i'm barbara harris and it's monday, february 7th, 2011. we begin this morning with that fire from the national mall this morning. from the ground, you can see why the fire shocked people heading to work. plumes of thick smoke billowed from the ground. several nearby streets recently reopened and news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. yeah, constitution is reopened, but you can look behind me here and see that madison drive is still closed, at least for the time being. we still have some fire trucks on the scene, so they'll keep it closed until all of those trucks get out of the way here. but in terms of the museum itself, the museum is open. we have actually seen some school groups go in there this morning. they opened a little bit after 10:00 this morning, just a few minutes later than usual because of this fire. now, this happened very early this morning, right around 7:30. and actually the blaze broke out in a small building that's actually separate from the museum. it's very close by, but it's separate. it's an area that houses the mechanicals, the heating and the air-conditioning seasonal. a large black cloud hung in the sky above the museum of natural history. a disturbing sight for those who saw it. fortunately, the fire was not in the museum as first feared, but in a cooling tower adjacent to the building. witnesses say the blaze appeared to be underground, the smoke billowing out of large vents. >> well, i was walking in this morning, and normally where you see grates of steam coming out, i just saw black smoke billowing up into the sky, i mean, 100 feet high. >> reporter: the fire broke out in an area that contains the museum's heating and air-conditioning system. >> this is an adjunct building, not actually attacked, but very near the natural history museum, and it provides the heat and air-conditioning for the building. >> reporter: a museum spokesperson says a maintenance crew was doing some welding work this morning. a spark may have started the blaze. the museum was not yet open to visitors, but there were several employees inside. jennifer jet could see it all from her office window. >> well, there was a lot of commotion outside my office, so i looked out the window and there's a bunch of firemen. and we saw a big black plume of smoke. so we stood and watched for a few minutes until the alarm went off and then picked our bags up and mozied out. >> reporter: there was no damage to the museum or any of the exhibits. they have reopened, and that's why they have a setup like this. the heating and air-conditioning systems are separate. they're in a separate area that's walled off and contained, because if there are problems like this, the museum itself will not be impacted. so a lot of happy school kids this morning. we've seen them arrive here and at first kind of look around, look at the fact the streets were closed. a little worried their trips might be impacted, but not at all, the museum has reopened, just a few minutes later than normal. >> a very busy place this time of year. thank you so much, megan, for that report. meanwhile, firefighters were also busy this morning in wheaton. a fire broke out at a popular mall. it happened at the westfield shopping town in wheaton. 70 firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire and one to have those firefighters suffered some minor injuries. news 4's melissa malay reports. >> reporter: thick, black smoke was already pouring from the roof over the food court when firefighters arrived here this morning. take a look inside, you can see what firefighters had to do to put out the fire, cut through the ceiling, the roof for ventilation. >> we have to cut through those layers and peel back those layers. >> reporter: the holes dripping water blasted from above. investigators say the fire broke out in the duct work above the texas barbecue restaurant and worked its way into the roof. >> when you have grills, a lot of times when they're dirty, when they're not cleaned, and even if some debris or products of the barbecuing or grilling gets up into the grill, it smolders overnight, the folks who closed down the night before may or may not even know it. >> reporter: mall employee brandon james came to work early this morning expecting a normal day. not what he got. >> when i first came, the roof was on -- like smoking. and there was just a lot of firefighters and they just told people to get off the rooftop right here and get away from the building. >> for now, texas barbecue is shut down. the neighboring restaurants, a mcdonald's, subway, popeyes and arb arbys, possibly needing repairs and a re-inspection by the county health department. >> i don't think it will affect anything, maybe just whatever businesses are closed, i'm pretty sure that will be affected, but people will still come in the mall and shop. >> reporter: investigators say damage here is estimated at least $100,000. of course, at this point, it is for a too early to know when texas barbecue might reopen. in wheaton, melissa malay, news 4. >> the mall is open today, but a few restaurants in the food court will be closed. and now to the weather and this mild day we have right now. looking outside this morning, we've got some sunshine replacing the clouds that were there. i don't know how long we're going to have that sunshine, but tom's with us now to tell us. good morning. >> good morning. it is starting to fade. we're having increasing clouds coming in from the west, but that's not going to stop our temperatures from continuing to climb well into the 40s, perhaps even to near 50 degrees here in the next few hours. and that will cause a lot of that snow to melt, were it still in place. it's now near 40 degrees in washington, the nearby suburbs, southern maryland, some locations into the low 40s right now. wind off the water in indianapolis is certainly cold. the bay water temperatures is only in the mid-30s. farther to our west, it's near 30 around the shenandoah valley, out in western virginia, western maryland, in the upper 30s right now. and on the eastern shore, upper 40s. salisbury at 48. richmond also at 48. raleigh-durham at 50 degrees. and we have some of these high clouds coming in from the west and southwest and these are associated with one weak trough of low pressure that's now moving through kentucky and tennessee. that with a developing area of coastal low pressure. both of these systems are mostly going to miss us and we will, though, have a possibility of some rain later tonight. but for the rest of the afternoon, we'll have increasing clouds, more melting of that snow as temperatures for several hours this afternoon will be in the upper 40s. we'll have a light southeasterly breeze. then some changes tonight and big changes tomorrow. we'll look at that and the week ahead as well as the weekend. that will be coming up in just a couple of minutes. barbara? >> all right, thank you very much, tom. new today, pepco's apologizing for the latest outages from the winter storm with a full-page ad in "the washington post." the president and ceo of pepco, joseph rigby, writes in a letter to its customers, "we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. we regret that we are not meeting your expectations. we will not make excuses, we will make improvements." pepco customers told us they want more than an apology. >> apologizing will not do any good. they have to prove that they can be reliable, when the community in trouble, you know, when the power is out. apologies sometimes will not do any good. >> this is not the first time pepco took out a full-page ad in "the washington post." in august, the utility company printed an open letter to pepco customers thanking them for their support after stourms knocked out power to nearly 300,000 customers. and new today, d.c. residents are voicing their concerns over the city's response to the snowstorm. d.c. council member tommy welles is holding a public roundtable on the lessons learned from the snow at the wilson building today. council members are also expected to discuss a bill that would enforce fines for businesses and resident who is do not quickly remove snow and ice from sidewalks after the storm. we're going to check on our midday traffic now with tonya hutchins who joins us with the latest. how's it looking out there now, tonya? >> we have a few incidents, we have an accident on dale drive. also in the district, pennsylvania avenue inbound at barny circle southeast, there's single file traffic getting by to the ealeft. let's take a look at virginia, we have an accident on 66 eastbound. that is going to be getting by, but you can see the traffic is moving. all that traffic with the accident is on the right side of your screen. left side of the screen, we're doing okay there. and at 495 at the american legion bridge, things are moving smoothly. no problems there to report between maryland and virginia. barbara? >> all right, thank you, tanya. the search is on for a hit-and-run driver after a violent head-on collision in northeast washington. it happened overnight near the intersection of rhode island and eastern avenues. at least one person was rushed to the hospital, the driver of one of the cars involved ran from the scene. at this point, police have not provided a description. and right now utility crews in northern virginia are trying to repair a water main break in woodridge. this happened along route 1 near the jefferson plaza shopping center. crews had to block off a southbound lane of traffic because of all the water. s the prince william service authority said the water main broke around 4:00 in the morning. workers used listening devices to find the exact spot where it ruptured then they shut off the water there to make the repairs. the water company has not said if the problem affected service to nearby homes or businesses. the green bay packers are the big cheese of the nfl today as they downed the steelers to win super bowl xlv. the packers jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the fourth quarter and 21-10 at the end of the first half. but pittsburgh stormed back, scoring in the third quarter to make it a four-point game. in the fourth quarter, down by six, the steelers had one more smot, but the packers' defense shut them down and that sealed the deal. the packers win their fourth super bowl title. quarterback aaron rodgers won the game's mvp title who heaped praise on his teammates, who turned around and heaped praise on him. >> got to give credit to our defense. this is a great group of men that we put together here. a lot of character, been through a lot together, and it's great to be able to share it with them. >> this is a great day to be great, baby! >> the victory parade will be tomorrow and packers fans can help contribute to the celebration. the milwaukee journal sentinel says the packers need fans to show up at 8:00 a.m. today to clean out the stadium. they'll pay the shovellers eight bucks an hour to do that. and besides the actual game, there's plenty to discuss about super bowl xlv around the water cooler today. news 4's kimberly suiters is in the newsroom with three memorable moments. kimberly? >> barbara, it's irresistible. we'll have to play monday morning quarterbacking here. let's talk about two fumbles and one touchdown off the field, starting with the mangling of "the star-spangled banner." ♪ the perilous fight ♪ what so proudly watched at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ >> the you were watching it, you may have taken the hint that something was wrong watching the players' faces. christina aguilera was supposed to sing, "the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming," but instead she repeated an earlier line and inserted some new words. now, a second fumble. this time it was the nfl last-minute decision made by safety inspectors about some of the seats. 1,200 seats did not pass inspection, so they were taken out. but then you have the problem of 1,200 people without a place to sit. as you can imagine, those fans were seriously fired up. >> very upset. a scale of 1 to 10, about an 11 or a 12. this is totally unacceptable. i do not know how this could happen. how could you sell seats that are not there? >> he's one of the 1,200 angry ticketholders. 850 people were moved to different seats in cowboy stadium, but for 400 people that did not get a seat at all, they were given a refund by the nfl worth about three times the face value of their tickets, that's about $2,700 to watch the game on tv. the upside, if you did happen to watch it on tv, you saw this commercial. it was pre-released so people knew to look for the tiny darth vader with quick hands. this morning, 6-year-old max was unmasked on the "today" show. >> what have your friends said to you, max? >> friends say they can't see it, they wish they could. so lots have said -- >> i've heard people have been asking for your autograph too? >> yeah. because of "the young and the restless." >> because of "the young and the restless," not for the commercial spot. his mom says he's special for another reason. he was born with a congenital heart defect and he wears is a pacemaker. and now little max has stolen millions of hearts around the country. barbara, now back to you. >> i don't know about you, kimberly, but that was my favorite commercial and i didn't know anything about it until i saw it last night. >> i loved it. i wanted to learn more about how they coached him, because his little movements made it so funny. >> yeah, he was funny and the end was adorable too. >> thank you. i did hear that botched "star spangled banner" and turned around and thought, wait a minute. >> it's a good thing we never make mistakes on live tv. >> thanks, kimberly. 11:14 right now. and coming up, cairo is getting closer to a normal routine today. the latest on egypt's fight more change. and the founder of wikileaks is back in court today. we'll tell you why he fears the death penalty in the united states. and the problems are mounting for actress lindsay lohan. what is expected to happen to her today. stay with us. we'll be right back. new today, wikileaks founder julian assange is in court to fight extradition charges to sweden. swedish prosecutors want assange to be extradited so they can question him over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women. assange's defense team says he shouldn't be extradited because he hasn't been formally charged with a crime. they add that if he's moved to sweden, it may make it easier for the united states to arrest him for leaking thousands of classified diplomatic cables. assange's lawyers say their client fears he could face the death penalty in the u.s. and we're following two stories from iran this morning. first iran's president announced his country has built four satellites to build their space program. other nations are worried the satellites will bolster the country's ballistic missile program. secondly, we now know more about two american hikers accused of spying in iran. shane bauer and josh fattal entered not guilty pleas in their closed-door hearing. iranian state tv showed video of the hearing. the two along with american sarah shourd were detained in july of 2009 along the iran/iraq border. shourd has been out on bail, but the other two remain in jail. if convicted, the americans face ten years in prison. if not -- it is not clear yet when their next court hearing will take place. and new today, two internet powerhouses are joining forces and it could change the future of online news. aol has bought "the huffington post" for $315 million. under the deal, "huffington post" cofounder arianna huffington would be put in charge of all aol content. the merger will bring aol an additional 25 million unique visitors every day. "the huffington post" ranks as one of the top ten current events and global news sites. the deal still needs regulatory approval before it can close. and today president obama will speak at the u.s. chamber of commerce as he tries to improve his relationship with big business. the president was at odds with the chamber over health care reform and recent financial regulati regulations, but now he's making a point to reach out to businesses, including them in the december tax compromise. in his weekly address, president obama said, quote, bolstering the economy requires that washington and business work together. let's talk a little bit about our weather now, it looks pretty nice out there right now, but some changes coming, tom? >> yeah, big changes. a couple balmy days in a row that have gone to a great degree to melt a lot of that snow we've had from the storm almost a couple of weeks ago. still, a lot of snow on the ground areas of northwest of washington. there is capitol hill. a little bit of haze in the air. a plane coming in for a landing at reagan national airport. the potomac river is calm, almost looks like a mirror reflecting the tree line of east potomac park right along the river. safe landings there at reagan international airport, where the temperature now is 42 degrees and we have a light breeze coming in out of the southwest. and as we take a look at the lows we have this morning, it was a cold start on this monday morning. we were down into the 20s throughout the entire region. the temperature bottomed out at reagan national at 31 degrees. that was the warm spot. as we got just past dawn, though, temperatures started to climb, and now all around the region, in the 40s. culpepper, mid-40s. also mid-40s charlottesville and southern maryland, climbing into the low 40s. right near washington and montgomery, prince george's, it's right near 40. hit the 40s as well in loudoun county. and out of the mountains, they're above freezing as well into the upper 30s. upper 40s now eastern shore through central virginia down to the carolinas. and over the last 12 hours, we've seen some of this increase in the cloudness coming from the south and west from a developing area of low pressure off the atlantic seaboard. this will be passing off to the east of us and perhaps giving us a little brushby of some rain. and off to our west, we have a weak trough on low pressure that will be passing to the west of us. both of these systems passing by, increasing our cloud cover, giving us the chance for some rain, but no snow because it's so mild. where you see this blue and green, that's an area of potential light rain later this evening and after midnight tonight until around dawn this morning, and then the storm quickly moves out to sea. behind that, another blast of cold air on gusty winds tomorrow. this will be in place through the middle of the week and then we'll have a change for the weekend. so for the rest of this monday, we'll have increasing clouds through the afternoon. temperatures climbing to around 50 degrees. and that will certainly help to melt more of that snow. and our sky now is beginning to clouds up. that's the sky watcher camera looking off to the west. and this evening, we'll have some of that rain beginning to move in and we'll stay in the low 40s through the evening and after midnight, they'll drop into the upper 30s. but we should stay above freezing overnight, may end with a few flurries by dawn tomorrow. we'll be in the 30s tomorrow morning, and the clearing sky on tuesday, a gusty northwest wind, gusting over 30 miles an hour. that will bring in that cold air and we'll drop out of the 30s in the morning, into the 20s during the afternoon. and then all the way down into the teens by dawn on wednesday. and then some clouds building during the day wednesday with highs reaching the mid-30s. then on thursday, a cloudy day. another coastal system passing south of us may just brush by us and give us a few flurries is the way it's looking right now. after that, we'll have a clearing sky for friday with highs near 40 and another mild weekend saturday and sunday, looking great. sunshine, highs, 40s. morning lows in the 20s to near 30. >> okay, tom, thank you. >> okay. let's see how it's looking on the roads out there. we have tanya hutchins in with us for today. what's it like on the roads? any problems, tanya? >> there is a problem in virginia. we have a medical emergency on 267 westbound at route 7. you'll find that vehicle on the right shoulder, so stay to the left there if you can. let's take a look at the beltway out there. 495 at 50, you can see traffic is moving well in both directions eastbound and westbound on the inner loop and the outer loop. and 495 at university boulevard, traffic is moving in both directions pretty well there as well as people make their way between silver spring and college park. barbara? >> all right, thank you, tanya. 11:23 is the time. still ahead on "news 4 midday," will the case against the doctor charged in the death of michael jackson be televised? a court hearing is being held today on that matter. plus, food that could stress you out and the alternatives that will leave you feeling better. but first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. ♪ leftover desserts, boardroom, now. and hurry before the interns get here. thanks but i already have some yummy black forest cake. black forest cake? 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[ female announcer ] with 30 delicious flavors, all around 100 calories each. yoplait. it is so good. the yoplait you love, now in a 4-pack. try it today. today lawyers for michael jackson's doctor will be in court. the judge wants to discuss several issues related to the case, such as if next month's trial should be televised. and they'll also decide if jurors should fill out a questionnaire before open court. dr. murray pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. his trial is scheduled to begin on march 28th. lindsay lohan may also be headed back to court. tmz.com is reporting that the actress could be charged with felony theft as early as today for allegedly stealing a $2,500 one-of-a-kind necklace. police got a search warrant to search lohan's home after a venice beach store reported the necklace missing. but the necklace was turned over to police before they could get there. lohan's attorneys say the actress did not steal the necklace and would fight any charges if they're filed. a grand theft conviction carries a possible three-year prison sentence. our time right now is 11:27. coming up in the next half hour of "news 4 midday," protesters in egypt are promising this morning to stay in cairo's central square until president hosni mubarak steps down. we'll have the latest on a country trying to get back to everyday business. plus, a small town in maryland, the scene of a shocking crime. and this morning investigators are not sure how many victims there are. also coming up, tom kierein looks at the timing of today relea's rain. will ring ring. progresso. i look great in my wedding dress with the help of your amazing light soups. now we're addingven bigger pieces of white meat chicken. oh, so when's the big day? oh, we got married years ago. but the point is, i fit in it! well good for you! 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[ speaking spanish ] ♪ [ male announcer ] old el paso stand 'n stuff taco shells. old el paso. feed your fiesta. and it is for some. the stock market's nearly double, and wall street's handing out big bonuses. but millions of americans face a much colder reality. woman: the big drug store chain where i worked cut my hours, then laid me off. i had to sell my car to pay rent and buy heating oil. man: i got laid off. luckily i found a part-time job in a lumber yard. i had to take in boarders to make my mortgage. kennedy: millions are living in fear, afraid that they'll fall through the cracks -- unable to even stay warm. this recovery so far has left a lot of people behind. that's why citizens energy delivers heating oil to thousands of struggling families, thanks to the generosity of the venezuelan people and citgo, the only country and the only oil company to answer our call to help the needy. i'm joe kennedy. if you need help staying warm, give me a call at 1-877-joe-4-oil, because no one should be left out in the cold. this way, everyone will know about all our great discounts. safe driver, online, homeowner's -- more discounts than ever before. and they still get great service. ♪ ow! [ disco music plays ] ♪ whoa, yeah is it just me, or is it getting funky in here, huh? get your groove on, y'all! catch you on the flip side! i'd tell him the sign's not finished, but it would just break his funky little heart. more discounts, more ways to save. now, that's progressive. call or click today. right now on "news 4 midday," investigators say welding work sparked a fire near the smithsonian museum of natural history in northwest washington. this was the scene around 8:00 this morning when plumes of thick, black smoke billowed from a parking lot connected to the building. firefighters got it under control, the building was evacuated and no one was hurt. a fire also broke out at a popular mall at the westfield shopping center in wheaton in montgomery county. 70 firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire inside the food court area there. it started above the texas barbecue restaurant. the mall is open, but some restaurants there are closed today. and we're taking a live look at the chamber of customer where president obama is getting a speech to the chamber. this speech comes on the heels of his attempts to try and improve his relationship with big business. in the past, the president was at odds with the chamber over health care reform and recent financial regulations. several concession from egypt's government have not stopped protesters in cairo. political leaders have promised sweeping democratic reforms, but many don't think those concessions will be carried out. nbc's richard engel explains the response in egypt so far today. >> reporter: it's now a standoff for egypt's future. tahrir square, once a battleground, has become a camp site. >> i wanted to see change happen. >> reporter: a tent city has been erected in this traffic circle in the center of cairo. the protesters are expecting a long haul and say they'll stay here until president mubarak leaves egypt. tanks surround the square, keeping peace, but protesters are nervous that they'll move in. they've formed a human shield to block the army's advance. at a makeshift infirmary, volunteer doctors, nurses treat the hundreds of wounded. this doctor says he's here for the injured, but because even with two degrees, he earns $400 a month, a salary that insults and barely sustains him. but life is returning outside the square. banks and stores are open, government salaries are being paid. this is the image the egyptian government wants its people to see. a country moving on, the crisis over. after a meeting yesterday with opposition groups, including the banned muslim brotherhood, which wants islamic law, egypt promised to make huge democratic reforms. the meeting itself was astonishing. it was led by vice president omar suleiman, the intelligence chief who's chased the brotherhood down for years. now they're sitting together to discuss egypt's future. egypt promised to soon lift martial law in place here for three decades, allow greater freedom of the press, and allow candidates to run in presidential elections. some egyptians worry that none of it will really happen. >> what they promised today, they've promised before. and i have no reason, okay, as long as mubarak is the head of this state, to feel that these are credible promises. and let's talk about mubarak staying another six months. you're talking about complete paralysis of the country. >> reporter: protesters say the promises of more democracy are just a ploy by president mubarak to clear the square, keep his supporters in power, protect his legacy, and wait out this political storm. >> that was richard engel reporting. protesters say they want a cleaner position -- or a clearer position, that is, from the united states. they're not sure if u.s. leaders are for them or for president mubarak. in other news, a 76-year-old american woman who spent days trapped in the middle of those riots in egypt is back on u.s. soil and talking about her experience. mary thornberry talked on the "today" show today about her ordeal to get out of her apartment in cairo during the clashes. >> i had to say, i was a little scared. i did -- i was advised to wear my -- >> head scarf and the long dress as well? >> yes, and the long skirt. i had been planning to just wear long pants, but a friend of mine told me to be sure and wear this, but to put on a long skirt as also. >> so as not to draw attention to yourself? >> yes, yes. if anyone looked close at me, they would know that i was not egyptian or arabic, but just at a passing glance, this would be less apt to draw attention to me. >> friends here in the u.s. networked with others in cairo to rescue thornberry. thornberry flew into jfk airport in new york yesterday. she moved to egypt 15 years ago and did not evacuate the region with other americans. today astronaut mark kelly will rejoin the crew of the space shuttle "endeavour" for its upcoming launch. kelly has been on personal leave since january 8th when his wife was shot. congresswoman gabrielle giffords was one of several victims of last month's tragedy in tucson. kelly says his wife spends about eight hours a day in therapy at a houston rehabilitation center. in space, kelly will have e-mail, phone, and video link to his wife and family. he'll serve as mission commander when "endeavour" launches in april. he says this will be his fourth and final space flight. and right now, western australia is dealing with massive brush fires. overnight, names destroyed at least 40 homes. at least one firefighter is recovering after getting hurt. hundreds of firefighters are working to put out the blaze. residents escaped just in time as the fires jumped quickly from house to house. luckily, no deaths or serious injuries have been reported. and we're going to catch up with tom again on our weather, find out when the rain is going to make it here. expected before the rush hour starts? >> i don't think so. probably not until after sunset. another balmy day on the way between now and then. we'll have our temperatures climb into the upper 40s to near 50s in the next couple of hours. right now, in the low 40s throughout much of the region. 42 at reagan international. we have a weak trough to our west that will be coming our way and likely give us some light rain this evening and after midnight tonight. and we'll temperatures dropping back down into the mid- and upper 30s and staying above freezing late into tuesday, and this precipitation may end with a brief period of perhaps a few flurries. and then sunshine back tomorrow, a cold northwest wind, though. we'll drop out of the 30s in the morning into the 20s in the afternoon, and then all the way down into the teens by dawn on wednesday. then increasing clouds wednesday into the mid- to upper 30s and another coastal area of low pressure will brush by us to the south, it appears, on thursday, giving us just some clouds and a small chance of a few flurries. that to be followed by sunshine on friday, saturday, and sunday. highs in the 40s over the weekend. barbara? >> thank you, tom. and we'll go out to the roads now with tanya hutchins to see if there are problems developing that you want to avoid. tonya? >> you might want to avoid route one in beltsville. there's an accident there. be aware of that if you're heading there, beltsville and the college park area. taking a look out at springfield, you can see 95 southbound, traffic is beginning to build. that's the southbound lanes to the right of your screen. northbound traffic is building as well. and looking out at maryland at the beltway, 495 at coalsville road is also moving pretty well, so you don't have to worry about any accidents out there. barbara? >> all right, thank you, tonya. today, ohio's governor will be at youngstown state university to discuss a shooting off-campus. two men are in custody for the shooting at a party for omega psi pyhi fraternity. two men left the house and came back and sprayed bullets into the crowd. johnson was hit several times and died. brief counselors and clergy have made themselves available at youngstown state university today in response to the shooting. and today the man accused of spying on and recording women in their own homes will appear in court. one of the victims says she even caught the man in her bedroom. it happened in a neighborhood in crofton, which is in anne arundell county. neighbors say they taken several precautions to ensure something like this never happens again. >> reporter: police initially arrested charles novak back in december when a neighbor found him inside a car in their garage. when police conducted a search of the suspect's home, that's when they found evidence that he'd been secretly videotaping women in their bedrooms. 20-year-old kiley stevenson is one of the alleged victims of her former neighborhood, 35-year-old charles novak. he's accused of being the crofton peeping tom. >> honestly, i was just kind of difference just, like, in shock. like totally bewildered about the entire thing. >> reporter: anne arundell county police say novak aimed his camcorder through bedroom windows and into a sunroom, recording numerous women, some nude, some partially nude. stevenson says she looked at hours of video taken of her in her bedroom when she was just 16 or 17 years old. now the windows have blankets over them, making sure no one can invade her privacy. >> i'm still like startled and shaken up about it, but it's hard to believe that it happened in crofton, maryland. >> reporter: police have charge novak with 21 count of burglary, theft, and being a peeping tom. the theft charge stems from stolen underwear. police recovered two pairs of stevenson's undergarments from novak's home. they were in a plastic bag with her name on it. police say they're still trying to determine who else may have been recorded without their knowledge. >> they have some first names, but unless the people knew they were being videotaped, which obviously in my case, i didn't, or knew his name, then they're not going to like find them easily. >> reporter: residents of the crofton neighborhoods where novak allegedly conducted his secret surveillance are living their lives with concern that someone could be watching. >> definitely, when you're in your home, you know, getting undressed at night, certainly making sure that all your blinds are shut, no holes in them. >> reporter: darcy spencer, "news 4 today." >> and police say they would like to hear from anyone else who thinks that they may have been a victim. today we're hoping to learn more about a decomposing body found near a metro station on sunday. police say the body of a man was found along suitland parkway in temple hills near the nailer road metro station. the u.s. park police are in charge of the investigation. they say the body was found south of the parkway along the tree line. police have not identified the victim or said what may have happened to the man. and still ahead on "news 4 midday," last week was a good one on wall street. we'll check where stock prices stand at this time today. and what you're eating could be stressing you out. we'll explain. stay with us. our time, 11:42. planning what to eat for the most important meal of the day just got a little easier, at least this week. 47 chick filet chains are giving away free breakfast every morning through friday. customers can get one pre-selected full size menu item, no purchase necessary. they just want to encourage people to try something new for breakfast. stocks are starting this week higher. let's check in with cnbc's hampton pearson. he joins us live with more on that and the rest of the day's headlines. hampton? >> hi, barbara. numbers are trading in positive territory with signs of the crisis in egypt may be easing. the dow up 88 points. the s&p up almost 12 points. one of the biggest signs investors may be less concerned about the situation in egypt is what's happening with oil prices. benchmark crude for march delivery was down 48 cents, just under $89 per barrel on the new york mercantile exchange and electronic trading earlier. strong earnings and some big deals also pushing strongs higher. houston-based oil driller pride international jumped 17% on news that a london-based oil operator wants to buy the firm for $7.3 billion. another multibillion dollar deal involves a medical diagnostics firm. it's being purchased by the danaher corporation for $5.8 billion and beckman stock was up about 17%. closer to home, aol stock dropped 3% after announcing it's planning to buy "the huffington post" online news service for $315 million. political pundit and website cofounder arianna huffington will join aol's management team. millions of reasons for her to smile today. we're a little light this week as far as the economic data, but this afternoon, the federal reserve will give its monthly snapshot of consumer borrowing. most economists belief the december was about $2.5 billion, nearly double what they borrowed in november. another sign that consumers are doing their part to help the economy recover. and at this hour, president obama is making a speech to the u.s. chamber of commerce here in washington, part of the administration's fence mending with the business community. so that's a look at business headlines and the markets close to midday on monday. barbara, back to you. >> lots going on out there. thank you, hampton. >> absolutely. well, don't blame work or the kids for your tense state. the real culprit could be your last few meals. dr. andrea sullivan joins us this morning with the look at the foods that could be stressing you out. good morning. >> good morning. >> good to have you with us. >> it's always a pleasure. thank you. >> tell us -- run down the foods that make stress. >> sure. >> probably don't have any idea. i'm sure i'm eating them all. >> you may be. certainly sugar, and this is valentine's day, i realize that, but refined sugar certainly causes stress because it affects the adrenal glands. alcohol. processed foods. foods that have chemicals in them. foods that have caffeine in them, certainly chocolate, tea, coffee are some of the big ones. and sugar is found in everything. we think sugar is just refined sugar in candy, but sugar is in ketchup, it's in mustard, it's in sauces, it's in all kinds of food. so reading the labels are very important. >> is this true for everyone, or are some people just allergic to it? >> no, this affects everyone. sugar affects the renal glands, the glands that sit on top of the kidneys. and when those glands are affected, your blood sugar is deregulated, can be out of balance. and we're a country that has a problem with high blood sugar and high blood pressure. so those glands are affected whenever you have sugar or fried foods. >> fried foods are definitely something that i always reach for. i see that you have two choices of chicken here. fried chicken is fried, so that's not good for you, is that right? >> that's correct. fried foods actually will create two problems. number one, they affect the adrenal glands. so the adrenal glands, again, get hyped up, where you can get adrenal fatigue. for example, that's a buzz word these days. but also, when you fry food to a high level, you change the cells in your body. literally, the cell structure. so those cells can be more likely to be carcinogenic or cancer causing. >> in the food itself? >> correct. so this handy meal at lunchtime, or breakfast for some people, of pried chicken and french fries can create havoc in the system. >> it's kind of interesting that the things that cause stress are the things we reach for. both chicken. is this better? >> this is a baked and rotisseried chicken. so it's not deep fried, it's baked or broiled. that's a better way to eat any food. baked, broiled, sauteed. but the chicken is something you want to begin testing your palate so you can shift over to a baked or broiled rotisserie chicken. >> is there any medical reason why we crave fried foods? >> we crave fried foods and sugar because you trigger some hormones and something called serotonin that increases your feeling good. and you do feel good, but only momentarily. but then when you come down, not only do you come down because your blood sugar has dropped, so physiologically you've come down, but you also come down in your mood. because you beat yourself up, you're like, oh, my god, why did i have that second cupcake or third piece of pie, and then you feel depressed psychologically as well because you're not feeling good about what you've just done. >> give us some alternatives? >> for the fried foods, you can bake, broil, or rotisserie. for sugars, you've got organic sugar or raw cane sugar. >> better than white sugar? >> yes, because white refined sugar is processed and the body has a difficult time ingesting that or metabolizing things. in soda, they're saying just drinking sodas can create diabetes. and they also create a decreased immune system. >> that's if they have sugar. >> that's if the soda has sugar. that's correct. then you've got sucanot, which is the best. the juice is extracted from the cane sugar, but not processed after that. >> can you use that for cooking? >> anything. then you've got stevia. stevia can be one of the alternatives for whether it's baking or sweetening tea or cafe. then you've got agave nectar, but you've got to be careful with agave nectar, because agave nectar has problems if it's not organic or processed correctly. >> so stay away from sugar and fried foods. >> and simplify your life. take care of yourself, take charge. say no. and also exercise. >> all right. okay. >> thank you. >> as always, dr. andrea sullivan, thank you for coming in today. >> thank you for having me, barbara. >> our time is 11:51. coming up, the best of the super bowl ads. and meteorologist tom well, it's definitely the hot topic for today. the super bowl commercials. one that's been getting a lot of attention is one for chrysler, which featured the city of detroit and rapper eminem, who grew up there. ad executive donny deutsch was on "today" and talked about what made that commercial great. >> the brilliance of this ad, and i've been waiting for detroit to do this, we have seen a lot of "buy american" over the years, consumers don't care about -- this is the soul of detroit. it was walking right into it. i thought it was brilliantly crafted, a great strategy, and wonderful. >> and by the way, we call it the eminem chrysler -- he's barely in it. really the star of this is the city of detroit. >> and the celebration of -- walking right into what detroit is. not glorifying, not making it for what it's not, but the grit, the soul. i love this ad. >> another ad that got a lot of positive feedback was audi's ad telling people to escape the confines of old luxury. it showed stuffy billionaires escaping from a prison and had a cameo from jazz artist kenny g. but of course the star of the commercials was 6-year-old max hall, who was darth vader trying to use his powers. he eventually are starts a vw car with a little help from his father. i liked that one. let's take a look at some of the stories we're going to be following for you on news 4 this afternoon. pat lawson muse joins us in the newsroom with a preview of things to come. hey, pat. >> hey, barbara. i liked that one too. the darth vader one was awfully cute. coming up at 4:00, a robber holds up a convenience store. we'll hear the entire conversation and why the clerk says he feels sorry for the man who pointed the gun at him. and tonight at 5:00, doctors call it a silent epidemic among children. what it is and how it could affect teen athletes for the rest of their lives. and tell us your pick for favorite super bowl commercial. you can weigh in on our facebook page, nbc washington's facebook page and we'll share the results starting on news 4 at 4:00. barbara? >> thank you, pat. time for a final check on our forecast. here's tom. >> sun is fading and we have still quite a bit of sunshine. temperatures, though, are beginning to climb, despite the fact that we have the increase in the cloud cover that's coming in out of the south and west. it's coming from a coastal area of low pressure that combined with a weak trough from the midwest, both of these systems coming in, clouding us up this afternoon, but temperatures should make it into the upper 40s to near 50s. and then after sunset, we may get a little light rain off and on throughout the night and may end as a brief period of some flurries predawn on tuesday. we'll be in the mid-30s tomorrow morning. and then we'll drop into the 20s during the afternoon on tuesday with a gusty northwest wind with sunshine. and that will bring in even colder weather by dawn on wednesday, down into the teens. and during the day on wednesday, afternoon highs, mid-30s. and then we'll have sbrooincrea clouds. on thursday, a storm system passing to our south. looks like it will be for a enough away from us for no accumulating snow, just a few flurries is the way it looks right now. and as we get into the weekend, sunshine back. highs 40s, saturday and sunday. that's the way it looks. we'll see you in the morning. >> a lot of kids will be disappointed if we only get flurries. >> we've got a lot of winter left. >> that's "news 4 midday." we thank you for being with us and invite you to join us at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, and tonight at 11:00. and i'll be back tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. with "news 4 midday." until then, have a terrific day until then, have a terrific day an just joined? 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