southbound is that direction. you are going to start to see

your volume increase as you approach father hurley and make your way towards germantown road. northbound on i-270, no issues there. i-95 in virginia, starting to slow down around prince william parkway. those delays continue as you approach lorton and continue on towards the interchange. not seeing any accidents on i-95 in virginia, but definitely some delays heading northbound. now back to you both. >> danella, thanks so much. 5:43 is the time. turns to winter

and brings in the cold. because of our economy, millions more will feel that chill than ever before. they're the forgotten ones. the big boys have abused the system to enrich only themselves, while workers are still hurting. it could be a layoff after 22 years of working for the same company. or choosing between food and heat for a sick child. or after working your whole life, you don't have what you need to stay warm. you played by the rules, but who changed them? even though oil prices are soaring to record levels, in washington, fuel aid for the poor was cut in half.

citizens energy asked big oil companies and oil producing nations to help. they all said 'no,' expect for citgo and the people of venezuela. for the last 7 years, citgo has helped struggling families in the united states in good times and in bad. so if you need help staying warm this winter, give me a call. because no one should be left out in the cold.

hi. greetings to our son darrell bak

baker jr. in centreville. we miss you. we love you. hope to see you soon. now to decision 2012. republican presidential candidate mitt romney is expected to pick up another key endorsement. nbc news confirms south carolina governor nicky haley plans to endorse romney today. she is a rising star within the republican party. many presidential contenders have asked for her endorsement. south carolina will hold its primary january 21st. it is the first primary in the south. and republican presidential candidate rick perry says he's been underestimated like denver broncos quarterback tim tebow. he made the comment at last night's debate in iowa. >> am i ready for the next level? let me tell you. i hope i am the tim tebow of the iowa caucuses. >> perry has struggled in the debates. in one he paused awkwardly and failed to remember the third federal agency he would

dismantle if elected. newt gingrich remains the front-runner going into the iowa caucuses on january 3rd. mayor vincent gray will celebrate the completion of the new 11th street bridge complex today. news 4's megan mcgrath is live with details. megan, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, joe. the 11th street bridge has been a disaster, a real mess for a very long time. starting this weekend, we're going to start to see some progress along that corridor. they're going to be opening one of the three new spans on sunday. that means that monday morning, in time for the morning rush hour, drivers using 295 can go inbound across the 11th street bridge into the downtown area. they're going to be using that very new, brand new span beginning monday morning. the new span is going to eliminate that tricky crossover merging with the folks coming off of firth sterling. but the full impact of this project isn't going to be felt until the other two spans open. the second span is going to open later on next week.

that's going to carry the traffic outbound on to 295. when that happens, there is a little bit of a wrinkle. folks are no longer going to be able to go east on the freeway and have access to mlk or good hope road. those roads are used by a lot of folks when 295 gets backed up. it's kind of a work around. that's going to go away when the second span opens. local access will come back when the third and final span opens. that's going to be next winter. we're going to have to wait a while for that to happen. a slow multi-step process here. the very first span opening on sunday. then next week we'll see that second span. next winter, that third span. so progress but drivers are still going to need patience. we are expecting some improvement with the opening of the first and the second span. so it's getting better. but still a little bit to go before the entire impact is felt. joe, back to you. >> this has been needed for years. megan mcgrath reporting live. thanks very much. expect delays on 4 of the 5 metro lines this weekend. on the red line, every other

train from shady grove will end at dupont, and every other train from glen mont will end at union station. orange line trains will share track between east and west falls church. blue line trains will share one track between stadium armory and addison road as well as reagan national airport and braddock road. on the yellow line, trains will only go between huntington and mt. vernon square. you can transfer to the green line to finish your trip. everything should be wrapped up for your monday morning commute. authorities in chicago say they've nailed one of the city's biggest drug dealers who also happens to be an nfl player. bears wide receiver sam hurd was arrested for allegedly trying to buy a kilo of cocaine. authorities say that hurd told the undercover agent he also wanted to buy more than $100,000 of cocaine every week to distribute. the five-year veteran faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. to make matters worse, there are

reports that police have a list of hurd's clients and that some are fellow nfl players. home run king barry bonds will find out today whether he's headed to prison for his obstruction of justice conviction. bonds was convicted of providing evasive testimony to a federal grand jury investigating a bay area laboratory involved in selling or providing banned substances to athletes. federal prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence him to 15 months in prison. probation officers, though, are recommending that bonds receive house arrest and community service. in a seattle courtroom, the man known as the barefoot bandit will be sentenced for a spring of crimes. 20-year-old colt op harris moore ran from the law for two years. authorities say he stole cars and boats and even airplanes, oftentimes while barefoot. he could be sentenced to up to 6 1/2 years in prison. the convicted barefoot bandit must also forfeit any future earnings from movie, book, or other deals in order to pay back his victims. 5:51. time for weather and traffic on the ones. tom is here.

say just wait a minute before you break out the flip flops. this is not the way it's going to be. >> a little spring break weather, dreamy dream, it's now coming to an end. we're waking up to winter again. by later this afternoon, we'll be right back down into the 40s. much of our viewing area, about 30 miles west and north now, it's in the 40s after we were near 60 degrees around midnight. right now at reagan national airport, we are under a partly cloudy sky. there's capitol hill in the distance, and the wind is blustery, gusting between 15 to 30 miles an hour out of the north and west. reagan national now down to 59. i say down because it was even warmer than that, around midnight. elsewhere, it is down into the low 40s now. much of washington county into western maryland, panhandle of west virginia, shenandoah valley into the low to mid-40s there. blue ridge east of the bay, generally in the 50s. southern maryland near 60 over to near fredericksburg and culpeper. charlottesville around 60 degrees

now, danella, how's traffic?

good news on i-270. had a crash, i-270 southbound at germantown road, that's now clear. you're back in the green making your way southbound. earlier, i did see some volume at father hurley as you head towards the accident. again, that accident is out of the roadway, and you are able to move quite nicely on i-270 southbound in this area. northbound, no problems there. and if you're traveling i-95 in virginia, you are starting to slow down right around prince william parkway. you can see at lorton, starting to hit the brakes just a bit as you head north towards the interchange. not seeing any accidents in the roadways for you traveling northbound or southbound on i-95 in virginia. i'm going to keep watching the roads, and i'm back in ten minutes with another look at traffic. for now, back to you all. >> danella, thanks very much. singer janet jackson is the new face of newt nutrisystem. the actress recently lost ten pounds use the success diet plan. despite the weight loss, jackson says she is a work in progress. for more than three decades she's struggled with her weight,

including having large weight fluctuations. in 2006, she weighed 180 pounds. in 2008 she lost 60 pounds. today the first lady and her daughters will leave for the first family's holiday trip. they'll spend christmas in the president's home state of hawaii. it's not clear when he'll join his family for the 17-day vacation. before leaving the district, mrs. obama will deliver toys and gifts collected at the white house for the marine corps' toys for tots program. today i mmay be the best dao do online holiday shopping. more than 2,000 businesses participating in the annual online event. they're offering free shipping when you shop today. better yet, they guarantee your delivery will arrive christmas eve. find out which merchants are participating by going to free shippingday.com. today last-minute shoppers buy their shopping gifts the last saturday before christmas. this year super saturday comes

early. that means the stores could offer good deals this weekend and even beyond. >> i believe the savvy stores will come out with something midweek to entice shoppers through their doors. >> last week could be a real procrastinator's paradise if stores lower their prices once again. a pennsylvania salvation army kettle received a mysterious and generous donation this week. a south african coin called a kruggerand was found in a salvation army kettle outside gettysburg. it's worth about $1,700. officials don't know who donated the coin, but they're content it remains an unsolved mystery. they've shown up in kettles in gettysburg over the years as well as kettle as round the country. that's terrific. very cool. >> what a great discovery. hm, what's this?

>> imagine if the donor thought it was a couple of quarters and he had loose change. >> i'd probably try to take off the gold wrapping to eat the chocolate. doesn't work. >> all right. today is 4g friday for nbc washington. we are giving away $4,000 to one person with our fandemonium sweepstakes. to enter, all you have to do is like the nbc washington page on facebook. share the link with friends and family and let them in on the fun. it's not accessible on mobile devices. >> you can go out and buy a couple of kruggerands with that. coming up, a story that will make you believe in miracles.