martinelly-montano pled guilty to four of the charges against him. he did not plead guilty to felony murder, however. prosecutors say martinelly-montano was drunk when he crashed into a vehicle carrying three nuns last august in bristow, virginia. sister denise mosier was killed and sisters connie ruth lupton and charlotte lange were seriously hurt. martinel martinelly-montano was waiting a deportation trial at the time of the accident. today's first witness was the nun who was driving at the time of the accident. the trial is expected to last a few days. a judge will decide the outcome, not a jury. today begins week two of the lululemon murder trial. the prosecution is trying to prove that brittany norwood methodically planned to kill her coworker, jayna murray. megan mcgrath has information on what's going on this morning. >> reporter: barbara, before the jury was brought in this morning, the judge, judge greenberg, listened to arguments from the prosecution to allow testimony about a telephone conversation that the victim, jayna murray, allegedly had with another coworker on the the day that she was murdered. now, prosecutors say that murray told this coworker that she had caught brittany norwood with store merchandise inside her purse and that she confronted her about stealing. the prosecution is trying to establish motive in this case. that norwood killed murray after murray caught her with that merchandise. but the judge said that she would not allow it. that jayna murray is dead and can't testify about that conversation. that it's hearsay and he simply won't allow it, won't let the jury hear about it. the jury spent another day looking at some very gruesome photos of the crime scene. right now a forensic expert is detailing blood splatter patterns inside the store. now, he says those patterns show that a substantial beating took place inside the lululemon store. he says a lot of force was used in landing some of these blows. brittany norwood continues with her quiet demeanor in the courtroom. she is showing no emotion at all. she did not appear to look up at any of these graphic photos that were shown today, but she's not showing any facial expressions either. and the testimony continues and we'll continue to follow this case. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, megan. new today, a wild chain of events in northeast washington. a man is in the hospital in stable condition after being shot and then crashing his car while trying to drive himself to the hospital. police say he was shot around 4:00 this morning near 17th and monroe streets northeast. he tried to escape the scene, but crashed into a retaining wall nearby. after he was taken to the hospital, his car caught on fire. the fire department had to be called to put out that fire. there's no word on any suspects in this shooting or if police know what led to the shooting in the first place. and this morning, millions of people are waking up without power after a rare october snowstorm. parts of new england got around 30 inches compared to our dusting here in d.c. the snow weighed down tree limbs, causing many to fall on power lines. some say this unusual fall weather could be a precursor to what's to come. >> i think we're in for a big, bad winter. i mean, here we are in october and we've got snow. >> some utility companies say it could be several days before everyone gets their power back on. and turning to our weather today, it's cold outside. it feels like the beginning of winter, actually, and it's the 31st of october. tom, is this unusual, the temperatures we're having today? >> yeah, it really is. it's certainly colder than average. and by the way, anytime we've had early snow like we did on saturday, most of the following winters from an early snow like that have been at average snowfall amounts. there's no indication that there would be any worse of a winter because we had an early snow. well, look at that. it looks like autumn now. that's a live picture from the skywatcher camera, but it's still quite cold. it's only in the low to mid-40s now throughout most of the region. however, it is now up around 50 degrees at reagan national and through parts of virginia and southern maryland near the bay, it's in the low 50s. out in the mountains and shenandoah valley, where the heavier snow fell on saturday, it's in the 40s. so the snowmelt is continuing there. but far out into western maryland, it's only a little bit above freezing. we've had some high clouds streaking in from the south and west. a lot of sun just south and east of us. and these high clouds passing right over the region. ahead of what may be a few sprinkles coming in after sunset. but between now and then, we'll have increasing clouds during the afternoon, highs reaching low to mid-50s. i'll have your trick or treat forecast. we'll look at that. big changes on the way for the rest of the week. a warm-up will be coming up in just a couple of minutes, barbara. >> warm-up? that's nice to hear. can't wait to hear the details of that. thanks, tom. one of the biggest halloween bashes always takes place in georgetown. hundreds will fill the streets tonight in what is almost always a roaming costume party, but you may want to leave the car at home. parking restrictions will start this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. on "k" and "m" streets and along wisconsin avenue as well and they won't be lifted until 6:00 tomorrow morning. many side streets will also be closed to traffic starting at 6:30 tonight. they will reopen at 3:00 a.m. police say they may also close additional streets, depending on how large the crowd turns out to be tonight. and we're going to check the midday traffic now. denels heloc joins us with the latest. >> hi, barbara. a couple problems this morning already if you're traveling inbound canal road. and mcarthur boulevard, all your lanes are blocked. fire department is on the scene of that accident. and shooting over to prince george's county, if you're taking route 410 northeast highway, accident at that intersection. fire department is there as well. other roadways look good, traveling 270, you're clear, and here's a view of clarksburg road. barbara, no problems as you make your way towards the spur. back to you. >> you'll have to tell us later about the costume you're planning to wear tonight for the party. thanks a lot, denellla. in other news, one person is dead and another in critical condition after a crash in maryland. it happened around 10:30 last night near the intersection of old alexandria ferry road and malcolm road in clinton. police were still trying to figure out just how the crash happened. both of the people involved were flown to a nearby hospital, where one died a short time later. old alexandria ferry was closed for a few hours while police investigated. police in spotsylvania county will be stepping up patrols while they investigate a series of abductions in this county. there have been at least four sn incidents this month. the most recent attempt happened saturday on ennis brooke circle near spotsylvania town center. a woman says a car full of men tried to force her into their vehicle. police are looking for whoever might have been involved in that. a caroline county boy may get to go home today after spending five nights lost in the wilderness. robert wood jr. was with his father in the north ana battlefield park north of richmond when he got lost. the 8-year-old, who is autistic, was found friday afternoon near a rock quarry. wood's grandmother, norma jean williams, said the fact that he didn't know how much danger he was in probably saved his life. >> there's no fear. i think that's what helped him. he's a tough little boy. >> doctors are still running tests on wood at vcu medical center in richmond, however, they say he's in pretty good shape and could be released later today. a new report on a d.c. mayoral hiring scandal is out today. results of the congressional probe showed suleman brown received money from mayor vincent gray's campaign. "the washington post" got a copy of the report from the house committee on oversight and government reform. brown claims he was promised a city job by gray's campaign if he made campaign attacks against then-mayor adrian fenty. according to the newspaper, the investigation found only circumstantial evidence that brown was promised a job. the committee reviewed cell phone records, e-mails, and even money orders between brown and mayor gray's campaign. nine after 11:00. coming up, the controversy presidential candidate herman cain is dealing with right now. >> always full of shame. walking down the street. anything i do is difficult. >> plus, bernie madoff's wife >> plus, bernie madoff's wife describes what it was like when get your cash back. which cash back booth looks better to you, chase freedom or the largest cash back card? i'll try the largest oh, that's too bad apparently you don't know chase freedom guarantees you 1% cash back... 4 times more than the largest cash back card, which only gives you a quarter percent until you spend $3,000 every year but have fun, bob and weave once you're in there. and right now, when you apply... you'll receive $300 bonus cash back after you spend $500 in the first three months. can i change my mind? i was hoping you would plus, chase freedom gives you a total of 5 percent cash back on up to $1,500 worth of purchases in new categories every three months, like gas stations, movie theaters, restaurants and grocery stores when i say cash you say back... cash... okay! even better... with chase freedom, there's no annual fee. so remember if you apply now... you'll receive $300 bonus cash back after you spend $500 in the first three months. get your cash back. call or visit our website to apply. we have breaking news out of afghanistan. at least four people were killed as a suicide bomber rammed a car loaded with explosives into a checkpoint in kandahar. three of those killed were members of a u.n. refugee agency. the taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. this attack comes on the heels of another suicide bomber running a vehicle into an armored nato bus on saturday killing 17 people, including 12 americans. herman cain's campaign is denying allegations the republican presidential hopeful was accused of sexual harassment twice while heading the national restaurant association back in the '90s. politico is reporting that at least two employees at the restaurant group claimed cain harassed them. they were reportedly paid to leave the association and not talk about what happened. a spokesman for cain calls the accusations unsubstantiated and thinly sourced. and happening today, president obama's expected to sign another executive order in the latest move aimed at helping the middle class. the president's "we can't wait" campaign continues. the white house says today's measure will direct the food and drug administration to take action to prevent prescription drug shortages and price gouging. the president already signed two similar orders aimed at helps struggling homeowners and students buried in college loans. congress cannot block these orders. the madoff the family is back in the headlines as bernie's wife, ruth, revealed last week the attempted suicide -- their attempted suicide after bernie madoff was arrested. today matt lauer spoke to ruth madoff and her son, andrew, and they say they still have not forgiven bernie and do not want to reconcile with him. >> i'd like to speak to him and tell him a few things, but it's not because i miss him anymore. i -- you know, the villain of all this tragedy is behind bars. the rest of us are just trying to get back to our lives and make peace with whatever we have left. >> there's no way to explain what he did. the damage that he has caused to so many people, so many lives that he's destroyed. what possible explanation could there be? the few things that i've read about him from his interviews and the audio interview that he gave, i'm not hearing sincerity and remorse in there, and i try to find it in my heart to be able to forgive him, but i'm not there yet. >> none of the other madoff family members have been charged with a crime in connection with bernie madoff. and happening today, qantas is scrambling to help thousands of passengers after grounding their entire fleet for two days. the atralian airline began flying again today after an emergency ruling sunday by an australian court. qantas surprised travelers and its unions when it shut down because of an ongoing labor dispute. the airline says it will add extra flights today to help those stranded by the shutdown. and qantas isn't the only airline with troubles today. jetblue is apologizing to passengers who were struck on a plane for hours because of the weekend storms. >> any way you can get a tug and a tow bar out here to us and get us towed somewhere to a gate or something? i don't care. take us anywhere. >> that plea from a frustrated pilot to air traffic controllers after his plane had been sitting on the tarmac at hartford's bradley international airport for more than 7 1/2 hours. at one point, the pilot even asked for police because of his angry passengers. in all, three jetblue flights were stuck in the airport there after they were diverted there because of the heavy snow in new york. passengers say the airline ran out of food and water and the toilets stopped working. jetblue is offering full refunds for its passengers. tom joins us now to talk about our weather for today, which is a lot nicer than it was when those storms were happening. boy, we had a mess, didn't we, on saturday? >> we escaped the brunt of it. and off to our west, though, along skyline drive, they had 8, 9, 10 inches. and farther to the west, out in the mountains of west virginia, up to 14 inches of snow fell there. and amounts closer to washington, northern montgomery county into loudoun county, many places there had 3, 4 inches and higher amounts farther to the north. and as we take a look now, though, it is now back to autumn, not winter, we're happy to say right now. at reagan national, it's at 49 degrees. we've got a south-southwesterly breeze right now at around 10 miles an hour. and we had a very cold start this morning. it was down below freezing, most locations. and now it's warming back into the 40s, upper 40s to near 50 degrees throughout most of the area. 49 at reagan national, we're in the upper 40s to near 50 in montgomery, arlington, fairfax, and prince george's counties. right near the chesapeake bay, low 50s from annapolis down to pax river on the western shores. eastern shores of the bay as well, and into the low 50s. it's still very cold farther to our west where the snow was heavier across northern frederick county, they had nearly a foot of snow, as did parts of washington county, out into western maryland. and now those temperatures are above freezing, so that snow is melting. and we've had some high clouds drifting in over us, ahead of a little bit of rain that's showing up out in kentucky and parts of tennessee. that may be arriving here later this afternoon. there's a small chance for trick-or-treaters to get a few sprinkles this evening, as this does move on in. and then a coastal system will be coming in later tonight, perhaps late evening, with a little bit of rain developing here. that may continue after midnight and through the morning commute on tuesday. then we dry out during the day tuesday. this is by noontime. lots of sunshine breaking up. and then during the rest of the afternoon, we'll be mostly clear. as we get into wednesday, we'll have some high pressure coming in. that will bring us more sunshine, another delightful day, and a bit warmer too. so for the rest of this afternoon, enjoy feeling like autumn up into the mid-50s and quite a bit of cloudiness, though. and we'll have a southeast breeze around 5 to 10 miles an hour. and for trick-or-treaters this halloween evening, it is going to be cloudy and there's a small chance of a few sprinkles, but it's going to be chilly, so you'll need to dress warmly. it will be in the 40s for halloween trick-or-treaters for early evening. sunset is the a 6:09. it's not going to be getting dark until around 6:30. that's when we'll have the ghosts and goblins out. watch out, they'll be on the streets and sidewalks, so watch out for that. then later this evening and overnight, perhaps early morning tomorrow, there is a small chance of some sprinkles to be followed by sun back tuesday afternoon into the mid-50s. then on wednesday, should be mostly sunny, morning lows near 40. afternoon highs climbing to around 60. and more of the same on thursday too. lots of sunshine. morning lows near 40. afternoon highs near 60. so a pleasant pattern setting up. by the end of the week, another disturbance coming through on friday may give us some rain, perhaps a few rain showers. morning lows in the 40s. afternoon highs climbing into the upper 50s. then over the weekend, looking delightful now. morning lows around 40 on saturday. sunny saturday afternoon near 60. maybe a bit milder on sunday. partly cloudy, low 40s in the morning, afternoon highs climbing into the low 60s. and that is the way it looks. i'll be back with another update coming up in just a couple of minutes. we're happy that autumn's back. >> oh, indeed. i like your orange tie. that's great. >> thank you. you have that other tie too. don't you have one with cats or something? or pumpkins? something? >> no. >> maybe that's joe. i don't remember. somebody's got a great halloween tie. >> that's beautiful, tom. let's head out to the roads now. danella sealock joins us with what's happening on the road. >> i would love to see that orange tie with cats on. if you're traveling right now, problems still on canal road, all your lanes are blocked heading inbound at macarthur boulevard. in our loop of prince george's county as you make your way towards branch avenue, you're traveling at 60 miles an hour. going to the outer loop of the beltway in montgomery county and new hampshire avenue, you're at 53 miles an hour. not bad. as we loop around to the beltway in virginia, this is a view at robinson terminal. not seeing accidents traveling the inner loop or the outer loop here, and if you're traveling on the inner loop, right now you're traveling 55 miles an hour, as you make your way from the interchange all the way to the dulles toll road, it will take you only 14 minutes, barbara. >> go look for chuck bell. i just heard he's the one who has the orange tie, although maybe he wore it over the weekend. >> i'm on my way to find him. >> thanks, danella. it is 11:21 now. still ahead on "news 4 midday," it gets heated up in canada. what had the redskins turning on each other. plus, is the white house haunted? we'll ask the man known as a psychic lawyer about that. but first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. [ screaming ] [ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. several places around town are throwing big halloween bashes. one includes fair oaks mall and they're expecting about 10,000 people for mall-o-ween tonight. it runs from 6:00 to 8:00. in maryland, the mall at prince george's county will have tricks and treats this evening. and in the district, tudor place on 31st street northwest is hosting spooktacular. its location from 3:00 until 6:00 today. the redskins are hurting this morning, but no one more than quarterback john beck, who was sacked nine times, tying a franchise record. in a punishing 23-0 loss at the hands of the buffalo bills. the bills entered the game with just four sacks on the year, but had four on his first half to keep beck on his back for most of the game. and when the offense got a playoff, it didn't go far, with just 26 yards rushing and 178 yards of total offense. after the game, players were obviously frustrated. >> you never think you're going to go out and drop a goose egg. you know? do you ever think you're going to go fall on your face when you're walking down the street? absolutely not. you feel like you know what's going on, like you can pick your feet up and walk and handle it. so we never go into a game thinking that's going to happen. but, you know, while it's taking place, we've got to go out there and keep fighting. >> it's coach mike shanahan's first ever shutout in his 24-year career as a head coach for offensive coordinator in the nfl. he was also never shut out as a college coach either. the team struggles on the field led to a heated exchange on the slidelines in the third quarter. london fletcher had to be restrained by his teammates after he went after safety landry. fletcher was frustrated that landry made a big mistake, allowing the bills a wide open touchdown pass to make the score 20-0. landry took responsibility for the touchdown after that game, but fletcher refused to talk about the fight. >> including family tickets and stuff -- >> baseball. st. louis cardinals manager tony la russa has announced his retirement. la russa managed the cardinals for 16 years. they made three world series and won two of them, including this year's. the 67-year-old is third on the all-time wins list of managers and is the winningest manager in cardinals history. and the nationals have exercised their option on manager davey johnson, meaning the 68-year-old will return for another season as washington's skipper. johnson took over the nates midway through this season, going 40-43. we've all had those days where we crash at work because of the sleepless night. but the tossing and turning is costing you. according to men's health, the average american employee loses about 11.3 days of productivity a year due to insomnia. that amounts to about $2,300 a year per person or $63 billion down the tubes nationwide. what can you do for energy after a sleepless night? make sure you're exposed to sunlight, take a 10 to 15-minute walk before work to get the blood flowing and avoid sugar, we're told. 11:27 is our time. coming up in the next half hour of "news 4 midday," get ready for a big price hike. what will cost you more when you hit the road tomorrow. [ horn blares ] and all aboard. a look at how college students are spending their days at sea and why some say their school acted too slowly. tom kierein is also back with an end-of-the-w [ male announcer ] does your cable company keep charging you more... and more... and more? stop paying so much for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years with no annual contract required. go to verizon.com/greatprice and save $600 in your first two years with our best price online. fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers superior picture quality, more hd, plus america's fastest, most consistent and most reliable internet. why keep paying so much for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- $89.99 a month with a two-year price guarantee and the option of no annual contract. ordering online is easy. you can even chat live with a fios agent. visit verizon.com/greatprice. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. fiber one. almost tastes like one of jack's cereals. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? uh, try the number one! i've never heard of that. [ wife ] it's great. it's a sweet honey cereal, you'll love it. yeah, this is pretty good. are you guys alright? yeah. [ male announcer ] half a days worth of fiber. not that anyone has to know. fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. right now on "news 4 midday," the trial is under way for the illegal immigrant charged with killing a nun in a drunk driving accident last year. prosecutors say carlos martinelly-montano was drunk when he crashed into a vehicle carrying three nuns in prince william county. one of the nuns died. two others were seriously hurt. martinelly-montaotatano had twi been convicted of drunk driving and was awaiting a deportation hearing at the time of the accident. president obama is planning to sign another executive order. this one would prevent drug companies from price gouging and prescription drug shortages. it's the third executive order the president has signed, all aimed at helping the middle class. congress cannot block these orders. well, today marks four weeks since the disappearance of that little girl known as baby lisa. and we're getting new prospective ton the case from a security consultant hired by the child's parents. here's nbc's john yang. >> reporter: for the first time, bill stanton took a look inside the scene of the baffling mystery he's been hired to investigate. >> i think it was someone outside, and they either got through that window or they walked right through this front door. >> reporter: no cameras allowed on this visit, though the family has invited nbc news in before. stanton walked us through what debora bradley and jeremy irwin told them about that night's events. how jeremy, up for nearly 24 hours, says he arrived home at about 3:45 the morning of october 4th, how he found the front door unlocked, and because they were behind on their bills, how he was annoyed that the lights were on. and how he discovered his then 10-month-old baby's crib was empty. >> you're saying that deborah changing her timeline of when the last time she saw lisa and other details of that evening, are irrelevant? >> it may conflict, but that doesn't make a person guilty. >> reporter: with deborah and jeremy under increasing scrutiny, stanton points to reports of a man carrying a baby with only a diaper in the neighborhood around 12:30 that morning. >> to me, that's imperative. that is glaring. that needs to be followed up by everyone. >> we haven't at all eliminated the possibility of an outside intruder, nor have we eliminated the possibility of some terrible accident or other incident that happened to that child within that house. >> reporter: investigators continue to press for unrestricted interviews with deborah and jeremy. sources close to the family tell nbc news that interviews with the couple's two young boys, aged 5 and 8 that were postponed last week could happen soon. sunday afternoon, only a handful of volunteers turned out for a search through the woods, organized by local residents. >> she touched my heart. >> reporter: others used flyers, bumper stickers, even the hood of a car to get the word out. meanwhile, lisa's parents are in seclusion. how are deborah and jeremy holding up? >> you know, i look in their eyes and i see pain. you know, how many tears can you shed 24/7? >> that was john yang reporting. sources close to the family say the irwins have fired the local attorney who once represented them. the family did not say why. the lawyer says she's still continuing to look for baby lisa as a private citizen now. cross-examination of the last witness in the dr. conrad murray case begins today. murray is michael jackson's personal physician who pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter -- pleaded not guilty, excuse me, to involuntary manslaughter. he is accused of giving the singer the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid, but it, of course, killed jackson. a propofol expert testified jackson had given himself the fatal dose. he said it was the only explanation for levels of the drug found during jackson's autopsy. the jury is expected to begin deliberating the case some time this week. and we're going to check again now with tom kierein for the latest on our forecast. tom is promising a warm-up later in the week. we want to hear about that, tom. >> yeah. and it's beginning to warm up now after a very cold start. we were down into the 20s and low 30s earlier this morning. but now with that sun through the high clouds, illuminating the peak color that we have here in northwest washington, a gorgeous autumn morning as we finish off october. we're now warming to around 50 degrees throughout most of the region. 49 now at reagan national. and later today, we'll have increasing clouds during the afternoon, as temperatures climb into the mid-50s for highs. we'll have a light southeasterly breeze. and then this evening, for trick-or-treaters, it's going to be cloudy and there is a small chance of a few sprinkles around, and it's going to be chilly too. back down into the 40s through the evening. and after midnight and until perhaps early morning tomorrow, we may have a few sprinkles as well. otherwise, cloudy. but then some sun back tomorrow afternoon with highs mid-50s. then wednesday and thursday, warming up to around 60 with lots of sunshine. near 40 in the mornings both days. and then as we get into the end of the week, friday, we could have some showers over the weekend. sunny again saturday and sunday, highs near 60. that's the way it looks. barbara? >> but chilly tonight. okay. thank you, tom. hear that, danella, you'll have to wear a coat over your halloween costume. you going to reveal what it's going to be? >> yes, it's going to be a traffic reporter preparing to wake up at 2:30 in the morning. i'm wearing jammies -- oh, wait, that's my real life. i think i'll be at home asleep. so boring. i'm not too exciting. and if you're traveling on the roadways, still have bad news on canal road. all your lanes are still shut down, but police are directing traffic. this is inbound at macarthur boulevard. follow their direction. and a little bit of delay at the beltway at van dorn street, but so far, interloop looks really good, and here's a view of the woodrow wilson bridge. no problems here at all. >> thanks a lot, danella. have a good sleep tonight. take a look at these pictures of an ice cream truck that crashed into a prince george's county home. it happened yesterday afternoon on 66th avenue in landover hills. the house is also an at-home day care. the driver was taken to the hospital. luckily, no one was at home at the time of the crash. get ready to pay a little bit more going through maryland tolls. starting tomorrow, tolls will be going up by $1. the toll on the bay bridge is up by $1.50 from $2.50 to $4. the biggest jump this time will be passing through the toll plaza without paying. you're going to get a fine for that. that'll go up from $3 to $15. so don't do that. the main hall at union station is back open after being closed for most of the weekend because of a chunk of the ceiling that fell to the floor. on friday, a piece of plaster fell from the ceiling. they blame it on the earthquake that hung back in august. crews hung netting to cash any dish plaster that falls. repairs to the ceiling are scheduled to begin later this week. well, you've heard about spending a semester at sea, but for 240 college students in maryland, they're not exactly getting the at-sea part of it. news 4's darcy spencer explains. >> reporter: the "sea voyager" is docked near st. mary's college, but it's not going on a cruise anytime soon. come monday morning, the ship will become a floating dorm, home to 240 college students forced out by mold in their campus residence halls. >> i don't know what the campus could do better, so i think this is a good solution. whoever thought of it deserves a pat on the black. >> reporter: black mold was found in two 1970s era dorms, forcing the evacuations of hundreds of freshman and sophomore students. they've been staying at hotels. >> well, it's a big ordeal to get the ship here and get the students in. it's less of an ordeal than having them live in three different hotels, one as far as 20 minutes away. >> you can see on this metal edge, the little water stains that show condensation. >> reporter: the mold was traced to pipe insulation above the drop ceiling. it may have been caused by all the wet weather and hurricane irene. the college has rented the ship through the end of the semester for $20,000 a day, but the school president says it's comparable to the cost of housing students in hotel rooms and shuttling them to campus and back. >> i think it's going to be better than the hotel, because we won't have a commute anymore. >> reporter: administrators estimate the moldy dorms should be ready for students to move back in in just a few weeks after a major cleaning, but they've decided to rent the "sea voyager" for the rest of the semester to avoid more disruption. >> i don't know too many kids who get to live on a boat for part of their college experience. it will be cool. >> reporter: darcy spencer, news 4 today. >> some parents are upset that this mold problem was not addressed sooner. they argue they're paying thousands of dollars for their kids to go to school and live in dorms, not on a cruise ship. it's 11:39 now. coming up on "news 4 midday," the new milestone we're going to hit today, but we just don't know exactly where or when it's going to happen. plus, is the white house haunted? we'll ask [ male announcer ] does your cable company keep charging you more... and more... and more? stop paying so much for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years with no annual contract required. go to verizon.com/greatprice and save $600 in your first two years with our best price online. fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers superior picture quality, more hd, plus america's fastest, most consistent and most reliable internet. why keep paying so much for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- $89.99 a month with a two-year price guarantee and the option of no annual contract. ordering online is easy. you can even chat live with a fios agent. visit verizon.com/greatprice. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm. take a look at this. this is what you're going to see if you search google today. it's their way of wishing everyone a happy halloween. the video shows a time lapse of people carving giant pumpkins. the payoff comes at about 30 seconds into the video when the pumpkins light up and spell "google." well, in just the last 12 years, 1 billion more people have been added to the world's population. today, we expect to hit 7 billion. and as frances koh reports, it's a growing problem, how to manage all those people with limited resources here on our planet. >> reporter: some time on monday, the earth's 7 billionth person will be born into a world facing a decline in natural resources. >> this planet can certainly support 7 billion people. but the trick is, how do we deal with common resources that we all share? >> reporter: one alarming statistic, 900 million people have no access to clean water. water tables across the globe are receding. 18 countries are overpumping, including china, india, and the united states. saudi arabia will soon have to stop growing wheat because the as depleted an underground water source. closely tied to water is food. nearly 1 billion go to bed hungry. >> probably the biggest hurdle is the fact that tonight, at the dinner table, there will be 219,000 people who were not there last night, and tomorrow night there'll be another 219,000 people. >> reporter: but experts say it's more than just the number of people. it's what we make and buy. >> my jeans takes 2,000 gallons of water to make, right? so if 7 billion people all wanted one pair of jeans, we're talking, what, 14 trillion gallons of water. you see how it adds up. >> reporter: and as somewhere a new little bundle is welcomed to the world, the question remains how to divide earth's gifts among 7 billion and counting. frances koh, nbc news. stocks are lower in early trading today. we're going to check in with cnbc's jackie deangelis. she joins us live with more on that and she's got the rest of the day's business headlines too. hi, jackie. >> good morning to you, barbara. global stocks are giving up some of their recent gains this morning over concerns on italy's debt situation and other problems continuing in the ru l eurozone. the dollar rising against the yen as the japanese monetary authorities have weakened their currency. and last week equities had one of their best weeks in months as investors felt relieved about those euro zone deals. right now we're looking at the dow jones industrials down points, the nasdaq down 25, and the s&p lower by 15. in other news, global consumer confidence remained weak this morning with more than 60% of people saying it's not a good time to spend money. a new nielson poll shows o two-thirds of consumers in north america say they don't have in spare cash. the economy and job security are top skrns overtaking higher inflation. the poll is based on consumer confidence in the job market, their personal finances, and readiness no spend. meantime, walmart may not be keeping all the lights on 24/7. t"the indianapolis star" says te retail giant has been trimming some of its services at its stores. this has happened in a range of cities such as baltimore and indianapolis over the past year. now, a spokesperson says that walmart is making sure that store hours are consistent with what shoppers are doing. barbara, back to you. >> okay, jackie. thank you. is the white house haunted? and do world leaders privately seek advice from the other side? we're going to ask our guest those questions. he's the author of the book "never letting go," and he's known as the psychic lawyer. let's welcome mark anthony. thanks for coming today. >> thank you, barbara. >> perfect day to have you here. >> it is. what could be scarier than a lawyer who sees dead people. >> how do you know you're a psychic? >> well, i was born with the ability to perceive spirits. both my parents had this ability and it runs in my family on both sides for about 100 years. >> and how do you prove to yourself that you're seeing real dead people? >> through evidential mediumship. as a lawyer, i present evidence to a judge and jury in court. and as a medium, what i have to do is when a spirit communicates with me, i have to convey pieces of evidence that can be verified. so if i just said to you, oh, your grandmother's here and she loves you, that doesn't prove anything, barbara. but if i tell you what she looked like, what she passed from, her age, favorite song, pieces of jewelry, things that i have no reason to know, then that's evidential mediumship. >> so, let's move on, then. is the white house haunted? >> yes, it is. and it is believed that the spirit of abraham lincoln and his son, willie todd lincoln, roam the halls of the white house. >> wow. and do you have evidence of that? >> yes, i do. this has been documented for over 150 years. >> somebody has seen them there, wandering through the white house halls? >> not just somebody, but some pretty impressive people. we're talking teddy roosevelt. i mean, talk about a no-nonsense president. harry truman. first lady eleanor roosevelt. president lyndon johnson. in fact, lyndon johnson was overheard by white house staffers talking to lincoln's spirit. and unfortunately, that got out and comedian bob hope took the ball and ran with that one. >> so they then told other people that they felt that they had actually seen abraham lincoln in the white house? >> well, british prime minister winton churchill, right after the u.s. ended the war, he knew he had to have a solid deal with the united states so that britain and america together could triumph against adolf hitler, so churchill flew from london to washington. he was put up in the lincoln bedroom. and the lincoln bedroom, barbara, it wasn't always a bedroom. it used to be an office. it was abraham lincoln's private office. and now it is decorated and filled with pieces from the lincoln administration, including the bed that willie todd lincoln died in. he died of scarlet fever when he was 11. so winston churchill insisted on every afternoon of having a bath. so he would get out of the bathtub, walked into the lincoln bedroom, completely naked, would walk around the room, smoking a cigar, making notes for what he's going to be saying to congress the next day. and there he's confronted with the spirit of abraham lincoln. churchill being churchill, he took a puff off of his cigar, looked right at the spirit of abraham lincoln and said, good afternoon, mr. president, i'm sorry, but you seem to have me at a disadvantage. >> how do you know that happened? >> right after that, churchill not only told his assistant, but he went downstairs -- well, he got dressed first, being very proper british -- went downstairs and said to the roosevelts, i will not spend another night in that acursed bedroom. >> so he told them what had happened? >> he told them what had happened and winston churchill was here a lot and he never again spent another night in the lincoln bedroom. >> now, nancy reagan is probably the most famous of the white house inhabitants who consulted with psychics. anybody else? any other presidents or first ladies? >> absolutely. calvin coolidge and his wife did. warren g. harding, richard nixon, john f. kennedy, bobby kennedy, even though he wasn't in the white house. what's the proof of that? >> joan quigley was arguably the most -- not joan quigley, jean dixon. joan quigley was the reagan psychic adviser. jean dixon first advised fdr, told him about how the world was going to be after world war ii. also predicted the date he was going to die. jean dixon predicted to a crowd in 1956 that a democrat with big blue eyes and bushy brown hair would be elected president in 1960. it was john f. kennedy, predicted the day he was going to be assassinated. and through rosemary woods, richard nixon's secretary, jean dixon used to advise richard nixon. in fact, there's a recording in the library of congress of president nixon talking to secretary of state kissinger, and he said, you know, rosemary talks to that soothsayer. >> i suspect that we will find out whether the current residents of the white house consult psychics, but not for a few years to come. i want to mention your book, "never letting go," but mark anthony. it's doing very well on amazon.com. >> it's on sale and well on its way to becoming best seller status. >> it's healing grief through psychic help. >> well, with connections from the other side. it will teach people how to recognize when their loved ones and spirits are near. it's inspirational, because it produces evidential mediumship from the other side. and it will provide healing messages of love and hope. >> wonderful. thanks so much for coming. the psychic lawyer. >> thank you. and happy halloween. 11:51, the time now. coming up, halloween on the "today" show. plus, tom kierein will be back for when we can see the rain again. at 3:00, ellen's tonight, a new era of reporting begins with the launch of nbc's "rock center with brian williams." the weekly news magazine show will offer long form stories from the most trusted correspondents on tv. mark barger's got a preview. >> we've got probably one or two money shots. >> reporter: brian williams has a simple goal for the news magazine he'll anchor starting tonight. >> i want people to watch "rock center" and say, so that's where everyone good in television news is now working. >> reporter: veteran newsman ted coppell and harry smith are bringing their skills to "rock center," alongside nbc's established core of reporting talent. >> long-form storytelling. it's -- there's not a lot of places that that's celebrated anymore. and this is exciting. >> reporter: smith's first story for "rock center" focuses on a north dakota town that's got more jobs than people to fill them. >> there's opportunity here. and that's what we all need, is an opportunity. >> reporter: opportunity is also at the heart of correspondent kate snowe's story on birth tourism, an industry focused on instant american citizenship. as soon as they secure a u.s. birth certificate and passport for their newborn, they'll fly home to china. k >> i hope what distinguishes us, it becomes television you feel like you have to watch. >> reporter: adding to that must-see factor is williams' live presence on the broadcast each monday. >> that's the best way to be current, to guarantee that we're right where the news is. >> reporter: but it also means an extra-long day for the man who also anchors "nightly news". >> what else am i going to do with that time? sort my sock drawer? really. come on. >> reporter: williams will be at the home of network tv's first news magazine launch in 20 years tonight with "rock center." tonight, nbc news. >> and "rock center with brian williams" debuts tonight at 10:00. you might have been a bit confused this morning if you were watching the "today" show. it might have seemed like it was a rerun of something that aired earlier. >> jolly good. >> no, there wasn't another royal wedding this morning, it was the cast of the "today" show taking part in a halloween tradition of going all-out with the costumes. there was another blast from the past too when it came to who played the queen. >> they're telling me, wait, that the queen has decided to join us. >> hello! hello! >> that was meredith vieira, returning to the "today" show this morning. her return appeared to be a surprise for the former colleagues as well as viewers at home. and she looked great. they all did. let's take a look at some of the stories we're following on news 4 this afternoon starting at 4:00. herman cain visited the district today. what he said about sexual harassment claims against him. also ahead at 4:00, knee-highs, animal print pumps, and booties. the essential shoes every woman must have in their wardrobe. then tonight on news 4 at 5:00, it's that time of year. why inspecting your fire place and furnace is more important than ever in light of the rare earthquake this summer. we'll have all that tonight at 5:00. time for a final check on the forecast. now here's tom. >> well, it's been a cold morning, but finally we're going to warm up. it's now near 50 degrees in washington and the nearby s suburbs. later this afternoon, we'll have a cloudy sky, holding steady in the 50s throughout the rest of the afternoon. then for trick-or-treaters tonight, it does look like there's a small chance of some sprinkles, and it's going to be chilly with temperatures in the 40s. have a safe evening. we'll see you tomorrow morning. >> okay, tom. thanks. and that's "news 4 midday" for today. we thank you for being with us on this halloween. be sure to tune in for news 4 at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, and then tonight at 11:00. i'll be back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. for "news 4 midday." good trick-or-treating to all of you. happy halloween.