borrowed dollars. in fact, it works the other way. a government as big and bossy as this one is maintained on the backs of the middle class, and those who hope to join it. >> the tea party also responded to last night's state of the union address. former republican presidential candidate herman cain called the speech a hodgepodge of little ideas. today is congresswoman gabrielle giffords' last day in office. she will formally submit her letter of resignation. it follows an emotional outpouring of support from the members of congress at last night's state of the union address. [ applause ] >> as you can see, president obama gave congresswoman giffords a great, big hug, and giffords says she is retiring so she can concentrate on making a full recovery from last year's shooting in tucson. giffords was shot in the head. six other people were killed. our time is just about 4:31. let's see what kind of day we

are going to have. tom, we've got 43 degrees. going stay in the area? a clear sky now. this is actually one of the warm spots. elsewhere, we're down near the freezing mark in fairfax, arlington, prince george's counties. we'll have quite a bit of sunshine this morning. let's take a look now. there is the jefferson memorial on the bank of the potomac river. we have dry pavement around under this clear sky. now 39 at reagan national. we've got a north/northwesterly breeze. and that's going to continue to bring in cooler weather than we had yesterday. what a dreamy day it was yesterday. and now we are down into the 20s across parts of northern virginia and in fairfax county now. it is near the freezing mark. in montgomery county now, the mid to upper 30s. in the low to mid 30s in prince george's county. much of southern maryland and near the bay, near freezing this morning, as well as the shenandoah valley and out in the mountains. here's the view if space over the last 12 hours. we've had a mostly clear sky. did not see the aurora here, but it was visible and very bright

to our north. we'll show you some of those images coming up. sunrise will be at 7:20. we will have sunshine this morning. by 9:00, near 40. into the low 40s by noontime. then clouding up during the afternoon as we peak in the mid to upper 40s. maybe briefly near 50 degrees just to the south of the metro area by mid-afternoon. and clouds roll in tonight. looks like some rain coming our way. a look at your evening planner in ten minutes. good morning, how's traffic? good morning. happy wednesday to you. so far the area looks good. we'll check travel speeds if you're ready to hit the roadways. if you're taking the dulles toll road making your way from hunter mill road to the beltway, you're at 56 miles per hour. traveling route 50 westbound from 301 to the beltway, you're at 66 miles per hour. and on 395 from the beltway crossing the 14th street bridge, 62 miles per hour. if this is your commute, i'll show you crossing the bridge is a breeze. no issues making your way into the city. in fact, on 395 north as well as southbound, your lanes are open.

joe and eun, back to you. >> thank you. breaking news right now. a u.s. military helicopter raided somalia freed two hostages, an american and a danish citizen. the danish refugee council says the hostages are two aid workers. american jessica buchanan and dane poole fisted. they had been held in somalia since october. the dangish council says they'r okay and at a safe undisclosed location. thousands of egyptians are in tahrir square to mark the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled former president hosni mubarak mubarak. one year ago, thousands broke through the barrier in cairo. 18 days after the revolution began, mubarak stepped down. since the uprising, mubarak and his sons have been put on trial. he's accused of killings during the unrest. charges he denies. the relationship between gop

front-runner newt gingrich and mortgage giant freddie mac is on display again after his former consulting firm released another contract. the contract shows newt gingrich began receiving payments of $25,000 a month in 1999 to work with freddie mac's chief lobbyist. the agreement, however, specifically excludes lobbying services and instead says gingrich served as an adviser in the areas of strategic planning and public policy. between this contract and the one released yesterday, gingrich received more than $1.5 million from freddie mac between 1999 and 2011. mitt romney is targeting gingrich for that relationship with the mortgage giant. in a state that has been hit hard by the housing crisis. romney visited a foreclosed home in florida yesterday, but he also defended banks saying they aren't bad people, they are just overwhelmed and scared now because they are afraid people will stop paying. housing and the economy are likely to be key issues in florida's primary next tuesday.

new from overnight, a fire has displaced a local family. the fire broke out just after midnight in the 2100 block of rampart drive in the alexandria section of fairfax. the fire damaged part of the second floor and roof of the single-family home. everyone did get out safely. the cause remains under investigation. the national parks service says it will begin enforcing the no-camping rule for occupy d.c. protesters in mcpherson square soon. we checked, and people were still camped out overnight. occupy d.c. demonstrators have been camping out there since october. a spokesman for the parks service says u.s. park police will begin encouraging protesters to sleep elsewhere. anyone who ignores the warnings risks getting arrested or cited. today a new anti-crime smartphone app goes live at the university of maryland. it's called the em-ergnecy app. the app lets user instantly send video and awed grow dispatchers in an emergency and relays the

user's location. the professor who created it says he was tired of seeing crime at maryland and at schools nationwide. >> it was bothering me tremendously that college campuses were not as safe as they could be. so the question i started posing was, what kind of technology can we develop to make the college campuses safer. that's where we started. >> the app goes live at noon. right now only maryland students and faculty question access it, and only with android smartphones. the professor hopes to expand the technology campuses across the country. microsoft hopes is to see boost the economy. mayor gray and microsoft will announce digital alliance. the job venture will include training for d.c. residents and include help for small businesses. the mayor and microsoft will offer more details about the agreement later this morning. 4:36 is the time now. 30 -- rather, 43 degrees.

honoring a coaching legend, family, friends, and fans saying their good-byes joe paterno. about face. >> showing their anger. the propofol that had these firefighters -- the proposal that had these firefighters storming out of the room. it's shaping up to be another pleasant january day.

4:39. 43 degrees. the capitol dome coming into view, brightly lit up. let's see what kind of day we'll have. >> tom kierein has the latest on the forecast. the end of the day turned out really nice, tom. i'm somehow stuck in yesterday. what a wonderful day it was, and we got into the 50s. today we might get up near 50, not quite as warm. we'll have sunshine. right now under a clear sky, that's the live view from our city camera. it's 39 at reagan national. we've got a north/northwesterly breeze around five to 15 miles per hour. it's near the freezing mark throughout much of virginia including fairfax county and loudoun county, prince william, stafford, spotsylvania, toward fauquier county, culpeper. low to mid 30s. in prince george's county, near freezing. near freezing as well much of

southern maryland, charles, calvert, northern neck, eastern shore. the view from space showing a clear sky. we have clouds moving in from the north. a few high clouds from the south and west drifting in as the day progresses. sunrise at 7:20. by 9:00, 40 with sunshine. clouding up in the afternoon. we'll peak in the upper 40s, maybe briefly near 50 at mid-afternoon. sunset at 5:21. we'll have a cloudy evening, upper 30s by late evening. a look at some rain on the way for the rest of the end of the weekend. a look at the weekend, too, in ten minutes. the commute looks good. seeing a lot of green around the beltway. let's start with the beltway in maryland. if you're making a trip in montgomery counti, this is the view at new hampshire avenue. travel speeds on the inner loop and inner loop look good. outer loop, 59 miles per hour. in prince george's county, the beltway there looks good, as well. volume's very light. this is the view at ritchie marlboro road. i'm not seeing any issues as you

loop around into virginia. live look at van dorn street shows the inner and outer loop clear in this area, as well. inner loop travel speeds from the wilson bridge to van dorn street, you're at 61 miles per hour. not so bad. i'm back in ten minutes with another look at traffic. back to you both. >> thanks. 4:42. 42 degrees. still to come, growing tornadoes. the new developments surround -- growing concerns. the new developments surrounding the illness that's making new york teens sick. trying to ease congestion along a busy corridor.

today, family, friends, and fans will say their final good-bye to legendary penn football coach joe paterno. a private funeral will be followed by a public viewing. thousands lined up to pay final

respects yesterday. a public memorial service will be held tomorrow inside the school's basketball arena. paterno died on sunday, less than three months after doctors diagnosed the 85-year-old with lung cancer. penn state fired paterno last november after his former defensive coordinator, jerry sandusky, was accused of sexually abusing several young boys. another student at a new york high school is now showing signs of a mysterious illness. a doctor says he saw a patient over the weekend with tourette-like symptoms. he would not say if the student was a boy or girl but said the diagnosis is consistent with the other students. at least 12 other girls have shown the symptoms that include verbal outbursts and involuntary twitching. neurologists say the illness is conversion disorder or mass psychogenic illness. doctors from the institutes of health have reached out to the new york neurologist and offered additional testing. crews plan to start pumping fuel from that grounded cruise ship near italy. salvage teams are preparing for

a tremendous task. they fear a half million gallons of fuel could leak into the tuscan sea from the "costa concordia." authorities say the ship's captain steered the ship into shallow water and hit a reef on january 13. the divers are searching for 17 people still listed as missing. crews recovered the body of a 16th person yesterday. the american student wrongly convicted for a murder in italy says she still loves the country and would happily return as a tourist. mailonline reports amanda knox may head back to italy this fall to testify as a witness in her parents' trial. they are charged with slandering the italian police. last year an italian appeals court overturned knox's conviction. knox and her ex-boyfriend were killed in the killing of her british roommate. knox spent four years in prison before her release in october of she is living in her hometown of seattle. the lone marine charged in the killing of his iraqi

civilians has not been charge. it was considered a low point for u.s. troops in the war. frank woodrich pleaded guilty to a single count of negligent -- likz of duty. the deal drops nine counts of manslaughter. back in 2005 eight marines were charged in the attack that killed 24 iraqi civilians. woodrich admitted that he ordered the squad to shoot first and ask questions later but said he never intended for civilians to be killed. this morning a man stuck in a cave for nearly four hours in washington county, maryland, is free. emergency crews rescued the man last night. the man was hiking with a group in the clear spring year when he slipped, causing one of his legs to be wedged between rocks about 200 feet underground. officials have not released the man's identity. he was taken to the shock trauma center as a precaution. it morning, one -- this morning, one person is dead after driving the wrong way on

an exit ramp in fairfax county. the driver hit another vehicle head-on at leesburg pike and drainsville road in herndon. the other driver is expected to be okay. it's not clear why the driver of the first car was going the wrong direction. the d.c. taxicab commission has shut down one local company. the commission was told anacostia cab company was closed after being accused of violationing including failing to prove it paid taxes and that it is a properly registered company. the commission says anacostia provided a false address on documentation. the company's owner says he's done everything the commission has asked him to do and plans to fight the cease and desist order. the montgomery county council is recommending to build a new bus system, express system, along congested interstate 270 that to see connect the shady grove metro station in rockville to clarksburg. the council originally thought it would build a light rail

system but said that that would be too expensive at an estimated $800 million. this bus system is estimated to cost around $500 million and will be ready ten years earlier. be prepared for a little confusion if you take metro from the vienna station. one of the roads into the station's parking lot is about to get a new traffic pattern. starting next monday, part of the saints ferry drive which takes you into the station from nutley will becomes a one-way street so crews can widen the road. you'll have to take nutley to lee highway to vaden drive to get back on to saintsbury. the new pattern will be in place until june. about face. >> last night d.c. firefighters upset over a proposed schedule change walked out of a state of the department speech. happened as fire chief ken ellerbee ended his speech and prepared to take questions. one firefighter called the others to attention, ordered an

about-face, and dismissed them. they left. the chief wants to change shifts from 24 hours to 12 hours saying it will save the city millions of dollars a year. the union says it would disrupt the lives of firefighters. the man accused of firing shots at the white house pleaded not guilty trying to assassinate the president. oscar ortega shernds accused of -- hernandez is accused of firing at the white house. the president and first lady were not home at the time. he was arrested several days later in pennsylvania. ortega hernandez is due in court next month. if convicted, he faces life in prison. a breast implant saved a woman's life in florida. the woman was outside her ex-fiance's apartment in broward county when his new girlfriend attacked. she stabbed her repeatedly on the left side of her chest. the victim's doctor says the implant had just enough saline in it to stop the knife from piercing completely through the implant and into the victim's heart.

>> happened so fast. i mean, i'm like, put down the knife. i looked down, and i was covered in blood. >> the woman got the breast implant three months ago. she says it is the best investment she's ever made. 4:51 our time. and tom's here to look at the forecast for us. tom? we had the big solar storm yesterday. we were anticipating disruptions in communications. maybe your gps told you to turn left instead of right or told you to drive to hartford, connecticut. either way, we didn't have major disruptions. there were spectacular auroras at higher latitudes. unfortunately, we didn't have an aurora here. there was a slight chance we could have overnight. might have bedroom window faces north. i was up several times looking but never saw it locally. 39 at reagan national. we've got a north/northwesterly wind at 5 to 15. temperatures are cold. under a clear sky, 20s throughout northern virginia

including forecast, prince william, loudoun, stafford, spotsylvania, culpeper. these areas getting temperatures in the upper 20s, near 30. low to mid 30s in montgomery county and prince george's county. parts of southern maryland, charles, calvert, st. mary's, are down near the freezing mark as is anne arundel and the eastern shore. shenandoah valley into the mountains, in the mid 30s there. we do have clouds beginning to close in from the north and west. they'll be with us a little from time to time throughout the morning hours. then clouding up this afternoon. here's the wider view. we'll have some of these clouds here. these are high clouds coming into kentucky, tennessee, these will be rolling over us ahead of a low-pressure system. that will begin to move in tomorrow. we'll get those increasing clouds throughout the day. sunrise at 7:20. we'll have highs reaching from the upper 40s to around 50 by later this afternoon. then this evening, sunset at 5:21. we'll be cloudy and generally around 40 through the early evening. upper 30s by midnight. then by dawn on thursday, cloudy, the mid 30s. slight chance of maybe a sprinkle or maybe a little bit of sleet early tomorrow morning.

i don't think there's going to be a big problem. we'll be above freezing. then maybe light rain later in the morning. then a greater chance of rain thursday afternoon and evening into friday midday. and still looks like we may dry out a bit on friday afternoon. highs in the low 50s then. saturday, sunshine, up near 50 after a cold start. then turning colder on sunday. a lot of clouds around. cold start to next week, too. should stay dry. danella, how's traffic? good morning, still a pleasant trip for you if you're about to head out of the house and hit the roadways. traveling i-270, the view at father hurley southbound. lanes are open. not seeing issues as you head to the spur. northbound, as well, light volume, and you're clear. i-95 in virginia, making your way out of the occoquan, getting busy northbound. no major delays. i'll give you a travel speed if you are heading northbound. you're at 61 miles per hour. it will take you about 11 minutes to get from the occoquan to the beltway. traveling on 395, northbound seeing cars on the road. no major delays or accidents at all to report at this time.

southbound, you are in the clear. northbound travel speed, 59 miles per hour. taking 12 minutes to get from the beltway to the 14th street bridge. i'm back in ten minutes with a look at the rails. back to you. >> thank you. university of maryland officials hope that scenes like this do not play out after tonight's big maryland-duke basketball game in college park. the school sent a letter to students warning them that riots and excessive celebrations will not be tolerated. police arrested more than two dozen students after the terps beat duke in college park two years ago. similar scenes played out in the past after other big games. tonight the wizards will play the first game without flip sounder as head coach. the team fired him yesterday. the assistant, randy whitman, will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season. the wizards have the league's worst record. they're just 2-15 this year. they do have a decent chance at nabbing that third victory tonight, though. they take on the 3-15 charlotte bobcats at verizon center. no guarantees.

>> no. washington capitals captain alex ovechkin will not be in ottawa for the nhl all-star game. he decided to remove himself from the game because he's in the middle of a three-game suspension for a hit against the penguins on sunday. he says he doesn't feel he deserves to be there because of the suspension. ovechkin sat out his first game last night. and ove watched from a box as the caps regained first place at the verizon center. the team beat the boston bruins 5-3. matth matthau perrault got the first career hat trick. the first win for the caps before the all-star break. 4:55. coming up, new concerns about microwave popcorn. why something in the popular snack could put your kids at risk for getting sick. plus, under the microskoeft. the latest peo

in the day ahead, a congressional panel will hold a hearing into fire concerns for the chevy volt. lawmakers want to know why the national highway traffic safety administration waited months to report the first fire during federal testing. general motors says it will make changes to lower the risk of fires. the company also says there have been no real world reports of fire. new today, chemicals in microwave popcorn may alter the effectiveness of childhood

vaccinations. a harvard researcher found a group of chemicals in microwave popcorn in water-resistant clothing prevented diphtheria and tetanus evacuations from working -- vaccines from working properly. the pfcs lowered the body's immune response to fight infections. despite the findings, doctor say there's no immediate public health concern. there's been a surge in families asking for financial help to pay for college. "usa today" reports that 21 million families filled out the fafsa forms, free application for federal student aid. that's up some 49% from two years before. experts say those applying this year should pay attention to deadlines which are approaching quickly in some states. you can also fill out the forms before your taxes are completed. expert also say do not count on government money. you should also look around for private scholarships and loans. >> a lot of families in need of those financial aid programs