virginia governor timothy keane denied the appeal for clemency for sniper john allen muhammad. his lawyers will make no efforts to stop the execution, which will occur here at 9:00 tonight. john allen muhammad was allowed a final family visit early in the day. media gathered to cover his execution by lethal injection. some of the families of the victims of sniper shootings have come to witness his death. >> he came to the door to shoot me. >> reporter: isa nichols traveled here from takoma to washington. she said she was the intended first victim of the sniper. she has written a book, "genesis, the bullet was meant to me." saying she was a fend of muhammad's wife mildred and went with her to court and that muhammad was so angry, he sent low boyd malvo to her front door to shoot her, but killed her niece kenia cook. >> my daughter and i are going to the execution. the reason we are attending is to participate in justice being served. it was tamara and i who found kenia lying on the floor about eight months or so prior to john's killing spree on the east coast. >> reporter: the sniper task force worked for months investigating the case against the snipers, bringing john allen muhammad and lee boyd malvo to trial. a dozen members led by prince william county commonwealth attorney paul ebert will attend the execution. from the day muhammad was sentenced, eber said the punishment fits the crime. >> if there is ever a case where a jury verdict was just, this is one and the judge recognized that. >> reporter: muhammad's trial attorneys tried in vain to save his life. >> we do and will continue to have deep disagreement with a system that sanctions any kind of killing. >> reporter: convicted sniper john allen muhammad will be accompanied by a lawyer into the death chamber. he has the option to take a member of the clergy but has not chosen to do so. that's the latest from the greensville correctional center. now to julie carey in manassas, virginia. >> reporter: well, this is the sunoco station where dean myers was killed october 9, 2002, the employee who was here that night who witnessed it no longer works here. this sniper scene and a dozen others across the washington metro area bring back vivid memories of us still some seven years later. at this kensington shell station, someone made sure one of the sniper vips was remembered today. flowers were left at the sight where the young mother was killed as she vacuumed her minivan. the snipers' rampage claimed four lives in three hours. the mechanic here remembers the sadness the next day. >> they apparently came here, crying, everybody's crying, everybody's sad. >> reporter: across the maryland and virginia suburbs and in northwest washington, once mundanlocations like gas stations and store parking lots have become memorable because they were the scene of the sniper's terror. >> there was a woman killed right at the giant by leisure world. every time i see that bench, i think of that poor woman. >> reporter: it's easy to recall the fear of those three weeks, and how it altered daily life. there were the traffic jams created during white van searches. parents hovered over children on their way to school and adults avoided errands or ducked down as they pumped gas. >> i was making different moves. like how everybody was going from side to side. >> reporter: helga purchased gas at the same sunoco station for years until she learned of dean myers murder there. >> it was awful. it was absolutely frightening to go around to not even knowing you could get shot at any minute, any second. >> reporter: today, many of those who lived through the sniper seize focus on the victims as the execution hour nears. >> i've been thinking of all those people who got killed, all of them. they were innocent. and that is wrong. >> reporter: coming up on news4 at 6:00, more recollections, including those from man who drove a white van who found police at his door step during the sniper investigation. julie carey, back to you. thank you. we will have continuing coverage of the muhammad execution on news4 and on nbcwashington.com. coming up at 5:30, we'll hear from the mother of lee boyd malvo. days of intense investigation into the ft. hood tragedy gave way to solemn remembrances today. thousands upon thousands of people gathered here at the nation's largest military post to pay their respects to the 13 killed in last week's shooting rampage. president obama spoke about each of those victims. their pictures lined the stage with 13 helmets, combat boots and rifles in a somber tribute to their service to our country. one of the fallen, major libardo eduardo caraveo was a psychiatrist. >> major caraveo spoke little english when he came to america as a teenager, but he put himself through college, earned a ph.d. and was helping combat units scope. he is survived by his wife, sons and step daughters. >> there are questions tonight about ties between shooting suspect major nidal hasan and a known al qaeda supporter. hasan is still in critical condition at brook army medical center in texas. we have a developing story tonight out of montgomery county. fire officials are investigating after something in a grocery store made more than a dozen people sick. this is at the cabot john center on tucker lane.ñi people started throwing up and passing out. pat collins joins us with the latest. what do they think this is about, pat? >>em's not çósure, wendy. it was a scary situation here. something in the air sent people to the hospital, caused stores out here to be evacuated. now, it happened at the giant. we talked to people who were there.ñi >> the alarm started going off.r everybody had to get out of the store right away. the alarm was right there in the front the store. >> reporter: scary? >> yeah. people were passing out up front. >> reporter: victims on gurneys. medics at their side, 14 treated, 6 transported. something in the air had people here falling down sick.xd did you pass out? >> no. >> reporter: did you get sick? >> yes. >> reporter: howxd did you feel? >> very lightheaded.çó kind of drowsy. >> reporter: what do you make of this? >> scary. very scary. >> reporter: it happenedyq the giant store in the cabin john shopping center here in potomac. a hazmat situation. 45 firefighters deployed. the giant and other stores evacuated. tell me what it was like inside that store? >> overwhelming fumesñr came ou of nowhere and people geáing sick, throwing up, passing out. really strong fumes. >> reporter: scary? >> yeah, pretty scary. >> reporter: so what caused this? well, some people said they smelled gasoline. others said it smelled like propane. but sources say it's more likely it was something like a refrigerant. >> there are some refrigerants used in giant foods. we are checking to see. there are also natural gasses used. we are looking at all sources at this point.ñi unfortunately, we do not have a specific product as to what made these people ill. >> reporter: at end of the day, no serious injuries. the health dartment gave an okay, the store reopened a few minutes ago. but we still don't know what caused all of this. wendy, back to you. >> thank you, pat.çó ñi ida is now a tropical depression, but is still causing problems along the gulf coast. overnight and early this morning the storm hit land with winds around 45 miles per hour. in pensacola, florida, beach front homeowners had to deal with flooding today. the storm is being blamed for at a 70-year-old man appearsxd to have drowned while trying to help stranded fishermen on the mississippi river. bob ryan is here with first weather to explain if ida is going to impact us at all.ñi some of that moisture will.d especially down towardxd fredericksburg, spotsylvania.çó not p!q1e because of ida, but high pressure to our north and what's left of ida will be a plain old low pressure area. we are going to get a lot of moisture coming in. already you can see that moisture sweeping up from the south. the thing is there's a lot of dry air over us, even with the high clouds. it's going to be fighting its way. the main areas of rain will be from dale city south and la plata south. around washington we'll see lighter rain. overnight tonight, some light showers. tomorrow will be a chilly, rather damp wet÷day, especially to our south. we are going to be in for several days of the same. i'll explain that. >> thank you, bob. ñi normally a library is a fe place to temporarily borrow books. prince george's county officials have busted more than a dozen people who checked out library books and sold them for big cash. jane watrel joins us to tell us how this unfolded. >> reporter: the library theft ring operated about a year ago in several maryland counties including baltimore, harford and prince george's, pawning or selling books for cash. authorities say the book theft ring began operatingñi over a dozen maryland county library branches a year ago. using their library cards, a dozen suspects would check out expensive checkbooks and sell them online. >> ironically, there were books on ethnics, philosophy, but largelyhe bulk of the books were in the nursing field and sciences like chemistry, but largely nursing books. >> reporter: court documents showed selling library books was a lucrative venture. one stole 100 medical text books from baltimore county library, valued at $54,0. in prince george's county, a suspect stole 822 books, valued at just over $8,000. >> this is a theft from the public trust. library is a public trust that all of us take advantage of, especially students. this really fit into that. >> reporter: at first selling books wentñi almost undetected. the holder of a library card can check out up to 75 books. >> that is a lot of books. i think the county library system will reevaluate that. it is not a legal decision but administrative one. i think the county is liking at it. >> reporter: it wasñi some sharp-eyed library employees who noticed one dozenñi suspects we checking out large volumes of text booksñi and not bringing tm back. after authorities were alerted, the ringxd was uncovered. >> i think crooks and thieves are getting more inventive and we have to keep one step ahead of them. >> reporter: prosecutors say the 12 suspect news each other by being related or roommates. the prince george'sñi county library system was so sensitive about this theft ring, the news conference had to be held acrosi when we come back, news4 at 5:00 just getting started. i-270 isxnone of the busiest routes in montgomery county. find out what officials there want to do to ease your commute. >> g.p.'s formerñi mayor marion barry has one hbo special, now he may be a reality tv star. >> power lunch with lindsay. stick around foráañ special one-on-one with sugar ray leonard. it's a transit proposal that could change the way many people get around montgomery county. widening i-270 using a but rapid transit or light rail. pat lawson muse hit the road to get some answers. >> reporter: any cmuter who has to use the i-270 corridor, they'll tell you it's a frustrating fact of life. >> sometimes i will get on there 6:00 to 6:30 and it's still bumper to bumper. >> there are some alternatives using the back street, but they're not the best alternatives. >> montgomery county council is pro potion alternatives. one would create two reversible lanes that would reverse direction in the morning and afternoon rush between gaithersburg and the frederick city line. >> that appears to be unanimous moving forward. the issue that has been a debate today is do youick a light rail option or bus rail option? >> reporter: the corridor city transit way is a roughly 14 mile route from the shady grove metro station in gaithersburg to clarksburg. the debate is over whether to build a light rail system on that stretch or a bus rapid transit system. light rail supporters say it's a way to keep people working where they live. opponents say light rail is time consuming and too costly. >> i can match the speed of light rail. i can match the ability to carry the number of passengers of light rail. i can do it for half the cost of light rail. >> we have a reliable commitment to a light rail system along the transit route. those residents who live along that route choose to move there, and businesses that chose to make big investments and draw jobs there will be assured that is a long term commitment they can count on. >> reporter: it's estimated the plan would cost about $500 million. light rail would cost an estimated $900 million. a council vote is expected on tuesday, but it will be the state that makes the final decision. whatever the decision is, montgomery county commuters say they just want relief. now the timing of the debate coincides with construction of a proposed science village west of gaithersburg that cannot win approval without road improvements. "real world" and "the real housewives ofd.c." and the marion barry reality show. he will reportedly have a reality show. his chief of staff confirmed a pilot is in production. this past summer there was an hbo documentary about the life of barry. i feel like i've already seen his reality show for 30 years. >> do we want to see the mayor with web kams all around? >> what have we got going on? >> if you like today, get used to it. it will be chillier and wetter tomorrow, and also on thursday, and i think into friday. outside right now, we have those high clouds which are getting lower. the winds soy far are light. over the next few days the winds are going to be picking up. our rainfall, we've been having wet periods and dry periods. overall for the year is above average. look at the temperatures around 61 degrees. earlier was in th 60s also. portland, maine, friends up there? 64 today. look at miami. 81 degrees. it is still humid with that leftover tropical moisture from what had been ida is now a depression. you can see the spin in the atmosphere. because of thepattern, that moisture that is falling into north carolina and heading our way isn't directly associated with ida. it is a low pressure area that is going to be very slow to move off the coast and probably into saturday not get out of the eastern united states. because of all the rain that's fallen, there are flood watches and flash flood warnings out. atlanta, georgia, had over 56 inches of rain this year. way above average. that's the reason folks down there are concerned about more rain. ey don't need anymore. here is the leading edge of that area of rain which continues to be stuck there. we've got dry air in on us because of high pressure to our north. at the same time all this moisture of what had been ida continues to flow up to south carolina, north carolina and eventually will be getting in here. primarily, i think for southern maryland, northern maryland and pennsylvania probably stay dry. look at fletcher, north carolina, over 1.5 inches of rain and asheville also had rain. overnight tonight, high pressure continueto build to our north. at the same time low pressure from ida slowly moves off the coast. the result will be strong, chilly northeasterly winds for the next couple of days and most of the heavy rain staying well to our south. that's the area under flood watches and there are gale warnings along the coast. a few showers later on this evening tonight, but once again st. mary's county, spotsylvania, stafford. washington might see light sprinkles, light showers. tomorrow and tomorrow night into friday, i think more of the same. gradually we'll see it move off the coast. it will be a breezy, cloudy damp period. heaviest rains well to our south. morning lows 40s. afternoon high low 50s. not changing much, but saturday a bit drier. >> thanks, bob. coming up, the great divide. why the wall built t a great wall is being built along the u.s./mexican border to stop illegal immigration. conservation says that wall blocked wild life that needs to migrate across that path they followed for centuries. this week the international league of conservation photographers opened an exhibit on capitol hill to bring attention to this problem to see if something can be done to help wild life who are now up against the wall. >> they don't have a voice. i think the people that are making decisions about this wall, they don't know about this. they don't hear from wild life obviously because they don't have a voice. >> reporter: photographer krista is giving a voice to the wild life crisis in an exhibit entitled, "continental divide, wild life and the people and the wall." >> if people saw this place and saw what it is doing to wild species, it wld make a difference. >> reporter: she and 18 other colleagues with the international league of conservation photographers spent time along the border where the u.s. is building a security wall 2,000 miles long. the photographers wanted to document the problems this barrier is creating for the creatures traveling freely for centuries over the land this wall is now dividing." >> wild life is suffering. the ability for wild life like jaguars and ocelots to move across the border is literally blocked by this ball. >> reporter: the exhibit is on display for the public bringing these images to the law makers who could help. in 2005, congress passed a homeland security bill, waiving all environmental laws so the 15-foot barrier could be built quickly to stop the flow of illegal immigration. >> people are going to find ways around the wall, but wild life can't do that. >> reporter: this introduces to the complex eco system that lives within this region. this is a creature that roams freely from both sides of the border. >> i saw havalenas traveling 100 yards and then giving up. >> reporter: this exhibit includes people who must now co-exist with the wall. >> the people that live there, it's not all about drugs and violence. there's also ranchers and family and musicians. it's just a beautiful place. i really hope that's what people see. >> reporter: you can see this beautiful place and its people and creatures all this week. this exhibit of this wall is hooer to coincide with the anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, a juxtaposition designed to make us pause and reflect on the wisdom of barriers. this exhibit is open to the public. it's in the hall of the russell senate office building. to learn more about wild life and the border go to nbcwashington.com and search for going green, trying to bring this issue to light. coming up, we showed you the rules of the road being broken over and over again during d.c. mayor fenty's bike rides. what does the mayor have to say now? and who is hiring for the holidays? and lunch with lindsay with a side of sugar. i see him as a monster. i really wasn't for the death penalty because i didn't believe, you know, it's going to bring the victim back, but after he killed my father, i knew that if he got the death penalty, i would be sitting in this chair and watching the execution. >> this is a line look outside the greenville correctional center near jarrett, virginia. you heard from sheryl witts who needs to witness john allen muhammad be put to death. her father was killed by the snipers while he was on a golf course in arizona. at 5:00, john allen muhammad was given his last meal. he was given a choice of anything on the prison menu and he selected one or two items, but did not want his choice released to the public. 7:00 this evening, he will be permitted to take a shower, if he wishes and the execution is scheduled for 9:00 tight. we continue to follow the latest on the muhammad execution. welcome back to news4 at 30, i'm wendy rieger. >> i'm jim handly. tonight muhammad's convicted accomplice lee boyd malvo sits in a jail for life. the mother of this man speaks out today. tom costello was here now and smoke with malvo's mother over the phone today after she reached out to nbc news. let's listen to part of your conversation with una james now. >> the first life took muhammad was my son's life. then he used my son to take others life, all right? >> did police james reveal anything about how her son met muhammad? >> she didn't, not to me in this particular conversation. she talked before about it. first of all, she is difficult to understand. she has a heavy jamaican accent. what she said was telling. first muhammad took my son's life, meaning he took his under his wing. then they started killing people. then they went on and took others lives. she called today or wanted to talk today because she is opposed to this sentence. she is not arguing that muhammad is not guilty. she believes he is guilty, but doesn't believe another death is the answer here. it's based on religious grounds she doesn't believe he should be executed. clearly, she says her life has been destroyed, her life has been destroyed over the course of this entire ordeal in which her son was taken in by muhammad. >> what does she think about her son's sentence of life in prison? >> reporter: she thinks it's appropriate. if he was involved in killing so many people, she thinks it's appropriate. she is very remorseful about how many people were killed in this episode. in no way does she apologize for their actions, but thinks the death sent epps is inappropriate, i think as i said, on moral grounds. >> tom, thanks so much. we'll have continuing coverage of the muhammad execution tonight on nbc nightly news with brian williams. that's tonight at 7:00 here after news4 at 6:00. the u.s. park police said it's illegal to ride bicycles on the clara barton parkway in northwest washington and suburban maryland. the police commented on this after records mayor adrian fenty and his bicycling group used that park and violated other traffic restrictions. tom sherwood is here now. he was first telling us about this last night. >> reporter: people drive 50 miles per hour on that parkway. it's not safe for bikes and now we know it's not legal. biking in th washington area is a hugely possible sport or pasttime. bikes are subject to the rules of the roa like everyone else. u.s. park police confirmed tuesday mayor fenty violated the law when his group shot on camera recently rode along the clara barton parkway. >> in fact, it is illegal to ride a bicycle on the clara baon parkway. >> reporter: the fine is $95 for anyone stopped by police. mayor fenty's bike group had a d.c. escort. that didn't make it legal. the wpot footage showed pair and friends riding through stop signs in prohibited areas and causing traffic backups. at a popular union station bike stand, everyone knew about the story. >> i think there's enough police in this town that they could escort every one of the bicyclists in this city. yeah, it's outrageous. if he wants to use his bicycling habits as a way to gain favor, he should ride his bike like everyone else and that means fighting every car on the street to make a left turn. >> reporter: mayor fenty said tuesday if he violated any rules or laws, he won't do it again. >> i didn't know that street prohibited bicycles until the deputy brought to it my attention. kudos for that. >> cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles. if we want the protection of the law, we need to follow the law, too. >> reporter: some cyclists say people should cut the mayor a break. that's coming up on news4 at 6:00. >> you would think with all this police escort maybe one of those officers would know what they were doing was illegal. >> reporter: you would think so. maybe they think if the mayor wants to go riding they'll follow him. somebody asked me, is the mayor going to pay the fine? he wasn't fined because no park police officer stopped him. >> all right. d.c. council took another step toward legalizing same-sex marriages in the district. a council it very's voted 4-1 to send the bill to the full council in the next few weeks. they made one change and now states churches and other religious organizations cannot be forced to rent out their facilities for same-sex weddings. the measure already states ergy are not required to perform such marriages. the full council is expected to pass the bill. mayor adrian fenty said woe sign it. when weome back on news4 at 5:00, a basketball legend battling leukemia. we'll tell you the prognosis for kareem abdul jabbar. and dying to get a tan. one community wants to ban teenagers from tanning salons. if i had to sit on a bench during the middle of a game due to diabetes it would frustrate me. in a basketball game a couple minutes could mean a big momentum shift. my bayer meter is very important. (announcer) only bayer's contour meter has programmable personal high low settings. it allows me to be able to look at my highs and lows to make sure that my diabetes is being controlled as tightly as possible. with my bayer meter i don't miss valuable game time. i'm alana burns and staying in the game is my simple win. (announcer) the contour meter, only from bayer. basketball great kareem abdul-jabbar is battling a rare form of leukemia. he announced today he was diagnosed last december with cml. the 62-year-old said his prognosis is encouraging for revery, but he was caught off guard when he was first diagnosed. >> when i found out i had cml i was really scared. i had just had a friend of mine who passed away two years earlier from a different type of leukemia. all i heard was the word "leukemia" and thought i w on the same path. >> abdul jabbar is now a spokesman for a pharmaceutical company which makes a drug that treats his illness. he said he joined fces with novartis to raise awareness about the disease. howard county could become the first jurisdiction in the country to ban minors from using tanning beds. a hearing at the board of health is about to get under way at 6:00 tonight. this proposal would ban anyone under 18 from using those indoor tanning devices. experts on cancer and dermatology are expected to testify. the international agency on cancer recently classified tanning beds as cancer-causing agents. coming up on news4 at 5:00, may be a while before we catch some rays. rain is rolling in. bob returns with your seven-day. >> next in sports it's tuesday which means lunch with lindsay. she sits down with sugar ray leona leonard. >> november and december, a good time for holidays, a great time to buy a house. flying on thanksgiving? liz crenshaw reports the airport may feel a touch lonelier this season. >> and lower your expectations for gifts from your boss this holiday. the grinch is taking over at the office. >> he's moved in. let's start with credit cards. we have been reporting on changes coming to the credit card business for a while now. many of those changes such as interest rate increases and fees will change beginning february 22nd. in response, banks are expected to increase interest rates, cut credit limits and raise annual fees even for their best customers. those with lower credit ratings are expected to get hit even harder. bottom line here, don't be surprised if your bank makes changes in your credit card terms that areot to your liking. look at your statements. on to thanksgiving and a report that says airlines expect a 4% drop in holiday passengers. "usa today" reports that the recession is to blame for fewer people flying, but fewer fliers at the airport will not mean less crowded planes. in fact, planes are expected to be more crowded because airlines have cut back on flights or simply turned a smaller plane to save money. the peak flying days for thanksgiving are wednesday before the holiday, then friday, saturday and sunday after. it may sound crazy tackling the huge task of home buying during the jammed holiday season, but cnbc reports the holidays are a great time to find real estate deals in this economy. real estate professionals say this year may be different than other years and also, a particularly good time for first-time buyers. there are five reasons why. first, lower interest rates, plus lower home prices, which have dropped to record lows in some cases. serious sellers who are now motivated to sell and negotiate lower home prices. a slower market, november and december areñi traditionally sl for real estate. faster closings. things get done faster because business is slower during the holidays, and tax deductions. if you close before december 31st you may be eligible for additional tax savings this year.ñi by the way, the only month slower than november and december are january and february. you are not going to get those 2009 tax deductions. the other reasons to buy may still apply.çó and finally, some holiday news from your work place. experts say the boss may be giving you best of the season wishes, but maybe not much more than that.ñi the "usa today" reports that only 1/3 of small business owners say they'll give employee as gift this season versus 46% a year ago. 60% of entrepreneurs say the poor economy will affect their holiday gift giving, meaning fewer or no end of year bonuses and fewer high quality gifts for customers and employees, and companies that do have the gift-giving spirit will spend any money they have this year on their clients, not their employees. maybe that envelope you'll get will contain a card, but not that cash bonus. don't get your hopes up. >> all righty. >> let's not have the swine flu and good cheer. >> i was thinking of running out and buying a house. you makeçrá sound so attractiv. >> buy a house or fly somewhere. let's get the latest on the weather. not a great day to fly. >> not many gifts.çó ida is in the rain-giving spirit. let's see outside right now. we've got cloudy skies and on radar thereñi is a batch of rai. it's well to our south. there you can see for us right here in washington, not a whole lot going on. there are the rains down into the carolinas. we are going to be on the edge. in ocean city, there is not much wind. that will change the next couple of days as the pressure gradient as pressure to our north continues to be veryçó strong. heading out to school tomorrow mornin there will be light showers. mainly, i think, southern parts of calvert county, fredericksburg, spotsylvania, stafford, and as we get into thursday and friday, i think we are going to see much the same pattern. we'll be on the edge of rain here in washington and by the weekend we britain to dry out. back to you. >> all right. let's see what's in store for news4 at 6:00 tonight. doreen gentzler joins us. >> coming up on news4 at 6:00, the pilot of a u.s.-bound commercial flight with 120 passengers onboard was arrested at london's heathrow airport accused of being drunk. we'll have that story. also ahead at 6:00, a former astronaut accused of attacking a romantic rival entered a plea in court today. she also addressed the woman she is accused of attacking. with more and more people getting sick with the swayne flu, we'll look how easily germs can spread in an office. like this one. those stories andñi a whole lot more in just a few minutes on news4 at 6:00. stay tuned for that. >> thanks, doreen. today is lunch with lindsed yeah. as we were looking at some of the teasers throughout the day, it's sugar ray and he looks exactly the same. >> he held up extremely well. he's just as feisty. boxing champion sugar ray leonard from palmer park, maryland, is one of the greatest fighters of all time. he knows part of that success goes to the group of people working in his corner before he became d.c.'s darling after winning gold at the 1976 olympics. now he lives in l.a. sugar ray recently came home to be honored at fight night. he met me at lunch at capitol cafe at the washington hilton. what is so special to you about this area and about coming back here? is there a certain thing you really like to do? >> you know, it's just coming back home. this is where i grew up. this is where i became sugar ray leonard. this is where i began my career. this is special to me. seeing friends and just being back home. >> what do you remember most about the difference when that all happened, and maybe for you it was right after the olympics, of just arriving, so to speak? >> it was such a fast train. things were happening so quickly. i never had a chance to stop -- i'm 53 years old now. i look around me. i see my wife, my kids, ray jr, jorel, camille and daniel. i see my friends. it's just wonderful now because i can take it all in. >> you didn't want to turn pro, did you? >> i had no intentions of being a professional fighter. the only reason i turned professional because my dad was so sick. my dad was so ill. my dad went into a coma. he had spinal meningitis and tuberculosis. i turned professional to pay the hospital bills, the costs. that was the only reason i turned professional. i wanted to go to the university of maryland to further my college, my education. >> really? what did you want to do there? >> i didn't really know, to be honest with you. business administration. just something in general. because i was then the first leonard to have graduated from college. >> i'm going to do the crab cake salad. >> do you have cobb salad and can you add chicken and shrimp to that? >> what dressing? >> a thousand islands. i bet you don't have raisins. >> your mom named you ray charles after the singer? >> yashgs unfortunately, but fortunately. she wanted me to be a singer. she thought i had a career as a singer. >> because you can sing. >> i can -- in the shower. i sound pretty damn good in the shower. >> do you feel in your day you broke the mold for young black fighters that made a lot of money, but then lost it? >> i would like to hope, i would like to believe that i did. i would hope it's like a blueprint how it should be done and can be done. to have people that look out for yournterest and don't have ulterior motives. >> how about the 1981 fight? >> that symbolized that i was, you know, becoming one of the better fighters because tommy hearns was such a -- well, at the time, a foe, opposition, fighter, champion, it took every ounce of my body, mind and spirit to overcome that, to beat him. >> now he talked about that fight, but the upset sugar ray lennard was best known for came five years lart. it's still considered controversial. at 6:00 you can hear sugar ray's feelings on that outcome. we'll have that at 6:45. he is talking about being artistic and everything. that is what it he fought. he talked about that, how that satisfied his mother's musical hopes. >> he was beautiful to watch. >> thanks, lindsay. coming up next, we'll go holiday job hunting. if you are hoping to land extra cash working in xdretail this holiday season, you better get your application in. >> competition is going to be tough. retailers are planning to hire fewer seasonal employees. çó nationally, hundreds of people packed a locklñ job fair today. their holiday wish is just to get a job. the holiday shopping season is getting closer. a time when retailers traditionally hire extra help. at thisñi regional job expo in qt were% looking for full-time permanent jobs. many were hoping a seasonal job in a store like macey's will help them tide them over. ju macy's now. receptionist in august. now is hoping seasonal (w%- ata department store might be a good temporary answer. >> well, you have a schedule. you have to show up someplaceçót a certain time. you keep the good habits going. >> reporter: this year competition will be stiff for those seasonal jobs. one recent national survey showed that 44% of retailers plan to hire fewerxd temporary workes for the holidays compared to last year.ñi scott is a vice president with the national retail federation, the world's largest retailñi association. >> it's a tough hiring environmentçó for every industr. retail is no different. we are trying to cut costs as much as possible to pass on savings to consumers. >> reporter: gail will keep her fingers crossed that a store like macy's will hire her for the holiday. her job search has been filled with disappointment. >> it's very difficult to find a job right now. >> reporter: the unemployment rate nationally is more than 10% and is higher here at the district at almost 12%. back to you. >> thank you. coming up, we are hours away from the execution of john allen muhammad. >> jim vance and ghor even gentzler next with news4 at 6:00. president obama today attended a memorial service to honor the victims of a shooting last week at ft. hood. 12 people accused of steal morgue than $100,000 worth of books from maryland libraries and selling them on the internet. congress pushing for employers to give more workers paid sick time if they have the swine flu.