new detilt are emerging about how a third guest made it to the white house state dinner. today, president obama is expected to outline new steps to prevent future terrorist attacks. this morning, the redskins' coaching search appears to be focusing on former broncos' coach mike shanahan. an announcement could be made soon. "news 4 midday" starts right now. good morning and welcome to "news 4 midday." i'm eun yang, in for barbara harrison today. >> i'm joe krebs, it's tuesday, the 5th of january, 2010. move over, salahis. there may be another white house party crasher in town. the secret service says a third uninvited guest attended november's white house state dinner. but unlike the salahis, this crasher now claims he was not even at the event. kimberly suiters is live outside the white house now with more. good morning, kimberly. >> reporter: well, good morning, joe. the salahis don't get to move over quite yet, because it appears carlos allen knew them. carlos allen, many sources say, is the third white house state dinner party crasher. here's a photograph after allen with mikhail salahi, you know her well. this photo was on facebook, but it was taken down once the salahi story broke. allen and the salahis appear to have something in common. sources say carlos allen crashed the white house state dinner honoring prime minister singh as well, but arriving with the indian delegation cleared by the state department. if allen did, in fact, arrive uninvited, he represents the third security breach at the white house that night. back in november, our own eun yang interviewed carlos allen when he came to news 4 to talk about a charity drive to give turkey dinners to 100 needy families through his philanthropic media organization called hush society magazine. >> sounds like a wonderful program. tell me more about it. >> sure. well, hush stands for help us support humanity. and the focus is basically to work with different charities, uplift those charities, uplift individuals and make sure that everybody understands, you know, that people out there are really doing good things. and a lot of times, you know, we've always focused on people, you know, what they're driving, what they're wearing. but we never talk about, you know, what they're doing as far as go ahead things are concerned. >> reporter: now, this is what allen calls the h.u.s.h. mansion in mt. pleasant. their motto is, it's everybody's business. but apparently it's not our business today. news 4's calls to allen have not been returned. we did reach a friend or business associate who hung up on us when we asked about allen attending the white house state dinner. politico reporting that allen denies ever attending the dinner at all, although one of h.u.s.h.'s volunteers appeared to innocently blog about allen going to the dinner. as for the bigger picture, the secret service has said ever since the salahi investigation broke that it has changed its procedures regarding how people get into the white house and regarding how people are coming in through delegations as well. they also say that any questions regarding this investigation, well, they're part of a larger criminal investigation. more information forthcoming. reporting live from downtown d.c., i'm kimberly suiters, news 4. e, now back to you. >> kimberly, thanks very much. in a few hours, president obama meets with his national security team in the tuation room. after the meeting, the president is expected to detail the security reviews he ordered following the christmas day bombing attet on an airliner. president obama will talk to the public about his findings and the new steps to improve terrorism watch lists. he and his top cabinet officials say they're working toward the right course of action. >> to go over our internal reviews, to hear what others in our government also have concluded, and to take whatever additional steps are necessary. >> the president is facing some road blocks. many european airports do not appear to be following the new u.s. demand for increased screening of passengers. in prince george's county today, a court hearing for the woman accused of holding a pregnant woman hostage and trying to cut her unborn baby from her womb. the preliminary hearing is scheduled for veronica derams. she met her at a homeless shelter and tide her up when they got there. she then used knives and box cutters to try to cut the baby out. despite the vicious assault and gaping wounds, adams managed to escape. she is charged with attempted first-degree murder, false imprisonment, and other charges. white's ferry is back open is morning after freezg temperatures shut it down. the ferry was closed due to all the ice on the river. late this morning, it reopened and is running on schedule. looking outside right now, it doesn't feel as cold as it was yesterday, only by a little bit, though. >> only by a smidgen. let's take a look at the potomac river out there. you can still see some ice on the river wit, so it's quite co. not even at freezing. >> you can see the ice is clogging much of the potomac river at this time, especially from georgetown down towards the wilson bridge. as we look at the temperatures now, just getting to near the freezing mark. 33 in washington at reagan national airport. elsewhere, it's right around 30 degrees. and we have the sunshine that has increased after the morning cloudiness and a few passing flurries. right now windchills are in the upper teens to around 20 degrees. so the winds are not as blustery. these are the current wind gusts. we've seen gusts to around 20 to 25 miles an hour and that's going to be the story for the rest of the afternoon. it's cold out in the mountains, again, there, still subfreezing and down into the teens. they started off this morning just near 10 degrees. now it's in the upper teens there and near 30 on the eastern shore. over the last six hours, we've seen the cloud cover breaking up and we'll have quite a bit of sunshine throughout the rest of the afternoon, but a few clouds racing through may produce a few passing flurries. highs just reaching the mid-30s and the northwest winds gusting around 10 to 25 miles an hour. could get a few more flurries overnight tonight. we'll talk about that and look at the rest of the weekend into the weekend. that will be coming up in just a few minutes, eun and joe. >> all right. thanks very much, tom. >> thank you, tom. >> let's go to jerry edwards. he has an update now on the midday traffic. jerry? >> good morning. we'll go back over to arlington, check on the progress of the water main break, which had things tied up a while ago along wilson boulevard at jackson street. water main break was right this. the lanes appear to be open, so i guess the work has been completed, at least in our view. so that is very good news for you folks in arlington. looks like the travel lanes are open. let's see how we're doing elsewhere. if you're headed for downtown, looks like a little police activity here. broken-down truck, does not appear to be in the roadway. this is 395 northbound just before the 14th street bridge. once you get on the bridges, either the express lane bridge or the regular bridge, looks like the lanes are open headed for downtown. we'll keep you updated. joe, eun, back to you. >> thanks very much, jerry. one student suffered minor injuries this morning pat rock creek elementary school in chevy chase went a bus sideswiped a car. police say the bus' brakes malfunctioned as it pulled into the school. the driver tried to avoid a car dropping off a student and hit the side of the vehicle. the injured child was hit with shattered glass from the car's window. jim zorn has been gone for just one day and the redskins seem to be moving quickly to find his replacement. the focus now is mike shanahan, the former denver broncos' coach who flew into town last night on dan snyder's private jet to meet with snyder and new gm, bruce allen. nbc 4's megan mcgrath has more from redskins park in ashburn. >> reporter: well, it could take another day or two for the details to be worked out and no formal announcement has been made, bu it appears that mike shanahan, the former broncos head coach will be headed to washington. exclusive video of mike shanahan arriving at dulles airport and getting into owner dan snyder's limo. the former broncos coach came to town just hours after jim zorn was fired. shanahan met with snyder and redskins' general manager bruce allen yesterday. all signs point to shanahan as the skins' new head coach. it's a prospect that has excited many fans. >> i think he would be a good selection. he has a lot of experience and overall he would bring something good to the team in the long run. that's what we need. it's been 11 long years and we'll see what happens. >> hopefully if they do get him, he could bring the wins over here. >> i think shanahan could at least bring some, oh, you know some responsibility from the players to the team. somebody that's not afraid to actually go in there and, you know, to ask the players -- expect the players to play hard. >> reporter: but not everyone is so sure that a change in coach is enough. some fans say owner daniel snyder is as much to blame. >> oh, you need to get rid of the head guy. he's been calling the plays for too long. >> reporter: snyder? >> absolutely. he doesn't know what he's doing. >> reporter: if mike shanahan comes to town, he will bring an impressive resume. he led the denver broncos to back-to-back super bowl victories in his 14 seasons in denver. shanahan has a career record of 138-90 in the regular season and a post-season record of 8-5. and the details of a deal are still being worked out and news 4 has learned that an announcement will not likely come today. back to you all in the studio. >> and if mike shanahan does become the redskins' new coach, there is a possibility that he'll carry more responsibility and power than many other nfl coaches, including some authority over personnel. gilbert arenas is apologizing for his handling of guns inside the wizard' locker room. he met yesterday with police and federal prosecutors about the unloaded weapons he brought to verizon center. a grand jury will decide whether the basketball star will face charges. arenas denies reports that he and teammate javaris crittenton drew guns on each other during an argument, but he admits showing the weapons in what he calla joke. he released a statement saying, quote, joke or not, i now recognize what i did was a mistake and was wrong. i should not have brought the guns to d.c. in the first place and i now realize that there's no such thing as joking around when it comes to guns, en if unload. 11:10 now, 30 degrees. a guilty plea by a pilot accused of drinking on the job. coming up, the latest on the plea and what will happen to that united airlines pilot. plus, 2010 is already shaping up to be a year many will not forget thanks to this weather. we'll have the latest trouble spots. and the daughter of new york jets owner, woody johnson, an heiress to the johnson & johnson fortune has died. she was just embassy in yemen is open again after terrorist threats forced it to be on lockdown for two days. both the u.s. and british embassies closed on sunday after learning about a bomb plot that might target the embassies. nbc news learned that the plot came from al qaeda and may involve trucks loaded with explosives. today, yemen's government said the closure was not necessary because its security situation has always been under control. the suicide bomber who kill killed seven cia agents at a base was a jordanian working as a double agent. he was invited to the base because he claimed to have information about osama bin laden's right-hand man. meanwhile, the bodies of those seven cia employees have been returned to the u.s. a small, private ceremony for the victims was held yesterday at dover air force base in delaware. a federal court in richmond has denied an appeal by september 11th conspirator zacarias moussaoui. the three-judge panel unanimously rejected his request to throw out his conviction. mow sowy claimed his right to choose an attorney was violated. he is the only person to stand trial for the 9/11 attacks. he is serving a life term at a federal prison in colorado. new at midday, a united airlines pilot who was pulled off his flight has now pleaded guiltying toing above the legal alcohol limit. irwin washington of colorado was scheduled to fly from london's thooet rowe airport to chicago o'hare in november. however, police recall before takeoff after a coworker suspected him of being drunk. he took a breathalyzer test designed especially for pilots and failed. washington will be sentenced in february. well, it's another bone-chilling day, all the way from nebraska to florida to the northeast. and in some places, deep snow is adding to the problem. we have more now from nbc's jeff rossen. >> reporter: i know it's winter, but even for january, this is cold. and snowy. keep trying, you can't escape it. >> when your eyelashes start to freeze, you know it's a bad sign. >> unless you're planning to move, you've got to deal with it the best you can. >> by the end of six days, i'll be glad for it to go. i'll be ready for some warm weather again. >> reporter: how striking is how widespread this is. today, half the country, more than 35 states, will see temperatures below average. there's frostbite in fargo. this teenager went outside barefoot. you can't do that when it's below zero. just ask the weather channel's mike seidel in minneapolis. >> reporter: with the wind hitting this side of my face in that 25 below zero windchill, it felt like someone had a propane torch right here. the whole side of my face was on fire. it was burning and cracking. and as i inhaled, i could feel ice crystals forming on the edge of my nose. >> reporter: lovely. in florida, the citrus crops are in danger of frosting. >> it's the worst year i've seen as a professional. it was 17 in arcadia for eight or nine hours, which is devastated. >> reporter: think that's bad, try getting married on the beach like this couple in sarasota. seemed like a good idea when they planned it. >> it was so cold. i just wanted to get it over with. >> it should look good in the pictures. >> reporter: jeff rossen, nbc news. >> what were they thinking? >> and then the kid who went outside in below-freezing weather without shoes on? >> well, i guess there's some comfort in knowing we're not alone, maybe? >> i guess. >> or taking pleasure in the pain of others. at least it's not quite as bad here as it is in the upper midwest. as we take a look around our region this morning, we did have a few flurries flying through the air, just a very few. we captured those on our city camera. we had a little batch of moisture coming through here. these were pictures taken around 7:30 this morning when we had just a few flurries, passing right through the metro area and right over the potomac river, which is now frozen, as we take a live look at the view from our city camera. there is quite a bit of ice there on the river. these are scenes right along the virginia bank there. this is the gw parkway right there in the foreground. and you can see, much of the river is clogged with ice right now. and it has been certainly a cold pattern here over the last week or so, right now at reagan national, it's 33 degrees. where seven of the last eight days now have been colder than average. and looks like thisolder than average pattern is going to continue into the weekend. however, in the far distant future, it does look like maybe midweek next week, we'll begin to break the pattern of the very cold air. let's take a look at radar now. no precipitation now. we did earlier, have a few flurries coming through, but those dissipated. these are the lows we had this morning. wasn't quite as cold this morning as it was the last couple of mornings. got down into the mid-20s for lows to upper 20s, bottomed out at 27 at reagan national. and now, just up about 3 or 4 degrees from that. it's just now into the low 30s around the renal and it's going to climb another 2 or 3 degrees for a high by later on this afternoon. these are the latest windchills. the winds still gusting around 20 to 25 miles an hour. these are the latest wind gusts we've had around the region. just had a gust at reagan national to 24 miles an hour. on the eastern shore, it's near 30 degrees now. out in the mountains, still only in the teens. they bottomed out near 10 degrees there this morning, and they have been dealing with lake-effect snow showers out in the mountains. in fact, they continue to see that up in western pennsylvania, as well as parts of west virginia, but here, generally from the shenandoah all the way to the bay, we're seeing more sunshine than clouds. and we'll have, perhaps, just a few clouds racing through later on today. the wider view showing this general flow of the atmosphere, still this giant area of low pressure, spinning away over the canadian maritimes. it's just locked in place. we've got sort of a blocking pattern in the atmosphere that is not allowing the situation to change. as a result, we're continuing to have this cold air coming down from the north, riding right down out of canada and coming right down over us, as this pattern continues here. it's going to continue to produce some lake-effect snows out on the mountains in upstate new york and the cold air will be with us throughout the region here for the next several days. but no big storms anyway. so here's how we're looking for the rest of this afternoon. we'll hav a chance, maybe, of a few flurries. otherwise, just a few clouds coming through. and some welcome sunshine as well, but only briefly above freezing here from now on, all the way into perhaps 2:00 or 3:00, we'll be 3 or 4 degrees above freezing. after that, after sunset, we'll get back down into the 20s tonight. by dawn tomorrow, down into the mid-20s. during the day on wednesday, looks like it will be partly cloudy. highs tomorrow may be a tad warmer. perhaps upper 30s to near 40. then as we get into thursday morning, near 20 degrees. then clouding up on thursday. we'll have a disturbance moving in from the midwest as another surge of cold air comes in with perhaps a little moisture. we might have a little light snow, looks like late thursday night after sunset, perhaps thursday evening and into early friday morning. there may be a period of some light snow. it appears now, maybe just an inch or two at the most. but, of course, a couple of inches on any of our roads that aren't treated with any salt or sand could cause some real driving problems. we'll keep an eye on that. it could be a problem getting off to work and school on friday morning. then drying out friday afternoon and into the weekend, another shot of cold air. but this looks like the last blast of cold air for now, anyway. because there is a general idea now, it does appear the pattern may change midweek next week, we'll get above average. >> thanks very much, tom. >> let's go to jerry edwards now with some breaking news about amtrak. >> we're following breaking news on amtrak that's also affecting mark rail at this hour. baltimore county police are reporting now that a 14-year-old girl was struck by an amtrak train outside baltimore in middle river, maryland, which would be about 11 miles outside of baltimore. and as a result right now, amtrak service is being held up, as is service on the penn line, headed on up toward baltimore, coming from baltimore down toward union station. now, mark rail is telling us that penn line train 414 and 423 will be canceled because of these issues, but they do expect train 424 on penn line to leave on schedule, which will be a little bit later on this afternoon. no official word out of amtrak when the trains may start rolling again, but right now because of this accident where a 14-year-old girl was hit by an amtrak train out of baltimore, all service is being held up. we'll keep you updated on that. let's head to the roads and see how we're doing. no worries whatsoever south of town for those of you headed out towards oxen hill, wson bridge -- i take that back, looks like we have problems just developed. things change very rapidly. right now everyone's held up. we'll check on that and get right back at you. but things are very fluid when it comes to traffic. elsewhere, a quick check. if you're traveling for downtown, all the travel lanes are open to the 14th street bridge. we'll keep you updated that and on the amtrak and mark rail situation as well. >> thanks, jerry. it's 11:23. "news 4 midday" is straight ahead, the latest on landslides and a tsunami on the solomon island. plus, a very brave canine and his very thankful owner. a boy saved by his dog from a cougar. and another side of tiger woods you've never seen before. we have the must-see pictures. but first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. police are trying to figure out what caused the sudden death of the young hairess to the johnson & johnson airport. casey johnson was found dead at her home. she was just 30 years old. johnson was trying to use her socialite status to become a celebrity. she went to high school with paris hilton and turned down an invitation to be her sidekick on "the simple life." it was a decision she said she later regretted. >> she was someone who was interested in sort of being a celebrity. she sort of felt like she could be paris hilton, but she was just sort of the non-famous paris hilton. >> investigators aren't sure how long johnson was dead before police found her. they say her death might have been from natural causes, because there's been no sign yet of foul play. well, a new photo of tiger woods is coming to a newsstand near you. woods can be seen on the cover of the new "vanity fair" in a picture done by annie leibovitz. the picture was taken before the scandal broke out and is just now being released. and at least one corporation is continuing to stand by tiger woods. electronic arts incorporated plans to go ahead with the release of an online game featuring the golfer. ea says woods is still one of the greatest golfers in history despite any missteps off the golf course. 11:27 is your time now, 33 degrees. coming up in the next half hour of news 4 midday, the construction project on the beltway this week that will give you a smoother ride to work. plus, get ready for crowded trains on metro. budget problems could mean fewer trains on the tracks. and we'll introduce you to a local doctors who is using his skills to serve the country. and meteorologist tom kierein will also be back with the latest on our cold weather. stay with us. 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. right now on "news 4 midday," the redskins may be close to finding their next head coach. mike shanahan arrived in town yesterday. he and owner dan snyder are apparently negotiating a deal that would bring the former denver broncos coach to washinon. this comes on the same day the redskins fired jim zorn. news 4 has learned that an initial announcement on shanahan is not likely to happen today. the secret service says a third uninvited guest might have been able to get into november's white house state dinner. "the washington post" identifies that uninvited guest as carlos allen, a d.c. party promoter. allen is the founder of the h.u.s.h. society magazine. he was a guest on news 4 today back in november, talking about the organization's pns to provide thanksgiving dinner to the less fortunate. allen reportedly came into the party with the indian delegation. in a second published report, however, allen denies even being at the white house that night. president obama is expected to hold a high-level meeting on airport security today, according to the white house. afterward, he'll announce new steps toward preventing a terrorist attack. the efforts to beef up security come after a botched terror attack on christmas day. we're following a developing story out of the solomon islands, where an earthquake has triggered landslides and a tsunami. the magnitude 7.2 quake strk yesterday morning. at least nine other minor tremors have shaken the region since then. there are no reports of any deaths or injuries, but about a third of the homes on one island have been destroyed by the tsunami and landslides that followed the tremblor. the solomon islands lie on the reign of fire, a ring of islands that lie on earthquakes. we still he at least another week of this colder than average weather to deal with. and this morning, yeah, we have been below freezing all morning, just until the last half hour or so, just now beginning to get near or a little bit above freezing around the region. reagan national now at 33. these are the current windchills. they're now in the low 20s, so the winds have really diminished a bit. latest wind gusts have been around 20 to 25. these are the peak gusts we've had over the last hour. and from foggy bottom to clinton, centerville, and damascus, we've had a few flurries passing through this morning, but those have broken up and we'll have some sunshine with a few clouds racing through, just a small chance of an additional passing flurry later on this afternoon with the wind gusting out of the northwest around 10 to 25 miles an hour, as highs reach the mid-30s. then right back down below freezing after sunset. chance for a few more flurries overnight tonight. and then tomorrow, partly cloudy, still a bit blustery, highs in the mid- and upper 30s. then increasing clouds on thursday. looks like thursday evening into friday morning, we may get a dusting to an inch or two of some light snow, then ending by mid-day friday and drying out and turning cold again. another blast of arctic air over the weekend. highs only near 30 saturday and sunday. eun and joe? >> thanks, tom, very much. let's get a check of the midday traffic. >> jerry has some news on amtrak. >> the latest information is amtrak says they're still holding up trains along the northeast line. it was the northeast regional train that was involved in the accident early this morning. just outside of baltimore at middle river, maryland. and as a result, amtrak service being held up. mark rail tells us that on penn line, train 414 and 423 are canceled. however, train 425 is expected to leave on schedule. so just check with amtrak o mark if you plan on using them during the midday. let's see how we're doing outside. the issue we showed you a few minutes ago was pothole repair work, inner loop of the beltway off the wilson brim near route 1 in alexandra. as a result, slow coming off the bridge headed over towards route 1. heads up if you take rockville pike to work. expected some major changes near randolph road beginning today. the traffic patterns actually change at 10:00 this morning. now, if you're heading west on randolph road, you must stay on the new montrose parkway. you will not be able to turn left or right on to westbound randolph. if you're driving north on rockville pike, you won't be able to turn left at montrose road. and it could be a slow ride for drivers who use the woodrow wilson bridge this week. crews will be performing emergency pothole repairs. two lanes of the beltway's inner loop between the route 1 interchange and the eisenhower connector will be closed at 7:30 every night this week. all three lanes are expected to reopen by 5:00 a.m. those who use the bridge during the evening hours should consider alternate routes. this week, about 700 virginia state workers will lose their jobs. vdot is handing out pink slips as it downsizes its operation. the agency is dealing with a six-year, $4.6 billion revenue shortfall. those losing their jobs will learn their fate by the end of the week. 135 of those customers are in northern virginia. 2010 could bring longer waits and larger crowds to your local metro station. the agency is trying to make up for a $40 million budget shortfall. the board members have proposed a list of service cuts, which includes extending the wait time in between trains anywhere from two to ten minutes. similar cuts would apply to metro bus service. 21 routes would be changed or eliminated. d.c. charter schools could get more police protection after complaints about student safety. parents and administrators say the charter school students often are harassed going to and from schools. until now, the public/private schools had to provide their own security. >> it has been much more serious than simple harassment. there have been robbings, muggings, beatings, and children have been left with no one from metro or from mpd around to support them and protect them. >> d.c. police chief kathy lanier and mayor adrian fenty announced yesterday that uniformed police officers will now routinely check in on and patrol the city's public/private charter schools. an international search is under way for a former international monetary fund employee suspected in the shooting of a fellow economist. he was shot as he pulled into the driveway of his bethesda home this past october. this morning, investigators are looking for a 36-year-old south african national that also worked at t inf back in 2008. sources say he may have harbored some resentment when his position was not renewed. neighbors are relieved to learn this may not have been a random crime. >> we talk about it, as our neighborhood, yeah. it feels just slightly better that it's -- i feel really bad for him and his family, though. really do. they're a nice family. >> police believe he may have fled to china. they've also released a picture of this car, which may be similar to the one witnesses saw leaving the neighborhood on the night of the attack. well, this morning, we're learning about a terror scare involving the inauguration of president obama. according to "the new york times," there were real concerns that somali extremists wanted to attack the inauguration. intelligence agencies, reportedly, worked around the clock to try to figure out whether the threat was real. and there were concerns about what should be done if a terrorist struck while millions watched on the mall. the report turned out to be false, though. it was just a rumor fueled by a false report from a rival terror group. as more u.s. troops get the call to deploy to afghanistan, one local surgeon is hearing his own call to duty. in today's news for your health, daurn gensler talks to a doctor who is fulfilling his personal mission to protect the lives of soldiers in afghanistan. >> reporter: from the familiarity of this d.c. operating room to the chaos of war in afghanistan. >> abdominal injuries, chest injuries, head injuries, burns, electrical injuries. >> reporter: george washington university cardiac surgeon dr. frederick lao is starting his new year in a new environmt. >> personal aside of it, i needed need ed to participate more fully. >> reporter: because of the president's call to ramp up u.s. troops, lao, who's a colonel in the u.s. army medical corps, is being sent to western afghanistan to work as a surgeon at a combat hospital. he'll be treating troops injured on the front lines of war. >> well, i think it will be, obviously, military casualties, and most will be soldiers exposed to improvised explosive devices, t ieds. >> reporter: colonel lao served in the army for more than 17 years. he was working as a cardiac surgeon at g.w. hospital when he decided to join the army reserves. he says he asked to be called into active duty. >> the people who are out there defending america, the men and women, both the young and the more senior, are very courageous people. and they're real heroes. and they deserve good medical care. >> reporter: l says his family is supporting his decision, because the military has been a common thread for all five of his children, including these two sons who are now west point cadets. >> it is difficult, because it's been going on for so long. the conflict has been going on for so long. the injuries are life changing, so that part is hard. >> reporter: colonel lao knows that working in an o.r. in a war zone will be a completely different experience from the safety of a d.c. hospital. it's a huge challenge, but one with great rewards. >> in some ways, clarified, because there are no issues of insurance and all of that sort of situation and medicine. it's really just take care of the patient, which is what we all signed on as doctors in the first place. >> reporter: doreen gensler, news 4. >> dr. lao expects to be in afghanistan for about three months. he expects his own children in the military to deploy in the near future as well. some news for your health this morning. scientists say that natural compounds found in pomegranates may reduce the risk for breast cancer. researchers say pomegranates help slow estrogen production and cell growth in lab studies. however, they say they do not know whether the fruit will have the same effect in humans and will need more time to test it. for one d.c. woman, the new year brings a milestone most people will never see. eddy williams turned 110 years old yesterday. d.c. councilman harry thomas jr. joined family, friends at a special birthday party at williams' northeast home. williams is believed to be the oldest woman in the district, but she says she feels good and doesn't think about age. >> what do you think about being 110 years old? >> what do i think about it? >> yes? >> i don't think nothing about it. nothing to think about. >> nothing to think about? >> no! don't think about it at all. >> even at her own party, williams entertained the crowd, showing off her musical skills. >> happy birthday to her and many happy returns. 11:42 now is our time. still ahead on "news 4 midday," we'll check out how the markets are reacting to new reports about factory orders and impending home sales. plus, the grinch who stole christmas caught on video taking christmas decorations out from i'vead asthma for 12 years. 6 years. i've had asthma forever. i never knew why my asthma symptoms kept coming back... ...kepcoming back... ...or that i could help prevent them ithe first place. the problem was that my controller 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(announcer) advair contains salmeterol. salmeterol may increase the chance of asthma-related death. so advair is not for asthma that's well controlled on another controller medicine. advair will not replac fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms... ...and should not be taken more than twice a day. talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of advair. if you take advair, see your doctor if your asma does not improve or gets worse. if you're still having symptoms... ...ask your doctor how to help prevent them with advair. (announcer) get your first prescription free and save on refills. advair. now you know. back. get ready to pay more when you fly. united airlines bumped up some of its round-trip fares as much as $10. many other carriers quickly followed suit. but jetblu southwest, and airtran did not raise fares. if you pay someone to prepare your taxes, that person will soon be under a much closer watch from the irs. the head of the internal revenue service just announced that new regulations for all tax preparers. the agency now plans to make paid preparers register, pass competency tests, and stick to standards. it's all part of a plan to have more oversight and cut down on fraud and errors. the new rules are not effect for the current filing season, but they will take effect in 2011. stock prices have been mixed in the first hour of trading on wall street. >> let's check in with cnbc's courtney reagan. good morning, courtney. >> hi, a good morning to you both. so far, things are struggling a little bit. the dow is down about 36 points right now after that strong start to the year tha we saw yesterday when stocks rallied in part due to some positive comments from the fed, saying they'll keep interest rates low far while. the markets really liked that and added some nice gains. that's where we started off today, but we dropped a little bit as traders possibly taking some of those profits off the table. asia, however, higher overnight. europe is mixed. and we have some kind of sour news about the housing market. pending home sales fell more than expected in november. it is the first drop in nine months, but 15.5% higher mpared to the same period last year. so could be some of those tax incentives that were the initial round is expiring in november. and it looks like we can't get any satisfaction. a new survey by the conference board shows only 45% of americans are satisfied with their jobs. that's the lowest level on record. the drop in workers' happiness can be partly blamed on the recession. it's obviously made it hard for some people to keep suitable jobs. income hasn't kept up with inflation and soaring health care costs have really cut into people's paychecks. that's a couple reasons to feel a little sour this year. and google unveils its first smartphone today, stepping into an already crowd marketed. reviews are it's not dramatically different from existing devices. it does give google more control over the design of android phones, but google doesn't have experience in selling hardware to consumers or offering customer support, but people really seem to like google products, so it could have a go. we'll just have to wait and see. back to you. >> thanks very much, courtney. see you tomorrow. it's the device apple-lovers cannot wait for and they may not have to wait long. the company may reveal its latest creation later this month. tech experts are speculating about what apple has created this time. most believe it will be a small computer with a touch screen similar to the iphone, perhaps to be called the islate. the announcement could come january 26th or 27th. on those dates, apple has rented a facility it has used to make past product announcements. two burglary suspects in california got quite a surprise when they were chased down by an entire football team. in an effort to escape sheriff's deputies, the men took off running towards a high school in sacramento county. well, they thought they were home free when they ran into a entire pickup football team who all just happened to be law enforcement officers. the men jumped into the police mode and chased the suspects down, eventually catching them and returning them to the sheriff's deputies who were already working the case. well, every year a lawn ornament gets stolen. when they came back from vacation, they noticed one of their lightup penguin ornaments had been poached. what made it worse was that 10-year-old alexis hood had saved up all year long to get the $60 to buy the decoration, but the family security camera caught this penguin poacher in action and the hunt for him is now on. >> i want to see my penguin come back. >> it looked like a husband and wife, older, you know, probably in their mid- to late 20s. not your typical high school kids. >> since the couple was out walking the dogs at the time, the hoods believe that the pengu penguin thief is probably a neighbor. they're hoping that the thief or his friends will see the video and be embarrassed into doing the right thing and returning the penguin. come on! >> i would say. >> give the kid a break. please. >> seriously. it's now 11:49. we will hear from a boy whose dog saved him from a cougar. how he rewarded his best friend. plus, meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check of it was just last month that the nbc series "the biggest loser" crowned its newest champ. tonight, the show begins a search for a new winner with family couples trying to shed dozens, if not hundreds of pounds. mark barger has a preview. >> we're at "the biggest loser" ranch. i can't believe we're actually here. >> reporter: it's an initial giddiness for the newcomers. >> my goal is 130. >> reporter: that quickly gives away to grim reality. it's life on the ranch. >> you cannot cry right now. >> reporter: for the newest batch of "biggest loser" contestants. >>very single season, i'm saying that we have the largest contestants we've ever had. and this season is no different. >> reporter: one guy tips the scales at 520 pounds. >> i would never think in my worst nightmares i would be this big. >> reporter: and he's got his overweight mom along with him. >> i feel responsible for michael's weight, because i have just taught my son to love food. >> reporter: they're on a tandem journey to regain control of their health and their lives. >> the body is a very resilient machine. nature designs the body to be healthy. it wants to be healthy. but you have to take the first step. >> reporter: for one pair of brother contestants -- >> together we're almost 1,000 pounds. >> reporter: -- taking any steps has been at time problematic. your foot broke because of your weight? >> i had to spend 12 weeks in a cast. >> contestants come in and they're lost, they are discouraged. it's up to jilian and i to really give them their hope again. >> reporter: hope that could be contagious. >> we have a nation to inspire, ladies! >> reporter: mark barger, nbc news. >> nbc says season nine of the "biggest loser" makes up the heaviest cast ever for the show. "the biggest loser" premieres tonight at 8:00 right here on nbc 4. an 11-year-old canadian boy is alive today because his dog saved him from a cougar attack. the dog's name is angel and the drama began when the two went outside to get some firewood. austin foreman says he knew something was up, because angel was following him everywhere. austin stopped to take a break and the cougar attacked. that's when angel came running and tackled the cougar. austin, police officer chad gravelle, and austin's mom, shari, talked to the "today" show about the ordeal. >> everything happened so fast. and i was just lucky my dog was there, because it happened so fast that i wouldn't have known what hit me. >> the dog and the cougar were all kind of tangled up as one unit. and when i came around front and confronted the cougar and the dog, it was really dark out and i was just, you know, trying to line up my shot as best as i could, and i could just see, like, maybe two or three inches of the cougar's head sticking out from behind angel and luckily i was able to get a good shot off. >> shari, i know you feel that constable gravelle saved angel's life, just the way angel saved austin's life. >> absolutely. without him, there's no way angel would have survived. >> the 1 1/2 year golden retriever is recovering from a fractured skull, a swollen eye, and other wounds. but they're hoping for a full recovery and when angel comes home, she has a nice, big steak waiting for her. >> at least. let's take a look at some of the stories we're following for news 4 this afternoon. >> jim handly joins us in the studio with a preview of things to come. >> we've got a busy afternoon shaping up. we're working several news stories this afternoon. first at 4:00, remember that $787 billion stimulus package aimed at boosting our economy? we're going to tell you how you're going to benefit from that money in 2010. then tonight at 5:00, obesity or smoking? we'll tell you which one poses the greater health risk. these stories and all the day's news as we continue in the tundra on this tuesday. >> we really are. be careful out there. >> thanks, jim. >> thanks very much. >> see you later. a final check on the forecast now with meteorologist tom kierein in the storm center. >> we'll see how long the ice is going to continue. >> it's ice station washington. we've got the potomac river covered with ice and temperatures around the region just now getting above freezing. probably hover in the mid-30s for the next two or three hours and then get right back down below freezing tonight. wishes now are right around 20 degrees. we still have that wind gusting around 20 to 2 miles an hour. and we have had some morning flurries, but those have dissipated. we might have a few more passing flurries later on late afterno and perhaps overnight tonight. highs today just in the mid-30s with northwest winds gusting 10 to 25. maybe a few flurries this evening and into the predawn hours tomorrow. we'll bottom out into the low 20s. then during the day tomorrow, maybe a bit milder into the upper 30s with diminishing winds. maybe a little light snow late on thursday, thursday evening, perhaps through mid-morning, friday, maybe an inch or two. and then drying out and turning cold again for the weekend. that's the way it looks right now, eun and joe. >> thanks, tom, very much. you've heard of high-speed police chases, what about a high-speed camel chase. the cops patrolling jordan's border have been riding around on camel and they're surprisingly effectively. police have seized tons of illegal drugs and have caught many people trying to sneak into the country illegally. 2009, though, was their most successful year to date in the amount of drugs seized. it's not an easy job, as you can imagine. one of the guards says, it's cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and rough dealing with that terrain. >> and i don't see a whole lot of speed there. >> no. >> that's "news 4 midday." thanks for joining us. make sure to join us for "the daily connection" at 3:00. >> join us tomorrow morning at 4:55. we'll see you tomorrow. >> bye.