>> chris gordon, thanks, chris. coming up we'll have the latest on t runaway balloon and now the missing 6 yltd. >> craig melvin joins doreen gentzler next with "news 4 at 6." >> a homemade helium balloon believed to be carrying a 6-year-old boy tumbled through the air this afternoon in the skies above colorado. good evening, i'm doreen gentzler. >> i'm craig melvin in for jim vance tonight. right now police are searching, searching for that little boy. leanne gregg has more on this developing story tonight. she is live in denver, colorado. >> reporter: good evening. an intense search is under way for a little boy believed to have floated away in a balloon. their focus right now in a park that is not far from the boy's home. they had also been looking for a compartment they thought was attached to the bottom of the balloon. they thought maybe the boy crawled inside. that apartment had fallen off. now authorities say they're not even sure there ever was a compartment attached to the balloon. a surprising discovery after a dramatic rescue attempt over the skies of colorado. for two hours, an experimental balloon led rescuers across the state as it rose thousands of feet in the air and at times dipped wildly. 6-year-old falcon heene believed to be inside the aircraft was nowhere to be found when the balloon finally came down. the aircraft took off unexpected from heene's home near ft. collins, colorado. as the balloon soared across the state, it continued to lose helium and finally came down in an open field. rescuers and the boy's family fear the aircraft took off with the boy inside a box attached to the balloon, but the box wasn't found when it came down. a ground search is now under way. this photo appears to show what rescuers fear could be the basket falling from the balloon. the brother of the 6-year-old reported seeing the boy climb inside the balloon capsule before it took off. >> there was a lot of panic in the back yard, and the mother particularly seemed to be distraught. the father was more in a panic. >> reporter: now investigators are trying to answer the mystery of where the child is and how the balloon got loose. a reverse 911 call went out asking people to b on the lookout for the little boy. a bizarre story with amazing set of circumstances that people in the beginning thought was a hoax. from denver, i'm leanne gregg. back to you. >> all right. leanne, thank you. here in the washington area, some cold and wet weather has descended upon us. bob's got more on this and when it's likely to change. bob? >> hi, doreen. it is cold. boy, it is cold all over. as a matter of fact, look at washington, d.c. right now. 48 degrees after the high temperature's only been into the high 40s and all of this is some ght rain, drizzle which continues to fall in and around us. all spots are into the low 40s now. mart tins burg, 42 degrees. that's not all. to our north that there is a mixture of rain and snow. that white is know in the elevations of the poconos. over the last 12 hours, you can see one patch of rain moving off, but there's going to be many more because over us we've got this cold, cold circulation of air. so the temperatures really won't rise. as a matter of fact, above 1,500 feet, western parts of pennsylvania, there could be some serious snow accumulation. i'll show you some of the scenes up there where there is peak foliage, but also a lot of snow over the next couple of days. they're not going to be seeing any dramatic changes. i'll tell you the details when i join you downstairs. >> president obama made a brief stop in new orleans today, too brief, in fact, for some who complained he should spend more time in that region. the big easy is still struggling more than four years after hurricane katrina. jay gray has that story tonight. >> here comes the president now. >> reporter: even before air force one landed in new orleans, many along the gulf coast were already complaining about when the president would leave. >> i think the citizens of new orleans deserve more than some kind of drive-through daiquiri summit. >> reporter: in his first visit since taking office, president obama spent less than four hours in the big easy. his first stop was a charter school in the storm-ravaged ninth ward, but critics complain there was no time for a hands-on tour or even flyover of the devastation that lingers since katrina and no stop at all in neighboring mississippi, still struggling to recover more than four years after the storm. the president addressed those frustrations during his second stop, a town hall meeting at the university of new orleans. >> and we've got just some wonderful members of my cabinet who have been down here nonstop trying to make sure the federal government is a good partner on the recovery process. >> reporter: the white house points out that between march and august there have been 22 visits to the gulf coast by senior administration officials, includin13 cabinet members. >> we freed up over $1.5 billion in recovery and rebuilding assistance that had been tangl up in red tape for years. >> reporter: though it was still too early for some, before he left, the president made a promise to those still struggling to rebuild. >> we will not forget about new orleans. we are going to keep on working. we are not going to forget about the gulf coast. together we will rebuild this region and we will rebuild it stronger than before. >> reporter: regardless of how painful those memories for some here continue to be. jay gray, nbc news. >> the president also told a crowd at today's town hall meeting that along with his cabinet members he would personally be back to keep tabs on the recovery effort. >> shaping up to be a good week for investors on wall street. the dow closed above the10,000 level for a second straight day. michelle franzen joins us from new york with more on this. >> reporter: hi. that's right. the investor confidence held steady today, for that second day the dow topped the 10,000 mark. it even climbed a little bit higher than yesterday's milestone. third quarter earnings out from citigroup, though, and goldman sachs held a mixed bag early on in trading. citigroup posted $8 billion in losses, many of those,hey say, many of the losses stem from defaults on consumer loans. it is a sign that the economy is not out of the woods yet. goldman sachs, though, however, almost nearly quadrupled their earnings, also helping boost investors' con physical denies. but from wall street not main street there is a big gap. that is because unemployment remains high around the nation, hovering around 10%, even though jobless claims today fell to a nine-month low. also foreclosure numbers are up 5% since summer. and they still could climb 3.5 million foreclosure-related filings so far this year compared to 2.3 last year. i'm michelle franzen in new york. doreen, back to you. >> okay. thank you, michelle. supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg suffered an apparent drug reaction that sent her to the hospital last night. supreme court officials say ginsburg was on an airplane that had not yet taken off when she became extremely drowsy and fell from her seat. she was taken to washington hospital center. she spent the night there and was released this morning. ginsburg underwent surgery in february and has been undergoing chemotherapy. court officials say last night's illness was caused by the combination of a prescription sleeping pill and an over the counter cold medicine. ruth bader ginsburg is 76 years old. >> five months after a montgomery county man was found dead on a trail, two teenagers ar charged with plotting his murd, the boyfriend and girlfriend from potomac were in court today. pat collins is live at that courthouse tonight. pat? >> reporter: craig, late at night a man in his 50s goes out to meet a teenaged girl. it turns into a rendezvous with death. police say this 18-year-old girl lured this 57-year-old man to this path in potomac where she and her 15-year-old boyfriend beat him with a shovel, took his valuables and left him on this trail to die. charged with first degree murder, emily drew geller, said to be the daughter of a prominent real estate developer. also charged, geller's boyfriend, artie ellis. he's 15 years old. his family claims emily geller led him astray. >> artie is young and i'm worried about his young life and his future, you know what i'm saying, and i always told him, you know, just watch out for her because i done heard a lot of things about her, you know. we tried to keep them away from her for a long time. >> it's heartbreaking and that's not artie. he wouldn't do nothing like that. >> reporter: according to court documents, on the night of may the 9th, emily geller made a call from her home in potomac to victim ali zare. in the dark hours of the night, zare then went to that path where he was robbed and killed. officials say that zare knew geller. relatives say they met on the internet. according to court documents, geller and her boyfriend tried to use zare's credit cards to get cash at an atm at montgomery mall. there's video of that. for ali zare's family, this murder arrest has brought a sense of relief. >> he was a wonderful father and a wonderful husband, very devoted father, so sweet. didn't deserve how he died. >> reporter: these two teenage murder suspects are being held without bond. craig, back to you. >> pat collins live for us tonight. thank you. >> in virginia, stafford county businessman was found murdered in his own store and now police are looking for the person who did it. the body of 66-year-old james larose was found about 8:00 this morning at the second time around thrift shop. that's in the 1100 block of war ring ton road in falmouth. larose's wife said he left home at 6:00 a.m., just like he does every morning. police say there was severe trauma to his upper body. they're waiting on the results of an autopsy to reveal his exact cause of death. if you saw anything unusual around the second time around shop this morning in stafford, you are asked to call the stafford police. >> folks, we've got some breaking news right now we want to pass along to you. it appears as if that breaking news we've been following this afternoon has a happy ending. the boy who was missing in colorado is now safe at home. that's according to msnbc. 6-year-old falcon heene, he was in that homemade helium balloon we've been watching for several hours this afternoon. officials say he was hiding in a box in an attic at his house. wow. >> he's got a lot of explaining to do. >> a lot of explaining to do. a lot of explaining to do. >> a 6-year-old boy, probably afraid he was in some trouble. >> yeah. we'll continue to gather information on that story. as we learn more, we will pass it along to you throughout the hour. >> coming up on "news 4 at 6," there will be no cost of living increase next year for people who get social security. >> also, pet owners may be getting a tax break. we'll tell you about a proposal being considered by congress. >> at least three dozen have been killed in a wave of antigovernment attacks in pakistan. >> then, what you got in sports? >> the preseason hype begins for maryland hoops. the redskins, patchwork offensive line hoping to put it all together on sunday. plus, the players want the organization to back head coach jim zorn. "news 4 at 6" continues. once again an update on that story wve been following all afternoon out of colorado. that 6-year-old boy thought to have disappeared after flying away in his parents' experimental helium balloon aircra, well, the boy has been found. he's just fine. he was hiding in his ft. collins home. officials say he was in box in the attic. brings an end to a frantic hours-long search. we'll have more information on the story as it becomes available. >> still a lot of questions. authorities said he searched the house. his brother, who he was playing with, said he saw him go on. so, lots of questions indeed. >> indeed. >> meanwhile, more than 55 million seniors and disabled americans are getting some surprising news about their social security checks. they're not going up next year. there's no cost of living increase because the government says inflation is so low. as you might imagine, many social security recipients are upset. steve handelsman joins us live from capitol hill with more tonight on this story. >> reporter: good evening. here on the hill tonight, not surprisingly, there is disagreement among lawmakers about whether this deserves intervention. a lot of elderly americans say it does, including two i spoke to today in southeast. at the capra senior center today in washington, thelma harvey and roma battle got the news -- no cost of living increases next year in the social security checks of the retired policeman and the food services manager. >> i was very upset about it. very upset. because food prices still going up. these doctor bills are going up. >> i haven't felt it yet, but i certainly will feel it. i know i will feel it. >> reporter: to many americans, this year's cheaper housing costs and the lower cost of living overall, low inflation is great news, but it means no hike in social security checks for the first time since 1975. and this year, there have been cost increases for things seniors need more than younger americans. >> most importantly, health care costs, their out of pocket expenses, medicine, all these things continue to outpace inflation, and that represent as very big part of a senior's budget. >> reporter: president obama today proposed a one-time $250 check to seniors. some republicans said no. others yes. >> why don't we take it from stimulus funds that clearly aren't getting the job done. >> reporter: can $250 help? >> any little bit that occurs or that can happen for the seniors will definitely benefit them. >> reporter: thelma harvey says do something. >> this is awful. >> reporter: the surprise economic setback for seniors. getting $250 to every social security recipient would cost $13 billion. congress would have to approve it. i'm steve handelsman, news 4, live from the hill. back to you. >> steve, thank you. >> troubled economy mass forced some people to give away their pets. some lawmakers want to change that. a new bill in front of congress would give pet owners a tax break. the bill would offer a tax break of up to $3500 per person for pet care expenses. proponents of the bill say it would help the economy since the tax break would help owners spend money on their pets. >> president obama got a partial victory today in his effort to close the prison at guantanamo bay. the house voted to allow suspected enemy combatants to be shipped to the u.s. for prosecution. today's vote defeats a republican effort to block the transfer of detainees to the u.s. president obama has ordered the controversial facility closed by january, but the president has not announced a plan that would meet that deadline. >> militants launched a wave of antigovernment attacks in pakistan today. three of the attacks happened in the second largest city in pakistan, lahore. teams of gunmen wearing suicide vests launched coordinated attacks on law enforcement facilities. they killed police officers and civilians. there were also two car bombings elsewhere in the area near the afghan border. at least 39 people were killed today in pakistan, including a 6-year-old boy. intelligence experts say the attacks underscore a growing danger as pakistan's army gets ready for a new offensive against the taliban. taliban fighters are joining forces with pakistani militants as well as foreign al qaeda operatives. they're conducting sophisticated attacks on heavily fortified targets. there was also something new today. time.com reports that three of the militants in lahore were women. >> coming up here on "news 4 at 6," it was a case that caused a lot of fear in montgomery county ba in the '80s. now, the man known as the aspen hill rapist is charged in several more crimes. >> also tonight, some good news for t-mobile customers. hear what microsoft is now saying about phone data that was lost. >> and we're going to get another check on that cold, rainy forecast. bob is back right after this. what can i say? i love clothes! the only thing better than a great pair of boots... is a bag to go with them! so my girlfriend says, "shop tj maxx" and i thought, "low prices, sure... but isn't it last season's stuff?" boy, was i wrong. their buyers dea directly with designers... the savings come directly to me! behold a fashionista... who's now a maxxinista! tj maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you! that's new study offering a scientific explanation for why men love fast cars. it suggests that a man's desire to own a stylish sports car has to do with hormones, specifically testosterone. who knew doreen? the study was done at concordia university in canada. 39 men drove a fast car. then an older family model car after that. the researchers tested their saliva and hormone levels. they found when a guy gets in the sports car his testosterone levels rise. the men were also tested driving in front of women and on the street where no one was watching them. turns out that apparently made no difference. hormone levels remained high in the sports car, whether anyone was watching or not. >> do you find that to be true, bob? driving your -- >> i started out with a soap box derby when i was 10 years old, before any -- before anything. >> before you even had testosterone. >> that's right. little high voice. i thought it was exciting. >> you couldn't put the top down today, though. >> no, my goodness. keep it up. for the next few days. outside right now, our temperatures -- we want to get some testosterone in the thermometer, right? 40 degrees has been the temperatures, in the 40s. our high temperature today, we made it to 50. probably tomorrow we won't make it to 50 degrees. exactly average if this were the middle of december. a year ago, 82 degrees. outside now it is still chilly and wet. we'll be saying that same story as we go through tonight and tomorrow, too. outside our current temperature outside now is into the 40s. 46 degrees is our current temperature. 48 degrees our current temperature. let's take a look at the maps. 46 degrees right now. here we are. 46 in washington is our current temperature. up to our north it was in the 30s this morning. that was our morning low temperature. caribou, 22 degrees this morning. vero beach, in florida, 94 degrees with record high temperature. look at that temperature contrast through the south. not only with the temperature but with the humidity. as i mentioned yesterday, the last couple days we've seen this huge change in the pattern. we're going to be getting a series of these little areas of low pressure off the coast, but that's going to be keeping us under a really moist northeasterly flow that will just continue. and right now in and around us, you can see the area of rains continuing, even down to fredericksburg. so that's what we're going to be having throughout the nighttime hours and tomorrow also. gaithersburg, 43 degrees right now. ocean city, 66. but with a gusty northeasterly wind. that white area there, let me show you what that is. this is near dueboyd, pennsylvania, in the high elevations of pennsylvania. it is snowing. not only is it snowing, but the color up there right now is just about peak. you can see how hard it's snowing. so there's concern at the very high elevations with two to maybe as much as six, seven inches of snow there could be widespread power outages as we go through the next couple of days. look at the foliage and look at what's going to be going on. there is the area of snow. there are the series of storm systems that will be -- even though they're not major storms, keeping us under this moist flow. high elevations will have that circulation over us. cold air settling in on us. snows up in the mountains of pennsylvania. that will continue as we get on into even the weekend. there you can see the foliage. it is peak out in the high elevations of west virginia, up into the adirondacks and spots like that. but tomorrow only, only about 44 degrees. not the greatest weekend to take in the sites with the leaves. rainy, chilly, on and off rain, drizzle, low clouds, fog tomorrow morning to boot everything. so watch out. some of those leaves that are coming down as i mentioned yesterday with the rain's going to get slick. 38 degrees for you folks upper parts of maryland, montgomery county, out toward harper's ferry, too. probably 37, 38 degrees tomorrow morning as all of this winds down later on in the weekend, there could even be some wet snowflakes across northern maryland and especially out toward western allegheny county. temperatures for highs tomorrow only in the low to mid-40s and nothing to really improve morrow evening. temperatures dip into the low 30s with the still rainy, still drizzly conditions. 40 to 45 degrees. how abouthe weekend? >> how about it, bob? >> let's head our eyes. doesn't look too great. more clouds, more on and off rain showers, and with that pattern i'm afraid the temperature on saturday and sunday may get to the mid to high 40s. not a complete washout, but it will be just damp and wet and raw. next week looks a lot better, monday, tuesday, wednesday, a lot of sunshine. >> but that's the long way away, bob. >> that's right. not every weekend can be perfect but we need the rain. >> maybe the rain will help the redskins on sunday, too. >> maybe that's what -- >> that's what we're missing. >> nowhere to go but up, right? >> when we come back this evening we'll tell about you a proposal to tax alcohol in maryland. prince george's county held its first swine flu vaccine clinic for the general public today. >> also, metro is expanding cell phone service in many of its underground stations tomorrow. we'll tell you which carriers will be impacted. >> coming up in sports, redskins' players want the brass to back jim zorn. maryland basketball making some preseason noise already. plus, find out if the wizards could be without antawn jamison for an extended period. "news 4 at 6" continues. now we take a look at some of the stories making headlines tonight. >> the frantic search for a 6-year-old boy in colorado is over. he was reported to have flown away in his parents' experimental helium balloon. turns out he was just hiding in a box in the attic of the family's ft. collins, colorado, home. that's according to police. we watched the balloon zip through the air for more than two hours this afternoon. >> glad he's okay. the h1n1 virus and seasonal flu are spreading fast. vaccine clinics for both are popping up around the country and here in the d.c. area. michael flynn has that story. >> reporter: a mass vaccination drill at the universit of maryland. hundreds of students getting the seasonal flu shot and many hoping they'll get the h1n1 flu shot soon. >> i decided to come out because, i mean, i was kind of worried about the flu with all of the stuff going on around campus. >> because i always seem to get sick, so i always try to get the flu shot when i can. i guess i don't have a very strong immune system. >> reporte the university has not been testing for h1n1 but school health officials estimate since the beginning of the school year, more than 800 students have had suspected cases of the swine flu. this first-ever drill, they say, will help them prepare if there's a need for a mass h1n1 vaccination. >> when the vaccine becomes available to the university, depending on the quantity that we receive and how we are prepared to disperse it, should we need to do a mass vaccination or even a smaller scale vaccination, we'll have practiced our preparedness and have a lot of systems in place. >> reporter: taking no chances, prince george's county residents packed an1n1 vaccination clinic this afternoon, the first time the county has offered swine flu shots to the general public. >> there's been a lot of stuff in the news that if you don't get it, you might get the short end of the stick. so that's why i'm here. >> with into my chronic asthma being as bad as it is, without some type of protection it wouldn't be good for me at all. >> reporter: some people stood in the rain outside spring hill lake elementary in greenbelt waiting toet their shot inside. the county has already started swine flu shots in schools but wanted to offer these shots to everyone, even those outside the high risk groups. >> people are very aware that this is something that they want to, i guess, get in front of before it gets out of hand. >> reporter: university of maryland officials say they're expecting to get some swine flu vaccine any day now, but they're not expecting to hold a mass vaccination clinic like the one that's happening here. instead, they expect students will be told to head down to the health center for a shot. at the university of maryland, michael flynn, news 4. >> starting a week from today, prince george's county will hose at weekly vaccination clinic the at the cheverly health center. >> new developments tonight in a series of rapes that caused widespread fear back in montgomery county in the '80s. a grand jury in the county has indicted convicted rapist thomas buee for four additional counts of rape. he's been in jail since 19 2, serving three concurrent life sentences in rapes in that area. today authorities say they have linked buzbee to more attacks, attacks that happened before the ones that led to his conviction. >> the dna profile came back that the same individual was responsible for all four of these cases. >> we have been in contact with each of the four women who are named as victims in the new indictment. >> more proceedings in the case are scheduled over the next few days. >> the state of maryland's considering a new tax on alcohol. the money it generates would be used to pay for drug and alcohol treatment and services for people with developmental disabilities. chris gordon reports from annapolis. >> reporter: ken capone is 44 years old and has been living with his elderly mother in prince george's county. he started receiving state aid in 2008 but he says cuts in services could kill his hopes for a better life. >> i am not advocating for myself. i'm advocating for all the individuals who are on the waiting list and need services because i've been through it. i know how difficult life can be for people with developmental disabilities. >> reporter: montgomery county state senator is one of the sponsors of the proposed alcohol tax being introduced with the slogan "five cents makes sense. krt". >> a five cent increase would provide roughly $90 million to provide services to people with substance abuse problems, mental illness and developmental disabilities, all things that have a link to the actual consumption of alcoholic beverage. >> reporter: one in three maryland families has someone with developmental disabilities in their lives. joyce says her daughter is served by two programs, an employment and residential agency in montgomery county. >> she does things. they give her a full, adult life in the community. and she would lose that. >> reporter: last year an attempted tax of alcohol failed in t maryland legislature, but this year sponsors say they are more optimistic. wi would customers mind a five cent increase? >> i'm sure people who are buying alcohol can afford it. if it helps the less fortunate and people who are disabled, i think it's a very good thing for the legislature to be doing. >> reporter: the owner of this ice and beverage service in bethesda says he is sympathetic to the nd to pay for human services, but questions whether an alcohol tax is a fair way to pay for it. >> restaurants are suffering right now. it's going to cost them more money to operate. we are seeing the effects of the recession. this is a terrible time to even think about an increase in taxes. >> reporter: this is chris gordon, news 4. >> a new statewide poll taken in september indicates 8 out of 10 marylanders who were questioned favor an alcohol tax to fund drug, alcohol treatment and disability services. >> virginia commuters can look forward to some new bus services while beltway h.o.t. lane and dulles rail construction is under way. a new omni ride express route goes from the woodbridge vre station to tysons corner. it launches november 9th. that first week of service will be free to riders. buses will run mornings and evenings. then starting november 23rd, the fairfax connector will give free lunchtime bus rides around the tie sorns corner area between 10:00 in the morning and 2:30 in the afternoon. virginia transportation officials plan to have the first direct bus route from loudoun county to tysons corner up and running by next fall. tomorrow, metro will expand cell phone service at 20 of its busiest rail stations. if you have verizon, sprint, incomes tel, at&t or t-mobile, you have service tomorrow. right now only verizon and some frint phones have an underground connection. there's a funding deal with congress that requires metro to expand service. >> here's more good news for cell phone customers. t-mobile does mers may see a happy ending to their drama that started earlier this week. sidekick phone customers were told on monday that all their contact numbe and personal information were gone for good. but now microsoft corporation says it has recovered most, if not all, of they're raced data, and officials say they will restore it as soon as the information is validated. >> coming up here on "news 4 at 6," a new report highlights the dangers of secondhand smoke. >> we'll tell what you a report from the nobel institute is staying. >> we'll also tell you about concerns that the north pole could become an open ocean during the summer months. good evening. bob ryan, storm center 4. we've got chilly rains here. meanwhile a mixture of rain and snow in the high elevations of pennsylvania. overnight tonight, no big change. not a torrential rain, but a very, very chilly. our current temperature's into the 40s, and with the storm systems and a couple of areas of low pressure that will form off the coast, going to keep us under that cold northeasterly, moist flow. how about the winter? here's the outlook from the folks at the climate prediction center at noaa. expecting it to be a bit dry in the northwest, maybe through parts of the midwest. wet. this is a typal el nino pattern. they're expecting an el nino, which is building, to continue to get -- to continue to build. there are some signs it may actually be weakening. but the other impact for us may be -- may be a colder than average winter with a little bit of a high probability that this winter may turn out to be a bit colder than average and certainly than the last few winters which have been rather easy. not easy tomorrow. head ougt ting out to school, temperatures in the 30s and 40s. sunshine will be back but not until monday. next week looks good. back to you. >> thanks, bob. some new data shows within the next ten years the north pole will turn into an open ocean during the summer months. the data was compiled bay team of explorers who trekked through the arctic for three months. that team found that most of the ice in the area is first year ice. that is around six feet deep. the region has traditionally contained thicker, multi-year ice. these new results come as negotiators prepare to meet in copenhagen in december to draft a new global climate agreement. >> the fallout continues from president obama's nobel peace prize. a norwegian newspaper reported that three of the five members of the nobel committee initially rejected the president as the winner. the head of the committee went on the defensive today and defended their work. he says the final decision is never made early in the process. he added that all the members debated obama's nomination at ngth. in tend, he said, they were in total agreement that the nobel peace prize should be awarded to the .. president. >> "gq" magazine has just released its list of the most powerful people in d.c. dan hellie is not on the list but we will tell you which d.c. athlete made the list. >> what's coming up in sports? >> i wish i could say we're just talking foball. no. too much going on. players coming to jim zorn's defense, antawn jamison's injured shoulder. what's up with that? plus, vazquez is ready to lead the terps. yesterday we had the youtube video. today we have players who are asking what sounds like a vote of confidence. >> the players are backing their head coach. they want things to quiet down. i want to get this out of the way right now so nobody can say we're not talking about the game. the redskins host the 0-5 chiefs sunday at fedex field. that's taken a back seat the last couple of days to the drama at redskins park. the latest twist has several players requesting that management, meaning vinny ser at oh or dan snyder, publicly endorse jim zorn. jo zorn's job security has become a topic around the nfl. getting to the point where players want management to say something, anything about this issue. so they don't have to. today, some of the redskins players expressed what it would mean if management actually talked about the issue. >> that helps a lot because we don't have to answer these questions, you know. every day we're answering these questions. people coming at us. that would take a lot of that away if they just come out and say he'll be here the whole year. that would take a lot of that away. i can move on, talk about football. everything that's happened, a lot of it ain't on the coaches. we're making mistakes, too. before you say anything about a coach, you better look at yourself first. that's the way i feel. >> we value a win for him. we want to quiet you guys down a little bit, let him be able to go on about his business because i can kind of see that he's a little bit on edge a little bit. so, we're behind him. >> i can't speak for those guys because, you know, they're grown men. think we're all together. i don't think that that has to be done for me to feel better about myself and what we're doing. i think mr. snyder, he's tried to help in every way he can to get this team the way it needs to be. and sometimes it's a process. so, you know, i can't answer more of that question. >> poor guy. he actually does look -- reminds me of the wizards' interim head coach last year. always looked so spry and fresh. he looked like he had aged about ten years in two weeks. >> yeah. >> that's what jim zorn reminds me of right now. he's tired of answering these stupid questions. if they can just get a win -- >> a win, yes. >> maybe two, then they won't have to. >> winning cures everything. we're terrible. we're like vultures. the chiefs are the fifth straight winless team the redskins have faced. that hasn't happened since 1954. not just a string of bad luck. kansas city, folks, they're terrible. rank 32nd in defense in the nfl. that is dead last. the chiefs -- get this -- they've lost 28 of their last 30 games. we've learned, losing streaks and poorest defenses don't necessarily translate into washington wins, especially with this makeshift offensive lin with chris samuels out, stephan higher, who struggled mightily last week, moves from right tackle to left tackle. mike well yams moves to right tack el, making just his second start since 2005. the offensive line, by far the biggest area of concern right now. according to williams, being under the microscope, though, is nothing new for these guys. >> i've been in the spotlight, whether it be by the media or the coach. that's just it. >> not a time to where all of a sudden now we got two tackle positions that change. everybody's like, oh, we're under a microscope now. we see that all the time we're very critical of how we block. we get out there and we try to get the job done. so it's really not too big a difference to me. >> you know what's kind of funny is he weighs about 350 pounds, and he looks svelte compared to what he was. >> looks great. >> compared to what he was. he was 450 pounds. he made this comeback after this long retirement. if he can play well, i think that will really help the redskins maybe get things going here. all right. turning to hoops, antoine jamison, cover your ears, close your eyes. i'm talking about that shoulder injury. suffered a shoulder subluxation. if you're wondering what that is, it's when the shoulder slips out of the joint and then goes back in. he will remain -- miss the remainder of the preseason and be re-evaluated in about a week. the regular season, in case you're wondering, starts in less than two weeks. here's how the injury happened. first quarter, antawn jamison underneath t basket, trying to block the spot of i will goss does here. this is where the injury happens. jams it. shoulder comes out, goes back in. and, yeah, just kind of hanging there. you hate seeing that, especially if you've had that injury before. third quarter, wizards on the comeback. gilbert arenas, playing pretty well as of late, going the distance, beating three cavaliers for the lay-up, gilbert 18 points and 4 assists in the game. a few minutes later, gilbert playing the role of facilitator, kicks it out to mike miller. the wizards are hoping to see a lot of that this year. he buries the three. mike miller can shoot lights out when he's on. he had a game-high 24. in the fourth quarter, nick young gets there. the steal. he passes it ahead. to ron difficult foye, back to young. the wizards win it 109-104. college basketball season almost here. midnight madness tomorrow night at college campuses around the land, including maryland. the terps coming off another trip to the ncaa tournament, and they return nearly everyone from that team. expectations in college park definitely higher than they've been the last couple of years. don't be surprised if you see the terps climbing up the top 25 rankings if they get off to a pretty good start. gary williams very confident about this year's squad. >> well, i told the playe when they got back to school in september, i said we have high expectations this year. i included them in that just so they knew how i felt about it. i think you have to put it out there nowadays to your players. coaches always say, well, we'll see how good we can be, you know. well, we can be good. >> i just want to make sure we understand what we need to do, what it takes to win games. we have to still prove people, the whole maryland family, hey, we're top 25. definitely a plus. still got to win games. that's why i'm so excited to start working and i can't believe -- can't wait until saturday, start practicing. i'm really excited about it. i have this great feeling that we're going to have a special season. but i can't guarantee that we're going to win the acc. i can't guarantee you we're going to go to the tournament. we have to prove it. >> all right. meanwhile, the maryland women beginning what could be a challenging season. plenty of new faces on this year's team with the graduation of christie, marisa. nine of the ten players on this year's team are underclassmen. head coach brenda frees knows it's a rebuilding year but she still hopes the winng tradition continues. >> the first thing that jumps out at you is there are going to be a lot of question marks this season. we are very unproven. i think the only way you prove yourself is by having game experience. and, you know, for this young team we're going to need to have that kind of time, luckily, in our nonconference schedule to be able to mold together, to be able to get us prepared for the rigors of the acc. >> the maryland women have been so good lately, that old saying, you don't rebuild. you just reload. i think they're going to be fine. >> good. thanks. >> college basketball. thank you. >> coming up on "news 4 at 6," a new report examines whether banning smoking in bars and restaurants is actually improving employee health. >> also, bob's going to come back with a final check on the forecast. you come back, too. if there's a ban on smoking where you work or live, it appears to be making a difference when it comes to protecting your health. experts say there are few heart attacks in areas with smoking bans. tracie potts has more. >> reporter: experts say breathing secohand smoke raises your risk of having a heart attack sometimes in just minutes. >> that goes directly from the lungs into the heart. it's -- so it's damaging the lungs and the heart at very high concentrations. >> reporter: how high? the institute of medicine can't say. some studies shows a 25 to 35% higher risk. but because smoking bans are enforced differently, some affect just restaurants, others cover all public areas, experts say it's hard to nail down exactly how effective they are. scientists report 6% fewer heart attacks in some areas with smoking bans, almost half as many in others. >> i like to describe the studies we looked at as looking as apples and bananas and kiwis and you don't produce a number about all fruits as a result of doing that. >> reporter: what they do know, 11 studies showed a consistent link between secondhand smoke and heart disease. >> we did find clear evidence that there is a cause and effect relationship. >> reporter: so these experts have a clear warning. >> if you have heart disease that you really need to stay away from secondhand smoke. it's an immediate threat to your life. >> reporter: right now, smoking bans cover less than half the country. the american heart association is pushing for more. >> very often, we can't make a choice about our exposure to secondhand smoke. for instance, in the workplace or at restaurants. so, that's where these bans become so effective. >> reporter: a new report clearing the air on how what we breathe affects our health. i'm tracie potts. news 4. >> ftime for one more check on our weather forecast. >> ready or not, it's cold. 43 degrees. not quite 30s yeet. you can see on the radar we've still got more on and off rain. rain showers. that will be the story. ready for the winter? here's the outlook just in from the folks at noaa. the probabilities are that it would be a bit colder than average through much of the east, warmer than average to the west. certainly colder than average tomorrow. temperatures into the mid-40s. we're not going to warm up until next week. more on and off chill right on in through the weekend. back to you. >> tonight at 11:00, steering through the storm. a unique look inside the cockpit. also a legionnaire's outbreak in maryland. and what's the real story behind that 6-year-old found alive after a colorado balloon chase? we're going to continue to follow those developments tonight and have it for you at 11:00. >> finally this evening, "gq" magazine released its list of the most powerful people in washington. at the top of the list, rahm emanu emanuel. the men's magazine says he is ruthlessly pragmatic about what is politically achievable. defense secretary robert gates is next. fed chairman ben bernanke is right behind him. then max baucus follows. attorney general eric holder made the list. s he is number 13. secretary it staff hillary rodham clinton is number 18. cheng check it out. what's wrong with this picture? >> which one of these doesn't belong? >> alexander ovechkin squeaked in. gq says washington loves a winner and no one across the nhl scores goals as often as he does. the president and vice president, they're not on the list. they were disqualified. we just assume they're powerful. >> that's all we've got for you now.